Um, all right... I guess here goes nothing... It's my first and only story I've ever put any effort into that was in first person perspective; please be brutal.
I was humiliated.
No matter how hard I tried, those four? invaders? just bobbed and weaved around my bullets, blasting past me like I was nothing. I wasn?t even supposed to be there, but I couldn?t sit back while my home was being attacked. I left the castle, despite my mother?s warnings; I waited for them at the entrance to the city, my two dolls standing by to support me. They attacked in turn, each one looking like they were fighting for different reasons.
When it was all over, they flew past me; the one in red-white riding the turtle simply nodded like it was as to be expected, the one in blue-green with the ghost tail smirked as she passed me, the one in red-green carrying the umbrella just looked like she took delight in causing pain, and the one in purple riding the broom? she just shrugged and grinned, speeding off to join the other three.
I tried my best out there, but it apparently wasn?t good enough. When I got back to the castle, mother berated me for disobeying, but she didn?t outright yell. When the intruders managed to reach the inside of the castle, I was told to stand back; I watched as mother unleashed the full extent of her powers, and still she couldn?t beat them. I couldn?t believe my eyes; Shinki, goddess of all Makai, wasn?t able to put them down. She agreed to halt the tours of Gensokyo and just let them go?
I was outraged. Despite having destroyed half of Makai, these were being allowed to just walk away. I couldn?t let this happen, and I knew just how to do it. In the library is one book that no one is allowed to touch. I ran in there and found it still there, hovering in the center of the magic circle that contained it. It?s called a grimoire, and it?s said to contain very powerful and forbidden magic. I knew that if I used that I could stop them, so I reached out for it with both hands?
It was both the most wonderful and the most horrifying thing I?d ever experienced. I could feel the magic coming off of it, even while it was closed. For several minutes I just stood there, letting the magic wash over me. Once it was all over, I held the book close to me; I was far too small to hold the book like a normal person, so while it was closed I just clutched it to my chest. I looked around the library? there was no one there because the castle had been evacuated by mother when it was known that the invaders were headed for the castle.
I flew as fast as I could, now aided by the book, and managed to actually head them off at the gateway between our worlds. I opened the book which now had the title of Grimoire of Alice on it, and found myself automatically casting a spell which sealed the four of them in my own world; my own Wonderland. I remembered my mother reading me a story about another little girl named Alice and her adventures and imagined my own world in that same way.
They were confused at first, but soon found their bearings and started heading straight for me. I put as much resistance as I could in their way, but still they just blasted through. Again, they managed to reach me, and not even the magic of the grimoire was enough to stop them. I was beaten again.
I was so ashamed. I had once again disobeyed mother, both by taking the forbidden book and again leaving the castle without her permission. I knew that disappointment wasn?t the only thing she was going to feel, and I couldn?t return to face her?
Once the illusion of the world I had created was dispelled, the four once again looked down on me. All but one simply flew off without a word, the last one stopping long enough to say, ?That was a nice try, ze. You?ll have to do better than that to stop us, though!? She grinned again as she did last time and sped off to follow them.
I looked back to the city and the castle; they were half in ruins, and I wasn?t able to avenge them. I couldn?t go back, which meant the only way to go was forward; into Gensokyo and the outside world.
I emerged from the cave, looking about me in wonder. It was the middle of the night; I knew this as we had a 24-hour clock in Makai just the same, but I had never actually seen the night sky before. A sliver of moon hung above the tree line, and hundreds of stars twinkled. I clutched the book tightly, and found that at some point after my defeat some ribbon appeared around it and a lock now hung from the ribbon. There was a heaviness in the pocket of my dress; a key was there, as if by magic, and I knew it belonged to my grimoire.
I didn?t have time to puzzle over this, however; the exhaustion from the last two battles was finally catching up to me, and I had to find someplace to rest for the night. There was a forest nearby, and while I had never seen trees up close, let alone a forest before, I knew I could find a branch in the boughs to get some sleep. I could worry about my surroundings in the morning?
Before falling asleep, I made a mental note that the surrounding air of Gensokyo didn?t seem to have as much ambient magic as that of Makai, at least until I entered the forest, which seemed to have a magic of a different feel in the atmosphere.
When sunlight broke through the canopy, I felt stiff, but surprisingly not hungry nor thirsty. After stretching and getting feeling back into my arms and legs I began wandering the forest, looking for sustenance despite my lack of hunger. I did this for a week before finding my way through to the other side. It was all but pleasurable, however.
No, that was more like my week in hell.
I could feel it; my body was gradually changing. It was a fact that humans were rare in Makai; the air is said to be poisonous and possibly fatal under the right kind of exposure. I suppose I was a lucky one to have been found in Makai at a very young age where my resistances and antibodies were still in the process of being manufactured. I managed to adapt, but was still a human, whereas an older human that travels to Makai can only stay for so long before their body shuts down from the atmosphere. Only the strongest of human magicians can hope to survive prolonged exposure.
This is not to say that there weren?t side effects to my adaptation. In actual age when I escaped to Gensokyo I was 14 years old; physically, however, I was residing in the body of a 10 year old. Because I looked the part, mother treated me like a child. It probably didn?t help that I was always playing with dolls, though magically animating them to help you do things wasn?t likely the normal kind of playing that little girls would do.
So my growth was inhibited in Makai, and now that I was no longer in Makai my body saw fit to play a little catch up. I?m still not sure if it was the change in environment that did it, or if it was the book, but either way, I was definitely aging. If the actual process had been spread out more, I might not have paid it any attention, but as it was, my body was growing by four years in the space of one week.
It was painful. I grew taller by nearly a foot, and my various proportions filled out to match my new height. I found the dress I was wearing when I left Makai no longer fit right and was barely able to cover me anymore. I escaped the forest and spotted what looked to be a village in the distance, and walking into the place it was all I could do to keep my decency as I walked the path and was scrutinized by the humans living there.
The villagers watched me as I wandered; that?s when I met the one that would throw me a lifeline. She was taller than me by a number of inches and had bluish-silver hair, wearing a blue dress and a hat that looked like it should fall off with barely any movement of her head. She introduced herself as Keine Kamishirasawa, the schoolteacher of the young children of the village. Whenever a stranger would appear in The Human Village, she was usually the one to greet them and make sure they weren?t planning to bring any harm to anyone.
She could see me walking about in clothes that barely fit me, looking very tired and lost, and decided to invite me into her home. Whether this was out of pity or whatever else you might choose to call it I can?t say and I never asked her, but I gladly accepted the invite. She provided me with a place to rest, as well as food and drink. At first she didn?t ask anything of me, and for the first week in the village it was like that, with me adjusting to the ways and customs of the people of Gensokyo.
Miss Keine provided me with better fitting clothing, though it wasn?t quite in the style I would have liked; fortunately I had plenty of experience in making clothing for my dolls and was able to make something more to my liking soon enough. Speaking of my dolls, the two that I had with me on the day of the invasion were still in the pockets of my old dress. Miss Keine found me animating them with my magic and finally asked something of me for having stayed with her; she asked me to entertain the schoolchildren and assist her while classes were in session. I felt bad for imposing on her all that time and agreed to help in any way I could.
I was popular with the children and even started taking joy from seeing their smiling faces when I would conclude a small play for them. I was informed of a small village-wide festival that was planned for a couple of weeks ahead and agreed to entertain for that, too. It was an exciting time for me, as I was experiencing many new things and all of it was me on my own, no longer being ordered what to do by my mother and not being allowed to go anywhere or do anything. I felt free.
On the night of the festival everything seemed to be going so well; the villagers had accepted me as one of them and the children all enjoyed my show. I had crafted a third doll to act with the other two, and while the workmanship wasn?t quite the same due to the materials being different than what I used to be provided with in Makai, none of the kids complained. The night was gorgeous with the moon and stars shining brightly and the entire village was lit by a multitude of torches. Yes, everything was great?
Then I saw her.
The one in purple from nearly a month previous; I had almost managed to forget that time, but seeing her made it all come back in a rush. Fortunately I didn?t see her until I had just finished a show, so it didn?t interrupt anything; in fact, she was standing behind the children where some of the adults were applauding my show along with them, that same grin as she had gave me both times I had been beaten. She didn?t seem to recognize me, and of course who would? I no longer looked like the little girl in the bright blue and pink dress with the blue bow in her hair; I now actually appeared my age, and was wearing a pale blue dress that reached my ankles, a white shawl around my shoulders and pink ribbon tied at my waist, with a red hairband.
I announced that I was taking a break and severed my magical connection to my dolls, picking up my book and walking over to a table where pitchers of water and an assortment of food was laid out; although I couldn?t say I was actually thirsty, I still felt the need to get a glass of water to calm myself. Of course, as I stood there taking a drink while clutching my book, who else but the witch girl would approach me.
?Hey, you?re not too bad; you new around here??
I swallowed the gulp that I had just taken and set the glass back down. ?Yes, I? just arrived a few weeks ago.? I could barely speak the words, but still tried my best to sound as natural as possible.
She eyed me for several moments and lingered on my grimoire. Her eyes widened in recognition and she said, ?Wait, I recognize you now! You?re that girl from Makai, ain?tcha??
I froze. I wanted to run away, but I knew she was faster than I was. The moment she tells the villagers, I just know that I?ll be tossed out, and where else could I go? Back to Makai? Back to mother?
She saw my apprehension, though, and held her hands in front of her. ?Oh, don?t worry; I?m not gonna tell nobody. I?m just surprised to find you up here is all.?
I felt a little bit of relief wash over me, but it was replaced almost immediately by suspicion. I narrowed my eyes at her and asked, ?Why? After everything that happened back home, why would you choose to leave me be??
She grinned again. I was at a complete loss as to what it was supposed to mean. ?Well, if you want a fight that bad? I just meant that these villagers seem to have taken a liking to you, and I?m sure the kids?d be disappointed to find that you weren?t going to be around anymore.? She looked around at the gathering of the villagers before turning back to me and saying, ?Oh yeah, we haven?t introduced ourselves, have we? Name?s Marisa. Kirisame Marisa.?
She held out her right hand, and I realized it was something of a formal greeting. I held out my own hand and grasped hers with it, realizing that she had a much stronger grip than I was expecting. ?Alice Margatroid.?
The festival wound down as the evening went on; Marisa continued to watch my shows, though I can?t for the life of me figure out why. After my last show, she approached me with the most unusual request I had ever heard?
?I don?t know where you?re staying right now, but how about you stay over at my place tonight? It?ll be like a sleepover!?
She sounded so enthusiastic about it, and I was genuinely curious as to why she would want to do something like that. ?Um? okay. I guess that would be alright. I need to go get some things first though??
?I?ll go with ya!?
She followed me back to the home where I had been living, and upon our arrival we were met with a voice saying, ?Well well, Marisa Kirisame; not content with mere possessions, now you?ve come to steal my houseguest as well??
Marisa had the good graces to at least look a little guilty at the accusation. She replied all the same. ?Aw, come on Miss Keine; I haven?t taken anything from anyone in a long time! It?s only for one night, I swear!?
Keine chuckled at the response and shook her head. ?It?s fine, Marisa; just make sure you bring her back in one piece tomorrow, okay??
?Of course, ze!?
I was now a little worried about what was to come tonight, but the way Keine smiled made me slightly more at ease about the whole situation. I nodded to her and entered the house, taking care to pack up some night clothes and something to wear for tomorrow. I didn?t have many possessions outside of my dolls and wasn?t worried to be leaving anything else behind. Once I was ready, I walked back out the front door and bowed to Miss Keine in thanks.
I was surprised when Marisa hopped onto her broom; I thought she lived somewhere in the village, looking to be about the same age as me. I took to the air and followed her. I was even more surprised to find us heading for the forest that I spent that agonizing week in. We came to something of a clearing, and there, nestled in the middle of the forest, was a house.
It was a squat little house, consisting of only a single floor, but seemed like it might be able to accommodate a bit of living space. We touched down in front of the door and Marisa unceremoniously threw it aside and walked right in. I walked cautiously behind her and was astonished at what I saw; a single word could describe this house: cluttered. It wasn?t an absolute mess, but it could at least be a little better organized. At least it wasn?t filled with garbage; most of it was piles of what looked to be old books.
Marisa cleared off a wooden table near the kitchen and said, ?Home sweet home; make yourself comfortable, I?ll bring us some tea!?
She walked around a counter of some sort and filled a small teapot with water from the sink. ?Wait, is that a faucet?? ?You have running water here??
Marisa looked up to me and said, ?Yeah; it costs a little, but it?s one o? them conveniences that the Kappa have been tryin? to bring to everyone in Gensokyo. They hear about all kinds of strange stuff from the outside world and try to recreate it here.?
I nodded and sat down at her table, continuing to look around the room. The place certainly felt cozy, though again I felt the urge to just start cleaning. The castle was always spotless; Yumeko took her job very seriously.
Marisa returned with two steaming cups, handing one to me, and sat down at the table across from me. Being unsure of what kind of tea it was, I held it close and breathed in the aroma; nothing I was familiar with, which would have given me pause had Marisa not taken a sip of her own. I mentally shrugged and took a sip as well.
I must have made a face or something, because after that Marisa said, ?Aw, don?t like my recipe??
I shook my head. ?It?s not that; back in Makai we didn?t drink tea. We mostly had just water, milk, and coffee.?
?Coffee, huh?? It must have cooled down enough for her as she took a big gulp of her drink. ?Coffee is hard to find around here; only the richest of villagers tend to have any. ?Tis why we mostly drink tea!? She downed the rest of her cup while I continued to sip at mine. ?So tell me, Alice; how is it that you look like this now? Back almost a month ago you looked like a little girl.?
I started for just a second; that was a question I should have been expecting. ?I? don?t actually know the reason. Shortly after leaving Makai, my body started changing on its own. Now, I at least physically look my own age of fourteen, whereas before I looked no older than ten.?
Marisa stared at me for a moment before saying, ?You?re a year younger than me, huh?? She looked down at the front of her robe and frowned. ?Younger but more developed than me, just like Reimu??
I blinked in sudden realization of what she meant and promptly turned my head away. I could feel the faint blush; this was not how conversation typically went back home. ?A-anyways? what were you doing with them in Makai? I mean, other than blowing everything up??
She grinned, which again confused the heck out of me. ?Oh, I?m a youkai hunter, or exterminator depending on who you talk to. A bunch of foreign fairies and youkai showed up in Gensokyo one day, and Reimu set out to find where they were coming from and put a stop to them. It wasn?t the first time something like that happened, so I followed her in order to practice my magic and maybe get a share of the glory. Mima followed next, partly because of me and partly because of Reimu; Mima used to be my mentor for learning magic and she?s kind of like the resident evil spirit of Reimu?s shrine. As for Yuuka? I actually don?t know why she followed; maybe she just wanted to blow some stuff up?? She leaned back in her chair and propped her feet up on the table, slightly disgusting me in the process. This girl didn?t seem to have any polite manners at all! She continued after putting her hands behind her head, ?We followed the trail of youkai to the cave where the border of Gensokyo and Makai was, and just went from there. You should know the rest of the story, of course.? She winked after saying that.
Of course I know the rest of the story; I was part of it. Not once but twice was I beat by those four. I set my cup down and put a hand on my grimoire; if Marisa was worried about the gesture, she didn?t show it.
I was startled when she suddenly dropped her chair back down and sat up straight; I very nearly unleashed some of my magic on her when it happened, but stopped myself when I saw she was just taking her hat off. Wait, no? not just taking her hat off, but reaching for something in a hidden pocket of the hat.
It was a small octagonal piece of wood. Around the outside of the top surface were a set of markings; trigrams, if I remembered the definition from a book I once read. She held it out to me and said, ?Check this out; it?s called a mini-hakkero. I got it from Kourin just before we left for Makai. He described it as an ?elemental reactor? and it?s supposed to enhance the power of my magic. You probably weren?t paying attention during our second battle, but it?s the only reason I was able to stand up to what you did to us.? I was once again surprised at something Marisa said or did; she just admitted that without that tool I could have beat her. ?Of course, the others didn?t need anything like this; I have to work really hard to train my magic up, but Yuuka and Mima are already really powerful, and Reimu? well, everything comes natural to her. I?m always behind her when it comes to Youkai hunting ability.?
I could hear a hint of jealousy in her voice when she said this, and it makes sense. I?d feel the same way if it were me being shown up by someone that didn?t actually work for her accomplishments. I suddenly yawned, and realized that it was getting to be quite late; I was usually asleep by now.
Marisa got up and took my now empty cup back to the kitchen, then walked back in stared straight ahead, eyes wide as if she just realized she had forgotten something. ?Uh? heh heh? I kinda forgot to tell ya that I?ve only got the one futon fer sleepin?; that gonna be a problem??
A term that came up a couple of times in the village popped into my mind at that moment: facepalm. I didn?t actually do that, but a mental image of myself did. I weighed my options and realized that I was too tired to make my way back to the village now, so I instead just shrugged and said, ?It can?t be helped; I guess you did say this is supposed to be a sleepover, after all?? She looked relieved at my answer, which I guess makes sense; I don?t think she?s the kind who would intentionally hurt anyone unless they deserved it. I grabbed my sack with my clothes and asked, ?Um, do you have anywhere I can change??
She pointed towards a closed door and said, ?Yeah, uh, you can change in the bathroom there?? I walked in and found it to be similar to the water closets back at the castle, which was at least familiar to me.
Reaching into my cloth sack I withdrew my only nightgown that I owned; in contrast to what I would normally wear day to day, this was a pale green color. I carefully slipped out of the dress I had been wearing all day and folded neatly before placing it into the sack. I then dressed myself in the nightgown and walked back out into the primary living space of Marisa?s house.
Marisa herself had just finished setting up the futon; she was dressed in pajamas that resembled a simple shirt and pair of bloomers. It was probably what she normally slept in, so I didn?t say anything, as well she didn?t either. I yawned again as I approached where we were about to sleep; I had little doubt that I would get to sleep quickly this night. Marisa used magic which I was unfamiliar with to snuff out the lights in her house, and we both settled in, the night quickly claiming me.
?How could you??
I felt quite confused. Turning in place, I realized I was back in Pandemonium Castle; I was at the foot of the stairs in the main hall, and at the top of the first flight stood my mother Shinki, goddess and creator of everything in Makai.
?Well, are you going to answer me? How do you explain yourself, running from the castle not just once but twice? And stealing the grimoire out of the library? That book is forbidden for a reason!?
I blinked in surprise; mother was yelling at me for the events of nearly a month ago. I looked down at myself and realized that I was once again in my ten year old form and dressed as I was on the day I left. I looked up and was about to answer when another voice spoke up from behind me.
?You know that wasn?t proper of you to disobey mother. You should have just left everything to us. Now we have to clean up your mess.?
It was Yumeko, head maid of the castle. It was unusual for her to speak against me when mother was around, partially out of respect for her authority, and partially because she looks up to Shinki as a mother herself, as does all of Makai.
Not taking my eyes off of mother, I said, ?I only did what I had to do; all for Makai.?
My defiant attitude apparently didn?t sit well with mother, because she extended her six wings and was down the stairs in an instant. Mother has never actually hit me to discipline me, but then again, I?ve hardly never needed to be disciplined. She gripped my shoulders and shook me vigorously. ?We put these rules in place for a reason, Alice. We?re trying to protect you and keep you safe. You?re the only living human in Makai!?
I no longer had an answer for her. I looked down at my feet and refuse eye contact with her. The next thing I knew, Yumeko was right behind me, grabbing at my arms and saying, ?Alice, why? Why would you forsake your home like this? Why would you break the rules your own mother set forth??
Two new presences appeared on either side of me; I recognized them as the Witch Sisters Yuki and Mai. Yuki was proud of her magic, whereas Mai rarely spoke. They both stepped towards me and grabbed at my hands. Mai had an expression just like the others, as if to wonder at me for something while Yuki said, ?Answer us, sister! Answer us!?
I was surrounded and couldn?t get away even if I actually tried. I still struggled to at least get them to let go, but nothing fazed them. Finally Shinki said, ?Alice, look at me.? I refused, though. She sighed and said, ?Fine, just answer us; why would you do all of this when we told you not to? You disappoint me enough for leaving the castle when Makai is under attack, then you go off and deliberately take the forgotten grimoire, then flee with it when you can?t succeed even with it. Answer me, Alice.? Again, I continue looking away and refuse to say anything.
?Alice!?
?Alice, answer me.? Silence. ?Answer me now.? Nothing. ?ANSWER ME, ALICE!?
?Wake up, Alice!?
I open my eyes very suddenly; it?s dark around me and I?m breathing erratically. Where was this? I was just at the castle and?
No, wait? that?s not right. I was sleeping over at Marisa?s house. We had just gone to bed and?
?Oh, good, you?re awake ze.? Marisa was beside me, sounding relieved to see me awake. ?Sounds like you were having quite the nightmare, all whimpering and clutching at my shirt and all.? I realized that I had indeed grabbed it in my sleep. Blushing profusely, I let go and scooted away a little to give her some room. We lay there in silence for a number of minutes before she finally said, ?So, you gonna talk about it? It might help??
I quietly shuddered at the thought. She was probably right, though. Steeling my nerves as best I could, I started to explain it. ?I was back at the castle in Makai; I looked like I did on the day we fought. Mother and Yumeko were berating me for running off and putting myself in danger, as well as for stealing the grimoire from out of the library. They then started yelling at me for leaving Makai, and demanded answers from me for why. For a second there, I thought my mother was going to hit me?? A single tear fell from my eyes as I recounted it. ?It? only got worse from there; not only was it just mother and Yumeko asking, but Yuki and Mai showed up, too. I was surrounded and they just kept yelling and asking me why??
?Well, why did you leave??
I blinked. Marisa seriously just asked me that question. Then it occurred to me that I needed that question asked, if not by her than by someone that wasn?t mother or any of my ?sisters.? ?I?? I hesitated, questioning whether this friendship I barely had would be affected by what I was about to say; from my impressions of Marisa, she was so confident in all that she did, and if I told her, all I?d be doing was revealing my cowardice? still, she was now expecting an answer. ?I left Makai because I was embarrassed and ashamed that I?d been defeated, even after taking the grimoire out of the castle. I had deliberately disobeyed my own mother and broken one of the foremost rules of the castle. There was no way I could return to face her after all of that.?
Silence reigned while Marisa processed what I had just said. When she did speak, though, she startled me yet again. ?Oh, is that it? Yeah, I?d probably do the same thing in your position. Heck, once I started following Mima, I basically abandoned the village and my parents. Did I ever tell you how Reimu and I met??
It seemed like a really sudden change of topic, such that I couldn?t do anything but answer truthfully. ?Er, no. Never.?
Marisa turned to look out the window, the pale moonlight betraying the look of thoughtfulness to me. ?Well, I?ve wanted to study magic and become a witch since I was a little girl; I would sneak off and read books about basic magic and danmaku and stuff. A little over two years ago, though, I met Mima one night outside of town while I was trying to practice. She stumbled onto me while muttering something about getting revenge on some ?Shrine Maiden.? At the time, I didn?t actually know anything about Reimu or the Hakurei Shrine, so I didn?t know who she was complaining about. She was intrigued at my attempts to perform magic and offered to mentor me; I jumped at the chance. After months of teaching me lower power versions of everything she knew, we started the incident.?
I wrinkled my nose at that last bit. ?Incident? What do you mean??
She smiled while still facing away from me; maybe she didn?t know I could see her expressions? ?Well, usually how it goes is some Youkai or another starts up some trouble, and after it?s all good and resolved it goes and gets called an ?incident.? Mima is an evil spirit, about as Youkai as they come, and extremely powerful. Apparently the Hakurei Shrine had been destroyed sometime in the previous year and Reimu had gone into hell to try to find the culprit; she found Mima, and while Mima denies doing the deed, Reimu still punished her for it. I guess that gave Mima the incentive to escape back into Gensokyo to get her revenge.?
?What kind of revenge??
Marisa giggled. I was slightly taken aback at that, as she didn?t seem the type to giggle. ?She wrecked the shrine.? I stared at her in disbelief. ?Considering Reimu had accused her of doing just that before, she thought it was something like Divine Justice that she should actually destroy it this time. We escaped and waited for her to show up, and show she did. Mima sent me out after her first, and I was so cocky that I thought I could beat her; I hardly lasted five minutes against her and that stupid turtle.? She sighed, though it didn?t sound like a regretful sigh so much as one of simply reliving memories. ?Mima didn?t last too long, either. Reimu punished her again and made her promise not to start any more incidents. Since then, I?ve been following Reimu whenever she went out to resolve anything.?
This was quite enlightening, though I couldn?t figure out why she was telling me this; I couldn?t see the connection to my own situation.
I suppose Marisa sensed my questions somehow, because she addressed that very thing I was thinking about. ?Once I was a full witch, I chose to leave the village; my parents wouldn?t want me around, since they hate magic in general and would have rather had me taking over their store in the village.? She paused for a moment. ?You?ve seen it, right? The ?Kirisame Second-hand Store? in the village?? I nodded, having passed by it many times in my strolls through the village. ?Yeah, my pop owns that place. I visit them during festivals, but otherwise I usually stay out of the village; they?re all a really superstition lot. Magic frightens a lot of them, and they all hate youkai unconditionally??
I couldn?t place it, but it sounded like she didn?t have anything against youkai. ?But aren?t you a youkai exterminator??
She looks over at me almost in confusion. ?Hey, did you forget that my mentor was a youkai? Youkai aren?t bad or evil on principal, but the villagers treat them as all the same. I just hunt down the ones that are causing trouble or are in my way.?
I nodded in understanding; it was certainly a pragmatic way to view things. We lay there in silence once again. I was feeling a little better now and felt I could get to sleep again. Yawning, I said, ?Thank you Marisa.?
She looked at me with that grin of hers and said, ?You?re welcome, ze!? She then paused and said, ?Uh, for what, though??
Now it was my turn to giggle. ?For helping me through my problem; I now know I wasn?t wrong to leave my home?? I couldn?t think of anything else to say. ?Anyways, good night, Marisa.?
?Night, Alice!?
I returned to the village the next day in higher spirits; I now had a friend, something that I never really had back home. Marisa was quite a bit more cheerful and outgoing than most people I?d met in Gensokyo, so spending the last night with her was something else. Miss Keine was happy to see me back, and I was just as happy to return to the children.
Things settled back in, and I had begun to have something of a routine again, only this time I would set the pace of what I did. Over the next weeks, though, something did change; I found Marisa wandering the village on some days. One night I approached her in order to find out what was going on.
?Oh, hey Alice.?
?Hello Marisa. Didn?t you tell me that you don?t come to the village very often? Is something wrong? What?s up??
Maybe I went a little overboard with the questions, but she didn?t seem to be bothered too much by it. ?Well, whenever I hit a snag with my magical research, or the mushrooms are taking too long to boil, I usually go to the shrine to bug Reimu until I get bored or she kicks me out; thing is that for the last week she?s been locked up in the shrine and I haven?t been able to see her.?
?Oh?? I couldn?t think of anything else to really say to that. The sky was darkening; it was the height of Summer in Gensokyo, so this meant it was getting quite late. ?You should probably get going; you don?t want to be caught flying home by yourself in the dark.?
Two more weeks had passed by like this. I was getting restless in the village, having seen the way Marisa lived, and longed for a home of my own. Miss Keine gave me a day off which I used to explore some of the Forest of Magic (as I now knew it was called). I had brought my three dolls with me and had them float around me through my wanderings. Some fairies were about, but none of them bothered me; the reasoning for this I couldn?t figure out.
I found the most amazing clearing about a mile out from Marisa?s house; I had stopped there but found her not actually home, so I moved on. I gazed around the area, imagining what kind of home I would build on the spot. I turned around to regard my dolls when I felt a strange shift in the surrounding magic; my dolls fell out of the air, no longer connected to me for some reason. A voice that I vaguely recognized (though from where?) spoke directly into my mind: ?Youkai of Gensokyo, a new global rule has been instated; the spell card system has been introduced and danmaku is now non-lethal. Conflicts are to be resolved with danmaku and spell card combat. When resolving conflict, you and your opponent will exchange attacks until one gives up or one runs out of a pre-selected number of spell cards. Danmaku patterns are to be beautiful, and spell cards are to contain more complex and more beautiful patterns. Follow these rules or be doomed to be sealed away, youkai.? I puzzled over the strange message while I quickly reestablished my connection to my dolls. I turned back around and gaped at what I saw.
There, exactly where and how I imagined it, was a house. An outsider would call it a Western-style house; it had two floors, and if it was how I actually imagined it, a basement. I walked up to it and opened the door; the inside was furnished how I imagined it, too. It lacked the personal touch that I would have given it, but that will come with time, should I actually live here. I rushed back out of the house and flew straight up above the tree line in time to see Marisa flying at high speeds towards the village. I called out to her to get her attention, and she altered course and flew to me. Once she was closer, I noticed that she appeared different than usual; instead of the purple witch robe that she wore before she was now in a black-white ensemble where the blouse and skirt were black and the undershirt, apron, and ribbons were all white.
?Hey, Alice! Did you feel that? The change in the magic of Gensokyo?? She hovered on her broom and looked incredibly excited for something or another. Did she hear that message, too?
?Yes, it made me lose control of my dolls for a moment? And spawned a house.?
Marisa did a double take at that. I started giggling at her expression, which may have made her think I was telling a joke. I dropped altitude back below the canopy, which made her look down into the clearing; she did another double take.
?Uh? wait, that is a house there! Alice, how did you do that?!? She dropped down to the ground right after me and followed me into the house.
?I actually don?t know? I was imagining this house here before the magic shift and when I turned around, there it was.? I got a little quiet and closed my eyes, coming to a decision on the spot. ?I?m going to move in here. Not that I want to disappoint the children, but it?s time I started taking care of myself for a change.?
Marisa stared at me for a minute before shaking her head and saying, ?Oh yeah, I was going to tell you; Reimu finally left the shrine! She?s been meditating and praying and whatnot for weeks now in order make a global change to all of Gensokyo. She?s introduced a new set of rules for resolving incidents and minor issues: the Spell Card rules!?
This wasn?t news to me, but it sounds like Marisa got the information straight from the horse?s mouth, so to speak. In the interest of not sounding crazy, I decided to simply ask her. ?Spell Card rules? What are those??
Her excitement returned in full force. ?Well, you remember how we slung danmaku at each other in the last incident? Reimu?s gone and changed the way it works so that it?s completely safe to be hit by a danmaku bullet; it?ll just sting like hell for awhile. The idea is that conflict resolution should be beautiful and the danmaku should reflect that. Combatants should take turns creating more and more beautiful and complex patterns in an attempt to take each other out of the fight, and between regular patterns are special named ones called Spell Cards!?
It sounded complicated, but it also sounded much safer than what we had used against each other before. I glanced at my grimoire and realized that it probably wouldn?t follow the rules; I couldn?t use it in combat unless I or anyone else was in serious danger without it. ?How do you make a spell card??
She, what else, grinned in response and said, ?Easy, ze! You take a blank slip of paper and imprint a magical signature on it. The magic of Gensokyo does the rest in actually turning it into a card. Once it?s become an imprinted card, it?s permanent, though according to the rules, when you?re in a duel you can only use a card once.?
I nodded, understanding the basic concept. One thing escaped me, though? ?Okay, and how exactly do you create this imprint??
Well now it was a smirk. ?It's all imagination; you just hold the paper and imagine the pattern you want to base it off of, then feed magic into the paper. Once enough magic is there, bam! Instant spell card!?
Marisa was quite enthusiastic about this new change, and who could blame her? It meant that you could get into fights and duels at just about any time without actually risking your life. We were knocked out of our thoughts by a very loud and angry sounding knocking at the door.
We looked at each other and I at least wondered who could be knocking, considering the house is brand new. I walked over and opened the door, revealing a somewhat rough looking Kappa man. ?Can I help you??
He grunted and said, ?You the owner of this house?? I nodded. ?Well, you just hooked into the pipeline that?s connected to the witch?s house. You?ve gotta pay for that water, or we?re ripping that pipe out and making you pay for the work!?
I was speechless, as I hadn?t actually imagined the house as having running water; the magic apparently hooked it up on its own. ?Um? yes; I will agree to pay whatever is needed. I hadn?t realized it was connected already??
We negotiated a price, and I counted out how much was needed (I had a small amount of wealth by now from doing an odd job here or there around the village for the last couple of weeks). When he left, Marisa said, ?Wow; you even magick?d up running water! It took me ages for them to hook me up after asking for it.?
I decided not to correct her by telling her it wasn?t actually me who caused this house to spring up here. I led Marisa out of the house and locked it with a magical seal that I had recently learned how to create before speeding off to the village; I had to tell Miss Keine I wasn?t going to need her room anymore!
A month had passed in my new home; something about that mental message I had received when the spell card rules had been instantiated was still bothering me. The message had sounded like it was supposed to only go to all of the youkai of Gensokyo? so why could I hear it? I am a human right?
The Summer was winding down; the days were still long, though, which may have explained why early one morning a thick red mist covered almost the whole land at once. Marisa came to check on me to make sure I was alright, and invited me to come help her and Reimu, though I politely declined; the mist fascinated me, as it seemed to contain its own traces of magic which I wanted to experiment on. While Marisa was out of her house, I rummaged through her piles of books and found some pertaining to my interests of magically animated dolls and other assorted magic.
It was at this point that I made a startling discovery? All of a sudden, the last couple of months made sense to me. I had noticed that I didn?t actually seem to need to eat or drink as often as I did before; I still did as usual, but I wasn?t actually getting hungry or thirsty at the same regular intervals. This matched up with something that I read about magic that could transform humans into youkai? If the spell is incomplete, the person becomes something halfway in between; an immature youkai, if you will. I never tried this, but the symptoms matched. Then it hit me: my grimoire! That change, that wonderful and horrible feeling I felt when I first grasped it! It had made me into just that kind of immature youkai that the book described. I knew it was wrong to stay in an incomplete state, so I used the books I had borrowed from Marisa as a reference while I unlocked my grimoire for the first time since that day in Makai?
The book seemed to read my mind, as it automatically flipped to the page I needed. The transformation magic, Shashoku, literally means ?abandoning food.? As I was human before, I couldn?t go completely without before the full transformation, so I studied hard. My magic wasn?t enough by itself, so I gathered some of the mist before it went away and used it as a sort of ?fuel? for the spell. It took hours of concentration to perform it, but by the end of that evening, I was successful.
It was like someone had opened all of my senses, sharpening them to a point never heard of before. I became a creature of magic; possessing a body with all the same functions of any normal human, but no longer needing to do any of the things that most humans required to keep it running. I could absorb the ambient magic around me to keep me going, though a very small part of me knew that I wasn?t going to be able to simply stop the usual habits of my past human life. I was worn out from my progress that day and so locked my grimoire back up and trudged off to my bedroom, not even bothering to change before collapsing on the bed.
I learned from Marisa that the mist incident was entirely the work of a vampire girl named Remilia Scarlet; it seems she wanted to be able to take strolls outside during the day, but couldn?t because the sun sapped her strength too quickly for her to be out for very long. I then learned from Marisa that the Scarlet Devil Mansion contained the most well stocked library in all of Gensokyo. The next time I visited her house, however, I also learned of Marisa?s deep dark secret: she was no better than a common thief when something caught her eye. Several volumes that she didn?t have before appeared in her house, and I learned she had taken them from the SDM without permission. That was the source of our first real argument over anything, as I found it to be crude and tasteless to earn anything by stealing.
?You stole that grimoire from your own castle, didn?t you??
I?m not sure if youkai are supposed to be able to sweat, but I started to at that point. ?Th-that?s beside the point! I was living there at the time and as the daughter of Shinki it was mine to take!?
?Weren?t you specifically told not to touch it??
Damn. She had me there. I didn?t have an answer for her, so I resorted to the best glare I could muster.
?And don?t forget those books on puppetry and magic that you took from me while Reimu and I were punishing Remilia and Flandre.?
That felt like a punch in the gut. She actually noticed they were missing? She hadn?t said anything in weeks! How did she even know they were gone in all that clutter?
She smirked at my automatic responses and said, ?That?s okay, you can keep those; I wasn?t actually going to use them, anyways. They were interesting to read, but since I?m not the expert on making and controlling dolls, you can have them.?
I was slightly irritated by the fact that by letting me keep those, she basically made it so I couldn?t complain about her own penchant for collecting things that belonged to others. I leaned back in my the chair I was occupying at her table and sunk low, taking a gulp of the tea she had made for me.
The early Autumn of Gensokyo was beautiful, and the magic in the air seemed to thicken slightly to accompany it. I was able to perform many more magical experiments than I ever could have in either Makai or the village, and reveled in making new discoveries. My command over my own magic heightened as well, and I could control many dolls at once, as well as have them fire danmaku for me. I crafted many spell cards for their use, and designed many new dolls to help me out.
Each doll was given the name of a foreign city or country. Marisa had introduced me to a friend of hers that ran an antique shop on the outskirts of the Forest of Magic. Rinnosuke, or ?Kourin? as she liked to call him, dealt in items that fell though the Hakurei Border. Many were the items that came in from the outside world, and one that caught my eye was called a ?World Atlas.? It had maps and details of many of the different places on the outside world, and I found it to be truly fascinating. I used the pictures of the different cultures as the basis for the design of my new dolls, and each type of doll was used in a different spell card pattern.
Marisa had come up with many spell cards, as well. Hers weren?t always original, though. As an example, her Master Spark is almost a signature perfect copy of the one Yuuka could do; additionally, the Non-Directional Laser was something she directly stole from Patchouli Knowledge, the resident librarian of the SDM?s Voile Library (thus proving that it?s not just books Marisa is after, there).
We both continued our individual research and occasionally dueled each other in the coming months as we developed new patterns and spell cards. The Winter fell over Gensokyo and brought its own style of beauty; not that Makai didn?t have ice fields, but this was entirely different. I was unaccustomed to the weather patterns, and did my best to stay inside throughout the season. I almost didn?t notice it when Winter failed to end when it was supposed to, and only ventured out in curiosity, and noticed a stream of cherry petals coming from somewhere in the sky?
I had gathered a few of the petals and came to realize that they contained a somewhat otherworldly power to them. If I had to describe it, it would be called? Spring. Yes, these cherry petals contained the warmth of Spring within them, and might just explain why it was still Winter in Gensokyo.
My theories proved true when two incident solvers and a maid that I didn?t recognize started passing through the forest; not having had the chance to get a rematch with Reimu since ?that time? I decided to stand in their way. I hadn?t told anybody of my being a youkai yet, so I didn?t fear doing this to them. They had slowed down to reflect on where they should probably be going when I decided to interject?
?I feel like I?m just wasting my time here?? the maid had said. ?I wonder how the mistress is doing??
I popped up in front of them; yes, this was my opportunity. ?Why don?t you worry about yourself if you have time to worry about others??
She looked at me with a very precisely blank expression. ?Oh yes, I?m worried about myself now.?
Smirking inwardly I said, ?So, for what reason do you worry? About yourself.?
?Because I?m carrying only three changes of clothes.? She tilted her head slightly. ?For myself.?
I nodded. ?Ah, good reason.?
?That, and a spare set of knives, too.?
?Ah, I? KNIVES?? I shuddered for a moment before turning my attention to the red-white; she looked quite different from before, but I knew it was Reimu. ?Long time no see.?
Reimu looked confused; I suppose that was to be expected. ?We?ve only just met.?
I shook my head. ?No, that?s not what I meant.?
?Am I supposed to remember??
This was getting out of hand. ?Don?t you remember me?? She shook her head; expected. ?Well, either way is fine.?
I turned to face Marisa; she held her hands out and shook her head, backing away. We already know each others? spell cards, so I guess this is for the best. The maid turned to Reimu and said, ?She seems to know you; I think I?ll let you handle it.? She too backed away and floated next to Marisa.
The duel was on. We matched patterns for patterns and spell cards for spell cards, though being as busy as I was controlling my dolls, I didn?t dodge and graze as well as she did. I wouldn?t necessarily call it holding back, but I certainly didn?t use all of the strength I could have. Throughout the fight I could see Marisa and the maid having a conversation, but about what, I couldn?t say.
The fight was intense, but in the end my spells were broken. I barely had the magic left to keep afloat and animate a single Shanghai doll. The maid flew up to us and demanded, ?Alright, spill it. Who?s behind this whole affair??
A small part of me wanted to point her in the direction of Reimu?s shrine, but that would have been pointless. I cut to the chase. ?Haven?t you noticed the Spring follows you as you gather cherry petals??
She looked up in the direction of the falling petals. ??I bet it?s upwind then.?
She started slowly floating away a little. ?I haven?t said my point yet??
Marisa flew up to us grinning wildly; she?s just as excitable as ever. ?Have Winters always been this busy? Humans usually stay indoors.?
I smirked at what she said, thinking about my own condition. ?You mustn?t consider me a normal human.?
I could see the humor in her eyes. ?Are you a weird human, then??
Oh that does it. I probably should have restrained myself, but I couldn?t help but blurt it out. ?I?m normal, just not human!? I covered my mouth after saying that, realizing just what it sounded like that I said.
Marisa?s grin disappeared and the other two floated around with casual (dis)interest. ?Wait, what? What do you mean, you aren?t human??
I knew I couldn?t deny it; there was basically no opening to play it off as a joke, and either way, Marisa wouldn?t fall for it. A tear I wasn?t intending on trickled down my cheek. ?I mean? I?m a youkai??
I don?t know why, because it wasn?t like me at all; did I simply fear for my life? After all, Reimu and Marisa were professional youkai exterminators, and while I didn?t cause the incident I still got in their way?
?So? Is that all you?re worried about?? I looked up and was startled to see her grinning like a mad man. No, not startled at the mad man part, as I already knew she was at least partly insane, but the grin certainly took me by surprise. ?You?re worried because you got in our way, and now you think you?re about to be killed or sealed or something.?
I stared at her in mild shock; was this girl a satori or something? I nodded slowly and heard a pair of exasperated sighs from above me. The maid appeared bored while Reimu floated down to join the conversation. ?You idiot; outside of the useless fairies that resurrect minutes after being killed, do you know how many youkai I?ve actually sealed away? None.?
I was surprised, to say the least, but then I remembered something that Marisa had told me about their adventure to the Scarlet Devil Mansion: Remilia Scarlet occasionally stops by the Hakurei Shrine to have tea with Reimu. Considering she actually instigated the Scarlet Mist Incident, to be casually drinking tea with a former enemy was kind of strange.
?Same for me, ze!? I actually jumped when she spoke to me. ?Remember Yuuka? Before we came to Makai and met you, we both chased down Yuuka, for different reasons of course.? And now was the somewhat creepy moment? a genuine smile graced her face. ?And don?t forget when we raided Makai; each and every youkai and demon that stood in our way lived to tell about it.?
Ugh. She?s right again. And now I?ve made myself look like a weak fool in front of them. I sighed. ?Okay, I?m done now. You guys go on and rescue Spring, or whatever you?re doing. I?m going to go work on my spell cards?? Bowing to the three of them, I floated on down to my house. I figure I?ll hear about the end of this from Marisa once it?s all over; though maybe I should try getting out more often?
Well, that's it. I appreciate whatever advice I can get; let me know if you want a link to where I already have it posted, in case you are curious to read the "Explanation" chapter I wrote up to elaborate on my mindset when working on this. Thank you in advance.
