Her senses came back slowly, one at a time. First was touch. There was a soft mattress underneath her, one that she had sunken into, and a matching pillow that deformed to cradle her neck. She also felt her clothes, a loose gown, likely medical, that allowed a light breeze from somewhere through it, and on her left wrist, a mass of something papery stuck to it. The most concerning part, however, was the light throbbing down her right side and arm, and while not exactly painful, it was certainly uncomfortable, a little like pins and needles from a pinched nerve, and for some reason it didn’t cover her entire arm, existing only in patches on different aspects. That alone told her it was unlikely to be a nerve issue - she had once studied dermatomes and their innervations from a Tianlu para-acupuncturist during one of her industry years, and it gave her some relief knowing it didn’t match any of that.

Next came the sound, two in particular: the first was a slow, pulsing beeping, electronic in nature which she instantly attributed to some kind of vital monitor, given it was off to the left side by her head; the other, she suddenly realised, was her own breathing, not something she usually listened to even when she was trying to fall asleep. It sounded like her nose was slightly blocked, amplifying the sound, or it was just because there was precious little else to focus on.

When her vision returned, it was a slog. The bright overhead lights pierced her eyelids, and when she opened them, she felt the sleep dust around her eyes crack and pull apart, having built up over days. Instinctively she reached up to scrape it off of her face, but as soon as her left hand reached her face, she observed the gauze and intravenous tube stuck to the back of it, and changed hands, scraping the hardened stuff out of the area around her eyes. When she pulled the hand back, she did a double-take. A fractal, branching pattern ran from the base of her index, curving around to her wrist, and continued up into the sleeve of her medical gown. Kofuku quickly tugged at the cloth over her shoulder, following the line as it snaked along her collarbone, and then dipped down, turning to the side of her chest and extended even further still. By lifting her shirt, she could see it curved onto the front of her abdomen, and then ended in another large branched end just above her hip.

The screen door of the small room she was in slid open. Yamashiro stepped in, almost said something, and immediately turned his back. “I didn’t know you were up, Kofuku-hime. Should I come back later?”

“Shuu,” she said. “Look at me. What the fuck is this?” She pointed to the red scar-tissue that was burned into her right side.

“Ah, right.” He turned around, to confirm it was what she was referring to. “When people are struck by lightning, especially powerful lightning, and survive, this is what develops: a Lichtenberg figure. It’s the shortest bath the bolt took through your body. If you’re concerned, there are plenty of UHE planets with cosmetologists-”

“I think it’s kinda hot.”

Yamashiro blinked. “If…if you say so.”

“I mean, don’t you think?” She looked at him expectantly.

“That’s not an…appropriate remark for me to make.”

“Oh come on. We’re what, seven years apart? You’re basically my brother, I know you don’t mean it like that. Your dad used to take me hunting boar and I-”

“Would always lose to me, yes. Your aim was terrible,” he cut her off. “It…is very attractive, yes. I’m not familiar enough with Mr. Wyland however, so I cannot gauge his reaction.”

“I was seven. The gun was literally too heavy for me.” She let go of the hem of her shirt and tried to climb over the edge of the medical bed, before . “Also, you don’t actually have to call me princess, you know. Like, Falano does that and it’s really annoying.”

“I haven’t noticed. Even if I preferred not to, I have to train myself for the sake of tradition. Less problems that way.”

“You never thought of just,,,leaving? Like the old guard.”

Shuu shook his head. “My dad died trying to tame this planet. If I go and live somewhere else…it just feels like he died in vain or something like that. Plus, great salary, just don’t tell your mother I said that.” He stepped over to carefully peel off the gauze, grabbed a bottle of spray on-alcohol from the table attached to the monitor, and gave it a few spritzes.

Kofuku winced as he slowly slid the needle out of her being, clamping over the point of injection with a cotton ball and slapping a bandage onto it. “Where is she anyway?”

“Receiving some guests, around this time. If you’re quick, you might catch her before she goes in to talk to them.”

“...what floor are we on?”

“Fourth. This used to be your bedroom, actually. Before you turned twelve and moved to the west tower.”

She looked around at the tatami mats, the paper screens, the singular coat stand and armchair that was now in the corner. “A lot smaller than I remember.”

“You were quite literally smaller.”

She swung her legs off the bed and hopped down, and as soon as she touched the ground, she frowned. Kofuku grabbed her shoulder, rolling it,, and then hopped up and down in place, springing with the tips of her toes. “How long was I asleep?”

“Three days. Almost four.”

“Shouldn’t I be all stiff? I’ve just been in one position the entire time, right?”

“You should, yes.”

“But I feel great. Maybe even better than I’ve felt in a while. Hmm.”

“It may be something to do with the treatment options your mother purchased. She really spared no expense. That’s actually what the guests are here to discuss. Nobody knew when - or if you would wake up, to be completely truthful.”

“Where are my clothes, Shuu?”

“Back in your room. Would you like me to grab them?”

“I’ll get them myself. Did…Adam make any progress?”

Yamashiro smiled. “You’re going to be very, very pleased.”

“Mother!” Kofuku called, still butting up her shirt as she ascended the stairs to the next floor. The Lord Regent paused at the end of the corridor, her hand on a half-opened door to the meeting room. Her eyes widened, and she lifted her long silk dress to speed over to her. “Oh thank goodness! I thought you’d never wake up!”

They embraced for a long while, just there in the corridor, and then Kofuku pried her mother off of her. “What did you give me? Don't tell me you caved in and bought fountain water from the UHE for something.”

“That’s not what I-”

The clanking of wooden clogs from behind the Lord Regent made her freeze, and she straightened up to turn and meet the two figures at the end of the hall. The first was a monk with a basket over his head, much like the komusō at the festival, and the second was a shrine maiden…with dark hair and a kitsune mask, identical to the one who had chatted up Richard on that very day.

Kofuku felt her blood run cold. “I know you, don’t I?”

The shrine maiden nodded slightly. “If this is a bad time, we can come back later.”

“No,” Ayane said. “I’d prefer to settle this today.” Her expression had turned from joyous to serious in a matter of seconds.

“You’ve been spying on us.” Kofuku slipped past her mother. “Who are you?”

“I suppose there’s no more point in these costumes.” The fake shrine maiden reached up to remove her mask, which came off along with the wig of dark brown hair. Underneath her hair was short and striking dirty blonde, and her green eyes seemed to shine in the dimness of the corridor. She gave a quick bow. “My name is Alice Obendorf, and this is my partner, Kafur Okkren.” She motioned to the fake monk. “We represent the interests of a member of the MobiusCorp Board.”

“Of course,” Kofuku breathed. “Which one? The same one that wanted me to capture Falano Duran?”

“Naturally. We’re not above handing out free samples, after all.”

“That implies you want us to buy something.”

“Very clever!” Alice smiled. “But we’re here to discuss the details of your treatment with the Lord Regent…not that you need it anymore. If you will, Lady Kofuku?” She motioned to the open door of the meeting room.

Ayane stepped in front of Kofuku. “Let me handle this.”

“Mother, I-”

“You know what I am?” She snuck a smile back at Kofuku, revealing a sharped, venomous fang in the corner of her mouth that swiftly folded away. “I can take care of my own interests. You should too.”

Kofuku bowed. “Yes, mother.” She turned to leave, and halfway down the stairs, she sped up, going as fast as she could until she arrived down at the foyer landing, overlooking the display case, and made her way down and out the front door.

The sky was darkening, and there was a light drizzle. The town below was dead silent, very unlike the night of the festival - the cold had properly come in, and Kofuku paced to keep herself warm. She fished the phone out of her pocket and dialled Shuu, holding it to her ear. “Come on, come on…”

She heard Shuu’s ringtone, a city pop remix, come from the door, and he emerged, holding his phone with her call on it. “Getting impatient, are we?”

Falano and Richard were in two, the both of them looking completely out of it. “And I was starting to like my room,” the cyborg said.

“No, Shuu, listen. MobiusCorp is here. They sent me Falano on purpose and they tracked me here. I don’t know what they want but I need to get off this planet for now.”

Falano immediately perked up. “She’s right, we need to get off this planet.”

“Is that so?” Yamashiro looked back at him…and then frowned.

“Yeah you don’t get it. Mobius is not a normal megacorp, they have weapons that can destroy this entire planet-”

“Where are the guards?” Shuu asked suddenly, putting his hand on his sword.

Kofuku blinked. In her panic, she hadn’t even noticed that their positions were vacant. It wasn’t even dark enough to be the night shift yet, so where was…

She didn’t get the time to answer that as a piece of wood fell to the grass, painted red. She looked up, and the figure in dark robes and a veil just like that of the Tidekeepers dropped from the top of the haunted gate, rolling in the grass and changing direction to make a dead sprint at her. In the few moments she glimpsed it, the guy had something big strapped his his chest, and something else in his hand, thumb poised to press a button.

Shuu drew his sword and his pistol from his back brace at the same time and fired once, hitting the assassin in the shoulder, but he kept running through the pain. As his veil fluttered with his movement, she saw a boiling rage in his eyes, in gritted teeth, and…scales? Before she could process that Shuu slashed the attacker across the back as he went past, causing them to topple to the ground.

But he was still alive, and his thumb jammed down onto the button just as they all dove for their lives.

Kofuku felt her eardrums ring again, like when Falano had emptied his entire rack of missiles at her and the police team, but this time she was immediately up, the pressure wave passing through her but strangely, she didn’t really feel it. She turned back around, unsure what she would do now that she was currently unarmed, but there was nothing to do.

All that was left of the assassin was a crater in the ground, the explosion having sent bits of the courtyard up into the air and crashing down, including a few stones that were now embedded in the wood of the gate.

But her eyes were on Shuu, lying less than a metre at the edge of the crater, screaming silently in pain as he tried to pat out the flames from his scorched right arm and leg. She ran towards him, shouting his name even though neither of them could probably hear it that well, but Falano got to him first, immediately spraying fire retardant foam all over him. It must have hurt even more, because Yamashiro squirmed even harder, but at least, she thought, trying to keep herself calm, he wasn’t dead.

Yet. A stray thought, but it was loud, especially with her hearing suppressed.

Ashigaru and their samurai captains poured from every nook and cranny of the palace, swarming the courtyard and taking up positions along the cliff’s edge. It all happened in slow motion, at least from her view, and when her mother strode out of those doors with not even a trace of fear, only righteous indignation, it all hit her at once.

Kofuku felt her legs turn to jelly and she was on the ground, her tears flowing uncontrollably onto the scorched stones below. Part of her wanted to throw up, but she hadn’t eaten anything, so her body settled for retching spit out from her throat instead. The pounding of her heart was deafening, something she only noticed now that everything was happening at the same time. Her gaze focused on Shuu again, still writing as some medical staff tried to carry him away. He was reaching for a tablet on the ground, but to her, that didn’t even register. If she had been just a little closer to the fireball, that would have been her. If he hadn’t cut the assailant down, she would have-

“Akiraka.” Ayane knelt in front of her. “Akiraka Kofuku!”

She looked up at her mother, the Lord Regent, her expression hard and determined. Kofuku was ugly sobbing now, and while she had words in her throat, they refused to come out, choked by the need to just vomit something out.

“You have to go. It’s not safe for you here.” An attendant handed Ayane the fallen tablet, which she briefly glanced at and then looked to the sky.

Far above them, the shape of a sleek private spacecraft shot into view, its vector thrust slowing it down in the air with incredible power as it descended at a diagonal towards the circular landing pad at the end of the bridge. The sleek curvature of the fuselage that wasn't entirely of human design, the six wings trimmed with gold and layered like ōyoroi - it was undoubtedly her father’s personal craft.

Ayane thrusted the tablet into her hands. “Follow the signal. I will be okay. You have to go, now.”

Her home. Her world. Burning around her. It was almost too much. In third person, she watched herself stare at her mother shouting at Falano, pointing towards the landed ship, and then at her. A flash of fangs, of spectral limbs coming out of her back, and he shook his head and scooped Kofuku up, carrying her towards the ship, facing her behind him in much the same way he had carried Richard in the yokai realm. She kept watching as a pair of Ashigaru carried the dazed Venator after them, and her mother’s longing look, getting further and further away. Behind her, Alice Obendorf and Kafur Okkren emerged from the palace, unfazed by the chaos unfolding around them.

Had it really been the Tidekeepers, or had…? Was it really a coincidence that the two showed up now, of all times?

She had no more time to ponder as the ramp in the back of the ship closed up, denying her any more view of the only place she had ever felt safe. Her mother, Shuu, the palace staff…even Daniel Wyland wasn’t here, couldn’t be here. And it wasn't their fault, she told herself.

I cannot save a corpse.

Kofuku opened her eyes. She had a job to do.