Armored Gensokyo 35

Chapter 35: Tying It All In

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No, Satori decided, she was most certainly not making it through this day without a further rampant abuse of painkillers.

The master of Old Hell stood at the entrance to the baths and stared bleakly out at the breathtaking vista before her, the lights of the ancient city below stretching off into the distance.

A view that would probably have been more enjoyable, had it not been for the conspicuous absence of the wall that normally blocked it out.

“The wall.” She said flatly.

“Yeeeeeeeeeep.”

“The entire, eastern wall of the baths.”

“Er, yes...”

“...and rearranging most of the inside as well in the process.”

“Um...yes...?”

Satori stared out a moment longer, before turning to woodenly regard the culprits for this latest travesty upon her poor home's structural integrity.

The main culprit, at least for this particular disaster, Parsee Mizuhashi, had the decency to at least look mildly embarrassed, though whether that had to do with the hastily grabbed bathtowel she was still in, or actual guilt for the destruction still remained unclear.

“I-in my defense,” She said defensively, “...it was all his fault!”

Her finger stabbing out, the second member of the rogues' gallery recoiled, startled.

“My fault...?!” Beowulf, the ex-Einst man with the white tipped hair turned, a bewildered look on his face. “As I recall, you struck me first, with little to no provocation!”

“Provocation?!” Parsee seized him by the front of his kimono, dragging the red-clad newcomer down to eye level, fuming. “Provocative is what you...and my Yuugi were doing!”

She reddened, stammering as she continued. “A-a-a-and together in the bath no less...so shameless...and...and...right there in public wh-wh-where I could watch the whole thing and and and ONLY I'M ALLOWED TO STARE AT MY YUUGI NAKE-”

“Hooookay you can cool off now, Parsee.” The third member of the lineup sighed, casually headlocking the irrational hashihime and hauling her away.

To her credit, Satori didn't even blink.

“Yuugi, for the last time, put some damn clothes on.”

Hoshiguuma Yuugi blinked, surprised, and looked down at herself.

“What, this isn't good?”

“For the last time, half a kimono does not count.”

Yuugi shifted her hips, looking down speculatively at the slightly tattered silk material knotted around her waist.

“Eh, it was all I could get. Parsee kinda wrecked the rest.”

“The 'rest' you speak of was a towel.” Beowulf grumbled, smoothing out the front of his own clothing.

“And your point is...?” Yuugi looked confused.

Satori resisted the urge to bury her head in her hands and cry.

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“Aaaand so that's why we're here helping out with repairs.” The Deva finished, taking another sip of her sake.

“That's nice and all, but...WHY AM I HERE?!” Yamame Kurodani wailed, half buried in building supplies.

“Well, you're good at building webs, aren't you?” Yuugi blinked.

“WEBS AND CONSTRUCTION WORK ARE TWO DIFFERENT THINGS, RYUUJIN DAMMIT!”

“Eh, Yuugi can't help it.” Suika drawled, resting on a nearby pile of scaffolding. “She kinda sucks at anything that's not drinking or punching stuff.”

“Says the daytime drunkard that can't even walk in a straight line!” Yuugi shot back.

“HAH! That's where you're wrong!” The diminutive oni staggered to her feet, gesturing triumphantly. “I can SO walk in a straight line! Just...just...watch meeeeeeeeeeeee....!”

As Suika plummeted into the water below, acccompanied by Yuugi's uproarious laughter, Beowulf simply shook his head in disbelief. Effortlessly carrying an entire section of stone wall in one hand, he set it down near the broken wall.

“...is it always like this?”

An irritated sigh answered him, Parsee Mizuhashi glancing across at the others.

“...pretty much, yes.” She grumbled. “Onis aren't exactly known for subtlety, after all.”

“I see...” Beowulf said thoughtfully. “You...don't exactly seem to be one for company, though, if you don't mind me saying.”

Parsee stiffened slightly.

“...Satori said you had Yuugi's memories of us, right?” She said finally, after a long pause. “Then you should know who I am, and why that is.”

She turned back to her work, grimacing as she clumsily pushed another screen into place. Despite the western design of the underground palace, Satori had chosen to use a more eastern theme for the bath, even if it was only superficial. As a result, the inside walls of the bath were lined with screens of bamboo, laid over the stone bricks of the mansion walls. In short, rebuilding the broken walls was actually a fairly simple task, as Satori had long since gotten used to her houseguests' rather rambunctious nature and was in the habit of keeping replacement materials on hand.

Considering the strength of the people usually responsible for breaking the bath, and therefore tasked with repairing it as punishment, the mindreader had simply given up and, with Suika's grudging assistance, managed to manufacture entire prefabricated sections to be installed wherever the previous walls had been been blown up. And as Yuugi, Suika, and the luckless Yamame were otherwise occupied, that left Beowulf as the only remaining individual strong enough to haul the sections of stone wall into place, and Parsee as the only other person willing to focus on the task at hand...

Beowulf scratched his jaw, thinking.

“Well...Aside from names and personalities...I don't really know too much else regarding all of you.” He admitted finally. “Just names, faces, and a lot of words. Much like this body, it feels as though I'm simply using someone else's memories and knowledge.”

To his surprise, the girl with green eyes gave a faint sigh of relief.

“Thank Ryuujin for that much at least...” She muttered, before catching his puzzled stare. “Wh-what are you looking at?”

“Your reaction confuses me.” He replied bluntly, easily levering another piece of the wall into place. “I may not have anything that truly feels like it belongs to me...but at the very least I can tell that Yuugi feels extremely strongly towards you, to an extent that I think may be unusual by the admittedly...” His expression flickered slightly, “...loose, standards of her species.”

The bridge princess dropped the panel she was holding with a nervous squeak.

She and Yuugi had maintained this...peculiar relationship for quite some time, and yet, every time it was put into words, she couldn't help but get flustered all over again. She supposed it was in her nature as a hashihime to be uncertain in this particular arena...especially considering the emotion that was her purview.

The fact that this...interloper now knew of it as well, even in the most basic of terms, was only tempered by the fact that Yuugi's feelings toward her were strong enough that even Beowulf could feel it.

“Yes, well...” She replied haughtily. “Yuugi and I have known each other for quite a long time. Significantly more so, say, than someone like you, who just appeared out of thin air to try and steal her away from me!”

To her surprise, the man in the rust colored clothes appeared to be thinking about her statement, rather than reacting in the way any normal person would after being accused of something.

“I...you are correct, but...” He tilted his head, looking puzzled. “I'm not sure why you think I want to steal anyone from anyone...for one thing, Yuugi is an exceptionally formidable fighter. Even if I were to revert to my prior state of madness, it is still unlikely that I would be able to incapacitate her long enough to successfully kidnap her...”

Beowulf paused, a confused look on his face.

“Actually, I'm not sure why I should be kidnapping her in the first place...”

Parsee stared at him for several moments, her mouth opening and closing wordlessly. Catching her expression, Beowulf felt a bead of sweat roll down the back of his neck.

“Er...was there something wrong with what I said...?”

The Green Eyed Jealousy stared blankly at him for a moment longer, before her shoulders slumped,and she covered her face with one hand in despair.

“So very, very many things wrong...” She muttered, shaking her head, though feeling slightly better at the other man's apparent naivete in such matters.

It had already been several hours since the battle which had leveled an entire block of Old Hell, and the contrast between the ravening nightmare of the Wolf, and the somewhat socially clumsy individual before her was...jarring to say the least.

She was well aware it was in her nature to be fiercely possessive of Yuugi, immediately degenerating into a jealous frenzy at the slightest hint that someone else might be moving in...but even she had to admit, in this case, it was just SILLY.

“Ah, wait, unless you mean 'steal her away' by using exceptional sex to seduce her away from you...” Beowulf mused aloud, contemplating Yuugi's prior explanations on the subject. “I...suppose that is one way of looking at it. Though I am flattered that you estimate me so highly, I am afraid I still don't see why you think I should suddenly behave in such a manner, especially considering the fact that I am still trying to make sense of...well, everything really.”

The man in red seemed to think for a moment longer, before turning to her with a puzzled look.

“Are you one of those 'voyeur' people, then?”

“Hngrk.” Parsee replied, and dropped the panel she was holding on her foot.

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“...you left those two together on purpose, didn't you?” Suika remarked dryly, watching Beowulf fleeing before another barrage of emerald danmaku.

“Yep.” Yuugi took another sip of sake. “You know how Parsee gets around me. Better they work out their problems now rather than having them come back to bite me in the ass later.”

“You mean just like it always does whenever you come back from another one of your one-nighters?”

The Rumored Unnatural Phenomenon shrugged.

“Hey, I'm an oni. We don't exactly do 'commitment', remember? Still...” She gave a rueful smile, “She's the only one I keep coming back to.”

“Right right...”Suika waved. “Though I have to admit, even by oni standards, you do get around a lot.”

“What can I say?” Yuugi grinned mirthlessly, the air distorting around her hand. “With great power, comes a great need to let off steam. And up till now, there wasn't much fighting hard enough to count, so...”

“The next best thing, then.” The smaller oni rolled her eyes. “You don't suppose...”

“...it's another side effect of whatever happened between me and mister Steel Beowulf way back then?” Yuugi finished for her, sighing. “Hell if I know, but if he was designed to be an 'Adam', who knows, maybe he accidentally made me an 'Eve'.”

She took another sip of her drink, looking up at the ceiling high above.

“Whether it's true or false, I'm fine with letting it lie as is...As an oni, I have a way of life I stick to, and as a hashihime, so does Parsee.”

“So basically you have the right to sleep around, and Parsee has the right to kick the crap outta you for it everytime?” Suika grinned. “MAN she must really be something special, then.”

“Hah!” Yuugi laughed. “Yeah, there's just something about her that keeps reeling me back in everytime. As cliché as it sounds, she's the only one that actually means something, and damned if she doesn't already know that.”

“Maaaaan, I swear...” Suika shook her head wearily, “Sometimes, I remember just why it is I don't talk about this stuff with you. It's a pain in the ass trying to keep up with the way you see things.”

“Well, that's what the booze's for, isn't it?” Yuugi grinned, raising her sake dish.

“Haha, yeah, I'll drink to that!” Suika whooped, raising her trademark gourd again.

Clanking their drinks together, both knocked them back in one go, shivering with glee at the harsh taste.

“DAMN that's some good stuff...!” Yuugi sighed.

“Totally worth everything I had to go through to get this thing, I swear.” Suika nodded fervently, indicating her gourd.

The two oni sat in companionable silence, watching the ruckus unfolding, Beowulf now holding a flailing Yamame between himself and Parsee in a vain attempt at shielding himself from the jealousy of the hashihime, before Yuugi broke the silence with a thoughtful question.

“Hey...you think he'd be up for a threesome?”

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The walls of the exit passage to the surface passing by on every side, Marisa Kirisame pushed up the brim of her hat, eyeing her partner in crime speculatively.

“Well, you've been awfully quiet since we left that little riot downstairs...”

“...” Reimu made no reply, but the irritated twitch of her jaw told the witch her comment had hit home.

“Call it a guess, but I'm pretty sure there's something you still haven't told anybody regarding the new guy there...” Sitting sideways on her broom, Marisa crossed her legs, resting her chin in one hand as she stared intently at the shrine maiden, a knowing grin playing across her features as she fell silent.

“...”

“...”

“...wh-what?!” Reimu snapped finally, looking indignant. “Stop staring at me!”

“Not till you tell me what you're hidiiiiii~iiiing!” Marisa's grin widened. Reimu had always had a nigh-impenetrable poker face...but the two of them had been working together for too long for the witch not to have learned to read the Hakurei inheritor's expression.

Not only that, but getting under people's skin had always been a talent she excelled at.

“Tch...” Picking up speed, Reimu drew ahead slightly, attempting to put some distance between them and thereby ending the conversation...but just like she ruefully expected, Marisa simply accelerated as well, her mischievous expression not changing in the slightest.

“...you can be a real pain sometimes, you know that?” She growled in exasperation.

“Heheh, that's one of my better points!” Marisa laughed, settling back onto her broom in a more stable position, confident that she'd cracked her friend's facade.

“All right, but...look just keep this to yourself, all right?” Reimu grimaced. “The last thing I need is that frigging Tengu stirring up another hornet's nest.”

“You and I both know she'll be the first to find out anyway, regardless if you or I keep quiet, so I dunno why you're so worried about it.” Marisa gave a dismissive wave. “A nosy, panty-flashing crow she might be, with a penchant for sensationalism and tabloid garbage she might be, but you have to admit, Aya's bloody good at what she does.”

“Quite.” Reimu replied with a deadpan expression. “Either way, about Beowulf...”

“Yeah?”

“...it's the markings on his face.”

Marisa raised an eyebrow, looking puzzled.

“The markings...? But I thought you explained those already?”

Reimu shook her head.

“Like you said, there was something I didn't bring up. I'm pretty sure Satori saw it before I could bury the thought, but still...”

“There's something else to those markings, huh...?” The witch frowned, scratching her chin thoughtfully. “You already said they explained he was an Einst...as well as that he was a hybrid, designed to be the new 'Adam'...”

After a few moments, she shook her head in annoyance.

“Ah, who am I kidding, I barely have any idea how the hell a couple tiny tattoos like that gave you even THAT much info, much less being able to guess what else might be recorded with 'em.”

Reimu gave a short, barking laugh.

“Yeah, that was what I said before I figured out how to read them. Blame Yukari and a lot of boredom for that.” Shaking her head, her expression hardened. “No, the only other thing those tattoos show...is rank. And what Beowulf had there was...well...it shouldn't have been there.”

“...what do you mean?”

“What I mean is...well...” Reimu skidded to a stop in midair, struggling with herself to put it into words. “The Einst are a hivemind, right? Meaning they're all part of the same system, and they all have different caste rankings within the system, becoming more intelligent and more powerful as you move up the rankings, right?”

“...I'll take your word for it?”

“Only Einst hybrids have their rank shown via their facial markings, but even then, I've never seen that one before.” Reimu took a deep breath. “And of all the Einst, there's only ONE whose rank would normally never show up on a hybrid. A name and rank in one...Regisseur.”

“Regisseur...?” Marisa's eyes narrowed, the name striking a chord in her memory. “Hang on, isn't that-?!”

“The ruler of the Einst, the directing intellect of the entire hive: Einst Regisseur.” Reimu said flatly. “An emotionless intelligence that's basically the will of the Einst put into words, he's the one who's been itching to come at Gensokyo for so long, the one that Yukari hates.”

“So then...does that mean that Beowulf...?!” Marisa looked back along the tunnel, an alarmed look on her face.

“No, that's just it...” Reimu grumbled, pressing a hand to her head. “Yukari showed me the Regisseur himself once...and let me tell you, I can definitely say that Beowulf isn't him. Nowhere near enough wings and tentacles for one thing...”

Marisa raised an eyebrow.

“...okay, maybe he does have the tentacles.” The shrine maiden amended. “But yeah, he's definitely not the Regisseur. That's not a form you can mistake by any stretch of the imagination, and there's no way that even a hybrid body could contain the might of that guy.”

“So then...why's our boy downstairs have that mark then?”

“I don't know.” Reimu replied grimly, before resuming her flight towards the surface. “But the only thing I can think of is that while for the Einst Regisseur himself, it's a title AND a name...it's still partly a title. And if his physical manifestation were to be destroyed, forcing him back out of the real world...if a sufficiently powerful Einst, with an independent mind of its' own, were to step into the gap left behind by his banishment...”

Marisa suppressed a shudder.

“...it...no, HE could become 'a' Regisseur, taking command of the Einst in 'the' Regisseur's absence...?”

Reimu's lack of a reply was all the answer Marisa needed.

“Ryuujin almighty...” The witch swore under her breath, staring back down the tunnel in the direction of Old Hell. “Right place, right time...and suddenly you're the undisputed master of an entire swarm of dimension-killers.”

She let out a low whistle.

“And Yukari let something that used to be THAT into Gensokyo...? You weren't kidding when you said you had no idea what the hell she was playing at...”

“Let's just get out of here.” Reimu growled, pouring on an extra burst of speed. “I'll feel a damn sight better when I get back out into the light of day.”

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Neither witch nor shrine maiden noticed the unseen watcher staring up after them as they faded into the distance.

“Wow, you sure don't do things in half measures, huh, gap lady?” Koishi Komeiji grinned.

“As usual, it seems the younger of the Satori siblings can see right through you, miss Sage.” A rich male voice chuckled.

“Oh hush, you...” Pouting, the ladylike figure of Yukari Yakumo faded into view as a gap slashed open in the air, revealing both her compatriot, the enigmatic Dr. Shirakawa reclining comfortably in the seat of an outdoor tea table, calmly enjoying the vapor rising from the mug in his hand...

And the frantically scribbling figure of Aya Shameimaru.

“AAAAAAAAAAGH DAMMIT SLOW DOWN I CAN'T GET THIS ALL ON PAPER.”

“And so ends this performance.” Shu said calmly, before Yukari interrupted, picking up Koishi by the back of her collar.

“How did you even get out here...?”

“I dunno.” Koishi laughed. “But the shrine girl and the magician were talking about some really interesting stuff, so I decided to tag along! Then I heard you around here, so I decided to wait and see what happened!”

“Honestly...” Yukari huffed. “How exactly is one supposed to be all mysterious and enigmatic with the likes of you wandering onscreen?”

“So, is there anything remaining you'd like to ask me...miss pure and honest reporter?”

Despite the haze of journalistic delirium surging through her veins, Aya couldn't help but suppress a faint shiver at the way he said that last part. It might have been the voice, but Ryuujin help her it just sounded so deliciously wicked and decadent that she just KNEW it was going to be a long, long time before she could say that phrase ever again without blushing.

For Ryuujin's sake, the man could read off a restaurant menu and still make it sound like a rich, velvet invitation to...to...

She swallowed, her mind roaring off down the gutter and gave an uneasy look at where Yukari was still unsuccessfully berating Koishi.

Somehow, these two fit together so well it was downright terrifying. If anyone could match this man in the arena of smooth, calculating personalities, it would be the gap youkai of Gensokyo. The day they ever decided to become an actual couple was something nobody to date had been willing to place bets on...as nobody wanted to be right.

“Ah, um...n-no, this will be fine...” She stammered. “But...I have to ask, why did you show me all of this?”

“That's simple.”

She jumped, Yukari's voice sounding from right next to her, the gap youkai strolling out of another rend in the air.

“After all, it's only a story if there's someone around to witness it.”

“And not only that...” Shu Shirakawa leaned forward on the table, with a smile that made Aya suddenly swallow and wonder when the normally gloomy tunnel air had become this hot and stifling. “But we need someone to, how shall I say it...'stir things up'?”

Yep, Aya thought faintly, it was the voice. Definitely.

Watching the crow tengu beat a hasty retreat off towards the surface, and likely the coldest shower she could find, Yukari settled into another chair with a sigh.

“Honestly, Doctor, I know I said to distract her, but really!” Folding her arms, she gave an indignant huff. “If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were trying to make me jealous!”

“That depends, my dear Sage...” Shu replied easily, stirring his tea idly. “Is it working?”

“I don't know...” The gap youkai replied, a sly smile flitting across her lips. “Do you want it to~?”

“We'll see.” The wandering master of the Neo Granzon hummed. “In the meantime, though, are you quite certain this will be enough?”

“Naturally.” Yukari sighed, relaxing into her seat. “With just how scrambled you left that poor reporter, I'd be surprised if she can remember even half of the events that occurred following Beowulf's awakening.”

“But she will certainly remember the most...impressive moments nonetheless, which is precisely the point of this exercise, especially once word begins to spread.” Shu agreed. “Although, you'll forgive me if I took an additional precaution...”

Right on cue, a thin black notebook thudded onto the table, Koishi Komeiji grinning cheerfully.

“Is this what you wanted, mister Shu?”

“Yes, thank you, Koishi, this is perfect.” Shu gave her a warm smile, to which the younger satori responded by throwing her hands up and spinning around happily.

“Hooray! I win!”

Yukari stared.

“Is that...?”

“All of her notes from Beowulf's awakening, to the moment miss Koishi here encountered us. I wagered the little satori she couldn't pickpocket the fastest tengu in Gensokyo.”

“...and without this, all that remains is Shameimaru's own, flawed, eyewitness account.” Yukari murmured, a devilish smile crossing her face. “Just vague enough to avoid giving everything away...and yet concrete enough that it'll still draw attention.”

“Just like every issue she ever writes.” Shu nodded, taking another sip. “Either way, Old Hell will soon be in the spotlight once more. And with that interest will also come a new desire for inhabitants of the surface and the underground to 'see what all the fuss is about'.”

“Thereby paving the way for Old Hell and the surface to once again begin establishing stronger ties between them, something Satori has been struggling to do ever since the Subterranean Animism Incident blew out all of the barriers.”

It was at this point that Koishi, who looked as though she had been thinking over something for the last few minutes, interrupted.

“Hey, mister, you know no one reads anything Aya writes, right?”

“Of course.” Shu replied. “And yet it'll still be more than enough to get the various threads of rumor and hearsay up and running anew.”

“Helped in no small part by your own sister too, as poor Satori wouldn't know how to manage rumors if her life depended on it.” Yukari added.

“There will likely still be some friction between the two, considering that the Underground dwellers aren't exactly a well-liked group of races...” Shu stated calmly.

“But it's a start.” Yukari smiled, raising a glass of her own.

“To progress.” The Doctor smirked.

“To entertainment.” The Sage grinned.

A clink of glasses, and then the tunnel was empty once more.

“Hey, what about me?”

...almost empty.

Wandering around for a while longer, Koishi decided there was nothing else to do, and trotted off again, destination known only to her.