Eternal Judgement

Why her? How’d it end up like this? She just wanted to buy five purses, new designer boots, a few cute watches, a hat, and new pins. Not date the hall monitor.

“W-what?” Congratulations, Tenshi, you managed to fluster Eiki. Unfortunately...

“I̟̪̭͔̥͘f̲͓̜̤̰̟̺ ̜͕͘y҉͙o͇̯͓̭̺̣͡u͍ ̝̭͕i̜̲̰ṇ̩ş̺̫͍̯ͅi̝̤̭̩̜̻̲͜s̙ṯ̨̰̼.̢͚̪”

Parsee gave a small sigh of relief, ears drooping slightly as she visibly relaxed. Eiki was erring on the side of caution. Good. She was not looking forward to creating a ruckus. She’d rather just stay on the bridge- it may not be old, but it’s sheer span put her at ease. Didn’t seem like Eiki shared the sentiment, though.

"He pretty much is." Yes, she just said he. Getting involved with incidents wasn’t only a woman’s interest in this world. Males were just as involved, if not more.

A slight mrr is given at the thought of having to approach. Didn’t she just want to come out here to inspect the rift? Getting involved in the local affairs was not something any Hashihime was fond of. 

Delivering a message could be done, hopefully without a fight. Hopefully. But….. Did she hear that right? Eiki just tell Parsee to lie? The great Yama of Paradise, judger of right and wrong, with the express punishment of losing your tongue for telling a lie…. just told her to do something expressly which could come to bite her back in the long run. 

"I can keep what I am under wraps, but if I an inquire… Just why am I to lie about what I am? And what exactly should I tell them? Where would you like them to meet you?”

"If you can keep what you are under wraps without lying, that would be infinitely preferable," Eiki clarified, seeing Parsee's confusion. She couldn't just let the poor girl stay confused, after all. "In this case, I am giving you permission to lie. Use it only as a last resort, if it seems like you absolutely must to avoid conflict. Does that make sense?"

Parsee gave an affirmative nod. That it was, those who resided within the structure protected the town. That’s what she had come to understand, and on occasion witness. Not that she got involved, much less even got near them. Hunters were bad news, and she wasn’t good at direct confrontations. Her business stayed her own, as far as she was concerned.

…. which is also the reason Parsee was now giving Eiki a look of absolute mortification, as if she’d grown a third head and ordered her to submit to one of Hell’s traditional punishments. Them? Approach hunters? 

She knew there was a degree of lunacy involved in the supernatural, but had Eiki gone insane? 

Surely this was some sort of punishment.

"Shooting first and asking questions later tends to be a characteristic of these Americans, from what I've heard," Eiki let out a sigh, continuing to watch Titan Tower from her place atop the bridge. So large a bridge... thank goodness Gensokyo didn't have gaps like this.

"A normal human with special training is no real surprise. Perhaps she's this place's version of Reimu. A human merged with modern technology is certainly interesting but likely nothing supernatural, and an alien is also likely not a problem. But the shapeshifter and the half-demon, they are unusual. The half-demon in particular... still, if they are so aggressive, we need to be cautious. Perhaps it would be best to start with a simple message, that we wish to talk and we have no hostile intent."

Hashihime are pitied creatures. They’re very good at looking like victims of the aftermath, even when they caused the commotion. Usually because that happens to be the case. This is no different. 

Hell, she wasn’t even trying to cause trouble this time.

Parsee gave a slight nod, warping them both in a teleport, solidifying their location at the bridging rift in question back on the Outside. Ears twitch slightly, perking curiously at the Yama’s response. Was being out here as much of an adventure for her, as it was for Parsee? It appeared to be so, but the Yama was again correct. There was work to be done.

Erk.

"S-Sorry, Lady Shiki. I thought it wasn’t anything more than my own business. Didn’t realize it’d be a matter which you’d get involved in."

The Hashihime’s ears have flicked back at being scolded, lowering. She wasn’t sorry for not reporting- infact, she hardly understood the importance. Magic persisted out there still, yes. It was just virtually extinct. Wouldn’t this be more like discovering a new breed of magic, or an anomoly in it?

Actually, putting it that way, that is fairly important for her superior to know. She just didn’t think her boss would come out in person to take care of the matter.

"Of course. If you insist, that is."

And here we go, another trip back to Jump City it seems, which she gets absolutely no say in. First the bridge goes missing, now that it’s been found it’s fiasco is still causing trouble with her higher-ups. Lovely.

"I'm afraid I must insist. It's not something I'd like to do, but the higher-ups are going to want to know, and I can't go to them without incomplete information." 

Eiki didn't want to do this, but she didn't have a choice. At least Parsee would be spared any further admonishment, thanks to looking like that. Even Eiki had a bit of a hard time lecturing her when Parsee pulled off such an unintentionally pathetic look.

"I'm ready when you are."

"Mm? Well, I met an oddity out there. A witch, she called herself. Not a real one, or someone like that lying black-white. This girl’s like Hina, manipulates bad luck. I’ve been…."

Harrassing the girl? … That was really the best way to put it, even if it was the best way she could express her curiosity to a human. Couldn’t lie to her boss, though.

"Watching her. She’s pretty much a bridge herself. Most humans can’t use magic, but there are… a good amount of them out of the ordinary. Meta-humans, I think they’re called. They’ve pretty much replaced youkai and youkai hunters out there. Jinx though, she’s different. She’s still human, but it’s our type of magic… as I found out the hard way, since it affects me. She didn’t believe me to be real when she first saw me. Thinks I’m a demon for some reason, to boot.”

She could see Eiki’s heart sink, and quite honestly was alarmed to see it. Why? Was it a bad thing? It’s not like it was going to threaten the afterlife or gensokyo.

"The girl is named Jinx, then? And she manipulates luck... that's very interesting, actually. I'm suddenly rather glad that you found this out... but you should have reported it to me yourself, Parsee." Ah, here comes the admonishment. "Had you done that, I could already have everything figured out and hopefully have adjusted for this. The Kings will not like hearing that magic still persists there, of all places." As for why, well, the Yama couldn't say. But she'd still have to be the one to report them. Eiki stood up now, holding out a hand for Parsee to get some help up.