Made some minor, minor edits based on critiques I received.
Chapter 5 ? Half Empty, Half Full
"I am gonna fucking kill that cat, so help me god. I'm gonna rip both those tails out one at a god damn time. Rip her ears off, watch her bleed. Stick her in a fucking furnace."
Reimu could hear Marisa's voice. She was bandaging her arm. The pain from before had subsided to the point where she made a conscious decision to keep her eyes closed so she could listen more.
"Hang her from a tree branch upside down and shoot her in the head again and again and again. Rape her with a fucking...stalactite. A really spiky one. With all kinds of pus and maggots oozing from it."
"Marisa, you're not...no, stop it. Please. This is no way to dress a wound. It's all wrong. You're making it worse."
"Rip that earring out. Heh. Repeatedly...poke her eyes with a knife..."
"Do you want the Hakurei to get better or not? Just...just go! Gather some of the nuts that drop from those trees."
"Why?"
"So you're busy doing something away from here!"
Reimu couldn't hold it in. She stifled a chuckle and opened her eyes.
It was still nighttime, and she could hear the water of Fairy Lake. Youmu's and Marisa's faces were covering most of the starry sky in her vision. She was lying on her back on the cool grass. She glanced to both sides and saw some white wrappings around her shoulders.
"How long've I been out?" she muttered, still smiling.
"About twenty minutes," Marisa said. "You disappeared and came back like that. Was that cat monster really stronger than you?"
The shrine maiden grunted and pushed herself to a sitting position.
"Did you numb my shoulders or something?"
"Yeah, a little. Comes in handy sometimes."
"It certainly does. Youmu?"
The young girl's eyes, which had been avoiding Reimu all this time, suddenly snapped to hers. "Yes?"
"I don't regret what I did, but I'll put you back together again."
Youmu lowered her head and averted her eyes, tapping her fingers together nervously.
"Something wrong?" Reimu said.
"I've always been a half-ghost. I was born that way," she said. Her head popped up. "Hey, take a deep breath."
"Eh?"
"Please. A really deep one."
Reimu shrugged, then exhaled all the way. She began drawing in air until her lungs were about to burst. When she could hold it no longer, it all escaped in one quick puff.
"It was cool, right?" Youmu said. "The air traveled down your throat. Since your lungs were empty, it felt refreshing to fill them again, right?"
Reimu stared at the girl for a moment before she understood.
"You couldn't...feel. Could you?" the shrine maiden whispered.
"Not completely," Youmu said, blushing slightly. "I felt everything, but it was...dull. Muted. But I never even knew."
"So what do you want?"
Youmu sighed. "I need my powers to save Lady Yuyuko. As I am now...I can barely walk."
"Hmm," Reimu said. "Chen said you two are best friends."
She blushed again. "Correct, in the sense that Lady Yuyuko's and my relationship isn't one of friendship, and there's no one else around. I apologize for her actions."
"Haha," Reimu laughed coldly. "I know how you feel."
"Bitch," Marisa muttered.
"Alright," Reimu said, lying back on the grass and closing her eyes. "Everyone's tired. We've got about seven hours until sunrise. I want to be awake thirty minutes before that time. Can you take care of that, Marisa?"
"Yeah, yeah."
"Youmu?"
"Yes, Hakurei?"
"Haha. Reimu's fine. Anyway." she snapped her fingers. The ghost half of Youmu appeared and floated slowly over to her. Reimu could hear her inhale sharply in excitement. "Keep it next to you. Hold it close. Feel what it's like from the outside. Meet it again, as you, but as something separate from you. Understand your oneness."
"Y?Yes, Hakurei."
"Reimu," she said again.
"No."
A few moments passed.
"I may have acted rashly," Youmu said, making a visible effort to look into Reimu's eyes, "and my emotions may have overtaken me. For that, I apologize. But I don't like you, Hakurei. You're a dark person."
Reimu remained silent for a moment. "You," she said slowly, "have too much pride."
"Perhaps you don't have enough. Good night, Hakurei."
She heard footsteps retreat behind her. Marisa crouched down and touched one shoulder, then the other.
"That should last you through the night," she said. "I put up a little spell that'll keep dew from forming around you, so you should be fine to sleep here. I really don't want to move your body unnecessarily right now."
"I'm still going to help her."
"Never doubted," the witch said, walking off.
"The human body is a lot like the ground," Reimu said, stamping one foot lightly on the wet grass. "Solid, but fairly soft."
The sky was beginning to glow with the orange hue of the morning. A few fairies could be seen waking early and flying around aimlessly. The chill winds that had pervaded the area for the past week were back in full force, each new breeze causing a new rush of goosebumps to crawl across their skin.
"This is true on two levels," she continued. "The physical?your skin?and the metaphysical. This solid boundary is what keeps, say, my soul from accidentally jumping out of my body. Understand?"
Youmu and Marisa stood in front of her, listening intently. The white-haired girl was holding her ghost half close to her chest with both hands. They closed their eyes as another large gust of wind flew by.
"Yes."
"Your metaphysical body, however, defines its boundaries for each individual object separately, though. That is, what's keeping my soul from jumping out of my body is different from what's keeping a stray ghost from jumping in. This is good news for you. Lift one leg up."
She did so, but quickly lost her balance, setting it down again. "Sorry," she muttered, trying again. She couldn't hold it for more than a second. "Just a..." She tried the other leg; no success. Reimu spied Marisa off to the side, facing away, covering her mouth with her hands, face red, eyes wide.
"Don't worry about it," Reimu said, sighing and holding her hand to her face. "It was to illustrate a point. How did you move your leg?"
Youmu thought for a moment. "I willed it."
"Right. So here's the idea. I'm going to break your barrier between you and your ghost half. Not all the way, though. Just enough so that it can get inside and snuggle in. Here's the tricky part. If you want to be able to remove it without my help, you'll need to will it out just like you willed your leg to move. Understand?"
Youmu stared at the white ball in her arms for a moment. "Yes."
"It won't be easy," the shrine maiden said. "Think about how you would learn how to move your leg if you didn't already know. All of this happens to us while we're infants, initially. But, I suppose you have an advantage. Your body is somewhat hypersensitive due to recent events, so you may find it easier."
"I understand. Please go through with it, Hakurei."
She gritted her teeth at the name. Closing her eyes, she allowed the power of the dawn to run through her. It swam in her blood, ran its fingers through her hair. It was like an appraising parent, proud of its child. Oh yes, you're growing into a fine young woman, it would say. It wrapped her in its arms, and their hearts beat as one.
"This is probably going to hurt a lot," the shrine maiden said, smirking a bit. She opened her mind's eye.
The radiant scene unfolded before her. She could see every boundary, between every thing. Every particle in the art shone its own unique color. The ground, the blades of grass, the specks of dirt, the insects crawling around; they were all distinct entities, separate from everything that was not them. Borders. The world was made of borders. Reds and blues and greens and yellows flew around her in a rainbow symphony.
She held her arm forward, reaching for her goal. She had to find just the right color. Just the right shape. She had to find Youmu. And then, more than that, among the infinite possibilities, she had to find the boundary between Youmu and her ghost half. She took a step forward; in her mind or in her body, she couldn't quite tell. She just had to get a little closer.
There!
A lonely girl. But strong. So strong. She uses her loneliness as a shield. The praises of others fly into the shield and bounce away, but she sees them and smiles. It's what she lives for. It's what she wants more than anything. She wants that love, but she doesn't want it to enter her. To empower her. She wants to stand on her own two feet. She wants to be entirely self-sufficient. She wants to die completely alone, with her loved ones watching, congratulating her. "You've done it. You've lived without us."
So very, very sad.
Reimu willed with all of her being, stretching her hand out, calling to Youmu's ghost half. It came to her immediately, floating lazily in front of her hand. She grabbed it and began running forward. She pushed the ghost half into the barrier of the lonely girl.
"Break," she whispered.
She pushed with all her weight, grinded the two against each other. Trails of light flew out at the rupturing, like metal sparking against metal.
"Break."
The barrier began shaking, rumbling in anguish. She heard a scream. No. She saw the scream in the air. She saw boundaries colliding more fiercely than they had a moment ago. Her mind saw this and knew it was a scream.
"BREAK!"
It broke.
She closed her mind's eye and opened her real ones. The scene was exactly like it had been at the beginning. She hadn't moved an inch. Youmu's cheeks were coated with trails of tears, and she was breathing heavily. Suddenly, the world began spinning. The shrine maiden dropped to one knee and held her head.
"Is it over?" Marisa said. "Did it work?"
"Yes," Youmu said. Her voice was strong again, like it was before. Her eyes were hard and cold. She walked over to where her swords were lying on the ground and placed them neatly back on her belt. Her movements were quick and efficient.
Dizziness gone, the shrine maiden stood back up. "It's up to you how long it takes for you to learn."
"I understand," the girl said. She tilted her head down slightly. "I owe you a favor, Hakurei."
"I'm calling it in right now."
Youmu cocked an eyebrow. "Yes?"
"Call me Reimu."
Youmu paused, then giggled. The shrine maiden was surprised; it was...girly. "Very well, Reimu. And, at least until the one called Alice is no longer threatening my home, Youmu Konpaku is at your service."
"Wonderful," the shrine maiden said. "Hey, Marisa, where's that compass? We should probably get..."
Reimu's eyes opened wide in astonishment. Her mouth opened, but no words came out. She stared at Youmu, then at Marisa, and back and forth between the two.
"What's wrong?" the witch asked.
The shrine maiden looked down at the ground, searching her memories. She kept coming back to the same conclusion. It all fit. It all made sense.
"I know where the great door is."
Wordlessly, she led them along a path only she could see. She followed the border of Fairy Lake for a while before coming to the forest that bordered it. Without hesitation, she entered, leaving the others to follow or be left behind. Marisa was checking the compass periodically, becoming less and less surprised each time it pointed in the direction Reimu was headed.
Finally, they came to a grassy clearing surrounded by trees. In the middle was a gigantic tree, bigger than any they'd seen before. It towered over the rest. If one looked closely, one could see the trees at the border of the clearing bending ever so slightly inward?paying deference to the greatest of their kind. Despite this, its branches held no leaves or free; they were completely bare. At its foot was a stone with some barely legible words carved into it.
Youki Konpaku
The Mourning of Calamity
Gardener, Swordsman, Father
The shrine maiden's voice was a mere whisper. "You never told me her full name."
WHAT THE FUCK HE'S UPDATING NO
If anyone still cares, the updates shall begin again!
If no one cares, give part 1 a shot! You may be just offended enough to keep reading!
I have no excuse!
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GO
There is very minor sexual content in the things to come. If it's a problem, I'll remove it immediately, but I stress that it's extremely limited in nature. Be warned, though.
Prologue ? Dance
Fly, Fly
through the night
try your best to catch a sight
Cry, Cry
out your fears
they await with joyful cheers
Why, Why
do you wait
enter now the devil's gate
Eye, Eye
sees the sins
in the tale of Scarlet Twins
Dream 1 ? Life, Death, Earth
"Step right up! Step right up! Try your hand and see if you will be the lucky one to take the prize home!"
A young boy walked up the wooden steps. The crowd gave a great cheer, with no shortage of "Go for it!"s and "Show it what's what!"s. The vendor tapped her cane on the table at her side, beckoning the boy closer. She wore a gaudy topcoat with two long tails that scraped along the floor. On her head was a bright red top hat, which magically stayed balanced, despite her constant swaggering to and fro.
"Just grab three darts, and have a go!" she cried with a grin on her face. "Aim for the center!" She turned to face the rambunctious crowd. "How about we give the kid some encouragement! I mean, come on!"
The crowd erupted even more fiercely than before, to the point where the vendor couldn't even hear her own voice. The yelling was overpowering, and also uplifting. The man holding a drink in one hand and his woman in the other, the old man cherishing the vigor of youth, even the other vendors, even the birds flying by!?she could feel all of their passion and fury, and she knew the boy could too.
"That's what I'm talking about!" she shouted, but no one heard her.
The boy picked up his first dart. He was visibly shaking from head to toe. He reared back, breathing in and out rapidly, and flung his arm forward.
Third ring out.
"Oh, a near miss!" she shouted, tapping her cane rapidly on the table. The crowd let out a collective "Awww" before resuming their boisterous rancor. If anything, it was even louder than before.
"Hey, boy!" she yelled. "If you get a bullseye, I'll give you a kiss!"
The boy's face flushed deep red, as his head jerked down in an embarrassed nod. The crowd whooped wildly, and more than one man brought his girl in for a smooch right there. If anything, the boy shook more violently than before. Sweat rolled down his face in small rivers. The vendor slit her eyes, taking note of what the crowd couldn't see?what was most important.
His grip on the dart had tightened.
Once again, he brought his arm back, a look of grim determination on his face. He lurched forward and let fly.
First ring out.
A gasp rang out, followed by another moan of disappointment. The vendor walked behind the boy and crouched, grabbing his shoulders and placing her mouth to his ear. The crowd fretted about in an uncomfortable silence.
"Do you have anything you treasure?" she whispered. "A girl?"
Blushing furiously, he shook his head, almost hitting hers in the process. The vendor spied a drop of sweat making its way down his cheek. She extended her tongue and pressed it against his skin, intercepting the drop. It spread across her taste buds, a salty sweetness pervading her mouth. The boy almost squealed, turning even redder than before.
"If you get a bullseye," she whispered, squeezing his shoulders tightly, "I'll let you do whatever you want to me. You can touch me...or lick me...or bite me...or punish me. Understand?" She could feel the heat pulsing from his body. He visibly shuddered with each furious beat of his heart. A few seconds passed before he nodded his head violently.
"Alright!" she cried, turning to face the crowd. "Let's let the kid know who's rootin' for him!"
The mass of people bubbled over, cheering, whooping, whistling, jeering, laughing, rioting. The vendor could feel the vibrations through the ground and through the air, beating their way through her body, sparking a rush in her blood. She reached up and grabbed her red top hat, placing it roughly on the boy's head, revealing the entirety of her own shining blonde hair.
The boy took a deep breath, swallowed, and threw.
"Ah...hah...hah..." The boy harshly and clumsily thrust into the vendor. Lying on her back, naked in the moonlight in the forest next to the village, she gazed at his sweating body with casual interest, smirking. Mouth open, eyes squinted shut, the boy moved his hips into hers, eliciting a loud smacking sound with each plunge. His hands held the girl's legs wide apart.
"Oh god! G?mmm!" The boy climaxed, tensing every muscle in his body. Her legs were strangled by his now vice-like grip. She could feel his seed being pumped into her, filling her to the brim, warming her.
He collapsed on top of her, chest to chest, naked bodies mashed together in the small clearing. Their cheeks touched, and each time the boy breathed, the vendor felt herself being pushed into the ground.
She wrapped her arms around his neck. "Good boy," she whispered.
"I...I love...you," he croaked.
"Yes, you do."
She opened her mouth, revealing two long fangs, and sank them deep into the boy's neck. He made a single panicked cry before he lost consciousness. She pulled the teeth free, and two small streams of blood began flowing from the wounds. She placed her mouth to them and sucked greedily, drinking down the blood in copious amounts.
"Oh god," she moaned in-between mouthfuls. She began breathing more heavily as she felt its warmth move through her body, stimulating her, exciting her. She began giggling madly, the ecstasy overtaking her.
"Please come back."
"FUCK YOU!" she cried, throwing the body off of hers and standing up. Blood was trailing down her chin, to neck and chest beyond. With her nakedness and red, bloodshot eyes, she was more feral than the animals in the woods themselves. She flung her head around until she found her target.
A girl was standing only a few feet away, a look of immense sadness on her face. She wore a pink dress, and her skin was silky smooth and snow white, giving the impression that this wasn't a human, but a doll. Her hair was grey with a hint of blue, like a cloudy day. In one of her hands she held a long sword, glowing red in the moonlight. But what she noticed most?what filled her with dread?were the two long bat-like wings protruding from the girl's back, spreading a meter on each side, at least. They were dark and looming, giving the girl a dark feel in contrast to her bright skin.
"Are you okay?" the demon asked.
"I'm fucking fantastic!" she shouted, rubbing her arm across her chin, making a hasty attempt at washing away the blood.
"Well?" the other girl asked, tilting her head ever so slightly to one side.
The vendor stared at the ground in frustration, clenching her fists. A heavy silence passed.
"Ah," the girl in pink said, the sadness on her face growing even harsher. "I suppose it's a bit unfair."
"This isn't enough!?" the vendor cried, waving her arm to bring attention to the unconscious body of the boy, lying awkwardly on the ground.
"Is it?" the girl said.
The vendor looked down suddenly, noticing the boy's discharge had begun leaking out of her, slowly creating several glistening trails down her legs. She stared at them with rage and embarrassment, cheeks flushing red. Her head began to feel fuzzy, and she collapsed to the ground, tears forming in her eyes.
The demon watched.
"God damn it," she whimpered, punching the ground. "God damn it, god damn it, god damn..." Her body began to feel cold in sharp contrast to her face. Chills ran through her arms and legs, eliciting an uncomfortable prickling sensation.
"Ah!" she cried, clenching her stomach. The pains had returned like a heartbeat. Every other second the aches would fly through her, rendering her unable to do anything but cry and writhe. Spasms wracked her body. Drool began falling down in strands from her open mouth. She buried her face into the ground and pushed forward on her knees, grinding her forehead into the dirt.
Then they were gone, and she was left there shaking from cold and fatigue, covered in dirt, blood, drool, and semen.
"Leave," she choked.
"Why?" the girl asked.
"Because I've given up."
The girl gave a small, sad smile. "That's why I'm here."
"No...no!" the vendor cried, flipping herself onto her back and sprawling out, staring at the moon high in the sky. "I've really given up. It's been four years. I've given up. I'm done. Leave."
The girl stared at her for a few seconds in silence.
The vendor smiled grimly. "Do whatever you want with L?vateinn. I don't care. Keep it, give it, throw it in a fucking lake. I don't care."
"I see," she said, staring at the ground for a moment in contemplation. She clutched the hilt of the sword more tightly. "Then I won't come again."
"Lovely," the vendor whispered, closing her eyes and falling asleep.