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Good evening, ladies and gentlement!
This is a fanfic I've been working on recently in my spare time. It's my first publicly released work, so I'm using it mainly as a way to try and improve my writing skills and force myself to let some people other than myself read my stuff, hopefully in a place where I can get a bit of constructive criticism as to writing style/technicals, and in the longer term, character and plot development. BUT IN THE MEANTIME let's just hope we end up with a story that's worth reading. At least a little bit.
I won't go into too much detail about it here because spoiling things would be no fun, but I can give you a little bit of a taste of what to expect if you find yourself interested in reading! My 'inspiration' for the plot came from an experience I had reading about the Spell Card Rules. Basically, I asked myself, what would happen if someone just...decided not to follow them? I quickly arrived at the obvious answer of 'they'd get trounced,' so logically the next question would be, what would happen if someone decided not to follow the spell card rules, AND they were strong enough that no one could just walk in and beat them up?
This is a purely touhou fic, not crossing over with anything, and the only OC is going to be the stage six boss the villain. Oh, and the story takes place about a year after UFO, and since I don't know when Ten Desires takes place in relation to that, I'm going to arbitrarily state that it's before Ten Desires.
Anyways, thats enough preamble, here's the beginning of the actual story. I'm just going to post the Prologue and Chapter 1 for now, and as I review/revise/rewrite the other chapters I've written I'll post them as well.
Happy reading!
Prologue ? Immortal?s Tomb
In a place that was infinitely far away, yet just outside arm?s reach, was a being who had forgotten what it meant to live and who would never know what it meant to die.
In this world, there was no light, no sound, no scent, no taste, no sensation. Indeed, these things themselves were foreign to the one who resided here, for it had no memory of consciousness, had no memory of perception. As far as it was concerned, it had never been alive.
Since eons past, long before the earliest memory of the oldest being, it had been sealed here, trapped in a world all of its own. However, although that world was unreachable, it was only a hair?s breadth out of reach?and so when the balance of worlds was upset, it felt the shockwave just the same.
One day, after some unknown number of millennia, a creature travelled from Makai to the mortal realm. The balance of worlds had been disrupted, even if only slightly. Normally, it would not have caused a problem. However, it did not end with one. Soon, hordes of demons began to travel between the realm of Makai and the realm of Mortals. The disruption was so great, it reached beyond the realms of those involved. The Netherworld, Heaven, Hell itself, all the worlds connected to either of the two involved felt ripples of the disruption that had begun to occur.
Even this world, which had been fashioned as a prison, was not spared. Even this world, which had never known life, was shaken.
The balance of worlds had been upset, and thus had to be restored. As such, a human girl headed from the mortal realm to the realm of Makai. She fought, and with much effort, managed to bring the goddess of Makai herself into submission. Accepting her defeat, the goddess of Makai forcibly closed the gateway between the mortal realm and the realm of Makai, so that none might travel between them.
The two realms, which had been connected for so long, were now sealed from each other. This created as much of a disruption as the incident that had precipitated it had caused. Because of these two shocks occurring so close to eachother?
?in a world with no blood, an ancient heart began to beat.
?in a world with no air, ancient lungs began to draw breath.
Time passed, and the disruption between these worlds was forgotten. The world that housed nothing but a curse was undisturbed, its purpose unchanged. Though in that world there was no concept of time, everything began to settle. The ancient heartbeat began to slow, the ancient lungs began to weaken?
?and then the border between the Netherworld and the mortal realm was breached.
The very essence of Spring was sucked from the world of the Living into the world of the Dead, and just as before, the effects of that incident rippled outwards, influencing worlds that should have been unconnected.
That old heartbeat quickened?
Those old lungs heaved?
And the eyes of an ancient being opened for the first time in millennia.
Suddenly, that which was meant to be sealed for eternity was awake. There had been just enough of a disruption, just enough dissonance in the space between worlds, that the ancient being had been jostled into consciousness.
And the first thing it did was panic.
It didn?t understand. Why was it here? Why couldn?t it move? Why couldn?t it speak? Then it realized, it didn?t even know who it was. Who was it? Why didn?t it remember? The ancient being searched its mind for anything it could find that would be of use. Searching through the fog of its mental state, it soon happened upon what it had to assume were memories: memories of a time when it had been free, when it had ruled, when it had been scorned.
But try as it might, it couldn?t find any reason as to why it was here, why it was trapped. Its memory was fragmented, incomplete. It did not take long before it realized it had no hope of restoring its full memory while it remained trapped in this place, if it ever could. And so, it searched for escape.
The world it was within was tiny, crafted just large enough to fit its physical body. There was no space for movement, no room for action. Probing the edges of the world with its mind, it found no flaws in its prison, physical or otherwise. And so it panicked again. How long would it to have had to have been here for its memories to have deteriorated to such an extent? If it had truly been unconscious the entire time, would it now be forced to live consciously through an even longer period of time? Unable to move, unable to act, barely enough space to think.
It knew that before it was in this place, it had feared nothing. There was no place, no person, no concept that had made it feel true terror. Now, however, it was beginning to develop an acute claustrophobia. Its panic grew, but it didn?t even have the freedom to flail, couldn?t move enough to let out a scream. As it was gripped by terror, something caught its eye.
It could see. It hadn?t noticed before, but for some reason, it could see. If it relaxed and focused, it could see something outside of the world it was trapped in. Attempting to calm down, it watched the scenery before it. It saw a girl and her friends, travelling through snowy fields. Travelling to the world of the dead, and fighting. Fighting to reclaim?something.
The ancient being strained harder, pushed its senses further from its body, and it could hear. It heard the words the girl exchanged with her adversary, heard of her demand for Spring to be returned to her.
Spring? The fog in its mind began to clear slightly. Yes, it remembered Spring. A time of life, of rebirth, where the harshness of winter gave way and the warmth of new life flourished. The ancient being?s heart soared. By watching this girl for only a short time, it had regained a lost piece of its memory. Maybe, just maybe, if it continued to watch this world, it could learn why it was trapped here. Maybe, just maybe, it could learn some method to break free from its restraints.
And so it continued to watch. It watched as the moon was replaced with a fake, and as the world was cloaked in an unending night. It watched as the souls of the dead possessed flowers in droves, causing them to bloom uncontrollably until they could be ferried across to the afterlife. It watched as a god from the outside world ? outside? Outside of where? ? moved an entire lake in an attempt to gather faith. It watched as that god gave unbelievable power to an incredibly foolish child, putting the whole world at risk.
Throughout everything it saw, there was one thing in common between all of them. As all of these incidents came to pass, one girl rose time and time again to set things straight. No matter what the situation, no matter what the danger, she never failed to stand in the way of those who would do the world wrong.
And as it continued to watch, it continued to remember bits and pieces of its lost past. It was nowhere near coming to a complete understanding of its situation, but it was reminded of many of the things it had experienced while it was free. The sensation of the earth under one?s feet, of the rain on one?s skin, of the sun on one?s face. As it learned of all of these sensations, it yearned to be free, yearned to experience those sensations again. But no matter what it tried, it could never move so much as an inch.
It understood from its fragmented memory, and also from logical deduction of its circumstances, that it was a being of great power. While it was free, it had lived completely unrestrained, completely unstoppable. And yet now, it had been stopped. Even with all of its might, it couldn?t make any progress towards breaking free from its prison.
Suddenly, the ancient being was beset by panic once again. It had not realized it before, because the change had been so subtle, but it noticed now that something was different. The world it watched was getting darker, the sounds were getting harder to hear. Naturally, it did not believe that such things were actually occurring. It knew it was its own vision that was growing dim, its own hearing that was beginning to fail. It felt its breaths becoming labored, its heartbeat beginning to slow.
Yet despite the mounting panic, its heartbeat did not quicken. It understood, gripped by fear, that it was losing consciousness. After watching for what must have been years, but had only felt like minutes, it had never once closed its eyes. It had never once tired. Yet now, it felt that it was being pulled back into the unconsciousness it had arisen from not long ago.
It did not know what was happening, or why. It had not recovered enough of its memories to understand its situation, and did not know if it would ever awaken again if it lost consciousness now. The fear born of claustrophobia became a fear for its life. Eternal sleep is the same as death. It had never feared death before, and now it was losing itself to that fear.
It had never managed to feel the sun on its face, the rain on its skin, the earth underneath its feet. It had woken up against all odds after thousands of years of slumber, and was just going to pass back into oblivion without being able to accomplish anything. It was about to lose everything when it had nothing.
Heart filled with despair, the ancient being watched futilely as the young girl it had seen so many times before flew to the sky, chasing after some sort of flying ship. Desperately, it sought any way to keep itself awake, to keep itself alive.
But there was nothing to be found. It wailed within its own mind as it felt the darkness closing in. Its hearing failed, and it could no longer make out the sounds of what was happening to the girl. Its eyes closed, and the world was once again shrouded in darkness. Its lungs no longer had the strength to draw breath, and they stilled.
And just as that ancient heart beat its last?
?a miracle occurred.
The gateway to Makai was torn open. The shockwave tore through the ancient being?s world, shocking it back into consciousness. Its lungs heaved, its eyes snapped open, and it instinctively attempted to thrash around its prison. When it noticed something was different, it froze instantly.
Something had changed. The opening of the gateway to Makai had done more than jar it into wakefulness; it had damaged the world it was trapped within. In the most inconspicuous corner, just out of its field of vision, was a tiny crack.
The ancient being gathered its strength and attacked the prison?s single flaw with all its power. However, it didn?t give. The prison was still tight enough that no physical movement was possible. It couldn?t put enough force onto the flaw to break it open any further. But it did not despair. Where physical force failed, mental force prevailed.
It gathered its consciousness and focused on that one spot, that one tiny crack. Its heartbeat quickened, and chest filled with excitement as it felt its conscious mind slipping through the crack. It was working. This way, it could escape.
It took only a few moments for it to realize that it couldn?t escape the prison the way it was attempting to. It could extend its mental self through the fissure, but there was no way it could move its physical body through it. But it was not discouraged. The fact it could make as much progress as it did was a miracle. There was no way it would let that go to waste.
It began to focus its mental self outside of the prison. It couldn?t manifest itself perfectly, but it could do so enough that it could act. It had a myriad of powers, skills, abilities, and strengths, but it could not manifest all of them in the temporary shell it was attempting to create. After a short while, it decided on the one ability it would transfer, the one that would be most useful in completing its objective.
All it had to do was find some way to break the prison apart from the outside. It had already decided the best course of action to do so, and it now was almost finished creating a tool that would allow it to accomplish that goal.
The first thing it must do was to go back to the beginning. Back to where everything started. The very first thing it saw, the very first thing it experienced since it had awoken. It had to go back to the Netherworld, and visit the princess who dwelt there.
Soon, it would be free of this place. Soon, it would feel the warmth of the sun on its face. The coldness of the rain on its skin. The firmness of the earth beneath its feet.
Soon?it would rule again.
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I sure hope double posting in these threads is okay, cause this is going to make the thread look so much more organized. Also dodging character limits.
But you're not here to hear me ramble, you're here to read!
Chapter 1 ? A Message in Violet
A gentle breeze blew across the narrow forest path, rustling the branches of trees that had not yet grown leaves. The Sun shone gently yet fervently through the leaves of the trees lining the path, providing a comforting warmth to the lone girl who walked along it.
The last of the snow had melted just the day before, and as she slowly made her way through the forest, she could practically feel the trees around her brimming with energy, eagerly awaiting the moment they would bloom. The snow had melted early this year, but even so, it wouldn?t be long before the world burst back into life.
Adjusting her hat with one hand and holding a broom over her shoulder with the other, the girl nonchalantly walked on, feeling full of the same energy nature was overflowing with. Normally she would be soaring through the sky, and have arrived at her destination ages ago, but today she decided to relish the scenery of a world that was not quite winter and yet not quite spring. Despite the rarity of the spectacle, it was one that few people ? if any ? would pay any mind to, so on a whim, she decided to see if there was anything worth seeing.
She was not disappointed. As she continued to walk along the nondescript forest path, she was able to see nature with new eyes. It was as if she was watching nature itself open its eyes after its three month long slumber. Everything was full of energy, but had not yet burst into motion. It was an infectious feeling, filling her with an anxiousness without pressure, pushing her to do something, regardless of what it was, without the overbearingness of having to do it now.
So, she didn?t rush. As her destination came into sight, she continued at her relaxed pace, turning to walk up the stone steps. It suddenly dawned on her that she hadn?t actually walked up these steps before. Every other time she had been here, she had flown and touched down directly in the courtyard, so there hadn?t been a need to walk the steps up or down. Absentmindedly she tried to determine the number of years she had been visiting here without ever having walked through the entrance, but before she got her answer she reached the end of the staircase.
Spread out before her was the Hakurei Shrine. Across the open courtyard that was just beginning to show signs of green was the Shrine itself, with its dusty old offertory box sitting in the same place as always. What was not in the same place as always however was the Shrine?s signature Shrine Maiden ? or as the girl liked to call her, Janitor, since all she ever seemed to do that was related to the shrine itself was clean the place.
Standing behind the offertory box, broom in hand, was Reimu. Staring somewhere off into the sky as if lost in thought, she made no sign of having noticed the girl?s arrival. As she crossed the courtyard, she waved her free hand to try and get the shrine maiden?s attention.
?Yo Reimu, what?s up??
Reimu?s thoughtful, far away expression immediately and inexplicably sank into one of exasperation. Dropping her gaze from the sky to look flatly at the visitor, she called back without returning the wave.
?You?re walking.?
?Nice to see you too.? As the distance between the two finally shrank to that of one between two people having a normal conversation, Reimu continued to stare unimpressed at the visitor. After a few moments of silence, she finally spoke again.
?Marisa?you?re walking.?
Slightly confused as to why Reimu was so interested in the fact that she was walking, Marisa struggled for the appropriate response to Reimu?s pointing out of the obvious.
?Yep, I?m walking.?
??why??
?Err?why not??
After another extended pause, Reimu finally dropped her stare and sighed, returning to her sweeping. Seeing the topic had been dropped, Marisa shrugged and sat on the deck out in front of the shrine, just beside the steps up into the main building. Propping her broom up beside her, she started fishing around in her pockets.
?So, what?s up with you??
Hearing yet another sigh from Reimu, Marisa found what she was looking for. Pulling out a single coin from one of her pockets, she made a big show of polishing it. From time to time, she would throw random small coins into the offertory box, half out of pity and half to mock Reimu for her inability to collect donations of any meaningful size.
?Well, Marisa. Do you believe in omens??
As Reimu said this, Marisa flipped the coin she was holding towards the offertory box. Sailing through the air, it somehow managed to hit the exact far edge of the box, causing it to bounce backwards towards Marisa. Not quite making it halfway back, it bounced off the ground a single time before rolling under the stairs, beyond reach.
Both of the girls stared dumbly at the spot where the coin had just disappeared to, not quite believing what they had just seen. ??I think for all our sakes, I?m going to have to answer that question with a no.?
?Thanks,? Reimu said flatly as she sat beside Marisa on the deck. Propping her broom up beside her identical to how Marisa had, she then fell flat on her back and closed her eyes.
?So, what bad omens have you been subjected to?? Marisa couldn?t help but ask. She knew by Reimu?s attitude that she had no desire to talk about it, but for the sake of making conversation, Marisa felt obligated to do so anyways. Besides, it was Reimu?s fault for bringing it up.
After a long pause, Reimu finally answered, eyes still closed. ?The shrine has had no visitors for the past two weeks.?
?That doesn?t seem particularly strange. Don?t you complain about not having visitors all the time??
?No, you don?t understand. I mean literally none. Zero. Zip. Not a single person. Not a single youkai. Not even the youkai that have been trying to convince me that they live here. You are the first person I?ve seen at the shrine in literally two weeks. Normally I wouldn?t mind some peace and quiet, but everyone deciding to stop coming to the shrine at the same time? I can?t help but feel like something is up??
?That?s not an omen, Reimu. That?s a premonition.?
??close enough.?
With that, Marisa fell backwards onto the deck, mimicking Reimu?s pretending-to-sleep pose. ?A sinister youkai plot to convince Reimu that she subconsciously wants all of the youkai who visit her shrine to keep coming. How diabolical!?
?I hope that?s what?s going on. It would stay nice and peaceful for a good long time if that were the case??
??but it?s not the case, is it??
Reimu sighed. ?No, unfortunately it?s not. I?ve spoken to the people in the village recently, and they?ve said that youkai sightings have been rapidly decreasing. They are all rejoicing and telling me I?ve been doing a good job.?
??and not a single one of them has come to the shrine??
?Shows just how grateful they are, huh? Besides that though, I?m starting to get worried. I don?t know what?s happening, maybe some sort of youkai hibernation season, but if the youkai are all actually disappearing??
?You?ll be out of a job??
??well yeah, that too. But more importantly?well?I?m sure there?s actually a good reason for youkai to be around. I just can?t think of one off the top of my head.?
?Don?t worry, the youkai aren?t disappearing.? Reimu and Marisa simultaneously turned their heads to look at the source of the new voice. Lying on the deck beside them, perfectly mimicking Reimu and Marisa?s pose, was what looked like a small girl with a red dress and a green hat. Looked like a small girl, except for the cat ears. And the tail. For some reason though, Marisa?s thoughts immediately turned to how the imposter hadn?t managed to procure a broom for her disguise.
?You?re?that cat? From?somewhere?? Reimu sort-of greeted the new visitor, seemingly unable to recall her name.
?It?s Chen.? the girl replied flatly, clearly not impressed that she had been forgotten. Marisa didn?t blame her for forgetting though. She was just a cat, after all.
?So, Chen. Where have all the youkai been hiding?? Reimu went back to pretending to sleep on the deck while absent-mindedly conversing with the new visitor.
Chen hummed thoughtfully before responding. ?It?s pretty hard to explain. In human terms?it?s like someone turned all of the air into rice that was actually sleeping medicine.?
???what??? Marisa and Reimu couldn?t help but exclaiming in unison to Chen?s bizarre analogy. Both of them were now staring at Chen like she was some sort of lunatic.
Seemingly unperturbed, Chen continued. ?Basically, it feels like we can get a snack just by breathing. But when we do, we feel really sleepy, and don?t want to go anywhere or do anything. Just lie around all day, sleeping??
?If that?s true, then why are you here? And?why, after overcoming this desire to sleep, did you decide to come here??
?I?m here because my master told me to come here.?
??and why is that??
?Because my master?s master wants to talk to you.?
Reimu let out an enormous sigh while Marisa could do nothing but grin. Reimu?s two week break from dealing with youkai was coming to an end in a spectacular fashion if Yukari Yakumo was going to be the one calling her out.
?And why does Yukari want to talk to me??
?Dunno. But she?s inside waiting for you.?
??you probably could have mentioned that sooner.?
?Yeah, but I?m kinda sleepy. I really just want to take a nap??
?Well go ahead and take a nap at home.?
Ignoring Reimu?s words, Chen curled up on the deck in front of the shrine and began snoring softly. With yet another sigh, Reimu sat up from where she was lying and stood up.
?Come on, Marisa. If you?re going to be sitting around the shrine anyways, you?re going to have to come deal with Yukari with me as well.?
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Reimu made an exaggerated sigh as she walked through the inner rooms of the shrine. Though technically this part of the building was her living quarters and not the shrine itself, few people made the distinction, and she wasn?t one of them. Pointedly ignoring the violet-clad youkai sitting in a chair from who even knows where, Reimu walked right through the room and headed to her kitchen. In contrast, Marisa tipped her hat to Yukari in greeting, who responded with a smile and a polite nod, before Marisa sat at the table relaxedly.
?So, what brings you here today, Miss Kirisame?? Yukari opened the conversation with what Marisa could only hope was intended to be an incredibly ironic question.
?I felt like going for a walk somewhere, and before I knew it, I ended up at this strange place.?
?Walking? You must be an awful lot older than you look if you are starting to enjoy leisurely walks through the woods.?
?At least I?m not so old yet that I need to carry a chair around with me.? Yukari gave a wry smile at Marisa?s retort, but otherwise gave no response. Marisa appreciated a person with a sense of humor. So many people just couldn?t stand being the butt of a joke nowadays. She appreciated it, but that didn?t mean she wasn?t willing to push her luck.
?Hm? No response? Maybe you?re a little older than I thought??
Yukari immediately donned a serious face. ?Well you know, a youkai as great and powerful as I has a great many things they are responsible for. It is to be expected that I become a little fatigued every now and then.?
?Is that so? Well, make sure you get enough sleep, then. It would be a shame if a youkai as great and powerful as you fell asleep on the job.?
Yukari pulled out a Japanese styled fan from?somewhere, and used it to hide the lower half of her face. ?I?ve slept for longer than you?ve been alive a hundred times over. I think I?ll be alright.? Though her mouth was covered, Marisa could clearly see the smile in Yukari?s eyes. Yes, it was certainly great to talk to someone who wouldn?t try to blow you up because of a few jokes.
Before either of the two could continue, Reimu walked back into the room holding a tray with two cups of tea. With a deadpanned expression and a monotone voice, Reimu finally greeted the youkai.
?Oh, if it isn?t Yukari. My, if I had known you were here, I would have made you some tea as well. Oh well, no use crying over spilt milk.? Saying this, she sat down at the table opposite Marisa and passed her one of the cups from the tray. With a nod in thanks, Marisa took the cup and relegated herself to quietly enjoying her tea.
?That is quite alright. I do not really have time for niceties today myself, so it would be best to skip the pleasantries and get right down to business.? Snapping her fan closed, she waved it lightly in front of her, causing her to suddenly be in possession of a steaming cup of tea of her own.
Reimu stared blankly at Yukari, clearly not willing to be the one to start the conversation. Yukari, despite being the one who decided to ?get right down to business,? sat quietly enjoying her tea, suddenly seeming oblivious to the shrine maiden in front of her. After seeing Yukari also wasn?t willing to start the conversation, Reimu turned back to her tea and began relaxedly partaking as well.
And so the situation continued. Three people, none of which desiring to talk, quietly drinking tea in the middle of Reimu?s house. Marisa couldn?t help but raise an eyebrow at how long the two were taking to get this over with ? she would have at least expected Reimu to try and kick Yukari out by now ? but no matter how many eyebrows she raised, no one else in the room said a word.
The seconds turned to minutes, the minutes turned to hours, and the hours turned to days. Well, at least it felt like days to Marisa. Truth be told only about five or ten minutes had passed since she had greeted Yukari, and now that the three of them had finished drinking their tea, Marisa had nothing to keep her hands busy, and so was beginning to get fidgety. Just as she was about to stand up and head out of the room to find some way to stave off her mounting boredom, Yukari beat her to the punch.
?Well, it?s been pleasant chatting with you all, but I?m afraid I must now be on my way.? Standing up from her chair (which disappeared into a gap behind her after she had done so), Yukari began making her way to the exit.
?Have a safe trip,? Reimu responded with as close to a genuine smile as Marisa had thought she had ever seen on the girl. Yukari gave a small wave and a bright smile as she walked out of the room.
?That was?fun?? Marisa couldn?t help but try to say something in the silence that followed Yukari?s departure. Had she actually come by just to drink tea in Reimu?s living room? It wasn?t something she was willing to put past her, but even so?
?Good riddance. There is nothing she could tell me now that wouldn?t be troublesome, so as far as I?m concerned, best possible outcome achieved.? Reimu picked up the cups of tea ? of course, Yukari had been drinking from one of the shrine?s cups ? and headed back into the kitchen area of the building. Before she could make it out of the room though, none other than Yukari Yakumo walked through the doorway Reimu was now standing in front of.
?Oh, by the way, before I go?? Yukari started as soon as she appeared, a bright look on her face, as if she had just pulled off some magnificent prank. Reimu on the other hand simply sighed and narrowed her eyes at her. ?You see, all of the spirits of the netherworld have disappeared, so I?d like for you to check things out for me. Thanks in advance~?
Reimu turned to look at Marisa wearing her ?I told you so? face, ?You see what I mean? Nothing but trou-?wait, what?!?
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I'm loving how you're portraying Reimu and Yukari's relationship. Having the ordinarily spastic, go-fast, do-it-now Marisa actually going out of her way to enjoy a walk was an excellent touch - and the justification she came up for it was perfectly in character, too.
My only suggestion is find a way to make the scene transition a little more noticeable. An ellipsis kind of blends into the background if you're only using one - I'd suggest the hr tag, but you seem to have found it on your own for the break between author comments and actual story.
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Thank you for your comments, good sir. I will attempt to make my scene transitions a little more salient in the future.
In honour of me finishing writing another chapter, here is Chapter 2. I will probably be updating every day or three until I've put in everything I've written to date, so that I have a chance to properly review everything before I put it up.
Chapter 2 ? Guardian of an Empty World
?So I understand why Yukari needs our help?? Marisa spoke slowly in contrast to the speed that they were moving. Her, Reimu, and Yukari were all flying through the air at a fast, but not rushed speed, heading to some nondescript location in the sky. Well, nondescript except for the fact that it was the place where the barrier between the world of the Living and the world of the Dead was thinnest.
?And I understand why we are going to Hakugyokurou?? The three hadn?t been in much of a mood for talking. Reimu still seemed upset about the situation at hand?or maybe just upset at having to deal with it herself. Yukari seemed at once both lost in thought and deeply focused on what she was doing. And so it was up to Marisa, who was beginning to fall apart due to boredom, to try and stoke some sort of conversation.
?But I don?t understand why, when we have the Youkai of Borders herself with us, the one person in all of Gensokyo who can move anywhere instantly, for some reason we?ve decided to take the long way, despite searching for someone in what is most likely some sort of emergency??
Yukari ignored her complaints, but Reimu turned and gave Marisa a withering look. Apparently she was just angry at having to deal with this herself.
?Yukari already tried that and didn?t get any results, so we?re going to try something different.?
?That?s it? Just to ?try something else???
Reimu paused before continuing. ?If all the spirits of the Netherworld are missing, they must have gone somewhere. Which leaves two possibilities. Either they are all hiding within the Netherworld somewhere, or they left the Netherworld somehow. Going to the place where it is easiest for them to escape the Netherworld might turn up some clues as to which one happened.?
?Ahh, I see. If they left on their own, they probably would have sought the weakest point to break through.? Marisa scowled at the ?the kid finally gets it? look Reimu was giving her, proceeding to turn to Yukari who was still flying silently beside them.
?So Yukari, when was the last time you saw Yuyuko??
Yukari blinked a few times, as if she was being brought back to reality by the question, and after a few moments turned to answer Marisa. ?The last time I saw her was?a few months ago. However, I did receive an invitation to go visit her last week.?
?Last week?and when did you find out she was missing??
?Yesterday.?
?So you waited a week after receiving the invitation before visiting her??
?It said to visit her when I woke up, so naturally Ran waited for me to wake up before giving me the invitation. I went immediately after seeing it.?
?You slept for an entire week straight?!?
?More like three, to be honest.?
Marisa continued to stare flabbergasted at Yukari, prompting a small chuckle from Reimu. ?Remember who you?re talking to, Marisa. Even among Youkai, Yukari is something else.? Marisa just shook her head at Yukari?s mischievous smile.
Then suddenly, without any sort of signal or warning, the three of them immediately stopped. Reimu?s face showed a look of serious concern, strangely similar to Marisa?s scowling as if she had just smelled something terrible. Both girls immediately looked at Yukari, and felt a certain sense of dread when they saw something they hadn?t expected to see in their entire lives: a look of honest, unveiled shock.
Aside from the disconcerting look on Yukari?s face, Reimu and Marisa could both feel something strange in the air. A sense of repression, a wave of light nausea. As if something was killing the air itself, yet was trying not to. Both of them realized that the feeling didn?t make any sense, but there were only so many words that could describe the sensation.
?I take it that means we?re here.? Marisa muttered under her breath while the three of them attempted to regain some semblance of composure.
?Even the two of you can feel it I assume?? Yukari?s face had lost its shocked expression and now wore one of dire concern. ?What you feel is the aura of the boundary between the worlds of the Living and the Dead leaking into the air. Normally, it is sealed completely within the boundary itself, but??
Reimu picked up when Yukari paused. ?So something has happened here after all. Can you tell what happened, Yukari??
After yet another pause, Yukari spoke once more. ?Back during the Endless Winter incident, you remember how I weakened the boundary here to allow Yuyuko and her gardener to gather Gensokyo?s spring?? Both Reimu and Marisa nodded, urging her to continue. ?Well, what I did only weakened the barrier. It still held out most people, but those of particular strengths could then bypass it. What?s happened here?is that someone has torn a hole in it.?
Reimu and Marisa blinked in unison. Reimu spoke slowly, ?Are you trying to tell me that the border between the worlds of the Living and the Dead has been destroyed??
Yukari broke eye contact with the two and began to gaze off into the sky in front of them, where the other two assumed the offending boundary lay. ?Not destroyed, technically. Just punched a hole in it, roughly the same size as your shrine?s entire grounds.?
?So, not that big then,? Marisa said before she could stop herself, settling with returning Reimu?s withering glare with an apologetic smile. ?So, what does that mean??
?Nothing.? The two girls were once again taken aback by Yukari?s abrupt answer. ?It means nothing, because I?m going to fix it right now. If I don?t then?well?that doesn?t matter, because I will. Meanwhile, you two continue ahead. If I finish here before you are satisfied with your investigation, I will stay here to open the way for you on your way out.?
Without a word, Reimu took off towards what she now understood to be a hole in the boundary in front of her. Marisa paused for a moment, looking unsure as to what she should do.
?Don?t worry, Marisa. I can handle this myself. This is what I do. Go and help Reimu.? With a nod, Marisa took off after Reimu.
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Even though she had been here before, the Netherworld felt completely alien to Reimu. Last time, flying over these seemingly countless numbers of steps, the path had been lined with countless cherry trees in full bloom, the wind had carried a sense of hope, and of new life. Somewhat strange, considering this was the world of the dead, but regardless.
Now, there was no trace of those feelings. The staircase was lined by bare trees, as if it was the dead of winter, and the wind carried a hollow, forlorn air. To Reimu, it felt almost as if there was a sense of loneliness, further amplified by the lack of any sort of spirit, living or dead, that had crowded the place on her last visit. Of course, Reimu had no idea if any of this was strange, since she had only been here during very abnormal circumstances before.
?If this is what the Netherworld is like normally, remind me to never die.? Marisa echoed Reimu?s internal monologue with a grimace. The two were proceeding up the staircase that led to Hakugyokuro at what could only be described as a slow float. Marisa was looking around as if she was a displeased tourist, but Reimu, despite her previous irritability, was taking things strangely seriously.
The two floated up the steps for almost half an hour in silence. The oppressive feeling given by the place didn?t really encourage much conversation, and as much as it bored Marisa, the fact that Reimu and Yukari were both taking everything so seriously was beginning to dampen her spirits. As she struggled to find something relevant to say, just so that she could say something, she caught a faint wisp of fog in the distance.
As the two drew closer, they realized the fog was actually a person. Well, shaped like a person. The colours of her clothes seemed washed out, her skin too pale, and her outline wavered and warped as if she was having difficulty maintaining her shape. The apparition turned to face the two of them, and they both immediately recognized her as the half ghost gardener of Hakugyokuro.
As soon as Reimu and Marisa picked up speed in an attempt to close the distance between them and Youmu, the ghostly girl spun in the air and took off at full speed.
?Reimu!?
?Yes, I saw!?
With that, Reimu and Marisa did likewise. They didn?t know why she was running, or where to, but the fact that they had found anyone here where Yukari had said there was no one was enough of a clue that they weren?t going to let it get away.
While Youmu ? was it really Youmu? Marisa seemed to remember the gardener having a much more?physically existent body the last time she saw her ? was quite fast, she wasn?t moving at a speed that Reimu and Marisa couldn?t keep up with. They weren?t gaining ground fast, but they were gaining ground, so while slightly peeved, neither of them was particularly worried.
As the two of them were about 30 feet away, Youmu suddenly drew her sword.
?Dammit?Reimu!?
?For goodness sake, I?m right here! I can see what?s happening!?
Both of them pulled out spell cards, waiting for the girl they were pursuing to make the first move. She still wasn?t looking at them, just flying away and holding her sword in front of her. Reimu and Marisa had both slowed down slightly, maintaining the distance between the two of them and their target, refusing to act first.
And so Youmu acted. With what seemed a precision of impossible degree, she instantly stopped and spun to face them, holding her sword behind her, concealing the blade from the two of them perfectly. The two girls did their best to stop as fast as possible, but they both ended up within ten feet of their target before coming to a stop. Tense, Reimu was positioned to dodge whatever was coming as fast as possible, while Marisa wasted no time and declared her spell card.
?Love Sign-?
As she started, a sudden gust of wind howled past them. It was so fierce and unexpected that it distracted both Reimu and Marisa for a split second, and Youmu took that opportunity. Without a word ? indeed, without a sound ? she rocketed past the two girls, cleanly slicing through the air between where they were floating.
With a roar of exasperation, Reimu spun and immediately took off after her, with Marisa not far behind. Youmu was now hurtling down the steps at an incredible speed, much faster than she was going earlier. The two girls strained to accelerate in an attempt to keep up, but they just couldn?t manage to match her speed. Even the friction with the air was starting to sting their faces, but they both knew that without at least maintaining their current speed, they had no chance of catching their target.
Little by little, Youmu was gaining distance. It would take a while to lose them at this rate, since there was nothing to hide behind, but surely enough, the gap between her and the other two girls was slowly widening.
Marisa briefly considered firing some shots to attempt to take down their target, but at the speed they were travelling, the shots would have appeared so slow as to not even be a threat. And so biting down on their frustration, the two girls could do nothing but push harder, and hope that Youmu would be forced to slow down before she got away.
At that thought, Marisa briefly marvelled at how fast they were actually going. In less than five minutes, they had covered all the ground she and Reimu had made in their inspection, and had passed by the entrance they used to get into the Netherworld. Though the two of them hadn?t noticed before, it seemed that behind the hole they had used to enter, the staircase continued downward. And so, they followed her ever downward, a small feeling of helplessness at their inability to catch her beginning to grow.
Then suddenly, without warning, Youmu stopped once again seemingly far too fast. There was no gradual deceleration, just one instant she was flying too fast, and the next instant she wasn?t moving at all. This time, however, Reimu and Marisa were going far too fast to stop in time, and ended up hurtling past her. Expecting to see Youmu rocketing up the staircase, they were pleasantly surprised when they finally managed to turn around to see her floating motionless in the air.
As they brought themselves to a stop and began ascending back towards the half ghost, she descended from where she was floating in the air and touched down on one of the steps. Reimu and Marisa followed suit, and their angry complaints at Youmu running away for no reason were immediately cut short upon seeing what that reason was.
Standing in front of them, gazing straight at them, was ?Youmu.? Though they were somewhat hesitant to call her that, that is what she looked like. Seeing her this close, however, they could easily tell there was something wrong with her. All of the colours of her clothes still looked washed out, her skin was too pale, and her eyes were a startlingly sharp red. She seemed somewhat hazy, what should have been sharp lines and edges were shimmering and twisting, as if they were clouds being blown away by the wind. And now that they were this close, they could tell she was transparent. Not enough that you could clearly see through her, but definitely enough to tell that she wasn?t physically?there.
However, what had grabbed their attention more than the details of their target was what was lying at her feet. Face down, apparently unconscious, clothes torn and rumpled, covered in cuts and bruises, was the body of the actual Youmu.
The ghost solemnly closed its eyes and bowed deeply to Reimu and Marisa, and without raising its head lost its shape. Its entire body coalesced into a single formless mass, no bigger than a person?s head, and floated down around the body of the unconscious girl.
As soon as it had done so, Reimu and Marisa both ran over to the wounded gardener. She was lying face down on the steps, so they couldn?t tell what kind of condition she was in from where they stood. With great haste, they knelt down in front of her and flipped her onto her back.
Both of the girls breathed a sigh of relief. Her face was in no better shape than the rest of her, covered in scrapes and bruises, and it was obvious that whatever had happened, she had been hit on the head multiple times. But she was still breathing, and with their knowledge of Youkai, they knew that in almost every situation, ?still breathing? meant ?is going to be fine.?
As Reimu moved her arms and legs into a more natural position than the sprawled state she had landed in, Marisa stood up and gazed up the staircase, looking for any sort of clue as to what had happened.
?Looks like?she fell??
?Judging by the fact she?s unconscious, it seems pretty far too.?
?But she can fly, there was no reason for her to be on the stairs in the first place.?
?With that, plus the fact someone had clearly broken in here by force, it seems more likely someone threw her down here.?
?Disposing the body??
?No?she?s in much too good condition for someone to have been trying to kill her.?
?Lost a danmaku battle with someone who didn?t care what happened to her afterwards??
?Mmm?I find it unlikely. None of these injuries look like those you?d get from a danmaku battle. They all just look like she rolled down the stairs?really far, but still.?
Marisa hummed thoughtfully, trying to piece together a situation where someone would get pushed down the stairs unexpectedly, but not by somebody who was trying to kill her, and yet didn?t care enough about her to help her afterwards. Her thoughts were interrupted by Reimu talking again.
?Well, she?s still alive?half-alive? I don?t even know??
?I?d say judging by her appearance maybe about 15% alive??
?Alive enough that she?ll wake up someday. Some broken bones, but luckily for her she?s Youkai enough that those are already starting to heal. That being said, we need to talk to her as soon as she wakes up, and I don?t feel like waiting here until she does.?
?I don?t think carrying her anywhere in her state is going to be very easy?or a good idea, for that matter.?
?I know, don?t worry. I?ll stay here and continue with some basic first aid. Can you go get Yukari? She can take us back to the shrine.?
?Back to the shrine? We?ve barely even looked around here. I can understand that we need to take care of her, but it that doesn?t take three of us. Why not just send her back and we continue on? I?m sure Yukari could have one of her shikigami take care of her for us.?
Reimu stopped what she was doing and gazed off into the distance. ?No, there?s nothing left for us to find here. This is the only lead we?re going to find.?
?What makes you say that??
??I just know.?
Marisa sighed at that, but without another word she took off up the steps to find the hole in the barrier leading back to the world of the Living.
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The story seems very good so far. I love the characters interactions.
I didn't know Youmu could do that thing with her ghost half, that's quit cool.
Keep the good work!
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Not sure how I feel about this particular chapter, but I'm not unhappy enough with it that I feel like rewriting it.
I won't say anything else about it though, I'll just wait and see if anyone else has complaints about it, and see if they line up with mine :)
Chapter 3 ? A Visit From the Other World
While Reimu, Marisa, and Yukari were able to return to the Hakurei Shrine rather quickly after they left, it took until late in the evening before Youmu awoke. Thankfully, being a youkai meant that the vast majority of her injuries had healed by the time she did, especially with the aid of Reimu and Yukari?s magic, but she was still in no condition to be moving around.
Which may have also been a good thing, considering her state of mind when she awoke. Immediately upon realizing she was no longer in the Netherworld, she went into a frenzy, madly trying to leave the shrine and get back. Fortunately for Reimu and Marisa, her injuries made it difficult for her to move, and so restraining her until she calmed down wasn?t particularly difficult.
After Youmu calmed down and gave them her story of the events that happened, Yukari had immediately left to go investigate something. Now, Marisa, Reimu, and Youmu were all sitting anxiously at the Hakurei Shrine, having just finished eating their evening meal. The sun had just sunk below the horizon, and as usual, while everyone else was deep in thought, Marisa was finding it increasingly difficult to stave off her increasing boredom. Oddly enough, however, it was Youmu who suddenly broke the silence.
?So?there was really no one there? At all??
Sipping her after meal tea, Reimu responded without lifting her gaze from the window she had been staring out of. ?We didn?t see anyone. Yukari mentioned that Hakugyokurou was empty, but that was a day ago and we didn?t check ourselves.?
?That means?Lady Yuyuko is??
?Missing. We were actually in Hakugyokurou looking for her when we stumbled upon you. Well, I suppose it would be more accurate to say your ghost friend here led us to you.?
?It?s not my friend, it?s my ghost-half. Since, you know, I?m half ghost??
?So let me get this straight,? Marisa interjected into the conversation. ?While you were unconscious, half of you split off to go look for help??
?More or less.?
?So that means you went to go get help yourself while you were unconscious, and didn?t wake up ?til hours later?? At this, Youmu simply shrugged. Marisa shook her head, looking at the spirit that was even now floating just behind Youmu?s shoulder. ?You?re really something else, you know that??
The room descended back into silence. Despite Marisa?s attempts at making some light-hearted conversation, between Youmu?s depression at having failed her job, and Reimu constantly slipping between being deep in thought and being angry at everyone around her, there was only so much that she could do. Deciding that attempting to cheer people up any more was futile, Marisa decided that she should instead turn the room?s attention to what they were going to do tomorrow.
?So we know Hakugyokurou is empty. What are we going to do about it??
Youmu tilted her head to the side slightly, as if she didn?t really understand the question. ?Umm?I figure we?re going to look for Lady Yuyuko, and the spirits from Hakugyokurou? I am, at least.?
Reimu turned away from the window with a wry smile. ?When Marisa says ?what are we going to do,? she means ?what are we going to do now?? It was a very literal, immediately practical question.? At Reimu?s clarification, Youmu narrowed her eyes slightly and shifted her gaze from Reimu to Marisa and back. Seeing she had no comment, Reimu continued. ?To answer the question, the first thing we?re going to do is sleep. I am exhausted, and have no particular desire to go flying about the countryside in the dark.?
?Ooh, a slumber party? Can I come too??
Marisa and Youmu blinked in surprise at hearing the voice of a fourth person unexpectedly creep into the room. Reimu rolled her eyes and flopped on to the table in front of her with a sigh.
?What a cold response,? the visitor said, walking into the room with a bemused expression on her face.
?Every time I hear a new voice here, I resolve myself to be a bit meaner the next time I leave home,? Reimu said dejectedly.
?Miss?Komachi, was it?? Youmu addressed the visitor hesitantly, as if she was an acquaintance she had met only once before.
?Ah, the half dead one remembers me!? Komachi exclaimed with a bright smile that only looked slightly condescending. Youmu, on the other hand, adopted a dejected expression very similar to the one Reimu was wearing.
?Please don?t call me that.?
?Oh, I?m sorry. I meant no offense. Then, half alive one??
?Youmu is fine,? she replied with a sigh.
Seeing her expression, Komachi gave a small chuckle. ?I?m sorry, I?m sorry. I spend a lot of time thinking of jokes like this about people, since I work alone all the time.?
?Maybe you work alone because you make jokes like that,? Marisa muttered under her breath, prompting Komachi to turn to her with a big grin.
?I?ve thought up a lot about you, you know! Want to hear them??
?I think I?m alright,? Marisa managed with an uncomfortable smile. She couldn?t really take things seriously even if she tried, but the thought of having to deal with the most clich? of jokes put her out of the mood of pushing her luck.
Without getting up from lying on the table, Reimu spoke up to cut the conversation off. ?Alright, what do you want??
Komachi turned to Reimu as if she was about to make another joke, but her expression faltered as she opened her mouth. Looking pensive for a second, she opened her mouth once more, bearing a much more serious, but still bright expression.
?I heard a rumor that you went to Hakugyokurou today.?
?We went most of the way there, but we turned back when we found her,? Marisa said, nodding her head at Youmu.
?Well, I?m here to trade stories with you guys. If you tell me about how that went, I?ll tell you an interesting story. What do you say??
Reimu and Marisa looked at each other before turning back to Komachi. With a sigh, Reimu sat up from where she was lying. ?I suppose you won?t leave until you hear what you want to hear, so sure why not.?
?Alright let me tell my story first then.? Komachi walked up to the empty seat at the table and, after propping her scythe up against the door frame of the room, sat at the table with the other three girls. ?So you all remember what my job is, right??
?To ferry the souls from the world of the Living across the Higan river and into the afterlife, correct?? Komachi nodded vigorously to Youmu?s statement, continuing.
?I don?t know if you guys know this, but once a soul crosses the river, it takes a while before it actually is judged and sent to its proper place. While waiting to be judged, the souls are generally kept in the Netherworld. However, even if they are being sent to the Netherworld to wait, I still need to ship them across the river.?
?Generally, there is a pretty consistent flow of souls from each side to the other. Though I?m only responsible for sending them in one direction, I don?t need to bring any back. Regardless, about a week ago, I had a super lucky day. Not a single soul came to cross the river! I got to spend the whole day bumming around doing nothing, and I loved it! And while it was strange, it was something that did happen every once in a while, so I just counted myself lucky and that was that.?
?The next day, I dreaded what would inevitably be a flood of souls. That?s just how things work, if there was a day there would be nothing, then the next day would be too many to even take across. So while I was dreading the huge workload I stood by the river, ready for the first time in a long time to get to work right away, and guess what??
Komachi paused as she looked around the room. The other three girls had figured the question was rhetorical, but it looked like she was actually looking for someone to guess what had happened next. When she didn?t continue, Marisa volunteered to guess.
?There wa??
?Exactly!? Komachi interrupted as soon as Marisa begun speaking. ?I waited the entire day, and not a single spirit came! That was two days in a row where I didn?t even step into my boat! At this point, I wasn?t even happy to have a day off anymore, I was just dreading the backlash that would come afterwards.?
Reimu and Youmu shared a look, both clearly understanding where the story was going, and Marisa simply sat fully engrossed in the Shinigami?s story.
?So to make things easy, I?ll cut the next part short. I went to work the next day, and once again, nothing. In the end, it was five days straight where not a single spirit came to cross the river. Now, one day of no one crossing was rare, but not strange. Two days was strange, but not unheard of. Five days? Five days was enough that my boss crossed over the river herself to see what was going on.?
Reimu, Marisa, and Youmu all grimaced as Komachi described the event. All three of them had met her ?boss?, the Yama before. None of them had very fond memories of her.
?Well, she had actually come to scold me for not doing my job, but when she got there she saw that there was nothing for me to do. When she saw that, she got this really scary look on her face, and crossed the river back to the other side without saying anything. That was yesterday. This morning, I got a letter from her.?
With a flourish, Komachi pulled a piece of paper out from?wait, where had she pulled it out from? Before any of the girls could field the question, Komachi began reading in an overly dramatic voice.
??Onozuka ? If by the end of the day you have not ferried a single spirit across the river, confer with the shrine maiden. I shall speak with you myself tomorrow. ?? Looking up from the letter, she flashed Reimu a bright smile. ?And so, here I am.?
The three girls looked uneasily at each other as Komachi looked expectantly at Reimu.
?Alright well, that?s my story,? Komachi said as she stretched her arms over her head. ?Now, let?s hear something from you guys. Tell me something nice.?
Reimu stood up from the table and headed off into one of the back rooms of the shrine. ?I?m going to go get some more tea for all of us. Youmu, why don?t you start by telling your side of the story, and we?ll fill in after??
With a nod, Youmu turned to Komachi. ?A number of days ago?it must have been about a week ago, I just woke up today though so I don?t really know?anyway, a number of days ago, I was tending the gardens in Hakugyokurou as normal, when Lady Yuyuko and I sensed a disturbance among the spirits of the dead. Naturally, I went to go check on what was causing it, seeing that it seemed to be stemming from the stairway up into Hakugyokurou itself.?
Reimu returned and poured everyone another drink, or in Komachi?s case a first one, and Youmu nodded in thanks before continuing.
?I went to the staircase, and still considerably far away from the entrance to Hakugyokurou, I came across?someone. It looked like a woman, but it was hard to tell because of her cloak covering most of her body. I told her to stop and go back from where she came from, and she ignored me. I told her again, and she walked right past me. Since it was obvious she wasn?t going to listen to me, I tried to declare a spell card and force her back by?uh, force, but before I could, I got hit with?something. I blacked out before I even hit the ground, and just woke up a few hours ago.?
When Youmu finished talking, Reimu, who had returned to her seat, picked up where she had left off. ?This morning, Yukari Yakumo came to the shrine to ask for our help. Yuyuko, the princess of Hakugyokurou, and all of the spirits of the dead that were housed there had apparently gone missing. She wanted our help to go track them down. When we went to investigate, we discovered that someone had punched a hole in the boundary between the world of the Living and the Netherworld, and so while Yukari worked to fix it, Marisa and I went inside to look around.?
When Reimu stopped talking, Marisa started. ?Just like Yukari had said, there was nothing inside. No spirits or anything. Before we had managed to make it up to Hakugyokurou though, we ran into Youmu?s ghost half, who led us to her body. We took her back here, and now here we are.?
Komachi closed her eyes and hummed thoughtfully as she took a sip of her tea. As she was attempting to piece together the two stories into something comprehensible, the other three were trying to understand the implications of the two stories put together.
After a few minutes of silence, Komachi began to speak slowly. ?So, let us assume that people have not stopped dying all of the sudden. Is that fair?? Seeing no opposition from the others around the table, she continued. ?If that is the case, that means that something is happening to the spirits of the dead before they can make it to the Higan. Furthermore, something has happened to all the spirits of the dead in the Netherworld, considering the damaged barrier, most likely they?ve been taken somewhere in the world of the Living.?
?Alternatively,? Reimu spoke up after hearing Komachi?s theory, ?people actually have stopped dying. The incident in Hakugyokurou is unrelated, and the fact they happened at the same time is just a coincidence. Or, someone is using the spirits of the dead from Hakugyokurou somehow to keep people from dying here.?
?So?? Marisa asked in the silence that followed, ?which one is it??
???The first one??? Reimu, Komachi, and Youmu all answered at the same time.
?Preventing people from dying on such a wide scale isn?t practically possible,? Youmu was the first to offer a reason. ?For a few people, or maybe a small village, maybe. Unlikely, but maybe. But all of Gensokyo??
Komachi was the next to give her opinion. ?And it?s not just humans, there are no Youkai spirits coming to the river either. It is pretty unlikely that there could be a magic that would cure humans and youkai of death, at the same time, with no warning signs.?
?Someone was clearly able to punch a hole through the boundary into the Netherworld,? Reimu gave her opinion last, ?so it is more likely to assume they are exerting their control over the spirits of the dead than that everyone stopped dying for any reason. What?s more, we have witness testimony of the culprit walking into Hakugyokurou and acting violently with no provocation. The whole thing reeks of some sort of master plan.?
?And what?s the problem if the spirits of the dead are missing? I mean, obviously someone is going to be doing something bad with them and needs to be stopped, that?s just how Gensokyo works,? Marisa said, ?but is there any reason that it?s bad in and of itself??
Komachi tapped her bottom lip, humming thoughtfully. ?Well, for you guys, the problem would be that if no souls are leaving the world of the Living, no souls can return here from the other side. As far as the Judges are concerned, if they don?t see any souls, then people must not be dying. So, to maintain the balance, they need to put a hold on reincarnation until people start dying again. If people actually are dying, and their souls just aren?t reaching the other side, then the population will continue to steadily decrease until the human and youkai populations are wiped out. So, in short I guess, mass extinction.?
Marisa grimaced at Komachi?s matter-of-fact description of the worst case scenario. ?That?s?pretty bad, I suppose. So, what do we do about it then??
?Well, I for one, am going to head back to the river. I only get a couple hours off a day, and if my boss catches me skimping out on work now of all days, I may not live to see the sun rise!? With that, Komachi stood up and grabbed her scythe from where she had put it earlier. ?Thanks for trading tales with me, kids. I?ll let you know if we come up with anything interesting.?
Before anyone could say anything, Komachi smiled and waved, and as soon as she set a foot through the door, she vanished completely.
?So, the spirits of the dead should be somewhere in Gensokyo?? Marisa said almost to herself.
?And Lady Yuyuko will most likely be with them.?
?Then tomorrow, we go looking,? Reimu said as she stood up and made to leave the room. ?But for now, I?m just going to bed.?
The next chapter is gonna be a biggy! Over double the length of this one, and there may even be some space in it for an actual slumber party! Look forward to it ;)
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Eagerly awaiting the pillow fight scene where Youmu uses Myon as her pillow
Nicely done, as with the second chapter, too!
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^ Might have to make a short interlude describing this event. For now though, hopefully chapter 4 will suffice!
Chapter 4 ? The Evening Star
Despite the fact that the sun was shining brilliantly, the air was uncharacteristically cold. Reimu, Marisa, and Youmu had long since left the Hakurei Shrine in search of any clues to the whereabouts of the missing ghost, and were even now soaring through the sky across Gensokyo.
The three girls had split up shortly after leaving the Shrine. By their logic, being half-ghost meant Youmu would be fairly adept at detecting and finding other ghosts. Reimu?s intuition rarely failed her, and so if she were able to pick up any hunches as to where the missing spirits of the dead would be, then it should be simple work for her to track them down. Marisa had a penchant for the random, so her simply searching around at random would likely give her better results than attempting to reason out where the spirits were. Therefore, with all three of them having widely different methods of searching, by splitting up they improved their chances of being successful threefold. Or so they were told.
After about half a day of searching with no luck, Marisa and Youmu happened to cross paths. Without a word passing between them, it was clear to both of them that neither of the two had found a single hint as to where the missing spirits may be. Even so, Marisa began flying alongside Youmu, abandoning her previous course of flight. Youmu raised an eyebrow at her sudden change in direction, to which Marisa replied with a grin.
?I decided to follow Reimu?s lead, and see where my hunches lead me,? Marisa had to shout so that her voice would carry over the sound of the rushing wind caused by their flight.
?And what hunch would that be?? Youmu responded in an equally loud voice, wearing an unhappy expression.
?That you have the best odds of success? Marisa replied half-jokingly, to which Youmu shook her head and continued on her way. Even though Marisa knew Youmu didn?t take to her less than serious disposition in the past, she couldn?t help but feel that she was acting a little less friendly today than usual.
I guess it can?t be helped, she thought idly to herself. After all, the girl had been through a lot. She had been completely knocked out by a stranger without even the chance to fight back, her mistress was missing, and in all likelihood she thought it was all her fault. Marisa thought this was silly, of course. After all, even if Youmu had failed at her job of protecting her mistress, it was the fault of the attacker for attacking in the end, wasn?t it? However, despite feeling this way, Marisa still sympathized with Youmu?s situation. A little bit at least.
As Marisa continued to idly think to herself, Youmu began to slow down, and fairly rapidly came to a complete stop. Marisa came up to a stop beside her as Youmu was staring fixedly off in the distance, eyes wide.
?Found something?? Marisa asked, trying to see if she could discover what had made Youmu stop so suddenly.
Youmu pointed a finger in the direction she was looking. ?There?I can feel?from?there?? Her speech was barely more than a mutter, almost incomprehensible. Marisa focused her attention on the spot where Youmu was pointing, and was instantly assailed by a surge of?something.
Taken aback, Marisa completely lost focus and almost fell from her broom. As soon as she had looked away, the strange feeling had stopped, leaving her confused as to what had even happened. After confirming the feeling was gone, she tried focusing on the point on the horizon once again, and was once again filled with the same sense as before. This time, however, she was ready for it, and was able to withstand it long enough to feel what it was.
Though she couldn?t tell what was causing the sensation, or why it was only there when she focused on a very specific point in the distance, she could very much tell what the sensation was. A feeling of intense dread, fear for her life. The feeling that she needed to turn back, the feeling that she needed to go home, the feeling that if she continued this search, she wouldn?t live to see the sun set.
It was the same feeling of foreboding that was characteristic of the Netherworld, the sense of wrongness, that one didn?t belong. The same, except this was sharpened, very clear and direct, where the feeling in the Netherworld was more subtle, more of an atmosphere than a traceable sensation.
Marisa?s face broke into a broad smile. This is it, this was exactly what she had been looking for. She turned to Youmu to ask what she thought, but seeing the dumbstruck look on the girl?s face, she decided instead to take off in the direction that feeling was coming from. It took only a moment before she could see Youmu following her at top speed, the dumbstruck look on her face replaced by one of grim resolve.
Marisa, on the other hand, was practically laughing. She had had no luck searching before, and though some might blame her for being lazy and just following Youmu around, she decided if her goal was to find the missing spirits, this was the method with the highest success chance. And it had worked.
She didn?t know what was causing this feeling, who put it there, or why. She did know, however, that someone very clearly didn?t want others to approach. For Marisa, that was practically an invitation.
-----------------
After about half an hour of flight, Marisa and Youmu could see Reimu standing beside someone else in the distance. For some reason, Reimu had stopped short of the objective. Marisa could feel that whatever was causing the sensation from earlier was immediately in front of them, maybe a few hundred meters in the direction she was flying, but despite the landscape being clearly visible, she could see nothing but an open, grassy plain.
As Marisa was trying to decide between meeting up with Reimu and pressing forward on her own, she noticed Reimu waving her down.
As Marisa landed beside Reimu, she recognized the person she was standing beside as one of Yukari?s Shikigami. Without even a greeting, Reimu began speaking to Marisa.
?What do you see?? Reimu pointed ahead, into the open field in front of them.
?I don?t understand?it?s coming from here, so why is there nothing there?? Youmu, who had apparently landed behind Marisa, muttered quietly. She couldn?t tell if she was talking to herself, or attempting to provide an answer to Reimu?s question, but regardless of which it was, Marisa looked into the empty field before her.
There was nothing there. Just grass, as far as the eye could see. However, that bizarre feeling she had felt earlier was still coming from what seemed to be that empty plain. Something with that much impact couldn?t be invisible, so whatever it was, it had to be hidden somehow.
Marisa cocked her head to the side slightly. There was nothing in the field to hide behind or under, so either it was hidden underground, or was concealed by magic somehow. While she could easily enough find something that was buried underground, she could check for magical concealment from where she was standing, so she decided to try that first.
Being a frequent trespasser in a place where the supernatural was commonplace, Marisa was fairly adept at spotting things that weren?t meant to be spotted. Whether that was concealed goods or hidden traps, you had to have an eye for these things if you wanted to make it through in one piece considering the places she was going. As such, it only took her a few seconds to find what she was looking for.
?Magically concealing things has a few quirks that are fairly easy to predict,? Marisa started on a seemingly random tangent to those around her. ?There are generally two ways you can conceal something. One, which is the most common, is to do it in such a way that if you aren?t specifically looking for something, your eyes will glide right over it. If you don?t focus directly on the object that?s been concealed, you?ll never find it. However, if you do focus directly on it, it?s fairly easy to tell that there is something wrong, and the illusion won?t hold.?
?The other method is much less common. Instead of protecting from glancing looks, it works only if you focus directly on it. If you stare straight at it, you will be shown a crystal clear image of whatever the creator wants you to see, generally a scenery where the object you are looking for is absent. However, if you relax your eyes, focus on nothing, and just gaze at the scenery itself??
Marisa paused as she heard a gasp from behind her. Reimu looked out at the open field with a curious look, as if someone had just shown her a new solution to a puzzle she already knew the answer for. Ran, who Marisa hadn?t even known was paying attention, simply nodded at Marisa?s words, patiently listening to Marisa?s lecture on things she clearly already knew.
Despite the fact everyone had already noticed, Marisa decided to continue anyways. ?If you lose your focus, you begin to catch distortions, ripples in the air, bizarre bending of the light. Obvious clues that there is something there, despite not knowing what it is. However, once you?ve found where the distortion is, it?s child?s play taking it apart.?
Sure enough, as Marisa, Youmu, and Reimu all applied this method to search the field in front of them, they could easily see waves of distortion floating in the air in front of them. It wasn?t, however, the small concealed section that Marisa had expected. Instead, it was like a giant dome, hundreds of feet in diameter, concealing the entirety of the plain in front of them.
?A rather clever trick,? Ran spoke up in the silence that followed. ?They applied an illusion that would only work if the observer focused intently on it, and then created a great enough mental disturbance that others would inevitably either turn back and leave or search fervently for the source, guaranteeing they fell for the trick.?
?If it?s this big, whatever they are trying to hide must be huge?? Marisa spoke mostly to herself, though she received nods of agreement from the three others standing around her.
Ran, whose hands had been tucked into her sleeves, lifted her right hand in front of her holding a talisman with the imprint of a purple butterfly on one side, and a black butterfly on the other.
?That looks like something Yukari would use. Are you using her magic for this?? Marisa didn?t know why the question seemed relevant, but decided it was better to get the question off her chest than to let it bug her later.
?My abilities are sufficient to take down an illusion like this,? Ran responded, ?But my Mistress insisted, and it is not my place to question her.?
?Then let me. Why are you here and not her? Didn?t she have a very personal interest in this search??
Ran gave Marisa a patient look, as if she was tolerating the questions of a small child. ?My Mistress ordered me to come here and assist Miss Hakurei and her friends with the task at hand. Seeing that the search led to the point furthest from the edges of the Hakurei Border, she is investigating whether the Border itself has been tampered with.?
Marisa let out a thoughtful hum. She hadn?t thought about it earlier, but now that she mapped out the location in her head, she noticed it was just like Ran had said. The field in front of them marked the exact middle of Gensokyo, the place furthest from every edge of the Great Hakurei Border. Naturally, expecting that to be a coincidence was foolish, so it wasn?t surprising the Yukari had gone to make sure that the Border itself wasn?t being messed with.
Seeing Marisa understood, Ran turned back to the illusionary dome in front of her. ?Now that everyone is here, I am going to bring down the illusion. Whoever made it will likely not appreciate that, and if the story I heard of what happened in Hakugyokurou is any indication, things may turn violent quickly. Please prepare yourselves.?
As Ran prepared the spell Yukari had made for her, the three girls tensed up. Reimu floated a few feet into the air and drew a handful of talismans from her sleeves. Marisa sat back onto her broom, floating a couple feet off the ground, and put a hand on the mini-hakkero in her pocket. Youmu sank into a ready stance and drew the longer of her two swords.
Without so much as moving a finger, the talisman in Ran?s right hand flew forward and embedded itself into the illusionary dome in front of them. The talisman turned downwards, so that it was lying flat on the surface of the dome, and once it had settled, the butterfly imprint began to glow with a faint violet light. After a few seconds, the dome began to ?crack.? Though there wasn?t actually anything there in the first place, it looked as if the air itself was cracking open, and seeping through those cracks was a deep, violet light the same shade that Yukari?s talisman was giving off.
The cracks spread slowly outward from the talisman at first, but as they covered more area they began to spread out far more rapidly. Over the course of about three minutes, the entire dome had been completely riddled with these cracks bleeding violet light, giving the impression that the light itself was forming a wiry cage around the field.
Once the cracks had stopped spreading, the talisman flipped over, showing a black butterfly. As soon as it did so, the violet light seeping through the cracks in the dome instantly changed colour to white, and with the sound of glass shattering, the dome exploded outwards.
Pieces of broken, fragmented magic scattered, glimmering brightly as they dissolved into the air. It was quite the spectacle, with the entire field being filled with these glittering fragments of broken magic. It was almost as if the entire field was being filled with shining snow. However, as the fragments of light cleared, all four observers stood in shocked amazement at what the illusionary dome had been hiding.
In the exact middle of the field stood an immense, jet black tower. It looked to be made out of some sort of black glass, and somehow didn?t look quite real. The tower was roughly square shaped, approximately ten feet across at the base, with no indications it was narrowing as it got higher. The tower itself looked to be still under construction, the top of the 15 foot tall structure being covered with jagged, broken edges.
Circling in the air around and above the unfinished tower were countless wispy motes, easily identified by all four of the observers as spirits of the dead. The sheer number of them was mind boggling. Every single one of them, numbering in the high thousands, whirled around the tower chaotically, with no apparent pattern. As the spirits drew closer to the top of the tower, they could be seen being absorbed into the strange black glass. As they did, the tower grew ever upwards.
Floating perhaps 50 feet in the air above the top of the tower was Yuyuko. From this distance, she could only be recognized by her clothes, and they could only tell that she was floating there motionless. Standing in front of the tower, looking in their direction, was someone they didn?t recognize. She wore a black cloak that was wrapped around her, concealing the entirety of her body, and had her hood drawn back giving a clear view of her head. Her hair was the same colour as the tower behind her, a glassy black that didn?t really look possible.
?Let?s go.? Reimu began to float forwards at a tense, careful pace, and after a few moments the others began to follow her in. There was no need to warn each other to be careful. The situation around them provided warning enough. All four of them approached the cloaked figure cautiously, on edge more than ever before.
It was a confusing feeling. Reimu?s job required dealing with immensely powerful Youkai on a daily basis, and Marisa often either tagged along or attempted to race her to the goal. She had gone to the Netherworld itself in search of Spring, confronted aliens with the power to steal the moon, argued with the Judge of the Dead, fought with a foreign god, and beaten down a hell raven with the power to scorch the surface world bare. And yet, not a single one of these experiences had brought out the same sense of apprehension as this one.
Despite the tension the four felt, the stranger before them stood silently, watching them approach. Landing on the ground in front of her, they each inspected the stranger, attempting to figure out anything they could. Her strangely coloured hair rested on her shoulders, not quite reaching her chest. Her skin was slightly pale, though not unnaturally so, and her eyes were a deep violet.
As Reimu?s group stood uneasily, the stranger threw the cloak she was wearing wide, and with a flourish, bowed lightly to them. ?Welcome, to my Kokugyokurou.?
Reimu stood, still on guard, facing down the stranger. Youmu raised an eyebrow at the all too familiar sounding name, Ran stood completely expressionless, hands once again tucked into her sleeves, and Marisa looked cautiously at Reimu, wondering what she would do next.
?Who are you?? Reimu?s first question was fairly predictable, and as she asked it the stranger stood from her bow. Now that she had thrown her cloak back, they could all see she was wearing a plain, unadorned, yet somehow still ornate looking one-piece dress. It came down to just above her ankles, and its sleeves ended in fingerless gloves. Around her neck she wore a valuable looking necklace, adorned with a variety of precious gems.
With a pleasant smile, the stranger replied, gesturing behind her. ?That?s a fairly complicated question, and as you can see, I?m a little busy to be spending the time answering it.?
?Don?t even have the time to tell us your name, huh?? Marisa couldn?t help but speak out, despite the tension that all of them felt.
?Name? Hm, yes, I suppose it is common for people like you to bear names. Such a weak mind that requires a name in order to identify a person, but I suppose for your sakes I could adopt one. I will let you know when I have picked one out, so until then I apologize if you have difficulty remembering who I am.?
Marisa felt like the stranger was trying to insult her, but what she was saying was too weird to even be considered an insult. Before she could mention anything further on the subject, however, Reimu spoke up again.
?So, this is all your doing then? The breaking of the boundary between here and the Netherworld, and the kidnapping of the souls of the dead??
?Ah, yes. I apologize if I?ve inconvenienced you, but sometimes you just have to do what has to be done.?
?Stop it.?
?No.?
Reimu and the stranger stared at each other. Reimu?s face bore an unpleasant, borderline angry expression, while the stranger continued to smile in a manner that was starting to look less pleasant and more condescending.
Reimu tried once again. ?Stop it now, or else we will stop you by force.?
?No means no. This work is necessary, whether you?d like to believe so or not.?
?Alright then, force it is. You guys, back away. You, three spell cards. If I win, you give this up. If you win, you can continue as you are.?
As the other three began to back away, they stopped upon hearing the stranger?s voice again. ?Spell card? What on earth is a spell card??
As Reimu let out a sigh, the tension in the atmosphere loosened slightly. If this person didn?t know what Spell Cards were, they were clearly from somewhere outside of the Hakurei Border, and with almost no experience in dodging danmaku, Marisa was instantly convinced that the stranger wouldn?t have even the slightest chance of beating Reimu. As far as she was concerned, this incident was as good as solved.
?In Gensokyo, we use a Spell Card system to resolve disputes. It allows for nonlethal, safe combat in order to settle a dispute. Each participant designs patterns of bullets to fire at their opponent, which they must dodge. If they get hit by a single bullet, they lose the exchange. The match continues until there is a clear victor. It?s a bit of an abbreviated explanation, but it should be good enough for now. So, get ready.?
Tilting her head to the side slightly and placing a forefinger on her chin, the stranger asked another question. ?And why, pray tell, would one subject themselves to such a game in which the weak might triumph??
Reimu?s eyebrow twitched at the question. ?That?s the whole point of the system. It?s so that disputes can be resolved by a test of skill, rather than a test of raw power. It?s also for the protection of the participants, so that they can fight with anyone without fear of their opponent killing them for it.?
The stranger clasped her hands in front of her. ?Ah, I see. A system designed to shelter the weak in a world full of the strong. I imagine the system functions mostly with pride at its core, yes??
Reimu nodded, seemingly content that the stranger had accepted her explanation. As she made to pull out the three spell cards of her choice, she was interrupted once again by the stranger?s voice.
?Unfortunately, I have no such pride to defend, and no desire to put the fate of my plans in the hands of your silly little game. If that is all you came here for, please leave now. I have much work to do.?
As the stranger turned to leave, Reimu hurled three of her trademark talismans at her back. The stranger had no chance to react. At such a short range, there was no way Reimu would have missed, and before she had even taken a full step, the talismans plunged into the back of their unsuspecting target?and fell to the ground.
Turning slowly, the stranger once again locked eyes with Reimu, who stood masking her surprise at the ineffectiveness of her attack. Of course, those talismans weren?t particularly strong as far as Reimu?s attacks were concerned, but she had at least expected her opponent to get knocked away if it was a surprise attack. Or at least flinch.
The stranger?s expression no longer bore the smile it had earlier. Instead, her face was expressionless, masking any emotion she may have felt at what she probably thought was a surprise attack.
?You know, I had fully intended to let you leave here safely in respect of your civility. However, I have no aversion to violence, so if that is what you really want, then I have no inhibitions to killing you.?
As she finished speaking, something dark and snakelike fired from within her cloak straight for Reimu. Reimu rapidly dodged upwards and backwards, easily dodging the straight line attack. The black shadow quickly turned from its path and arced backwards towards Reimu, pursuing her as she flew ever upward. As Reimu threw two talismans downward, forming a shield to block the black stream, the earth around the stranger exploded, and chunks of rock flew upwards towards the shrine maiden.
The black stream hit the talisman shield head on, stopping dead. As it withered and faded, the chunks of rock crashed through the shield, breaking it into pieces. Reimu, anticipating the attack, had already dodged from the path of the rocks, and had apparently managed to pull out her gohei from somewhere in her outfit. Clasping the wooden object between her hands, she announced the name of her spell.
?Dream Sign: Evil Sealing Circle?
As Reimu finished speaking, hundreds of talismans fired from the air around her into the ground around the stranger. The talismans began to give off a blue light, and magical lightning began to arc between them. The lightning formed a complicated array, looking like some sort of ritualistic magic circle, with the stranger at the center.
At this point, Marisa, Youmu, and Ran had backed far enough away that they wouldn?t get in the way of Reimu?s fight, but could jump in and help if for some reason it was necessary. Most people wouldn?t have known, but since Marisa had been friends with Reimu for so long, she knew what was happening. Situations of people breaking the Spell Card Rules in Gensokyo were incredibly rare, but it did happen every once in a while. When it did, Reimu herself acted as the source of divine retribution; without a shred of mercy, she would bring the offender down with all her might, unafraid of taking their lives if that?s what it took. It had never devolved into a situation in which she had to kill her opponent, they had always surrendered long before that point, but Reimu?s power had never once been outmatched in a battle outside the Spell Card Rules.
Though the spell Reimu had just used shared a name with one of her Spell Cards, Marisa was one of the few who knew that Reimu had named many of her spell cards off of actual magic designed for youkai extermination. As such, the magic she was using now was not a fancy pattern designed to make the opponent dodge: it was an exorcist?s spell, used to seal in the power of a youkai. Within the center of that circle, even the greatest of youkai would lose all power. The greater the power of the youkai, the greater the effect: A weak youkai would just lose their supernatural abilities; a strong youkai would be unable to even move while within the circle, and once they got to the level of Yukari Yakumo or Yuka Kazami, simply staying within the circle would slowly kill them.
The stranger stood in the middle of the circle, still motionless, still expressionless. After seeing Reimu had finished with her attack, she tilted her head, as if confused at something.
Without moving from her spot in the air, Reimu called out. ?It?s over for you now that you?re in that circle. Give up now, and we can end this without anyone getting hurt.?
At Reimu?s declaration, a look of understanding passed over the stranger?s face. A look that to Marisa said, Ah, so that?s why you stopped your attack. You thought this was over. Pointing a finger to the closest edge of the circle in front of her, she muttered something that none of them should have been able to hear.
Break.
This one word surged out of the stranger like a tidal wave. Despite the fact that none of them could physically hear the word, they all felt and understood exactly what had been said, felt it echo down to the core of their being. While Marisa was still attempting to overcome the shock of the power with which the stranger had managed to utter that one word, the sealing circle Reimu had set up around her convulsed and exploded outwards.
Never once had Marisa seen someone able to break out of Reimu?s true circle. And this person had done it just by saying a single word.
As the onlookers watched in shock, the stranger pointed her finger at the stunned Reimu and spoke again.
Fall.
With the same impact that they had felt before, like a silent shockwave rolling over them, they felt the next word pass through them. As it did so, Reimu plummeted from the sky as if she were suddenly made of lead, landing hard on the ground. Instinctively, Marisa could tell that Reimu couldn?t even stand up. That was the power that the stranger?s word had held.
Marisa felt herself being filled with panic as a stone spear, roughly 10 feet long, rose from the ground behind the stranger and pointed at Reimu. She spoke again, and even though it didn?t carry the power that her previous words had, the sound of her voice still sent chills down Marisa?s spine.
?Die.?
As she spoke, Marisa burst into action. Rocketing towards the stranger as fast as she could manage, she tore the mini-hakkero from her pocket and began filling it with energy. Even as she did so, the stone spear launched itself towards Reimu at lightning speed, and Marisa?s heart leapt into her mouth at the realization that she wasn?t going to make it in time.
A split second before the spear impaled Reimu, a flash of silver light crashed into the side of it, sending it careening off course, and it plunged into the ground three feet from Reimu?s immobile body. Standing in front of her was Youmu, sword bared, readying herself for the next attack. There was no time to marvel at how Youmu had managed to knock away the spear at the very last instant, however. Marisa felt awash in relief as she turned back towards the stranger, who still hadn?t moved from where she stood.
Without a word, Marisa emptied the mini-hakkero into a tight beam in front of her. Connecting solidly with the ground a few feet away from the stranger, the resulting explosion threw chunks of earth and clouds of dust into the air, obscuring the stranger from view. More importantly, however, it obscured her view of them.
After only a few seconds, a sudden tempestuous wind blew through the field, tearing away the clouds of dust. The stranger stood, expectedly unscathed, but was now facing directly at Ran, who had positioned herself between Reimu and the stranger. In Ran?s hands was a ball of blue and red light, swirling together. Less than a second after the dust had cleared, Ran unleashed the ball of light at the stranger in the form of a laser, cutting through the air towards her.
It was amazing how fluid their teamwork felt. Without even a word, Youmu had deflected the shot at Reimu, Marisa had created a perfect distraction, and Ran had used the opportunity to set up and unleash an attack at the perfect opportunity. In the back of her mind, Marisa wondered at what must have been Ran?s power. She had heard rumors from various people who had met her that her specialty was in the use of Shikigami, but she never really understood what that meant. Now, that was perfectly clear.
Youmu and Marisa were anything but Ran?s shikigami, yet simply being in her presence heightened their teamwork ability. Was the whole situation being orchestrated by Ran, or did her power just put them all on the same wavelength? At this point, Marisa didn?t much care, so long as it worked in their favour.
As Ran?s laser cut across the stranger?s body, however, it stopped short of its target. As it swung from her left leg to her right shoulder, it etched only into the air in front of her, as if she was in some sort of protective sphere.
Seeing the attack was ineffective, Ran immediately lunged backwards, landing beside Reimu?s fallen body. As she did so, Youmu?s ghost half materialized into a ghostly version of herself, and they both charged forward. Meanwhile, Marisa launched herself further into the air, dumping energy into the mini-hakkero. Last time, she was firing a distraction. This time, she was going all in.
As Marisa charged her attack, she watched Youmu and her ghostly clone dance around the stranger. With a magnificent display of skill, Youmu and her ghost attacked with their swords, slashing, cutting, stabbing at every opening. However, no matter quickly they struck, no matter how big an opening the stranger left for them to take advantage of, their attacks never landed. The stranger gracefully stepped around every single one of their attacks, always just a hair?s breadth out of range, as if the entire exchange had been choreographed and rehearsed a hundred times. When Youmu and her ghost half ended up on opposite sides of the stranger, she lifted her hands, one palm facing each swordsman. Without even a word, Youmu and her ghost half were thrown back as if they were paper being blown away by the wind.
But it was enough. As soon as Youmu was knocked away, Marisa released her fully charged hakkero in a wide beam that eliminated the possibility of dodging. After the energy she had poured into the hakkero had emptied out into a sort of tracer beam, the elemental furnace roared to life, firing a beam of heavily concentrated magical energy at the stranger. She was engulfed in the magical energy, and the shockwave of the attack hitting the ground around her sent another cloud of dirt and dust into the air around the target of the attack.
Marisa growled in frustration as she saw that the stranger was somehow completely unfazed by the attack. If she had been sitting at home, comfortably sipping some tea and reading a book, she might have been able to analyze the situation and determine why a full powered Master Spark had had absolutely no effect on the target, but in the heat of battle and under the influence of Ran?s teamwork influencing capabilities, she had no time to think things through. However, even as she dropped to ground level a fair distance away, she saw Ran once again in the air behind the stranger, throwing a talisman at her unprotected back.
Before the talisman had even made it halfway to its target, it flashed with a white light and disappeared into thin air. As it did so, dozens of white lights appeared in the air around where it had disappeared, and from each light an ornate knife fired towards the stranger. Each one was aimed to hit her directly, however as they reached the target, they suddenly veered off course and plunged into the ground around her. Dozens of knives embedded themselves in the ground in a circle around the stranger as she turned to look at Ran, who was dropping downwards and backwards in anticipation of the stranger?s retaliation.
But before she had the chance to retaliate, Reimu ? who had apparently managed to stand up ? ran towards her from the opposite direction and leapt over her head. Flipping so that she was perfectly upside down over top of the stranger, she hurled handfuls of talismans into the air around her, seemingly towards the ground. Like bullets ricocheting off of metal, the talismans seemed to strike an invisible wall and were reflected back towards the stranger. As Reimu landed on the other side of her, she turned in time to see every single talisman she had thrown stop dead in the air around the stranger, once again as if she was standing in some sort of protective sphere.
As if she was shaking water off of her hand, the stranger flicked her wrist and the talismans stuck in the air around her were blown away. Before she could move again, however, the sound of rushing wind filled the area, and time seemed to slow. With the sharp sound of steel cutting through air, Marisa could barely see out of the corner of her eye Youmu diving towards the stranger, sword drawn. Moving faster than Marisa thought was physically possible, she lunged and slashed at the stranger, aiming to cut her in half at the waist?
?and, without even turning around, the stranger deftly caught the blade in one hand. As everything came to a stop, and the sonic boom caused by Youmu?s intense speed washed over everyone, the fight seemed to come to a halt. The illusion lasted only for a second though, as the stranger finally made her next move.
Without any word or movement, Youmu was thrown backwards almost as fast as she had lunged forwards. This time, however, instead of being thrown off into the distance, a slab of rock rose from the ground behind her. With a sickening thud, Youmu crashed into the stone slab, and fell to the ground like a marionette whose strings had been cut.
Marisa?s mind raced, trying to think of a magic she could use that would be effective where her Master Spark had failed. As the options came up, she rapidly shot them down as either too dangerous for the others around her, or too similar to Master Spark to work. As she attempted to come to a solution, the ground under Reimu?s feet tore open, as if to swallow her whole. Though she was taken off guard, Reimu gracefully flipped backwards and up into the air. Behind her, Ran stood, the air around her crystallizing in fist-sized diamonds. After about a dozen had formed, they all turned so that their pointed ends were aimed at the stranger, and fired.
Just like the knives earlier, the projectiles all veered off course at the last possible moment, each coming painfully close to the target, yet none making contact. As the last projectile cleared her, the stranger raised her right hand into the air. As she did so, the ground beneath Ran?s feet exploded with a burst of what Marisa could only guess was air pressure, flinging Ran twenty feet up into the air. The stranger then balled her upraised hand into a fist and brought it down hard. In timing with her actions, the air above the stunned Ran contorted and compacted into a solid and hammered down into her, ramming her into the ground.
As soon as Ran hit the ground, Marisa felt the feeling of fluidity in their actions dissipate. The analytical approach to fighting ? which she hadn?t noticed until just now was foreign to her ? fled from her, and she prepared her next attack at the same time Reimu did. As wound up to throw a handful of talismans at the stranger, a bolt of crisp white lightning arced from the clear blue sky overhead and struck her. With a look of shocked surprise, Reimu fell motionless to the ground below, landing hard on what was thankfully soft ground.
At the same time this happened, Marisa unleashed her attack. A wave of glittering stars filled the air, and suddenly she was the center of a galaxy. Spinning out widely and rapidly, the stars formed spiralling walls enclosing the stranger, restricting her movement. As they did so, four bright white comets arced out from Marisa, dancing between the stars that had already been released and throwing off stars of their own. After a few seconds, the comets turned from their pre-set paths and arced towards the stranger.
The stranger turned to look Marisa in the eye as she dropped her hands to her sides. Moments before the four comets impacted into her, a stone barrier rose from the ground at her feet, sheathing her in solid rock. The comets impacted into the rock with a burst, and as they did all of the stars from in the air around them stopped in their paths and turned, firing directly at her like hundreds of bullets.
As the light and dust given off by the attack cleared, Marisa shot up into the air and began charging the hakkero once more. As she had expected, the stone sheath had held, and only after the attack had ended did it crack apart, revealing the unharmed woman within. Unexpectedly, however, once the stone sheath broke apart, the stranger launched into the air, coming level with Marisa.
After this many uses, the hakkero was warmed up enough that subsequent firings would be much quicker than before. As she aimed the hakkero at the stranger, she saw her raise her right hand at point at her. Marisa didn?t know what was about to happen, but she knew that their fight was now a race: whoever got their attack off first would undoubtedly win.
Marisa focused all of the energy from within the hakkero into a thin beam, as thin as possible, aimed directly at the stranger. Her previous attack hadn?t worked because it spread the damage out over a large distance compared to the size of the target. If she tightened the scope of the attack, she might be able to get enough force to punch through whatever defense she was using.
Marisa let out a shout as she fired her attack. She had never fired such a focused Master Spark, and she had never put so much power behind one. Of course, that was to be expected; she had never fired a Master Spark before under conditions where if she failed to kill her target, she would die herself. In the end, however, she didn?t know what kind of destructive force lay behind her attack, and could only hope that it would be enough.
She was never able to find out, though. While the beam of light fired from the hakkero, time seemed to slow. Shadows arced out from within the stranger?s cloak, in four distinct, translucent bands. Two of the bands arced sharply in front of her, and the beam of light collided squarely with the point where the two bands of shadow overlapped. The impact split the beam of light into three directions, all missing the stranger by a wide margin.
The other two bands of shadow launched straight for Marisa. Though they were quick, they were not as quick as the first two, giving Marisa a split second to maneuver. Dropping the still-firing hakkero, Marisa hurled herself backwards to give her more room to dodge. As she did so, the two bands of shadow split into dozens of smaller threads. The needle-like shadows fanned out in a wide arc, guaranteeing that any direction Marisa fled in would be covered. Instinctively, Marisa flew backwards faster, attempting to allow the shadows to fan out wide enough that she could slip between them.
For a single instant, the shadows all stopped dead still in the middle of the air. In the time it took Marisa to cover three feet while flying backwards, the shadows all turned from their paths directly towards her and accelerated. The five feet that had been between Marisa and the shadows was covered before she could even blink, and Marisa felt numerous sharp, stinging pains as the dozens of needles impaled her all over her body and drove her into the ground.
Landing hard on her back, Marisa had the wind knocked out of her before she could even let loose a cry of pain from being hit by the shadows in the first place. Try as she might, she couldn?t move. Her vision was going dark, and the shadows still pinned her to the ground. She heaved with all her might, but she couldn?t get her lungs to draw breath. She gave everything she had left, but couldn?t get a shred of magical energy to leave her fingertips. She mouthed a curse as her vision got darker and darker, and only had time to wonder why she wasn?t bleeding after being impaled so many times before she finally blacked out.
Is this the end for our trio of ghost hunters? Find out next time!
The next chapter will wrap up the first of three major plot arcs. I don't have a whole lot to say about the upcoming story other than that, so look forward to it :)
As an aside, for those who may be less fluent in Japanese (or in the case that what I've done is unintelligible in the first place 8D), a little side note on the name 'Kokugyokurou.' You most likely will have noticed that it is very similar to the name 'Hakugyokurou,' which is written in Japanese as 白玉楼. These characters literally translate as 'Tower of White Jade.' In my attempt to be clever the stranger's attempt to be ironic, she named the place she comandeered 'Kokugyokurou,' which would use the Japanese characters 黒玉楼, literally meaning 'Tower of Black Jade.' Just for fun!
Also, anyone that is able to guess figure out the stranger's specific ability before the story reveals it wins a cookie. The only hint I'll give you is that everything you see her do during this chapter is a direct result of her putting that one ability to use. I somewhat doubt you'll be able to figure it out from just this chapter, but maybe future chapters will provide you with a bit more insight :)
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In celebration of 200 thread views, Chapter 5!
Chapter 5 ? Sunset Strategy Meeting
The blackness was suddenly pierced by an enormous light. The body of the lifeless girl was shaken by an intense tremor, and when it stilled, her eyes snapped open.
Marisa awoke to a brutal headache and an overly exaggerated coughing fit. The pain in her head caused her memory to be foggy, giving her difficulty remembering where she was or how she got there. Holding her head and wincing, she stumbled to her feet, struggling to maintain her balance.
After a few deep breaths, the headache began to subside, and Marisa began to take in her surroundings. It seemed somehow she had been lying on the grounds of the Hakurei Shrine, though she had no idea why she would be-
Suddenly, her foggy memory snapped into focus. Her eyes went wide with shock, and she immediately began checking herself for injuries. A brief search of her person just brought the confusion of earlier back. She remembered very clearly now the fight with that strange woman ? youkai? Must have been ? and most of all she remembered getting utterly destroyed by her. But, no matter how she checked or inspected herself, there were no signs of any injury anywhere.
?Weird?I could swear I got stabbed an awful lot right at the end there?? Contrary to her memory, however, not even her clothes showed any signs of damage. Looking around, she found her trusty broom had been lying on the ground beside her, and even the mini-hakkero she had dropped near the end of the fight was resting snugly in her pocket. Briefly, she considered the notion that it had all been a dream, but immediately dismissed the idea. Her memory of the event was too stark, and considering she was in Gensokyo, no matter how jarring the discrepancy was between her memory and the present situation, nothing was out of the question.
As Marisa turned to walk towards the shrine she was pulled from her thoughts as she saw that she wasn?t alone. Lying on the ground on the other side of the clearing the shrine was situated in was none other than Reimu, sprawled haphazardly and motionless as a stone.
Snatching up her broom, Marisa jogged her way over to the fallen shrine maiden, somewhat startled at how little she was worried about her condition. It wasn?t like she didn?t care whether she was alright, but she had this nagging feeling that if she herself was fine, then Reimu must be fine as well. Despite the lifeless look in Reimu?s eyes, Marisa still didn?t feel any tension. Using her foot, she gave Reimu a light poke in the ribs, and sure enough, as soon as she did so the shrine maiden?s eyes flutered into liveliness. Followed shortly by an intense coughing fit and some mild curses about a headache she apparently had.
After a bit more groaning and rolling on the ground, Reimu finally took a deep breath and sat up. Still holding a hand to the side of her head, she began to mutter in a stupor. ??What?happened???
?We won, Gensokyo is saved,? Marisa replied to the rhetorical question as monotone and deadpanned as she could manage. At this, Reimu seemed snap out of her grogginess, replacing it with an unpleasant, sidelong glare.
?Aside from the obvious, you ok??
With a sigh, Reimu nodded and got up to her feet. ?The others??
?Haven?t seen them yet. I just got up myself. Shall we go take a look??
??I?ll pass. I?m going to go inside and get us something to drink. I presume you feel as terribly as I do, so some tea would probably do us good.?
?Alright, I?ll go take a look around and wake up the others.?
Reimu nodded to Marisa once more and trudged off into the shrine. Marisa hadn?t thought about it earlier, but like Reimu suggested, she did feel pretty awful. It had started as just a headache and some confusion, but it was developing into a rather strong sense of nausea, and she started yearning to just sit down and take a break for a bit.
Shaking her head vigorously to get herself to focus ? which ended up being a mistake, seeing as how it inflamed her previously dulling headache ? Marisa started a slow walk around the shrine grounds, reasoning that since the two of them had appeared here, the other two might have as well. As she considered whether it was more likely for them to show up here or at their own homes, she found Youmu lying sprawled behind the shrine, out of sight of both the places Reimu and Marisa had been lying.
In short order, Marisa had Youmu awake and heading into the shrine to rest while she continued to search the perimeter of the shrine for signs of Ran. It came as somewhat of a shock to her when she realized she had circled the shrine twice and hadn?t seen her yet. A quick float into the air confirmed she wasn?t on the roof of the shrine, so Marisa went to check if she was inside.
When a search of the interior of the shrine yielded similar results, Marisa decided to go take a look outside again, but was forced to stop herself due to the mounting nausea in her stomach. Instead, she headed back into the shrine and sat with Youmu and Reimu, who had already begun drinking their tea.
?So I checked all around the outside, the roof, and all the rooms inside the shrine, and I didn?t see Ran.? At Marisa?s announcement, the other two stopped and looked at her as if she was crazy.
?What do you mean, you didn?t see her?? Reimu was the first to respond.
?I mean, she wasn?t there. Either she didn?t appear here with us or she woke up before us and left.?
?Well, I can tell you it is definitely not the latter.?
The room turned to look at the doorway as Yukari strode in, her usual mask of a facial expression marred with exhaustion. They watched silently as, for the first time in either of the three?s memories, she walked into the room and sat at the table with the rest of them, at the fourth spot that had been set up for Ran.
?What makes you say that?? Marisa spoke up after it became apparent that Yukari wasn?t planning on volunteering any more information. Closing her eyes and sipping the tea in front of her, Yukari responded with a tired voice, not bothering to open her eyes again.
?As my shikigami, I can feel a connection to her. I have a general sense of where she is, and her current state of health. Right now, I can?t feel her at all.? Yukari paused, whether for dramatic effect as she often did, or to actually just take a sip of her tea, before continuing. ?Before you all go and write her off, there are a few explanations for why that might be the case.?
?That?s true,? Youmu offered, ?someone may just be interfering with your link to her. Or possibly your contract with her was broken somehow.?
Yukari finally opened her eyes, though she didn?t seem to be looking at anything in particular. ?Of course, the possibility she has passed away can?t be ruled out. But for now, jumping to conclusions will help no one. I was planning on having her explain the situation to me, but obviously that is no longer possible. Would you three be so kind??
Marisa, Reimu, and Youmu all exchanged looks, neither of them wanting to explain the rather violent encounter that had occurred. When none of them spoke up, Yukari tried to egg them on.
?I know up until the point where you were outside that illusionary dome. That?s when I sent Ran to help you three out, since I wanted to go check on the Barrier. What happened after that??
Uneasily, Youmu began to explain the situation. ?Well?Ran brought down the illusionary dome, and we all went inside. The first thing I noticed was in the middle of the clearing was a big, black tower that looked like it was still being built. Around it was floating the spirits from Hakugyokurou, and above it Lady Yuyuko was hovering there. It looked like she was controlling the spirits around the tower.?
?It looked to me like the spirits were somehow being fused into the tower,? Reimu offered. ?Every time a spirit came close to the tower, it got absorbed, and the tower got a little taller.? Yukari nodded impassively at the description of the tower, not saying anything. When she saw that she wasn?t going to ask any questions, Marisa picked up where the other two had left off.
?In front of the tower was someone I had never seen before. She wore mostly black, and had shoulder length hair that was a really strange colour that made it look like black glass.?
?Any other unique characteristics??
Marisa hummed thoughtfully as she tried to remember the stranger?s appearance. ?I think she had a necklace of some sort?it was made of what looked like silver, with a bunch of jewels built into it.?
Yukari?s eyes suddenly tightened. ?Do you remember what the jewels were??
Marisa scratched her head, trying best to remember, but she hadn?t really spent a lot of time looking at it. When none of the three could supply an answer to Yukari?s question, she told them to forget it and continue.
?She started by saying something really pretentious, like ?welcome to Kokugyokurou? or something. When we told her to stop what she was doing, she refused to stop, and refused to battle with the Spell Card Rules. She then attacked us?? Reimu grimaced as she continued, ?and?we got completely trashed.?
When Yukari gave Reimu a flat, unsatisfied look, she continued. ?Nothing we did had any effect. Most of our attacks would move out of the way so they wouldn?t hit her. Anything that made contact had no effect. At the same time, she was attacking us in all sorts of weird ways. Chunks of rock would leap out of the ground at us, her shadow would move and attack us on its own, and whenever she said anything, it happened. At one point, she told me to fall, and I couldn?t even move until she had forgotten about me and started fighting with someone else.?
?One by one she knocked us all out,? Marisa continued when Reimu stopped talking, ?and the next thing I knew I was lying on the ground outside the shrine here. I woke up Reimu and Youmu, couldn?t find Ran, and now here we are.?
Yukari gave each of the girls a long, appraising look before going back to drink her tea. As the seconds of silence turned to minutes of silence, the three girls sitting uneasily watching Yukari and Yukari sitting with eyes closed, occasionally taking a sip from her tea, all three of the girls were beset by the sudden urge to consider the implications of the situation they had found themselves in.
They had met someone they didn?t know, and that person refused to follow the Spell Card rules. It wasn?t a common occurrence, but it had happened a few times before. Typically, all it took was a good thrashing from Reimu and they would see the error of their ways. This time, however, Reimu, Marisa, Youmu, and Ran all teamed up against the offender and couldn?t even lay a finger on her. Someone with that kind of power, roaming free with no regard to the rules, could only be bad news.
Furthermore, they had found Yuyuko. However, despite finding her, they hadn?t managed to actually find anything out. Was she being held hostage? Was she there of her own free will? Was she working for this stranger, or was she being used? What was going on there anyways? Of all the questions they had gone in with, the only one that had been answered was her location.
To make matters worse, Ran was now missing. They had no idea if she was alive or not, and for all they knew she might now be being controlled by this stranger. In the end, it just added another item to the list of things that hadn?t worked out.
While everyone else was still mulling over the situation, Reimu broke the silence. ?So what do you think, Yukari??
Yukari slowly opened her eyes and looked Reimu straight on. The exhaustion so apparent on her face combined with her expression being so serious didn?t help to comfort anyone around the table. After a few more seconds of uncomfortable silence, Yukari finally spoke.
?We don?t know enough. I can?t say anything about what is going on or what would be the most effective solution.?
Reimu flopped down on the table in front of her, sighing in frustration. Youmu sat motionless and expressionless, while Marisa just gave a weak smile. Unfortunately, that was the answer all three of them had been expecting. If anyone could have figured out what was going on, it would have been Yukari, but the fact that she couldn?t get a handle on what was going on meant that there was almost no chance any of them would figure it out. At least not without a little more digging.
?I will tell you what I do know,? Yukari continued. ?When you three went to confront this stranger, I left to check the Great Hakurei Border. After all, the concealed area was in the very center of Gensokyo, which would seem like an optimal place to manipulate the border from.?
While Youmu and Reimu nodded, Marisa tilted her head to the side in confusion. ?Wait, why would that be a good place to manipulate the border from? Isn?t that the farthest spot from any point on the border??
?Indeed, if you were just trying to get through the border, or punch a hole in it, then you would want to be on the very edge. However, if you are trying to exert pressure on the entire border at once, the very center is the point where all parts of the border are equally far from you. It would be easiest to influence the entire border at once from there.?
Marisa made a silent ?oh,? and seeing that she understood, Yukari continued with her explanation.
?While I was inspecting the border, a few things happened all at once. One, I lost my connection with Ran. Two, the Border lost its connection with you.? As Yukari spoke, she eyed Reimu, who went strangely pale. ?I suspect that at that point you had all been rendered unconscious, however at that point I could do nothing but attempt to maintain the Boundary myself and hope that by some miracle the border would re-establish its connection with you.?
?I presume if you had left it as it was to go investigate, the border would have unravelled?? Youmu ventured a question as Yukari paused to take a sip of her tea.
?Correct. Without a connection to the Hakurei line, there is nothing to anchor the Border in place. It was all I could do to keep it stable, and even then I wouldn?t have been able to do so for very long. Luckily, when Reimu awoke from being unconscious, the connection was re-established, and with a few little tweaks everything was back in working order.?
Everyone heard Reimu give a huge sigh of relief. No one in Gensokyo really knew the intricacies of the Hakurei Border except for Reimu and Yukari, so none of them really understood how serious the situation had been. Regardless, they understood it was very close to being very bad, and were satisfied with knowing that it had all been worked out.
?That is why I suspect Ran is still alive somewhere. I suspect that once she regains consciousness, her bond to me will be re-established. I have no idea how long that will take, or if she will even reawaken on her own, but that is my current hypothesis.?
The next few moments passed in silence as everyone let the information that had just been exchanged settle. None of them knew what to do next, or what was going on now, but having a strong grasp as to what had already happened gave them a small sense of comfort. Most of them, anyways.
?So?what do we do now?? Marisa was the first to ask. As someone who didn?t much care for introspection and analysis, she was concerned with only how to solve the problem, not what the problem looked like.
?We go back there and we stop her.? Youmu was the first to provide a response to Marisa?s question, speaking in a hard voice with a serious expression. ?We couldn?t do it before, but if we have Lady Yukari with us, we should have no problem putting a stop to her.?
??I?m afraid that?s not going to be possible,? Yukari said in a low voice, grimacing. ?I am not against attempting to put a stop to this stranger?s actions, but I am afraid I will not be able to be of much help.? Everyone turned to Yukari, with expressions ranging from confusion to worry.
?What do you mean, you won?t be of much help??
?The best I can manage right now is information gathering. With my struggle with the Great Hakurei Border earlier, I am almost entirely drained of energy. I would love nothing more than to go and help you fight this person, but if she is half as strong as you say she is, then at my current state, I won?t be any more useful then Ran was.?
?How long will it take you to recover?? Youmu continued to press the issue while Reimu and Marisa sighed dejectedly. Secretly, they had both been expecting Yukari to swoop in and save the day for them, but now that they realized that wasn?t the case neither of them had any idea what they could do.
?Too long. By the time I have recovered enough to fight her, she will have had plenty of time to wipe out Gensokyo in its entirety, if her goal actually is related to the Border in some way. And that?s also assuming I would be of any use at full strength. For all we know, she is leagues above me as well.?
Shivers ran down the spines of the three girls at the thought of someone outclassing Yukari. Sure, they all knew that the Enma was supposed to be stronger than anyone in Gensokyo, but Yukari was to Gensokyo as Gensokyo was to the outside world; rules just didn?t apply. The very thought that Yukari, at full strength, wouldn?t be strong enough to fight someone, was nightmare worthy.
?So our best bet then,? Reimu spoke up in the awkward silence that followed, ?is to gather as much help as we can, as fast as we can, and try and take this outsider down before she can accomplish whatever it is she is trying to accomplish.?
?Who could we even ask though?? Youmu asked, voice tinged faintly with the despair that was starting to show on her face. ?Who are we going to find that?s stronger than Yukari? Or even stronger than the two of you??
?We don?t need people who are stronger than us,? Reimu said flatly, ?we need people who, together with us, will be stronger than her.?
?So in other words,? Marisa said, ?we need as many people as we can possibly get.? Reimu nodded to Marisa?s question.
?Considering all of Gensokyo may be at risk, it only makes sense that all of Gensokyo should fight to protect themselves.? After saying this, Reimu then turned to Yukari. ?How much time do you suppose we have to gather people??
With a sigh and some obscure gestures, Yukari replied. ?For all we know, we are already too late. Or maybe this stranger won?t be ready to make her move for years. In all honesty, there is no way for us to tell.?
?Then we need to move fast,? Marisa said to no one in particular. ?Let?s all split up, we?ll go to different places and share what we know, and try and recruit as many people as fast as possible. First, we?ll have to decide who is going to go where. After that, we can get started.?
Yukari?s face lost a small trace of its tiredness and took on a more resolved expression. ?I too believe that is the best possible course of action. While you three attempt to recruit as many people as possible, I will make preparations for defense of the Border. I may not even be able to stop this stranger if she attacks the Border in the state I?m in now, but I should at least be able to stall her out for a while. In the meantime, I can relay information between the three of you while you travel.?
And with that, all traces of despair and hopelessness were gone from the room. None of them knew what was really going on, or how they were going to solve it, but they had in front of them a course of action, a method that would bring them closer to understanding and closer to a solution. Each of them understood there was no time for being depressed at their loss, or intimidated by the strength of their opponent. All they had time for was pressing forwards.
As the two humans and two youkai worked out their plan, the stars shone weakly down on the Hakurei Shrine. So intent were the four in their discussion that not a single one of them noticed the faint presence of one small, powerless spirit of the dead.
Powerless, with only the ability to see, and to hear.
Well, this marks the end of the first story arc. What some folks might call, 'the introduction.' You've probably already guessed what the next story arc is going to be about, so enjoy guessing who's going to show up!
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How did they get to the shrine? Did Yukari gaped them there, or what?
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^
Oops, plothole! Just kidding.
All I'll say is that Yukari was too busy dealing with the Hakurei Border to move anyone anywhere.
In case you didn't realize it in the last couple chapters, we are going to have to wade through veritable boatloads of my own head-canon starting from hereon in, so if you find something you don't like, I apologize :P
Other then that, I will introduce the next chapter a little bit for you. I numbered it 5.5 because it's a little bit of a deviation from my normal pattern of writing, in that its not from the perspective of the Protagonists. Every once in a while (actually, between most chapters) there will be a .5 chapter to take a look at what is happening somewhere else in Gensokyo. I'm curious as to what you guys will deduce from the extra information I'm giving in these chapters, and indeed from the story in general, so please feel free to discuss and speculate :) I'd love to hear your thoughts!
Chapter 5.5 - Cage of Madness
She hated being locked up so much.
Before she was strong, they locked her up because she was useless. After she became strong, they locked her up because they were scared of her. After they all died, her own sister locked her up because she was afraid for everyone else. She hated being locked up so much. But she loved her sister more than she hated being locked up, so locked up she stayed.
As much as she considered it being locked up, it wasn’t a particularly confining imprisonment. She wasn’t in a tiny room, like the first time. She wasn’t chained down, like the second time.
At this thought, she started giggling to herself. Chains? What a silly idea that had been. The chains they had tied her up with were less effective than tying her up with flowers. She thoroughly enjoyed breaking those chains. She might have hesitated to break apart a chain made of flowers.
In contrast to her previous imprisonments, she was living rather luxuriously. Whenever she complained about the room being too small, they gave her a bigger room. Whenever she complained about the food she ate, they gave her better food. Whenever she complained she had run out of toys, they gave her new toys. Whenever she complained that she missed her sister, she got to see her sister.
But even so, no matter how much freedom she had, she was still locked up. She couldn’t leave her room. She couldn’t go out to make friends, she couldn’t go out to play with the maids, she couldn’t go out to see the sun, the moon, and the stars. Oh, how she missed the sun. She had been allowed to see the moon once or twice, and naturally the stars as well. But she hadn’t seen the sun in so long, she felt as if any day now, she would forget what it looked like.
And that’s why every day, as soon as she woke up, the very first thing she would do is go draw a picture of the sun. Sometimes it was just a small little circle, in the corner of a much bigger picture. Sometimes it was so big there was no room for anything else in the picture. Sometimes it was yellow, sometimes it was orange, sometimes it was red. She had tried to draw it blue once, but then it just looked like the rest of the sky, so she never did that again. Her sister didn’t seem to like that she drew pictures of the sun all the time, but the maids that cleaned her room kept giving her compliments about her sun pictures, so she kept drawing them.
Oh, she thought to herself. Suddenly the thought struck her, as she was daydreaming about the sun, that she had forgotten to draw her sun picture for the day. She had woken up as they brought breakfast in to her room today, so she had completely forgotten. Without any sense of urgency, she pattered over to her drawing corner, found a piece of blank paper and some coloured chalk, and sat down to begin drawing.
She decided today that she would draw a picture of her sister with the sun. Humming no particular tune, she happily started sketching out her sister. Her sister liked to wear pink, so she would need lots of pink. Oh, and she had blue hair. That was the most important part. After satisfied with her character, she sketched out a big circle. She hadn’t yet decided what colour the sun would be today, so she just used black to outline it. She had learned recently that outlining things in black made them look really nice, so she always did that.
As she reached for a colour to fill in the sun she had just outlined, she stopped. She felt like…something was missing from the picture. Suddenly beset by a flash of inspiration, she hastily scribbled something in the space beside where her sister was standing. Using every colour she had – except pink, that was her sister’s colour – she finished her addition to the drawing and smiled happily. Now, standing beside her sister was a picture of herself, and the two of them were holding hands.
It was just then that she remembered that her sister didn’t like seeing pictures of the sun. Why is that? The little girl wracked her brain, trying to find out why on earth someone would dislike the sun. What was so bad about the sun that she didn’t like it?
She let out an ‘aha!’ as she figured out why. Unlike her, her sister only ever seemed to be awake during the night time. And what was the difference between night time and day time? Why, night time was dark of course! So obviously, that must mean her sister hated the sun because it was too bright.
Happy she had figured out why her sister didn’t like the sun, she looked over the colours she had. If she didn’t like the sun because it was too bright, then she needed to colour the sun with something dark today. That way she would be happy with the picture. Deciding it would make her the most happy, she quickly scribbled in the middle of the sun with black chalk.
“Hm? Black? I thought that was supposed to be the sun. Why did you colour it black?”
Not showing any sign she was startled by the stranger, for in fact she wasn’t really that startled, the girl started picking up her things and putting them away. She had to make extra sure that her sister saw the picture she drew today. “Because it’s too bright. This way it will be darker, so my sister will like it.”
“Ah, your sister doesn’t like the sun when it’s bright. That’s too bad. The sun is so nice when it’s bright.”
The girl finished putting her things away and turned to look at the stranger for the first time. She was, indeed, a stranger. This was someone she had never met before. She had never seen someone she hadn’t met since that shrine maiden and that witch came to play with her. The stranger wore a long black dress that seemed as if it had all been cut from a single piece of cloth. The sleeves ended up in gloves at her hands, except they had no fingers, which she thought was weird. She frowned as she saw on the back of one of the gloves, painted in red, was a picture of a snake with wings eating its own tail. Why would a snake it eats own tail? That doesn’t make any sense, she thought to herself.
The strange woman also wore a necklace. It was made of bright silver, and had five shiny, coloured stones set in it. “I have more colours than you,” she said to the stranger with a big smile.
The stranger looked really confused for some reason, but after a little bit she seemed to understand. Pointing to her necklace, she finally replied “Oh, you mean this? Yes, you certainly have more colours than I do.”
“Red, Green, White, Blue, Purple. Yup, I have two more colours then that!” She proudly waved her wings behind her back. She liked her wings so much. She could even stand being locked up, as long as she had her wings.
“Hey, want to play with me?” She hadn’t met someone new in so long, she decided it would be fun to play with them. She thought she saw the stranger smile for a second, but she quickly switched to looking really sad all of the sudden.
“Well, I’d love to play with you, but unfortunately there’s something really important that I need to do.” Suddenly, she gasped, looked at the little girl’s wings, and slowly knelt down in front of her, so that she was looking at her at eye level.
“You know what? With all your colours, you could really help me a lot! In fact, for someone with as many colours as you, you could help me so much that we would have all the time in the world to play after that!”
The girl began to become really excited. Normally, people didn’t want to play with her. Whenever she asked them, they’d get really scared, or they’d sigh and tell her ‘maybe later.’ But this person was actually willing to play with her! And if she could help her out, then they might be able to play really soon!
“What do you need help with?” Her eyes were positively sparkling. She could tell just by looking at her that this person was going to be really good at her games, so she couldn’t wait to get started.
“Well, you see,” the stranger started, “I have this really big toy that I’m trying to make. When it’s done, it’ll make it so no one ever has to be locked up again.”
“Oh are you being locked up too?” The girl patted the stranger on the head. She knew what it was like to be locked up, and she hated it. If this person was locked up too, then there was no wonder she needed her help. She didn’t even have colourful wings to keep her company. Poor thing.
As she patted the stranger’s head, a really complicated expression passed over her face. All at once she seemed to be surprised, scared, hurt, and sad. The look was quickly replaced by a warm smile, and then a small pout.
“But you see, there are a lot of mean people out there who are trying to break my toy. If they break it, then we’ll all have to stay locked up forever. So I need your help to come with me and stop all the bad people from trying to break my toy. Do you think you could do that for me?”
The girl was even more excited than before. All she had to do was stop bad people? That wouldn’t be a problem for her. Not for her and her colourful wings. And it would be fun too! She’d get to play with all those new people, even if they were mean. She didn’t mind playing with mean people, it just meant she didn’t feel bad when she didn’t go easy on them.
In the middle of nodding vigorously, however, her face suddenly fell. Her heart dropped, and she was suddenly overcome by sadness. “I’m sorry, I can’t help you. My sister said that I have to stay in this room. I’m not allowed to go outside.”
The stranger raised an eyebrow at the girl’s refusal, seeming confused for a second. “That’s okay, your sister won’t mind if you come out just to help me, right? We can come right back afterwards.”
The girl shook her head vigorously. “No! No no no! She said ‘definitely never ever forever leave this room!’ If I leave here I’ll be in really big trouble, so I can’t go anywhere!”
The stranger suddenly looked really serious, and then put her hand on the little girl’s shoulder. “Are you sure? I know it will be against what your sister said, but you don’t like being locked up here, do you? If you come with me, I can promise you that you’ll never be locked up again. Definitely never ever forever. Don’t you think that sounds nice?”
The girl couldn’t help but be tempted by the stranger’s offer. She did hate being locked up oh so much. If there was one thing she could do, she would make it so that no one would ever be locked up again. And that’s what this stranger wanted to do. She couldn’t imagine there being someone so mean that they would try and stop her, but if they were there, then she needed help. But there was one thing that was always more important to her, and that was her sister. Her sister told her never to leave this room, not for any reason, so she couldn’t go. Anyways, she still had her colourful wings. She felt sorry for this person, but she did have that colourful necklace. Being locked up couldn’t be that bad for her.
Seeing that the girl wasn’t going to go with her, the stranger sighed and dropped her head. “So, if your sister asked you to leave this room and come break my toy, would you do it?”
The girl frowned. That was a hard question. She didn’t want this person to be locked up. If her toy would make it so she wasn’t locked up, that would be the best. But she always had to do what her sister said. She loved her sister, so she just had to. It wouldn’t be any fun, but if that’s what her sister said, she must have had a good reason. Slowly, the girl nodded her head.
As she did so, she heard the door into her room swing open. Over the stranger’s shoulder, she could see her sister, the maid, and the book girl walk into the room. Her sister seemed very angry about something, and the other two looked very serious. The girl tried to think of what she had done wrong recently. But try as she might, she couldn’t think of any reason for her sister to be angry at her.
“Get away from Flandre!” her sister screamed at the top of her lungs. The girl faltered momentarily. She had been scolded by her sister before, lots of times. But she had never, not in her entire life, heard her sister scream like that. Maybe this stranger had done something wrong? She must have done something really bad for her sister to be that angry at her.
The stranger stood up from where she was kneeling and turned to face the group that had entered the girl’s room. She could no longer see the expression on her face, but as she stood up, she saw her take a step back, so she was standing right beside her, and put a hand gently on her head.
“Ah, just the girl I was looking for,” the stranger said to her sister. “I was wondering if I could get your permission for me to take Flandre out of her room for a bit?”
“Don’t screw with me, bitch!” her sister roared in response to the question. The girl frowned. That was no way for a lady to talk, and her sister knew it.
“You shouldn’t talk like tha-”
Her sister shifted her gaze to her as she began speaking, but her expression didn’t change. The pure, unbridled rage in her eyes made the girl shrink back. No, she had never seen her sister this angry before. She didn’t even say anything, and yet somehow the girl was more scared then she had ever been in her life.
Without a word to her, her sister turned to the book girl. “This is the one, right Patchy? The one who hurt Meiling?” Wordlessly, the book girl nodded. “Sakuya!”
“Yes, mistress?”
“Kill her.” Her voice dripping with hate, her sister ordered the execution of the stranger without hesitation. And similarly, without a trace of hesitation, the maid reached for one of her knives.
The girl was confused. Why did her sister want this stranger to die? She seemed nice enough to her. Oh, she thought. Maybe it was because she hurt that China girl. But how badly would she have had to hurt her that her sister wanted her dead? Spell Card battles could hurt, but they didn’t hurt that much. The maid took a step forward. The girl opened her mouth to voice her defense of the stranger, but before she could say even a word-
-the maid was standing right in front of her, eyes wide in shock, her knife arm being held at the wrist by the stranger. The maid could move really really fast. Sometimes, when they were playing, the girl would stare right at her, and she could move behind her without her even noticing. There was no doubt that she had intended to stab her, yet somehow, even as fast as she was, the stranger had been faster. The maid tore her arm free and jumped backwards, reaching for more knives.
The girl blinked, and then the ground was covered in them. Five knives lay scattered on the ground, a couple with their blades crumpled, one with the blade completely shattered. A sixth knife was in the stranger’s right hand, while her left hand was still resting on the girl’s head. Casually, she dropped the knife on the floor, and it bounced over to where the other knives were lying.
“Sakuya, what’s wrong?!” Her sister yelled. It wasn’t a shrill scream, or a loud roar like before. This time it was concerned, worried.
“I-it’s not working! I can’t stop her…I can stop everything else, but I can’t stop her.” The maid’s eyes were still wide with shock as she spoke. She seemed slightly out of breath, but her voice seemed more flustered than tired.
The stranger then turned to the girl, with a warm smile on her face. The girl turned to look at her, still confused as to what was happening, as the stranger began to speak. “I’m sorry, little one, but I can’t take any chances. I can’t have you breaking my toy, no matter what.”
The girl was somewhat distracted. Though she had turned to listen to what the stranger was saying, she saw out of the corner of her eye more knives. Ten more knives, in fact, scattered along the ground behind where she was standing. Had the maid been throwing knives there, as well? She was really really fast, so she supposed it was possible.
When the stranger took her hand off of her head, she turned to look at her again. She was about to open her mouth, to ask how she was so fast, even faster than the maid, but before she could get any words out, the stranger tapped her on the forehead with a single finger.
A strange sensation overcame her. It was like pain, except it didn’t hurt. Whatever it was, it flowed out from the point where the stranger had touched her and filled her eyes. As soon as it got to her eyes, the sensation instantly stopped, and the world turned black.
She couldn’t see. She tried blinking her eyes, but nothing changed. She rubbed her eyes with her hands, but nothing changed. She tried looking around, trying to see if there was a light anywhere, thinking maybe it had just gotten really dark, but there was nothing. As she spun, she lost her balance and fell backwards, sitting down on the floor hard.
Why couldn’t she see? Why was it so dark? What happened? The girl began to panic. The others in the room were talking, but she wasn’t paying attention to them anymore. What was wrong? Had something happened to her eyes? Why couldn’t she see?
She felt like she was being locked up again. Locked up in a tight, dark place, with no windows or doors. No lights. Not even a torch. She was locked up. She hated being locked up. She began to panic even more. She was scared. Tears started welling up in her eyes. She tried to turn, to see her colourful wings, but she couldn’t see them. Tears started pouring down her face. Someone had locked her up. They had taken her wings. They had taken all the lights. She was trapped, and there was nothing she could do.
She began to wail. Why? What had happened? What did she do to deserve this? Had that stranger locked her up because she wouldn’t help her?
Lost to her own grief, she screamed. She didn’t notice that the stranger had left, or that her sister was saying something to her. All she heard was her own voice, and all she saw was the blackness.
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Patchouli walked across Flandre’s room. The stranger who had attacked Meiling had dissolved into thin air, leaving her, Remilia, Sakuya, and Flandre alone. Flandre was sitting on the floor where she had fallen, wailing and screaming, tears pouring down her face. It seemed like she was trying to say something, but she couldn’t understand what over all the noise she was making.
Remilia and Sakuya were kneeling on the floor beside her, trying to console her, find out what was wrong, but she didn’t seem to be responding to them. Patchouli continued walking around the room, trying to see if the stranger had done anything weird, or set up any magic that would make staying here dangerous. She quickly ascertained there had been nothing dangerous left in the room, so she turned back to see if she could help with Flandre. As she turned, however, she saw something out of the corner of her eye. A piece of paper, which she could tell had a drawing on it by Flandre.
Patchouli walked over to the corner and picked up the picture off the ground. When she saw what the picture was, she narrowed her eyes, and turned back again, walking over to where the other three were.
It seemed that Flandre had stopped crying. She was still sobbing, and her eyes were darting around wildly, but otherwise she seemed to have calmed down. Sakuya’s face was a mixture of concern and shock, while Remilia was hugging Flandre, quietly talking to her. Every once in a while, she would mutter something back through her sobs, at which point Remilia would continue trying to console her.
Seeing Patchouli walk over, Sakuya stood from where she was kneeling. “It seems as if she can’t see. She can still hear and feel things normally, but it seems as if she’s completely blind.”
Ah, Patchouli thought. No wonder she was so panicky, her eyes darting around so wildly. Patchouli briefly thought over the various magics she knew that could cause blindness. Most of them were temporary. All of them were curable. If she could determine which one had been used, it shouldn’t be any problem fixing it.
Patchouli turned to Sakuya. “And you?”
Sakuya’s face turned sour. “It should have worked perfectly. Time stopped, I felt it. Everything felt exactly the same. But the instant before I cut her, she grabbed my hand. I was so shocked I lost control of the spell, but when I used it again nothing changed. It still felt like everything was perfectly stopped, but she moved perfectly fine, deflecting all my attacks, not even bothering to dodge.”
Patchouli frowned. Can cause blindness, and immune to temporal manipulation? Blindness aside, the time spell resistance seemed like a very Lunarian attribute. Plus, there was the aftermath of the fight she had with the gate guard. She could think up a few possibilities for abilities that would allow her to accomplish everything she had seen, but none of them were very logical. Either way, once she had done some research on this blinding spell, it should be much easier to connect the dots.
Seeing Sakuya eye the picture in her hands, she lifted it up so that she could see. “Flandre drew this?” Patchouli nodded silently to the question. Both of their expressions had turned dark. The picture, Remilia and Flandre holding hands underneath a black sun, gave each of them an odd sense of foreboding.
Patchouli didn’t much believe in omens. She was a magician, a researcher, a scientist. But if there was one thing she had learned since moving here with Remilia, it was that Gensokyo was a place where everything was possible. Considering what she had just witnessed, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of dread.
Anyone who can produce a copy of Flandre's picture gets a bonus chapter! :x
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I just finished writing Chapter 8, which so far has been the longest chapter of anything I've written (that's been posted or otherwise) at something like 9200 words. Everything else feels so short in comparison now...
Anyways, enjoy this short-feeling-yet-still-longer-than-most-of-the-previous-chapters-chapter!
Chapter 6 ? The Scarlet Thread of Fate
Marisa soared through the night sky of Gensokyo. She didn?t particularly like flying at night, but after what had happened that day, she definitely wasn?t in the mood for sleeping, and considering who she was going to meet, it would be best if she got there before morning.
After they had gotten somewhat of a grip on the situation at hand, the four of them at the shrine had put together a list of everyone they thought would be willing to help them take down this stranger. They then made a list of everyone who they thought wouldn?t be willing to help them, and tacked them on the bottom. After they were content with their list, they split it in three and each of them took one third.
Marisa?s list didn?t strike her as particularly hard, so she wasn?t going to complain about it. Since it was just after sunset when they had finished their meeting, and one of the places to visit on her list was the Scarlet Devil Mansion, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to make some early gains.
That being said, she still didn?t like flying at night. Generally she would have been tired, the sky would be filled with youkai ? who would either get in her way by challenging her to spell card battles, or get in her way by having her hit them without either of them seeing each other ? and she would get lost easily due to no visible landmarks. But today, Marisa would tough it out. After all, if she could get the Scarlet Devil on her side, then this battle was as good as won.
Marisa unexpectedly cleared the edge of the forest whose canopy she had been grazing and found herself gliding over a large lake. She must have been going faster than she had thought, since she hadn?t predicted she would arrive until maybe twenty minutes later. Regardless, she was happy to have finally arrived, and made no delays making her way to the front gate.
Normally her visits to the Scarlet Devil Mansion were much less brash than this. Normally, she would sneak in the back way, hide out in the library for a bit, and then sneak out again, her pockets a little heavier than when she arrived. However, she often got caught, and so trying to be subtle here would more than likely just antagonize the residents, and that was the last thing she needed to do. So, despite how much she enjoyed sneaking in, in a rare bout of foresight she decided to use the front door.
Touching down a short ways away from the front gate, Marisa approached slowly. The area was still cloaked heavily by night, so she couldn?t see very well, but something gave her a bad feeling. Despite the fact she was in full view of the building, she still couldn?t make out the area very well, but the actual reason for her apprehension was more that she hadn?t been stopped yet. The Scarlet Devil Mansion?s gate guard knew her face well, and they were not on friendly terms. Yet, she didn?t hear anyone calling out for her to stop. Or to die, which was generally more common here.
Marisa froze mid-step as her eyes finally adjusted to the darkness. Her eyes had adjusted themselves to the night while she was flying, but despite Remilia?s distaste for the daytime, she still kept her mansion brightly lit at night. This had ruined Marisa?s night vision, but now that she was on the ground and out of sight of any windows, there was no light pollution ruining her eyes. And so, her eyes were able to adjust to the dark again, and she could faintly see around her.
Concerned at what she thought she saw, she conjured an orb of light to illuminate the surroundings. Unfortunately, the light simply confirmed what she had thought she saw.
The front gate of the mansion was gone. The giant metal contraption had been blown to pieces, and chunks of metal scrap were lying everywhere, mostly inside. The wall beside the gate had been badly damaged, and in some parts was completely missing. In the harsh light of her orb, it was easy for her to see that many of the chunks of rubble from the damaged wall were stained with blood.
Marisa was shocked. Her composure had been tempered by years upon years of exposure to the spell card rules, and so destruction like this was almost unheard of. As such, there were very few people who she could suspect of doing damage like this. One was Remilia?s little sister. Damage like this, should she decide she wanted to break outside, would have been as easy as breathing to her. However, looking at the damage, it was very clear that this had been caused someone trying to get inside, not outside. That meant it was far more likely that a far worse person had caused this damage.
With quick steps, Marisa marched through the ruined wall and gate and into the insides of the mansion. The fact that the lights were on meant either that someone had survived the attack, or that the attack had been recent enough that there might be someone here who she could still help. She pointedly avoided thinking about the fact there was a third possibility ? that the attack was currently still in progress.
Walking through the grounds of the mansion, Marisa made it inside before seeing anyone. Quickly, she made her way through the hallways, picking turns at random ? she didn?t know the layout of the mansion around the front entrance all that well ? hoping to find anyone who could tell her where to go to find the people she needed to find, but the hallways were all eerily empty.
As she continued to search through the hallways of the mansion, she eventually ended up in familiar territory, and her steps became more directed. She still didn?t know where everyone was, but she figured her best bet was to head to the inner courtyard. From there, she could reach most of the important rooms in the mansion, so it was a good starting place.
Opening the door to the inner courtyard, she froze again, but this time more in surprise than anything else. In sharp contrast to the completely empty hallways of the mansion, the inner courtyard was full of people. Specifically, fairies. All of them wearing maid uniforms.
There were hundreds of them. They stood all around the inner courtyard, huddled in small groups, some whispering, but most silent. Marisa couldn?t believe how many maids there were. There was no way even a mansion as big as this needed anywhere near as many maids as were before her now. In fact, if there had been a quarter as many maids before her, she probably would have thought the same thing. Her mind was completely boggled at how crowded the place was.
As she stood, staring dumbly at the scene before her, one hand still on the doorknob, one of the fairy maids happened to catch a glimpse of her out of the corner of her eye. The fairy that saw her froze, eyes wide, and after a few moments of silence, pointed a finger and shrieked.
?INTRUDER!!?
Now, Marisa had been seen by fairy maids before. She doubted that any of them recognized her ? she didn?t spend THAT much time here ? but never once had she had one of them react to her in this way. Generally, they either nervously ignored her, or if they happened to be in the know, gathered a group of their friends and tried to chase her down or go tell the chief maid about the intruder. Once, she had even had a confused fairy offer her tea and a snack, thinking she was a guest. Marisa still laughed when she thought of Remilia?s face when she walked in on Marisa casually snacking away in her garden, being waited on like royalty.
She wasn?t laughing now. Instead, she stood nervously, watching the fairies before her. When the first fairy had yelled, the rest had immediately stopped what they were doing ? not that they were doing much anyways ? and turned to watch her. Every single one of them had a look of sheer terror on their face. Slowly, they all started backing away, despite the fact that none of them were even near her. They all backed away slowly, cramming into the back of the courtyard. Some started wailing or sobbing, but strangely enough, none took flight, and none ran away further into the mansion.
Marisa was more confused by their behaviour than she was worried. She didn?t understand why they were so scared of her, and if they were so scared, why they didn?t run away. Sure, they tried to get as far away as possible, but none of them left the courtyard. If they were that scared, they should have just taken flight and scattered rather than cramming into a small space.
Before Marisa had even thought of something to do in response to the horde of terrified fairies in front of her, she was confronted by a thankfully familiar face. Appearing out of nowhere, as she often did, the chief maid of the Scarlet Devil Mansion now stood in front of her, an uncharacteristically angry expression on her face.
?We don?t have time for you today. Please go home.?
Marisa bit her tongue. She wanted so badly to just open her mouth and let spill all the witty comebacks she could think of, as she generally did, but she knew she needed to restrain herself if she were to have any hope of making a good impression. Realizing she was still holding the door behind her open, she quietly closed it and turned back to Sakuya. ?Uhm?what happened here??
Sakuya narrowed her eyes suspiciously before responding. Normally, when she confronted Marisa unexpectedly within the mansion, Marisa would turn and flee. A pointless endeavour, considering Sakuya could stop time to chase after her, but she always did. The fact she hadn?t immediately turned to flee meant that maybe, just maybe, she wasn?t up to no good this time.
??We were attacked. We are currently attempting to repair the damages. I would very much appreciate it if you didn?t bother us today.?
As I thought, Marisa nodded to herself. ?By a woman in black? With a silver necklace??
Sakuya seemed taken aback by Marisa?s apparent knowledge of the situation. She regarded Marisa for some time before saying anything, but finally, her angry expression gave way to one of tired resignation. ?Please come with me.?
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Marisa sat comfortably in the main dining hall of the Scarlet Devil Mansion. It was the first time she had been here without the residents being angry about it, so it felt odd to not have to worry about people catching her, or attacking her without warning. It felt?wrong, somehow.
After leading her to the dining hall, Sakuya had left to tell Remilia that she had arrived. Other than that, she hadn?t said anything to Marisa at all, so she was still mostly in the dark as to what had happened here. Every once in a while, Sakuya would pop her head in and apologize for the wait before rushing off to do whatever it is that chief maids do again. After almost half an hour of waiting, the large double doors at the end of the room opened, and Remilia, Patchouli, and Sakuya walked in together.
The group of three walked up to the table where Marisa was sitting. Remilia looked at Marisa, then at Sakuya, and back to Marisa before finally talking to her maid.
?Why did you think it was a good idea to let her in again?? Remilia?s voice, normally full of pomp and condescension, just sounded tired. It didn?t even seem like she had the energy to be angry anymore, just enough to be fed up with everything.
Unlike when she was talking to Marisa earlier, Sakuya was now perfectly calm and composed. ?She seemed to have known something about the intruder, so I thought you might like to speak with her. I can send her away if I was mistaken.?
With that, Remilia turned back to Marisa. ?You know something?? When Marisa nodded, Remilia sighed and sat down at the table across from her. Patchouli sat down beside her, silently studying Marisa, while Sakuya stood patiently behind them.
?I guess before I say anything, it would be more prudent to ask if everyone here is alright?? Marisa wasn?t sure where to start, so she attempted to pass the lead of the conversation to the other side of the table. Remilia, without even opening her mouth, just turned to look at Sakuya briefly before turning back to Marisa and slouching back in her chair.
?We were attacked early this evening by a woman none of us had met before,? Sakuya began. ?She wore a black dress and had an ornate silver necklace. She had shoulder length hair that was an odd, glassy black colour. Her eyes were violet. Does that sound familiar to you??
Marisa nodded to Sakuya?s description, and seeing that she was indeed familiar with their intruder, continued the story. ?She attacked the front gate and severely wounded our gate guard. Before the maids got word to us that we had an intruder, she had made her way down to the young Mistress? room, where the Mistress, Miss Patchouli, and myself confronted her. After thoroughly demonstrating that we had no way to harm her, she vanished into thin air, and we have spent the rest of the night attempting to repair the damage she wrought.?
Picking up where Sakuya left off, Patchouli continued in a disinterested tone, flipping through a book she had apparently brought with her. ?Meiling was severely injured, and is now unconscious. She has been treated to the extent that we are capable of doing so here, but it does not seem like her life is in danger. Flandre was also attacked by the intruder, and it now seems she?s completely blind. A few of the fairy maids also seem to be missing, but we have no idea whether they were attacked or simply fled.?
?Do you have any idea what her objective was?? Marisa asked absently as she pondered the information she was being given.
Sakuya faltered for an instant before responding, ?We?don?t exactly know. It seemed she was attempting to meet with the young Mistress, but to what end?we haven?t been able to figure out.?
?Did you try, um?asking her??
At this, Remilia finally spoke up in a flat voice. ?Flan is in very bad shape. She?s scared and blind and feels helpless, so it was all we could do to get her to stop screaming at the top of her lungs. We just managed to calm her down a few minutes ago, and she?s fallen asleep. We haven?t had the time, nor has she had the composure, to explain what she was there for.?
Marisa nodded thoughtfully. It made sense. No matter how old Flandre was, in the end she was just a child, and having your vision taken away from you with no warning would shock even an adult pretty badly.
?Alright, I?m not very good at being diplomatic, so here?s what I?m gonna do. I?ll tell you guys everything I know about this person who attacked you. Then, I?m going to ask you for a favour. It?s really big, and pretty dangerous, but considering the situation you might want to help us as much as we want you to help us.?
Seeing that the three across the table from her weren?t going to say anything, Marisa continued. ?Earlier today, Reimu, Youmu, Ran, and I all went to investigate something. Apparently, Yuyuko had gone missing, and we were asked to try and help finding her. We did, but she was with someone who none of us had met before, and apparently was the same person who attacked you guys.?
As Marisa spoke, Remilia repeatedly turned to Sakuya, who would whisper something in her ear before she would turn back to look at Marisa. It was somewhat distracting, but Marisa couldn?t help but smile to herself when she overheard that Sakuya was just explaining who Marisa was talking about. Weren?t Youmu, Yuyuko, and Ran famous enough that they didn?t need explaining? Well, whatever.
?She was doing some pretty dodgy stuff out there, and we were afraid that it would have consequences that could put all of Gensokyo in danger. So we tried to stop her, but as you likely figured out, she has no regard for the Spell Card rules. The four of us tried to team up to fight her, but??
??you couldn?t lay a finger on her, could you?? Remilia spoke up when Marisa paused. Marisa swallowed uncomfortably before nodding to Remilia?s question, earning a sigh from the little vampire.
?For some reason,? Marisa continued, ?she spared all of us. Well, most of us. We still haven?t figured out what happened to Ran. But anyways, that?s not the point. The point is, this person is very dangerous, and we can?t let her be. So Reimu, Youmu, and I have all split up to go gather as many people as possible to work together to try and take her down.?
?And so you?re here to ask for our help,? Remilia said with another sigh. ?What makes you think we can be of any help to you, even if we wanted to??
At this, Marisa raised an eyebrow. ?Have you ever actually stopped and thought about who?s living here? First, there?s Meiling and Patchouli. Meiling, on top of being a proficient martial artist, can manipulate life force. Patchouli, on top of being a proficient magician capable of manipulating all of the physical elements with ease, is one of the most well-read youkai in all of Gensokyo, making her invaluable if we need information or if we need research done.? Patchouli briefly glanced up from the book she was reading at the mention of her name, but quickly went back to what she was doing.
?After that, you have Flandre. She?s young, and her specialty is that she can destroy anything she can see. Next, your maid can stop time. As if all of these together weren?t enough to do pretty much anything, you yourself have the ability to manipulate fate. If the group of you worked together, I can?t imagine a single opponent that you couldn?t beat with ease.?
Marisa lost a lot of the confidence in her position when she saw the uneasy looks pass between Sakuya and Remilia. Surely, she hadn?t put too much faith in their abilities, had she? There was no way she was wrong about what their abilities were, but she did suppose this stranger had managed to attack them and leave unharmed even with those abilities.
Strangely, Patchouli was the first one to speak up. ?I?ll admit you are right in my case. I am invaluable in situations like these.? Marisa smirked at that, though she couldn?t quite tell if Patchouli was joking or not. Especially since she said it so matter-of-factly, not even looking up from her book. ?However, that?s the only good point you have. Sure, Meiling is proficient, but she was beaten into a bloody mess when she tried to fight the intruder.?
?Well?uhh?hmmm.? Marisa was at a loss for words. She had forgotten about that part.
?Secondly, we also told you already that Flandre was blind. Sure, she can destroy anything she sees, but how will that help anyone if she can?t see anything?? Marisa made a sour expression. Of course, Patchouli was right. But Marisa had made her speech before she had arrived here, so she hadn?t planned for their situation to have changed from the usual.
?Thirdly, we did attempt to use Sakuya?s abilities to stop the intruder, but they had no effect.?
?Wait wait wait, you stopping time had no effect on her?? Sakuya nodded grimly to Marisa?s question, and Marisa?s heart sank. She had been hoping they could use Sakuya as a trump card against her. No one ever would have expected time manipulation, and even if they did, there was no way you could fight against it except by sneak attacking the user before they activated it. But if it didn?t have any effect on her?
?But?but you still have Remilia?s power over destiny, right? Can?t she just make it so we are ?destined to win?? That should be game over for her, right??
Remilia sighed and rolled her eyes. ?Here, let me explain it to you so that even a kid like you can understand. Sakuya, go get me some of Flan?s chalk.?
Marisa?s eyebrows twitched a little. A kid like me? Have you ever seen yourself? As much as she wanted to rebuke Remilia, she knew she couldn?t say anything. Even if everyone in the Scarlet Devil Mansion had turned into powerless mice, any help was good help. Anything she could do to reduce her chances of them cooperating with her would be akin to shooting herself in the foot. Which she had done before. Not a pleasant experience.
As soon as Sakuya left the room, she suddenly walked back in carrying a small pail full of different coloured pieces of chalk. Selecting a few pieces of chalk, Remilia laid them out on the table in front of Marisa. ?Pick one.?
Marisa looked at the chalk carefully. In front of her were five pieces: blue, red, yellow, green, and purple. They all looked like they had been used quite a bit, but for the most part they were in pretty good shape. Pretty impressive, considering their owner. Seeing nothing particularly outstanding about any single piece, Marisa arbitrarily picked the red one.
?I wanted you to pick the yellow one,? Remilia said after Marisa had made her decision, earning her a strange look. ?However, you got to pick the one you wanted. There was only a one in five chance of me getting the result I wanted if I left it up to you. That?s what it?s like if you don?t have my power.?
Marisa wasn?t sure what she was trying to say, but nodded anyways. At Remilia?s gesture, she replaced the piece of red chalk. ?Now, this is what happens when I use my power.?
With that, Remilia reached out and took four of the pieces of chalk, leaving only the yellow piece. ?Now, pick a piece of chalk again.?
Marisa gave Remilia a confused look, but after a few moments she understood the point Remilia was making. She reached out and grabbed the single piece of yellow chalk that was left on the table.
?You get it, right??
?Yeah. Each piece of chalk represents a different ?fate,? right??
?Exactly. Of course, in real life, there are many more than five different possibilities. Sometimes there are only a handful, but other times there are so many you couldn?t even count them. For a normal person, there are any number of variables that can alter which one of those fates comes to pass. My ability, however, lets me directly remove possibilities from that list; I can specifically take pieces of chalk I don?t want you to select and get rid of them.?
?I understand that, but what does it have to do with anything? You could just pick the piece of chalk that represents us winning, couldn?t you??
Remilia gave an exaggerated sigh. ?My power lets me take away any number of pieces of chalk from the table. What I can?t do is add more pieces of chalk. I can?t add a new possibility, a new fate. I can pick and choose which fate will come to pass, but I can?t add one that isn?t already there.?
Marisa?s expression turned sour. She now knew exactly the point Remilia was trying to make. ?So what you?re trying to say is?impossible things are still impossible.? Remilia nodded, and seeing that her explanation was finished, she waved Sakuya over to clean up the chalk and take it back to Flandre?s room.
?So basically,? Marisa continued, ?we need to be able to beat this stranger before you can force that option.?
?Assuming she doesn?t ignore Remi?s power the same way she ignores Sakuya?s,? Patchouli mumbled, again not even looking up from her book. Why was she even here if she was just going to read the whole time?
?Alright then, allow me to ask you a favour selfishly then.? Marisa cleared her throat and sat up straight, trying to display as much dignity as she could manage. ?On behalf of Reimu, Yukari, Youmu, and myself, I would request that you help us in taking down this stranger before she endangers us all. Your powers may not be as auto-win as I had hoped they would be, but you guys aren?t weak. We need a lot of strong people if we are to have even the smallest chance against someone of her calibre, and having any number of you with us would be a tremendous help.?
Marisa carefully watched the faces of those across the table from her. Patchouli had looked up from her book, and was watching Remilia. Sakuya stood, eyes closed, patiently waiting. Remilia was staring at Marisa, her face expressionless.
The seconds felt like hours. Marisa knew that Remilia had every reason to help her, but Remilia was driven entirely by her whims. The fact that she was tired now was just as relevant a reason as to whether she should help Marisa in the future as anything she could possibly stand to gain by helping her, or lose by not helping her. On top of that, there were plenty of logical reasons to decline. Obviously, none of them had stood a chance against the stranger, and Remilia likely understood the only reason they were still alive was because she hadn?t bothered to kill them. From what Marisa had told her, she likely reasoned that Marisa and her group didn?t stand any bigger a chance than she had. As far as she was concerned, helping Marisa meant risking her life and the lives of all those under her for no definite gain.
With a sigh, Remilia closed her eyes and leaned back in her chair. Then, she stood up and started walking from the room. Three pairs of eyes watched her as she slowly walked to the door leading out of the room.
?I?m going to bed. Tell Sakuya when and where. We?ll go with you, but only because I need to take revenge for her attacking my subjects.?
Marisa?s face broke into a smile, Sakuya nodded sagely, and Patchouli went back to reading her book. Marisa turned to Sakuya and was about to begin explaining their current plan of action, but before she started talking Remilia began again.
"For hurting Meiling, I could be satisfied with just pounding her into a bloody mess.? Her voice quivered as she spoke. Marisa couldn?t tell if it was from trying not to cry, or from pure anger. ?But she made Flan cry.? Remilia turned from where she stood and stared at Marisa, eyes blazing. ?For that, even if I have to do it alone, even if I have to do it with my bare hands?I?ll kill her.?
It was definitely the latter.
And so the second plot arc begins in earnest. I don't know about you guys, but I've been having a ton of fun writing this so far, and even though I'm not even halfway through the story, I'm dreading it ending already :( Oh well, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.
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From the prologue I was pitying the black girl, but after what she had done to the PCs, Meiling and Flan, I wish her a horrible death.
Also, as a "big-sis Meiling" fan, I couldn't not flinch at Flan's reaction to what happened to our gate guard.
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^ I'm not going to lie, writing 5.5 and 6.5 made me feel like a terrible, terrible person. On the bright side, at least I get to write the ending and resolution, so maybe I'll get a chance to make up for it someday lol.
Chapter 6.5 ? The End of Eternity
A cool night breeze blew through the shoots of bamboo, making a musical sound that echoed up into the starless night sky. Clouds had overtaken the vast majority of the sky, blotting out the stars from view. The moon alone shone defiantly, as if it had cut a hole in the clouds itself just so it could get through.
Walking alone through the Bamboo Forest of the Lost was none other than the forest?s own guide, Mokou. Though she walked gently and carefully, the quite night atmosphere was entirely lost on her. She didn?t see the moon shining through the stalks of bamboo, or hear the wind rustling through the forest, or notice the sounds of the many insects that inhabited the night.
This was a scene that had replayed itself many a time over the course of Mokou?s rather prolific life. She didn?t particularly dislike it, though. She often acted as a guide to those who found themselves lost in the bamboo forest, but the real reason she spent her time here was because of the atmosphere of the place. For some reason, no matter how many years she spent here, she never grew tired of it.
Lost deep in thought, her mind coincidentally wandered to the forest she was walking through now. She had come to this place long ago, far longer than she cared to remember. The fact that not a single stalk of bamboo she had seen on that first day remained, that this was practically a different place entirely, tinged her thoughts with nostalgia.
However, her thoughts were only on her location briefly. Tonight, she was preoccupied with a problem many humans, even those with normal life spans, are forced to deal with. And she didn?t like it one bit.
With a small sigh she picked her way past a particularly tricky part of the forest. She didn?t need to consciously analyze the terrain, or plot a path through. All she had to do was walk forward, and her muscle memory took care of the rest. She wasn?t even particularly familiar with this spot, but so great was her experience within this forest that she didn?t even need to consciously think through how to tackle the obstacle.
It seems everything she did recently aggravated her concern for this one problem. That problem?her memory. The fact that her muscle memory was still so firmly intact made it all the more troublesome that her actual memory was starting to show problems.
It wasn?t like her memory was deficient. She was an immortal, after all. The Hourai Elixir she had imbibed over a thousand years ago guaranteed she would never feel the pain of sickness ever again, whether physically or mentally. Her body did not age, so her brain did not deteriorate like a normal human?s would after such an extended period of time. But even so, she couldn?t help but feel as if her memory was starting to fail her.
Mokou may have been immortal, but she was still human. Others didn?t always see it that way, but others didn?t know what it was like to have taken the Hourai Elixir. She was well aware that she was immune to sickness, and so had no concerns about many of the illnesses of the mind humans with long lifespans tended to incur. However, the human brain, the human mind, is not an infinite thing. It has its limits, and after over a thousand years of life, Mokou was finally starting to feel them.
As she lived longer and longer, her previous memories began to erode away. There just wasn?t enough space in her memory to fit in over 10 lifetimes worth of experiences. So, Mokou was acutely aware of how her memories were starting to vanish. Frankly, when she first noticed, she was surprised that it hadn?t started to happen sooner. Who would have known that the human brain would be capable of recording up to a thousand years? worth of memories without any problems?
However, she no longer felt the freedom to marvel at such a thing. The fact of the matter was that she was beginning to lose her memories. What made it all the more frustrating was that it seemed she lost them randomly; there was no rhyme or reason as to which of the memories she retained and which were washed away.
For instance, she remembered when she first decided to take revenge for her father. She remembered very well what had spawned the grudge between her and Kaguya, yet she had no recollections of first meeting Kaguya at all.
For instance, she had one day visited Eientei at Kaguya?s request, and had been surprised to learn that there were quite a large number of rabbits living there. She remembered the moon rabbit, the one Eirin called Udongein, but she had been taken completely by surprise by the presence of the rest of them. She was even more surprised to learn that they had been there longer than Mokou had been in Gensokyo.
Finally, most frustratingly of all, was her family. She remembered her family. Well, maybe it was more accurate to say she remembered having a family. She remembered her siblings, and even remembered their favourite clothes. She remembered her parents, and even her favourite gifts she had received from them. But she didn?t remember their names. She didn?t remember their faces.
This had caused her no small amount of grief. On more than one occasion she had lain awake for days just trying to remember a single face from her childhood. Yet no matter how hard she tried, they wouldn?t come. She tried asking Keine for help. Maybe she could read her history, maybe she could find a way of bringing her old memories back. She could tell it hurt Keine just as much to tell her as it had hurt for her to hear there was nothing she could do.
Stopping briefly, Mokou stared up at the moon. She had spent countless nights apologizing to her long deceased family, hoping that by some miracle, if they were watching her from somewhere, they would forgive her for forgetting so much about them. However, she was past that now. She knew there was nothing to gain by living a life of regret and shame, and so she did her best to put it behind her and move on.
Mokou started moving again as an old ember glowed to life in her chest. She was a very stubborn girl, and she knew it. She had great difficulty with moving on, found it incredibly hard to put things behind her. She had managed to do it with the thoughts of her family, but that old hatred in her heart refused to die.
If I?m going to lose my memories anyways, why can?t I just forget about that?
Mokou thought wryly to herself as she continued walking through the forest. It was something she had been trying to put past her for a long time now, and try as she might, it was just proving too much for her.
That, of course, was her grudge with Kaguya. Over a millennia ago, Kaguya had disgraced her father. Had disgraced her family. Had disgraced her. It was something she vowed never to accept, something she vowed Kaguya would never live down. It was that hate that led her to becoming an Immortal, and that led her to an unending life in Gensokyo.
But after battling with Kaguya for over a thousand years, her heart was slowly beginning to change. As she and Kaguya killed each other again and again, her resolve began to waver. Years and years ago, in a confrontation that was the same as any other, the usually carefree Kaguya apologized. She had known since the beginning why Mokou hated her, but for some reason, hundreds of years later, she had decided to apologize. She literally got down on her knees, and knowing Mokou wouldn?t forgive her, sincerely apologized for everything.
At the time, this only served to enrage Mokou. She had thought Kaguya was messing with her, was trying to provoke her, so in her anger she attacked. For an entire day, Kaguya sat unmoving, and was killed over and over.
Upon realizing that Kaguya had been serious, Mokou just became more angry. After all that time, how dare she? Even saying such a pretentious line as ?I know you?ll never forgive me, but I want to apologize anyways.? Mokou couldn?t stand it, but in the end, Kaguya didn?t move from her spot, didn?t even try to defend herself. All to prove to Mokou that she was serious.
Twenty four hours of dying and dying and dying, which only ended upon Mokou exhausting herself and leaving.
Unfortunately for the both of them, Kaguya had no idea how right she was. For years, nothing changed. The two immortals continued to kill each other on a regular basis, but even so, Kaguya?s words always remained with Mokou. Every time they met, Kaguya would extend the olive branch, as it were, and every time Mokou would respond by burning her to a crisp.
But after many, many years, Mokou slowly began to change. As she saw the world around her change and grow, forget its past problems and move on to the future, she couldn?t help but realize how childish she was being.
She never once thought she was wrong. Kaguya had deserved everything she had done to her, and Mokou had never once felt an ounce of pity for her as she burned over and over. But even so, she was trying to make amends. She couldn?t possibly make things right, and she knew that, but she tried anyways. Her dogged perseverance, constantly trying to make friends with Mokou slowly softened the girl?s heart.
Finally, after what had seemed like three forevers, after a long week of arguing with herself, Mokou decided to try and forgive. She had been living for so long steeped in hate that she didn?t even know what it meant to live otherwise, and with the help of Kaguya, the others at Eientei, and more recently Keine, she was beginning to see the tragedy in that. However, deciding she wanted to forgive someone and actually forgiving someone were two very different things.
She put forth an honest effort, but her heart was slow in changing. Her hate had weakened over the centuries, but it had not died. She sincerely wanted to forgive Kaguya, to accept her invitation of friendship and move on with her life. But every time she saw her face, her thoughts snapped back to her father, to the disgrace he had suffered, and the flame of hatred would roar back to life.
It was difficult, but Mokou tried to suppress her feelings as much as possible. She had given up the first few times and just left in a rage, but managing to have a confrontation with Kaguya where neither of them died was a step in the right direction. At least, that?s what Keine told her. Eventually, she managed to bite back her feelings and actually spent some time with her.
The look of delight on Kaguya?s face when Mokou had accepted that invitation and actually showed up with a smile, however fake it was, shook Mokou to the core. It made her realize that Kaguya was just as stubborn as she was. After all this time, she sincerely believed that she and Mokou could become friends, and after countless years of being turned down, the joy she expressed at her labours finally bearing fruit both warmed Mokou?s heart and sickened her. It was a difficult thing, hating someone you wanted to like.
But after seeing Kaguya?s face that one time, Mokou knew that she had done the right thing. She may have not been wrong before, in her attempts at revenge. She never believed she had done anything wrong. But now, she was very clearly doing something that felt right, and that gave her the motivation to keep trying.
Try as she might, however, that old flame of hatred refused to die. Sometimes, while spending time at Eientei, she had managed to actually forget about the past, and had legitimately enjoyed herself. Those times never lasted long, however, and she could never bring herself to make an extended stay there despite constantly being invited to.
But she had changed this much. If Mokou, the self-proclaimed most stubborn person in Gensokyo, could change this much, she could definitely do better. And as she tried, as she put forth the honest effort to change, the smiling faces of those around her encouraged her onwards. She began to wonder if this is what it meant to live a life free of hate, a life where she could seek her own happiness, and the happiness of others, rather than trying to make someone else suffer.
In the distance, Mokou could finally see what she was looking for. Though it was by no means an official position, she often acted as a guide for those who found themselves lost in the forest of bamboo surrounding Eientei. As such, she took it upon herself to not only help lost people find their way out, but also to find the lost people within the forest in the first place.
She had met countless people in the forest, but this person seemed to be more composed than most. Quietly sitting on a large rock, as if just enjoying the scenery, was a woman dressed entirely in black. Her long, black dress was entirely one piece, reaching down to just above her ankles, even while seated. The sleeves of the dress ended in fingerless gloves, and had strange markings on the back, marking her as one who was well versed in the arcane. Or at least pretended to be. Mokou found it hard to believe that anyone as well versed in magic as this person seemed to be trying to express she was would get lost in a place like this.
That being said, the composure with which this apparently lost person sat was unmatched by any of the other people Mokou had escorted out of the forest. She had thought at first that maybe the person had just stopped to eat, and wasn?t really lost, but upon closer inspection she was just sitting there, as if waiting for something.
?Lost?? Mokou greeted the stranger curtly as she walked into what was apparently a clearing. As she heard her voice, the stranger stood up from where she was sitting and turned to face her with a smile.
?No, not at all. I?m just waiting for someone, that?s all.?
Waiting for someone? Out here? Mokou couldn?t quite hide her disbelief at the stranger?s words. Who would ever try to organize a meeting in the middle of the night all the way out here? They were hours away from the human village, and Mokou could very easily sense that there were no humans or youkai in the forest that didn?t already live here.
?Well, if you decide you need to get out of here, the closest exit is that way.? Mokou pointed off towards the human settlement. She figured the stranger was probably just lying to save face, and she had no particular desire to shame the person, so she gave a little bit of helpful information and turned to leave.
?Actually, I was hoping you might be able to help me find the person I?m looking for.?
Mokou looked over her shoulder at the stranger. She was wearing a suspicious grin, as if she had just moved some sort of diabolical plan into motion, and Mokou couldn?t help but raise her guard. Silently, she watched the stranger, who upon seeing Mokou was listening, continued.
?You see, I?m looking for a girl by the name of Mokou. Would you happen to know where I could find her??
Mokou immediately tensed up at hearing her name. For some reasons, this person just made her nervous. There was something odd about her, and she realized now that she had clearly misjudged her earlier. She most definitely was not just pretending to be some knowledgeable scholar. Most likely, those marking were indeed meant to trick people, but the more Mokou looked at her, the more she was convinced that they were there to trick people into believing she was weaker than she actually was.
?That?s me. Can I help you?? Still on guard, Mokou decided it would be best to play it safe and answer honestly. She didn?t much want to have to deal with this person right now, but she had the sneaking suspicion the stranger already knew full well who she was, and attempting to trick here would likely prove dangerous. That?s odd, she thought to herself, I haven?t been worried about being in danger for centuries. What?s she going to do, kill me?.
The stranger clapped her hands together, and her suspicious grin widened into a much more genuine looking smile. ?Excellent, excellent. I do so much more enjoy when people are honest with me.?
Mokou turned around to face the stranger directly. As expected, the stranger had known who she was all along. Was she being tested? Regardless, it seems like she passed.
?You see, I need a little bit of help with something, and I require your assistance. To that end, I have come to offer you a deal.?
Mokou stood silently in front of the stranger. She wasn?t the talkative type normally, but she just couldn?t shake the tension of the situation, no matter how politely this person was acting.
?All I need is a little bit of body guarding. Someone like you really is perfect for it. No matter how many times they bring you down, you can always get right back up and stop them again. I would very much appreciate it if you would help me out, and I am more than willing to reward you handsomely.?
??body guard? Against who??
?Hmm?that?s a good question, I suppose. Let?s see, most likely that shrine maiden that seems to be popular around here, most likely her witch friend as well...?
Reimu and Marisa? If this person needed defending from them, she was definitely not the kind of person Mokou had any desire to protect.
??hm, it seems they?ve started gathering allies?? the stranger spoke softly under her breath, though still loudly enough that Mokou had no problem hearing her. ?At this rate, I imagine even that Lunarian Princess will join them. Come now, there should be no problem if you just need to fight her, should there??
Mokou?s eyes narrowed. Who was this person? They needed defending from Reimu and Marisa, who were apparently gathering allies to fight her. More importantly though?
??I don?t want to fight Kaguya.?
The stranger?s face took on a look of genuine surprise. After a few moments of silence, she finally managed to find some words to say.
?What do you mean? You have been killing each other for centuries, why would it be a problem now??
?We?re not enemies anymore. We don?t have a reason to fight any more.? Mokou painstakingly managed to produce an authentic sounding lie. True, she could easily convince herself to fight Kaguya again if that?s what she really wanted, but it wasn?t what she really wanted. What she wanted was her friendship, and she wouldn?t throw that away for some random stranger in the woods.
The stranger looked completely shocked. Her face shifted through a handful of expressions as she tried to find something to say. It seemed as if she was actually completely taken off guard by Mokou?s refusal. As if she had taken it for granted that Mokou would help her.
After a few more moments, a look of realization finally dawned on the stranger?s face. ?Ah, I see. I see now. That makes sense, now that I think about it. Your memory has been failing you recently, hasn?t it??
Mokou?s eyes widened, startled. Who was this person? She knew about her, about her history with Kaguya, and even about the fact that her memory was beginning to fail her. The more Mokou talked with this person, the less she wanted to associate with her. However, as she had made up her mind to leave, the stranger spoke once more.
?Do not worry, do not worry. I know full well what it means to have difficulties with your memory. I myself have problems with my memory from time to time. As such, for a fellow sufferer, I shall give you this one gift as an act of good will.?
Mokou stared at the stranger confused. She had wanted to leave but?this person seemed to suffer the same way Mokou did. Actually, from the way she spoke, she probably had it much worse than Mokou did. Mokou was instantly swept up with the thought that maybe this person would be able to help. She didn?t know why she thought so, but she immediately came to the conclusion that this person would be able to help her retain her memories.
?Don?t worry, I don?t expect anything in return for this. Like I said, it is just a gift, out of the generosity of my own heart.? The stranger looked directly into Mokou?s eyes, holding her gaze. Mokou?s heart began to race. She didn?t know why, but the longer this dragged on, the more convinced she was that her memories could be restored. As she was about to open her mouth to ask, the stranger spoke one word.
Remember.
It had been little more than a whisper, yet the force of the word tore through Mokou like a hurricane. It was as if the sound itself was a howling gale, rushing through the inside of her head, and after she recovered from the shock of that one word, the mist clouding her mind was torn away.
She remembered. She remembered it all. Her family, her siblings, her parents?she could remember their names. She could remember their faces?their?faces?
Mokou?s eyes instantly filled with tears. She remembered their faces. The faces, stained with dirt and tears. Her mother, in anguish at being neglected and forgotten by her father. Her siblings, crying after their father, who left home without warning. Her father, returning home, ashamed and humiliated because of his failure to take Kaguya as his bride.
She remembered. She remembered how her family had been torn apart. Her father never managed to shake the shame of his failure, and it followed him for the rest of his life. Her mother was never able to forgive her father for his attempted infidelity, and the family was torn in two. Her siblings, torn in grief and anguish by the rift formed between their parents, wishing for nothing but to be a happy family again.
A wish they never saw granted.
And at the center of it all?was that girl.
Kaguya.
She hadn?t so much as looked at them. She had torn her father away from their family and sent him back with nothing. She had destroyed everything they had. It was her fault that her family was unable to live a happy life.
The flame of hatred, reduced to naught but an ember, burst back into life, filling Mokou with rage. Tears streamed freely down her face as she was assailed by memory after memory of the pain and suffering her family had experienced at the hands of Kaguya, and she had never even so much as looked in their direction. One by one, the memories played in front of her eyes like a movie, filling her with a sorrow and a rage unlike any she had ever known.
Finally, the torrent stopped. Mokou gasped as she was brought back to the present, back to the moonlit bamboo forest, standing in front of a complete and total stranger. None of this registered, however. She was completely consumed by her own grief.
Why? Why had she thought that she could forgive Kaguya? This was bigger than herself. She remembered now. Her entire family?they had their one chance at a happy life stolen from them, while the one responsible will continue to live forever. Why did Mokou think that Kaguya deserved even a single moment of happiness?
Mokou sank to her knees. She wanted to scream, but couldn?t make a sound. She wanted to go ballistic, to go to Eientei right now and burn the place to the ground, but she couldn?t make her legs move an inch. All she could do was sit on her knees, eyes gazing unseeingly into the depths of the forest.
The stranger walked over and stood in front of Mokou where she sat, and extended a hand to help her stand up.
?Come now, little one. All is not yet lost.?
Mokou stared blankly at the stranger?s hand. Briefly, something told her that her feelings were wrong. She acutely felt that the fog blocking her memories had not disappeared, but only shifted. What was it now preventing her from seeing? She felt like it was something important, something related to Kaguya?maybe something that would explain why she had been so easy on her lately?
As the fog started to part, started to reveal the memory of what had become the most important turning point of her eternal existence, the stranger?s voice pulled Mokou out of her own thoughts.
?Come. In exchange for your services, I shall provide you with a method of killing that Lunarian Princess once and for all. With my help, you can erase her entirely, and give her a small portion of the pain that she gave you.?
Mokou was immediately swept up in her hate. This stranger was offering her a way to successfully take her revenge. Finally, after all these centuries, she would be able to put her in the ground for good.
Eyes burning, tears still streaming down her face?
?Mokou slowly reached out and took the stranger?s hand.
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Oh fuck! It's Koishi's Heart-Throbbing Adventure all over again!
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Once again, I'm not sure if I'm happy with this one, but I'm too lazy to rewrite it, so I'm just gonna drop it here and get it over with.
Also, I had heard of Koishi's Heart Throbbing Adventure before, but hadn't watched any of it until I read your comment. It's certainly...something else lol.
Chapter 7 ? Heart or Mind
Youmu sat quietly in one of Eientei?s greeting rooms. It had taken her the better part of a day and a half to find it, so the sun was just passing its peak as she sat quietly, pointedly ignoring the cup of tea that had been placed in front of her.
It was a bit frustrating that it had taken her so long to get here. It wasn?t like she hadn?t been here before, and the spell hiding this place was long gone, but even so she found herself accidently walking her way out of the forest for most of the previous evening. Of course, the last time she came she had just been following Lady Yuyuko?s lead, but even so it shouldn?t be that hard to just walk in a straight line, should it?
After a few hours of failing to make any progress, Youmu admitted defeat and set up camp outside the forest. The following morning, she had had none of the problems of the night before. Just as she remembered, she just had to walk in a straight line, and after a few hours of walking she found herself being greeted by a horde of rabbits.
And now she was here. A handful of youkai rabbits she didn?t recognize led her into this room, and told her the masters would be by to greet her shortly. After a few minutes, one youkai rabbit she very much did recognize ? Tewi, if her memory served ? delivered her a cup of tea, saying it was one of Eirin?s special recipes. Naturally, Youmu was terrified of it, both on the grounds of it supposedly being a recipe of Eirin, a master of drugs and medicine, and it being delivered by Tewi, a master of trickery and pranking.
And so she sat and waited. She had been waiting for a little over an hour now, and the only one she had seen was Tewi when she came to deliver the tea. If she hadn?t seen Tewi, she might have thought that she had the wrong place, but that clearly wasn?t the case. It seemed as if she actually was just being ignored.
So, assuming they ever show up?what?s your plan?
Plan? Why would I need a plan? She thought to herself.
?you don?t have a plan?
Of course I don?t have a plan, I?m not trying to trick them into anything. I?m just asking for help.
?you really should have a plan.
Youmu just shook her head. Ever since she had woken up at the shrine after the intruder knocked her out in the Netherworld, her ghost half had been a lot more?vocal?than usual. It wasn?t like she had never heard it voice its opinion before, but the occasions were few and far between. Since she woke up then, it had started speaking to her on a regular basis, and Youmu was starting to wish it would mind its own business.
In the end, she knew it was just her own thoughts. Her ghost half was still a part of her, so it wasn?t like it could rebel, or like it had thoughts of its own. That?s actually what made it all the more annoying. Not only did it like to bring things up that she already knew, it only brought things up that she already knew. On the rare occasion it would be something she acknowledged subconsciously, but didn?t actually give any serious thought to, but most of the time it was completely redundant.
In this case, Youmu had spent her entire journey trying to decide whether she should have made a plan for how to convince the residents of Eientei to help them. In the end, she concluded that the honest, straightforward approach would be best. It wasn?t like she was tricking them, or selling something to them. If she was honest and direct, they would no doubt do what they could to help. She hoped.
They won?t help you. They?re smarter than that.
Youmu frowned. This was something she had definitely not considered before. Rather than reply to her ghost half?s claim, she instead racked her brain in an attempt to figure out why she felt that way.
They will be afraid Lady Yuyuko will just kill them.
Youmu rolled her eyes at this. Why would they be afraid of such a thing? She specifically came to Eientei to ask for help because they were immortals. They knew full well that Lady Yuyuko couldn?t hurt them. Well, couldn?t kill them at least.
Did you forget? Only the princess is immortal. And there is no way they are going to let the princess ? the one they are trying to guard ? go out and fight an unknown opponent on her own.
Youmu grimaced. She hadn?t thought about that. Now that she did though, why was she even alive? That stranger had no reason to spare their lives after beating them, and from the way she talked it very much seemed like she was intent on killing them. Now, however, the only one whose life was in danger was Ran, and even then that was just speculation. She had never killed any of them before, there was little reason to expect she would kill them now.
Isn?t that strange in the first place?
Youmu?s ghost half echoed her own thoughts. Why did she spare them? With that giant tower she was building, and the kidnapping of Lady Yuyuko, it was obvious she was trying to do something immense. She had no respect for the spell card rules, and had outright said she was going to kill them, and yet hadn?t. There had to be a reason for that. She must have known that their group would come back to try and stop her again. Did she not care? Or was she planning something else?
Speaking of which?do you have a plan?
Youmu rolled her eyes once again. She briefly contemplated lying just to get her other half to be quiet about it, but soon realized that lying to herself in order to make herself shut up was probably less than a solid strategy.
As Youmu briefly contemplated whether or not she was insane, she was pulled from her thoughts as she saw someone walk by the open door across the room from her. Apparently, the person saw Youmu out of the corner of her eye, because she stopped midstride and turned to look at her, face awash with confusion.
?Miss?Reisen, was it??
?Uh?yeah?hi??
?Is something the matter??
??this might sound rude but, uh?why are you in our house??
Youmu gave a small sigh. She had no idea what was going on, but it suddenly made sense to her as to why she had been sitting for so long without anyone coming to see her.
?I came to ask a question of Miss Eirin and Miss Kaguya. I was told they would be here shortly??
Judging by the expression of Reisen?s face, it seemed she understood the situation far better than Youmu did.
?Let me guess?did Tewi ask you to wait here by any chance??
And then Youmu understood.
??yes, she did.?
Reisen smiled apologetically as she turned to leave. ?I?ll go fetch my master right away. Please wait here for just a little while longer.?
Reisen hurried away from the room, and after a few short seconds, Youmu could hear her yelling Tewi?s name, as well as a few other choice vulgarities.
A few minutes passed, and then Eirin and Reisen entered the room. Eirin looked as calm and composed as ever, Reisen once again bore an apologetic smile, and was dragging a not-too-pleased looking Tewi behind her.
?My apologies for the wait,? Eirin greeted Youmu with a kind smile.
?Please, don?t worry about it?? Youmu instinctively replied, despite the fact she was actually quite upset. This was no time to be playing games, and she was losing valuable time thanks to some bad joke. Even so, she put on a composed face and prepared herself to tell her story.
?Now, how can we help you??
Covertly looking around the room, Youmu noticed that Kaguya wasn?t here. Why not? She remembered specifically asking to speak with Kaguya as well, but it seemed as if she wasn?t here. Odd. Maybe she was indisposed at the moment.
?I?ve come to ask you for a favour?? Youmu paused. She had been wondering how she was going to word this for the better part of her journey here, however she hadn?t come to a satisfying conclusion. ?Truth be told, it is quite a dangerous thing I am going to ask, but that is even more reason why we need the help.?
Eirin?s face took on a serious expression, while Reisen?s showed only curiosity. Good, they were taking her seriously.
?Let me guess?a love potion??
Or maybe not.
?No! I mean?no, that?s not it.? Youmu responded hastily, trying to mask how flustered she was. The question had caught her so off guard she couldn?t help but yell as she talked.
?I?m sorry, I?m sorry. It seems our little Tewi?s habits are starting to rub off on me. Let me assure you, I was just joking.? By Eirin?s quiet giggling and Reisen rolling her eyes, Youmu could tell that she hadn?t been serious, but even so restoring her composure was not one of her specialties, and it took her a few moments to get back on track.
?I will start from the beginning. If you have any questions, please interrupt me.? Seeing that they were back to being serious and paying attention, Youmu continued.
?Last week, an intruder entered the Netherworld and attacked us. She knocked me unconscious before I could fight back and kidnapped Lady Yuyuko. Yesterday, Reimu, Marisa and I left in search for her, after we had come to the conclusion she must be Gensokyo somewhere.?
?To make a long story short, we found her, but she was still being guarded by the intruder from before. We confronted her, but she refused to back down, so Reimu challenged her to a spell card battle. The intruder?ignored Reimu?s challenge, and attacked us.?
Upon hearing that this stranger had attacked them without paying any regard to the spell card rules, both Reisen and Eirin?s eyes widened in surprise.
?So, I assume you won, since it was three against one?? Reisen spoke up first.
Youmu?s face turned sour. ?To be completely honest, Miss Yakumo sent her Shikigami with us, so there were actually four of us. And?we didn?t stand a chance. She defeated us without taking a single hit. When we came to, all of us except for Miss Yakumo?s Shikigami were at the shrine. We don?t know why she spared us or what happened to the Shikigami.?
Reisen?s face seemed to be fighting to make an expression of both shock and confusion at once, whereas Eirin was completely expressionless.
?As such, Reimu, Marisa and I have split up so that we can search for allies to help us put down this intruder. The fact she isn?t willing to follow the spell card rules makes her a danger to all of Gensokyo, and she still has Lady Yuyuko with her, who seems to be being controlled by her. There is no telling what this stranger is up to, and so we need to deal with her as soon as possible.?
?Therefore, I am here to make this request.? Youmu bowed as best as she could while sitting at the table. ?Please, assist us in any way you can to defeat this intruder, both for our sakes, and for all of Gensokyo.?
The following moments were filled with nothing but silence. Youmu kept her head lowered as she waited for a response. She couldn?t see the expressions on the others? faces, so she could only hope that her request would be greeted well.
That was a terrible plan.
Youmu couldn?t believe how much she wanted to hit her ghost half in the face at that one moment. Unfortunately, she was forced to restrain herself, considering the current situation.
??what do you think, Udongein??
Youmu raised her head as she heard the question. She hadn?t expected Eirin to ask for Reisen?s opinion, but the fact that she hadn?t outright refused was a good start.
?My opinion? Hmm?? Reisen also seemed a little surprised that she had been asked. After a thoughtful hum, she spoke slowly.
?I think it?s not a good idea. If this person is strong enough to beat Reimu and Marisa while working together, they aren?t someone that we can take lightly. Furthermore, we have no reason to believe she is doing anything that could negatively influence us or Gensokyo, so it seems a little premature to start gathering an army.?
Today?s experiences were starting to lower Youmu?s opinion on rabbits.
?That being said, if she is up to something, which seems likely if she?s actually kidnapped Lady Yuyuko, then they will need our help whether it?s a good idea or not.?
Maybe moon rabbits are okay.
After seeing Reisen had said her piece, Eirin responded.
?Incorrect.?
Reisen looked confused. ??what? Incorrect? My opinion is wrong??
?No, opinions can?t be wrong, they?re just opinions. Don?t be silly.?
Reisen scratched her head. Clearly she was just as confused as Youmu was.
?Your method for reaching that opinion is what was incorrect. The first thing you should have done was ask the girl about the situation. Do you really think that brief story told us all of the relevant information??
Reisen wilted slightly as Eirin turned back to look at Youmu.
?Now, allow me to demonstrate. What makes you think Lady Yuyuko was kidnapped, and didn?t just go with her by choice??
Youmu sat up straight. She supposed she did leave an awful lot of important details out of her story, so it was only natural that they wanted to hear more of them.
?Firstly, they broke into the Netherworld by force. I find it unlikely Lady Yuyuko would assist someone who was willing to do that. Secondly, Lady Yuyuko?s power was used to draw all of the spirits of the dead out of the Netherworld. I know for a fact that Lady Yuyuko would never do that of her own free will.?
?So, not only has she been kidnapped, but she?s somehow being controlled as well??
?Yes, that seems to be the case.?
?You see, Udongein? Just by asking one simple question, I have learned that by confronting this opponent, all of us will die.?
Youmu felt it was wise to not mention the fact that she had actually asked two questions. Reisen?s face seemed to express the same feeling.
?Next, what was she doing that you think all of Gensokyo is in danger??
Youmu?s heart sank upon Eirin?s analysis of her first response. She had thought for sure she had blown her chance at getting them to help, but after announcing a confrontation would end with all of them dying, she continued to ask questions. Maybe all hope wasn?t lost?
?She was using Lady Yuyuko?s power to command all of the spirits of the dead. It looked like she was building some sort of tower, though it was incomplete.?
?She was building a tower using spirits of the dead??
?More precisely, she was building a tower out of spirits of the dead. To what end?I didn?t even know it was possible, so I?m afraid I have no idea.?
Eirin hummed thoughtfully as she tapped her lower lip with her forefinger. After a few seconds, she asked Youmu another question.
?Why did you come to us??
Youmu hesitated slightly. This question felt an awful lot more important to her than it sounded for some reason?
?Miss Kaguya is a very powerful person. I have seen that for myself. I have no doubt that she would be an immense help in a confrontation, plus she is an immortal and so does not need to fear Lady Yuyuko?s abilities being manipulated against her. Secondly, Miss Eirin is well known for being a tactical genius. Even leaving your combat abilities aside, having you assist us with devising a strategy would be a massive boon to our side. And even Miss Reisen is capable of holding her own in a fight, so with even just the three of you, I feel as if we stand a real chance against this stranger.?
Ignoring a quiet ?even Reisen?? coming from the back of the room, Youmu waited patiently for Eirin?s response. Seemingly deep in thought, Eirin had her hands folded on the table in front of her and seemed almost to be spacing out.
After a few minutes of no response, Eirin finally raised her head and looked Youmu in the eye.
?I?m sorry, there?s nothing we can do to help you.?
Youmu?s heart sank, mimicking the action of Reisen?s jaw dropping in the background. She didn?t understand. Couldn?t she see that there was so much at stake here?
?I understand it must be difficult to hear this, but please listen. The only one of us that could even approach her if she is controlling Lady Yuyuko is the Princess, and our duty here is to guard her, not use her as a weapon. Furthermore, as you and Udongein both said, we have no evidence to say that what she is doing is harmful to anyone. I can understand you are concerned for Lady Yuyuko, but your assurance that ?she would never do such a thing? is frankly not enough evidence to say that she isn?t helping her intentionally. Risking our lives to stop something that may not even be dangerous is just plain foolish.?
?In addition to that, even if we were somehow in danger, like I already said, our objective here is just to protect the Princess. I don?t wish to sound mean, but even if Gensokyo as a whole is destroyed, as long as the Princess isn?t in any danger, we can always move somewhere else.?
Eirin softened her tone as she continued speaking. ?I understand that my words must sound harsh, but they are simply the facts. Being immortal does not equal being invincible, and if this intruder is as strong as you say she is, then provoking her ourselves will simply but the Princess in unnecessary danger. Please try to understand.?
Youmu struggled to maintain her composure as she listened to Eirin?s logic. She yearned to argue at every point she made, but what made the situation even more frustrating was that everything she said was right. Even if Youmu knew that Lady Yuyuko would never do something, that meant very little to anyone else. Even if Youmu knew all of Gensokyo was in danger, to people who were initially from outside of Gensokyo, they would only be inconvenienced by having to move again.
She couldn?t believe the coldness with which Eirin had reached her conclusion, but she couldn?t deny its truth as well. It was definitely a very dangerous proposition to attempt to defeat this stranger, who they knew nothing about. Youmu couldn?t help but feel frustrated at the fact that the very reason keeping people from helping them was the reason they needed help so badly.
If only Kaguya had been here, Youmu thought helplessly to herself. She knew Kaguya had a much more carefree personality, and that she loved living in Gensokyo just as much as anyone else. She would surely have forced them to help her.
This is why you needed a plan.
Youmu froze. Normally, she would have been angry at this line, but this time it instead had given her a flash of inspiration.
?I?see?well, thank you for entertaining my request.?
All she needed was a plan. Slowly and inconspicuously, Youmu pulled her ghost half from the air behind her, and hid it behind her back.
?If it wouldn?t be too much trouble, could I at least ask you for your opinion regarding how we should proceed? I understand if you don?t wish to come with us, but even your opinions alone would be invaluable to us.?
As Eirin assented with a warm smile, Youmu?s ghost half sank beneath the floor mats. Good. Now all she had to do was keep them talking, and hope that they didn?t notice her ghost half was missing.
It was time to set her plan into motion.
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Kaguya sat patiently in her room, staring out the window. It was late afternoon, and though the sun hadn?t quite made it down to the horizon yet, it was well on its way.
Normally, this where she sat when she wanted to look out over the forest and just enjoy the scenery. Being immortal meant you could afford to live in the moment, and as much as Kaguya enjoyed moments of excitement and thrills, she also very much enjoyed moments of peaceful calm.
Today, however, she wasn?t sitting here to enjoy the scenery. Instead, she was sitting here, anxiously waiting for word to come from her little rabbit legion, as she liked to call them. To be honest, they only really listened to Tewi, but in exchange for a few favours, she managed to finally get Tewi to make them listen to her as well. It didn?t always work out, but most of the time they were reliable for telling her simple things, like where people were, or what they were going to be having for dinner.
She had sent an invitation out to invite Mokou over by rabbit, but when the messenger had returned this morning, it had come bearing bizarre news. Apparently, the messenger had managed to find Mokou, but some magic had prevented it from approaching her. When the magic disappeared, Mokou was nowhere to be found, and despite searching the entire forest, they couldn?t find any clues as to where she might have gone.
It wasn?t like Mokou never left the forest, and it wasn?t like she couldn?t take care of herself. The worrying part was the magic that had prevented the rabbits from entering. Mokou couldn?t do anything like that, all she could do with magic was set things on fire. In that case, someone else must have been there. And when that person left, Mokou was gone.
Kaguya had asked the rabbits to spend the day searching for any clues as to her whereabouts, but she had yet to hear anything from them. Generally, the rabbits were very fast at finding people in the forest. She didn?t know how they did it, but their current longest time spent looking for someone was a little over an hour. Now, they had spent all morning and most of the afternoon looking with no clues.
The more she thought about it, the more it bothered her. She briefly considered going out to take a look herself. She didn?t know how she would search, or where she would look, or if she would even be any help, but another pair of eyes out looking couldn?t hurt, could it?
A sudden gust of wind pulled Kaguya from her thoughts. Normally, gusts of wind in the middle of a forest weren?t that strange, but this time it made her pause. Most likely because it had come from inside the mansion, rather than from the window. Turning to see where the wind had come from, she was greeted by a familiar looking specter.
It looked like that gardener girl from the Netherworld. It looked like her, but there was something very different. For starters, the colours on all her clothes seemed washed out, and her skin was dangerously pale. In contrast, her eyes were a sharp red, and her figure wavered from time to time as if she was made of smoke.
?Hm? Is this what they call a ghost?? Worries of the previous moment forgotten, Kaguya stood up from where she was sitting and approached the phantom eagerly. As she stepped forward however, the phantom stepped back.
?What?s wrong? Can?t I at least take a look? I?ve never been visited by a ghost before! Well, that?s not true?but still!? As she spoke, the ghost looked away, the expression on its face still blank. It opened its mouth to say something, but no sound came out.
?Hmm?are you?trying to tell me something?? Kaguya tilted her head to the side. This ghost was acting very strange indeed. From the books she had read, they were supposed to appear fleetingly, and disappear if you so much as focused your attention on them. This one, however, seemed like it was trying to convey some sort of message.
After Kaguya?s question the ghost turned around and walked out of the room, straight through the closed door.
?Wait, wait! I?m not done yet!? Kaguya frantically chased after the ghost. However, after opening the door of the room, she stopped dead in her tracks as she saw the ghost standing right in front of her, looking her in the eye.
?Maybe?you want me to follow you?? At this, the ghost nodded its head slowly, and began walking through the corridors of the mansion.
Kaguya?s heart began to race. She had no idea what this ghost wanted, but it wasn?t every day a ghost arrived in your house and asked you to follow it around. Eagerly, her mind raced ahead trying to imagine all of the different things it could want to show her. She continued to follow the ghost at a careful pace throughout the mansion, as it slowly winded its way down the stairs and towards the first floor?
---------------
?It?s a very tricky problem indeed?? Eirin pondered aloud as Youmu took another sip of her tea. As expected, the tea Tewi had given her had been a trap, so Reisen had gone and retrieved some safer drinks for the three of them. Tewi still sat unhappily restrained by Reisen.
?Illusion magic, control of earth and stone, controlling shadows and lightning, seemingly untouchable, immune to binding spells?it seems obvious at least that she is a youkai of many talents.?
?Aside from the last two, those seem like pretty simple magics though?? Reisen chipped in with an opinion of her own. It seemed if she didn?t speak up from time to time, Eirin would force an answer out of her, and generally it would be for a question Reisen had no hope of answering correctly, so she had gotten in the habit of slipping comments into the gaps in conversation.
?True. It is quite likely they are simply experienced in a wide area of magic, and other two abilities are unrelated. That would probably be the best possibility.?
?That means her magic shouldn?t be that strong or complicated, right?? Youmu tried to act similarly to how Reisen was acting. True, she was just trying to buy time, but even so any information she could glean from Eirin would be helpful, and the best way to get information from her would be to get her to talk as much as possible.
?To a certain extent, that could be true. The more important part, however, is that if she?s spent time learning how to do simple magics like those, it reduces the chances of her having learned something more troublesome. However, she does still have these other two characteristics??
Youmu lost focus on the conversation as she felt her ghost half come back into range. As much as it was still a part of her, and could go essentially any distance without difficulty, her connection to her ghost half had a very small range. It would still do as she told it, but she no longer would have her senses linked with it if it moved any significant distance away. As she resumed her connection, she could tell it had manifested into a clone of herself, and was being followed by someone.
Trying her best not to smile openly at her success, she led the follower towards the room they were now sitting in, and had her clone walk directly into the door. Carefully, as soon as it passed through the first panel of the door, she dissolved the clone, and had her ghost half run under the bottom of the floor back behind her.
Somehow, the others hadn?t noticed her ghost half go missing, and it had taken her far less time to find her target than she had expected. Of course, the time spent was still just tense waiting, as she had no idea how well it was going until the visitor arrived, but clearly things were working out.
Oddly though, she couldn?t hear any footsteps in the hallway. She could hear them fine when her ghost half was out in the corridor, but she no longer could now that it was back at her side. As she wondered this silently to herself, the door to the room suddenly slid open.
Standing in the doorway was Kaguya Houraisan. She seemed to be looking intently for something, and once her eyes landed on Youmu, she pointed and yelled. At least, it looked like she yelled? No sound came out of her mouth, so the whole thing looked awfully strange.
?Umm?is something the matter?? Youmu asked, attempting to sound timid, in response to Kaguya?s ?shout.? Eirin and Reisen looked confused, as one would if they had just seen someone randomly start talking to themselves in the middle of a conversation, but strangely enough Kaguya?s expression matched their confusion. Tilting her head to the side and scratching lightly at her hair, she raised her other hand up to the open doorway, palm first, and pushed.
The entire room jumped at the loud popping sound that resulted.
?Eirin, why is this room soundproofed?? Kaguya asked innocently, face still awash with confusion.
Eirin?s eyes widened upon hearing Kaguya?s voice, though she immediately looked at Youmu rather than responding to her. Reisen looked surprised to see her, but otherwise unconcerned.
Youmu did her best to look innocent. She could tell it wasn?t working.
Seeing Eirin wasn?t responding, Kaguya?s eyes narrowed. ?You were trying to keep me out of an important discussion again, weren?t you??
Eirin sighed and closed her eyes. Reisen did her best to look at nothing in particular. Tewi giggled quietly.
?I told you that you have to let me be a part of making the decisions around here! Just because I?m the princess doesn?t mean I?m a helpless child!? Kaguya walked into the room and, despite how upset she sounded, sat quite gracefully at the table along with the other three.
?Now, miss ghosty ghost. I know the other two won?t tell me, so please tell me what?s been going on here.?
?Please?call me?Youmu?? Youmu struggled to say after Kaguya?s?interesting method of addressing her. Both Reisen and Tewi could be heard failing to contain their laughter behind them. The whole situation was made unbelievably worse by how serious Kaguya?s face had been when she said it.
Looking to Eirin to see if she would interfere, she saw her shaking her head in resignation. Good, it seems they wouldn?t interfere.
?I know your time is precious, so please allow me to give you an abridged version, Miss Houraisan.?
?Please, call me Kaguya.? The Princess smiled warmly at Youmu as she spoke. Youmu?s heart soared; she could already tell things were about to go her way splendidly.
?Reimu, Marisa and I attempted to confront a stranger who had kidnapped Lady Yuyuko. She had no regard for the spell card rules, however, and after a short battle easily defeated all of us. It seems she is planning on doing something dangerous by abusing Lady Yuyuko?s power and authority, so we are seeking help to defeat her and rescue my Mistress.?
?And naturally, you agreed to help, right Eirin?? Kaguya shifted her gaze to Eirin, her tone of voice quite clearly demonstrating she knew Eirin had done just the opposite.
?Princess, we can?t afford to help them. We have nothing to gain by assisting them, and even by her short description of the situation you should be able to tell that all our lives would be put in grave danger if we did.?
?If lives weren?t in danger, they would never have come to ask us for help!?
?Princess, please. I know how you feel, and I know you want to protect our new home. But sacrificing ourselves for nothing will not help to accomplish that goal!?
?Neither will sitting back here, twiddling our thumbs while all our friends die!?
Youmu quietly listened to the exchange between the two. It seemed she had set off a bomb without knowing it, and judging by the looks on everyone else?s faces, it seemed as if this was not the first time this kind of conversation had been held.
?Princess, our role here is to protect you. I cannot in good conscience put others? lives at stake to help in some unrelated cause.?
?Then I?ll go help them myself. If it?s your duty to protect me, then protect me against this intruder.?
?Kaguya??
Despite the fact that Kaguya was vehemently against Eirin?s decision as Youmu had planned, Eirin was not giving in to her as easily as she had hoped she would. As the tense standoff between the two continued?one small rabbit hopped into the room through the still open door.
Everyone turned to watch the small rabbit scamper its way across the floor over to Tewi, who was still sulking behind Reisen.
?It?s uh?a message for you, Kaguya.?
Kaguya waited silently. She had started to look awfully tense?was she expecting a message to come by rabbit? Could rabbits even carry messages?
?It says they weren?t able to find who they were looking for, but they saw who she was with before she disappeared?whatever that means.?
Youmu frowned. Someone had disappeared? She wasn?t that familiar with the residents of Eientei, but all of the residents she knew of were present and accounted for. Was it someone else??
?Who? Who was it??
??they didn?t recognize them. Apparently black dress, and black hair.?
A feeling of dread suddenly washed over Youmu. ?Was this person by chance wearing a silver necklace??
Tewi looked at Youmu briefly, then back to the rabbit. The rabbit didn?t make any response but?
??seems so. Friend of yours??
Aside from Tewi, the room turned slowly to look at Youmu, who was suddenly feeling very unwell. ?May I?ask who it was that went missing??
?It?s her, isn?t it? That?s the stranger that you were talking about, wasn?t it?? Kaguya seemed to get upset. It appears whoever had gone missing was a friend of hers.
?The missing person is Fujiwara no Mokou. I?m sure you are familiar with her.?
?What is she doing to Mokou? Tell me what?s happening!? Kaguya was starting to get frantic, but Youmu was at a loss for words. She had no idea what this person could possibly want with Mokou. She was immortal, yes, but other than that she didn?t really have any special abilities?
?I?m afraid I have no idea. But, together with the fact that she?s immortal, and the fact the stranger spared myself twice and the others I was with when we lost, I find it likely that she is not in immediate danger?? Youmu gave her honest opinion, but it didn?t seem to help Kaguya come down at all.
Something seemed wrong with her. She was angry when she was arguing with Eirin. She was angry, but she was composed. Now, she was nothing of the sort. She was still angry, but more than that, it seemed she was?scared? Of course, she was most likely worried about her friend. But this felt like more than that?
Ah, yes. That was why it felt odd. It reminded her of how she felt when she had learned her mistress had been abducted.
?Eirin?? Kaguya barely managed to say between gritted teeth.
?This?is bad?? was Eirin?s only response. A look of deep concern was engraved into her features, as if she was deep in thought, and wasn?t enjoying it one bit. ?Udongein, your opinion??
Reisen gulped. ?Fujiwara no Mokou?no special abilities, aside from being an immortal. Attained immortality via the same method as the Princess. Apparently abducted by someone strong enough to kidnap and manipulate the Princess of the Netherworld. If we?re looking for connections between the two?both are immortal, though by different means. Nothing else that I can think of.?
?You think she is targeting immortals?? Youmu asked an honest question. It wasn?t something she had thought of before, as Lady Yuyuko was only ?technically? immortal, not actually immortal. But if what they had said was true?
?I arrived at the same conclusion, but by different means?? Eirin appended to Reisen?s statement. ?Lady Yuyuko is only immortal by chance, it is not an actual trait she possesses. However, Mokou has no special abilities, no features that make her stand out, save for her immortality. That alone leads me to the conclusion she is targeting immortals.?
Reisen gulped. ?Which means, the Princess might be next??
??the probability of that is low. We are only assuming based on one piece of information. However?low does not equal zero.?
The whole room turned to watch Eirin. She was still apparently deep in thought. The seconds dragged on, so Youmu turned her thoughts to the matter at hand. Mokou had been abducted, or possibly gone by her free will. Mokou was no one special, so she had probably been targeted entirely because she is an immortal. Was the stranger going to try and replicate that immortality? Or, even worse, find out a way to get around it? As Youmu continued trying to figure out why Mokou had been targeted in the first place, she was drawn from her thoughts by Eirin?s voice.
?It?s not zero, and therefore it?s a chance we can?t afford to take. In addition, she has now attacked the Princess? friend, which is an action we cannot excuse.?
As Eirin spoke, Youmu surveyed the faces in the room. Tewi didn?t look like she was paying attention. Reisen looked like she was listening as if what Eirin said next would determine whether they all lived or died. Kaguya?s face still looked tense, but her eyes were starting to look hopeful. Eirin?Eirin was expressionless, but no one could mistake the fire in her eyes.
?Go get yourselves ready. We leave by sunset.?
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In this episode, things that will maybe someday be relevant. Also a lot of me making up stuff.
Also Suwako.
Chapter 7.5 ? Native Faith
Suwako sighed heavily as she sat atop the roof of the Moriya Shrine. Normally, she did her best to not show up at the shrine while visitors were there ? part of her deal with Kanako ? but the shrine hadn?t had any visitors for days. Maybe even a week.
?but despite that, for some reason Kanako wasn?t worried. Sanae was causing quite the ruckus about the lack of visitors, but Kanako hadn?t had much to say. It was almost as if she was exhausted by something, and was relishing taking a break. Suwako personally thought it was pretty bad form for a god collecting faith to be taking breaks, especially when followers had stopped coming to the shrine, but she figured Kanako knew what she was doing.
That being said, Suwako did not have any idea what she was doing. She had figured that maybe there was something going on with the mountain youkai preventing them from coming to the shrine, and that?s why Kanako wasn?t worried. So, since she didn?t particularly have much else to do, she went to go check it out.
It was surprisingly difficult finding?anyone. The mountain wasn?t exactly overflowing with youkai at the best of times, but the not being able to find any at all was unprecedented. Worried that something might have happened to the youkai of the mountain after all, Suwako stepped up her investigation.
This naturally led her to seek out places where youkai were guaranteed to live. The first and closest place she could think of was the Tengu village. Upon arriving, she had discovered that the village had been completely sealed off. And not something simple, like the gates were closed. A magical barrier had been erected around the entire village, closing off the village from all outsiders.
Naturally, out of concern for the Tengu, she attempted to break through and check the inside of the village, but it became quickly apparent to her that the barrier was one way ? while it prevented outsiders from getting in, it didn?t stop those inside from leaving. It was obvious that the Tengu had set it up for their own defense, and if they were concerned enough to set up a barrier like this, then they would likely not take kindly to her breaking in. She was desperate for information that these Tengu obviously had, but making them attack her wouldn?t help her case. So, grudgingly, she moved on.
As she wandered the mountain, she had wondered. What could possibly have scared the Tengu enough that they would put up such a barrier, yet would go unnoticed by her and Kanako? They Tengu were a very?mobile people, so perhaps they had just caught wind of a distant threat and were taking early precautions? Regardless, she could at least conclude that the Tengu were safe, even if she hadn?t seen them.
Maybe the rest of the youkai were in hiding like the Tengu were? But that again raises the question, what could possibly have driven all of the youkai into hiding without anyone at the Moriya Shrine catching a whiff of it? As she neared the base of the mountain, still no luck finding any youkai, her thoughts began to turn to the Hakurei Shrine Maiden. She seemed to generally be in the know about incidents like this, so if nothing else, she might be able to get some information from her.
However, she felt it was more important to continue checking on the residents of Youkai Mountain. If there was some problem here, it needed to be dealt with as fast as possible. Technically speaking it wasn?t really any of her business, but if an agent of the Moriya Shrine were to help resolve a crisis for the youkai, that would help everyone out, wouldn?t it?
Thinking this, she arrived at the settlement of the Kappa. What she found there was so unexpected that it took her a few minutes to even form a proper reaction.
The Kappa were generally a quiet, peaceful folk. They kept mainly to themselves and worked fervently to achieve goals only they knew of. Their settlements were generally either underwater or in caves, with the odd building out by a river that they would call a ?research laboratory,? whatever that meant. This, however, was not like any laboratory she had seen before.
There were Kappa everywhere. They weren?t near any large bodies of water or caves, just a decently sized river, yet the Kappa must have measured in the hundreds. The air was filled with a sense of crazed excitement, as if they had just discovered some secret that would revolutionize the world, and they were the only ones who could actualize it.
After a few minutes of observation, Suwako could tell that, contrary to her initial hypothesis, the Kappa were not building a city. Sure, there were what looked like living quarters and other various structures whose purposes she didn?t understand, but the haphazard and ramshackle nature of the dwellings led to the obvious conclusion that they were fully intended to be temporary, and none of the other structures looked like they had much space in them for anyone to live.
As she walked around inspecting the structures being built by the Kappa, trying to figure out what exactly they were supposed to be for, it took a surprisingly long time for the Kappa to notice her presence. After one of the more flighty of the Kappa ran off screaming at the sight of her, the rest of the Kappa watched her nervously, trying to ascertain whether she was friend or foe.
She, of course, paid them no mind. As word of her arrival spread throughout the Kappa encampment, everything began grinding to a halt. As she continued to inspect the structures, she was becoming increasingly aware of how the Kappa were spending all their time watching her, and none of their time finishing building these?things. What even were they? They looked like big towers with oddly shaped bowls on the top. They were very similar to the satellite dishes she had seen in the outside world, before coming to Gensokyo, except they had a much steeper curve and all were facing directly upwards. Surely, these Kappa weren?t trying to catch signals from satellites, were they?
After inspecting the prebuilt structures to her contentment, Suwako decided maybe she could learn more from watching them being built. However, as she surveyed the encampment, she realized that every single Kappa in the entire encampment had stopped working and was now watching her nervously. She could hear a few whispers from the back, barely carrying over the sound of whirring from various machines, but nothing was getting done anymore.
?Come on, come on, let?s go! Get back to work, get back to work!? Suwako suddenly starting clapping her hands and yelled at the Kappa to continue working. Was it really that bizarre they had a visitor? These Kappa really needed to work on their social skills if they were going to start building out from their cities.
After a few moments of dumb silence, the Kappa eventually began giving off varying degrees of surprise and exclamation, and the hectic, anxious work environment was reborn. Within seconds she had been completely forgotten, and the construction of their bizarre towers restarted in earnest.
?E-e-excuse me, c-c-can I h-h-help you?? After a few minutes of continuing to observe, one small Kappa approached her. She seemed so nervous that she might take off running if Suwako spoke a little too loudly. Poor thing.
?Hi. My name is Suwako Moriya,? she spoke, intentionally emphasizing her last name. Kanako had told her that her relationship with the Kappa was a comparatively good one, so hopefully she could use her connection to the Moriya Shrine to smooth things over here a little better. She wouldn?t find out anything useful if everyone was too scared to talk to her.
The Kappa tilted her head to the side slightly as she heard Suwako?s name. After a few seconds of silently muttering to herself, her eyes suddenly went wide. ?Oh, that Moriya? From the shrine on the mountain??
Suwako nodded, smiling. Good, she was familiar with the shrine. Hopefully in a good way.
?P-pleasure to meet you. My name is Nitori. Ah, um?Nitori Kawashiro.? The Kappa gave a quick bow as she introduced herself. She was still nervous, but it seemed she was losing her anxiety to?excitement? She didn?t realize the shrine?s relations with the Kappa were that good.
Well, best not to ask questions about these things.
?I was wondering?? Suwako spoke, careful not to sound as if she was talking down to the Kappa. ?What exactly are you guys doing here??
Nitori fidgeted quietly, eyes shifting from side to side. It seems she was reluctant to answer the question, though Suwako couldn?t figure out why. Were they trying to keep this a secret? Pretty bad placement if that was the case. No, looking at Nitori, it didn?t seem like she was trying to hide anything, more like she was having trouble putting what she wanted to say into words.
?Well, simply put?ah?ummm...these uhh, towers? Yeah, these towers, they collect?um?spell energy from the air, and?the energy is stored in crystals underground. So that we can use it later, for uh?umm?for things.? Nitori blushed slightly, looking at Suwako to see if she had been understood. She seemed to know full well how bad she was at explaining things, but she had done a good job of getting the message across, so Suwako had no idea why she looked so embarrassed.
?So these satellite dish things collect magical energy from the air, huh?? Suwako gazed briefly over the encampment again as she spoke. A confused expression passed over Nitori?s face briefly before she replied. Maybe using the word ?satellite dish? had been a mistake?
?N-no, not magical energy. Spell energy. There?s a big difference.? Looking back to Nitori?s face, Suwako could see her excitement was mounting. She clearly wanted to say more on the subject, but was holding herself back out of politeness. She really looked like an overeager child that was explaining her favourite toy to someone. Well, Suwako had plenty of time, she had no reason not to indulge her. Nitori?s eyes positively sparkled when Suwako gestured for her to continue.
?Y-you see, um?magical energy is what we use to use magic, cast spells, and?uh, and such. All living things generate magical energy, and typically there is a correlation between a youkai?s strength and the amount of magical energy they can produce. H-however, uhh?more importantly is the correlation between how much magical energy they can?uhh, control, and how strong they are. Because you see, there is more magical energy around then they can, um?produce themselves.?
?Since things like flora?uh, plants can generate magical energy but not, um?use it, there is always a surplus. So, when someone wants to cast a spell, they can draw on the magical energy either from themselves or from the environment around them. If there is enough in the environment around them. Well, most people tend to just use the energy they produce. Because it?s more reliable.?
?So uh, when a spell is cast, it consumes magical energy, but it results in something very different. Until recently, most people...err, we?thought that when magical energy was consumed, it just disappeared. That it was all used up to create the effect. But recently, I?um, we discovered that there is another by-product of magic, another kind of energy very different from magical energy. I?er, we call it spell energy.?
Suwako?s head was swimming. It wasn?t that what Nitori was saying was hard to understand, or that it was new to her. Indeed, none of it was new to her except the part about spell energy. But the girl talked so fast, stumbled over herself so much, that Suwako was having a hard time keeping up. She hoped it wouldn?t get much more complicated, because if it did, combined with Nitori?s excited and not particularly fluid speech, she was bound to miss an awful lot.
?So, um?spell energy can?t be used for magic, so most people thought it was useless, but I?um, we thought that if we could find a use for it, we?d have uhh?something good. So we set up these receivers?uh, towers, so that we could collect as much of it as possible. And we already figured out how to use it, so now it?s just a matter of collecting as much as possible.?
?So?what exactly is it useful for, then? If you can?t use it for magic, what?s the point?? Suwako asked the question knowing the potential it had to spark a wildfire of a response, but Nitori looked like she was having so much fun she couldn?t help herself.
?Well, most people want to use it as a fuel source,? Nitori talked on excitedly, all traces of her former nervousness completely gone. ?As fuel, it could be used for anything, from heating and cooling, to construction, to weapons?there?s very little I...er, we couldn?t use it for. We?d have to redesign our machines to run on different fuel, but it?s certainly a possibility.?
Nitori looked around furtively before taken a step closer, her voice dropping to a whisper. ?But, I have a much more interesting theory for how it could be used. I recently figured out that if you add another source of energy to the spell energy, it turns back into magical energy.?
?I assume you don?t add magical energy to it to get that effect,? Suwako replied, matching Nitori?s hushed tone. After all, adding magical energy to spell energy to create magical energy seemed like a less than profitable endeavour.
?Not magical energy, but almost anything else works. Electricity, heat, light?my test results are even showing some reaction with sound and pressure. Basically though, if you add another energy source to this spell energy, it turns back into magical energy.?
?So, it?s just going to turn into a method to recycle magical energy from your spells??
Nitori shook her head fervently. ?No, no no no, no. Much more exciting than that! We all produce our own magical energy anyways, there?s no need to recycle it. But think instead, what if we could make an opponent?s spell recombine with its spell energy? It would be converted right back into harmless, raw magical energy. We?re talking about a flawless anti-magic device! And if you could control whose magic would be affected, spell card battles would be practically unloseable! Or maybe as armor?think, perfect immunity to all magic! Or maybe-?
?Ok, yes, I get it, it?s fantastic!? Suwako couldn?t help but cut off Nitori as she was about to continue. She had no problems hearing her out, but this had the makings of an endless list of pure speculation, and she had very real concerns that she wanted to deal with before sunset.
?Isn?t it, though?!? Nitori?s eyes were still sparkling, showing no signs that she was bothered in the least that she had been cut off.
?So, why the sudden surge of activity? I don?t see why there?s such a big rush to construct these towers so quickly??
Nitori blinked a few times, confused. ?Can?t you feel it? We need to finish constructing as much as possible so we can collect as much as we can before it passes.?
It was Suwako?s turn to be confused. ?Before what passes??
?Really? You don?t feel anything? There?s so much in the air right now that most youkai are all falling asleep!?
Something clicked in Suwako?s head. She didn?t know what was going on quite yet, but suddenly she came to the conclusion that the sudden burst of Kappa activity and the vanishing of all the other youkai were connected. She briefly pondered over what she knew, and quickly came up with a new hypothesis.
?Let me guess. There is an abnormally large amount of spell energy moving through, and you are trying to catch as much of it as possible??
?Obviously,? Nitori stated, strangely informal in her tone of voice. Apparently she was quick to warm up to people. Even gods. ?Are you actually telling me you can?t feel it in the air? It should feel just like normal magical energy??
Something else clicked. ?No, I don?t feel it. Being an entity powered by faith, I derive all of the magical energy I use from the faith of my followers. I can?t interact with magical energy in the environment like most people.?
?Ohhh, that explains why you aren?t asleep like the others??
??why does that explain it? And wait, what does this have to do with the other youkai being asleep??
Nitori crossed her arms in front of her and adopted a very know-it-all expression. ?I see, I see. It makes sense you wouldn?t know about any of this. Here, I?ll explain it to you.? Suwako raised an eyebrow at the Kappa. She was really okay with acting this casually with her? A second ago she was almost too afraid to talk to her at all.
?You see, youkai all require magical energy to sustain themselves. But, for normal youkai, there would be no way to discern between magical energy and spell energy, since they?ve never even heard of spell energy before. However, spell energy is fundamentally different from magical energy, it doesn?t fulfill the same functions that magical energy does to keep the youkai alive. Instead, it triggers a sort of hibernation mode, since the youkai will unconsciously feel like the area is being starved of magical energy, despite consciously feeling like there is an overabundance of it.?
So that explained why all the youkai were missing from the mountain. They must have been sleeping off the wave of spell energy that was supposedly saturating the air. The Tengu most likely erected a barrier around the village so that they would be safe from intruders while they napped. The Tengu were a surprisingly private people, despite how surprisingly nosey many of them were.
But that didn?t explain how the Kappa were even more active than normal. Shouldn?t they have gone into a similar hibernation mode? They were youkai, after all.
Nitori?s eyes begged her to ask the question.
?So, how come the Kappa aren?t effected then? Why are you guys working so much harder than usual while everyone else is asleep?? Suwako bit the bullet and gave in. She wasn?t much in the mood for long explanations anymore, but if that?s what it took to find out what she wanted to know?
?We had already discovered the existence of spell energy before the giant wave of it had come. Taking precautions for it had been easy.?
?So, the next inevitable question would then be?why is there so much of it all of the sudden??
Nitori scratched her head. ?We have no idea. Someone must have set off something big. Something huge. By the amount there is, I wouldn?t have been surprised if Youkai Mountain was the only thing that had been left in Gensokyo.?
Suwako had been comforted upon hearing that the problem plaguing the youkai of the mountain was just a temporary drowsiness, but upon hearing this, she began to worry all over again.
?Oh, but don?t worry,? Nitori hastily added upon seeing Suwako?s worried expression. ?We already thoroughly investigated the cause of the wave, and there actually hasn?t been any negative influence on Gensokyo from the source spell. It seems like the spell was directed?somewhere else. Couldn?t tell you where though??
?that was odd. A spell who?s fallout was large enough to put the entire Youkai mountain to sleep, but didn?t have any negative effect on Gensokyo? What could that have possibly been?
?When did this spell happen? The one that created all this spell energy??
Nitori bit her lower lip and frowned as she did some quick mental calculations. ?Must have been?less than a month. If it?s over Youkai Mountain now?I would guess two to three weeks ago??
?And when will the spell energy pass on??
?If my calculations are correct, by around sunset tomorrow.?
Suwako hummed thoughtfully. It seemed the disaster she had predicted wasn?t going to happen at all. The event would be over in two days, and everything would go back to normal. She almost felt a little let down that she hadn?t been able to swoop in and save the day. That would have been great for the Shrine?s reputation.
Well, she had already come all the way out here, so she figured she might as well try to do something productive. She might not be able to get the youkai of the mountain praising her for saving them, but she could at least help their friendship with the Kappa by lending a hand for a bit.
?Anything I can do to help??
Nitori?s face broke into a wide, almost sinister grin. ?I thought you?d never ask!?
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Suwako sighed heavily as she sat atop the roof of the Moriya Shrine. It had been a long day?s work for her at the Kappa?s encampment at the foot of the mountain, but it seemed that with her help, they had managed to reach their goal. They would manage to fill all of their storage units to the brim by noon of the next day, all thanks to the fact that Suwako could simply create the towers they needed out of earth and metal, rather than having to wait for them to be constructed. It took her a few tries to get it right, but in the end, even Nitori, who had apparently approached her in the first place in an attempt to recruit her help, had been surprised at just how helpful she had been.
Now, relishing the feeling of a job well done, Suwako sat atop the Moriya Shrine, gazing across the grounds as they were illuminated by the moonlight. Kanako was off doing whatever Kanako did, while Sanae was most likely inside the shrine asleep. Suwako, however, just sat and enjoyed the night.
While she had been working, she had been mulling over what Nitori had said about the cause of all the excess spell energy in the air. Apparently, it would have had to have been a spell large enough to wipe out the majority of Gensokyo, yet it had no adverse effects that they could discern. Or any effects at all for that matter, aside from expelling all of the spell energy.
Nitori had hypothesized that it had been aimed somewhere out of Gensokyo, but where? It couldn?t target the outside world, the Hakurei Border prevented that. She found it unlikely that it had targeted the Netherworld, or Hell. They would have felt major backlash ? major backlash ? if someone had done something to bother the Enma.
Maybe?the moon? Suwako shuddered. Things would not be good at all if someone from Gensokyo provoked the Lunarians. She didn?t know much about them, but she knew enough that she knew warring with them would end very badly for everyone involved.
As she continued to ponder, she was pulled from her thoughts by the sight of a lone woman, dressed entirely in black, walking up the steps at the front of the shrine.
So I'm pretty impressed that this has gotten over 500 thread views, and its not even halfway through the story at the moment. Thanks for the interest guys, hopefully I can maintain that interest all the way til the end :)
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I meant to post this update earlier, but then I didn't. So here you guys go.
Chapter 8 ? Youkai Mountain Alliance
Finally, after the better part of two days, Reimu reached the Moriya Shrine.
It wasn?t her first time here, nor her second. In fact, she had been forced to come here a fair number of times, every single time because a certain someone was meddling in affairs they had no business meddling in. So, today marked the first time Reimu had visited the shrine without the intent of complaining or punishing its residents.
Her journey here had been very different from her other trips here. Normally, she would have had to fight or sneak her way passed more than a few overeager youkai and fairies. This time however, she hadn?t been confronted a single time.
She noticed at the foot of the mountain a large number of new structures, looking like towers with bowls on top, that were seemingly completely abandoned. Figuring it was simply another failed Kappa experiment, she flew on without worrying.
As she climbed the mountain and entered Tengu territory, she then noticed the distinct lack of any guards. Normally, she would be confronted by at least one of the Tengu every time she passed through, just so that they could confirm she wasn?t going to cause any problems for them. This time, however, she hadn?t seen a single one. Nor had she seen any fairies, which were generally drawn to the waterfalls on the mountain.
Reimu couldn?t help but be reminded of her own situation at the Hakurei Shrine. She hadn?t seen any youkai for quite a while, and it seemed that it wasn?t just a local effect. If Youkai Mountain of all places had no youkai on it, there must have been something seriously wrong.
As she stepped onto the shrine grounds, her worries were compounded. The entire shrine, as far as she could tell from the entrance, was completely deserted. There was no sign that anyone was around, and though the place still looked like it was being cleaned up regularly, the whole place had a very undisturbed aura about it. Combined with the overcast sky and cold wind, the area gave off a strange sense of foreboding.
Doing her best to ignore the bad premonition that was beginning to well up in her mind, Reimu slowly approached the main shrine. The Moriya Shrine itself wasn?t all that much bigger than the Hakurei Shrine. The buildings were about the same size, and it was situated in a clearing that was slightly bigger than the Hakurei Shrine?s, but it was similar enough that Reimu didn?t feel like she was somewhere alien when she arrived. Though maybe that was more related to the number of times she had been forced to come here.
As she approached the main building, she saw at the corner of her vision a person flying towards her from the sky behind the shrine. Recognizing her immediately, Reimu stopped and waited for her to approach.
Landing gracefully in front of her and curtsying dramatically was the Moriya Shrine Maiden.
?Welcome to the Moriya Shrine,? Sanae said with a teasing voice as she stood from her curtsy. ?How may we be of service to you on this fine spring day??
?There?s nothing fine about this day,? Reimu said with a wry grin as she looked at the steel gray sky. Despite the overcast, it didn?t seem like it was going to rain anytime soon. It was almost as if the clouds were waiting for permission before they could let loose, and didn?t expect to get it any time soon.
?Every day is a fine day at the Moriya Shrine!? Sanae responded enthusiastically to Reimu?s cynicism. Reimu couldn?t help but feel that Sanae?s bright smile was sharply contrasting with the current state of the shrine around her.
?So?where is everyone?? Reimu asked as she looked around. Now that she thought about it, the shrine had a feeling of emptiness to it. Despite never seeing the god enshrined at the Hakurei Shrine, she could always tell it was there. The Moriya Shrine right now felt like?something was missing. Something important.
?What do you mean? I am the only one that tends the shrine, so isn?t it normal that I?m the only one here when there are no visitors?? Sanae readopted her teasing tone of voice. For some reason Reimu couldn?t figure out, it always seemed as if Sanae would go out of her way to make conversations as difficult as possible for her. Doing her best to ignore her playing around, Reimu continued.
?Kanako isn?t here at all, is she??
At that, Sanae suddenly looked flustered. ?Why, whatever do you mean? As the god of the Moriya Shrine, Lady Kanako is always watching over those who visit the shrine.? In a similar vein, she also tended to refuse to give Reimu straight answers to questions she asked. They had met enough times now that Reimu knew not to indulge her playing around. Otherwise, their conversations would take a long time. A long time.
?I need to see Kanako. It?s important. Where is she?? Reimu asked the question as straightforwardly as she could. In her experience, although Sanae was willing to lead you on forever in a conversation, she rarely tried to evade a direct request.
After a brief pause, Sanae responded with a strangely thoughtful expression on her face. ?Say, Reimu, how many visitors has your shrine had in the past week??
Unfortunately, ?rarely? does not mean ?never.?
As Reimu opened her mouth to demand information on Kanako?s whereabouts, she noticed Sanae?s expression had turned serious. She had no doubts she was attempting to dodge the question from before, but it seemed she was legitimately interested in this question as well. I suppose cooperating with her is the first step in getting her to cooperate with me, Reimu thought to herself with a sigh.
?Very few. I?ve seen a handful of people about two or three days ago, but before that there was about two weeks where no one had come to visit at all.?
Sanae?s expression seemed to both light up and turn grim at the same time. ?Do you?have any idea why??
??no, why do you ask?? Though she asked, she had a pretty good idea of why Sanae had asked the question.
Sanae?s expression faltered once more. ?We?ve had?no visitors for the past week and a bit. I?ve done what investigating I can, but I can?t even find anyone around to ask about it?Lady Kanako doesn?t seem to know why either, and I?m starting to get worried.?
Reimu thought back on what she knew. There was a span of approximately two weeks in which no visitors came to the shrine. Similarly, the Moriya Shrine was having no visitors either. Was there a connection between them? Most likely. Was it connected to the appearance of that stranger? Almost definitely.
?Actually, there was something?? Reimu suddenly recalled her brief discussion with Chen a few days earlier. As Reimu looked up from her thoughts to mention it, Sanae did the same, intently listening to Reimu?s words. It seemed she was very serious about matters related to the shrine. Far more than Reimu had ever been, at least.
?Please, if there?s anything at all, I would like to hear it.? Misjudging Reimu?s hesitation as unwillingness to speak, Sanae urged her onwards. Clearing her throat, Reimu continued.
?One of Yukari?s shikigami?shikigami?s shikigami?anyways, a cat youkai that was at the shrine recently mentioned something about the air being strange. She said it was putting all of the youkai to sleep?or something. We didn?t talk much, and she didn?t explain very well.?
?Something in the air?? Sanae started pacing back and forth between Reimu and the shrine building, deep in thought. Suddenly, she turned and looked at Reimu. ?Well, we only get youkai as visitors here, since we?re on Youkai Mountain, but you are a lot closer to the human village. If whatever it is is just putting youkai to sleep, why haven?t you been getting any human visitors??
Reimu?s expression turned bitter. As soon as she saw that, Sanae?s face descended into a mischievous grin. ?Oh, is that it. I see, I see. No need to be ashamed Reimu, not all of us shrine maidens can be successful. It?s the failures that make the successes stand out, right??
Reimu gave Sanae a flat look as she giggled, her face bearing a mischievous yet triumphant smile. That was the other thing about Sanae. She liked to rub it in your face if she was better than you at something. Especially if she knew it was something you didn?t much care about.
In the end, Reimu knew she was just joking around, but that didn?t make her any easier to get along with.
?Anyways, back to the matter at hand. Where is Kanako??
?Trying to change the subject, hm? Not that I blame you. It must be pretty difficult having to spend time with someone who is so much more successful than you.?
?Yep. Now, where?s Kanako??
??Say, Reimu. You mentioned Miss Yukari?s shikigami was at your shrine recently. Have you spoken to her as well then??
?Where. Is. Kanako??
Sanae?s expression turned progressively more and more nervous as Reimu pressed the issue. It became quite apparent after a little prodding that Sanae wasn?t just leading her around in circles, she was deliberately attempting to avoid speaking about it. Unfortunately for her, Reimu had work to do, and she had no time to play around here, whether Kanako was indisposed or not.
After a few moments of awkward silence, Sanae slapped her cheeks, shook her head, and looked back up at Reimu with new resolve. Was she trying to pump herself up for something?
Pointing dramatically at Reimu, she declared in a loud voice. ?I challenge you to a spell card battle! If you must insist, we will fight for it! If I win, you answer all my questions! If you win, I take you to Lady Kanako!? Answer all her questions? Apparently Sanae actually had some pressing concerns at the moment. Unfortunately for her, Reimu was not in the mood, nor in a position in which she could play around with her.
?I don?t have time for this. If you?re going to be like this, I?ll go find her myself.? As she turned to leave, Reimu saw briefly an expression of surprise on Sanae?s face.
?Wait?are you seriously walking away from a spell card battle? You can?t?you can?t do that! You just can?t!? It appears she was getting flustered about something. Poor girl.
Reimu, on the other hand, paid no attention to her objections. As she made to leave, however, an unnatural gust of wind blew over the shrine grounds. Unnatural, because not only did it move in the opposite direction that the wind had been blowing until now, but also it seemed to carry a sense of intent. As if it had a purpose, very much unlike normal weather.
?But?you said under no circumstances?? Sanae started quietly talking to herself. Apparently, the wind was some sort of message for her, as when Reimu turned to look at her, she was looking up at the sky where the wind came from. After another short gust of wind, her confused expression gave way to one of resignation, which was quickly replaced by expressionlessness.
?Very well. Lady Kanako will see you now. Please follow me.?
---------
It took less than ten minutes to reach the place where Kanako was. Apparently, she had just been hiding out in the lake behind the shrine, sitting on top of one of the many onbashira that stood there. As Reimu landed on the platform, which was about ten feet in diameter, she sat down across from Kanako at the latter?s invitation. For some reason, Sanae felt the need to sit beside Reimu.
As soon as she arrived, Reimu could tell why Sanae was avoiding bringing Reimu here. More importantly, she could tell this was going to be a much more important meeting than she had originally thought?and if she did well, she would produce much better results than she had thought possible.
Seated on one edge of the pillar were Reimu and Sanae, calm but tense. Directly across from them was Kanako, in her usual nonchalant seating position, except her face bore no traces of the pleasant, friendly smile she often adopted. Instead, it was very serious, borderline angry, though from the atmosphere Reimu could tell it was anger at the subject of conversation, not at any particular person here.
To Reimu?s left and right, forming a circle between the four groups of people, were people Reimu had definitely not expected to see. To her left were three Kappa, of which one looked particularly familiar. To her right were a pair of Tengu, of which one also looked unfortunately familiar.
?Welcome, Miss Hakurei,? Kanako managed to force a smile as she greeted her, ?I am glad you?ve decide to join us today. I know you have your own reasons for being here today, but I?m afraid you will have to listen to my request first.?
Reimu began to feel a little uneasy. She had never been asked to do anything by Kanako before, other than ?please leave,? but she knew very well the consequences that tended to follow Kanako?s actions. Furthermore, although she knew she had no time to waste doing favours for Kanako, she also knew she couldn?t afford to alienate her just before asking for her help. All in all, it was proving to be a somewhat bothersome meeting, and she hadn?t even spoken yet.
With a sigh of resignation, Reimu motioned for her to continue. With a smile that looked a little less forced, Kanako nodded to her and spoke again.
?Let?s start from the beginning. This is a matter of utmost importance, and I would not want any details to be missed.?
As Kanako cleared her throat, Reimu sighed inwardly once more. This was going to be long. She could feel it in her bones.
?Last night, there was an intruder at the shrine.?
?I thought you said you hadn?t had any visitors for the past week?? Reimu whispered quietly to Sanae beside her, who in turn ignored her completely.
With a displeased look, Kanako continued. ?I originally had thought it was just a normal visitor, so I paid her no mind. However, it became quickly apparent that that was not the case. After seeing her discussing something?rather unfavourable with Suwako, I confronted her, and she immediately attacked.?
Reimu was immediately struck by another premonition. ??I think I know where this story is going.?
Kanako raised an eyebrow at her comment. ?Oh? Would you like to finish the story then??
With a bright, intentionally fake looking smile, Reimu looked Kanako in the eye and started speaking. ?This intruder, dressed all in black, refused to follow any of the spell card rules. She attacked really unnaturally, and nothing we did would have any effect on her. The only reason any of us survived is because she left of her own accord before she finished any of us off.?
Sanae looked shocked, as if this was the first time she had heard the story. Had she really been that oblivious to what was happening at her own shrine? Kanako, however, had an expression that was at once fighting to look displeased and satisfied.
?I am not sure how you know what happened here, but I suspect it is because you have encountered this intruder yourself??
??yes. We had?very similar results when we fought her.?
The satisfied expression won out as Kanako continued speaking. ?Well, that makes things much easier then. I have asked you here to request your help in your capacity as the Hakurei Shrine Maiden, and guardian of the spell card rules.?
Reimu smiled wryly and shook her head. ?You want me to help bring her down, after you couldn?t even land a scratch on her? Do you honestly expect a normal human to be of any use against her??
Kanako looked confused momentarily. ?Firstly, you are anything but a normal human. Secondly, I would hardly say we were unable to scratch her.?
Reimu snapped to attention. ?Wait, what? You guys were able to hurt her??
?Not significantly. My attacks wouldn?t connect, but once Suwako started attacking in time with me, we were able to hit her a few times. After taking a handful of attacks, she retreated.?
Reimu?s mind was blown. Four of them hadn?t even been able to land an attack on her, but Kanako and Suwako together were able to force her to retreat? Was this really the same person?
??how? How did you do it??
Kanako shrugged. ?It didn?t make any sense to me either. None of the attacks that connected were especially powerful or sneaky. None of them had any similarities with the other attacks that connected, and attacks that worked once never worked a second time.?
?Just to confirm?the intruder was wearing all black, right? She had a silver necklace with five jewels on it??
?She also had shoulder length, glassy black hair, and when asked what her name was, she said ?I?m almost finished deciding on one, so please be patient.??
?That?s her?it?s definitely her?? Reimu?s mind was racing. She didn?t know how Kanako had managed to get through a defense that had been impervious to Reimu?s group, but the fact that she had meant that Reimu needed her as an ally.
?Let me counter your request with a request of my own,? Reimu spoke adopting as official a tone of voice as she could manage. ?I am currently gathering forces from across Gensokyo to work towards defeating and expelling this intruder. For the sake of protecting all of Gensoyo, will you join with us??
Kanako wore an unreadable expression. Reimu didn?t understand why she was hesitating to answer. She had essentially asked Reimu to help her do the same thing, so why was this any different?
Ah, Reimu thought. This way, it looks like I?m the leader. If Reimu had joined Kanako, she would have to do anything Kanako said. This way, the relationship was the other way around. If Kanako joined Reimu, she would just become a subordinate, and that would be a difficult pill to swallow regardless of the necessity of the situation.
?Let me be perfectly clear about this,? Reimu spoke up into the nervous atmosphere. ?Marisa, Youmu, and I are all working together to gather as much help as we possibly can. Yukari is helping us out behind the scenes, since circumstances are preventing her from fighting herself. That means, with the people we have right now, none of us have any leadership experience.?
Kanako?s eyes narrowed. Good, she was seeing where this was going. Reimu wasn?t exactly comfortable offering the leadership position to the first person she met, especially if it was Kanako, but in all honesty, she couldn?t afford to hold back. Kanako may have held the key to actually defeating the stranger if she was telling the truth about being able to land attacks on her, and as the god of a shrine which had gone through many hardships and even wars, her leadership experience would be invaluable. She wasn?t comfortable with it, but the fact of the matter was it was one of the best possible choices.
?I don?t know your whole story, and frankly I don?t care. But I do know that you have exactly the experience we need. If you would join us and organize us into a capable fighting force, we would all be most grateful.?
Reimu knew it was traditional to bow at the end of a request to demonstrate one?s earnestness and sincerity, but instead she kept eye contact. She may be willing to offer Kanako the position of ?leader,? whatever that meant, but that didn?t mean she was willing to back down, or to negotiate.
Kanako, on the other hand, was still expressionless. Reimu had thought this would have been the best possible outcome she could have expected, gaining not only Reimu?s help but also the help of everyone that she would be able to recruit, but for some reason she was hesitating to accept. That hesitation made Reimu more nervous than anything.
Finally, after what felt like hours, Kanako made a resigned face.
?Alright, alright. I was hoping this could get done without getting involved ourselves, but I should have figured that wouldn?t be a possibility after what we saw.?
Really? Her issue was she didn?t want to get involved? After being attacked?!
?First, I need to know everything you know. Explain your encounter with her. In detail.?
Reimu shook off her surprise at Kanako?s apparent laziness. She hadn?t won yet. Winning Kanako over to their side, as well as winning their team someone who had experience with organizing armies, was no doubt a huge benefit. However, there was still, for some reason or other, an emissary from both the Kappa and the Tengu here. She couldn?t vouch for their combat potential, but both races had skills that could prove vital in the coming battle. If she played her cards right, she might be able to win all of their help in one fell swoop.
?It all started when Yukari asked us to help look for Yuyuko.?
?Yuyuko?the ghost princess?? Suddenly, one of the Tengu interrupted Reimu?s story. As expected, she was writing furiously in a small notebook, eagerly awaiting the answer to Reimu?s question.
?I?know you, don?t I??
?Ace reporter, Aya Shameimaru, at your service!? the Tengu said enthusiastically, finishing what she was writing with a flourish.
?To answer your question, yes, the ghost princess.? Reimu was less than pleased at having been interrupted, though more so because she knew she was going to get interrupted repeatedly throughout the story. Though she had pretended she didn?t quite remember, she knew Aya quite well. Far too well for her own liking.
?Anyways, as I was saying, Yukari asked us to help look for her. Naturally, we went to the Netherworld first, where we found the border between the Netherworld and the world of the Living had been punctured. Upon further investigation, we found all of the souls in the entire Netherworld had been taken somewhere else.?
Everyone?s eyes widened at Reimu?s declaration. ?W-wait?surely you?re exaggerating?there is no way all of the souls in the Netherworld were gone?? Sanae was the first to respond, speaking with a half-smile, as if she wasn?t sure whether Reimu was joking or not.
?Every single one. But don?t worry, it?s not like they are missing, we ended up finding them. Anyways, with the help of Yuyuko?s gardener, Marisa and I searched for and found where they had all been taken. It ended up being in Gensokyo, in a pretty nondescript place, aside from the fact it was in the exact center of Gensokyo.?
Aya continued to scribble furiously in her notebook as the Tengu, the Kappa, and Sanae all listened intently as if they were listening to a ghost story. Kanako?s face was dead serious. Seeing there weren?t any immediate questions, she continued.
?Marisa, Youmu, one of Yukari?s Shikigami, and I all confronted the stranger, who claimed to be behind the theft of the spirits. We tried to stop her by force, but she refused to follow the spell card rules, and it eventually devolved into a full on fight. It was four on one, yet we didn?t land a single hit on her. Our attacks either all dodged around her of their own accord, or she would summon some sort of barrier to protect herself. In the end, we were completely defeated, and appeared back at the shrine after being rendered unconscious by her attacks.?
?Question! What was she doing with the spirits of the dead?? Aya was predictably the first to ask a question.
?She seemed to be using them to build some sort of tower. It looked like it was made out of black glass, and that she was using the spirits of the dead as building materials.?
?And Yuyuko was there?? Kanako was the next to speak up.
?Yes. We couldn?t guarantee whether she was safe or not, but we definitely saw her.?
?Question! Did all four of you make it out alive??
??we don?t know. Youmu, Marisa, and I all appeared at my shrine, but we haven?t determined the whereabouts of Yukari?s shikigami. Unfortunately, we haven?t really had the time to look for her.?
?U-um, I have a question too?? One of the Kappa, who Reimu recognized as being familiar, raised her hand timidly and spoke. Reimu turned expectantly to her, but it seemed she was having trouble formulating her thoughts into words.
?Spit it out, Nitori, we don?t have all day.? Aya sharply criticized the Kappa, who flinched at Aya?s voice.
?W-well, I was just wondering?h-how did you get back to the shrine??
Reimu opened her mouth to answer the question, but found that no words came out. Closing her mouth again, she scratched her head. How did she get back to the shrine? One minute, she was getting hit by lightning, the next Marisa was standing over her at the shrine grounds. Maybe Marisa had brought her there? No, she knew Marisa had woken up only moments before she had. Yukari? No, she would have been too busy dealing with the Border?
?Well?? Aya spoke up impatiently, but her question was mirrored by the faces of everyone around her.
?I?have no idea. One minute we were losing terribly, the next I was waking up at the shrine. Someone must have moved us but?I have no idea who could have??
?I assume it wasn?t Yukari?? Kanako asked the question Reimu had asked herself seconds before.
?No, Yukari was?indisposed at the time, there was no way she could have moved us.? Kanako raised an eyebrow at that, but otherwise let the matter slide.
This raised a whole new problem, but right now they had enough on their plate that they couldn?t worry about such things. What?s done is done, there was nothing they could do about it now.
?Moving on, moving on,? Aya seemed to share Reimu?s opinion, and decided to press on with the questions. ?How many people do you currently have recruited??
?That?s?a difficult question. Youmu, Marisa, and I all split up to go get help, so I haven?t heard anything about whether their attempts had been successful or not. But I know there are at least us three, plus Yukari, and now the Moriya Shrine. By now, Marisa and Youmu have probably contacted the Scarlet Devil Mansion and Eientei, and after that we will be having a short meeting at my shrine to decide who we will pursue next.?
Aya nodded her head vigorously as she scribbled on in her notebook.
?If there is a meeting planned later, then we can discuss the particulars about this intruder then. For now, let?s deal with some more pressing matters.? Kanako attempted to push the situation forward. ?As you can see, we have Aya Shameimaru and Nitori Kawashiro here as representatives of the Tengu and the Kappa, respectively. Naturally, since you are here, we would no doubt seek to petition your help in this matter as well.?
Aya scribbled on in her notebook, seemingly oblivious to the conversation going on around her, while her escort ? a wolf tengu, by the looks of it ? gave her an irritated stare for not paying attention. Nitori, on the other hand, sat nervously shifting her gaze between Reimu, Kanako, and Aya, and occasionally turning to here whispers from her two compatriots.
?If you have any concerns you wish to have addressed before you make your decisions, please let us know.? Kanako managed to urge them on while still sounding patient. Quite the politician, that one.
?W-well, umm?the Kappa aren?t very?strong?so?? Nitori?s voice got quieter as she spoke, until she was barely whispering at the end.
?I wouldn?t worry about that,? Reimu spoke up, ?There?s bound to be tons of us that are capable of fighting. What we need more importantly then that is a good strong support base, something to give our fighters an edge.?
Nitori looked thoughtful at Reimu?s words, while Kanako raised an eyebrow at her. So Reimu was treating this as a full scale war, so what? Considering her first encounter with the stranger, she wasn?t going to take any risks. Every advantage was indispensable, and the support that Kappa technology could provide would be invaluable.
?W-well, if you put it like that?there are a few projects we have going that?might be of help?? Nitori spoke quietly, almost as if she was talking to herself.
?Very good. Any help you can provide would be most appreciated.? Kanako thanked Nitori with a warm smile, and the Kappa was clearly a little more at ease.
?O-ok, I will take a look back at home and gather some?teams, to come work on something. We?ll uh, we?ll be at the meeting at the shrine, to?to try and figure out what we?re going to do.? Kanako nodded in thanks, and after returning the gesture, Nitori turned to her compatriots and began discussing?whatever it was Kappa discussed.
Reimu, Kanako, and Sanae then turned to Aya. Aya had stowed away her notebook, and was now paying full attention to the conversation.
?So, what about you, Miss Shameimaru?? Kanako once more led the conversation forward, pressing the Tengu for a response.
Aya tapped her bottom lip with her pen lightly. ?Well, I guess first things first, I should give you guys the message I was sent here to tell you?? Aya cleared her throat and mimed pulling out a stack of cue cards. Attempting some sort of dramatic flair, she ?read? in a loud voice: ?The Tengu shall provide no assistance to either the Moriya or Hakurei Shrines on this matter, and will take no part in any combat, directly or indirectly, until such a time as hostilities have reached the Tengu Village.?
Kanako bore a grim expression, while Reimu and Sanae stared at her in shock. ?Why?why did you even come here if you weren?t going to be of any help!? Sanae had apparently had enough of sitting quietly, and yelled at the Tengu.
Aya pulled a fan of leaves out from her back pocket and used it to cover the lower half of her face, returning Sanae?s glare with a muted expression. ?I?m a reporter, of course I?ll go wherever there is news.?
?More importantly,? Reimu spoke slowly, trying to repress her growing anger at the Tengu?s audacity, ?why aren?t you willing to help us??
?This stranger is obviously someone of great power. We can?t afford to risk her taking retribution on us in the event that you fail to bring her down. If we remain neutral, we have much better chances of being in the winners good graces in the long term, regardless of who that is.?
?And if we are the winners, how do you expect to be in our good graces?? Reimu managed to grind out through gritted teeth.
?The Moriya Shrine needs followers to generate faith, does it not?? Aya replied with a sly expression. ?Even if you hate us, we know how dependant the Moriya Shrine is on our faith. Even should we completely ostracize ourselves, they can?t afford to throw us away. As for you, even if you are the Hakurei Shrine Maiden, you are only one girl. It would be regrettable to be in the bad favour of such a powerful individual, but you are just that: an individual. It would be unfortunate, but compared to the possibility of total annihilation, it is clearly a worthwhile sacrifice.?
?You don?t understand?if we lose, all of Gensokyo will be destroyed! Hell, even the outside world might not be spared! That?s the kind of person we?re dealing with! If she wins, you?ll be annihilated whether you side with us or not!?
?If I may,? the wolf Tengu spoke up in a serious voice after Reimu?s short rant, ?do you have any evidence to suggest that this stranger has any desire to destroy Gensokyo??
Reimu gritted her teeth. ?Well?she?s gathering all of the spirits of the dead, right? That can?t be good. She has to be up to no good. In addition, if she keeps controlling the spirits of the dead, reincarnation will be put on hold, and all life will go extinct!?
The wolf Tengu raised an eyebrow at Reimu?s claim. ??That can?t be good? is not sufficient reason for us to risk the lives of all of those in our village. And please, a halt on reincarnation? It would take generations for that to even start showing an effect on us. If it becomes a problem, we will have plenty of time to deal with it then.?
?See? Even Momiji, good for nothing but holding a sword, can tell you how bad of an idea this is for us.? As Aya spoke, her escort glared at her angrily. Reimu half expected her to start growling as well, but it seemed she was able to keep herself in check.
?No, you don?t understand. If you don?t-?
?Reimu, please.? Kanako cut Reimu off as she made to argue further. Reimu turned to her with an angry expression, but Kanako just shook her head. ?If they aren?t going to help us, they aren?t going to help us. Even if we could change their mind, they are only the envoys. They must submit to a higher power, whether they like it or not.?
?See? This is why we like the Moriya Shrine, you guys are so understanding~? Aya spoke happily, finally putting away her fan.
?That being said, there is one thing I would like to ask of you.? Kanako turned to Aya as she spoke. ?You have been taking notes of this entire meeting, have you not??
?Of course, of course! What kind of reporter would I be otherwise?? Aya replied nonchalantly, as if she was trying to pretend she didn?t know where the conversation was going to lead.
?Good, good. I want you to take those notes, and spread them to every living youkai in Gensokyo. I want everyone to know everything we?ve said today. You can do that, right?? Kanako spoke to Aya with a smile that could only be called slightly condescending.
?Sorry, but being a reporter, I can?t do tha- wait wait wait wait, you want me to tell everyone about this? Really?!? Aya was bewildered. This could very well have been the first time someone had asked her to spread the word about something instead of trying to make her keep a secret.
?Everything. To everyone. Word for word.?
Aya spoke with a bright smile. ?You have no idea how done that is going to be.? Aya and Momiji stood up from their places. ?Three days, and everyone in Gensokyo will either be knocking on your door to help, or knocking on mine to hear more.?
Floating lightly into the air, Aya turned to Reimu and Sanae. ?Good luck kids, I?ll be expecting an interview when you win~? With that, the two Tengu departed at a pace that could only be described as break-neck.
?U-um?we have a lot of preparations to make as well, so w-we should probably get going as well?? Nitori timidly spoke up into the extended silence that followed Aya?s departure.
?Very well. Come to the Hakurei Shrine as soon as you are able. That will be our base of operations.? Kanako spoke kindly to the Kappa, who gave a short bow and a crisp salute before they too took off into the darkening sky.
The next few minutes passed in silence. Reimu, trying to overcome her anger at Aya?s blatant refusal to help, Sanae, trying to cope with a tremendous amount of information that she had apparently not been ready for at all, and Kanako, no doubt plotting some sort of grand scheme.
After finally managing to calm herself down, Reimu sighed dejectedly and started speaking again. ?So, base of operations is going to be the Hakurei Shrine, huh??
Kanako smiled coyly to Reimu?s question. ?The fact of the matter is, people are more likely to join us if we form our group under the Hakurei name. Our shrine is too new, has not built the rapport with the populace across Gensokyo that yours has.?
?Of course, of course?? Reimu stared blankly into the distance. She supposed two out of three successes was alright. She had the entire Moriya Shrine and all of the Kappa on her side now. The Tengu?s refusal to help was unfortunate, but logically speaking, there position was understandable. If Reimu could come up with some evidence that this stranger was actually intending something bad for all of Gensokyo, she might be able to change their minds, but until then, she had hopefully more receptive audiences to attend to.
In addition, Aya did say she would spread the word. Hopefully, if she kept the hyperbole and poetic license to a minimum, she would drum up enough publicity that many people would come to help them of their own accord. This way, they could afford to focus on the remaining groups of people, rather than having to visit every wandering youkai across Gensokyo individually.
Wait a minute?entire Moriya shrine?wasn?t something missing?
?Hey, can I ask you guys a question??
?Hm? What is it??
?There?s another god at this shrine right? Suwako, was it??
Kanako?s eyes suddenly went wide with surprise, as if she hadn?t been expecting the question. This was quickly followed by a tightening of her facial expression, and the spoke slowly as she responded. ?Yes?Suwako does live here. Why do you ask??
?She helped you in your fight against the stranger, right? She?ll be coming with us, right??
Kanako and Sanae exchanged an awkward look, before Kanako turned back to Reimu. ?Well?that?s?complicated.?
?In fact, your story also said that Suwako was the first one to contact her?shouldn?t she have been here at the meeting?? As Reimu thought things through, she became more and more suspicious about Suwako?s absence.
?Well?? Kanako seemed to actually be at a loss for words. She was definitely hiding something, but Reimu had no idea what.
?She?s?okay, right?? Reimu asked hesitantly. It wouldn?t be surprising for her to lose to the stranger, but Kanako had said they fought her off. Hopefully that meant they managed to do so without casualties?
?I will spare you the details, but we are?currently working on the issue. If all goes well, Suwako should join us. I would not worry about that.?
?Well, I am worrying about it.? Reimu was getting less concerned about Suwako, and more irritated at the fact that Kanako was trying to hide something from her. They were supposed to be working together, so she needed to know if there was a problem.
?Well, would you look at the time!? Sanae suddenly exclaimed, standing up beside Reimu. ?There is no way you could return to home at this time of day. Come, I will prepare a room for you at the shrine.?
Kanako made a relieved expression. ?Thank you, Sanae. Please make sure she has everything she needs.?
?Hey, don?t just ignore me!?
?Will you be joining us for dinner tonight, Lady Kanako??
??no, I have some preparations I will need to take care of. You can make food for just the two of you.?
?Just the two of us? So something happened to Suwako after all?come on, stop fooling around and tell me what happened!?
?Come come, no need to get all in a tizzy~? What even was a tizzy? Reimu?s frustration was mounting. She did not take kindly to being ignored and deceived like this. Did they honestly expect her to just quietly drop the topic?
?Well, I will bid you girls good night then. I will speak to you again once everyone is gathered at your shrine.? With that, Kanako snapped her fingers and disappeared into thin air.
Reimu clenched her hands into fists and growled quietly in an attempt to keep her anger under control. She was fed up enough with the Tengu causing her problems, the last thing she needed was her own allies doing the same.
Before she could say anything more, Sanae took off and headed back to the Moriya Shrine. No doubt she expected Reimu to follow her, because she didn?t even look back until well after she was out of sight.
With a frustrated sigh, the still-seated Reimu flopped onto her back on top of the wooden onbashira in the middle of the Wind God?s Lake. She had no idea what was wrong, and had no idea how she could find out. Kanako refused to tell her, Sanae refused to tell her, and she had no way of investigating it on her own. The only way to find out would be to wait and see if it would eventually come out.
It was frustrating, but she was going to have to deal with it if she was going to get them to help her. Besides, even if Suwako didn?t go with them, Kanako and Sanae were formidable in their own right. The more help the better, but some help was better than no help.
As Reimu lay unhappily on top of the wooden pillar, a violet gap suddenly opened in the air beside her, only a few centimeters in length.
?Having a nap, are we??
?Recovering from a long day of negotiations. I think I deserve at least this much of a break.? Reimu responded to Yukari?s familiar voice without bothering to mask her tiredness and frustration.
?How did it go?? Yukari had been uncharacteristically direct and to the point ever since Ran had vanished. Reimu figured it was a reflection of her worry for a subordinate, but she never pressed the issue with her. Everyone was struggling, and even if Yukari was acting stranger than normal, she just had to trust her.
Trust?it seems that was going to have to be the theme of the day. Kanako and Sanae were obviously hiding something from her, but it seemed Reimu had no choice but to trust them. Their help would definitely be invaluable, so she would just have to trust that they knew what they were doing with regards to Suwako.
That aside, she couldn?t help but feel a little worried about her. That nonchalant, happy-go-lucky goddess was one of the friendlier opponents Reimu had come up against, and one of the most transparent, having no ulterior motives behind her actions like so many youkai nowadays. She wasn?t well acquainted with her, but she would hate it if anything had happened to her.
??Reimu??
Reimu was brought back to reality by Yukari?s voice once again. ?Oh, yeah, sorry. Well, some good news, some bad news.?
?Seems to be a popular phrase today??
?Hm??
?Don?t worry about it. Just keep going.?
?Right. Well, the good news is that we have the Moriya Shrine and the Kappa on our side now. The bad news is that the Tengu are refusing to help us, no matter what. We have Aya spreading the word about the situation, but other than that they are refusing to participate in any way.?
?Well, that?s alright. The Tengu aren?t that strong anyways.? Yukari mentioned with a short giggle. Reimu was about to question the legitimacy of that claim before realizing that Yukari had just been joking. Instead, she just shook her head. At least Yukari wasn?t totally lost to the crisis at hand.
?Well, I have some news from the other two that you may be interested in. First of all, Marisa was successful in getting the aid of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, and Youmu was successful in getting the aid of Eientei.?
?That?s?really good. That means we have three of the largest factions in Gensokyo on our side now, doesn?t it??
?If we can get the Palace of the Earth Spirits and the Myouren Temple on our side, we will have every major power faction in Gensokyo united. Pretty scary thought, isn?t it??
?It would be a lot scarier if Gensokyo wasn?t a place where a single youkai could wipe out any of these ?major power factions? on a whim.?
?Oh? Whoever could you mean?? Yukari spoke teasingly.
?Well, you aside, there are youkai like Yuuka, Suika, and Yuugi who are just monstrously strong. Then, if the Enma decides to step in, even those three together wouldn?t be much of anything. On top of that?Yuyuko could end all life in Gensokyo, one person at a time, if she felt so inclined.?
A moment of silence passed between the two of them as they considered the implications of that statement. The fact that Yuyuko was capable of killing all of them without them being able to resist was terrifying, considering she was apparently being controlled by someone who seemed to have little regard for the lives of those around her.
On that note?
?Hey, Yukari. Do you have any idea how the three of us got back to the shrine after that stranger defeated us??
??I haven?t the slightest idea. I was a bit preoccupied at the time, so I wasn?t exactly checking to see who was coming and going at the shrine.?
?I figured as much. Just thought I would ask anyways.?
??well, I have a few errands I need to run before people start arriving at the shrine. I?ll update you if anything significant happens.?
?Alright. I?ll be staying here the night and hopefully be returning by tomorrow night, or maybe the day after at the latest depending on how fast we can fly. Talk to you then.?
With that, the small gap beside Reimu closed, and she was once again alone.
She still felt the frustrations of her earlier conversations, but she had calmed down somewhat. It was very unlike her to get so angry, but these were pretty extenuating circumstances for her, so she was having difficulty keeping her cool even at the best of times. Regardless, hearing good news from Yukari had helped to improve her mood immensely.
Standing up from where she was lying, Reimu started floating at a relaxed pace towards the Moriya Shrine. She still had a mountain of problems, but hopefully that could be put off until tomorrow. For now, she would hopefully be able to satisfy herself with a nice hot meal, a nice warm bath, and a nice soft bed.
--------------
Kanako walked quickly towards the small cottage she had set up by the lake. She had snapped herself a short distance away so Reimu couldn?t follow her, but approached the rest of the way towards the hidden refuge on foot. The last thing Reimu needed to see was what Kanako was checking on, considering the girl?s current mental condition, so in an effort to spare her, Kanako made extra sure that she wouldn?t find out about Suwako until the last possible moment.
The fact of the matter was that the intruder?s visit to the Moriya Shrine was not a simple attack, nor just random happenstance. It was actually a recruiting run. She had apparently come to attempt to recruit Suwako to her cause, offering her vengeance against Kanako for usurping her shrine and promising she would give her shrine and her followers back to her. Kanako had walked in on the middle of the stranger making her offer, and obviously fighting ensued.
Kanako had never doubted her relationship with Suwako. She may have subdued her by force, but now they were quite good friends, even if Suwako wasn?t quite willing to let go of the fact Kanako had used force to take her shrine. But even so, despite the fact Kanako had dismissed the stranger?s offer as nonsense, fighting her had made it quite apparent that she was more than capable of making good on her offer. That was the first time Kanako had worried that Suwako would betray her since the two had met.
Finally arriving at the hidden cottage, Kanako didn?t hesitate to walk inside. The building was small and nondescript, a single room that looked solid, yet simply built. Of course, that was all to make sure it got as little attention from passers-by as possible.
Sitting up in a rather ordinary looking futon, staring absent-mindedly out the window, wearing traditional robes often found on sick people in the human village, was none other than Suwako Moriya.
?Wow, you?re really getting into this, aren?t you?? Kanako greeted her old friend with a sly grin, poking fun at her setting herself up as a sick and helpless girl.
?I figured if I was going to be sick, I should at least act the part, right?? Suwako responded to Kanako?s jokes light-heartedly, in sharp contrast to her weak voice.
?You realize you aren?t actually sick, right??
?Just because you control the rain doesn?t mean you have to rain on people?s parades like that.?
?Sorry, force of habit. So, how are you doing??
??I?m alright. Still can?t really go anywhere, but I should be okay if I stay here. For now, at least.?
Though she had said she wasn?t sick, Kanako knew that Suwako was far from being well. The fact of the matter was that after hearing the offer from the stranger, both Kanako and Suwako were enraged. While they fought each other to get the right to challenge the stranger to a spell card battle, the stranger herself attacked them with no regards to the spell card rules upon hearing that Suwako wouldn?t accept her offer.
Realizing rather quickly they couldn?t hold back, the two went all out. The fight was short, but they had each given everything they had, and hadn?t even managed to land a scratch on her. Seeing their lack of success, Suwako had pulled out all the stops, and summoned all of the curse gods under her control.
While it had been incredibly risky, it had paid off for the short term. The stranger couldn?t handle the horde of curse gods on top of Kanako and Suwako?s attacks, and after taking a fair number of hits, she retreated.
The problem was that, while Suwako had grown famous for bringing the curse gods under control, she had done little but subdue them before. Actually controlling them, summoning them and making them act according to her will, was a whole different game compared to simply keeping them tame and subdued.
In the end, though they had managed to fight off the stranger, Suwako had exhausted herself to a dangerous extent. Being a god made purely of faith, and considering her power was generated from faith, it meant that excessive use of her power shaved away at her very existence. Normal levels of usage of her power wouldn?t have any effect, and indeed, even heavy overuse would have effects that would last no more than a few hours, or maybe a few days if she really went over the top.
This, however, was not even comparable to that. She had drained herself nearly to the point of passing out by summoning and controlling the curse gods, and subduing them and making them disappear again had almost killed her. Of course, it wasn?t like she had never summoned or manipulated the curse gods before, but using all of them was well beyond the norm. Frankly, if it hadn?t been for Kanako?s immediate attention, she probably would have disappeared, considering the lack of visitors to the shrine recently.
Luckily, Kanako had been there, and Suwako had survived. She would no doubt take quite a while to recover, but she was recovering, and there would be no permanent damage as long as followers started returning to the shrine. Aya really hadn?t known how right she was when she said that they couldn?t afford to ostracize the Tengu, regardless of whose side they join in this fight.
?Well, I?ve got some good news to make you feel better.? Kanako sat down beside Suwako, who was now watching her intently, waiting for her to speak. ?It seems that the stranger we fought with has already had an encounter with the Hakurei Shrine Maiden, and left the girl with a bit of a grudge. She actually came here seeking help to fight her and get rid of her once and for all.?
Suwako?s eyes widened in surprise. ?Really? That sounds?way too perfect.?
?It gets better. Not only did she ask for our help, but her and her friends are gathering help from all of Gensokyo. The girl even asked if I would lead their ?army? against the intruder.? Kanako couldn?t help but smile wryly at her own choice of words. It seemed a bit overkill, calling their team an army with the sole purpose of defeating a single person, but if that?s what it took, she couldn?t afford to complain.
?I?I?m impressed. It feels like opportunities just keep dropping into your lap, huh??
?Well, it only counts as a good opportunity if we win. And if we actually get any others to join us.?
?Well, you at least have you and Reimu. I?m sure Sanae wouldn?t stay behind even if you threatened to kill her, and I suspect Reimu?s witch friend will meddle in a similar fashion.?
?Actually, Reimu and Marisa both are already involved, as well as that half ghost gardener from the Netherworld. I believe Yukari Yakumo is also involved, though from the way Reimu spoke it doesn?t seem as if she plans on fighting herself.?
?That is quite the opening force you guys have got. To think it might get even bigger?and that you?re going to be the big boss of the whole thing.? Suwako smiled and gave a quiet, evil laugh at the prospects that sat before Kanako.
Kanako hesitated before continuing. ??what about you? Frankly, you are the only one who?s shown any ability so far to be able to land attacks on her. Do you think you?ll be able to fight her with us??
Suwako?s smile faded, and she turned to look out the window once more. ?I think?I probably can. If I have a few more days?maybe a week or two. That should be enough.?
??will you survive if you have to do it that soon??
Suwako continued silently staring out the window.
??very well. I will attempt to buy you as much time to recover as I can. Until then, just relax and wait for the news that all of this has blown over.? Kanako smiled and squeezed her comrade?s shoulder. She knew that Suwako would be more than willing to sacrifice herself if that?s what it took?so it was up to her to make sure it wasn?t required.
?But for now, let?s put that stuffy conversation aside.? Kanako shifted to sit in a more comfortable position, leaning against the same wall as Suwako. ?Sanae and Reimu are going to be staying together at the Moriya Shrine tonight.? Kanako turned to Suwako with a playful, mischievous grin. ?Shall we see what fun we can have??
Suwako turned to Kanako, bearing a borderline sinister smile, rubbing her hands in front of her. ?I heard a rumor the Moriya Shrine is haunted by a handful of vengeful spirits. Shall we see if our little shrine maidens are capable of discovering their true identities??
Kanako snapped her fingers, and a vision of the inside of the Moriya shrine appeared before the two of them. The two goddesses resolved themselves to spend the rest of the night pranking the two shrine maidens, all traces of their previous seriousness gone.
After all, even if the world was ending around them, there was still time for a little fun, right?
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You know, at first I was a tad skeptical of this and how it would turn out, as well as how I would like it. But now, I just want to know what happens! Very well done, sir.
In fact, your story is what inspired me to turn my in-the-works game, Requiem of Fallen Angel, into a written work, Absolution of the Requiem. Same story, but more in-depth. That sort of thing.
Shameless self-advertising, go!
Anyway, you do good work. Inspiring. So keep it up!
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?If we can get the Palace of the Earth Spirits and the Myouren Temple on our side, we will have every major power faction in Gensokyo united. ?
But what about the Taoists???
Seriously, would love to see Seiga siding with the villain here.
...also nitpicking time the Palace is in Old Hell and therefore is not a part of Gensokyo :V
Anyway, at first I was a little apprehensive about the villain being one of those that are commonly seen in fics, destroying the whole cast without effort, but now that we know that she was damaged by Suwako, I'm a little more optimistic about where this is going. Good job, good job~
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Well, sorry for the long delay everyone. A combination of school wrapping up and discovering Ar Tonelico 2 meant I haven't had a tremendous amount of time for writing these days.
You know, at first I was a tad skeptical of this and how it would turn out, as well as how I would like it. But now, I just want to know what happens! Very well done, sir.
In fact, your story is what inspired me to turn my in-the-works game, Requiem of Fallen Angel, into a written work, Absolution of the Requiem. Same story, but more in-depth. That sort of thing.
Shameless self-advertising, go!
Anyway, you do good work. Inspiring. So keep it up!
Glad your enjoying it, and glad to be of service :) I look forward to seeing the future of Absolution as well!But what about the Taoists???
Seriously, would love to see Seiga siding with the villain here.
Honestly, I wrote up the outline for this story before Ten Desires came out. Yeah, it took me a long time to sit down and seriously make an attempt at writing this. And I was way too lazy to try and fix it up to include the Taoists, especially since I know so little about Ten Desires in comparison to the rest of the cast :(
Anyways, here is Chapter 8.5. I'm not sure how well I was able to convey the thoughts I was trying to with this one, so I apologize if it feels kind of disjointed and random. And maybe a little too far-fetched. Regardless, I hope you enjoy!
Chapter 8.5 ? The Highest Judge of Paradise
?So?why exactly am I here again??
Shiki gave her a sidelong glance. ?It?s common for each Yama to bring with them at least one attendant to a Session of the High Court.?
?I know that, the question is why me?? Without turning, she could see Shiki smiling faintly, and at that she stifled a sigh. Shiki had a bad habit of taking what you said far too literally, and she did it entirely on purpose. Apparently she thought it was funny. Well, at least she wasn?t as painfully stiff and stifling as most of the other Judges. Most of the Judges would have smacked her for talking at all.
Komachi and the Yama walked down a seemingly endless hallway. The fact that Komachi could have manipulated that distance with ease, allowing them to arrive at their destination instantly, yet was forbidden to do so made it all the more irritating.
?There are a number of reasons. First and foremost, you are the only one currently serving in Hell who has experience in Gensokyo.? I wouldn?t be serving in Hell currently if you hadn?t called me back from Gensokyo to be your attendant?
?Secondly, you are one of my most long-standing subordinates, so I would hope there is some degree of trust between us.? Komachi noticed the Yama?s lips twitch as she spoke, as if she was trying to resist laughing as she said that. Komachi rolled her eyes at that.
?Thirdly?well, hopefully by the end of the Session you will know the third reason.?
?So essentially, you won?t tell me the reason why you picked me until after the meeting.? She returned Komachi?s complaint with a sly smile.
Eiki Shiki, the Yama of Xanadu. Referred to by most as ?Lady Shiki? while she was present, and ?The Yama? or ?Enma? when she was not. Of course, in Hell, those nicknames were essentially meaningless, as there were plenty of people who bore those titles. Well, maybe not plenty, but more than a few. For some odd reason, Komachi had never heard anyone refer to her by her first name, and in fact had never heard her first name except when she was introducing herself.
And so, Komachi had ended up in the habit of calling her simply ?Shiki.? When she had first began working for her, she had called her ?Lady Shiki? like everyone else, but over time she had started acting more and more casual with her, and so far had yet to be punished for it. Luckily for Komachi, Shiki was quite relaxed when it came to what Komachi liked to call, ?needless formalities.? She had seen more than one Shinigami lose their job over something silly like referring to their boss by the wrong name, so she was quite grateful for her current position.
Even if it meant constantly being lectured about her work habits. Well, it would be more accurate to say in spite of constantly being lectured about her work habits.
Just as Komachi could see a faint light at the end of the hallway, signifying their goal, Shiki stopped walking and turned to her.
?Komachi, I know I have been very lax with you up until now. But this is different. This isn?t a casual get together. It?s not a judging. This is a Session of the High Court. You know what that means, right?? The look on Shiki?s face was serious, but it wasn?t one of admonishment. It was one of concern. She knew Komachi?s personality quite well, even if they didn?t spend a lot of time together, and she knew that she was exactly the kind of person who would cause problems in a meeting such as this.
?Don?t speak unless spoken to, don?t tell any jokes, don?t roll my eyes. Anything else?? Komachi smirked as she repeated the list of instructions she had been given prior to arriving at the High Court. She acted nonchalant, but she knew it wasn?t just her job on the line, but Shiki?s as well if she were to screw something up.
Shiki smacked Komachi lightly on the head with the stick she always carried. She called it the Rod of Remorse. Komachi called it a stick. ?No smirking, either.?
?Right. Sorry.?
Shiki gave her another look up and down, as if she wasn?t sure she had made the right decision by bringing her here. Of course, Komachi would be more than happy if she were to change her mind at the last minute. This would be the first time Komachi would ever attend a Session of the High Court, so it was without a doubt the most tension filled experience of her career. Only the most elite of Shinigami ever even saw the High Court, so for most it was a great honour to act as an attendant there. For Komachi, it was just a bother. A bother that, if she didn?t take seriously, would get both her and her boss fired.
Shaking her head slightly, Shiki turned back toward the end of the hallway and started walking. It seemed Komachi was going to have to go through with this after all.
?I know it?s difficult being in the High Court, especially if it?s your first time,? Shiki spoke quietly as they approached the open doorway leading into the courtroom. ?But try and relax a bit. Don?t let the tension get to you. Don?t be intimidated. Don?t worry about pleasing anybody, just be honest and straightforward.?
Komachi nodded silently to the last minute lecture. She never really enjoyed lectures from anyone, let alone her boss, but if nothing else, this particular one showed that she at least understood the pressure Komachi was being subjected to.
As they walked into the courtroom, Komachi?s eyes widened in awe. Before her lay the High Court, a huge, circular room. She figured there were enough seats along the back walls to seat every living person, human and youkai, from Gensokyo all at once. The seats wrapped around the back of the room, up around the doorway they had entered through, and extended halfway along the walls towards the front of the room. The seats extended about a third of the way into the room, after which was a long walkway.
Beyond the walkway were ten seats, though it might have been more accurate to describe them as thrones. Beside each of the ten thrones were two less intricately decorated seats, and these thirty seats together formed a semi-circle, all facing three more seats. The three seats in the center were magnificent, each about three times Komachi?s height. Komachi briefly wondered what kind of monster would need a seat that size, but as she had been instructed, she kept the thought to herself.
Everything in the room was made out of materials Komachi had never before seen. The walls were made of some sort of crystal, which gave off the image of a bizarre, violet-blue flame burning in a halo around the room in slow motion. The walls stretched up perhaps fifty or sixty feet before fading into darkness. Whether that was colouring on the walls or there was just not enough light to see that high was anyone?s guess. The ceiling of the room was a deep, night-black colour, with countless pinpricks of light that were obviously supposed to be stars. The stars, however, were not motionless, and it seemed as if the entire ceiling was constantly rotating.
The floor of the room was carpeted sparingly, showing obvious paths where one was permitted to walk. Areas that were not carpeted were made with the same strange crystal as the walls. All of the chairs and railings were made of a strange metal, looking similar to gold, except with a distinct reddish hue, reminiscent of the sky at sunset. The metal clearly reflected light, yet for some reason did not show the reflections of people as they passed by.
Despite the fact the ceiling was a depiction of the night sky, and that there were no visible lights in the room, the room was very brightly lit. Komachi attempted to covertly sneak a look around the room, trying to find where the light was coming from, but was in the end unsuccessful.
After briefly stopping to whisper to one of the court attendants, Shiki beckoned Komachi to follow her, and they walked upwards to their seats. Walking straight passed the outside rings of thousands of seats, they made their way to the inner ring of ten seats and sat at one of the two seats in the middle of the semi-circle.
Despite being made of what looked and felt like metal, the seats were oddly comfortable. Before she could get too settled in, the attendant Shiki had been speaking to before approached and, without making eye contact with either of them, placed a rod on the small desk in front of Komachi. It looked identical to Shiki?s Rod of Remorse in every way except for the fact that it was silver instead of gold.
Looking to Shiki questioningly, Shiki showed her the back of her own Rod of Remorse, which was completely blank. Hesitantly, Komachi picked up the silver rod in front of her and flipped it over, and it was indeed blank as well. Shiki then traced out letters on the back of hers, and as her fingers moved, solid black letters began to appear.
Like this.
Mimicking the way Shiki had written on hers, Komachi tried to write on hers as well.
Like this?
Shiki then put two fingers flat beside the words she had written, and after making sure Komachi was watching, wiped her fingers across the words. As she did so, the words disappeared, and the back of the rod was blank again. Komachi did the same, and the words were erased from hers as well.
Ah, she thought to herself, this must be so that we can talk without having to?talk. Looking around, she saw the other Judges all carried their golden Rods of Remorse with them, but she was the only one in the room who carried a silver one. Incidentally, of all the Judges? attendants, it seemed there was only one other Shinigami besides Komachi herself. She wasn?t sure whether that should make her feel more important or more out of place.
?This Session of the High Court will now begin!? A loud, resounding voice pulled Komachi from her thoughts. Without her noticing, three individuals had taken the three seats in the center of the room. She had never seen them before, but their outfits gave them away as being very high ranking. She wasn?t sure exactly how high ranking, but definitely higher rank than her boss. For the most part, the outfit was the same deep blue colour that Shiki?s was, however it was much more detailed and came in the form of a wide robe.
The two seated on the sides wore what could only be described as crowns, with a large emblem on the front depicting a downturned sword that had been fashioned into a set of scales, with measuring plates hanging from chains attached to the ornate hilt. The person in the center seat had a similar crown, except the plate bearing the emblem was conspicuously missing. In exchange, a white cloth extended down from the crown, entirely concealing the face of the wearer. On the white cloth, painted entirely in black, was the same emblem that could be seen on the other two crowns.
Komachi turned slightly to look at Shiki when she saw she was writing something out of the corner of her eye, and nodded her head upon seeing what she was saying.
The head of the Ministry of Right and Wrong.
It seemed these guys meant serious business. She couldn?t be entirely sure, as she wasn?t versed very well on the inner workings of the High Court, but as far as she knew these were the three highest ranked individuals in all of Hell.
?Since this is an emergency meeting, we will skip the regular reports and get right to the business at hand.? The man on the left of the center seats was the one speaking. Komachi didn?t know what regular reports the High Court would normally receive, but she was definitely thankful they would get to skip them.
Most of the Judges seemed to be watching the speaker intently. It seemed, Shiki and herself aside, no one knew what the topic of todays? Session was going to be.
?Xanadu, if you would.? Expressionlessly, Shiki set down her rod of Remorse and stood from her seat. The seats were fashioned in such a way that they each sat on top of a small platform, which gave them enough room to stand up should they need to speak, without having to descend from their position.
?There has been disturbance in my area of jurisdiction recently with regards to the flow of souls from the World of the Living to Hell. It seems some individual has taken control of the spirits of the dead, and is preventing them from crossing over.?
?To what extent?? The man seated to the right of the center throne asked without standing.
?Over the past eleven days, there have been a total of zero souls that have reached the Higan to cross over.? Despite the continuing silence in the room, Komachi could easily see the shock on the faces of the other Judges that were present. The three ministers in the center ? well, the two ministers in the center who?s faces were visible showed no signs of surprise, but that was likely because they would have read Shiki?s report. After all, they were the ones that called the emergency Session, it would be kind of silly for them to not know why. Apparently, it was customary for them to ask questions they thought were relevant, whether they knew the answers or not, since the other Judges were forbidden from asking questions themselves unless prompted.
?Is there anything else of note??
?Yes. A subordinate of mine, a spirit who had been charged with governing the Netherworld, has been kidnapped, along with all of the souls who were housed there. My investigations, in combination with those of my subordinates, have concluded that the one responsible for both of these circumstances is one and the same person.?
?Thank you. Please be seated.? Shiki sat down, maintaining her expressionless face. While the two of them had known the topic of today?s Session, they did not know its purpose. Shiki had submitted her report of the unusual occurrences, as was usual, and generally it would be discussed at the next general meeting of the High Court. For some reason, though, upon receiving her report, the High Court ordered an emergency Session, and the two of them could only wonder why. Komachi herself had never heard of an emergency Session being called, and if Shiki had, she hadn?t shared.
?Upon receiving Xanadu?s report, the High Court and the Ministry of Right and Wrong determined that it was necessary to launch our own investigation into the matter. We have called this Session to share the results of our investigation, as well as to discuss any further courses of action that may be deemed necessary.?
Further courses of action? Komachi had known this was a serious matter, but she had never heard of a circumstance in which the High Court felt the need to take action. Her only guess was that they were planning on discussing what should be done about reincarnation, but that didn?t seem like something that needed an emergency meeting.
?Firstly, let us discuss the most immediate concern. In this area of jurisdiction, there have been zero souls crossing from the World of the Living over to the Afterlife. Normally, this would warrant a halt on reincarnation, in order to keep the balance of souls intact. However, considering the nature of these circumstances, the High Court moves to propose that reincarnation in the land of Gensokyo should continue uninhibited until either the resolution of this conflict, or until the situation has worsened. Are there any objections from the Judges??
Komachi breathed a sigh of relief. Her greatest fear for this incident was that reincarnation would be put on hold until the flow of souls was repaired. While the long term side effect was that all life in Gensokyo would go extinct, there were plenty of equally major short term side effects that would be devastating. Well, maybe not equally as major, but still pretty bad.
Seeing no objections, the minister seated on the left throne continued. ?Very well, it is decided. We shall keep a careful watch on the flow of souls, and should the situation become dangerous, further action will be taken.?
Komachi suddenly had an inexplicable feeling of dread. Her greatest fear in regards to the consequences of this incident was written off without note as the very first course of action of the meeting. She couldn?t help but feel as if there must be something much worse, much more important that was still going to be discussed.
?Before we proceed any further, we shall share the results of our investigation. If there are any questions, we shall address them at the end.? Pulling out a scroll from under his desk, the minister on the left stood from his seat and began reading.
?The spirits of the dead, both appearing in Gensokyo and stolen from the Netherworld, are indeed being controlled by one individual. The Court had no records of this individual ever existing in the World of the Living, or in Gensokyo. We have also determined that she is not a member of the Ministry of Right and Wrong, nor is she a denizen of the eight levels of hell or the Netherworld.?
It seemed even the High Court had no knowledge of who this person was. There were very, very few circumstances in which this could happen. The only one Komachi could think of was if they were native to the Moon, where a separate institution kept the records, and so the High Court wouldn?t have had anything on them. She supposed it was possible for similar situations to crop up from other places, though she could count on one hand the number of worlds the High Court didn?t have records on, so it wasn?t a particularly wide range of possibilities.
?Furthermore, we have determined this individual?s purpose for taking the spirits of the dead.? Komachi sat up a little straighter. Hearing they had no idea who she was wasn?t helpful. Hearing that they figured out what she was planning was news she was interested in. ?It appears that her purpose for gathering the spirits of the dead was to fashion them into some sort of weapon. We do not know what purpose she has for building it, but we can determine its relative strength.?
Apparently, the High Court was not messing around when it came to investigating. In what could have been no more than three days, they managed to determine that this stranger who had appeared in Gensokyo was definitely controlling the spirits of the dead, was using them to make some sort of weapon, and determined how strong the weapon was going to be before it was even finished. They honestly put her week of investigation work to shame.
?Since it will be relevant in our decision making process, we will share what we know of the weapon. There have been a multitude of variations to it that leave much of our knowledge on it obsolete, however what we do know is this: the weapon is designed to target worlds outside of its area of construction. The weapon, if fully charged, has enough power to destroy an area roughly the size of the Former Hell. The weapon is resilient enough to be fired multiple times, providing it can be charged.?
Komach?s eyes went wide. Who in the eight hells could invent a weapon like this? It could destroy an area equal to the size of the Former Hell. While smaller than the current Hell, it was still huge. Easily hundreds of times larger than Gensokyo. Komachi was an expert of distance, not area, but she was pretty sure she had seen continents that were smaller than the Former Hell in the outside world.
Secondly, it would target a world outside of Gensokyo. Komachi quickly listed off the possible targets to herself: the moon, Hell, Heaven, Makai. Ironically, Hell aside, all of these were areas in which the High Court didn?t keep records of inhabitants. As such, if there was some sort of war going on between the two, or someone had been expelled from one and was seeking revenge, there was no way they would know. Thus, the target could be any of them.
Briefly gazing around the room, she saw she wasn?t the only one shocked by the news. Even Shiki, who had been expressionless until now, had a grim look on her face.
?As you are well aware, it is not within our duties to prevent loss of life on the mortal planes.? The minister who had been speaking the entire time continued. True, there had been massacres and epidemics that had killed millions of humans in the past, yet the High Court never considered intervening. The very fact that they were holding an emergency Session led to the belief that they would be intervening, so there must have been some other reason, and Komachi had a feeling she knew what it was.
?However, we cannot sit idly by while the possibility of an attack against us persists.? Of course. If there was a weapon that could attack across worlds, it could attack them. For obvious reasons, no one wanted to be attacked, but if Komachi was half as good at taking hints as she thought she was, they were more worried about someone being able to attack them than they were worried about the actual attack.
?As such, this Session shall determine what course of action is most suited to the prevention of the use of this weapon, and its immediate dismantling.?
The room stirred slightly. The High Court hadn?t intervened in the other worlds for thousands of years. And if the last time were any indication, the results of an intervention would be bad for everyone involved.
?We shall now share what the High Court has determined to be the most effective course of action. If you have objections, now is your chance to be heard.? The minister cleared his throat as he shuffled through the papers on his desk.
Komachi wasn?t sure how she felt about the situation. On the one hand, she knew the difficulty of the situation in Gensokyo. She hadn?t spoken to Reimu and the others since the last time she visited the Hakurei Shrine, but she had heard stories in her investigation of what they had come up against. If the person who was controlling the spirits of the dead was as strong as the stories mentioned, it would no doubt be difficult for the residents of Gensokyo to handle the crisis on their own, and intervention by the High Court would very likely save the day.
However?Komachi knew the type of interventions that the High Court issued. The High Court hadn?t staged an intervention for thousands of years, and the result had wiped out an entire empire from the Human World. The only thing that now remained of them was an ocean in their name. If something like that were to happen again?
?We have determined that the weapon being constructed has not yet acquired the necessary magical energy to fire. Therefore, the most sure fire way to prevent it from firing is to remove the possibility of it being charged. As such, we have determined the most suitable way to remove magic from the World of the Living.?
Komachi?s eyes widened ? that was happening a lot today ? and it was all she could do to stop her jaw from dropping. They were planning on removing magic itself from the World of the Living, just to stop one weapon? On the one hand, the proposition was absurd. On the other hand, if the High Court thought that was what was necessary, the situation must be much worse than she had originally feared?
?As magic has only been preserved in the World of the Living in a single location, removing that preservation should be sufficient. Therefore, the High Court suggests the destruction of the Great Hakurei Border as the simplest and most direct solution to the problem at hand.
At that, Komachi?s jaw did drop. Their plan, to stop a single person, was to destroy all of Gensokyo? Because that person maybe had the potential to launch an attack on Hell? That?s absolutely absurd. Do they even understand the repercussions of destroying Gensokyo?
Out of the corner of her eye, Komachi saw Shiki?s composure beginning to crack. She had stayed expressionless thus far, but after hearing they planned on destroying Gensokyo, it seemed even she couldn?t stay calm.
?I must object to this course of action.? However, despite her clear opposition to the course of action suggested by the Court, she was not the first to voice an objection. Instead, one of the Judges on the far side of the room stood and spoke. ?Taking such a drastic course of action for only a potential threat is unjustifiable.?
?The High Court disagrees with your claim,? the minister responded, almost as if by rote. ?The decision has been reviewed multiple times, and is quite well justified. Firstly, the creation of a weapon which has the capabilities of attacking Hell is already a crime. Therefore, it is our duty to punish that offense.?
?You would strip an entire world of magic for the offense of one individual?? The Judge continued to argue. It seemed he wasn?t particularly worried about Gensokyo after all. Regardless, Komachi still shared his opinion.
?The fact that such an event was possible exceeded our expectations. The possibility of it occurring again in the future after this event is not low, therefore it is in the best interest of both ourselves and all other realms to cut out the possibility altogether.?
?I must further object.? Shiki finally stood up and spoke. ?If the individual responsible is eliminated, knowledge of the construction of the weapon will be lost. Furthermore, the eradication of magic from the World of the Living will only delay the firing of the weapon. For an individual as capable as this one, moving it to somewhere else where magic still exists would be child?s play.?
?We have also considered that argument,? the minister responded. ?However, we do know the weapon itself is constructed with magic. Should magic be lost, it will dissolve. Furthermore, the dissolution of the weapon in this manner will allow for the liberation of the spirits of the dead used in constructing it. With this solution, we are able to eliminate the threat to Hell, liberate the spirits of the dead who are being manipulated, and remove the possibility of the creation of a new weapon.?
?Such results can be achieved by simply dealing with the individual responsible. There is no need to take such widespread measures. If we were to dispatch a team to eliminate this individual, the problem would be solved with much greater efficiency and much less collateral damage. Even without a team, I myself could-?
?We are not an army, Xanadu!? the minister cut Shiki off in the middle of her sentence. ?You are not a soldier. You know we cannot afford to act in such a manner. The consequences of such an action on our part would threaten the end of Hell itself!?
Komachi?s face turned grim, no doubt expressing the feelings Shiki was attempting to conceal. Komachi could see just the barest trembling in her fingers, and she of all people knew that it was not fear that made her shake.
The argument was preposterous, yet undeniable. Shiki claimed that if the High Court was going to intervene, they should just attack the person responsible. However, doing that meant they would have to fight. And if they fought, they might lose. More importantly, if they fought, others would see that they weren?t invincible. And any doubt in the High Court?s supremacy would invite the denizens of other worlds to attempt to overthrow them. If an agent of the High Court acted on their own, it could be written off as them not having the High Court?s support, and so their power was diminished. But if they fought in an official capacity, there could be no doubt that they were at full power, and that would serve to teach others that Hell could be beaten. It was no wonder they were so opposed to the idea.
However, that didn?t make the destruction of Gensokyo any more desirable.
?Do you have any further objections?? The minister stated in a flat voice. Gritting her teeth, Shiki reluctantly sat back down. ?Very well. If there are no further objections, then let us commence the destruction of the Hakurei Border immediately.?
Komachi was in shock. She couldn?t believe, after all that Gensokyo had been through, and after the huge threat that had been placed by this stranger, that Gensokyo would be wiped out so easily by someone else. Someone outside, who had literally no involvement. They were afraid for their own well-being, so they were just going to obliterate Gensokyo without even trying anything else.
Komachi turned over her silver writing stick and began scribbling furiously. There was no way she was willing to let things end like this. Sure, she would only be moderately inconvenienced herself by the destruction of Gensokyo. It?s not like there?s a shortage of work for Shinigami, after all. But if Gensokyo was going to end, it wasn?t going to be like this. After all that had happened there, she wasn?t going to let that happen.
Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Shiki eyeing what she was writing. She wasn?t allowed to speak up herself, so it was up to Shiki to raise another objection. She knew how dangerous that would be, considering she had just claimed to have finished with her objections, and the Court would not take lightly to her raising her voice again. But it was the only way.
Suddenly, Shiki?s eyes widened. She had figured out what Komachi was attempting to say before she had finished writing it, and judging by her expression, it seemed she thought it might work. However, as she moved to stand and speak again?
?Please wait.? The room froze. Throughout the entire Session, the leftmost minister had done almost all of the talking on behalf of the High Court. The rightmost minister had said one or two lines, but that had been it. Now, however, the minister in the center ? with the cloth covering his face, had spoken. His voice was calm, quiet, yet commanding. Everyone in the room froze with a look of shock upon hearing his voice.
?It seems there are some objections which have not been addressed.? Despite the fact his entire face was covered, Komachi could tell that he was looking at her. Instinctively, she stopped writing and flipped the writing stick over, hiding what was written on it. She didn?t know why she did that, but for some reason it had felt appropriate.
?Please rise, Shinigami of Xanadu.? Shiki had frozen in her half standing, half sitting position, and had been staring in shock at the central minister just like everyone else had been. Upon hearing this, however, she immediately sat down and began writing like mad on the back of the Rod of Remorse.
Stand up.
Look him directly in the eye.
Don?t speak until he tells you to.
Speak loudly, but don?t yell.
Speak confidently, but not overbearingly.
The list went on and on and on and on?Komachi?s heart was already racing at the prospect, and Shiki?s last minute tips weren?t helping her to relax. She had never expected to have to speak in the High Court ? in fact, she had been told that if she said anything, she?d probably be sentenced to a fate worse than death ? but now she was about to be questioned by the most high ranking official in the Ministry of Right and Wrong, the head of the High Court himself. Judging by the faces of the others in the room ? including the other two ministers ? this situation was as unexpected by the others present as it was by her.
Slowly, Komachi rose from her seat. She hadn?t thought through how she would say this diplomatically, since she had expected Shiki to be the one to raise the objection. Her mind raced as she attempted to come up with a way of getting her point across that wouldn?t get her instantly fired. Or executed.
?Now, what is it you wish to say?? The High Minister spoke in his usual calm tone, but for some reason it still sent chills down Komachi?s spine. Well, it was now or never.
?If I may, please allow me to ask. Should an intervention by the High Court not be a last resort??
?Of course,? the leftmost minister was speaking again. ?However, due to the gravity of the situation, we cannot risk any other outcome. That is why we have decided to act.?
??I agree, the weapon cannot be allowed to fire under any circumstances,? Komachi spoke slowly, trying to best to sound respectful, ?but if there was a possibility that it would be dismantled before it fired without our intervention, would that not be ideal??
?Are you suggesting that this is a possibility? The High Court has already held an investigation, and no such possibility presented itself.?
?If I may, I am the sole Shinigami serving the area in which Gensokyo is situated.? Komachi spoke slowly, though now it was less out of an attempt to sound respectful and more to buy her time to think of what to say next. ?I believe that my experience there allows me to have a more realistic perspective on the nature and strength of its residents.?
Silence followed her words. Judging by the minister?s face, he had no desire to hear her out, but since the High Minister had asked her to share her objection, there was nothing he could do. As such, Komachi continued.
?My experience tells me that the possibility of this issue being resolved by the residents of Gensokyo is very high. I believe the order to destroy the Hakurei Border as the first course of action is?premature.?
?How dare you speak with such-!? The minister began yelling at Komachi?s apparent rudeness ? she had thought she was being polite, but apparently she hadn?t quite managed ? however he was cut off by the High Minister, raising a hand to silence him. When he had stopped talking, the High Minister spoke.
?Do you honestly believe that Gensokyo will resolve this conflict on its own??
Komachi nodded solemnly. ?I believe the possibility exists.?
?Would you bet the lives of all the denizens of the World of the Living and the Eight Hells on that possibility??
With a gulp, she responded with a silent, firm nod.
The room was filled with silence. No one dared to speak up after the exchange between the Shinigami and the High Minister of the Ministry of Right and Wrong. The seconds turned to minutes as the two stared at each other across the court room. Well, Komachi stared at him. She wasn?t sure whether he was staring back, considering his face was still covered by that cloth.
After what had seemed like hours, the High Minister began writing something on his desk. No one was in a position to see what he was writing except for the ministers beside him, and their faces did not give any hints as to what they saw. After he had finished writing, Komachi could once again feel his eyes on her.
?Ten days.?
Komachi noticed out of the corner of her eye the eyes of the Judges around the room simultaneously widen in surprise.
?If the residents of Gensokyo cannot resolve the issue within ten days, we shall carry out the destruction of the Great Hakurei Border as planned. Is this acceptable??
Komachi didn?t know how to respond. Ten days wasn?t much, but it was a lot more time than they would have had otherwise. When she didn?t immediately respond, Shiki began writing once more, and Komachi could tell she was writing a script for her to follow.
?A-ah, yes, thank you. I appreciate you?hearing?out?my?objection!? After that, she hastily sat down in her seat and futilely attempted to act inconspicuous. Futile, because everyone in the room was already staring at her.
?Very well. This Session of the High Court is now adjourned. I thank you all for coming here on such short notice.? The minister on the right hand side adjourned the meeting, and the three ministers together stepped down from their seats and exited out the back of the room. As soon as they had left, the room was filled with whispering, and Komachi couldn?t help but feel as if she was the topic of every conversation. Was it such a big deal? Well, whatever.
?I can?t believe you.? Shiki was leaning on the desk in front of her, shaking her head, possibly being the only person in the room who wasn?t staring at her. ?You are really something else, you know that??
?What? Was it such a big deal that someone that wasn?t a Judge spoke? Plus, he told me to, so there wasn?t much I could do anyways?? Komachi let out a yelp as Shiki bonked her on the head with the stick again.
?It?s not ?he,? it?s ?High Minister.? Don?t ever refer to him so casually again.? She was admonishing her, but she still sounded just as exhausted and disbelieving as before. ?The issue isn?t that you spoke. The issue was what your speaking did. Do you have any idea when the last time the High Court ever amended one of their decisions was??
?Uhh?hmm?? Komachi was at a loss. Try as she might, she actually couldn?t think of a single time. Granted, she wasn?t really that well versed in the ways of the High Court, so she figured if there had been amendments, they would have just been written into the original rules. It couldn?t have been that big of a deal, right?
?The answer is never. Not in the entire history of the High Court or the Ministry of Right and Wrong have they ever amended or repealed a decision they made, no matter what the objections.?
Suddenly, Komachi understood why everyone was staring at her and whispering. Apparently, she had just made history. She wasn?t sure how she felt about that. ?What I said wasn?t that amazing, was it? Shouldn?t that have been something they should have thought of themselves??
?That?s the point,? Shiki said, cleaning the text off her Rod of Remorse and standing up to leave. ?What you said claimed that the High Court had made a mistake, that there was a flaw in their investigation. What?s more, they accepted your argument and amended their decision. Do you have any idea how big of a deal that is??
Komachi similarly wiped her silver writing stick clean, and as she did so, a court attendant came and took it away from her. ?Well, uhh?hmm. I?m sorry?? Standing up and following Shiki as she walked, the two were the first of the Judges to leave the courtroom.
Walking down the long, silent corridor through which they had arrived, Shiki?s face returned to its composed, expressionless look. ?Anyways, you?ve bought Gensokyo ten more days. If nothing else, that?s an accomplishment.?
?Do you think that?ll be enough?? Shiki looked at her out of the corner of her eye as she asked the question, sighing before responding.
?I have no idea. However, there isn?t really an option. You are going to have to solve it before then. The World of the Living can?t afford losing Gensokyo.?
Komachi nodded, a grim expression on her face. The High Court understood the implications of destroying Gensokyo, but the fact that they were willing to do it anyways showed just how serious this situation was. Even so, those consequences must be avoided at all costs.
Hey, wait a minute?
?Did you just say, ?you???
?Yes. Is that a problem??
?You expect me to deal with this?! Reimu and Marisa together couldn?t beat that monster, how am I supposed to do it?!?
?I don?t mean you by yourself, obviously. You and all of Gensokyo.?
?Even so?? Komachi whimpered as she spoke. Sure, she didn?t want to see Gensokyo get destroyed, but that didn?t mean she felt particularly safe defending it herself. ?But why ?you?? Why not, ?we???
Shiki grimaced at that. ?I?screwed up. The High Court heard me suggest that I could go to Gensokyo and end it myself, so they are going to be keeping an eye on me. And it?s not just that I?d get punished if I go now, or they?ll give me a slap on the wrist for intervening when the High Court said they weren?t going to?they are going to actively stop me from going. As soon as we leave here, you can expect that I?ll receive a message saying I am urgently needed somewhere for the next ten days??
Komachi sighed. ?If they aren?t going to let you go, wouldn?t that mean that I?d get punished for going as well??
?Oh? Why would they punish you for whatever you decide to do on your vacation??
?Vacation? What are you?? Komachi?s voice trailed off as she saw the sly look in Shiki?s eyes once again.
?Congratulations, Shinigami Onozuka. I hereby grant you the vacation you have been so desperately pleading for over the past two hundred years.?
?You can?t be serious. Really? You really think this is going to make things okay?!?
Seemingly ignoring Komachi?s protests, Shiki continued. ?You have exactly ten days off, starting now. I suggest you use your time off wisely, as I can?t guarantee when the next time you have a vacation will be.? Shiki smiled cheerfully to the Shinigami as she passed down her sentence.
Komachi whimpered pitifully. Shiki hadn?t exaggerated. She had actually been asking for a vacation for the past two centuries, and now that she was finally getting it, she was going to have to spend the entire thing saving Gensokyo.
Oh, the woes of being a Shinigami.
I've pretty much hit my target as far as amount written vs amount posted, so unfortunately chapters are only going to get posted as I finish writing new ones from now on, meaning probably about 1~2 weeks between updates instead of the 2~3 days I had going at the start.
Thanks for reading, and since I probably haven't said it before, I really appreciate your comments. Even a small little blurb is very encouraging, so thanks for your support :)
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Man, I think this is the first time in ever that I've seen a depiction of the members of the Ten Kings (in Touhou, at least), and it was great. I'm really interested in where this is going now, can't wait for the next chapter!
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I liked the touch with the Rods being the little wipeboards for the members of the council to communicate with without having to speak, that was clever.
C'mon, Komachi! You can do it on your days off!
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I apologize for the almost two month delay to all you folks who were looking forward to the next chapter. I could give you excuses, but that won't make this update come any quicker, so I'll spare you the trouble of reading them.
Anyways, here is Chapter 9. I intend to post a lot more frequently than two month intervals, so look forward to the next chapter!
Chapter 9 ? Limit
Reimu sat uncomfortably on the steps at the front of the Hakurei Shrine. She had returned only a few hours or so before, and was now watching the chaos unfolding before her with a steady uneasiness.
Kanako and Sanae had returned to the Shrine with her, and were now attempting to organize everyone into something relatively cohesive. As Yukari had mentioned earlier, both Marisa and Youmu had been successful with their attempts to recruit others, so the majority of the residents of the Scarlet Devil Mansion and Eientei were also here.
There was a small conflict as to who was the ?leader? of the group, but after Reimu voiced her support of Kanako, the others grudgingly accepted her. Now, she was attempting to organize the others, find out strengths and weaknesses, and develop a strategy with what little information of their opponent that they knew. Naturally, Eirin was working with her in that regard, and it seemed as if things were taking shape quite nicely.
What bothered Reimu wasn?t what she was seeing, however. It was more what she wasn?t seeing. Specifically, the people she had expected to see here, but weren?t.
Firstly, the Scarlet Devil Mansion?s gate guard was conspicuously absent. Marisa had said she had brought ?everyone who was capable,? but apparently that hadn?t included Meiling. More worrying, however, was the fact that Flandre was also absent. She had heard that the stranger had visited the Scarlet Devil Mansion, but she hadn?t been given the specifics. This, of course, caused her to worry. When pressed, they simply said that everything was going to be fine, so there wasn?t much more she could do.
As far as the Eientei crew, everyone was present except for Tewi. That was more or less understandable. Though Reimu would have appreciated the good luck the little rabbit tended to bring along with her.
What worried her by far the most was the lack of Suwako?s presence. Kanako and Sanae had remained tight lipped about what she was doing or where she was. They had assured Reimu that she would join them in due time, but their refusal to elaborate had her worried. She had managed to slowly piece together that they had come into contact with the stranger as well, but she couldn?t get any more details than that.
As Reimu sat and worried over these technicalities, Marisa touched down beside her.
?Yo.?
?Welcome back. How did it go??
?Eh, about as well as could be expected. They should be safe for now.?
Reimu nodded absentmindedly to Marisa?s report. It was more or less what she expected. The two of them had been worried about the safety of the human village, so she had sent Marisa off to issue them a warning. They had hoped Keine was still in the village, since she had taken such drastic measures to protect the village during the Endless Night incident, and it seems that she was. The plan was simply to warn her, so that the human village would be at least slightly safer should something go wrong, or should the stranger try and seek it out for whatever reason before she could be dealt with.
Of course, neither of them expected Keine would stand a chance against the stranger alone. But, her ability was an awfully strange one, and that strangeness might give her enough of an edge to avoid a direct confrontation.
?Oh, and I noticed something else on my way back, too. There was an awfully large group of Kappa making their way to the Shrine it seems.?
?Ah, so they?re almost here? Perfect.?
?You managed to get the Kappa on your side too? You were working unexpectedly hard.?
?Eh, it was a convenient coincidence. Anyways, they might have something that will give us an edge, so we?re going to work together with them.?
Marisa hummed thoughtfully as she gazed out over the Shrine grounds. Kappa technology was pretty incredible, but in most cases it was easier just to use magic. That being said, any help was good help, so she wasn?t going to complain.
Marisa blinked. For some reason, she thought she saw someone who definitely shouldn?t be there. ?Hey, Reimu?is that???
Reimu had apparently already noticed, judging by the suspicious look on her face. Standing in the middle of the Shrine grounds, speaking with Sanae and Remilia, was none other than the Shinigami who had visited them shortly before their encounter with the stranger. It didn?t take long to realize that she was just chatting with them, and nothing productive was being accomplished.
Without a word, Reimu stood up and approached her. Marisa followed, more out of curiosity than anything else.
?Oh, if it isn?t Reimu! Wouldn?t you know it, we were just talking about you!? Komachi, seemingly full of energy, pulled Reimu into her already occurring conversation.
?I bet you were. Now, why are you here??
?I promised I?d come and give you guys an update if I learned anything new, didn?t I?? Despite Komachi?s cheerful and relaxed disposition, everything around them seemed to stop as she spoke those words. Komachi may have been famous for being lazy, but everyone knew her job, and that her job put her in a fairly influential position. That means, she was in one of the best positions of any of them to learn more about the situation at hand.
Komachi looked around nonchalantly, noticing that all of the conversations around her had stopped. With all eyes now on her, it seemed she was having difficulty maintaining her cheerful expression, giving a nervous laugh as she scratched her head.
?Wow, I didn?t think THAT was going to be the attention grabber.?
?Oh? And what was it supposed to be?? Reimu replied in a flat voice. Though she was grateful for any help, the kind of help that liked to laze around and make jokes all day wasn?t particularly what she had had in mind, so she had mixed feelings about Komachi being here at all.
?It was supposed to be, ?I come bearing a message from the Enma and the High Court of Hell!?? Komachi announced over dramatically, winking at Reimu as she spoke. At that, the pause that had taken over turned into a dead stop, and everyone at the Shrine began crowding around to listen. This, of course, only served to make Komachi more uneasy, and it clearly showed on her face.
When she didn?t continue, everyone around her started urging her on.
?Alright, alright! Relax, relax, I?ll tell you.? Komachi?s uneasy expression had gotten more and more tense, and as she coughed to clear her throat, it turned downright somber. ?I was sent here by the Enma for two purposes. One was to help you out against the intruder in Gensokyo. Two?was to tell you the decision the High Court made with regards to this case.?
A few people could be heard sighing in relief. Those who had encountered the stranger knew how dangerous a situation they were in. If Komachi had been sent to help them, that meant the Enma was on their side. That much help could make all the difference.
However, the others thought in a very different way. Despite the Enma being on their side, Komachi had a message to tell them. And if the normally happy-go-lucky Komachi was making such a somber face, it meant that whatever it was definitely couldn?t be good.
?Well, I?ll give you the good news first. The High Court decided that, considering the situation, even if no new souls are crossing the Sanzu, they are going to allow reincarnation to continue as normal.?
At that, Reimu, Marisa, and Youmu all sighed in relief. That had been the worst possible outcome they had predicted, so the fact that it had been avoided was a fairly large victory in and of itself. However, their relief was tempered by anxiety. If they heard the ?good news? first, that meant there must be some kind of bad news. And bad news was something they really didn?t have much tolerance for at the moment.
?The bad news?well?how do I put it?? The crowd watched anxiously as Komachi struggled to put her thoughts into words. ?I suppose it would make more sense for me to explain the process, so let?s do that. The High Court investigated this incident and has determined not necessarily the stranger?s goal, but at least what she?s doing now.?
A few eyes of the more tactically minded around the circle could be seen widening. One of their biggest issues was that they had no idea what the objective of the stranger was, so they had no way to plan for and protect against it. If they could just be straight up told what her objective was, things would suddenly turn a lot easier for them.
?So, the big black tower that she?s building is made of the Souls of the Dead, right? Well, it?s designed as a weapon. A really big, powerful weapon. In fact, it?s a weapon that is designed for the attacking of other worlds, like Hell, Makai, or the Moon. I suppose it could even attack the Netherworld, but now that it?s empty, I find it unlikely that that?s in the plan.?
Komachi?s announcement was met by grim faces. This was more less what they had been expecting. Not necessarily that it was a weapon, or that it would be some way to attack other worlds, but the magnitude of the issue is more or less along the lines of what their predictions had been.
On the one hand, that meant that the weapon couldn?t really be used to attack Gensokyo. On the other hand, that would implicate Gensokyo in any attack on another world, meaning it would likely be completely annihilated in the backlash. No one was particularly fond of that idea.
?That?s all well and good, but does it really matter?? Marisa was the first to speak up in response. ?I mean, we?re just going to beat her and take it apart anyways, so who cares what it actually does, right??
?That assumes we can win before she uses it. We have no idea how long it will take her to finish building it, so for all we know it could already be too late.? Sakuya responded calmly to Marisa?s question. It seemed she was expressing the generally held opinion, but Komachi seemed to disagree.
?I?m not gonna lie, I?m with the Witch on this one. Though she might have a big and fancy weapon, it still needs fuel. And while Gensokyo is a pretty good place to get magical energy to fuel it, it?ll still take her weeks, if not months, to get the magic energy she?ll need.?
A sigh of relief passed through the crowd, conspicuously skipping Marisa who was nodding her head with a very know-it-all expression.
?However?we have a much more pressing time limit than that?? Komachi?s quiet addendum to her previous statement caused the tension in the group to rise once more. As they watched on anxiously, Komachi cleared her throat once more before giving her final piece of news.
?The High Court has decided that the threat posed by the weapon is too great to be ignored. As such, as a preventative measure, in order to rob the weapon of its fuel source, Gensokyo will be destroyed if the weapon has not been dismantled within the next nine days.?
The silence that followed was deafening. Everyone had known there was going to be a time limit, they had just expected that it was going to be imposed by the stranger. They figured they wouldn?t know what that limit was, but as long as they beat the stranger fast enough, it should be okay. Especially since they now had heard it could potentially take months for the stranger to even become a threat, they had already begun relaxing into an attitude that dictated careful, long term planning over hotheaded action.
Now, however, they had an external threat. The High Court of Hell itself was gunning to destroy Gensokyo. Not only that, but they were planning to do so as a stop-gap measure, not even as an actual solution to the problem. Surely they knew that removing the fuel source of the weapon was only a temporary solution, right?
While they weren?t exactly taking their time, they weren?t in a rush to confront the stranger. No one knew exactly how strong she was, so they wanted to make sure they had every possible edge, had made every possible preparation before confronting her. Now, they had a concrete limit that spelled far more than just losing a fight.
?Don?t tell me this is actually a problem for you??
Everyone turned at the unexpected voice coming from behind the crowd. Sitting on the edge of one of her trademark gaps to nowhere was none other than Yukari Yakumo, parasol resting gently on her shoulder.
?Of course it?s a problem!? Reimu was nearly shouting. ?Did you hear a word she just said?!?
Yukari?s face remained passive. ?Oh, so you were just planning on letting this stranger have her way with Yuyuko and the spirits of the dead for a few months before dealing with her??
At that, Reimu found herself speechless. Looking around, she saw similarly surprised, and in a few cases slightly embarrassed faces from those around her. Of particular note were Youmu and Marisa, neither of which seemed like this was a new idea to them. Though she suspected that was for entirely different reasons.
?Oh my, don?t tell me you forgot about the whole reason we confronted her in the first place??
Reimu almost responded with a retort calling Yukari out for not being there to help them when they actually did confront the stranger, but decided against it. She had lost Ran to this stranger, and provoking Yukari to cover her own embarrassment wouldn?t get her anywhere.
Naturally, she was right. They had all relaxed a little when hearing the stranger?s goal wouldn?t be complete for an extended period of time. They had relaxed, because they forgot there were still lives hanging in the balance. In all the confusion and fear of what possible evil this intruder could be propagating, they had forgotten that not only Yuyuko, but also Ran were still at the stranger?s mercy.
Of course, they couldn?t afford to act rashly. But they also couldn?t afford to take their time. They had no idea whether they were too late to save them, but that is exactly why every second counted.
?Nine days. It will take four days to get to the Palace of the Earth Spirits and back. In that time, someone can easily visit the Myouren Temple. That gives you another four days to prepare, leaving one day as a margin of error. Considering everything that?s going on, you have all the time in the world.?
?Really? Can we really afford to wait that long before making our move? You just said-?
?Don?t be stupid Reimu,? Yukari sighed. ?You don?t have any time to spare, but that doesn?t mean you can afford to be crazy. You know you?ll need all the help you can get. There is no reason to change the plan now.?
Silence returned to the crowd. Everyone had been watching Reimu and Yukari?s short conversation, but now that it was over, no one was willing to speak up.
Reimu finally broke the silence with a sigh. ?Alright, alright. You?re right, I was getting ahead of myself. We?ve almost finished here, all we have to do is get the last few people to join us and we?ll be ready to go. We should probably get started right away.?
At that, the crowd began to murmur amongst themselves once again. Agreeing that they had no time left to waste, they went back to making their preparations for the coming battle.
After a few minutes of scattered questions and dispersing groups, all that remained were Reimu, Yukari, Marisa, Youmu, and Komachi.
?I guess I should say,? Reimu started turning to Komachi, ?Thanks for coming by to help. The news you brought may not have been fantastic, but I?m glad for any help we get.?
Komachi smiled awkwardly. ?Don?t worry about it. This is just?my job?after all.? For some reason her voice sounded strangely tense while she said that. Before she could ask why, Yukari interrupted.
?There are two places left to visit. There is no one else here in particular that is better suited to visit them than you three, but it won?t take three of you to visit two places. Which of you is going to go??
?I?m tempted to volunteer so that Reimu can stay behind, but?? Youmu spoke up quietly in response to Yukari?s question. ?I?ve never been to the Palace of the Earth Spirits or to the Myouren Temple. I somewhat doubt I?d be a very compelling recruiter.?
?That?s alright, we have a lot of bossy people here. We don?t need me to keep an eye on things,? Reimu said with only a hint of bitterness in her voice. ?You?re on pretty good terms with Hijiri, right Marisa??
Marisa looked thoughtful for a second. ?Yeah, I suppose you could say that. I?ve also got another place I?d like to visit that?s between here and there, so that seems like the best bet for me.?
?Alright, I?ll head to the Palace of the Earth Spirits then.?
?Apparently Kanako and Eirin want to talk to me about something,? Komachi spoke up, ?but if you don?t mind waiting until morning I can give you a bit of a boost on your way to the Underground. I can?t get you inside, but I can at least get you to the entrance.?
?Sounds good. Until morning, then.? With that, Reimu headed inside of the shrine, and Youmu and Komachi took off to talk to Kanako and Eirin, who were still hard at work trying to organize something out of the mess of people that had arrived at the shrine.
The only two remaining were Marisa and Yukari, standing in the middle of the shrine grounds. Turning to watch the sun that had almost completely sunk below the horizon, Marisa started talking again.
?I know this might sound like a silly question, but how are things??
Yukari regarded Marisa with a blank stare, and a few moments passed before she responded. ?They?ve been better. Komachi?s news means most of my preparations have been in vain, but at least now I know what to prepare against. I might even be able to work something up to stall the Judges from destroying the Hakurei Border if time runs a little short.?
After a few moments of silence, Marisa spoke again. ?And you??
Yukari laughed quietly. ?Are you telling me the Marisa Kirisame is worried about little old me?? Marisa responded by giving Yukari a wry smile, but otherwise said nothing.
?Thank you for your concern, but I?m fine. I?ve been working too hard over the past few days to recover much of my strength, but other than that, there are no problems. Ran?I still haven?t found a single clue about her whereabouts. Chen has run off somewhere too, but I suspect that she is looking for Ran as well.?
Marisa turned back to the sunset, and with as straight a face as she could possibly manage, spoke one last time. ?Well, okay. As long as you don?t drag us down.?
?Ha, not in your lifetime, kid.? Yukari?s face broke into a smile as she spoke. As she did so, both of them saw the familiar face of a certain Kappa and her retinue reach the top of the shrine steps. ?I have some things to take care of. Would you be so kind as to greet our guests??
Without waiting for a reply, Yukari vanished back into her gap. Resting her broom on her shoulder like a parasol, Marisa casually strolled her way over to meet the new arrivals.
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Well done! I'm liking this fic so far!
This is how you make a villain OC, folks.
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I feel like my transitions are really weak, especially in this chapter. I'm not particularly sure how to improve on them, but if you guys have any tips, please feel free to share!
Here's the next chapter. Hope you enjoy!
Chapter 9.5 ? The Rising Sun
Orin strode purposefully through the corridors of the Palace of the Earth Spirits. She spent most of her time in the Hell of Blazing Fires with Utsuho, trucking corpses around and dealing with the evil spirits that resided there, but it wasn?t uncommon for her to walk around the Palace itself on her breaks.
What was uncommon was for her to be the only one walking through the Palace on her breaks.
While it was odd, it provoked more of a sense of curiosity in her than worry. Lady Satori had a lot of pets, so the fact that none of them were around meant they must have gathered somewhere else. To be completely honest, Orin was heading to that same place right now.
Though, while on the topic of being honest, she didn?t entirely know where that was. She was one of the more senior workers in the Hell of Blazing Fires, so if anyone knew how to deal with the rumors that circulated among the Kasha and the Hell Crows, it was her.
For instance, the speed with which the rumor that the Palace had a new visitor grew and spread meant it was probably true. The kind of speed it took off with meant a few of the pets had probably seen the visitor themselves. For that reason, Orin was searching to see if she could find the visitor herself.
However, the rumors as to where the visitor was were much less believable. Most people she asked had no idea. Everyone else had given her a different answer. She?s drinking tea with Lady Satori! She?s in the Hell of Blazing Fires! She came to help us deal with the evil spirits! She came to wipe out the Palace of the Earth Spirits and build a castle on it! And so on.
Obviously she wasn?t going to learn anything valuable from the other pets, so she was going to have to go find out herself. It would be a lie to say she wasn?t buying into the excitement though. It wasn?t every day that the Palace of the Earth Spirits got a visitor from above ground, so she couldn?t help but want to take a peak herself. Technically speaking, she had no evidence that the visitor was actually from the surface, but the fact that they had caused such a stir meant it was unlikely they just came from the Underground City.
At least that?s what she told herself. It made things more exciting that way.
The fact that she was alone walking through the corridors was starting to bother her though. Normally, the arrival of a visitor would have prompted everyone in the Palace to be searching for them like she was. The fact that she was the only one that seemed to still be searching meant that it was most likely everyone else had already found them, and she was the last one.
Feeling this, she picked up the pace.
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Satori stood uncomfortably across from her visitor. It wasn?t every day that the Palace of the Earth Spirits got visitors, but it had started happening more and more often as of late. Most of the time, they were coming to see her pets however. That didn?t necessarily bother her, but for some reason this time it did.
?Miss Komeiji, I presume?? The visitor finally spoke. She had been slow in responding to Satori?s greeting, which had for some reason put her on edge, but now that she was talking it helped to ease her mind a bit.
?Yes, though you may call me Satori.?
?Ah, that?s right. We wouldn?t want to confuse you with your sister now, would we??
Satori raised an eyebrow at that. She supposed it wasn?t particularly strange that the stranger knew her name. After all, whether she liked it or not, she was pretty famous ? maybe infamous was a better word ? around the Underground. It wouldn?t take too long to figure out her name, even if you weren?t specifically trying to figure it out.
The fact that she knew about Koishi however was a different story. She spent almost no time in the Underground, and while those at the Palace of the Earth Spirits knew her, she couldn?t say the same about the others in the Underground. That must mean this person had some connections to her pets?or had met Koishi personally.
?Oh? Not many people know of my sister. May I ask how you are acquainted?? So she might as well ask. There was no reason not to, and it did make for good conversation.
?Oh, you know. Word of mouth.? The stranger responded with a gentle smile. She didn?t sound like she was lying, or trying to hide anything but?
Prison? Satori, of course, wasn?t so much interested in her response as her thoughts. Being able to read minds wasn?t an omnipotent power, after all she could only read their thoughts of what they were thinking at that exact moment. However, when asked a question, most people tended to think about the answer, so even if they weren?t willing to be honest with you, you could always read their mind to find out what you really wanted anyways.
The answer she had gotten was not what she had expected, however. The thoughts were hazy and incomplete with this person. She managed to see something about watching, the shrine up on the mountain, and a prison of some sort. Unfortunately, with such disjointed thoughts, she couldn?t really come up with a strong conclusion.
?Is something the matter?? This time it was the stranger?s turn to be bothered by an extended silence. Satori hadn?t dealt with someone whose thoughts were in such disarray in a long time, so she had been taken aback, and had forgotten to respond.
?Oh, no, my apologies. I?ve got a lot on my mind, so I was just distracted.? Satori, being able to read minds, had grown quite distasteful of lying in general. That didn?t mean she wasn?t willing to hide things from people though.
?You?ve come all the way here, is there anything I can do for you??
?Actually, I?ve come to meet with a few of the residents here. One of which is your sister. Might you be able to point me in her direction??
??I?m sorry, she doesn?t spend much time here anymore. She is likely off wandering somewhere on the surface right now.? Satori?s confusion was beginning to grow into apprehension. It was rare enough that someone even knew her sister existed, but now this person wanted to meet her?
As if to match Satori?s apprehension, the stranger?s smile disappeared upon hearing this. She didn?t look angry?per se, but she definitely wasn?t pleased.
?Well, it seems like you aren?t lying, so there is no need to get angry at you. It?s hardly your fault if your sister runs away from home.?
Satori raised an eyebrow once again at that.
?I apologize if you?ve come all this way for nothing, but may I at least ask what business you have with my sister? She doesn?t get very many visitors.?
?Ah, don?t worry. She is not the only one I came to see. I just wished to talk to her for a little bit is all.?
Satori?s apprehension exploded into full alarm. Most people when they spoke had their thoughts echo their speech. When they lied, these two streams would contradict each other. The disjointed, unconnected nature of this person?s thoughts meant that it was very different listening to her speak and reading her thoughts.
Hearing her speak, her mind told a very different story. Koishi Komeiji. Utsuho Reiuji. Recruiment.
?Recruit? For what?? Satori spoke under her breath, almost unconsciously. She hadn?t intended for the stranger to hear her, but as she spoke, the stranger?s face dropped quickly into what was very much an angry expression.
?You?that?s your power. You can actually read my mind??
?Oh, I?m sorry, did you not know? Most stories about me involve that, so I figured if you knew my name you must have heard those stories as well.? Satori spoke with a practiced calm, but her internal tension was building rapidly. Most people who discovered she could read minds responded with fear, or possibly would run away.
The only thing she got from this person was anger.
?I?m going to have to ask you to never do that again. I can?t be held responsible for what happens to you if you do.? The stranger spoke, barely able to contain the anger in her voice. It seemed she was a very private person, considering how her thoughts echoed of things she must keep hidden. She wasn?t thinking of anything specific though, whether out of an impressive self-control of her own thoughts or just a side effect of the strangeness of the way she thought.
??if it were that easy, people wouldn?t hate me so much,? Satori said, expressionless. ?I?m sorry, but it?s not something I can ?turn off.? If you don?t want me hearing your thoughts, I suggest you don?t spend much time in my company.?
The stranger seemed to calm down after hearing that. Satori was on the verge of letting down her guard when she spoke again.
?I suppose I can?t blame you then. Oh well, I will just have to eliminate you as an unfortunate obstacle rather than an intentional one.?
Satori leapt backwards, startled. A split second after she did so, the ground beneath where she had been standing erupted violently, throwing chunks of floor and stone up into the air. Shortly afterwards, she ducked, narrowly dodging a chunk of rock that had propelled itself towards her, and a leap into the air dodged another two.
When attempting to dodge attacks, being able to read your opponent?s mind was a pretty helpful advantage.
Before either Satori or the stranger could react any further, the room was filled with countless screams. Out of the corners of the room, from just behind the doors, and hidden up in the ceiling, countless shadows leapt towards the stranger, screaming with rage.
From every conceivable hiding space, dozens of animals that had come to live at the Palace of the Earth Spirits as Satori?s pets leapt at the stranger. However, Satori had eyes only for the intruder ? who was standing still, smiling coldly.
Before she could shout at her pets to stop, the stranger raised both of her hands into the air above her head. As she did so, pieces of floor and the stone that lay under it tore from their resting places and flew upwards. Chunks of rock ranging in size from a small fist to a large person?s head flew violently into the air, spinning wildly, spiraling in towards the stranger. As they did so, over half of the pets that had lunged at the stranger were struck by the seemingly random array of rocks and stones, and were sent tumbling to the floor.
?Stop it! Stay away from her!? Satori yelled, trying her best not to make her command into a scream. Though the remaining animals stopped approaching the stranger, they didn?t back down.
?Get away from here, it?s too dangerous!? Satori?s mind raced. The stranger?s mind was too fragmented and convoluted to make out what she was planning, but as she tried to decipher her thoughts, she was overwhelmed by the voices of her pets.
We won?t let you touch her!
Get away from here!
We?ll make you pay!
No one threatens our master!
At any other time, Satori might have felt touched by this display of loyalty, but now it was only causing her to panic. There was no way any of them could stand up to this person, they were only going to get themselves killed.
The stranger stood unmoving, the rocks that had been floating in the air now gathered around her, orbiting her slowly. She wore an amused expression as she watched Satori?s pets stare her down.
?Get away from here, you can?t take her!? Satori shouted again, begging them to back away, but it had no effect. Instead, she could do nothing but watch as they pounced at the stranger once more.
The stranger?s smile widened as she watched the approaching animals. As she clapped her hands in front of her, the chunks of rock orbiting her closed in, forming a protective sphere. The eight remaining pets that hadn?t been blown away by the last attack collided violently into the rock shield and nimbly leapt away.
As they prepared themselves for another attack, the rock shield broke apart, the pieces floating in the air around the stranger once more. Before any of them could move, the stranger pointed towards them, still smiling. The rocks hovering around her hurled themselves forward, taking the various animals by surprise. Without being able to dodge, all of them were blown away.
It had only taken seconds. Pieces of rock lay scattered across the floor, almost matching in number the bodies of Satori?s pets. In only seconds, Satori once more faced the stranger alone.
?My my, that was fun. I needed a bit of stress relief after having to deal with that frog goddess?? the stranger mumbled to herself, a satisfied expression on her face.
Satori was speechless. Her precious friends had all been mowed down in front of her like nothing. They had all risked their lives to protect her, and before she could even act, every single one of them was blown away.
?Well then, shall we get back to the matter at hand?? The stranger calmly called out to Satori, carefully picking her way through the chunks of stone and the bodies of Satori?s pets as she approached her.
Satori had been worried before. She was worried from the moment she first met this person. She was downright scared when her pets had attacked, knowing they didn?t stand a chance.
But now, tears welling up in her eyes, she felt none of that. All she felt was an anger she didn?t know she was capable of.
Chunks of rock and stone appeared out of thin air, floating slowly around Satori. Staring the stranger in the eye, she tried to speak, but had no words. Her precious friends had all been hurt because of this intruder. Not only did she not care that she hurt them, she enjoyed it. She couldn?t even find a way to give words to the rage boiling up inside of her.
?Oh, I?m sorry, were those friends of yours? My, how insensitive of me.? The stranger continued to speak, her tone just as mocking and condescending as before. Satori could hear her knuckles cracking as she clenched her hands into fists.
This stranger would never see the light of day again. She would make sure of it.
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Orin continued to walk at a brisk pace through the hallways of the Palace of the Earth Spirits. She had checked almost everywhere for the visitor except for two places: the main reception hall, and the Hell of Blazing Fires out back.
It was called the main reception hall, but the fact that there were three of them meant it was not as obvious a place to look as it would first seem. She had in fact checked the other two already, so she was almost certain that this is where the visitor would be.
As she thought about it further, she supposed they could be in the throne room. The Palace of the Earth Spirits had a throne room of sorts, but it was almost never used. In fact, the last time Orin could remember it being opened at all was so they could use it for a game of hide and seek that she had stumbled in upon by accident. So while it was quite unlikely that they were there, she tacked it on to her list of places to search.
Opening the door to the main reception hall, Orin froze.
Her face paled as she looked over the scene in front of her. The floor had been torn to pieces. Chunks of stone and rock were scattered around, and little of the original floor remained intact. Lying interspersed between the chunks stone and rock were dozens of bodies of the residents of the Palace of the Earth Spirits. Many of them were bleeding profusely. None of them were moving.
Standing petrified, Orin could do little but gaze out over the room, hoping desperately to see at least one of them stand up, or roll over, or something. Instead, what she found was something much worse.
Panicking, she literally flew across the room as fast as she possibly could, landing violently beside the body of a small, pink haired youkai. Her clothes were torn, she was bleeding from everywhere, and half of her body was buried in chunks of stone. Without even stopping to think, Orin began throwing chunks of rock off of her, trying to liberate the injured youkai.
?Lady Satori! Lady Satori! Please, answer me!? Working feverishly, Orin began screaming. There was no way this could be happening. Lady Satori couldn?t be dead. She just couldn?t. It wasn?t allowed. She wouldn?t allow it.
She almost fainted with relief when Satori began coughing weakly.
?Don?t worry, Lady Satori! Just stay there, I?ll get you out of here in no time!? Her resolve renewed seeing that Satori was still with her, Orin called on a number of the vengeful spirits that were floating around the vicinity and had them help her clear the rubble away. Within moments, Satori was completely free of the rubble, and Orin had her propped up against a nearby wall.
She was still bleeding badly, and one of her arms and both her legs had been completely crushed. Orin wasted no time getting her bandaged up. By the time she had used up the scraps of ruined clothing that were lying around, the spirits she had called had brought her some actual bandages, so she was able to continue the task without difficulty. None of the injuries seemed to be permanent, but she would no doubt take a long time to recover. The only thing she had to do now was make sure she didn?t bleed out before she could recover.
??Orin?please?go?? Satori finally managed to speak weakly, but Orin shook her head firmly as she continued bandaging her up.
?Don?t worry, Lady Satori. Whoever did this isn?t here anymore, we?re safe now. You?re going to be okay, we just need to get you patched up a bit to stop the bleeding.?
Satori grabbed Orin?s shoulder, stopping her from working further. ??Orin?she is still?here??
?Even if she is, I need to make sure you are okay!?
?It?s okay?I can?handle it from here. I need you?to go?? Satori?s weak voice was cut off by an equally weak coughing fit. Taking a deep breath, she continued. ?Everyone here?is still alive. We?ll be okay. But I need you?to go??
Orin finally relented. In a room, surrounded by the injured and dying, Satori was telling her she had something more important that needed to be done. Reluctantly, she sat back and asked her, ?Okay, Lady Satori. Where do you need me to go??
Satori smiled weakly at Orin before her face turned grim once again. ?Go?after her. She?s after Okuu?stop?her??
?Don?t worry, I?ll stop her no matter what!? Making sure one last time that Satori?s life wasn?t in immediate danger, Orin stood and took off running down the hall towards the Hell of Blazing Fires.
Okuu was tough. She wouldn?t go down easy, so if she hurried, she would most likely be able to make it in time. With grim determination, Orin tore through the halls of the Palace of the Earth spirits as fast as physically possible.
?Hold on, Okuu?hold on!?
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Minutes later, Orin was in the Hell of Blazing Fires.
To most, the temperature here would be unbearable under normal circumstances. To her, who worked here daily, it wasn?t much. Now, however, the whole place was uncharacteristically dark. It was as if someone had turned the heat setting to ?low.? It reminded her of the time before Okuu had been given her powers by that goddess from the surface?
Orin shook her head violently as she pressed forwards. She couldn?t help fearing the worst, but she was well aware that doing so was futile. If something had gone wrong, she?d just have to deal with it when she got there. Besides, Okuu wasn?t so weak as to be beaten by just anyone.
Even as she thought this, she couldn?t help but feel anxious at the fact that the Hell of Blazing Fires was so much darker than it should have been. And so, her thoughts followed this cycle over and over, until eventually she caught sight of something familiar: a gout of intense flame.
Orin rushed at top speed to the source of the flame. If they were still fighting, then she had made it in time. Hope started to well up in her chest, as well as something else: as the image of Satori, broken and bleeding, flashed through her mind incessantly, her desire for revenge was beginning to mount.
As she crested a ridge and her target came in sight, she stopped dead. Standing nonchalantly in front of her was a strange woman in a black dress, and beside her was Okuu?smiling and chatting happily.
Orin was in shock. They were supposed to be fighting. Okuu was supposed to be in danger. So why?why did it look like?they were friends?
Okuu turned to look at her, greeting her with a big wave and a bright smile. ?Hey, it?s Orin! Glad to see you?re still okay!?
After a few moments of stunned silence, Orin responded to Okuu?s greeting with a scream. ?Okuu, get away from her! She?s dangerous!?
Okuu?s gave a perplexed expression. ?Huh? Why would she be dangerous? It?s not like she?s going to hurt us or anything.?
Of course, she must not know anything about what happened in the Palace. No wonder she isn?t worried.
?Listen, Okuu. This person attacked everyone in the Palace. Everyone is in really bad shape?even Lady Satori. If you don?t get away from her-?
?Oh, don?t worry, I know about what happened in the Palace.?
Orin was stunned once again. ?A-and?you?re okay with that?!?
?Of course not. But that doesn?t mean you have to get all worked up about it.?
Orin couldn?t believe her ears. Was this really her friend she was talking to? Was this really Okuu? ?Lady Satori almost died! She can?t even move! Everyone else?I don?t even know if ANYONE else is alive! How can you possibly not be worked up about this?!?
Okuu?s expression, which still bore it?s cheerful smile, suddenly looked uncharacteristically cold. ??that?s just because they were weak, isn?t it??
??w-what??
?They were weak, so they lost. It?s nothing to be angry about.? Okuu?no, Utsuho began slowly walking towards Orin. ?Some people are just weak. They?ll always lose if they come up against someone strong. It?s just how it is, there?s no use getting worked up about it.?
??how could you be so?this is Lady Satori we?re talking about!? Orin?s voice was barely a whisper. This didn?t make sense. Why was she acting so strange? The Okuu she knew wasn?t this cold and heartless. She loved Satori more than anyone. So why?why was she acting so cruel?
Utsuho put what she supposed was supposed to be a reassuring hand on her shoulder. ?I know it?s not nice. I know it?s hard to take. But that?s why people like me are here. That?s why people like us are here. It?s up to strong people like us to protect the weak, isn?t it??
Utsuho gave a sad looking smile as she looked into Orin?s disbelieving eyes. ?I know, I know. It?s frustrating, right? It?s not an easy pill to swallow, but unfortunately that?s just the way things work. If you try and fight that, you?ll just get burned.?
??then why?aren?t you?protecting Lady Satori? Why are you talking happily with this monster?!?
?Lady Satori lost because she was weak. She lost to Lady Koishi all those years ago. She lost again to that Shrine Maiden from the surface. If I couldn?t beat them either, then how am I going to protect her from anyone else?? Utsuho let go of Orin?s shoulder and started walking back towards the stranger.
?Hoshimi promised to make me stronger. Sure, she beat up Lady Satori and all our friends, but that was just to teach me a lesson. To show me how much stronger I need to be. She promised me they were all still alive, so what difference does it make in the end? If she gives me the power I need to protect them, then they will never have to suffer like this again. Isn?t that worth getting beat up once or twice??
??why?why can?t you see she?s just using you? Why can?t you see she?s tricking you?!?
?Using me?? Utsuho turned around as she reached the stranger?s side, facing Orin once again. ?Of course she?s using me. And I?m using her too. That?s just how things work when you?re strong. If we both get what we want, isn?t that good enough??
?Not if that means you have to sacrifice Lady Satori and all our friends!?
Utsuho suddenly looked angry. ?Why don?t you get it, Orin?! She?s not dead! No one is! They?ll all be better in no time. And when they are, I?ll be strong enough to protect them from anything. I?ll be strong enough to protect everyone from anything.?
Orin stood in stunned silence, unable to bring a retort to Utsuho?s words. She knew she was wrong. Anyone who hurt Lady Satori had to be bad, and she had no doubts that whatever her plans were, they would end up hurting Utsuho as well. But nothing she said was getting through to her friend. They were within spitting distance, and yet she felt like there was no way she could get across to her.
?Time is up, Utsuho. We need to leave.? The stranger spoke up for the first time since Orin had arrived. As she snapped her fingers, the air twisted and distorted behind her, eventually forming into what looked like a hole in the air, with somewhere on the surface that Orin didn?t recognize clearly visible on the other side.
Before stepping into the portal, Utsuho turned to Orin one last time. ?I?m glad I got to see you before I headed off, Orin. Please take care of Lady Satori until I get back.? With that, she stepped into the portal and was gone.
The stranger made to step into the portal herself, but suddenly paused and turned to Orin as well. ?By the way, when the others come visiting, would you mind telling them that I?ve decided on the name Hoshimi? I worked quite hard to come up with it, so it would be a shame if they all died before learning of it.? With a smile and a wave, the stranger ? Hoshimi stepped into the portal, and it snapped shut behind her.
Orin couldn?t help but sink to her knees. Why? Why did these kinds of things keep happening to them? They had been happy here. They had always been happy here. Then that stupid goddess came and almost tore them all apart by messing with Okuu. They had barely managed to scrape through that one intact, but then this random stranger had come and had taken her away.
She wanted to scream, wanted to cry, wanted to roar in anger. Lady Satori was hurt. All of her friends in the Palace were possibly dying. Okuu had been taken away. And here she sat, unable to protect a single person. Unable to stop Okuu from being taken away, right before her eyes. She had never felt more helpless in her life.
Finally, she screamed. Her voice echoed throughout the Hell of Blazing Fires, but the only one who heard it was herself.
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Whew! What an exciting update! The stranger (now Hoshimi) is as strong as ever and she gets Okuu to her side like Mokou.
Oh, and Hoshimi probably comes from either "星見" which means "stargazer" or "星身" which means "star body".
Or maybe it doesn't actually mean anything and you just picked it up because it sounded cool. :D
If it is, just ignore this entry-level Japanese ramble of mine. :D
Anyway, keep up the good work! Definitely looking forward for more!
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Wow. Personally I would have killed Okuu right then and there if I was Orin.
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Every time I post and see that 14 day warning, I feel like I've lost at something :(
Oh, and Hoshimi probably comes from either "星見" which means "stargazer" or "星身" which means "star body".
That wasn't quite what I had in mind, but I actually really like those interpretations. The first possibility I had come up with was "星子" meaning something like "Seed of the Stars," which was kind of a play on an older prototype name I had come up with that you can probably guess by looking at it lol. A bit of investigation came up with another possibility, "星光," meaning something like "starlight." Both involve rather uncommon readings for the 'mi' Kanji though, so I didn't expect anyone to really figure it out. I really like the sound of stargazer though, I feel it fits really well with her backstory (that none of you know about...)
Anyways, after yet another monstrous delay, here is the next chapter. I had a lot of difficulty with the chapter I just finished writing...similar to the amount of difficulty I had with the one I'm posting, which is pretty ironic now that I think about it. Anyways, closing in on the end of the second arc! If there's anyone left reading this, I hope you're getting excited!
Chapter 10 – Pain of Separation
It had been a little over a day and half since Reimu had left the Hakurei Shrine for the Palace of the Earth Spirits. Komachi had made good on her word, and had managed to jump Reimu a good half a day ahead of schedule. Considering the jokes she had to suffer through on the way, it was almost worth it.
She had lost a lot of the time she gained in the Underground City, however. She had remembered previously being ‘greeted’ by a certain Oni the last time she had gone to the Palace of the Earth Spirits, and she made a point of attempting to find her again. After all, if their short altercation had been any indication, her strength was immense. She would definitely be an invaluable tool in liberating Yuyuko.
She had also made a point of reorganizing her priorities after the conversation she had had with Yukari two days earlier. Yukari’s point had really struck home with Reimu. Despite the entire purpose of their confrontation being to find and liberate Yuyuko, she had completely lost sight of that goal. Sure, she probably should have put Gensokyo before any one individual in the first place, but even so, forgetting something as vital as the fact there was a hostage that needed rescuing had frustrated Reimu to no end.
Fortunately, she had been travelling alone for most of the journey, and hadn’t encountered anyone during her travels, so she was able to cool off before she ended up taking her frustration out on someone else. Though now that she realized it, the fact she hadn’t encountered anyone else on the way to the Palace of the Earth Spirits was awfully strange…
The cave leading to the underground had been devoid of life. Not particularly surprising, as it was just a random cave. Youkai moved about all the time, and it was close enough to the surface that she suspected whatever had caused the surface Youkai to disappear for two weeks was probably being felt there as well.
She was much more surprised when she reached the bridge separating the caves from the Underground City. It hadn’t been that long ago that she crossed that bridge to get to the Palace of the Earth Spirits during what she liked to call the ‘hot springs incident,’ so she remembered quite clearly the girl who had been there, blocking her progress. This time, however, she was nowhere to be seen. It was pretty far from the surface, so it was unlikely she had suffered from the same sleepiness the surface youkai had, but otherwise her disappearance was a mystery.
She was more upset than surprised when she made her way through the Underground City without encountering anyone. The city didn’t feel particularly abandoned – probably a product of not many people living there in the first place – but still, she didn’t encounter a single person. Which was problematic, since she had been counting on asking that Oni to join them on her way. The fact that she was gone was beyond strange. There wasn’t really anywhere she could go, aside from the surface, which supposedly she had no interest in.
It was unfortunate, but Reimu knew she didn’t have the time to waste looking for her. She had already spent far too long wandering the city, hoping she would get ambushed like last time. However, no matter how carelessly she strolled around, not a single soul approached her. And so, reluctantly, she moved on.
She now stood outside the Palace of the Earth Spirits. There was something different about it this time, however. The first time she had visited, she just flew right in. This time, however, the massive double doors that denoted the entrance to the Palace were firmly shut.
“Well that’s…uh…great…” Reimu spoke quietly to herself as she sized up the door. It was pretty big. At least four times her height, and made out of a combination of stone and metal. She didn’t know how that worked, but she supposed that the question could wait.
Since knocking on a stone door would do little more than hurt her hands, Reimu tried to open the doors. Whether they were locked or just too heavy for her, they didn’t budge an inch.
“Hello? Anybody home?” Reimu shouted at the door. As she waited for a response, she continued trying the door, but there was no success on either front.
“This is kind of a life or death matter, so I would appreciate it if you would at least talk to me!” Reimu shouted again, trying her best not to sound angry. She suspected that it hadn’t worked, judging by the fact that the only response she got was the stony silence of the front door.
Sighing heavily, Reimu took a few steps back from the door and tried to cook up a way to get by it. The Palace of the Earth Spirits was a massive building, as one could see simply by looking at its front door, but the cavern that led to it was very narrow. Because of this, the rock walls of the cavern came up perfectly against the front wall of the Palace, meaning you could see little other than the door itself. As such, it was impossible to sneak around, or to try and find another entrance.
On top of that, for some reason, there were no windows on the front wall either. That meant sneaking or breaking in through a window wasn’t going to be possible either. Though to be honest, she didn’t particularly like the idea of sneaking in through a window anyways – she wasn’t Marisa, after all.
However, she still had a problem. The front wall was made of seamless stone, she couldn’t get around, and the door wouldn’t open. There were no other openings for her to enter through, and no one on the inside was responding – assuming they could hear her in the first place. Try as she might, the only thing she could think of doing was blowing the front door in. Not a particularly good way to ask someone for help.
She briefly considered the possibility of other tunnels leading to an alternate entrance to the Palace. She wasn’t an expert on the geography of the Underground, so the fact she didn’t know of any such entrances was little evidence against their existence. That being said, she did know that the Palace was on the boundary between the Underground City and the Hell of Blazing Fires. That meant there wouldn’t really be any caverns on the other side.
Even so, it was her only shot, so she supposed it couldn’t hurt to try. “I’m going to go try and find another entrance, so when I give up and come back, you better open this door!” Reimu shouted at the door one last time for good measure before turning to leave.
“If you’re on this side, this is the only entrance.” Reimu stopped midstride as she heard a voice come from behind her. Which was odd, since behind her now meant between her and the door. Turning around, she saw occupying the once empty space was a very familiar looking girl, facing towards the closed double doors. The girl turned from the doors to look at Reimu. “Would you happen to know why the doors are closed? My sister almost never closes the doors…”
“How would I know? And more importantly, where did you come from?” Reimu didn’t bother trying to hide her surprise at the new arrival, who she recognized as Satori’s younger sister.
“Hellooooo?! Anyone in there?!” Koishi shouted at the door in a manner very similar to how Reimu had been just moments before.
“I don’t think that’s going to help…” Reimu muttered under her breath as she watched Koishi poke at the door. Between her yelling and her poking at the door with her finger, she seemed to be making just as much progress as Reimu had.
“Anyways…would you happen to know any other way to get inside?” Reimu asked. Upon hearing this question, Koishi stopped what she was doing and turned back to Reimu, giving her a quizzical look.
“Why would you need another way inside? You’re already at the front door, you might as well go through it.”
“…I would love to, but the door is kind of closed at the moment.” Reimu had to fight the urge to snap back at Koishi for her answer.
“Why don’t you just open it?”
“Why don’t you just open it?”
“Okay!” With a big smile, Koishi turned back to the door. She took three steps back so she would be out of the way if the doors opened, and carefully adjusted her hat. She then cleared her throat and pointed at the door dramatically.
After a few moments of nothing happening, a small bullet of pale green light shot from Koishi’s outstretched finger and hit the door. Bouncing back, Koishi caught the small green orb with her other hand, and after a brief flash of the same pale green light, disappeared entirely.
Reimu once again stood alone and confused in front of the doors to the Palace of the Earth Spirits. Scratching her head, she walked up to the spot where Koishi was standing before she disappeared.
“I suddenly get the odd feeling…that none of this is going to be worth it.” After a brief few moments of steeling her resolve, Reimu adopted the same pose Koishi had taken. Creating a small bullet in front of her finger as Koishi had, after hesitating briefly, the fired the bullet at the door.
The bullet collided into the door and dissipated anticlimactically. Reimu stood holding the same pose, not impressed.
Before she had a chance to drop her finger that was still pointing at the door, the sound of stone grinding on stone filled the cave. Freezing, she watched in amazement as the giant double doors in front of her slowly began to open outwards.
“Did that…actually work?” As Reimu stood motionless, her astonishment quickly faded, being replaced by her previous lack of enthusiasm. With only a hint of embarrassment.
On the other side of the door, pushing them open with her bare hands, was none other than Koishi. Once she had opened the doors far enough to let a person through, she stopped and looked at Reimu curiously. “What are you doing?” she asked, without a hint of condescension.
Reimu quickly lowered her hand. “Nothing! Nothing, nothing!”
“Oh, okay.” With a confused expression, Koishi turned around and disappeared behind the now still doors. Shaking her head, Reimu quickly made her way into the Palace.
“Oh, by the way, thanks for opening…the…” Reimu’s voice trailed off as she got inside, realizing she was alone once again. Despite the rather large front hall, with very little to hide behind, Koishi was nowhere to be seen. Shaking her head once again, she continued on into the inner Palace.
Everything looked more or less normal, as far as she could tell. She had only been here once before, but even so, everything was more or less how she remembered it. Except she wasn’t being attacked by ghosts and fairies this time.
Thinking this, she was reminded once again of how everyone everywhere seemed to have disappeared. Well, at least I know there’s one person in here other than me, even if she does disappear every time I blink. Picking hallways more or less at random, she finally came across something that looked very much different from what she remembered.
Reimu was suddenly overcome with dread as she witnessed the destruction in front of her. The floor had been torn to pieces. Chunks of rock and rubble lay scattered across the entire room, obscuring what little patches of undamaged floor remained. Many of the support pillars – which had hopefully been just decoration – had been completely blown away, with nothing but their bases remaining. The walls had similar damage, most scarred deeply from who knows what, with a few of them broken down enough that you could see into the next rooms.
What bothered her more, however, was the blood. Every few feet she could see small smears of blood, as if some badly injured person had been dragged across the rubble. One particular dense smear thinned gradually as it extended, turning into a small trail that led out of the room. It was clear that the blood smears and stains were all at least a day or two old, and there were no signs of whoever the blood belonged to.
After taking a deep breath, Reimu entered the room and followed the blood trail into the depths of the Palace.
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The blood trail Reimu had been following quickly dried up and vanished as she followed it through the hallways of the Palace, but it had lasted long enough for her to get a general idea of where it was going, so she didn’t have too much difficulty pushing forward after it disappeared. More than that though, she was just happy the end of the blood trail wasn’t marked with a body.
As she slowly made her way through the Palace, she tried to figure out what could have possibly caused the destruction she saw. She supposed it was possible for Satori to do something like that, but considering it was her own Palace, it seemed unlikely. The wanton destruction seemed very much like Utsuho, but the lack of fire and burnt spots made that unlikely as well. The cat didn’t seem like her power was very destructive when she had met her last, and Koishi had arrived here at the same time as Reimu, so there didn’t seem to be any residents of the Palace that could have caused what she saw.
That left one very ominous possibility – that the stranger had attacked these people as well. And Reimu highly doubted that any of the blood she saw belonged to her.
But why would the stranger attack here? Attacking without reason would just make her unnecessary enemies, so that didn’t make much sense. It would help Reimu out if that was the case, but it still wasn’t a very good idea. Reimu pondered over the information she knew. The stranger had been seen at a number of places around Gensokyo just recently, but the question was why?
From talking to the others back at the shrine, she knew that the stranger had visited the Scarlet Devil Mansion, the Bamboo Forest of the Lost, and the Moriya Shrine. Aside from all being places that Reimu and her gang were visiting, there didn’t seem to be much connection between them.
At the Scarlet Devil Mansion, she attacked the gate keeper, spoke with Flandre briefly before blinding her, and then left. In the Bamboo Forest, Mokou went mysteriously missing after she had been seen there. At the Moriya Shrine, she fought Kanako and Suwako and was eventually driven off.
Suddenly, Reimu felt a chill go down her spine.
Mokou mysteriously vanishing after coming into contact with the stranger.
Kanako’s words when they spoke to her…“Actually, it was more of a recruiting run…”
Which means she must have been trying to recruit Flandre as well. As bad as that was, the fact she had failed was a good thing no matter how you looked at it. Having Flandre against them when they were fighting without Spell Cards…she didn’t even want to think of that possibility.
Reimu’s eyes went wide as her thoughts wandered back to her original purpose. If she had gone to all of those places with the intent of recruiting people, then she likely came here to do the same. And if you’re talking about people you don’t want to fight without Spell Card rules, one near the very top of that list lives right here.
Reimu quickened her pace. Things suddenly felt like they were going to go really badly.
Before she knew it, the hallways Reimu had been traversing opened into a large reception room. Sitting in the dead center of the room, alone and unmoving, was the master of the Palace, Satori Komeiji.
She did not look like she was in very good shape. One of her arms was in a sling, a bandage wrapped around her head, covering one of her eyes, and both of her legs seemed to be fastened in place with splints and bandages. She was sitting comfortably enough, but it was clear she couldn’t do much other than that.
Approaching quickly, Reimu was surprised when Satori didn’t even acknowledge her presence. She simply sat, eyes closed, as if she was trying to ignore something.
“Are you…okay? What happened?”
Satori didn’t respond. Reimu stood in silence for a few awkward moments, not being used to being ignored by people. Shaking her head, Reimu started over.
“Okay, if you don’t want to talk to me, that’s fine, I’ll make this quick. I don’t know what happened here, but I’ve got a pretty good guess. Regardless, we need to talk.”
At this, Satori finally opened her eyes…eye?...and turned to face Reimu, expressionless. “No, we don’t.”
Taken slightly aback, Reimu paused before responding. “What do you mean, ‘we don’t?’”
“We don’t need to talk. I have nothing to say to you, and I already know everything you want to say to me.”
“If you know, then you must know how important this is. No one can afford to just sit by and let these things happen, especially someone who’s been attacked.”
“As you can see, I am less then capable of helping you at the moment anyways. Do you honestly think I can recover from this in seven days?”
Reimu had a bad habit of forgetting Satori could read her mind, even after it was thrown in her face again and again. It continued to surprise her when she brought up things she couldn’t know, even though it was perfectly logical for her to know them from reading her mind.
“Now please, leave. There is nothing I have to say to you other than ‘no.’”
Reimu almost shivered at the coldness in Satori’s voice. There was something very…different about her.
“Alright, alright. I understand you don’t want to help, and don’t want to talk to me. I don’t like it, but I understand. Either way though, I need to ask you…about…something…” Reimu’s voice trailed off as she saw Satori’s reaction to her words.
She was going to ask about Utsuho. She was the one Reimu was most worried about, considering the stranger’s track record at recruiting attempts. As soon as Reimu thought that, though, Satori immediately looked away and started trembling…something had definitely happened.
“…go…away…”
“I need to know what happened, Satori. Even if-“
“I said go away!” Satori practically screamed at Reimu, cutting her off. It wasn’t particularly loud, considering her condition, but it got the point across. Unfortunately for both of them, Satori being upset was not enough to break Reimu’s need for information. If something had happened to Utsuho, or even worse, if she had gone with the stranger, she needed to know about it.
Yet even as she stood there, watching Satori, she could tell she was getting worse. Of course, if she doesn’t want to talk about it, she probably doesn’t want to think about it either. With Reimu standing right beside her, there was no way she could escape from hearing about it, even if Reimu didn’t say anything.
And so Reimu found herself at an impasse. The more she saw Satori’s composure crumble, the more she understood that something terrible had happened, and that she needed the time alone. However, the worse the situation was, the more she needed to know what had happened, and these conflicting needs and desires drove her into a corner not unlike the one Satori was in.
Before Reimu could decide what to do about what was happening here, she felt a hand on her shoulder. Turning around, she saw Orin. She looked exhausted, and her eyes had an unhealthy hollowness to them, but she at least seemed more composed than Satori.
“Come on, we need to leave.”
“But I still need to-“ As Reimu spoke, she was cut off by Orin’s firm expression.
“We. Need. To. Leave.”
“…alright, if you insist.” Throwing a glance over her shoulder at the still unstable Satori, Reimu reluctantly followed Orin out of the room.
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After a few minutes of walking, Orin stopped and sat down.
They were in a rather nondescript part of the Hell of Blazing Fires. Orin had led Reimu out the back of the Palace of the Earth Spirits, and though they weren’t particularly far from it, the terrain obscured the Palace from view.
Reimu watched Orin quietly for a few moments, trying to gauge her mood. Her expression had softened considerably, but it still had a lost, forlorn tinge to it. However, much unlike Satori, she seemed to be completely uninjured. That was a good sign, in a way, but her expression and attitude seemed to indicate that something plenty bad had happened regardless of her physical health.
“I assume that since you brought me out here, you are at least willing to answer my questions?”
With a blank look, Orin turned to stare at Reimu. After a brief staredown, neither of the two breaking their expressions, Orin finally sighed and looked away. “What do you want to know?”
“Everything that happened here. From the beginning.”
After another sigh, Orin turned back to Reimu. “I suppose it all started about…three days ago? A messenger from the New Hell came to ask us a favour.”
Reimu started at that. This was so far completely removed from what she had expected to hear that she couldn’t help but show her surprise. She did, however, maintain her silence.
“They came to ask us to open up the Hell of Blazing Fires so that the residents of the Underground could take refuge there from something going on above ground. They wouldn’t tell us any of the details, but Lady Satori allowed them to pass through without asking too many questions. It took about a day and a half, and all the youkai from the Underground were moved into the Hell of Blazing Fires.” Noticing Reimu looking around with an unconvinced look, Orin answered the unspoken question. “They are a lot further in than we are. You won’t see them from here.”
Seeing Reimu was somewhat satisfied with the explanation, she continued. “Only a day after that had happened, another person came to the Palace. It was a pretty big deal among the residents of the Palace, since anyone visiting now must have been from further away than the Underground. After all, the Underground’s residents were all in the Hell of Blazing Fires. The visitor, calling herself Hoshimi or something, came in and started talking to Lady Satori.”
Despite the entirely unfamiliar name, Reimu couldn’t help but feel as if she knew exactly who it was.
“I wasn’t there when it happened, but obviously some sort of fight broke out. You saw Lady Satori, after all. By the time I arrived, Lady Satori was terribly injured, and most of the other pets were sprawled unconscious about the room. The visitor had already left by that point, so Lady Satori demanded that I go after her. Apparently she was targeting Okuu, who was still working in the Hell of Blazing Fires.”
Orin paused for a moment, a bitter expression passing over her face. “…by the time I got there, Okuu and the stranger were just leaving. I tried to talk her out of it, but even the fact she had hurt Lady Satori so badly wasn’t enough to convince her to not go with her…”
Reimu bit her lip to keep herself from swearing out loud. Utsuho had gone with the stranger after all. This was quite possibly the worst possible scenario.
“First things first. Can you describe this Hoshimi person to me?”
She thought it was reasonable to assume Hoshimi was the stranger she had met before, but she felt it was best to make sure.
After thinking for a moment, Orin responded. “Shortish black hair. Long black dress. She had an expensive looking silver necklace. Other than that, nothing really stood out about her.”
“As I thought…” Reimu muttered to herself. So this was in fact the same person. Things were suddenly getting quite bad, but even so Reimu couldn’t abandon her initial purpose for coming here.
“I know how this is going to sound, and I know you probably won’t like me asking, but I kind of have to. Right now, we are gathering as many youkai as possible to fight against this Hoshimi that attacked you guys. Is there any way you, or anyone from the Palace could assist us?”
“No.” Orin’s answer was instant. Reimu had expected that’s how she would answer, but she would have liked it if she had at least thought about it a bit first.”
“First of all, Lady Satori is too injured to be of help, and there is no one here left but me that can take care of her. That alone means we can’t really spare anyone.”
“What about Koishi?”
“Lady Koishi doesn’t live here anymore.”
“Really? Because she is the one who opened the door for me…”
Orin’s eyes widened in surprise. After a brief pause, she regained her composure and started speaking again. “…anyways, even if Lady Koishi was here, we couldn’t let her help you anyways. The stranger left a warning before she went back to the surface. She said that if anyone from the Palace of the Earth Spirits helps you guys out at all, she would personally level the Palace and kill everyone in it.”
“…that’s…quite a severe threat…” Reimu was taken aback. Though she knew that this stranger wasn’t someone to be trifled with, she hadn’t taken her for the bloodthirsty type. Sure, she had kidnapped Yuyuko, and they knew nothing of what had happened to Ran, but she had never outright threatened to quite the same extreme. Even when she attacked the Scarlet Devil Mansion, she hadn’t injured anyone but the gate keeper, and she was still quite alive.
“Apparently, Hoshimi knew about Lady Satori’s power, and she was quite displeased with the prospect of it being used against her. That’s why Lady Satori didn’t want to talk to you. Just that much was putting the lives of everyone at risk.
Reimu clicked her tongue. If the stranger was so worried about Satori helping her, that meant Satori would be capable of giving them a tremendous edge. Unfortunately, she seemed serious about her threat. If Reimu planned to get Satori’s help, assuming she would even agree, she would need to relocate everyone from the Shrine down here just to defend against her. And considering the amount of mobility the stranger seemed to have, there was no way they could do so before she obliterated the Palace of the Earth Spirits.
With a frustrated sigh, Reimu scratched her head. With that kind of a threat looming over them, she couldn’t even ask Orin to go into any more detail about what had happened than she already had.
“Alright, it looks like there’s nothing you guys can do to help. Setting that aside though, there is one more question I’d like to ask.”
Orin eyed her warily, but said nothing.
“Of the youkai that took refuge in the Hell of Blazing Fires, did you happen to see any Oni?”
Orin blinked a few times and scratched her head. “Oni…you mean the one living in the Underground City, right? No, I don’t think she came.”
Reimu’s spirit drooped once more. “Of course she didn’t. Do you have any idea where she might have gone?”
“I know many of the stronger youkai were talking about going up to the surface to enjoy whatever disaster was coming. They figured there was someone new who was quite strong about to cause it, so they wanted to try fighting them for themselves.”
Reimu perked up at this. If she couldn’t find them here because they had gone to the surface in search of Hoshimi, it should take minimal effort to convince them to aid them against her. Assuming they could find them, of course.
“Thanks, I guess I’ll need to just keep an eye out. That’s all, thanks for your time.”
Reimu turned to leave, mulling over the information she had newly found. Someone warned the youkai in the Underground to take shelter from a calamity on the surface. The stronger youkai probably headed to the surface looking for a fight, so they should be easy to convince.
The Palace of the Earth Spirits was essentially crippled as far as supporting them goes, and Utsuho had joined with the stranger.
Her last conversation with Yukari still fresh in her mind, Reimu looked over her shoulder at Orin as she walked away. “Don’t worry. We’ll beat this Hoshimi person down and bring Utsuho back to you safe and sound. I promise.”
I've got a bit of a dilemma as to the ordering of some of the later chapters (basically, whether I want what I've slated now as 11.5 and 12.5 in that order or if I should change them), so hopefully that doesn't slow the next chapter down too much. Though you know, with three weeks between each update, I can't imagine it getting much slower :(
Oh and just for fun, the end of this chapter marks exactly halfway through my story outline! Hurray for benchmarks!
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I'm just glad to get any updates at all, heh. Too many good fics end up dying.
Good chapter, made me feel quite sorry for Satori. Poor thing doesn't deserve this much punishment :'(
I'm really interested to see where this is going, so keep up with the good work!
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Yay, update! :D
No fighting in this one though we (and Reimu) keep learning how dire the situation had become.
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I was so sure I knew who Hoshimi was...until I realized Renko has brown, not black hair :<
"Stargazer" fit her so well too...
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Poor Flandre, Kaguya, Satori, and Orin.
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In celebration of reaching page 2, timely updates!
Every time I write a chapter and something bad happens to someone (ie Flandre, Mokou, all of Chireiden...) I feel like I'm a terrible person and that its all my fault...which I suppose in a way it is, but that doesn't really help me feel better about it lol.
Luckily, this chapter has significantly less pain and suffering, so I got to take a bit of a break from hating myself.
Chapter 10.5 – The Seven Colours of Chance
Alice sat back into her chair with a sigh.
It had been a long few days of experimenting and investigating, but she was no closer to the answer than she was when she had first started.
Just over two weeks ago, she had felt inexplicably tired in the middle of the day. Thinking nothing of it, she decided to lie down and take a nap. The next thing she knew, it was dawn. She had assumed it was the dawn of the following day, but the amount of dust that had managed to accumulate while she was asleep was far greater than it should have been. In addition, despite having slept for the better part of 16 hours, she had felt absurdly exhausted – far more so than she had felt when she first went to sleep.
A short trip to the human village confirmed that more than a day had indeed passed. A total of fifteen days, in fact. She was hesitant to believe it at first, but there was no reason for the villagers to lie to her, and the evidence pointed to the fact that they were telling the truth.
Of course, she was hardly satisfied with simply learning that she had been asleep for two weeks. The all too vital question of ‘why’ just wouldn’t leave her be, so she immediately set out to investigate.
The first thing of note was of course that, despite sleeping that long, she was still exhausted. A little bit of introspection was all that was necessary to determine that it was caused by a lack of sustenance. Though she did enjoy eating, she didn’t need to, so this was a problem of a lack of magical energy. However, it took only a few short tests to realize that the amount of magical energy in the vicinity hadn’t changed at all.
With no evidence to point to a possible excuse for her apparent shortage of magical energy, she could only settle on the conclusion that whatever had changed had started while she was asleep, and fixed itself before she had awoken. In fact, it was more likely that she had fallen asleep because it had started, and awoken because it had been fixed. Of course, that conclusion didn’t satisfy her curiosity in the slightest.
She had spent the next few days investigating whatever it was that had caused the disruption in her magical energy, but to no avail. The natural magic of the area was stable, the leylines were unaltered, and her own production of magical energy was unchanged. The only thing she had concluded after days of investigation was that she wasn’t going to find anything out.
Without any clues to lead her forward, she had all but given up on figuring out anything for herself. The only way to move forward would appear to be to ask someone else for help. But who could she ask?
Spending most of her time on her own, she didn’t have all that many acquaintances that were as well read as would likely be necessary. There was Marisa, but she wasn’t a youkai, so the amount of help she could provide would be limited. She was also acquainted with the group at Eientei, but being from the moon meant they were just as likely to be as inexperienced as Marisa.
She knew of a quite formidable magician living at the Scarlet Devil Mansion, but as its name implied, walking in uninvited wasn’t exactly a good idea. Of course, there was always-
Knock, knock.
Alice paused mid-thought. Someone was knocking on her door? She lived out in the Forest of Magic, so there were very few people that ever came across her house. Even those who knew her rarely visited her, and those who did rarely were polite enough to knock.
Knock, knock, knock.
Perplexed, Alice stood from her seat and walked slowly over to the door. Normally, she would have had her dolls answer the door, but the visitor was so unexpected that the thought didn’t even occur to her. Opening the door slowly, bright sunlight streamed around the person standing outside.
“Ace Reporter, Aya Shameimaru, at your service!”
Without changing her expression, Alice slowly pulled the door shut.
Or she would have, except for Aya sticking her foot in the doorway.
“I say at your service, but I’m actually at someone else’s service, today,” Aya continued speaking, seemingly unperturbed at the fact Alice had so quickly attempted to shut her out. “I’m here today to deliver a message from a certain Reimu Hakurei and Kanako Yasaka.”
At this, Alice stopped attempting to crush Aya’s foot with the door. A message from both the Hakurei and Moriya shrines? There was an obvious animosity between the two shrines – mostly just the Moriya Shrine always attempting to steal the Hakurei Shrine’s believers, with Reimu not bothering to do anything – so it was odd for them to send a message jointly.
“Ah, I see I have piqued your interest~” Aya practically drawled as she saw Alice’s reaction to her message. “Here, you can read all about it in this special edition of the Bunbunmaru Newspaper!” Without taking her hand off the door, Alice took the newspaper Aya proffered through the doorway and started reading.
Hakurei Shrine’s Doomsday Message.
Alice would have facepalmed at the headline if she had a hand free. Instead, she just shook her head. It was just like Aya to write such a tabloid-like headline without any ounce of truth behind it. As she went to continue reading, she was interrupted by Aya.
“Eh…uhh, excuse me, Miss Margatroid, I have other deliveries to make, so would you kindly release my foot from your door…?” Aya asked in what probably would have passed as a timid voice for her.
“No.” Alice thought for a couple seconds before responding. This was a good opportunity, and she wasn’t going to let it pass her by.
“…excuse me?” Aya asked, surprise showing clearly in her voice and on her face.
“I need to ask you a question.” Alice didn’t waste any time getting down to the heart of the matter. She could read a newspaper whenever she liked, but she could only ask a question to someone if they were there, right? “A couple weeks ago, I passed out for a really long time. Like, those two weeks long. Do you know anything about why that would have happened?”
Aya thought for a moment, her face turning pensive. “Hmm…seems like I should have included an article on the sleep wave as well after all…”
Alice threw the door wide open. Luckily for Aya, it opened inside, so she was spared getting a door to the face.
“So you do know something! Tell me what you know, please!”
Aya’s face turned smug as she saw Alice’s reaction. “Hmm, what do I know, what do I know…well…” Alice began to become frustrated as Aya put on a big show of trying to remember. She was about to yell at her again when she finally started talking.
“Well, it seems that the entire Youkai Mountain went into hibernation for a week or two just recently. Everything was shut down in the Tengu Village, and they even erected a huge barrier to protect the village while the guards were asleep.”
Alice’s eyes went wide. So it wasn’t only her that had passed out. If it had affected her in the Forest of Magic and Youkai Mountain, there was a good chance that it had affected all of Gensokyo. “Do you have any idea what caused it?”
“Well we don’t know for sure, but…” Aya continued to insert pauses into her speech, starting again only when Alice was thinking of doing something violent to her. In all honesty, it was a pretty amazing skill to be able to read people’s moods so easily, especially of someone with which she was not well acquainted. “My sources tell me the Kappa weren’t affected by it at all, and in fact took countermeasures to prevent it from affecting them.”
Took countermeasures? If they knew enough to be able to take action against it, they must have known what caused it. But the Kappa…how would she get into contact with a Kappa? Especially since it would need to be one that actually knew what was going on…
“Apparently, the Kappa are working with the Hakurei Shrine with their most recent incident, so a number of them are gathered there, but…” Aya winked at Alice as she continued. “If you want to know any more about that, you’ll have to read the article!” With a short curtsy and a hop backwards, Aya took off into the sky and flew away at a phenomenal speed.
Alice turned back into her house and closed the door. Despite the fact she had found an excellent lead, she couldn’t help but feel like she had been beaten in that conversation. Shaking her head, she made her way back to her chair and sat down, turning once more to the newspaper Aya had given her.
Apparently, the Hakurei and Moriya Shrines had called a truce of sorts, working together to deal with Gensokyo’s latest incident. It seems they had also put out a call to arms for all other youkai of passable strength in order to help them as well. Alice couldn’t help but be skeptical over the entire article, judging from…well, what was written in it.
They were coming together to fight someone who kidnapped the entire Netherworld. Was that even physically possible? Even if it were, why would anyone ever want to do that? And even if they did, why would they come to Gensokyo?
She had apparently broken into the Scarlet Devil Mansion, travelled to the Bamboo Forest of the Lost, and fought at the Moriya Shrine all within the span of a little over two days. Besides Yukari, Alice didn’t know of anyone who was capable of moving around that fast. Aya could maybe pull it off, but she definitely wouldn’t have the strength to fight off the whole Scarlet Devil Mansion and Moriya Shrine.
She fought off Reimu, Marisa, Youmu, and Ran Yakumo all by herself, ignoring the spell card rules. First of all, if she kidnapped the entire Netherworld, why was Youmu even there? Secondly, Alice might not have known much about it, but she did now Reimu had Fantasy Heaven. How could it even be physically possible for her to lose a fight without Spell Card rules?
All in all, Aya’s newspaper told her little more than that she couldn’t trust a word it said. It seemed if she really wanted to learn more, she would have to go to the Hakurei Shrine and ask around herself. However, the fact that the Kappa were apparently there meant that she was already planning on making the trip, so it wasn’t that much of an inconvenience.
Alice stood up and set her dolls to work. If there was actually a serious threat that needed her attention, she likely wouldn’t be back home for a few days at least. That meant she would need to clean up and prepare her home for an extended absence. However, the instant she set her dolls to work…
Knock, knock.
“I swear, if it’s that Tengu again…” Without even thinking, Alice sent a small troupe of dolls to open the front door while she grumbled. Aya had been a useful and convenient appearance, but that didn’t mean she liked her. And it definitely did not mean that she wanted to see her again.
As the door opened however, Alice was surprised yet again. Standing in the doorway was not Aya, as she had expected, but someone she didn’t know at all. The stranger had shoulder length hair that was a glassy black colour, and wore a long black dress. Her hands were gloved, covered in intricate – yet, as Alice could tell just by looking, non-functional – magical designs and inscriptions, and she wore a bright silver necklace with five gems set in it. Her sharp, violet eyes seemed to be appraising the room before her as she stepped through the door – uninvited, of course – before finally landing on Alice.
“Hello, Miss Margatroid. Might I trouble you for some conversation?” The stranger smiled as she spoke, seemingly oblivious to Alice’s look of displeasure at having strangers step into her home uninvited.
Alice was suddenly jolted out of her displeasure at the realization that this stranger had known her name without her having to introduce herself.
“How do you know my name?” Alice immediately voiced the first question that was on her mind. For Aya, it was to be expected, but she knew for a fact that they had never met, so it didn’t seem to make much sense as to why she would know who she was.
The stranger walked comfortably up to her, unperturbed by her question. “My name is Hoshimi, and I’m here to ask you some questions. Obviously, I’d know who you are. I wouldn’t have come here if I didn’t.”
“That’s great, I didn’t ask you why you knew who I was, I asked you how.”
Hoshimi paused at Alice’s bitter response. After a few blinks, she turned to look Alice in the eye.
“Naturally, if I’m going to attempt to fight off all of Gensokyo on my own, I need to know who is in Gensokyo. Don’t worry, you aren’t getting any special attention. I’ve been keeping tabs on most of the important people around.”
“While I’m flattered that you consider me important enough to spy on, I’m going to have to ask you to stop.” Alice was getting slightly flustered and the stranger’s brazenness, but it was nothing she hadn’t had to deal with before, so she had become quite adept at hiding it. She hoped.
“Oh don’t worry, I have no need to spy on you any longer. As long as you answer my questions, that is.”
As Alice continued to mull through what Hoshimi was saying, she was getting less and less comfortable having her in her house. Either the stranger was actually planning on fighting all of Gensokyo and so was essentially declaring herself Alice’s enemy, or she was incredibly pretentious and declaring herself to be someone Alice didn’t like. She wasn’t sure which one would be worse.
Either way, the best way to get her out of her house was most likely to co-operate. Normally, she wouldn’t care enough to bother – after all, she did just walk into her house uninvited – but she had somewhere to be, and she definitely wasn’t leaving a complete and total stranger in her house alone.
Sending her dolls back to work on preparing the house for her departure, she gave Hoshimi a flat look to show that she wasn’t pleased with the situation. “Alright, what do you want to know?”
Hoshimi looked genuinely surprised at Alice’s question. After a brief pause, she spoke again. “Honestly, I did not expect you to be so…cooperative…”
You and me both, Alice thought, giving everything she had to not give voice to her thoughts.
“Very well, if you are willing, that makes this much easier.” The stranger walked back so she was standing between Alice and the doorway. “During my observations of you, I had a distinct intuition that you bear some characteristic that is very…detrimental to my person. However, despite this realization, I have been unable to pinpoint exactly what that characteristic is.”
Alice raised an eyebrow at Hoshimi’s claim. If there was something about her that was a problem for this person, that was fantastic. If only she knew what it was so she could use it to get her out of her house.
“I need you to tell me what it is.”
“I hate to tell you this, but if you ask me like that I’m not going to have any idea what you’re talking about.”
Hoshimi clicked her tongue at Alice’s statement. “I’m sure you must have some idea. It could be anything, from one of your latent powers to some artifact you possess. It really is imperative that I know what it is.”
Alice did her best to keep her face neutral. She didn’t necessarily have any innate abilities to speak of – such was the fate of humans-turned-youkai like herself. Her use of dolls aside, there was really nothing special about her magic. If you’re talking about artifacts, however…
She could feel herself starting to sweat. If you were talking about artifacts in Alice’s possession, there was only one thing that it could be. No one had asked her about her grimoire since she came to Gensokyo, and she had hoped it would stay that way. Now, this complete stranger was on the fast track to discovering it.
Suddenly Alice felt more threatened than she ever had been in her life. That grimoire was the last thing she had from her old life, and while she didn’t feel that the contents were anything that needed to be kept secret, her old guardian begged to differ. It had been made exceedingly clear that if knowledge of that grimoire became public, it wouldn’t just be Alice’s life on the line.
After giving her a long, hard look, Hoshimi spoke in a reserved tone. “It seems you do know what I’m talking about after all. Would you be so kind as to share?”
Alice’s mind was racing. She didn’t have her grimoire with her, it was tucked away somewhere nondescript but close at hand. It was unlikely someone would find it without help, so as long as she could stop herself from letting her eyes wander on top of it, there should be no reason for it to be discovered.
“…sorry, I don’t have any idea what you are talking about. I’m a doll user, that’s it. I don’t have any special powers in particular.”
“Ah, so it was indeed an artifact of some kind.” Alice’s breath caught. There was no way she should have been able to figure that out from what she said. If she knew Alice was lying, it could be either – how could she have known that it was an object?
“Oh please,” she continued, “I can read you like an open book. Such a simple misdirection is no use against someone of my stature.” Alice couldn’t help but wince at the mention of books, which she knew by the slight twitch in Hoshimi’s eye when it happened that it was a fatal mistake.
“So it’s a book, then. Hmm…” Looking around the spacious room that made up Alice’s house, Hoshimi seemed to be cataloguing the various books she could see. There were only maybe a dozen or so books in the house – Alice’s interests were particularly specific, so there wasn’t much literature that spoke to her tastes – so it didn’t take long for her to dismiss what she saw as irrelevant. “It must be hidden somewhere…well, no matter. If I burn this place to ash, it’ll either destroy the book or reveal its hiding place.”
At that, Alice snapped.
Magic flowed from her fingertips as they quickly darted around in front of her. Within less than a second, every doll in the house that had been cleaning and doing chores was poised around the stranger. Half of them held miniature weapons, and the other half were poised to fire any sort of projectile that Alice commanded of them.
“It’s one thing for you to rudely walk into my house without permission. It’s another to try and interrogate me on things that are none of your business.” Alice raised her hands, now in a battle ready position. “But threatening me and my house? That is unforgivable.”
Hoshimi surveyed the dolls floating in the air around her with a half bored, half curious expression. “It seems I’m being underestimated again…” Finally, her gaze rested on Alice once more, her face adopting a smug expression. “Well then, no sense in wasting any more time here.” Without move her gaze, he lifted her right arm…
…and all of the dolls surrounding her simultaneously burst into flame.
Alice was struck speechless. There had been no spell, no flow of magic, not even a word. Yet simultaneously, every single doll she had in position – and none of the ones she had in hiding still – burst into flame, being reduced to ash in no more than a few seconds.
Hoshimi’s smug smile broadened as she saw Alice’s stunned expression. Alice knew, just from that single action, that she was simply outclassed. As she was, there was just nothing she could do to this person. Not with her standard magic, or with her dolls. Which meant…she would need the grimoire.
Time seemed to slow as she decided her next course of action. Over the space of no more than a second, Alice’s finger snapped backwards. A pair of dolls behind her lunged towards the grimoire’s hiding place, obscured from Hoshimi’s view by the furniture and Alice herself. Simultaneously, Hoshimi lowered her right hand, pointing it directly at Alice.
One.
The stranger’s mouth opened. Alice could feel that her gambit wasn’t going to pay off. She needed to move, and she needed to move fast. She had no idea whether Hoshimi’s attack would be a projectile, or if it would be instantaneous like when she attacked the dolls, but she could only bank on the former. Not trusting her physical body to react in time, she quickly wrapped herself in an ethereal thread, just like she used to control her dolls. It was a race, and Alice knew she had given up the advantage by waiting that one second to act.
Two.
Burn.
As the word left Hoshimi’s mouth, the air shook. In strong contrast to her previous attack, as if lightning had struck right beside her, a wave of heat spread throughout the room. As quickly as it had appeared, it condensed before Hoshimi’s outstretched finger, coalescing into a blazing fireball so bright Alice could no longer see. Squeezing her eyes shut to avoid being blinded, Alice pulled as hard as she could on her ethereal puppet strings.
Three.
The fireball launched itself from Hoshimi’s finger with a hiss, speeding through the air towards Alice. At the same time, Alice used her puppet strings to throw herself out of the path of the fireball, throw a shield doll into the path of the fireball and…
…order the previous pair of dolls to throw her grimoire to her from across the room.
Before either contender could blink, the fireball collided with the shield doll, instantly obliterating it. Alice had no time to wonder at how her magic-proofed shield doll had been reduced to ash on contact, but instead had eyes only for the fact that it had stopped the fireball dead in its tracks. After incinerating the doll, the fireball simply winked out of existence, as if it had never been there, and a small cloud of ash was the only thing remaining to mark its passing.
More important, however, was that through that cloud of ash passed the grimoire thrown by the other two dolls.
Not even attempting to keep her balance, Alice yanked hard on the puppet strings she had attached to herself to keep her upright, giving her the perfect angle to catch the grimoire as it was hurled across the room. A total of four seconds had passed since their fight began and Alice was finally in the running.
A heartbeat later, Hoshimi moved to point at Alice once again. Alice reached to open the grimoire as Hoshimi opened her mouth to cast another spell. The instant that grimoire opened, Alice would win: she knew that, but she also knew that she wasn’t going to make it in time, especially since the book was still locked. Holding tightly to the book, she braced herself to throw her body with the puppet strings to dodge the next attack-
Knock, knock.
Alice and Hoshimi both froze. Honestly, they both knew that the other freezing was the perfect opportunity to strike, but neither of them could bring themselves to move.
“Yo, Alice! You home?” A muffled voice came through the door.
“Marisa…?” Alice said under her breath. The only thing rarer than three visitors in one day was Marisa actually knocking before coming in.
She noticed something else important too, however. Hoshimi’s eyes had narrowed at the mention of Marisa’s name. Seeing her chance, Alice didn’t hesitate a second.
“It’s open, come in!” She yelled just loud enough to be sure her voice would carry through the door.
Hoshimi’s face flashed to an angry expression for only an instant before she pulled her hand back, which had still been pointing at Alice, and snapped her fingers in front of her. The air began to rapidly contort around her, as if it was wrapping her in a blanket.
“This isn’t over.” Hoshimi hissed one last threat before vanishing entirely.
At the same time, the front door swung open and Marisa stepped into the room.
“Oh…uh…did I catch you at a bad time?” Marisa spoke awkwardly as she looked around the room. Nine or so former-dolls were now smoldering clumps of ash on the ground, another cloud of ash was still floating in the air, and Alice was still suspended three inches off the ground.
With a bit of careful maneuvering, Alice straightened herself out and set herself down. “Actually, for once in your life, you couldn’t have timed that better.” Dusting herself off and straightening out her clothes, Alice made her way to her favourite chair and sat down with a thump.
“What are you talking about? My timing is always impeccable!” Marisa said with her characteristic grin.
A quick survey showed that the room had suffered minimal damage. It seemed the worst Alice would have to deal with would be soot stains, which was alright considering Hoshimi was throwing fire in a wooden house. After taking stock of the situation of the room, she connected thread to what was left of her dolls and got them to work cleaning up the mess.
“So, what brings you here today?”
“You’re awfully friendly today. Did knocking first really make that much of a difference…?” Marisa’s expression turned curious as she continued talking to herself.
Though Alice had asked the question, her mind was already elsewhere. Who was this Hoshimi person? She had never really said why she knew who Alice was, and she seemed to have a vague idea about the grimoire. Apparently that grimoire was trouble for her? She had no idea why she would think that was the case. She hadn’t even opened it since she arrived in Gensokyo, so it was highly unlikely she would know anything about it.
“Hey, Marisa,” Alice turned back to Marisa, who was carefully picking her way across the room, artfully dodging the many dolls hard at work. “I had a strange person just come and…well, I suppose you could say visit. She was someone I had never met before, calling herself Hoshimi. Would you happen to know anything about her?”
Marisa’s expression turned sour at the mention of a ‘strange person,’ but devolved into confusion upon hearing the stranger’s name.
“Can’t say I’ve heard the name before but…” her face turning uncomfortable again, “did she happen to have black hair, wearing a black dress?”
“And a silver necklace with five gemstones in it.”
“Geh…” Only that one incomprehensible noise escaped Marisa’s lips as she sat down on a stool across from Alice that had been placed there moments before by a team of hardworking dolls.
“I’ll take that as a yes?”
“Actually, yeah, she’s kind of the reason I’m here…”
Alice raised an eyebrow. “If you had been a little quicker opening the door, you would have seen her.”
At that, Marisa paled. “Wait wait wait, she was just here? Like, right before I opened the door?”
“Yeah, she’s responsible for this,” Alice said motioning to the piles of ash that had now been mostly cleaned up.
“What did she want from you?” Marisa spoke tentatively, her expression guarded. Suddenly, something clicked in Alice’s head.
“She wanted to know why I was a problem for her,” Alice said absentmindedly as she once again inspected Aya’s newspaper.
“And?”
Alice paused. She didn’t particularly distrust Marisa – okay, that was a lie, she definitely didn’t trust Marisa – but the less attention her grimoire got, the better. “Not sure. She couldn’t find out, so she attacked me.”
“And…you’re okay?”
Alice grimaced. “Mostly because you showed up. As soon as she heard you at the door, she left in quite the hurry.” The way Marisa was acting, the way Hoshimi was talking…Alice could reach no other conclusion besides that this person was the one the Hakurei Shrine was calling for help to fight. Of course, Marisa wasn’t technically part of the Hakurei Shrine, but she meddled often enough that it was a safe bet. Plus, the article did mention Marisa was part of the group that made first contact with her.
“I take it this is related?” Alice tossed the newspaper to Marisa, who deftly caught it in one hand. After two seconds of reading, Marisa’s face showed that Alice had clearly guessed right.
“Well, that shortens the explanation at least…” Marisa was clearly not pleased, though Alice couldn’t tell whether it was because Hoshimi had visited her already or because of the article she was reading.
“Well, there’s a couple important points to add regardless.” Marisa’s face was serious as she tossed the paper back to Alice. “First, the article is more or less telling the truth – she did in fact take the entire netherworld, bar the gardener, hostage, and we did in fact get our butts kicked when we tried to fight her.”
Alice’s eyes widened in surprise. Those weren’t the parts of the article she expected to be true.
“Secondly, we’ve since learned that she is using them to build some sort of weapon. It’ll easily spell the end of Gensokyo if she manages to fire it, and even if she doesn’t, if we can’t dismantle it in the next week or so, the High Court of Hell is going to destroy Gensokyo so that she can’t fire it.”
Alice didn’t try to hide her shock at what Marisa was saying. “How strong is this person?!”
“Strong enough that even Yukari is worried about whether we can beat her or not.”
Alice decided it was about time to start hiding her shock. “Wait, who is ‘we’ so far?”
Marisa tapped her chin with her finger as she thought. “So far we have Reimu and I, Yukari, Remilia and her servants, Eientei, and the Moriya Shrine with us. Reimu’s gone to look for help from the Palace of the Earth Spirits, and I figured I’d stop by here on my way to go see Hijiri.”
“You have that many people, and are still worried?”
Marisa’s face was dead serious. “She’s that strong.”
Alice closed her eyes and sank back into her chair. Regardless of how close she had apparently come to being killed (apparently), it seemed Gensokyo was getting itself into a crisis far beyond its normal incidents. At least the previous villains had enough pride and self-worth to follow the Spell Card rules.
“So, of course I have to ask you,” Marisa continued, “are you willing to help us take her down?”
Alice opened her eyes and met Marisa’s gaze silently. If Hoshimi was as strong as Marisa said she was, then she was in a bind – was she even strong enough to make a difference? She had spent the vast majority of her life fighting under the Spell Card rules, so there was no guarantee that she would be all that useful in an actual fight. As a counterpoint to that, even if she wasn’t, could she afford to not help? If they lost, then all of Gensokyo was doomed. To prevent that, every little bit of help would be necessary.
And there was still that one, key factor. The grimoire. Neither she, nor Hoshimi, seemed to know why that grimoire was such a problem to her, but if it could give them an edge in battle, it could very well be the difference between winning and losing. No matter how she looked at it, that alone meant she was going to have to participate.
With one last sigh, Alice closed her eyes again. “Alright, where are you guys meeting?”
Marisa responded to her question with a sigh of relief. “Geez, I can’t believe I was almost worried you were going to turn me down.” Getting up from her seat, Marisa started walking towards the door.
“Well, we’re meeting at the Hakurei Shrine, but you might as well just come with me. The Myouren Temple isn’t too far from here, and with your personal experience with this stranger – Hoshimi, you called her? That will help loads with trying to convince them.”
Alice stood from her seat, but didn’t follow Marisa. “No, I have…some preparations to make. I can’t leave just yet.”
Marisa stopped and spun back to face her. “Oh, did you want some help? I don’t mind helping if it’ll get it finished quickly.”
“No! I mean, no. No thank you.” Alice did her best to hide the fact she was flustered. “It’s okay. I have a number of things to do, so it’ll probably take me…a few days. Three at the least. You are better off just going on ahead and trying to convince them yourself. You don’t have the time to spare, right?”
Marisa looked unhappy at Alice’s refusal. “Alright, alright, if you insist. Just make sure you get to the Shrine as soon as you can, okay? We’re kind of on a deadline here.”
“Yes, yes, I know! Just…get going! If you’re on a deadline, you don’t have time to spare, right?!”
“Okay okay! I’m going! Geez, relax for a minute, would you?” With a bit more urging from her and the dolls, Marisa finally made her way outside. Hopping on her broom, she turned back to face Alice while she hovered a few feet off the ground.
“Remember Alice, this is serious business. Fights to the death, and all that. I know I probably don’t have to tell you this, but…prepare accordingly, okay?”
Alice nodded wordlessly. While she appreciated Marisa’s concern, she just wanted her gone. The longer she was here, the longer the preparations would take, and she was getting impatient.
Returning Alice’s nod, Marisa turned away and flew off into the distance.
After watching for a few brief moments, Alice turned back and headed inside, closing and locking the door behind her. Seeing that the mess Hoshimi had made was now cleaned up, she called her dolls to her and had them clear a space in the center of the room. Kneeling down, she placed her grimoire in front of her, and started casting a spell she had never expected to use.
Marisa was right – this was more than likely going to be a fight to the death. Hoshimi had shown no hesitation in attempting to kill her, and she doubted her disposition would change much the next time they met. Plus, there was no guarantee Hoshimi wouldn’t appear before Alice made it to the Shrine. Her only option was to make the best preparations she could as fast as possible, and hope that she had time to group up with the others later. If she was ambushed in transit, she could at least attempt a getaway if she had already done her preparations.
Carefully, and in painstaking detail, Alice began winding the ethereal threads she used to control her dolls together in front of her. One, five, ten, thirty, a hundred threads came together, spinning rapidly as if they were making a picture in front of her.
All of the dolls in Alice’s control stopped moving. She recalled all of their threads, focusing them all on this one task. She broke out into a sweat after she finally achieved two hundred and ten threads working simultaneously. Normally, she couldn’t control anywhere near that many dolls at once, but with a little strain, she could focus all of them on one spot for this one specific task.
The threads continued to spin and wind in the air in front of her, and after a full five minutes of hard and, admittedly, exhausting work, she had finally finished producing the object she was looking for. Floating in the air in front of her, sparkling with a rainbow-coloured light, was a magnificently intricate key. A key that fit perfectly into the keyhole on her grimoire.
Of course, Alice already had a key that could open the grimoire. She had seven, in fact. But those keys were special, and so was this one. Each of those keys - four of which were hidden around the house, two within her favourite two dolls, and one she always kept on her person – had a very specific purpose. They each opened the grimoire, but only one seventh of the pages would be visible. The remainder would continue to be obscured by magic far beyond anything Alice was capable of dealing with, and she figured it would take someone of Yukari’s level or higher to even begin trying to dissolve it.
However, this rainbow coloured, ethereally crafted key was capable of unlocking the entire grimoire at once. It took five minutes of intense concentration to make it, and would dissolve after only ten. Yet with this, the full power of the grimoire could be released.
Taking a deep breath and wiping the sweat from her forehead, Alice carefully plucked the key out of the air, and inspecting to make sure she had crafted it correctly, finally put it in the lock and turned. With a satisfying click, the lock released the book from its restraints.
Alice took another deep breath to steady herself. In her entire time in Gensokyo, she had never once opened this book, let alone opened it with the complete key. But desperate times called for desperate measures, and if this grimoire held the key to defeating Hoshimi, then Alice couldn’t afford to let it stay closed.
After one last deep breath, Alice gingerly reached forward and opened the grimoire.
And as the story builds up to the climax, we have only one major faction left to recruit from. Will they agree to work with Reimu and Marisa? Will they even be useful if they do? And in that time, who and how many people will Hoshimi be able to recruit to her side?
Despite the fact it feels to me like the Second Arc is winding down considerably, my outline says there is quite a bit of content to work through still...even I am starting to feel a little impatient xD
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Every time I write a chapter and something bad happens to someone (ie Flandre, Mokou, all of Chireiden...) I feel like I'm a terrible person and that its all my fault...which I suppose in a way it is, but that doesn't really help me feel better about it lol.
Aw, don't feel bad. With a story like this, you really have to push the Touhou characters to the limits. Make them face a dangerous threat that they can't easily solve.
Edit:
Oh, and by the way, Hoshimi can also mean "beautiful star", from "星美". Just want to let you know. :D
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And here is Chapter 11.
Not much to say about this one, other then that I had quite a bit of difficulty with it. Hope you enjoy!
Chapter 11 ? The Path to Peace
Marisa touched down on the grounds of the Myouren Temple without much regard to her surroundings.
She was still a little uneasy about what had happened at Alice?s house. It wasn?t even that she had narrowly missed running into Hoshimi, but that she had, and Hoshimi had fled once she knew Marisa was there.
That was what really was bothering her. There was no doubt in her mind that Hoshimi would have little to no trouble beating her in a one on one fight. Even taking Alice into account, unless Alice had suddenly become stronger than Reimu, Ran, and Youmu combined, there was virtually no chance for them. And yet, despite the fact she must have known that, and despite the fact she was already in the middle of fighting Alice, she ran away immediately after hearing Marisa?s voice.
There was no way she was afraid, so there must have been something else. Unless Alice was hiding something from her, there was no reason for Hoshimi to be worried about her own safety, so that meant she must have been avoiding a confrontation with Marisa for some other reason.
Shaking her head, Marisa continued into the temple. It wasn?t particularly busy, but there were a fair number of people inside. Most of them appeared to be youkai of varying backgrounds, but there were a handful of humans present as well. It seemed as if Byakuren?s message had made it to the human village, and while the behaviour of the people there didn?t seem particularly ?devote,? they were at least listening to what was being taught, so she figured that probably counted as progress.
Marisa continued to idly walk around the temple in search of someone she might recognize, but so far she wasn?t having much success. When she gave in and started asking around, the people were either too busy to talk to her or were new enough at the temple that they didn?t know who she was talking about.
As she searched through the temple, she noticed something strange happening. More people were coming. Not just a few, and not just actual people, but a steady stream of youkai were making their way into the temple. Though there sparse pockets of people there when she arrived, after only a short while, the place had quickly become crowded. The sudden realization of how crowded it was becoming stunned Marisa, and she quickly found herself engulfed in the flow of people.
She briefly considered asking these people why they had all started showing up so suddenly, but she quickly found out that she didn?t have to ask at all. Apparently, none of these people knew each other, so conversations as to what they were doing here sprang up all around her.
Unfortunately, standing around quietly listening wasn?t garnering much information. She heard lots of talk about something terrible happening, and a few mentions of ?Gensokyo is doomed,? but no details. She wasn?t sure where they were getting the idea that Gensokyo was doomed, but she figured Aya probably had something to do with it. In all honesty, she was quite surprised that people put that much faith into Aya?s writings.
Thinking that, Marisa finally heard something that caught her attention.
?Do you think the evacuation will really go as smoothly as they said??
Upon hearing that, it suddenly dawned on her that the entire crowd of people ? while constantly getting bigger ? was also moving in one direction. Of course, it was obvious that they were moving, but she hadn?t noticed they were all moving towards something.
Marisa quickly picked her way through the crowd towards the person who she had just overheard. This was something important, and it was something she knew nothing about, so there was no way she was going to let the chance at an informant get away from her.
?Hey, excuse me,? Marisa finally got up close to the speaker. She was a young youkai that didn?t particularly stand out, wearing purple and black and holding a book tightly to her chest. ?Did you mention something about an evacuation just now??
The youkai suddenly became quite nervous. It seemed almost like she recognized her, but?no, that couldn?t be the case.
?U-um?yes, I did. Isn?t that why everyone?s here??
?I suppose so. Could you tell me more? I didn?t hear anything about this, so I?ve kind of just been caught up in the crowd.?
The youkai tilted her head to the side curiously. ?Really? You don?t know? I guess they must have not reached your section of Gensokyo yet??
?Alright, let?s go from the top,? Marisa interrupted with a wry grin. ?Who?s ?they???
The young youkai responded matter-of-factly, as if she was talking about the daily news. ?The Emissaries from Hell.?
?What?? Marisa responded incredulous, ?what are the Emissaries of Hell doing in Gensokyo?!?
??well, ordering the evacuation of course,? The youkai spoke slowly, as if she wasn?t sure whether Marisa was seriously asking the question or not. It seemed that she had missed a rather large point of significant news that all the youkai seemed to be privy to.
?Okay okay, got it. Now, why are they ordering an evacuation?? Leaving aside that Marisa ? and apparently everyone at the Hakurei shrine ? had missed something this big, there was no point in worrying about it now. What she did need to do was figure out as much information as she could.
However, at this question, the young youkai started to look worried. ?Well, they wouldn?t tell us. All they said is that they were evacuating Gensokyo, and they told us where we could go to get out safely. I was told to come to the Myouren Temple, so??
?So they?re not telling anyone, huh?? Marisa mumbled to herself. It appeared she wasn?t going to get quite as much information from this youkai as she thought she would. Still, she had learned quite a bit, and could deduce quite a bit more.
Firstly, Hell had sent Emissaries to Gensokyo. As far as she knew, that had never happened before, so in all likelihood it was something to do with recent events ? with Hell apparently plotting to destroy Gensokyo, that didn?t seem strange at all. At least it seemed they had the decency to set up an evacuation program to minimize the loss of life.
Of course, she had no idea where they were evacuating to. It?s not like the temple was on the edge of Gensokyo or anything, so they weren?t trying to cross the Hakurei Border. As the crowd continued to push her forward, and she made it out the back of the temple, she finally saw where they were going.
Behind the temple, the giant Palanquin Ship was resting precariously close to the ground. Multiple gangplanks had been set up leading into the ship from the ground, and slowly the youkai were being herded up into the boat.
Ahh, I see, Marisa thought. The only people being evacuated were youkai it seemed, so it would make sense that they needed to go somewhere where youkai could survive. There was no way the Moon was going to put up with refugees, but there was one more place the Palanquin Ship could reach with relative ease: Makai. While Makai was certainly a far more dangerous place than Gensokyo, it was one of the very few places a youkai could go without either dying or already being dead.
Though, as far as Marisa knew, unless someone did something to help them, most of these youkai probably wouldn?t last long there. After all, surveying the crowd, she could tell that the vast majority of the youkai around her were fairly weak. Most were little stronger than the average fairy, but a few managed to reach up to the level of someone like Rumia or Mystia. Even if they stuck together, from what Marisa knew of Makai, there was little they would be able to do about what awaited them on the other side.
?Hey, you realize that- huh?? Marisa turned to warn her informant of what awaited her, but looking around she was nowhere to be found. Deciding she must have just been carried off somewhere by the crowd, Marisa continued letting herself be pushed forward by the constant flow of people. She had already searched the temple thoroughly, so the next best place to check for Byakuren was going to be on the Palanquin Ship.
The crowd moved forward slowly. There were hundreds upon hundreds of people in the temple, but there were only five or so entrances to the ship, each via a gangplank that was small enough that it had to be traversed in single file. With such slow progress, it was easy to see that it would take hours for all of the youkai to board the ship, an experience Marisa didn?t particularly look forward to. After about an hour of slowly creeping forward, Marisa got fed up with the crowd and flew straight up on her broom.
Surveying the ground below her, she could tell it would easily take her another two hours to get to the ship. And then she?d probably be sent off, since the only people boarding the ship at the moment were youkai. All in all, continuing to play along seemed like a fairly bad idea.
Now that she thought about it, it was kind of strange that she was the only person in the air. Most youkai can fly to some extent, so she would have thought it would be more efficient to have everyone fly into the ship rather than walk. For some reason though, only those who walked up to the front of the ship were permitted entry.
Unfortunately, Marisa didn?t have the time to play refugee at the moment, and she had quite a fair amount of experience getting into places without permission, so she took off towards the back end of the ship.
Though she had decided to sneak into the ship, she didn?t even get that far before she was spotted.
?Hey you! The entrances are on the other side of the?oh great?? As Marisa turned to face the speaker, she trailed off. It seemed she wasn?t particularly happy to see her.
?Yo Nazrin! How?s it going?? Marisa quickly approached the guard mouse, who was making no attempt at hiding her displeasure.
?This ship is for youkai only. You?re not allowed in.?
?Oh, don?t worry. I?m not here to get on the ship.?
??then leave.? Though Nazrin had never really taken a liking to Marisa, she couldn?t help but feel like she was being a bit more hostile than usual.
?I just need to talk to Hijiri and then I?ll be on my way. Can you point me in her direction?? Marisa continued talking, trying to remain as amiable as possible.
?She?s busy. Go away.?
Marisa was starting to really dislike diplomacy.
?Alright, I?ll tell you what,? Marisa said with a smile that was only a little forced, ?either you take me to Hijiri now, or I?ll beat you up and you can take me to Hijiri afterwards. The choice is yours.?
Nazrin raised an eyebrow at Marisa?s threat. ?Hah. As much as I?d love to have my revenge against you, when I said we were busy I meant it. Now go home, I have much more important things to do than to keep wasting my time talking to you.?
As Marisa briefly considered whether or not threatening her had been a bad idea, Nazrin immediately turned to leave ? and then froze. Following her line of vision, Marisa saw she was looking into one of the windows on the Palanquin Ship, standing in which was, if she recalled correctly, Nazrin?s master, Shou. She was making some sort of convoluted gesture that Marisa couldn?t quite understand, but judging by the slump Nazrin?s shoulders had adopted upon seeing them, she could make a pretty good guess.
Turning back to Marisa with a sigh and an expression that half said ?I give up? and half said ?I hate you so much right now,? Nazrin reluctantly spoke. ?Alright, alright. Come with me.?
Grinning like a child who had just successfully stolen from the cookie jar, Marisa just nodded and followed her to the closest entrance.
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Marisa waited patiently within one of the deeper rooms of the Palanquin Ship. Nazrin had taken her inside, and after being greeted curtly by Shou, she had been asked to wait and left alone in a rather bare looking room. She didn?t know much about where she was other than that it was near the front of the ship, around where she suspected the captain?s quarters would be.
Though she was glad to have made some progress, she couldn?t help but feel?well, bored. The room was completely empty, except for a few cushions in the middle of the room for sitting on. There was no furniture, nor any decorations on the walls. Nothing in the room to grab her attention or keep her busy, and no one in the room to talk to.
She hadn?t really been waiting for that long, yet the lack of anything in the room made her quickly lose herself to boredom. Standing up from where she was seated, she slowly began pacing around the room. Of course, there was nothing to be seen by doing so, but walking around doing nothing felt a little better than sitting down doing nothing.
Once again, with nothing to keep her busy, her thoughts returned to her ?confrontation? with Hoshimi earlier that day. There had to be a reason that she had fled so suddenly, but no matter how she thought about it, she couldn?t figure out why.
She was clearly not averse to fighting. She was in the middle of a fight with Alice when she fled, after all. So she could rule out the possibility of her trying to avoid fighting in general.
She had shown quite clearly that she was quite a bit more capable in actual combat than Marisa was. Though Marisa?s combative instincts might have been dulled after years of exposure to the Spell Card rules, she still felt she would be one of the more capable residents of Gensokyo in that regard, but even then she had to admit she stood no chance against Hoshimi, especially alone. True, Alice was there, but as she had already concluded, unless Alice had some sort of secret weapon that she could only use if Marisa was present, it seemed irrelevant.
That left two logical possibilities that Marisa could think of. One, Hoshimi recognized Marisa as a potential threat, and didn?t want to fight her unless it was absolutely necessary ? that way she wouldn?t be able to watch and analyze Hoshimi?s fighting for weaknesses. While that was a rather flattering possibility, Marisa couldn?t help but feel it was somewhat unlikely. If she didn?t want her fighting style analyzed, she wouldn?t be romping around Gensokyo attacking everyone she met.
The second possibility was that she had something very specific, and very personal, that she was trying to hide from Marisa. Well, more likely she was trying to hide it from the Hakurei Shrine group as a whole. After all, though everyone they had approached had generally had some run-in with Hoshimi before, none of them had any contact with her after they joined the Hakurei Shrine group. Now, that might just be because she didn?t want to confront all of them at once, but Marisa felt for some reason like, judging from what she knew of Hoshimi, that wasn?t really an issue for her.
Either way, if she was trying to hide something, she was doing a pretty good job of it. Marisa didn?t have the faintest clue as to what it could possibly be that she wasn?t even willing to show her face, and without anyone there who had had experience with her, she certainly wasn?t about to find it out on her own.
Neither of these reasons were particularly well-grounded, but try as she might, she couldn?t think of a logical explanation other than those two.
As she finally turned her attention to trying to decide which of these possibilities was more likely, the door across the room from her opened.
?And what do you have to say for yourself this time, young lady?? Walking into the room with a confident stride was Byakuren Hijiri, followed closely by Shou and the captain of the Palanquin Ship, Murasa.
?Uhh?I?m innocent??
Byakuren?s serious expression broke into a mischievous smile as she gestured for Marisa to sit. ?I?m glad to hear it. Hopefully this time it?s true.?
Sitting back down as she had been asked, Marisa couldn?t help but start grinning. The past three or four times she had met Byakuren had kicked off with this exact exchange, and Marisa could finally say with confidence that she was, in fact, telling the truth. This time.
As Marisa sat down, Byakuren sat down across from her. Shou took a seat to her side, remaining as stiff and formal as ever, and Murasa stayed standing, leaning against the wall beside the door they had just entered through. For some reason the captain didn?t look particularly happy, though it at least didn?t seem to have anything to do with her, as she wasn?t really paying much attention to what was going on in the room.
?Now,? Byakuren started, pulling Marisa?s attention back to the matter at hand, ?I understand you are probably here on business of your own, but if you don?t mind, I would like to ask you some questions as well. Is that alright??
?I suppose so,? Marisa replied while attempting to maintain an air of indifference, ?I suspect we?re going to be talking about mostly the same thing anyways.?
While Byakuren?s face remained expectedly calm, both Murasa and Shou showed varying signs of displeasure at what Marisa had said. While Murasa looked almost exasperated, Shou?s face adopted a grim expression. It seemed they knew exactly what was about to be talked about.
?Well, let?s not waste any time then. Judging by circumstances, I assume there is an incident of some magnitude occurring. Would you be able to enlighten us as to any of the details??
Marisa scratched her head and sighed. She was getting a little tired of telling this story.
?A woman, who I assume to be some sort of youkai, recently appeared in Gensokyo. She?s kidnapped all of the souls of the dead in the Netherworld, including the Netherworld?s caretaker, and when confronted is ignoring the Spell Card rules. Reimu, Youmu, one of Yukari?s Shikigamis and I all tried to fight her and were beaten without landing a hit. She?s apparently planning on attacking some other world, so in order to stop her, Hell is going to destroy Gensokyo in less than 10 days if she isn?t dealt with. Kind of abridged, but that pretty much sums it up.?
Though Byakuren?s face remained calm, Shou and Murasa were clearly very taken aback by the short explanation, both of them straining to maintain their composure.
?That?is quite serious.? Byakuren was the first to respond however, though she seemed like she was less concerned with the incident and more concerned with how reliable Marisa?s account was. ?Well, if that?s true, it answers most of my questions.?
?Oh, well that?s good. How about in exchange you tell me what?exactly is going on here??
Byakuren regarded Marisa carefully for a few moments before she spoke. ?Yesterday our temple was visited by an Emissary from Hell. They warned us that all of Gensokyo was currently under threat, and asked for our?cooperation. In the interest of saving as many lives as possible, they have drawn up an evacuation plan to get as many youkai out of Gensokyo as possible. We agreed to function as one of the evacuation points, and are filling this ship with as many youkai as we can before heading off to Makai until this incident resolves itself.?
Marisa crossed her arms and closed her eyes, attempting to look as pensive as possible. It seems the High Court of Hell was attempting to take some sort of responsibility for its actions, and was planning on evacuating as many youkai as possible before Gensokyo is destroyed. Of course, destroying Gensokyo really just means destroying the Hakurei Border, and doing so would have no adverse effects on the human residents of Gensokyo, so it makes sense to only evacuate the youkai.
That being said, evacuating all of the youkai would save their lives should Gensokyo be destroyed, but it also meant there were that many fewer people left to try and defend it. She couldn?t help but laugh a little at that thought ? anyone who would be strong enough to help them wouldn?t be scared away by an evacuation order. In fact, it would be more likely to egg them on to fighting than anything else. When she thought about it like that, it seemed like?almost too good of a situation. She assumed it was coincidence, but if someone had actually planned that all out, they had really thought things through quite well.
?Well, I was originally going to ask you if you had any knowledge as to why the evacuation had been ordered, since the Emissaries refused to tell us, but I feel as if you have already done so. However, I take it you came here for more than just to ask what we were doing??
Opening her eyes and rejoining the discussion, Marisa nodded. Taking a deep breath, she started once again with a question she was also getting a little tired of asking.
?I understand you are busy here and all, but it?s not like this is unrelated, so I would appreciate if you would help us out. Basically, we are looking for help. We know we can?t beat this Hoshimi person ? that?s the woman?s name, apparently ? by ourselves. So we?re out to collect help. We expect a final showdown with her in the next week or so, and every able-bodied person we have to help us fight her increases our chances by that much more. It will definitely be dangerous, and from our experience with her earlier, there is a chance that all of us together may not be enough, but if you are willing to take that bet with us, we would be deeply in your debt if you would assist us.?
Marisa had to stop herself from patting herself on the back after saying that. That was quite possibly the most diplomatic thing she had ever said in her life, and she was quite proud of it. The responses she got put a damper on her feel-good moment rather quickly, however.
?Are you serious?? The first to answer was Shou. ?You come here, to a temple whose primary message is one of peace, in an attempt to recruit people to fight for you? Are you insane??
Well, technically we?re not in the temple? Marisa thought before she was cut off by Murasa.
?On top of that, we?re going to Makai here. Makai. Do you honestly think all of these youkai are going to be okay there on their own? They are going to need some sort of protection, and if we don?t do that, who?s going to??
Slightly discouraged by their all-too valid points, Marisa turned back to Byakuren ? and her courage was renewed. Byakuren watched Marisa silently, a grim expression on her face. It wasn?t often that Byakuren made such an unpleasant expression, but it was anyone?s guess as to why. She may have just been upset that Marisa bothered to ask, as the other two had been, but?
?You aren?t seriously considering helping her, are you Lady Hijiri?? Shou turned to her incredulous, seeming upset only at the fact that Byakuren hadn?t yet offered a response.
Even as the retorts came pouring into her head, Marisa diligently remained silent. Murasa and Shou may have responded with a resounding no, but everyone in the room knew it was Byakuren?s opinion that actually mattered.
Finally, her face regained its calm expression, and though she wasn?t smiling, she also no longer looked troubled.
?B-but, Lady Hijiri, what about the people? How will we justify fighting on one day and preaching peace the next? Doing this will lose us everyone who has looked to us for help since this temple was built!?
Byakuren turned to Shou, and after a few moments of silence, she finally spoke.
??I have been in Gensokyo for one year. Before that, I spent a great deal of time in Makai. While I did not have freedom of movement about Makai, I was not alone there ? I was frequently visited by many the youkai who call that world their home.?
Closing her eyes and folding her hands on her lap, Byakuren continued her story. ?I did my best to teach our way to those who listened, just as I have done here, but more importantly, I also learned a lot from them. The residents of Makai are very similar, yet very different from those of Gensokyo. The weakest youkai that lives in Makai is easily above average here, and their strongest would likely give this Hoshimi a run for her money.?
?I was confused though. In a place where so many people of such great power are concentrated, why was there so little conflict? As I spoke to them about peace, they spoke to me about how they already had it. They had no Spell Card rules, like Gensokyo had, yet somehow an entire world of beings with the power to fight and the power to kill was living in harmony.?
?Naturally, I was curious, and so I asked. Most of the youkai that visited me would just shrug, saying ?that?s how it?s always been, that?s how it always will be.? They would say that the guidance of their god was all they needed, and with her they could find peace and happiness even in a world prone to violence. One day, however, I was visited by this ?god.? The ruler of Makai visited me one single time, to see what manner of creature had been sealed in Makai for ? at this point ? over five hundred years.?
?So naturally, I asked her the same question. Why, in a world full of those who seem to be built to destroy, was there such peace? I sought so desperately to bring peace to humans and youkai alike, and witnessing the world of Makai taught me that youkai were quite capable of remaining in harmony. But when I asked her how this had been achieved, to see if I could learn and apply it elsewhere should I ever be freed, she responded with only a single phrase.? Byakuren closed her eyes, looking somewhat pensive.
Opening her eyes again, she looked with somewhat of a sad expression at no one in particular. ??The path to peace is often soaked in blood.? She spoke these words only, and refused to talk further on the subject. At the time, I wrote it off as a ?Makai thing,? and ever since getting to Gensokyo I had that feeling confirmed. There was no need for bloodshed here, even in a world where human constantly struggles against youkai, this balance of peace was able to be maintained for over a hundred years.?
?But as I learn more about Gensokyo, and its history, I start to learn how right she was in a metaphorical sense. Sure, Gensokyo doesn?t maintain peace through the spilling of blood. But that doesn?t mean that peace is a constant, natural state ? it requires?maintenance. Hence the existence of the Hakurei Shrine Maiden.?
Byakuren stood from where she was sitting and met eyes with Shou again. ?It may seem rather brutish to attempt to solve all our problems by fighting, but if our opponent is unreasonable, then we have no other choice. All we must do is defeat them in the name of peace, for the sake of peace, in a way that spreads that peace ? there is no need to kill them, only to stop them.?
?Besides, what Murasa said is true. These youkai will not survive long in Makai, and there is no way we could keep them cooped up in the Palanquin Ship for the rest of their lives in order to protect them. The best way we can serve them is to protect their homes?to protect Gensokyo itself, so they have somewhere to come back to.?
?Well, we can?t take them to Makai and stay here to defend Gensokyo.? Murasa was the first to respond to Byakuren?s monologue.
?True. That is why the plan remains unchanged. As before, once all of the youkai at the temple have boarded the ship, you will take them to Makai long enough to determine that the situation has been resolved. Then, if Gensokyo is still well, you shall return them here ? if not, we will attempt to make lives for them in Makai as safely as possible. You all shall go as their escorts and their guards, protecting them from the perils of Makai as best as you can. It will take most of our manpower to keep them safe, so we can only afford to leave one or two of us behind.?
Still not particularly happy with Byakuren?s conclusions, Shou finally spoke up. ?Well, Murasa for sure can?t stay, because she?s the only one who can pilot the ship.?
?Oh, don?t worry about who?s going and who?s staying,? Byakuren interrupted Shou, ?I have already decided that I will be the one to assist Marisa?s group. I entrust the youkai here to you two.?
?Lady Hijiri, I must insist that-?
?Well, I?m sure you two have a lot of work to do making sure this whole endeavour stays organized, so Marisa and I should probably be on our way.?
?Lady Hijiri! You can?t be serious!?
?Come Marisa, let?s get out of their way.?
Rapidly, the situation turned from a serious lecture to something out of a bad comedy show. Taken aback by the sudden transition, Marisa took a few moments to respond, but once she had sorted out what was happening she quickly jumped to her feet.
?Please, reconsider-?
?Good bye and good luck! See you two in a week or so!? Pointedly ignoring Shou?s complaints, Byakuren calmly walked out of the room, leaving the three who were remaining in various states of confusion and anger.
Deciding it was best to get out before someone?s temper blew up, Marisa tipped her hat to Shou and Murasa and hastily made her way out after Byakuren. It was a bit of a strange turn of events, but she had at least gotten some help.
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Catching up to Byakuren ? which had proved to be quite the task, what with the pace she had maintained after leaving ? Marisa spoke while they were walking through the ship. ?I appreciate the help, but what was that all about??
?You clearly needed our help, and I am the best person to offer that help,? Byakuren explained with a smile. ?There was no way that I could have convinced Shou to agree with me at that point, so there was no meaning in staying and getting her riled up.?
?Best to just get her straight to being furious??
?She trusts me as much as I trust her. Even if she?s angry with me, she knows this outcome is for the best. Besides, I am a teacher, not a leader. I won?t be nearly as much help to the evacuation team as those two seem to think I would.?
?Well, glad to have you with us. Maybe if we?re really lucky you can just teach this intruder into submission and we can save ourselves a whole bunch of trouble.?
?Fingers crossed,? Byakuren replied with a wink and a smile, as the two took off from the ship?s rear exit towards the Hakurei Shrine.
Just as a bit of a taste of what's to come, I'll say that the next chapter is going to involve a lot less talking and a lot more doing. Look forward to it!
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Just as a bit of a taste of what's to come, I'll say that the next chapter is going to involve a lot less talking and a lot more doing. Look forward to it!
Just so you know, I'm actually very intrigued and entertained by the talking - the interplay and dialogues between the characters is very refreshing, and it helps us see the different portrayals of their various personalities as you've put them down. It makes the story richer!
Although yes I am very interested in seeing how everything is going to go down - and you've got quite the enigma whipped up with Hoshimi here.
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So, they're evacuating the youkai out of Gensokyo, huh? A wise move.
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Just so you know, I'm actually very intrigued and entertained by the talking - the interplay and dialogues between the characters is very refreshing, and it helps us see the different portrayals of their various personalities as you've put them down. It makes the story richer!
Glad to hear it! Once I realized that the story was going to end up being mostly people talking up til the climax, I was unsure whether or not the story would be able to hold interest (like...my own), but if you guys are enjoying it then I guess that worry was for nothing xD
And here we go with the next chapter. Plot relevant? Maybe a little. The main purpose of the chapter though is to give you a bit of insight into Hoshimi's thinking and style, as well as to show you that maybe things aren't going perfectly for her after all.
Hope you enjoy!
Chapter 11.5 – Force of Nature
This was going to be a problem, Hoshimi thought to herself as she stood surveying the enormous pillar of black crystal she had made the ghost princess make.
The problem didn’t lie in the structure itself. Indeed, as would be expected of a plan concocted by her and executed by the princess of the Netherworld herself, the structure was flawless. Neither was the problem the fuel source – she had long since known that it would take a tremendous amount of magical energy to fire the weapon even a single time, and ever since she had arrived in Gensokyo she had been setting plans into motion to acquire what she needed. Those plans were proceeding smoothly as of yet, but…
Hoshimi was beset by a shrill shriek, followed soon after by a burst of great billowing fire in the air some few hundred meters away from where she was standing. With a low growl, a very ineffective way to vent the frustration she was feeling, she turned to face the direction the fire had come from.
Her problem had come to make itself apparent yet again.
In her original plans, she was supposed to travel around Gensokyo, sowing seeds of terror and demonstrating her power to all of those around her. There was an important reason for that, but in addition to the main purpose, she had hoped it would deter the residents of Gensokyo from making rash, headlong, solitary assaults on her obelisk. Theoretically, if they had heard rumors of how strong she was, they should have stayed away, or at least waited to gather into large groups before attempting to fight her. That would at least buy her time.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. Ever since she had visited the shrine on the mountain, a steady flow of youkai had attacked the tower, almost all of them alone. While they were not even the beginnings of a threat to her, most being far weaker than those she had managed to recruit, she nonetheless had to defend against them. Even if they couldn’t harm her, it would take very little comparative force to damage the tower – or worse, kidnap the ghost princess away from her.
And so, despite the overwhelming odds in her favour, Hoshimi was stuck playing the defense.
The problem had been somewhat alleviated when she successfully recruited the immortal and the hell raven. Originally she had planned on having them save themselves for the right time, but after being pinned down for so long by weaklings, she instead had them patrol and eradicate anything that drew close to the tower.
However, it was still important for them to maintain their strength, and so she had them call for help if they were fighting someone who had any sort of chance against them. That fireball she had just seen was that exact call for help.
Judging from the lack of excess magical energy in the air, it seemed that the one who had given the signal made no attempt to fight the intruder. That meant it was probably the immortal who had given the signal – the hell raven tended to attack first, think later.
Though she was glad her instructions had been followed in this circumstance, the fact it was necessary was still frustrating. She was falling far behind schedule in her recruitments, being met with a lot of resistance from her potentials. On top of that, having to constantly defend the obelisk meant that she couldn’t spend as much time out hunting for recruits as she had originally expected. The situation was building to a climax, but she wasn’t ready.
One more. Just one more and she would be ready for the Hakurei Shrine’s group.
Over the hill leading to her tower, still perhaps ten minutes walking distance away, a youkai appeared, calmly advancing directly towards her. She had green hair, and from this distance seemed to be wearing mostly red. Most notably, however, she carried a parasol. From Hoshimi’s observations of the events in Gensokyo, she recognized this youkai – even if she didn’t immediately recall her name.
As she watched the intruder approach, suddenly a new plan began to take shape. If she needed recruits, but couldn’t go out recruiting because of constant attacks on the tower, why not simply recruit from her attackers?
Originally, she had considered her as too much of a threat to consider recruiting, but witnessing the flower youkai with her own two eyes, she felt differently. She carried herself with an elegance and grace to be expected of an older youkai, yet her eyes still held the burning, chaotic ambition of a young youkai drunk with its own power. Her ability to maintain that balance made her seem like she would be a valuable ally – and would hopefully provide the mechanism needed to recruit her.
Hoshimi waited silently as the youkai approached. Stopping perhaps fifteen feet in front of her, it regarded her with a cool gaze, passing the first few moments in silence. As the two watched each other, Hoshimi couldn’t help but feel like her earlier assessment had been wrong.
Bowing her head slightly, the youkai finally broke the silence.
“Yuuka Kazami. I will do you the favour of sparing you the list of my myriad titles.”
“And how can I help you today, Miss Yuuka Kazami?”
Yuuka’s gentle smile faded to expressionlessness as she shifted her gaze from Hoshimi to the enormous black obelisk behind her. “I take it you are the one responsible for this mess?”
Hoshimi only smiled in response. Yes, she had definitely made a mistake in her judgement of this Yuuka Kazami. The quiet power she felt behind her eyes was not a restrained, youthful bloodlust. It was something much, much more.
Rather than rash, reckless abandon tempered by elegance and finesse, it was more accurate to describe it as a composure born from overflowing confidence. She was truly a being that had never known fear, and she took the overflowing power she used to crush all opposition only as a matter of course.
And that made her perfect for Hoshimi’s purposes.
“Well, it is hardly my job to solve these kinds of incidents,” Yuuka began again, adopting her gentle smile once more, “but after coming all this way, it would be a shame to go home without at least having enjoyed myself.”
“Might I be able to interest you with a counter offer?” Hoshimi returned, holding her ground. She had to admit, this was quite possibly the most formidable opponent she had come across since arriving in Gensokyo. It was certainly the first time she had felt pressured. That being said, she and this Yuuka were very alike in some ways.
For instance, in that she, too, was a being who had never known fear. It would take a lot more than conversational pressure to push her around.
Yuuka tilted her head to the side slightly, a troubled expression crossing her face. “My only recourse for entertainment was to obliterate you. Someone who could win a four on one…and who was willing to fight without the Spell Card rules…that is truly a rarity in Gensokyo. Do you think your counter offer can match that level of entertainment?”
“But of course,” Hoshimi said with a smile. “Why satisfy yourself with fighting a single opponent? Join me, and you will gain the opportunity to fight all of Gensokyo united. Surely, that must be a much more tempting proposition?”
Yuuka stared expressionlessly at Hoshimi as she considered her words. It was the perfect situation for Hoshimi. A youkai who must have been one of the most powerful in Gensokyo came to her looking for a fight, all while she was brewing the largest fight in Gensokyo’s history. If that didn’t satisfy her, then nothing would.
“That…would in fact, be interesting…” Yuuka raised the forefinger of her right hand to her chin as she thought, twirling her parasol with her left. As her gaze drifted back to Hoshimi, her face broke into a wide smile once more. “But you know…”
As she spoke, a bolt of light from the air beside Yuuka lashed out at Hoshimi at an incredible speed, accompanied by a manic smile.
“I’ve just been feeling so impatient these days!”
Hoshimi clicked her tongue in disappointment as she deflected the bolt of light with her bare hand. Normally she wouldn’t bother attempting such dramatic flair, but it seems her style was being slowly changed from spending so much time in Gensokyo. Everything everyone did seemed to have a theatrical twist to it, and she couldn’t help but get caught up in the spirit of things.
Thinking this to herself, dozens more bolts of light fired from the air around Yuuka towards her. It seemed she wasn’t going to have time to mull over her own thoughts if she wanted to put on a show for her new subordinates.
Without moving, strands of shadow from behind her lashed forwards, intercepting and redirecting the bolts of light to where they could do no harm. A few stray shots grazed the tower behind her, but didn’t seem to leave any lasting damage. She was going to have to remember to watch out for that.
Yuuka called out, her voice almost pouting. “Come on, you could at least fight back.” As she said this, the air around her began to warp and twist, and multiple dozens of similar bolts of light coursed through the air towards her.
Barely even thinking about it, a wall of stone rose from the ground in front of Hoshimi and intercepted the entirety of the attack. “Very well,” she spoke with a sigh, “if this is how it’s going to be, I’ll just kill you as well.”
Raising a hand, the stone wall broke into a multitude of jagged stone fragments, twisting themselves in the air so that their sharp edges and points were pointed towards the flower youkai. With one wave, the chunks of stone flew at a tremendous speed towards their target –
– and were completely blown away. Incomparable to the previous bolts of light, a gigantic beam off almost pure magical energy erupted from the extended parasol of the flower youkai, completely obliterating Hoshimi’s half-hearted attack.
With a frustrated sigh, she once again knocked the attack off course with her bare left hand. If she stayed where she was, she was going to have to keep blocking attacks like this to stop them from hitting the tower. It was designed to take some punishment, but now wasn’t the time for that.
As the giant beam of light dissipated, shadows lashed out from behind Hoshimi, spreading into dozens upon dozens of tiny needle-like threads. Finally, Yuuka moved, easily dodging from the path of the shadows and up into the air. Wasting no time, Hoshimi launched herself into the air after her.
Maintaining the offensive, Hoshimi raised her right hand palm first towards Yuuka. Almost instantly, a bolt of stark white lightning arced from her outstretched palm towards Yuuka, who deflected it with her closed parasol with unbelievable speed. Without breaking the fluidity of her movement, Yuuka then flipped backwards in the air, dodging the shadows that had chased her from the ground and moving clear of them.
But she didn’t stop there. She continued to soar around the field, dodging and deflecting the attacks Hoshimi launched with ease. As Hoshimi called spears of stone from the ground, she countered with the small bolts of light, destroying each of them before they reached her. As she launched weaving shadows after her, she effortlessly slipped between them. As she used more direct, high speed attacks like the lightning from earlier, she effortlessly batted them away with her parasol.
As Hoshimi continued to press her with no luck, she raised her voice over the sound of her own attacks.
“Now who’s not fighting back?”
Despite the distance between them, Hoshimi could clearly see the wide grin on Yuuka’s face.
“As you wish!” the youkai roared, hurtling herself towards Hoshimi.
As Hoshimi narrowly dodged the beams of light accompanying Yuuka’s assault, she couldn’t help but feel her initial assessment of the flower youkai was more accurate than she had given it credit for. No matter how she looked at it, Yuuka’s face was nothing but that of a child playing their favourite game.
“And she’s not even going all out yet…” Hoshimi muttered as she threw a handful of footlong crystals into the charging youkai’s path. Veering slightly off course to dodge the projectiles, it was enough that Hoshimi could then dodge the full body tackle. As Yuuka made to turn back towards her, Hoshimi threw another handful of crystals accompanied by a dozen or so shadows.
Without even seeming to look at the attack, Yuuka immediately propelled herself downwards out of the path of the crystals. As the shadows turned to pursue her, another enormous beam of light erupted from her parasol, aiming for Hoshimi rather than the attack.
Clicking her tongue, Hoshimi dismissed the shadows and summoned a wall of crystal between her and the blast. When the beam of light contacted the translucent crystal wall, it stopped dead. After the attack faded, the crystal wall remained intact, now glowing brilliantly.
“Oh no, I’m not letting another person steal my Master Spark!” With that shout, Yuuka charged the crystal wall that had contained what she had apparently called a Master Spark. Closing her parasol and using it like a spear, she plowed through the crystal wall, shattering it into hundreds of pieces as Hoshimi backpedalled away from the sight.
“Let me return it to you then,” Hoshimi replied as she clapped her hands in front of herself. Doing so, the glow of the broken fragments in the air around Yuuka intensified, and after a short delay, simultaneously exploded.
Fighting the residents of Gensokyo was much more stressful than she had expected it to be. For some reason, all of them seemed to be experts at avoiding attacks, making most of her standard attacks that she relied on frustratingly ineffective. Something like this, however, that exploded violently and attacked from all sides in an artificially confined area, should work no matter how well one could dodge.
But she wasn’t so na?ve as to think that it would be enough to finish her. Sure enough, emerging from the dissipated explosion with no visible signs of injury aside from burnt clothes, the flower youkai hurtled herself once more towards Hoshimi. Rapidly closing the already short distance between the two of them, Yuuka swung her parasol violently in front of her.
Time seemed to slow as both Yuuka and Hoshimi exchanged glances that said the same thing.
Got you!
As Yuuka’s parasol reached Hoshimi’s body, her entire body dissolved into the air, leaving nothing but a thin black mist behind it. Almost instantaneously, she reappeared only a few feet away, above the charging youkai.
“Too slow,” Hoshimi said with a smile as she placed her hand gently on the middle of Yuuka’s back. Before the youkai could do more than turn to face her, revealing her surprised expression, Hoshimi spoke once more.
Impact.
The one, soundless word tore through the open sky with such force that the dust and clouds kicked up by their battle were blown away as if by hurricane force winds. Simultaneously, without even the chance to respond, Yuuka was shot like a bullet, impacting heavily with the ground hundreds of feet below. As she collided with the ground, new clouds of dust and dirt plumed upwards, obscuring the youkai from view.
Hoshimi flexed the fingers on her right hand a few times with a disappointed expression. “Hm. I was hoping to reach the speed of sound with that one, but it seems I’m going to need to put a little more power into it for that.”
Pulling her from her thoughts, she heard Yuuka’s loud laugh come from the cloud of dust on the ground, prompting another disappointed sigh from Hoshimi. Every time one of her attacks failed to kill this youkai, it deepened her regret towards being unable to recruit her. She may not have been used to fighting against these people, but she was still serious. The fact that this Yuuka had survived this long against her was a monumental testament to her strength and ability.
Floating upwards slowly from the cloud of dust on the ground, Yuuka was shaking her head. “To think, some newcomer managed to hit me not once, but twice in a row. And with such force! Even with such cheap tricks, I can’t help but be awed by your prowess.”
In contrast to her words, her face looked more like she couldn’t contain her glee. Despite all appearances, she was definitely quite the childish one.
As she came level with Hoshimi again, her expression became uncharacteristically grave.
“But…even despite all your flashy attacks, I can’t feel the slightest bit of magical energy behind them. I feel plenty enough from you, but your attacks…it seems almost as if they are launching of their own accord. Even that last attack, with force enough to completely blow me away, I couldn’t feel the slightest trace of magic behind it.”
Hoshimi raised an eyebrow. Despite her childish nature, she was quite perceptive. Had she been analyzing her throughout the entire fight? Or did she just notice through coincidence? Whatever the reason, she had discovered something rather important to her style of fighting.
Thankfully, she had already rejected Hoshimi’s offer to join her, because she would have had to kill her now anyways.
“Very well!” The youkai shouted, a smile finally returning to her face. “As punishment for striking me twice, I will show you some cheap tricks of my own!”
With those words, Hoshimi could suddenly feel a surge of magical energy from the ground below her. A quick look showed that the ground was now completely covered in enormous sunflowers. Each had a flower large enough that a person could lie down on top of it…and each was turned facing her.
More importantly, however, along each sunflower’s head beads of light were beginning to gather. In an instant, she suddenly realized what was about to happen – and at the same time, she heard the triumphant roar of the flower youkai racing towards her.
“Too slow!”
Dodging upwards as fast as possible, Hoshimi was barely able to avoid being speared by Yuuka’s parasol. As shadows streaked from behind her towards the youkai, she simply batted them away with her parasol and responded with a handful of small beams of light. A thin sheet of translucent crystal appeared between the two, blocking the light bolts almost as soon as they materialized, and as Yuuka smashed the crystal with her parasol, Hoshimi took her chance to increase the distance between the two of them.
Seemingly misjudging the effects of her crystals, Yuuka also hurled herself backwards away from the broken shards. However, a second glance showed that perhaps it was her who had misjudged Yuuka’s intent. The flower youkai now floated in place, facing the sun overhead with her eyes closed and her arms raised.
She saw the opening instantly. Every fiber of her being screamed at her to take it, and send a spear right through the flower youkai’s chest while she stood still. But it didn’t take long for her moment of caution to pay off, as Yuuka announced with a calm but loud voice.
“Four Seasons: Nature’s Kaleidoscope.”
As she finished speaking, Hoshimi could feel the air itself begin to shake and vibrate. Looking down, she saw the hundreds upon hundreds of giant sunflowers each had a huge ball of multicoloured light in their center – and those balls of light were now erupting into beams of energy towards her.
The beams of light came in all varieties of colour, every single one of them seemingly to be slightly different than every other. They were long, thin beams that cut through the air rapidly, and each of them was aimed at her. Using all of her will power and agility, Hoshimi barely managed to dodge between the beams as they fired towards her in rapid succession.
Seconds after the first beam of light cut upwards into the air, the ball of light it had originated from suddenly exploded violently upwards, and the beam of light expanded in size to the same size as the attack the youkai had called a Master Spark. As Hoshimi desperately maneuvered herself between the incoming lasers, she found that her escape routes were rapidly becoming cut off by the previous lasers expanding into massive beams.
Finally walled in, Hoshimi dissipated herself as yet another laser cut through the position she had been occupying. Rematerializing well outside the mesh of lasers and beams, she was quickly greeted by yet another laser aimed directly for her. With the spare moments she had earned by teleporting away, she was able to determine that not even a third of the flowers had fired their lasers yet. Thankfully, however, the ones that had already fired did not change their aim, but the beams they fired did not disappear – it didn’t take her long to realize that once all of the flowers had fired, the entire area would be completely engulfed, and she would have nowhere to hide.
More importantly, though, the tower would also be engulfed.
Hoshimi stopped dodging and created a massive crystal plate, almost three feet thick between her and the ground. Its massive length and width as well as its curled up edged ensured that none of the attacks from the ground could reach her, but even her magic absorbing crystal couldn’t take more than two or three of those Master Spark like attacks at once.
Thinking like that was part of the reason why she was on the run now. She had let herself be too taken in by the atmosphere, gave herself over too much to the rules and styles of fighting in Gensokyo. Why was she bothering to dodge these? Instead, it would be much more efficient to cut them off at the source.
Just as the massive crystal plate shattered, Hoshimi propelled herself as fast as possible outwards. If nothing else, she had bought herself three seconds to think, and that was all she needed. Without slowing down, as lasers from the ground sliced through the air behind her path of travel, she pointed a finger at the hundreds of flowers and spoke.
Burn.
Along with the familiar silent thunderclap, a small plume of fire appeared in the middle of the still attacking giant sunflowers. Though the initial burst of fire was only enough to consume three or four flowers, the flames took to the sunflowers as if it was a grassland in a drought, racing around the field and incinerating them en masse. One more crystal wall gave her the time she needed to wait out the last of the attack, as the flames consumed the last of the flowers and the last of the pillars of light winked out.
Only ten seconds after she had spoken, the entire field was aflame, and only ten seconds after that, the fires had died down, replaced by a massive slow-rising wall of black smoke. Satisfied that the threat had been suitably pacified, she turned to face Yuuka once more – and was greeted by yet another incoming Master Spark.
Pushing herself to her limits yet again, Hoshimi barely managed to dodge upwards and out of the way of the horizontally fired beam. Still focused on firing her attack, Yuuka had left herself wide open. Hoshimi wasted no time taking advantage of the opening. Reaching a hand towards her, she opened her mouth to blast her out of the sky –
– and was enveloped in a beam of pure magical energy.
The impact stunned her momentarily, as she was lost to the burning sensation consuming her body. How? What had happened? She could see her opponent, successfully dodged the attack…but was hit by another one? After recovering from the shock of being struck, she quickly deployed a crystal sheet to block the attack. She had been hit fairly hard, but raw magical energy could only do so much damage, so she was able to maintain her position despite being in a significant amount of pain.
As the light of the attack dissipated, she let the crystal wall fall from its place in the air so she could see where the attack came from. Through the wall of smoke that had arisen from the burnt flowers, a massive hole through which the Master Spark had passed showed a painfully familiar location – the spot where, earlier, Yuuka had been plowed into the ground.
And now, standing among the charred flowers, where the dust from her previous impact had not yet completely cleared away, stood Yuuka Kazami, parasol raised and pointed at her, with a manic grin on her face.
Upon seeing Yuuka standing there with such a smug look on her face, Hoshimi instantly forgot about her pain. Wild, hot anger began to well up in her chest. How had she done it? How could she have missed something as straightforward as a decoy? No, she hadn’t missed anything. Neither the Yuuka she had been combatting, nor this one on the ground, were fake. She could tell that much. So how had she managed to pull it off?
Hoshimi took a deep breath. There was no need to get so worked up. She had fallen for a silly trick, but it wouldn’t work twice. She would be ready now, no matter how many times she switched places. Rebuilding her resolve, Hoshimi readied herself to attack. As she started formulating a plan of action for her next attack – as she admitted now, taking this Yuuka Kazami lightly was no longer a good idea – she noticed that Yuuka had lowered her parasol and was now holding up one of her hands, with her forefinger raised.
“One?” Hoshimi muttered to herself. One what? Was she just keeping track of how many times she could land hits? As she readied herself for her next attack, she suddenly heard a cheerful, ringing voice directly behind her – and felt fear for the first time in her life.
“And this will be two~”
There was no mistake. She was looking at Yuuka directly, with her own eyes. She was standing on the ground, hundreds of feet below her. Yet, as she turned in what felt like slow motion, she saw for a split second the person she least wanted to see, fist raised and ready to punch. This was, of course…Yuuka Kazami.
Time had seemed to slow almost to a halt as Hoshimi turned to see who was behind her, but the instant she made eye contact with the Yuuka that was there, it snapped back into real time immediately – just in time for the punch to connect.
The force of the blow was tremendous, throwing Hoshimi towards the ground and almost supersonic speed. However, despite the speed with which she had been launched, she felt time slow again, just in time to see that Yuuka was, in fact, still on the ground – and ready to punch again.
Before even making contact with the ground, Hoshimi took a second punch. The first had hit her in the side of the face, stunning her briefly, but the second punch took her in the stomach so hard she blacked out momentarily. Before she even had the time to feel the pain from the second punch, however, she plowed into a raised hill hundreds of feet away from where Yuuka was.
Hoshimi’s mind was completely blank. It wasn’t even that she couldn’t believe what had happened, so much as she couldn’t process it. The shock from the two hits and the impact had knocked her completely senseless, so she lay battered and broken, plowed almost ten feet into the side of the hill by the force of Yuuka’s blow.
“And that’s three,” her barely conscious mind registered a voice coming from above her. “Now I’m winning.” Through her disjointed consciousness, she could roughly understand that the voice belonged to the person that had hit her.
The person…that…had hit her.
“But you know, I’m really kind of disappointed. That was my first time trying out Nature’s Kaleidoscope, but it didn’t even get to fire all one thousand Master Sparks. I guess in the end the classic stuff is always the best though, huh?”
Hearing Yuuka’s voice, Hoshimi’s broken consciousness flared up. In an instant, she was thinking clearly again – just long enough to lose herself to her anger. It wasn’t a burning, raging anger like before however. This time it was a cold, ice-like hate. One that allowed her to stay calculating and controlled, if not calm.
Yuuka kept talking, and every once in a while her voice was punctuated by a laugh, but Hoshimi heard none of it anymore. She quickly analyzed her own condition – the side of her face was completely shattered, as were most of the bones in her chest. Her spine was broken in countless places, and her limbs were completely wrecked. Luckily, she had no real need of internal organs, so there was little more to the damage she had incurred than structural damage.
Slowly, her face and throat began reconstructing and remodelling themselves. As they did so, the rest of her body began following suit, and within thirty seconds or so, she was able to move again. Picking herself up out of the crater her body had made on impact, she weakly stumbled outwards to where Yuuka was standing.
“Oh? You can still move around that much after taking two punches? You are an awful lot tougher then I gave you credit for!” Yuuka stood, her face practically jubilant, in front of the raggedly breathing Hoshimi. Her face and head completely healed, she focused on rebuilding her spine and legs so she could stand properly. For almost two minutes, Hoshimi silently repaired her ruined body while Yuuka simply stood by and watched.
Finally fully healed, Hoshimi stood up straight and looked straight into Yuuka’s eyes. The instant they locked eyes, she could feel the ice cold rage in her heart start losing to the blazing hot fury she was more prone to. Apparently seeing the anger in her eyes, Yuuka’s smile simply grew wider.
“Allow me to save you the embarrassment of having to ask the obvious question,” Yuuka said as she twirled her open parasol on her shoulder.
As she did so…Yuuka Kazami landed beside her, opened her parasol, and rested it on her shoulder.
“You see? It all makes sense now, doesn’t it?” Yuuka seemed to be trying especially hard to not laugh as she spoke.
For a split second, she was confused. But after thinking it through, it suddenly made sense. There were two of them. It didn’t matter whether it started out that way, or she had made a clone or duplicate, but the fact she could split meant that she could be in two places at once.
“…so, you split when you were on the ground?”
“Good guess. I was truly worried when the fire started that it would reveal that I was hiding there, but luckily there was enough smoke that you didn’t seem to notice!”
Hoshimi stared at her, her disbelief almost matching her anger. Who exactly was this Yuuka Kazami? So tremendously powerful, powerful enough to have so thoroughly beaten her, and yet she wasted the chance to finish her off so she could gloat? And what’s more, after that, she proceeded to reveal the secrets she used to beat her without even being asked? It was beyond stupid or insane, it was just incomprehensible.
“So, intruder who has yet to even give me your name,” Yuuka stated as the two copies of her recombined into a single person, “are you up for round two?”
Hearing that question, it all became clear. Yuuka hadn’t finished her off because to her, this still wasn’t a fight to the death. This was just a game. A hobby. A pastime. She wasn’t here to win, she was here to have fun. She only wanted to beat her and gloat, not kill her.
“Very well,” Hoshimi finally responded, her face breaking into a smile. “As a reward for hitting me three times, I allow you the honour of hearing my name. My name is Hoshimi. Before I came to Gensokyo, I bore the title of The Evening Star.”
“And what’s more, Yuuka Kazami, in the spirit of fairness, since you have showed me the technique you used to defeat me, I will give to you a piece of advice as well.”
Yuuka watched silently as Hoshimi’s smile grew to look just as manic as her own did.
“If you get the chance to land a hit on me…make it a killing blow.” Yuuka had time only to raise an eyebrow at her statement before Hoshimi spoke again.
Blast.
The silent tremor that followed her commands was accompanied by a very audible explosion this time, directed right in front of Hoshimi in a cone towards Yuuka. Since the two had been standing only four feet apart, there was no way for her to dodge, and she was sent hurtling backwards.
Though she was sent a considerable distance, she wasn’t particularly injured by the explosion. Righting herself, Yuuka made to comment on the bad taste of surprise attacks, but stopped herself when she saw Hoshimi’s stance.
Standing with her right hand forward, palm facing Yuuka, Hoshimi was still on the ground. Thick, black lines extended out from her hand, but this time instead of lashing towards her, they arced backwards and twisted themselves into the shape of a magic circle. As Yuuka watched, the lines continued to multiply, and the circle got larger and larger, as well as more ornate and complex.
Even Hoshimi knew that such a blatant charge up type attack would be completely ineffective against a normal opponent, but Yuuka Kazami was not a normal opponent.
“So that’s how you want to play it, huh? We’ll have it your way then!” Smiling madly, Yuuka split herself into two once more, and both copies raised their parasols. Rather than firing immediately, however, magical energy began gathering at their tips.
After all, this was just a game to Yuuka. If Hoshimi made such a blatant challenge to her as to use an attack like this, someone like her would have no choice but to attempt to defeat it with something similar. It was an unspoken challenge to her raw strength, one that Yuuka fully understood – and accepted.
Both combatants could begin to see signs of the tremendous amount of magical energy their opponents were wielding. As Yuuka charged energy into her Twin Sparks, the overflowing magical energy flowed into the husks of the charred plants at her feet. The burns that had utterly destroyed the plants began to recede, and life flowed back into the grasses and flowers around her. As magical energy continued to gather, the area became more and more lush, far more than it had been before. Such was the power of the flower youkai, that even without directly controlling it, her overflowing magical energy was enough to restore life to dead plants where only dust remained.
In stark contrast, the energy gathering around Hoshimi had a much different effect. The space around her warped and twisted, and at odd times black lightning would arc out from the magical array taking form before her and would rake the ground. The distortions were so severe, in fact, that she suspected even if one had launched a projectile at her, it would be completely thrown off course, ironically providing her a kind of protection she hadn’t considered before.
Yuuka began talking about how Hoshimi was now finally using magical energy for her attacks, but Hoshimi was beyond listening. She had no mind for anything other than the spell she was casting, and the hate she was funnelling into it. Her pure hatred at Yuuka, for having humiliated her so badly. Her raging anger, practically burning her from the inside out, at having been deceived by such a simple trick as having two opponents. She poured everything she had, everything she was, into the magical array in front of her.
As the array finished forming, it immediately began to collapse in on itself, condensing into the palm of Hoshimi’s hand. Feeling the massive backlash from containing so much magical energy in a single spot, she waited, wincing only slightly – only a few seconds more, only a few seconds more…
Without waiting for Hoshimi’s attack to fire, Yuuka launched her attack. The Twin Sparks tore across the open field towards Hoshimi at tremendous speed, but just before they reached her…she dissolved into the air. As the spot she had once occupied was completely annihilated by the super-charged Twin Spark, Hoshimi reappeared only ten feet behind Yuuka.
Sensing the tremendous amount of magical energy Hoshimi still held in her palm, Yuuka immediately turned to face her. Still in the process of firing the Twin Spark, however, she couldn’t move – not unless she dropped the parasol, and as Hoshimi had predicted, she would never be willing to do that.
With a smile rivalling the most twisted and vile expressions that had ever been borne by Yuuka herself, Hoshimi issued her parting words in little more than a hiss.
“Suffer in hell, Yuuka Kazami!”
The super dense concentration of magic in Hoshimi’s palm instantly redeployed into a standard magical array, immediately in front of her and with a diameter of just over ten feet. The lush greenery that had reappeared beneath Yuka’s feet immediately turned to ash and was blown away by the backlash of the spell that had not even fired yet. Finally, less than five seconds after she had initially appeared behind Yuuka, Twin Sparks still firing, Hoshimi announced the name of her spell.
“Hell’s Judgement!”
With those words, the magical energy within the array was released. A massive beam of black light erupted from Hoshimi’s hand, easily five times the size of the Twin Spark Yuuka had just fired. The opaque black light seemed almost like a solid substance, giving off bolts of black lightning around the edges.
Twin Sparks still firing, Yuuka and her clone were completely engulfed in the blast, but it didn’t stop there. Continuing forward, the Twin Sparks themselves were also completely engulfed, as were the hill where Hoshimi had been standing, the hill behind that, and the entire forest behind that.
As the attack continued, it seemed as if it was sucking the very light out of the atmosphere. It took only three seconds of continuous firing before the field that had housed their battle was as dark as midnight, the sun still shining futilely overhead.
The black light raged on, flowing outwards from Hoshimi as if it was a manifestation of her overflowing anger and hate. After ten seconds of firing, the beam began to shrink. It quickly shrunk to the size of a Master Spark, and then to that of a normal laser, even thinner than that, and then it finally disappeared. With a deep breath, Hoshimi surveyed the results of her work.
The land in front of her was completely obliterated. The hill she had been thrown into, the one behind it, and most of the forest behind that were replaced by a massive trench. The air in the area where the blast had hit still crackled with black lightning occasionally. Fortunately, Hoshimi had excellent night vision, because it took almost a full thirty seconds for the light of the sun to illuminate the area properly again. Even the earth itself seemed to be still shaking after having witnessed the magnitude of her attack.
More important than the effect on the environment, however, was the effect on her opponent. Not a single trace of the youkai known has Yuuka Kazami, from a scrap of clothing to a strand of hair, remained. As expected, she had been completely erased.
And yet, she still felt unsatisfied. She had definitely, beyond the shadow of a doubt, completely and perfectly won – yet she had been driven into a corner so badly, that if her opponent had been serious, she would have died. Such a result was inconceivable.
“Even if I’m only at one fifth of my power, to think I’d do so poorly against a single youkai…” Though her raging anger had subsided, it had been replaced with a dull burning. Even though she had a complete and total victory, she felt like she still had lost at something.
Turning around and looking at the massive black obelisk she had constructed, she sighed. The tower was still in perfect shape, all according to plan. The loss of a youkai as powerful as Yuuka Kazami would be a massive blow to the residents of Gensokyo in their attempts to stop her, but the very fact that someone as powerful as her had existed exceeded her expectations. If there were any more in Gensokyo who had power similar to hers, it was very possible that she would be overwhelmed in the final confrontation.
Though, if they were anything like Yuuka was, they would probably come and try and fight her on their own. She may have only been able to muster a fifth of her power since arriving in Gensokyo, but as long as she went all out from the beginning, she should be able to prevent a mishap like todays from ever happening again.
Conjuring a simple stone chair behind her, Hoshimi sat down with a sigh. Her plans were finally coming to fruition. Once she found her third recruit, she would be able to move into the final phase of her plan. Then, the only thing that stood between her and true freedom was the Hakurei Shrine’s group.
Closing her eyes, she leaned her head back, resting it on the back of the chair.
Just a little further. Just a little further…
One of my big inhibitions to writing touhou fiction is that I don't think I would be able to convincingly write a Spell Card battle that was interesting to read. Thankfully, this story almost completely negates the need for those!
Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go into hiding for a few days so I don't get killed by murderous Yuuka
fans. See you guys later!
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So, can I take it that Yuuka is 100% actually, truly dead? Not going to be revived for the rest of the story?
If so, well, I shall dance with joy! Finally, someone who isn't afraid to make Yuuka become other than the usual "unbeatable scary psycho" the fanon loves! Take her down a peg or two!
But seriously, I think you're worthy enough to kill off a Touhou character. We know Hoshimi is really, really strong and you've managed to combine that strength with likeability.
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I'd be angrier with the death if it wasn't for the fact that the fight was really cool and overall pretty even. It's good to see Hoshime knocked down a peg or two, as well.
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When I read that last part I thought "That's just begging to get contradicted by canon"... then I remembered that already happened.
Anyway, keep up the good work! You've created a very compelling story here.
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Oh, and I shudder on what she'd be capable of in her full power. This is just 20% of her, folks.
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Suddenly, updates! Because writing in English is easier than reading Seinarukana in Japanese!
While writing, I feel I have to constantly remind myself that I'm the only one who knows how the story is going to end. I feel like the story must look so completely different from the point of view of the reader that I'm in danger of losing perspective as I write. Though I suppose that applies as much to expression of character as it does to the forward movement to the plot. Do the attitudes and expressions that I'm trying to write into the characters actually come across appropriately to someone who doesn't have the same biases and preconceptions I do?
For the same reason I feel like many of my characters must feel shallow from others' points of view. The feedback I've received up to this point seems to run contrary to that feeling, but I'm still constantly worrying about it. I feel like its a consequence of the story being so ambitious, including so many characters and not giving much time to build each of their personalities before moving on to the next one, and I can't really think of a way of amending that besides constricting the cast of characters, or adding a ton more filler content.
Anyways, enough blogging. Have a chapter 12.
Chapter 12 ? Missing Power
Reimu stretched her arms above her head with a yawn as she walked out into the shrine courtyard.
She had arrived back at the shrine from her trip to the Palace of the Earth Spirits rather late the night before, and getting everyone up to speed ? including herself ? had taken no small amount of time. As such, the amount of sleep she had gotten the night before was less than sufficient.
Waking up early the next morning, she had tried to contribute as much as possible to the preparations going on at the time, but in the end sleep deprivation after a three day journey had just been too much for her, and after much urging from the others, had gone back inside for a nap.
It was now maybe a couple of hours after noon, and the hectic atmosphere from the morning hadn?t abated even slightly.
Eirin, Kanako, and Remilia sat under a parasoled table, discussing a range of topics from how the weather was going to be over the next week to the current knowledge of their opponents. Sakuya, naturally, was serving them drinks and the occasional snacks.
On the opposite side of the courtyard, Patchouli, Nitori, and Byakuren seemed to be working together on?something. She honestly didn?t have the faintest clue what they were trying to accomplish, and asking them earlier had accomplished little other than getting herself bombarded with technical terms she didn?t understand. It seemed their efforts were bearing fruit, however, so she felt it would be best to leave them to their own devices.
Though she couldn?t see them, she could hear the sounds of Youmu and Reisen sparring somewhere nearby. They had started pretty much as soon as the sun had rose, and apparently were still at it. And today wasn?t the first day of it, either. The two seemed especially focused on improving themselves for the coming fight, and it seemed their focus was on developing skill and strategy rather than power or force.
On top of that, however, there were a fair number of people missing. Marisa, for one, was a rather significant figure to be absent. Kaguya, Komachi, and Sanae were similarly unaccounted for, and for whatever reason, Suwako and Alice ? both of whom Reimu had been told would be coming ? had yet to arrive.
And finally, but not surprisingly, Yukari was also nowhere to be seen. She had been pretty hard to get a hold of since people had first begun gathering at the shrine, popping in and out to check up on things every day or two, but otherwise off in her own little world. She assured them she was working on something important, but also assured them that if they defeated Hoshimi everything she was working for would be irrelevant. Reimu hadn?t yet mentioned what she thought of the fact Yukari was making preparations assuming they would lose.
Regardless, if there was a chance of defeat, it was best to prepare for it, so she couldn?t be altogether upset. If Hell decided to put an end to Gensokyo for any reason, Yukari was likely the only one who would have any way of doing anything about it, and indeed would likely be the only one with the capabilities to even begin rebuilding the Hakurei Border should it fall. And even if everything worked out fine in this situation, it couldn?t hurt to have these preparations in place for the future.
As Reimu mulled over these thoughts for the nth time, Marisa and Sanae touched down in the center of the courtyard in front of her, apparently back from?wherever they were.
?Morning, sleepy head!? Strangely enough, Sanae was the first one to speak. She seemed in especially high spirits, while Marisa looked quite unhappy.
?So, what did you two do wrong this time??
?Oh nothing~? Sanae said, averting her eyes with a smile.
?We were just at the human village. We were supposed to warn Keine about the coming battle so she could be ready to defend the village if it needed defending. But somebody decided it would be a good time for a publicity stunt??
?Oh come on, the people have a right to know! It would be unethical to hide it from them!?
?Trying to incite panic isn?t particularly ethical either you know??
?I was not inciting panic!? Sanae responded, acting offended. ?I simply warned the people of the coming danger, and ensured them the Moriya Shrine would ensure their safety no matter the cost.?
Watching the exchange between the two quietly, Reimu finally spoke up. ?Did you at least actually talk to Keine??
?Yeah. While Sanae was rallying the crowd, I managed to find her and give her a brief rundown on the situation.?
?Great. You two can go back to arguing now.?
?No! I?ve had enough of this crazy, green haired maniac!? Marisa threw her hands up in the air and stalked off towards nowhere in particular. Halfway to her destination, she was called over by Nitori, and walked over to see what she was doing.
Sanae watched her go with an amused expression, shaking her head. ?Some people?s kids??
Seeing Eirin beckoning her over out of the corner of her eye, Reimu turned to leave. ?Alright, I?ve got business to attend to. Go try and make yourself useful.?
With a smirk and a salute, Sanae started walking off towards the back of the shrine, where Youmu and Reisen were sparring. Reimu, on the other hand, headed over to where Eirin?s group was sitting. Now that she thought about it, it was kind of strange that they had somehow acquired a table, a set of chairs, and a parasol that didn?t belong to the shrine at all. She wondered about it for a moment, but after seeing Sakuya out of the corner of her eye, it suddenly all made sense.
Reimu made a mental note to be a bit nicer to the maid next time they met. Even if she could manipulate time, carrying a set of chairs, a table, and a parasol over from the Scarlet Devil Mansion by herself would not have been an easy task.
?Reimu, we?ve come up with a problem, it?s solution, and now we need your input.? Kanako spoke up first, getting straight to the heart of the matter.
?As long as it?s already solved, then great. Let?s hear it.?
?We?ve managed to do considerably well in gathering people to fight against this Hoshimi, as you?ve called her. Honestly, I?m a little surprised so many people were willing to help out, but it seems Hoshimi herself has been stirring up trouble, so I suppose it shouldn?t really be unexpected.? Kanako was calm and collected as she spoke, showing no signs of being disturbed. Good, it looked like the problem they were going to bring up actually was solved.
?The problem, however,? Eirin picked up where Kanako left off, ?is that with this many people, the likelihood of us being able to fight effectively together drops dramatically. While putting more people against this single person initially sounds nice, more than five people together would be just as much a hindrance as it would be a help. In the end, it would just be too much firepower, and we would lose as much focus from dodging our own attacks as we would gain from teaming up on her.?
?While it?s obviously true that people can learn to work together in large groups,? Kanako began again, ?that kind coordination takes years to develop, and we?ve only got five days left. As such, we?ve decided we need to find some way of eliminating the disadvantage of overcrowding without forfeiting the advantage of superior numbers.?
?As such, we?ve decided to split our entire force into smaller combat groups. The idea is that only one group will fight her at a time, and should they?find themselves at a disadvantage, another group can intervene while they pull out. Like this, we?ll rotate who is fighting, keeping a fresh group in combat at all times, and hopefully whittling down the opponent as much as possible. Eventually, the goal would be to exhaust her to the point she is incapable of continuing, and clean up from there. Not an altogether glorious victory, but a victory nonetheless.?
Reimu pondered for a minute before responding. ?Alright, fair enough. What do you need me for, then??
Remilia was the next to respond. ?For the plan to work, we need to split into groups, and while there are some obvious groups ? like me and my subordinates, Eirin and the others from Eientei, the whole group from the Moriya shrine ? a problem arises when we consider loners like you.?
?Ah,? Reimu responded noncommittally. She didn?t particularly like the way Remilia referred to her as a ?loner,? but she decided it would be better to just let it slide. She was getting better at that, recently.
?People who don?t already belong in larger groups include you, Marisa, Youmu, Byakuren, and Komachi. I?ve assumed Yukari won?t be participating, and despite helping us out the Kappa have made it clear they have no desire to participate in the fighting itself.? Kanako took control of the conversation again.
?While it?s tempting to just throw the lot of you into a group together, it?s not exactly a tactically sound choice. You and Marisa aside, making the largest group full of people who aren?t experienced working together seems?rather dangerous. And so, we?re asking for your opinion.?
Reimu tapped the side of her head with her forefinger as she thought. ?Well, the first thing to think about I suppose is, is everyone in the other groups actually going to participate in the fight??
The three seated at the table looked at each other briefly before turning back to Reimu. ?For the most part they should be,? Kanako responded for the group.
?Actually?? Remilia interjected, ?what are your thoughts on creating a non-combat group? I know personally Patchy won?t be particularly fond of the idea of fighting, and if the Kappa don?t want to fight, we might be able to work out some sort of a support team.?
The eyes of everyone at the table suddenly went unfocused as their minds raced far ahead of everyone else, measuring out the possibilities. Feeling a little left behind, Reimu exchanged a look with Sakuya who was in the middle of refilling drinks. Sakuya returned the look with a shrug and continued with her work, as Reimu waited for the others to come out of their ?trance.?
?Reimu,? Eirin spoke up first, ?you mentioned that doll user would be coming eventually, right??
?Well, I didn?t mention it, but yes, if Marisa is to be believed then Alice should be joining us shortly.?
?If we added her to this support team, we could use her dolls as both emergency defensive measures for everyone, and a method to communicate en masse. If we had her focus on that, she would no doubt be unable to participate in direct combat.?
?Furthermore,? Kanako added, ?we can?t expect that such a team would be safe just because they aren?t participating in direct combat. They should be assigned someone who will be able to buy them the time necessary to collect themselves should they be attacked.?
?Alright, here?s my proposal then,? Reimu jumped into the conversation, causing all eyes to turn to her. ?Patchouli and Alice will form the Support group. If one or more of the Kappa want to come along for some reason, they can join in as well. Finally, we?ll assign Komachi to it as well, since she is quite adept at buying time and moving quickly. In a pinch, her and Alice together should be able to work as an emergency rescue crew.?
?That leaves the group from the Scarlet Devil Mansion with only two members, however. To remedy that, we?ll assign Youmu to that group. Out of those of us remaining ungrouped, Youmu is the one most likely to be able to keep up with Remilia and Sakuya?s speed.?
?That leaves three people ungrouped, and the Moriya Shrine group is the smallest with two people.?
?Three people,? Kanako interjected, ?Suwako has finished with her business and is on her way. She should be arriving within the next two days.?
Reimu nodded, glad to finally hear some progress on Suwako?s situation. ?In that case, Marisa, Byakuren and I can form another group. Marisa and I are fairly experienced with each other?s danmaku, if nothing else, so we should be able to work together perfectly fine, and we both have experience fighting Byakuren, however limited, so we should be able to work with her as well.?
?Of course, this all assumes we don?t have any more people join us,? Remilia added with a sigh, as if adding more people to the mix would be a bad thing.
?We can deal with that problem when it arises,? Kanako responded with a wry smile, ?the bigger problem is if the people we do have don?t cooperate?or show up.?
?Speaking of people not showing up,? Reimu was the next to speak, ?does anyone have any ideas as to where Kaguya and Komachi are??
?Last I checked, Kaguya was watching Youmu and Reisen,? Eirin answered, ?as for Komachi, she said she was going to ?take a look around? and has been gone since morning.?
?And it?s a good thing I did too,? Komachi?s voice suddenly came from behind them, ?or else I never would have found these!?
Reimu and the group sitting at the table turned to face Komachi, and were immediately stunned speechless. Standing rather nonchalantly, scythe looped through her belt on her back to free up her hands, was a rather happy looking Komachi. Over her shoulders were slumped the bodies of two familiar looking people, neither one they expected to see, though for different reasons.
Dropping the apparently unconscious bodies on the ground, it became clear beyond the shadow of a doubt who they belonged to. One was none other than Ran Yakumo, who had been missing since the first encounter with Hoshimi over a week ago. She didn?t seem to have any external wounds, though her clothing seemed a little worse for wear. She didn?t seem to be breathing.
The other, whose presence was unexpected in a very different sense, was the little oni, Suika Ibuki. On the surface, she seemed to be in much worse condition ? covered in bruises, bleeding from multiple places, her left arm clearly broken. Even stranger, however, was that unlike Ran she was breathing ? snoring, in fact.
A full five seconds of stunned silence passed before everyone seated at the table, plus Reimu and Sakuya, immediately rushed over to the two unconscious individuals ? pointedly stating to themselves that they could only confirm both were unconscious ? and immediately began tending to them, almost in a panic. Komachi quickly stepped back from the crowd, unslung her scythe from its resting place, and planted it on the ground to use to support her weight.
After a cursory inspection of Suika, Eirin waved her away and turned her attention to Ran. As she did so, the others stood back to give her space to work, despite having rushed over so quickly.
?Sakuya, get rid of the Oni. She?s clearly fine. Patchy! Come here, now!? Remilia immediately began issuing instructions. With a quick bow, Sakuya made to pick up Suika, but stumbled slightly at the unexpected weight. Seeing her having trouble, Reimu helped her pick her up, and the two carried her inside.
Once inside, Reimu quickly grabbed and unrolled a futon, and the two laid the little Oni on it without too much trouble. Reimu fetched the sparse number of first aid supplies the shrine was equipped with, and the two immediately set to work tending Suika?s injuries.
In all honesty, she looked much worse than she was. As Sakuya focused on treating the major gashes and resetting her broken arm, Reimu tended to the large number of minor wounds that populated her body. Of course, minor wounds were mostly what her injuries consisted of, and even on a normal human none of the injuries she had received would be life-threatening.
?And of course, she?s just sleeping like a baby?? Reimu couldn?t help but complain. While they were taking care of her injuries, Suika herself seemed completely unperturbed. She didn?t so much as twitch when her arm was reset, and her expression looked like she had just gone for an afternoon nap.
?I think I can take care of the rest here,? Sakuya spoke up without stopping her work, ?why don?t you go outside and see if there?s anything you can help with there??
With a nod, Reimu stood up and hurried outside.
Arriving back outside, she saw all activity in the shrine courtyard had ground to a halt. Eirin and Patchouli were, for lack of a better word, inspecting Ran, while everyone else stood around and watched with dire expressions. Barring Komachi, who was watching with a very distracted expression, as if there was nothing of importance occurring in front of her. Even Youmu and Reisen had seemed to notice the crowd gathering at the front, and the two of them, as well as their two spectators, were gathered to watch as well.
Deciding her best bet was to let Eirin and Patchouli do their thing for now, Reimu decided to approach Komachi instead.
?Alright. Talk.?
Pulled from whatever thoughts were keeping her occupied, Komachi turned to Reimu. ?Hm? Oh, uh. I went to take a look around, to see if Hoshimi was making any moves, and I saw these two so I decided to bring them back.?
??that?s it??
?More or less. Oh, I can tell you the fox isn?t dead.?
?Well, that?s great, but how? It?s pretty obvious she?s not breathing??
?Mmm?Shinigami?s intuition??
Reimu simply shook her head at Komachi?s shrug. ?Well, regardless, good work. No matter what condition they?re in, it?s better to have them here than with her.?
?Oh, don?t say that to me. The real hero is the little Oni. She was already halfway to the shrine when I found her, carrying the fox with her. The instant I called out to her she passed out though. I was worried at first, but I just feel like she wanted to pass the work on to someone else.? Komachi spoke with an unsatisfied expression. It seemed like she wasn?t taking the situation very seriously, and Reimu couldn?t quite tell whether an unhappy Shinigami was a good or bad sign in the presence of the injured.
Reimu turned as she heard Patchouli?s voice. ?And one, two?three.? As she spoke, she could see a shudder run through Ran?s body, and after a short coughing fit, she fell back on the ground unconscious. The difference being that now, she was at least breathing normally.
Not five seconds after, a wide gap opened in the courtyard, barely missing the group that was standing there, and Yukari stepped out. Despite the poker face she had adopted, after getting a single glimpse at Ran, she sighed in relief. After her moment of relief, she immediately returned to her expressionless self. ?Situation??
Reimu volunteered to answer the border youkai?s question. ?Komachi was patrolling around and found Ran and Suika. She brought them both back unconscious. As you can see, they?ve apparently successfully resuscitated Ran, and Suika?s inside having her injuries tended. She?s still asleep, but she seems fine.?
Yukari nodded to Reimu before turning to Komachi. ?Anything else??
Komachi replied with a shrug. ?That?s all I got.?
?I take it,? Reimu spoke up before Yukari?s attention could be diverted elsewhere, ?that your connection with Ran is fine now??
?Yes. Just before I arrived here we were suddenly reconnected, hence my sudden arrival. As far as I can tell, she?s lightly injured, but nothing that won?t heal before she wakes up. However?? Yukari stared hard at Ran?s unconscious body before continuing. ?That could take a while. It seems she suffered the from the same thing the rest of you did, but having been subjected to it for so much longer, it?s going to take her longer to fully recover. Until she does, she?ll likely remain unconscious.?
?Chances of her being awake before we have to confront Hoshimi?? Kanako was the next to speak up.
Yukari?s gaze paused on Ran for a moment longer before responding. ?Unlikely.?
?Considering what we were just talking about, I?m not sure whether that?s a good thing or a bad thing,? Remilia interjected with a sigh. ?Alright, alright, nothing to see here, move along, move along!? For some reason, Remilia had delegated herself to crowd control, and strangely enough as she urged them to return to what they were doing, the crowd slowly broke apart and everyone returned to where they were before Komachi had arrived.
?So, what now?? Reimu asked no one in particular.
?As much as I took the time to come see what was going on, I don?t have the time, nor the resources, to take care of Ran at the moment,? Yukari replied, ?I trust it is acceptable to leave her in your care??
?Of course. I?ll go get Sakuya and we?ll take her inside.? As Reimu turned to go back inside the shrine, she stopped as she saw Sakuya walking out of the shrine with a stifled expression, as if she was trying to stop herself from laughing.
As Sakuya approached them, Komachi spoke up. ?Well, I for one am exhausted, so I?m going to take a quick breather and then head back out. Assuming I don?t find any more treasure like the last time, you can expect me to be back around sunset.? Reimu nodded to the Shinigami as she took her leave.
?How is Suika doing, Sakuya?? Yukari asked as Sakuya approached.
With a mildly amused expression, Sakuya responded with an even voice. ?Miss Suika has awoken, and she seems to be quite upset. I came to ask if there were any drinks kept in the shrine that she might be able to help herself to.?
?Of course that?s what it is?? Reimu sighed, rubbing her forehead to stave off the headache that was bound to come when dealing with Suika.
?Well, I must be off,? said Yukari with a bemused expression, ?but I will leave this small gift with you. Hopefully it will smooth things over with Suika a little bit.? As she spoke, a small gap opened in front of her, and a rather large bottle of some unlabelled ? but presumably alcoholic ? beverage fell into her hands. Handing it to the bowing Sakuya, Yukari gave a light bow of her own before disappearing into another gap.
?Alright, before we deal with Suika, let?s take Ran inside.? Reimu spoke as she moved to pick up the fox youkai. With a nod, Sakuya assisted her, somehow managing to carry half of Ran?s weight without letting go of the bottle Yukari had given her. Apparently working as a maid taught you all kinds of interesting skills.
?I think we can all guess the cause of Suika?s situation,? Kanako spoke as Reimu and Sakuya began heading inside. ?I believe it will be best if we hear what happened from her with our own ears, though. We?ll meet you inside, Reimu.?
After nodding in response, Reimu and Sakuya headed inside, closely followed by Kanako, Eirin, and Remilia, who quickly turned off to the room where Suika was waiting. She thought briefly of telling them which room she was in, but after hearing the tantrum Suika was throwing, she decided it probably wasn?t necessary.
For the second time in less than half an hour, Reimu unrolled a spare futon and together with Sakuya laid the unconscious Ran onto it. Seeing to it that she was comfortably laid out, Reimu and Sakuya headed back to where Suika was waiting.
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Suika gave off a satisfied sigh as she finished the last of her drink. And promptly poured another one. Despite being somewhat of a glutton for alcohol, she was quite refined in its consumption when someone else was providing. The amount she could drink was still mind-boggling, though.
Across from Suika sat Kanako and Eirin, making idle chatter with the Oni as she drank her fill. Standing at the back of the room was Remilia, leaning against the wall and looking bored. After a quick check to make sure Suika was okay, Sakuya left to complete some errand Remilia had sent her off on, and Reimu was sitting in the room, apart from Kanako and Eirin but still fairly close.
Feeling a bit of a lull in the conversation as Suika took another drink, Remilia spoke. ?Can we talk about important things now? I?m getting a little bored of watching you drink yourself back into a stupor.?
?Oh? I thought this was all you wanted to talk about! Is there something more?? Despite being covered in bandages, and having her left arm in a makeshift sling, she still managed to look and sound like she didn?t have a care in the world.
?As much as I?ve enjoyed our chat,? Kanako spoke up next, ?I too feel like we should move on to more important matters. Would you care to enlighten us as to what happened??
Suika blinked a few times as if she was confused, then her face turned decidedly bitter. After taking another drink, she scratched her head with her good arm and sighed.
?I heard a rumor, from Yuugi. She said that there was someone new who was super strong, and she asked if I wanted to try taking them down with her.?
?Okay, hold on, wait right there,? Reimu was the first to interrupt, ?are you telling me that that Yuugi asked for you to help her in a two on one against someone she had never met??
Suika?s expression returned to its semi-permanent cheerful state. ?I know right! How embarrassing for her! It was the first time she?d ever asked me for help in anything other than killing time! Oh, though I guess we didn?t really have any goals, so it could have been considered killing time?anyways, I thought she was being pretty silly, but she was super excited about it, so I decided I could at least tag along and watch.?
?So we went and found this person, but even though Yuugi said she came to Gensokyo alone, there were an awful lot of people there.?
?Can you tell us who you saw?? Kanako was the one to interrupt this time.
?Mmmm?the white-haired fire bird girl and?the black haired fire bird girl?? Suika shrugged as she attempted to describe who she saw. ?Oh, and we saw Yukari?s shikigami and the ghost princess as well. Though they didn?t seem to be on her side, like the first two were.?
?What do you mean by ?on her side???
?Well, they were all acting important like they were guarding the place. They mostly were just beating up fairies though, so I don?t think it was that big of a deal. Anyways, they didn?t try to stop us, so we approached the stranger Yuugi was talking about, and she was super-unhappy to see us. Like, her favourite book just got struck by lightning kind of unhappy.?
?Anyways, she asked us what we wanted, and Yuugi challenged her to a fight. Without any warning she just went ballistic and started attacking us.? Suika paused, and her expression grew dark once again. ?It was fun for the first little bit, and I understood why Yuugi wanted me there. Even with the two of us attacking her at once, we couldn?t lay a finger on her, and she was doing a super good job of keeping us pressured. But when she didn?t beat us in the first few minutes, she decided to take things to a whole new level??
?She attacked us with something like I?ve never seen before. It was like a super huge black light, and it completely destroyed everything it touched. Of course, we dodged it without too much trouble, but we could tell what kind of attack it was just by seeing it. Not even an Oni would be okay after taking an attack like that.?
?What do you mean by, ?not okay??? Eirin asked.
?I mean, screwed. A goner. Deader than dead. Nothing left to bury. That kind of ?not okay.?? Finishing her drink once more, Suika shook her head to try and get back on track. ?So at that point it wasn?t fun anymore. If she was trying to actually kill us, it would take an equal response, right? So Yuugi and I went all out too.?
Suika paused for a long moment, staring into space. ?Anyways, long story short, even when we were going all out, we couldn?t get close to her. I thought I could get her once, but I screwed up big time. Luckily, I got away mostly okay, though my arm was toast. Yuugi stepped in and pulled her attention off me long enough for me to get my bearings again, but we couldn?t even match her when it was two on one, so she didn?t really stand much of a chance alone.?
?I told Yuugi we should stop and get out of here. Obviously we had bit off a bit more than we could chew, so it would be better to come back when we were a bit better prepared. And my arm was toast, so I wasn?t going to be of very much help anyways, y?know?? Suika seemed almost embarrassed as she talked. However, her embarrassment quickly returned to bitterness as she continued.
?Yuugi wasn?t interested, though. She kept fighting, and even she should have been able to tell it was a losing battle. I, for one, decided I wasn?t interested in a complete loss, so I decided to try and at least take one of her hostages away from her. Almost as much to spite her as anything else.? Suika paused for a minute. ?They were hostages, right? The ghost princess and the fox?? Seeing everyone?s vigorous nods, she continued.
?Alright, so I wanted to try and steal the ghost princess away from her, but the instant I got close she appeared beside me and blew me away again. I ended up landing right next to where the fox was, though I hadn?t even known she was there before that, so I grabbed her and booked it. The stranger tried to stop me again, but Yuugi stopped, holding her attention just long enough for me to get away.?
Suika stopped once more, but when she started talking again her expression had lost its bitterness and she seemed to be back to her cheerful self. ?I got a little bit aways, but then I realized I was a lot more tired from the fight than I thought I was. I was about to take a break, when I saw that shinigami come down and ask me what was up, so the instant she landed I decided to take a break.?
?And the rest we know, I suppose?? Remilia tagged to the end of Suika?s story, seemingly as bored as ever.
?Well, thank you for your time, Miss Ibuki,? Kanako said, ?it seems we now have much to discuss. Please rest well.? Saying this, she and Eirin stood and made to leave.
?I?ll be along in a second, don?t wait up.? Reimu waved them out of the room, and with a nod, the two returned to the shrine courtyard. After giving Reimu a look she didn?t quite understand, Remilia followed them out.
A long pause followed, as Reimu sat quietly watching Suika, and Suika poured herself another drink, emptying the bottle Yukari had provided.
?So,? Reimu finally decided to break the silence, ?how are you feeling??
?Absolutely terrible,? Suika replied without so much as a pause, her cheerful expression not even twitching.
?Well, that?s unfortunate,? Reimu said with a wry smile.
?But, when all?s said and done, I stole one of her hostages, so I didn?t lose completely, right??
?Right. Any idea of what happened to Yuugi??
Suika paused in the middle of taking a drink and shot Reimu an unreadable look. ?No. Well, yes. I know she would never give up or run away, so she probably would have stayed until the very end. But it?s not often an Oni comes up against someone who they don?t have a chance of beating. I suspect she was stubborn until the end, but I couldn?t tell you for sure. Pretty unique circumstances.?
Reimu nodded silently. Unfortunately, she was unable to get into contact with Yuugi or Suika before they confronted Hoshimi, and now there was a pretty solid chance neither of them would be able to help them at all. Either way, Suika had successfully retrieved Ran, so it wasn?t a complete loss, like she said. She still would have preferred having the two of them to help with the final battle against her, though.
?Oh, one thing, Reimu,? Suika spoke up as if she had just remembered something. ?That black light?it takes her a while to charge it up. Make sure you keep an eye on her, ?cause she?ll definitely try to distract you somehow to buy herself time to use it. If you can keep her busy though, she shouldn?t be able to use it.?
?Is it really that strong though? I can?t imagine an attack strong enough to beat an Oni in a single hit??
Suika scratched her head lightly before replying. ?Let?s just say, it?s not normal magic. It seemed more like it was?destruction mixed with decomposition. That makes it rather difficult to defend against, and the spread was wide enough that it would easily cover the entire shrine grounds if she used it here.?
Reimu was both surprised at the power of the magic Suika was describing to her, and at the fact Suika was acting so serious when talking about it. ?Honestly, that sounds like something that?s too risky to use against one or two opponents. I?m surprised she bothered with it at all if she was already beating you guys in the fight.?
?Yeah, something happened to make her pretty upset beforehand, I suspect, or she wouldn?t have bothered. After all, as far as I could tell, it seemed more like magic designed to be used against an entire army.? Suika shot Reimu a meaningful look as she said this, and the meaning was not lost on her.
Hoshimi was equipped to fight off an entire army by herself. And on top of that, she wasn?t alone ? she had an a thousand year old immortal, as well as a hell raven who could control nuclear fusion and fission as her bodyguards. It seemed as if she was ready from the start to fight at a numerical disadvantage.
That being said, it really just meant things were going to be as hard as they expected them to be. Hoshimi had clearly been making preparations to fight off a large number of opponents, so that just meant they would need to make equal preparations to deal with that.
?Well, best of luck. We couldn?t do it with two of us, so hopefully with all of you guys together you should be able to perform a bit better.?
Reimu was suddenly struck by an odd thought. ?Wait a second, Suika. How did you know we were planning on fighting her??
Suika shot Reimu a ?do you think I?m stupid?? look before responding. ?Tell me one other reason why Kanako, Eirin, Remilia, and?? brandishing the now empty bottle of liquor, ?even Yukari of all people would all be at the Hakurei Shrine.? With that, she unceremoniously flopped down onto her back, and without so much as a good night was snoring quietly.
Shaking her head, Reimu stood up. She supposed she had a point, but she was more shaking her head at Suika?s ability to fall asleep instantly at will, especially considering the situation.
Taking one last look at the sleeping Oni, Reimu made her way back outside.
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Apparently, at some point during the situation with Ran and Suika, a fourth chair had appeared at the table where Kanako?s group were discussing strategy. Taking the empty chair as an invitation, Reimu sat down and began listening in to the discussion that was already underway.
?Even if the situation has changed, that doesn?t mean our plan has to. In fact, as far as I can tell, our plan is better suited to the new situation than it was to the last one.?
?That?s a rather shallow way of looking at it, Remilia. The whole advantage to the strategy was enabling rest time for three quarters of the fighting team while pressuring her into fighting non-stop. In this situation, we?ll be lucky if a single team gets to rest at all.?
?So? This is combat, and we should be treating it like a fight to the death. If you are relaxed enough to take a break in the middle of the fighting, you might as well not be there at all.?
?Brave words, but not everyone among us can fight for days on end without pause. Frankly, we have no idea how long the battle will take, so having an opportunity to rest could make or break the fight for us.?
Deciding it was a good time to latch onto the conversation, Reimu finally spoke up. ?I assume this is an argument as to what to do about the fact Hoshimi has people helping her??
?Indeed,? Kanako replied, speaking up for the first time. ?Remilia recommended that we split our already formed combat teams up to take each of them down individually. Eirin is arguing to say that that would ruin the point of the whole strategy.?
Reimu thought for a moment. ?Well, the only way I can see keeping the old strategy intact would be to split the teams down into smaller units, but at that point??
??they might be able to handle the bodyguards, but not Hoshimi herself.? Eirin filled in the blank in Reimu?s sentence.
?Right. So I think I agree with Remilia. We should stick with the same strategy, but from a different angle. Instead of trying to wear her down, finish it faster.?
Kanako gave a short laugh. ?So, using the same strategy, try to end the battle as quickly as possible instead of dragging it out as long as possible. Dividing and conquering, instead of a battle of attrition.?
?Sounds good to me,? Remilia piped up, clearly pleased that her idea was being accepted.
?Sounds like a death sentence to whoever is against Hoshimi, more likely.? Eirin didn?t hesitate to voice her complaints. ?The entire point of our previous strategy was to minimize the time each individual spent fighting her. This would work both to allow us to rest as well as to keep her off guard by constantly switching her opponents. Instead, we?re going to need a dedicated team forced to contend with her the entire time by themselves.?
?So why not do both, then?? Kanako responded with a smile. ?Let?s be honest. The individuals she?s recruited are strong, no doubt. But do you really think they can compare to any single team of us??
Eirin?s expression turned pensive. ?So, assign a team to stall Hoshimi as long as possible, so that we can take care of the others. Then, once they have all been dealt with, revert back to the original strategy and wear her down??
?No doubt, it?s risky for the team that has to keep her at bay from the start, but if there was no risk then we could just go and beat her right now. We wouldn?t need any planning.?
?Honestly,? Reimu spoke again, ?I think it?s our best bet. Marisa and I have some experience fighting with her, and Byakuren is pretty tough in her own right. I think our group should be able to handle at least stalling her. That is, assuming the rest of you are quick enough dealing with your opponents.?
?So, the problem then is,? Remilia stated again, ?she has two guards plus herself. That?s three targets, for our four teams. Should the free team assist in taking down the guards, or holding off Hoshimi??
?I suspect that is a problem we won?t have the luxury of facing,? Eirin replied. ?If Yuyuko is still under her control, then more than likely we will need to fight her. Of course, we?ll need to dispatch a full team to deal with her if she joins the battle.?
?It does bring up a relevant issue, however,? Kanako said. ?Since we have a representative of each team here, I?ll say this now. Once you?ve finished dealing with your target, immediately head to relieve the team holding off Hoshimi. If you somehow have taken casualties, use your own judgment to see whether or not you will be more of a help than a hindrance.?
Everyone nodded, and the conversation fell into a lull. Seeing no one was in a hurry to bring up further points, Reimu stood up.
?Well, I will leave you three to continue discussing things. I?m going to go give everyone a heads up as to this strategy so they can plan accordingly. Fill me in when I get back.?
Walking away from the table, Reimu began walking to the next group. They still knew next to nothing about Hoshimi, where she came from, or why she was doing what she was doing. But they knew she wasn?t invincible, thanks to Kanako?s experience fighting her, and they had begun developing strategies that would work against her. Hopefully.
They were far from winning, and as time went on it was only going to get more difficult. But even so, where before there had only been despair pushing them forwards, they could now feel a small light of hope. They could see the ending that they wanted, and though the path to get there was difficult, there was a path.
Reimu began to feel uncharacteristically excited. She didn?t particularly look forward to the battle to come, and she fully understood just how likely it was that some of them ? if not all of them ? would come out of the battle seriously injured, if not worse. But even so, she could feel the heartbeat of anticipation pounding away in her chest.
This stranger, Hoshimi, had waltzed into Gensokyo without a word, kidnapped, wounded, and for all she knew killed people without a second thought. Soon, Gensokyo would show its response.
And today we have another milestone! As of this chapter, the total word count for Rise of the Evening star is now 100,212 words. Considering the longest thing I've written previously was a 5000 word essay, I feel like this is an accomplishment!
Anyways, thanks again to everyone who has taken the time to comment. As much as I try to content myself with the spike in views every time I update, it is really very encouraging to get any sort of comments!
As far as actually story related things, I'm curious what your opinions of Hoshimi are. She's shown up a number of times, but she's only really been in the spotlight during her encounter with Yuuka. Is that enough for you guys to form an opinion on her character? If so, feel free to share! It would be great to see how she looks in your eyes, since I'm too biased towards liking the character(s) that I've made :x
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Hmm, what I think about Hoshimi, huh...
You've managed to create a villain that inspires awe and respect. It's a nice combination of her strength and her personality. Without either one, you'll either have an annoying villain who just won't die or a pathetic villain who's clearly outclassed yet still acting like they're a big shot.
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My opinion on Hoshime... let me put it this way: my favorite moment on the fic so far was when Yuuka smashed her face and opened a crater on a hill with her body =P
I don't really like OC's that enter the fray and start beating everyone with no difficulty whatsoever; really, I was nearly abandoning the fic until I reached the part where Suwako was able to fend her off. Hoshime's latest beatdown was good, even though it ended up with her winning. I'm a bit annoyed at the "only 20% of my power", but I think that your writting is quite solid, so I'm still very curious to see how things will go.
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Apologies for the delay, everyone! Hopefully with the last chapter I finished I'll have broken through my little bit of writer's block and will be able to power through to the end of the story!
One thing, since the whole 20% thing keeps coming up. I'll spoiler tag it, but its not really relevant to the plot of the story, so unless you want to be super surprised when you see Hoshimi's character profile after the Epilogue instead of just normal surprised, feel free to read it.
Hoshimi often says she's at 1/5th of her power, and though she would likely talk about it as being 20% of her total power, thats not particularly accurate. Rather than 20%, think about it more like "one out of five." I won't say what those parts consist of, but I will say that they definitely are not equal - and the part she possesses now is the strongest of the five by a long shot.
With that off my chest, lets start storying.
Chapter 12.5 ? Wonderful Goddess
Alice walked through the cold, dark hallways slowly. The place hadn?t changed much ? if at all ? since the last time she walked through these halls, but for some reason the poorly lit corridor felt more intimidating then it ever had.
It had taken her three full days to reach this place. In all honesty, she had expected it to take longer, but her memory of the landscape had been unbelievably accurate, and the only thing that slowed her down was the sheer distance between her and her target. She figured she had travelled at least twice the total length of Gensokyo since arriving, so the fact that it had only taken three days was more of an accomplishment than a setback.
As much as the place should have been familiar to her ? and indeed, to some degree it was ? she couldn?t help but feel like a stranger here. The darkness, barely reduced by the light of torches set into the walls, created a very tense atmosphere. The floor and walls were made of a translucent, deep blue crystal that not only sucked up the light, but also echoed quite loudly as she walked. There would be no hiding the fact that she was here.
Not that she would have wanted to. She knew exactly what it was like to have unwanted visitors in one?s home, so she had done everything in her power to make her presence known short of shouting through the hallways.
In addition to the intimidating atmosphere imposed by the building itself, the literal atmosphere also lent to the aura of the place. The air felt incredibly thick, so much so that it was hard to breathe. It almost felt like someone was constantly trying to smother her, and she had to make an intense effort to keep from hyperventilating. Though she had been travelling through that atmosphere for three days, it had grown especially worse since she had entered the Palace. She predicted that a normal human would pass out if they spent more than a few hours outside, but inside they would suffocate in only a number of minutes.
There was an up-side to the harsh, barely breathable air however. In exchange for the oxygen that most living things needed to survive, the air was overflowing with magical energy. Any magic used would be immensely amplified, and she could feel just being in the area filling her with strength and energy. Unfortunately, unless she spent an extended time here ? something to the order of years or decades ? the effect wouldn?t be permanent. As it was now, the pressure of the environment evened out with the advantages of it, and the end result was simply a very high tension situation for her.
Regardless, she wasn?t planning on spending much more time here, so it shouldn?t prove to be too much of an issue.
Alice continued walking aimlessly through the silent corridors of the palace. She knew exactly where she was going, and in fact her memory was good enough to take her right there if she wanted, but as one might suspect upon hearing the word ?palace,? the owner of the place wasn?t someone you wanted to catch at a bad time. So, trying to remain tactful, she wandered throughout the palace waiting for someone to come calling for her.
Of course, there was no guarantee that would happen, but considering both the circumstances and the people that lived here, she was more or less certain how it would play out.
As she was wandering, a turn brought her across the path of a familiar face.
Being the first person Alice had come across since she arrived, she had been taken a little off guard by the sudden encounter. Apparently, the person didn?t know she was there either, as the instant she saw Alice her eyes went wide in shock.
The two stood staring silently at each other for a few moments. Just as Alice made to break the deadlock and approach, the other person beat her to it.
?ALICE!? the girl practically screamed as she ? quite literally ? flew down the corridor and tackled Alice with an enormous hug, almost throwing her from her feet.
?It?s really you, right? You?re really the real thing right? You?re really Alice, right?? The girl stared up at Alice through teary eyes, clearly struggling to hold back from outright sobbing.
?Yes, Yuki, it?s really me. It?s been a while, hasn?t it?? Alice rubbed Yuki?s head with one hand as she returned the hug with the other. She couldn?t help but smiling at the reception, admittedly much warmer than she had expected.
Meanwhile Yuki, who was still struggling between smiling and crying, turned and shouted down the hall she had come from. ?HEY MAI! GET OVER HERE NOW!?
?For the last time?? a voice could be heard around the corner, ?I told you to stop telling me what to?.Alice?!? Mai?s complaint was quickly cut off as she rounded the corner and saw what had sparked Yuki?s excitement. Quickly flying over ? though thankfully not as quick as Yuki had been ? Mai approached the pair and set down, staring at Alice with wide eyes.
?It?s?it?s really you?? Though she seemed much less emotional than Yuki, it was easy to tell just by looking at her face that she was just as excited.
?Yes, it?s really me.? Alice couldn?t help but laugh quietly as she responded. Despite all the time she had been away, it seemed as if these two hadn?t changed a bit. The fact they were still happy to see her helped relieve the vast majority of the tension she was feeling.
?See, I told you! I told you she?d come back! Go on, tell her I told you!? Yuki, speaking so fast it was hard to keep up what she was saying, continued to shout at Mai without letting go of Alice.
Mai averted her gaze with an angry expression, as if she was just upset at having been wrong. Her anger quickly turned to embarrassment at what losing the argument had implied, and she soon turned apologetic eyes on Alice once more. Alice simply returned her gaze with a smile, and soon Mai was smiling again as well.
Finally letting Alice go, Yuki took a step back and looked her up and down. ?But wow you look different! It?s like you grew up or something!?
Alice paused for a moment, unsure of what she was talking about. Looking down at herself, and then back at the other two, who were now enjoying themselves inspecting her from every angle, it suddenly clicked.
Sure enough, she must look completely different to them. After leaving Makai so many years ago, her appearance had changed dramatically. Where once she had looked even younger than these two, now she looked like she had outpaced them both by six years. And for their part, when she thought they hadn?t changed a bit since she last saw them, that applied to their appearance as well.
There was no doubt in her mind that Yuki and Mai were both significantly older than she was, yet in front of her now they looked like little more than children.
?I suppose I?ve changed a bit, haven?t I?? Alice mumbled mostly to herself.
?But that?s okay! You?re back, and that?s what matters, right?!? Yuki gave Alice another wide smile.
Alice couldn?t help but wince at that, earning her confused looks from the other two.
?Unfortunately, I?m only here today on business,? Alice said with an apologetic smile.
Looking completely confused, Yuki and Mai stared at her. ?So?you?re not staying?? Her face seemed innocent enough, but Mai?s voice easily expressed her rapidly fading hope?and was only slightly tinged with accusation.
Kneeling down in front of them so that they were at eye level, Alice put a hand on each of their shoulders. ?But I got here now, so that means the gate is open, right? I couldn?t before, but now I can come and go whenever I want. I can?t stay for long today, but that doesn?t mean I won?t be back soon.?
The brightness immediately returned to the pair?s eyes as Alice spoke. Yuki nodded vigorously to Alice?s words, while Mai smiled and averted her gaze, as if relieved.
?Don?t worry, that won?t be necessary.?
Alice felt both Yuki and Mai stiffen along with her as she heard a voice call from behind her. Turning, she was greeted with eyes burning with anger that, unfortunately, were just as familiar as these two had been.
Standing up and turning to properly face her, Alice greeted the new arrival with a bitter smile. ?It?s nice to see you too, Yumeko.?
?Makai is no place for scum, and Pandemonium is no place for traitors. If you never come back here again, it?ll be too soon.?
?Yumeko, back off! There?s no reason to be so angry at her!? Yuki shouted back at Yumeko while both she and Mai moved in front of Alice, as if to protect her.
Yumeko pointedly ignored the two witches as she continued her hateful glare at Alice.
?Alright, I?ll remember not to pay you a visit the next time I come then, if it upsets you that much.? Alice put on a brave front for Yuki and Mai?s sake. Unlike with those two, Alice and Yumeko had never been especially close. For that matter, she couldn?t remember Yumeko being especially close with anyone other than Shinki herself.
That being said, Alice knew her well enough that she knew if Yumeko wanted something bad to ?befall? Alice, there was little she would be able to do to prevent it. Though her raw power rivalled that of the Oni, and in fact probably surpassed it easily while in Makai, what was truly scary about her was that, unlike the Oni, she was very much willing to be crafty and clever rather than preferring straight up confrontations.
The fact she often lost that advantage due to her hot-headedness was little comfort, as that same hot-headedness was just as likely to get her killed at this point.
Luckily, though hateful and angry, her mood didn?t seem to be particularly violent. ?If you care that much about my feelings, then just save us all the trouble and go home now.? Yumeko?s eyes hadn?t changed, but the rest of her face bore a challenging smile.
?Don?t worry, all I need to do is talk to Shinki and I?ll be right on my way,? Alice replied with a wry smile.
Before her eyes could even catch up with what was happening, Alice winced as she felt a sharp sting on her cheek. She immediately froze again as she realized her face was now only inches away from Yumeko?s, the latter now holding a thin bladed sword extended over Alice?s shoulder. She didn?t notice the small strands of hair falling, nor the warm sensation of a few small drops of blood trickle down the side of her face ? all she saw was Yumeko?s eyes, burning with an anger she didn?t know was possible.
?Lady Shinki, scum.?
Alice realized quickly she had been wrong. It wasn?t that Yumeko wasn?t in a violent mood ? it was that she was doing everything in her power to contain her desire for violence.
Without another word, Yumeko stepped back, turned around, and started walking back from the hallway she had come from.
Realizing she had been holding her breath, Alice finally relaxed and breathed out, followed shortly by inspecting the cut on her face. It was a cut just deep enough to ensure that it would bleed noticeably, but highly unlikely to leave a permanent scar. Honestly, if it hadn?t been her face, she might have been impressed with the precision that Yumeko could display while practically trembling with rage.
Standing up from where they had been knocked away by Yumeko?s unannounced charge, Yuki and Mai walked back over to Alice. Both bore angry expressions directed towards the now retreating maid, but they were both also clearly shaken by the encounter, neither of them willing to raise their voices further in complaint.
Wiping the blood from the side of her face, Alice gave the two a weak smile to say that she was alright, but before either of them could speak, Yumeko called back to them.
?Lady Shinki has requested your presence. I will show you to the throne room.? In comparison to the hate-soaked tone of voice she had been using earlier, the way she spoke now was so emotionless it almost felt mechanical. Not stopping to see if she was following, Yumeko turned the corner and headed off further into the Palace.
?Of course,? Alice muttered to herself. Yumeko was one of the most powerful servants of Shinki, with both the power and authority of one who tended to Pandemonium itself. She answered to no one other than Shinki herself. So, the only reason she would have to hold back from hurting someone she clearly hated was because it was against Shinki?s instructions.
As she had announced earlier, she was here to see Shinki, so it was convenient that Shinki had noticed her arrival and called for her presence. After all, if she hadn?t, she knew quite well that Yumeko was the kind of person that believed it was easier to ask for forgiveness than for permission.
Taking a deep breath to steady herself, Alice made to follow Yumeko with quick steps, Yuki and Mai following silently behind her.
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After walking in silence for what seemed like hours, but what was probably only fifteen to twenty minutes, they finally arrived at the large double doors signalling the entrance to the Throne Room. For some reason, it was Yumeko who felt the need to take a deep breath before entering.
Turning to face the other three, Yumeko?s expression had changed considerably since their exchange earlier. She was obviously still not happy to have Alice there, but it showed only in her eyes ? the rest of her face bore an impassive expression.
?We are now entering the Throne Room,? Yumeko said in a voice that was cold, but not hostile. ?Remember who you are speaking with, and remember your place. This is your only warning.? Finishing her rote monologue, Yumeko faced forward once again and pushed open the immense doors in front of them.
Alice struggled to contain a gasp of admiration as she saw into the room for the first time in years. True, she had seen the Throne Room before, but its magnificence put her memory to shame.
For starters, the circular room was absolutely massive. As if to try and match up to the huge size of Pandemonium itself, the room was easily large enough to hold several thousand people. It was only a rough estimate, but Alice guessed one could probably lift up the Scarlet Devil Mansion and plop it down in the middle of the room, and still have space on the edges.
The next most salient characteristic of the room was the light. In sharp contrast to the rest of the Palace, the room was overflowing with light, the change in brightness almost enough to make Alice squint. Every fifty feet or so stood an incredibly intricate torch. About five feet high and made of translucent, colourless crystal, above each was a pale white orb, a little over a foot in diameter. Each orb of light hovered motionlessly, casting stark white light over the rest of the room.
Without a word, Yumeko walked into the Throne Room, not even checking if anyone was following her. After a short pause, Alice, Yuki, and Mai all started slowly walking after her.
Like the rest of the Palace, the floor was made of semi-opaque crystal. Around the walls, the floor was a deep blue colour, but as it approached the throne, it slowly faded from deep blue to a vivid crimson. Lined by the crystal torches was a path from the door to the throne, cutting through blue and red crystal alike, made of what looked like a single piece of dark obsidian, wide enough for five people to comfortably walk side by side.
Though the path they walked on cut through the center of the room, Alice could also see there were two other entrances to the throne room. All three entrances were aligned along the back wall, and though each had a walkway similar to the one Alice was now standing on, the other two were made of diamond, each reflecting the bright white light of the torches that lined them. The paths were far enough away from each other that none of the three walkways came close to each other until they merged just before the throne.
Far beyond the two walkways to her side were massive walls of the same blue crystal that made up the rest of the Palace. Reaching hundreds of feet into the air, the walls ? well, one wall she supposed, since the room was a giant circle ? smoothly transitioned into a massive dome. The outer ring of the dome was lined by a thick band of white diamond, followed by a band of obsidian of similar width. Within the two bands, the massive dome was inscribed with an incredibly intricate map of Makai itself.
Most of the ceiling was made of ruby, reflecting the reddish hue of the landscape of Makai. Upon the ruby backdrop were intricate details made of every precious stone imaginable, showing everything from forests, to cliffs, to chasms, to cities. Snaking through the ruby landscape were strands of sapphire, reflecting the light in such a way it seemed as if they were actually flowing water, just like the rivers they represented. On the far end of the room, a massive sapphire plate marked the only body of water of significant size in Makai, from which all the rivers came. Dotting the landscape were engravings clearly made out to be volcanoes, and orange topaz marked the flow of lava from their peaks.
The breathtaking detail of the map was only rivalled by its accuracy. Simply by looking at the map, Alice could follow the path she had taken to arrive at Pandemonium entirely based on her recognition of the landscape she had passed. And as she followed the path she took with her eyes, it naturally brought her to the center of the map.
A thick band of obsidian, representing the Moat of Stars, circled the center of the map. Within the Moat of Stars was a single massive structure, made entirely of some jewel Alice didn?t know the name of. Seeming to rise out of the ceiling, a translucent white jewel shining from within with a pale blue light and carved in a perfect likeness, was the Crystal Palace Pandemonium. And under the likeness of Pandemonium, dominating the center of the map, was the throne of the Goddess of Makai herself, dominating the center of the Throne Room.
Tearing her gaze from the domed ceiling of the Throne Room, Alice let her gaze wander between the numerous torches they were walking past. As she walked by them, a pale reflection of herself gazed back towards her. She had to contain a smile as she saw out of the corner of her eye that Yuki and Mai were both as stunned as she had been upon seeing the Throne Room, each of them gazing up in wonder at the massive ceiling.
As they finally approached the throne, the two white diamond paths to their side converged with their own. While the obsidian walkway continued forward, the diamond walkways instead expanded outwards, forming a circular disc around the throne. Set within the massive diamond disc was another, approximately ten feet in diameter and made entirely of ruby. The obsidian walkway continued through the diamond disc, ending just before the edge of the ruby one.
In the dead center of the ruby disc was a massive throne. Sitting atop a wide, three-foot thick base of ruby, the throne itself was made of obsidian. It was lined with a deep amethyst, darkened almost to the point of blackness by the obsidian it rested on, and incredibly fine details were inscribed all over the throne in the same ruby that made up the base. The back of the throne extended up into the air, and near the top a figure of the sun, crafted entirely of diamond, was set into the obsidian.
And of course, on that throne sat Shinki, creator, ruler, and goddess of Makai.
Just like Yuki and Mai, her appearance hadn?t changed even slightly since Alice had last seen her. As she sat atop her throne, expression unreadable, she stared directly into Alice?s eyes, as if she was waiting for something.
Reaching the end of the walkway, Alice stopped walking. Yuki and Mai stopped a few steps behind her, and Yumeko continued forward. Stopping directly beside the throne itself, Yumeko turned back to face the other three, eyes closed and hands folded in front of her, waiting patiently.
Taking a deep breath as covertly as possible, Alice bowed deeply enough to not presume familiarity. ?Thank you for granting me this audience, Lady Shinki.? Alice held her bow, doing her best to ignore the pounding of her heartbeat in her ears. Finally, after what seemed like ages, Shinki responded.
?You may raise your head.? Rising to meet Shinki?s gaze, Alice could see her face was still as expressionless as her voice had been. As Shinki regarded her silently, Alice had to force herself to keep breathing. She had thought she was feeling tense just being in Makai earlier, but that was nothing compared to this.
And it wasn?t like she was unknown to the feeling of being outclassed. She had come face to face with people far beyond her in every respect while in Gensokyo. Each of them was quite intimidating, but as with any self-respecting youkai, Alice could maintain her dignity no matter what odds she faced.
But this was different. She didn?t know if it was her own personal guilt, at having left without a word for years on end, or if it was just the aura presented by the Throne Room itself. Maybe it was just her memories of Shinki herself that fed the tension, but whatever it was, she had a presence like nothing Alice had ever felt before. Just standing in front of her made her feel like she had lost, and there wasn?t even a competition happening.
Or, perhaps more accurately, it felt like she was standing to be judged. As if everything she ever had done, and everything she would ever do, were being measured on a scale to see whether she was worthy of leaving this room alive.
Then, for no reason that Alice could determine, the tension she was feeling suddenly?vanished. Her heart rate returned to normal, her mouth no longer felt dry, and she became acutely aware of the fact she had started sweating. It was everything she could do to stop from tilting her head to the side in confusion as all the discomfort she had been experiencing melted away without a trace.
As if she could see right through Alice?s confusion ? actually, she probably could without too much difficulty ? Shinki finally broke out into a gentle smile.
?Welcome home, my child.?
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Despite her initial apprehension, speaking with Shinki wasn?t actually as difficult as she had anticipated it would be. For the most part, Shinki had just been happy to see her after such a long absence, so their conversation revolved mainly around what Alice had been doing since she had left. As the conversation got more relaxed, Yuki and Mai began chiming in, and it didn?t take long before Alice felt like she was back amongst family.
To counterpoint Alice?s description of life in Gensokyo, Yuki and Mai provided a summary of what had changed in Makai since she had left. Effectively, nothing had really changed, yet somehow the two managed to make it sound like the world had been dismantled and put back together several times.
Now, as Shinki stayed on her throne, Alice, Yuki, and Mai were seated on the floor. It was anything but comfortable, but it was a lot more relaxing than standing.
As they listened to Yuki and Mai speak, Shinki seemed to be just as amused by the stories as Alice was. It felt just like old times, and Alice couldn?t help but think back with fond memories on the days they had actually lived together as a family. It seemed kind of ridiculous now, considering the new perspective she had seen Shinki in, but once upon a time the legendary Goddess of Makai had faithfully played the role of mother to Alice as she grew up. She knew that she couldn?t expect to be welcomed back like that, but being able to reminisce over those memories like this was enough.
As her last story wound down, Yuki turned to look at Alice, showing a reticence quite out of character for her. ?Um, Alice?I know you said you were only here to visit, and that you?d come back, but?why don?t you just stay here??
With an apologetic smile, Alice declined. ?I?m sorry, but I can?t do that. I?d love to, but I just can?t.?
?Of course you can!? Yuki replied with more of her usual fervor, ?She can stay here with us, right Lady Shinki? There?s no problem with that, right??
?Of course she can,? Shinki responded with a gentle smile, ?she can stay here until the end of time if that?s what she wants. But Yuki, you have to remember??
Yuki?s triumphant smile at Shinki?s approval faltered as she continued speaking.
??Alice is her own person. She?s been living somewhere else for years now. She has her own friends, her own place in the world. Just as much as we?d love to have her here with us, that?s how much Gensokyo needs her. She?ll always be our family, our friend, but she has her own path to walk now.?
Yuki seemed to struggle to find words to say, but finally settled with nodding glumly. She wasn?t particularly happy, but her expression was a far cry from how upset she had been earlier when Alice had told her she wasn?t staying.
As the silence extended, Alice could feel the unspoken question in everyone?s gazes. Yes, she had her own path to walk now, and she was grateful that they had accepted that. But it had been a very conscious choice for her to choose that path, and she had to have known from the start it meant possibly never seeing any of them ever again. So, why?
She, of course, had plenty of reasons. But in the face of the mother and sisters that had raised her, she couldn?t help but feel like those reasons were meaningless. And so, the answer remained unspoken as well.
Sensing the building gloom, Shinki broke the silence. ?Now, as much as I?ve enjoyed speaking with you, I?m sure you didn?t come here for the first time in almost a decade to just see how we are all doing. Is there some business you have in Makai??
Shaking her head to attempt to dispel the gloominess that was settling over her, she replaced it with a renewed tension. As Shinki had said, she was here on business. She was glad she got to see and catch up with everyone again, but she had a very important mission to accomplish.
?To be honest, I have a favour to ask of you. It?s incredibly selfish, and I see no reason for you to help me out, but I owe it to everyone back in Gensokyo to at least try and ask, so please forgive me for my?forwardness.?
Shinki sat up straight in her chair, and Yuki and Mai turned to face her with puzzled expressions. Yumeko, who had been silently standing eyes closed the entire time, finally opened her eyes and regarded Alice with a cool expression.
?Gensokyo has recently been attacked by a stranger. I don?t know where she came from, or what her ultimate goal is, but she?s proved to be?quite the problem for us. To the point that all of Gensokyo has banded together to attempt to take her down.?
?Abandoning the Spell Card system Gensokyo is so proud of?? Shinki raised an eyebrow as she asked the question. Of course she would be curious, what with
Alice just explaining how they resolved all of their disputes peacefully by Spell Card battles earlier, and now saying they were trying to gang up on one person.
?The problem is this stranger ? Hoshimi, I think her name was? ? is ignoring the Spell Card rules. And she?s strong enough that the normal people responsible for policing them can?t defeat her, so they are asking for help.? Alice thought she saw Shinki?s expression falter as she heard Hoshimi?s name, but it returned to normal so fast she couldn?t even be sure she saw anything.
Shaking her head to get back on focus, she started again. ?To be completely honest, there?s two reasons I?m here: one is to ask for your help, and the other is a warning.?
??a warning?? Shinki raised an eyebrow at that.
?First and foremost, I guess it makes sense to start there. We don?t know what her plans are or why she?s acting as she is, but we do know that she is building some sort of weapon. Supposedly, it is designed to attack other worlds, and naturally that puts Makai at risk. I don?t have a clue as to what she?s planning on targeting, and we definitely don?t intend on letting her fire it, but I figured it would be best to warn you of the possibility regardless.?
?A weapon designed to target other worlds?? Shinki repeated Alice?s words to herself, closing her eyes and raising her left hand to her temple. ?How close does it appear to be to being finished??
?I?don?t actually know that much about it. It sounded to me though that they weren?t too concerned with the weapon firing, because the High Court of Hell is threatening to destroy Gensokyo if it isn?t dismantled in the next few days.?
This earned a gasp from Yuki and Mai, and even Shinki?s eyes went wide with the announcement of Gensokyo?s impending doom. ?To think Hell would move so boldly?Well, in that case, I suppose we don?t have to worry too much about the weapon firing. Either way, I appreciate your warning, and we will take the necessary precautions.?
Alice nodded, glad that she was being believed. She realized her story was a little far-fetched, and considering this was her first time in Makai in years, it would be understandable for them to not believe her. What was more important, however, was the next part?
?So I guess this is where the selfish part comes in?? As Alice tried to think of a good way of breaking the question, Shinki calmly folded her hands in her lap and waited.
?Okay, honesty is the best policy, right? I have no idea whether or not we can beat this Hoshimi person.? Alice specifically dropped the name again to see if it would earn a response from Shinki like last time, but she remained impassive. Maybe she was just imagining things after all. ?And as far as people outside of Gensokyo who can help us, I?m one of the very few people that know anyone who could help.?
?And this is, of course, us?? Shinki said, again more to herself than as a response to Alice?s question.
?Right. I know it?s rude of me to ask, especially since it?s been so long since we?ve last met, and especially considering the?circumstances in which I left, but if there is anything you can do to help, I?ll do anything I can to make up for it.?
Alice put on a strong face and met Shinki?s gaze. The tension she felt now was very different from that she had felt upon first entering the Throne Room, but it was still very real. She knew they had no real reason to help her, but with so much on the line, she wasn?t willing to let any chances at help get away.
Shinki stared at Alice without any indication as to her thoughts. Raising a hand to her temple once again, she closed her eyes and sighed. Judging by the curious looks on Yuki and Mai?s faces, and the fact even Yumeko had turned to watch her, it seemed everyone in the room was equally curious as to the answer to Alice?s question.
??why do you think I?ll be able to help you?? The response was nothing close to what Alice had expected. As such, she was at a bit of a loss for words.
?Well?umm?? Scratching her head awkwardly, Alice pondered for a minute. Shouldn?t it be pretty obvious?
?For starters, I suppose you are definitely the most powerful person I know?in a lot of ways.? Alice tried her best to not make that last bit sound offensive.
Judging by Shinki?s expression, it was hard to tell if she had succeeded. ?But more importantly??
Alice took out her grimoire and held it up for Shinki to see. ?She was looking for this. I don?t know why, and she didn?t give much of a reason, but she was willing to kill me to get at it. Well, more accurately, to destroy it.?
Shinki seemed to lose focus on the conversation once she saw the grimoire. ?Ah, so you do still have it. That explains how you got into Makai without going through the Gate.?
?Since I got it from you, I figured you might know why she was after it??
Shinki?s pleased expression at seeing the grimoire turned grim. ?Well, considering the grimoire is very closely linked with Makai, it seems all the more likely now that this Hoshimi is planning on attacking Makai with her weapon.?
?Oh,? Alice let slip a small gesture of surprise. She had already reasoned far enough to think that, if the stranger was after a book from Makai, maybe she could get help from Makai, but she somehow didn?t make the connection that the stranger might have a vested interest in Makai itself rather than just the book. She suddenly felt quite stupid.
?That is certainly quite relevant information, and I can see why you came to me?? Shinki said, closing her eyes as if she was thinking deeply about something. When she opened her eyes, her gaze was warm, but apologetic. ??but that is even more reason why I can?t help you.?
Alice blinked a couple times, surprised. Shouldn?t evidence like that mean it is more important for her to help her?
Seeing her confusion, Shinki once more folded her hands in her lap and began to explain. ?I understand why you came to me, and why you think I can help you, but in the end it?s not possible. You have shown me quite convincing evidence that this person cares somewhat about Makai, or at least Makai?s magic.
If you are correct about her building a weapon that can attack across worlds, there is no conclusion I can draw except that she is targeting Makai itself. I do not know what her reasons are, but it is precisely times like this that we must maintain our guard. We have no guarantee that she is working alone, and in a time when all of Makai could be in danger, every person we send to help you is one less person to defend against a possible attack from somewhere else.?
?I?see??
?I do not turn down your request lightly, Alice. I understand the courage it took to come back here and ask, despite the circumstances, and I am glad you still trust me enough to ask these things of me. But in this situation, I cannot put the safety of Gensokyo before the safety of Makai. Please try and understand.?
Alice nodded dumbly. She wasn?t entirely sure what answer she had expected ? she certainly didn?t think it was going to be easy to get help. But she had been so unilaterally denied that she was more surprised than upset. The fact that the evidence she had presented to make help more likely to come instead turned into the exact reason why help wasn?t going to come made the failure sting just a bit more than it needed to.
?Thank you for hearing me out, at least?and if it?s this big of a deal, I?m glad I at least was able to warn you about it in advance.?
?Indeed,? Shinki replied, her tone much more gentle, ?and know that no matter what happens in Gensokyo, you and your friends will always be welcome here.?
Alice returned Shinki?s smile as she stood. ?Thank you. And I?m glad that if nothing else, this incident meant I got to see all of you again. And as much as it would be fun to stay longer, you know how serious the situation is. I need to get back as soon as possible.?
Doing her best not to let the upset expressions on Yuki and Mai?s faces get to her, she kept her gaze locked with Shinki?s.
?Very well. It has been a pleasure speaking to you again, Alice. Yuki, Mai. Please escort Alice back to Gensokyo.?
At that, for some reason, Yuki perked right up. Even Mai seemed to suddenly become a little excited.
?Um, Lady Shinki, this is an emergency, right? We can use the fast travel room, right? Right? Right?!?
As if she was trying not to laugh, Shinki nodded with an odd expression. ?Yes, you may use the Palace?s Gate Room.?
At that, Yuki and Mai both shot to their feet and grabbed each of Alice?s hands. ?Oh man, you?re going to love the fast travel room Alice! Come on, we?ll show you!?
Somewhat bewildered by the sudden excitement coming from the two, Alice did her best to give a proper bow in farewell to Shinki as the two pulled her down the walkway out of the Throne Room. Responding to Alice?s farewell with a nod and a smile, Shinki watched the two witches pull Alice by force almost the entire length of the Throne Room before agreeing to let her walk on her own.
As the large double doors to the Throne Room closed behind her, Alice couldn?t help but feel like maybe, just maybe, the trip to Makai had been worth it whether she had gotten the help she needed or not.
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Shinki watched silently as the large double doors to the Throne Room closed, blocking off the three from view. Content that they had gone far enough to be out of eavesdropping range ? which was pretty far, considering Yuki and Mai ? she let out a sigh and stepped down from her throne.
Yumeko stood beside the throne, silently watching the door. She had to commend her; she had zero expectation of Yumeko keeping her cool during the meeting with Alice, but she had remained silent the entire time. Yumeko had truly grown a lot over the past couple years.
True to form, as soon as Shinki thought this, the maid spoke up. ?Are you really not upset with her at all?? Yumeko asked idly, as if she was trying to make it sound like she was just talking to herself.
?Why would I be upset with her? One of my precious children has come home after long years of being away. If she could have stayed longer, we would be hosting a feast right now.?
Yumeko finally lost her calm exterior as she practically shouted. ?But?she left us! She left you! You were like a mother to her, and she just left without saying a word!?
Leaning up against the side of the throne, Shinki closed her eyes. ?I would be lying if I said it didn?t hurt when she left, Yumeko, but I was serious with what I said earlier. Everyone needs to walk their own path. Even you, someday, will find a path that leads away from me. Alice just happened to find hers especially early, that is all.?
Yumeko seemed torn at Shinki?s declaration that she too would split off from her someday. On the one hand, she wanted to claim she would stick with her forever, but on the other hand, that meant calling her a liar. In the end, she settled for ignoring the issue. ?Still, she could have at least said something before she left.?
Turning to look at the door through which Alice had left, Shinki spoke almost wistfully. ?I was closing the gate. It was supposed to be for good. It must have been a last second choice for her, or she probably would have told us. Besides?you could probably tell from seeing her today, but I?m sure it hurt her to do it just as much as it hurt us.?
Yumeko narrowed her eyes at nothing in particular as Shinki spoke up in defense of Alice. Shinki knew that Yumeko?s heart was in the right place though. She didn?t hate Alice out of a personal grudge, or because she had felt slighted. She was just acting out after experiencing firsthand how much it had hurt everyone when Alice had left. It was as if, since everyone else was so accepting of her coming back, she felt the need to balance it out by hating her by herself.
She knew it was for her sake that Yumeko was so bitter towards Alice, and that made it difficult for her to chastise her for it. She of course had noticed the scratch on Alice?s face, and it was fairly obvious that it was Yumeko?s doing, but with neither of the two bringing it up, she felt like she had no place to either.
After all, each of them had their own path. It would be up to those two to work out the differences between them now. Even if they never came to an understanding, it wasn?t her place to force them to get along. Someday they might work things out, maybe they wouldn?t. Either way, it was up to them now.
?But more importantly than that?? Yumeko continued, ?Is it really okay to not help her? It seems like she?s in quite the pinch.?
And this is why Shinki couldn?t bring herself to scold Yumeko for her behaviour. Even if she hated Alice with a burning passion, even if she called her a traitor, or scum, she still knew that she was a precious member of their family. And that family was more important to her than life itself.
?It will be difficult for them, but we have more important things that we need to do. If she?s really alive, then?? Shinki trailed off. Seeing she wasn?t planning on continuing, Yumeko spoke up again.
?Do you think they have any chance at beating her??
?Not even a little.? Shinki spoke without the slightest trace of humor or hesitation in her voice. ?But if Gensokyo is the sacrifice needed, it will be a small price to pay.?
Yumeko sighed irritably at Shinki?s declaration. It was one of those sighs that seemed to signify she was unhappy with being right about something.
Walking towards the back of the Throne Room, where her personal quarters waited, Shinki called back to Yumeko. ?As soon as Alice has left Makai, get Yuki and Mai and come back here. We have plenty of work to do, and not much time to do it.? Without waiting for confirmation, Shinki disappeared into a flash of black light.
?Yes, mistress.? Yumeko bowed to the spot Shinki had disappeared from before setting off to make preparations of her own.
So while I was writing this I had to do some research on the Makai people, and I quickly realized Yumeko was much stronger than I had originally given her credit for. I'm not sure how you guys would rate "the highest class of the denizens of Makai" in comparison to the youkai of Gensokyo, but this is my interpretation, so feel free to disagree with it XD
Anyways, hopefully the next update will be out a lot sooner than this one took. I want to be at least a chapter or so away from (or maybe already at?) the final arc of the story when school starts back up again :x
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I'm not gonna lie, this chapter went in a completely different direction than I had anticipated when I sat down to write it. Still, I feel like it's an important one!
So here is Chapter 13, I hope you enjoy!
Chapter 13 ? Starlight Dialogue
Reimu sat on the roof of the Hakurei Shrine, watching the moon overhead in silence. A cool night breeze blew past her, as if it was gently urging her to go back inside.
She had lost track of the amount of time she had spent up here. Regardless, she was sure that she had been up here long enough that the date had changed. Seven days since Komachi had warned them of the Hell?s decision to eradicate Gensokyo. Two days until their threat would become a reality.
The day she, and everyone she had managed to gather together, would confront Hoshimi and everything would end. For better or for worse.
As she stared up at the moon and the stars overhead, she couldn?t help but be filled with anxiety. With a sigh, she closed her eyes and leaned back, lying on the slanted roof of the shrine.
Everything had come together as best as could be expected. The day before, Suwako arrived early in the morning. That same evening, Alice arrived, and with that the formations were set in stone. Everyone knew who they were going to work with, and the strategy for the encounter had been hammered out in such a way that everyone had agreed.
They would divide into small groups of no more than three, and they would split up to take on each opponent three-to-one. As those who defended Hoshimi were dealt with, they would rotate the team responsible for holding off Hoshimi herself to give everyone fighting chances to rest and recover. They would continue to wear Hoshimi down little by little, and once they had her exhausted finish her.
?that was the first of Reimu?s myriad anxieties. She had never once, in her capacity as the shrine maiden of the Hakurei Shrine, been required to take someone?s life. The presence of the Spell Card rules made it unnecessary ? they could resolve any conflicts without the need for excessive violence. However, this was not an opponent that could be dealt with like that. In the world of Gensokyo, where common sense was cast aside, Hoshimi was like a cold hard reality being shoved down their throats. They couldn?t cling to the fantasy of peaceful conflict resolution, or else they would all die.
She was not an opponent they could take lightly like that. If every single one of them didn?t give their all, they could all lose. There could be no pulling punches.
This didn?t particularly bother her, considering the person she was dealing with. She had absolutely no inhibitions about hurting Hoshimi. But even so, it was?different. She had never had to fight with full, unrelenting force before. She knew how necessary it was, and she could only hope that knowledge would remove any hesitation she might experience.
The larger problem was that, unlike the last time they confronted her, Hoshimi wasn?t alone. She knew for certain that Utsuho was with her, and it was certainly a very real possibility that Mokou was with her as well. Komachi had been keeping an eye on things as best she could, but she had reported no one else was with her. Other than, of course, Yuyuko.
She didn?t know why Mokou and Utsuho had decided to help her. She didn?t know if they would be willing to fight against all of the people who had gathered at the Hakurei Shrine when the time came, either. Would they stand and fight a battle where they were hopelessly outnumbered, or would they turn and run? Or, maybe they would listen to reason, and turn against Hoshimi?
Reimu smiled bitterly to herself. That was far too convenient to be possible. The fact of the matter was, Hoshimi was scary enough on her own, but she had those two with her as well. When they had no idea how their combined force would fair against her, anything to tip the scales in either direction was a big deal. And those two especially were not to be trifled with.
Mokou may not have particularly destructive abilities ? to be honest, anyone can use magic to make fire, it wasn?t actually that big of a deal ? but her immortality could make her an incredible obstacle. Thankfully, there was no need to worry about going overboard and killing her, as Reimu had learned in previous encounters with her, but that also meant the threat of death wouldn?t be enough to suppress her. Who knew what it would take to get her to stop fighting?
Utsuho, on the other hand, was a very different issue. As far as pure destructive power, Reimu suspected that she could only be rivalled by Remilia?s little sister. Containing her would no doubt prove to be a monstrous task. Defeating her without taking casualties could turn out to be impossible, depending on how seriously Utsuho took the fight. Furthermore, as far as Reimu knew, she was distinctly not immortal. With someone as powerful as Utsuho, they couldn?t afford to pull any punches ? that was an unfortunate truth. The risk of her dying was considerably high.
To make things worse, she had a number of character traits that would make her a difficult foe. First, the fact she was willing to burn the whole surface world to the ground during the Hot Springs incident showed an alarming lack of conscience. If she was willing to do that then, with a bit of goading, it was anyone?s guess as to how far she would go. Secondly, she was incredibly reckless, and definitely didn?t take to thinking strategically, or measuring her options. Threatening her with death might just make her feel cornered, pushing her into desperation rather than pinning her down. Literally knocking her unconscious might be the only way to safely deal with her without outright killing her.
Yet, despite all her destructive potential, she was not the most dangerous person they were going to have to deal with. It seems everyone had attempted to avoid thinking about it as much as possible, but that didn?t change the facts. Yuyuko was still under Hoshimi?s control. They still had no idea whether she was being controlled or was working with her willingly, but the latter seemed entirely impossible, given Yuyuko?s personality.
But, if Hoshimi could control Yuyuko in such a way as to make her gather all the spirits of the Netherworld in one place and make them into a massive weapon, it wasn?t too much of a stretch to think she might be able to make her fight as well. Though, in all honesty there would probably be no need for that.
After all, Yuyuko could kill each and every single one of them without any resistance. The only ones they knew for sure that weren?t susceptible to her power were Mokou and Kaguya, and one of those was an enemy now. They hadn?t managed to come up with a strategy for countering that possibility, besides distributing the Hourai Elixir among everyone, but despite the ethical ramifications, there also wasn?t enough time for Eirin to make enough for one person, let alone all of them.
In the end, Komachi had said she and the support team would ?do something about it,? but of course none of them had any idea what that something was going to be. In the end, there was nothing she could really do but hope that Komachi could deal with it, because if she couldn?t, that pretty much spelled the end of them right there.
And, if they got passed all of the above obstacles, then they got to fight Hoshimi herself. They knew next to nothing about her. She was immune to Time manipulation, she could make lightning, she could animate her shadows to attack people, she could control earth and stone enough to attack with them. She was immune to Reimu?s binding magic, and she could deflect smaller projectiles without even lifting a finger.
Furthermore, from Alice?s account, she could shoot fireballs, and from Suika?s account, she could make some sort of incredibly dangerous black light, though Suika obviously hadn?t bothered getting hit by it to see what it actually did.
No matter how many times Reimu ran through the facts, she couldn?t piece them together into some sort of logical pattern. There didn?t seem to be any sort of ability that could account for all of the things she could do, and though it could be accounted for with standard, if fairly advanced, magic, there was no indication she was casting any sort of spells when she was fighting. And she definitely couldn?t think of any weaknesses she might have.
But even if they had no information, no hints on how to beat her, they had no choice but to fight blind. It wasn?t just her life, nor the lives of those who were fighting alongside her ? all of the youkai living in Gensokyo were at risk. Apparently, efforts had begun many days ago to evacuate as many youkai out of Gensokyo as possible, but where could they possibly go?
The moon definitely wouldn?t take them. Hell or the Netherworld were only options if they all happened to die, which she supposed was a very real possibility. Even the dead had difficulty getting into Heaven, so that was even more unlikely. Sending them to Makai for any length of time would be a good way of making them die, but little else. The Underground, where the former Hell was located might work for a time, but considering the amount of youkai they were talking about, she doubted it could support them for long. It wasn?t quite as resilient a place as it had once been.
And so, the only safe and sure option was to return them to Gensokyo. And that meant they had to win, no matter what.
But, even with all that, the situation wasn?t all doom and gloom. After all, it wasn?t like Reimu was trying to take her down alone. Most of the time something serious went on, Marisa would tag along, though her assistance was rarely necessary. In sharp contrast, she now had almost all of Gensokyo united against this threat. Hoshimi?s actions would spell the end of life for all of them as they knew it, so it was only natural, but it was still comforting to have so much support.
A vampire that could manipulate fate.
A maid that could manipulate time.
A magician with knowledge rivaling that of the rest of Gensokyo put together.
A youkai standing on the border between life and death.
A dollmaster, who could command an entire army in her own right.
A rabbit whose eyes held the power of the moon.
The moon?s tactical genius, and the princess she guarded, who held eternity itself in check.
The ferryman of the Sanzu River.
A god of the Sky and a god of the Earth, whose shrine maiden was also deified as a god of the wind and a bringer of miracles.
A magician so powerful she was sealed in Makai for over a thousand years.
The technological edge provided by the Kappa, and the behind-the-scenes support of the Youkai of Borders.
The most reckless ? and, in that right, probably the bravest ? magician Gensokyo had ever known.
And last, but not least, the Shrine Maiden of Hakurei. It probably didn?t mean so much coming from her, but she was nonetheless already a legendary figure
in her own right.
Though she wouldn?t mind at all if that list could get a little longer, if someone had told her two weeks before that she would be working together with all these people, she would never have believed it. But now, they would all be heading together into a battle that would decide the fate of Gensokyo.
On the other hand, this proved to be another source of anxiety for her in and of itself. With so many people cooperating, their chances of success were no doubt constantly increasing. Unfortunately, thanks to their attrition style strategy, it didn?t particularly reduce the chances of someone getting hurt.
Sure, if someone got seriously injured, it didn?t necessarily mean that they would lose. There would always be someone waiting to fill in any gaps that were created, such was the entire merit of their strategy. Unfortunately, that didn?t prevent people from getting hurt in the first place. Something Reimu was forced to accept was that even if they did win, it didn?t necessarily mean all of them got to come home.
More than anything else, this is what was keeping Reimu from sleeping.
?You?re up awfully late,? a voice called from considerably close by.
Opening her eyes, Reimu sat up. In all honesty, she had expected someone to come bother her up here. Most likely it would have been Marisa or Yukari, though she supposed Sakuya or Sanae might have come if their bosses had told them to. She was surprised, however, to see that the person now sitting next to her on the roof, watching the moon just as she had been, was none of the above.
?Something on your mind?? Kaguya stated without breaking her gaze from the moon.
?A better question would be what?s not on my mind,? Reimu replied with a sigh.
?I hear sleep is a good way to clear the mind of worries. Plus, by the time you wake up, there won?t be time for worrying anymore.? Kaguya spoke cheerfully, trying her best to maintain a straight face as she spoke.
?Honestly, if I could sleep, I would be right now. Unlike most people here, I actually like sleeping at night time.?
?Well, why don?t you share what?s on your mind?? Kaguya turned to give Reimu a sidelong glance, grinning mischievously. ?I figure I?d be a pretty good therapist, considering what I?ve gone through before.?
?Hah, Moon Princess to Therapist? Quite the career change.?
?And tomorrow, I?m changing again to Hero of Gensokyo.? Kaguya turned back to face the moon. Though she had clearly meant it as a joke, her face turned serious as she said it. Even as the two of them made light of the situation, they both knew how serious it was. Or maybe, because of how serious the situation was, they felt the need to make light of it.
With a sigh, Reimu leaned back and lay down on the roof of the shrine again, watching the moon and the stars from where she lay. In less than twelve hours, she would more than likely be locked in combat, fighting for her life, and the lives of everyone in Gensokyo. It honestly felt a little surreal, which was bizarre considering Gensokyo was already a pretty surreal place. Wait, did that not just make it normal? Maybe the correct way of saying it was, it felt too real.
?I just can?t help but feel anxious. We have so many people working together, which no doubt is good, but the more people cooperating, the more people we can lose. I?m not sure I?m ready to bear the weight of being responsible for that kind of loss of life, even if it is the right thing to do.? Reimu may have had doubts as to Kaguya?s claims of being a good therapist, but either way, talking about it couldn?t hurt. Besides, though her age was hardly unique, having someone with that kind of experience to bounce ideas off of might be helpful regardless of who it was.
Kaguya, however, sat silently watching the sky as she mulled over what Reimu said. As the moments dragged on with neither of them speaking, Reimu wondered whether Kaguya had been joking a bit more than she had anticipated.
Finally, after a few minutes of silence, Kaguya spoke again.
?You know, Reimu, you missed an awfully interesting discussion inside while you were out here.?
?Oh? What about?? Reimu honestly had no idea what she was talking about, but she couldn?t help but smile wryly to herself at Kaguya?s changing the topic.
?About you, actually.? Without breaking her gaze from the sky, she spoke softly, as if she was speaking to a child. ?They were discussing whether or not it was okay to let you fight in the battle tomorrow.?
?Huh? Of course I?m going to fight in the battle tomorrow. That?s my job, whether I like it or not, and definitely whether they like it or not.?
?But think about this, Reimu. What happened when you lost to Hoshimi before??
?Uhh?? Reimu scratched her head as she thought back. It felt like just yesterday that the fight had happened, but she supposed it had been over a week now. ?I was passed out for an afternoon??
?And what result did that have on Gensokyo??
??next to nothing? I was fine, after all.?
Kaguya shot Reimu a withering look, clearly not impressed with her conclusions. Wondering what she could have missed, she thought over the situation again. She had lost to Hoshimi, and been knocked unconscious. The next thing she knew, she had awoken to Marisa poking her side with her foot, and was back at the shrine at sundown. Ran had been missing, and when they started talking about it, Yukari walked in and asked what happened?oh.
?Ah. The Hakurei Border was disrupted, and Yukari completely exhausted herself trying to hold it in place.?
?Correct,? Kaguya replied, her upset expression returning to a smile. ?In just one afternoon of you being gone, one of the most powerful youkai in Gensokyo had to expend so much effort to uphold the Border that she would take weeks, possibly even months to recover.?
Reimu frowned. She wasn?t sure what the guilt trip was about, it wasn?t like Yukari was going to die or anything. If anything, having her removed from the fight made it more likely for them to be able to recover Gensokyo in the case that they lost against Hoshimi.
?Oh.? Reimu involuntarily spoke as suddenly the point Kaguya was trying to make became clear.
Seeing she had finally understood, Kaguya nodded in satisfaction and returned to stargazing. ?Exactly. If something were to happen to you, the entire border would collapse. Not even someone as powerful as Yukari could hope to maintain it for more than a few hours, and she still hasn?t recovered from the last time. And as far as I?m aware, there?s no one else in Gensokyo who has that kind of power.?
?Yeah, I suppose that?s true?? Reimu admitted grudgingly. She didn?t like where this conversation was going anymore, since it was almost enough to convince her to not fight. ?But even so, even if me staying back would help if we lost, it doesn?t matter if we win, right??
?Incorrect,? Kaguya said without changing her expression. Noticing Reimu?s confused silence, she continued. ?Let?s say we win, this Hoshimi is defeated, and everyone is saved. Saigyouji is rescued, Mokou and the hell raven are returned to their senses, and no one on our side takes any injuries at all?except you.?
Reimu?s expression turned bitter once again. She was starting to really not enjoy speaking with Kaguya. She was too right all of the time.
?As I?m sure you just realized, if you die, it doesn?t matter what happens in the rest of the battle. The instant you?re down, we?ve all lost. Everyone in Gensokyo has lost. The Spell Card rules were enough to protect you before, and allow you to solve these incidents by yourself, but that won?t be enough this time. As such, despite the fact your presence would be incredibly helpful to us, it is undeniable that the safest option is to keep you out of the battle.?
?But even if you say that, I can?t just sit back and watch while the rest of you fight. This is my fight as much as it is yours!? Reimu was starting to get a little worried. If she of all people were to be convinced, then there was no doubt the others would be convinced too?and if they were all convinced, she would no doubt have trouble even getting out of the shrine when the time came.
?Oh, and why is that? All of our livelihoods depend on your safety, so what possible reason could you have for throwing yourself into danger like this?? Though her words were somewhat bitter, her tone spoke a different story. She wasn?t just trying to argue Reimu down; she was legitimately asking for a response.
That made Reimu stop and think. Why did she think the way she did? What possible justification could she have for risking all of Gensokyo?s wellbeing, just so that she could participate in the fight??
??Gensokyo is my home,? Reimu replied after a few moments pause, ?and that home is now being threatened. Not only is it my job to protect Gensokyo from things like this, but as someone who can fight, not only can I not afford to do nothing, but I also am unwilling to just sit back and watch while others fight. The fact that all of Gensokyo is relying on me is just as much a reason for me to stay back as it is for me to go and fight.?
Kaguya turned to face Reimu, her expression unreadable. After a few moments of silence, she turned back to the sky and spoke again. ?Exactly. Your home, your life is at risk. So, in order to protect that, not only are you willing to, but you are required to put it all on the line. You are willing to risk your life, your whole self, on protecting that which is important to you.?
Kaguya paused briefly, then continued. ?No one in any world could deny that resolve, could deny your wish to protect that which you hold dear. Not even if it meant certain death for you.?
Reimu frowned. If that?s what she thought, then?
?Exactly. The idea of making you stay behind was, after much discussion, thrown out. There is no doubt that you need extra protection, as any single one of us dying is better than you dying. Well, technically, since I?m immortal me ?dying? is the best possible choice, but we rarely get to choose such things, do we??
?Anyways, there is no way in good conscience we could keep you back. This fight is as much your fight as it is anyone else?s.? Kaguya paused, looking at Reimu. Seeing she hadn?t quite got what she was trying to say, she continued.
?So, Reimu. Why do you feel like anyone dying in the coming fight is your responsibility??
Reimu spoke slowly, not quite understanding what Kaguya was getting at. ?Well, for starters, as the Hakurei Shrine Maiden, it?s my job to protect the wellbeing of Gensokyo. Also, I personally am the one who asked all these people for help. They are here to help me, so in the end it?s my fault if one of them gets hurt, right??
Kaguya gave an unhappy sigh upon hearing Reimu?s reply. ?Okay, let me ask you this. How many people are here against their will??
Reimu hesitated. She had never really thought of that before. She had assumed that, if they had come, they were willing to come, and there was no real way she could force them to participate if they didn?t want to.
?Uhh?zero??
Kaguya smiled, clearly happy with Reimu?s answer. ?Good. No one is here against their will. Next question, then. If we assume they all want to be here, what reason do you think they have for coming??
?Well, I imagine because I asked them for help. Okay, we asked them for help. Marisa and Youmu did just as much work recruiting as I did.?
?Oh? You think everyone is here just to help you? Just because you asked them to?? Kaguya responded with a sly smile, looking at Reimu through narrowed eyes. ?That?s kind of cute, but don?t you think you?re getting a bit full of yourself??
Reimu frowned. ?Are you saying I?m wrong??
?Of course I?m saying you?re wrong,? Kaguya said, her expression turning mildly exasperated. ?Let me ask you this way. If the incident this time was that the shrine needed repainting, and you did the same thing to ask for help, do you think all these people would have come??
?No one would come for something silly like?oh.?
?You understand now, right? You may have thought you were recruiting everyone into some kind of personal army, but the fact is you three were nothing more than messengers. All you did was spread the word.?
?Alright, I get what you?re trying to say. Everyone came for their own reasons, right??
?Exactly. I can?t tell you what those reasons are. Everyone will have different ones, but I can tell you ours. Reisen is here because she believes in Eirin. Eirin is here because she would do anything to protect me. I?m here because Mokou was taken away by that stranger, and I know she wouldn?t go with her unless something was very wrong. Those are the reasons we came here, but there is more to it than that.?
?We came to the shrine under those pretenses, but when Komachi delivered the message from Hell, everything changed. I can no longer afford to think only about Mokou. Eirin can no longer afford to think only about me. Gensokyo, our home, is in danger, and unless all of us work together, it?s not only possible, it?s likely that it will be destroyed. None of us are willing to let that happen.?
?Each of us are fighting, each of us are putting our lives on the line, because there is something that we want to protect. Even if it means our own deaths, Gensokyo is that important to us.?
Reimu pondered for a moment for replying. ?I get what you?re saying, but I don?t get why you?re saying it. Are you just trying to say that I?m getting too full of myself??
Kaguya?s shoulders slumped. ?Of course you don?t get it. Alright, let me try and explain it clearly then.? Turning to face Reimu properly, Kaguya?s expression was serious.
?We?re all here for our own reasons. Our homes, our Gensokyo is in danger, and we want to protect it, even if it means risking our lives. That is the choice we?ve made, and the potential consequences we have accepted. You said you would feel responsible if anything were to happen to one of us, but that?s just arrogance.?
Turning away, her voice became more gentle. ?I said earlier, this was your fight as much as it was ours, but the opposite is also true. This is our fight as much as it is yours. We?re not here to help you, nor are we here because of you. We are all here because we have something we want to protect, and we?re willing to risk it all to do so.? Kaguya?s voice turned bitter once again. ?Frankly, you?re not important enough to be responsible for all of us. Thinking like you are isn?t just wrong, it?s insulting.?
Reimu was taken aback by Kaguya?s harshness. As she struggled to find words to reply to her, Kaguya stood up and walked to the edge of the roof before turning around to face her.
?I understand you?re worried, and that can?t be helped. Everyone is worried. But maybe if you decide to stand with us, rather than in front of us, you?ll understand what I?m trying to say. You?re not the main character of some tragedy, you?re the same as all of us. And we?re all in this together, right?? Smiling as she finished speaking, Kaguya took a small step backwards off the roof of the shrine and slowly floated down out of Reimu?s line of sight.
Reimu sat speechless, still lying on the roof of the shrine. Turning her eyes up to the night sky once again, she let the minutes pass by in silence.
When she actually thought about it, Kaguya was right. This fight wasn?t about her, and it wasn?t happening because of her. She?s not the only one who wants to win, and she?s not the only person who has something to lose.
Of course, these were all things she already knew. It was pretty obvious, after all. That being said, it was definitely something she had taken for granted, and not really thought on. Even though she had asked Kanako to act as the ?leader? of their group, and Eirin had teamed up with her to help plan everything out, she still had thought of herself as being the center of their efforts.
Saying something like everyone was fighting for their own sake was pretty obvious, yet it was still something she needed to hear. Just like last time, when
Yukari reminded her that Yuyuko was still being held captive, she couldn?t help but feel like she had been approaching the situation wrong the entire time.
And the worst part was, it wasn?t because of anything she forgot ? it was just that she hadn?t considered it.
Everyone was working together, everyone was putting their lives on the line to solve this crisis. That realization didn?t change anything, nor did it alleviate her worries that maybe not everyone that left to fight would come home. But in some strange way, it did help. The realization gave her a confidence which she couldn?t help but feel was unfounded, just from realizing the obvious fact that everyone else cared about this just as much, if not more so, than she did.
Reimu closed her eyes and finally relaxed. Nothing had changed, yet everything was different. When the sun rose, they would all leave the shrine and put a stop to Hoshimi for good, no matter what the cost.
And they would do it together, not as her army, but as her equals. She had no idea how any of them would live to see the sun set that day, but she finally understood their feelings.
That they would rather die than let Gensokyo be destroyed.
------------------------------------
Yukari slipped out of a gap onto the roof of the Hakurei Shrine. It was well past midnight, and the light of the moon and the stars still gently illuminated the shrine grounds. With the heat of the sun completely gone from the air, the gentle caress of the night breeze was just enough to make it uncomfortably cool.
?You know, Reimu?? Yukari started, looking at the shrine maiden, still lying on the roof of the shrine, seemingly without a care in the world.
??it?s pretty irresponsible of you to be sleeping up here,? Yukari grumbled to herself. Reimu was lying down, eyes closed, her arms crossed behind her head as a makeshift pillow. Apparently, despite Yukari?s concern that Reimu was going to let everything bother her too much to let her sleep, here she was sleeping on the roof, of all places.
?Well, I suppose if you can sleep here, I must have underestimated you,? Yukari whispered, careful not to wake her. ?Even so, it won?t do to have you getting sick today of all days. Let?s go inside, shall we??
With that, a small gap opened beneath the sleeping Reimu, and she was gently lowered into the inside of the shrine. Seeing she had properly been placed into her futon, Yukari let the gap shut and turned to face the night sky.
Today would be the day everything ended, for better or for worse. It would be Gensokyo?s most important battle since it was first created, and yet she, Gensokyo?s self-appointed Guardian, wasn?t going to be able to participate in the fighting.
That being said, it wasn?t like she wasn?t working hard like everyone else. In fact, while they had all been preparing to fight, she had probably been working harder than any of them at making sure things were ready. Thanks to having preparation time, she could confidently say that even if something were to happen to Reimu, they would have 24 hours to evacuate as many youkai out of Gensokyo as possible.
After that, it would only take a few hours for the land to adapt to fit in with the outside world, which would mean Gensokyo would become empty of magical energy. That would give them just over a day before youkai started suffocating. Thankfully, a certain someone?s efforts meant that most of the youkai were already evacuated out of Gensokyo. It shouldn?t prove to be too difficult to evacuate the remainder in a 24 hour timespan.
Of course, that was the worst case scenario. She also had multiple other plans in motion, all designed to prevent that from happening. There were multiple mechanisms in place to pull Reimu out of the fight in case she was put in danger ? naturally, she didn?t know about any of them, but that was probably for the best. Furthermore, she had prepared a very special present for Hoshimi, just in case the tides of battle needed a little turning. She highly doubted it would decide the battle, but any advantage was a necessary one at this point.
Taking one last glance at the moon overhead, Yukari opened another gap and stepped inside. The stage was set, the actors were gathered. All that remained was for the curtain to be drawn, and the largest event in Gensokyo?s history would take place before her very eyes.
And Yukari Yakumo, Youkai of Borders, Guardian of Gensokyo, would be ready.
Hmm, a week and a half until I go back to school...I wonder if I can get two chapters posted in that time? Probably not, but I guess we'll see how it goes!
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Chapter 13.5 ? Daughter of Heaven
Tenshi yawned as she watched the Sun peak up over the horizon.
Floating maybe a hundred feet or so off the ground, she sat on a keystone relaxedly watching the Sun rise. She had heard rumors that something big was going down in the Human Realm, big enough that all the residents of Heaven were stirred up into a frenzy. Naturally, she assumed anything of import happening in the Human Realm would take place in Gensokyo, so following her curiosity she arrived just before the Sun rose.
It was really an odd occurrence. It wasn?t often that those who lived in Heaven were concerned about anything, and it certainly wasn?t often that that anything had to do with the Human Realm. So, in an attempt to dispel her perpetual boredom, Tenshi made her way to Gensokyo to at least watch the goings on.
Of course, she didn?t have any clue where to look. One might think that she should start with the Hakurei Shrine, but if an incident was happening, the Shrine Maiden would be long gone by now. No, she would have better luck if she set out to look for clues on her own.
Finding that clue didn?t take nearly as long as she expected.
Looking down from the horizon, she surveyed the field laid out below her. The field which must have been a featureless, grassy plain at some point, was now scarred with burn marks and upturned earth. A massive trench cut a line for almost a mile away, and though traces remained of whatever had caused it, it was impossible to tell exactly what that was.
Dominating the center of the war-torn field was a massive black tower. Made of a glassy crystal, it stretched over fifty feet into the air, coming to a triangular point at the top. As if an ornament above it, a blue-clad ghost hovered mere inches above the tower?s tip.
Honestly, she was almost disappointed with how fast she had found the cause of whatever incident was occurring. She had looked forward to trying her hand at investigating, but having arrived in Gensokyo right beside the tower, it seemed foolish to look around now. All hope was not lost, however. She may have found the source of the incident, but that didn?t mean she knew anything about it. If nothing else, she?d at least be able to play detective long enough to figure out what exactly this tower was supposed to do.
Though her excitement had been somewhat dampened by finding the tower so quickly, she supposed it probably was better in the end. Aside from the obvious fact that it saved her time, the dampening of her excitement meant she was in a sound enough mind to take stock of the situation before approaching. After all, whatever was happening here was enough to scare the people in Heaven. There was no doubt some danger to herself here as well.
Taking a look around, she could see that there were no readily visible other people in the area. There was her, of course, and the ghost above the tower, but otherwise no one could be seen. Of course, just because someone couldn?t be seen, didn?t mean they weren?t there. This was a simple truth that might have evaded her had she let the excitement get to her head.
Turning her head slowly to survey the field below her, she searched for signs of people in hiding. As she had expected, the currents of magic in the air throbbed unnaturally ? meaning someone or something was disturbing their flow.
Reading the ebb and flow of magic in the area wasn?t a particularly special skill. Even a normal human could do it, provided they had the training to recognize what they were looking for. Even so, it could be an incredibly powerful skill. Generally, one could only see that there was a disturbance, but not necessarily be able to pinpoint a cause. However, thanks to her experience with manipulating the weather, Tenshi had become quite adept at reading atmospheric flow, and it just so happened weather formations were not all too different from the flow of magical energy in a place like Gensokyo.
The first and most obvious source of the distortion was the massive trench that marred the field. The area was completely devoid of magical energy, and though the flow of energy avoided the place in general, what small amounts of magical energy that flowed into the area vanished inexplicably. It seemed it would be best to avoid that area for the time being.
Beyond that, she could feel two relatively small distortions in the area. Surprisingly, they were quite a fair distance from the tower. The anomalies corresponded quite regularly to that of a person ? and one of quite some caliber. Judging by their distance and slow, circling movements, it seemed as if the two persons were patrolling the area around the tower. Whether they were trying to keep people out or keep people in was anyone?s guess, but it seemed they either didn?t notice her or didn?t care that she was there, as her appearance didn?t mark any change in their behaviour.
Ignoring the obvious distortion caused by the ghost above the tower, there was one more distortion in the area. Located near the base of the tower, it seemed in a way quite similar to the previous two distortions, yet at the same time quite different. On the one hand, it was much smaller. That would normally indicate a person of power that wasn?t very significant ? stronger than an average fairy, but not much above that. However, the nature of the distortion was entirely different.
While most youkai would be perceived as areas where magical energy collected, this was the opposite ? instead of magical energy gathering and collecting around the person, the person was giving off magical energy. While it was possible ? and among the powerful, quite common ? for a youkai to produce magical energy of their own, it was somewhat counterproductive for them to release that energy into the air. As such, this was quite the anomaly.
Even so, judging by the size and area affected by the distortion, she could make a safe guess that it was indeed a person of some sort, most likely a youkai. The bizarre nature of the distortion prevented her from guessing at the person?s strength, but in all honesty, this kind of detection didn?t really lend itself well to gauging the strength of others with much precision anyways.
What concerned her more than anything, though, was the tower. The massive, jet-black structure stood imposingly in the field, clearly crafted by magical means. Yet, the tower had no impact on the flow of magic in the area. It neither absorbed, nor released magical energy. It didn?t obstruct the flow of energy either, allowing it to pass through unaltered.
Tenshi tilted her head to the side lightly as she observed the tower. If it didn?t affect the flow of energy at all, was it just ornamental? She had expected ? maybe ?hoped? was a better word ? that the tower would be some sort of doomsday device, but it appeared as if it had no purpose other than to just?stand there.
Fighting the urge to feel disappointed yet again, Tenshi cautiously approached the tower. She refused to believe that the tower was as benign as it seemed. After all, if it was just to be a monument of some sort, they would have tried to make it look pretty, not carved it out of black crystal and left it unadorned in the middle of a random field.
She hadn?t been moving for five seconds when she felt all three of the people she had detected, but not yet seen, suddenly act strange. The two patrolling people froze in the paths they had been following for what must have been hours. The third one, located at the base of the tower, vanished entirely.
?So you do know I?m here. Well, let?s see what you?ll do about it then.? Talking quietly to herself, she floated closer to the tower, still seated comfortably on her keystone. She continued approaching until she had closed maybe half the distance between her and the tower, before she felt something.
It wasn?t a distortion in the magical energy of the area, nor was it something wrong with the physical atmosphere. No, the only thing she could call it was intuition. And it?s message to her was very clear.
Stop. Run away. This place is too dangerous.
Of course, she had no intention of turning back. She had come here to investigate, and she wasn?t going to leave until she had some answers. But even so, she wasn?t stupid. Stopping her forward movement, she sat and waited, letting herself get tense. Something was coming, and she wasn?t planning on getting taken by surprise.
She didn?t have to wait long, either. Seconds after she stopped moving, the familiarly strange distortion reappeared right in front of her. Shortly after, the air itself bent and warped, and out of the distortion stepped a woman Tenshi had never before met.
Simply laying eyes on this person made Tenshi?s heart begin to race. Even just looking at her, from the all-black outfit, to the confident look in her eyes, told Tenshi all she needed to know about this person ? she was the culprit.
It seemed her desire to solve a mystery wasn?t going to happen. One after another, her questions were answering themselves. But even so, that didn?t mean there was no fun to be had.
?Good morning,? Tenshi greeted the stranger with a condescending smile. To her credit, if it bothered her, she didn?t show it in the least.
?My, what an auspicious omen,? the stranger replied, smiling with an equal amount of condescension, ?to be greeted by a Celestial at sunrise on such an important day. To what do I owe this pleasure??
Tenshi paused for a moment. She was mildly surprised that this woman was able to identify her as a Celestial just by sight, but she supposed her heritage wasn?t exactly something she kept secret, so she let it slide with a shrug.
?Oh, you know. I heard something interesting was going on down here, so I figured I?d come watch.?
?Is that so?,? the stranger said, her smile changing to one that said she was inwardly laughing at some private joke. ?Well, you?ve picked a good day to come watch. In just a few hours an event will occur that?s sure to pique your interest.?
Tenshi gave a noncommittal hum as she looked past the stranger at the tower again, attempting to feign indifference. ?So, what exactly is this event??
?Oh come, you must be able to figure that out on your own.? The stranger spoke as if she was disappointed, though there was still a playful tone to her voice.
Tenshi frowned. She figured that she was talking about someone coming to stop whatever she was doing, but she couldn?t imagine that being worth as much attention as this person seemed to imply. Granted, she was likely new to Gensokyo, so she probably just had an inflated sense of self importance. Unfortunately for her, these incidents were not quite as big a deal as she thought they were.
Of course, there was also the possibility she wasn?t talking about that. Maybe she was talking about the reason why the higher ups in Heaven were so worried. She didn?t know the details, but she knew enough that it was safe to assume this person was the cause of the uproar. And if intuition served, then?
?Something to do with that tower, I suppose?? Tenshi replied offhandedly, avoiding eye contact.
??Something?? Is that the best you can do?? Her playfulness had disappeared, and she was now just sounding disappointed. For some reason it seemed as if she had high hopes for her, which was strange because, yet again, they had never met. Maybe just because she was a Celestial? That didn?t seem like a very good reason, though.
?Well, let me give you a little hint, then,? she said, her playful tone returning. ?This tower is made of a very special, very rare crystal. One created from the souls of the departed.?
At that, Tenshi could no longer maintain her fa?ade. Her eyes went wide as the implications of what this stranger had said raced through her mind.
First of all, the tower was huge. If it was made from the souls of the dead, it would take a tremendous number of souls to make something this big. She would have had to tap the Netherworld itself to get this much crystal.
Secondly, this wasn?t the first time she had heard of crystals made from souls, though it was admittedly the first time she had seen it with her own eyes. For starters, any kind of crystal was excellent for storing magical energy. This kind of crystal could hold much more than most other types of material. With a tower this large, it wouldn?t be exaggerating to say you could hold enough magical energy to wipe out all of Gensokyo in the blink of an eye.
And so it wasn?t hard to connect the dots. Something important happening here today. A tower that could store more magical energy than she had ever witnessed in her life. The higher ups in Heaven in a panic?as if their very lives were in danger.
It might have seemed like a bit of a stretch to think it was aimed at Heaven, but it was pretty clear that if this tower was supposed to be some kind of weapon, it was way overkill for attacking Gensokyo. Gensokyo wasn?t a very large place, as far as places are concerned at least, so something less than half the size of this tower would have been more than sufficient. That kind of reasoning led one to believe that it would most likely target somewhere else?but where that was was anyone?s guess.
There was also one other thing that didn?t add up. While it was true that the amount of magical energy the tower could store was enormous, it still needed to acquire that magical energy. Gathering that energy by natural means, like absorbing it from the atmosphere or tapping into local leylines, would take weeks, maybe even months to gather enough to fill the tower. What really made it strange though, was that the tower wasn?t doing any such thing. There was no magical energy flowing into or out of the tower ? it was just standing there, doing nothing.
?I see,? she said, trying her best to not make her voice sound shaky, ?it?s some kind of weapon, then.?
?Indeed,? the stranger responded, finally satisfied that Tenshi had managed to figure something out. ?And soon, all of Gensokyo will be fighting here to take it away from me. Exciting, no??
Tenshi?s eyes snapped to the stranger, then back to the tower, feeling her mouth suddenly go dry.
?Wait?all of Gensokyo??
The stranger?s smile turned slightly sinister. ?Oh? It seems you?ve realized something.?
?Only that it?s better to be on your side, rather than against it.? Tenshi tried to feign indifference again, though by the expression on the stranger?s face she could tell it wasn?t working. It was obvious that she had underestimated this person, and though she realized it now, she could only hope it wasn?t too late.
The tower should have been a dead giveaway once she had found out what it was made of. If not that, then she should have at least figured upon seeing the massive trench gouged out of the field. This person was clearly playing a game beyond anything Tenshi had ever seen. Well beyond the incident she herself instigated. And what?s more, not only did she seem unperturbed at having all of Gensokyo coming down on her head, she seemed to be looking forward to it.
Tenshi realized now that she was in way over her head. Even so, she couldn?t just let things be as they were. After all, the residents of Gensokyo may have been a hundred percent right that they needed to get rid of this person, but she knew also that they were playing right into her hands.
If it was true all of Gensokyo was united against her, they were all about to make a huge mistake.
Though Tenshi had figured out this stranger?s plan, she also knew that knowing too much often proved to be a liability. Even if she knew what she was planning, it wouldn?t do her any good unless she could tell someone. And if this stranger was as strong as she appeared, then that possibility would evaporate the instant she realized Tenshi knew what she was planning.
?Well, with something like this, I doubt even all of Gensokyo will be a match for you?? Still attempting to act like an indifferent spectator, she watched the stranger?s face closely. Her expression was unreadable, not giving any clues as to what she was thinking.
?If you have that much confidence, why don?t you join in on the fun?? The stranger spoke with a smile, causing Tenshi to pause.
At first, she thought she was asking her to help fight against her, but she realized by looking at her expression she was attempting to recruit her. Tenshi didn?t know how the stranger interpreted the look she was giving her, but in any case she continued.
?You came here because you were bored, right? Well, why not participate in a battle that will determine the fate of all Gensokyo? Since you?re a Celestial, you shouldn?t have any concern as to the outcome, so you really have nothing to lose, right??
Tenshi?s mind was racing. This development was unexpected, but?
?That might be true,? Tenshi replied, watching the stranger with one eye closed, ?but battles are risky regardless, right? I may not be able to die very easily, but that doesn?t mean I enjoy getting hurt.?
?Of course, I wouldn?t expect you to help me for free. There would be ample compensation for your efforts.? The woman spoke with a friendly enough tone, but
Tenshi didn?t miss the tension in her expression. Her eyes had a dangerous look, and that spoke more to Tenshi than any words she had given.
You aren?t leaving here alive, so you might as well help me out, right?
Of course, she had no real basis for thinking this. After all, Celestials were practically immortal, so the only thing she really had to fear was pain. That being said, she knew there were fates worse than death that she had no particular desire to experience, and pain was often a very key element to those.
Tenshi hummed thoughtfully as she looked past the stranger at the black crystal tower once again. She didn?t know how much the stranger thought she knew, but regardless, she wasn?t interested in letting Tenshi get away. If she wanted to go warn the residents of Gensokyo about the stranger?s plan, she would have to gamble on her ability to escape first, which after seeing the massive trench gouged out of the field, she didn?t have much confidence in.
However, that wasn?t her only option.
?I?ll tell you what,? Tenshi said, returning her gaze to the stranger. ?You make me a promise, and I?ll help you out.?
The stranger raised an eyebrow, but otherwise didn?t reply.
?If you can promise me that you won?t use this weapon to attack Heaven, then I?ll join your fight.?
That was the second option available to her. If she could stop the residents of Gensokyo from getting to the tower in the first place, the problem would be as good as solved. If she couldn?t stop them, then she would have ample opportunity to warn them of the dangers.
The stranger?s expression had grown dark, however. It seemed she wasn?t pleased about something, and Tenshi quickly realized what it was.
She had taken it for granted that the weapon would attack somewhere outside of Gensokyo, but it seemed the woman wanted that kept secret. Was she really that unhappy about that being found out?
?or was she actually planning on attacking Heaven?
After a considerable pause, the stranger sighed. ?Very well. If you perform at your full capacity, I will guarantee you that no harm shall come to Heaven due to my actions.?
In all honesty, Tenshi didn?t care one way or the other about who she attacked, even if it was Heaven. But she needed a believable reason to be here, something to disguise her true goal. If the stranger thought she was in it to protect her home, that ignorance should give her the opportunity to act when the time came.
?In that case, I look forward to working with you,? Tenshi said with a smile that, surprising herself, wasn?t forced. ?My name is Tenshi Hinanawi.? Making eye contact for possibly the first time that day, she held out her right hand.
?Hoshimi. The pleasure is all mine,? the stranger said as she shook the offered hand. Her smile spoke more of just happiness at having successfully recruited Tenshi. ?Now come, we have many preparations to make, and considering our?colleagues in this endeavour, we should likely introduce you before the others arrive.?
Tenshi followed after Hoshimi at a slow float. She had originally come to Gensokyo to play at being a hero, just to kill time. Now she was fulfilling that goal with such tenacity it surprised herself.
Truth be told, she knew the situation wasn?t as benign as that. Honestly, she was just following the path that lead to the highest probability of her getting out in one piece. As things stood, Gensokyo had little chance against this Hoshimi. Even without Tenshi helping her, Hoshimi?s chances at victory were fairly high ? adding Tenshi didn?t change much.
The opposite was not true, however. Though Gensokyo?s chances at winning were minimal, with Tenshi acting as a double agent, their chances would skyrocket. And even if they couldn?t win, Tenshi?s role was covert enough that she could still sabotage Hoshimi?s efforts from the inside, as long as she played her cards right.
And if things turned really sour, there wasn?t anything to stop her from actually joining Hoshimi. After all, though Gensokyo was certainly an interesting place, and she had no ill will towards it by any stretch of the imagination, it was, in the end, not her home. Plus, as far as she could tell, the only risk to Gensokyo itself was the risk of fallout from their battle with Hoshimi.
Tenshi shook her head to dispel the unpleasant thoughts. While that option was open to her, it smacked too much of ?the easy way out? for her liking. She had come here looking for entertainment, for a way to challenge herself. She may have been following the path to save herself now, but there was no reason to throw away her other goals.
Besides, if she succeeded, Gensokyo would be eternally in her debt. Tenshi smiled as she pictured the shrine maiden and her friends heaping praises on her as she delivered them from certain death.
?You seem in an awfully good mood,? Hoshimi called out, turning to regard Tenshi with a bemused expression.
?What can I say?? Tenshi shrugged in reply, ?the more I think about it, the more excited I get.?
Seemingly satisfied with Tenshi?s response, Hoshimi turned back. Tenshi could now see the other two that had joined Hoshimi. Tenshi shook her head one last time to throw the unnecessary thoughts from her head.
The board was set, the pieces were in place, the players were ready. Gensokyo?s fate was in her hands, and that meant there was no time left for idle thoughts. From now on, she could afford to do nothing but plan ? right up to the moment her opponents would arrive.
I feel like after writing an almost 9k word long chapter, posting a 4k word chapter is almost a cop out :/
Either way, my apologies for the month delay on this one.
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Yay, new update!
Welcome to Chapter 13.5: Hopeless Masquerade. Next stop: Chapter 14: Double Dealing Character
Great post, have been following this since it started. Great story so far.
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Oh man, I'm really glad you didn't abandon this. Each chapter makes me more insterested. Can't wait for the next one!
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dat climax
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Glad to hear you guys are enjoying it so far! As we're bearing down on the ending, I can't help but second-guess pretty much every choice I've made with regards to the story, so its good to hear that it's still holding interest XD
Anyway, here's a relatively short chapter to preface a series of rather long chapters. Enjoy!
Chapter 14 ? The End of the World
Marisa stood in front of the Hakurei Shrine, quietly surveying the gathering of people and youkai ? mostly youkai ? before her.
It was barely two hours after sunrise, and the wind bore an unseasonable chill. Everyone who was planning on taking part in the battle with Hoshimi was gathered in front of the Hakurei Shrine, making last minute preparations and waiting for the word to move out. Stifling a yawn and adjusting the broom resting on her shoulder, Marisa impatiently waited for something to do.
Her preparations had all been completed a long time ago. She already had everything she needed ? her trusty broom, resting on her shoulder; her mini-hakkero, resting snugly in her front pocket; and last but not least, Nitori?s secret weapon.
It honestly blew Marisa?s mind how fast Nitori had been able to come up with the device. The speed with which she had made it made Marisa doubt its reliability, but Nitori seemed exceedingly confident in it, so she was just going to have to hope that when the time came, her expert craftsmanship would pull through.
And, though compared to the others her preparations had been?sparse, she was just as ready as any of them. She had already had a taste of what she was about to be dealing with, and her style didn?t really involve any clever tricks or genius strategies, so all she had to do was stay sharp, keep her eyes on the prize, and give it her all.
?If only it was that simple for everyone else?? Marisa mumbled to herself. Though the atmosphere wasn?t frantic per se, it was definitely overflowing with tension. As she stood off to the side, watching the goings on around her, she couldn?t help but feel like everyone would be better off if they were in the same situation as she was.
It wasn?t that she wasn?t worried, or didn?t feel the pressure of the situation. But she had done everything she could, prepared in the way that played best to her strengths, and so there was no stress. No worries about whether she had done enough, nothing she could regret should the situation turn sour. So even under this pressure, where the fate of all Gensokyo was resting on the outcome of a single battle, she found herself surprisingly at peace.
Maybe I should be teaching at that Temple, Marisa thought wryly to herself.
Ironically, as Marisa thought this, Byakuren approached her while keeping an eye on the bustle around her. Marisa greeted her with a wave, which she returned with a smile before stepping in line with Marisa so as to be out of the way of the others.
?And how are you doing on this fine Spring morning??
?Anything but fine,? Marisa replied forcibly attempting to sound glum.
?Oh? And what could possibly be the matter?? Byakuren replied, her face showing she had caught Marisa?s playful attitude.
?I?m bored, y?know? I?ve been ready for days, I?m sick of waiting. I just want to get this over with.?
?How interesting. Most of the others seem to want to put off the coming battle as long as possible.?
?Yeah, well. The way I look at it, the outcome won?t change much no matter how long we take. Whether we?re going to win or lose, it?s better to just get it out of the way early so we can move on?is what I?d like to say, but I suppose with something like this moving on isn?t necessarily something we can do.?
?But you realize you are right,? Byakuren said with a rare sigh. ?If we?re going to lose, it?s better to do it sooner, rather than later. That will give us more time to prepare for the follow-up catastrophe.?
Marisa silently shrugged. She had little inclination to think of what was going to happen after the battle, regardless of whether they won or lost. If they won, there would be no problem. If she lost?as one of the members of the team trying to hold Hoshimi at bay, she doubted it would be any of her concern.
As Marisa and Byakuren quietly watched the crowd at work before them, people started organizing into their groups. Out of the mess of people, Alice emerged, approaching the two of them with a distracted expression. As she came within speaking distance, she approached Byakuren with a smile.
?Here, this should be of some help.? Byakuren graciously received a small doll from Alice, normal except for it carrying a small shield with intricate markings on it. ?Its real bonus is that it?ll allow all of us to communicate from any distance, but it can also be used as a one-time shield, so please don?t hesitate to use it as such if the situation calls for it.?
With a nod and a word of thanks, Byakuren tucked the small doll snuggly into her clothes, ensuring it wouldn?t fall out in flight.
Turning to Marisa, Alice?s expression immediately turned serious. Without a word, she held out a similar doll, placing it firmly in Marisa?s outstretched hand.
?Thanks, I?ll take care of it.? Marisa responded pre-emptively with a grin.
?Marisa.? Alice spoke in a serious tone, still holding tight to the doll.
A few moments passed, and Marisa?s smile became more awkward. ?Um?yeah??
??I want this back, okay??
?Got it.?
?No, Marisa, listen. I. Want. This. Doll. Back. Understood??
?Yeah, yeah, I got it, I got it. Do you honestly think this is a good time for me to be stealing your things??
?Of course not. And since you feel the same way as I do, it shouldn?t bother you at all to hear that this one has a self-destruct function. A very violent one. Just so you know.?
As Marisa?s expression turned sour, Alice finally let go of the doll and made a show of spinning around and heading towards the next group of people.
?A reputation sure is a hard thing to break, isn?t it?? Byakuren said with an amused expression.
?I wish she?d lighten up a bit. It?s just a doll,? Marisa replied with a whiny voice, earning a short laugh from Byakuren.
I heard that.
Marisa jumped as Alice?s voice suddenly appeared, cold and unfriendly, within her head. When she turned to look, she saw Alice was giving her an equally icy glare from across the courtyard, which she returned with an apologetic smile.
?Ignoring the whole ?getting busted? part, it looks like these dolls are going to be awfully convenient?? Marisa inspected the doll as she spoke. Allowing the ability to communicate with each other across a large distance was already a big advantage, but being able to do so in a way that their opponents couldn?t hear them made it a surprisingly powerful tool.
A quick glance told Marisa that she was talking to herself, as Byakuren was focused on something across the courtyard. Following her gaze showed what she was interested in ? Reimu had just come out of the Shrine, finally finishing her last minute talks with Kanako and Eirin, and was now making her way towards them.
Reimu approached the two of them wordlessly, giving them a nod and turning back to watch the others as they finished gathering into their groups. There was something different about her today, something?new. Her eyes and expression gave a very different feeling today than they had even the night before.
She couldn?t really say Reimu had seemed fearful, but there was definitely an undercurrent of anxiety and bitterness to her expression before. Now, that was all gone, being replaced by a firm resolve, showing the calm confidence that Reimu typically adopted before taking down the enemy. Of course, that was generally in a Spell Card battle, so ?taking down the enemy? had a very different meaning then than it did now.
Marisa scratched her head with an exaggerated sigh. ?I guess I?ll have to get serious now too, huh??? Shaking her head lightly, she looked up to watch the other groups? progress. It seemed everyone had gathered into their groups, and was now looking at Reimu, waiting for the word to start.
Kaguya, Eirin, and Reisen made up one group.
Kanako, Suwako, and Sanae made up the second.
Remilia, Sakuya, and Youmu made up the third.
Reimu, Byakuren, and herself were the fourth group.
And outside of those groups, the support team consisted of Patchouli, Alice, and Komachi. It also seemed like, for whatever reason, Nitori was tagging along with them, though Marisa suspected it was more to watch than anything else.
An anxious calm settled over the courtyard. Everyone looked to Reimu, though their gazes held no traces of hesitation, or fear. If anything, she would describe it as impatience. After all this time, all this waiting, they were finally ready. The only thing they had left to wait for was Reimu?s signal.
Everyone?s gazes turned as one to watch as a gap opened up beside Reimu, revealing Yukari, hovering a couple feet off the ground with her parasol resting on her shoulder.
Reimu turned to glance at Yukari. ?Any last minute words of wisdom??
Yukari replied with a veiled smile. ?I believe it?s your job to give the last minute motivational speech.?
Reimu sighed. ?Why?d you even show up if you don?t have anything to say??
?To hear your speech, of course.?
Shaking her head, Reimu turned back to the others, who were looking at her again. Taking a deep breath, she spoke.
?I?m sick and tired of this incident. It?s been going on so long it?s borderline boring. I know you all have your own reasons for being here, and that gives you all the motivation you need. You don?t need a motivational speech from me, so all I?ll say is this. Let?s go. Let?s win. And let?s all come home, so we can drink the night away at the Shrine tonight.?
?Reimu, you?re still underage,? Yukari said, pretending to whisper.
?Shut your mouth, woman. Let?s go!?
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Remember, do NOT begin fighting until you get the all clear. Wait for your designated opponent, and do your best to pull them away from the battle area.
Marisa sighed as yet another reminder from Alice echoed inside her head. They hadn?t been flying particularly fast, so that it was easier for them to maintain some semblance of formation, but ever since they had reached about the halfway mark, Alice had felt the need to start making use of the Communication Dolls.
At first it had just been tests and explanations of how they worked, but shortly after she had begun relaying warnings and ?tips? from one of the others. Marisa could only guess who it was that was pushing her to do it, but from Alice?s tone it was clear that even she was getting somewhat frustrated with the constant reminders.
Suddenly, Alice?s voice stopped, and a chill-like tension could be felt rippling through the air.
Just ahead of them, coming into view now, was a massive trench that had been gouged out of the countryside. Carved through plain, hill, and forest alike, the trench held no signs of life, and a suffocating ?wrongness? emanated from it. A glance around showed that Marisa wasn?t the only one who noticed it.
?So this is what Suika was talking about?? Reimu mumbled to herself. Hoshimi had definitely not shown any indication of that kind of power when they had encountered her earlier. Had she gotten stronger since then? Or was she holding back the first time?
Whichever the case, the time for questions was over. They had already reasoned out as much as they could about Hoshimi and her plan, so there was nothing left but give it their all. If there was anything to be learned from thinking, there were others who were much better at that than she was, so trying to puzzle it out herself would be meaningless.
Yukari, who had accompanied them thus far, spoke in a voice low enough that Marisa could barely hear it from where she was beside Reimu. ?Alright, this is as far as I go. I won?t tell you to expect it, but I?ll be watching, so at least be ready for my help. I may not participate in the fight directly, but I?ll be damned if I don?t at least meddle a little bit.?
Reimu nodded in response, and Yukari vanished into a gap in short order.
Alright everyone, this is it! Alice?s voice came through again, her usual excessive seriousness finally sounding like it was appropriate. We have information on their positions now. Here are your instructions.
Marisa smiled. She couldn?t say she was particularly happy, or excited about the fact they were about to be fighting for their lives. But after this long of a wait, she couldn?t help but be filled with a certain flavour of anticipation, and she had to put a significant amount of force into her grip to stop herself from shaking with it.
Hoshimi herself is directly beside the tower. The ghost princess is right above it. Essentially, that means draw your designated opponents away from the tower as much as possible.
The closest to us is the immortal. As per the plan, Eirin?s team will deal with her. Eirin, take your team straight forward and pin her down so that Reimu?s team can get by you.
The hell raven is guarding the rear-right of the field. Kanako?s team will skirt the right side of the field and engage her from the outside to draw her attacks away from the other groups.
Marisa frowned. If Mokou was directly in front of them, and Utsuho was in the back right, that left a rather noticeable gap in their formation. Normally, that would seem too good to be true, but as Alice?s voice continued in her head, her suspicions that something else was afoot. Specifically, that the expected number of opponents was wrong.
There appears to be another person guarding the rear-left?
Marisa apparently hadn?t been the only one to reach this conclusion, as upon hearing this the expressions of those around her showed a grimness that lacked any element of surprise. All that was left was to figure out who that third guard was.
It appears?the rear-left is being guarded by a Celestial.
With that, the expressions around her, including her own, definitely turned to surprise. What was a Celestial doing in Gensokyo at all, let alone helping Hoshimi? Marisa didn?t know much about Celestials, other than that they rarely interacted with others outside of Heaven. Specifically owing to their contempt of all those they consider their lessers. That being said, there was one Celestial that had been known to come to Gensokyo, and as Marisa recalled her name and face-
Figures. It?s the same one that showed up in that strange weather incident. Tenshi Hinanai?Don?t let your guard down. She?s very likely to be a problem for everyone. Remilia?s team will take the left side and attempt to bring her out of the fight.
Marisa?s mind raced trying to remember what she knew about Tenshi. She could create earthquakes, and had a crazy sword that did crazy things to the weather. It was going to be a rather large nuisance if the weather started acting up in the middle of their fight, enough that Tenshi alone might be able to ruin their chances on her own?
Regardless, dealing with Tenshi wasn?t her job. She would have her hands quite full with trying to keep Hoshimi at bay, so there was little she could do but trust Remilia?s team to do their job.
Finally, a word of caution. Remember, except for Hoshimi, we have no idea what motivation the others have for working with her. Do not attempt to take their lives unless it is completely unavoidable. Casualties are completely unacceptable, regardless of whose side they are on.
Marisa rolled her eyes. Though she knew Alice was right, she figured there was very little threat as to anyone on Hoshimi?s side being seriously injured. After all, Mokou was immortal, and Celestials would just reappear in Heaven if their physical bodies were destroyed. The only one who?s life was in any actual danger was Utsuho, and it was anyone?s guess as to how mortal Hoshimi herself was.
Luckily, from the way their formation was set up, it seemed that Yuyuko wasn?t going to be participating in the fight. Though there was little risk of her ?dying? should she have been involved in the fighting, there was a very real risk of her killing every single one of them. What?s more, if she had been fighting, their plan would have needed an immediate rework, as there would be more opponents than they had teams to deal with them.
Thankfully, the second issue wasn?t going to be a problem, and as with Tenshi, Marisa could do little other than trust everyone else to do their job so that Yuyuko?s ability to inflict instant death wouldn?t be a problem.
That?s it for instructions. Everyone, move out!
With that, the four combat groups immediately split up. Kanako?s and Remilia?s groups sped off to the sides, avoiding crossing through the middle of the battlefield, while Eirin?s team picked up speed and rushed forward. Marisa and Byakuren followed Reimu and she flew upwards, gaining altitude so that they could fly over the other fights and cut right into the heart of the enemy?s guard, confronting Hoshimi herself right off the bat.
They had been flying only a few feet off the ground as they travelled, so Marisa couldn?t get a proper look at the battlefield until after she had ascended. Sprawled before her was the open field she remembered from her last confrontation with Hoshimi, their opponents organized exactly as Alice had described them. They were still far enough away that she could barely identify who they were by looking at them, but standing beside that jet-black tower seemingly made of glass, looking more ominous than ever, was the unmistakable figure of Hoshimi herself.
Seeing her with her own eyes, Marisa felt anxiety for the first time since she had narrowly missed confronting Hoshimi at Alice?s house just less than a week before. Taking a quick look at her partners, she saw more or less what she had expected to. Reimu, her expression vicious, glaring mercilessly at the culprit before her. Byakuren, keeping pace with the two of them, her expression calm yet serious.
After taking a deep breath to steady herself, Marisa muttered a quick spell under her breath, careful to make sure the others wouldn?t hear her. The comforting flow of chaotic, overflowing magic that she was used to filled her body with a tension that melted her anxiety away.
?This time, for real?? Marisa spoke quietly, though this time only because she was talking to herself. Her face broke into a sinister grin, reminding her of a certain youkai from which she had ?obtained? her signature spell. ?This time, I?m not holding back.?
Though she was too far away to see clearly, it seemed to her as if Hoshimi smiled in response to Marisa?s claim. Then, as if she was whispering in her ear, she could hear Hoshimi?s voice carry directly to her across the tremendous distance.
?Come, then. Show me the full power of this Gensokyo that you are so proud of.?
With that, Marisa instantly knew. It was nothing ground-breaking, and they had already reached this conclusion while sipping tea at the shrine. But after that one chilling statement, Marisa knew that they were all acting perfectly in accordance with Hoshimi?s plan. All of this, the gathering of everyone, was likely a huge mistake.
Yet she felt no anger. No sense of dread at having made a wrong move, no sense of outrage at having played directly into the enemy?s hands.
All that was left now was the battle before her. Even her anticipation was crowded out of her mind by her one singular purpose. She would fight, and she would win.
And she would show Hoshimi how big of a mistake she had made in uniting Gensokyo against her.
-
THE WHEEL OF FATE IS TURNING
REBEL ONE
FIGHT
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This chapter probably could have been merged into the last one, but I suppose it's a bit late for that now!
This is the definite start of the third and final story arc. The ending is in sight!
Chapter 15 ? Into the Web of War
Mokou watched quietly as one of the small groups approached her.
There were a lot more people attacking than she had initially anticipated. She was worried, for a moment, that it would be too much for her to handle, but just before they came in range, they all split up and flew away.
It didn?t look like they were retreating but?what reason could they possibly have for splitting up the way they did? Personally, she thought it would make more sense for them to just power their way through the middle, but she supposed they had their reasons.
Her expression grew dark as she recognized who was in the group still aiming for her. Kaguya, her doctor, and the moon rabbit.
Strangely, she felt nothing of the burning rage that had possessed her the moment she decided to join with Hoshimi. Instead, she just felt cold, as if there was a small lump of ice in her chest. Hoshimi?s promise had apparently done wonders for her composure. She knew Hoshimi would win, with or without her help ? she had witnessed her strength firsthand during the fight with the flower youkai, as well as the Oni afterwards. There was no doubt in her mind that Hoshimi could fulfill the promise she had made.
To kill an immortal. She felt like it should be a terrifying prospect, but instead she was oddly calm about it. The fact that a method to kill Kaguya existed meant that a method to kill her must exist as well. Even so, the thought of finally finding an end to her revenge crowded out any fears for herself. As long as Kaguya got what she deserved, she didn?t care what happened to herself. She would pay any price.
Taking a deep breath, Mokou carefully watched them approach. All she needed to worry about now was stopping these three from getting by her. Her revenge would happen in due time ? right now, she needed to focus on the battle at hand.
Mokou?s eyes went wide with surprise as suddenly, Kaguya and her group appeared immediately in front of her. She hadn?t taken her eyes off of them for a second, but somehow they had all crossed hundreds of feet in distance in an instant, and were now no more than twenty feet away. She braced herself for an attack, but strangely, none came. The three of them hovered in front of her, on guard, but otherwise making no hostile moves.
A few moments passed in silence as Kaguya and Mokou locked eyes. She couldn?t read anything from Kaguya?s expression, and as the stare-down continued, she could tell Kaguya was looking for something in hers as well. Finally, Kaguya broke the silence with a sigh.
?So, I take it that means you?re here of your own accord, then??
Mokou narrowed her eyes, but said nothing. Seeing she wasn?t going to respond, Kaguya continued. ?Will you at least tell me why you are helping someone like her??
At this, Mokou couldn?t help but smile. ?Because she knows a way to kill you.?
Her declaration, which she thought was something to be taken as a matter of course, earned her looks of shock from the three across from her. Was it really that surprising? The two of them had been fighting for hundreds of years, why would things be different now?
?Are you?serious?? Kaguya spoke in a small voice.
?Of course. Why is that so surprising?? Mokou responded with a frown, speaking more to herself than to Kaguya. She felt like something was off, like there was something she had missed. She couldn?t imagine why her words would have the impact they had seemed to have. They were sworn enemies, after all ? one didn?t typically take the fact that their enemies didn?t like them all that hard.
Kaguya dropped her gaze, continuing to speak quietly. ?Do you really hate me that much?that you?d sacrifice all of Gensokyo to get back at me??
Yet again, Mokou was caught off guard. ?Sacrifice Gensokyo? I don?t know what you think we?re doing here, but it has nothing to do with Gensokyo.?
?It doesn?t matter what your plans are,? Eirin spoke up, her cool voice poorly matching the angry expression she was wearing. ?If Hoshimi isn?t stopped, then Hell itself is going to act to destroy Gensokyo.?
Mokou raised an eyebrow at Eirin?s claim. It didn?t seem like they were particularly trying to trick her, since they weren?t trying to actually convince her of anything, but the story still seemed a little far-fetched. Granted, considering it was Hoshimi they were talking about, she supposed it wasn?t that surprising that some people in high places were out to stop her.
?Even if that?s true, it has nothing to do with me.?
?What do you mean it has nothing to do with you?!? The next person to burst was Reisen. ?Forget the fact that you live here, aren?t you worried about your friends? All the innocent people whose lives are at risk because of what you are doing?!?
Mokou surprised herself by seriously considering what the moon rabbit had said. ?Of course I wouldn?t be happy if that happened. Even someone like me has people they care about, you know??
?Then, why??
?Think about it. If Hoshimi?s plan involves Gensokyo, do you think she would just let it be destroyed that easily??
?Are you honestly telling us to trust her to protect Gensokyo?? Eirin almost laughed as she spoke.
Mokou shrugged. ?Like I said, it has nothing to do with me. If Gensokyo is destroyed, that?s unfortunate, but as long as Hoshimi keeps her promise to me, the rest is irrelevant.?
Kaguya?s downcast expression lifted at that, replaced by a hard glare. Though she was looking into Mokou?s eyes, her words were directed towards Eirin. ?There?s something wrong with her?there?s definitely something wrong with her. Mokou would never say anything like that.?
At this, Mokou?s icy composure shattered. The cool fa?ade she had adopted was rapidly replaced with the boiling anger she was more accustomed to.
?Don?t talk like you know anything about me, you monster!? As she screamed, the air around her ignited with a flash, and a swath of flame lashed across the intervening space towards Kaguya. However, not only did she not flinch, she didn?t even move as the fire passed over her ? and through her.
Mokou?s anger was briefly stifled by confusion. She had fought Kaguya numerous times before, and it was not uncommon for one or both of them to ?die? multiple times during each encounter. Yet never before had she seen her just ignore one of her attacks, and be completely unaffected by it.
?Thoughts, Udongein?? Eirin spoke matter-of-factly, as if nothing had happened. The other two made no reaction to the attack either, leaving Mokou to wonder if they had even noticed it happening.
?She certainly seems different from a subjective standpoint,? the rabbit said with a hum, ?I could do a brainwave analysis to see if there was any tampering there, but that would require a bit more time than we have, and I doubt she?d cooperate??
Mokou threw fire at the group of three once again, this time less as an attack and more as a test. The wide band of flame engulfed all three of them, yet once again none of them showed any signs of noticing the fire, let alone being affected by it.
?Can something be done about it?? Kaguya spoke, sounding hopeful.
?Well, that depends on if there is actually something wrong, and there?s no guarantee it will be something I could do anything about but??
?..it?s not like it?s hopeless, right??
The rabbit gave a weak smile and a shrug, as if she didn?t have the heart to share her disbelief.
?Well, either way, there you have it,? Eirin spoke again, ?the only way we can figure it out is if we can knock her out and take her home. Assuming of course she isn?t willing to cooperate.? As she said this, she turned her gaze to Mokou, who replied by throwing another fireball through her face. As expected, it sailed right through, Eirin not even flinching as it passed.
?So? What will it be, Princess??
After thinking hard for a moment, Kaguya locked her gaze with Mokou?s again, her eyes brimming with resolve.
?Either way, we need to take her down to stop Hoshimi. In the end, both goals require the same means, so we might as well. Go ahead, take her down. There?s no need to be gentle ? there?s too much on the line here.?
Mokou finally managed to hold herself back from throwing more fire. For some reason, she couldn?t hurt any of them at all. She had fought all three of them before, and they had never showed any ability like this, so she was honestly quite confused. The only one who she knew would have any way of producing an effect like this was the rabbit, but that didn?t explain-
?Oh, is that how it is?? Mokou murmured to herself, turning to face the moon rabbit. The slight movement allowed her to see around Kaguya, who was directly in front of her, just in time to catch a small glimmer of light from behind her. Instinctively, she threw herself to the side, just as a bolt of light pierced through ?Kaguya? and sailed past her, barely grazing her arm.
Mokou winced, grabbing the spot on her arm that had been hit. Though it had just grazed her, it was close enough that she was bleeding considerably. She hadn?t expected them to be holding back, but understanding that with her head and realizing that first hand were two entirely separate things.
Gathering fire in her right hand, she lunged forward towards Kaguya, and as expected, her fist ? and the rest of her as she followed the attack up ? went right through her. She briefly noted that none of the three had turned to watch her movements, then brought her eyes back in front of her to watch the distance just in time to see another arrow of light coming for her.
This time, she had ample time to dodge to the side, and the arrow missed her by a wide margin. As soon as she had successfully cleared the projectile, Mokou threw the fire she had built up in her hand and the spot she thought the arrow had come from. A few seconds later, it impacted with the ground, exploding outwards. Though she hadn?t seen anyone at the spot she had attacked, she knew she couldn?t rely on her sight anymore.
It seems that the moon rabbit had stepped up her game considerably. Mokou knew she had a penchant for illusions and tricks, but even then they were generally straightforward, meant to obfuscate and distract more than to mislead or confuse. But if her short experience ?fighting? the three of them were any indication, she was dealing with full on hallucinations, if not something worse.
?Seems you catch on quick, huh?? Without even turning to see who had spoken, Mokou hurled herself downwards and ? as she soon realized ? out of the path of a stream of bullets. Casting more fire at the source of these new shots, she saw them pass through her target harmlessly.
Where before Kaguya, Eirin, and Reisen had been hovering nonchalantly in the air, practically ignoring her, now stood three seemingly identical copies of Reisen. Splitting from where they hovered, they moved into position surrounding Mokou, and raised their hands pointing one finger at her and her thumb upwards.
Launching herself towards the closest apparition, Mokou spun upwards cleanly, if barely, dodging the shots it fired. Sweeping widely to the side to dodge the shots from the other two clones, she let loose a wave of small talismans. Though they weren?t thrown with much accuracy, a handful of Reisen?s shots were intercepted by the talismans, bright flashes marking where bullet and talisman vanished.
Mokou frowned. As she had suspected, Reisen was using fairly low-level danmaku in her attacks. Her own talismans weren?t particularly fit for actual fighting, so the fact they were able to cancel out Reisen?s shots meant that she wasn?t using particularly powerful attacks either.
It took Mokou only a brief moment to realize what was going on, and her panicked dodge allowed her to narrowly avoid another bolt of light passing straight through her skull. As she twisted to dodge out of the way, she noticed a split second too late that this time, there was more than one arrow. Awkwardly spinning herself in the air, she managed to barely dodge the second arrow, while the third struck a glancing blow to her left leg.
Though it wasn?t a direct hit, the force of the blow sent her reeling backwards, taking precious seconds to right herself. As she did so, she was greeted by another barrage of Reisen?s bullets, coming at her from three sides once again.
Throwing a handful of talismans in front of her desired path, Mokou launched herself after them. Though the fact they were concentrated in such a tight area meant they were able to block off most of the bullets in that space, a handful made it through biting painfully into her shoulders and arms as she plowed through the remainder into open air once more.
As expected, though Reisen?s shots hurt, they were anything but decisive attacks. Instead, it seemed more like they were being used as pressure, to try and force Mokou into disadvantageous positions. A quick mental check showed that her left leg was going to be effectively useless even after just taking a glancing hit. Thankfully, you didn?t need legs to fly so much, and it wouldn?t affect her balance as long as they didn?t blow her leg right off.
Using Reisen?s illusions to protect them, and her bullets to keep pressure on her while Eirin made decisive attacks from a distance. Mokou had to admit it was a frustratingly effective strategy, and without being able to trust the origin point of the shots aimed at her, she couldn?t prepare to dodge properly until the shots were already fired.
After a quick spell, fire flowed from Mokou?s hands onto her back. Stretching outwards into two blazing wings, she wasted no time using her new mobility to dash back into the fray. Though the wings were admittedly ornamental in nature, they were not without function. As she soared towards the clones of Reisen, the huge flaming wings cut through two of them, and as she banked to regain perspective, another bolt of fire passed through the third.
Mokou gave herself a mental nod. With that, she could be reasonably sure that none of the clones she was fighting was the real Reisen. Though it wasn?t particularly useful information, it did rule out that possibility, allowing her to focus on finding the real one.
The lynchpin of their strategy revolved around Reisen?s illusions and pressure. With her there, there was no way Mokou could mount an effective offense or defense, so if she was planning on fighting back, she would have to be her first target.
With a low growl, Mokou used one of her newly formed wings to bat away another wave of bullets, then leapt upwards to dodge another volley of three arrows. As the clones moved back into position, her mind was racing. Constantly weathering Reisen?s assault and dodging Eirin?s arrows was not only preventing her from thinking up a counter-strategy, it was also tiring her out. She could still keep this up for a little while longer, but at best the only one she could outlast was Reisen. Eirin would be more than capable of moving in to close quarters should the situation demand it, and Kaguya hadn?t even started participating in the fight at all.
While that was worrisome in its own right, it meant that Mokou couldn?t allow this to become a battle of attrition. She was going to have to make decisive gains sooner, rather than later, if she was going to come out ahead. But try as she might, Reisen?s constant volleys of bullets and Eirin?s carefully aimed arrows were keeping her from coming up with an effective strategy.
Dodging yet another volley of shots, Mokou flew herself clear. Though she was only safe for mere moments, she took the opportunity to take a calming breath. There was always something she could do, some way she could turn the tide. It was just a matter of lasting long enough to find out what that something was.
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Utsuho waited impatiently as she watched Mokou?s fight begin. It wasn?t that she particularly wanted to fight, or that she was that zealous about supporting Hoshimi?s goals, it was just that she was bored. She had come here because of Hoshimi?s promise that she would make her stronger than anyone, but all she had done since she arrived was beat up fairies.
Which was entertaining in its own way, but not quite the fulfilling pass-time that fighting someone at her level would bring.
Unfortunately for her, the number of people in Gensokyo who were close to her level were few. As such, she could only cross her fingers and hope that those who came up against her would be strong enough to keep her entertained.
Utsuho turned from watching Mokou?s fight to look at the three that had just arrived before her. She didn?t notice them approaching until they were fairly close, so they must have flew around behind her, though she had no idea why they would bother. Either way, there were now three opponents of her own to worry about, though strangely she couldn?t really work up the will to fight.
?That?s it? No dramatic entry, no declaration of war, you?re just going to fly up to me and wait??
The closest of the three looked a little miffed, as if she was taking Utsuho?s side on the issue, while the other two looked like they were stifling the desire the laugh aloud.
?My apologies,? one of the people in the back said, ?but we aren?t here to play around no matter how much Sanae wants to.?
Utsuho frowned, staring at the one who had just spoken. She didn?t look like anyone she knew, but for some reason that voice was?familiar.
?Oh? It looks like the little bird remembers something.? The other person in the back piped up, smiling as if to some kind of inside joke.
?Now now, let?s not poke fun at her Suwako,? the first person who spoke chided her partner. ?It?s no surprise she remembers me. She wouldn?t be here if I hadn?t helped her, after all.?
Utsuho?s eye?s widened in surprise. This must be her! The one whose voice she heard in the underground so long ago. The one who had given her the power of the Yatagarasu. The one who had helped her to be more than just another Hell Raven, wandering without purpose in the underground.
Utsuho turned to the first speaker, who was watching her with a somewhat condescending smile. ?May I ask you for your name??
?Maybe she doesn?t remember you after all,? the one who had been called Suwako said with a giggle, earning her a stern look from the first speaker.
?My name is Kanako Yasaka, god of the Moriya Shrine on Youkai Mountain, who holds the winds in check and gives the blessing of rain.? Kanako spoke with a smile, exuding an air of superiority beyond that even Hoshimi had.
Without hesitating, Utsuho gave a small bow, earning surprised looks the three across from her. ?I owe you a tremendous debt of gratitude, Kanako Yasaka.? Rising from her bow, she met the god?s gaze with her own, her inner fire rapidly building. ?If it were not for the gift you gave me, I would not be the person I am today.?
?Well then, I?d like for you to repay that debt for me right now,? Kanako spoke in an amused tone.
?Of course, I?ll hear you out, but?? Utsuho spoke with a smile. She wasn?t stupid, so she knew exactly what Kanako was going to ask her to do. But it was the least she could do listen to the request, if nothing else.
?Leave Hoshimi?s side, go home, and let us by. See how generous I am, that I won?t even ask you to join our side!?
??but of course, I?ll never be able to fulfill a request like that.? The smile on Utsuho?s face as she spoke was not that unlike the one on Kanako?s, though she suspected for different reasons.
To Kanako, this was all just a game. And frankly to her, it was the same. Though she was acting condescending because she was looking down on her, Utsuho was smiling in anticipation. This was the person who had given her her power, her strength. If she could beat this Kanako, she would be stronger than even the source of her power.
Utsuho was suddenly filled with the urge to prove herself. To show that she was more than what had been given to her, to show that she had taken the gifts she had and made them into something beyond anyone?s expectations. She would show Lady Hoshimi, who had gambled on her strength. She would show Orin, who didn?t believe in her. And she would show Lady Satori, that she could be strong enough to protect everyone in the Palace of the Earth Spirits from anything.
And this time, there would be no Spell Card rules to hold her back.
?Of course then, you must know?? Kanako spoke again, her face barely reflecting the seriousness in her voice, ??that as the one responsible for giving you your power, I am also the one responsible for punishing you when you step out of line.?
Flourishing her cape, Utsuho casted a short, wordless spell, summoning the control rod to her right arm. ?Naturally, I wouldn?t have it any other way!? She finally had worked up the will to fight. Heart pounding in her ears, she raised her left hand into the air, getting ready to shower her opponents in a wave of burning destruction?
?But I?m feeling kind of lazy, so I think I?ll have Sanae do it instead.? Utsuho practically tripped over herself in mid-air as she heard Kanako dismiss her lazily. ?We?ll go find a nice hill to watch from, so go ahead and clean this up for me.?
Sanae, an unhappy look on her face, turned to face Kanako slowly. ??you can?t be serious.? Only these four short words made it out of her mouth before Kanako and Suwako flew off into the distance.
?Sorry, but I?m just not into this whole fighting thing today, either. Go have fun! Oh, and try not to die, you still have cleaning to do around the Shrine!? Suwako called back as the two of them drifted off into the distance.
Utsuho was speechless. She had gotten so worked up, been so ready for the most intense battle of her life, and then she had just been dismissed like trash. Rather than insulted, she just felt?let down. As if she had bitten into a chocolate chip cookie only to find out that they were raisins. Her previous fire gone, she just slumped her shoulders and stared lazily at the shrine maiden floating across from her?who was doing the same thing.
?Well?uhh?I guess it?s just you and me then?? Sanae spoke rather awkwardly, as if she wasn?t sure whether she had actually just been left alone.
Utsuho let out a sigh, scratching her head with her not-control-rod hand. ?Honestly, after that, I don?t even care anymore. Could you just go home? I don?t feel like wasting my time fighting small fry like you.?
At that, Sanae?s eyebrows twitched. ?Did?you just call me, small fry?? It seemed she had forgotten her previous agitation with Kanako and Suwako, her expression straining to remain friendly.
?Look, you may not know this, but I have the power of a god. The power of the Sun flows through my veins. A shrine maiden like you isn?t even comparable to someone like me.? Utsuho spoke offhandedly, turning back to watch Mokou?s fight. It seemed things were looking bad for her. She would consider going over there to help, if Lady Hoshimi hadn?t been so adamant that she maintain her position here.
?I will have you know,? Sanae spoke forcefully, ensuring her voice would carry not just across to Utsuho, but behind her to where Kanako and Suwako were lounging on the ground. ?I am Sanae Kochiya, Priestess of the Moriya Shrine, and a deity of the Wind! What?s more, as priestess of the Moriya Shrine, the favour of Lady Yasaka and Lady Moriya rest on my shoulders, and their power rests in my hands!?
Utsuho turned back to look at the shrine maiden. It seemed like she was getting all fired up by herself.
?I have the power of three gods! Someone like you, who only has the power of one, could never be a match for me!? Sanae ended her declaration triumphantly, managing to both flip her hair with one hand and point condescendingly at Utsuho with the other.
Utsuho smiled. For being a shrine maiden, she had a lot of guts. Her claim that she had the power of three gods was ridiculous, but she certainly was brave enough for three of them.
?Alright kid,? Utsuho called back, earning another unhappy look from Sanae, ?I like your attitude, so I?ll give you a special lesson. I?ll show you the true meaning of strength?? Waves of heat began rolling off of Utsuho, the air around her control rod starting to spark wildly. ??and maybe if I burn you to a crisp, it?ll convince those gods in the back to come fight me themselves.?
?I, Sanae Kochiya, challenge you?? Raising her hand that was already pointing at Utsuho so it was pointing directly above her, she immediately dropped it down to point at her again. ??to a Spell Card battle! Wah-!?
The second she finished her challenge, she let out a short yelp as she narrowly dodged a fireball three times her size. ?Oh no,? Utsuho practically whispered, a borderline-manic grin on her face. ?No Spell Card rules this time. This time?we?re going all out.?
Raising her hand in the air pointing at the sky as Sanae had done, the air around her trembled as she drew in magical energy, preparing to unleash a full on barrage this time.
Seemingly having shaken off the lack of seriousness that had plagued their conversation, Sanae recovered quickly from the near-miss and barreled towards Utsuho. The distance between them was not large, but it was large enough that Utsuho had plenty of time to release her attack.
Ten more fireballs, each as large as the last, roared through the air towards the shrine maiden. Immediately breaking off her course, she nimbly rolled into the tight spaces between the fireballs, somehow managing to avoid scorching her hair and clothes in the process. As soon as she was free of the barrage, however, another wave of much smaller, much more numerous balls of fire cut through the air towards her. Flipping backwards to widen the distance between her and the incoming projectiles, she held her gohei in both hands in front of her and closed her eyes.
An instant before the wave of fire engulfed her, a massive wind, intense enough that it was visible, formed in front of her. Looking similar to a miniature hurricane that had been flipped on its side, it effortlessly blocked the small balls of fire, throwing each of them wildly off course before they reached her. The instant the last ball of fire soared past her, the wind stopped, and she opened her eyes. Reaching into her clothes, she drew out a talisman and threw it into the air above her head.
As Utsuho wondered how she could throw paper so high so easily, the talisman flashed into a bright ball of light and rocketed towards her like a shooting star. Instinctively, Utsuho raised her control rod to point it at the incoming projectile and unleashed a true explosion for the first time that fight.
It would have taken the shooting star maybe two seconds to reach her where she was, but thanks to her quick reflexes, Utsuho completely obliterated it just after it had reached halfway.
?Wow, you?re pretty good!? Utsuho exclaimed loudly. She had practically no expectations of the shrine maiden, but she had easily stopped her first two attacks and launched a legitimate attack of her own. While it wasn?t even close to hurting her, it was refreshing after fighting all those fairies to have an opponent that didn?t practically try and hug the balls of blazing fire.
With a smile, Sanae drew what looked like a star in the air in front of her with her gohei. As it moved, a trail of light followed it, and a brilliantly glowing five-pointed star soon hovered in front of her. Shortly after she finished drawing it, the star split into five more identical stars, each about as large as she was, and their glow began to intensify.
?Please, save the compliments for after I beat you!? Each of the stars immediately became dozens of rays of light, each cutting through the air towards Utsuho. She laughed as she flipped upwards, easily dodging the hundreds of lasers and answering with a crescent-shaped wave of fire.
It was far from the thrilling battle of life and death that she had been hoping for, but it seemed Utsuho was going to be able to enjoy it after all. And Lady Hoshimi had told her only to keep them from reaching the tower.
It should be alright for her to play around for a bit before roasting them then, right?
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Tenshi stifled a sigh as she watched one of the groups of three that had split off from the rest circle around towards her. It seemed for some reason they all felt the need to attack them from the outside, which she didn?t really understand. What?s more, the group that was apparently targeting her was moving considerably slower than the others.
She had known from the start what she was signing up for, but in all honesty she still wasn?t particularly happy with the idea of fighting three on one. It wasn?t like she had never fought the residents of Gensokyo before, but most of the time they at least had the limits of the Spell Card rules. If she wanted to be taken seriously ? both by her opponents, and by Hoshimi ? she was going to have to let those go, as well as the protection they offered.
As she waited for her opponents to arrive, she once again reconsidered her plan. One thing was certain, that Hoshimi had to be stopped. However there were any number of ways to go about that, and no matter how many times she went over it in her head, stopping the residents of Gensokyo from getting to the tower always seemed to be the best way.
Tenshi winced as a massive explosion echoed behind her. It seemed the hell raven had begun fighting. If she had to put a finger on where she had first started having doubts as to her plans, the moment she knew Utsuho was going to be fighting alongside them would definitely be the spot. Luckily, they had been split up enough that she didn?t need to concern herself with getting caught up in the crossfire, but she couldn?t help but feel moderately responsible for whatever damage she would cause.
With a shrug, Tenshi dismounted from the large keystone she was sitting on. It seemed like her opponents were finally closing in.
She didn?t bother to stifle a sigh as she saw who she?d be fighting against. It was no wonder they had taken so long to get here ? the group of three was being led by that vampire. She had floated leisurely the entire way here, parasol in hand, careful not to be drawn into the sunlight. Even if it would make her job considerably easier, she sincerely hoped that she didn?t plan on fighting while holding that parasol. It would just be too depressing.
Accompanying the vampire was, unsurprisingly, her maid. Somewhat more surprisingly was the half-ghost gardener that also was accompanying her. What was surprising wasn?t the fact that she was here to try and rescue her master, but instead the fact that Hoshimi hadn?t killed her when she first kidnapped Yuyuko.
As the three stopped in front of her, she casually glanced over their faces. Remilia seemed completely indifferent, except for the hint of a smile that was playing on her expression. She was either underestimating Tenshi, or was revelling in some sort of private plan that she had cooked up. Sakuya was doing a much better job at controlling her expression, wearing a perfect poker face. In sharp contrast to the other two, Youmu wore a look that seemed to be fighting between confusion and anger.
?Why?are you here?? Youmu was the first to speak up, though it was little more than a mutter. Meeting Tenshi?s gaze, she spoke again in a much more forceful tone. ?Why are you helping someone like her??
?Hm? Is there a reason I shouldn?t be helping her?? Despite realizing this was entirely the wrong situation to be doing this, she couldn?t help but try and tease Youmu a little bit. To her surprise, however, instead of exploding as she had expected her to, Youmu instead seemed to actually calm down. Well, on the surface, at least. She could only imagine the tempest that was raging beneath.
Her voice on the edge of trembling, she spoke again quietly. ?I will rescue my mistress. I won?t let anyone, not even a Celestial, stand in my way.? Drawing her sword slowly, she took up a stance facing Tenshi. ?This is your only warning. Step aside, or I?ll cut right through you.?
With an exaggerated sigh, Tenshi shrugged, making a ?life-is-so-hard? expression. ?And here I thought I could afford to have a little bit of fun before we got serious.?
Adopting a more serious expression, she drew out the Sword of Hisou, meeting Youmu?s icy glare with a cool gaze of her own.
?I?m not particularly thrilled at the idea of helping Hoshimi either but?I can?t let you reach that tower.?
?Is it that important that you would sacrifice all of Gensokyo to stop us?? This time it was the maid that spoke up.
Tenshi gave a wry smile. ?If you think Gensokyo is all that?s on the line here, you?ve been grossly misinformed.?
?Well, by all means,? Remilia spoke up from the back, somehow managing to sound smug while she shouted. ?Please, enlighten us.?
She briefly considered doing just that, but even if she thought they would believe her, she doubted Hoshimi would just let her spill the beans, as it were. ?Alright, if that?s what you want,? Tenshi spoke brandishing her sword in front of her, ?I?ll teach you for days?if you can beat me.?
Remilia gave a sly smile, twirling her parasol on her shoulder. ?Deal.?
The instant she spoke, Youmu and Sakuya sprung into motion. While Youmu dashed forwards with a bold slash, Sakuya flew backwards to come alongside Remilia.
Despite Youmu?s speed, Tenshi had been more than ready, and easily blocked Youmu?s sword with her own. Though she had attacked quickly, she hadn?t put much force behind the slash, allowing her to cleanly transition into another strike. Without the need to cover such a large distance, she was able to bring the sword along a far less predictable angle, making it much more difficult to defend. But defend Tenshi did, and as she deflected the second cut, a third came, followed by a fourth, and a fifth.
None of the attacks had her full force behind them, allowing Youmu to constantly attack without overcommitting herself. And as Tenshi continued to block and deflect, the attacks started coming faster and faster.
For being so angry, Tenshi had to commend Youmu?s ability to use such a logical plan of attack. If Tenshi attempted to sweep away Youmu?s sword and counter attack, Youmu would easily be able to disengage and exploit the opening, since she had little commitment to her low-powered strikes. However, if Tenshi held back and focused on defense, eventually Youmu would gather enough speed that she wouldn?t be able to keep up, and it would take only one hit getting through to make the opening Youmu would need for a decisive slash. And, if at any point something went wrong, she could cleanly disengage. A very low risk, high payout strategy.
That being said, as good as it sounded it wasn?t a perfect. For instance, if her opponent could block and attack at the same time?
Taking the bait, Tenshi swept aside Youmu?s next attack and swung hard. As expected, Youmu?s defense was quick, misdirecting Tenshi?s attack and leaving her ?helpless,? her attack so exaggerated that she spun to the point she was almost upside down. Without hesitating, Youmu moved from defense to offense, but right before she brought her sword down on Tenshi?s unprotected back, she dashed backwards?a split second before a keystone the size of her head passed through the space she had just been occupying.
Without breaking the momentum of her first slash, Tenshi broke the keystone she had been sitting on before the fight started into four pieces, moving them to surround Youmu and crush her from four sides. As the keystone fragments moved, Tenshi rushed forward for a flying slash of her own.
Youmu deftly dodged the incoming shards of keystone, causing them to collide with each other and obstructing Tenshi?s view of her. Ignoring the intervening stone shards, she slashed hard, quickly learning that Youmu had done the same.
The force of the two swords colliding as they cut through the stone blew away the fragments of keystone, and both Tenshi and Youmu were knocked several feet backwards. The brief moment of peace allowed her to sneak a look at her other two opponents ? and she immediately gave a defeated sigh.
Remilia had, surprisingly, let her parasol go. Somewhat unsurprisingly, the reason Sakuya had stepped back alongside her was so that she could hold the parasol for her. Meanwhile, it seemed Remilia was doing something with her hands, and judging by the fact Youmu had taken a defensive posture, it seemed it wouldn?t take long to figure out what that was going to be.
After only a few moments of waiting, Sakuya pulled aside the parasol and Remilia threw her arms up into the air. Immediately, thick red mist plumed upwards from her outstretched hands, and after only a dozen or so seconds, the entire sky had been concealed by fog.
?Now, doesn?t this bring back memories!? Remilia exclaimed brightly as Sakuya unceremoniously let the parasol she was holding drop to the ground hundreds of feet below.
Tenshi gave a quiet hum of admiration. She had to admit, it was a pretty clever way to deal with the sunlight issue. She wasn?t sure if it had been a part of her plan, but it would also likely interfere with anything she tried to do with the weather. Somewhat troublesome, but she could cross that bridge when she got to it.
?Now?? Remilia spoke in as condescending a voice as a small, child-like vampire could muster, ?let?s get this over with, shall we??
-------------------------------------
Reimu?s group slowly approached the spot where Hoshimi was waiting. They had managed to get past the three ?bodyguards? that Hoshimi had acquired, but since she had made no attempt to leave her current position, Reimu wanted to take her time getting up next to her.
The fact of the matter was, no matter how resolved she was to see this fight through, she was still very uncomfortable with the thought of actually fighting Hoshimi again. Their last fight hadn?t even been a contest, and she had very little reason to believe that the fight would go any differently this time. Would trading Ran and Youmu for Byakuren even make a difference at all? It seemed they would find out soon enough.
But before that, she was dead-set on buying as much time as possible. The entire strategy revolved around everyone being able to tag in and fight Hoshimi as necessary. If they were all tied up in their own fights, and something dire happened to someone in Reimu?s group, there would be little any of them could do. So, every second that they bought was another second closer to those three fights being over, and another second closer to this three-on-one becoming a twelve-on-one.
For whatever reason, it seemed Hoshimi had no desire to speed things up either. She simply hovered in the air in front of the massive black tower, watching Reimu?s group approach, not even so much as glancing at the three fights happening around her.
As they approached, the sound of explosions began to echo around the field, signaling the start of Kanako?s fight against Utsuho. A few minutes later, a familiar, thick red mist burst out and up from Remilia, blocking out the Sun and casting a reddish tint on the entire battlefield. All the while, they slowly approached Hoshimi, and she quietly waited for them to arrive. It was a somewhat disconcerting feeling, but in all honesty such pride was common enough from the youkai in Gensokyo ? it was really nothing new.
Finally, Reimu and her party came to a stop just barely within conversation distance. There was no fear or anxiety left ? there was only room for focus. She had no idea how, when, or whether Hoshimi would attack, so the best she could do was be ready for it whenever it happened.
?You sure took your time getting here,? Hoshimi called out with an amused expression. ?I was beginning to wonder whether you?d come at all.? Turning her head slightly, she shifted her gaze to look at Byakuren, who was calmly hovering at Reimu?s side.
A few moments passed in tense silence. Both Byakuren and Hoshimi seemed to be sizing each other up, neither of them taking up a battle-ready stance.
?If there?s something you want to say,? Hoshimi continued, her half-smile still on her face, ?I suspect now is the time to do it.?
Byakuren, who had been expressionless until now, responded with a wry smile. ?Alright, I?ll be frank then. What exactly do you want??
Hoshimi blinked a few times as if surprised, her face turning impassive. ?That is, unfortunately, a secret. Though, in all honesty, you?ll know soon enough anyways.?
?Then let me ask you another question. What could you possibly stand to gain from working against us that you couldn?t gain by working with us??
Reimu did her best to not be impatient. She had agreed to let Byakuren talk to Hoshimi before they fought if the opportunity presented itself, but she knew from the start that Hoshimi wasn?t the kind of person to negotiate. At best, she?d laugh and wave the attempt off. At worst, it would insult her, prompting her into an even more vicious fight.
But regardless, even if a peaceful resolution was beyond any reasonable probability, she couldn?t say that the probability was zero. And so, Byakuren was resolved to try for one.
Surprisingly, Byakuren?s question was not greeted with laughter, nor with seething anger. These both would have been expected results from the kind of villain Hoshimi was clearly trying to be, yet instead she simply returned Byakuren?s gaze with a silent poker face.
Finally, after an extended silence, Hoshimi replied. ?It?s not a matter of gains and losses. It?s a matter of probability. This plan is the one with the highest chance of success, that is all.? Hoshimi broke her poker face with a wry smile. ?Nothing personal.?
?Then, let me ask you again.? Byakuren continued, her face serious as ever. ?Will you drop this silly fight and cooperate with us? You are surrounded by the most powerful youkai and humans of Gensokyo. You are massively outnumbered and hopelessly outgunned. What possible chance of success is there for you now?? Byakuren paused slightly, letting Hoshimi?s chuckling subside before continuing. ?Surely, you?re chances of success, whatever your plan, would be far higher working with us than against us now??
?Alright, I will give you that you have me outnumbered,? Hoshimi spoke, the laughter still evident in her voice, ?but I would not be so hasty to claim that I am outgunned. Go ahead, look around you. You said yourself that I am outnumbered by the most powerful youkai and humans of Gensokyo, yet what do you see? Has a single one of my champions fallen? No, even with your numbers, we still hold our ground. I?m sorry to burst your bubble, but everything so far is all according to my plan. My chances of success are higher than ever.?
?I do not understand the source of your confidence,? Byakuren continued, ?for I cannot imagine your ?champions? lasting much longer than they already have. Each of them is outnumbered three to one, after all.? At Byakuren?s claim, Hoshimi simply shrugged. Seeing her response, Byakuren gave a small sigh.
?Surely, no matter your plans, there is no need for this conflict. Is there no hope for a peaceful resolution??
Surprising Reimu yet again, Hoshimi?s expression turned serious at Byakuren?s final plea. Crossing her arms in front of her and tapping her lips with her forefinger, she seemed to descend deep into thought. A few moments later, she lifted her gaze back to Byakuren, lowering her hand just enough that she could speak clearly.
?Very well, if that is what you wish, I will indulge you.? Reimu could tell she wasn?t the only one who?s eyes went wide at Hoshimi?s statement. ?Your desire for peace is admirable. Your tenacity in front of overwhelming odds is commendable. So, as a reward, I will present you with this counter offer.?
Reimu gulped. Deep down, she knew that the chance of a peaceful resolution was still practically zero. But even the fact that Hoshimi was considering it was infinitely more than Reimu would have ever thought possible.
?I know of your plight, the difficult situation Gensokyo has found itself in. Caught between my designs and the schemes of Hell, where doom seems to wait on either side. Tell me, how long until Hell moves and destroys Gensokyo??
Reimu was once again shocked at how much Hoshimi seemed to know. Did she even have spies in Hell? No, it was more likely that she had found out from someone in Gensokyo. Either way, she knew a lot. Would it hurt to tell her more? Reimu was hesitant to give her any information, but she couldn?t think of a way Hoshimi could use the information against them.
?One day. Either sometime tomorrow, or at the end of tomorrow.? Reimu?s compliance earned her a look of mild surprise from Byakuren, and much-less-mild surprise from Marisa.
Hoshimi, on the other hand, sighed and closed her eyes. ?The timeline is much more?constricted than I had thought. However,? opening her eyes again, she met Reimu?s gaze, ?while this is no issue for me, I understand the pressure it puts you under.?
Reimu couldn?t believe her ears. Was Hoshimi?taking their side?
?And so, this is my offer to you, in the spirit of peaceful resolution. Join me.?
Hoshimi?s words echoed painfully in Reimu?s head. The instant she had finished speaking, Reimu knew that there was no way she could accept the proposal. But something inside her made her keep listening seriously. And, as futile as she knew it was, she knew that ?something? was?hope.
?I don?t mean you yourself. Nor do I mean you three, or even all of the people you have gathered to fight against me. I mean all of Gensokyo. I will not ask you for subservience, worship, or even loyalty. All you have to do is follow my instructions. If you do, I will guarantee you that I will not harm a single living thing in all of Gensokyo. This tower will be deconstructed within the day, and I?ll even return the ghost princess to you.?
?What?s more, I will even offer you ? Gensokyo as a whole ? protection from the agents of Hell who seek to destroy it for their own selfish reasons. And not just now, not just this incident ? for all time, Gensokyo will be safe from their meddling. This I can swear to you.?
Hoshimi?s offer was followed by a stunned silence. As expected, her claims seemed much too good to be true. The incident would be resolved, they would be safe from Hell?s intervention, and everyone would make it home alive. It seemed like the ideal outcome, but?
?Do you really think?that after all the suffering, all the pain you?ve caused, that a single one of us could bear to be on your side?? Marisa spoke up for the first time. Her voice was quiet and forceful, yet still calm. It seemed, despite the contents of her words, that she wasn?t as taken with anger at the proposal as one might have suspected. Of course, when you considered what Hoshimi had put the residents of Gensokyo through, Marisa hadn?t exactly suffered much compared to most others.
?Naturally, I do not expect you to accept happily, nor do I expect you to forgive me for what I?ve done. I am not so arrogant as to consider myself above right and wrong. If that is what you wish, I would gladly get on my hands and knees and apologize, for the sake of?peaceful resolution.?
Marisa turned her gaze to Reimu. Whether she was content with Hoshimi?s response or not was anyone?s guess, but for now she said nothing. Even Byakuren, who was the one leading the charge for a peaceful resolution, had turned to Reimu to await her response.
Reimu took a deep breath. She knew it was more complicated than that, but she couldn?t help but feel that simply responding with ?okay? would solve all of their problems. As much as she hated to admit it, it was tempting. And if there was anyone who could deliver what Hoshimi was promising, it was Hoshimi herself. While it was dubious whether or not she was actually strong enough to protect them from Hell itself, she imagined that it wasn?t so unbelievable that, Gensokyo working together with her, would be able to manage somehow.
?As much as it pains me to do so,? Reimu spoke up with a sigh, ?I will, of course, have to refuse. No matter how good it sounds, no matter how much proof you offer, I just can?t trust you. And there is no way I could betray the feelings of all those who?ve come with me to stop you.?
Hoshimi smiled in response to Reimu?s refusal. ?Of course. No matter how sweet the deal?if it?s not possible, it?s not possible. That?s just the way it is. Both for you?and for me.? Hoshimi raised her gaze, as if she was looking off into the distance. ?No matter how much you may want to, when there?s so much on the line, you can?t afford to trust your enemy. That?s just the way it is.?
Reimu shook her head, trying to expel her last traces of hesitation. With that, there was no longer another way out. Today, just as planned, they would fight. And no matter who won, everything would end here. She could feel the air grow thick with tension as her, Marisa, and Byakuren prepared themselves for what would quite possibly be the most dangerous encounters of their lives.
Coming back from whatever memory she had been lost in, Hoshimi met Reimu?s gaze. ?Well, if the three of you are finally ready?? Hoshimi raised her right arm so that her palm was facing Reimu.
?Why don?t we get started??
So I briefly contemplated doing a spin off where Reimu accepts Hoshimi's offer, but the result would be...messy, to say the least, and probably long enough to be its own standalone story, so if that happens it will be some time in the distant future lol.
Thanks for reading up to this point, Reimu and Co. will be eagerly awaiting your prayers for their success.
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ugh goddamn man you're really good at building tension and cliffhangers
by which I mean post the next chapter at once or else i'll hunt you
Seriously, I'm really hooked. I'm very curious on how all of this is going to end. And a short story showing what would happen if they allied with Hoshimi would be awesome as well!
How many more chapters are there left, you think? One or two?
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Rather than insulted, she just felt?let down. As if she had bitten into a chocolate chip cookie only to find out that they were raisins.
I know that feel, Utsuho. It's the worst.
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ugh goddamn man you're really good at building tension and cliffhangers
by which I mean post the next chapter at once or else i'll hunt you
:ohdear:
Seriously, I'm really hooked. I'm very curious on how all of this is going to end. And a short story showing what would happen if they allied with Hoshimi would be awesome as well!
Short story...maybe. If I wrote it out to my liking, I imagine it would be longer than this entire fic to be completely honest XD
How many more chapters are there left, you think? One or two?
Probably more like...5 or 6? It was supposed to be five, but then I wrote 15, which wasn't actually part of my outline, but it gave me some freedom to collapse the following chapters in on eachother. Then I realized that the next chapter I had planned would end up being about....15k words? Which is almost 4x the length of a normal chapter, so I split the collapsed chapters back into their own sections. Basically we're looking at 1 chapter each for Mokou, Utsuho, and Tenshi, then maybe 3 chapters to wrap up the rest of the story.
So, this chapter ranks #2 for longest chapter I've written so far, coming in at 9220 words! The average chapter length before this point is about 5k words, so that should give you a little insight as to what writing this chapter was like.
PS Thinking of a name for this chapter was SO HARD AGH.
Chapter 16 ? Eternal Chains
Reisen took a deep breath to steady herself before firing another volley of bullets with her clones. It was getting harder and harder for her to keep the tension from getting to her, though admittedly, the tension felt awfully superficial.
Eirin?s plan had, so far, worked splendidly. Pushing Reisen?s abilities to the limit, she had managed to completely mask the location of herself, Eirin, and the Princess no matter where any of them went. On top of that, she had four clones who could constantly harass Mokou, forcing her to keep moving and keeping her from being able to trial-and-error their locations without taking significant damage.
On top of that, Eirin was somewhere distant on the ground, sniping with incredibly powerful arrows. Mokou had managed to dodge almost all of them, but a few had managed to graze her, and even that much contact had apparently inflicted incredible damage. A direct hit would most likely be fatal. Well?as fatal as any hit could be, considering the target.
More importantly, however, the strategy was being incredibly effective at frustrating Mokou herself. She had been content to spend the first while dodging, but as the fight went on with no visible change and no progress for her, she was clearly getting more and more impatient, taking bigger and bigger risks. The plan had two possible outcomes ? either the constant harassment from Reisen and Eirin would wear down Mokou?s willpower, and she would surrender to avoid further pain, or it would wear her down physically, and she would exhaust herself to the point they could capture her.
In sharp contrast to Mokou?s frustration, Reisen felt her stress was almost silly. While hiding everyone simultaneously was taxing, and operating four clones shooting real bullets required focus, she was more or less safe. As long as she paid attention to Mokou?s blind shots, she could avoid any harm to herself.
Another burst of fire from Mokou filled the air. At the start, Reisen had tried to have her clones act more realistic, dodging Mokou?s attacks, but now she didn?t bother. The fact that none of them cared about the attacks they were receiving would just be another thorn in Mokou?s side, confirmation that she didn?t have the slightest semblance of control over the fight. As the fire dissipated, another arrow flew towards Mokou, and thanks to her recognizing at the last second, she was able to dodge out of the way. In a bad position after dodging the arrow, she was forced to take a full volley of Reisen?s bullets.
Mokou righted herself from the blows, the fire in her eyes not even slightly diminished by her wincing in pain. As Reisen moved her clones back into position to surround her, she tracked them with her eyes, vainly throwing cords of fire in a ring around her.
After shouting something incomprehensible to vent her frustration, she suddenly froze. She moved again just in time to dodge another volley of bullets from Reisen, flipping upwards, and as she came to a stop she looked up at the sky.
Reisen followed her gaze, but she didn?t see anything that was worth noting. The sky was covered in a thick blanket of red fog, completely blocking the Sun. Most likely, it was a tactic employed by Remilia so that she could fight despite the time of day. She had no idea why it had suddenly grabbed Mokou?s attention, however. It was unchanged from when it had first formed, and the only effect it had really had on their fight was to make everything slightly darker, and slightly redder.
Looking back to Mokou, Reisen saw her previous expression of frustration had turned to a big smile.
It looks like Mokou is planning something. Be careful.
She had to admit, the dolls given to everyone by Alice were incredibly useful. Not only did they allow voiceless, long-distance communication, but with a bit of practice one could even choose exactly who they wanted to send the message to. Already having experience with telepathy, picking that up had been natural for her, so communicating with Eirin had been incredibly simple despite the large distance between them.
Shortly after sending this message, another arrow of light shot past Mokou, who had narrowly avoided it once again by twisting her body awkwardly in the air. Following up the arrow with a volley of her own bullets, fully expecting Mokou to dodge them easily, she was surprised to see she decided to block them instead.
Using her wings of fire ? she still didn?t really understand why she had bothered making those ? she covered herself, blocking the entire volley from all four directions. If she was just going to block with them, there were much more effective formations of fire to use than wings, but Mokou only ever blocked the attacks with her wing-shaped fire.
With a flourish, she spread her wings again. She then raised her hand into the air above her head, and her smile turned to an expression of deep concentration.
What?s she doing, Udongein? Eirin sent from her spot on the ground.
I?m?not sure. It looks like?she?s declaring a Spell Card?
Why would she pick a Spell Card? Using one outside of the Spell Card Rules was pointless, all it did was reduce the intensity of your attacks to non-lethal levels. Besides, with most Spell Cards, you couldn?t even aim-
Luckily, the fact no one could see Reisen meant that the shock on her face went completely unnoticed. As a ball of white-hot fire appeared in Mokou?s outstretched hand, Reisen immediately backpedalled as far as possible. On one hand, many Spell Cards weren?t aimed ? but on the other hand, those Spell Cards didn?t need to be aimed. Being unable to see her opponents wouldn?t be a weakness at all for those types of attacks, and if she could amp up the intensity of the attacks?
Reisen had just about doubled the distance between them when she heard Mokou call out with a loud voice.
?Volcanic Sign: Breath of Hourai.?
The ball of fire above her hand quivered slightly before bursting outwards. However, instead of bursting into more fire, as was the norm for her attacks so far, what came out was considerably?darker. Billowing out rapidly from her hand was a massive cloud of thick, black smoke. The cloud expanded far quicker than she had expected, and Reisen was quickly engulfed.
Despite being surprised at the new turn of events, Reisen didn?t stop moving backwards. It took only a few seconds before she had cleared the smoke-cloud, which after covering an area of approximately 100 meters in diameter, mysteriously stopped expanding.
Udongein, are you alright?
It was just normal smoke, I?m outside of it now.
Reisen gritted her teeth as she watched the massive smoke cloud just hang in the air. It didn?t seem like it was moving anymore, nor did it seem like it was dissipating. Reisen was honestly fairly familiar with the majority of Mokou?s Spell Cards, but she could honestly say this was one she had never seen before. She didn?t know if she had just never bothered before, or if she had made this up on the spot, but she suspected it was the latter.
She had to give Mokou credit, as frustrating as the situation was. Their biggest advantage so far had been that they could attack freely while Mokou had no idea where they were. But with one fell swoop, Mokou had managed to level the playing field ? there was no way she could see through that cloud of smoke, but there was also no way that they could either. All of them had been perfectly concealed.
Reisen fired a test shot into the cloud, and the bullet easily tore through the smoke. As soon as it had passed, however, the smoke reformed into a perfect wall. It seemed Mokou was also holding the smoke in place, meaning it would be incredibly difficult to get rid of it.
Reisen started as a burst of fire flew out from the cloud of smoke. In the shape of a bird, maybe the same size as she was, it flew out of the cloud in a wide arc. She almost made to dodge, before realizing that it wasn?t aimed at her at all. Instead, it arced right past her, flying harmlessly off in the distance. Reisen watched the firebird, confused for a second, before she realized what was happening.
Sure enough, as she turned back to the cloud of smoke, she could see more firebirds begin to emerge. At first, only a handful, but after a short while they started emerging in larger numbers. Dozens began to emerge from the smoke, and despite being fired blindly, she quickly had to begin dodging out of the path.
Eirin, of course, was far too far away for the attack to be a threat, but neither of the two of them would be able to effectively counter attack without being able to see where Mokou was. She couldn?t see to confirm, but she was fairly convinced that the firebirds were coming from Mokou herself. A few quick shots confirmed that they were substantial enough to block any shots Reisen might fire, and with the number that were appearing, it would be next to impossible to fire a shot through the cracks at this distance.
Moreover, unless she wasn?t moving, it would be next to impossible for Eirin to fire accurately. Her shots would have no problem breaking through the firebirds, but there was no way for her to figure out where she should be firing. With her painfully slow re-fire rate, it would take a miracle to land a hit.
Reisen dodged nimbly around the firebirds continuing to pour out of the smoke. So quickly, the tables had been completely turned on them. They had been taking things slowly before, but it was a calculated risk, one that was making returns. Now, however, they were being stalled out, and though they weren?t at risk of losing the fight in the near future, she knew they couldn?t afford to keep dragging this out. Everyone was going to be necessary against Hoshimi, and that meant they couldn?t afford to spend much longer dealing with Mokou.
Reisen took a deep breath to steady herself, and released her illusions. The three of them would now be visible again, but it meant little with that smoke in the way. For what was coming, she couldn?t have that spell weighing on her concentration. Taking one last look to confirm Eirin?s position, she propelled herself into the cloud of smoke.
They had managed to keep themselves almost perfectly safe up until that point, but that strategy wouldn?t work anymore. She was going to have to take some risks if she wanted to make any gains now, and they couldn?t afford to let this fight drag out.
Though she moved quickly through the smoke, she didn?t approach her full speed. The smoke stung her eyes and lungs, but even so she breathed calmly and kept her eyes wide open. As expected, visibility was practically zero. On top of the walls of smoke surrounding her, the smoke also perfectly blocked the sunlight, making it dark as night inside.
Out of the corner of her eye, Reisen suddenly noticed a glow approaching through the darkness. As quickly as possible she hurled herself upwards, and a firebird passed just under her, singing her clothes. She hadn?t noticed the glow until the firebird was within ten feet of her. Considering how fast they were moving, that gave her little more than a second to dodge out of the way.
Reisen smiled in spite of herself. That was much more time than she had expected to have.
She continued heading deeper into the smoke cloud, tracing backwards from where the firebirds seemed to be coming from. Continuing to dodge the incoming firebirds, the increased number she was coming across told her that she was getting closer to Mokou. However, as she got closer, it also became more and more difficult to dodge in time ? she was definitely going to need a new outfit at the end of this fight.
The most difficult part of the entire thing was not dodging the fire, however. Rather, the smoke itself became a disconcertingly effective obstacle. She had to continue taking shallow breaths, lest the smoke provoked a coughing fit that would not only give away her position, but also rob her of her ability to dodge, and her eyes constantly stinging from exposure to the smoke not only made her want to instinctively keep them closed, but also made her eyes water excessively while she forced them open, blurring her vision regardless.
Despite her second thoughts as to how good of an idea this had been, she had no recourse but to press forward. After all, it would be incredibly more difficult to make her way out of the cloud, as she would have to worry about firebirds in front of her and behind her at the same time. Believe it or not, the safest method for her was to keep searching for Mokou.
Reisen bit off a cry of pain as a firebird grazed her arm, burning her painfully. She had had virtually no time at all to dodge that one, so she hadn?t been able to dodge it cleanly. As she dodged sideways to avoid another firebird that had come almost before the first one left, she suddenly found herself free of the smoke.
It took a brief moment for her to realize what had happened. For a brief moment, she thought she had somehow managed to break through the other side of the cloud, but she quickly discovered that was not the case. Instead, she had entered into a small pocket of smokeless air. And at the center of that pocket, was of course, Mokou herself.
Reisen let out a rather undignified yelp as she quickly dodged upwards. Mokou had noticed her as soon as she arrived, and she wasted no time redirecting the firebirds towards her. The time she had to dodge the attacks was practically zero, her only recourse to move constantly to keep Mokou from having an easy shot.
Mokou said something with an angry smile, but Reisen was too busy dodging attacks to listen to her. She was forced to give her all to dodging the attacks as they came. Pushing herself slightly beyond what she believed she was capable of, she fired a short volley of bullets towards Mokou as she dodged another firebird.
As expected, Mokou simply launched another in the path of the bullets, blocking them cleanly long before they reached her. However, thanks to that, Reisen was able to predict where the firebird was going to fly before it even appeared, and she had managed to get out of the way beforehand. This bought her a full second of freedom within the attack, and she didn?t even give herself time to think about what to do with it.
DUCK! Reisen shouted through the telepathic link provided by the dolls as she rose her uninjured arm ? directly away from Mokou. With the time given to her, she fired the densest, fastest shot she could manage. Without looking to see where the shot went, she immediately hurled herself away from the next incoming firebird, answering with another barrage of her own bullets, this time aiming at Mokou properly.
Without pausing her shots, Mokou smiled sarcastically. ?That was an interesting place to??
Mokou?s voice cut off as an expression of fear overtook her face. As the latest firebird cleanly wiped away Reisen?s incoming shots, Mokou launched herself upwards toward them.
Reisen heard the telltale whistle of the arrow long before she saw it. Only three seconds after she had fired her shot in the ?wrong? direction, an arrow of light punched through the smoke cloud ? and tore directly through Mokou?s chest.
The expression of surprise never had a chance to change to pain as she fell, lifeless. The firebirds immediately stopped, and the cloud of smoke began to dissipate and drift upwards, the small bubble quickly collapsing. Taking a deep breath of clean air while she could, Reisen followed after Mokou as she plummeted through the air.
Despite the somewhat brutal outcome, Reisen couldn?t help but feel proud of how well her plan had worked, especially considering how suicidal it had seemed at the time.
Diving into the smoke cloud had been dangerous, but it was the only way to pinpoint Mokou?s location within it. After following the path of the firebirds, she was able to find where Mokou was, and knowing Mokou would rely on blocking her shots, fired a volley of bullets at her.
Using the opening created by the misdirected firebird, she positioned herself perfectly between Mokou and Eirin, and fired a shot outside of the smoke cloud, acting as a tracer for Eirin?s shot. Immediately, she threw herself up and over Mokou?s head, launching another barrage of shots.
Mokou managed, at the last second, to see through her plan, and propelled herself upwards to dodge the incoming arrow. However, Reisen only had trusted Eirin?s ability to analyze Mokou?s fighting.
Their original strategy had been for Reisen?s attacks to funnel Mokou in one direction, and for Eirin?s arrow to cut her off as she went that way. However, Mokou quickly had caught on to this tactic, and for most of the fight had been dodging into Reisen?s shots to avoid the arrows. Realizing she would do this, and knowing Reisen?s penchant for dodging upwards and over her opponent, Eirin corrected her aim from the tracer and let loose an arrow.
It had been a lot of dangerous assumptions on both of their parts ? both Eirin?s assumption that Reisen and Mokou would act according to how she expected, and Reisen?s assumption that Eirin would realize what was happening and capitalize on it ? but somehow, it had paid off, and the arrow had taken Mokou directly through the chest, killing her instantly.
Finally clearing the smoke cloud, Reisen exhaled and breathed deeply, glad to finally have clean air again. Looking above her, the smoke cloud had almost completely dissipated. Below her, she could see Mokou free-falling, and seconds later she unceremoniously hit the ground below.
Landing a few feet away from where Mokou had fallen, Reisen inspected the burn on her arm. It seemed to be a lot worse than she had anticipated, and the pain was rapidly catching up with her. It wouldn?t keep her from fighting normally, but she doubted she could do anything complicated like hiding the three of them while she was in that much pain.
Furthermore, they couldn?t afford to let Mokou try that Spell Card again. Being over a thousand years old, she was anything but stupid. If she managed to conceal herself again, they wouldn?t be able to surprise her like they did the first time. It might be impossible to get to her again if that happened.
So, to make sure she couldn?t activate the Spell Card again, she would have to take this fight to close quarters.
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Mokou awoke to the memory of pain.
Coming back to life was an odd experience, to say the least. She had done it numerous times, but it had never really been something she had gotten used to. She figured it was probably better that way.
She felt a cold tingling sensation in her chest, where Eirin?s arrow had taken her. It didn?t hurt anymore, and the actual death had been effectively instant, so as far as her physical condition, she was actually not doing that badly. In fact, her injured leg had been completely healed, meaning she was actually in better shape than before.
Looking up, Mokou could see the last vestige of her smoke cloud vanish into the sky. Sighing, she stood up and stuck her hands in her pockets, closing her eyes. Resurrection had the interesting side effect of cooling her mind, so her anger, frustration, and stress from the fight had completely evaporated. Normally, she was quick to take up such emotions again, but for some reason it came slowly to her this time.
That Spell Card had been a stroke of genius, if she could say that about herself. It had evened the playing field easily, and even in losing the exchange, she could see now just by looking that the moon rabbit had been seriously hurt in exchange for ending it. She felt a pang of guilt at that, since she had no grudge against her, but she quickly crushed it. There was no room for guilt any more.
Unfortunately, even if she had recovered due to the resurrection, and her opponents were tired and injured, she couldn?t say that she was ahead. That Spell Card had taken a lot out of her, a combination of being huge in scale and high in intensity. Being immortal made fights like this easier, but it didn?t really protect her from passing out from exhaustion.
She briefly considered trying the Spell Card again, but quickly wrote the idea off. For starters, she could probably only do something of that caliber once more. Now that they had seen it once, it would probably be much less effective, and if she lost the exchange again, she would be finished. Additionally, the moon rabbit, despite her injuries, was sticking close and watching her carefully. She didn?t know why she wasn?t attacking, but it was clear she wouldn?t just let Mokou use it again.
Mokou sighed again. She couldn?t help but be disappointed at how easily she had been read. Without any communication between the two of them, they had managed to corner her splendidly, and her massive advantage was wiped away in the span of no more than three seconds. She was more embarrassed than she was worried or angry.
Looking up into the distance behind the moon rabbit, she could see Eirin, slowly floating upwards and towards her. She didn?t know where she had been before, but she was now moving to get a clear shot. Even further in the distance, Kaguya floated motionless, apparently watching the fight.
?It figures she wouldn?t even raise a finger to help,? Mokou muttered under her breath. Despite the fact she had spoken only to herself, it seems the rabbit heard, as she responded with a sly smile.
?Oh, don?t worry about that. We?re the ones who told her she couldn?t participate in this fight.?
Mokou raised an eyebrow in reply, but otherwise said nothing.
?After all,? Reisen continued, ?there are much more important fights to be had today than with you.?
Mokou smiled. Was she honestly trying to get a rise out of her? At this point? ?Big words for someone who looks like they can barely stand.?
Letting go of her wounded arm, she raised her good hand and pointed at Mokou. ?Alright, no more wasting time. Let?s hurry up and finish this.?
Mokou called out her wings of fire once more. ?As you wish.? As she spoke, three small threads of fire arced from her towards Reisen.
Jumping out of the way of the fire, Reisen quickly landed and took up aim again. Her eyes flashed briefly, and for an instant, three exact replicas of her appeared around Mokou. Each of them fired a small volley of bullets before vanishing, forcing Mokou to dodge directly upwards. Keeping an eye on the distance, she continued her ascent as fast as possible, dodging one of Eirin?s arrows aimed at where she was a moment before. She couldn?t ignore Reisen?s attacks, but she wouldn?t let them distract her from Eirin?s arrows either.
Reisen moved quickly, hopping from place to place rather than flying. It seemed she was a little worse off than she had originally anticipated if she couldn?t even fly. Even so, as she moved around, a constant stream of bullets made their way towards Mokou.
Nimbly dodging around most, and blocking the rest of the bullets with her wings, Mokou moved in pursuit. With her first opponent this weak, if she could take her down quickly, it would be much easier to deal with Eirin. Once Eirin and Reisen were both down, it would be just her and Kaguya, a matchup she had quite a bit more experience with.
Seeing Mokou?s pursuit, Reisen began moving in large circles. The movements were done in such a way that the optimal pursuit pattern would lead Mokou through a tight ring, rather than a wide path, so Mokou instead opted to add a little randomness to her path. As Reisen jumped to her left, Mokou went right, opening the distance between them, opting instead to send a volley of fire to intercept her. Deftly dodging the fire, Reisen brought her index finger up between her eyes, which flashed again.
Three clones appeared momentarily, just long enough to surround Mokou and fire off a volley of shots. Mokou propelled herself towards Reisen, dodging the shots and attempting to tackle her with her wings. Reisen slid under the diving Mokou, barely avoiding contact, and fired off another volley of bullets.
Mokou batted away the incoming bullets, quickly turning to see where Eirin?s next shot would be aimed ? and was greeted with a veritable hail of arrows.
Panicking, Mokou did her best to dodge between them, but the unexpected density left her unprepared for a true dodge. Three arrows hit her, two in her left leg and one in her right shoulder, while the rest scattered into the ground behind her. Mokou almost sighed a breath of relief as the arrows hit her. It was inconceivable that an attack with such spread would have the same stopping power as her focused arrows from before, but a small part of her had expected it. While these were still quite painful, and would certainly slow her down, she wasn?t nearly as crippled as she would have been from getting hit by a single one of her earlier arrows.
Mokou decided to take a chance and feigned a stagger backwards from the attack. She didn?t expect to gain much from it, hoping for little more than some breathing room, but instead was rewarded by having Reisen pull up right behind her, almost at point blank. Before she had a chance to fire a shot, Mokou rapidly spun around and released her wings at her.
Reisen was immediately engulfed by the fire, a short scream confirming the hit. Mokou made a silent apology to the moon rabbit ? shortly before taking a foot to the back of the neck.
The force of the kick drove Mokou face first into the ground. Before she could move, she felt another hail of arrows line the earth around her, and almost instantly something that felt similar to a thin rope wrapped around her, pinning her to the ground.
Reisen walked around into Mokou?s field of view, proving that Mokou had only burned another clone. If she wasn?t so furious at having been duped, she might have applauded how convincing the clone had been ? they were only supposed to be optical illusions, so having it reel backwards and scream as it was hit was an impressive touch, and it had been just enough to trick Mokou into thinking she was dead.
Mokou struggled vainly against the bonds that held her. She had no idea what they were made of, but could only assume they were some kind of magic. She tried burning them, but not only did it have no effect, it proved to her that even her magic was being inhibited by the bindings. Clearly the work of Eirin, but knowing that didn?t provide her a way out.
Reisen stood nearby, cautiously keeping a finger trained on Mokou in case she found a way to escape. She was breathing hard and covered in sweat, clearly well beyond what she was comfortable with as far as fighting goes. From this distance, Mokou could tell just how bad the burn on her arm was, which was bad enough that not even a youkai would be able to heal from it without specialized care. Not much for compensation.
Mokou let out a frustrated cry as she struggled against the bonds again. She couldn?t believe how strongly they were holding her, and how quickly they had been set from such a distance.
?Well done, Udongein,? Eirin?s voice came from behind her. ?Though I will say, you look a little worse for wear.?
Reisen gave an embarrassed smile, ?Yeah, I made a bit of a mistake in that cloud earlier.?
?Well, I?ll send you back to the support team. There?s no way you can keep fighting in that condition. Now that Mokou is secure, the Princess and I can move on to help Reimu?s group.?
Reisen gave a silent nod in reply to Eirin?s comment, keeping her eyes on Mokou.
Was this really it? After all that fighting, was she just going to lose to the first binding spell that got thrown her way? Her anger building, she continued to push against the bonds, but they didn?t give an inch.
?I think?I think we need to secure her a little better,? Reisen said hesitantly.
And that was that. If she couldn?t break out of these bonds, there would be no way she could get out of anything more secure. Giving up, she focused the last of her available magic into a concentrated ball of fire in front of her, releasing it forward in a surge of frustration.
Reisen calmly sidestepped the fireball, and it soared off into the distant sky. ?Now now,? Eirin?s voice came from behind again, ?there is no need to be a sore loser.?
Mokou relaxed against the bonds, and she could feel them tighten around her as she did so. She had done what she could. All she could do now?
Reisen and Eirin continued talking overtop of her, but she no longer was listening. Breathing deeply, Mokou tried to relax. There was no point in being angry, or letting herself get panicked. All she could do now was calm down and wait for an opening.
Suddenly, Eirin and Reisen?s conversation stopped. Reisen looked up questioningly, wondering why Eirin had stopped talking, and it was only a short moment until the reason made itself apparent.
?Udongein?UDONGEIN, DODGE!?
Without waiting to see why, Reisen leapt out of her field of view, shortly before Mokou was engulfed by a beam of white-hot, liquid fire.
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Mokou stood up slowly, carefully watching around her for another incoming attack. Once again, she had been killed and brought back to life, a chill hanging over her entire body telling her she had been completely incinerated.
She couldn?t help but smile. It seems Utsuho had noticed the signal she sent off, and decided her best way of helping was to obliterate her. She wasn?t sure she liked that line of reasoning, but she had to admit it had worked splendidly. Eirin and Reisen had backed off far enough that she had some breathing room to prepare herself, and Eirin?s binding spell had been completely destroyed. The method may not have been her favourite, but the result was ideal.
Mokou summoned her wings of fire again, hovering a couple of feet off the ground and taking a look at her surroundings. Reisen and Eirin were standing still, watching her from a considerable distance. It seemed like they were still on guard from Utsuho?s blast.
Despite the calming effects of the resurrection, Mokou was quickly becoming frustrated. She had died twice now, in the span of only a few minutes. Both times had been due to trickery from Reisen, so she had been focused on eliminating her, but the real culprit ? the one who killed her the first time and trapped her the second ? was Eirin.
Mokou turned and flew towards Eirin. She had been trying to deal with Reisen so she could focus on fighting Eirin properly, but that clearly wasn?t going to work. Besides, at this point, Reisen seemed far too exhausted to put up much of a fight, so she might just collapse if she left her alone. All she had to do was keep Eirin preoccupied enough that she couldn?t use that binding spell again, and the fights should be hers.
Eirin reacted immediately to Mokou?s rush, responding by firing a hail of arrows. Using one of her wings to bat the incoming projectiles away, she lunged forward using the other wing as a weapon. Eirin artfully dodged upwards, releasing a stream of lasers below her, narrowly missing Mokou as she rapidly accelerated forward.
Having dodged Eirin?s attack, she spun around and threw two small balls of fire, one slightly delayed, before changing course back towards the fight. Eirin simply raised a hand, palm facing the incoming projectiles, and they washed over her harmlessly, as if she was in some sort of protective sphere. Before Mokou could follow up the attack, Reisen came running from beneath Eirin and threw a volley of bullets.
Dodging the stream of the bullets to the side, Mokou responded with another ball of fire, which surprisingly hit its target. Memory of her last failure vivid in her mind, she rapidly spun, swinging one of her wings behind her. Sure enough, another Reisen waited behind her, and was similarly incinerated. Unlike the first time, however, this one made no sound ? prompting Mokou to turn again, barely managing to block a kick from the real Reisen with her bare arms. Before she could retaliate, Reisen leapt backwards, and rather than pursue Mokou instinctively did likewise, narrowly avoiding one of Eirin?s arrows.
Mokou took a deep breath as the fight settled into a lull. She was figuring out their new battle strategy a lot faster than she had expected. Despite her injuries and obvious exhaustion, Reisen was still putting up a strong fight ? in contrast, despite being in close quarters, Eirin continued to play the role of sniper. By changing her pattern of movements and keeping her wits about her, she was able to defend against their combined attacks, but even then she didn?t know how long she?d be able to keep it up.
Well, as long as Utsuho didn?t lose her fight, she supposed she?d always have a get-out-of-jail free card.
Though Reisen?s face showed little more than how tired she was, Eirin?s face showed a considerably more uplifting expression ? she was frustrated. It appears that this battle was not going the way she wanted it to, and frankly, that was exactly what Mokou was hoping for. If the strategist in Eirin couldn?t keep on top of things, that meant nothing but good things for her.
Mokou gave a small chuckle. Her instructions from Hoshimi were just to stall them as long as possible, but at this rate she might actually win.
??that?s enough, Eirin.? Mokou spun halfway around, trying to look behind her without letting Eirin and Reisen out of her sights, to see Kaguya approaching slowly.
?Princess! Please, you know the plan, you have to leave this to us-?
?The plan isn?t working, Eirin. You know that as well as I do.?
Eirin bit her lip as she was reprimanded by Kaguya. After a short pause, she continued. ?Whether it?s working or not, we can?t change it. We need you at full strength for the fight to come ? we can?t risk exhausting you on this meaningless fight.?
Meaningless? Mokou almost said aloud, before realizing she was right. Neither of them cared about this fight?s outcome at all. All Mokou was trying to do was stall them out, and all they were trying to do was move on ? the actual fight itself was, somewhat humorously, just an obstacle that needed overcoming for both sides, not a goal in and of itself.
?And I?m telling you,? Kaguya continued with a sigh, ?that that?s not going to work anymore.? Kaguya turned and met Mokou?s gaze before she continued. ?We can?t afford to spend any more time here ? If the two of you are pushed so hard against her, then Reimu?s group is likely to fall at any moment. They need help Eirin?even if only one of us can go.?
Silence descended upon the four of them. It was a difficult situation for Mokou ? she had managed to hold her own ? if you ignore the two times she died ?with a two on one, but not only did she have little confidence she could do the same with three opponents, the third opponent was Kaguya herself. Mokou might have had the tenacity to face down Kaguya alone, but even if it was just Kaguya and Eirin, she didn?t have much hope for success.
So, for the sake of stalling for time, she waited. If she attacked now while they were talking, most likely the three of them would converge on her and she?d be defeated rather quickly. She may have been able to last longer in her peak condition, but after all that had happened, she was far too tired to handle Kaguya, who had been doing nothing but watching from the start. If her goal was just to hold as long as possible, then letting them talk it out was her best possible option.
Once again, she was surprised at her coldness. In any other situation, Kaguya approaching like this would have made her explode, and she would have attacked without a second thought. Yet for some reason, she felt like there was something inside her, holding her back, making sure she made the best moves. She wasn?t sure whether she was thankful for that, but either way, it was leading her in the right direction.
?I?ll deal with Mokou,? Kaguya finally broke the silence, ?you go ahead and help the rest of them.?
?Princess, I cannot agree to this! You must??
?Eirin, this is not a discussion! They need your brains more than they need my brawn. Now go!?
?Do you really think I?ll just let them go?? Mokou finally interjected, her tone carrying the hint of a legitimate question.
Kaguya responded to Mokou?s question by lifting a hand over her head. As she did so, the air around her began to waver, as if she was surrounded by a mirage, and soon the tremors reached through the air to where Mokou was floating. Mokou braced herself for the incoming attack. In all her years of fighting with Kaguya, she had never seen her do this before, so she immediately prepared for the worst. Her mind raced, trying to figure out what kind of attack she would use, and she prepared to dodge the instant it was loose.
?Princess! You can?t-?
Before Eirin could finish talking, Kaguya lowered her hand, pointing at Mokou. With a sound like the air itself was being torn, four beams of opaque white light appeared from behind Kaguya. Rapidly, the beams of light arced out from her towards Mokou. She attempted to dodge out of the way, but found herself caught on something. Looking down briefly, she noticed too late that the mirage-like air was surrounding her as well.
It wasn?t that she couldn?t move, but it felt like the air had thickened, like she was trying to move through mud. Struggle as she might, she couldn?t break free in time, looking up to see at the last second?
?the four beams of light arc straight past, coming to a point several feet behind her.
Confused, Mokou finally broke free from the strange bindings, but hesitated before moving further. The four beams of light from Kaguya had arced around, forming a perfect sphere around the two of them. Before she could realize what was going on, the light began to intensify, and the air inside the sphere began to shake. Sound from all around her seemed to fade away, and the deep bass of the air humming filled her ears. Mokou could vaguely here Eirin screaming something before the beams of light exploded outwards, blinding her.
Covering her face with her arms, Mokou attempted to weather the storm, but as her eyes filled with blinding light and her ears filled with a screeching like metal being torn apart, she soon lost her grip on consciousness.
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With a flash of light bright enough that it probably blinded most of the people on the entire battlefield, Kaguya and Mokou were gone.
Just like that, Kaguya had whisked them away to who knew where. Eirin let her arms drop to her side, defeated. They were gone, and even though she knew exactly where they were, she knew she could spend a thousand years trying to get there and never make it.
Eirin quickly turned to Reisen, but was greeted by another defeated expression.
??no good. I can?t reach her through the doll at all. Did she get rid of it, or???
?No,? Eirin replied with a sigh, ?I?m sure she still has it. But if you can?t reach her telepathically, then we?ve got nothing to go on. She?s?out of our reach.?
Reisen slowly floated up to the spot where the two had disappeared from. ?It feels?like the spell that used to be on Eientei.?
Eirin smiled inwardly, barely able to keep herself from testing Reisen just like usual despite the circumstances. Without speaking, she inspected Reisen?s condition. To be frank, it was terrible. She had multiple minor burns, and one very serious one. She had been pushing herself quite hard to keep the illusion up at the beginning of the fight that hid the three of them, and even after it went down, she didn?t let up at all. She was clearly trying to hide it, but her exhaustion and her pain were clearly evident on her face.
It seemed like she?d be out of the fight from now on. She had taken considerable risks while fighting against Mokou, and while each gamble she took paid off splendidly, she didn?t come out unscathed. If she were to try and take that mentality into a fight against Hoshimi, injured as she was, she?d be killed instantly.
Reisen turned to look at her, eyes questioning. With a sigh, Eirin uncharacteristically decided to give her the answer straight up.
?It?s very similar to the Eientei spell. It creates a perfect border, where no one can cross it in either direction until she lifts the spell. It wouldn?t be impossible, but I imagine even Yukari would have difficulty intruding on that space. For people like us, we?d sooner be able to walk on the surface of the Sun.?
Reisen gave an impressed hum, turning back to inspect the area where the two had disappeared. Eirin hadn?t seen Kaguya use the spell before, but she recognized it the moment she saw it. Normally, the barrier had one flaw, in that anyone trapped inside could find a weak point and break out with a little effort ? and a lot of firepower. With Kaguya trapping herself inside the barrier with her target, however, she could perfectly mask that flaw from the inside. Originally, the flaw was designed for occasions just such as this, so that Kaguya could escape while leaving her victim trapped inside, but if she wanted to guarantee that they remained trapped, she would have to stay there with them.
She didn?t know how long the barrier would last, but she suspected, knowing Kaguya, that it would be anywhere from weeks to centuries before it would collapse naturally. Which meant she and Mokou were, for all intents and purposes, completely removed from the fight.
Fighting the urge to curse, Eirin surveyed the battlefield at large. Her combat plan had required Kaguya. Required. Without her, she would have to start from scratch. With Reisen completely worn out, she was now the only one left in her team, and that meant even more replanning. As much as she hated to admit it, her old strategy was completely unsalvageable.
Similarly, she hated to admit it, but Kaguya was right. Her plan had been so close to succeeding, but thanks to the hell raven?s intervention, it went from being barely a success to a colossal failure. There was no way they could possibly have suppressed Mokou sufficiently with Utsuho standing by to blast her into oblivion, meaning their only recourse was to wait for Utsuho to be defeated. And that was something they definitely did not have time for.
?Come, Udongein. We?re pulling out.?
?Eh? Is it really okay to just leave them like this? And shouldn?t we move out to help someone else out instead of retreating??
Eirin turned to look at Reisen with a small smile. ?Let?s be honest, Udongein. My plan is in tatters, and so are you. We need to, at the very least, pull back and regroup before heading in and getting ourselves killed.?
Reisen seemed to wilt slightly as she listened. ?I?m not done yet?I can?t afford to be done yet. There?s so much more to do here?? She seemed to be just muttering to herself, showing she clearly knew she was in no position to be fighting any more. If she had thought she could, she would have raised an actual argument.
?Listen. Just because you can?t fight anymore, doesn?t mean your job is over. Come, let?s pull back and treat your wounds. There is something very important that I need you to do, and you won?t be able to do it if you pass out from your injuries before then.?
At that, Reisen seemed to perk up. With a vigorous nod, a sharp contrast to her otherwise exhausted posture, she managed to get herself into the air, and the two of them flew back to where the support team was stationed.
Eirin?s mind was already racing. Her plan was in tatters, and that meant she needed a new plan fast. Fortunately, modesty aside, she was somewhat of a genius. A new plan of action was already well on its way to forming in her head, and by the time they reached the support team and finished treating Reisen, she would be more than ready to enter the fray once more.
Hold on, you three, Eirin silently wished, careful not to let her thoughts carry through the doll and distract Reimu?s group as they were fighting. Help is coming soon.
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Mokou opened her eyes the instant she was awake again. She almost started throwing fire too, until she noticed that she was alone.
Looking around, she brought a hand to her head. She was suffering from a massive headache, and though it quickly fading, it still made it hard for her to think. The last thing she remembered was being trapped in an attack by Kaguya, then blacking out.
Whether it was fortunate or not, the fact she had a headache was proof that she hadn?t died again. So there was at least that.
Nursing her aching head, she did her best to take stock of the situation. Superficially, it seemed like she was in the same place as before ? the field a short distance away from Hoshimi?s tower, where she had just been fighting. She instantly understood that she was somewhere different, however. For one, there was no sign of the others, whether they were the people she was fighting or the groups fighting in the distance.
Secondly, everything seemed?hazy. If she focused on something, it would come sharply in to focus ? almost too sharply ? but when she looked away it would waver, like a mirage. All in all, it lent the area a feeling of irreality that was hard to miss.
?Awake already? I was hoping you?d be out for at least thirty seconds?? Mokou spun around as Kaguya?s voice came from behind her. Somehow, she had failed to realize Kaguya was there.
Unlike the rest of the world around her, Kaguya?s shape didn?t waver and bend. Out of curiosity, she looked at herself and found she was the same way. It seemed everything except the two of them had this strange otherworldliness to them.
Her moment of confusion past, Mokou?s temper immediately flared. The coldness that had been holding her in check before completely gone, she was rapidly overcome by anger and hate. Without a word, she hurled a fireball as large as herself at Kaguya.
Kaguya floated in the air expressionless as the fireball came towards her. Not even attempting to dodge, she let the fireball collide into her?and as if it was water on glass, it washed past her, leaving her completely unharmed.
Mokou?s anger was tempered by surprise. This wasn?t something Kaguya was capable of. Well, it wasn?t something she should be capable of. She had fought her hundreds, thousands of times, and never had her fire been unable to hurt her.
?You could at least say something before you attack me, you know.? Kaguya seemed to be trying to make light of the situation, but there was an undercurrent of sadness to her voice that she couldn?t quite hide.
?What?what did you do? What is this place?!? Mokou shouted at Kaguya, bringing back her wings of fire. She didn?t know where this was, or how she got here, but it must have been Kaguya?s fault. She didn?t know why Kaguya wasn?t hurt by her fire, but it had to be something to do with this place.
Kaguya paused, watching Mokou silently for a few moments before closing her eyes and responding. ?Perfect Boundary: Field of Eternity.?
Mokou blinked. ?A Spell Card??
Kaguya opened her eyes, a slightly mischievous grin on her face. ?Not a Spell Card. Just a spell. A pretty strong one at that.? Mokou just stared, waiting for her to continue.
?A many-layered boundary that separates us from the real world. Nothing from outside can affect anything inside, nothing from inside can affect anything outside. A perfect boundary that will last as long as I wish it to. And what?s more??
Suddenly, from behind Kaguya a laser as large as Mokou?s head fired towards her, quickly enough that the unsuspecting Mokou had no chance to dodge. But as she tensed for the impact, and the laser raked across her body?nothing happened. She felt the impact, but it didn?t hurt. Her clothes were completely undamaged, and it felt like someone had just poured sand over her. She looked at Kaguya with a wary expression, not quite trusting what had happened.
?Everything within the field is sustained at its current state. No danmaku, no fire, not even one of that hell raven?s explosions can hurt you here ? the field itself rejects any phenomena of change. Of course, that includes injuries. Even if someone were to cut your arm off with a sword, your arm would reappear as if nothing had happened.?
?If that?s the case,? Mokou said with a low voice, ?you won?t mind this at all!?
As she finished speaking, she lunged at Kaguya, throwing her wings of fire before her. As before, the fire washed over Kaguya like so much air, but quickly following it was Mokou?s fist. Whether she was taken off guard or didn?t care enough to move, Mokou?s fist connected cleanly with Kaguya?s face ? and nothing happened.
She didn?t flinch, she didn?t get pushed back, her head didn?t even move. As soon as Mokou?s fist made contact, it just stopped. Frustrated, Mokou pulled back her hand and brought up a foot to kick her in the side, but no matter how much force she put behind it, she couldn?t even push past Kaguya?s clothes.
?See? Anything you try and do is meaningless. Just be glad I?ve relaxed the field enough that we can move and talk.?
Mokou backed away, carefully watching Kaguya. If what she said was true, she could manipulate the effectiveness of the field. That meant she could increase its power to protect herself, and then reduce its power to allow her to attack.
Her mind raced, but as the situation became more and more hopeless, even her anger against Kaguya began to die down. But even as she waited, Kaguya made no move to attack. It seemed like, despite being in a position of absolute dominance, she had no interest in actually fighting.
?So?? Mokou finally raised the question.
Kaguya blinked, confused. ?So?what??
?So? What do you want? If your plan was just to lock me in here, there is no reason for you to be here as well. So, what do you want??
Kaguya?s expression, which had been attempting to maintain some degree of cheer, finally broke and turned serious. ?I want to know. What happened to you??
It was Mokou?s turn to blink dumbly in surprise. ?What do you mean??
?Something happened. You?ve changed. Just two weeks ago, we were friends, and now you want to kill me. Even if you were faking it the whole time?even if you never really liked me, something must have happened to make you change.?
Mokou listened silently. What had happened? She could remember being on good terms with Kaguya, but she couldn?t remember why. As it was, she couldn?t even think about her without wanting to burn her to a crisp, and the only thing that kept her from doing so was the knowledge that it would be pointless to try and attack her here.
?So?? Kaguya asked, a hint of playfulness returning to her face.
?So what?? Mokou responded, her expression contrastively grim.
?So?are you going to tell me??
Mokou thought for a moment. She didn?t think she could provide an answer that would satisfy Kaguya, but she knew it would be more irritating if she just didn?t try to answer. She couldn?t attack her physically, so if she wanted to get revenge on her, she would have to use more?creative means.
?Alright, I?ll make you a deal.? Mokou spoke, a dark grin making its way to her face. ?You answer my question, and I?ll answer yours.?
Kaguya frowned, but otherwise didn?t respond.
?Tell me. Why did you betray my father? Why was a simple ?no? not good enough? Why did you have to humiliate him? Tell me that, and I?ll answer your question.?
Kaguya?s expression went from one of shock to one of bitterness. As expected, Mokou had managed to find something she didn?t want to talk about. A long few moments passed in silence, as Mokou watched Kaguya struggle with the question she had raised.
Eventually, honestly surprising Mokou, Kaguya raised her head and responded. ?Alright.?
??eh??
?Alright. If that?s what you want, fine. If dragging all of this out into the open will make you feel better, fine.?
Mokou was speechless. She never expected Kaguya would actually talk about it. She did spend a considerable amount of time with Kaguya before ? as much as she hated to admit it ? and she knew this was one thing that she never wanted to talk about. For the most part, anything involving her past was something known by those around her to be off-limits. So why was she suddenly willing to talk about it now?
Kaguya unceremoniously landed on the ground and sat down. ?Have a seat, get comfortable,? she said, looking back to Mokou with a mischievous grin once again. ?This is going to be a long story.?
And then there were three.
Writing these past few chapters (read: 16, 17, 18) has been kind of an interesting experience, because I spent the first half going 'dammit, this is too short, this is going to end too soon, I need to find a way to make this longer' and then as soon as I figure out how it's going to end, it becomes 'WHEN WILL THIS END AGH WHY IS IT SO LONG.'
Fair warning, I have a lot of difficult things coming up in school over the next week, so it may take a little while to get the next chapter posted. Please wait warmly!
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I planned to have this out a day or two earlier, but...well, you'll know why this took me so long in a couple updates.
Here is Chapter 17. Enjoy!
Chapter 17 ? To Cage the Sun
Utsuho lowered her control-rod arm, revelling in the waves of heat flowing from it. She thought it was disgraceful that Mokou had called for her help ? she was immortal, how could she lose so quickly? ? but she had to admit that the thrill of using her power in such a direct and exact fashion was worth it.
Not even turning to look, Utsuho created a small, directed explosion to her side, blowing away the shrine maiden?s attack. Speaking of disgraceful, this shrine maiden did a fairly good job of filling the word. She claimed to have the power of three gods, yet somehow couldn?t match her? As laughable as it was, she had to admit the issue was probably more that she was misinformed. As far as she could tell, those other two gods weren?t helping her one bit.
And, to her credit, despite being left out to dry, she was making a valiant effort, and the fact she had managed to hold her ground for so long was admirable, considering her strengths. She wasn?t even comparable to the Hakurei shrine maiden, let alone Utsuho herself, but Utsuho was impressed by her ability to tough it out. And so, since she was doing so well, Utsuho decided to bump it up another level.
?Okay, shrine maiden! We?re going one more step up, fair warning!? Utsuho yelled, across the considerable gap between the two of them.
??what?? the shrine maiden replied, tilting her head to the side in confusion, ?what do you mean ?going up a step???
?I mean,? Utsuho said, raising her control-rod arm up towards her, ?that now I?m sending the explosions at you!?
As she finished speaking, an explosion tore through the air towards Sanae, who narrowly dodged out of the way. She gave out a small yelp as a barrage of smaller fireballs followed it, scrambling to dodge between them.
As they had fought, it was obvious that despite all her big talk, Sanae wasn?t all that strong. So, to make things interesting, Utsuho decided to put some limits on herself. She wouldn?t move from her spot, she wouldn?t use the superhot fire she had fired at Mokou earlier, and she wouldn?t direct explosions towards her. Now, she was lifting the last of those restrictions.
Utsuho scratched her head. Had using the white fire on Mokou counted as breaking one of her rules? She supposed it technically did, but it should be okay since she didn?t use it to attack the shrine maiden. She shrugged, batted away an incoming wave of talismans, and launched another wave of explosions and smaller fireballs.
This time, however, Sanae didn?t scramble. Dodging the initial explosion with a wide margin, she charged headlong towards Utsuho, heedless of the incoming fireballs. The first few missed of their own accord, but she was forced to throw a handful of talismans to intercept the next couple. As talisman struck fireball, a small flash of light burst outwards, and both vanished without a trace. The path between them now clear, Sanae came straight at Utsuho, raising the gohei in her right hand as if to use it as some sort of weapon.
?You really must want to die,? Utsuho laughed, ?what are you going to do, punch me??
As Utsuho finished talking, Sanae came into her range, swinging down her gohei hard. Utsuho responded with a backhanded swing from her control rod, and after a brief clash, Sanae was thrown backwards. Utsuho?s eyes widened in legitimate surprise. She hadn?t expected there to be such force behind the attack. Still, it was obviously nothing she couldn?t handle.
As she pondered, Sanae backed away a few feet and threw another handful of talismans. Instinctively, Utsuho responded with an explosion, blowing the projectiles away. She had forgotten she was allowed to attack with her explosions momentarily, so she had made it small enough to destroy the talismans without hitting either of the two of them.
The air between them full of smoke, Utsuho could no longer see the shrine maiden. With a laugh, she raised her control rod high. ?I know your plan, shrine maiden!? With an exaggerated cry, she brought the control rod down like a hammer, cutting through the smoke where she knew the shrine maiden would be.
Her arm cut through the smoke just in time for her to see the shrine maiden fly up?over to her right. No more than two feet between them, Sanae passed behind Utsuho, who was already dedicated to her swing. Before Utsuho could recover, Sanae spun in the air, and yet another handful of talismans flew. This time, however, the projectiles struck home, three purple-glowing talismans hitting the hell raven square in the back.
Utsuho let out a cry of pain as the talismans struck her. She had been completely fooled, not expecting the attack at all. What?s more, the talismans hurt. She had taken hits during danmaku battles before, but these were something more.
Feeling anger for the first time that day, Utsuho spun to face the opponent that was now behind her, only to see her no more than a couple feet away. It was all she could do to bring her control rod up in a defensive posture, blocking the incoming gohei-strike. This time, she could see the attack long enough to notice the gohei had a bright-green glow to it. Clearly enhanced by magic. The power of the attack was, once again, higher than expected, but not beyond what she could deal with.
With another cry to psych herself up, Utsuho pushed, throwing the shrine maiden away. Instead of backing off to throw projectiles as she had before, though, she instead closed in again, swinging her gohei low. The awkward angle of the attack meant Utsuho could only block weakly, and she deflected the attack to her lower left rather than trying to match it strength for strength.
Utsuho smiled as the shrine maiden continued to spin. She had put so much behind the attack that, as it was deflected, she continued to somersault. Utsuho made to exploit the opening, only realizing at the last second that the spin had slowed slightly ? she was still spinning, but she was also still in control.
Panicking, Utsuho raised her bare arm in front of her head, just in time to block the incoming axe kick. A dull throb assaulted her forearm, where the kick had connected, but she could tell that no real damage had been done. After all, though she said she was a god, she was little more than human. There was no way a single kick could inflict lasting damage on a youkai like her.
Sanae?s recovery from the kick was slow, allowing Utsuho to react. With the flick of her wrist, she grabbed Sanae by the ankle, giving her a wide grin. ?Got you!?
Sanae didn?t respond, her face bearing a concentration a hair short of frantic. Raising her gohei slightly, she pointed it at Utsuho. Utsuho?s confusion lasted only a moment as the pale green light emanating from the makeshift weapon began to intensify.
Having no desire to figure out what Sanae was about to do, Utsuho did a full turn, hurling her by the leg downwards and behind her. Sanae yelped in surprise, the small bolt of light fired from her gohei going wide. Without hesitating, Utsuho brought the control rod up and aimed it at the falling shrine maiden. A bar of white hot fire, so intense as to almost be liquid, erupted from the front of the control rod.
Sanae, unable to properly right herself due to the moment from being thrown, did her best to dodge while bringing her gohei up between her and the incoming attack. The instant before the fire connected, a flash of pale violet light appeared from the gohei, blocking its path. The shield lasted for less than a heartbeat, the fire punching through it just slow enough that Sanae could get out of the way.
Utsuho idly noted that she had broken the second rule for sure this time. Oh well, it was clear that the shrine maiden had more skill than she had given her credit for. She didn?t feel so bad about going up to the next level.
As she thought this to herself, Sanae also seemed to pause, gathering herself rather than continuing the attack. She had very narrowly dodged being completely incinerated, and it showed ? the skin on her hand and face were showing light, non-serious burns, and her clothes were marred with scorch marks in various places. She was breathing hard now, apparently taking stock of her situation before continuing the fight.
Utsuho sighed. She didn?t like catching herself in explosions ? they hurt her just as much as anyone else ? so if she was going to restrict herself from moving, the shrine maiden closing in on her made it very difficult to fight properly. Suddenly, it clicked that that was the whole point ? she must have been keeping in melee distance so that Utsuho couldn?t use her explosions.
?Ah, so that?s how it is?? Utsuho thought out loud to herself. Well, if she was interested in a hand-to-hand fight?
Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, Utsuho forcibly relaxed her arms and legs. She then activated the control rod, but instead of directing its force outwards, she sent it inwards. After a few seconds pause, she began to glow with a faint yellow light. Three orbs of bright white light began to circle around her, reminiscent of electrons around an atom.
Utsuho opened her eyes to issue a challenge, but it seemed unnecessary as the shrine maiden was already charging towards her. She threw a fireball from her bare hand, which was easily dodged, before bringing her control rod up in a defensive posture again. As expected, Sanae?s gohei came down, impacting hard, but instead of pushing her away, she let her struggle against her defense. In seconds, her sleeves began to blacken, the edges glowing with embers.
Sanae?s expression suddenly became pained as she disengaged, retreating backwards and throwing her gohei to the side. Despite its magical enhancements, only three seconds after it made contact with the control rod, it ignited, and the entire thing burned to ash before it reached the ground. Sanae, meanwhile, wasn?t looking much better. Her sleeves were still smoking, though the embers had died out, and her hands showed more serious burns from where she had been holding the gohei.
Utsuho shrugged, meeting the shrine maiden?s gaze. ?If you want to keep coming at me like that, I don?t mind, but?I wouldn?t recommend it.?
Sanae responded to the jab with a handful of talismans, which were easily blown away by another explosion. Utsuho followed the explosion with another volley of fire, forcing Sanae to go on the defensive once again. Once the projectiles passed, she stopped, adopting a sour expression.
Utsuho raised her bare arm above her head, gathering fire above her palm. ?Don?t give up now,? she said with a grin as she threw a fireball twice the size of herself at the shrine maiden, ?the fun is just beginning!?
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Kanako watched the fight proceed with a placid look, an ill fit to Suwako?s troubled expression.
?Is she really going to be okay like this??? Suwako spoke quietly, as if she was talking to herself.
?Under normal circumstances, she?d have no problem with a fight like this. Unfortunately?these circumstances aren?t particularly normal.?
?So, do you think she?ll actually be able to pull it off?? Suwako?s tone became concerned.
Kanako?s only response was a shrug.
?Hey hey, if you act like that, it looks like you?ve sent your shrine maiden off to die. That?s bad form, y?know??
Kanako turned to Suwako with a smile. ?She?s a tough kid. Have a little faith.?
?Ha ha, you?re very funny.? Despite the unimpressed look, Suwako turned back to watch the fight without complaint. Kanako, likewise, turned to watch, her expression becoming unreadable once again.
Despite her brave words, her confidence in the situation wasn?t actually that high. The fight had taken a turn for the worse once Utsuho came up with a way to stop letting Sanae get into close range, and she was having difficulty getting any attacks in. And though she had done a good job of avoiding almost all of the attacks sent her way, the one or two attacks she didn?t manage to avoid were taking a heavy toll on her. In all honesty, she wasn?t sure how much longer she could last.
?Maybe we should help her out after all?? Suwako mumbled quietly, wincing as yet another explosion tore the air between the two combatants.
Kanako sighed, crossing her arms. She had felt the same way for most of the fight. In truth, they had known from the start that sending Sanae off by herself to fight was a huge risk. However, huge risks had a tendency of reaping huge rewards ? and considering the circumstances of their fight, they needed that huge reward if they were going to be able to keep fighting against Hoshimi. At this rate, Sanae would be sitting out from the final battle even if she did win, but that was a small price to pay for what they stood to gain.
Utsuho was a dangerous opponent. Barring Hoshimi herself, she was likely the most powerful as far as raw output was concerned, and definitely the most volatile. Her potential to inflict devastating damage across a massive area was worrying enough to put the entire battle against Hoshimi into jeopardy. It was imperative that they find a way to contain Utsuho, not only taking her out for the sake of their own protection, but so that she wouldn?t be able to participate in the rest of the fight.
As she had demonstrated earlier, she had the range and firepower to influence all four of the battles currently happening. In all honesty, if she had been going all out, she probably could have wiped out their entire operation single-handedly.
And that left two possible courses of action. The first would be to crush her with overwhelming force ? kill her as fast as possible. That was obviously not an ideal plan, and not only because they were trying to finish the battle without killing her. If she ever got to the point she felt cornered, in her desperation she would not hesitate to give everything she had, and with the firepower she had, she could inflict devastating casualties on them before they brought her down.
The second option was to make sure she never went at her full strength. If she never went all out, the possibility of defeating her before she was able to seriously hurt anyone was high. Furthermore, as long as she never used her full power, there wasn?t a need to kill her. They would hopefully be able to find a way to fight her into submission, or at least find some way of suppressing her, without the need for serious injuries or death.
The problem, of course, was in finding a way to stop her from going all out. The answer they had come up with, difficult as it was to bear, was to make Utsuho underestimate them ? in this case, by sending the person she would assume is the weakest of them off to fight by herself. If Sanae could somehow blindside Utsuho while she was being underestimated and end the fight quickly, they would be able to reach the ideal outcome.
However, as the fight continued to progress before them, it was becoming exceedingly clear that Sanae was not in control of this fight.
Seeing Suwako beginning to get restless once again, Kanako put a hand on her shoulder. She calmed down slightly, but her expression remained pained. It was obviously difficult for her to watch the fight continue without helping at all, but she did know why she couldn?t help. It didn?t make it any less painful to watch, but hopefully it would be enough to keep her sticking to the plan.
?I know it?s hard to watch,? Kanako spoke softly, ?but we have a job to do as well. She is trusting us to do our part, so we have to trust her to do hers.? Suwako nodded, but Kanako could tell that she was beyond being comforted by words.
Kanako winced as a beam of white hot fire sliced the air above them, thankfully missing Sanae by a wide margin. It seemed Utsuho had stopped her glowing to launch attacks again, but she suspected that she could turn it back on at a moment?s notice. The fight was continually getting more and more difficult for Sanae, but as much as she wanted to help, she knew there was no room for her intervention.
All she could do was pray for a miracle.
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Utsuho fired another beam of white hot fire, which went disappointingly wide, before reactivating her defense. Seeing the glow return, Sanae backed off, returning to a more distant position. Once Utsuho had started alternating between using the control rod?s power for offense and defense, Sanae had tried to slip in between attacks to get in melee range while her defense was down, but Utsuho could switch too fast for her to make it.
She did have to admit, it was quite bothersome that she couldn?t use the control rod for offense and defense at the same time. Having to switch between them made the fight much less one-sided, but she supposed it was a necessary handicap, considering her opponent.
Especially since she no longer seemed to stand a chance. Ever since Utsuho had figured out how to keep her from getting into close range, she hadn?t even come close to landing a hit on her. While it was true that she wasn?t exactly landing hits either, the difference was that she was holding back ? she knew she could end the fight whenever she wanted.
?Alright, I?ll tell you what,? Utsuho held up a hand to stop Sanae from continuing the fight. ?We aren?t getting anywhere like this. For me, I?m just going to get bored, ?cause neither of us are landing hits, and I?m sure that it?s getting depressing for you to be unable to do anything.? Sanae raised an eyebrow at that, but Utsuho didn?t seem to notice. ?So here?s what I?ll do. I?ll give you three more chances. I won?t attack at all ? just purely defend. You can attack me in whatever way you want, and I won?t interrupt you at all.?
Utsuho lowered her hand, instead choosing to brandish the control rod. ?But after those three attacks, we?re done. No more holding back, I?m going to go all out and crush you.? Utsuho smiled as she saw Sanae?s face pale slightly. That was a good reaction ? she clearly understood the position she was in. Hopefully, that desperation would give her enough strength to punch through Utsuho?s considerable defense. It would be nice if she could at least leave a scar on her opponent before getting obliterated, and as much as she didn?t like getting scars, she was nice enough to give her that chance before toasting her.
Sanae took a deep breath, steadying herself. Utsuho dropped her heat shield, and prepared her response. From what she had seen so far, after losing that gohei, her only offensive options were talismans and other similar projectiles. Unfortunately for her, those were quite easy to prepare for.
As expected, she led her attack by throwing three quick handfuls of talismans. As she threw the third, she charged forward, following the projectiles in. It was a pretty standard tactic she had been using the entire fight ? throw talismans as a distraction, and when Utsuho used an explosion to stop them, use the ensuing cloud of smoke to hide her advance so she could get in range safely for a melee attack. It had become somewhat predictable, however, so Utsuho had no problem stopping it.
As the projectiles closed, she threw an explosion forward to knock them away, careful not to catch the shrine maiden in the explosion itself. She didn?t want her to have to think about defense, so it was important to avoid hitting her. The explosion was far enough away, however, that there would still be a considerable area of clear air that she would have to cover if she wanted to come into melee range.
Utsuho gave a small hum in admiration as, unexpectedly, two sets of talismans came out of the cloud of smoke. She thought it was odd they were thrown nowhere near her, but she knew it would be stupid to ignore them, so she kept tracking them with her eyes. Sure enough, after a couple seconds of flight, the talismans banked sharply, now coming quickly towards her from opposite directions.
One explosion quickly took care of the first batch of talismans, however she had to spin awkwardly to send another one to block the second set. She was honestly impressed ? if she had been a split second slower, that second batch would have hit her. She had underestimated how difficult it would be to send explosions in opposite directions. She turned to look at the shrine maiden again, just barely noticing out of the corner of her eye that she was charging towards her, feet first.
Fortunately, she noticed just quickly enough that she was able to bring her bare arm up in defense, and she managed to actually catch the incoming kick with her hand. The force of the impact pushed her a couple feet backwards, but otherwise didn?t hurt enough to matter. ?Almost there!? Utsuho shouted as she threw the shrine maiden backwards.
Unsteady from the throw, Sanae did a full spin in the air, and as she reoriented, threw another handful of talismans at her. Once again, Utsuho?s reaction was just barely fast enough, and she managed to backhand the projectiles out of the air with her control rod.
Seeing all of her attacks had been blocked, Sanae backpedalled, opening the gap between the two of them again.
?Whew!? Utsuho said exaggeratedly, pretending to wipe sweat from her forehead, ?that was well done! A little bit more and you might have actually hit me!? Assuming a defensive stance again, she lowered her voice, though still spoke loud enough to be heard. ?Two more tries. Better make them count!?
Sanae backed off a few more feet before throwing more talismans. This time, for sets of three talismans flew, each in widely different directions. As expected, once they travelled a considerable distance, they turned towards Utsuho. As they did so, Sanae began her charge as well.
The extra distance she had taken worked against her, however, as Utsuho had plenty of time to spin around, directing explosions at each of the four groups of talismans. As she finished dealing with them, she turned back to Sanae in time to see her throwing a handful of talismans directly for her.
A quick explosion knocked them away, simultaneously obscuring Utsuho?s view of the shrine maiden. As expected, once hidden, another four sets of talismans fired, arcing widely to come at her from four directions once again. This time, however, the proximity was far too close for Utsuho to make the full rotation, so she opted instead for a ring of fire. The placement was difficult, but she managed to align it perfectly so that when expanded, it intercepted all four groups of talismans.
Turning back to intercept the kick she figured was coming, she was instead greeted by yet another group of talismans. The distance from which they came was so short that it was all she could do to bring her control rod up to block. As the felt the impact of the talismans on the control rod, she saw Sanae out of the corner of her eye, flying below her.
Utsuho spun as fast as she could to track Sanae, who had flown behind her, and saw her throw more talismans. Having been prepared this time, a quick explosion knocked the talismans away. Utsuho mentally kicked herself, as she realized she had just provided more cover for Sanae. With the explosion so close, it was impossible for her to see anything in that entire direction. As the smoke drifted over her, she brought her control rod up in a defensive posture again, making a best guess.
In a stroke a luck, she felt a strong impact as Sanae came in with another kick, hitting squarely in the middle of Utsuho?s block. Rather than push her attack, however, she quickly pulled her foot back, coming in with a punch from a different angle. From this range, Utsuho could see her even through the smoke, so she was able to block the hit with her control rod again. Once more, Sanae changed angles and came in with a knee, which Utsuho stopped with her bare hand.
Sanae righted herself for another attack, but held back just in time to see Utsuho?s heat shield flash back on. ?That?s enough of that,? Utsuho said with a smile. ?I know you like fighting hand to hand, but I?m going to have to draw the line somewhere.?
Sanae disengaged, opening the distance between the two of them and reorienting herself. For some reason, she felt the need to move back to her original position, so that Utsuho was between her and the tower. She thought that was odd ? if she was trying to get to the tower, why was she specifically trying to put Utsuho in her way? Well, it wasn?t any of her concern.
?One try left,? Utsuho said with a sigh, ?try to make it spectacular.? Though she acted bored, the truth was that since she had put the limit on her, she had actually been doing much better. She still hadn?t done anything that Utsuho couldn?t stop, but she seemed to be putting much more effort into her attacks, and they were much more interesting to deal with than her waves of easily predicted talismans.
Sanae wasted no time preparing for her final attack. Using the first two fingers of her right hand as a replacement for her gohei, she began to draw a five-pointed star in the air. Over and over, she repeated the motion, and soon light began to gather in the air in front of her, outlining the shape she was drawing. After six repetitions, the star in front of her flared brightly, and five equally shaped stars ? each slightly smaller than Sanae herself ? scattered outwards from the original.
Utsuho dropped her heat shield, getting ready for the incoming attack. This was the first time Sanae had used it, so she wasn?t sure exactly how it would come, or if her usual method of dealing with them would work. However, even though she felt like she should be worried about the attack, she found herself instead eagerly anticipating it.
The first two stars launched themselves at her. As soon as they began moving, Utsuho fired off two quick explosions. As she had expected, the explosions didn?t impede the stars at all, and they continued catapulting towards her, spinning like giant blades.
Fortunately for her, the fact they were coming at her edgewise meant that it would be that much easier for her to avoid them. As they closed in, she twisted herself awkwardly, narrowly dodging the first, and then spun to hit the second with her control rod. To her surprise, the impact of the star on the control rod knocked
Utsuho away, luckily clear of the shot. It seemed as if she didn?t really have a way of stopping the stars.
She turned back to Sanae to see the second pair of stars had launched themselves towards her, and had already covered half the distance. Though still coming edgewise, they were spinning on two axes, rather than just vertically, meaning she would have to dodge them as spheres rather than straight lines. With no time to think, Utsuho finally gave in, releasing herself of her last constraint.
Dodging upward, she easily cleared the first of the incoming stars, and fired a burst of white hot fire from her control rod at the second. Unlike the explosion earlier, this attack had the force necessary to blow the star away, and it collapsed and vanished before reaching her.
The last star came at her next, its wide face pointing towards her instead of the edge. Behind it, Sanae was following with a charge. Utsuho clicked her tongue. She couldn?t use the white fire to wipe away this star without hitting Sanae in the process, and that would break the rules. She may have lifted her other restrictions from herself, but it would take a lot more than this to make her break a rule she had told her opponent about.
Utsuho carefully gauged the incoming projectile, measuring its size and the distance between it and the shrine maiden. A few short seconds before it hit her, she created another explosion in front of her. She knew that the explosion wouldn?t block the attack, but that wasn?t what she was trying to accomplish ? the shrine maiden had been abusing the smoke from those explosions to conceal herself the entire fight. Now it was Utsuho?s turn to do the same.
As the star closed in, Utsuho curled herself up tightly. Trying to make herself as flat as possible, she moved into a lying position, head forward, and curled her wings around herself. A split second later, her gamble paid off ? the star arrived, and she passed right through its hollow center. Not waiting even for a second, she immediately righted herself and dashed forward.
The shrine maiden?s final attack was over ? it was her turn for offense.
Emerging from the smoke cloud created by the explosion, she was greeted with Sanae?s shocked expression. No doubt, she was wondering how Utsuho had managed to get past her projectile unharmed ? her cover had worked perfectly. Attempting to break off her charge, Sanae reeled backwards, fighting desperately against her forward momentum as Utsuho brought her control rod to bear.
She managed to bring her arms up to block just as Utsuho executed a wide, backhanded sweep. A bright flash of pale violet light indicated an attempt at defense, but Utsuho had put magic into her offense as well. The explosive force of the blow shattered Sanae?s defense easily, and though slowed, hit her with enough force to send her careening off towards the ground. There wasn?t even enough time for her expression to change from shock to pain.
?Game over,? Utsuho said to herself, wearing a satisfied expression as she watched Sanae impact the ground below. The shield she had managed meant that she wouldn?t have been hit with enough force to kill her, and she doubted that the impact on the ground would finish the job, but as the seconds passed, she remained motionless on the ground.
She briefly considered what to do next. Now that she had defeated the shrine maiden, she suspected the other gods that had come with her would be more inclined to fight, yet neither of them made a move. It seemed she was going to have to drag them out. Slowly, she descended to the spot where Sanae had hit the ground.
They were at least friends with the shrine maiden, if not something more. She doubted they would just sit idly by as she roasted her. But it seemed she would have to do so from close range to make those idiots understand.
Utsuho shook her head as she descended. Even if the shrine maiden had survived the fall, and the other two attacked before she finished the job, who knew what damage she had sustained, what pain she was feeling. Their stubbornness had caused their friend to suffer so badly. If only they had been willing to fight from the start, maybe then things would have turned out differently.
In all honesty, she hadn?t expected to win a three on one. She knew she had the strength to, but like Hoshimi had told her before, there was no way they were going to attack without some sort of plan. So, her instructions were just to delay them as long as possible. If she could keep them away, wear them down, it wouldn?t matter if she lost ? Hoshimi was strong enough that she could likely fight them equally by herself, so if Utsuho was able to wear them down even a little bit, the scales would tip in her favour. And if Hoshimi won, so did she, whether Utsuho had lost her individual battle or not.
That had been her goal. But these foolish gods had taken her lightly, sending their weakest to fight her by herself. Did they really think so highly of themselves? Now, for all they knew, she was dead. If only they had helped from the start, they could have avoided it.
Utsuho landed a few dozen feet away from the still motionless shrine maiden, approaching the remaining distance on foot. Unlike her friends, even if Utsuho wasn?t going all out, she was still willing to take her seriously. She had fought hard, and considering how weak she really was, she had done well. So she would give her a proper send-off ? she deserved as much.
Stopping five feet away from the fallen shrine maiden, Utsuho levelled the control rod at her. ?You fought well, for someone like yourself. There was no need for this, but it seems your friends are too stubborn to help you out.?
Sanae reacted to her words, but she still couldn?t move from where she had landed. Utsuho couldn?t really tell whether she was conscious or not, but from the way she was moving, she was clearly alive, and clearly in a lot of pain.
Utsuho sighed. ?I hope that in your next life, you have better friends.? Utsuho closed her eyes as she prepared to fire, when suddenly the earth began to shake.
She opened her eyes just in time to see everything go dark.
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?Restraint: Earth God?s Prison!? Suwako shouted triumphantly as stone erupted from the ground beneath the hell raven, encasing her in a dome of solid rock. Kanako had used her wind to pull Sanae away just in time, enclosing Utsuho in the dome alone.
As soon as the earth stopped shaking from Suwako?s spell, Kanako clapped her hands in front of her. Falling from the sky, apparently materializing out of nowhere, six pillars wrapped in shimenawa rope landed in a circle around the rock dome. From the air above the dome, between the six pillars, another length of shimenawa rope coiled downwards as if from a hole in the air, wrapping around the stone and joining together seamlessly, creating a perfect circle of rope.
?Restraint: Sky God?s Seal.? Kanako announced the name of her spell as it finished, unable to keep a smile from her face as well.
A few long moments passed, and the three of them ? Suwako and Kanako, hands clasped in front of them, and Sanae lying on her stomach with one eye open ? watched the place where they had trapped Utsuho. After a full minute of nothing happening, the three of them let out huge sighs of relief.
?I am never doing that again!? Sanae practically shouted, standing from where she had been lying. Closing her eyes and clapping her hand in front of herself as if in prayer, her burns and other various injuries rapidly began to heal of their own accord.
?But you did so well,? Kanako prodded jokingly, ?I thought maybe we?d make it a regular show at the shrine.?
Having finished healing, Sanae opened her eyes, expression angry. ?Do you know how hard that was?! An entire dual, and entire fight, without insulting my opponent a single time?! Not even playful mid-combat banter?!?? The rest of whatever she had been trying to say became unintelligible as she shouted angrily at no one in particular.
While Suwako just sat and laughed, Kanako continued with a bright smile. ?But in all seriousness, you did really well. I can?t imagine holding back against an opponent that was already as strong as you ? or stronger, maybe, considering what we saw today ? was a very easy thing to do.?
Sanae gave a frustrated sigh as she walked up to where Kanako and Suwako were. ?Looks like I?m going to need to change completely?these clothes are completely ruined. And she destroyed my gohei too, that monster.?
?Small price to pay,? Suwako said, her voice still carrying a trace of laughter. ?After all, you did manage to bring down the most difficult opponent ? practically by yourself ? with, effectively, no injuries.?
?Yeah, well, as long as she stays down,? Sanae said, faking a glum voice.
?I wouldn?t worry about that. My dome will keep in stuck there for a while, especially with Kanako?s seal suppressing the Yatagarasu.?
Sanae blinked in surprise. ?Wait, it only suppresses the Yatagarasu? Won?t she be able to break out using?you know, normal magic??
Kanako hummed thoughtfully. ?Well, she would, if we were to leave her to her own devices. But??
??that?s where I come in!? Suwako filled the blank with a grin. ?As long as I stay nearby, feeding energy into the prison, there?s no way mundane magic will break through it.?
?So that means?? Sanae said, looking at Kanako out of the corner of her eye.
?That?s right,? Kanako replied with a sigh. ?We decided that Suwako was strong enough to help, but she wouldn?t be able to fight Hoshimi herself. It?s going to take her a lot longer to recover than the two of us hoped. So she?s going to stay here and make sure Utsuho doesn?t escape until the battle is over.?
?So make sure you don?t let Hoshimi get over here, okay? I?m sure you don?t want to go through that whole fight again!? Suwako said, laughing as she saw Sanae?s eyes widen and face go pale.
?Whatever it takes?? Sanae whispered to herself, a hint of mania in her voice.
?Speaking of which, why was that so difficult? I hadn?t predicted you having that much difficulty with her, to the point you would have to feign unconsciousness.?
Sanae gave another exasperated sigh. ?For some reason, that entire time, she refused to move. No matter what I threw at her, no matter how obvious I telegraphed my attacks, she decided to stay still and defend every single time. I couldn?t get her to move at all, let alone lure her towards the ground. In the end, I just let her think I had gotten desperate, and that was enough to make her come after me.?
?And what would you have done if she decided to shoot you with her nuclear fire from the air while you were lying on the ground??
A cold wind blew by the three of them, the sound of the breeze conveniently filling the silence following Kanako?s question.
?W-well!? Sanae finally responded, ?why don?t we go regroup with Alice?s team now! No time to be hanging around here, there?s a battle to be won!? Sanae quickly took off, flying away before the other two could say anything.
The two goddesses shook their heads as they watched her go. ?As much as I know that was a dodge,? Suwako said, ?she was right, you should probably get going. Who knows how much longer Reimu will last against her??
Nodding, Kanako floated into the air. ?Keep me informed if anything happens here.? With that, she flew off to catch up with Sanae.
Suwako, now alone, walked around the dome where Utsuho had been trapped. She couldn?t get too close to the prison, or else the whole thing would collapse. Her prison and Kanako?s seal did work wonderfully together, but they were inherently different spells ? just as the prison trapped anyone within the dome, the seal would suppress anyone within its confines. If Suwako were to walk within the six pillars that had been setup, her powers as a goddess would be suppressed, and the dome would instantly collapse.
And so, despite the fact that it was a perfect vantage point, she was forced to pick another hill to watch the rest of the fight from. Taking a seat on the top of the largest hill within the immediate area, she gave a quiet sigh.
A bitter smile crossed her face as she realized that, ironically enough, the only thing she could do now was to pray for the others? success.
So, as of the moment I post this, it has been November for a little less than two hours. That means that NaNoWriMo has officially started.
Unfortunately for this story, that means I will be spending a great deal of time writing...something else. I have no idea what my writing schedule for NaNoWriMo is going to be like, but there is a considerable chance that updates for this will slow drastically for November. I'm not pleased with that possibility, since we're so close to the end, so I definitely do not intend to put this on hold for the entire month of November. However, regardless, updates will be slow. My apologies in advance!
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Huh how did I miss the previous update
While your writting style can make battles a little slow paced, they were still pretty great. I'm quite curious to see how the battle against Tenshi is going, and what Mokou and Kaguya are talking about.
If there's one thing that kinda iffs me, though, is that you seem to put Eirin as a pretty low power char. I mean, she was the Watatsuki sisters' teacher, and is outright stated to hold back simply because she doesn't want to outshine the princess. Pretty sure she'd be able to bring down Mokou alone without much, if any, trouble. But then again, that wouldn't make for a very interesting fight, I suppose.
Also, REALLY wishing you had put the taoists here now. Ugh it'd be so perfect. Miko, Futo and Tojiko on the good guys side vs Seiga and Yoshika on Hoshime's side. I've been dying to find a fic where this happens, and it could have happened so well here. Oh well, still anxiously awaiting for the next chapters~
Ah, and good luck with your NaNoWriMo story!
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While your writting style can make battles a little slow paced, they were still pretty great. I'm quite curious to see how the battle against Tenshi is going, and what Mokou and Kaguya are talking about.
That is very interesting feedback. I don't know if I'll have it in me to rewrite the next few chapters to try and smooth it out a bit, but I was trying to aim for a long, drawn out feel! Hopefully it doesn't detract from the story too much :x
If there's one thing that kinda iffs me, though, is that you seem to put Eirin as a pretty low power char.
This pretty much happened because Eirin was still holding back. Basically, her strategy was to work Reisen to the bone, while her and Kaguya could clean up and fight Hoshimi at essentially full strength. As far as being able to beat Mokou easily, she is a 1000 year old immortal, so she's had a lot of time to get stronger! Not saying your opinion is wrong, per se, but I don't think you give Mokou as much credit as she is due.
And yeah, the characters' strengths were tweaked a bit to make the fight more interesting :x I think I underplayed Reisen a lot, and if the three of them had just gone all out on Mokou, the fight probably wouldn't have lasted very long at all.
I've been dying to find a fic where this happens, and it could have happened so well here
Maybe this is going to be worked in to my next story :3 (Though that is literally months away so don't hold your breath XD)
Anyways, as I was writing what was supposed to be the final chapter, it got far too long. So I've split it in two, and now that gives me the freedom to post this one. Enjoy!
Chapter 18 ? Heaven?s Offense
Tenshi repelled another attack from Remilia, who was attacking her with her bare hands for some reason, before sighing dejectedly. Things were not exactly looking up for her.
Her underestimation of the group Reimu was going to bring with her was coming back to bite her. While her fight was under control, she couldn?t exactly say the same for the rest of the battle field. Mokou had vanished a few minutes earlier, and Utsuho was now trapped. At least Hoshimi was still holding strong, and of course Tenshi?s fight wasn?t going so badly, but either way, a fifty percent casualty rate was not exactly something to be proud of.
Using keystones, sharp red lasers, and keystones firing sharp red lasers, she was able to keep at least one of the three she was fighting pinned at a time. That meant she was generally facing off against two of them at once, however for whatever reason, they had decided to make this a hand-to-hand fight, so keeping them at bay was easier than it probably should have been.
She didn?t have much hope of that situation continuing though. She had originally expected the groups that had won to press inwards and attack Hoshimi, but they had all fallen back and regrouped instead. They may still be aiming at taking down Hoshimi, but they could also organize a relief effort for Remilia?s group, and that would be problematic. She was already pressed hard enough with a three on one, she didn?t relish the idea of tipping the odds against her any further.
Remilia closed in delivering another flurry of blows, which Tenshi neatly blocked with her sword. Almost simultaneously, Sakuya approached from behind, knives in hand, attempting to flank her. A clean riposte narrowly missed taking off Remilia?s arm, but forced the vampire to disengage. This bought Tenshi the time she needed to turn and call a keystone to block the incoming knife blade. Remilia attacked again immediately, so Tenshi had the keystone burst into lasers, forcing Sakuya to retreat.
Remilia launched another series of blows, now noticeably weaker than when the fight had first begun, but Tenshi opted for dodging this time instead of blocking. Slipping into the gaps between her attacks ? Remilia really wasn?t that skilled at close combat, it seemed ? a quick stab forced Remilia back, but not before landing a shallow cut on her face.
Remilia immediately retreated, this time far enough that it was obvious she was looking for respite. Tenshi took the opportunity to call out four orbiting keystones, and was soon engaged by Sakuya and Youmu, who had finally shaken off the pin. The keystones rapidly maneuvered to block Sakuya?s knife attacks without Tenshi paying attention to them, giving her ample freedom to defend against Youmu?s swordplay.
Instead of defend, however, she hurled herself forward onto the offensive. The quick, powerful slash forced Youmu to block awkwardly, causing her to stagger backwards so she couldn?t counter. Tenshi followed up with a chain of slashes, forcing Youmu farther and farther backwards while opening up the distance between her and Sakuya. Tenshi called another keystone to pursue Sakuya for good measure, relieving her of the pressure from behind, and threw the orbiting keystones Sakuya had yet to destroy forward at Youmu.
Youmu dodged upwards, narrowly avoiding the incoming stones, however she managed to ready herself in time for Tenshi?s charge. She cleanly deflected the incoming slash, smoothly bringing her sword to bear for a counter attack. Instead of disengaging, however, Tenshi merely twisted to the side, attempting to close within Youmu?s range. She was a hair too slow, Youmu?s sword grazing her right arm just as Tenshi planted her elbow in the half-ghost?s stomach. The force of the blow threw her back only a couple feet, but it opened the distance enough for Tenshi to bring her sword up with a rising slash, biting deep into the stunned Youmu?s shoulder.
Sending a couple keystones after her for good measure, Tenshi turned to engage Sakuya once again. A few artful dodges got her around the knives Sakuya threw, but she managed to draw another one out in time to block Tenshi?s swing. Tenshi continued the attack, pressuring Sakuya whose knives weren?t designed for defense, until after a few seconds of exchanged blows Sakuya disengaged as well.
Tenshi gladly accepted the break that her three opponents offered her. She briefly inspected the cut on her arm, as well as the similar grazes on her legs and side. This was her fifth time taking a hit, but they weren?t bad enough to warrant worry. She still had to grit her teeth against the stinging pain to keep from complaining out loud.
In contrast to her light wounds, her opponents were in much worse shape. Youmu had managed to last so far, but that last cut to the shoulder was a bad one, and she doubted that Youmu would be able to stay in the fight much longer without some sort of medical attention. Sakuya hadn?t taken any decisive wounds, but she had been apparently struck a number of times by lasers, as indicated by the scorch marks on her uniform.
Remilia, however, seemed to have it the worst. Her hands and arms bore superficial scratches and cuts, a product of her fighting a sword with her bare hands, but more importantly, she was breathing hard, just short of gasping, and her face was covered with a thin sheen of sweat. Like Sakuya, she hadn?t taken any decisive wounds yet, but it was clear that Tenshi?s nature was getting the best of her.
?Mistress, we need to change our plan of attack. This isn?t working.? Sakuya spoke without taking her eyes off Tenshi. She didn?t know why she was so on guard, it was really to her advantage to draw out the fight as long as possible.
?I don?t understand?? Remilia said under her breath, her composure completely shattered, ?I?ve blocked the sun, why is this so difficult?!?
?I guess I can?t blame you for being unprepared,? Tenshi responded offhandedly, earning unfriendly looks from all present, ?but it seems you?re pretty uninformed to boot.?
?Sakuya, what is she talking about?? Remilia spoke in a tired voice. It was almost unnerving to see her so worn out.
The one who replied to her question, however, was Youmu. ?It has nothing to do with the Sun. It?s because she?s a Celestial.?
Tenshi turned to look at Youmu. She had somehow managed to make a makeshift bandage out of strips of cloth from her own shirt, and had tied off the wound on her shoulder. Though she tried to tough it out, the pain from the injury still showed clearly on her face. Judging by the amount of blood, it seemed the injury wouldn?t be fatal, but it would definitely slow her down considerably.
?Celestials have bodies that are poisonous to youkai,? Youmu continued. ?Even I have difficulty with her, and I?m half human.?
Remilia and Sakuya turned to look at Tenshi, as if looking at her could confirm what Youmu had said. Tenshi just shrugged. It wasn?t her fault she was a Celestial. A fact she was made painfully aware of very often while spending time in Heaven.
?Well how the hell do I fight someone who is literally poisonous to me?!? Remilia shouted, throwing her hands up in the air. Tenshi had to admit, as comical as the display was, she did have a point. How was she supposed to fight her??
?Please, keep your distance, mistress,? Sakuya said as she floated between Tenshi and Remilia. ?I will keep her engaged in close quarters, you attack her from afar.? Remilia seemed unhappy with the suggestion, but she didn?t say anything. Maybe she was just unhappy in general.
As she watched her opponents prepare for their next attack, she couldn?t help but reanalyze the situation in the back of her head. Remilia wasn?t going to be an issue. Her fighting style seemed to rely on overwhelming power and speed, but she had lasted long enough for her nature to tax Remilia beyond her capacity. She had slowed and weakened enough that, as long as Tenshi kept her wits about her, she wouldn?t be much of a threat.
Youmu was in a similar situation. She was definitely the better swordsman of the two, but Tenshi being effectively immortal while Youmu was definitely not meant that Tenshi could take stupid gambles that Youmu wouldn?t be able to. As such, she had managed to inflict a rather serious injury, and that combined with her nature should slow Youmu down enough to make her irrelevant.
The problem was Sakuya. She hadn?t fought her often, but she had seen her fight before. She knew Sakuya?s thing was stopping time and throwing knives. However, for some reason, she seemed hesitant to do either during this fight. She had never ? as far as Tenshi was aware ? stopped time, and only a couple of times had she thrown her knives. While that made things easier for Tenshi, it bothered her that she didn?t know why. For all she knew, Sakuya could at any time just stop time and cut her throat, after all, so it was a pretty disconcerting thing to have hanging over her head.
Remilia suddenly raised her right hand into the air, quickly bringing it down in a spray of danmaku. The bullets consisted almost entirely of orbs of red light mixed with red lasers, coincidentally very similar in shade to the lasers Tenshi typically used.
Calling out a variety of keystones, Tenshi sent them forward to block the incoming wave of projectiles. She couldn?t be bothered to intercept all of them, so she settled for rushing forward behind the keystones as they advanced. As the danmaku impacted solid stone, they shaved off chunks of it the size of fists, but the keystones were large enough to survive through the first wave. Passing through, she sent the remnants of the keystones off after Youmu, who had begun approaching from the side.
Interrupting her forward advance, Sakuya came forward with a knife in each hand, aiming for Tenshi?s hands and arms with her attacks. It made it an awful lot more awkward to block compared to attacks aimed for her head and torso, but keeping mobile allowed her to redirect her attacks to more manageable angles.
Tenshi met the next incoming swing with a strong attack of her own, knocking away Sakuya?s incoming attack and opening an opportunity for another attack. Tenshi brought her sword in horizontally to slash at her stomach, but the maid rolled over the blade, neatly dodging it and cutting the back of Tenshi?s wrist with one of her knives at the same time.
Tenshi disengaged, trying to feel the depth of the wound without taking her eyes off her opponents. Instinctively, she called out more keystones to harass Youmu, wherever she was, while keeping her eyes forward. The cut was deeper than the previous ones she had taken thus far, but it was clearly meant as a harrying attack rather than an attempt to take her out of the fight.
This wasn?t good. It seemed her attacks were getting too predictable, and Sakuya?s incredible dexterity allowed her to dodge and attack at the same time if she knew what was coming. It seemed like it was time to change things up.
Calling out a pair of keystones, she fired a volley of lasers from them while charging forward, doing her best to ignore the pain from her wrist. Sakuya deftly dodged the incoming lasers, flipping over top of Tenshi as she charged. She made to come down on Tenshi from above with her knives, but missed as Tenshi continued her charge forwards, ignoring the maid who was now behind her.
Remilia, obviously surprised by the unexpected attack, was slow to avoid, narrowly dodging Tenshi?s first slash. She attempted to flee from melee range, but Tenshi kept up the pursuit. She was faster, now that Remilia had been so exhausted, and with keystones keeping Youmu and Sakuya at bay, there was no one left to defend her.
Realizing she wouldn?t be able to escape, Remilia turned to fight. As Tenshi prepared her next attack, Remilia unexpectedly charged her, knocking back her sword with one hand while clawing at her with the other. Tenshi attempted to call a keystone in defense, but Remilia blasted through it like it was nothing, her nails raking painfully across Tenshi?s stomach.
Tenshi winced as she grabbed Remilia?s wrist with her free hand, pulling Remilia towards her as she lunged forward with her knee. She felt her knee impact hard into Remilia?s stomach, but the vampire barely reacted, instead breaking her hand out of Tenshi?s grip and bringing it around for another swing. Tenshi responded by dropping a keystone on her head, blindsiding her and carrying her downwards with the impact.
As Tenshi followed Remilia downwards, the keystone pushing Remilia towards the ground exploded as Remilia smashed it, and as the fragments of stone cleared, Tenshi could see a bright red light coalescing in her right hand. The light rapidly took the form of a spear, and Tenshi was barely able to spin herself out of the way as Remilia hurled it towards her. The force of the throw was so great that, despite not making contact with her at all, it still threw her back a few feet.
Thanks to being thrown back, Tenshi barely saw Sakuya throw a pair of knives out of the corner of her eye, and span to dodge. The first knife came painfully close, grazing her cheek, though she was able to deflect the second with her sword. Before she could make another move, Remilia came up from under her, forcing her to dodge to the side. As Remilia continued upwards, she turned to face Sakuya, but was instead met with Youmu charging at her, sword bared.
Tenshi was able to dodge the first cut, but her second attack was aimed at her sword, rather than her. Youmu caught the tip of Tenshi?s weapon with her own and flicked her wrist, throwing Tenshi?s blade back. Using the opening she created, she cut down hard, and thanks to her odd technique Tenshi was forced to block the slash straight on rather than deflect it. The force of the hit sent her reeling backwards, though she was still steady.
Immediately after receiving the hit, Tenshi called three keystones around her and sent them off after her three opponents, spewing as many lasers as they could. She needed to buy some time to recover her composure, and thankfully, the density of projectiles was enough that all three of them were forced to fall back.
Having earned a short respite, Tenshi breathed deep, feeling the pain of her various wounds, new and old, come to her. She was able to suppress the pain while fighting, but if she did so for too long, it would start to crack her composure. If she lost that during the middle of an exchange, there was no doubt that she would lose the fight instantly.
It seemed she had taken considerably more damage than she had anticipated. None of her wounds were particularly dangerous, but all of them stung like mad. The wounds inflicted by Remilia?s claws, while likely the most severe, were also already beginning to heal, a consequence of being a Celestial and taking an attack from a youkai. Her other injuries, however, were made by swords and knives, and wouldn?t heal any faster than they would for a normal human. As such, she was stuck with the pain for a while.
The fight had rapidly turned against her. They had been fighting cautiously before, which had given her the chance to be aggressive and push them back, but now that they understood how bad the situation was, they were starting to get desperate. Their desperation made them aggressive, and she couldn?t sustain pressure on the three of them while they were acting aggressively as well.
Without being able to pressure them, she would continue to be pushed back into a corner until she eventually succumbed to their attacks. It was a difficult spot to be in, and it was going to take a tremendous stroke of either luck or genius to turn the battle back into her favour if they kept this up.
As Tenshi?s mind raced, searching for a way to turn the battle in her favour, Remilia and Youmu suddenly charged her. Using keystones to hold Remilia off, she turned to deflect Youmu?s incoming sword with her own. As Youmu continued to push, locking their swords together Tenshi responded by calling more keystones. For some reason or other, Youmu tried to ignore the keystones, but it only took two impacts before she was knocked away.
Tenshi immediately turned to see Remilia already taking a swipe at her. She brought her sword up to block, just barely in time, but instead of the strong impact of a slash or punch, she instead felt Remilia grab her sword. Confused as to what Remilia thought she was going to accomplish, she looked up and saw her expression. She was covered in sweat, bleeding from more places she could count, and breathing hard as if she had just run a marathon. But even so, her face bore a victorious smile. She realized too late that she had made a fatal mistake.
She had hesitated.
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Sakuya watched Remilia and Youmu charge Tenshi again. Gripping her knives so tightly her hands were beginning to hurt, she waited intently for the signal.
As soon as Tenshi noticed their approach, more keystones appeared, seemingly out of thin air, and began to harry Remilia. Youmu immediately made contact, locking swords with her opponent, but before Sakuya could even consider capitalizing on the opening, more keystones appeared and knocked her away.
Sakuya had to admit to being slightly jealous. Tenshi seemed to be materializing keystones out of nothing, providing her an essentially unlimited supply. Normally, Sakuya had no issue with the number of knives she could throw ? she could simply stop time and go pick up the ones she had already thrown when she needed more. But in this fight, where she was restricted from using her time manipulation, she felt the limit on her throwing knives harshly.
Suddenly, Remilia broke free from the keystones that were harassing her, managing to close the distance between her and Tenshi. As always, Tenshi?s defence was quick, but Remilia didn?t seem to be attacking. Instead she just grabbed Tenshi?s sword, with her bare hands. Sakuya winced as she saw that, unconsciously thinking ahead to the complaints of cuts on her hands Remilia would no doubt voice afterwards. For the moment, however, she was smiling.
?SAKUYA, NOW!? Remilia roared as she firmly held Tenshi?s sword in place. Without a moment?s hesitation, Sakuya barreled forward, knives in hand. With Remilia holding her sword, she was trapped ? defenseless. Her only route of escape was to abandon the sword and fly away, or attempt to wrestle it from Remilia?s grasp. In that time, Sakuya would end the fight.
However, as had happened quite frequently today, things did not go as planned. A keystone impacted hard into Remilia?s back, and though she still held, Tenshi?s follow up kick to the stomach sent her tumbling away.
Sakuya gritted her teeth. She would not miss this chance. She could not miss this chance. Both Youmu and Remilia had taken hard hits to make this opening for her, she would not let it pass her by. Without thinking, she finally let loose her power ? and time stopped.
It was a strange sensation, knowing you had to hurry even when time was stopped. But hurry she did. Despite everything she knew was coming, despite knowing that stopping time was too dangerous, she refused to let the opening Remilia and Youmu had made for her slip by.
In only split second, she crossed the remaining distance between her and Tenshi, and in one more her knives would find their marks. But just before they did, out of the corner of her eye, Sakuya saw something move.
Struggling against her own momentum, she barely managed to throw herself backwards as three large, spear-like crystals cut through the air between her and Tenshi. Sakuya changed directions again as a plume of light erupted behind her, followed by another three crystals and a volley of lasers. As Sakuya turned to look at the source of the incoming attacks, she immediately heard a voice behind her.
?I thought this was obvious, but I guess I should make it clear. I?m not going to put up with this today.? Sakuya turned, and not three feet away from her, Hoshimi floated nonchalantly in the air, tapping her temple with her forefinger. As fast as she could make her arms move, she swiped at her with the knife in her right hand, redirecting at the last moment to instead knock another crystal out of the air before it impaled her. Continuing the spin, she narrowly dodged another two crystals before slashing again with the knife in her right hand.
Hoshimi raised a hand to block the incoming knife, and as the blade reached her palm, it shattered like glass. Sakuya didn?t stop to think, ducking out of the way of another laser and turning to throw her remaining knife at Tenshi. The instant the knife was out of her hand, she let go of time, and it began to flow again normally.
As the world around her snapped back into motion, Hoshimi instantly vanished, and her knife soared towards her target. As expected, Tenshi was already in the middle of turning, and the knife only grazed her shoulder as she dodged out of the way.
Sakuya stopped to take a breath, seeing that Tenshi wasn?t pushing to counter. It seemed they?d managed to exhaust her considerably, and despite the wounds Remilia inflicted closing rapidly, the ones caused by Youmu and herself weren?t healing at all. There was no doubt she was reaching her limit, but unfortunately, the same could be said for her side.
Honestly, it was ridiculous how fast Tenshi?s reflexes were. For someone who was supposed to sit around in Heaven eating peaches all day, she was able to fend the three of them off ? for the most part ? exceptionally well. On top of that, if things continued the way they were, she suspected that Remilia and Youmu wouldn?t be able to continue. Remilia?s condition was rapidly worsening just from coming into contact with Tenshi repeatedly, and Youmu?s shoulder wound was rapidly sapping her of strength as well.
A quick check determined that Sakuya was down to three knives. Pulling one into her right hand, she raised her guard again. She suspected they would only be able to make one more exchange, maybe two, before Remilia and Youmu would be incapable of continuing. That would leave her alone against Tenshi, and as expected, if she tried to use her time manipulation, Hoshimi would step in and interrupt.
At this point, with Tenshi so worn down, a one on one wasn?t hopeless, but if they couldn?t beat her with three at this point, she doubted she?d had much of a chance by herself.
I can?t keep this up, Youmu sent over the telepathic link through the dolls. The pain was obvious in her ?voice,? to the point Sakuya was impressed she was able to concentrate properly to communicate through the dolls. Regardless, Youmu had confirmed Sakuya?s suspicions, though to her credit she still formed up and raised her guard. As Remilia did the same, Sakuya made her final decision.
We aren?t going to last like this, she sent over the dolls. Of course, she could still go on for a while, but Remilia wouldn?t stand for her to bow out before Sakuya did. We need to end this now.
A few moments passed in silence, as they all watched Tenshi. Suddenly, she spoke up.
?I don?t know how you guys managed to pull it off on such short notice,? Tenshi said, her voice actually managing to sound petulant despite her multitude of injuries, ?but it?s pretty frustrating to not be able to screw with the weather.?
Sakuya smiled in spite of herself. Tenshi likes your atmospheric bubble, Miss Patchouli, Sakuya sent over the dolls. No words came back, but a definite feeling of satisfaction reached her from somewhere far away. It appeared the dolls were capable of expressing pure emotion across distance. How curious.
?I know we?ve let you mess around ?til now,? Remilia spoke up loudly, the tiredness in her voice sapping it?s intended condescension, ?but this is it. Everything ends with this next attack ? you better prepare yourself.?
Sakuya allowed herself the luxury of rolling her eyes. Remilia wasn?t close enough to see, after all. It kind of defeated the purpose of making a last ditch effort if you were going to put the opponent on guard before you did it though.
Tenshi raised her sword in a guard stance, a smile coming to her face. It seemed she wanted to end things quickly as well.
On three, Remilia sent. She called out the Gungnir again and levelled it at Tenshi.
One?
Time seemed to slow, and Sakuya had to double check that she wasn?t the one doing it.
Two?
The three of them tensed, ready to move on a moment?s notice. Tenshi responded to their increased tension, tightening her guard as well.
?THREE!? Remilia shouted, and the three of them charged.
As they began to move, four large keystones appeared in the air around Tenshi. Barrel-rolling out of the way, Sakuya dodged the lasers they fired as narrowly as possible, attempting to keep her course steady. If they were going to finish this now, they needed to destroy these keystones ? there was no way they?d be able to fight Tenshi with these firing at their backs.
Unfortunately, Sakuya?s knives were built to cut through flesh, not stone, so she had to be more precise than the other two did. Dodging inwards to get past another laser, she brought herself into a rising cut, flipping herself over the keystone as she did so. Her knife sliced cleanly through the shimenawa rope wrapped around the stone, and the stone fell lifeless to the ground.
Well, that made things easier, didn?t it? she thought to herself, thankful that her gamble paid off. Clearing the falling stone, she closed in on Tenshi to keep her attention off the other two. Thankfully, they had come to the same conclusion as her, as almost simultaneously Youmu cut one of the keystones in half as Remilia obliterated another with her spear.
Sakuya flew in a wide circle around Tenshi, slashing at her with every opportunity. She didn?t expect to accomplish much other than distract her, and sure enough, Tenshi?s sword came up to parry the knife again and again. Once she reached the other side of Tenshi, she instinctively dropped below her, narrowly dodging a laser coming from her blind spot from the last remaining keystone. Sakuya threw the knife in her right hand as she pulled another with her left, the thrown knife cleanly slicing through the rope holding the final keystone aloft. Just as before, with the rope cut, the stone fell to the ground, no longer firing lasers.
As she turned back, Sakuya was forced to stop herself from grinding her teeth. Youmu and Remilia approached Tenshi from either side, leaving no room for her to attack. She watched carefully as they exchanged blows, waiting for an opening to strike.
Tenshi was a blur of motion. Her sword didn?t come to a stop once as she rapidly parried, span around, parried another, span back, and continued. On the odd occasion, a small keystone would appear, deflecting an attack from a critical wound into a grazing hit, but for the most part, she stopped almost every attack that came at her with her sword. Sakuya was once again amazed at her reflexes. Her fighting style was reckless, yet overwhelming. She once again reaffirmed the fact that she would not be able to take her alone.
Deflecting another stab from Remilia?s spear, Tenshi threw herself shoulder-first into Youmu. Using her sword to deflect Youmu?s incoming slash, she tackled into her, breaking her stance. She followed the tackle with a roundhouse kick, throwing Youmu back, before dodging upwards away from Remilia?s swipe.
Remilia came at her again, despite now having the disadvantage of being below her target, and Tenshi blocked the blow with the flat of her blade. The impact pushed her back a few feet into the air, opening the distance between them. Sakuya immediately moved to intercept before Tenshi could restore her guard, coming in just late enough that she didn?t have to dodge the spear that Remilia threw.
Tenshi gracefully twirled away from the incoming spear as she deflected it with her sword. Sakuya came in fast, aiming to puncture through Tenshi?s guard, but her attack missed as Tenshi suddenly plummeted. Turning to follow, she saw at the last moment, Tenshi drop her heel into Remilia?s chest from almost directly above her. The impact sent Remilia hurtling downwards, clearly having lost the ability to stop herself. As she watched Remilia fall, Sakuya was overcome by an unfamiliar feeling: panic.
Despite Sakuya?s inner yearning to chase after Remilia and save her before she hit the ground, her body moved practically of its own accord, ignoring the panic that was gripping her. She came down hard with a slash, which Tenshi sidestepped, putting the two of them on equal footing once more. Sakuya pressed the attack, her knife striking at Tenshi from every angle imaginable as she maneuvered herself around her in circles.
Tenshi was no longer parrying or deflecting. She used her sword only to block, and when she couldn?t block in time, she dodged. Sakuya kept attacking. Her panic continued to grow, and as it did, her actions seemed to become more distant, as if one part of her was trying to run after the injured Remilia while it left the rest of her fighting here.
Tenshi suddenly lunged forward, deflecting Sakuya?s knife and passing behind her. In a flurry of motion, Sakuya passed her knife to her left hand, span around, and reached for her last knife with her right hand. As soon as she could see Tenshi out of the corner of her eye, she let the knife in her left hand fly, aiming straight for Tenshi?s head.
Spinning to face Sakuya once again, she was completely caught off guard by the thrown knife. Her turn however had moved her out of the knife?s direct path, and it grazed her faced a finger-width away from her left eye. Sakuya couldn?t even feel the disappointment of the miss as she drew her last knife and lunged at Tenshi.
Tenshi blocked the sideways cut Sakuya lunged into with her sword. Immediately, Sakuya followed it up with a rising cut, which Tenshi narrowly dodged by sliding backwards. Pursuing, she came in with a falling cut, aiming right where the shoulder meets the neck ? her eyes going wide as the knife stopped short.
Tenshi had let go of her sword with her left hand and punched Sakuya?s incoming knife hand at the wrist. Following a startlingly late response, a massive shock ran through Sakuya?s right arm, and she could feel her hand go numb. Using her right hand, Tenshi performed a one handed swing and easily knocked the knife out of Sakuya?s fingers.
Time seemed to slow. Tenshi brought her sword above her head, taking a two handed grip once again. Sakuya used her left hand to reach for another knife, which she knew she wouldn?t find. As Tenshi brought her sword down, Sakuya could do nothing but raise her numb right arm in front of her, hoping that she could deflect the blade enough to stop it from cutting her in half, knowing that there was no time to dodge.
And then she heard a shout.
The last thing Sakuya saw before being violently thrown aside was Tenshi?s eyes going wide, and the angle of her sword change ever so slightly. She was then spinning head over heels, unable to even recognize which direction she was going in. After a few seconds that felt like an eternity, she managed to right herself and turn to see what had happened.
It was Youmu. Both her and Tenshi had managed to completely forget about her, and then at the last second, she had kicked her aside and met Tenshi?s sword with her own. Youmu brought her sword up in a rising slash, and Tenshi blocked with the flat of her blade. The impact sent her a few feet backwards, but Youmu was already chasing. She slashed again, and again, both times her sword being deflected, but before Tenshi could respond, she attacked again with a massive overhead slash.
At the last possible instant, Tenshi managed to bring her sword up enough to deflect the slash slightly to her left. Combined with her twisting her body awkwardly, the sword narrowly missed her, leaving Youmu with a gaping defense. Tenshi didn?t miss the opportunity, bringing her sword down hard, almost perfectly mirroring Youmu?s previous slash.
And just as miraculously as Tenshi?s defense had been, Youmu managed to bring her sword up?with a one handed cut. Tenshi?s face mirrored Sakuya?s surprise as she brought her sword down, sweeping away the weak, one handed attack. But the attack had done enough ? it had redirected Tenshi?s attack safely to the side?and her left hand still moved.
Her right hand holding tight to her sword that had just deflected Tenshi?s attack, the force of the clashing swords had broken any chance for her to counter-attack. But Sakuya could see something Tenshi could not. As Sakuya was behind Youmu, she could see her using her left hand?to pull another sword from its scabbard. Tenshi tried to bring her sword up in another attack, reading Youmu?s lack of a defense as an opening, so she could do nothing but watch as Youmu drew her wakizashi, plunging it into Tenshi?s left arm.
For an instant, both of them froze. Tenshi, staring in shock at the sword that was now pierced entirely through her arm, and Youmu releasing the short-bladed sword and taking a two-handed grip on her katana once again. In the span of a second that felt like an eternity, Youmu span in a full circle, using the momentum of her spin to cut horizontally across Tenshi?s stomach.
Tenshi, still stunned by the sword in her arm, didn?t even manage to mount a defense. Youmu?s sword cut deep through her torso, and blood sprayed. Neither of them moved.
This time, for real, everything stopped. The seconds counted by, and neither Youmu nor Tenshi moved a muscle. Finally, after over ten seconds of stillness, Tenshi turned her head. She looked once at the wound across her stomach, then rose her eyes to meet Youmu?s gaze. Her eyes then closed, a smile rising to her face, and Sakuya could her faint laughter coming from her.
Sakuya could see the tension leave her body as Tenshi dropped her sword, and like a marionette with its strings cut, she soon fell after it.
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Remilia walked slowly, leaning on Sakuya, towards the spot where Tenshi had fallen. She had worried briefly when she had fallen that Sakuya was going to just let her plummet to the ground without even trying to catch her. Her worry quickly changed to worrying that Sakuya would come after her, leaving Youmu alone to fight.
Her worries had been for naught on both accounts, however. Sakuya had stayed in the fight, holding Tenshi back just long enough for Youmu to return, and Remilia had somehow worked up the strength to make a safe landing, despite being on the verge of blacking out. When she was finally able to get some measure of composure together, she looked up only to see Tenshi plummeting through the air, defeated.
The three of them watched silently as she fell, up until the moment she impacted the ground. When she still didn?t move, the other two finally left where they were floating in the air. While Youmu went after Tenshi, Sakuya instead turned to look for her Mistress. Which she appreciated.
After a brief check to make sure that she wasn?t critically injured, Sakuya finally gave her a supporting shoulder and helped her walk over to where Youmu stood. Honestly, Remilia was furious. How had Sakuya gotten through the fight without a single scratch, while she could barely stand? It was ludicrous! She was too tired, however, to bother giving voice to this complaint, and instead chose to be silently thankful that Sakuya was in good enough condition to help Remilia walk.
Remilia?s wounds were, in all honesty, not very serious. But the effect of fighting against a celestial was far more potent than she had anticipated ? especially since she hadn?t anticipated it at all. It felt like, as the fight progressed, her veins had been slowly filling with fire, while were muscles were slowly turning to lead. As it was now, every breath brought the threat of blacking out, and every step brought the threat of falling without being able to stand back up. She had no idea how long the effect would last, or if it would ever go away, but she was far from caring at this point.
Finally, after what had felt like a long and arduous journey, Remilia and Sakuya reached the spot where Youmu was standing. The makeshift bandage she had created was dyed a solid, deep red, and her face was covered with a thin sheen of sweat. Otherwise, however, her expression was calm, her eyes fixed on the fallen celestial.
?I?m surprised your still here,? Remilia broke the silence, doing her best to keep the weariness from her voice.
Tenshi turned her head slightly, eyes fixing on Remilia, and her lips curled up in the slightest of smiles. ?I figured after all that?I?d give you at least the chance to finish me off.?
?Hah. If you can still joke like that, this fight is far from over.? Remilia briefly looked down at Tenshi?s injuries after she spoke. She had a massive wound in her arm, as if it had been impaled, and a gash across her stomach that was deep enough that most youkai would probably not survive from it. Still, as a celestial, she knew that Tenshi could leave the physical realm at any time and return to Heaven, where she could recover from any wound in peace. Yet here she remained.
?Well,? Remilia continued, ?I?ll make you a deal. You tell us what we want to know, and we?ll let you go.?
Tenshi laughed weakly. Even she must have known that her trying to act tough was nothing more than comical at this point, but still she persisted. ?My, how generous of you,? she finally managed to reply. ?Alright, what do you want to hear??
Youmu was the one that spoke. ?Why are you working with Hoshimi?? It was the same question as before, but this time her eyes didn?t hold any of the same cold fury. Now, her expression was relaxed. Weariness, tinted with pain, all hidden beneath a mask of calm.
Tenshi slowly turned her eyes to Youmu, who she regarded for a short while before closing them. ?Naturally, to protect Gensokyo,? she finally said. Remilia struggled to decide whether she was joking again or not. Her expression said nothing. When none of them responded to her claim, she continued.
?I couldn?t let you guys reach that tower. If you did?well, I couldn?t. The best way was to pretend to take her side, fight you guys off. If I could beat you, stop you from getting there, everything would have been fine.?
?If you were trying to help us, why didn?t you just come join us?? Sakuya spoke up, her voice perfectly composed. Remilia was reminded of how upset she was that Sakuya was still healthy.
Tenshi smiled bitterly. ?I found Hoshimi first. If I had left at that point, she would have just shot me down on the spot.? Sakuya?s expression turned downcast. None of them could argue that.
?But it wasn?t just an attempt to save my own skin,? she said, again managing to sound whiny despite being on the edge of dying. ?I figured that if you guys fought me, you?d have a better chance at surviving. I could hold back, choose not to kill you. She wouldn?t.?
?So you honestly intended to win? Against all of us?? Remilia was the next to speak up.
Tenshi laughed again, a bit more vigor to her voice. ?I didn?t think she was telling the truth when she said all of Gensokyo was coming. Boy, did she make a fool out of me.? Remilia couldn?t help but smile along with her at that. It was a pretty ridiculous claim, after all. If Remilia hadn?t met Hoshimi first hand, she would have never even considered working together with anyone else, let alone everyone. And yet, here they all stood.
?Alright, one last question, then.? Seeing no one else was planning on continuing the conversation, Remilia took the lead once again. ?Why is it that you don?t want us to get close to that tower? We know it?s a weapon, we came here to stop it. Why is that bad??
Tenshi?s face turned serious. ?Alright, listen, and listen carefully. This is the most important thing you?ll hear for your entire life, so don?t you dare forget.? Despite the serious look on her face, her words were still as pretentious as ever. ?That tower?this whole setup, it?s a trap. She wanted you all to get here, as many of you as possible. The three of us?the three of us guarding her were probably just meant to slow you down, wear you out a bit before you fought her.?
Tenshi took a shaky breath before continuing. ?Whatever you do, no matter what happens, do not-?
Tenshi?s voice suddenly cut off. Remilia, Youmu, and Sakuya?s faces were slow to register what had happened, but their shock couldn?t match that of Tenshi?s.
A small spire of stone, maybe three feet tall, was now sticking up out of the ground before them. It was small, but very dense-looking, and slick with blood. And it was protruding straight out from Tenshi?s chest.
Naturally, the stone spire had driven the air from her lungs, preventing her from talking ? it had gone right through them.
As the three standing stood in shock, Tenshi?s face went through a whirlwind of emotions. First shock, as she stared at the stone piercing through her, then pain, as she struggled vainly to free herself from it. Finally, unbridled fury, as she turned to look off into the distance ? straight at Hoshimi.
Tenshi struggled to finish what she had been saying, her face finally taking a look of fear, but when she opened her mouth the only thing that came out was blood. But it was obvious enough to tell just by looking at her ? she wasn?t afraid for herself. Even being impaled, the light from her eyes rapidly fading, she wasn?t worried about dying. She was afraid she wasn?t going to be able to tell them what she needed to.
Finally broken from the shock that had frozen them, Sakuya and Youmu rushed to her side. There was nothing they could do, that was obvious just by looking, but still they tried. Remilia, on the other hand, instead turned toward Hoshimi.
?You?? Her mind went blank. Memories from no more than two weeks ago flooded her mind.
Meiling, bloody and broken, little better than Tenshi was now.
Flandre, terrified, crying in her arms as her sight had been taken away from her.
And then Tenshi, dying from a wound caused by someone who was supposed to be her ally.
??you?monster?? Remilia took a step forward. There was no more room for thought. She would destroy Hoshimi. She would rip her apart with her bare hands. When she was done, she would be begging for mercy, and as she did so, Remilia would squeeze the life from her as slowly and painfully as possible.
??how?could you?? Another step. Before she could take a third, however, Hoshimi?s voice echoed across the field to them.
?It seems you?ve won, little vampire. Congratulations.?
?She was?on your side?how?h-how?? Her mind was completely blank. She couldn?t even finish the question. She felt Sakuya?s hand on her arm, urging her back to reality, but that was a faraway place. A place far, far away from her wish of obliterating Hoshimi right here, and right now.
?It wouldn?t do to have her spoil the ending before the play is through, don?t you agree? Hmm?though maybe I should have picked a cleaner way of doing it. I hadn?t intended for her to?suffer, quite so much.? Her voice turned cynical. ?Plus, after all that, don?t try and tell me she was on my side.?
At that, Remilia was returned back to reality. Burning, white-hot rage pierced through the blanket smothering her thoughts, and she was back. An instant before she took off, off to put an end to Hoshimi once and for all, to give the unbounded anger inside of her form, Sakuya?s voice broke through.
?Mistress, please!? She was all but shouting, but Remilia didn?t care. Remilia turned to knock Sakuya away, to break her arm from her grip, but as she raised her arm to hit her, she saw Tenshi lying behind her.
Her eyes had lost the light of life, but still she had an arm raised, pointing at Remilia as if trying to warn her of something. For an instant, Remilia thought she had finally died, but to her surprise, her lips still moved. There was no sound, as she could no longer draw breath. But over and over, she mouthed something silently. Remilia struggled to make out what she was trying to say. Over and over, she was repeating one word.
Don?t.
Don?t.
Don?t.
With just that, it felt like someone had dumped a bucket of ice cold water over her. She was no less angry, but she couldn?t bring herself to move. Her desire for vengeance was still burning inside her, but she couldn?t work up the will to put it into action. Her body felt heavy, her eyes felt heavy, and she was in so much pain.
She wouldn?t even be able to make it to Hoshimi, let alone beat her. Realizing this single fact was the chain that held back her fury, kept her from rushing headlong into her own death.
?She?s right, Mistress. If we go now?as we are, there?s just no way?? Sakuya was still trying to convince her, despite the fact she had already figured it out. How dumb did she think she was? Ignoring Sakuya beside her, Remilia finally sighed, nodding towards Tenshi.
Tenshi, face still drawn with pain, fear, and regret, finally relaxed slightly, the smallest of smiles tugging at her lips. As best she could, she nodded back to Remilia, and then closed her eyes.
Almost immediately, her body began to glow with a faint, golden light, and only seconds later she burst into countless motes of shimmering, golden dust. The glowing dust twisted into a slow whirlwind, defying the breeze that blew past them, and floated gently upwards into the sky before vanishing.
Remilia and Sakuya stood silently, watching the spot where Tenshi had been lying. Youmu stood up from where she had been kneeling beside her, and looked up into the sky where the golden dust had disappeared.
?It was pretty close, but?her soul isn?t here. She made it back to Heaven, so she should be okay, though I suspect it?ll take a few months??
Sakuya breathed a sigh of relief, while Remilia just nodded. She had no idea how many seconds of life Tenshi had left, how long she struggled to stay to make sure she didn?t do something stupid. She?d never admit it, since no matter what she said afterwards they had been enemies, but Remilia couldn?t help but feel a small twinge of?gratefulness?
No, it wasn?t quite that. She couldn?t put a finger on what it was, but the fact she had suffered so much longer than was necessary to tell them, then held on to the last possible second to stop her from acting recklessly and getting herself killed, effectively risking her life to save Remilia?s?that created a deep, strong feeling within her.
Remilia turned back towards the small camp where Patchouli and the others were waiting. ?We?ve defeated Tenshi,? she said aloud, intending for it to go through the dolls. ?We?re now returning to the base camp to regroup.? She vaguely had a feeling that that?s not how the dolls worked, that it didn?t involve talking out loud, but she didn?t care anymore. That?s what Sakuya was for.
Though her arms and legs felt twice as heavy as before, Remilia walked, ignoring Sakuya?s offer to help.
Only Hoshimi is left. Hopefully she can keep us entertained until the end of the story!
I wonder what Tenshi was trying to tell them... :ohdear:
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SO... AWESOME!!!
First of all, I thought you'd already abandoned this story since I don't get anymore thread update notification emails for this.
Boy oh boy, I'm glad that wasn't the case.
Well done! You really know how to write fight scenes. The excitement, the tension, the tactics, it's all there!
And I hope we'll get one hell of a finale since you have to go even further beyond to top all of this!
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And I hope we'll get one hell of a finale since you have to go even further beyond to top all of this!
whoa pressure!
So its the beginning of the end. This chapter is pretty long, so you might want to go grab yourself something to eat. Maybe a drink. Take your time, set up some cool music. I'll wait, don't worry.
Here you go. This chapter is split into two parts because it clocked in at 14,606 words. Far, far too long, I really should have split this into two chapters. So if you like, feel free to consider part 2 as a bonus chapter :P
Chapter 19 ? Darkness Falls (Part 1)
Reimu forced herself to keep breathing as she dodged out of the way of another volley of crystal shards. Each was the size of her forearm, and probably twice as thick. Not to mention sharp enough to probably punch right through her if they hit.
She had to make doubly sure she kept breathing. It was easy to forget some of the simplest things when you were fighting for your life.
They had already been fighting for far longer than Reimu would have believed possible. Whether she was taking them lightly, or just fighting cautiously due to the unknown that was Byakuren, Hoshimi hadn?t yet crushed them. However, in the same vain, their help hadn?t yet arrived, and they were definitely fighting at a disadvantage.
As if to prove her point, Hoshimi knocked away an incoming Master Spark with a bare hand, using her other hand to create a wall of crystal to block an incoming attack from Byakuren. The attack was easily blocked, and once Byakuren attempted to disengage, the crystal wall shattered into dozens of deadly fragments, each pointing their tips towards her before launching like bullets. While it was easy enough to avoid, having to do so over and over was beginning to get tiresome.
Reimu attempted to sneak an attack in, but Hoshimi instantly turned to face her, another volley of crystals appearing in the air around her. Reimu threw a handful of talismans and made to dodge, before realizing the crystals weren?t coming for her. The talismans stopped short, as they always did, popping with a flash of light before vanishing. As they did, the crystals now surrounding Hoshimi began to glow with a vibrant purple light.
Of the dozen or so crystals, four turned to face her, and one by one they each fired a thick purple laser. Reimu continued moving in a circle, leading the lasers, despite logic dictating she should cut between the lasers and close the gap between her and Hoshimi. As expected, the crystals firing the lasers turned to track her once they had all fired, and she soon had all four of them pursuing her at once.
A few well-placed talismans destroyed the crystals, as well as the others that had been tracking Marisa and Byakuren. Immediately, a massive volley of tiny stars engulfed Hoshimi, but she could easily tell that those that should have been hitting her were winking out shortly before making contact.
Immediately after the wave of stars passed, Byakuren charged, a wave of thin yellow lasers coming in from behind her. Curving around, they managed to arc around Hoshimi and come at her from behind. Hoshimi, without even moving from where she floated, raised a hand towards the incoming lasers. Immediately, the air crystallized into a thick sheet, once again blocking the lasers before they could even come close.
Turning to face the still-charging Byakuren, she raised her hand again, and the crystal wall span around her to block Byakuren?s advance. Stopping just short of the wall, Byakuren seemed to pause, as if she was taking a deep breath. An instant later, her fist hammered into the crystal wall, smashing it and sending the shards flying backwards. The shards span away from Hoshimi, as if she was in some sort of protective sphere, before falling to the ground below.
A series of crystal projectiles and lasers forced Byakuren away, and once again Hoshimi was safe. Reimu growled in frustration. She knew that they weren?t really supposed to be trying to win, only to last long enough for help to arrive, but it was still incredibly frustrating that after all this time they couldn?t land a single hit.
Granted, that went for both sides. Though Hoshimi didn?t seem the least bit perturbed, none of the three of them had taken a hit yet, let alone become seriously injured. It didn?t feel like it, but Reimu supposed that made them the winning team so far.
Suddenly, something changed. She didn?t know what had tipped her off, whether it was a slight change in Hoshimi?s expression, or a tensing of her shoulders, but whatever it was, Reimu wasted no time in charging her.
As if oblivious to Reimu?s incoming attack, Hoshimi turned, looking off into the distance. Wasting no time, Reimu threw a handful of thin purple needles, preparing to follow up after they were inevitably blocked with a flying kick. Surprising everyone present, however, the needles flew true ? embedding themselves deep into Hoshimi?s left arm and shoulder.
Hoshimi?s expression seemed more shocked than pained, and she quickly turned to face Reimu again. Reimu was overcome with a sense of dread, moving far too fast and being far too close to stop her attack, but was once again overcome with surprise as Hoshimi brought her arms up in defense. Reimu?s kick landed hard on Hoshimi?s block, pushing her back a few feet.
Immediately, Reimu disengaged, preparing to dodge the incoming attack, but none came. Before she could counter-attack, Hoshimi was forced to turn and defend from another incoming Master Spark, deflecting it towards Byakuren who had also taken the initiative to exploit Hoshimi?s opening.
Continuing to fly in a circle around Hoshimi to make herself a harder target, Reimu tried another barrage of needles. She had no idea why the last attack had hit her, when nothing before had, but she wasn?t about to complain. This time, however, the needles spiraled outwards as if caught in a whirlwind, going wide.
Reimu gave a small yelp as the air in front of her suddenly crystallized. Spinning herself so that she was flying feet first, she landed on the vertical crystal wall, using it to stop her momentum, before pushing off and flying in the opposite direction. A split second after she kicked off, the crystal wall shattered, the fragments chasing Reimu through the air.
A series of lasers soon cut through the air behind Reimu, knocking the crystal fragments from the air. A brief glance showed Marisa smiling triumphantly. Reimu didn?t know why she had decided to cover Reimu rather than just take another chance at attacking Hoshimi, but she supposed she shouldn?t complain.
The fight soon fell into a lull. Reimu, Marisa, and Byakuren all surrounded Hoshimi, watching carefully for any openings. Hoshimi, her expression unreadable, positioned herself so that she could keep Reimu and Marisa both in her sights. Though this meant her back was to Byakuren, they had learned well enough from fighting her so far that this was likely more a trap than an actual opening.
Reimu took the short break to ponder over what had just happened. Hoshimi, using her bare hands, pulled one of the needles out of her shoulder that had embedded itself there, inspecting it somewhat nonchalantly. With a shrug, she let the needle fall to the ground, and soon the rest of the needles embedded in her extracted themselves and fell after it.
Why had that attack landed? Even when Hoshimi had been locked in hand-to-hand combat with someone else, none of her attacks could connect. Yet, these needles had made it through. Attempting to follow up with more, however, produced the expected effect of missing entirely. Was it some sort of defense that could stop any attack she had already been hit by? If that was true, then there was no reason for Byakuren?s attacks to be ineffective, since the two had never met.
Reimu carefully looked off into the distance. A moment before she had been hit, Hoshimi had turned to look somewhere, so that was her best bet for figuring out what had happened. She looked over, and realized quickly what she was looking at.
Remilia, Sakuya, and Youmu looking down as Tenshi?s body scattered into a blizzard of shimmering, gold dust. Reimu didn?t know what that meant, but knowing what she did of Celestials, she found it hard to believe that she had died.
However, there was one thing she definitely did know. And judging by Hoshimi?s earlier lapse in focus, she knew as well. Tenshi was down. That meant?
?Seems like things aren?t going so well for you,? Reimu said with a smirk. After so long of feeling like she was at a disadvantage, she couldn?t help but try to rub it in when she noticed the odds were turning in her favour.
?Oh? What ever could you mean?? Hoshimi turned to face Reimu, her expression clearly showing that she was only feigning ignorance.
?Your allies have all lost. You?re all alone now. Just one more step along the road to your inevitable loss, I suppose??
?Oh, don?t worry,? Hoshimi said with a smile, ?I?ve planned for even this possibility. Besides, things aren?t all that bad.?
Reimu just raised an eyebrow, prompting Hoshimi to continue. ?Well, for starters, I may have lost three allies, but how many have you lost? By my last count?was it six??
Reimu suddenly felt an oppressive fear overcome her. She hadn?t been able to keep track of the other fights, only noticing out of the corner of her eye when one each finished. She wouldn?t have even noticed that the fight against Tenshi had ended if it wasn?t for Hoshimi taking notice of it as well.
That meant that Reimu had no idea how the other groups had faired. She didn?t have the composure to defend against Hoshimi while watching the other fights, so she couldn?t do anything but hope that they were alright.
But six? She knew they were up against strong opponents, but trading two for one?even if one ignored the implications of whether they were alright or not, it certainly felt like their chances against Hoshimi herself were plummeting.
Reimu shook her head to clear the thoughts from her mind. This was no time to be worrying about anyone else, and even if it was, she should know better than to take anything her opponent said seriously. She was more than experienced with the mind games that youkai loved to play with their opponents and victims, so she knew firsthand that she had nothing to gain from taking Hoshimi?s words to heart.
?And besides?? Hoshimi continued, her smile turning sinister. ??I?ve still got one puppet left.?
At that, Reimu was overcome by a completely different anxiety. Of course, she was right. They didn?t know how much control she had over her, but it was a definite fact that she still had possession of Yuyuko. At best, she was a hostage that could be held over them. At worst, she could manipulate her and force her to use her abilities?specifically, her ability to invoke death in any living thing.
So far, she hadn?t seemed to make any move towards doing such a thing, but it was clear to everyone involved that if she did so, they would instantly lose.
Reimu focused hard on the small doll Alice had given to her. She found it unnecessarily difficult to communicate with it, and she had no idea why. Everyone else seemed to be able to talk through the dolls just fine, but for her it was as if she was lacking the talent necessary. Not a pleasant feeling.
Alright, everyone, Reimu finally managed to send over the link, We need to deal with Yuyuko now or else we aren?t going to win this fight. Any ideas?
Just relax, okay? It?s covered. Just don?t die for a little bit. Komachi?s voice echoed quietly in her head, and Reimu had to focus hard to just make out what she was saying. Relax? Easy enough to say for a shinigami, but when you were a perfectly normal human, the threat of instant death was a bit more serious.
?Is she really that scary?? Hoshimi spoke, breaking Reimu?s concentration, a puzzled expression on her face. ?I thought she was someone important, but you all keep acting like it?s the end of the world with her around??
Reimu?s eyes went wide with shock. That?that slip was more than she could let slide.
She doesn?t know! She doesn?t know Yuyuko?s ability! Reimu sent over the dolls, nearly frantic. We need to do something now, before she realizes what she can do!
She didn?t know how she managed to get this far without knowing, but somehow, Hoshimi didn?t know about Yuyuko?s ability. They had a chance. Even with Yuyuko there, they had a chance. All they had to do was stop Hoshimi from figuring it out.
?Hmm?maybe I should just bring her in and make her fight you, just to see what happens?? Hoshimi pondered aloud, tapping her lower lip with her forefinger.
Before Hoshimi finished talking, Reimu attacked. Throwing a handful of needles and a handful of talismans, she arced around, trying to get a better angle.
She didn?t know what Komachi?s plan was, let alone if it would work. But she did know that she needed to stop Hoshimi from bringing in Yuyuko, no matter what it took.
Seeing Reimu?s attack, and no doubt hearing what she had said earlier, Marisa and Byakuren took up action with her. Hoshimi was instantly beset by a barrage from three sides, and the three of them continued closing in, keeping as much pressure on her as they could.
Before any of the shots reached her, the air around Hoshimi crystallized, forming a perfect sphere around her. The impact of the shots echoed with a sharp sound, and though none punched through, obvious cracks began to appear in the sphere where the shots had hit.
?or so Reimu thought. The cracks, however, continued to grow long after the shots impacted, the crystal sphere glowing with a faint light. After a few seconds, the cracks snaked their way around the entire sphere, and it shattered outwards, the glowing fragments hovering in the air around Hoshimi.
?Come, surely you can do better than that,? Hoshimi said, seeming almost to be pouting. With a wave of her hand, the crystal fragments surrounding her flew outwards towards the three of them.
A spread of talismans intercepted the crystals heading for Reimu, causing them to flash brightly before shattering into even smaller pieces and falling to the ground below. Marisa attempted to intercept the incoming crystals with a Master Spark, while Byakuren did similarly with thin yellow lasers. Both of them adopted surprised expressions when neither of their attacks were effective at stopping the incoming crystals, just causing them to glow even brighter.
Byakuren, with a burst of speed that was almost faster than Reimu?s eyes could follow, easily flew between and through the crystals, while Marisa frantically dropped from the sky, narrowly avoiding the impact. But rather than continue off in the direction they had been fired, the crystal fragments stopped, rapidly changing direction, and began chasing the two of them again.
Reimu moved to help, but broke off almost immediately as a volley of spear-like crystals cut the air in front of her. Shortly afterwards, a series of thick violet lasers cut the air around her, forcing her back further and further. Reimu answered with a handful of needles, managing to destroy the crystals firing the lasers, though of course the needles aimed at Hoshimi inexplicably changed course and went wide.
As Reimu attempted to close in on Hoshimi again, she noticed out of the corner of her eye Byakuren had managed to shake off the pursuing crystals somehow. Her next attack was interrupted, however, when she saw a bright flash of light from the other direction, followed quickly by an explosion.
Reimu could feel her heart leap into her throat. With great difficulty, she pushed down the fear and attacked again, attempting to at least draw Hoshimi?s attention. Marisa may have been hit, and with an explosion like that, there was no telling how badly hurt she was. All she could do now though was make sure that Marisa got away safely, in hopes that she was still conscious enough to fly.
As fast as she could manage, Reimu alternated between throwing handfuls of needles and talismans. Hoshimi just raised her hand in front of her, and all of the projectiles stopped dead in the air in front of her, as if they had hit an invisible wall. Paying no mind to the unsuccessful attacks, Reimu lunged towards Hoshimi, feet first. Kicking the wall made of her own projectiles, she effortlessly punched through and kicked at Hoshimi herself.
Hoshimi twisted her body to the side, narrowly avoiding Reimu?s kick, and brought her hand up as if she was going to chop at her defenseless side. Before she could manage, Byakuren came in from behind at an unbelievable speed, and with a shout, slammed Hoshimi?s back with her bare palm.
As Reimu allowed her momentum to carry her away from Hoshimi, Hoshimi herself careened off into the distance for dozens of feet after Byakuren?s successful attack. Reimu rapidly spun, throwing a handful of needles after her, but they stopped dead in the air in front of her as she recovered herself.
Seeing Hoshimi was well enough to defend, but still too stunned from the blow to attack, Reimu snuck a glance at where Marisa had been. The light from the explosion had just began to fade, and within it, Marisa was floating on her broom as always ? an embarrassed expression on her face.
Surrounding her was a pale orb of yellow light, mostly transparent. Just a few feet in front of Marisa herself floated one of Alice?s dolls, arms outstretched as if it was trying to body block something. The pale orb collapsed inwards on the doll, and with a flash of yellow light, the doll was reduced to a cloud of ash.
Reimu sighed in relief. It appears Alice?s dolls were working as well as she had promised. She had secretly hoped they?d last for more than one hit once they entered shield mode, but against Hoshimi, she supposed it was miraculous enough that they were able to stop an entire hit at all. Regardless, without that doll, Marisa was now vulnerable, not to mention cut off from communicating with the rest of them.
This was going to cause them a distinct disadvantage, but there wasn?t much they could do about it now. All they could do now was wait for-
REIMU! YOU?RE PULLING OUT!
Suddenly, an incredibly loud voice, loud enough to give her a sharp headache, practically screamed within her head. It took her a moment to realize it was Alice, and another to realize what she had actually said.
Her first thoughts were that Marisa wouldn?t get the message, and that she would need to relay it somehow. Before she could move to approach her, however, Hoshimi was suddenly between them again.
A wave of crystal spears fired out from Hoshimi in a ring, quickly reorienting themselves to chase the three of them that were still there. Reimu threw a talisman in the air in front of her, expanding it into a large barrier before dodging out of the path of the incoming crystals. The crystals punched through the barrier, but were slowed enough that Reimu could easily dodge them.
Before Reimu could take action again, she noticed a bundle of four crystals hovering above Hoshimi?s hand, held slightly above her head. The crystals began to glow a brilliant purple, before firing a shot at Reimu almost the size of a Master Spark. Having noticed the attack coming early enough, she was able to dodge out of the way fairly easily, even after the giant laser turned to track her movements.
Reimu threw a handful of talismans to destroy the crystals at the source of the laser, but the laser simply swept over them, incinerating them before they got close. The laser then swept around, forcing Marisa and Byakuren back as they tried to close in on her.
Reimu, likewise, attempted to close in. As dangerous as it was moving into close quarters, they had had the most luck landing hits from up close, so it was the best plan she had. Was the backup not here yet? She had been told she was pulling out, but until they arrived, she had to keep up the pressure.
As Reimu closed the distance, the laser suddenly spun back towards her. Rather than sweeping over her, however, the bundle of crystals split open like a flower, and the one laser became four. Sweeping around her, the lasers began to come in from all four sides. Before Reimu could squeeze out through one of the gaps between them, the crystals, and the lasers they were firing, began to spin rapidly, effectively caging Reimu inside of them.
Reimu stopped her forward movement, mind racing. Because of the orientation of the crystals, the closer she got the less space she had to maneuver, so logically it would make sense to put more distance between them. She couldn?t help but feel like that was exactly what Hoshimi wanted, though, so she held her ground.
The crystals quickly began to close, coming in around her. With no way to escape, Reimu looked desperately for help, dismayed to find that Byakuren and Marisa were both contending with waves of crystal projectiles of their own.
Shouting her frustration, Reimu charged forwards. She couldn?t escape to the side, because of the spinning lasers, and she couldn?t escape forwards or backwards, because the closing crystals would eventually recombine into one giant laser ? with her right in the middle of it. So, her only recourse was to attack, and hope for the best.
Two talismans to the side created barriers, hoping to slow down the lasers closing in, but they cut through them like they were no more than water. Reimu tried once more to destroy the crystals from where she was, but the lasers were too thick at the base, destroying the talismans Reimu threw before they could reach. Reimu charged onwards, hoping that she could tough out the pain of the lasers long enough to destroy their source with a physical attack?
?but she never got to try. A split second before the lasers bit into her sides, an arrow of light punched through the crystal formation, smashing them to pieces. The lasers scattered to the side wildly before quickly winking out, opening up the path for her to charge.
Reimu said a word of thanks in her head to whatever miracle had blessed her, spinning herself for a flying kick at Hoshimi once again, desperately telling herself that this time she wouldn?t miss.
But rather than dodge, Hoshimi instead crystallized the air in front of her, using it like a shield. Reimu kicked hard, and surprised even herself by smashing right through the crystal. The fragments of crystal floated in the air around her, and she realized a second too late that they had rearranged themselves to skewer her from all sides. The impact with the crystal wall had slowed her kick down too much as well, and after a short back step away from the incoming kick, Hoshimi clapped her hands together.
The crystals immediately converged on Reimu, who instinctively brought her arms up to protect her head. But before any of the crystals could strike her, a vicious wind tore through the area around her. The wind was so intense it was almost visible, wrapping around her like a protective bubble, shredding half of the crystal fragments and sending the others flying off in random directions.
Reimu and Hoshimi bore the same surprised expression, but only for an instant. As soon as the wind died, Reimu leapt backwards, just before a stream of white bullets like comets filled her vision.
Reimu continued to open up the distance between her and Hoshimi. Help had finally arrived. Marisa and Byakuren had similarly been assisted by the same kind of wind-bubble as had protected her, and were now moving to join up with her.
Sanae flew in over Reimu?s shoulder, a grim expression on her face. ?Just a little more!? She shouted over her shoulder, ?Help us for just ten seconds more!?
Reimu instantly switched directions, leading her advance with a wave of needles. She didn?t know what was going on, but if she was going to pull out, she could handle an extra ten seconds. Seeing Reimu?s actions, Marisa and Byakuren turned as well, firing waves of their own projectiles at Hoshimi.
The hundreds of projectiles, from Marisa?s stars to Byakuren?s lasers to Sanae?s comets, all stopped short, but as they kept piling them on, the started inching closer and closer. Pushing herself to the limit, Reimu stopped throwing needles and took up the stance for a Spell Card.
?Spirit Sign: Fantasy Seal!?
Immediately upon speaking the words, instinct took over. Seven brightly coloured orbs fired out from where Reimu was floating, circling around her.
?Concentrate!?
With that, the orbs immediately fired towards Hoshimi, each exploding in a brilliant display of light as they impacted. Obscured as she was by the light of the explosions, she couldn?t tell whether they had managed to hit or not, but as the other four ? actually five, now that Kanako had joined the fray ? continued to pile on the attacks, Reimu went back to alternating between throwing talismans and needles.
Two seconds after Fantasy Seal had landed, Reimu felt?strange. Something was wrong, not with the fight or with Hoshimi, but with the air around them. Something had changed, and it bothered her enough just to glance up. As she did so, a sudden blur cut through the air above the battlefield.
Seeming to be part mirage, part stream of light, it?s movement seemed completely wrong. As if it was breaking the laws of nature itself to move like that.
It was only hundredths of a second before the moving?thing?came to rest. Arcing downwards, it stopped just above the tower over which they had been fighting
the entire time. After blinking a few times, Reimu finally realized what had happened.
It was Komachi. And she was now only two feet away from Yuyuko.
As if she had realized what happened, a terrible ?wind? picked up around Hoshimi. Though wind was the closest thing she could compare it to, it was really nothing like it. Whatever it was, it spiralled outwards from Hoshimi, knocking away the waves of projectiles that were coming for her effortlessly. However, her mind was clearly no longer on the projectiles.
Hoshimi wasted no time turning to Komachi, and stretching a hand out forwards, she fired a spear-like crystal, glowing a brilliant white, straight for Komachi. On reflex, Reimu threw a talisman to intercept it, and she could see out of the corner of her eye Sanae had done the same.
By some miracle ? those seemed to happen a lot now that Sanae had come to back them up, for some reason ? the two talismans cut across the path of the crystal before it managed to reach Komachi, both expanding into large square barriers, Reimu?s glowing orange and Sanae?s glowing blue. The crystal effortlessly punched through the first of the barriers, and was slowed down only barely by the second. However, the slow was enough, as a massive onbashira fell from the sky at just the right moment, causing the crystal to embed itself into the wood.
The pillar continued to fall, and only a short second later the crystal erupted violently, causing an explosion twice the size of the one that had hit Marisa earlier. Fortunately, the pillar had carried the crystal just barely far enough away that the explosion missed Komachi and Yuyuko.
With a triumphant smile, Komachi raised her scythe in front of her in a mock salute, using her other hand to grab Yuyuko?s shoulder. Hoshimi immediately launched a wave of crystals faster than she ever had before, but by the time they had covered half the distance, space warped.
Being able to see her as she did it made the trick look completely different. Rather than some sort of aberrant moving too fast, it looked ? well, felt ? like Komachi was literally punching a hole through space itself, and stepping through it. Though she didn?t move an inch from where she was, before the crystals Hoshimi fired reached them, Komachi and Yuyuko were gone, and the strange sensation vanished.
Reimu?s heart soared. They had done it. The largest obstacle to their plan had been cleared. If they had Yuyuko, not only would Hoshimi be unable to use her against her, but if they could get her to come to, they would have the option of using Yuyuko to put a stop to her instantly.
She doubted things were going to be as easy as that, but the fact of the matter was that they had achieved a massive victory. Yuyuko had been recovered, her three guards had been defeated, and she was now alone.
Furthermore, their relief had finally arrived. After a long fight, they were finally going to be able to pull back and recuperate ? at least, until their next turn came around.
?That?s enough, Reimu.? Kanako spoke, at some point apparently coming up beside her. We?ll take it from here, you can go back for now.?
Reimu looked around, seeing Byakuren and Marisa had already started pulling back. However, aside from her group and Sanae and Kanako, there was no one.
?Wait, where is-?
Before she could finish speaking, an arrow of white light cut through the air beside them. Hoshimi attempted to deflect the arrow with a hand as she had done to so many attacks before, but the arrow wouldn?t go. Rather than flying off to the side as Reimu had expected, it stopped, vibrating as if it was pushing against Hoshimi?s hand.
With a grimace, Hoshimi brought her other hand up and managed to finally knock away the arrow. The hand she had used to attempt to block the arrow was bleeding, the skin looking partially burnt.
?Don?t worry,? Kanako said with a smile, throwing a wave of danmaku at Hoshimi as she tried to inspect her injured hand. ?We have this covered. Go!?
Not willing to waste any more time, Reimu nodded. She quickly flew to catch up with Marisa and Byakuren on their way back to the camp that had been set up.
They had done it. All of Hoshimi?s allies had been defeated, Yuyuko had been retrieved, and relief had come before any of them had fallen. Despite the amount of time it took for help to come, they had managed to hold Hoshimi back without losing anyone.
She knew the battle was far from over, but she couldn?t help but feel like they had just achieved a great victory. Things were going well, far better than she had anxiously anticipated, almost as good as things could possibly have been.
All they had to do now was keep it up.
--------------------------------
Reimu sat down with an exhausted sigh on the grass. Marisa and Byakuren quickly did the same, though Byakuren was a little more dignified about it.
They had returned to the camp set up by the support team, though ?camp? just meant that?s where all of them were standing around. Reimu looked around to take stock of the situation, Hoshimi?s words coming unbidden to her mind.
Reisen was seriously injured, though her life wasn?t in danger and she had already been treated. Kaguya and Suwako were gone, though she was assured repeatedly that neither of them were injured or in danger. Remilia and Youmu were severely injured, and Sakuya had exhausted her supply of weapons and now spent her time helping to tend to the wounded.
Sanae, Kanako, and Eirin were off now fighting Hoshimi. That meant that, not including the support team, there were six of them that were out of the fight, and six of them still in it. These weren?t very comforting statistics, but if their reports were to be believed, there were as yet zero casualties on either side. That alone gave Reimu some degree of comfort.
Noticing their arrival, Patchouli broke off from her conversation with Remilia and walked over to their group, resting on the ground. She seemed to briefly consider sitting down with them before shaking her head and remaining standing.
?Welcome back. Good work coming back in one piece.? Despite the sincerity in her eyes, the boring monotone of her voice was hard to ignore.
?Why thank you,? Marisa replied, unable to keep the exhaustion from her voice.
?I know you would like to rest,? Patchouli wasted no time getting started, ?but there?s no time for that. We need to talk.?
?I agree,? Reimu said, flopping down onto her back. ?Talk. What?s going on??
Though she couldn?t see, she could almost feel Patchouli?s displeased expression. After a small sigh, though, she filled them in.
?As you already know, all the fights except for against Hoshimi herself have concluded in our favour. Mostly.?
??Mostly??? Marisa interrupted.
?Kaguya sealed herself and Mokou off in what is effectively an alternate dimension. Suwako is keeping Utsuho prisoner until the conclusion of the fight, which means she can?t leave where she is right now. Remi?s team defeated Tenshi, who returned to Heaven after being near-fatally wounded, but neither Remi nor her teammates are capable of fighting anymore. We won, but with a 50% casualty rate?well, I guess they aren?t technically casualties, but they won?t be helping us anymore.?
?That?sounds bad?? Marisa sounded much less playful this time.
?It?s not all bad,? Patchouli continued. ?Thanks to Komachi and Eirin?s gambit, we?ve retrieved Yuyuko, which was one of the necessary steps to ensure victory.?
?Speaking of which,? Reimu interrupted, earning herself another unhappy expression from the magician, ?how is she??
?Youmu is taking care of her for now, but she hasn?t come to yet. Whatever was controlling her?oh, yes, we were able to confirm that she was being controlled?whatever was controlling her stopped once we took her away from Hoshimi, so there?s no threat of her waking up and attacking us.?
?What about waking up and attacking Hoshimi??
Patchouli pondered for a moment before shrugging. ?She?s already dead, yet managed to pass out. I would barely know enough to treat a living person in that condition, let alone a dead one. It?s anyone?s guess as to when or whether she?ll recover.?
?In a way that?s unfortunate, but I feel like she deserves a break,? Byakuren spoke quietly. She seemed to be talking more to herself than anyone else, but Reimu couldn?t help but nod in agreement.
?Anything else important about the current situation??
Patchouli took a quick look around before shrugging again. ?Not much that you don?t already know. Komachi is standing by, ready to leap into the fray in case anyone needs saving. Sanae, Kanako, and Eirin are off fighting Hoshimi until you three are up to replace them. Reisen has some special instructions from Eirin to help you guys out when you go back. Alice is busy dealing with the network of dolls.?
?Oh, speaking of which?would it be too much trouble to get another one of those?? Marisa spoke up sheepishly, and apparently for good reason, because as soon as she said that, the others could feel a surge of not-very-pleasantness coming from Alice through the dolls.
?Maybe?you should wait a bit?? Byakuren spoke up, trying her best not to laugh out loud.
Marisa?s expression turned sour, but it seemed like she knew what Byakuren was trying to say.
Before they could continue, Nitori approached them. Well, approached Marisa. Marisa looked up at her questioningly, and Nitori just held out her hand as if she was asking for something. When Marisa just tilted her head to the side in confusion, she finally spoke.
?I need it back.?
?Huh? What for??
?Adjustments.?
Marisa spoke hesitantly, scratching her head. ?You know, Nitori, we don?t really have that kind of time??
?Do you have five minutes??
?Well?I suppose five minutes??
?Then you have enough time.?
Marisa sighed dejectedly before reaching into her pocket and passing something to Nitori that Reimu couldn?t quite make out. ?Hurry up.?
Without a word, Nitori took whatever it was and headed off back to the two other Kappa that had accompanied them. As soon as she got back, they started working fervently. Reimu couldn?t help being curious, but there was only so much she needed to know. She didn?t have the battle awareness to plan out everyone?s moves, so the best she could do was hope that whatever it was, Marisa would know the right time to use it.
Seeing that Reimu wasn?t about to ask any more questions, Patchouli spoke up again. ?Alright, enough about us. We need to talk about your fight with Hoshimi.?
Reimu sighed. ?Alright, what do you want to know??
?Everything.?
Reimu?s expression went flat. ?You?re going to have to be a bit more specific than that.?
Patchouli sighed, mirroring Reimu?s own feelings. Her expression was somewhat pained, as if it was stressful just dealing with Reimu, but to her credit it the effect didn?t extend to her voice.
?What kind of attacks did she use? Any noticeable patterns? Did you find any weaknesses? What kind of attacks got through? Anything else that could be of use to beating her??
?Well?? Reimu thought for a moment. ?Compared to when we last fought her, she was acting completely different. Most of her attacks involved crystals of some
kind. Generally as projectiles, but sometimes as familiars that fired lasers.?
?Sometimes the crystals exploded too!? Marisa chimed in, earning a small grin from Byakuren.
?Otherwise, just the usual fare. Almost all of our attacks would either stop part of the way there, or redirect themselves before hitting their target.?
??Almost all?? Which ones didn?t?? Patchouli perked up ? well, as much as could be expected of her ? at the mention that some of their attacks connected.
?Reimu landed the first hit,? Byakuren spoke up, ?but besides that, almost all of our physical attacks connected smoothly. Few of them seemed to do any significant damage, but I did land one strong hit. I definitely felt bones breaking, but she recovered quickly and didn?t seem fazed.?
Patchouli turned her attention to Byakuren. ?Hmm?how did she attempt to deal with your physical attacks??
?She generally created crystal walls between us, otherwise she would attempt to dodge. The one good hit I landed on her happened while she was attempting to attack Reimu, so she didn?t notice I was coming.?
?You mentioned Reimu got the first hit?what happened there??
?Some of my needles got through her defense and stabbed her in the shoulder. And before you ask, all of the needles I used before and after that point were completely blocked, like the rest of the projectiles.?
?Any differences between the time you hit and the time you didn?t??
??the only thing I can think of is that Hoshimi had looked away for a brief second. I noticed, so I attacked immediately. The needles were really supposed to be a distraction, but they ended up landing true. I followed up with a kick, which she blocked with her arms, and then all of our attacks started missing again.?
?Anything else??
?Oh, there is one thing,? Marisa piped up. ?When the others came to support us and cover Komachi?s stunt, we showered her in as much danmaku as we could. Though none of them hit her, the longer we kept it up, the closer we got. It?s like if she was in a protective bubble, the more we hit the bubble, the smaller it got.?
Patchouli dropped her gaze, crossing her arms in front of her. It looked strange, Patchouli standing deep in thought, no books to be seen.
After a few minutes of silence from Patchouli, Marisa caught Reimu?s gaze, giving her a wink. She then sighed exaggeratedly. ?If Eirin or Kanako were here, we might be able to come up with something, but with just us??
Patchouli sniffed condescendingly at Marisa, pulling herself from her thoughts just long enough to do so. ?Don?t underestimate me. Those two might be better at planning for a battle, but if you want a technical analysis, you won?t get much better than me.?
?My, how modest,? Byakuren said with a quiet smile, Patchouli pointedly ignoring her.
?Well if you?re so good,? Marisa said with a grin, ?let?s hear it.?
Patchouli gave a small ?hmph? before turning away. ?Normally I?d ignore you for that kind of provocation, but these are special circumstances. Don?t think I?ll let it slide ever again.?
Clearing her throat, Patchouli turned back to face them, eyes closed. She began to speak almost mechanically, as if she was reciting a list from a book in front of her.
?Creation and Manipulation of Crystal. Extremely high level use of magic, including one particular spell that erases the target on a conceptual level. Use of low-level familiars. Low-level mind control. Manipulation of earth and stone. Ability to travel rapidly, likely shifting through space via alternative means. Ability to inflict blindness. Immunity to time magic. High speed regeneration. Almost perfect defense against projectiles and magic. Next to no defense against physical damage. Did I miss anything??
Reimu could tell she wasn?t the only one going over the list in her head, trying to piece together the findings to the evidence that spoke to it. Byakuren was the first to speak up.
?My apologies for interrupting your train of thought, but what is this ?extremely high level spell? you are talking about??
For once, Patchouli didn?t seem to mind the interruption. ?It?s the attack that Oni was talking about earlier, the one made of black light. I?ve analyzed its effects, and determined what kind of attack it is. In short, it erases its target on a conceptual level ? no amount of defense or toughness, physical, magical, or otherwise, will have any effect. The cost is?extreme, high enough to match the effect. I would be surprised if there were more than one or two people in Gensokyo who could manage it without frying themselves.?
?Sounds?unfair,? Marisa said dejectedly.
?Well, yes. I haven?t seen it for myself, so I can?t say for certain, but I imagine it has quite the incantation behind it. As long as you keep constant pressure on her, you should be able to stop her from using it.?
Being that that was already their general strategy, there wasn?t that much complaining going around about that.
?Anyways,? Patchouli continued, ?that?s a list, not an analysis. The analysis is as follows.? Clearing her throat once again, she returned to the mechanical voice she had been using before. ?Given what we know of her, her range of abilities is, frankly, absurd. It is very unlikely that she has those traits as-is. What is far more likely is that they are by-products of some other ability or nature that she possesses.?
?The best way to approach is from looking at her combat abilities. For starters, low-level mind control. Reimu mentioned earlier, in your first fight against her, that she ?commanded you to fall? and you immediately dropped from the sky. The key here is that she spoke to get the desired effect.?
?Next, she is practically impervious to projectiles and magic. Effectively, anything you can use from range is useless against her. More precisely, however, anything she can see from range is useless against her. You?ll notice physical attacks worked perfectly fine on her, and I imagine Byakuren?s hit had some magic behind it that was no doubt effective.?
?Next, her abilities involving earth and crystal. From your reports of the previous fight, plus my own observations of her fighting both now and when she attacked the Scarlet Devil Mansion, she?s not using magic for either of these. Either she is very good at hiding her magic, or the process is part of some sort of natural ability of hers as a youkai.?
?The question of course becomes, how she is doing this; what ability leads to these effects. Normally, the conclusion would be that she is just a very proficient Magician, but as I?m sure any Magician will tell you, that is not the case. The fundamental elements just aren?t there. So what other possibilities can cover all of these elements? The number of possible answers is, thankfully, quite small. Even some of those can be stroked off due to the methods she uses, so in the end??
Patchouli paused. Reimu aside, even Marisa was staring at her wide-eyed. Neither of them would have expected Patchouli to monologue like that in a hundred years, and though the points she was bringing was were nothing particularly special, the synthesizing of them ? and the conclusion she was about to draw ? were what was really important.
??there?s only one possibility I can think of.? Patchouli finally snapped out of her mechanical voice, returning to normal speech. ?Manipulation of Reality.?
Reimu didn?t know whether to be confused, let down, or shocked. She opted for confused.
?That sounds like it could mean a lot of things, you?re going to have to explain it better than that.?
Patchouli gave Reimu a flat look before continuing. ?In simple terms, think about it like this. There are two core components to a physical person ? a mind, and a body. There are more, of course, but these are the ones that have real, actual effects on the world. The mind constitutes your ability to ?think.? It governs your beliefs, thoughts, imagination, and the like. It is infinitely productive, but has one limitation ? it cannot, in any way, impact the outside world.?
?The second component is the body, which constitutes ?action.? This is the interface between the Mind and the outside world. By taking action, and indeed by simply existing, the body can alter the current reality, from forcing air to flow around it to building a tower that reaches to the heavens. Fundamentally, the Body is controlled entirely by the Mind. However, the body is not infinitely productive, like the Mind is ? it has limits, constraints. This means that through the body, the mind can impact the outside world ? but only in a limited sense.?
?The existence of magic is an attempt to remove this limit. By using the body, or ?action,? you connect the mind, or ?thoughts,? directly to the outside world. While it removes many of the limits of the body, there are still rules that have to be followed. For instance, you cannot ?decide? to destroy the world with magic, you need a mechanism that can accomplish it.?
?My hypothesis is that Hoshimi?s ability is beyond magic. The perfect connection between ?thought? and the outside world, completely circumventing the need for ?action.? Just as we can act with our physical bodies to change the world around us, she can simply ?think? to change the world around her.?
??and thanks to the infinite productivity of the Mind,? Byakuren thought out loud, ?she has virtually no restraints on what she can do.?
?Correct,? Patchouli replied.
The group went silent, only the sounds far off battle echoing around them. There wasn?t that much information to digest, but Patchouli had used so many words to present it that it felt imposing in its own right.
?Is something like that even possible?? Reimu finally muttered.
?It?s not that far-fetched,? Patchouli mentioned off-handedly, ?if you consider Sakuya?s ability to manipulate time, it only makes sense that there exists somebody who can manipulate space.?
?Wait wait wait,? Marisa started. ?Manipulation of Space sounds completely different from what you just said.?
?It?s pretty much the same,? she replied, ?though not entirely. Her ability to resist Sakuya?s time control implies that her power extends past just space, but there is no evidence to suggest she can do anything more than resist such phenomena. We have yet to witness her doing such a thing of her own accord.?
?So the next question becomes,? Byakuren said, ?how likely is it that your hypothesis is correct??
Patchouli stopped to think for a moment. ?The probability of the hypothesis itself being correct is around?fifteen percent.? Immediately, Reimu and Marisa gave exasperated sighs.
?What was the point of all that if you aren?t even right?? Reimu said dejectedly.
?Because,? Patchouli said indignantly, ?whether the hypothesis itself is correct or not, that is the effect her ability has. With the time we have to prepare, planning directly to her nature is impossible ? all we need to do is overcome the effect. And you have all seen for yourselves that the effect is as I?ve described.?
Grudgingly, Reimu and Marisa nodded. Whether Patchouli was right or not, and indeed whether that was even the effect her true ability had or not, if they could come up with something to beat that, there would be virtually nothing Hoshimi could do. Of course, that was assuming they could come up with a plan that could beat such a ridiculous ability.
?Geez, I knew she was strong, but this is a bit too much?? Marisa complained to no one in particular.
Patchouli gave a noncommittal hum. ?If that?s what she is doing, she isn?t all that strong, to be honest.?
?What?!? Reimu and Marisa shouted in unison. Byakuren, though she didn?t shout with them, also bore an expression of disbelief.
?It?s not that she?s that strong,? Patchouli continued, ?it?s just that you all have terrible compatibility with her. You could think about it like this: her ability is that, no matter what, she has the advantage.?
?I don?t know where you come from,? Marisa said, ?but around here that?s considered pretty strong.?
Patchouli sighed. ?You are exaggerating too much. If that?s all it is, it?s much easier to deal with her. We?ve been working under the assumption that she is practically invincible, but that is nowhere near the case. Try and think ? with what I?ve just told you, and what you?ve experienced fighting her, what attacks did she stop, and what did she let through??
Reimu thought quietly for a moment, and in the gap, Marisa spoke up. ?She wasn?t able to stop any physical attacks, except by making obstacles in front of us.?
?Good,? Patchouli said, though her expression said otherwise. ?That?s one of the keys. If we assume she has some sort of Manipulation of Space power, with that we can assume that it doesn?t allow her to influence people themselves. Of course, we have evidence to the contrary, but the fact she hasn?t been doing so while fighting means it probably takes considerably more effort to do so ? likely, more than she can afford during this kind of a fight.?
?And the other key,? Reimu finally spoke, ?is that she could only stop the ranged attacks that she saw coming. Though, that sounds more like common sense than a weakness.?
Patchouli actually smiled at that. ?Not a weakness, per se, but it is the second key. She can only stop attacks that she sees coming. While that might seem obvious, it tells us something important ? she hasn?t set up some sort of autonomous shield, she is blocking the attacks individually.?
?With those two,? Byakuren said, actually sounding like she was talking to them instead of to herself for once, ?we can deduce the best method of attack ? physical attacks that she can?t see coming.?
Patchouli nodded. ?Exactly. Though, coming up with an attack like that on short notice is easier said than done.?
?Well, we can figure out a physical attack easily enough,? said Marisa, ?but making it unnoticed?her spatial awareness is pretty good. We?ve tried to sneak into her blind spot at every opportunity, and it?s never worked.?
Suddenly, a cough from someone beside them drew their attention, and a new voice added to the discussion. Cradling her injured arm in a sling, but face still as vibrant and healthy as ever, Reisen spoke up.
With a sly grin on her face, she spoke with a tone that, for some reason, sounded victorious.
?So, I heard you need to make someone invisible??
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Part 2. In case any of you were wondering, reformatting all of this so it looks nice on the forum is a massive pain in the ass. Just thought I'd share.
Chapter 19 - Darkness Falls (Part 2)
Reimu strained to keep herself from breaking pace with the others. Byakuren and Marisa were flying alongside her, and though they were still going considerably fast, the fact she could have been going faster was beginning to eat at her.
Still, she felt like she shouldn?t be itching so hard to rush. Just because they had a plan didn?t mean it was going to be easy. The slightest thing could tip off
Hoshimi as to what they were doing, and the instant she knew, the plan would fall apart.
Not a very good plan, when you thought about it like that.
Still, it was their only bet. They had only managed a small rest during their break, but she knew the same thing was true for those who had relieved her, so she knew all too well that they needed the back up. This fact just added to the pressure of feeling like they needed to end everything right now.
Marisa had retrieved whatever it was Nitori took from her, and after much scolding, was able to obtain another communication doll. Byakuren, after a short few minutes of meditation, seemed to be completely refreshed, and Reimu couldn?t help but feel a little jealous at her ability to do so. When asked, Byakuren had assured her that the feeling was only skin deep, but it would still be better than not at all. Byakuren then suggested she come spend some time at the temple if she wanted to learn it so badly. Naturally, she was forced to refuse.
Something else that was mildly disconcerting was the fact that Reimu had absolutely no idea where Reisen was. Despite being integral to the plan, she had basically quoted Komachi by saying ?I?ve got it covered.? She wanted to complain, but since Komachi had pulled through in the end, she couldn?t bring herself to do it.
Finally having approached close enough to make out who was who, Reimu turned her attention to reading the battle going on ahead of her. Eirin was on the ground, launching volleys of arrows up at Hoshimi, but as with all other projectiles, the effect was minimal. Which was unfortunate, since it had seemed so effective with those first two shots.
Meanwhile, Sanae and Kanako seemed to be playing at guerrilla warfare. Sanae would sweep in, covering her advance with stars, talismans, comets, and the like, and an instant before Hoshimi attacked her, she?d drop like a rock, avoiding danger. The instant Hoshimi?s attention turned to Sanae, Kanako would rush her with the same tactics. They weren?t able to break through Hoshimi?s guard, but they did manage to perfectly cover each other?s escapes and advances, keeping Hoshimi pressured splendidly.
It was hard to tell from this distance, but Reimu couldn?t imagine that Sanae had the stamina to last much longer. Neither Utsuho nor Hoshimi were enemies that you could relax against, so she must have been pretty high-strung from the start. Kanako, of course, maintained her composure as best as possible, but as their movements gradually began to slow, it became obvious that their tactics were taking a lot out of them.
Even Eirin, who rarely had to move from where she was standing, seemed to be wavering slightly. It might have just been her imagination, but it seemed to her that the time between arrows was increasing.
As for Hoshimi, it was even harder to tell. Her attacks came sporadically, but that was just as likely to be because of the amount of pressure they were putting on her as it was to be because of her getting tired. One thing they could tell, however, was that she was not getting through the battle unscathed. Not including the attacks Reimu?s group had managed to land, there were fresh tears in her clothes ? she didn?t know how, but Kanako?s group had managed to get a few attacks through her defense as well.
Reimu allowed herself a small smile. She doubted they could outlast Hoshimi at this rate, like their original plan suggested. She just seemed to have far too much stamina. But even without their new plan, they might be able to get in just enough lucky hits that they would be able to steer it away from a battle of attrition.
We?re back, but we need you to keep attacking. We?re going to roll the dice a little bit.
Marisa?s voice came over the doll. Reimu had since given up on attempting to send any communications through it unless it was absolutely necessary, so she satisfied herself with listening for now.
Where is Udongein? I told her to come with you.
Don?t worry, she?s on her way. Plans have changed a little bit.
A mild feeling of discontent came through the dolls, but other than that there was no argument.
As they closed the final distance between them and the battle, Reimu took talismans in hand. The last few seconds passed, and they were within range.
A wave of projectiles flew from Reimu?s group. Reimu?s talismans by the dozens, Marisa?s stars by the hundreds, and a dozen or so thin, curving yellow lasers from Byakuren raced across the intervening space towards Hoshimi. Of course, they impacted hard into nothing, giving off bright flashes of light before they disappeared.
As the wave of projectiles vanished, another wave from Sanae and Kanako followed them up, pushing Hoshimi?s guard back inch by inch.
That?s good! Disengage, but do not fall back! Marisa?s voice came over the dolls again, and Sanae and Kanako flew backwards out of the immediate battle area, cautiously watching from a distance.
As the debris from their attacks vanished, Reimu?s group released another wave of projectiles, this time accompanied by arrows from Eirin. Hoshimi had managed to refresh her guard, however, and the projectiles began to spiral away from her farther out than before. Before the projectiles had even cleared her, dozens of spear-like crystals appeared in the air in front of her, half of them flying towards Reimu?s group and the other half glowing in place.
Without a word, their group scattered. The projectiles were aimed, but not homing, so slipping past them wasn?t difficult. The actual hard part was the remaining crystals, now turned to point at them and firing brilliant violet lasers. Slicing through the air, over a dozen lasers pursued the three of them.
In short order, arrows from Eirin began to destroy the crystals around Hoshimi, causing the lasers to wink out one by one. As the last laser vanished, Reimu threw a volley of needles, matched by Byakuren?s lasers and a Master Spark from Marisa.
A massive crystal wall materialized in front of Hoshimi, blocking the hits without seeming to take any damage. Instead, the wall seemed to absorb the attacks, and what had once been a translucent, colourless crystal was now opaque, shining with a brilliant white light.
Reimu nodded to herself, taking up the stance for a Spell Card. It was time for the first signal. Not in the mood to be creative, she picked the same one as last time.
?Spirit Sign: Fantasy Seal??
The seven glowing orbs ignited around Reimu, orbiting her from a fair distance. Seeing the orbs appear around her, Byakuren and Marisa immediately broke off in opposite directions.
The crystal wall in front of Hoshimi shattered, it?s fragments leaping towards Reimu. She thought she heard someone shout over the dolls to cover her, but she was far too focused to pay attention. The instant she had a clear view of Hoshimi, she raised her hands in front of her, both palms facing Hoshimi.
??Concentrate!?
The seven orbs erupted outwards, quickly arcing around and heading for Hoshimi. More than one of the orbs passed through the shining crystal fragments that were heading for Reimu, but neither of them seemed to affect the other.
An instant before the crystal fragments tore into Reimu, who had used any time she could have had to dodge to focus on her Spell Card, three massive onbashira fell from the sky, intercepting them. As before, the crystal fragments exploded violently, tearing the onbashira apart, but they absorbed enough of the shock that Reimu was unaffected.
Simultaneously, Hoshimi raised a single hand, palm facing the incoming orbs of light. Each one burst into a flash of multi-coloured light only a few feet in front of Hoshimi, leaving her just barely outside the blast radius.
Chatter continued in the back of Reimu?s head, but she ignored it. The plan had begun, so she had no time to think about anything else. She had to do what she had to do, no matter what.
Reimu moved to get a better angle on Hoshimi while Byakuren closed in on her. Using the bursts of light as cover, Byakuren charged straight through the explosions, attempting to take Hoshimi by surprise. Whether it worked or not, Hoshimi?s reaction was fast enough, and she was able to dodge Byakuren?s incoming fist.
Expecting the dodge, Byakuren stopped, bringing herself to a dead stop. In place, she spun, bringing a leg up to kick Hoshimi in the stomach. At the same time, Hoshimi created a small wall of crystal between the two of them and dodged over it. Byakuren?s kick shattered the wall easily, and she somehow managed to throw the momentum of the kick into another punch, directed upwards towards Hoshimi?s new position.
Hoshimi crossed her arms in front of herself, blocking the blow and sliding backwards several feet. Before she could recover, Byakuren released a wave of curving lasers and small stars. The stars stopped just a few inches short of Hoshimi, but the lasers ended up curving around her, and with one swift motion, seemed to redirect back towards Byakuren.
Reimu threw handful after handful of needles at Hoshimi as Byakuren disengaged. The needles span wildly wide, and as they did, crystals began to materialize in the air around Hoshimi, pointing at Reimu. Just as they appeared, however, Eirin?s arrows began to take them down, a full two thirds of them being destroyed before they could fire.
Reimu dodged the few remaining crystals while throwing another handful of talismans. An instant after the talismans impacted into the nothing in front of Hoshimi, Byakuren, who had managed to shake the lasers she had fired, came back into close quarters, unleashing a flurry of blows. The blows were so strong Reimu felt like she could see the air shake around them, but unfortunately this power slowed them down, allowing Hoshimi to nimbly dodge around them.
If it was at any other time, Reimu would be thrilled about the fact that they had Hoshimi on the run. Now, however, all she could think of was taking the next step.
Over and over, the process repeated. Byakuren would close in, attempting to land a physical attack of some sort, and Reimu would cover her escape when she needed to break off. Whenever Hoshimi managed to go on the offensive, Eirin and Kanako covered both of them, allowing them to break Hoshimi?s rhythm and take the initiative back for themselves.
It was effective, but exhausting. Vaguely, Reimu was aware of warnings coming through the dolls. She couldn?t catch the messages themselves, but she could hear from the voices that their owners were reaching the ends of their rope. They would need to make a decisive play soon, if for no other reason than to open some breathing room for Kanako?s team to rest.
Reimu stopped her circling of Hoshimi and raised her arms to her sides, trying to banish the images of a certain youkai as she did so. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath. They had pushed Hoshimi hard enough to get her on the run, and that meant they could move on to the final step of the plan.
It was time to end this.
---------------------------------------
Reimu suddenly stopped what she was doing, raising her arms to her sides and closing her eyes.
That?s the signal! Everyone, cover Reimu and get ready to push! Byakuren sent over the dolls, trying not to make her voice sound frantic. As she did so, she launched another mixed wave of projectiles and lasers at Hoshimi, repositioning herself between her and Reimu.
She didn?t really know what Reimu was about to do, but she knew the second Spell Card was the signal. All she had to do was protect Reimu until it was done.
Kanako and Sanae came up beside her, throwing half-hearted waves of projectiles at Hoshimi while preparing to defend against her impending counterattack. Sure enough, once the wave of projectiles cleared, crystals began rapidly forming around Hoshimi. As had become the pattern, half of the crystals flew straight towards them, while the other half fired lasers.
Rather than dodge, as would have been easy, the three of them set up a barrier. Byakuren and Sanae layered barriers over each other, while Kanako set up a layer of onbashira behind that. The repeated sounds of impact told them quite clearly that the barriers had been penetrated, and after a few second, lasers cut through the onbashira that were blocking their view.
Shortly after the wooden pillars vanished, Eirin managed to shoot down the last of the laser-firing crystals. With a deep breath, Byakuren launched another wave of projectiles, this time focusing on stars and ignoring lasers. Sanae and Kanako sent similar waves, reading Byakuren?s attack and matching it with as dense a wave of projectiles as they could manage.
Immediately after the projectiles had fired, Byakuren charged, leaving Reimu?s defense to the other two. She couldn?t see it, and she couldn?t hear it, but she knew that this was the moment that would decide it all.
-----------------------------------
MARISA, NOW!
Reisen?s voice came over the doll, practically screaming. Of course, Marisa was already in the process of going ? she didn?t need a reminder.
The thirty seconds since Reimu began the activation of her second Spell Card had felt like an eternity, but Marisa waited patiently. As soon as the thirty seconds had passed, she saw Byakuren charge, and simultaneously began pouring magical energy into the mini-hakkero. The elemental furnace roared to life, erupting with a massive beam of light?directed exactly away from Hoshimi.
Normally, Marisa had restraints in place to absorb the shock of the Master Spark, or else she would be sent flying backwards whenever she launched one. This time, there were no restraints ? as soon as the Master Spark began, the flew through the air like a bullet.
She had been waiting on just the edge of the battlefield, just barely outside of range, but she figured she could cover the distance between her and Hoshimi in less than three seconds. The speed at which she moved was downright painful, but Marisa simply shoved the sensation to the back of her head.
One second passed. Marisa raised herself from her position lying down on her broom, preparing for the attack.
Two seconds passed. Marisa muttered, quietly enough that the winds caused by her massive speed drowned out her voice completely, the words to a powerful spell. In her mind?s eye, she could see an image of Byakuren overlaying her image of herself.
Three seconds passed. Hoshimi finally noticed her advance. She span rapidly, but it was too late. Time seemed to slow down as Marisa reached her target. Her eyes were closed, yet somehow, she could still see the expression of surprise on Hoshimi?s face.
It had worked.
Hoshimi finished turning just in time to face her, but too slow to do anything else. Marisa raised her right arm, palm forwards, and with a shout drove her hand into Hoshimi?s stomach.
The sensation was mind-numbing. It was her first time using a bodily-enhancement spell, so she had no idea how it would turn out, but the result was definitely not what she expected. The impact was like a jolt of lightning, and she could feel her mind turn to ice as the muscles in her arm tore, and the bones shattered. Vaguely, Marisa was aware that at some point Hoshimi had tried to slow the attack, but she had punched through the impediment as if it was a sheet of paper.
Though she realized the pain was there, she couldn?t feel it. All she could do was open her eyes, to see the result of her attack. Her palm was embedded a full three inches into Hoshimi?s stomach, and through the crippling pain, Marisa could feel Hoshimi?s bones shatter just as hers had.
Four seconds passed. Hoshimi was hurled backwards, carrying the full force of Marisa?s enhanced punch, plus the momentum of her forward motion caused by the Master Spark. She didn?t fly far, though. After only a dozen or so feet, she came to a dead stop, Byakuren smashing a hand into her back.
Marisa, mind still completely numb, could see the shockwave pass through Hoshimi?s body from the strike. Idly, she thought to herself that she had made a mistake ? she wasn?t just supposed to increase the output of her attack, she was supposed to increase the durability of her arm as well.
Hoshimi, now stopped dead, had an expression of shock more than of pain. As Byakuren?s attack hit her, blood sprayed from her mouth, but before she could even begin to recover, Byakuren mercilessly hammered her downwards with a two-handed smash.
Hurtling downwards, she never quite managed to reach the ground. About halfway there, an arrow from Eirin, double the size of her previous arrows, took her in the chest, hurling her back upwards into the air. Five bright red five pointed stars flew in from the sides, pinning Hoshimi between them and stopping her movement completely. She came to rest for only a moment, however, as soon after an onbashira fell from the sky, hammering Hoshimi downwards once again.
This time, she very much did hit the ground, with a sound that could be heard by all of those on the battlefield. Marisa suspected that even those at the support camp could probably hear the sickening impact. What resounded even louder, however, was Reimu?s voice.
?Spirit Sign?? Marisa looked up to watch Reimu. She had broken her previous stance, now standing with one arm at her side and the other stretching above her head. The biggest difference, however, was the light.
She was glowing. Not just a little bit, she was glowing so brightly it was hard to make out the colour of her clothes and hair. In fact, if she hadn?t heard her voice, Marisa might have doubted that it was Reimu at all. Reimu then brought her raised arm down, pointing directly at the spot where Hoshimi had fallen.
??Hakurei?s Divine Light!?
The light suddenly burst out from Reimu, forming into four distinct shapes. For the briefest of moments, it appeared as if Reimu had four massive, brilliantly shining wings. In the next instant, those four wings became beams of light, Marisa managing to see them impact the place where Hoshimi was pinned under Kanako?s pillar before the intensity of the light forced her to close her eyes.
It hurt. Even through her closed eyes, even using her arm to cover her face, the light hurt so badly Marisa?s eyes started watering. After what felt like an eternity, the light finally faded, and Marisa opened her eyes. Blinking rapidly to try and clear her vision, she looked at the spot where Hoshimi had fallen.
Lying on the ground, surrounded by little more than ash, was Hoshimi. Chains of light wrapped tightly around her, some anchored deep into the ground, others anchored in mid-air. She wasn?t moving.
They had done it.
They had, finally, won.
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Reimu slowly touched down, landing between the others who had already taken to the ground. There was no laughter or celebration going on, but everyone was smiling. Reimu understood their feelings ? it had been a long day. They didn?t really have the energy left to celebrate. Maybe the victory party would have to wait until tomorrow night.
Those present gave Reimu a nod as she approached. ?Good work everyone,? she replied, not bothering to mask her exhaustion.
?Now, you?ll have to forgive me for asking, but?what was that?? Kanako spoke up as Marisa, the last of the group, touched down to join them.
?A combination of a very good idea on Patchouli?s part, and a very bad idea on my part,? Marisa said, her voice pained. Reimu looked her way again and was shocked to see the cause of that pain.
Using her left arm, she was resting her broom over her shoulder. Her right arm, however, lay limp at her side, bleeding from dozens of places as if the skin had just split open of its own accord.
?What did you do?!? Reimu couldn?t help but shout.
?Well, uhh?? Marisa hedged a bit before responding, ?I kind of tried to copy one of Byakuren?s spells and?didn?t quite get it right??
Almost everyone stared incredulously at Marisa, for having the lack of foresight to try something new at such a critical moment. Byakuren just face-palmed. It must have seemed that much worse when you knew what exactly Marisa had done wrong.
Eirin, somewhat reluctantly, approached Marisa and inspected her arm, clearly taking no precautions to ease Marisa?s pain. After short inspection, her face turned disconcertingly grim. ?Well?it?s not permanent, but it?s broken in dozens of places. The best we can do for it here is stop the bleeding, but we?ll have to practically reconstruct the bone from scratch later??
Eirin continued mumbling to herself as she pulled a roll of bandage out from one of her pockets ? amazing how prepared she was ? and started wrapping Marisa?s arm.
?So, back to my question,? Kanako said, her face mildly amused at the goings-on in front of her. ?What exactly did you do, and what made you think to do it??
?Well, to keep it short, Patchouli guessed that Hoshimi?s defense required her to focus,? Reimu answered when she realized Marisa wasn?t going to be able to, ?and she was particularly susceptible to physical attacks, so we tried to come up with something that was both.?
?I did my best to hide Marisa ?til the last moment,? Reisen chimed in, ?but you?d be surprised how difficult it is to keep a Master Spark invisible??
?But, in the end,? Reimu continued, ?Marisa was able to get close enough to hit her before she could react thanks to Reisen?s tricks. After that, it was just a matter of hitting her hard enough that she would be too distracted from the pain to react to the next attack.?
?Which she did quite a good job of, despite the?consequences?? Byakuren added, still shaking her head.
?I see?? Kanako said, looking thoughtful, ??by following up quickly with Hijiri?s own attack, you hoped to shock her beyond defending herself.?
?And it worked splendidly,? Reimu said smugly, ?especially since you all caught on so quick that you needed to keep following it up. Keeping the attacks going until my Spell Card finished was just what we needed.?
?Speaking of which?? Sanae finally spoke up, ?what was that Spell Card?!?
Reimu grinned mischievously. ?It?s a little something a cooked up just for her. It takes pretty much everything I have, but it hits them hard, completely frying them. If they manage to survive, then it binds them in place. A perfect finisher, if I don?t say so myself.?
Sanae just shook her head, eyes wide in amazement. Truthfully, Reimu thought the spell was a bit overkill ? not that it wouldn?t be necessary to use that kind of power against Hoshimi, but more that it was dangerous to use a spell that exhausts her so much. Either way, it had worked, and she doubted she?d ever have to use it again, so she supposed it was irrelevant.
As the conversation wound down, the people from the support team arrived. Komachi and Patchouli led the group, with Alice and the Kappa not far behind. Remilia and Sakuya took up the rear, but Youmu and Yuyuko were nowhere to be seen.
?What did you do with the ghost?? Marisa asked with a wave as they arrived.
?Youmu?s taking care of her,? Komachi replied, ?I took them to the shrine to rest until we were done here.?
?You know, you really shouldn?t use other people?s houses without permission,? Reimu said flatly. Komachi just gave her a big smile.
Patchouli, briefly inspecting the spot where Hoshimi still lay a fair distance away, spoke next. ?I see it worked.?
Reimu, Marisa, and Byakuren nodded together. Patchouli nodded back, a satisfied look crossing her face, but otherwise saying nothing more.
For a moment, they all turned to look at Hoshimi. She was still lying on the ground, bound by chains of light, having yet to attempt moving. It wasn?t that surprising ? considering what they had done to her, it would be a miracle if she was even still alive. A few moments passed in silence as they watched her, before someone finally broke the silence.
?I guess that leaves only one thing left to do, then.? Eirin spoke, finishing up bandaging Marisa?s arm.
With that, everyone turned to look at the tower. The massive, jet black crystal structure looked far less imposing than it once had, considering all they had been through to get here. Without another word, Eirin raised her bow, firing an arrow of light at the tower.
The arrow impacted with a flash, but otherwise didn?t seem to have any effect.
Eirin tilted her head to the side slightly. ?Well, it looks like I?m going to need some help taking this thing apart.? That earned a couple chuckles from around the circle, and in short order everyone was preparing themselves to help out. Everyone except Marisa, who was too busy cradling her injured arm to bother.
?Alright everyone, on my mark.? Reimu raised her arms, ready to go. True, she had used almost everything she had to bring down Hoshimi in those last moments, and she suspected that many of the others had as well, but that wasn?t going to stop her from helping out in this last push. With the destruction of this tower, victory would be unequivocally theirs ? she was not going to let that happen without being a part of it.
?Three?two?? Reimu slowly counted down, gathering what little strength she had left. The faces of everyone else grew tense as they did the same.
?One?Go!!?
A veritable torrent of magic assaulted the tower. Not just the group that had fought Hoshimi, not just the groups that had participated in fighting at all, even the members of the support team dumped everything they had into destroying the tower. It was honestly completely unnecessary, but if there was a time for an unnecessary display of force, it was now.
The flood of magic tore into the tower, the flashes and explosions quickly obscuring the view of the tower itself. On and on they attacked, dumping everything they had. Stars, comets, lasers, talismans, needles, even a Gungnir or two hit the tower with immense force, and Reimu could feel the air itself shaking from the force of the blows.
After a few minutes of bullets and lasers from all colours of the rainbow pouring into the tower, Reimu had finally exhausted herself completely. As she petered out, others quickly began doing the same, and soon after the last laser, a shot from one of Alice?s dolls, signaled the last hit.
Breathing hard from over-exertion, Reimu looked up to see the work they had wrought. But as the light and debris from their explosions cleared, she was met by another wave of shock.
?the tower still stood. Not only standing, it seemed almost unscratched. There were a few minor gouges in the massive crystal, but otherwise it seemed perfectly fine. But there was something worse.
Reimu felt a sense of dread rapidly overcome her. She didn?t know what it was, or why it was so intense as to make her feel almost nauseous, but the longer she looked at the tower, the more difficult it was to shake the feeling.
They had made a huge mistake.
The tower, which was once a deep, jet black, had changed. After the debris cleared, it was clear that the tower was, despite being relatively undamaged, quite different. Rather than the jet black that had characterized it before, it was now glowing with a dull light. But that wasn?t all.
The outer layer of the tower soon started to dissolve. Normally, Reimu would have considered this a good thing, but as the crystal started to turn to brightly coloured dust, it was absorbed back into the tower ? and the tower?s glow began to brighten.
The faces of those around her seemed to vary, from confused, to grim, to afraid. But as the tower continued to brighten, none of them could bring themselves to say a word.
?And here I was, thinking I had wasted my time with needless precautions?? The voice that broke the silence?was Hoshimi?s.
Everyone?s gazes immediately snapped to her, just in time to see her finally start moving. The chains of light strained, and held her in place. ?Well, these are an awful lot stronger than I had thought?? Muttering this to herself, she attempted to stand again.
The chains strained harder, and one finally snapped, vanishing with a flash of light. As shocked as everyone else was, Reimu was doubly so. How could someone break out of those restraints? They were, quite literally, the strongest thing the Hakurei Lineage could muster ? considering she had relied directly on the power of the Hakurei lineage to create the spell. The fact that they could be broken at all?
Another chain snapped, and Hoshimi was able to rise to a seated position. With that, everyone broke out of their trance, and unleashed the rest of what they had at Hoshimi.
As per usual, the attacks stopped short. Lasers curved around her, projectiles stopped as if hitting an invisible wall, and Hoshimi continued to move. The third chain snapped, and she was able to rise to her knees.
Byakuren charged her, attempting to strike through her defense against ranged attacks. Before she could get close, a spire of crystal six feet long erupted from the ground. If it weren?t for Byakuren?s instant dodge reflex, she would have been impaled instantly. Weaving around the crystal spire, she attempted to close the gap once more, but was stopped by another. And another, and another.
Soon, spear-like crystals appeared in the air around Hoshimi, but instead of launching, each of them fired a thick purple laser. The mesh of lasers easily forced Byakuren back, while Hoshimi?s defense now, unlike before, protected even the crystals so they couldn?t be destroyed.
As Byakuren backed away, the others stopped attacking, and Hoshimi?s lasers stopped firing.
?I must admit though?? The final chain snapped, and Hoshimi finally rose to her feet. ?You guys honestly took me by surprise with that last attack.? Brushing the dirt and dust off of her dress, she looked up and met the collective gaze of those still struggling to understand what was happening.
?It?s a real shame it?s not going to work again.?
As Reimu watched Hoshimi, her feeling of fear descending into one of dread, her eye caught the tower once again. It had stopped changing shape, and was ever so slightly smaller ? in exchange, it was now shining with a brilliant white light. Just like the crystals Hoshimi used to block their magic with did.
As if it was overflowing with magical energy.
?How?how can she have such regenerated so easily from that?!? Sanae was the first to complain, but the question was already at the forefront of everyone?s minds. The attacks she had taken would have killed anyone else. What?s more, they knew from their attacks that they had dealt massive damage to her. Yet, here she was, standing like nothing had happened. Even her clothes had repaired themselves.
Hoshimi simply smiled at them.
Reimu?s mind was racing. They needed another plan, and they needed it fast. As if they hadn?t tired themselves out enough from the fight itself, they had dumped an awful lot of energy into destroying that tower ? which had failed. In sharp contrast, Hoshimi was perfectly healthy, standing in front of them good as new. She wasn?t even sweating.
And to make matters worse, the tower was now charged. It was as close to a perfect defeat as she could imagine.
?It really is Reality Manipulation, isn?t it?? Patchouli called out to Hoshimi, her voice sounding as bored as ever, despite the tension apparent in her expression. ?That?s your ability, right??
While this earned a few raised eyebrows and gasps from her own side, Hoshimi herself even seemed surprised at the declaration.
?I must say,? Hoshimi said, her voice genuinely impressed, ?that is the closest anyone has ever gotten to guessing correctly. Not quite, but you?re very close! So close the difference is almost irrelevant??
Hoshimi then floated into the air, rising ten feet or so, so she could look down on Reimu and her group. ?Well, it?s been fun. There were a couple moments along the way where I was sure you were going to figure it out, especially that moment at the end with the celestial?but it seems that it?s my win after all. But don?t worry?? Hoshimi?s expression turned from a playful smile to a wicked grin.
?I have no need to take your lives. You?ve already given me everything I need.?
With that, the ground began to shake, and instinctively everyone on the field in front of Hoshimi hovered into the air. The tower, already shining brightly enough to light up the entire field had it been night, suddenly flashed brighter, now enough to be blinding.
At the same time, a magic circle appeared above the tower. White lightning began crackling between the various parts of the magical circle and the tower, and immediately everyone present could feel the massive energy in the tower begin to collect at its tip.
?I expected more energy from you,? Hoshimi yelled over the roaring sound of the tower activating, ?but luckily I worked out a mechanism that allowed the tower to cannibalize its unnecessary components to cover the last bit of necessary energy.?
Reimu gritted her teeth. She knew she had to do something, and she had to do it now. But she couldn?t come up with something that wouldn?t just get them all killed. It was all obvious now, that Hoshimi had been playing with them, luring them into attacking the tower. She had completely fooled them all. And now that she had what she needed, she had no reason to let them off easy.
If any of them attacked, she?d respond mercilessly. On top of that, there was barely any guarantee that it would even be possible to do anything to her, and even if they could, there was no guarantee that stopping her would do anything to stop the tower.
Just as she was about to give up, Reimu saw movement out of the corner of her eye. Turning, she saw Marisa jump on her broom, take her mini-hakkero in her left hand, and quickly say one thing before flying straight up.
The noise caused by the tower activating had grown so loud that it had completely drowned out whatever she had been trying to say. But Reimu could tell, by the grin on her face, and the gleam of madness in her eyes, exactly what she wanted to say.
Don?t worry. I?ve got it covered.
Whoa, look at that progress! How much longer could this story possibly go?!
Now that NaNoWriMo is over, and tomorrow is my last day of classes, it should be pretty smooth sailling to the end of the story. I expect to have the whole story finished and posted by the end of December at the very latest. Ideally, if I can get over this cold with any sense of speed, I hope to finish writing and go into the final editing phase within a week or so.
Thanks for sticking with me so far folks, we're almost done!
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Ha! I knew she wouldn't be defeated that easily! :D
And indeed! Thank you too, for writing this wonderful, wonderful story! Wish there are more fics like this out there!
Edit:
So, I've been re-reading the Yuuka part of the story
With a frustrated sigh, she once again knocked the attack off course with her bare left hand. If she stayed where she was, she was going to have to keep blocking attacks like this to stop them from hitting the tower. It was designed to take some punishment, but now wasn?t the time for that.
Foreshadowing? :D
And I wonder if Reimu and the others' combination attack is still weaker than Yuuka's? Reimu's ultimate attack particularly since even though she goes for the kill, it still doesn't finish Hoshimi off.
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I was wondering if anyone would pick up on that ;)
Here's an early christmas present for you guys: a true double-header, instead of a single chapter split into two!
I hope you guys enjoy sitting down and reading for long periods of time!
Chapter 20 ? Gensokyo?s Eclipse
Marisa flew as fast as her broom would carry her. Well, not quite as fast ? she had learned earlier that it was a bad idea to go all out on a whim where the physical body was concerned. Paying almost no attention to her injured right arm, she managed to somehow stay balanced on her broom while stuffing her mini-hakkero into her pocket with her left hand.
DODGE, MARISA!
Before she really understood what was said, Marisa grabbed onto her broom with her good hand and did a tight barrel roll to the side, narrowly dodging a series of purple lasers.
COVER HER, NOW!
Marisa couldn?t help but wince as Reimu?s voice echoed in her head once again. She had to admit she was a little concerned about Reimu?s faith in her. After all, the only one who could possibly have any idea what she was doing was Nitori ? anyone else would just have to guess. Though, considering Reimu?s intuition, having her support was pretty encouraging regardless of how little she knew.
The thought suddenly struck her that she had absolutely no idea if what she was doing would even work. Unfortunately, she didn?t have time to second guess herself, but she would have time to at least consult an expert.
Yo, Nitori. I think you know what I plan on doing here, but?I have no idea whether it will actually work or not. Any thoughts?
Throwing a look behind her, Marisa once again rolled to the side, this time avoiding a volley of a dozen crystal shards. The sound of fighting behind her was getting intense, but she didn?t have the time to take a good look to see what was going on, let alone help them.
Uhh?I couldn?t really tell you, Nitori?s response came back after a significant delay. Theoretically there?s no problems but?do you see how much power that tower is holding? If it shoots it all at once, I can?t even promise your house will be okay.
Well, that was fantastic. Not even the foremost expert in the field was sure her plan would work. On the bright side, though, being theoretically possible was a plus.
Finally content with her altitude, Marisa turned and looked back where she had come from. She was now directly above the tower, about a hundred feet above it, and she now had a good view of the magical array that was forming. It was hard to tell from below, but from here it was obvious ? the tower was obviously constructed to hold magical energy, and this array showed that Hoshimi was planning on literally firing it all at once.
Even a hundred and fifty feet in the air, Marisa could feel tremors from the tower shaking the air around her. It was no wonder that Hell had planned such drastic measures to prevent this from firing ? even though they had unwittingly put a huge amount of magical energy into the tower by trying to destroy it, it wouldn?t be enough to cause any sort of panic. However, the tower didn?t just hold the energy ? it was acting like a lens, focusing and magnifying it. On top of that, the array forming above the tower would likely amplify the output as well. If Marisa was planning on destroying the moon, this is probably what she would have ended up with.
Marisa turned slightly to look at the battle that was even now occurring below her, just in time to see another wave of lasers come her way. Luckily, with a hundred and fifty feet between her and Hoshimi, it wasn?t that difficult to dodge around them.
Meanwhile, Reimu and the rest were swarming over Hoshimi like a?swarm of angry bees. Though their attacks were of questionable effectiveness, it did keep Hoshimi busy enough that she could only send the occasional attack in Marisa?s direction.
Another powerful tremor rocked the air, signalling that the magical array was close to completion. Reaching into her pocket again, Marisa took out the secret weapon she and Nitori had been working on.
It was a device the same size as her mini-hakkero. Actually, it was the same shape too. At Marisa?s request, Nitori had managed to model the device to look exactly like her mini-hakkero, except for the colouring. Instead of the warm, wooden colours that characterized her favourite possession, this was made of cold, hard steel. Instead of the trigrams that characterized the mini-hakkero?s outward appearance, this device had various geometric designs etched into its surface, forming a sharp, angular spiral in towards an aperture in the middle. The etchings were overlaid with black, giving the device a somewhat sinister appearance.
Marisa pointed the device, which she and Nitori had yet to give a proper name, towards the tower directly below her. Pouring just a trickle of magical energy into the device, it began to vibrate ever so slightly, activating its warm up cycle.
Marisa typically likened the effect of her mini-hakkero to the roar of a dragon. The sound it left off, the sheer feeling of overflowing power matched well with the image of the mythical beast. This, however, felt completely different. The sound this device gave off was more like a howl, a wail of some sort of creature of the abyss. As the vibrations of the device grew in strength, almost as if it was trying to match the tremors let off by the tower, the sound also increased in volume.
It was time for an all or nothing gambit, something Marisa was very used to. Except this time, she didn?t even know the odds ? and even if she won, she had no idea whether it would do them any good. Marisa shook her head to dispel the needless thoughts. There was no point worrying about what would happen after.
All she had to do was overcome the now.
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Reimu hurled another handful of talismans at Hoshimi, a small fraction of the massive wave of projectiles that was pounding down on her. As a gap opened in the projectiles, a brigade of dolls rushed Hoshimi from all sides, getting obliterated by lasers before they were able to get close. The dolls were quickly followed by another wave of fire, talismans, and other varieties of danmaku too numerous to count, which expectedly burst as they hit an invisible wall a good five feet out from where Hoshimi stood.
?It doesn?t matter if you don?t hit her!? Reimu shouted, desperately trying to keep everyone?s spirits up for at least the last stretch. ?If we can block her vision, we can do this!?
She had no idea where her confidence was coming from. Marisa was capable, but she was the last person Reimu would trust without any sort of evidence to back her up. But she was the only choice they had right now, so they had to do everything in their power to protect her until she?did whatever she was planning on doing.
The tower pulsed again, sending a tremor out intense enough to knock Reimu off balance, despite the fact she was floating in the air. Regaining her composure, she tossed another couple of handfuls of talismans at Hoshimi, specifically aiming them so that they would impact between Hoshimi and Marisa, in hopes that she would at least be able to obscure Hoshimi?s vision of her.
Suddenly, a howling sound reached Reimu?s ears. At first, she thought it was the tower, but upon looking up, she realized that the sound was actually coming Marisa. Marisa was holding out something that looked remarkably similar to her hakkero, pointing it directly at the tower. Reimu?s first thought was worry that Marisa?s plan was just to Master Spark the tower, but if whatever she was doing could produce enough of an effect to be noticed over the tremors of the tower, maybe even a Master Spark would work.
There was one problem, though. If Reimu could hear the sound coming from Marisa, then so could Hoshimi. And there was no way she was going to let Marisa do as she pleased.
?Alice, back me up!? Reimu shouted as she took off after Marisa. Almost immediately, a dozen of Alice?s dolls chased after her, one by one breaking off from their flight and blocking the space between Hoshimi and Marisa.
As they did, vibrant purple lasers half Reimu?s size began to cut their way through the air towards Marisa. Barely making it in time, Alice?s dolls managed to intercept the attacks, lasting only a split second before they burst into purple flame and fell to the ground as little more than ash. Fortunately, their distraction lasted just long enough for the others to destroy the crystals firing the lasers, and before Hoshimi could set up more, another doll would move in to take the fallen dolls? place.
It was working for now, but the dolls were being destroyed far too quickly. Reimu tried to open up as much space between her and Hoshimi as possible, but she wasn?t even going to make it above the tower by the time the last doll fell. Alice was sending more, but Reimu could tell they weren?t going to make it in time to be of any help.
Just as the last doll fell, four crystals appeared in front of Hoshimi, attaching together instead of firing individually. The combined crystals fired a laser almost twice the size of Reimu herself?but it was aimed downwards. With a sweeping motion, the laser raked across the field where the others were still pouring fire into Hoshimi. Caught off guard by the sudden attack, despite the fact almost everyone was able to dodge the sudden attack, they were sent sprawling in a desperate attempt to dodge the coming follow up.
As more crystals appeared, firing lasers at those below, the combined crystal turned up to point at Marisa. Reimu instinctively threw herself in the impending laser?s path, turning to face Hoshimi. Throwing four talismans in front of her, she brought her hands up, palms facing Hoshimi.
?Dream World: Super Duplex Barrier!?
Light from the four talismans expanded, creating a barrier between Reimu and Hoshimi, just as the massive laser ignited again. The force of the laser hammered into Reimu hard. By some miracle, the barrier held, but the force of the hit was pushing both her and the barrier backwards at an alarming pace. She couldn?t turn to see, but she could hear from the sound of what Marisa was doing that she was getting dangerously close to her.
Mere seconds before what Reimu suspected would have been a collision between her and Marisa, the laser suddenly stopped. Looking down, Reimu could see Byakuren had closed in on Hoshimi, smashing the crystal the laser was firing from. Reimu sighed in relief as Byakuren continued the attack, causing Hoshimi to flee backwards. Even after all that, it seemed she was still vulnerable to physical attacks. Like this, they would at least be able to-
Reimu?s train of thought was interrupted as Hoshimi?disappeared. In what could only be described as space folding in on itself, the air wrapped around Hoshimi and she vanished. Reimu immediately turned, heading for Marisa as fast as she could. Closing the gap of a dozen or so feet, Reimu passed Marisa just as Hoshimi appeared in the air behind her.
Crystal shards immediately appeared in the air around her and launched towards Marisa. Reimu created a weak barrier that broke almost instantly, but managed to deflect most of the projectiles. Throwing another two talismans almost simultaneously, Reimu managed to knock another pair of crystals off course, managing to kick the final crystal out of the way before it hit Marisa.
Reimu prepared herself to make a more powerful barrier as more crystals appeared around Hoshimi. At the last second, she realized it wasn?t going to be fast enough. If she was going to launch the crystals like before, Reimu would make it ? but these were turning to aim. They were definitely going to fire lasers, and there was no way Reimu could make a barrier in time.
Before the lasers could fire, Hoshimi?s eyes suddenly went wide. For some reason, instead of firing the lasers, she instead began to spin. Before she could completely turn around, Reimu?s eyes also went wide ? as Komachi appeared behind her. Placing a hand on Hoshimi?s shoulder, Komachi smiled.
?Not today,? she managed to squeeze out between breaths. Hoshimi reflexively attempted to back away from Komachi, the crystals turning to face her, but Komachi held tight to her shoulder, and soon space warped again. Just like that, Komachi and Hoshimi were gone, the crystals floating as if confused. Reimu immediately threw a wave of needles at the crystals, knocking them from the air, before turning back to face Marisa.
Beyond her, she saw Hoshimi and Komachi appear on the ground beside the tower. Komachi immediately let go of her and disengaged as a wave of projectiles, led by a brigade of Alice?s dolls, pinned Hoshimi to the ground once again.
?Get behind me, Reimu!? Marisa shouted, her voice almost drowned out by the roaring of the tower and the howling of the fake hakkero. Reimu got as close to Marisa as she could, preparing a barrier to block the incoming blast. She knew that it would be futile on its own, but maybe with whatever Marisa was doing, it would be enough?
The magical array above the tower collapsed, as if being absorbed back into the tower. The roar of the tower stopped entirely, the tremors caused by it becoming a full-on quake, shaking even the air a hundred and fifty feet in the air. Reimu could barely see due to the constant shaking, but one thing was clear ? the tower was no longer just glowing, it was so bright as to be blinding.
Marisa didn?t flinch. Pointing her fake hakkero at the tower, she held fast, and soon the wailing of the fake hakkero stopped as well. The area was cloaked in an unexpected silence, and all eyes ? including Hoshimi?s ? turned to Marisa.
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?Entropy Sign: Ethereal Black Hole!?
The feeling given off by Nitori?s device was so different as to be exactly the opposite of how her mini-hakkero worked. While hers would let out a roar, magnifying magical energy and releasing it in a blaze of glory, Nitori?s device instead seemed to suck it in like a massive whirlpool.
Soon, a very literal vortex of what could only be described as fluid blackness appeared in front of the device, steadily growing larger and larger as the device sucked in more and more magical energy from the area. Just as the vortex formed, the tower unleashed all of the magical energy it had stored.
A beam of pure white light fired directly upwards, with the sound that was closer to a dragon roaring than even Marisa?s own imagination. The beam of light impacted hard into the black vortex, pushing Marisa backwards into Reimu, pushing the pair of them dozens of feet further into the air.
But the vortex held. And not only did it hold, it began to grow. As it greedily devoured the magical energy poured into it by the tower, it rapidly increased in size, soon larger than Marisa and Reimu together, and even larger. Stabilizing at a diameter of almost thirty feet, the vortex began to spin faster and faster, instead of just growing larger. As it continued to absorb the beam of light, the force against them began to lessen, and soon Marisa and Reimu were holding their ground against it.
It didn?t stop there, though. As the pull of the vortex got stronger and stronger, Marisa could feel not just the magical energy of the tower, but also hers and Reimu?s being sucked into the vortex. She knew she was already exhausted, but the feeling of having more magical energy being torn from her brought her close to the edge of unconsciousness.
Biting her lip to keep herself focused, she held on. The tower continued to fire, and the vortex continued to spin. There was nothing any of them could do, whether it was Marisa and Reimu, those below, or even Hoshimi, but wait for the exchange to end.
Though it felt like hours, after less than half a minute, the beam of light from the tower began to thin. Marisa did her best to curb the power of the vortex, but it had gone wild thanks to the massive amount of magical energy being poured into it, so it took everything she had to wrestle any sort of semblance of control over it. Slowly but surely, the vortex began to slow, the area it covered shrinking, just as the beam of light from the tower.
Finally shrinking to the thickness of a needle, the light from the tower winked out, and with considerable effort, Marisa was able to force the vortex to do the same. Silence covered the field, no one daring to move. Everyone on the ground simply stared up at Marisa, and consequently Reimu behind her, while the two of them stared down at the tower.
The tower had returned to being a dark, glassy black. No traces of magical energy remained within it.
??you did it,? Reimu whispered, as if afraid to break the silence.
?Yeah?I did?? Marisa responded, just as incredulously. As the reality of the situation came down on her, she realized that she had, in fact, won her bet. The threat of the tower was nullified. And she was still alive. As relief washed over her at her success, a crushing wave of fatigue also assailed her. It seemed that the effect of the vortex had taken more from her than she could handle.
Marisa laughed weakly, looking up at the sky still covered in a thick red mist. ?Sorry, Reimu, but?? Marisa felt her eyes droop closed. ??I?ll have to leave?the rest to you??
After muttering these words, Marisa lost her balance on her broom, blacking out before she could even realize she had fallen.
--------------------------
Reimu touched down softly, lying Marisa on the ground as she did so. For some reason, she had passed out the instant the danger was over, and Reimu was more than happy to blame that strange hakkero-like thing for that. Especially since she felt like doing the same.
Though there was a definite feeling of relief that the tower had been stopped, it was fairly short-lived. Marisa was unconscious, Reimu wasn?t sure she?d be able to get off the ground again, and the others were, to a lesser extent, exhausted. Meanwhile, Hoshimi?
Reimu looked around, and saw everyone else was tensely watching Hoshimi, who was now standing at the foot of the tower. She didn?t seem to be doing anything ? just standing there, watching the tower. As if she was hoping it would still do something.
Reimu considered attacking her, but in the end decided it wasn?t a very smart idea. She was barely able to muster up the strength to land properly, and she doubted she could fly again. Provoking Hoshimi, who was already likely to be furious at her and Marisa, was a sure fire way to get herself killed. And it seemed everyone else shared the same opinion ? the air was filled with tension, but everyone just stood silently watching Hoshimi, waiting for her next move.
Slowly, Hoshimi turned around. Her face was blank, more of an empty expression than an unreadable one. One by one, she looked at each of the people standing before her. Reimu could feel the others? tension growing as Hoshimi?s gaze passed over them.
Finally, her gaze landed on Reimu and Marisa. After a long pause, she slowly shook her head. ?To think?after all that??
Reimu shifted in front of Marisa, so she was between her and Hoshimi. As she did, Hoshimi took a step toward them.
?Everything went so well,? she continued, ?everything followed my plan practically to the letter. I angered you just enough that you wanted me gone, scared you just enough to make you seek as much help as you could find.? As she took another step towards them, the others began to move. Surrounding Reimu and Marisa, they took up an impromptu defensive formation, however useful that was going to be.
?I gave you just enough conviction that you would fight me without holding back. I gathered as supporters those who could endanger the tower, and incapacitated the rest.? A sad smile appeared on her face as she took another step forward. ?I made sure they were just weak enough that you could overcome them if you went all out. And then I fought just hard enough that, after defeating me, you would attack the tower, too tired to think it through properly.?
Hoshimi stopped walking, raising her hands in a defeated shrug. ?But I didn?t even consider the fact that you could stop the tower after it had been charged. To think, at the very last possible moment, you found a way to stop something you could never have predicted. I guess I just have to admit it. It?s my loss.?
Reimu could tell she wasn?t the only one who couldn?t believe her ears. Had she really just admitted defeat? She couldn?t imagine a better possible outcome, and that meant she couldn?t believe that was the case.
?So?you admit you?ve lost? You?ll give up this ridiculous plan?? Kanako spoke, though like Reimu, she didn?t seem to have much confidence in what she was saying.
?Of course.? Hoshimi said, shrugging again. ?I?ve completely lost. I never had anything against you people from the start, and now that you?ve seen my hand, there?s no way it?ll work a second time. There?s nothing I can do but give up.?
Reimu could feel the others around her relax as Hoshimi spoke, but she herself began to tense up. There was something about Hoshimi?s expression?something dark behind her eyes.
?No matter how well it went, in the end, the plan failed. There?s nothing to do but throw it away.? Hoshimi?s face turned somber for just a moment before her anger began to make itself apparent. ?Now?this fight is personal.?
With that, the ground around Hoshimi began to shake. The tension in those standing around Reimu exploded, and they all took up defensive postures in front of her and Marisa. The ground around Hoshimi erupted upwards into dozens of fragments of jagged stone, each twice the size of Reimu?s head, and interspersed between them the familiar crystal shards they had been fighting against the entire time began to appear.
Without even time to panic, the stone shards flew towards Reimu. Half a dozen barriers, made from everything from magic to stone to onbashira appeared in front of them, successfully intercepting the shards of stone. Shortly after, however, the crystal shards fired their trademark violet lasers, and they easily tore apart each of the barriers.
Luckily, they had bought enough time to act. Alice?s dolls swarmed over Marisa, carrying her away from the fight, allowing Reimu to run ? unfortunately, on foot ? away from the paths of the lasers. With those two out of the way, the others scattered, and once the last of the barriers fell, the lasers scattered after them.
Waves of projectiles rained down on Hoshimi, predictably impacting on an invisible wall several feet away from her. More importantly, however, they managed to destroy the crystals surrounding her. As each of the crystals was destroyed, a new crystal would appear somewhere else, immediately firing a laser to track the person who had destroyed its previous incarnation. Luckily, this meant the crystal lasers weren?t attacking Reimu at all, as all she had to do was make sure she didn?t get caught by stray shots.
Another wave of stone shards erupted from the ground, directly pursuing those who were still showering Hoshimi in danmaku. As the stone shards passed without incident, in some places by sheer luck, Byakuren suddenly cut between the lasers and closed in on her.
Multiple crystals turned to face her, shortly before being smashed by Kanako?s onbashira. The path now clear, Byakuren lunged forward, her kick just barely falling short as Hoshimi backpedaled away from her. From seemingly nowhere, Komachi appeared behind her, scythe at the ready. Without even turning to look, four thin threads of shadow arced out from the folds in Hoshimi?s clothes, curling back behind her and striking at Komachi.
Komachi was able to block the first two threads, but as the second two came for her she was forced to teleport herself away. As she did, Byakuren closed in again, throwing a punch directly at Hoshimi?s face.
Stop.
Hoshimi?s voice echoed like thunder inside Reimu?s head, and Byakuren froze in place, fist only inches from Hoshimi?s face. Raising her palm toward Byakuren, Reimu saw something glimmer with light faintly before it exploded outwards, throwing Byakuren away.
Sanae and Reisen came down on Hoshimi from behind, a wave of talismans and bullets deflecting sideways into the ground long before reaching Hoshimi. They continued their downward movement, attempting to close in on Hoshimi as she turned to face them, but were interrupted by Hoshimi?s shadows. The threads shot out from her like lightning, three of them mercilessly impaling each of them. Reisen and Sanae both showed looks of shock on their face, shortly before the threads of shadow snapped downwards, hammering the two of them into the ground.
Hoshimi turned to face forward again as Eirin fired an arrow. The arrow punched through whatever defenses Hoshimi had effortlessly, and though she narrowly avoided what would have been a fatal hit because of her turn, the arrow still hit her arm ? with enough force to blow it completely off. Hoshimi didn?t even flinch, raising her remaining arm at Eirin.
As she did so, what Reimu could only describe as waves of stone leapt from the ground around her, enclosing Eirin in rock. The stone seemed to fuse into one enormous piece as three large crystals appeared above it, pointing down. In short order, a laser the size of a Master Spark erupted downwards, incinerating the stone prison.
Multiple onbashira flew towards the crystals, attempting to destroy them, but Hoshimi was suddenly there. Raising her remaining hand towards the incoming pillars, they each stopped a few feet from her before exploding into countless splinters. The splinters suddenly gathered in the air, launching themselves back at Kanako, but were soon buffeted away by a gust of wind.
Before Kanako could attack again, Hoshimi was suddenly behind her. Without turning to look, Kanako materialized two more onbashira, attempting to drop them on Hoshimi from above, but they quickly split from their path and hammered hard into the ground below. As they did so, another explosion of light threw Kanako into the ground after them.
Though it was getting increasingly difficult to follow Hoshimi with her eyes, she had no problem finding her after her next teleportation ? as she appeared directly in front of Reimu. She tensed to dodge backwards, cursing again the unnatural exhaustion that Marisa?s stunt had put on her, as she saw Komachi appear behind Hoshimi once again, scythe raised.
Stop.
Once again, a split second before her scythe connected, Komachi froze, her face locked in an expression of shock. As Hoshimi turned to look at her, the space around her missing right arm began to warp and twist. Threads of shadow from the folds in her clothes circled around the spot, as if they were weaving a new limb out of fabric. Within a few seconds, her arm had reappeared, even the cloth of her dress undamaged.
?I know it was the blonde girl that stopped the tower,? Hoshimi said, a clear undercurrent of anger in her cold voice. ?But if it wasn?t for you?? Hoshimi backhanded Komachi with her newly formed arm, sending the shinigami flying like a bullet off into the distance. ?And you?? Hoshimi turned back to look at Reimu, raising her right palm towards her. ??everything would have been fine.?
Reimu tried to move, realizing too late that she was frozen in place ? just like Komachi, and Byakuren earlier, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn?t move an inch. She couldn?t even look away as a small orb of light, no bigger than a small fruit, appeared in front of Hoshimi?s palm.
?Good bye, little shrine maiden,? Hoshimi said, no trace of humor on her face.
But as the small sphere of light trembled, ready to explode, Reimu?s eyes went wide. In the span of less than a second, the space behind Hoshimi suddenly tore open, revealing an inky blackness?filled with eyes. The gap expanded to be larger than a person, then moved, and Hoshimi turned in surprise as she was suddenly surrounded by darkness. As soon as she was beyond its edges, the gap snapped shut, and Hoshimi was gone.
Reimu lost her balance as whatever was holding her in place vanished, and she fell to one knee. She looked around hesitantly, but there was no sign of Hoshimi. She was greeted instead by a much more difficult sight ? everyone around her, lying on the ground, unmoving.
?Don?t worry, Reimu,? Yukari?s voice broke her thoughts from racing ahead, ?everyone is still alive. So far, at least.?
Reimu stood back up again, turning to see Yukari sitting on the edge of another gap, this one coloured a deep violet instead of black. ?What do you mean, ?so far??? Reimu asked, her voice shaky.
?We?re far from done here,? Yukari said dismissively. ?I sent her away, but it?ll only be a matter of time before she comes back. Anyone else, and they would be stuck there until I released them, but her?I doubt we?ll have more than a few minutes.?
Reimu looked around again. They were in shambles. The only ones who were still standing were Reimu and Yukari, as well as Alice, Patchouli, and the Kappa who had prioritized getting the few wounded they could reach away from the battle.
As she looked around, gaps suddenly started opening under each of the fallen. Gently, they slipped below the surface into the violet space below, and the gaps closed. ?I?ll send them somewhere safe for now.?
Reimu suddenly realized that there were a few people missing. ?Wait, what happened to Remilia??
?She decided she wouldn?t be able to keep up, so her and Sakuya retreated to take care of the injured away from here. In fact, I?m sending these people to the Scarlet Devil Mansion now so that they can be taken care of properly.?
Reimu nodded, giving a tired sigh. She was at the end of her rope. ?Why did you wait so long to help??
Yukari?s expression remained passive. ?There was no point in helping earlier. Before the tower fired, you were able to hold her off on your own, and afterwards, she was too ready to deal with anything I could have done. She let her guard down at the very end, so I was able to save you, but that won?t work again.?
Reimu couldn?t work up the will to argue. After what had just happened, she had little expectation that Yukari would have made much of a difference. So many of them had been knocked out so quickly, it was hard to process. As she struggled to think of anything they could do, she heard the sound of rock crumbling. Turning to look, the stone prison that had encased Eirin, which was now mostly flat, was breaking apart and falling outwards.
In short order, Eirin emerged, dusting herself off as she walked out towards Reimu and Yukari. She was clearly in pretty bad shape, but she was a lot better off than most of those who had fought.
?I?m glad to see you?re alright,? Eirin said as she approached.
?I?m glad to see you?re alive,? Reimu responded tiredly.
Eirin sniffed at that. ?I did what I could to stop the attack, but it wasn?t quite enough. Luckily, that stone shield she made blocked enough of the laser that I was alright. What?s happened??
?Yukari?s gapped her away somewhere. She says she?ll be back any minute now.?
Eirin sighed, massaging her temple with her right hand. ?So, do we have any?? She trailed off, her face blanching, as she looked at Yukari. Reimu turned to look, and she could feel herself do the same.
Yukari was staring off into the distance, her eyes wide. It was hard to say whether from fear or surprise, but whatever it was, it was not something pleasant.
?What?s wrong, Yukari?? Reimu asked, a strong sense of urgency in her voice.
?Eirin,? Yukari said, ignoring Reimu, ?can you still use that spell you used before, to seal the Earth off from the Moon??
Eirin paused for a moment before responding. ?It would take some time, but yes. Why??
?How much time??
?Depends on the area. If you want me to seal the whole Earth, it?ll take me a few hours. If it was just this field?maybe ten minutes or so??
Yukari nodded. ?Take Reimu. Get out of here and get ready to seal off this entire area. Something is coming?I can?t tell you whether it?s good or bad, but whatever it is, it feels?very similar to Hoshimi. Hoshimi has almost escaped, I can feel her coming close, but?this is something different.?
At that, Reimu couldn?t help but gape. Something else was coming that was the same as Hoshimi? As Reimu considered the implications, a tremor shook the air. The holes in the red mist, which had begun to dissipate slowly once Remilia had left, showed that the sky itself was growing dark. Was this something Hoshimi was doing, or was it that ?something else? Yukari was talking about?
?You realize, if she can break out of wherever you put her, she can almost definitely break out of my seal, correct?? Eirin said, though her gaze was already darting around the field, analyzing it.
?That?s okay. I will be inside, so I should be able to keep her distracted enough to prevent her from escaping.? Another tremor shook the air, and this time the ground as well, almost knocking Reimu from her feet.
Eirin turned to look at Yukari again, a hard expression on her face. ?Getting yourself killed won?t help us, you know.?
Yukari gave a short laugh, though it was painfully devoid of humor. ?I have no intentions of dying. But us two are the only ones who can do anything at this point, so we have to do something.?
Eirin nodded, grabbing Reimu?s arm and pulling her along as she started walking away.
?What? Yukari this is crazy!? Reimu shouted at her, stumbling as Eirin pulled her along. ?There?s no way you can fight her by yourself, let alone two of her!? Yukari continued ignoring Reimu, turning to look at the spot where Hoshimi had disappeared.
?YUKARI!? Reimu shouted, barely noticing when Eirin let go of her arm. When she did notice, she turned angry eyes at her. ?You can?t seriously be planning on sealing her away on her own??
Eirin?s expression was hard, determined. ?Of course not.? Eirin clapped her hands together in front of her, closing her eyes. For a brief moment, light flashed out from her, expanding quickly into a sphere that encompassed most of the field, with Yukari at its center.
And Reimu and Eirin just barely inside.
----------------------------
The air cracked like glass. A screeching sound, like metal being torn apart, filled the air. The boundary trembled slightly, before exploding outwards, freeing Hoshimi into Gensokyo once more.
Hoshimi looked around her, taking stock of her surroundings. She was back where she had been standing right before being sent to that?place, with maybe five minutes having passed. In that time, almost everyone who she had been fighting had vanished completely. However, in their place, a new youkai stood ? well, floated ? in front of her, her expression unreadable, a parasol resting on her shoulder.
?I take it you were responsible for that little trick?? Hoshimi asked of the new youkai.
The youkai watched her blankly, not responding. Hoshimi sighed. The time it had taken for her to break out of that barrier had given her the chance to cool her head. This woman was clearly quite strong, on the same level as that Yuuka Kazami. She may not be comparable to Hoshimi herself, but it would only take one mistake for her to lose, no matter how much she outclassed her opponent.
?Ah,? Hoshimi said, the facts finally clicking into place, ?you must be Yukari Yakumo. I?ve been wondering when you would show up.? Yukari continued to stare silently at her. Well, so be it. If she didn?t want to be civil, then Hoshimi didn?t mind. Raising a hand towards her, Hoshimi spoke again. ?Well then, if that?s how it?s going to be, let?s fi-?
Hoshimi barely caught herself from stumbling as the ground shook with a massive tremor. A feeling of tremendous?familiarity struck her as she regained her composure. What was that? Her memory was still fragmented and unreliable, but she knew for sure that she had felt this feeling before.
Was this something Yukari was doing? She had reacted to it similarly to herself, meaning it seemed to have taken her by surprise as well. Whatever it was, Hoshimi felt like Yukari was on guard against it ? and that confused her more than anything. Either way, her instincts told her that being on guard was the right decision. She didn?t remember clearly, but unlike the others she had fought so far, there was a very definite feeling coming from whatever it was ? the feeling that a threat was approaching.
?So, I take it that wasn?t your doing?? Yukari finally spoke, confirming that she as well had nothing to do with it. Hoshimi then realized that the sky had turned dark ? she hadn?t seen the sky for a while, what with that strange red mist the vampire had released, but now that it had mostly dissipated, she could clearly see the sky had turned?black. The sun was still there, though it shone faintly, cloaking in the area in darkness as if during an eclipse.
Hoshimi braced herself as she felt another tremor coming. Whatever it was that was causing these tremors, it was close. Lightning sparked in the air above Yukari, circling around a particular spot. As another tremor, even more powerful than the last, shook the area, it was clear that spot was where it was coming from. This time, both Hoshimi and Yukari had felt it coming from far enough away that they were able to keep steady.
The tremor didn?t subside though. As it reached its apex, a red-black orb of light, no larger than Hoshimi?s fist, appeared in the air where the tremors were originating. The tremors weakened as the light expanded into a straight, horizontal line, ten feet across. Hoshimi and Yukari both watched the phenomenon with their guards up, tensely waiting for what would happen next.
Suddenly, Hoshimi was overcome by a tremendous pressure. It weighed down on her, like an unnatural fear, as if she was suddenly bound in chains. For the first time in her life, Hoshimi felt?inferior.
No. No, it wasn?t the first time. Hoshimi?s eyes widened as she recognized the feeling, vivid memories suddenly jumping to the surface. Suddenly, it all became clear ? she knew exactly where this pressure was coming from. She knew exactly what was going to happen next. Memories of the time before she had been sealed away flooded back by the hundreds, all upon the realization of what was happening.
The line of black-red light expanded outwards, like an eye opening, causing the tremors to briefly intensify. Lined by that all too familiar light, an eye-shaped aperture, just large enough for a person to walk through, stood in the air before her.
And standing within it was someone she instantly recognized as a Goddess.
Who could it be?!
Next chapter is going up in a minute or two, formatting now.
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THE MOMENT YOU HAVE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR
HAS ARRIVED
Chapter 21 ? And the Dawn Will Come
Flandre gripped tightly on to the gate guard?s hand.
It had been a considerably long time since she had last been able to see. She had been too distraught to count the days, so she didn?t even know if it had been for very long. It felt like forever. Every night, she struggled to sleep, desperately wishing that she?d wake up and everything would be fine, and every morning she woke up to the dreaded realization that she still couldn?t see. Every day had proved to be an emotional rollercoaster.
Flandre couldn?t help but wonder what a rollercoaster was as the thought crossed her mind. Apparently, it was a phrase that had been picked up from the outside world ? no one in Gensokyo, according to her sister, had ever seen a rollercoaster themselves. Whatever it was, it seemed to be a bad thing, if the phrase ?emotional rollercoaster? was any indication.
Flandre took a deep breath. This is what the others had told her ever since she stopped being able to see ? take deep breaths, try to relax, let your mind wander. Someday, she would be able to see again, and if it didn?t wear off on its own, then Patchy would be able to fix it for her. Everything would be alright, all she had to do was be patient.
It was something she had to remind herself more and more often lately. When her sister had left the mansion to go after the lady in black, she had taken almost everyone other than the fairy maids with her. The only person who had stayed behind to keep her company was the gate guard, and though she didn?t seem particularly happy to be left out, Flandre didn?t know what she would do if she had been left alone as she was.
Flandre squeezed the gate guard?s hand gently. ?Hey, Meiling. How long has my sister been gone??
Meiling gave a quiet hum. ?Maybe?a week and a half??
?Are they coming back soon??
?Yes,? she said with a strange firmness. ?They should come back today.?
Flandre immediately perked up. ?Oh? Are you sure it?s today??
?Definitely.? Once again, she seemed a bit too serious. She wondered why that was.
?If they are coming back today, can we go outside and greet them??
Meiling gave a short laugh, patting Flandre?s head. ?They will be coming back today, but probably not for another few hours yet. It takes time to travel, you know??
?That?s okay,? Flandre said, ?we?re just going to be sitting around waiting anyways. Why can?t we wait out front where we can see them?.err?where you can see them right away??
Meiling paused for a moment. ?Well, I suppose you?re right,? she said with what Flandre imagined was a big smile. ?No difference in waiting around in here from waiting around out there. Come on, let?s go.? With that, the gate guard tugged on her hand slightly, prompting Flandre to stand up and start following her.
She had to admit the current situation was a little frustrating. She was finally allowed to go outside, but she was still blind. She realized she was mostly being allowed out because she was blind, but the situation still irked her.
Flandre heard the sound of a large door opening as Meiling came to a brief stop. A wave of fresh air washed over the two of them, which Flandre breathed in deeply, expelling it with a great sigh. She was glad there were some things you could enjoy without being able to see.
Meiling?s grip suddenly tightened. For some reason, she hadn?t walked through the now open door yet. Flandre tried to look at her, but obviously, she saw nothing. She pulled on Meiling?s hand, but just before she could ask her what happened, she felt a sharp pain in her head.
Wincing, she grabbed her forehead with her free hand, gritting her teeth against the sudden pain. It wasn?t particularly intense, but it was so sudden that it had slammed her train of thought to a complete halt.
Then, something inside her head snapped, like a tightly drawn rope that had suddenly given way. The sensation lasted only an instant, and as it faded, so did the pain. Dropping the hand from her forehead and opening her eyes, she was suddenly assaulted by a blinding light.
Instinctively, she winced again, covering her eyes with her arm. Almost instantly, her eyes went wide with surprise. She could see. For no apparent reason, she could see. Gradually, she lowered her arm protecting her eyes, and though she had to squint, she could definitely make out the interior of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, the front door, and a little further away, the path leading into the garden.
Flandre?s heart soared. She was at once inundated by feelings of unmatched relief and boundless excitement. She had been blind for so long, but she could finally see again! As her eyes gradually adjusted to the light, she let go of Meiling?s hand and slowly, carefully, made her way outside.
She turned to Meiling to tell her the good news, but she froze as she saw the gate guard?s face.
She knew she had been injured earlier, but aside from a bandage or two, she seemed perfectly healthy. What was worse was the expression she had ? one of complete and total fear, mixed with an equal portion of dread.
With the words once again dying on her lips, Flandre turned to see what Meiling was looking at.
Out in the courtyard, she saw a number of familiar faces. Her sister, the head maid, and Patchy. All of them were walking towards the mansion. However, seeing her sister, any sense of excitement at their return died immediately.
Patchy seemed, more or less, fine. The maid, too, had some burn marks and cuts on her clothes, but otherwise just looked tired. Her sister, though?
Her clothes were burned and torn in dozens of places. Her arms and face were covered in cuts, many of which were still bleeding, and she had more than one deep gash on her body. What little of her clothes remained in good shape had been soaked with blood that she couldn?t help but conclude was her own. And her face was so tired. She looked like she hadn?t slept for weeks, and she needed the maid?s help just to stand, let alone walk.
Flandre stood frozen as she watched them slowly make their way towards the mansion. They managed to cover half the distance before any of them noticed her watching them, at which point Meiling instantly snapped out of her shock and ran down to help them.
Remilia looked up at Flandre with a tired smile. ?Hey, you seem to be doing better.?
Flandre slowly approached them, still too shocked to speak. As she got close, she opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. Remilia gave a weak laugh, placing her free hand reassuringly on Flandre?s shoulder.
?Don?t worry. All of us are going to be okay, there?s nothing to worry about.?
Flandre immediately felt relief flood her. She couldn?t put it in to words, but she was terrified. Hearing that her sister was going to be okay was all she needed to help her calm down. She knew her sister would never lie to her.
??is it over?? Meiling asked quietly, trading places with the maid as she headed into the mansion to get more help. Remilia?s expression turned sour, but she didn?t say anything. Instead, Patchy spoke up.
?No. We managed to neutralize the threat of the tower, but?Hoshimi herself is proving to be a problem.?
?How much of a problem?? Meiling asked, her voice slightly tinted with hesitation.
?Well??
Patchy turned to look at the courtyard behind her, where suddenly a series of large, violet gaps opened up in the air. Out of each one, a single person was gently lowered to the ground. Each one of them was badly injured, and most of them seemed to be unconscious. Flandre was, once again, overcome by shock.
A few moments after the injured started appearing in the courtyard, Sakuya and a flock of fairy maids came flying ? some metaphorically and some literally ? out of the mansion and immediately began tending to them.
Seeing Flandre?s expression, Remilia immediately tried to comfort her. ?Don?t worry, Flan. They?re going to be okay too. Sakuya will take care of them.?
Flandre just shook her head. ?What?happened?? I thought this couldn?t happen with the Spell Card rules?? she spoke in little more than a mumble, eyes transfixed on the increasing number of wounded appearing in the courtyard.
??we were fighting someone who doesn?t follow the Spell Card rules. This is what happens when people don?t follow the rules.? Remilia spoke with an uncharacteristic bitterness, as if she was regretting something.
Flandre, on the other hand, felt something hot and sharp start growing in her chest. ??who?? she mumbled. Not getting a response, she turned to her sister. ?Who did this?? Remilia looked away with a conflicted expression, unable to meet Flandre?s gaze. But she could see the answer in her downcast eyes.
??was it that lady in black?? Flandre all but whispered. Remilia nodded slowly, her gaze still averted.
The instant she had confirmation, the burning feeling in her chest exploded.
She had hurt her sister, she had hurt the gate guard, even the maid looked a little hurt. And all these people, so hurt she couldn?t even tell if they were going to survive. All of this because she just wouldn?t follow the Spell Card Rules.
She knew this would happen. This is why she had been told so many times how important the rules were. All of her toys broke, because she didn?t know how to go easy on them. But as long as Flandre could follow the Spell Card Rules, she didn?t need to worry about the people she was playing with breaking ? the Rules would protect them. More than anything, that was the one lesson her sister had made sure she learned well.
But this person didn?t follow them. She didn?t care if people got hurt. In fact, she probably hurt all of these people on purpose. It was unforgivable. She couldn?t understand why anyone would be so vicious, so heartless, and she almost didn?t want to believe it was true. But every time she doubted, the wounded in front of her reminded her of how true it was.
Gritting her teeth, clenching her hands into fists so tight it was starting to hurt, shaking with anger, Flandre took a step forward. She didn?t care anymore. About the rules, about staying in the mansion, about anything. This person had hurt so many people because she had refused to follow the rules, and Flandre was going to make sure that she paid.
The problem was, of course, that she had no idea where she was. Turning to her sister, who had apparently been attempting to calm her down the entire time, Flandre met her gaze, and she could feel Remilia recoil slightly as she did so.
?Where is she?? Flandre asked in a quiet voice.
?Flandre, you can?t,? Remilia replied, the familiar firmness returning to her voice. ?There?s no way we can let you fight her by yourself, not after all we?ve seen her do. Plus, you couldn?t get there fast enough anyways.?
?I don?t care,? Flandre said, letting her anger show in her voice. ?I?m going anyways. Just tell me where she is.?
Remilia?s face hardened. ?Flandre, I already said-? Before she could finish talking, Patchy put a hand on her shoulder, and whispered something into her ear. Remilia turned to her with a shocked expression, replying quietly enough that Flandre couldn?t hear what she was saying. Patchy just nodded, a serious look on her face.
Remilia sighed, crossing her arms in front of her ? an action that required her to let go of Meiling, almost causing her to fall over. Regaining her balance, she scratched her head.
?But even if we let her go, there?s no way?? she trailed off again, her eyes widening in surprise. Pulling out an unfamiliar doll, she quickly adopted a mischievous grin.
?Alright, Flan. You can go. But it would take too long to fly there by yourself, so we need another way to get you there.?
Flandre was torn between relief not having to disobey her sister, and frustration that there was no way for her to reach the battle in time.
?Oh, but don?t worry,? Remilia said, her grin widening. ?I?ve got a plan.?
------------------------------
Shinki took a step forward, clearing the portal and setting foot in Gensokyo.
The portal behind her closed with a dull sound. Turning, she looked over the field, eyes resting briefly on the two directly in front of her. One she recognized as the self-styled guardian of Gensokyo, though she couldn?t say she had personally met her before. The other, dressed entirely in black, was obviously Hoshimi. Further in the distance behind the two of them were a shrine maiden and another woman who seemed foreign to both Gensokyo and Makai.
She immediately snapped across the field, appearing a few feet in front of the distant pair. Caught by surprise, the shrine maiden involuntarily stumbled backwards, managing to barely catch herself before she fell.
?You must be the current Hakurei Shrine Maiden, yes?? she asked, making her voice imperious, yet not condescending. The shrine maiden took another involuntary step backwards as she nodded. She seemed to be completely awestruck, though Shinki had to admit she was impressed that she was standing her ground as well as she was. Especially considering her current condition.
Nodding to herself, the she continued. ?You may call me Shinki. I apologize for the delay, but I have come to?deal with Hoshimi. I?m sure you have plenty of questions, but they can wait until later.? The shrine maiden could do nothing but nod again. Seeing her confirmation, Shinki turned to other woman. Her eyes narrowed, realizing that she was building a rather complex spell of some sort. It seemed to be some sort of massive seal, probably designed to seal off an area rather than an individual.
?I see what you are planning, and it?s a good idea. I will give you the signal when the most opportune time to activate the seal will be.?
The woman nodded. ?Are you saying you can actually beat Hoshimi?? she asked somewhat tentatively. Still, the fact she could speak at all meant she was doing better than most.
Shinki gave the two of them an appraising look. ?I?ve done it once before, so I don?t see why not. It might be a little difficult to do it alone though?the air in Gensokyo doesn?t suit me very well.? Without a word, she turned and snapped away, back to where she had first appeared.
Almost immediately after she stopped moving, the youkai spoke. ?Who?are you?? Her voice was tinged with suspicion, and surprisingly, not with fear. It was rare for her to come across someone that could resist her aura ? she would most likely prove to be a very useful ally in this fight.
?My name is Shinki. You may have heard of me.? Shinki smiled inwardly as she saw the youkai?s eyes go wide. Good, she was familiar with who she was. That would hopefully move things along quite well. ?I?m going to need your help in defeating this one. Please lend me your strength.?
The youkai stared suspiciously at her at first, but soon shifted her gaze back to Hoshimi. ?Yukari Yakumo. And for the first time, it seems I?m getting caught in something bigger than myself.?
Shinki smiled. ?Don?t worry, I?ll answer any questions you have later. First, however?? Turning, she looked at Hoshimi ? and was greeted with a very unexpected expression.
She had expected anger, or fear, or hate. But instead, all she saw was surprise, shock. She hadn?t moved from her spot since Shinki had appeared, instead spending the entire time staring at her with wide eyes.
?She?s been stuck like that for a while now,? Yukari said dryly. ?I?d call it an opportunity if I trusted her to stay like that.?
As if on cue, Hoshimi broke out of her trance. Her surprise and shock were quickly replaced by a vicious expression, her eyes full of hate as they met Shinki?s gaze.
?You?again?why???
Shinki returned Hoshimi?s gaze with a steely gaze of her own. ?Naturally, it?s my responsibility to deal with you. Did you honestly think I?d let you roam free??
Hoshimi responded with a low laugh. ?I remember now. I had struggled so hard to remember what had happened before I was put in that awful place, but now?just seeing your face, I remember. I remember!?
Half a dozen shards of stone, each the size of a person?s forearm, erupted from the ground around Hoshimi and flew at Shinki. Raising a hand, Shinki blocked the shards of rock with a simple barrier, causing each of them to shatter on impact.
Not waiting for Shinki?s response, Hoshimi leapt backwards into the air, this time molding the air into shards of crystal. In quick succession, each crystal fired a thick purple laser, which bit into Shinki?s barrier. The fourth laser managed to punch through, though it still went wide, but it was enough to bring the barrier down altogether, forcing Shinki into the air to dodge the follow-up.
Summoning four orbs of red-black light around her, Shinki used them to fire four similarly coloured lasers, each the size of her head, towards Hoshimi. Two of the lasers crashed into a large crystal wall that formed in front of them, while the other two were deflected away by seemingly nothing.
Hoshimi smiled, likely pleased that she came out of the first exchange unharmed. Shinki, on the other hand, remained expressionless. As expected, Hoshimi still fought with the same old tricks. Fortunately, she wouldn?t have to rely on the same tactics to beat her this time.
?After all that, I was hoping for something a bit more?effective.? Yukari floated in the air casually beside Shinki, though still far enough away that they wouldn?t collide if they were forced to move quickly.
?How long have you been fighting her?? Shinki replied dryly, ?Even you should have figured out that head-on attacks just don?t work on her.?
?Then what was the point of that?? she replied, her expressionless face doing a poor job of masking the humor in her voice.
?It seems you?re just as weak as you always were, Goddess,? Hoshimi said with a sneer. ?Are you sure two on one is enough??
Shinki replied with a flat expression. ?You?ve already lost, Hoshimi. I?m only fighting you again out of courtesy.? Hoshimi?s eyes narrowed at that, piquing Shinki?s curiosity. ?Well, that was supposed to be a bit more subtle. Did something happen before I arrived??
?She attempted to fire a burst of magical energy from that tower,? Yukari said waving idly at the massive black crystal obelisk adorning the center of the field. ?Needless to say, we stopped her.?
?Just the three of you? That?s quite the feat.?
?Well, there were about a dozen of us until just before you showed up.?
Shinki gave Yukari a sidelong glance. ?I see.?
After speaking, a small violet gap opened up beside her. Out of the gap dropped a doll, dressed strikingly similarly to Alice. Taking the doll in hand, she immediately heard Alice?s voice echo in her head.
Lady Shinki! You came!
Shinki couldn?t help but crack a smile at the overly enthusiastic voice. Not the time, Alice, she sent back, we have work to do.
Right! Though?there?s not much we can do at this point. We?ll leave the fighting to you two, but feel free to use the dolls to communicate! With that, Alice?s voice snapped off, and Shinki turned her attention back to the matter at hand.
And her timing couldn?t have been better, as she cast another barrier to block a volley of incoming shadows, needles numbering in the hundreds, aimed at her and Yukari. The shadows dug into the barrier, but before it could crack under the pressure, Shinki responded with another four lasers, tearing through her own barrier and forcing Hoshimi onto the defensive.
As the shadows dissipated, Yukari crossed her arms in front of her. ?You know, I think Hoshimi was right. Fighting two on one seems like a bad idea.?
?Oh? And do you have a third person to join us?? Shinki replied, raising an eyebrow.
?Actually,? Yukari replied with a smile, ?I kind of do. But before that, since I doubt we?ll have much time to talk once she shows up?what?s the battle plan??
Shinki eyed Hoshimi carefully. She seemed to still be dealing with the shock of her memories returning ? an advantage she had not expected to have when she first decided to come fight her ? and despite her tough words, she was still cautious of attacking Shinki. Normally, not a bad idea, but in this particular fight, time was on their side, not hers.
?Keep her pinned. Don?t let her leave this field, no matter what. I?ll handle the rest.?
Yukari nodded as Hoshimi summoned more crystal shards. Half of them launched themselves towards the two of them, while the other half fired lasers. Rather than block the incoming attacks, Shinki and Yukari simultaneously dodged in opposite directions, easily clearing the attack. At the same time, a larger than normal violet gap opened up a significant distance behind Hoshimi.
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Flandre flew.
She had never flown as fast before, mostly because if she had done so in the mansion, she would have been running into walls. But the exhilaration of going fast was lost to her, as was the unease of flying through this strange purple space, filled with eyes turning to watch her as she passed. Her mind was focused ? if she kept flying forward, she would find the one responsible for all of this.
Suddenly, a whole opened up in the space in front of her, sunlight streaming through. Within seconds, Flandre was free of the purple space, and catapulting through an unfamiliar place. There was one familiar thing about it though ? in front of her was the lady in black.
The one who had made her blind. The one who had hurt her sister, and all the other people at the mansion. The one who was trying to kill everyone. Without hesitation, without even uttering a single word, Flandre reached out and crushed the woman?s ?eye.?
The woman immediately lost her balance, falling a few feet from the air before catching herself. Her ?eye? had resisted ? something was stopping Flandre from crushing it entirely. The woman immediately whirled around in the air, but Flandre hadn?t stopped for a second ?Flandre was on her, Laevateinn in hand, slashing with all her strength. The woman?s reaction was slow, but in time for her to dodge most of the attack, taking only a grazing blow to the torso as she dodged upwards.
Flandre immediately spun, reaching a hand out again. If she couldn?t destroy her all at once, she?d do it in little bits. Clenching her fist, she watched with a dark satisfaction as the woman?s arm exploded violently. Surprisingly, there was no blood, and the pieces simply dissolved away into darkness as they fell. Similarly, the woman seemed less in pain from the event, and more shocked.
Immediately after losing her arm, a large number of crystals appeared around her. The whole group launched themselves towards Flandre, but with a single wave of her Laevateinn, the crystals were carried away in a wave of fire and explosions, clearing a path for Flandre to charge again. Ignoring the lingering fire from the explosion she had just caused, she immediately flew forward.
Punching through the cloud left by the explosion, she was once again immediately on top of the woman, who in the intervening time had somehow managed to get her arm back. Ignoring that, Flandre swung Laevateinn down at her, this time easily striking her in the middle of her-
Stop.
Barely an inch from the woman?s head, Flandre froze. Her entire body was completely stuck, as if she was trapped in a solid block of ice. As much as she struggled, she couldn?t move a hair.
?So it?s you,? the woman said, raising a hand towards Flandre. ?I guess I?ll need to deal with you a bit more permanently this-?
Her eyes opening wide, the woman dodged to the side a split second before four red-black lasers struck her from directly above her. Narrowly dodging, she turned to look up at the source of the lasers, seeing a woman in long, flowing red robes. What she did not see, however, was the purple gap that opened up right beside her?and another in the path of the lasers.
Erupting from the gap not three feet away from her, the lasers took the woman completely by surprise, knocking her sideways. The instant she was struck, Flandre was freed, and she immediately swiped her wand at the spot where the woman was. Explosions resounded, but she could tell that none of them had hit their mark ? there seemed to be some sort of invisible barrier protecting the woman now.
?Well done, little one,? the woman in red robes said, descending right beside her. Flandre could feel a strong pressure from her, but it wasn?t enough to dull her anger. She could be afraid of this person later ? right now she needed to focus.
?How? How do I stop her from making me stuck?? She didn?t know who this person was, but they were clearly out to stop the woman in black as well. Since she seemed to be able to get her?unstuck, hopefully she could figure out how to do it herself.
?If she stops you, she can?t defend from my attacks. If she defends from my attacks, she can?t stop you. Just keep doing what you?re doing, and we?ll win this.? With that, the woman in red floated away, firing more lasers at the woman in black.
Flandre nodded, ignoring the fact the woman was already gone, and launched herself at the woman in black again. As she did, she saw the lasers deflect off of the air beside her, and at the same time dozens of tiny, needle-like shadows leapt out from the woman in black towards her. Flandre almost moved to attempt to dodge, but before she could, a purple gap opened in front of her, and she involuntarily plunged inside.
Before she could even consider what to do now that she was back in the purple space, a whole opened up again, and she was looking down at the woman in black from behind. Flandre smiled despite herself. It seemed there were quite a few people working on her side, and it was going to make punishing this woman in black that much easier.
Immediately out of the gap, Flandre reached forward and crushed the ?eye? in one of the woman?s arms again. As expected, it exploded in a burst of shadows, causing her to stagger again. Flandre continued her forward flight, slashing with her wand again. As before, the woman dodged at the last moment, but this time she was intercept by another series of red-black lasers. Flandre followed up with another wave of her Laevateinn, but again, the explosions were deflected away from their target by something unseen.
Flandre readied herself. She was used to the woman?s movements now. She was a lot faster than Flandre had given her credit for, but she was a vampire ? one of the strongest youkai in all of Gensokyo. Just like her sister said, there was no one she couldn?t beat. All she had to do was move a little bit faster, hit a little bit harder.
A massive volley of purple lasers fired from the spot where the woman in black was hovering. Caught completely off-guard, Flandre did her best to dodge, but it wasn?t like the danmaku she was used to. The lasers were too thick, the spread too wide ? it wasn?t an attack that was meant to be ?fair,? the same way Spell Cards were. It was meant to be an all-out, fatal attack.
Unable to dodge more than the first two lasers, Flandre braced herself for impact, but instead found herself suddenly suspended in purple space again. And once again, she emerged back into the real world before she could get her bearings, this time appearing directly behind the woman in red, who was holding both of her hands in front of her to create a magical barrier. Though it seemed to be doing the job, it was only doing so barely ? even Flandre, who rarely saw any magic other than her own, could easily spot the flaws and cracks appearing in the barrier.
As soon as she righted herself from her surprise teleport, Flandre swung her wand again, causing a series of explosions around the woman in black. The purple lasers quickly stopped, and Flandre used the opening to barrel towards her once again, this time under the cover of the woman in red?s lasers.
The woman in black quickly recovered from the explosions, and as before, her arm had returned to normal. A series of crystals appeared around her, aimed at Flandre once again, but they were destroyed by the red-black lasers firing around her. With a shout, the woman in black threw her arms outwards, knocking the lasers away as she created more crystals, but before they could fire lasers of their own, Flandre had already disappeared into a purple gap.
This time, however, another gap didn?t open up in front of her. Dozens of them did. Through each one, Flandre could see the woman in black, now whirling wildly, trying to determine through which of the gaps Flandre would emerge. Flandre smiled ? whoever was in charge of these gaps was quite clever. She decided she could throw a little something in to the mix as well. Before emerging from the gap, Flandre drew a spell card ? Four of a Kind.
Three clones of her immediately materialized beside her, each heading through different gaps. She herself picked yet another, coming out almost directly above her. The woman was fast, though, whirling through the air and throwing shards of crystal and purple lasers at each of the clones in turn. Seeing that she would get to Flandre before she could reach her for the decisive blow, Flandre fell back on her original plan ? she hurled the Laevateinn at her.
Both hands now free, she acted quickly. As the woman turned towards her, Flandre crushed one of her arms. The woman didn?t even flinch as more crystals appeared in the air around her, but before they could fire, more red-black lasers cut them down. The woman saw the Laevateinn hurtling towards her, but before she could make to dodge, Flandre used her other hand to crush the ?eye? in her chest again.
As before, the ?eye? resisted. She wasn?t able to completely crush it, destroying the woman, but it caused her to flinch. Whatever it was that she had managed to do, it distracted the woman long enough, and the Laevateinn plunged tip first into her chest.
With a roar, Flandre continued her charge. As the woman stared transfixed at the wand now sticking out of her, Flandre all but tackled her, grabbing the Laevateinn and driving it deeper and deeper into her. Using her momentum to carry them forward, Flandre ruthlessly drove the woman backwards, plunging into the ground at a speed that would have crushed the bones of a lesser youkai to dust.
Disoriented from the impact, Flandre held tightly on to the Laevateinn, pinning the woman in black to the ground beneath her.
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Yumeko stood impatiently, keeping an eye on her surroundings.
Though, calling them ?surroundings? may have been pushing it a little bit. There was honestly practically nothing there but a painfully deep blackness. The sky, the ground, and even whatever walls might have been there were all an inky black, completely indiscernible from each other. Yet, strangely, it wasn?t dark. Yumeko could see herself, as well as Yuki and Mai who were accompanying her, perfectly clearly.
Aside from the three of them, there were only two landmarks that broke the suffocating blackness of the area. One was a small portal, barely large enough for her to fit through, that led back to Makai. Through it, she could see the familiar Travelling Grounds in the palace that they had used to get here.
The other landmark was much less benign. Though there didn?t seem to be anything there to be broken, a small fissure hung in the blackness, leaking a multi-coloured light. Yumeko could feel the magical energy leaking out of it in a constant stream, heading towards somewhere she couldn?t trace. Of course, she knew from what Alice and Lady Shinki had told her that it led to Gensokyo.
It was this fissure that Hoshimi was exploiting to materialize in Gensokyo. Yumeko didn?t know much about Hoshimi herself ? she had been born thousands of years after Hoshimi was sealed in this pocket dimension outside of Makai ? but she knew enough that she knew if Hoshimi caught wind of them being here, it would take only seconds for her to kill the three of them. Even from Gensokyo.
And so, impatiently, she waited, keeping an eye on the stream of magical energy, still flowing constantly. The three of them were under very strict orders ? observe, and when they received the signal, and not a moment before, seal the fissure as fast as possible. She had no idea how long the process would take, especially since the constant flow of magical energy would naturally resist any attempts to cut it off, but that wasn?t her problem to worry about. All she had to do was seal it as fast as possible, and trust Lady Shinki to protect the three of them from Hoshimi long enough to get it done.
Yumeko?s breath caught. The flow of magical energy, just for an instant, wavered. It hadn?t cut off, but just for a moment, it thinned, then swelled considerably.
?Yuki! Mai! Get ready!? The two, who had been sitting idly passing the time, immediately shot to their feet and prepared themselves.
?We got this, Mai! Let?s do this!?
?That goes without saying. Hold on, Lady Shinki??
?Hold on, Alice!?
The stream of magical energy wavered again. The swelling died down, and again it thinned to half of the normal flow ? and stayed there.
?Yumeko, now!? Lady Shinki?s voice echoed in the tiny space, coming from a small blue crystal at Yumeko?s waist.
With a shout of spirit, Yuki and Mai poured everything they had into cutting off the flow of magical energy. The flow continued to thin, gradually becoming smaller and smaller, beginning to quake with the signs of a rebound. Yumeko held her breath and raised her hands. She was only going to have the briefest of moments, and no one could afford her missing it.
With one last desperate cry, Yuki and Mai slammed the magic block into place, cutting off the flow of magical energy entirely. Without hesitating for even a fraction of a second, Yumeko immediately slammed a block of her own into place over top of it, and the three of them together began weaving the seal to repair the fissure.
Despite both Yuki?s, Mai?s, and Yumeko?s blocks in place, the barest trickle of magical energy began to flow out of the fissure. Yumeko gulped, forcing herself to breathe again. That much of a leak was still within expectations ? as long as it didn?t get any bigger, they could still finish the seal and cut it off permanently.
Yumeko whispered desperately to herself, anxious of the possibility of her own failure for the first time in decades.
?Hold on, Lady Shinki?hold on!?
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Finally getting her bearings, Flandre looked up. Only seconds after she and woman in black plunged into the ground, she heard the woman in red?s voice shout something, but she couldn?t quite make out what it was. She had a pretty good guess, though, as immediately afterwards, a strange blue light began to surround the field.
In moments, the entire field was enclosed in a bluish-purple dome, its colour constantly shifting and wavering. Flandre could feel an instinctive wrongness about it ? she didn?t have that much experience being outside, but she could definitely tell that this barrier was trying to emulate it in a twisted way, forcing a corrupt, wrong version of the outside on the place it enclosing.
More importantly, however, she couldn?t feel anything beyond the edges of the barrier. Well, she felt something, but it was fake, clearly caused by the barrier itself. Whatever was really on the other side was beyond her perception now.
Looking down at the woman under her, Flandre couldn?t help but smile. She had completely won ? the woman was crushed, most of the bones in her body were shattered, if not dust, and her wand still pinned her cleanly to the ground. There was a startling lack of blood, however Flandre didn?t pay much mind to it. Instead, she watched as the shadows around her began to coalesce, forming up around the woman in black.
Startled by the sudden movement, Flandre continued to watch as the shadows weaved over the fallen woman?s body, deftly reknitting her broken bones and sewing her torn skin back together. It struggled briefly at the spot where she was still impaled before giving up and instead reweaving a new arm.
?So, this is how you fix yourself, huh?? Flandre said as she used her free hand to crush the ?eye? of the newly reforming arm. The shadows instantly exploded outwards, rapidly attempting to reform. As often as they tried she continued to smash them, determined to stop her from regenerating.
It was then that Flandre realized that the rest of the woman had finished healing. Opening her eyes, she looked at Flandre with eyes filled with hate, powerful enough to make Flandre freeze. But before she could do anything, her eyes shifted beyond her, to the sky above ? and the massive blueish-purple dome that now encased them.
The woman?s eyes went wide, and suddenly she gasped, as if someone had just dumped ice down the back of her shirt. Breaking out of her trance, Flandre attempted to destroy her other arm, but before she could manage it she felt something invisible hammer into her stomach, sending her hurtling away.
Her head reeling from the pain of the unexpected blow, Flandre struck the ground hard, sliding to a stop dozens of feet away. The attack had hurt, but she was still okay, and with considerable effort, managed to stand. She looked back at the woman in black, and found that she had been suffering from a similar problem ? having just barely managed to stand up, she tore the still-embedded Laevateinn from her chest and threw it unceremoniously to the ground. She then immediately dissolved into shadows?and reappeared, exactly as she was, in the same spot.
Her eyes went wide in surprise again. She looked at her one remaining hand, as if confused as to why she was still there, before a look of understanding dawned on her face. She turned immediately, her gaze shifting to the shrine maiden and doctor lady ? who Flandre had just realized were there ? and dozens of crystal and stone shards hurled towards them.
The woman in red snapped in front of them, moving faster than Flandre?s eyes could track, and raised both hands, creating a huge magical barrier in front of them. The stone and crystal shards impacted hard, shattering as soon as they hit the barrier, but also shaking the barrier, causing cracks to start appearing.
Flandre wasted no time, immediately taking off and flying as fast as she could toward the woman in black. As she flew, she attempted to crush the ?eye? in her chest again, but this time she barely flinched. Instead, she turned to see Flandre, barreling towards her, and dissolved into a cloud of shadow again, this time not reappearing. Flandre continued forward, grabbing Laevateinn from where the woman had thrown it, and turned to scan the area.
The woman had appeared far up in the air, almost halfway to the strange dome. No longer attacking the others, she instead called an absurd number of crystals, pointing them all towards the barrier at different angles. Flandre rushed as fast as she could, but couldn?t move in time to stop the lasers from firing.
In front of each of the dozens of lasers, however, opened small purple gaps ? just wide enough to completely consume them. Miraculously, every single laser was blocked from hitting the barrier, buying Flandre the time she needed to act. With a single swing of her wand, a wave of explosions annihilated the crystals firing the lasers, though Flandre could see at the last second the woman in black dissolved just before the explosions reached her.
Behind her, Flandre could feel the woman in black reappear, turning at the last second to see dozens of needle-like shadows heading for her. A split second before they impaled her, however, she slipped into a purple gap, which deposited her a hundred feet up into the air. The woman appeared again right in front of Flandre, but this time didn?t have enough time to act as dozens of small purple gaps opened, pouring the purple lasers the woman had fired at the barrier back at her. The woman deflected most of the lasers, but the overwhelming number of them got the better of her, and soon a number of them punched through her defense and hit her hard.
Flandre took the opening, lunging forward as fast as she possibly could, and planted her fist squarely into the woman?s stomach. Pouring all of her strength into that one punch, she could feel as much as she could see the woman get thrown backwards, her insides crushed once again by the force of Flandre?s blow. Before the woman could right herself, the woman in red suddenly appeared behind her, right hand raised above her head. As she brought her arm down with violent force, a bolt of red-black light the size of the woman herself hammered into the woman in black from above, driving her downwards into the ground.
Flandre watched as the woman lay on the ground motionless. Shadows danced around her, trying to repair her body enough for her to move. Flandre readied herself to attack again as the woman rose unsteadily to her feet, shadows racing across her entire form. Attempting to stand up straight, she stumbled, falling to one knee. The shadows began reweaving her still-missing arm as she made to stand again, but just before they finished, they suddenly stopped.
The incomplete arm cracked and fell apart, dissolving into darkness. The shadows racing across her body stilled, similarly dissolving into the air. Raising her remaining arm up to the sky, chunks of earth and stone erupted from the ground below her, reaching twenty or so feet into the air before losing their momentum and falling back to the ground.
Everyone watched the woman in black with baited breath. All of them had frozen in place, including the woman herself. Finally, after what seemed like forever, she lowered her outstretched hand, turning her head slightly to look at Flandre.
With a pained expression, the woman let out a long sigh, collapsing and falling backwards onto the ground.
It was over.
Well, almost over.
With that, the story has drawn to an end - the only thing that remains is the Epilogue, though it is admittedly more like a full chapter than just an epilogue.
I will say though as closing remarks for this couple of chapters, I'm not a particularly big fan of Marisa or Flandre
, so I'm surprised at the rather key roles the two of them ended up playing!
So that's that. I'll post the Epilogue in a few days, once I've had a chance to let it settle and give it a fair editing pass. See you then!
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...Welp, didn't expect Flandre to be the one ending Hoshimi. Or Shinki being the one who sealed her in the past for that matter.
And too bad we didn't get to see Hoshimi with full power. This is only 20% of her power, IIRC.
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Man, these last chapters were great. My heart was actually pounding during the last battle between Shinki, Flandre and Yukari x Hoshimi. It was an excellent battle, very well written, with great flow.
In fact, re-reading the fic from the beggining, your writting has improved a lot overall from what it was at the start. Congratulations on that!
Really, my only grip was in the fight against Tenshi. I'm pretty sure a Celestial's skin is too tough to be cut by knives (if we go by Sakuya's comment upon losing against Tenshi in the latter's stoy mode in SWR; then again, maybe she didn't mean that literally), but this is very minor. I hadn't thought of a Celestial's body being poisonous for youkai by their mere presence; I always interpreted that line as "if a youkai actually tries to eat a celestial...". This was a pretty interesting interpretation of that property.
Well, now that only the Epilogue remains, I hope we can get some more insight on what Hoshimi actually is. I suppose Shinki will be the one explaining, considering she has a past with her. Really curious about it, can't wait!
By the way, will we discover what was the "very special present" that Yukari had prepared for Hoshimi? It didn't seem that it was used, I think?
...Welp, didn't expect Flandre to be the one ending Hoshimi. Or Shinki being the one who sealed her in the past for that matter.
And too bad we didn't get to see Hoshimi with full power. This is only 20% of her power, IIRC.
I remember TwilightsCall explaining some pages back that it's not that this is 20% of her power; rather, she's divided in 5 diferent parts, with the one that appears in this story being by far the strongest.
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By the way, will we discover what was the "very special present" that Yukari had prepared for Hoshimi? It didn't seem that it was used, I think?
That's Shinki, I think. Maybe.
I remember TwilightsCall explaining some pages back that it's not that this is 20% of her power; rather, she's divided in 5 diferent parts, with the one that appears in this story being by far the strongest.
Yeah, that's what I meant. The rest is still sealed.
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That's Shinki, I think. Maybe.
Nah, from Shinki's point of view we discover she hadn't met Yukari before, and Yukari herself is surprised upon seeing the goddess, and didn't even know who she was until she said her name.
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Oh yeah, I just realized something. Hoshimi should've killed Flandre back then. Or at least gouge both of her eyes out.
This is what you get for being too lax in your villainy.
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Okay, here's the epilogue everyone. I've got some replies to your previous comments, but I'm going to throw them into a post after this one to keep this a bit cleaner.
So here it is, the final conclusion for Rise of the Evening Star. Please enjoy!
Epilogue ? A Glimmer of an Ancient Age
Hoshimi sat in the ?throne room,? quietly watching the goings-on around her. The room was honestly not very impressive ? it was better than the tent they had been using just a few weeks ago, but the only thing that set it apart as special was that it was the only room with actual walls in the area. There were no decorations on the walls, or carpets on the floor, and the throne itself was just simple wood. Still, the bare stone walls did a better job of cutting the wind than the canvas tents did, so she was content.
Patiently, she watched her father as he discussed the latest news with his aides. He had just returned a few minutes ago, and though she couldn?t make out what they were saying from this distance, it was clear that they were excited about something. She was dying to know what that was, but she knew better than to pry ? if it was something that they could tell her, her father would no doubt tell her when the time was right.
As if on cue, the group of aides around her father began to disperse, leaving the room with impatient steps. Despite having no idea what was happening, she couldn?t help but start to share in their excitement. Once they had finished dispersing, her father gave some orders to the final few that remained before walking over to her, a small smile on his face. She could tell that he was trying to keep himself controlled, trying to hold back his excitement ? something that made her even more curious.
?Good news?? Hoshimi said as he approached, and his smile instantly grew wider as she did.
?Great news,? he replied, kneeling down in front of her so that their eyes were level, placing a hand on her head and ruffling her hair. ?Better news than we could have ever hoped.?
?Is the war over?? Hoshimi said tentatively. She knew she was hoping for too much, but even though she knew that, she couldn?t help but keep the wish alive.
?Not yet,? he said, expression unfaltering, ?but the tools we need to end it have fallen right into our lap.?
Hoshimi?s initial disappointment was immediately washed away. They had been at ?war,? struggling in a constant fight for their lives, ever since she was born. In desperation, her father had made an alliance with four nearby Houses, combining their military strength and effectively protecting them from the threat of extermination. But, being in an alliance of five just made them a target for larger predators. They had crushed those who caused problems for them before, but the fighting hadn?t stopped as larger factions began to attack them.
?We have reports that a dragon has fallen into our territory. A dragon, Hoshimi! It?s old, sick, and wounded, but it still holds power beyond anything we could ever dream! We already have a plan in motion to put it out of its misery, and take its power for ourselves. With the power of a dragon, even split up across our five Houses, we?ll be invincible! We?ll finally be able to find the peace we?ve been searching for!?
Hoshimi finally gave herself up to excitement. She was sick of the fighting, sick of seeing people getting hurt, sick of hearing news that her friends had died. She didn?t know much about dragons, but if what her father was saying was true, they would have nothing to worry about. She would finally be able to relax, to be happy.
?When?? Hoshimi asked, unable to squeeze out any more.
?Time is of the essence,? her father replied, standing upright. ?We?ll be leaving in just a few hours.?
Hoshimi couldn?t bring herself to mention that he had misunderstood the question, so she just nodded. He was overflowing with excitement, in a way she had never seen before. And she was, too. For the first time, she had real hope that this war would come to an end.
?I have to go help with the preparations now,? he said over his shoulder as he walked from the room. ?Take care of things while I?m gone!? Hoshimi nodded fervently, watching as he walked out of the room. As soon as he was through the door, she could hear him begin calling out orders.
Alone, Hoshimi immediately knelt down in front of her chair, clasping her hands in front of her. Please, dear Goddess, she prayed as hard as she could, keep them safe, and give us this chance at peace!
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Hoshimi sat absent-mindedly, fondling the amethyst pendant around her neck. Even thinking about it made waves of nausea flow through her, but she crushed them again and again. It had been too long, she couldn?t afford to let it hold her down forever.
Sitting around the table with her were four others, the leaders of each of the Houses in their alliance. None of them seemed the least bit distraught, which gave birth to a small bitterness in Hoshimi. Each of them wore a necklace similar to hers, though the colours on each of them were different.
Hoshimi let herself sigh, attempting to expel the bitterness as well. She knew she shouldn?t hold it against them ? it wasn?t their fault. And in the end, they technically did succeed, so she couldn?t really hold their high spirits against them either.
It wasn?t like they killed her father.
She couldn?t even hold it against the dragon that had killed him. It was just trying to defend itself, just trying to find rest. To find peace. She could understand that just by holding the pendant she now wore between her fingers, yet it seemed she was the only one in the room who understood the dragon?s feelings.
And so, she had nowhere to direct her grief. Her father had been killed, but it wasn?t like he had been betrayed. And even the one who killed him was just defending themself. What?s more, she was told that her father?s sacrifice had been instrumental in their victory. So all she could do was suffer through her grief.
But even then, with both her parents gone, it fell to her to lead the House. She didn?t have time to get caught up in her own emotions. Two weeks spent mourning was two weeks too many.
Hoshimi turned as she felt a hand on her shoulder. Sitting to her right was a woman whose name she didn?t know yet, and she could only really recognize her by the sapphire pendant around her neck. She squeezed gently on Hoshimi?s shoulder, a sad smile on her face. Hoshimi did her best to smile back. At least someone cared.
?I know that it feels like a time to celebrate, to enjoy our victory,? the man with the white pendant across the table from her said, ?but time is of the essence. We must take action sooner, rather than later, to ensure our people remain safe.?
?I agree,? said the woman with the blue pendant, ?but let us not forget that not all of us are celebrating right now.? The atmosphere in the room darkened considerably as everyone turned to Hoshimi, some more discreetly than others. While most of the expressions in the room held expressions of sadness and pity, there were also those unmistakably riddled with contempt. Hoshimi did her best to ignore those.
?As such,? the blue woman continued, ?I propose that our first course of action be dictated by her. She has paid the greatest cost to get us here today, I feel it is only fair to her that we give her some sort of recompense.?
?Are you insane?? the man with the ruby pendant practically shouted, ?she?s a child! A kid! She barely knows the difference between left and right!?
?I agree,? the man with the emerald pendant said, ?though I think your tone is reprehensible, I can?t justify putting the future of my people on the whims of a child, no matter how difficult this has been for her.?
The blue woman gave the two bitter looks, but said nothing. However, unlike the others, the man with the white pendant was quiet ? staring at Hoshimi, as if judging her, measuring her worth.
?Go on,? the woman in blue said, ?ignore what they said. Just tell them what you want.?
Hoshimi looked back and forth between the four seated at the table with her, nervously gripping the hem of her dress. She knew, deep down, they were right. She was just a child. What did she know? How could she make decisions for so many people? But even so, there was something she definitely wanted. Something she wanted more than anything else, especially now that she had lost the last of her family.
Forcing her hands to relax, she raised her eyes, meeting the man with the white pendant?s gaze with a firm expression of her own. With a shaky voice, belying both her nervousness and her earnestness, she spoke. ?I just want peace.?
The room was quiet. Even the man with the red pendant, who was so eager to mock and ridicule her at every opportunity was silent. Hoshimi had little hope that these four, who had gone through such great lengths to procure the power of a dragon, would settle down for peace just because she asked for it. But if she was to answer honestly, that?s all she wanted.
Finally, after minutes of awkward silence, the man with the white pendant sighed. ?Alright.?
Four sets of incredulous eyes snapped to him. ?I know what you are going to say,? he said again, raising a hand to stave off the imminent barrage of objections, ?but the girl is right. We did not obtain this power to become murderers, we did it to protect our people. As such, peace is the obvious solution.?
He turned to look Hoshimi in the eye. ?However, even you must know that peace does not come for free.? Hoshimi nodded solemnly. She had suffered through war for years. Peace was like a dream, a utopia for her. She knew that it would come at a price, a price she had been paying since she was born. A price her family had been paying for longer than she could know.
?Unfortunately, we cannot obtain peace by laying down our arms. We must rise up, and tear down those who would threaten us. That is the only path to peace.? The angry expressions in the room turned to grins, while the blue woman?s turned suspicious. Hoshimi herself wasn?t sure what to think. She didn?t like the idea of taking peace by waging war, but there didn?t seem to be any other way.
?Tomorrow, we march. We crush those who would threaten our people, and when none of them remain, we shall truly have the peace that you desire.? Once again, the man with the white pendant turned to Hoshimi. ?Is that acceptable, little one??
Hoshimi gripped her pendant hard, feeling its sharp edges bite into her hand. She didn?t like it, but?there was no other way. After taking a deep breath, she nodded forcefully.
The discussion immediately turned to the logistics of the coming battles, of which Hoshimi had no interest in. She had people she trusted to deal with the messy details for her, until she had a chance to learn how being a leader worked.
All she could do now was pray that the Goddess would keep them safe in the coming conflict.
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Hoshimi watched with tired eyes as her opponent, finally, collapsed. Though she desperately wanted to believe that it was over, she knew from experience that this was only the beginning.
Stepping sluggishly over to her fallen opponent, she could tell just by looking ? as if seeing the attacks she had used against him wasn?t enough ? that life had fled from his body. Yet there was no feeling of triumph, no thrill of victory in her heart ? only bitterness at another friend dead.
Unceremoniously, she tore the diamond-white pendant from his neck and placed it around her own, matching perfectly with the four she already wore. She would need to do something about that ? wearing five identical pendants looked kind of silly. Maybe she could rework the five jewels into a single-piece necklace? Such mundane thoughts were the only things she could bear to have occupy her mind. She didn?t want to think about what had just happened. Or what was about to happen.
But, of course, her mind turned there anyways.
Originally, the alliance Hoshimi?s House had been a part of ? quickly renamed to the Dragon Soul Alliance, however lacking in taste that was, after slaying the dragon and stealing its power ? had functioned superbly. They had crushed their oppressors with little effort, thanks to the power of the dragon they held, but their immense power drew even greater envy. Greater and greater armies declared war on them, and working together, they managed to fend them off. But greed wasn?t limited to outsiders.
Only a decade after her father had died, Hoshimi, who was the bearer of the Amethyst Pendant and the title of the Evening Star, and the bearer of the Sapphire Pendant, bearer of the title of the Tide Star, were split off from the alliance?s main army in order to defend against a surprise attack. It had, as she found out later, been a trap ? it wasn?t a surprise attack at all, but a plan instigated by the other members of the alliance.
Outnumbered ten to one, they expected a resounding defeat, but by some miracle the two of them had managed to lead their army to a very close victory. The cost, of course, had been tremendous, each side losing more than four fifths of their army. And one of those casualties had been the Tide Star herself.
Acceding to her dying wish, Hoshimi took the Sapphire pendant, adding its power to her own. And once she had returned to the alliance with it, she was immediately branded a traitor. Of course, with the power of Insight granted her by the Sapphire pendant, she knew it was just another part of their plan ? an attempt to seize the power she held for themselves.
One by one, the other members of the ?alliance? brought their armies against her, and one by one they fell, not realizing how outclassed they truly were. And now, only fifty years since the death of her father and the slaying of the dragon, Hoshimi was the last remaining leader of the ?Dragon Soul Alliance.?
Hoshimi hated the suffering that the power of the dragon had brought upon her, and especially her people, but she refused to lose to it. Fighting that bitterness, she adopted the people of those she defeated ? though others saw her actions as mere conquest, to her, it was an obligation. She had robbed those people of their leaders, of their protection, so it was her responsibility to protect them.
Hoshimi looked up at the blood-red sky. Even now, neighbouring enemies who had been watching their internal power struggle would likely be bearing down on them, attempting to crush them in their time of weakness. With a deep breath, she began walking back to her army.
The power of the dragon, divided five ways to maintain balance, was now united in her. There was no time for her to rest, even in the wake of this victory. If she didn?t protect her people, who would? If she didn?t fight for peace, who would?
Once again, fighting the crushing sense of futility she had grown so accustomed to, she murmured a prayer under her breath to the Goddess. A prayer that, someday, the fighting would stop, and she would find rest.
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Hoshimi looked out over what had once been a battlefield, now scarred and scorched from the battle that had taken place there. Once again, with her at the head of the army, she had been victorious.
Centuries ago, she had struggled against tears at her father?s death and accepted a fifth of the power of the dragon. Looking back, she couldn?t say she had any regrets. Not of that time, her first step on this journey of seemingly eternal conflict, nor of any of the choices she made since then. Each choice she made brought her infinitesimally closer to her goal, inches closer to earning the peace that she and her people ? as well as her long-deceased family ? had dreamed of.
And now, looking out over the site of one of the bloodiest battles in the history of the world, she could finally say that her goal was within sight.
Every opponent Hoshimi and her armies defeated gave birth to greater enemies. As the Houses around her territory declared war, she crushed their leaders and adopted their people. Soon, her House had grown to the size of a small nation, to which larger nations immediately set their sights on. And so she and her people were dragged into even greater wars. But with the power of the dragon in her hands, and the power of her people united behind her, they came out victorious time and time again.
Yet no matter how many battles they won, no matter how many nations they conquered, war was always on the horizon. But today, at long last, Hoshimi could finally put that behind her.
With her victory today, Makai had been united. There were no more Houses, no more factions, no more nations. They were all one people, and they were all under her.
But, even with all of Makai united under one ruler, her people were still not safe. As if to spite her and her centuries-long wish, peace was still ever so slightly out of her grasp.
Hearing footsteps behind her, Hoshimi turned. Climbing the rise to stand beside her, one of her Captains surveyed the battlefield briefly before speaking.
?I have a report from the capital,? she said in a quiet voice. Hoshimi could tell just by looking at her what it was about, but she nodded for her to continue anyways.
?More riots. More terrorism. The Goddess? followers continue to attack wantonly and destroy large portions of the city. A number of smaller towns around the capital have been completely abandoned, burned to the ground by more of the same. Loss of life in the last few weeks alone is totalling in the hundreds.?
Hoshimi sighed inwardly. Nothing had changed, then.
For hundreds of years, Hoshimi had prayed desperately to the Goddess. For respite, for intervention, for some semblance of peace in this war-torn world that she had created. She, of course, had been granted no such thing ? from the moment Hoshimi had been born, her life had been an uninterrupted stream of war and conflict. It didn?t take long before Hoshimi began to feel the same as the others ? that the Goddess had created Makai for fun, and had no intention of helping any of those who lived there. That she simply enjoyed watching the conflict play out in front of her.
But she couldn?t argue that the power of the dragon that had fallen into her hands was a miracle. She had been forced to assume that was the Goddess? answer to her prayer. That if she wanted peace, she was to achieve it herself, with this God-given power. And so she struggled ever harder, to achieve the peace that she and her people wanted so badly.
Then, a number of years ago, emissaries from the Goddess herself began appearing across Makai. Hoshimi had at first rejoiced, finally shown proof that the Goddess cared about her and her people ? until she heard why they had appeared.
The emissaries publicly denounced Hoshimi. They spread propaganda of her as a blood-thirsty monster, who destroyed lives and crushed peoples out of some sick sense of entertainment, for no reason other than to sate her lust for power. They urged the people of Makai to rise up and overthrow her as the tyrant she was.
Hoshimi had been heart-broken. But she knew what it meant to be a leader, and knew she could not afford to be beaten by words. As the Goddess continued to sow dissent against her, she could do nothing but continue the war. As the last two of the great nations united against her to bring her down and conquer her people, she could do nothing but rise up against them. She would not let her people be oppressed and give them over to suffering because of some nay-sayers, even if they were sent by the Goddess herself.
Luckily, success on the warfront was met with trust at home. The vast majority of the people supported Hoshimi regardless of the Goddess? emissaries, and so they remained strongly united under her. Unfortunately, the minority who did support the Goddess, despite centuries of divine neglect, became more and more vocal, more and more extreme, as time passed. Urged on by the emissaries, it was only a few years before they turned to riots and terrorism to spread their message.
Though there remained no nation that could wage war against them, her people were still not safe. They still did not have peace. As long as those emissaries continued to incite her people to acts of terrorism, peace would never be theirs. And so, Hoshimi was forced to push down the overwhelming sense of bitterness inside her and keep struggling towards peace.
?Send word to the army,? Hoshimi told the captain, standing silently beside her. ?Half are to stay and ensure a smooth transition here, and to see to the needs of the people. The other half will march with me. They have three days to prepare.?
The captain blinked in confusion. ?March? Where to??
Hoshimi turned, meeting the captain?s gaze. With a steady gaze and a resolute expression, she spoke again. ?To the last battle.?
The captain stood confused for a moment, but soon realization dawned on her face. With a sharp salute, she quickly turned and made her way back to the encampment below.
Peace would not be theirs as long as the emissaries continued to incite her people against her. The emissaries wouldn?t stop until their Goddess stopped sending them. And so, the best way to deal with the problem, was to tear down the Goddess herself.
Sitting silently in the crystal palace Pandemonium for centuries, she came out from her solitude only to sow dissent and create unrest. In order to protect her people, in order to finally find peace, Hoshimi would bring down the Goddess herself.
Makai would know peace, no matter what the cost.
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Hoshimi?s consciousness returned slowly. Honestly, she was slightly impressed that it was returning at all. She had felt the seal slam into place, and could tell that her ability to transfer magical energy ? and her consciousness ? to her current body was rapidly fading.
Staring up at the purplish-blue haze blocking her view of the sky, Hoshimi didn?t even try to sit up. Ever since that moment when the Goddess Shinki appeared, memories had been flooding back. Even when she blacked out, she dreamt of the past. And despite her predicament, she couldn?t help but smile to herself.
She had failed. Again. She had failed to free Makai of the Goddess? tyranny, and now she had failed to free herself from the Goddess? prison. She still felt decidedly bitter about the first one, but she couldn?t help but find the second failure ironically humorous.
She had been a hero, carrying the hopes and dreams of all Makai into battle. She had risked her life so that, at long last, she could find the peace that her and her father had so desperately wanted. And she had failed, being sealed away for who even knew how many years. Now that her memories had returned, she finally had the chance to realize, recognize, and mourn over her loss.
But the second failure, she couldn?t bring herself to be bitter about. She wasn?t pleased that she had lost, but when looking at it from a wider perspective, it was the expected outcome. She had quite clearly been the villain, after all. If she had won here, it would have just created another tragic hero story like her own.
Out of the corner of her vision, she could just barely see the tower she had made. Despite the fact she was rapidly disappearing, it was still standing strong, waiting for its second chance. Hoshimi sighed. It would have been nice to leave it as a memorial to herself, as some sort of proof that she was still alive, but she doubted the residents of Gensokyo would let it stay. After all, thousands upon thousands of souls were still trapped in that crystal ? there was no doubt they would be liberated almost immediately after Hoshimi vanished, if not before.
Without a word, Shinki landed on the ground beside her. Their gazes met, and Hoshimi was forced once again to admit her loss.
?You know,? Hoshimi managed to say quietly, ?I had thought for sure this time I was going to win. I had thought for sure I could beat you.?
?Even with only a fraction of the dragon?? Shinki replied. Her terrifying aura had vanished, surprising Hoshimi. She had never known it was something she could turn off.
?Ha. I only need a fraction to beat you. Especially out here.? Hoshimi tried her best to smile as she spoke. She didn?t know why ? there was nothing but bad blood between the two of them. Even so, if she was going to be sent back into the hell that was her prison, she wanted to end her brief spurt of almost freedom on a good note.
Shinki nodded thoughtfully. ?Yes, you?re probably right. If it was just the two of us, I?m sure you?d eventually come out on top.?
?But of course,? Hoshimi almost whispered, ?you?re never alone. Even back then, you had hundreds??
A moment of silence passed between the two of them. They had been enemies for as long as they had been alive, after all. Holding a simple conversation was no easy task.
Hoshimi closed her eyes, breaking the silence with a quiet voice. ??how is Makai??
Another long moment of silence passed before Shinki replied. ?Makai is at peace. There has been no large scale wars since the ones you took part in, and no pockets of rebellion for the past couple thousand years. All of Makai, as it was united by you, now lives peacefully under my direct rule.?
Hoshimi gave a long sigh. The bitterness that had plagued her entire life in Makai, and that had been reborn with the return of her memories, was finally loosening its grip. After all she had done, the centuries she had suffered to win her people peace, she had ultimately failed to bring down the Goddess. But even so, her people had found peace. Even though her mortal enemy now ruled the kingdom she had created, it didn?t matter.
Even if she had failed in her last battle against the Goddess?she had succeeded. She had, at long last, won peace.
As relief washed over her, she could feel the world around her starting to go dark. Her time was running out. It was a shame ? after all that, she had hoped she would have at least had the chance to apologize to those in Gensokyo of the trouble she had caused them. Or to see Makai, now that it was peaceful. She couldn?t say she regretted what she had done ? but she could at least say something, to show she did understand how much pain she had put them through.
Looking up, she saw once again out of the corner of her eye the massive black tower. No doubt, they would soon find a way to take it apart, and liberate the souls trapped inside. Even so, it was the least she could do?
Struggling to move at all, she reached out with her mind and pulled on an invisible thread within the tower. The invisible kill-switch, just in case, for whatever reason, the tower needed to be destroyed. She couldn?t think of a good reason to include it when she had built the tower, but now she was glad she did. Even if she couldn?t say anything to them, she could at least clean up this one last mess before she left.
Almost instantly, the tower began to tremble. Starting from the top, the crystal dissolved, and the thousands of souls trapped within it began to flow out. The tiny, almost insignificant looking souls whirred around the top of the tower, as if confused, before they slowly began to drift away, all in the same direction.
With that, there would be nothing left to prove Hoshimi had ever been here. She couldn?t help but feel a little depressed at that fact. Struggling hard to remain conscious, she gathered what little strength she had left, and forced it into the ground behind her.
A single spire of violet-black crystal, only a foot thick at the base, erupted into the air, reaching only ten feet before it stopped. Hoshimi laughed derisively at herself ? she had tried to make it as tall as the previous tower, but this seemed to be the best she could manage. Regardless, at least now there was a symbol of her passing. She didn?t know how she felt, setting up a grave marker for herself when she technically wasn?t going to be dead, but knowing it was there created a small sense of satisfaction in her. Likewise, she knew the people of Gensokyo would have no reason to leave it there after she disappeared, but the act of trying was enough to relax her, at least a little bit.
As the darkness finally closed in around her, as she felt her body start to dissipate and vanish, she saw the shrine maiden approach out of the corner of her eye. Maybe she was being greedy, but seeing her standing there, there was one last thing she wanted to do before it was over.
She could no longer see, but even so, she turned her face to where she remembered the shrine maiden was standing.
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Reimu and Eirin approached slowly, on foot. Hoshimi was lying on her back, unmoving, while the person who called herself Shinki was standing by her side, looking down. They had been talking briefly, but had since stopped.
Reimu and Eirin paused as suddenly, the tower of black crystal begun to tremble. Reimu?s heart immediately dropped. Couldn?t this just be over? Couldn?t Hoshimi just admit that she had lost already?
As if to answer Reimu?s wish, the tower began to dissolve from the top. Small white wisps began to pour out of the top of the tower, floating around in a crazed whirlwind of white before gradually flowing off into the distance like a river of snow.
?Spirits of the dead?? Eirin murmured beside her, triggering an ?a-ha? moment in Reimu. This had all started when the spirits of the dead went missing. And she had seen Hoshimi building the spirits into the tower before. She wasn?t sure why the tower had suddenly started falling apart, but she wasn?t going to complain. It was Komachi?s problem now.
As the last of the tower dissolved, and Reimu and Eirin finally approached within speaking distance, a single spire of black and purple crystal punched out of the ground behind Hoshimi, rising ten feet into the air. Reimu didn?t even bother to be upset this time. If Hoshimi was still planning something, Reimu was too exhausted to do anything about it anyways.
Reimu?s attention was then drawn to Hoshimi herself. Though one of her arms was missing, it seemed the rest of her was trying to catch up ? starting from the tips of her remaining limbs, her body began dissolving into a black mist, which then dissipated into the air. And yet despite the fact she was disappearing, the look on Hoshimi?s face wasn?t pained, or sorrowful.
It was relieved. At peace.
While Reimu decided it was best to hold her peace, Hoshimi suddenly turned to look at her. As their eyes locked, Reimu could tell that Hoshimi could no longer see anything, but even so she definitely knew Reimu was there.
Her relaxed, peaceful expression quickly turned into her usual sinister, dangerous looking smile. It had lost a lot of its pressure, what with her dissolving as she did it, but it still put Reimu on guard.
?Well done, little shrine maiden,? she said, her voice barely a whisper. ?You win.?
With that, the last of her body, as if it had been waiting for her to say those words, dissolved as one into a thick cloud of black fog, rising into the air and vanishing without a trace.
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Only a day or so after the conclusion of the incident, Marisa sat comfortably drinking her tea. It wasn?t often she was an actual guest at the Scarlet Devil Mansion, so she made sure to enjoy the experience while it lasted.
Which was surprisingly difficult to do, considering her company. Beside her was Reimu, also calmly and quietly sipping tea. To her other side was Sanae, who was pointedly ignoring her tea while she listened to the conversation going on in front of her.
Besides the three of them, there were also Yukari, Kanako, Eirin, someone named Shinki who Marisa wasn?t familiar with, Alice, and at the head of the table, trying her best to still look important, Remilia. Flandre sat beside Remilia, and Reisen, Nitori, Patchouli, and Suwako sat scattered around the less important seats at the table, while Sakuya and a veritable army of fairy maids served everyone.
Currently, silence pervaded the room. Shinki had just finished explaining where Hoshimi had come from ? that she was originally a resident of Makai, who had been sealed away, and managed to leak a bit of her power into Gensokyo ? and what her true goal had been ? to break open the seal and set herself free. The news was dwarfed slightly upon the revelation that Hoshimi had once ruled over the vast majority of Makai, and that Shinki herself ? who, incidentally, was the Goddess who created the place ? had to seal her away herself over six thousand years ago.
And though questions abounded in her head, Marisa was content to sit idly by and wait for others to ask them.
?So,? Eirin cleared her throat to break the silence before speaking, ?why exactly was Hoshimi sealed in the first place??
Shinki turned to Eirin with a passive expression, as she had worn for the entire conversation. ?She had become a symbol of war, conquest, and rebellion. She had to be put down for the people of Makai to know peace, and I didn?t have the raw power to kill her. As you saw from fighting her, keeping her prisoner wasn?t an option, so I was forced to seal her in an extradimensional bubble.?
?That?s?quite the fate,? Eirin said under her breath.
?If you?re the creator of Makai,? Kanako followed up quickly, ?how could she have been strong enough that you couldn?t kill her??
?Her power came from outside of Makai,? Shinki said, ?as best as I can tell from a dragon.?
Gasps resounded around the table.
??we aren?t going to get attacked by said dragon for beating her, are we?? Marisa asked hesitantly.
?No,? Shinki replied, turning to Marisa. Though her expression was flat and passive, there was no sense of coldness to it. ?She obtained her power by killing the dragon. Well, she didn?t kill it. A number of youkai led an army against a fallen dragon when she was young, and she ended up being granted a fifth of the power they extracted from it. Eventually, she did collect the other four fifths, and that was what gave her the strength to conquer most of Makai.?
Marisa gave an impressed whistle. Technically, did that mean they had just beaten a dragon? Well, if you ignore the fact that ?they? were mostly Shinki, Flandre, and Yukari. She really needed to get the details on how that fight went down.
?As she was in Gensokyo, she couldn?t get her full power out of the prison?s seal, so only one of those five powers was able to manifest. Of course, she chose the most useful one of the five, but if she had been freed the situation would have been much worse.?
?So, that?s what a fifth of a dragon?s power looks like?? Kanako murmured to herself. Marisa couldn?t help but think she was plotting something.
?The power of the dragon was divided into five distinct abilities,? Shinki continued. ?The one that she used against you was termed by her as the power of ?Absolute Authority.? Effectively, reality itself would reshape itself to her whims.?
?That?sounds a little unfair,? Reimu muttered under her breath.
?Unfair indeed,? Shinki replied, her tone slightly bemused. ?Luckily, she was not an actual dragon, so the power had its limits. It was exceedingly difficult for her to manipulate beings with free will, meaning she had to focus all of her power on a single individual to pull it off. Manipulating inanimate objects was much easier for her, hence her prolific use of crystals and stone.?
?That also explains why our attacks were completely ineffective against her,? Yukari mused. ?I guess it also explains why the little vampire could hurt her when we couldn?t.?
?Indeed,? Shinki replied, ?even though we may have been able to keep things under control ourselves, that young vampire was truly the key to our victory.?
?How?? Remilia asked, managing to both sound inquisitive and incredibly proud at the same time.
?Simple, really,? Shinki replied. ?Her ability to destroy things without any visible action was what did it. If Hoshimi couldn?t see the attack coming, she had no way of defending against it. Of course, she could regenerate horrifyingly quickly, since the body she was using was constructed entirely of magical energy, but constant pressure from little Flandre was able to pin her down enough that she was constantly on the run. On top of Miss Eirin?s seal, and my subordinates? work in repairing the seal on Hoshimi?s prison, Flandre?s work in keeping her constantly injured and on the run is what made the mission a success.?
?So, Lady Shinki?? Alice spoke up, ?what made you change your mind and decide to help us?? She spoke in a quiet voice, as if she was afraid of getting scolded.
Shinki grimaced. ?I apologize. I had originally thought that Hoshimi had broken completely free of her prison, and was forced to lie to you to attempt to mislead her, hoping she would take what I said at face value and not prepare for my intervention. Of course, if I had known that she only had one of the dragon?s powers, I would have told you immediately.?
?How would lying to Alice be of any help in deceiving Hoshimi?? Yukari asked. ?Can she normally read minds too??
?Much more terrifying,? Shinki said somewhat dryly. ?One of the dragon?s powers is what Hoshimi called ?Absolute Insight.? It allowed her to see a person?s entire past, all events that lead them to where they are now, just by looking at them. Fortunately, she didn?t have that particular ability this time.?
Marisa?s eyes went wide. If she recalled correctly, the Yama had an ability like that, though she used a special mirror to do it, and it was supposed to be a rather taxing process. If Hoshimi could normally do that just by looking at people...
?Naturally, if she had that ability, she would have seen that Alice came to me for help the instant she laid eyes on her, and it would be next to impossible for me to provide any help. It was a long shot, but if she believed that I wasn?t planning on helping, that opened an admittedly small opportunity for me to do something unexpected.?
A brief silence followed, broken by Flandre?s quiet voice.
?So?all she really wanted was to get out of her cage.?
The members of the Scarlet Devil Mansion present turned to her with distraught faces ? well, except for Patchouli, whose face was as expressionless as ever ? while Shinki turned to her with a significantly gentler expression.
?That?s right,? she said quietly.
Flandre squirmed uncomfortably, her face flashing through a series of emotions from sadness, to anger, to confusion. Eventually, she spoke up again. ?Will she ever get to come out??
Shinki adopted a far-away gaze. ?Hoshimi is a dangerous person. She is completely ruthless, and will stop at nothing ? even a world-engulfing, centuries-long war ? to get what she wants. Even just being able to slightly influence Gensokyo, you saw what she did.?
Shinki paused, returning Flandre?s gaze. ?It may be my fault that she turned out this way. I am willing to accept that responsibility. And someday, we may be able to let her free. But as she is now, I fear it would be far too dangerous to do so.?
Flandre nodded quietly, staring into her cup of tea that had remained untouched since it arrived at the table.
A calm quiet settled over the table as the group ran out of questions to ask Shinki. After a few minutes of silence, everyone quietly tending to their tea, Shinki finally stood up.
?As the Goddess and Ruler of Makai, and as the one who sealed Hoshimi away, it is my fault that I didn?t notice the seal cracking, and that she was able to come to Gensokyo.? Shinki, facing everyone at the table, bowed deeply. ?My sincerest apologies for causing the people of Gensokyo such grief. I have no excuse for my failure in this matter, and you can rest assured it will never happen again.?
Marisa could see stunned looks on the faces of the older youkai at the table. She took it as a matter of course that she would apologize, but she could tell the idea of someone who claimed to be a creator god of an entire world apologizing was something beyond their farthest expectations.
Rising from her bow, Shinki met each of their gazes in turn as she spoke. ?I would offer you any recompense you require, but as you may be aware, there is a lot of cleaning up to do on both of our ends. And so I must bid you farewell, that I might begin such procedures.?
Reimu stood from her seat, drawing all eyes to her. ?As the current Hakurei Shrine maiden, I think I outrank all others here as far as being the representative of Gensokyo,? she said without the slightest regard for the raised eyebrows and smirks around the table. ?So as the representative of Gensokyo, I will say this.? Reimu met Shinki?s gaze with a steely gaze of her own.
?Apology accepted. I look forward to you doing better next time.?
Marisa could tell most of those around the table were struggling to contain some sort of laughter or snide remark ? she sure was. Shinki herself, with a wry smile on her face, bowed lightly with a quiet ?thank you? before turning away.
With that, Shinki walked away from her seat at the table, walking through the open door onto the small balcony outside the dining room they had been seated in. Without a word, like an eye opening, space split apart behind her, opening a gate into a black and red mist of some sort. She gave a short bow one last time before turning to Alice.
?Come visit us again sometime,? she said with a wink, and seeing Alice?s quick nod in response, she turned and walked into the opening behind her. With a dull sound, the opening closed, and she was gone.
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Reimu flopped her head down on the table with a massive sigh. It was finally over, and she was finally home. And all of the annoying youkai had finally left.
Though truth be told it wasn?t really over. There was tons of cleaning up that was left to be done, and she suspected that she?d have to deal with a large amount of it. But as every time she thought about it before, she contented herself by knowing there was always someone worse off.
The vast majority of those who had participated in the fight against Hoshimi had come out severely injured. Most were going to be making regular visits to Eirin for the next little while, both to ensure they remained healthy and to test the effects of what Hoshimi had done to each of them. No one had any injuries that were permanent, let alone fatal, so Reimu felt little guilt at priding herself for being one of the few without serious injuries.
Marisa had not been so lucky, though admittedly her injuries were all self-inflicted. But soon enough she would be good as new?after a few visits to Eirin and a few weeks of rest.
Yuyuko had made a full recovery, meaning she was back to her regular, ditzy self. Reimu only saw her briefly before her and Youmu went back to Hakugyokurou. They were worried about her for a while shortly after she woke up, as she had apparently taken the whole situation rather badly, but after an hour or two she had managed to collect herself and her usual personality shone through.
Ran had been much better off. Some few hours after Hoshimi had been defeated, she woke up complaining of a massive headache, but otherwise she didn?t seem to have any injuries, physically or mentally.
Beyond those who had been hurt?they had managed to drag Kaguya and Mokou out of their self-made prison after a day or so. Mokou had flown off without a word, and Kaguya returned to Eientei as if nothing had happened. She assured everyone everything was okay, but Reimu supposed they?d have to wait and see what Mokou decided to do before they would know for sure.
Shortly after the battle ended, they had liberated Suwako from her post of prison guard, and after a few very tense moments, opened the seal on Utsuho. She had been less than pleased about the whole ordeal, but acted surprisingly honourable about the fact that she had been defeated. It didn?t seem to help her spirit, though. She was ?escorted? back to the Underground, but decided to go on what she called a ?journey of self-discovery? before returning to the Palace of the Earth Spirits. Reimu doubted it would last long, but she still had them deliver word to the Palace that Utsuho was safe and sound, and that she would be home whenever she worked up the courage to apologize.
The last one they had to worry about was Tenshi. According to the story from Remilia, she had been brutally wounded, to the point her life was in danger. She was told that Tenshi had managed to successfully retreat to Heaven, but it would likely be anywhere from weeks to months before she was heard from again. That being said, the small keystone dropped on the front deck of the Shrine was proof enough that she was still alive, so Reimu wasn?t overly concerned about her situation.
Reimu flopped back on to the floor, a small smile sneaking its way onto her face. The number of souls released from Hoshimi?s tower was astronomical. As soon as Komachi had come to, and realized what was happening, she had immediately tried to injure herself horribly, but unfortunately for her, the Yama was there and ready to stop her. And put her straight to work. At least she wasn?t alone ? a veritable army of Shinigami were at the Sanzu River, ferrying souls across as fast as possible. Even with so many of them, it would likely take another month at least to return the flow of souls to a normal level.
Reimu?s smile quickly waned. Now that the tower was gone, the only things Hoshimi had left behind were a massive trench gouged out of the earth ? which was now in the process of being studied and repaired by the Kappa, thanks to its bizarre, anti-magic properties ? and a single, thin ten foot spire of black and violet crystal over the spot where she had vanished. She had been told that Hoshimi wasn?t dead, but instead was just sealed away in some other dimension. Reimu wasn?t sure if that sat any better with her. She had no reason to like Hoshimi at all, but killing and eternal imprisonment weren?t really the Gensokyo way. She had wanted Hoshimi gone as much as anyone, but knowing her fate, Reimu couldn?t help but feel a little depressed.
Reimu sighed deeply, at last being able to do so out of relaxation instead of stress. Whether she liked the ending or not, the incident was over. Gensokyo, and everyone in it, was safe. It might take a while before things were back to normal, but that was okay. Now that their ten-day deadline had passed without incident?
?they had all the time in the world.
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Marisa sat uncomfortably in her favourite chair.
The chair was not designed for people with broken arms, and she was having a hard time coming to terms with that. Shaking her head, she repositioned herself once again, propping her injured arm up on one of the arm rests, and the book she was trying to read on her lap.
It was a real pain having her arm so badly injured. If there was one thing she regretted about the past two weeks, it was definitely regretting messing up on copying Byakuren?s spell.
On the way back from one of her usual trips to Eientei, Marisa had decided to stop by the Myouren Temple and see how they were faring. The ship they had sent to Makai had since returned, and refugee youkai were returning to their homes in droves. Similarly, those who had been evacuated to Old Hell had started returning to the surface as well ? Gensokyo was slowly regaining a sense of normalcy. Well, as normal as Gensokyo ever was.
Marisa shook her head violently. Spending all of her recent days either travelling back and forth between her house and Eientei, or sitting around the house reading books, she was letting her mind wander an awful lot. Which was problematic, since being confined to her house for most of the day every day was giving her the perfect excuse to study and study hard, and she wanted to make the best of it.
Her latest flash of inspiration had been from Patchouli?s explanation of Hoshimi?s ability. Though they had found out Patchouli?s prediction was slightly off, it turned out the real answer was closer to Patchouli?s explanation than any of them had expected.
The mind affects the body, and the body affects the world?the purpose of magic was to compensate for the lack of ability within the physical body, bringing it closer to the infinite productivity of the mind. But Hoshimi had gone a step beyond. She had taken out the intermediary, so that her mind could affect the world directly, without the body being necessary.
It was truly an astonishing ability, but more than that, it was proof. The concept was really one that transcended the very idea of magic itself, and Hoshimi was ? is? ? living proof that it was possible to reach it.
Now, Hoshimi did have the advantage of having the soul of a dragon infused into her, but that was beside the point. What was relevant is that there was proof of a system that was beyond magic itself, and if it could exist, then it was theoretically possible for a person to obtain it.
And if Marisa had anything to say about it, that person would be her.
It was a difficult path to pursue, however. She was a magician above all else, and that meant she was most adept at working with magic. If she were to try and discover ? or, as she suspected was more likely, create from scratch ? a system that was beyond magic, her knowledge of magic itself would likely be of little help to her.
For that reason, she had to go back. Back to the beginning, the very basic core concepts of magic itself. The mind affects the body, the body affects the world. Magic serves to close the gap between the infinite mind and the limited body. If she was going to imitate Hoshimi?s ability, she would need to go in the opposite direction ? finding a way to affect the world by eliminating the need for the body to take action.
In some senses, it was very similar to magic, but in principle it was the exact opposite. But even these exact opposites all started in the same place and ended up with the same result. Marisa closed the book she was holding and replaced it with another book that was on the table beside her. Incidentally, both of the books were borrowed from Patchouli. She had told Patchouli she was borrowing these ones though, so it was okay...she thought. Maybe.
Opening the new book, she began reading it for the third time that day. If she was going to build a new system from the ground up, she would need to know the basics like the back of her hand.
The mind affects the body, the body affects the world?
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Shinki stood alone, allowing the portal behind her to completely close.
It had been a long few days since the fight with Hoshimi had ended. For her, it had been a thing of minutes, not even an hour. Yet she knew for Gensokyo it was a weeks-long struggle. There was still a minor pang of guilt in her heart for the trouble she caused them, but there was little sense in dwelling on the past. Right now, she needed to focus on the present, and the future.
The space around her was completely black. There was no discernable ground, though she was standing on it, and there was nothing as far as the eye could see except for solid blackness. It was like she was standing in the middle of the void, like she was in the middle of the night sky that had been robbed of its stars.
Strangely enough, despite the fact there were no sources of light, and there was virtually nothing to see in the first place, there was a strange feeling of brightness. She was perfectly capable of seeing herself, and there was no feeling of her vision being obscured ? it wasn?t that the place was dark, there was just nothing there. It was a perfectly enclosed space, no light, no shadow.
Shinki had struggled considerably with her thoughts since the confrontation with Hoshimi. Though they had been enemies thousands of years before, her encounter with her a few days ago was only the second time they had met. And both of those times had been desperate fights to save an entire world full of people from Hoshimi?s wrath.
And that was what bothered her. Her conversation with Hoshimi before had made her doubt her judgment of her. She had always thought of her as a bloodthirsty tyrant, a murderer on the scale of nations. Who else would have such drive to conquer all of Makai? The fact that she had the power to back it up was, honestly, just coincidence. And that coincidence is what had made her dangerous.
She had no regrets about fighting or defeating Hoshimi, in either of the situations they had met. She needed to be defeated the first time so that Shinki could subjugate Makai to her own rule, so that she could break the endless cycles of war that had plagued it for centuries after its creation. If she hadn?t been stopped the second time, at the very least all of Gensokyo would have been destroyed, and who knew where the damage would stop?
Shinki waved a hand in front of her. A tiny, almost microscopic crack appeared in the air before her, even harder to notice due to the blackness it rested on. Slowly, a thin, black mist, strangely visible despite the black backdrop, started to seep out of the crack.
She had no concerns about whether sealing Hoshimi away had been the right choice, either. She was far too powerful ? even Shinki herself could barely hurt her, and even if she could, she was effectively immortal anyways. Sealing her away had been the only option, aside from letting her win.
But seeing Hoshimi?s face when she had heard Makai was at peace?that look of relief, of release. It had shown Shinki that maybe, just maybe, she had misjudged Hoshimi. And if that was true, then she had definitely made one mistake. Leaving Hoshimi in solitude for these past six thousand years.
The mist seeping out of the crack slowly began to whirl around in a circle, until it finally coalesced into the shape of a single eye. A dull violet light began to glow in the center, so the eye outlined in black had a glowing purple iris. The eye searched around briefly, looking almost confused, before its gaze settled on Shinki.
Shinki and the disembodied eye continued to stare at each other for a long few moments. Shinki?s expressionless gaze, matched by the eye?s cold emotionlessness created a situation in which neither of the two could tell what the other was thinking in the slightest. Finally, after a long silence, Shinki spoke.
?I?ve been thinking, since our fight a few days ago,? she spoke slowly. The eye continued to watch her, motionless. ?I thought that, after six millennia of being alone, you might enjoy some company.?
The eye twitched slightly. Shinki couldn?t help but smile slightly at what she interpreted was a reaction of surprise. That being said, surprise could go in either direction. The two of them had been enemies for as long as Shinki had known Hoshimi existed ? it wouldn?t be surprising at all if Hoshimi was doing all she could to try and spit at her feet.
After another awkward silence, the eye??blinked.? It was somewhat bizarre to see, as the eye had no actual physical form, but after it did so, it continued to watch Shinki.
She had no idea what Hoshimi was thinking, as she sat trapped in her prison, looking out through a tiny crack to see her standing there. But she kept watching, and that was a good enough response for her. Creating a plain-looking chair behind her, Shinki sat down. The eye lowered itself in the air, keeping at Shinki?s eye-level.
?I know it must be a little frustrating, not being able to talk,? Shinki said, ?but I trust you can understand why that must be the case. Because of that, I?ll just have to guess what you?d like to talk?well, hear about.?
The eye watched her motionlessly. She really hoped Hoshimi would learn to express emotion through this medium sooner rather than later. She felt like she was talking to a magic rock.
Shinki waved her hand, and the air beside her twisted into a wide view of the landscape of Makai. The eye turned slightly, trying to discern what the picture was. As it recognized what it was looking at, it actually widened slightly, a gesture Shinki took to be a clear sign of surprise.
?I figured the best place to start would be to tell you how Makai has changed since you left.?
And credit roll.
This is definitely the ending credit theme for this story, shamelessly stolen from Fate/Stay night.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjNnsD5VtY8
Thanks for sticking with me until the end everyone. It's been a blast writing this, and there was little that was as satisfying as coming back to see all your comments. Even just watching the view count go up was exciting :)
Some random statistics:
-First draft of Chapter 1 was written September 2nd, 2012 (wow! No, I never posted the first draft of Chapter 1)
-Chapter 2, when I legitimately decided to take writing the story seriously, was written December 15th, 2012
-Thread created February 3rd, 2013
-Total Word Count: 191,971 words!
-Longest Chapter: Chapter 19 at 14,606 words
-Shortest Chapter: The Prologue, at 2255 words
-Average chapter length: 5999.09 words (SO CLOSE AAAAAAAGH)
I have some replies to your guys' comments for the next post. Stay tuned!
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...Welp, didn't expect Flandre to be the one ending Hoshimi. Or Shinki being the one who sealed her in the past for that matter.
That makes two of us :x I hadn't actually planned to include Flandre until fairly late into the story, so that's why there wasn't much (any) foreshadowing of it.
And I wonder if Reimu and the others' combination attack is still weaker than Yuuka's? Reimu's ultimate attack particularly since even though she goes for the kill, it still doesn't finish Hoshimi off.
In some ways yes, in some ways no. The thing that really stood out about Yuuka's attack was that it was mostly physical - since Hoshimi's body was made of magical energy, rather than flesh and blood, it was more resistant to magical attacks. That being said, despite the horrible predicament with Yuuka, she was never really in danger of "dying." Yuuka could have entirely destroyed her body and torn it into little pieces, but the end result would have just been that Hoshimi would have had to spend the time to build a new body from scratch (which took her about a year to build the first one, for reference).
Against a normal target, the combined attack would have probably been more impactful (both of them would easily kill anyone in Gensokyo), but the fact that a) Hoshimi wasn't using a flesh-and-blood body and b) she was specifically throwing the match, so had taken precautions to make sure she didn't accidently take more damage than she was able to handle served to ward off most of the danger. She still was considerably injured, but as we saw later, she can regenerate absurdly quickly from pretty much anything.
Man, these last chapters were great. My heart was actually pounding during the last battle between Shinki, Flandre and Yukari x Hoshimi. It was an excellent battle, very well written, with great flow.
In fact, re-reading the fic from the beggining, your writting has improved a lot overall from what it was at the start. Congratulations on that!
Really, my only grip was in the fight against Tenshi. I'm pretty sure a Celestial's skin is too tough to be cut by knives (if we go by Sakuya's comment upon losing against Tenshi in the latter's stoy mode in SWR; then again, maybe she didn't mean that literally), but this is very minor. I hadn't thought of a Celestial's body being poisonous for youkai by their mere presence; I always interpreted that line as "if a youkai actually tries to eat a celestial...". This was a pretty interesting interpretation of that property.
Well, now that only the Epilogue remains, I hope we can get some more insight on what Hoshimi actually is. I suppose Shinki will be the one explaining, considering she has a past with her. Really curious about it, can't wait!
By the way, will we discover what was the "very special present" that Yukari had prepared for Hoshimi? It didn't seem that it was used, I think?
I remember TwilightsCall explaining some pages back that it's not that this is 20% of her power; rather, she's divided in 5 diferent parts, with the one that appears in this story being by far the strongest.
Thank you for the compliments! I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one who thinks I'm getting better at this over time lol.
Re: Tenshi vs Knives, honestly that wasn't something I even know about. Almost all of my knowledge about Tenshi and Celestials in general was stuff I saw in the relevant PMiSS and SoPM, and since neither of them had an actual article about her, I had to fill in a lot of gaps myself. As far as the "poisonous to youkai" part, I took the line
A celestial's body is like poison to youkai, and as a result, youkai almost never attack celestials, so they have nothing to fear on earth.
to mean that they couldn't even approach a Celestial. Your original interpretation is probably more accurate though 8D
Yukari's present, which both she and I had planned on being a much bigger deal when it was originally conceived, was the black gap space. It was basically a weak pocket dimension that had no connections to Gensokyo, so it would have been a game-ender for anyone that couldn't travel between dimensions. Yukari was planning on using it as a kind of ultimate trap, to get Reimu out of trouble should the need arise. Of course, she wouldn't tell Reimu that.
The real intention of bringing it up was to show that Yukari wasn't just sitting back and watching, that she was, at least initially, planning on actively participating in the fight. Unfortunately, with Hoshimi's acting and stuff, it was a little bit unorthodox, so she never found a good opportunity to come in until the end - which probably worked out better for everyone involved.
Oh yeah, I just realized something. Hoshimi should've killed Flandre back then. Or at least gouge both of her eyes out.
This is what you get for being too lax in your villainy.
I believe the correct phrase is, "Pride goeth before the fall" ;)
I'm going to post a detailed profile for Hoshimi...hopefully soon (both sealed and unsealed versions) for those of you who are curious. I'll probably accompany it with some random trivia about my decisions during the writing process as well, just for fun.
If you guys have any remaining questions about the story, the decisions I made while writing, the process of writing at all, or...anything, really, feel free to leave them here. I specifically forced myself to avoid posting before unless I was posting a chapter update, but I don't need to restrict myself like that anymore so I should be able to respond fairly promptly!
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I KNEW IT WAS HER NECKLACE! I KNEW IT EVER SINCE IT WAS POINTED OUT! Why else would there be an off-colored necklace with FIVE JEWELS in it? If it breaks the color scheme, it must be important! Yet no one else paid even a SPOT of attention to it!
Seriously, the necklace was as blatant as a single, glowing eye on a Zelda boss. I'm surprised not a single person even thought about the necklace. Great story, but UGGGHHHH that one detail killed me!
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Congratulations, the word count of this fanfic is exactly 1334 words longer than Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire!
You sir, have created the 4th longest Doorstopper (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Doorstopper) I have ever seen.
This fanfic was amazing. I hope for more stories like this!
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This fanfic was amazing. I hope for more stories like this!
Yep! I definitely want to see more kick-ass villain OCs fighting Touhous with cool fight scenes like this! :D
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I can't think of anything else interesting to put in here, so if you want to know more you'll have to ask directly! For all of you wondering what Hoshimi would be like if she had been freed, well...let's say that there's a good reason she wasn't. Which should be possible to discern after reading the following :P
Name: Hoshimi
Species: Youkai
Abilities: Inherited Spirit of the Dragon, Manipulation of Earth and Crystal
Occupation: Prisoner
Location: Between Gensokyo and Makai
Background:
Long ago, the self-styled Goddess Shinki left the known realms and created a world of her own. This realm, known as Makai, was as a toy to her ? an entire world that was hers to manipulate and enjoy. Soon after, she began to create followers ? the demons of Makai were born to be her subjects, in what was to her little more than a game.
Makai had been constructed as a place where magic and the supernatural flourished. As such, it was not long before youkai from the other realms learned of Makai and began migrating there. Shinki paid them little mind ? Makai was her world, and she could do with it as she saw fit, but she had no reason to keep others away. In reality, she was happier to have others come and marvel at the work she had wrought. Even so, she typically kept to herself ? she had no desire to meddle with the lives of the youkai that now lived there, and she was fully capable of keeping herself entertained while staying out of their way.
The youkai population of Makai flourished, quickly rivalling and eventually surpassing the population of demons that Shinki had given birth to. However, unlike the demons, the youkai had no form of central leadership. In a world where their powers and magic were so amplified, conflict soon broke out, and the denizens of Makai fragmented into dozens of small factions. The fragmentation solved a great deal of the conflicts in the short term, but as was inevitable, wars between factions soon began to break out. Before long, all of Makai was trapped in a constant state of war, all the while the Goddess Shinki turned a blind eye ? she was not responsible for their actions, so she left it to them to solve their own problems.
It was in this era that Hoshimi was born. She was a rather unexceptional youkai, born to a mediocre House and raised to be the House?s future leader. Her House was a member of an alliance of five, and together they fought to defend themselves from the greed of those around them.
Just over a decade after Hoshimi had been born, a ?miracle? occurred. A dragon, old, sick, and dying from wounds from some unearthly struggle, fell into Makai. The people of Hoshimi?s alliance immediately took up arms, and after a lengthy and bloody battle, the dragon was slain. Among the casualties, however, was the leader of Hoshimi?s House, her father.
The alliance decided the best and fairest use of the dragon?s power was to divide it five ways. Each House in the alliance was given a fifth of the dragon?s power, which manifested physically as an ornate, jewelled pendant. Since her father had fallen in battle, Hoshimi inherited the seat of power, and despite being just a child, was given her fair share, and bestowed with the title of The Evening Star.
Despite gaining the power of the dragon, or maybe even because of it, the wars around the Dragon Soul Alliance intensified. Their previous foes were crushed mercilessly, and new, larger foes were quick on their heels, eager to steal the power of the dragon for themselves. Thanks to that power, the Alliance was able to hold its ground, and was dragged into another series of decades-long wars.
Unfortunately, greed was not restricted to their attackers. The members of the Dragon Soul Alliance soon began plotting against each other, seeking to kill their allies and consolidate the power of the dragon in themselves. Following a short series of internal wars and conflicts sparked by an attempt at killing Hoshimi and her closest ally in the Alliance, The Tide Star, the Dragon Soul Alliance crumbled completely, and the last one standing was Hoshimi ? the power of the dragon unified once again in her.
Despite the conflict, Hoshimi took the people of the five Houses under her wing, not turning any of them away, and led them to battle against those who constantly waged war against them. With the power of the entire Dragon Soul Alliance unified in her, she was quickly able to overcome their opponents and conquer their people. As she expanded her territory, she took these new people under her wing as well ? her acts of compassion and mercy to those she had defeated earned her tremendous loyalty among those she conquered, and her army swelled larger with every conquest.
Of course, the conflicts never ceased. Centuries of constant war ensued, each victory heralding the start of a new battle. After hundreds of years of conflict, Hoshimi and her House had finally done what none had thought was possible ? she had, purely through retaliatory conquest, conquered all of Makai. At this point, the Goddess Shinki took notice. Seeing she had power far beyond that which should have been possible for a youkai, and seeing she had been exerting that power for the purpose of conquest, Shinki finally admitted that it was time for intervention.
In an attempt to liberate the people of Makai from their new ?tyrant,? Shinki herself waged war on Hoshimi. Though it was remembered as a war, it took the span of only a few days. Fighting was sparse and reserved, culminating with a duel between Shinki and Hoshimi.
Unfortunately for Hoshimi, the duel had been a set-up, and she had walked unwittingly into a trap. After a brief fight, it became immediately clear that Hoshimi would win a battle to the death, so Shinki?s followers ambushed Hoshimi in the middle of the battle. Hundreds of demons combined their might, and together with Shinki, managed to seal Hoshimi away with sheer brute force.
Hoshimi remained sealed for over six thousand years, in a small pocket dimension created by Shinki. However, the seal would not last forever ? events in Gensokyo, starting with the creation of Gensokyo itself and culminating with the liberation of Byakuren from Makai were able to sufficiently damage the seal to allow Hoshimi to return to consciousness.
After her long period of being sealed, her memories had all but vanished. In an attempt to try and regain her memories, as well as free herself from the prison she had found herself in, she managed to leak a small portion of her power out of the damaged seal, manifesting an avatar of sorts in Gensokyo.
Abilities:
Hoshimi?s abilities are rather widely spread, and thanks to the spirit of the dragon, immensely powerful. She was originally a simple youkai, with the ability to manipulate and control earth and minerals, taking a specific liking to crystals. Once she inherited the spirit of the dragon, her powers became much more diverse.
Absolute Dominance: The power held in the Amethyst pendant, originally given to Hoshimi herself as The Evening Star. The power gave her the ability to perfectly identify the flaws of any person, thing, or idea. Simply by seeing, hearing, or thinking about any object, she could perfectly identify any weakness within it, giving her unprecedented advantages both as a tactical leader and as a combatant herself. This power was sealed and unusable within the story.
Absolute Insight: The power held in the Sapphire pendant, originally given to the one with the title of The Tide Star. This power gave its wielder, and subsequently Hoshimi, the ability to freely see the past of any individual or object she looked at. Similar to the workings of the Yama?s mirror, she could see anything the person had ever done or said without limit. Combined with the power of Absolute Dominance, she could perfectly see and understand any opponent?s abilities and plans, as well as all their weaknesses and the best method by which to defeat them, simply by laying eyes on them. This power was sealed and unusable in the story.
Absolute Defense: The power held in the Emerald pendant, originally given to the one with the title of The Rising Star. This power gave its wielder, and subsequently Hoshimi, a defense capable of withstanding attacks from even a dragon. With considerable effort, the effects of the power could even be expanded to other individuals, or concentrated to protect specific parts of the body with an even stronger shield. In practice, there were virtually no youkai or demons in Makai who were capable of penetrating the defense. This power was sealed and unusable in the story.
Absolute Power: The power held in the Ruby pendant, originally given to the one with the title of The Falling Star. This power gave its wielder, and subsequently Hoshimi, unrestricted powers of destruction. The most ?brute force? of all of the powers of the dragon, there was no defense or barrier that could withstand its attack. Typically, it manifested as the ?breath of a dragon,? which generally meant fire, though there were some creative applications of it beyond simple fire-breathing. This power was sealed and unusable in the story.
Absolute Authority: The power held in the Diamond pendant, originally given to the one with the title of The Morning Star. This power gave its wielder, and subsequently Hoshimi, the ability to issue absolute commands to any living or nonliving thing. Though it took considerable effort to override the free will of a living thing, non-sentient things could be manipulated as easily as she could think. Effectively, reality would bend, break, and rewrite itself at her whims, allowing her to accomplish virtually anything she could imagine. This is the power Hoshimi was able to manifest in the story.
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One of the Admins might want to move this Thread to the Grand Bookstore, since this story is finished.