Pure Lotus of the Sunken Stars (Complete)

~Hakurei Shrine~ > Kosuzu's Grand Bookstore

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Iced Fairy:
Aw... Koishi didn't get to keep her new pet. :V

I am surprised at the number of sharks here though. This must be a truely awesome lake. Or they're magic sharks I suppose.

I'm also surprised at the lack of spear use, but hey, elbow combo worked.

There are several lakes on the bottom of the Mountain of Youkai, linked together through rivers. It's more a mass collective of sharks.
And spears are heavy. If Shou's robes were enough to weigh her down, a metal bar isn't going to do her much better. :V

FinnKaenbyou:
The general atmosphere of irritation that had been present beforehand was nowhere to be seen as the group continued their repair efforts. Surviving an attack from what could only be described as an army of sharks had a strange habit of putting the little aches and pains into perspective.

The tanks they'd borrowed from Nitori did their job well - amazingly well, in fact. The only worker who ended up running low on air was Sango - even dolphins had their limits, after all - and she ended up poking someone on the shoulder once or twice to borrow their mouthpiece for a refill. Unsurprisingly, Murasa proceeded to yell at her for being a distraction.

After a few hours of toil and effort, the base pipeline had been worked back into shape. As the last piece of piping was forcefully punched into place, Murasa finally allowed the crew of the ship to take a break. There was much patting of backs, and (in Koishi's case) a good deal of hugging as the repair team made their way back to the surface for some non-processed air. Sango was the last to leave, expecting Murasa to follow on afterwards after she'd given the system one last-minute check.

"Hold on a sec, fish girl. We're not done yet."

Sango turned back, puzzled. Murasa had finished her inspection of their work, and given that she hadn't shouted at anyone it was obviously up to her standards. Regardless, she called Sango back in as she made her way back to the steering wheel.

"Alright. Let's see if this thing is getting anywhere."

She placed her hands on the steering wheel, but her feet still floated a few inches above the wooden floor of the ship. Her eyes closed, and a look of determination and focus started to run across her face. Sango looked on, not understanding exactly what she was trying to accomplish.

She couldn't be...

"Come on, talk to me. We're friends, remember? Gimme something. Anything."

Her grip around the wheel tightened, and her expression grew more stressed. The piping the crew had spent their time repairing began to glow the tiniest amount, but as she'd already said the Stone of Focus was damaged. The power she was sending into the ship now was only a fraction of what it needed to run.

But still...she had to check. Maybe she couldn't make it fly, but she should have been able to get some sort of response from it. A creaking, a little shuffle.

"Hah...dammit, speak to me. Don't say I need some stupid stone to work this thing..."

Even as a ghost, it was clear that Murasa was straining herself. She couldn't sweat, but as she channelled more and more of her strength into the ship the exertion made its way onto her face, her expression shifting from a confident grin to a forced grimace.

"D-Don't worry, I've got this. Just...just a little more, and..."

Murasa's words did nothing to comfort Sango. The pain rising onto her face spoke louder than anything she could have said, and every so often her form almost seemed to flicker. Maybe Sango didn't know a lot about ghosts, but she knew enough to be sure that this was very, very bad. She tried to reach out to the captain, but her hand passed through Murasa's shoulder as if there was nothing there.

"Dammit....what are you doing?! I don't need your help, remember?! I'm Captain Murasa! I can...do this..."

The flickering grew faster, more violent. Murasa was fading now, as if she was draining her entire being with the effort. Still, the ship gave her no response, and the single pale line of light running out of the system was clearly not enough.

Sango watched on half out of awe, and half out of fear. She had no idea what Murasa was trying to achieve with this, but even she had to be aware that she was pushing herself too far. And even knowing that, she pressed on anyway, putting more and more effort into an impossible task, to the point where she looked set to knock herself clean out of existence.

And from where Sango was standing, it looked like she was doing it out of sheer selfish pride.

Murasa had all but disappeared by now. The only part of her body that seemed to still have any form was her hands, still grasping desperately to the wheel. She was on the verge of disappearing, and she could easily have let go at any time, but still her grip was as tight as ever.

She might have really disappeared if another pair of hands hadn't reached out for the wheel to help her.

"Huh...the hell are you-?!"

The instant Sango placed her hands on the wheel, she felt a jolt passing through her. She winced, letting out a yelp of pain as she started channelling her own power along with Murasa's. Her body felt heavier, and her strength began to seep out of her.

"Y-You idiot! You've never used this thing before! If you don't let go now, you're gonna-"

The machine drew away Sango's energy at an astounding rate. Without the Stone of Focus it would need more energy to fly than either of them could hope to give it. But together, giving everything they had, the pair had just enough to earn a response from the machine. Behind them, the Palanquin ship let out an almighty creak as it shifted no more than half an inch through the water, an undeniable sign that the system was back in working order.

Both of them pulled away the moment they heard that creak. Murasa panted, eyes half-closed and barely aware of her surroundings, while Sango cried out with relief as she fell to her knees. She was lucky in that she was in no trouble air-wise at the time, or else there was no way to be sure she'd have made it back in one piece. It was a few minutes before either of them had recovered enough to move, but each of them stared at the other with a look of confusion. They both wanted to ask the same question, and they knew it.

What did you think you were doing? You could have...you could have...!!!

There was a difference now, though. One that neither of them would have noticed at the point, but was definitely there regardless. They gave each other the same incredulous stares as they had before, but this time around there was the tiniest hint of concern as well.

Sango eventually pulled herself to her feet, motioning with her head to Murasa. For the second time in a day, she needed the captain to come to the surface so they could talk with one another.

For the first time today, the captain complied.

-----

"Ah, you two. What took you so long?"

Byakuren was quick to greet them when they came back to the surface, smiling proudly at a job well done. Behind her, Shou was being comforted about her now pruned fingers, with Nazrin promising she would get better, and Ichirin was lost in another conversation with Unzan. Koishi had pulled out a sketchbook, and started drawing a poorly-made sketch of what looked like a woman in shorts and a tank-top. Sango decided that the fewer questions she asked about that, the better.

Right now, though, neither of them was really in the mood for discussion like that. Sango was too busy dealing with her new-found fatigue to offer much of an explanation, but Murasa as always was acting like nothing had ever happened, giving a grin to the head of the temple.

"Yeah, there's a little disciplinary issue that needs to get resolved. Nothing major, won't take us long."

A hint of doubt rose to Byakuren's face. No doubt she could see that Murasa was strained, and putting all of her effort into hiding that fact. After a moment of quick examination, she shrugged and allowed the pair to leave.

"Alright, then. I'd rather you weren't too harsh on our guest, Murasa..."

"Can't make any promises."

Murasa decided to play along with the laws of physics for a change, walking along the ground as if she was still constrained by gravity. She led Sango down a nearby river for a few minutes, neither of them saying a word until they were confident that they weren't being listened in on. Not that they suspected the temple's disciples, obviously, but Koishi had a strange habit of being in places where she didn't belong.

"...You're an idiot, you know that?"

Murasa wasted no time in letting the discussion fall to the most base of opinions. Sango grit her teeth.

"Hey, at least I didn't nearly kill myself for no good reason."

"I'm telling you, I was fine! I've captained that goddamn ship for years, and I could have easily got that thing moving without your help, thank you very much."

Sango had to grab at her temples after that one. There was so much she wanted to say, and now that Byakuren was well out of earshot she could let it all out at once. There was an incredible feeling of relief with every word, even if she knew what she was saying was insensitive at best and offensive at worst.

"Dammit, that's what I hate about you! Every little thing you do, you have to throw in how great you are and how incredible you are. You have to do everything yourself, you have to be the best, and you have to tell everyone around you every little thing they're doing wrong. Being around you makes me want to just run up to that shrine maiden on the mountain and borrow a few dozen of those exorcism amulets she has, I swear I am that SICK of you!"

Murasa didn't give any obvious response to Sango's outburst. Apparently, she'd heard it all before, because it seemed to just pass in one ear and out the other. She shrugged, putting her hands behind her head as she walked along.

"'Kay."

"...'Kay? That's it?"

"Hey, you don't run a ship like mine without making a few enemies. You think you're the first person to say they don't like me to my face?"

Sango flinched a little at that one. She'd expected some sort of response, anything, but Murasa had simply paid her no mind from the get go. She knew the captain was self-centred, but she didn't realise it was this bad.

Or maybe...maybe the more she thought about it, the more sense it made.

"...Thing is, what you're saying doesn't add up, fish girl."

Murasa's eyes still looked jaded as they turned to Sango, but the question that came afterwards was anything but.

"I follow that you don't like me. I get it, it's not exactly subtle. So why the hell did you pull that stunt back there? You can't tell me you didn't know it was gonna hurt, and please don't give me that 'I'm so goody-goody I don't want to see anyone die' crap. That's awful justification, always will be."

Sango had been pondering that question herself. She hadn't been thinking consciously when she'd done it, but she was willing to agree that it wasn't sheer goodwill that had convinced her to intervene. Something else had been at play, something more personal.

It was strange for Sango, as she realised that it was so much harder to be sympathetic than it was to be angry.

"Well...this is gonna sound bad, but you remind me a little of myself."

Murasa's head tilted.

"What, is there something stuck on the back of my ne-"

"No, I'm being serious. ...I can't say I was much better than you a while back."

There was a different emotion in Sango's voice as she continued to walked with Murasa along the riverside. This time, Murasa seemed hooked on every word.

"You probably noticed I'm, uh, kinda obsessive about keeping these places clean. It's sort of my life, my one big contribution to Gensokyo. Thing is, no-one really stops to think about it, so usually people just make the most of the pure waters around here without bothering to thank me."

A look of shame rose on Sango's face.

"I used to hate that. I felt like it wasn't fair, that I was being short-changed, that I deserved a little respect for all my hard work. I could hardly stop - I mean, what else could I do that'd get people's attention? - but I just wanted someone to look at what I was doing and say thank you.

"...I didn't get out of that mindset myself. I needed help, and a few well-placed words from a friend to get me out of that rut. To get me to the point where I could be happy with myself just for a job well done. To get over that silly pride of mine."

She let out a deep sigh, then turned to Murasa again with a look that could only be called worry.

"What scares me is that you've got all that, and more. You're the same sort of self-absorbed jerk I was, but you take it a step further. You're everything about myself I'm trying to get over, and more.

"But the scariest part is the risks you're willing to take to keep up that pride of yours. You could have let go of that wheel at any time, saved yourself from...well, not death, but you know what I mean. But you didn't, and you just kept on pressing. The fact you're literally willing to risk your whole existence just to look good to other people...that's what freaks me out about you."

Murasa was surprised as Sango finished her little monologue. She'd struck a nerve, hit a point that Murasa preferred not to discuss, and indeed would have kept to herself if she hadn't been confronted on it.

There was another long silence.

"...Well. Guess it's nice and all for you to say that, but I'd have preferred it if you just stuck with the selfish bitch angle. Personally, I'd rather look like a bitch than look like I couldn't be trusted when it came down to it, y'know?"

She spoke plainly, but there was a new frailty in her voice as she began to speak. Sango seemed amazed by it - it was a tender, self-inspective tone that didn't suit the Murasa she'd been introduced to.

"Look, there's a long story between how I met Hijiri, and it's not the sorta thing I'm willing to go over unless I have to. The point is, a long time ago some humans showed up to try and seal her away, and I went out there and did my damnedest to protect her. It, well...didn't work, and she got stuck locked up in Makai for god knows how long."

She wasn't aware of it, but Murasa's feet started to literally slam into the ground, falling through to give Sango the impression that the ghost was shrinking as she spoke.

"Of course, we got her out. Took us a few hundred years just to get back together after the attack, but after that we basically went all out on freeing her. We saved the day, rescued the damsel in distress, and then we rode off into the sunset and lived happily ever after. ...Or at least, that was how it was supposed to go.

Murasa seemed to be struggling with her words now, torn between speaking and tearing up. A facade was breaking down, and a side that she tried her best not to show started to peek out through the cracks.

"Truth is, though? I never really stopped thinking about that screw-up. Hijiri forgave me, yeah, but that's because Hijiri is such a damn good person she doesn't know how to hold a grudge. There's no other way to look at it - I let her down. I wasn't good enough. I felt like shit after that one, and I know for a fact I wasn't alone."

She started to speak faster, wanting to get her story over with before she lost her composure entirely. Sango made no attempt to interrupt, looking on in shock.

"So...So I figure, if I'm gonna do anything, I'm gonna put in 120%. If I fail, I wanna fail so badly I'm not around to see the after effects. I want people to trust me, and the moment I start screwing up no-one's gonna treat me like a captain anymore, y'know? I...I don't want..."

She sniffed. She couldn't cry, perhaps, but she sniffled and started to dry her eyes anyway.

"I don't wanna let anyone down again..."

Sango couldn't give any sort of intelligible reply. Her mouth bobbed open wordlessly as she struggled for a response, but her brain could barely process what she'd heard. She'd been expecting Murasa to give some sort of reasoning, but she hadn't been expecting something as dramatic as that.

"I...I'm sorry. I didn't kno-"

"Of course you didn't. It's hardly the sorta thing I talk about all the time."

Murasa seemed to be just about done crying. It had been for a minute at most, but that was probably more than the girl had cried in months.

"I...I don't know what I'm meant to do now. I guess I've sort of been in denial - there's a big part of me that just wants to act like this never happened, but I can't really expect everyone else to think the same way. They're busy with fixing it now, but when everything's up and running again everyone's gonna be pissed at me for causing this. They all thought I was some invincible super-captain, and that's what I kinda wanted them to think. Now, though..."

Sango could feel a lump in her throat. There honestly wasn't much she could offer to help out - when all was said and done, Murasa was going to be at the mercy of her crewmates, and Sango could hardly go and ask all of them to forgive her.

"Eh, what's to worry about? I didn't die, you didn't die, no problem!"

She suddenly snapped to attention as a voice drifted back into her head. Koishi's words from earlier, the carefree way she'd just disregarded what she'd let herself into. It had been childish, infantile, irresponsible.

And she had accepted it.

"...Minamitsu-san. I don't think you give your friends enough credit."

Murasa stopped walking, still drifting along beside Sango. She'd been too busy trying to figure out what that sentence was supposed to mean to remember to move her feet like living people were supposed to.

"Everyone makes mistakes. It's part of life...and, uh, death, I guess. The thing about friends is that they're willing to accept that they still make mistakes and like you anyway. They're fine with you screwing up, and they'll still think you're alright even if you aren't absolutely perfect. Your friends make mistakes now and then, right?"

"W-Well...Ichirin is pretty terrible at shogi - she only has any chance because Unzan helps her out. Nazrin can find an artifact from miles off, but her sense of direction is awful when it comes to getting how. That's what she has Shou for, but Shou...let's not get started on the sorta mistakes Shou makes. I could be here all day."

"But you still like her, don't you?"

Murasa's eyes widened.

"Y-Yeah, but..."

Sango would have wrapped an arm around Murasa, if only there was anything to wrap an arm around.

"Trust me, Minamitsu-san. I've seen people make some really dumb mistakes and get forgiven for them...though not before a good slap or two. Friendship's about accepting the whole package - the good side, and the bad side. They'll understand."

Murasa didn't reply for the longest time. The look on her face was one of quiet contemplation, as she took a moment to think over Sango's words of advice. Roughly an eternity later, she sighed to herself.

"...There's no use worrying about it now, is there? We've still gotta finish getting the ship out of your goddamn lake."

"True. We'd better start heading back, actually."

Sango turned on her heels, making her way back down the lakeside. Murasa floated along beside her, a smile starting to rise to her face.

"...You're still an idiot, fish girl. But you're my kind of idiot."

"How does that saying go? Fools seldom differ, right?"

-----

"Ehehehehe~."

Sango had thought long and hard about where to look, but she'd never thought about the least likely of places. It had been all to easy to swim alongside her, dipping under the water whenever someone looked her way, then whisper advice when the time was right and turn Sango's brain in the right direction. After that, it was a matter of diving back under again and returning the way she'd come, all without attracting a hint of suspicion.

She allowed herself a little victory laugh as she surfaced, making her way back to the lake.

Chalk up another win for Dolphin Rider Koishi and the forces of love and justice~!

-----

Koishi Komeiji. Maniac? Lucky guesser? Secret genius? You decide.

Esifex:
The satori are so much fun to write - Koishi, especially.

Hehehe

Alfred F. Jones:

--- Quote from: Shou Toramaroukan on September 24, 2010, 11:57:47 PM --- Maniac? Lucky guesser? Secret genius? You decide.
--- End quote ---
These are not mutually exclusive. Koishi's one of the best characters ever to write. We've gone over this. :3

In related news, I feel for Murasa. Your captain and I have more in common than I thought, Rou.

FinnKaenbyou:
So. Now that my free time in general is disappearing, I'm gonna focus on finishing up PLotSS so I have less to feel guilty about not frequently updating. :ohdear:

-----

It was early in the afternoon by the time Sango and Murasa joined up with the rest of the crew. There were a few casual questions about where they'd been and what they'd been doing, but for now a simple 'just talking' would suffice. There was another problem they had to focus on, anyway.

"So. Where are we going to find one of these Stones of Focus?"

Murasa seemed to more or less be back in working shape, and Sango had done enough to convince her to focus on the job for now. She shrugged as the question was taken to her, a look of irritation written on her face.

"Don't ask me. I'm here to solve your practical problems, not the magical ones. And I don't really pay much attention to the visitors we get, I just work on keeping the place from falling apart. Hijiri, you're the one to go to on this, right?"

Byakuren looked slightly flustered as the question turned to her. This alone was enough to worry Murasa even before she started on a reply.

"Ah, yes. Stones of Focus are rather rare, the sort of item only the most powerful magicians of Gensokyo would be likely to carry around. And, well, I've only personally met one magician that would possibly own one."

Four faces grimaced at once as Byakuren's crewmates mentally processed her statement.

"H-Hijiri, please don't tell me you mean..."

Shou felt Nazrin clinging to her arm, as Byakuren looked towards her with a sorrowful expression.

"Yes, I'm afraid I do. It appears we may have to give our friend Kirisame-san a visit."

There was no verbal response, but the expressions said everything that needed to be said. Shou and Nazrin looked at each other nervously, while Ichirin shot an awkward glare towards Unzan. Even Murasa seemed to be distressed by the plan Byakuren was suggesting, looking away and pretending she was distracted by something in the distance.

Koishi, as usual, was the polar opposite of her companions, responding to the news with joy.

"You mean Marisa-san? I haven't played with her in aaaages!"

Sango was apparently the only person here who hadn't heard of this Kirisame person. The name only rang the vaguest of bells - Nitori had mentioned her once or twice as 'a human friend'. Beyond that, she knew just about nothing.

"...Hey, Koishi-chan. Who are you all talking about?"

"Marisa-san is a witch with all sorts of shiny magical attacks! Some of her stuff even gives me a run for my money, but I'll tell you right now that Master Spark is a plain ripoff. You can practically see the words IRUKA BEAM written all over it...still, can't blame her for admitting she can't do better!"

As usual, Koishi's contribution was just about useless. Sango looked over to Ichirin, the closest crewmate, for a second opinion.

"Ah, what she's trying to say is that Kirisame-san is one of Gensokyo's strongest magicians. She apparently has a stockpile of random artifacts that she's collected over the years, and it's very possible she'd have a Stone of Focus. Except..."

At this point, Ichirin looked away with a strained expression. Unzan did what he could to comfort her, and thus Sango found herself looking over to Murasa for the rest of the story.

"...Yeah, she's kind of a loose cannon. Most of those artifacts she has? They're stolen. And she doesn't ever sell these things, she just holds onto them in case they're useful to her later. Trying taking something yourself - hell, even try to get in her way - and she's probably gonna beat you senseless."

Murasa bit her lip, staring back into the distance and looking about as reluctant as possible. Sango was concerned, but confused at the same time.

"Wait, you're scared of one magician? And she's a human, too. Surely if you all showed up at once and talked business there'd be too many of you for her to resort to fo-"

"You've never heard of Marisa Kirisame, have you."

Nazrin cut Sango off with an emotionless monotone. It was either out of total disinterest, or utter dread. Sango couldn't be sure which.

"You know all those incidents that spring up around Gensokyo? Well, whenever there's trouble, she's there, blasting the living daylights out of anyone who tries to stir things up. She hangs around with that shrine maiden - the red and white one, and she's even worse news. We've had plenty of visits from otherwise strong youkai who ended up getting taken out by that black-white witch."

She didn't offer anything after that, her hand tugging at Shou's sleeve. The tiger saw that as her cue to finish the story, and did so while trying to maintain an aura of respect.

"And, well, we know for a fact that isn't just hearsay. A few months ago, we had a bit of an incident ourselves...apparently, the people of Gensokyo don't take well to boats appearing in the sky from absolutely nowhere. The shrine maiden - both of them, in fact - came along to investigate, and they brought Kirisame-san along as well. The maidens went off and, um, ended up freeing Hijiri, while Kirisame-san went off on her own agenda and started robbing us blind. Even though we all fought tooth and nail, she was just too strong for us...all of us. I've still got a little mark on my arm where she grazed me with that Master Spark of hers...and if Nazrin hadn't pulled me out of the way, it would've hurt a LOT more."

That, from the looks of this, was the end of the discussion. Sango had been told all she needed to know - Kirisame was dangerous, short-fused, and prime to beat the daylights out of anyone who took anything from her.

"I would offer her a trade, but we are a simple sect. We have nothing extravagant or expensive to offer her, but she is honestly our only hope at this point. No other magicians have ever visited the temple after they found our we were merely a religious group, so...it's her or nothing, to be frank."

There was a general aura of resignation as Byakuren finished speaking. Koishi defied the norm, talking to herself about how it would be fun to see Marisa fire 'those shiny sparkly stars that probably taste really good'.

Their words had done their job well. Sango mentally thanked herself for having never met this Kirisame person, and hoped that this luck would continue long into the future. Instinctively, she joined in on the desperate search to find another alternative to visiting the black-white, mentally drawing an image of her as some wicked witch of the east who captured puppies and cackled maniacally every other sentence.

She stood straight to attention as an idea jumped into her head. It was a piece of hearsay she'd heard from one of the lake's fish, coming back from a long trek, but it was better than nothing.

"Uh, guys? I think I may know someone else."

Immediately five faces looked towards her with hope in their eyes. Sango flinched a little from the sudden attention, letting out a gasped phwee, but recovered soon afterward.

"Well...this is just something I heard from a friend, but...I hear there's a lake nearby here, and in the middle of it there's this island. It used to be uninhabited, but about ten years ago a mansion apparently showed up overnight."

Some of the looks Sango received after that looked to be questioning her sanity, but she continued on regardless.

"Anyway. The mistress of the mansion is some vampire girl who brought her entire payroll with her to Gensokyo. One of them is some magician who's always locked up in her library - really, really powerful, just not very good at the whole social thing. Your odds probably aren't that good with her, bu-"

"We'll take it."

Shou's hand grabbed Sango by the shoulder, a look of desperation in her eyes.

"She's not Kirisame-san, and that's what matters. Our odds HAVE to be better there."

The looks of relief on the faces of the rest of her crewmates seemed to share in her opinion. Anything was less of a threat than Marisa, so however low the odds were it was worth trying. It was a good way back to the forest that the witch called home, anyway, so this was a shorter trip on top of everything else. Byakuren looked at Sango with a grateful smile.

"Thank you, Tororetsu-san. We'll see if we can arrange an audience with this magician at the lake. Feel free to join us - you've been a great help so far, and given all the trouble we've been it's the least we can do."

Sango smirked, glad that she didn't have to waste time asking if she could tag along. Cleaning this mess up was her responsibility, after all - she couldn't let them slack off on the job while she wasn't looking.

"Alright, then. The Misty Lake is down that ri-"

"Hey...I'm coming, right?"

Murasa let out a sudden hint of concern as she mentally considered the distance she'd have to travel. Sango didn't understand the problem, but fortunately Byakuren was there to fill in the blanks.

"Ah...Murasa here might have to stay behind. Her spirit is linked to the ship, so she can't move too far away from it for risk of disappearing. If she came with us, there's a chance she may end up passing on."

Murasa took offense to that claim, pouting with an angry face.

"Screw chance! There's no way you people are leaving Captain Murasa behind! Who knows what sort of super-strong youkai this vampire girl has under her wing? You need my help, and that's final!"

She was at it again, Sango thought to herself. Now that she'd seen the problem in a different light, there was something pitiful about the entire act - something desperate and self-conscious, insistent on always being there because one failure would bring everything apart. She prepared to give Murasa another talking to in order to get her back into sense.

As it turned out, someone else beat her to it.

"Murasa. We'll be fine, trust us."

Murasa seemed unimpressed by Byakuren's words, pouting like a child. The monk sighed, but there was no sign of frustration on her face. She looked to the rest of the crew, smiling.

"Feel free to go on ahead. I'll catch up with all of you shortly."

A crowd of mixed expressions looked at Byakuren, but eventually the crew complied. Sango was the last to start moving, and that was only because Shou had taken her by the shoulder and pulled her away.

"Don't worry. If there's anything I've learned about Hijiri, it's that she's very good at pointing out when people on the entirely wrong track."

There was a hint of sadness in Shou's face as she said that. Perhaps she had her own first-hand experience in the subject, with Hijiri correcting her when she'd been on the verge of making some horrible mistake.* Sango decided it was best to leave it at that, pointing out the directions to the Misty Lake and leading the team onwards. There was an atmosphere of anticipation this time around, mainly because they had avoided dealing with Kirisame. Koishi was cheery as well, but she was always cheery so it didn't really surprise Sango to see her talking about 'meeting that maid with all the sharp things'.

Wait. Sharp things?

"Phwee...maybe this was a bad idea..."

-----

It wasn't until a few minutes later that Byakuren rejoined the group. She returned alone, having supposedly convinced Murasa to stay behind. She was greeted with a few words of relief, but besides that everyone did their best to brush over Murasa's earlier outburst. Sango twiddled her thumbs slightly, doing what she could to focus on her tour-guide duty and not let her thoughts about Murasa distract her.

She did a good enough job up until Byakuren broke away from the group and whispered in her ear.

"Tororetsu-san. A word, if you would?"

Eep. This might end badly.

"U-Uh. Sure."

Sango and Byakuren gained a few steps on the pack, just to make sure that they weren't overheard. The monk's expression was troubled.

"Murasa told me that she confided in you earlier."

There was a look of hurt on her face, like a mother who'd let her child fall off a bicycle, bandaging up her woulds as she bawled her lungs out. At the same time, something was totally absent from her expression - there was no sign of shock or surprise as a result of what Murasa had just told her.

"...You knew that she was pushing herself too hard, didn't you, Hijiri-san?"

Byakuren nodded.

"I thought it would be best for her to learn the hard way rather than just tell her off, but I hadn't expected her failing to be so disastrous...I had thought she would simply trash the shrine, or snap the steering wheel off. Something irritating, but easy to fix and without risk. This, though...the greatest relief is that there were no casualties, but if things had been even slightly different it would have been a different story."

She turned upwards to Sango, forcing a smile.

"On that note, thank you again for all of your help. Two of my crewmates owe you their lives, and for that I am truly grateful."

It was a strange thing. This was the sort of respect she'd craved so much long ago, and now she was receiving it without really caring. She brushed it off, rubbing at her fin nervously.

"R-Really, it's nothing. I mean, compared to all the great things you've done I'm just a big fish in a small pond."

Silence. They'd tried to change the subject, and failed. The Misty Lake was still a few minutes walk away from here, and eventually the pressure weighed down Sango so much she couldn't bring herself to stay quiet.

"...She is gonna be okay, right?"

Byakuren seemed surprised by the question, before bursting into a smile.

"Of course. Why shouldn't she be? No-one knows the ship better than her, after all. I'll simply order her to take mandatory rests rather than maintain her usual bravado. I hope that when this is all over, she will understand that we love her regardless of her failings."

"Well, yeah, but...what about the rest of your crew?"

She'd been positive at the time mainly because there was nothing to gain from telling her that she'd definitely be rejected by her former friends. In truth, though, Sango wasn't so sure of the extent to which they'd be willing to forgive Murasa for what she'd managed to get them into. Her face was a muddled mess as she asked the question of the monk.

Byakuren looked back, at the quietly conversing crewmates. While they clearly weren't overjoyed, none of them seemed to be distraught by their circumstances either.

"We have been through a lot together, Tororetsu-san. I know my disciples well, and I am certain they are willing to give Murasa the benefit of the doubt. They are close, all of them - so close, they may as well be sisters by now."

Byakuren smiled, patting Sango on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, Tororetsu-san. Everything will be alright. For now, we're counting on you to lead us to this island magician of yours."

Sango didn't realise she'd been holding her breath until it all came out at once in a heaving sigh. It was a definite relief to hear that she hadn't been giving Murasa false hope when she was in a state like that. Now she could devote her attention to getting this mess sorted out.

"Right. ...Thank you, Hijiri-san."

"Think nothing of it. Oh, and one more thing..."

She reached down into one of her pockets, pulling out a small rectangular piece of paper. In Gensokyo, that shape could only mean one thing.

"Murasa came up with the idea a while ago, but she felt it didn't fit properly into her arsenal. She asked me to give it to you."

The card was labelled as Maelstrom [Cauldron of the Speckled Seas]*, along with an incantation written on the back. Sango examined the card, not sure exactly what sort of pattern it would produce, but she could feel the practically feel the power rising off of the paper. And for some reason the 'speckled seas' part had a nice ring to it - it fit the theme of purity that ran through all of her cards. Well, her one card, but she was working on it.

"Heh. Thanks. Tell her it's better than anything than I could have come up with."

"Oh, I don't think I'll need to tell her that - she saw your handiwork earlier, and she didn't have much good to say about it."

Another playful pat on the back, but this time Sango didn't take it with the same enthusiasm. Apparently, all of this hardship had done anything to make Murasa any less of a critic.

B-But it worked, dammit...

-----

The Misty Lake came into view soon afterward, and true to Sango's word there was a tiny house-shaped silhouette in the distance. Now all that was separating them from their librarian was another large body of water.

"Don't worry, people, there aren't gonna be any sharks this time, I swear. Just jump in and I'll lead the pack. If I'm too fast for anyone, you can ju-"

Sango stopped mid-sentence when Byakuren decided to skip her explanation, taking a step forward into the water. That wasn't what surprised her, though - what shocked her was the fact that her feet had come to a stop, both well away from the side of the lake, and yet she hung a few inches above the water.

"That won't be necessary, Tororetsu-san - we have our own methods of getting around, you see."

She floated through the air, hovering above the water's surface and ignoring silly matters such as gravity. Shou and Nazrin followed behind her, holding hands as they flew along, and Ichirin used her cloud companion as a platform to guide her across the lake.

Sango watched the entire sequence in stunned silence.

"...They can fly? All of them?"

A pair of arms wrapped around Sango's waist from behind, pulling her out of her stupor.

"Hey, Sango-chan! You aren't gonna let those guys outrace us, are you!?"

Looking back, she saw Koishi looking up at her with a blaze of passion in her eyes. It must have been infectious, because moments later Sango could feel it as well. She took one look at the crew flying off into the distance ahead of her, and before she could notice her rational thought had flown out the window.

"...OK, Koishi-chan. Like always?"

"Like always~!"

Sango nodded, taking a step backwards from the edge of the lake to get off to a running start. Koishi stood just behind her, letting go and taking a running stance as well. The pair leapt off the edge of the lake in unison, Koishi gripping Sango as they dove into the water and sitting on a dolphin by the time they surfaced.

"Any good hero knows how to arrive on time! Watch out, vampire - here comes Dolphin Rider Koishi!"

Sango burst through the water at top speed, feeling a burst of excitement the cluttered, stuffed-up rivers kept from her. She almost never got to swim at full power on the job, so finally being able to set the pace was incredibly refreshing.

Of course, it had never been a race. The crew of the Palanquin Ship were more than content with taking their time with the journey, totally unaware there was even a 'race' going on until Sango burst past them, her hyperactive passenger yelling at the top of her voice.

"YEEEEEEEEEEAH! HAVE NO FEAR, BYSTANDERS!"

Koishi gained the same response she usually did from people who witnessed her antics - namely, stunned silence, and a collective rubbing of eyes to ensure that people weren't hallucinating. Sango and Koishi blasted along regardless, and as the island shore came into sight the satori poked her steed in the side.

That was her cue for the big finish.

Now that she had a good opening, Sango dove down into the water, Koishi clinging tightly around her. For five whole seconds they plunged downwards, until finally Sango pulled up, rising to the surface at full speed.

For a moment, the pair were as high in the air as their temple companions. Koishi tipped her hat to the group behind her, who seemed as confused by the entire ordeal as before.

"Wish you were here~!"*

They couldn't really tell, thanks to none of them being experts in dolphin expressions, but Sango was just as confused by that statement as everyone else.

This girl really is one polyp short of a coral reef, isn't she?

As the moment passed, Sango brought her rider back down into the lake with a mighty crash. They had the good graces to wait for their companions to catch up before approaching the mansion itself, and they received a variety of responses from the crew - Byakuren and Ichirin had the decency to applaud the pair for their display, with Unzan nodding approvingly behind them; Nazrin offered nothing, occasionally giving Koishi a glare that practically screamed 'showoff'; and finally, Shou had yet to overcome the initial feeling of shock, still looking on with a puzzled expression. Nazrin eventually knocked her out of the stupor with a well aimed poke in the back, pushing her forward along with the rest of the crew towards the mansion.

It didn't seem to fit with the area - indeed, its Western design seemed out of place with the rest of Gensokyo. The walls were painted a dark red, but when the sun was out the light bouncing outward turned them a light, blood-red tint. A wall roughly 8 feet tall ran around the length of the mansion, and the one gate inward was guarded by a single guard, standing to attention and ready to do her job.

Or at least, she was now. Two minutes ago she had been asleep at her post, until a certain self-proclaimed magical girl woke her up with her screaming.

"H-Halt! The mistress will have no business with outsiders!"

The guard took a fighting stance, immediately ready to do battle with the advancing crew. She dressed in a light green robe that seemed foreign, though not the same foreign as the mansion she protected, and her long scarlet hair was frayed and ruffled as a result of her nap. In spite of that, though, her battle stance certainly looked threatening - she was quite confident she could take any or all the advancing foes in a fight.

She couldn't, of course. Byakuren could have probably given her one punch and sent her flying across the lake, and she wouldn't have much more trouble in a spellcard duel. Still, unlike a certain shrine maiden, Byakuren wasn't the type to resort to violence unless absolutely necessary, and gave her disciples the order to stand down.

"Please, do not panic. We merely wish to meet with your local magician as a plea for aid."

The guard seemed confused by the fact that Byakuren wasn't attacking her. Given Gensokyo's love for danmaku battles at the drop of a hat, this was unsurprising.

"Ah, well...I'm afraid I can't let you do that. Patchouli-sama has a strict no-visitors policy, especially with the black-white witch on the loose. You'll have to look elsewhere."

A collective groan from the masses. Marisa Kirisame had managed to take out their alternative, even if it was unintentional. It was obviously possible for them to just fly over the wall and break in themselves, but Byakuren was well aware that breaking and entering would not be good for the temple's reputation, emergency or otherwise. It seemed like they'd have to risk a visit to the black-white after all, but no-one approached the idea with any anticipation. They turned around, ready to take the long trip away to the Forest of Magic.

"What's wrong with you people?! Haven't you forgotten who your ally is?"

Of all the people to tell them off, no-one had expected it to be Koishi. She glared down the gate guard intently, clicking her fingers.

"I'm a girl of many talents! I'm a master of combat, beauty, and on top of all that..."

She ran straight towards the gate, right past the guard and through the open gateway. She was giving the guard every reason to panic and beat her senseless, or call the mansion's army of maids to apprehend the thief that had just broken in.

Instead, though, the guard simply looked onward, ignoring Koishi entirely. It was as if she were completely unable to see Koishi at all, like the satori had mentally told her that she wasn't there.

"Stealth!"

The party she'd travelled with still saw her plain as day, though, and they could only watch as Koishi darted into the mansion unstopped. Immediately, Shou ran over to stop her, but again the gate guard blocked her.

"I said no visitors. Don't make me get physical, cat girl."

"B-But didn't you see it? Our friend just ran in right past you!"

"...You're joking, right? If anyone came past me, I'd have seen it. Are you trying to say I can't do my job?"

Sango winced. Koishi had a habit of doing things like this - jumping in and out of sight, making herself invisible to anyone she didn't want seeing her - but she'd discarded it as a silly trait that wouldn't really affect anything. She hadn't expected Koishi to charge in all guns blazing like this.

...Aw, who am I kidding? It's Koishi-chan. I really should've seen this one coming.

Sango sighed, turning back to the water behind her. Ichirin was the only one to look away from the gate, seeing her ready to jump back into the lake.

"Tororetsu-san, you aren't leaving now, are you...?!"

Sango looked over to her once, and smiled.

"Nope. Just gonna stop her before she does something we all regret. Keep her distracted, 'kay?"

She leaped out into the water. Ichirin must have started on a response, but the water blocked her out before Sango could hear the rest. She had to hurry - knowing Koishi, it was entirely possible the entire mansion would be trashed by the time she surfaced.

She'd seen it during her big finish with Koishi earlier - a small hole in the rock beneath the surface, the start of a tunnel that would hopefully lead upwards into the mansion itself. Sango swam as quickly as her fins would carry her, mentally uttering a prayer to whatever god of the mountain happened to be watching at the time.

Please don't let her break anything too valuable. I've gone through enough today without having to explain a heaving bill in damages to Satori-chan...

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