Chapter Text
The magician’s boots tapped softly on the polished stone floor. The enormous hallway swallowed the sound. Warm light glared in through the thick windows. It was angled upwards, enlarging the visitor’s shadow like some great pursuing beast.
She moved with a purpose, pausing only check around corners. She wore a dress and a pointed hat, both in black and white. As oversized as her hat was, it could not conceal the mass of blond hair beneath. One of her hands carried a broom; her grip was firm on the weathered wood. Her other hand was free, but it occasionally strayed to a small pocket, seeming to find reassurance there.
Eventually she stopped before a large door. Its dark wood was engraved with the image of an eye gazing down upon an open tome. She paused and looked around, now hesitant. Seeing the hallway still vacant, she placed an ear carefully against the cool wood, then opened it gingerly.
Beyond she found an enormous room, nearly 50 feet from floor to ceiling, divided in two by a wraparound balcony. The walls of both levels were lined with bookshelves while the flood in the center contained wooden chairs and long reading tables. Small lights floated around the space, casting strange and many-colored shadows. Other doors led off the sides of the room, though these were smaller and less ornate than the one she had come through.
In addition to its scale, the shape of the space was also striking; rather than a simple rectangle, it was closer to that of a chevron, as if the entire room was pointing at the door. The black and white tiles that decorated the floor mimicked this pattern, forming a dizzying array.
“What on earth?” Marisa breathed as she entered. Her eyes were wide as she took in the scene. After remembering to close the door behind her, she drifted over to the nearest shelf and began checking titles at random. Most were not only unfamiliar to her, but completely meaningless. How many books were there? Surely one must have what she was looking for.
Her revelry was short lived, however.
“Marisa… Isn’t it rather late to be breaking into my library?” asked a voice from behind her. She whirled around, hand already reaching into her pocket. “Please,” the voice continued, “don’t use that in here. These books were not easy to come by.”
“Oh, it’s just you. You scared the hell out of me. Why’d you gotta sneak up behind me like that?” Marisa asked, relaxing
The other girl seemed to consider this, tilting her head to the side and closing one eye. She had purple hair and a blue dress with floral lace trim. Above her heart, a red staring eye sat, its tendrils branching off and connecting to various parts of her body. She wore pink slippers.
“Well, I didn’t mean to startle you, but I don’t recall giving you permission to enter the library, especially at this time of night.” Satori said, furrowing her brow.
“Oh, well… I was just curious what kinda books you had. Didn’t think it’d be a problem to take a peek.”
“That would explain the sack,” Satori started, “-no, don’t bother lying to me. I’m really not sure why you try anymore.” Marisa had the decency to looked embarrassed, if only for a moment.
“But tell me, what exactly are you looking for anyway?” As she said this, Satori drew closer, her third eye still staring. Though she wasn’t especially tall, she was still a head taller than the magician. Marisa smiled nervously, but didn’t back up.
“Well… magic I guess. Heard you had all kinds of stuff here…” she said, trailing off. Satori continued to stare.
“Ah, I see,” Satori said, turning towards the door, “perhaps you had better come with me then.”
“You wanna’ fight? I wouldn’t mind havin’ a tussle.”
“Not especially. There’s someone I want you to meet,” Satori said, with a half-smile “then, perhaps, I can help you find what you are looking for.”
Satori opened the door to her study, gesturing Marisa inside. She entered hesitantly, wondering just who she was meeting. Looking around, she froze. Satori stepped in behind her and closed the door.
“Ah, if it isn’t Marisa Kirisame, what a pleasant surprise.” The voice was dark and smooth, like a plum.
“Zanmu?! What the hell are you doin’ here?” Marisa said, taking half a step forwards.
Zanmu sat in a plush armchair, dressed in her usual green, blue, and gold. Bright red tassels hung from her clothes as well as the two small horns on her head. She wore a casual smile as she spoke.
“Unlike last time we met, human, this isn’t hell. I am merely Satori’s guest. An invited guest, I might add.”
“Zanmu,” Satori said, as she stepped between the two, “while I’m glad to see you’re already acquainted, please don’t antagonize her. She may be useful.” Then, under her breath, “and I would prefer my study intact.”
“Very well,” Zanmu said, dryly. Satori nodded, then moved to her desk, which she leaned against.
“Are you two just gonna keep yapping like I’m not here? What exactly do you mean by ‘useful’?” Marisa asked, striding closer. “What are you two up to?” Zanmu opened her mouth to answer, but Satori cut her off.
“No, honesty is our best bet here.” Both Marisa and Zanmu frowned at this, but the latter shrugged.
“Say Marisa, have you ever wanted to start an incident?”
Marisa considered this, still frowning. “No? I resolve incidents. Youkai are the ones who start them.”
Zanmu raised an eyebrow. “Is that so? Well, I suppose a better question would be whether you want to take part in one, then. Plenty of humans do that, at least.”
“I suppose… but why? I’m pretty happy with how things are.” She paused, her frown deepening. “Don’t tell me you're about to start another one! We just got done wrapping up your last mess!”
“That,” Zanmu said, raising a finger, “was an entirely natural process; you can hardly blame me for it.”
“Watch me. Besides, you were certainly taking advantage of the situation.”
“Oh, and you weren’t? If I recall-”
“Can the two of you stop being petty for one minute?” Satori cut in. The other two paused, surprised at the harshness in her tone.
Zanmu continued, more measured, “Regardless of past events, this wouldn’t be my incident anyway.”
“That so? Then who’s is it?”
Zanmu turned to look at Satori, who simply nodded. Marisa opened her mouth to ask a question, but Satori answered it first, “because you find it annoying to talk to me.”
Silence fell over the room. Zanmu looked around the room rather than at the others.
Satori broke the silence, “The distinction between incident resolver and instigator is rather… arbitrary. Everyone wants things to resolve their way.”
“Sounds like something you’d say. What exactly is ‘your way’, then?” Marisa asked. Satori drummed her fingers on the surface of her desk as she thought.
“The underworld was rather isolated from the surface for quite some time. This was largely by design. As much as the newfound connections have their advantages, lately people think they can do whatever they want with the place.” She paused then, reading Marisa’s mind. “Your visits aren't really what I mean. I am talking about how youkai and gods from the surface think they can do whatever they like down here without considering those of us who actually live here.”
“I guess there has been a lot of stuff happening underground lately…” Marisa mused. Satori nodded.
“So, simply put, I want to earn some respect, since playing nice hasn’t been working.”
Marisa seemed to take this in for a moment before replying, “OK… but why Zanmu?” Marisa asked, turning. Zanmu chuckled slightly.
“I have my reasons for taking an interest.”
“Well that’s suspicious as hell.”
“You are just going to have to take my word that Zanmu is worth trusting on this.”
Marisa made a face.
“So you’re trying to show off your strength and all that? Feels like there’s a lot of that going around lately.”
“Like you’re one to talk.”
Marisa glared at the Oni, but didn’t reply. Instead she pulled up a nearby chair and sat heavily, thinking.
“Ok, I get what you're going for here; you wanna to make sure folks know this is your turf and that they should mess with ya. Certainly not a new thing, but what’s it got to do with me? I like a good scuffle as much as the next person, but still…”
Zanmu looked at Satori expectantly.
“Well, you seem rather fond of the underground and don’t have many other commitments.” She paused, waiting for a retort, but none came. “But I wouldn’t expect you to do it for nothing; As I said earlier, I can help you achieve your goal. That library is not very easy to search after all.”
“I’m not trying to ‘achieve’ anything. I just want to know…” Marisa said, her voice lacking its usual energy.
The two stared at each other, expressions unreadable.
Zanmu coughed politely. “Well, I certainly have no idea what you could be referring to, but it may be best I take my leave. No sense rushing things.”
“Hm?” Satori blinked as she turned away from Marisa. “Ah, yes, of course. Orin can show you out.”
After Zanmu departed, the two that remained stood awkwardly.
“If you’d like, you can spend the night here. We have plenty of spare rooms.”
“Excuse me?”
“You don’t exactly seem like you’re in a state to trek back home in the dark, or spend the night pilfering my library, for that matter.”
“I’ll be fine,” Marisa replied, waving a hand dismissively. “Think I’ve hung out with enough youkai for one night.”
Satori tilted her head to the side, closing one eye. “That can’t be good for you, you know.”
“...well, yeah, that’s why i don’t-”
“I meant acting like nothing bothers you,” Satori interrupted.
There was a silence. “Fine. I’d like to be able to think without having it used against me. Happy?” Marisa said, voice rising as she spoke.
“Are you?” Satori asked quietly, but the magician was already halfway gone.
Satori sat at her desk. The only sounds in her office were a ticking clock and tapping pen.
“Well this all seems exciting, doesn’t it?” The voice came from above, as a girl in green drifted softly down. Her voice did not echo.
“Eavesdropping are we? Well, I suppose ‘Exciting’ is one way to put it.”
“Marisa is so much fun isn’t she? You should have pushed her more. You’re good at it.”
Satori sighed. “It’s much simpler with animals; they don’t have any of this ‘self image’ in the way.”
“What’s that?”
“It’s…” she started, before meeting Koishi’s gaze. “...complicated. By the way, have you met Zanmu before?”
“Seen her once on the surface, but was more interesting to watch her fight.”
“I imagine it would be.”
Koishi hopped up into one of the room’s armchairs. She swung her feet idly. Satori gazed out the window that overlooked former hell.
“Do you remember first coming down here?” Satori asked, absently.
Koishi considered this, “hmm… no, not really. That was quite a while ago.”