Author Topic: Eternal Border - a Touhou Reimagining - Part 2 In Progress!  (Read 24680 times)

Hawk

  • Babababa~
Hello, everyone!  I've decided to try my hand at this silly little thing called fiction, mostly of the fan variety.  It's been years since I've written anything creative, and it most definitely shows.  So, first, a little warning:

GO NO FURTHER if:

1. Raping canon offends you.  Here there be artistic license.
2. You don't like icky things like cursing and sexy-sex-sexy things.  (Don't worry, I've read the stickies.)
3. You think that just because it's a Touhou fanfic, every single character from every game and written work will make at least some small appearance, if only to please fans of that character.
4. Shitty writing offends you. :o

PROCEED if:

THE OPPOSITE OF THOSE THINGS



While I'm not so stupid as to throw first drafts up here, I still consider this a work in progress.  So if you want to shout "THIS IS SHIT AND YOU'RE SHIT," that's cool, but tell me why, plx.  You can't hurt my feelings, because I am an emotionless husk.  So now I'm going to post what I have, which is the Prologue, and chapters 1 and 2, and then I'm going to sleep, and I have to see all sorts of trolls when I wake up.  DO NOT DISAPPOINT ME.

Don't mind the previous sentence, since it obviously contradicts my previous claim that I am, in fact, an emotionless husk (which is still true).





Prologue ? Boundary of Sky and Rainbow

There is only nothingness.

It cannot be described as "black" or "dark", for that would imply the possibility of light, and also its absence.  It?s like the deepest sleep.  You do not see or hear, smell or taste or touch...but nor is there a distinct lack of these things.  Acute awareness that you are seeing nothing means that something could be seen, and that is not what this place is.  It would consume any normal person in an instant.

But the void, though by its very nature having existed in nonexistence for all eternity, will soon be broken.  Whether it will eventually gather itself back up is unknown at this point, not that I really care.

From my vantage outside the void?good luck with that one?I raise my hand.  It?s unnecessary?a regal formality?but I feel it?s appropriate for such an event.  I take a part of myself, a chunk of core "me-ness", and throw it into the void.  In an instant the nothingness is dispersed.  No fanfare, no cracking or rumbling.  It's just there, and then it isn't.  Any amount of existence would do, and I?ve just placed within it a great and shining light.  It?s a light that would consume lesser beings with its intensity, and it?s filling my entire vision.  It?s glorious.

The light collapses in on itself.  It?s still young, and it tried to spread beyond its means.  It is now the size of a speck, something that could rest on the tip of my pinky finger.  And then I spy something concerning.  The light has changed from a radiant white to a soft violet.  I furrow my brow.  This wasn?t supposed to happen.  I turn my head left and right, vainly searching for a patch of void to try again.  Of course I don?t find any.  I'm not going to be able to find a patch like that again until next eternity, at least.

I clench my fist.  Rage is boiling up inside of me.  I begin shaking.  All this time.  All this time!  This was supposed to be it!  I can?t believe I?

Calm...

Calm...


No, this?ll be fine.  It really is only a minor difference.  I spread open my palm towards the speck of violet, and it comes to me.  I begin walking home.

"You?re tiny now," I say, "but soon you?ll grow.  I?ll let my memories flow into you, and you?ll discover the concept of a physical manifestation.  Then you?ll grow a body, and that body will be whatever you want it to be."  I realize I?m whispering.  Deep in my heart I?ve already begun feeling maternal affection.  "And then I?ll begin teaching you.  I?ll tell you everything.  I?ll tell you about the time, five eternities ago, when I fell in love with a mortal man.  And how, an eternity later, mankind?s sins brought me to the height of anger, and I wiped them out and started over.  Did you know that mankind is very consistent with how it advances through time?  Oh, yes..."

A smile crosses my face.  Everything?s going to be just fine.  The name I?d picked out before wouldn?t fit anymore, though.

"Alright, sweetheart.  I?m going to call you...Yukari.  Yes, Yukari.  That?s good.  Do you like that?"  It?s really going to work.  I shouldn?t worry so much.  This will work.  It will.  It has to.

"I?m your mother, Shinki."
« Last Edit: March 18, 2010, 09:00:15 AM by Hawk »

Hawk

  • Babababa~
Re: Eternal Border - a Touhou Reimagining
« Reply #1 on: July 26, 2009, 12:42:57 PM »
Chapter 1 ? Compression

In the land of Gensokyo, a few miles from Town, existed its oldest building: the Hakurei Shrine.  Though, for being a place of worship, its average attendance was depressingly low.  Its normal patrons?not that they donated?could more closely be associated with the types of deviants religious organizations have been known to condemn.  But the resident shrine maiden accepted her impoverished lot in life.

Accepted isn't quite the right word.

It was more like how cancer patients feel about their mortality, or how a wife thinks her husband is cheating on her.  She didn't consider herself greedy, but she and the shrine needed funds to live, so it was only natural she felt monetary hunger pangs.

So no, it's really nothing like acceptance.  More like obsession.

It stuck around in the back of her head while she prepared tea, while she fought the monster in her gardens, or while she swept the stairs in front of the shrine, which is what she was doing just then.

Shh...

Shh...

Shh...


The broom moved back and forth rhythmically, like a pendulum.  It had been cold lately?too cold for late spring, and it felt to her like each swing of the broom was counting down to something big happening.  As the shrine maiden of Hakurei, she had certain gifts, like a knack for omens, as well as an all-too-familiar tinge in her gut letting her know someone had just entered the shrine grounds.

I wonder what she wants today.  It?s always something.  Yesterday it was a basket.  The day before it was some spices.  Why can?t she just buy them herself in Town?  It?s not like she?s poor, what with all the jobs she does for people.  She?s just greedy, is all.  And I never get any of it back, and?

"Reimu!"

The shrine maiden?s head snapped to attention.  There she was, resident witch of Gensokyo, closing the distance rapidly.

"Marisa."

"How?s it going?" she said, stopping in front of her.

"What do you want?"

"Just wanted to hang out, you know.  Don?t be like that.  We?re best friends!" the witch said, smirking.

"We?re not friends."

"Well," Marisa said, "then, of all the people who are not your friends, I?m still the best."

Reimu sighed and placed her broom against the shrine wall.

"Let?s have tea," she said.

"Sake?" the witch countered.

"Tea."  Reimu turned to go back into the shrine, but was stopped by a hand on her shoulder holding her back.  She turned around to see a worried Marisa.

"Reimu," the tone was unusual for her.  It was scared; almost apologetic.  "I saw...well, I mean, you know my recent stuff?"

"The teleportation stuff?"

"Yeah, well.  I couldn?t quite get it to work, so I went with something similar.  Like, a view crystal.  You know, let?s you see anywhere you want.  I figure the ideas are similar, so I?d start with something simpler..."

"And...?"  Reimu had a horrible feeling in her gut.  Marisa was annoying, but she wasn?t stupid.  If she was worried...

"Sure you don?t wanna get some sake instead?"

"What is it, Marisa!?"

Silence.

"I got it working," she started slowly.  "I saw Town, I saw inside the shrine, I thought it would be cool to see under the lake.  You know, see the fish and plants and stuff."  Another moment of silence.  "I felt something.  Some...magical presence near the lake.  I looked around...until I saw her."

"Her?" Reimu said.  There were only a few her?s that could make Marisa act like this, and none of them was someone Reimu wanted to deal with.

"I wasn?t sure, but then I saw the book," Marisa said, biting her lip.  "I?d recognize that book anywhere, you know that."

That settled it.

"Alice?" Reimu said.

"Yeah."

"Are you su?"  She stopped herself, realizing what Marisa had just said.  "I...see.  We need to not panic.  Let?s have some tea."

This was really, really bad.



Reimu placed the cup down on the table in front of Marisa, who had by now regained most of her carefree luster.

"Can?t we at least spike the tea?" she whimpered.

Ignoring her, Reimu sat down herself and, cupping her glass with both hands, took a small, slow sip.

"Where?s the goat?" the witch said, resigning herself to her sober fate and taking a sip herself.

"Passed out in the garden.  Where else?"

Marisa snorted.  "You should put her to work.  Sweat the booze out of her."

"She helps...sometimes," Reimu said, shrugging.  "Genji was due for cleaning, and you know how much of a pain it is to clean his underside.  Well, no more problems there anymore, see?  It?s like, she?ll do stuff that requires one really strong motion, and nothing else."

"She?s probably why you never get any donations," Marisa retorted.  "No one wants to visit the shrine with the little girl rapist."

"She?s not a rapist," Reimu said, primarily out of duty.

"But she might be one day."

The shrine maiden didn?t respond.  The two sat there in silence for a few minutes, taking in the simple peace of drinking tea.  A gust of cold wind flew through an open window and bathed the two in chills.

"God damn..." Marisa said, rubbing her arms.  "Shouldn?t it have warmed up a while ago?  Even the hot tea is no match for this shit."

"Mother Nature?s a fickle woman, or something..." Reimu said halfheartedly.

"Maybe...maybe she?s changed!" Marisa shouted suddenly, causing Reimu?s eyes to open wide.

"M?Mother Nature!?"

"Alice!"  Marisa seemed to catch herself getting too excited?she was halfway to standing?and slowly sat back down.  "I mean, you know.  We fucked her up pretty bad last time.  I mean, we thought she was dead!"

"Yes..." Reimu said, "but usually people want revenge in situations like this.  It?s a classic story."

"You didn?t see it," the witch muttered, averting her gaze.

"You?re right.  I didn?t," she said.  "But, Marisa, if we go in there with that kind of attitude, we could both die.  There?s a difference between forgiveness and stupidity."

"But we?re going to do something, right?"

"...Yes."

"Together?"

A slight smile crossed Reimu?s face.  "Yes."

Relief washed over Marisa?s face.  "Alright!  When are we leaving?"

"You know how I do things.  Sunset."

"Fair enough," Marisa said.  "Then I?ll be back then.  I?ve got some stuff to prepare.  Oh, and..."  She picked up the cup her tea had been in.  "...gonna borrow this, alright?"



Truthfully, Reimu had always felt that the existence of the shrine gardens was slightly redundant.  Gensokyo, barring the occasional mishap, was the most peaceful place in the world, at least in Reimu?s eyes.  Having an area specifically designed to be serene seemed like way too much work for way too little payoff.  That said, she took care of it, as it was part of her job.

The grass was certainly nice to walk on, and, she supposed, to sleep on, given the consistency with which Suika Ibuki, resident oni, found herself passed out on it.  But Reimu knew?despite her childish appearance or intoxicated stupidity?she was the most powerful creature in Gensokyo.  She once claimed she could smash the Youkai Mountain with a single punch, and Reimu couldn't deny the plausibility.

She walked up to the body lying prostrate on the ground and gave it a little nudge with her foot.  "Suika," she said softly.  "Suika."  The kicks got a bit rougher.  "Suika!"  Bam!  "Deva."  Bam!  "Goat!"

"Not a goat!"  Suika squealed, grabbing the leg kicking her and craning her neck to see under Reimu?s robe.  "Tasty..."

Flush with a mix of anger and embarrassment, Reimu wretched her leg from of the oni?s grip, nearly losing her balance in the process.

"Suika!"

She began pushing herself up.  "As a...watermelon...I...I am naturally attshracted, you sh..see, ah..."  She swayed back and forth upon standing.  "...natchally attracted to other fruit!  Like...cherries..."  She extended an arm towards Reimu?s chest, which was quickly intercepted by Reimu?s own hand.

Holding it inches away from her bosom, Reimu slit her eyes at the oni.  "Suika!"

The stare down lasted a few seconds before Suika pulled her arm back.  "Fine.  But one day we?ll have so much fun.  Oh, but you need to be wary of getting...addicted.  It ruins people, you know."

"Yeah."

Suika sat down on the ground and pulled out her purple gourd.  It was one of the treasures of the oni, given to her when she became a deva.  It never ran out of sake and was, Reimu thought, a contender for world's least useful invention-slash-magical artifact, right up there with Marisa's "chair extender" and "water stabilizer" creations.  Suika brought it up to her mouth and took a few deep gulps.  "So, what?s up?"

"I?ll be leaving tonight to take care of something," she said.  "I want you to look after the shrine."

"Ooohhh?"  She raised an eyebrow.  "This must be a pretty something something, huh?"  Reimu stayed silent.  "Right...right...so, when do I dig a grave?"

"Probably...noon tomorrow...ish.  But I wouldn?t worry; she wouldn?t leave bodies."

Suika took another large gulp from her gourd.  "Who?"

"Alice."

"You sure?"

"Marisa says she?s certain.  I believe her."

Suika put her gourd down and thought for a moment.  It was always unsettling when she got contemplative, even when the alternative was sexual harassment.

"Was it locked?"

"No idea.  Didn?t ask."

"That?s probably important," the oni said.  "If it isn?t, you?re fucked, and not by me, and that?s the problem."

"We did it last time," she retorted.

"Ugh..." Suika groaned, shaking her head.  The shrine maiden got a bit red in the face; there were few things more infuriating than being talked down to by a drunk good-for-nothing.  "Last time was her first time," she continued.  "An adult can climb mountains, a toddler can barely walk.  Both have legs.  That book has the power to undo creation."

"How can a youkai get that kind of power?" Reimu asked.

"She?s not just a youkai.  She?s God?s daughter.  You know, God?  Creation?  All that shit?  And it?s not her power, it?s the book?s."

"So we just have to get the book."

"Just..." Suika snorted.  Suddenly, her eyes opened wide.  "Wait!"  She held forward both her arms.  Attached to her wrists were chains about two foot in length.  At the end of the chain on her right wrist was a small pyramid, and at the end of the left was a sphere.  "Do you know what these are?"

"I thought they were just decorations," Reimu said, unamused.

Suika grinned wide.  "Don?t tell anyone, but they?re amplifiers.  Not that I?m not the strongest in all of Gensokyo without them, mind, but they help.  This one," she said, pointing at the sphere, "is for diffusion, and this one," now pointing at the pyramid, "is for compression.  See?"

"Yes, but I?m not sure?"

"And this one," the oni shouted, turning around to show her long hair.  At the end, holding all the strands together, was one last chain, at the end of which was a cube.  "This one is the most important.  It means that no matter how thin spread I get, no matter how big I make myself, no matter how much I fuck with my density, I'm still me.  Suika is Suika."

She reached around and grabbed the chain, and with one slight yank, freed it.  She walked over to just in front of Reimu.  She craned her neck up.  "Bend down a bit, yeah?"  Reimu did as she was asked.  She felt the chain slide around her neck?it was cold?and back around.  Then there was a slight glow as Suika reduced the density of the topmost link, placed it through the link connected to the cube, and compressed it again, creating one complete chain.  She then grabbed the cube and held it up just in front of Reimu's eyes.

"Listen.  The grimoire can create and uncreate things," Suika said softly.  "This cube locks your existence into place."  Reimu's eyes were glued on the cube.  It wasn't altogether too remarkable to look at, but there was just something about it.  It seemed to be throbbing...pounding, like a heart.  No...that was her own heart, beating hard enough to cause her vision to jitter.  She felt hot, uncomfortable, itchy.  Her breathing became deeper and more rapid.  Sweat started to trickle down her cheeks, causing her to become acutely aware of the warmth of her face compared to the coolness of the areas of sweat the wind ran over.  She felt compressed, tight, muffled, and all she wanted was to scream; scream with ecstasy, and rage, and duty, and anxiety, and confusion, and all the other things inside of her.

"S?Sui...ka...what...ah!"  She fell back on her rear and instinctively kicked out, catching Suika in the stomach.  The oni's hand had found its way in between her legs, and had begun rubbing something very precious to her.

"You...you bitch!" she screamed, done with the world of don't-use-these-words.  She was shaking violently, fear and excitement all rolled into one.

"You're so cute!" Suika squealed joyfully.  "You get my blood burning.  Oh, but for real:  That cube will protect your existence.  It's just that I've been wearing it so long...it probably picked up a little bit of me on the way.  Won't hear me complaining, though."

Too angry to even speak, Reimu got up and began storming out of the gardens.

"Also," Suika shouted after her, "that'll only work for you, cherry!  The snake'll have to find some other way to be!  Don't die a virgin!"

Reimu turned her head.  "Screw you!"

"Anytime!"

And that was how Reimu Hakurei, Maiden of the Border, began her journey.

Hawk

  • Babababa~
Re: Eternal Border - a Touhou Reimagining
« Reply #2 on: July 26, 2009, 12:43:52 PM »
Chapter 2 ? Warm Whispers

Age will consume me.

"In Gensokyo, there exists a door.  Normal people can't find it, but if they did, they would run away.  That is the effect of the door.  A fear.  A deep, profound anxiety."

Illness will consume me.

"Well, that's because they see their future.  All mortals eventually die, and they're afraid of that.  It seems silly to us, but you should understand that they don't know how nice it is here."

Death will consume me.

"Haha!  Don't let Lady Yuyuko hear you say that.  No, I'm afraid that humans are only allowed here once they've become ghosts.  Then we welcome them to Hakugyokurou.  If we let them in before that...well, it wouldn't be very good.

Separation will consume me.

"Because...humans need the mystery of death.  It allows them to do things, and live their lives productively.  You know when Lady Yuyuko sends you on an errand and gives you a time limit?  It's kind of like that."

Responsibility will consume me.

Youmu Konpaku opened her eyes.  Her meditations had been fruitless these past few weeks.  Visions of her father kept interfering.  A bad omen, she thought.

She was sitting cross-legged on the grass in the gardens of Hakugyokurou, the land of the dead.  On the ground in front of her were her two swords, arranged in an 'X', both blades pointing towards her.

"Swords are tools used to kill and save, Youmu.  The blades touch to represent that those ideas are linked.  Traveling down either path, ignoring the other, results in failure and damnation.  The blades are pointed at you so that you never forget your place.  Just as you kill, so can you be killed.  Just as you save, so can you be saved.  You're not immortal, and you're not perfect."

She stood up and picked up her belt, ritualistically placed off to the side, and buckled it back around her waist.  Housing her swords in their sheathes, she took a deep breath.  At the end of each sheath was tied an Eternal Princess, a lavender flower unique to Hakugyokurou.  It was said that a single whiff of its smell would cause a mortal to die in the most pleasant way possible.

As official gardener of the dead, all of her duties of the day had been completed except one.  She began a brisk walk towards the largest tree in the area.  It was the Saigyou Ayakashi, a towering cherry blossom that had never bloomed.  It didn't die, but every spring its branches were just as empty as in the winter.

Standing a few yards away from the base, she unsheathed the longer of her two swords, the Roukan, and made a quick and powerful slash towards the trunk.

Tiiiiiiing...

The sword connected with something midair, and bounced off, emitted a pure tone that hung in the air for a few seconds.  The barrier distorted just enough to be visible with the naked eye?like looking through glass?before it disappeared again.  The stoic young girl nodded once and headed inside.



"How are the flowers?" the woman sitting at the table asked.  She was thin and pale, pitiable except for her lively attitude.

"Acceptable, my Lady," Youmu said, bowing once before sitting at the table herself.

"I see..." Yuyuko said, letting her eyes wonder around the room.  "And the cherry blossoms?"

"Acceptable, my Lady."

"And the barrier?"

"Strong as ever, my Lady."  Youmu's head was tilted down, staring holes the table.

"What color are my eyes?"  Yuyuko locked her fingers together and cradled her chin on them, smiling slightly.  A moment passed.

"Red, my Lady."

"Oh, quite right.  Quite right.  Let's see..."  She hummed a nonsensical tune while thinking.  "Do I have any birthmarks?"  An even longer moment.

"Not that I am aware of."  Youmu's cheeks were tinted ever so slightly crimson.  And then, like a bullet, "My Lady!"

"What's the second perfect number?"

"28, my Lady."

"What's black and white and red all over?"

"The Prismriver Sisters, my Lady."

"Hmm..."  Yuyuko craned her head back and studied the ceiling, seemingly satisfied.  "How many fledglings came today?"

"None, my Lady."

"None?"  the frail young woman's head snapped back down.

"None, my Lady."

"Well...why!?" she said a bit louder than she'd wanted to.  The gardener was silent, as though trying to find the right words.

"No one...died...my Lady."

"You expect me to belie?"  She stopped herself, took a large breath, and began rubbing her temple.  "The last time this happened was before you were born.  Long, long before.  Before Youki, even."  Youmu started slightly at the use of her father's name, but only slightly.

"Something's wrong...I have a bad feeling, Youmu."

"Such a wise conclusion, Queen of Ghosts."

Even Yuyuko couldn't see Youmu move.  Like lightning, from her seat at the table to the corner of the room behind Yuyuko.  One of her hands was clutching the mysterious assailant's hair from behind, and the other was holding the shorter of her two swords against her neck.

"Your Majesty, I submit a most humble request," the intruder seethed.  "If you could call the bitch off, we'll be able to talk like adults."

Yuyuko smirked at the girl.  A few seconds passed.  The smirk turned into a scowl.

"You're not human."

"No.  At least, it won't be that easy to kill me.  Now?ah!  That sword is...rather sharp?if you would, Your Majesty."  The girl opened her hand, and from it a small sphere of light flew out, which grew and grew.  It started taking shape.  Yuyuko recognized it.  A book made of pure light.

And then Yuyuko was falling.

LoveLaughterLoveTheManIsThereLoveKissSexCompleteLoveDeadNo!
BloodBookMetalTastesLikeMetalBookLightBookBookBook


She hadn't been dizzy in so long.  Since she died.  Surprisingly, she could only think how she should've hit the floor ages ago.  Instead, her head was cradled in someone's hands.  They weren't warm, and they were awkward.  They were nothing like a mother's caring touch, but they were Youmu's, and they were full of love.

"My Lady!  My Lady!"  She was screaming.  Yuyuko had never heard her scream.  It was interesting.

"Give me...a few minutes, alright?" she said softly, and then, utilizing all the powers at her disposal, transported Youmu as far away as she possibly could.  With a loud thunk her head hit the wooden floor.

"Alice," she said.

"You remember!" Alice squealed, now sitting on the other side of the table.  The book of light had completely disappeared.  Yuyuko pushed herself up.  She wasn't in pain.

"I remember your name, and that I used to know you," she said.  "I think you...killed me."

"You're on the right track," Alice said, "but not quite."  She was smiling happily.  "I knew showing you the grimoire would knock something loose!"  Yuyuko was not amused.

"We were friends!" Alice shouted.  "Or...at least, not enemies!  Look," she said, "for the past couple hundred of years or whatever, I've been bumming around, doing my own thing, you know.  Just doing whatever.  But then I see some bad stuff going down, something that directly affects you."  She pointed at Yuyuko.  "And I'm like, I gotta tell her, or she'll hate me forever."

"So...what is it?"

"A murderer!" she shouted.  "And a witch!  The witch put up a...eh..."  She kept twirling her hands in the air.  "Siphon!  You know, sucks up all the souls headed here.  Reverses it, and uses them to power something!"

"Something?"

"Dark...magic!  Evil stuff.  I dunno.  So they're a duo, right?  Working together to power this bad thing."

"Who are they?"

Alice held up two fingers and pointed to the first.  "The witch: Marisa Kirisame."  She pointed at the second.  "The murderer: Reimu Hakurei."

Yuyuko stood up.  "I'm going to go make some tea, would you like some?"

"Oh, yes please!"

It took her a few minutes longer than it should have, since it was normally Youmu's job, but she was?or at least could have been?a yamato nadeshiko, after all.  Eventually, she returned, placing a cup delicately in front of the odd girl.

"You're obviously lying," she said, returning to her own seat with a cup for herself.

"That's only half-true."

Yuyuko started feeling slightly dizzy again.  "But...which is which..."

"Is up to you," Alice said, taking a sip.

The ghost queen began rubbing her forehead again.  "I..."

"You used to say that to me all the time."

"We...were friends..." she whispered.  "Or, at least...not enemies."

"And day after day you'd tell me stories full of the most ridiculous bullshit, expecting me to piece together the truth from the lies."  Yuyuko couldn't speak.  "Hahahahaha....  See?  See?  That's what you get!  Karma, Yuyu, karma.  I've been waiting centuries to see that look on your face!  And here's the kicker!"  Alice got up and ran around the table, a demented grin spread wide.  She fell to her knees and skidded the last few inches.  Eliciting a faint squeal from the normally calm queen, she grabbed her head and pulled it roughly to her face, placing Yuyuko's ear directly against her mouth.  Her lips were cracked, and it was warm when she whispered.

"If you figure out the mystery, I'll tell you what's beneath the Saigyou Ayakashi."

WRATHIE_Beatrice

  • soujiko x yousuke is my otp
  • I will repeat it, in RED
Re: Eternal Border - a Touhou Reimagining
« Reply #3 on: July 26, 2009, 01:56:37 PM »
1. Raping canon offends you.  Here there be artistic license.
2. You don't like icky things like cursing and sexy-sex-sexy things.  (Don't worry, I've read the stickies.)

Now, before I go further.

read the rules at the top of the page and move on.

Defiant of Shrine Maiden Ver. 2

Hawk

  • Babababa~
Re: Eternal Border - a Touhou Reimagining
« Reply #4 on: July 26, 2009, 08:55:37 PM »
Mmm...only one troll?  Well, thanks for trying anyway.

So, uh.  Let me clear up a few things that seemed to have confused you.  When I said "Raping canon", it was not my intention to imply I was going to throw the Touhou canon to the ground, hold a knife to its neck, be empowered by its screams, ruin it for marriage, and post that here in violent, sexy, gut-wrenching, NSFW detail.  My story will be massively different from the games' canon, so I was using jargon to try to imply just how unlike its original it would be.  Let's look at a few examples:

  • Yeah, the sequel totally raped the epic story the first one set up.
  • I was playing BlazBlue the other day against some D-spamming Nu scrubs.  I've mostly figured out how to deal with that, but then a real Nu player stepped up.  Rape.
  • So then I killed her family and raped her.

One of these things is different from the rest.  This is an exercise left up to the reader.

Also, when I explicitly say "Don't worry, I've read the stickies," in immediate response to a sentence that could very well imply I'm going to break one of the two rules explicitly made for this subforum, and then someone replies to that saying "Read the stickies," I gotta say, I'm impressed.

Well, assuming [this thread doesn't get modded/I don't get banned] for not breaking the rules, chapter 3 should be up in the next couple of days.

Re: Eternal Border - a Touhou Reimagining
« Reply #5 on: July 26, 2009, 09:56:01 PM »
Looks good so far. I find the "Shinki created everything instead of just Makai" aspect to be particularly interesting. Does this take place anywhere particular in game-chronology? Or will All Be Revealed In Time?

Hawk

  • Babababa~
Re: Eternal Border - a Touhou Reimagining
« Reply #6 on: July 26, 2009, 10:25:02 PM »
Hard to say if it really exists anywhere, considering Suika's already at the shrine, but I'm doing my version of PCB.  If you need a place to "ground" yourself, so to speak, at the beginning, then let's say it starts sometime inbetween MS and EoSD.

Re: Eternal Border - a Touhou Reimagining
« Reply #7 on: July 26, 2009, 10:41:39 PM »
Yeah, that's what I figured, Suika's presence threw me off ... I suppose you'll want to account for why she's there, then, I guess.

Hawk

  • Babababa~
Re: Eternal Border - a Touhou Reimagining
« Reply #8 on: August 23, 2009, 04:04:55 PM »
Well, assuming [this thread doesn't get modded/I don't get banned] for not breaking the rules, chapter 3 should be up in the next couple of days WITHIN A MONTH.
:V :V :V





Chapter 3 ? The Ever Intriguing and Various Boundary of Hot and Cold

Gensokyo's one and only major body of water, Fairy Lake, bordered only a few minutes' walk from the Hakurei Shrine.  There was even a nice path cleared out, as it was a fairly popular picnic spot.  Families would come at noon, set up, eat their lunch, and wait for the fairies to appear.

Fairies were mostly a mischievous, rambunctious species, though nuances changed from locale to locale.  The forest fairies, for example, loved leading humans astray, never to be heard from again.  They were nocturnal, though, and quite afraid of bright lights.  This had, on occasion, convinced groups of children to test their courage by spending the night in the forest with nothing but lanterns.  This never ended well.

The mountain fairies, conversely, were incredibly shy.  They lived mostly in caves along cliffs, where humans could never reach.  However, it had become common practice in recent years for engaged couples to travel up Youkai Mountain in hopes of catching a glimpse of one.  It was supposed to bring good luck to the marriage.

The lake fairies were the best of both worlds: friendly and outgoing.  More precisely, they were simply fascinated with humans, who built houses, had families, and did things other than have fun.  A lake fairy's daily life consisted of waking up, playing, maybe finding a daily mate, and going to sleep in the reeds along the water's edge.  If a fairy conceived, her day didn't change in the slightest.  In fact, generally new fairies were born during play, where they dropped abruptly into the lake.  About a day later, if they weren't eaten, they would rise from the water fully grown.  There was no concept of a parent-child relationship, anyone a fairy could see was a valid potential mate.

The lake fairies had the most fun when humans came to visit.  Many families would decide to picnic at the lake, timing it so that the fairies were awakening from their midday nap just as the family finished eating.  Whatever the humans wanted, the fairies would do.  All they cared about was having fun.  Sometimes they played catch with the children, sometimes they performed magic tricks, and sometimes they simply talked.  This would last until the humans left, or the sun set.

"Almost time," Reimu said, taking a seat at the edge of the lake.  The sun was half-obscured by now.  Marisa sat down beside her.

"I wouldn't mind having one for a pet," the witch said, lying back, resting her head on her hands.

"That's cruel and unusual."

"I'd treat it fine.  They're cute, kinda."

"They would just make a mess," Reimu said.

"Because obviously the goat is the epitome of cleanliness," Marisa replied.

"I'd want a dog."

"Dog, huh?"  Marisa thought for a moment.  "Kinda cute, I guess."

"Doesn't have to be," Reimu said.  "I don't really care how it looks.  I just like the idea of a loyal companion.  Someone who won't leave you behind."

"You should get one of those really big dogs," Marisa said, smiling and holding her hands wide.  "Like...ride it around Town."

"Genji'd get jealous," Reimu said, chuckling.

They sat in silence for a few minutes.  Intermittent cold breezes kept them from getting too comfortable.  Finally, Reimu stood up, patting off her backside.

"Just about time."  The sun had nearly disappeared past the horizon.  There were only a few fairies scattered about now.

"Well, don't mind me," Marisa said, staying lying down.  "Do your thing."

Grunting affirmation, Reimu backed up a few steps to give herself some room.  In her hand was a long wooden staff.  At its end were tied two zigzagged paper strands.  This was her gohei, the sacred weapon of the shrine maidens of Gensokyo.

She closed her eyes and inhaled as deep as she could until her lungs were about to burst.

Do not fear, my precious land...

She felt the chill wind whip around her.  It invaded without regard.  It ran through her clothes and up her nose.  It cleared her brain.  It opened her mind's eye.

For the wind is my lover...

It gave no regard to manners or privacy; nothing so human.  She shivered as it caressed her, felt her, touched her, adored her, like no mortal could.

And from its arms, high above you...

In the twilight, the edge of day and night, the shrine maiden of Gensokyo could call upon the power of the Border.  The very first creation of the mortal world was separating the light from the dark.  It was this power of the gods that coursed through the Hakureis' veins.

I will?

"What the fuck?"  It was Marisa.  "Reimu!  Reimu!"

She opened her eyes, sharply exhaling the air stored in her lungs.  It was fortunate she did so, since the blade of a very sharp sword was pressed against her neck not a moment later, forcing her to inhale sharply in shock.

"You will tell me where the great door is," a voice came from behind her, "or I will kill you and follow your ghost there!"

Marisa was frozen, staring helplessly towards the shrine maiden.  Reimu understood; none of Marisa's tricks had the...finesse required for a hostage situation.  But that was fine, she thought.  She'd been through worse.

"I know a lot of doors.  Maybe you could specify?"

"I think you know," the voice said.  "You are the Hakurei, are you not?"

"My my," Reimu said.  Marisa's face slowly calmed, having picked up her tone.  "Are you not aware, then, of the penalties for threatening the Maiden of the Border?"

The assailant paused.  "No matter.  I am already dead."

"Oh...?"

"Ah?!"  The body behind her shook.  The hand holding the sword loosened its grip, and it fell into the grass softly.  Reimu walked away, massaging her neck.  She turned to see a young girl with short, white hair.  Her face was contorted in pain.

"What're you doing to her?" Marisa asked.

"She's not dead."

"Ah!  N-No.  Stop!  AHHHHHHH!!!"  Both the witch and the shrine maiden shirked a bit at the scream.  A faint white substance began flowing out of the girl, collecting in a ball above her.  Finally, she lost consciousness and fell to the ground.

"Did you...kill her?"

Reimu extended her hand to the sphere.  It floated over to her slowly.  "I don't know how," she said, "but this girl was only half dead.  I've separated those two parts.  Extraction can be a bit...painful, but she'll be fine."

"Huh."  Marisa nudged the body with her shoe.  "What's half-dead even mean?  Isn't that, like...I'm half good at...cooking, you know?  Or, like, I half beat you in chess."

"That's a stalemate," Reimu said.  She picked up the sword and admired its edge.  "I think we need to abort the mission tonight."

"Yeah..." the witch said, grimacing.  "What about her?"

"I think it's best if we rest here until she awakens."

"And if she tries to kill us again?"

Reimu sat down, finding a comfortable place in the grass.  The white sphere hovered over her.  "Ghosts are purely incorporeal beings.  They are able to affect things on the physical plane by exerting their spiritual power, but its influence is weak.  This is why ghosts elect to possess humans.  Having a physical medium augments their power by hundreds.  However, generally, the host and the parasite have desynchronized wills.  This makes sense: most people don't want to be possessed.  This girl, though, was effectively possessing herself.  This kind of harmony, well..."  She smiled.  "I'd love to see her spar with Suika."

"So she's just a normal girl now?" Marisa asked, taking a seat herself.

"I think she had another sword, think you could get that from her?" she said.  "I'm pretty tired from separating the two."

"Bullshit," the witch said, getting up.



She awoke suddenly, but kept her eyes closed, ascertaining the situation.  Her head buzzed in pain, and while she was consciously aware of who and where she was, there was still something odd.  The world was...different somehow.  She could immediately tell she'd been disarmed, but otherwise unharmed.  Opening one eye as barely as should could, she spied the dark, fuzzy visages of the two who had defeated her.  They were having a conversation.

No, that didn't matter.  She needed to help Lady Yuyuko!  She looked around as discreetly as she could.  There!  Even then, during early night, she could tell that glimmer was from her Roukan.  It lay to the side of one of them.  Unable to reach it, she knew she had no choice.  In one motion, she would have to get up, grab the sword, and run the shrine maiden through.  She'd had her chance.  Once the Maiden of the Border was gone, the other one would be easy to overpower.

"It's on the hat!"

"Then I'm afraid it doesn't count."

"Where's the law, huh?  Where?  Who says has it has to tie hair?"

"It's fine if you think that's a ribbon.  I just want you to be aware that you're not getting any points for it."

"Who's tallying points!?  What about the goat, huh?"

"Horns are like hair."

"Why do you always defend her!?"

"It's not an issue of defending!  I'll accept any real ribbons as a mark of beauty."

"She's a slut!"

"Don't get me started on the 'dirty little secrets' I know about you."

"Like hell you do.  Hold on a sec; gotta pee."

The one that wasn't the shrine maiden got up and walked off.  This was her chance.  She grit her teeth, focused on ignoring her throbbing headache, and pushed off the ground.  She instantaneously figured out what was different about the world.

She was heavy.

As soon as she had risen, she was back on the ground, awkwardly falling forward and landing on her face.  Her breathing was erratic, and she was shaking all over.  Never before had she been concerned for her own well-being, but this chilled her to the core.

She was heavy.

"Oh?" she heard above her.  "Morning, there."

"What is this!" she shouted, scrambling around on the ground.  She was flailing wildly, like a person who was suddenly thrown into water, but couldn't swim.  Reimu had to stifle a chuckle at the odd display.  "What have you done to me!"

"Calm down," Reimu said.  "You're exhausted.  Just give it a few minutes, okay?"

"WHAT IS THIS!" she screamed.  "I...I don't...WHAT DID YOU DO!  Lady Yuyuko!"

"Calm down," she said with a bit more stress.  "I'll explain everything in a minute."

"NO!  NO!  Lady Yuyuko, Lady Yuyuko, Lady Yuyuko..."

The shrine maiden scowled and sighed.  She grabbed a handful of the girl's hair and lifted her head up to look into her eyes.  There were tears flowing, and her face was beet red.

"Stop throwing a tantrum, child!" she growled.  With her other hand, she produced a glowing white orb.  "This is you, okay?  If you want it back, then shut up!"

"Me...?"  Her eyes grew wide.  She tried to swipe at it, but couldn't muster the coordination.  "ME!  ME!  GIVE IT BACK!  Lady Yuyuko, Lady Yuyuko!"

"I said SHUT UP!" Reimu shouted, shaking the girl's head by her hair.  "SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP!"

"Reimu."  Marisa placed a firm had on the shrine maiden's shoulder.  "Take a dip."

"But...it's night."

"Come on, who're you talking to, here?" she said, smiling.  "Trust me, yeah?"

"Ah...yeah..." she whispered, releasing her grip.  The girl fell to the ground, sobbing.  Like a zombie, she walked methodically towards the lake while simultaneously stripping off all her clothes, leaving them haphazardly in a trail.  Finally, she undid the ribbon in her hair, let it fall to the ground, and walked into the water.

Marisa knelt down and caressed the girl's short hair for a minute.  "There, there.  What's your name?"

"I...I..."  She sniffed loudly.  "I am Youmu Konpaku."

"I'm Marisa Kirisame.  It's nice to meet you, Youmu."

"C?Can I please have it back?" she asked.  "I...won't...do anything.  I swear!"

"C'mere," the witch said.  She sat down and pulled Youmu's back to her chest.  The girl was short enough that Marisa could rest her chin on her head.

"You look awfully young to be wielding such large swords."

"Please.  I really won't do anything.  Please."

"But then, I guess Reimu's the same, huh?  She's so young, yet she handles all these problems by herself.  Sometimes it all gets to be too much for her, and that's when I step in."

"I swear...I swear..."

"Who's Lady Yuyuko?"

"My Lady...the Queen of Hakugyokurou.  I need to protect her, but...but something could be happening to her right now!  Please..."

"How'd you get to be all the way over here, then?"

"It was Lady Yuyuko," Youmu said.  "She sent me all the way to the land of the living to protect me from the woman with the book of light."  She had stopped sobbing by now.

Marisa's breath caught in her throat and her eyes opened wide.  There was no doubt about it.  "I...see.  Well, when Reimu gets back, I'll talk to her about putting you back together again, okay?"

"Thank you."

"People like polite girls," the witch said.  "But somehow I don't think you're the submissive type."

"I submit wholeheartedly to Lady Yuyuko."

"Oh my, what a scandal."

"Eh?"

Marisa toyed with Youmu's hair, taking special note of the ribbon in her hair.  "I guess you swing that way, too."

"Huh?"

"It just wouldn't make any sense to wear a ribbon and a hat!  And I've gotta have the witch hat.  I'm a god damn witch!  This is stupid.  Reimu's stupid."

"I...I don't follow..."

"Nevermind."

They sat in silence for a few minutes.  In the moonlight, they could see Reimu swimming, cooling her body and mind.  Youmu rested against Marisa's chest, and a cool breeze flew through their bodies.

"Miss Kirisame?" Youmu asked suddenly.

"Marisa's fine."

"Ma...Marisa, then.  Could you turn me around a bit?  I still can't..."

"Oh, ah...sure?"  She inched her around until she could see her profile.

"That's fine," she said.  She pointed at a black bowtie on her chest, blushing slightly.  "Lady Yuyuko says this is cute, and you wouldn't have to give up the hat."

Marisa just stared at her for a moment.  "Uh...I...yes.  Yes, I see.  Yes, thank you.  I'll consider that.  Yes."

Holy shit that was cute.  Holy god damn fucking adorable.  Oh my god, oh my god.

"Uh, Youmu?"

"Yes?"

"I need to get up for a bit.  I'm gonna lay you down on your back, okay?"

"Alright."

She rested the girl down, making sure not to make eye contact.  Task complete, she briskly began walking toward the lake.

"Where are you going?" Youmu called.

"To take a dip."
« Last Edit: August 25, 2009, 08:11:02 PM by Hawk »

Kuma

  • Charismatic grizzly bear
  • 熊 熊 熊
Re: Eternal Border - a Touhou Reimagining
« Reply #9 on: August 26, 2009, 12:10:28 PM »
I like it. write moar plz.
Wotters gonna' wot


FinnKaenbyou

  • Formerly Roukanken
  • *
  • blub blub nya
Re: Eternal Border - a Touhou Reimagining
« Reply #10 on: August 26, 2009, 12:54:00 PM »
Oh god, your psycho Alice is incredible.

Also, MariYoumu OTP? o_O

Want to see where this ends up going. Keep it up.

Hawk

  • Babababa~
Re: Eternal Border - a Touhou Reimagining
« Reply #11 on: September 13, 2009, 06:07:22 AM »
Chapter 4 ? Karma

Marisa sat at the shore of the lake, shoes and socks off, letting her feet rest where the tide would barely cover them every few seconds.  She sighed lazily; between the chilling winds and having her life threatened, it'd been a while since the temperature was simply perfect, as it was now.  She noticed Reimu starting to head toward her, signaling the end of her swim.

She had noticed before: a necklace around the shrine maiden's neck.  Reimu hadn't?or perhaps couldn't have?removed it when she had stripped before.  It was a large chain with a cube; unmistakably the goat's.  She sighed again and fell backwards, resting her head on the grass and staring at the stars in the sky.



"Ugh, just get out!" the shrine maiden seethed.  "All you do is make a mess.  I'm trying to clean.  Get it?  Clean.  To put things in order.  To sweep, to dust, to stack, to put away!"

Marisa cocked her head.  All around her were piles and piles of books.

"Books are for reading," she said simply.

"Oh?" she said, reaching for one of the open books.  All around the edges of the pages were notes scribbled by the witch in front of her.  "Then why are you ruining them like this!?"

"They're wrong," she said.  "I'm just making corrections.  Like there," she said, nodding to where Reimu was pointing, "it says bamboo stalks are three parts wood and one part water.  Of course, it was shown years ago that bamboo is the only plant with a fire component, accounting for its incredibly fast rate of growth.  You should get some newer books."

"I don't care," Reimu said.  "Books are not truth, they're subsections of perceived truth.  This book is about what this magician thought bamboo was, see?"

"What's the point of out-of-date information?" the witch said.

Reimu clapped the book shut.  "Ask Miss Kamishirasawa in Town if you're really that ignorant.  Either way, get out!"

"Hellooooooooo!"

Both of the girls stopped and looked towards the door.  Someone was in front of the shrine.  They glanced at each other wordlessly, then headed outside.

It was a young girl about the age of ten in a sleeveless button-up shirt and purple skirt.  Her hair was long, almost to her feet.  There were chains attached to her wrists and belt, and a purple gourd at her side.  Most striking, however, were the two large spiral horns coming out of her head.

"Yo," she said, smiling and holding up one hand.  No one said anything.

"Huh," she said, taking a large drink from her gourd, using her arm to wipe her mouth.  "No wonder this place doesn't get any patrons.  So boring."

"I get enough patrons," Reimu muttered.

Suika walked quietly up to the donation box and, without hesitation, ripped off the top.  "No, you don't."

"You can't?"

"Auuuuuuuuugggggggghhhhhhhhh..." the horned girl groaned loudly and suddenly.  "It's so hot.  I'm going inside."

"Just hold on a second!" Reimu said, placing her palm firmly on the girl's forehead, stopping her.  "First off, it's not hot, second..."  She paused and sniffed the air.  "Is that alcohol?  Are you drinking?"

"And I'd rather not pass out in this HOT weather," she said.

"Who are you?" the shrine maiden said.

The girl sighed, grabbing Reimu's wrist and removing her hand.  "Suika Ibuki, and I'm going to be living here."

"Heh," the shrine maiden said.  "Oh really?  And what makes you think?what?"  Marisa had begun tugging on Reimu's sleeve.

"Oni," was all she said.

Reimu looked at the horns, then back at the witch.  "Oni?"

"Oni."

She glanced at the horns again, then at the girl's smirking face.  "Oni?"

"Oni," Suika said.

"Let's talk inside."



"Well?"

Marisa's head snapped up.  Reimu was standing there, wet and naked, holding her arms out in expectation.

"Ah, sec."  The witch rummaged through her pockets and pulled out some dry leaves.

"Reagents, for this?"

"Subject gets a bad rash otherwise.  I dunno."  She rolled them between her hands, grinding them to bits, muttered a few words, and threw them toward Reimu.  Instantly, all the water droplets jumped off her skin.  The shrine maiden checked her self over once, then proceeded to put her outfit back on.

"I feel I should be more embarrassed," she said.

Marisa lay back down and closed her eyes, smiling.  "Want me to get naked too?"

"Not really."

Finished dressing, she sat down next to the witch.  She said nothing for several minutes.

"Sorry," she whispered finally.

"Her name's Youmu.  She's sleeping now."

"I see."

"You know Hakugyokurou?"

Reimu craned her head back, closing her eyes.  "She's from there, huh?  It's where spirits go until they're ready for the Yama.  At least the ghost half makes sense now."

"Apparently, Alice threatened her mistress."

"Lady Yuyuko."

"Yeah."

"So, wait," Reimu said, "that means the door must be near Fairy Lake."

"Which is why I saw her there."

"So we'll just have to look for it in the morning."

"You won't be able to find it."

Startled, both of them shot up and peered around for the cause of the voice, back to back.  Reimu spotted her first.  She was standing on all fours, peering at them with a sly grin.  From behind her came two cat tails, swaying slowly in the moonlight.

"Who are you?" the shrine maiden shouted.

"Just a stray.  Call me Chen."

"Okay, Chen.  Why are you here?"

The nekomata curled her tails over her head.  "Two reasons.  One,"  She jiggled one of the tails.  "I'm supposed to show you where the great door is.  And two,"  She jiggled the other.  "Surprise ending."

Reimu's and Marisa's eyes met.  They would need to be prepared.

"Alright," the shrine maiden said.  "Where's the door?"

Neither saw Chen reach into any pockets, but somehow she suddenly had something in her hand.  She tossed it towards Reimu, who deftly caught it.  It looked a bit odd, but there was no mistaking it; it was a compass.

"Follow that," the nekomata said.  "It's not far from here."

She passed it to Marisa, who looked it over herself.  "And two?"

"This is outside my official job," she said, "but, you know that girl you found?"

"Youmu," Marisa said.

"Right, right.  Well, she attacked you, and that's kinda our bad.  She even threatened to kill you."  She scratched her forehead sheepishly.  Reimu noticed her nails were long and incredibly sharp.  "Obviously, you had to defend yourself.  No one wants to see the Maiden of the Border dead, after all.

"But," she said, waving a single finger back and forth in admonition?her eyes were slit and her smile was gone, "what you did to her was very, very mean.  What you did was worse than killing her.  And, as her best friend, I'm going to beat the hell out of you until you understand one very simple truth."

"Marisa!" Reimu shouted, but gasped as she watched the witch blink out of existence.  No, she thought, Marisa didn't disappear.  She had been moved someplace.  The grass, the lake, the sky; they were all gone.  They were in some sort of large dome.  The walls pulsed with purple veins, giving the entire place an eerie, alien feel.  There was no sound but her own breathing, and the tip-tapping of Chen's feet as she walked casually toward her.

"What is it?" she spat out, trying to hide her fear with false bravado.  She clenched her fists to stop them from shaking.

"The punishment must fit the crime.  Always."

The shrine maiden thought quickly.  She didn't have her gohei; it was left near Youmu.  She only had a few seals since they were only planning on fighting Alice.  Since it wasn't twilight, her boundary powers were weak, but she figured she could still handle a single youkai.  She just had to wait.

"Hah!"  The nekomata sprung forward incredibly fast, catching Reimu by surprise.  She leaned back just as Chen's nails flew through where her head had been.  She lost her balance and fell on her butt.  Chen sat down on her chest and clutched the sides of Reimu's face. 

"I'm probably going to be punished big time for this, so I'm going to make it count," she whispered.

"Bad call getting this close," Reimu said.  She extended her arms from her side, through her borders.  The arms reappeared through holes in reality above Chen, grabbed her by the neck, and pulled her off the shrine maiden.  She hit the ground hard, skidding a few feet.

"Snazzy," the nekomata said, pushing herself up.  "Didn't know you could gap like that.  Sure hope that wasn't your trump card."

She lunged at Reimu again.  The shrine maiden had stood up.  When Chen was in range, she threw two punches into two borders at her sides, which appeared on either side of the nekomata's face.  Much to the shrine maiden's surprise, Chen ducked them both, bringing her tails up.  One wrapped itself tightly around each wrist.

"Whoops," Chen said, tugging on the wrists.  "Now you're caught."  Reimu was being pulled at from both sides.  She gritted her teeth and pulled back as hard as she could.

"Haha," Chen said.  "You need to work out or something."  She pulled tightly against the wrists, causing Reimu to cry out in pain.

"You know, it's funny," the nekomata said.  "This is just like what happened to Youmu.  Except," she frowned, "I'm not going to actually rip you in two."  She suddenly let got of both wrists and shot forward.  She crouched and brought her leg up, kicking Reimu in the neck as hard as she could.

She fell to the ground, wheezing and coughing frantically, clutching her throat with both hands.

"Look at you," Chen said, walking up and kicking her in the side roughly.  "You're not even bleeding yet.  Well."  She grabbed Reimu by the hair and lifted her up.  She clenched her fist and punched her in the side of the face.  The shrine maiden stumbled backwards and slammed into the side of the dome.  It was cold in contrast to her hot skin.  Blood began dripping out of one nostril.

"There we go!"  Chen flew forward again, connecting another punch to her gut.  She crumpled to the ground, breathing erratically.  The nekomata rolled her roughly onto her back and grabbed her shoulders.  She pressed each of her nails deeply into them, enough to draw blood.  Then she began drawing her fingers down the arm, creating five lines of red on each.  Reimu screamed, unable to do anything against the sheer strength of the youkai.

"I'm a little jealous," Chen said.  "Why, with all these stripes, you're gonna look like a tiger."

And then, from out of nowhere, something much more powerful than either of them hit Chen in the side, forcing her off Reimu, rolling several feet before coming to a stop.  The shrine maiden looked up and, through the tears in her eyes, saw the figure.

She was in ceremonial garb, a regal robe with many magical markings on it.  Her cold, strict eyes looked down on the shrine maiden with indifference.  She seemed very tall, and from behind her came nine long and beautiful fox tails.  Surely this had to be a kitsune of great power.

"Thank you," Reimu whispered.

"Shut up," came the reply.  "Chen, care to explain?"

"You wanted to do it too, Ran!" the nekomata yelled.  "Think about what she did to Youmu!"

"Ugh."  She knelt down and grabbed one of Reimu's arms, causing her to shriek.  "Be quiet," she growled.  She looked it over.  The cuts were about half a foot each.  "Well," she said, "this'll be a good lesson for you.  You'll be in pain for a while, and hopefully that'll burn into your mind that everyone, regardless of what they're supposed to do, acts from the heart."

She stood up.  "Come on, Chen."  She extended her hand.  "Give me the orb you took."

Pouting, Chen offered up a shining purple sphere about two inches in diameter.  "Am I in trouble?"

Ran grunted uncomfortably.  "Well, you weren't going to kill her.  And, I guess you managed pretty good use of the gap orb."

"Really!?"  Chen smiled at her with bright eyes.

"But, seriously," the kitsune said, "wash that blood off your nails.  It's gross."

"Okay!"

"We're going home."

Chen waved happily at the shrine maiden.  "Bye, Reimu!"

Ran lifted the orb above her head.  "A word of advice, Maiden.  If you can't even beat my weak little servant, what chance do you think you'll have against Alice?"

They blinked out of existence, and the dome shattered like glass in Reimu's vision.  And then she was back on the grass, where she quickly lost consciousness.

Hawk

  • Babababa~
Re: Eternal Border - a Touhou Reimagining
« Reply #12 on: September 15, 2009, 08:55:22 AM »
Made some minor, minor edits based on critiques I received.





Chapter 5 ? Half Empty, Half Full

"I am gonna fucking kill that cat, so help me god.  I'm gonna rip both those tails out one at a god damn time.  Rip her ears off, watch her bleed.  Stick her in a fucking furnace."

Reimu could hear Marisa's voice.  She was bandaging her arm.  The pain from before had subsided to the point where she made a conscious decision to keep her eyes closed so she could listen more.

"Hang her from a tree branch upside down and shoot her in the head again and again and again.  Rape her with a fucking...stalactite.  A really spiky one.  With all kinds of pus and maggots oozing from it."

"Marisa, you're not...no, stop it.  Please.  This is no way to dress a wound.  It's all wrong.  You're making it worse."

"Rip that earring out.  Heh.  Repeatedly...poke her eyes with a knife..."

"Do you want the Hakurei to get better or not?  Just...just go!  Gather some of the nuts that drop from those trees."

"Why?"

"So you're busy doing something away from here!"

Reimu couldn't hold it in.  She stifled a chuckle and opened her eyes.

It was still nighttime, and she could hear the water of Fairy Lake.  Youmu's and Marisa's faces were covering most of the starry sky in her vision.  She was lying on her back on the cool grass.  She glanced to both sides and saw some white wrappings around her shoulders.

"How long've I been out?" she muttered, still smiling.

"About twenty minutes," Marisa said.  "You disappeared and came back like that.  Was that cat monster really stronger than you?"

The shrine maiden grunted and pushed herself to a sitting position.

"Did you numb my shoulders or something?"

"Yeah, a little.  Comes in handy sometimes."

"It certainly does.  Youmu?"

The young girl's eyes, which had been avoiding Reimu all this time, suddenly snapped to hers.  "Yes?"

"I don't regret what I did, but I'll put you back together again."

Youmu lowered her head and averted her eyes, tapping her fingers together nervously.

"Something wrong?" Reimu said.

"I've always been a half-ghost.  I was born that way," she said.  Her head popped up.  "Hey, take a deep breath."

"Eh?"

"Please.  A really deep one."

Reimu shrugged, then exhaled all the way.  She began drawing in air until her lungs were about to burst.  When she could hold it no longer, it all escaped in one quick puff.

"It was cool, right?" Youmu said.  "The air traveled down your throat.  Since your lungs were empty, it felt refreshing to fill them again, right?"

Reimu stared at the girl for a moment before she understood.

"You couldn't...feel.  Could you?" the shrine maiden whispered.

"Not completely," Youmu said, blushing slightly.  "I felt everything, but it was...dull.  Muted.  But I never even knew."

"So what do you want?"

Youmu sighed.  "I need my powers to save Lady Yuyuko.  As I am now...I can barely walk."

"Hmm," Reimu said.  "Chen said you two are best friends."

She blushed again.  "Correct, in the sense that Lady Yuyuko's and my relationship isn't one of friendship, and there's no one else around.  I apologize for her actions."

"Haha," Reimu laughed coldly.  "I know how you feel."

"Bitch," Marisa muttered.

"Alright," Reimu said, lying back on the grass and closing her eyes.  "Everyone's tired.  We've got about seven hours until sunrise.  I want to be awake thirty minutes before that time.  Can you take care of that, Marisa?"

"Yeah, yeah."

"Youmu?"

"Yes, Hakurei?"

"Haha.  Reimu's fine.  Anyway." she snapped her fingers.  The ghost half of Youmu appeared and floated slowly over to her.  Reimu could hear her inhale sharply in excitement.  "Keep it next to you.  Hold it close.  Feel what it's like from the outside.  Meet it again, as you, but as something separate from you.  Understand your oneness."

"Y?Yes, Hakurei."

"Reimu," she said again.

"No."

A few moments passed.

"I may have acted rashly," Youmu said, making a visible effort to look into Reimu's eyes, "and my emotions may have overtaken me.  For that, I apologize.  But I don't like you, Hakurei.  You're a dark person."

Reimu remained silent for a moment.  "You," she said slowly, "have too much pride."

"Perhaps you don't have enough.  Good night, Hakurei."

She heard footsteps retreat behind her.  Marisa crouched down and touched one shoulder, then the other.

"That should last you through the night," she said.  "I put up a little spell that'll keep dew from forming around you, so you should be fine to sleep here.  I really don't want to move your body unnecessarily right now."

"I'm still going to help her."

"Never doubted," the witch said, walking off.



"The human body is a lot like the ground," Reimu said, stamping one foot lightly on the wet grass.  "Solid, but fairly soft."

The sky was beginning to glow with the orange hue of the morning.  A few fairies could be seen waking early and flying around aimlessly.  The chill winds that had pervaded the area for the past week were back in full force, each new breeze causing a new rush of goosebumps to crawl across their skin.

"This is true on two levels," she continued.  "The physical?your skin?and the metaphysical.  This solid boundary is what keeps, say, my soul from accidentally jumping out of my body.  Understand?"

Youmu and Marisa stood in front of her, listening intently.  The white-haired girl was holding her ghost half close to her chest with both hands.  They closed their eyes as another large gust of wind flew by.

"Yes."

"Your metaphysical body, however, defines its boundaries for each individual object separately, though.  That is, what's keeping my soul from jumping out of my body is different from what's keeping a stray ghost from jumping in.  This is good news for you.  Lift one leg up."

She did so, but quickly lost her balance, setting it down again.  "Sorry," she muttered, trying again.  She couldn't hold it for more than a second.  "Just a..."  She tried the other leg; no success.  Reimu spied Marisa off to the side, facing away, covering her mouth with her hands, face red, eyes wide.

"Don't worry about it," Reimu said, sighing and holding her hand to her face.  "It was to illustrate a point.  How did you move your leg?"

Youmu thought for a moment.  "I willed it."

"Right.  So here's the idea.  I'm going to break your barrier between you and your ghost half.  Not all the way, though.  Just enough so that it can get inside and snuggle in.  Here's the tricky part.  If you want to be able to remove it without my help, you'll need to will it out just like you willed your leg to move.  Understand?"

Youmu stared at the white ball in her arms for a moment.  "Yes."

"It won't be easy," the shrine maiden said.  "Think about how you would learn how to move your leg if you didn't already know.  All of this happens to us while we're infants, initially.  But, I suppose you have an advantage.  Your body is somewhat hypersensitive due to recent events, so you may find it easier."

"I understand.  Please go through with it, Hakurei."

She gritted her teeth at the name.  Closing her eyes, she allowed the power of the dawn to run through her.  It swam in her blood, ran its fingers through her hair.  It was like an appraising parent, proud of its child.  Oh yes, you're growing into a fine young woman, it would say.  It wrapped her in its arms, and their hearts beat as one.

"This is probably going to hurt a lot," the shrine maiden said, smirking a bit.  She opened her mind's eye.

The radiant scene unfolded before her.  She could see every boundary, between every thing.  Every particle in the art shone its own unique color.  The ground, the blades of grass, the specks of dirt, the insects crawling around; they were all distinct entities, separate from everything that was not them.  Borders.  The world was made of borders.  Reds and blues and greens and yellows flew around her in a rainbow symphony.

She held her arm forward, reaching for her goal.  She had to find just the right color.  Just the right shape.  She had to find Youmu.  And then, more than that, among the infinite possibilities, she had to find the boundary between Youmu and her ghost half.  She took a step forward; in her mind or in her body, she couldn't quite tell.  She just had to get a little closer.

There!

A lonely girl.  But strong.  So strong.  She uses her loneliness as a shield.  The praises of others fly into the shield and bounce away, but she sees them and smiles.  It's what she lives for.  It's what she wants more than anything.  She wants that love, but she doesn't want it to enter her.  To empower her.  She wants to stand on her own two feet.  She wants to be entirely self-sufficient.  She wants to die completely alone, with her loved ones watching, congratulating her.  "You've done it.  You've lived without us."

So very, very sad.

Reimu willed with all of her being, stretching her hand out, calling to Youmu's ghost half.  It came to her immediately, floating lazily in front of her hand.  She grabbed it and began running forward.  She pushed the ghost half into the barrier of the lonely girl.

"Break," she whispered.

She pushed with all her weight, grinded the two against each other.  Trails of light flew out at the rupturing, like metal sparking against metal.

"Break."

The barrier began shaking, rumbling in anguish.  She heard a scream.  No.  She saw the scream in the air.  She saw boundaries colliding more fiercely than they had a moment ago.  Her mind saw this and knew it was a scream.

"BREAK!"

It broke.

She closed her mind's eye and opened her real ones.  The scene was exactly like it had been at the beginning.  She hadn't moved an inch.  Youmu's cheeks were coated with trails of tears, and she was breathing heavily.  Suddenly, the world began spinning.  The shrine maiden dropped to one knee and held her head.

"Is it over?" Marisa said.  "Did it work?"

"Yes," Youmu said.  Her voice was strong again, like it was before.  Her eyes were hard and cold.  She walked over to where her swords were lying on the ground and placed them neatly back on her belt.  Her movements were quick and efficient.

Dizziness gone, the shrine maiden stood back up.  "It's up to you how long it takes for you to learn."

"I understand," the girl said.  She tilted her head down slightly.  "I owe you a favor, Hakurei."

"I'm calling it in right now."

Youmu cocked an eyebrow.  "Yes?"

"Call me Reimu."

Youmu paused, then giggled.  The shrine maiden was surprised; it was...girly.  "Very well, Reimu.  And, at least until the one called Alice is no longer threatening my home, Youmu Konpaku is at your service."

"Wonderful," the shrine maiden said.  "Hey, Marisa, where's that compass?  We should probably get..."

Reimu's eyes opened wide in astonishment.  Her mouth opened, but no words came out.  She stared at Youmu, then at Marisa, and back and forth between the two.

"What's wrong?" the witch asked.

The shrine maiden looked down at the ground, searching her memories.  She kept coming back to the same conclusion.  It all fit.  It all made sense.

"I know where the great door is."



Wordlessly, she led them along a path only she could see.  She followed the border of Fairy Lake for a while before coming to the forest that bordered it.  Without hesitation, she entered, leaving the others to follow or be left behind.  Marisa was checking the compass periodically, becoming less and less surprised each time it pointed in the direction Reimu was headed.

Finally, they came to a grassy clearing surrounded by trees.  In the middle was a gigantic tree, bigger than any they'd seen before.  It towered over the rest.  If one looked closely, one could see the trees at the border of the clearing bending ever so slightly inward?paying deference to the greatest of their kind.  Despite this, its branches held no leaves or free; they were completely bare.  At its foot was a stone with some barely legible words carved into it.

Youki Konpaku
The Mourning of Calamity
Gardener, Swordsman, Father

The shrine maiden's voice was a mere whisper.  "You never told me her full name."
« Last Edit: September 15, 2009, 05:59:03 PM by Hawk »

Re: Eternal Border - a Touhou Reimagining
« Reply #13 on: September 15, 2009, 03:49:48 PM »
That last bit gave me a ".... HA." of awesome.

FinnKaenbyou

  • Formerly Roukanken
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  • blub blub nya
Re: Eternal Border - a Touhou Reimagining
« Reply #14 on: September 15, 2009, 04:04:19 PM »
Points for quite possibly the only instance of Canon!Chen I've ever seen in fiction.

Keep it up.

Hawk

  • Babababa~
Re: Eternal Border - a Touhou Reimagining
« Reply #15 on: September 19, 2009, 12:17:43 PM »
Chapter 6 ? Judgment

Youmu slowly approached the gravestone.  She knelt down and touched it, running her fingers along the letters.  The others couldn't see her face, and didn't say a word.  Now it seemed like the outer ring of trees weren't bowing their heads in respect, but in grief.

"So this is the door?" the half ghost said, standing up and turning to face them.  Her eyes were as hard and cold as ever.

"Uh, yes," Reimu said, averting her eyes.  "Here, I'll open it."

She flicked her hand a bit, staring holes into the gravestone.  Slowly, it began to glow with an unearthly light.

"Just...touch it."

Youmu bowed her head slightly.  "Good work.  We should go."  Without hesitation, she placed her hand on the stone.  The light on the stone bled up her arm and covered her body.  It grew brighter and brighter until it blanketed the entire scene, causing the other two to shield their eyes.  When they looked again, she was gone.

"Think she'll be alright?" Marisa said, stepping up to the stone next.

"It's the natural order of things to outlive your parents."

The witch looked at the shrine maiden sadly.  "Don't dally."  She touched the stone, and, just like before, disappeared in a flash of light.

A cold wind whipped through the trees, tossing Reimu's hair around.  It chilled her, but felt good against her still-bandaged shoulders.  She knelt before the grave.

"She's your daughter," she whispered.  "In every way.  I can't believe I didn't notice before."  She sniffed loudly.  "She inherited your loneliness; your eyes.

"But," she said, letting a tear fall, "that's what you wanted, wasn't it?"  She shook her head.  "Why are parents so selfish?  Children are just tools, right!?  You raise them for your twisted ideals of morality or duty!"  She lurched forward and grabbed the stone with both hands, squeezing with all her might.  Against all reason, she was going to choke this grave.  The light began traveling up her arms.  Her arms were shaking.  The light had covered her completely now.  She squinted her eyes and gritted her teeth.

"I'll be damned if I let fate screw up another life."

The world turned to white.  She was falling, and then she was standing on grass.  She opened her eyes.

She was standing at the top of a hill in a wide field filled with trees.  They were cherry blossoms, and they had all flowered.  Pink petals swirled around her in a warm, caring breeze.  Ahead of her she saw Marisa, staring down at a building in the distance.

This place was the land of the dead?

"She ran ahead!" the witch said, turning around with a worried look on her face.  "I couldn't stop her!"

"Crap," the shrine maiden grunted.  She slid her sleeve across her face, wiping away any trace of tears, and began running.



I'm lying on a cold floor.  My body aches all over.  My head is ringing, but I cannot moan or cry out in pain.  I seem to have no control over my body, and so I lie there inert.  I cannot remember my name or where I was before this, but I'm not worried.  I wish I could open my eyes.

The air is completely still, and I can't hear anything.  I realize this means that I'm not breathing.  I panic for a second, but I calm down quickly.  Well, I reason, it seems I don't need to breathe right now.

Through my closed eyelids, I see a faint light.  It must be fairly intense.  I hear some grunting, and then a pair of hands is touching me.  It is at this moment I realize I'm naked.  My body is being lifted off the cold floor.

"You guys are heavy," a voice says close to my body.  It's light; a woman.  She must be carrying me somewhere.

She lets go of me.  I fall onto another cold surface.  This one is curved inward, cradling me.  My body hits it roughly, but, other than the aching from before, I feel no pain.  I'm almost sitting, and my head is lolling forward, resting on my chest.  I wish I wasn't naked.

The surface begins moving forward, and me with it.  Based on the footsteps I hear, the girl must be walking behind me.  She says nothing.  I wonder if my heart is beating.  If I don't need to breathe, maybe my blood doesn't need to circulate.  The pain shooting through my body is starting to irritate me.

Suddenly the surface begins rising on the side where my head is.  Farther and farther, until I'm nearly vertical.  A bit more, and I fall forward, back onto the cold floor.  My head hits pretty hard, but, once again, I feel nothing.

"Another false starter," the girl says.

"I see," says another voice.  This one seems very far away, but, for some reason, I can hear every word clearly.  It seems to be female.  "Good work."

I hear footsteps walking away from me.  The first girl must be leaving.

"Well, come on.  Wake up."

As soon as she says it, I can move.  I open my eyes.  My vision is blurry, but quickly focuses.  In front of me I see a large wooden pillar.  It towers over me; I cannot see the top.  I turn my head from side to side.  All around me is a black void.  I look down.  Even though I feel a cold floor, there is nothing there.  The darkness extends in all directions, infinitely.

I look at my body.  I touch my hands together.  I feel as though this must be my actual body.  It feels familiar.  I touch my face.  Yes, this is my face.  I remember touching these dips and curves.  I remember running my hand through this hair.  These are my eyes.

"The pain you feel is the pain of your sin," the voice says from high above me.  She must be at the top of that wooden pillar.  "What is your sin?"

Her voice is proud and heavy.  I feel small.  I don't want to respond.  She's playing with me.  She already knows my sin.  I realize that I know my sin, too.  I still don't remember who I am, but I remember my crime.

"I killed myself," I whisper.  It came out on its own.

"Speak louder!" the voice booms at me.  I'm shaking.

"I...I killed myself!" I scream.

"How?" the voice says.

"I drank poison!"  The information is flooding in with each new question.

"Why?"

"Be?"  I begin crying.  "Because I'm a monster!"  She is so cruel.  Why would she revive me just to torture me?

"Why?"

"I killed many people!  I killed people I love!"

"How?"

"I don't know!" I cry.  My heart hurts, though it doesn't beat.  "I don't know how!"

"Why did you kill them?"

"I didn't want to!  I swear!  It just happened!"  I want my existence to end.  I want to sleep and never awaken.

"Did you want to kill them?"

"I just said I didn't!  They were my family, my friends!"  My vision is blurry from the tears.

"Why did you want to kill them?"

"No!" I shout.  I don't know what to say any more.  "No!  No!  No!"

"DO NOT LIE TO ME!"  The voice crushes my consciousness.  I cannot even hear my own crying.  It fills my body.  I'm shaking.  I'm trembling.  I want to die.  I want to die.  I want to die.

"Why did you kill them?" the voice asks again.

I say nothing.

"I am the Yama," the voice says.  "I am the judge of the dead.  I know everything you've ever done.  I decide the fates of souls.  The only way to be free from the shackles of sin is to admit to them.  Now, speak!  Why did you kill your family and friends?  Why did you kill the ones you love?"

"I was curious," I say.  I believe it.

"Why?"

"Somehow I could kill people."  I'm not crying any more.  "If I wished they were dead, they would die."

"How did you find out about this power?"

"I murdered everyone except the first.  That really was an accident.  I got angry at him.  I wished he would die.  He died."

"And then?"

"I was scared.  I tried to logic my way out of responsibility.  I knew I'd killed him, but I kept telling myself he had been poisoned, or had a spell cast on him, or something."  The words were flowing freely now.

"And then?"

"I had to know.  The nightmares plagued me night after night.  I had to know.  I had to know if it was me.  So I chose someone close to me.  I chose someone I loved very dearly, so that no one would think I'd done it.  And then I killed him."

"And then?"

"I wasn't satisfied.  I didn't feel like I had a true grasp of my powers.  I killed more.  And more and more.  Then they began suspecting me, and I killed them, too.  I killed and killed until there was no one left."

"And then?"

"I killed myself.  I tried to wish for my own death, but I couldn't.  I think that's why we use things like poison and drowning.  Even if we get scared at the last minute, it's too late."

"Why were you angry at the first victim, enough to want him to die?"

The answer doesn't come to me like all the other times.  I try and try, but there is a hole in my memories.

"I don't remember," I say, honestly.

"Interesting," the voice says.  "How do you feel about all of this?"

"I wish I'd never gotten this power," I say.

"Then is the power to blame?"

"Partially," I say.  "I...realize I made all the choices.  But I couldn't have without the power.  It may be a sin to pass the blame like that, but it's how I feel."

"If you found out who gave you the power?assuming it was, in fact, bestowed upon you by an outside force?what would you do?"

"I would kill everyone that person loves."  I'm smiling.  I'm reveling in the idea of revenge.

"Even if they were innocent?"

"Even if they were children," I say with conviction.  "Even if they were saints.  Young and old, they would all die.  That person took away my life, my friends, my family.  I would make that person suffer as I did.  Then, at the end, I would force poison down that person's throat.  They would die tasting their own blood, just like me."

There's a long pause.

"When people die," the voice begins, "their soul is separated from their body.  This is because they have no more use for it.  The body is a life vessel, nothing more.  Those who have ended their own life, though, are different.  As you can see, you are still in your body.  You're not done with it.  Or, to put it another way, your body's not done with you.  We call people like you false starters, because you began the race of death before the gun sounded.  It is my job to determine whether false starters are redeemable or not.

"So," it continued, "you will become a Warden.  You will earn your right to paradise.  You will spend this time meditating on your sins."

"I don't understand."

"You will be placed in a position of my choosing in order to monitor something.  Thus you will be a Warden.  This job will last as long as I please; until I believe you are ready for rejudgment."

"Why aren't you sending me to hell?" I said.

"That is none of your concern.  You will start immediately."

"Doing what?"

"I'm going to have you watch over a tree."

Re: Eternal Border - a Touhou Reimagining
« Reply #16 on: September 19, 2009, 03:39:47 PM »
Oho! Interesting start for Yuyuko, mostly due to the rules for suicides.

I'd be interested in conversing with Sikieiki (I'm assuming that's who the yama is) about why suicide messes with fate as such. I mean, wouldn't you be "fated" to commit suicide?

On the other hand, there has to be an element of free will involved, too. Otherwise, what's the point of having a yama at all? ("You killed 69,105 people! But it was your destiny to do so, so we can't do anything.")

Esifex

  • Though the sun may set
  • *
  • It shall rise again
Re: Eternal Border - a Touhou Reimagining
« Reply #17 on: September 19, 2009, 04:01:24 PM »
This is excellent! Please, do go on. I want to see how you wrap this all up, concerning Shinki and Alice as well.

Hawk

  • Babababa~
Re: Eternal Border - a Touhou Reimagining
« Reply #18 on: September 21, 2009, 08:28:41 AM »
Chapter 7 ? Red and Violet

"Long, long ago, in the middle of a large town, was a tree."

Against the barrier that surrounded the Saigyou Ayakashi, Yuyuko rested her back, sitting on the grass.  Alice floated in front of her, reclining back, head cradled in her hands, a few feet off the ground.  Yuyuko closed her eyes and continued to listen.

"It was a beautiful cherry blossom, and every year its petals graced the town, announcing the birth of a new spring.  The people loved that tree.  The children would play on its branches, and many couples carved their love into its trunk.

"Can you imagine, Yuyu?"  Alice looked down at her, grinning.  "I shall announce my love for you here, in this tree!" she proclaimed, imitating a man's voice as best she could.  "Right here!  Uh...no.  Here!  Except...no..."  She acted out the part, pointing at arbitrary places in the air and looking frustrated.  "Wait, wait!  Can...can you go get a ladder?  I see a place a heart could fit like...ten feet up."

She laughed heartily at her own joke.  Yuyuko couldn't help but crack a smile.

"So?" Alice said, smirking.  "Have you figured out the mystery?"

Yuyuko opened her eyes and countered with her own sly smile.  "What mystery?  You're rambling nonsense."

Alice frowned.  "Oh?"

"Did you honestly think I don't know who the Maiden of the Border is?" Yuyuko said.

"You make assumptions about her character."

"Not really," the ghost queen said.  "She could kick puppies all day for all I know.  But I do know what her job is.  Her very existence is tied to Gensokyo.  If she dies, the Great Border goes with her."

"And?"

"Someone whose raison d'?tre is to keep order wouldn't disrupt the flow of souls going into Hakugyokurou.  It makes no sense."

"Then where did they go?"  The smile was slowly creeping back onto Alice's face.

"I think it's fairly obvious that you took them."

"Oh, well done!  Well done!" she cried.  Her eyes were open wide, excited.  She lowered quickly, feet touching the ground, and ran over to Yuyuko's side.  The ghost queen flinched slightly, expecting another creepy whisper, but was surprised when she found Alice's head resting on her lap.  She stared for a moment, unable to comprehend, then did the only thing that seemed natural.  She began petting Alice's hair.

"One day, the tree became a youkai," the girl continued.  "It began killing people that came near it.  No one really knows whether it was hostile or not.  Maybe it was just trying to show affection, or play with the children.  The humans in the village didn't care, though, and resolved to kill the tree.  But that's where things went awry.  No one could get close enough to chop it down.  They eventually called for help."

Alice snuggled into Yuyuko's lap.  "Why would I stop the flow of souls?"

"To give me a personal reason to target the Maiden of the Border," she replied.

"Mmm...does that really make sense?"  Yuyuko could hear the vibrations from Alice's voice in her lap.  "I mean, I could have come up with any old story.  I could've kidnapped your little gardener and told you Hakurei'd done it.  Seems like stopping a whole few days' worth of souls would be a lot more work."

"It does at that," Yuyuko said, still petting Alice's hair unconsciously.  "Doing it must give you some benefit.  Two birds with one stone.  I'd say you get more power from it, but..."

"But?"

"It just doesn't make sense," she said.  "Souls are invincible, to put it simply.  Fuel is consumed, and you can't consume a soul."

Alice laughed lightly.  "Your ignorance is a bit unsettling, oh Queen of Ghosts."

Yuyuko cocked an eyebrow.  "Am I wrong?"

"They called for the Maiden of the Border, who resided in the Hakurei shrine, which was near the village," she continued, ignoring her.  "They asked for her to kill the tree, but the maiden, feeling pity for it, decided instead to move it into a nearby forest with her powers."

Alice began rolling forward, down Yuyuko's legs, over the feet, and onto the grass.  She lay on her back, spreading her arms and legs out, staring at the sky.

"But she failed," she said sadly.  "Moving the tree killed it anyway.  The ghost of the tree traveled here, to Hakugyokurou.  It was furious.  All of its negative emotions kept it here instead of moving on.  This was a very bad thing.  Ghosts come here to set their affairs in order before being shepherded off to their final judgments.  This tree, though, had no plans on moving.  As it had in life, it planted itself deep into the ground, and began trying to kill everything that came near it.

"But hey," she said, smiling, "what good is it trying to kill things in the land of the dead, right?  But all of its flailing kept driving its fury.  You know very well what a ghost that loses sentiency becomes.  A Zero.  The only sickness ghosts need to worry about.  And it's contagious, to boot.  So, with no other choice, to stop an epidemic, the tree was sealed."

Alice pulled a clump of grass out of the ground and stared at it intently.  "Why did I want to trick you into targeting Hakurei?"

"That confused me the most," Yuyuko said, "since you seem like you have more than enough power to handle her.  But I eventually narrowed it down to something I've learned from all the souls that have passed through this world."

"Hmm?"  Alice was staring at her again, eyes wide.

Yuyuko smiled.  "Trauma.  You're terrified of her.  A phobia."

"Ah."  She sat up, closed her eyes, and lolled her head back.  She took a deep breath.

"Yuyuko Saigyouji, how did you die?"

The ghost queen's breath caught in her throat.  "I'm not quite sure.  I remember you had something to do with it."

"But how was that possible?" Alice said.  "When you died, you were alone."

"How would you know that?" Yuyuko said, standing up.  "I remember you, and that book, and being cold."

"Why did you die, then?"  Alice stood up and returned Yuyuko's gaze seriously.

"That question isn't much different..."

"Yes it is!" she shouted.  The ghost queen flinched.

"Because...someone wanted me dead?" she said.

Alice walked forward and grabbed Yuyuko's shoulders for a moment before wrapping her arms around the ghost in a hug.  She pressed her cheek against Yuyuko's, whispering directly into her ear.

"They're here."

Alice's head disappeared, being replaced by a shining white sword inches from Yuyuko's head.  Its point hit the barrier surrounding the tree, sounding a high-pitched ring throughout the area.

"My Lady!  Are you alright?"  Youmu turned her back to the ghost queen, sword at the ready, scanning the area for her opponent.

"Youmu, you shouldn't be here!" Yuyuko cried.  "You're the only one she can actually harm!"

"Punish me for disobeying later, my Lady.  For now, just trust me."

"You're really starting to piss me off, bitch."  Alice's voice came from above them; she was floating over them, looking down.  Next to her was the book, shining bright.  Her face was contorted with rage.  "Die."

She pointed her arm in Youmu's direction, calling upon the power of the grimoire.  A glowing white orb shot from her hand straight at the half ghost.  Youmu just stood there, looking as if she was going to take the brunt of the attack.  Just before it touched her, though, it disappeared entirely.

"Eh?" Alice said, cocking her head to one side.  She fired another orb, which vanished as well.  "WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!?" she screamed, shooting orb after orb, each one evaporating into nothingness.  She shrieked in fury, wrapping her head in her hands, and writhed around in the air.

"JUST DIE!" she screamed, disappearing and reappearing a moment later inches away from Youmu's face.  She clasped her arms around the girl's neck and squeezed as hard as she could.

A flash a metal flew before her eyes.  Her arms dropped to the ground.  She looked dumbly at the stumps attached to her shoulders.  Blood freely flowed from her wounds, staining the green grass red.  The sword flashed again, but she dodged just in time to keep it from lopping off her head.  She materialized several yards away.

"That's what you get!" Alice shouted, grinning wide.  It disappeared in an instant, though, being replaced by a frown and large, bloodthirsty eyes.

"A minor...miscalculation," she seethed.  The other two gasped.  A grotesque mishmash of blood, bones, and muscles was collecting near her wounds.  Snaps and cracks pervaded the area, along with the sound of water being squeezed from a sponge.  In moments, her arms were back in perfect condition.

Before she had a chance to act, she was dodging Youmu's repeated sword slashes.  She tried materializing far away, but Youmu's speed was incredible.  It took all of Alice's reflexes and resources to fend off the barrage.  Even then, some strikes would nick her skin.  The wounds would mend themselves immediately, as though they'd never happened.

"You're a monster!" Youmu shouted.

"Aren't I, though?" Alice said, smiling.  She was calm now; collected.  Her dodging was like an art.  She would flip, crouch, and spin like she was dancing.  "I'll admit, you surprised me.  I'm not quite sure what you did to negate my powers, but whatever.  In fact, I think I should tha?"

Time stopped.

Youmu was frozen in place, teeth bared, eyes aflame, staring at Alice, whose mouth was open, smiling, eyes cold.  Yuyuko stood immobile, fear cast over her face as she watching the fateful battle between the two.

Two figures hovered in the air above the scene.

"It's complicated," the shorter one said.

"Odd thing for a Yama to say," replied the much taller one.

"I can't be held accountable when you're involved," the Yama said.

"You make it sound like I'm at fault."

"This is absolutely your fault!" she shouted.  "You're the one who let this go on this long."

"Perhaps you're right.  But can you blame me?"

"Odd thing to say to a Yama."

The taller one laughed.  "Touch?.  Either way, I need your authority to let this slide."

"Shinki," the Yama said, "you're letting emotions cloud your judgment."

"Oh?" Shinki said.  "And what of you?  Your dry demeanor doesn't fool me.  You have just as much invested in this."

"My purpose is the redemption of souls; nothing more."

"I've said this before, but I don't agree with your methods," Shinki said.  "Can it really be called redemption if you take away her memories?"

"The soul is so much more than that," the Yama said.  "Memories are baggage?wonderful recollections for the righteous, and heavy chains for the wicked.  People are ever so resistant to change.  I'm just giving her a chance."

"Eiki, will you do it or not?  As a favor?"

"Never," she said.  "But I might do it as the right thing to do.  Like I said, it's complicated."

"Think of it this way," Shinki said.  "Is it really fair for Alice?  I mean really, truly fair.  Look at how much of an effort she's making!  Isn't this the time for people like us to step in?"

Eiki raised an eyebrow.  "I thought you weren't interfering any more."

"I'm asking you to interfere."

The Yama sighed.  "Why am I always cleaning up your messes?"

Shinki smiled.  "But didn't you get a nice break from the lack of new souls?  Surely even you can appreciate some time to relax."

"Relax?" she replied, smiling.  "What do you think happens when things like this occur?  My runners completely disappear!  When all this gets resolved, the backlog will be enormous.  Ugh."  She rubbed her forehead.  "I permit it."

"I owe you."

"No, you don't."

Time began.

"?nk you for giving me such an exciting fight!" Alice finished.  "I feel lighter than I have in a long time!"  She ducked a horizontal slash, bringing her foot up to kick Youmu in the stomach.  The half ghost caught it, flipping over Alice's head, letting go after a single rotation, sending the girl plummeting into the ground.  Youmu followed, dive bombing her from the sky.  Alice rolled out of the way just before the half ghost hit the ground with an impact that would have broken her in half.

"You know, for being fast, you're actually not that fast," Alice said, hopping from toe to toe just outside of Youmu's range.  "You should really consider acting slower than you really are until they leave themselves open, then surprise them."

"I'll keep that in mind," Youmu muttered.  Suddenly, her eyes opened wide, staring behind Alice, disbelief all over her face.

"That's a pretty old trick, bitch," Alice said.

"My Lady, run!" she shouted, running clean past.

"Eh?"  Convinced, she turned around too.  Her calmness dissipated into the warm spring winds, leaving behind pure shock.  She simply stared at the spectacle before her, mouth slightly agape.  It took her a few seconds to realize what had just happened.

She began laughing.  They were loud, shrill shrieks of pure rapture.  Ahead of her, Youmu lay on the ground unconscious.  Next to her was someone new.

"It's like looking into a mirror," the other figure said, "if it was a mirror that made everything...creepy."

"Oh ho!" Alice said.  "I get why I was feeling so good.  Tell me, what should we call you?"

"Alice, naturally," the replica said.  "After all, you won't be needing it much longer."

Re: Eternal Border - a Touhou Reimagining
« Reply #19 on: September 21, 2009, 03:58:36 PM »
Okay, things just took a turn for the weird ...

Hawk

  • Babababa~
Re: Eternal Border - a Touhou Reimagining
« Reply #20 on: October 04, 2009, 07:59:05 AM »
No excuses.  This took way too long.  Soz to anyone who cares.





Chapter 8 ? People

Marisa pressed her back against the side of a large cherry blossom, taking in several deep breaths.  Her heart was racing furiously; it wasn't often she had to run this far this fast.  She curved her head around the trunk and sighed at the scene before her.  Alice was throwing volley after volley of an unknown white orb at Youmu, who simply stood there and took it.

"That's gotta be it," she muttered.  "Looks like Reimu was right.  Hope she's okay."  She took one more large breath, and bolted to the next tree.  Whatever happened, she couldn't let Alice see her.  In short bursts, she circled her way around the area.  When she reached the far side, she ran to the center, keeping the largest tree in the area between her and the battle.

Okay, that's it.  I'm learning the invisibility spell after this no matter how hard it is.

Tiiiiiiiing.

She smashed into the barrier surrounding the Saigyou Ayakashi violently, throwing her onto her back.  She clutched her face in pain, shaking in an effort to stop from crying out.

"Eh?"

Marisa looked up to see Yuyuko staring at her intently.  The witch held up one hand in greetings, the other still covering her mouth.  The ghost queen tilted her head slightly.

"The witch, Marisa Kirisame...right?"

"I'm famous?" she asked, pushing herself to her feet, the pain now mostly gone.  She looked straight at Yuyuko and pushed a finger to her lips.  "I'd like to ask you to trust me."

"On what grounds?"

The witch smirked.  "I'm not Alice."

Yuyuko paused a moment, grimacing, then sighed.  "What would you like me to do?"

"Absolutely nothing," she said, reaching into one of her many pockets.  She pulled out a small, wooden, octagonal device.  "We don't know how to destroy the grimoire, or if it even can be."  On the border of the front of the device were eight collections of three lines.  Some lines were whole, and some were broken down the middle.  Surrounded by these trigrams was a single yinyang.

"So we're gonna see if we can...borrow it with this hakkero."

In front of the Saigyou Ayakashi was the glowing white book, forgotten amidst Alice's rage.  Marisa pointed the wooden device towards it, sending it a bit of her own magical power to begin the absorption process.  The trigrams began shimmering an unearthly light.  Slowly, the light of the grimoire began moving, spiraling, collecting to a single point in the middle of the yinyang.  The witch grinned.

Yes!  Should probably take about five mi...

Her eyes opened wide, her breath caught in her throat.

"What the fuck."

A pair of human arms, separate from a corresponding body, had flown?no, jumped?into the air, grasping the grimoire tightly.  From their severed ends were spilling small streams of blood.

"What the fuck!?" she repeated, staring at the scene in exasperation.  She looked at the hakkero, then the grimoire, and back and forth a few times more.  Her mouth was hanging open dumbly.  "Ahhhhh..."

The grimoire began glowing more brilliantly than it had before.  The hands were activating its power.  Marisa was forced to squint her eyes, but even then, she saw it.  From out of nowhere, all manner of bodily material popped into existence, swirling and convulsing violently.  The smell of blood reached her, and began to feel sick to her stomach.  Slowly, the mess began to take form, shaping a torso, legs, and finally a head, accompanied by all sorts of popping and cracking sounds.  Skin began traveling over the muscle tissue, followed by hair, nails, and a pair of excited eyes.

"Alice?" Marisa whispered, almost dropping the hakkero.  She looked to the side, catching a glimpse of the ongoing battle between Youmu and whom she thought was Alice.

"Wow," the new Alice said, staring ecstatically at her hands.  She flexed her fingers and alternately raised each leg in place.  She ran her hands through her hair.  "It's been a really long time.  A really, really long time."  Satisfied, she walked over to Marisa, who was staring blankly at the awe inspiring scene.  She laid a hand gently on top of the hakkero, pushing it down, breaking the flow of absorption.

"It's a good plan," she said softly to the witch, "and I'll let you do whatever you want with it later, but right now I need the grimoire, okay?"  She stared directly into Marisa's eyes.  She seemed so...honest.

"You were the one crying, weren't you?" the witch said.

"That was a long time ago," she said, turning toward the ensuing battle.

"Wait!"  Yuyuko, who had remained silent all this time, rushed forward and grabbed Alice's arm.  "You know about me!  You can tell me!  Please tell me!"

"After this is all over."

"No!" she screamed, refusing to let up on her grip.  "No!  I can't wait any longer!  Please!"

"Later!" Alice growled, ripping her arm away and pushing her down roughly.

"My Lady, run!"

"Unbelievable," Alice muttered, turning to face the oncoming blaze that was Youmu.  The half ghost's eyes were red with fury.  She had her sword pointed at the new Alice, running forward as fast as she could.  Alice stood there, unfazed, a bored, irritated look on her face.  Waiting until the absolute last moment, when Youmu's sword was mere inches away from her unprotected breast, Alice dodged at a speed invisible to normal eyes.  She ducked under the blade and lurched forward to where, at the end of each of Youmu's sheaths, was tied a flower by the name of Eternal Princess.  With all the speed of a god, she ripped one free.  She extended her other hand backward, grabbing Youmu's hair and pulling her down to the ground.  She held the flower just in front of the half ghost's nose.

"Sleep for a while."

"Wha?" Youmu managed before her eyes rolled back into her head, falling into a deep slumber.

She threw the flower away carelessly.  "You know, I kind of have to agree with my uglier half.  You're a bit of a nuisance."  She looked up to see the other Alice staring at her, laughing crazily.

"It's like looking into a mirror, if it was a mirror that made everything...creepy," she said, staring with disgust at the body she used to inhabit.

"Oh ho!" the original Alice said.  "I get why I was feeling so good.  Tell me, what should we call you?"

She brushed her hair back over her ear.  "Alice, naturally.  After all, you won't be needing it much longer."

"Well then," the original Alice said, licking her lips, "shall we celebrate?"

"Oh, absolutely," the new Alice said.  "Any last words?"

"If it turns out I die here," the old Alice said.  "If I...poof?you know??then I just want to say what a pleasure it was crushing you."

"As long as we're talking," the new Alice said, "I'd like to tell you why you're going to lose."

The old Alice smiled like a devil, her eyes wide with excitement.  "Hit me."

"I've spent millennia as the second you," she said, beginning to walk forward.  The warm spring winds blew her short hair around.  "I never knew if I would be able to escape, but I swore, that if I ever did, I would spend my entire life..."  She stopped, holding her hands at ready, allowing the other Alice to make the first move.

"...being a badass."



Youmu stepped out of the house.  She'd scoured every corner of the building.  If she had to make a guess, Lady Yuyuko was at the Saigyou Ayakashi.

"Wait!"

She turned her head to see Reimu and Marisa running toward her in the distance.  No matter; she couldn't wait while Lady Yuyuko might be in danger.  She took a single step before falling to one knee, shaking violently.  She felt like her entire existence was being violated.  It was just like before; she was being ripped in two.

All it once the feeling was gone, and she was able to stand.  Reimu and Marisa were next to her.

"Sorry," the shrine maiden said, "but you need to wait."

"Make it quick!" the half ghost growled.

"We need a plan," Reimu said, "or we're all going to die very fast."

"I can dodge anything she throws at me," Youmu said.

"Probably not," Marisa said.  "She'll probably try to destroy your existence with the grimoire.  We don't know how good she is at controlling the grimoire's power yet.  If she's learned everything there is to know, then...we lose, plain and simple.  She'd be able to exterminate anything from any distance instantaneously."

"So what do we do?" Youmu said.

"Well," the witch continued, "there's a disproportionately high chance that she doesn't know everything there is to know, considering the breadth of the grimoire?at least as it's described in the myths.  This means she'll probably have to materialize the destruction magic in the form of object 'A' which has to travel to point 'B'."

"As I said," the half ghost said, clearly losing patience, "I can dodge anything."

"But," Marisa said, "Alice isn't dumb.  She'll definitely make these shots home in on their target.  And these shots are purely magical creations.  They don't have mass, so they don't have momentum.  No matter how fast you move, you won't be able to shake it.  And they won't stop moving until they've hit a target.  You could run them into trees, but then how are you gonna fight her?"

Youmu gritted her teeth.  "Okay, fine.  What's your plan?"

Reimu held out a small, orange piece of paper with some markings on it.  "Take this and make sure it's on you at all times.  Just keep it in a pocket or something."  Youmu took it and stuffed it somewhere inside her dress.  "That'll project a border around you as long as you have it.  Any magical objects that touch it will be sent across the boundary, to inside me."

"What?" the half ghost said.

Reimu reached down her dress and pulled out Suika's chain.  "This will protect me.  Maybe.  Probably.  We don't have any other choice."

"Reimu," Marisa said, "what if Alice throws, say, a fireball?"

"That's why I've placed the entrance in my pinky toe," she said, looking down at the ground.

"Still hurt like a mother fucker," the witch said, patting Reimu on the shoulder.  She turned to the half ghost.  "You can go now.  Be careful."

Youmu nodded once, and shot off toward her target, the Saigyou Ayakashi.  Marisa gave a quick salute to the shrine maiden.

"I'll be off then, too."

Reimu watched the witch run off, boosting her speed a bit with magic.  She found a tree and sat down against it, taking in several large breaths.  She clenched her fists in an effort to stop herself from shaking.  It would be fine, she assured herself.  Alice would use existence magic first, then get angry and do things physically.  She wasn't that smart.

"I really don't want to lose my toe," she whispered to herself.  Her heart was beating furiously and one minute...two minutes passed.  Her fingers gripped Suika's cube tightly.

"There are two types of people in this world."

Reimu stood up instantly, senses on edge, gazing around for the possessor of the unknown voice.  She looked up.

A woman with long, blonde hair, wearing a simple purple dress, was sitting in the branches of the tree she'd been resting against.  With both hands she held a small parasol.  She looked...fancy.

And then she was gone.  Just like that, she had popped away, leaving the branches empty.  Reimu heard a rustle behind her, and turned to find the woman had reappeared only a few yards away.

"Who are you?" the shrine maiden said.

"You may not think it to begin with," the woman said, beginning a slow walk, circling around Reimu, spinning her parasol.  Her face was like an animated corpse's, filled with dead interest.  "You may look around and believe the number and types of humans to be endless, but this is na?ve."

Reimu kept her front to the woman, spinning with her.  Her normally quick senses were failing her now.  She felt like a mere child in this woman's presence.  All she could do was watch.

"Humans have separated themselves into these two groups for eternity after eternity, and they don't even know it."  The woman stopped, and stared directly into Reimu's eyes.  "Isn't that funny?"

The shrine maiden tried to speak, but all she managed was a loud exhale.

"Indeed," the woman continued, beginning to walk again.  "Funny isn't the right word.  I apologize.  On the contrary, it's..."

She began walking directly toward Reimu.  The shrine maiden's feet were planted in place.  Her eyes were open wide.  Her body was shaking.  The woman extended a single gloved hand and touched Reimu's cheek lightly.

"So.  Very.  Annoying."

She lowered her head and kissed the shrine maiden's forehead.  At that point, Reimu's legs gave out, and she crumpled to the grass in sheer terror.  The woman looked down on her, smiling.

"My name is Yukari, and I'm here to tell you that there are people who go home, and people who are home."

Re: Eternal Border - a Touhou Reimagining
« Reply #21 on: October 04, 2009, 05:22:47 PM »
Hmm. This is getting intense ...

Well, okay, it was intense, but it's managing to keep it there.

Esifex

  • Though the sun may set
  • *
  • It shall rise again
Re: Eternal Border - a Touhou Reimagining
« Reply #22 on: October 08, 2009, 04:11:46 AM »
I would play this if it were a game. I would watch this if it were animated. I would draw this if I could.

Epic win.

Hawk

  • Babababa~
Re: Eternal Border - a Touhou Reimagining
« Reply #23 on: October 23, 2009, 09:53:51 AM »
Chapter 9 ? A Series of Fortunate Events

"You know," the woman called Yukari said, spinning her parasol elegantly, "things aren't going to go too well if you just sit there."

"Who...are you?" Reimu stammered, finally finding her voice.  She pushed herself off the ground and stared as defiantly as she could.

"Odd," Yukari said.  "I could've sworn I just told you that."

"You've said your piece, so why are you still here?" the shrine maiden said.

"Alice will win."

Reimu's eyes opened wide for a moment, inhaling sharply.  Quickly, the emotion was hidden away again.  "Why?"

"It's not a bad plan," Yukari said, "but this is the Grimoire of God's Gap.  Do you know what God's Gap is?"

The shrine maiden remained silent.

"You are not the grass.  You are not the wind.  You are not the sky.  You are not the sun.  You are not me.  You are not the witch.  You are not Alice.  You are not anything but you."

"I know that much," Reimu said.

"Naturally," Yukari said.  "The Hakurei would.  But even then...rarely do they appreciate what it actually means.  It seems like so simple a concept, but couldn't you imagine a world where the concept of separation didn't exist?"

The shrine maiden thinned her eyes.  "That would be..."

"A singularity.  A world where language is unnecessary, thoughts are unnecessary, all is one, and all is I."

Neither one spoke for a while.

"There have been worlds like that, you know," Yukari continued.  "But it is forbidden all the same."

"And these separations are God's Gap?"

"Not quite," Yukari said.  "Of the infinite I-am-not's, there is one in particular that is exceptionally important.  Most important."

Reimu finally understood.  "I am not God," she said.

"And from God's Gap?the eternal border between God and Man?the grimoire was crafted."



"Shit!" Marisa shouted, throwing herself to the ground.  A giant white orb flew over her, eating whatever it touched, including a section from the brim of the witch's hat.  It dug itself into the ground, hollowing out a large ditch, before fading into nothingness.

"Those two are going to fuck everything over!" she grunted, pushing herself up.  She looked up at the two Alices squaring off in midair, throwing volley after volley of nothingness orbs at each other.  Each had a demented look of ecstasy plastered on her face; she couldn't tell which was which.

She saw Yuyuko a few feet away.  The ghost queen was resting on her knees, arms limp at her sides, staring dumbly at the spectacle before her.

"Hey!" the witch shouted, grabbing her arm.

"Uh?" Yuyuko moaned.

"How strong is that?" she said, pointing toward the Saigyou Ayakashi.  Yuyuko turned to stare at it, deep in thought.

"The barrier!" Marisa said.  "The barrier!  How strong is it?"

"Stronger than anything else I know," the ghost queen whispered nonchalantly.

Without waiting for anything else, Marisa tugged at Yuyuko's arm, pulling her to her feet.  She began dragging her around to the far side of the great cherry blossom.

"Stay here," Marisa said, setting her down.  "Probably your best chance.  I'm gonna go pick up Youmu, okay?"

"Mmm," she replied, staring off into nothingness.

Marisa dashed away toward the prone body of the gardener a few yards away.



"I would appreciate your assistance," Yukari said, staring at her with a grim expression.

"Why would I do that?"

"In repayment."

"Eh?" the shrine maiden said, cocking an eyebrow.

Yukari smirked.  "Talking to you has caused you to stop being worried about losing a toe."

Reimu's eyes opened wide for a moment before once again being replaced by skepticism.  "What would I be doing if I accepted?"

Yukari began spinning her parasol again, facing the top toward Reimu so all she saw were intricate patterns flowing in a circle.  "Alice has been stealing souls coming into Hakugyokurou for the past two days.  She's using them like water in a waterwheel to augment the grimoire's power."

Reimu thought for a moment.  "It's only possible because souls are invincible, right?  The grimoire would annihilate any other fuel source."

"Clever," Yukari said, raising the parasol over her head again.  "Despite my...awe-inspiring appearance," she said, closing her eyes and basking in her own beauty for a moment, sighing, "I am not all-powerful."

"Uh-huh," Reimu said.

"I need you to get those souls out of the grimoire," she said.  "Should be an easy task for the Maiden of the Border, hmm?"

"And what are you doing while I'm risking my life?" the shrine maiden said.

"Stopping the Alices."

Alices...

...

Alice will win...

...


"Explain it later," Reimu said.  "Let's go."

"Glad to hear it," Yukari said, smiling.



"C'mon," Marisa said, cradling Youmu in her arms.  "Good thing you're tiny."

"Mmmrgh?" the gardener groaned, opening her eyes.  "Where...oh, Marisa.  What's going on?"

"Mmm..." Marisa said, huffing a bit as she ran.  "Little o' this, little o' that."

Much to Marisa's surprise, Youmu reached around and grabbed one her sheathes, bereft of blade, wrenched it free from its tie to her belt, and forced it between the witch's legs.  She lost her balance and tumbled to the ground, Youmu sent flying forward, rolling a few feet awkwardly.  Just over both of them, a giant white orb flew, carving out a section of the ground in front of them.

"Sorry," Youmu said, pushing herself up unsteadily.

"Y'know," Marisa said, doing likewise, brushing the dirt off her dress, "I think I'll forgive you this time.  Can you walk?"

She reached down to pick up her sheath.  "I think...Reimu!?"

"Eh?" the witch said, turning to look.



Reimu and Yukari popped into reality above the ensuing battle between the Alices.  The shrine maiden gasped slightly at the sight of two of them, but that was all.  She was floating in the air.

"How are you doing that?" she asked.

"Hmm?"  Yukari saw that Reimu was looking at her feet.  "Come now, Maiden of the Border.  Flight should be easy for you."  She pointed her finger.  "There's the grimoire.  Now, go!"

Only a little ways away, the Grimoire of God's Gap was floating as it always had.  Every other moment, it would flash as its power was being invoked by one of the Alices.

Yukari closed her eyes and held her arms out at her sides.  The parasol fell lazily toward the ground.  Reimu watched, fascinated, as the Alices were each covered by borders of swirling purple and black.  Suddenly, the battlefield was silent, with only two little pill shapes remaining.

"They're a lot like that thing around your neck," Yukari grunted as elegantly as she could, cutting off Reimu's imminent question.  "Now, go already!"

The shrine maiden felt herself being pushed toward the grimoire.



"They're getting...trapped?" Marisa said, staring dumbly at the odd spectacle.  The two Alices were being engulfed by something.  Perhaps it had to do with the woman Reimu was with.

Before being completely encased, one of the Alices?she couldn't tell which?threw her arm out one final time.  The grimoire flashed, and a giant white orb flew straight at Marisa.

And...for some odd reason, she couldn't move.  The shot was fast, sure, but it came from pretty far away.  Her legs just wouldn't go.  She felt her whole body was tensing, like the moment before a climax.  Her fists and legs were shaking; she was ready to burst.  She wanted to inhale.  She couldn't breathe.  She couldn't breathe.  It was coming closer.  Closer.

She was going to die.

And then it curved away.  As if it dodged her.

A sound pierced the air.  She held her ears and screamed.



Reimu held out her arms as she floated steadily closer to the glowing book.  The fascination of flight was now lost to her as she got her first good look into the swirling radiance of the grimoire.  Her hands touched down on the light.  She wasn't sure what exactly she was feeling, but she could definitely hold herself to it, and that's all that mattered.

She had to be quick.  She concentrated.  It was just like ripping out Youmu's ghost half.  There were just...lots of souls.  A whole lot.

One at a time...

A soul popped out.  And then another.  Then several all at once.  The floodgates now opened, a horde began gushing out, like blood out of a wound.  The grimoire's light dimmed, flickering darker and darker as each small source of power left it.

And then it was empty.

She saw she was holding on to a small white ball, no bigger than a child's fist.  Her heart leapt for joy.

That wasn't so hard.

She gazed toward the ground and inhaled sharply, eyes opening wide.  A nothingness orb was headed straight for Marisa.  Before she could even call out, it had suddenly shifted directions, missing the witch completely...

...and ramming straight into the Saigyou Ayakashi's border.

A high pitched squeal emanated throughout Hakugyokurou, deafening all in the vicinity.  Reimu covered her ears as tightly as she could, gritting her teeth together.  The sound was overpowering.  Tears cascaded down her cheeks as she pushed her knees up toward her chest, crunching her body together.  Her mother's death, Marisa's betrayal, Chen's fury...nothing was as painful as this.

Finally, after an eternity of a few seconds, it subsided.  Reimu wiped away her tears, shaking, and looked at the outcome.

The Saigyou Ayakashi was free.



I'm not quite sure who I am.

I'm really sad.

Everything.  I hate it all.

I want to find others and make them like me.  If I could just do that...everything would be wonderful.

We can all hate together.

My vision's kind of blurry and dark.

This world should die.

There!

I'm touching you, precious one.  I'm giving myself to you.

Let us hate together.

Let us become nothing together.

This is love.

It's another one.

Do my caresses stimulate you?

I know they do.

You don't need to say anything.

I love you.

I hate you.

Love me back.

Hate me back.

And another one!

Oh god, yes.

It's ecstasy.

It's brilliance.

Love me.

Hate me.

Wait.

...

...

...

I don't want Youmu to hate me.




"That is satisfactory."

Yuyuko's hand, hesitating inches away from Youmu's breast, was now held firm by another hand.  Youmu stood there, shivering, unable to move at the prospect of her Lady attacking her.  Reimu and Marisa were nowhere to be seen.

The hand was small, but filled with the strength of a supernatural being.  Yuyuko slowly returned to her senses as her soul was cleansed of the dark power of the Zero.  She saw all around her that the other ghosts that had been infected were being purified as well.  She saw the owner of the hand, a small girl in ceremonial garb.  Her outfit was emblazoned with many gold medals and emblems, seeming to give her a high rank in whatever it was she did.  Her hat held another golden emblem, cementing this assumption.

"I'm proud of you," she said, nodding.  She let go of Yuyuko's hand and walked over to the Saigyou Ayakashi, pressing a hand to its trunk.  "I'll free you now.  Your work was also satisfactory."

She turned and waved her arm out.  Immediately, everyone appeared before her.  Reimu, Marisa, Yukari, Youmu, Yuyuko, and both Alices?all in a line.

"Reimu," she said, and the shrine maiden listened, "Good work freeing the souls.  Spring's coming."  She moved onto the next person.  "Marisa, you only absorbed a bit of the grimoire, but even that bit is incredibly powerful.  Use it with care.  Yukari."

"At your service," she responded, somewhat dryly.

"A soldier following orders is not free from responsibility.  Remember that."

"I'll be sure to."

"Youmu."  The half ghost stood straighter than she was normally capably of.  "Don't be consumed by rage or blame."  She continued on without waiting for a response.  "Yuyuko.  You've earned your right to heaven."

"How?" she asked.

"A Zero is emptied of all emotions and thoughts other than to love, to hate, and to spread," she said.  Everyone knew she was right, that she could speak no wrong.  "But your pure feelings caused your strike to hesitate against Youmu.  You couldn't have stopped it forever, but a moment was enough to prove your change of heart."

The ghost queen looked down at the ground and fidgeted a bit.  "Can...I stay?"

The girl cocked an eyebrow.  "Hmm?"

"As a Warden...of Hakugyokurou."  Her voice cracked as she talked.

"I don't have a problem with it," she said.  "But do note that you won't regain your memories until you enter the afterdeath, one way or another."

Yuyuko smiled.  "I'm dead.  I can't...I can't imagine memories of life would make me happy."

"No, I don't believe they would," the girl said, smiling back.  "In that case, you may remain Warden as long as you like.  If ever you wish to pass on, call for me.  I'm always watching."

"Who do I call for?"

"Eiki Shiki, the Yama of Xanadu," she replied.  "And be careful of your power.  You can lose your right to heaven just as quick as you got it if you go murdering people haphazardly."

"Duly...noted."

"Alice," she said, immediately moving onto the next person.  "You've been given a gift.  A rule was broken for you.  Legally...you shouldn't exist.  I'll also be taking the grimoire, leaving you powerless.  You'll have to learn to cope."

"I look forward to it," she said, grinning.

"As do I.  Now then, you," she seethed, making no attempt to cover up her distaste.

"Uh huh?" the original Alice said.  "Gonna cart me off to hell now?"

"Of course," Eiki said.  "Your crimes are too numerous to count, and too heinous to recount.  Hell is only suitable for..."

"Wait!" the new Alice shouted, staring intently at the Yama.  "Give her soul to me!"

"For what purpose?" she said, tilting her head.

"Your goal is the redemption of souls, right?" she said, excitement written all over her face.  "You don't believe she can change, which is why you're sending her to hell, right?  So give her to me.  Give me complete control over her soul.  Let me manipulate it in any way I see fit.  Let me punish it.  If anyone can make her cry for mercy, it'll be me."

Eiki hummed and looked back and forth between the two Alices.  "It's a bit unorthodox, but I like the idea."

"Yes!" the new Alice shouted in joy, pumping both fists into the air.

"And somehow," Eiki said, rubbing her chin, "I don't think hell could do your torture justice."

"Count on it," she said.

"But before that," the Yama said, turning to the original Alice once again, "I have something for you."

"Yeah?" she said, seemingly unperturbed by the deal the other two had just made.

"I make it a point not to make things personal," she said, thinning her eyes.  "I judge the dead.  I deal with murderers, rapists, and all manner of horrible people.

"But you," she said, pointing her finger accusingly at Alice, "you collected souls.  When I get back, there's going to be a huge backlog of things to do.  You've made my work harder.  You've hurt me personally."

"So?"

"So," she said.  She wound her fist up and punched forward as hard as she could, connecting with the center of Alice's face.  Infused with the power of the Yama, the head immediately disconnected from the body at the neck, flying hundreds of feet across the grass.  The body crumpled to the floor, fresh streams of blood floating out.  Eiki sighed in satisfaction.  She held her hand toward the body.  A small white wisp flew to her.

"There's the soul," she said, smiling.  "Sorry about the mess."

Hawk

  • Babababa~
Re: Eternal Border - a Touhou Reimagining
« Reply #24 on: October 23, 2009, 09:55:24 AM »
Epilogue ? The Boundary of Page and Thought

Marisa closed the book with a soft thump.  On its cover was the title Eternal Border ? Zero Plus Six Equals Six in gold letters.

"I saw it," she said, "and I still can't believe she did that."

A girl sat in a chair across from her.  "I felt it was a good way to end it."

"Yeah," the witch said, "but then you miss what happens after.  You know, after everything settled down, and there was no more fear of danger?and Yukari gapped away old Alice's corpse?Youmu popped out her ghost half just like that, and began bawling right there on the grass.  She kept shouting...you know...'Daddy.  Daddy.'  I couldn't watch it."

"What about the rest?"

"Okay, I guess," Marisa said, shrugging her shoulders.  "I mean, I read a lot of books, but they're all for reference.  Not much of a story person myself, so I probably wouldn't know good from bad."

"Ah."

"But still," she said, "you're going to explain all that other shit, right?  There seems to be a couple things that stand out as...weird, and aren't really explained.  I mean, I know most of it, but other people..."

"That'll be taken care of," the girl said, smiling.

"But man," Marisa said, staring up at the ceiling and grinning.  "I can't believe she just slugged off Alice's head.  That was so fucking awesome."

"I hope you won't mind me asking you for details about my next book," the girl said.

"Sure.  Which one'll that be?"

"The tale of the Scarlet Devil Mansion."

"Oh..." the witch said, smile gone.  "That makes sense, I guess.  Uh, sure.  Yeah.  Whatever you need.  I'm your girl."  She tapped her fingers along the chair's armrest for a few seconds.  "Hey, why're you writing these anyway?"

"It's...important to me," the girl said.  "I want everyone to know what really happened."

"Okay.  Hey, I'm gonna go get something to eat.  Wanna come?"

"No, thank you," the girl said.

"Ah, okay.  See you, then."

"Goodbye."





And that's it!  Part one completed.  It was a fun ride.  All comments and critiques are welcome, as they always have been.

Esifex

  • Though the sun may set
  • *
  • It shall rise again
Re: Eternal Border - a Touhou Reimagining - Part 1 Complete!
« Reply #25 on: November 01, 2009, 06:35:03 AM »
Oh, God, I want someone to draw the Yama Punch smashing Alice's head.

Not because I don't like Alice - I do - but I like Shikieiki more. And just going RAGEPUNCH seems like an awesome thing to witness.

Hawk

  • Babababa~
Re: Eternal Border - a Touhou Reimagining - Part 2 In Progress!
« Reply #26 on: March 18, 2010, 09:09:35 AM »
WHAT THE FUCK HE'S UPDATING NO

If anyone still cares, the updates shall begin again!
If no one cares, give part 1 a shot!  You may be just offended enough to keep reading!

I have no excuse!

3
2
1
GO

There is very minor sexual content in the things to come.  If it's a problem, I'll remove it immediately, but I stress that it's extremely limited in nature.  Be warned, though.





Prologue ? Dance

Fly, Fly
through the night
try your best to catch a sight
Cry, Cry
out your fears
they await with joyful cheers
Why, Why
do you wait
enter now the devil's gate
Eye, Eye
sees the sins
in the tale of Scarlet Twins





Dream 1 ? Life, Death, Earth

"Step right up!  Step right up!  Try your hand and see if you will be the lucky one to take the prize home!"

A young boy walked up the wooden steps.  The crowd gave a great cheer, with no shortage of "Go for it!"s and "Show it what's what!"s.  The vendor tapped her cane on the table at her side, beckoning the boy closer.  She wore a gaudy topcoat with two long tails that scraped along the floor.  On her head was a bright red top hat, which magically stayed balanced, despite her constant swaggering to and fro.

"Just grab three darts, and have a go!" she cried with a grin on her face.  "Aim for the center!"  She turned to face the rambunctious crowd.  "How about we give the kid some encouragement!  I mean, come on!"

The crowd erupted even more fiercely than before, to the point where the vendor couldn't even hear her own voice.  The yelling was overpowering, and also uplifting.  The man holding a drink in one hand and his woman in the other, the old man cherishing the vigor of youth, even the other vendors, even the birds flying by!?she could feel all of their passion and fury, and she knew the boy could too.

"That's what I'm talking about!" she shouted, but no one heard her.

The boy picked up his first dart.  He was visibly shaking from head to toe.  He reared back, breathing in and out rapidly, and flung his arm forward.

Third ring out.

"Oh, a near miss!" she shouted, tapping her cane rapidly on the table.  The crowd let out a collective "Awww" before resuming their boisterous rancor.  If anything, it was even louder than before.

"Hey, boy!" she yelled.  "If you get a bullseye, I'll give you a kiss!"

The boy's face flushed deep red, as his head jerked down in an embarrassed nod.  The crowd whooped wildly, and more than one man brought his girl in for a smooch right there.  If anything, the boy shook more violently than before.  Sweat rolled down his face in small rivers.  The vendor slit her eyes, taking note of what the crowd couldn't see?what was most important.

His grip on the dart had tightened.

Once again, he brought his arm back, a look of grim determination on his face.  He lurched forward and let fly.

First ring out.

A gasp rang out, followed by another moan of disappointment.  The vendor walked behind the boy and crouched, grabbing his shoulders and placing her mouth to his ear.  The crowd fretted about in an uncomfortable silence.

"Do you have anything you treasure?" she whispered.  "A girl?"

Blushing furiously, he shook his head, almost hitting hers in the process.  The vendor spied a drop of sweat making its way down his cheek.  She extended her tongue and pressed it against his skin, intercepting the drop.  It spread across her taste buds, a salty sweetness pervading her mouth.  The boy almost squealed, turning even redder than before.

"If you get a bullseye," she whispered, squeezing his shoulders tightly, "I'll let you do whatever you want to me.  You can touch me...or lick me...or bite me...or punish me.  Understand?"  She could feel the heat pulsing from his body.  He visibly shuddered with each furious beat of his heart.  A few seconds passed before he nodded his head violently.

"Alright!" she cried, turning to face the crowd.  "Let's let the kid know who's rootin' for him!"

The mass of people bubbled over, cheering, whooping, whistling, jeering, laughing, rioting.  The vendor could feel the vibrations through the ground and through the air, beating their way through her body, sparking a rush in her blood.  She reached up and grabbed her red top hat, placing it roughly on the boy's head, revealing the entirety of her own shining blonde hair.

The boy took a deep breath, swallowed, and threw.



"Ah...hah...hah..."  The boy harshly and clumsily thrust into the vendor.  Lying on her back, naked in the moonlight in the forest next to the village, she gazed at his sweating body with casual interest, smirking.  Mouth open, eyes squinted shut, the boy moved his hips into hers, eliciting a loud smacking sound with each plunge.  His hands held the girl's legs wide apart.

"Oh god!  G?mmm!"  The boy climaxed, tensing every muscle in his body.  Her legs were strangled by his now vice-like grip.  She could feel his seed being pumped into her, filling her to the brim, warming her.

He collapsed on top of her, chest to chest, naked bodies mashed together in the small clearing.  Their cheeks touched, and each time the boy breathed, the vendor felt herself being pushed into the ground.

She wrapped her arms around his neck.  "Good boy," she whispered.

"I...I love...you," he croaked.

"Yes, you do."

She opened her mouth, revealing two long fangs, and sank them deep into the boy's neck.  He made a single panicked cry before he lost consciousness.  She pulled the teeth free, and two small streams of blood began flowing from the wounds.  She placed her mouth to them and sucked greedily, drinking down the blood in copious amounts.

"Oh god," she moaned in-between mouthfuls.  She began breathing more heavily as she felt its warmth move through her body, stimulating her, exciting her.  She began giggling madly, the ecstasy overtaking her.

"Please come back."

"FUCK YOU!" she cried, throwing the body off of hers and standing up.  Blood was trailing down her chin, to neck and chest beyond.  With her nakedness and red, bloodshot eyes, she was more feral than the animals in the woods themselves.  She flung her head around until she found her target.

A girl was standing only a few feet away, a look of immense sadness on her face.  She wore a pink dress, and her skin was silky smooth and snow white, giving the impression that this wasn't a human, but a doll.  Her hair was grey with a hint of blue, like a cloudy day.  In one of her hands she held a long sword, glowing red in the moonlight.  But what she noticed most?what filled her with dread?were the two long bat-like wings protruding from the girl's back, spreading a meter on each side, at least.  They were dark and looming, giving the girl a dark feel in contrast to her bright skin.

"Are you okay?" the demon asked.

"I'm fucking fantastic!" she shouted, rubbing her arm across her chin, making a hasty attempt at washing away the blood.

"Well?" the other girl asked, tilting her head ever so slightly to one side.

The vendor stared at the ground in frustration, clenching her fists.  A heavy silence passed.

"Ah," the girl in pink said, the sadness on her face growing even harsher.  "I suppose it's a bit unfair."

"This isn't enough!?" the vendor cried, waving her arm to bring attention to the unconscious body of the boy, lying awkwardly on the ground.

"Is it?" the girl said.

The vendor looked down suddenly, noticing the boy's discharge had begun leaking out of her, slowly creating several glistening trails down her legs.  She stared at them with rage and embarrassment, cheeks flushing red.  Her head began to feel fuzzy, and she collapsed to the ground, tears forming in her eyes.

The demon watched.

"God damn it," she whimpered, punching the ground.  "God damn it, god damn it, god damn..."  Her body began to feel cold in sharp contrast to her face.  Chills ran through her arms and legs, eliciting an uncomfortable prickling sensation.

"Ah!" she cried, clenching her stomach.  The pains had returned like a heartbeat.  Every other second the aches would fly through her, rendering her unable to do anything but cry and writhe.  Spasms wracked her body.  Drool began falling down in strands from her open mouth.  She buried her face into the ground and pushed forward on her knees, grinding her forehead into the dirt.

Then they were gone, and she was left there shaking from cold and fatigue, covered in dirt, blood, drool, and semen.

"Leave," she choked.

"Why?" the girl asked.

"Because I've given up."

The girl gave a small, sad smile.  "That's why I'm here."

"No...no!" the vendor cried, flipping herself onto her back and sprawling out, staring at the moon high in the sky.  "I've really given up.  It's been four years.  I've given up.  I'm done.  Leave."

The girl stared at her for a few seconds in silence.

The vendor smiled grimly.  "Do whatever you want with L?vateinn.  I don't care.  Keep it, give it, throw it in a fucking lake.  I don't care."

"I see," she said, staring at the ground for a moment in contemplation.  She clutched the hilt of the sword more tightly.  "Then I won't come again."

"Lovely," the vendor whispered, closing her eyes and falling asleep.

Hawk

  • Babababa~
Re: Eternal Border - a Touhou Reimagining - Part 2 In Progress!
« Reply #27 on: March 18, 2010, 09:10:45 AM »
Real 1 ? こっけいじゃないか

I walked slowly along the old dirt path.  The sun was only just peeking its head over the horizon, and its rays reached my face, warming my features.  I felt a little better, but only a little.  On both sides of me was a grassy field, trees poking out at various places.  The birds had begun their morning song a while ago, and it felt like they were reaching their crescendo with the coming of the light.

I dragged my feet, kicking up small clouds of dust.  I was beginning to get tired, so I stepped off the path and sat down on the grass with a awkward thump.  It jostled me, enough to where I felt a lump, a tickle, lying in wait in my throat.

I didn't cough.

If I had, it might have gone on for hours.  I might have begun crying, or even bleeding.  I might have lost consciousness.  I would have been loud.  And then they might have found me.

And then they would have stopped me.

So I grabbed my throat with my frail, brittle hand, and, with a strength born of determination, I squeezed.  I waited, but the tickle remained, pulsing with presence.  I began collecting saliva in my mouth.  I sucked at my glands, drawing more and more.  When I felt I had a sizable amount, with my hand still suffocating me, I swallowed.

It's an uncomfortable experience.  The wad had trouble traveling down to my stomach.  This pressure caused it to grind violently against my esophagus, against the tickle itself.  I could feel the lump growing dimmer, and then it was gone.  I let go of my throat and breathed deep.

My eyes were mildly wet, so I wiped them off with my sleeve.  It was a trick I'd discovered years ago, back when the attacks first started happening.  Back when, in-between coughs, I would see flashes of sadness in my mother's eyes, and anger in my father's.

I was an only child, and Dad hated me for it.  There would be no male heir to the family name.  In fact, I think he would have been satisfied if I'd only been a strong woman.  He might have been proud of my existence.  He might have been more successful.

He might not have killed himself.

Come on, Patch.  You have to start walking again sooner or later.

I grumbled at my own thoughts and pushed myself up.  I winced; my entire body ached?perhaps audibly?as I stood, unsteady and pale.  I took a deep breath and began walking again.

Noon had approached by the time I made it to The Fork.  That's what we called it.  The road led to the next village over if you kept straight, but there was a side path here at The Fork, a far less kept road that led into the Two-Holes Forest.  It was rocky and uneven, so, before even attempting it, I decided to rest again.

Before I'd gotten sick, Mom had been a sad woman.  Dad would give her looks?especially when she placed his plate in front of him at dinner.  It was a look of: You can cook this dinner, but you can't give me a son?  You can make me clothes, but you can't give me a son?  You can satisfy my lust at any time I choose, but you can't give me a son?

You can give me a daughter, but you can't give me a son?


Isn't it funny?  That means he was actually satisfied with everything else.  He was so pleased by her efforts, it made her one failing all the more unforgivable in his eyes.  It was like a piece of food caught in someone's pearly-white teeth.  It was like a pimple on an otherwise perfect face.  It was like a fly landing on your delicious meal.  It was like a single weed in a field of grass.  It was like a frown at a festival.  It was like a single yellow page in a book of whites.

It was like...it was a daughter in a family of three.

...

I think it's funny.

After the attacks began, Mom stopped being sad.  I didn't get to see any emotions on her face any more.  When I woke up in the morning, I would stare at the floor as I said "good morning" so that she couldn't look at me with those dead, expressionless eyes.  Two little dots of black, flying around the room...silent spies.

God...if only they'd buzzed like flies.  At least then I could've avoided them as a source of annoyance.  But no, Mom made no noise.  Don't you get it, Mom?  People's eyes are naturally attracted to each other!  When you see someone looking at you, you look back!  When I felt you watching me, I couldn't help but look up and...

And...

...

After Dad killed himself, Mom took to sitting in her chair all day, staring into oblivion.  She would sit there, fall asleep, wake up, and continue sitting until she needed to eat.  Once a day, like clockwork, I'd hear the familiar creaking of her shuffling to find food.  I'd become the provider of the family.  I supplied the food.

And after all that...isn't that funny?

There was a man in the village who'd always wanted me.  I'd always known.  I could tell by the way he looked at me.  It made sense to me; even though I was weak, I'd always considered myself a fairly attractive fourteen-year-old.  So, when it looked like we wouldn't be able to eat any more, I went to him and proposed a deal.  Once a week for a week's worth of money.

Dad had never been particularly subtle about his and Mom's sex.  He would call for her in the middle of the day, and even leave the door open sometimes.  Their moans and screams and grunts ring clearly in my memories, ingrained after years and years.  I knew enough from this to tell the man that he couldn't have sex with me.  He was confused, and I continued saying that I would use my mouth or my hands or my feet or my breasts or whatever else, but he couldn't use my vagina.  He asked why.  I said his thrusts would probably kill me.

He agreed.  He told me my lips were red and beautiful.

Into the forest I went.  After traveling under the hot noon sun for a while, the shade of the trees was a relief.  I pondered offhandedly how many people had ever taken this road.  It couldn't have been many.  They were too afraid of the demon that lived in the castle on the far side of the forest.  She filled the woods with vile creatures of the dark, ready and willing to feast on the flesh of the living.  Simply by walking into its land, you would be cursed with all kinds of hellish spells.  You could be covered in hives so bad you claw your own eyes out.  Flies, locusts, wasps, and ants could attack you, deconstructing your body in bit-by-bit chunks until there's nothing left.  The flow of your blood itself could begin to burn like fire, so bad that you cut yourself to try and drain the veins.  You could vomit out your own heart.  You could be haunted by the ghosts of your loved ones.

But that was all child's play.  The worst that could happen to you is that you die.  No, what the people were truly afraid of was the demon herself.  The Lady Tepes.

There were no accounts of her appearance.  No one had ever lived who'd seen her.  She was supposedly a vampire, a creature with immense power over the underworld and its denizens.  She could become a bat, she was indestructible during the full moon, she could even become mist itself.  It was a white mist, the stories said, the kind that makes you lose your way.  After hours of searching, from anxious walking to frantic sprinting, finally you'd pass out from exhaustion.  Then the mist would reform back into her body, and she would stand before your helplessness.  She would lift your head, and gaze lovingly at your unprotected neck.  She would open her mouth to reveal two long, shining fangs, and plunge them into the tender skin.  Then she pulls them out, and begins drinking the now flowing blood.  This is what sustains her, and it is the most horrifying thing you can imagine, because after she's done...that's when you become one of hers.  You become the walking dead, a white-faced, shambling horror, inextricably linked to her in undeath.  Forever.

Or so they say.

Get it?  Two-Holes Forest?  Two fangs...the neck...

What did you think it meant?

...

The forest was actually pretty nice.  I saw a few squirrels, and a fox.  The squirrels I could get pretty close to, but the fox darted as soon as I made a move.  Oh well.  My legs began aching again after a while, so I rested myself down on a fallen tree, taking in large, steady breaths.

I'll never let a man touch me again.  Never.  I'll never touch him, or rub him, or suck him ever again.  And certainly, I'll never swallow his...his filth again.  Never again.  Never again.

Never.

The day before I left the village?yesterday?I went up to Mom.  I'd just come back from...servicing that man, and I needed to know.  She was sitting in her chair as always, and this time I stared directly into her dead, black eyes without turning away.

"Mom, do you love me?" I asked.  I was surprised at how forcefully I said it.

She blinked a few times and stared at me, a quaint confusion spread over her face.  It was as though herself?the part of her that had vanished when I got sick?was resurfacing after all these years, clawing its way free from the dirt and grime.  The cold, stoic figures of her face began to melt away, replaced by a warm, gentle smile.

"No, my dear.  No.  In fact, you're everything that's wrong with my life.  You're my greatest mistake and my biggest regret."

I make it a point not to be surprised by people, but...oh my god, Mom...

That was all she said, and then her features began hardening, quickly freezing over until she was once again that cold statue with the two beady, black eyes that had haunted my life to that point.

I walked into my room and shut the door.  I was shaken?no, I was beyond shaken.  I was...mortified.  My world was shattered.

...

Logically, I think I'd always assumed Mom hated me.  But logic has no place in the heart of a fourteen-year-old girl.  She just wants her mother to hold her, to say, "No matter what happens, darling, no matter how much pain we go through, I want you to know that I love you."

That's all.

That's all I wanted, Mom.

You ungrateful whore.

You bitch!

You cunt!

You slut!

You...you COWARD!

Coward...

Both you and Dad.

...and me, too.

...

I left early in the morning, while Mom was sleeping.  Actually, I don't know she was sleeping; it's hard to tell.  But I didn't care.  I knew where I was going.  I'd had it planned for months.  But I'd always stopped myself from going.  After all, I couldn't just leave Mom here alone.

Isn't it funny?

She left me all alone, and hid inside herself.  She'd been doing exactly what I couldn't bring myself to do to her for years.  That's when I realized that my entire life has just been one big joke.  To whom?  Maybe God?  I don't know if he exists; I'd like to think he doesn't.  I'd like to, but this joke has to be for someone's benefit.  And if I have to have a pale, white face and a vibrant, red frown, then why shouldn't I be God's sad...little...clown?

ISN'T IT FUNNY?

I pushed myself back up and was on my way.  I wanted to reach the castle before dark.  Still, try as I might, the noises of the forest began to change.  At some point everything became silent except the soft patter of my footsteps on the dirt path.  I heard an owl hoot and knew that my time was getting short.

I could see both the sun and the moon when I finally emerged from the sea of trees.  I could only glance at them for a moment before my view was completely dominated by the castle in front of me.  It's not that it was particularly large, but it had this...feeling.  This ominous wrath that descended into my heart and clutched it...squeezed it tightly.  My breathing became short and rapid, and I felt like I was going to faint.  I fell to my knees as the dizziness overtook me.  I grabbed my head with both hands, forcing myself to stop shaking.

It's just a castle, Patch!  It's just a collection of stone and wood.  You're doing this to yourself.  You're doing this to yourself.

I knelt there for several minutes, slowing my breaths until the world stopping spinning.  She wouldn't best me, not yet, not until I've done what I came here for.  With all the determination of a pissed off fourteen-year-old girl, I plowed through the dark presence.  After all, this was nothing compared to the despair Mom was able to inflict on me.  I guess she made me stronger.

Isn't it f...

...nevermind.

I made it to the giant wooden door.  It towered over me, and in an instant I realized that under no circumstances could I open it.

Well...crap.

I make a point not to be surprised by people, but I have no qualms about screaming when a giant door starts moving all on its own.  It creaked and groaned as though it hadn't been used in centuries.  Then I remembered who was supposed to be living in the castle.

Oh.

When it had completely opened, I could see deep into the main hall of the building.  It was mostly dark, though in the far back there shone a halo of light, illuminating a terrifying red throne.  Yes, I just said the throne itself was scary.  If you saw a portrait of it, it might seem serene.  It was unmistakably old, and the pillar of light brought to focus the hundreds of dust motes floating around lazily.  But still, it was horrifying.  She had sat in it.  I knew it.

I stepped inside.

The giant doors slammed shut behind me, crashing with a great roar before leaving me in unsettling silence and darkness.  All I could see was the throne.

"It's been a very long time since someone came to visit me."

From out of the darkness and into the halo of light, Lady Tepes walked, turning to sit on her crimson throne.  With a small wave of her hand, she motioned me forward.  My legs began moving, working autonomously from my brain.  Of course, this wasn't necessarily bad.  It gave me time to think, as the room was rather large.

Be calm, Patch.  Just follow the plan.  If she wanted you dead, she wouldn't have opened the door for you.  At least, she doesn't want me dead yet.

I could start making out her face.  She was...short.

Man, sure would be nice to ask for guidance from someone.  Like, "Dad, watch over me."  I'm pretty sure, though, that, if the whole heaven and hell thing does exist, only the guys from heaven get to "watch over" anything.  Sorry, Dad.  No can do.  And Mom's only dead on the inside.  Oh, I got it!

Dear guy who made me swallow his sperm, please guide my steps and voice.  After all, you never lied to me, I'll give you that, you piece of filth and grime and sweat and piss.  We had a very honest relationship.  I could always trust you to give me the amount we agreed upon, and you could always trust me to not leave a drop behind.

...

Uh, amen.

"Can I say something?" I said, just outside the ring of light.

The Lady smiled.  "Go ahead."

"Well," I said, taking a deep breath, "I'm going to guess that you like to monologue, but if I don't get to do my thing, I'm probably going to pass out, as I've been traveling all day, and my body is pretty shoddily manufactured."

She frowned, not sure if I was insulting her.  "Alright," she said slowly.

"Then, can I step into the light?"

She made another small wave of her hand, allowing me forward.  I could tell she was excited, interested in what I had to say, but that she wanted to put on an indifferent face.  Perhaps as a show of power.

"First," I said, stepping into the ring, "I'm going to show you why you shouldn't eat me.  I need you to see my eyes closely."

"Vampires have excellent vision," she said, staring deep into my eyes for a moment.  I was surprised to find myself thinking of Mom.  "They're yellow...ish."

"That's right," I said.  "My body is wracked with more diseases than you can count, but the one you'll be interested in is a little-known illness called anemia.  My blood doesn't carry oxygen well, to the point where I would hypothesize that it would taste absolutely dreadful to you."

She mused for a moment.  "Alright.  What do you want?"

This is it, Patch.

"Can...no, no," I stammered, "Will...um...Do?  Do..."

"Out with it!" the Lady growled.

I squinted my eyes shut, clenched my fists, and put forth my entire soul and body.

"Do you want to be friends?"

I make it a point not to be surprised by people, but I love doing it to others.  Seeing the Lady's mouth agape for a moment, I knew I had won.

"W...Huh?" she stammered dumbly.  "What?"

"A year ago," I said, smiling, "I found out I could do this."

I held out my hand, palm up, closed my eyes, and concentrated.  Just do this like you've done it a hundred times before, I told myself.  Like all the other times, when I opened my eyes, there was a small orb of fire dancing above my fingertips, no more than an inch wide.  I'd learned that the fire couldn't harm me long ago; I didn't need to fear my fingers getting burned.

"A human with magic..." the Lady near whispered to herself, flicking her eyes from the small fire to me and back and forth.  Her fingers tapped little beats on the armrest, and she clicked her tongue a few times.

She grinned.  "I get it."  It was the first time I'd seen her teeth, particularly the fangs.  They weren't quite as long as I'd imagined.

"No one knows," she said.  "But you know they'll find out eventually, and then, one of two things happen.  One, you die?probably burned at the stake.  Or two...you kill everyone.  Neither of these choices tickle your fancy, so you decided to come to me, leaving your old life behind.  Am I wrong?"

"Just what I would expect from the great Lady Tepes," I said, returning the upper hand.

"Oh Christ," she grunted.  "Look, I'm only telling you this because, one way or another, you're not leaving tonight.  The name is Remilia Scarlet.  Like the chair."  She knocked twice on the armrest.

I flicked my eyes from the chair to her and back and forth.  I tapped muffled little beats on my hip.

I grinned.  "I get it.  You're a low class vampire, looking to gain some infamy, so you moved into a preexisting vampire's castle and latched onto his fame, using his name to your advantage.  You kept your appearance hidden, so perhaps you were planning on 'killing' Lady Tepes and replacing her with Remilia Scarlet, the even more powerful, even more fearsome vampire.  Am I wrong?"

She frowned.  "What exactly do you want?"

"Knowledge," I said immediately, almost shouting.  "From your head, from your books.  All of it.  I want to learn how to use magic properly.  I'd rather kill everyone than burn at the stake.  And...it would be nice to talk to someone.  That's what I'm offering you."

She raised an eyebrow.  "Seems like you get much more out of this deal than I."

I knelt and bowed my head, extinguishing the flame finally.  "I have far less."

She got up and began walking over to me, slowly, elegantly.  "What's your name?"

"Patchouli..."  My breath caught in my throat as I stopped myself.

"Hmm?" Remilia said, now looking down on my kneeling frame.

"I...I would much rather never use that family name again," I said.

"Then what?"

I looked up at her face.  It was only at that distance that I began to understand exactly what I was dealing with.  From only a few feet away, I could see her features clearly.  She was short, and her fangs weren't very impressive, but...oh god.  From close up, she was the devil herself.  Evil emanated from her in waves of sludge that washed over my body and senses.  I began to feel dizzy again.

I understood.  The feeling around the castle wasn't the building; it had always been her.  She had turned it off to talk to me, but now she was blasting me full force again, enforcing her position as fear itself.  She would not be mocked; she would not be trifled with; should would not lose.  Ever.

"When I have enough power to raze the village that killed my innocence with a single attack, then...please call me Patchouli Knowledge."

Isn't it funny?
« Last Edit: March 21, 2010, 04:38:18 AM by Hawk »

Esifex

  • Though the sun may set
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  • It shall rise again
Re: Eternal Border - a Touhou Reimagining - Part 2 In Progress!
« Reply #28 on: March 18, 2010, 11:41:06 AM »
Patchouli was originally at the top of my list of favorite Touhous, but this is a very interesting take on her backstory. The Scarlet Sisters bit was interesting, too.

Alfred F. Jones

  • Estamos orgullosos del Batall?n Lincoln
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  • y de la lucha que hizo por Madrid
Re: Eternal Border - a Touhou Reimagining - Part 2 In Progress!
« Reply #29 on: March 18, 2010, 11:33:56 PM »
There is very minor sexual content in the things to come. If it's a problem, I'll remove it immediately, but I stress that it's extremely limited in nature.  Be warned, though.

The sexual content in question wasn't the focus of your latest update-- but even then, if you write any more content like this, then we shall have to put an NSFW tag in the title. PSL's policies towards sex scenes are relatively liberal, so there's no outright banning just for having a few descriptions like that in your fic. :P But again, if you write any more like this, then please edit your OP to say [NSFW] in the thread title. (I wouldn't worry about it myself; if the other fanworks marked NSFW are any indication, then your story will quickly have more views, not less. :V)

/moderator

I've always had a fondness for backstory fics-- and this one is pretty interesting, too. Holy wow, Patchurry's pretty bitter. And she has a spine of tungsten steel to just walk into that castle and say "Do you want to be friends?" Well, not like she had much to lose... this is awesome, sir, well done.