~Hakurei Shrine~ > Patchouli's Scarlet Library
Kilga's Garbage Dump (updated 5/27/2015)
Kilgamayan:
Oh God, I'm writing again.
The following was inspired by Himiko's writing prompts. One thing I suggested to her as an idea for a short was "Byakuren and Miko get stuck in a bad situation together and need each other to get out of it." Then, earlier this week, I had a bolt of inspiration and decided to tackle it myself. I had fully intended this to be a simple short, but clearly I am incapable of vomiting out fewer words than absolutely necessary, as it turned into this. Be warned that my preferred writing style for shorts is a bit staccato, but hopefully it's not too off-putting for anyone that's not used to it or doesn't like it.
Special credits go to (a) Himiko for inspiring me to write again with her shorts, (b) Purvis for the influence his text adventures have had on both how I see Gensokyo and how I write Touhou in my head, and (c) Wolfie-Kate/GhostlyWhimsy, whose speech style was something of an inspiration for Byakuren's speech style here.
---
?I am becoming increasingly concerned that you do not know where we are or where we are going.?
?It doesn?t really matter where we?re going, does it? As long as we escape unharmed.?
?Perhaps your absence does not affect you or your constituents, but I worry for my sisters, as I am sure they worry for me.?
?Look. I know what I?m doing. I will find us our way back to the surface. Just trust me.?
Silence filled the tunnel in response, prompting the Prince to look back at her traveling companion. The monk?s expression was blank, maybe just slightly annoyed. This aggravated Miko all the more. No words needed to be said; she could guess exactly what the monk was thinking. Trusting you got us into this situation in the first place, oh great leader.
Miko turned back around and kept moving along the underground tunnel, doing her best to concentrate on where they were going and pretend the monk wasn?t staring a hole in the back of her head. It was harder to focus on this than it should have been, because the monk, both vocal and silent, was right. It was her fault they were in their current predicament, having made the initial life-threatening mistake and then compounding it by blindly diving into the underground tunnel network in a panic to get away from their pursuer. And now she was well and truly lost. Even though she had set up this network, it was still new, and she was still not completely used to the layout of the land.
Another minute of painful quiet followed. The Prince started to find the tunnel air heavier than the perilous situation they were in.
?At least I have not heard any noise of pursuit for some time. Have you??
?I have not.?
?Hmm. Perhaps we are safe for the time being, then.?
No response.
Say something.
Miko continued on with the monk in tow, as the silence grew louder and louder. She slowly slipped away from paying attention to her surroundings, lost in a whirlwind of aggravated internal monologue. Say something, damn you! Something, anything! Complain about our situation! Fear for your life! Dump everything on me like we both know you want to! Give me some reason to get angry at you in return! I don?t care! Just say anything!
?Would you like some help??
Miko felt herself jump slightly. She whirled around to see the monk?s indecipherably passive face. Her runaway train of thought screeched to a halt. She was ready for any number of things the monk would say, but that was certainly not on the list.
The two of them stood there. Miko had no idea how to response. The monk patiently waited for an answer, expression unchanging.
Eventually, in a small voice, the Prince spoke up.
?What?what do you propose you can do??
No response. Again. But this time the monk walked toward the stunned Prince, expression still unchanging, until they were right next to each other. With no idea what was going on, Miko became acutely aware of their differences in height and bulk. The monk wasn?t that much taller, but it felt like she was towering over the Prince right now.
?Uh??
The monk slowly wrapper her arms around the Prince and gave Miko a gentle hug.
Time froze. Miko couldn?t even process what was happening. She simply stood there, completely dumbfounded.
What?s going on? What is this? Is she trying to lift me? Trick me? Crush me? Kill me? Tell me she likes me?
Miko?s mind raced and raced, but no answers came, only more silent hug.
And eventually, slowly, she realized her arms were lifting up...and returning the gesture.
They stood that way for what seemed like an eternity. As it became clearer and clearer that the embrace was not a threat on her life, Miko?s body relaxed, feeling an immeasurable weight melt away, a weight she wasn?t even aware had been there. It oozed off of her neck, her chest, her arms, her legs, everything. Even her mind was slowing, somehow returning to normal. The Prince didn?t know how, but somehow she felt like they were indeed going to make it out of this crisis alive.
The monk broke the embrace and stepped back. Miko had to stop herself from falling forward out of surprise.
?That is what I propose. Did it help??
The question took a few seconds to process. You know, I hate to admit it, but it?actually, do I hate to admit it? No, I don?t think I do.?
The Prince nodded.
?Yes, it did. Somehow.?
Byakuren smiled. ?It seems you are unaware of just how tense you were. Were a shamisen wound half as tightly, it would be rendered unplayable, as simply strumming it once would cause most of the strings to snap.?
?...I would say the situation lends itself to such feelings.?
?Understandably so. However, a conducive environment only creates a problem without solving it.?
?I suppose I cannot argue that.?
The monk did not respond. This time, however, the tension was not nearly as palpable, and it was for an entirely different reason. Miko looked around a bit at the walls, suddenly unable to look the monk directly in the eye, before quietly clearing her throat.
?Thank you.?
Byakuren smiled again. ?You?re welcome. Shall we continue, then??
Before Miko could respond, a sound erupted from somewhere down the tunnel in the direction they had come. At first, it was too quiet to be interpretable, but as it got louder, their blood chilled. The sound morphed into a terrifying roar, coated in unbridled rage.
Certain doom was closing in.
Byakuren and Miko quickly looked back down the tunnel, then looked at each other, before Miko spoke up.
?I do believe that qualifies as a ?yes?. Hurry!?
The duo took off further down the tunnel, running as quickly as they could to escape pursuit. Byakuren outpaced Miko by a tiny amount, until a sudden stumble almost threw her to the dirt floor.
?Ah!?
Miko slowed down and banked to the right to avoid running into the now-limping monk. Looking back while coming to a stop, the pain on Byakuren?s face was starting to show.
?What happened??
Byakuren only emitted a pained grunt in response while she descended to the ground, clutching at her ankle. Immediately Miko was at Byakuren?s side, throwing herself under the monk?s arm and lifting Byakuren back up off the ground.
?Now is not the time for that. Let?s get you mobile again so we can get out of here.?
?Ergh...and how do you suggest we continue our escape? There is not enough space here to fly, and I will only slow us both down greatly.?
Miko looked around quickly, checking behind them to make sure their predator was not immediately behind them. The two of them were still alone, so Miko turned her gaze forward, and quickly found their salvation. She used her free arm to point at a hole in the ceiling, several yards ahead of them.
?Right there, that is my suggestion. Put your weight on me instead of that foot, and let me take care of the rest.?
The final steps to freedom were agonizingly slow, but Miko paid them no mind, knowing her companion had it much rougher at present. Making it to the hole uninterrupted, Byakuren leaned against the earthen wall on her good ankle as Miko floated the short distance up to the trap door that presented their first real chance of escaping this whole ordeal safely.
The trap door burst open, and Miko rejoined the land of the topside. Her heart immediately sank, as she found herself in the middle of a stone path surrounded by forest. They had made their way all the way back to their pursuer?s lair.
Byakuren noticed that the Prince?s legs were dangling in mid-air for far too long instead of making their way the rest of the way up the tunnel. ?What? What is out there??
Miko grimaced as she looked around. Of all the places for us to surface, it just had to be?wait.
?Aha! Quick, come up!?
With Miko?s assistance, Byakuren pulled herself out of the hole onto the ground. Immediately, she frowned. ?Oh, bother. Our luck is truly-?
Miko waved her off while pointing excitedly. ?No! Look!?
Byakuren turned toward where the Prince was indicating, and saw a large wooden box. ?Yes, I see. What about it??
?It?s the perfect hiding place! No one would ever check in there!?
?Don?t be ridic?well?you might be right??
?It?s the best chance available. Now let?s-?
Another blood-curdling guttural roar made its way out of the open panel in the ground. Miko and Byakuren exchanged glances, before the Prince moved herself under the monk?s arm once again and began walking her toward the box, her voice lowered.
?Right, then. No time to waste.?
?But wait! Surely there is only room in there for one of us!?
?Exactly. We need to get you in there now.?
?Me??
?Yes, you. We both know you are not in good escaping condition right now.?
?But what about you??
They had made their way to the box. Miko unslung Byakuren?s arm from around herself and lifted the lid of the box while Byakuren balanced herself by holding onto the sides.
?With all due respect, Hijiri, I?m more confident in my ability to outwit our pursuer than yours.?
She then flashed a small grin.
?Besides, I got you into this mess, did I not? The least I can do is get you out. Now come on.?
With Miko?s assistance, Byakuren gingerly climbed into the surprisingly roomy box and settled herself in. Twisting a little so she could face up, she took one last look at the hermit Prince.
?Thank you. Good luck.?
Miko placed the lid back on the box and flashed a thumbs-up at Byakuren through the slats on top.
?Thanks. I?ll need it. Stay silent.?
And with that, Miko hopped into the air and sped off into the forest.
---
Marisa Kirisame was not having a good day.
Oh, sure, she wasn?t the one in trouble, and if she reeeeeeally wanted to, she could just walk away and let the situation resolve itself. But she knew it was going to fall to her to make sure things resolved with as little mess as possible.
The witch flew behind an irate-borderline-possessed shrine maiden on her broom, silently matching speeds as they made their way through Miko?s tunnel network. She had no idea what to say and certainly didn?t even want to be there, but she was also too afraid to let Reimu go ahead alone ? afraid of what Reimu would do to the other religious figureheads if left unchecked, and afraid of what Reimu would do to her for absconding in the middle of such an important pursuit.
?When I get my hands on those two deadbeats, those two welchers??
The witch sighed, inaudible over Reimu?s profanity-laced monologue. Marisa Kirisame was not having a good day.
Next time there?s a batch of newbies, I?m just gonna warn them immediately about betting on mahjong around here.
日巫子:
Ohhh man that was really good. I probably wouldn't have been able to come up with something like this if I had actually taken the prompt, hehe. This really leaves a lot up to the imagination.
Hello Purvis:
Well done.
Nat Tea:
You better get your groove back, Kilga, I wanna see more stuff like this!
It's been only like what 6 years anyway?
Kilgamayan:
I wrote Reisen Bad End in 2008 and Twilight of Perpetual Servitude/Outlandish Blooming Rapport in 2009. So 5 or 6 years, yes.