?Booooring~?
Reimu?s aim had been flawless as always, but the seal never made it to its target. Rin had swiped it once with her bow as it came in range, cutting it clean in half. The entire time her focus remained entirely on her instrument, not even looking at Reimu?s weapon as she destroyed it. Two harmless pieces of paper fell to the ground besides Rin as she returned to her performance. Reimu didn?t flinch, not entirely surprised by the gesture.
Should?ve guessed she wouldn?t have been dumb enough to screw with me if she didn?t know how to defend herself.
She wondered if Rin was deliberately accentuating the whiny undertones of the erhu in order to annoy her. If she was, it was definitely working, as she could feel a vein or two rising in her forehead.
Guess I?m going to have to take this girl a little more seriously.
She pulled out a handful of paper seals, muttering an incantation as she did so. The cards pulsed a light shade of red, a sign that they had been enchanted with a simple homing charm. So she could counter one projectile? Big deal. Reimu wouldn?t be impressed until she could stop five at the very least.
?Let?s see if you?re still bored after this-!?
Reimu let the seals fly every which way, each one following its own trajectory for a second or so. Then, all at once, they flashed a shade of purple and turned on Rin, still distracted by her own music. This had to be it, there was no way she could cut them all at the same time and she only needed to hit once-
?Fly.?
Rin uttered a single word, pointing her bow straight upward with a smirk. A force stronger than Reimu?s charm struck the cards, and forgetting their original goal they all began to rise into the clear blue sky. The five cards struck each other several feet above Rin?s head, and fluttered down around her like rain as she returned to playing her trustworthy erhu.
The hell?!
True to her word, Reimu was impressed by what she?d seen so far. This girl had seemed like a simple run-of-the-mill youkai who would be no threat to a veteran combatant like her, but clearly she was far more of a threat than Reimu had first thought.
Alright, then. Guess there?s no holding back now.
Reaching into another pocket, Reimu pulled out a different type of card. A small incantation was written on it, and it was made of sturdier stuff than the ones she had been using earlier. Unlike the previous ones, though, this one wasn?t designed to be thrown. Holding it between two fingers, Reimu began to recite the spell written on the card.
?Orbs of light, recognise the darkness before me and purify it without mercy.?
The card began to glow as it was activated, waiting on Reimu to complete the declaration. Rin undoubtedly heard the incantation, but she didn?t move a muscle as the miko prepared to end the fight with one blow.
Sorry, kid, but this is the end of the line. You might have lived longer if you knew your place.
?Spirit Sign! Fantasy Seal!?
Completing the chant, Reimu watched as the card flashed rapidly, each flash producing a colourful sphere of light about the size of Reimu?s torso. When the flashing finished there were a dozen orbs floating around Reimu, and in an instant they moved in unison towards Rin. It was just the same attack as before, but powerful enough to avoid any of the cheap tricks which had saved the youkai before.
Hm? She stopped playing.
Rin?s hand had slid under the erhu, a few words escaping her lips. The orbs continued to close in, with enough force to easily wipe her off the face of the earth, but she remained totally calm.
?...The winds look favourably on me, and grant me their blessing.?
Her hand slipped out from behind the erhu, holding out a single card. As it faded into a pure white light, Reimu finally advanced into outright shock.
?Wind Sign, Miracle of Chi Bi~?
The paper scraps lying at Rin?s feet began to float in the air, lifted by an unseen wind. Then, with a single flash, the seals were blown away by a gargantuan wind, a miniature air current focused on Rin herself. Reimu?s orbs were nowhere near powerful enough to stand up to this force of nature, scattering almost as quickly as the seals did. Even Reimu herself was caught up in the attack, knocked backwards into the staircase to the main shrine.
?Aah!?
She heard something crack as her back collided with solid stone. Pain ran up her spine and forced her to grit her teeth, amd she was relatively sure she?d broken a rib or two. She hadn?t taken injuries like this in a long time, and never without doing at least as much damage to her opponent.
Kinda wish I was a youkai now...damn bastards would be up and walking in five seconds after something like this.
?Oh, did I hurt you~??
Rin skipped over to the fallen miko, still cringing from her wounds. Her childish smile was unbefitting given that she had just taken one of Gensokyo?s strongest fighters and basically beaten the crap out of her, Reimu would still probably be a match for her if she?d come prepared, but the element of surprise and Reimu?s underestimation of her strength gave her the edge she needed.
?No, of course not. I?m wincing in pain because I feel like it.?
Reimu expected her opponent to gloat here, maybe finish her off. The last thing she expected was concern from her foe, who proceeded to place her erhu on the floor and hold Reimu in her arms. The miko would have responded, but she was too sore to have the energy to oppose her.
?There, there...this?ll make the pain all go away~?
Rin?s hands ran across Reimu?s back, her fingers glowing slightly as a sign that magic was at work. As she touched the injuries Reimu felt a strange sense of relief, of calm, as if she?d never been hurt at all. Beneath her skin her bones knit themselves back into place, and as Rin broke off the hug the only sign that Reimu had been injured at all was a few scrapes on her robes.
?You...how did you...?
This was a power unlike anything Reimu had seen before. She?d met all sorts of youkai during her time in Gensokyo, but none had ever possessed healing powers like these. Rin beamed another grin at Reimu, taking the opportunity to boast.
?Don?t worry, damage like that is no problem for a Kirin~!?
The name was enough to leave even Reimu stuttering. The Kirin were considered by many to be the most powerful of all the creatures of folklore, and were thought by some to be healers of great strength. No wonder she had been tossed around so casually.
?So...can I get back to playing now??
Rin asked the question nonchalantly, as if nothing had ever happened. Reimu, still slightly in shock, took a minute to comprehend the request.
?Oh, uh, yeah, sure thing.?
...Wait, I?m agreeing!? Why am I letting her intrude on my territory like this!?
Reimu was starting to doubt the words coming from her own mouth. She told herself that she needed to get rid of this girl, but somehow she couldn?t bring herself to do it. There was a feeling here she?d never felt for anyone before, something no-one else had earned from her.
Do I...do I respect her?
Rin restarted her performance as Reimu lost herself in thought. She played her erhu like a virtuoso, adding a devious, mischievous edge to an otherwise overly upbeat song. Reimu found herself getting lost more and more in the music, thinking that it fit the girl surprisingly well.
The song ended, and Rin bowed again to her audience. Reimu clapped again, this time with genuine energy and pride. The musician began to put away her bow, apparently finished for the day.
?Wait!?
Reimu was as surprised by her own outburst as Rin was. This wasn?t like her ? since when was she so worried about another person? And a youkai, at that? It was a feeling totally new to her, and it frightened her to a small degree.
Still...I guess the only way I?m gonna figure it out is if I run with it.
?Well...any chance that I could get an encore??
---
In the end I got my excuse to write, so meh. Don't feel like you absolutely have to pay me for this one, Theorist (though donations are obviously appreciated~)
So yeah, it's 1:30am over here so that's all the writing I probably have time for tonight. If this counts as a sample, maybe it'll get people more interested in making genuine requests, so...yeah. :V
