Chapter III
The clearing looked perfectly normal at first glance. The wildflowers were in full bloom, the birds were singing, and the occasional fairy flew overhead. If one gazed into the center of the clearing, however, it becomes immediately apparent that something is amiss. A pattern of distorted ripples, emanating regularly from a central point traveled through the air. At the edge of the clearing, a small crowd of youkai and fairies had assembled to observe the phenomenon. Among them is the shrine maiden Reimu Hakurei.
Marisa had noticed her too. This was her chance to enlist Reimu's help. However, she has to be careful. One wrong move and the entire plan could be jeopardized. Well, here goes nothing. Marisa thought as she steeled her nerves and walked out into the clearing.
“Hey, Reimu! What the hell happened here?” Marisa asks.
“I have no idea. Some people in the Human Village were complaining about some kind of bright flash that happened in the forest last night. So I came here to investigate and found that.” Reimu replies, gesturing towards the ripples.
“Any idea what it is?”
“Nope.”
What if I told you that I know what it is... was the sentence that Marisa formed in her mind. As she was about to transform thought into words, an unfamiliar voice began to rattle her eardrums.
“There you are!”
Startled, Marisa immediately glances in the direction of the voice. Running towards her is a short, blonde girl, dressed in blue and white attire, with a small doll of some kind hovering near her shoulder.
“I was waiting for you to show up all night!” says the girl as she reaches Marisa, “Do you know how worried I was!?”
Panicked thoughts began to race through Marisa's mind. She did not anticipate that her alternate self would know someone that was completely alien to her. After a split second of thinking, she decides that the best thing to do now is to play along and hope this person goes away.
“Oh, yeah... Sorry about that. I got jumped by a youkai last night while collecting mushrooms and got knocked out for a few hours.” Marisa replies, “It's a good thing none of those flesh-eating ones found me when I was unconscious! Heh... Heh...”
“It must have been some youkai to be able to get the jump on you... Anyway, you should be more careful while you're out there. I don't want you to make me worry like that ever again...”
“I won't. I promise.”
“Hey, Alice, do you know anything about this?” Reimu interrupts.
“All I know is that last night there was this huge flash last night and it looked like it came from here.” the blonde girl answers “That's about it.”
“Damn. Well, I guess I'll ask Yukari about this. Maybe she'll know something.”
“Then it certainly looks like I came here at the right time.” a fourth voice chips in.
The group quickly faces the direction of the new sound and finds themselves looking upon a woman with long, blonde hair, adorned in purple and white attire, carrying a broad, white parasol.
“You know I hate it when you sneak up on us like that, Yukari.” says Reimu.
“I know.” Yukari Yakumo replies with a smirk, “Now, I understand that you need to ask me something?”
“Yes. Do you know what that thing in the middle of the clearing is?”
“Of course, I felt it open last night.”
“Come on, Marisa. Reimu and Yukari will handle things here. Let's head to my house and make up for the time we lost last night.” says Alice with a wink as she seizes Marisa's right hand.
“Huh!? Uh, okay...” Marisa awkwardly stammers in surprise as Alice begins to drag her away.
“So exactly what is it?” Reimu continued as Alice and Marisa began to leave the clearing.
“A fracture.” Yukari replies.
“A fracture in what?”
“One of the boundaries of reality. A boundary which usually should never be broken.”
“Which boundary is it?”
“Time.”
“And that's bad, right?”
“Usually, yes,” Yukari pauses, “but thankfully this fracture seems to be stabilizing. Those ripples should disappear completely in a few days and the fracture will close naturally. However, there are other things we should be concerned about.”
“Like what?” Reimu asks.
“What made the fracture would be a good place to start.”
“True. So what could've made something like this?”
“They have been known to occur randomly, but the chance of that happening, even in my long lifespan, is infinitesimally small at best. So something powerful likely had to force this to occur.”
“To what end?”
“We have yet to see.” Yukari replies before gazing at the ripples for a few seconds. Soon after, she conjures a large, purple void next to her, “Anyway, I should get going. You know where to find me if you gain any new information, provided I don't come to you first.” she says as she steps into her gap and vanishes.
Reimu stood alone in the clearing. The crowd from before had dispersed after Yukari arrived.
Well it certainly looks like this is going to be a long day... she thought to herself.
Well that idea backfired! Marisa thought to herself as Alice dragged her along the forest path. Okay, don't panic... I'll just keep playing along until this “Alice” girl gets distracted, and then I'll quietly slip away...
Alice, while not showing it externally, was growing a bit worried. Something definitely seems... off... about Marisa today... she thought as they silently strode through the trees.
“Don't worry, this will by only temporary.” says Sakuya as she admires her handiwork.
“Mmmmmph!” replies another Sakuya, bound, gagged, and lying on the floor of her closet.
“Don't try to scream, either, because we both know that your muffled voice won't carry past the door.”
“Mmm-mmmph! Mmmmmph!”
Sakuya grabs the closet door, “Once again, I'm sorry it had to come to this, but I have a very important mission to do, and I can't take the risk of you messing it up.”
“MMMMMPH!!” the other Sakuya screams as the door shuts.
Sakuya took a second to gaze into the mirror. It had been forever since she last worn a maid's outfit. She kind of missed the look. After quickly checking her appearance, she began stepping towards the door and into the hall beyond.
“Good morning, Sakuya” says a familiar voice.
Sakuya performed a quick glance to her left and began to stare. Her mistress, Remilia Scarlet looked exactly how she remembered her. Short, light blue hair, an elegant pink dress, two large, black wings and a rather charming, charismatic smile. A warm feeling began spreading over Sakuya as she struggled to maintain her composure.
“Sakuya?” Remilia asks after a few seconds, “Are you alright?”
“Yes, mistress. I'm fine.” Sakuya replies, “Just fine...”
The Assassin arrived that afternoon.
The clearing was vacant at the time, so nobody was around to feel a peculiar, rapidly intensifying, electrifying sensation in the air. Nobody was around to see the ripples increase in frequency. Nobody was around to see a figure, clad in black leather, and a large wispy, white leviathan slip through a short-lived, white crack that appeared at the center of the ripples.
The Assassin was notorious for slaughtering members of the insurgency. Her skill with the sword, as well as her stealth, earned her the fitting alias of “Shadowblade.” In fact, nobody ever refers to her by her real name anymore.
The great, white specter she travels with is her deadliest weapon. After she became the Empress's assassin, she began using a forbidden technique to subdue her enemies. She could send her apparition to literally tear the soul out of an unfortunate victim and consume it. The size that it has managed to attain by fattening off of souls is undeniable proof of how effective this technique is.
Shadowblade took to the air, searching for signs of the insurgents that made their way here. She scanned the horizon until her eyes settled on the silhouette of a mansion looming in the distance.
There. She thought to herself. One of them will definitely head there...
Then she drew her sword and flew off towards her target.