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?