A/N: I crashed heavily on coffee yesterday, which explains the lack of update. One day behind won't hurt me, right? Ah, well, Marisa has to go pay Keine and Mokou a visit. What will happen? Read on...
Chapter 5 - Day 4 - History, flying with the Phoenix.
Unable to sleep due to the severe events that occurred the previous day, Marisa simply stared at the clouded, moonless and starless sky with fatigued eyes. Reimu... Sakuya... Patchouli... those three names resounded in her aching head. Her hair was a mess, her clothes torn, and her mind torn worse. She had seen her friends, her best friends fall into a plot, screaming for Marisa to aid them, yet the Ordinary Magician could do nothing, the immense power of the gap overwhelming even her... Marisa gently sobbed into the dry air, which even seemed empty with the absence of the shrine maiden.
"Wow. You really messed up there." a familiar voice came from near the shrine gates. The magician sat bolt upright, her face a contorted mixture of surprise, relief and depression.
"A-Alice?!" she whispered, her words dissolving in the frozen air around her. The figure stood away from the gates, revealing her true form.
"You aren't even close, my friend." Marisa squinted, even in the faint light of the shrine lamps, the glare prevented her from seeing. Then, as the figure stepped into the radius of the light, Marisa saw that familiar white and blue kimono.
"Sanae!" Marisa called. It was more of a confirmation call than anything else, but the figure shook her head. Then Marisa noticed her sleeves were attached. She could also see another figure, a shorter one, in red.
"That lack of sleep has messed you about, hasn't it?" the younger voice called out sympathetically.
"What do you care?" Marisa hissed and looked away, causing the taller figure to drag the shorter one into the light. Marisa's throat began to grow raspy, and she began to frantically search for Yukari. No sign of her. She could be anywhere in those bothersome gaps.
"Because Master has been out of control lately. I obey her commands, and Chen obeys mine, but even I, Ran Yakumo, am curious as to Master's sudden sadistic attitude. She has begun socialising with that celestial, Tenshi, more, as that masochist serves her inner sadist more than her dreams allow her." Marisa began to gasp for air at the shikigami's words. Even the shikigami's shikigami was nervous-looking.
"Maybe she just read stuff. Books can transform ya', ya'know, da ze." shrugging off, the magician turned away to face a rather interesting tree beside the shrine.
"But her voice is different. Did you not realise yourself? Yukari-sama may be a mysterious woman, Miss Kirisame, but she is no kidnapper. Her voice is higher than usual, is it not?"
"It was because of her excitement, Ran-sama. We talked about that, right?" this statement caused Yukari's shikigami to facepalm and sigh at her own forgetfulness. Chen smiled, and looked back to Marisa. "Please, Marisa-san, we want you to carry on this quest. Miss Yukari has an addiction to riddles and stuff, but if you don't, she may involve your friends in her games with Tenshi."
Marisa nearly vomited at the thought.
"Fine. On one condition." she hissed.
"Anything, Kirisame." Ran replied, bowing faintly.
"Don't just sneak up on me, stay away from me, oh, and watch over Reimu's shrine while I'm gone." the magician, still tired, looked around for any mention of time. "And what time is it?"
"Four in the morning. If you head towards the human village slowly, you will reach there by about seven. Miss Kamishirasawa finishes her morning history lesson to the village's children at quarter past nine, then they have a break until ten. Then at ten, they go until quarter past eleven. Then it is the end. Plan yourself accordingly. You may have time to find Fujiwara no Mokou in the waiting time of Kamishirasawa's lessons. Be brave... Marisa." Ran's pronunciation made Marisa go a little hot under the collar as she hopped on top of her broom.
"Thanks for the elaboration. Keep Yukari asleep, for heaven's sake, I can't be caught by the bit-... sorry." Marisa's expletive raised the ears of the nekomata and the kitsune, causing her to hastily apologise behind it. Flying off into the night air, Marisa cursed her own stupidity that maybe her impression of those shikigamis was totally wrong. Dodging random sleepwalking youkai and fairies, Marisa began to fly low as she gently skimmed the tops of the bamboo forest of the lost. She was getting carried away, when she noticed a fire burning the bamboo beneath her, and various shouting from two obviously arguing girls. The magician swooped down and landed smack-bang in the middle of a danmaku contest between Kaguya Houraisan and Fujiwara no Mokou. Kaguya's rainbow danmaku were no match for the intense heat the phoenix girl was firing out without a single care. Marisa, choking on the smoke from the frying bamboo, ducked to the floor to escape the onslaught. She dove behind a seemingly sturdy bush and pulled out a few of her most distracting, yet weaker, spellcards. She could fire a Master Spark between them? No... if she hit Mokou, she'd never get Keine to give her a note, or even any of her books! Panicking, Marisa sighed and pulled out an idea literally from her hat. She could lob one of those exploding bottles in between them, the flash could be bright enough to make them halt and notice her, maybe even make up. Then she remembered the tale of rivalry these two kept alive. No chance. Sighing, Marisa chucked her exploding bottle inbetween the two enemies, and caused them both to panic.
"Damn it, Kaguya, no flashes! I can't see a damn thing!" the Mokou girl, nearest to Marisa, screeched.
"Oh, blame me, will you? It's you and your stupid fire!" Kaguya yelled back, her sleeves quivering with anger.
"Well, who else could'a done it, 'eh?!" Mokou lifted a spellcard, and was met by Marisa's arm holding her wrist back. "W-who is this?!" Mokou turned, seeing Marisa, armed only with a legendary confident-grin/troll-face and over nine thousand units in her power level.
"Marisa, shame you couldn't remember me after I sparked your ass." her words, however sweet they sounded, caused the phoenix girl to near cower as she remembered the trauma of Marisa's Master Spark.
"Cowering away from a simple black-and-white... hey! It was you that came and defeated me, you and your little girlfriend blondie and her stupid dolls. Never go out with a girl that plays with dolls, way too childish." Kaguya was met with a single laser aimed at her forehead, and was thrown backwards. She began sobbing uncontrollably, "Eirin! Eeeirin! EEEIRIN! Help me, Eirin!! Uwaaa!!" the princess howled, whilst Mokou and Marisa looked at each other with the contorted faces of those holding back laughter. Their laughter was not long-lived, as they suddenly felt two presences around them, and then it went black.
*****
"Heeheehee! Eirin, does Kirisame-chan just look so adorable when she's asleep." the voice dragged Marisa out of the black void known as unconsciousness. She found Kaguya's deep browny-black eyes fixated on her own amber irises, which caused her to nearly leap off of the bed she was placed on.
"Mrrf... Eirin, why don't 'cha come up with that Hourai Elixir cure, drop it accidentally into Kaguya's tea and let me finish her off!! For gods' sake!" Mokou was clamped on a table, when all of a sudden they heard an almighty screech, akin to the velocity of a battle cry, and for Marisa to find Keine, in her hakutaku form, green dress, greenish hair, horns, the words, glaring down at the members of Eientei with a furious hatred.
"You... let... Mokou... and... the other one... go... this instant... I will rip the head right from this moon rabbit here." Keine span Reisen into her grip, paralyzing the rabbit with fear as Keine closed her free hand around the rabbit's pale violet hair, ready to wrench it from her skull.
"Whoa, whoa, Miss Kamishirasawa, our fight is not with you. Simply put Udongein down, please, and we will free Fujiwara no Mokou. Please... do not hurt Udongein. She only carried Mokou here-... NO! Stop it, Miss Kamishirasawa, you will kill her if you don't cease and desist!" Eirin's face of pure calm dissolved into pleading and panic as Keine closed her fingers around Reisen's neck and began to slowly choke the now blue-in-the-face moon rabbit. Tewi rushed, prising the hakutaku's fingers from her friend's neck, but was thrown, caved, and sobbing within a heartbeat.
"Hey, hey, hey! Keine. Keine.. sshh, it's okay, Keine. I'm not hurt, I was just panicking from the pain of another fight. They didn't want me hurting Kirisame, so they strapped me down. Okay? You're okay now, Keine? Now, sshshshsh, it's okay, don't get mad at Reisen. Put her down, take some deep breaths, and we can go home with Kirisame and have some yakitori, yes?" Mokou's voice of fire turned from a tomboyish flare to a soothing flicker. Keine's scarlet red eyes faded to a docile maroon colour, and, assisted by Reisen who could now breathe, Mokou was unstrapped, Marisa was helped up and they left for the human village and Keine's home.
*****
"So, Kirisame-san, would you like some tea?" as Mokou and Marisa had taken a seat at the table, Keine had hurried to the kitchen of her house.
"Mm, yes, please! Oh, and I had a question... have you come across some kind of cryptic note? Only... I was just wondering 'cos a few of my friends have..." Marisa's thoughts ended that sentence with 'been kidnapped', but she kept that enclosed in her brain. Keine returned, a piece of paper tucked into the crook of her arm.
"Why, yes, I have found a note. It was placed beside my family's ornamental sake-dish kept in the centre of the kitchen. It was written in odd font, as if the writer put in much care to get it right but little effort presentation-wise. Like an urgent note, even." Keine sat down, passing Mokou and Marisa a cup of tea each and beginning to sip her own. Mokou downed her tea in three seconds, and sighed in relief.
"Mind if I take a look, ze?" Marisa asked tentatively, before the note was shoved under her nose.
"Please, I cannot make heads nor tails of it. It contains few titles of people, mostly riddle material. Kirisame... have some of your friends gone missing?" Keine's hand raised to cover her mouth in short surprise.
"Not missing. I know where they are. Excuse me a moment..." Marisa's amber eyes scanned the note, sighing inwardly at the similarity to the previous notes. Marisa only noticed one thing odd. The titles of all of her missing friends were there.
Well done, contender.
You have found your fourth clue on your journey to saving the One Week Magician, the Perfect and Elegant Maid, and the Shrine Maiden of Paradise.
You have three days left.
That is how long your friends will last.
Tomorrow is when you must start.
Any earlier and your four days will be up before they start.
Your riddle is as follows:
Find the connector to death, and the sword of the partial phantom.
That is where your next clue lies, contenders.
Marisa's head connected sharply with the table, causing Keine and Mokou to nearly jump out of their skin.
"W-what is it, Kirisame?!" Keine's panic was obvious, her eyes lighting up in panic.
"Just... who would 'connect' you to death?" Marisa looked at the pair with hope.
"Maybe Komachi? You know, the slacking ferrygirl? A girl I shall never meet..." Mokou smirked a little, to which Keine replied with a sharp slap to the arm.
"But what does Komachi have to do with 'the sword of the partial phantom'?" Marisa groaned, and both of them didn't see the cogs turning in Keine's brain.
"The Netherworld." she murmured.
"Yeah! Yuyuko invokes death in mortals, and Youmu is part-ghost and has that sword thing!" Mokou nearly set alight with excitement. "So let's go! All three of us, a little adventure! Huzzah!" Marisa nearly began to cry as she forced Mokou to sit back down.
"N-NO! Please... don't come with me... you... you can't... end up with... end up like... Patchy... and Sakuya and Reimu... please... stay here. I'll go on my own... just don't come with me..." Marisa's words were cut off by abrupt sobs, but Keine slowly devised a plan to distract her.
"Look, you spent a while in the forest, Mokou, you must be spent, and both of you were out for nearly ten hours in Eientei. It's about time we got some sleep to process what has happened, okay?" Mokou escaped instantly, not wanting to be the shoulder on which Marisa may cry. Marisa, drooping, was led to another spare room, decorated with a far sparser d?cor than the rest of Keine's house.
*****
As the moon tucked itself into bed behind a cushion-y cloud, Marisa's eyelids slowly shut. She was determined not to let anyone else fall for, whom she has now dubbed, 'You-Carcass", as Yukari was as good as a carcass when Marisa gets her hands on that youkai.
"Goodnight world... don't explode on me..." she murmured for some light humour for herself.
Anyone notice the fact that Marisa seems a bit more intent on her own safety rather than that of others? Well, it is because she doesn't want to care for anyone else and risk them getting 'kid-gapped' by You-Carcass. There is a massive battle to go on when Marisa finds You-Carcass, but she's off to meet Yuyuko, a close friend. Will the Innocent Ghost have any insight into You-Carcass' sudden behavioural change? Stay tuned!