Recalcitrant Jurisdiction

Chapter 9

Mentally chastising herself for thinking that tackling the fearsome green-haired gardener was a beneficial idea, Reimu found herself limping slightly from the injuries she received earlier against the nuclear-powered Utsuho and the terrifyingly potent Yuuka Kazami. The shrine maiden trudged begrudgingly in bitter hatred at how her constant devotion to her task was now beginning to take a toll on her body, swallowing her resilience and keeping her path unsteady from the various obstacles obscuring her destination.

As a consequence from defeat's repugnant taste, Reimu contemplated deeply on the morality of the path she treked single-mindly without a hint of concern for the common complaints and fright suffusing throughout Gensokyo. Because Yuuka provided the shrine maiden a spiteful lecture during their brawl, Reimu couldn't help but ponder if perhaps she made a rash decision on straying off the enlightening path that would have showed her the light.

But counterarguments began to ensemble and whisper persuading thoughts, instructing the shrine maiden to continue the slaughter and spree of gleeful mayhem she had carved by her dedication to true "justice." How many innocent lives taken and potential incidents needed to be committed until the stubborn fools holding their book of lies comprehended that some lives needed to be taken?

It was a perplexing issue, to say the least. A warrior without allies cannot survive alone, for resistance and brainwashed morals coded into Gensokyo's oni, humans, and youkai would eventually rise up against her and overthrow her should she continue. However, when meticulously studying the rationale behind persisting in this dangerous path laden with bear traps, the chances of Reimu's foot being ensnared by one of them was inevitably approaching.

"God damn Yuuka...who knows how long I can continue this journey until one of those slow and obnoxious youkai come to ruin it all?" Reimu complained, breathing shallowly in a dark, rural area she figured no being would target her there. "I don't have much time. Yukari is coming, and if I don't pick up the pace, I'll lose it all..."

Whilst her means of self-motivation were asphyxiating on the dangerous bridge of unknown horrors lurking from every corner, the shrine maiden refused to throw in the towel for the progress she had made thus far. Instead, she disintegrated and tried allaying her fears by lecturing herself that despite the vulnerability she had was obvious, the image she had burned into everyone's minds would keep her afloat before she drowned in the ugly, vantablack sea of capitulation.

Bounties nailed to trees and shelters alike outnumbered Reimu's futile attempts to remove their call-to-action, continuing to display a question mark on a shadowy figure a few fortunate cretins had guessed correctly. Money was capable of convincing any stubborn soul to assuage their anxiety and fulfill the task in order to obtain riches they'd corrupt their angelic souls and transform their commitment to justice to parsimonious greed.

"I'd best try to push on...I got a job to do after all, and I'm not backing down."

It was safe to say the shrine maiden would saunter and brandish any opponents blocking her unstoppable path in heaps of regrets they could never recuperate from once her malevolent issues had found them. Grunting and utilizing more of the magical bandage she had kept ulteriorly in her outfit, Reimu applied the white cloth on any open wounds she discovered leaking out her body - her bloodletting damage spilling her strength into weakness the shrine maiden failed to regain.

When the moment had passed and Gensokyo's incident-doers scavenged the putrid remains searching for the culprit to acclimate them to their just deserts, Reimu skulked in the darkness's comforting blanket to stealthily cut the string off of any incident-doer she caught. Perhaps being a rebel to the courtesy of facing her opponents head-on would be the apt decision, for surprise attacks may be dishonorable, but many neglected the fact...