Ack. Sorry, I haven't forgotten about this, honest. I've been busy thinking and rethinking about where I want to go next with the story. :<
The less that is said about this, the better. I never forgot about this, I just kind of suck. :fail:
It has been a long time, but I think it's safe to say that I'm just in time for the Satori Maiden's Independence Day Wish, right?
-----
Utsuho paused in midair, between the twinkling constellations above and the field of rainbow lights below; her stellar-speckled cape shimmering in the wind. Her eyes remained locked on the twirling, spinning colors amidst the snowy landscape, and pondered at what it could be. After some consideration, she came to a conclusion, and chuckled.
"Late-night fairy combat training, I'd bet," she thought with a smirk. A mischievous sparkle came to her eyes. "How adorable. Should I show them how it's really done?" She gave her cape a toss, adjusting the control rod on her right arm. With a loud
click, the control rod converted into a large cannon, which began to release a bright yellow glow, illuminating the midnight void between starlight and colored light. Endowed with the tremendous power to control nuclear fusion, an ability bestowed to her by the goddess of the sky, Utsuho had begun to charge her display of strength.
The glow from her cannon was becoming more intense, as an ever-expanding ball of of white-hot energy grew from the end of her cannon. Utsuho felt her smirk twist into a wide grin. "This ought to be enough!" she laughed as the miniature sun she had created had grown as wide as her wingspan-- and with that, the yatagarasu went into a backflip, and began a divebomb toward the earth. As her adrenaline spiked, her grin became ever wider-- what a rush this was, to feel the cold air blasting in her face, the winter chill blowing through her hair!
As she closed in on her target, however, she pulled back in a failed attempt to slow down. "Was that... is that... no, wait, those aren't..." She squinted, trying to get a closer look. "...no, those aren't fairies, they're lights-- but who i-ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh slowdownslowdownslowdownslowdownpleeeeeeeeeaseohnoohnonononononononononono---"
All that could be heard was a sickening thud as Utsuho slammed into the earth, missing her target; her charged-up solar energy instantly melting the snow around her. A quiet moan of humiliated pain squeaked from the newly-formed crater, where she laid, stunned from the impact. As she came to her senses, however, Utsuho heard something-- footsteps?
No. No, that couldn't be it. She felt no presence of anyone coming. Or anything, for that matter. But that sound-- yes, those were definitely--
"O-Okuu?
A familiar voice.
Utsuho slowly opened her eyes, wiping the dirt from her face.
Those familiar clothes, that familiar scent-- one she was very fond of, but this scent belonged to Satori and--
"Koishi?!"
---
It was as if the air around them, which was but moments before radiating the heat of a miniature sun, had frozen absolutely solid, along with the time itself. Within this moment, the only sound Utsuho could hear was her own heart pounding in her ears; a tympanic allegro echoing in her head.
Was it really her, the prodigal sister of ten years? Utsuho closed her eyes, replaying the last moments of seeing Koishi in her mind. Behind tightly closed eyelids, she saw the young lady before her this very moment being crushed by the breakdown that caused her to close her third eye-- shutting away her ability to read minds, along with her feelings; her emotions. She had become overwhelmed by the stress of her powers-- the fear of being hated; the loathing of being trapped away in Chireiden, away from the rest of the world. And with this, she left Chireiden, able to wander the world as she pleased. Utsuho remembered the slam of the palace doors all too well. The sight of Satori, collapsing to her knees in shock, had never left her mind, not even after a whole decade. The argument between the sisters, increasing from heated discussion, to yelling, to screaming, still resounded in her memory.
Utsuho opened her eyes again.
Yes.
Yes, indeed, it was her.
"...K-Koishi," Utsuho whispered.
Her shock was returned with a bewildered smile.
"What'cha looking at me like that for, Okuu?" Koishi giggled a bit as she talked.
Utsuho felt herself moving, shattering the frozen air around her, not even noticing the pain from her crash into the ground. Reaching out, she extended her arms toward Koishi, placing her hands on her shoulders, and pulling her into a tight embrace.
"...it really is you," Utsuho spoke into her shoulder, noticing the familiar scent of roses. "after all this time... it's you."
"Well, of course it's me! Who else would I be?"
"It's been ten years, Koishi. Where on earth have you been?"
Koishi smiled. "I've been everywhere! There's more to the world than living underground-- and it's wonderful! There's even a world outside of Gensokyo-- and I've seen a lot of it. I want to see more of it, too!"
Utsuho simply tilted her head, stunned. "... don't you miss us at all?"
Koishi pondered for a moment, and smiled again. "Well... of course I do. There must have been a reason why I ended up so close to Chireiden again, after all."
Her notion was quite possibly true. As a result of closing her third eye, Koishi had shut away her ability to read minds, as well as her emotions. However, she also gained the ability to read and manipulate the subconscious of those around her-- and herself as well. With this, she was able to erase her presence from those around her, making her invisible while being entirely in plain sight all along.
"
However, after... well, it's been ten years, I guess," Koishi thought, "
I must have become lazy with my own subconscious. Have I become homesick? Do I really miss Satori, Orin, and Okuu that much?"
Utsuho smiled. "Then... why don't you come home? Things just haven't been the same without you, and Satori..." The hell raven looked down. "She's been a wreck ever since you left."
Upon hearing this, Koishi closed her eyes. "
Too lazy, it seems." And with that, she searched for the notion of homesickness in her mind, and shut it away.
"...no. I'm not going back down there." Koishi's smile remained, but her cheerful tone had vanished. "I think I'll move along, now."
Utsuho froze again, in shock. "Wait... what? But you just said..."
Koishi was still smiling. "I'll see you around." She wriggled out of the stunned yatagarasu's arms, and started skipping away, heading back into the snow.
"That's not going to work!" Utsuho yelled, spreading her wings, taking off in pursuit.
It has been ten years. I can't bear to see Satori-sama like this anymore. Nothing feels like it should. And if I can change that, then that is what I'll do!However, her endeavors did not go unnoticed. Koishi turned around at the sound of flapping wings, only to see that she was followed. She closed her eyes, and sighed."
No, I can't let this happen."
Her smile had vanished. "Get away from me." Koishi opened her eyes again, revealing glowing red irises in lieu of her normal green eyes. She gazed directly into Utsuho's eyes, looked into her subconscious, and erased her presence.
Utsuho stopped in mid-flight. "Where did she... she was right there..."
Koishi watched Utsuho pause to look around, and realized that the deed was done-- and with that, she took to the sky, racing toward the sun that had just started to rise. The strand of lights she was once happily twirling around laid there in the snow, as if no one was there to begin with.
---
A few hours later, Satori woke up from another night of dreamless slumber, and glanced at the calendar. December 23.
She sighed. "Looks like it'll be another year without you, Koi--"
Knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knockSatori jumped at the sudden noise-- a frenzied knock at the door. She dashed to the door, and opened it.
"Utsuho... what on earth happened to you?" Satori gasped at the sight-- her dress in tatters, burnt and torn; her hair a complete mess; a wild look in her eyes. "... is this one of those bird things I'm just never going to understand?"
"You're not going to believe this, but..." the hell raven began, seeming to shrug off Satori's remark. "...I saw her. I saw her, Satori. She was there, right in front of me! I touched her! I held her! I--"
The words "I lost her" just wouldn't come out.
"You... saw her?" Satori lifted an eyebrow. "What did Orin get into this time?"
Utsuho shook her head. "No, no-- she didn't get into anything-- it was... I saw... Koishi."
The last word seemed to resonate from the tip of Satori's hair to the bottom of her feet, her eyes opened wide. "You saw..."
"...yes." Utsuho continued, the wild look in her eyes turning more and more into a pained look at the sight of Satori's shock. "Just outside of Chireiden."
"W-well. Where is she? Where is she now, Utsuho?! Why didn't you bring her back with you?"
"I tried. I did. I really, really did, Satori-sama. But... well, I...I lost her. I had her in my arms. I talked to her."
"What did she say?"
"She misses us. She misses
you, Satori-sama. But... as soon as I asked her to come back, she... she seemed to change her mind, and before I knew it, she vanished. I don't know where she's at, but..." Utsuho paused, looking down to the floor.
Satori froze, as if her heart had been broken even more than it had been before. "She... I can't believe it. I guess my wish is never going to come true, is it? I... I must really mean nothing to her anymore."
Utsuho's head jerked up, the wild look not only returning to her eyes, but it was as if her very eyes were set ablaze by Satori's comment. "You... ugh. You, of all people. How could you say such a thing? How could you suddenly give up on the person you love most? I might not be the brightest bird in th-- wait, that doesn't really work does it-- I might not be a nuclear scient--damn it-- well, I'm not a genius, okay, but I know you well enough to know that not only do you not want to give up on her, you
can't give up on her. You can't even try to! The Satori-sama I once knew ten years ago had a stronger will than this!"
"She... doesn't want to see me. She doesn't want to come home. There's no point. There's no point to anything, anymore."
Smack. Utsuho's hand found its way across Satori's face. The satori maiden's eyes grew wide in shock, and she slumped to her knees.
"You really don't get it, do you?! I can't say much for why she shuts herself away-- that is something only you could understand-- but I do know that she misses us-- and more importantly, she misses you. The words she said were sincere, but.. she's running away from that. I wish she'd come home too. However... wishes are pointless when you don't put any effort into making them come true! That's why you're still here and she's not, after ten years. That's why you're miserable, and losing hope. And that's why... and that's why I'll be leaving now. I'm going to find her! And this time, I won't lose her, either! Come with me, Satori-sama. Together, let's try to resolve this!"
Satori could do little more than just stare at Utsuho, shocked that her pet would have the nerve to hit her, to yell at her, to lecture her on how she's supposed to act. However, her eyes fell to the floor.
"I... I can't. She doesn't want to see me. She'll just keep running away."
"Have you tried, though? Just because you can read minds doesn't mean you can tell the future-- and you can't read Koishi's mind anymore, anyway. The only one who knows how she feels is her-- and those feelings are there, whether she decides to acknowledge them or not. And that's why I'm going. I'm going to get her to understand that... and hopefully, I can get her to open up again, after so long." And with that, she turned and walked out of the door. "I'll see you soon."
Satori stared at the door, feeling as if she had been struck by lightning. What was she supposed to do? "I can't... I don't want to cause her any more pain. And besides, I haven't been outside Chireiden for decades. There's a reason we live down here! People hate us--it's dangerous up there!"
She flopped over to the floor, and sighed. "I just can't win, can I? No matter what, I'm always going to fail, aren't I? So why try?" Tears began to form in her eyes again, and she shut her eyes tightly to keep them from coming. "...no. I can't cry-- not when Utsuho's out there doing all of this for me. How low can I get?"
She opened her eyes again, and saw the broken glass from the mirror she broke the day before. Remembering the perpetual frown on her face, especially next to the picture of Koishi and herself-- smiling, she sighed. "I wish... I wish we could be together again, smiling like that. Is that so much to ask fo--"
"
Wishes are pointless when you don't put any effort into making them come true." Satori heard Utsuho's words ringing in her ears. "Pointless. Wishing is pointless. Why do I even bothe--"
"
...when you don't put any effort into making them come true."
"
...you don't put any effort into making them come true."
"
...effort into making them come true."
"
Come with me, Satori-sama."
Satori rose to her feet, and walked to her dresser, looking at the picture she treasured so much.
"
I know you well enough to know that not only do you not want to give up on her, you can't give up on her. You can't even try to!"
"
There's a reason we live down here! People hate us--it's dangerous up there!"
"
You can't give up on her."
She placed her hand on the side of her face where Utsuho slapped her, and laughed a bit. "...she's right. I can't give up on her. I couldn't dream of it-- no matter what."
"
People hate us--it's dangerous up there!For the first time in what seemed like years, a smirk came to Satori's face. "Who cares?" And with that, she pulled off her nightgown and threw it aside, put on her favorite clothes, grabbed the picture, and flew out of Chireiden as fast as she could-- not even noticing that she had knocked over the table in her sitting room as she crashed through the front door, shattering the vase of roses that was once sitting on top of it.
Orin, who had been hiding outside Satori's room all the while, had heard everything. "
Nice one, Okuu." She walked to the sitting room, and giggled at the toppled table, the broken vase, and the roses, scattered about the shattered glass. "I suppose that some roses aren't meant to stay in a vase forever." She hopped up onto Satori's chair, and curled up for a nap. "I'll keep this warm for you until you get back, Satori-sama. Heheheh."
---
Satori was greeted by a bright sun and a cold wind as she emerged from Chireiden. She had forgotten how long it had been since she had been outside, but she wasn't about to let that stop her. "I'm not going to give up. I can't gi--ahhhh!"
Utsuho, waiting just outside of Chireiden. flew into her from the side, tackling her to the ground in a tight hug. "I told you I'd see you soon."
"Okuu... you're right. Right now, I'm ready to make up for lost time. I'll be back as soon as I can!"
"I'm coming with you! After all, it's better to do things together, right?"
Satori smiled, and shook her head. "I can do this. I appreciate the offer, I really do-- but this is something I need to do." She sat up, and ruffled the hell raven's hair. "Besides, you have a job to do in Chireiden. Get yourself cleaned up, and after that, you and Orin should tidy up the place. I'm coming home with Koishi."
Utsuho blinked away tears, dousing the fire in her eyes. This was the Satori she remembered from so long ago. She wasn't particularly strong, but she made up for it with sheer willpower. She grinned, and stood up. "Anything for you, Satori-sama." She held out a hand for her master.
Satori took Utsuho's hand, and rose to her feet. "Thank you, Utsuho." And with that, she took to the skies as fast as she could, flying out of sight. "
Even if I have to explore every last bit of Gensokyo, I'll find you, Koishi. I promise."
---
Now, hopefully, I can carry on with this. For those of you who still might care, I have no intention of stopping, after all. I apologize if it's not very good, though. :ohdear:
