~Hakurei Shrine~ > Kosuzu's Grand Bookstore
Of Light and Darkness (RiG 1.5)
Mima:
Been a while since I posted anything, been working on a AD6A submission which will be appearing sometime in the future. No progress on RiG4 yet unfortunately however I have the plot planned now and so it's just a case of reading through, correcting and reposting OLaD, RiG2 and RiG3. So let's post OLaD.
Of course, this should be read before RiG2.
Also, RiG2/3/4 will be posted in the original RiG topic, OLaD has it's own topic in case I decide to continue the MS retelling part, no definites though.
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Hieda no Akyu leant back in her chair, dropped the pen she was holding and gave a sigh of relief and satisfaction, ?Finished at last!? Leaning forward again, she quickly signed the page of the book that lay in front of her and printed her name on the front cover.
A few seconds later, Keine Kamishirasawa entered the room with her usual warm smile, ?I gather by the sounds of it, you?ve finished another book??
?Yes... and this one wasn?t exactly the easiest to write.?
Keine looked slightly puzzled, ?What is it??
?Well, regardless of the unexpected event that occurred, it shouldn?t be forgotten that the party was partly a celebration of Mima becoming the new god of the shrine.
Keine still looked quite puzzled, ?Yes, your point being??
?Well, you will probably know that there?s very little information on her, in one location anyway.? Akyu spoke, with a chirp in her voice.
?So, you went and made it so.? Keine guessed confidently.
?Correct.? Akyu stood up and handed the book to Keine. ?This book contains all the information I could get, as you might know, her history goes back a long, long way where there?s little remaining information.? Akyu gestured towards a pile of books, which were also sat on the table, some appearing to be in a terrible, old condition.
Opening the book, Keine began reading the book at a tremendous speed, taking in every word even though it appeared like she was only skimming through it.
?The first records of the being known as Mima date back to the start of Gensokyo, so it is safe to guess that she was an original resident, however among the other humans that lived alongside her, she proved to be an anomaly, she was one of the first humans in Gensokyo to have magical abilities, and for that reason she was feared by some. This proved to be a catalyst to the events, which made her what she is today.?
?Oh come on, put some effort into it!? A voice called, the voice had a distinct tone of someone eccentric, though it seems to drag itself down to sound more common.
?I?d like to see you do better!? Another voice called, much more normal sounding voice called, the voice was kind yet determined.
?I know you would, but you lost, so you have to do it!? The first voice replied.
The sound of something hitting the floor causes the source of the first voice to open her eyes, in front of her stood a green haired girl wearing pale cream robes and a large grin on her face. ?Well then, how about best of out two??
?Nah, get back to work.? The girl closed her eyes again.
The green haired girl sighed and picked up the broom again and continued sweeping the pathway, a moment later she looked up at the structure over-watching the path, the Hakurei Shrine, the building had existed for as long as anyone could remember, and currently it was home to one Murasaki Hakurei, the prodigy who was rumoured to have made Gensokyo what it is, a permanent dream world, and also her best friend.
It was also the same lazy Murasaki Hakurei who was lying down at the front of the shrine half-asleep after winning a bet where all the work goes to the loser.
?Aren?t you finished yet?? The impatient voice of Murasaki interrupted.
?It?s hardly been a minute since you last asked!? The other girl snapped back.
Murasaki rose from where she was resting, presenting herself, she wore typical shrine maiden clothing, a red robe like shirt and dress, decorated with white and a modest yellow ribbon just below her neck. Also on her arms were detached yellow sleeves, another part of her costume, but the most noticeable feature was her long hip length golden hair, tied up in several places with the use of matching red ribbons. As she wobbled from side to side dozily, ?Mima, shouldn?t you be working and not daydreaming??
The green haired girl, Mima, shouted into the sky in frustration followed by giggles from Murasaki, ?You?re so easy to wind up.?
Mima mumbled something to herself, but in her mind she was actually thankful, she didn?t have much of a memory and her ability to use magic, primarily controlling darkness, caused her to be shunted by the other humans, scared of her powers they had only seen used by the deadly youkai. Murasaki was an exception in both cases; she was extremely powerful at what you may call magic, and also Mima?s only and best friend.
Eventually, Mima finished the chores she was set and sat down with Murasaki at the front of the shrine casually drinking tea, ?You know, sometimes, I wish I never had this power.? Mima said out of the blue. ?Perhaps if I had something like light magic, the others might accept me. But I?m stuck with this, and they?re terrified.? Mima causes a trail of darkness to spiral around an extended finger before dispersing in the air.
Murasaki smiled, ?Don?t worry, there?ll be a time when they?ll accept things, everything?s still new to them and they?re bounded to have many more surprises ahead.? She assured, sounding oddly sage-like.
Mima sat back and thought upon the words for a moment, and the next thing she knew, the sky was dulling and darkness was beginning to creep along the world. ?I guess it?s time to leave.? Standing up and shaking her robes slightly, Mima walked off gloomily, ?See you tomorrow.?
?Bye, take care.? Murasaki quietly said, but so Mima could hear it.
Rather than take the pathway leading to the village, Mima chose to go straight through the forest, once again she was the only one who did so, but then she was the only one who could protect themselves if they were attacked. The only other humans you saw in there were children, thanks to their innocence and curiosity, they had a different opinion to Mima?s magic compared to their elders, so occasionally a group of them would visit and request a display, which Mima enjoyed, it was better than being holed up in her house.
Still deep in thought, Mima quietly returned to her house. Without little delay, Mima went straight to her bed, and lay there dreaming about what life could have been like without her powers.
Mima shot alert when an unknown noise interrupted her, someone screaming. Drowsily she sat up in bed, while the screams continued.
By the time Mima had got out of bed, the screams had stopped, with a yawn; she climbed back into bed, ?Probably? just some youkai playing games.? Without another thought, Mima fell asleep.
As the sun rose, Mima was awakened by a loud banging noise, accompanied by shouting. Slowly, Mima climbed out of bed, wobbling from side to side to see what the commotion was.
As she opened the door, the last thing she expected was a crowd of people around her house.
Mima:
There was an awkward pause where both sides remained still and silent, until Mima quietly spoke, ?Can? I help you??
A man shouted in an arrogant, vicious tone, ?Try doing something good and bring her back to life!? A section of the crowd parted revealed the body of a girl on the floor.
Mima gasped and ran over to the body, ?Don?t act like you haven?t seen it before.? The man from before added.
"E-Excuse me?? Mima asked, disturbed at what was said.
?I know you?ve seen her before, my daughter? You killed her!? The man continued to fill with rage, accusing Mima.
?I?m sorry about her, but I didn?t do anything. If you look at the wounds, it looks like a youkai attack, the wounds are physical.? Mima looked again, brushing the young girl?s brown hair out of the way, ?These could be teeth marks, or a knife wound, it?s hard to tell.?
The man looked confused, ?Your point??
?My point is that I use magic as you know, and it?s completely different.? A tendril of darkness appeared around Mima causing the crowd to take a step back. The tendril floated aimlessly before striking her on the back of her hand leaving a small white burn-like patch, which she presented to the crowd. ?As you can see, it works completely differently.?
The crowd started to murmur between each other, ?How can we trust you!? In my eyes, you?re the killer, so of course you?d make an excuse!? The man continued to fight, ?In the name of the Kirisame family, I will not let you get away with this!?
Mima stared at the man, for some reason, he appeared to have a complete hatred of her even with a lack of evidence, it was fair for him to be mad, since his child had just been found dead, but something about the event seemed wrong.
Since the man had appeared to have no more arguments, the crowd started to disperse, mumbling like a shocked jury, taking the girl with them who was eventually followed by the man. Soon, Mima was the only person left, who gave a sigh of relief, before she turned back into her house and collapsed onto a chair.
In a daze, with the previous events spinning in her head Mima sat down at the table and buried her head in her hands and began to relive the scene?
Someone, or something had killed a child from the village, and for some reason, the blame was falling onto her, the only piece of potential evidence being the location, not even the cause of death matched with her.
Yet still, that human seemed almost? overzealous in an attempt to make me guilty.
The sight of seeing his aggression continue while the spectators had already lost their interest in the situation appeared in Mima?s mind again and again.
Something?s not right about this.
Mima laughed half-heartedly at the irony of her thought, ?Okay, maybe nothing is right.? She spoke out loud.
Leaning back in her chair, Mima started to think about other things, regarding the future. There was no way she was going to be left alone for a while, the pure anger in the accuser?s eyes, ?Mr Kirisame? was enough to prove that, yet the choices for herself seems close to nothing, fleeing was out of the question, diplomacy would obviously go nowhere and eliminating the source was completely out of the question.
A moment of silence was shattered by Mima striking the table with her fist, followed by the crashing of pottery hitting the floor, Mima looked up and laughed insecurely, ?Fine, if you want to play your stupid little game then play away.?
Mima soon returned to her regular schedule, which primarily consisted of visiting the shrine for most of the day. As she arrived she was greeted by Murasaki who was waving with one arm while holding something green in the other.
?Good afternoon Mima! Look!? Murasaki jumped up from where she was usually sat and stuck the object in Mima?s face. ?Look, it hatched!?
Mima stared at the creature since it was staring back, ?I see, it?s a turtle.? Mima pushed it back slightly to give her some space. ?So, have you named it yet??
"Genjii.? Murasaki spoke, ?I thought of it earlier.?
Mima nodded half-interested, still looking at the turtle, which was continuing to stare back, ?I see.?
The rest of the afternoon consisted of talking and drinking tea as it usually did, with the addition of continuing the staring contest with the new turtle and being bit by it when it had the chance.
After being bit for the 5th time Mima groaned, ?It?s a vicious little thing, I thought we?d be friends by now.? She started at the turtle for a few more seconds before finishing her cup of tea.
?I think he does really, but hating and biting you is probably more fun.? Murasaki laughed.
Mima giggled a little and added, ?That would seem to be a popular thing at the moment.? Mima sighed a little, ?The hating, not the biting, that is.?
Murasaki?s expression turned serious, ?So I?ve heard... Accused of nothing less than murder by the village. Please, tell me your side of the story.?
Feeling slightly threatened by the violet-eyed gaze of her friend, Mima started, ?There?s not much to say, really. I woke up, and there was the angry mob waiting for me to leave the house. I slept through the whole thing.? Mima laughed in her mind at how weak the alibi sounded.
?Did you know the girl who was killed?? Murasaki continued, still serious.
?Well, yes. She was one of the kids who used to visit my house every now and then, to see magic in action and all that kind of stuff. Quite young, quite long brown hair, green eyes, nice girl, she loved seeing me destroy things, quite the opposite of her father it would seem.? Mima paused for a second, ?No reason to kill her.? Mima added while laughing nervously.
Murasaki?s gaze continued for a few more seconds before completely changing back to her usual smiling self, ?Okay, I believe you.?
Mima gave a sigh of relief and straight afterwards she was hit around the back of her head, ?And don?t joke about such horrible things!? Murasaki?s voice rung in her ears.
"Yes, ma?am.? Mima groaned sarcastically.
The few hours before sunset passed quickly, and it wasn?t long before Mima got up to leave, ?Well, I should go home now, if that thing bites any more, I won?t have a finger left.? Mima said, nursing her finger, which was now covered in a bandage.
?Okay, have a safe journey home.? Murasaki stood up, ?Why don?t you give your new friend a kiss goodbye!? Mima once again found herself face to face with Genjii.
?I?ll pass, I?m quite fond of my nose, and I don?t really want it ripped off my face.?
Murasaki laughed, ?Okay, okay. Well, I?ll see you around.?
Mima started turned her back to Murasaki, ?Yeah, see you tomorrow, as always.?
?Oh, and one more thing...?
?Hmm? What??
?Don?t let those villagers bother you, but don?t do anything to them, how can I say it? they haven?t adapted to things yet??
The hell is she talking about?
?Yeah, whatever. If they don?t bother me, I won?t bother them.? Mima said as she started to walk away.
Mima:
As Mima walked away from the shrine, and began to descend the hill down into the forest, the sound of rustling leaves filled the air.
?Speak of the devil.? Mima quietly mumbled.
Moving over in front of the bush the sound came from; Mima stood still waiting for the inhabitant to move, to little success.
Not in the mood to play around, Mima shouted, ?Whoever is hiding, make themselves known in 5 seconds or I?ll kill you!?
?1? 2? 3?? Mima summoned a bolt of energy, which snaked around her arm. ?4??
?Fine, fine, here we are.? Mima wasn?t surprised to see the man from before, Mr Kirisame rising from the bush. However she was more surprised to see another two men rise from other bushes around her.
?What the hell do you want with me?? Mima hissed.
?At the minute, nothing...? The man paused, ?In general, dead.? Kirisame spat in her face.
Mima stayed composed and took a step back, keeping to Murasaki?s wishes, ?Why, in Hakurei?s name, would you want that, you and I both know I didn?t murder your child.?
?Because you?re a freak, a monster, you control and live in darkness, you?re no better than those damn youkai.? Mima once again felt overwhelmed by the bottomless purple eyes of the man.
He?s making no sense at all. Mima wondered to herself.
?Anyway, we have no time for dirt like you; we have other things to attend to.? Shoving Mima out of the way and into the dirt, the three men walked away towards the shrine.
?The shrine?? It didn?t take long for Mima to realize what they had set off to do. ?Trying to turn her against me now? Have you no shame?? She mumbled to herself.
Fortunately, the walk back to her house from then on was uneventful, but Mima guessed at one thing, that group were going to try something soon, so something would have to be done, Mima stood in thought for a moment before talking to herself, ?I know what will stop them.? With a grin, Mima stepped into her house and waved her arm, utilising the magic, which came to her so naturally.
Within seconds, her entire house was covered in a wall of darkness, nothing, not even light could work its way into the house without her say-so. ?Well then, let us have a waiting game.?
As Mima had thought, the few humans from the previous encounter appeared after some time, with surprised expressions at the sight they saw. After talking amongst themselves, they tried to get past the wall before them to little success, after conversing once more; they left, occasionally looking back at their target.
Mima laughed out loud, ?So, what?s your next plan then?? Walking over to the window with a smile, Mima remained happy over her victory; using the thing they feared she managed to deter them without any complications.
Minutes turned to hours as Mima stood on guard with no sign of any human activity so the witch sat back in her chair and grinned again, ?Looks like I might be getting some peace and quiet now.? However soon enough, her thoughts were interrupted by a sound she?d heard before.
A crowd? No? don?t tell me?
Jumping out of her chair and looking out of the window presented the sight she feared, a crowd, consisting of most of the village, like the day before.
The three ringleaders were barking out at the other villagers, though whatever they were saying was completely incomprehensible to Mima.
Alright, you can have numbers and make everyone hate me, but you still can?t get past magic! Mima?s voice shouted in her head, but something was telling her something bad was going to happen, again.
Everyone outside stood still and inactive for a moment, before the three in charge walked up to the house and once again tried to get past the wall, again to little success.
Kirisame talked to the man beside him who reached into his coat and pulled out something Mima couldn?t quite make out.
What is it? I swear I?ve seen it before.
The human then walked up to the wall, closer to where Mima stood, allowing her to see it.
Damn! Mima dived away from the wall as a ray of light blasted down upon where her wall once stood.
The noise outside rose in volume, the source of which being the mob that was now charging at the house or more accurately the newly formed entrance into it. Making a retreat, the witch ran to the other side of the house while trying to think of a plan, only to have her thoughts taken by panic.
How the hell did they get a talisman!? Only Murasaki has them! She hasn?t betrayed me? has she?
A swarm of villagers swarmed into the room, some smirking at their apparent catch. In desperation, Mima summoned all the darkness that formed the wall around the house and spread it out, causing the entire area to be pitch black.
?Block the exit! Don?t let her escape!? The villagers fumbled around trying to find Mima and listen for clues when the sound of a window smashing echoed through the room.
?What are you waiting for!? Get after her!? Another voice ordered.
Running as fast as she could, Mima ran away from her house and up the hill she travelled every day. ?I don?t want it to end like this? but? if it must; I? want to know the truth about those talismans??
A small rock hidden in the darkness caused Mima to tumble to the ground and for the first time, Mima wept.
Why did those fools have to do this, I just wanted to live, damn it. If anyone should die, it should be them? not me...
Picking herself up and making paying little attention to the state she was in, Mima persisted up the hill until finally she stood before the shrine.
Stepping forward, Mima spoke to herself quietly, ?Come on, where are you, Murasaki??
"M-Mima? Is that you?? A startled voice sounded from the building, a few seconds later Murasaki came into view.
Murasaki walked forward and saw the horrific, almost frightening sight of the state Mima was in. ?What the hell is going on??
"You should know... you helped those damn barbarians.? Mima spat back.
?Explain.? Murasaki ordered.
?Those damn humans from before, they?re out to kill me, and what?s more is that they used your talismans in order to get to me!? Mima shouted hysterically.
Murasaki sighed, ?They still haven?t learnt, what a tragedy.?
Mima raised an eyebrow, ?What are you talking about??
?Nothing, come here, you look a mess.? Murasaki smiled weakly and held her arms out, as to offer a hug.
Mima stumbled towards Murasaki and buried her head in Murasaki?s shoulder, ?I? just want to live a peaceful li-?
Mima cut off as it felt like she?d just been punched in the stomach, but she knew what it was, and that it was much worse.
?Why?? Looking down at the knife protruding from her, the witch grabbed and pulled it out of her before falling to the floor.
?It?s just not? fair?? Mima took a final look at Murasaki whose face was also covered in tears, before her strength disappeared completely causing her to fall down limp.
?I?m? sorry? it?s all I can do.? Murasaki apologised.
Closing her eyes, Mima felt like she was falling asleep, and welcomed the feeling.
Mima:
?She?s here!? A voice called, bringing Mima to her senses.
Was that a dream?
Opening her eyes, Mima was shocked to see the scene in front of her; an almost colourless world, where she was looking down on her dead body, Murasaki Hakurei was crying beside her and the source of the voice being the usual trio of villagers.
?She?s already dead! The shrine maiden killed her!? One shouted, sickening cheerfully.
?She did!?? Another villager put his arm around Murasaki, who pushed him away immediately.
Mima watched bitterly at the scene, as the humans cheered over her corpse, and her, in her seemingly shapeless ghostly form slowly felt herself being dragged away.
Struggling to keep herself composed in the whirlwind of emotions, the dead witch turned away, to freely go to where she was being taken, when she heard a line that pierced her soul.
?Ha, that girl?s death was worth it, wasn?t it??
Kirisame grunted positively, more pleased about his kill then caring about the death of his child.
?You mean that you?!? Murasaki shrieked.
The men merely sneered before turning their backs to her and walking away, only to stop dead in their tracks when an incredible crash echoed around them.
?What the hell was that!?? One of them shouted in panic before he shook violently as a whip-like tendril pierced through his chest and threw his lifeless body into a tree.
?Forget this! I?m getting out of here!? Another shouted before running in the opposite direction, straight into a cloud of darkness, as it mist faded it left only a skeleton on the floor.
The final villager, Mr Kirisame, backed away from the scene and watched as the scattered darkness gathered around and merged with the body of his former target.
A few seconds passed though it felt like an eternity, ?Is? that it?? The man took another step back, before another huge crash cracked through the air, causing him to fall to the floor. Looking up, he saw the sight of Mima rising out of her body, dressed completely different. Instead of the usual plain clothes, she was now wearing a long, baggy blue robes with a yellow trim along the edges and the odd shape, matching the robes was a pointed hat on her head, complimented by a large yellow sun covering part of it. Finally, accompanying her magician-like appearance, in her hand was a long, metallic staff with a crescent moon at the end.
In terror, the man could only look at Mima?s devilish grin, ?Well, now whose fearing for their life?? The apparition laughed.
?Stay away from me, you? monster!? The man cowered in fear.
?No!? Mima lunged forward with her staff, catching the man?s neck in the crescent of the moon and lifting him in the air. Mima?s voice rose to a vicious scream, ?The only monster here now, is you. You killed your child, purely so you could murder somebody else, especially since that ?somebody? had no reason to be die!? A bolt of darkness pierced straight through the shoulder of 'the man.
?How do you think your daughter felt? Killed... Just so you could get rid of something that scared you. How do you think I felt!?? Another bolt blasted through his other arm, causing him to shout in pain.
?I made it clear I wasn?t going to hurt anyone, yet you continued and continued to hunt me down and find a way to kill me, and you succeeded, are you happy now!??
The man shouted again as darkness covered one of his legs and shattered it, shortly followed by the other one.
Mima started to shout again, mixed with hysteria and insanity, ?You?re a monster, and the world will be a better place without you, you took my life, and now I?ll take yours!?
As Mima was about to unleash her final blow, there was a flash of light, which sent her flying backwards and to lose her grip on the man. Looking up, she saw Murasaki looking down on her.
?What the hell do you think you?re doing, Murasaki!? The spirit shrieked.
?I can?t let you kill him, Mima.? The shrine maiden spoke disheartened.
?Why! They deserve it, they deserve more than this! They?ve killed for their own worthless benefit!?
?I? know they have, however, they need to be able to do things on their own, they need to learn from their mistakes and adjust to all these new things!?
?Silence! Your preaching makes no sense, not that I care anyway.? Mima began to walk forwards, towards the helpless human again, only to find Murasaki dive in the way. ?Move out of the way and I?ll let you live.?
?No? I won?t let you kill him.? Murasaki spoke shakily.
Mima stopped momentarily before she shouted with the insanity returned, ?Very well, I?ll kill you as well!? There was a silent pause for a moment, ?Why, I think you told me once that your powers could potentially even bring back the dead, you have a use after all!?
Mima dispersed into a cloud of darkness and rose away from Murasaki before returning to her normal human form.
Looking down at Murasaki, the spirit merely smiled as dark orbs began to appear around and behind her. The shrine maiden jumped backwards and assumed a combat stance.
?Oh look, the shrine maiden is actually going to fight back, you do surprise me.? Mima laughed, before she began grabbing the orbs and launching them at the maiden in rapid succession.
Murasaki ran to the side, weaving between the orbs as they struck the ground like meteors, sending sprays of dirt into the air. Jumping backwards as an orb hit the floor directly in front of her; the maiden reached into her robes and pulled out paper talismans, similar to the ones used on the magic around Mima?s house.
Skilfully, Murasaki threw the enchantments each one hitting an incoming orb, wiping both of them from existence. As Mima?s barrage returned to nothing, a final talisman flew past the others towards the spirit, though it met its early end as it was blocked by her staff.
Mima laughed, ?That?s all you have? Bits of paper?? As the talisman stuck on the staff quickly lost its enchanted glow, Mima peeled it off and tore it into pieces before throwing it at the shrine maiden. ?That?s what I think of it, useless scrap.?
?Mima, please?? Murasaki begged, ?Just pass on quietly and let the humans adapt peacefully.?
?Stop being so damn enigmatic!? Mima shouted as she fell towards her staff poised to attack.
Rolling to the side, Murasaki drew more talismans and threw them at Mima, who countered by fire more orbs, again causing a stalemate. ?It?s useless! I?m sure my power will last long then your paper!? At that point, Mima realized that Murasaki was out of sight.
Scanning the area, Mima looked around vigilantly before being somewhat surprised as Murasaki walked into view with nothing new, minus her gohei in her hand. ?Another trick?? Mima mumbled.
Murasaki held her arms close to each other and mumbled something, light glittered and shined for a couple of seconds before an orb appeared in her hands.
Murasaki threw the orb at Mima who fired another ball of darkness to dispel it. At the last moment, Mima noticed the orb ploughed through threw the orb and dodged to the side, narrowly missing the incoming attack.
?Oh, you do have some power?? Mima gloated once more, ?Well then!? Mima vanished from sight leaving Murasaki looking around, out of the corner of her eye; the girl saw something move and ducked as a blade-like wave of darkness blasted over her.
As she recovered, she noticed a spot on the ground losing its colour, fading to black. Murasaki hastily moved away from the spot and watched as it exploded. Suddenly many more patches appeared like it, again causing the Shrine Maiden to dodge between them carefully. Finally, Murasaki spotted Mima standing on the top of a tree and summoned several yin-yang orbs and launched them, catching her off-guard.
Mima shrieked a little in panic and then pain as the yin-yangs struck her with surprising power, leaving her breathing heavily on the floor. ?You? do surprise me.?
Murasaki grinned at attaining the upper hand, ?Will you go now??
Mima grinned back, ?Of course? not.? Before laughing maniacally as she rose into the air and spouted two black wings.
?Fine, but know I won?t go lightly on you, even if we were? best friends once.
Mima sneered, ?Ha, and then what happened? You killed me. Thanks, I owe you one.? She ended sarcastically. ?But enough of this, time?s up!? Mima laughed, as the wings grew larger and larger and more out of shape until it was just a large mass blocking the sky. ?Farewell, friend.? The dark mass suddenly glowed brightly, almost blindingly, a few seconds passed, feeling like an eternity to Murasaki before Mima clicked her fingers causing an enormous explosion.
Mima merely floated in the air, laughing senselessly at the destruction as the wall of light blasted at the earth in the form of a giant wave of energy.
As the blast finally subsided and the dust settled, Mima?s eyes widened with shock slightly to see Murasaki still standing in the centre of the newly-formed crater, swaying slightly with her arm extended holding her gohei.
Mima screamed, ?How?!? Descending from the sky, Mima floated towards Murasaki as she fell onto one knee and leaned against her gohei.
Mima spoke quietly, ?You should be dead.?
Murasaki coughed slightly, ?Well, if you used that all the time, I would have seen why the humans feared you so much.? Murasaki laughed.
Mima, not quite so cheerful spoke harshly, ?Are you going to die peacefully or am I going to have to kill you right now??
The wounded maiden closed her eyes as Mima walked in front of her.
?Well then, look what I have to finish things.? Mima flashed the knife that took her life in front of Murasaki, who was still motionless.
The spirit stared suspiciously at the maiden who dived up at Mima without warning.
??Sealing boundary!? Murasaki shouted as she jumped up and tackled Mima.
?What are you up to you??? Mima froze with shock as behind her she saw herself falling into a red object she?d never seen before and it was too late to react.
The maiden smiled at Mima, who was now through the crimson-ish portal, unable to escape, ?Enjoy your little prison, you?ll be spending some time in there to think about what you?ve done.?
Mima fired attack after attack at where Murasaki stood, through the tear-like opening with little effect, after a scream of fury, her former friend spoke quietly, ?Goodbye, Mima.? Quickly the entrance closed, leaving Mima alone on the other side.
Mima looked around at her surroundings, which consisted of nothing but red and black colours and something that Mima found uncomfortable, even in her unstable state; Hundreds of red eyes in all directions, staring at her and never blinking.
Mima floated awkwardly for a few seconds before screaming again, ?Stop looking at me!? Casting a spell quickly, she surrounded herself in a cloud of darkness, in the comfort of the pitch-black surroundings; Mima was left to think about everything.
Trivial irrelevant thoughts like ?Why did this happen to me.? were quickly ignored, replaced by something more important; getting out of this prison and killing the humans which caused her so much misery. This prison wouldn?t hold her forever; eventually she?d find a weakness and escape and make the humans, and especially Murasaki Hakurei, suffer.
Mima:
The mood of the village was reported to be, unsurprisingly, very anxious and scared after the incident, however, time mended the wounds caused by Mima and the amount of humans born with some talent regarding magic began to rise greatly, faced with this, almost all humans soon accepted magic with the event buried in their minds as a mistake.
The spirit herself wasn?t seen by anybody in the following years, and Murasaki Hakurei refused to explain what happened to her, merely answering with the odd answer, ?She?s having a break, thinking about what she did.? And as time passed, the story became merely a fairy tale, told to scare the new generations.
However, this wasn?t the end of the story.
Years later, Murasaki Hakurei disappeared in her later years with her fate unknown, leaving the later generations to watch over the shrine as she did previously. It was during the 4th generation of the Hakurei bloodline where a strange occurrence was recorded by another historian.
??During this time, there was a loud thundering sound that echoed throughout the shrine, upon investigation a single figure could be seen hovering in the courtyard of the shrine, a few seconds later, the figure began to behave erratically causing aimless destruction, before the Hakurei shrine maiden engaged the spirit. After a vicious fight, the spirit was struck by a stray yin-yang orb knocking her out of sight. As the maiden investigated, the spirit was nowhere to be seen, leaving everyone including herself, confused about what happened??
The passage along with other passages, each with a gap of one hundred years between writing all follow the same lines, the spirit appeared, attacked before mysteriously vanishing, each time the fate of the evil ghost was unknown.
The Hakurei clan worked hard to keep the events relatively unknown, having villagers swarm at the shrine in hope of seeing the 100 year event would have proved dangerous, so only a few select individuals, including the Hieda clan were informed.
Finally, hundreds of years in the future, the seemingly endless cycle ended, when on the day of the expected attack, the spirit was nowhere to be seen?
Mima sighed, the years of forced solitude had started to take their toll on her, having regained her senses and self-control during her latest imprisonment she was left confused rather than angry. Rather than being content with the thought of revenge in her mindlessness, she was aware of every minute passing and each one felt like an eternity.
What do I do now? Do I keep fighting; keep trying to destroy the Hakureis? Should I just give up? Do the Hakurei?s deserve this? It was all their ancestor?s fault. Can I really live through another 100 years in this place? Mima kept asking herself the same questions, desperate to know what to do.
Eventually, she came to a final decision, ?This is it, my final try. If I succeed, I?ll be resurrected and live a normal life, if not, I?ll end this cycle and just try to enjoy what I am now.?
But, let?s make things a little different this time. Mima grinned to herself as she started to plan ahead.
Finally, the day came when the seal trapping her in the unsettling realm was weakened enough for her to break it, taking care to only shatter a small part of the seal to remain undetected, Mima spied out to see a few figures, already in wait for her arrival.
?Let?s see, historians, journalist?? Mima?s eyes scanned between the individuals, ?Ah, there?s the new shrine maiden.? The spirit watched the latest shrine maiden, taking in every detail of her future opponent.
The latest maiden was still very young; possibly no younger than 10, however age has never stopped someone or something from being powerful. The girl had long blackish-brown hair, draping behind her in a ponytail with a red ribbon tied on the top of her head. Her clothes were normal for shrine maidens, a white folding garment and a long red dress watching her ribbon.
Finished, Mima leaned back from the gap and waited, she didn?t want any attention on her for a while, so she continued to watch from her open prison until all the spectators had left in confusion. Mima continued to stay put until she saw the lights in the shrine disappear, most likely signifying that the shrine maiden was asleep.
Taking care to break open the seal, Mima was finally free from her prison and stretched in relief as the wind hit her refreshingly. Hastily, she made her way away from the shrine and into the woods following the route she followed so many years ago. In surprise Mima gasped when she saw that despite how many years had passed, her house still remained intact.
Hovering over to the windows to check for residents, she was relieved to see it was still empty and relatively untouched by time, as proven by the amount of dust in and around the house.
The spirit?s next stop was to look at the village, watching unseen from the trees, she saw that the village had grown in size, as expected, but it appeared and felt the same as it was when she left it, except that there was now youkai among them, which no-one seemed to be caring about.
Mima laughed to herself, ?Well, it seems she was right, maybe the humans did adjust to things.?
Preferring to stay out of sight, Mima soon retreated back into the trees and returned to her old house, if no-one had been there in the hundreds of years that passed, then surely no-one would notice her.
Days passed as the returned spirit remained undetected by the current inhabitants of Gensokyo as she remained quiet, only encountering others through surveillance, primarily the current shrine maiden of the Hakurei Shrine, looking for some sign of the power she had to adjust her plans accordingly. However there was little success, even at a promising age like hers where children are usually bursting with energy, instead the maiden preferred to leave the youkai alone and laze around the shrine, drinking tea amongst other things.
It must be a habit passed down the bloodline.
One, seemingly ordinary day, Mima was taken by surprise when she arrived in the grounds of the shrine to find it completely wrecked. Stone pillars had been knocked down, trees uprooted, even several sections of the shrine itself were damaged or falling apart.
Pausing for a moment, Mima attempted to sense where her target was, but all she could fathom was that she wasn?t located on these premises, but instead heading in a direction away from the shrine and heading into the woods. Curious as to what had happened and also in what the shrine maiden?s intentions were, Mima began to head in the same direction.
?Excuse me! Spirit!? A voice called from behind Mima, catching her attention and prompting her to turn to meet the voice.
In front of her was a priest, wearing a tall, simple blue hat and equally simple white and blue robes. Those details were irrelevant to the spirit, what stood out more is the blatant energies that emanated from the priest, an illusion, and a weak one at that.
?Stop trying to fool me.? Mima growled, throwing her arm forward and casting a spell causing a white ball to quickly form and strike the priest harmlessly.
In the following seconds, the priest slowly faded from existence and for just a few milliseconds afterwards, Mima could make out a yin-yang or something extremely similar in its place before another flash left a woman in its place.
The woman was far more notable than the priest illusion, cascading red hair which trailed past her shoulders and where her hair ended was about the same place her equally red dress started, adorned with some white markings. Above that, she wore a white shirt covered by a blue shawl, both sides tied together with a red bowtie. The final detail that stood out was the two pairs of horns that erupted from her head.
?Well? well?? Mima grinned, ?What do we have here.?
The figure approached, ?None of your concern, I am only here to make you leave this holy place.?
Mima?s smile widened, ?You? Are you going to make me leave, or just ask me to? I can sense your power, or lack of it.?
?Listen, spirit, you are a curse, unwanted by anything or anyone, leave my shrine before you? desecrate it.?
?Your shrine?? There was a pause, before the penny dropped and Mima realised what she meant, falling into a fit of laughter with the realisation, she sneered, ?You. You?re the deity of this Shrine? Seriously??
The horned woman nodded, unaffected by the taunting, ?If you must know, yes. I am Shingyoku, the deity of the shrine.?
?You?re no deity, you?re a parasite, you grasp to the smallest bit of existence, you have no energy of your own and rely on the pitiful amount of faith to manifest a form that no-one can see.?
The deity paused, ??That may be the case, I just used several hundred years? energy to test my shrine maiden? but I will do my duty to the best I can despite that? I?ve seen your failures for over a millennium now, and I await your next.?
Mima frowned, ?You sure talk confidently for someone with no power.?
?I have other ways to make you leave.? The goddess immediately replied.
?Go on then, surprise me.? Mima taunted.
Shingyoku continued to stare at Mima, with her deep red eyes, ?I know the truth, the full story of what happened all those years ago, about your death.?
Mima laughed and shrugged, ?Who gives a damn? It?s nothing for me to be blackmailed by, I don?t care.?
?You fail to understand, I know the truth behind what happened, what you didn?t see.? Shingyoku spoke back, voice still completely neutral.
?There is no hidden truth, I was murdered by Murasaki, I saw it, the humans also tried the same; they?re all worthless.? Mima growled.
A slight smile appeared on the woman?s face, ?Or so you think.?
Mima growled, having started to get bored of this game that was being played, ?Your tales to keep yourself alive are boring me now.?
?Oh, whatever do you mean by that?? The goddess replied hostilely.
?I am here to destroy the Hakurei Shrine and all that are linked to it, you are the deity and therefore a primary target.? Mima smirked.
Shingyoku turned her back, ?Don?t get your hopes up. This form barely allows a spectral appearance, seen only by other spirits-?
?And you think the fact you barely exist means you cannot be harmed. Well, that?s true.? Mima closed her eyes and spoke. ?Of course, one way would be to kill your worshippers and stop the faith.?
Shingyoku merely continued to stand there, with her back turned to the evil spirit.
?Or I could wait for your faith to build up to the point that you gain some corporealness, but that?d take too long.? Mima?s staff appeared in her hand, and she twirled it slightly.
Once again, there was no reply from the goddess.
?So, I will simply use the fact that you have underestimated me to cast? this!? Mima shouted, as she threw what appeared to be a green lightning bolt at the deity, striking her in the back.
?W-what did you do?!? The deity cried, finally showing some emotion.
Mima sneered at her finally panicked adversary, ?Is it not obvious? I used a part of my energy to make you more physical, and you know what that means???
?No! Stay back.? Shingyoku warned as Mima approached with another white orb slowly building up in her hand.
Now being the emotionless one, Mima fired the charged beam of light, which impaled the goddess, freezing like ice after impaling her, leaving her suspended helpless in the air.
?You?re truly pitiful, you hid behind your own weakness as a means to be? invulnerable.? Mima spat the final word out, ?You?re no god, just a weak being clinging to a empty life, real gods have power, they don?t need faith, they?re self-sufficient, they make themselves known, feared, loved, respected, and you? you are none of those.?
?What!? Stop!? Shingyoku begged, aware of her own sudden mortality.
?Farewell, leech.? Mima slowly and calmly said, before swinging her staff forward and plunging the sharp crescent moon into her chest.
It barely took a few seconds for the goddess to die and permanently fade from existence, leaving Mima alone once more.
?I never expected this shrine to have such a worthless god??
?Still, that means I only have one target left before the bloodline, and the shrine is gone? forever.?