~Hakurei Shrine~ > Patchouli's Scarlet Library

The Oncoming Storm

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The Dratini Farmer: Courtroom, Ministry of Right and Wrong, Higan For the first time in living memory, Shiki's courtroom wasn't hearing judgment. Instead, the Yama was talking with Yukari and Eirin. Reisen, Ran, and Komachi were standing off at the door with nothing to do. "The way I see it, we might not be ready before the invasion starts," the Yama was saying. "We have had some of the best warriors in history teaching us how to fight like the outside world, but now that it's clear that we're vastly outnumbered..." "We still have the support of the moon forces once this starts. I know for sure that the Lunar Defense Corps have better weaponry than the earth. I designed most of myself," Eirin paused. "But the problem would be the casualties from the fighting. With the time that Yukari has calculated, we would be short on the proper medicine for at least a month after the first attack. The youkai can heal fast, but I'm worried about the Hakueri miko and the magician." Yukari nodded and sighed. "That's one of our priorities after all. Even with the barrier gone, we still can't let Remiu get hurt. The same goes for Marisa. Those two are close, if either of them get hurt, it all goes downhill." "I can't bend the rules of life and death for either of them," Shiki said. "The best I can do is to tell them to stay sharp. Even your power of manipulating boundaries can't bring back the dead. Lord Yama has made sure of that." "There may be a way, but I doubt that either of them would approve," Eirin started. "The Hourai elixir cannot be an option," Yukari stomped the idea. "Its common knowledge that the one thing Marisa values above everything is her humanity. And for Remiu to give her's up would make her give up what she is. The Hakueri family has always been human, and mikos are supposed to be human. Remiu won't ever want to give that up." ?So that brings us back to our original question: how are we going to keep Remiu from getting killed during all this. And why should be bother with the barrier gone?? Shiki asked. ?Remiu is the only one that can keep everyone from cutting each other?s throats. The Onis respect her, the vampires listen to her, the humans have started to trust her more, and even the underground will pay attention to her.? Yukari looked away. ?And it?s my responsibility to make sure that no harm comes to the Hakueri line. That?s a promise I have kept for so long and I?m not about to change that.? The Yama knew that this was as close as the gap youkai would get to confessing more of her past, so she let it go. Eirin had picked up a large book that was stilling nearby. Absentmindedly, she flipped through it. Then something caught her attention. ?Who all have you brought back from the Netherworld to teach us, Eiki?? ?So far, we had Simo Hayha, Pancho Villa, Francis Marion, George S. Patton, Napoleon Bonaparte, the Duke of Wellington, Robert E. Lee, the Red Baron, and a few others.? ?This book, have any of you read it?? The Lunarian holds it up. ?It?s a very through book. We can learn a lot more from the author.? The book was titled Infantry Attacks. The author was Erwin Rommel. ?Erwin Rommel? I haven?t heard that name in a long time,? Yukari pulled a textbook from a gap. ?Earned the title of ?The Desert Fox? during the last World War. Was able to turn a hopeless campaign around with limited support and supplies. Lived by a high moral code. Considered one of the best generals of all time.?  "He's teachings would be extremely useful. Why haven't we got him yet?" Eirin asked. "One of us appears to have an issue with their past. Until she comes to terms with it, Field Marshal Rommel's time won't really make that much of a difference." Shiki shook her head. "It's somewhat sad. She has nothing to be ashamed of." "It took me a while but I finally see that." Walking into the courtroom, Sakuya held her head high in her dark blue uniform. But it wasn't her regular maid uniform. This time she wore her German Army uniform, complete with her short saber and white gloves. Even with her bias against the earth's military history, Reisen couldn't help but feel a little jealous of Sakuya. "None of you seemed surprised. Was I really that obvious?" Sakuya held her service cap under her left arm. It bore the silver German eagle with lightning held in its talons. "The way you were always obedient to your master was a strong hint. That level of obedience can only come from either military training or being a sh. Add to this the fact that you were more mission type than directive type. That was a stronger hint, since that was how the Germans did so well in the Second World War." No one except Shiki and Eirin had never heard Yukari analyze someone so thoroughly. The gap youkai shrugged. "And I'm sure the others had their ways as well." The yama held up her mirror. Eirin shrugged. "For a human to be able to last as long as you, it really was obvious. And Reisen's report on how quick you picked up the marksmanship courses were extra." Yukari had taken to inspect Sakuya's uniform. The way the dark blue complemented the black trimming. The way that it was shaped to her. It was one of the best uniforms that she had seen. "This uniform, is it one of the first production runs?" Yukari eyed the Sam Browne belt holding her saber. "It was the one that Hugo Boss had as the sample to present to our High Command. He was so impressed with the way it looked on me that he had them issue it to only me. From what I heard, I was the only one with a uniform like this. It survived Europe, Russia and North Africa." "This would be a great base for our own uniforms." Yukari pulled out her cell phone, snapped a quick picture, and sent it to Ran with instructions. "Don't worry. I told Ran to make sure that the kappas make some changes to everyone else's." "I can't really argue with that." "Now, I think it would be extremely useful if you could tell us what exactly you did during the war." Lunar Palace, Lunar Capital Behind the Lunar Palace stood a large field. Usually it was used by the Lunar Defense Corp as a lounging area. Now, it was filled with line infantry. The regiment closest to the palace had stopped and were rearranging into an infantry square. Seeing the more than 200 moon rabbits go from marching in a line to a perfect square in less than ten seconds satisfied Yorihime. Another regiment had gone from line to light infantry and back again and again. "It's a little sad, isn't it sister?" Toyohime had just returned from meeting with the scientific department of the Defense Corp. "We haven't had a real war in so long. And now there's a real chance that we could be sending them to their deaths. And what makes it worse is that they won't ever question us." "Which is why we have to be absolutely sure about this. Master Eirin had asked for our help. I'll be at the front to make sure we can end this fast. Has the science department made any progress?" "They already tested the prototype. And it worked flawlessly. The signal expanded copper casings to twice their original size. Our weapons were able to fire once every three seconds, a vast improvement over the estimates." ?And the body armor?? ?So far, all the tests are cleared. The next step is to speed up the conversion of our current uniforms to those with the threads sown in. Keeping the uniforms the same makes the change smoother.? ?With all of our technological advances, isn?t it ironic we have to resort to such an ancient style of fighting?? Toyohime waved toward the regiments that were drilling. ?Even the Earth doesn?t fight like this anymore. ?But some of them still train their armies this way. They may fight differently, but it comes from the discipline that the Line of Battle doctrine instills. Don?t forget that we have trained them to be able to switch from Line of Battle to light infantry whenever the need arises. That?s where our advantage comes from.?

The Dratini Farmer: Hakueri Shrine     As usual, Reimu had finished sweeping the shrine and was drinking her tea. The events of the past couple of days had begun to take a toll on her. Since she was the Hakueri Shrine Maiden, she was expected to make sure that Gensokyo was well. Now with the land being dragged into what would be an extremely bloody conflict, she felt at odds with herself. She felt like this because of what she wanted. If she were able to achieve just one thing in her life, it would be a lasting peace, with no violence. Remiu had always hated the fact that she sometimes had to hurt someone to solve incidents. It just wasn?t in her to do that and not worry about it. She had thought that by treating everyone the same, that she would stay detached. But that didn?t happen. A little over Reimu?s head, a familiar gap opened. Yukari could tell from above that Reimu was starting to feel depressed. The youkai climbed out of her gap and sat down next to the miko. She was surprised to see bags under the younger woman?s eyes. It was obvious that she had spent a few nights staying up to see if she could figure out a way to protect the land that she loved without having to resort to violence. But deep in her heart, she knew that that was impossible. And Remiu was at her breaking point. It was just a little hiccup at first. Then she began to shake. Tears began to flow down her face. Yukari had only seen Remiu cry once. And the youkai had been involved. Guilt began to grip Yukari?s heart. She pulled Remiu in close and held her. She was almost in tears herself. But what hurt Yukari the most was the one thing that Reimu kept asking. ?Why?Why?Why?? Scarlet Devil Mansion Library The sight of a large number of books in a pile on Patchouli?s desk wasn?t anything new. The same went for the librarian and her assistant floating here and there with research notes. In any other circumstances, Sakuya would have been hard press not to clean up after them. But today, she knew what they were doing and decided to let them be. She also had to escort Patchouli?s visitor. ?Lady Patchouli, you have a visitor,? Sakuya curtsied. She was acknowledged with a nod and dismissed. Reisen Udongein Inaba held a small paper bag. She had only been in the legendary Volie library once before, so she was still trying to let it sink in. Patchouli finally managed to disengage herself from the notes and floated over to the rabbit, ?So, your master?s done with my request?? ?Yes, Master Eirin guarantees that this should calm down your asthma quite a bit. But she says that she needs you to come in for a full checkup before she can make it go away entirely.? ?I can?t really leave what I?m doing right now. I barely have enough time to eat and sleep. And it?s probably going to get worse with that they told us happened during the negotiations.? ?Master has been saying the same thing. But we have the Lunarians helping us now.? ?Even so, I rather not leave anything to chance. But, there is another favor I would like to ask her.? Reisen could tell that Patchouli was reluctant to keep going and stayed silent. ?I want-no, I would like for Eirin to see about making a potion that would help someone that I can?t.? Patchouli walks over to a cabinet and pulls out a small bag. ?This is Flandre?s hair. I?ve researched every book I have here. But I can?t find a cure for her insanity. I know that most people in Gensokyo are afraid of her, but it?s not her fault. If they got to know here when she isn?t in one of her episodes, she would have a lot more friends. Take these notes I made as well. And tell your master that I?m willing to pay anything to get her that cure.?

The Dratini Farmer: Morioka, Iwate, Japan It had taken longer than they expected to get to their destination. But Maribel and Renko were closing in on the old shrine that they had read about. For now, they were taking a small break in the capital city of the Iwate prefecture. Renko had picked up a copy of the day?s paper, this one with the headline of ?Battle at the UN: Gensokyo stands fast against international community?. What really surprised the pair was the picture under the headline. It was of a woman that looked like an older version of Maribel with a parasol. Behind her a woman with fox tails stood stoically. The news article described how the newcomers had somehow made their way into the main meeting room and confronted the UN General Assembly. But the newspaper had somehow managed to get a transcript of the entire incident, in which the woman had delivered an embarrassing rebuke to the American ambassador over an alleged invasion and assassination attempt. With that, the United States had demanded an apology but had not received a response. Political experts had predicted that the US was going to pursue embargos but had no idea what they how would. None of the pundits had any idea about what Gensokyo exported or imported. But the rumors were running wild. Renko was trying to figure out the big picture based on the newspapers while Maribel was trying to figure out the meaning behind all of the recent dreams that she had been having. They were of various environments, but she knew that they were somewhere in Gensokyo. There were some of mountains, of plains, of a village, and of what looked like the moon?s surface. The unsettling thing was that she could hear the sounds of machines in the background, something that she had never heard before. She had also seen dozens of what looked like bullet casings everywhere. The only explanation that Maribel could think of was that Gensokyo was preparing for a war. And the atmosphere of the outside world would not let them back down. They both jumped when they heard the loud sound of a group of UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters fly over them. They bore the markings of the US Army and were flying low over the forest near the city. The residents of the city were busy staring at them, giving Maribel and Renko the impression that this did not happen every day. Behind them a fair distance away were a flight of AH-64 Apache attack helicopters. All of the helicopters were flying deeper into the mountain, towards the shrine. The pair began to hurry and finish their lunch, a pair of sandwiches from a local shop. Once they were done, Renko pulled out a map of the surrounding area. The shrine was northwest of them, deep in the mountains and at the top of a long set of stairs. ?This is starting to get serious, Mary. If the entire international community goes against Gensokyo, it?s not going to be pretty. And we still don?t know much about it either. Are you still sure about going there?? Maribel nodded. ?There?s a reason why I keep having those dreams. And I?m starting to warm up to them. I want to be visit and get to know Gensokyo, so that means that I have to protect it until I get the chance.? ?We won?t be able to do much if a war breaks out. Remember that we have no military experience.? ?I still want to go. My family has had the ability to see Gensokyo for generations and I want to know why it?s been pulling me lately. I know that I?m going but it would mean a lot to me if you would come too.? ?Why do you still think I?m here? You know as well as I do that I?m always going to be right next to you. Don?t ever doubt that.? Kirisame Magic Shop, Forest of Magic, Gensokyo For once, Marisa was cleaning up the massive mess that she called home. On the nightstand, her dual revolvers had a bright sheen, a result of the witch?s through cleaning. For most of the morning, she had been moving the books that she ?borrowed? from Patchouli and Alice into separate piles. Then she noticed a very old one. The fact that it was old didn?t catch her attention. It was that it looked familiar. She opens it and freezes. Inside the book wasn?t the list of spells or potion ingredients that she expected. It had pictures of a family. The family was made up of a mother, a father, and a little girl. The little girl had blonde hair and bright golden eyes. Marisa was so shaken that she didn?t notice Alice had walked in. The puppeteer could tell that Marisa had stumbled across something that affected her. Marisa had a storm of emotions that raged inside her as she stared at the pictures. Then something fell out of the book. The magician picked it up and saw that it was a medallion. It had the mini-hakkero etched on it, along with a book and a rose. She could feel a strong amount of power coming from it. There was a little hole on the top of it, perfect for a necklace.  Alice sees it but still stays silent. ?Alice, why are you here?? Marisa speaks first to get her mind off the pictures. ?You?re never around these parts.? ?Nitori had wanted me to stop by and give you this,? She hands her a cell phone. ?This is one of the things that Yukari wants everyone to have on them. All of our numbers are already in it. Marisa, do you want to talk about it?? The witch shook her head and put the coin away in her pocket. She resolved to take it to Rinnosuke whenever she had a chance and to write a letter. Seeing how it had the mini-hakkero on it, Marisa knew that it had something to do with her. And who better to ask then the person that knew her the longest? ?Alice, why don?t you go get yourself something from the kitchen? I?m sure that you haven?t eaten yet.? Marisa flinched inside at how out of character she sounded. Alice hesitated but went into the kitchen anyway. The witch took the chance to quickly scan the photo album and take out a picture. She looks at it for a moment, then folds it and puts it under her hat. Wiping a tear from her eye, she joins Alice in making lunch.

The Dratini Farmer: Lunar Capital, Dark Side of the Moon Reisen couldn?t believe that Yorihime and Toyohime had given her command of a regiment. And much less one of the royal regiments from the capital. But the entire 4th Regiment of Royal Foot stood in front of her, all 5,000 of them. And they would be the ones that would be the first on the ground when war reached Gensokyo. For now, they practiced the Line of Battle doctrine. As she rode her horse to inspect the battalions, she felt uneasy in how many lives she was responsible for. The moon rabbit finished her inspection and received a set of training orders. After dispersing them to her staff, she joined up with the headquarters battalion. An hour later, the entire regiment was marching out of the capital towards the mountains. On the way, the battalion commanders began to split up, presenting a smaller target to the training staff. Half an hour of marching had Reisen in deep thought. It almost cost her when a swarm of cavalry ambushed them. The battalion commander was immediately taken down by the first wave, sending the battalion staff into confusion. Reisen was forced to take command as the various company commanders were dispatched. ?All companies, square formation! Make two rows and stagger them out!? As expected of elite troops, every company immediately formed infantry squares and stalled the cavalry charges. Reisen was forced to take direct command of the headquarter company when the commander was knocked down by a runaway horse. But her side wasn?t the only one with riders being launched. When the enemy cavalry hit the square, over half the riders were flying in the air. A single unit broke through the line and charged at Reisen. She drew her saber and rushed forward, narrowly missing her target. Her opponent moved in, unleashing a storm of slashes. Reisen blocked every one of them but almost lost her balance. One of her troops was knocked back into her horse, causing him to rear up and knock her off. Hitting the ground, she lost her grip on her saber. Her opponent moved in for the final strike when Reisen drew her sidearm and fired. Without a rider, the horse turned and ran off. Looking around, the regiment is winning decisively. She spots the commanding rider and aims her sidearm. She tries to fire and hears a click. Her target sees her and tries to cut her. Reisen blocks the attack with her sidearm but staggers back. The next strike forces her to a knee. Now with the advantage, the commander has the horse rear up and try to trample her. The moon rabbit rolls to her left and picks up a rifle from a fallen subordinate. Now with a weapon that she was comfortable with, she reverted back to her infantry training. Reisen launches a strike with the bayonet but is knocked down. She spins back up and presses the attack. This time, the stab connects. Without a master, the horse turns and flees from the battle. The commander falls on the ground just as several loud explosions erupt. On the higher ground that the cavalry had come from, six cannons were formed up. Each was being reloaded quickly, forcing Reisen to issue new orders while she ran to retrieve her saber. ?All companies, line formation now! Skirmishers, screen those cannons, time now!? With the rest of the companies covering them, a little less than a company?s worth of skirmishers rushed towards the cannons. They were aiming to buy time for the rest to form up and get into firing range. Spreading out, they lessened the effect that the artillery would have on their ranks. Once they were close enough, they dropped to a knee and opened fire. Immediately reloading, they crouched even lower to present a smaller profile. Back with the main group, Reisen had rushed to the front of the lead company. Positioning herself next to the standard bearer, she began to rally her troops. The cannons were still being fired upon, but their crews were using every bit of cover they could. Because of that, the reloading process was slowed down a bit. The head company was about 350 meters from the line of cannons, causing Reisen to perform a set of calculations that she didn?t like. Waiting until they were 250 meters off, she raised her rifle and gave the command that she hated the most. ?All companies, charge the cannons. Not one step back!? As one, what was left of her regiment began to sprint. The adrenaline began to pump even more as the cannons fired into the approaching mass. At 100 meters, the cannons began to fire grapeshot. The first volley was the worst. Reisen almost broke off when she saw the spread hit multiple companies and dozens of her troops went down. The standard bearer next to her was hit and began to topple down. Releasing her hold on her own weapon, Reisen grabs the flag before it hits the ground. Seeing their commander continuing the charge inspired the rest to finish the last 50 meters to the cannons. The first elements reached them just as the crews were halfway done with reloading. Striking forward with the standard, the moon rabbit knocked down the commander of the largest cannon. A round bounced off the rifle of one her troops next to her and destroyed it. Reisen tosses the standard to her and pulls out her sidearm again. Seeing this, her opponent pulls out her own. Both of them pull the trigger but hear clicks. The skirmishers had been forced to shift fire when the rest of the regiment had gotten too close to the cannons. For now, they were reloading and pulling security. The rest of the regimental and battalion staff that had made it were going around the brawl, looking for space to charge in. Inside the brawl, Reisen was busy trading pistol whips with her opponent. She was hoping for a block to unjam the round in the chamber. Around her, the sounds of rifles going off masked some of the yells and screams of the battle. Her opponent was backing away, trying to make space to draw her saber. Reisen pressed forward and slammed her sidearm into her helmet. The weapon made a loud click, signaling that the jammed round was cleared. She raises it and fires. One loud boom and her opponent falls to the ground. Reisen checks the pistol to make sure that another jam hadn?t occurred and took a deep breath. Seeing their commander fall, the rest of the crews broke away from the brawl. As the companies began to form themselves up, the regimental and company staff began to run down the enemy. ?All company commanders, get me accountability!? Reisen had to pretend to be inspecting a fallen rifle to hide the shaking from the adrenaline letdown. All the movement around her kept her from seeing the movement to the side. One of the crew that went down earlier wasn?t completely down and was reaching for a fallen pistol. The moon rabbit hears the movement and spins around. She brings up her weapon and hears a loud boom.

The Dratini Farmer: Mountain top, Bhava-Agra Tenshi Hinanawi had never liked the meetings that her father had made her attend. Ever since the earthquake incident that she had caused, her father had been doing his best to turn her into a proper Celestial. First, it had been studying all of the Buddhist teachings, then it was studying the arts and humanities. The one thing that Tenshi took pride in as a Celestial, her fighting ability, would had been neglected if she hadn?t sneaked a few fights here and there. And finally, she had to participate in the administration of heaven. That meant a lot of paperwork and boring meetings. But what worried her about the meeting today was seeing Yukari Yakumo speaking with her father. Tenshi didn?t know if Yukari was still mad about the shrine incident so that made it worse. The Celestial knew that Yukari had bigger things to worry about than her, or at least she hoped. For now she was sitting down with the Hisou no Tsurugi planted in front of her. Her hat was hung on the handle, letting the wind flow through her hair. The 10 minute break that came every hour was the only thing that save her from falling asleep during the meetings. To her, it was the same old stuff: paperwork, regulations, more paperwork. The bell in the meeting hall rang, signaling the end of the break. Tenshi sighed as she got her sword and hat and started to walk back in. Inside the hall, representatives from all the major families were socializing before the meeting got underway. Tenshi sat at her family?s area, hoping that she wouldn?t be drawn into another boring conversation. Then Yukari walked in. Tenshi tensed, a million possibilities swirling around in her head. Her stomach dropped when the gap youkai sat down next to her father. In front of him, there was a usually large amount of paperwork. The Eldest Daughter was hoping that the worse that was going to happen was that Yukari would trick her into doing excessive paperwork. It was something that the youkai would do after all. But there was a strange look on her father?s face, almost as if he was tired. The bell rang once more, announcing the start of business. Tenshi leaned back in her chair, hoping that this meeting would be boring as the rest. She began to munch on a peach, one of the pack that she always carried in her apron. She almost chokes when Yukari takes the floor. ?I want to thank all of the heads of the families for allowing me the opportunity to speak here today. As all of you are aware, the outside world is starting to take up arms against Gensokyo. I wish I could tell you the reason, but even I don?t know it. What I can tell you is that we must be ready to defend ourselves in the coming war. For that reason, we have been training some of our best to take up that task. From your group, we have trained Tenshi Hinanawi.? Tenshi knew that she was going to be dragged into something big. She thought about looking around for escape routes but decided against it when she remembered the past few weeks of training. So she stayed and braced for the worst. ?The entire planet will be fighting against us in the war. To counter that, everybody in Gensokyo must come together and fight as one. We all have different abilities that make us powerful by ourselves. But that way, we would fall one by one. United, we can hold off and defeat this invasion. And with that, I?ll ask this: will the Celestials join us in the defense of Gensokyo?? The room was silent for a few moments and then Tenshi?s father stood up. ?Lady Yakumo, you do bring up several good points. A Celestial will never back away from a fight, be it physical or philosophical. But, none of us have any actual experience in the modern techniques of war.? ?Your daughter does.? Every pair of eyes turned to focus on Tenshi. She knew that this was going to happen. Her father began to understand where this was heading. ?What does my daughter have to do with this, Lady Yakumo?? ?Your daughter has had training from some of the best warriors in history. We?re going to need everyone that we can get but, you?re daughter has a special talent that could save countless lives.? ?Lady Yakumo, I don?t mean to argue, but she isn?t exactly the best choice for this and-? Hearing her own father doubt her hit Tenshi worse than anything else. She thought of standing up and doing something, anything to express her anger but stayed seated. Yukari looked him straight in the eye and asked something that no one else had. ?You really love your daughter, don?t you? That?s why you?re protecting her.? The room went silent. Every Celestial present knew that he was strict and demanding of her, but had never considered that he was protective. From how he?s been treating her, it seem like he wanted to break her down. ?Lady Yakumo, I do not see what that has to do with anything.? ?You know as well as I do that there will be death and suffering in this war. You were telling me earlier that you had been studying the history of the outside world for a while as a hobby. Then it should be obvious that war is a horrible thing. But it is also one of the most important events to happen in history. In war, one?s true character is shown to the world. Cowardice isn?t kept secret for long while heroism is content with being quiet in the background. No one knows for sure when our time is up, but I?m sure that most of us want to know that we died with honor. I?m sure that your daughter would want to do her part to help protect Gensokyo from this dire threat. She does have a little regret over the incident that she caused some time back.? Tenshi?s thoughts were spinning. First, her father had doubted her and now wanted to protect her. Then Yukari was putting faith in her unknown talent and was trying to get her to agree to this. If she learned one thing from everything that her father had made her study, it was that she would have to be the one to make the choice. And that it was time to stop acting like a child. ?I?ll do it.? As soon as Tenshi spoke, the entire room went quiet. ?If it means that I can make up for the incident, then I?m in. All I ask is that you tell me why you need me so bad.? ?You?re one of the sharpest Celestials here.? The room became full of glares. ?Even though you?re fonder of fighting, you still have a natural skill with many intellectual aspects. Given the right training, you could have been the head of the Celestials. From what I seen, you?re on the way to that training. This conflict is a great opportunity for you to finish this. But it won?t be easy. The only thing that I can guarantee you is that it will be a long and hard time. But it won?t be as bad as it was for Reimu after you destroyed her shrine.? Tensing up, Tenshi knew that that had to come up again. ?I did my best to make it up by helping to rebuild it. Shouldn?t that be in the past now?? ?You tried to put a keystone in it. But, I?ll make you a deal. Perform your duties to the best of your abilities and all will be forgiven. Do we have an agreement?? Tenshi nodded. ?All right. But I still have one question. Why are we using outside weapons? Shouldn?t we be fine with using just spell cards or magic?? ?We have always followed the spell card rules ever since the Vampire incident. But their only purpose was to establish a set of procedure for settling conflicts between youkai and humans. The outside world does not respect that. They solve their conflicts permanently. If we were to use the spell card rules when we be wiped out. We could remove the no death clause, but that would only delay the inevitable. What I have developing with the kappas is a method to imbed magic and spell cards into bullets. With that method, we could match the outside world in terms of technology and still retain what made us different: magic. So far, we had have a successful test with two revolvers that were developed for Marisa Kirisame. Given enough time, we could have custom weapons for everyone.? Yukari began to open a gap. ?That?s all the time I have for today. Tenshi, you should talk to you father to get everything still up. Your duty will be to coordinate between the main force and the Celestial one. Even though you might not be on the front line, you still need to be prepared for combat.? With that, the gap youkai turned around and left the meeting, leaving a very confused daughter and father. Eientei, Bamboo Forest, Gensokyo Eirin was watching Reisen maintain her original Lunarian service rifle. The moon rabbit was wiping down the barrel with a rag and putting it back together. She rotates the bolt and inspects the chamber. Once clear, she rotates it back and begins to put her tools up. Eirin waited until she was done and motion her to follow. The doctor led her to a room that was always locked. Once she went inside, Reisen understood why. The room was a good size, but almost none of the wall could be seen. On the left wall, an old Lunarian family crest was hung in front of two Lunarian Defense Corps Artillery sabers. On both sides, dozens of pictures of various units were hung. Each one had Eirin in them. Opposite that, a shadow box protected a ribbon rack that held an insane amount of ribbons. There were so many that it would had been impossible for Eirin to wear them all. The medals next to them were so numerous they looked like they were bending the wall. Every single medal awarded for valor and service was represented on that wall, some were phased out before Reisen was even born. At the front of the room, a mannequin was wearing a Lunar Defense Corps uniform. It was in the same style as Reisen?s, except it had trousers instead of a skirt. The service cap on the mannequin?s head bore the crest of the Lunarian Defense Corps Medical Service, and surrounded by a ring of stars that never repeated in color. On the desk in the center, a small wooden box sat. Eirin had sat down at the desk and was opening it. Inside, a well maintained Mauser C96 like pistol bore the same crest on the wall. Seeing Reisen standing in the room, Eirin beckons to the chair in front of her. ?Are you surprised, Reisen? I did serve in the Corps for a bit during my younger days and did get a few awards. I wanted you to see that I do have a reason for my antics.? All Reisen could do was nod and to try to pick her jaw up off the floor. ?Even though I helped with founding the Lunarian civilization, I still wanted to do some community service. So I decided to join the Lunarian Defense Corps and serve on the frontlines instead of some office. I learned a lot from my time in and it still influences me to this day.? She turns and points at the service cap. ?I started out with the Medical Service and did some of my best work there. See those stars around the crest? They each represent the different branches of the Corps that I was assigned to at one time or another. I was the only one to serve in more than one branch. My primary job was to heal and make medicine on the battlefield but, I was also trained in every branch to be able to take over in an instant. And I mean every branch: Infantry, Calvary, Engineer, Intelligence, Artillery, Capital Guard, and Royal. And it was in one battle a long time ago where I had to take advantage of that training.? 1500 years prior, Dark Side of the Moon The rocky side of the mountain would had made a good trail for hiking. But only if there weren?t bullets and screams everywhere. Eirin dashed from rock to rock, a prime target due to the snake and needle on her shoulder that marked her as a member of the Medical Service. Tracer rounds tear at the rocks inches from her, sending annoying pellets everywhere. Pulling out a small mirror, she angles it to spot the machine gun nest higher up on the opposing ridge. Doing a few quick calculations, she decides to take the risk. Sprinting out, she raises her sidearm and fires three shots. The machine gunner clutches at her neck and falls out of the nest. The assistant gunner takes over and keeps firing. Eirin?s about ten feet from cover when she feels something hit her chest with the force of a sledgehammer. She lets out a grunt and dives behind the rock. Turning over quickly, she quickly applies pressure but stops when she doesn?t feel any wetness. She sighs in relief when she remembers her body armor. Taking out the plate to inspect it, her heart drops when she sees how deep and where the impact crater is: right above the heart. A bullet ricochets near her, bringing her attention back to the battle. Shoving the damaged plate back into the carrier, she checks her sidearm. The shell from the last round had been jammed between the bolt and the chamber, making the weapon useless until a strong enough impact knocked it out. She puts it away and pulls out her bow. Quickly assembling some arrows, she looks around for her next cover. Seeing her chance, she stands up and fires an arrow. As soon as she releases the string, she drops down. A second later, the machine gun falls silent and Eirin rushes to her next spot. Expecting gunfire during her run, she?s surprised when it?s silent. Looking back, she sees that the last assistant is fleeing in the opposite direction. Deciding not to pursue, the doctor rushes to go over a nearby ridge. But before she can go over it, she?s forced to drop to the prone as bullets fly towards her. On the way down, her hip falls on a rock, hitting the holstered weapon. She hears a loud ding and checks her weapon. The impact had unjammed the round and had reloaded the weapon. Smiling at her luck, she brings it up and acquires her sight picture, ignoring the zips of the bullets that narrowly miss her. Holding steady for a few seconds, she catches her breath. Before she can squeeze the trigger, she hears a familiar whistling sound. Her heart drops again and she drops her face into the ground while covering her hears. Seconds later, a loud explosion is heard as mortar rounds hit the ground near her. She remembers spotting a cave near and takes the risk of raising her head. She spots it but is forced to drop her head as a nearby hit sends dirt and rocks flying at her. Getting up and sprinting, she sees that the mortar team adjusts their aim hoping to cut her off. Eirin is forced to change direction as the incoming rounds block her path to the cave. Deciding to take out the mortar team, she starts to calculate the distance to them. They were 700 meters away, a distance that she was sure that she could hit with her arrows. She jumps and tackles a boulder to change her direction again and gets under a tree. Wanting to use only one arrow to take out the entire team, she pulls out a grenade and ties it to the shaft. She flips the clip away and pulls the pin. With one fluid motion she draws and fires the arrow into the air. The trajectory is a little lower than she expected but was still enough. Just as the arrow was a meter or two above the ground, the grenade went off, hitting the entire team. Not waiting to see how effective it was, Eirin turned and dashed to the cave. Halfway there, the infantry that had stopped her at the ridge caught up and began to fire at her. As the gunfire rained down all around her, a round bounced off her helmet, causing her to stumble. More mortars began to rain down again, this time from another mortar team that had just arrived. With all the noise around her, Eirin began to hear a ringing in her ears. With each step she took, the ringing got worse and worse. Just as it seems that she?s not going to make it, she dives into the safety of the cave. Quickly pulling herself together, she pokes her head up a little. Over a ridge, a platoon of infantry are taking up defensive positions around the cave as the mortar team moves closer. One of the infantry spots her and starts to shoot. Eirin is forced to duck down again as bullets hit around her. Starting to get tired of being shot at, she begins to assess her situation. Her side arm had 4 magazines left, her bow had 13 arrows, she still had two grenades, and she had her saber. Taking another peek outside, she counts three heavy weapons, one mortar and numerous light arms. The odds weren?t in her favor. Not wanting to make it easy for her opponents, she flips the clip and pulls the pin slightly out of her last grenade. Tying it to her wrist, she plans on fighting to the last. Using her mirror, she prioritizes her targets. If she can get the right angle, she can hit an officer and her aide. Calculating that she could stand out from behind cover for about 2 and a half seconds, she readies her bow and arrow. Jumping sideways, she brings it up and releases. Landing on her side, she can see the hail of bullets that occupied the space she was in just now. Frowning at how off her calculations were, she checks her handiwork with her mirror. The officer and the aide were both down, causing the remaining troops to become a little uneasy. Dusting herself off, she starts to assess her next course of action when she hears yelling. Poking her head out, she sees all of them charging at the cave, including the mortar team. Scrambling up, she readies all of her ammo and weapons. Taking a deep breath, she draws her saber and sidearm and waits.

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