~Hakurei Shrine~ > Kosuzu's Grand Bookstore
Third Eye In Pure Waters
Dizzy H. "Muffin" Muffin:
I hate sharks! [/Francis]
FinnKaenbyou:
And, by request, have some combat!
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Satori's first impulse was to break for the surface, but the predator had already predicted that move. It rose up to block her, its cold black eyes looking at her with a primal hunger. Desperately looking for a way to tame the beast, she looked through its heart for something resembling rational thought. There was only one thought running through its mind.
"Eat."
It hung above her, tracing her movements as she tried to find her way around it. It clearly wasn't a youkai like Sango, but rather an ordinary fish looking for its next meal.
But I don't want it to be me!
Despite her best efforts, Satori hadn't managed to pick up the speed to outrun a shark. It continued to hover over her, still watching with its dead eyes. Sango began to dash back across the lake, her mind racing as quickly as her pulse.
"How did I let this happen? I thought the sharks were all away in other lakes, and even then what are they doing awake at this hour!?"
Sango made to slam into the shark, but before she could make it something slammed into her side. She let off a small cry of pain, turning to realise that this shark wasn't stupid enough to hunt alone.
"T-Two of them..."
Sango was getting frightened now. She might have been able to handle one shark on her own, but two was beyond her. Satori was still trapped, the first of the two sharks still looming over her. She wondered momentarily why it hadn't moved to eat her already, but another quick scan of its heart answered the question for her.
"Drown."
As if on command, Satori felt air push its way out of her lungs. This wasn't a primal, savage hunter - it knew her weakness, and it was exploiting it to its utmost. She had two choices - try to swim up and get eaten, or stay down here and drown for sure.
That's an unfair choice...
"B-blub blub..."
She was struggling now, her chest starting to burn. She turned to Sango with frightened, pleading eyes.
Help me...
Sango was frozen in place, trapped between saving herself and saving her new friend. It was too dangerous, too risky, she'd get herself killed-
"...She isn't scared about what other people think, she just goes her own way. I like people who are that confident, you know?..."
"No...Koishi-chan wouldn't think like that...and neither should I!"
Her own words ringing in her head, Sango threw her fears aside. She'd be no use fighting as a dolphin, so she willed herself back into youkai form. She produced a small piece of paper, mentally reciting the incantation due to a lack of other options. Satori heard it loud and clear, her third eye still working fine amidst the chaos.
"As the dirty waters are made pure, strike down my enemies with what remains!
Cleansing Sign [Purified Greywater]!"
As the chant concluded, a wave of dull grey bullets started to appear in front of Sango. The shark stopping her, realising that she was preparing an attack, charged her to try and cut the casting short.
"Gotcha~"
She clicked her fingers, and immediately each bullet split into two. Flying away from the shark were a series of bright blue bullets, and coming towards it was a barrage of black ones. If it had stayed back it might have had a chance of dodging, but at this range there was nothing it could do.
Danmaku is specifically meant to be non-fatal, so the shark was simply knocked out as the bullets struck it. For a moment Sango congratulated herself, her plan having worked without a hitch.
Then the second shark turned to her.
"Uh-oh..."
This was the reason she'd been so worried - she hadn't ever managed to go beyond one spellcard. She quickly realised that she'd left herself defenseless as the shark approached.
"But still, at least Satori-chan is going to get away safely, right?"
She glanced around the shark, hoping to see Satori taking the opportunity to take a breath.
Her hopes went ignored.
"S-Satori-chan!? What are you doing?!"
Satori's lungs felt like they were going to burst, but she mustered together the willpower to ignore it. She had come to the same conclusion Sango had - worrying about little things like her own safety didn't matter when a friend's life was on the line.
Time to show her...just what this third eye can really do.
The eye on her chest opened wide, focusing intently on Sango. She focused her mind on the one memory that she needed, a single card silently appearing in her hand.
...As the dirty waters are made pure, strike down my enemy with what remains.
It was one thing to copy someone's spellcard on dry land. It was another thing entirely to do it underwater, without a physical incantation, and on the verge of drowning. But still, Sango watched in awe as her own card manifested itself in Satori's hand, ready to be used.
...Cleansing Sign [Purified Greywater].
The card Satori produced was a poor imitation, consisting of maybe half the bullets Sango's had, but in a situation like this it was the best that she could hope for. Given that the shark was still unaware of what was going on behind it, it was also all she needed.
Click.
Another wave of black bullets appeared, flying towards the shark with just as much force as Sango's. It only had enough time to turn around, bewildered, before it was out cold.
For a moment, Sango was frozen in amazement. Satori had just taken her card, figured out what made it tick, and reproduced it in a matter of seconds. It was an incredible sight, far more impressive than simply learning how to swim easily.
"G-glug..."
Then she remembered something much more important.
"Satori-chan!!"
Satori's hands were clasped around her mouth, but bubbles still seeped through her fingers by the dozens. Her eyes had jammed themselves shut, and she had nowhere near enough energy to propel herself to the surface. Sango grabbed her around the waist, hastily trying to pull her out of the water.
"C'mon, kick with me! Hurry!"
Sango saw Satori's eyes turn to her for the briefest moment. Then, slowly at first, she felt her kicking like she'd been taught, getting stronger and stronger until the pair began to rise upwards. The surface was getting closer and closer, until finally...
Air!
Satori had never been happier to take a breath in her life.
"We...made it..."
She gasped out a cry of relief between gasps as Sango led her to the shore. After a few breaths she managed to find the strength to swim back to shore, Sango following suit.
"You okay? You're not hurt, right?"
Sango rubbed at her shoulder, where a painful bruise had formed after the shark collided with her. Thanks to Satori's intervention, though, that was the worst of her injuries.
"I'm fine...just a little...short of breath..."
"That's good."
Sango sat down next to Satori, in the same way she had last time she'd pulled her out of the water. This time, though, she owed Satori as much as Satori owed her.
"...So...I assume I passed?"
Satori smirked, still panting heavily. Sango couldn't help but grin in return.
"You sure did, Satori-chan. You sure did."
They sat smiling like idiots towards each other, but both of them knew that it was someone else entirely who they owed their thanks to. Someone who'd set the example they both ended up following, giving them the courage they needed to do the right thing.
Koishi...thank you.
---
"Satori-samaaaa!"
Orin's shout echoed across the plain unanswered. The trail was a few hours old, but there was just enough left for her to follow.
"But where would she go in the middle of the night? This is the sort of thing Koishi-sama would do..."
She realised that she was coming up to a lake, the trail coming to an end. She could make out two people talking in the distance, Satori and another voice she couldn't recognise.
"...So, I can just drop by any time?"
"Sure. I'll try and arrange a few things next time and stop the sharks from showing up again, or at least tell them that you're a friend of mine. It'll work out, I promise."
Orin had no idea what sort of conversation she'd walked in on, but apparently it was almost finished. She decided to let them finish and catch Satori on the way out.
"Oh, and...if you see Koishi-"
"Yeah, yeah, I'll say you were looking for her. Don't worry about it."
"Alright. ...Thanks again."
As their talk concluded Orin heard someone coming closer, recognising her master's light steps. She hung around a corner and turned in false surprise.
"Oh, Satori-sama! I was looking for y- wait, what's that under your shirt?"
Apparently Satori had hastily thrown her clothes back on recently, because her shirt was folded upwards slightly. Beneath it Orin could make out something blue...it couldn't be what she thought it was, that'd be ridiculous...
"Ah, Orin. Your timing is excellent."
Satori firmly grabbed her pet around the shoulder.
"H-Hey, what're you doing!? I'm the one who's meant to be leading you home!"
"Orin, I've decided that I need to buy you a swimsuit."
Satori began to pull at Orin's arm, dragging her back to the passage underground. The cat was initially too stunned to respond, before suddenly jerking back to reality.
"A swimsuit? Why would you want to buy me a swimsuit?"
"So I can teach you how to swim, obviously."
Silence.
"...Sorry, did I hear that wrong? I thought you said that you wanted to teach me how to-"
"Swim? Yes, that's exactly what I said."
Again, it took Orin a few seconds to recover from this statement. When she did, her response was somewhat...desperate.
"You're kidding, right!? Why would I even need to swim? I don't need to do it anytime normally, and I really don't like water, so-"
"You're fine with taking baths, aren't you? And don't worry, I'll let Okuu learn along with you. If I can't teach you, I know an excellent tutor~"
"I take baths because I need to! And Okuu's gonna hate this just as much, she's a bird for crying out loud!"
She was moaning like a spoiled brat, but Satori could tell that she didn't mean it. This was just how Orin acted all the time - after a little resistance she'd be sure to enjoy it.
"And why do you even want me to learn to swim, anyway!?"
Satori turned to her with one of the most genuine and cheerful smiles Orin had seen from her in years.
"Oh, just call it a random idea that came to me."
THIRD EYE IN PURE WATERS
GOOD ENDING #1
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I'm happy with how this ended up finishing, to be honest. The whole 'Satori and Sango saving each other' thing gave me a pretty good opening to link back to Koishi, and it feels better as an ending in general.
As much as I typically dislike OCs, Sango ended up growing on me amazingly quickly
(probably thanks to all the effort I put into making her look legitimate) and it's sort of a shame that there isn't much room to use her elsewhere. I was looking for an excuse to teach myself a little DNH anyway, so I might end up trying to program something along the lines of this Purified Greywater card (to be fair, from what I know about the program, something like this won't be especially hard).
Hell, I'd draw her myself if I wasn't the worst artist in recorded history.
Anyway, thanks for reading through it all. Feel free to comment and stuff.
Drake:
I think I should be able to code Purified Greywater~ Also, you've obviously been playing Tales again.
Very nice. I love reading these.
Nine West:
--- Quote from: Roukanken on August 26, 2009, 12:28:21 AM ---And, by request, have some combat!
Cleansing Sign [Purified Greywater]
--- End quote ---
My prayers have been answered... My faith in you really pays off...
...Roukanken, the true Idiot Deity.
It turned out greater than I expected; simply well done.
Spoiler: Good Ending #1? Are you planning on multiple endings/installments?
Bias Bus:
Write a Bad Ending
No. For once, I'd rather be stayed of the despair they bring.
Ah, it looks like this has come to an end I see, not too long and a general joy to read. I don't really see this continuing in any sort of way, but if it does, I'll gladly read up on it~