Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

I had it all. Power. Sheer power. Like an ninja, I could slide into the shadows where no one would look, point at them, and either make them psychotic, or kill them, without a trace leading back to me. And if someone came to where I did my work, I could crush them with sheer force, like a fly in a giant’s hand.

...so why was I collapsed in front of these thieves and misfits in defeat? How was my power not enough to overcome them? Why… couldn’t I defeat my… my... 

...friends? Teammates? ...enemies? Who were they? Why was I doubting myself? Wasn’t my mission clear? Wasn’t my hatred of them clear enough that my task should have been simple? Were they actually that strong? Or was I…

“You ready to call it quits?” said Ryuji, breaking my train of thought. That stupid ape of a human was always far too blunt. And yet somehow, he was right. I was done. All I wanted now was to leave, to be anywhere except this place.

I gasped for air for a moment. “I know… I’ve had enough…” I looked up. I looked at their leader, the man in the black coat and the bird-like mask. My rival. The object of my fascination and envy. The man whom I had tried to kill, but through a complicated gambit had slipped out of my grasp. He looked at me as well. Both of us were Wild Cards, those with the power to wield multiple Personas, but I had every advantage over him… I realized, every advantage, except one. 

“You’re so lucky… lucky to be surrounded… by teammates who acknowledge you… and once Shido confesses his crimes, you’ll all be heroes. As for me, people will find out my past deductions were just charade. My fame and trust will vanish.” I shook my head; once my crimes were exposed, it was over. My life, my dreams… everything I had to live for would be taken away, with no family to turn to. Everyone would see me for who I really was: a monster, a murderer, a deceiver. A child whose mere existence was a sin. If I was lucky, a life behind bars awaited me. If not...

I looked up at them again. The cat spoke, “...I see. So you were turning people psychotic, then solving the cases yourself. And you did that by joining forces with Shido.”

Joining forces. Only so far as I could to get near him, then kill him when I had the chance, to erase my bastard past from anyone who could ever find out. So I could be noticed. So I could be special.

But in the face of this defeat, I had failed.

“In the end… I couldn’t be special…”

“Dude, you’re more than special…” I heard Ryuji say.

I looked up to him in shock.

“It pains me to admit,” Makoto said, “but your wit and strength far exceeds ours. We only defeated you by teaming up. I was honestly… envious of your natural ability. It was frustrating to see how much my sister trusted you…”

Envious? How can one be envious of my power, fueled only by hate and loathing? And Sae-san… I only led her astray with my lies. I couldn’t help it, I wanted to earn her trust, through any means necessary, as I respected her wit and instincts even as I knew I would eventually double-cross her, as I did everyone else...

“I have no intention of forgiving you for what you did to my father, but…” Haru paused. “...I sympathize with you. I wholeheartedly understand wanting to get back at the adults who took from you…”

Haru… I killed her father and left her without guardians, and yet she was still somehow more concerned about his murderer’s well-being than her own? It was true, though… I took away her father, but other adults, including my own piece-of-shit father, screwed me so much and left me to fend for myself, which led to the events that caused me to kill him in the first place...

“But when you gained the power to fulfill that desire, you only used it for your own self benefit,” said Yusuke.

“If you’ve got more than one Persona, maybe you actually have the same kinda power as Joker’s,” Futaba said, cutting in. I found she was prone to that, when I was working with them in Sae-san’s palace. “ But you trusted no one, so you only got two Personas: one for your lies, and one for your hate. Still, you thought that was enough, right? That part I totally get.”

Futaba was another one I never could truly get. The way she thought, the way she talked, the way she just… perceived things compared to most people. It was like a child’s train of thought, unknowing of the wider world but at the same time unclouded by prejudice and social etiquette to strike right at the core. And like Haru, she knew now I killed her mother, but here she was picking apart my personality, my past and my way of thinking, instead of cursing me out and calling me a monster like other people in this world would, and telling me she understood… and I wondered how anyone else, most especially her, could understand...

“You excelled at everything over us… yet that was the one thing you lacked,” Yusuke added.

“.......” I knelt there speechless. Who were these people? Why were they not just killing me while I was down? If I were in their position, I would do that… my sense of justice wouldn’t allow anything else, and yet...

“Alright, let’s go back and get that callin’ card ready!” Ryuji bellowed loudly. As they went to leave the engine room, he turned around and looked me in the eye. “We’re gonna take Shido down. What’re you gonna do?”

“It’d be a problem if you kept getting in our way. Wanna come along and help us settle things?” Ann asked.

…! After all I did to them? Killing two of their parents and almost killing their leader, they still wanted to give me a second chance?!

“...are you all idiots? You should get rid of me… if you don’t want me getting in your way.” I nervously chuckled. “...you are all truly beyond my comprehension.”

Then, I noticed all of them looking at something behind me in shock. I turned my head, and was too shocked by the figure approaching from behind me.

“Akechi?” Ryuji asked.

“Another one?!” Yusuke exclaimed. “Wait, is he…”

The cat shouted, “That’s… Shido’s cognitive version of Akechi!”

My father’s cognition of me… I should have guessed such a being existed within his palace. The way he strutted up, the blank stare in his eyes, his cold expression… just seeing it chilled me to the core, even before it started talking.

“I’ll deal with the rest of you later,” it said to them, before pulling out a pistol and pointing it at my head. “Captain Shido’s orders… he has no need for losers. Well… this just moves the plan up a little. He was going to get rid of you after the election anyway."

I jolted in shock. “What?!”

“Did you truly believe you’d be spared after all the murders you undertook? Don’t tell me… were you actually feeling good about having someone rely on you for once?” I gritted my teeth, disgusted that this was how Shido thought of me, and now was toying with my own insecurities and fears… I never had a high opinion of him regardless, only doing his bidding until he won the election before I would kill him, but to see that he thought of me, his son, as just another disposable tool toward his tyranny…

“Oh by the way, the captain says it’s time you receive retribution for causing the mental shutdowns,” it continued.

“What the hell man?! That bastard’s the one who put him up to it!” Ryuji yelled.

...I realized it now. This cognition was his security system against me and my vengeance-filled heart. Something that could play me like a fiddle and break me mentally before unceremoniously offing me, in spite of the great power my Persona held...

I faced it, and chuckled. “...I see… I was wondering how he’d protect himself if I used my power to tear through his palace. Turns out you’re how. So he’s making a puppet kill me… sounds like something he’d do.”

“That’s right. I’ll do anything,” the cognition droned. “But look at yourself. You’re the true puppet.”

...what?! Me, a puppet?!?

The cognition’s face was then painted with a highly deranged expression. “You wanted to be acknowledged, didn’t you?” it hissed. “ To be loved? You’ve been nothing but a puppet from the very beginning.”

...I...dammit...I...

“You little…” Ryuji grunted, shaking his fist.

“So this… is how Shido thinks of Goro Akechi?” Makoto gasped. “It’s...it’s too horrible!”

“It’s still not too late!” Haru insisted. “We can change his heart together! Even if he’s your father… no, because he’s your father!”

“What’s all this nagging about?” The cognition snapped. “You want me to take care of you first?” Then all of a sudden, several shadow guards appeared around him, ready to attack.

“No… he’s not alone! He has shadows too!” Ann said in shock. I looked up at the shadows… how a mere cognition had the ability to summon loyal shadows to attack intruders seemed impossible, but then again Shido’s distortion seemed so warped that his palace broke all the rules. Sure I could kill each individual one easily, but this cognition of me could probably just summon an infinite amount of them and eventually overwhelm me. I knew that such a struggle was a losing battle even for me, and I was trying now to find an out, but to no avail… my eyes wandered, and caught a big, red button under glass, labeled “bulkhead door.”

...I thought about my crimes, my sins, my lies… perhaps if I was fated to die here, I could do so on my own terms. Somehow, my survival instinct had shut down in that moment, and I felt a huge weight lifted off of my shoulders. Was this how suicidal people felt before they did the deed, I wondered?

The cognition kept his pistol trained on me, then looked at the Thieves. “You know what? I’ll let someone volunteer to take his place. Who knows? You might delay his death.”

My eyes widened. As much as I detested them, envied them, part of me objected to any of them dying for any reason, even if… no, especially if it was to spare me. I had nothing left, they had the world to win. And they were my… my...

“Damn you…” Ryuji grumbled.

The cognition sneered. “You guys are all about doing things for others, aren’t you? Oh, that’s just the same as me. I’m going to take all the blame for our captain. I’ll die for him too.”

“This is what Shido thinks of Akechi-kun, even after making him help with the murders?!” Makoto shouted in protest.

...none of that is true, I thought. This is how that twisted waste of human flesh views me, a disposable yes-man who will take the fall for his cause no matter what. Hehe… I should have known. I should have just killed him from the start, and not let him play me like the fool I was. Now, here I find myself, weak, defeated and unable to take him down…

...but perhaps there’s something I can do in the moment to rebel. My life didn’t matter anymore.

The cognition looked at me. “Here, I’ll give you one last chance. Shoot them.”

I chuckled weakly. “Haha… I was such a fool.” Rising to my feet, I cocked my gun and trained it on Joker.

“Yes… that’s the you our captain wishes to see.”

“...don’t misunderstand. You’re the one who’s going to disappear!!”

I quickly turned around and shot him, causing him to grunt in pain and fall to the ground.

Then, I pointed the gun at the Thieves, except I was aiming at the distant red button. With one shot, I hit it, shattering the glass and causing alarms to blare.

“THE WATERTIGHT BULKHEAD DOOR HAS CLOSED. ALL PERSONNEL WITHIN THE PARTITION WALL, EVACUATE AT ONCE.”

Right after that announcement, a large wall arose from the floor, hitting and locking with the ceiling above and separating me from the others. The shadows, sensing danger, fled, leaving me alone with my cognitive double. All I could hear of the Thieves now was their muffled voices on the other side of the wall.

“Whoa, what is this?!”

“Akechi!”

I banged the wall and yelled to them, “Hurry up, and go!”

“You fool! Are you trying to get yourself killed?!”

I shook my head. Life didn’t matter to me anymore, and I didn’t want to hold them down longer than I had to. “The real fools… are you guys. You should have just abandoned me here a long time ago. You would have all perished… if you had tried to face these with me weighing you down...”

“Akechi-kun!”

“Let’s make a deal, okay? You won’t say no, will you?” No matter what, even in death, I did not want my mission of bringing Shido to justice to go unfulfilled, and these people were the only ones who could complete the job, and had the motive to do so, as Shido had wronged them, and especially Joker, as much as I.

“Why at a time like this?!”

I banged the door again. “Change Shido’s heart… in my stead… end his crimes… Please!” I pleaded.

Silence, before I heard him, a man of few words and godlike power, the object of my envy and awe, speak.

“I’ll hold on to your glove.”

Ah yes, the glove I slapped him with and then left after our duel (to this day I still thought his Shiki-Ouji Persona was bullshit). After all we’ve been through, and the situation we were in now, that’s what he would promise? To keep a trivial trinket of my memory? My… memory? To keep me in...

“...heh, after all this, that’s what you have to say? Seriously, you really are…” I smiled. It wasn’t the best deal, but it was a deal nonetheless, to keep my justice alive.

I am thou, thou art I. Thou hast acquired a new vow.

It shall become the wings of rebellion that breaketh thy chains of captivity.

With the birth of the Fool Persona, I have obtained the winds of blessing that shall lead to freedom and new power…

My cognitive double got back up, wobbly and still gripping the wound in his chest, pointing his pistol at me. “YOU BASTARD!!”

I pointed my own gun at him, as low on energy as he was from my defeat. “So… my final enemy is a puppet version of myself… I…”

I gently squeezed the trigger.

“Akechi-kun!”

I looked him in the eye and glared.

“Isn’t there some way to get this open, Mona?!”

The moment he flinched, I planted two shots into his skull, before allowing myself to collapse.

I awoke.

I had no idea how long I had been asleep, only that I could tell it had been for a while. I was still in the ship’s engine room, and the bulkhead wall was still up. There were no shadows around - why they wouldn’t come down here to finish me off, I didn’t know. Perhaps they left me for dead.

...was I dead? I couldn’t know. I certainly had lucidity, so I wasn’t dreaming. When you jump in and out of cognitive worlds as much as I did, you become keenly aware of the boundary between dream and reality. But perhaps dying dreams followed different rules than ones you had when you are still alive.

I managed to get myself back onto my feet and assess my situation. The engine room seemed no different than I had left it. I was still in my Black Mask outfit. Just as a test, I briefly summoned Loki to make sure my Persona still worked, then used Eiha, a weak move which no one would likely notice, on a valve to ensure I was still combat-capable, before recalling him.

I didn’t know if I was alive in that moment, but at least for now I had to assume I was.

I looked down at the floor in introspection. I was alive… but how could I face the world now? Surely, if and when Shido confessed his crimes, he would spill everything about me out of spite. And then what? My nature as a bastard child, my status as a mass-murderer and corrupter of lives, a knowing accomplice to the schemes of a madman. The public, slaves to drama and order as they were, would turn on and reject me. My adoring fans would feel cheated and seek my spilled blood. No way was there a future for me in that world.

Death, of course, was an escape. But the more I thought, the more I wished there were a way out other than death, a way for me to start fresh without any of the burdens of the sins I carried. If only I could redo my life, or rebuild it somehow…

My thoughts were disrupted when the room started violently shaking. Catwalks fell from the ceiling, steam blew holes in pipes, objects were tossed about chaotically.

After I steadied myself and understood my situation, I grinned. They did it, I thought. They changed his heart, stole his treasure, and now the palace, no longer supported by the treasure at its core, began to fall apart. But, I was still trapped here, and if I didn’t get out then I would surely die.

Adrenaline rushed through my body as my fight-or-flight instinct reactivated. I looked around, searching for a way out of this place. A door, a vent, anything would do, but none could be seen.

A large explosion blew behind me, causing me to stumble forward covering my ears. When I turned around, I saw a hole had been blown in the wall, and seawater was now seeping in. I thought about how I was going to drown. But then, I realized I had a potential escape route.

I found a raft and a piece of wood to use as a makeshift row. After balancing myself, I quickly rowed my way out just as the water rose high enough to make the hole impassable.

It was night outside, as I rowed desperately away from the sinking ship. It didn’t matter where I rowed to; any direction would take me out of the palace if I went far enough. But I had to be quick; any second now and the distortion would disappear, and I didn’t want to be around when that happened, unsure what would happen if I were still in the palace when it disappeared.

I put all my strength into getting away, hoping to make it to the edge of the distortion. But no matter how fast or far I rowed, it seemed I made no progress in distancing myself from the burning wreckage of the ship behind me. I just have to paddle faster, I thought to myself, paddle like there’s a shark chasing me trying to eat me.

That’s when it happened. In an instant, the ship exploded, sending shrapnel and debris in all directions and creating a massive shockwave, throwing me off of my raft and hurtling forward. I expected to hit water; not the worst thing, since I could swim. Instead, I just kept falling. Falling into a black abyss, as the world around me faded and time seemed to slow.

Have you ever been on the boundary of sleep and wakefulness, where your sense of the world is hazed and your movements stiff and slow? That is what I felt like at that moment. I felt as though my body were hurtling through space in slow motion, the sounds of the world muted and slurred, all of my thoughts passing through my mind. In particular, the thought I had, of wanting to start my life over to right my wrongs, played through my head over and over. I barely registered the sudden white light that passed into my vision, the biting cold wind that assaulted my skin, or the sensation of hitting the cold, wet snow, the last thing I heard before losing consciousness the faint voice calling out to me.

Chapter Text

I was chained to a board. Dressed in striped prison garb, by limbs stretched out in an X, as all I could do was weakly look up at the shadowy judge looming above me, cloaked in a black robe and brandishing a gavel. All around me, more shadowed figures sat upon countless rows of benches towering high above, all laughing at me like hyenas.

“Mr. Akechi Goro,” the judge said in a booming voice, “you are guilty of crimes against humanity, being a bastard child, and a friendless scum who will die alone. How do you plead?”

I didn’t want to believe it. I knew it was true, but I didn’t want it to be. I didn’t want to be friendless, unloved, alone. I wanted to be accepted and adored, not to be tossed aside like a cat carcass in a Shinjuku back alley.

“Not guilty,” I said weakly. I looked down, and all around me the crowd erupted in uproarious laughter, flinging eggs, tomatoes and garbage at me and yelling profanities while blowing raspberries.

“Fool,” the judge chided, “you cannot escape the truth. We will make you pay for your crimes.” He turned his head. “Jury, what is the verdict?”

I looked over to the jury, which contained all the people I had betrayed with my lies but considered my friends - Sae-san, Sumire, Haru, Futaba, Makoto, Yusuke, Ann, the cat, Ryuji, Sojiro, Dr. Maruki and… him. All of them stood up and shouted in unison, “GUILTY!”

I looked back at the judge in horror, who in one swift motion threw off his robe, revealing his true figure, the bald head and orange glasses leaving no doubt that it was Shido. He smirked, chuckled, and bore down with his gavel.

I awoke.

For a few moments, I stared up blankly at the ceiling, my eyes open but my mind not fully conscious. What really stirred me awake was the smell - an earthen, ashy scent which wafted into my mouth and nose and stimulated my senses.

Pushing myself up, I rubbed the sand out of my eyes and took a moment to look around the room which I found myself in. I was laying in a futon with a red quilt, against the wall of a traditional-looking room with bamboo walls, an olive-green tatami sprawled across the floor, and a sliding door off to the right side. It was warm, and there was a fire crackling in a granite fireplace on the opposite wall. Looking at myself, I found I was back in my detective clothes, my shoes placed neatly at the foot of the futon with my gloves laid on top.

I had no clue how I ended up in this place. Obviously, this was someone’s home, and they had taken me back and were caring for me while I was unconscious. I vaguely remembered falling into the snow on the day the palace was destroyed, except there was no snow in Tokyo the day I confronted the thieves nor was there any in the forecast for several days. Had I really been knocked out for that long, I wondered? Whose home was I in? Where was I?

These thoughts went through my head, when I heard steps approaching the door. I turned toward it, and heard someone whistling as they fiddled with the latch before throwing it open. In walked a curious young woman, who had white hair so long it nearly reached down to the floor and had several red-and-white ribbons tied in it, with a large bow on top. She was also wearing a white button-up shirt and long, baggy red pants covered in what looked like ofuda and held up with red suspenders. She was also barefoot. In her hand was a silver plate with a bowl of soup on top, and she was smoking a cigarette.

She looked over to me, and stopped whistling. She took the cigarette out of her mouth and tossed it into the fire.

“Oh. You’re finally up,” she said. She laid the soup next to me, and I picked it up. It was fairly simple, just some noodles and vegetables floating in stock, but I was very hungry at that moment. “Here, eat up,” she told me. “I’ll go get you some tea.” She left the room briefly, during which I blew on the soup to cool it down before grasping some noodles and a carrot piece and eating them. The flavor… I couldn’t quite place it. It definitely wasn’t beef, and somehow it was distinct from chicken, and had a sort of gamey flavor to it.

The woman came back with two cups, and placed one next to me. Green tea, I could tell from looking in the cup. I took a sip, letting the scent flow through my nose as I did so. I couldn’t remember when was the last time I had traditional soup and tea like this, as my budget didn’t leave room for much else besides instant noodles and conveyor belt sushi.

“This soup,” I said. “It has quite a unique taste…”

The woman sat cross-legged beside me sipping her own tea. “I take it you’ve never had Crested Ibis before?”

My eyes widened in surprise. “Crested Ibis? You mean, Japanese Crested Ibis? But I thought those were critically endangered.”

“Maybe where you come from, but here they’re all over the damn place,” she said flatly. “In fact, if you wanted to you could just climb a tree and snatch one right out of the air.”

I was very confused. Crested Ibises were supposed to be all but extinct in the wild, except for wherever I had found myself apparently. I knew I couldn’t possibly be near Tokyo anymore, if that was the case.

“Excuse me,” I asked, “but, where am I?”

“...my house?” the woman said.

“Well, obviously,” I joked, “but where is your house?”

The woman looked up, and told me, “let’s say a place where things end up when humans no longer believe in their existence.” She looked back at me. “I saw you falling out of the sky while I was out walking, and you landed right in the snow. I dragged you back here and I’ve been pouring soup down your throat every day until now.”

“...how long was I out for?” I asked again.

“‘Bout a week or so? Today’s Christmas.”

“I see,” I nodded. “And then… a place where things that humans no longer believe in… what exactly do you-”

There was a knock on a door outside the room. “Come in,” the woman said. I heard a door open, and after a few moments another woman came in, also wearing an unusual dress which was blue-and white with a red ascot, periwinkle hair and what looked like a miniature pagoda hat on her head.

“Merry Christmas!” she smiled and waved.

“Right back at ya, Keine,” the white-haired woman said. “What brings you here? It’s frickn’ Siberian out there. And after the full moon yesterday I’dve thought you’d be chillin’ at your place!” As they chatted, it struck me as odd. Obviously, they were speaking Japanese, but it was an older-sounding dialect… Meiji-era, if my memory from my history classes served. What kind of place had I found myself in?

“Well, there’s no school today, and I know you’re terminally bored with winter, so I thought I’d drop by and cheer my Mokou up,” she said in a sing-song voice. She then glanced over at me. “...oh?”

The woman, whose name I guessed was Mokou, immediately tensed up and blushed. “It-it ain’t what it looks like! I just found ‘im out in the snow and took ‘im in to keep him from gettin’ hypothermia!” she pleaded in a country accent.

I bowed at the other woman, who was apparently named Keine. “Good morning,” I said politely. “My name is Goro Akechi. I just woke up.”

“Nice to meet you, Akechi-kun. I’m Keine Kamishirasawa.” She knelt down and held out her hand to shake mine. “I hope Mokou has been taking good care of you.”

I looked over. “Mokou?”

“Yeah. That’s me. Fujiwara no Mokou.”

Again, my eyes widened. “Fujiwara? As in, the Fujiwara clan?”

“The one and only,” Mokou said. I looked down, and thought about the history of the Fujiwara clan and how they dominated Heian Japan until their decline in the 12th century. “But, hasn’t the Fujiwara clan been gone for centuries?”

“Yeah,” Mokou said. “Doesn’t matter for me though. My dad’s been dead for, well, I forget. He was the guy who founded the clan, I’m sure you know him, Fujiwara no Fuhito.”

I was silent.

“How old are you?” I asked candidly.

“I’m a fuckin’ geezer,” Mokou answered. “Didn’t they tell you not to ask a lady about her age?” Both her and Keine had a hearty laugh over that one. “In all seriousness, I was really old before your great-great-great-great-great granddad was born.”

Again, I thought about what sort of place I had found myself in where Crested Ibises were common and there was a woman before me who was centuries old and claimed to be a daughter of the founder of the Fujiwara clan. She also mentioned something about the “Keine” lady being affected by the full moon. Did that mean she was a therianthrope?

So I asked Keine “tell me, where exactly am I right now?”

“Oh, of course,” she smiled. “Right now, you’re in a place called ‘Gensokyo.’ It’s a land sealed off from the rest of the world by a powerful barrier. This is where people and things people no longer fear or believe in end up, safe from the harm and loss of faith they face on the Outside.”

“Gensokyo.” A place not on any maps and which was sealed away from the rest of the world. A normal person would have thought it incredibly strange, but I realized it was little different from the Metaverse which I rampaged across for many years, and it piqued my curiosity to learn more about it. After all, I was probably going to be stuck here for at least a while.

What intrigued me the most was that she mentioned that only things forgotten by the world at large ended up here. Given my circumstances, that meant only one thing: I had been wiped away from the public’s cognition, either because I was still in the palace when it was destroyed, or for some other reason. Perhaps I had been given up for dead, and that’s why I couldn’t leave the palace, because no one would believe a dead man was walking. But I couldn’t tell anyone here about my crimes, or else they would scorn me as the public surely would. So I had to come up with a plausible lie, in case they asked about my past.

“I see,” I replied. “That’s very interesting.”

Keine chuckled. “You know, most outsiders would be freaking out right about now. You really are an interesting person, Akechi-kun. Where are you from, originally?”

“Tokyo,” I answered.

“Tokyo!” Mokou exclaimed before chuckling. “So, you’re a city boy, eh? Can’t say I’ve met too many Tokyo folks; most people who wind up here are Nagano, Niigata, Yamanashi or whatever.”

I tilted my head. “But I thought you said a barrier separates this from the rest of the world.”

“It does,” Keine explained. “It used to be part of the rest of the world, in a remote area just on the Sea of Japan side of the Japanese Alps of Nagano Prefecture. But because of the Great Hakurei Border, it now more or less exists in another dimension, but people sometimes slip in if they wander around where it would be if the barrier didn’t exist.”

I thought for a moment, then told them, “I think I know how I got here.”

“Oh?” Mokou wondered.

“Yes, you see, I’m a detective. In fact, people used to call me the Ace Detective Prince because of how good I was at solving crimes, and I’ve appeared on TV numerous times.”

“You look kinda young to be a detective,” Mokou said. “You look like you’re a high school kid.”

“I am,” I told her. I looked down glumly, and lied, “my parents both died when I was young, and I spent much of my time moving from one foster home to another.” I looked up again, and smiled. “But, my intellect and sleuthing skills didn’t go unnoticed, and an internship with the SIU during middle school became a job which I balanced with my school life. I live on my own, and make quite a bit of money too. Plus, I have many, many rabid fangirls.”

“I can’t see why you wouldn’t,” Mokou said rubbing her chin. “Young, handsome polite thing you are, smart, charismatic, any girl would be lucky to have ‘ya.” She sat back up. “But, something must’ve happened for you to come here.”

“Yes. I was investigating a corrupt politician, one who was running for Prime Minister. Just as I was about to bust him, though, his hired Yakuza goons came after me, and the building I was in was set on fire and burned to the ground as a result. I got out, of course, but it was a rather intense explosion. It’s easy to imagine me not surviving it. After that, I fell through the darkness until I ended up here.” As I finished my story, I could see Keine looking at me with a scrutinizing look.

“What’s wrong, Kamishirasawa-san?” I asked.

“Oh, it’s nothing,” she dismissed. “And you can just me Keine. We’re not super on top of honorifics here in Gensokyo; I just called you Akechi-kun because I know they’re still all about that Outside.”

I nodded, “ah, I understand.”

Keine looked around, then said, “well, in this case, I should probably get you to the village. You’ll be safest there.” She got up and turned to Mokou, “I promise I’ll be back.”

“Eh, no rush,” Mokou said. “I’m used to being a bit of a hermit anyway.”

“You know that’s not good for you,” Keine chided. “Just because you’re an immortal doesn’t mean you can just not talk to people.”

“Whatever,” Mokou said.

Keine helped me up and led me to the front door. She was right: it was very cold out there, and thick snow covered the ground, although it wasn’t actively snowing right now. I could see the sun peeking through the thin cloud cover in the sky.

“Can I borrow a scarf from you, Mokou? I promise I’ll give it back,” Keine asked.

“I don’t mind. I never get cold, after all.”

Keine chuckled. “Of course you don’t.” She reached for a scarf and said, “here.” I took it, wrapped it around my neck, and said my goodbyes to Mokou as we walked out into the white world outside her home.

All around, there were thick, tall bamboo shoots, unlike anything I’ve ever seen before, stretching out as far as I could see, and various animals dove in and out from between them.

“I’ve never seen bamboo forests this large,” I said.

“It’s not called the Bamboo Forest of the Lost for no reason,” Keine said. “Mokou makes her living either guiding lost travelers out of it, or toward the mansion Eientei. There’s a doctor who lives there who makes all sorts of medicines.”

“Interesting,” I noted.

We continued along the path, and I found myself asking, “so, the village. Is there only one?”

“Yes,” Keine explained. “We also call it the Human Village, since that’s where most of the humans live.”

“Are there not-humans who live here?” I asked.

“I’m sure you’re familiar with youkai from Shinto, correct?”

“Of course,” I smiled. “Creatures embodying human beliefs and fears and who served as explanations for various phenomena before they found other explanations. They told us all about them in my history classes.”

“You’re quite the sharp student,” Keine praised. “Anyway, those live here too, and they often try to attack humans. Some of them even still eat humans, although never any in Gensokyo, only ones brought in from Outside by Yukari who are either attempting suicide, or are inmates on death row blocks.”

“Who is Yukari?” I asked.

Keine laughed. “That’s your first question? You’re not the least bit afraid of man-eating beasts coming for you?”

“I don’t see how the danger is any different from those in my job,” I said, glossing over, of course, my experiences facing mythical beings in the Metaverse.

“You are a strange one,” Keine noted. “Anyway, Yukari is one of the three sages who helped to create the Border. She’s a powerful boundary manipulator, and can come and go as she pleases. The second one is Kasen; you probably know her better as Ibaraki-Douji. She can guide animals and wields powerful Hermit magic. She can also come and go from the border as she sees fit. The third one, however, has kind of been lost to time, and no one remembers their name or what they look like. They leave the work of maintaining the border to the Hakurei Shrine, which is always staffed by a shrine maiden who can channel the border’s powers and those of the enshrined kami. I’m sure you’ll meet her at some point; she comes down to the village fairly frequently.”

“That’s good to know who runs this place,” I said. “And I’m sure avoiding the youkai who live here will be simple, since they are monsters and all.”

“Well, it’s not as easy as you might imagine,” Keine warned. “Most appear in human-seeming forms most of the time, either to lure you into a trap or just out of personal preference. There’s even a few who come and go from the village, although I make sure they never cause trouble. I help run the town, and I also teach at the school. It’s a fairly low-key place, and most of the people there are content to just live out their lives in and around it. There’s a very strong sense of community.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” I told her. “In Tokyo, there’s millions of people, but it seems like everybody just goes around caring only about themselves and never looking out for anyone else.”

“You just can’t get that in the big city,” Keine told me. “We don’t have things like skyscrapers, internet, cars, trains or anything like that, but we also don’t have the smog, pollution, crime, and depressed mood they have either.”

“How would you know? It’s not like you can leave this place,” I asked.

“Oh, we’re not completely ignorant of the goings-on outside. We only get bits and pieces, sure, but we know the world has changed a lot since this place was sealed back in the day.”

“I see.” We walked further along the path, before I asked her, “how did you become friends with Mokou-san?”

Keine looked down, and I could tell she was hesitating to tell me something. “Well… let’s just say I was disowned by my parents when I was little, and she stepped in to help raise me. The least I can do is help keep her from being such a hermit. She’s immortal, so from her perspective, humans die in a flash. That’s why she doesn’t make friends with any.”

I smiled. “But there must be something special about you, and that’s why she raised you.”

Keine smiled at me. “Well, I guess. Eventually I came back to the village, and found my parents on their deathbed, sick from a very severe flu. They apologized to me for disowning me, and told me to use my talents for good. And so, that’s what I do. I teach the kids, and I defend the village.”

“How do you defend the village from powerful youkai, though?” I asked. “Surely, a human like you wouldn’t stand much of a chance.”

“I’m stronger than I look,” Keine boasted. “And, I have a special ability.”

“Hm?”

“I can hide history, make it seem as though there never was a village. It fools even the strongest of youkai every time.”

“That’s… very interesting, Keine-san.”

Keine giggled. “Those honorifics are really ingrained in you, aren’t they?”

After some time walking, we emerged from a clearing, on a small hill overlooking a village nestled in a valley. It was quite large, and even though it was winter I could see many dots along the streets between the buildings, people running around doing their daily business.

“This is the place,” Keine told me. “When we get down there, I’ll ask around and help find you some lodging. Knowing me, it won’t be too hard.”

“Thank you, Keine-san.”

We hiked down the hill and through the town gates. I studied the town around me, the place that would serve as my home, at least for a while. All around me, farmers pulled rickshaws, kids built up snow sculptures and had snowball fights, merchants sold their wares from traditional wooden storefronts. As we walked around, Keine stopped to ask some people if they had any spare rooms for me. I was out of place in my modern detective outfit, compared to the traditional kimonos most everyone else wore, although some were wearing vaguely western-style clothes such as heavy, baggy work pants and boots. Predictably, I got some stares from people, not just because of my clothes but also because of my brown hair which, although natural, was widely assumed to be dyed even in Tokyo, and everyone else here had black hair. It made me wonder what it would be like for me to be stuck in this place…

...but then, I wasn’t sure I wanted to face the world outside again either.

Eventually, we came to a storefront calling itself the “Kirisame Secondhand Shop.” This time, Keine led me under the paper lanterns and into the shop, where shelves lined the walls and tables filled the center, all holding books, toys, tools, and various other knick-knacks. At the counter was an older gentleman reading a book, who looked at us when the bell on the door rang.

“Ah, miss Kamishiraswa!” he said. “Merry Christmas!”

“Thanks,” Keine smiled. “I didn’t expect you would be open today.”

“Oh, you know, people have been coming in getting things for their families at the last minute. Not much, but it is money. And I don’t really have a family to look after, so why not keep the shop open?”

“I suppose,” Keine said. “Anyway, I saw your sign out front, saying you were looking for live-in work? I have this gentleman here looking for a place to stay. He recently arrived here from Tokyo.”

Mr. Kirisame rolled his eyes. “Oh, is she fooling around again?”

“I don’t think so,” Keine said. “He says he came here after narrowly escaping being killed.”

I stepped up and bowed. “Pleased to meet you sir, my name is Goro Akechi.”

Mr. Kirisame chuckled. “Pleasure to meet you too. I’m Masato Kirisame, and I’m the owner of this shop.” He turned to Keine. “Quite the polite young lad you brought in. Are you sure you picked him up?”

Keine blushed and stammered, “uh, it’s not like that at all!” She huffed. “I hate it when you do that.”

“Sorry,” Masato laughed. “He just seems like a natural lady-charmer. I’m sure I won’t have any trouble getting business with him around.”

“If that’s what you think, maybe I should take him to Mr. Morichika instead,” Keine joked. “I’m sure he could use some extra business.”

Masato paused, then cleared his throat. “Anyway, so you need a place to stay?”

“Of course,” I said.

“Well then, I’ll just give you the grand tour, then show you your room.” He waved me into the back storage room as Keine waved and made her way back out.

A few hours later, once it got dark, Masato snuffed the lanterns outside and flipped the sign on his door to Closed. He was also kind enough to make dinner, grilling up a fish and serving it with rice and vegetables.

“So, I haven’t actually asked you about your life before this,” he said. “Why don’t you tell me a little about yourself?”

So I told him a bit about my past, using the same partially fabricated story I had told Keine and Mokou earlier. Honestly, I felt bad doing it, but if there was someone I didn’t want to know about my murderous past it was the man giving me a bed.

“I see,” he said rubbing his chin. “That must have been hard for you, living without your folks. But, you seem like you’ve built your life back up quite well.”

“It certainly seems so,” I smiled. “Although I guess I did choose a tumultuous path.”

“As dangerous as the youkai here are, sometimes I feel the world outside is even more fraught, what with all the gangs, crime and corruption. It’s good to know hardworking people with a strong sense of justice like you are around to combat it.”

Justice… I pondered what that word meant, and if I was worthy of having it be able to describe me, after what I did. I tried my best not to get hung up on it, though, since I knew Masato would catch on to my brooding.

“It’s not work everyone can do,” I told him. “But you could say I have a natural talent.”

“Maybe you could help the shrine maiden out with solving incidents.”

“Oh yes, the shrine maiden. What is she like?”

Masato adjusted his glasses. “Well, I knew her mother, and watched her be trained. Her mother died in a storm, struck by lightning, when she was twelve, so she’s been holding the duty down ever since. She can be cold and distant to strangers, but deep down she’s a compassionate person who can make friends with anyone if you get her out of her shell. She’s good at what she does, but many of the villagers are wary of her, since she has a lot of youkai friends as well. Her shrine doesn’t get many visitors and donations as a result. Thankfully, her youkai friends are all marshmallows; there aren’t really any real human-hating youkai left in Gensokyo these days, though I will caution they’re still out there. Her mother invented, and she perfected, a system where people can duel using special magical cards that allow everyone, human, youkai, and god, to fight on an even field, and the sages mandated their use. This place has been very peaceful since then as a result.”

“It sounds like she has a very hard job as well,” I commented.

“She does support the barrier, and keeps the balance of Gensokyo. She’s helped put down many incidents over the years.”

I took a bit of my food, then said, “I hope I get the chance to meet her. She sounds like a good person to know, if I’m going to be here.”

“Go right for it,” he said. “Maybe you could charm her,” he winked.

“Oh, I have no such intention,” I dismissed, chuckling. “I may attract fangirls, but I’m a gentleman who doesn’t believe in superficial relationships.”

“I don’t know, when I was your age I was quite the ladies’ man,” he claimed.

“Sounds a lot like Sakura-san,” I laughed.

“Sakura-san?” Masato asked.

“He’s the owner of a coffee shop in Tokyo’s Yongenjaya ward. I would often go there after school or work. He makes very good coffee and curry. And right now he’s actually housing a young man like myself in his store’s attic.”

“How come?” Masato asked.

I thought for a moment about him… Ren, was it? Sometimes I called him Akira for some reason. I thought about the injustice he suffered at Shido’s hands, and how alike we were in spite of our rivalry.

“He was wrongfully convicted of assault after shoving a drunk man off of a woman, and was given a year’s probation. He was expelled from his school, and a private school in Aoyama-Itchome was the only place that would take him. His parents were friends of a frequent customer of Sakura’s, so he offered to take him in and report to his probation officer. In addition, Sakura makes him work in the shop too.”

“Sounds an awful lot like your situation right now,” Masato noted. “Although, that boy sounds like he met some real injustice, if he was punished for his good deed.”

There’s that word again, Justice. How Justice failed Ren, and how it failed me as well… or, did I fail it? Bastardize its meaning? Disguise my crimes as Justice?

“Something wrong?”

I snapped back to the present. “Oh, sorry, it’s nothing.” But it was something.

After dinner, I helped clean up the kitchen and the shop, and Masato walked me upstairs to a furnished room. It was rather sparse, but that was to be expected. Just a futon, a closet and a window. I could tell it had recently been cleaned up, and scuff marks told of furniture that used to be in there.

“This is your room,” he said. It was lit by a candle, and outside I could see the snowflakes gently hitting the window. “The washroom is downstairs in the back, the outhouse is just outside it and there’s a well outside too.” He gave me a set of sleeping robes. “You can have these, and I’ll get you some kimonos and underclothes your size in the morning.”

“Thank you, Kirisame-san,” I said.

“You should get some rest,” he told me. “I’m sure you’ve had a stressful day, and this is a big change in your life.” As he walked out of the room, he looked back and said, “good night.”

I was indeed very tired, and removed my detective clothes and hung them up before slipping on the robes. I snuffed the candle and slipped under the covers. For a long time, I lay there thinking. Thinking about my life going forward, and how my life before that fateful night had ended. Even if I was leaving modern niceties behind, so was I leaving my tortured past and role as Black Mask.

...or, perhaps I was merely running away from it. Hiding from it in the one place the angry mobs wouldn’t find me. Hiding from where Justice couldn’t…

There again was that word, Justice. What exactly did it mean, I wondered? Was it fighting for your ideals? Fighting to defend the weak? Righting the crimes of corrupt individuals, no matter the cost or methods? Getting revenge? Could my actions be considered any of those? Causing crimes by initiating psychotic breakdowns, an ability born from the hate in my heart, and then using my real detective skills to solve fake crimes? Assassinating people on Shido’s orders who were parents? Who was responsible? Shido for ordering the killing, or me for pulling the trigger? Were we both guilty? These were questions which tormented and tantalized me for quite a while. And then, there was the scorn I would receive if the truth of my parentage ever got out, and how my mere existence was a slight, a scandal and a flaw.

Before I knew it, my eyelids became heavy… and the darkness seemed to encompass my mind...

Chapter Text

When I awoke, I stretched out, which was when I realized there were no covers on me. I propped myself up, and saw that I was in some kind of dark void, except I myself was lighted. What is this place?, I wondered. How did I get here?

The last thing I remembered was lying in the futon Mr. Kirisame had provided me. Somehow, I had been transported to this place, but there was no sign of how I could have gotten here. Was it related to the cognitive world, I wondered? After all, I fell through a black void as I was being thrown from Shido’s Palace to Gensokyo.

I looked around me to see if there was anything else here, and behind me was a set of blue doors. I approached them, and when I got close I could see they were styled like the wooden doors of a cathedral, complete with hand rings with which to open it. With no other objects in sight in the void around me, I tried the doors, and after some resistance they creaked open. I went inside.

Within the doors was a large, blue room resembling a courtroom. Unlike the courtroom in my previous nights’ nightmare, this one had an oddly calming atmosphere, with blue drapery, carpets and banners with a Gothic, golden letter “V” emblazoned on them. The benches were all empty, as was the jury box. In the center of the room was another “V” symbol, this one much larger than the others. Unlike the impossibly high judge’s desk of the nightmare, only a single step led up to it and the desk was a realistic height, and topped with a piece of paper and a pot of ink with a quill in it. A small set of wood doors allowed me to cross through the bar and into the middle of the room.

At first, there was no one else in the room besides me. Once I passed the bar, however, a young girl with flowing platinum blonde hair tied with butterfly pins walked in from the left. She was dressed in a wide blue dress and had puffy black pants, she had eyes of gold, and under her arm she held a very thick grimoire. She stopped just to the left of the judge’s desk, bowed and smiled. When I looked back up, all of a sudden there was an old man at the desk dressed in a black suit, who had a long nose and a constant grin, and who was lacing his fingers together.

He reached out with a gloved hand. “Welcome to the Velvet Room.”

I paused. Velvet Room? What was this place, and where was I right now, I wondered.

“...I beg your pardon?” I asked.

“It is as my master said,” the girl told me. She did a curtsey. “My name is Lavenza. I am the attendant of my master.”

“My name is Igor,” the man announced, “and I am the master of this place. I am pleased to make your acquaintance.”

This was very strange, I thought. Who were these people, exactly?

“I don’t understand,” I said. “One moment, I was lying in bed, the next, I was brought here. Is this another part of ‘Gensokyo?’”

Lavenza shook her head. “This place is separate from the realm in which you have found yourself.”

Igor held out his hand again, “this place exists between dream and reality, time and space. It is the place which lies at the heart of the collective unconscious, around which flows the Sea of Souls.”

Lavenza stepped forward. “You are experiencing this as a dream. Your body in reality is fast asleep. In other words, the you in this room is the manifestation of your mind, heart and soul. This room reflects the state of your heart, as well.”

I looked around again at the courtroom-seeming place, and asked the logical question, “why does this place appear as a courtroom, then?”

Lavenza closed your eyes, and looked down. “You’re an unusual guest, by the standards of our past guests. You were granted the power of the Wild Card by a being which impersonated and imprisoned my master. But because of the state of your heart, you could only manifest two Personas: one for your lies, and one for your hate.”

Igor then cut in to explain, “the Wild Card represents the power to wield multiple Personas, built up and nourished by the bonds which you form with others. Only those who have signed a contract may enter this place, and use this power to its fullest potential.”

“But since you never entered a formal contract, your Wild Card was incomplete, leaving you only with your broken and distorted bonds with yourself, and that of your father,” Lavenza added. “Until now, you have never been able to enter this place as a proper guest.”

I scratched my head. So, that power, which that god had given me, was called the Wild Card? And it was properly handled by this room, by these people? And a contract…

...I had made a deal with Ren, back on that ship, when I begged for him to bring down Shido. And before that I had formed a bond with him during our repeated visits. Even though I knew I was going to kill him, I couldn’t help but form a relationship which came the closest to me making a real friend. In the end, I wound up not wanting to do it, but by that point was obligated to...

“Tell me,” I asked, “was Ren also a ‘Wild Card?’”

Igor chuckled. “Indeed. Your intuition is very sharp. It was through your bond with him that the contract could be sealed, and allow you access to this place.”

Lavenza continued, “the evil god’s machinations left him to come to this place in a distorted state. I was split in two, and my master here was imprisoned. Only through his will could this place be repaired, and its torch passed to you.”

Well, he was known for doing the impossible, I supposed. And I guessed fixing an otherworldly space wasn’t far out of the question, especially if he overcame the chains society bound him in and rebelled against the god.

“How does that relate to this room being a courtroom?” I asked.

“As I said before, it reflects the state of your heart,” Lavenza said. “This room takes a different form based on the guest who visits it. In your case, you feel as though you are to face judgement.”

“Judgement?” I wondered.

“Think back to the crimes you committed at your father’s direction: the numerous psychotic breakdowns, and the mental shutdowns, particularly of the parents of two of the Phantom Thieves you knew. These sins are what you are running from, and you fear the weight of them will bring dire consequences later.”

I looked down. The crimes I committed… the sheer hatred I had for my bastard father, and the broken childhood he left me as a result. My desire to be respected and adored, but even more my incessant lust for revenge, so strong I was willing to kneel to him and do his bidding long enough to get close to and kill him, no matter what it took. But… all of that was moot, now. My dreams of recognition were gone. All that was left was those innumerable crimes I committed. Crimes which would surely damn me to Hell. Crimes for which I would never be forgiven.

“...I see,” I said. I looked up again. “What can you possibly do to help me? A killer without remorse, a criminal, a person no one likes?”

“It is true that you are in a dire situation,” Lavenza said. “But circumstances have put you in the best place to start over, to overcome the darkness which taints your heart.”

“...Gensokyo?” I asked.

“That is correct,” Lavenza replied. “When your father’s palace was destroyed, everything in it ceased to exist in the public’s cognition, including you. Out there, there is no longer any trace of Goro Akechi. Only those who formed a bond with you, such as Ren, recall your existence. That is why you appeared within Gensokyo, a place where all those forgotten and disbelieved end up.”

So I was correct, I realized. I ended up in this realm because, effectively, there was no longer any trace or memory of me out there. Somehow, I felt very relieved, because it meant my crimes would be unknown. Even if Shido remembered me and tried to pin the blame on me, everyone would simply regard him as a babbling madman.

...but at the same time, I had been completely forgotten. All proof of my existence, my fame, my fangirls… okay, I could have done without the fangirls, to be honest. But still, all of that was gone. My whole identity was erased. I was no one, once again. And it was worse than before, as I still had all those crimes on my head, even if no one could ever know of them.

“So I have been forgotten, and am back to being alone…”

“Nonsense,” Igor smiled. “This is merely a new beginning, a chance to reinvent yourself and build a new circle of bonds.”

I looked up and scowled, “but how can I restart my life if I have nothing but my crimes?”

“Your crimes are not known in this new land,” Lavenza explained. “And the people who call it home are not like the people who live out in the broader world. I’ve observed it, and I’m sure it will be the perfect place in which to base your journey.”

“...my journey?” I asked, puzzled. “What sort of ‘journey’ am I on?”

“A journey to rediscover the Justice you have lost,” Lavenza said. “You possess a naturally strong sense of Justice, which has been blackened and distorted by the tortured life you have led, and the blood on your hands as a result. While there is nothing you can do to right the wrongs of your past, you can rebuild yourself and reestablish the Justice you hold so dear. By doing that, you can escape the negative judgement that awaits you. But it will require substantial effort on your part, and that is why we wish to assist you.”

“We will help you develop your Wild Card to its fullest potential,” Igor added. “You are already well-versed in the power of Persona, so there is little I can say that you would not know. But to fully realize the power of the Wild Card, one must establish mutual bonds with other individuals with a wide variety of personalities and lifestyles.”

I thought for a moment. “Mutual bonds… friends, in other words?”

“Yes,” Lavenza nodded. “By forming these bonds, the power of your own heart increases and you can assume multiple Personas.”

A chance to make real friends. Unlike the Outside, Gensokyo presented none of the barriers that kept me from associating much with others before. It would be difficult for me, as all those years of neglect and isolation left me what others would call a jerk, and I readily admitted I was a jerk. But if I came out of that shell, perhaps I could become a more sociable person, and actually become the pleasant boy I projected myself as.

“I see no downside with this offer,” I said. “What do you want in return?”

“Only for you to commit to your journey,” Igor grinned. “I eagerly await the outcome of your trials.”

Behind me, the doors opened again, this time with white light pouring out of them.

“The night is winding down,” Lavenza said. “If you walk through those doors, you will wake up. There is nothing more we can do for you today, but we will summon you once again when the time is right.”

I bowed, “understood.” I turned around, and walked toward the doors, the light overtaking me as reality around me seemed to fade.

Chapter Text

After walking out the doors of the Velvet Room, I found myself awake in the empty bedroom.

It was dark, as was to be expected in the middle of Winter, so soon after the solstice. Specks of snow froze onto the glass window, as the dull blue glow outside heralded the rising sun.

I rose from my futon and instinctively fondled for a light switch, only to realize that there wasn’t one, just the candle from last night. I will admit, living without modern conveniences that you don’t often think about, such as light, running water and whatnot, can be very frustrating. It really did seem as though I had gone back in time to Medieval Japan, and had no choice but to adapt.

With nothing else to do, I opened the door to the room, and found an orange glow coming from downstairs. Mr. Kirisame must be up, I thought to myself. So I went down to see what he was doing.

As it turned out, he was making his breakfast, and reading his book. When he heard me coming into the room, he put his book down and looked up at me.

“Good morning!” he said. “Did you sleep well?”

“Yes,” I bowed. “It was surprisingly comfortable and warm.”

“This place has good insulation,” he said. “Better than most homes in the village, strong enough to live through an earthquake, and I get the place blessed often to keep the fairies out.”

I tilted my head. “Fairies?”

“Yeah, they’re a thing here too,” he told me. “Dumb, steal stuff all the time and play pranks. You don’t keep wards around, they get into everything. You can’t even really kill them, because they just come right back a few hours later. Just like flies, and mosquitoes. That’s why my shop gets a lot of business: people love coming here, because they feel safe here, so they leave their old stuff for other people to buy.” He looked around, and breathed out heavily. “This place is my pride, but I’m an old guy and havin’ trouble keeping up. Glad I can have you around.”

“It’s my pleasure,” I smiled. “I’m just thankful for you giving me a place to stay, as well as work.”

Masato chuckled. “You know, you’re a very polite and pleasant young man. I know at least a few people who could take a cue from you.”

“Oh?” I asked.

“We have a saying around here, that common sense doesn’t exist in Gensokyo. Of course, with all the weird stuff happening all the time for no reason, common sense wouldn’t do most people any good. So you’d better be extra good about keeping up those good manners of yours, or else you’ll probably end up as some belligerent drunk.”

“I… see,” I said awkwardly.

Masato then reached into a shelf, and pulled out some men’s kimonos and garbs. “Why don’t you head upstairs and try these on?” he asked me. “I’m sure those clothes you came here in are really dirty, and you’ll look out of place.”

“Of course,” I said. I took the clothes and headed up to try them on. By now, it was a little lighter, and I could see the inside of the room better. I was busy tying the waistband of a navy-blue one, when I noticed a glint coming from the futon.

“Hm?” I knelt down and inspected where the glint came from. Picking it up, I saw it was an ornate, gold key. Odd, I thought. I didn’t remember having something like this on me when I came here, nor did I recall it being in the room last night. Could it have something to do with that strange dream I had last night, in the “Velvet Room?”

I shrugged, and simply put it in a pocket for now. I went over to the closet next to hang up the extra clothes, as well as get my detective outfit so that I could wash it later. I noticed an old, dusty scrap off in the corner, and decided to pick it up as I had promised Masato I would keep the room clean.

“How did this get here?” I asked myself. Masato did say the room was recently cleaned, so maybe he just missed this scrap when he was cleaning up. I was just about to ball it up and take it to a wastebasket when I flipped it around, and saw that there was a drawing on the back of it. It was badly smudged, but I could make out two crude stick figures in front of a rectangle with a childish sun in the sky, one tall and one short with yellow lines behind it like hair, and the words “ME AND DADDY SIGNED MA-” and the rest of it was a carbon smudge.

I looked at the picture, then looked around the room. I had already noted that the floor had scuff marks, as if furniture had once been in there but had recently been moved. I wondered: had this room been a child’s room at some point? Masato didn’t mention having children, nor had he ever said anything about having a wife, which seemed odd given how he described himself as a ladies’ man. I realized I could ask about it… but then, he probably had reasons not to mention those things, the same as how I didn’t wish to tell people of my past. Besides, I didn’t want to risk getting thrown out for angering him in case it was a touchy subject. So I crumpled it up, tossed it into the waste bin near the door and went back downstairs to start my day.

After breakfast, I washed myself by going outside and getting water from the well. Since it had snowed last night, Masato also gave me a shovel to dig a path to the well. This took a while, and once I had reached it I filled a bucket before going back inside to fill a wash basin. This took three trips, and then I had to wait a few minutes for the water to warm up before I could use it. Even then, it was very cold, but Masato insisted I wash myself, so I did my best to make it brief, sticking to washing my hair and everywhere else that was dirty. Fortunately there was a convenient drain in the washroom which I could simply dump the water down, lest I had to actually drag the basin outside and dump the water somewhere. Once I was cleaned up, I met Masato up front, just as he opened up the store, and he put me to work.

The first thing he had me do was take the shovel and clear out the space in front of the door so that customers could enter the store. This also gave me a chance to observe the street just outside the store, where people cleared the snow outside of their homes, and others simply made their way down the street while running their morning errands. Children dragged sleds down the street, covered in fresh snow from last night, and made even more snowmen and snow forts. Across the street, there was an odd, young orange-haired girl in a checkered dress shoveling snow in front of her door, which judging by the sign was a bookstore. When she noticed me, she smiled and waved. She seemed like a pleasant enough girl, I thought, so I smiled back. Not long after, a tall woman with glasses and a cat-smile came up to her, talked briefly, then the orange-haired girl let her inside. In the woman’s company was a pink-haired girl with a blank expression and a mask on the side of her head, wearing thick winter clothes. Watching this girl was a little unnerving, since it literally seemed as though her expression never changed; even an exhausted salaryman on the subway on his way home from work will have subtle changes in facial expression, so hers seemed all the more unnatural. I swore, however, that the mask seemed to change to another mask as they stepped inside, and I took this as another example of Gensokyo’s various oddities. Just what sorts of things and kinds of people lived here, I thought?

After I cleared out the rest of the snow, I went back inside, taking off the heavy jacket now speckled in droplets of melted snow and hanging it up to dry. Masato was across the store behind the counter helping a customer, so I took a broom and started sweeping.

Eventually, he finished up and looked at me. “Hey, thanks for helping to keep the store clean. Barely have the time or energy anymore to do it myself.”

“It’s a pleasure,” I smiled. I looked out the window. “By the way, across the street there was this girl…”

“Oh, you mean Kosuzu?” Masato said. “Her family runs the bookstore. Nice girl, comes in here a lot, but she can talk your ear off about all the things she reads about in those books of theirs.”

“They must have a lot of books to read if she’s so into them,” I remarked.

“Well, she has this ability to read and translate text of any language,” Masato added. “They have all sorts of odd books in their collection, and Rinnosuke often brings them new ones that keep falling through the border.”

“Who’s Rinnosuke?” I asked.

“Rinnosuke Morichika. Keine mentioned him yesterday, if you recall.”

“...oh, when she asked if he needed a lady-charmer to boost his business?” I joked.

“Yeah,” Masato smiled. “Anyway, he’s a family friend, and he knew my parents. He owns a junk shop just outside of town. Nice guy, but he gets cold and distant sometimes, which might be why he doesn’t get a lot of business. Well, that and he’s a half-youkai, so there’s rumors about him.”

“Wait… so, he’s half-human, half-youkai?” I asked again. “I wasn’t aware such people existed.”

“It’s more common than you’d think. Most of the time, it’s because something like a mountain oni taking a woman out walking alone, or a wandering devil or yuki-onna seducing a man long enough to, well, you know. But, sometimes a human and a youkai just fall in love, which of course causes people to start talking about you, since the two are supposed to be enemies.”

I looked down and closed my eyes. People being taken against their will so that the other side could do as they pleased…

“...something wrong?” he asked.

“Oh, sorry,” I said, snapping back. “I was wondering…” How to change the subject? “I noticed this tall building just that way,” I said, pointing.

“Oh, yes, the Hieda House. They’re the richest family in town, and the oldest too. This village used to be an ancient plantation owned by them, in fact, and they offered it as a refuge to humans living here, which is how the town started. They have an odd custom: there’s a person, usually a girl, who lives there called the Child of Miare. She doesn’t live very long, but she reincarnates every century or so and can remember everything from her past lives. She maintains the Gensokyo Chronicle, which is a record of everything that happens during their lifespans here in Gensokyo. If you count her previous lives, she’s been with us for over a thousand years.”

I took this all in: a girl who endlessly reincarnates in order to take down a record of this land? That must mean an afterlife exists, too… which also meant that a judge of the dead likely existed as well. One who would see all the sins I committed, and not think twice about casting me down to Hell…

My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the bell on the door ringing. I turned around, and in came a girl in a red-and-white dress, a heavy jacket and a yellow scarf. In her hand was a long staff with a tassel on it - a gohei, like the ones the attendants at the Meiji Shrine used. She set it by the door and hung up her scarf and jacket, revealing that the sleeves on her dress were detached. My first thought was how someone could possibly wear such a dress in weather like this, but from her stoic expression it was clear she didn’t care about that.

“Oh, morning, Reimu!” Masato said to her. “I didn’t think you’d be down here this early.”

Reimu sighed. “Well, it helps when the shrine is mostly free of ‘guests’ and I can actually get through my chores. Also helps that I can make Clownpiece melt all the snow in exchange for candy and letting her live under the shrine.” She produced a set of ofuda, and started making her way around the store, placing them in specific spots and saying a short prayer each time.

“Who is she?” I asked Masato.

“That’s Reimu Hakurei. She’s the keeper of the Hakurei Shrine and the border,” he explained.

I gave Reimu another look. For a shrine maiden, she sure did have a strange outfit that contrasted with the plain red-and-white dresses that mikos in Outside shrines wore. Perhaps this land, in its isolation, had developed customs separate from ours. I also realized she was the one Masato and everyone else talked about, who supported the barrier and put down ‘incidents.’ At first glance, she didn’t seem like much more than a normal priestess, but there was a space between her shirt and skirt, and when she bent over it sometimes exposed part of a scar on her back. She was also noticeably more toned than most women that I knew, even the aikido-practicing Makoto. It was clear to me that she did quite a bit of work, even if it wasn’t obvious.

Reimu soon placed her last ofuda before turning around to us. “Sorry, did I come in while you were helping a customer?”

“Oh, no, he’s my new employee,” Masato told her. “He’s helping keep the place cleaned and organized for me.”

Reimu then turned to me, and stared at me with scrutinizing eyes. “Can’t say I’ve seen you before.”

I bowed. “My name is Goro Akechi. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Hakurei-san.”

Reimu giggled. “Wow, you’re polite. You must be from the Outside, then. Nobody here uses honorifics very often.” She paused, then spoke, “you from Tokyo?”

“How did you know?” I said, surprised.

“I can tell by your accent. Never doubt a shrine maiden’s intuition, especially not a Hakurei Shrine maiden,” she smiled. “Tokyo’s a little out of the way for people who normally wander in through weak spots. I wonder if Yukari’s fooling around again…”

“I was a detective in Tokyo,” I added. “I narrowly escaped a building explosion while I was investigating a Yakuza triad, but it must have looked like I should have died. That’s how I ended up here.”

Reimu shrugged. “Well, I mean, this IS the place where things people have forgotten or disbelieve end up. I suppose a near-death experience that leaves people thinking you’re toast would count.”

It was then that Masato suggested, “why don’t I make some tea for us?”

Reimu clapped her hands together. “You know me, I’m always down for tea.”

“Excellent. Goro, would you mind steeping some tea in the kettle for us?”

I paused. Truth be told, if there was one area where I couldn’t be called an “ace,” it was cooking. When you’ve spent your life moving from one foster home to another and then on your own in a cheap (well, relatively speaking) studio apartment in Tokyo without a real kitchen, even something as simple as making tea was scary. That, and I was also convinced I was just that terrible at cooking. I still remember one day after we secured the treasure route to Sae-san’s palace where we were all at Leblanc where Ren had decided to do a curry cook-off to see who could make the best. It was probably just an excuse for him to flaunt his skills, since even Sakura-san conceded it was better than the curry he made. I, on the other hand, made what could only be considered a bioweapon. I was sure I was doing everything as the instructions told, but in the end the curry had a sinister purple glow and when Ren took a bite of it, he fell onto the floor choking and gagging, which left me amused and highly embarrassed at the same time. The kicker, though, was that for some reason he made everyone else try it. They all had nearly the same reaction, and there were many expletives and jeers; even Haru, sweet as she was, was just barely staying polite as she told me how foul it was. After everyone else left, Ren told me that he often trolled them like that, and when I asked him why he didn’t make me eat it he said “because I wanted someone to share the schadenfreude with.” At the time I thought he was just mocking me for my poor cooking skills, but on the other hand he genuinely delighted in force-feeding his friends toxic curry, and it didn’t seem to matter who made it. It again made me wonder just what sorts of thoughts went through his head, if he respected me enough to not subject me to my own cooking or just wanted someone to share the burden of torturing his friends with.

“What’s wrong?” Masato asked.

“Uh, err, you see…” I said, before Reimu poked me.

“Oh, come on,” she snided. “You can’t even make something as basic as tea?” She giggled. “You’re hopeless. Guess that’s what you get for being a city boy who just buys everything.” She walked toward the kitchen. “I can make the tea if you want, Masato.”

Masato shook his head. “You really can’t make tea?” he asked me.

“Well… the thing is, nobody ever taught me, since I was an orphan and all…” I shuffled my feet around.

Masato stood there for a moment, thinking, then snapped his fingers.

“Ah. I see.” He smiled. “Well, I might not be a master chef, but I am a good enough cook; my parents did make me cook dinner back in the day, after all. A young man like you really should be able to cook for himself; I’m surprised you’ve gotten this far without knowing how.”

I grinned. “Well, it’s just as Reimu-san said. I’ve been living off instant noodles and 7-11 sushi for quite some time…”

“Now that’s no way to eat,” Masato chided. “I know food might be easier to come by in Tokyo compared to here, but food you make yourself is better for you than that chemical garbage. If you’re going to live here, in Gensokyo and under my roof, you need to be able to make good, healthy meals from real grains, meat, and vegetables, and I’m going to help you as much as you need.” He stuck out his hand. “Deal?”

...well, I guess I had no choice in the matter. He did have a point: there were no instant noodles or anything like that here, so it was either learn how to cook or eat fruit and nuts all the time. But not only that, he actively wanted to help me and direct me, something no adult would do for me before, least of all Shido, who didn’t care about my well-being at all, or anyone’s well-being for that matter. He wasn’t just giving me work and a bed, but wanted to help me grow as a man, too.

So I took his hand, and shook it. “Deal,” I smiled.

And so, I made a deal with Masato…

I am thou, thou art I. Thou hast acquired a new vow.

It shall become the wings of rebellion that breaketh thy chains of captivity.

With the birth of the Hierophant Persona, I have obtained the winds of blessing that shall lead to freedom and new power...

Once the tea was ready, the three of us sat around the table and talked about various things. For the most part, Reimu confided to Masato about recent incidents, including one a year and a half ago regarding an invasion of people from the moon, or how she received what she thought was a “dragon stone” but it was actually a “fish stone” that became two goldfish living in a pond behind her shrine. Somehow, given the nature of this strange, fantastical place combined with the Metaverse’s existence, it didn’t surprise me that there was a civilization on the moon as well. It made me curious about what other sorts of incidents she had dealt with in the past, and what sorts of hooligans she got tangled up with.

As we finished up and I got back up to do some more organizing, Reimu asked us a question.

“Hey Masato,” she said, “do you mind if I take Goro for a walk?”

Masato smirked. “Oh? Why so suddenly? Did he manage to steal your heart?”

Reimu jumped and blushed as red as a ground cherry. “Wha- no, it’s nothing like that!!” I rolled my eyes; that was the third time in two days girls were mistaken for having crushes on me, two of those times being because of something Masato said. Hopefully, my situation wouldn’t turn into the plot of Love Hina or some other harem anime . The last thing I needed was to be surrounded by a bunch of girls and women with supernatural powers.

Soon, Reimu collected herself, and said, “no, actually it’s because I want to talk to him about some things, including everything he needs to know about Gensokyo as an Outsider. I won’t be too long, if you don’t mind.”

“Sure, go right ahead,” Masato told her, putting away the dishes. “If anyone can tell him best what this place is like, it’s you, after all.”

“Thank you,” Reimu bowed. She then collected her jacket and scarf hanging by the door and motioned me to follow her outside. Masato lent me a jacket to use as I made my way out.

Reimu led me through the town square, past more homes, shops and a statue depicting a large, horned dragon. Its eyes glowed dark blue, as if there were lights inside of it.

“Impressive,” I mused. “Whoever created this must have been very skilled.”

“That’s the Dragon Statue,” Reimu explained. “It was created and placed here in honor of the dragons who lent the sages their power to create the Barrier. It can predict the weather, and its eyes glow different colors based on the forecast. It’s dark blue now because of all the snow. A lighter blue means rain, grey means clouds, and sunny is white. If it ever glows red, that means there’s a major incident on the horizon. However, it’s not always right, since the weather does what it wants and there are things here, like those dragons I mentioned, who can change it. But,” she paused, “it’s always right about the incidents.”

“How common are these ‘incidents?’” I asked.

“This place is full of youkai and gods and other things that get bored. So yeah, they happen a lot. That’s also part of my job, to hunt down and nail whoever’s causing the incident, especially if it threatens the land.”

“Sounds like a lot of work,” I commented.

“It is, but it’s the duty that falls on every Hakurei Shrine maiden. And it’s also my duty to keep the humans here safe, and that includes you.” She looked at a path ahead of her, just past the town. “Would you like me to show you the shrine?”

“Of course,” I smiled. “I’m sure it’s a wonderful place.”

Reimu froze for a second, then smiled. “Er, thanks.”

The path was, predictably, covered in snow, and lined with what looked like wards held up by stakes. What was strange, though, was the lack of footsteps; Reimu herself told me she had come from the shrine down to the village, yet I realized if she had then there would be tracks left in the snow from earlier, unless she had taken another route.

“Reimu-san,” I asked, “why are there no tracks in the snow?”

“Hm?” she said, facing me.

“You said you came down from the shrine?” I said.

“Oh, that. I flew down.”

My brain froze for a second. “Er, what now?”

“I can fly. It’s one of my powers. Well, actually a lot of people here can fly, but I can do it better than most. You can’t, though, which is why I’m walking with you up the path.”

“I see… would you mind showing me?”

“Uh… sure, I guess.” She stepped back, looked up, and all of a sudden she lifted up from the ground, seemingly levitating in midair. Two spinning orbs which resembled yin-yang symbols appeared from behind her and orbited around her as she did this. After a few moments, she touched back down, and the orbs disappeared into her dress. Again, a normal person would have called her a witch, but I was amazed and impressed. I wanted to know all there was to know about this land of magic, having seen weirder things myself.

“Impressive,” I complimented.

“It’s not really,” Reimu dismissed. “I’m sure anyone can do it if they practice.”

“Well then, maybe someday I’ll learn,” I said.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself, Outsider,” she frowned. “There’s dangerous youkai out here, and you should stay in that village. The villagers don’t do it, and if you fly you also need to fight. Leave the fighting to the incident resolvers.”

“Understood,” I nodded. But unknown to Reimu, I was a fighter, one who once commanded untold amounts of power fueled by my hate, sorrow and rage. Without those, without my Persona, my abilities were little more than a normal person’s, but my spirit was still there somewhere. If only there was a way to channel it without calling upon my darkness and letting myself be scorned, without lying to anyone. I saw Reimu and realized she was very strict in maintaining Gensokyo’s order; if she knew that side of me, it was likely she would deal with me in the same way as those monsters. If only I could be genuinely nice…

We continued up the path, making small conversation here and there. We came up to a rock spire, around the base of which was a trail. Off in the distance, I saw a purple spot at the base of a cliff.

I pointed to it and asked, “what is that?”

Reimu looked toward it, and said, “oh, that? That’s a portal to the Netherworld.”

“Come again?” I asked, wanting to know why there was a portal to a realm of the dead on a random mountainside.

“It’s kind of a dumb story,” Reimu told me. “A few years back, a hole tore itself open in the sky, and started sucking in Gensokyo’s ‘Spring,’ which caused it to still be snowy even though it was May. So I went up there, and discovered it led to the Netherworld. Turns out, one of Yukari’s old friends, the princess of the Netherworld Yuyuko Saigyouji, was using that energy to cause a demonic cherry tree to bloom to see whose body was sealing it, only to find it was hers. I had some words and spell cards with them, she gave back the Spring, and all was well. Well, her gardener Youmu wanted to shop in the village, so we moved the portal to that mountainside, and it’s been there ever since.”

Hold on, I thought. How could it be her body, I wondered? “Who is Yuyuko?” I asked.

“I told you, she’s the princess of the Netherworld,” Reimu told me. “She’s also a ghost; in life she had the ability to kill people pretty much just by pointing at them. She killed herself instead to keep people from misusing her because of that power. After she died, she went before the yama to be judged, but since she also had the ability to manipulate departed souls, she was instead given a job. So, the Netherworld is where souls that don’t qualify for either Heaven or Hell hang out until they reincarnate, and she’s ruled over it for a long time. She rules it from Hakugyokurou, an old shrine filled with cherry blossoms. Some people call it the ‘Castle of the Dead,’ since-”

All of a sudden, there was a golden glow emanating from under my robes, where I had put the gold key I found that morning.

“What the heck?” Reimu said. “What’s that coming from under your-” That’s when both of us were hit with a sudden shock, as the world flashed purple and began to twist and distort. I understood immediately what was going on. Reimu, on the other hand, exclaimed, “what the heck is going on here?!”

Once we looked back up, we saw that the world had dimmed somewhat. More importantly, though, we turned around, and the mountainside where the portal was located had been replaced with a bridge leading across a ravine. On the other side was a massive, traditional Japanese castle, looming high above everything around it and with a gigantic cherry tree crowning a hill behind it, a black night sky cast around it.

We gazed out toward the distant castle. I realized now that we were in the Metaverse, which existed here within Gensokyo as well. The key had somehow taken us to this place, and we were staring off now at a Palace. I knew then that this ‘Yuyuko’ had a distorted heart. But to think that a ghost ruling over a realm of the dead had the ability to manifest a Palace within her heart.

Reimu, of course, was still hung up on a castle appearing out of nowhere. “What the- how in the… what is this place?!” She looked at me. “Do you have anything to do with this??? What was that glowing on you just now???”

After a moment’s hesitation, I pulled out the key. It now had a dull glow, and in front of it was a set of holographic keywords: “Yuyuko Saigyouji, Hakugyoukurou, Castle.” I realized that this key acted in a similar manner to the MetaNav, which I couldn’t use because I had no way to recharge my long-dead phone. Those two figures in the Velvet Room must have given me this so I could access the Metaverse without the Nav, but why?

“Where did you get this key?” she asked.

“I don’t know,” I answered. “I just woke up this morning and it was in my bed.”

Reimu was skeptical. “Sounds suspicious. You sure you didn’t have this thing with you before?”

“I didn’t!” I insisted. “I honestly don’t know how I got it!”

Reimu studied the hologram some more. “These words… did I say these words, and that caused the key to take us here?” She looked at the castle again. “That castle… that has to do with Yuyuko somehow?” She looked at her surroundings again, and asked, “what is this place? So strange…”

Her head then turned and she took a fighting stance. When I looked where she was looking, two figures came running down the bridge toward us. They looked like castle guards, with samurai masks obscuring their faces. Shadows, I thought to myself.

“HALT!” one of them shouted. “This is queen Yuyuko’s castle! You are both intruders and we ask that you leave!”

I nudged Reimu and told her, “I think we should do as they ask.”

“No,” she said sternly. She walked up to the shadows, and demanded, “you will tell me what this place is, or I, Reimu Hakurei, keeper of the Hakurei Shrine, will force you to.”

The shadow drew its sword and pointed it at her. “This is the queen’s castle and you are a threat!”

“Threatening my life, huh?!” Reimu sneered. She spun her gohei, held out her hand and focused…

“...huh??” she said in confusion. “Where are my… why are my powers not working?!?”

The shadow then knocked her down to the ground. “AHH!” she screamed.

I rushed to her side. “Reimu-san! Are you okay?!?”

“I’m fine,” she grunted, “but… my powers aren’t working for some reason!” We looked up, and the shadows had surrounded us.

“For threatening our queen, we will kill you where you lay,” one of them said.

“Shit, this is bad,” Reimu angrily grunted. “Goro, can you do something to get them off us?!”

Of course, I knew just what to do in this situation: call forth my Persona to dispatch these shadows. But neither of my Metaverse outfits had manifested on me, so I couldn’t do that. Desperate, I took a breath, and focused, trying to call forth my innermost thoughts.

Nothing.

I thought about my feelings… my lies, my hate, my desire for recognition…

Nothing.

I thought about my relationship with the Thieves, Ren in particular. That time at the bath, at the Jazz Club, when he mussed up my hair to throw off my fangirls, the glove…

Nothing.

...how he was my rival… how we could have been friends…

Nothing.

...no, how we WERE friends…

“...So, you’ve finally manifested your true feelings,” came a voice.

I jolted up, and found myself in a black void. In front of me, was… myself. My shadow self, the other me who dwelled within.

“...what do you mean?” I asked.

“I am you. I am the you buried underneath the crushing weight of your rage, sorrow, lies and deceit. The one who strives for absolute justice… that man, Ren. Your bond with him was what finally allowed me to claw my way out of the abyss. He was the one who showed you what it really means to be loved and appreciated, not the superficial adoration of your fans. He was the one who showed you what justice really was.”

I processed what my shadow was saying. I stated, “but… I already have two Personas…”

“Superficial manifestations of your lies and your hate,” it dismissed. “A power granted to you by an evil god who only wanted to use you. To corrupt you. To drown you in the deepest, darkest pits of your despair.”

I looked down. “...a puppet… heh, that’s all I’ve been.”

“Yes,” it said. “A pawn in a rigged game you were never meant to win. And look where it’s gotten you: a killer without remorse, driven by your own darkly distorted heart. Does that not enrage you?”

“...it does…”

“Pathetic!” my shadow shouted. “For how much your father turned you into an instrument for murder and quashed the hopes and dreams of thousands, how much he bastardized your justice and skills, that weak-ass admission is the best you can manage?!?” He stamped his foot. “Say it like you mean it, goddamnit!”

I thought about what he was saying. He was right… I was right. I had a strong sense of justice, and yet allowed myself to be used as a tool for injustice. Not only that, but a tool for the injustice and evil of my sack of shit of a father, and apparently an evil god who saw an opportunity and played me like a fiddle. I should have guessed that, really. Who or what else would have just come in to seemingly grant my insatiable desire for revenge against a society who rejected me?

...no, that wasn’t me. A crusader of justice and punisher of the wicked, THAT was the TRUE me. Here I was, a place where I could forge a new life, about to die at the hands of these shadows with a woman I barely knew. I wouldn’t stand for it. Only a coward would embrace death at this moment. And I was no coward.

I chuckled. “I’ve been used and abused by wicked powers for far too long. I kept hiding behind my lies and fears, and using them as an excuse.” I got up. “I’m done being weak. Done cowing to the orders of the corrupt. Today, the me who only pretends to seek justice has died. But the real me… the me who seeks the truth and smites evil… THAT me shall live on.”

My shadow smirked. “I see. Very well. In that case, I shall become your strength.”

It vanished. Not a moment later, I was hit with a piercing headache and my vision contracted and yellowed.

“Nnnggh… ghhhh!!” I gripped my head and staggered about in pain, all while a voice called in my head.

“Swear to me. I am thou, thou art I. Thou who shall tread the path of knives to bring the hammer of judgement to the hearts of the wicked, whose tears shall pave the path to thy own salvation and the grace of others!!”

The pain throughout my body hit a searing crescendo, and I screamed up at the sky in agony. Reality flashed back, and a wind pushed away the shadows, who staggered and fell onto the ground. Reimu shielded herself with her arm, and when the wind stopped, she looked up at me.

I slumped, then opened my eyes. I realized I had a mask on my face, one like my crow mask, but dark burgundy and with a much shorter “beak.” I felt around it, and tried to pull it off of my face, only to find it tugging painfully. Gripping harder, and ignoring the pain, I gritted my teeth, and in a swift motion pulled it off, splattering blood everywhere as the skin around my eyes ripped off and I screamed in agony. My head dropped in shock, before I looked up with a determined look and piercing, golden eyes.

Reimu, still on the ground, backed away from me slowly, her expression aghast as blue flames and wind fanned around me, my traditional kimono and jacket giving way to a snappy, proper tuxedo with a cape. Behind me, the flames formed into a figure in a similarly snappy outfit, with long, spindly appendages, white gloves, and a face and head showing slick black hair and yellow eyes, with the rest of it obscured by a black gaiter.

“...what the…” Reimu said, still wide-eyed and in disbelief.

“Allow me to introduce myself,” my new Persona proclaimed in a gentlemanly voice. “The name is Bond. James Bond. I am the will of justice who serves a higher order, strutting in flamboyant grandeur yet melding into the shadows, scouring the globe to crush crime and corruption! Call my name, and thy hand of justice will smite all foes!”

I clutched my now gloved hand, and looked up. “Yes. Lend me your power. All of it, it is my power as well!”

The shadows got back up, and started charging at me. “Of course,” Bond said. Flamed flared in my hands before forming into a pistol in one and a knife in the other - just like the weapons Ren used. Now I was really carrying out and living up to his example.

I grinned.

I took off toward one shadow, dashing into it then performing a spinning bicycle kick to knock its mask of. Still spinning and upside down, I took aim and shot the mask off of the other shadow. Both shadows writhed and spasmed, melted into black goo, then finally burst and emerged into their true forms: a Pixie and a Jack-o-Lantern.

“Pfft, weaklings,” I smirked. “This will take no effort on my part.” I drew my pistol and shot the Jack in order to disorient it, before lunging at it with my knife. It got back up, then brandished its lantern. Instinctively, I rolled to the side, dodging the fireball which exploded where I had been.

It tried to cast Agi again, but nothing happened. “I’m outta magic, ho,” it said.

“Works for me,” I smiled, before jumping onto it, tossing its hat away and sticking my knife into its head, killing it instantly.

Once that was taken care of, I took aim at the Pixie still flying around. I shot at it a couple of times, but it was nimble and dodged them, and it flew out of range of my knife.

“My power is yours,” Bond told me. “Use it however you like!”

I nodded. “Yes. Let it flow through me!” I snapped my fingers, and a dark wave - Eiha - engulfed the Pixie and knocked it down to the ground.

I quickly dashed up to it and drew my weapon. “Well then,” I said smoothly, “seems the tables have turned.”

“I don’t wanna die!” it pleaded. “I’ll give you anything!”

I cocked my eyebrow. “Anything?” I smirked. “Alright then. Give me all the money you have.”

“...er, I don’t have any money,” it said.

“Hmph. Then what about a powerful item? I’m feeling merciful, I’ll even take any food you have.”

“I don’t have anything like that either…”

I sneered. “Well then, it looks like your number is up if that’s the case. I’m kind of in a rush, and have no time to waste on a Pixie such as yourself.”

The Pixie then perked up. “Wait a minute, I’ve heard that name before, but where… ah, I remember now!” It flew up into the air. “I’m not a guard of this castle! I’m my own person, born from the Sea of Souls! I’m Pixie, and from now on I’ll live in your heart!” It then flashed, before turning into a mask identical to my own and getting sucked into it.

Silence, before I looked down at Reimu, who was still staring at me.

“What the heck was that all about?!” she shouted. “One second, we were surrounded, then your clothes changed and a man came out of your face, then those two things turned into fairies and you killed one and the other got sucked into your mask!!!”

I looked over my shoulder, and could see more shadows massing in front of the distant entrance. “We should get moving,” I said. “I’ll explain later.” I went up to her. “Give me your arm.” I helped her up, and together we dashed up the path to the shrine.

We very quickly left the distortion, which didn’t extend far at all past that spot, and made it to the bottom steps of the shrine. As soon as we stopped, I bent over to catch my breath, and Reimu did as well.

“Haah… haah… haah…” she huffed. “That… that…”

“That was close?” I finished for her.

She grabbed my shoulders. “What the hell was that just now???” she shouted. “How did that place appear? What’s with that key of yours?? What were those creatures??? And most importantly… what in the actual HELL was that thing you summoned?!? And how did you suck that fairy in your mask?!?”

I pushed her off of me. “Calm down, Reimu-san. It’s a long story.”

“Oh no you don’t,” she retorted, shooting me a glare. “I’m not letting you leave until you tell me what happened back there. Like, where did you get that key, why did it cause that castle to appear, and what that power of yours is!”

I hesitated to tell her about the Metaverse, since I feared it would eventually lead to her discovering the truth about my past. On the other hand, she had seen the palace, those shadows, me awakening a Persona and even taking one of the shadows into my heart as another mask. If I claimed ignorance at all, she would certainly call it out. So I had to explain it all to her, in a way that wouldn’t give away too much. Even so, it meant having to do something I wasn't used to doing: telling the truth.

I took a deep breath. “That area we were just in was called the Metaverse.”

Reimu widened one eye. “Meta what now?”

“The Metaverse,” I explained. “It’s another reality where humanity’s cognition manifests into a physical realm. Those enemies we faced are called ‘Shadows.’ Basically, they are concepts, myths and legends common among humanity given corporeal forms, and who wander that world until they are drawn to ‘Palaces.’”

“Uh… I’m not sure I completely follow you,” said Reimu, puzzled. “So, basically, it’s another realm where our thoughts become… things?”

“Essentially, yes. In addition to those shadows, each of us has a ‘Shadow Self’ which represents our repressed feelings, fears, hopes and desires. If one’s desires become distorted enough, they form a location, called a ‘Palace’ atop a real-world landmark significant to them, which takes a shape based on what they see that landmark as. That castle is one such palace; it means that this ‘Yuyuko Saigyouji’ sees the place from which she rules the Netherworld as her personal castle from which she rules with an iron fist, thus it becomes a literal castle in which her shadow rules as an actual tyrant. And by saying those words to the key, it allows us to travel to that place.”

Reimu thought for a moment. “I see… a place in which dark versions of ourselves exist and what we see and think becomes real…” She shook her head. “It’s still hard for me to follow, but I think I get the basic idea. Now, what about that power you called up that looked like some secret agent?”

“That was a ‘Persona,’” I added. “Should you travel into the Metaverse, you may encounter your own shadow, which represents the thoughts and feelings which you subconsciously bury. If you come to terms with those feelings and refuse to run away from them, stick true to your justice and vow to fight against the darkness, then you form a contract with that shadow, in effect forming a contract to not lie to yourself anymore. Once that happens, you fuse with your shadow and they become a form based on a figure impressed onto the collective unconscious, who represents your heart and the will you hold within yourself. That is your ‘Persona,’ and by using it you have a means to fight and survive in that world.”

…

“...ah.” It took Reimu a moment to process what I had just said. “So, what I saw there was you summoning that power because you accepted your faults and vowing to overcome them. That’s what that power was.”

“You’re quite sharp,” I complimented.

“...tell me, did you have this power on the Outside too?”

Oh great, another difficult question, one that could lead her to figuring out my past if I wasn’t careful about how I answered it. But since I already told her I knew about the Metaverse, I felt obligated to disclose the truth in a way that wouldn’t make my dark past immediately obvious.

“I was part of a group that all had the same power as I, although I was not the leader. I first gained my power while I was investigating them, following a string of unusual burglaries and the changes of hearts of the targets. I was caught up in a palace they were infiltrating, and awakened a Persona when I was attacked by shadows. Fascinated by this power, I had them prove their justice to me by following them around the palace. I promised not to indict them on any charges, on the condition that they help me take on a corrupt politician I had been investigating for some time.”

Reimu chuckled. “So, a detective who commits crimes to bring justice to corrupt men. That’s very ironic.”

“Indeed. But this politician was running for prime minister, and had he won he would have crushed the country in his iron fist and shaped it to fit his own twisted, brutal and ultra-nationalist views. He even solicited hits and blackmailed other politicians to achieve his level of status, often with the assistance of the Yakuza. So it was no surprise that he owned a palace. We infiltrated that palace until we reached the core of it, a ‘treasure’ which supports each palace and represents a real-world item which is the source of their distorted desires. Of course his shadow was there to defend it, and after a long battle the treasure was finally ours.”

I looked down, my eyes closed. “But then, that’s when things went awry.”

“Oh?” Reimu wondered.

“Yes. Once a treasure is taken, a palace will start to collapse. Once it has completely collapsed, anything and everything inside of it at the time will be erased from the Metaverse, and cease to exist in the public’s cognition. Usually, we would make it out long before that happened, but in this case, the chaotic crumbling of the palace caused me to become separated from the group. I tried my best to find my own way out, but it took a long time, and once I thought I had an escape route, a final explosion knocked me unconscious. The palace collapsed, and I faded out of existence along with it.” I looked back up. “And that’s how I came here.”

For a few moments, all was quiet, the only sounds being the wind gently whipping up the snow and blowing around flurries.

“...I see,” Reimu bowed. “That all must have been very scary for you.”

“It was…” I paused. “You’re not confused?”

“Not really, now that you’ve explained it all from the top,” Reimu said. “As I said before and I’m sure you’ve been told, things arrive here in Gensokyo when humans forget about them. Youkai feared by humans are no longer feared, as other, more scientific explanations for the phenomena they cause, like the echoes of the yamabiko, become more accepted. Gods who lose faith as their followers scatter, religion dissipates, and who will come here rather than literally poof out of existence. Old items that people lose. And in some cases, people who society forgets. So I guess Gensokyo isn’t too different from that ‘Metaverse,’ since they’re both shaped by what humans believe.”

I smirked. “I’m surprised, though I guess I really shouldn’t be. This place does seem like a dumping ground for all manner of myths and legends. Out there, if I had ever told anyone of the Metaverse, they’d probably think I was a lunatic. But you just accept it as no more strange than the myriad things which must go on here.”

“We have a saying here: there is no common sense in Gensokyo. Just repeat that to yourself and you’ll stay sane. Maybe.” She laughed. I chuckled a little myself, because I wasn’t too sure how to take that advice, or if I should follow it literally, but it seemed lighthearted regardless.

Reimu then stood back up. “EIther way, you definitely have potential. I don’t usually offer to do this, but… how would you like for me to teach you how to fight?”

My ears perked up. “Come again?”

“I created the spell card system as a way to easily resolve incidents and allow humans, youkai, gods and whatnot to settle their differences without death or there being a huge gap in power. And I can tell you’re pretty special. Your talent would go to waste if you never left the village, and it’d be great to have another incident resolver around.”

“An incident-resolver,” I wondered aloud. “What would be up against, if you taught me how to use this ‘Spell Card System?’”

Reimu shrugged. “Anything, really. In the past, I’ve squared off against hell ravens, revived saints, vampires, moon administrators, the literal judge of the dead and an immature celestial, to name a few. There’s probably stuff even I haven’t seen yet, either. If I taught you how to use spell cards, I ask that you assist me in facing those.”

Those all sounded very dangerous, for sure. But Reimu seemed like she was a strong, capable fighter, and I’ve fought shadows in the Metaverse just as dangerous, if not even moreso, than what she had just described. For me, it was a chance to flex my detective muscles once again, solving incidents by making the right deductions, then beating the perpetrators once they were found.

“I’ll accept your offer,” I said, “if you agree to help me do one thing.”

“What is it?” Reimu asked.

I looked behind me back at the path leading back down the hill. “That palace belonging to Yuyuko… I want you to help me deal with it.”

Reimu was shocked. “But, weren’t we almost killed back there? And my powers don’t work there, for some reason. I’d just be dragging you down…”

“You solve incidents in this land, yes?” I asked, this time a little more harshly. “Surely you would consider this a potential incident. Palaces only exist because the owner’s cognition is extremely distorted, and they’re likely threatening those around them because of that. And her palace is likely not the only one - there could be many palaces in this place. So,” I extended my hand. “Will you help me solve this case? In exchange I will assist you in putting down ‘regular’ incidents.”

Reimu pursed her lips. My words were effective, it seemed. Both of us were the masters of our respective domains, and by joining forces we could help each other grow even stronger. Surely she saw this, and would be compelled to accept my offer, since in order to solve this incident she would need my help as much as I needed hers.

Eventually, she shook my hand and smiled. “Deal.”

“Then it is settled,” I smiled back.

And so, I made a deal with Reimu…

I am thou, thou art I. Thou hast acquired a new vow.

It shall become the wings of rebellion that breaketh thy chains of captivity.

With the birth of the Temperance Persona, I have obtained the winds of blessing that shall lead to freedom and new power…

I turned back down the path toward the village. As I started walking down, Reimu called out “tomorrow!”

“Tomorrow?” I asked.

“Come back here tomorrow! Tell Masato it’s important business!”

“I will,” I nodded, as I made my way through the snowy forest back towards town.

Chapter Text

The walk back down to the village was a quiet one. No animals, other people or strange creatures in sight. Only the sound of wind gently blowing the tops of the trees, and freeing the snow piled up on leaves and pine needles.

This gave me plenty of time to think about what had just happened, particularly as I walked past the spot where it had occurred - the path leading up to the Netherworld portal. It still struck me as very strange that such a portal, which would surely allow spirits to escape and roam free across the land, could exist in such a place, much less play host to a palace location.

I also thought about the Persona I had just awakened - one based on the secret agent, James Bond. He was unlike my two prior Personas - certainly awakening him was much more painful than either of those two, since I did not recall tearing the skin off of my face when I awakened either Robin Hood or Loki. I thought about my shadow’s words - how this new Persona represented my true, innermost thoughts and feelings. My true conviction toward justice, not the superficial lies of Robin Hood, or the complete disregard Loki displayed. Not just one single part of my personality, but all of it, repressed and choked by years of self-loathing, sadness and hate, the hope which still lived in my heart.

In addition to my own Persona, I had also managed to take in that Pixie as a mask - something which only Ren before was able to do. I knew I had the Wild Card, but perhaps now that I had fully come to accept my flaws and desire to bring about supreme justice was I able to unlock its full potential. Or perhaps it was because I was forming bonds, real bonds, for the first time in my life…

These thoughts circled around in my head as I made my way back down to the square, heading straight toward the Kirisame shop. That’s when I noticed a crowd had gathered; curious, I made my way past it to try and see what it was. There were murmurs in the crowd, some talking about a possible incident, others simply fretting or praying that nothing would happen. Once I got to the center, I found the Dragon Statue, and the reason for the people gathering around it:

It had red eyes. According to Reimu, that meant an incident was forthcoming.

But while other people in the crowd gossiped with each other about what this would mean, my expression was blank. Inside, though, I was smirking. I had no way of knowing for sure, but I was certain that the palace we had discovered had something to do with it. It gave me a certain amount of power, knowing who or what was causing an incident, and knowing that I could do something about it.

I left the crowd behind and returned to the shop. Just outside the shop’s door sat a basket with a large amount of fruit, vegetables, grain and chicken within it, as well as fertilizer for growing crops. It was quite a lot; I wondered who could have simply left it all out here.

I got my answer when the door opened, and a girl with white hair and a black headbow, dressed in a long green coat, emerged from the shop with a dull garden trowel in her hand.

“Hello there,” I greeted her.

“Hey,” she sighed. She sounded tired, and I could see on her face that she wasn’t getting very much sleep. More curiously, though, was the small, ghostly orb which tailed her, as well as the scabbards on either side of her hips, one long and one short. She hoisted the basket up onto her back, and trudged away through the streets and toward the path I had just come down.

I entered the shop just after, where Masato was busy rearranging some things on the shelves. He turned to look at me, and asked, “how did things go? With Reimu, I mean?”

“Quite well,” I smiled. “We talked about a number of things. In fact, she wants me to come to the shrine tomorrow as well so she can teach me about ‘Spell Cards.’”

Masato lowered his glasses. “Oh? You mean Spell Card duels?”

“I guess,” I shrugged. “She didn’t demonstrate them for me or anything.”

Masato smiled. “That’s pretty cool. She must see something in you if she wants to teach you how to fight using the Spell Card system. She’s pretty lazy, so normally she doesn’t like to teach anyone anything. Even if she did, I can’t say there’s ever been an Outsider that I’ve seen who uses them, other than perhaps that Sumireko girl.”

“Sumireko?” I asked him.

“Oh, Sumireko Usami. Strange girl. She lives in Yokohama, but she can come here in her dreams. The first time she came here, she caused a real ruckus by trying to tear a hole in the barrier by using these things called ‘Occult Balls,’ but Reimu and her friends managed to set her straight. She stops by this village sometimes to check it out. She’s fairly nice, but I’m afraid that her habits and mannerisms will get her into trouble someday.”

Sumireko’s name rang a bell for me: her name came up about a year ago during a conversation I had with a detective from another town, Naoto Shirogane. The reason for the meeting was because I was aware she and a group of her friends were Persona users, and I had been asked to monitor them by the conspiracy. I was meeting her under the pretense of investigating a series of thefts in the area, and during the visit she told me about a girl from Yokohama named Sumireko Usami, who maintained a very active Instagram account filled with strange pictures of otherworldly things. She explained to me that she was planning on interviewing her at some point to learn where and how she took the photos, since she suspected Sumireko might have something to do with the psychotic breakdown cases, not knowing she had been talking to the real culprit the whole time. At the time, I didn’t think much of it. But if that Sumireko Usami and the one Masato here was talking about were the same person, then perhaps those strange pictures were the first clues I had ever gotten of Gensokyo’s existence.

“If she still exists on the Outside, then perhaps I should visit with her if I ever get the chance.”

“Not a bad idea,” Masato said. “Probably be good for an Outside person like you to have a way to keep up with what’s going on out there.” He looked out the window; the sun was setting below the horizon. “Looks like I’ll have to get some light going. Would you mind going around and turning on all the lamps?”

“Absolutely,” I bowed.

“Thanks. I'll go close up shop, then after that, I’ll give you your first cooking lesson.”

The first thing Masato tasked me with doing was grabbing a kettle out of the cupboard and dunking it into the water barrel before placing it atop the oil-heated stove, which I did. He explained that it would be for the tea we would be having with dinner.

For the actual meal, Masato decided to keep things fairly simple, having me boil rice while he cooked up some chicken and vegetables. He explained to me how to watch the rice and tell when they were done.

“Now,” he showed me, “you can tell when it’s done by taking one of the grains and sliding it up the side of the pot like this. If it sticks, it’s done.”

“I see, I noted.”

“Good. Now just watch the rice while I cook up the rest of the food.”

Masato went over to the other burner on the stove. In the skillet was cut-up pieces of chicken and various vegetables, all mixed together and sitting in a thin layer of vegetable oil. Flaring the burner up with a match, I watched him adjust the heat, sprinkle some seasoning on top of it from high above the pan, then shake the pan, tossing and turning the food until the chicken was fully cooked and the vegetables had black char marks around the edges.

It was about that moment when the kettle started whistling, so I cut the heat and moved it to the only other unused burner. “Goro,” Masato asked me. He pointed to some jars on the counter and said, “take some crushed leaves out of the red one, measure out this much,” - he handed me a small measuring cup - “and put it on one of the strainer bags next to the jars. Drop it in the kettle, pull it out after forty-five seconds. No more, no less.”

I did as he asked and opened up the red jar, which was labeled “Genbu Ravine Ryokucha,” a type of green tea. There were four other jars, labeled “Konacha” (like what they serve at most sushi restaurants), “Kukicha,” “Tamaryokucha,” and “English-Style Black.” I wasn’t the most tea-literate person in the world, and the mind-numbing nomenclature seemed overwhelming. I figured I could ask him the difference later. So for now, I just measured out a scoop and steeped the tea until forty-five seconds had passed. Dinner was now complete.

We were just about ready to dish up, when we heard a knock on the door. “Hold on,” Masato said. “I’ll go see who it is.”

“Isn’t the store closed, though?” I asked.

“It is. But this IS also my house, so it’s probably just a visitor. Don't usually get visitors this late, though.”

Masato went to the front to go greet our visitor, so I took it upon myself to lay out dishes, cups and chopsticks. I had just finished doing that when he came back, with a familiar face next to him.

“Good evening, Akechi-kun,” Keine bowed.

“Ah, good evening,” I smiled. “...it’s okay if you just call me Goro.”

“Ah, very well,” she said.

“Keine said she wanted to come by to check on you and see how you were doing after your first real day,” Masato explained. “I also invited her to dinner, since we have enough for her to have some.”

“I see,” I replied. So I set out another set of dishes for Keine, and took it upon myself to dish everyone one.

Over dinner, we made some more conversation, with Keine in particular wanting to know how I was adapting to my life so far. I told her so far, so good, although going from my modern life to essentially Medieval times was a big adjustment for me to have to make.

“I would imagine,” she said. “I’ve helped a couple outsiders before you, and they each had a very difficult time adjusting to Gensokyo’s way of life. It’s much slower here than in the hectic, demanding city for sure, there are no modern conveniences, and you have to watch out for youkai to boot. But on the flipside, there have been cases of villagers managing to leave Gensokyo and struggling to adapt to life out there. People here are also much more friendly, and not chronically stressed out.”

“But surely people here live in constant fear of youkai and incidents?” I asked.

“To an extent, yes,” Keine replied. “But fortunately, there are rules here in Gensokyo that help to keep everyone in line, and if you step out of line then the shrine maiden, the sages, or one of many vigilantes will step in to set you straight. Gensokyo used to be a far more dangerous and foreboding place, but ever since the implementation of the Spell Card Rules it’s been easier to settle disputes without getting needlessly violent. Despite the incidents recently, it’s much more peaceful now than it's ever been. Besides, here there’s no war, no pollution, no big companies who exploit you as much as possible to increase their profits. It’s a good place to be if you’re trying to leave everything behind.”

Leaving everything behind… Honestly, losing things like TV, trains and internet was nothing compared to cutting every tie I had with Shido and the conspiracy, my miserable lonely childhood, and the pain and anguish which both of them brought to me. It was like a gilded cage: my fame as an ace detective and power as a Persona user gave me everything I wanted, except the two things I never grew up with: a loving family, and friends. It might not have been what I wanted or expected, but being here was a great second chance, and I would be foolish to squander it. Just as a malevolent god or demon gave me the power of Persona back then, so a more benevolent force granted me a second chance when I should have died.

“There are things I miss about Tokyo,” I conceded, “but you’re right in that this place doesn’t seem to have the kinds of problems that we deal with out there. I’m sure there ARE problems…”

“Oh, there are,” Keine said, a little glumly. “Bigotry and racism? You bet we have it; youkai looking down on humans, humans looking down on youkai, gods looking down on both, and among the youkai a lot of species bicker and fight with each other. Some species can’t even get along with members of their own kind, like oni for instance. Religious skirmishes have been a big part of our history as well, and they still crop up here and there, with the biggest factions being the Shintoists, Taoists, and Buddhists; most of the time they coexist peacefully, but sometimes they don’t.”

“And given how magical this place is, I would imagine religion is a much bigger deal here than Outside,” I surmised.

“Absolutely,” Keine affirmed. “And all that’s just what we still have lingering around. Back in the day, youkai would openly hunt humans in large parties, and religious wars were near-constant. If not for the Barrier and the Hakurei Shrine, this place would probably be inhospitable. Even now, there has to be some kind of youkai-human conflict, and faith in gods, for this place to continue existing.”

“Why is that?” I asked.

“Well, it’s a little complicated. But for the most part, youkai live off of things like fears, rumors and hearsay. Gods, of course, require faith. The problem with both is that humans now are constantly innovating, losing their fear and losing their faith as they find other explanations for why stuff works the way it does. Basically, mythical beings shape the world, until they don’t, which causes them to disappear. Gensokyo exists as a bulwark against that, by freezing this place in a sort of stasis so that it’s now a last bastion for all things magical and mythical, protected from the poison of the Outside world.”

I thought to myself about all this for a moment. “Fascinating,” I said. “So what you’re saying is that the whole world is a product of human cognition and belief. Things come into existence because humans believe them to be so, then stop existing once humans no longer believe in them and instead, start believing in other things.”

Both Keine and Masato were visibly impressed at the conclusion I drew, not knowing about my own prior experience with human cognition.

“Wow,” Keine smiled. “I’m amazed. I never thought someone like you from the Outside could wrap their head around it that quickly.”

“Well, I am a detective after all,” I chuckled. “Making deductions is what I’m best at.”

“I can tell,” Keine said. “I wish Reimu and her friends were as good at deductions as you are. Usually, when they go solve incidents they just beat up everything in sight until they find the culprit.”

“Reimu-san did say she wanted to teach me spell cards so I could help solve incidents. Perhaps I could use the opportunity to bring some more method to her madness if that’s the case.”

Keine laughed. “Yeah, keep telling yourself that, but I bet that soon enough you’ll get to be just as belligerent and rude as all of them, especially if you start going to their parties.” She stifled herself and regained her composure. “Still, if you can manage to do that, then maybe you could help bring common sense to this asylum of a valley. I feel like it would become more peaceful, and more people would get along with each other, set aside their prejudices, if people around here learned how to talk out their problems.”

Keine made an interesting point, I realized. If there was conflict, strife and bigotry between people here, then it could hardly be considered any different from the myriad issues the Outside faced, other than perhaps just being microcosms of those issues. Just as much as I wanted help overcoming my own problems, perhaps a good way of doing so would be to help walk others through their own, become a listener, and be empathetic.

So why not try? I had nothing to lose and everything to gain.

“Well, I certainly wouldn’t mind doing that,” I smiled. “But I might need some help doing it.”

“I’m the girl to ask,” Keine smiled back. “I’ll tell you what: you use those detective skills of yours to help people resolve their problems, and I’ll work on getting you all the knowledge there is to know about Gensokyo and its history. I think having some context would be helpful when addressing people’s issues, wouldn’t you agree? Plus, this place might end up being your home, so why not learn about it?”

I reached out my hand. “I see no downsides.”

“Then it’s a deal.” Keine took my hand from across the table and shook it.

And so I made a deal with Keine…

I am thou, thou art I. Thou hast acquired a new vow.

It shall become the wings of rebellion that breaketh thy chains of captivity.

With the birth of the Empress Persona, I have obtained the winds of blessing that shall lead to freedom and new power…

Eventually, Keine left to return to her house. I helped her out the door, and just as she stepped out into the frigid night air, she turned to me and said, “I’ll make sure to check in with you frequently to see how you’re doing.”

“Thank you,” I bowed. “I’ll try my best to settle into my new life.”

“Don’t forget that you’re not alone,” she told me. “You have support whenever you need it.” She then turned away and walked into the snowy night.

I took those words with me to bed. How I wasn’t alone, and how I now had the support of others who wanted to help me.

I couldn’t help but be suspicious, but not because I thought Keine, Masato or anyone else were conspiring against me or trying to use me.

I wasn’t used to not being alone.

When I opened my eyes again, I was in front of Igor’s desk in the Velvet Room. He was already there, and Lavenza was at my side.

“My master has summoned you here once more to speak with you,” Lavenza bowed.

I looked at Igor again. “Good evening,” I said.

“Welcome back,” Igor replied. “It seems we meet again.”

I looked around the room briefly, before asking, “tell me, why have you brought me here again?”

“To congratulate you on the start of your journey,” Igor said. “Not only have you awakened to your true power, you have established three new bonds. A fine start, if I say so myself.”

“My true power…” I looked down and held out my hand, before clenching it into a fist. “My new Persona, you must mean.”

“You have finally reached the innermost feelings within your heart,” Lavenza explained. “By awakening your true Persona, you have cast aside the bindings through which others controlled you. In addition, you have demonstrated your ability to take in the shadows around you as new aspects of your character.”

I looked at her, and asked her, “but… does that mean…”

“By awakening your new resolve and forming new bonds, you have discarded your old Personas, and can no longer call upon them. In essence, you will be rebuilding your power anew, through the bonds you forge and the experiences you embark on. It will present a drop to your immediate power, but your skill remains, and over time you will replace that toxic, corrupting power with even greater and pure strength.”

So both Robin Hood and, more importantly, Loki were gone for good. Now, there was only Bond, plus whatever shadows I managed to recruit. On one hand, it meant all that raw, sheer power I used to possess had evaporated, and I was now back at square one. On the other hand… it felt as though I had broken two chains holding me down from my true potential. And now it was up to me to get my power back, this time without wallowing in darkness and filth, and following the Justice I held so dear.

“I see,” I said.

I sensed something on my person, and when I reached for it, I pulled out the gold key. I held it out in front of me and inspected it, wondering how it had followed me here.

“This key,” I asked. “I’m assuming it has something to do with this place?”

“This is your key to the Velvet Room,” Igor explained. “It is given to all guests who come into this place. It is also your key into the cognitive world.”

“My master designed your key to take up the functions of the Metaverse Navigator,” Lavenza added. “I’m sure you’re familiar with its use, so no further explanation will be given. Various fortresses formed by the distorted hearts of individuals exist within the cognitive realm. How you choose to deal with these fortresses, if at all, is up to you and how you choose to exact your Justice.”

I looked at Igor, who added “of course, going into the realm alone is dangerous, and you would benefit from adding friends to your team. Should you encounter individuals whom you believe would be worthy allies, they will manifest Cognitive Keys of their own, but only you can enter this place.”

Teammates… what I said back in Shido’s Palace, in my insanity, about how I didn’t need teammates, how I was extremely powerful on my own and could crush any single member of Ren’s team, but in the end couldn’t overcome all of them at once. It made me realize the value of having people on my side fighting with me, as well as forming strong bonds with them, not just superficial alliances. If all my old power was gone, that left me with just my expertise and knowledge of the Metaverse - not enough to make it through a palace or ‘fortress’ alive without power, but perhaps I could employ it to guide people through them and help them develop their powers and skills.

I had to give it a try, I resolved. It was what Ren would do. It was what Ren would want me to do.

“I shall do my best,” I bowed.

“Magnificent,” Igor smiled. “I will be watching your journey with great interest. Create your own path, and realize the Justice within you.”

The door behind me opened, again revealing a white void. I was dismissed. I thanked the two for their time, before exiting the Velvet Room once again.

Chapter Text

The next morning went like the last one: I woke up, bathed, and slipped into some clean clothes. When I went downstairs, Masato was waiting for me, apparently eager to give me my next cooking lesson: breakfast.

“Good morning,” he said to me.

“Good morning, Kirisame-san,” I bowed.

Masato chuckled. “Still very polite, eh? Although I guess only two days here in Gensokyo wouldn’t make you rude just yet.”

I eyed the skilled already on the burner. “More cooking lessons, I presume?”

“Precisely,” Masato answered. “Then, after breakfast, I wanted to go over the terms of you living here and working for me. Would’ve done it yesterday, but I didn’t want to overwhelm you.”

“Understood,” I said.

After breakfast, we had about a half hour before the store opened up for the day. Unlike Outside world employers, his terms were relatively flexible: I had to work for him at least thirty hours a week, but there was no real schedule to speak of. He told me he would do this to give me freedom to explore the area and get to know people, but if I was here at the store I had to be working during store hours. He would pay for groceries for both of us, but it was up to me to shop for and/or gather them, which counted as work hours; he also gave me instructions on how and where to harvest wild plants. I would also get a percentage of the profits as pay, in addition to the room/board and groceries. The store was closed on Sundays, but if I needed hours I was free to clean up the shop and run errands for him. These terms seemed simple enough, so after negotiating some minor adjustments (being well-versed in law has its advantages), we signed off on it.

Like yesterday, I started out sweeping the front area and outside. Today, the clouds were thinner, and sunlight was peeking through them, but there was still plenty of snow to go around, more snowmen to build, snowballs to throw. It really was endearing to watch the kids have fun, here in the countryside where there was no internet, no video games, really no trace of modern culture, but the children made the most of what they had. Perhaps, I realized, their childhoods were more fulfilling as a result.

I wished I could have enjoyed the simple pleasures of tobogganing down a hillside, perhaps with the plus-sized Dragonite plush I once owned as a kid.

A mother and her child came up to the door just as I was finishing up and heading back inside, so I let them in. The mother picked out a basket while the child found a small wooden toy. Just after they left, a man came in looking for clothes for his daughter; he gave Masato some money in addition to the clothes she had outgrown. Then a woman came in to buy a pot, another man dropping off kimonos, and yet a third man exchanging a smoking pipe for parts to repair a cart. This was the typical scene that played out in Masato’s little emporium which had a bit of everything, and by all accounts it was a very successful business.

Around lunch, I was busy sorting clothes by size when the door rang. In walked an older girl or young woman wearing a rice hat, a heavy lavender-colored dress and a wooden crate on her back. Her most striking features, however, were her lavender hair and piercing red eyes. For some reason, I felt extremely uneasy looking at her eyes, even though she didn’t seem at all menacing, prompting me to avoid them even if it meant being a little rude.

She walked up to the counter, where Masato greeted her. “Ah, Reisen, welcome.”

“I appreciate it,” she bowed. She looked over to me. “Did you get a new employee?”

“Oh, yes,” Masato said. “He just came here recently from Outside. I’m helping him get used to things.”

Reisen sighed. “Oh great. Is she fooling around again? I hope not, she really needs to stop.” She reached into her crate and pulled out a bag containing powder. “Anyway, here’s your medicine.”

“Thanks.” Masato gave her some money and put the powder under the counter. Reisen bowed again before exiting the store.

Once she had left, I came up to the counter and asked Masato, “who was that woman just now?”

“Oh, her? That’s Reisen. She comes into town a couple times a week selling medicine. She works for the doctor at Eientei, and comes here so that villagers don’t have to brave the Bamboo Forest just to get their medicine.”

Eientei… wasn’t that the place Keine mentioned when she led me here to the village a couple days ago, I wondered?

“I think Keine mentioned that place to me,” I said. “What sorts of medicine does the doctor sell?”

“Everything you can imagine. She’s really talented.” He took the bag of powder out from under the desk. “This stuff really helps me manage my arthritis. I’d be even more of an old, achy mess without it.”

“But you don’t seem that old…”

Masato laughed. “Well, I’m glad you think so. I guess Kirisames don’t have the best health.”

I smiled and nodded. Somehow, though, I could tell that there was a pain in his laugh, as if suggesting there was a reason other than age for his aches and pains. It made me even more curious about this man’s past, and it reminded me of that drawing I found yesterday…

For lunch, Masato helped me make some sandwiches. We were enjoying them with some rather juicy apples, when the door creaked open.

“I’m sorry, but the store is closed for-” Masato started to say, before a red-and-white yin-yang orb floated up to us. It hovered just in front of the table, before it stopped spinning and showed an image of Reimu’s face.

“I’m done with my chores,” Reimu said. “Do you have time to come up to the shrine today and let me teach you Spell Cards?”

I looked at Masato, and he nodded. “If it’s the shrine maiden, I’ll let you go take care of it.”

“Thank you,” I said.

After lunch, I threw on a jacket and some snowshoes before heading up the path to the shrine. Again, I was careful passing by the Netherworld Portal, trying to quickly move past it just in case the key activated again. Once I was safely clear, it wasn’t too much further to the bottom steps of the shrine. I took off the snowshoes and ascended the steps up the hill, passing under the grand torii which marked the shrine entrance.

Once at the top, I was met with a modest shrine, with a kagura-den and Shamusho off to the sides, a Haiden ahead of me and the Honden enshrining the kami just behind it. Reimu was out in front of the Haiden, waiting for me eagerly.

“You made it,” Reimu greeted. “Hope the walk here wasn’t too hard.”

I looked around briefly, then told her, “you have a wonderful shrine.”

Reimu visibly blushed. “Oh, uh… thanks,” she smiled. “I… don’t get compliments very often, to be honest.”

“...I see.”

She came up to me, and handed me a blank deck of cards.

“What are these for?” I asked.

“I’ll get to that part,” she said. She stepped back. “So, the first thing we need to do before I can teach you how to actually fight is to get you in the air.”

I stepped back in surprise. “You mean, flying?”

“Exactly,” Reimu nodded. “All spell card duels are conducted in the air. Like I said yesterday, anyone can learn how to fly, at least enough to conduct these duels. It isn’t really that hard, but you do need to focus if you don’t want to fall out of the air in the middle of a duel.”

I was still struggling to wrap my mind around the idea of flying, much less how to do it and fight at the same time. But, one thing after another, I reckoned. All I could do right now was listen to what Reimu had to say.

“Alright, what should I do first?” I asked.

“Close your eyes and concentrate,” Reimu instructed. “Try to imagine yourself levitating off of the ground.”

There’s no way it could be that easy, I thought. How on Earth can one just will themselves into the air? By sheer force of anger alone? Having such high contempt toward their opponent that they just end up levitating like a Dragon Ball character?

Either way, I had to get myself flying, somehow. My lesson couldn’t continue until I did. So I closed my eyes, held out my arms and tried to envision myself lifting off of the ground. Soaring through the sky like an eagle, majestically commanding the vast, open space above the ground, a domain ruled by birds and where humans looked up to, desiring to free themselves from the chains of gravity, to fulfill the desire and destiny to reach the stars…

*phft*

I opened an eye and saw Reimu corpsing. “What’s so funny?” I asked her.

“Oh, nothing,” she dismissed, still chuckling. “It’s just… you’re flapping your arms right now.”

I looked at my arms and… oh. Somehow, I had subconsciously started flailing them up and down like wings. I’ll admit, straight-laced as I tried to project myself, more often than not I wound up looking and acting like a clown. Openly gushing about children’s anime on live TV when I went off on a tangent, bumping into people on the street awkwardly, going into three separate rooms to get coffee, cream and sugar because I couldn’t look around and see where everything was, and that wasn’t even counting my behavior in the Metaverse where I had a tendency to CHEW THE SCENERY AND SHOUT AT THE TOP OF MY LUNGS WHILE SLAUGHTERING MY ENEMIES AND THEN TAUNTING THEM BY MAKING OVER-THE-TOP JOJO POSES!

...sorry for shouting like that, I just wanted to illustrate how I felt at times. Anyway, back to the task at hand. I put my arms down and focused. Really focused, like what a monk sitting on a remote Himalayan spire might do for several hours a day. This time, I cleared my head of any thoughts and purely focused on levitating. Hopefully, I could awaken something within me that would allow the magic filling this fantasy realm to flow through my body and allow me to become one with it, giving me the power to defy natural and physical law and soar with the wind.

It took a few moments, but eventually, I could feel the weight easing from my feet, until, finally, there was nothing under them.

I opened my eyes, and looked down. Looked down at my feet, and the ground they were most definitely not touching. Now, human instinct at this point would be to panic and flail about, since humans are not supposed to simply levitate in the air. We are not flying creatures. But I realized that panicking would likely cause me to fall to the ground, so I fought the butterflies in my stomach and the trembling in my fingers and toes. It wasn’t much, perhaps half a meter, but there was no mistaking it: I was floating.

It seemed so surreal that it made even my Metaverse escapades seem “real” in comparison.

Reimu had no words. She just stood there, looking at me with a blank expression and studying me. Of course, I realized that since she could fly herself, and that she’d seen other people flying perhaps countless times before, then a flying person probably wasn’t very interesting to her. For me, however, it was an enthralling experience, much like a child taking their first swim or driving a car for the first time. For a few moments I just floated there in place, taking in the novel state of levitating off of the ground.

I thought about how I could gain altitude, and actually move around in the air. After all, my legs were of no use, and unlike a bird I had no wings with which to guide my movement. And I certainly didn’t have jets like a plane. Not knowing what to do, I looked up and imagined myself going up. Then, just like that, I actually did go up, slowly. Interesting, I thought. I looked down, then imagined myself going down, which caused me to descend.

Alright. I at least had vertical movement figured out. Now, for horizontal movement. I lifted up into the sky again to distance myself from the ground and any obstacles, then focused on my next objective: moving forward in a straight line. Like before, I tried to imagine myself going forwards, but that by itself didn’t do anything: I soon figured out that I had to slightly angle my body forward as well, much like a Segway, and that the more I tilted my body while focusing on movement the faster I went; I could even lean backwards to reverse myself. I then realized I could pivot my body in order to go in other directions. I also found that I could influence my up/down speed by thinking about moving faster or slower, and combine this with lateral movement to go faster still. All told, I found that flying involved a combination of focused thinking and subtle physical movements. It was a lot simpler than I imagined it to be.

I looked around at the new perspective I had. At the height of the tops of trees, I could see far off into the distant valley below, the mountains behind me, the emerald carpets of forests, and a blue, hazy lake with some sort of structure on the far shore, all buried under a white, icy veil of snow. Down below, Reimu seemed very small as she looked up at me, floating in the air with my arms to my sides. Oh, what a difference a few feet in height makes in your perception of the world.

I smirked. With the ability to fly realized, I had a whole new world to explore, and many, many perspectives I wanted to see. But, Reimu wasn’t done with me, and I knew I could practice this any time. So, slowly, I made my way back to the ground. My landing was… a little clumsy, but I quickly steadied myself and regained my composure.

“So,” I asked her, “how did I do?”

Reimu slowly came up to me, clapping her hands. “That was impressive, for a first-timer,” she said to me.

“Really?” I asked. “It… honestly didn’t seem that hard. I just had to focus on what I wanted to do and where I wanted to go…”

“No, really, it was impressive. Most people don’t figure it out that quickly. I mean, it took me weeks back when I was little to pull off what you did just now, and flying is my ability!” Reimu smiled. “I knew it. You’ve got some real potential. Any doubts I had after yesterday are all gone. I think we can move on to the next lesson.”

“Fighting?” I guessed.

“Yep. You’ve got it. My own special brand of dueling called the ‘Spell Card System,’ although a lot of people around here also call it ‘Danmaku’ because it involves a lot of bullets.”

I tilted my head to one side. “Bullets?”

“Bullets, although not bullets from like a gun,” Reimu clarified. “Laser bullets. Allow me to demonstrate.” Reimu walked away from me toward the torii before she manifested two spinning yin-yang orbs from her person, then levitated up into the air before taking aim at a large boulder and pointing her gohei at it. As soon as she did that, the orbs began to orbit her at a fast speed, and a stream of crimson needles bombarded the rock, seemingly fired from the orbs she commanded. In addition, various glowing laser dots spawned from her figure, floating out in all directions before disappearing after travelling a short distance. It was a powerful display, much like whenever I directed a Megidola into a group of foes standing in my way.

Afterward, Reimu came back down and faced me. “That was a non-spell,” she explained. “It’s a basic shot pattern which you can string together on the spot from ambient magic.”

“I see,” I noted. “So you can just focus all the magic around you and turn it into energy bullets?”

“Essentially,” Reimu said. “It’s much easier if you have some sort of object or weapon that you can channel it into, and easier still if that object itself is enchanted and can do the channeling for you, like my gohei and my yin-yang orbs, but if you get really good you can do it with just your bare hands.” She came closer to me. “Would you happen to have something like that on you right now? It’d make this lesson a lot easier if you did…”

I fumbled around to see if I had something in the satchel I had been given that I could use as a sort of weapon, when my hands clutched what felt like a gun. Pulling it out, I saw that it was, in fact, the pistol I had manifested yesterday in front of the Palace.

Reimu jumped back. “Is-isn’t that the gun you got yesterday???”

“It would seem so,” I said, inspecting it. “But, you should be fine. It’s only a model, not an actual-”

Then when I pointed it at the boulder Reimu had been firing at and “pulled” the trigger, all of a sudden a stream of blue kunai-shaped bullets streamed out from the barrel. I recoiled back in shock and dropped the gun, since I wasn’t actually expecting it to fire anything.

“...” I stood there staring at the gun, before picking it back up, this time being more careful with handling it.

“...don’t tell me… is that gun magical?” Reimu wondered.

“...it certainly seems like it,” I noted.

“But, weren’t you firing actual bullets from it yesterday??” she asked.

I shook my head. “Not exactly.” I presented the gun to her. “As I said, this gun is a mere model, as you can see. But the Metaverse is shaped by cognition, so if a shadow thinks a toy gun or sword is real, then they function as real, causing them to shoot real bullets. Of course, like real guns, they can run out of ‘ammo’ and of course you can’t reload a toy gun, but every new enemy you encounter expects it to be loaded so it will ‘reload’ then.”

Reimu scratched her head. “That’s… very strange, but I’ll take your word for it.” She looked at the gun again. “Doesn’t explain why it can shoot Danmaku here in the real world…”

“I have a theory,” I said. “You saw how this gun manifested from blue flames, as did the knife, yes? That must mean the gun’s very existence is magical, since it appeared from nothing. Even outside the Metaverse, if there’s magic in the air then it’s no surprise that it can channel it quite easily. Thus, it can fire ‘Danmaku’ since that kind of magic is what it can call here.” I then decided to put my theory to the test by floating back up into the air - it didn’t take as much concentration this time around, now that I had done it once before. Once I was at a safe height and distance away from Reimu, I aimed the gun and started shooting. I held the trigger for a good few seconds, but it never stopped firing. I then decided to get creative, first by waving the pistol around a bit to create waves in the continuous line of fire, then whipping it around so as to create a pattern of blue kunai bullets encircling me and partially compensating for the very narrow single stream of kunais spewing forth from it.

I touched back down on the ground once I was finished. Reimu was visibly impressed by the display.

She smiled. “Heh, looks like you’ve got a pretty good head-start! Looks like we can really move through this lesson quickly!”

“I appreciate your compliment,” I bowed.

“Looks like you reeled in a good one there, Reimu!”

I looked at Reimu’s face, her smile turning into a tired frown as her eyes slowly closed and her shoulders slumped.

“...how long have you been up there, Marisa?”

I looked up at the roof, and saw a blonde girl in a black jacket and, oddly, a frilly pointed hat lying on the roof of the shrine kicking her feet around in the air. “Oh, about the last 415.7 seconds, why do you ask?” She then got up, slid down the roof on her boots and somersaulted into the air, landing on her feet with her hat floating back down upon her head moments later. She had a toothy grin and yellow eyes which conveyed an unnatural air to me. She also seemed rather smug and confident.

She walked toward me, where the height difference between me and her was noticeable - she was perhaps a little over a meter and a half. Despite this, she just came up to me and put a gloved finger under my chin, while I stared down awkwardly.

Marisa whistled. “Geez, Rei, didn’t think you’d be able to pull in any guys, much less tall, handsome gentlemen like this one.”

“T-t-that’s not it at all!!” Reimu stammered, her face flushed with red; meanwhile I just rolled my eyes as once again, my inadvertent womanizing powers warped the minds of any females within my vicinity. “I’m merely teaching him how to duel, that’s all!”

“Ya sure?” Marisa sneered. “I’ve never taken ‘ya for someone who’d go out of her way just to teach people danmaku, ‘specially not this looker over here. ‘Ya sure he didn’t just come up to 'ya one day and strike a ~pose~ while shedding sparkles and-”

*WHACK*

“That’s quite enough!” Reimu barked angrily as she hit the top of Marisa’s head with her gohei.

“Owowow… alright, fine, sheesh, you win.” Marisa wandered around for a bit while pressing the spot on her head where she was smacked. She then looked at me and asked, “who are ‘ya anyway?”

“Oh, my apologies,” I said. I bowed, “my name is Goro Akechi. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Marisa-san.”

Marisa chuckled and smirked. “Oh really? You must be an outsider. That’s clearly a Tokyo accent, and nobody calls anyone ‘X-san’ ‘round here.” She removed her hat and bowed, “name’s Marisa Kirisame. You’d better remember it!”

...wait, I thought. Kirisame? Were she and Masato related somehow? But… he didn’t mention anything about relatives… What about that drawing I found? Could it have been hers?

I shook my head. Now probably wasn’t the best time to bring it up. Instead, I just smiled back, “It’s good to meet you, Marisa.”

Reimu sighed. “Well, if Marisa’s here, I should probably go heat up some tea. Wanna join, Goro?”

“My thanks,” I said. The three of us went inside the shamusho.

Unlike most shamushos, which function as administrative offices for the shrines, this one was more like a house, which made it apparent to me that Reimu lived here in addition to working here. There was already a warm kotatsu laid out in front of us, so me and Marisa made ourselves comfortable while Reimu went to boil water and steep tea for us.

“So are you really from Outside?” she asked me.

“Of course I am,” I said earnestly. “Your deduction is spot on.”

“Oh, pleeeeease, you tryin’ to seduce me or something?” she teased. “You’re actin’ waaay too polite and formal for that to be how ‘ya normally talk to people.”

I chuckled. “Well, I was a celebrity detective out there. Perhaps it’s just my nature.”

Marisa laughed. “Maybe it is. There’s lotsa dangerous youkai livin’ here, but I bet yer looks alone could kill ‘em! Maybe you should come along with me and Reimu when we go out solvin’ incidents!”

I cocked an eyebrow. “‘You and Reimu?’”

“Yeah, we solve incidents together, ain’t that right?” She looked over at Reimu who was standing over a kettle.

“More like you tag along most of the time to loot whoever it is I’m setting straight, but yes, you could call it that.”

Marisa pouted. “Aw, c’mon! What about when I finished off Okuu after her suns knocked ‘ya down? Or back when Seija tried to mess things up and there was that taiko drum girl who came outta nowhere and tried to beat us up? Or that one time at the mansion when Sakuya got drunk offa Oni mash and-”

“Alright, you’ve made your point,” Reimu grunted as she poured the tea out into cups for us and walked over to the kotatsu.

“Are you two going to be okay?” I asked half-sarcastically.

Reimu shook her head. “It might not look like it, but we’re close friends,” she said. “We’ve known each other since before I was the shrine maiden here. Her being here uninvited isn’t strange at all.”

“Why don’t we just drop the pretense and have me move in?”

“Shut up.”

Reimu set the tray down, and each of us grabbed our respective cups. I wanted to break the ice and started to say something, but Marisa cut in before I could.

“So, Goro,” she asked haughtily, “whaddya think of the Ordinary Magician of Paradise over here?”

I studied her for a second, then said, “you seem like the type of person who carries no regard for the rules and who says and does whatever you want without thinking about how others feel about it.”

“Well, I’m glad you - HEY! YA DON’T GOTTA BE SO BLUNT ABOUT IT, IDIOT!” Marisa shouted over the table while Reimu was struggling not to laugh so hard.

“What’s so funny?!?” Marisa protested.

“Because it’s true,” Reimu giggled. Meanwhile, Marisa just crossed her arms and stuck her tongue out. These two truly did have a unique friendship, I thought to myself.

Eventually, Marisa looked back at me and said, “well, now I know not to ask ya about your opinion. You don’t got a filter.”

“I could say the same,” I snarked. “But, trading barbs won’t get us anywhere. Why don’t you tell me a little about yourself?”

“Oh, right,” Marisa said. “Well, like I said, I’m a witch livin’ in the Forest of Magic. My specialties are mushrooms, stars, light, high explosives and booze.”

“Don’t forget about ‘borrowing,’” Reimu added.

“Ehehe… well, like I keep tellin’ Patchy, I’ll return them when I eventually blow my house up and there’s a big, huge crater where I used to be.”

“I see…” I noted.

“Yup.”

“...are you perhaps the daughter of Masato Kirisame, the man who took me in and who I’m working for so I have a place to live?”

Marisa was silent.

“...I’m sorry, did I… hit a sore topic?” I asked.

Marisa slumped. “...so Keine was right,” she sighed. “He did give my room away. Figures. Just proves he doesn’t care about me anymore.”

“I beg your pardon?” I said.

“I don’t wanna talk about it,” Marisa responded.

Reimu put her hand on Marisa’s back and said softly, “you know, Goro is living in your room. I think he has a right to know at least a little about your situation, since everyone in town knows.”

Marisa took a sip of tea. “Alright, I guess.” She looked up at me. “My dad, you see… well, when I was little, I ran away from home.”

I was surprised. “Er, why?”

“He was always keepin’ me from doing magic,” she said. “He told me it wasn’t proper, that I was gonna get myself killed summoning demons and fightin’ monsters, but I didn’t want to hear any of it. So one day I just up and left. That's why I’m where I’m at now. But I don’t care. That ain’t my home anymore. I live in my own home and made my own damn family outta my friends. Still doesn’t fix the fact that I had a rough-ass childhood. Couldn’t even go outside to play with the kids ‘cause he was always makin’ me do work, and even when I did all the kids just treated me like some kinda weirdo. That’s actually how I met Reimu, both of us are weirdos with no one else to turn to.”

Rough childhood… I looked down at the table.

“...somethin’ the matter?” Marisa asked.

“...to be honest, I had an exceptionally tough childhood as well.”

“Oh?” Marisa asked. “How so?”

“It’s a long story,” I dismissed. “You wouldn’t be interested.”

Marisa loomed over the table. “Nuh-uh. You listened to my story, now I wanna hear yours! You’re not allowed to be gloomy around me!”

Heh. Just as I thought. She really did have a forceful personality. Whatever she set her mind to, she would do it. Well, I supposed I had no choice now but to tell her the same lie I told everyone else.

“Oh, if you insist,” I said. I looked down. “...the truth is, I’m an orphan. My parents both died when I was young.”

“...ah, I see… That must’ve been hard on ya, losin’ your parents when you were that small. And they don’t treat orphans too well out there, do they?”

I shook my head. “No, no they don’t, because of how family laws work. I spent most of my childhood passed around from one foster home to the next, but no one would adopt me, take me in permanently. I didn’t really have friends growing up as a result; anime and video games were about the only escapes I had. But I always did very well at school, and I was blessed with excellent detective skills, which got me noticed by the Special Investigations Unit who hired me as a student detective. It was a brutal schedule, balancing that and schoolwork, but it allowed me to live on my own and control my own life. Still… I do regret never having the opportunity to make real friends when I was young.”

I looked at Marisa… and she smiled lightly. “Guess you, me and Reimu have a lot in common,” she said. “My dad’s still around, of course, but other than that they’re all dead or missing somehow, and we’ve had to strike it out on our own, in different ways. My mom actually died when I was still a baby, so I never knew her.”

I turned to Reimu. “And you?” I asked.

Reimu looked downcast. “I lost my mother in a bad thunderstorm back when I was twelve; I’ve had a fear of lightning ever since. And my dad… I actually don’t even know who my dad is, or if he’s still around, since mother never spoke about him, wouldn’t even talk about him.”

...I certainly knew how that felt, not that I could reveal it to them right now.

It was then that Marisa perked up and poured herself another cup of tea. “Well, enough doom and gloom,” she chirped, “let’s talk about something else. So…” She looked at me. “You’re a detective?”

“Oh, yes,” I smiled. “I was sometimes referred to as the ‘Detective Prince’ out there because of my ability to bring down seemingly unsolvable cases, which brought me much media attention and an army of fangirls.”

All of a sudden, Marisa snorted and banged the table laughing. “Ahahaha! Of course you would! ‘Army of Fangirls!’ A guy like you on TV all the time, I wouldn’t doubt it!”

“...yes, well… it was an inconvenience more often than not,” I sighed.

“Oh, so do you not like cute girls?” Marisa said, shooting up. “Are ya into older women? Or maaaaybe your g-”

“I am not,” I insisted.

“Please forgive her,” Reimu apologized. “Marisa here doesn’t know the first thing about love and thinks hand-holding is extremely lewd.”

“H-HEY! DUMMY!” Marisa shouted as she tried to clamber over to Reimu, before I steadied her with my hand on her forehead.

“Please calm down,” I said to her. “You can roughhouse her when we put away the tea.”

Me having my hand on her head seemed to have an effect, since she instantly froze with a blank expression, and I swore I could see a light blush on her face.

“Hmph. Fine,” she pouted, sitting back down and crossing her arms. “So,” Marisa asked, “how did you get here to Gensokyo?”

“It had to do with a series of events surrounding a case I’ve been investigating for quite some time,” I said. “In addition to my regular cases, I had been working to take down a corrupt politician running for Prime Minister.” I hesitated for a second, then continued, “his name is Masayoshi Shido. He’s as corrupt as they get: taking bribes, giving bribes, blackmail, threatening rival politicians, and even ordering hits through his Yakuza connections. Had he won the election, he would have imposed his ultra-nationalist, corrupt ideology upon the nation. That I couldn’t allow, so I spent a great deal of time gathering evidence of his crimes so I could hopefully bring him to justice.”

“Shido…” Reimu mused between sips. “You know, Sumireko comes up here to visit whenever she’s trapped in Gensokyo in her dreams. Recently she’s been venting about some guy by that name running for prime minister who’s really popular and everyone loves him, but she says she knows the truth about him and that he’s ‘really shitty.’ For sure, we’re always concerned about what the rest of Japan is facing, but what happens out there doesn’t really affect us here.” She took another sip. “But, it would definitely concern you. I just didn’t think I’d meet anyone doing something about it.”

“I see,” I said. “I didn’t know you were already aware of Shido. Masato told me about Sumireko as well. I’d like to meet her at some point.”

“I’m sure you will,” Reimu replied.

I cleared my throat. “Anyway, another case I was working on involved a group called the ‘Phantom Thieves of Hearts, whose crimes have become legendary for being as bizarre as they are impossible to trace. These thieves gained their notoriety from stealing the hearts of corrupt individuals, and would send them calling cards, which was usually followed a few days later by that individual confessing all of their crimes. Given my record, I took it upon myself to solve these ‘unsolvable’ crimes, and managed to determine that they were a group of high school kids.”

“Which is funny ‘cause you’re a high school kid yourself,” Marisa added.

“Yes, and generally speaking, impulsive teenagers aren’t very good at covering up crimes which they commit. Once I had built up enough suspicion of them, I trailed them to the main courthouse in Tokyo, and was approaching them when something strange happened: the world seemingly twisted and distorted, and before I knew it the courthouse had turned into a casino, and the kids were all wearing strange costumes.”

“Wait, what?” Marisa asked, puzzled.

“Trust me, I had the same reaction,” I said. “Of course, I demanded an explanation, and they all freaked out realizing a detective had managed to follow them into where they did their dirty work. Soon, they told me everything, about how that location was called the ‘Metaverse,’ how the casino was a ‘palace’ which represented a person’s distorted desires, and how they wielded the power of ‘Personas’ to make their way through that Palace.”

‘...uh, you kinda lost me there, bro,” Marisa said. “Could you explain what all that actually means.”

“Certainly,” I nodded. “So…”

I then spent approximately the next half-hour explaining to Marisa what the Metaverse was: a cognitive world where all the things humanity believed in and perceived were given form, and whose form was freely molded by those ever-shifting cognitions. I explained to her how Palaces formed, what shadows were, and how one awakened to Personas, including a made-up story about how I had awakened one when I was attacked by shadows in Sae-san’s palace. Marisa was a little slow to follow it at first, but soon figured it out and found it highly intriguing, especially when I got to the part about stealing treasure. I also talked a little about how the Phantom Thieves got their start, including their conflict with Kamoshida; needless to say, neither was too happy to hear about it.

“Okay, what the fuck?” Marisa said angrily, pounding the table. “That middle-aged guy was RAPING high school girls? How the hell did he get away with that?!?”

“He just had that much power and influence at the school,” I answered. “The principal was complicit in covering up his crimes too, due to the prestige the volleyball team brought to the school.”

“Unbelievable,” Reimu scowled with an icy glare. “I can’t believe it’s possible for someone to get away with that shit just because they’re in positions of power. Actually, if I had a choice between that gym teacher and Tenshi right after she wrecked my shrine that one time, I’d have spared Tenshi. I hope he eventually got what he deserved, because that’s complete and utter bullshit.”

“He did,” I said. “In fact, his crimes were what caused the Phantom Thieves to band together in the first place, since all had suffered at his hand, and one had the power of Persona as well. He recruited the other three, took down his Palace and stole his treasure, which in our world turned into a gold medal similar to the first one the gym teacher had ever won. A few days later, he confessed his crimes and turned himself over to the police. His trial recently concluded: he got thirty years to life, the Olympic Committee rescinded his medals and awards, and he’ll have to register as a sex offender upon release, if that ever happens. For sure, his life is pretty much in ruins now.”

Reimu smiled, and Marisa smirked. “You know… when I think about it," Reimu commented, "those kids are technically criminals, but their victims are also criminals who are worse than themselves. I am the Hakurei Shrine Maiden and have to uphold the laws of this land, but I do respect vigilante justice if the system itself isn’t fair and just. Besides Marisa here, I’ve been joined by many others in resolving incidents, most of whom I’ve defeated in duels in the past, all acting because they have a stake in the outcome. And you, and those kids, all of you were given a special power to bring justice to those defying justice.”

...If only I could truly say that about myself…

“Indeed. So, returning to the main point, I had them prove their justice by reforming her to be a truly better prosecutor; the last I talked to her, she talked about wanting to switch over to being a criminal defense attorney. I made it clear to the Thieves that I had dirt on them, but if they promised to help me bring down Shido then I would let them off the hook. Luckily, Shido just so happened to be their next target, so I allied with them to send the ship sinking - literally, since his Palace was a cruise ship. Things went fine at first, until we took the treasure and the Palace began to collapse. In the chaos and confusion, I got split from the rest of the group, and while trying to find another way out, the ship exploded, knocking me out and causing the Palace to disappear.”

I paused for a moment, then continued, “anything from our world still inside a Palace or any other part of the Metaverse when it ceases to exist disappears from the public’s cognition permanently. That’s what happened to me: I disappeared from the public’s cognition. I don’t know what would have happened otherwise, but since this place, Gensokyo, a land of the forgotten, exists, I ended up here.”

Marisa was stunned.

“Wow,” she said. “That’s… a lot more intense then most of the ways people end up here, like getting lost in the forest, getting gapped here by Yukari or whoever or even just wandering through weak spots in the Barrier, like Muenzuka. So, you literally just stopped existing as far as the public was concerned, and that’s how you got here?”

“Human cognition is an incredibly powerful force,” I explained. “It shapes the world in more ways that you would believe. It shapes this land, too, from what I can piece together. A place where myths and legends come alive, all brought forth by human belief and perception, and destroyed just as easily.”

Marisa flopped back onto the ground, arms spread out. “Geez, you just got here a couple days ago and you already have a better understanding of how this place works than a girl who’s lived here her whole life.”

Reimu smiled. “I think it’s just as well. He’s in a much better position than most Outsiders. Strong, smart and observant. That’s why I’m teaching him Spell Cards, because I think he’d be great at helping solve incidents.”

“I don’t doubt that,” Marisa said, “but what does his Metawhatever powers have to do with danmaku?”

Reimu paused for a bit, before answering, “well, because… It’s an Incident™.”

Marisa shot back up upon hearing that. “Oh really?” she grinned. “Now you’ve got my attention.”

“At least one of these ‘Palaces’ exists right here in Gensokyo,” Reimu explained to her. “I’ve seen it.”

“Whoa, really?? You've been there? How’d you get there??”

I produced the Metaverse Key that I had. “This key,” I explained. “I woke up yesterday and found it beside me. Using this, we can enter the Metaverse and Palaces. In the Outside world, I used a phone app, but it must have taken this form upon coming here. We accidentally set it off yesterday. Reimu was talking to me about someone named ‘Yuyuko,’ who lives in the Netherworld, and how you could get there via a portal just off the trail here. We happened to say the Palace keywords, causing the portal to turn into a massive, traditional castle. Shadow guards attacked us, but I was able to summon my Persona to dispatch them.”

“Speaking of key,” Reimu said while searching inside her dress, before placing a key, similar to mine but red, onto the table.

“Where did you get that?” I asked her, intrigued.

“I don’t know,” she shrugged. “I just woke up with it this morning. Actually, before I contacted you, I went down to where the portal is as a test, and I can use it to get in and out of that place on my own.”

“Interesting,” I thought. “Perhaps when I brought you into the Palace, something decided it  wanted you to have the ability to enter the Metaverse even without me around, so it gave you that key.”

“But what god or force would do that?” she asked.

“Well, I met the person who gave me my key in a dream, a strange long-nosed man…”

“Was he a tengu?” Reimu asked me.

“...I’m not sure, maybe?”

“...well, I guess it doesn’t matter, although if he gave you that key, he might want all of us to do this mission. I'd like to meet him at some point if it's possible.” Reimu turned to Marisa. “Did you get all that?”

“Eh… kinda,” Marisa shrugged. “So basically, Yuyuko’s got one of these Palaces and you wanna bring it down?”

“Yes,” I responded. “That Palace’s mere existence suggests ‘Yuyuko’ is committing injustices in reality, and I’d wager her Palace is far from the only one here.”

Reimu rubbed her chin. “Well, now that you mention it, she does often overwork poor Yomou, who often complains to me that Yuyuko seems like the Netherworld exists solely to keep her childish desires and huge appetite sated. If destroying that ‘Palace’ would cause her to change her ways, I’m sure the spirits there would appreciate it.”

Marisa got up and grinned. “If it’s an incident, I’m down for it. Haven’t had a real incident in over a year, just some things with Kosuzu here and there, and I do like a challenge. Can’t get better as a witch if I’m not facing new opponents stronger than me.”

“Then it’s settled,” I declared. “Shall we start tomorrow?”

“Absolutely,” Reimu said. “I don’t have to start setting up for the New Year’s festival for a couple days.” She glanced over to Marisa. “You will help me out, am I right?”

“...yes,” Marisa groaned.

“Splendid,” she smiled. “And then Goro, if you’re free to help out too I’d greatly appreciate it, but I’ll understand if you can’t.”

“We did make a deal, didn’t we?” I answered.

“Doesn’t mean I own you. Masato does,” Reimu chuckled.

Once it started getting dark, I said my goodbyes and left the shrine, with Marisa following me out the door.

“Can we walk and talk for a bit?” she asked me.

“Of course, what is it?” I replied.

“Well…” she paused for a moment. “So, you’re really livin’ with my dad, huh?”

“It would seem so…” I looked at her, her expression clearly downtrodden. “So, you haven’t tried to make up with him?”

“Why would I?” she replied. “He doesn’t like me bein’ a witch. I’m sure he didn’t even mention me to you.”

“No, he did not,” I said.

“See? He doesn’t even care about me anymore. Not that I need him, since I got Reimu, Alice, Kourin and some other friends. Kourin in particular didn’t mind me being a witch, and sorta picked up the slack raisin’ me after I ran away.”

“Who’s ‘Kourin?’” I asked her.

“That’s Rinnosuke. I call him Kourin ‘cause his shop’s called Kourindou. Me and Reimu are his best customers. He’s a half-youkai; he used to live on the Outside, but he lost his memories about it somehow after he got here. My grandparents found him, taught him how to live here and make a living, and eventually my dad started teachin’ him how to run a shop once he inherited it, although they don’t talk much nowadays. He’s been in my life since I was a nugget, he’s super cool and his shop has all the strangest things.”

“I see.” I paused for a moment. “And you said your mother died when you were very young?”

“Well, yeah… to be honest, I don’t know much about her, other than that she was a kind, beautiful woman according to my dad. There was a bad flu outbreak in the village not long after I was born, and, well, we lost her to it. But, you lost both your parents when you were little.”

I knew I had to come up with an explanation for how my parents died, even though the truth was only my mom was dead while my father was, well, Shido. So I came up with a plausible explanation. “To this day, I’m still not entirely sure what happened, since it happened while I was so young. The killers were never brought to justice, but the Tokyo police told me they think the Yakuza were somehow involved. Needless to say, I’ve brought down several of them as a sort of proxy revenge; in fact, I once exposed a whole Triad operating out of Odaiba. I hope someday the killers will be found and punished.”

“Yeah, I’ve heard the Yakuza is nasty,” Marisa said. “Gensokyo had a few members within it when the Barrier was erected, but they were all quickly dealt with by the Sages, and to this day Yukari and a few others have a pact to zap any Yakuza that show up here. I’ve heard they’re powerful, though, and you can’t really beat them ‘cause they’re so big.”

“They are, that can’t be argued with. But, I’ve been able to do so much on my own that the SIU wanted to promote me once I was done with school, even while I would be attending university. Obviously, now that will never happen, but instead I hope to apply my skills here and help keep order and peace.”

“You’re not the least bit interested in tryin’ to get back?” Marisa wondered. “Most Outsiders try to find a way back anytime they come here. Outside sounds like it really needs ‘ya still!”

“Yes, but it’s like I said: I got wiped from the public’s cognition. Even if I did return, I doubt anyone would remember me. I’d have to rebuild my life from scratch. I think it’d be easier just to establish myself here at this point.”

Marisa shook her head. “You’re really takin’ this situation in stride. I like that.” I just nodded, still unwilling to reveal why I was adapting to my new situation well.

We walked past the spot where the Netherworld Portal was, when Marisa asked me, “hey, this is where that ‘Palace’ place is, right?”

“That’s right,” I answered. “This is the location it is projected over within the Metaverse.”

“...can ‘ya show me it real quick?” She asked. “I wanna see what I’m dealin’ with so I can prepare myself better. Plus, I’m kinda curious what it actually looks like.”

“Certainly,” I said. I pulled out the key and got ready to say the keywords, only to see a keyhole manifest in front of me. Sticking the key into the hole triggered the distortion which whisked us away to the Metaverse and the massive castle resting beyond the chasm.

Once the castle fully manifested, Marisa took it in. “Whooooa… that place is really big and crazy.” She then turned around to me, and jumped back a bit. “Wait, what? Your clothes, they’re like… like a secret agent outfit! And the hell’s with that mask?”

Ah. It seemed I was already in my Metaverse outfit. “This is the outfit I don in the Metaverse,” I explained. “It reflects my ideal of what a hero is. The mask is how I summon my Persona; it’s the form it takes when it’s not active. If you awaken a Persona, you would get an outfit and a mask, too.”

“I don’t think I need one,” Marisa boasted. “As long as I can fly, and I got my Mini-Hakkero here, I bet I could kick those shadow’s asses.” She then jumped on her broom and tried to fly, only to find that she couldn’t. “Wait… huh? I can’t fly? What the heck???”

“Reimu had a similar problem,” I said. “She couldn’t use any of her powers here for some reason.”

Marisa was clearly annoyed. “Hmmmmmm… can’t use magic here, for whatever reason. Does regular magic not work, or does this place shut off special powers, or-”

Suddenly, Marisa was grabbed by a shadow guard who proceeded to run down the bridge to the castle.

“EEEK! HELP ME!!!” She screamed.

Damn it, I thought. I show her the Palace for one second, and already the shadows are on us, again. I shook my head, I had no choice. She would probably get killed if I did nothing, and it would be on my head. So, I sprinted down the bridge after the guard, right into the looming, sinister castle within which dwelled the distorted heart of a ghost princess.

Chapter Text

Sprinting across the bridge in hot pursuit of the shadow, I reached for my gun in hopes that I could at least slow it down, before realizing that I could hurt Marisa in doing so. As I thought of another way, the shadow disappeared into the castle, with two more spawning in front of the entrance.

“Blast,” I grunted. “I need to dispatch these quick.” Before, this would have been highly trivial, but with an untrained Persona and a weak shadow as the only ones at my disposal, I knew a high degree of skill would be necessary if I were to come out on top. Moving quickly, I dodged a sword slash from one of them before vaulting on top of it and ripping off its mask, causing it to turn into a Bicorn; the other shadow then turned itself into another Jack ‘o Lantern. I quickly felled the Bicorn with Zio, leaving only the Jack ‘o Lantern to deal with.

“Let’s get this over with,” I said coldly, “if you don’t mind, I’m in a rush.”

“Don’t kill me again, ho!” it pleaded.

“...again?”

“Yeah, I remember you from before!” it said, “you’re that violent guy who came with that shrine maiden to drive Queen Yuyuko outta the castle, ho! She’s a ghost, she’ll… well, die? Can ghosts die?”

“They can if they get in my way,” I snarked. “Now, are you going to let me through or what?”

“Of course not!” it shouted. “They’ll lock me in the freezer again if I do that!”

“Sounds like an abusive workplace,” I remarked. “Have you considered changing jobs? Surely the distortion of a Palace isn’t the best place to exist.” I had no idea why I was giving this shadow any mercy; if this were two weeks ago, I would have just shot it and moved on. But it was as though something inside of me was keeping me from doing that…

“Y’know, they all say I’m weak, just some drunk with a lantern, ho. I cast one Agi and that’s it. I wish I could get stronger, ho!”

I smirked. “Then why don’t you come with me? I’ll give you all the sake you want, and I’m sure even a Jack O’ Lantern like you could benefit from sharing my power.”

“Why would I work for someone who- ...wait a second, I’ve heard that name somewhere… aha! I just realized! I don’t work here! I’m just a soul who got trapped and brainwashed here! I’m Jack O’ Lantern! I’ll live in your mask now, ho!” And with that, another Persona got sucked into my mask. Satisfied, I moved on with my mission.

...it really would have been faster to just kill it, I thought.

Inside the castle was a maze of wooden hallways and doors, most of them patrolled by shadows who were now surely on high alert. I had to move quickly but silently; I was on my own, and one mistake would lead to me being surrounded. Searching each room would take a long time, and I didn’t have any time whatsoever.

Instead, after a few minutes, I found a couple shadows talking with each other about something. I crouched behind a wall and listened in:

“So they took that intruder down into the dungeon, huh?”

“Yeah, I just got called there. I’ll be right back. Shout if you see something.”

“Got it. I’m gonna go patrol the courtyard now.” The shadow turned away and left, leaving the other one to head down to the dungeon. I closely followed behind, jumping from wall to wall and from one piece of furniture to another, until it opened a locked door leading underground. I quickly dove in just before the door shut, the shadow not noticing a thing.

Predictably, there were several guards in the dungeon, so after looking around I found some crates leading up to the rafters; I climbed them and continued my quiet pursuit from above. After a few minutes I came to a cellblock, with one of the cell doors illuminated; that had to be the one, I realized. I waited for the guard to pass by, before blindsiding it and revealing it to be a mere Slime. This one would be a cinch, I thought. Nobody would miss a Slime.

…

“...me not some Slime! Me guard of… wait, me not guard here! Me from Sea of Souls! Me Slime. Nice to meet you, suit guy!”

...was what I thought, so why did I let it join me and not dispatch it when I had the chance? Was I getting soft already? That was two times in one infiltration, costing precious seconds to save Marisa… seconds which were spent sparing another soul…

I shook my head. Now was not the time for errant thoughts. I marched down the hallway toward the cell. Looking around, though, I noticed something interesting: these cells didn’t have prisoners, but food. Lots of food. In fact, if I didn’t know better, I would have thought this place was the cellar with how much food and even wine was kept in the cells. Guess Yuyuko really liked her food… guess her sin was Gluttony, I reckoned.

As I arrived at the lighted cell, I found Marisa sitting on a stool in her cell, her dress partially torn in places and bruises on her arms and face. She had her arms crossed and was staring at the floor, before she heard my footsteps and looked up.

“Took ‘ya long enough to get here,” she barked. “‘Ya see how much they roughed me up draggin’ me down here?! They just tossed me in here like some ragdoll and said somethin’ about comin’ back down to execute me! I couldn’t even use magic to fight back, but at least I was strong enough to knock one of ‘em down before they threw me down and kicked me in the ribs.”

“Let’s just say I had a warm welcome as well,” I snarked.

“Geh,” she grunted. “Never woulda thought that I’d be like some fairy tale princess waitin’ for prince charming to come down and bust me outta here.” She looked around. “Hey, see if you can find a key, will ‘ya? You got me into this mess, so you’d better get me out of it!”

A key, hm? I looked around, and saw the key just on the wall to my right, dangling in sight right in front of the inmates and taunting them with the freedom they would never receive. I realized now that Marisa was entirely at my mercy. And it would be easy enough to unlock the cell, guide her through the castle and back out the entrance to safety.

But then, another thought crossed my mind.

“...why should I?” I said.

Marisa’s eyes widened, and she shouted angrily, “WHADDYA MEAN ‘WHY SHOULD I?????’ YER STUPID ASS IS THE REASON I’M IN THIS CELL! NOW GET ME OUTTA THIS THING BEFORE I REACH THROUGH THE BARS AND STRANGLE YA!!!!”

I stepped back out of reach and smiled. “But it was your own insistence that ultimately led you here. Tell me, are you always this reckless?”

“YOU’RE THE ONE THAT BROUGHT ME HERE, DOOFUS!!!!”

“True, true, but I don’t deny the wishes of a lady,” I said. “It’s just as I deduced earlier. You throw yourself into any situation and do as you please, without care or regard for the wishes of others. Why is this, I ask you?”

Marisa banged the bars. “WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH ANYTHING RIGHT NOW??? WHY WON’T YOU JUST FUCKING LET ME OUT?!?”

“Why do you rush so recklessly into these situations?” I pressed, a little more forcefully.

Marisa hung her head a little. “Okay, look, I just - I just want to prove that I’m strong to everyone here! Gensokyo’s not nice to humans, okay???”

I chuckled. “So… you want to prove yourself?” I taunted. “An ordinary little girl who ran away from home to practice magic and survive here… hmhmhm, I really should pity you, here at the mercy of a man you barely know in a place where we could both die at any moment.” I widened my eyes, and gave a psychotic look and lisp. “But look where that’s gotten you. A little girl such as yourself should never have become involved in matters far beyond anything you can comprehend or handle. You’re doomed to die here, all because of your drive to be someone you aren’t.”

“YOU… BASTARD!!!” Marisa yelled tearfully. “WHY ARE YOU… YOU…”

“AND YOU WILL NEVER BECOME A MAGICIAN! I WON’T ALLOW IT!”

Memories flashed into my head. Memories of my father tossing all of my books, research notes and experiments into the fire, all while yelling and pointing at me about how all I would ever be was some ordinary girl doing what her father told her to and what society in this small-ass village expected of me. It was then that I knew I had to get out. Get out and be free to do what I damn well wanted, away from my bastard dad and this village. So that night, after he locked me in my room, I gathered my stuff, jumped out the window and never looked back. I swore that day to become the strongest magician Gensokyo had ever known, and stand side-by-side with the giants here.

...I should have known that would lead me here to my end. I guess, in the end, this idiot was right. I was useless, shoulda just stayed in the village and been a good girl… What good were my efforts? Why did I even try?

“My, my, what a miserable little pile of despair and self-loathing you’ve become.”

I jolted around, and saw… me. Well, something like me, but there was like this dark aura around its feet. Then I noticed the space around me was all black, except for her.

“Who the hell are ‘ya?” I exclaimed.

“Hmhmhmhm… I see. Of course you wouldn’t recognize me, someone as recklessly gung-ho and uncaring about your own well-being as you.” She did a curtsey. “I am you.”

“...me?! Bullshit! Only I’m me!”

“The other you,” it said. “The you whom you deny and bury within the deepest recesses of your heart, the ego who is a reflection of your depression, fear and jealousy of the people and forces around you, who keep beating you in fights no matter how hard you try your best to improve and become stronger.” She shrugged. “So, really? Why do you try? Why do you continue to do what you do, even if it could mean death and despite the continued dismissal of your magical colleagues?”

I collapsed to the ground, and gripped my face. “Why… do… I…”

“Is it because you refuse to be held down, chained by the human heart and body that the forces that be burdened you with, the desire to break free of that chain and become a powerful witch? To show the world the tenacity stored inside your heart, the strength, will and determination to stick it to the doubters and show those who don’t even try to improve what you’re capable of? Because you’re a challenge seeker and blood knight who seeks to dominate this realm and crush evil into tiny, whimpering pieces within the iron grip of your hands???”

I got up, faced my shadow, and glared.

“...you’re right. I’ve been flyin’ blind and doubting myself for far too long. I WILL show them that I can be a true magician and stick true to my HURK” I felt a throbbing pain in my head and throughout my body as the world flashed purple and distorted around me.

“Let us form a pact, a contract never to lie to yourself ever again.”

I gritted my teeth, staggered around and clenched my head as the words echoed in my head, and the sheer weight of the things I kept down came back to me with a vengeance.

“I am thou. Thou art I. The time has come. The time to unleash your fury, and show the world the untamed feral reactor that is your heart!”

As Marisa got back up, a mask with crescent moon designs flared upon Marisa’s face. With her right hand, she started peeling it away, barely repressing a scream until ripping it off, spilling blood everywhere and screaming at the ceiling as she became engulfed by a pillar of light and flames, blowing the bars off the cell that held her.

I smirked. It was just as I had intended.

As the light show died down, a ghostly figure in a witch’s robe, green hair and a long, crescent-tipped staff swept around Marisa, who was now garbed in a dark dress, with black pants and shoes, a holster with a gun, black gloves with retractable blades on them, a vested, belted jacket, black-and-white checkered scarf, and a black wide-brimmed hat with silver bullets affixed to it.

Once she finished huffing and puffing, she looked up with a wicked smirk, looking at her hands and feeling the power coursing through her.

“This power…” she mused. “So, this is what I had bottled up inside me!”

At that moment, two shadow guards came rushing down the hallway. “The prisoner broke out? We must stop her!” They then turned into a pair of Silkies.

“Nah, I don’t think so,” Marisa quipped, tipping her hat. “Imma flay you idiots apart! Ain’t that right, Mima?” She turned to her Persona, who nodded in affirmation. Marisa then glared at the Silkies with a wicked grin. One of them began to attack, before Marisa dashed up, bared her metal claws and slashed into it like a savage cat, before rolling back and whipping out her revolver and shooting it, knocking it down.

“Hell yeah, this is what I’m talkin’ about! Ya like that, bitch?!” The other Silky tried to run away, but Marisa wasn’t having any of it. “Oh no you don’t,” she hissed. “Mima, got somethin’ to fuck ‘em up?”

“My power is yours,” her Persona said. “Unleash the solar flare within you!”

“Solar flare, huh…” Marisa focused. Being a practiced magician, I assumed she would have no trouble figuring out what spells she could cast. And soon, she let out her hand, and her Persona charged up a teal energy ball with her crescent staff. “Frei!” The Frei attack, crackling with radioactive energy, shot through the air and struck the other Silky, knocking it down too.

We surrounded our downed foes and drew our weapons. “Seems the tables have turned, blockheads!” Marisa sneered. She looked up at me. “We got ‘em down, should we finish them off?”

“If we do, we must do it with style,” I said.

“Whaddya mean?” Marisa asked.

I grinned evilly. “Why, we take out our blades and slash, slice and dice the enemies with no mercy!” Just the thought of leading my own All-Out Attack made me giddy like a schoolgirl. Perhaps that little bit of bloodlust in my heart was reawakening? Either way, we wasted no time tearing into our prey like vicious animals, until only shadow blood, dropped yen and a Life Stone remained, which Marisa of course pocketed.

“Jesus Christ,” Marisa exclaimed after collecting the loot. “I’ve mowed down droves of fairies before, but I’ve never done anything that brutal. That wasn’t knockin’ them out, that was straight-up murder!”

“This is the power of our Personas,” I told her. “All of the shadows here will try to kill us, and our Personas give us the ability to fight back. Why not relish in the power granted to you by taking an oath to uphold your Justice and make the Palace ruler pay for her sins?”

Marisa looked at her clawed hands again. “Well, yeah, but…”

We heard footsteps running down the hallway. More shadow guards, no doubt.

“We need to get out of here.” I looked around and saw an escape route. “This way," I directed.

We clambered back up to the rafters, just as some more guards came in. As we moved about, we could hear them say things like “the intruders were here” and “the prisoner escaped. We need to find them.” The entire dungeon was now on high alert, making leaving through the normal exit impossible. Luckily, though, I found a vent, which I motioned Marisa to before crawling inside.

...

Punching out the vent cover, I jumped down into the hallway below, with Marisa rolling out moments later.

“Got real tight in there,” she said, dusting herself off. “I’ve broken into tons of places, but I’ve never had to do a vent escape. Claustrophobic nightmare right there, I tell ya. Certainly doesn’t help that I had to stare at your ass the whole time.”

I sighed. “Please don’t stare at my ass.”

Marisa blushed and stuttered, “er-I mean, I didn’t mean it like that.” She looked away from me, still red as a beet, trying to calm down in vain. “...dummy.”

I sighed and shrugged. “We need to keep moving. Shadows could appear at any moment.” I looked around the corner down yet another long hallway with several doors leading to different rooms. “There’s quite a lot of these. Getting our bearings will be difficult.”

“Can’t we find a window or something?” Marisa suggested. “Y’know, so we can jump out. Maybe a statue or something too, so we can have a reference point.”

I looked at her. “How good are you at breaking into places?”

“Well, I wouldn’t call it ‘breakin’ in,’ but I’m a pro at gettin’ into places like this. Not used to havin’ to break out, though.”

“Don’t you just blow everything up?” I asked. “You boasted about doing that.”

“Yeah, but doin' heists without havin' all the guards gettin' on your ass requires bein’ sneaky and not makin’ a fuss ‘till you have to fight.” She scanned the hallway, before slowly making her way down while hunched over. I of course followed closely behind, keeping an eye and an ear out for approaching shadows. Once we made it to the end, we looked one way and saw a dead end with a vase, while the other way led down another hallway.

“Wonder if there’s loot in here,” Marisa wondered aloud as she inspected it, before seeing that it was empty. “Pretty vase though. Wish we had a way to store it… I carry around this little stone that turns into a bottomless sack that I store stuff I find inside, but I don’t know if it would work here.”

“Why not check?” I asked her. “Just because you can’t cast magic - other than Metaverse magic - doesn’t mean your artifacts don’t work.”

“Eh, good point.” Marisa then fumbled around in her satchel, when the vase suddenly jumped out of her hands.

“What the-?!” She jumped back, and the vase fell to the floor, quivering and rattling before dissolving into blackness and reforming as an ape-like sheep.

“Seems I’ve caught a pair of greedy thieves,” it smirked. “I won’t allow your invasion of Queen Yuyuko’s sanctuary to go any further!” It then proceeded to lunge at us, which we sidestepped.

“Shoot, it’s the Tao Tie!” Marisa exclaimed. “Well, prolly not the real one, but this dude seems like a real threat!”

“The what now?” I asked her.

“Ya seriously don’t know this one?? Chinese monster of gluttony, one of the Four Evils of the World. C’mon, don’t they teach ‘ya that in history class?!”

“I know what that is, of course, I’ve just never seen this particular shadow,” I answered. “So I don’t know what it will do.”

“Well then, let’s just kill it.” Marisa pulled out her gun and fired, only for the bullet to bounce off the shadow harmlessly.

“What?! It’s immune to bullets?!?”

“Some shadows are,” I explained. “But we might still be able to slash it apart. Let’s not waste our energy using magic if we don’t have to.”

Marisa extended her claws. “Well then, if that’s the case, time to throw down!” I myself drew my knife, and both of us dogpiled onto the shadow, who kicked, bit and punched us as we went at it. I sustained cuts and bruises, and so did Marisa, but eventually we were able to subdue it.

“Got anything to say before we send ya to hell?” Marisa threatened, looming over the shadow.

It smiled. “You sure are a savage fighter on top of being greedy. Do you mug people on a daily basis?”

“I’ve beat up youkai with my bare fists, while they’re fighting at full power,” Marisa boasted. “I’ve fought a birdbrain god and won, too. You ain’t nothing.”

The shadow just stared at her. Then, it said, “I see you don’t have the power to wield multiple masks, multiple faces, but… perhaps there’s another way I could come with you? We seem pretty similar.”

“Hm? What do you mean?”

The shadow got up. “I just remembered something, looking at you. I don’t work here. I’m a shadow born from the hearts of thieves like you. I’d like to bestow my power unto you so that I may always be at your side.” The shadow then turned into light, and shot into an object on Marisa’s person.

“What the heck was that??” She rustled around in her bag, and pulled out a peculiar object: a raygun-shaped tool with a green bandit bag on the back of it, emblazoned with the Tao Tie symbol.

Marisa inspected the tool, then aimed it at another nearby treasure, which caused the device to suck up the treasure and store it in the bag.

“I see…” Marisa mused. “Somehow, that thing fused with my bag stone to form this doohickey and make it work here in the Palace.”

“Quite interesting,” I noted.

Marisa slumped. “But man, I got beat up pretty good, both fightin’ that thing and back when they dragged me to the cell, and you don’t look so hot either. If only there was a way for us to quickly patch ourselves up…”

At that moment, Marisa’s mask turned into her Persona, who cast a spell I recognized as Dia. Energy sparkled around Marisa, and the effect was immediate: her scrapes were healed, her bruises went away, and her vitality shot back up.

“Whoa… did I just… heal myself?” Marisa was amazed: now it was as though she had never been injured. She then looked at me, and cast the Dia spell causing my own injuries to go away.

Recalling her Persona, Marisa was still awestruck. “Wow, I got healin’ spells…” She grinned. “Guess that makes me extra important since I’m the medic of this operation!”

“Indeed,” I said. “We should get moving. We can talk more once we’re in a safe spot.”

We made our way down another set of hallways, and could hear the footsteps of approaching shadow guards coming right at us.

“Dammit,” I thought. I looked for somewhere to hide, but none of the rooms seemed to be good choices… until I noticed a strange feeling coming from one of them.

“In here,” I instructed. I ducked inside, and Marisa followed.

Shutting the door behind me, we came to a room which resembled a nondescript storage room filled with produce, and a table in the center.

“What’s so special ‘bout this place?” Marisa asked, before the cognition briefly flashed to turn into a regular bedroom.

“Whoa, what the hell!”

I looked around the room some more. “Yes, this place is a good hiding spot for us.”

Marisa turned around. “But ain’t there guards outside waitin’ to jump us?! Can’t they just barge in?”

I smiled. “No need to worry. They can’t notice this place.”

“...wha? But, ain’t this room totally visible?”

“Let me explain.” I fixed my tie. “A Palace ruler’s distortion doesn’t necessarily cover every single corner of the location it is projected over. There are weak spots where the distortion is unstable, where the person’s perceived control over the location is weakest. As an example, let’s say you had a Palace, which was projected over a city you are the mayor of. You see yourself as having wide-reaching control of the place, but there may be places such as underground cellars out of the public eye which you are simply not aware of. Alternatively, there may be people opposed to your corrupt rule, causing your control over them to be weaker. These all weaken distortions and create spots within Palaces called ‘Safe Rooms,’ and it is these Safe Rooms that our infiltrations are based around. Shadows are directly tied to the distortion, so to them this Safe Room is effectively invisible.”

Marisa thought for a minute, then said, “so basically, if someone’s control ain’t absolute, then these Safe Rooms appear?”

“That is correct.”

Marisa looked around the room once more, and as the room flickered again, her eyes widened slightly.

“What is it?” I asked.

“Well… I feel like I’ve been in this room before…” she shook her head. “Doesn’t matter right now. We might be safe here, but I bet those guys are swarmin’ just outside that door. So how do we get out?”

I smirked. “Watch this!”

…

In an instant, we were back at the Palace entrance.

“Wait, what?!? Did we just warp here or somethin’?!”

“i just exploited a gap in cognition to warp us from one weak spot to another.”

“Okay, who are you, Yukari?! And what was with that voice just now?!?"

I cleared my throat after doing my best Sans impression. “We should get going. To leave a Palace, we just walk away from the entrance to it a long distance, and eventually it will fade.”

“Whatever you say,” Marisa said.

“So you’ve never been to a bar before?”

“I’m too young. The legal drinking age is-”

“No one cares here, have a glass of Sake!”

It was a while later, and the two of us were at a tavern called Geidontei. A short girl with a whale cap brought me and Marisa drinks, and we were seated at the bar surrounded mostly by older gentlemen; despite this, Marisa claimed this was one of her favorite hangout spots.

I looked around. “To think that they let minors into a bar…”

“They don’t serve little kids, obviously, but if you’re adult-looking enough, they’ll let you in. There are no IDs in Gensokyo, so what’s anyone gonna do?”

I poked a piece of fried fish and ate it. “I suppose so.”

We were still for a moment, before Marisa slumped and moped. “So… about what you said when I was in that prison cell… did you really mean it?”

“I was merely trying to awaken your inner emotions so that you could awaken your Persona. It was the only way at that moment that you would be able to do so. Sparking that will to accept your flaws and rage against the oppressors in your life is how Personas are awakened.”

Marisa hit the table and shouted at me, “so ‘ya did that just to get me riled up so I would awaken that thing???”

“Precisely,” I said, staying calm.

Marisa got back down. “You… you…” She slumped, and chuckled. “Heh. ‘Ya really are a weird one.”

“Am I?” I asked her.

“Yeah… y’know, after I awakened my Persona, I felt… refreshed. Like, the weight of a whole buncha crap in my life that I’d been trying to ignore was just lifted right offa my shoulders.”

“Your shadow represents all of your repressed feelings and emotions. Accepting them as a part of you has a tremendous effect on your psyche. It certainly did for me when I first awakened mine.”

Marisa reached into her bag, and pulled out the capture gun. “So… that thing really did fuse with my bag artifact. Can’t wait to try it out in this world too.” She looked at me. “By the way… it said somethin’ about me not bein’ able to ‘wield multiple masks.’ What did it mean by that?”

“It must have meant the Wild Card,” I told her. “You may have noticed me using more than just the one Persona?”

“...yeah, now that you mention it, besides that secret agent you also called out a Slime and a Jack-’o-Lantern lookin’ thing.”

“That’s the Wild Card. It’s an extremely rare power, one which I happen to possess, and which the leader of the team I was on also had. Normally, there’s only one heart per person, so you can only have a single Persona. A Wild Card, however, can wield multiple Personas within themselves, taking on stray shadows formed by the public consciousness as a part of their personality. Only those who possess the Fool Card have this power.”

“Fool Card… ‘ya mean like the Fool Arcana?”

“Yes. Everyone in the world, and all shadows, represent one of the twenty-two major Arcana. Fools, like myself, can form bonds with others, and those bonds strengthen the hearts of both of us.”

“Heh, I thought witches like me were the only ones who cared about Tarot cards, but you sound like you know more about them than I do!” Marisa took another drink. “Bonds, huh? So, like friends?”

“I… you could say that.”

“I’m good at makin’ friends, just never had any guy friends before so… eh, forgive me if I mess up.” She blushed a little bit. “A-and I don’t mean it like that!”

I chuckled. “Sure. But I do ask one thing of you. Would you accompany me and Reimu in investigating that Palace? You already have a Persona, so…”

“Well, it’s an incident, right?” Marisa grinned. “I told ‘ya I always go with Reimu to solve incidents! And think of all the loot we could plunder! Of course I’ll do it! In return, I’ll brew up some potions from my mushrooms I think will be helpful for our mission. I’ll bring some coffee with me too, we’ll prolly need it, solvin’ incidents is tiring work.”

“Hmhmhm… well, alright.” I shook her hand, and thus sealed my deal with her.

I am thou, thou art I. Thou hast acquired a new vow.

It shall become the wings of rebellion that breaketh thy chains of captivity.

With the birth of the Magician Persona, I have obtained the winds of blessing that shall lead to freedom and new power…

After dinner, we made a promise to meet back at the Shrine tomorrow. Marisa took off on her broom, and I walked back home. I stayed up for about an hour cleaning up the shop before heading to bed.

It was quiet after Goro and Marisa left. Nothing to do except pray to the kami of the shrine, feed the fairies, brush my teeth and head to bed.

...what Goro was saying about shadows and Personas earlier played out through my head. About shadows in that other world, representing our repressed thoughts and emotions. About distorted desires.

Being a shrine maiden was very tough work, and solving incidents took a lot of my energy. Sure, I was known for being almost unbeatable, and able to make friends with everyone. But it all came at the cost of having any free time whatsoever, since I spent almost all of it either training, praying or cleaning.

Part of me still wished my mother was still alive. I wasn’t even meant to take up the duty of Shrine Maiden until I was eighteen, but that fateful thunderstorm changed everything. I was grieving at her grave the day the scarlet mist filled the sky, and Marisa came up to me, yelling about that mansion at the far side of the Misty Lake. My life since then was nothing but unending incidents and organizing parties. I just wished I could have some sort of break, some way to end my ceaseless days alone here in this shrine… someone to share the duty with.

I started talking absentmindedly. “Shadows… Personas… spirits… Ethos…”

The world flashed purple as I lay in my futon. “Ghah!” I shot up, and looked around the room. Nothing seemed amiss, but my gut told me that something wasn’t quite right…

I got up. I looked around for the mysterious key, and found it shining. Had I activated it somehow?...

“Balance. It’s something you lack, you lazy shrine maiden. Shirking your duties so you can sneak in those little moments of rest.”

I jumped around and was met with… me. Well, a figure that looked like me, but surrounded by shadow and with yellow eyes.

“Who are you?!” I pointed at her. “Are you that kitsune again? Or maybe a tanuki?!”

She shook her head. “I am not one of those. I am you. I am your feelings of frustration of the imbalance of your life given form. The duty of the Hakurei Shrine Maiden is placed upon the shoulders of all daughters of the Shrine Maidens here. It is enshrined in Gensokyo’s doctrine, penned by the Sages themselves. You, however, fail to live up to that duty. You let youkai into the shrine, just so you can have friends, because you can’t talk to humans, and humans won’t talk to you. No wonder you don’t have any worshippers. You go around solving incidents, and yet you fail to see the incident lodged within your very heart.”

“...incident…”

“I’m right in front of your eyes, aren’t I? What you seek is an escape out of this endless loop of overwork and loneliness, one which the life of the Shrine Maiden doesn’t offer… what if I told you it didn’t have to be like this?”

“...what do you mean?”

“What if I told you the situation was artificial, inflicted upon you by the distorted desires of people living here in this valley? Their hearts trapped in a prison of sin, twisting their spirits and making them inflict misery upon the people who live here? These desires can’t be erased by physical fighting. Now, I appear before you, offering you your chance to heal these wounded hearts. I have one condition: will you face your fears and uncertainty? That man has a power which will allow your heart to rise up out of the abyss and stand tall against the filth of this world.”

I thought about this. I had made a deal with him. I promised him help in destroying these Palaces. And yet my powers didn’t work in that world, so I was basically dead weight without a power like his.

...could he really help me? Could getting an Outside perspective really help sort out the issues in my life?

...yes, yes it could. I had to be honest with myself: I couldn’t solve everything on my own. Sometimes, I had to suck it up and seek help, both strength and… moral support.

I looked up at my shadow. “Yes. Come to me.”

My shadow held out her arms, and smiled. “Very well. The power to mediate the disputes of gods is what all shrine maidens hold. I am thou, thou art I…”

Chapter Text

It was now my fourth day here in Gensokyo. Already, I had discovered a palace and found two partners to investigate it. Furthermore, I had fully awakened my Wild Card power, and was keen to see how far I could take it.

But first, I had to get through my chores.

“I need you to run to the market really quick and get me some extra vegetables,” Masato told me while giving me a list. “You remember where it is?”

“Of course,” I said.

Masato patted me on the back. “I’m counting on you, young man.”

I threw on my jacket and boots, grabbed a basket, and ventured out into the snowy streets of the village. To get to the market, I headed up the street toward the central square, where on one corner the main market was bustling with people both young and old. Even though it was winter, it was still open-air, with awnings shielding fresh foods - really fresh foods, not the pesticide and chemical laden “fresh” food at the grocery stores in Tokyo. There was even a butcher and a fishmonger. Besides groceries, it was also home to sellers hawking their wares and a few food stands. It was almost like a street fair that never ended.

I made my way to the produce stands. There was surprisingly quite the variety for a medieval village in the dead of winter, though of course sweet potato, ginger and pumpkin dominated, being among the few in-season foods. Masato instructed me to pick up those, as well as some preserves and wintergreens. To check out, I had to count out exact change for the lady manning the register, an old-fashioned, mechanical spring-loaded device that looked like it came from the 1910’s and which had some modifications to make it easier to use. They also still used yen here; most of it was obviously minted here or at least very old, although newer coins and bills as recent as the 1960’s were mixed in here and there too. I myself had 10,000 in emergency cash, although I feared no one would recognize and accept it.

“Thank you,” I bowed, loading up my goods.

“We appreciate your business,” the woman said. As I loaded up, she told me, “remember that this food was given to us by those who came before and whose bodies feed the soil, and the animals who gave their lives for us to sustain our own.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I smiled. It was clear to me that for these people, food was not just food. Eating was spiritual, and good grace was given to all the things that went into meals. That sort of attitude was rare in Tokyo, and most other places for that matter. Out there, everyone just thoughtlessly fills up shopping carts with assorted processed chemical junk, buys fruits and vegetables out of season, or gorged on greasy slop that came out of a brown paper bag or styrofoam container, all without giving any regard as to where their ingredients came from. As much as we call ourselves advanced, perhaps there’s something about everyone being on their phones and not talking to the person next to them, or how we ransacked nature to the point where few got the opportunity to truly appreciate it, that sullied the souls of humans to where we weren’t at all like the down-to-Earth people of this village, who seemed to all be living their lives to the fullest, in the way that their ancestors did.

These thoughts bounced around in my head until I caught sight of the white-haired girl from the other day, filling up a large basket on her back with yet more food. The white ghost-like orb behind her bobbed about, but none of the villagers seemed too concerned about it. Again, her expression was a tired one, and I could tell she wasn’t feeling so well.

...something inside me urged me to go over and talk to her, even though I didn’t know her at all. I had no idea why. Perhaps it was the otherworldly vibe she gave off, with the spirit behind her, her white hair with a large black bow, and the large swords she carried. Or perhaps it was because she had a cute face…

I shook my head. Now was not the time to think such things. I took a breath and went over to speak with her.

“...does Yuyuko-sama really need this much food? At this rate, the Netherworld is going to run out of funds, and I’m never going to be able to keep teaching her techniques if she keeps making me run all these errands…”

“Hello,” I said.

The girl spun around to me in surprise. “Oh, uh, hi there!” she stammered. “You spooked me!”

“My apologies. I just noticed you over here, and you seemed stressed out.”

The girl blushed lightly, and was quiet for a few seconds, before asking, “I-I’m sorry, but who are you?”

I bowed. “My name is Goro Akechi. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Goro Akechi…” Youmu thought for a moment. “...oh! Didn’t I bump into you yesterday in front of the Kirisame shop? I was in there looking for new gardening tools.”

“Yes, of course. I’m actually living and working there right now. Masato-san sent me here to pick up groceries.”

“Ah, I see… Masato did mention- oh, sorry, where are my manners??” She hastily bowed. “I’m Youmu Konpaku. I’m the gardener of the Netherworld and the retainer of its ruler, Yuyuko Saigyouji.”

…? This was her, the servant of the Palace ruler that Reimu and Marisa were talking about?

“I-is something the matter?” she stuttered.

I shook my head. “Oh, it’s nothing. I was visiting the shrine yesterday and they told me about you.”

“Oh, I see,” she replied. “I guess they told you about the Cherry Blossom incident, too?”

“Cherry Blossoms?” I asked.

Youmu shook her head. “It’s nothing. Yuyuko-sama is a good person, but ghosts don’t have the best memory of their lives. That’s why she was trying to awaken the Saigyou Ayakashi tree, to see whose body was sealing it. It’s an evil tree, it devours the souls of anyone who sleeps under it, and that’s why it was sealed. She apologized to everyone after that. Well, I guess I did, since I was the one actually stealing the Spring.”

I nodded. “It feels strange to me that something as immaterial as the Spring season could just be stolen and fed to a demonic cherry tree. This place is full of surprises.”

Youmu tilted her head. “Are you an outsider?”

“Could you not tell before?”

“O-oh, it’s not that! I just - I just assumed you were from here, that’s all!” Her shoulders slumped. “I don’t get to leave the Netherworld that much. Even with that portal, Yuyuko-sama is always making me do work around the place, trimming the hedges, the trees and tending to the food garden. I barely have time to devote to my training anymore, much less teach her swordplay, which is what I’m supposed to be doing in the first place.”

“Your training?” I asked her. “I see you have those swords…”

“Hm? Oh, yes, I’m a swordswoman in training.” She turned around to show off one of her sheathed blades. “My family has served Yuyuko-sama for a long time. I’ve only been doing it for a few decades; the last servant, who was also my teacher, disappeared a long time ago.”

I cocked an eye. “A few decades?” I cleared my throat. “Ah, pardon me, it’s just, you would seem to be younger than me…”

“We age slower than full humans,” she explained. The little spirit behind her came down upon her open hand. “We’re also half-phantom. This is my other half. It scared the other villagers here at first, but they got used to it after some time.” She giggled. “I might look like a young girl, but I’m probably old enough compared to you to be your grandma.”

I shrugged. “This place never ceases to surprise me,” I smiled. “I wonder what else I’ll uncover.”

Youmu hefted up her groceries again. “I should probably get going. Yuyuko-sama gets cranky when I’m late getting home.”

I looked at the pile of produce, grains and meat towering above her. “That looks very heavy. Would you like some help carrying it all back?”

“Thank you,” she smiled, “but I can get it back all on my own.”

“Hm. Well, suit yourself.” I walked off with my load while she went away with hers. I could hear her sigh heavily, and I swore I could hear her say something under her breath: “...if only I could get out of this…”

After I returned to the shop, I worked for Masato for a few hours, dusting shelves, organizing items and sweeping the floor. Again, more customers came and went, allowing me a further glimpse into daily life in Gensokyo. It really was as though I had been thrust back in time, and into a fairy tale at that. I was curious to see what places outside of this village were like; if Reimu was correct I would be able to face any threats that presented themselves once I fully learned Spell Cards. That I could also fly was difficult to believe; even Reimu expressed disbelief in how good I apparently already was. It felt as though it came… naturally, somehow.

Just after lunch, Reimu stopped by the shop to come get me. She told Masato that she was going to be teaching me more Spell Cards, when in truth this was the day of our Palace investigation. We made our way up the path, toward the entry point.

When we got there, Marisa was already waiting for us, spinning her capture gun around on her finger and grinning. “Looks like we’re all here.”

“Someone’s excited,” Reimu said.

“Of course! We’re storming and looting a castle, why wouldn’t I be excited?! I spent all night makin’ preparations for our infiltration, too!” She pointed her capture gun at the ground, shooting out bags labelled “medicine” as well as several thermoses.

“What are those for?” Reimu asked.

“Tea and coffee,” Marisa answered. “These’ll be vital for our exploration.”

“What good are tea breaks going to be during the incident?”

I smiled. “It was my suggestion, actually. In the Metaverse, the notion of ‘must have caffeine’ is even more true than in the physical world. Thus, consuming something commonly seen as invigorating will, in fact, invigorate you, giving you more energy to channel a Persona’s powers.”

“Is there a give-and-take?” Marisa asked. “I mean, the reason you can use magic here is because of ambient magical energy, or feeding spells magical components like eye of newt and whatnot, but actually channeling it requires mental and spiritual power, which can tire you out as much as beatin’ stuff up all day with your fists. I assume something similar is at work here?”

I chuckled. “Well, obviously I know nothing about magic, or at least the type that you practice. But a Persona is a part of yourself, so naturally anything you have your Persona do will affect your stamina as well. For example, if your Persona uses a physical attack, it would tire you out as though you had used the attack yourself, moreso if it was highly intensive. Similarly, repeated use of spells will drain your mental and spiritual energy, and it’s possible to run out of magic entirely. Both of these things can be fully replenished by simply packing up and heading back for the night to rest.”

“Hmm… I see,” Marisa mused, tapping her foot.

“I almost never see you this studious,” Reimu remarked.

“Ah, sorry,” Marisa said. “If it has to do with magic, I can’t help but get curious, that’s all. I spend a lot of time studyin’ and practicin’. It sounds like this ‘Metaverse’ has magic that operates on different rules than the real world. I wonder if I could perform experiments on it; I might be able to come up with some new theories.”

“I thought your experiments mostly consisted of ‘mix corrosive agent A with toxic substance B,” Reimu snarked.

“Hey, doin’ magic’s a lot more complex than just wavin’ a stick everywhere and having some god do all the work for you.”

“Channeling holy powers is no easy feat and requires intense concentration and devotion, I’ll have you know.”

I sighed. “Shall we get back to the task at hand? I didn’t come here solely to watch you two bicker for an afternoon.”

“Eh, you’ll get used to it,” Marisa said. “We’re contractually obligated to gripe at each other day in and day out.” She cleared her throat. “So, basically, we just gotta tear through that place until we find the Treasure, which should be in the deepest part.” She giggled. “Oh, I like this. This is the kinda incident I’ve always wanted to solve!”

Reimu crossed her arms. “More like, you’ve always wanted breaking in and stealing something to be the point, rather than just a diversion.”

Marisa stuck her tongue out again. “Oh, you’re no fun. And besides, you don’t have a Persona like we do, so you can’t tell me what is and isn’t an incident!”

Reimu looked down, and chuckled.

“...huh?”

“Don’t underestimate me,” Reimu smiled, spinning her key around her finger.

We jumped back. “Wait, when?!?” Marisa shouted.

“Last night,” Reimu said. “And it looks and feels strong. Surely, I won’t have any trouble in that castle like last time.”

“Well, I can’t wait to see it in action,” I said. I turned to Marisa. “Care to do the honors?”

“Eh, sure.” She took out a slightly glowing teal key, causing a keyhole to appear. “We doin’ this?”

“Absolutely,” I affirmed.

“What are you all doing?”

We jolted up to see Youmu rushing down the path toward us. “You… Akechi! You’re not all planning on doing something to Yuyuko-sama, are you?” she accosted.

“Er, no, we just-” then I looked over to Marisa, whose key was already in the hole and reacted to it. “You - you have to leave at once!”

“Not until I - GAAH!” At that moment, reality distorted, and we entered the Palace, with Youmu inadvertently in tow.

Once the distortion settled, we looked on at the castle, which still loomed with the cherry tree behind it towering above all. Youmu got back up off the ground, took one good look around, and shouted, “wh-what is this place?! What did you do?!? And… those costumes! Especially Reimu’s!”

“Hm?” Me and Marisa turned around to Reimu, whose appearance was… eye-catching, to say the least. Her entire shrine maiden dress was replaced by a white, flowing robe (with detached sleeves, of course), with gold-plated armor over the chest and a red tabard bearing black Japanese characters along with magatama symbols, along with a fan-like mask similar to Ame-no-Uzume’s. Her most unusual feature, however, was a pair of wings under a red-and-white cape: one angelic right wing, and one demonic left.

“Whoa, dang!” Marisa was clearly impressed. “Are those for real?!”

“Erm… sort of.” At that moment, she extended the wings out. “They’re… I guess, attached to my body, and I can move them… it feels so weird, to be honest. But, I can’t use them to fly or anything. Or, maybe I can, I don’t know, I just don’t know how.”

“But - you. Have. Wings. That’s so awesome! And… you look like, well, one of those Judeo-Christian angels, but why’s that one a bat wing?”

“Oh?” Reimu looked over at the wing in question. “...I guess that’s just the devilish part of me,” she smirked.

“YOU’RE NOT ANSWERING MY QUESTION!!!” Youmu exclaimed. “WHERE ARE WE?!”

I turned to her. “This is the world representing your master’s heart,” I said. “This distorted world is how she sees your home. A castle which exists solely to indulge her gluttonous desire.”

“Grrr… ENOUGH OF THAT!” Youmu shouted angrily. “Yuyuko-sama is a good person! She’s a good person! She… she…” She collapsed to the ground. “Wha… what do you mean this place represents her heart?! How did we get here?!?”

I spun my key around. “This key grants me the ability to enter places like this. It’s a power I’ve had for a long time. I had it Outside, too. Basically, it allows me to enter a world representing one’s distorted desires, based upon a location and how it appears in their distorted view.”

“I… I don’t understand…”

“I don’t expect you to,” I replied. “I was confused the first time I entered this world too.”

Marisa looked around, then told me, “hey, should we get her outta here? She’ll hold us back tryin’ to storm this place.”

I thought about Marisa’s suggestion, especially since Youmu didn’t have a Persona and therefore her ability to fight here would be severely compromised. On the other hand, I thought about the things she said to me back at the market. It was clear to me that her master was needlessly burdening her with tasks to satisfy her own desires, at the expense of Youmu’s well-being. Normally I wouldn’t care much at all about another person’s problems, given how dog-eat-dog this world was. And yet... 

...somehow, I felt compelled to intervene. Like, it would go against my sense of justice to leave her woes unresolved. At the very least, I wanted her to see the truth about her master, and if possible, help her heal.

“Actually, I think she should come along,” I said.

“Wait, what?” Reimu and Marisa said in unison.

“She has already seen this place,” I told them, “and she would likely tell Yuyuko-san all about it. Since this place is based upon her cognition, that could create highly undesirable effects that would jeopardize our progress into the investigation. Besides, I do believe that Youmu-san deserves to see her master’s distortion with her own eyes.”

“Wait… how do you know her already?” Marisa asked.

“I met her at the market in the village this morning. But it is a strange coincidence to bump into her again so soon after…”

Youmu got back up. “Yuyuko-sama wanted me to go ‘find a fun artifact’ for her for some reason after I got back with the groceries. I… wasn’t in any room to say no, since I’m bound to do as she wants…”

“How come?” I asked her.

“Because I’m a member of the Konpaku clan, and-”

“Let me rephrase the question,” I said again in a harsher tone. “You just cow to the whims of a bratty princess for fear of angering her. What kind of proud warrior servant such as yourself would allow your master to simply degenerate into a child who demands everything for her own self-fulfillment, instead of doing her goddamn job? Surely, you would want to set her straight, especially if said behavior is wearing you thin and keeping you from carrying out your true duty, or preventing you from having time to yourself?”

“I…” Youmu pounded the ground. “That’s…”

“C’mon, we can’t just be standin’ around here,” Marisa said. “Is it possible to take us to that safe room place?”

“Oh, yes.” I got back up, and reached out to Youmu. “Here. Take my hand.” After some hesitation, she reached out and grasped it, and I helped her up. “You two, follow me.”

…

“Alright, we made it.”

Marisa looked around. “Seriously though, how we get here is like… like I’m lookin’ one way one second, then all of a sudden I turn back and here we are.”

“A safe room,” Reimu mused. “I’m surprised this place even exists. You’re sure no enemies will try and come in here?”

“Very certain,” I said. “Of course, it’s a different story the moment we step outside…”

“We’re used to that,” Reimu said, spinning her gohei around. “We’ll be flying around and all of a sudden a cloud of fairies comes out of nowhere and they all start blasting.”

“Yeah, but out there we got danmaku,” Marisa cautioned, “and fairies are super easy to kill. These guys… well, they’re harder to kill AND we don’t have our normal magic to mow through ‘em.”

“I don’t see that being a huge problem. Ordinance is only half the fight, the other half is strategy, which is my edge over you through years of being an extermination shrine maiden.”

Marisa crossed her arms. “You can boast after we see your Persona in action. And I thought the shrine attracted youkai.”

Reimu clearly pretended she didn’t hear that.

“I’m sorry, but, what are you all talking about?” Youmu asked.

I shook my head. “I could explain, but it would be quicker and easier to demonstrate, I would think.” I went to the door and peeked my head out. “I don’t see any shadows around here. Let’s move out quickly.”

Staying close together, we exited the safe room and made our way down one of the halls. Along the way, we investigated an open door, leading to what looked like a small library or office. Marisa perused the shelves, sliding her finger across the spines.

“Food, food, food, bath salts, booze, food… geez, there’s a lot here about food and parties.” She pulled one off the shelf, entitled “Best Foods for Lavish Banquets.” As she flipped through the pages, she mused, “wonder how fat I’d get if I ate this stuff. Hell, I feel like I’m getting fat just reading it. Ain’t that right, Rei-”

But when we faced Reimu, she just stood there, looking at the shelf with a blank stare, and I could swear she was drooling.

“Hello?” Marisa waved her hand in front of Reimu’s face.

“Oh, sorry.” Reimu jolted back into reality. “It’s just… this many books about food… it’s so…”

Marisa facepalmed. “Still not getting enough to eat? Did you learn nothing from when you literally died from eating old, expired food that one time-”

“We’ve found the intruders in the library!”

Suddenly, three shadow guards, one with golden armor plating and a much more ornate kabuto, charged into the room, drawing their katanas and pointing them at us.

“Crap, we’re surrounded!” Marisa exclaimed.

“Not on my watch.” In a flash, Youmu drew one of her swords.

I reached out to her. “No, wait, Youmu-san, you can’t-”

“I can’t what?” she said pushing my arm away. “Let me show you my years of training to you all!” She took off and dashed at the guard captain, clashing blades with him… and as we could see, seemed to be struggling.

“Wha- I can’t… why can’t I seem to…” She was clenching her teeth, and clearly struggling against the shadow guard. Soon, the guard managed to overpower her, knocking her sword away and kicking her down to the ground.

“Intruders must be executed,” the guard captain proclaimed, holding its sword to her chin.

“Dammit… why do I feel so much weaker…”

“Guess it’s time to step in.” Reimu jumped, then hit the guard with a powerful flying kick, sending it crashing back into the wall. When she landed, she grasped her mask.

“Time to show you what I’m made of.” In a swift motion, she threw it off. “Come, Kikuri!” A white pillar of light erupted behind her, and out of it emerged a female figure dressed in garb which somehow mixed traditional Japanese religious robes and Judeo-Christian ones, with detached sleeves, carrying an oversized brass-plated staff with a paper tassel attached to it and with one red and one white magatama on either side of her hair.

The model figure of all mikos and mediator of Izanagi and Izanami, Kikuri-Hime.

Once the guard captain got back up, it commanded “how dare you… we will crush you right here!” It and its subordinates then turned into their true forms, an Incubus and Succubus for the lesser ones and the captain a Jack Frost.

“You’re going down, hee-ho!”

“Who’re calling a ‘hee-ho?’ Taste Agi!” At that command, Kikuri whipped out her brass staff, which opened up heat ports on the side to expel flames to ravage the target, knocking the snowman down on its feet.

Reimu turned to the other two and asked them, “now then, you next?” She dashed toward the Succubus faster than it could act and whipped out her gohei to attack. Right before contact, it glowed, and upon hitting the shadow’s body it disintegrated into black ash.

“Whoa, wasn’t expecting that,” she said in surprise. “Although, then again, this is used to exorcise evil spirits in the real world. Guess that goes for evil spirits here too.”

At this point, the Incubus, clearly outmatched, tried to escape, only for it to catch Reimu’s glare. “Oh? Running away? I don’t think so.” Again, she commanded her Persona to attack, this time by opening up the end of the staff to reveal a gun barrel. The gun fired, hitting the Incubus with a projectile that killed it on a single shot.

Once those two were dealt with, we turned our attention to the downed Jack Frost, who had been the guard captain. Compared to other shadows, captains had conferred enough favor from the Palace ruler to be granted special benefits, and so often had unyielding loyalty to them. That meant negotiation was pointless, and the only way to get on with it was to kill them. Once we drew our guns (Reimu revealed hers to be an assault rifle), I spat on the ground and quipped, “any last words before you die, ho?”

“You can’t call me a ho, ho!” it complained. “Only Yuyuko-sama can call me a hee-ho!”

Marisa cracked her neck. “So why do you call everyone a ‘ho?’ Some people don’t like being called that.”

“Really?” The shadow looked up. “I just thought everyone liked being jolly and singing hee-ho like me… wait, something isn’t right, ho.” It looked up at me, then pointed its finger. “You! You kidnapped my brother!”

“Brother?” I asked. “And… kidnapped?” I shook my head. “Nonsense. He joined me on his own volition. I freed him from the distortion the palace ruler casts upon all of you.”

“You lie! Yuyuko-sama loves everyone!”

“Are you sure? Do you have any memory at all about how you came into her servitude?”

“Well… no, but-”

I cut it off. “Did she journey to the frigid north herself and demand King Frost let one of his Jack Frost servants become her servant instead?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about - wait… I’ve heard that name before…”

Well, this was unexpected. Usually, guard captain shadows were too far gone to be saved, but somehow we had succeeded in freeing this one from Yuyuko’s distortion. It got up, and proclaimed “I remember, ho! I came from the Sea of Souls! Somehow I came here and got brainwashed, ho!”

“Splendid,” I smiled. “Now then, how about you come along with me?”

“Ho?” It looked puzzled. It thought for a moment, then said, “...eh, you’re kinda weak still, I think.”

...I would protest, but it did have a point. Ren did tell me that certain Personas were too strong for him to wield, and he had to gain more experience as a Persona user before he could control them. Perhaps that was the case with this one; I was far too inexperienced and so I wouldn’t be able to control it, embarrassing as that seemed.

However, it looked over at Reimu, eyed her gohei, then said, “but I think I know a place where I could hole myself up! You’re fighting’s pretty impressive, miss! How about I power up that stick you’ve got there?”

Reimu’s eyes widened. “Er… my gohei? Let a fairy possess it?! No way I’m-” But the Jack Frost already turned into light and streamed into the tip of the gohei. Once the light died down, a small band with the Jack Frost’s face was affixed to the top, too.

Reimu inspected it for a moment. “What… did it just do?” she asked.

“Ah, yes, I think it fused with your weapon and imbued it with some of its power. Shadows can do that if you befriend them. Marisa had something similar happen the other day. No doubt it's more effective than it was before,” I mused.”

“Interesting… hope it doesn’t affect the gohei’s ability to perform exorcisms,” she said.

We looked at the corner of the room, where Youmu stood there with her jaw wide open, pointed at us and said, “what the hell was that about just now?! What were those things that came out of you?”

I looked around, keeping an ear out for incoming shadows, and told her, “I’ll tell you once we get to a safe place. Now stay close to us.” I walked over to the desk, where Marisa was eyeing a piece of paper. I leaned over her shoulder to see what it was: a partial map of the palace.

“I found this while rummaging through the desk,” she explained. “Seems this is a map of the castle we’re inside of. There’s six floors, and we’re on the ground floor. Furthermore, it seems like there’s parapets which encircle the huge cherry tree in the middle, arranged in a diamond. There’s a similar-sized castle on the opposite end of this one, and two smaller towers on the other corners. There’s a huge courtyard in front of the cherry tree on the south side - that’s where we are - and… that’s as far as I can tell. There’s like, no details on the north end at all.”

“I suspect there’s another map elsewhere,” I suggested. “It may be good to look out for it. In the meantime, I suggest we investigate the cherry tree. I have a feeling the Treasure is located there.”

Youmu came up to us, shouting, “wait, what’s this about? Treasure? Cherry tree?? What on Earth are you talking about?!”

“The Treasure is the embodiment of Yuyuko’s distorted desires,” I explained to her. “Once we steal it, Yuyuko’s abhorrent nature in real life will disappear.”

“She… SHE’S A GOOD PERSON! I WON’T LET YOU… GGGGHHHHEEEHH…”

I shook my head. “We really do need to get moving. Shadows will attack us at any moment if we stay here. Marisa, show us the way.”

“Got it!”

We made our way through the halls out to the back exit, taking out a couple more shadows along the way. It was then that the effect of the Jack Frost band on Reimu’s gohei was revealed: at one point, it froze a foe in place, allowing it to be easily dispatched. We soon made our way out of the building, and out into a spacious rock-and-pond garden, lined with cherry blossoms and with the gigantic cherry tree perched atop a hill in front of us.

“No doubt that’s the Saigyou Ayakashi tree,” Reimu said.

“Come again?” I asked her.

“It’s the demonic cherry tree I was talking about back in the village,” Youmu said. “This… this is what it looks like, and… this garden…”

Suddenly, reality fazed, turning the distorted world into a much smaller shrine, with us in the middle of a similar rock garden and with the giant cherry tree off in the distance, before fazing back to the palace.

“What the?!” Everyone jumped, wondering what had just happened.

“This place is based on Yuyuko’s cognition. Everything you see here is based on a real location in the real world. This is how your master sees the place: a grandiose castle whose only purpose is to satiate her childish whims.”

“You…” Youmu seethed. “I don’t have to listen to this!”

She took off running.

“Youmu! Wait!” Reimu ran after her, with me and Marisa not far behind. It didn’t take long to find her: a shriek could be heard from a nearby path, and once we reached the source, all of us were aghast at what we saw.

“WHAT THE HELL IS…!”

“Calm, down, Youmu, it’s gonna be - wait, what the hell?!”

In front of us was a donkey, draped in garbs similar to Youmu’s, with a crushing amount of food on its back, and dragging a train of carts holding more. The poor thing was struggling to haul all of that weight. Not only that, but it was being whipped by a knight on a red horse - Berith - who was flanked by two Bicorns. It weakly brayed, only for the Berith to whip it again.

“Quiet, you! Queen Yuyuko demands food! It is your duty to fulfill her needs for all of us!”

I could not believe what I was seeing here.

“Why… why is that donkey dressed like me?!?”

My head dropped. “Unbelievable. This must be how your master sees you: nothing more than a mule who will endlessly bow to her whims. Don’t you see? You are a slave. This is what you’re letting your master do to you.”

“My god… when did Yuyuko get this far gone?” Marisa said.

The Berith then noticed us, breaking off of the mule to confront us. “You! Intruders! I will not let you infiltrate Queen Yuyuko’s domain!”

“Looks like we have a fight on our hands,” I said. We got ready to fight, but Youmu dashed out ahead of us to face it personally.

“Let that donkey… let ME go!” she pleaded. She unsheathed her sword, and bellowed, “taste the soul-slicing steel of Roukanken!” She then attempted to swing it, but stumbled into the horse, only lightly scratching it. The Berith then retaliated by knocking her back with its spear, leaving her bruised and bleeding on the ground.

“Pft. Is that all you’ve got?” it taunted.

Youmu tried to get back up, but was unable to. She struggled to talk, and was gasping for air. “Why… can’t I…”

“Ahahahahahahahaha!” A feminine voice cackled from above us. Part of the cherry tree unfurled its branches, and a glass staircase manifested, down which strutted a pink-haired woman in an oversized butterfly robe which seemed to stretch back a hundred meters behind her. The skirt was wide-open in the front, save for a thin pelvic curtain draping down, far enough up her hips that it was apparent she wasn’t wearing anything under that thin piece of cloth, and it seemed as though her breasts were ready to burst out of her dress as well. A single, large paper fan obscured her face, before she flung it away to reveal the characteristic sharp, piercing yellow-eyed face of a shadow self.

“The hell’s with the getup?” Marisa said cock-eyed.

“I could ask the same of you band of thieves, costumed like you’re all superheroes of justice,” Shadow Yuyuko replied, with the characteristic dark reverb in her voice which all shadows had. “You all thought you could just crash in through the back entrance and do as you pleased in my beautiful castle. I knew I should have erased that gap years ago; it’s not like the spirits in Muenzuka would impede Youmu from bringing me all the food and toys I want!”

“Yuyuko...sama…” Youmu weakly gasped.

Shadow Yuyuko came up to Youmu, spat on her and put her heeled foot on her back. “Pathetic miserable pile of ectoplasm and flesh you’ve become, haven’t you, Youmu-chan? So-called heir to the Konpaku Clan who can’t keep her master happy in her non-life in the Netherworld! You just don’t get it… I can do as I please here, and you and all the spirits just have to put up with it! Bring me food, flowers and pleasantries as I decree! I don’t give a dingo’s damn about you and your training. Just bring me more food, forever!”

“This is horrible! We have to stop her!” Reimu started to rush in, only to be stopped by Berith’s spear.

“Take another step and I’ll kill her right here!” Shadow Yuyuko hissed.

“Gaah… dammit,” Reimu grunted.

“We don’t have to put up with this.” Marisa whipped out her gun and took aim at Shadow Yuyuko’s head. Thinking quickly, I punched it out of her hand.

“Hey, what the-”

“You fool!” I shouted. “Killing the Shadow Self will cause the real person to go braindead forever! And she’s a ghost too, so there’s no telling what would happen to her. Killing a living person’s shadow will kill them too, so where would she go? What would become of the Netherworld??”

Marisa reluctantly backed down. “I know, but… she’s gonna kill Youmu! I can’t allow that!”

“Oh really?” Shadow Yuyuko taunted. “You all are too spineless to help your friend here?”

“...yuyuko...sama…”

“Well, it doesn’t matter now. She’s my slave now. Always has been, always will be!”

Shit. We had to do something, and fast. With no other ideas coming to mind, I called out to Youmu, hoping to open her eyes to the evil before her.

“Youmu! Are you seriously going to give in to her distorted desires and not fight back?!”

Youmu weakly looked up at me. “But… Yuyuko-sama…”

Her face fell into the ground.

“How long are you going to let the wool hang over your eyes to the truth?”

I got up, and looked up. All of a sudden, everyone was gone. All around me was a pitch-blackness, and… a figure that looked like me, glaring at me with yellow eyes.

“...hu-huh? Who are you?” I asked.

She shook her head. “Have you forgotten me that much, that long ago? I am you. The other you who resides within, the you who resists the injustices and prejudices put upon you by the powers that be, especially that gluttonous whore who calls herself your master. Are you not ashamed to associate with her? Doing so any longer will cause your family’s honor to evaporate.”

I pounded my fist. “Yuyuko-sama is a good person! She… she…”

...she didn’t used to be like this, that much was certain. Something changed. She used to be a good master of the Netherworld, and a mother figure of sorts to me. She understood the importance of my training, and of me teaching her the way of the sword. She only got like this recently. Always demanding food and curiosities. Long ago, I swore to attend to her every need, and to respect her as my master, so I never objected. It was only after I talked to Goro that I began to question that, wish for change, wish for a way back to how they were before..

...something was wrong. Wrong with Yuyuko-sama. If things didn’t change, I… the Netherworld would fall apart completely. I had to fix it. It was my duty as a Konpaku. I swore to attend to her every need… but maybe that didn’t necessarily mean carrying out her every whim. Maybe it meant correcting her when she went astray. Maybe… it meant standing up to her.

I got up. First on my knees, then onto my feet. I looked my double in the eye.

“No. I’ve been lying to myself. It is NOT fine.” I clenched my fist. “As a member of the Konpaku Clan, I will not stand for injustice!”

Silence, before she crossed her arms and nodded.

“I see. So you’ve decided to see the truth and act on it, even if it means betraying those you’ve sworn to protect…” She disappeared in a flash, before my head throbbed in pain. I doubled over, grunting in pain as I tried to repress it, my teeth clenching like a vise.

“Let us form a contract, to pave a path to the future together, unblinded by the lies and hate of the world. I am thou, thou art I. The world is thick with evil and sin. We’ll slice through it like a cold, silver sword!”

After a few moments of silence, Youmu looked up, and part of a samurai mask flared onto her face. Mustering up what little power she had, she reached with her arm, and after struggling and repressing a scream, bloodily ripped it off and shrieked at the top of her lungs, creating a huge shockwave and pillar of light which knocked Shadow Yuyuko off of her tumbling back, while we struggled to hold our ground.

Once the light died down, a warrior figure with long, white hair, a bow and two swords on its back, and auspicious robes which flared in all directions manifested. Youmu was now clad in armor reminiscent of Minamoto no Yoshitsune, green and white and with a family seal on her chest armor. She looked up, reached out, and just like that her sword flew back into her hand.

She turned to face Shadow Yuyuko, who was now on the ground. “I see it now… your bottomless, insatiable diet of sin, using me as a mule to feed it. I will not stand for that! I am a Konpaku! I will slice down the darkness of the world!”

Shadow Yuyuko growled. “Insolent brat… you will learn the errors of your crossing me.” She directed the shadows to attack. “Kill them. Gore them to your heart's content!”

“Not happening,” Youmu shot back. Berith charged at her, spear ready to impale her. In response, Youmu held out her hand. “Allow me to demonstrate Hiroari’s chilling winds!” Her Persona, Hiroari, then slashed, sending a cold wave at Berith - Bufu. The force of the attack knocked Berith down, and gave her an opportunity to attack its minions. She slashed the first one with her sword, then whipped out an SMG and pumped it full of lead. For the other, she summoned her Persona to Cleave it, knocking it down as well. With all the enemies down, there was nothing stopping us from letting loose.

Once again, I tapped my inner psycho and encouraged everyone. “Nice work, Youmu. You knocked them all down. Now then, let’s obliterate them!” One All-Out Attack later, and nothing was left. Even Shadow Yuyuko had retreated into her flowery sanctum, and no shadows dared approach us.

Youmu stumbled forward, before falling to her knees. “Hah...hah… Yuyuko-sama… I can’t believe…”

“You’re totally drained right now,” Marisa told her. “You couldn’t do much, even if you wanted to.”

I looked around. “We need to leave and get her out of here. Shadow guards will be here soon, and in high numbers.” I quickly caught sight of a door which shimmered slightly, another Safe Room. “Quickly, there. We can return to the real world from there.” With Reimu and Marisa’s help, I hefted Youmu over my shoulder, and together we carried her out of the Palace.

“This one’s extra-strength. I also brewed it with a special kind of mushroom that packs a bunch of protein and electrolytes.”

Youmu took a sip of the tea Marisa had brewed, set it down, and took a moment to savor it. She then reached for a sugar cube and dropped it in. “It’s a bit of an acquired taste. But I already feel much better.”

We were seated around a table at the shrine, enjoying tea and snacks. I spent some time explaining the Metaverse to Youmu, including what Personas were, what shadows were, and what Palaces were and how they represented distorted desires. I also told her a little more about my (fake) backstory, and how I got to be where I was. She was surprisingly understanding of all of it, although given that she worked in a land of spirits perhaps that shouldn’t have surprised me.

“To be honest, I knew that what Yuyuko-sama was doing was wrong, but… I couldn’t make myself see it, or stand up to her. My family owes a lot to her, you see, and we’re conditioned to respect our superiors. It wasn’t until I talked to you that, somehow, I felt that spark to do something burn inside me… I lied about ‘going to find some artifact for her.’ The truth was, I wanted to meet with you again, because you seemed like the kind of person who could help me decide what to do.”

“But even then, you still tried to tell yourself that she could do no wrong,” Reimu added. “Right up until the moment she tried to kill you, when you awakened your Persona, and you finally snapped. That, I totally get.”

“Y’know, I just don’t like this whole concept in Japan of how much we have to respect our elders, even when they’re clearly up to shit,” Marisa said. “It’s even baked into the damn language.”

“Would it be far-fetched for me to say that the injustices society allows those in authority to get away with was part of what motivated me to become a detective?” I asked.

“Not at all,” Reimu replied. “A lot of incidents me and Marisa have put down over the years have involved people abusing their authority. Kanako alone is responsible for no fewer than three incidents, five if you count the fallout from her nuclear power venture that one time, and I still feel like she’s up to no good cooking up hairbrained schemes to get more followers. It’s gotten to the point where I now have Sanae giving me twice-monthly written reports on their activities as an added condition of keeping their branch shrine down here. I bet that kind of oversight doesn’t exist in Tokyo.”

I shook my head. “You wouldn’t believe the kind of things officials out there get away with on a daily basis. Embezzling funds to take personal vacations, using shady contacts to discredit and in some cases ‘disappear’ rivals, evading taxes using just about every legal loophole in the book, and so on. Shido himself was the figurehead of an antisocial force attempting to overthrow the government and replace it with their own radical ideology, one which I had to stop.”

Youmu pounded her fist on the table. “Well, I’m not gonna let that happen here! I wanna set Yuyuko-sama straight! Because…” She started crying a little. “Because I still love her and I don’t want her to be like that!”

I rubbed my chin. “Interesting. So rather than stick it to her and rebel against her abuse, you want to reform her to become the good, caring overseer of the dead that she was in the past.”

“As her sworn servant, I would be failing my duty if I didn’t,” Youmu insisted.

“I see, I see.” To be honest, I didn’t know Yuyuko at all beyond my impression of her shadow and the fact that she had a palace. Youmu, meanwhile, likely had known her since birth. I knew that could make her biased away from wanting to bring justice, but at the same time Yuyuko’s crime didn’t seem to be completely irredeemable, nor did she really strike me as evil to the core the same way Shido was. I knew very well that distorted desires - and thus Palaces - often were born from traumatic events in one’s life. It was possible that Yuyuko’s gluttonous behavior was spurred on by something that occurred in her past. Of course, now those desires had reached unhealthy, obsessive levels, and needed to be immediately tempered.

It would be easier and, in my mind, more satisfying to lay the hammer of justice upon her head, and yet my thinking was going toward trying to salvage her, someone I did not know, instead. How come?

“Alright then. Since you already have a Persona, why not come along with us and change your master’s heart for the better?”

Youmu anxiously thrusted her hand out. “Yes! I want to do this! For myself and Yuyuko-sama!”

I smiled. “Well then, it’s a deal. Welcome to the team.”

I am thou, thou art I. Thou hast acquired a new vow.

It shall become the wings of rebellion that breaketh thy chains of captivity.

With the birth of the Chariot Persona, I have obtained the winds of blessing that shall lead to freedom and new power…

Once I returned home, Masato greeted me again. “Long day?” he asked.

“Oh, it was only the afternoon,” I replied.

He smiled. “You know, you and Reimu seem to be getting along very well.”

“Don’t read anything into it,” I insisted. “I am merely getting to know her as a peer.”

“You say that now, but I bet things will escalate before you know it. No man has ever broken her shell before the way you have, and you’ve only been here a few days!”

I brushed off his attempt at shipping the two of us as he gave me another cooking lesson. Over dinner, we made some idle chat about things going on in the village. It was a tiring day, so after sweeping up I decided to head to bed straight away. Getting dark so early in the winter made falling asleep earlier easier, and it was certainly helped by having a warm bed to look forward to.

I thought about what happened today. I gained a new ally, a new friend. My influence had grown so strong in just a few days, and I had no idea how far-reaching it would yet become. It really did seem as though I had lived most of my life ever since that day, not long ago, when a paranoid Shido phoned me as I was heading home from school to investigate his Palace for him. As it turned out, not for no reason. Still, it seemed surreal now to think that once I started that routine investigation, I would never again reenter the Outside world, and my life would change so drastically.

This magical valley gave me a chance to redefine my life for the better, and I knew better than to waste that chance. And yet, I still couldn’t fully divorce myself from my past, or my latent distrust in people which my actions as of late betrayed...

Chapter Text

The morning seemed to speed by. As I completed my chores, all I could think about was infiltrating that Palace, with three teammates at my side. I was used to working alone; nevertheless, something inside me was giddy at the thought of leading a team of vigilantes to strike down corrupt hearts… just like a certain man I used to know.

...when did I start feeling like I was following in his footsteps? I had every other advantage over him, both experience and skill. But he could take me one-on-one, while I could wipe out the rest of his team. He had, at best, months of experience compared to my years, and yet he came out on top in the end. He had teammates, yes, and more Personas, but there had to be something else he possessed which I lacked. How did his many Personas all become so powerful? And now, how could I replicate that myself?

I shook my head. That didn’t matter anymore, it was in the past. The only thing that mattered was here and now, getting ready to take down a Palace of my own.

Once again, around midday, I took off toward the Shrine. Before starting up the trail, I stopped by the market to pick up food and medicine items I felt would be useful for aiding infiltration - energy and healing to recover from sustained combat and running around. Eventually I loaded up on herbal medicine, wraps, assorted vegetables and ready-made tea. Once I had everything, I headed up.

A thought occurred to me part way up the trail. I had been running and walking around, since I was used to only being able to do that. But… I could fly now as well. I looked behind me and saw I was out of sight of the village. So, I focused, lifted off the ground, and flew through the air the rest of the way to the Shrine.

Once I arrived, I saw I was the last person to get there. Of course, Reimu lived here, and Youmu wasn’t too far away, but I didn’t know where Marisa lived; I guessed her schedule was different from mine and so she could get here sooner.

“Took ‘ya long enough,” Marisa said as I touched down. “Some leader you are, gettin’ here later than your teammates.”

“Well, I have to earn my keep somehow,” I told her. “Masato doesn’t let me stay there for free, after all.”

“Well, why don’tcha hole up at my place? I won’t keep ya’ busy for no-” then Marisa stopped herself, and her face started reddening once she realized what she was saying.

“F-forget that I said anything!” she stammered as she pulled her hat over her face and turned away.

“No, please do go on with your suggestion,” I smiled.

“D-d-d-dummy…”

Reimu sighed. “Should I go make the marriage arrangements?”

“Ah, that won’t be necessary,” I said. “In all seriousness, let’s discuss our plan of attack before we go into the Palace.”

Reimu chuckled. “Ah, yes, strategy. We’re not used to using it. Usually in an incident I just go in and kick everyone’s ass until it’s resolved.”

“Infiltrating a Palace requires a rather high degree of tactics and planning if we don’t want to get endlessly swarmed by powerful shadows,” I explained.

“But weren’t the shadows in there fairly weak?” she asked.

“Yes. Because the security level was low,” I said.

“Security level?” Youmu wondered.

“Yes, security level. People don’t like having their cognitions actively messed around with by invaders, especially if they are aware of it. Usually, if we go into a Palace without the owner knowing, the level will be low because they don’t perceive much of a threat. Only a few weak shadows patrol most of the premises, with the stronger ones withdrawn closer to the treasure or other critical areas. However, if we get noticed by guards or the real person sees us as a threat, then not only does the number of guards go up but more of them are stronger, too. If it gets too high, the place will be absolutely swarmed with strong shadows, and we’ll be lucky to make it out alive.”

“Sounds intense,” Marisa said, joining into the conversation. “In that case, how do we lower it?”

“How? By sneaking up on guards and killing them without being noticed by them before that ambush, or by any other guards. Killing a guard removes a component of the security, which makes the Palace ruler less paranoid and induces some sense of calm, thereby reducing the security level. We should avoid getting into too many engagements, but also take out any guards we come across. And,” I paused for a moment, “by battling shadows, our own combat technique improves, and we need to be constantly doing this to train for taking down even stronger enemies.”

“Alright, sweet, so we do have to fight a lot!” Marisa grinned, pounding her fists together. “And I’m assuming that includes Shadow Yuyuko herself?”

“Most likely, yes,” I answered. “Once the treasure appears, Palace rulers will make a last stand to defend it. Palace rulers are very, very strong, stronger even than their most capable guards. But while we must beat her, we - and I must make this absolutely clear - we cannot kill her.”

Youmu gulped. “W-why not??”

“Because,” I said, “while the treasure represents their distorted desires, the shadows themselves represent a person’s desires as a whole. I assume you met your shadow when you awakened to your Persona?”

“...so that was my shadow?” Youmu said.

“Yes. Your shadow represents both your conscious and unconscious desires. Fusing with it allows you to be in full control of those desires, which include the desire to eat, sleep, fall in love, and do other basic things. Killing a person’s shadow, then, turns them into a complete empty shell, thoughtless and without emotion or feeling, in effect rendering them braindead, and usually leading to death shortly after. We call such deaths ‘Mental Shutdowns.’”

Youmu jumped back. “Wait, so Yuyuko-same could - wait, she’s already a ghost.”

“That may be so,” I replied, “but she still has a shadow. Therefore, she still has higher functions and desires which can become distorted. So in this case we don’t know how a Mental Shutdown would manifest in her, which in my opinion is even more reason not to do it. We have to persuade the shadow without killing them to make them better people.”

Marisa raised her hand. “But, what about the treasure? Ain’t stealin’ that the goal?”

“Simply stealing the treasure isn’t enough,” I added. “Stealing the treasure without doing anything else just causes that person to be a grovelling, weeping mess repenting for their crimes. Once you defeat a shadow-self, they are at your mercy and can be easily manipulated. We should be using that opportunity to convince them to improve, if that is our goal.”

“Man, this keeps getting more and more complicated,” Marisa complained. “I thought we were just gonna be looting stuff, but this incident is already startin’ to sound more tiresome than sortin’ everything out with Kosuzu’s youma books.”

“Because it requires actually thinking and strategizing,” Reimu said.

“Says the lazy shrine maiden who I gotta poke in the butt with a pitchfork to do anything.”

I facepalmed. “Like I said, can the two of you get along? We have a mission today, believe it or not.”

Once I got those two settled down, we went forward with our final preparations, which included one particular step which we hadn’t gotten to yet even though we should have been doing it from the beginning.

“Alright,” I said, “now it’s time for us to come up with code names.”

“Code names?” Marisa asked. “You mean, like, fake names? Or because you’re the secret agent guy?”

“Partially, I suppose,” I answered. “But I’m sure you would agree that using our real names in a Palace could lead to detrimental effects to us, if not now then later. Besides, what kind of heroes of justice go around using their real names?”

“Hm...hmmm…” Marisa thought for a moment, then snapped her fingers. “I actually like that idea!”

“Splendid. And you two?”

Reimu nodded. “Well, you’re the expert, so I guess we have to play by your rules.”

“I don’t mind,” Youmu said. “I’m still new at this.”

“You all are, don’t feel like you’re lower-ranked than everyone,” I said to her.

“Oh, well… okay…” Youmu said bashfully.

“Anyway, I already have a code name, from my time in the Phantom Thieves.” I held my hand to my chest. “I am Crow.”

“Crow?” Reimu asked. “Like a Tengu?”

“Well, he is clever like a crow,” Marisa added. “And his mask is kinda crow-like.”

“Exactly. Now then,” I turned to Marisa, “what should we call you?”

“Eh, me?” Marisa jolted up. “Oh, um, well, huh. Can ‘ya guys help me out?”

Reimu thought for a moment, then suggested “maybe ‘Slayer?’”

“Eh, too generic,” Marisa rejected.

“How about… ‘Wolverine?’ Because of the claws?” Youmu added.

“Too awkward, plus a real character already uses it,” I replied.

Marisa herself mulled for a moment, then shot up with a smile. “Oh, I got it! How about ‘Starburst?’”

We were silent for a second, then Reimu said, “oh, because you like star-based attacks so much?” She chuckled. “It certainly suits you.”

“I know, right?” Marisa smiled.

I smiled too. “Alright then, Starburst it is. Next,” I turned to Reimu. “What do you want to be called?”

Reimu took a moment to think. “Well, I don’t think ‘Shrine Maiden’ is that great, since that’s literally just my job. And ‘Miko’ is also a name. So…”

“Well, your suit’s like half-angel, half-demon,” Marisa added.

“Yes, but I feel like my codename should convey a level of power that a simple angel doesn’t have…”

I mulled some ideas of my own, and came up with the perfect one. “I’ve got it. How about ‘Seraph?’”

Reimu’s ears perked up. “Seraph?”

“High-ranking angels in the Christian pantheon, whose appearance before man heralds the end times. Is that powerful enough for you?”

Reimu thought it over for a moment, then smiled, “I like it. That way, I’m not just some common Valentine’s angel.”

“Excellent.” I turned to Youmu. “Last but not least. What would you like your code name to be?”

“Eh?” Youmu seemed surprised. “I, er… can I have more time to think it over? Like, a day or something?”

“No can do, we’re goin’ in today,” Marisa told her. “You can always change it later, so it’s not like you have to commit to anything right this second.”

“T-that doesn’t make me feel any better…” Youmu seemed to shrink down further to the ground with a… ah, moe face.

...was this that “Imouto” thing that people often talked about? Nonsense, I thought. Youmu told me she was old enough compared to me to be my grandmother.

...AND YET…

I shook my head and cleared my thoughts. Now was not the time to be thinking those kinds of things. This was purely a business matter. Now, what was a good code name for her?

“Samurai?” Reimu suggested.

“Too awkward,” I said. “Generally, we should keep code names to about one or two syllables and have them roll off the tongue easily.” After thinking for a second, I then suggested, “how about… Blade?”

“Eh… it sounds badass, but it’s also a little too simple.” She noticed the little spirit behind Youmu’s head, and giggled. “Heh, she’s actin’ all cute right now, maybe we should just call her myon~ or-”

Suddenly, Youmu’s eyes flashed red and in one swift motion she grabbed Marisa by the neck and drove her into the wall with a loud bang which rattled the door. “You know how much I hate that word,” she hissed icily. Me and Reimu were completely startled by her sudden change in tone.

“I-GAAACK-it was just a joke!” Marisa choked out.

“Put her down, Youmu,” Reimu commanded.

“...as you wish.” Youmu released Marisa, who fell on her knees terrified and gasping for air.

I took back my initial observation of her: she was utterly strong-willed and terrifying when she needed to be. Of course, she claimed to be a samurai in training, but nonetheless had many decades of fighting experience under her belt, and likely also had the demeanor that came with such discipline. What few moments of action she got in yesterday after awakening her Persona also heavily reminded me of Makoto, right down to Youmu having a very similar-sounding voice.

“Okaaaay,” Reimu said, “so basically no one has any good ideas, least of all Marisa apparently.”

Marisa, still coughing, managed to choke up, “goddamn, Youmu, you’re all cute and stuff ‘till you go friggin’ murder mode. You’re like a completely different person when you fight!”

“One must completely focus on the opponent and let go of their other desires during a battle,” Youmu replied. “Hiding one’s fury until it’s needed allows you to seem less dangerous than you truly are.”

“Hiding one’s fury…” I snapped my fingers. “That’s it! Fury!”

Youmu turned her head. “What about Fury?”

“I think what Goro means is, would you like for Fury to be your code name?”

Youmu mulled it for a second, then said, “uh… sure, I guess?” Wow, she dropped her serious tone just like that. What was it with her?

In any case, our code names were decided. “It sounds like we all have our code names now. I’m Crow,”

“I’m Seraph,” said Reimu,

“I’m, uh, Fury,” said Youmu,

“...and I’m Starburst!” Marisa smiled.

“Great. Now, we must remember to use only those names when we are in a Palace, be it Yuyuko’s or any that come after. In other words, we have to divorce ourselves from our real-world lives when we are acting as Heroes of Justice, from the moment we step in to the moment we leave. Are we all clear on that?”

“Clear as mud,” Marisa said.

“Then it’s settled. Now, let’s get ready to head out.”

After gathering our supplies together, we hauled out to the Palace. Youmu revealed en route that she had received a blue key similar to ours while she was sleeping; I realized the girls’ keys all had colors matching the magic types they used, so if we picked up any new members then their key colors would serve as good indicators of what their abilities would be even before awakening a Persona.

“Hey, so there’s something I forgot to bring up at the meeting,” Marisa said.

“What is it?” I asked.

“When we get inside the palace, I wanna test something out.” She took out her mini-hakkero. “Y’know how yesterday Youmu was gettin’ totally drained from just bein’ in the Palace? Well, I was lyin’ in bed starin’ at the ceiling and thought about how I couldn’t use my real-world magic, nor did Reimu have any of her abilities either when we first entered. Of course, bein’ a magician I want to know why that is, so this morning I configured the hakkero to pick up magic signals for me while we’re in there so that after I go home I can examine it.”

“Fine by me, as long as it doesn’t interfere with the operation,” I said.

“It won’t. For now at least it’s pretty much a brick while we’re in there otherwise.”

“Well, alright.” I had to admit: brash as Marisa came off to me, she showed promising intelligence and strategic mindset. I knew she would be a highly useful and valuable ally going forward. Most interesting was her devotion to researching magic, which of course I knew nothing about since magic didn’t exist in the Outside, or at least not to my knowledge. As much as I had abused the Metaverse for my own gain and that of the Antisocial Force, I actually didn’t understand how it actually worked that well. Perhaps having a magician’s insight would improve my knowledge of its inner workings, which in turn would aid our investigations.

Several minutes later, we were in the Palace, ready to blaze a path to the treasure.

“Alright,” Marisa grinned. “Let’s head on in and bust ass!”

“Are you ready, Fury?” Reimu asked, looking over her shoulder.

Youmu adjusted her mask, and gripped her swords. “Yes. Let’s not waste time.” Marisa was right: Youmu was just like night-and-day with her personality.

“Good on you for remembering code names, Seraph,” I commented. “Now, let’s be consistent in using them. It’s vital that we do.”

“Understood, leader,” Marisa responded.

“Good.” We started walking toward the entrance, when all of a sudden the world flashed blue, and time seemed to stop, except for me. I looked around, and caught sight of an open blue door, with Lavenza beside it.

“My master wishes to speak with you,” she said. “Please, come inside.”

I didn’t understand. What was going on here? Was that an entrance to the Velvet Room? Why here, and why now? I shrugged, and did as she requested, walking inside with her following just behind.

Once inside, I looked around, and sure enough, this was the Velvet Room. Igor sat at the desk just ahead, lacing his fingers in anticipation.

“I have brought our guest here as requested,” Lavenza bowed.

“Magnificent,” Igor said. He looked at me. “It seems your skills have begun to improve. I can tell you already hold many different Personas within your heart.”

“You have successfully freed many shadows from the distortion cast upon them by the owner of the fortress,” Lavenza added. “These stray beings from the sea of souls flowed into the fortress by chance, where they were cursed to lose their identities and become guards. By negotiating with them and helping them remember their true names, you gained their trust and allowed them to enter your heart as a Persona.”

I removed my mask and inspected it. “So, those shadows are actual spirits of people?”

“Not necessarily,” Lavenza said, shaking her head. “These shadows are all beings shaped by the Collective Unconscious. They take the form of beings, myths and figures impressed upon the cognition of the world. They even retain memories gained by other shadows of their shape.”

Memories gained by others… so the Jack ‘o Lantern I killed and the one I recruited weren’t the same individuals? Or perhaps maybe ALL Jack ‘o Lanterns were parts of one being? This seemed very confusing, even for a two-year Metaverse veteran like me. Perhaps I just never thought about those shadows as anything more than cannon fodder due to the nature of my job.

“I… see,” I said. “So, by gaining the shadow’s trust, they become part of my psyche and lend me their power?”

“That is correct,” Lavenza replied. “As the holder of the Fool card, you can gain and wield the power of multiple Personas with powers different from the Persona closest to your heart, the one born of your own shadow.”

“Interesting. So, I just need to be constantly recruiting shadows to use as Personas?”

“That’s partly true,” Lavenza said, “but there is more to understand about them.”

“Hm?” I wondered. “Is there a catch, by any chance?”

“I suppose one could call it that,” she said. “First, there is a limit to the number of Personas you can hold within you. Any Personas you attempt to hold within you will be rejected and forced back into the Sea of Souls. Second, it is difficult, if not impossible, to ensure that all of those Personas gain power at the same rate, which in turn will affect your own power when you use them. Finally, Personas not born from one’s shadow only have so much room to grow, and can never master more than a few skills. Therefore, a given Persona will stop being useful to you after a certain point.”

I scratched my head. “Is that so… that’s quite a conundrum, if the Personas cannot grow much more powerful, and I can only have a few at a time. Is there a way to solve it?”

“Indeed,” Igor spoke up. “It is the reason we have brought you here today. We would like to introduce the range of services the Velvet Room has to offer to our guests.”

“The services my master speaks of pertain to Persona fusion,” Lavenza explained. “By fusing together two Personas, one can create a new, stronger Persona with the powers of its reagents and more besides. With fusion, you can create more Personas with more diverse skills than the ones you might find out in the wild.”

“Fusion… well, Ren did speak of creating new Personas quite frequently, and would often demonstrate ones which he did not have during a previous Metaverse visit. Is this that then?”

“Indeed,” Lavenza nodded, “although because of the malevolent entity which inhabited this place before, he was only given sadistic, inhumane methods for doing so. Normally, my master would fuse Personas for you, but because of his confinement his powers haven’t fully returned. Therefore, we have recently had to… ah, outsource our fusion process.”

“Outsource?” I asked again, confused. That’s when I felt a dark, heavy and imposing presence come up behind me. Turning around, I saw what looked like a large, winged black eye with a halo float towards us, stopping just in front of me in the center of the room. I could feel its hum as it hovered there, its red eye staring straight into me… before the hum stopped, a set of mechanical legs deployed from the bottom and it came to rest on the ground. I could hear something clattering around inside it, before a hatch opened up on the top, out of which emerged a brown-haired girl with long, twin braids, shorts and a tank top holding a wrench.

“Oy, Lavenza!” she said. “Long time, no see!”

“It’s good to see you too, after everything that’s happened,” Lavenza smiled.

I looked up at the strange girl. “I’m sorry, but who are you?”

The girl slid down the side of the giant eye-machine and touched town on the floor beside me; she was also fairly short, about the same height as Marisa, and seemingly just as forceful in her personality. “For your information, pretty boy, I am the GREAT and MIGHTY tank engineer Rika! My skills are at Tokyo University-level, I’ll have you know, and I’ve built more than 2,000 custom battle machines, like this one!” She slapped the side of the machine. “Evil-Eye Sigma! One of my finest creations! She’s a beaut, ain’t she?”

I looked up and took in the machine, which stood tall, about ten meters, and whose eye seemed to follow me no matter where I walked. Although “evil” wasn’t the sense I got from it; more like “overpowering” and “intimidating.”

“Er, yeah…” I said awkwardly. “I’m sure it’s quite powerful.”

“You bet it,” Rika boasted. “It’s got six heavy-caliber gatling guns and can fire rounds composed of pure, ambient magic at a combined rate of 300,000 rounds per minute. Twenty missile batteries, each rocket packs a punch of more than 1,000 tons of TNT. It can fire ripper-lasers with a six-pronged attack, and they can cut through pure neutronium. Eight arms which can wield anything from swords, chainsaws, sawblades, spears, claws, drills and plungers. It’s tricked out with multiple layers of vibranium armor plating which can repel a nuclear blast even without the special enchantments which let it drive straight through a black hole and survive! Plus,” a small door opened up on the side, and two arms came out, one holing a cup and the other a kettle, “onboard tea maker for prolonged missions!”

“Looks and certainly sounds impressive,” I commented, “but what does this have to do with fusing Personas?”

“Nothing,” Rika said bluntly, “‘cause it’s also my main ride.” She snapped her fingers, causing the tank to brandish a cannon which shot out two objects. Landing behind me, they first resembled large, metal balls before unfolding and deploying into turrets with very thin, rectangular gun ports. “These babies, on the other hand, can fuse your Personas better than any other method! Just turn ‘em into cards, load ‘em up, and BAM! New Persona born, just like that! They’ll even tell you the possible fusions from the ones you’ve got on you! Pick which skills the new Persona will keep from the ones you used to make it! No fuss, almost no chance of an accident… hehe.”

“Almost?” I asked, warily.

“Well, you can’t eliminate all risk, you know,” Rika grinned. “Now, why don’t you give it a try? Just walk right up to one and throw a Persona in there!”

“Okay…” I had no idea how this was supposed to work. So I just walked up to one cannon, which lighted up as I got near. Then, a projection came out, seemingly from myself, showing all the Personas I had gathered so far: Pixie, Slime, and Jack ‘o Lantern, each on a tarot card with their corresponding Arcana on it.

“Slick, huh?” Rika remarked. “You can literally just drag and drop one onto the machine and it’ll take it in.”

“Alright... what about Bond?”

“Oh, him? That your initial Persona? Yeah, you can’t fuse him away,” Rika said. “That’s ‘cause he was born from your shadow, so naturally he’s inseparable from your heart and grows alongside you more, unlike the others. But the rest of ‘em, fuse ‘em how you like!”

Interesting, I thought. So Bond followed different rules than all the other Personas. Perhaps the same was true of Robin Hood and Loki, if I still had them. I thought Pixie was the weakest link of the three options, so I put her into the machine, which glowed blue as a result.

“Excellent! Now, go to the second cannon,” Rika instructed. I did as I was told, approaching the other cannon and being presented with Slime and Jack ‘o Lantern.

“Oh yeah, one more thing before you throw a second one in there,” Rika cautioned. “The safety mechanism won’t let you fuse anything higher than your current level of power. That’s cause powerful Personas have a tendency to, well, possess their owners if they’re stronger than the person tryin’ to wield them, especially if there’s a really big power gap. But don’t take my word for it; if you run into this gal’s sister Elizabeth she’ll tell you all about what it’s like to be possessed by a Persona.”

I jumped back. “Wait, so a Persona can actually-”

“Yep, but like I said, this machine won’t let that happen,” Rika said. “If you try, it’ll just stop you. Now then, throw a second one in there!”

After some hesitation, I threw Slime in, since I thought it rather ugly. Soon after, a screen flared to life on the cannon, showing a picture of a Makami and its arcana, Temperance. A green checkmark let me know I could fuse it.

“OK, cool, so that’s the form the fusion should take,” Rika explained. “Now, under the Persona should be a list of skills it’ll come with upon fusion. On the right side, all the skills the two reagents have, and the system will let you import some of them onto the new Persona. And, there’s a final twist. Lavenza, you explain it. It’ll make more sense coming from you.”

“Understood,” Lavenza nodded. She brandished a scroll, which unfurled into a list of the twenty-two major Arcana. Next to some of them were names, and next to those names either one or two stars.

“As I explained before, forming bonds is an integral part of your journey. Forming deals with various people you meet in your daily life and deepening them will empower your own soul as well as theirs. You have already formed some bonds, but they are still weak: you must continue to deepen your connection to them, and stake out new relationships as well.”

I eyed the list, and realized the names matched up with other people I had met in Gensokyo so far. Most intriguing of all, though, was who filled the “Fool” slot: Ren Amamiya, a.k.a. Joker, a.k.a. the object of my envy, hatred, admiration and respect at the same time, the man who had nothing and yet everything, the one I looked down upon and yet still felt inadequate in comparison… I did form a deal with him, which according to Igor let me enter this place, so I guess it made sense. Even so, how could I deepen my bond with someone I no longer had contact with?

I shook my head. I could ask that question later. “I see,” I said. “Then, I’ll do my best.”

“Y’know there’s another benefit in for you if you keep up with your drinkin’ buddies,” Rika shouted. “The stronger your bond with a person, the more power a Persona of their arcana is born with, and they’ll gain extra abilities, too!”

“But didn’t you say that was dangerous?” I said back.

“Er… yeah, good question, actually. After you fuse ‘em, they’re loyal to you, no matter what. It’s only if their base power is higher than yours that trouble happens. So, feel free to load ‘em up with power, and crush everything in your way!”

“I see.” After confirming the fusion, I was instructed to step back, and after I did, the cannons began a countdown, before firing blue energy spheres which collided with each other, drawing in white lights before the new Persona materialized.

“Me Makami. Me become your mask and howl at enemies!” It then got sucked into my mask. Process complete.

“Whaddya think? Impressive, innit?” Rika asked excitedly.

I still wasn’t too sure what to make of what had just happened. Why a Pixie and a Slime, of all things, fused to make a Makami. I thought I knew all there was to know about the Metaverse, but now it seemed the more time went by, I understood the place even less.

“Er… what now?” I asked awkwardly.

Igor chuckled. “What you have just done is discard two old paths to tread a new one. With this new possibility comes new power.”

“Personas you fuse are stronger than the ones you find out in the wild,” Rika said, “but on the other hand, you gotta get fusion fodder from somewhere.”

“There is another service we offer as well,” Lavenza added. She brandished the large tome she carried. “This is the compendium. It contains entries for all the Personas you have obtained. I can resummon any Persona you have realized from this tome… for a fee in yen, of course.”

I jumped back. “Wait, you mean, I have to pay money?! What do you even use it for??”

“Even the Velvet Room requires funds to maintain itself,” Lavenza shrugged.

“Plus, I don’t work for free,” Rika bellowed. “I got parts to buy for my tanks, food, tea, power and rent - Shinki isn’t exactly the most forgiving landlord. But don’t worry, those shadows are money pinatas and you know it! So just mug ‘em for cash or something and you’ll be fine.”

“Indeed,” said Igor. “Recruit shadows to your side, then bring them here to create stronger and stronger Personas.” He chuckled again. “I look forward to your coming endeavors.”

Lavenza bowed again. “You may be dismissed to continue your fortress infiltration.”

“My appreciation,” I bowed back, walking toward the exit. Before I did, however, Rika ran up to me and tapped my shoulder.

“Oh, uh, one more thing,” she asked.

“What is it?”

“Well, this is more of a personal request than anything having to do with your mission or whatever. Truth is,” she crossed her legs, “despite what I said back there about the fusion tanks, I kinda rushed ‘em through because of how sudden the request was. Which means I’m still workin’ out all the kinks. So if you could, I’d like your help in makin’ them even better by fusing Personas with certain specifications.”

“I see,” I smirked. “So why did you lie about their effectiveness?”

“I didn’t lie!” she snapped back. “It’s just, ah… me and Lavenza go back a ways and she gives me shit if I make myself look weak. So, will you help me out, please?”

“Well, I’ll consider it if there’s anything in it for me,” I said slyly.

“Don’t worry, I’ll make it up to you if you help me out,” Rika promised.

“Alright… well, what do you want me to do?”

Rika took out a list, and pointed at an item. “To start, I want to see a Jack Frost! Oh, but it can’t be just any Jack Frost, it’s gotta know Mabufu too!”

Jack Frost with Mabufu… I barely knew how to fuse Personas, so it seemed tricky for a beginner like me to do. Nonetheless, this sounded like a useful deal, so I said, “I’ll look far and wide for one.”

“You don’t have to comb the entire Metaverse to find one, you’re free to fuse it right here in the Velvet Room if you need to! Actually, every item on my list is something that can only exist by fusing it, except maybe that Jack Frost. What I’m saying is, don’t be afraid to experiment!”

“Understood,” I nodded. “I shall see you again soon.”

“If you wanna succeed, you’ll be comin’ here a lot!” Rika shouted as I left.

Just outside, the Palace appeared in the distance, and Marisa came up to me.

“Dude, you alright? You were just standin’ there like a Jizo.”

...oh. I guess my comrades only saw me standing where the Velvet Room entrance would be. I shrugged, “ah, sorry, I was just reflecting on some things.”

“Well, don’t forget you’re the reason we’re here, now let’s go!”

“Indeed.” And so, I led the charge into the Palace, me and my comrades.

Chapter Text

Once back inside the palace, we made our way back out into the courtyard, hiding out of sight of the guards patrolling the foot of the hill bearing the cherry tree, whose branches reached high into the dimly-lit sky.

“So you think the cherry tree is where our target is?” Marisa whispered.

“I’m almost certain,” I replied, “which is why we need to find a way to get inside.”

We examined the tree once again. Getting inside to its heart seemed a daunting challenge: not only did strong-looking shadow guards patrol its base, but there was no obvious way up into the tree, such as stairs. Our mission, then, was to either find or create a way.

“Damn, if only we could fly,” Marisa grumbled. “That’d make things a lot easier. We could just swoop in, scoop up the treasure and go.”

“It’s not that simple,” I explained, “but I’ll get to that later. Right now, we need to find some clues on how to get in.” I looked toward the south castle. “I propose we head back inside and investigate the upper floors. We may be able to find clues there. Then, we should head over to the other side of the palace and do the same in the north castle.”

Everyone else silently agreed, so we warped to the other safe room and began making our way up. Along the way, there were, of course, more shadow guards, which we took out one-by-one. I also expanded my Persona collection a bit, adding a Silky, a Hua Po and an Incubus; as we went along, I also had the idea of briefly visiting the Velvet Room each time we found a safe room so that I could potentially fuse these into other, stronger Personas, helped by the fact that a shortcut to the Velvet Room was present in the safe rooms as well. Needless to say, all my teammates were confused as to why I stood in the corner expressionless for a few moments, then in the next battle whip out an Empusa out of nowhere to blast the enemies with electric attacks. It seemed a simple process: recruit weak shadows as Personas, then fuse them into stronger ones so I had enough room in my heart to take on more shadows, repeating the process until I had all that the palace had to offer. I found if I did this the shadows, while not always peaceful, tended to accept negotiations and requests for loot and items more readily, and would sometimes surrender without a fight.

We eventually managed to tear our way to the top floor of the castle. So far, we had found lots of cash and treasure we could pawn off, but no leads.

“Gah, what’s the point of doing this?” Marisa complained. “We haven’t found hardly anything!”

“It’s good practice to thoroughly pick through a palace so we don’t miss anything,” I reminded her. “You of all people should realize that.”

“Yeah, Starburst, what’s a thief who doesn’t look through everything there is to steal?” Reimu jabbed. “Besides, he’s right: we have to go through every nook and cranny if we’re going to find a way inside the cherry tree. It’s just like most incidents we solve: we have to go around asking people about the incident until we finally find someone who can point us in the right direction.”

“Then we beat them up,” Marisa smiled.

“Right, and then we beat them up.”

“Why do you say that so matter-of-fact??” I asked, a bit shocked.

“Spell Card Duels are practically equivalent to a handshake around here,” Reimu shrugged. “It’s just what we do.”

“I’ve heard people in Scotland greet each other by punching each other in the face and-” Marisa started to say, before Youmu held her hand up.

“Shhhh.” Youmu quieted us. “Do you hear that?”

“Hear... what?” I asked. I listened carefully, and that’s when I heard it: faint, echoey whispers, in Yuyuko’s voice, seemingly coming from down a corridor.

“What is that?” Reimu wondered.

“Yuyuko… sama?” Youmu rushed down the hall, and the rest of us followed. We encountered a gap in the floor whose bottom was lined with skeletons, dried blood and rotten food, and on the other side the hallway was noticeably more derelict, with holes in the walls and scratched-up old wood flooring. We held our noses, made the jump and rounded the corner, where we were met with a door covered in vines made of cherry blossom petals; the voices also got more intense as we approached.

“Whoa… what’s up with that door?” said Marisa. And as we got closer, I tried to make out the voices:

“...must have more… never enough… I’ll just send Youmu-chan… I have to control this place… it’s all I have left… those bastards who took everything from me… why couldn’t I have been a normal girl… why did I have to have that power… why did I have to kill myself…”

Youmu seemed anxious. “These voices… are these all Yuyuko-sama’s thoughts?”

I smirked. “No doubt about it.” I brandished my knife and cut the vines, before pushing the door open. Inside was a black room, whose floor was covered in flower petals. And in the middle: a twisting root-like structure, on top of which a potato-shaped brown skull with red eyes sat perched.

“What the hell is that thing?!” Marisa shouted, pointing at it.

I went over to it and picked it up, which caused the voices to cease. I examined it, and grinned.

“This is one of Yuyuko’s Will Seeds,” I told them.

“A ‘Will Seed?’” Reimu wondered. “I don’t understand.”

“This Palace represents her warped desires,” I explained to them. “In essence, it represents the state of her mind. It therefore makes sense that there are moments, events, thoughts and memories that she would banish to distant corners and try to consciously suppress, because she denies having any distortion, but her subconscious tells a different tale. These all congeal into various ‘Will Seeds’ scattered throughout the palace.” I handed it off to each of them, letting them look at it and feel it.

“Hmmm,” Reimu thought. “I can feel so many negative emotions coming from it. Hate, fear, anger, despair, obsession…”

“Yuyuko-sama…” Youmu tearfully mumbled. After a quiet moment, she stood up, clenched her fist, and looked straight forward. “I will save you. I swore to protect you.”

Marisa took the Will Seed before sucking it up into her bag-gun. “Geez, this thing is really creepy. I’ve worked with Mandrakes less scary than this. And you say there’s more?”

“Yes,” I said. “From my experience, most palaces have three or so Will Seeds. It would be wise for us to find the others. I suspect it would have a beneficial effect on Yuyuko’s cognition if we were to collect them all.”

“But where would they be?” Reimu wondered.

“We should make our way to the opposite castle,” I suggested. “We’ve covered every last bit of this one, so it’s only natural for us to press onward.”

“And we couldn’t find any clues on how to get into the cherry tree here,” Marisa said. “Perhaps we’ll have better luck over there. Maybe find another map.”

“Exactly.” We exited the room, only to be met with violent shaking which rocked the entire castle, as if there had been an earthquake, before stopping after a few seconds.

“Whoa, what the hell?!” Marisa yelled. We rushed over to a nearby window to see if anything had changed, when Youmu pointed out, “hey, look at the cherry tree!” We looked at the tree, and saw it had changed: the branches had shifted positions, and some stone spires had grown up around it.

“Interesting… I wonder if us taking the Will Seed caused that.”

“Why do you think that?” Youmu asked.

“Well, it would seem odd otherwise for the tremble to have occurred exactly as we left that room,” I said. “Which only reinforces my theory that collecting the Will Seeds would affect her cognition in ways which we want.”

We looked at the cherry tree again, and the changes which had been effected by the quake. Some of the shadow guards scattered about and inspected it, but otherwise retained their patrol positions. It was still unsafe to approach the tree directly, but perhaps if we collected more of the seeds it would make it easier to approach.

“So basically, that’s our in,” Marisa said. “We find the other Will Seeds, and if you’re right about what you said that could let us get into the cherry tree.”

I smiled. “You catch on quite quick,” I complimented. “Now then, why don’t we get moving?”

Since the courtyard was unsafe to try and cross due to there being no cover and a large stream running through it, we decided to make our way over to the other castle via the parapets encircling the perimeter. The entrances to these were on opposite ends of the third floor, with a Safe Room located right between them. We made our way there, and discussed our plan.

“So, which one should we cross? Left or right?” Marisa threw out.

I raised my hand and suggested “both of them.”

“Eh?” Marisa wondered. “Both? How and why?”

“Remember what I said about leaving no stone unturned in the Palace?” I said. “We’ve already found everything in this castle, so there’s no reason to come back. Furthermore, we want to end this infiltration as quickly as possible, so doubling back onto the other parapet needlessly is something we need to avoid. If we split up into two pairs and go down each parapet, we can quickly scour both simultaneously for any clues and then converge once we reach the other castle.”

“But what if we’re attacked by powerful guards?” Reimu asked.

“I doubt that will be a concern if we remain careful,” I answered. “So far, we’ve been good about keeping the security level down, and aside from a couple strong guards here and there we’ve mostly only run into weaklings. All of Yuyuko’s strongest and highest-ranked shadows are patrolling the area around the tree, and if this is like a real castle the parapets and watchtowers likely only contain low-ranking sentries. I think even two people would be enough to overcome any shadows we encounter.”

Marisa nodded. “Okay, seems like a good enough plan. Now, how should we pair up?”

I thought for a moment, then suggested “I don’t think it would be wise for one pair to lack a healer, so me and Starburst should not go together.”

“In that case, I think me and Starburst should go down the right castle wall,” Reimu said.

“Then I’ll take Fury with me down the left,” I nodded. Now that we had agreed on a plan, we left the safe room, paired up and went our separate ways. Me and Youmu found the door out to the left parapet, took out the Makami standing guard, and started making our way across.

As we crossed the parapet, we stayed low to avoid detection from the powerful shadows patrolling the courtyard down below, some banded together in large groups. There weren’t many shadows on the parapet, and so far all of them were weaklings like Mandrakes. The wall itself, however, was very long, at least a kilometer, and the view of the cherry tree from here truly reinforced just how colossal it was; according to Youmu, it was exactly the same size as the Saigyou Ayakashi tree it was based on.

We soon reached the west tower. Up top, a shadow guard stood watch. I suggested we head up and go take it out, and Youmu agreed. Running up the spiral steps up to the top, we crept up to the shadow, and once we were sure it hadn’t yet noticed us, I jumped, ripped off its mask and got ready to go for the kill.

“Hey, don’t hurt me!” the Cait Sith pleaded.

“Sorry, but we can’t allow for any witnesses,” said coldly, reaching for my pistol, before I felt a tap on my shoulder.

“Let me handle it,” Youmu said.

“...alright, show me what you can do.” I let her in front of me, where she, in a flash, brandished her sword, slashed the shadow, and sheathed it again just as quickly; the shadow then dissolved into black mist.

“Impressive, Fury,” I applauded.

“Tch,” she grunted. “It wasn’t worthy of that cutlass it swung around… hmm?” She looked at the ground, and saw the shadow had dropped a red disk. Picking it up, she inspected it. “I wonder what this is?”

“Must be something important, if it was holding on to it. Now then, let’s move on.” We continued on along the parapet toward the other castle. As we did, I thought about Youmu’s action, and how despite them losing their real-world magical powers the nature of the Metaverse gave us all a form of superpowers to compensate. Such as how Youmu, in all likelihood, was a far more capable samurai here than she was in the real world even with her boasting. When I was with the Thieves, Yusuke wielded his sword like a professional despite being a painter with no training; I could only imagine the degree to which Youmu’s skills had been amplified, or to what extent it affected Reimu and Marisa’s abilities.

As we approached the other castle, it became apparent that it was, in fact, much larger than it seemed from a distance: it had another floor on the first castle, and a wider base. When we shot the lock off the door and made our way inside, we found ourselves in a side hallway overlooking a grandiose foyer with portraits of Yuyuko and murals full of cherry blossom petals everywhere.

“This place is huge…” Youmu observed.

“Indeed, it’s clearly much different than the castle we first entered. This must be the main structure of the palace, then.”

We made our way down the hallway to try and quickly meet back up with Reimu and Marisa. We eventually discovered the entrance to the opposite parapet, through which the other two rushed in.

“Sorry to keep you waitin’,” Marisa apologized. “We tried to skip the tower, but got stopped by two dudes who jumped off the top and wanted to spear us.”

“Geh,” I sighed, “that must have raised the security level, too. I told you to be cautious, and now we’ll have to be more careful as there may be stronger guards patrolling the area now.”

“Ehehe, sorry ‘bout that. By the way,” she pulled her bag gun and unloaded a blue disk, similar to our red one, “they dropped this after we beat ‘em. You guys find anything like this?”

“As a matter of fact, we did.” I pulled out the red disk and showed it to her.

“Wonder what these are…” she wondered. “Must be important if the guards were hangin’ onto them.”

“I’m sure we’ll find their purpose as long as we keep going. Now then, let’s scour this castle. We still have more Will Seeds to find.”

“Alright then, should we head up first?” Marisa asked.

“We don’t know where they could be, so we should search the whole castle. I’m not opposed to heading up first. You two?”

Reimu and Youmu nodded.

“Then it’s settled. Let’s go up.”

While this castle of course had hallways, it wasn’t the endless maze of random rooms that the previous one was. This one, it was obvious, was intended to be the home of a queen, with gold support beams, a lavish banquet hall with two conveyor belts running past an oversized, larger-than-life throne at the head of the table, and behind it, a kitchen stocked to the brim with meat, fish, cheese, fruits, vegetables, and sacks upon sacks upon burlap sacks of grains, flour, dried beans, and rice, with no shortage of shadow guards in between to have to silence. Even the shadow guards had notable differences from the ones in the other castle, seeming more like staff at a classy hotel than the samurai-armored ones we had been fighting up to this point, although gold-plated samurai guards were found watching critical areas as well and contained Archangel and Eligor shadows who gave us no shortage of grief. It also had few shadows in common with the other castle, consisting mainly of Cait Siths, Mandrakes, Angels and Succubi.

One thing we also noted was a total lack of safe rooms compared to the previous castle, which was filled with them. Once we reached a reasonably safe spot to catch our breath, we took a moment to take stock of our situation.

“Huff… huff… this place doesn’t let up!” Reimu said.

“Man, all this gold, all this glitter, all this grandiose stuff, and not a single safe room,” Marisa complained. “It’s like she doesn’t care about her guests at all.”

Youmu, meanwhile, just stood there silently, taking in the rich sights of the castle. I could tell, just by looking at her, that she was appalled by the hedonism and conspicuous consumption reflected in her master’s heart.

“Safe rooms represent weak spots in the palace ruler’s distortion. This area must represent a place Yuyuko feels like she has near-total control over, especially compared to the other castle. But… I wonder why that is…”

“The safe rooms would sometimes turn into a bedroom,” Youmu suddenly said. “And… I realized something…”

“Oh?” I wondered.

“...that’s MY room.”

…!

“...oh, that makes sense!” Marisa exclaimed. “No wonder I felt like I’d been in there before!”

“Your room… well, that certainly would be a place Yuyuko’s distortion would be weaker, the one place you can get away from her and feel safe. The only place you can really call yours…” I mused.

“My room is in a guardhouse away from the main shrine,” Youmu explained. “A lot of rooms and hallways in that other castle reminded me of rooms in the guardhouse and the decorations on some of the walls, just repeated a bunch of times. It’s also the closest structure to the gap that leads to the shrine path.”

I thought about what Youmu had said, and tried to crunch together an answer in my head. I came up with one, which I explained to them. “I see… so that other castle is actually a representation of Youmu’s guardhouse, while this castle reflects how Yuyuko sees the main shrine, and Hakugyokurou as a whole. The distortion around the guardhouse, then, is weaker than everywhere else, and as a result is the only place to have safe rooms.”

“There’s another thing, as well.” She pointed to a window behind us, which faced the front of the castle. There, we could see a legion of guards posted in the wide forum in front of it, with a vast meadow of spider lilies stretching out into the expanse. “Normally, the way you reach this place from the world of the living is to head along the Road of Reconsideration, which passes near the Sanzu River, is infested with evil spirits, and is also home to a weak spot in the Hakurei Border that items and people sometimes fall through.”

“Kourin goes there a lot to find stuff to sell in his shop,” Marisa added.

“Yes, and at the end of it is Muenzuka, which is a meadow of spider lilies which is likewise crawling with evil spirits. That’s where the entrance to the Netherworld is located, and it’s also the way Yuyuko-sama uses. She never goes through that portal; I’m its only user. I requested it specifically so I had a shortcut to go shopping in the village, and also to avoid all the evil spirits”

“But didn’t you say your sword could cut through evil spirits?” I asked.

Youmu took a couple steps back. “T-t-that’s… w-well…”

“This big baby’s afraid of ghosts!” Marisa laughed, slapping Youmu’s back. “And she’s half-ghost herself! Can ‘ya believe that?!”

“Who are you calling a big baby???” Youmu hissed and glared.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, I didn’t mean that to offend you or-”

“INTRUDERS!!!”

We jolted around and saw a guard staring right at us. “Shit,” I said, “we’ve been spotted!” I got out my knife. “We have no choice. Are you all ready to fight?” They all drew their weapons, and we assumed formation as the guard turned into a lone Jack Frost.

“I’m gonna give all of you a bad time, ho!” it declared.

“Over my dead body,” Reimu sneered rushing forward to attack it, but as she swung her gohei it jumped up in the air, caught an overhead pipe and spun around, before letting go and flipping on top of a bust of Yuyuko.

“I’m not some ordinary fat schmuck, ho! I do a hundred push-ups, a hundred sit-ups and a ten-kilometer run each day!” It then raised its hand and let out a blast of cold energy which swept in all directions.

“Shit!” Thinking quickly, I switched to Empusa to tank the attack, Marisa ducked and Youmu dashed aside with the attack grazing her outfit. Reimu tried to defend, but was hit and knocked down.

“EEYEAAA!!” She cried out, falling down onto the floor and with bits of ice on her wings.

"SERAPH!” Marisa shouted rushing to her aid. Meanwhile, the Jack Frost jumped back onto the floor, pounding its fists.

“Time to finish you off! Super Jack-Attack Ho!” It leaped into the air, wound up a punch and got ready to strike her. At exactly that moment, though, Reimu snapped out of it and retaliated with a kick, knocking the Jack Frost back and causing it to stagger when it landed.

“Uuuhhh…” Marisa helped her up, and once back on her feet she glared at the snowman. “Alright, guess it’s time to play dirty.” She summoned her Persona, and cast out an odd, purple wave which hit the Jack Frost’s head. Instantly, it had an effect, and it started acting erratically.

“Huh? Wha?? Where am I? Who am I, ho??”

Marisa looked at Reimu. “What the heck did you do to it?”

“Made it drunk,” Reimu said flatly. “I figured out how to do it when we were downstairs in the kitchen.”

Ah, yes, I remembered now: Pulinpa, one of the most underhanded moves in existence, and one I was at the receiving end of time and time again while making my way to targets. Anything hit by it was rendered confused as to why they were there, why they were fighting, and in some cases who they were. The Jack Frost was now completely vulnerable, and could be easily finished off…

...until I remembered the attack it used. A cold wave that hit everyone.

It used Mabufu.

It was a Jack Frost with Mabufu, exactly what Rika had asked for.

“Allow me,” I announced. “I’d like to have a chat with this one.”

“Go right ahead,” Reimu said. “We’re right here when you want us to strike.”

“That won’t be necessary,” I said. “I merely wish to negotiate.”

“Negotiate?!” Marisa exclaimed. “But it knocked down Seraph!”

“And it doesn’t look like it really can negotiate right now,” Reimu said.

“That’s exactly why. Observe.” I turned over to the Jack Frost. “I want you to lend me your power.”

It took a moment for it to register what I said. “Why, ho? Do I owe you money?”

“Yes, lots of money,” I smiled.

“Then take this!” It threw 3000 yen at me. “That enough?”

“Almost, but you’ll have to work the rest of it off I’m afraid. If you give me your power now, your debt will be gone just like that!”

“What do I owe you for anyway, ho?”

“I loaned you money so that you could buy a Yuyuko dakimakura,” I smirked.

“WHAT THE?! HOW DARE YOU-” Youmu shouted.

“Oh shit, oh shit, ho!” It was panicking now. “Now I blew it! That crazy bitch is gonna kill me! Save me! I’ll give you all the power you want, ho!”

“I would greatly appreciate it,” I smiled. And thus, it turned into a mask, which got sucked into mine. Immediately after, I felt a strong hand grip my shoulder.

“How could you disgrace Yuyuko-sama like that?!?” she screamed at me.

“It was effective, though, wasn’t it? I got exactly my intended result.”

“But still!” Youmu shouted, shaking me like a ragdoll. “We’re here to change her heart, not make her out to be some slut!!”

“Honestly, I’ve seen and done worse,” Marisa commented. “There was that time a million years ago at the mansion when Flan had me cornered and I tried to set her up with Reimu, but she said she wanted to play with me instead, if ‘ya all get what I’m gettin’ at.”

I sighed. “Can we not talk about lewd subjects right now? We’re still in a dangerous spot and we need to keep moving.” I went toward a nearby doorway and motioned the three to follow me through.

We worked our way through the remaining floors before reaching the top, but there was still no clear sign of another Will Seed, even after checking all the rooms up there.

“No good?” Marisa asked.

“Seems like it,” I nodded. “Most likely it’s on one of the lower floors.”

Everyone else groaned. “So we gotta go all the way back down???” Marisa complained.

“Unfortunately,” I answered. “There’s just no way of knowing where are target is, which is why I keep saying we have to thoroughly search the entire-”

As I was speaking, I threw open one last door, behind which was a room with a sole, sparkling, locked treasure chest on a table in the middle.

“Oh?” Marisa smiled, and inched forward. “Oh? Ohohohoho! Looky here, a treasure chest, and it’s got my name written all over it!”

“Wha- hold on!” Reimu said reaching out. “That’s gotta be a trap!”

“Actually, most likely not,” I told her. “Most palaces have treasure chests like this one, often placed in random rooms and areas. That we haven’t seen one up to this point is, if anything, an anomaly.”

Marisa fiddled around with the lock. “Hmm, this thing’s pretty hefty, so I’m prolly not kicking it off. Hey Serpah, can I borrow your sealing powers for a-”

Reimu flipped up her mask to reveal somewhat sad-looking eyes.

“Oh… right, can’t use ‘em here, I forgot.” Marisa stood up. “Well, in that case, time for Plan B!” She reached into her outfit, and pulled out a crowbar from… somewhere. “Found this thing at Kourin’s several years ago. Really comes in handy for my thief- er, ingredient-gathering outings!” She put the crowbar on the lock, and after a couple tries, managed to pop it off.

“Alright, sweet!” Marisa exclaimed. “Now then, come to momma!” Carefully, she creaked open the chest, probably expecting large amounts of riches inside of it, or perhaps a power elixir of some kind, while the rest of us rushed into the room to see what was inside.

But instead of gold or jewelry, inside the chest were things more immediately useful to our mission: weapons. Marisa pulled out a pair of knife gloves, which seemed sharper and stronger than the ones she currently used.

“Whoa, look at this!” She said, showing it off. “These look pretty good! Can I try these on?”

“Be my guest,” I nodded as I pulled a small kukri out of the chest. Also in the chest were a small, pink band with a cherry blossom silhouette on it, as well as the hilt to a katana. Reimu guessed that the band was an attachment for her gohei and, after replacing the Frost Band with it, waved it around, causing it to scatter pink petals. The hilt, as it turned out, could be applied to Youmu’s Roukanken, causing the blade to transform slightly.

“Hmmm…” Youmu inspected the new blade. “It would seem Roukanken has turned into a gunto.” She swung it around. “Feels lighter and sharper than before.” She then turned to me. “This… won’t change how it’s like outside the palace, will it?”

“I don’t think it will,” Reimu said. “When we left here yesterday, that Frost Band stayed on my gohei, but it didn’t affect its properties at all.”

“I agree, it should turn back to normal upon exiting the palace, the same as our outfits,” I told Youmu. “Effects in the cognitive world usually dissipate upon returning to reality, although physical items can be removed from here.”

Youmu inspected her blade once more. “Well… as long as you say so. I’m holding you responsible if you’re wrong. This IS my family’s ancestral blade, and I would dare not sully or weaken it in any way, nor allow anyone else to do so.”

“You have my word,” I assured her. I turned toward the door. “Now then, let’s get moving and head down-”

Then the floor around the chest, and under us, dropped open into a dark, deep pit.

We stood there, on top of nothing, for an awkward moment, and stared at one another.

“Say,” Marisa asked Reimu. “Isn’t there a trope in old cartoons where the characters don’t fall until they realize there’s nothing under them?”

“I don’t know,” Reimu said, “Sanae’s a much better person than me to ask. I barely know anything about stuff more recent than the 60’s.”

“Eh, point taken. You’ve never been ‘hip to the times,’ as she often says.”

And then we fell down.

At the bottom, we fell right on top of a pile of rice bags, which softened the blow somewhat but still hurt considerably when we impacted it.

Marisa was the first one to get back up, groaning and fixing her back. “Gaaaah… I think I cracked my ass.”

Youmu jolted up, “oh, shoot! I hope I didn’t crack mine!”

“Isn’t it supposed to be cracked, though?” Reimu snarked.

“Well, no, but - WHA-WHAT???” Youmu blushed so hard her entire face turned beet-red. “You-you’re a shrine maiden! You’re not supposed to be so crass!”

I’m surrounded by idiots, I thought as the other two giggled like schoolgirls at Youmu’s expense. That’s when we heard a cackling voice off to the side, revealed to be a shadow’s.

“I got you, you idiot thieves!” it boasted. “I put that treasure chest up there to distract and catch intruders in Yuyuko’s domain! She’s gonna promote me for sure!”

The shadow kept going on and on about how awesome it was and how it was going to execute us in front of Yuyuko. My eyes wandered to the left, where I noticed a large, conspicuous gap between the bar and the wall, which we could easily pass through. While the shadow was distracted by its own gloating, I got up, put my spine and jaw back in place and made my way through. The others saw me doing this and followed suit.

“Yeah, and I’m gonna get a fatass paycheck, livin’ offa tenderloin steak for the rest of my life and -” It turned around and looked straight into my glaring red eyes, and in an instant it turned into a statue. I then swiftly ripped off its mask and kicked it in the gut back into a wall of pickle jars, causing them to fall on top of it and shatter. Moments later, glass shards flew in all directions as an Abaddon emerged and roared.

“Oh, oooohhh, y’all think yer all so smart, eh? Well, I got some news for ‘ya twerps! I’m gonna scoop all y’all up in one bite and eat ya alive!”

I fixed my collar. “You know, you’d seem like more of a threat if you could actually build a cage to keep things in,” I smirked. “I believe even a grade school kid could handle that.”

“GRAAAH! NOW YER GONNA GET IT!” it bellowed.

Reimu studied our opponent for a moment. “Look at that huge mouth,” she said. “It’ll just eat us up if we try to get close and hit it with our weapons.”

“Then we’ll just have to keep our distance and hit it with magic,” I said. I turned to Youmu. “It might be difficult for you to take this one on since you can’t use your sword.”

But Youmu stood stoic and summoned her Persona. “Then I’ll just have to give someone else a bit of my power.” She and Hiroari pointed at Marisa, who was briefly surrounded by a red aura. “Use your energy ball attack,” she said.

“Oh, uhhh… okay!” Marisa then summoned her own Persona and fired off Frei, which hit the Abaddon noticeably harder than usual, and not just because the Abyssal King of Avarice was weak to the attack - it had a Tarukaja behind it as well.

“WHOA! That had to hurt!” Marisa exclaimed. We all wasted no time surrounding it, and after a single All-Out Attack it was done for.

“What WAS that?!” Marisa excitedly asked Youmu. “Whatever that was, it made me real strong or somethin’!”

“That must have been Tarukaja,” I said. “It’s a spell that temporarily makes its target stronger. There’s other spells like it with other effects, including ones that make the target weaker.”

“...so it ain’t permanent?”

“I’m afraid not.”

Marisa shook her arms. “Eh, well, still, that’s a useful trick to have around! Don’t forget to use it when you can, ‘specially ‘round big, scary things like that guy!”

“You should focus on improving your own technique,” Youmu retorted. “I was merely assisting you in taking down a common foe.”

“Ah, loosen up! We’re all teammates here! Now, let’s keep goin’!”

It was clear that we were somewhere in the castle’s basement. We needed to find a way out, and at the same time look for any treasure laying around, including Will Seeds. It didn’t take long: not far past the cage was a vent near the floor through which more whispers could be heard. We crawled through the vent, and indeed the room with the Green Will Seed was on the other side. And once again, after we claimed it a quake rattled through the basement’s walls. When we exited the vent, a peculiar sight lay ahead of us: a rippling door belonging to a Safe Room.

“Was that there before?” Marisa asked.

“I don’t think so…” We decided to go inside, and it looked like a typical safe room. Unlike most of the previous ones, though, there was no Velvet Room shortcut here.

“Wonder why this appeared all of a sudden…”

“It must be due to the Will Seed we just took,” I said. “It seems every time we claim a Will Seed the distortion weakens, as we take the cores of the distorted desires themselves. Taking that second Will Seed must have weakened the distortion enough to allow safe rooms to start appearing in this castle. It would be interesting to see how Yuyuko is currently acting in the real world.”

“Um… we’re not harming Yuyuko-sama right now, are we?” Youmu nervously asked.

“Like I said, she would only die if her shadow here were killed. As long as we avoid doing that, she will be fine. All we’re doing is removing the distortion from her heart, this garish place which is how she views the world around her. That is what you wish, is it not?”

Youmu nodded. “I… I want to help Yuyuko-sama.”

“Then commit to it,” I said sternly. “If you waver now, you may never get another chance to free yourself from her twisted and distorted control. Now then,” I turned toward the door back outside, “let’s continue our infiltration.”

It took a few minutes to find a way back up to the ground floor of the castle. We were careful to avoid the guards out in the foyer, and made our way to the back door out toward the courtyard. There were two holes in the door, which we realized the discs we picked up earlier fit into. Placing the discs into the holes unlocked the door, allowing us to go outside. After some deliberation, we decided there was nothing of value left in the castle, so we headed out. Back on the parapet, I saw that this half of the central courtyard hosted an arena of some sort. I wanted to investigate it, of course, because of how out of place it seemed.

Once we opened the doors, we could see more changes to the central cherry tree: the branches were open even more than before, and more stone pinnacles surrounding it; the existing ones from before were all taller as well. There was no doubt that if we found at least one more Will Seed, we could open a route into the heart of the tree itself.

The courtyard didn’t have much in the way of cover, not that it mattered due to a distinct lack of enemies. We had cleared out the watchtowers, but I understood there was still the threat of snipers watching over the wide area, so we made sure to stay in the shadows as much as possible, dashing between stones and wooden posts on our way toward the stadium.

Finally, we made it through the stadium gates, and proceeded through the wide, desolate space toward the tree, not really sure where we were going or what we were hoping to accomplish.

“You think we’re being set up?” Marisa whispered.

“Possibly,” I replied. “We should keep our guard up, just in case.” We brandished our weapons and stayed huddled together, on the lookout for any threats waiting to pounce on us, such as an ambush by a large group of shadow guards.

“So you have finally come,” came a voice.

“Who was that?!?” All of us were spooked, and looked around to find where the voice came from. I looked up, and on top of the opposite stadium entrance was a skeleton dressed in a matador costume and holding a crimson capote.

“You have done well to come this far,” he said. “Lady Saigyouji has little patience for thieves, but she has been greatly amused by your feats.” He crouched, then jumped down onto the ground in front of us. “Alas, I have already determined you unworthy of the two Will Seeds you have acquired. Because you fight without honor, without reason. You only fight as a means to ‘disappear’ anyone in your way, and brawl without style, form or grace. Therefore, I cannot permit you to have this.” A cage opened up above him, which contained the last, blue Will Seed. “But, I doubt you will consider my words, and try to claim it nonetheless. Because of this…”

The Matador then swooshed his capote, causing everything to flash white. When the flash died down, I saw Reimu, Marisa, and Youmu were no longer at my side; instead, they had been transported up into the stands, surrounded by legions of spectators consisting of ghosts and shadows of all kinds, causing an uproar and cheering for blood.

“...I challenge you to a duel, to see who is worthy of the blue Will Seed.” He drew his sword, and held it over his head. “I swear by my sword and capote I shall once again prove victorious!” A sword fell out of the air, landing tip-first in the sand between us. “Now, take up your sword, and let the battle begin!”

So… he offered me mercy, by offering a sword to duel with. Surely, I would have been at a disadvantage with just a knife, even with a Persona at my side. And the sword was much like the type I used to wield myself. Surely I could take him on in a fair fight…

...instead, I summoned Empusa and blasted him with Zio, which also shocked him. Then I switched back to Bond and ordered the use of Single Shot.

“You know, I gave up on fighting fair long ago,” I confessed coldly. “Only fools put honor before reason. The only people who get things done in this world are the pragmatists, those who ignore bullshit which gets in the way of the fastest solution to the problem. If you had wanted to fight me, you should have attacked me right away without giving me a chance. Since you did, I had the opportunity to instantly win the fight.”

The Matador got back up, and chuckled. “I see. So you still insist on beating the shortest path to victory, even if it means disgracing yourself while doing so.”

“Is there a problem with that?” I sneered.

“...very well. You have passed the test.”

?

“That sword contained a powerful curse which would have afflicted you with a deathly ailment, and I would have made short work of you. If you had ignored it but still tried to fight, my superior technique and years of experience would surely have bested you. But instead, you didn’t let societal expectations or pressure get to you, blinding you from your goal, and so you struck while the iron was hot. For that, the prize is yours.” The cage lowered, and released the Blue Will Seed.

Walking towards it, I grew suspicious. “Is this some kind of trap?” I asked.

“Nothing of the sort,” it claimed. “I serve a force who is evaluating your rehabilitation, to see whether you can avert the ruin your soul is destined towards. If you continue with your journey, and trounce all adversities in your way, then you shall surely meet my comrades and be tested by them just the same as I have tested you.” With a flamboyant flourish, he jumped up onto the outer wall of the stadium. “I wish you the best of luck in your travels. May we meet again.” He then jumped over the wall, causing the crowd to disappear, and the other three were teleported back by my side.

“...what was THAT all about?” Reimu asked.

“I don’t know.” I looked at the Will Seed on the ground. “But, it seems as though we have our final Will Seed.” Once I picked it up, there was an immediate effect: the stadium opened up to reveal the gargantuan cherry tree behind it. All the stone spires moved into position, lining a pathway between us and the tree. It unfurled its limbs even more, with some creeping down towards us and striking into the ground, growing tendrils until eventually a set of stairs formed, leading straight into the heart of the tree. Our route was finally open.

This wasn’t the only thing that happened, though. At that moment, the other two Will Seeds spontaneously shot out of Marisa’s bag gun, causing her to jump in surprise. The Seeds gathered together in the air, spinning around rapidly until converging in a flash of light, yielding a crystal which floated down into my hand.

“Whoa, didn’t expect they’d do that,” Marisa remarked. “And… that thing is actually pretty creepy.”

“This is another thing I learned when I was with the Phantom Thieves,” I said. “When all the Will Seeds are brought together, they form into these items which are purified from the palace owner’s distorted desires. They carry a power related to the ruler’s distortion, which we are now free to use as we want.”

“And we can now strike at Yuyuko directly,” Reimu said. She turned to Youmu, who looked on at the cherry tree. “Seems we’ve reached our goal. Are you ready?”

Youmu stood there, contemplating quietly. On one hand, her chance to strike at her master’s distorted desires was finally right there in front of her. On the other hand… Yuyuko was her master, and for the longest time Youmu had tried to run from the truth, maintaining undying loyalty to her despite her abuses, just because she was her master and the master of her ancestors who had served her for centuries. Going back on all of that in just a day was a very big thing to ask, even if doing so was objectively the right thing to do.

She opened her eyes. “I’ve already set my heart to it. I swore I would protect Yuyuko-sama and steer her from wrong. To not do this now would violate that oath.”

I clapped my hands. “That’s the answer I wanted to hear.” I turned back toward the group. “We should prepare ourselves just in case. We don’t know what we’ll find once we’re in there.” I directed Marisa to heal everyone back up, then we took a tea break to reinvigorate ourselves. Once we felt ready, I led the charge up the stairs, with Youmu strutting right behind me.

Chapter Text

As we ascended the high root stairway straight into the heart of the cherry tree, cherry petals blew gently around us in a spiralling chilled vortex, accompanied by faint whispers indicative of spirits lamenting their unfinished deeds in life, held prisoner in this limbo between life, death and the afterlife. Faint, lighted balls danced in the sky just above us, all seemingly drawn to this demonic cherry tree which supposedly imprisoned the souls of those it victimized. The branches of the tree were either very dark brown or simply black, and whose tendrils spread like creeping spider’s legs. None of this deterred us, however, as we were here for one reason and one reason only: stealing the treasure of the palace for ourselves. We would not leave without it, not after coming this far.

At the top of the stairs, we landed upon a wide platform made entirely of interwoven branches sitting upon the crown of the tree trunk, with eight large branches encircling it reaching up into the air, all covered in a thick veil of cherry flowers whose petals showered us constantly. And floating up above: a pink ball, surrounded by chains and what appeared to be a forcefield.

“Look up there,” Marisa said, pointing at it. “Is that it?”

I looked up. “I do believe so. That is the treasure. The core of Yuyuko’s distorted desires.”

“And if you’re right, then stealing it should cause the whole place to cease existing,” Reimu said. “Honestly, it’s quite the concept. I never would have thought that something like this could exist in someone’s mind and cause them to turn evil, like with demonic possession.”

“Except the only demons possessing palace rulers are their own,” I said to her. “As I said before, distortions like this are born from traumatic or otherwise significant events in a person’s life, which affects their psyche in a way which causes them to indulge in destructive behavior, both to themselves and others, and distort their way of thinking so they believe what they are doing is not wrong, is justified, or otherwise not their fault. This distortion has a core - the treasure - which will take the form of an item, whose form will change when we bring it out with us into the real world. This item either symbolizes their distorted desires, or in fact caused them in the first place.”

Marisa looked back up at the treasure. “But… doesn’t look like something we can just make off with. I mean, it looks like some sort of blob, and there’s a shield around it. How do we break it and how do we steal that blob?”

I examined the treasure again. Marisa asked a very good question. This treasure did not look like any other treasure I had seen prior to the Phantom Thieves sending out a calling card. None of them had forcefields protecting them, and they did not have chains around them either. I feared that there was perhaps another step we had to take in order to steal the treasure, such as changing Yuyuko’s cognition in some way which would make it vulnerable. But sending a calling card should be able to do that…

“Simple,” I told them. “We warn her. The real Yuyuko, I mean.”

“Wait, what?!” Reimu and Youmu said in unison.

“Warn her???” Marisa asked. “Why the heck would we do that?! Isn’t the whole point of doin’ this makin’ sure she doesn’t know what we’re doin’?!?”

“For the most part, except for this final step,” I explained. “The treasure looks like this right now because she doesn’t think her distorted desires are a physical item in danger of being stolen. What we need to do now is return to the real world and send her a calling card - a way of proclaiming to her that ‘we know of your crimes and will take your distorted desires without fail.’ That will elicit a reaction from her which will cause the treasure to assume a physical form which can then be stolen.”

Marisa rubbed her chin, then snapped her fingers and smiled. “A calling card… I see!” She chuckled. “What a classic thief thing to do! I love it!”

“Interesting,” Reimu noted. “So we make her aware we’re coming, without revealing our true identities. In essence, we’re daring her to defend her treasure.”

“Precisely,” I said. “And like I said, once we do that and come back here, Yuyuko’s shadow will be here waiting for us, ready to fight to defend her treasure.”

“Eeeeeeehhhhhhhhhh,” Marisa groaned. “That’s gonna be a hell of a fight, if she’s anything like the real Yuyuko. And we don’t have any of our normal powers to fight her with!”

“...is she very powerful?” I asked.

“She rules the Netherworld, so of course she’s very powerful,” Youmu explained. “She can manipulate souls, can invoke death, and possesses enough raw magical power and aptitude to win fights against gods. She’s practically a goddess herself, even though she’s ‘only’ a ghost.”

“When we fought her during the Cherry Blossom incident, it took me and Seraph working together to beat her, and she wasn’t even fighting at full power,” Marisa added.

“Indeed, if she weren’t as lazy as she is she could slam my head straight into the ground,” Reimu said. “Not only that, she’s extremely intelligent, and can come up with complex schemes and strategies on the fly, can analyze your attack pattern and counter it as hard as possible, and can even read your behavior and movements to predict what you’ll do. However, you’d never know that if you only casually knew her, since she’s so good at hiding it most people in Gensokyo regard her as a complete, incompetent airhead.”

“And we’ll be fighting her shadow,” I said. “To be honest, I’ve never faced an opponent quite like this. All my previous targets were regular human beings whose shadows turned into twisted demons capable of using magic, manifesting cannons and gigantic swords, moving at super speed, and whatever other powers their cognitions afforded them. None of them were shadows of people already capable of using deadly magic in the real world.”

“So… do you think we may have bitten off more than we can chew?” Reimu asked, just a little nervously. It was the first time I had ever heard fear in her voice.

“Not necessarily,” I said. “Her shadow is ultimately shaped by her distorted desires, and some distortions are stronger than others. This could mean that her shadow is, in fact, weaker than Yuyuko herself, and if that’s the case then we’re actually striking at a weak point the real person can’t cover.” I paused to think for a moment. “Even so, the shadow’s powers are also affected by her cognition. If she can instantly kill people in real life, her shadow might be capable of using instant kills here as well.”

Marisa jumped up in shock. “Wait, instant-kill spells exist here too?!?”

“Unfortunately, yes,” I answered. “If anything, we’re lucky none of the shadows here knew any, because quite a few do. We should be very, very cautious when we face her just in case she has those.”

Marisa gulped, and I could also see the other two hesitating. “Welp… guess it’s a good thing I just realized that revival spell. Seriously, who or what decided I would specialize in healin’?”

“It doesn’t matter right now,” I said. “All that matters is we have our treasure route. Let’s return to the real world for today and-”

Suddenly, the path back out was sealed off by roots and flowers.

“What the-” We all drew our weapons and looked for threats.

“Is this a trap?!” Reimu shouted.

“My, my, you’ve kept me waiting,” came Shadow Yuyuko’s voice.

“Yuyuko s- Yuyuko Saigyouji!!!” Youmu exclaimed.

A flower floated down from above, landed in front of us, and unfurled to reveal our opponent. Unlike last time, Yuyuko was wearing a hat with a hitaikakushi on the front, and a more typical blue-and-white kimono, but still carried a fan similar to what she had before. There were also some phantoms floating behind her. It was clear she was still a shadow, though, by the black mists at her feet and her piercing yellow eyes.

Shadow Yuyuko stepped off the flower and strutted towards us. She inspected her dress. “How dreadful,” she said. “That dress was very expensive, and you just had to ruin it by taking all those Will Seeds and degrade it into this peasant’s robe.”

“It was very unbecoming of a lady, indulging in prurient and selfish behavior!” Youmu shot back, pointing her sword at her. “I’m here to knock the sense back into you!”

Shadow Yuyuko giggled. “Oh, Youmu-chan, you never cease to amuse me, acting all tough but being such a half-baked baby on the inside who will do anything I tell you to, just because you feel it’s your family duty to suck up and give me anything I want!”

Youmu suddenly pushed me aside and faced Shadow Yuyuko face-to-face. “Bullshit! I serve you because it’s my family’s sworn duty to protect and take care of you! And how do you thank us? You never let me teach you swordsmanship, which is one of our foremost duties assigned to us! All you do is sit around and eat, drink and play while I have to do all the work keeping the Netherworld from deteriorating into a lawless dystopia! You’re a disgrace to my family, your family, the yama and the spirits of the Netherworld!”

Shadow Yuyuko laughed haughtily. “But what about you? You didn’t object when I tasked you with stealing Spring to make the Saigyou Ayakashi bloom. And you still don’t object to the orders I give you. Are you truly so spineless to not stand up to me when your ancestors would have never hesitated to do the same?”

Youmu was silent.

“Ah, did I score a critical hit?” Shadow Yuyuko sneered.

Youmu looked down… and chuckled.

“You’re right. I’ve been deluding myself for far too long. I swore to serve you and be by your side.” She looked back up, then over to me, then back at Shadow Yuyuko. “But thanks to this guy, and my friends, I realized that also means standing up to you and putting you back down the right path which you have strayed from. You’ve changed, Yuyuko-sama. You didn’t used to be like this. Where did the Yuyuko who used to be the kind, effective master of the Netherworld go?” She thought for a moment, then held her sword to Shadow Yuyuko’s neck. “That’s it. You’re not Yuyuko-sama. You’re a bastardization, a congealed mass of lies and sin impersonating Yuyuko-sama! And guess what, bitch. I’m here to strike you down and take that Yuyuko-sama back home where she belongs!”

I was practically grinning ear-to-ear with pride. Pride in having helped Youmu reach this point and realize the darkness before her she was blind to previously. And it was obvious Reimu and Marisa were similarly proud of the half-ghost samurai warrior.

“...hmph!” Shadow Yuyuko snapped her fan closed and stowed it. She then stepped back onto the flower, before holding out her arms and floating in the air. “I have no need for trash such as yourself. I should kill you all right now… but on the other hand, that would be a terrible waste of people who have provided me so much amusement. Thus, I propose a game: a fight to the death, may the best one win!”

Just then, the whole tree began to quake, and Shadow Yuyuko began to draw huge quantities of energy into herself. “Hehehehehehehe!!!” she cackled. “Make no mistake: you all don’t know what you have walked into. This is my tree, my castle, the place where I make all the rules! I have over one-thousand years of commanding spirits and terrible magical power under my belt!” She smirked. “I’m not some fairy-tale princess who needs a Prince Charming to rescue her! I’m the master of the Netherworld! And I’ll teach you all not to fuck with this princess!”

We stepped back. Shadow Yuyuko went black, and her shape grew, twisted and bent.

“This is dangerous… get back!”

Her shape continued to grow and distort. Then, two bony, clawed feet touched down onto the ground. A bulging, bloated belly exposed itself. Two clawed arms, each grasping a large fan, materialized. Then, finally, the head, monstrous with bulging eyes, a gaping mouth with razor-sharp teeth, and Yuyuko’s pink hair and hat. A flourish of white butterflies fluttered up around it, before it roared so mightily the tree quaked.

It was difficult to believe: Shadow Yuyuko had turned herself into a fearsome, gigantic Preta. Rather fitting for a literal hungry ghost possessed of gluttony.

“What the actual…” Marisa muttered.

“What is… this?” Youmu said.

“Ahahahahaha!” Shadow Yuyuko cackled. “I’m gonna make all of you my next meal!”

We drew our weapons and called our Personas. I felt myself slipping into psycho mode a little bit as well. “Let’s see you try,” I dared.

Reimu glanced over at me. “Awaiting orders,” she said.

I closed my eyes to focus for a second, before giving my instructions. “Let’s scout her actions so we can establish her strategy, then move to counter it as much as possible. Marisa should be on standby to heal everyone else, but don’t be afraid to attack yourself if you can.”

“Got it,” Marisa affirmed.

“Alright, then. It’s showtime!”

Shadow Yuyuko’s first actions, aside from simply trying to kick, claw and bash us, included breathing fire (and thus forcing Youmu to have to hang back and try to attack from behind, as she was weak to fire) and whip up strong winds with her fans. Already, she demonstrated her cleverness by mixing the two, spewing a fireball then whipping it up into a fiery vortex to throw flames everywhere, making them harder to dodge. However, Reimu quickly found that firing a shot into her mouth using Kikuri would make her flinch, giving us an opening to attack and hack away at her.

“Grr… persistent little pests!” she yelled. “Looks like I’ll need to call in some help!” She raised her fans, causing two spirits to spawn in. “Now then,” she ordered them, “attacking them at random won’t do us any good! We have to be methodical in our approach!” She scanned around, and focused on Marisa. “There! Start with that one, the one that’s healing them!”

Marisa grunted. “Shit, they’re targeting me now.” She summoned Mima. “Well, guess what chumps! Imma tear you to shreds!” She directed a Frei attack at one of the spirits, knocking it down. She was just about to rush in when Youmu stepped in, holding out her hand.

“Allow me,” she said.

Marisa thought for a moment, then slapped Youmu’s hand, increasing her power. “Go for it!”

“With pleasure.” Youmu quickly slashed the spirit, killing it instantly, followed up by her spinning around and delivering a roundhouse kick to Shadow Yuyuko, causing the latter to stagger back.

Marisa then focused on downing the other spirit, but the spirit retaliated with an attack we had thus far not seen: Psi. Now, I knew from the experience that the four pairs of magical elements generally opposed each other. Reimu, being a fire user, was weak to ice, and for Youmu it was the opposite. Since Marisa used nuclear…

“Ah, shit, goddammit!” Marisa fell flat on her face. Reimu immediately rushed to her aid. “Starburst! Are you okay???”

“Do I look okay to ‘ya?! I just got my ass beat!”

“Fehehe… fool,” Shadow Yuyuko taunted. “Not knowing your weaknesses. You shall pay for your recklessness!” With a wave of her fan, she shot out four, dark cards at each of us. Reimu and I intercepted the ones heading for us with our weapons, while the one aimed at Marisa simply dissipated into harmless smoke when it got within range. Youmu, meanwhile, didn’t notice in time, causing the card to hit the ground below her and produce a shadowy circle scribbled with occult symbols.

I realized what this meant.

“Fury, watch out!” I rushed to try and shove her out of the way, but it was too late: the Mudo circle exploded into smoke, causing her to collapse onto the ground.

“NO!!” I cried out. I turned back to Marisa. “Starburst, Fury just got knocked out! Quickly, get back on your feet and revive her!”

Reimu helped Marisa back onto her feet, and after shaking her limbs she rushed over to Youmu’s aid while me and Reimu kept distracting Shadow Yuyuko. Marisa went over to the fallen samurai and called out “Recarm.” Green butterflies manifested and flew into Youmu, and after a moment or so Youmu opened her eyes, jumped back on her feet and bowed. “I’m grateful. Now, let’s get back to work!”

We regrouped in front of Shadow Yuyuko, who continued belittling us. “You see? You see? You’ll never beat me! I control the cycle of life and death itself! I won’t let my centuries of experience be defeated by brats such as yourselves!”

“She’s no joke,” I said to the group. “It would seem she’s as powerful as she claims, and could have even more tricks up her sleeve we don’t know of. We need to alter our tactics if we’re to win.”

“What do you suggest?” Reimu asked.

I scanned the area to see if there was anything we could use to our advantage. I focused on a rather hefty branch directly overhead, connected to the rest of the tree structure only by a relatively thin section of stem. I realized if we could drop it on Shadow Yuyuko and pin her down, we could simply beat her down without resistance.

“Look up at that branch,” I said. “If we send someone up there to cut it, we can drop it on Shadow Yuyuko.” I looked at Marisa. “I want you to do it.”

“Me?” Marisa asked, confused. “But, don’t you need me to heal?”

“I have healing as well if I need to use it,” I said. “More importantly, it seems as though she only uses her Mudo attack if she downs someone. She can most likely summon an infinite amount of those spirits who can down you, and their Psychic attacks are harder to dodge than her fire breath. Furthermore, you’re the fastest and most agile of any of us, and she’s more likely to notice if Fury is missing. Therefore, I want you to find a way up to that branch and slice it off so that it drops on Shadow Yuyuko.”

Marisa thought for a second, then conceded, “alright, sound like a plan. I’ll go up there and drop that branch right on her head. But I’ll need a distraction.”

“That won’t be a problem,” Youmu declared, drawing her sword and rushing toward Shadow Yuyuko. “Come at me, bitch!”

“Gah, you just can’t stay down, can you?” Shadow Yuyuko grunted. “Very well. I’ll make you regret crossing me!” Shadow Yuyuko slashed, stomped, and bit at Youmu, who simply swerved, dashed and danced around the monster’s slow, brutish actions, drawing her anger as much as possible in order to make the beast forgo strategy in favor of simply trying to crush her now. Clearly, Youmu was a master of enraging the opponent as much as possible so that she could punish unskilled bloodlust. Me and Reimu jumped into the fight while Marisa quickly dashed off to the side, looking for a way up the branches and roots to the target.

“Get back over here, you little roach!” Shadow Yuyuko yelled, reaching for Youmu and trying to eat her, but Youmu just kept dodging and parrying. “I will put you back in your place as my servant and slave!”

“I won’t allow it to happen,” Youmu shot back. “I am a Konpaku, born from a lineage of skilled and capable warriors. I won’t allow my honor and that of my family to be sullied by a purveyor of sin such as you!”

As we engaged Shadow Yuyuko in close combat, I saw out of the corner of my eye Marisa jumping up from behind one of the eight large stems onto its top, then jumping up toward a tangle of branches to which she hung on with her arms. She was making progress, that was good. We just had to keep attacking Shadow Yuyuko so that she wouldn’t notice Marisa was missing.

At one point, Shadow Yuyuko did manage to summon some more spirits, and revealed another trick: she could eat these to restore her health. We had to take these out quickly, lest she endlessly recover the damage we were doing. Fortunately, my Makami also had Frei, allowing me to knock them down and use the opportunity to get in free hits.

“I’m the queen of the Netherworld!” Shadow Yuyuko bellowed. “This is MY domain! I command thousands of legions of spirits! All I have to do is point at where I want them to go, while I enjoy my endless supply of delicious snacks and tea!”

“Then I’ll just have to cut that bloated belly open and reclaim all that food you squandered all of the Netherworld’s funds to force me to buy!” Youmu countered. “I won’t let up my assault until one of us falls!”

“GAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!” Shadow Yuyuko laughed. “You foolish child! Your decades of life have nothing on my millennium of influence on the politics of the afterlife!!! Allow me to show you!” She continued her assault, whipping her fan, breathing her flames and also throwing out the occasional instant kill when she had the chance - in addition to Mudo, she also had Hama, it’s Bless-type counterpart. At one point, a Hama amulet shot straight toward Reimu, but it too disintegrated before impact, similar to the downed Marisa having blocked Mudo. I realized the two of them had to be immune to the respective types of instant kill, and perhaps Bless for Reimu and Curse for Marisa overall. If that were the case, it would definitely be a huge boon for our team, since they could tank them for the rest of us to no ill effect.

We kept on attacking Shadow Yuyuko. As tired as we were getting, our efforts were paying off, since the more we wounded her the slower, less accurate and powerful her attacks became.

“I won’t lose to mere rodents like you!” Shadow Yuyuko bellowed once again. “That’s it, I’m gonna summon my lackeys again and-” she scanned around, eyed the three of us, and realized none of us were the person who was weak to Psychic attacks, that being Marisa.

“Bah! How did I not notice she was missing? Where did she go?!?”

“Looks like the Ordinary Witch wins the day once again!” Shadow Yuyuko looked up and caught sight of Marisa for just long enough to see her extend her knifes and turn into a black flash which cleanly sliced the branch off at its weakest point, causing it to fall right on top of the monster’s neck and pin her down to the ground, tongue out and dazed. Marisa touched down on the ground next to us, tipped her hat and smirked.

We strutted right up to Shadow Yuyuko, who was now entirely at our mercy. “Damn you all!” she cursed. “How DARE you do this to a princess such as I!”

Youmu walked right up to her, so close that the monster's breath blew her hair back slightly. The glare in her eyes was one of absolute, seething contempt which could burn a hole straight through a person, soul and all.

“My ancestral blade, Roukanken, was forged by youkai and unmatched in its power. It can kill evil spirits. And now, I shall exorcise you, vile monster, and take back my master!” She then reared back with her blade before thrusting it straight between Shadow Yuyuko’s eyes, causing the monster to spasm, blood to gush from the wound and shadowy mist to erupt and scatter from its body as it shrunk back down to the delicate-seeming ghost princess, signalling our victory.

We stood there, the four of us. We watched Shadow Yuyuko turn back into a person, lying there on the ground under the fallen branch. Weakly, she pushed herself up, panting and with tears under her eyes.

“Hah… so, in the end, even my great power was not enough… all that food, all those luxuries… all those came at the cost of the Netherworld’s integrity… in the end, my efforts amounted to nothing.” She sobbed lightly, having now seemingly come to her senses.

“Yuyuko-sama…” Youmu walked up to her, and offered to help her up.

Shadow Yuyuko looked up at her. “Youmu-chan… I’m sorry.”

“Do you see now?” Youmu said to her. “Do you see what your gluttony has done to me, the spirits and everything else in the Netherworld? All of us suffered because of your laziness and unending hunger, while you shirked your duties as the Netherworld’s administrator.”

Yuyuko started to cry. “It’s because… it’s because I never got to enjoy my life when I was alive!” She collapsed down onto the ground, absolutely sobbing. “Don’t you understand the hell I was put through back then?! Every one of those goddamn sharks wanted to use me and my spirit manipulating powers as a weapon to kill entire armies! Everyone called me a freak and a monster because of my powers! I couldn’t live a normal life and enjoy normal things because of that! That’s why I had to kill myself, even if it meant turning my back on my only friend!”

Youmu knelt down and consoled her master. “But she didn’t abandon you,” she told her. “Yukari-sama is the reason you have your position to begin with. She didn’t want to lose you. To do the things you’re doing… you’re letting her down, Yuyuko-sama! Don’t you remember when you were the kind, diligent caretaker of Hakugyokurou that everyone looked up to? You finally found a place where people love and respect you, away from those bastards and their selfish politics, and you’re squandering it! You gained the trust and loyalty of my family! I don’t want you to squander it!” She hugged Shadow Yuyuko tightly, and cried, “please, I don’t want to lose you, Yuyuko-sama!”

Hearing those heartfelt words made me realize just how tortured Yuyuko’s life really was. Not only that, but… it made me feel sympathetic. Like me, Yuyuko was used as nothing more than a tool by power-hungry tyrants. The pressure and seeming powerlessness of it all made her commit suicide; I almost did. And like me, she eventually found a new life in a place where she could be loved and respected. I was used to thinking of distorted hearts as nothing more than things to be terminated so their scum could be removed from the Earth. I never once stopped to consider the myriad reasons in each person’s life that led to those distortions manifesting in the first place, as much as I preached to my team that I did.

Just a little bit, I felt a ray of light penetrate my cold, hardened heart which felt abandoned by the world around me.

Once Youmu and Shadow Yuyuko had their moment, they got back up. Youmu stepped back, while Shadow Yuyuko held her hands together and smiled. “You’re such a funny girl, Youmu-chan. Cute and yet so committed to your training. I’m sorry for not letting you train me in the way of the sword; I will allow you to resume your lessons. You made me realize how much I kept latching onto my past, making up for things I could never have instead of being grateful for what I have now. And that includes you, Youmu-chan.”

At that moment, the treasure floated down, and the barrier around it shattered.

“The treasure,” I said. “It’s free now.”

“The palace will disappear if we take that thing, right?” Marisa asked.

“It should, but…”

It was then that Shadow Yuyuko walked up to it. “To be honest, I wasn’t sure if my gambit would work…”

“Gambit?” I asked.

Shadow Yuyuko shook her head. “At some point, I realized what I was doing was wrong. I realized I needed to stop, but I didn’t know how. It was like an endless labyrinth of sorrow and sin in my heart.” She felt the treasure. “This represents my heart, and the chains are the distortion. As long as the shield was around it, I couldn’t do anything to heal myself.” She then smirked and chuckled. “But nobody said I couldn’t half-ass my fight against you so that I would lose and be forced to have my heart changed by you.”

I jumped back in shock. “Wait, what??”

“Did you truly believe that my most powerful form was a mere Preta and not something more befitting my power and aptitude? The truth is, I’m far more powerful than you all realize, and could have easily killed you all if I so chose.” She then turned around, pointed at the fallen branch and blasted it apart with Megidolaon, proving her power as well as the fact that she could still fight. “But, that was not my intention. I held back my power, and you all won fair and square. That is what I set out to do, and it is the outcome I have achieved.”

“That kind of scheme is very you,” Reimu said. “Always three steps ahead of everyone else. No wonder Yukari was able to get them to make you ruler of the Netherworld. Now put those skills to use and stop lying around eating fried chicken all day.”

“A shadow facilitating their own change of heart… truly fascinating,” I thought.

“Not as fascinating as you, young man, leading Youmu-chan and those two in here to free my corrupted heart. You truly have a special talent.”

Shadow Yuyuko then grasped the chains around the treasure, and in one swift motion yanked them off, causing them to shatter in all directions. Almost immediately, the white ball of light grew unstable, before exploding into trails of light which shot up into the sky, scattering and spreading all throughout the palace. In the cherry tree, where we were, they consumed the petals and branches. It was obvious, now, that the palace was disappearing.

Shadow Yuyuko floated up into the air, arms outstretched. She bowed at us, “it’s time for me to leave this place. I look forward to our next meeting, you and the real me.” She then disappeared into the light. Around us, the light burned through the floor, creeping at our feet like veins before eventually, everything around us was consumed in vast whiteness.

When the light died down, we found ourselves back on the path. It was sunset, and white snowflakes scattered about.

“Man, that was rough,” Marisa said, shaking her arms out. “And here I thought goin’ down and fightin’ Okuu was crazy.”

“I doubt this even comes close to when we fought Utsuho,” Reimu said, “but still. Going into someone’s mind and fighting their distorted desires? Who would’ve thought?”

I dug out my key and tried to say the keywords, but there was no response. “It seems we can’t go there anymore,” I said. “Her palace is gone for good.”

Youmu looked at me and asked, “so, does that mean Yuyuko-sama had a change of heart?”

“Yes. Once a palace is gone, the effect on their cognition is profound. However, it may take some time before it becomes apparent. The Phantom Thieves explained to me that, depending on how severe the distortion was, their targets would remain withdrawn for several days before confessing their crimes while they contemplated the weight of their actions.” I looked back at the Netherworld portal. “Still, this all was very unexpected. That infiltration did not at all go like their infiltrations.”

“Yeah, none of that stuff about a callin’ card ever happened; Yuyuko just came right the heck outta nowhere and attacked us. And we never got that treasure, either, it just exploded into lights in the end,” Marisa said, a little glumly. “Ah, well, at least it wasn’t a total loss: we still got tons of loot and loads of cash… What do shadows do with yen anyway?”

“The way Yuyuko acted at the end bugs me as well,” Reimu said. “She said she wanted her heart changed, but she still fought us…”

“Yes, that was very strange as well,” I thought. “My best guess is that she subconsciously knew what she was doing was wrong and wanted to change her ways, but her conscious mind didn’t quite agree with it. Either that, or she couldn’t change her heart alone; she did say that the shield was preventing her from removing the chains distorting her heart, but she seemed aware that it would break if she failed to defend it, hence why she intentionally put up less of a fight. If she didn’t want the change of heart, she could have easily killed us; that attack she demonstrated after the battle is one of the strongest there is, and with our current level of training we wouldn’t have had much hope of surviving it.” I shrugged. “Regardless, our mission is a success. We removed the distortion from Yuyuko’s heart, and hopefully she will change her gluttonous ways.”

“It was definitely a heck of an experience,” Marisa smiled. “But… maaaaaan, am I sore after all of that runnin’ around and fightin’.” She turned to Reimu. “Do ‘ya mind if I crash at your place for the night? I don’t feel like flyin’ all the way back to my house ‘cause of how achey I am.”

“I don’t mind at all,” Reimu said, “it just means you’ll be there early to help me start setting up the New Year’s celebration.” She turned and asked me, a little more nicely, “and as I said before, you’re free to come help if you can. I would definitely appreciate it. We didn’t have any real major incidents this year other than with Kosuzu that one time, so I promised everyone I’d make this year’s celebration even more exciting to make up for it.”

“I’ll definitely try,” I nodded. “And if nothing else, I’ll certainly be there for the actual celebration.”

“Just a warning, you might be the only guy there,” Marisa smirked. “And there will be lots of alcohol and drunk girls tryin’ to hit on ‘ya. Sure you still wanna come?”

“I doubt it would be anything I haven’t dealt with before. Remember, I used to evade throngs of fangirls all the time.”

“Yeah, but try doin’ it when an oni has ‘ya pinned down on the floor,” Marisa joked.

“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure no one lays a finger on you. If they do, I’ll throw them out,” Reimu assured me.

“But then everyone’s gonna think you’re like ‘hands off my boyfr-”

*WHACK*

I should probably leave those two to do their own thing, I thought to myself. I told Youmu to check back with me if she noticed anything strange with Yuyuko, before heading back down the path to the village myself. The sun had set by the time I returned to the shop. I helped Masato prepare dinner once again, before cleaning up the shop and heading off to bed.

When I awoke, I saw I had been summoned to the Velvet Room once again. I stood up and walked up to Igor. Lavenza and Rika were also there, clearly expecting me.

“Welcome back,” Igor smiled. “It would seem you have achieved a great accomplishment today, taking down the Fortress of a person beset by gluttony.”

I tilted my head. “Explain to me: what exactly happened back there in her Palace? Or… is that the right term? I’ve noticed you have been calling them ‘Fortresses’ up to this point?”

“It would seem the labyrinths in people’s hearts in this land are different in nature than the Palaces you are used to,” Lavenza told me. “No doubt you saw it when you faced Yuyuko, where the core of the distortion was wrapped in chains and shielded by a powerful barrier. It is as if these people are imprisoned by their own distorted desires and need to be released. Hence, the term ‘Fortress’ would seem to be more appropriate in this case.”

“Back in the Pal- er, Fortress, I suppose, after we defeated her, Yuyuko said something about intentionally losing so that her heart could be changed. I theorized this was due to her, in fact, wanting her change of heart but not being able to effect it herself. I wonder: how is such a thing possible? In my experience Palace owners seemed too distorted to want such an outcome…”

“I do agree it is strange,” Igor said. “But perhaps it was due to her nature or own sense of justice and values. It may do you good to investigate other Fortresses and formulate your own answer. As always, we will aid you in your efforts to that end.”

Find other Fortresses and come up with my own answer to the question… frustrating as it was, Igor did have a point. Taking down one Fortress was unlikely going to give me all the details I needed. If we could find and take down more - and there were almost certainly more - that might be the only way for us to see how deep this rabbit hole went. Doing so would also expose me to other parts of the strange land that was Gensokyo, as so far I had only seen a small portion with my own eyes. I also had to expand my connections - in other words, make even more friends, a big ask for some like me who was virtually friendless.

I also started seriously wondering if I was going to end up as a harem anime protagonist. It seemed all the important people I had met and heard about so far were women with magical powers, so it didn’t seem very far-fetched.

“Very well,” I bowed. “I will do my best in finding the answer.”

“Hey, we ain’t giving you orders or anything,” Rika said. “This journey’s all yours. We’re just here to help. Speaking of which…” She got closer to me, eyeing me carefully. “You hidin’ somethin’ in there?” She asked.

I was confused for a moment as to what she meant, before remembering the Jack Frost with Mabufu I had on my person. “As a matter of fact, I do.” I held out its tarot card, causing it to appear in front of me, doing the little dance Jack Frosts were prone to doing when idle.

“Hm… HMM…”

“...excellent! You actually found it!” Rika cheered. “See? You’ve got some talent in you. And I’d like to help you realize your potential. That’s why I’m gonna reward you for bringing me stuff on my list. I’ll work on your first reward right away, and I’ll have it ready by the next time you come here.”

“What kind of rewards can I expect to receive?” I asked.

“Oh, you’ll find out,” Rika smiled. “I’ll give you a hint, though: they’re all ways in which you can make your Personas even more powerful.”

“Indeed, it would be wise to help her,” Lavenza told me. “The foes and trials you will encounter going forward will only continue to grow more challenging. Harboring stronger Personas within you will grant you the strength to overcome them.”

I looked back at Rika. “Alright. Then, it’s a deal.” I stuck my hand out, and Rika excitedly shook it.

I am thou, thou art I. Thou hast acquired a new vow.

It shall become the wings of rebellion and breaketh thy chains of captivity.

With the birth of the Strength Persona, I have obtained the winds of blessing that shall lead to freedom and new power…

“Alright then. Time for the next request. Let’s see… ah, yes! Bring me an Archangel with Media!”

“Archangel with Media… that might be difficult,” I said.

“It’ll prolly be easiest just to fuse it,” Rika suggested. “I’ll stop you immediately if you create it so we can check it off the list.” A bell rung. “Well, guess your time’s runnin’ up! See you around!”

“I’ll see you all again soon,” I replied, walking back toward the door, now with more questions than I had answers.

Chapter Text

The next morning, after getting myself dressed, I made my way into the kitchen to get some breakfast. Masato was already behind the counter sipping a cup of coffee and reading a book.

“You sure were out late last night,” he remarked. “I take it you and Reimu are getting along well?”

“I suppose so,” I said simply while washing off some vegetables and steeping a cup of tea. “Getting used to the idea of flying is difficult, much less actually doing it well enough to duel effectively.”

“You know, I still don’t totally understand how it’s supposed to work,” Masato shrugged. “I can’t imagine it would be as easy as just wishing yourself into the sky. My old, achy bones can’t even let me jump anymore,” he chuckled.

“Well, I was blessed with the ability to drink cow’s milk, so hopefully that won’t be as much of an issue for me when I’m older,” I said. And it was true: I really did drink my milk. Which was strange, because Japanese people generally cannot consume dairy unlike Americans and Europeans. My mother’s side of the family was a complete mystery to me, while as far as I knew about Shido’s, his family was completely homogeneous ethnic Japanese, so my lactose tolerance couldn’t have come from there. I had always meant to get a genealogy test, but never got around to it by the time I confronted the Thieves in his palace.

“We do raise cows here in the village, but only one farmer actually sells milk, and he doesn’t get many customers. I’m sure he’d appreciate your business.”

“I’ll certainly think about it,” I nodded. I finished making my meal, and sat down near Masato to eat it while continuing our conversation. For the most part, we just discussed some of the customers he had yesterday, while me and everyone else were in Yuyuko’s Fortress unbeknownst to him. He told me about a woman, who had been a customer of his ever since she was a small child, excitedly telling him about how she was getting married soon to another man Masato had known for a few years as well, and how Masato was proud of them and felt they were a great match for each other. He also said Keine came by looking for me but I was out, and how I should go say hi to her sometime.

After breakfast, I mentioned to Masato that Reimu wanted me to come back to the shrine today to help her set up for her New Year’s celebration. “Another year gone by, I can hardly believe it,” Masato sighed. “Seems time goes by faster the older you get, eh? Anyway, how about this: I’ll give you the next couple of days off, because of the New Year. You’ve been doing a great job so far, and I don’t want to keep you from celebrating, especially after all you’ve been through.”

“I appreciate it,” I bowed.

“You should probably get going,” Masato suggested. “I’m sure Reimu is waiting for you,” he said with a wink.

I sighed and shook my head. Our relationship was merely one of partnership, not anything remotely romantic, but it seemed the old man couldn’t help but try and set me up with her. Either way, Reimu was likely waiting for me, so I threw on my jacket and made my way through the snow and slush up to the Hakurei Shrine.

As I approached the bottom steps of the shrine, I found the area was strangely lacking in snow, with bare grass and tree limbs surrounded by a white, mountainous snowscape. The cause of this phenomenon soon became apparent: a girl, wielding a torch and dressed in what looked like an American flag-colored dress and tights, was flying around melting all the snow and ice on the trees and the ground. A closer look revealed she had a pair of transparent wings. Was this girl a fairy, I wondered?

As I crested the stone staircase and passed the pair of Komano statues guarding the entrance, I could see the full scene at the shrine: there were several people already here helping Reimu set up. Reimu herself was directing three small girls who also had fairy wings who were busy sweeping the pathway, Marisa was helping a short, blue-haired girl with twintails make repairs to the main shrine, and there were others present as well, including a green-haired girl dressed similarly to Reimu talking with a woman with nine fluffy tails erupting from her back, and Youmu was there as well making snacks. I started by walking over to Reimu, at which point everyone stopped what they were doing and just stared at me, as if I was sorely out of place - and being a man, perhaps I was.

“Hello, Reimu-san,” I bowed. “I’m here to help you with-”

“Oh my gosh, is that really him???” The green-haired girl said excitedly. She rushed over to me with stars in her eyes. “Reimu told me all about you! You’re that Ace Detective from Outside!!”

I stepped back slightly to keep my personal space, only to see everyone else (minus Youmu, who was still working on snacks) had surrounded me by this point. It immediately brought back memories of the fangirls who would crowd around me whenever I tried to do anything in public, and the sudden attention was making me uncomfortable.

“Ah… I see,” I said nervously. “Um, do you all mind if I have my space, please?”

“Oh, my apologies,” said the fox-woman. “I just wanted to greet you, but it seems as though everyone here had the same idea.” She stepped back and bowed. “Allow me to introduce myself. I am Ran Yakumo, servant to Yukari Yakumo.”

“Yukari? You mean, the sage?” I asked.

“Correct,” Ran replied. “She is hibernating right now, so I am acting on her behalf.”

“And I’m Sanae! Sanae Kochiya! I came from out there too!”

“Oh, is that true?” I asked. “About when?”

“2007,” she said. “I came here with my two goddesses!”

I thought about her name for a second, before it clicked. “You must be that girl from the disappearance case out of Okaya back then.”

“You mean you know about it?!” she exclaimed.

“Why wouldn’t I? It’s an unsolved case to this day, and one of the first things they tell you about in the SIU. I just never imagined I would get to meet you face-to-face.”

“I didn’t know the case is still open!” Sanae said.

“Sumireko literally told you about it three months ago,” Reimu sighed. “Honestly, this girl sometimes, claims to be half-goddess but is still a complete airhead even a decade after I knocked some sense into her.” Reimu certainly had a point there: this girl appeared highly eccentric, even compared to some of the other people I had so far met here, and it somehow wasn’t even a surprise at this point that she was half-goddess. Her hair also split into two cowlicks on top, and her… well, chest, bounced rather aggressively whenever she moved.

“Hey, don’t forget who spent the last two weeks working on that miracle for you tomorrow night,” Sanae barked.

“Right, sorry,” Reimu grumbled.

“I’m sorry, miracle?” I asked.

“Yeah, I can totally cause miracles to happen!” Sanae smiled, with stars in her eyes again. “But I can’t tell you what it is right now! You’ll have to come tomorrow night and see!”

“You don’t think I will?” I smirked. “I did make a promise to Reimu-san after all.”

“‘Ey, don’t forget about me!” Marisa called out. “We’re all comin’ together to celebrate, right?”

“Indeed we are, Marisa-san, and…” The twintailed girl was shying behind Marisa slightly.

“Aw, c’mon Nitori, he won’t bite ‘ya!” Marisa laughed, although I completely understood why she would be nervous, since I towered over her and was at least twice her size. Even Futaba would have edged her out in height.

“Um… hi,” the girl nervously waved. “I’m Nitori Kawashiro. I’m Marisa’s friend.”

“Nice to meet you, Kawashiro-san,” I bowed.

“Oh, you can just call me Nitori.” She looked up at me with a pair of aqua eyes. “You’re hers and Reimu’s friend already?”

“Well, ‘friend’ might be a little too soon, but I have gotten well acquainted with them,” I told her.

Nitori then suddenly grinned wickedly at Marisa. “I wonder what your odds with him are compared to Reimu’s,” she teased.

“Ah-er-uh-I-IT AIN’T LIKE THAT AT ALL, YA IDIOT!!!!!” Marisa shouted while blushing heavily. Reimu was also red as a lobster, and everyone else just looked at us awkwardly.

“Snacks are ready!” Youmu called out.

“...let’s make our way inside, shall we?” Reimu asked, clearly wanting to change the subject.

Inside, we visited for about an hour over snacks and tea. I told everyone else about my (fake) backstory, but I left out anything having to do with the Phantom Thieves and the Metaverse around anyone I felt didn’t need to know, instead sticking to my original story that I was nearly  killed investigating a corrupt politician, and that was how I ended up in Gensokyo.

“That’s certainly a unique and unusual way of arriving here,” Ran commented. “Most people simply fall in through weak spots in the barrier or because Yukari-sama was bored.”

“What is your master like?” I asked her.

“Yukari-sama is… hard to describe,” Ran said simply. “She’s a very effective administrator of Gensokyo’s affairs, but she can be very hard to understand sometimes. She will do and request things for seemingly no reason, and she often does little to care for herself or take care of business, leaving the duties to me and my own assistant, Chen. But she cares a lot for Gensokyo, and will do whatever it takes to keep it from falling apart.”

“I see…” I rubbed my chin. According to Reimu and Youmu, Yuyuku and Yukari were close friends. Perhaps it was no surprise they would act similarly as well. However, mere laziness wasn’t enough to create a Palace or Fortress in my experience. Maybe a Mementos target, but I had no way of knowing if Mementos could even be accessed from Gensokyo. Still, it might be worth remembering her name, in case I ever had to investigate her.

After lunch, we returned to work setting up the event. I was “volunteered” to assist Marisa and Nitori in fixing the shrine, since they wanted someone to “be tall” for them. Since I knew they could fly, I wondered if they were merely trying to save energy or if they were just suckering me into doing things for them and were using their height as an excuse. Either way, we managed to stabilize a support beam by filling a hole with rocks, after which Nitori left briefly and came back with a strange device that could manufacture cement on the fly to fill the cracks before we covered it up with dirt and grass. We also repaired a few doors and windows, including replacing a latch.

By now, a few others had shown up to start setting up stalls, including a girl with wings setting up what looked like an eel cart, and other, blonde girl with a blue dress and red headband with two smaller figures behind her; Marisa and Nitori went over to go talk to her for a while after we finished, so I chose to use the downtime to go talk to Youmu, and find out if Yuyuko had processed her change of heart yet. We moved to a quiet area away from the others so that they would not overhear.

“So, last night,” I asked her, “did you notice anything different about her?”

Youmu thought for a second before she answered. “When I first got home, I tried looking for her, but she wasn’t at Hakugyokurou. I sought out Ran-san and asked her if Yuyuko-sama was visiting Yukari-san, but she told me she wasn’t. It wasn’t until this morning that I managed to find Yuyuko-sama in her room,” she said.

“And what did she say?” I asked.

Youmu was silent for a moment, before looking back up at me with a smile. “We had breakfast together, and she apologized for her unbecoming behavior. She told me she went out for a long walk in the gardens last night, because she was thinking about her laziness and constant eating recently, and how much of a strain it was putting on me and the Netherworld spirits. She promised to treat me better from now on, and wants to resume her sword lessons.”

I smiled back and nodded. “Well then, it would seem our mission had the result we were hoping for. Congratulations.”

“Oh, well, it wasn’t just me… you helped me gain the courage to make her come to her senses.”

“But in the end, it was you who inspired her to make those changes,” I countered. “If you weren’t there, the result would have been very different. In the end, it truly was all you.”

Youmu wasn’t quite sure what to think, as if she weren’t used to being praised like this. I wondered how long her situation had gone on for, and if Yuyuko, even if we did change her heart, actually was committed to changing her ways. Situations that had persisted for that long didn’t just change overnight, after all.

There was only one way for me to find out.

“Would you mind if I came with you to speak to her personally?”

Youmu perked up in surprise. “Eh? W-why so suddenly?”

“I want to assess her change of heart personally,” I said. “After all, I do have more experience in changing hearts and know what one looks like even in people I haven’t met previously. I want to make sure her change of heart is genuine, and that she won’t slip back into her old, wicked ways.”

Youmu seemed conflicted.

“Um, well, we don’t get many visitors, for obvious reasons, and if I brought you along, I, well…” she started blushing and making that moe face again, blushing and looking away from me. “And besides, Yuyuko-sama sounded like she meant it… her shadow promised she’d change and all…”

“Her shadow merely cast aside her distorted desires and returned to the real person,” I clarified. “It’s up to the real person to commit to the change. There is a risk she could slip back into manifesting another massive castle just like the one we took down if she’s unwilling to fully move on from the behavior that led to it existing in the first place. Therefore, you need to make sure the change sticks. And I would like to help you, if you need it.”

“Um… uh…” Youmu blushed again, then nodded quickly. “Yes, please help me help Yuyuko-sama!”

“Alright then.” I got up and stretched. “I’ll go tell Reimu that we’re leaving.”

“Wait, we’re going now?” Youmu asked.

“The earlier the better, correct?”

I let Reimu know me and Youmu were going. By that point, Marisa had already left with Nitori, and most of the vendors had finished setting up their stands, leaving only Ran who was doing some last checks, so I felt free to disclose what we were actually doing.

“You want to check up on Yuyuko herself?” she asked.

“Yes, I want to ascertain her change of heart myself,” I said. “I want to make sure she is actually committed to it.”

“But, we beat her shadow and destroyed that thing, didn’t we?” she asked again, confused.

“True, we destroyed the core of her distortion, but after that the only way to make sure it sticks is to help the real person overcome the reason the distortion manifested to begin with. Distortions don’t simply come from nowhere, after all: they’re born from important negative moments in that person’s life. As long as the real person can’t move past those events, there is a risk that the distortion could return.”

Reimu thought about my words. “You do have a point,” she conceded. “But if you’re going to the Netherworld, you need to be careful. Mortals aren’t supposed to be there, obviously, so the spirits there may try to attack you. You’d best not leave Youmu’s side. Don’t forget your place here in the real world, however experienced and powerful you are in the Metaverse.”

“I understand,” I bowed. I looked down at Youmu. “Seems I’m in your care from here on,” I said to her.

“Er, yeah…” she blushed again. She set off down the shrine stairs, and I followed close behind.

We soon made our way to the Netherworld portal on the side of the cliff. This time, we made our way up the short trail leading up to it. The closer we got, the more I felt a strange, unnerving sensation build up inside me, along with a chill unlike the one the cold weather was causing.

Just before stepping inside, Youmu turned around and looked me right in the eye. “Now then, we will be entering the Netherworld. This place is not meant for mortals to tread; we will be entering the land of spirits. Furthermore, you will be in the presence of Yuyuko-sama, so please be on your best behavior and act like a gentleman.”

“I understand,” I affirmed. “I will treat her with the utmost respect.”

Youmu nodded and turned back around, stepping through the portal. As I followed her in, I realized the portal was less a hard transition between one place and another, and more of a blur where both the conventional and the esoteric seemed to blend and mash together into a surreal scene where trees appeared to grow out of the sky, and the ground beneath me was little more than a dark blue surface which lit up as I stepped on it. Before I knew it, we had entered the Netherworld, where a strange twilight lined the horizon in all directions and streams of white lights, presumably spirits, flowed across the sky.

The scenery was unlike anything I had ever experienced. All around, vast fields of spider lilies and ghostly, pale grasses stretched out across a broad expanse, broken up only by occasional rolls, hills and springs, with tall, bare and rocky mountains lining the horizon. Naked, skeletal-looking trees, undoubtedly cherry trees without blossoms, lined the many pathways criss-crossing this place. In the distance was a truly massive cherry tree, also dead and bare, its many branches creeping into the air around it like veins. This had to be the Saigyou Ayakashi, the basis for the giant cherry tree in Yuyuko’s fortress.

We soon came up to a small grouping of buildings arranged at the foot of a staircase leading up the hill to the Ayakashi. These buildings made up the main shrine of the Netherworld: Hakugyokurou. Just as Youmu had described, we first passed a spacious guardhouse along the stone pathway just before the entrance. Its construction was highly reminiscent of the first, smaller castle in the palace, right down to having a similar roof and two windows matching those in the palace version. A gate obstructed our progress; Youmu just flew over it, and I followed her.

The various buildings were adorned with lanterns, each lit by a ghostly violet flame. There was a central garden featuring rocks and more cherry trees. Wooden bridges crossed shallow pools of water lined with river stones, the waters crystal-clear but lifeless, with not even wispy green strands or lichens to be seen. Truly, this was a place between the boundary of life and death itself, seeming both alive and dead, and yet neither, at the same time.

It was here that we found Yuyuko, who was meditating quietly just outside of the main building of the shrine. Two white apparitions floated behind her, just like her shadow. Part of me still felt the need to prepare for a confrontation, as my only appraisal of her up to this point was a belligerent, twisted shadow self. But the woman in front of me conveyed an air of sophistication and serenity, a far cry from her shadow’s unabashed indulgence and sin.

“Yuyuko-sama, I have returned,” Youmu announced.

Yuyuko opened her eyes, which were of a curious reddish-pink hue, and stood up. “Welcome back, Youmu-chan. I wasn’t expecting you back this early.” She then quickly noticed me behind Youmu. “Oh? Have you brought a visitor as well?”

“Yes I have,” Youmu bowed. “I apologize for not giving you notice that I would be bringing a guest.”

Yuyuko chuckled. “Youmu-chan, you could have just told me you were going out with a man instead of making excuses for leaving suddenly. You know I would always support your pursuit for a happy relationship.”

“It-it... ah, it’s not like that at all!” Youmu stammered while blushing again. “As a matter of fact, I only just met him recently!”

“Ohoho, but you’re already bringing him home?” Yuyuko joked.

“It… he said he wanted to meet you!” Youmu said. “So I brought him here with me!”

“That is true,” I said. “I wanted to meet with you in person.” I bowed. “My name is Goro Akechi. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Saigyouji-san.”

“Fufufu, what a polite young man you are…” Yuyuko then paused, and spent a few moments seemingly looking over me curiously, tilting her head as she did so.

“...is something the matter?” I asked.

“...have I… met you somewhere before?” Yuyuko asked.

...ah, I should have expected something like this would happen. Normally, shadows had all the conscious memories of the real person in addition to the subconscious ones, but the reverse was not true: the real person was not aware of anything that transpired in the Metaverse. However, interacting with a shadow self before meeting the real person often causes that person, when you finally do meet face-to-face, to have deja vu-like conceptions of seeing you previously, even if they were otherwise completely sure they had never met you before.

“No, I’m fairly certain this is our first meeting,” I answered.

“...ah. I must be getting forgetful again,” Yuyuko said. “Please forgive this old lady, ghost’s memories aren’t exactly the best, especially when you have over a thousand years worth of memories like I do.”

“I completely understand,” I smiled. “Sometimes I feel like I can’t keep track of everything either.” I shivered a bit, despite being dressed in heavy clothes. “It’s rather chilly out here.”

“I wouldn’t know, I’m a ghost,” Yuyuko smiled. “The realm of the dead is a rather cold place at night, especially in the winter. Of course, ghosts and spirits are cold, too, so we don’t mind it.” She turned around and opened the door. “But, you are a guest, and we don’t want you to be uncomfortable. Come inside. We will treat you to some tea and food.”

We walked through the wooden, traditional corridors of the shrine, eventually arriving at a room with a kotatsu in the center and tea and snacks already laid out.

“Did you make this yourself, Yuyuko-sama?” Youmu asked.

“I wanted to surprise you after you returned from Reimu’s,” Yuyuko said, “and we happen to have enough for our guest too. Please, make yourself comfortable.”

“Ah… don’t mind if I do.” Youmu sat down on the floor and placed her legs under the warm sheet of the kotatsu. I took off my jacket and boots and made myself comfy as well.

Taking a sip of the tea, I noted it had a peculiar aroma and taste which I couldn’t quite put a finger on. It was certainly very distinct from any tea I had ever had in my life. It also had a unique ruddy color.

“Do you like it?” Yuyuko asked me. “It’s brewed using the leaves of a plant only found here in the Netherworld. I picked them fresh from the garden Youmu maintains out back.”

I took another look at the tea. “Is it safe for me to drink?” I asked somewhat nervously.

“It should be, because I’m only half-phantom and I drink it all the time,” Youmu commented. “It’s rich in vitamins and antioxidants. They say that it invigorates the spirits of people who drink it so that they live longer somehow, and it also perks up actual spirits. It only grows in the Netherworld’s soils, and it will die if you try to grow it anywhere else.”

A potent tea that only grows in the Netherworld and invigorates spirits… that sounded like something that would come very much in handy in our Fortress investigations. I decided I would ask Youmu some more about it later.

“So,” Yuyuko asked me, “what brings a mortal man like you into Hakugyokurou today?”

“Well, truthfully, I came into Gensokyo recently,” I told her.

“Oh? So you’re an Outsider.” Yuyuko smiled. “I never would have imagined an Outsider coming here so soon after arriving in Gensokyo. So how did you get here? Did you wander through a weak spot in the barrier?”

“I nearly died during an investigation, in a way that made it look like I couldn’t have possibly survived,” I explained, again, using my old lie. “I was a detective on the Outside.”

Yuyuko nodded slowly. “I see… I see…” She mused for a second.

“Yuyuko-sama?” Youmu asked.

“...I see, how interesting.” Yuyuko took another sip of her tea. “And how did you meet Youmu-chan?”

“Kirisame-san gave me housing in exchange for me working at his shop. I bumped into Youmu one day while shopping for groceries, and me and her hit it off quite quickly. Both of us were helping Reimu-san set up for her New Year’s celebration, and I asked if I could walk her back here.”

“Uh, Goro, I wouldn’t-”

“Ohoho, already calling him by his given name without honorifics,” Yuyuko chuckled. “Are you two already that close, I wonder?”

“Ah, Yuyuko-sama, we… ahh…” Youmu turned away from Yuyuko and blushed hard.

“And you already know Reimu, Akechi-kun?”

“She came into the shop one day and offered to teach me to fight with spell cards,” I said, a bit hesitantly.

“Wonderful,” she coyly smiled again. “Not only have you acquainted yourself with Youmu-chan so quickly, you impressed the cold, cranky and lazy shrine maiden enough to get her to teach you spell cards.” She fanned herself. “And you live and work for Marisa’s father. You’re a very unique and interesting individual. Perhaps it’s no surprise you would come to see me.”

I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to be proud of her praise, or embarrassed by her thinly-veiled attempts to “set me up” with Youmu, who was still blushing while trying to ignore the conversation.

We ended up talking for quite a while getting to know each other. In addition to my own life, Youmu and Yuyuko told me a bit about theirs, including the latter’s past.

“So how exactly did you become the princess to begin with?” I asked her.

Yuyuko clearly seemed a bit glum when I asked that. I already knew, from Youmu and details I had picked up in her palace, the basic gist of her situation, but I wanted to know some more details, partly in hopes of finding out some more about Yukari, a name I had heard many times but who I had never seen.

“I’m sure Youmu-chan already told you about how I died,” Yuyuko said. “I was born with a very potent, and some would say abhorrent, power: manipulating spirits. At first, it was limited to commanding and directing already deceased spirits and phantoms. But as I grew from a girl into a young woman, so did my powers intensify, until it got to the point where I could tear souls from people’s bodies essentially on a whim. In other words, I could invoke death. Of course, I was horrified by the fact that I could kill people with a wish, and it did not take long for the lords to vie for my hand in marriage for political and military purposes. In the end, all I wanted was to live a normal life, and I rued that I could never have that. So…” she looked down. “...I turned my own power on myself, and committed suicide.”

I put my hand on the table. Up until now, Yuyuko had been an adversary whose heart needed to be changed. But I realized now that me and her were not at all different. Both of us wielded terrible powers, and were used by ruthless and uncaring figures for political gain. “That’s terrible,” I said strongly. “Those bastards were truly unforgivable.”

“Indeed,” Yuyuko affirmed. “And that would have been the end of my short, tortured life, were I not close friends with Yukari. She came into my life, seemingly out of nowhere, and offered to be my friend. I didn’t really know why, but since I was a bit of an outcast despite being regarded as a beauty, I readily accepted. It quickly became apparent that she wasn’t who she seemed at first: she appeared as a woman, but then she revealed she was, in fact, a youkai, and a very powerful one at that. At first, I wasn’t sure how to take that, since I, like all people, was taught that youkai were enemies who preyed upon humans and needed to be destroyed. But she seemed to sympathize with my situation, so I kept my friendship with her a complete secret.”

“And then you died,” I said.

“...yes. She found me just after I did it, and it devastated her. She knew she couldn’t bring me back, and she cursed the greedy men who drove me to kill myself, vowing to do whatever it took to save me and keep me from passing on. It was then she revealed not only her skill in manipulating people and politics, and coming up with complex schemes, but also bending borders.”

“Bending borders?” I asked.

“Yes, manipulation of boundaries. It honestly doesn’t sound like much, compared to my own power or even simple things like telekinesis or shooting lighting out of your fingertips. But in practice, it is perhaps the strongest power one can have, as the term ‘boundary’ is rather broad indeed. Truth and lies, reality and fantasy, here and there… indeed, life and death too. And it was through a combination of those two that she, for lack of a better term, blackmailed the Ministry of Right and Wrong into giving me this position, making the case that my manipulation of spirits made me a better choice than virtually anyone else. So instead of being judged, I was appointed to the position, and I have held it ever since. That was over a thousand years ago. One thousand years, I have influenced the politics of the dead.”

“Perhaps you should run for Prime Minister,” I joked.

“I’m not very comfortable dealing with those kinds of politics, thank you very much. If the people want to elect a clearly corrupt, incompetent nationalist prick, they’re certainly free to do so.”

“Yuyuko-sama!” Youmu objected. “Language!”

“...are you also aware of Shido?” I asked her.

“How would I not be? As the ruler of the Netherworld, I’m not blind to the goings-on of the Outside, especially when it comes to matters relating to their politics. It would seem as though a number of his political adversaries have died mysterious deaths, and no one was objecting to them, hailing him as a savoir even… until recently, for some reason.”

“Recently?”

“Yes, for some reason, the entire population of Japan just simply forgot about his existence. This started earlier this week. I was also suddenly approached by Doremy, who was passing around urgent information to all the afterlife bureaucrats and elites who would listen to her.”

“Who is ‘Doremy?’”

“Doremy Sweet, the ruler of the Dream World. She came to me reporting a colossal disturbance unfolding there. It doesn’t affect Gensokyo, since the disturbance seems to be based in the Outside and the Hakurei Border is separating us from it. But she’s concerned about the implications it could have on Gensokyo’s existence if it isn’t kept in check. Yukari is currently hibernating, so I’ve been in talks recently with Ran about sending a probe to go investigate the disturbance, and hopefully getting an audience with Kasen as well.”

Well, that was very unexpected. A ‘colossal disturbance’ in people’s dreams? This was something I needed to know about.

“Does she know where this disturbance is based? As a detective, that sort of thing would interest me.”

“And you come from Outside, so it would certainly affect you. She told me the effect was, to some extent, spreading across the world, but after analyzing various dreams she determined its source is somewhere in Tokyo, based on who is having those strange dreams.”

The mention of Tokyo as the source of the anomaly immediately made my mind jump to Mementos somehow being involved, especially since it seemed the public itself had undergone a change in cognition, something possible only through tampering with Mementos itself. My mind went wild with imagining all sorts of different theories as to what was happening, since my knowledge of what went on with the Metaverse there ended at Shido’s Palace being destroyed. It also frustrated me that I couldn’t simply go check, since it was impossible for me to leave Gensokyo on my own. Unless Mementos could also be accessed from here, I just had to have faith that the Phantom Thieves would look into it… assuming it didn’t affect them, as well.

“I kept telling Yuyuko-sama I would volunteer to go check for her, but instead she just kept sending me to get food and garden all day,” Youmu added.

“And… I sincerely apologize for running you like a mule like that,” Yuyuko said sorrowfully. “And for quite a while before that too. Actually, I’ve done that to some extent with all of your ancestors who have served me, Youki included. I realized last night that the reason I did that must be because, subconsciously, I still yearn for that normal life which I never received, so I ended up abusing my power and influence as an escape. And it’s been particularly severe lately, too. So again, I hope you will forgive me.”

Youmu went over to hug her. “Of course I care about you, Yuyuko-sama! You’re the closest I have to family! I won’t let anyone or anything harm you!”

Yuyuko gently pushed her off and smiled. “You’re such a devoted and noble young woman, Youmu-chan. I wouldn’t replace you with the world.” She then crossed her arms. “Even so, I don’t want to send you to investigate the anomaly.”

“...why not?” Youmu asked.

“You may be a proficient swordswoman, but I fear you would not operate well in the Outside World away from everything you know, interacting with the public and all. It is very, very stressful under normal circumstances, and I know how poorly you operate in stressful public situations. Because of this, it would be best if you did not go out there. I’m not doing this because I’m saying you can’t do it. I’m doing this because it wouldn’t be safe or good for you to do so. I will get in touch with Kasen and work something out.”

I turned to Youmu and said, “I didn’t know you were discussing such a plan.”

Youmu put her hand to her chest. “I swore I would serve Yuyuko and carry out her desires. That includes addressing any potential threat to the Netherworld, and to a lesser extent Gensokyo as well. I’ve done it many times before.” She looked down. “I want to serve Yuyuko-sama and solve this incident too, but…”

“...but you don’t know if you can do it, and she doesn’t think you should,” I finished for her. “I do fully understand what she means: the Outside is a big, scary place, and few people look out for one another like you do here. In fact, no one looked out for me. For many, it really is survival of the strongest. Add to that the dizzying differences in technology and culture out there, and I can understand why your master wants to keep you safe.”

“I don’t leave the Netherworld that much except to shop,” Youmu said. “So I apologize if my social skills aren’t the best.”

“I see… Why don’t we teach you how to act in public?” I suggested.

“Eh??” Youmu blushed.

“You’re not sure if you can handle social situations,” I said. “That means we have to expose you to them, have you talk to people, interact, visit. It’s the only way you’ll get better. And I am willing to help you.”

“R-really?”

“Ohohoho,” Yuyuko laughed haughtily, “are you taking my dear Youmu-chan on a date?”

“I am only doing this as a friend,” I said. “Men and women can be friends without becoming romantic, would you agree?”

“I don’t doubt that, it’s just that - well - you know how one thing can lead to another without you noticing, a cute girl and a handsome devil like you…”

“Er-” I rushed to change the subject. “So, about that disturbance on the Outside.”

“Are we still talking about that?” Yuyuko teased. She then shifted to a more serious tone. “I would imagine an Outsider such as you would want to return as soon as possible, but just like Youmu-chan I don’t believe it would be wise for you to do so at this time. According to Doremy it is quite severe, and only getting worse.”

“I have no intention of returning,” I replied, shaking my head. “I plan to stake it out here in Gensokyo instead.”

Yuyuko then leaned back with genuine surprise on her face. “Thats…” she smiled. “Have we charmed you that quickly, so much that you don’t want to return to reality?”

“That’s… not it. Instead, I think considering the circumstances of my arrival here, everyone would believe I were a dead man walking. I wouldn’t be able to escape the media’s eye likely for as long as I live. People would treat me differently, especially since I was a prolific detective before. Plus, my apartment would most likely have been emptied by now, and I have no family to board with. I would have to rebuild my life from scratch. As much as I miss the Outside, I feel it would be wisest to remain in Gensokyo and continue my life here.”

“That’s probably just as well,” Yuyuko said. "Generally, only the sages have the power to send people across the border, and even then they hesitate to do it because of the potential damage it may do. Yukari is the only one who can cross the barrier without directly tampering with it, but she’s hibernating right now.”

“You make it sound like harming the Barrier is very dangerous,” I noted.

“If the Barrier were to fall, all Youkai, gods, and other mythical creatures in Gensokyo would die,” Yuyuko explained. “That’s why it was created: as a last reserve for all things magical. This location, Gensokyo, was chosen because it was already a remote valley haunted by youkai. It’s purpose is to protect the youkai from the malign influences of lack of faith and fear Outside, but of course extremely powerful disturbances can harm it, too. It’s not just Gensokyo, either: here in the Netherworld, mass disturbances can agitate and harm the spirits here, and a sudden influx can send it into chaos. That’s why I’ve taken an interest in solving this incident as soon as possible.”

“Is there anything I can offer to help?” I asked.

“What can a normal human such as you offer?” Yuyuko questioned.

“Well, I am an ace detective, and good at making deductions. Furthermore, I’m very familiar with Japanese politics from my time in the SIU as well as my studies. I could my perspective, if nothing else.”

“An ‘ace detective’ familiar with politics…” Yuyuko thought for a moment, then snapped her fingers. “You know, winters do get long without Yukari-san around, and you seem like a bright, young gentleman. Perhaps you could come here more often and visit us. You can look over the facts we find in this case, me and the others, and we can make pleasant conversation over tea. You get to enjoy the company of the Netherworld Princess, a privilege few others get to enjoy.”

I thought about the deal she was offering. Yuyuko seemed very well-versed in all kinds of politics. Perhaps interacting with her would improve my interactions with shadows in the Metaverse during infiltrations. In addition, the events transpiring Outside concerned me, due to the possibility of Metaverse involvement. I could try searching for clues here, but if I could at least listen in on Yuyuko’s investigation and offer my advice, hopefully that could also help the situation. All of these as well were my best excuses to meet with Yuyuko and help steer her towards moving on from the reasons her Fortress formed.

“Very well, I accept your offer.” I offered my hand to shake.

“Then it is done. You have officially made a deal with the Netherworld’s ruler. I hope you understand what you’re getting yourself into,” she slyly smiled as we shook hands.

I am thou, thou art I. Thou hast acquired a new vow.

It shall become the wings of rebellion that breaketh thy chains of captivity.

With the birth of the Death Persona, I have obtained the winds of blessing that shall lead to freedom and new power…

“You should probably head home,” Yuyuko advised. “I will have Youmu-chan guide you back to that portal. I trust you can make it back to the Village on your own?”

“Of course,” I bowed. “I’ve already done it several times.”

“Splendid. I look forward to our next meeting. Have a good evening.”

As we made our way back to the portal, I decided to talk with Youmu about some plans I had going forward, especially in light of this troubling new situation on the Outside.

“I want to discuss this with the other two after the New Year’s celebrations are over,” I said to her. “I think this new incident could involve the Metaverse.”

“Why do you say that?” Youmu asked.

“If what your master suggested is correct, a very serious situation is developing out there. It sounds as though the public itself had a sudden shift in cognition. There is only one way that is possible, and that is if Mememtos is tampered with.”

“Er… Mementos?”

“Grand Fortresses like your master’s only form if the person’s desires are highly distorted. Most people do not have their own Fortresses. Instead, their collective desires form one enormous, shared Fortress: Mementos.”

“Is that so?” she asked. “But I thought they were called ‘Palaces.’ That’s what you called them before.”

“I’ve decided ‘Fortress’ is a more apt term for what we’re dealing with here in Gensokyo,” I said to her, “because here, at least in your master’s case, it seemed like she was imprisoned by her own distortions, and instead of stealing her distorted desires like I did with Palaces out there, we instead destroyed them, thus purifying her desires and freeing her from them. But even so, that is only a single person’s cognition we have managed to change. To alter the public’s collective cognition…”

“So you want to investigate it?” Youmu asked.

“If it’s possible. I don’t know if it is from here. But it certainly wouldn’t hurt to try. I need to see this for myself. But, as I said before, we can wait until after New Year’s, and not just because I don’t want to miss the festivities. Making any sort of move during the holiday would run the risk of drawing attention to us, especially since Reimu and Marisa are such high-profile figures. Once they’re over, however? It's showtime. We can’t ignore this.”

“I agree,” Youmu affirmed. “This could turn into a major incident threatening Gensokyo if we leave it be.” She bowed. “And… I’m glad we have someone like you on our side, who can show us that place, and let us overcome our own doubts and problems.”

“Oh, there’s still plenty more growth to do even after awakening a Persona,” I told her. “That’s why I want to help you overcome your social anxiety. If your master won’t let you into the Outside to go see the anomaly because she’s worried you can’t handle it, then, why not work to prove her wrong? Besides, it would be good for you to get out and about anyway, and it’s not like Yuyuko will hold you back anymore now that we’ve changed her heart.”

“I know, but…” she started blushing again. “...it might be a bit embarrassing to do it alone with a guy…”

“You have the others too, if you need them. We’re all here for each other.” I smiled. “By the way, the tea was quite good.”

“Oh, I’m… glad you like it! I grow it all myself, like Yuyuko-sama said. I’m actually very good at gardening, and I can even crossbreed different kinds of plants. I spent almost three years tinkering around with different varieties of that plant family until I isolated a rare mutation that lacked the toxins lethal to mortals in extremely small quantities and had all those vitamins and antioxidants I mentioned, then Eirin-san down in Eientei helped me concentrate the good stuff until I eventually arrived at this result. According to her, something like a typical teacup’s worth of this stuff will extend your lifespan by about a week, so because you drank two cups back there I guess you’ll be living for two weeks longer than you would have if you didn’t drink it.”

“Fascinating,” I observed. “Is there any chance we could bring some of it into the Metaverse?”

“Eh? Why?” Youmu wondered.

“Remember what I said about the need for caffeine being even more literal in the Metaverse than in the real world? Consuming something like this there would certainly give us the energy to keep going when we’re up to our necks in tearing through Fortresses. If you could, I think it would be advantageous to cultivate and make tea specifically for our infiltrations. You could consider it part of our deal, if you want.”

“Well, it’s not like I can mass-produce it… but I’ll certainly give it a try,” Youmu said.

“Splendid. Now, shall we enjoy the New Year’s celebration at the shrine tomorrow?”

Youmu shook her head. “Sorry, we’re hosting our own New Year’s party here at Hakugyokurou, and several important people including the Yama and the Satori will be in attendance. Yuyuko-sama offered to help me host the guests, which she doesn’t normally do, but even then it will be a lot of work. I do hope you’ll have fun at the shrine, though. I’m sure Reimu will appreciate it.”

“I’m sure it will be a lot of fun.” I turned toward the portal. “Thank you for allowing me to spend time with you and your master. I’ll see you again in a couple of days.”

“Uh… yeah, it was a pleasure to have you.”

“Good night.” I stepped through the portal, and re-entered the world of the living.

Chapter Text

12/31/16

The store was closed both for New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, and as he promised yesterday, Masato told me I didn’t have to work either day, since there wouldn’t be much to do otherwise; I had been very efficient in the cleaning, which I had learned from keeping my old apartment presentable for visiting detectives and police officers.

I looked around my room. So far, it seemed rather bare still, with only a futon, a candle, and a few changes of clothes in the closet, including the detective clothes I had brought with me which were neatly folded up. Since this was going to be my space for the foreseeable future, I felt it appropriate to add some furniture. Perhaps a work desk, or a comfortable chair in which I could read. Speaking of which, I should probably start a book collection. Without the modern luxuries of TV and the internet, and my schedule being much more open than it used to be, I started seriously wondering how I was going to keep myself from growing bored. I knew I was going to have to totally rethink how I spent my free time without any of the time-wasters I was used to having.

I thought back to what Lavenza had told me about forming social bonds, and how it would help my quest to avoid damnation, as well as solve the mystery of the Fortresses. Again, I thought about how, while I was good at forming professional relationships, I had never really had what I would consider strong personal ones. I always figured, given the absence of parents in my early life, and eventually being forced to live on my own, that I would always be more or less alone, so why even try? Perhaps that’s why I took up such a demanding schedule, to hide from the fact that I was friendless. Now, I was forced into a situation where I not only could, but needed to build a strong social network. Not the easiest thing to do when you had no connections to speak of, and the place you found yourself in supposedly had man-eaters lurking around every corner outside the designated safe place for humans.

...but I could fly, which I never thought was possible, and Reimu wanted to teach me spell cards, which I hoped could help me get ahead in this place. Speaking of which, we never did get around to that, since Marisa interrupted us just before we could begin, and we had gotten our hands tied with taking down Yuyuko’s Fortress. Given that today was New Year’s Eve, I doubted she would want to give me lessons, if she even had time to do so. And with this new, unfolding incident on the Outside, and my wanting to investigate it, I felt it might be some time before I could resume my lessons with her.

Oh well, I thought. Guess I’ll just have to find some way to spend my day before heading up to the shrine for the celebration. Thinking about what to do, I remembered Masato had told me that Keine sought me a couple days ago, when we were in the Fortress. I felt it might be a good idea to pay her a visit.

It was snowing this morning before I left the shop, but it had since stopped. Once again, people were clearing the streets and their doorsteps. Farmers came in with Rickshaws heading for the central marketplace. Chickens, cats and other small animals roamed loose in the streets. Yet more children held snowball fights. Up above, thin beams of sunlight had begun to break through the dense clouds, creating yellow streaks across the sky.

Masato told me that Keine lived in a small house attached to the main schoolhouse, which was one of the town’s largest buildings behind only the town hall and the Heida House. I found it without much trouble, and went up to the door to knock, only to find a small note on the door saying that Keine had gone out to visit a friend - most likely Mokou, the woman who rescued me and whom Keine had gone to visit back on Christmas. It seemed hard to believe, this past week - easily one of the busiest and most interesting of my entire life. Already, it had seemed an eternity since I came to this place, which made me wonder what this coming year, and many more years ahead, would look like for me.

Reimu had warned me not to stray from the village or the path to the shrine without an escort until I learned spell cards, and I decided it would be best to follow that advice. So instead, I made my way over to the market to see if I could get something for breakfast. The scene at the market was bustling: vendors setting up their decorations and putting out special displays, and people making last-minute purchases for their New Year’s Eve meals and parties. Even with the culture difference and tech gap, some things seemed perennial no matter where you were, and apparently shopping rushes were one of them. I found a covered cafe stand, where I decided to get a cup of coffee and a bowl of miso soup. As I looked around for a seat, I saw a familiar dress sitting at the bar…

“Good morning, Marisa,” I smiled, sitting down next to her.

“Oh, hey! Didn’t expect to see you here, Goro!”

“I had the day off, so I decided to come check out the market this morning.” I took a sip of the coffee. “Mmmm… this is quite the interesting blend. Of course, nothing beats Sakura-san’s blend, but this is very distinct from the coffee in Tokyo.”

“Well, we pretty much have to grow all our own,” Marisa admitted. “Japan ain’t the best place to grow coffee, since it gets so cold in the winter. We have this species the Tengu came up with around the time the Border went up that can stand up to our climate, and someone smuggled some seeds down here so now there are coffee growers in and around the village. Other than that, Yukari sometimes drops off bags of whatever she can get her hands on at Kourin’s, who then sells them to the restaurants and cafes in town.” She looked at her pocket watch. “Speakin’ of which, I’m goin’ there right after this. You can come with me if you have nothin’ else to do.”

“Absolutely,” I said. “What kinds of things does he sell there? I still have quite a bit from our infiltration two days ago.”

“So do I. I managed to go around and sell all the treasure we found in the Palace; the Kappa bought most of it, but Alice also gave me some money for stuff she says is really good for making dolls but is hard to find; she actually asked me why I had a bunch of it all of a sudden. When I counted up the money, I realized I had just over enough to pay back my tab and Reimu’s, and since she has no money I thought I’d go do her a solid. Kourin’s got all the best stuff; you’d like it there, he sells stuff that falls through the barrier, and I go there when I’m lookin’ for stuff for my experiments.”

We finished up our food and left the money on the table before making our way to Rinnosuke’s shop. It was located just beyond the town walls, and near the edge of the Forest of Magic where Marisa said she lived in a house deep within. A sign above the door declared the business’s name as “Kourindou.”

I decided to open the door for Marisa like a gentleman, which made her hesitate a bit before entering. The inside of the store was rather unlike Masato’s place, being a messy collection of shelves haphazardly stocked with such items as old toys, gadgets, manga, instant ramen and, of course, bottles and bottles of alcohol. Sitting behind the counter was a man with white hair, thick-framed glasses and a blue kimono reading a book. He looked up at us, saw Marisa and put his book down.

“Good morning, Marisa,” he said flatly. “What can I do for you today?”

“Mornin’, Kourin!” Marisa smiled. She then reached into her bag and pulled out a stack of yen held together with a band, and put it on the counter in front of her. Much of it was, of course, soaked in shadow blood, but Rinnosuke nor anyone else who had never been to the Metaverse couldn’t see it of course. Hopefully.

“I’m here to pay my tab,” she said simply.

Rinnosuke’s eyes widened, and he put his hands on the table and looked at her in disbelief. “...you’re doing what now?”

“I told ‘ya, didn’t I? I’m payin’ off my tab. There’s also enough in there to cover Reimu’s tab, as well.”

Rinnosuke paused for a second, staring at her like a statue, before suddenly reaching across the table and grabbing her shoulders.

“Whoa, hey! Whaddya’ doin’?!” Marisa exclaimed.

“Who are you and what did you do with Marisa???” Rinnosuke asked her. “Are you that kitsune who tricked Reimu that one time? Or maybe a tanuki? Is this money real, or are you pulling some kind of prank???”

“What’s with ‘ya today, Kourin?!” Marisa said. “Of course I’m me, and of course the money’s real!”

“But Marisa would never pay her tab!” Rinnosuke insisted. He then looked over at me. “What about you? Do you have something to do with this?”

“I might,” I said coyly. Technically, I wasn’t lying, since I did help Marisa and the others take all the treasure and rob all the money from the shadows in the Fortress, not that I could tell him that.

“I knew it! This has to be-” he then stopped suddenly, looked at Marisa, then back at me, then back at Marisa.

“...by the way, why do you have a man with you?”

Marisa jumped up and blushed profusely. “Ah! He’s… he’s just a new friend of mine! I brought ‘im along because he ain’t workin’ today and needed somethin’ to do!”

Rinnosuke rubbed his chin, and grinned lightly. “Hmmm… friend, I see. Are you sure that’s all he is?”

“Don’t tease me!” Marisa pleaded.

“My name is Goro Akechi,” I bowed. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Rinnosuke-san.”

“Goro Akechi…” Rinnosuke got up from his seat. The man was much larger than he seemed at first, being almost exactly my own height, perhaps slightly taller. “Can’t say I’ve seen you around before.”

“He fell through the barrier recently,” Marisa told him. “Keine found him work and a place to sleep in the village.”

“Ah, so you come from Outside, then? Where do you come from?” he asked me.

“Shibuya,” I told him.

“Tokyo? That’s a bit of a surprise. We do sometimes get outsiders, but not many from Tokyo. Did you just happen to be visiting Nagano or Yamanashi and fell through a weak spot in the Border?”

“Well, it’s a long story, actually. I doubt you’d be interested right this second. But when I did fall through, I was found by a woman named Mokou, who kept me at her place for a week while I was unconscious before Keine came by on Christmas to visit her, which is when she found me.”

Rinnosuke adjusted his glasses, and bowed. “Well, I guess either way, we’re glad you can be here with us safe and sound. I am Rinnosuke Morichika, and as you can see, this is my humble shop. I collect all sorts of curiosities that fall through the Border from time to time, including some things you may recognize.”

I inspected a random shelf near us, and was surprised to find a mint copy of the first volume of Fist of the North Star, still in its plastic sleeve. “Unbelievable,” I said, wide-eyed.

“What? It’s just a comic,” said Rinnosuke.

“You don’t understand; this is a first-release copy of this manga still in its sleeve! Something like this can easily go for hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of yen out there!”

“Then I guess I’ll change its price to 1,000,000 yen,” Rinnosuke joked. He counted the stack of money Marisa handed him. “Yep, yep, yep… well, you weren’t kidding. There is exactly enough in this stack to cover both of your tabs. I have to ask though: where did you get all of this money all of a sudden?”

“Let’s just say we found a huge treasure cache and the kappa and Alice bought it all up,” Marisa said. “We split it up of course, but even after that I still wound up with quite the share. And I thought I’d do Reimu a favor by takin’ care of her tab for her as a present.”

Rinnosuke chuckled. “Well, I guess that officially makes you a more caring and charming person than her. And a harder worker, I suppose.”

“Oh please, I don’t work half as hard as she does,” Marisa dismissed. “Are ‘ya just jealous of this handsome devil I got over here and you’re tryin’ to flatter me?”

“I’m merely stating the truth,” Rinnosuke said. “You’re still reckless and uncaring for other people’s property, but you’re also a hardworking, caring person who happens to also be reckless and uncaring for other people’s property.”

Marisa pouted. “Oh, so now you’re tryin’ to guilt-trip me? I’ll have you know, I have no weaknesses!” She turned to me and said, “why don’tcha prove it to this guy? Hit me with your best shot!”

She’s asking me to insult her? I knew I had to be careful with this one, since I didn’t know what all of her sore spots were.

I cleared my throat and fired my first salvo. “Okay, well… you’re stupid.”

Marisa beamed defiantly. “Oh yeah? And what?”

“You’re short.”

“That just makes me cuter! And?”

“You’re messy.”

“Uh-huh! AND?”

Hmm, seems she really doesn’t get offended easily. Time to get creative.

“I love you.”

That last one caused Marisa’s eyes to fling open, her face to flush completely red, and, eventually, her to faint.

I looked at the floor where she had fallen, and then back up at Rinnosuke. “Ah. Did I do something wrong?”

“I doubt it,” Rinnosuke said offhandedly. “She has a big ego, but short-circuits whenever the subject of love is brought up. I swear, it took me forever for me to explain to her that, no, kissing doesn’t make you pregnant.”

Marisa eventually got back up, got in my face and poked my chest angrily. “T-T-T-T-THAT’S CHEATING!!!! D-D-DUMMY!! I CALL FOUL!” She glanced over at Rinnosuke. “You saw, didn’tcha?!”

“Well, this is my shop.”

Marisa took my arm. “C’mon, we’re leavin’ for today.”

“You’re not going to take something and then, well, put it on your tab?” Rinnosuke grinned.

“I did what I came ‘ere for. Now, let’s go!” She led me outside and toward the forest.

“What the hell was that for???” Marisa yelled at me, still blushing like a beet.

“You do seem to pride yourself in being cute,” I smiled, “and I think the way you react to things like that adds to your charm.”

“Grrrrr- I-I’m not some kawaii anime girl you can toy with all day! I’m a hard-working magician, dammit! I don’t like ‘ya teasin’ me like that!”

“Your face and tone of voice say otherwise,” I noted.

“S-s-stop it… dummy,” she stammered, pulling her hat down over her face.

I looked at the forest behind her. It was dark. It was thick. And I swore I saw a glowing set of eyes stare right back at me at one point. “So, this is the Forest of Magic? Looks pretty intimidating."

Marisa perked back up; seemed as though talking business was enough to snap her out of her fits. “Oh, yeah, well, that’s because it is. There’s lotsa nasty stuff in there. Giant, glowing mushrooms sprayin’ deadly spores everywhere. Man-eating plants. And, of course, tons of youkai. In other words, a magician’s paradise.”

“That all doesn’t sound like a paradise…” I said somewhat nervously. Making your way through a deadly forest when you had no powers was much scarier than facing down a horde of Fafnirs when you did, and few people were keenly aware of that sense of powerlessness like I was.

“Eh, you get used to it, long as you know the right routes through the forest. Also, you never fly into or out of the forest except in designated places.”

“Then why aren’t we flying straight to your house?” I asked.

“‘Cause you said you wanted to see this place, right? Well, I’m showin’ you what one of Gensokyo’s most dangerous places is like, and why I’m a badass for livin’ here! Now, follow me, and make sure you don’t leave my sight!” She then strutted straight into the woods, and I followed close behind.

Winter days aren’t very bright to begin with, but as soon as we were in the forest proper it was like flipping a light switch. Light barely touched the ground here, blocked by the thick foliage of the trees above us - and according to Marisa, it was even darker, like perpetual night, during the Spring and Summer when the deciduous trees had all of their leaves. Other than that, it seemed like a normal Japanese forest near its edges, but once we got further in was when stranger things started popping up: large mushrooms, most of which glowed and glittered, and some of which Marisa stopped to pick. Wide, stinking flowers, like Indonesian rafflesias. At one point, a long row of Jizo statues, one of which had notably more offerings than all of the others; Marisa stopped and left a piece of fruit for it.

“What’s so special about this one compared to the others?” I asked.

“Dunno. I just think it’s the cutest, I guess.”

We hiked for a total of about half an hour - if I had to guess, about two kilometers, before we arrived at a large clearing, the white, cloudy sky shining above us. There, on top of a snowy knoll, was a quaint, western-style house.

“We’re here,” Marisa huffed. “This here is my house.”

“It’s quite lovely,” I complimented.

“Eh, it ain’t much if you ask me. I literally just found it one day and called it mine. No one’s showed up to take it back, so I think I’m good.”

“Ah yes, classic adverse possession,” I noted. “Which is perfectly legal, believe it or not, assuming you can make it to 20 years before the owner shows up and maintain it.”

“Well, let’s see: I found it when I was ten, and my 27th is on February 3rd, so-”

“You’re 27??” I asked, confused.

“You surprised?” Marisa smirked.

“I mean, I don’t mean to make assumptions of people’s ages, but I would have guessed you were about a first-year in age.”

“Yeah, I’ve always wondered about it a bit myself, too. Eirin thinks I grow slower than most people, for some reason. That’s why I’m still so short and, er, yeah,” she said, holding her hands to her chest. “But, she says I’ll also age slower, so I live longer in the end, which is nice. Plus, it still means I have a chance to grow big, and in all the right places!”

“I… see. What about Reimu? Now that I think about it, she looks rather young like you…”

“Her birthday is actually a month after mine, if you can believe it. We were born the same year. She’s also kinda like me, slow to grow for whatever reason. Exactly why, Eirin isn’t quite sure either, but it sounds like she’ll also get to live a bit longer too.”

“Very interesting. So I’m actually almost a decade your junior, despite looking like I should be your senpai.”

“Yeah, and there’s still a lot of youkai and other things that live here that look way younger than they actually are. They’re kinda vain like that. Take Remilia, for example. Looks and acts like a bratty preteen girl. She’s 515.”

“Some people grow old without growing up, I suppose,” I shrugged. We both chuckled.

The inside of her house was, somehow, exactly what I expected based on her personality: piles and piles of trash, treasure and other random items strewn about in piles reaching all the way up to the ceiling. About the only semi-organized area of her home was her workshop, and even then she had vials of chemicals stashed on the shelves and in cabinets with no regard to order or even safety (including, disturbingly, mercury stored in a glass jar shut with a cork), stacks of books with titles in languages ranging from Japanese to English to French to runes I couldn’t identify, a mini-greenhouse containing, among other things, nightshade, marijuana, ayahuasca, and tomacco plants, and a terrarium with the largest salamander I had ever seen. Over by the fireplace was a large cauldron, which Marisa claimed she made both potions and meals in. Her kitchen was mostly stocked with dry goods, with the exception of chilled food kept inside an old Whirlpool fridge which had been haphazardly refurbished and was powered… somehow. Looking around, it certainly left no doubt that this was the home of a witch.

“Now that I’ve given ‘ya the grand tour, whaddya think?”

I looked around at the disaster area of a home once again. “It’s… very unique,” I tersely praised.
“But, why did you bring me to this place?”

“You said you had nothin’ goin’ on, right? And we still got a few hours to kill before we gotta head to Reimu’s. Why don’t we just have lunch and visit for a while-”

There was a knock on the door.

“Eh? A visitor?” She went toward the door. “Prolly just Alice, or maybe Reisen since I sell medicine ingredients to them. I’ll be right back.”

As Marisa went to go grab the door, I decided to have a look around and see what ingredients we had, and what we could throw together to make lunch. For a Western-styled witch, she had very traditional Japanese tastes, with the fridge holding large amounts of fish, a pantry full of soba, udon, ramen and other types of noodles, some stock and bouillon in the pantry, heavy burlap sacks full of rice, and some fruits and vegetables in a basket off to the side. Her well pump was located in a utility room, seemingly added on to the house, and there were several buckets on the floor beside it. I had to admit, she did have a rather well put-together little-

“How many times do I have to tell ‘ya that yer not allowed at my house?!” I heard her suddenly yell. “Now get outta here before I Master Spark ‘ya in the face! ...No, he’s not my boyfriend or anything! Now GET OUT!”

I heard the door slam, and when Marisa came back she was steaming.

“Who was that?” I asked. “Unwelcome guest, I assume?”

Marisa sat at the table and sighed. “That was Aya. She was tryin’ to interview me for her trashy tabloid about me, you and Reimu. Honestly, that demon. Does she have anything better to do?”

“Who is ‘Aya?’”

“Aya Shameimaru. She’s one of the tengu that live on Youkai Mountain. She runs this newspaper called the Bunbunmaru, and she publishes some of the most ridiculous crap in there. She used to have a version she sold in the Village as well, but Mamizou managed to do a smear campaign against it, so she stopped it. Ever since then, I swear she’s been getting more desperate for material, so she’s been pestering me, Reimu and a few others more over the smallest things. My money’s that she’s been spyin’ on us for some time.”

I froze in place. “Shit. That means she may have seen us enter the Metaverse and could tell others.”

“I was fearin’ the same thing, but she didn’t seem to bring up anything about us disappearin’ out of nowhere every time we entered, and I definitely didn’t bring it up or else she woulda got suspicious.”

“Even so, it sounds like we need to be very careful around her. If she’s following us around, it’s only a matter of time before she discovers our secret. Tell me, what does she look like in case I ever run into her?”

“Oh, right, you didn’t see her ‘cause you were back here. Well, she’s kinda tall, I’d say only a little shorter than you, and she bobs her hair in a way that hides her pointy ears. Usually she wears one of three outfits: if she’s on guard duty at Youkai Mountain she’ll be wearin’ one of the standard tengu warrior outfits with the detached sleeves, baggy pants and combat boots, and she’ll have a shield, a leaf fan and usually a spear. She doesn’t actually have wings, but they got this cape that can turn into crows wings to help them fly better, and she’ll be wearin’ that too. If she’s in the Village, she’ll crossdress as a paperboy in a brown jacket, a red tie and a cabbie hat. The rest of the time, she’s in a white shirt, has the little red tokin hat that the tengu like to wear, red geta shoes and a really short black skirt that I wonder how it’s even legal. She’ll also be carryin’ a notepad.”

“You mentioned she was a tengu. Does she have any special powers?” I thought about tengus in the Metaverse, who typically had powerful wind attacks.

“She can move really, really fast. Like, faster than the speed of sound fast, and she’s one of the only people I can’t beat in races. That means she can literally be on the other side of Gensokyo right now and be here within seconds. She can also whip up mean winds, and can even listen in on them to try and make out people’s voices so she can go bug ‘em for material.”

“I… see. She will be a very tough obstacle to our plans indeed. If she spreads word about the Metaverse and it becomes common knowledge… well, I don’t actually know what would happen, but the results would most likely be catastrophic for our investigations.”

“How so?”

“Well, I have actually run into shadows of people aware of the Metaverse, many of whom had ties to the Kijiro Group, a massive conglomerate who at one point poured billions of yen into researching cognitive psience, as it’s called. Their shadows were capable of doing things normal shadows cannot, since they can essentially manipulate their own cognitions at will. Now, imagine if that started happening en masse here. Our investigations would grind to a halt, and people would be all over us, including many who would try to kill us. So not only do we have to keep our Metaverse lives a complete secret, but we have to keep others from knowing as well. If that means having to ‘silence’ them if all else fails, then so be it.”

Marisa gulped. “Well, hopefully it doesn’t come to that. Most especially because Aya’s an old and powerful person who could wipe the floor with us if she ever got serious.”

“We’ll just have to be careful, and hope it never becomes necessary,” I said.

After that brief conversation, we went ahead and made some soba. Marisa insisted that I do some of the cooking, despite my repeated warnings about my lack of skill still. She, of course, didn’t listen and taunted me, calling me an entitled city boy who was used to having everything be done for me. When the actual soup was done, though…

“...I’m pretty sure it’s not supposed to glow purple like that,” Marisa winced.

I looked at the recipe scribbled on the cabinet door again. “I’m fairly certain I followed them exactly, but…”

Marisa picked up a noodle from the purple, bubbling soup. “Well, hopefully it tastes better than it looks.” She stuck it in her mouth, chewed it a bit… then promptly spat it back out all over the table, reached for her still piping hot tea and chugged it all at once.

“Bluh, bleh, GAH!” She flipped her bowl over the table, spilling the toxic sludge everywhere. “What the HELL is this… this Mystery Food X?!? Where’d ‘ya learn how ‘ta cook, truck-drivin’ school?!?”

“I warned you, I’m just that horrible of a cook,” I shrugged. “I don’t know why, really. Everything I cook for some reason always comes out like-”

Suddenly, Marisa shoved a piece into my mouth. The second the noodle entered, I could tell something was very, very wrong. The horrid, rancid flavor, the indescribably awful aftertaste, the non-Euclidian way in which the hellish aroma danced around in my sinuses… no human, or any other living thing, deserved to have this torture inflicted upon them. My eyes watered, the blood drained from my face, and before I knew it Marisa was holding my head over a bucket as I vomited into it.

Gasping for breath and my face red, I wearily looked up at her, shaking as chills overtook my body.

“Man, you’re such a lightweight, pukin’ and fallin’ to the ground like that. Guess you can’t dish it out if you can’t take it,” she smirked.

“Marisa! There you are!” came a voice as the door flung open. We jolted our heads around, and saw Reimu stomp into the kitchen where we were.

“Oh, hey there, Reimu! Didn’t know you were comin’ to visit!”

“Why are you not at the shrine? Everything’s set up but the party doesn’t start for a few more hours, so there’s absolutely nothing going on right now! I demand that you and Goro come with me right this second so you can end my boredom!”

“We were gonna come to the shrine when it got dark, but-” Marisa and I then observed Reimu walk over to the table, where there was still a bowl of Mystery Food X on the table.

“You should have told me you were making lunch, I would have come over if you did,” she said as she took the bowl and chugged it all down at once.

Both of us panicked. “Uh, wait, no, Reimu, that’s-”

Reimu set the bowl down and wiped her face with her sleeve. “What? Was that bowl one of yours?”

“Ah, no, that’s… I made an error in the preparation, so the soup is all but inedible…” I hung my head low in shame, confessing that to Reimu.

“So? Honestly, it wasn’t that bad. Maybe a little bland, but nothing to puke in a bucket over, unlike you apparently.”

I was absolutely dumbstruck.

“Er…”

Marisa leaned in and whispered, “Reimu doesn’t have much of a budget for food, so she’s built up insane tolerance to all sorts of crap. One time I walked in on her eating dirt, and dropped my other plans just to take her to go eat an actual meal. And there was one time she ate rotten leftovers and I had to literally revive her; sometimes I swipe food from places just to drop it off at the shrine and make sure she’s eating alright.”

“What are you whispering about?” Reimu demanded.

“Oh, uh,” Marisa jumped up, “I was just tellin’ him about that one time I challenged you to a drinkin’ contest.”

“I don’t care about that,” Reimu dismissed, “I demand that you two come with me and cure my boredom. You can continue your date there if you want, I honestly don’t care.”

“EHH???” both me and Marisa exclaimed in unison.

“I’m joking,” Reimu snickered. “But in all honesty, I’m really, really bored, so can you two come with me and play Daifugo or something while we wait for everyone else to show up?”

“I don’t mind,” I said. “Why don’t we get going?”

Marisa was still blushing like an apple, even as she grabbed her broom and we got ready to head out.

When we arrived at the shrine it was about 3 P.M. All the stalls were set up, but the only person there was the bird girl from yesterday, who was busily gutting and prepping eel to sell, as well as the fairies Reimu was bossing around. Reimu introduced me to them: the one in the American flag costume was named Clownpiece, and was supposedly a Hell fairy who was living under the shrine after some incident a year and a half back. The other three were named Sunny Milk, Luna Child, and Star Sapphire. They lived in a tree somewhere behind the shrine. Reimu warned me that all three were mischief-makers, as all fairies tended to be, but other than that weren’t much to worry about due to being too stupid to do anything harmful; apparently fairies were all immature in both appearance and behavior, and would get into fights over the smallest things and then promptly forget the reason they were fighting to begin with.

And that was just the “strongest” ones: she also told me that fairies in general were “cannon fodder” and could be easily killed by just about anything, which was why they swarmed and attacked in groups. However, because they were nature spirits they could endlessly respawn when killed.

“Here, let me demonstrate for you,” she said. “Clownpiece, come up here. The rest of you, stand back.” We did as she asked, and Clownpiece came up to Reimu.

“What can I do for ‘ya?” she asked. Reimu then pointed her gohei at the fairy, causing her to explode into flames, torn clothes and ofuda. When the smoke cleared, there was no trace of her left.

I was aghast. “Did you...just...kill her?” I asked in shock.

“Give it a minute.” After a few moments, a light shone, then formed into Clownpiece, good as new.

“I hate it when you do that,” she pouted.

“Yeah, sorry, I just had to show this guy what I meant,” Reimu said to her. “I’ll let you have an extra macaroon after dinner. Deal?”

“Yay!” the fairy cheered, running off with the others.

“You see? They don’t fear death, because they just keep coming back,” Reimu explained. “You can’t really kill a fairy unless you destroy the thing they spring forth from. In Clownpiece’s case, that means destroying Hell, and, well, good luck doing that.”

“I see… I wonder how many other surprises this land has in store for me?”

“Right now, you’re just scratching the surface. But, I’m sure you’ll see what I mean in time.”

It wasn’t long before the sun went down and the lanterns started lighting up. The darker it got, the more guests showed up, one of the first of which was a woman with pink hair, a red tabard and a green skirt; Reimu explained this was Kasen Ibaraki. I recalled her name from Keine explaining she was one of the sages, and Yuyuko mentioned her yesterday as well. Supposedly, I was looking at Ibaraki-douji, one of the oni which served the powerful Shuten-douji. I wondered if I would get to meet him as well; it didn’t take long for a short girl with horns and chains on her arms to show up, for me to learn “he” was a “she,” and she went by the name “Suika Ibuki” these days. It made me wonder just how many things history got wrong about these figures. More guests soon arrived, including everyone I met yesterday. Ran showed up with a cat-girl in orange clothes, whom she explained was her shikigami, which I had always thought were made of paper (apparently, they could be bound to living things as well). In a twist, Ran revealed she herself was also a shikigami of Yukari; given Ran was a nine-tailed kitsune and therefore extremely powerful in her own right, it made me wonder what kind of being Yukari was and what amount of power she wielded, and if Yuyuko’s claims about her “boundary manipulation” were real.

By late evening, the party was in full swing. The sky above was lit up by the half moon, and without the light pollution of Outside cities, the full beauty of the stars, nebulas, and other wonders of the cosmos were laid bare for all to see. All the guests and all the stall keepers brought something to share with everyone. There were eats, there were drinks (lots and lots of drinks, and of many different kinds), there were games. Some of them also conducted danmaku duels, giving me a crucial glimpse as to what they were like. To be sure, they were spectacles, with many, many laser bullets fired back and forth in a vast, dizzying array of beautiful, masterful patterns ranging from simple bursts from the user all the way to woven grids and symbols. These were spell cards, Reimu explained, and each spell card had a story, a theme, and much symbolism behind it, and if I was to craft spell cards as beautiful yet devastating as these I was going to have to put a lot of thought into what their themes, history and identities were, and how to convey that into laser bullets. Merely watching them was enough to leave me spellbound, I couldn’t even imagine how much of a rush it would be to actually be involved in one. I was going to have to practice, and thankfully I had the system’s master as my sensei… even if she was, well, rather difficult in personality sometimes.

For the most part, everyone settled into their own little social groups. Of course, being the only guy present and, until recently, an Outsider, I did attract more than a few glances and questions from curious girls. Many asked who I was, what I was doing here and what relation I had to Reimu. Already, rumors began to swirl regarding me, things like, wow, ain’t he a cutie, or, did Reimu get a boyfriend? Are they going out? Apparently, girls in Gensokyo liked gossip just as much as girls back in Tokyo. Only, every single one of these girls was a youkai, a goddess, or both, with the exception of Reimu and Marisa, who were surprisingly good at keeping them all in check, and they all showed the two a lot of respect.

As the evening wore on, everyone came up with new ways to pass the time until midnight. Some people grew tired and left early; I couldn’t blame them, since I found myself yawning a lot and drinking lots of tea and coffee to try and stay awake. Meanwhile, Suika showcased her immense strength by doing a handstand and balancing a large boulder on her right foot, Marisa and some of her friends were gathered around a Daifugo game (by the looks of it, Marisa was the beggar), while the bird-girl (whose name I learned was Mystia) had closed up her eel stand and was now doing a singing show with another girl with green hair and dog-like ears. For the most part, I just kept to myself, dropping into conversations here and there but never truly mingling. This was a habit of mine, born from having gone my whole life without any real friends, and even with the Phantom Thieves I found myself off to the side while they talked and did their own things (although since they knew about my plan from the start, they may have been actively shunning me as well).

“Hey there,” came a voice. “Can I talk to you?”

I turned around. It was Kasen. She was up on the roof, seated next to Reimu and overlooking the party. “You can fly, right? Could you come up here?”

“...sure,” I nodded. So I jumped up to the roof and sat down next to them.

“Lovely night we’re having, aren’t we?” she said. “A little chilly, of course, but that’s to be expected for winter.”

“Indeed, it really is quite nice.” The half-moon shone brightly, illuminating the sky and casting light down upon the valley below blanketed in thick snow.

“Reimu here already told you my name, but you haven’t told me yours,” she asked.

“My apologies. My name is Goro Akechi. I’m from Tokyo.”

“Reimu told me all about you and how you came here. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” She took a sip of tea, while Reimu blew on hers to try and cool it down. “That must have been very scary for you, almost getting killed. It’s also quite an unusual way for someone to arrive here, people simply believing you couldn’t have survived that.”

“I still have a hard time believing it myself,” I said. “Sometimes I wonder if this is all just a dying dream.”

“Believe me, you would know the difference,” Kasen assured me. “I’ve travelled all sorts of realms, both dream and reality. All of them have their own look and feel. You wouldn’t believe just how many alternate realms exist in this world, and it’s taken me a long time to see them all.”

“I don’t doubt that,” I said, of course knowing there was one realm I had been to that she didn’t even know of. “Still, Gensokyo is quite an interesting place by itself. Certainly, I never would have imagined meeting Ibaraki-douji personally, when I had grown up believing the story to be only a legend.”

Kasen looked downcast. “...I don’t like hearing that name anymore,” she sighed. “It reminds me too much of my violent, shameful past.”

“Oh, I see. I apologize, then,” I bowed.

“No, it’s okay. It was my name for a long time, after all.” She lifted her right arm, which was covered in bandages… or so I thought, until she explained, “a long time ago, my malevolence was contained into my right arm before it was cut off and sealed by a legendary blade. There is no arm under these wraps, just magical smoke. Since then, I’ve done all I can to atone for my evil actions, practicing hermit arts, taking care of animals and guiding the shrine maiden, such as Reimu here. That’s how I came to be one of the three Sages of Gensokyo, dedicated to maintaining its balance.”

“More like, you barge into my shrine whenever you feel like it and lecture me on how I’m not being a proper shrine maiden or something,” Reimu griped.

“Somebody needs to keep your destructive tendencies in check,” Kasen told her. “And someone needs to instruct you on how to properly run a shrine so you don’t resort to get-rich-quick schemes that invariably blow up in your face, such as that fortune-telling venture that one time or how the fox girl tricked you so thoroughly.”

“I tied her up and fed her ofuda until she cried uncle, though, isn’t that enough?”

“That’s just torture,” Kasen scolded, “and it’s part of why people don’t trust you. Humans, youkai, all of them regard you as a lazy shrine maiden who hates everyone and beats them up.”

“But that’s because everyone already treats me like an outcast,” Reimu countered. “Everyone thinks I’m just some reclusive weirdo who hides up in this shrine and comes down to smite them for no reason. I’m just trying to do my duty here, which is maintaining Gensokyo’s balance and punishing those who step out of line. Even if that means crossing people, like that fortune teller: not only did he turn himself into a youkai, but he also revived himself to do so, both crimes I can’t ignore, so I had to kill him. I don’t care that his family hates me, I was just doing my damn job.”

At least you’ve never assassinated anyone in cold blood, I wanted to say.

“You seem troubled,” Kasen asked.

“Oh, sorry,” I said, shaking my head. “It just sounds like Reimu-san’s job is a very difficult one.”

“That’s understating it,” Reimu told me. “For me, there’s no such thing as a day off. It’s always either solving incidents, exterminating problem youkai, or organizing parties, like this one. If I didn’t have a bad tendency to attract people here to the shrine, I’d be alone all the time.” She held her head low. “Honestly, if I had the ability to pass the job off to someone else, I would. But, I can’t, there is no one else to share the burden with.” She started crying, and covering her face. “I hate this situation! I just want to end it! I just want to live a normal life!!!” She kept sobbing, even leaning into Kasen who tried to console her.

“Reimu… I’ve never seen you cry like this, or be so up-front.”

“Now do you see it?” Reimu cried. “I hate this fucking job! How can you possibly expect me to be good at a job I don’t even like?!”

By now, Marisa had noticed Reimu was in distress, and I watched her hastily tear herself away from her game to fly up here and get in between us to hug her. “Hey, you can stop cryin’ now, ‘cause I’m here with ‘ya.”

Reimu sniffled. “Marisa…”

“I keep tellin’ ‘ya you don’t gotta suffer alone. Ya just gotta remember I’m always there for ‘ya, through thick and thin, huntin’ youkai, plannin’ parties and everything in between.”

I smiled. “You say you bicker all the time, but in the end you two really are close, aren’t you?”

“What can I say?” Marisa said. “We’re both loners and outcasts, so we gotta have each other’s backs no matter what. Actually, I guess that’s four of us now, since we got you, a guy from the Outside who everyone forgot and who has no connections here, and now Youmu as well…”

“Oh?” Kasen wondered. “Did you become close with Youmu-chan all of a sudden?”

“Er, yeah,” Marisa stammered, realizing she may have said too much. “You could say it’s a recent thing.”

“I spoke with her and Yuyuko earlier today… I can’t quite put a finger on it, but it seemed as though they were different people. Youmu seemed more confident and protective of Yuyuko than usual; she was even watching me closely the whole time I met with her. And Yuyuko is usually pretty lazy and always snacking, but this time she was stone-cold serious and wasted no time getting to business… business which filled me with foreboding, unfortunately.”

“Ah, yes, I went to speak with them yesterday. They mentioned a bizarre incident which might be unfolding on the Outside, which could threaten the Barrier.”

Reimu instantly perked up and stopped crying, her sorrow replaced by clearly discernible dread. “...what about the Barrier now?”

“Supposedly, Doremy came to her and several others about a significant disturbance in the Dream World, which is growing by the day, sourced in Tokyo. She’s afraid it could affect the Barrier due to its effects on human perception and belief. Normally, something like this would call for Yukari to step in, but she’s hibernating, so Yuyuko reached out to me to try and solve it, since I too can come and go from the Barrier. I’m already preparing spies to go out and investigate it. But it sounds quite serious, so I think it would be risky to try and send you back, Akechi-san, until it is resolved.”

I shook my head. “I have already intended to stay here,” I said. “Because of how I came here, trying to reintegrate into society would be very difficult, especially since all my assets and possessions would have been taken by now. But, I do agree, this situation sounds very dangerous. And I would be willing to help however I can.”

“I doubt there’s much a human like you can do about it, but I appreciate your enthusiasm.”

“I was a detective out there, and I’m very good at making deductions. If nothing else, having a second opinion on the evidence would help you solve the mystery and figure out how to best respond to it. I already offered my services to Yuyuko-san.”

Kasen rubbed her chin. “A detective… I suppose having one would be useful for us. How about this: if I need you again, I’ll come get you. You live at Kirisame-san’s shop, correct?”

“Yes,” I nodded.

“Excellent.” Kasen then got up and stretched her arms. “Well, I already promised Suika I’d share a drink with her when the ball drops in a few minutes, so I’ll be leaving you three. See you next year.” She jumped down from the roof and went over to a stand where Suika was seated.

Once she was out of earshot, Reimu was the first to speak.

“Do you think that disturbance could be related to the Metaverse?” she asked.

“I’m almost certain,” I said. “Especially since it’s centered in Tokyo, where the Phantom Thieves performed all their heists.” I paused for a moment to think. “I learned recently that the proper term for Palaces, at least here in Gensokyo, are ‘Fortresses,’ places where people’s hearts are imprisoned by distorted desires. Out there, there’s a very large Fortress, one which all others are born from. It is called ‘Mementos.’”

“Mementos?” Marisa wondered. “Sounds sketch.”

“Large, individual fortresses like Yuyukos only come about when someone’s desires are extremely distorted; the rest of the public has one, massive, shared Fortress, in the form of Mementos. So while venturing through one person’s Fortress changes only their cognition, altering Mementos can change the entire public’s.”

“So what you’re saying is…” Reimu asked.

“I think the source of this disturbance is someone or some force manipulating Mementos. I want to see if it can be accessed from here. I’ve already told Youmu I wanted to meet up on Monday to discuss the plan as a team.”

Reimu seemed hesitant. “That seems very intense. We dealt with one person’s ‘Fortress,’ which was pretty tough. I can’t imagine taking on the entire public all at once.”

“We won’t be changing a heart, per se,” I clarified. “We’re just finding the cause of the distortion and getting rid of it.”

“But even then, whoever or whatever’s doin’ it is prolly, like, obscenely powerful,” Marisa noted. “I bet they could vaporize us just by bein’ in the same room.”

“Then we just go in absolutely prepared,” I said. “After all, the fate of Gensokyo, and perhaps humankind, could lie in the balance here. We have to at least try.”

“Seems like a big ask for us still bein’ new at this whole Metaverse business,” Marisa gulped.

“But, we are master incident resolvers. We’ve taken down severe border threats before, and Goro’s right: as long as we go in on top of our game, and perhaps combine our strength, we can come out on top.”

“Someone’s feeling better,” I smiled.

“We are good friends, even if we bitch at each other 90% of the time,” Reimu joked.

Then, all of a sudden, a shower of shooting stars covered the sky. Tens, if not hundreds, of bright trails streaked across the heavens, a dazzling yet highly improbable display, especially given what other people were yelling, cheering and screaming all at the same time.

“HAPPY NEW YEAR!”

“WOO, HAPPY NEW YEAR!”

“2017, WOOT WOOT!”

“HAPPEH *hic* NYU YEEER! *hic*”

We looked up, and all marvelled at the display. “Guess it’s the New Year, already, huh?” Marisa asked.

“I have to say, Sanae really outdid herself this time,” Reimu said.

“This is all her work?” I asked her.

“Sure is.”

Marisa slapped her hand on the roof. “Hey, since we’re already at a shrine, why don’t we make our New Year’s Wishes?”

“Well, I wish for billions and billions of yen,” Reimu snarked.

“You know the gods won’t grant that kind of selfish wish,” I laughed.

“Yeah, especially not mine.” She cleared her throat. “In all seriousness, I wish for some major change in my life. Like I said, I don’t like my life where it currently is. I want some sort of big shakeup that’ll change my life for the better, get me out of my heavy, thankless work.”

“I totally hear ‘ya,” Marisa said. “Well, if I had to wish for somethin’, I just want another year filled with big, exciting adventures for us to go on.”

“I think that wish has already been granted,” I smiled.

“Yeah, seriously. I bet it’s never gonna get borin’ with you around.” Marisa chuckled, then took a sip of sake. “What about you? What do you wish for?”

What do I wish for? I thought about it for a minute. What was it that I truly craved which I was missing from my life, especially now that I was in this place?

“...I wish for long-lasting, meaningful friendships,” I said. “And maybe, perhaps maybe, love.”

Chapter Text

1/1

I ended up staying the night at the shrine, which caused Reimu some hesitation since she wasn’t used to having male guests. Marisa stayed the night as well, and the two of them slept in one room while I slept in another. In the morning Marisa made breakfast, apparently (and rightly) not trusting me with anything food-related, while Reimu was grateful that Marisa was actually making breakfast for her. By now, it was clear to me that, while Marisa marched to the beat of her own drum and was a bit of a rapscallion, beneath that facade she was a caring person at heart, especially when it came to Reimu, who was cold and professional when she was acting as the shrine maiden but became something of a needy, petulant child when off the clock… although given the pressure of her job and her relative isolation from other humans, perhaps it was no surprise she acted that way, and also why she broke down in front of us last night.

After breakfast, we decided to go our separate ways but agreed to meet back tomorrow to discuss our next move. The more I thought about the situation unfolding Outside, the more my mind raced through what could possibly be happening out there. My first thought, as I had explained to everyone else by now, was someone or something tampering with Mementos, since that would be the easiest and simplest explanation. A mass change in cognition would be the only way everyone could simply forget about Shido. As perfect a punishment as that was for him - he tried to control Japan and make sure everyone knew his name, but now no one remembered him, just like me - I knew this could all spiral out of control if nothing was done about it. Of course, I was certain the Phantom Thieves would at least try to tackle it. It was whether they would succeed that I wasn’t sure of, and as the old saying goes, if you want it done right, do it yourself, which was why I wanted to help Yuyuko, Kasen and anyone else involved solve it.

I made my way back down to the village, where I tried again to look for Keine. Again, she wasn’t home, but I found her at a nearby market having lunch, so I approached her.

“Good afternoon,” I greeted her.

“Oh, hello! I was wondering when I’d meet you again!”

“I tried looking for you yesterday, but you were out,” I said.

“Oh, sorry about that. I was visiting Mokou last night. She lives alone, and doesn’t really talk to people, so I always go to her to make sure she’s doing alright. But, I want to make sure you’re doing alright as well.”

“I’m still getting used to living here, without technology and all that. But I think I’m settling in quite well so far.”

“That’s good to hear. That always stresses out Outsiders, losing their technology and freedom to go where they want. I’m amazed you’ve settled into things this quickly, actually. There are Outsiders who have been here far longer than you who still mope about it. I think it’s also good you’ve made friends with Reimu quickly.”

“I’ve also met Marisa,” I mentioned.

Keine paused. “Ah, yes, I figured you’d meet her at some point too. Those two definitely have a reputation here, since they solve a lot of incidents and have a talent for attracting youkai friends even if they don’t want them, but others, especially humans, hate them precisely for that reason. Still, even if they are rough around the edges, I can’t imagine better friends for you to have, since they’ll have your back in case you ever get attacked. And Reimu is teaching you Spell Cards, which I think it’s impressive you managed to get her to do at all, since she hates working,” Keine chuckled.

“I’ve also gotten to know Youmu and her master,” I said.

Keine looked surprised. “...oh, wow, you’ve already met Yuyuko? I’m so sorry,” she snided. “But Youmu’s a good kid, even if she is half-baked at times. I swear, I’ve never seen anyone swing so hard or so quickly between being a stone-cold serious warrior to a shy, awkward baby and all the way back again the way she does. Again, you seem to be making some great friends. That’s good, since it means you might get to see more places beyond the Village. So, how about if I told you a little more about what Gensokyo is like?”

“What Gensokyo is like… you know, I’ve never seen a map of the place, so I don’t even really know where everything is in relation to each other.”

“It’s simply, really. Mountains line the eastern part, while out west is either flat or rolling hills. There’s a river that erupts from a spring in the mountains, runs through Genbu Ravine, then passes south and west of the village before becoming the Misty Lake, then drains out the other end through the Barrier. Its waters are the only thing that can do leave the Barrier without the Sage’s help. To the northeast is Youkai Mountain, Gensokyo’s highest peak. It’s where the Tengu live, and at the summit is the Moriya Shrine, where two goddesses and their miko, Sanae Kochyia, reside.”

“I met her yesterday, Sanae. She’s… interesting, to say the least.”

“Let’s just say she has the nickname InSanae for a reason,” Keine joked. “There’s a ropeway you can use to reach that shrine, since Youkai Mountain itself is very dangerous for humans: a thick forest,  the Great Youkai Forest, surrounds it on all sides, and the Tengu fiercely defend their territory from intruders. Speaking of forests, two of them border the Village: the Bamboo Forest of the Lost, where you fell into Gensokyo and where Mokou found you, is to the east of town, and immediately to its south is the Forest of Magic, which is full of dangerous plants, animals and youkai and is not a place for you to go.”

I smiled. “Unfortunately, I’ve already been through it. With Marisa, of course.”

Keine laughed. “Well, I should have guessed that, I suppose. As long as you’re not going in there alone, I suppose you’ll be fine. Anyway, the river passes south of the Forest of Magic, and much of Gensokyo south of the river is taken up by vast flower fields surrounding the Nameless Hill, in the center of which is the Garden of the Sun, named for all of its sunflowers. I won’t mince words: do not ever venture there. That area is the territory of a horrifically powerful youkai with dominion over flowers, and she will tear you to shreds if you harm them. I wish I were exaggerating, but sadly I am not. Not even the Sages will go there if they don’t have to, so someone like you stands no chance. There’s also a living doll who can spew infinite amounts of deadly poison, and she’s probably the least threatening thing living there. So, yeah. Don’t go there.”

I felt chills run down my spine. How powerful was that youkai that not even the all-important and powerful Sages were willing to go there, in addition to controlling such a large amount of territory in a relatively small, isolated land? I tried not to think about it too hard and resolved to stay away from anywhere south of the river that had flowers.

“Now, the west side of Gensokyo doesn’t have much, just a plain where the fairies like to romp and play. In the center of it is the Misty Lake, which is called that because of the mist and fog that forms on it frequently around midday. Giant catfish and other mythical water monsters live in it, including mermaids. On its northeastern shore closest to Youkai Mountain is a large French-style mansion known as the Scarlet Devil Mansion. It’s the home of a powerful vampire and her servants.”

My rolled my eyes. “Somehow, it doesn’t surprise me that a vampire lives here too.”

“I’m sure it doesn’t, but she doesn’t behave like most vampires. In fact, where she gets her blood is a mystery, since she’s never been seen venturing out and feeding on villagers and the like. Like I said, she’s very, very powerful, easily one of the strongest and most cunning residents of Gensokyo. She’s also a good friend of Reimu’s so you may see her at the Shrine if you go there a lot.”

“A vampire visiting a religious shrine,” I smiled. “I would have never imagined it. Anything else?”

“Well, I guess there’s a few other places I should talk about,” Keine shrugged. “Past Youkai Mountain is a path leading to the Sanzu River, across which is Higan, where the souls of the deceased are judged by the Yama, who either sends them to Heaven, the Netherworld, reincarnates them or casts them to Hell for rehabilitation before they can re-enter the cycle.”

My heart stopped and I froze in place after hearing those words. “Er… that’s so…”

“Oh, believe me, you’re not the first Outsider I’ve met who’s shocked that Heaven and Hell actually exist, or the cycle of reincarnation in general. But, I suppose you already know that, since you’ve been to the Netherworld.”

Of course, I did know all of that by now, as she said. But it still gave me pause, since it meant I would have to answer for all of my crimes eventually, and I wasn’t sure, even if I led a fully virtuous life, that I could avert that fate.

“Speaking of Youkai Mountain, it’s actually a volcano, and underneath it is a vast network of caverns which eventually lead to Hell’s former location before it was moved. Its fiery heart, the Hell of Blazing Fires, is home to a nuclear reactor complex which powers the hot springs on the mountain and also provides the mountain and some other places here in Gensokyo with power as well.”

“A nuclear power plant, you mean? Here in Gensokyo?”

“Surprising, isn’t it? It’s maintained by a Hell Raven with atomic powers, or so I’ve heard. Reimu and Marisa fought her one time, and apparently she’s one of the toughest opponents either has faced, so she must be very powerful.”

“Well, let’s just hope it doesn’t go solid,” I tersely joked. “We certainly don’t want another Fukushima to happen here.”

Keine tilted her head. “Fuku-what now?”

“Oh, it’s nothing,” I shrugged.

“Well, anyway, the path to the shrine you’ve been taking runs up a short creek valley which leads to a low notch between two rocky hills near the base of Youkai Mountain. The shrine itself is on the Hakurei Border, but I’m sure you’ve never seen it. That’s because it’s not really a physical border, but more of an esoteric one, the border between reality and fantasy, truth and lies. If you tried to fly towards it, it would seem like you were passing over an endlessly looping series of trees and mountains, but if you turned around you’d arrive back where you started as though you didn’t get very far at all.”

“Oh, so just like the endless staircase in Super Mario 64?”

Keine stared at me confused.

“Ah, I’m sorry, another reference you wouldn’t get.”

“Oh, I’m sure,” Keine shrugged. “Anyway, just a quick explanation of the border for you. I’m sure Reimu can tell you more if you’re interested.”

“I appreciate it,” I bowed.

“There’s one last place I feel like I should mention that I haven’t yet. On the side of Youkai Mountain, above Genbu Ravine but below the Tengu’s territory is a Buddhist temple called the Myouren Temple. It’s home to Byakuren Hijiri and her followers, all of them youkai who forsook their man-eating ways and who are peaceful to humans. It sits atop an old mausoleum home to numerous spirits, which was involved in an incident several years ago when the temple went up there. Some people from the village visit it from time to time, and there’s a safe path from the village which cuts through the forest to reach it; the lower station for the ropeway I mentioned is also near there. If you would like to go check it out, you’re certainly free to do so. They hold meditation sessions there, are always accepting new followers and will even teach you kung-fu. Byakuren herself is also a very beautiful and serene woman who’s popular among humans and youkai alike.”

“Very interesting… I’ll certainly make sure to visit once I get the chance.”

“That sounds great,” she smiled. “I hope you’ll come to enjoy your new life here.”

After lunch, I went to the bookseller across the street from the shop to rent a book. The girl there, Kosuzu, was very cheerful and friendly, and helped me find a novel she thought I might enjoy. Surprisingly, it was a translated copy of Tom Clancy’s Red Sun Rising, and I asked her how she got the book. She just shrugged and said she found it at Kourindou one day and bought it so she could have it at her store to loan out to customers. So I got the book and spent the rest of the day quietly reading and reflecting on the events which had led up to this point, how I spent two years on a murderous rampage serving an evil conspiracy, and how I ultimately found myself on the wrong side of the conflict with the Phantom Thieves, leading to a near-death experience which saw me end up here. As I went to bed that night, I thought about how I could possibly pick up the pieces and redeem myself, having directly killed dozens of people and indirectly killing or injuring close to a thousand others, as well as invoking life-ruining psychotic breakdowns, all of them on Shido’s orders or those of his beneficiaries such as President Okumura and the SIU director, both of whom also fell to my hands.

But, there was a more pressing and immediate matter on my mind as well.

1/2

It was 2 P.M. By now, all of us, Reimu, Marisa, Youmu and myself, had convened at the Shrine to discuss the matter of the incident brewing outside the Barrier and how it might affect Gensokyo.

“So just to recap, you think this has somethin’ to do with that Mementos place,” Marisa said.

“Precisely,” I replied. “If it’s based in Tokyo, then it most likely involves Mementos, the Fortress which represents the public’s cognition. Alterations made to it can have world-changing effects.”

“Why Tokyo though?” Reimu wondered. “I mean, I get that it’s an enormous city with a lot of people, but so are Shanghai, London, New York, Mumbai, Moscow, Rio, Rome, Cairo, Los Angeles and so many others, many of them being both older and more closely tied with the history of human civilization.”

“I’m not fully sure,” I shrugged, “but the fact is it’s in Tokyo, or at least one of its entrances is. Now, I have considered that the Mementos in Tokyo might not be the only one of its kind, or that it's only part of a larger whole, but I was never able to verify that. But that’s not important right now: what’s important is that this disturbance could, and very well might, threaten Gensokyo, and we have to find out how, if at all, we can solve it.”

“And how do we do that?” Youmu asked.

“Simple. We will try to enter Mementos from here in Gensokyo. I’m not sure if we can, but we have to at least try.”

“Eh, if what you’re sayin’ about how Mementos works is correct, then we probably can’t. The entire point of Gensokyo is to hold everything humans no longer believe in in one place, so it’d be kinda weird if a Fortress which represents the desires and thoughts of humanity could be accessed from here. But even if we can’t reach it directly, there’s gotta be some back door we can use.”

“It would be much easier if we could leave the Barrier to go investigate - me and Marisa have been out there before when solving certain incidents - but we don’t have Yukari to help us do that, and Kasen’s abilities are nowhere near as potent as hers - she can open holes in the Barrier, but can't bypass it or warp us where we need to go instantly. Besides, there's the issue of what the anomaly would do to us in the real world if we were exposed to it. So I guess we’ll just have to do the best we can with what we have.”

“If it is Metaverse-related, then you’re all still in a better position to solve this than if you didn’t have me on your side to show you it. You’d simply never be able to know what the cause of all this was.”

“That is true,” Reimu admitted.

“Then let’s get going,” I said. “We don’t have any time to waste.”

A short while later, we were near the village, and I had my key out, ready to say the magic word and enter the Metaverse.

“Okay, so why do you think it’s somewhere in the village?” Marisa asked.

“Why? It’s very simple: this is where the highest concentration of humans exists in Gensokyo,” I said. “In Tokyo, Mementos can be accessed from the Shibuya subway station, where a very large amount of Tokyo’s lines intersect and where millions of people pass through daily on their way to and from work and school. In other words, a large amount of humanity interfaces in that location daily, which may be why Mementos is accessed from that area of Tokyo specifically. Almost all of humanity here in Gensokyo crosses paths here in the village and some youkai too, so if Mementos can be accessed here, its entrance will almost certainly be here.”

“But Yuyuko’s a ghost, and she had a Fortress,” Marisa pointed out.

“That may be true, but Yuyuko is only one person. The village represents a high concentration of sentient beings which constantly criss-cross with each other daily, so it represents the collective unconscious as a whole.”

“Well, you know, the Tengu live in a city on the side of Youkai Mountain. It’s pretty big, too. How do you know it can’t be there either?” Reimu asked.

“Keine told me yesterday that the Tengu fiercely defend their territory from outsiders, which means fewer different kinds of people pass through it, compared to the village. It’s also not as big as the village. Think about the difference between Osaka, Yokohama or Sendai compared to Tokyo. Therefore, with all things considered, it has to be here, in the village.”

“If it’s here,” Marisa said, “since there may not be a way to Mementos from here like I was sayin’.”

I looked around one more time to make sure nobody was watching us, then brandished my key. “Alright, we shouldn’t waste any more time. Are we all ready?”

“Yeah, let’s get on with it, I hate waitin’.”

“I’m always ready to fight,” Youmu declared.

“Alright then.” I cleared my throat. “Mementos.”

Nothing happened.

“...is it not here?” I wondered.

“You only said one word,” Reimu said. “Are there no other keywords?”

“Mementos doesn’t need any keywords besides its name.”

“Then why didn’t we enter before?” Marisa asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, we said ‘Mementos’ several times during our conversation. If sayin’ it actually worked, it would’ve tripped the key and sent us there already.”

...damn, she was right. I couldn’t believe how I missed that detail myself.

I hung my head low and sighed. “Well, it was worth a shot.”

“Hey, don’t get down just because it didn’t work,” Marisa encouraged. “We just gotta keep lookin’ for a way until eventually we find it.”

“But where else could we possibly look?” I said. “I already explained my logic for an entrance to Mementos being here, so if it isn’t here, then it probably doesn’t exist.”

We sat in a circle on the ground, wondering what to do next. The pressing issue of the anomaly Outside still existed, and was only getting worse as the days went by. I was getting antsy about not being able to do something about it, especially since I knew there was a chance the Phantom Thieves might not be able to solve it either, depending on their abilities and how strong the force influencing Mementos was.

I looked up, and noticed Reimu was still standing, staring off seemingly aimlessly and in deep thought.

“What is it, Reimu-san?” I asked.

She was quiet for a moment. All of us looked at her, wondering just what was going through the mind of the Shrine Maiden.

“...Ethos.”

Suddenly, my key shined, and before I was ready the distorted wave hit me, the world twisting and distorting as we passed from the physical realm to the mental one.

Once the effect died down, we looked around and noticed we were in our Metaverse outfits. Furthermore, the Village was completely devoid of people, and the air was still and without snowflakes. There was no snow on the ground, the sky was patchy clouds, and had a slight turquoise tint. There were no other figures, not even insects, besides us, and the plants seemed frozen and lifeless.

“What the hell is this place???” Marisa loudly wondered. “Are we in a Fortress?” She turned to Reimu. “You know anything about this? Did you send us here?”

“I’ve… I’ve been here before…” Reimu admitted.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“That night, after you and Marisa left the Shrine together. I was lying in bed, just kind of aimlessly thinking aloud, and after I said that word, Ethos, I got transported to the Metaverse. That’s where I met my shadow, and subsequently awakened my Persona. Yesterday, I played around with it, saying that keyword in a few different places across Gensokyo. It seems to affect the entire land.”

I looked around again. “So you mean this is a Fortress that covers Gensokyo as a whole?”

“As far as I can tell. As you can see, this place is still and lifeless. There aren’t even any shadows. But there is one place I want you all to see, the place which I think is the center of it all.”

Reimu led us out of the bushes and out past the town. Once we were out in a clearing, it was impossible to miss or ignore: a massive tower, reaching up high into the sky.

“Whoa…”

“It’s truly…”

We raced to the base of the tower as quickly as we could, only to soon encounter a problem: we arrived at the shore of a vast lake, which overrode and replaced the Misty Lake and the plains beyond it. The tower was clearly set on an island in this lake, far beyond safe swimming distance.

“What is this place?” I wondered. “Truly strange…”

“Our talk about Mementos made me think about this place, which is called ‘Ethos.’ I guess like Mementos, it’s entered by just saying its name.”

“Fascinating… if it’s just like Mementos in that regard, then maybe it serves a similar purpose, a place where the desires of Gensokyo’s residents converge. Perhaps it might even connect to Mementos. This is quite the find, Reimu. Thank you for leading us here.”

“Oh, well, my pleasure,” Reimu smiled.

Youmu walked up to the water’s edge and dipped her finger in it. “Lifeless,” she said. “There is no life in this water.” She stood back up and looked beyond. “And we can’t swim out there. It’s too far.”

“Sucks that we can’t fly, either,” Marisa complained. “How are we gonna be able to get to that place to check it out?”

“...why not a boat?” I suggested.

The three of them looked at me like I had just said something insane.

“...d’oh!” Marisa slapped her face.

“Haaah… why didn’t I think of that?” Reimu sighed.

“What? It’s obvious,” I said. “With a boat, we could float across to the tower.”

“Obvious to you, but here in Gensokyo very few people need boats,” Reimu said. “Only the fishers go out on the lake, and there are no other large bodies of water on the way to anywhere else, unless you count the Sanzu River. And many of us are used to flying everywhere, so we wouldn’t need boats even if Gensokyo were a chain of islands out in the ocean. So please forgive us if we wouldn’t immediately think ‘body of water = boat.’”

“...ah, sorry, I wasn’t thinking of that,” I bowed.

Marisa looked out at the tower with her hands on her hips. “So we’ll need to get a boat…” Then, she snapped her fingers. “I got the perfect idea. Crow, wanna meet up tomorrow in the square? I wanna take you someplace I know can get us a boat.”

“What place is that?” I asked her.

“Remember that girl Nitori who’s one of my friends? She’s one of the kappa livin’ in Genbu Ravine. She’s a gadgeteer genius, and can make all kinds of machines and crap from whatever scraps she has lyin’ around. If I call in a favor and bribe her with enough cukes tonight, she’ll have a boat for us ready by tomorrow afternoon. But, I’ll need someone to help me go pick it up, and I’m sure you’ll wanna see it before we use it.”

“Is this another date?” I smirked.

Marisa visibly seized up and seemed ready to shoot me with her gun.

“I’ll go with you too,” said Reimu. “If only so Nitori doesn’t get any ideas. We can call it incident resolving business if me and Marisa are together.”

“What about me?” Youmu asked.

“If you can somehow convince Yuyuko to let you go for an afternoon, and Goro approves, I don’t see why not.”

“Then it’s settled,” I declared, clapping my hands. “Tomorrow afternoon in the square, let’s not be late.”

“Alright, sounds good," Marisa hastily said. "… eh, how do we leave?”

I looked around, and realized it as well. Normally, to leave a Palace/Fortress one simply needed to walk far enough away from the distortion for it to fade, but if Ethos covered all of Gensokyo then that wouldn’t be possible, and we were trapped. But, there had to be a way out since Reimu had entered, and thus left, Ethos twice already.

“Oh, it’s simple really. My shadow itself explained it to me.” She took out her key and held it to her chest. “You just have to say this exact phrase: ‘The light of Dawn thrusts thine eyes open.’” Once she said those words, the distortion faded, and we returned to the real world.

Chapter Text

1/3

After a fairly uneventful evening and subsequently morning, the four of us met up in the central square, as we had agreed to do the day prior.

“Alright, so we’re all here,” Reimu said. “Marisa, did you get Nitori to start building that boat for us?”

“I went to her place right after we left Ethos yesterday with a stash of cukes,” Marisa smiled. “Of course, she asked me why I needed a boat, and I just told her I had my reasons now here’s your big green phallic vegetables you love so much build me a nice boat by tomorrow afternoon.”

Reimu rolled her eyes. “I swear, that girl can be bribed to do anything as long as you give her enough cucumbers.”

“She’s a Kappa, she can’t help it. Between that and all the crap I sold her and the other Kappa recently, I’m sure she spared no expense in building us a boat.”

“So the story of Kappa liking cucumbers so much is true…”

“It’d be like if someone dropped a bunch of meat in front of a wolf. They really love their cucumbers, it’s the only thing they like more than money.” Marisa looked at her pocket watch. “We should get goin’. Nitori’s prolly waitin’ for us. It’ll be fastest for us to fly there, but we have to be careful to avoid Tengu attention.”

“Speaking of which, there’s a new hazard for us to watch out for,” I said. “According to Marisa, there’s a Tengu reporter who may be tailing us and recording our actions.”

Reimu groaned. “Gah, I should have known Aya might do that. She’s always looking for material for her trashy paper, and I’m sure anything having to do with you would give her enough material to fill her quota for weeks. And Genbu Ravine isn’t too far from where the Tengu do their patrols, so she’s likely to be in that area. We should fly low and maybe through the Youkai Forest as well, since she won’t follow us into the trees or deep down into the gorge.” She looked at me. “You’re still pretty green at flying. Are you sure you can keep up with us?”

“I’ll do my best,” I bowed.

“Don’t keep us down,” Reimu said. “This whole thing is your idea, after all.”

“Alright, let’s go!” Marisa exclaimed. We were just about ready to set off, when time seemed to stop again and the air shimmered with a blue hue.

I looked around to find the cause, and found a peculiar sight right in front of the Dragon Statue: Lavenza next to a Velvet Room entrance.

“My master wishes to discuss an important matter with you,” she said. Confused, I followed her in.

Once we entered, I looked around, and there was no doubt it was the same Velvet Room as in my dreams and in the Metaverse. Rika stood off to one side while Igor sat in front of me, clearly anticipating me.

“I have brought our guest here, as you requested,” Lavenza bowed.

“Excellent,” Igor said emphatically. “It would seem you have come here from the physical world this time.”

I looked around again. “Why have you brought me here today?” I asked.

Igor chuckled. “We did promise to assist you in your journey, and simply want to be available whenever you need us.”

“More importantly, it would seem you have made an important discovery recently,” Lavenza noted. “A tower in the middle of Gensokyo’s Metaverse, Ethos. Even me and my master know very little about this place or how it came to be. We should be thankful for your partner, the shrine maiden and defender of Gensokyo Reimu Hakurei, for discovering it by happenstance.”

“But what could it be?” I wonder. “And does it have any connection to Mementos?”

“That is something we do not know,” Igor stated. “It will be necessary for you to explore the tower to discover its purpose.”

“What of the situation on the Outside?” I asked next. “Does it have anything to do with Mementos?”

“It is a pressing situation which we are monitoring as well,” Igor said. “But, you should have faith in Ren and the rest of your friends to handle it, since it is not possible for you to return to the Outside on your own power, and you formed a deal with him as well, lending him your power in spirit. Nevertheless, should he fail, there will no doubt be a chance for you to intervene.”

My… friends? I still wasn’t sure about that. Did I make a deal with Ren? Yes, to keep my Justice alive. But friends… how could they consider me a friend? After everything I did to them, and then tried to do? How on Earth would they accept my bond after all of that?

...maybe I was doubting what they were truly capable of. They did overcome me at the height of my power, after all. And they defeated Shido. Maybe they really could overcome this without me. After all, my power now was much less than it had been, so even if I could go there, whoever or whatever was causing this would easily kill me and the rest of my crew. So I just had to trust them. I had to put trust in the man I hated, respected, sympathized with and envied the most. This was not my problem to fix. The problem I was called to fix was right here, in Gensokyo, whose scope and implications were as of yet unknown.

“...I understand,” I nodded. “I understand fully. It’s just… I’m not used to placing trust in others.”

“Then ‘ya just gotta go out there, gather more bonds and build them up. The more ‘ya do it, the better you get until eventually you’re a pimp,” Rika smiled. “I mean, look at all the cute girls you managed to rope in so far. I bet you could do even better than that, and if you do, your own soul will get stronger, too, not to mention you’ll become, like, the biggest Chad I’ve ever met.”

I… wasn’t too sure how to take Rika’s blunt assessment.

“Now then,” Lavenza bowed, “since you are here you are free to perform any fusions and summons you wish, so you are sufficiently prepared for your next Fortress infiltration.”

“Speaking of which,” Rika brought out her Fusion Tanks again, and pointed at something on the screen. “Looks like you can fuse that Archangel with Media right here, right now!”

“How so?” I asked.

“Your Empusa’s got Media, and fusing it with the Jack Frost from before will create an Archangel with Media.”

“But… I have found Empusa to be useful…”

“You shouldn’t be afraid to ditch your current power if you want even more,” Rika said. “And besides, you can always summon ‘em later if you need ‘em back for whatever reason. Now go on, do it! Fuse ‘em, and behold the new the power your soul gave birth to!”

I shrugged and gave in to her request. I focused Jack Frost and Empusa into cards, placed them into their respective tanks, and hit the fuse button. A few moments later, an armored, winged Archangel levitated in the air before me.

“I am Archangel. In the name of God’s Glory, I shall become your mask,” it declared, before being sucked into my mask, which had appeared in front of my face.

“Excellent!” Rika excitedly clapped. “You did it! The next item on my list! Looks like you’re really getting used to fusing Personas!”

“That’s so…” I looked at my hand, and clasped it. “By the way, you mentioned there would be a reward for doing this.”

“Oh, yes, sorry about that! I didn’t mention it last time because you had to beat up Shadow Yuyuko for it to work.”

“Is that so?” I asked.

“Yeah. So… how do I demonstrate it?” She thought for a moment, before pulling out some sort of chart and pointing at a specific spot on it. “Aha! Got it! Got any Moon Personas? Try fusing one with your Makami!”

“Ah… alright.” I walked over to Lavenza and requested the one Moon Persona I had thus far, Succubus, which she summoned to me for a fee. I then performed the fusion of it and Makami. Once the fusion was done, I looked at the result: an imp-like creature on the floor, head shaped like an eggplant and its arms outstretched.

“...Is that… a Preta?” I asked.

“Yeah, so me and Lavenza discovered something weird about shadows. For some reason, you can’t fuse some of them as Personas unless you’ve defeated them in battle first. Now, Fortress Rulers, as you’ve seen, take in one of these common shadows and twist them into monstrosities. They also gain total control of all instances of that shadow when they do that. Normally, after taking out a Fortress or Palace ruler, it’ll take some time for these shadows to re-enter the Sea of Souls and let you fuse them. But I came up with a way to make ‘em immediately available by forcing them into the World Arcana designation, so you can use them right away. There’s also the nice little bonus of them acting as badges of your journey’s progress so far, since they’re tied to the World and all.” She looked at the Preta on the ground. “I mean, sure, that’s just a Preta, but I’m sure you’ll face Fortress rulers who take on stronger forms going forward. Kick their asses, then come back here and fuse ‘em to get even better in battle.”

I bowed. “I understand. Thank you for your work.”

“Don’t sweat it,” Rika smiled. “By the way, this fusion has a reward too. All of them do. I’ll work on it right now and have it ready by the time you return. Now,” she pulled out her list again, “next up is a Yuki-Onna with Dodge Fire. Fuse one or bring one here.”

“I’ll do my best,” I said as I left the Velvet Room.

Back outside, life continued as though no one had noticed I had been to the Velvet Room. Neither did my teammates, aside from Marisa, apparently.

“Hey, ‘ya done contemplatin’ over there? Let’s blow!”

“Ah, right.” I caught up with them, and we made our way to Genbu Ravine.

The trip to the ravine, or at least the way Reimu wanted to do it to avoid detection, was rather intense, and pushed my nascent flying skills further than I had up to that point. Up until now, I had only flown through open air; now, Reimu and everyone else expected me to keep up with them while weaving between trees, rocks and animals at a high speed. At first, it was rather slow going for me, and I received crap from all of them (even Youmu, who chided me like a disappointed old master) because of it. However, I soon came up with a strategy: if I treated this the same as jumping between pillars and whatnot while zipping through the Metaverse, suddenly I found myself much more capable of keeping up with them. Pretty soon, I was flying as proficient as if I had been doing it for years, dancing between branches and snags as gracefully as a crane yet as swiftly as a falcon. It reminded me of that scene in Return of the Jedi where Luke and Leia were being chased by Stormtroopers on speeder bikes. It surprised me just how quickly I had picked up flying, and just how fast and furious I was shooting through these trees. Now, the only reason I was behind Marisa (the other two had fallen behind) was because she was showing us where we were going, having been here several times.

We soon emerged from the forest and into a cliffy, steep valley, lined with trees and with a gurgling ribbon of water dotted with stones and boulders down below. Marisa guided us down almost to the river’s surface, before stopping her dive and rushing upriver. We followed in hot pursuit, the cold wind rushing down the valley blowing in our faces the entire time. It was a rush unlike any I had ever experienced, to which not even the sadistic thrill of combat could compare. It was… unnatural, reckless and dangerous. Which just made it even more awesome.

Finally, Marisa led us to a small, gravelly bank. She touched down, and instructed us to do the same. I came to a sudden stop, feeling the wind rush from behind me as the g-force hit my body like a hurricane, before slowly touching down, coming to a rest on a gravel-dirt patch.

“Goddamn,” Marisa whistled. “I thought you said you were new at flyin’!”

“I am,” I bowed.

“Bullshit! It took me at least two years practicin’ in the Forest of Magic to get that good! Guess all we needed to do was prod ‘ya!”

Youmu bowed hastily. “I… I take my words back. You truly are an amazing flyer.”

“Agreed,” Reimu nodded. “It almost scares me how good you’ve gotten so quickly.”

I smiled. I wasn’t used to genuine respect. Before, it was either false respect from the Antisocial Force for carrying out their dirty work when Shido planned to kill me in the end, or the tepid, empty cheering from the masses fawning over my false achievements. To see these experienced, professional warriors recognize my skills for what they were…

I shook my head. “We do have a mission. Let’s get it over with. I would like to visit Ethos today if possible.”

“Right.” Marisa reached into her bag and pulled out three dark-green, wispy leaves. “Here, each of you. Eat these.”

I took one and examined it. “What is this?”

“It’s Gillyweed, ‘ya dingus,” Marisa barked.

“...and…?”

Marisa sighed. “Let’s ‘ya breathe underwater, makes you swim better, also this is my own special brew that comes with an enchantment which waterproofs any clothes and other belongings on you. Eat it once, it’s good for a lifetime. You won’t reach Nitori without it.”

“I… see.” Well, no getting around it. Bottoms up, I supposed. I swallowed it whole, and chewed it for a couple seconds; the taste reminded me of cilantro, with hints of seaweed wafting up my nose. As I swallowed it, I observed Reimu and Youmu consume theirs as well.

“Alright, cool,” Marisa said with a thumbs-up. “Now, we’ll jump in here and swim over to that other cliff face. That’s where her cave is. Ya ready?”

I looked at the rushing water as well as the ice and snow which glazed its banks. “Are you serious? That water must be freezing!”

“Don’t sweat it, you’re also immune to hypothermia in water now. Now, follow me!” Marisa ran and splashed into the rushing water. I was the next one in; Reimu and Youmu were more hesitant. I stepped into the rushing river, finding significantly less force from it than one would expect from such a fast-flowing and high-volume stream.

Once underwater, I saw a different world; the river was deep and blue, the white light of the cloud-filtered sunlight glittering above us. Fish swam about, scattering whenever we approached. Milfoil and moss clung onto the rocks, and the water kicked up and scattered pebbles and sediment. As I swam, I looked at my hands, noticing webs had formed between my fingers and improving my movement and flow. I breathed as though I were breathing air. Marisa, it was clear, had done this many times before, fluttering her feet and arms like a seal, while Reimu and Youmu behind me flailed their limbs haphazardly trying to propel themselves forward.

Marisa led us to a cave entrance, which was wide and cut under the rock face; there were signs that it had been widened at some point, with obvious cut marks along the edges. Into the wall and soon upward, we emerged into an air pocket lit up by LED lights strung together with green cords. As I grasped the wall and hoisted myself up, I instinctively shook myself dry, only to realize none of my clothes or skin were wet, only my hair, and even it dried quickly as well.

“Pretty slick, huh?” Marisa smirked.

As Reimu crawled out, she huffed and puffed. “Wow… my swimming sucks. Also, no wonder you don’t need a towel when we go to the hot springs. Feels like I never got wet at all.”

“Uh-huh! Just par for the course for a magician.”

“...well, that and I thought you just like baring it all the entire time for all of us,” Reimu smirked.

“MEEP!” Marisa’s face reddened. “...I’M NOT SOME TRASHY EXHIBTIONIST! STUPID!!” I sighed and shook my head as I witnessed these two meatheads trade snarks yet again.

Youmu eventually popped out as well, her breathing labored and her figure sprawled out all over the cave floor. “Must… learn… to… swim,” she wheezed. Reimu helped her up, and after shaking her arms she seemed ready to move on.

In front of us was a large mechanical door with Nitori’s name written above it. Marisa walked up to it and knocked. “Yo, Nitori, you in there? It’s me, Marisa! I’m here for the boat."

It took a few moments to get a response, before a large mechanical eye popped out of the door and scanned all of us; once it had, it retracted back, and soon the door opened from the middle, revealing the short, blue-haired girl in baggy cargo pants with pockets stuffed full with tools and a black tank top.

“You should have told me you were bringing company,” Nitori complained. “You know I don’t like strange people coming to my door! Why do you think I make it hard for them in the first place???”

“Sorry, but there was no way in Hell I was getting that thing out on my own. Besides, ain’t it good to have company every once in a while?”

“Well, I suppose, but…” she looked at us, then focused on me specifically.

“Ah, Akechi-kun,” she smiled. “Didn’t know Marisa trusted you enough to give you Gillyweed, if you know what I mean.”

“Uh, er- that ain’t it!” Marisa shouted.

“Me and Youmu are here, too. Official incident business,” Reimu said flatly. “Just give us the boat, okay? We actually do need it, and urgently at that.”

“What for, though? You all planning to race Komachi down the Sanzu or something? I designed it to withstand its waters, after all.”

Marisa waved another cucumber in her face. “Just… boat please,” she stammered, still blushing.

Nitori stared at the green, phallic fruit like a tiger gazing at prey, her eyes shimmering and her mouth watering. Finally, she gave in. “Fine… but as long as you’re here, I may as well treat you to tea. If my trusted friend and her friends managed to make it here, I should reward you, especially you, Outsider.”

“Oh, uh, thanks,” I said.

Previously, I had been told that Gensokyo was technologically backwards, and while for the most part that seemed to be the case Marisa wasn’t kidding when she said Nitori was a technological genius. The inside of her home resembled a busy commercial garage, with bolts, screws and scraps of metal strewn about the floor, a well-worn work desk covered in blueprints, tools and spare parts, two walls of cubbies containing more tools and parts, and, most prominently, dozens of contraptions scattered throughout the cave. Nitori also proved to be one of the only computer-literate people in Gensokyo, since she had a beater CRT running what appeared to be Windows 98 and which was open to a window showing primitive, obviously self-written or modified CAD software. She didn’t have proper dining or living rooms to speak of, since she never had this many guests over at once, so instead she cleared off an unused wooden bench and provided upturned buckets to sit on while we had tea. Her storeroom contained a ceiling-high pile of cucumbers (with a wooden sign in front of it proclaiming it in English as the “CUCUMBER HORD”), all of her tea leaves (supposedly a special variety that only grew here in Genbu Ravine and was the Kappa’s favorite) and some traditional Japanese staples such as rice, fish and soup stock.

“Sorry for the mess…” Nitori bowed. “I don’t get many guests, as you can probably tell.”

Reimu looked around the place. “I can’t believe I’ve never been inside your cave until now. It’s been, what, a decade since we first met?”

“Us Kappa are reclusive, so we make our homes hard for outsiders to enter. Not even the Shrine Maiden can enter,” Nitori stated.

“But an ordinary witch with Gillyweed can,” Marisa shot back.

“Don’t forget who gave you it all in the first place,” Nitori said waving a finger.

“So this is the home of a Kappa…” Youmu mused. She went over to the computer. “What is this thing?”

“Don’t touch it! It’s running a very important operation right now!”

“Operation?” Youmu tilted her head.

“Oh, never mind, you wouldn’t get it. Just, don’t touch anything, okay? I have a lot of sensitive equipment here.” The tea kettle whistled just then. “Oh, the water’s boiling. I’ll be right back.”

As Nitori was steeping the tea for us, I looked around to try and find the boat, but couldn’t see it near us. “I wonder where she put it,” I wondered.

“Prolly in her garage in the back that way,” Marisa said pointing. “That’s where she builds all of her vehicles and bigger gadgets.”

“Where did she get all of this equipment though? Surely not all of it fell in from Outside…”

“The Kappa are much further ahead in technology than the rest of Gensokyo,” Reimu explained. “They even have things Outside doesn’t yet, like cloaking devices and jetpacks.”

“Of course, they also have a prescient for ‘enhancing’ stuff way more than they need to. I’ve seen Nitori and her friends build shit like jet-propelled rickshaws with cupholders and fridges with rocket launchers.”

“Is… that so?” I said, nervously.

“Yeah, they really like their ammo,” Marisa replied. “Shotguns, machine guns, grenade launchers, you name it. If the cold, rushing river doesn’t kill you, a bunch of lead in your skull prolly will. Could be worse, at least they shoot you before taking your life force outta your butt these days. They’re an antisocial bunch, the lot of them, and if anything Nitori’s an anomaly. As shy as she is, she still travels throughout Gensokyo, something none of the other Kappa do, and when you get her out of her shell she’s kind of a jerk. In other words, exactly the kind of person I make friends with easily.”

“How did you and her meet in the first place?” I asked.

“Well, okay, 2007. The Moriyas set up shop at the top of Youkai Mountain and try to overthrow the Hakurei Shrine, so Reimu comes and gets me and we set out to summit the peak. Along the way I got separated from her somehow and wound up here, in Genbu Ravine. Nitori shows up and warns me about the dangers of this place, and I told her I was a badass who didn’t run from anything. To prove it, I beat her in a duel, and after that I went up to the top of the mountain, but found Reimu had already beat the Moriyas singlehandedly by the time I got there.”

“You were too slow,” Reimu said smugly.

“Grr… don’t rub it in. Anyway, I drifted back down the mountain and moped for a while, and asked her if she wanted to go get drinks. One thing led to another, and we were sparring on a regular basis and hanging out, and she started callin’ me ‘trusted friend.’ Then, when we went underground to go deal with Utsuho, she, Patchy and Alice lent me their power to go down with Reimu and have some words, and it was Nitori’s power that clinched my victory after Reimu got knocked out.” She smirked at Reimu. “So you could say I got my revenge then.”

“Oh… that was a fluke,” Reimu dismissed.

“Yeah, whatever. Since then, we’ve been best buds. She even trusted me enough to give me all that Gillyweed and come down here whenever I want, and I guess all of you now too.”

“I’m part sea-creature…” Youmu said, somewhat distressed.

“Tea’s done.” Nitori came back over with a metal plate with tea cups on top. She laid them out for each of us, said a short prayer, then sat down. I took a sip, and noted the distinct flavor which had a hint of cucumber… well, of course it would, she was a Kappa.

“I have to say, I’m pleasantly surprised to meet you again, Akechi-san,” she smiled. “Thank you for your hard work the other day. You really were a help.”

“Don’t mention it,” I said.

“No really, you don’t know what it’s like to be short like me, and have to have people be tall for you.”

“Can’t you just fly though?” I asked.

“Well, flying’s very draining, you know, especially for hard tasks like fixing up that decrepit shrine,” she smiled; meanwhile I could see Reimu’s eye twitching. “And besides, isn’t it proper for a big, strong man like you to help out a lady?”

“You say that even though you can bench-press a tank,” Marisa sniped. “I bet you were just takin’ advantage of him and guilt-trippin’ him into doing stuff for you just because you can.”

“What about you, though? Weren’t you doing the same even though you can also fly?”

“Er… I was… I was too focused on my work. Yeah, that’s it.” Marisa was blushing again.

“Uh-huh, sure,” Nitori snarked as she took another sip.

I made sure to rush along the tea break as we had business to take care of. Once we were done, Nitori took us into her back work garage. When we entered it was dark; Nitori clapped her hands, causing lights to come on and reveal a large object in the center covered in a tarp. Nitori walked over to the other end, and swiftly pulled the tarp away, revealing a large, multi-seat boat, complete with oars and a raised spot for the rower to stand.

Marisa wistled. “Daaaaaaang. You built this thing in just one night?!”

“Well, it’s only a rowboat, like you requested. All I had to do was plug the dimensions into the computer and have the machines fabricate and weld it together.” She slapped the side of it. “Still, you know I had to make some modifications after the body was finished.”

“Oh? Like what?” Marisa scrutinized.

“Ohoho, I’m glad you asked. Well, for starters, like everything I make, it’s completely waterproof. No rust, no tinge, it won’t even collect algae or anything like that. I also specially reinforced it so it can take a punch from an oni, or have a landslide completely bury it, without so much as a scratch. It’s lightweight so it won’t sink, yet strong enough to cut through waves and hold up to 6,000 kilograms of passengers and cargo. The oars are specially made so you can just stand at the front and row using just one, and control the speed, direction and pitch of the boat with near-absolute precision. Speaking of speed, you can get this thing up to 60 kilometers per hour, just by rowing! You can also stop it on a dime by rowing backwards, and you can even drive it up a raging stream.” She reached toward a box on the back, revealing a kevlar rope to tie it up with, and a strange black ball on a chain. “This is my special Nitori-brand smart anchor. It’s got a supermassive matter generator inside. It’s as light as a baseball when inactive, but when powered on, it increases in mass all the way up to 16 metric tons, so you don’t have to lug a heavy conventional anchor around all the time, and especially have to pull it back up when you want to leave.”

“Sounds intense. But hey, at least you built something fully practical this time!” Marisa smiled.

“Plus,” Nitori pressed another button. “Cupholders.”

“...I take back what I said.”

I studied the boat. Even by Outside standards, it was quite well-made. It was difficult to believe it was all put together in one night by one small girl in a cave with nothing more than an obsolete computer, a few sheets of steel, chrome, molybdenum, iron and titanium and a box of scraps. Not even Mitsubishi could make something that topped this, especially if she was telling the truth about her special anchor, which was centuries beyond anything human science was capable of by the sound of it.

“I’d say you did quite a good job,” I complimented. “Something like this would put even the best ship-makers Outside to shame.”

“Aw, it’s nothing,” Nitori dismissed. “I am a water creature, you know. You really expect me to half-ass a boat??”

“I wasn’t suggesting that, I was merely praising your craftsmanship.”

“Um… thanks.” Nitori blushed; I wasn’t sure if it was because she wasn’t used to getting compliments, or if she wasn’t used to getting them from men in particular. “Still… I wonder why you all would want a boat in the first place. There ain’t much water in Gensokyo beside the river and the Misty Lake, and all of you can fly, even you, Outsider.”

“Like I said, we got reasons.” Marisa looked around. “Now, how are we gettin’ this thing outta here?”

“...heheheheh. Watch THIS!” Nitori pushed another button, and all of a sudden the floor opened up beneath the boat. She instructed us to climb in, before lowering it into the rushing current below, which carried the boat through a short cavern before throwing us back out into the greater river.

We navigated our way down the river, through rapids and around banks, rocks and spires. Nitori wasn’t exaggerating about how superb it was: it was easy to control, even with me standing at the front and directing its movement with only an oar. We scraped several rocks, but each time I inspected the damage there was none to be found. My passengers, Reimu, Marisa and Youmu, all clung on for dear life, understandably unused to white-water rafting (so was I, but since I was the one in control the effect was lessened). Finally, after several minutes we exited the ravine, and the river transitioned to a slow, wide and gentle watercourse which worked its way around the Forest of Magic.

All of them sighed in relief. “Goddamn,” Marisa said, “that was wild.”

“I’ll take the sky any day over that,” Reimu proclaimed. Youmu was silent, her hands visibly shaking in fear after all that.

Once our nerves had calmed down, and as I continued to guide the boat down the river, we took in the sights around us. Trees to our right, and on our left a large, grassy hill with flowers in the distance. On the south bank, near the edge of a flower field, a woman with green hair and a red-and-white plaid dress and a parasol walked along near the edge of a flower field. When she noticed us, she eyed us for a few seconds before continuing along. When I looked back over my shoulder, I could see Reimu and Marisa trying to avert her gaze. Looking at her again, I realized she could be that powerful youkai Keine warned me about. Since we were in the river, we were in no position to harm her flowers, and she seemed benign otherwise, so I continued to row the boat down the river.

We passed under a large, high wooden bridge linking the two banks of the river. Just beyond it was a wide expanse of water, the Misty Lake.

“Looks like we’ve made it,” I said. “Shall we go ahead and enter the Metaverse?”

“I’m ready,” said Reimu.

“Me too,” replied Marisa.

“I’m ready to fight,” affirmed Youmu.

“Alright then, let’s do it.” I pulled out my key and said the word ‘Ethos,’ causing the world to twist and turn before sending us all to that other world. Ahead of us, the mysterious tower piercing up into the heavens. Like a shinigami leading souls to the underworld, I paddled the boat across the great, otherworldly lake toward the distant tower. Exactly what awaited us there was anyone’s guess.

As soon as the boat was lowered into the water and Marisa and her group were off, I grabbed my backpack full of gear I had hidden just out of sight and jumped in after them. I was just too curious as to why they needed a boat; as I said, there wasn’t much open water here in Gensokyo, and Marisa and everyone with her, including that strange man Goro Akechi, could fly. Furthermore, Marisa kept dodging my questions when I asked her what the boat was for. Therefore, I felt the need to follow them and see for myself what they intended to do with it.

As fast as their boat was, I was even faster, being a river Kappa with a high-speed prop attached to my backpack. Under the surface of the water, I danced, flowed and strafed around the river boulders with ease, while Akechi struggled to control the boat through the rapids. Once we left the ravine, and therefore Kappa territory, I stayed hidden under the surface, dodging carp and other giant fish which inhabited the river. So far, they hadn’t done anything suspicious, but it was obvious that wherever they were going, they sure were in a hurry.

As we approached the outlet into the Misty Lake, I could see they slowed down the boat quite a bit, so I bobbed my head above the water (camouflaged, of course, so that they couldn’t see me) and listened in on their conversation.

“Looks like we’ve made it. Shall we go ahead and enter the Metaverse?”

“I’m ready.”

“Me too.”

“I’m ready to fight.”

“Alright then, let’s do it.”

...I was right. They were up to something. But, what was the ‘Metaverse’ and what was Akechi-san doing with that key… wait, huh?! What was going on?!?

Chapter Text

The lake was large, far larger even than we thought before. The water was absolutely still, stirred only by the beat of my oar and the wake of the boat on which we sat. The bright, eerie sun cast its light, like a perpetual sunset, across the glassy, lifeless surface. As we approached the tower, its sheer size became even more apparent, with a base as big as a stadium and whose top, however high up it was, obscured by a thick layer of clouds.

We marveled at its imposing size and appearance, and couldn’t help but get an ominous feeling from it, leaving us anxious as to what we would find inside.

Finally, after several minutes, we came to the base of the tower, which sat upon a small, fortified island. There was only stone and sand surrounding it; no plants or other signs of life. I looked for a good place to drop anchor, when something curious happened: a wooden dock materialized in front of us near the tower’s entrance.

“Whoa, what the heck?” Marisa exclaimed.

“Seems someone or something was expecting us,” I surmised. I decided to trust the dock, pulling up alongside it, tying the rope to one of the posts, and dropping the anchor into the water. I stowed the oars away, directed everyone off of the boat, then walked off the dock and onto the island.

Before us was the tower’s imposing entrance, which was wide and tall, bearing an inscription on the arch. Marisa recognized it as Sanskrit; it roughly translated to “Ethos.”

“So I guess we’re here,” she said, rubbing her chin.

“Still, what a strange place,” Reimu remarked. She looked up. “I can already tell this place is far, far larger than Yuyuko’s Fortress.”

“It’s like a mountain,” I said, looking up as well.

Youmu touched the side of the structure, and focused deeply. “Hmm… this tower. I can feel a number of negative emotions emanating from and flowing through it. Fear, anger, rage, sorrow, greed, vice, lust, sin. It’s like a thousand voices crying out all at once, a thousand tales of broken lives, envy and despair.”

I flipped out my knife and twirled it around my hand. “We should keep our guard up. We don’t know what will be waiting for us in there, but I’m certain there are shadows lurking around every corner.” I gathered my resolve, and stepped inside, with everyone else following closely behind.

We entered into a cavernous lobby, which looked like the inside of an over-the-top Buddhist temple, complete with decorative support columns and golden busts. Above us, a mural, painted in an old, traditional subcontinent style, depicted a battle between soldiers and demons, which were directed by generals with elephant heads. There were pictures of holy beings with multiple arms, some empty and others holding rings, goblets, gems and weapons. A spiraling staircase in the middle led up into the ceiling; adjacent to it but invisible to everyone except me was a telltale blue door with Lavenza standing by it.

“What is this mural?” Reimu wondered.

Marisa pointed out each of the elephants depicted in the mural. “Vetala,” she said. “And that one’s Nalagiri. The big one in the middle with a dude on its back, that’s gotta be Mara ridin’ Girimehkala into battle.”

“These are all Buddhist figures, then,” I said.

“Right. The question is, what do they all mean? Why is this place themed around Buddhism?”

“I’m sure the answer will become apparent as we ascend the tower. Let’s head up that staircase and see what lies ahead.” We all nodded in agreement, ascending the staircase up onto the first floor.

As we emerged onto the floor, we discovered a haphazard maze of halls, tinted in a dull purple hue but still with the Buddhist temple aesthetic, and lined with lit torches. The setup of it all reminded me of Mementos, which furthered my suspicion that the two were connected somehow. We began scouring the floor, and it wasn’t long before we came across a dark, humanoid figure with a bird-like mask. Attacking it caused it to turn into four Slimes, which were easily dispatched. There were shadows here, and there were lots of them. And, I realized, because of that this place would serve as an excellent location to train and hone our skills for when we took on other Fortresses. So I encouraged everyone to attack any that we found.

We ascended to another floor, and right off the bat found a treasure chest. Marisa eagerly pried it open and revealed… extremely dirty armor which would need to be washed later. We groaned, but understood we had to take what we got from these chests. We also found artifacts scattered throughout containing metals, gems and other items which we could pawn off for cash or craft into tools. Ethos, it seemed, was chock-full of loot and easy enemies to deaden our fists against; I also took the opportunity to gather a few as eventual fusion fodder.

At one point, we came across a floor which was dense with treasure and with few shadows guarding it all. Immediately I grew suspicious, and sensed some sort of trap. Marisa, meanwhile, went around cracking open each and every chest she could reach, busting the locks off and pocketing whatever loot was stashed inside them, including cards (doubtlessly Skill Cards), weapons and consumables.

“Nyeheheheh, look at all this treasure!” she cackled with glee. "We’re gonna make soooo much bank when we’re through with this!” Reimu and Youmu too, it seemed, got caught up in helping hoard all the floor’s treasure and robbing the shadows for cash. Meanwhile, I kept an eye and an ear out for any signs of trouble, either a deadly trap or a very powerful shadow waiting to ambush us.

That’s when I heard them. The chains.

In an instant, my eyes widened, and I could feel the blood in my face running cold.

“We need to get out of here, now,” I urged forcefully.

“Why?” Marisa asked. “There’s still so much treasure-”

“I don’t care, we need to fucking go!!!” I grabbed her arm and frantically started running down the halls trying to find the stairs up to the next floor. Soon, we found them. With no time to explain, I yelled at everyone to run up them as fast as they could. I needed to get them to safety, since I took responsibility for all of them as their leader. Normally, I wasn’t inclined to selflessly help people like this. But this threat was so terrifying, it short-circuited my normal way of thinking in such a way that it caused me to become irrationally and utterly panicked,  so much so that I felt compelled to keep these ladies from seeing it. Once Reimu was up, I made a mad dash up the stairs. I looked over my shoulder, and caught a glimpse of a red aura, part of a tattered, blood-stained black robe and the tip of an oversized revolver peeking around the corner. That just made me scramble up the steps even faster, and almost caused me to brown my pants.

Once we were safely on the next floor and had caught our breath, Marisa was the first to ask, “what the hell was that about? What was so scary ‘ya rushed us outta there?”

“I’m curious as well,” Youmu said. “Whatever it was, it managed to completely frighten you, of all people.”

“Yeah, the way you acted was completely unlike you,” Reimu remarked.

I regained my composure, fixed my tie, looked back over my shoulder just in case, then looked them in the eyes. “That shadow we just escaped…” I was still shaking, and had palpable fear in my voice.

“That shadow?”

“It is an extremely powerful one. It’s called… The Reaper.”

All three of the girls’ irises shrunk.

“...yeeeaaaahhh, that doesn’t sound like somethin’ I wanna fuck with,” Marisa winced.

“The Reaper? As in, the Grim Reaper?” Youmu asked.

“Possibly. If nothing else, it lives up to its name if it manages to catch you. Instead of scythes, it uses two oversized revolvers to shoot you to death, has some of the deadliest magic any shadow can use, is extremely tough, and is almost impossible to defeat. If we hear those chains, we need to book it. No asking questions, no finishing what you were doing, just. Fucking. Get. Out. Of. There.”

At that moment all three of them started nervously inspecting the floor we had landed on. Unlike the previous floors, it was wide open, decorated with various statues and idols, had what looked like benches for us to sit on arranged in a circle around a symbol on the floor, and, I could sense, a weakness in cognition allowing us to warp back to the entrance, and possibly keeping us safe here too.

“Uh… is that thing gonna follow us all around this place and try to rape us then?” Marisa asked nervously.

“Most likely, unfortunately,” I nodded. “It also stalked Mementos. I had a feeling, from the moment we entered, that it might also be here as well. The Phantom Thieves explained it to me before taking me in for the first time: it appears if you stay on one floor for too long. Furthermore, Mementos had floors with anomalies as well, such as complete darkness, few or no enemies at all, and most importantly, more treasure than normal. That’s why I got very nervous on the floor below us: the Reaper is more likely to appear on floors like that.”

“Well, that’s… shit,” Reimu grunted. “Looks like we’ll have to be very, very careful exploring this place. Might be different if I had my sealing powers, but without them, if it’s as dangerous as you say it is…”

“We just have to move quickly between floors,” I said. “It doesn’t seem to chase us up or down stairs, either here or in Mementos. As long as we keep moving, we’ll be in the clear.” I looked around the room again. “In any case, this room seems to be free of hazards. Why don’t we take a short break and discuss our next moves?”

Our main goal today was to establish the nature of Ethos, including why it existed, how it acted as we made our way through the floors, and most importantly, if it had any connection to Mementos, which could help us establish what exactly was going on Outside. Even though those in the Velvet Room told me to have faith in the Phantom Thieves, I still couldn’t help but at least try to discover the nature of the anomaly even if there was nothing I could do to fix it. And even if we couldn’t find any link, Ethos itself was highly suspicious, being a distortion that covered the whole of Gensokyo and in many ways was reminiscent not only of Mementos, but also bore similarities to depictions of Tartarus, both from documents confiscated in top-secret government raids on the Kijiro Group’s offices which the SIU director somehow obtained and allowed me to review, as well as testimony from the Shadow Operatives. With this in mind, I resolved to center our group’s operations around this place and discover what secrets it held, especially on its upper floors. For today, though, we decided it was getting late, and that it would be best to resume our investigation another day. The same warp trick I was used to using worked here too, so we went back, satisfied that we now had a forward starting point for when we returned.

Once we arrived back at the lobby, however, we soon found ourselves getting into trouble yet again.

“Shadows? Here in the entrance hall? And they’re grouped around something…” We ran up to see what it was, and discovered a very familiar figure - one which had apparently followed us all the way here, and was now on the floor, swinging a knife around trying to keep the shadows away.

“...Nitori?” Marisa’s eyes widened. Immediately, she switched out her claws, summoned her Persona, and dove right in, kicking and slashing at the shadows to get them away from the small Kappa girl. Once the shadows were clear, she helped Nitori off of the floor. She was breathing heavily, and I could tell she was weak from her wobbling legs.

“What the Hell are ‘ya doin’?!?” Marisa shouted. “You gotta get outta here! This place is dangerous!”

Nitori lifted her head up and looked at all of us. “...Marisa? And you are… Akechi-san? And… Reimu? Youmu?” She steadied herself and pushed herself off of Marisa. “What is this place? And… what’s with those costumes?”

“There’s no time to explain,” I said. “If we hadn’t come down just now, those shadows would have killed you right there. And there are more infesting this place. You must leave right now.”

“I…” Nitori stepped forward, but it took a lot of hesitation and effort for her to do so. “I followed you all out of my home to see what you were doing with that boat. But… this place is…”

I facepalmed and sighed. I should have expected Nitori would want to see what we needed a boat for. We should have waited a day or so before actually coming here. Now, she had found out our secret, and she was in grave danger too.

I looked at the others. “We have to get her out of here, quickly.”

“Agreed.” Marisa and Youmu rushed over to lift Nitori by her arms and rush her out toward the exit, while me and Reimu followed close behind.

“HALT!”

Suddenly, a tall, armored and imposing figure with a staff dropped out of the air and blocked the exit. Spinning and twirling its staff around its body with both arms before pointing it at us, we stood back and saw it was a warrior with the head of a white ox, the wispy cloud of darkness around its feet indicating it was a shadow. A very powerful-looking shadow.

“You are all trespassing this most sacred tower of Ethos! By my honor, I, Godly General Vajra, cannot allow you to leave with your lives!”

“Vajra?” I wondered.

Marisa cut in again, “one of the twelve godly generals who serve Yakushi-Nyorai, who all possess an aspect of one of the animals on the Chinese Calendar; in this case, he’s the Ox. It’s also the name of the legendary weapon he’s carrying there. It’s said to be the strongest weapon in the universe.”

I took out my knife. “We don’t have time to waste. Let’s take care of this quickly and get out of here.”

The shadow raised its staff. “Foolish of you to assume I stand here alone. Have at them!” Suddenly, a number of shadows spawned in, running the gamut from Archangels to Onis to one Decarabia and one Forneus. We were surrounded, and the shadows had the upper hand. And we still had Nitori with us to protect.

“Shit.” I gritted my teeth. “...we have no other choice. Go all-out!” Me, Reimu and Youmu engaged the shadows head-on while Marisa protected Nitori and attempted to keep us healthy while fending off any shadows that tried to get near. It was tough, and they just kept coming at us, bashing us and blasting magic, and sometimes managing to knock one of us down. It seemed like for each one we killed, two more took its place. The Vajra shadow seemed like it could summon an endless number of these soldiers. Eventually, Marisa ran out of magic, meaning we no longer had a source of healing. We're in serious trouble now, I thought. There was still no end to the shadows, and it started to seem we really did have no chance of making it out of this one.

Finally, the Vajra shadow dismissed its minions and made its move, striking us all quickly with its weapon, in particular hitting me in the chest, and knocking us all down to the floor. The strike also knocked Nitori away from Marisa, sending her sliding across the floor toward the spiral staircase. It strutted up to us and held its weapon down at me.

“I am a Godly General responsible for the commandeering of legions of soldiers! Now, I have bested you intruders, and shall punish you for your incursion!”

“Goddammit… we were too reckless…” I grunted.

“I’m… I’m sorry, Yuyuko-sama. I… failed… you…”

“We’re not gonna die here like this!” Marisa definitely hissed. She looked through a shadow’s legs over to Nitori. “Hey, Nitori! Got a weapon or somethin’ to fry this idiot?!"

Nitori struggled to get herself off of the floor. She looked up, coughed, and ultimately pressed a button on her backpack, causing a set of mechanical arms to pop out and help hoist her back onto her feet. Weakly, she staggered forward and clenched her fist, her body covered in cuts and bruises and her face stained by a trickle of blood.

“You… hah… you…”

“Ah. The girl this blonde one was shielding,” the shadow declared. “You are weak. There is nought much you can do to save her. After I kill these intruders, so shall I slay you."

Nitori stared at the shadow, her figure getting weaker by the second and which struggled to stay up, even with the aid of her mechanical backpack.

“Dammit… I can’t let you-” Marisa tried to get up, only for the Vajra shadow to step on her back to keep her down.

“Are you so cowardly and weakened that you dare not save your friend? Disgraceful! I shall grant you a swift death, and your soul shall pass on weighed down by the sin of failing to avenge her!”

But Marisa still stubbornly refused to be defeated.

She turned her head over to Nitori. “Don’t listen to this guy’s bullshit!” Marisa pleaded. “You’re the reason we’re in this mess to begin with! Stand up to him! I’m your trusted friend! Trusted friends have each other’s backs! Trusted friends save each other when they get into shitty situations like this!!”

“Trusted… friends…” Nitori weakly muttered.

I felt weak. And I felt myself getting weaker by the moment, like some force was sapping all of my vitality out of me. Of course, I had just gotten the shit beat out of me by these… shadows, they said? What on Earth? What was this place they had led me to?

I guess that didn’t matter right now. Because I interfered, because I followed them here and allowed myself to be attacked by them, because I held them down, not only was I going to die, but so was Marisa, my friend, as well as the Hakurei Shrine Maiden, Reimu, as well as Youmu and Goro. I didn’t come armed for a fight, I had no Spell Cards, I couldn’t use magic for whatever reason, and when I tried to punch them it was like trying to knock down a tree with a fish.

I could feel it: I had to be dying. I felt helpless to do anything to save them, to save myself. I felt useless. There was nothing I could do. Nothing except wait for death, and bring all of these people with me. All because my curiosity got the better of me. Maybe I really should have just stayed in that cave and never talked to anyone like all the other Kappa.

Then, suddenly, the world grew dark. Like I had blacked out, but I could still see myself. Was this... death? Was this what it looked like...?

“You’re pathetic,” came a sharp voice.

“Wha, HUH?” I spun around, and found myself talking to… me? No, that couldn’t be right. A double? What was a double of me doing here?

“What a useless and spineless friend you are,” she harshly scolded me. “Giving up at the moment the friend who got you out of that cave and her friends in turn all need you the most? Especially since you yourself got you all into this mess in the first place. Perhaps all that time spent holed up in that damp place with your toys turned you into such a racist, lying, cheating sack of shit who’s utterly incapable and unwilling to help anyone, and this is your comeuppance?”

I hung my head down low. She wasn’t far from the truth: I was prone to being racist, egotistical, and arrogant, boasting my superior technology and power to everyone else, dissing on religion and telling everyone they were putting all their trust into and letting all their decisions be made by beings which had no power and in fact didn’t exist. I even tried to disprove the existence of gods to the gods themselves. Now, I was being shown my place for all that, and me and my friend were both fated to die. All because I was useless. I started to cry. Cry, and curse myself for being such a wretched person who couldn’t help anyone, not even myself.

“Hmph. So you’re just going to give in and admit defeat in the face of your demise, because you can’t help but feel so sorry and powerless at the end of the selfish life you lived. You were a horrible person who didn’t care about anyone or anything but your contraptions. And yet, you were still willing to become a friend to that magician, even giving her the strength she needed to save Gensokyo from a fiery fate, when the Shrine Maiden had failed. In return, she showed you a life beyond the confines of Genbu Ravine. Friends help friends in times of need, especially now, where death awaits her. Tell me: are you willing to admit the mistakes you made, own up to your faults, and work to eradicate the hate and prejudice in this land which you have unwittingly helped to spread?”

“...what do you mean?” I asked.

“Let me rephrase that. You made friends with that magician, and now here you find yourself, her and others at the brink of death. Was your decision to befriend her a mistake?”

I shook my head. “O-of course not! Marisa-san is my best friend! She may be loud, and rude, and unladylike sometimes, but I wouldn’t trade the world for her! She…” I paused, thinking about the mess all of us were in right now.

I clenched my fist, and my teeth. In this situation, I was the only one with the power to turn it around. Even though I lacked power…

...no. I HAD to get power. Lots of power. I needed the power to save them, to kick that thing's ass, and show everyone that the Kappa were a force to be respected and feared. That we couldn’t just be kept in our caves, that we could work together, and with others. That we could overcome preconceptions, hate and bigotry to band together and wield the strongest powers there were: friendship and teamwork. One person cannot do anything, but many people working together can move words. All of a sudden, I felt an overwhelming urge to break through my past bullshit, save the day now, and change the world eventually.

I stamped my foot. “I understand now. I do admit I made mistakes in the past. Lots and lots of mistakes. How I was a racist asshole, tried to scam many humans and youkai out of their money and helped other Kappa do the same… I admit all that, and now I’m declaring that I will resolve to make amends and do what it takes to forge strong bonds and be the friend others deserve, so that I may deserve them. Now then, help me help them.”

The other me - my shadow - smirked devilishly, and the pupils of her piercing yellow eyes turned into slits.

“Hmhmhm, I see your resolve,” she hissed, her voice now having a distinct serpentine lisp and her tongue having turned into a snake’s. “A slave to your own creations as you are, you wish to use your skills and hard work to help others? If that is the case, if you wish to be the forbidden fruit which guides the blind idiots out of the utopian prison in which the forces that be sequester them, then so be it. If you resolve to help them, help yourself, then I, the other you, shall become your power.”

She turned into light, and then that light broke up into smaller pieces which converged on my face until it formed a pair of goggles over my eyes, after which I doubled over in pain. The pain… it was indescribable, like every inch of my body was being torn apart while a throbbing pain assaulted my head. I put my hands on my head as I grunted and struggled to keep from screaming in agony.

“Let’s strike a deal, shall we?” the snake-like voice, now in my head, continued. “I am thou, thou art I. The path to true enlightenment sees those who slither in the dark leading the blind away from the evil calling themselves the light. Be their power, their commanding force, the glue which holds this legion of heroes together and empowers them to rock the heavens!”

I gripped the goggles on my face, clenched my teeth together, and ripped them away from my face. It was a sharp, sheer pain, one which caused me to absolutely shriek as blood stained my face and blue flames and wind erupted all around me.

Just when our fates appeared to have been sealed, the air around Nitori exploded into blue flames and wind, knocking the shadows away and disintegrating them, and causing us to reel back. Even the Vajra shadow was forced to avert its eyes. Once we were able to look back, we were amazed at what we saw:

Floating above the floor was Nitori, now clad in a scientist’s outfit complete with a white lab coat, brown shoes, slacks and a striped shirt. Power seemed to emanate from her back; no doubt it was her newly-awakened Persona.

Nitori looked up, and briefly checked herself out, wondering why she was dressed like this now. Then, something came from her back: the head and body of a robotic snake with red eyes. Then, three more just like it appeared from behind her as well, staring at her, and her staring at each of them. She reached out a hand, and one of the snakes butted it with its snout.

“This power…” Nitori chuckled. “I see. So, this, this is MY power!” She faced the Vajra shadow, and each of the four snakes glared at it as well. Pointing at our opponent, she declared, “I’m sorry, but I’m afraid I can’t let you kill my friends. I will stand up for them, because they stand up for me. That’s just what friends do!” She then pulled out a PDA, and after fiddling with it unleashed a wave of energy which instantly revitalized all four of us. Now back in fighting health, we jumped back up on our feet and dared the shadow once again.

“Whoa… holy shit, that was awesome!” Marisa exclaimed. “Ya seein’ this?! Ya seein’ this power she’s givin’ us?!? We’re invincible now!!”

“Hmph,” it grunted, getting back into a fighting stance. “Let’s see what you’re truly capable of!”

“Challenge accepted,” Nitori smirked. She pressed another button, granting us all a significant speed boost. “Go, attack!”

“Roger that,” I affirmed, as we charged the shadow again. Me, Marisa and Reimu dogpiled debuffs on it, causing its strength to slip away and its movements to slow, which combined with our own hastened reflexes meant that it couldn’t get any hits in with its weapon. Nitori pumped us with another buff, this time boosting our attack power, and we continued to ravage it even more, tearing off portions of armor and breaking the end off of one of its horns.

The shadow eventually managed to escape our assault, spun its staff around again and pointed it at us. “Tch… to think that girl would provide you all so much power! Perhaps it’s time to strike at her directly!” Charging up and glaring at her like the frenzied bull it was, it let out a battle cry as it rushed toward her. But Nitori wasn’t afraid; in fact, she promptly commanded “there! Strike that hole in its chest armor! It’s weak there!” So I whipped out my gun, backflipped in front of her, aimed at the shadow, and fired a shot which hit it directly in that weak spot, causing it to cry out in pain, stagger back and eventually fall to the ground, which also caused its weapon to shatter into useless shards.

Once it was down, we wasted no time surrounding it and aiming our firearms at its head. Nitori too joined in, revealing two arms which came out of her jetpack (actually her Persona) with gatling guns attached to them. I spat on the shadow. “Well well well,” I said coldly, “seems the tables have turned.”

“Geh…” the shadow struggled to get itself back up into a pained kneeling position. “So… this is where I, Godly General Vajra, will meet my end…”

“We’ve got him on the ropes,” Reimu said. “What should we do? He almost managed to kill us, so I think it would be fitting to exterminate it while he’s weak.”

“I concur,” I said. “Starburst?”

Marisa smiled sadistically, flipping out her claws like Freddy Kruger. “Let’s do it.”

I turned to Youmu. “And you?”

Youmu held her sword to the shadow’s neck. “On your command.”

I turned to Nitori lastly. “How about you? We don’t act without a unanimous decision, after all.”

Nitori was focused on her PDA, and after a few moments she looked up. “Hold on, I just found something weird about it,” she said. “I wanna try something before we croak it.”

“Do what you need to,” I replied.

“Arlight, then.” She adjusted her hat. “Watch this! Nitori’s Super Forbidden Fruit Wave!” Each of her four snakes opened their mouths, releasing streams of energy which converged into one green, data-like ball, growing in size before she commanded one of them to slam into it, causing it to explode and send a powerful green shockwave of ones and zeroes in all directions. When it struck the shadow, it reacted with its body, causing it to pulse green and black before bursting into lights, forcing us to step back and cover our eyes. When we looked back, the shadow was still there. We observed it for several moments, watching it get back on its feet, look around, then look at itself.

“...where am I?” It asked. “What… this place…” It shuffled around, looking up at the ceiling. “I remember now… this place, I was drawn to it from the Sea of Souls, and was enslaved and brainwashed by its miasma, a mindless puppet through which it channeled its distorted will.”

“...huh?” Marisa wondered.

“Does it mean…” I looked around again. Did this place have a ruler? If so, who was its ruler? What distorted desires was causing it to stand?

I looked at the shadow again. “I remember you called yourself the Godly General, Vajra?”

“I am. I… think I am? Am… I? I…” It looked at itself again. “I… am a consciousness from the Sea of Souls. I took the form of this deity, but… I am not actually that deity? Then what… am… I…?”

It was clear the shadow was having an existential crisis, but this was much different than when other shadows were told their identities. Those shadows, once they remembered their real names, were freed from the Fortress’ spell. But whatever Nitori did to this shadow was causing it to behave differently. Clearly, “Godly General Vajra” was not its true identity, even if it bore the figure’s appearance and mannerisms. What it failed to do was help it remember its real name, if indeed it had one. It was like its freedom from the Fortress’ control was incomplete, severed from its spell but unable to remember its name, even if it could remember the events leading up to its enslavement. I had never seen anything quite like it in my years of exploring the Metaverse, and was unsure what to do right now.

“I…” it looked at the stairs. “I need to leave this place at once.” It reached into its armor and pulled out a shining pearl gem which I immediately recognized as an extremely rare, extremely potent Soma, and placed it on the floor. “I must have caused you much trouble. This is my way of saying thanks for freeing me from the tower’s spell.” It then walked outside, jumped into the lake and began swimming across.

We stood there for a moment, still not quite sure what had transpired. All of a sudden, Nitori’s PDA went off, causing a satellite dish to emerge from her Persona and start spinning around. “Hm? What’s this?! These readings… they’re off the charts! They’re coming from the floor above us!”

“The shadows must be getting restless,” I realized.

“What do we do??” Reimu asked.

“We need to leave at once," I urged. “We almost died to that shadow’s hands, and-”

The fucking chains rattled again, and I saw the Reaper begin to float down the stairs.

“-we definitely will if that son of a bitch catches up to us!!! RUN FOR IT!!!”

All of us rushed out the door and dared not look back at the Black Death chasing after us. Piling into the boat, I hastily undid the cord, lifted anchor and rowed as fast as I could away from that place. Thankfully, the Reaper did not seem interested in leaving the tower and chasing us across the water. I still did not dare slow down until we were safely onshore, beached the boat and I said the words “The light of Dawn thrusts thine eyes open.”

“Hah… hah… that sucked,” Marisa panted.

“I agree,” I said. I looked over to everyone else. “You all okay?”

“Yeah, I am,” Youmu said.

“I think so,” Reimu answered. She looked down at Nitori. “Can’t say the same for this one, though.” Nitori was curled up on the ground, sleeping soundly.

“Her awakening must have taken a lot out of her,” I said.

“Yeah, seems like it… serves to reinforce my theory,” Marisa answered.

I looked at her. “What theory, I asked?”

Marisa shook her head. “I can tell ‘ya later. For now, we should all just head home. We gotta cool down after almost gettin’ killed back there.”

I thought about how Marisa wasn’t able to heal after running out of magic. Had it not been for Nitori’s intervention, we would most likely have been killed.

“We were reckless,” I stated. “We’ve been reckless. We haven’t been preparing for our Fortress infiltrations as well as we should be.”

“What do you mean?” Reimu asked.

“If we want to avoid a repeat of that incident back there, we need more ways to keep ourselves healthy and ready to fight at all times. We’re going to need medicine, weapons and armor. We’ve already obtained a big advantage though: a navigator.”

“A… navigator?” Youmu asked.

“Up to this point, I’ve been guiding you all based solely on my rote memory of aspects of the Metaverse I learned when I was working with the Phantom Thieves. As you can probably tell, it has limits, especially since these Fortresses are different from the Palaces I learned to use my skills in. But Nitori’s skills are much different from the rest of ours.”

“How so?” Reimu asked next.

“Different Persona users have different abilities based on their character, personality and even their motivations. Our Personas, for example, can be used to fight enemies directly, and I also have the Wild Card power. Just occasionally, however, someone will manifest a Persona which possesses much different properties than a purely offensive one. They can’t directly attack, but are instead gifted with the power to analyze a Fortress location, uncover hidden treasure, find traps, scan enemies, support teammates by providing them healing and power and even cripple opponents. We call these Persona-users ‘Navigators.’ The Phantom Thieves had one in their ranks. And now it seems we’ve got one of our own.”

“So… are you suggesting that she join us?” Marisa wondered.

“She saved us all, plus she already knows our secret. Wouldn’t you agree having her as an ally would be in our best interests?”

“Well…” Marisa knelt down to Nitori. “...I think she should be allowed to have a say.” She got on her broom and loaded Nitori behind her. “I’ll take her back to my place tonight so she can recover. Should we meet back up tomorrow or something?”

“Yes, let’s regroup tomorrow and discuss our next steps,” I replied. “We still need to investigate Ethos’ secrets, but we need to heavily refine how we conduct our infiltrations.”

Reimu looked over to Marisa and Nitori. “It would be troublesome for Marisa to have to carry Nitori all the say to the Shrine, so… if it’s alright with you, can we all meet up at your place?”

“Fine by me,” Marisa shrugged.

“Then it’s settled. We’ll meet up at Marisa’s tomorrow. Youmu, I can show you how to get there, and we’ll come and get you too, Goro.”

“That sounds like a great plan.” It was getting dark, the last lights of the sun fading over the horizon, so I made my way back home post-haste.

Chapter Text

1/4

The next morning, after breakfast, I was busy sweeping and rearranging the store as usual. The snow outside picked up compared to yesterday, and it was difficult to imagine anyone wanting to brave the cold and the flakes pelting their skin, melting into frigid water which exacerbated the effects of the cold air’s bite. 

And yet today, one girl with a cone hat and a large wooden crate on her back braved the harsh weather to come to this place. The wind blew in through the door as the bell rang, the girl taking her snow-dusted outer jacket off and hanging it up as she entered.

“Good morning, Reisen,” Masato bowed.

“Good morning,” Reisen bowed back. She set the crate down on a desk and shuffled through it looking for the drugs Masato had requested. Again, I found it difficult to make eye contact with her. There was just… something about her blood-red eyes that unsettled me, almost on a supernatural level, like they were primed and ready to hack apart my soul at any moment. And yet, Reisen herself did not seem like a bad person, and Masato greatly appreciated her presence because she brought him his medicine which kept his pain under control.

Medicine… perhaps I could try asking her…

I got up from my current task and approached her. “Hello there, Reisen-san,” I waved.

“Ah!” Reisen jolted and raised her hands up slightly. “Sorry, I was focused on sorting my medicine, I didn’t notice you coming up to me!”

“My apologies,” I bowed. “I merely wanted to speak to you, that’s all.”

“Er, uh, why?”

Masato chuckled. “He does work and live here, after all, so of course he would want to talk to visitors. Besides,” he winked, “a cute girl like you? Of course a young man wouldn’t ignore you.”

“Eh?” Reisen blushed up as I stood there and groaned.

“That’s… not it at all,” I said flatly. “I merely want to get to know her as an acquaintance.”

“Is that so?” Masato asked with a grin. He handed Reisen some money for the medicine.

“It is so,” I replied.

Masato’s shoulders slumped and he frowned. “Oh, alright, fine. I apologize.” He sorted through the medicine Reisen gave him. “Still, this is rather out of the blue, you wanting to get to know her.”

“I’m merely trying to make as many connections as I can. I don’t have any here otherwise.”

“But… why me?” Reisen asked. “I’m… not particularly interesting or anything, I’m just a medicine peddler…”

“You come and go from this place from time to time, don’t you?” I asked her. “Would it not be good if we at least came to know each other?”

“But… you’re a guy, and…”

“Men and women can be friends without being lovers,” I countered.

“Oh, I, uh, well, I guess so…”

“Why don’t you go with her for a little while?” Masato suggested. “You’re ahead on your work hours, so you can afford it.”

“Uh, I still have a couple other stops to make…” Reisen said hesitantly.

“He can wait outside,” Masato smiled. “Come on, it would be good for you to make new friends as well, Reisen. Akechi-san here is a pleasant person, I think you two would get along well.”

“Oh, alright…” Reisen still wasn’t too sure about me coming along with her. I wasn’t, either, mostly because of her stranger red eyes making prolonged eye contact impossible for me. Still, she sold medicine, and if what Masato claimed about the medicines they made at “Eientei” was true, they would come very much in handy in the Metaverse, so I had to forge a relationship with at least her if I wanted a shot at their best medicines.

In the end, I decided to go with her after finishing up a couple other tasks, putting on my boots and my heavy jacket before heading out behind her. The snow outside was flurrying, and few other people were outside. As promised, I stayed out of sight while Reisen made her last few deliveries, including the Heida House where she left behind a rather hefty amount of medicine intended for Akyuu. Afterward, I invited her to go for a drink, but she insisted that she didn’t like Human Village places. I told her I was capable of flying, even demonstrating for her after she didn’t believe me at first but was impressed at how proficient I was. She revealed she could fly as well, and promised to lead me back to Eientei itself, where they had shelter, tea and food.

To get to the place, we traveled through the Bamboo Forest of the Lost, the same forest where Mokou, the woman who found me, lived, and we passed by her house as well. I felt an odd sense of “homecoming” passing by it, since her home was my conscious starting point in my life here. The forest itself, as we ventured deeper inside, lived up to its name: it was an endless maze of bamboo shoots the size of trees, and it was easy to get turned around; if not for Reisen guiding me, I wouldn’t have thought I was heading anywhere at all.

Finally, after what felt like a long time weaving between bamboo plants, a large, brown object came into view through the gaps. As we approached it, it soon revealed itself to be a sprawling wooden mansion, by far the largest single non-Fortress structure I had seen in Gensokyo so far. This was Eientei, the mysterious home of Reisen and her master, a genius doctor who made all the medicines which Reisen sold, and who in turn bought ingredients from Marisa to use. Simply being near it gave an otherworldly, old-world feel, as though time itself forgot it existed. It also seemed unusually pristine for such an old wooden structure, with not even mildew sullying its outer walls or moss collecting on the edge of its roof.

Once we reached the front entrance, we came across two guards standing on either side, each armed with a modern-looking pistol and a sword, as well as large, stained wooden mallets affixed to their backs. Their oddest feature, however, was what was on their heads…

“Welcome back, Reisen,” one of them said. She tilted her head. “Did you bring a lost Villager with you?”

“Actually, I picked him up during my medicine rounds,” Reisen replied. “He said he wanted to come to this place.”

I pointed at the guard, who had blue hair and red eyes similar to Reisen’s own, which also created a sense of unease in me. “Excuse me, but are those…” I reached out to touch one of them out of curiosity.

“I’d prefer if you didn’t,” she said, twitching her bunny ear back. “Yes, they’re real. This is a house of rabbits,” after all.”

“Rabbits?” I asked.

“I’ll explain inside,” Reisen told me. “It’s cold out here.”

“...ah, right.” The guards let us through the door, into a small room where we could hang up our gear before entering the mansion. There, Reisen took off her hat, causing two bunny-like ears to unfold and stand up straight. Removing her heavy outer robes revealed her outfit, a white jacket with a red tie and a short purple skirt. When she turned away from me, a small, cotton ball-like tail stuck out of her back.

I… wasn’t sure if Masato slipped some of his drugs into my tea before I left. I’ve been to the Metaverse, I’ve been to the Netherworld, I’ve been to Ethos. But somehow, seeing a bunny girl was just a tad too much for me to comprehend right now.

“Phew. That thing was getting hot. I can finally breathe again,” she said.

I stood there, my face blank as I tried to understand what was going on.

“Oh, surprised?” she smiled, twitching her ear. “Don’t worry, most people are when they see me without all that gear the first time.”

“...are you a rabbit?” I asked awkwardly.

“Yeah. I’m a rabbit. A Moon Rabbit, specifically, although I’m more of an Earth Rabbit anymore these days.”

“There’s a difference?”

“Huge difference. But not like you’d care right now, I’m sure,” she joked. “I’m Reisen Udongein Inaba, but you can just call me Reisen. Welcome to Eientei, Goro Akechi. I can lead you to my master, and then I’ll get some tea going for us.”

“Um, sure…”

The mansion, Eientei, consisted of long hallways with a number of rooms, most of which were servant’s quarters. The servants in question were other bunny girls, each of them shorter than us and whose round, floppy ears, Reisen explained, identified them as Earth Rabbits, compared to her, Seiran and Ringo (the names of the two guards), who were Moon Rabbits. There were also a large number of animal rabbits which followed the human-looking ones. Each of them, understandably, took an interest in me, a strange man who towered over all of them, and the way in which they all stared at me was, for lack of a better term, creepy, especially the eyes glinting red from dark crevasses. Now I was wondering how far down the rabbit hole I’d gone, both figuratively and literally.

Eventually, we arrived at a room resembling a doctor’s office. Sitting at the desk was a woman, with long, white-grey hair in a large braid dressed in a distinctive red-and-dark blue checkered dress wearing glasses who was busy with some documents. She was older-looking, but had no wrinkles, and conveyed a very professional, very mature air.

She glanced up at us from her work. “Welcome back, Reisen,” she said. She got up, clasped her hands and bowed. “And you’ve brought a guest. Welcome to Eientei. I am Eirin Yagokoro.”

“And I am Goro Akechi,” I bowed back. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“He… Mr. Kirisame brought him into his house recently. Apparently he fell through the Barrier from Outside, and Mr. Kirisame is giving him work. He suggested he come with me so we could get to know one another.”

Eirin rolled her eyes. “Oh, Masato, you never change, trying to set up young men with whatever women happen to cross paths with them.”

“You know him?” I asked her.

“Oh, of course,” Eirin smiled, “I know almost everybody in Gensokyo to some extent. I’ve known him ever since he was a boy and his parents or Rinnosuke would take him here sometimes. He was such a troublemaker as a kid, always getting into places he shouldn’t and doing everything everyone told him not to. It didn’t stop when he became a young man, either. He was a stud, I’ll give him that, but it seemed like he would try and get with every single girl in the Village. Small wonder where Marisa gets her behavior from, then.”

“I...see.”

“Of course, judging by your appearance you don’t seem to have much trouble attracting girls, either,” she chuckled.

*sigh* - Here we go again.

“M-master!” Reisen protested. “He just wanted to get to know me as a friend!”

“Oh, that’s what all the men say,” Eirin said playfully, “but you know where things tend to go before you know it.”

“I, er…”

“Are you gonna bring him into your room and do lewd things all night???”

I turned around and saw a black-haired girl with floppy bunny ears peeking her head out of a barrel.

“...what are you doing there, Tewi?” Reisen sighed. “Didn’t Master give you a long list of cleaning chores this morning?”

“Finished them all up,” the girl, Tewi, chirped back.

“...I’m sorry, and you are?” I asked her.

Tewi jumped out of the barrel and walked up to me. She was a short thing, no larger than a grade-schooler, in a pink dress with bare feet and a very fast-wagging tail. “The name’s Tewi. I’m an Earth Rabbit. I’m the boss of all the Earth Rabbits here at Eientei.” She looked at Reisen, then back at me. “I gotta say, I’m a little envious of you, Reisen. Bringin’ home a tall, handsome guy like this? I woulda thought for sure my cute charm would win some schmuck’s heart before you ever could.”

“That’s because you have a habit of setting up rope traps in the forest and then blackmailing people for money to cut them free under the guise of helping them, and selling counterfeit items at festivals,” Reisen shot back. “Honestly, if you weren’t such a lying cheat, then maybe fewer people would want to cut you up and sell your parts as good luck charms.”

Eirin shook her head. “Can you two not bicker in front of our guest?”

Reisen spun around bowed. “I’m sorry, Master. I’ll go make some tea right now.”

“Should I go get the Princess?” Tewi asked.

“Only if you promise to behave yourself,” Eirin said sternly. “That goes for you, too, young man. You are to maintain the utmost respect and etiquette around her.”

Princess? There was a princess living here? What kind of princess was she? Who were these people?

I nodded and bowed. “I understand.”

A short while later, Reisen had set tea and snacks on a table for all of us. One of the place settings had notably more expensive and regal-looking dishes than the others, no doubt the one meant for the princess, whomever she was. The rest of us all sat down, and waited for her to show up.

Soon, the princess appeared from down the hallway. Right away, I was taken by her beauty - normally, I wasn’t the sort to admire the looks of, well, anybody, given how antisocial I was until recently, but there was just… something about her that made even me take note. It was hard to pin down why: maybe it was her floor-length, silken black hair, her beaming white, perfectly-shaped face, large, hazel eyes with long lashes, and an elegant pink shirt and long, red skirt with floral designs. She strutted down the hallway, then seated herself in front of all of us in a way which caused her skirt to flare out across the floor.

She took a sip of tea, spent a moment savoring it, then placed her cup back down. “Kukicha today, Reisen?”

“Of course,” Reisen nodded. “How did you know?”

The princess giggled. “You expect me not to know my tea? I could tell by its nutty flavor.”

“I haven’t made it in a while, so I thought you’d appreciate a change of pace,” Reisen said.

“I appreciate it, thank you.” She looked over to me. “Ah. Do we have a guest today?”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” I greeted. “My name is Goro Akechi.”

The princess smiled. “It’s nice to meet you too, Akechi-san. I’m Kaguya Houraisan.”

“...come again?” I asked.

“I’m Princess Kaguya,” she repeated. “Yes, that Princess Kaguya.”

I was stunned. The Lunar Princess from the Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, one of the defining stories of the Japanese mythos? The one who challenged men with her Impossible Requests before returning to the moon? She was here in front of me, right now???

“Akechi-san?” Reisen asked.

I shook my head. “My apologies. It’s just… I simply never imagined I would ever meet you in person…”

Kaguya chuckled. “Ohoho. Well, I should have guessed an Outsider like you would react that way to meeting me.”

I tilted my head. “How could you tell?”

“How? Your accent, it’s different from everyone else’s here, and you use a dialect with words ours lacks. You’re also much taller than human men generally are here; only those from Outside get as tall as you. Never underestimate a princess’s discerning eye for detail.”

She took another sip of her tea, and the rest of us sipped ours as well. “Now then, what brings you to Eientei today?” she asked.

“I wanted to get to know Reisen-san here,” I replied. “I heard you make excellent medicines which Reisen sells in the Village.”

“My medicines are simply the best in existence,” Eirin boasted, somewhat haughtily. “I’ve prepared drugs which can cure all sorts of maladies including cancer, and can put even the best Outside medicine to shame.”

“Do you have Marisa to thank for that?” I asked. “She told me she sells you ingredients.”

“She’s one of my suppliers,” Eirin answered. “It’s how I keep her from stealing from me, by paying her for the ingredients she extracts from her mushrooms. She’s good at what she does, I have thought about hiring her more than once, but she always turns it down, says she doesn’t want to listen to anyone’s orders except her own.” She took another sip. “That girl is so difficult sometimes, and so hard to understand, just like her father.”

“But,” Kaguya smiled, “I’m sure you don’t want to hear us talk about other people. You’re here visiting us, after all.”

“Indeed,” I replied. “I suppose most of all, I want to know why you are here when the legend says you returned to the Moon.”

She was silent for a second, and I could tell the others were as well. I feared I may have brought up yet another sensitive topic.

“The truth is, I never actually went back to the Moon in the end,” Kaguya explained. “I quite prefer it down here on Earth, even if it is impure, or perhaps because it is. There’s just something about watching life go on, seeing the seasons pass and living things be born and then die. Eventually, Eirin-san came down to be with me, and the rabbits all moved in with us.”

“I see…” I moved to change the subject, since I felt somewhat pressured to do so. “Also… what do you mean by ‘impure?’”

“Life as you understand it doesn’t exist on the Moon,” Eirin said. “We, the Lunarians, went there to fully separate ourselves from the cycle of life and death. Not just ourselves but everything we brought with us as well, even the trees. The seas of the Moon are fishless. Nothing rots, no mold or moss gather on the buildings. Nothing lives and nothing dies. Everything just is. ”

“Er…” this was all very confusing. “I’m… not sure I entirely follow you. And the seas of the Moon… I thought the Moon was just a barren rock.”

“That’s because the Moon you see here from Earth is actually the False Moon,” Eirin explained. “You’ve never seen the True Moon, the Moon which the Lunarians inhabit. That’s because they use a barrier, much like the one isolating Gensokyo from the rest of the world, to hide themselves from humanity, concealing themselves in such a way as to make the Moon appear as it has for billions of years.”

I still had a look of perplexion as I tried to digest this information, a task not being made easier by the bunny girls around me.

“I’m sure that’s a lot of confusing information to take in at once,” Kaguya said. “We don’t expect you to understand it all right away. The fact that we have all these bunny girls is likely overwhelming by itself.”

“Ah… yes,” I said back. I remembered Masato and Keine telling me “there is no common sense in Gensokyo.” Right now, not only was common sense completely failing me, I felt I was losing my grip on reality as well. And there were likely stranger things still left for me to uncover.

...which, now that I thought about it, was rather odd, since up to this point I had gotten accustomed to the bizarreness of the Metaverse and had even taken going to the land of the dead more or less in stride. Seeing a number of bunny girls surrounding me should not seem like much in comparison to the things I’ve been through. Instead, I felt as though I was slowly going mad, to the point where being in Princess Kaguya’s presence seemed to be the least strange thing happening right now. I had to wonder: was it an effect of the bunny girls themselves?

“How about you?” Eirin asked, breaking my train of thought. “I’d like to hear a little more about yourself, your life before coming here and especially how you came to Gensokyo in the first place.”

“Oh, right,” I said back. “Well, of course, I come from Tokyo. Shibuya, specifically. I was an honor student and a detective working for the SIU, and became something of a celebrity out there for solving seemingly unsolvable cases.” I looked down. “You see, I’ve been an orphan for as long as I can remember, passed between different sets of wards on a regular basis. I developed my gift for deductions early, and eventually used it to break out of that vicious cycle and strike it out on my own; not the easiest thing for a teenager to do, especially not in Tokyo. But I managed to do it, and if I do say so myself I did quite well. I had all but written my own college acceptance letter, and the SIU offered me a comfortable job once I was done with my schooling.”

“Impressive,” Kaguya lauded. “That must have been a very tough childhood for you, but the way you elevated yourself in the end is commendable.” She took a sip. “Now then, how did you arrive here in Gensokyo?”

“It can’t be because of Yukari,” Eirin added, “because she’s usually hibernating about now. Actually, Winter arrivals in general are very rare, so, indeed, how did you come here?”

“I’m not entirely sure myself,” I said, getting ready to tell the same lie as before. “You see, I-”

*boomf*

Ah. Seemed like a rather chunky rabbit climbed up onto my lap and made itself comfortable. This one was black, unlike most of the others which were stark white.

Tewi giggled. “Seems Boss-kun has taken a liking to you. Why don’t you pet him?”

“Boss-kun?” I asked.

“Most of our rabbits are female, but Boss-kun is special,” Tewi explained. “He’s an old guy, ‘bout forty years or so by now.”

“...forty???” I asked, surprised. “I thought rabbits don’t live for nearly that long!”

“Usually they don’t, unless they’re destined to become youkai rabbits, which I think that stud will do in a few years,” Tewi replied, smirking. “He’s actually already the dad of some of the servant rabbits. And surely he’ll repay Reisen for all the years she took care of him…”

I looked at Reisen, who was blushing slightly. “Er…”

“He’s my pet rabbit,” she said. “Tewi gave him to me to take care of a while ago after I first came here. She thinks I’ve done a good job, but…”

“He’s quite large,” I complimented. “And rather full of himself, I must say.”

“Well, he’s our only male rabbit,” Tewi said, “so you can imagine he’d build a huge harem for himself. So big, so strong, so confident. Reisen really did outdo herself raising him.”

I sat there looking down at him, closing his eyes and twitching his nose, before I continued with my story. “As I was saying, I was investigating a corrupt politician who was running for Prime Minister. His name is Masayoshi Shido. He ran under the pretense of leading Japan out of the slump it’s been in for a while and toward a prosperous future. In reality, he’s a lying, cheating ultra-nationalist who manipulated the media and leveraged his powerful connections to marginalize and eliminate his rivals. He even bribed the Yakuza to carry out killings for him. Of course, very few people knew the truth, but I was one of the ones who did, and of course I had to expose his crimes for the public to see.”

Eirin looked down and shook her head. “What is this country coming too… well, I suppose I should be glad people like you still exist.”

“Indeed,” Kaguya said. “In my opinion, it’s only gotten worse and worse ever since my time. I haven’t actually seen most of it, but I know enough from various sources. About the Imperial era and how they raped and pillaged Chinese and Korean villages… it’s not a legacy we here in Gensokyo care to be associated with.”

“Yes, of course. So, I investigated him and his cronies in between my other cases and coursework, and managed to build up enough evidence to find and expose a powerful Yakuza who is connected to him. So, I gathered several officers and we stormed the compound in Shinjuku where he was based. One shootout later, someone lit fire to a gas tank which caused the place to violently explode into flames. I just barely managed to make it out by jumping in and out of pipes and broken walls, then jumped off a balcony to safety. Or, well, that’s what I expected, but instead of hitting the dumpster I was aiming for I just kept falling into a black abyss for what seemed like hours before hitting the snow and losing consciousness. I was found by a strange woman named ‘Mokou,’ who took me in and-”

Kaguya let out a hearty laugh. “Ohohohoho! So you have met her!”

“You know her?” I asked.

“Oh, of course,” Kaguya replied. “Her father was one of the men who tried to clear my impossible trials and of course failed. Ever since then, she’s been trying to avenge him and her family’s honor, but she never will because-”

Tewi tugged her sleeve. “Uh, Princess?”

“What is it?” Kaguya asked, before looking at the window, and saw Mokou staring at her, scowling and flipping her off.

Kaguya stretched her arms. “Oh, I suppose it’s that time again. If she wants to fight, I’ll give it to her.” She stood up, stepped back, then very quickly spun around, flinging her clothes off in all directions, before she finally stopped, revealing the frilled, highleg wrestling singlet and white boots she had been wearing underneath. She cracked her knuckles. “Alright, it’s time to rumble!” She then jumped out the window and tackled Mokou to the ground. A few moments later and out of sight, the macabre sounds of explosions, bones breaking and blood gushing everywhere could be heard.

I stared wide-eyed toward the window, wondering just what was going on out there. Meanwhile, Eirin groaned and got up from her seat. “Guess I’ll have to get ready to clean the Princess again,” she grumbled, before walking back into her office and closing the door behind her.

Reisen looked at me. “They’ll… be a while, I’d imagine.” She got up. “Why don’t we go someplace else to continue talking?” she suggested. So she led me down a hall and into another room, while Tewi went elsewhere in the mansion with some of her rabbits.

The room was dark when she threw open the door, but upon clapping her hands it lit up to reveal a room full of labelled shelves, atop which sat a grand number of bottles. “This is our medicine storage area,” Reisen explained. She pointed at a steel door on the opposite wall. “In there is Master’s production lab. It’s where she creates all the drugs she sells, and where we store all the ingredients. Since I’m her apprentice, I’m in there helping her as well, and I have my own lab near this one. She’ll frequently send me out with medicine to sell it to the villagers, about once a week or so in the Winter, and more often in the Summer. Each of those shelves is labelled with a customer; we fill their order and then I transport it to them at the designated intervals. We make and sell just about anything you can get Outside - painkillers, fever reducers, allergy pills, even specialized medicine for rare conditions. We can also vaccinate people, and Master has a high-security biolab under the mansion for producing them. In short, we’re pretty much Gensokyo’s doctor’s office.”

I whistled. “I can tell your Master’s medical and scientific knowledge is unmatched.”

“She wasn’t called the ‘Brain of the Moon’ for no reason,” Reisen smiled. “She’s practically an entire hospital staff unto herself.”

I looked around the room. “Still, why bring me here? Surely the public isn’t allowed back here.”

“True,” Reisen admitted, “but, honestly, you’re a very strange Outsider, one who’s already learned how to fly, among other things. If you’re going to see all of Gensokyo, then I might as well show you our work and what we do.”

I nodded. “I suppose that’s fair. So, if you and your Master make medicine, what do the others do?”

“The rabbits are the mansion’s staff,” Reisen said. “They tend to the princess’s needs, clean, cook, and do repairs, and Tewi directs all of them. They used to also guard the mansion, but ever since Seiran and Ringo arrived they picked up guard duties in exchange for living here. They guard against anyone attempting to break in and steal medicine and ingredients. That included Marisa, until Master struck a deal with her to have her be one of her suppliers.”

“And I would imagine defending Princess Kaguya too,” I said. “Surely, there must still be people either trying to get her hand in marriage or else try to assassinate her.”

“Who, the Princess?” Reisen shook her head. “The Princess cannot die.”

“...what do you mean?” I asked.

“I mean exactly that: she does not age, become diseased, nor can she be physically killed: she simply regenerates from any lethal injury, no matter how severe.”

“That’s… gruesome,” I remarked.

“It’s because she’s a Hourai Immortal, a person who drank Master’s forbidden Hourai Elixir. It’s why she was banished from the Moon originally. Mokou out there also drank it at some point, and the two have duelled for the 1300 years since. The elixir makes you literally unkillable: as long as magic exists, you cannot die by any means. A shinigami even once tried to rip Kaguya’s soul out of her body to bring before the Yama, and even that failed.”

I thought for a second. I could have pondered a number of things: how that elixir could cause me to cheat death and never pay for my crimes… but I would be on the Yama’s bad side, and I would outlive everyone else and be virtually friendless as a result. Or how “literally unkillable” meant that I could potentially survive for billions of years past the death of Earth, and live to see the end of the universe itself and the cosmic horror that would inflict upon my mind, and how future civilizations would regard me as some sort of god while they evolved and died out, from my point of view, in a flash.

...instead, the first thing out of my mouth was, “oh, so just like SCP-682?”

Reisen looked confused.

“Ah, sorry, just a reference you wouldn’t get,” I said, shaking my head.

Reisen smirked. “Like I said, a strange human. I would have expected all the elixir’s implications to be your first thoughts and instead, you hit me with an Outside reference, I would assume, from some science fiction work.”

“Your deduction is spot-on,” I smiled.

“Er… yeah,” Reisen stammered, before clearing her throat. “Regardless, it is a forbidden potion. There is no recipe to make it, Master has it completely memorized, and she’s refused to make it ever since those three doses.”

“...who got the third dose?” I asked.

“Ah! I… said too much!” Reisen exclaimed. She cleared her throat. “...forget I said that, please?”

...I understood. Obviously, the recipient of that last dose, or its location, had to remain a complete secret. I didn’t want to do anything that would jeopardize making a deal with her, so I nodded. “I will, don’t worry.”

“Oh, thank you,” Reisen sighed heavily. “Master would kill me if she heard that.”

“...I won’t keep the secret for free, however.”

“Eh?” Her ears perked up.

“I’ll be clear: I want to strike a mutually beneficial relationship. Business partners, if you will.”

“...what do you mean? What’s this all of a sudden???”

“The Shrine Maiden, Reimu, is teaching me Spell Cards. That means I might end up getting in fights in the future. Surely, access to your medicines would be important for me and us to have, if that is the case.”

Reisen looked at me sternly. “If you want medicine from us, you can just schedule an appointment with Master and she can set you up with any that she thinks you need.”

“Let me rephrase that,” I replied, a little more coldly and clearly. “I want this to be a mutually beneficial relationship. That is, I provide a service for you in exchange for you providing a service to me. Now, with that in mind, is there a service I could provide which would be worth, say, access to medicines most people don’t get to see?”

Reisen looked at me suspiciously for a moment, probably thinking I might be some kind of druggie, before thinking it over and replying, “well, now that you mention it, Master hasn’t had any human male test subjects for any of her drugs in a long time. It hinders her research, since of course male bodies react to medicines differently from female ones, and youkai physiology is far different from a human’s as well. If you became a test subject of hers, that’d knock out two birds with one stone. But… while I can assure you she won’t try to kill you, I can’t promise you’ll still be recognizably human and/or male at the end of it all. Some of her experimental drugs have… effects which, say, ibuprofen doesn’t, for example.”

“What kinds of effects?” I asked.

“Well, I’ve already disclosed that she has made an immortality potion. So I’ll leave it up to your imagination as to what else she can do, and there’s a good chance she can make it into a capsule or potion. But the pay’s good, and if you agree to it I’m sure she’ll let you see the ‘special’ menu for a price…”

I thought about the potential risks. This doctor made drugs no Outside physician had, some with effects which I could only guess, that went far beyond simply treating pain or psychiatric conditions: cancer cures, I was sure, but most likely other supernatural effects such as the immortality that one potion offered. On the other hand, I likely had no better options for getting medicine for our Fortress infiltrations. This was also a chance to deepen my bond with someone, and given that this mansion housed Princess Kaguya I was legitimately curious about their backstories and how they got here, which I could learn if I got closer to them.

So I stuck out my hand. “I accept your offer.”

“Oh! Uh…” Reisen was surprised, as if she didn’t expect me to still be interested. Then, she took my hand and shook it. “W-well, I guess I can’t change your mind, then. I’ll let Master know you’re interested once she’s free.”

“Excellent, it’s a deal then.”

I am thou, thou art I. Thou hast acquired a new vow.

It shall become the wings of rebellion that breaketh thy chains of captivity.

With the birth of the Moon Persona, I have obtained the winds of blessing that shall lead to freedom and new power…

We went back out to the main living room to see if Eirin had finished with Kaguya, but instead we found Marisa standing by her office.

“Master is cleaning up the Princess,” Reisen told her.

“Geh,” Marisa grunted. “I almost forgot I had a delivery scheduled today, and-” she noticed me. “Oh, hey! Fancy meetin’ you here! What’cha doin’?”

“I just wanted to visit Reisen and everyone else,” I said. “She comes by the shop often to drop off medicine.”

“Oh, is that…” she started to say, before she presumably remembered yesterday’s events and how I was going to try and get us all medicine. “I see! Well, anyway, I hope ‘ya didn’t forget about comin’ over to my place tonight.”

“I didn’t,” I replied. “We can head over together.”

“Yeah, well, I gotta have Eirin check this and pay me first.”

“I can take care of it,” Reisen said, going over and taking note of the contents of Marisa’s bag. She then compared it to a list on the desk, added up some numbers on a calculator, then went over to a safe to get a stack of yen notes and some coins, counted it out exactly and handed it to Marisa. “Here. I’ll go itemize the expenses and put this all in the back.”

“Would you like any help?” I asked.

“Thanks, but these all need to go into a secure area. I can just have some of the rabbits help me.”

“Well, alright,” I said. “See you again sometime?”

“Absolutely. You and Marisa go have fun,” she smiled.

Marisa tensed and blushed up. “I-er, Reimu, Youmu and Nitori are all there as well, you know!”

“...Oh, I… see.” Reisen turned and walked down the hallway with a load. Her ears drooped, and I could hear her mutter, “I wish I was as good at making friends as you, Marisa.”

We made it to Marisa’s house just as it got dark, its lights shining as beacons in the dark, thick forest and smoke lightly streaming from its chimney. We touched down right in front of the door to avoid the snow, stomped our boots on the mat and entered.

“We’re back,” Marisa said. “I got Goro with me too.” In the middle of the room, a kotatsu had been set up in which Nitori was seated, with Reimu over by her while Youmu was in the kitchen cooking dinner. There was a large cauldron over the fire which I could see cut-up veggies and mushrooms floating at the top of.

“How ‘ya doin’?” Marisa asked Nitori.

“I’m fine,” Nitori said back. “A little sore still, but not as bad as this morning. Thanks for the cucumbers, by the way. They really helped a lot.”

“Well, cucumbers are good and all, but me and Youmu are gonna get a nice, good meal inside ‘ya.”

Youmu went over to the cauldron and used a pair of large tongs to fish a whole chicken out of it, before taking it to the table and cutting it up. “I must say, Marisa, you have rather a lot of mushrooms and other odd ingredients.”

“Standard witch fare,” Marisa said. “Least I got all the basics, too.”

“That is true… still, I feel you could balance your diet more. There was hardly any fresh produce besides the mushrooms, nor any of the spices I like to use, so I had to bring my own.”

“Sorry I couldn’t bring anything,” Reimu said. “I of course don’t have much food…”

“You should be thankful Marisa over here looks out for you. I have no clue how you manage to survive on rice and pickles only, but it isn’t healthy.”

“I’ve started adding cassava to it recently, does that make you feel any better?”

“Hardly.”

“Ain’t that shit toxic if you don’t cook it enough?” Marisa asked, before shrugging, “well, not that it matters to Reimu I suppose. I bring her out on mushroom hunts sometimes; I’ve seen her eat Poison Fire Coral and be completely unaffected by it. Guess it’s good she’s got a gut like that, ‘cause I can’t imagine how else she keeps from bein’ all bony, much less have those muscles and that big, thick butt. Definitely her charm point, am I right?”

Reimu visibly fumed while Nitori laughed, and I could tell Youmu was trying to keep from laughing too as she hacked apart the chicken into its various pieces. I just kept to myself, knowing that I, the one guy there, could cause a misunderstanding by doing almost anything if I wasn’t careful.

A while later, dinner was served up alongside some tea. We all sat around the kotatsu, which had a longer table so all five of us could fit.

“Well, this turned into a real family dinner,” Marisa remarked. “I’ll admit, I’m not used to havin’ guests over to eat. Usually, I’m the one doin’ the visitin’!”

“More like ‘freeloading,’ am I right?” Reimu snarked.

“I prefer to think of it as coming together to celebrate our achievements so far,” I added. “We’ve taken down a Fortress and uncovered Ethos, all within our first week of business.”

Nitori looked up at us. “I’m sorry, but… I still don’t understand. What… exactly happened back there in that tower? And what was that… power I gained to save you all?”

“That was your Persona,” I explained. “It represents your desire to stand against the world’s distortion and be true to yourself.”

Nitori was confused. “ Okay… I don’t get it. Can you start from the beginning? Like how you got that power and found that place to start with?”

“Certainly.” So I told her my backstory - still fake, but closer to the truth than she had previously heard. About how I met the Phantom Thieves, took down Shido, and how I disappeared in the collapse of his Palace and ended up here. I told her about the Metaverse, how it was the manifestation of all our thoughts and desires, about shadows, and about how people awakened to their Personas by accepting their shadows as part of them.

“Well, no wonder you kept it secret before,” Nitori remarked. “People would freak out if they found out a place like that existed.” She took a sip of tea. “Still, you all almost died in there. If it weren’t for me… what are you trying to gain by going in there?”

“I seek to bring justice upon those who defy the system,” I proclaimed. “And I… we… change their hearts to purify them of those distortions. It wouldn’t even be the first time I almost died there, for the sake of my justice.” I took a bite of my food, then said, “That is why I’d like to add you to the team.”

“Ehh???” Nitori exclaimed.

“You already know our secret,” Reimu said, “plus you have a power none of us have.”

“That’s right,” I added. “With you on our side, you can be the team’s eyes and ears, scanning for shadows, mapping out floors, seeking out treasure.”

“That’s…” Nitori looked down. “...wouldn’t I just weigh all of you down? I mean, I felt so weak back there. By the time I got to shore, I was out of breath from swimming. I’m a kappa! Kappa don’t tire themselves out from swimming, because we live in water!”

“Not now that you have your Persona, I don’t think,” Marisa said.

I looked over to her. “Ah, yes. You said you found something out that you wanted to share with us?”

“Yes.” She got up and went back into her workshop. A minute later, she returned with a stack of notes. “So, I had the Mini-Hakkero set up to try and pick up magic wavelengths while we were in Yuyuko’s castle, to figure out why we can’t use magic in the Metaverse. Of course, Reimu’s inability to use most of her powers can be easily explained by her being in a different realm from the Shrine, which is where her powers come from. But when I went back and compiled the results, I found out something interesting.”

“What was it?” Nitori asked.

“So, as it turns out, magic DOES, obviously, exist in the Metaverse, otherwise we couldn’t use all those cool moves. The thing is, it’s got a totally different wave signature from any magic I’ve ever seen. Because of that, it’s incompatible with any lifeform out here in the real world, meaning they can’t use it even if they’re seasoned magicians. The only way to harness it is to either be a shadow - which of course none of us are - or awaken to a Persona, which acts as a catalyst for that magic. But your Persona determines your powers in the Metaverse irrespective of what you can normally do in the real world, hence why we still can’t use our normal powers in there, only the ones which our Personas grant us.”

“Interesting,” I noted. “Again, I never would have imagined magic theory to be so complex. You’re quite knowledgeable in what you do.”

“Honestly, it’s basic 101 stuff Outside people just wouldn’t get,” Marisa dismissed. “You want someone to go talk your ear off ‘bout magic, go to Patchouli. She’ll go on for days about High Agarthan this and Vancian that, ‘cause magic is all she ever reads about.”

“Alright, so what does that have to do with me getting so weak suddenly?” Nitori asked.

“Well, for that part I’ll have to first fill Goro in a bit on youkai physiology.” Marisa sipped her tea before continuing. “Anyway, I’m sure someone told you ‘bout how youkai exist based on human fears, beliefs and whatnot, right?”

“Yes, Keine told me all about it,” I said.

“Right. So, youkai bodies are not like human bodies. Our bodies are made up primarily of physical elements and molecules, mostly carbon and water. Youkai bodies, by contrast, tend to be made up mostly of magic. You kill a youkai, that magic scatters back into the environment and all you’re left with is a pile of dust and whatever clothes they had on them at the time. In other words, youkai are amalgamations of magic formed around a belief of some sort, and just like how us humans need to constantly replace the matter in our bodies with food, water and air, so do youkai have to constantly recycle their magic. One reason why they hunt humans is because human flesh metabolizes into potent, concentrated magical energy within their bodies. Now, there’s magic all over the world - the universe, even - in roughly equal amounts with some hotspots, Gensokyo being one of them. The state of human society and the destruction of natural and historical areas are about the only reasons why it’s dangerous for a youkai to be out there; in theory, a youkai could, if they were careful, still live out there blending in among the humans, and in fact many still do.”

She took a bite of food. “However, what that means is if they ever get to a place with no magic, or in this case magic their bodies cannot use, they start to lose power as the magic seeps from their bodies. We saw this happen to a lesser extent with Youmu, who’s half-Phantom, but in a pure magical being such as Nitori the effect is much more severe. As they lose magic, they lose strength and energy until eventually they don’t even have enough to keep their own basic functions going, at which point they, well, die. By contrast, humans don’t need magic to survive, so assuming they can get food and water the worst they’re out is not bein’ able to use any special powers they might have in the real world. I’ve actually seen something like this happen with evil spirits possessing people: since they suck up so much magic from their host they can actually knock out and sometimes kill youkai whereas humans won’t ever suspect a thing, and some of them deliberately hunt youkai like this and suck away all their power, using human hosts to stalk them or use the host body as bait until the moment they can strike.”

“I see…” Reimu took a sip. “So, then, what does awakening to a Persona do to youkai in this case?”

“Well, that part’s still kinda conjecture on my part,” Marisa admitted. “But my best guess based on the evidence I have is that their Persona somehow converts the Metaverse’s ambient magic into a form the youkai can use to sustain themselves, partly because anyone who does fuses with their shadow and thus starts having the magic run through them, or something like that, I don’t know for sure just yet. Either way, the point is, youkai in the Metaverse need to have a Persona or else they die.”

“And all other supernatural powers are suppressed… it’s almost like my Spell Card Rules,” Reimu said. “They’re designed to level the playing field between humans, youkai and gods, but in the Metaverse none of that matters since your power is dictated by your own heart and feelings. In fact, if anything humans have a slight advantage there since being there without a Persona isn’t inherently life-threatening aside from the shadows making mincemeat of you if they catch you.”

“I see, that is all very insightful. Thank you, Marisa.” I took another bite before saying, “if that’s the case, then we may need to either avoid or be careful with youkai additions to our team going forward. We must either have them quickly awaken to their Personas or else keep them out entirely. But,” I turned to Nitori, “we already have you, if you decide to join us, that is.”

Nitori clenched her fist. “When I saw my Persona, it went on about how I wished to break out of my shell and move past my awkward, bigoted attitudes to guide the weak away from evil and shine the light of knowledge to give them power… I just, I never imagined that side of me ever existed but it felt so… right. Like, that’s the true reason why I work on all my different inventions, or argue with goddesses, that I never recognized…”

“Your shadow represents the thoughts and feelings you try to suppress and distance yourself from,” I explained. “Once you accept them as a part of you and resolve to overcome your weaknesses, that part of you is allowed to awaken. That… is your Persona, your strength in that other world.”

“Fascinating…” Nitori was silent for a moment. “...to be honest, I don’t get out of my cave much, but now that this has happened I feel like I just can’t ignore it. Like, I absolutely must do something more and see the world, help those in need…”

“Like Goro said, your power is unique and would be a big benefit to us,” Reimu said. “Besides that, we think a major incident involving that place, the Metaverse, is afoot, one that is mostly outside the scope of what me or Marisa can accomplish with Spell Cards.”

“If we had ‘ya with us, our investigations would go a lot better!” Marisa smiled.

“You would be doing great justice if you accepted our offer,” Youmu added.

Nitori thought for a second, then smiled. “Well, okay, how about this? I use my power to help get us all through this ‘Metaverse,’ and as a bonus, I’ve also got my workshop and my skills to make all the weapons and stuff you’ll need to fight those enemies.”

“Is there anything you would like in return?” I asked.

“Well… if what you say about changing hearts is true, there’s someone I’d like to look into, but we can talk about that later.”

I stuck out my hand. “Well, if that’s so, then let’s seal our deal. If you’re willing to commit to it, then we’ll shake hands.”

“I’ve already made up my mind,” Nitori smiled again as she took my hand and shook it excitedly.

“Welcome aboard,” Marisa said.

I am thou, thou art I. Thou hast acquired a new vow.

It shall become the wings of rebellion that breaketh thy chains of captivity.

With the birth of the Devil Persona, I have obtained the winds of blessing that shall lead to freedom and new power…

Marisa looked around at all of us. “Well, that settles that,” she said. “All of us together, makin’ plans and becoming an actual, organized team instead of just a bunch of people pulled together. We’ve already taken down a Fortress, and we’re well on our way to conquering even more, now that we got Nitori. But now we need a name for our group, somethin’ to go by that gives us an identity beyond just bein’ a bunch of Persona users!”

Reimu turned to me. “Since you’re the leader, why don’t we let you decide on a name, then we can vote on it.”

A team name, huh? To be honest, I wasn’t the most creative person on Earth when it came to names. Something like this couldn’t be done as an afterthought; I had to make sure there was some kind of significance to the name, that it wasn’t just some generic term that failed to convey the true scope of what we wanted to accomplish. Let’s see… we’re heroes of justice, whose goal it is to cleanse people of their distorted desires, freeing them from the prison in their heart as well as others from the tyranny of those desires…

“...it’s almost like we’re jail-breaking our targets…” I snapped my fingers. “...Jail Breakers!”

“Eh?” everyone wondered.

“Think about it,” I said. “We’re breaking our targets out of the prisons of their hearts!”

“...I kinda don’t like it,” Marisa said, “‘cause we’ll just sound like a bunch of crooks breakin’ gang members out or something.”

“I agree,” Youmu said. “...although, I do like the ‘Breakers’ part. Should we shorten it to just that? The Breakers?”

“Then it just sounds like we’re going around breaking everyone’s stuff,” Nitori said. “Kinda like Marisa over here.”

“Hey,” Marisa frowned, “for your information I don’t break anything. I only st- er, I mean, borrow things.”

“Whatever you say,” Nitori smiled. Our eyes wandered over to Reimu, who seemed deep in thought.

“What’s up?” Marisa asked.

Reimu opened her eyes.

“The Day Breakers,” she said.

“...the Day Breakers?” Youmu wondered.

“Like the light of dawn, we appear over the horizon to cast away the darkness and evil of the world. With the sun to our backs our distinguished silhouettes tell the evil-doers ‘we will eliminate your distorted desires without fail.’”

We stared at her in amazement. The Day Breakers, the dawn of Justice to cast away the evil lurking in the night. A very fitting name for a band of superheroes such as us.

“...THAT’S BADASS!!!!” Marisa exclaimed with stars in her eyes. “That’s, like, the best idea I’ve ever heard comin’ from you!!”

“That’s not a high bar for any of her ideas to clear, though,” Nitori snarked.

“Oh, screw off,” Marisa said, sticking her tongue out. “Point is, it perfectly describes what we’re doing!”

“Indeed,” Youmu noted. “With our power and wit combined, evil cowers before us.” She unsheathed part of her sword. “With my sword of great justice and Goro as our fearless leader guiding us through the unknown, we will bring this world out of the darkness of sin, misery and war and towards the nirvana of peace and enlightenment.” Youmu’s tough but high praise touched my heart in a way which few had ever done before. Never had I been very truly considered a strong leader which others looked up to and depended on for guidance; before, I had only ever been someone else’s pawn working alone. For these girls, all far more powerful than myself in the real world, to see me in such a light…

“Now then,” Marisa said, “since we don’t do anything without a unanimous vote, let’s all say who’s for it.”

“I’ll start.” Reimu produced a sake bottle and started passing it around, each of us filling our cups as it got to us. “Obviously, as it was my suggestion, I’ll say aye.”

“Aye!” Marisa smiled.

“Aye,” Youmu said.

“Er- Aye,” Nitori said.

“And you? You’re the leader after all,” Marisa asked me. I could, if I wanted to, strike down the name just with my vote and force us all to try to come up with a better name. If this were as recently as a month or so ago I may have done so quite readily as it was not my idea; my only votes for something with the Phantom Thieves were only done to get closer to completing my real mission.

But now, I felt compelled to honor the group’s wishes, not as merely another member but also as their leader.

“If that is the case, then I officially declare the birth of the Day Breakers,” I said.

“HOORAY!” Marisa cheered. She held up her glass. “Let’s have a toast! For the Day Breakers!” And so, flush with energy and a jovial mood, we clacked our glasses together in celebration of the christening of our group, its advancement from an informal band of misfits to an official organization.

Chapter Text

1/5

Once I was free from my work, I took out a piece of paper and wrote up a list.

The previous night, we as a group, the Day Breakers, agreed to meet back up on the ninth to revisit Ethos and attempt to ascend higher in the tower and better ascertain its nature. That gave us a few days to better prepare for going back to the Metaverse. So I quickly brainstormed things I should be doing to get ready, and jotted them down:

• Visit Nitori to work on our deal (making/upgrading weapons)
• Visit Eientei to get medicine
• Resume Spell Card training with Reimu
• Try to help Youmu and Yuyuko with investigating the incident on the Outside
• Furnish my room

After writing these down, I thought about what else I could do. I remembered Keine saying something about a temple somewhere on Youkai Mountain… What was its name again? ...ah, yes, Myouren Temple. That place sounded rather interesting to go check out. So I wrote down one more item:

• If time permits, visit Myouren Temple

Satisfied with my list, I looked outside, saw it was snowing again, and felt it would be unwise to venture far from the village, so I started with the simplest thing: getting some furniture for my room, which was still overall bare with only my futon and a lamp. I decided that having at least a work desk would be a good place to start. I looked around the shop, the most obvious place to start, but Masato didn’t really have anything that I liked. So, I got my coat and boots on and simply strolled the streets looking for anyone that might have a desk for sale.

Predictably, there were few people outside, given how hard it was snowing, and the skies were dark and grey. I eyed some of the shops, seeing if I could find a wood shop or other place that might have a desk I could use. I wasn’t too concerned about funds; I had enough money and treasure left over from our initial investigation of Ethos the other day to buy pretty much anything I wanted. By chance, my walk took me past the Heida House, where I saw some men taking a large, classical-looking desk out of the back door.

“Excuse me,” I asked, “but where are you taking that desk?”

“Oh, we’re just gonna run it over to the secondhand shop down the street,” one of the men said. “Heida Ojousama had a new desk built for her recently, so we’re getting rid of this one.”

I smiled. “I happen to live at that shop and I’m looking for a desk. Is there a chance I could have it? I’ll let you name your price.”

“...oh, are you that man who came here from Outside recently? Some of the villagers have been talking about you. Apparently, you’re already close friends with Reimu.” The man chuckled. “Not hard to see why; a man with your looks and charisma could sweep any girl off her feet!”

“Yes, of course, but I just want the desk for now,” I frowned.

“Of course.” I ran back to get one of the treasures we found on the floor with the Reaper and bartered it with them, which the men deemed worth enough to not just give me the desk and its chair but also a pot of ink and a pair of high-quality brushes to go with it. Together, we managed to haul the heavy desk back to the shop, up the stairs and into the room. I thanked the men for their hard work, after which I sat down and had a look at it. Being a used desk it was of course scratched up a bit, but overall it was very well put-together and wonderfully crafted, having little shelves and cubbies for storing supplies. Given that it used to be the desk of the elusive mistress of the house, that of course wasn’t a surprise. I tried writing with one of the brushes; I was struck by how smoothly it painted the characters onto the paper, fitting for someone whose life revolved around maintaining a chronicle of Gensokyo’s history.

Later that night, Masato once again had me help cook dinner. I felt I was starting to get the hang of it; if nothing else I could now measure out oil with measuring spoons without confusing teaspoons and tablespoons, plus Masato showed me why telling red and yellow onions apart was important (and thus making me realize how hopeless I was at cooking before), although “eying” dishes in the pan until they were ready and “getting a feel for it” were still hard for me to understand.

Masato took a bite of the tofu stir-fry we prepared. “Hmm… I think you overdid it on the spices, but other than that I’d say you’re coming along.”

“Thank you,” I bowed.

Once again, the two of us talked over dinner, and eventually the topic turned toward the desk I had picked up. “You sure scored a good deal,” he remarked. “Not every day that someone gets a hold of one of the Heida’s old possessions, much less the desk on which Akyuu wrote the Gensokyo Chronicle. You should count yourself lucky.”

“Ah, I was just looking for a desk, that’s all,” I said.

Masato took another bite. “So, you’ve been going out a lot lately but stayed in today.”

“Only because of the weather,” I said.

“Well, the statue is predicting clear skies at least for tomorrow. You have any big plans, maybe?”

“Perhaps just going back to the Shrine to resume my lessons,” I answered.

“I’m glad you and her are getting along. I think it’s healthy for both of you, since she doesn’t get visitors often…” 

He trailed off, and looked down slightly.

“...is something wrong?” I asked him.

“...you wouldn’t happen to have met my daughter yet, would you?” he said.

I sat up in surprise. “You mean Marisa? Yes, I have met her.”

Masato looked up, clearly down in his mood. “I suppose you would have found out eventually. It’s a well-known story in town, how she ran away in order to go practice magic… She and Reimu have been friends ever since they were children. I’ve heard she’s done some pretty amazing things, but I never hear about them because she never visits me.” He looked down again. “Am I such a bad father that I’m not even worth caring about anymore? Did I do something wrong trying to raise her?” Masato started to sob lightly. I realized this was something that pained him greatly and ate away at him.

“I wouldn’t be able to judge,” I said, trying my best to avoid upsetting him more.

Masato looked up again. “Heh. I guess you wouldn’t. You only came here last week, after all.” He looked down again. “...why am I going on about this to a complete stranger and dragging you into this? You’re just my employee, it’s not like you’re family or anything.”

I thought about what he said, about him “going on about this to a complete stranger,” as opposed to a trusted friend…

“...maybe that’s exactly why,” I said. “Since I don’t know the situation well, I can’t judge you on it, and therefore won’t judge you. All I’ve heard is your side of the story and her’s, not anything other villagers have-”

“What did she say?” he asked me.

Ah… how should I phrase this, I wondered? This was a very touchy subject after all, so I had to be careful to make sure the words coming out of my mouth were Marisa’s thoughts rather than my own.

“Well… I suppose I prompted her, since I figured out quickly she was your daughter based on your family names alone. She said something along the lines of ‘having a rough childhood’ and ‘never being able to go do the things she wanted to.’ For sure, she seems to be the type to march to the beat of her own drum, compared to Reimu who carries out her role without deviation. They’re so distinct from each other, and yet they still consider each other friends.”

“Is that so…” Masato shook his head. “I just… I just wanted to keep her safe and stay out of things that could kill her, raise her to be a normal girl. I realize now I probably overdid it at times. Guess I’m a hopeless father, aren’t I? My parents raised me to be a responsible man, and I couldn’t do the same for my own kid…”

I cocked my eye. “Oh really? You know, I met Eirin yesterday and she told me you were quite the menace when you were a child and would try to sleep with every girl in the village…”

Suddenly, Masato gave out the jolliest laugh I had ever heard in my life. “Oh ho, you got me there! Nothin’ gets past that old lady, and now I guess nothin’ gets past you either!”

I smiled. Masato’s spirits were raised, and I managed to avoid angering him while discussing a serious subject.

“But I doubt she told you the half of all the stuff I got up to when I was little! So, when I was nine, I…”

For the rest of the night, Masato shared some of his old misadventures from when he was a child, such as when he got caught with erotic Outside magazines he had found at Kourindou and was forced to hold heavy water jugs outside in the cold for a week as punishment, or when he somehow managed to steal a flower out of Yuuka’s fields and got away with it by claiming a fairy made him do it (and how said fairy was killed several times because of it). He even once had the gall to go to the shrine, back when Reimu’s mother Akari was the shrine maiden, and steal her panties, a crime for which he was never punished and the panties in question were still in his possession to this day. The more I listened to his yarns, the less I found myself believing that this seemingly mild-mannered man had such a wild streak when he was a boy. Despite his past debauchery, he also told how he was still loved in the village for running his family’s old and successful business, assisting elders with their tasks as a young man, and once saving a small girl from a youkai by bluffing long enough for Akari to show up and exterminate it. Marisa really was his daughter after all.

1/6

The next morning, I got up early so that I could finish my work early and go out to get some work done. I had three days until we met back up to investigate Ethos, so I felt getting ready for that took precedence over all else.

I felt another trip to Eientei was in order.

I flew over the top of the Bamboo Forest, looking for the clearing which the mansion occupied. It was well-hidden in the bamboo, but I knew it couldn’t escape my discerning, careful eye. After a few minutes of searching, its roof peeked into view, and I touched down in front of the gates.

When I arrived, I found Kaguya outside with some rabbits building a large snow-bunny. Some other rabbits bounded through the white snow blanketing the ground, perfectly camouflaged and digging through the snow and ice with their claws to draw out what few greens persisted in the cold weather to snack on. Some other rabbits busily worked to maintain the perimeter, shoveling snow and spraying high-pressure heated fluid along the outer walls and roof to de-ice it and remove mildew. And again, Seiran and Ringo dutifully stood guard, wearing heavy jackets and their ears pushed down by ushankas, in a way resembling Soviet soldiers.

“Welcome back, Akechi-san,” Seiran said. “What business do you have today?”

“I’m here to see Reisen and your master,” I answered.

“Understood,” she bowed. They parted to allow access into the mansion, where a rabbit guided me to Eirin’s office where both her and Reisen awaited me.

I opened the door, and was immediately greeted by Reisen. “Oh, Akechi-san!” she said. “Welcome back! I didn’t think you’d be back this quickly!”

“We made a deal, didn’t we?” I replied.

“Ehe, well, I guess so, but-”

“Oh, don’t delude yourself, Udonge,” Eirin said, spinning around and resting her legs on her desk. “The truth is, you were nervous to see him because you have a-”

“I… DON’T…” Reisen’s face reddened and she looked away in embarrassment.

Eirin chuckled. “I only kid, of course.” She turned to face me, and I found myself captivated by her sharp, bespectacled silver eyes and hair, and smooth legs which a slit in her dress’s skirt revealed.

“You’ve come back to us again today, Akechi-san,” she said. “Have we charmed you so quickly, I wonder?”

I shook my head. “Reisen mentioned you were in need of a male test subject.”

“Indeed we are,” Eirin smiled. “I haven’t had much luck convincing anyone in the village to help me develop drugs, and the men are always busy toiling away in the fields to keep food on their tables. I should be thankful you would come along and offer yourself to assist in my breakthroughs.”

I shuffled my feet around, a bit unnerved at her tone of voice, which was mature, sultry and playful all at once. I wondered just what kind of person Eirin was, what kind of experiences she had been through, and most of all what kind of drugs she was about to subject me to, much less the ones she had already concocted.

“What can I expect?” I asked. “I would like to know what my rights and responsibilities are before entering into an agreement.”

“Oh, of course,” Eirin said, adjusting her glasses. “Now, despite appearances, I am a real medical doctor, and adhere to all the ethics that the position demands.”

“Do you have a license?” I asked, a bit jokingly.

Eirin chuckled again. “Oh, I’m sure you’ll agree there’s no need for me to require such a thing. I’ve been practicing medicine for far longer than the concept of modern medicine has existed in human society. Creating medicine is but one of my many abilities.” She got up and went over to a shelf, pulling down a glass jar. “This jar is a memento from an incident several years ago. We had received word that the Lunarians were planning to have a look around Gensokyo upon hearing that we might be here. In response, I created this jar and stuck the Earth inside of it.”

“...er, what?” I asked.

“Oh, I’m sure that wouldn’t make sense to you, but explaining everything would take hours and I doubt you’d want to hear all the details now. What matters is that I stuck the Earth inside this jar, while still on the Earth, preventing it from ever seeing the Moon, in effect allowing us to hide from the Moon forever. Of course, this didn’t go unnoticed, and within a night several people had descended upon this mansion demanding answers, after which we came up with another solution: fully integrate this mansion with the Earth’s impurity, thereby shielding us from potential Lunarian incursion.”

“But I thought people from the Village came here to see you,” I asked.

“Oh they have, for quite some time, but before it was on an off-site office I constructed, as this place was still being hidden and preserved by the Princess’s powers; we needed money to live in Gensokyo, after all, and my abilities would otherwise have gone to waste. Now, however, the mansion is spotless and timeless simply because the rabbits are that good at maintaining it. I really do have to admire rabbit labor; Tewi does a good job raising and training them.” She put the jar back up on the shelf and picked up a clipboard. “But, enough about our pasts. I suppose you want to get straight to business.”

“...of course,” I nodded.

“Excellent. Now, before we can begin any trials, I’ll have to give you a thorough examination to determine your physical state of health. Don’t worry, I won’t do anything which would make you uncomfortable. In fact, much of what we’ll do is quite similar to what you’ve probably experienced in an Outside doctor’s office. This way, we’ll be able to better determine how to formulate our drugs based on any conditions you may have, including allergies.”

“I understand,” I nodded again. After a few more minutes of back and forth, we hammered out the terms: in exchange for extra pay and access to some of their exclusive drugs, I wouldn’t hold Eientei responsible for any adverse effects which the experimental drugs might inflict. Eirin also expected me to visit a minimum of once per month, although I was free to come by as often as I liked. Again, my legal literacy came in handy here, allowing me to negotiate away some of her more unreasonable terms (although she did seem impressed when I caught them, which let her know I was serious about the contract). Only then did I sign off on it, with Reisen witnessing.

As Eirin promised, she examined me head-to-toe, taking my weight (65 kg), and height (178 cm), my pulse and blood pressure, looked at my eyes and ears, tested my vision, my involuntary reflexes, and did some other things including a blood draw to determine my blood type and look for preexisting conditions. While she didn’t do everything exactly like an Outside doctor, it was still very familiar to me, and it was very clear she had been doing this for a very long time with how quickly and accurately she finished her tests. Reisen helped as well, mostly by taking notes or running samples and readings in and out of their lab and coming back with seemingly instant results.

At one point, Eirin dismissed Reisen from the room before doing a quick sweep, where she discovered Tewi and one other rabbit hiding in a cabinet, scolded and disciplined them, then kicked them out of the office before locking the door and drawing a curtain to obscure the windows. It didn’t take a genius to guess what was coming: the hernia test, otherwise known as “turn your head and cough.” Eirin of course tried to get it over with as quickly as possible, but that didn’t make the situation any less awkward for either of us.

After an hour or so, the exam was finished. Eirin took a few minutes to analyze the data, giving me a mochi to enjoy outside, before waving me back in to go over the results.

“Thank you for letting me examine you,” she bowed. She flipped through her notes. “I’m pleased to say you are in very excellent condition. I couldn’t find any outstanding conditions or allergies which could affect my research, your body fat percentage is well within healthy limits, your vision is perfect, your reflexes are rather superb, and your lung capacity is within the 99th percentile for your demographic.” She took off her glasses. “Plus, if I must say, you are a very well-built gentleman.”

“I, er… thank you,” I smiled awkwardly.

“...however,” she continued, “it would seem your nutrient intake is rather lacking. Since you only recently moved here from Outside, this can easily be explained by your body still holding onto all the garbage processed food you ate out there. I’m also not impressed by your hydration. I’m going to have to ask you to drink more water regularly and balance your diet.” She reached over to grab two bottles. “One of these is a multivitamin which will help you with your nutrition while you diversify the foods you eat. Please consume more fruits and vegetables while minimizing red meat and sweets. You’re not lactose intolerant unlike most Japanese, so I also want you to consume dairy as well for calcium and other nutrients.”

I looked at the second pill bottle. “And what about this other one?”

Eirin smirked. “That’s my special treatment for ridding your body of accrued toxins from your bad Outside diet. Within just two weeks of taking it twice daily, it will completely flush all artificial chemicals, heavy metals, and carcinogens from your system. You may experience some mild side effects from it during the first few days, but afterwards you will feel lighter and healthier, you’ll find you can sleep easier and think more clearly. If you ever want to participate in spell card duels, you’ll appreciate this drug’s benefits.”

“Splendid, I’ll take it.”

“Good,” Eirin nodded. “Now, take these for two weeks, and make sure to adjust your diet. Only then can we move on with the drug trials. I presume you get a lot of physical activity in order to maintain your physique, so I won’t make any recommendations for now.” She opened the door for me. “If you have no other business, Udonge will lead you back to the village.”

“Udonge?” I asked.

“My name for her, but don’t ever call her that, only I can call her that,” she smiled.

As promised, Reisen led me into the back of the mansion, to a room filled with different varieties of medicines on the shelves. Pills, herbs, lozenges, mists, bath salts, teas, the whole gamut, all kept atop shelves or locked up in cabinets.

“I’ll start by letting you see the basics,” Reisen said. “Master told me that you have to gain our trust and produce meaningful results before I can let you have the good stuff.”

“Understandable,” I said.

“Good.” She laid out a small selection including painkillers and smelling salts. I studied them carefully and considered what effect they would have in the Metaverse, before picking out what I felt would be good for now and giving Reisen payment for them. It wasn’t that much to start off with, but even so I now had a reliable source of medicine to supplement mine and Marisa’s healing magic.

The light of the day was dying as I left Eientei, promising Reisen I would be back soon. Immediately I took to the skies and quickly made my way back to the village, but at one point, colorful lights and what sounded like explosions erupted from one corner of the forest. Curious, I flew down closer to investigate.

As I approached, the explosions stopped, leaving only a thick haze of smoke. Bamboo shoots were pushed down in a wide circle of bare, scorched earth potmarked with craters and covered in a layer of ash. And in the center were two heads.

Heads which were currently having a chat.

“Somehow, I don’t think you thought your ‘extra-special colorful whirlwind of eternity’ out all the way through before usin’ it on me,” Mokou said in annoyance.

“The only thing that matters was that I reduced everything below your neck to a fine red flurry of ash,” Kaguya dismissed.

“At the cost of your own goddamn body too,” Mokou retaliated. “Now all we can do is sit here and bitch at each other in the middle of the cold, pitch-black forest until we regenerate, assumin’ animals don’t come by and eat us before that!”

“Why don’t you breathe fire or something to keep yourself warm? I know how much you hate the cold~”

“I could blow on your hair to set it on fire,” Mokou snarked.

“Come at me,” Kaguya dared trying to twirl what was left of her hair, only to tip over onto the freezing ground, squeaking as she rolled over onto her face while Mokou laughed.

“Lover’s quarrel?” I asked, hands in my pockets and casually strutting up to them.

Mokou looked over at me. “Whaddya doin’ here at night?” she asked. “Don’t you know? This place is full of animals and youkai waitin’ to eat ‘ya up! And it’s cold!”

“I was on my way home from Eientei, flying over the forest when I saw explosions coming from here. I just had to come down and take a look.” I picked Kaguya up off of the ground. “Apologies, Princess,” I said.

“No, it’s okay, I’ve been through much worse,” she admitted.

“But your the Princess-”

“You don’t have to always treat me like some high-and-mighty flawless goddess just because some bored guys enshrined me in their narratives,” she said. “Besides, I haven’t really been a princess ever since I got kicked off the Moon anyway.”

“Yeah, now you and Eirin are just a buncha hobos livin’ in the middle of the forest sellin’ drugs to the villagers and youkai,” Mokou snarked.

“Look who’s talking, you and your ramshackle shack held together with rusty nails, rice paste, duct tape and prayers,” Kaguya shot back, sticking her tongue out.

“Speaking of which,” I said, picking Mokou up as well, “is it close to here?”

“Yeah, sure,” she said. “I’ll tell ‘ya how to get there. It’s fuckin’ freezing out here.”

“No tea?” Kaguya asked in a prim tone.

“Not like you could drink any right now,” I said, looking for any excuse not to cook anything. I was seated on the floor in Mokou’s house, in the room I had woken up in on Christmas, in front of the fireplace and across from their heads which I had propped onto upturned buckets. In any other context, this would be utterly nonsensical and horrifying. But, of course, common sense didn’t exist in Gensokyo, so I found myself simply taking it in stride.

“Tell me,” I asked them, “why do you fight each other to the death so much?”

“Because this bitch over here disrespected my father and my family,” Mokou accused. “The least I can do is inflict massive and endless pain to her until she fully understands how I feel.”

I nodded. “Upholding family honor is important, and I’m sure it was even moreso back then.”

“I just fight her because it entertains me,” Kaguya smiled. “In eternal life there is eternal boredom, after all. And if not me, then Mokou would surely have killed hundreds of thousands by now in rage. So, for over a thousand years, we’ve fought. At first it was just punching, kicking and stabbing each other, but ever since she gained her powers and Spell Cards were invented our duels have become epic, beautiful spectacles indeed.”

“Powers?” I asked.

“Yeah, I taught myself some magic on the side, and now I’m a powerful sorcerer who specializes in fire,” Mokou explained. “All the better to reduce Kaguya to a pile of ashes.”

“I see…” I turned to Kaguya. “Why did you get cast off the Moon? How did you meet Eirin? And why won’t you go back?”

Kaguya looked down and frowned.

“The truth is… I hated it up there. You wouldn’t understand.”

“I think I would, I’m good at deductions.”

“Oh, well…” Kaguya paused for a moment. “I… I really like Eirin. She’s like a mom to me, since my real parents never cared to check up on me. And she’s really devoted to me too. When I asked her to make the immortality elixir, she didn’t argue. She wanted to be at my side forever. But drinking the elixir was a crime, as it made me impure. That’s why I was cast down from the Moon, and why Chang’e, the master of the Moon Rabbits and who stole a prototype, is imprisoned up there. When a contingent came down to get me, she betrayed and killed all of them just to be with me. She knew I hated it up there, and wanted to reunite with me.”

“But why did you hate it up there? You’re a princess.”

“...that was exactly why.”

“...what do you mean?”

“When you’re a princess, you have everything done for you, but you also have no freedom. You cannot feed yourself, dress yourself, bathe yourself, or make your own decisions. I felt chained, chained by the men who told me what sort of person they wanted me to become, and I wanted to break free of that, whatever the cost. That’s why I am where I am now. But… as much as I want to, I can’t bring myself to actually see the world, out of fear I would just be oppressed and objectified again for my beauty by people who won’t see me as a person, so I kept myself shut in Eientei for the longest time.”

...her message certainly hit close to home for me. Not being able to make your own decisions and feeling imprisoned by societal expectations. I got screwed by the system, and attempted to incite chaos in a bid for revenge. But now, I had the opportunity to start fresh with new relationships, and I would be a fool to throw it away. Especially if two of those relationships were princess Kaguya herself, and a daughter of the legendary Fujiwara clan.

“Oh, boo hoo,” Mokou sneered. “I’m a poor little waif ‘cause I’m royalty. Well, here’s a news flash: you weren’t an illegitimate child who wasn’t allowed to show her face in public. And don’t forget: you shamed my family. Don’t you dare make yourself sound like a victim.”

I tensed up.

An illegitimate child. Unwanted, born out of marriage. In Japanese culture, simply being a bastard is considered an irredeemable flaw, one which makes society shun you and your family if you were ever found out. That was my dark secret. And apparently, Mokou’s as well. At least everyone who would have cared about it in her case would have long since died. But as for me…

“Somethin’ wrong, Goro?” Mokou asked.

Ah. She noticed. I shook my head. “Oh, no, it’s nothing. It’s just…” I looked down. “...you were an unwanted child…”

“Yeah, that’s why my name isn’t in history books. My mom wasn’t actually my mom; from what I’ve been able to dig up, my dad had an affair with one of the family’s mistresses, and I guess my birth mom was one of them.”

I tensed up even more.

“...’ya sure you’re alright?” she asked again.

“Ah, yes I am. It’s just, that’s horrible…”

“Well, whatever,” she said. By now, I realized she at least suspected I was keeping something a secret, especially since I only started acting like this when she started talking about how she was a bastard.

I decided to lighten the mood a bit (as much as I could, given that I was talking to two severed heads) and talk about some Outside world topics such as popular culture, anime and manga, as well as my work with Sae-san. Kaguya in particular seemed very interested in manga. “Reisen sometimes brings home comics from Kourindou for me to read. I’m surprised how good they are, the art and the long, complex stories they tell…”

“Yes, they don’t make manga like that anymore, do they?” I lamented. “Now, publishers and studios seem to exist solely to churn out the next big franchises every season, with shallow plots and overt fanservice, for the sake of pushing action figures and nendoroids and for fans to make and sell each other porn and body pillows, and which Americans subsequently pirate, badly translate and post online without permission.”

“Human culture sure is something else, isn’t it?” Kaguya mused. “And you seem very knowledgeable about it. I know the Human Village probably isn’t anything like what you’re used to, but… there’s that girl, what’s her name, Usami? I hear she visits the Village a lot when she dreams. Sanae used to live Outside too. Perhaps if you could accompany me there like a gentleman and help me learn about culture out there, then you would get to enjoy my presence.” She smiled primly yet smugly.

“But they don’t live forever like we do, and they die in a flash. Like Goro here. He’ll grow into an old man and die someday just like the rest of them.”

“Oh, I see… then why do you associate with Keine?” Kaguya asked.

Mokou choked a bit. “I, er…”

“See, you do have more of a heart for ‘short-lived humans’ than you claim,” Kaguya said.

“S-shut up! I don’t need to listen to you!”

“You saved me as well, even though you could have left me to die in the snow, if you believed I was just going to die anyway,” I noted. “But with an attitude like that, you’re never going to make any friends, and having no friends will just make you a morose hermit. Why don’t I come visit you from time to time? Maybe even go places together and meet people?”

“Eh???” Mokou blushed. “B-but, with a guy, I mean, ah…” She stared at me awkwardly. “Ah, yes! Maybe I’m not feelin’ good ‘cause I’m just a head!”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself,” I said.

“Whatever. Could you do me a favor? See the fire? Can you throw me in there, pretty please??

“...um, sure?” I was confused. Even if she was immortal, wouldn’t that still be unbelievably painful, burning up in a fire? And yet Mokou sounded adamant. So, I picked up her head, hair and all, and threw it into the fire like a log. I watched as she disintegrated into ash and smoke… lots of ash and smoke, it seemed, before a flash erupted from the fireplace, blowing hot wind throughout the room, and a figure resembling a phoenix soared out, skreeing and spreading its fiery wings, before reshaping into the white-haired, red-trousered girl, good as new.

“Ah… feels good to be whole again,” she said, stretching her arms.

“Amazing,” I noted. “Reborn from the ashes, just like a phoenix.” I looked at the trail leading from her to the fireplace. “Speaking of which, you seem to have gotten some on the floor.”

“Yeah, I do that when I’m reborn,” she said to me. “It’s not just any ash, though. That shit’s got some powerful magic in it. ‘Ya spread it over a normal person it’ll get rid of all their ailments. I collect it and sometimes sell it to the doc so she can use it in her medicines.”

Ash which heals your ailments… that could prove useful to our fortress infiltrations, I realized.

“I see… is there a way I could have some of it then?”

“...you mean you want this ash?” she asked.

“If it isn’t too much.”

“Hey now, buddy, I don’t just go around given’ this ash to random people,” she said, crossing her arms. “It’s got its benefits, yes, but if you want any of it I’m also going to need something from you. Like…” she looked down, and kicked her feet a bit. “...like just havin’ someone to talk to when Keine can’t be there.” She jumped up and stammered, “a-and goin’ on trips to the Village to see Sumireko and the others, too!”

“Splendid,” I smiled. I looked down at Kaguya. “How about you? Do we have a deal?”

“I’m the one who offered, did I not?” she said.

“I suppose so.”

And so I struck a deal with them, the Lunar Princess and the Fiery Immortal…

I am thou, thou art I. Thou hast acquired a new vow.

It shall become the wings of rebellion that breaketh thy chains of captivity.

With the birth of the Hermit Persona, I have obtained the winds of blessing that shall lead to freedom and new power…

I looked down at Kaguya. “Now then,” I asked, “how are we going to get you home?”

“Oh, don’t worry about me,” she said. “I’ll just pretend I’m a Nukekubi and float all the way back to Eientei, like so.” Her head levitated off of the ground, and floated out of a window into the dark, frigid night while going “oooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooo…”

I stared at the window with a funny look on my face. “I never imagined Princess Kaguya to be like this.”

“That story is full of shit,” Mokou said bluntly. “She hasn’t been a princess for so long that she doesn’t really act like one anymore, and only uses it as an excuse to lay around and do absolutely nothing. Also, her adoptive folks were money-grubbing pricks, but that’s beside the point, ‘specially since I raided their vault after they died and gave all the money and gold to the Heidas, who back then were just a buncha hobos but then became the richest and most powerful family in Gensokyo, ‘cause of me.”

“Interesting,” I said. “Any particular reason?”

“One of their daughters was about the only friend I ever had growin’ up,'' Mokou answered. “So you could say I paid ‘em a favor.” She reclined. “But, those days are way past me. Nothin’s been the same ever since I beat that guy to death to get my hands on the Hourai Elixir. Thirteen centuries now I’ve been wanderin’ all over the place. A good chunk of it battling Kaguya, but also wandering the world too.”

“You’ve traveled the world?” I asked. “Where have you been?”

“Nowhere in particular, though you could say I shaped history sometimes. For instance, during the Black Death I helped control the spread of the virus by burning corpses and mice. I started the Great London Fire in 1666 by accident. I’ve traveled to every continent, even Antarctica; I’m prolly the first human ever to step foot on that ice cube. At various times, I spent a few years livin’ in other places besides Japan, including London, Rome, Constantinople, Moscow, Alexandria, Tehran, Antananarivo, Delhi, Bangkok, Shanghai and Seoul, and I’ve even visited D.C., though I’d always come back to Japan to do battle with Kaguya. That’s just because while I was busy leavin’ footprints all over the world, she’d still be holed up in that mansion, forcing me to have to come back to fight her. That’s about the only reason I’m here in Gensokyo, is to fight her. That, and at some point I realized someone would eventually discover my secret and lock me up in a lab somewhere to experiment on me.”

I looked down. “You must really hate Kaguya, for shaming your father. But…” I looked at her again, “if you were a bastard child, why even fight for your family’s honor when your existence alone is a scandal?”

“That’s a great question,” Mokou answered. “To be honest, I just… I just wanted to redeem myself somehow, show that I really was and am a Fujiwara even if I was a bastard child. ‘Specially now, since I’m the last surviving member of the clan. As far as Kaguya goes, well… I wouldn’t even really call it ‘hate’ anymore - believe me, my genuine, boiling hatred of her fizzled out long ago. Nowadays, it’s kinda turned more into an escalating game of blood, violence and one-upping each other’s Spell Cards, punctuated by lots and lots of snark and banter, that just kinda drives itself. Other people grow old and die in a flash, but in the end, so long as the Hourai Elixir holds up each of us will always be there for the other to fight.”

“I see…. I can’t imagine that kind of violent, tedious existence.”

“I don’t think any normal human would,” Mokou said. “But, that’s just the way it is. Ain’t nothin’ I can do to change it.”

Change… I used to feel the same way. That there was no way for me to escape my situation as a bastard, or as an assassin. But now I was doing my damndest to crawl out of that pit of despair and toward a brighter future. The least I could do was help Mokou and Kaguya do the same, no matter what it took, even if it was impossible.

Because doing the impossible was Ren’s modus operandi.

“I wonder if perhaps I could…” I mused.

Mokou chuckled. “Eh, I doubt it. But, who knows? You’ve already broken into my life; not a lot of other people have. And you know, we might actually be pretty similar.”

...I had a feeling she knew the truth about me, but I wasn’t ready to bring that up just yet.

“Well, it’s gettin’ late. I’m sure Masato is wonderin’ where the heck you are. Need me to guide you back? I’ll at least see ‘ya outta the forest.”

“Absolutely.” We exited the house into the frigid night, flew above the forest canopy and back toward the village with her lighting the way.

Chapter Text

1/7

This morning, the snow had let up, although there was still a thick blanket on the ground. The Dragon Statue, with the Velvet Room entrance in front of it, predicted fair weather for the day.

I decided to go pay Reimu a visit. So I gathered the blank cards Reimu had left me with previously, and flew up to the shrine where I found her clearing snow from the pathway.

As I stepped down, she looked up at me. “Oh, good morning! Are you here to practice spell cards?”

“We did make a deal, didn’t we? Plus, we’ve procrastinated a bit,” I chuckled.

Reimu looked around. “Well, I still have to get through my morning chores. If you could help me out a bit, we can get started faster.”

“What about the fairies?” I asked.

“They’re sleeping today,” Reimu said. “They stayed up too late last night drinking and partying.”

“I see…” So Reimu gave me another shovel and we finished clearing the pathway.

Once we finished, Reimu asked me to stand opposite of her on the pathway. “Now then,” she said, “I haven’t actually explained what the rules of Spell Card Duels are. There are three different rulesets: 1-hit, 3-hit, and Capture. 1-hit is the simplest and fastest: you get hit once, you lose. Both sides are allowed to use any means necessary, be it their non-spells, skill cards, and spell cards to hit their opponent at least once. It’s designed to quickly settle disputes, as well as test both sides’ reflexes.”

“I see,” I said.

“Next, is 3-hit. It’s name says it all: you have to hit your opponent at least three times to win, again using any means necessary. It’s designed for beginners, since it’s more forgiving about mistakes than 1-hit and not as complex as Capture. It’s the most commonly used ruleset for friendly and practice duels.”

“Go on,” I said.

“Last but not least is Capture, which is the main ruleset and also the most complex. Under this ruleset, the number of times you can be hit is determined by how many spell cards you have: at least one, and as many as ten. You start by attacking each other with non-spells until one combatant is hit. They then have three seconds to deploy a spell card, or else they lose. If you get hit again while your spell card is active, or if your spell card fails to strike your target within a set time limit, that spell card is ‘captured’ by your opponent and cannot be used again for the remainder of the duel. Once all of your spell cards have been exhausted, you lose. However, if you score a hit with a spell card then you can use it again, and you can always deploy it at any time if necessary to counter the opponent’s attack. This is the ruleset me, Marisa and others use to resolve incidents, and we also hold Spell Card tournaments from time to time which always attract large crowds.”

“Fascinating,” I said.

Reimu reached under her clothes and drew two cards. “There are two main types of cards: skill cards and spell cards. Skill cards don’t deal damage, but instead have other effects which either enhance your own movement and attacks or hinder your opponent’s. You already know non-spells: basic attack patterns which you can use without limit. Then there are spell cards, the namesake of the Spell Card System, and the main meat of Spell Card Duels. As I said before, spell cards are highly complex bullet patterns which each have a story and some symbolism tied to them. Crafting beautiful yet effective spell cards and wielding them well demonstrates your mastery and form, much like a carefully choreographed dance.” She floated up into the air. “I’ll demonstrate by signature spell card for you: Spirit Sign: Fantasy Seal. Stand to the side and watch.”

I did as she instructed, standing beside one of the komano statues. I watched as she lifted into the air, her hair whipping in the wind, as she drew her gohei and cast her card. A hexagram spell circle glowed behind her, and two yin-yang orbs emerged from her person, from which bullets and amulets shot out like pellets from a shotgun in all directions before locking onto and converging on their target, a practice target depicting an oni which emerged from one of the stone tiles on the pathway. I was taken by the display, the bright red-and-white lights which blasted out from Reimu in large bursts and clouds and the manner in which Reimu moved her arms and directed her assault in a graceful and choreographed fashion, a far cry from my own previously brutal manner of killing enemies which was fueled by rage and hate.

After finishing her attack, Reimu waved her hand to recall her yin-yang orbs and cause the spell circle to dissipate. Touching down on the ground, she motioned to me to come back over.

“That was very impressive,” I complimented, clapping my hands. “I can tell you’re very skilled from the way you move and direct your lasers.”

“Honestly, that attack isn’t very technically involved or impressive to look at compared to some of my others,” Reimu said. “But then, that’s precisely why it’s my signature card: it comes out fast, it’s hard to dodge even if you’re completely focused on micro-dodging it, and since it’s a fairly straightforward card it’s almost impossible to screw up. It’s only drawbacks are that it isn’t too good at countering large attacks since its homing nature means it might not reach the target, but at the same time it’s great at countering laser beams, like Marisa’s Master Spark attack.”

“How do you mean?” I asked.

“Well, you can think of it like a rock-paper-scissors triangle when it comes to which spell cards counter others. While different spell cards have wildly differing patterns and symbols, they all boil down to three basic types: homing attacks, curtain-fire attacks and solid beam attacks. Each counters one other type of attack as well as attacks of their own type, but is weak to the second. Curtain-fire attacks involve firing off large amounts of bullets at once and often nullify or at least greatly weaken homing attacks before they reach their mark, since bullets completely surround the user and emerge from them constantly while the attack is active. Solid-beam attacks involve firing off large, sustained laser beams. They can’t be canceled by anything except a bigger, stronger laser, and simply plow through regular bullets, making them very effective at clearing out curtain-fire bullets. However, depending on the number of lasers the attack uses they only cover certain angles, often only the front, so a homing attack can sneak around them and strike the target from an undefended angle. Non-spell attacks also fall under these types, although obviously are much less powerful than full spells, meaning they can be used to counter or at least check certain cards. My famous needles are a special example, being a curtain-fire attack fired like a solid beam attack, and the needles themselves pierce through other bullets, even spell card ones.”

“Sounds very complex,” I said.

“You’ll learn it soon enough,” Reimu promised.

I pulled out my gun, pointed it in the air, and pulled the trigger, causing a stream of blue dagger-shaped bullets to fire from it, this time seemingly more vigorously than the previous gun I used. “What about this, then?”

“Well… probably a sort of curtain/solid hybrid I personally call a ‘whip-type,’ in that you can either focus it in on one spot or whip it around to spread less accurate shots everywhere. It’s not as effective as a full curtain-fire or solid beam attack, but it can play either side as you need it to, and if you master it it can be difficult to counter without having to resort to a spell card. Probably not the best shot type for a newbie like you to be using, but again, seeing you in action in the Metaverse I bet you’ve got it in you.”

“You’d be surprised,” I smirked, twirling the gun around my finger.

“Well, enough lecture. Let’s start our first lesson.” She summoned one of her yin-yang orbs, which floated up high in the air. “I want you to hit that target with an attack. It’ll only dodge, so you don’t have to worry about it retaliating. It’ll move slowly at first, but as you keep hitting it it’ll speed up and its movement will become more erratic. This exercise will end after 30 hits or if you fail to hit it within 60 seconds of striking it last. Now, get in the air and start firing. On your mark, get set, go!”

On the word “go,” I took to the air and fired at the stationary target. It flashed for a couple moments, during which all my shots bounced off of it harmlessly, and it began to move through the air. At first, it was as simple as simply aiming at it and firing, but true to Reimu’s word with each hit it got faster and harder to hit. Of course, having gone through the SIU’s standard firearm training and being a proficient marksman in the Metaverse, I was used to taking aim and firing at fast-moving targets, and if anything this was more forgiving since my gun fired a sustained stream of bullets as opposed to one small projectile which had to be precisely aimed, meaning I could get away with leading my shots. I figured it would be as simple as analyzing its movement pattern; true randomness is effectively impossible to attain, as all things do have some pattern to their movement. But the more I hit it the faster it got, until by about twenty or so it was zipping around me so fast it was like that ping-pong ball from Men in Black and all I could see was a lot of blurs, making telling exactly where it was nearly impossible and causing me to flail the gun around trying to hit it.

“Bzzzt! Time’s up!”

The ball stopped and went dark, and down below Reimu motioned for me to get down. “You didn’t pass the test this time. Still, you did better than most people on their first try: the record before you was twelve, I think.” She cast the orb into the air again. “Would you like to try again?”

“If I may,” I nodded.

“Alright then. Then get up there and go!”

And go I did, leaping into the air and shooting it as before. As it sped up and its movement became harder to track, a thought crossed my mind: statistically, given its general pattern, it had to move past a given spot more than once, so rather than wildly shoot everywhere I instead focused in on one spot and waited. Seconds later, sure enough, I struck the orb in place.

Once it stopped flashing, it began to move again, this time at a slower rate. I suspected a trick, given how fast it was going before, and fired some shots at it, only to see they just missed. I was confused, so I fired a solid line, and saw what was going on: the orb seemed to track just beside the stream of fire, grazing the bullets. A quick flick of the wrist, though, allowed me to score a hit. The next few hits were similar, with the orb grazing my shots, only its reflexes improved on top of moving faster each time, until after the 29th hit where it seemingly started predicting my actions and could dodge the instant I jerked the pistol. Again, I thought I had to beat this one by spreading my shots, but it just weaved between them effortlessly.

“Time’s up, again!” The ball darkened and lowered, and I came down with it. “So close, and yet so far,” Reimu winked. “I personally consider that last phase impossible. Even Yukari has trouble hitting it consistently during that last part. That yin-yang orb is quite the tricky tanuki, isn’t it?”

“Indeed,” I grunted. “It’s like it has a mind of its own.”

“I agree,” she smiled. “I’m feeling generous. How about a third round? Think you can do it? I’m sure you can~”

As frustrated as I was, I never backed down to a challenge, especially with a woman taunting me. So, I nodded, got back in the air and fired at the target once more. My strategy from before worked up until the 29th hit, at which point I started to observe the orb as I was firing at it. For an artifact, it sure was moving and acting in ways that couldn’t simply be programmed.

It was like it had a mind of its own…

...aha.

It occurred to me I never actually looked at Reimu the whole time we were doing this, since I was, of course, expected to focus on the yin-yang orb. I glanced down at her, and saw that, rather than merely watching, she seemed to be intensely focused on thought, in prayer almost.

It occurred to me she was, in fact, controlling it.

So I turned my gun on her, shooting several shots into her chest. Instantly, she yelped and flinched, staggering as she struggled to keep control of the orb. I quickly aimed at it and fired, striking it and causing it to fall to the ground, where it crashed and ejected several colorful bullets like confetti.

I touched back down in front of a very angry Reimu. “Y-YOU CAN’T DO THAT!!!” she scolded, pointing at me. “YOU’RE DISQUALIFIED FROM THAT TEST!”

I rubbed my chin and thought. “...am I though?”

“YES YOU ARE!” Reimu shouted.

“But you didn’t end the test right then,” I pointed out, “therefore it was still fair for me to score a hit and have it be counted.”

“I… I DIDN’T MEAN THAT! IT DIDN’T COUNT!”

“But obviously it did, or else you would have deactivated the orb instead of keeping it up to take hits. Plus, never once did you say striking you directly wasn’t allowed. Therefore, I didn’t break any rules.” I did a glove-pull even though there was no glove on my hand. “Rules don’t define what is allowed, they only define what isn’t. One of the first things you learn when studying law, and which all legal systems must remember lest they be rendered ineffective.”

Reimu was silent for several moments, seemingly to cool down. She then slumped her arms and grabbed my shoulder.

“...heh. You got me there. I didn’t say it wasn’t allowed, so now I’ll have to add a rule saying you can only hit the target, not me.” She got back, and said, “still, even then I’m surprised no one before you ever thought to do that.”

“Thinking outside of the box has its advantages,” I smiled.

“You’re very clever,” Reimu said. “No wonder you’re such a good detective.” She then smirked and glared, “guess I’ll just have to account for that going forward and give you ‘special’ training, just for bad little boys like you.”

“I look forward to it,” I playfully dared her.

Reimu looked up at the sky. “Oh, darn. I got so wrapped up in this I didn’t realize it was getting dark already.” She sighed. “I really don’t like the winter’s short days. It leaves less time to do the things I need to do.” She turned to me. “You should get back to the Village. I try to keep the path clear of youkai and fairies, but I can’t guarantee your safety after dark anywhere outside of town.”

“I understand,” I nodded. “See you Monday.”

“See you,” Reimu said back.

I made my way back down the path, hoping to return to the Village as soon as possible, before bumping into Youmu just past the Netherworld portal.

“Oh, hi Goro!” she said. “Were you training with Reimu?”

“Yes I was,” I said. “And you?”

“Well… do you have some time? Yuyuko-sama sent me out to look for you, and I’ve already told Kirisame-san that she wanted to speak with you.”

I thought for a moment, then said, “well, we did make a deal, and I did promise to help her with her investigation. Does this pertain to that?”

“Yes,” Youmu nodded. “She says the anomaly has expanded and intensified since you last spoke to her, and wants to hear your thoughts on the matter.”

“Hmm… I still don’t want her to be aware of the Metaverse just in case she tells others of it, so I’ll have to hear her updates and phrase my deduction so as not to mention it.”

“My thoughts exactly.” She turned around. “Now then, let’s hurry there. We shouldn’t keep her waiting for long.”

We soon made it to Hakugyoukurou, where a waiting Yuyuko sat at the table accompanied by a guest: a girl in black-and-white clothes covered in pom-poms, a red santa-like cap, short blue hair and a cat smile.

“Welcome back, Akechi-san,” Yuyuko bowed. “I’m glad you could make it here today. We have many important matters to go over.”

“So I was told,” I replied. I turned to her guest and asked her, “by the way, what is your name?”

She got up and did a curtsey. “It’s nice to meet you, Akechi-san. I am Doremy Sweet, ruler of the Dream World.”

Doremy… “Oh, you must be that woman Yuyuko-sama mentioned last time. She said you were the one who detected this anomaly on the Outside?”

“Correct,” she said. “I wanted for us to gather around today to discuss the matter further. Not only because it has expanded, but also because I’ve been able to uncover some more details about it. Yuyuko-sama told me you spoke highly of your deduction skills, and that they could be an asset to our investigation.”

“I’m honored to be of assistance,” I said.

Youmu worked on making dinner for each of us, leaving me, Yuyuko and Doremy to discuss the anomaly outside, one which I felt was connected to the Metaverse but which I could not reveal to these two women. Phrasing useful answers without accidentally letting slip about the cognitive world was going to be a challenge, so I had to absolutely pay attention both to my own words and the information they presented.

Yuyuko started by producing notes and documents. “Now then, as I promised before, I arranged with Ran and Kasen to send scouts from Gensokyo to investigate the anomaly, as well as coordinate with partners and spies she already has out there to head to Tokyo and check it out.” She sighed. “Honestly, this all would be so much easier to do if we just had Yukari with us, but she’s in her Winter hibernation, so of course something like this happens when she can’t act on it.”

“Why is that?” I asked.

“Well, as I said before, she can most easily get things through the Hakurei Border - in either direction - to facilitate investigations like these. Reimu can also use her powers to send humans out of Gensokyo, but she can’t bring anyone back, and she won’t help youkai, so she’s of no use helping us right now. That leaves me, Kasen and Ran to foot all the work.”

“And me to interpret it,” Doremy added. She waved her hand, causing a rectangular distortion to appear through which an abstract scene in which sleeping individuals floating in bubbles could be seen. “I am a Baku, a being who can manipulate and devour dreams. Within the Dream World, my powers are unmatched, and I can access the dreams of anyone whenever I wish.”

...when she spoke those words, I realized I might be in trouble. If she could see my dreams, she could see my nightmares about my past, or any dreams related to the Metaverse. Right now, I just had to hope she didn’t know these things…

She reached and pulled out a pink bubble, and held it in her hand. “Like this dream, for example. It is one of yours. I must say, Akechi-san, you produce some very tasty nightmares, and a large number at that, as to be expected from someone with your background…”

I froze in place and my eyes widened.

“...someone who will work in the shadows to fulfill the murderous ambitions of their corrupt politician of a father…”

...oh no…

She put her hands on the table, and looked at me with her indigo eyes and cat smile. “Tell me, how much experience do you actually have with the Metaverse?”

...shit.

“Indeed, how much experience do you have?” Yuyuko asked. “Surely a lot, if you’ve killed people there as Doremy says…”

I looked at her in horror. “...how do you know?”

“When we first talked, I could easily tell you were hiding something, and when I asked Doremy about it she confirmed it all. There’s no hiding anything from her. How you lied about your past, in fear you would be rejected by people here in Gensokyo. How you were a bastard child, hated yourself for it, received those powers and used them to carry out your father’s dirty work only to then get your revenge on him. And how you continue to use it, even bringing Youmu-chan into the fold and…” she looked down. “...how you were forced to confront my other self to get me to stop my sinful, selfish actions.”

“The Cognitive Realm and the Dream Realm are all but one cohesive dimension born of the thoughts and beliefs of sentient beings, especially humans,” Doremy explained. “I have watched you, in particular, for a long time, and now we finally get to meet face to face. I know you wish to redeem yourself, especially after all the killings you’ve undertaken on the behest of others, and that it will not be easy, but you must be confident in yourself that it can be done. And helping us crack this case is a good way to start.”

Yuyuko chuckled. “Don’t worry, this secret will not leave this room. We did strike a deal; telling anyone else would be breaching it. But, we do also expect your cooperation, since you have experience with the Metaverse.”

...this was exactly what I hoped wouldn’t happen, which was having people outside the Daybreakers know about the Metaverse, much less anyone knowing my true past, and yet here were two of Gensokyo’s most influential women who knew it all. I knew now I had no choice but to fully cooperate with them if I was to keep their trust and prevent this information from getting out.

I sighed. “Well, I should have realized that the truth would reach some people eventually. I just didn’t expect for it to happen this fast. But… why not judge me more harshly for my past?”

“Because there is a difference between killing on your own volition and carrying out deaths on others’ behalf when your own rage and wrath blinded your judgement and society’s disdain for people like you left you with few other choices. There are many here in Gensokyo, myself included, who can sympathize. That said, sins are sins, and the combined weight of yours is such that it will take considerable effort to convince the Yama not to send you to Hell. Doing good deeds is half of it, the other is making many close friends and having a positive effect on the lives of others. The ‘wealthier’ you are in life the better your chances of not being convicted, perhaps even getting sent to Heaven. But,” she said, “we’re getting sidetracked.”

“Indeed,” Doremy said. “After going back and looking at the anomaly, looking at the dreams, I realized this could be Metaverse related. And you’re the expert,” she told me.

I shook my head and tried to focus on the meeting’s topic, to avoid thinking a second more about my truth being known to them. “I guess you could say that. Now then, what did you notice was strange about these dreams?”

“Well…” Doremy thought for a moment. “...if I had to describe it in one word… artificial?” She shook her head. “No, that’s… I wouldn’t call them ‘nightmares.’ Quite the opposite, actually; the flow of nightmares from Tokyo has all but stopped, and people there have happy dreams, dreams in which they celebrate all the excellent things they have and are grateful for, and yet…” She pulled out another bubble. “When I taste them, they’re… staticy and off-putting, like they’ve been manufactured. Like they’re not natural, but being created by someone or something else. Moreover, when I compare them to my past files I notice inconsistencies between their present dreams and details of their past ones reflecting developments in their lives. For example, this one girl, who dreams about all the things she wishes to do with her father when he’s not busy managing his successful company, like going on hikes in the mountains or traveling overseas. The thing is, if I’m not mistaken, you yourself killed this man last October, and before that she had nightmares about him selling her off to an abusive fiance for political purposes, wildly conflicting with her current dreams where not only is he not dead, but never once did he do those sorts of things.”

My eyes widened. “...are you talking about Haru Okumura?”

“Hmhmhm, indeed, I admire your intuition, although I suppose you did know her after all. And of course, she’s just one of several million people affected by this anomaly which, by my current estimates, has now grown to cover the entire Kanto region and which could encircle Gensokyo within days. Now, it cannot actually breach the Hakurei Border, that I have already determined, but if it keeps growing there’s a very real danger it could affect the beliefs, fears and rumors which keep the Border standing. But I don’t know for sure, so I’ll need to research the matter further.”

I thought about what Doremy had just said. A force which could be affecting people’s dreams, seemingly grinding their wishes…

“...well, since you already know about the Metaverse, I do think it’s safe to say someone or something very, very powerful is affecting the collective unconscious in a significant way. Are you still sure you don’t want me to go out there and see for myself what it is?”

“I have thought about it,” Yuyuko said, “but at this time there’s no way to guarantee your safety, given just how little we know about the phenomenon. I just thought you could help us distill information before, but now I realize you’ll be absolutely essential to solving this mystery and we don’t want to lose you. I’ll consider it if we deem it safe, but for now we have to continue the information-gathering on our end.” She smiled again. “You just have to promise me you will commit to our deal and keep growing as a person. I will guide you as much as you need.”

“Er… thanks,” I said.

“Dinner’s ready!” Youmu shouted.

Yuyuko took in the savory, spicy aroma hungrily. “Mmmm… how I do enjoy Youmu-chan’s cooking, and I’m sure you will agree her skills rival those of the best chefs Outside.”

“I primarily eat dreams,” Doremy said, “...but salmon stir-fry will do quite nicely as well.”

“Indeed, it smells quite delicious,” I said. Soon, Youmu came in with dishes and set the table, then went back to bring out tea before finally bringing the food out for us all to enjoy.

Over dinner we mostly engaged in small talk, mostly Doremy and Yuyuko telling funny stories while on the job. At one point, the conversation shifted toward spell cards, and how Doremy was working on one involving a giant sheep mech of some sort while Yuyuko boasted about her “100% Blooming” card which she claimed was so awesome even Reimu had never seen it. I suggested I could train to beat it, before Youmu told me that she wasn’t bluffing, and that trying to capture it was like trying to eat the Sun. Yuyuko also praised me for wanting to learn spell cards and that she was free for sparring upon request.

After the meal, Youmu agreed to walk me back to the Village, mostly so that we could briefly discuss the meeting and our next moves. “I was in the kitchen and so couldn’t hear you. Did you all find something out?”

I took a deep breath: “...they know.”

It took her a moment to understand what I meant, but her face went white once she realized.

“...ah, I... see.” Her hands shook. “...i-isn’t that bad?”

I thought for a moment. “It sounds like Doremy has known of its existence for a long time, long before I ever knew about it. It makes sense; there’s not much separating the Dream World and the Metaverse. Which of course means she can see all of our exploits.” I sighed. “Well, there’s nothing we can do to stop her from knowing, or her having told your master about it. But it seems they’re just as keen on keeping its existence a secret as we are, and are glad to have me helping them solve it. We should do everything to keep them on our side. Watch your master closely and make sure she tells no one else.”

Youmu bowed. “Understood.”

“Good. We’ll talk more about this on Monday.” Youmu eventually led me back to the shop. I thanked her and went to bed.

When I woke up, I found myself in the Velvet Room again. I got up from the floor to see each of them - Rika, Lavenza, and Igor - looking at me.

“Seems you’ve come across Dream Girl,” Rika commented.

“Indeed,” Lavenza added. “There are others in Gensokyo who have long been aware of the Metaverse’s existence.”

“But who?” I asked. “Is Doremy the only one? What about Yukari, that sage I’ve never seen?”

“The land of dreams is yet another facet of the cognitive world,” Igor explained. “A place where waking cognitions become the building blocks of the collective unconscious itself. Thus, it would make sense that there exist beings whose purpose and duty is to maintain its integrity and ensure it never becomes distorted or altered by outside forces.”

“But how can I make sure she never sells us out?” I asked.

“I wouldn’t sweat it,” Rika said. “Really, if either of them thought you were a threat they woulda blasted ‘ya to bits right there. They wouldn’t need to sell you out if they could just dispose of you themselves, so the fact that they’re not means you’re safe. Actually, they need you around now to help them solve this case, since you can enter the Metaverse while Doremy can only kinda sorta indirectly see it, and that’ll come in handy if the Phantom Thieves fail.”

“That’s… not very reassuring,” I said hesitantly. Being told that someone would just kill you instead of selling you out was very off-putting, but then, she was right. I had to remember most of these people weren’t humans, and none of them were bound by Outside laws or ethics, so I had to realize they wouldn’t always act as I would expect.

“For now, focus on growing and fostering your budding relationships,” Igor said. “I look forward to our next meeting.” And with that, I returned to the real world.

1/8

“Are you sure you’re alright?” Masato asked me.

“I’m fine,” I said between mouthfuls. In truth, my mind was still stuck on what happened last night, with two people now knowing not only about the Metaverse, but also my true past. It still haunted me, knowing there were two very powerful figures now aware of me being a bastard child and a former contract killer. That one of them was a princess ruling over deceased souls only made things worse, although I suppose it was expected of her to know my sins anyway.

“Well, if you say so,” Masato said. “Because it looks like you’ve just seen a… ghost!” He laughed uproariously and slapped the table, almost spilling his tea.

I hoped living with him didn’t mean having to put up with lots of bad puns.

I looked at my list and saw I had two items left to cross off: visiting Nitori, and visiting the temple. Visiting Nitori took priority, since she promised she would help me upgrade our weapons, so I set off toward Genbu Ravine.

It took me some time to find the entrance to her cave on my own, but I did, and after knocking on her door her mechanical eye once again checked to make sure it was me, before the door opened and the short pigtailed girl let me into her abode.

“Took you long enough,” she snarked. “I thought we had a deal.”

“We do, but I got stuck in traffic,” I chuckled.

“Uh-huh, yeah, sure,” she dismissed. “Anyway, come inside, I got tons of stuff to go over with you.”

“What kind of ‘stuff?’” I asked.

“I’ll show you,” she smirked. She walked me over to her workbench, where there was a tarp covering something. Throwing the tarp off, she revealed five small metallic boxes with clips and small holes.

“These are…” I asked.

“Grappling hooks!” Nitori smiled.

“...oh, yes, of course!” Admittedly, I never used one as Black Mask, since I didn’t need one, but the way the Phantom Thieves swung around Palaces with theirs was quite impressive, and now we had our very own set, a huge boon to our investigations.

“See, I thought it’d be nice to have a way to just zip and zoom through Fortresses instead of just having to hoof it all the time. Besides, what are we going to do if we run into a huge pit we need to get across?” She put one hook onto her right cuff. “They don’t do anything in the real world, of course. They’re designed solely to work in the Metaverse. It was an interesting challenge, really, and it took a couple tries, but after I got the prototype working making these babies was a piece of cake. If you want, you can test ‘em out with me, I got a course set up.”

“...in the Metaverse?” I asked.

“Yup! Pretty slick, huh? Now c’mon, let’s go outside.”

Nitori wasn’t kidding: within Ethos’s version of Genbu Ravine was an obstacle course elevated above the river consisting of metal pipes, ledges and platforms. There were also cannons mounted along the perimeter, designed to keep shadows out of the training ground. We climbed up a metal staircase which led to the start of the course marked by a red line painted on the floor.

“Welcome to my Meta-Gym!” she exclaimed, holding her arms out. “Right now it only has the grappling hook training course, but I’m working on making it a full-fledged training facility for us to safely sharpen our skills!”

I looked around at the whole setup. “Very impressive,” I complimented. “I’m surprised you were able to create this at all.”

“Well, it was an interesting challenge,” Nitori said. “Getting machines working in the Metaverse is really difficult, and I don’t have any of my usual magic here, so I spent an entire afternoon figuring out to get everything working, then another setting up and testing the cannons. And I’ve barely broken ground on this gym’s main feature, but I’ll let you see it once it’s finished. For now,” she took out one of the grappling hooks, “clip this sucker onto your cuff and give ‘er a go!”

I did as she asked, then looked at the platforms, noticing differently colored numbers on each of them. “What do those numbers mean?” I asked.

“Oh, yeah, so this course has three different difficulties,” Nitori explained. “You follow the numbers in order based on the one you’re attempting. Some platforms are used for two or all three difficulties but you get to them from different angles-”

“Alright, got it.” I immediately shot up to the platform with the first red number, and from there zipped, flipped and tumbled through a series of pipes, platforms and obstacles, at one point actually skipping one step by hurtling toward a cliff face and wall-jumping off of it. Having mastered flying in the real world, I realized I could incorporate many of the same principles to my grappling hook technique even though I had no control over my own momentum and obviously couldn’t float in midair, instead controlling my falls and using them to swing using the grappling hook like Spider-Man. It did help that these cables were very, very strong, stronger even than the ones the Phantom Thieves used, giving me more confidence in using it and testifying to Nitori’s superior craftsmanship.

I touched down in front of Nitori out of a somersault, brushing myself off as I stood up. “So, what do you think?”

Nitori clapped her hands excitedly. “That was awesome! You’re even better at this than I thought you’d be!”

“Well, I do have prior experience,” I said. “Surely I haven’t lost all of it.”

“No kidding. I can barely finish Level 2 yet, and I made the damn course!” She held one of the hooks in her hand. “Still, your showing off and taking that hook to the limit is exactly what I needed to see, so that I can call these hooks final and start making lots of them so we have extras.”

“These will greatly aid our explorations,” I complimented. “I’m glad to have you with us.”

“Ehehe… thank you.” Nitori shyly turned around, but I could see a smile on her face.

“Now, let’s go back to your shop. I still have other business with you.”

“Oh, yes, the guns. I wanted to show you them too.”

We went back to her shop in the real world, where she produced a wooden crate full of surplus knives, swords and guns.

I whistled. “Where did you get all this?”

“We kappa are the only race in Gensokyo that use human guns,” she explained. “Some of these fell in from Outside, but the rest are all rejected surplus from our factory we have carved into the face of Youkai Mountain.” She pulled a pistol from the top of the pile, which I recognized as a Glock. “I’ve made hundreds of custom guns and modified thousands of others. I bet I could upgrade your pistol there to have more killing power.”

I pulled out my pistol and showed it to her. “My pistol? But it’s only a model.”

“In the real world, but in the Metaverse it works just like the real thing. I can make it look and work deadlier in there so it can take down bigger and badder enemies. Besides, I heard you can fire danmaku from that thing as well. I can refine its magic-focusing so that it works better in Spell Card Duels as well!”

“Is that so…” I put the gun on the table. “If you would, then, please upgrade this gun as you see fit, and have it ready when we meet back up tomorrow.”

“Oh please, this tiny thing? I can have it done in under an hour.” She took the gun. “But, I guess you got other things to do, so I’ll let you go if you don’t need anything else.”

“None which I can think of off the top of my head,” I said.

“Excellent. See ‘ya tomorrow then.”

I made my way out of the ravine, satisfied with Nitori’s work and her apparent enthusiasm for working alongside us. It made me wonder just what all the small girl was capable of, and in some respects reminded me of Futaba.

Come to think of it, I could draw some parallels between my own team and Ren’s. Youmu was similar to Yusuke in that she wielded a katana and used Ice attacks, and Marisa shared Makoto’s Nuclear attacks, healing spells and revolver. Reimu was less clear: she had Yusuke’s assault rifle, Ann’s Fire attacks and Haru’s gun attacks, and her peculiar personality was unlike anyone I had ever met.

And, of course, I took after Ren himself, up to being a Wild Card. Sure, we couldn’t meet face-to-face anymore, but I still considered him my rival. Envious at him having every advantage over me and how easily he could prevail over any hardship thrown at him… at one point did I start feeling that I was the one lagging behind, and needed to catch up? I knew I was supposed to hate him, and yet I couldn’t stop thinking about him, living up to him, and musing about how we could have been friends had we met earlier in our lives…

I was thinking about these things, when I started hearing squeaking sounds. Looking around and then down, I noticed there was a very large number of… mice. Of course I jumped up, startled by the crowd of rodents skittering all over the path, and tried to step around them so they didn’t crawl all over my feet.

“Ah, sorry,” came a voice, “I didn’t realize there was another traveller. I’ll rein them in now.”

Looking down the path, I saw a girl dressed in grey clothes with a blue diamond on her chest, as well as gray hair and what looked like mouse ears on her head. She also had a long mouse tail holding a small basket on the end, and was carrying two dowsing rods in her hands. Raising one of them, the mice all gathered around her feet, with some of them climbing up her clothes.

“Are you on your way to visit the temple?” she asked. “If so, follow me. I will guide you.”

Temple… “...I’m sorry, do you mean the Myouren Temple?”

“This is the path to it,” she affirmed. “Are you lost?”

“Ah, no, that’s not it, it’s just… I just came here from the ravine, and didn’t know where I was, but I did mean to visit the temple today as well.”

“I see… in that case, follow me. It isn’t much further.”

A few minutes later, we emerged from the trees onto a small mountain ridge, first passing the ropeway station Keine had mentioned, then up a stone staircase leading up to an outer wall and an archway, past which lay a grand, sprawling temple - the Myouren Temple. When I first saw it, I could sense the history and holiness oozing from every centimeter of it, particularly as I passed by the bronze Buddha statues adjoining the pathway up to the main entrance. Near us was a girl with a broom, whom I recognized as the dog-eared girl from New Year’s Eve, sweeping the grounds and wagging her tail in sync while singing an echoing, haunting yet beautiful song in Sanskrit, likely some sort of sutra.

Ascending the steps, the door in front of us opened to reveal a tall girl with red clothes, blonde hair with black streaks and a tiger-patterned pelt, and with a small pagoda attached to her hip with a leather strap.

“Shou-sama, I have come,” the mouse girl bowed. “And I’ve brought a visitor.”

The tiger-girl, whose name was apparently ‘Shou’ replied, “I can see that. Did you find the item I requested?”

“Yes. It took a considerable amount of time, but I eventually found it.” She reached into her basket and pulled out a moss-covered stone idol. “Now then, I must return to Muenzuka. I have much business to attend to.”

“Do as you need, Nazrin,” Shou bowed. “And again, thank you for bringing this man here safely.” The mouse girl left, with her army of mice in tow.

“Now then, what brings you here to the Myouren Temple today, young man seeking enlightenment?” Shou asked me.

“Good afternoon, Shou-san,” I bowed. “My name is Goro Akechi. Truthfully, I only arrived in Gensokyo recently, and heard about this place from others.”

“I see, an Outsider. Well, you have come to a very good place. I am Shou Toramaru. Allow me to guide you inside to our master.”

I followed her inside the temple, and was immediately met with a scene of acolytes sitting on the floor, deep in meditation. In front of them was a woman, dressed in a black-and-white-robe and with hair which was purple at the top of her head but transitioned to yellow further down. She was quietly reciting sutra, but even so I could feel it resonate through my frame, leaving me with a strange sense of calm and serenity. I closed my eyes, and my mind started emptying of stray thoughts…

“Namaste, Akechi-san,” she said.

My eyes flung open and I jolted.

“Nothin’ gets past Hijiri, ‘ya know,” said one of them, a girl with short black hair wearing a sailor outfit. “You were yakkin’ pretty loud out there.”

The woman raised a hand. “You may all take a break, so that we can all introduce ourselves to this young gentleman.” She got up from her kneeling position, folded her hands and opened her eyes. She was a statue of a woman, taller even than myself, with a beaming face, a gentle smile, and… well, she was quite endowed too. She bowed toward me. “Namaste. I am Byakuren Hijiri, and I am the priestess of this temple. And these are some of my followers.”

Two of the acolytes, including the sailor girl, got up to come greet me. “Greetings,” the girl said, “the name’s Captain Minamitsu Murasa.”

“Captain?” I asked. “Where’s the ship?”

“You’re in it,” she smiled, “this temple can turn into a flyin’ ship, although it’s been a few years since the last time it’s flown.”

The other girl, who wore blue and white robes and had blue hair, introduced herself as well. “And I am Ichirin Kumoi. It’s a pleasure to have you, Akechi-san.”

“It’s a pleasure to be here,” I replied.

“Tell me, what brings you to us today?” Byakuren asked me. “Do you come to clear your head, separate your body from worldly desires and pursue the path of the dharma?”

I shook my head. “I merely wished to visit this place, as I have heard good things about it from Keine-san and other villagers. In particular, I wished to visit you, Hijiri-sama.”

Byakuren chuckled. “You’re a very polite, charming gentleman. Your parents must have raised you well.”

I shook my head again. “No… I was an orphan on the Outside; both of my parents died when I was a baby. I’ve raised myself, mostly, enough to live on my own and be able to work for the SIU as a detective while I was still going to school.”

“Impressive,” Byakuren commented. “You have already overcome great challenges in your life and have become a successful and strong young man.”

“...it certainly did not come easily,” I admitted.

“I bet,” Minamitsu smirked. “And now ‘yer in a whole new mess, away from everythin’ you know and here in Gensokyo surrounded by youkai. Literally, ‘cause ‘yer the only human in the room right now!”

I looked around. “Is that so?”

“It is so,” Byakuren bowed. “This is a temple of youkai who have chosen to walk the path of enlightenment, abandoning our man-eating ways. I say ‘our’ because I myself am a youkai.”

“Interesting,” I noted. “Seeking enlightenment seems like the very last thing a youkai, a being brought to life by human fears and superstitions and weak to holy powers, would ever wish to do. It’s almost like…” I thought for a moment. “It’s almost like the sharks from Finding Nemo, who consider fish to be their friends, not food. Except for dolphins, I guess,” I chuckled.

“I dunno what you’re talkin’ about, but I do get the analogy of sharks not eatin’ fish bein’ like us not eatin’ humans,” Minamitsu said. “And yeah, screw dolphins, they think they’re all fancy and smart and stuff flippin’ their fins and balancin’ stuff on their noses. Or seals, they just be all fat and slappin’ their bellies like this,” and then she got on the floor and started slapping herself rapidly while everyone started laughing.

“...is she always like this?” I asked.

“Well, she is a sailor,” Shou said. “Bring up any topic related to the sea and you’ll get her wound up and ranting for hours.”

“I… see.”

“Is that a new voice I hear?” came a muffled voice from the back. A door flung open to reveal a brown-haired woman with glasses and a massive raccoon tail…

“Welcome to the temple!” she bellowed. “Name’s Mamizou Futatsuiwa. Imma tanuki, and ‘yer-” she hunched over and adjusted her glasses. “Eh? Come to think of it, have I seen ‘ye somewhere before?”

I thought for a moment, then snapped my fingers. “Were you that woman I saw the day after Christmas go into the store across the street from where I live at the Kirisame Shop, and you had a pink-haired girl with masks with you?”

“...oh yeah, ‘yer that guy! Kasen was sayin’ stuff about ‘ye the other day! You’re that feller who fell in from Outside recently?” She chuckled. “Well, of course youkai like eatin’ Outside humans, but to think a boy this delicious would just pop in all of a sudden…”

“Er…”

“Don’t tease the boy,” Ichirin said, giving Mamizou a friendly jab.

“I know, I know,” Mamizou said waving her hands, “just givin’ ‘im an idea what he’s gettin’ ‘imself into.”

“I can fly,” I said, “and I’m learning spells cards.”

“Oooooohhhhh, real fancy pants goin’ in with both feet on the ground I see!” She then pulled me in with one arm. “Gonna warn ‘ye though: ain’t enough spell cards in the world gonna help ‘ye deal with this old fart, ahahahahaha!”

Scowling, I managed to push her off of me, before I pointed to her tail. “Are you a tanuki?” I asked.

“Yep, proud of it too!” She puffed out her chest and wagged her tail side to side. “Ain’t gonna find a stronger one anywhere, I’ll say! I can transform, too. Check this out!”

Suddenly the air around her erupted in smoke - accompanied, I swear, with the same 8-bit sound effect from Super Mario Bros. 3 - causing us to avert our eyes and cough. When the smoke cleared, I looked back, and saw a figure resembling myself, except wearing glasses and having both the tail and the ears of a tanuki.

“Tell ‘ye what, though,” Mamizou said, adjusting her glasses, “not used to disguisin’ as men. Seems like I never get their proportions quite right.” Meanwhile I winced at hearing my own voice, as most people do. She chuckled, “Oh yeah, hate listenin’ to your own voice, huh? Yeah, I do that to people. They say it doesn’t sound right.” She burst into smoke again, reverting to her original form. “‘Course, a guy with a girl voice doesn’t sound right either, ‘ye know??”

“I… I guess not,” I shrugged. “Still, this is quite the interesting crew you all have here. A buddhist temple of youkai…”

“Humans come up and meditate with us often, too,” Shou said. “Me and Sister Hijiri even teach the kids martial arts. Once a month, she also holds an overnight sutra-chanting concert where she chants while banging a wooden fish, and it’s quite popular with villagers and youkai alike.”

“Great for catchin’ up on lost shut-eye,” Minamitsu smirked.

Byakuren bowed. “We should get back to our meditation. Would you like to join in with us, Akechi-san?”

Meditation… I had been running around keeping myself busy for quite a few days, and I still wasn’t fully settled into life in Gensokyo mentally, much less fully past what had happened back in Shido’s Palace, or indeed the months and years leading up to it. If I could clear my mind of stray thoughts and relax, and do so with the help of this beautiful, serene woman, perhaps it could help me find some peace.

I sat down, cross-legged, and closed my eyes. The room was silent, save for Byakuren’s chanting. Again, I felt it resonating through my body, my mind, my soul. I took a breath, and focused in.

…

I’m a bastard child, unloved and unwelcome, a killer without remorse and puppet to the country’s most corrupt man, my father.

…

What if the truth gets out here? People will hate me and isolate me, just as what happened out there. Then where will I go?

…

And if there is a judge of the dead, what will happen when I die alone, and have to answer to my crimes in front of them, before inevitably being cast into the burning flames of Hell?

“...Akechi-san.”

I opened my eyes. “Mh?”

“You fell asleep,” Ichirin said to me. “And it looked like a fitful sleep, too.”

“Indeed, you seem to still be dragged down by stray thoughts,” Shou noted. “And proper meditation shouldn’t cause you to completely lose consciousness like that.”

I shook my head. “I’m sorry. I’ve had a busy past few days. I’m still adjusting to Gensokyo as well.”

“Hm.” Shou crossed her arms. “It’s obvious that you still have a long way to go. You should come up here again. We can help you.”

“I appreciate it,” I said.

“Anyway, it’s almost time for dinner. Would you like to join us?”

“Oh, of course,” I said, wanting to be polite. They led me to the back, where a spread of food and tea had already been laid out, and everyone was already there waiting for us, including the dog-eared girl, and the pink-haired one I recognized from the other day, who sat next to Mamizou. She looked at me with blank, expressionless eyes, which creeped me out.

“You’re awake,” Byakuren said, “and able to join us for dinner. There’s an empty seat next to Kokoro.”

“Is that her name?” I asked.

“Yeah,” Mamizou answered. She looked at Kokoro, who was still staring at me quietly. “Don’t mind her, she’s always curious about newcomers.”

“I… see.” I sat down next to her, which caused the mask on her head to turn from a fox to one of a monkey.

“Oh yeah, the masks. She’s a menreiki, a tsukumogami born from 66 masks used by Hata no Kawakatsu. So, really, she’s the masks, and the girl body is created by them.”

“Interesting,” I noted.

“And, of course, she’s prolly just shy right now. If you come here often, I’m sure she’ll start warmin’ up to ‘ye.”

I looked at the dog-eared girl across the table. “And you. I saw you perform at the New Year’s Eve party at the shrine. You’re quite a talented singer, you and Mystia.”

The girl blushed and smiled while her tail wagged at high speed. “Thank you! I’m Kyouko Kasodani. I’m the groundskeeper here at the temple! It’s a pleasure to meet you, Akechi-san!”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you as well,” I said.

Being a Buddhist temple, dinner consisted of a tofu and vegetable stir-fry and rice. Over dinner, they all talked about things like recent events in their lives, with me chiming in here and there regarding my interactions with Reimu and Marisa. Again, I mentioned my interest in spell cards, and indeed all of them were quite experienced practitioners of them as well, and invited me to come train anytime. Overall, they seemed very hospitable and pleasant to be around. Even so, though, I could sense… dissatisfaction? I could sense something like dissatisfaction and frustration coming from some of them, Shou especially. I wasn’t sure how, and in any case I felt it wasn’t my business, whatever it was that was troubling them.

After dinner, Shou offered to guide me back to the Village, and when we arrived at the shop explained to Masato why I had been out late. He thought it was actually kind of funny that I fell asleep during meditation, and assured me that the people at the temple could be trusted by us, and I agreed.

As I got ready for bed, I changed into my robes and went to put away my dirty clothes, when I remembered I forgot to take my Metaverse key out of them. I pulled it out and set it on my desk, when I realized it was glowing faintly.

“Hm?” I inspected it, and two holographic words appeared:

BYAKUREN HIJIRI

MYOUREN TEMPLE

Chapter Text

1/9

“So both Doremy and Yuyuko know about the Metaverse, and know that we’re exploring it, is what you’re saying?” Reimu said.

I nodded. “Unfortunately.”

The five of us were gathered at the Shrine, discussing our current situation before heading into Ethos to explore it further. There were many things I wanted to go over, but I felt that I had to open by revealing our secret was already known to Yuyuko, a former target, and Doremy, the ruler of the Dream World.

“That’s bad, like, really bad, ain’t it?” Marisa asked.

“But then again, probably not surprising at all,” Reimu said. “If the Metaverse is the ‘collective unconscious,’ as you describe it, then of course someone like Doremy who manages dreams would know about it.”

“And since she’s working with Yuyuko-sama on the investigation into what’s going on Outside, of course she’d fill her in,” Youmu added.

Nitori raised her hand. “Wait, what investigation?”

I turned to her. “Oh, right, we haven’t told you about it yet. Right now, it seems as though there’s a major incident unfolding on the Outside, one which we think is tied to the Metaverse somehow.” I took a sip of tea. “When I went to go meet with them about the investigation two nights ago, in addition to them revealing that they know about our Metaverse activities, Doremy also shared some information on what this disturbance, which is growing by the day, is like.”

“Oh?” All of their eyes were on me.

“She explained to me that it seems as though this strange force is making it so that people have all their greatest desires fulfilled, and never went through devastating losses such as the deaths of loved ones or past abuse. It can even seemingly resurrect people, such as deceased parents of children, rewrite history, or even expunge criminals and corrupt politicians; she saw no mention or allusion to Shido in any recent dreams from Tokyo.”

Marisa kicked back. “Huh. So basically a world where everyone is free and happy. What’s so bad about that?”

Reimu slammed the table. “You idiot! This is a grave, existential threat to Gensokyo!”

“How so?” Marisa asked.

“Well, think about this: why does religion exist? Why do people pray to higher beings? Why do things like youkai, demons, monsters and other superstitions exist?” She focused on all the rest of us. “It’s simple: humans fear the dark, the unknown, and they go through all kinds of hardships in a harsh, cruel world. They seek salvation from all those, and their memes - fears, anger, sadness, beliefs, desires - those memes are the building blocks which all youkai and gods need to take form and thrive. Our entire world is built on memes. So what happens when you throw all that out the window and give people everything they want and take away their reason to be afraid of anything? I’ll tell you what happens: people stop praying to gods, which starves them and causes them to die. If they’re happy all the time, demons, youkai and monsters don’t have their food, so they also die. Every mythical being outside of Gensokyo dies, and that kind of climate on the Outside would, if not reversed, eventually overpower the sage’s ability to keep the Barrier up, causing the Hakurei Border to crumble and kill everyone and everything here. Including all of us.”

All of us were wide-eyed as Reimu finished her rant.

“Shit,” Marisa said, “I knew the Hakurei Border was serious business, but I didn’t know we were toast if everyone’s wishes were granted. Seems stupid and unfair if you ask me.”

“So if we don’t solve this mystery we could all die,” I said. “That’s why we need to get inside Ethos and try to find some answers. If we can tap into the collective unconscious we might be able to discover the culprit and deal with them.”

“Assuming we can,” Reimu said. “Doing something like this, affecting the public’s cognition on a global scale, would require immense power. I wouldn’t be surprised if a god were responsible.”

“I didn’t know changing human cognition could literally change the world in such an extreme way,” Nitori said.

“It can, as Reimu said.” I looked over at her. “Still, I never thought I’d hear you talk about memes, in a psychology sense.”

Reimu crossed her arms on the table. “I always knew how human beliefs and fears shaped religion and created youkai and gods, but it wasn’t until I went into the Metaverse, Goro explained how it worked and especially after I awakened to my Persona that it all finally clicked. I remembered an old conversation I had with Yukari, or rather a lecture she gave me, about human perception and memes, and how she called them ‘the substance of the soul.’” She chuckled. “Sheesh, I never thought in a million years it would ever be relevant to what I did, and yet here I am, dealing with an incident about human cognition and belief itself.”

Marisa cut in. “Can we talk about this later? I know this psychology shit’s interesting and all, but the bottom line is that we’re dealing with a big-ass threat on the Outside, Yuyuko and Doremy know our secret, and we need to keep ‘em from rattin’, is that it?”

“Precisely,” I said. “And because they know our secret, we need to keep them on our side. I do have some leverage over them - they explicitly told me they need me alive to help deal with the incident, since I know the Metaverse like no one else - but it will fall on Youmu to monitor them and make sure they stick true to their promise of not selling us out.”

Youmu bowed. “I will not let you down, not after what you all did for me.”

“Good.” I turned back to the table. “Now, before we head for Ethos, there is one other topic I’d like to bring up.”

“Shoot,” Marisa said.

I chose to cut straight to the point. “Byakuren Hijiri also has a Fortress.”

Reimu spat out her tea. “Wait, what???”

“I went to the temple yesterday. When I came back, I found that my key had reacted to two keywords: her name, and the temple. All that’s missing is the distortion.” I took out my key to show them.

“Hot damn,” Marisa said. “Guess we got ourselves another target.”

“But,” Youmu asked, “shouldn’t we focus on the incident Outside first?”

“Absolutely,” I affirmed. “But, this is a distortion that exists, and could be affecting the acolytes at her temple, and perhaps others as well. Plus, our efforts to solve the Outside incident may hit roadblocks; having another Fortress to work on in the meantime would allow us to keep our skills fresh, and possibly find some more clues as well.”

Marisa nodded. “Eh, good point. Not like there’s that much we can do from Gensokyo, anyway.”

“We don’t know that,” Reimu said. “We just have to go to Ethos and take a look.”

Nitori started twiddling her fingers. Marisa looked at her. “Somethin’ wrong?”

“Oh, nothing, it’s just… speaking of targets, remember how I said I had one condition for joining you all?”

“What about it?” I asked.

“Well, there’s…” she looked up at us. “Do you all remember the yamawaro? Besides Goro, I mean?”

“Yamawaro?” I asked.

“A few years back,” Marisa explained, “some kappa left the river, callin’ themselves ‘yamawaro.’ Kappa are antisocial with each other anyway, but the yamawaro have a superiority complex, and often taunt and bully the kappa down in the ravine, callin’ them things like ‘wimps’ and ‘babies who won’t leave the water.’ And unlike the Kappa, they’re well organized and can mug pretty much anyone they want, humans, youkai, even goddesses on occasion.”

“Right,” Nitori affirmed. “There’s one in particular who likes to torment me, beat me up and talk about how much more awesome than me she is and how she can ban me from doing anything.”

“What’s her name?” I asked.

“Her name is… Mitori Kawashiro.”

My eyes widened. “Kawashiro? Is she your sister?”

“Technically, yes, we came from the same clutch of eggs, but we didn’t grow up together or anything. Again, we Kappa are solitary creatures, we don’t really keep in touch even with our own kin, so she’s just as much a stranger as anyone else to me.”

I took out my key and said the name again. When I did, it shined, displayed a projection of her name, then did something else which it did not do with Yuyuko: another projection displayed “Ethos, Prajna Block.”

We examined the key. “‘Prajna Block,’” said Reimu. “What does that mean?”

“It must be her shadow’s location within Ethos,” I surmised. “This must mean that if a person’s shadow is distorted, but not enough to have a Fortress, they will appear in Ethos in the location specified and all we need is their name.” I rubbed my chin. “This is just like how finding targets in Mementos worked.”

“So does this mean we can take on smaller fry without havin’ to haggle with keywords?” Marisa asked.

“Yes,” I answered.

Marisa clasped her hands. “Sweet! So we can just go out, find small-time crooks and change a buncha hearts all in one place! And get lots of loot, too!”

“It’s always about the loot, isn’t it?” Reimu sighed.

“Not like you’re any better with your get-rich-quick schemes,” Marisa snarked.

“In any case,” Youmu cut in, “we have a new big target, and a smaller target within Ethos. I see no reason not to take them on. What about all of you?”

“Let’s go for it,” Marisa said.

“I’m in,” replied Reimu.

“Of course,” I said. I turned to Nitori. “And you? We don’t act without a unanimous vote.”

“Well, I mean, I put her name out, right? And if we tackle her, then I’ll help you with anything you all want to do, as I promised.”

“Then it’s settled,” I said, getting up. “Our first official operation as the Day Breakers. Are you all ready?”

“Let’s get goin’!” Marisa smiled. “We don’t have all day!”

A while later, we were back in Ethos. After our last visit, we hastily beached the boat and left it in the Metaverse, dropping the anchor to ensure no shadows could run off with it. We were pleased to see it was still exactly where we left it, so we decided we would just keep it here - it was too big for Marisa’s bagging pistol to hold, and something in the real world might try to steal it or hole up in, not to mention the boat’s mere existence itself could be seen as suspicious. There was no sign of the Vajra shadow which had attacked us last time, either. So we simply sailed to Ethos and immediately went to work.

“So where are we gonna find Mitori’s shadow?” Marisa asked. “The key said she was somewhere in ‘Prajna Block,’ but we don’t know where that is.”

“There must be a map somewhere,” I said. Turning to Nitori, I asked her, “can you find something… um, er…”

“What is it?” Nitori asked.

“I just realized you don’t have a codename yet,” I said.

“Codename?”

“We don’t use our real names here,” Reimu explained. “It’s to prevent any adverse effects happening to us in the Metaverse.”

“Plus,” Marisa added, “it ain’t cool for superheroes like us to just use our real names when we’re goin’ around doin’ superhero stuff!”

“...even though you both use your real names when solving incidents,” Youmu said.

Both had no comment.

“Anyway, my codename is ‘Crow,” I bowed.

“I’m Fury,” said Youmu, brandishing her sword.

“Starburst!” Marisa smirked, flashing a peace sign.

“And I’m Seraph,” said Reimu. “Remember those names, because we use them exclusively.”

“I see…” Nitori shuffled around, twirling her lab coat as she did. “...to be honest, I’m not great at coming up with names…”

“We could just go with something obvious for now, and you can change it later if you don’t like it,” I said.

“Something obvious?” She looked at her sleeves. “Why do I look like a doctor?”

“It reflects your idea of a hero,” I answered. “Some aspect about your ideals causes you to believe doctors and scientists to be heroes. In my case, I’m a secret agent, as I worked for the Special Investigations Unit and firmly believe in bringing criminals to justice, but I’m not above working in the shadows or performing legally dubious acts myself if that’s what it takes.”

“Interesting…” Nitori thought for a bit. “...when I awakened my Persona, it explained that I strive to discover truth and lead others to it. I’ve never bought into religion, and I always look for scientific explanations and constantly invent things to make life easier, or discover new ways of doing things, just like a scientist would. Sure, I might be arrogant and stuck-up about it, but in the end that’s what I’m trying to do.”

“And so that’s why you look like a professor?” I asked.

“Well… more like a ‘Herr Doktor’ if you ask me,” she smiled.

I was confused. “What do you mean?”

“You know those stories about German mad doctors?” she asked. “Right now, I kinda feel like one of those, since I’m always inventing crazy new things and I’m in charge of building and upgrading all of your weapons. Plus,” one of her robotic snake heads came out of her back, “can you really consider this ‘science?’”

“Ah, I see,” Marisa said. “Goin’ for that ‘mad scientist’ vibe, eh? Honestly, I think it suits you.”

“So what you’re suggesting is…”

Nitori recalled her Persona and came back down to the ground. “You should all call me ‘Herr Doktor,’ or just ‘Doktor’ for short.”

I smiled. “If that’s what you would like to be called, then ‘Herr Doktor’ it is.”

“Thank you!” she smiled. She then pulled out a PDA, which spawned a satellite dish and a holographic map display. “Now, as for a map, I’ve got one right here in the palm of my hands. In just a few strokes, I can zero in on anywhere in the tower that I can see. Lesse…”

The hologram was divided into several segments, each representing a floor. When Nitori tapped it with two fingers, each floor above the bottom one was highlighted red.

“Hmhm… I see!”

“What is it?” Marisa asked.

“Seems as though the floors above here are the ‘Prajna’ block. In other words, you all have already visited it.”

“But we haven’t yet seen all of it,” I thought. “There were more floors above where we stopped for that day.” I turned to her and asked, “can you tell where Mitori’s shadow might be?”

“I can try.” She summoned her Persona again, which spawned another radar dish which spun around and fed information to her PDA. After a few moments, she said, “seems like she’s higher up. Like, as high up as I can see with my gear.”

“So we just gotta go up,” Marisa said.

“Seems like it.” Fixing my tie and spinning my knife into a reverse grip, I told the group, “we’re better equipped now than last time. We have better medicine, better weapons, and a navigator who can show us the way through the dark and the haze. Even so, we must be careful. The Reaper will stalk us if it gets the chance, and the floors above teem with shadows. Knowing that, are you all ready to ascend the tower with me?”

“Just waitin’ for the signal, bubba,” Marisa said. The rest all silently nodded.

“Good. Let’s head up.”

We made our way up to the safe room a few floors up where we had stopped last time. Nitori informed us that Mitori’s shadow was still further up, so we gathered our resolve and ascended the staircase. The upper floors of the Prajna block were much like the ones further down: mazes of stone walls, all filled with shadows wandering through them aimlessly, scraps of material and metallic bits on the floor, and treasure chests full of gold, gear and weapons including upgrades to Reimu and Youmu’s melee weapons and a new gun for Marisa resembling a Colt.

At one point, we came across another chest. This one had a lock, not that it mattered since Marisa’s crowbar could knock them off anyway. Between us and the chest, however, was a curious object on the floor. It looked like a bouquet of flowers floating in a yellow bubble. Marisa went up to it and inspected it.

“The hell is this thing?” she asked. “What are flowers doin’ here in Ethos?”

I walked up to the flowers to get a closer look. That’s when I realized I had seen these before.

“Ah, yes, these sometimes appeared in Mementos as well. When I was with the Thieves, they collected these flowers and gave them to a strange boy who also explored Mementos in his car. He supposedly explained to them that these flowers are formed from human emotions, and made drinks from to help his understanding of humans better.”

“What a strange boy…” Reimu thought.

Marisa bagged the flowers. “Well, whatever. Treasure’s treasure, and if we collect these maybe somethin’ good will happen.”

“Agreed,” I said. “We must leave no stone unturned.” I looked over my shoulder. “Let’s keep moving. We don’t want to be cornered by the Reaper in a place like this.”

“Understood.” Youmu stood guard while Marisa fiddled with the chest, which yielded some armor. Armor, once equipped, fused with your clothes, essentially imbuing them with their properties, allowing us to move around freely and still enjoy the armor’s benefits. A very useful trait when you’re constantly on the move.

A couple floors later, we found the stairs up to the next floor were on the other side of a crevice with spikes on the bottom, which was too wide for us to jump.

“Damn it,” Marisa grunted. “Ain’t there some other way around this?”

I looked around, and saw a ceiling torch which could rather conveniently serve as a hook. Stepping back, I held out my hand, shooting the grappling hook up at the torch, tugged on it to make sure it was secure, then jumped and swung over the pit, retracted the line in midair, and stylishly flipped onto the opposite side.

“WHOA!” Marisa exclaimed. “How’d ‘ya do that???”

“With these!” Nitori revealed her other grappling hooks. “Pits, high ledges, we can zip right by them with these grappling hooks!” She handed them out to the other three, before demonstrating her own grappling hook to join me on the other side. Marisa eagerly followed us over, with Youmu right behind her.

“This is sooo cool, Nitori! Almost makes up for the fact we can’t fly!”

“This is… quite the rush…” Youmu mused.

“Ya comin’ over or what, Seraph??” Marisa asked Reimu.

Reimu didn’t say anything. Instead, she fired off her hook, leaped into the air, then released her hook before spreading her wings and gliding over to us, touching down with one hand on the ground. The rest of us just stared at her while she got up and inspected them.

“I’m… still getting used to the feeling of having these,” she said. She raised her angel wing. “Controlling two extra limbs isn’t easy.” She raised her bat wing. “And they don’t catch wind in quite the same way…”

“Ah, chin up!” Marisa grinned. “I’m sure you’ll figure out how to fly with those things in no time! Then you’ll be zippin’ to places we can’t!”

“And isn’t flight you power in the real world as well?” Youmu asked. “I see no reason why you can’t learn to do it here, as long as you have those.”

“Er… yeah, but-”

“We really must keep moving,” I urged. “We can’t rest until we reach a safe floor.” I led them up the staircase, and as I did so I swore I could hear a distant metallic rattle somewhere behind us.

As it happened, the next floor up was the highest up floor which Nitori could detect. As we emerged from the stairs, we could tell it was different from the others: it was wide open, and a blue wall stood at the other side in between bronze pillars and statues of Buddha.

And standing in front of it was a pink-haired girl with a red dress and hat, with a lock on her chest mirroring the key on Nitori’s, and holding a “road closed” sign. Her yellow eyes and the darkness around her feet gave her away as a shadow.

“That’s it!” Nitori exclaimed. “That’s her!”

“What’s with the sign?” Marisa asked.

“It has to do with her power,” Nitori explained. “She can prohibit anything. Stop your movement, disable attacks, block off caves and roads.”

“Is that so?” Youmu wondered. “I wonder if that will make her a difficult opponent.”

“Hopefully not,” I said. “We’ve already seen that a person’s real-world powers do not necessarily translate to what their shadow is capable of. Still, we should keep our guards up and be ready for anything.”

“Absolutely,” Reimu affirmed.

We stepped forward, Shadow Mitori seemingly not reacting to our presence, until we were close and she finally spoke.

“Halt!” she shouted. “I won’t let intruders pass, especially not you, Nitori!”

Nitori stamped her foot. “I’ve come to put an end to your abuse!”

“And yet you don’t come alone,” Shadow Mitori chided. “It’s just like always with you: hiding behind others’ power because you’re too spineless to get anything done yourself. Me? I can take on anyone, even you, miss shrine maiden, and the sages, and win!”

Nitori wasn’t intimidated. “I’d like to see you try,” she dared. “I’ve never seen you push around anyone outside of the Ravine. And if it weren’t for me, all of my friends here would have died!”

Shadow Mitori scoffed. “Kappa are not people who rely on friends. We are a race which prizes the strength of the individual. He or she who rises to the top has the right to subjugate those weaker than them, and create their own laws which all others must follow.” She twirled her sign around and pointed it at us. “You river kappa still don’t seem to get it. Therefore, I will show you your place, show you why the yamawaro are superior!” Her body then quivered, before quickly dissolving into darkness and reforming into a red starfish with one blue eye - Decarabia.

Marisa sneered. “You think you can scare us? I’ve chewed through goddesses tougher than you.”

I took a fighting stance. “Let’s get in formation. Scan her, Doktor.”

“Got it! Navigation power on!” She summoned her Persona, floating in the air behind us, while the rest of us drew our weapons and got ready to fight.

“Don’t you know? I can block anyone and anything! Watch this!” Shadow Mitori then created a yellow shield in front of herself - Tetrakarn - followed immediately by a blue one - Makarakarn. “Go ahead. Just try to lay a finger on me!”

I grunted. “Damn it, she’s packing deflector shields.”

“Come again?” Reimu asked.

“That yellow shield repels physical attacks, including our guns, and the blue one repels magic. If we attack her with anything, it will simply bounce right back and hurt the user, but it also breaks the shield.”

“Izzat so?” Marisa said. “Well, if that’s the case, guess I’ll have to break into my bag of tricks!” She reached into her bag and got out a glass bottle with a cross on it. “Holy water. A must for any demon hunter.”

“What good will that do us?” Reimu asked.

“Catch!” Marisa tossed the bottle over to Reimu. “Throw that thing at her!”

“Um… alright,” Reimu said. She threw the bottle at Shadow Mitori like a grenade, where it hit the ground and released white lights - Kouha. Of course it activated the Makarakarn, causing the lights to rocket back at Reimu before dissipating harmlessly.

“Impressive,” I complimented. “Crafting infiltration tools, and exploiting Reimu’s Bless immunity to break the shield without anyone getting hurt.”

“They’re meant for deterrin’ demons during my ingredient hunts in Makai, but I found durin’ tests they released those light balls in the Metaverse and figured I could put them to good use. I have a few other things like ‘em too, just in case.”

“In any case, it looks like we now have somewhat of an opening. Let loose with magic!” We attacked Mitori using various magic attacks while she retaliated with Eiha. We managed to establish that she resisted Nuke and Curse and reflected Fire even without the Makarakarn, and she wasn’t weak to anything we had.

“Damn,” Reimu grunted. “She’s surprisingly tough!”

Shadow Mitori cackled. “You fools! You think I earned my status by being weak? I cut my way to the top with my strength and skill! I can prohibit anyone from doing anything and there’s nothing they can do about it!”

Nitori chuckled. “Nothing, eh?” She hit a button on her PDA, which caused a complete profile of the foe to project from it. “Scan complete! Get a load of this!”

Marisa couldn’t believe what she saw. “She’s weak to physical attacks??? Hell, this’ll be easy!”

“But she still has Tetrakarn up,” I noted. “Any physical blow will just be countered.”

“How do we diffuse it?” Reimu asked.

“There are spells that break the shields, but none of us have either of them…”

Marusa rubbed her chin, smirked and glared from under her brim. “Any physical attack?” She looked over to Youmu. “Fury! Get into attack position! Move on my word!”

Youmu drew her blade. “Understood.”

“Good.” Marisa then produced her bag gun, ejected a chipped copper vase, then threw it at Shadow Mitori. The attack triggered the physical barrier, causing it to shoot back at Marisa who caught it with the bag gun. The second the barrier was struck, Marisa gave Youmu a signal to charge Shadow Mitori. Youmu then summoned her Persona and let loose with a rapid flurry of slashes, which served to soften Shadow Mitori up for one finishing Giant Slice right to the eye, which knocked the starfish down to the ground, enabling us to surround it.

As we drew our weapons (with Nitori getting in on the fun as well, drawing an over-the-top retro-futuristic laser rifle), Shadow Mitori lay on the ground, protesting “preposterous! How can you lowlifes defeat me, she who prohibits everything?!”

“Prohibiting everything won’t stop those who don’t care about the rules,” I quipped. I looked over to Nitori. “What do you want to do?”

Nitori grinned. “I think it’s time… to let ‘er rip!!!” At that cue, we jumped into and tore the starfish apart, until it lay defeated on the floor, bleeding money we mugged from it, and transformed back into Shadow Mitori’s battered, bruised self.

We stood back, and watched as Shadow Mitori slowly got back onto her feet and shakily steadied herself.

“Geh! You damn thieves always think violence is the answer to everything!”

“You didn’t exactly want to peacefully negotiate either, here or in the real world,” I said.

“What choice did I have??” she pleaded. “If you don’t control anyone, somebody else will just come and control you! Like those damn Tengu on the mountain! Or that priestess in the temple! Seriously, tried goin’ there a few times, but you know, that lady only preaches the path to Nirvana or something, when really she sees herself as some kind of saint and god who treats her followers like livestock!”

Our eyes widened at this revelation. “Is that… so?” Reimu said.

“It is so!” Shadow Mitori pleaded. “You of all people should know that, you kicked her ass a few years back!”

“Well… yeah, but, since then Byakuren hasn’t come off as anything except a kind, if somewhat misguided woman…”

“See?! You do recognize it!! She ain’t just ‘misguided,’ she’s a complete phony, and she and the Tengu tried to control me! That’s why I tried to exert myself over others, I didn’t want to be controlled too!”

Nitori shook her head. “But… that doesn’t make you any better than them. It makes you exactly like them too.”

“I… I understand that.” Shadow Mitori chuckled. “Guess I’m an awful big sister, aren’t I?”

“It couldn’t be helped,” Nitori said. “The way we kappa are, the way our ‘society’ works, it makes us all antisocial bigots and boors. I used to be exactly the same way. But I’ve resolved to end hate and distortion, with the help of my friends. Promise me you’ll help me too.”

Shadow Mitori nodded. “Okay… I will… sister…” Her body glowed, turned into a white light, then left behind a card on the ground.

Marisa walked up to the card and picked it up. “What’s this thing?”

“The bud of a treasure,” I explained. “If we had left it alone, it would likely have grown into a full-scale Fortress.” I examined the card Marisa held; it was a Tetraja skill card. “Do you mind if I take this? It might come in handy later.”

“Sure, go ahead.” She handed the card over to me, then turned to stare at the blue wall behind where Shadow Mitori had been standing. “Now then… somethin’s fishy about this wall…”

“Hmm.” Nitori deployed her radar dish, which caused her PDA to flash. “Now that you mention it, I can detect readings behind it. They’re faint, but there’s no mistaking them.”

“So… does that mean this is actually a door?” Youmu asked.

“Most likely,” I said. “Certainly we are nowhere near the top of the tower.”

Marisa kicked the wall, to no effect. “But if it’s a door, how do we get it to open? There a switch? A key? Do we just bust it down with brute force?”

Reimu sighed. “What is it with you and wanting to destroy things with big explosions?”

“Exactly,” I said, “plus if we did something like that it’d attract shadows to us. Let’s see…” I examined the door, and thought about the similar doors separating areas in Mementos. “This tower, Ethos, is a Fortress shared among those who live here in Gensokyo.”

“Yeah, what about it?” Marisa asked.

“Back in Tokyo, the Phantoms explained to me that, initially, they could not venture very far down into Mementos, but as they took down palaces and their notoriety grew they started leaving more of a mark on the collective unconscious, causing deeper and deeper parts of Mementos to open up.”

Youmu looked at the wall. “I see… are you suggesting we need to do something similar here?”

“Quite possibly,” I answered. “If we take on more small targets and bring down more Fortresses, it may allow us to access higher areas of Ethos, perhaps eventually leading us to the top.”

“The top, huh?” Marisa looked up at the ceiling. “Wonder what’s gonna be up there waitin’ for us? Treasure? A gate to heaven? Better not be some big, eldritch monster that’ll eat us all alive. That’d be a really lame prize for all the work we put into haulin’ our asses all the way up there.”

“In any case, the incident Outside, at least for now, takes priority over Fortresses or getting to the top of Ethos.” She thought silently for a moment. “Still… this is all too big and strange to ignore. No incident is ‘ordinary,’ but this one is extremely strange, and the more I dive into it the stranger it gets.”

“You can say that again,” Marisa said.

I looked at the wall again. “Anyway, it looks as though this is as far as we’ll get for now. I’m sensing another gap in cognition on this floor. We can warp back down to the entrance hall, then come back here and resume our exploration from here. Or, we can stay a little longer and train, or find additional treasure, before we head back.

Marisa yawned and stretched. “Nah, let’s go back. I’m feelin’ pretty beat.”

Reimu yawned as well. “Now that you mention it… we stayed up pretty late last night playing games with the others, didn’t we? And we didn’t get much sleep because they kept making so much noise.”

I crossed my arms and yawned as well. Actually, I think all of us yawned. “Well then, if that’s the case, then we should return to the real world. If one person is exhausted, it would slow the rest of us down and make us vulnerable to ambushes.”

“Good idea,” Marisa affirmed.

We warped back down to the entrance hall and prepared to leave Ethos, with me making a quick detour into the Velvet Room to do a couple fusions. We were just about to exit, when we heard a noise outside.

“What’s that noise?” Reimu asked.

Nitori’s radar dish deployed. “I’m getting a strange reading approaching us from out there.”

I listened carefully. “It sounds like… a car.”

“A… car?” Marisa said.

We cleared the entrance, and moments later a blue, bathtub-shaped car with a pile of junk tied precariously onto the back zoomed in, drifted toward the wall beside us, and stopped. Its driver, a small boy with grey hair and a grey-and-white jacket, jumped out and pitched a starry tent next to it.

I instantly recognized who this boy was. The others, however, had no clue who he was or what he was doing here, that was certain.

“Phew,” he sighed. “It’s been pretty tough lately, especially with all those weird cables all over Mementos.”

I stepped up to him and bowed. “Long time, no see.”

He looked up at me, stared for a second, then jumped back in surprise. “Oh! Mister… er, Crow? What are you doing here? How did YOU get here???”

“I could ask the same,” I replied. “How did you get here from Mementos?”

“Oh, that’s, uh… that’s a secret!”

Soon, the others walked up as well. “‘Ya know this kid?” Marisa asked.

“As a matter of fact, I do,” I said. “He's the boy I was telling you all about earlier, the one who gathers flowers.”

Reimu crouched down to his level. “What’s a boy like you doing here in Ethos, though?”

“I live here.”

...huh?

“...eh?” Marisa grunted.

“I said I live here. My name’s Jose. I’m studying humans on behalf of my master. This is where I camp out when I’m not driving through and collecting things in Mementos.”

“I… see.” I bowed again. “Well, you already know me, but I’ll introduce myself again. I’m Crow.”

“Seraph.”

“Fury.”

“Herr Doktor!”

“And Starburst!”

“Together, we’re known as ‘The Day Breakers,’” I said. “We’re going around, destroying fortresses and attempting to solve the mystery of this tower.”

“Is that so?” Jose said. He looked up. “Then I guess you’re just like the Phantom Thieves!”

“Er… yes,” I said.

Jose approached the spiral staircase leading up. “You know, I said I live here, but I’ve never been up these stairs because I can’t drive my car up them. I never go anywhere without it. I just live here because my master gives me my instructions near here.”

“Who is your master?” I asked. “And what are your instructions?”

“Well… I’m not sure if they’re my ‘master,’ but they are someone who wants me to go out and study humans. I’ve never actually seen them or heard them. They just leave me written instructions on what to do and where to go, and lately that’s been Mementos.”

Reimu raised her hand. “Hold on,” she said. “You can go to Mementos?”

“Yup.”

“Can you take us there?”

“...sorry, I can’t do that,” he frowned. “It’s something only I can do.”

Reimu sighed. “I see.”

“Seraph’s just interested ‘cause we heard there’s something strange goin’ on in the Outside world,” Marisa explained. “Crow here thinks it involves that ‘Mementos’ place, and we’re tryin’ to see if we can get there to fix it, or find some other method if we can’t.”

“Outside… oh, right! You must all be from Gensokyo!” Jose said. He then looked at me. “But then… how did you get to Gensokyo?”

“Long story,” I replied, wanting to get this over with quickly.

“Oh, right, humans don’t like long stories,” he said.

“Well, sometimes we do, just not when we’re tryin’ to scoot,” Marisa said.

Jose looked at Reimu again. “But then… Mementos has been acting strangely lately. It was actually destroyed recently, right after the Phantoms took down the God of Control…”

“The God of Control?” I asked.

Jose slumped. “It’s another long story.”

“You can tell us another time.” Marisa grinned. “A ‘God of Control’ eh? Must’ve been one hell of a fight!”

“I’d like to know the context as well, with a name like that,” Reimu added. “But again, another time.”

“And you said Mementos was destroyed,” I asked.

“Right. But… recently, it came back, and it came back different from before. Before, the place was dirty with bad thoughts, bone tracks and garbage, but now it’s… lifeless and clean. Too clean. Not only that, but there’s all these strange tentacles covering the place. I went to the very deepest part, and found some kind of ‘control room’ showing different places in Mementos and one other strange place. If someone’s shadow appears on the screens, the tentacles take them off… somewhere. I don’t know what’s going on.” He hesitantly chuckled. “At least they’re not interested in me.”

I thought for a moment. It seemed I was dead-on about Mementos being tampered with… nay, it had been completely replaced. And now whoever or whatever had control over it was using it to effect changes to people’s cognition. This was much more severe than I had previously thought. They were, in effect, controlling people’s cognitions, perhaps even wholesale rewriting them. And if what Doremy indicated was correct, then they were doing this to somehow grant everyone happy lives, or at least create that illusion…

I sighed. “I guess I was right. Someone is tampering with people’s cognitions, enslaving them all with happiness, and creating a grave threat to the Hakurei Border as well. The threat to the Hakurei Border may not be intentional, but the former must absolutely be their objective.”

“Why do you say ‘enslaving’ though?” Marisa asked. “Putting aside the threat to Gensokyo, a world where everyone is happy, has everything they want, and never went through loss…” she thought for a moment, then snapped her fingers. “...but then, loss and hardship are what drive us to do what we do and improve ourselves, overcome that hardship. I mean, imagine a world where Seraph’s mom never died in that storm, and was still around. Seraph would still be the shrine maiden, but she’d still have her old girl to lean on whenever she felt scared or afraid. She wouldn’t be as hard and strong as she is now.”

“...mmh,” Reimu grunted.

“Or what about Fury? Don’t you have some kind of loss you went through?”

Youmu looked down. “Well… for a long time, I had a mentor, my grandfather, Youki Konpaku. He was the gardener serving Yuyuko-sama before me. I… don’t know much about my actual parents, other than that they were sickly and died at a young age, during a wave of 'airless sickness' which worsened their existing issues."

“‘Airless sickness?’” I asked.

“A blight that hits Gensokyo every few decades,” Reimu explained. “It’s called that because it leaves people unable to breathe. According to Eirin, it’s caused by some kind of ‘coronavirus’ that’s only found in Gensokyo, that mutates every once and a while and infects people again. She thinks it started as an oni disease before jumping to other species, including humans, but it doesn’t affect everyone it infects. Some say it only kills those who are cursed somehow.”

Youmu continued, “after that, grandpai took me as his apprentice. His training was tough, he barely talked, and when he did it was with a chiding, booming voice, and he could be stubborn and steadfast at times. Even so, he was fair and respectful, and the closest I had to a father figure growing up. Then one day he just up and disappeared; not even Yuyuko-sama knew where he went. Part of me wishes he would come back, roughness and all… but then, I continued to train and get stronger in his absence.”

Nitori shuffled her feet. “Part of ME wishes me and my fellow kappa got along better and could work on big projects without the risk of stuff blowing up in our faces or devolving into infighting. Instead I was forced to leave the ravine and make friends on my own, including Ma- I mean, Starburst.”

I nodded. Each of my teammates had things they wished were different, but at the same time accepted they had gotten stronger because of their hardship. Then there was myself: forced to make myself into a man without a family to guide me. Ending up here in Gensokyo, away from everything I knew and the convenience of modern life… but at the same time in a place where I could start fresh without fear of either being found out, or judged even if I was. Still, I did regret that I couldn’t have met Ren earlier in life… I sometimes imagined a world where having him around as a real friend could have kept me from going down the dark road which I did in reality.

I shook my head. All of that was beside the point. What mattered was, we had a threat to Gensokyo, and possibly humanity, on our hands, and we needed to find some way to stop it.

“Jose,” I asked, “if it isn’t much trouble, could you do us a favor?”

“Sure,” he said. “What is it?”

“You can report on Mementos for us, yes? If that’s the case, could you do that, possibly tell us of how the Phantoms are doing?”

“Um… sure,” he nodded.

“If you’d like, we can do something in return for you. Consider it a deal of sorts.”

Jose’s ears perked up. “Oh! Well, if you happen to find any flowers in the upper floors of this place, I can do that and sell you some stuff I find.”

Marisa’s eyes widened. “Flowers… that reminds me.” She pulled out her bag gun and shot out the flowers we found earlier. “You mean these?”

“Oh, yes! Thank you miss!” Jose happily scooped up the flowers and threw them into his car. “If you can keep finding flowers for me, that would be perfect!”

“Alright then,” Marisa replied, tipping her hat. “If it’s flowers you want, we will absolutely deliver. Just make sure you get us all the good stuff in exchange.”

“I will,” Jose smiled.

Reimu then went up to him and ruffled his hair with her hand. “You’re a cute little boy, aren’t you?” she said.

“Ahh…” Jose blushed.

“Do you like kids?” I asked her.

“I love kids!” she chirped. “They help brighten my day! Of course, I’m not sure if I’m ready to have my own, even if I eventually have too, hehe.”

Marisa stretched her arm. “C’mon, let’s blow,” she yawned again. “I’m gettin’ tired.”

“Alright,” I said. As we exited, I looked back at Jose. “I hope to see you again.”

“You too,” he said back. I rowed us back across the lake, we left the Metaverse, and all went our separate ways, agreeing to meet back at the Shrine soon to discuss our next steps, whether we should solely focus on the Outside incident, try and tackle Byakuren’s newly-discovered Fortress, or some combination of the two.

Chapter Text

…

My eyes fluttered open, and were immediately met with bright lights shining down from the ceiling…

...no, that can’t be right. When we left Ethos, I went straight back to the shrine and practically collapsed onto my futon. So where was I now that had lights on the ceiling?

“Nnngh.” I wrenched myself up off of the floor, when I saw what I was wearing: my Metaverse outfit. I also felt my wings twitching; I only had those in the Metaverse. Somehow, I ended up back there. But… how did I get here? I wasn’t even sure where “here” was.

I looked around and tried to get my bearings. I was in a big, black room on top of a large stage in the center. The floor around the stage was red and blue, and there was a balcony off to one side.

And beside me…

“Mmh.” Marisa rolled over, opened her eyes, and looked at me. She was also in her Metaverse outfit.

“...Reimu?”

“...Marisa?”

Marisa got up and looked around as well. “The hell is this place? How’d we get here? And why are we in our Metaverse outfits?”

“I’m not sure…” I shook my head. “This must be a dream. I’m imagining all of this, and you’re not the real Marisa.”

“Whaaaat? How can I not be me?” She shook her head as well. “If anything, I’m dreamin’, I’m imaginin’ all this, and you’re not the real Reimu.”

I stood up and drew my gohei. “Well, I guess it doesn’t matter who’s real and who isn’t. I don’t know how we got here, but we need to find a way out of here.” I headed down the stairs, looked back at Marisa, and said, “are you coming?”

“Ah, yes!” She jumped up onto her feet, and followed me off the stage as well. We made our way up a set of stairs leading up to the balcony, then along the balcony to a set of doors leading out of the room.

We emerged out into a glass tube, which was actually a bridge over a very bright area of some sort. About halfway across, we stopped and looked out.

“What the hell is this place?” Marisa asked. I was wondering the same: what we saw was a large, white atrium with metal and glass structures scattered throughout, including a large pillar which this bridge led to. There were also several people walking and standing around. And, unnervingly, they were all smiling.

“What are they all so happy about?” I asked. “C’mon, let’s get down there and take a look around.”

At the other end of the bridge inside the central pillar, we worked our way around a circular path up to another door which led outside into the main atrium. There, we wandered around and then down the stairs, looking up at the grandiose, spiraling metal and glass sculptures hanging from the ceiling, and around at the bright, wide-open space around us. It was completely unlike anywhere I had ever been to or seen in my life; not even the Lunar Capital was quite like this. Probably because it was covered in ice the last time I went, and even when it wasn’t the mood was rather dour; here everyone was smiling and happy.

Almost unnaturally happy, I felt.

“Man, I couldn’t believe it when they told me all I had to do was just throw my fears away, but I’m glad I did!” a man said.

“I don’t have a care in the world!” a woman proclaimed. “I’m so happy I feel like I’m walking on air!”

“I can’t wait to receive Dr. Maruki’s salvation!” another man proclaimed.

Marisa shuddered. “Geh. It’s creepin’ me out just how cheerful all these people are. Also… someone named ‘Dr. Maruki?’ Does he own this place or somethin’?”

“I have no idea,” I said. “Again, we should just focus on finding the exit.”

“Yeah, of course. Sooner we blow this creepy place the better.”

We went down another flight of stairs past some benches when we looked around. Above us were cameras and panels flipping through different numbers while people all around us stood around and waited. “Welcome,” said a female voice, “and thank you for coming, patients. You will be guided to one of our specialty care facilities according to your individual desires. We will assist each and every one of you. Rest assured, everyone can become happy. Should you have any questions about the facilities, feel free to bring them to our staff members nearby.”

Marisa furrowed her brows. “Patients? Care facilities? What is this, some kind of fancy doctor’s office???”

“And ‘individual desires’...” I thought about what Goro was saying, about how the person causing the anomaly Outside seemed to be bent on granting everyone happiness…

I shook my head. I must be overthinking things, I thought. “Nevermind that, let’s keep moving.”

We passed through a set of double doors, out into another room with people reading billboards off to the side, and others walking by us. It was almost as though we were invisible to them, because they didn’t seem to react at all to our mere presence, let alone our relatively stand-out costumes. But if this was a dream, I realized, then maybe I should have expected that, since in dreams reality can seem to twist and bend illogically seemingly all the time.

...but then again, this was an awfully lucid dream, and I never got lucid dreams, making me wonder if this was a dream at all. And not only that, the Marisa beside me claimed to be the real one, and that she was dreaming too. None of this made sense at all, and that was part of why I wanted to end it as quickly as possible by leaving this place.

Walking behind the billboards, we looked down at a strange, tubular glass door. We then watched something come up, the door open, and release some more people before closing and going back down.

“It’s an elevator,” I observed.

“Thank you, Captain Obvious,” Marisa snarked. I just rolled my eyes in response. “I wonder if that’s the entrance, or at least if it leads to it.”

“It has to be,” I reckoned. “Let’s go down there immediately.” We were just about to head down when we saw the elevator come up again. This time, it released two darkly-clad figures, one with a long coat, red gloves and frizzy hair, and another whose features I couldn’t make out. Both, however, gave off a vibe of being trouble. Quickly, we hid behind one of the billboards and waited for them to pass. We watched them run up the staircase, and towards the doors we had just come out through.

Then, one of them spoke up. “We must hurry,” he said… in a very familiar voice. “We don’t know what he has done with Sumire.” The two then went through the doors.

I looked at Marisa, who based on her expression was likely thinking the same thing I was.

“Was that… Goro?” she asked.

“It… certainly sounded like him,” I answered. “But… what’s he doing here? And what’s with that costume he was wearing? I’ve never seen him in it before…”

Marisa got up and tugged on my hand. “C’mon, let’s tail ‘em. We gotta see what they’re doin’.”

I shook my head. “No, absolutely not. We’re trying to leave, remember? Plus, this is a dream, that’s not the real Goro, and if we follow them we might end up lost, if not in a death trap.”

“Yeah, but…” she looked at the door. “Because this is a dream, if we die here we just get booted back out into the real world! And we don’t gotta worry ‘bout gettin’ lost, ‘cause we’ll have to wake up eventually!”

I sighed. “Yes, but-”

“If ‘yer gonna pussy out, be my guest. Me? I’m gonna go see what he’s gettin’ himself into!”

“Wait, Marisa!” I reached out, but she already took off toward the door. I groaned in frustration. That damn idiot, I thought. Well, guess I had to catch up with her now, to keep her from getting killed. I sprinted as fast as I could after her - catching Marisa was hard for me, since I couldn’t run as fast as she did, or fly as fast for that matter. That’s one reason why I relied on my homing amulets when dueling her - that, and they happened to counter most of her go-to attacks.

When I finally caught up, she was standing in the middle of the waiting room atrium, trying to find Goro and the other man but having no luck. “Damn, they got away,” she said.

“What have I told you about running off blindly in a hostile place?” I huffed. “We don’t know what all could be here, and that’s we have to-”

“Did you see those dashing gentlemen go through the door to the V.I.P. Auditorium?” one woman said.

“I know, right? They looked so ~dreamy~! I wish I could live with one of them happily and forever!”

“Bingo,” Marisa smirked as she tipped her hat, before taking off through the door.

“W-WAIT!” I shouted, tailing her. Past the door was another set of stairs leading to some kind of waiting area, filled with benches full of people and with sculptures and vases lining a hallway. I walked down the hall, paying close attention to my surroundings to avoid threats. I eventually found Marisa by an open treasure chest off to one side.

“Nyehehe, amateurs,” she snickered, tossing a black rock up and down. “Didn’t notice this chest over here out in plain sight. Now this thing - whatever it is - is mine for the taking!” She turned her head and saw me. “Am I right?”

I sighed. “At this point, I’d be more shocked to not see you hoard any treasure you happened to cross, even if it was so little as a scrap of vellum with something written on it in Latin and used as toilet paper by an oni.”

“‘Ey, everything’s a treasure that has value!” Marisa insisted. “‘Ya never know if somethin’ you find is worth a fortune to someone somewhere, or if it could help a witch like me discover the secret to immortality or-”

“HALT!”

We turned around and saw a shadow, dressed in a lab coat and with a strange spiral mask on its face, looking straight at us.

I sighed. “See, this is why I wanted to get out of this place! But it doesn’t matter now, we have to fight, all because you let your curiosity get the better of you.”

“‘Ya think I mind fightin’?!” Marisa bellowed, before running toward the shadow and jump-kicking it into the opposite wall, causing it to dissolve and reshape into three figures: two floating, blood-covered teddy bears with evil looks and skulls spilling out of their guts, and a red-robed purple-and-white striped demon holding a marionette puppet. Summoning our Personas, we got ready to rumble, with the people around us seemingly not noticing.

“Who do you think you are???” the demon asked while directing the teddy bears to attack.

“The red-and-white death of paradise,” I said coldly.

“And the ordinary witch!” Marisa grinned. She directed a Mafrei attack at them, which was very effective against the teddy bears, knocking them down and leaving them vulnerable; I took advantage by going straight at the leader with my gohei, whose mere touch burned its flesh and left it writhing on the floor in pain. Once they were all down, all that was left was to finish them off with our very own All-Out Attack.

After dusting ourselves off (and Marisa pocketing the money they dropped), I turned around and scowled. “That was reckless,” I said. “You should have known there were shadows here.”

“But they were chumps, right?” Marisa said.

“Perhaps, but there may be stronger ones elsewhere. As I keep saying, we should just head back and head out.”

Marisa didn’t say anything, but instead looked at, and then pointed toward, a large gold-plated sign saying the door it was next to led to the “V.I.P. Auditorium,” the room Goro and the other man were apparently heading for. “See?” Marisa said, “it’s right there. Goro’s just inside, we didn’t hafta go far at all.” She tipped her hat. “Don’t underestimate a witch’s senses.”

“More like a witch’s luck,” I frowned. “But since we’re already here, I might as well humor you.”

“Hehe, excellent,” she smiled.

We went over to the door and started to open it, before we started to hear voices on the other side.

“You hear that?” Marisa asked.

“I do,” I said. I put my ear against the door to make out what they were saying. It was quiet and mumbled, but…

“Anything?” Marisa asked.

I turned around. “Something about ‘true reality’ and ‘what his friends desire.’”

“True reality…” Marisa thought for a moment. “Think this might have somethin’ to do with the incident?”

“What do you mean?” I asked. “Isn’t this only a dream?”

“Yes, but, didn’t Goro say Doremy told him that dreams and the Metaverse are connected? So just because this is a dream doesn’t mean it ain’t related to what’s goin’ on.”

“That’s… you have a point,” I conceded.

“See? I’m always right!”

I was very tempted to tell her otherwise, but I also knew right now we had more important matters on our hands. So, very carefully, I opened the door and we snuck inside, hoping that whoever was in there wouldn’t notice us.

We managed to get into the room, a large, circular and deep auditorium. Down below us were Goro and the other man, and opposite them was a large throne where a girl in a red jacket sat, a man in a white tuxedo standing next to her and some people sitting behind them.

“Well, it’s time…” the tuxedo man said.

“Time for what?” Marisa whispered.

“Shh.” We found some seats near the entrance and hid behind them, peeking around them so we could see what was going on.

After a moment of silence, the tuxedo man spoke. “For the sake of Yoshizawa-san, and the rest of your friends… I ask you to give me your answer.”

After a moment’s pause, the other man said, “I can’t accept this reality.”

The tuxedo man stepped back in shock. “Huh?” A blue light, which flashed like a butterfly, shone between them.

“Negotiations seem to have broken down,” Goro said. What negotiations, I wondered?

“...I see. It seems we still haven’t reached an understanding.”

“No…” The girl woke up, and spoke with an anguished voice. She stood up. “You’re not serious, right? Please… I’m begging you, Ren-senpai. Please let me live as Kasumi!”

The other man, whose name was apparently Ren, shook his head. “Don’t hide from the truth.”

“But why? This pain is too much… Why can’t I just leave it behind me?! Kasumi is gone forever, and it’s all my- it’s all Sumire’s fault! I can’t live that kind of life!”

“What’s her deal?” I mumbled.

“I feel like we’re missin’ important context here,” Marisa responded.

We turned back to the stage, in time to see the girl… Sumire? Kasumi? Who the hell was she? Anyway, we saw her briefly flash into blue flames before acrobatically jumping in the air and in front of Goro and Ren, now dressed in a black leotard and coattail jacket with a sword on her hip. “Please… don’t try to stop me…” She drew her sword. “If you do, then I’ll-”

“They gonna fight?” Marisa asked.

“Probably.”

“How stubborn…” Goro said. “No matter what you say to her, I doubt she’ll understand. I don’t think we have a choice in the matter here.” He turned around. “I could take care of it for you right now… But you’d prefer her to leave here alive, right? Just hurry up and end this.” He then walked away, leaving the other two to duel.

Marisa winced. “Did he just suggest he could kill her? Didn’t think he was that ruthless!”

“This isn’t like how I usually see him act at all…”

“Please…” the girl said, “don’t make me do this…”

Ren looked down, then held his mask, seemingly calling forth a Persona which looked like a bizarre, dancing, floating demon with long frizzy black hair and claws. I could hear Marisa whisper “Rangda” under her breath. He then took a battling stance without drawing his own weapon. “Sumire…”

“I can’t stop this! I refuse to live as Kasumi’s killer!” She then called forth her own Persona, which took the form of a woman made entirely out of glass and with blonde hair. “Don’t do this to me!” Her Persona then used some kind of violent slashing attack, only for the blow to bounce right off of Ren in a manner similar to how Shadow Mitori reflected attacks and hit her instead, causing her to cry in pain and stagger back.

“Sumire!” Ren pleaded. “Please stop! I don’t want to hurt you! You’re only hurting yourself by doing this!”

“STOP IT! SHUT UP!” Sumire screamed. “Cendrillon!” Her Persona then cast a powerful light wave at Ren, but it too bounced off and struck her, knocking her back.

Again, Ren shouted, this time tearfully, “Please! Don’t run away from the truth! Don’t keep living this lie! Just accept that Kasumi isn’t around anymore and move on! If you don’t… that’s what she’d want you to do! It’ll only keep eating away at you if you ignore her wish!”

“I DON’T WANT TO HEAR IT!” Sumire steadied herself, then focused in, causing a column of energy to surround her. It was easy to tell she was charging up some kind of huge attack.

Ren held out his hands. “Sumire… you don’t understand… I’m not doing this to take away your happiness… I want you to be happy, to heal, to be strong! Sumire… please know… I… I… lo-”

“NOOO!” Sumire shrieked as her Persona unleashed swords which circled and struck Ren, only to, once again, be reflected right back at Sumire and strike with a sickening * THWAB*, causing her to collapse to the ground. “Why…?”

We kept watching, as Sumire gasped for air. “Looks like you lost,” Goro said coldly.

“...why??” Sumire asked.

“You need to stop,” Ren proclaimed. “Your fight isn’t with us.”

“...Ren-senpai…” She paused. “...no. I can’t. I can’t go back to being Sumire… You saw it all for yourself, Ren-senpai. It’s my own fault that my sister’s… Why don’t you understand?! Please, I beg you…”

I shook my head. This girl… she couldn’t bear the weight of killing her sister. That, I totally understood. But… what was she trying to accomplish by wanting to live as her? Nobody can really live as another person, not even people like Mamizou or Nue. Sure, you could certainly mimic their appearance, but everyone has their own quirks and personalities which can never be truly replicated. This girl, Sumire, would only be killing two people by attempting to live as someone else: her sister, and herself. If she were before the yama right now, she’d be going to Hell, no question.

...but…

“Yoshizawa-san…” the man in the tuxedo said solemnly, before taking a determined stance and walking down the steps toward them. He held out his hands, proclaiming, “I can give you strength, so you don’t have to suffer.”

“Doctor…” Sumire murmured.

“Tell me… if you want your pain to end, and desire to live as Kasumi… I’LL ACTUALIZE IT!!!” 

Suddenly, the space around him darkened and a number of tentacles emerged from the floor, grabbing onto Sumire and lifting her into the air while she panicked and struggled.

“Whoa, what the hell?!” Marisa exclaimed. “What are those??? Did he summon them?!”

“Geh…” I clenched my fist and stepped back, tensely looking on as the tentacles reacted with Sumire somehow, causing her to scream before her mask broke and she fell unconscious, and her Persona materialized, only now it was glowing red and visibly pissed off. “Goddamn it,” I sneered. That doctor, taking that girl against her will and draining her power to use as his attack dog.

At this point, he was no better than a youkai dragging a girl out of the village to kill and eat in the woods.

And I was under oath to execute such offenders.

“Did he-” Goro grunted angrily.

“Sadly she has lost sight of herself,” said the doctor. “She’s in pain… Now, be her guide… and together, escape from the nightmare!”

The Persona gripped her head in agony as the tentacles coiled around her. “No… I can’t… I don’t want to go back to my life in cinders, ever again!!!”

“What the hell…” Goro sneered. “This so-called ‘kindness’ of his disgusts me!” You can say that again, I thought. “Let’s do this quick.”

“I refuse to go back!” the Persona shouted. “I’m happy here… THIS is where I belong!”

“I’ll rescue you… the only way I know how!” the Doctor said, before snapping his fingers, summoning two yellow demons on either side of the Persona, all while Sumire’s unconscious body hung in the air.

“Tch, it’s gone totally berzerk,” Goro said. “We need to stop her Persona!”

Marisa turned to me and whispered, “should we jump in there and help ‘em?”

“Not yet,” I cautioned. “We don’t know what that thing can do, and frankly I’d rather not get my ass beat and die here, even if this is a dream.”

“Whatever you say,” Marisa said, rolling her eyes. We watched the ensuing fight, where the Persona demonstrated that it could drain the demons to restore its vitality, that the doctor could just summon more to replace them, and that they could power it up while it attacked with sword attacks and light waves, which Goro appeared to be weak to. The Persona he used was also a lot different then Bond, and unlike anything else he had. I kept wondering why he just used that one and didn’t switch to something else… didn’t he have an Archangel or something that blocked attacks like that? What’s more, the man next to him did apparently have other Personas, including one which looked like a red-coated demon with mechanical wings and a fedora, and another which resembled Minamoto no Yoshitsune...

“Dammit,” Goro grunted. “There’s no end to this! Just what the hell is this thing?!”

The Persona called out, “I refuse to return! I will never go back to being such pathetic, soot-coated garbage!”

“You can’t tell?” the doctor said. “It’s her refusal to accept the truth…”

“Gah! We can’t afford to waste time on this shit!” Goro shouted. Immediately after, the Persona began charging up an attack, aimed right at him. At this point, instinct took over, and both me and Marisa realized he wouldn’t survive the attack.

“PLOT TWIIIIIIIIIIIIIST!!!!!!” Marisa bellowed as she jumped down and summoned Mima to intercept the blow, while I jumped and floated down and summoned my own Persona to block the other attack as well. But then, we heard another voice, a boy’s, call out, “I don’t think so!” We felt another presence beside us as the berzerk Persona unleashed its attack to absolutely zero effect. As the dust settled, we saw that he was some kind of blonde guy with a skull mask and a biker outfit, while Ren, Goro and the doctor were suitably confused at our combined presence.

“Dammit, Skull, I told you not to rush in by yourself like that!” said another voice, before a whole group of people rushed into the room, including some kind of black talking cartoon cat.

“At least it seemed to work out in our favor,” said another girl.

“You came…” Ren said.

“Our apologies for making you wait so long,” said the tall one with the fox mask and tail.

Then, one of the girls pointed at us. “Is that…”

“Akechi-kun and Dr. Maruki?! And… who are those two??”

I helped Goro off of the ground. “You would have been a goner had that attack hit you.”

He looked up at me through his red-visored mask. “...who the hell are you?”

“...huh? You don’t recognize me? It’s me, Reimu! And that’s Marisa! Seraph and Starburst!”

“What the hell are you talking about? I don’t know anyone with wings or who’s some kind of vampire hunter,” he snarled.

“...what?”

“I see,” Marisa observed. “This ain’t the real Goro, or at least the Goro we know.”

Everyone in the group jumped back in shock.

“Wait,” said the girl with the orange hair, “you two know Akechi-kun???”

I turned around and looked at the berserk Persona. “Look, it doesn’t matter right now. That thing is pissed off and raring to tear us to shreds.” I whipped out my gohei and spread my wings threateningly, while Marisa flipped out her knives and crossed her hands.

“I get that, but,” the cat looked up. “Yoshizawa’s trapped by… why’s her Persona doing this?! What in the world is going on here?!”

The blonde boy stomped. “Ugh. So much of this shit makes no effin’ sense, but we’ll cover it later. We’ve gotta stop her first, right Joker?”

“Alright. Let’s get in formation!” The cat looked over at Ren, a.k.a. “Joker.” Huh, guess they had codenames just like us… wait a minute. Could these be the “Phantom Thieves” Goro was always talking about?

“What should we do, Joker? Who should go first, what about those two girls?”

Joker looked over at the orange-haired girl. “Oracle, scan them really quick. I want to know their abilities.”

“On it!” “Oracle” said, before summoning her Persona, a black orb with creepy rainbow lines, and jumping up inside of it.

“You don’t hafta scan us,” Marisa boasted. “I’d be happy to give you a demonstration myself!” She then cast Mafari at the enemies, knocking the demons down. Joker then capitalized on this by switching to what seemed to be Bishamonten and blasting them with what looked like an even stronger version of Marisa’s attack.

“Dang!” Marsia said. “You guys ain’t no amateurs!”

“Scan complete,” Oracle announced. “Their Personas don’t seem to be all that powerful… but they’re also giving off insane readings I’ve never seen before.”

“I can easily tell,” the cat affirmed. “Their Personas might be green, but they’re far from rookie fighters!”

“I’ve personally kicked Princess Kaguya’s ass,” I said. “I bet you all can’t claim the same.”

“Er…”

“It doesn’t matter right now,” Joker said. “You two seem like you can hold your own, so just do your best. Everyone else: I want Queen, Skull and Noir up here with me, Mona in the back tossing heals and the rest of you on standby to replace anyone who can’t fight.”

“What about me?” Goro asked gruffly.

“It’s too risky for you to fight her right now,” Joker said. “You stay in the back and be ready to jump in.”

“Grr… fine. I defer to your judgement.”

“Alright, cool!” Marisa said. “Let’s rock!”

For the most part, the fight continued as before, with the demons powering up the Persona and sometimes tossing fire attacks, while the Persona itself threw out light waves and slash attacks. I realized I could body-block the light attacks for everyone else, so I did that, providing cover for them and allowing Goro to sneak in potshots. Marisa focused on knocking down the demons which the biker chick, Queen, finished off with her own attacks before nullifying the power-ups, and Noir seemed to be solely focused on blasting it with Psychic and gun attacks. Dr. Maruki, however, just kept summoning more demons which the Persona kept eating.

“Geh,” Marisa grunted, “they just keep comin’!”

“It’s that damn doctor,” I said. “Seems like he has an endless supply of them.”

Marisa tilted her hat. “Cover me. I’m gonna do something about this.” She then dashed somewhere so quickly I couldn’t follow her.

“Where’s she going?” Skull asked.

“She must have some kind of plan,” Queen commented. “Let’s keep attacking.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

About a minute of fighting later, we took down the demons again, but it was clear between our draining energy and the Persona’s continued aggression that we were at an impasse.

“Don’t you see?” Maruki said. “This is Yoshizawa-san’s refusal to be bound by pain…”

I stomped my foot. “BULLSHIT! Do you understand what you are even doing?!? Taking her and forcing her to become another person, just because she’s torn up over accidentally killing them?! Do you realize how many sins you’re committing and making her commit right now?!?”

“Sin is but a concept,” he said calmly. “If only you understood her pain and suffering, her side of the story-”

“I’m dead serious about the sins!” I shouted back. “The yama isn’t going to give a flying rat’s ass about your excuses. It’s not ‘just a concept’: they’ll send you to Hell, and oni are going to beat you up and grind you to a bloody paste over and over for God knows how long before the Ministry of Right and Wrong decides to throw your soul back into the cycle of Life and Death! If you don’t wish that, I humbly suggest you let her go and surrender right now.”

“The hell’s she goin’ on about?” Skull asked. “She some kinda religious fanatic?”

“Well, she does look like an angel,” Noir said. “Maybe she’s one of them?”

“But then, what about the bat wing?” Oracle asked.

“Maybe she’s only half-angel,” said the girl in the catsuit who’s name I didn’t know.

Dr. Maruki held out his arms again. “I’m sorry, but I fail to see the wrong in helping to guide Yoshizawa-san, and everyone else, away from their pain and suffering. I will actualize their wishes and give them the lives they want.”

...actualize their wishes, lives they want… wait… could that mean… he…

“ACTUALIZE THIS, ASSHOLE!” Marisa shouted, before slicing open the tentacles behind Maruki, tackling him and rolling over to the side where she pinned him to the floor.

“WHAT? You…”

“I got ‘im on the ground!” Marisa said. “Finish that thing off!” Maruki tried to wiggle free, but Marisa slammed his arms down. “Nuh-uh, don’t even think about tryin’ to escape! I can beat Kappa at sumo-wrestling, you think a normal-ass human like you can do any better?!”

Once Maruki was down and the Persona was alone, Joker wasted no time casting a dark, demonic wave to knock it down. Once it was on the ground, I walked up to it and pointed my gohei at it, with my Persona doing the same.

“Adios,” I said, before directing my Persona to fire a shot into its chest, sending shattering glass everywhere and leaving a gaping hole, causing it to hunch over and clench itself.

“Ahh… I can hear them… the bells of midnight are tolling… now, my dream... won’t be… the clock strikes midnight!”

Once the strange girl… what was her name… “Reimu?” Once she fired that last shot, Cendrillon dissolved into darkness, as did the tentacles holding up Sumire. She dropped to the ground, her Metaverse outfit reverting to her winter outfit, and she collapsed, before Reimu caught her.

“Yoshizawa-san!” Makato called out. I rushed over to them, and Reimu handed her over to me so I could carry her.

“She’s still breathing, and she has a pulse,” Reimu explained. “She should be okay.” She then turned her attention to Dr. Maruki. “Now then…” she said threateningly as she walked over. The other girl… “Marisa,” if I recall - she got up off of him, and stepped to the side.

Maruki started to get up, and looked at us. “You’ve all - I can’t believe you’ve thrown away your happiness just to come here and-”

“SILENCE!” Reimu shouted as she delivered a brutal kick to his chest, causing him to fall back down, double over and cough up blood, before stomping on his chest to pin him down.

“Whoa, what the hell?!” Ryuji exclaimed. “What’s her deal??? And… what’s doc doin’ inside a palace?!?”

“He’s ruling this palace, is what he’s doing,” Akechi explained. Everyone else jolted in shock.

“Wha-?”

“Not only that, he’s the one who’s generated this whole distorted reality.” Akechi scoffed. “Not that it matters now, if that girl plans on having her way.”

Reimu suddenly glared at us. “He’s causing this distorted reality…” She turned back around, looking down at Maruki. “Well then. Well then… that changes the context of his crimes entirely.”

Maruki coughed. “W-who are-”

“I’LL FUCKING TELL YOU WHEN YOU CAN TALK!” she screamed, stomping him again.

All of us trembled where we stood. “I sooo don’t want to piss her off,” Ann said. Makoto gulped and nodded, and we all knew when even she was off-put, then whoever was doing it was not to be fucked with.

“You… not only did you assault and molest this girl, use her power as your own personal attack dog and force your will upon her… but you have also committed the crime of threatening the Great Hakurei Barrier. That I cannot forgive.”

...huh? What was she talking about?’

“Hakur-what now?” Ann asked.

“I’m so confused…” Morgana said.

“How does she know about the distortion?” Akechi wondered. “And… how does she supposedly know me?”

Reimu shook her head. “You leave me no other choice.” She drew her gun.

“...no!!” Makoto exclaimed.

Reimu stuck the muzzle right into Maruki’s mouth, then spread her wings. “Sorry…” She put her finger on the trigger. “Business is business.”

Then, suddenly, Marisa tackled her, knocking her away and making her drop her gun.

“THE HELL ARE ‘YA DOIN’?!?” she screamed. “YA’ CAN’T JUST CROAK THIS GUY BECAUSE OF SOMETHIN’ HE MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE DONE!!! WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU LOOKIN’ OUT FOR HUMANS?!? SURE, WHAT HE DID TO THAT GIRL WAS SHITTY, BUT-”

“Marisa…” Reimu said coldly. “You… This is my duty, as the Hakurei Shrine Maiden. If one breaks the rules, I must be the judge, jury and executioner, without doubt, without remorse.” She grabbed Marisa by the sides. “You might think incident resolving is just a game to collect treasure, have tea and look badass, but I see it differently. When I say I exterminate troublemakers, I fucking mean it, bitch!”

Marisa’s pupils shrunk, and she slugged Reimu in the face, causing her to stagger back. “The fuck you just call me?!?” She rolled up her sleeves. “You say you live by those rules, and threaten to exterminate anyone who doesn’t comply with them or the spell card system. But you can hide behind your fancy divine power, leavin’ people like us to fend for ourselves! Lemme tell ‘ya something: one of these days, somethin’ big and nasty will kill you, because might makes right in this world. The strong kill the weak, that’s how it works! That’s what I realized long ago. That’s why I train to be a magician, and climb my way up to the top of the shit pile!” She looked over at Maruki. “But… I won’t kill unnecessarily. You, on the other hand, use your rules as an excuse to commit murder!”

Reimu snarled, “I’m ‘murdering’ the guy who’s threatening the Barrier!”

“You don’t know that for sure!”

“Oh yeah?” She drew her gohei and pointed it at Marisa. “Then come at me!”

“Alright, you asked for it!” Marisa activated her knife-gloves and the two lunged at each other, before they suddenly both started glowing along with Reimu’s gun. In an instant, there was a bright flash, causing us all to look away, and when we turned back, they were gone.

…

“...what the hell was that all about?” Ryuji asked.

“More importantly,” Yusuke said, pointing at Maruki.

Maruki looked up at all of us, his arms wobbling as he struggled to steady himself. “*cough*... Feb*cough*... February 3rd… come back here by then… then I’ll hear your *cough*... decision…” He too then disappeared into a flash of light.

We all looked at each other, still utterly bewildered as to what just happened. In particular, just who were those two girls, how did they come here, and why were they here?

“We need to get out of here immediately,” Akechi said. “Yoshizawa-san needs to recover, and we have much to discuss.”

“You can say that again,” Morgana said. Ryuji helped me carry Sumire out of the room and toward the nearest safe room so that we could leave as soon as possible, before heading straight back to LeBlanc to debrief.

As we made our way out, one thought kept bothering me: how did those two girls know Akechi? Was it possible… was it possible, wherever they came from… could he be there? And if so, how could I get there?

Chapter Text

1/10

“Aaaaand… there!” I stood back and admired the high pile of snow I shoveled away from the front door to the shop. It stood nearly two meters high by now, and had frozen and solidified into a semi-solid hunk of ice. It amazed me just how much snow Gensokyo received, which rivalled or even exceeded the famously snowy Sapporo, which was known for its snow sculpture festivals; it made me wonder if these people did something similar.

“We got quite a bit last night, didn’t we?” said Masato, coming out of the shop.

“Indeed,” I replied. “I can’t say I’ve ever seen this much snow in my life.”

“Well, we are in the mountains,” Masato said, “and on the windward side, too. Amazes me how weather Outside affects us here in Gensokyo, too.”

I looked at him. “Outside, the city of Sapporo holds a snow sculpture festival every year. Looking at all this snow, I wonder if you all do something like that here as well.”

“Well, we don’t do anything formal, but some villagers make things like snow forts, snow and ice sculptures and whatnot; mostly, we use the snow and ice to help keep meat through the winter.” He looked out toward the western fields. “There’s an ice fairy by the name of Cirno who likes making sculptures. She’s a complete idiot for the most part, but absolutely crackerjack at art, especially making things out of snow and ice. She lives by the Misty Lake, and if you go out near where she lives I guarantee you’ll find plenty of her creations.”

“I think I would,” I smiled.

Masato went back into the shop, before coming out moments later with a set of skis and ski poles. “Snow’s hard to walk around in, so most everyone in the Village gets around on skis and snowshoes during the winter.” He handed everything over to me. “Here, you can have these. They’re an extra set I’ve had for a long time. You look like you fit them, so I want you to have them.”

“Are you sure?” I asked, taking the set from him.

“They’re collecting dust otherwise,” he said, “plus I’m too old to really go anywhere far from the shop during the winter, so I just have everything delivered. Besides, you’re living here too, so I don’t see why you can’t use anything of mine I don’t happen to use.”

I bowed. “Oh, well… thanks.”

After finishing up some final chores and helping a lady in and out of the store, I threw on my jacket and some heavy pants, strapped on the skis, and headed out into the white, wintery snowscape. Just outside the Village were farms and homesteads, where I imagined much of the town’s food was grown. All the fields were covered in thick snow, the seeds beneath surely waiting to sprout in the coming spring. Strung in between those was the river; I followed alongside its bank to reach the shores of the Misty Lake.

Despite the winter cold, the river managed not to freeze over, while on the lake itself ice existed only in sheets along the shoreline. The lake got its name from the misty haze which formed over it during the daytime, and today, a white, eerie fog obscured its shimmering waters. It was a surreal scene, one which could send chills up anyone’s spine, but I was Goro Akechi; I had experienced so many horrifying things both in real life and in the Metaverse that not much unnerved me anymore, not even this Silent Hill landscape, or the eyes of youkai watching me from the bushes.

Eventually, I came across a rather macabre scene: a giant, tentacled snow monster with a gigantic mouth grabbing and eating a snowman while others frantically ran away from it. Also present were intricate ice and snow sculptures depicting dragons, monsters, warriors and other mythical beings. And in the middle of it all, a small girl in a blue and white dress, with blue hair and a giant blue bow, with six ice crystals floating like wings behind her back, was busy rolling a snowball bigger than she was. Watching her from the side was a woman with blue-lavender hair and a similarly blue and white gown.

“Come… on…” she grunted as she pushed the mammoth snowball, which grew as it picked up more snow and left a trail of bare grass behind it.

“Cirno-chan,” said the woman, “I understand your determination, but don’t you think a life-size snow gashadokuro is a bit much, even for you?”

“Of course not!” Cirno pouted. “Don’t you see my honor is at stake here? I can’t call myself a real ice fairy until I make a grand gashadokuro statue!” She swept her arm out toward all the sculptures around us. “Can’t you see? My menagerie is the pride of the Misty Lake! I must crown it with-”

Her eyes met mine.

“See, Letty-sama? A visitor has come to pay his respects for my talent!”

I eyed the various sculptures and statues. “They’re very well-made, I’ll give you that.” I looked toward the other woman and bowed. “My name is Goro Akechi. A pleasure to meet you.”

“Goro Akechi?” she asked. “Can’t say I’ve met you before… ah, I must be getting forgetful,” she shrugged. “My name is Letty White, and this here is-”

“My name is Cirno!” Cirno bellowed. “I’m the strongest fairy in Gensokyo!”

“Is that so?” I asked. “Can you prove it?”

“What do I need to prove?” she asked. “Don’t these magnificent creations of mine speak for themselves?!?”

I smirked and rubbed my chin. “What if I didn’t believe you? What if she created all of them and you’re claiming all the credit?”

Letty hung her head low. “I’ll admit, I might be a yuki-onna, but my artistic ability is nowhere near the level of Cirno-chan’s, nor is my imagination and creativity as vast.”

Cirno glared and grinned while pointing at me. “You see??? You see??? You are a fool for doubting the talents of yours truly!! There is no challenge which I cannot overcome! That is the power of Gensokyo’s strongest fairy!”

It was clear to me now, judging by her haughty demeanor, that she had an impossibly inflated ego and was likely a moron as well. Normally, I’d simply call her out, break her down, burst her bubble. But, I also realized I hadn’t actually seen her in action yet, and she might very well be able to rend me limb from limb if she wanted too. I also felt a little playful in the moment, so I decided to tease and exploit her a little.

“Well, if that’s the case, then there’s one type of snow sculpture which I’m absolutely sure you cannot make!”

“Is that a challenge?!” she growled. “I’m telling you, there is no challenge I cannot overcome! I will prove you wrong!”

I crossed my arms. “Well then. If that’s the case, then the sculpture I’m thinking of is…”

Twenty minutes later, Cirno had erected a ten-meter tall Jack Frost on the shore of the Misty Lake. Most of that time was spent trying to describe what a Jack Frost looked like to Cirno, correcting her as needed; once she had a good idea what a Jack Frost was, the actual sculpture went up in seconds.

Once it was fully up, Cirno turned around and smugly puffed out her chest. “Aha! Fool! You dared to underestimate the talents of ME, and have now been humbled like the mere peasant you are!”

“Oh, I’m so humbled and defeated,” I said, feigning sincere defeat. “I just thought that such a sculpture would be impossible to make, hee-ho!”

“Hee-ho?” she asked.

“That’s what Jack Frost says, hee-ho!”

Cirno thought for a second, then chirped “hee-ho!”

“Hee-ho!” parroted Letty.

“Hee-ho!” Suddenly, several other voices came out of the trees; they were all fairies. All of them circled the towering Jack Frost, and soon the air was full of disorganized choruses of “hee-ho!”

“Uh-oh,” said Letty, “I think that’s all those fairies are going to be saying for a while.”

I sighed. “It would seem so. They already look like they’re worshipping it.”

1/11

Early in the morning, Reimu came by to bless the shop, as she did last time. Once she finished, however, she asked if she could meet with me privately. This struck me as odd, so I realized it had to be important.

Both of us realized going up to my room would just prompt awkward remarks from Masato, so instead we went across the street to Suzunaan and found a quiet reading room in the back for us to chat. The only other people there were an older man behind the counter (Kozusu’s father, Reimu told me) as well as a woman with very dark brown, bordering on black, hair and dark red eyes similar to my own, reading what based on the cover seemed to be a revenge tragedy. She looked up at us briefly before going back to her book. The store also sold coffee; I bought two cups for me and Reimu before we went to the back and sat down.

“Thanks for hearing me out,” she said to me. “You’re… you’re the only person I feel like I can share this with, at least right now.”

“No problem,” I said. “Although this is rather strange.”

“Yeah…” Reimu was silent for a moment. “A couple nights ago, I… I had a dream. A really strange dream. All day yesterday, I couldn’t think about anything except it.”

“What kind of dream was it?” I asked.

“It was… very vivid,” she told me. “I was in this… lab-like place, with glass and whiteness all over the place, and Marisa was there with me. It was in the Metaverse, since we were in our Metaverse outfits and had our Personas but not our regular powers. There were shadows, of course, but the strangest part was that you were there, but in a different, dark outfit, and you were with a guy in a black long coat and frizzy hair.”

I stood up, my eyes widened. “Is… that so?”

“Yeah, I don’t know why you were like that, it was really weird. We followed you two, and ended up in an auditorium where this scientist - I think his name was Dr. Maruki - was controlling a girl named Kasumi or Sumire, and he went on about granting everyone their wishes, or somesuch. He ripped out her Persona and made it attack us, but then some other people, the ‘Phantom Thieves,’ like who you told us about, came in and helped us take it down. After that, I pinned Maruki to the ground and tried to kill him because I thought he was threatening the Barrier, but Marisa stopped me and we got into an argument about our morals.”

Phantom Thieves… Yoshizawa-san… Dr. Maruki, controlling Personas, controlling a Palace… all this appeared far too real to be a mere dream, and I of course said nothing about Dr. Maruki or the names of any of the Phantom Thieves to her or anyone else. Why would Reimu have a dream in which they appeared at all, much less one which was so vivid? There had to be an explanation, maybe Doremy knew. I should ask her the next time I see her, I thought.

“That’s where the dream ended,” said Reimu, after a moment’s pause. “When I woke up, it was still dark out. I couldn’t fall back asleep after that, so I spent the rest of the night making more blessing amulets.”

“I see,” I nodded. “...what was the ‘me’ in your dream like?”

“You? Well… you were dressed in this dark outfit covered in purple stripes and had a creepy-looking black mask covering your face. Your Persona was also different: it was this black-and-white thing with a sword; I think I heard you call it ‘Loki.’ You acted differently as well. You were a lot colder and condescending. When we tried asking why you were there, you said you didn’t recognize us.”

I tried very hard to hide the feeling of dread bubbling up inside me. Reimu knew now what my Black Mask identity was, even though she knew nothing about the context. What I wondered was, how did she know what it looked like? I had never told her any details about that part of my life. This only reinforced my concerns that something had messed with Reimu’s dreams, perhaps with the intent of ruining me. It also troubled me about how she described Dr. Maruki, whom I had never mentioned, and how he was apparently running a Palace, nor did I say anything about Yoshizawa-san, much less my suspicion that her cognition had been tampered with to make her think she was her dead sister. Again, questions for Doremy and Yuyuko the next time I met them.

“Interesting,” I nodded. I wanted to move the conversation along quickly, so the next thing I asked was, “you also mentioned you and Marisa fought over your morals. What do you mean by that?”

Reimu sighed. “Well… that part didn’t really seem out of place for me.”

“Oh?”

“Me and Marisa have a lot in common, we’re close friends, and we care about one another, but there’s one subject me and her have never been able to reconcile on, and that’s how we view our incident resolving and Gensokyo as a whole. I’m the Hakurei Shrine Maiden, and therefore I’m the one chiefly responsible for upholding Gensokyo’s laws, both natural and societal. I uphold these laws, like my ancestors before me, because they are integral to maintaining Gensokyo’s balance, between nature and civilization, human and youkai, light and dark, and I will do anything to enforce them and keep things fair for everyone, even if it means having to kill. We created the Spell Card Rules so that people could resolve disputes without having to worry about power disparities between them. I’d say it’s very effective, because Gensokyo has become a brighter, more peaceful place under my mother and me.”

I nodded, taking Reimu’s views in. “That sounds like a lot of work.”

“It is,” Reimu admitted. “The Shrine Maiden doesn’t get many days off, which also means I don’t socialize with the villagers much, and they tend to view me with suspicion as a result. Most of my friends are youkai and the like, since they seem to be drawn to me, for whatever reason. It’s something Marisa doesn’t truly appreciate.”

“How so?”

“Marisa is naturally very social and outgoing, and can make friends just like that. She strives very much to become a magician, although she never likes to show just how hard she works. She’s also very boastful about her power and skill, which almost rivals mine, but at the same time she only seeks out those who are stronger than her to fight in order to improve her skills.”

I smiled. “It seems she’s very dedicated to bettering herself, and helping you keep Gensokyo’s peace.”

Reimu looked down. “That’s… her reasons for solving incidents are different from mine, though.”

“Hm?”

“For starters, she’s a kleptomaniac and hoarder, always on the lookout for more treasure to add to her collection, or to sell off for cash. She’s also under the impression that Gensokyo is a dog-eat-dog place with no real laws, where the strongest come out on top and impose their rules on the weak, a system, she says, screws over ordinary humans like her, and that’s why she fights, in order to climb up that ladder and escape being oppressed.” She slumped over. “Gensokyo was once like that, back when the youkai were at the height of their power, but because of the work of my family that hasn’t been the case for centuries, especially after we introduced the Spell Card Rules. We maintain a careful balance; if either side becomes too powerful, Gensokyo itself would cease to exist, and because Gensokyo is a last, best place for all things supernatural, that would cause their mass extinction worldwide.”

“I see… however,” I said, “might most humans agree that would be a good thing?”

Reimu looked up. “...what do you mean?”

“If youkai and other beings prey on humans, wouldn’t their extinction allow humanity to live without fear?”

Reimu slumped again. “...you’d think. But it’s not just youkai: gods are also at risk of extinction. And if that were to happen, who would humans cling onto? Humanity can’t function on its own without someone to look up to and guide them, and that’s why they create gods. At least, they used to. I’ve seen the Outside, and have heard what it is like: constant war, corruption, poverty, inequality, racism and persecution, the destruction of nature, and climate change. That’s what humanity devolves into without faith. We don’t have that here in Gensokyo, because we still have magic and mystical things. Believe me, a group of desperate humans is scarier than any youkai.”

I shook my head. She certainly struck a chord: the state of human society was, frankly, deplorable, deplorable enough to allow people like Masayoshi Shido and Donald Trump to run for and attain positions of power. I had hoped to fix that with my power, to cleanse all the filth. Ren wanted to do that as well; where we differed, however, was our methods. I wasn’t above killing, but he insisted on changing their hearts and making them confess themselves. On one hand, I was convinced that humans couldn’t be saved once they jumped off the deep end of sin and evil. On the other hand, there were few things more satisfying than seeing assholes own up to their crimes and live burdened with them for the rest of their miserable lives.

And, as I had learned from dealing with Yuyuko, perhaps there were some souls who could genuinely be saved, and things weren’t as black and white as I had once thought.

“As a detective, I often had the misfortune of seeing society’s worst on display,” I said. “It seemed like every day on the job, I would come across at least one instance of either prostitution, gang activity, rape, murder or some other violent crime, and there were several days where I saw many or even all of those. And, of course, smaller but still notable crimes like thefts, burglaries, carjackings and whatnot are perennial and abundant. I’ve also investigated cybercrime, such as website hackings and identity theft.” I stood up. “But, I’ve resolved to bring true justice to the world. Even if I can’t change the world by myself, I strive to make it a better place for at least a few people.”

Reimu smiled. “With an attitude like that, I’m sure you’ll be a great ally in resolving incidents. Ever since you first flew, I knew you had potential, potential to become an incident resolver just like me and Marisa. And like I said before, having a third main incident resolver around will help me a lot.”

“I appreciate it,” I nodded.

“Aaaaand…” She bore a wicked look on her face. “Since I have you now, surely you’ll come back to the Shrine with me to practice.”

...well, I guess I just had my day planned for me.

1/12

Yesterday wound up being a strenuous day. Reimu insisted on practice-sparring using non-spells, in order to get me used to the high speed and sheer firepower. She reasoned that since I was already so good at flying, aiming and maneuvering, that I was ready to jump right into more advanced practice than others would normally receive at this stage. Needless to say, I didn’t do too well at first, as Reimu effortlessly tumbled and rolled around my shots while retaliating in kind, and cancelling bullets wound up being far more complex in practice than in theory. Then there was micro-dodging, which demanded grazing right alongside huge lasers or streams of bullets; Reimu explained that mastering this technique was nigh-mandatory to dodge heavier and more complex Spell Cards. She decided to save Spell Cards for when I was more proficient with basic combat, so we wrapped up before sundown and agreed to gather everyone at the Shrine the next day to discuss our next Metaverse moves. However, I looked in the sky, and noticed a pair of telltale crow wings. Knowing about Aya at this point, I suggested to Reimu that we switch our meeting spot - our hideout - occasionally to avoid being found out easily, to which she agreed after I explained my logic some more.

This meant that all of us had now convened on Marisa’s house, whose tree cover allowed us to meet more covertly; although Aya knew where the house was, Marisa reckoned she had likely been specifically tailing the two of us that day for some time before accosting her, so if we all went there separately and took different paths we could throw her and anyone else off.

“Sorry ‘bout the organized mess,” Marisa apologized. “Woulda tidied up a bit more if I knew this was gonna be our meetin’ spot.”

“As if,” Reimu snarked. “I know you, and I know you don’t care about how your house looks to guests.”

“Like I said, I’m usually the one visitin’, so I don’t get many guests of my own.”

“Then how do you stay in business?”

“That’s-” Marisa pouted. “It doesn’t matter. I make enough money gettin’ stuff to the doc and barterin’ in the Village. You won’t believe how many pounds of staples a few grams of weed can get’cha.”

“What are you, a magician or a drug dealer?”

“Alright, you two,” I said, holding my head. “Let’s just all get straight to the point.”

“Have we made any breakthroughs on the Outside case?” Youmu asked.

I shook my head. “Sadly, no. I’m going to request to meet your master and Doremy again at some point, to see if I can dig up some more clues.”

“I see,” she nodded. “I’ll let Yuyuko-sama know.”

“Thanks. Now then… with that in mind, let’s focus on our other priority right now: Hijiri-sama’s Fortress. We know she has one, we just don’t know the keyword.”