As usual, here is who?s who. Oh and again, Italics means thoughts.
Marisa in Reimu form,
Reimu in Marisa, Crying now and now unmoving. Took extreme psychological hurt when donation box was destroyed.
?How many times do you expect me to say I?m sorry?!? Marisa wailed, flailing her arms wildly. Reimu just stared at her face with blank, unyielding eyes that betrayed no emotions.
Marisa grabbed Reimu limp hands in her own, kneeling before her. ? Please respond, let me know that you are ok. ( Sobs) Please don?t ignore like this. Just please return to me...? Tears in her eyes, Marisa shook her head, flailing through her thoughts in search of a solution.
?Reimu, return to me. I must fix her, this cannot be the state of the Hakurei shrine maiden.? Marisa stood up, stepping back to assess the extent of the damage she caused.
? Nothing major, just the box. Didn?t something like this happen a while ago. Before the party in heaven, unending rain , Ahh! The localized earthquake Tenshi sent. The entire shrine was destroyed, and she charged off looking for that culprit. But where is that overzealous spirit? What is different this time?? Looking back at Reimu, understanding flooded through. Reimu had no control of the situation now, being in her body, therefore confusion and panic sets in. She had managed to keep these feelings under control, but with such a shock, all the emotion flowed through, paralyzing her. ? So first step is to calm her down to her usual state.?
Marisa ran to the living room, where the pot sat half filled. Marisa snatched up the pot, and started rummaging through her clothing for Hakkero. Of course, now being in Reimu?s body meant Hakkero wasn?t on her and that her armpits were exposed to the world to see. The latter point was irrelevant, but Marisa was quite self conscious about that little fact whenever she remembered that she now existed in a foreign body. Sighing, Marisa made her way to the kitchen to boil some more tea.
?Oh ya, that might help too.? Marisa rushed out of the kitchen to gather more stuff.
Opening her eyes, Reimu saw a young girl kneeling with a couple of lit josh sticks, the calming incense wafting over the courtyard. As the edges of the image became clearer, she saw herself sitting opposite her, like she was looking into a mirror.
?Am I dead?? Reimu questioned her lookalike.
?Nope. Welcome back to the land of the living.? Marisa had gathered some prayer material, and copied what she remembered what Reimu used to do during certain rituals and offerings. Burning the josh sticks first, and luckily she didn?t have to start on the paper talismans.
?Why am I seeing my own body??
?You forgot that much?!? Marisa lost her balance, toppling over. Sprawled over the floor, Marisa picked herself up and making the motion to adjust her hat.
?Ya right, still in Reimu. Stop reminding me.? ? The trauma must be intense to have you forget so radical changes that occurred in the last couple of hours. The body that you see before you contains the soul of Marisa. So ya, somehow we managed to switch bodies....?
As Marisa began to recite the occurrences that recently unfolded, memories of the past few hour spun past Reimu?s inner eye.
?This is too much to bear.? Reimu slumped back down, looking around for her customary cup of tea, as the severity of the situation hit her.
?Good thing I brought this then.? Marisa held up a cup of tea, steam floating at it?s surface. ?Nope, you are in no state to handle hot liquid by yourself.? Holding the cup just out of Reimu?s reach, Marisa pointed at Reimu?s hands.
Reimu looked down, only to see her hands trembling. Stress, confusion or anger, Reimu didn?t understand why or which, but knew that Marisa was right in saying that she could not hold her own tea properly.
?Say ahh.? Next thing Reimu knew, Marisa had crawled up beside her, cup in hand and ready to pour into her mouth.
?No way, I am not some small child learning to drink her miso soup.? Exclaiming quickly, before Reimu tightly shut her mouth to prevent Marisa from her games. She shook her head, blonde hair whipping violently from side to side to further enhance her point.
?I will be gentle, trust me on this. I swear.? Now Marisa was never one to make promises, the few she ever did however were true to her word. Reimu thoughts swayed for a moment, before she yielded, opening her mouth to accept Marisa?s help.
As the warm fluid flowed down her throat, tension of both physical and psychological aspects ebbed away, allowing Reimu to reach a serene mind. As her breathing slowed, her arm stopped trembling and she reached to pry the cup from Marisa?s hands. Marisa willingly parted with the tea, grabbing another quickly before sitting down beside Reimu.
A few minutes later
?Being Marisa isn?t very easy is it?? Reimu commented, finishing her fourth cup of tea.
? Oh you have no idea. Flying alone, it took over six months. Looks like we would have to search on foot for your victim of torture.?
?But you had zero problems in my body? I guess my slower flight is easier to master. What your broom goes like eight times faster.?
? Yup, but flying on a broom is very different from flying unsupported. Broom is a lot faster, unpredictable and can be used like a weapon much like your gohei. Only a crazy person is capable of flying a broom that can reach mach speeds. Why else do you think each and every battle we have is so wild.?
?That?s because you ignore the basic rule of Damanku, that you overwhelm your opponent is the most beautiful manner. And the fact that at every opportunity you master spark till I constantly have to set up a barrier so we may play without destroying half of Gensokyo.
Anyway nothing was beautiful when your broom crashed into my donation box.? Reimu snapped angrily, leaning back onto her shrine wall.
?How many time must I apologize to make you forget, or at least forgive??
?More than you can ever count.?
Reimu dug her hands into her dress, pretty much just to stop herself from physically lashing out at Marisa. Although she knew deep down it wasn?t really quite Marisa?s fault, she still needed to vent her frustration somehow. Her hands closed upbottlea metal pot-like container.
A malicious grin crept up Reimu?s face.
?Click?
?Huh? Oh wait!? Marisa eyes widened as comprehension of the situation arose. Reimu was already diving for cover.
[SFX: Boom!/ Cannon blast sound]
Marisa was thrown into the air by the shock-wave. Marisa entrusted her feelings to the instincts lingering in her body
1, which caused her to back flip midair throwing three ofudas
2 before lightly touching down on the stone ground.
Reimu rolled away from the initial blast unhurt, ducking to narrowly avoid two ofadas which knocked off her hat, and quickly sidestepped the last one.
Marisa drew three more ofudas in her hand, body already rising slowly into the air ? If its a fight you want!!?
Reimu calmly picked up her fallen hat, resting it atop her head and adjusting it to the right angle. ? Its a fight we get.? Reimu replied, clicking her fingers together. Three orbs exited the folds of her dress firing laser streams.
?Easy? Marisa swayed left and right to avoid the first two, deflecting the third with a talisman to send it burning a hole into a nearby tree.
?Hmm, didn?t think she knew how to do that.? Reimu started quickly sifting through all her battles with Marisa, both to use Marisa moves and to know which of hers Marisa knew. Marisa however wasn?t as patient or strategic. She already started drawing out as many ofudas as she could hold in her hands.
?I have the advantage here, so lets finish this quickly.? Marisa started throwing pairs of ofudas left, right and center towards Reimu, creating a maze for her to weave her way through. As Reimu snapped back to reality and begin dodging, Marisa also increased the rate a which she threw the ofudas whilst rising in the air. ?I also have this.?
Marisa added Yin-Yang orbs into the mix, enjoying the view as Reimu darted across the courtyard. Marisa had the upper hand for the first time! And what power she felt. Marisa just kept reaching within her dress and sleeves for more ofudas, and like a
hyperspace arsenal, it continued to give out the weapons.
Silently cursing, Reimu continued dodging as the barrage got heavier, but knew this would be a lost cause eventually due to the two dimensional motions she was restricted by, compared to her counterparts three dimensional movements. Actually, the damanku would have been pretty simple to dodge if she was able to fly, due to Marisa crude replication of the same spell card she encountered during the broken moon incident. Reimu attempted to return some firepower, firing star-like projectiles at Marisa, but to no avail as Marisa calmly floated aside before continuing to rain down ofudas.
Reimu ran for cover in her shrine, seeking whatever respite it might give. Bounding up the steps, Reimu ran at full speed only to end up meeting the floor very fast as her legs got caught by something.
?What the hell?!? Reimu cursed loudly, pushing herself back up.
Reimu looked back, spotting the broom between her legs. Random, impulsive thoughts ran through Reimu?s mind, and before she stopped them, a whisper amongst the recollections,
??Only a crazy person may fly a broom.? Fly, not ride.... Ahh? Reimu finally understood. Standing up, Reimu stomped hard on the broom?s end, forcing it into a spin. As soon the broom was parrallel with the ground, Reimu jumped, forcing the broom to rest in the depression in her feet. As soon as the connection was made, Reimu swung the broom so it was under her and stood upright, all previous hesitation gone.
Marisa laughed hard as she saw Reimu retreat to her shrine. Deciding a to give her a small break, Marisa started counting to ten, like a child in a game of hide and seek. At nine however, something fast sped out of the shrine porch.
Reimu understood now how Marisa flew her broom. Simply by being able to focus her thoughts on the broom, she could will it to move about. It seemed that the broom was magically connected to this body. Reimu mentally concentrated so hard, that the broom would have danced if requested. Reimu zoomed out of the shrine, rising above Marisa, before summoning five orb that spewed multi-coloured stars all over the place before sending three magic missiles at Marisa.
A series of fast changing emotion was flowing through Marisa during this chain of events. First the smug confidence of total victory at the beginning. Amusement as Reimu ran hysterically into her shrine. Surprise as Reimu flew out, on two legs nonetheless to reach an equal height as her. Joy that Reimu finally attained flight, in the space of a couple of hours. And then...
?Oh crap!? Marisa banked left quickly, as the missiles grazed her side. Marisa looked towards Reimu, who now was sitting down with her legs hanging over the edge of the broom. Reimu simply raised her hand, clicking her fingers causing five more spheres to emerge with an even thicker barrage that resembled every child?s fantasy of a meteor shower.
Marisa struggled to weave her way through the sea of stars. Reimu?s slower flight movements hampered her grazing habits, and forced her to go on the defensive and abandon all attacks against Reimu. Reimu waved her hand, and an impenetrable wall of stars formed, shooting straight for Marisa.
?Shit? If only she was a bit faster, she could easily outrun the wall. No way could she retreat in time, also having to dodge the stars she had already dealt with. ?Speed, I need more speed.? The wall was inches away from her now, and she muttered a final prayer. Suddenly her mind descended into a trance-like state, mouth wording a spell card she could not hear.
3 As if her mind was bent on survival, the heightened awareness and concentration caused projectiles to move slower, and her in turn much faster. She twitched as the wall drew closer, and appeared behind Reimu unintentionally.
?How the ...? Wait, does Reimu have a spell card that...? Marisa thought drew her back to a time with Alice, racing through the Bamboo forest chasing a Reimu that moved at hypersonic speeds.
?Ah that?s it.? Realization dawned upon Marisa as Reimu swung round to try and attack her, but she was no longer there. This speed was similar to her broom's accelerated speeds, and Marisa had no trouble maneuvering with it. The increased movement speed came at a price though, as her stamina was drained far quicker than that of normal flight. But it was a small price to pay as Marisa now dodged missiles with ease and returned bursts of ofudas and orbs.
Reimu quickly abandoned her attack on Marisa, as the stars were easily dodged and she had more important things on hand, namely Marisa?s quicker attacks. Since Reimu?s flight speed crawled to almost a standstill whilst the attack was in progress, Reimu traded offensive for evasive maneuvers.
?Looks like Marisa is taking no chances.? Marisa only appeared for a split second after each move, and every location was random, so Reimu had no chance to counter, even lasers fired missed her. On the other hand, Reimu?s now increased familiarity with turbo charged broom meant she also could easily dodge the streams. Deadlock. Reimu knew that Marisa could not maintain the spell card for much longer, but also felt like ending this quickly.
? Hmm, if I could set up some sort of trap...? Reimu started browsing through Marisa?s spell cards deck, mentally flicking the broom left and right to evade the attacks.
? Ahh, this one! Now how to draw her in ...? ?Hey Marisa! If you don?t try and step up your game, I am going to cut your hair for you. Would make it look a lot better anyway.? Reimu yelled, whilst standing on her broom with a thin laser coming out from her finger, hand close to her head.
?What! NO!? Marisa charged at Reimu at high speed, much like her leyline attack. However she never made contact. Reimu moved slightly to the right, and declared her spellcard.
? Shoot the Moon!?
?Shit? A single orb hung under Marisa, apparently left there by Reimu. A low hum alerted Marisa to the impending danger, and Marisa moved just fast enough to avoid being launched to the moon. Not quite fast enough though, as her left sleeve had caught fire and she smelled singed hair.
?Close? Marisa heaved a sigh of relief, but she was not out of danger yet. ?Hah!!? Reimu came crashing down slamming her broom as hard as she could onto Marisa. Reimu quickly fired the broom upwards to prevent herself from falling. Marisa however wasn?t as lucky. Crashing into the courtyard, Marisa?s vision blacken, and then quickly returned albeit slightly blur.
Marisa hastily drew a spellcard hastily and declared it without a thought. ? Dream sign ? Damanku Duplex boundary.?? Two cubes formed from borders, one smaller and one bigger surrounded Marisa and ofudas started appearing around her. When they entered the wall of the first, they emerged on the opposite side of the bigger cube?s wall, fired back at Marisa direction. Then when they entered the wall of the smaller from the outside, the ofudas flew out rapidly from the outer wall of the larger cube.
4 ?Weak, crude, unrefined...? Reimu could create a list to describe how Marisa had tried to duplicate her spell, but now it felt more appropriate to work out a new attack plan. Reimu could have bet 200 yen
5 that her last attack would be the final blow, and yet there Marisa was still standing and with a spellcard no less. Marisa had this unpredictability about her, and combined with a strong fighting spirit made an excellent opponent for Reimu. ?Oh simple?
No need for fancy tricks or spellcards, only one simple thing that started this whole affair. Dropping a metal bomb , a small safe spot was created in the border. Reimu dived down, firing stars to act as a shield before she reached Marisa?s side.
?See you when you wake up.? Reimu smiled as she swung her arm around, connecting her elbow with the side of Marisa?s head. Instantly the spellcard terminated, the ofuda fell harmlessly to the ground.
?Maybe I shouldn?t have hit her that hard...? Reimu scratched her head, before noticing the state of her courtyard. ? Oh Marisa is so cleaning this up!? Reimu nevertheless picked Marisa up, bringing back into the shrine.
notes: 1 : I really don?t like insulting intelligence of readers, but just as a clarification, her body refers to the red-white miko body. Read early chapters if you haven?t already.
2: Ofudas are basically square pieces of paper with some writing on them. Why I use the term instead of just talisman is because I want to differentiate between amulets, talismans, ofudas, and many more. I wish I could go into describing each more, but that will be for another time. Secondary note, these terms don?t apply to other writers, only me.
3 Dream sign ? Fantasy seal- blink?
4: In case that was too hard to understand or visualize, play the Magician?s team in Imperishable Night till Reimu shows up, and one of her spell card was where I got this from. Btw, almost the entire battle is IN style, next battles I feel more of the SWR style.
5: Yes, 200 yen is pretty much Reimu?s monthly budget cause of the lack of donations to her shrine. Maybe I could write another story on Reimu?s poverty, a common joke between Touhou fans.
Proper authors notes.
Hi there, Eatay here again. Yes I know my name up there say the UnspokenDyslexic, but just because it is in my nature to be bad at languages doesn?t mean I should express my story ideas. Anyway, school is going to ramp up real soon, so I will probably work out some sort of schedule. I haven?t been the most diligent student, so some catching up to do and writing I haven?t actually written out a lot of the story yet... But I have the story in mind, so ya. Oh I 1cc Reimu B Normal on PCB recently, so yes! Extra stage, here I come.
Oh I found a good guide for PCB extra stage, so in case anyone needs that little bit of help.So how do you like my fight scenes? I heard fight scenes are the hardest to write, and I must admit, they require a certain level of planning. I get most of my ideas from IN, so if you want a simple replica of what happened, play either stage 4 of IN, and you will see some of the spell cards turning up. Funny thing being, I drew up the plans and actually wrote them onto paper before my O-Levels. Then when writing, I started deviating from the one I wrote earlier, so here's the final product. Multiple edits, and changes, and I may still change a little here and there sometimes. It is funny how sometimes you write one thing, and in your mind you mean something else completely.
I question sometimes why I write, since I am supposedly bad at writing. Well, I haven?t quite found that answer, but rest assured I will write, regardless of my motives. Cause I want my part in shaping Gensokyo. I believe each person is entitled to see Gensokyo as he or she wishes, so I see it this way and wish to let others know how I see it. Penning down my thoughts like this, well you get to see what it is like to read and write I guess...
Yes I agree with Rou, WHY THE HELL IS IT THAT LATE NIGHT SEEMS TO BE THE BEST TIME TO WRITE? I?m sleepy then, but recently have some sleeping issues, so write instead for your benefit. Don?t you dare try and pray that I have more sleepless nights so that I will finish the story quicker! I am warning you!
Night, and special thanks to all works I have read to give my courage to write, I feel far freer here than anywhere else. Penny for your thoughts on my work, I don?t care whether good or bad, but hope constructive or encouraging. Right see you next time.
