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ATTENTION ALL READERS, NEW AND OLD:
I am sorry, but there will be no more updates to this on this forum. Search for it through Google or somethin', maybe find out through word of mouth.
This is a Touhou-related piece, my first actually. I'm okay with critiquing and feedback.
Prologue
Very busy?
A very busy person? I am?
At the moment? Not much time?
Yes? a break?
Time to take a break? Sit back and relax?
Moving back from the shining light, I put down my pen.
Three hours. Whew. Never constructed a work such as this.
Lifting my masterpiece from the hard wood of the desk, I think back on what I accomplished. The lines, the divots, and the colors; I had created a wonderful thing. A mountain, covered with snow?something I don?t normally draw either. I lay back in my chair looking at the rotating fan, hanging down from my ceiling. The Moon hovers outside my window. Resting in the dark, smooth sky, it reflects over the lake nearby as a bright glowing sphere?only marveled by the Sun.
It is approaching late autumn, yet no snow has lain on the ground. I hope that this winter will suffice. Winter has always brought warmth into my heart, despite the freezing weather and traditional dates of the season. The sky still glitters with stars outside, even in this twilight. I live in a more rural area, but not too far from the aforementioned lake and a couple mountains and valleys in the vicinity. Some roads are nearby, but I like the quiet out here. It allows me some silence and some nice scenery to view.
I check my clock: 1:00 A.M. Not bad. Detail like this does take its time with the pencils and the calories my arm burned. I ought to get to bed, but I am still waiting. Today is that day of the week. Oh? Did I forget to mention? There is this person who has been meeting me out here recently. It appeared out of nowhere and bothers me once a week. The person always seems interested in spiriting me away, but I choose to remain. They always seem to come back and only at night. The figure speaks calmly all the time, almost warming and gentle. Sometimes we have a short discussion, sometimes long, but it constantly throws in that idea of following them. Claiming that where they live is a great place, full of ?wonder? and ?illusion?.
I wait for another thirty minutes. Sitting in my chair waiting for the return. Sweat beads down my face. Shall I go for it this time? I don?t know. I have been rather lonely recently and living in nothing but drawing and feasting. The clock strikes 1:30 and in the room a curvy, poorly drawn thread appears out of nothing. A bow at each end forms and the middle begins to swell open. Eyes appear behind this hole as it opens. A dark figure creeps out of the hole and closes the hellish hole behind them.
?What do you want?? I say morbidly.
?Have you been faring well, recently?? the figure speaks.
?Pretty well. It?s been the usual loneliness, but I?m doing swell.? responding as I slink back into my chair, back still turned. A mirror set on my desk gives me a reflection of the figure standing there.
The figure decides to move into the light. Walking towards me, the light begins to glare on the person. First the feet appear, colored white with red across them. A nice tint of purple shows thereafter as the persons dress moves into the light?I am assuming it?s a nightgown. White Victorian gloves and straight arms, waist, then past the chest and finally the chin move into the light. From here, I can see the person?s hair, and dimly their face. The hair is of blondish color and wavy with some red bows in it. Having a small smile crack from her face, she speaks?
?What is your decision?? while slightly breathing down my neck. Warm air.
?Yukari, what is your reasoning for speaking to me, even wanting to take me away? I do not even deserve this. I?m busy and I?m fine the way I am?? I retort.
?Silly boy. I do this out of speculation. Even though, yes, the place where I come from is secluded from the rest of your world, I think it was time that I bring some fresh air into the land. I picked a random area and decided that the random person would be the one to come with me. Besides, the human population in Gensokyo is dwindling. I am asking for your consent on this, also.? Her smile widens a bit. She lets out a small giggle as well.
?Well? I am grateful for your offering, but I still can?t decide on my decision.?
?Aw? Think about it. After watching you for quite some time, I still think you might enjoy it there.? She sits down in my comfortable chair, and pulls it near to my chair. I still don?t look at her?
?I still need time though. To think and to give my last memories in this world, if you would at least give me that.? I speak, letting the words slide out of my mouth.
?Fine. I will give you two weeks.? She gets up from the chair. ?At least promise me that you will decide by then. It is bad enough as is that I am waiting.?
?You won?t be disappointed, okay.?
She begins to leave slowly, opening the hole back up again, but stops short. She turns around and moves back toward me. She pulls something out.
?I remembered. A gift. From one of the residents who will be waiting for your arrival, like several of the others.? She lays the object astray on my desk.
I pick it up. It is a doll. A fairly crafted one, I?ll admit that. It?s about 25 cm tall and has somewhat long blond hair. A big red bow is tied on top and it seems it has a similar one tied to its neck. The doll was wearing a long purplish dress with a small white apron. Two lines for eyes came along with two little shoes for its feet. A hourai doll. I wonder? Looking closer underneath the left shoe, there is engraved a very curly M. That M confirms my speculation. Margatroid. So the seven-coloured puppeteer already knows of my existence, eh? I thought Yukari was reclusive about her whereabouts, but I guess not in this case. After examining the doll, I turn to face her. I stand up stating?
?Send my best regards to the maker of this doll. Tell her that I will arrive shortly in due time and return with the gift in my possession?
?I will make sure of it, when I have the time,? Yukari yawned. ?As you can see, I must be going.? She giggles, again.
Yukari recedes back into the hole slowly with her feet disappearing last, and closes it behind her. The bows disappear and the line fades away. Oh what a night? I glance back at my clock: 2:00 A.M. I have never been up this late on especially a night of the full moon. But again, I have two weeks to say goodbye to this world and enter another filled with illusion and dreams?
?And colorful bullets. Mustn?t forget that?
I rest the doll up on my side bureau near my bed. I change my clothes and pull up the covers. Turning off the lamp, I slide into my bed, pulling the covers up. Slowly drifting off to sleep, I stare at the moon?
Land of illusion, huh?
The world I leave behind, compared to a land of ?illusions??
???
?
Yeah? It?s worth it?
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End of Prologue.
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Chapter One:
The Last Moments
The light settles behind the horizon
Under a cloud of dirt and gravel
Only to find new light on the other side...
…How do I know these people already? Well, Isn’t the answer quite simple?
You’re right… It doesn’t have to be, but like most Internet-goers, I found out by searching or being told about it. When I discovered it, I felt like I had found something so interesting. It became a part of my life, even into my vocabulary in various cases.
I have to say goodbye though, pack my things, and take the portal to the Land of Illusions, Gensokyo. I don’t have much that I want to bring, save for maybe some pencils, my xylophone, and the acoustic/electric guitar. Some of my writings I may stash in my pocket for good keeping.
That doll though… Why? Why such a gift coming from a loner in a forest. Wait… Who am I to judge the way people act?
I wake up the next morning, ready for everything that I have left to cherish of this world, before wandering off into the next. I will miss it a lot.
I leave my small house, lock the door, and head out into the valley for a little bit. Going for a walk, enjoying the fresh air outside, I come across the lake. It was the lake that the moon shined upon last night. Walking up to the edge of the lake, I stick my hand into the cold water, feeling the flow of it for a few minutes. Water… I don’t know how much there will be over there…
I head back to the house, listening to the quarrels of birds in the high trees and the squirrels moving about. Leaves are still scattered on the ground, with their colors ranging from brown to a very light red. There probably will be leaves there two… maybe…
Being away from civilization, you kind of wonder… I will end up going to a place that’s not much different than where I live currently, but much more dangerous… Yes, much more dangerous… But I don’t want to be near human settlement. I love nature. If there were anywhere I would stay, I would rather wander through the forests, meeting new people along the way…
The two weeks seemed to pass on slowly, a fortnight and fifteen sunrises. But I have said most of my goodbyes, though I never really had any to begin with… I just hope at least the ride is a safe one.
The last sunset, I wait patiently. The last time I will see the sun in this world. Sitting outside my small house, I watch as the sunsets slowly. That orange glow receding behind the ground will always be something well in my heart. But I bet they’ll have sunsets over on the other side. Goodbye, my friend… After watching the show, I close the door behind me and return to my bedroom. I pull one of my luggage cases out of my closet.
First things first: Clothes (I’ll probably be able to get more suitable ones in Gensokyo), the doll, a couple classic books, the xylophone, my wallet (after emptying it out first), several pots, my writings, and lastly a light prism. The prism reminds me of wondrous colours, and the knowledge of science I will remember. It will be worth it… I can carry my guitar too… The clock moves closer to midnight. I hope that she might arrive early, but I shouldn’t get my hopes up either. I wait patiently in my comfy chair.
The clock then strikes 1:30 and the hole begins to form again. Always 1:30, why not earlier? Yukari comes out of the hole first, but followed by three other figures; fairly young I might add. One has black long hair and primarily blue clothes on, topped with a blue bow. The middle one has short golden hair, with braids on the side, and wearing red and white cloth. The last one on the right seemed most uninterested by this scene, wearing what looks to be a white one-piece dress with black bows and a cap; the hair also being curled like drills. All three of them have wings of different shapes. Unusual. Why bring the Mischievous Fairies for something like this? Oh wait… my paraphernalia…
“Are you ready to go this time?” Yukari sneers a bit while moving closer.
“Yeah, but why bring th–?” As soon I as speak, the one with the drill hair grabs me and lifts me over her shoulder. “Hey! Put me down!” I exclaim, but she doesn’t budge.
“You need not worry. Everything will be okay. I just do not want you to get lost over the course of the trip.” She chuckles a little.
“Lost over the course of the trip? Is that why you brought them?” I add, as I turn my head at such an angle–my back still to Yukari.
“Oh yes. We would not want you and your junk to get lost in my realm, now would we?” Again with the giggling.
“Alright then. Take me to the other side.” The other two fairies grab my suitcase and my instrument. The blue one seems to be struggling with it, but the braided one decides to help. The one holding me moves towards the hole.
“This may hurt a bit…” Yukari says while slowly entering the hole. “HURT?” I cry. “You never said anything about that?” I remember that I need to do one last thing…
I ignite a match that I had in my pocket and toss it behind me. No one will know what happened here and no will remember…
“Did I really need to?” She says as she disappears in to the portal. And soon I enter it too. Goodbye Earth… The house beginning to burn behind us as the fairy holds me tight. I feel a stinging in my face, freezing cold. Nothing but eyes and I see Yukari nearby, but I can’t hold my pain in. I have never felt something like this before, ever… A dementia…
Eyes wide, I open up my mouth and I scream. Then… I blackout…
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End of Chapter 1
That's enough for today.
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Chapter Two:
The air so calm
Gives life to the blossom reborn
Fragrant in the breeze
Darkness… Still…
Fading…
AWAKEN…
My eyes open quickly. There is little to no light out. I lift my head into the air. Looking around, I notice the moon is still that glowing sphere in the sky. Grass... My belongings! I search around quickly. Where are they? Luckily enough, they are placed right at my side, just a couple feet away. I stand up and hastily grab my stuff, checking inside the suitcase to make sure nothing was taken.
Where am I anyway? What a stupid question to ask. I should be in Gensokyo, if Yukari was telling the truth. Where is she anyway? It’s cold out here too. Why did she leave me out here? Ah yes, she’s too busy doing her business… She could have at least left me at the border… Well, I guess I was asking for it, since I like living outside…
Still pondering, a completely dark sphere heads towards my position. The light from the moon reflecting off the trees makes it detectable. I try to remain as low as possible so the sphere may not see me. I step on a small branch by accident. To my dismay, the sphere stops about several meters in front of me. Most of the dark sphere disappears, revealing another childish-looking person. Arms spread out like a cross, wearing nothing but black with white sleeves; she has blondish hair with a small red ribbon attached to one clump of it. Her red eyes were glowing slightly, and she gave off a very sinister grin…
“You must be a new one…” She sneers.
“New one? Look, I’m trying to find a place to stay, okay.” I back away from her a bit, but she moves closer, gazing at me.
“Is that so?” Her smile widening a bit, show her somewhat sharp white teeth and her tongue…
“What do you want? I’m just here to find the border shrine.” Still back away… I should just make a run for it…
“But it’s rare for me to get a meal this good. It’s been such a long time. Let me feast!” She grabs my arm and pulls me down to the ground. Her weight is fairly light, but she’s able to pin me to the dirt. Strong one, isn’t she?
“Rumia, I am not food okay. I know you are hungry, but can’t you just eat lesser youkai?” I start to struggle a little bit. She moves her face closer.
“Attacking humans is a youkai’s job. It wouldn’t be as fun if I did something else.” She whispers into my face, letting me inhale her warm, slightly smelly breath. Ready to eat, Rumia licks my cheek. Moving back a bit she lifts my arm to her head, opening her mouth wide. I close my eyes tightly as immediately I feel a sting in my arm. I wail a bit as she begins to sink her teeth into the flesh of my arm.
“RUMIA~! RUUUUUMIA!” a voice comes from the bushes. “Where are you?” The voice moves closer. Soon enough the wretched youkai takes her piercing teeth out of the meat of my arm.
Out of the bushes comes a blue ribbon, followed by: blue hair, ice-laced wings, a one-piece skirt, and bare feet. Of all the people to come to my aide, I get the nine-ball. Actually, I should be lucky that even something like her is wandering about. Immediately she spots us and flies over.
“Rumia! Where were you? Did you get lost? We had been looking for you. And then the butt-lantern told me that Hide-and-seek was a bad idea. But my plans always work out, FOR I AM THE STRONGEST…” Again, not aware of my existence, she continues to ramble on with her childish banter. I pay no more attention to what she’s saying as the words constantly spew out of her small mouth.
I get up and dust myself off. It seems that they both moved a several meters–my arm bleeding a bit from the marks that the hungry one left. I tap the blue-tinted one, who still has her back towards me, on the shoulder. Quickly she turns around and shouts…
“How dare you interrupt me! I am talking right now! I should cryo-freeze you for all I care!” She continues on with the threats, until I cover her mouth with my hand, huffing…
“Look, I am cold. I just got here. My arm is bleeding thanks to your friend here! I’m tired, and I don’t need a little brat like you threatening me in this way… Take me to a shelter, or some place safer than out here okay… Or at least the border…”
The little one’s eyes open wider. She begins to pout a little bit, but then quickly takes out some icicles and points them at me. I put my hands up and back away…
“No,” Cirno moves one of the icicles up to my neck. “You’ll be listening to me.” I back up to the tree behind me,
“Alright then…” I put my hands down and the fairy yells to bushes, “Assemble!”
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Just then, three more figures come out of the bushes and trees. Another fairy with green hair–a bunch of it braided to one side–comes out. Near her, descending from the trees, comes a creature with sharp small talons. She has pink hair and pointed ears along with pink wings, dressing in white and brown. Lastly, a green haired fellow with antennae pops out of the bushes. Wearing white sleeves and puffy blue pants, she seems a little timid with her long cape drooping on the ground. The bug-child speaks first…
“Cirno, you better not be hurting people again…” The three newcomers encircle closer to the scene, but the green fairy seems to move closer to Cirno than the others.
“Shut up billboard, he touched me!” Cirno retorts–her face still red with anger.
“Touched you? We’ve been running around this whole time and a stranger randomly touches you?” This time the bird-like creature speaks, perching herself on the tree above me. “He doesn’t seem to be one of those types of people.” She cocks her head to the left and the right.
“He’s wounded too.” Wriggle says calmly. She lifts my arm up and examines it a bit. She turns to Rumia, “Rumia, why do you always have to try and eat people?”
“Sorry, G. I was starving and I couldn’t hold it in any longer…” Rumia puts her hands behind her back, looking innocent.
“That doesn’t make it rig–” The bird began to speak, but was cut off by Cirno.
“Enough of this! All that matters is that he’s a stranger and needs to be dealt with! Cockroach, carry him along! Dai-chan, take his stuff!”
Wriggle hesitantly turns me onto my back–belly up–and lifts upward. Struggling, she tries to hold my back up with one arm while lifting the fulcrum of my legs in the other. “Ugh… He’s a heavy one.” The bird, Mystia, helps and pushes my back into the air. Somewhat gracefully, the group begins to head out into the forest again, carrying me along, but Mysita and Wriggle carrying me near the back of the formation. Daiyousei grabbed my stuff that had been spewed onto the ground; she has some difficulty.
“I know a place where you can stay, and it’s right nearby,” Wriggle whispers into my ear. “It may not be the best place, but might work.” It appears that Mystia is in on it too, as she winks at me, smiling. Daiyousei still has my belongings, but then again, maybe she’s going to help as well. Her position is not that far near the leader.
Some minutes pass, Wriggle nods to Mystia and they quickly swerve away from the group and into the trees. They begin to move vary fast. Lo’ and behind, the green fairy follows closely behind. I knew I could at least trust some people…
We continue to zoom through the forest, soon reaching an open area.
“Here we are,” says Mystia. In the middle of the area appears to be a run down shrine, a very small one. Landing near it, they drop me on ground. I land with a small thud, but I’m mostly in tact. They dust me off.
We move up to the sliding door, but it’s closed and there seems to be a lock attached to it. I guess I can’t get in yet… I got to lie down on the walkway on the outside of the shrine. My belongings sit nearby.
The three of them turned to me, before leaving. “We are always in the forest right nearby, if you ever need us,” Wriggle whispers. With that, the three of them leave, to return to the other two that should be looking for them. My wounds begin to close up a little bit…
The moon has disappeared from the night sky. The sun’s light is seen in the sky, but it hasn’t pierced the sky itself yet, still resting below the horizon…
What an evening… never have I experienced such a night as this…
I begin to drift off to sleep on the hard flooring, waiting for my first morning in the land to greet me...
She was right…
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End of Chapter Two.
(Updates may be less frequent from now on since my vacation ended)
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Getting this in quickly...
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Chapter 3:
Autumn, the world is dying
Winter wishes to make its arrival
And recreate the world anew
I didn?t get that much sleep...
Soon enough, probably after the sun arose, something whacks me on the side of the head. It felt somewhat soft as well. All at once, I lift my upper body into the air and my eyes scan what had caused this mysterious bump on the head. Down the walkway, stood a maiden sweeping the floor with a straw broom. She?s colored mostly red and a bow to match, with white detached sleeves. Only her back is facing me. It also seems she didn?t notice bumping into me on her sweep through. I guess she has enough visitors as is that pass on through?
As I lie back down, she gracefully makes a complete turn and heads towards me again. So she probably noticed about ramming that broom into my skull. Her feet approaches near my legs and stops. Bending down, almost crouching, she says kindly in a soft tone?
?Sit up, please.? She smiles a bit and I quickly hoist myself up into a sitting position. I prop my legs over the edge of the siding and let them hang. ?Good,? continuing in her light tone. ?Now tell me why you are here. I don?t get humans out here that often.? She stares at me with her eyes glaring right into mine. At the most, she seems to be curious, but I guess I?ll answer?
?Your friend brought me here,? speaking with a small amount of pout. The shrine maiden?s expression was not as expected as I thought. She did say that she doesn?t get humans often, but to give of face of confusion? ?Friend? I have many, many friends. You need to be more specific.?
I thought she already knew, but I guess I WILL have to be specific. ?You know, the one that can open cracks in the spaces,? I reply stretching out words with fatigue. I let out a big yawn as well. I still need my sleep. ?Oh? her?? She was discouraged about this situation. ?I thought I already told her about bringing more humans into Gensokyo!? She seems to be a little angered by this, but quickly turned to me again, ?Did she use the ?The population is dwindling? excuse again??
Solemnly, I reply, ?Yes?? Again, she is angered by this, but refraining from having an outburst, ?Figures. Anyway? You can rest here some more okay?? She smiles warmly and stands up again, returning to her sweeping, keeping a constant back-and-forth motion. I lie back down, and look out at the forest. We are always in the forest right nearby, if you ever need us?
Reimu stopped sweeping after a while, and finished her ?daily maintenance?; beginning to move towards the big box in front of the stairs leading up to the shrine. She opens it up slowly, probably anticipating some kind of reward. With the lid off, the box puffs out cloud of dust. Reimu coughs for a while, as she inhaled the dust. Putting the top back on, she sulks; still nothing in that ?box? of hers.
Soon after, she walks up to me again, with a look on her face. ?Donations, please?? She puts on an innocent face, almost sad. No one could resist a face like that. Sadly, my wallet was emptied of all currency before igniting that house of mine to the ground, but that?s the past now.
I let out some words to show my declination. ?I am very sorry, but I came here with no money at all. I would love to donate, but my cause isn?t as worthy. Maybe later, when I have become self-sufficient and have warmed up to the place more?? She isn?t too happy about it, but Reimu smiles anyway?accepting my offer for the future in a hopeful way. Reimu moves back into the shrine but closes the door behind her, taking my stuff too. Before doing so she says, ?Don?t worry, your belongings are safe with me. Enjoy the rest of your nap,? still smiling ever so brightly.
Finally, I get some quiet and I doze off again. A few more hours pass, but a smell enters my breathing nostrils. Very strong, it is. It smells very bad and? bland. The smell of alcohol? I wake up again? Man, will I get any rest today? I find a horned long hair girl lying on my abdomen, sleeping. Her mouth is wide open and she drooled on my shirt too? Ew? She must?ve been drinking and decided to land her head on me as a pillow. The only problem is that she?s hefty! I can?t move. It makes it worse that this creature has chains too?
I squirm a bit. Maybe that will wake her up? Sure enough, the oni starts to stir. She gets up and lets out a big yawn, then scratches her back. Opening her drooping eyelids slowly, she turns around and sees me lying where she had just been ?relaxing?. ?Do you mind?? I spit the words at her. The response was expected of someone in her state. ?Ehhhh? Aiii usssuarry shleeep ouwt heer.? With that she belches too, wobbling a bit. Disgusting.
?Well, can you at least not do it all over me?? I reply, disgusted somewhat, ?I haven?t slept in a while, so?? She tumbles backwards and onto the ground. Passed out again. Eh, I?m not tired anymore? At least that beast is off my body. Good riddance.
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This chapter's not finished yet.
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Just then, a hole opens up and Yukari pops out. This time she?s in a different dress, one that has a big piece of cloth hanging down the middle with weird lines and symbols; she?s carrying a frilly umbrella, too. Her hair seems to be fashioned differently, with fewer bows. Still wearing that same smile from yesterday though. Yukari is amused this time, though?already well aware of my scenario. She hacks a small laugh or two?
?So. Have you been enjoying yourself so far?? Almost making fun of my situation. I bet she saw the whole earlier incident and was enjoying every second of it. Obviously she?s mocking me? I trusted her. I respond in a ticked off mood, ?Well? I got randomly dropped in the middle of nowhere, bitten by a crazed cannibal youkai, almost stabbed in the neck by an ice fairy, AND a damn oni drools all over my shirt. YOU THINK I?M ENJOYING THIS!? I huff a bit and start coughing as well. ?Oiii. eye onrryy spppaat e ritttttllee,? Suika chose to speak out for once in her defense only to land her head back onto the walkway. Yukari bends over a bit, sneering, ?Oh you poor thing. I?m sorry I could not be there for you. I was busy??
Busy? Oh, right. Yukari brought me here but she HAS to be elsewhere at 3 in morning. So, I bother to ask her what ?business? she had while dropping me off. The answer was, ?I was busy dealing with that nasty boundary that Lady Saigyouji so haplessly destroyed several years ago. After some trail, It was not working, so we gave up.? Lady Saigyouji? That?s her excuse? This day couldn?t get any better?
Of course it didn?t, now that my arm swelled a bit from all the stress. That whole incident with that youkai is going to be a burden on me, now is it? Guess so. Yukari notices me fiddling with my arm. ?My. Haven?t you taken a serious spill recently,? she just had to say it. I really am not in the mood for her to be pointing things out. I already told her about the freak accident and now she wants to rub it in my face.
I turn away from Yukari and open the sliding door. Reimu is still inside, sipping some hot tea in a small cup. She soon enough sees that I opened the door so rapidly with Yukari hovering over me. Reimu stoic look turns into a small scowl and she sets the tea down. Standing up, she walks up to me, but does not face me. Instead, her attention is directed at the floating body with a hanging sack above me. Reimu takes a quick breath and lets out?
?Yukari! How many times have I told you about bringing humans here! It?s bad enough as is that the youkai have been getting rambunctious recently!? A tint of red was on Yukari?s face now. Solemnly, ?I know, I know. But it has also been quiet recently, and I have not brought one over in a while?? Reimu retorts with, ?Don't give me those excuses! Another person I have to take care of for a while! This one probably won?t leave either.?
Reimu was exhausted now, as normally she doesn?t berate Yukari like this. I look at her, mouth cocked open at the words I just heard. Is that it? I?m just a burden here? I?ve only been here for less than a day and this is what I get? Reimu looks at me, having completely forgotten that I opened the door. She sighs and crouches in front of me. Flushing herself of her temper, Reimu puts her hand on my cheek?
?You?ll be fine. Don?t worry? Everything?s going to be okay?? speaking softly, while letting out a small smile. Just then the pain settles in again in my arm, and it secretes some blood. Yep, that arm is going to be an issue. Some of it drips onto the walkway, and anyone could tell I was having a problem. Reimu is distraught be the mess, ?Look! You?ve already gotten yourself bitten! Damn those youkai!? She sits there thinking a bit?
?Hmmm? there?s no medical places around, but maybe that crazed medicine woman in the bamboo forest can help you on this?? Bamboo forest? I forgot? Maybe I should have gone there first if I hadn?t run into those children. But then I wouldn?t have this bite in my arm. ?I can?t get you over there right now?? She had openly replied, ?But Yukari should be able?? And without finishing her sentence, Yukari already disappeared. Reimu?s face got red again and she belted out, ?GOD DAMN IT, YUKARIIIIIIII.?
Whelp, I know that I?m a goner now since the shrine maiden won?t even help me. But I think there?s enough safety for me to go it alone. I am somewhat mature to do things on my own now. I mean, I lived alone for a good portion of my life with no issues. I tell Reimu that I should be just fine on my own and I had made several friends in the forest already. She told me to be safe while going to ?Eientei?, but also to come back afterwards since I should stay at the shrine for a couple more days.
Reimu is kind enough to direct me where the place is located, somewhat west of here but west of the Human Village. My arm is still bleeding, but she uses a portion of one of her sarashi as gauze for my wound. With that, I?m off on another journey in the mid-daylight. Let?s hope that I run into at least some good people along the way?
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End of Chapter 3
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Chapter 4:
Nature confound me so?
In your grace of time, show me?
What autumn left behind?
The sun no longer wished to rest high in the sky. While descending slowly, the temperature also begins to drop. My arm still numb and bleeding, the insides of my body begin to weaken. I am now famished. I forgot to eat before leaving. Damn it! I try to find something, while losing blood and energy moving around. Walking around frantically, I finally find a bush. It looks like the bush is decaying, but it has some berries left on it? Berries? Odd finding that around in the forest? I crouch down and pick some of the berries from the bush. Collecting a few in my hand, I sit down on the grass and begin to eat?
?I wouldn?t eat those. It may worsen your condition,? a voice comes out from behind the trees. Dressed in reds and yellows, an average height, blond-haired deity steps towards me. Carrying a large cornucopia in her arms, her two left feet walk perfectly in a straight path. She has hat with clusters of grapes bundled around a loop; and oddly, her bosom seems to be a little unnatural compared to her appearance? But yeah? I?m not that type of person?
She sits down in front of me, first slapping the berries out of my hands, ?Eating those things are poisonous to human?? Poisonous? Am I talking to a botany whiz or something? Placing the cornucopia on the ground, she looks at me in the eyes. ?You?re lost, aren?t you? I just came back from the village and you don?t look that familiar?? Minoriko seems to be interested, but she knows a lot of people I guess. She holds my hand and rubs it? Warm? ?Your hand is so cold! What?s wrong?? I look away from her, reddening?
My stomach growls? She giggles, ?You must be hungry?? Well, anyone could tell with the ravenous look on my face. She pulls out an apple and a sweet potato from the filled cornucopia. Minoriko places both in my hand, ?Eat. You?ll feel better,? She adds a smile too. Obviously the goddess of harvest would be so kind enough to help a straggler with a damaged arm? ?The harvest was great this year, so I don?t mind sharing some of my offerings.? She stands up as I start munching on the food, ?You?re a cute one? compared to most of the people I see.?
I reply, still eating, ?Wait. Didn?t the harvest end a while ago?? This takes Minoriko aback, ?The season hasn?t ended yet, and thus the harvest is still running great.? Really? After swallowing, I question, ?Well then? When does it end?? She did not seem too happy about my question, ?End? END? A wretched snow woman shows up and tears up the beautiful land with her evil frozen water! That?s how it ends! And then they expect ME to hibernate until next year. I provide food! What does SHE provide? Nothing! That?s what!? After that small rant, she settles back down one the ground, upset and pouting.
Oh boy, rivaling seasons? I comfort her for a while and she still gives me some more food to eat. Once done, another one, similarly dressed, shows up. This one is clothed in red and has leaves in her short hair, ?Little sis, are you babbling about seasons again. You know it won?t do you any good?? Shizuha is a little calmer than Minoriko is. ?Oh don?t be so concealed. I know how much you hate her too.? They begin argue, but I stop them from going further. ?So I see you?ve found a new friend,? Shizuha says while examining me, ?A quite handicapped one??
?Hey! When you get attacked by a bloodthirsty youkai, what are you to do?? I retort. Shizuha laughs, ?I?m a goddess? Why need to worry?? I begin to frown, but she stops laughing soon enough. Minoriko sighs, ?We don?t have much time. Where are you heading?? Getting up off the ground I reply, ?I?m going to get my arm fixed. I?ll be fine.? The sun is reaching sunset. Shizuha brushes herself off and begins to leave; saying, ?It?s beginning to get dark. You better hurry.?
They both leave quickly and I head off in the other direction. If winter comes soon, then I?ll have to wait to meet them again. Unfortunately, the sun set faster than I thought. This day is just going by to quickly? I continue to run in the forest, my vision impaired, but I hear some buzzing noises. Oh crap? Soon I?m knocked to the ground from above. ?KICK!? belted out from the source. I land face forward, but soon I am brought back up onto my feet by the perpetrator.
?Oh no! I?m so sorry! I thought you were someone else!? Soon, the light appeared and the face of Wriggle was right in front of me. Her face detailed confusion mixed with regret. ?It?s you again! Sorry about kicking you?? She brushes the dirt off of me, but her face reddens. ?I thought I told you already about running alone in the forest!? Wriggle speaks, but I reply with, ?You never told me that. Anyway, I?m going to get my arm fixed.? I show her the makeshift sling for my arm. She is not too happy about it, ?Hmm, it?s gotten worse, hasn?t it? Rumia really did harm you this time? Don?t worry. Once I?m done with he?? I cut her off, putting my finger in front of her lip. ?I?ll be fine,? I smile, ?Once I get this fixed, you won?t have to worry your head any longer.?
Wriggle blushes. Of course she?s worried about me, but doesn?t want to admit. Well, she did SORT of admit it just now. ?Just be safe okay? Bad things happen at night, if you already noticed last night and now,? she adds, turning away. I pat her on the head, but she replies with, ?Why are going alone? Let me come with you! I have no where to go really?? So she IS worrying about me? Leaving towards Eientei, I tell her that she may come along, and be my guide. She was at least ecstatic about that?
We walk around together for a while. Wriggle continues to talk about her abilities and her past. ?Being a bug youkai is tough,? She says, ?We?re not as terrifying as we used to be?? Wriggle showed me some of the bugs she controls as well, except for some which she said could kill me. Why bother telling me that? She informs me that Mystia is out this late as well and that we should meet her along the way?
Traveling further into the forest, it gets even darker out? ?Wriggle, does the night get darker here in Gensokyo this fast?? She gets worried again. ?Oh no! Are you passing out?? I quickly knock down her thought with, ?No. I?m fine?? While we were still walking, I had given her enough information to figure it out. ?Mystia must be nearby then?? She concludes. Soon enough, a food stand appears up on the right as we are walking. Going behind the covers in front of the shop, a person in a weird outfit is working behind the counter.
?Oh, you must be lost, aren?t you?? The person quickly turns around and the person is Mystia. She?s wearing a bandana of some sort and that outfit? I still don?t know what it?s called. After showing herself, she immediately recognizes us, saying, ?Oh! Sorry. I thought you were stray wanders. I?ll fix that night-blindness in a snap!? My eyesight comes back quickly, but Mystia is still interested in feeding us. She starts cooking some? what is that? I have never seen this kind of meat before. She slabs it onto a big plate and gives us both smaller plates?
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Big addition tonight.
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?Enjoy!? She lets out with a big smile. ?Thank you!? says Wriggle, digging into the food. I continue to stare at it, wondering if I should bother? ?Is something wrong?? Mystia looks at me with a straight face. ?Oh? It?s nothing. I ate a lot before heading off?? I shyly reply. Mystia huffs and optimistically says, ?I bet you could fit some more in that stomach of yours~!? More? I just had a feast with the harvest goddess and she expects me to eat more?
I sit there quietly, Wriggle still chewing away at her food. I plop my head onto the tabletop. ?Hey! Eat your food! You?ll go hungry,? Mystia grumbles, still in my face about the food. I push the plate aside and she becomes angry. But she pulls her composure together, ?Fine. Starve for all I care.? Really? I just told her that I wasn?t hungry. My nose becomes itchy and I sneeze into my arm. Surprised, Mystia puts her hand on my forehead. ?Are you okay, dear? Your forehead?s warm,? She worries?
?No, I?m fine, really?? I reply, not telling her the fact of my lower body temperature. ?Well, wherever you?re going, you better hurry?? Wriggle just finishes her meal and lets out a belch. ?Excuse me,? she softly says, wiping off any smatterings of food on her face. ?Lets go!? she grabs my unbroken arm and whizzes me off out into the forest again. ?Good luck you two?? Mystia shouts from the stand.
?Quit pulling on me!? I yell at Wriggle. Immediately, she lets go and stops in her tracks. We had moved much deeper into the forest, the full moon still high in the sky, but Wriggle freezes right in her spot. Her antennae start twitching. ?This isn?t good?? Wriggle mumbles. She pulls me close to a nearby tree and runs behind it. ?Into the bushes!? She commands me to hide. The air soon becomes thick and still. Something isn?t right? Trying not to make a sound, I hear grunting noises. Grunting noises? What can this be? Breathing?
Wriggle still sits there, completely solid, unmoving. I?m still swerving my head left and right, but there is a hole in the bush for me to see out of. Deciding to figure out what it is, I peer through the hole. The grunting noises come closer to the area, but stomping trails along with the source. Through the peephole, appears completely green creature. Big horns with a red bow tied to one horn, green dress, a grey tail, frayed hair that?s a tint of light green and silver; it was slightly hunched over and looks pissed off as all hell. And to top it all off? white socks and shoes?
My hand touches the bushes and a ruffling noise is made. The beast lumbers around in a circle and stops towards our direction, shouting, ?WHO IS THERE?? My heartbeat beats more rapidly, and I sweat. ?ANSWER ME!? it roars. Wriggle still sits there, scared. I lift my head upward slowly. Once the beast sees my head, it snatches me up and flings me to the ground. Plop. It jumps on me and pins me to the ground. Not again?
?What is your business here?? It yells into my face. The facial features were weird? It looked human, but had a glint of animalism in the eyes. This whole escapade doesn?t last long as it realizes what she had just pounced on. If her job is to protect humans, then I don?t know how far off she was. Shocked, she quickly jumps off and stands me back up. ?What is someone like you doing out this late? Haven?t I told you humans enough about being out this late! I protect you all and you don?t lis-? She stops short of speaking and memories flow through her mind. To her, something isn?t quite right with my appearance. A spark of thought, still dusting me off, and she looks at me straight in the eyes.
?You are not from the village?? she stated. Of course I wasn?t from the village, I?m off to get my arm reconfigured. ??But that does not make you exempt from my policies. I do not need another human dead, not after the last time.? Keine stares into the sky, reminiscing of some unfortunate noodle incident that is not in my interest. Several minutes go by and I decide to tap her on the shoulder. Keine snaps out of her nostalgia moment?I wouldn?t call it that?and retorts, ?Do not touch me!? Her face turns red with fury, but her nose wrinkles. Keine stops short and beings moving around, smelling the air. ?That smell?? She murmurs, continuing to smell the air, ?The smell? a youkai?? Keine searches around but sniffs me first?and in the wrong places too?trying to pick up more of the scent.
?Were you with someone or are you being followed?? Keine speaks, distraught by the thought of such a thing at this hour. Surely enough, Wriggle darts out of the bushes, but not towards us. She bolts away, her shadow disappearing deep into the trees. I guess Wriggle trusts this woman, or? is running off, scared shitless. Keine didn?t chase after the bug, nor did she care, even acting maternal about the situation. Smiling. The only thing that matters to her was that I was in good hands now?
But my chance to rest was too soon; she scoops me up with her brute strength and carries me off towards the village. ?Hey! I need to go somewhere you know!? I said to her, frustrated. ?Not this late you aren?t.? She replies back, still acting like she was my mother?cradling me in her arms too. ?I am old enough to be on my own!? I fought back, squirming in her arms. But holding with a tight grip, ?You have a damaged arm. No more playing in the forest for you!? She persists with the nagging, rubbing her cheek affectionately against my head. I am claustrophobic and the fact of her clutching me this tight is uncomfortable, even with her bosom?
?I am not a child! Quit treating me as such! I have to go get my arm fixed.? I snap back at her. ?You can go get your arm fixed in the morning.? She adds. ?I?m going to Eientei! I can get it healed there!? Keine stops in midair, stoic look on her face. She takes a big breath and lands on the ground. I think I made her angry again. ?That place?? she sneers, ?That PLACE! Of all the places in Gensokyo, you want to go there! UNTHINKABLE! Those people will not fix you! If at most they?ll harm you further or even kill you!? Yep? I pissed her off, but I inquire her with, ?Why??
She snaps at me again?remind you that I am still in her arms?responding with, ?I?ve seen their kind out here. Those Lunarians wish to sell their junk medicine to the rest of the villagers. The medicine woman there is the devil, she makes all these drugs and stuff. She constantly claims they work. They haven?t worked once on the people I?ve met, except for one?? Again, she looks to the moon? God, does Keine do nothing BUT remember things. I remain there; listening to her stories she has to tell?acting innocent as ever.
?I have a friend. She seems to be upset most of the time. She told me about this one accident that happened to her. She drank something called the Hourai Elixir. The elixir placed a horrid curse on her and now she is forced to never return to the dust from whence she came?? Keine pauses for a moment and sits down, beginning to shed some tears from her eyes. ?That person? She only wants us to be friends? but her condition. I can?t let something like that go? for her to suffer as such?? Completely letting loose, she begins to cry?
?Mokou! Oh, Mokou! Why did something so ungodly have to happen to you?? She wails. Awestruck I was? maybe? But Keine sure is a strange one. For changing from one emotion to the other in so little time, she must have been around for a long time. Keine lets go of me, rubbing her eyes. Rolling onto the ground, I pat her on the shoulder. After I sit up, she then leans into me, sobbing with her head buried in my chest. I have to pull my head back, or at least in between her horns so she doesn?t impale my forehead. I pat her on the back, and she settles down after a while. Keine stands up thereafter, and stopped crying. She now had lines streaming down her face and a displeased look. ?That is why I protect?? Keine murmured.
?If you want to go to that place, fine by me. At least meet with my friend there. You?ll be safe with her. Have her protect you.? Oddly enough, we were actually not that far from the bamboo forest. Lucky me... Keine notifies me that the bamboo forest is terribly thick (Bamboo Forest of the Lost seems promising); but if I see any fire or flames spewing into the air, that?s where she is. ?Don?t worry, I?ll find Mokou.? I tell her and then dash off into the forest. ?Be careful!? Keine shouts as her voice trails off, rushing back to the human village.
My arm still pains me as I dig through the bamboo stocks; the moon high in the air. Tonight better be the night, and I better find that ?Mokou?. The forest becomes a needle in the haystack as I try to find my way around. Still no flames go riding into the air. Keine better not have lied to me. If someone hangs out often in the forest, it should be easy. Many minutes pass by as I begin to lose my patience. Finally, a flare rockets into the sky, piercing the night above my head. There she is. I trace the source of the fireball, following very closely and soon another one launches.
I run faster towards the cause of the fireballs and soon stumble into an open area. In the vicinity I see a woman with long flowing violet hair. She wears a big red and white thing on her head? is that a paper charm? Along with big, baggy red overalls, she wears a discolored shirt underneath. Smoking a lightly lit cigarette in her mouth, she turns around staring at me with a disgusted look on her face.
No words?
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END OF CHAPTER 4
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Chapter 5:
The fire burns bright?
Given light onto the new world dawn?
Don?t fade away, ever?
Standing face to face with her, no words are being exchanged. I guess I have to make the first gesture. I walk towards Mokou slowly, yet she remains staring with an amused look. Continuing to puff away, she hops down from the rock she was standing on and approaches me too. Stopping several meters away from her I ask, ?I am lost. Please help me find a way to Eientei.? With that, she turns around and walks in a certain direction.
I follow her, soon catching up to her side. Mokou is not amused and does not want to really socialize. Just doing her job. I ask her, ?So? Is it interesting out here.? Mokou responds with a low grunt, looking the other way. Yep, She?s not interested. We continue to walk for a while. I begin to remember living out in the forest? I wonder how Mokou feels about it. Under the moonlight, our journey through the forest is slow. Mokou stops short, but I keep walking. She pulls me back quickly, narrowing avoiding a trap that was just about to go off.
Staring me in the face again, Mokou has that disgusted look. Mumbling, she slings me onto her back, continuing into the forest. She obviously doesn?t trust me this far in, and carrying people is probably something she doesn?t do either. I am hesitant to move my body as she trots through the bamboo stalks. Mokou casually avoids all of the traps and pitfalls while holding me on her back.
I choose to talk to her, to pass the time. ?So? how long have you been like this?? I question. Mokou doesn?t reply. ?Anything interesting so far?? Still nothing. Is she really this stubborn? ?Hey! Answer me at least!? She stops walking with this. Turning her head towards me she spits, ?I don?t have answer you, you know. I don?t have to trudge you through this accursed forest?? I am hesitant to answer? But, I whisper to her, ?I am only curious. Lighten up a little?? Mokou keeps on walking.
Soon enough, I coax her into giving me some information because I mentioned the ?Hourai Elixir?. ?I?ve been around for about millennium now. It gets tiring?? Mokou frowns. ?Well wouldn?t it get lonely out in a forest?? asking a redundant question I could answer myself. ?I help people sometimes. I have a yakitori stand out here, yet I rarely have visitors?? I listen attentively to her story, while she finally ends with, ?And we still fight to this day??
Along the way, she stops. Why is she stopping? Aren?t we almost there? Out of the sky, an array of colorful bullets comes whooshing at us. Mokou dodges them quickly with ease, but I lose my grip and fall off. The bullets stop as a silhouette appears in front of the moon. It descends towards the ground, revealing woman in long burgundy-pink drapery with black hair hanging behind her. They both exchange looks of anger, but Mokou kept her composure, spitting out the lit joint in her mouth. On the ground, some distance away, I watch?
The black haired one sneered, ?So, Mokou. Eloping with a man into the forest, I see,? directing her focus at me. WHAT?? Mokou?s face gets redder. ?This is none of your business!? She lashes out at her. But instead of attacking Kaguya, she averts her path and grabs me. Darting off into the forest, Kaguya chases behind us, throwing bullets along the way. The look on Mokou?s face shows that she has the urge to fire back, but not with a human in hands. The chase through the forest lasts for a while?
Mokou then tosses me into an open area through the stalks. I crash-land into a door. Surprisingly, I didn?t go right through it. My head begins to hurt. I look back at the scene and hear shouts in the forest. ?DIVINE TREASURE!? ?PHOENIX?S TAIL!? And showers of colors are exchanged in the sky. The door behind me slides open, and I?m pulled inside the door. It?s dark in there, but then lights come on?
I am lying down on the floor in some sort of lobby? ?It?s dangerous out there, you know. Especially when those two are at it.? The voice came from above me. Staring down at me was a weird looking person. She had long, crumpled rabbit ears protruding from her head, along with extended light purple hair. She?s wearing a sort-of business outfit, but with a skirt. Odd.
?Hey! Are you listening to me?? She waves her hand in front of my eyes. I attempt to pass out, closing my eyes, but to no avail she saw through. ?Get up off the floor! If you came here for a reason, then don?t pass out on me!? Reisen grabs me and pulls me up off the floor, ?You have a broken arm? Maybe ?shishou? can fix this?? Well, I can tell I have a broken arm. I?ve been dealing with it for a day now. Un-comfort arrives again, as Reisen scoops me up with fervor and dashes down the hallway. ?Uhhh? You?re a heavy one?? Good to know. Second person to tell me this?
She heads down the hallway with great speed. Holy crap, this place is big? Reisen informs me, ?Shishou does many things in here, but she?ll find a way to help your cause.? At this rate, maybe she?s right. But I never really got acquainted with her yet like everyone else. She?s too brash? Speeding down the hallway, Reisen runs into a strategically placed rope. I saw it before she did, but it was too late to tell her. She completely tumbles over, spiraling to the ground; I shoot like a bullet through the air, gravity letting me hit the ground slowly. The floor must be heavily waxed, because I went sliding far from Reisen. Little to no rug burns on me, I come to a gliding halt in front of another rabbit?
She had black, wavy, short hair and a pink nightgown; don?t forget the necklace. Barefooted and plump rabbit ears drooping from her head. Oh great? Another one. She stares at my dumbfounded look and me. ?Wait? You?re not the one?? She says. From down the hall, I hear, ?YOU ARE SO DEAD THIS TIME!? Reisen comes charging up from behind, her eyes blazing red. Tewi just stands there doing nothing, except smirking. Letting Reisen pounce in the air, Tewi quickly slides underneath, pulling me along. What am I, a bag of rice? Reisen tumbles again, but not as far this time.
?You?re going to have to do better than that. But that was so hilarious! Let?s do it again some time.? Tewi runs past Reisen, pulling my leg. I drag along the floor. ?Wait! Stop! Quit pulling me!? I yell. Tewi looks at me and says, ?I bring luck to humans. Be glad I?m at least dragging you.? Luck? LUCK? Reisen catches up behind us. ?Tewi, Stop dragging him that way! He?ll be in an even worse condition!? Does Tewi listen? No. Reisen takes the initiative and catches up to us. Grabbing the center of my body, she yanks me in the opposite direction with enough force.
Tewi sprawls out onto the floor as I slide to the side. She?s mad now. Angered, Tewi jumps on Reisen. Interesting? I thought it would be the opposite. I slip by as they brawl, their yells becoming softer. The sarashi came off, so now I have to hold my arm up a bit, running down the hall. Finally I reach a doorway at the other end. Phew? There is a bright light coming out of the room. Casually walking in, I am greeted by a whole mess of objects. Vials, beakers, pestles and mortars, a square examination table, and charts on the wall in writings I can?t read are scattered around the place. And lastly, there were tons of jars and containers on shelves on the wall. Scary?
I walk around inside, but there is a desk located near the back of the room. The seat occupied with someone toiling away at the desk. The person has an incredibly long, thick braid of silver hair, with her dress alternating between red and blue. She is garnished with a big blue cap, working with some papers on the desk. She examines two of them into the air, looking at both papers, comparing. ?What is it you want, Udonge?? She says, ?Can?t you see I?m busy. Back to work with you!?
Udonge? What? I tap Eirin on the shoulder, and this time she spins around in the chair glaring at me. ?I am bus-!? Stopping herself from continuing, she rises up. ?Oh I am terribly sorry, kind sir! What is it that you need? Egad, your arm!? Words pour of her mouth. Eirin seats me in a chair and examines the arm, kneeling. She?s not a doctor, but maybe there is a different approach to fixing this. I couldn?t help but notice her chest being larger than Reisen?s? Oh God no, What am I thinking?! Already a day out in this world, and I?m comparing body shapes?
?Hmmm? Damaged arteries, pierced muscle tissue? I think I have something, but just to be sure?? She quickly grabs and pulls me to the examination table. Eirin bolts the door shut and ties my arm and legs to the table? Digging through her supplies in several cabinets, she finds the tools she needs. Lunarian technology amuses me a little. She pulls out a strange tool that looks like a syringe. ?This will not harm you.? First, she takes several blood samples from the arm; runs some pH and separation tests on it. Then she proceeds to look through her vials and grabs different chemicals. This better work?
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I lay there still, as she works away at making the ?cure?. ?How?s life been going for you?? She asks. What a random question to be asking a patient? ?Depends. I only just got here and I have to deal with this.? I reply. ?Oh, so you?re not a consigned one.? Eirin says while tinkering. Consignment? Never heard of that crap. ?But wait?? She stops working, ?If you?re not consigned, and you claim you are novel, then? How did you learn about Eientei or, even furthermore, arrive here?? What? Are humans incapable of such feats?
?Don?t think that humans aren?t capable of finding their way around.? I retort. ?Well examining you with such a ruined arm, I can say you?re learning at a fast pace,? She goes back to making the medicine, ?Well? your vital signs are okay. The arm though, will have to relax once I?m done.? Relax? How long will this ?relax? be? I ask her, ?You sure I?ll be fine afterwards?? She scoffs, ? Sure I?m sure! All my medications work. I?ve even developed immortality. My work is the greatest thing anyone has ever seen.? Yeah? I better be quiet now. Now it?s just a game of trust. Who?s lying? Keine or Eirin?
But being the curious human I am, I ask, ?Considering recent events, how well developed are any of your technologies?? She is finishing up the applied medicine and answers with, ?I am not up for the discretion of any facilities I utilize on a daily basis or have progressed. If you have any other inquiries, please regard my information pamphlets.? Eirin hands me one of her crudely made ?pamphlets?. Using my other hand, I look through it. While I?m reading the flier, she injects some of the newly made medicine into my wounded arm. ?This will clean out all the infections in the wound and should also cleanse the arm of dead cells.?
I am too busy looking at the handout to notice what she?s saying, but I catch some words. She also rubs it into the skin too. After that, she injects some form of anesthesia into my other arm. ?I have to close up the wounds in your arm now?? I get really dizzy and my vision blurs. The last thing I notice is Eirin pulling out some thread and a needle. Oh? so she?s going to sow the wounds shut? heh? ? ??
? ? ?
I wake up after the ?anesthesia? wears off. Never really had that kind of stuff before but this is a special case. ?All done.? Eirin says with a smile. The pain is gone, and I look at my arm. And my arm was replaced with a large amount of gauze and tape. How much time has passed? Thankfully, a window behind her reveals that the moon outside has disappeared. In its stead, the sun beams out low above the horizon. So? She worked the rest of the night over this? ?It was a difficult job this time, I must say.? That confirms it.
Already untied from the chair, I stand up. ?Now, you?ll have to stay here for a while to let that thing rest. Otherwise, It won?t heal properly,? Eirin grabs a folded paper and puts it into my pocket. ?For later.? She unbolts the door and Reisen comes shuffling in. ?Udonge, take him to where the guests stay.? Reisen nods, ?Yes, master!? and guides me down the hallway. Eientei so far has had the best hospitality since I arrived? Eh. It?s the medicine thing?
Reisen brings me to a room, located right next to the main hallway. It?s a fairly large room, but it looks like a room where people rest and hang out. Several beds rest to one side of the room, with the front ends facing the door. Several low tables are in the center and side tables reside next to the bed. But I forgot to mention one thing? Rabbits. A plethora of Earth rabbits are scattered about the room, some sleeping and some bouncing around.
Why, oh why does it have to be rabbits? Is this their safe haven? Why weren?t there any of them in the forest? I am hesitant to enter the room, but Reisen drags me inside. ?Don?t be such a child. They won?t harm you.? Moving between the rabbits and brushing some of them aside she takes me to one of the beds. Reisen plops me onto a bed, and positions my legs straight. ?Now you rest here, I?ll be back later.? She darts out of the room, leaving I light tailwind. I can see out the doorway from this bed?
Soon enough, several of the rabbits notice me. They hop onto bed and one rests on my stomach. Most of them go to sleep, keeping me company. I guess I should just rest as well. I close my eyes and I sleep for several hours. By late morning, my eyes open up. Strangely, one the rabbits feel heavier? Much heavier? I lift my head up to see what it is. Lying on the bed, I discover Tewi resting, fast asleep. Oh no?
Where did she come from? Wait. All the rabbits are in this area? Figures. I shouldn?t worry about it though. At least she?s asleep and not awake. My luck faltered as one of the earth rabbits jumped up on to the bed and landed on Tewi?s head. She begins to stir and rolls off me. Her eyes open and she stretches. Tewi sits up and looks at me, yawning, ?What a good sleep. Don?t you think?? Good sleep? This is the second person that?s rested on me, and I?m getting pretty sick of it?
?You?re making me feel uncomfortable?? I reply. I try to sit up, but Tewi pushes me back down on the bed. ?You need more rest than me. And I?ll be right here, giving you luck so your arm can heal.? She smiles. So Tewi is selective about this? She picks up one of the rabbits nearby and starts petting it. Tewi sits at the end of the bed as I rest my head on the pillow. Yelling is then heard from in the hallway?
?HELP ME, EIRIN!? A figure limps slowly past the doorway. It?s Kaguya, except this time she has blood on her face and her left arm severely cut up. Her hair is frayed as well with some parts of it clumped together and other parts burnt. Kaguya glares at both of us as she passes by. So both her and Mokou went at it earlier today? ?Don?t say a word.? Kaguya yells at both of us, but she makes her leave quickly, in pain. Tewi lies back down on the bed again, except her head is at the end of the bed and her feet resting near my arm. ?Eh. Don?t worry about her. She?s always in a bad mood.? One of the rabbits jumps up and rests on my head as well.
Several hours pass, the sun reaching afternoon. Reisen comes in through the doorway and taps me on the shoulder. I open my eyes and she?s sitting there at the end of the bed, the opposite side of Tewi. Reisen is holding a plate of pounded mochi and sets it on the table. ?Eat,? She says. Reisen gets up off the bed and leaves. I sit up, not waking Tewi, and pick up the plate. I rest it on my lap and begin eating with the other arm. The food is somewhat pasty and mushy. Not bad?
As I am eating, Tewi snores away on the bed. Someone comes in through the doorway, looking very estranged. She makes her way to the bed right next to me. It?s Kaguya, some bandages and gauze on her. Damn, my luck is awful today. Wait, Tewi?s asleep? Anyway, Kaguya stops before getting on the bed. She gives a cold scowl to me, and I stop eating. But that scowl turns into a faint smile and she pats me on the head. Kaguya is all the more curious, I guess? Sitting down on her bed, she speaks?
?So? You only wanted to come here?? Kaguya lays her head down on her pillow. Odd. I?d expect her to go to her own room. Regardless, I continue to eat. ?I came to apologize for my misbehavior?? She says softly. ?Hey! Are you even listening?? she yells. Kaguya gets up off the bed and slaps me in the face. ?Answer me when I am talking to you!? Swallowing the food in my mouth, I let out a rant, ?Hmm. Let?s see. I go in the forest. Mokou is nice enough to help me through. You attack us, and claim that I am trying to marry her. Then you proceed to continue fighting. And now you end up worse then me after your brawl with Mokou. Do you really think I am that interested??
Kaguya?s face turns red with anger. She lies back down on the bed, upset. I bet that not many people have back sassed her in such away. Not many people have spoken to her in a long time, I guess. I would know, living a sheltered life? Tewi rolls over onto the floor, still snoozing away. Kaguya and I sit there for several minutes, while I finish my meal. Done, I put the plate on the side table. Looking directly at her, I apologize with, ?Hey. I?m sorry, but I have gone through some real bullcrap in the past day or two. And the last thing I need is someone treating me like crap. I just got here. And you, how long have you been around??
Making a usual answer, she replies with, ?More than 1000 years. Give or take another 1000.? ? ?That?s not the point,? I tell her, ?My point is that: shouldn?t you be treating others with as much respect as they treat you? Why pick on me when I only came here for resources and help in a time where I needed it most?? Kaguya wonders and she responds with, ?I?m bored all the time. It?s very lonely out here, but Eirin keeps telling me that it?s for my protection. (I am assuming that she has forgotten the real reason for a long time, and the fact that it was her who asked for the protection in the first place) I don?t get many visitors here; and even when I do, they leave soon after. I live here in exile. I don?t have any friends??
As she begins to shed tears, her speech jitters and cuts off. I can?t understand her mumbles and crying anymore? But once Kaguya was finished mumbling, she came over to me and cried, resting most of her head on my shoulder, burying her face in her arm. And Mokou?s in the same predicament like this? I don?t know if Keine was truly right about Mokou being the only one suffering? I pat her on the back and she sits on my bed.
If only she knows of my story?
________________________________
END OF CHAPTER 5
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Chapter 6:
Eternity, poor friend?
Forsaken by your power?
Let me rest in peace?
Kaguya?
She chose to fall asleep where I was resting, right next to me. Kaguya told me some of her story before she passed out. I had to prop up my pillow so that at least I could rest my back. I only slept what seemed like another hour or so before waking up. My arm was feeling much better. I get up and looked over the side of the bed. Tewi had already left. Some rabbits were resting on the bed again.
I hear yelling outside. ?I hope tonight you all work your best on the offering!? It sounded like Reisen, but from looking out the window I couldn?t tell. Actually, there was some sort of blinds covering the window. Wait? I look around with my head. Outside the doorway, I can see light in the hallway. The light was candlelight, not sunlight. So it wasn?t another hour. I overslept then, and now it?s been almost 2 days since my arrival in Gensokyo. But Kaguya is still sleeping like she hasn?t slept in a while.
I nudge her shoulder. Pulling back some of her hair, ?Hey. Wake up, Kaguya,? I whisper into her ear. Kaguya stirs a bit, ?Nnnn. Eirin, let me sleep some more.? She rolls over towards me, not off the bed. Her eyes slowly open. They lock with mine once they fully open. Kaguya pulls away from me, sitting up. She ruffles her hair and yawns, ?Morning?? She nuzzles her head into my arm, but I respond with, ?Good evening.? Kaguya frantically looks around and notices that it IS nighttime.
?Aw. You two look so cute together.? Eirin was in the doorway. Kaguya blushes heavily and clutches to me. ?Eirin, what do you want?? I ask her. ?Oh so you know my name too?? She sneers, ?I only came here to check up on the two of you. I see you both are fairing well,? She grins, ?More than I expected.? So Eirin wants to screw with me now. ?You can stay here as long as you like, just don?t make a mess,? She smiles. ?Kaguya, make sure you don?t get too comfortable in here either.? Kaguya doesn?t respond, looking away from Eirin.
?Make sure you pay as well. Take as much time as you need. Explore if you want.? Eirin lastly says. Well, no duh, it wasn?t free, she put a bill in my pocket. Eirin comes over to the bedside and grabs my arm. ?It should be done by now,? she begins unraveling the gauze. After the removal, my arm is revealed to have healed. Kaguya takes off her own bandages. She seems to have healed in half the amount of time that I needed. ?Now you two behave. I?m going to go check on my work??
Before Eirin leaves, a gust of wind rushes past the doorway. ?NOT THIS TIME!? Eirin chases after whatever just passed through. Kaguya sits there on her bed, and opens one of the drawers. She pulls out a brush. Forgot that her hair was still frayed. Kaguya tosses it onto my lap. ?Please,? She kindly says. ?Alright, I?ll do it,? I agree and pick up the brush. Kaguya smiles and gets onto my bed, head turned opposite of me. I start to comb it. Kaguya picks up a rabbit and cuddles with it in her lap while I straighten her hair.
?So tell me about yourself a little bit. It?s always a pleasure to know,? She asks. Should I really tell? Should I even bother? ?Well, you see?? I begin, ?In the outside world, there are people who live in big areas and those who live in small areas, but closer together. Either way, I lived more secluded.? ?Interesting?? Kaguya says, ?It?s hard being out here, in exile. Avoiding people? I don?t really do much out here either. Which is why I feel a little more obligated. Ow! Don?t pull so hard!? I hit a knot in her hair, a really bad one.
?Sorry, I hit a bad knot.? I put the brush down and stick my fingers in her hair, trying to untie certain parts of the knot. ?Be careful with it!? She adds. ?Well. With hair like this, how can you not expect it to bunch up?? I reply, continuing to work on the knot. ?I don't get to wash my hair often. And fighting with Mokou makes it worse?? Kaguya places the rabbit down and just sits there. I finish untying the knot and resume combing, ?Well, you should at least wash it sometimes.?
?We go to the hot spring located outside, sometimes. I just don?t like leaving here.? Kaguya doesn?t speak after a while. Once I finish brushing, she springs up from the bed. ?I want to show you some things?? I don?t see why not? ?Carry me,? she says grabbing my shoulder. I reply, ?No. Just got healed, and I don?t have much energy left.? Kaguya pouts, ?You?re no fun?? She pulls me along into the hallway, and I walk with her.
The moon is in the sky, no longer in its full sphere shape. We walk down the hallway into a main room. Many of the rabbits have collected into the room and Tewi is there. So this is where she went? ?Kaguya! The mochi pounding is going great tonight!? Mochi pounding? ?Good. But I?m taking this one with me,? Kaguya pulls me out the sliding door on the far side of the room. Stumbling onto the ground, I see before me buckets and youkai rabbits pounding away at rice with mallets. Trays scattered about.
?Reisen!? Kaguya commands, ?Are they working well as promised?? Reisen turns around and runs right up to Kaguya, ?Yes Lady Kaguya. They are working at great speeds. Ensuring the offering tonight.? Offering? The moon isn?t full, damn it. Kaguya walks around examining the work effort. And I follow along, with Reisen right behind me. ?I see you?re feeling better,? Reisen notices the gauze and junk removed from my arm. I stop Reisen from walking as Kaguya continues moving along. I inquire, ?What is the meaning of this? What are you forcing these rabbits to do?? Reisen looks angered by this and is about to answer, but the sliding door bursts open, a flash and a figure shouts?
?AH! So the conspiracy was true!? She?s carrying a notebook and a pen. Black hair down to her shoulders and a camera tied around her neck, she bolts out into the open area, landing in the center of the all the work. Many of the rabbits stop working as this pointed ear creature wearing a white blouse with a black skirt arrived on the scene. Reisen is not pleased about this. ?Get back to work!? She shouts at the youkai rabbits as she goes to have a talk with this newly arrived creature. Kaguya notices and pulls me away, trying to hide me. But, with not really anywhere to go, she hides me behind her. ?Crouch down!? she says and I hide behind her dress. Eirin comes out the sliding door and grabs the creature by the neck.
?Ooh. Assaulting a reporter. Scary, scary.? Eirin is pissed off at this intrusion. ?I?ve told you many times that you are not welcome here.? I notice that Eirin is much taller than this person (Eirin was taller than me as well), but because the person in on some sort of stilt shoes, it doesn?t change much. ?I?m just reporting news as always. When anything?s news, Bunbun will always be there,? The reporter replied. ?Write a single thing, and you?ll regret the day you ever set foot here,? Eirin snarls back.
?Put me down at least. Your hostility could wind up right in my paper.? With that, Eirin drops the tengu to the ground. Aya scurries away with the knowledge, but notices my head peering out behind Kaguya?s dress. ?My, my. What have we here.? Aya moves closer to the both of us. ?Don?t you dare touch Kaguya,? Eirin threatens. Kaguya backs away, forgetting that I?m behind her, and trips over me onto the grass. Kaguya is not pleased, as I am revealed to the tengu reporter who crouches in front of me.
?Tell me, what is your name, human,? Aya asks. My name? Name? My name isn?t important. Living alone for several years gives me the right to not have or give a name. I dare not respond to her. Kaguya gets up and starts pulling me away, but Aya grabs my arm and yanks me away from Kaguya. I spill onto the ground. ?Quit messing around with my patients!? Eirin comes up, grabs me, picking me up and away from Aya. Aya isn?t happy about this, but shrugs it off and flies away, scribbling on her notepad as she goes. She got away with what she needed.
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The rabbits still have stopped working, staring at the scene. Reisen yells at them again and Eirin carries me back inside, Kaguya following along. Eirin brings me to Kaguya?s room and rest me down on the floor. ?Whatever you do. Do not go outside in a situation like this.? Eirin berated me, but Kaguya spoke, ?No. It?s my fault. I wanted to show him outside. I didn?t know? Eirin is shocked. ?I told you many times that the humans must not know of our plans.? Kaguya acts innocent about this, but Eirin chooses to whap her.
I speak, ?I didn?t really expect something like this. Forgive me if I have intruded on anything important here.? Eirin is still frustrated and leaves the room. ?Did I say something wrong,? I ask Kaguya. She doesn't answer and lays down on her mat, looking out the window. I pat her head, but she turns over, not looking at me. ?If you want to sleep, then sleep,? she says. I look around the room, not much in here. Five treasures, her mat, two cardboard boxes, and a low table; nothing more, nothing less.
Kaguya tugs on my arm, and pulls me to her side. She turns over again, and pats the part of the mat in front of her. I lay down next to Kaguya, she pulls up her quilted blanket and puts her hand on my shoulder. She stares at me, glaring at me, smiling. ?You?ll be fine. Rest. We can spend some more time tomorrow,? That, she closes her eyes. I guess I should go to sleep again. A day wasted at Eientei?
? ? ?
The morning comes fast like a storm. Literally, today it is raining outside. I awaken, and Kaguya?s already missing. The mat is empty, but covers moved. I touch the spot where she once was. It?s still warm. I rise up from the floor and look around. Kaguya is busy playing with the two cardboard boxes, staring at them idly. Actually, it looks like she?s using a computer. Poorly drawn features, I must say.
Something feels different though? Oh crap. I check under the covers, and discover that I?m only wearing my underwear and undershirt. ?Kaguya? Did you see where my clothes went?? I ask. Kaguya mumbles, ?I don?t know? Reisen said something about cleaning them, and I told her I was not going to touch you.? Those damn rabbits. ?Why don?t you get up and move around, it?s early morning,? Kaguya asks. Move around? I?m missing part of my clothes!
?I?m sorry. Really wish I could right now.? I qualm. ?Oh, don?t be so modest,? Kaguya still with her back turned to me. A couple of rabbits are hopping around. Kaguya then gets up and leaves, ?I?m going to feed myself okay? I?ll be back?? She plods across the room and out the doorway. After she leaves, there is a knock on the door. Instead of leaving, the door opens and quickly shuts. The rain stopped outside. Who else could it be, but that snarky reporter in those ugly shoes, back for more action? While I?m lying in the mat, she looks around and investigates the area, initially unaware of me.
After some searching, she shuts the doorway and bolts it. Now I forget? aren?t these all sliding doors? Aya plops herself in front of me, immediately asking questions, ?What do you know of the slave system here?? Man, she?s determined. ?I don?t know anything. I came here almost two days ago.? Aya frowns a bit at this. ?At least tell me your relationship with Kaguya here. It seems like you two have something going on here.? WHAT? First Kaguya accuses me of being with Mokou and now I?m accused of being with Kaguya herself? This is madness!
?Nothing much really. More like acquaintances.? I reply. ?Really? You?re sleeping in her mat and you?re half-naked. Doesn't seem like acquaintances to me.? She continues writing with her pen. ?Some people need their clothes cleaned, you know!? I snap back at her. ?Oh, no need to be hasty. I?m only curious. I can tell from these things?? She?s not getting it, is she? ?Leave please.? I tell her off. ?Sure thing. I got everything I needed.? Oh crap? What did I just tell her? She bolts off, out the door without hesitation, and is gone in a flash.
Kaguya comes back with a tray of food. I really don?t know what the stuff is. ?Here. We can share our morning meal together~? She sets it down near me. ?What?s with the look on your face?? She asks. Yeah. My face look really disturbed right now. I worry about how what I said is going to affect me. Kaguya pats me on the head and begins eating. I pick up some of the food and begin eating. Reisen comes in with my clothes newly washed; she seems tired after last night and the work this morning. ?Don?t you have more clothes than this?? Reisen asks. ?I do. But I left them at my stead elsewhere. I didn?t know it would take this long,? I eat away at the food.
?How long are you staying here again?? Reisen questions. Kaguya gives a nasty glare and Reisen thusly leaves the room. We finish eating and then Kaguya brings me out into the hallway. Reisen is there. ?Oh? There is a person here looking for you?? Looking for me? We head to main lobby and someone was there. This one was wearing a big black, bent hat. Long blond hair with a braid on one side, she is mostly wearing black-white clothing and an apron on the lower half. To top it off, she has a broom.
Kaguya does not like the look of this, ?No! It?s that one that keeps taking Eirin?s books!? The person looks at us, ?Well, they ARE kind of hard to read-ze.? Another person? ugh? how many to meet? ?I came here looking for him.? She points to me. Kaguya lashes out, ?Well you can?t have him! You?ve taken enough from us at this point.? This doesn?t faze Marisa. ?The shrine maiden was looking for him, not me. She just sent me here-ze.?
Reimu wanted me to come back? ?He looks pretty healed up too. No point in keeping him here,? Marisa adds. Kaguya sighs, ?At least let him come back sometime.? I walk towards Marisa and she says, ?Sure thing, once he?s on his own, he can go wherever.? Kaguya promises, ?Make sure you come back.? Of course I?ll come back; Eirin gave me a damn bill I have to pay.
Marisa pulls me outside, ?Now first we have to stop at several places before returning you to Reimu.? Places? ?Where to?? I ask. ?Get on first,? She already positioned her broom getting ready to leave. ?You sure that I can ride on that thing,? I question. Marisa frowns, ?Sure I?m sure. I?ve flown tons of things on this stick.? I shrug it off and get on. ?Just hold on,? She informs me and we immediately take off into the air. Wind rushes fast past my face as we already are over the bamboo forest.
Whizzing past the Forest of Magic, we head towards a settlement past it. There are many houses and people bustling about in the streets. Marisa lands at a shop near the edge of the village, just inside the Forest of Magic. There?s tons of junk sitting outside and parts of the place look battered. I marvel at the stuff outside, but Marisa pulls me in through the door. A bell rings; the guy behind the counter looks up. He has short silver hair, wearing black and blue, and is looking at a magazine. This has to be the first time seeing another male in a long time?
?Kourin, I brought a new human here. He?s from the outside world,? Marisa pulls me towards the guy. I?m too busy looking around at all the stuff in there, and surprised that he has an oil heater. ?Marisa, I already know what half this stuff is. But he may be of use?? The guy gets up from behind the desk. ?Come with me,? He says, and directs me towards a whole other desk, which sits a desktop computer. ?I know that it computes things, and that you humans from the outside use it. The problem is, it won?t work, nor do I know what it?s used for. I thought it has something to do with circles and pi, but nothing else.? Rinnosuke also pulls an electric cord from outside the computer.
?Well. First thing you need is electricity, which so far is something you don?t have.? I answer. ?Electricity? You mean lightening? He asks. ?Yes. Lightening except in a form condensed so the computer may use it.? Rinnosuke still didn?t seem to understand, scratching his head. The idea was a little advanced for him? He pulls me away from the computer and shows me the kerosene furnace. ?It warms my house, but Yukari has to constantly get fuel for it.? He doesn?t say much after a while, staring into the flames in the furnace. Marisa signals me to the door, like she needs to be somewhere.
We both head out the door and he says, ?Come again?? Marisa forces me back onto the broom and we?re off again. She heads into the Forest of Magic this time, avoiding hitting the trees in the way. We stop at another house, this one located in the Forest. Marisa knocks the door open; must be her house. There is literally junk all over the place. Books piled everywhere, Marisa starts digging, ?Sit down,? she says. Sit down? Is there really any place to sit down in this mess?
After some digging she pulls out some clothes, and tosses them to me. ?You may need these later,? She says. These were more appropriate clothes, two-piece, mostly black, almost like a robe. ?My father used to wear them, but you can have them,? Marisa smiles. ?Thank you, but I?ll put them on later?? I say. Marisa nods, but heads back out the door. ?Come on. We need to get you back. I?ve wasted enough time as is-ze.?
We take off one last time and head to the shrine.
As we go through the forest, the sun rises.
_______________________________________
End of Chapter 6
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Chapter 7:
If I cannot bare such a stingy winter?
Let the white fill my eyes?
And let my heart descend?
Beneath the sun?
Whisking through the air, I notice it starts to get colder. I still don?t remember what time of the season it was, but hopefully it?s near that time. A period of death and rebirth in the cycle, the season of descent begins. The time where people pretend and celebrate this solstice, without true meaning?I see the time has come. Renewal has never seen such a period in a while; I, personally, haven?t seen it in a while. A grand welcome to my early stead. The wind? the blandish color? production of false warmth? everything?
?Hey, something wrong?? My eyes shift. Marisa is staring at me, annoyed. We are on the ground. Location: Hakurei Shrine. Marisa taps me on the head, nudging the broom as well?which we are still sitting on. ?Come on, get off. It?s uncomfortable. It looked like you passed out, ze.? And with that, she yanks it right from under me, and my rear lands on the ground. I rub my back and stand up off the ground. ?Next time, warn me when you?re going to take a nap, ze,? Marisa walks up to the door and knocks. The door opens. Reimu is still there; she doesn?t go far I guess. ?Ah, I see you got him. Good.? She checks me a bit, ?New clothes too, eh? Good job Marisa??
I notice there is a paper on the ground. Reimu was talking to Marisa, so they didn?t see what I was doing. It was a Bunbunmaru paper. Oh no? I picked it up and looked at it. The title read ?CONSPIRACY THEORY PROVEN TRUE. KAGUYA WORKS SLAVES IN CAMPS.? This isn?t good? Kaguya will be pissed??well so would them at Eientei. I keep reading, ?It has been also been reported that the leader of this ?labor system?, Kaguya, is having scandalous affairs with a new human from the ou??
My heart stops. I. Am. So dead, when I return to Eientei. Or maybe I won?t be since they know it?s not true, or they probably don?t care. Plus, I still have to pay, so Eirin won?t be a problem thus far? I fold the paper and put it in my pocket; better hide it until later. I?ll say that these papers are very small, since there?s not much in it.
Reimu brings us both inside. ?You?re stuff is still safe here,? she notifies me. Pulling my stuff out from a hatch in the floorboards, she struggles. After yanking most of the stuff out, she makes some tea. Marisa already is sitting down at the low table, waiting. Reimu tells me, ?Alice said that she was going to be over here today, sometime. She said it was important and that she wanted to meet you.? Marisa chuckles, ?Alice, in a happy mood? It takes some guts to actually do that. Ha!? Reimu glares at Marisa, ?I think she said 2 weeks ago that she gave you a gift...?
Oh that?s right? The Hourai doll that she gave to me. I grab my luggage case, and dig in there. The doll is still there, thank God. I pull it out and Reimu says, ?Oh she gave you one of those? Must be important?? Once the tea was finished, I sit at the table, the doll in my lap. Each of us drinks our tea. Jasmine tea, a great choice. Still sipping the tea, I notice the Hourai doll begins moving. Then it moves its head and stares at me. I almost jump back and bump the table. Reimu and Marisa notice.
?So you did keep on to the doll like Yukari said,? A voice came from near the door. It was Alice, there in her blue dress and short blonde hair. Carrying her book, she trots in, boots making noise each step she makes, lastly Shanghai following closely to her side. ?I?ve been waiting to meet another human specimen?? Specimen? What is she, Eirin? ??unlike Marisa.? Marisa snaps at her, ?What am I? Not good enough for you?? Alice sits down, ignoring Marisa, ?So tell me about yourself,? directing her attention to me. Marisa is ticked off.
?Well? I usually draw? have an interest in music? living alone? Not doing much?? I tell her, shyly. ?I see? I live alone too?? Alice replies. ?No you don?t! I live right near you? Marisa belts out. Reimu just sits there sipping her tea, indifferent to what either is saying. ?What was your reasoning for meeting with me? And the gift?? I ask Alice. ?I?m interested in humans, and it?s lonely in the Forest of Magic?? she returns back to the loneliness thing again. ?I?ve had enough!? Marisa yells. She swigs the last of her tea, and leaves the cup on the table. Marisa goes out the door and is gone.
Reimu is still un-amused by the scene; she probably stays out of conversations that aren?t hers. ?Alice, you could be more kinder maybe? Marisa jus-? I begin to speak, but Reimu shakes her head, warding me to not talk about it anymore. ?It?s okay. She?s always like that sometimes?? Alice adds, fiddling with Shanghai, ?You have enjoyed the Hourai doll so far, right?? Eh? not much?. ?Well, I never really got to use it in anyway. When I first arrived I was attacked, so my arm was damaged,? I reply. ?Oh you poor thing?? Alice sympathizes, while Reimu rolls her eyes.
?Yeah? I had to go to Eientei to get it fixed,? I finish my tea. ?Oh, I go there sometimes too. The woman there is nice?? Alice is trying to pinpoint as many things that we have in common. This can?t be good. She starts looking through her Grimoire, and I still sit there pondering. There is a long pause. Alice breaks the silence, she just sparked a thought, asking?
?Reimu, can I take him off your hands for a while?? Alice asks. Reimu, being indifferent again, ?Knock yourself out?? Alice becomes very happy, almost giddy? Wait, what? ?Reimu, you can?t be serious?? I ask her. ?You can?t hang out here all the time, especially since you?re a human, not enough resources,? Reimu answers, already shoving my stuff back down the hatch. Well, Alice is ?somewhat? alluring, but I?ve already had a bad experience with youkai so far, so I?m hesitant. Alice tugs me along towards the door, my feet skidding on the floor, her boots knocking on the floor.
-
Alice pulls me out the door and shuts it behind her. ?Don?t worry. We?ll be there soon enough,? She grins. Snapping her fingers, the trees in the nearby forest begin to shake. Out from it comes a lumbering figure. It looks like one of her regular dolls, except this one was MUCH larger. It walks over to us and puts its hand out. Alice grabs me and hops on. The giant doll lifts its hand up to its shoulder; Alice jumps onto it and puts me on the shoulder. The doll moves into the forest, surprisingly making little to no noise.
?Magnificent, isn?t it?? Alice talks while looking at the view from up here. I don?t answer. It doesn?t take long to reach her house either. As soon as we arrive, the doll puts me on the ground and Alice jumps off of it. Slowly descending to the ground, Alice snaps her fingers agian; the doll shrinks back to a normal sized doll and Alice picks it up. Interesting? She grabs my arm again and hauls me inside. The day seems to wane, the sun already receding down the sky.
Inside was the largest amount of dolls I have ever seen. Tons of them, all over the place: on the shelves, on her bed, unfinished ones on the tables. But first thing she does is plop me on her bed. Some of the dolls move around, some stare at me, one fiddles with my hair. That one was the most unusual out of all of them, it looked different too, but looks rather like my Hourai doll. That reminds me. I take out the Hourai doll I brought with me. The doll begins moving as well. And it flies away with several of the others; they play.
Alice begins toying away at one of her dolls, ?Shanghai does need some fixing though? She?s been feeling rough recently.? I really don?t pay attention to what Alice is saying; the dolls are too interested in me. One of them sits on my lap and stares at me. It really stinks that they don?t have any mouths; expressions lighten the mood. They don?t seem to have a leader, as they buzz about. The Hourai doll messes around a bit: watching Alice tinker, spinning in circles, and lastly, landing in my lap with the other doll. Time passes and the moon rises in the sky. Alice isn?t yawning, nor is she moving much.
Soon, when the crescent moon in half way in the sky, Alice gets up out of her chair. She motions towards me, shaking her hands. All the dolls move away from me, many of them returning to their original places. Alice digs through one of her small drawers. She pulls out some type of pill. Instead of putting it in her mouth, she moves towards me. ?This is for you. It will make you feel better,? Alice says with a low, creepy tone. ?I don?t want to be taking anything that could harm me!? I retort.
Alice grabs my chin, ?Don?t worry. This is guaranteed a good night?s sleep.? She tries to pry my mouth open as I resist. Was this the whole point of bringing me here? To drug me? Alice yanks on my head harder, but I stop resisting. She shoves it into my mouth; pushing down on my neck to make it move down. Why didn?t she put one in? Soon enough, I see colors, lots of them. My vision gets blurry at little, my balance a little woozy. Wait? if she?s a youkai magician? and she gave me something that only youkai can take? What?? I lose consciousness?
?Or? At least I thought I did? I have some amnesia of the occurrence afterwards? I don?t hear much, but I can?t tell if?? Ah, screw it?
My eyes open up. I was asleep? I rise up, and I?m? holding a blanket? I turn my head. There is light outside. So I went to sleep like she said? But, this couldn?t be a complete waste. I?m only on one side of the bed. Looking to the other side, I notice Alice is there, back turned. But that back? was bare. She turns over onto her front side. Alice stirs, turning towards me. She slowly wakes up, stretching her arms out. ?Mmmm? That was good last night wasn?t it??
WHAT? WHAT?! Do my ears deceive me? ?Um? last night?? I ask. ?Yes? You were so good?? Alice replies. All right. That?s it. I have officially arrived at the sanitarium. My ears didn?t deceive me. I don?t respond, but Alice continues to blather, ?I haven?t felt so good in a long time. Thank you.? Oh God, Make it stop! Am I still dreaming? That must be it. No way this is real. Alice gets up though and walks right to her drawer, naked. Some of her dolls get up and dress her. Alice then leaves the room.
I feel around with my hands. One of the dolls lands in front of me, holding my underwear. This can?t be happening. But several of them come soon after, one with a brush. The doll with my underwear starts digging in the bed, and puts it on me?I can?t explain how. The one with brush begins straightening my hair; it struggles a bit. Minutes pass and Alice comes back in with tray full of food on it. What, do I have to be catered to all the time? She sets it down on the table. ?Get up.? Alice spits.
I slowly get out of the bed, ?Don?t be so shy,? Alice says, she tugs me closer to the food. I begin to eat, but not much. Alice leaves again, with a smile on her face. I have to get out of here. No way I?m living like this for the next couple days. Looking around, I notice the dolls are standing in front of the windows, for protection I guess. Maybe the front door could work. I stop eating, getting up from the chair. I rush over and get my clothes back on. Since I brought nothing with me, I don?t have to worry; she can keep the doll for all I care. The dolls begin to notice my strange activity, but they do nothing.
I bolt for the door, but just then, Alice comes storming in. ?Trying to leave on me, eh?? I stop dead in my tracks, jiggling the doorknob. It?s locked, on the inside? I run in the opposite direction and grab Alice. ?I don?t know what you did to me, or what you plan to do now, but I want to leave, please,? I glare at her. ?What? I was only giving you good company? I?m always alone you know?? She starts crying a bit. ?Oh. So taking me to your house, drugging me, plausibly raping me, and then making me breakfast is what you call company?? Now, I?m yelling at her almost.
With a swift movement, I feel a thud on my head. It hit pretty hard, very quickly. I pass out?.
? ? ?
I hear nothing, but loud voices? In my head? Somewhat loud voices?
I begin to open my eyes. There?s a ton of light. It?s hard to see, but the initial glare settles down. I look to my left. Something? abnormal? it?s? It?s Shanghai? Except Shanghai? looks a lot bigger than normal; almost the same height as me? This is weird? Am I dreaming again? Did Alice shove another pill down my throat? But I notice something very wrong this time. I look up, and Alice?s face is right there, three times larger than it was before.
Oh crap? I?m on her desk aren?t I? Never mess with a youkai magician, I guess. ?Ah. You?re awake now?? She says, ?You are going to stay here for a while like I said. But this time, I don?t think handling you is going to be a problem.? Alice is still too busy working on Shanghai, but I guess making me smaller was her only choice for keeping me at bay. I stand up. Yep, I?m about the size of Shanghai; 20 cm, no more, no less. ?Don?t you think about going anywhere,? Alice grabs me off the table.
She does have a tight grip; I squirm a bit, but Alice drops me right onto her shoulders. ?I?m leaving you like this for a while, actually, your whole stay here. Maybe if you shape up, I?ll return you to normal,? Alice still works away, while I look around. Not much really changed, since the dolls see things like this. I wouldn?t expect if she did anything else but leave me like this for a while; doing nothing. Alice drops her tools and gets up quickly. I start to fall off her shoulder, but I grab her hair. She stops, ?Ah! Don?t pull on that!? Alice pulls me back up onto her shoulder.
Searching around, Alice finds nothing that she?s looking for. ?Damn, I have to go out and get more,? Alice grabs me and puts me back on the table. ?Don?t you go anywhere,? she scolds me. ?Actually? I still don?t trust you.? Alice gets some twine out. She gets out a metal tube also, and ties me to it. ?That should keep you still for a while. I?m going out to go get more fabric, okay?? Alice gives me a smile. I?m still not happy. ?Aw, come on, cheer up. Don?t be so sad. At least I let you live,? She leaves with that, sets up defenses around the house, and disappears out the door. That?s a creepy last sentence? There is some silence?
After minutes of waiting, some of the dolls begin to move around a bit. I look towards Shanghai, who is still sitting on the table. She begins to move as well, and stands up. Grabbing her razor, Shanghai moves towards me. I notice that she has a mouth now, as she begins to raise her razor. What? Is she going to kill me here, now? I close me eyes as I hear a cutting noise. The tension in my arms and legs are gone. I land on the ground and look at Shanghai; she?s untying the knots on my limbs. The detail that Alice put on the dolls? hands is incredible.
Once Shanghai was done, she immediately hugged me. Awkward? ?It?s so nice to see someone like you surviving her.? She says. ?Yeah. Lucky m?? I cut of my response. What? Did she just speak to me? ?You can talk?? I ask. Shanghai doesn?t seemed too disturbed by the question, ??I can talk?? What an absurd question. Of course I can.? I step back a bit, but she moves closer. Shanghai timidly replies, ?Most of us can actually? but only those that have been affected by Her magic can hear us?.?
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Do you know how many times I love reading this story? I just love it. Alice turning humans into dolls. Sorta awesome but scary at the same time. Keep it up!
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Small update for now. Finishing Chapter.
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Shanghai grabs my waist and flies me over to the bed. Several of the dolls are sitting there, including the Hourai doll I was given. She’s smiling at me. They head over to where Shanghai and I land; the Hourai doll hugs me as well. “I finally get to speak with you,” Hourai says, (I’m just going to call her that for now. Typing Hourai doll so often gets tiring. Yeah… I’m that lethargic.) still clutching me. Alice’s details on these dolls are amazing. Feeling them… feels like feeling a human as well. Everything, from face, to chest, to legs, feels smooth and real.
Hourai stops hugging me; noticing something. I have no clothes on… Some of the dolls giggle, and I see what the problem was. My face turns red. Shanghai laughs a little, but gets out some fabric. The dolls seem to have their own stash of fabric, and they fashion me something to wear. Actually, It was more like the clothes they were wearing, but oh well… Just a purple dress. It still feels awkward though. “We don’t do much around here actually, since Alice controls us so harshly,” Shanghai says, while playing with my hair. “Can you not do that?” I ask. She stops, “Sorry. Force of habit.”
“I actually have been here for a while,” Hourai sits down in front of me. “You receiving me was a rare gesture. But you seemed so nice, except you had me left in that box of doom for 2 days.” Hourai pouts; her expression changes to scared, “The horror… the horror…” She spaces out, but I start waving my hand in front of her. “Oh yeah…” Hourai continues, “Alice’s treatment of us isn’t that splendid…” Shanghai frowns and adds, “Yeah. She uses us in battle sometimes…” she pauses, “And laces us with gunpowder…” Some of the other dolls barely speak, shuddering. “Well. It can’t be all that bad,” I say, trying to be optimistic, “She created you after all.”
Shanghai and Hourai pull me over away from the group; Shanghai says, “Remind you, that you are still mostly human Alice’s magic isn’t that effective on humans alone, thus you still remain so. Just consider yourself lucky.” Lucky? “Why am I lucky?” I ask her. Hourai sighs, “You aren’t the first one… that’s she done this to…” That can’t be good. “She doesn’t… take to kindly to antics… Just accept the punishment due and wait it out,” Shanghai warns me.
“Look,” Shanghai stops me from walking back to the group, “You see this fissure I have on my head?” She pulls away some hair from the upper part of her forehead. It reveals a small crack on her forehead, but it’s noticeable when you see it. “Where did that come from?” I ask. She looks depressed as she tells me, “The last person I help… I couldn’t… and Alice…” Shanghai starts to cry; no actual tear but her expression makes it pretty clear. Hourai almost does the same. “…and she–she–killed him!” Shanghai bawls into my shoulder. For a doll, these things have some pretty deep emotions about things.
And Alice says she’s alone…
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End of Chapter 7.
Part of chapter 8 will be up soon.
Do you know how many times I love reading this story? I just love it. Alice turning humans into dolls. Sorta awesome but scary at the same time. Keep it up!
Thank you.
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Part of Chapter 8, as promised.
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Chapter 8:
The heart stricken, strained
Never would the moon bring me hope
Nor would the sun ever carry me to hope
In such a way?
Could it not be me?
Could I have done wrong?
Could I have taken the wrong path?
No. I?m not wrong. I only strayed.
Eternity, grab me by the hand
Guide me into the superior light
Take me to that place of suffering
And see the world, with new eyes?
Greater and more worthy than the ones I have used before?
? SMS
Shanghai was still crying. Hourai patted her on the back, ?Shanghai, please, not again? A nervous breakdown is the last thing you need right now?? I feel a little left out, so I ask, ?Was it really that bad?? Hourai glares at me, ?Please stop mentioning it. The story is sad enough as is?? Shanghai still won?t stop crying, ?And?and?the spill?and the horror?and the?the? Her words become unmentionable; I couldn?t really understand. Shanghai is still clinging to my arm, so I tell her, ?It?s going to be alright. I promise that will not happen to me. What?s past is past.? She begins to calm down somewhat?
It seems that they also have short attention spans, because Shanghai shows me one of their possessions soon after. They have big box kept up on one of the shelves; well, big for them. Hourai says that they keep it hidden from Alice because it hides ?important stuff?. And what I find in there is some miscellaneous tings, actually. ?We find them on our way to certain places, with Alice,? Shanghai says. There were cherry blossoms, flower petals, leaves, and some waste (I don?t want to know what it is.).
These dolls don?t do much either. ?Yeah? It?s pretty boring here? Waiting around,? Hourai mumbles. This ?fun? doesn?t last much longer. The sun is in the air, noon to afternoon. Some of the dolls come forward to us and warn that Alice is coming back. With that Shanghai and Hourai fly me back over to the metal tube. Shanghai ties me back up, just as Alice had it, and lays down in her spot. Many of the dolls scrabble back to their original spots. The door slams open. Alice comes stomping in, mad?
She sits back down on the desk and works on Shanghai again, but something feels off to her. Alice looks at me, bewildered. ?Where did you get those clothes?? She asks, a little angry. ?Oh gee. I hadn?t noticed. Where did these come from?? I play stupid. ?Don?t play stupid with me! Something?s not right!? She looks at Shanghai, whose face looked a little different. ?Shanghai!? Alice yells at her. ?I?m sick of you treating people like this!? Shanghai yells back. ?I don?t need you anymore!? Alice launches Shanghai across the room. She hits the window, and lands on the windowsill underneath, unconscious.
?Now as for you!? Alice grabs the metal tube, ?Give me one good reason why I shouldn?t destroy you!? She is giving off a mean, nasty stare; almost like ready to kill at any moment. I breathe, and sigh. ?Alice? there are some things people can tolerate and other things people can?t.? This takes Alice aback. ?That?s not a good reason!? She yells, grabbing a knife on the table. ?Wait! Wait!? I stop her from moving it closer. ?I know that you live alone, but sometimes? Treating people like you treated me? isn?t acceptable.? Alice stares at me, and puts the knife down, listening.
?Alice, I know that you can have a great time. You just need to go out there and be less exclusive about your activities. Sure, you may not have all the fun in the world. But at least you have friends?? (Yeah, that?s the best I got.) Luckily, Alice ponders for a while and sets me back down on the desk. ?Fine? you?re actually right. All I do is spend my damn time here doing nothing, even the dolls themselves have said it?? She unties me from the metal tube and grabs me into the air.
?I?ll return you back to normal? but promise me that you?ll visit from time to time,? Alice asks. ?I promise?? I reply. ?Are you sure?? Alice asks again. ?I never go back on my promises.? I assure her. She puts me back down on the table and snaps her fingers. Light shines before me, without pause. The light then disappears and I?m back to normal, but standing on the desk. I get off it, and go to Shanghai, who is regaining consciousness on the windowsill. Hourai follows me, and I pick Shanghai up. Her head didn?t fracture, it seems she had a concussion though?
?You can keep her if you want for all I care,? Alice is standing up behind me. ?All she ever did was die on me all the time.? Shanghai is fully awake now. She floats in the air, ?That?s perfectly fine with me, Alice. You never treated me well to begin with?? I go get my clothes on as they argue for a while, throwing nasty comments at each other. Hourai follows me around too. The two stop arguing soon enough and Alice says, ?I can?t be seen with such an atrocity. Leave with her, actually, leave with both of them!? Shanghai couldn?t have felt any better. ?Well if you want it that way?? I agree, while Shanghai floats over to my side.
Heading out the door, I say my goodbyes to the dolls and Alice. Shanghai and Hourai were so ?ecstatic? to leave that ?hell hole?. Shanghai sits on my shoulder as I walk, nuzzling my cheek. Back out into the forest again, the sun is setting. I better head to Marisa?s to see what she?s up to? It?s been almost a whole day since. I walk in a certain direction. ?Where are we heading?? Hourai asks. ?Marisa?s. She?s not been feeling well recently,? I reply. Both Shanghai and Hourai frown.
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“Come on, it won’t be that bad.” I look around, trying to find a sense of direction. Since I can’t fly, I have to use my intuition; or I could ask the dolls… “Hey… Do either of you know where Marisa’s house?” I stop walking and question them. “That depends,” Shanghai responds, “Hourai, do we know where Marisa’s house is?” Hourai looks confused, “I think we do… lest I remember.” They must be fooling me. “Alright you two. Stop messing around.” The two of them giggle. “I’m serious.” I add. Leading me through the forest, the two dolls move in a direction–somewhat in the opposite direction of the sun, which is starting to set. The night doesn’t arrive soon. Shanghai still rests on my shoulder as we’re walking. She still is recovering from the incident. But Shanghai asks me…
“Why are we going over to see Marisa anyway?” Taking a breath I answer in a smooth tone, “We are heading to her house because nice people comfort those that are having a rough time recently…” Shanghai is perplexed by my notion, but she persists to ask, “She’s been having a rough time?” Again, taking another breath, “Well… Let’s just say that before I came to the house, Alice and Marisa had some small conflict. And Marisa didn’t take it too well.” Hourai adds, “Eh… it would seem like Alice to do something like that. The two have been going at it for a while.” Figures.
Approaching Marisa’s house, I notice a figure in the shadows. It seems to have wings. I stop moving and say to the figure, “Who’s there?” The figure giggles. Hourai moves back to my side, hiding behind my hair. “I mean it! Show yourself!” I shout to the figure. Two more figures accompany it, both with their wings more visible. They all move into the light. The swift movement reveals the Three Mischievous Fairies. I remember them from before. “Who are they?” Shanghai asks me. “Friends… from before…” I answer.
Sunny Milk speaks, “Friends? That’s an interesting way to put it.” She grins. “The only thing we ever did for you was carrying your junk. Yukari just wanted the muscle power.” Luna Child adds moving closer to me. Eh… “What do you want then?” I ask. The three of them say nothing, as they digest the question I gave them. There is a long pause as they look at each other, dumbfounded. Star Sapphire is the first to speak, “What were you two thinking? This is a failure, as always! We should have been hiding.” Sunny Milk takes offense to this, “And as always you assume it’s my fault as you make your getaway!” Luna Child sits there and watches the two argue and it seems there is no point in me staying. I leave with the two dolls, but Luna Child notices my exit.
As I walk away, Hourai continues to lead me towards Marisa’s house. Noise comes from behind nearby bushes and I am forced to stop again. I look at the bush where the source comes from. Luna Child’s cap pops out and soon does the rest of her. So she was following me, eh? “Can I come along? Those two never get anything done…” She asks. I don’t see why not… “Fine, you can come along.” The dolls don’t seem to care about this as much… “We’re heading somewhere though okay, and I want you to stay hidden while we go there.” Informing her about the situation, she nods.
We reach the house and I approach the wooden door; Luna Child hides in the bushes. The air is still again, night approaching. I bother to knock gently on the door. No response. I knock harder. The door yawns open on its own. I walk in, Shanghai and Hourai following. Marisa is in the main area, lying among her piles of junk, still moping. She’s fiddling with something in her hand, her Mini-Hakkero. I gently close the door behind me, trying not to make a noise. “What do you want? Come here to rub it in?” Marisa mutters, still bewildered with her fidgeting. I walk up beside her and she morbidly looks at me. “Oh… it’s you… Shouldn’t you be off with Alice or something?” Yeah… She’s still upset like I expected. “Marisa. I’m not with Alice, okay. I’m not with anyone. If she wants to complain that you aren’t that good of a neighbor then that’s her problem.” Marisa notices the two dolls hovering over me. “Why are they here? Just to report back to Alice about this nonsense.”
Marisa turns away, discouraged. “You came at the wrong time. Just go away.” I sigh, “Look. I came here to make amends. These dolls belong to me now. I probably won’t bother returning to Alice after a long time. Any thing that she said about me or taking stabs at you should not change your opinion.” Marisa still sits there, unresponsive. “Fine, go ahead, be that way. If you feel that you’re fine, then I don’t have be the nice person I am and try to help you.” I face away from Marisa and head for the door. She grabs my arm though and tugs me towards her. “If that is what you propose, then I accept,” Marisa stares with a stern look.
The amount of time spent was enough for the sun to dip under the horizon and the moon to burst out of it. “Ah… it’s getting late.” Marisa points out. A knock is heard on the door. “Who is it,” shouts Marisa to the door. “Luna Child~! It’s cold out here…” the response claims. Obviously Luna Child couldn’t wait that long. Marisa gets up and limps to the door, slowly opening it. It was she, but Marisa said, “Who are you?” Luna Child replies, slyly, “If you remember that ice fairy, you should’ve at least remembered me…” Marisa sighs, “Fine… come in.” Lunachild happily walks in through the door, Marisa says to me, “This is Lunachild.” Oh really? Hadn’t noticed. “Yeah… We already met before.”
“But you left me out there in the cold,” She acts innocent over it. Marisa glares at me, but I retort with, “I told her to stay outside. I didn’t think it was going to get dark just yet.” Marisa still is not amused. Luna Child goes to sit down, Marisa tells me, “It’s dangerous out this late, okay. You have to stay here for the night.” Great. Another wasted day on my time…
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End of Chapter 8
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Chapter 9:
What is the time?
What time is it?
Can I find my way?
Or do I give all today?
Winter, why prolong?
Your little dances are not enough…
– SMS
Marisa actually doesn’t have any sleeping quarters because the place is such a damn mess. I make a space for myself amongst her junk, while Luna Child chose to hide in the rafters of the house near the roof. “Hey! Be careful up there, ze! You’ll ruin the supports,” Marisa yells at Luna Child. “I sleep in trees. I know how to be careful,” She giggles back. I rest on a pile of clothes, a good pillow. Hourai rests on another pile next, sitting there, guarding. Shanghai went to actually sleep on my head, while Marisa plopped right near me.
The night seemed to prolong, and I couldn’t sleep, which made the night even worse. I decided to remove Shanghai from my head, and placed her on the pile. Opening the crack under the window, I climb outside the house. I go on top of the house and lay back on the side of the roof, looking up at the stars. The partial moon is bright, no clouds in the sky. But then, I notice two figures moving across the sky, their silhouettes visible from the moon. A spherical object falls from the sky, heading right towards my head. I catch it as it falls into my hand. A peach… Odd…
Descending from the sky, the two figures head towards me. They pause only for a moment, as I get up, staring at the two of them. The figures soon become clearer as they approach. Both of them seemed dressed like opposites. One long hair, one tied into a tail; one blond, the other blue. The only similarity was the blouses. The sword bearing one landed first, the other second. She approached me asking, “They said there would be someone on the roof here, awaiting out arrival.” I still stare; confused. “This is Eientei, right…” She asked again, pointing her sword at my neck. Eientei… who are these? Mooninites? Lunarians?
The blond-haired one with the hat discourages the one with the sword. She bows, “Sorry for the intrusion.” And stands back up, “Forgive my sister. She can be brash and sometimes forceful…” Again, I don’t speak, but she continues, “My name is Toyohime of the Watatsuki clan and this is my younger sister, Yorihime.” Yorihime bows. “We came here in search of our old master in this unsacred area,” Toyohime looks to the sky. Unsacred? “Well, first off,” I answer, “You’re in the wrong place, there should be another person on a rooftop located west of here. I’m just outside at the moment because I can’t sleep.”
“Oh…” Toyohime replies, “Then forget that we were here, okay?” Hmm… I lay back down on the roof, “That depends…” Yorihime glares at me, sword pointed at me again, “I am warning you… This is none of your business. If you weren’t out here then we wouldn’t have lost track.” Oh, this is my fault? Toyohime consoles me, “Don’t mind her. If you could just guide us, please…” She stares at me. “Fine… It’s that way.” I point in the plausible direction. Yorihime knocks me off the roof, “That’s not good enough. Lead us.” Toyohime lands on the ground, dusting me off, “Again… Excuse my sister for being so straight forward.” She yanks me up on her back.
“I am assuming that since you’re a human, you can’t fly,” Toyohime heads off into the air with Yorihime following. Of course I can’t fly… Geez… Yorihime still stares at me as we head towards Eientei. “So where is it?” Toyohime asks. “If you notice a large gathering of Bamboo, it should be in there. But in all seriousness, if you’ve visited here before, shouldn’t you already know your way around?” I answer. “So you have been there before?” She is curious, ignoring what I asked, “Eirin, never told me that she allows others to meet her, besides her servants…”
“I had an accident. It seems she’s one of the only people here that actually heals others,” I explain. Toyohime strikes up a conversation… “Master Yagokoro is a master of skills and is highly intellectual. It seems almost unlike her to be such a help to others. She always stuck to her studies.” I ask with my own questions, “Since you both say you’re from the ‘Watatsuki’ clan, both of you must be married, right?” Yorihime retorts a pulls out her sword again, as we are still moving, “That is none of your business! Sister, why are we even bothering with this guy. We could have found it ourselves.”
“Patience, sister,” Toyohime answers, “Yes. We’re married. At least I still am… Sister decided that she did not like the man she was with anymore.” I look at Yorihime and she blushes, “I-it’s n-not like I loved him or anything…” she turns away, “Sister, you’re giving away too much information–are we there yet?” Toyohime giggles a bit. “We’re almost there. I see the bamboo from here,” I let Yorihime know. “Good,” she replies back. We soon descend into the forest. “Well, you know the rest of the way I bet,” I answer. But we keep on flying through the Bamboo forest.
“Wait… Why are you taking me in,” I ask frantically, “I have to get back to where I was.” Still flying forward and not looking at me, Toyohime replies, “You could join us for the night, won’t you? I’m sure Master Yagokoro won’t mind.” She smiles too. This isn’t good. I’m probably already up the creek for even bothering to answer to the tengu reporter, and now it’s worse that I have to go back… “Do I really have to?” I whine, but Yorihime draws her sword again, grunting. I lay on Toyohime’s back, silenced. She reaches her hand back and pats me on the head.
• • •
Reaching Eientei was not a struggle for these two. But I noticed several youkai rabbits wandering about through the forest. A sign that we are closer to the destination. We finally reach the wide-open area. Both land on their feet, I get off Toyohime’s back. “Well, I guess I will be going now…” I begin to walk away. Yorihime immediately yanks me in the other direction and drags me up to the door. “You’re staying with us, you hear me?” She whispers to me as Toyohime slides open the door.
In the open room, Reisen was busy working away as Tewi was messing around with the youkai rabbits. Reisen stops what she’s doing once she notices the visitors in the main room. “It’s you two again!” she exclaims, but then notices me. “Oh… It’s you again…” Reisen goes back to work, “You three are welcome to stay, but Lady Kaguya hasn’t been in high spirits recently.” Toyohime takes her hat off, and sits down on the floor at the low table. “Look, Reisen, I didn’t come here for…” I begin to speak, but Yorihime glares at me again. With that, I sit down with Toyohime…
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Toyohime itches her head a bit, but she yawns and passes right out. Her head lands right in my lap, snoozing. Yorihime glares at me; I can?t take this anymore! ?Seriously, what the hell do you want? Stop staring at me!? I belt at her. She replies with, ?You lack the qualities of a man?? I do, now do I? ?That seems kind of rude for you to be sassing me like that,? replying with an angry tone; I pet Toyohime?s head. She smiles while still sleeping.
Eirin soon comes marching in through the door and Toyohime wakes up, rushing to her. I decide to sit there, but Eirin chose to ask me, ?Here to pay the bill?? I sigh and reply with, ?No. I was dragged here against my will?? She doesn?t seem that interested at this point, but adds, ?If you want to see her, she?s in the back.? Getting up slowly, I head down the hall, leaving the Watatsuki sisters to Eirin. I head down the hallway, but Toyohime stops me. ?Why don?t you sit with us for a while, instead of just running off.? I guess? It shouldn?t hurt me, the moon hasn?t moved that much in the sky since we left Marisa?s house.
?Eirin, you never told us that you have guests here often,? Toyohime is sitting near the low table, eating a peach. ?Well? It does do good to help others in need. I do my best,? Eirin prides herself, a little too much. ?Not much has changed here since you last were here?? She adds, ?Probably the same up there too?? asking the Watatsuki sisters. Both of them nod. Reisen makes some tea for them while I sort of doze off. I need my sleep still.
?Now as for you,? Eirin directed her attention to me, ?I think there is something you need to do as of now.? With that, I get up and leave, heading down the hallway. I limp across the room, slowly. ?Eh? Reisen, could you help him?? Eirin asks Reisen, who quickly snatches me up. We both head down the hallway to Kaguya?s stead. The room is dark, but Reisen shoves me inside. She?s gone quickly, and I?m alone in the dark. Only the moonlight is in the room. Kaguya turns over and looks at me. I plant myself near her side.
?Why did you have to tell her anything? You could have said nothing?? Kaguya whispers. ?Look, she automatically assumed we had something going on. So I tried to dispel her thoughts, but it didn?t work?? I whisper back. Kaguya sits up and touches my face. ?You haven?t been gone for long, but you came back? Why do you do this to me?? She rolls over, looking away from me. ?I never intended to do this, okay. You are a kind person, but people do tend to get the wrong ideas about things. I only made it worse instead of better. And I?m sorry?? ? She doesn?t respond for a while. The air is quiet. ?In the outside world? do people lie and cheat?? What kind of question is that? ?Sometimes? people will stretch things to pave their way. Don?t take things that people write so worriedly.?
Kaguya stares for a bit. She lays back down, whispering, ?You can go away now?? Turning outside the room, I gently close the door. Reisen appears right before me, and I get spooked. ?Ehh! Don?t do that!? I scold her. ?Sorry, but being in these hallways can get tedious, and you said you wanted to get back soon?? She answers, taking me back to the main room. Not much changed. The moon is still crescent. I probably have wasted an hour so far, but I am getting tired. Seriously, how do people stay up this late? Lunarians, ya never know?
?Welcome back,? Toyohime smiles. ?Can I go now?? I ask Eirin. ?It would be rude just to leave and not join us?? Toyohime adds. I can?t get a break today, can I? I sit down next to Toyohime. She stuffs a peach in my mouth?I almost choked on the fruit. I yank the peach right out of my mouth; she giggles. What?s so funny about this? Toyohime pats me on the head as she returns to her tea. Reisen shuffles a cylindrical cup in front of me. Setting the half eaten peach on the table, I sip the hot tea. I notice Toyohime snatch up the unfinished peach I had left on the table. She shoves the whole thing in her mouth and chews it. I stare at her for several seconds, mouth ajar?
Yorihime closes my mouth, lifting my jaw up, saying, ?You?ll catch flies if you leave that thing open.? Why is she so motherly about that? Eh? I keep drinking the tea. ?So, Eirin? About that *****? Yorihime asks. What? WHAT! What?s *****? Eirin replies, ?The work on the ***** has been going well, but not much as planned. I hope the ***** will be finished soon.? Seriously, what the hell? What are they talking about? I stand up and ask, ?May I leave, please. I am tired and wish to return to my current stead.? With that, Eirin signals Reisen. She grabs me and drags me into the hallway. ?Hey! Wait! I need to get back before sunrise!? I wail.
?Sure, you can leave right after you?ve had some rest,? Reisen drags me across the floor for a while. She then finds it easier to have me ride on her back. And guess where she takes me? Kaguya?s room? I?m assuming it?s still close to midnight, so I may get about 7 hours of rest. Reisen opens the door, throws me inside, and I slide right up to Kaguya. Reisen had to slam the door shut on top of it; I heard a lock noise too? Kaguya stirs a bit, and she looks at me, eyes still weary. Grabbing me closer to her, she falls back to sleep. Tight grip she has? but Kaguya loosened up soon enough and fell asleep next to her.
The night moved rapidly. I must have been exhausted after the long day. Morning came like a flash of light. And again, Kaguya was missing when I woke up. Sheesh? does she have to move around so often. I was also moved to under the blanket again? Kaguya slides open the door, coming in with a tray. What is this, d?j? vu? She places it in front of me. ?It?s early, but you can still probably make it back in time,? Kaguya adds, taking some stuff from the tray. I eat my fill and rise up from the blanket. ?I?ll have Reisen take you back,? She says that as Reisen enters the room. Oddly, Reisen was wearing only a white business shirt. But, same as always, I am brought out of Eientei, Reisen acting like she?s on a mission. It doesn?t take long to return to Marisa?s house.
The window was still open, so Reisen dropped me off right by it. She speeds off, leaving me with only a quick hug. Quietly, I climb in through the window. Everything seems the same as I left it; Hourai fell asleep. I plop on one of the untouched piles. But soon enough, both Hourai and Shanghai wake up. Shanghai starts petting my hair, ?Wake up. It?s morning.? Yeah? don?t remind me. Marisa gets up as well, ?Ah? Had a good night?s rest-ze?? She stretches. Luna Child is woozy as she descends from the rafters.
Instead of staying for food, which I was no longer hungry, we set out for the shrine without hesitation. I led the way, since I had a good sense of where it was, now that I had been in the air twice. Luna Child followed behind me, while Shanghai and Hourai sat on my shoulders. ?You seem like you?re full of energy today?? Hourai points out. ?Well, I had enough sleep last night? So I feel refreshed this morning?? I respond, not bothering to tell them about my eventful night?.
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End of Chapter 9
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Chapter 10:
We continue through the forest. Quiet it was in the morning, only fog and mist as we wandered through. I was the only one with a sense of direction here, but we kept to our time wasting. Luna Child seemed to be interested in the background and the trudging I created on the grass, which was speckled with morning dew. The air was fresh this morning, odd for winter. Shanghai passes out on my shoulder; for a doll, these they sure are tired. Hourai questions several times if we ?are there yet?? but to her dismay, we are not close. Luna Child then proceeds to ask me?
?Why not I carry you? Really, I?m floating above the ground. This is boring!? A hyped fairy with us asking to grab me, like the countless times before? Not relevant to my interests. ?Look, would you prefer baring a larger weight then your own, floating above the ground; or let us continue to walk?? This shut her up for a while. The sun rises, clouds fill the sky; painting it partially grey. Hourai fears, ?Is it going to rain?? Rain? Winter? What? ?Hourai, I doubt that it will rain, it?s cold enough out. Winter should be in high spirits right now, thus snow.? I was right. I did begin to snow, only lightly. A blizzard though would be a better case, in terms of spirits.
The open area arrives, and we walk underneath the Torii of the Hakurei Shrine. Reimu is out sweeping again. The two dolls having been here often, I assume that they were not as thrilled about being here. Luna Child likes this open field and starts whirling around in it, but I continue on towards Reimu. She waves as I head towards her, ?Ah? Back so soon? It?s only been two days.? That?s not the proper response? I come up to her and pull the newspaper out from two days ago, dropping it into the donations box. ?What was that for? That ain?t worth anything,? Not to happy about my actions, she was. I grab Reimu by both shoulders, and whisper into her face?
?You have no idea what I have been through in the past two days. A pleasant greeting would have sufficed.? Letting go from her, Reimu pats my cheek, ?There there. We all have times where we?re not doing so well. You can stay here from now on. I never said you had to leave, but I thought you could have a good time. Come on, I?ll bring you inside and you can tell me everything.? Her coaxing succeeded in winning me over. Stopping her morning chores, Reimu takes me in through the sliding door; we leave Luna Child to her fun outside, and I take my shoes off before stepping inside. (Notice how I never mentioned I had shoes on) ?Sit down,? She says, placing the broom off to the side.
I take a seat, kneeling near the low table. Reimu takes out the leaves basket and some cups. She puts a pot on the table, resting it on a lattice with hot rocks underneath which she just ignited. There seems to be a drilling pump outside because she had a bucket of water with a ladle. Reimu pours some water into the pot and lets the water boil a bit; dumping tea leaves in the net soaked in the water. Waiting for the tea she asked, ?So tell me? How eventful were the past several days?? I don?t know where to begin, but like all things, I start at the beginning. ?Well, it started when Alice took me to her place.? Reimu listens attentively. ?She sat there messing around with Shanghai for several hours.? Reimu cuts in, ?Heh. That?s so like her?? I continue with, ?She drugged me with some sort of pill and I can?t remember the night??
With that the pot started steaming a little. Reimu picked it up and pour tea into both cups. Ironic? ?Then she persisted on testing her magic on me.? Reimu adds, ?Oh she did that again?? Again?! ?What again?? I asked. She continues with her anecdote, ?One time when I went there, she almost turned me into a doll too. But Marisa was there to save me. I don?t see how you could be so lucky.? That makes me feel MUCH better? ?Well, they say words and speech are the most powerful tools.? Reimu looks at me, ?You promised her something didn?t you?? Sipping the tea, I burn my tongue, ?HOT!!?
I put the tea down on the table; Reimu pats me on the head. She sips her tea as I continue with my tale; ?So afterwards she let me keep Shanghai and Hourai,? Reimu nods. ?And then we went to Marisa?s house because I wanted to ease the tension going on,? I add, but Reimu cuts in again, ?A nice gesture. A good idea.? Give me a break; let me finish. ?So after that it was getting late so we stayed over. I couldn?t sleep so I went on the rooftop? That?s when I met the Watatsuki sisters?? Reimu has a spark of thought, ?Oh? Not those two again?? So she doesn?t like them? I thought they were okay people. ?And they dragged me across over to Eientei, where I slept for the rest of the wasted night.?
?That doesn?t seem so bad,? Reimu adds, trying to make better of the situation. ?Wait? You were gone last night!? Shanghai cries, ?You could have gotten hurt.? Again? Why is a doll worrying about me? ?Shanghai, he said he was fine. Don?t worry about him if he is able to last on his own. I mean? He literally survived Alice?? Reimu dispels the worry from Shanghai?s thoughts; the doll remains quiet for the rest of the conversation. ?So then we lastly came here,? I finish my story, sipping the lukewarm tea, letting Reimu give her thoughts, ?Well, the best thing is at least you?re here for a while, and Winter seems to be blowing through??
With that there is a slam on the door, and Luna Child comes rushing in, shivering. ?Oh dear? What happened to you?? Reimu rushes to help Luna Child, locking the door shut. ?I knew I would need this soon?? Reimu pulls up one of the floor compartments and pulls out a table (convenient ain?t it?), she ignites the fire rocks in the container underneath it. Reimu moves the table near the other one and puts a blanket over both. She moves the cups and tea silverware, and puts another board on top of it. Luna Child sticks herself underneath the makeshift kotatsu and begins warming up. Reimu asks her?
?Is? she back again?? Worrisome, Luna Child replies, ?I think so?? Now I just have to question this whole debacle in front of me, ?Reimu, what are you talking about?? Reimu gasps, ?You mean you haven?t met her yet? You lucky?? Okay, now they?re acting like it?s the Black Plague or something. Luna Child falls asleep under the kotatsu, while I still question Reimu, ?Who is this person you talk about?? She sighs, answering, ?She comes every year, brings white to the earth, but leaves it blistering cold.? This was not the answer I was expecting? ?Reimu, do you have any heavy clothes,? I ask her. ?Yes, I do. Don?t think about going out there!?
?Can I just go check at least??? I reply. She caves, ?Fine?? Another compartment; not much storage room in the Shrine, I can tell you that much? She pulls out some heavy clothes and I put them on top of mine. I head outside the door and close it behind me, trying to let as little air into the shrine. Outside, the snow begins to calm a little. The snow settles down to a light snowfall; I set out onto the snow with my shoes on. The decrease in snow intensity reveals a big woman; I mean? she was tall. She wore a mix of blue and white with a white cap that had a pointed flap. Dancing around in the snowfall, her transparent cape flutters in the wind along with her curly lavender hair; only the blue of her bushy skirt and bosom move with the most momentum. Some seconds pass, but she stops moving? Stare??
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Letty continues to stare a while, but I choose to take the initiative. Approaching her from the foot of the shrine, I continue to stare at her. She remains unwavering in her pause. Letty held her ground, as I move towards her, “Stay back, human! I’m in a happy mood right now! Don’t ruin my fun with your bitter words!” She starts to turn hostile, but I still motion towards her adding, “I’m not here to ruin, I’m here to enjoy…” My nerve startles Letty, as she responds with, “Don’t try your luck, human! How can you enjoy this? Most of them try to harm me!” I stop walking in front of her, some distance between us. I extend my hand…
“I am willing to join you in this whole wonderland that you love so much. To tell you the truth, I love winter; more than any of the other seasons…” These words soak in her ears, words that she hasn’t heard in a while. Letty’s initial reactions seem to be an aftershock of her poor treatment… But I could be a dissenter from these fallacies committed on such a harmless spirit. My hand remains extended out towards her, she remains hesitant. (Man, these clothes are thick…) “But… No one likes me… They just say I had nothing to give them… b-b-but I like the snow…” Letty’s knees hit down on the snow, her hands touch the white blanket that she brought forth. “Every year… It’s the same damn thing… Just here, and then gone… It never changes… the same cold…”
Bawling like this isn’t going to help her… I crouch next to her, patting her on the shoulder. Letty looks to me, “Why? What am I to you? I just ruin everything… The best thing to do is leave me alone…” Sigh… “Letty, the best way to help people is by making them feel better, emotionally. All you need to do is extend your willingness to comply…” She gets up off the ground and looks into my eyes. (Letty’s about the same height as me, yet surprisingly taller by a little bit) Letty grabs my hand, “Please, then prove to me that what you mean is true…” I can’t stay out here in the cold forever though. “Look, I’ll visit you frequently, actually you’ll be all over the place right?” Letty responds by nodding. “Then you’ll be fine. Wherever you go this season, you have a friend somewhere…”
I’m warm in the clothes that Reimu gave me, so we decided to have some fun for a while. Reimu wouldn’t mind… Mostly what Letty did was twirl around and lay in the snow. Not that eventful for me, but at least she can enjoy herself. I did try to pretend like I was having fun… Wait, what am I thinking? We did tons of stuff together. I rolled in the snow; we threw balls at each other, angels (yep, I’m a kid again…), shaking snow from the trees, building crap out of snow. I tried crafting some things out of the snow, but it wasn’t packing well… Letty was taking pleasure in the most out of this venture. If you ventured into a day like today, the ground would be all covered, almost 15cm of snow. I was getting tired, and retired myself onto the snow. Exhausted, sweaty–heavy clothes does some bad–I plop right onto the blanketed snow of the day.
Skies still grey, I look to it. Noticing the clouds move, I breathe in the air. Next thing, Letty’s face comes into my view, smiling. She probably has never been this excited in a long time, seeing her so happy. As I lay there exhausted, Letty’s smile begins to fade, becoming more… lined… Her face was turning red, odd for a cold person… She gives me a peck on the nose. I stare at her, but her eyes direct away, “I-it’s not like I love you or anything like that.” On the spot her mind changes? Really? (Sounds like a… never mind) She tries to get up and leave, but I stop her. “Hey, if you’re going to do it… at least do it right.” Letty blushes again, and decides not to move from her spot.
A scene on the snow… A passionate one…
Some time passes, lying there in the snow, enjoying ourselves to the comfort of each other… Emotional for a spirit, isn’t she… Hostility can be squelched, even for the most rigid of people, I guess… Eventually, Reimu came outside to break it up, “Alright you two, love-making’s over.” Letty practically hissed at Reimu, “Leave me be!” Reimu didn’t take kindly to this… “Letty, he’ll freeze out here if you leave him long enough…” She had a point, while I ironically sneezed. “See! He’s been out here for too long… I suggest you come back later…” But this made matters worse for Letty. “You don’t understand! Nobody ever understands!” She dashes away, crying, the snowfall getting thicker as she leaves.
Reimu drags me back inside and rips off the heavier clothes I had on. Shoving me under the kotatsu–?Luna Child was there–Reimu dumps the clothes down into the compartment and begins making some tea again… “You shouldn’t be trying to make a relationship with that woman… Things wouldn’t work out…” She says, “Actually, don’t have a relationship with a youkai. It’s wrong and dangerous.” Oh? She has had an intimate relationship with a youkai before? Wonder how that turned out… “Reimu, if you don’t lighten up to them, then how are THEY going to feel. Letty is depressed as is, and constricting her–like probably what you do to a lot of others–is not going to help her cause.” Reimu chuckled a bit…
“Eh… you really do not have a concept of what a youkai is, don’t you? Like I said, don’t be a pushover about it.” Choosing to ignore her, I slide down onto the floor, taking in the heat from the kotatsu. Pulling up the bedspread, I look at Luna Child, who looks like she’s in bliss. Shanghai was resting on the table, as Hourai was sitting in front of me, asking me, “What’s got you so down? What happened outside…?” I sigh, still warming up, sniffling with mucus, “I was having fun… but amusement doesn’t last long…” Hourai was confused, but she gave up on this endeavor and patted my head. Hourai went to rest on the table with Shanghai thereafter, but Shanghai moved to rest on my head.
“Times are tough, you know,” Reimu still was babbling about her nonsense and her beliefs on such crap. Letty was a fine woman, I think. There is something in the way she acts that I find interesting. She has that inner confinement that I can tap into and make it blossom. The next trouble will be finding her again, just have to catch her when I’m alone… And I’ll be waiting….
Reimu finishes making the tea, and puts it on the table, “Hey! Were you even listening to me?” Nope, sorry, too busy in my own little world right now. I sit up and drink the tea; Shanghai still lies on my head. Luna Child sleeps under the kotatsu, she may be coming down with something… “You’re not going outside for a while either…” Reimu added, sitting down. No worries, I’m cold as is… Once the weather warms up, while remaining above freezing, I’ll go outside. But for now… a reflection…
I must say, if it’s been a week, what an eventful one. I could say it’s been more, but I’ll let that slide. Places to go and people to see. I’ve only seen a portion of this place and met only a sliver of the masses. I could whittle away time, but time comes forth…
Time passes while I say at the shrine. Actually, the snowfall thickened over time. I’ve been in here for about a week. Reimu kept going in and out with supplies, to make sure I stay alive. Gave me enough time to write this though… Yeah… No explanation how, but I am… Let’s just call this the first part and leave it at that…
I’m sick actually… Reimu was right on that, I caught pneumonia on that time I was outside… Eirin’s box medicine seems to make it better, but not much…
When I am healed… and when the snow lessens (that depends because Letty was in a real bad mood…), I’ll come back outside and continue my explorations…
But for now, let me rest for a while… that might depend though… the week has been long. Not enough for me to go outside…
And for now I’ll…
Just sleep…
…
Until tomorrow…
…
…
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END OF PART ONE.
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What I don't get is how only one other person has commented on how great this story is.
Seriously. I don't think I've read a single fanfic that was as good as this. You manage to take so many elements of Gensokyo, tie them all together, and make it into one story that's miraculously comprehensible. All the characters seem lifelike, and your descriptions of everything are so real that it really makes you feel like you're in the story. And the best part is that no two characters are alike. Each has their own personality that's easily distinguishable from everyone else, and that's important for a story with as many characters as this one.
If there was something I had to criticize about this story, it'd be the fact that most of the time you don't start a new paragraph for a new speaker. Sometimes it's hard to distinguish who says what at what times. Sometimes it gets really distracting, but most of the time I'm able to follow. Still, your brilliant writing (as well as the consistency for quality and quantity of updates) makes up for something that can be so easily fixed.
Can't wait to read the rest. =)
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What I don't get is how only one other person has commented on how great this story is.
Seriously. I don't think I've read a single fanfic that was as good as this. You manage to take so many elements of Gensokyo, tie them all together, and make it into one story that's miraculously comprehensible. All the characters seem lifelike, and your descriptions of everything are so real that it really makes you feel like you're in the story. And the best part is that no two characters are alike. Each has their own personality that's easily distinguishable from everyone else, and that's important for a story with as many characters as this one.
If there was something I had to criticize about this story, it'd be the fact that most of the time you don't start a new paragraph for a new speaker. Sometimes it's hard to distinguish who says what at what times. Sometimes it gets really distracting, but most of the time I'm able to follow. Still, your brilliant writing (as well as the consistency for quality and quantity of updates) makes up for something that can be so easily fixed.
Can't wait to read the rest. =)
Thank you for the feedback. I appreciate it :D
I'm going to try and clean up some of those types of flow errors when I work on the second part.
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PART II
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Chapter 11:
Can you see me now
I am myself
Like you somehow
I’ll wait up in the dark
For you to speak to me
I’ll open up
Release me…
– Eddie Vedder
Time did pass… but the morning came again… Fervently, I awakened to the cacophony of birds residing in the trees outside the Shrine. Both the dolls contained themselves in their sleep as I chose to rise off the ground. It’s been two weeks now since I have been trapped in here… It does become quiet here after a period of time. Luna Child decided to remain allocated here as well, disregarding her past frivolity with her other two acquaintances. Let’s pause for a moment… Breaking the fourth wall, this time the style will probably be written with added complexity, but it shall vary from time to time. Well… we’ll see how it plays out.
Back to the story, I arose from the warm, soft blanket to greet the day. I notice Reimu was missing, probably off doing daily errands. Putting my hand outward, I poke Shanghai, who is passed out on the kotatsu. Her eyes stir as she wakes up. Shanghai begins to float in the air, drooping her arms, eyes still weary. Moving towards me, she pats my head, putting her hand in my hair. Several seconds pass, Shanghai realizes her sense of time and place and is now completely conscious. She smiles, going to nudge Hourai awake as well. Hourai mumbles and starts to stir, I get out of the kotatsu and stretch. I feel fully revitalized today, enough to venture outside. Luna Child was the last to wake up, she seemed to be more wasted from the past two weeks than I did, odd for a fairy.
Sitting back down, I wait for the return of Reimu. Waiting, Shanghai combs my hair, but I comb Hourai’s ‘false’ hair with a tiny brush she has with her. Interesting on how they chose to trade positions after a while. To be honest, Shanghai’s was harder to comb through, but she was not minding it… After the combing, we decided to rest again, until Reimu arrives. The warmth of kotatsu didn’t last that long…
“I told you many times, NO!” shouting comes from outside the shrine; it sounds similar to Reimu. “But if you could, things would be better!” another voice; I can’t recognize this one, but it was feminine. Prying the door open, freezing wind entering between the gaps, Reimu enters, but followed by another figure. Reimu slams the door shut, “Again, Get out! This is not your shrine!” she criticizes the figure. This one was a strange looking; green hair (Eww…) She had an appearance similar to Reimu; bare armpits, a skirt, some form of hair braid, two-piece clothes, except she had a paper stick or what ever those are called… Different colours as well, blue, white, and green. That’s a repulsive combination. They had some body shape difference too, but that’s not any of my business…
“Reimu, the mountain has gotten severely colder! The people on the mountain are angry with Lady Yasaka, blaming her for this crisis! THIS IS MADNESS! It’s bad I tell you! BAD!” The green one almost passed out onto floor, but Reimu grabbed her before falling. “And how is this MY fault?” Reimu replies, glaring at Sanae, for all the trouble she has gone through before. “Reimu, most people said they didn’t see the snow spirit, but they said the thickness of snow arrived from this direction…” Sanae accuses Reimu of the scenario. Listening to these two riffraff, I pretend to sleep, listlessly. Appalled by this, Reimu pulls me out from underneath the kotatsu and shoves me in front of Sanae.
“Here. This is the solution to your problem,” Reimu reluctantly answered. Why me? Why me! Sanae scans over me with her eyes. Who the hell has green/yellow eyes? “Never seen this one before…” she mutters, “Do you know the spirit that’s causing this blizzard?” questioning me for any leads. Better come up with a good answer. “Sort of… not much…” I mumble to Sanae, Reimu rolls her eyes. “Well, do you know anything else?” Sanae asks, now kneeling on the floor. “I’ve had enough of this! Both of you: OUT!” Reimu opens up the door again, but pauses. The wind and snow outside was decreased in intensity. Sanae was relieved by this, but had anew dilemma on her hands. It could come back… She had a spark of thought. Sanae tries to haul me outside; Shanghai and Hourai follow closely behind, not to lose me. Reimu stops her at the door…
“What do you think you’re doing?” She asks. Sanae stands up and breathes, “I am taking him to the source of this fiasco to settle it okay…” Reimu believes her, “And you’ll be getting back when?” She asks. Sanae replies with, “Several days maybe. I’ll be sure to bring him back.” Reimu sighs, “Fine…You can have him for a while.” Sanae feels all giddy inside and promptly takes me outside. The sun is out, midway into the sky, some clouds dashed along the surface. Reimu slams the door behind her, and Sanae wonders, “You can’t fly, right?” What, is this a trick question? I nod my head, so she proceeds to grab me by the waist. Sanae hoisted me over on top of her back, the dolls holding onto my shoulders.
“Well be there soon, then we can convert you…” Sanae consoles me with a smile. Convert? What? I thought this was a mission… Sanae takes off into the air, with the cold increasing a little. She has no difficulty with carrying me over the trees and into the forest. That word ‘convert’ confuses me. We head north of the human village; never been up here yet. There’s much less forest out here, but I notice the huge mountain up ahead. Sanae was heading right for the forest at the foot of the mountain. Two figures rest there. The Aki sisters again, the two of them shivering sitting on one of the large rocks; Sanae stops in front of them. They stare at us, both faces red with anger…
“What do you evil humans want?” Shizuha snaps at us, Minoriko adds, “We’ve had enough already!” Sanae tries to move around them while telling, “We only came here to go up the mountain. Rest, you’ll be safe…” The two seem to calm down, but they stop us from going forward. “Something’s not right here,” Minoriko says, “Shouldn’t you be helping us?” Sanae whirls around and responds with, “We are going to deal with the problem, okay… Give us some time.” Shizuha was not too pleased with that answer. “Give you some time? We’ve been freezing out here for two weeks! Don’t tell us to give you some time!” Shizuha yelled at Sanae. This pissed Sanae off… She grabbed Shizuha by the clothes and tugged her close, whispering, “We’re working on it… OKAY. Settle down and go back into your hibernation. And stop complaining…” Sanae drops Shizuha to the ground. I feel sorry for them, I really do.
I decided to help Shizuha off the ground and dust her off. The Aki sisters thanked me for the trivial help, and told me to be careful. Sanae started walking away, yanking my arm, “Come on. We need to settle this now…” The two of us continued our way up the mountain. Almost treacherous… The next problem arose as I was hit on the head with a thick tree branch. It almost welted my skull. Sanae abstained from walking any farther up the mountain and tended to me. “Tree branches don’t just fall like this… She must be close,” Sanae spoke, examining the surrounding locality. Just as expected…
“My… How misfortunate…” Someone pops out from one of the bushes nearby, an army of small dolls surrounding her. The goddess had greenish hair, boots, and red ribbons with white frills, a black-red dress decorated by a green swirl; lastly, her hands were crossed. Sanae faces towards the goddess, “This is not yours,” she says. “My, my… I only wish to help…” Hina directs her attention towards me, “Goddess Kagiyama at your service…” Okay… this is awkward… Sanae feels encroached upon, even though this isn’t even near her territory. Hina steps forward extending her hand, telling me nonchalantly, “Go ahead. Grab it…”
Intrigued, I go for the hand. Reluctantly, Sanae jerks my arm, attempting to deter my movements. She launches forward and jabs at Hina. Hina swiftly grazes and throws herself at me. Arms reaching out, she clasps her hands with mine. I feel a strange shift in mood and spirituality, somewhat relieved actually… “There… All better now,” Hina smiles and bows, but Sanae remains angered. This time she went for the throat (Seriously, why is a shrine maiden acting so shrill over something?). Hina passed by this with ease. Sanae misjudges her flight and lands smack into one of the trees. Completely passed out, she lays unconscious on the ground. Hina drags Sanae into one of the bushes and looks at me.
“You were heading anywhere in particular?” Hina asks, with the desire to return the favor some more. “So you just leave her there?” I ask. She giggles, “It’s not the first time we’ve conflicted…” There is a moment, and then I reply, “I was in search of the ‘snow woman’. Did she happen to pass through here?” Hina ponders this for a moment and nods, “Yes. I think I did see her somewhere around here. She wasn’t in a pleasant mood, which I can tell. The people here on the mountain started blaming us goddesses for the problem. They sandwiched me and that snow woman as the cause of this, convinced that something as terrible as that blizzard could not have been started by one person…” I stop her from rambling on further with, “Well, do you have a clue where she went?” Hina replies with, “Yes. I actually have her hiding somewhere safe. Follow me.” She takes my hand and leads me deeper into the Youkai forest.
-
The forest is surprisingly thick, with much of the sun?s rays being dampened by the leaves of the trees. Actually, this is winter, what am I saying? In the direction we were heading, the trees became more barren and absent of leaves. The clouds were smeared grey across the sky and the sun did not want to break on through. Hina led me to an open area, filled with snow all scattered over the ground. In the middle, kneeling into the snow was Letty, hands clasped over her face. Crying, snow fell around her, like a storm cloud hovering over a head. Hina refrained from moving any closer, letting me handle this? I trench through the snow, approaching Letty from the side. I stop next to her, remaining away from the cloud above her. I pat her on the shoulder, but she quickly looks to me?
?What do you want?? Letty asks me, tears streaming down her face. ?I came here to check up on you. Ignore Reimu if she?s going to act like that, okay?? I inform her. Letty gets up off the ground and embraces me, tightly. She cries, ?People don?t understand me at all. Why?? I pat her on the back while she sniffles. ?Letty, some things you have to let go. Not everyone is going to enjoy your presence. At least you have two friends?? I comfort her, while Hina hugs Letty from the back. Letty?s wailing stops, but she weeps with, ?You two are the best I?ve known so far? True friends?? Well, I wouldn?t take it that far? Hina adds, ?Letty, you will find people that are kind? It?s hard even for me to? But things will work out in the end? You?ll find others who love you??
The scene ends with the arrival of Sanae? She looks incredibly demented right now, full of fury from the recent clash. I let go of Letty once she notices and I shout to Sanae, ?Everything?s fine now, I?ve solved the problem!? Sanae wasn?t listening as she approached the three of us, nostrils flaring. Yep? she?s gone into extermination mode. Pushing Letty off of me, I tell Hina, ?Take her out of here and get her somewhere safe.? With that, Hina and Letty dash off, while I charged at Sanae. Jumping in midair, Sanae is too busy noticing Letty and Hina escaping, I lunge at Sanae. Tackling her into the snow, I yell, ?Let them go! They will not cause anymore harm to the people on the mountain.? Sanae squirms a bit, but gives up, not wanting to hurt a human?
After I spoke, the sun cracked through the sky, flooding it with light. Getting off of Sanae, she smiles, looking to the sky with amazement. ?Oh. Lady Yasaka will be pleased with this!? Sanae giggles. Yeah, at my expense? I start walking away in the direction that Hina had taken off with Letty, but Sanae prevents me from leaving her. ?You?re coming with me now. It?s too dangerous to stay out here alone, or even go by yourself,? She hauls me away from the scene. This again? The sun was just lowering from its peak in the scattered sky, and I guess Sanae didn?t want me straying off. Also, the fact that Reimu traded me to Sanae for the next several days is another reason. I stop opposing her and we head up the mountain?
The forest regions remain still as we climb up the mountain. The air is quiet and calm, but a ruffling up ahead is heard. We both pause for a moment and Sanae asks to the air, ?Who?s there?? No response returned. She asks again, ?Show yourself!? More ruffling from the trees, something comes out of the bushes, scared. Short she was, blue hair, almost childish, green hat, and a backpack? boots? She was shaking a little bit. Sanae boomed, ?State your business, Kappa!? Nitori shuddered as Sanae approached her. I follow along and approach her as well. Nitori begins to back away, but lets out?
?I?m sorry! I was only interested! Don?t hurt me!? Sanae pats her lightly on the head. Nitori is somewhat relieved by Sanae?s gentleness, expecting the shrine maiden to harm her. Nitori was tearing too, so I pat her on the back. Sanae begins to leave, and I follow her, but Nitori has grabbed onto my clothes. She glared at me with watery eyes, putting on a face that no one could refuse. I smile at her and let Nitori walk with me. She kept looking distraught as we walked, but she then tugged my arm and pointed to my back. I nodded and Nitori climbed up onto my back, caressing it like a koala. Interesting? Nitori was moderately heavy, but her happiness allowed her to loosen up her stress. Hourai, though, is forced to float in the air as Shanghai rests on my head. Nitori asks?
?Mister, do you have any cucumbers?? I shake my head, almost face palming. I gently tell her, ?I don?t carry any food on me.? Nitori frowns, but forgets about asking anything else for a while. The five of us head up farther on the mountain, the sky clearing up from the grey, and the sun lowering. Nitori says, ?There?s a village up ahead. Maybe you should check it out.? Sanae is spooked, turning to us. She looks at the four of us, not having known that I took Nitori with us. ?Put that ?thing? back where you found it,? Sanae points at Nitori, angry and disgusted. I respond hastily back, ?She?s with me! She can come along with me if she wants!? Sanae humphs and continues walking, ?Also, I already know of that village, but it?s not worth visiting.?
?Why?? Nitori asks na?vely. Sanae snorts, ?The people there are not kind people, nor do they wish to help others. They just move about their business.? I question her with, ?But I?m here to explore. I?m interested?? Sanae is not pleased, but she gives in, spitting, ?Fine? but don?t blame me when we have issues there.? Nitori is happy and giggles. We continue up the mountain, while Nitori keeps asking me if I have anything electronic on me. ?Did you have anything in the outside world that?s metal?? She asked. I tell her, ?I mostly lived in the forests, so I was away from civilization a lot?? Nitori gave up on her endeavor and lastly adds, ?Well, I?ll ask for help next time I?m building something?? The village approaches up ahead, a white figure guarding it. She had weird triangle ears on her head, a red-white shield, and a white-sleeved shirt with detached sleeves, colored skirt added. Tokin on her head with white hair, her sword is huge, acting as a guard to the village. She stops us?
?Halt! Who goes there?? She booms. Sanae replies with, ?Momiji, the problem lower on the mountain has been solved. No need to worry.? Momiji lets her guard down with this, ?Oh? Well don?t let it happen again. It?s bad enough Lord Tenma has been in poorer spirits due to the departure of autumn.? She notices me, ?And why is this here?? Momiji points her sword at me, but Sanae pushes it away, ?He?s a friend. We?re just wandering around?? Momiji?s ears flicker as she?s not interested in that, ?Let?s see how he fights, maybe even worthy of telling Lord Tenma?? I begin to back away, but she continues, ?I?ve been defeated by humans. Show me what you got! Those dolls look promising?? Both Shanghai and Hourai don?t move, pretending to be inanimate. I sheepishly reply with, ?I don?t fight, I?m not the kind??
With that, Momiji drops her sword and shield to the ground, ?At least arm wrestle? please! I?m bored out here as is! Give me something to do!? She extends her arm out to me. I am still hesitant, but Nitori pops out from behind me, ?Hey Momiji!? Momiji is surprised by this and smiles, ?Nitori!? Nitori jumps off my back and runs to her. ?He?s with me, okay,? She smiles back at Momiji, adding, ?We just want to explore here?? Momiji lets us through, Nitori leading the way. I ask her, ?What?s with this?? Momiji replies with, ?We play chess sometimes and hang out? Plus, she?s cute?? I shrug it off and follow the others, Momiji saying ?Enjoy your stay?. Tengu buzz every which way, some staring at us, others gossip, and still others flying about. I have no clue what Nitori has on her mind being here, but Sanae seems uninterested.
Hourai rests on my shoulders, again. Seriously, these two don?t like floating that much? The houses in this village are scattered about, many of them having locks and bolts on them. Nitori notices me looking at the doors. She says, ?I designed those bolts. They say they work wonders and I would hope so.? Sanae groans, ?Where are you taking us?? Nitori stops in front of a house, one rather damaged. There is a sign in front of the house that reads ?射命丸?. Nitori approaches the front door and knocks?
I don?t have a good feeling about this house?
???????????????????????????????????????????
End of Chapter 11
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Chapter 12:
Can't understand what is happening to me,
This isn't real, this is only a dream,
But I never have felt, no I never have felt this way before?
? Iron Maiden, ?Heaven Can Wait?
Nitori knocks on the door again, as there was no reply from the owner of the house. ?Who is it?? A voice from within the house spoke. Nitori replies with, ?Nitori, your local kappa engineer. And I brought friends!? I hear the clanging of chains and unbolting of locks. Black hair comes out through the crack of the door, eyes shifty, scanning the surrounding area. ?You may come in,? She replies. It was Aya Shameimaru, ace tengu reporter? who was having a case of pneumonia. She looks at me, sniffling, ?Hey. I remember you?? The five of enter the house and Aya quickly slams the door, bolting it shut. I had to ask?
?Why the overkill on the locks?? I notice her windows have it too? Aya sneezes and then answers, ?In a world where news is anyone?s game, it?s your own job to keep your own news safe from predators. It?s bad enough I?m sick as is.? She sits down in her chair, while Sanae stands. Nitori is searching about through the cabin. Aya snatches out a pen and her notebook, willing to ask me some questions, ?First things first, about the snow incident. I had some leads that you were the cause of this?? What? ?I didn?t have really much to do with it?? I respond, Aya doesn?t believe me. ?Surely there must be something. Because a human out here is rare, without a cause,? She smirks at me, still trying to coax information out.
?I was partially involved, but not by that much!? I snap under the tension. Aya says, ?That?s still not enough.? She?s busy writing away, and I continue talking, ?Well, I was spending some time having fun with Letty, but Reimu broke it up saying that I couldn?t stay outside much longer and that she should ?Come back later?. Letty didn?t take this the right way and ran off, upset.? Aya finishes writing the information on her notepad, some fast writing I must say. ?See. Now that wasn?t so hard, now was it?? She pats me on the head and keeps scribbling on her pad. ?Now? tell me about that lunar princess,? Aya asks. I knew it? she would get me all relaxed only to cause tension again?
?Why is it your business?? I ask her, but she replies with, ?Tsk, tsk, tsk. Alright then, I?ll just right down something of my own?? Okay? now that?s worse. I stop her from writing, ?Wait! There was not much of a relationship between Kaguya and me! We were just friends? And I didn?t want to sleep on the floor?? Aya keeps writing, adding in, ?Good boy. Now this is done, just wait.? She gets up from the chair and walks away, sneezing. I sit there, dazed and confused. Nitori pops up from behind me, saying, ?Look what I found!? It was some metal wiring. ?This is just what I need,? She adds. I hear machinery noises and more sneezing?
I go to the source of the cacophony with Nitori. Aya was in the room, trying to operate an out-of-date printing press. She was struggling with it, and Nitori rushes over to help her. Aya was printing papers with it, some of them floating about in the air. I pick several of them up, cover story reading, ?Mystery of the Mountain solved?. Oh boy? here we go? I tell Aya, ?Do you have to work THIS fast?? She nods, sniffling while sweating away at the work. The sun has reached the horizon of the mountain, glaring a bright orange. Nitori begins yawning, as Sanae comes into the room. ?I have to leave,? She says, ?My goddesses won?t be pleased if I?m not home soon.? Sanae begins tugging on me. Aya pulls back, adding?
?You can come pick him up tomorrow,? Her expression becoming smug, ? He?ll be fine here overnight.? Okay? this is the last thing I want? THE LAST THING? Sanae shrugs, replying, ?Sure, why not? I don?t really need him that badly?? Both Nitori and Aya sing in unison, ?Hooray!? This isn?t good? Both of them continue their work as Sanae leaves. The dolls weren?t that happy either, but since they?re dolls they were exploring around the house. Aya and Nitori stopped working soon after, both of them tired and huffing on the ground. Nitori practically passed out on the floor, Aya stood up trying to pile the papers. I was still standing there, awestruck. Aya looked at me saying, ?Well. Can you at least help?? Really? No one even bothers to read the paper, what?s the point?
But, I start to stack some papers, while the two dolls come back to me again. ?It?s such a mess in here,? Shanghai adds, fingering through my hair. Aya, nor Nitori could hear what she was saying to me about the atrociousness of the place; because remember, only people affected by Alice?s magic can hear her. But I had to whisper back as quietly as I could, so they could not pick up any of my halfalogue with Shanghai. ?There?s something strange about that woman?? Shanghai talks to me. ?The way she wanted you to stay, and the fact that she?s trying to get information out of you? And her clothes are loose?? What? I check to see if she?s right? Shanghai was right, sort of. I think by loose she meant skimpy clothing, for instance, Aya?s skirt was short, she was wearing a ruffled blouse that?s only held by several buttons? But I wouldn?t expect her to act like Alice did, especially with Nitori around?
After the two of them finish cleaning, Nitori passed out on the floor and Aya dragged her out into the main area. Aya yawned as she pulled out some blankets and spread them onto the floor. Pulling me to one of them, she took her shoes off. Aya placed me down gently onto one of the blankets on the floor, smiling. As she walks away, Hourai whispers, ?There?s only a blankets? Some bedding?? Hourai looks around, even the nearby table. Hourai comes back to me with a box, almost frantically. ?What?s this?? She asks, holding what looks like a tissue box? A tissue box?! By the time I realize what it is, Aya is already in the room, wearing something else? It almost appears to be nightclothes?
?Oh? I?ve seen you found it already. How thoughtful?? She sneers, moving closer to me. Yep? No different than Alice? I direct the dolls to move to the table, and they do so. Beginning to get up off the ground to leave, Aya swiftly moves across the room and knocks me back down on the blanket. She pins me to the floor asking me, ?Where do you think you?re going?? I reply, looking away, ?No where. What do you have planned?? She smirks, ?You know? They say there are little to no men in Gensokyo? And most of them hide and cower in the village. For one like you to be so brave to come up the mountain? It?s hard nowadays? And I?m taking advantage of this opportunity.? I reply to her, ?But you?re sick, and I just finished getting healthy?? Aya licks my cheek?
?Don?t worry. You?re in good hands,? She says?
The night passes on with a scene. One I can?t describe, nor want to describe?
? ? ?
For a cold winter, Aya?s cabin/house was warmer than it should. I?m resting on the blanket, Aya lying on top of me still asleep. The dolls are resting on the table counter. I had to be the first one to awaken I guess, but because of Aya?s weight I guess I shouldn?t. Blanket warming both of us; I scan around with my eyes. Crumpled up tissues all over the floor? Tengu sure are rough when it comes to these things? I ruffle Aya?s hair and nudge her, to try and wake her up. She rouses a little, her eyelids tensing and loosening. They open slowly as she looks to me; lifting herself off the ground. Kissing me on the cheek, Aya stretches afterwards, her long arms extending outward even enough for her black feathery wings to come out and stretch. She has most of her weight still on my body, she whispers?
?Thank you?? Aya gets off me, smiling. She dashes off to get changed back into her normal clothes. I notice Nitori beginning to wake up nearby. She rubs her eyes with both hands and looks at me. ?Did you sleep well?? Nitori inquires. Of course I slept well? She looks around, picking up on of the crumpled tissues, sniffing it. Ew? Nitori tosses it away, and knocks several of them away from her. She gets up off the ground and continues searching for some objects. Hourai comes to me and starts combing my hair. Aya comes careening out from the doorway carrying tons of papers in a pouch. In a hurry, she tells us, ?I?ll be out delivering papers. Don?t leave!? Giving me a peck on the cheek, Aya zooms out the front door, slamming it shut. Nitori bolts the doors.
The morning passes slowly, and Nitori is digging through the house searching for objects. Shanghai tries pulling a knot out of my hair that came from the venture last night. ?You two might have been a little too rough.? She adds. ?What? You were watching us?? I ask, and Shanghai hmphs, ?It wasn?t very pleasant? That?s twice now I?ve had to watch.? Twice? Oh? She was watching the one between Alice and I? I haven?t eaten in a while, so I look around, stomach growling. Nitori takes a thing out of her backpack, pond seaweed. She takes out a boiler and crisps several of them for me. I eat them; it was like eating crispy celery. I hear knocking noises outside. Not bothering to answer, the noise goes away. Several minutes pass, but a rock goes flying through the window, shattering it, and nailing Nitori right in the skull. She passes out?
I see a hand digging through the shattered window. Like a cat, I don?t move, staring at it? The hand finally grabs hold of the bolt and unlocks it. Sliding the window open, a figure hops in through the window, head over heels. She lands on the floor with a thud. Getting up, she dusts herself off as I examine her from a distance. She looks similar to Aya, except she was colored white with purple wearing long, black stockings. Her hair was tied into twin tails and she carried a cell phone. Finishing the dusting, she looks at an unconscious Nitori and me. Approaching, I try to distance myself from her, but she grabs me. Frowning, she snorts into my face?
?Where is she?? Her breath is surprisingly clean? for a tengu? ?She said she went off to deliver papers.? I answer. She drops me to the floor, saying, ?Wow? I?m like, too late? Papers already? Even after I, like, totally got her sick?? Yep. She?s one of those types, isn?t she?? She ponders for a bit, while I stare. Noticing, she asks me, ?What? Are you, like, her new boyfriend or something?? Boyfriend? The zinger on this would be if she were chewing gum! ?No. I?m not her boyfriend,? I retort. But she laughs, ?I bet you already did it with her. It?s like, so typical of her.? Typical? Continuing on with her speech, ?Well, anyway? My name is Hatate, like number #1 competitor against Bunbunmarou.? She slurred some of those words?
?Look, I don?t know what you want, but leave,? I grab Hatate and shove her back. ?Ooo, Getting all touchy over your new territory, are you?? She responds, grabbing my hands. ?I said leave! It?s bad enough you?re here as is?? I struggle against her, but Hatate?s grip is strong. She pulls me closer to her; both our noses touch. ?Alright, I?ll leave then?? Hatate forces her mouth onto mine. I hear a click and see a bright flash. A picture was taken? ?With this!? She adds, already trying to get away. ?Call on me anytime you need, baby!? Hatate bolts out the window and slams it behind. I look down on my hands, and crouch on the floor. Rocking back and forth on the floor, I hold myself in the fetal position. What to do? What to do?
-
The dolls come over to me, trying to comfort. ?It?s not so bad,? Hourai says, ?You can probably fix this too?? No way, no how. Continuing to rock back and forth, Nitori starts to come to consciousness. She notices me, ?Hey? Are you okay? Something hit me pretty hard? I need some bandages?? Nitori plops back onto the floor, I lift her head off the ground. There?s a spot of blood on the side of her head. I signal Shanghai to get a cloth for me, but she only came back with several of Aya?s? let?s call them underwear. I use one ?clean? one on the side of Nitori?s head, wiping up most of the blood. ?T-thank you?? She says. I shove the rest of them in my pocket? okay; I went too far there? Nitori sits up, digging through her backpack searching for some things.
Loud banging comes from the door. Aya knocks the door open, breaking the bolts. She comes rushing in saying, ?I was told someone broke in here! Are any of you hu- Oh no!? Aya comes to the aid of Nitori, ?We need to get you over to Eientei, quick!? But Nitori shakes her hand in the air, ?No thanks? I?m good?? Agreeing, Aya plops Nitori back on the ground, checking the broken window. ?Ayayaya? It?s worse than I thought,? She plucks some of the glass on the shattered window, dropping it on the ground. Aya heads to me, putting her hand in my hair, ?Was anything taken, dear?? I reply with, ?Nothing, except my sanity.? Aya scoffs with, ?Well, worry about your sanity later, I just want to know who it was?? This I refuse to answer to. She stares at me for a while?
?Well? Did they at least tell you their name?? Aya asks, searching around for clues. I stand there? ?Hatate?? I mumble. That was enough for Aya to hear it. She frowns greatly, enough to make her tear. Aya walks up to me and touches my face. ?What did she do?? She asks to my face. ?Nothing in particular. I already told you?? I reply, but Aya will not believe me. ?No. She always takes something, anything? Even? pictures.? Aya frantically searches around, asking me, ?Did she strip you and take pictures?? WHAT? I answer, ?No?? She continues to fumble through everything, Nitori rubbing her head with the underwear. I hear a shrill noise come from Aya, ?Not those! AHH!? She rushes back into the room, almost crying, ?She took? she took?? And in a dramatic pause, ??She took my pantaloons (I don?t know, or something like that she said)? Yep. That?s a keeper. I had already dug them deep into my pocket.
?She?s not getting away with this!? Aya bolts for the door, and flings it open. Sanae is there shocked by Aya?s anger. ?Out of my way, monk. Oh yeah. You can have both of them.? Aya heads out the door, and Sanae looks at us. ?Alright? What did you two do?? Sanae enters the doorway, grabbing both of us. Nitori drops the underwear, her wounds starting to heal. We?re both hauled outside and Sanae begins to berate us. ?Can?t you two be proper house guests? Honestly, in all my days, I would expect both of you kind people to behave?? Nitori starts crying, but I yell at Sanae, ?There was an intrusion in the house! Stop accusing others of incidents they did not commit!? Sanae stands there, not moving. I continue, ?Quit treating people like children! I?m perfectly capable of handling myself. I don?t need you acting like you?re my mother.? Some people were staring now?
Sanae remains standing there listless, mumbling, ?So the outside world has changed a lot? Hasn?t it?? Outside world? Changed? Sanae starts walking away from us, head drooping towards the ground, shadowed. Shanghai comes to rest on my head, and Hourai points to move forward. Nitori climbs on my back, and we decide to go comfort Sanae; who began leaving the village. We catch up to her and pass Momiji who said ?Have a great day?. I finally reach Sanae and grab her on the shoulders. She doesn?t move. Turning her around, I see dry tear streams on her face. Sanae embraces me, digging her head into my chest; arms wrapped around Nitori and I. ?I?m sorry!? She bawls, ?I-it?s been so long s-since? it?s hard for me to accept this lifestyle? Forgive me!? Now, my clothes are speckled with droplets. Patting her on the back, I tell her?
?Sanae, you should get used to it, I mean, look at me.? Literally, she does with watery eyes, but I continue my speech, ?Some people adjust to it faster than others. You are no exception, Sanae. Times will change for you, and those times will let you keep your memories. Sure, the outside world was a great place? But here is more open, more carefree? more?? I breathe, ?More enjoyable? more lasting?? Sanae looks to me when I leave her with a moment of silence. She wipes the tears clean off her eyes and smiles, ?You may be right? Maybe I can change? maybe I can enjoy myself here?? Nitori pats Sanae on the head. I add, ?Let?s continue up the mountain, like you wished. Is it any better than down there?? She concurs, and I carry Nitori on my back still. We all head up the mountain?
Sanae asks, though; sun reaching another cyclic peak in the sky?
?Say? You never told me your name. Actually, the tengu reporter never mentioned it either in her newspapers? What is it?? They read her newspapers?
Well, I had to come up with a reply, regardless if it satisfied her, and so I did?
?My name? for the time being?
is not important??
________________________________________________
End of Chapter 12
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Chapter 13:
A country that's divided
Surely will not stand
My past erased, no more disgrace
No foolish naive stand?
? Dave Mustaine, ?Holy Wars?The Punishment Due?
The trip up the mountain started getting rough? Terribly rough. I couldn?t walk up the steepness of it anymore. Thus, Sanae had to carry me while Nitori flew on her own. Nitori did eventually inform us that she needed to return to her place, since she?s been gone for too long. We accept and she heads off down the mountain, disappearing below the mist. Everything left on the way up was a breeze, save for a few meandering fairies. A patch of land soon appears as we reach it. It?s accompanied by a grandiose set of stairs, embedded into the mountain. Sanae says?
?The stairs are the last thing.? As we walk up, underneath the Torii, I notice a lake below where the water was still. Surrounding the lake were large black hexagonal prisms, paper charms and thick rope attached near the upper ends. We walk alongside the lake; our reflections on the pool are motionless, only moving with our images. Finally, the Moriya shine, in all its glory, was looming in front of us. I?d have to approximate the shrine being about twice?maybe thrice but distances do cause illusions?the size of the Hakurei Shrine. A long, incredibly thick, twisted rope hanged above the entrance, three ends hanging from the center. Eh? I couldn?t compare the two shrines, since I?ve never really seen one in real life? yeah? The last thing needed is Gods, or at least a Goshintai.
My mental request answered, a loud whirring is heard, some air currents move. ?She?ll be here.? Sanae says. The air moving faster, I hear another noise. But then, from behind, loud crashing noises are heard. Completely scared out of my pants, I hit my head on the ground from the shock. Dust spirals around and I still can?t see what?s going on. It clears, but my head remain nailed into the dirt. ?Lady Yasaka, Please. Scaring guests like that makes us lose worshippers?? Sanae tells the figure. It shrugs Sanae off with, ?A grand entrance signifies power, Sanae. Fear, implemented in the right ways, can win people over. More or less, the more humans, the better, in my standards??
I finally decide to get up off the ground, dirt smudge on my forehead. Shanghai tries to wipe it off, but I discourage her from doing so. Turning myself towards the pair, I wheeze, examining the floating one. The arrived goddess had colors? uh? actually; they were better than Sanae?s? Primary colors. She had blue hair?that puffed out from the lower sides, the ends sticking forward almost. The upper body contained a red shirt, long-sleeved white, with complex architecture on it and a mirror, chained to a rope necklace; which, from an angle, protruded much from her body due to her bosom. Passing down the rope belt, there was a long black skirt with a red perm, and sandals on her feet, little rope bands above the feet too. Her head was topped with a rope laurel wreath, and a grand twisted rope circle (or shimenawa, what ever you call it), charms hanging from it to top it off. A goddess worth worshipping, I must say?
?Hey! Are you alive in there?? She spoke to me, looking directly into my eyes with her dark red ones. Sliding back, I cease from speaking a word. She moved closer to me, and I decided to fake passing out. Dropping towards the ground, I feel a halt in the air. Sanae was lifting me back up, the goddess asks, ?Are you sure he?s okay, Sanae?? As Sanae nods, she replies, ?Interesting? It may have worked too well. But enough of this foolery; introductions make the better of these situations.? She chose to remain floating in the air, mustering up some powerful wind. Trickles of rainfall behind her, she booms, ?I am Kanako Yasaka! The great goddess of wind and rain!? I thought I heard a shot of thunder in that, as I couldn?t help but notice Sanae smiling and clapping?
?And who might you be?? Kanako throws it in for a response. I respond with, ?I am a human from the outside world. Very new.? Kanako raises a brow to this and asks Sanae, ?Is he a new worshipper?? Sanae answers, ?He may be? I just brought him here for that after we solved the issue lower on the mountain.? Kanako is somewhat interested by this, and continues with, ?Yes? That was a problem. So this one is related to it?? She glares at me in the eye, it creeps me out a little. ?He was just a piece to the bigger puzzle, Lady Yasaka,? Sanae leaves Kanako with that. ?Well, at least we have another one,? Kanako leads me down to the lake, while Sanae heads inside the shrine. Sun reflecting off the lake, we descend towards the edge of it.
At the foot of the lake, Kanako looks to the sky. She floats above the water, heading towards the center of the lake. Kanako, stops for a moment and comes back to me, staring. ?Get on,? She says, pointing to her lap. Hesitantly, I start to climb on, but Kanako hauls me onto her lap. She sets me face forward, in the same direction of hers, and we head to the center of the lake. Her chest could have acted as a head cushion, if it weren?t for the damn mirror. After we reach the center, she asks me, ?So? How have you been enjoying your time here so far?? Kanako ruffles my hair and I respond with, ?It?s been fine? But I?ve had to make several speeches to help others?? She sighs, dabbing her hand in water to wipe the dirt off my face?
?Are you sure? The way you reacted up there did not seem all so thrilling. And the papers have been saying nonsense about you?? I turn my head to look at Kanako in the face and say, ?Sure I?m sure. I?ve lasted for about a month now. I?ll be fine. I can manage myself.? Kanako smiles as I begin to turn away. She asks, ?The incident was solved? Sanae said yesterday that you ended it? You said you were involved, but you never said why it happened, yet?? Oh boy. I stumble with my words, ?Well? You see? The snow spirit was happy, but then a shrine maiden came along? and well? displeased the snow spirit?? Kanako whispered into my ear, ?It?s okay? you don?t have to lie to me about the whole scenario.?
She had seen right through me; the babbling must have given it away. ?You like that snow woman, don?t you?? Kanako adds. My face turns a scarlet red, and I reply with, ?It?s not like that at all? it?s not.? She pats me on the head, smiling; ?I know a relationship when I see one. And considering the people and their behaviors, something like that is rare? but when it happens, it happens.? I didn?t know what to say. For the length that Kanako?s probably been here, maybe she has a point. I forgot to notice that Shanghai and Hourai were hiding underneath my clothes; sure is roomy in there, but they?ll be okay? If Shanghai will stop rubbing my chest, then maybe I?d feel more comfortable! Distracted by this, I feel Kanako wrap her arms around my waist into my lap. Why is a goddess, who just looked demonic earlier, and was blamed for something she didn?t cause, be so? calm? The quiet moment is soothed further when Kanako starts rocking side to side.
She was humming too. The cold breeze moved along the surface of the lake, as the sun?s reflection had shifted. Kanako began nuzzling the back of my head as well; I wonder how long this is going to take. Maybe she?s just warming up to me? Maybe Kanako never really gets to ?snuggle? with people (save for, Sanae)? She kept on smiling throughout the whole time. The dolls came out eventually though; Shanghai said it was stuffy in there? Says the one who? eh, never mind. They both introduced themselves to Kanako, who still was intrigued by everything I had to offer. She does ask me why I came here; with the response being ?random?, or maybe Yukari was just itching to find new people. Kanako sighs, ?Let?s hope you do wonders here, and everywhere?? With that Sanae was at the edge of the lake, waving for us to head inside?
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We cross over to the shrine, the dolls resting on my shoulders. Kanako dumps me onto the ground, and we head up the stairs again. The sun was lowering at a faster pace than before. Once we arrive inside, Sanae had prepared a meal. I am assuming that Gods eat as well? We all sat down, but another person was there. She was wearing a creepy ass hat, blond hair, long sleeves, and purple? Is this a godchild? What is it doing here? It?s already eating actually? ?This is Suwako,? Sanae adds, ?The previous owner of the shrine.? Suwako retorts with, ?The original.? We all begin eating, save for Suwako. I tell you that the food was delicious, that much?
I really wish I could go back, or at least explore on my own. People are comfortable, but hospitality is key. That depended as I traveled around so far. Perching oneself on a mountain doesn?t seem all that bad, but I have to admit that the way up was god-awful. If anything, here might be a better place to stay. As the man I am, I feel though that I should travel outward, stray from the path. If that path leads me to a good path, then I should be glad there? That?s what I?ll do. I?ll take the dolls with me? Wait, aren?t they always with me? God, my brain?s going deader by the day? Maybe tomorrow I?ll go? if they let me?
?Hey, are you okay?? Kanako asks; I end my space-out and start eating. ?You know. We?re having a festival tomorrow, for the top of the month. You should join us, I mean, you?re sleeping here for the night, right?? Sleeping here? The shade that the sun created was widening along the length. Yep? another fun-filled night for me? Geez, I can?t get a break, EVER. I slam my head on the table. ?Is that a yes?? Sanae asks, ?And keep your head off the table. It?s rude.? Lifting my head off the ground? I? ? I am so damn tired today. You know what? I just? eh? Let?s skip an evening, shall we? Nothing important to see here: I pass out; they think I?m sick; I?m just tired; I sleep; attempted midnight-love coming from Sanae (Nothing really happened, I kicked her out); and then morning?
Yeah? I?ve lost some interest in my surroundings. This shrine business stuff doesn?t do wonders for me?
? ? ?
The next morning, much of the layout outside had changed. Tables were scattered everywhere, other crap you see at a ?festival?. They told me it was going to be later in the day, but I needed to go now. I head away from the shrine to make my descent down the mountain. Shanghai asks me, ?Where are we going?? And I tell her, ?I?m going on my own. I?m tired of being pulled around. I want to do my own things?? Shanghai shrugs and goes back to combing my hair, ?You know. That show last night was a little? over the top.? Over the top? ?Well next time, I?ll be sure that it?s something more worth watching.? Shanghai was appalled by what I said, ?Have you no decency anymore?? I pat her on the head, ?Settle? We?ll be on our way.?
I had actually found a safer way down the mountain. Surprisingly, we had taken the short way up, but the most treacherous. There was more grass this way, and it headed towards the Tengu village. I never thought about this before but? If most of them are birds, shouldn?t they live in trees? I don?t expect anyone to come after me, just to assume that I have gone missing. The sun was still low in the sky, indicating that I had gotten up pretty early, and no food? Eh, I?ve eaten a lot last night? Hopefully, I?ll get there fast enough. Actually? I shouldn?t bother with the tengu at this point. I?ve caused enough trouble as is? I should just go searching for Letty and Hina again. Time slowly passes? I do find a patch of snow, some point past where the kappa usually live.
Heading closer to the patch, I find more of a trail. A trail of untouched snow, and it looked fresh. I dash towards the source of it, and it leads me to a cave. Some light was coming out of it. I head to the light, hoping it was the two I was searching for? It wasn?t? When I enter the cave, there was someone else there instead. The person was weeping, back turned, facing towards a fire. This person had long blue hair, a matching dress, a white apron with colored diamonds attached. She wore a plain black hat, which had two peaches on it. I think I went too far inside the cave, for when I started to step back the noise was enough to alert the person.
She whirls around, enraged, pulling out a golden sword. ?Stay away, whoever you are!!? She boomed. I started to stumble back, but I landed on my rear. It hit the ground; enough that it made me tear. Deciding to play innocent, I cry, the dolls trying to comfort me. The mysterious woman lets her guard down, coming over to me. ?Are you seriously that weak?? She says, ?I seriously expected someone that would be badass enough to fight back. But oh well?? Okay, now she?s pushing it. I look to her eyes, tears streaming on both of our faces. Dark red again? Sheesh, why does everyone have dark red eyes? She picks me up off the ground though. Strong, she is?
Placing me closer to the fire, she says, ?Don?t tell those people up in Heaven that I am here. Nor that damn boat reaper either.? Boat reaper? Heaven? I look at her confused? ?You?re a human, right?? While I nod, she grunts, ??I would have been better off with a youkai, sheesh.? Why does she act like such a child? ?Hey,? She adds, ?Be sure you be careful with yourself. Your kind is frail.? Good to know? She gets up and fires from her sword something at the wall. She begins to inscribe something. Obviously, this is like muscle flexing. When she was done it read, ?比那名居 天子? She points the sword to the inscription, saying, ?That is my name. Fear it.? Well I don?t know if I can fear something reading ?Sky child?, but maybe I can fear that other half?
I don?t respond to Tenko, but this annoys her. ?Why aren?t you fearing? GAH! I am greater than you, human!? She grabs me and tosses me onto her keystone. Tenshi tries to drive her boot into my stomach, but I stop her. Resisting, I launch her towards the wall. Her head hits dead center as she plops to the ground. Tenshi sits up and starts crying, blood dripping down her face. ?No one? everyone? away from me?? I move closer to her, but she backs away. ?Stay away from me! If a human can mistreat me, then I don?t want anyone anymore! All you came here was to hurt me!? Actions don?t seem to be getting through to her, so maybe words can work. ?Settle down!? I yell at her. Tenshi does as I commanded, wiping the tears from her forehead. I stare at her for a while, sitting on the ground. No response? Just a sad face and tears.
Awkward silences do help sometimes? or so I have heard?
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End of Chapter 13.
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Chapter 14:
When you?re down and out
When you?re on the street
When evening falls so hard
I will comfort you?
? Paul Simon, ?Bridge Over Troubled Water?
The silence had come to an end. But she was the one who took the initiative. ?Why are you staring?? Tenshi asks. I stand up, sighing, ?Look, I?m traveling around. The least you could is not try to harm someone who is just wandering.? She wipes the blood off her forehead, the injury already healing. ?Well. I?m staying here okay. I?m in exile. Go away alright.? Tenshi heads back to her fire. I follow her, but Tenshi turns and points her sword at me, ?Go away.? I respond, beginning to leave, ?Alright then? You?ll be missing out on all the fun.? This gets Tenshi listening to me, finally. As she puts her sword away, Tenshi poses a question to me, ?What kind of fun??
I hadn?t thought that far into the plan. Coming up with a great excuse, I say, ?Well? We could go south, and see the border.? Tenshi seems engrossed? But I continue with, ?I have to see some people first?? This is a letdown for her, but she grabs my arm. ?Take me there!? Tenshi giggles. Giggling? I need a better form of transportation? I ask her, ?Say? Do you know a way we can move around faster?? With that, a boulder, decorated with rope and charms, slams into the ground outside the cave. That may have worked a little too well. Tenshi drags me over to it and sets me on it. She hops on, standing behind me and asking, ?Where to, first?? Uh? I tell Tenshi that we need to be finding snow patches that look unusual. She launches the rock directly into the air, but I ask her to slow down.
Our search begins down the mountain, Tenshi said, ?There doesn?t seem to be anything out of the ordinary, but let?s keep looking.? Thanks for pointing out the obvious, Tenshi? I do eventually find a patch of snow and direct her towards it. ?Are you sure?? Tenshi asks, beginning to lower it. I bark at her, ?What? OF COURSE!? We head down to the patch and I jump off. Searching around for a trail, I notice Tenshi starts playing with the trees. She shatters one in a half, thus scaring me half to death. I tell her, ?Don?t be making such a ruckus! Do you want them to find us?? Deciding to play it safe, Tenshi stops messing around. I catch a trail of snow, plus a doll? That must be it.
Motioning Tenshi over to me, we follow the trail. Sure enough it leads where I expected. Several trees completely missing their leaves, several of them were frozen. Another sign was seeing Hina, green hair and frills? ?Why does it have to be so cold?? Tenshi asks, shivering. Eh? you get used to it. Hina notices me approaching, and rushes to me. ?She?s here. Just see for yourself,? Hina directs me to a rock. Another hiding spot for Letty? Doesn?t look much different than the one before? I kneeled in front of Letty and she stared at me? Quiet it was? She hugged me and squeezed tight. ?What took you so long?? Letty sobbed. Tenshi obviously tried to ruin the moment. She came closer but I heard the sound of crashing? Good job, Hina?
Responding to Letty?s cry I say, ?I got sidetracked okay? But I?m here now?? She keeps holding onto me. Tenshi was sprawled out onto the ground nearby, Hina standing there victorious. I begin to pull Letty away and onto the ground of snow she had left there. Noses touching, we breathe into each other?s faces. Smiling? Letty probably hasn?t been this happy in a while? I wanted to roll around in the snow, but she was the one on top, not me? If I had a camera, I would make a movie out of this scene. Even moment taken, preciously? Mouths touching, fingering each other?s hair, hands moving to hold sides? I feel so ashamed of myself for having committed such earlier acts? Like I have sinned? But those were forced? Shake it off, that?s the past?
Maybe I could freeze to death out here and it would be all over? I wouldn?t care? Hina wasn?t going to let me do that, nor was Letty. We stop, Letty worrying ?I know you can?t stay long. Neither can I, but you would be worse off.? She gets off of me and adds, ?You can visit me anytime. I?ll be around. Just be sure to visit before I have to go?? Letty smiles. Patting me on the shoulder, she pushes me towards Hina and Tenshi. ?Take him down the rest of the way safely, alright?? Hina nods, but Tenshi is confused ?Wait? where are we going? I didn?t agree to head any further down the mountain!? But Hina pulls Tenshi along, and Letty tells me, ?Go? Please? For now?? I listen and follow Tenshi and Hina. Leaving Letty, I see her image disappear into the snow around her?
The three of us head down the mountain? Damn it, I keep forgetting about the dolls. Those two were taking the heat of this? Shanghai finally asked, ?You never get enough, do you?? Again, Why is this her business? Eh? I?ve been with these two for a month now, so it would make sense. ?Well? I sort of don?t?? I reply, she giggles. Hourai comes out as well. She combs my hair, trying to get as much snow out of it as she can. Done, Hourai adds a smile. After reaching a certain point, Hina stops walking. ?I?m sorry, but I stay on the mountain?? She excuses herself from our venture. Tenshi decides that it?s her turn to lead, and summons her keystone.
The sun had finished its peak and was heading nadir to the sky. Tenshi was trying to move us at top speed, but out of the Great Youkai forest there was nothing but plains? Choosing this as a good time, Tenshi slows down as we drift across the plains. She sure was enjoying it, smiling and staring at the sun. Time becomes slow for me; the grass whips along underneath the keystone. As we head southbound, a grand mansion appears. It was black, and looked almost unreal. I ask Tenshi, who was too busy burning her retinas, ?Should we check that place out? It looks like good shelter?? Snapping out of her fascination, Tenshi thinks about it, ?Eh? alright. As long as it keeps me away from getting caught.? With that, we float towards the mansion, the sun?s speed increasing on its descent towards the ground.
Tenshi lands the rock with a thud, and I am propelled onto the ground. Getting up and dusting myself off, I scold her, ?Be more careful next time!? Tenshi crosses her arms and pouts as I head up to the front door. Interesting detail on the door: carvings in various patterns, large rings on the door, but no bell? There were no windows on the door, nor were there any nearby. Taking a breath, I pound hard on the door. An echo could be heard from the pound I had made. ?Well? I guess we can go now.? Dislodging the keystone from the hole in the ground, Tenshi began to leave. But, the door creaked open slowly. Light flooded into the stead, not normally entering at this time of day. I begin to walk in slowly, but Tenshi worries, ?Don?t go in there! It maybe dangerous!?
Turning back to her, I tell her, mockingly, ?I?ll be okay. You can stay out here if you want to?? Tenshi stays put, and I head inside, the dolls remain hidden underneath my clothing. It was somewhat dark there, but enough outside life could brighten my vision of the area. Sheets were scattered all over the floor, like a musician?s works all littered about unfinished. Walking further into the mansion, I notice the style of walls and decorations, all fancy and baroque. Grandiose paintings? It was interesting? Quiet it was? But the exploring didn?t last, as I was overcome by a noise. This noise soothed it?s way into my listening ears. The soothing sound brought something into my mind.
Starting to follow the sound deeper into the mansion, I feel emotion overcoming me. Sounding so well thought-out, the flow and ebb of the music carried me along. It had crept into my eardrums for so long that I started to tear. Creating sadness was all that this musical masterpiece had done for me so far. I had not heard such great music in a long time. Losing my sense of place, I enter a room that has a light on. A person was sitting in there, violin and bow floating in mid-air. What kind of musician is that? The ?musician? wore white sleeves and a uniform dress, black-in-all, a triangle cap with vertical perms perched on top. Short blond hair bushed out of her head as her feet wore black, almost buckled shoes. An appealing one? The piece concluded and I couldn?t help but clap, tears running down my cheek. This startles her and she stumbles backwards. Her hat fell off and when she grabbed for it, she stopped and looked at me?
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Delay because of obvious holidays.
-------------------------------------------
She places her hat back on her head and smiles. ?Hello,? She said, getting up off the floor. She began shuffling through papers on her desk and asks, ?You like that one? I?ve never really presented it to others yet? I just don?t like it. It sounds like the rest of my pieces. All mellow?? If anything motivates me to tears, it?s that good. But seeing the creator just tossing it aside as a failed experiment made me feel ashamed. Examining the papers on the floor, I find many pieces unfinished, or for the most part, unwritten. I walk up to her, praising, ?But the piece was so wonderful. How can you not like it? I thought musicians liked their work??
She turns to me, informing me of her accomplishments, ?I have made many pieces. Most of them fairing very well? My mellow pieces never seem to motivate anyone. My sisters? all they do is create white noise? It shames me? Even when there?s fighting or composing music, I try my best to put out what?s best and make sure everything is well for both sides? It can work sometimes?? She keeps on ruffling through the papers. ?By the way, my name is Lunasa. The eldest of the Prismrivers. Do you play music as well?? That was a good idea. ?Eh? I have a xylophone and instrument that looks like a mandolin.? Lunasa nodded her head, ?That?s interesting, especially that mandolin.?
Returning to her manuscript, Lunasa has the floating violin play. This time it played a different tune; it had much depth and more complexity than the previous piece. Listening attentively, I hear the completeness in the sound. Lunasa lets it play for about 5 minutes, each passing chorus and solo emphasized by the violin. At this point, I noticed that my position was in a comfy chair, located right near where Lunasa was playing. Her golden eyes were closed, and she concentrated all the while conducting the instrument to play. Several times she glanced back at the sheet music, not having perfectly memorized it. I hadn?t noticed up to this point that her violin had entrails surrounding it, and so did the bow. I stop her from playing; the only way was to shake her.
?Why did you stop me from playing?? Lunasa seems worried, ?Was it bad? It didn?t suit well, right! I knew it? My music is not that enigmatic?? Shaking her again, Lunasa gets that I don?t want her to talk. ?What is it then?? She opens her mouth a second time. I question her existence, ?Are you alive?? Lunasa was shocked by this question, but confused she replies, ?Describe: Alive.? Taking a breath and leaning back into the chair, I ask, ?You were once living, right?? She snorts, ?Heh? of course I was. What kind of question is that?? Shaking my head, I ask, ?You know that you?re dead?? Lunasa was confused again? I shrugged it off, and she returns to her music making. Lunasa?s a poltergeist, one that worries about her own music being too intricate for one to understand. What am I to do about self-realization and her? Nothing, that?s what? Just let her dabble in her music?
I decided to pick up several sheets on the floor, similar to the ones from earlier, and examine them. Notes were littered on the page, some there, some scribbled out. Lunasa notices, and she swipes them away, ?Don?t look at those! They aren?t good.? Okay? I?ll just sit and wait? Shanghai tries to come out, but I push her back in whispering, ?Not yet.? She frowns, and tries coming out from the bottom. Succeeding, she flies up and lands precariously on the head of the chair I was sitting in. It made it easier for Hourai to come out too. Lunasa didn?t pay attention or rather, wasn?t caring?
Lunasa said she had sisters? Where are they then? I ask her about this, and she responds, ?They?re out and about? Merlin wanted to cause ruckus and Lyrica went along for her own needs. Both of them wished for me to join them, but I?m busy working on this? I want to get it done.? Pretending to be fascinated, and since she?s so honest right now, I ask, ?You?ll be performing that soon?? Lunasa was quick to reply, ?Soon? Oh nononono, not soon. This thing is far from finished?? I clasp my hand on top of hers, ?Look. Some of this music can be great. The author needs to ignore any intricacies and errors, and just let the audience decide whether it is finished?? Lunasa calmed down somewhat.
I add a smile to ensure her that she?s doing fine. Lunasa smiled back? The moment couldn?t have been? more perfect? -ly ruined? I heard a blaring noise come from outside the door. It was incredibly loud, my head felt like splitting. After the noise stops and my ears blasted, Lunasa came right next to me trying to shake me out of the tizzy. ?Are you all right?? She asks. No, of course I?m not. ?My sisters came back earlier than expected. This is terrible. They can?t find you here. If they do?!? The entrance of a red one cut off Lunasa? She had light brown hair and carried with her a keyboard. ?Sis, I?m home! With Merlin!? She stops short, smirking, ?Oh sister, I didn?t know you were busy?? Lunasa blushes but Lyrica continues the onslaught, ?All this time you were lying to us, just to have your way??
Lunasa started faltering with her reply, so I couldn?t really make out the words? Just babbling. Lyrica shrugs this off, ?Big sis wants to do her own things? A shame? I?ll just be going back to my work then?? Lunasa tries to respond in full this time, as I sit back in my chair, ?There is nothing between us? What are you talking about?? Lyrica snickers, ?Oh really? Tell me then. What is a lousy dabbler doing in the mansion? Hmm? He wasn?t invited nor had any prior meeting with the three of us. And you just allow him in? Ungrateful!? Lunasa tried remaining calm, as her sister stabbed everything she possibly could at her. The scene was hilarious, until Lyrica had to take it a step too far, ?I thought you had a better taste in men? This one?s practically burly? And he has dolls like that creeper in that terrible forest! He could be a pedophile for all we know! Now if it were me, I?d have kicked him out by now and have him fed to youkai at night.?
Wow? what a selfish prick. I felt the urge to get up, but Lunasa put her hand on my lap. I sat back down as Lyrica ranted and raved, continuing to knock insults at us. Then I heard a blurting noise and the entrance of another one who had blue hair and a pink dress. ?NARF! Hey what are you two doing? Three?? Oh boy? ?Hey? Who?s that? Hello there!? She continued and actually came up to me, shaking my hand rapidly. Fervent with energy, she asks Lunasa, ?Who is this you brought here. He seems interesting. I like interesting?? Merlin was acting like a dog over my presence, excited. She yanked me out of the chair, spun me around, and started putting her hand in my hair, and sniffing it. I swatted at her and Merlin went away to Lunasa. ?Tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me,? She kept on pestering Lunasa until she snapped. ?He?s just a visitor.? Merlin was displeased and sat down right on my lap. Lyrica chose to leave, shrugging off her loss?
?A visitor, eh?? Merlin looked at me in my eyes, ?I like visitors? But they don?t come often?? Gee, I wonder why? Lunasa went back to her work, busy, as she has been for the past hour. Continuing to smile, she asks me some questions, ?How did you get here?? Simple answer. ?I was just wandering around when I found this amazing place.? Merlin nodded when I said ?amazing?. ?Tell me more,? She said, ?It?s hard getting more people to be in here. Actually, we can?t usually have visitors often. They say they don?t like the noise.? Frowning, Merlin blew into her trumpet, which made a noise. Good thing I didn?t end up sitting in brown? The noise trickled off and she breathed? Turning to Lunasa, Merlin asked, ?Sis. Can he stay over tonight?? STAY? What about Tenshi? I have to go back? ?Why are you asking?? Lunasa replies.
?Sis. It was dark out when we got back?? Merlin answers. Dark?! How long have I been in this place? Oh wait? It gets darker earlier in winter, I forgot. ?I guess we have choice then?? Lunasa says, turning to me, ?Would you mind if you stayed?? I have no choice either. ?Not really?? I reply, feeling lethargic about it?
Another night? ugh?
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End of Chapter 14
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Big addition tonight...
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Chapter 15:
The book of love has music in it
In fact that's where music comes from
Some of it is just transcendental
Some of it is just really dumb
But I... I love it when you sing to me
And you? You can sing me anything?
? Stephin Merritt, ?The Book of Love?
?The next question would be? Can you handle it?? Lunasa asks, getting out of her seat. I had to ponder and question, ?Handle it?? Lunasa sighs, ?Sometimes? we make noise at night, practicing.? That doesn?t sound good? A night of noise, and I need my sleep? ?Actually? I think I shall be going,? Having made my late final answer, I try to get up to leave. But Merlin pushes me back down into the furniture with her weight, saying, ?Please? Can you stay? Please! I promise we won?t play too loudly!? I give? ?Alright, alright,? I reply, ?Can you get off of me though?? Ecstatic, Merlin hops off, smiling, ?Yay! I?ll go tell Lyrica!? With that, she whizzes out of the room, letting some of the sheets fly about through the room. That?s not good. Lunasa and I just stare at each other?
?This is what you deal with?? I ask her. Lunasa shakes her head, ?Be glad that I?m the mature one?? And with that she tried to return to her work. Lunasa sighed, shoving the sheets aside, ?You know what? I?m done for tonight? Come with me.? She motions me to follow her. I rise from the chair, the dolls following suit, and leave the room. Lunasa closes the door behind her, lights off. Throughout the mansion, I notice the windowpanes, few of them filled with the moon?almost at its full again. We head to a larger room in the moonlight. Surprisingly, each one of them had their own room in the mansion. Obviously, Lunasa?s was the one that we went into. She shoves me inside and locks the door behind her. I am amused on how she has her own room. That means where we were was a study or office rather?
?There?s things you can touch, and there are others that you can?t,? Lunasa warns me as she began to illuminate the room. Many decorative things were in there: stringed instruments, a desk full of papers? Picture frames? of people long gone or forgotten. I picked up one of the frames when Lunasa was busy sorting through her files. It was mostly a black and white image, but I moved it more into the light? It changes from sepia-toned to fully colored in the light. An image affected by the magic in this mansion? I could recognize most of the people in the image; the Prismriver Sisters? but a fourth person was with them. Her hair was long? youthful?
Lunasa snuck up on me and snatched the frame out of my hand. ?I told you there were some things you can touch, others no?? She began to scold me, but I moved away from her. It would be ironic if I told you there was a bed. But like all those who lived before, the dead still have their beds intact. The bed was full size, varying colors, topped with a patterned quilt. The moldings on both ends seemed carved in arches, with swirls spiraling in the center. Unusually, this mansion probably has the only Western-styled beds in Gensokyo? Laying down on it, I ask Lunasa, ?Who was that?? Lunasa coughed hard when I asked this. ?Who?? She angrily replied, ?None of your business.? I left it at that? Lunasa decides to sit on the bed as well, pushing my body over to one side. I could hear some noises from the hallway, but the noises were somewhat muffled thanks to the closed door?
Lunasa plays some of her music she dubbed ?secret? and ?solo? styled. Regardless of stylistic manner, the piece was as enjoyable and ear candy as the others. Lunasa soon stopped short of finishing?or at least what I thought was finishing?and put her violin away. ?It?s not that great?? She had remorse for the wondrous music. Again, another instance of her lack of confidence. Timing couldn?t have been more perfect, as knocks were heard on the door. Lunasa somehow innately knew it was Merlin, as she swung open the door to squelch the furious knocking. Merlin was standing there in a different garb from before; looked like pajamas, with her hat replaced by a nightcap. ?Sis! That ghost woman is here!? She barked at Lunasa. ?You mean Lady Saigyouji?? Lunasa replied calmly, when Merlin snapped back with, ?YEAH!?
Now, this ?Lady Saigyouji? I haven?t heard about in a month now. (Remember that far back?) Lunasa didn?t bother hiding me, actually shoving me out into the hallway with Merlin. ?I?ll be there in a second. I need to change. Merlin take him to the main room,? Lunasa said so, all the while shutting the door and locking it. Merlin smiled right into my face, ?I bet she?ll be interested in you. She likes a lot of things? Generous, once you get to know her? You?ll do fine.? She began taking me down the hall, the moonlight rising. There wasn?t much to see in the hallways this time? Paintings, moldings, doors? By the time we got to door leading into the main room, Merlin paused. There were voices speaking inside. One was Lyrica?s, but the other was someone else?s? At that point, both of us had our ears glued to the door:
?I thought you?d send another one of your spirits, but I didn?t expect you to appear in the flesh,? Lyrica was talking.
??In the flesh?? Ahaha, that?s a good one. I will remember that,? The other voice responded.
?It wasn?t meant to be a joke.?
?I know, I know. Even in the quiet moments, you do have your positive words. But I have to say they are mostly negative.?
?Negative??
?Sure, I mean, my assistant is such a bore-snore that she never makes me laugh. Not far enough that is.?
?Lady Yuyuko, I am right here!? Another, angered, voice belted out.
?Settle, Youmu. Shouting is impolite??
?But you started it!? Whining?
?You can be such a child sometimes??
I inferred at this point that Lyrica was musing at the two squabbling.
?I am not a child. I serve you all the time. No reward, no respect.?
?Ah, yes, but the better rewards come to those who never receive.?
?That made no sense!?
?Youmu, would you rather have me consistently berate you like a poor delinquent, or would you be generous as to satisfy our hosts and cease your babbling.?
At this point? It was quiet?
?What are you two doing?? A voice from behind startles the two of us. It was Lunasa, styled in her nightclothes, just like Merlin except black. ?Eavesdropping? Let me listen!? Lunasa tried pressing her head against the door, ?Nothing? Did they stop? Oh well? Let?s go in.? She knocked on the door and Lyrica answered, demurred, ?Oh? it?s you three. I wondering where you all were.? She let us in to the main room. I have to say the main room is grandiose like the rest of the mansion? Western futons, fireplace, armchairs, rugs? But in the middle was a low table, the only essence of oriental in the room. Lyrica led us towards the table; the two figures there eager to meet people?
The first one was the voice I remember that talked first. First thing to notice was the natural brown iris, a head added with medium-length abnormal pink hair (tell me something in this place that is normal) and her blue mop cap on the table. The clothing consisted of a sapphire and white kimono with floral designs tied by a blue wrap belt, littered with pink and cobalt trims. Accompanied by apparition fragments she was? The one referred to as ?Youmu? was jade mostly all-over with long white sleeves, a left breast pocket, with a darker colored bowtie. Her hair gleamed of silver in its shortness, part of it blocked by a ruffled ribbon embedded. A katana resided in her large hilt, a pink flower bound to the hilt, along with a hilt for a smaller sword. The look on her face was discouraging?
?Ah. It is so wonderful to meet such a colorful bunch,? Yuyuko spoke softly as the rest of us sat around the low table.
?I did not know you had another guest either,? She chuckles.
?Me neither,? Lyrica adds, rolling her eyes. I chop a stern look at Lyrica, noticing Youmu following suit?
?So, it has been a while?? Yuyuko continues, ?I did not know you still bothered writing music. You three don?t visit often anymore??
?Well,? Lunasa replied, ?Times change? It gets harder for some of us to write new material??
?Artisans know no bounds? Even you should know that...?
?I take joy in my work, okay? Anyway? why do you bring your presence??
?Simple? I am just wandering around. Being cooped up in the netherworld is too much of a toll on me? Fresh air would suffice in these times.?
Yomu was detached from the discussion, as was Merlin?who was curled up in one of the armchairs, as she chose to not join us at the table.
?It was an interesting endeavor getting here. Was not it, Youmu??
Having been urged to speak, Yomu replied, ?Define ?interesting?.?
?Oh you can been so brash sometimes? So? about this other guest.? She smirked, directing her attention towards me.
?My lady, do not be getting any ideas.?
?Youmu, It is best for those who have those thoughts to not accuse others??
Youmu blushed, ?What are you saying??
?Youmu, I have seen your perverted ways. More than once??
?Lady Yuyuko, this is not the place to talk about these things!? Her face burned red.
?Oh? You would not believe her,? Yuyuko began talking to us again, ?The things she does??
?It?s not funny?? Youmu began to tear a little.
She came over to me, beginning to cry. ?You would believe me, wouldn?t you?? I have no choice but to respond? ?Well? Concerning the situation, I would not deem it appropriate to discuss such matters. Even I have my own adventures that are somewhat immature and do not wish share. Yuyuko, If you would be as so kind?? Yuyuko huffed, ?No one can take a joke can they? Can one contrive a petty response and conform it into mush?? What? Youmu at this point was wiping her eyes and immediately went back to Yuyuko?s smiling side in a snap. ?So about your times here,? Yuyuko continued, ?Have you enjoyed this so far? Or has it been hell?? She likes to joke a lot, doesn?t she?
-
“Well… that depends on each intricate instance…” I talk, with my attempt at sounding intelligent.
“Can you name a few?” Yuyuko asks, intrigued…
“Um… well…”
I begin to talk but she cuts me off again, “Start from the beginning, if it is that much trouble to you.”
Sighing, I begin again… I told her about how I came here, wrestling with Rumia, getting healed… etc. I left out about talking about Alice… It really didn’t matter; as Yuyuko was more interested in the times I spent wandering around and speaking with others.
“The story sounds of sweet apricot…” She responded to my ventures, “But sometimes sourly and wasabi pasted…”
“Wasabi pasted?”
“Yes, wasabi pasted… Those hints of hotness in love…”
Confused by Yuyuko’s metaphor, I ask, “What made you assume…?”
“Oh… Assume what? The way you told your stories… It sounds as if you left out key details…”
She hit it on the nose. I had not bothered telling her about any of the… um… colorful scenes, thus leaving gaps in the story. Anyone could have seen that.
“So you’ve been everywhere already?” Yuyuko continued, smiling.
“Not really… I expect it to take some time.”
“Well… Why don’t we shorten that timeframe by the bushel? You can come with us back to Hakugyokurou.” Another place? Eh… I don’t like the sound of that. All this moving around…
“WHAT?!” Youmu belted out, “My Lady, You can’t be serious! That barrier hasn’t been fixed either… The humans shouldn’t be getting too comfortable with entering!”
“The barrier is broken?” Yuyuko asked, dumbfounded.
“Yes! I’ve told you many times. Even Yukari tried to fixed it!”
“Oh… Did that bird come back ever?” Yuyuko was on her own train of thought at the moment.
“What bird?”
“That bird. The delicious one… She had that cap of some kind… trying to sell me some sticks…”
“Lady Yuyuko, I haven’t the slightest clue.”
At this point, the conversation was heading downhill and I decided not to even bother listening. The Prismrivers were sucking this information up, while Merlin was passed out in the chair. Nothing really made me want to divvy up these exchanges of words between gardener and master. But I digress… Polar opposites going at it is something I hate watching, especially at night. I stand up and push the two apart. Youmu exclaims, “Hey!” Yuyuko completely discards the discussion and gets up, adding, “You are right. We need to get going.”
Lunasa speaks for the first time since the conversation began, “Why do you have to take him now?” Yuyuko huffs, “Well… Youmu said the place was not well guarded… anyone could get in there…” Youmu grunted at the statement, since Yuyuko disregarded the situation before. Well… I guess it might not be so bad. The only thing to make it worse is that my stomach growled… “Look, he’s even peckish…” Interesting, since I hadn’t eaten since noon… And that was snow……… what did I eat at noon? Eh… I forget. Probably best to not remember what it was. With that, we said our goodbyes and headed off; the Prismrivers weren’t all too enthralled to lose a guest so fast…
The moon still was high in the invisible sky, countless stars littered across its pane. Obviously, Tenshi was not located outside… Nowhere in sight… Odd, she must have given up waiting. No matter… We continued on and out towards where “I think” is the proper direction. The two of them wanted to walk, but hurried. “We don’t have much time and we need to get back,” Youmu stated as we began to rush eastward. “Youmu, If you would not mind carrying the poor lad then,” Yuyuko requested… Swiftly, Youmu snatched me off the ground and we were heading in the air at speeds. “Just be careful with him,” Yuyuko threw it in as she followed closely behind us.
It wasn’t long before we reached a flight of stairs… I felt light-headed and dizzy. Youmu looked to me, worried but calm. She warned me, “You’re currently dead right now…” Dead?! “But don’t worry. Once you leave, you’ll be back to normal.” That felt somewhat better. “Just, don’t disturb the spirits her in the gardens. Doing so would cause more work for me…” Yeah. Just ramble on why don’t you? The flight up the stairs wasn’t all too fast. We came to a girded set of gardens, guarded by a main wall, mostly square. The walkways were traditional, but an enormous cherry tree sat in the middle, partially blooming… I stared at it for a while, as Yuyuko disappeared in another direction.
“Don’t get any bright ideas,” Youmu whispered, pulling me away from the awe of the Saigyou Akashi. I was brought into a room with a low table. Youmu sat me down next to Yuyuko, her mop hat placed on the table. “Youmu, I’m famished. Would you be so kind as to fetch us food?” With that, Youmu dashed out of the room, responding, “Yes, my lady.” Left with Yuyuko and her causes, I try to not focus my attention on her. She was just kneeling there, smiling ever so vibrantly… What thoughts was she concocting in that swirling mind of hers…
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End of Chapter 15.
Message from the Author:
This is a VERY small update.
With 15 Chapters, I am putting this work on hiatus, probably for a few weeks to a month.
Putting so much effort into it and only taking a total of about 4 days of which there were no updates, I decided that I needed a break from this.
I will work on other and new pieces.
And hopefully leaving this piece alone for the while will allow some settling and allow people to read this with more completeness.
-
Back in action. May work on something else alongside this.
_____________________________________________________
Chapter 16:
In a world I used to know before, yes I miss you more?
Than the sun reflecting off my pillow
Bringing the warmth of new life
And the sound that echoed all around me
That I caught a glimpse of in the night?
? Tony Banks, ?Afterglow?
What could a ghost possibly eat? Other souls? I just hope that the have nothing wicked planned or something. Actually, what am I stressing about? They were generous enough to let me stay here, even inviting me as a guest. Negative connotations run amuck in my brain as I sit there. Again, Yuyuko continuing to crack that smile on her face, I was becoming anxious. Youmu sure is taking a while, thus bringing me back to my first question, but elongated: What could a ghost possibly eat and why would it be so hard to make?
It seemed Yuyuko couldn?t wait any longer and decided to take me on a walk. She stood up slowly and began to leave the room, motioning her hand to follow it. We walked along the siding and passed by the Saigyou Akashi. Yuyuko noticed that I was staring at it, so she winded her path in between parts of the garden so we would stop in front of it. I casually followed her. Yuyuko patted the side of the tree and smiled, ?It doesn?t normally bloom. I have tried to make it so recently, but that failed?? Her smile went away as she wanted us to walk back to the room.
By the time we had made it back into the room, Youmu was waiting there. Youmu sat there stoically, but when she looked at me, the face turned somewhat red and the mouth opened downward into a cracked opening? This startled me, but I ignored it and sat down. Youmu had prepared tea and some ?biscuits?; that?s what ghosts could eat. They were odd-looking ones, since they looked more like rice crackers with mochi sandwiched in between them. Yuyuko began gulping the food down her throat, as Youmu and I sipped the tea. ?You sure you don?t want anything,? Yuyuko put a ?biscuit? on my plate, while still chewing away at the food.
?I can manage,? I replied to her, sipping away at the tea. The tea smelled different than the others I had, and tasted bland. Finishing my tea, I sat there, but Youmu poured another cup. I could not refuse another sip. Youmu seemed content as I was drinking, too content? I examined the walls as we ate; the doors were just as oriental as the other places in Gensokyou, but just a little more. The ghosts were roaming about in the area; Youmu?s ghost was floating around, too. I was uneasy by the fact that I was the only human there, an incredibly small minority. But, this is Hakugyokurou so it made sense, since they mentioned earlier about a damaged barrier.
Yuyuko finished her meal ravenously and chose to leave already, yawning. ?Youmu, I?m going to rest, all right,? Yuyuko stated as she rubbed her belly and slinked away. Youmu rose from her seat and began to follow Yuyuko, but Yuyuko paused for a moment and said, ?I?m fine. Do what you want.? Continuing her walk, Yuyuko left the room, where now Youmu and I were the only ones. Youmu sighed and sat back down, I finished my second round of tea.
?Any more?? She asked, grasping the teapot in her hand. I motioned my hand in the air, declining; Youmu got the message. ?I do have to tend to the area,? She said, both fists pressed against her cheeks as she rested on the table, ?But only when mistress is awake?? Youmu was basically telling me that she was bored currently, but talk is cheap. I sighed, ?You don?t do much around here, don?t you?? Dropping one of her hands to the table, Youmu huffed, ?Pretty much? Bet it?s that same with you??
?I have my share of fun and adventures.?
?But out there, I?d doubt it that anything that exciting happens.?
?It can? I may have not exceeded many boundaries, but I intend on exploring corners of the land and then settling in the area I find to be best. Afterwards, I can go anywhere, but I?m not capable of anything beyond rock throwing, unless something magical happens.?
?In Gensokyou, it?s plausible. Not here though.?
?Yeah, I figured.?
?You probably wouldn?t want to stay here. Actually, you shouldn?t even be here.?
?I know, I know. Give it a rest. I?ll be out after a while, okay.?
?Fine? Just don?t let Yuyuko get to you here.?
?Why should I be worried??
?Well? ever since her incident, she?s been doing strange things,? Youmu stuttered with her speech.
?What kind of strange things,? I raise a brow.
She blushed when I asked this. ?It?s not that important worth knowing about?? Her speech stuttered even more.
?I?m assuming it?s perverted, right??
?How did you know??
?Intuition? It?s something everyone has.?
Our conversation dabbled along for some time, until I yawned several times. Youmu guided me to a sleeping commons, but technically, it was the room she slept in. Mats and blankets, pillows, were resting on the floor. It?s unusual that Youmu does not sleep in the same room as her superior; must be something to do with arrangements and stuff she talked about? I took a blanket, but Youmu wasn?t interested in sleeping. Lights off, I went to rest on the mat, blanket covered over me. Youmu left the room.
My sleep did not last long. The hallway door slid open, and light flooded the room. I tried to keep my eyes shut, covering them with the blanket and turning away from the light. This worked to some degree, as the light soon went off. All of a sudden a weight collapsed on me, weighty it was. Unusually, clamps that wrapped around my body, girding me from getting away, accompanied this weight. Upper on the weight, it had something soft that was divisible in two, as it rubbed against my shoulders. Lastly, the weight had some sort of other clamp, as this one gnawed on my ear. Something wasn?t right, as a wet mesh went into my ear??
I used some force to turn my body around and knock the creature off of it. Lightly thudding on the ground, it slinked back up onto my body. I was laying flat now, thus decreasing my chances at another attempt. Whatever it was, which I couldn?t see, it began licking my face. My arms were pinned to the ground so there was nothing I could do. Could this be one of the stray ghosts, but it felt so humanoid like? Pillow, Clamps, wet thing; it doesn?t add up. The thing heaved a heavy breath, also, a warm one. This thing was unusual, but could it speak? It grabbed my head and caressed it though?
?What do you want?? I asked it.
?You.?
?I?m not in the mood.? I tried turning over.
?Don?t be such a shady demon??
?I?m not a demon. I need my rest.?
?But it?s not fun? I waited until she was busy, too.? This gave it away.
?Yuyuko, using last minute tactics will not persuade me.?
?How so??
?You showed no interest earlier.?
?That doesn?t mean I wasn?t interested.?
?Yeah? that?s what they all say? Let me get some rest.? I tried turning over again.
?You?re no fun??
?Hey. I?ll let you sleep under the blanket. Nothing else though.?
?Fine??
Yuyuko got off of me and moved underneath the blanket. She?s unusually warm, but I then felt her arms on me. Deciding to let it go, I went to sleep with Yuyuko wrapping her arms around me. I had my back to her though, wanting to be undisturbed. For her it was a nap, as she tossed and turned after a while, making me feel uncomfortable. I should leave after this rest; I?ve overstayed my welcome like Youmu said. I could wake up when I wanted to awake, which in turn could be any time; I just have to be careful in case she wakes me up.
When the sleep ended, a face greeted me. This face covered 35% of my view, and it was none other than Yuyuko. I must have rolled onto my back, and so, she lay on top. It took several minutes before I noticed Youmu come into view. She was sitting beside both of us. I lifted my head up to indicate that I was awake.
She grinned, ?You two enjoy yourselves??
?Oh this? Nah, we didn?t do anything.?
?Anything? It looks like you did.?
I doubled checked Yuyuko to see what she meant, and something was different. Yuyuko took off the top half of her kimono. Looking further underneath the blanket, I found all of it was missing, but my clothes remained. I couldn?t help but blush.
?Youmu, it?s not what you think.? I said to her, stuttered. (What a reversal of roles.)
?Yeah? sure.? She snickered this time.
?I?m serious. It was her who wanted it, not me.?
?So you did do it.?
?No I did not!?
Our conversation began to awake Yuyuko. When she stirred, she elevated herself above me, stretching.
?That was a good rest,? She said. Youmu directed her eyes back at me.
?That depends on who you ask,? I responded.
?But you didn?t want it either, right?? Yuyuko giggled.
?No. I didn?t. Just some sleep is all I needed.?
?Youmu, he?s a hard sleeper. You can do so much when he?s asleep.?
?I?m sure you can?? Youmu chuckled. This conversation was waning my ability of anger management.
?What did you do?? I asked.
?Oh nothing. I just had some fun?? She responded.
?While I was asleep?!?
?Hush. It wasn?t anything that terrible.?
I felt a sinking feeling? This was as bad as what Alice had done, but at least then I was aware of the incident, not after the fact. It was also indication that I needed to leave. Something has to give way in my travels: my security or my entertainment. Both gave way here, and I dislike it when that happens.
I immediately asked Youmu if I could leave. Yuyuko was not happy to hear this, but they let me go. Youmu escorted me back to the barrier and left me there. I had to figure where to go next, and the most logical choice was to head back to the Human Village. At least there I could hide from both ends of the spectrum in this lunatic domain. My current knowledge knows that the Human Village would be a good place, since at this point most major people would think that I am out and about. When I came to the outside, the sun was shining though, which meant I had plenty of time to get there. Before doing so, I stumbled back from a sudden impact of a giant rock landing into the ground in front of me?
-
This whole time I forgot to mention that I kept the dolls hidden underneath my clothing. They seem to be sturdy dolls. I let them breath for a while; Hourai was much more exhausted compared to Shanghai. We had only been in there for about 9 hours. Now, back to the boulder. It turned out to be Tenshi; it?s been what, a day now? She looked angered some what, but Tenshi didn?t let me rest. Shoving me onto the keystone, she said?
?Where the hell have you been?? She took the rock into the air.
?Out and about? I should be asking you the same thing.?
?It was night. I hate the night, so I went hiding for a while. In the morning, you weren?t there. But I felt a shiver run down my back, when I looked up, I thought I saw ghosts, and maybe you. I couldn?t tell. I had at least some idea where you went??
?Yeah, well, I had not expected to be leaving any time soon, but I guess it happens.?
?Where were we heading again??
?I don?t remember anything beyond? eh? I wouldn?t mind the Village.?
Tenshi halted the keystone in midair, ?If any place we go to, that will be THE LAST place we go to.?
?Fine? at least go to the outskirts.?
?I?m okay with that.?
My stomach growled; of course, I hadn?t eaten breakfast. Lucky for me, Tenshi had a stack of peaches on the keystone. I eyeballed them until she noticed. ?Fine? you can have several,? She sighed. I snatched a handful and began gobbling down some of them. ?Don?t eat too fast, or you?ll choke.? What did she have to worry about? As we headed towards the village, though, something in the air changed. It soon began to smell awful and there were tons of flowers around.
?Um? Tenshi, do you know where you?re going?? I asked.
?Sure, I?m sure. I always take this path. Poses no problem to me.?
?Well? I?m getting a little nauseous here, just to inform you.?
?If it?s that bad, then maybe I should go faster??
Hourai and Shanghai seemed worried as we headed along the field of strange flowers. ?I think I?ve been here before,? Hourai stated, ?It wasn?t all that great what happened??
Now this is something to worry about.
?Is it something that could cause harm to me?? I asked her.
?Not really. I did not have much trouble here last time, nor did Shanghai.?
Shanghai nodded her head.
Still confused, I decided to wait it out. Besides, this really was nothing but a Nameless Hill to us. As we traveled though, a being came out. She had short, wavy, blondish hair with a thread tied on top. The clothes altered with a regalia tone and a burnt red, all plated with small metal rectangles bridging over a cross pattern around her chest and the perms. She seemed mad as all hell, and would have begun shooting at us? But she waited, and Tenshi decided to get off the boulder. Now I was even further confused. The oversized doll yelled at me?
?What the hell do you think you?re doing in my domain??
?Nothing? Just passing through.? Tenshi answered.
?Not you! That other thing.? She pointed at me with a slinking hand, and put on an angry face.
?None of your business,? Tenshi answered again.
?I?m not talking to you!? This time she moved towards me, beginning to expel a purple cloud around her.
?Woah! Easy there!? I responded, ?I?m not here to hurt you!?
The dolls moved forward in front of me to try and protect me from anything that the youkai had up her sleeve.
?Humans! Evil! Go away!? She spat at me.
?I?m not that evil!?
?Liar! You come to destroy my land. I?ve seen your kind before. Beating the shit out of me for fun! Be lucky I don?t go out and poison everything in sight!?
I looked at Tenshi, but she shrugged.
?Look. I?m not here to destroy you, I?m just passing though,? I try backing away further.
Something wasn?t reaching through her mind, like a stubborn child. She constantly spewed out hate on humans, like a raging animal. Maybe if I try to reach down on her level then I could leave. I tried approaching her, but staying away from the cloud of poison. I let a rant go?
?You want to know something. The problem I have had with my kind is that they always bicker about every damn thing. Everyone has there own bias and no general point of view. Many of them are cynical and self-centered. They have a strong urge to try and control others when in power and don?t care whether the controlled like it or not. It sickens me. They pretend to be emotional and mourn and care about shit no one cares about. I?m tired of them. I just wish I were born differently, and from somewhere else; where I don?t have to put up with pretentious crap. Enough is enough, I say! End me now, I don?t care!?
Medicine couldn?t help, but clap. I stood there in awe; I had belted out probably the worst stuff I have said in a long time, and all I receive is a clap? She giggled, too, which added to my frustration. Tenshi was amused as well, her facial expression changing to ?heh, I didn?t know you were like that?. Feeling embarrassed, I sat on the rock. The dolls sat on my shoulders again. Medicine reached her hand out though, but I receded back.
?Don?t touch me!? I said.
?Why not??
?You reek of poison. I could die.?
?But you said you didn?t care??
?I only did that for effect.?
?Effect?? Medicine was confused.
?What? You don?t understand why I said it??
?Not really. But it seemed like a good idea??
?Again. I only used it for emotion!?
?Hmm?? Medicine was lost in looking at the lilies planted on the ground, ?Do you want one??
I put my hand up and declined. Tenshi was interested though, and picked several of the flowers. Medicine didn?t mind, since the hill was abundant in these flowers. Sitting back on the rock, I felt like leaving. I really could not do anything fun, besides eating peaches?which Tenshi probably wouldn?t let me eat anymore. Medicine seemed interested in showing me other things about her, but because I refused to touch her, she became upset over that fact. I attempted to try something different. The poison didn?t affect the dolls, so I had them touch my hands. They floated over to Medicine, as she tried to contract as much poison as she could, and touched her hands. That?s all I could do in terms of a handshake. I bowed afterwards, as she smiled.
After Tenshi had taken several flowers, I motioned her back to the rock. ?Come back anytime!? Medicine said, giggling. Tenshi got back on the keystone and began to take us up. Mid-day had arrived already; we must have spent two hours there. I waved to Medicine goodbye, but it looked as if though a tear was forming in her eye?a purple one dripping slowly down her face?
I will choose to come back here, once the spring comes?
____________________________________________________________
End of Chapter 16
-
Chapter 17:
As we headed out towards the east, the sun headed through another cycle. Tenshi was still nervous about heading over to the village?
?Do we really have to go over there??
?Yes. Why not? Haven?t been there in a while??
?I am not on good terms with them??
?Oh really??
?Please don?t mock me! It wasn?t funny what happened??
?Then tell me what happened.?
Tenshi did not answer my question and just shoved another peach in my face. I took a bite out of it, but still asking, ?Is it that serious?? She sighed, ?I can never have fun I guess.? Chewing away at the peach, I asked, ?Well? Maybe you could improve your relationship with the people there.? Tenshi hacked a cough. ?As if I would!? She spat at me. ?Hey, I?m just here for the ride. Helping your problem could help, I?m just saying,? I respond, leaving the core of the peach on the keystone. Tenshi didn?t answer?
The sun was setting and the day of the full moon was among us. Tenshi still wouldn?t speak to me. The village soon approached fast, but then disappeared just as quickly. Not amused, Tenshi slows down the speed of the keystone and begins to descend. As expected, Keine was located by some trees; angered again? We stopped in front of her and she snarled at us. It took her a while to recognize me. When she did though, Keine proceeded to grab me away from Tenshi. Keine hadn?t changed since the first time we met, holding my in her arms with her strength, and still she was green?
?Where have you been?! You could have hurt yourself!?
?I?m not a child. How many times do I have to say this to people??
?All humans are my children! I protect??
?I just came here to stop by??
?And what the hell is that thing doing here?? Keine pointed at Tenshi, who looked away.
?She?s the reason I was able to get here.?
?Well? troublemakers like her need to stay away.?
I looked at both of them, ?Did I miss something here?? The dolls were confused too.
?Nothing important.? Tenshi stated, glaring at Keine.
?But you could not resist coming back?? Keine responded harshly.
?Look, if it makes you feel any better? I?ll come with you into the village, Keine? And Tenshi you can go do your own thing.?
?Fine?? Keine answered. Tenshi, though, immediately took off and left the area. Keine started dragging me into what looked like the village, as it slowly came back to normal. There was house dislocated from the cluster of shops and homes. I was tossed inside and Keine rested at the table. Apparently, she set the village on ?concealed? mode. As I sat at the table, she sat down and stared at me. I noticed Keine?s large, bushy tail sway back and forth.
?Stop looking at it,? She said, still letting the tail sway.
?Why did you bring me here?? I asked.
?My house is the safest there is.?
?Really??
?I don?t want you conversing with the others? Not yet.?
?Have I seen to much to enter this place then??
?You may have??
?Or is it that you?re lonely??
She blushed, ?No? It?s not that??
?But it is always that??
I had her this time, and she stopped arguing with me. ?Sleep?? Keine said, trying to pull me to a mat on the floor. ?Fine? I will. It?s a long day,? giving into her request. The only difference was that once I lay on the floor, Keine tried to land herself on top of me. But, sensing that it would happen, I rolled over before she could do so. Keine was interested in how I moved. ?What?s wrong?? She said. ?I?m not interested,? I replied, ?It?s been a long day for me.?
Keine began to frown. At least she wasn?t going to be alone; as the door slid open. It was Mokou again, just stopping by. Keine quickly got off of me, face turning red. ?Mokou, it?s not what you think!? She said. Mokou grunted, ?Yeah, yeah? I already told you that I?m not interested.? I chose to roll over, pretending to try to go to sleep. ?But it?s so lonely out here, Mokou!? Mokou sighed, ?Again? No excuse for you to be hitting on me, or a passerby. I thought you learned by now.?
?I have? but I cannot help it.? I began to wonder at this point why Mokou was really here.
?Shouldn?t you be guarding the village??
?I do not need to. My powers are more than enough??
?Then how did I get in??
?Eh?? Keine paused, ?I?ll be right back.?
With that, she rushed out the door. Mokou stared at me for while, but then spoke.
??Sup.?
?I need my rest.?
?No you don?t. They longer you stay here, the more you?ll change. Eventually, you won?t need three meals, and rest is needed less. It came with the perk of living here.?
?I noticed??
?Hmmm? You don?t look much different than last time.?
?Am I supposed to??
?Not really. But I expected change??
I decided to bring up another point, ?Why did you barely speak earlier??
?Talk is not something I?m interested in?? She sighed.
?Okay then?? I turned over.
?Hey, don?t just walk away from a conversation ?cause I said that!?
?You changed your mind??
?Eh? Nevermind. Just be careful with Keine. She likes to act weird sometimes??
?What kind of weird??
Keine returned swiftly and said, ?Fixed~? Mokou shirked in the other direction. Confused, Keine asked, ?What happened?? Mokou didn?t say anything and I decided to go to sleep. Keine wouldn?t allow that though, as she put her weight on me. Mokou sat there and watched, bored? I tried shooing her away, but it didn?t work. The dolls moved away to the table. I was in for a rough night?
-
? ? ?
I did not know a tail could be used like that, but I digress? Eh, it wasn?t all that bad, but with Mokou staring at us, made me feel uncomfortable. She probably wanted to get some too; it?s not her personality though? Ack, what am I saying?! I woke up in the morning, but Keine was gone already. I had a weird taste in my mouth? Mokou was there at least to speak to me?.
?Where did she go?? I grumble forgetting my sense of time.
?She works during the day?? Mokou was sipping tea.
?Huh??
?Well she left some tea for the both of us.?
?I can see that??
Getting up off the floor, I first stumble back down. My legs ache from last night? Mokou set her tea down and decided to help me up off the ground. She had to drag me across the floor and to the table. When I was there, my arms felt awful as I tried moving them. But it was enough to lift the tea off the table. Taking several sips to wash any possible lactate, my arms shook a little bit. Mokou was generous enough to prop my arms up for me. The dolls soon came over to help as well.
?Thank you??
?Just. Don?t go too rough when doing that. Especially with Keine. You might lose a limb.?
?But I didn?t, now did I??
?It?s not a joke.? She went back to drinking the tea.
?I have to be going soon anyway.?
?To where? Is there any place you need to be going??
?I just came here for a visit. Nothing special? Maybe look around.?
?Be careful then. There are all types of mishaps that go on here.?
?I?ll be fine.?
I try to get back up, but I stumbled again. My body still felt somewhat numb from the action last night. Mokou had to pick me up off the ground again. I wasn?t going anywhere for a while. I had to sit up on the ground now for an hour or two before I could walk again. This time, though, Mokou had to leave early to head back to the bamboo forest, like it was her ?job? or something. Really wish she could have stayed longer? I was left to the comfort of the dolls until I could feel my legs again. Hourai was going to be the one to comb my hair, Shanghai just sat on the table.
?How many more times?? She said.
?Heh? What am I supposed to do? I was in a gridlock.?
?Oh really? That didn?t look like one??
?It?s been two months now? work with me??
?Doesn?t feel like it? Eh, Make sure you water your hair sometimes? some soap would work.?
?Yeah? where do I find that??
?Tch, there are many places.?
?Like where? I don?t see you looking for any??
?You could at least try, I do so much work for you??
?Not as much as you should. Heh.?
Hourai stopped combing, ?You know. You have been really cocky for a while.?
?The cold is getting to me? The Winter Madness!?
?The jokes need to not start as well??
?Fine? you?re right. I should lay off??
She went back to combing my hair, but Shanghai started wondering?
?Hey? Where are we going after this??
?I have to probably wait until Keine gets back.? I like how no one questions how I know everyone?s name.
?That could take a while??
?School day?s all of 6 hours. And besides, it could be a Saturday.?
?Why??
?Children have shorter days on Saturday.?
?But where are we really going then? To plan ahead?? Shanghai persisted on asking. I hadn?t really thought about where to go next. Any other safe haven would have to be a religious center, but that maybe hard to find? Wait? There is a temple located on the outskirts of the village. Shouldn?t be that hard to find. I forget what it was about? But my knowledge tells me that any religious cult place should be safe, even for me.
?Hourai? Do you know a place named The Myouren Temple??
Hourai thought about it for a while, ?Not that I know of.? Okay? Now I don?t know.
?Well? Let?s just wait until Keine gets back, and then we can head out.?
?How long will that take??
?I already answered this! Go play with Shanghai!?
When Hourai was done, she went to Shanghai. They started whispering to each other. The day prolonged, as I was so damn bored? Keine arrived at high noon just as expected. The dolls gathered with me, as Keine entered the house. She was dressed in blue this time with a large hat. This is the first time I have seen here in this form, which is odd because her were-form is harder for people to be able to find. She was somewhat happy to see me again?
?So how was last night? Sorry, I couldn?t stay long for the morning??
?Eh it?s okay?? By now I could stand up again, ?It did tire me out a bit??
?Oh? Did I go too rough on you?? She patted my check. It?s odd how Keine goes from motherly to a rampant wild animal in one night?
?A little bit, but I regained my strength.?
?Good??
?Just? Don?t pound so hard. I really do not eat much and I worry about my back snapping like a twig and all??
?Oh? I know what you mean? Sorry? I can be a little rough. I get so excited sometimes, I really can?t control myself. Mokou avoids stuff like that? The attempt to cave and all??
?I?m going to have to go soon.? I decide to break up the conversation because it was heading down the wrong path.
?Aw? but that?s too soon!?
?I know, I know. But I?m a person who?s on my own, really??
?Who will you travel with next??
?I?m going to go to the outskirts.?
?Dangerous territory, my friend.? Keine got up from sitting, ?Just go. But be wary of yourself.?
?I know. I at least have these two to help me as well.? The dolls were less enthusiastic?
I said goodbye to Keine, who bothered to plant a kiss on my cheek. Rubbing it off, I was already a good distance from the house. I walked through the village to find a way to the temple located in the outskirts. No sight of an overtly large galleon, but I really shouldn?t be expecting much for a ship. Minutes passed before, I found the right direction. As I headed over there, nothing would prepare me for who I would run into along the way?
________________________________________
End of Chapter 17
-
Chapter 18:
?Riding through the range of light to the wounded city
Filling my spirit with the wildest wish to fly
Taking the high road, taking the high road to the wounded city
Memory strumming at the heart of a moving picture??
? Neil Peart, ?Workin? Them Angels?
People were bustling about throughout the village; I must have passed through the denser area, probably the marketplace. When I left out of that torrent of people, I had been mingling about. Just looking around at everything, before I reached the temple. Time came when I guess someone had spotted me along the way. Instead of ramming into me, the person continued to watch me until I noticed. They kept hiding as well? It was creeping me out a little. I decided to wander all over the place, to make it seem like I was lost. It wasn?t working, so I stopped dead and waited. Minutes passed, but then when my guard was down, I was kicked onto the ground. I expected that much.
When I got kicked, I threw my arms in front of me so I could land on the ground safely. The attacker was not too happy, but she grabbed me. We were there in the middle of the village road, quiet? I could see who it was and it was Aya? again? But with tears in her eyes. I had a pretty good feeling on what she was going to say and I was right?
?What the hell do you think you?re doing?!? She said.
?Nothing. Mingling and roaming. What I do best.? I said back.
?Don?t play games with me! You know about this!? She held a paper to my face with a photo in one of the subsections later in the newspaper. It was that one from a while ago.
?That?s forged.? I responded.
?It is not!?
?You believe what your rival says??
?No? I don?t.? She turned away, ?But one could be suspicious.? Aya glared back at me.
?Really? Hadn?t noticed. Been around for two months, doing stuff??
?I thought you would be the more considerate type!?
?What? You think I was like that??
?You could have been?.? I started to look around for any watchers or people in general that could get me out of this debacle? But the talking continued. ?What are you looking for?? She asked. ?Oh nothing?? I kicked a stone or two across the pathway. ?It looks like you?re looking for something.? Aya grabbed onto me again so I wouldn?t stray from her conversation. ?I?m not really?? I said, not looking at her. Time passed again before I could be saved from this, when I saw a traveler with a box on their back heading out of the village. The person looked saddened, but I could see rabbit ears of them so I understood why they were like that?
?What are you two doing?? Reisen asked.
?Oh nothing? nothing?? said Aya.
?I?m here to go somewhere, but I am being held against my will!? I said to Reisen.
Both Reisen and Aya glanced looks at each other.
?Well? If he needs to be going somewhere then let him.? Reisen said.
?This is none of your business.? Aya replied, still gripping me.
Reisen make a quick move and knocked Aya?s hand off of me. I bolted away from the scene not listening to anything that the two were saying to each other. But I am assuming that they will take their danmaku fight elsewhere? I reached the temple finally, but I only found it to be mostly deserted. I expected better of this, but eh? The other shrines don?t have many visitors either, so it doesn?t matter in this case. But since the area is more densely populated, you could only wonder?
I entered inside; it seemed damp and dark in there. No one about? or maybe they were hiding. Walking around, the floor of the temple was wet. I soon came to a central section of the temple. There were pillars and a rotunda at the center. A light peered out from the top of the temple, acting as a skylight. I walked towards this center area, but something came up from behind. Startled, I jumped forward until whatever it was grabbed me. I felt the hand, but felt as if it wasn?t there?
?The hell are you doing around here?? The thing spoke. It pulled me away from the center of the temple. The thing wore what looked like a sailor?s cap and carried? a ladle? It doesn?t make sense? The thing floated as well. I was just blankly staring out and not bothering to answer.
?Hey!? It spoke again, ?How many times do I have to tell you that humans are not allowed in here! The priestess is away, so get out before she comes back.?
?What kind of temple is this then?? I finally opened my mouth to her.
?None of your business. Now get!? It started dragging me towards the entrance.
?Why is it not? I?ve been to places, I check everywhere??
?You?re a strange fellow.?
?Not too strange. Just leave me be??
?Hey! My ship, my rules!?
At this point, there had to be something that could allow me to stay inside? If humans aren?t allowed in, then? ?Hey, what?s allowed inside?? I asked. ?Only youkai and friends of the head priestess?? It responded. Hrmmm. ?Is there any perchance I could stay?? I asked. ?No,? It grunted. I wasn?t making any progress on this conundrum. This was my last chance at shelter than any of the other crackpot places. I probably would have to keep my stance until something random came along to cause mayhem. I was right.
I argued with the ?captain? for about five more minutes until a particular converter came along, a green one. This caught the attention of the captain, who proceeded to try and beat the crap out of the religious converter. I had to ?remain where I was and not touch anything?, but it wasn?t all that bad. Ah? Nothing like watching two Stage 5 bosses duel? It didn?t last long since the youkai destroyer was whammed across the face with an anchor and launched halfway over the village. When all was said and done, the captain wasn?t happy at all, but started to calm down. I didn?t bother asking anything for a while.
But that didn?t completely change my mind from asking another question?
?So why does that person come here??
?She always thinks that she?s in control of what goes on in this village. Much worse than the other one.? I could figure what she meant by ?other?.
?You spend time here??
?What? I fricken? own the damn place.?
?Then why did you mentio-?
?Ah? the priestess helped me become mobile, so I returned the favor.?
?This is a big ship.?
?No crap. You think I could do damage with this thing.? She trailed off onto her own ramblings as I became bored. The captain had lost interest in removing me from the temple, as long as it gave her something to talk about. It didn?t take long before the head of operations arrived here. She was dressed in dark purple mixed with white with gothic style clothing, many crosses about the dress in the front and limbs? Her hair was radiant, changing color from one to another unnatural one. She looked intimidating, either way you put it, along with the scroll she carried. It was hard to tell whether she was happy to see someone or not?
?Murasa, who is this??
?Nothing, Madame Hijiri. Just a passerby.?
?What?s his business??
?Like I said. Just a passerby.?
?A youkai exterminator?? She glared at me, but I continued to stare in other directions.
?No, ma?am.?
?Then what is he??
?Harmless.?
?Alright then?? She kept staring at me as she walked by.
She headed up the steps to the center circle and hovered there for a while. Contemplating, I guess. Time passed again, neither of them doing anything for a while. Just waiting.
-
I didn?t bother sitting on the floor? It was grungy and grimy? did I mention it was wet? The captain mingled about the temple, but the priestess remained in the center circle. Is this all they do here? I decided to move towards the circle, but the priestess raised her hand?
?Do not disturb me.?
?Sorry? I was just interested??
She stopped focusing on her meditation, ?Interested in what??
?What ever it is you?re doing??
?Well? if you?re interested??
?I sort of know what it is, but for what??
?People meditate, right??
?Yes??
?Well? some of us do that as a relaxing measure or to connect with the spirits in the world.?
?Like? Buddhism??
?Yes.?
?Eh? do you pray??
?Praying is for those who wish to seek their own desires? not become one with the way of the world.?
?Sorry? I don?t know much of religious activities??
?It is not an activity as much as it is a lifestyle!? She was beginning to get frustrated with my ?disrespectful? attitude. But luckily, another person arrived on the scene to end it before the priestess began to go on a tirade. This one?I should say youkai?was a strange creature. She had circular ears and grey hair, which would conceal ears if she had human ones. Two rods she carried and a basket on her tail, she was covered in pink and grey clothing. Her height was about the same as mine, or take several inches; almost cuddly? She approached the priestess...
?Lady Hijiri? I am sorry to interrupt your meditation? but there was a discovery in Makai??
?You don?t have to call me that, Nazrin. What is it??
?There are people still living there, even after you left.?
?How can this be??
?Well? they may have settled there long before you were locked there??
?Fine??
?Shou is still down there though??
?And you just left her?!?
?No? she sent me.?
Nazrin stayed, having nowhere to go after sending the news to Byakuren. I really didn?t have anywhere to go? Nazrin was eyeing me for a while, intrigued by my presence in the temple. It bugged me a little. Murasa was still eager to talk to me about things, like if I had seen water or anything? There were some things to talk to her about?
?The sea waves back and forth, like memories?? She said.
?I haven?t really seen one in a while??
?Heh? neither have I.?
?I can see that??
?Like you know everything??
?Not really. I?m just assuming.?
?That?ll get you into trouble in places.?
?Yeah? I?ve figured that at this point.?
???
?You were awesome there a while ago??
?Well? I don?t go around swinging anchors for nothing!?
Again, conversation interrupted by someone entering the temple. She was severely injured. This one had an ornament on her head and unusual hair colors. Wielding a staff, she wore attire like a tiger; torn and alternating stripe patterns. Byakuren rushed up to her, Murasa still sat there immersed in our conversation, and Nazrin went to her ally. I attempted to over hear the conversation?
?Are you okay?? said Byakuren.
?Nah? I?m fine,? said the tiger woman.
?But, Shou, you?re covered in wounds,? said Nazrin.
?Nah I?m fine,? Shou said again. ?Hey, you think there?s a river in Gensokyo? said Murasa.
?Um? yeah? sure?? I said. ?Well at least take some rest,? said Byakuren.
?Are you listening to me?? Murasa said. ?Fine? but at least let me have some peace,? Shou said.
?Do I have to?? I barked back.
Murasa almost slugged me across the room, but she restrained herself from doing so. It seemed as if she?s had incidents like this before and is attempting anger management. No matter, I took her away from the rest of the scene to personally talk to her if she was having that kind of issues. She had her captain?s quarters on the ship, which she used whenever needed. There was a hammock, boots, fishing equipment?, and a steering wheel. Not much for a quarter. She did not bother to sit in the hammock and leaned against the wall. Directing me to the hammock, she put her hand out. I declined.
?You can?t afford to set yerself down?? she said.
?I?m fine.? Standing against the wall.
?First off, why the hell did you come here??
?I have knowledge that it was a safe haven.?
?Wow? you must be pretty noble to think that this place is a safe haven for humans.? Murasa chuckled.
?Really??
?In the recent times that I have been here, it seems everyone is segregated.?
?I don?t know.?
?Well of course. You don?t act like the people normally here.?
I moved myself to hammock?comfortable, but if you?re in the wrong position, saggy. She didn?t seem to mind, a ghost she was? We continued our discussion for a while, but then we didn?t speak for what seemed like an hour. Murasa was rambling on about how the people here are much different. Humans and youkai seemed to war with each other, but ever since Reimu became a force to be reckoned with, things changed. What she described sounded similar to post-Industrialization United States? but before the Civil Rights Movement. No one wanted to deal with each other? The amount of people here has shifted too?
?Yukari has been trying to contrast this shift by bringing more outsiders from the human world,? Murasa began to sit on the hammock next to me, very uncomfortable.
?And you know this, why?? I asked.
?Several of us know. You can tell by looking at it too??
?So I?m just one of several??
?No. Not this time. That?s what at least I heard. Reimu has tried to coax Yukari out of sending any more people here.?
?Am I one of the last??
?Maybe??
?Look. I should get going anyway.? I got up from the hammock, but she followed. Stopping in front of the entrance, she pulled me back.
?But you have nowhere to go, right?? Murasa asked. This bit me in the butt. At this point, I was probably going to have to stay put in certain places for extended periods of time?
?I?ll be back at another time?? I left the room.
?Fine then, but make sure you come back??
?Why should I? This is a youkai sanctuary!? I had turned around to face Murasa again.
?Okay? Just making sure? It?s dark out tonight??
?How in the hell do you know??
?It?s a feeling I get??
?What kind of feeling??
?Never mind. Forget that I mentioned it??
?Alright then? I?ll be going.? I left Murasa to her quarters. As I walked across the main rotunda of the temple, Byakuren was in meditation as Nazrin was tending to Shou. Nothing much to see here but a bunch of loners. As I headed outside, I did notice it was dark. I should probably cut back out of the village and to the shrine. Yes, I know it?s not the best place, but it?s all I can work with. If Wriggle is out, then maybe I?m safe?
______________________________________________
End of Chapter 18
-
Chapter 19:
Heading out through the village, the moon began to rise in the air. Little to no people were around when I came out. It has become colder over the days, so the night is much chillier than usual? The dolls had no trouble keeping up with me as we headed into the forest. The dark and windy forest? ugh? too many memories already?
Time was taking longer than I thought when we entered the forest. It was dark as usual, but the air was much calmer tonight. I could have bothered myself to call out to Wriggle in the night, but that would be too risky. So, I continued on into the forest? There was creaking everywhere, and rustling noises, so I decided to stop where I was going? Sure enough, something descended from the trees and lunged at me?
I tried to dodge it, but it grabbed me? Knocked onto the floor, I saw the attacker? It was Wriggle as expected. She was out hunting I guess? But do bugs really hunt? Wriggle dusted herself off, but lifted me off the ground?
?Where are you heading?? She asked.
?Back to the shrine??
?Why??
?I have no where else to go??
?Why??
?Do you live anywhere??
?No.?
?Then why should it be any different with me??
?Because normally humans live in a house??
???
?What?s wrong??
?Nothing.? I began to leave Wriggle, but she pulled me back.
?Nothing what? You?re acting weird? weirder than when I first found you.? Her eyes became serious.
?People change? So what?? My mood changed to wanting to get to shelter quickly.
?So what? Don?t you know better by now that it?s dangerous out here??
?Yeah? I haven?t died yet.?
?That?s not the point! Some of us don?t want to see a corpse lying about!?
?Oh really? So you don?t care if I?m dead?? I tried leaving again.
?No. People care. It?s just that you won?t accept that.? This stopped me dead in my tracks? What the hell was she talking about? I?ve only been here for about 2 months. Tossed around back and forth. I won?t put up with it any longer? eh? Pent-up emotions should get to a person eventually, but not like this?
?I should be going?? I started to leave for a third time.
?Hey? It?s dark out, maybe you won?t find your way.?
?Don?t worry. I will.? She let me head out into the forest.
I really did not have a problem heading out, but the moon was rising fast. When I reached the shrine, Lunachild was roaming about around the shrine. I approached the area slowly, but she noticed me anyway?
?What are you doing here?? She asked.
?I came back.?
?Oh really? Weren?t you supposed to be with that shrine maiden??
?Yeah? but I left? How long have I been gone??
?Over a week now??
?And why are you still here??
?Me and my friends moved here.?
?Fine? I?m staying for a while??
?Alright then, but you?re going to have to sleep outside. The place is locked up.?
???
?I have something that might help you though??
Lunachild left me outside the shrine for a while. I moved onto the steps and looked around. It was probably around 11 PM, which means I missed my window to get inside? Lunachild came back with something I recognized. A flag. ?This could be a blanket for you,? she said. ?Where did you get this?? I asked. ?It was something I found on the ground. It came from the Moon.? The moon? Eh? There?s no atmosphere up there, so it shouldn?t be dirty. I slept on the walkway with the large flag acting as a blanket?
The next morning, I woke up. Rising from the blanket, I saw Reimu was outside doing her usual sweeping. Suika was no where to be found as were the fairies? But there was a new person. Actually, this person was sitting right near where I was laying. She had her hair tied into two Chinese buns and coloured pink? I could have sworn one of the arms was missing, but it was covered in ribbons?
?Ah? you?re awake?? She said.
?Who are you?? I asked, rubbing my eyes.
?Oh. Don?t mind me? I?m just here.?
?For what??
?Discovering.?
?What??
?I?ve lived an extended life, so I stay from place to place and then I meditate.?
?For what reasons??
?Does it have any meaning to you??
?Not really??
?You?ll understand in due time??
Reimu still was sweeping as whoever this person was and I were talking to one another? She didn?t give any details besides meditation, examination of life, and longevity. Still no name was mentioned, but she did eventually lighten up to say ?Ibara? as a name. Sounds like a last name more than a first name? But does that really matter?
-
It’s been a while since I last touched my instruments… I asked Reimu if I could have my xylophone, which was still stored under the floor. She let me get it out from underneath the floor. When I propped it up on the table, I began hitting some of the blocks on it; making some noise. Kasen soon came inside and she saw me playing a little bit on the xylophone. She was carrying some weird device that looked like an extending hand, but I paid no mind to her and kept on playing. The dolls sat on the table and listened for a while, but Shanghai decided to be the one to comb my hair. When I was done playing, Kasen soon moved closer to me to see how I was doing…
“What is that?”
“A xylophone…”
“Interesting… Does it play anything else?”
“You make it play things…”
“Oh. Like most instruments?” She wasn’t paying attention to me at this point and was playing with the extend arm.
“Yes… I play other things…”
“Like what?”
“A lute…”
“Eh… Lutes are not that well played…”
“Then what do you suggest?” I sarcastically replied.
“Nothing. Keep doing what you are doing…”
“Why are you speaking to me again?”
“Because I can ask.”
“For what?”
“I have lived my life extended. I can still learn about other people if I want to.”
Reimu had finally come inside, carrying her broom. The end of the broom was wet from sweeping the snow. She was uninterested in the fact that Kasen and I were discussing with each other and continued about her business. I eventually notice that Suika was sprawled out onto the floor some distance from us, drool coming out of her mouth. I decided to ask Kasen about the arm…
“What’s that for?”
“I still don’t know… It was left here after sometime.” She was still playing with it.
“Eh…”
“It is interesting. That’s all I know.”
Shanghai had finished combing my hair and sat back down on the table. I was bored at this point and I asked, “Are there any other interesting things around here?” Kasen nodded, “The Mountains near the shrine hold another world… I have not been there myself to check it out, but it looks enticing.” Reimu perked up about this and responded angrily, “Oh no! He’s not going up there!” This only intrigued me more.
“What’s up there in that world?” I asked Kasen.
“Not much actually… It’s mostly ruin now…”
“Why?”
Kasen was beginning to eye Reimu, who was ignoring our conversation all together. I continued to play the xylophone as Kasen continued to talk about this place called “Makai”. It seemed interesting, but it’s considered a wasteland nowadays. Another problem is that not many know of its existence. The only who know includes Reimu, who has warned me twice now about not going there. No matter, I’ll try and go there anyway… I’m bored as is…
The fairies passed through and Suika woke up from her drunken nap. Nothing else to do during the day. I still wondered about the flag that Lunachild gave me and then took back… Did the Lunarians have actual problems with coping about the flag being on the moon? Too many questions… maybe I’ve stayed away from staying inside too long… I also wondered about how Letty was fairing. I haven’t seen her in a week now… eh… my sense of time is waning as well… Snow sometimes fell from the sky and sometimes it didn’t.
I chose the opportunity at night to head out again with the dolls. I left no trace except for leaving out the xylophone. As we headed outside, now I just needed to find that mountain. There were several located near the shrine, but most of them were located to Northeast of the Human village, somewhere east of the Road of Reconciliation and Muenzuka. I was going to take the hard way and head around the Forest of Magic and see if I could spot any leads.
The snow was becoming a pain for me as I headed around the Forest. The direction I was heading in involved many decayed trees and leaves on the ground. The ground soon was just partially covered in snow, patches here and there. While I was walking, I noticed a small house located on the right of me. It looked intriguing as it was like a stray house located on the border… There was a sign in front of it that listed “マヨヒガ”. I wasn’t going to bother with it… Maybe later…
I finally reached one of the mountains, when there was a gate lodged into the side of it. Immense, it was, but damaged it was also. I inched my way closer to the gate, until someone popped out from behind it. Only wearing red and a set of pink hair, the guard almost throttled me off the mountain. But, she was kind enough to let me live…
“Who goes there?” She shouted.
“A pathetic human.” I slinked forward.
“Head back down the mountain at your own pace, straggler!”
“Why?”
“Can’t you see this place is off limits? Or do I have to spell it out for you?”
“If I could just g-“
“NO ENTRY I SAID!”
“But if you cou-“
“YOU SHALL NOT PASS!”
“I’m only here to check things out!”
“NONE SHALL PASS!”
“What?”
“NONE SHA-“
“Shut the hell up!” I shouted at the guard. She did shut up, finally. “God… you’re like a broken record…” I said. “What’s that?” She asked. “Never mind,” I replied, moving towards the door. “You still cannot enter!” She said. “Am I going to die in there?” I asked. “Probably,” She answered, dusting off her robes. “Then I’m going in.” That was my final answer. She shrugged and opened the gate. The smell of rot and intense heat came out of the gate. When I entered inside, there was a fountain full of water and several cases. How convenient… The gate was slammed shut behind me and I found myself in a different world, again… I scooped some of the fresh water from the fountain in one of the containers and took off.
_______________________________________________
End of Chapter 19
Just noting the two month anniversary here~
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Short update tonight
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Chapter 20:
This world soon became sweltering and boiling as I headed deeper into it. Oddly, this container wasn?t causing the water to evaporate? Shanghai and Hourai weren?t having any problems as we carried on through the trail. The only thing I had to worry about was them catching on fire, but I think Alice was cognoscente enough to prevent that. This place here looked like hell. There were ruins scattered about and some rubble all around. I tried to not step in the purple spots?
As we forged deeper, I heard some noises in the distance, but they weren?t too bad? But I saw a figure nearby who was just standing there. It was glowing purple, but wore a cup hat and blonde hair. I figured that the demon was a she because of the white dress with purple overcoat. When I approached her, she began moving away, as if a magnet was pulling her. I soon had to chase after her, but then she disappeared. Left there in the smoldering heat, I tried looking for where she went?
Nothing?
I had to start roaming around. Thankfully, there were fountains along the way. I couldn?t tell at this point if I was in Dante?s Inferno or Paradise Lost. I kept hearing wailing noises, which started to freak me out? As I passed many ruins, I finally came to a ruined city? The buildings were decay, many of them wrecked and damaged. I figured by the time I had arrived here, it had been a long time? Wandering through the city, I finally came upon a huge crystalline fortress. It rose high above the ground. The only place that wasn?t damaged by all this? I noticed in one of the high windows something strange shadow there. I was really tired by this point and came up to the door. Banging on the door, I waited for a reply? There was none?
?Is anyone in there?? I shouted, still banging. My energy was starting to drain and this place just couldn?t be empty? ?Come on. I saw someone in the window. There has to be something in here.? Still nothing, so I tried to play the poor soul game. ?I?ve been out here for several days! Help!? This seemed to work as I heard sounds of unlocking and a door opened. But as soon as I came walking in, swords were immediately pointed at me. I stumbled backwards at this, scared.
When I looked at the person, she was about my height. She had blond, long wavy hair and looked youthful. Her head wore a perforated cloth and her clothes were like a maid uniform. The colors were of red and white. The hair came down to the back near a ribbon tied there. The chest sagged a little, but it seemed as if she was trying to keep it up straight as much as she could, not having the clothes pressure it too tightly. With the swords pointing at me, though, I felt as if she was not in a good mood recently. They moved closer to my neck and I tried to save myself? by holding up my hand?
?Stop! I mean you no harm!? I also threw in something degrading to myself, ?If it?s any relief to you, I am human!? This seemed to work as she lowered her guard. She pondered before picking me up off the ground; even dusting me off. I couldn?t help but say ?Thank You? as I started looking about the place. She asked me, ?What is someone like you doing out here?? I continued to look through some of the rooms and I responded with, ?Eh? I wander on my own. I have no bounds really?? She grabbed me by the hand and began tugging on me.
?Well, if you?re going to stay here, then you must bring it up to my master.? She said. I had no choice but nod. Thus, she began to bring me up a set of stairs. The stairs were made of crystal like the rest of the fortress. As we continued up along the stairs, I saw statues and other rooms. I got to glimpse several of the rooms, but one had people sleeping in it. Strange? When we arrived at the supposed room, the ceiling was high with complex architecture and art comparable to the Sistine Chapel. There were statues and pillars in there too. On the other side of the room, a throne rose from the floor with molded stairs.
There was a person sitting in the throne. The figure was wearing all read and some brown. The only lighter parts were anything beyond the collarbone, which included a beige undershirt and it?s hair. The hair was all white-silver with a group of it bundled on one side. This grouping of hair hung out from the side of the head. This could possible be Shinki and all she was doing was staring at the ceiling. I would marvel at it too if I wanted. The maid decided to end this quietness with a gentle ?ahem?.
Shinki soon faced us and asked, ?Yumeko? Who is this?? Yumeko bowed in front of her and answered, ?A straggler, from the outside. Seeking shelter.? Shinki seemed unamused as her head moved, only to be propped up by her hand. She pondered for a while, but then said, ?Shelter? Well if he?s powerless, then he?s welcome to stay? I wanted to make a sigh of relief. But ?Actually, let me speak with him,? She said. Yumeko soon whisked away and I was left alone with Shinki?
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First, she pointed to her legs, and then in front of her. ?Sit on my lap, boy. I mean you no harm.? I moved closer to the throne ?Alright?? Shinki wasn?t that big of a person as I climbed onto her lap. She had me sit there like a child, positioned perpendicular to her with her right arm underneath my head. When I finally sat on her lap, I asked, ?What is it that you want?? Shinki replied, ?Well?? Her head turned away to look out at the window, ?you came from the outside, right?? A question, but I simply answered, ?Yes.? It looked as if she was reminiscing as she said, ?So much has changed since??
Changed? What?s changed? Everyone acts as if things are the same there. ?Eh?? I said, turning my head away from her, ?Define ?changed??. Shinki looked at me. ?Well actually?? She was about to finish her thought, but I guess she decided to answer differently, ?You?re right. I haven?t changed really. Nothing on the outside would have changed. I really haven?t been on the outside in a while.? I had to let out an ?Uh?? just to keep my side of the conversation going, but Shinki decided to move on ?Never mind. I?m just rambling on I usually do??
I decided to ask my earlier question twice, ?Again? What did you want?? Shinki sighed and asked, ?How?s Alice? You probably haven?t met her yet.? Alice? Oh Kanako, does this one know about her? Telling the truth, I replied lowly ?No. I?ve met her.? Shinki brightened up somewhat from this, ?Oh? Is she fairing normal?? Normal? I had to joke, ?What is ?normal? about Gensokyo?? She frowned, ?Well, a lot of things can be normal about it, but back to Alice?? It always has to come back to what they?re talking about, not what I want to talk about, doesn?t it? I remained quiet for several seconds before I figured that she wanted to know Alice?s whereabouts now, ?About her? Well?? Shinki perked up her ears. ?She?s alone in a forest, I can tell you that much?? I continued.
Shinki?s face drooped as her interested smile flattened out, ?Alone? Oh dear?? She began to put her free hand to her face. ?I knew this would happen.? Almost not bothering to care, I said, ?Happen? What was your relationship with her?? Pausing for a moment, she stuttered, ?Relationship?? But Shinki soon added, ?Relationship? Relationship?!? as if she was beginning to get mad with me. As soon as that last word was spoken, she immediately became calmer and said, ?We were just acquaintances? We knew each other? she stayed often?? I could see some tears form in her eyes as her speech became stuttered again, ?w-w-with her s-smile? It?s just been so long??
Shinki was crying in the chair as some of the tears dripped onto my face and clothes. Her words were hard to decipher until she said, ?I just wanted to hold her? so tightly? Please!? While I was sitting there, Shinki tried pulling me closer, until I nodded my head, allowing her to continue the action. She practically shoved me into her? eh? body, with her right hand behind my head and the other arm holding me. Shinki remained teary for a while, but she then asked, ?Please? Tell me at least she?s matured! Please!? It was hard for me to breath?if she had at least let me breathe some? but I responded, ?Well? If mature as in handles things well on her own? then yes.?
Shinki at last pulled me away from her and let me lay on her lap again. ?Oh yes!? she exclaimed? eh? She continued, but with tears of joy, ?You may stay then! Please! Actually, you can stay in here with me if you?d like!? Whoa! That?s going a little too far? eh? I wouldn?t mind actually (you know?) but like the courteous person I am, I sadly declined, ?I don?t think I?ll be staying too long.? Shinki?s grin turned to a light frown and replied, ?Alright then??
Next thing I heard was Shinki calling, ?Yumeko!? And with that, Yumeko dashed out into the room. I could?ve sworn that I saw a shadow come out from the side rather than the door? But eh? ?What is it, master?? She said. ?See to it that this man enjoys his time here?? Shinki replied, ?Well not like a diplomat or anything?? Now she was blushing, ?you get what I?m saying?? Yumeko nodded. Shinki got me down from the throne and Yumeko started bringing me out. We walked close to the wall, so I caught a glimpse of what the place looked like.
Before we exited, Shinki shouted, ?Oh, Yumeko!? She was standing off her throne and looking at us. ?I forgot to tell you. You can show him around the place and other things? But make sure you bring him back!? She said, smiling. Yumeko looked discouraged as I smiled as well. I said to her, ?Don?t worry. I?ll be fine?? As we headed out and down the stairs, Yumeko asked me, ?Would you like any tea?? Hmmm? I haven?t had tea in a while? ?Maybe? I did not have anything to drink for the past several days,? I lied to her a little. This sort of backfired as Yumeko whisked me off my feet and was rushing down the stairs now.
?Tell me next time if you?re dehydrated. That?s the last thing we need,? She said. I couldn?t help but chuckle, ?It?s not that bad, you know? I?ve gotten this far without dying.? Yumeko wasn?t listening at this point and she brought me into a room with a round table. I plopped my arms on the table from fatigue. Yumeko quickly prepared the tea and began to leave. She told me, ?Let me know when you?re done.? And then she was gone. I started to sip the tea. Several minutes later, I saw a shadow come into the doorway. It walked forward towards me, until I recognized who it was.
?Hello.? She said.
?Hello,? I responded.
?May I?? She asked, pointing to the chair.
?Serve yourself.? I answered.
?You look familiar.? She said, sitting down in the chair across from me.
?Of course I do. I?ve seen you before! Out in the ruins!? I replied back, sipping my tea.
?Oh? Pardon me? I am sorry if I left you out there.? She poured a cup for herself, ?I was busy with other things??
?I could have died out there if you didn?t help.?
?I am terribly sorry as is? I got hurt badly in whatever ruckus out there??
?I?m sorry to hear that.? I took another swig.
?No worries? I go out there all the time by myself??
?Were you heading anywhere??
?Well? to the outside, actually??
?And what caused you to turn back??
?I felt something was not right inside me?? She started looking away?
?Alright then??
There was a silence, but she broke it by saying, ?Well. My name is Louise,? She smiled. Louise and I sipped our teas, but she just had to know my name. ?So what is your name, my friend?? Louise asked. I continued sipping for a while, until I noticed that she was staring at me. I shrugged it off with, ?My name isn?t that important.? Louise frowned, but she sighed and did not persist on finding out. We sat there and drank tea for a while. Minutes passed, but then we heard a noise. Louise turned around to look, and we both saw Yumeko dash past the doorway. We looked at each other and resumed our conversation.
?You seem awfully quiet,? Louise said.
?I?m here just to be here, okay??
?You do not need to be so snappy about it. Please??
?Fine??
?I still wish to go to the outside world?? She stared out the window.
?Eh??
?You came from there, right??
?Yes??
?Are you heading back there?? Louise finished her second round of tea.
?Yes?? I put my cup down.
Louise put her hands out and clasped them around mine. She stared me straight in the eyes. I had noticed that most of the time her eyes were closed? but this time she was serious. ?Please?? Louise began. ?Please take me with you?? We still stared at each other, with sounds of crashing in the background. ?Please?? she said it again to add emphasis. Then Louise went back to closing her eyes and sat there. There was more noises coming from outside? but then they stopped. We heard footsteps.
A shadow came into the doorway. It was Shinki. She came up to us and passed by Louise, who couldn?t see that Shinki was in the room. Shinki lowered her mouth next to my ear. ?I?ll be up in there when you?re ready?? she whispered into my ear. A pat on the head and Shinki had left the room quietly. Louise wondered what was going on, ?What was that?? She asked.
?Oh nothing?? I said.
_____________________________________________
End of Chapter 20.
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Is the reason you arent telling the main characters name is to make it as though it were the reader, you were too lazy, or some other reason? It's no big deal, But i'd still like to know.
And damn, This series is good.
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It's more of the fact that I don't find names to be all important. It's more about the characteristics people have, not their names.
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Chapter 21:
I left Louise in the guest room and discovered that Yumeko had been wiped out cold? Heading up the grand staircase to Shinki?s room, I passed by other rooms. Many of the rooms were empty or desolate. In the light of the room, Shinki waited on the chair. She seemed bored, or tired? I couldn?t tell which. But, when I entered the room, she perked up a bit. I came up to the steps of the throne and she patted her lap. Sitting up on it again, Shinki smiled at me and I did the same back.
I had slunk into her lap and she patted me on the head. Asking her about whatever happened earlier?
?So what?s with Yumeko??
?Oh? she just took a little spill outside.?
?That was more than a spill?? She started to stare at me.
?You saw it??
?No? I?m just wondering??
?Well, we have trouble over here sometimes??
?I could figure that??
?How??
?Well?? I rose up, ?People have warned me about coming here??
Shinki became slightly frustrated by this and asked, ?By whom?? I sighed. ?There were several?? I said. Shinki was more interested in my conversation than whatever she was attempting to plan with me? ?Was there a red one?? She asked. I pondered about this and I know Reimu had some red. ?Sort of.? I responded. ?Was? ?is it the shrine maiden?? She muttered. I had to nod my head to this notion and Shinki put her hand on her face. She mumbled and I couldn?t hear what she was saying?
?Do you want to just get on with it?? I asked.
She looked at me, directly into my eyes.
Few minutes passed, and Shinki decided that it was for the best to end the conversation?
I don?t know how much time passed this time, but I was sure I left the dolls with Louise when she went to sleep. I?m tired of those two consistently talking when I have private moments?
But eh?
They don?t need to worry about such nonsense?
? ? ?
Phew? How much longer do I have to do this?
Louise was awake the next time I woke up. It appears that she needs more sleep than I do. She had the dolls in close proximity of herself, but like always, the dolls got up when I woke up. Today would be the day that we would be. In the guest room, Yumeko was still asleep and I saw two others on the ground, but I did not mingle with them. Louise spoke with Yumeko and then I talked with Yumeko for a while before leaving?
?Did she harm you?? She asked.
?No.?
?That?s good? So where will you go next??
?We?re heading back to the outside??
?Oh? we do come again if you need anything.?
?Alright? hope you feel better??
?Thank you.?
Nothing else was exchanged in this goodbye. Shinki had not bothered to say good-bye in the least. Maybe it was not needed now or not for a while. The dolls came to me, and the four of us headed out of the fortress. Makai remained as red and dark as ever. We soon enough exited Pand?monium and entered into the searing flames of Makai. I seemed to be the only one having a problem with the intense heat. Thank the Gods that be for the fountains in here? ugh?
Hours passed as we went through the heat. This is a terribly sharp contrast to the cold weather in Gensokyo, so I felt better that it was much warmer here. We hadn?t been bothered until it started taking longer than it should to get to the outside. I wondered for a while if we had truly remembered the exit to the place. The only one who would know would be me, but eh? I sort of forgot. The fountains could have led us, and I tried following them. The path became weirder than before?
?You sure you know where you?re going?? Louise worried.
?I?m positive? The fountains lead to exits.? I answered.
?What kind of exits??
?Well? to the outside??
?Are there other outsides here??
?There could be??
?You know which one?s the right one??
?Yes.?
?You have no idea where you are going, don?t you??
?Sort of??
?So you don?t??
?I?m trying okay!? I yelled at her.
?I am sorry!? Louise cried back.
It was no use? we finally saw a section of light streaming out of existence up ahead. Most unusual? We both decided to head into the light?
It was very bright for a while, and then it became stark and stagnant?
-
The light faded and there was darkness. Stray fairies floated around. I looked a Louise, who tried not to look back at me. The dolls looked confused, but Shanghai decided to open her mouth first?
?This isn?t i-?
?I know that!? I shouted.
?Don?t yell at her!? Hourai snapped back at me.
?Don?t yell at me!?
?Stop it!? Louise forced us to settle down, but berated me more, ?Why are you talking to the dolls like that? Have you gone crazy??
The problem is? where were we? The place is mostly dark, there are lights around, but still mostly empty. We walked for a while attempting to find a source of this world. We soon found a trail of light, and followed that. The stray fairies in the world paid no attention to us as we walked. The light soon ended, but led us to a table. That table was covered with a girl laying on it? We stared at it for a while, until Louise started to get creeped out by it.
?What is this?? She stared at it. She poked the body and it began to stir. Its head rose higher into the air. Louise began to stumble back, but I caught her from falling on the ground. The person got out of the chair and turned around, as if the eyes were glowing red. They looked like they were glowing red. Louise and the dolls decided to hide behind me as the figure slowly approached us. The head was cocked to the side a little had a cracked smile.
She walked into the light so that we could see her. But when she immediately did, I felt arms wrap around my back... A hug? What? A hug? I thought this thing was going to kill me! Louise and the dolls just stared there for a while; not interrupting whatever this being was involved in doing. Firm grip, she has. I had to wait until she pulled away?
?Finally, visitors for once!? She said. I was able to get a good look at whoever this person was. She had a dress with colors of blue and pink in a sort of maid dress? Her hair was short and yellow with a folded cloth on top. She bowed to us first and guided us to another area that was a short distance. I was beginning to grasp where we were, but Louise and the dolls seemed clueless still.
We were brought to another table, but this one much larger. Instead of letting me sit down on my own, the woman picked me up and sat me down in a chair? Carefully? A little weirded-out I was as the other three moved to the table. The dolls didn?t bother sitting and just came to my side, with Louise sitting next to me. The woman was still standing there?
?Is there anything I can get you?? She said.
?Um? yeah. The exit.? I joked.
?Sorry? but we haven?t had guests in a long time? please stay for a while??
?We??
?Oh, I?m terribly sorry? I haven?t introduced my sister or myself? I?ll be right back??
She dashed off and Louise was about to say something, but the woman had come back just as fast with someone else? This one wore a bow on her head and had a matching hair color, but the hair was longer. A pink and white dress, with an added rest vest on top completed her outfit. But to top it off, she had a pair of wide wings on her back? She did not bow to us though, and looked discouraged by our presence.
?Who are these?? She said.
?Oh, why these are some people who must have stumbled along the their way, sister?? The other said.
?Well I want them gone.?
?Why, sister? We never have guests.?
?Not since that other one??
?But this is different!?
?No buts! I told you many times that there would be no more people!?
This winged person took off, away from the sister. The sister was pouting now a little, but shrugged it off and bowed to us. ?Forgive Gengetsu. She can be a little antisocial at times?? We were still sitting in the chairs, staring. ?And my name is Mugetsu, but you can call me Mu? But formal names are nice.? I still didn?t bother talking for a while, but Mugetsu chose to speak with Louise, whose golden eyes were partially closed? I just wanted to leave, but I couldn?t help overhearing their conversation.
?Must we really leave?? said Louise.
?I?m afraid so?? She began making tea.
?Well, your sister would not mind me, now would she??
?Maybe not, but last time we had visitors??
?You do not have to repeat yourself, my dear? We are friendly.?
?Sorry, it?s just so hard with my sister acting like that.?
?She is older, right??
?Yes.?
?You two have lived here for a long time??
?Yes.?
?Then why not assert your power here. I mean? this land has to offer something!?
?Well? Gengy and I have control and manipulation over anything that resides in this realm? usually??
Louise started glancing at me and noticed that I was watching; she was more interested in staying for a while now. ?Anything, you say?? She asked. ?Yes, but once they leave, they return to normal,? Mugetsu sighed. Louise got up, ?I think I know of a way you could keep us here.? Mugetsu looked at Louise and then at me, ?How?? Louise came around behind me and grabbed me on the shoulders, ?We could make him invisible!? The dolls just stared and Hourai whispered into my ear, ?Has she lost it?? I whispered back, ?I don?t know.?
Mugetsu was shaking her head, ?I?m not good with invisibility yet?? Louise frowned a little, but looked at me in the eyes. She then looked back at Mugetsu. ?How do we hide someone from your sister? but without completely concealing them...?? Both Mugetsu and Louise looked at each other straight in the eyes as if they had a plan. They began whispering in each other?s ears, but luckily Shanghai tried to float over to them to capture some of the information. Since they could not hear Shanghai whisper to me, it was okay?
?Something doesn?t seem right?? Shanghai whispered.
?What is it?? I whispered back.
?It sounds similar to what happened with Alice??
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End of Chapter 21
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I see, so the plot of this story intersects with the one you posted earlier.
I find your writing to be absorbing, if compliments should be of any inspirational value.
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I see, so the plot of this story intersects with the one you posted earlier.
I find your writing to be absorbing, if compliments should be of any inspirational value.
Yeah, that was the point of that earlier story, to pull a George Lucas make a tie-in about 2 months later.
Thank you. Compliments are great~
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?ber update today~
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Chapter 22:
I have run out of things to say this time?
So I shall leave you with a little rhyme?
My adventures so far have been enticing?
Let?s hope I don?t get pounded into icing?
?Please! Just do it for a little while!? asked Louise.
?No! I?ve been through that once already. I won?t do it again!? I spat at her.
?Just this once! For me!?
?Why do you need to stay here??
?I?m just interested. Like how you always said you were interested in certain things.?
?Louise, if you just hold him still, this would be easier.? Mugetsu chimed in.
?Not against my will, you ain?t!? I barked back.
The dolls just stared at this whole endeavor, not choosing to get involved. Soon enough, Louise tried pinning me to the floor. ?Is it really worth it to hide me here?!? I said. ?If sister finds out though, you could get seriously injured?? Mugetsu said to me? Well, I sort of had no choice, and Louise didn?t want to leave until she had her way? Eventually, I decided to sort of submit to what they wanted, but I told Louise to be ?extremely careful.? Mugetsu began to muster some power within her as Louise stood back. As soon as she was ready, an orb of light was fired at me?
I would say that I could have blacked out, but I decided not to and I shall not describe how it happened. I mean you could imagine it yourself as a reader. After it was over, Shanghai decided to come over to me before Louise and Mugetsu did. She stood right next to me and hugged me, to see if I was okay. Remember when I said Shanghai was 20 cm? I must be about 15 or even 10 cm, because Shanghai was significantly taller than I was? Yeah, I figure I was about three-quarters to two-thirds about her size because she had to slightly lean forward to kiss my forehead. This hug was abruptly ended short by Louise?s voice.
?Move, doll!? she said. Shanghai did exactly that; allowing Louise to kneel down to me. She extended her arm and hand, placing it on the ground for me to get on to it. Once I got on though, Louise immediately clasped her hand around me and brought me over to Mugetsu. She couldn?t contain herself from nuzzling me against her cheek. Mugetsu was elated that it worked, but I was still trying to remain conscious from all this moving around. ?Good,? Mugetsu said. The dolls were following along with this as Mugetsu guided all of us to another area? But as we were heading there, Mugetsu stopped us?
?Oh no? Sister is coming!? Mugetsu said.
?I?ll hid him good,? Louise said. But she looked at me, ?Where to?? she added.
?The hat please?? I spoke back.
?Aw, you are no fun?? she giggled back at me, and under the hat I went.
I heard sounds of landing and movement?
?Mugetsu, there was a disturbance with magic... What happened?? It sounded like Gengetsu?s voice.
?Nothing, sister.? Mugetsu replied.
?What the hell is she doing here?? Gengetsu spoke again.
?She?ll be fine. She?s harmless!?
?I said I wanted them out!?
?Please. Let me just stay for a while. I don?t know my way out!? Louise cut into the conversation, but she was much louder than the others.
?Wait?? Gengetsu said, ?There was another.?
?Well I got rid of him, sister. No worries.? Mugetsu tried to calm Gengetsu down.
?If you say so? just have her gone within a day or two??
?Alright sister~!?
And with that, it seemed Gengetsu was off. I assumed so because Louise pulled me out from underneath the hat within seconds and Mugetsu was leading us off again. But this time, Louise subconsciously shoved me in between her and her dress (that sling she wears on top? I don?t know; check her profile since I have no clue what that?s called) I guess she did not want to leave her hand out but wanted me in view. I looked up and she was smiling, ever so happily, eyes mostly closed.
?Couldn?t I just have ridden on one of my dolls?? I asked her. ?Well? you told me to be ?extremely careful? with you, so I suppose I should hold onto you most of the time.? The irony baffled me completely? It was kind of warm in there? enough for me to sleep for a while? How long have I been out of the world now? three months? Four? It doesn?t matter anymore? I?m safe? and that?s all?
Mugetsu finally brought us to a table. There were several chairs and a mat on the floor. Louise sat down in one of the chairs and Mugetsu in another? Shanghai and Hourai sat down on the table. Louise and Mugetsu began to talk to each other, but then Louise pulled me out of where I was and set me down on the table. Shanghai pulled me away into the center with Hourai. Hourai was sitting down in the center of the table, and Shanghai put me in Hourai?s lap. Again, I?m going to mention the incredible detail Alice made on these dolls?
While sitting in Hourai?s lap, she began to stroke my hair. It would be harder for her to get the knots out of my hair with as much accuracy as before. Hourai smiled though? and wrapped her arms around me. I still had no clue what Louise and Mugetsu were talking about to each other, but it sounded like they were talking about their origins to each other. I lost interest as Hourai rested her head on mine. It was adorable to look at. Whispering into my ear, Hourai wanted to talk to me personally about recent things?
?So about that goddess?? She whispered.
?None of your business,? I whispered back.
?Oh come on? you can tell me.? I began to notice that her voice sounded different, but the same as when I first met her. Maybe it?s the size difference?
?Why should I??
?When would you tell me?? Hourai began to swing her upper body back and forth, almost cradling me in her lap; head still nuzzled in mine.
?It is too perverted?? I whispered.
?Oh you can tell me. I have seen enough already.?
?I know that??
?Just say it??
?Well? it was rough??
?Rough as the one with that teacher??
?Sort of??
?You know?? Hourai tried to move onto a different topic, ?Alice made both Shanghai and I with great detail.? I looked into her eyes, ?I know that already.? She tried to avert her eyes from me, turning her head, ?We are more human than you think?? Trying to figure what she was saying, I pulled Hourai?s head back, ?Why are you acting like this? What are you implying?? She was leaning her head into mine, foreheads touching, ?I think you know what I mean??
At this point, Louise and Mugetsu took notice. ?Just tell me?? I said. But her response was kissing me on the cheek. Shanghai was still over on the other side of the table, laying back. Louise decided to cut into our conversation by asking, ?What are you two doing?? Hourai was blushing as the two stared at us. Since Hourai could not talk to Louise, I had to say something. ?Can we?? I began to ask, but Louise already figured by my halfalogue. ?If you are going to do it,? She began to take off her hat, ?Do it under this.?
Louise put the bowl part of the hat over us, but winking at me before doing so. ?And just be quiet, please?? Louise lastly said. We had to lie down because of the height of the hat. It soon became much warmer underneath it as Hourai was blushing at me still? Well? First thing was the usual kissing? but then the feeling was next? For a doll, she knew much about romance, I guess? Maybe she learned a lot from Alice? All I can say is?
Freud was right?
? ? ?
Hourai and I had fallen asleep underneath that hat, but she still held onto me. Louise soon removed the hat and some light began to shine on us. Shanghai was there, but she started to pry me off of Hourai. Hourai let go of me and Shanghai began to pull me towards Louise. ?Have you two enjoyed yourselves?? she asked. Standing up on the table, ?Sure?? Louise stood up from the chair and grabbed me off the table. ?We?re going soon, okay,? she said. ?Already?? I asked back. Shanghai and Hourai got up off the table and floated in the air, but Hourai was giving me a look.
Louise shoved me back into the same spot as before, as Mugetsu began to lead us out of the dream world and into Gensokyo. ?The magic should wear off after you leave,? she said. It took a while before we reached the ?exit?. But when we did, Mugetsu wanted to give one, probably last, goodbye to the both of us. She came close to Louise and hugged her, me sandwiched in the middle? eh? Mugetsu patted me on the head afterwards. She said that she hoped I would return again someday? yeah, someday?
I was taken out from my spot before we entered Gensokyo. Riding on Shanghai?s back, we began to leave the dream world. When we got to the outside, I felt a new sensation inside of me. I began to return to normal. Jumping off of Shanghai, I was returning to my normal size. Once that happened, Louise grabbed me and hugged me. ?We made it safe!? She said. Louise was ecstatic to be finally in Gensokyo. But before I could celebrate I heard someone?s voice?
?Glad to see you two back so soon.? We both turned to what was Sara, still guarding the gate to Makai. What was so strange about this was the fact that we returned in the same spot as I entered. Sara pointed this out to us, ?What? You thought there was more exits out of Gensokyo?? We both nodded our head. ?Well, there?s only the Border, Makai, and Higan. And that?s about it? Us door guarders need to know that.? I guess it was time for Louise to go as well, as she said, ?Well? I?m heading off.?
?What? You?re not going to stay with me?? I replied.
?Well of course not, silly!? She said, ?I was only with you just to not be alone.?
?Alright then? If you need me I?ll be out and about??
?Okay?? Louise came back over to me and tried to plant a kiss on my lips, but I turned my head so that it was on the cheek. She giggled and tried again, ?Oh please? Be a man?? And this time, I allowed it? Sara was still looking at both of us. Afterwards, Louise left off into the forest. I noticed that there was snow on the ground still? ?Is Louise your girlfriend or something?? Sara said. I said back, ?No? Just a friend.? Sara chuckled a little, ?Well? you if you need anything, or need to get back into Makai? just come back here.? She winked.
The dolls and I went off. Hourai was staying in close proximity of me, sitting on my shoulder. She seemed as happy as ever. I looked at Shanghai though? who had a pout on her face. She soon sat on my other shoulder. Sooner or later, the two of them were starring at each other. I had to cut in on this, ?Look, you two.? They both looked at me. ?Just because I had it with one of you does not give you either the right to be jealous okay?? Shanghai had to say something though, ?But it?s not fair!? She put on a scowl. ?Well if you had decided to move closer to the both of us, then you would have got some. It?s your own fault??
Shanghai remained quiet after this, and I promised her that if it happened again, then it would be her turn. (But I doubt this will happen again?) After the conversation had ended, I told the dolls that we would be heading back to that place labeled ?Mayohiga? and the house that was there. The dolls didn?t respond to me as we headed there?
Once we arrived there, it was still afternoon? So it seemed I had returned at a good time. But when I entered the area, the wind was quiet and all the snow was gone? The dolls hid behind me as I walked past the sign. There was no one around. All the minor houses looked empty and the small lake there was quiet? I tried opening some of the doors in the minor houses, but nothing worked. I attempted to call out for people, but nothing again.
When I arrived at the house, the door was wide open? Unusually, this door looked Western, like the one I had at home? I entered cautiously. Their house was an odd mix? It had a modern dishwasher? It had a ceiling fan? There was a computer sitting on a table (of course it had to be an NEC?) I was beginning to question my sanity when we were searching through the place. I came to a wide room. It was all quiet and empty in there, until I heard the door slam shut behind us.
I was almost literally scared out of my pants when I was there. I heard footsteps moving fast, but I still was too scared to move. I heard mumbling and the dolls were clutching me closely. But I saw a shadow, and it began to move rapidly. The shadow came closer to me and said?
?Fufufu? It?s nice to see you come so far?? The shadow was soon engulfed in dim light? I could finally see who it was? Yukari, cracking a wide smile on her face and those purple eyes glaring with intent? I felt so tempted to strangle her right there. ?Now, now. Don?t be so hasty,? She started to speak, ?Sit down.? Yukari pointed me to an armchair in her room. She seems to collect so many things from the outside world?
I sat down on the chair while Yukari placed herself in front of me. The room was terribly dark? ?So how goes your exploration?? she smirked. I was feeling less comfortable on the armchair. ?I see you?ve made some progress on yourself.? Yukari added, since I chose not to speak. I still wouldn?t respond and this was beginning to anger her. ?Say something!? she said. Now that she had her full attention on me, ?How do you know about my progress??
?I have my ways,? she said.
?What kind of ways??
?Hmmm. You don?t need to know.?
?Are you spying on my special moments??
?Maybe? they look so enticing.?
?I knew it?? I began to get out of the armchair.
Yukari pulled me back down into it, ?It is much too early for you to be leaving.? I was the one becoming angered, ?I want to leave okay? I?m tired?? Yukari cracked a grin, ?Well, you can stay here if you want,? She walked closer to me and sat on the armchair, ?That is? if you are willing to cope with my presence.? I got up from the chair again, staring her right in the eyes, ?If it?s intercourse, then the answer is no.? Yukari couldn?t help but laugh.
?What do you take me for? A child?? she spat at me. I sat back down on the chair and Yukari put her hand on my shoulder. The twilight was soon to come at night and it would soon be time for bed for me? My internal clock is still working like a well-oiled machine. Yukari would be up the whole time since she sleeps mostly during the day. I had to warn her though before sleeping?
?If you bother me while sleeping, it?s a slap to the head.?
?I?ll enjoy that then~? she giggled?
Ugh? I need rest?
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Chapter 23:
There really wasn?t anything to do for the next morning. The sun cracked through the slightly open door. My eyes, still dreary from the recent events, began to slowly open, letting in the glow of the rising sun. How long had I been going at this now? 4 months? A human looses count, but I bet you that a youkai looses more? My head was the first to rotate and then the arms followed in their motion. Lifting myself off the ground, I turned my body and sat up, rear planted into the floor. Rubbing my eyes, I drooped my head.
I could see a blanket covering the lower half of my body? So Yukari placed a blanket on me? The only issue here was that the blanket was blue? I rubbed my fingers on the end of the blanket, feeling the fabric. The material was supple? Moving it up to my face, I felt the softness the blanket carried. I soon became too enamored with the cloth to notice another creature was watching me in the room. But when I had soon noticed, I was almost spooked by the being?
This one was carefully watching me, prowling on all fours? Covered in red and brown? Eyes were gleaming at me, with a small mouth, all staring at me in wonder. I stared at the creature for a while, until I tried getting up. This caused the creature to pay even closer attention. It moved its head back and forth to follow with each movement I made. Finally, I decided to get up off the floor, since I was done with playing? The creature ran off, but I could detail a height difference between the two of us and the two tails the followed along it.
Following where the creature headed off to, I wondered where Yukari had gone?because this place still looked like Mayohiga. I slunk around in the hallway, but there was a door open as I passed along. A shadow lurked in there, but since it was a globed mass on the ground, I didn?t bother with it. I soon came to another room; this is where the little fellow went? I found the creature, but it was burying its head in what looked like yellow tails. These tails were attached to another being, that was covered in white and some shade of blue. An odd two-pointed hat covered parts of the blonde hair?
?What is it, Chen?? The multi-tailed one spoke, having felt the touch of her subordinate. ?Chen? did not respond, but kept on nuzzling in between the tails of the larger one? I moved my foot a crack and ?Chen? jumped out of the large one?s tails. ?Chen? inched closer to me, on all fours still, coming within my personal bubble with her beady eyes. This creature is so humanoid, yet it chooses to act like an animal? Maybe the large one is its master? I know mostly who?s who in Gensokyo, but it?s early in the morning and I can?t bother myself to remember who?s what?
Finally, the master of this ?Chen? turned her body slowly. It appeared as if it was holding sheets, lightly fluffing and folding them. And it was. I keep using the word ?it??actually using the word in my brain?because of the androgynous nature of this being?s appearance? But don?t worry; it won?t last much longer. The moment it saw me, it was deeply stunned?almost taking a step back. But ?she? retained her composure and bowed at me. The sheets were placed on a rack. She guided one of her arms out, pointing at a low table near her. I was able to take notice of the overt arm sleeves that this one had.
Sitting down at the table, I was followed by Chen. Whoever this master was, she sat down also, with Chen in her lap. It appears that she wanted to speak to me? There was nothing laid out on the table, except I could feel a folded up blanket underneath the table. Chen was still sitting in her position. And whoever this was finally spoke?
?Sorry for not waking you up? Master is sleeping?? She spoke in a solemn tone.
?It?s nothing,? I said, trying to rub the last bit out of my eyes, ?I just need to get going.?
?That?s fine with master, but be sure you leave with everything you came with.?
?I?ll be sure.? I turns out that the dolls had stayed in the room I slept?
?Master was going to tell you about something, but she dozed off long before you woke up??
?That?s perfectly fine with me.?
?Well, introductions should come first. As you know, Chen and I are of the Yakumo family? or clan if you want to call it that. Yukari is my master. And my name is Ran. I am the master of this little one, named Chen.? Chen couldn?t help herself but put on a cute face.
?Does she talk??
?Sometimes? not frequently??
?So what was is that she was going to tell me?? I didn?t want the conversation to go too far on a tangent.
?Oh yes? Master said that you should go to a specific place in Gensokyo on your travels.? Ran was petting Chen?s hair.
?Where??
?She said it was a place where you could be ?safe? from youkai and treated as an equal.?
?Am I truly safe??
?I have not really been there myself, but Yukari said the people can be quite welcoming.?
Could this really be another place to hide? ?What is it called?? I asked.
?Many call it Koumakan. But there was another name for it? Yukari doesn?t like using it though??
?And you are sure I can find it??
?Yes, yes,? Ran nodded her head. ?Have you been to Youkai Mountain??
?Yes??
?Then when you go there again, there?s a lake located west of the foot of the mountain. It?s covered in mist, but the mansion is located behind that mist.?
?Mansion??
?Yes. It is a particularly large location, but small for what it?s called.?
There was no time for me to hesitate. I picked myself up off the ground and began to head out, but Ran stopped me from doing so. ?Master wanted to say one more thing,? She added, ??She?ll be watching you.? That?s just great. Just what I wanted to hear. I limped my way back to the dolls so we could leave. I folded up the blue blanket on the floor. Ran will probably get to it later, but for now it was high time that I got out of Mayohiga. Heading out of Mayohiga, I saw Ran back there, waving. I may or may not come back, and this all depends on Yukari?s mood?
Another trip back around the Forest of Magic, but I headed inward this time. Going through the Forest of Magic, there was not much to note that is worth importance. I wonder if there will be food there. Now that I begin to think about it? I have not eaten in a while. My stomach started aching, but I must get there. Whatever the cost. Let?s just hope I get there in time?
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Luckily, I was safe this time in my journey to Youkai Mountain. Trips? they can take a long time or a short time? It appeared that snow was disappearing from the foot of the mountain? Now I just needed to go west? Heading west, there was an unsettling feeling. A mist eventually appeared within the shores of a pristine lake. The mist above the lake settled just at the edge of it, containing some opacity. I was here.
I inched closer to the lake, noticing the creak lines along the slightly frozen water. How was I going to get across this? Deciding to risk it, I approached the edge of the lake and stuck my foot out on to the water. Contact. Substance. It worked. Beginning to slide out onto the ice, I felt some leverage. I could almost skate on it. I was so damn excited that I kept on sliding on the ice. The air in the mist was deeply cold, but I felt myself falling inward towards the center.
I was alone out there on the lake. But something did not feel right, as the mist began to fade and I was alone out on the lake. There was enough haze around me that I couldn?t see for more than several meters in all directions. An eerie silence was upon, as if it had been waiting for me to feel its presence. Minutes passed, but then something shot out of the mist and went sprawling onto my feet in fervor. I had successfully dodged the white shot through the mist, but the attacker had grabbed me.
?You?re pretty slow for a human.? The attacker pulled me up? Cirno?
?Gee, I?m walking on ice. You think I?d have traction?? Being pulled by on my feet, I glanced a nasty look at her.
?Pretty sure. All humans are able to cross this stuff, just like frogs.? She had an anticipated grin.
?You really have no concept of human locomotion. Do you??
?I seen them fly. Flying looks nice.? Cirno?s attention was no longer on me, but elsewhere?the ice pick on the ground.
?Again. No concept.? I almost grabbed the ice pick, but she took it before I did.
?Hey, there are many things I could do with this. You have any ideas??
?Why would I?? I was now attempting to recede from her.
?Hey! Where are you going? No one leaves a fight with me!? Now Cirno was just in her own world. I started walking away, towards wherever this ?Koumakan? was. But I guess I wasn?t able to leave yet, since I was tugged back by that pestilent blue fairy. Anger in her eyes, she aimed to let me know how ?strong? she was. Cirno, to me, was a lost child at this point. And the best thing was to leave her to her own musings. Seriously, if she had tried cutting my throat, there?s no point in talking to her now. A frog began to pass by, and that seemed to interest Cirno more. I was soon on my way again.
The rest of the lake trip was short??thank Kanako?. When I finally could feel the ground beneath my feet again, I was met with an array of trees. No matter. But what I saw behind them was invigorating. A mansion. One huge clock tower rose into the sky, as if it wanted to take a stab into the sun itself. Nothing else but a shadow was seen in the face of the sun, but the clock tower was the largest shadow out of everything.
When I came up to a long array of bricks, I was finally at the mansion? sort of. There was a large gate located on the south side of the lake?s island. This gate had evenly spaced pikes out of the ground and rusted hinges. Lots of grass was located at the entrance, but there was some red that stood out from the grass. The green blended in, but that patch of red blew it. There was a guard? with red hair?
Well it might figure? since a lake already guarded the place. This endeavor would be an interesting one, since I could tell from behind one of the trees that this guard wasn?t going to hold out? I could just approach and ask, but that might get me turned away? Better sneak inside and then pretend to be lost? Moving around the backside of the mansion, away from this guard, I came to more brick walls, but these seemed more passable.
Using my arms, I lifted my body up onto the perch of the wall. Peering over the edge, the area was clear and the grass was below. Landing on the ground, I caught more detail of the structure in the mansion. This structure I had seen to many times before? European. I felt like I was in another time period, lost. The windowpanes were grand, the structures and balconies covered with age-old styles. I scurried along the side paths and concealed myself by some nearby trimmed bushes.
Once I got to a large door, I quickly opened and closed it. To my surprise? the inside was much larger than the outside. It appeared that I was in a hallway, because there were doorways all around. I snuck along the walls down a hallway that seemed to lead a specific way. The walls were styled with special furnishings and painted vibrant colors. Many maids were buzzing about in the air, but were too focused on their tasks-at-hand to notice my shifty movements down below.
Coming to a large embroidered door, I found the hinges and pulled it open. Moving ever so quickly, I snuck between the cracks of the door and entered the room that lay behind the door. To my eyes, I see rows upon rows of brown aisles. There were tons of these brown aisles, until I checked closer and found the spines of books located among the shelves. So I?m in a library? ah yes. My favorite quiet place in the world? There were several floors in this library, so it boasted a large collection. But I bet none of this stuff I could read. I couldn?t help myself but roam around.
I found a nice section, science. Surprisingly, I noticed that this place does not use Dewey, so I felt a little lost trying to find that section. Once I found the section, I was stunned to see how many little books there were to accompany the section, one aisle. This library?s probably filled with all magical shit stuff? Digging on the fourth shelve on the ground, I found a Cosmology book... dating to Tang Dynasty China? What? The book read: Compilation of the Surveys Pertaining to Astronomer Yi Xing. First off, what the hell is a book like this doing here? This must be more of an archive?
But still, I decided to search through the book, finding arc locations and coordinates. Tables were filled with locations used to make calendar revisions. This did not last long? well because I was greeted by a passerby moving frantically with books through the aisle. She spotted me immediately and grabbed the book out of my hand and put it on the shelf. I was also pulled off the ground. Taking a good look at her, I noticed brown hair, black clothing, white sleeves, and? are those bat wings and a tail? Yeesh.
?On second thought,? The creature spoke, ?Let?s have some fun instead.? I was whisked out of the aisle and gliding through other aisles. But she finally decided to take it to the air and brought me up a level. To the second floor, we went into a deeper section. She started grabbing books out of the shelves. After several were on the floor, this creature picked them back up and randomly placed them on the shelves, giggling. Once she was done, she spoke to me again, ?It?s funny because she?ll never know!? Yeah, thanks for explaining the joke?
But fun time was over, because her face became serious and I was dragged out of the section. I took time to recognize all the lack of light the library had. Whoever the creature was, it brought me over to a stack of books and a lamp. Why? A slight push to the right, thanks to the creature, and I could see pink colors reading one of the books from the stack. But then I noticed a mop cap, baggy pajama clothing, and stripes? The face appeared behind the book with glaring? purple eyes??
Those eyes were cutting through the air with aggravated eyes?
________________________________________________
End of Chapter 23
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I see, so the plot of this story intersects with the one you posted earlier.
I find your writing to be absorbing, if compliments should be of any inspirational value.
I'l say the same thing, even though I've been too lazy to post since the first post of this thread.
Anyway, keep going :3
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Chapter 24:
?Who is this and what is it doing in here?? The sack of pajamas spoke.
?Oh I?m terribly sorry,? The devil creature replied, ?He was wandering around??
?Wandering around?? This pulled the pajama sack from reading the book. Her eyes glared at me, trying to dig into my soul, ?Visitor?s are not allowed. Here or the mansion.?
?Then what should I do?? The devil spoke again. The next sentence really sent a pile of puzzle pieces in my mind.
?Eh? nothing I can do,? The sack spoke, but I notice a hand extend from this reader and pull a wooden, rickety chair up to her side.
?Take a seat.? She said, returning to enamor herself in the book she was precariously reading?one hand cradling the spine of the book, the other resting on the table and occasionally turning a page. I lifted my body into the seat, hearing the squeaking and creaking the chair made. Taking a gander at the books in her stack, I processed the words that read off the spines. Earth: Part 36, A Field Guide to Herbs and Mushrooms, Incantations of Vladimir, Questions of Botany for Usage with Genitalia. What? One that was more closer to the top of the stack (must be a recent one) was: Squick and Monks: A Field Guide to Molesting Men. At that point, I was deeply disinterested and disgusted with the pile of books. But I soon noticed the bookworm looking at me.
?Anything you need?? she spoke in a soft tone, but I could have sworn I heard an asthmatic cough coming from her.
?No thank you,? I still kept eying away from her.
?Koa, make go request to Sakuya to make us some tea,? She said to the devil creature, who soon flew off.
But now the attention was directed back at me. The book reader stared into my eyes with precision, but then deemed to introduce herself, ?If you need anything just call me by my name, Patchouli.? I had to make the joke, ?Can?t I just call you Patchy?? Patchouli?s glared with burning purple eyes and a stern face muscles. ?No, you may not,? she said, but her attention focused back at the book, ?Take a book if you want to read any.? Koa had popped back in through the door with a tray of cups and a pot.
Patchouli did not move from her seat as Koa placed the tray on the desk. Koa was the one to pour the tea as Patchouli kept reading through the book, scanning for specified information. When Koa was finished, she went off. Patchouli only paused for a second to spot the tray and pushed it closer to my side of the desk. ?Have some. The head maid prepared it with her heart,? She spoke at the book. I didn?t bother drinking anything, but she then hesitated to take some of the tea and drink from the cup. Patchouli obviously did this to get me to drink some, and I caved. We drank there for a while until I started wonder about her apparel.
?Do you wear anything under that?? Patchouli almost spat her tea onto the books, but kept it inside and swallowed hard.
?How rude?? She solemnly whispered back with a touch of anger, ?Who would ask such a question? A sex-addict??
?Okay. I am not a sex-addict.?
?I never said you were. Only assumption and speculation.? She went back to sipping her tea.
We did not speak again, until I noticed something heading right into the room. This one was approaching at a constant speed, but walked. The first notable part of her was the silver-grey hair that glimmered in the lamplight, topped with a ruffled cloth?the face being void of all obfuscations and no lipstick to ruin that stoic mouth. The rest of the body was covered in a maid?s outfit similar to Mugetsu?s but the colors were of blue and white. She seemed to walk with more pomp than Mugetsu did, with the black heels click against the ground in a frequent beat. Her motions, though rhythmic, were kind and a gesture as she graced through the pathway to the desk. Once she arrived at Patchouli?s desk, her attention was on the librarian.
?Madam, Mistress has demanded that lunch will serve soon,? speaking in a light tone?words cautiously, and smoothly leaving her mouth?she caught the attention of Patchouli.
?No, thank you.? Thusly, the maid was directed towards me.
?And my? aren?t we enjoying ourselves here,? her words slipped into my ear as I attempted to ignore. I picked up a book, but it so happened that the book was upside down, and she couldn?t help herself but giggle. Always the giggling.
?You may join us if you wish.? All of a sudden she was at my side, almost as if she had jumped there. I glanced at her, turning my head slowly. Her face radiated with a calm, broad, happy smile. Then her hand moved to my shoulder? I slowly nodded my head and she proceeded to ask Patchouli, ?May I take him away for a while.? Patchouli had returned to her book for the countless number of time, ?Sure.? The maid smiled, but grabbed my hand. I was yanked out of the chair as she began to lead me out of the library. The problem herein lie that her grip on my hand was tightening.
Once we were in the hallway, she immediately pushed my back against the wall with her expressions becoming angrier. A knife soon came out and near my throat. She stared me deep in the eyes with a wide scowl on her face. I thought she was nice? I guess I was wrong. Her eyes store through mine conscious, looking with the intent of killing me on the spot? but she lessened her grip a little and began to question me?
?What in the hell are you doing in there?? She spat at me.
?Nothing. I came in by accident.?
?Heh. By accident? What a bunch of lies!? She was pressuring me back into the wall.
?They?re not lies??
?You mean to tell me that you came across the lake by accident??
?There?s a lot of mist around that lake.?
?That doesn?t spare you from the fact?? She began to pull me away from the wall, ?Let?s see what the mistress thinks. She?ll know what to do with you.?
I was dragged across the hallways. This is a hugely different contrast between the people I met in this mansion so far. One?s crazy, one doesn?t mind company but is unsociable, and the last one is loyal, yet demonic in her own ways. I began to fear what this ?mistress? could have in store for me?
-
Continuing to be dragged along the hallway floor, I finally belt out, ?Will you not drag me?!? The maid smirked at me and took me up off the ground, ?Sorry, but uninvited guests don?t get to walk.? Making another remark to possibly piss off whoever this arrogant woman was, I spoke, ?Geez, no wonder this place is empty.? This made her shoot a stern, squinty look at me. But, she continued on her path to a grandeur-dining hall.
The maid slapped me into a tall chair at the end of the dining table. At the other end of this incredibly long table was another tall chair facing in the opposite direction. I could see arms resting on it, but the room was dimly lit. The maid strode along the side of the table and came up to the tall chair at the other end. She stood with her back to me and in close proximity to the side of the chair. Her body bending over, my ears could not hear her whispers, but my eyes had another sight to behold. Yep, that table was low enough. It?s become natural for me to check things out whenever I can, just from living in this world long enough.
I heard chuckling and snickering noises muffled coming from behind the chair. The maid had already turned back to me and noticed that my eyes were still directed somewhat lower than regular eye level. She first blushed and then coped an irritated look. ?Mistress, why can?t we kill him now,? She directed herself at me. ?Now now Sakuya, let the man have his words and peace,? The big chair almost swiveled around, and it revealed to me a young girl from behind that chair.
That young girl was dressed in pink with red ribbons. Her glorious wings folded up behind her. A mop hat was covering her lock of hair as the tall chair cast a large shadow upon her body. Glowing red eyes starred at me with evil intent. ?So you entered here?? She snickered. ?Ah well, we have visitors to often? but not your kind? interesting.? Her devilish eyes closed and she lay back in her chair. ?Sakuya, bring him some tea.? And with that, Sakuya began to leave, but she had to glance at me with another irritated look.
Had I completely forgot about the dolls? They were hiding in the clothes again, routinely. The mistress was still positioned in her chair the whole time, her hands clasped in front of her. I heard a giggle or two. Those red eyes? Thank God that Sakuya came back fast enough. She was carrying two teacups on a tray and a pot in the center. The designs on the cups and their general appearance were much different than the ones I had been drinking out of. A change for once?
The tea though, was colored with an appalling dark blood red color. It smelled revolting also, but the mistress was already sipping it slowly. Solemnly refusing to drink it, Sakuya was getting more irritated by the minute, but the devil at the end of the table finished her share of the tea. ?Ah yes? So what are we going to do with you?? she snickered again, but it was Sakuya who came in with an idea. ?How about the basement?? There was a tone in her voice that had intent of murder and fear. But Sakuya?s master shot down this idea?
?No. He should live. I don?t like messy corpses.? Getting up from her chair, she was short in height, two-thirds the size of Sakuya. Her movements were in the direction towards where I was sitting, a cracked smile on her face. Once she was at my chair, she glared at me with a stare. ?So, what do you think?? I didn?t respond, but glared back. ?Isn?t it grand? Luxurious?? Still I didn?t respond; if I am not treated with respect, no respect will come from me. This was getting to her, as her smile broke apart. I was not giving up on whatever petty competition she was putting out.
?Sakuya! He?s scary!? She went running away from me and to her maid, crying? Sakuya comforted her, all the while giving me the same look as before?intent of killing. ?Take him away!? The little girl was now fully crying. ?With pleasure?? Sakuya spoke, drawing what looked like knifes from behind her. I quickly got up from my chair and attempted to bolt out of there, but in a flash Sakuya was already in my face. An evil grin was upon her face and she dragged me out of the dining room.
Out in the hallway, Sakuya dragged me along the clean floors.
?You?ve got some nerve,? She spat, not even glancing at me.
?She was the one that came up to me.? I retorted.
?Well your response was inappropriate.?
?What was I to do??
?Respond!?
?Like you would have done better. Tch.?
Sakuya stopped talking and whirled around. A knife pointed in toward my neck. ?You better be quiet before I gut you like a pork roast.? So I?m an animal now, I guess? I was quiet the rest of the way, but Sakuya had to pull me up off the floor to get into the basement. Down the stairs we went, in a pitch-black darkness. There were torches abound in the stairwell, but no need to grab any of them. There was a door located at the end of a hallway. This door was barred by a wood plank, which was bolted to the door. Sakuya lightly lifted the bar over completely and slowly opened the door.
I was shoved inside with the door slammed behind me. The bar went back over the door handle and I was locked inside. There was darkness for a while, but a red glow appeared in front of me. Then candlelight. I could see an outlying shadow of something smaller than me, but the glow was accompanied by a gleaming array of colors behind the shadow. This being came out into the light. Yellow hair, a mob cap like the mistress, and red clothing. The array of colors turned out to be crystals attached to the creature?s back. Her eyes looked with interest in whatever it was I had in store for her. She inched closer?
The dolls refused to come out either?
I was alone?
____________________________________
End of Chapter 24
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Chapter 25:
“Are you here to play with me?” The beast asked.
“That depends.” I replied.
“Well, sister never sends down any of her friends to see me…”
“And she is…?”
“Oh… she’s my older sister.”
“And you are…?”
“Flandre. Flandre Scarlet.” She was now sitting on what looked like a bunk bed, but the sheets have not been washed in a while.
“So…”
“Well, Remilia sent you down here to play, right?” Flandre was moving off her bunk.
“Not really.” I had remembered that Remilia mentioned something about messy corpses… “Hmm… No point in staying down here then.” Flandre was moving to specific spot on the wall. With a tap, a compartment opened up and what looked like a small pipe came out. “I want to play,” Flandre spoke into the pipe. The pipe vibrated for a while, but then out from behind us… The door plank whipped around, and the door swung open. A shadow was there in the doorway.
It was the gate guard again. Being able to get a better look at her, I looked at her garb. Her hair scarlet colored hair was still there–long and thick, twin braids in the front. The green dress was visible with more detail, but I noticed shades of brown in her garbs. The secondary color was white, but miniscule in value compared to the rest of the uniform. A beret was perched atop her head, bearing a gold star with a Han character I could not recognize. I could have sworn that she was not wearing anything else underneath the dress… But eh… a complete set, both top and bottom.
“Hello gate guard,” Flandre was trying to inch her way out of the door.
“I would prefer you call me by my name.” The guard had blocked the exit of the door.
Flandre did not say a word. But slightly nudged her head–the motion directed at me. The guard took notice.
“What was it again that you had requested?” The guard bowed in front of Flandre.
“Take me outside.” Flandre began to move out the door, “We’re going to have some fun.”
The guard had no choice… Both of them had been dear friends to one another.
Flandre was the one keeping the lead as we all headed out; I waked in the middle. I didn’t know that the guard was frequently glancing at me until I turned my head to look at her. She said, “You are one from before…” I stopped in my tracks and turned to her. “You noticed?” She nodded and chuckled a little; “It was not hard seeing you in the bushes. Your hair was easy to see. But it was let go.” There was no point in continuing the discussion…
“This is too boring out here. Back inside!” Flandre was tired of trying to walk in the shadow of the mansion, thus she pulled me back inside. The guard was hesitant to come inside, saying that she needed to go back to the gate. Flandre had other things on mind. She wanted to play some odd version of Tag. When we started playing, we went to a remote hall in the mansion. And Flandre wanted to be “it” first, so the guard and I headed down hallways in different directions.
And guess who was chased after first… Initially, I was slowly gaining speed so that my heart wouldn’t give out on me. Soon, I glanced back and saw the glowing red eyes of Flandre. The grin on her face was disconcerting. She was gaining on me fast and I was running out of hallway to run in. Without a second to spare, Flandre flew right up into me. But instead of lightly touching me, I was flung into the air. Flying…
Crack…
My left arm was driven right into the wall. Like a puppet, I plopped onto the ground in a heap. Eyes beginning to close, I could see Flandre’s body lingering over me, but the guard came into sight as well. I guess I was being lifted off the ground… But where did I go next…
• • •
“Ah yes. He should be waking soon.”
“Master, I brought the strap.”
“Good, now we just tighten this.”
“I don’t think you’re putting it on right.”
“Ach, wrong angle.”
“Be careful, Master!”
“I know I’m careful! Just let me do it!”
“He’s not going to pay if you don’t do it right.”
“HE IS NOT PAYING AT ALL!”
“Well then why haven’t you taken that out on him yet?”
“HE IS A HARMLESS HUMAN! What am I supposed to do?!”
“Master, please stop yelling at me…”
“You have done your work. Now tend to something else! Go to the damn village!”
“The humans haven’t been asking for more. The winter’s been weak this year.”
“Then go do something!”
“Eirin! Mokou dug her fucking fingers into my back! It might leave scars! Fix it now, damn it!”
“I HAVE A PATIENT RIGHT NOW.”
“Ow!”
“AND DO NOT USE THAT LANGUAGE IN FRONT OF ME!”
“You can be so cruel sometimes…”
“I will fix it later! Go back to your rest!”
“You old bat!”
“Grrrrrgh!”
“Eeep!”
“Finally… some quiet… Lets see here… slide it in, loop it over, tighten, and–whoops!… …Mnnn… Gah! Did anyone see?!... Uh… nothing but rabbits.”
“I brought the pot~!”
“Ach! Tewi! We are not cooking him!”
“But I was told that they taste nice and crunchy when you boil them.”
“We are not running a cannibalism central and breeding more youkai to this place! Stop talking to them!”
“Fine, fine… you should check next time to see if his mouth was clean…”
“WHAT?!”
“Ehehehehe”
“Just leave me to my work!”
“Okay… just make sure the rabbits get fed.”
• • •
Eyes began to open; I see nothing in front of me. My vision was beginning to blur back into focus. I noticed a bunch of sliver and white, and then a face. It was Eirin again–smiling as bright as ever. There was light out, or looks to be the next morning. The dolls were sitting on a shelf, but my focus reverted back to Eirin…
“You had a nasty accident,” She said, holding the back of my head with her hand.
“I know…”
“You should be more careful… Almost three months have passed since we last met…”
“I lost track…”
“All right, then…”
Eirin was up from her chair in a matter of seconds. She had other things to tend to… Looking about the room, I discovered it was Eirin’s “office” or “lab”–or what you will. The dolls soon came over to me, and both nuzzled against my head–they were okay. I tried lifting my arm, but I could see that there was a sling on my arm. Best not to move it. I rested in that room for about two hours, undisturbed–the dolls resting on my head. Eirin came back in with someone… It was the guard, again…
“Your friend here was the one that brought you.” Eirin soon left the room quickly… The guard came closer to me, smiling. She sat down in a chair began to speak to me, “You may call me my surname, Meiling.” I nodded and she smiled again. “I ran you over here as fast as could be… Remilia was not happy on what happen yesterday. But I worry about Patchouli because she said thief came in and steal several books. Lady Sakuya scolded me for it.” Books stolen? Meiling didn’t seem to upset about getting berated–as if she gets it all the time.
“But you helped me… Compared to everyone else…” I spoke to her. Meiling put her hand on my arm and said, “Good people comfort others and urge reciprocity.” I thought about it for a moment and asked, “So you want something in return?” She giggled, and then heaved a warm-hearted sigh. “Friendship is the best to return,” She got up and began to leave, but stopped in the doorway, “Patchouli sent her condolences. I have persuaded Remilia into allowing you as another guest. You may stop by whenever.” I smiled, “Alright.”
After Meiling left, Reisen soon came in for a small discussion. She was asking if I had done anything weird over the past month since out last encounter. I told her that nothing of harm was done. This eased her a little.
Eirin told me that I had to spend a month in Eientei just to heal and recuperate…
Kaguya came in frequently though to comfort me. My relationship with her became closer. Mokou never showed up though… maybe Kaguya didn’t tell her…
Aya did briefly show up once, when no one was around. She was trying to coax more information out of me. I told her to take her panties out of my pocket. I had been keeping them for a while. She seemed pretty pissed at me, but forgave. I told her that the incident with Hatate was her doing and that she just left with the picture against my will. Aya thanked me for telling the truth, but she was batted away by Eirin…
Eirin’s relationship with me changed as well… The first thing she told me after the operation was that she had slipped something into my mouth. I guessed what it was–I had a feeling–and she began to blush. I told her that it doesn’t matter that much. Eirin treated me nice and warmly for the next month… Caring for me as if I was a child… I liked that a lot. It seems much had changed about her in the past couple months.
She told me that I didn’t need to pay for anything she had done for me so far. Eirin said that she finally realized that she was being too demanding… and will change for the better.
Looks like I have done enough this time around…
Spring is coming, oh God help me…
But shouldn’t I be worrying about other things?
…
…
Ah yes… now I remember… Half of the people I’ve met so far, I haven’t met up with them again… Maybe I should do that… well… only a few…
To some… I promised…
=============================================
END OF PART TWO
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Action? In my calming (and sexual) fanfiction?
I'm calling bullshit to the third degree.
Other then that, nice way to end part two. So I'm guessing part three will be mostly revisting those girls? You know, like Letty?
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Action? In my calming (and sexual) fanfiction?
So I'm guessing part three will be mostly revisting those girls? You know, like Letty?
Letty for sure. Not everyone will be revisited... only several, maybe.
Part three may or may not revolve around that.
EDIT: I'm trying to tone down on the sexuality of the fan fiction... it was getting a little out of hand. I'm also trying to use different styles at one time.
-
Actually, You dont really need to tone it down, seeing as theres really nothing to tone down. It's perfectly fine to use sex in a fanfic to show how much two characters care for eachother, in this case being the main character and letty.
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Alright then...
It just seemed a little excessive that I had it randomly happen in parts of the story.
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Part III
==============================================================
Chapter 26:
The ending of my recuperation had finally arrived… well it was more like a morning. I was awakened early though, some short time after daybreak. I felt jerking movements, but I soon discovered that it was Eirin removing the sling from my arm. It had been completely healed. “You may leave when ready,” she began to speak, but she added, “You are always welcome here…” I got up out of the bed. I had gotten out of the bed before many times here, but today was a new day. I sat back down on the lip of the bed and the dolls came to me. Shanghai want to comb my hair this time… Nothing changes…
It came to my surprise when I saw a familiar pair of red baggy pants come into the room. Eirin had noticeably left already. Mokou had a beaming smile on her face, which I could think was a superb feat of her to do that. She came over, bowed, and circumflexed right in front of me, but kept her knee on the ground. Grabbing my hand with hers, she rubbed her thumb along the backhand of my hand.
“Hey buddy,” Mokou whispered, staring into my eyes, “How’s it going? You must’ve hit that pretty hard.” I was hesitant to respond, but she remained there. “Kaguya didn’t even bother telling me, but Eirin had sent Reisen to tell me that you needed to be taken out of Eientei soon. So I came over as fast as I could.” A smile cracked along my face, and Mokou continued along on her story, “You see. I’ve noticed changes around here, like everyone else. People have been changing. Keine acts much differently than before. Kaguya has remained the same though…”
“Well obviously,” I cut in. Mokou took her hand off of mine and moved her rear onto the bed. “I’ll stay here for a while,” she said, “but no guarantees about Kaguya.” I chuckled a little bit; she let out a small laugh. I asked her if it was comfortable for her to sit on her own hair. Mokou realized her odd appearance from the way she was sitting and corrected herself–placing the long silver hair on the bed, not bundled but straight along. It was almost funnier this time because the hair almost went over the other edge of the bed. I chose to lay my head on Mokou’s lap; she didn’t seem to mind and kept her upward slant of a smile clean. Our friendship is getting closer for some reason. Must be the weather…
“So have you changed at all?” I asked.
“A little bit, yes. I stopped smoking that stuff in the forest and tried moving that stand out of the forest.” Mokou was putting her fingers in between bundles of my hair.
“Good.” Moving my left hand over my body, I patted her discolored shirt, “Changed enough to go further?”
Mokou was beginning to blush as I put a light smirk on my face. “No… n-not that far…” But she soon snapped out of her fervor, “Maybe I will, one day!”
I couldn’t help myself but giggle, while Mokou made a disconcerting laugh.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, feeling some of her hair with my right hand.
“Nothing… It’s just…” Her eyes were distracted in looking in another direction.
“People can be nice, you know…”
“Oh–I know that.” I was able to slowly get her attention back.
“Do you feel lonesome, Mokou?” It was bright as day, as the sun shone through the screen of the rice paper doors; but the atmosphere of the room had thickened. Mokou was surrounding herself and I into a haze of depression as if no one could see inside. Her eyes were staring right down into mine, almost looking like glass spheres with the taint of red looped around the black center. I felt a shivering motion around me, vibrations in the form of small jerks. Those glass eyes became shiny and the smile laden on her face moved. The shine of the eyes was beginning to move also. I felt the back of my head being rubbed by the same hand that held it–fingers massaging it. We were completely sealed in her own world at that moment. Her facial muscles had solidified the mouth in a new position, but mine remained the same. That shine I had mentioned was moving more, until I felt a slight patter on my cheek. I could see her other hand almost move to try and wipe the saline tear off, but it was hesitant. Several more drops followed suit, but they did not affect me. The hand that was going to wipe my face instead went for my rear. As I was being curled up into an upright sitting position, moist lines ran down her cheeks.
Mokou placed my forehead right into the one of the lines on the cheek. Her left hand that held my head was rubbing along my scalp, slightly changing the shape of my hairstyle. I heard some hicks come from the mouth and some drops dripping from the chin. I brought my left hand up to slip it in between her arm and abdomen–she let it be. Mokou was whimpering for several minutes, but she eventually came out with understandable words.
“She told you… t-t-to much. D-didn’t she…”
“Not much. Only a little.”
“Keine a-always tells people… too much!”
“Would you rather someone know or not know?”
The next lines out of her mouth were more moaning and whimpering, until I cut in.
“You’re going to be alright okay…”
“No… I-I won’t!”
“You need to get over this eternity thing.”
“I-if you were like m-me… then-then how in the hell would you handle it!”
“I wouldn’t handle it well, but that’s beside the point. The thing is…”
She was crying fully and I had to interject some shushing and some patting on her side until she had calmed down.
“The thing is… That I’ve met with many people so far. I’ve made my speeches. To tell you the truth, I already know that most people here will live beyond my life. But I’m not upset over it. I have already accepted the fact… that is why I’m doing as much as I can right now. We can spend as much time as you want, but I also have to spend time with others as well. I have to be traveling elsewhere so if you want anything, do it no–”
I was cut off by Mokou’s motion. I had not been paying attention to where her head was–or where her lips were for that matter. Tears still streamed down her face, but I had realized that I had changed a person’s feelings about life to a degree (Not in the sense of Grant and Jefferson, but you get the idea) She was leaning on me until I plopped on the bed. I could see Shanghai and Hourai exchanging looks at me, but since Mokou’s eyes were closed, I exchanged a look back at them–in the sense of remaining quiet about the matter. I believe that the morning was still rising but another idea flowed into my mind.
If my internal clock was correct, Letty and I have not met in a long time. This love scene with Mokou reminded me of Letty… I know I really should not be doing that, but it came to mind anyway. Besides, Mokou was the one that put her tongue in my mouth, not me. Eventually, our session with one another was being taken a little too far and I told Mokou that we could “do it” later if she wanted to. She was somewhat upset about this, but I did not want to have a mess on my hands just because I had a visitor. Another scary thought came to mind, so I asked Mokou…
“Has Spring arrived yet?” I asked, stuttering.
“Um… not yet.” She answered; I sighed. “But it should becoming soon, maybe today…”
“Today?!” Springing forth from the bed, I began to panic about a situation that could get worse.
“What’s wrong?” Mokou asked, grabbing my newly healed arm.
“I need to get to Youkai Mountain. Fast!”
“Why?”
“Because I promised to meet someone before she left!”
“Oh? You mean… another person…”
“I already told you that I was meeting other people!”
“Is it that snow person? Because you asked if it was spring…”
“Yes, it is that snow woman!” Mokou was finally off the bed now, but she grabbed me.
I was hoisted onto her back, the dolls followed, and without hesitation or farewells we were taking off into the Bamboo forest on our northward course. Mokou decided to head around the valley that contained the human village. I assumed she would have some sense of where she was going, but after passing the village, I had to guide her the rest of the way. We soon got to the foot of Youkai Moutain, but Letty was nowhere to be found. I asked Mokou to spot the biggest change in the ground on Youkai Mountain as we went up. Soon enough she spotted snow on lower portions of the mountain to the east a little…
We landed right there, but Hina was not with Letty. Letty was standing there but not upset or crying. Just wandering around. I got off of Mokou as soon as I could and dashed at her. She noticed soon enough from the sound of my footsteps and whirled around soon enough. We both head towards each other, but it was fast once we grasped each other. Letty was kissing my forehead and gripping me tightly…
“You took too long…” She said.
“I know, I know…” I responded.
“It is nothing to worry about now. I have to go soon.”
“I know that… it’s just…” I was looking away
“I don’t think you should be worrying about me…” Letty had my eyes directed at hers.
“Why?” I pouted.
“Because… I come back every year… Even you know that.”
“But…”
“Shhh. You will be fine… we can have fun and do more new things next year…” Letty was already pushing away from me.
“What do you mean new things?”
“Well… we had no time to do much of anything after the shrine maiden tried to separate us…”
“You’re right…”
“But again I will say,” Letty put her hand to my face, “we can try again next year.” A smile came upon her face, but I couldn’t help myself to let a few tears from my eyes. Never before had I changed a person, and now I was getting the same in return. “Why are you crying?” Letty asked, “You have plenty of friends… Isn’t that what you told me?” She was right… I had many friends… And I could meet up with her again… It will only be eight months or so… “Now I must be going…” Letty spoke solemnly.
She gave me a kiss on the cheek, and for some odd reason, stuffed something in my pocket before backing away a distance from me. Mokou was there to watch it as well. Letty rose in the sky, almost like how He rose on that day. The way she vanished… It started with her feet and legs, dissipating away into snow. That snow vanished soon as well. The horizontal line traveled up, soon taking her body and arms… and then lastly her beautiful face. The tip of her cap finally turned to snow and blew away into the unknown, disappearing as it had appeared since the beginning of the season. It had been graced by beauty, but it had to return to its cycle. I collapsed onto my knees… then my palms graced the ground with a touch. For the first time, I had felt compassion, but a loss… A pain in my eyes…
Mokou was already at my side, saying that we should go now. I told her that I needed to be heading out on my own again. She agreed, but said that I should come back to see her soon. I said I would. I was going to head eastward on my journey. I had to be going to that nameless hill where I met Medicine. But as I began to head eastward with the dolls, there was a change in temperature, and I also noticed flowers on the ground. I heard chanting noise almost, too much to bare… And then a swirl of colors in the sky burst out into an explosion of light and heat.
“SPRING IS HERE~” Said the fairy born out of the explosion. I felt so damn ready to beat this thing to a bloody pulp, but a description shall suffice instead. She wore mostly white and then her long blonde hair. The white garbs were lined with patterns in red, while long conic sleeves concealed her arms. The head was topped with a conic cap slanted towards the back and her back had white wings–three pairs. Lastly, the feet had white boots. I was still crying a little, but the supposed spring fairy had taken notice already.
There was a courteous smile on her face. I had heard rumors before that the voice of spring attacks those who are near her. At least… That’s what Reimu said when I was in rest for two weeks–also Lunachild said the name was Lily White… Lily inched closer to me but remained in the air. I started to back away, but she was moving faster until she grabbed my arm. Scared, I started so shake, but Lily began to dig in my pockets almost searching for something. Pulling out of my pocket, she took what looked like several seeds.
Ecstatic to have found some, Lily went to nearby patch of ground from where she had appeared. She inserted the seeds in to the ground while giggling. When Lily was done she placed her hands above the fertile soil. I watched as some stalks formed out of the ground. Flowers bloomed from those stalks and Lily was elated to see it happen. When she was done, she came back to me smiling. So that’s what Letty gave me… She motioned me to follow her. Lily began flying further eastward and I tried keeping up.
Once Lily stopped, we were in a field of what looked like sunflowers. Lily swirled around in the air above the field, spouting the word of Spring’s arrival several times. Even though sunflowers were more of a summer ordeal, she was making them bloom early. The gorgeous sunflowers in their light began to bloom, even though the sun was beginning to drift downward from the sky. It was the warmest part of the day, the perfect time for the plants to bloom. Lily came down to me afterwards and finally spoke to me for once.
“They bloom every year. It makes me so excited!” she said. “I’ll see you another time maybe!” And with that she rapidly took off already, in and eastward direction again. Lily was going to cycle around Gensokyou once and then back to the Mountain, probably. I stayed where I was though and let the dolls search around for anything in particular. While we were looking around, I thought I had heard some beautiful music…
…I thought I had heard this piece before… so calm… majestic… it reminds me of something… This place was a like a garden… sunflowers… a Garden of the sun… The music… I couldn’t help myself but to dance around in circles… This music was so calming… I hadn’t heard music in a while actually… and to hear it again feels so comforting… I felt the world was almost spinning without me… My eyes were being driven to tears by the music… the melodic sound… the low notes… the slow rhythm… As if I was floating upon the flowerbeds here… lost in my own thoughts of anguish and despair… This sound… this sound… THIS SOUND!
The trance… became broken soon enough, as it ended. A din and cacophony erupted out of the sound, but stopped in a matter of seconds… I was damaged for the rest of the day… Staring at the sunflowers, I felt angered by the sight of them. The dolls and nearby fairies were indifferent about this though and continued on about their normal business… Did I actually hear the music? Or was I just lost in my thoughts? I felt hungry, like I hadn’t eaten in days. One of the sunflowers was brimming with green tough seeds. I helped myself to a few, and took a bunch for later.
I told the dolls that we were leaving and had to go to the hill next. Medicine should be minding her own business when I get there; but I want to surprise her. Before leaving, something in the air changed, like there was a presence…
When I was leaving, I had the feeling that something terrible had been watching me…
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End of Chapter 26
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Chapter 27:
I was taking the dolls over to the so-called Nameless Hill. Lily probably had gotten there first, so I would see the bloom of the poison flowers. The sun though was already setting in the sky, and I took notice to how it was half way down. Maybe it was mid-afternoon already. Shanghai seemed more distressed as we headed to the Hill?
?Why are we going there again?? Shanghai asked.
?Because? I saw a purple tear in her eye and maybe see needs more company.? I replied.
?That doesn?t seem like she needs much.?
?Shanghai, do I have to go over this with you again?? Hourai cut in.
?Both of you!? I yelled at them and they stared blankly at me, ?Enough okay??
We finally reached the Nameless Hill on the northwest side of Gensokyou. Higan would not be far off, just to the east, and Hakugyokurou would be north of here. I didn?t think Medicine would be expecting our arrival, so I headed in there carefully. When I came up to the fields, I saw Medicine sitting on the ground looking to the sky. There was a calm breeze at the Hill and her light hair was almost fluttering in it. A smile was struck upon her face, but my movements had turned it off. I had accidentally stepped on a flower? Medicine took notice immediately, but when she looked, she started to run at me.
There was an even wider smile on Medicine?s face as she was running (frolicking?) towards me. Beginning to back away, I feared that I might get severely poisoned if she touched me?I had remembered. Once her legs left the ground, I realized she was jumping and wanted me to catch her. But I fell back and Medicine landed on top of me. Almost screaming, I felt nothing on me but the touch of Medicine?s skin?or whatever it was. That smile was still there, but Medicine?s own giggling was included.
?Why am I not dying?!? I cried. This took Medicine aback, but she patted my head. ?Silly human?? she laughed while getting me off the ground, ?I wasn?t releasing any poison??
?How is this possible?? Inquiring her, I was brought to the center of the patch. The flowers did not have much purple leaking from them?
?I remembered from last time how I could not touch you?? A purple tear leaked from her eye again, ?So I learned how to contract the poison more easily??
?And you spent the past month???
?It takes time!? Medicine barked at me.
Medicine plopped herself on the ground, arms crossed. She appeared to be offended that I had said that. Sitting next to Medicine, I wrapped my left arm around her to try and be comforting. She leaned her head into mine as her arms wrapped around my side. I looked to her eyes, and there were slight little tears falling. I took my thumb and wiped one of them off. But, Medicine took my thumb and wiped the tear off, as if I wasn?t supposed to touch it. She smudged the tear into the ground?it sizzled a little before dissipating.
?Are you staying for tonight?? Medicine asked, looking at me with her beady eyes. Looking to the sun, I could see that the sun was already leaving the sky and entering its slumber. My heart sank, as I have never slept outside in a long time. Maybe it would be better if I tried to sleep on the ground for once. ?Will it kill me?? I replied hesitantly. Medicine laughed for several seconds before telling me that it wouldn?t. ?I told you that I can retract it already!? She answered, but that smile went away, ?It?s only been a minute or two and you?ve already forgotten!?
Medicine looked to me again with that cute face of hers. I really could not resist the temptation of staying here for the night. She began to show me some of the flowers during the sunset as she also became tired. Medicine had a little doll of her own, but it looked exactly like her, except the doll was more like Shanghai. The sun had set finally, but there was a change to the atmosphere?
Medicine had fallen asleep; resting on my side with a smile on her face? It was too much for me to handle, but the poison was not leaking out?
She must have learned how to do it in her sleep?
? ? ?
The morning sun came through, but I was racketed by a droning sound. When my eyes had opened and my body has risen, Medicine was gone. Searching around for her, I could see in a slight distance that she was in the flowers again. But that sound kept on going. It was the sound from yesterday. I began to search around for the source of this sound. There was a lot of mist in the air today, maybe from the morning dew, so I couldn?t really detect with my eyes what it was. I had to use my ears.
Listening through the mist, I came upon a lead to the source, but I became weary. Drifting farther away from Medicine, I headed into the mist. Thankfully, the dolls followed closely. I was stuck in a trance now, since I floated closer to the source?being pulled towards the center of it. Dreariness was the central emotion now. Sadness began to overtake me. Now I wanted to get out of this trance?no more! It became too much for my brain to handle, and the music increased in volume, so I landed on the ground. My sanity was slipping and I began crying from the overload of sedation.
?Help!!!? I shouted, calling for anything. The music suddenly stopped as my face planted into the ground. Still crying on the ground, I heard one voice calling from through the mist. The grass crunched several times as the voice approached. I sensed myself being lifted off the ground, lines of tear down my cheeks. But my body landed back down with almost a thud. A ?sorry? came from the voice as my vision was clearing up. The voice came from above me now. I could almost see the face, but the outlines worked better.
It was Lunasa?
?Oh dear? I?m so sorry?? She tried to snap me out of my stupor. ?I was practicing out here. I didn?t know anyone was out here,? Lunasa was running her mouth, ?Me and my sisters were just playing at the Sun Garden yesterday? Don?t cry! Please! My music?s too powerful? I didn?t notice! Shhhhh!? It was working to some degree, but I thought I should continue to sort of play a little game with her? It worked as she became surprised and slightly scared of the situation? ?Wah! Why are you still upset?! Do you want me to play a different song?? There was a silence and then I stopped.
?Alright then?? Lunasa smiled, ?How about you come with me then. Would you like that?? I slightly nodded my head. ?I might? be able to carry you?? She was thinking about how I was going to get to the mansion. ?Um?? Lunasa was worrying a little, ?Can you just walk there?? I don?t know how far the mansion is from here? ?How long is it?? I asked. Getting up from the ground, Lunasa looked at me in the eyes. But she tried looking away, ?It?s not far from here?? I nodded my head in agreement and started heading out of the mist.
As we headed over, I questioned Lunasa about her habits. ?So you come out here often??
She replied, leading the way, ?Somewhat??
?You have been working on that piece, haven?t you??
Her face blushing, ?Yes?, accompanied her answer.
?It might be too strong, you know??
?Ah! No, no! It wasn?t meant to work like that!? Lunasa defended herself.
?Explain then.?
?You see? Sometimes when I really get into it, my control over the music gets out of hand??
?You need to be more careful.?
?Yes! I said I was sorry.?
We got to the mansion in a matter of minutes. Sun rising in the sky, the flowers were blooming outside the mansion?windows were stained with black. I could finally see the magnificence of the mansion for once. It was a standard block mansion, shaped like a rectangle. The style was in similar fashion to Koumakan, but much more stark than the other one. Lunasa led me up to the door. The door had carvings in it. She opened the door and I was led inside?the darkness of the mansion remained. Lunasa leaded me back into her room. But on the way we went there, Lunasa?s sisters disturbed our trail. Lyrica was sneering at the two of us and Merlin remained dumbfounded as usual.
?So, you brought him back for another round, eh?? Lyrica snickered.
?That?s not it!? Lunasa snapped back, ?He needs a place to stay!?
?Fine, fine,? Lyrica responded as she took Merlin to another room, ?But don?t come and tell me to clean up what you two do~?
Lyrica winced at Lunasa and disappeared. I looked at Lunasa, who was now blushed a tint of scarlet. I told her to ignore her and shrug it off. Lunasa finally took me into her room. It hadn?t changed one bit, but much of the dust was gone. I sat down on the bed like ?old? times?it was only noon; we must do something... ?Why don?t we work on a piece together?? I smiled. She blushed, and then nodded, ?Alright then? what do you have in mind??
We got to work?
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End of Chapter 27
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Four months, ~70,000 word, 600KB in word, woo!
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Chapter 28:
We worked the wee hours of the day to write a piece. I have to say that I haven’t touched music theory in a long time, but Lunasa was naturally composing a piece; i.e. I was mainly feedback. She was pleased to have someone accompany her to compose a piece, but Lunasa was hesitant to speak throughout most of our work. Mid-day had come as the grand clock in the room struck twelve. I decided to get up and stretch for a while. The clock was composed of old styles, like that of the mansion. But for several moments, I felt something grab me.
Lunasa was trying to tug me back to the work–a look on her face of desperation. She did not want to work on this one by herself. I got to sit back down in the large chair, whose arms rose up and the back could funnel up and extend forward–a comfortable chair. Time passed as Lunasa fiddled with the composition, and still not bothering to play it. Merlin managed to get in the room several times, curling up in my lap and taking naps–once touching her nose on my cheek. She’s a strange one.
The dolls rested on the top of the chair–which I should mention that the back was twice my upper body. Untouched by her surroundings, Lunasa worked at the piece and requesting me to add ideas to it. Pen marks were used–pieces of paper flying about and crumpled. On several occurrences, she felt hopeless about the project and would do nothing for minutes. The day was passing slowly; but what had felt like six hours, the clock just struck one. I was wondering if I had lost my mind or not.
Lunasa mentioned to me that time moves much more slowly in the mansion, or it could be that I was sitting there and doing nothing. Merlin had an idea and shoved me onto Lunasa’s bed. I sadly declined, but Merlin wasn’t thinking that. What would we do on a bed? She recommended sleeping, but I passed. Merlin tried ripping out some books, but Lunasa whacked her for almost making a mess. Merlin felt like she had no other choice, so she dug out a funnel. Lunasa stopped working on her piece to look at what was happening. It looked like a gramophone player, an old one–one that had been sitting there for a while, untouched. It looked as old as the 70s.
I asked, and Lunasa answered. She said that Yukari has brought in vinyls and 45s from the outside world that no one uses anymore. I wondered if there were any I was interested in. There was a box of them sitting on the shelf, I would estimate about 50-60, so I got them out. Lunasa had now been no longer focused on our little composition. I found a decent swath of records in there, ranging from famous to even my own niche records. Islands by King Crimson–including much of their early works, Hemispheres, Selling England by the Pound, Strange Days, Zeppelin II, Pawn Hearts, A Night at the Opera, Peter Gabriel III… the list goes on, but this is only focused on what I was interested in.
There was an Edison battery on the shelf as well, but it was not functioning. Lunasa said that I just had to turn it on because it was powered my magic. Is there nothing this world can’t do? Sitting back in the chair, I was calmly listening to the sounds of Larks’ Tongues in Aspic. Lunasa was interested in the sound coming out of the first side and asked me who was playing. I told her that it was King Crimson and that the violinist was unique to that record. Lunasa finally sat back and relaxed, but on my lap, and drifted away from the project she had so vehemently been working on. Maybe I should request Yukari to get me more of these records, including the ones I owned–oh wait… yeah… I forgot… Or did I leave those in the basement?
Lunasa decided to pull some of the ideas from the King Crimson album into her piece. The concepts and thoughts worked, pulling together parts of the instrumentals: The Talking Drum and even Larks’ Tongues. Merlin had become disinterested in what we were doing and disappeared into the hallway. I wanted to listen to what else this had in store. In a matter of several more minutes, Lunasa had completed her task, ironically with no perspiration involved. No reward for me in the idea, initially, but Lunasa I had an idea.
I could use the gramophone player whenever I wanted, and I could eventually take it with me. But, Lunasa wanted me to help her on some of her pieces whenever, for ideas. Now this I could accept, but dealing with Lyrica would be another problem. She still had a serious bit with me, and invaded on our privacy. But Lyrica began to act even worse throughout the latter of the day, as Lunasa started a second composition.
The door creaked open and Lyrica stumbled in. Her head fell towards the floor, but landed right in my lap–these sisters are corporeal, I guess. “Sister! May I help in some of your work?” Her face was flustered with an array of reds, like her outfit. To Lyrica, it seemed pretty obvious that we were not going to let her because of all the sneering and libel she said about us. Lunasa was more forgiving than I was though.
The three sisters were in the room all together. They had decided to work on the piece as a threesome, which they believed would soon become a new spell card of theirs. I urged them to not use it for weaponry and the composition sounded better when played peacefully. I dug through some of the vinyls to give them another idea. Trying to pull out a decent record, one that tried to contain everything they could play, I found two worth playing for them. The first was In the Wake of Poseidon and Direct to Disc–an excellent half-hour of raw material with all of their instruments.
They got down to work and produced a wonderful piece, while the sun began to set in the sky. The sun had passed below the window and the Prismrivers became tired. I slowly became tired as well, until I found myself on the bed. The softness of the bed had a decent quality to it–one that I liked. The bed itself was somewhat warm to the touch. The Prismrivers toiled into their work long after sunset, until I told them to give it a rest. None of them left the room though.
Normally, they would sleep in their separate beds after the sun went down, but tonight they all slept in Lunasa’s bed. Together as sisters. I brought up the question to them about how they could be possibly sleeping in their state. They all shrugged off the question as something to be unconcerned with. Lyrica was getting some weird thoughts about how we should sleep for the night. I said that I would be fine in the chair, but Merlin was capable enough of shoving onto the bed again. We all slept through the night…
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Unbeknownst to us, there was a problem going on in the south that I did not hear about until the next day?
The Prismrivers woke up early the next day, while I was still resting, never acquiring much sleep. They wanted to make more pieces for the ?Spring Festival?, if something like that actually exists. I wanted to rest still after such a long day yesterday, but my stomach said otherwise. Interesting conundrum there. I don?t know how long I?ve gone without eating now? This would be a good time for me to leave?I told the dolls as well. Asking the sisters if I could leave, they gladly allowed my departure. I?ve helped them in some way with their togetherness?
But after I left, I had little to no clue of what I should do next. I mean I literally wasted a day by being led away from my friend. But? I really shouldn?t say that? because my presence seems to change the environment in certain ways. Mokou still was probably waiting for me to return, so that may be the next place I should go. I knew I had to find the valley, and the village was located south of the mansion. (I?ve passed it enough to have a general clue of where it is)
The path to the village was a boring one, since I had come on this pathway before. But wouldn?t the trip be interesting each time? I don?t know what anymore. The Village was calm in the morning, not many bodies bustling through the roads. Mornings should be quiet. With this type of morning, I decided to mingle around the village. And I came up the Myouren Temple first. Much had changed on the exterior, in the form of more ruins. I couldn?t tell if they were trying to dissuade people from entering, but I entered anyway.
The dankness of the temple had remained, so it seemed. Murasa, with slightly longer black hair than before, was pacing about, but was delighted at my appearance. Her smile glistened as if they were small pools, the gleam as the light shining in ajar from the center. Byakuren was nowhere to be seen and so was Shou. Murasa told to me about it a little?
?She said she had a diplomatic mission of some sort. I don?t see how that fits here??
?Me neither.? A light touch on the ground sent ripples of water throughout the place.
?Well, it?s good to see ya back anyway.?
?Did this place get damaged??
?Nothin? to it.?
?Has it always been this empty??
?Nah, only on Wednesdays.? We shared a good laugh.
Murasa said that there really was nothing to do around here, since most of Byakuren?s missions were for youkai protection. I found that counterintuitive. She agreed, but since Byakuren had saved her from the atrocious previous life, Murasa felt an obligation to help her in return. There was stone-skipping we could do, but that?s a child?s game. I took some water from the central pool and splashed in on her as a joke.
Nothing really happened?it passed through her? Murasa giggled though, and sort of found it funny. She suddenly went into the walls and disappeared. All I could hear was breathing, and a light laughter, besides the water dripping into the circular pool. Becoming a little tense, I waited anxiously for her to come back out. It was a minute before I felt something enter my spine from behind. I could have almost fallen on the ground, or shit my pants: either of the two. Murasa was chuckling as she grabbed a hold of me from behind.
But our eyes gazed at one another. I could see the years of toil and experience she had suffered behind those eyes. She waited for who-knows-how-long for Byakuren to return. Murasa brought me into her quarters?nothing in there has changed. I made my way to the hammock, taking a rest, as Murasa chose to sit down again. But she sat up directly on me, halfway down. She wanted to talk about things like we did last time.
But there really wasn?t anything to talk about. Only a month or two had passed, or I can?t remember? We decided to do something else instead. Murasa wanted to show me around the place, especially areas where I hadn?t been?but said that we would converge back to her stay at the end. The first area was the room we were currently in?everything in there I have already seen, but Murasa wanted to explain everything.
The next room was Nazrin?s?a small enclosure. I noticed a considerable amount of fecal matter on the floor, but there were mice everywhere in it. Murasa did not bring me inside the room, so we continued on. There were no hallways it seemed, as all the corridors came out from the center, but organized like a ship in rows. Only the center pool was the entrance and exit to this one lane path. Murasa was going to bring me to the next area of the next in command.
This was ?Ichirin?s? stay?and to be quite honest, there was barely anything occupying the space. Murasa said that Ichirin did not like to have many things, including keeping to herself. Figures. But there were more corridors to explore. The next was Shou?s, which was littered with a shrine dedicated to Bishamonten. A pagoda sat on a hilt. Murasa said that it was fun on several occasions for others to take it and watch her freak out?but Shou started to lose it herself, and the jokes stopped.
The last place to check was Byakuren?s stay, but Murasa did not want me to go in there?I bothered anyway. This time she tried to tug me out of the corridor, but I resisted and checked inside. Strewn about the ?cabin?, many scribblings and circles were embedded there. I had seen enough, as I was slightly horrified at the image of the room as a whole. Murasa dragged me back to her place and I was thusly reprimanded about going in there.
I thought I had seen enough and wished to leave, but there was a surprise from behind. Murasa tried to drag me away from whatever had appeared. What had appeared was a being covered in black, wings from the back that had two varying patterns?red and spikes, blue and squiggly arrows. It was too late in what I had seen and Murasa had to let it go, as this new being was interested in why I was ?lurking about?.
This girl had a reclusive attitude but was determined enough to figure things out?
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End of Chapter 28.
Probably doing only weekly updates now.... too busy...
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Wow, a new record~
Chapter 29:
?His hair looks odd.?
?Oh, pfft. Ours looks like his. Why would you say that??
?But the color!?
This new girl and Murasa were having a small quarrel with each other over my body and such, as I sat there. Noticing that the girl was carrying what looked like a trident, I also looked closely at the ?wings? on her back. An unusual phenomenon. Standing up, I went to them. Examining these appendages closely, I felt the blue one, but the girl whipped around and tapped me on the head with her trident.
?See Murasa! He is trouble!?
?Settle, Nue. He doesn?t stay long anyway.?
?So? He could do bad things.? Murasa was helping me off the ground.
?That may be so, but I haven?t seen him do ?t.?
So this Nue didn?t trust many? I tried to examine them a second time, but this time she just ignored me. The curious being I was had decided to look around and wander away from the two?s conversation. It was then that their conversation stopped and followed after me. Nue wanted to make sure that I wasn?t going off too far. This led me to question her on what she could possibly be hiding, but Nue was hesitant to respond.
Murasa tried to guide us in a different direction. Nue wanted to talk to me about how much nonsense she had been through, not just physical, but personal. Maybe she had a change of thought, or she was bored. Her initial reclusive barrier had become softer, but mine had increased. I was paying less attention to her trials, more or less because they were similar to Murasa?s. Go figure.
Nue?s half of the story kept rambling on, while Murasa and I continued to whisper to each other. She was saying things about how Nue always rambles on like this, and that maybe we should ditch her and go elsewhere. I concur with the idea, though it is a little rude. Murasa took me solemnly back to her stead, setting herself on the hammock again.
I really no longer felt like talking to Murasa anymore; spending enough time here as is. I was going to say my goodbyes; Murasa grabbed a hold of me before I left. She warned me of coming back, worrying that I would take as long as last time. Promising her that I would return, I tried to leave again. Murasa still wasn?t convinced. I heaved a sigh. Placing my hand on her shoulder, I told her that I always go by my word, regardless.
The dolls were anxious as we left the Temple. Hourai had not done my hair this morning, but the day was already being pulled down. I wondered if there was a place to eat still, as my stomach grumbled. The Village had become lively again with people meandering about. Keine?s place should have been the best bet for me, but I checked the doors and they were locked. So she must?ve been out teaching and stuff. Having nowhere to go now, the only place for me would be the Forest of Magic and the shrine. Sure, there were other locations for food, but Gensokyou is not one of those food courts.
Heading east and out of the village, I came across a shack with bright floral patterns on it. The patterns were especially designed for spring and had a paper sign on one of the walls reading ?東の喫茶店?. So there was a new teashop allocated on the outskirts of the village, obviously something I never seen here before. Maybe they could have something for me to eat on top of that. Oddly enough, the door was slid wide open like nothing was there before. Light shone in through the shop?
Stepping inside, the stillness of the shop became more eerie. I walked in further before I heard a creaking sound coming from nearby. The sound was primarily from behind a desk?precariously placed in the perfect point from the horizontal center of the door. Upon reaching the front of the desk, I could see objects scattered about on it. The last thing I saw was a red bow; it was penetrating the horizon of the desk. A lock of yellow hair followed that bow.
The face behind the desk was Gengetsu, one that had been crying her eyes out for a long time. I requested food and drink, but she was resistant in moving from her spot. If this was the Gengetsu?a hearty, mean spirited and commanding sister?then I must have landed in some twisted new version of Gensokyou. Yukari might be at it again. But like all things that go awry, there is always a reason behind it.
My first attempt was pulling Gengetsu from out behind the desk. Heading around the desk, I could see her slinking underneath it. Attempting to pull Gengetsu out, I dug my hands in between her arms and abdomen?and wrapping them around the front like the indifferent pervert I am. I had a feeling that she would not be docile on this matter. At first, she was resilient in coming out of the desk, but when I yanked hard she stopped resisting. Tears still streamed down her face as I tried wiping them off. Gengetsu words were muddled and indecipherable.
I tried calming Gengetsu down with some soft words, and hugging her. Eventually, she stopped crying, and I asked her about how she felt. Gengetsu had come out of this tantrum and quickly rose up above the floor. She inquired to know what I wanted to eat or drink?pretending that what just happened did not happen. Something would come out of this eventually. I decided to sit down and I requested some green tea, and anything edible.
Gengetsu took about six minutes to do all of this. When she had finished preparing the ?meal?, Gengetsu came over to the table with everything on a tray. She placed it down on the table with a light clattering sound. Immediately afterwards, Gengetsu attempted to remove herself from my presence, but I reached out with a hand and grabbed her arm. The reaction was a slight startling of the muscles in her arms, a slow but steady droop, and lastly a dubious turning of her head.
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ATTENTION ALL READERS, NEW AND OLD:
I am sorry, but there will be no more updates to this on this forum. Search for it through Google or somethin', maybe find out through word of mouth.
/r/ing thread lock.