~Hakurei Shrine~ > Kosuzu's Grand Bookstore
Fresh Faces in the Kaleidoscope (Completed!) (+Epilogue)
Kasu:
It would seem that something is gonna go down soon.
Esifex:
It's not a necropost - IT WAS NEVER DEAD TO BEGIN WITH AAAAGHGHG I SAID SO
Physical contact forces me to focus on whoever is touching me; it?s not like it?s some sort of condition or weakness that comes packaged with telepathy, it?s just from the senses working in unison, with the addition of telepathy.
Ergo, when Koishi poked me in the cheek, I got an impression through her mind of me bundled tightly up in the blankets and a serving of bacon and sausage sizzling next to an egg in a frying pan over the previously-neglected fireplace.
The last bit woke me up nice and quick. Food! Yum yum yum yum yum. I like food.
I greet Koishi ? and the morning ? with the most unintelligible gibberish that can only be translated by those who wander between sleeping and waking.
Koishi gets the gist of it, I guess. ?Good morning to you, too. Breakfast is almost ready.?
She stops poking me and wanders back to the fireside to tend the skillet, while I slowly roll across the padding that made up our bed. I?m too damned comfy to get up just yet ? you wake me up when breakfast is ready properly, not ?almost? ready.
I end up lying towards her, looking relatively up at her. She glances over at me once to see if I?m still awake, and then does a double take.
?You look like a cocoon, with a head. No! Like a person stuck in a giant spider?s webbing!?
?Oh, God, that?s disturbing. What?s wrong with you? I?m still waking up, I?m gonna hallucinate up a massive spider that?s gonna eat me.?
I wriggle out of the blankets, losing any resemblance to bugs I may or may not have had. While Koishi tends to the food, I begin folding and rolling the blankets. I don?t plan on lingering around the camp once breakfast is done.
Between pallets, I pull my phone out of my satchel and slide it open. Evidently, when Yukari forced signal onto it, it didn?t recalibrate the clock for wherever in the world Gensokyo?s time-zone was. In Florida, it was currently 11:52 PM. I shrug the matter off ? I?d never gotten around to learning all the time zones or how to read the sun to guesstimate the time, and that?s not why I?d dug up my phone.
I scroll through my music list and pick a song at random, ending up with Rainbow Camellia. Ironic that nearly all the music on my phone was remixes or arrangements of various songs from Touhou, and here I was stuck in the very world that Touhou was based off of. An errant thought crossed my mind; what kind of person was ZUN to have a friendship with Yukari? Clearly she fed him stories about the incidents to base his games off of, but how much was accurate, how much was embellishment, and how much was purely made up for the sake of the games? For instance ? how fast could Reimu really throw her amulets, I wonder?
Part of me considered the Scarlet Devil Mansion, since I was currently listening to an arrangement of the door guards? theme. After a moment?s deliberation, I banished the place from my mind. That?s not a sanctuary for humans. Sakuya only seems to make it because of her ruthless nature and her magic ? on top of that, all the rumors about her being a Lunarian instead of a human, as well. If that were true, there really weren?t any humans out of the Scarlet Mansion. If not, well? I?ve already proven at Yukari?s that I wouldn?t make a very spectacular maid, and I don?t think a vampire who can control fate has much need for a telepath, to be frank.
?Hey, stop moping and come over here and eat. I didn?t just cook all this for nothing.?
Ooooooo? Food. Food food food food.
Consequences and deliberations and plots and plans be damned, I?m hungry.
I?m full.
?That was pretty good. I gotta ask, though ? where did you get the bacon and sausage??
Koishi stares at me blankly for a second. ?Ran checked up on us while you were asleep. You were supposed to call them when we left Mayohiga, remember? You never did. When she found us ? I was already awake ? she asked if we needed anything. There wasn?t much by way of decent breakfast food in our pouches, so I asked her to get some for us.?
?Oh, shit. Forgot about that. Oh well, it all worked out in the end; we got bacon for it. C?mon, help me finish packing up. I wanna get a move on.?
?You pack, I?ll clean up the dishes and scatter the embers.? Koishi kicks some dirt across the smoldering fireplace, burying the hot embers and smothering them.
?Fair enough.?
I continue to pack the sleeping pallets into their respective rut sacks, gathering everything and doing my best to make sure it folds up neatly. Space is at a premium when you?re carrying crap on your back.
?So, any thoughts on where you wanna go? The shrine, maybe, or the underground?? Koishi asks.
?The underground sounds like a good enough idea. Still haven?t decided for sure, though. I?ll think on it while we?re walking. Almost done over there??
?Just about. Why??
I roll my rut sack away from the lean-to. Because of Koishi?s youkai nature, she?s far and away much stronger than I am. That being the case, she?s been carrying the heavier load. The lean-to will be getting loaded into her pack. ?Need a hand undoing the tent. Don?t wanna screw anything up ? I?ve never gone roughing-it like this, so? I have no clue how you pitched this and how you want me to take it down.?
?You can?t figure it out??
?I?m sure I could, but I?d just get lazy and stop thinking about it and just yank everything down, roll it up, and stuff it in your pack. I have a feeling that?d make it a pain in the ass to get out tonight.?
Koishi chuckles and nods. ?Yeah, I?ll talk you through taking it down with me.?
?Appreciate it.?
While waiting for Koishi to join me, I fiddle around with the satchels we were left with. Separate from the rut sacks, they were more akin to purses than backpacks. I knew that Koishi?s had a walky-talky in it ? her direct line to Yukari. Casting a sidelong glance at Koishi, I swing her satchel from hand to hand and feel the weight of the two-way inside it. With a single deft motion, I plunge my hand in, snatch it, and drop it into her rut sack. If I?d just dumped the entire satchel in, she?d have an excuse to stop and fish it out. This way, since she wouldn?t check for the walky-talky in my immediate presence, we?re more likely to load the lean-to over the top of it and she?d be hard-pressed to find it when she wanted to report in on me.
I quickly stifle the pang of guilt I feel over being sly like this. So far, Koishi truly is my best friend here ? but I honestly don?t know her well enough to let her think she knows what?s best for me, and I can?t afford for her to sense the guilt and try to investigate. I?m going to make sure the human village at least understands what happens the night I left; if they want to apologize for it, that?d be awesome, but I doubt I?d stay. They?ve already proven that there are some people who don?t trust me, and that?s enough for my paranoia to make me seek refuge elsewhere.
I stop and think about that for a moment. If Koishi finds out about my subterfuge, will she still be willing to escort me to The Underground? If not, I?ll have to look into some of those other options that Yukari mentioned.
Although, Yukari did say she was going to bring the shrine maiden up to intercept me, as well? If that?s the case, then odds are I?ll end up pissing her off with my actions, and then I?d have to strike the shrine off my list of possible destinations.
Shit. That really narrows it down.
Oh, shit. Yukari never told me who ran that shop or where it was that she knew of, the one that deals with the outer-world items. I begin scouring my mind, trying to think of anyone in the Touhou games lore who did that.
Thankfully, Koishi notices my consternation, and interrupts my line of thought. ?What?s wrong??
?Trying to think of other places to go, if the human village won?t take me back.?
?You want to go back to the village, after what happened?? she asks. There?s the slightest hint of concern on her face, but I don?t bother trying to scan her to confirm it; she?s probably the one person around best suited for blocking telepathy.
?I?m thinking about it. There are those other options Yukari mentioned, too ? but I can?t remember the name of the shop she suggested I go work out of.?
?Kourindou??
Hey, that sounds a little familiar. ?I think so. What?s the place like??
?Boooooooring. Guy who runs it sells a bunch of crap that no one uses in a shop partway through the Forest of Magic. Youkai have access to magic that can do whatever he sells can do, only better, and the humans won?t go wandering through the Forest to get to his shop for a few trinkets, oftentimes. Usually when someone goes to his shop, it?s to use his ability to identify the purpose of objects and artifacts. He?s a lot like Keine, the guardian of the village, remember? Yeah. She can read history, right ? if she had to, she could potentially read the history of an item and do the same thing Rinnosuke does.?
Finally, a name. Although from the sounds of it, there wouldn?t be much point to me going to this guy ? seems he?d be having enough trouble supporting himself, unless he lives off the land.
?How do you know so much about this guy??
Koishi shrugs. ?He comes to the human village sometimes and sells roots and herbs that he gathers out in the Forest, and tries to peddle off his trinkets. I went ahead and asked a few people about him.?
Weird hobby you got there, Koishi. Useful, but weird as hell.
?Ready to take the lean-to down??
The lean-to successfully obscured the two-way, and Koishi never once checked for it. I very nearly confessed to her that I?d hidden it, but I didn?t want to risk tipping her or Yukari off. Not now, not when so much was lined up against me. As we were, we?d long since left the campsite and had moved on. The Forest of Magic was just barely visible up ahead; this was the time to make a decision.
Cold apprehension grips my stomach; it just dawned on me that Yukari and the most powerful human in Gensokyo were pairing up, and I was the antagonist this time around. Indignant smart-assery towards Yukari was one thing when I was a deer in the headlights ? now I had an actual plan, I was the mastermind ? premeditated smart-assery.
Yukari could do any one thing to me if she so desired. Throw me into the sun, gap me into the air two miles up, drop me under the sea, send me to four different places in eight different pieces, send me to eight different places in four different pieces, turn me inside-out where I stand, turn me into a rock or something, whatever she so decided. Reimu, I don?t know precisely what exactly she can do, but I know she?s ridiculously powerful. Being a telepath won?t help me much. Oooooh, I can tell how exactly she?s going to kick my ass and when she?ll do it.
Is attacking the human village a good idea?
No. I?m not attacking them. I?m just going to them and making sure they understand what happened. What they did.
I just had to make sure I could get to the village before they intercepted us. That would involve cutting through the Forest. Since Koishi was smart to my plans, she?d probably try to convince me to skirt around the Forest instead of going through it. I?d need a good excuse to cut through the Forest, but? what?
?So, I suppose you want to head to the human village first, don?t you??
I blink. Did Koishi just up and say ?you wanna go to the village??
?Yeah, I do. It?d be fastest to cut through the Forest to get there, so we can just get it over with.?
?What exactly is it you plan on doing?? She looks a bit worried.
Can I salvage this? Can I really convince her to let me go to the village and just explain my case, and then live and let live?
?I wanna go there, find Keine, and explain what happened. I?m not intending to stay there, no matter what happens ? the fact that four of the guards were united against me because of their paranoia means that any number more of them could actually be worried about my presence and flip out like they did when we left. I don?t want to go there, explain my case, then wake up the next morning with a slashed throat.?
?So, what are you going to do while you?re there??
I just noticed that Koishi?s ever-present smirk wasn?t present for the duration of this conversation. She must be serious.
?Like I said. Find Keine, explain what happened. If I have to, I?ll route some of my memories through their ??
?Promise me you won?t.?
I stutter to a halt. ?What??
?Promise me you won?t force your memories on anyone.?
What the hell. ?Why? I kind of think I?d have to.?
?Keine will take your word, or mine; either way, she?ll look into it. If you force your memories onto someone else, you can really damage their mind. It?s a very delicate thing, muddling with memories. If they suddenly remember being you, it?ll throw their mind into so much chaos. Especially if they have any similarities with you, like for instance, gender. Just ask Keine to read the history of the place you were attacked, and she?ll be able to figure out the rest. You don?t have to force your memories on anyone.?
I blink. ?Why didn?t I think of that? God, damn.?
?Still? agreed? You won?t force your memories on anyone? That?s really a big taboo thing among satori; never share memories with another non-telepath. Or anyone who isn?t skilled at navigating the neural pathways of their own mind.?
?Hmm. Hey, I wonder? what if I tried to read my own mind??
Koishi?s eyes bugged out and she lunged towards me, flailing her arms. ?Don?t do it don?t do it don?t do it that?s a really bad idea don?t do it!?
I backpedal her advances. I?ve gotten good at sidestepping her? advances. ?Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, fine, I won?t. Why not??
?Have you ever been somewhere where it echoes and then someone comes up right next to you and screams really loud? Imagine that, only like a bajillion times worse. You?ll most likely end up knocking yourself out.?
Oh. ?Some kind of psychic feedback loop, or something??
Koishi shrugs. ?I guess. It?s just a really bad idea. You can already hear your own thoughts, you don?t need to read them, too.?
Not if I can force it into someone else?s mind. Link up with someone and take them out with me.
Ugh, no, I hate moves like that. That?s definitely a last-ditch effort.
I absentmindedly pull my phone out of my pocket and start fiddling with it, then realize that I have in fact pulled it out of my pocket. I slide the screen up and check the battery life; down to one of four tabs.
Hmm. What would happen if I called Yukari and asked her for the new battery cell? Would she feign nonchalance? Would she refuse? Hmm. No telling. Either way, that last bar will still hold out for just playing music for another ten hours, anyways. Fuckin? phone kicks ass.
Koishi notices the phone and gestures to it. ?A lot of your music sounds similar, like there?s a recurring theme. What?s up with that??
Oh. Might have an excuse to call Yukari, now. ?One second ? I, uh, need to ask Yukari something real quick.?
She tilts her head, but says nothing, continuing along the path. I punch ?Yukari? into the contact list, and it jumps to her number.
Uncertainty starts dashing about in my mind, making a ruckus, knocking things over, and not cleaning up after itself. Just a moment goes by before Yukari answers, though, so I forcefully clothesline uncertainty and stuff it into a cabinet so I can deal with Yukari.
?Yes, Esifex, what can I do for you?? Fuck that name. You?re using it just to remind me I have to go by that, aren?t you?
?Hey, couple of things. First and foremost, I?m down to one bar of battery life, so if you could send me along another battery for the phone soon, that?s be awesome. Second, Koishi?s asking about my music. Am I allowed to tell her about Touhou??
Yukari answers swiftly, with no hesitation. ?Tell her it?s a series of games, whatever else you want, but don?t tell her it?s based on the local residents. The Hakurei Barrier is designed mostly to keep people out, not in. If you pique her curiosity about the other worlds, she?s liable to try to wander off. That?s the kind of person Koishi is.?
Other worlds, plural? Screw Koishi?s interest, you?ve piqued mine. I?ll find out about that on my own, though, thank you ? telepathy can be very handy for getting unbiased information, I?d imagine.
?So where are you two, now??
?Well, we just passed the roadsign that says ?Next Rest Stop: 3 Miles; Youkai Mountain Exchange, Denny?s, Rally?s, and McDonalds? and we?re coming up to the Gensokyo Interstate. Hell if I know, we?re in the middle of some big giant field with a forest off in the distance.?
?Well, if you want your battery, you?ll have to be a little more specific than that. Otherwise I?ll have to come to you personally, and I?m just ever so comfy in this big easy chair I just picked up.?
Picked up, or stole from some furniture store through a wormhole? Klepto.
?Well, gimme a second and I can scry our location relative to someplace.?
This is a kinda-sizable update, I reckon. I have more typed up beyond this, but it isn't a full scene yet, so, would you kindly wait while I do my best to prepare?
MysTeariousYukari:
^_^ I am loving this so much! Seems like Sara/Esifex has a way to avoid Bad End ^_^
Tengukami:
You know, I lurk in and read plenty of these (I need to do more commenting, I know), but I just had to say that your style has really tightened up. You have a pretty distinct voice, and these are a pleasure to read.
Esifex:
--- Quote from: MysteariousYukari on August 15, 2010, 01:18:32 PM ---^_^ I am loving this so much! Seems like Sara/Esifex has a way to avoid Bad End ^_^
--- End quote ---
Seems that way, don't it? :derp:
You're forgetting what this story will be boiling down to.