Arknights, Suika's Messenger Journey

Author: A Salty Fish

Synopsis:

Since she'd come, she might as well make the best of it.

Having chosen to embrace her identity, Ibuki Suika, the Oni King of Mount Oe, Shuten-dōji's incarnation, banquet guest, provider of fine wine, and king of urging others to drink, believed that all visitors were guests.

There was no friend a grand feast couldn't win over.

Of course, if one feast wasn't enough, then there'd be two, three...

But if unwelcome guests came knocking, she'd show them what the fighting Gensokyo was all about.

Chapter One: Breakthrough! The Guard Department Moves Out

1093.11.11

At two thirty in the morning, under the cold wind and darkness outside Lungmen, members of the Guard Department quietly approached an abandoned factory not far away.

"Listen up, everyone. I'll go over the operation plan one more time.

Officer Hoshiguma will lead the assault team in a frontal breach and draw their attention. Chen, once the enemy's attention is fixed on the front, you'll lead Breach Team One in a surprise attack from the left.

Swire will lead Breach Team Two and move in simultaneously from the right.

I'll take the remaining people and lie in wait at the rear. Once they try to escape, we'll wipe them out in one fell swoop. Understood?"

Jiu repeated the plan they had discussed several times over the radio.

She couldn't afford not to take this seriously. A human trafficking organization was hiding inside, and according to intelligence, there were at least ten children in there.

Once the criminals realized they couldn't escape, they might take those children hostage. The Guard Department had to give them what looked like a chance to flee.

Only if they believed they still had a chance to live would they abandon the children and choose to run. That was the only way to maximize the children's chances of survival.

The battle soon began.

The assault team, tasked with drawing attention, deliberately exposed an opening and allowed themselves to be spotted. Then, from the front, they put on a show of trying to force their way in.

Naturally, criminals who could make it to Lungmen weren't easy prey. Several hand crossbows fired cold bolts from inside the factory. Fortunately, the prepared assault team mostly stayed behind Hoshiguma.

With the enormous Hannya, Hoshiguma easily blocked the shots.

"Damn Guard Department! Boss, what do we do?!"

Faced with an assault team as solid as a city wall, the people inside fell into a panic.

"Don't panic. They're just cops. It's not like we haven't killed cops before.

Switch to Molotov cocktails. Let these bastards know we're not people to be messed with."

At the leader's command, several Molotov cocktails flew out of the abandoned factory's windows. The exploding flames sealed off the assault team's path forward.

Standing at the very front, Hoshiguma frowned. They were still some distance from the factory. If they got held up here, they wouldn't be able to complete the task Jiu had assigned them.

Thinking that, she said in a deep voice,

"I'll hold them off. Two of you, put out the fire. We can't stop here."

Under Hoshiguma's command, two officers took out fire extinguishers they had prepared in advance and borrowed from another department.

With the extinguishers' help, a passage opened through the flames once more.

Hoshiguma swung her massive shield, crossed the fire, and charged toward the factory again.

The traffickers inside had thought they had stopped the cops outside and were preparing to seize the opportunity to flee through the back with the children. They were dumbfounded. They hadn't expected the police to be this well-prepared, and panic seized them.

"What are you scared of? There are only a dozen of them, and we've got more than twenty people. We've got them outnumbered. Fight them! If the cops get on our tails, none of us are getting away."

The leader pulled a broadsword from beneath him, his eyes bloodshot.

Seeing that, the others also drew their weapons. Just as Hoshiguma smashed through the front entrance, they rushed forward and clashed with the Guard Department.

Once Hoshiguma had tied down the enemy from the front, Chen and Swire immediately made their move. Leading their teams, they smashed through the windows on either side of the factory and charged inside.

When the traffickers saw police appear on both sides, they knew they had fallen into an ambush. They began fighting as they retreated toward the rear of the factory.

"Just force them out of the factory! Our mission is to save people!"

Worried that the traffickers might turn back and grab the children, Chen deliberately shouted to Swire once she got close.

"Got it!"

As Swire answered, the meteor hammer in her hand didn't stop moving. She smashed the hand of a man trying to grab a child into pulp.

Seeing the Guard Department's overwhelming combat power, the traffickers could only think about escaping.

After all, they could always capture another batch of children if this one was lost. But if the Guard Department caught them, with more than ten children involved and their violent resistance to the law, they would probably be sent to the official mines to work off their crimes.

They were all ordinary people. Once they entered the mines, there was no guarantee they wouldn't contract Oripathy. Between money and their lives, they hesitated only for a moment before choosing their own lives without a second thought.

As for those who had charged too far ahead and gotten tangled up with the Guard Department, they could only be swallowed by the officers rushing forward in despair.

"There are a few capable fighters among the ones who escaped. Will Jiu's side be alright?"

Watching the last person flee the factory, Swire, who hadn't chosen to give chase, asked worriedly.

"It shouldn't be a problem. Everyone on Jiu's side is from Major Crimes. Every one of them can fight as well as either of us."

Chen remained calm. To take down these traffickers in one go, the Lungmen Guard Department had sent out all its elites. If they still let them escape, none of them would have the face to keep wearing this uniform.

The two turned their attention to the kidnapped children. They saw a child with a pair of exaggeratedly long horns stumble toward Hoshiguma, then wrap herself around Hoshiguma's leg like a koala.

Everyone in the room instantly fell silent.

In the quiet factory, a soft, syrupy voice rang out.

"Hoshi...guma..."

Hoshiguma looked down at the child clinging to her leg and narrowed her eyes slightly. She searched through her memories but found no connection to this child whatsoever.

She grabbed the child's clothes and lifted her up, only then realizing that this little girl, who looked like an Elafia, was in fact a genuine member of the Oni Clan.

Her smooth brown hair and the faint scent of alcohol coming from her body indicated that the child was most likely still drunk.

"You know her?"

Chen walked over to Hoshiguma and asked in a low voice.

After all, everyone had heard the child call Hoshiguma's name. Compared to the other children huddled together on the ground, this one who had actively thrown herself into Hoshiguma's arms naturally drew more attention.

Hoshiguma shook her head. She had never seen this child in her memory.

"These chains... why are they so tough?"

Chen, standing nearby, looked at the three iron chains around the child's waist and tried to remove them. Yet no matter how hard she pulled, they wouldn't budge. Refusing to give up, she took out a standard Guard Department longsword and struck the chains. The blade curled, but the chains didn't even bear a mark.

Hoshiguma naturally saw Chen's actions. She reached for the chains, only to feel a powerful repulsive force surge from them and force her hand away.

She looked at her hand in confusion. Feeling the connection brought by their shared Oni Clan bloodline, Hoshiguma suddenly asked,

"Can this child... stay with me for now?"

Chapter Two: A Bond from an Oni

Hearing Hoshiguma's words, everyone looked surprised. These children had been taken by traffickers. Ordinarily, after being brought to the Guard Department, they would be asked where they came from, and someone would be arranged to take them home.

A police officer taking a rescued child home with her was improper no matter how one looked at it.

"Sure. Didn't that child call your name? Maybe she really is connected to you. She can stay with you for now, and once she wakes up, have her provide a statement.

But let's make this clear in advance. Since you're taking this on, the task of returning her to her parents is yours."

Jiu walked in from the back, a satisfied smile on her face. It seemed that all the traffickers who had tried to escape through the rear had been caught by her.

As she entered, she happened to see the child, still groggy, trying to rub herself against Hoshiguma. She also felt that the child might truly know Hoshiguma. Furthermore, the child's outfit wasn't Lungmen style, but a very conspicuous Higashi shrine maiden outfit. Considering Hoshiguma's identity, Jiu guessed that she might be one of Hoshiguma's fellow countrywomen.

Chen frowned, feeling this was still too ridiculous. But before she could speak, Swire pulled her toward the back.

"Let's go outside and see if anything else is going on. We'll leave this place to you two!"

In the morning, Xigua opened his eyes. Looking at the unfamiliar ceiling overhead, his expression went blank.

Wasn't I dead...?

He remembered logging into Arknights to clear his Sanity, then, not wanting to review recordings, casually launching a round of Immaterial and Missing Power to pass the time. He had picked Ibuki Suika.

But the instant he started the game, he heard a massive roar. The final image in his memory was the front of a truck bearing the words "Dayun."

He remembered drawing a fortune at a temple during the New Year. The monk had said he would encounter great fortune the following year. He had assumed it was just an auspicious phrase the monks used to swindle people out of money.

But he hadn't expected "encountering Dayun" to mean this Dayun. At that moment, Xigua felt as though ten thousand alpacas were stampeding through his heart.

After coming to his senses a little, he looked around. This was clearly not a hospital, but an ordinary bedroom.

The bedroom was clean and tidy, carrying a faint fragrance. There were no mirrors, vanity tables, or anything of the sort, yet Xigua was instantly certain that this bedroom belonged to a woman.

"Ugh, my head feels so heavy..." After sitting up, Xigua raised a hand to rub his head, only to touch something huge.

Hmm???

His eyes widened in an instant. Then he noticed that his hand had become pale, tender, and smooth as lotus root.

A terrible thought surfaced in his mind. After struggling for a while, he reached down below himself.

"NO!!!!!"

With a miserable wail, Xigua collapsed back onto the bed like a lump of rotten mud.

Two streams of tears slid down his cheeks.

Brother, my brother... Even though in more than twenty years together, all you'd ever enjoyed were my hands, that still wasn't a reason for you to leave me...

For a moment, Xigua was like a salted fish that had lost all purpose in life.

As Xigua wallowed in self-pity, the door opened, and a tall green-haired woman walked in.

"What's wrong?" The woman's eyes were full of concern, but having never raised a child, she had no idea what to do in this situation.

When Xigua saw her, he cried even harder.

Because he recognized her, and he remembered what had happened before.

He had briefly woken up while still groggy earlier. Fighting through his drowsiness, the first person he saw was her. He had blurted out her name, "Hoshiguma," before sleep overwhelmed him again.

After waking up, he had already forgotten about it and thought it had only been a dream. But when he saw her appear, he knew he was done for. He had been hit by "Dayun" straight into Terra.

Although this Terra was much safer than the other two, it was still full of danger.

How was a shut-in who couldn't even beat a chicken that had trained for two and a half years supposed to survive here?

"Are you hungry? I made breakfast... Want something to eat? Or maybe some hot water?"

Hoshiguma looked at the child sitting on the bed and bawling her eyes out, speaking helplessly.

Only after crying for quite a while did Xigua finally stop. He climbed to the edge of the bed and was about to get down when he noticed a leather band tied around his waist, with three iron chains hanging from it.

Realizing something, he pulled all three chains out. Just as he expected, the other ends were attached to a triangular pyramid, a sphere, and a cube.

Remembering the pair of large horns he had just touched, estimating his current height from Hoshiguma, and taking into account the gender he had discovered, he more or less understood what he looked like now.

Still unwilling to accept it, he looked at Hoshiguma.

"Is there a mirror here?"

Hoshiguma hurriedly nodded. Compared to the child crying nonstop earlier and refusing to listen to anything she said, she felt much more relieved now that the child was willing to communicate.

"Yes, in the living room outside."

Xigua climbed out of bed and dragged the three chains behind him as he headed outside.

Seeing the chains trailing behind her, Hoshiguma grabbed her hand and said guiltily,

"I've tried every method I could think of, but I couldn't remove the chains on you. I asked the relevant people, and they said there's a powerful restriction on them. Unless that restriction is lifted, these chains will remain bound to you."

Xigua shook her head, unconcerned about that. She walked straight toward the full-length mirror in Hoshiguma's home.

The moment she saw herself in the mirror, the last shred of hope in her heart finally died.

He had become she, and this appearance truly didn't belong to this world. It belonged to Ibuki Suika, one of the Four Devas of the Oni Clan from another world called Touhou Gensokyo.

She regretted it now. Deeply regretted it. If she had known she would transmigrate like this, she would have picked a game with a male character no matter what. At the very least, she could have kept her brother.

As for whether Ibuki Suika was powerful, what did it matter how strong she was without her brother? At that moment, she missed every little moment she had once shared with him.