Right when you thought it was okay to count him out, Rou delivers again! This time, we have four delectable entries. Here they are, paired with their prompts to serve as makeshift titles:
It is one week before the prom, and Satori has love on her mind. This is nothing new, given her ability. But do these thoughts belong to others, or her...?!
How many times had she washed her face in the mirror? Satori had lost count. A hundred, a thousand, a million, something like that. However many it had been, it wasn?t enough. She still felt her face burning as she stood in the deepest corner of the girls? bathroom.
This shouldn?t have meant anything to her. Thoughts of idle romance slipped into her mind dozens of times a day, along with the less sentimental urges that followed. They were more intense in the days up to the prom, but in previous years she?d still managed to keep herself under control.
So why was this year different? Why was her heart racing as the same thoughts swam about her skull? It was like they were closer, slithering along the edge of her brain, seeping inside of her and taking root. Was she overexposed?
Or maybe they?d been in her brain from the beginning?
?No!?
She sprayed herself with another helping of water. That was absurd. She was too mature to fall for the childish concept of love. Especially for a human like her, acting so high and mighty with those armpits in plain sight. How could a holy woman be so promiscuous and stay in favour with her gods?
Satori tried her best not to think about it as she washed her face again. If a million washes weren?t enough, maybe a million and one would work.
The Myouren temple has fallen on hard times, but head treasurer Nazrin has discovered a gold mine! But, alas, it is beneath the Sanzu River! Must she choose between her occupation and the lives of humans? The world of politics is rough indeed..."
?You?re insane.?
Judge Eiki Shiki made the accusation without her eyebrows so much as twitching. She had seen her fair share of maniacs, and she had acclimated to them. But even in all of her days, she?d never seen someone so willing to desecrate the dead.
?Insane is such a harsh word,? Nazrin said, playing with the collar on her suit as she circled around the table. ?I prefer to think of myself as a practical sort. After all, the Sanzu is full of sinners, right? You can consider demolishing the river to be another punishment.?
?What makes you think you have the right to step into the affairs of the afterlife?? Eiki?s grip on her rod of remorse tightened. ?The ten judges hold power here. What makes you think you can sway me??
The mouse shrugged, her stature agonisingly vain. If Eiki weren?t a judge, she?d have already rammed a fist into her face.
?Oh, you?d be surprised how many strings my mistress can pull.? She winked. ?Your golf buddies think she?s a lovely woman. In fact, they think making this gold public might improve the quality of life in Gensokyo and lead to better life decisions for everyone. In the end, you?re the one resisting change here.?
Eiki growled. The ten judges of Higan could only act on a unanimous decision. She?d been holding this proposition back for weeks, and her fellow yama had been nagging her to give in since day one.
But she refused to surrender. Everything about this woman - her manner, her demands, her outfit, her smile - all of it was black as coal. The souls of the Sanzu may be dead, but she refused to let them suffer more than they already were.
?Well, I?m sorry to say that I have no intention of stopping. You?ll have to relieve me of my post before I give into your demands.?
Nazrin leaned forward onto the table. For a moment, she looked ready to laugh.
Then she brought the gun up against Eiki?s head.
?That can be arranged.?
Tewi becomes the miko of hakurei for a day
?Everyone, gather round! Get your fortune for 100 yen a shot!?
Tewi put on her best announcer voice as she beckoned over the crowd. New Year?s Day was the best time to make herself some money. The Hakurei shrine didn?t see much in the way of attendance otherwise - except for the youkai, but they usually didn?t have any way of paying her. Besides, the humans were a lot more willing to play along.
She counted the passers by. Twenty, thirty, forty humans. She was already counting the money in her head. Most of them looked ready to pay out for two or three shots if they had to.
?OK, so who wants to go first?? Tewi dipped her hand into the donation box, pulling out a single slip of paper. The words Best Luck were scribbled across it in childish calligraphy.
?Me! Me!? A young man shuffled through the crowd to start, dropping a few coins into her hand. He put a hand into the donation box and shuffled it about, pulling out his own paper slip.
Tewi tried not to smile as he drew a Worst Luck fortune.
?Oh, goddammit!? He nearly hurled it to the floor. ?There goes my year...?
?Not so fast~? Tewi gave the man a pat on the shoulder. ?This is a special fortune, see? You can try again if you pay another 100 yen.?
The man?s face lit up again. He rummaged in his pocket, pulling out more coins and handing them to Tewi. Already she could see the desire building in his eyes.
He drew a second Worst Luck, looking ready to collapse. Before Tewi could interrupt, he had already shoved 200 yen into her hand. He pulled out two more paper slips.
Worst. Worst.
?OK, this is ridiculous!? The man stepped away, pointing up to the heavens as he made his way to the shrine?s gate. ?Whoever up there thought this was funny - just you wait until I die. I?ll show you something hilarious...?
The crowd watched him go, murmuring and muttering among themselves. Tewi played with her Best Luck strip as she tried to keep them suckered.
?Don?t be so glum! Think of it this way - now there are 4 fewer Worst Luck slips in the box, right? So think of it as him taking on all your bad luck for you. Now the rest of you will have great years!?
The murmuring stopped. The crowd looked at one another, starting to nod. If there was anything humanity loved, it was benefiting at the expense of another. A second contestant stepped up to the plate, offering her his payment before digging into the box.
She wondered how long it would take the crowd to realise she had drawn the only good fortune in her first try. Most likely, they wouldn?t think of it at all - after all, that would require such obscene luck that no-one would be stupid enough to try it, right?
This is too easy, Tewi thought to herself as she watched the humans storm off in disgust one after the other, only for a new hopeful to take their place. It was a shame Reimu had forced her to split the earnings - she?d run this business at home, but Eientei was hardly a tourist spot on New Years Day.
Besides, she thought to herself with a smirk, nothing wrong with getting myself in the pantheon?s good books, right? I mean, I AM helping a shrine maiden make a living with this...
Aya and Momiji as a sniper spotter pair.
?What time is it??
Momiji had asked that five minutes ago. She knew that. She?d counted the seconds. What else was she meant to do up here?
?It?s Too-Early-To-Fire-O?Clock, Momiji,? Aya said, pulling her eye away from the scope for a moment. ?That?s all that really matters.?
Momiji didn?t respond. She started the count in her head again. One. Two. Three. When she got to three-hundred, she asked the question and reset her internal timer. It was her way of keeping time.
For instance, she now knew that it was 4:46AM, give or take thirty seconds. The sun was just poking over the horizon, and the Scarlet Manor came into view.
?She?ll be coming back soon,? Momiji said, motioning towards the sun. Her scope was locked on the side balcony of the mansion, the magnification so intense she could see where the mistress? footprints had offset the dust.
?Maybe she won?t,? Aya replied with a shrug of her shoulders. ?If she burns up in the sun, she?s done our job for us. Wouldn?t that be great??
Momi didn?t hold her breath. She wasn?t the spotter of the group due to inexperience - she just happened to be a much better spotter than a sniper. Aya knew her way around a rifle, but without a guiding hand to help her through the little intricacies she was too immature to be a true professional.
In the distance, she heard the faint fluttering of a bat?s wings. She lifted an arm as a signal. Aya nodded, pressing her eye against the scope again. Their position was halfway across the lake, half-buried in the local bushes. They were too far to be chased - besides, no-one was better than Aya at making a clean getaway.
?There?s a very slight wind to the east,? Momiji whispered. ?Remember that you have to account for gravity at this distance. And don?t forget - clean through the heart.?
?Alright, grandma,? Aya grumbled. ?I caught on the twelfth time you told me.? She was angry now, gripping the rifle with proper determination. Good. She worked better when she felt she had something to prove.
The bat came to a landing on the edge of the balcony. It fell forward, taking on human form as it did so. Remilia Scarlet stood in the wake of the rising sun, offering a momentary wave of farewell to the evening.
A moment was all the tengu needed.
?Now.?
Aya nodded. She pulled the trigger, and the rifle roared as it sent a silver-laced bullet spiraling through the air.
The shot rung true, catching the vampire in the chest. Remilia only had time to register shock before she crumbled to dust, her dress fluttering to the ground.
?Kill confirmed,? Momiji muttered to herself with a nod.
Of course, the sound alerted everyone in the mansion. Seconds after the shot was fired, the snipers were working on their getaway.
?I could use a hand,? Momiji said as she folded up her spotter rifle. It fit neatly into the case at her side, which she held firmly in one hand.
?Be my guest,? Aya replied, packing up her rifle in the same manner. The pair held hands before Aya sent them powering into the air at impossible speed. No matter how quickly they?d been noticed, no-one would be able to keep up with them at this pace.
?So what?re you spending the money on?? Aya asked without a hint of fear. ?There were a loooot of zeroes on that paycheck.?
Momiji shrugged. ?Well, my scope could always use a little bit more zoom. I?m not going to be happy until I can see my target?s respective atoms.?
The crow tengu giggled. If her hands weren?t full, she?d be ruffling at Momiji?s hair now. ?Momi, you work too hard. Why not drink with me after the debriefing? We earned it, right??
?Good point.? Beer was a good way to end any operation, Momiji figured.
?So...? Aya leaned closer, whispering in Momiji?s ear. ?Bet I can shoot straighter than you after ten shots.?
Momiji had to chuckle at that. ?Challenge accepted.?
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Let us all give Rou a big hand. *clap clap clap* Until the next time the Roudog howls at the writing moon. o/
EDIT: Just to make it clear, Rou has requested we do not suggest him stories to write unless he specifically asks for them.
