~Hakurei Shrine~ > Kosuzu's Grand Bookstore
A New World, Book 3 - Complete -
Iced Fairy:
?King's pawn to E5?
Kanako could barely keep herself from growling in frustration as she placed the markers on the sandy makeshift terrain map of Gensoukyo's new environs. It was idiocy. Pure idiocy. On both sides of the battlefield.
Her head snapped up as she heard the door open. But it was only Suwako. A pity. She'd been hopeing for a tengu so she could yell at them.
?Sanae's asleep,? Suwako said quietly. Kanako nodded her approval. Their current wind priestess, named after her ancestor, was far too young to be involved in this war. The very fact that Suwako's sleep suggestion had worked proved that.
Kanako looked down at the board again. The Lunarians' main rabbit army seemed to be surrounding Eientei, while their other deployments seemed to be haphazard. They'd set up a command post in the small section of hills between where the two forests met, and there was another group heading towards the Scarlet Devil Mansion. Kanako couldn't make heads or tails of their movements past that. It was utterly ridiculous. A concentrated effort by any force outside of Eientei could sweep the whole Lunarian army.
Sadly, no one seemed to be taking advantage of that weakness. As a military commander this annoyed Kanako to no end.
Suwako moved to the opposite end of the map and looked down. ?I don't know why you're focusing so much on this. If we go out there the Lunarians will banish us back here within minutes. Gods aren't allowed to interfere unless their worshipers ask them to.?
?And our worshipers are arrogant youkai who barely have the ability to ask for a cup of sugar, much less for help in a fight,? Kanako finished bitterly. She snorted and looked up. ?Still I know of a way around this. But I can't do it.?
Suwako looked surprised, then smirked at her. ?Another thing you can't do Kanako? How'd you handle being a god without me around??
Kanako laughed. ?I can't go because I'm not an native god. You know you don't have to follow as many rules as I do Suwako.? Suwako shrugged and smiled. ?Besides you aren't going to be fighting anyway.?
Kanako pointed at the nearest Lunarian in Kappa territory. ?I think it's time the Lunarians learned why the Mishaguji were sealed.?
Suwako's smile faded in shock. ?Wait you want me to let those loose? You know they aren't easy to control right? It takes a lot of effort. Especially if they're in a real fight.?
?Don't free them all. Just a few to attack the Lunarians. They should beat each other up and you can finish off the winner. Treat it as a short range guided attack,? Kanako said. ?If you do this right and clear out the kappa territory you might be able to get a band of fighters together to start the counter attack.?
Sawako looked down at the map again. ?Hm... Might be possible. I won't be in much danger either way, and it'll cause disruption even if it fails. But what will you be doing while I do all the work??
Kanako looked down at the single marker advancing towards the Great Tengu's lodge. ?I think there might be a few people who have faith in us and who aren't too stubborn to call.?
Suwako looked at Kanako questioningly, but the war god held her peace. She knew better then to rely entirely on one person.
Suwako finally shrugged and started towards the door. ?Well if I'm going to summon those curse gods for real I'd better have the stuff I need to seal them back on hand. I'll keep you informed Kanako.?
?Thanks Suwako,? Kanako replied.
When the elder goddess was gone, Kanako carefully removed her helmet from its resting place and put it on. It still fit as perfectly as it did when it was first altered for her. She was glad she'd insisted on keeping her hair short, to better wear it.
She briefly stretched to shift the weight of her armor to all the proper spots, then sat down again and began to meditate.
There were some that might call upon her. And when they did....
The Lunarians would learn the price for ruining the nation she had helped build.
---
The waiting had become interminable to Maribel.
The four had been staying in Mayohiga, sleeping during the day, and alternating between practice and resting at night. Fortunately Renko had learned a spell to help reset their internal clocks, so the sudden shift in sleep patterns wouldn't make them groggy.
Which meant Mary had only had to deal with the constant gnawing in her stomach as her mind flip flopped between her sorrow over the loss of her family, and her fear of battle.
Currently she was trying to read a book to keep her mind off things. It was some fairy tale about a blue dove and a princess. She couldn't say how it ended, because she'd been rereading the same page over and over again. But it was better then thinking about reality.
Ran was doing math problems. Renko had wandered over to see what the kitsune was solving, but quickly retreated when she saw the variables in play. The fox hadn't been joking about her mathematical skill.
After that Renko had gone back to pouring over her spellbooks. Occasionally she'd do some basic astronomy, or polish the hakkero with a sense of wonder. But mostly, Renko went over her books like a grad student studying for their Masters tests.
Chen just napped. Apparently nekomata kept a lot of cat traits. Maribel felt a little jealous, but it was still calming to see the childish figure curled up in a ball sleeping.
She tried once again to get back to her reading. She'd gotten to the part about how the demon of the north sea was struck down....
Maribel froze when she felt the air suddenly change. Somehow she knew. ?They're here.?
Ran looked up from her equations and scowled. ?You're right. It's time to go. Chen!?
The nekomata looked like she was going to argue with her master for a moment, then she rubbed against the three before running out into Gensoukyo proper. ?Be careful!? she cried as she left.
?You too,? Renko and Maribel called after her. Ran simply closed her eyes and sent something mentally. Then the fox woman looked over at them.
?Are you ready?? she said simply.
Maribel nodded. She didn't need to bring weapons.
Beside her Renko slipped the mini-hakkero under her hat and nodded. With the magical reactor she could cast all her spells without needing a wand or potion to work with, despite not being a youkai magician.
Ran nodded. ?Alright. Let's go.?
Maribel allowed Ran to make the portal, even though the kitsune's false boundary manipulation was starting to look inefficient to her. The three stepped through, into a forest clearing resounding with frog croaks and insect sounds. Maribel looked around to gather her bearings.
?Should we really be out in the open like this?? she asked.
?Yeah, it seems like we shouldn't give up cover so easily,? Renko said.
Ran nodded. ?Anyone who's a threat to me won't be stopped by trees. And hiding in the forest would allow us to be separated and ambushed. Our enemy knows where we are. Let's force him to come to us.?
The butterflies returned to Maribel's stomach. ?So we wait??
?Yes. Just a little longer...? Ran said with a dark smile. ?Then we get our revenge.?
The butterflies faded away as heat rose in her body. ?Right.? Maribel looked out at the forest.
It was time to make the Lunarians pay.
Iced Fairy:
This is a continuation of the previous two books
Book 1 http://www.shrinemaiden.org/forum/index.php/topic,6097.0.html
Book 2 http://www.shrinemaiden.org/forum/index.php/topic,7910.0.html
I'm a bad fairy. I'm starting to post before I'm done. But I wanted to light a bit of a fire under myself. I've got a nice buffer, and I'm going to try to update something about this size weekly.
I hope the conclusion lives up to everyone's expectations.
Alfred F. Jones:
Oh god yes the continuation is here. I can't wait for more. :munch:
Yukarin:
This is quite nice! I'll read the toher books right away!
Kips McKipzerson:
I read all the books after reading the first sentence.
I used up 8 hours which could have been sleep, and god I love/hate you so much right now for these amazing fics.
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