Edit 9/29/13: After careful consideration, I have decided I did not like much of the prologue. It was my first time writing something like this, and now that I have developed a bit more, I decided that this is the one part of all of my writing thus far I would take back. So, I am hiding it. If you want to read it, go ahead, but otherwise, it's staying hidden. Sorry.
Prologue
Gathering of Darkness
All was darkness. But not all was invisible. On a small plot of grass in this void sat a great palace, its towers gleaming like obsidian. Around the palace is shadow and mist, all that naturally exists in this gateway dimension, this Ingress. In fact, the small chunk of terrain looked downright strange in this plane between planes. Within the palace's grand hall, a single, ring-shaped point of light can be seen in the darkness, but it is a hollow light that casts neither glow nor warmth. It remained still, hovering over a tall, slim figure. This figure's back was turned to the entrance, but even without turning she knew what-or rather, who-was approaching.
A shorter figure dressed all in gray was half-running down the hall, stopping and bowing within a few feet of the figure. The taller one turned her head slightly. "Get up," she commanded, simply acknowledging her.
The gray-clad one stood back up as soon as she was ordered. "My lady, all preparations are made. We are ready to begin. Should I start shrouding the palace?"
The taller figure turned back to the end of the hall, towards a massive, reinforced door that could have been part of the wall, as if expecting a response. The very shadows in the room seemed to approve of her secret question. "Good," she said when she finally decided to speak. "Are the residents of this world unsuspecting?"
"Like the sun before summer rains, mate."
The tall creature nodded and turned at this news, a slight smile playing across her lips for the first time that she can remember in a long, long time. Her single red eye almost seemed to glow in the shaded room, gazing right at the shorter girl before flicking back to the rest of the room. The gray one shuddered, still uneasy about the other only having one eye, since the white bandage-like patch over her other eye would indicate she used to have two. "Then let us begin." She raised her arms to her sides, her sleeves looking obviously long in comparison. "The unliving...to become living...let darkness see...let it accept my breath of life...and may I retain command over it."
As she recited this sort of spell, it seemed as though the very shadows were being ripped from the room. The floor, walls, the shorter one's faint shadow, even three from herself. After she mentioned a breath of life, a mist began to pour from her mouth and flow about the room.
Again, the shorter one felt uneased, but slightly amused (in a weird way) at this. After all, the other's main power was over life, not specifically through her breath. In reality, she just changed her blood's temperature to cool her body...or did she warm it? It was hard to remember. It was no more than a metaphor. She could do this without using her ability anyway, so this was merely for show. The gray one still didn't like it, though. If she can bring things to life...then theoretically she could- no, no...there's nothing to fear. She wouldn't do something so uncouth. Nevertheless, it still sent chills up her spine.
Despite the mist being a metaphor, as it travelled past the blobs of darkness, it entered them. Their point of entry opened a large eye, revealing that the blobs' shapes were more eye than anything. In fact, they were completely eye. The tall one served as a sort of hive mind to which all of the pieces listened and obeyed. The three that originated from her were larger than the rest, and seemed to be more independent as well. They were distinguishable from the rest due to flower petal-like protrusions from the backs of them, one colored purple, one orange, and the third teal. These were the elite forms of the shadow creatures, just like the hundreds upon hundreds that now permeated the hall. Swiftly, they all turned and formed an orb around the tall figure, swirling at dizzying speeds, leaving small smoky trails behind them. From the orb could be heard a voice:
"Go, Dark Matter! Rob this world of emotion, and leave naught but suffering in your wake! Cast down all opposition! Let none look to the sky with hope, nor another smile cross their faces! I want to feel the despair wash over this land!"
At this command, the orb dissipated as the separate orbs left the palace and began circling it. The shorter figure procured two small, glowing wands from seemingly nowhere, and used those with broad sweeping motions like a conductor to generate clouds. These clouds mixed with the Dark Matter, creating pitch-black clouds that effectively obscured the palace from view, looking like a menacing, if not large, black cloud.
Slowly, the palace began to rise into the air from so many forces trying to lift it at once. As it rose, the mist and darkness of the Ingress faded, and the beings within the palace found themselves greeted by the sun and hill country. The tall figure, now visibly clad primarily in white and red, looked towards the door behind her, and muttered a quick "Thank you" to it. The door didn't respond, but any darkness left in the dim room again seemed to approve. As the mist completely vanished, the sun was shining bright, and there were no other clouds in the sky. Slowly, and very high in the air, the obscured palace began to move forward, as if it were designed to do so.
As they moved, the tall woman looked outside to take in the scenery. She just grimaced and looked away again. "Tch.They won't even know what they're about to lose...after all, if I can't be happy...
...
Why should anyone else be?"
Upon saying this, a single crimson tear streaked down her eye. She hated that she cried blood. She always has, even since she was alive. But back then, she had two eyes...but even then she wasn't happy...She wiped away her tear with her sleeve, which is enchanted to automatically eliminate bloodstains so that it didn't need to be tediously washed over and over again, since her tears were rather frequent. As she lowered her arm, her strange cape seemed to twitch all on its own.
"I mustn't think that way. It's too late to stop anyhow, everything's already in motion. We will bring Gensokyo to its knees, one way or another. And when we do..." She closed her eye in pondering, bowing her head slightly. "...then what?"
And now, it is your turn, my lovely reader/s. This story cannot continue until we have who does what. As such, and this is where you come in...I will give you 5 choices. You can choose either one or two people to go on this journey. Note that your choice is limited to only the ones I assign. Your five choices are:
1. Reimu Hakurei - Obviously. What's an incident without Reimu getting simultaneously annoyed and involved?
2. Marisa Kirisame - Again, obviously. Everyone needs a little klepto witch in their stories, right? Maybe? I don't know.
3. Yuyuko Saigyouji - What? Not Youmu? Well, if you want to know, and want to see Yuyuko beat people up, then vote for her.
4. Satori Komeiji* - An Underground youkai above ground? Something must have happened. Creepy mind readers from hell should just stay there...unless they can help.
5. Koishi Komeiji* - This fruitcake? Maybe for laughs, but this is serious busine- Wait, she's already in the roster. Dammit Koishi.
(* means that these two characters cannot be paired. You can do, say, Reimu + Satori or Reimu + Koishi, but no Satori + Koishi.)
So, you tell me who you want solving this crime disturbance mystery incident, and the story shall continue from that person's/group's perspective. Others may still show up, but after a certain point, it's just the one person / group of two. Remember, you don't have to pick two, you can vote for just one. I also wouldn't mind constructive criticism.
So, bad things brought to you by horrible people. How will this be resolved? Stay tuned and vote to find out!
Edit: After some thinking, here's what I decided. Vote for two of the listed characters, and then choose one of the two to be the main character. The secondary will leave the story after a set point. If not specified, then the first character selected will be considered the choice for main protagonist. Everything else still stands.
I vote for Reimu and Satori. At least, that's what the RNG picked for me.
There was a secret here but then the author wanted me to hide it! No peeking! Also, sorry for only editing it now, author.
Well, while I wait for more votes, I have some shorts of the "during the incident with non-vital characters" section. As of right now, I have 3 shorts, and I may make some more, but it depends. One of them is a combination of two, since they will most likely be shorter anyway. I need those votes to continue, I like to know the public opinion on things like this. As it stands, here are the current votes:
Main Protagonist: Reimu - 1 Marisa - 1 Yuyuko - 1 Satori - 0 Koishi - 0
Secondary Protagonist: Reimu - 0 Marisa - 0 Yuyuko - 0 Satori - 1 Koishi - 2
It looks like Koishi will be the secondary protagonist at this point, while main is still up in the air. Remember, one vote for main, one for secondary, and the only pairing I will not allow is Satori and Koishi to go together. So what are you people waiting for? Cast them votes! And a thank-you to those who have voted already.
Chapter 0.5
Falling Gloom ~ Tales of the Miko, the Baka, the Neko, and the Devil
Part 1: Moriya Conspiracy?
Her eyes snapped open, cold sweat dripping down her face and heavy breathing. She sat bolt upright, bringing a hand to her head. "What an odd nightmare..." she said, turning to look out of the window. It was still nighttime, nowhere near time to be awake, unless there was to be youkai exterminating. She had done so multiple times in the past few days, so that night was to rest. Her nightmare still troubled her, however. "Maybe Lady Kanako will know what it means..." She did a quick nod to reassure herself, then got up and proceeded to the actual shrine atop the mountain. "The shrine part of the shrine," she heard Suwako call it one day. She yawned and stretched as she walked, sleepiness all too apparent on her face.
She approached the lake, ominous onbashira pillars still present, as always. Sitting upon the largest and lowest one was a woman dressed in red with a mirror ornament on her chest. Her hands were folded in front of her mouth, and she seemed to be concentrating. Sanae had seen this look before, often when she wanted to make an impression of a god with a lot on her mind, yet she will put it aside for those who visit. She would do this to Sanae quite a bit, pretending not to notice her come in just to mess with her. She thought this was one of those times. "Look, I know you're probably not going to pay attention right away, but please...this time it's important."
Without moving any other part of her body, the goddess spoke. "Yes...go ahead. What's on your mind?" Her usual showmanship wasn't present. Come to think of it, was Kanako usually up at this time? Sanae couldn't entirely remember, she never thought to pay attention to it. I guess that since she's a god, she wouldn't necessarily need to sleep, but maybe even they delight in such a pleasure on occasion. Regardless, she was taken aback by Kanako's genuineness. "Um...normally, you don't listen right away. I know how you like to mess with me," Sanae retorted, a bit sarcastically and suspiciously.
Kanako raised one hand toward her. "I know, but...well, let's just say, I'm a bit troubled right now."
Now Sanae was curious, and managed to push aside her tiredness and even her urgent question. "What's troubling? There hasn't been anything wrong for a while. In fact, this has been the best early summer I've spent here!"
The goddess chuckled. "You do realize we haven't been here more than maybe a year or two, right?"
"Only a year or two? That doesn't seem right. It had to have been longer..."
"Sanae, time is a strange thing. It's possible that I'm wrong and we were here longer, I don't have an exact time." Now Sanae knew that something was up. It's not normal for Kanako to admit even the possibility that she could be wrong. "But that's actually the problem. The weather's been too nice. I haven't sensed nor created any rain or winds, apart from a gentle breeze now and again for those hotter days. Usually early summer is supposed to be rainy to nourish plants and such, but there's been none..."
Sanae could recognize how this could be a problem. "So...we might lose faith because plants and crops are dying of dehydration?"
Kanako sat bolt upright, an indignant look on her face. "Goodness, no! If anything, they're happier than ever, they think I've figured out a way to rain their crops without an actual storm. Which means that moisture is coming from somewhere, but I don't know where. And to top it all off, " she added, leaning forward and pointing a finger at Sanae as if saying 'I figured out a major part of this mystery, but not quite yet.' "I can feel some sort of storm brewing...a BIG one. An unnatural one. We're in the calm phase. Youkai probably feel it and are deciding to enjoy it rather than cause major incident, which works out for everyone involved."
The shrine maiden was more than a little confused. "So the crops are getting rain without rain...they're blaming you and as such are giving more faith...and the lack of storms means that an unnatural one will be arriving soon, since we've been due for one?"
"Mmm, close. The unnatural storm has nothing to do with the lack of actual rain, but I can feel it. It's gonna be a huge storm. Suwako's a bit excited for it." Although it wasn't completely back, it was good to see that nothing was seriously wrong with Kanako, as her personality returned to normal. It might be the time of night, Sanae thought. She needs rest just like everyone else. At least now she understood why Kanako was troubled.
The goddess returned to her pose from before, but this time resting her chin on her interlocked fingers. With a slight smile, she focused back on her...subject, i suppose you could say. "So tell me, what are you doing up this late at night?"
Sanae had almost forgotten why she went to see Kanako. Any sense of elation at the thought of even more faith was suddenly brought to a halt as she was reminded. How could she forget something that important? Her face went serious as she began. She took a deep breath as sweat already began accumulating on her brow. "Well...it was a nightmare, my lady."
Kanako gave a sarcastic look of sympathy. "Aww, did the big, bad shrine maiden get scawed of a wittle night terror?" She couldn't help but laugh at herself.
Sanae turned a bit pink at this. "My lady, this is serious. I haven't been this freaked out since when I was really young and dreamt of being locked in a closet with man-eating produce..."
Kanako raised an eyebrow. "What was this now?"
Sanae only turned redder. She was starting to get irritated. "That's not important! Just listen to me! This is about you, Suwako...it's about US, alright?"
Kanako's smile quickly faded. "Right...I'm sorry. Please continue."
"So...I don't quite know where I was. It was dark...very dark...and misty. It looked like I was in some different world, like when I went to Makai with the Palanquin ship when it went to resurrect Byakuren. In the distance, the sky looked red, with black clouds all around it. I thought I saw something in the distance, some glowing point of light, and I started running towards it."
"I don't quite see what this has to do with us," Kanako interrupted, slightly bored.
"Please, just listen!" Sanae said, almost stomping the ground out of temper. "Anyway, so as I kept going, I heard a yell, so I picked up the pace, even though it didn't seem to move any faster. For some reason, I couldn't fly." This was a serious detail, since her ability to fly depended on her power to perform miracles, which was supplied by Kanako and Suwako, besides the faith she gathered for herself. She swallowed and continued, a few tears forming in her eyes as she formed the recollection. "As I got closer to the point of light, I saw three figures. It was you two, and some third person I had never seen before. One of you -I think it was Suwako- was on the ground, her back to me, and pulsing with some strange shadow-looking blemish on her skin and clothes. She...she wasn't moving. My gaze finally fell upon you two. The one was taller than you, with a halo over her head, and some strange-looking wings, even for youkai standards. Or was it a cape..."
"Go on," urged Kanako, now fully drawn into the story. She didn't want any digressions, especially not about the finer points of cape identification.
Sanae gulped again and continued. "She was dressed in white with red trim, her sleeves looking too long for her. The ground had signs of battle, but she didn't have a scratch on her. You were all bruised up. She...she had you...had you by the..." She made the motion of strangling at her own neck for effect. "You were struggling, but you couldn't break free of her one hand. Eventually, the same shadow seemed to overtake you, but you refused to lose consciousness. I tried to rush in to fight her off..." She was getting close to breaking down into tears. Reliving the nightmare was a much different experience than experiencing it the first time, she noticed.
"Take your time, Sanae. There's no rush. Now, do you remember anything else about this attacker?"
She shook her head. "No. That's all I can remember. Wait...I remember, as I ran up to her, she had a mask on...it had two small black dots for eyes and a red mouth that looked like some cross between a U and a V. But when she looked at me, someone...something...burst out from her shadow. It was this massive, pitch-black thing. It seemed feminine in shape, but its face was hideous, two bright, rust-colored eyes and a mouth with six fangs, three on each side. The thing also had six scythe-like blades coming off of some arms from within its cloak. They looked wickedly sharp. The cloak the creature was wearing seemed to blend in with the body, which just seemed to connect to the ground like a shadow. It also had two large, grotesque black wings, with bright green webbing. That's when the dream started to turn really bad." She took another deep breath. "The thing took a swing at me and missed, but while I was dodging, it moved over to your prone form. I guess the angelic creature dropped you. She stood you up somehow, then..." She started sobbing. "She wrapped her cloak firmly around you before you could respond, all six blades in the cloak as well, deep in. As I watched, since I couldn't turn away...she pulled each of her arms. The blades must have sliced right through you, like an iron maiden torture chamber...I heard you scream in pain, then fall silent. Blood dripped from the blades and the slots on her cloak, and she simply had a look of devilish pleasure from tearing you to pieces. Remembering that Suwako was still in danger, I turned, only to see the other creature take her by the arm. A strange rift opened behind them, and they disappeared into it. I was left alone with the demonic shadow. I wanted to run, to turn away, to get away."
Kanako, eyes wide, suddenly got up and floated down to Sanae, who was staring at the ground, trying not to burst into tears. She embraced the poor girl. "Sanae, honey...stop. It was only a nightmare. It's obvious that it left an impact on you, but it was no more than a figment of your imagination."
Sanae, instead of returning it, shoved Kanako away. "You...you don't even believe me! Kanako, I saw you die! You can't just shrug that off! You know I've had prophetic dreams in the past, after you made me shrine maiden."
Kanako bit her lip. It's absurd. What could have the gall, let alone the means, to attack goddesses...and win? Besides, immortal beings such as gods can't die...right? Kanako's mind was still full of questions, but she didn't want to do any more to Sanae. "How about you just go get some rest? It'll be morning soon enough. Maybe you can relate it a bit better tomorrow, after you've had some more time to think it over?"
Sanae wiped her eyes, and nodded. She was ushered out by Kanako, who closed the door behind her. As she walked back, she sighed. "That corresponds with Suwako's dream rather well. She was incapacitated, and remembered hearing me yell, Sanae scream, and then she gets dragged off...but she awoke in the same time frame Sanae did."
"I know we've been accused of conspiracy in the past...but now it looks like someone conspires against us. Perhaps it would be best if, when that storm does arrive, that Sanae sit this one out. She has enough troubles already."
She looked over the mountain side, watching the sun start to rise. She couldn't stifle a yawn if she tried. "I should probably get some sleep. After all, any day could be a big day here." She chuckled at a thought. "Well, at least it's more than that Hakurei girl could say. I bet she looks forward to incidents so she has something to do." She laughed a bit, but quickly enough her mind turned to sleep and the dreams she heard about.
You know, somehow I knew Koishi would wind up getting involved in the main story due to votes. I wonder how I knew...oh right. Dammit Koishi.
Also, it's all cool, LaserTurtle. Author (me) is not displeased with you.
Well, now it looks like the pairing will be Reimu and Koishi, but don't let that discourage you! If you REALLY want to see...uh...some other combo, then vote for it! I'm totally not desperate because the plot can't fully continue until I get your selections, and this totally isn't filler until then! Absolutely noooot~!
...
Anyway, next part!
Chapter 0.5
Falling Gloom ~ Tales of the Miko, the Baka, the Neko, and the Devil
Part 2: A Chill in Summer, Lost in the Breeze
"Ahh, I love summer. Sometimes." A girl was floating in the lake, upon what looked like a miniature iceberg. "Only when it's not that hot out. Like today! It's just perfect." The ice was sculpted to be like a reclining chair, and she was laying back, arms behind her head, and one leg partially submerged in the lake, the other crossed over it. Feeling a bit off-balance, she whipped a hand around, and more ice formed on the side of the floe, balancing it again. She sighed, closing her eyes and smiling. "Got a busy schedule tomorrow," she mumbled to herself. "Gonna hang out with the rest of the gang. Hmm...Wriggle said something about how the games we play are gettin' kinda dull now. Our favorite game...tag...hah! As if that could get boring! What does she know? She doesn't even have good fashion sense!" She had to chuckle at her own joke. "But still..."
Her train of thought was interrupted as she thought she heard a yelp from across the water. It wasn't Daiyousei... "She wouldn't be back yet. Her trips to the human village for random whatevers usually takes longer. Meh, not my problem," she thought out loud. "Now...gotta think of a new game...let's see...they said they don't like half of the danmaku games we play..." One could see the strain on the young girl's mind on her scrunched-up face. "Involving danmaku with tag wouldn't go over well, I'd think. I remember trying that, and flipping out and using Perfect Freeze when I got out." Suddenly her face lit up with inspiration, and she sat bolt upright. "Wait a minute...Perfect Freeze...tag...freeze..." She snapped her fingers in revelation, jumping to her feet with a slight flutter of her icicle-like wings. "Freeze Tag! Perfect! I am such a genius..."
Immediately she snapped out of the sound of her patting her own back when another yelp - more like a scream - echoed out across the water. She turned and saw, to her chagrin, her three rivals in some sort of scuffle. Star, the one in blue, was already knocked out on the ground, and the scream seemed to come from Luna, the one in the yellowish-beige color. Strange...usually Luna's the first to get knocked out in their little fights. That was when she noticed a fourth in their group. She was tall and elegant, wearing mostly white with red. She seemed to be holding Luna by the leg, and fending off Sunny, the fairy in red, with her other arm. The strangest part was what looked to be a halo over the tall woman's head. Now curious, Cirno turned so she could get a good look at the scene, considering most of it was quite a ways off. She got on her tiptoes on the edge of the ice floe, shielding her eyes from the sun to try and get a better look. Suddenly, she heard "Let go of my friend, you big...big...JERK!"
Cirno decided that, even if they were her rivals, she couldn't just watch fellow fairies get beaten up without demonstrating how strong they can be. It looked like those three weren't even putting up a fight! "If it's not one thing, it's another with that group. Troublemakers, that's what they are. Probably stole from the woman's bags, so it serves them right." Cirno couldn't convince herself of this. She knew something was up. As she got closer, the taller woman threw Luna in a perfect arc to hit Sunny and drop the three of them in a pile. Still infuriated, Sunny rose back into the air, and started gathering sunlight around her. In a bizarrely angry voice for the usually jovial fairy, she yelled "Sun Sign 'Aggressive Light'!" Flurries of danmaku began being hurled at the woman, in much greater intensity than Cirno remembered. Maybe because she was just watching them this time, instead of actually being the target. Of course, she was much smaller than the woman, so dodging was so much easier.
That didn't stop her, though. With unbelievable grace in just a simple side-to-side dodge, she managed to not only weave through the danmaku, but emerge completely unscathed. Sunny just looked bewildered at her. The woman raised her arms laterally, and three orbs of shadow rose with them. Suddenly Cirno's eyes went wide. What the... Cirno thought, watching the shadows be converted to Dark Matter. Since when did shadows have eyes?! The woman waved both arms forward, and the three orbs moved at once, converging directly on Sunny, passing through her as if she were air, and staying rooted inside of her. She had a brief look of pain, before it subsided to lethargy and exhaustion. However, she stayed floating, determined to avenge her defeated friends. The woman raised her arms again, and this time they were shot out of her sleeves (or so it seemed), with the same effect, only a lot more this time. Sunny couldn't stand the barrage, and went down quickly.
Now Cirno was moving even faster across the lake. I had to declare war on them in order to beat them all at once, and this woman just takes them all down that fast? Yeah right! Time to show her some REAL fairy power! It appeared as though her rivals being defeated didn't faze her, it was more a blow to her pride than anything. The woman turned to face Cirno as she flew over the lake. Now in clear sight, Cirno saw that the woman was wearing a white mask, with two small, black dots for eyes (How does she even see through those?) and a red mouth, shaped like a crescent with the open part facing upwards, but also pointed a bit, like an odd V. The woman raised two fingers, in a position she saw the bunny from the moon do once for danmaku, and she shot another shadow blob at her from her fingertips! Unfortunately, she was going too fast, and it hit directly. Now off-balance in mid-flight, she had no choice but to make an emergency landing in the dirt.
Slightly irritated in being face-first in dirt, she hears the woman scoff at her and the sound of someone walking away. Scrambling back to her feet, Cirno boldly announces "Hey! I don't know who you think you are, but nobody just assaults fairies out of the blue like that!" This got the woman's attention, just like how Cirno wanted. "Well, except for maybe that shrine maiden...and that witch...and the other shrine maiden...but that's beside the point! We fairies are strong, and I'm obvious proof of it!" I mean, look at me! I am Cirno, the..."
While she droned on, behind the mask a single eye rolled in irritation. This little girl is so full of herself. This should be easy. Finally fed up with her boasting, she interjects. "Look, I don't care who you are. I have a schedule to keep, and this doesn't involve you. It would be in your best interest to just stay out of my way." She turned to continue on her path.
Cirno was now furious. She swooped back in front of the woman. "Did you just turn your back to me? Nobody, and I mean NOBODY, turns their back on me! You're lucky I don't just freeze you where you sta-"
"Enough! I don't have time for this!" the woman interjected again. She raised her arms, like before, and a flood of Dark Matter flew from her hands. Luckily, Cirno was ready, and started dodging everywhere to avoid getting hit. She could tell getting hit with these things was bad, and she didn't want a first-hand experience with it. She returned fire with some of her own danmaku, beginning to force the woman on the defensive. One bullet managed to hit her on the red portion of her cape, which caused her to cry out in pain. Managing a smirk at finding what looked like her weak point, Cirno kept firing shots at her, trying to get her to dodge and knock her cape into a stray bullet. The woman managed to practically dance her way to having Cirno between her and the lake. "Begone, fairy!" came a yell from the woman. A few bolts of Dark Matter flew from her, and distracted Cirno long enough to get a good stream attacking her, a good three or four times how much infected Sunny. Completely in shock, Cirno was launched towards the lake, where she fell in with a large splash.
The woman walked over to the lake to savor her victory, when suddenly the shape of a frozen lotus floats up on the water. It opens, and Cirno jumps out. "What, you thought that little attack would do me in? All ya did was surprise me!"
The woman took a step nervously back. Impossible...that should have been enough to render the most devout spiritual creature under my power! How is she not even affected? I can sense it swarming her mind...or at least, what it can find of it...jeez, this girl must be a moron...
Cirno folds her arms, a look of triumph smeared over her face. "Heh. I knew you weren't that strong. I am the strongest, after all." At this point, the word 'gloat' would be an understatement of the highest caliber.
The woman regains her composure, and quickly thinks of a new plan. "Alright...I guess I'll just have to try more." With that, she snaps her fingers, and a couple dozen orbs appear around Cirno, cutting off any escape. After a few seconds, they all crowd in, holding her down, as the woman now used her entire form to spawn Dark Matter to plague the girl's mind. Cirno had to reel her head back from the attack, which felt only like dull thuds and the rush of wind. When it was over, and her captives also possessed her, she just looked around a bit, confused.
The woman, confident that she had put down the fairy, had already begun to walk away. "Was that supposed to do something?" Her eye widened behind the mask, and she whipped around to see the fairy still there, as normal as ever. "I mean, I feel a little stiff, but otherwise I feel fine. Your attacks are weak. I'm going back to lounging."
Thinking quickly, the woman raises her arm, turns her palm flat towards the ground, and moves it straight down. Cirno immediately plummets to the earth. Amazing...her intelligence must be so low that she isn't affected by the cognitive-dependent process alterations, yet her movement is completely restrained to my will...this will do as a suitable alternative. A good experiment. "I suppose coming here wasn't a complete waste of time after all," she muttered, only half-aware that she was speaking out loud.
Cirno was infuriated again. "Who you calling pointless?"
This time, the woman leaned down to Cirno's face. "You. You're pointless. A mere test dummy for more powerful creatures. You may be immortal, but you will amount to nothing. And, I put emphasis on the 'dummy' part of it. Your intelligence makes an inanimate rock look like a genius. Yet, that will only lead you to a fate worse than what was planned for you. You have no more free will, simply a free mind. Go ahead and wander about in your wonderland of blissful ignorance of which I envy you deeply."
By this point, the poor ice fairy was completely lost. "I...um..."
The woman held up her hand, and Cirno rose with it. "Save your breath." The wicked smile she put on under the mask could just be felt. "You're going to need as much of it as you can get" She then lifted her again telekinetically, wound up, and threw her back into the lake, Cirno screaming the entire way. With a chuckle, she turned and headed off into the forest to continue her war against positive emotion, with something new learned to aid her. She already seemed to be winning. Cirno, luckily, landed on her little ice floe. She could only hope that Dai would get back before the ice melted. Being paralyzed, she couldn't form a chilled breeze if she tried.
The aforementioned woman was now wandering the Forest of Magic, without a single clue as to where she was going. "I told them not to leave without me. I know we have a schedule, but I'm the important part of the scheme. I just hope I can find them soon...being lost doesn't bode well."
A fairy pulling back a branch suddenly let go, sending the tree limb on a direct collision course with the woman's face. She managed to duck in time, and in that same motion, she shot down the fairy with Dark Matter. "I just hope I can find somewhere soon, some sort of landmark." She sighed. "I hate being lost."
Well, she wasn't lost, per se. She could sense the general direction of the cloud, and she knew her position relative to it, but otherwise, she had no idea where she was. She knew her destination, and simply wanted to reach it swiftly. That, and she really wasn't supposed to be off the cloud...but she didn't care. Nothing bad had happened, so she saw no need to confine herself. Besides, it is easier to spread Dark Matter in person than over long range, she found.
As if on cue, she walked into a clearing, and before her was a huge mansion, in what she guessed was a traditional fashion. Certainly different from what she was used to when she was growing up, back when she was still alive...
Her memories were cut short, as she notices a red thing curled on the ground just inside the mansion gates. She can tell it's a living thing, but she can't quite tell what it is. As she approaches, she can see some hair, brown hair, on one end of it...and two tails from the other? Looking more carefully, she sees two black ears on top of the brown hair...just who was this? She decided to go another step closer, not fully understanding why her heart was pounding, and her instincts were screaming out to her...but she still went closer, starting to conjure some Dark Matter just in case.
As she approached, the ears moved up a little bit, on the sides of a green hat. The thing gave a long stretch, and slowly stood up, before stretching again like how a person would. The woman was in shock, oddly enough, at seeing this cat...person...thing just laying on the ground sleeping. Something was strange, though...She tried to take another step forward, accidentally scraping her foot against the ground, getting the girl's attention. The woman simply froze at her error.
She slowly turned around in a very un-catlike way. Her face was soft and loving, even though they were meeting for the first time. She turned all the way around, directly facing the woman. Their eyes locked, the shorter one with a smile, the taller one breaking out in a sweat and twitching under her mask. I..I don't understand...why am I on the verge of panic? Alright...just stay calm...stay calm...
The girl took a step forward, which prompted the woman to take a step back and gasp, hiding the arm creating Dark Matter. Her breathing escalated suddenly. Staycalmstaycalmstaycalm...stay...calm...don't let this thing control you...you're stronger than it...
Then the girl did the most bizarre thing. She just made a little noise. "Nyah~." Short, sweet...rather adorable, actually...
The woman's face was suddenly drenched in sweat. STAYCALMSTAYCALMSTAYCA- SCREW IT RUNAWAYANDPANICRUNAWAYANDPANICRUNAWAYANDPANIC!!!!!! The woman began screaming bloody murder, long and continuous, not even breaking to take a breath. The hand conjuring Dark Matter shot forward, pelting the area with high-speed bolts of the entity. She just wouldn't stop screaming, and eventually used her other arm to fire more. She was constantly backing up, and creating larger and larger spheres of Dark Matter to hurl. When she was almost to the treeline, she shot into the air, and yelled "Dark Matter 'Dark Star'!!!!!" A massive sphere of dark matter appeared over her head, growing larger and larger, until eventually she just threw it. It impacted the ground near where she thought the girl was, and she hit the ground running, quite literally, back the way she came.
Back at the mansion, a door opened, and an elegant woman with nine fox tails emerged from it. "Cheeeen, where are you? I thought I heard a noi- HOLY..."
All around the cat girl, there were craters, including a huge one that seemed to hit everywhere around her except for where she was. Upon hearing her master, the girl leaped effortlessly over the crater and ran to the fox, embracing her with a cry of "Ran-sama! We had a visitor! She saw me and ran off! I don't even know who she was, but she wore a mask! Her cape and halo were cool too!"
Ran just stroked Chen's hair, and surveyed the damage. "Well, at least nothing was damaged. You're not hurt, are you Chen?" She shook her head no, a smile still on her face. "Good. Maybe you should come inside..."
Chen looked up, confused. "But the weather's been so nice. Surely it won't rain, will it?"
Ran looked up to the sky, watching a lone black cloud way off in the distance. "...Better safe than rained on."
I think I intended these two to be a bit shorter...oh well. Staying up late typing up stories tends to do that, I think.
Don't forget to vote for main protagonist and secondary protagonist! It's like election day all over again, but this time it's for people who you may actually like!
Wow. There's usually at least one vote between posts of the story itself. Oh well, I expected there to be more opinions. Don't let that stop you, though, so vote!
Remember: Your choices are Reimu, Marisa, Yuyuko, Satori, and Koishi. First vote is for main protagonist, second vote is for peripheral protagonist.
Also note that this is the last opportunity you will have to vote: the next part is the main story!
Chapter 0.5
Falling Gloom ~ Tales of the Miko, the Baka, the Neko, and the Devil
Part 3: Heaven Eclipses Hell
She slowly turned the crank, once, twice, five times, until it could not be turned anymore. After starting, a little tune was played, and the girl leaned back on her chair. The tune always soothed her. She looked out of the window, barred and high up on the wall, the sunset streaming in slightly. She loved the music box. It was a gift from her sister many years ago. It would always calm her down, and still does. She often stared wonderingly at the mechanisms inside, wondering how they worked just from turning one little handle on the side. Her favorite part was what happened when the catch on the top was released. In addition to being able to see more of the box, two little figures rose from the box, spinning and whirling. Their actions were opposite, yet similar. When one turned left, the other turned right. They would separate and perform on their own before meeting back in the middle to dance together before separating again, an endless whirl. The girl always thought the two figures to be her and her sister, doing a dance in the moonlight to the tune.
She yawned contentedly. These were the moments in which she could just sit there and ponder in peace. She often thought of outside, meeting new people and finding new places, undiscovered or otherwise. In some ways she hated feeling cooped up. She never got to go outside. Well, that wasn't true. Her sister did take her outside once. Sure, the nice doll lady's house got burned down, but that wasn't entirely her fault. Even she knew not to just leave matches lying around! But still, no one ever visited her. Well, again, that's untrue. Although usually her visitors were just fairy maids who wound up down there. And they usually fled in terror upon seeing her. None of them ever wanted to play...She wanted to go out, be free, and do stuff. Sure, she was kept well entertained, but that didn't change much. Then again, her sister always told her that it was for her own good that she stays down here. Why would she lie? There had to be good reason. So, she dutifully stays put. Although, she could do with more visitors...the few they get never seem to want to see her.
Just as that thought crossed her mind, she thought she saw something move down the closest corridor to her. Raising one eyebrow questioningly, she hopped up, stretching her wings, which she kept folded behind the chair. She walked cautiously down to the threshold and peered around the corner. Nothing was there. She scratched her head. "Strange...I thought for sure I saw something go down there." Still puzzled, she turned back to go back to the chair. The music box needed rewinding. However, further down the corridor on the opposite side, movement was seen again. This time she jogged towards that direction. She knew it led to a dead end, so she could ask this intruder what she was doing there. "I know I saw something this time," she said. She noticed that the blur looked like white and red. But the red was a different shade than the red her sister often wore, and the rest was white, not pink. As she rounded the bend, all she saw was hallway, with another hall branching off of the left further ahead. This hallways wasn't there before...it was installed to give the basement more room last summer. D'oh.
After her moment of forgetfulness, she turned suddenly back around, trying to get another glimpse of the intruder. She was starting to feel a little nervous at some stranger barging into her house and creeping her out. It felt fun! This time, however, she didn't see the person. She decided that maybe if she waits near the music box, maybe it'll show up again. Maybe. That was when she noticed that she could hear the music box. That didn't make sense, it had already unwound. She raced back to the first hall, sliding a little as she entered it, seeing the tall figure standing in front of the table her music box was on. "Found you, hee hee!" she exclaimed. Almost immediately, her giggling cut short as she noticed something off about this woman. She was dressed all in white with bits of red, like how she was dressed in red with bits of white. The difference was that it looked more like a robe than her skirt. Her cape was also strange, but the most noteworthy thing to her right know was the gold ring over her head. She remembered hearing about things - angels, were they called? - that wore those. But they weren't supposed to be on earth, so why was this one here? And why was her back turned to her? Surely she was more interesting than her music box...although that was also interesting.
Her exclamation actually did get the angel's attention, since she turned slightly. The girl was rapidly becoming annoyed with the woman for remaining so mysterious, so to try and alleviate the tension, she spoke first. "Well hello, I'm Flandre. What's your name?" She tried to be as friendly as possible.
The woman didn't respond.
Flandre had already begun moving to get a better view of the woman. Not getting a response made her angry and uneasy. Who was this stranger who just barges into other people's houses, and doesn't respond to a single question? How dare she have the gall to not talk! She got closer to her, and then realized that she was wearing a mask. Two small black dots for eyes, and a red mouth that looked somewhat like a V-shaped smile. The girl gasped, then immediately realized that that would seem rude. She had no reason to be rude to a guest...yet. So, she cleared her throat and tried again. "I said, my name's Flandre, what's your-"
"Does it pain you?"
Flandre was taken back by this sudden question. Caught unaware and not having an answer, she responded with a very genuine "Huh?"
The angel turned to face her fully. "This. You're trapped in a room, locked here, unable to leave. Of the people you know, some only pretend to care about you, some flee in terror from you, and others flat out deny your existence. Does this not pain you?"
The young girl was still at a loss for words. Trapped? No, she could leave when she wanted. She just does what her sister asks and stays put. She does care...and so does everyone else...right? Sure, the maids often avoid her, but no one has said she doesn't exist... meanwhile her mind was acting strange, as if it were warning her about something. It told her to run, get away, stop talking to this stranger. All she could think of to respond was an unsure "Umm..."
The woman scoffed. "Obviously not. It was foolish of me to think you might have been able to understand." She turned as if to leave.
"Wait!" Flandre didn't know why she called out. It went against what her mind had been yelling at her to do. She pushed those thoughts away. But just in case, she was ready to summon Laevateinn if the woman decided to attack her for some reason. "I'm just not sure what you mean."
The woman turned back to fully face her. "Imagine. Imagine a world where you are free to move wherever you pleased. But nobody acknowledged your existence. No one knew, no one cared. No measurable space to confine, for the prison was the mind."
Flandre tried to wrap her mind around the concept. Mostly only knowing this basement didn't help. "But surely there was someone out there who cared. There had to be someone..."
"Not for me. Everyone either ignored me completely or made life worse. Just because I didn't even know who my parents were. Just because I was an orphan with no money to her name. Just because. Just because." Her voice sounded like she was on the brink of being angry or bursting into tears. "Every day of every year of my life, I was not noticed. No one noticed me gone."
Flandre risked a couple of steps forward. "Well, I do have sympathy for you. I really do. But I just don't know how that is. I've got Remi, and Sakuya and Patchy and Meiling...and a bunch of other people.
The angel turned away from her again. "Then you don't understand what it's like to be alone. To be truly alone. To be no greater value than zero." Now she sounded like she had lost, or was lost...she just sounded lost. Flandre was almost in tears for the woman. "I do not need your pity. Continue to fester in this hole in the ground." With that, she started walking back towards the entrance. The door slowly shut, and Flandre dropped to her knees, music box still clinking away at the tune. She sniffled. Her mind was doubling back on itself, questioning all she had known.
Before the woman could take a few steps past the door, a cry of "Red the Nightless Castle!" was heard, and suddenly a cross of red energy appeared. She barely had time to dodge before a seething red-eyed, light-blue-haired girl in pink stepped forward. "What did you do to Flandre?" A maid in blue with silver hair followed close behind her.
She looked at the two, and turned to walk away and ignore them. Suddenly, the maid appeared in front of her, cutting her off. "The mistress asked you a question. I suggest you answer it." Her voice was cold steel, but not without caring. The woman gave a short laugh, and brushed the maid aside. What she didn't see was the handful of knives the maid had drawn. Instead, a red spear punctured the wall in front of her, surprising even the maid. She simply said "Now you've gone and done it."
The young girl cried out "What did you do?!" and willed the spear back to her hand.
"Enlightenment. I taught her that she does not know what loneliness truly is." She turned to the panting girl. Behind the mask, she smirked. "And I told her of how you don't deserve her."
This really got the girl angry. She threw the spear again, a perfect arc that would have skewered any living thing in the head, dashing its brains. The woman sidestepped and caught the spear. She saw the maid begin throwing knives at her, so she quickly dodged. The last few were deflected with the spear. This was a perfect distraction for the girl to rush forward, fangs bared, ready to battle. The angel, however, had another trick up her sleeve. She thrust her open hand behind her, and a rift opened. Odd mist began pouring out, and it looked pitch-black. She jumped in, and the rift closed. The girl began looking around, still wanting to tear her to pieces. Not only did this angel, a being known for its antagonistic views towards vampires, break into her house, but she even came in contact with Flandre without permission.
Suddenly a voice boomed out from seemingly nowhere. "I assume you must be Remilia Scarlet, the self-proclaimed devil of Gensokyo. Yet, you lack perception." With that, Remilia heard a yelp, and turned to see the end of a few orbs of Dark Matter infusing themselves in her maid. She was down and out. Time was no longer on their side. The angel had said this without even batting an eye, and the rift behind her closed as if it never were. "I guarantee that Heaven has never been so prominent to you. Even though I'm the furthest thing from it."
Remilia glared at her. "The last being I know from Heaven is a celestial who caused earthquakes. You two don't seem much alike."
"Celestials? No, they're from a different Heaven. The one I hail from is all angels. I was sent back."
"So what? Now you're out for revenge or something?"
"Right. It was emotion that brought me back. I apparently had a lack of it. So, I'm using Dark Matter to steal it for my own use. Once I gather enough, I can just leave."
"Then why attack us?"
"Because. Your emotions..." as she spoke, the room turned darker. "...are the most pure. Devotion. The easiest emotion to harvest. I knew the only way to make it surface was to attack your home. The guard was put under easily. Sneaking in here was rather easy after I-"
She was cut off as Remilia jumped her while she was talking. A few swift blows to the abdomen, followed by a slash across the face. As the angel turned to catch herself from her fall, the mask could be seen sliding across the floor. She lifted one hand to her now bare face as the young vampire advanced to continue her assault. The angel rose, and turned, one hand still to her face. Her left eye was covered with a white bandage. The other eye was strange: the sclera was red, the iris black, and the pupil was white. Her hand was to the left side of her face, and a single, glistening red drop started falling down the right side of her face. Now angry, darkness began to bubble around the angel. She lifted her hand off of her face, its expression changing from surprised to furious. She yelled and threw both hands forward, pelting the area with Dark Matter.
Remilia was shocked momentarily upon seeing her adversary's face for the first time. She quickly dove around, dodging the Dark Matter flying haphazardly around her. She eventually returned fire, causing the angel to also have to dodge. Small victories, she told herself. Eventually she'll win.
Between barrages, the woman could be heard shouting "Tell me, brat, how can you affect one whose fate is already sealed? You're powerless!"
This baited Remilia enough. She pulled out a spellcard and read it, deciding not to use it. It didn't fit the situation. She then found the one she was looking for. "Scarlet Sign 'Scarlet Meister'!" As the blood-red bullets began pouring, the angel called a card of her own. "Dark Matter 'Miracle Matter'!" Dark matter swirled in her palms, and began to take shape. It formed a white icosahedron, with one eye like hers on each face. As the bullets in Remilia's initial shot came into contact with the substance, they merely boucned off and fizzled out of existence. She began firing wide arcs of normal Dark Matter, intending to cut off escape routes and end it.
Remilia was being slowly surrounded, and while thinking quickly remembered that the angel dropped Gungnir. She willed it back to her, and wound up to throw it again. "You're so confident, you're nothing more than a freak! A zero!" She also intended to end this conflict. She released the spear, which flew forward, puncturing through the defense of Miracle Matter. She smirked, confident she won.
As the spear passed through Miracle Matter, she too smirked. "Configuration: Ice Form!" she called. Miracle Matter then transformed into what looked like a giant ice cube. The spear froze instantly, and ice shards began to mix with the Dark Matter. Remilia, now being boxed in with ice fragments, and having lost her spear in a block of ice, could literally do nothing as Dark Matter infected her form. She could feel it in her mind, suppressing all charisma, joy, hope...only leaving sorrow and strife. She tried to force it to leave, but it was too strong. The ice shards stopped, but the Dark Matter continued. The stream was cut off, and Remilia landed on the ground, then fell over. The maid, now awakening, tries to rush to her mistess' aid. The angel, meanwhile, grabs her mask, and lets out another round of Dark Matter. They were aimed at the rest of the house, and they began passing through walls to seek their targets. "You're right. I am zero. I am nothing. And that's what makes me strong." She turned and left, walking out through the front door, the gate guard lying on the ground nearby.
Inside of the mansion, a door opens, and a blonde girl steps out. She sees Remilia passed out, and rushes to her sister's side. Remilia put a hand to her sister's face, a last show of caring before she slipped entirely into the influence of Dark Matter. Her eyes looked hollow, and her skin and clothes were pulsing with shadow. Remilia's eyes closed, Flandre's became filled with tears. The maid, able to stand, picked up her fallen mistress, and carried her to her room for rest.
Outside, the angel looks up at the sky, and sees a black cloud speeding towards the mansion. She flies up, still holding the mask. Upon reaching the cloud, the gate opens, and she walks to the end of the hall. "Hmph. I'm sure word will get out soon. Perhaps I didn't think the idea of personal Dark Matter usage through. Indirect possession from here will suffice for the rest of Gensokyo." And yet her thoughts turn back to Flandre. She sighs. "She's too young to truly know what it means to be alone. I too had a denial phase. But now she will know what it's like to truly be alone. After all...no one will know she's there anymore."
By Remilia's bedside, Flandre sits near her. Sakuya enters with a cup of tea. Flandre speaks to break the silence. "How long you think it'll take for her to get better, Sakuya?" No response. "...Sakuya?" The maid sighs and turns to walk away. "Sakuya?!" She doesn't even turn around. "Don't you ignore me! Hey, get back here! SAKUYA!!" Flandre was in tears. Now one of the people she thought cared for her won't even recognize that she's there. And in her mind, all she could think of was the angel's words: 'Imagine a world where you are free to move wherever you pleased. But nobody acknowledged your existence. No one knew, no one cared. Of the people you know, some only pretend to care about you, some flee in terror from you, and others flat out deny your existence. Does this not pain you?'
All she could see was that mask's smile.
I'm annoyed. Almost an hour of typing was lost just because I accidentally closed out of the tab when I tried opening a new one. How else are you supposed to look up how to spell "Laevateinn" without looking it up without losing your place? And now I had to retype everything I had.
Hatred.
Well, I guess that the current consensus stands, since I gave extended time. The votes were already tallied, and everyone already knew Reimu would be the main protagonist, with Koishi as the side protagonist! (Confetti and fanfare :toot:)
This will probably be the last commentary I shall type...From now on, unless a question is to be addressed, I will only be posting story.
I should mention, I plan little of the writing itself, most of it is improv. I just keep certain events in mind, and use those in whatever way I see fit. This can lead to a few errors. Don't be afraid to point them out (unless it's a minor spelling error or something.), and don't be afraid of giving constructive criticism! I'm pretty sure I'm not a very good writer anyway.
Anyway, without further ado, let us begin the true tale...
Chapter 1
Black Cloud in Clear Skies
*pit* *pat* *pit* *pat*
"Pacing's not helping either...ugh, what's wrong with me..." grumbled a young girl. Maybe it was her red-white outfit, with a red bow in her hair, but she didn't look much older than a teenager. She was walking around the front porch of her shrine, out of the sun, trying to determine why she felt like crap. She stopped, closed her eyes, and rubbed her temples. "Alright...focus...now, maybe this is food related, what did I eat recently?" She went over a mental checklist in her head of what she had eaten the day before. Nothing out of the ordinary, until dinner last night...She had gone to get grilled lamprey, she remembered. Although, if Mystia wanted to use lamprey as a weapon, she would have done so the first time against her, not out of the blue. She wasn't smart enough for that. No, it couldn't have been that...
"Reimuuuuu!" A girlish, whining yell sliced through her thoughts. A girl who looked younger than the miko walked out of the shrine, remembering to turn sideways so her horns didn't get caught in the doorway for once. Wait, has she ever remembered to do that?! She walked up to Reimu, obviously distressed. "Reimu, my head hurts! I don't know why...Make it stop!"
Her train of thought effectively gapped off the rails, she really had no choice but to listen to her. "Suika, you've had hangovers before. You usually just drink more sake, then fall asleep. Did you try that, or did you forget?"
The little oni shook her head. "No, I tried that. That's what I've been doing for the past hour! It's only gotten worse!"
"Well when was the last time you drank before that?"
"Uh...I think it was only about three hours."
Only three? She can usually last five, maybe six if she was heavily drunk before that...maybe some sake would help me feel better... "Are you sure? You have a habit of losing your sense of time...not that it really matters to you..." she added under her breath.
"No, I'm sure it was three hours. After a-" She suddenly froze, and stood straight up, her arms rigidly at her sides. Reimu noticed this and rose an eyebrow curiously. Suika's eyes began drifting apart from each other like magnets with the same poles pointed towards each other. Still standing strangely still, she starts speaking in a monotone, robotic voice. "In three hours, one batch of sake in the maturation process is approximately between .00347 and .004623 percent mature." She shook her head, snapping herself out of her trance. She then grabbed her head and started shaking it again, a look of pain on her face. "Arrggghh! Make it stop make it stop make it STOP!!" As she yelled, she stomped on the ground, causing small tremors that slowly grew larger.
Reimu had to fight to keep her balance as the ground began vibrating from Suika's little tantrum. She could hear the wooden boards creak and bend with every stomp. "Alright, alright! Just stop trying to break my shrine!" With small tears in her eyes and an expression of mental pain, Suika calmed down and slowly looked up at Reimu. She stammered a bit as she thought of a way to get Suika out of the shrine so she couldn't actually break anything, as futile as that could be, depending on the situation. "Alright, why don't you just go on top of the gate like I usually see you, sit in the sun and drink sake? That usually makes you feel better."
Still holding her head, Suika nods once, and proceeds to the torii. About halfway there, her arms suddenly dropped again, and Reimu could hear her spout "The density of sake is .98 grams per cubic centimeter. Since the density of water is 1 gram per cubic centimeter, one could theoretically make a raft out of sake, and if the two would merge, then the sake would float. It is 1.553 times less dense than packed dirt and 8.061 times less dense than steel." She stopped in her tracks, yelled in frustration, and punched the ground, creating a small crater, cracking the ground in all directions. She just walked on, and flew up on top of the torii as if nothing had happened. The top of a sake gourd could barely be seen from Reimu's angle.
Reimu sighed. "And that's why I got you out of the shrine in a hurry." She decided against asking her for a bit of sake to make her feel better. But still, something couldn't be right, her intuition was telling her. Suika, becoming sober? That's less of a chance than getting that coin she found a few weeks ago back from Marisa. She also knew what this meant; whenever her intuition started going off, she would appear and tell her about something that she usually didn't want to hear. Well, two hers, actually. One was due any minute now. The other she could see inside already, sipping the tea she had prepared earlier. Reimu didn't even try to hide her disappointment as she walked in and sat down. "Of all people to be here, stealing my tea, when I'm not feeling well..."
The other figure pulled the cup from her lips and fixed her hair. "Hey, it's better than her sneaking in here and getting it first, isn't it?"
"I'm not sure which of you I'd rather be stuck with," she retorted bitterly, whether it was intentional or not.
The woman made a tsk noise. "And to think you would have gotten used to me by now, since we've known each other for so long..."
"Admit it, you're also affected." Reimu had enough of the side conversation.
"Alright, yes. I am. I'm just better at putting on a false image than you, I guess. It's not hard to see what it is; the hard part is...well, figuring out what it is. Not even I know what they are. They just appeared, started to...what's the word I'm looking for..."
Reimu was now getting annoyed. "Well? This could be serious, you know."
The woman chuckled. "Well, for lack of a better word, they started infecting people. I could only see their darkness though, I couldn't tell you what they were, or what they looked like. Sort of like spirits, but almost a negative version of them."
"So, vengeful spirits, then?"
"Mmm, not exactly. They're evil, for certain, but not vengeful. They're not trying to all-out possess everything...but it's like some sort of mental plague." She put down the now-empty cup before rising and stretching. "Well, I had best be on my way. And so should you. Putting on this facade is giving me such a headache...a quick nap is in order, I believe. I'll just sleep it off..." As she departed deeper into the shrine, she could be heard complaining that "it's not like I do much else anyway..."
Reimu shook her head before stepping outside. Although her intention was on leaving, her intuition told her to look left, and, lo and behold, a small dot was making its way to the shrine. It was approaching fast...very fast. She knew who it was even before it came into view. As she descended to hover a few feet off the ground, stopping on a dime, Reimu gave a very disapproving glare and simply said "Hello, Marisa."
The teen witch, full of energy as always, jumped up so she was standing on her broom. "'Ey, Reimu! I'd ask how you've been, but I have some exciting news!"
Reimu rolled her eyes, then got the feeling it would be happening a lot more in the near future. "What? Manage to finally steal a book from Voile without having to fight anyone?"
"Well, erm, yes..." Marisa scratched the back of her head. "But that's not the exciting part! I tried the first spell I found, and I summoned-"
"Summoned?! Marisa, if I go to your house and there's a Cthulhu running around, I flat-out refuse to help you. Go fight your own demons."
Marisa cocked her head. "Uh...what the hell is a Cthulhu?"
"Something Sanae told me about a while back. Some sort of demon of chaos. It apparently has a squid for a face."
"Really?" Marisa pondered the possibilities of a squid-faced demon doing her work for her. She snapped back to why she was actually there. "Anyway, no, it's a book about some water spells and such. One of the few I can actually read. The first one I found was how to manipulate water into clouds and then into storms. I guess I'm a natural at water magic, ze! First try, I got a cloud up in the sky!
"Uh-huh...right...Marisa, there hasn't been a cloud in the sky for weeks. Well, until this morning."
"Yep! I made that cloud!"
"And ever since that cloud rolled by, I've been feeling like crap. Headaches and such. I was about to go and see if I could find it."
"Ah-ha! So you've seen it in action!"
Reimu brandished her gohei, ready to beat the snot out of her friend. "What, you tried to make a cloud that would affect people's mental health?"
"What? No, just listen! After I made the cloud, it zoomed off. I looked at some fairies, probably about to use danmaku to paint my walls with graffiti, and they suddenly just dropped, almost like they were dead! It kept happening further along the trail, affecting everyone! I thought it was great at first, like a new weapon to take down youkai with, but then I realized something."
"I'm still stuck on the fact that you thought it was a good thing at all," Reimu muttered.
Marisa ignored her and continued. "If it takes down all the youkai, then I won't have any to exterminate! That's no fun, ze! Now you get where I'm comin' from?"
"I guess...but what are you doing here then?"
"I tracked it all the way here. I need to take down my own creation." She assumed a false look of determination and sadness. "My own work of art must be snuffed out by its own creator...*sniff*...Well, " She dropped the act, and waved, before going back to her usual broom-riding posture. "See ya!" She kicked her heels against the broom twice, which then lurched and took off at ludicrous speeds.
Reimu reached a hand after her, she wasn't done talking, but Marisa was too far away by this point. "She's not even going in the same direction that cloud was going in..." As she watched the small shape that was Marisa slowly become smaller and smaller, she felt a chill run down her spine, and a shadow fall upon her.
"A cloud, you say~...?"
Reimu slowly turned to face her next visitor. Although unusual, seeing this pink-haired blue-clad woman wasn't particularly disturbing...except this time, that is. She could sense her fury in place of what is usually her joviality. "Yuyuko."
The ghost princess continued staring her down like she was the last dumpling in someone else's chopsticks. "I heard something about a cloud. I want answers."
Reimu took a short step backwards; she had never seen Yuyuko like this! She had seen her get angry before, but this is more than that. This is a matter of dignity, or honor, or something... "Before that, I want to know something. What happened? You usually don't show up here alone."
Yuyuko's gaze softened a little, and she turned away. Her anger was subsiding into disappointment and sadness. She turned back, looking even angrier. "That's private business, Reimu. Just tell me where it went, or so help me..."
Reimu raised her hands in an effort to show she wasn't going to fight as she saw small glowing pink and blue butterflies swirling around her hands. "Look, I don't want a fight. I just want to know what happened. You don't look like you should be out and wandering."
The butterflies slowly faded as Yuyuko closed her eyes. "...Alright. This cloud...there's something strange about it."
Oh you don't say? she thought sarcastically. Instead, she chose the wiser, less likely to get her dead response. "How so?"
"I think an angel lives in it."
Reimu looked puzzled. "Um...an angel?" She shuddered subconsciously, remembering the first encounter she had with something angelic, deep in Makai...she still didn't like thinking about it. All those years ago...
"Yes. You know, robed, has a halo and wings, that stuff."
"Well how do you know?"
The ghost paused. "It attacked us."
"I though angels weren't malevolent, though?" She knew this couldn't be true, especially after her encounters, but she figured this would help get the story from Yuyuko.
"Yes. Here, let me give you the scenario...It was only recently, I was walking outside in the gardens in Hakugyokorou, Youmu was off tending them nearby. I noticed, near the largest area of my favorite cherry trees, there was a lone figure. She wore a white robe with red trim, had a strangely shaped cape, and sleeves that looked too long for her arms, with red feathers attached to the sleeve with two blue beads. Over her head was a gold circlet, a halo. Her hair was mostly white, with red near the end of her hair. I was about to go over and introduce myself, when I saw her raise her right arm." She mimicked the action. "Suddenly, some of my trees lost many of their petals, and started drooping. I rushed over to her, and was about to ask what she thought she was doing, when a sudden shockwave knocked me back. My head was spinning for a few seconds, and I started hearing the sounds of combat. As I came to, I started to sit up, and saw Youmu attacking the stranger, who was shooting blobs of what looked like shadow from her hands. I knew Youmu could win, since even the speed of the blobs couldn't keep up with her. I took the time to notice that the stranger wore an odd mask, with two small, simple, black eyeholes, and an oddly shaped, pure red mouth. I saw her raise both hands..." Yuyuko paused again, bringing one hand up to her mouth to hide it. Reimu deduced that this was the part that had enraged Yuyuko. "She launched another volley, but it wasa feint. Youmu dodged, but in the opposite direction of me. The blobs made a sharp angle, and were about to overrun me, but Youmu jumped in to save me. Youmu was -sorry- She was flooded with them. She was fighting their influence, but even her willpower has limits. Eventually her entire form went pitch-black, before being unceremoniously dropped to the ground. She turned mostly back to normal, but small shadowy spots would appear all over her, even on her clothes. Then her ghost half, in her form, charged in to avenge its other half. However, without the human half, it isn't nearly as powerful. The angel caught the ghost half by the throat, and as the dark blobs were infecting it too, its borrowed eyes went wide in terror. I don't want to imagine what it saw or heard, being in direct contact, but it soon also passed out, with the same treatment. I rushed over to Youmu and held her in my arms. She was alive, but locked in an unconscious state. I looked up and, through the tears in my eyes, I saw the angel fly back through the portal, into a dark cloud, which then sped off in a different direction."
Reimu didn't have a response. "Oh...well...I'm sorry...I guess..." For some reason, although this also aggravated her, she was unable to feel sympathy for Yuyuko. Something was cutting it off, somehow..."Look. You shouldn't have gone out for revenge so soon. You just left her there, didn't you? Just resting on the ground?" Yuyuko nodded, tears in her eyes. "I would suggest going back and taking her to Eientei. If anyone knows how to fix ailments, it's them. She needs you now more than ever. Just leave the cloud to me, I'll deal with it. Alright?" Yuyuko nodded again. "Okay then. Now go get her and take her to Eientei. Like I said, I'll deal with it."
As Yuyuko turned to leave, between sniffles she said "Make sure you blast that angel to hell."
"I'll see what I can do."
That was all the assurance Yuyuko needed. She took off, back towards the border that separates the dead from the living. With that, Reimu had but one more visitor to take care of...one she noticed was there, yet had no time to address since Marisa showed up. Even now, she could feel the slight tugging on her left sleeve, threatening to pull it down. "What is it, satori?"
"It's Koishi."
"Aren't you a satori, though?"
"No, Satori is my sister."
Reimu sighed, and shook her arm away from Koishi. She must have nudged her hat, because Koishi was fixing it as she walked in front of her. "Come to tell me of some problem in the underground, or what?"
"Mm, no, we're doing fine. Well, Okuu and Orin are sick, and big sis is all in a huff. I thought it would be better if I just walked around up here for a bit."
"So apparently this plague reaches down to the underground as well..." Reimu thought out loud. She happened to do that more when Koishi was around, she noticed. Not that she ever really noticed when Koishi was around.
"I felt an awful lot of emotions n' stuff coming from the shrine, so I came here to investigate. Whatever's happened to everyone else, I seem to be immune to it~."
"That's nice, Koishi, but I don't have time to play. I have important things to do. Important places to go."
"Reeeeeaally?"
Reimu's irritation was spiking again. "Yes."
"Reeeeeeeeeeaaaaaally?
"Yes."
"Reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaa-"
"Yes, Koishi, this is really, really important! It's another incident, and I need to resolve it," she said through clenched teeth.
"Well, I was just gonna invite you to come to the beach with me, but if you don't wanna..."
Reimu brought a hand to her forehead, relieved that she finally got rid of...wait a minute..."Did you say...beach?"
"Yep!" Koishi was just as radiant as ever. The...whatever it is must not be affecting her, just like she said.
"...Take me there. Now." Because there aren't any beaches in Gensokyo.
With a look of triumph, Koishi clapped a few times. "Yay! Come on, I know a shortcut~!"
Reimu rolled her eyes once again, and started following the skipping Koishi. She wasn't sure, but she thought she could see small hearts rising out of Koishi. Hopefully she wouldn't accidentally use "Release of the Id" while she was skipping. Maneuvering past that and then "Inflated Superego" as she tries to take it all back is too much of a hassle, especially now. Koishi lifted off of the ground and entered the Forest of Magic. Reimu stopped in front of it, not feeling the same energy she usually feels from it. Something is definitely wrong, she thought. Koishi's head popped out from the treeline. "Come on, slowpoke~!" With a sigh, Reimu lifted off of the ground and followed her into the forest, on her guard for whatever might spring out at them.
Well dang, it's been a while. Sorry about my disappearance. First life and school and crap caught up, then I was hit with a severe case of laziness. Anyway, after far too long, time to keep the story rolling!
Also, my last post is kinda obsolete as of now, since I will not be doing what I had previously decided to do. So, on with the story!
As usual, feel free to comment and critique my work.
Chapter 2
Beware the Forest's Mushrooms
"Koishiiii!" A call rang out through the forest, disrupting the calm atmosphere. "Koishiiiii!" It was the shrine maiden's voice, without a doubt. "Dammit, where is that girl? I should have known better than to follow her." Thinking back on it, Reimu realized it was a stupid idea to follow the girl who disappears when you don't look at her to a place that you don't even know where it is. She was also perplexed, since some fairies in the Forest of Magic were aggressively territorial, yet she hadn't run into a single fairy, nor any pranks they might have set up. She quickly turned her mind back to the more important task in front of her: finding the young satori, and perhaps hitting her a few times for running off like that. "No, no, hitting Koishi would be a bad idea. I know what she's capable of, but Satori would't forgive me for it. Thank god she's not around to hear me..."
"To hear what?"
The sudden voice making Reimu jump, she quickly turned to find Koishi right behind her, as if she were there the whole time. "By the way, why did you stop?"
"Why did I stop?! You were...wait...but you...ARGH!" On normal days, Reimu would have hardly been able to put up with Koishi's antics. Today, she had very little tolerance, but she was her best lead on this incident. She took a deep breath, massaged her temples, and tried again calmly. "Koishi, you told me you were going to lead me to the beach. Remember?"
"Yeah, but you started walking ahead of me, so I started following. I figured you knew the rest of the way~!" The satori didn't even begin to realize that she was at fault for this, let alone that she was annoying Reimu, which most youkai know is something they shouldn't do.
Jeez, I'm glad she didn't just wander off on me... "Just, please, lead the way. I don't know how to get to the beach."
"Well, maybe you should get someone to take you there~."
Reimu had to stifle her anger yet again. Through clenched teeth, she could just barely manage to speak. "But you were the one who was lea-"
"Hey! What's that?" she interrupted, pointing further to the left than they were originally going, which led off of the makeshift path Reimu was following.
Reimu caught the movement just barely, but enough to recognize the small stature and general direction. No doubt about it, this was a fairy. Beating up a fairy or two will make me feel better...I hope... "Come on, Koishi. Let's go investigate."
"Yaaay! Adventure!" Koishi yelled, immediately taking off after the fairy. Reimu knew better than to lag too far behind her like she did earlier. However, after a few twists and turns, she lost sight of Koishi again.
"Dammit! Not again!" She slowed down, looking around for any sign of movement. When she saw what looked like the same fairy (although to her, a lot of fairies look the same), she took off after it, drawing her gohei and a few amulets. It's a shame I don't have Koishi, or at least her durability. Oh well, I might as well walk into this ambush prepared.... This time, she kept the fairy in sight. However, it must also have seen her, since it turned and started to spray danmaku at her. Very weak danmaku, but one aimed well enough that if Reimu kept flying straight, she'd be hit. A slight shift, and a homing amulet later, and the fairy was careening into a tree. Before she could react, though, another group of fairies burst out from the canopy and began firing upon her. These fairies were also not very powerful, and were brought down swiftly. As the last fairy fled the area, Reimu couldn't help but notice something. Usually, fairies have looks of happiness or determination. These looked annoyed, but not annoyed in an aggressive way. As if someone were talking to them, and they didn't want to talk back to them. "Very strange...even fairies were affected by the cloud." She surveyed the battlefield, seeing another fairy near a bent branch, but this one wasn't shot down...at least not by her.
Reimu cautiously approached the fairy, which didn't move. Occasionally, it would twitch, or a dark spot would appear somewhere on its skin or clothes, but nothing that would suggest it was a trap. She tried to use her native shrine maiden abilities to see if she could figure something out about what was going on. What she got was surprising; she could pick up slight traces of something holy! She couldn't feel it from the other fairies, but this one in particular seemed more affected than the others. "This...whatever it is, is obviously some sort of dark power...but then how could it be holy at all?"
"Why're we staring at this fairy?"
Once again, Reimu was startled by the sudden interruption to her thoughts. "Koishi! Will you stop doing that! I swear, you're going to give me a heart attack..."
"Aren't you, like, a teenager or somethin', though?" Koishi innocently asked.
"That's the point, Koishi. Now, if you would please continue leading me to the beach..."
"Ooh! The beach~! Good choice for destination!" In order to prevent herself from strangling Koishi, Reimu gripped her gohei to the point where she was sure it would break, and slapped her forehead. "Hee hee~! I know the way from here, so just follow me~!"
"How does Satori put up with this girl..." Reimu muttered under her breath.
Koishi's path was random, to say the least. She must have led Reimu throught at least three spider webs (direct-hit webs to the face, even) before they reached a clearing containing a strange house in the middle of the woods. "What? What're we doing at Alice's house?"
Koishi turned to face her without stopping. "This is the way I always go~!" With that, she opened the door to Alice's house, and walked right in. Reimu stood transfixed in front of the door, sure she'd hear the sounds of dolls brandishing weapons and a subsequent battle. When she heard nothing, she tentatively opened the door. First enough to peer in, then enough to take a step, then enough to fully enter. The house was dark and seemingly deserted. Reimu could see mudprints where Koishi walked, so she just followed them. They took her through her dining room and into a hall, where all doors except one were closed. As Reimu passed the open door, she happened to glance into it...and saw Alice sitting on her bed, in only a bathrobe, her hair still damp, looking like she was having a doll clip her toenails. The doll also turned, as if she were also staring. The two just stared at each other in stunned silence before Alice made the doll drop the clippers and close the door.
Face still red, she followed the footprints through a window next to the back door, and there Koishi was, sitting on a stump and humming. "Koishi, what the hell?! Do you always go through her house?!"
"Didn't it get you a little...excited?" Koishi replied, her hat at the perfect angle to make her look ominous, as if she planned the whole thing.
"Excited? What are you..." Reimu started, cutting herself off as she realized what the young youkai implied. "No no no no no! You're the one who led me through Alice's house in the first place, so this is all your fault!" As she yelled, she could feel her face get even hotter.
Koishi simply giggled and leaped back to her feet. "Come on, it's just a short ways to go now~!
Reimu had no choice but to keep following her, if she ever wanted to get anywhere. After a bit of wandering, they eventually found an area that seemed incredibly overgrown, even for the forest. Strange mushrooms and even more bizarre plants covered the ground, making a path almost impossible to find. Reimu decided after a vine wrapped around her leg to instead float about instead of walk. Koishi had been floating since they reentered the forest. Eventually, they found an area with less trees, but the ground was still covered with strange plants. Suddenly, Reimu thought she heard a noise coming from one of the nearby trees, and in her moment of distraction, she ran into something that refused to budge, but it turned out to be only Koishi, who had stopped. "Hmm...I don't remember being here before..."
Reimu was about to completely lose it at that statement, but another noise stopped her as she was bringing her gohei down towards Koishi's head. She knew it was coming from behind one certain tree, so she took the chance and got closer while Koishi pondered where she was. "Hello?" No response. Suddenly, a cloud of purple danmaku flew out of the shrubs near the trees! Reimu was almost caught off guard, and barely managed to graze it.
From the bush, a youkai stepped forth. "Intruders! Turn back now!" She was wearing a brown dress, with strange shoes with no soles, and a red spotted cape with a skull brooch holding it around her neck. But her most noticable feature was the spotted red cap she wore on her head, like a mushroom. As she walked out, she crossed her arms under her cape defiantly, determined to let none pass.
Which was the perfect excuse for Reimu. With a devilish smirk, she pulled out a few more homing amulets. "Try it," was all she said.
The mushroom girl scowled at this. "You will not pass, humans!" She then spread her arms, and dark purple clouds began forming around them. "Now perish in my toxins!"
Reimu waited for her to make the first move, which didn't take long. Dark purple clouds and danmaku were sprayed, but there were significant gaps. She began throwing her amulets, which made quite a few satisfying hits in the first few volleys. A few more waves of this, and the mushroom girl couldn't take it anymore. She switched to waves of danmaku, followed with a swift purple orb launched at where she was when the wave should have hit. Reimu switched from her amulets to her needles, and was about to throw the first few when suddenly Koishi jumped between them. "Hey hey! I remember now, we're going the wrong way!"
The mushroom girl stopped her assault, and Reimu spun around from the momentum she was going to put into throwing her needles. "I feel like I've been saying this phrase a lot, but dammit, Koishi! You don't just run headlong into a danmaku duel!" Indeed, Koishi took a few hits from stray danmaku, shown by a few marks on the back of her shirt, but those were already clearing up, and she didn't even seem to notice she was hit.
"Uh-huh...Well, anyway, we need to go THAT way!" she practically yelled in Reimu's face, pointing directly behind her.
"So wait, you two...aren't trying to go further into the forest?" The other two shook their heads. "Well, in that case, farewell, humans."
"Hey! I'm no lousy human! I'm Koishi!"
"Uh...What's a Koishi?"
Ignoring her previous comment, Reimu added "She's a satori."
"No, Satori is my sis-"
"Anyway..." the girl interrupted, "I have no problems with you leaving the forest."
"C'mon, Reimu~! This time we'll get out of here!" Koishi said, already bounding off.
Reimu started to follow, but was stopped by a hand on her shoulder. "Oh, before you go...in that direction are a group of hills...and if you happen to run into one like me...well..." She seemed to be holding back something. "Just tell her...her sister hasn't forgotten her. Alright?"
The shrine maiden nodded, then went after Koishi. Luckily, Koishi wasn't going too fast, but she seemed to be going on a much more direct route. Within about fifteen minutes, they exited the forest, and saw an expanse of hilly land before them. Reimu was both glad and a bit pained to be directly in the sun again, but at least there was a nice breeze, and the lack of the Forest of Magic's strange miasma made her feel better. Shielding her eyes with one hand, now envious of Koishi's hat, Reimu kept following her, both of them again walking. They came to a hill with an overlook on it, when Koishi suddenly stopped. "Hey Reimu...random thought. Do you think that if music is played here, the hill will...you know...come alive?"
Reimu looked at her quizzically. "What on earth gave you that idea?"
Koishi just shrugged, but didn't resume walking. "Someone's here~! Friends, yay~!"
"What?! How'd you know I was here?" came a voice from under the plateau. "I can't even see you two..."
"Hee hee~! I can read how desparate you are to make an impression on us~!"
"Hmph!" With that, a girl rose up from the plateau. This one also wore a brown dress, but she was barefoot and wore a blue undershirt. There were a few patches sewn onto the dress, and the shirt was stitched up on one sleeve. On her lavender-colored hair sat another mushroom cap, but this one was brown with spots instead of red, and she looked quite a bit younger. She looked uncomfortable being near them. "Wh-what brings you to the lands of the Youkai Hunter?"
The name sparked a memory in Reimu's mind, of the Bunbunmaru that Aya occasionally gave her for no reason except to advertise and try to make her subscribe to it. On one, a fairly recent one at that, it stated that a lot of minor youkai mysteriously disappeared, usually being found some time later in the hills, obviously dead. They blamed what was called the Youkai Hunter, someone who was not only tracking down and exterminating youkai, but utterly killing them. Despite how devastated she would have been if it had been one of her friends claimed by this so-called hunter, she didn't pay any mind to it then at all. Now, it makes sense, as she looks around and sees the occasional bone or carcass baking in the sun. "So...you're implying that you're this 'hunter' you speak of?"
"Y-yes, I am. These youkai died by the Hunter's hands. That's me, Rima Kinoko!"
"Because...you look like a mushroom."
"Well, I am. That doesn't mean I can't be a killer!"
"Alright, prove it!" Koishi mocked, speaking for the first time. "See if you can kill me and my friend here~!"
"Koishi!!!" Reimu shot a very irritated glance at her.
Rima seemed taken back as well, obviously not expecting them to want a demonstration. "Uuhhh...umm...alright, but you asked for it!"
Reimu sighed, and pulled out her needles again. Koishi cracked her knuckles, and the cords from her third eye began fanning out a bit.
"Hah!" Rima yelled, growing a line of mushrooms straight at the two. The mushrooms then sprang up from the ground and turned into danmaku, heading in the direction of their targets. Some of them just barely missed, as Reimu made only small movements to better control the flight path of the bullets. Koishi made a large sweeping motion, easily evading with room to spare. Reimu began throwing her needles, which Rima could only barely dodge, and Koishi added in a few heart-shaped bullets with intersecting paths in her direction. Rima happened to notice these, and went right between them, where they wouldn't hit. However, that landed her right in a stream of needles. Reimu smiled at the shroomgirl's misfortune, and kept up the assault. After a few more volleys, Rima shouted "That's it, I'm using a spellcard!"
She actually seemed to grow it out of the ground, resting on a mushroom, which she picked and held over her head. "Mold Sign 'Spore Cloud'!" she yelled. She began throwing huge bubble-shaped bullets, with a bunch of smaller bullets inside of them. After a short time, the smaller bullets were released, and dispersed like a cloud of spores. This continued until the bullets got to the smallest they could be. However, the pattern wasn't that thick, and easily dodgable. Koishi was having no trouble sliding back and forth between bullets, while Reimu used the opportunity to get close to Rima.
Rima's focus was on Koishi, wondering just how she was able to weave so flawlessly through bullets, when she caught a slight motion from her peripheral vision. When she turned, she saw the shrine maiden darting towards her. Panicking, she threw a wave of brown bullets at her, but Reimu squeezed through them and got right up to her. "Call off the spell, and let us pass. NOW!" she yelled, pointing her gohei at the shroomgirl's neck. "Do it, or so help me I'll make you hurt for a week!" Rima could only stare back at her wide-eyed, not knowing what to do.
"Symbol 'All Ancestors Standing Beside Your Bed'!" Reimu heard from the side. Apparently Koishi decided to break this card with one of her own. As if Rima didn't have enough to worry about with a pissed-off shrine maiden threatening her, now a cascade of lasers is falling towards her! She was already stunned from Reimu's outburst, making her an easy target. A distinct sound of a spellcard breaking could be heard as Koishi's danmaku practically smothered the girl.
Once Koishi finally stopped pelting her with danmaku, Reimu could see that the girl was on her front, trying to stand up. The most she could do was prop herself up on her elbows. Some hunter she was. But still...poor girl, beaten to a pulp. I only wanted to threaten her to make this go faster... The twinge of guilt slowly growing, and now noticing Koishi was next to her (apparently oblivious to Rima's state), Reimu quietly said "Come on, let's go." As they turned to go, Reimu could hear slight sniffling behind her. Eventually, she couldn't take the feeling of guilt, and turned back to her. Rima, now almost to her knees, turned to the shrine maiden. "Another mushroom girl told me...that if I found one like her, to tell you this: She hasn't forgotten you." Now that she said that, she did notice that Rima's eyes were almost exactly the same as the other mushroom girl's eyes.
Rima didn't say anything to reply, she instead turned away from her, and began visibly sobbing. "S-sis..." could just barely be heard from her. Taking this as a cue to leave, Reimu turned to catch up with Koishi, her heart strings being tugged. However, she could almost feel something tugging them back, and remembered the cloud, and the reason why she was here in the first place. As she reached the top of the hill where Koishi was waiting, she looked out and saw Gensokyo's new river, which branched off of the main one from the Youkai Mountain. Again, this wasn't here before. "Well, we're almost there~!" It's as if Koishi didn't even remember the engagement she was just in, or what she had done. "Ready to go down the river?"
Reimu nodded, and the strange duo continued on their way to the beach, Reimu's only lead in this incident, and where Koishi wanted to spend the day.
I'm on a roll with these updates! But I should try to not lose sleep writing them.
Chapter 4
Gensokyo's Nonexistent Sea
Turquoise danmaku and black lightning filled the air over the mysterious ocean, as Reimu and Koishi chased the strange shadowy creature over the waves. The pitch-black thing stood out against the bright blue of the sea, so it wasn't hard to keep track of, but it was strategic in its attacks. Instead of waves of bullets, it would shoot screens of them with lightning between them to try and block their vision. However, the screens weren't thick enough to deter the duo, who flew through them with ease.
"Damn, this thing's fast!" Reimu cursed, trying to pick up the pace to keep up with it. Despite being able to see it easily, having to dodge every few seconds keeps putting precious distance between them. The occasional ocean fairy didn't help either, until she noticed that a few of them were jumping out of the water to ambush the shadow. In fact, it seemed to be having a harder time with the fairies than she did. She looked at where she thought Koishi was, but, once again, the satori was gone. Reimu rolled her eyes, focusing on the more important objective: finding where the shadow came from. She had turned just in time; an arc of black lightning was just about to hit her. After searching the waves for a bit, she found her quarry, and the chase was renewed.
Reimu noticed that the further they went, the foggier it seemed to get, too. It was very slight at first, but it quickly built up to the point where she had to fly close to the thing to keep it in sight. It turned, its single eye focusing on Reimu, before shooting a much wider screen, intended to make her dodge. She did, and caught the tail end of it as it splashed into the ocean! "Oh no! No no no no!" She kept flying forward, hoping she would catch a glimpse of it again. She saw a shape ahead in the fog, and her eyes lit up. She hadn't lost it after all! She just had to keep going, and then she would eventually- "Koishi?!"
Koishi turned, at first confused, then donning a bright smile replied with "Hiya, Reimu! When'd you get here?"
Reimu held up her index finger in a gesture to wait a moment. She turned and flew about twenty feet away from Koishi, enough so she would still be able to see her through the fog, and yelled furiously. At the sky, the fog, the ocean, herself, just to vent. She flew back to Koishi, face downcast and arms hanging. Part of her wanted to just stop flying and fall into the ocean, but she knew that she had an incident to solve. She was about to motion to Koishi that they should move on, but Koishi was staring off into the fog again. "Hey Reimu, what's that over there?"
At first, the shrine maiden couldn't see anything where Koishi was pointing. She squinted, and could see something very faint, off in the distance...perhaps a lantern? Her senses were on red-alert, the river shark still on her mind. She wouldn't be caught by surprise again, she reasoned, drawing her gohei. "This time, let's be a little more prepared," she mumbled, before taking out two little glowing orbs. She threw them to her sides, and they grew to double the size of her head, then stopped glowing to reveal their yin-yang pattern.
"Ooh, these look neat! Have you always had them?" Koishi asked, obviously forgetting when they fought at the Moriya Shrine. Reimu was getting tired of Koishi much faster than earlier, perhaps because she was spending so much time with her. Koishi reached a finger forward to try and touch one, but Reimu slapped her hand away.
The strange light was getting closer, and something was starting to become visible through the fog. Whatever it was, it had a short stature, and was holding the lantern above its head, by the looks of it. Reimu set her orbs to automatically shoot needles, before drawing some normal amulets herself, ready to beat back whoever was coming. Koishi kept looking at the orbs, before deciding she wanted familiars floating around her too. Two red hearts appeared at her sides, each with an eye in the middle of them. Unlike Reimu's yin-yang orbs, which hovered in place, Koishi's familiars were bouncing around an invisible sphere, much like a spell card of hers that Reimu would rather forget.
The light kept approaching, until the figure was merely a silhouette. It stopped in front of them, then turned and started going in the other direction, but slowly. "C'mon Reimu, I think it wants us to follow it!"
Reimu looked at Koishi in disbelief. "You do realize it's a trap, right? A mysterious light in the midst of thick fog? I think we should just keep going...whatever direction that might be in." She sighed. "It's a shame we lost sight of that blob-thing. By the way," she added, turning to Koishi. "Where did you wander off to while I was chasing tha-" Koishi was bounding off after the figure with the light. Reimu gave another exasperated sigh and a "Dammit, Koishi" before flying off after her to make sure she doesn't wander off too far. "I'm not sure why I'm going after her. I don't care for her anyway...I should just let her go off."
So, she followed Koishi, but the light had all but disappeared. "Come out, come out, wherever you aaare~!" Koishi called to the fog.
"Obviously, they're not going to respond."
"Come on! We promise we won't hurt you~!"
By now, the two had stopped, and Reimu folded her arms. "Well, I can't make that promise." A coil of mist brushed her leg, and she shook it off.
"Hellooooooooo~!" Koishi called again.
Reimu shook her head, and reached down to brush off another coil of mist. But this time, she felt something else, lightly grabbing onto her leg. Horrified, she looked down to see a blonde girl in a blue nightcap about to take a bite out of her calf! Reimu screamed in surprise, and bashed the girl in the head with her gohei. She didn't take the blow kindly, but she still got off her leg. She vanished back into the fog.
"Does everything that lives underwater want to eat me or something?!"
"Of course, Reimu! You're just so sweet, after all~!" Koishi prodded.
"Shut up, Koishi."
The mist was slowly receding, and the two noticed that the waves below them were becoming choppier, and the currents were swirling around one point, making the waves rotate. Out of the center of this wirlpool, the girl emerged again. It looked like she was wearing pajamas, the same dark blue as her cap, and one lock of hair hung in her face, shaped like a bolt of lightning. She held a staff made of what looked like driftwood, and a metal lantern hung on the end of it. Despite not being able to see the light's source, it was glowing brightly. Her eyes were a milky white, and looked glazed over. Reimu guessed that she was blind. That, and she was facing to the right of them. "Uh, we're over here."
The girl seemed taken aback, then called out "I know that, but this is my good side." Reimu could see her mouth moving afterwards, probably grumbling about not looking in the right direction, she figured. Reimu had to chuckle at this. She's trying so hard to look cool. I've seen fairies that pull this sort of thing off better.
She turned towards Reimu, and began throwing wave-shaped danmaku not just straight at her, but in a wide fan to try and cover most of her front. She didn't even seem to notice Koishi yet, who was floating just outside of the attack's range. "Hey, don't just fight her. I'm here too, ya know~!" At least, until then. Shinju spread the attack into two waves, some of them intersecting between Reimu and Koishi. Reimu was almost walled between two waves, but a small gap at the last moment provided her some relief. "Koishi, go further away from her so the attacks don't intersect!"
All Reimu heard was an "Okeydokey!" before about half of the bullets flying at Reimu in regular intervals stopped. Koishi must have been close, she thought. Part of her wanted to go ballistic, take out all of her frustration on this girl, but she realized this would be a bad idea. She needed to save her strength. So, she let loose with hundreds of needles spawned from her yin-yang orbs. Not all of them hit their target, but enough did that she could tell that the girl was being pushed back. Suddenly, the waves stopped, so Reimu made her orbs stop firing.
The girl was panting, obviously tired. "Hah...you surface dwellers are tough here, aren't ya? Well, let's see how you handle...umm...where'd I put it..." She began patting her dress, trying to find what Reimu could only guess was a spell card. Reimu had to double-take, however, as she saw a light come out of the lantern. It looked like a ghost from the Netherworld, except it was...well, glowing. "Shinju, are you sure you should be fighting them? You can't even remember where you keep your spell cards."
The girl, apparently named Shinju, turned to the glow. "Well, great, Hikari. Now my secret weapon - you - is revealed. You could have stunned them with a flash before they would have even known you were in there!"
The glow, named Hikari, sighed, despite not having any facial features. "You know I take it on myself to look after you. You're like an iron-headed little sister to me. Plus," she added, mumbling under her...um...breath? "You're my only means of moving around."
"I heard that, you know. Anyway, what do you know? It's not like you know where my spells are." Shinju folded her arms and looked away, brimming with stubbornness.
"Did you check under your hat?" Shinju's unseeing eyes shot open again, and she reached up, under her hat. She pulled out a few waterproof spellcards. If Hikari could have an I-told-you-so look, it would be even more noticable than her glow.
Reimu waved to get their attention. "Uh, hello? You kinda don't just stop duels to argue." She smirked. "Allow me to demonstrate." Feeling creative, she began twirling her yin-yang orbs around, shooting spirals of needles than fanned outward instead of flying straight. Shinju didn't have to move too much, but she couldn't tell that, so she overcompensated multiple times. Annoyed, she held one card up to the lantern, and Hikari read it aloud for her. "Light sign 'Ephemeral Light Trail'! Wait, you're making me fight now?!"
"Yes. I was going to use this card ANY!" She dodged, not even leaving enough room for a pinhead to fit between her and a bullet. "I was going to use it anyway. Now go!"
Hikari sighed again, then split into three glowing orbs. Each began flying around, leaving behind small flashes that turned into bullets. Once they all surrounded Reimu, they left behind a ring of bullets. Lateral movement impossible, Reimu looked past them to see Shinju channeling a column of water filled with danmaku towards her. She slipped under the ring, and flew off before the water turned into a wall and slammed into where she used to be. "Hikari! Why aren't you using your ability?! Our abilities combined are key to this spell!"
"Oh, right!" The three orbs coalesced into one again, and the area suddenly started to get darker. Hikari was plainly visible, but there was a rapidly growing sphere of darkness. Shinju was completely concealed, and so was Koishi. Reimu could barely see herself in this darkness, but Hikari was still clearly visible.
With the light now reduced, Hikari split again, and tried to form a triangle around Reimu once more. Reimu figured she would do the same thing as last time, but this time the Hikaris formed a complete sphere around her. She took a risk, and dove between the end of a third and the next Hikari coming to close it, and barely managed to squeeze out in time. She listened for the sound of rushing water, and tried to use this to determine where to shoot, since her coordination was mixed up from not being able to see.
She quickly figured the approximate location Shinju was, and let fly. From her left, she heard another noise, this time what sounded like a splash. She kept her orbs focused on where she thought Shinju might be, and started throwing amulets towards the splash. She heard sharp cries of pain from the amulets, so she must have hit! "Reimu, what are you doing?!" And, of course, she hit Koishi. She was surprised that her amulets were even having an effect on her. Oh well, serves her right for ditching her all those times. She knows she's not really this cold-hearted, but by this point and due to the cloud's influence, she didn't care.
The Hikaris were about to close in again, when the light suddenly increased like a flash, leaving Reimu blinded for a bit, blinking and rubbing her eyes to get readjusted. There was only one Hikari now, and she looked confused, as did Shinju. Clearly, they had never had a spell break before. Hikari realized the situation first, and rushed to alert Shinju. "What do you mean they broke my spell card?! It's just fine, look...huh?" The card looked duller, as if it lost its magic, for it had indeed lost it for now. "What, I have to recharge it now? Pbbbth."
"Seriously, Shinju, we should just leave. This won't end well, I can feel it."
"You know, you're too cautious sometimes. It's good for times other than when I'm looking for prey. In other words, just stop talking!"
"Hey Shinju," Reimu called, "Maybe you should listen to her. This is only going to end badly for you. And besides, I've already won. You're way too tired and weak to continue fighting me." She didn't quite know why she had to insult her, but it felt right. Which was wrong, and reminded her of her true task, and hatched a plan on how to end this fight. She dropped another small orb near her feet, which turned into another yin-yang.
The blonde girl turned towards Reimu in shock. "How dare you call me weak?! It takes a lot of strength just to survive in these waters, and not only have I survived, but thrived!" Reimu smiled, she had her right where she wanted her. "If it weren't for Hikari holding me back, I bet I would be feasting on your flesh right now, surface-dweller! I could beat you by myself with one hand tied behi-" She was cut off as a large object hit her square in the chest. Slowly, the yin-yang orb flew back to Reimu, winding down after a spectacular kick that would leave any soccer star applauding. Shinju was sent careening out of the sky, skipping on the ocean's surface like a pebble twice before sinking. Hikari was still floating where Shinju used to be, and turned to presumably look at Reimu.
"Look, I'm bad with directions, okay?" Hikari tried to explain. It sounded more like excuses to beg for her life. "I didn't know we were so close to the surface this time, and she said she smelled prey. I'm forced to tag along with her, you see? She has the lantern, and I can't be too far away from it for too long, and-"
"Then shouldn't you get going?" Reimu interrupted, drawing her leg back for another kick. Hikari caught the hint. "Oh Shinju! Wait up!" She flew in the direction Shinju was launched towards, then disappeared under the water. The strange whirlpool current had finally ceased, but...
"Ah crap, where are we?" Reimu looked in every direction, but couldn't see land anywhere. No clouds in the sky, no more waves in the sea, it was blue all around her, except for the sun.
Koishi ignored Reimu and started floating off, leaving Reimu behind. She soon noticed, and chased after her. "And just where are you going?"
"In the direction of the sun's rising. Why?"
"Well, for one, I don't think you should be calling the shots, here. Did you even fight back there?"
"Subconsciously, I made sure they'd lose. Nothing can stop us~!"
Reimu wanted to retort bitterly, but she couldn't come up with anything. She had no way of knowing whether or not Koishi had manipulated Shinju's subconscious, Hikari's subconscious, or both, so she only had her word on it. Koishi had also gotten rid of her bouncing heart familiars, but Reimu kept her yin-yang orbs handy. She felt like she'd be needing them more than Koishi would need hers, anyway. Since she had no other directional leads either, she simply had to trust Koishi. So, she nodded, and gestured for Koishi to keep going. Koishi smiled, and resumed her course.
Between spontaneous fairy attacks from the waves, Reimu would gaze into the water, curious as to what was below that surface. What kind of youkai live down there? How many could there be? Maybe she's ask Keine about oceanic youkai when she got back. After all, if anyone would know, it would be her, or maybe Murasa, or even Yukari. She imagined serpents that would wind around ships and drag them down, squid-like creatures that drag sailors one-by-one below the surface, demons who led ships off-course, never to be seen again...
She was startled out of another imagined situation with one of her possibly made-up ocean youkai by another small swarm of fairies, led by one that wore blue and an odd hat, almost like Daiyousei, but more oceanic. She was about as strong, too, and the two finished the fairies fairly quickly. For about ten minutes, not another fairy attacked. The air seemed unnaturally still. Reimu was starting to get bored, but Koishi seemed fine just moving forward. Suddenly, she stopped, and Reimu almost bumped into her. "Something's not right," was all Koishi gave as an explanation.
Reimu could feel it too, some strange disturbance, and it felt rather close. She could feel two, one seemed otherworldly and unfamiliar to her, while the other...
"Oh you've gotta be kidding me." Reimu floated forward ahead of Koishi, a look of almost disgust plastered to her face. Why, out of absolutely anyone I know, did she have to show her face here?! "Come on out, I know you're there. I should've figured you'd have your nose in things again."
The air changed from feeling dead to shimmering, as a purple slash appeared in mid-air. It widened into a grotesque, eye-filled smile, and the gap youkai herself, Yukari Yakumo, emerged. She yawned and stretched before addressing the ones in front of her. "Oh, hello, Reimu. Fancy meeting you way out here~. And you've brought along...um..."
"Koishi. You know, the younger Komeiji."
Yukari snapped her glove-covered fingers. "Right, her! I don't know how I could have-" She yawned again. "-forgotten her. Oh, excuse me. I'm a bit tired."
"A bit?" Reimu asked as Yukari almost nodded off right in front of them. "You look like you haven't slept in days. That's unlike you." Although she sounded worried, her sarcasm was easily detectable.
"Well, I haven't. I might as well get to the point, since I don't feel like being cryptic today." Reimu was surprised to hear this; she figured Yukari would take every opportunity to be mysterious. "I'm investigating a strange border fluctuation that involves this ocean, especially the ocean that lies out past here," she gestured behind her. She shielded her eyes with her hand. "My, it's bright today, isn't it," she changed the subject, opening a small gap behind her, bringing out her parasol to hover behind her.
"Too tired to even hold your umbrella today, eh? Well, whatever this disturbance is, Koishi and I will gladly take over investigation. You should go home and get some sleep."
"Hey, wait a minute..." Koishi interjected. "Reimu, didn't you say this ocean wasn't here before?" Reimu nodded, noting that Koishi actually remembered something for once. "Then wouldn't this whole ocean be considered a border thingy?"
"For once, she has a point." Reimu pointed her gohei at Yukari accusingly. "What is up with this sudden ocean, Yukari?"
Yukari raised her hands in a peaceful gesture, if anything to calm Reimu. "Although I would be suspect, it was not I who brought this ocean to Gensokyo. I can't say I disapprove of it, I feel as though underwater youkai would make a good addition to Gensokyo's populace. Plus, it gives a wider array of activities the Human Village can do. It's the best of both worlds. Even I'm not sure how the Great Hakurei Border was stretched to accomodate it. That's part of what I'm investigating."
"Underwater youkai, huh? Yeah, I've been attacked and almost eaten by two of them today, not to mention all of the water fairies that've been attacking us."
"Have you, now? Pray tell, what did they look like?"
"Uh...one had a shark fin on her back and had red hair, and the other was blonde and wore dark blue pajamas...oh, and she carried a wooden staff with a lantern containing a living light."
"Ah. Well, I've met Kuhai before. She's pretty good at what she does, I have to admit."
"Attacking humans for no reason?" Reimu said bitterly.
"No...well, I suppose, although I've never seen her in action. No, I meant her business. She makes some pretty bizarre drinks, but they somehow taste good. The second one I've only seen. If I'm correct, the 'living light' as you put it is a light spirit, or a phantom light. They would lead travelers and ships astray. I guess she was imprisoned in a lantern, and found by the other girl. I believe she's an anglerfish that was turned into a youkai, probably due to being in company with one for so long. I don't think that was the light spirit's true form, but the anglerfish girl and her seem inseperable."
"You seem to know a lot about these youkai. Maybe another time we can discuss exactly what might be living down there." She looked down for emphasis, now realizing how high up the three were flying. She also saw a black and white figure floating on the surface, like a star...
Yukari noticed Reimu's puzzling gaze towards the ocean, and looked herself. "Oh, right. Marisa showed up earlier. She tried to get past me, so I had to shoot her down. She hasn't moved since, but I know I didn't kill her~. It was her own fault, after all."
"Huh...right..." Reimu was surprised Marisa even got this far, since she went in the completely wrong direction back at the shrine. She shook herself out of it, and back into the current situation. "Alright, now let us pass. I have important business that I believe is ahead, and you're not going to stop me. Come on, Koishi." As she tried to move forward, though, Yukari threw a wall of kunai-shaped bullets from her fan, succeeding in making them fall back.
Yukari chuckled and began fanning herself. "I can still try. I'm sorry, but you're not getting..." Another yawn. "...Getting past me, Reimu."
Yukari proceeded to open with some of her more favorite of kunai-danmaku patterns, sending Reimu immediately on the offensive. Although, the waves were a lot less dense than Reimu remembered (and oh, how she remembered them). Koishi made her usual sweeping motions to dodge, while Reimu kept her cool and made as little movement as possible while firing needles once again from her yin-yangs. She knew how to beat Yukari, since she had done it before, so she was confident she could do it again. If anything, it should be easier, but that didn't mean she could relax.
After a short while, Yukari must have gotten bored, and decided to switch to a spell card, or so Reimu reasoned, since it seemed to happen far too quickly. She expected a card that she's seen before, but she wasn't entirely surprised when Yukari called out "Boundary 'Margin of Night and Day'!" It seems as though one of Yukari's favorite borders to mess with was also a spell card. Instantly, Yukari was encased in what looked like a block of night. When Reimu looked up, she could see stars over her, but the difference in light made it hard to see. Danmaku began flying from the shadows, some directly at her, some haphazardly. After a few seconds, she could hear Yukari snapping her fingers. The boundary shifted, and now the block of night was around Reimu! She could barely see the bullets heading for her, but somehow she could tell that they weren't nearly as dense. She simply had to remember the ones aiming right for her while keeping her eyes out for other stray danmaku. Her fingers snapped again, and this time it appeared on the side, and was slowly moving from left to right. The bullets increased intensity, leaving Reimu with less room to act, and the cloud of bullets around her kept condensing. However, the air around Yukari was starting to fizzle a bit, meaning the spell was almost broken. If the wall of night passed over her, she wouldn't be able to see any bullets around her. In between dodges, she threw amulets to try and speed it up, but the curtain of darkness passed over her anyway. Just as her vision faded, she closed her eyes, sure she would be hit by something. When she opened her eyes again, the spell had ended, and Yukari was shocked. "Th-there's no way that should have ended that quickly! How...wait..." They both looked behind her, and there was Koishi, with eight familiars all floating around her. Apparently she had been shooting Yukari in the back to try and help Reimu break the card.
"Wow...thanks Koishi. I probably would have gotten hit if it weren't for you." Maybe she is useful after all...
Koishi beamed, somehow creating another familiar to bounce with the others.
Yukari simply clapped. "I'm impressed, thus far. Although, it'll take more than that to beat me, even now!"
Before Reimu could think about what that meant, she pulled out another card. "This one here," referring to Koishi, "should be able to identify with this one. Understanding 'Barrier of Hate and Love'!" From each arm, a heart of either red or blue was shot, sending out either red knives or glowing blue spheres that would cross through gaps between each other. If two impacted, they turned into small white orbs. However, Reimu could tell that this was a toned-down version of one of her other spells, with an extra gimmick to make it slightly more difficult.
These also shot behind her, forming the same kind of pattern against Koishi. All of her familiars were shooting spreads of blue tear-shaped bullets, while she maneuvered through the gaps in the attack. She was having a much easier time than Reimu, it seemed, but then she noticed that Koishi's bullets were being redirected into another salvo, making it stronger. Koishi's power over the subconscious was useless when turned into fuel to make an enemy's attack stronger. Reimu didn't even get a chance to try and shout for her to stop before she had to try and evade a forest of Yukari's bullets. She found that the "Hate" side of the attack, ironically enough, had less, yet faster projectiles to worry about, and so preferred to stay closer to there to have more room to dodge the slower "Love" bullets. After what felt like an eternity, that spell broke as well. Even if Yukari wanted to try to dodge, she seemed too focused on maintaining the spells to do so.
"Hmph. Fine then. I didn't want to have to use this on you...especially since I'm so tired...but you leave me no choice." She then held up a bright violet spell card, one Reimu recognized well. It was her ultimate card: Danmaku Bounded Field. There was no mistaking it. "Yukari's Charade..." Reimu braced for one of the most difficulet, bizarre cards she's ever faced. Wait, did she just say charade? "'Somnolent Danmaku Field'!"
"What? Wait, don't you have another card like that?" Reimu asked.
Yukari glanced at her. "Yes, but I'm way to tired to use that. This will have to do." And then the spell card vanished. In its place was a purple vortex, which swirled in Yukari's hands. She held it close to her, and seemed to focus on it in her mind, shutting her eyes as she did so. Purple and blue arrowhead-shaped danmaku formed in rows, all pointed towards Yukari. Reimu knew the card well enough to stay clear of them, but she did notice a few differences. For one, Yukari wasn't making herself invincible, which was strange. Second, the bullets had definite gaps while they were still, which they didn't have in the more powerful spell. She looked past Yukari for the brief few moments the bullets weren't flying, to see Koishi also in the field. She waved to her, and pointed at Yukari. She seemed to get the message, and they both began firing upon the mysterious woman in the center of this danmaku vortex. Reimu was checking behind her every few seconds to make sure another wave of bullets wouldn't be striking her from the back.
Despite the pair's best efforts, Yukari didn't want to go down just yet. She focused greatly on the vortex one last time, and a massive spiral of bullets was generated from it. As it began swirling inwards, though, Yukari could feel the spell breaking. Reimu and Koishi were running out of available evasion room, and the air around Yukari was visibly turning red and compressing from the energy trying to be released from the spell. The bullets were millimeters from impact...when they phased out of existence, and the characteristic pop was heard.
In addition to being tired, Yukari now looked torn up, and finally said "Very good. I concede." And then added "Ugh, now I need to go change...my clothes are ruined..."
"That's it? You're just giving up? That's unlike you, when it's something you want." Reimu could hardly believe that she not only just beat Yukari again, but she did it unscathed in the end.
"Well, it's more of a...favor...that I'm here at all, but that's not important right now." She approached Reimu, her arm outstretched. "Here, take this." She dropped a spell card into Reimu's hand.
"Boundary 'Balance of Motion and Stillness'? Why are you giving me this? I can't use it."
"Think of it like a freebie, to use whenever you want," she said with a wink. "It's charged up enough for one use. I'm sure you'll need it, since your journey's far from over. Just make sure you use it when you're absolutely sure you'll need it."
"I, um...thanks, I guess." Reimu was at a loss for words. She knew what this card could do, but she had no idea why she'd need it.
"Hm hm...Oh, I should also mention. Further up from here is something even I can't stand. Beyond it is your destination." She grabbed Reimu's shoulder and sighed. "Good luck." With that, she covered her mouth with her fan and giggled, before falling backwards off of the gap she was sitting on. Another gap opened below her and practically swallowed her. A small, spooky hand came out of the smaller gap and closed the parasol before dragging it inside of the gap, which promptly sealed behind it.
Reimu still didn't know what to say, but she knew what she had to do. "Hey Koishi, come here, will you?"
Koishi left from playing with her familiars, and floated over to Reimu. "Yeeees~?"
"There's something important I need you to do. Very, very important, and you can't forget, alright?"
"Sure! I can help~!"
"Good. You see the drifting girl down there?"
"The one in black and white?"
"That's her. I want you to take her home. She lives in the Forest of Magic. Can you do that?"
"Of course I can~. Who do you think I am?"
Reimu crossed her arms, arching an eyebrow. "What was it I just told you to do?"
"Um..." Koishi seemed puzzled. "Get a scarecrow, paint it black and white, and leave it in the Forest of Magic?"
"No. Close, but no. Take the girl drifiting in the waves back to her house in the Forest of Magic. Got it this time?"
"Take the drifter back to her house in the forest. Got it~!"
Reimu nodded, then turned to leave. Koishi looked confused again. "Wait, where are you going?"
Reimu turned to look back. "I'm going to solve this incident. Make sure Marisa gets home safely."
At first Koishi seemed sad, then gave one of her usual smiles before flying downwards to the magician bobbing in the waves. Reimu watched her until she got halfway, then proceeded to where Yukari directed. She took one last look at the card she got, then pocketed it. "I hope I won't have to use it...but if I will, then I'll probably be glad I have it." After focusing back on her directive, she could see what looked like a crack in the very air further ahead of her. As she approached, she could feel more of the presence she felt in the Forest of Magic from that fairy. Her flying slowed as she got closer, in awe of how large it was. It was definitely a rift in reality, a rift that should not exist, except in the darkest of places. She was leaving Gensokyo, if she entered this chasm into who knows where. Yet, Yukari said that her destination lies on the other side. After flying around and seeing nothing for miles, she took a deep breath. No Koishi was leaving her mind clearer, and her task was at hand: once in, there was no going back. Tentatively, she reached a hand into the blackness. When she withdrew it and found that it was still intact, she took a deep breath and plunged into the inky, misty shadows.
"Stupid Yukari...with her stupid gap tricks...and stupid bullets..." She didn't know how long she had been floating, but she had been grumbling nonstop. Her broom was in her hand so it wouldn't drift away, and her mini-Hakkero was tucked under her shirt so she wouldn't lose it. The last thing she wanted to do was go diving for only her most prized possession. The witch felt cheated, and wanted another go against Yukari, who would not oblige. So, she tried to Master Spark her to provoke her into fighting. Instead, she opened a gap, caught the Spark, and then released it from another gap, using her own attack against her. This fried Marisa enough that she fell into the ocean, and stayed there since.
That is, until she saw two other figures fly up to where Yukari was. She couldn't tell who was fighting from this far away, but the amount of needle-shaped danmaku she could see only led her to guess Reimu. However, she felt fine floating there, and just watched the fight until the sun rose too far into the sky for her to see without burning her retinas. She could hear the waves around her, and an occasional yell from above, as well as the strange noises caused by danmaku. Then everything went silent. The temptation to look was immense, but the feeling of the sun's heat was a good reminder to not open her eyes. A few minutes later, she started to feel like she was being watched.
She couldn't shake the feeling, so she lifted her head out of the water to not look directly at the sun, when she realized that a shadow was blocking it. Her eyes opened to see a pair of legs floating over her stomach, with purple wires attached to them. She followed those up to the closed eye on her chest, then up further to see the face and hat which currently blocked the sun. "Well hi there~!"
Marisa coughed to clear her throat. "Koishi? What...what are you doing here?"
"Me and Reimu went on an adventure, and then we fought the lady up there, and she told me to...wait..." She brought a hand to her chin and looked down, puzzled. "What did she tell me to do again?"
Marisa noticed that Koishi's perplexed gaze had focused right on her breasts. "Hey hey, no need to stare. You need to think, look elsewhere, just not at me, ze."
Koishi looked back up at Marisa's face, then smiled. "That's right! I was to use you as a scarecrow in front of someone's house in the Forest of Magic~!" Koishi began clapping for herself. "Yaaay, I remembered!"
"Wait, Reimu told you to do that?!"
"Uh-huh! C'mon, let's go! I know a shortcut~!" Koishi yelled, grabbing Marisa's arm and pulling her out of the water behind her.
"Waaaaait!" Marisa shouted, but Koishi didn't register it. She was being dragged along for the ride now, whether she liked it or not. Koishi had started describing the adventure she and Reimu went on, and Marisa sighed, trying to tune her out. "Hopefully this will be over quickly. I feel bad that Reimu had to deal with her, but I certainly didn't want to be in her shoes."
"...And then we came upon the house of that doll lady. Reimu wanted the shortest way possible, which was through her house. I saw the whole thing. The girl had just gotten out of a bath when Reimu barged in..." Koishi began incorrectly recollecting, much to Marisa's curiosity and to Reimu's later dismay. As she was telling the tale, Marisa noticed they were going into some fog, and ahead of them was what looked like a light in the distance...
Dunno why I'm updating this, everyone's gonna be too busy with DDC to read this.
Chapter 5
Darkness Matters?
A bed. A woman lay there, as if it were a coffin, and she was the body at the funeral. She was stark contrast to the darkness around her; her flesh was pale, and her robe white. The red designs and sigils not covered with a blanket seemed to glow from the white robes, as did the gold circlet that permanently hovered over her head, even horizontally. The darkness around her subtly moved, currents and eddies that were non-perceivable to the normal eye were all but clear in hers. In her lone, piercing red eye, fixed at some point on the ceiling or beyond. The darkness meant nothing to her. Nothing in this mortal plane meant anything.
Except her memories. Her ambitions. These are no doubt what keep her rooted here against her will. The short time she ascended was the happiest she had ever been, alive or otherwise. That was an easy decision. What was the most crushing moment in her existence? That is a much harder question. Her life was difficult, her afterlife a blur. Whenever she pondered this question, her mind would always wander back to her earliest memories, or stories of them that she couldn't quite remember.
Her mind wandered back, replaying each memory as if it were happening again...
She was raised in an orphanage, told by the aged woman who ran the house that she was simply abandoned on the doorstep, in snow and cold that would have killed her had she not found her in time. Needless to say, she never knew her parents. The first few years of her life, she remembers, were easy and simple. She picked up concepts much faster than other infants that the orphanage woman raised, such as walking and talking. The other children would shy away from her due to her unnatural features, or so she figured. Most of the other children didn't have white hair and oddly colored eyes. She was different, and so was shunned. Her loneliness would lead her to tears, the same crimson tears she wept even today. The woman, unlike everyone else, took a shine to her. She treated her like her own grandchild. However, other adults didn't quite like her as much. None who arrived willing to adopt would take her, even if she met all qualifications. The main thing she was missing for months was a name.
She began tapping her fingers together. She remembered that the woman gave her a name, but she couldn't quite place what the name was. Having a name was the best feeling she had at the time, since until then she was called "child", or, if it was the other kids, "weird girl", "red-eye", "freak", to name a few. As they got older, the names became more unique and demeaning. Even after taking a name, she still could not find a foster home, even though she liked the name. She brushed aside the mental block, and continued her reminiscence.
When it was time for her to go to public school, she was excited. The woman gave her her very own backpack, a notebook, and a box of pencils. She promised she would work hard in her studies, and one day be "the smartest girl ever!". She felt foolish at this notion, she knew so little back then. The other students were skeptical at first, but after assurance from their teacher, they accepted her. She had a small circle of friends, and always made sure to keep herself and others in line with rules and the like. Her teacher always complimented her on her behavior in comparison to the other children. She earned some jealousy and the "teacher's pet" nickname, but she didn't mind. As far as she was concerned, she was liked, and happy. This continued for two more years, in which she would gradually gain more acceptance. She thought she could be normal, like everyone else.
Upon her third year of schooling, the orphanage woman suddenly died in the middle of the night, a new moon, she recalls. She hadn't been ill, rather the opposite. Old age apparently caught up to her. This was the first time she had consciously discovered that she cried blood, as the tissues she wept into were soaked red in a manner of minutes. She went to the funeral, not entirely understanding that she was gone forever, or why she felt so sad and empty. That wouldn't become prevalent until a couple, both middle-aged, took over the orphanage. Since there were two of them, they could afford better food, clothing, and commodities, but it didn't fill the void, the woman was the closest thing to a mother she ever had. The couple didn't give her nearly as much attention as the other woman did, instead giving the other children extended play time while she was still working. She felt useful, at least, but she could feel the sadness in her heart weighing her down. Now, in the only place she knew as home, she felt alone. She watched the few who she made friends with at the orphanage leave with their new parents, witness new arrivals, and try to interact with those who remained.
School was her happiest place, where her intelligence was accepted and her looks were disregarded. Until she reached the center grades. She had accepted and moved on from the woman's death, and only wanted friends around her to support her. Few at the orphanage would speak with her anyway, and she was very shy in school after that day. She grew her hair to the point where it kept falling over her left eye, obscuring it from certain angles. She was beginning to see the darkness in people, as more of her friends were suddenly staying away from her, to the point where she only had a few friends left. Although, she had somehow made plenty of enemies. Older children would poke fun at her for no reason, even some that were her age would join in. Younger kids would shy away and stare at her, as if she were an otherworldly being.
The next year was the one that she was the most proud, yet ashamed of. Another child two years older than her had been constantly trying to provoke her. She ignored him, even when he would take her lunches or other stereotypical bullying moves. She could feel the anger boiling in her heart, compounding with the growing feeling of loneliness as more and more people kept ignoring her. She could count how many true friends she had on one hand with fingers to spare, and she happened to be with them on the day he was desperate for a reaction. He and his cronies were in the cafeteria, when they saw her walk in with her handful of friends. They sat down, and began talking about how their classes were going, and the older ones took new seats at the table behind them.
They would throw food, call names, all at her. They commented on how she always wore white and red, how she doesn't even know who her parents are, and how her hair was that of an old person's. She calmly ate and chatted, they had done this before, and this time would be no different, she simply had to tell them off, like usu- "Leave her alone, you bullies! Can't you see you aren't even affecting her? Go pick on someone your own size." She turned to her right, as her now red-faced friend just finished scolding the boys behind them. She didn't know what to say, but she was thankful enough that she could feel her eyes tearing up. She hadn't cried in a long time, but she didn't want to start now, not in front of the last people she felt that she could talk with. She could feel herself smiling, though. Upon seeing this, her friend returned the smile with a "What are friends for?"
At first, they were stunned, not expecting anyone else to stand up for her. She caught a glimpse of the group whispering to each other rather obviously, before the one broke into a snaggle-toothed grin. Thinking it was probably a stupid joke, she rolled her eyes and returned her focus to the sandwich in front of her, yet while keeping her ears trained on the group behind them. "You know, guys," she heard the leader say. "I heard the woman in the orphanage died because of that red-eyed freak over there." She dropped her sandwich in mid-bite, a sudden fury and disbelief replacing every thought in her brain.
She stood up and turned. "That's a lie."
"Oh no, the doctors who did the autos...a-tops..." He seemed to be having problems finding the correct word, looking physically perplexed as he tried to think of the word. "The thing that they do to find out why people die. They said it was because she was filled with so much sadness for this one little girl. A white-haired freak that had no one else to look out for her. She died overworked, trying to help her through some meaningless struggles."
This filled her mind with doubts. She was happy before she died, how could she have had any sadness for her, any more than for the other orphans who don't know their parents? There was no way she alone could have caused her death. She wouldn't hurt anyone...I wouldn't hurt her...ever... And just what was meant by meaningless struggles? School was important, and she worked hard to keep her grades high, and the woman volunteered to help her out of her own will. Or did she think it was her duty to help her, and it drove her over the edge?
"Yep." He sighed and leaned back a bit, a smug look plastered on his face. "The word is, she's a freeloader who practically bled her dry. Poor old bag, probably died without anyone to remember her..."
"I remember. You better shut your mouth about her," she retorted.
"Hmm...the description sounds a lot like you, now that I think of it. I should turn you in to the police for killing an old woman."
"I didn't kill her!" Her fists were clenched, and all of her willpower was directed towards not lashing out at him."
"Maybe they'll even give me a reward for turning in a murderer. I could be a hero! Bringing justice to evil sorts like yourself..."
She felt something snap, breaking free in her chest, as if her heart were shattered and removed from her body. She stared at him wide-eyed, only able to mutter the word that abated her visible anger: "...Evil..."
He smiled again, confident in his victory. He already had the perfect excuse for when she would run and tell a teacher. He felt like he was on top of the world. C'mon, cry, little baby!
However, the exact opposite happened. She lunged with a bloodcurdling scream, hands grasping his neck, her eyes wild with rage. He fell to the ground, his lackeys rising simultaneously, unsure whether to get involved or go get help. Her friends did the same. Soon, a crowd of students had gathered and formed a ring around the two. She was trying to strangle him, but he was stronger, and managed to wrench her arms away enough to breathe. Seeing her initial attack was denied, she reared a fist back, and plummeted it down with strength unnatural for a girl her size and age. The first blow landed on his eye, the second on his nose, the third to the cheek. In a burst of adrenaline, he pushed her off of him and got back to his feet. She was riding a similar energy high, though, and quickly rushed back in for the attack, her hair flying behind her as she charged. Her face was streaked with scarlet, her fury opening her bloodied tear ducts. She shrieked and reared back for another punch, and he covered his face. Instead, it was a sharp blow to the gut, which made him lower his arms. Another blow to the side of his face and he was scrambling on the ground, finding it hard to stand. Breathing heavily, she reared back and spat on him to rub in his loss. She felt no joy in this victory, simply that she made a point. She turned to walk out of the lunchroom when his cracking voice could be heard behind her. "You think you're so tough, don't ya?! Yeah, well you're nothing! Y-You surprised me! You're a zero! A ZERO!!"
She stopped and turned. Her hair had fallen over her left eye, completely obscuring it now, but its gaze could still be felt. He recoiled from the icy glare. "You're right. You can't even beat nothing. If I am zero, you are worthless. I should just get rid of you here. Everyone else would thank me for it."
His face was turning red now, being beaten not only in a fight but by a girl was humiliating enough, now she was threatening his life? "Big talk from a big amount of nothing!"
From that point on, her reputation changed. She wasn't the teacher's pet with the good grades anymore. She wasn't even seen as a hero for beating up a notorious bully single-handedly. She was now seen as a creature, a thing to be feared. The boy went to the school's nurse immediately, and explained what happened, not even omitting his taunting her into action. She was called down to the principal's office to explain just what happened from her point of view. As she spoke, she took note that her manner of speaking was now flat and empty, much like how she felt. Although he would also be disciplined for bullying, she was also given detention for beating a student. As per the school's regulations, she had to sign a form stating what she did, and present it to her legal guardians. When she received the paper, she signed it with only the word "Zero".
The principal looked at the form, confused, then back at her. "This isn't your name, young lady."
"The name I used to have died with the one who gave me it. I was called a zero. I find it accurate, and I choose it to be my name from now on. I am nothing more, nothing less."
"You can't just change your name whenever you want. Please, sign your real name."
"I already did sign with my true name."
"Then sign with your 'former' name. Then go and wipe that glowing gel off of your face."
She signed the paper, then went to the nearest restroom to see what the principal meant. Around her right eye, which wasn't at all obscured by her hair, were what looked like six glowing red slashes, all with equal distances between them, radiating out from that eye. On a whim, she tried to will them to fade away, and so they did. She didn't know what it meant, but she did know one thing: her life was now changed.
For the next year, her social life and performance in school sharply declined. She lost all desire to try anymore. Her friends avoided her for what she had done, and everyone else thought her psychotic or even a demon. She resented them all, wishing she could just get them away from her. Teachers were wary of her, some even averting their eyes completely, and she had to be escorted around the building to make sure another incident doesn't happen. She was feared and isolated, and she hated them all for it. Tears ran down her face every day, but she never visibly cried. It was because of them that her life was in ruins that she must single-handedly rebuild. She grew jealous of the happiness of others, angry that she could not also indulge in simple conversation. Any attempt to be friendly resulted in the same fashion, no matter what: with her being by herself all over again.
Finally, after two years, she decided she wanted a fresh start. High school was beginning, and she was going to a well-populated school. Its colors were white and red, and took students from many middle schools around the area. If she could just be friendly, she could start over, even get new friends and be...happy again. She could almost feel herself smile with the thought of possibly being happy again. Students were issued their uniforms, and classes began. She still referred to herself as Zero, but her tone was no longer emotionless, even if it was forced. No one knew her here. She found friends, ironically, during her lunch time, a rather diverse group. She slowly began to open up again, feeling as though she belonged.
However, she still could not escape what she had done. Within a couple of weeks, a rumor was floating around the school of a demon who cried blood that would beat others out of spite. She had recognized it as being about her, but she simply ignored it and continued her attempts to socialize, actively avoiding those she recognized. Eventually, a prank began called the "demon test", which was any method to induce crying, to check for bloody tears. Although Zero's eyes were unique, they were never suspect, until now. One day in lunch, one of her friends decided they should all do it to each other for some teenage-stupidity reason or another. She tried to get out of it, until she was cornered with an accusation that it was her. Her only hope was for the bell to ring before it got to her turn. They started going around the table, spraying a bottle of water into their eyes, done by the person next to them who went previously. Finally it got to Zero, and she needed just a few more moments. The bell rang, Zero giving a sigh of relief, but it took the girl next to her off-guard, and she reflexively pulled the bottle's trigger.
She opened her eyes to see the table and any passersby staring at her. She reached up...and instead of feling cold water, felt something thicker and warmer. She lifted her hand out, and saw the bloodstains on it from her tears. She looked aghast at the crowd, as if begging them to not leave her. Those who didn't start shuffling away stared, and the ones who left began talking to their friends. The girl next to her, distracted by the bell and the crowd, finally turned to see Zero's face and promptly screamed. "She's the demon!" Her outcry and failed attempt to get up and leave startled the others around her into action, all of them fleeing from her. She stood, reaching out to someone, anyone. The room was empty in a matter of seconds. For the first time in a long, long time, she collapsed onto the table, loud sobs filling the air.
She didn't go to school for the next week, unsure what everyone's reaction would be to her. When she finally coaxed herself to return, she discovered that her fear was realized; most of her peers were going out of their way to stay away from her. Her friends abandoned her, her teachers refused to acknowledge her, and she was all but alone, once again. If despair was quicksand, she felt neck-deep in it. She simply did her work in school and went back to the orphanage she still hadn't left yet, but now she actively tried to push others away. Any who tried to interact with her were given a cold shoulder or an icy glance. If she interacted with less people, the chances that they could hurt her or she would hurt them would drastically decrease, or so she believed.
The next year, however, she made a fatal error. A boy in her class, despite knowing who she was, tried to come in contact with her. He said that even if she was a demon after all, he wouldn't mind. She tried to push him away, but the more she tried to distance them, the faster he would run to close that distance. Eventually, she humored him, and went on a date with him. After they learned more about each other, she felt as though she might be able to connect with him, if he was willing to try as well. After that date, however, they rarely saw each other outside of school. They took every opportunity to be together in school, leading to them being late a few times to classes. Zero felt happier than ever, she finally found someone who actually cared for her, and she might actually care about him.
After about a month, he seemed to be fatigued more than usual. He said his parents were giving him trouble and the work from classes picked up a bit, but it wouldn't stop them from seeing each other. She heard about how others weren't too fond of him dating the "demon", but he was adamant about liking her. She felt like she could truly open up to him, that perhaps she wasn't zero after all. He kept no secrets, and she didn't hesitate to talk around him. However, she held back on asking him one thing. One day, right after the final bell, she finally felt it to be the right time to ask. "Why don't you hide?"
"Heh heh...excuse me?"
"You heard me. Everyone else hides from me and ignores me due to my looks." She looked at her right hand, as if it were the most interesting thing to focus on. "It's why I have to be alone..." she muttered.
"But you don't have to be alone," he responded, apparently having heard her. He turned her face to look directly at him and smiled at her. "You have me. That's one more than nothing."
"But why do you stay? Everyone else would have left me by now."
"Because..."
Her memory began to fade. Her eye shot open with sudden realization that there were tears streaming down her face. These accursed tears. The room was just as dark as before. She always hated remembering this. It was their last conversation, after all. She wiped them away, even as more took their place.
She wasn't sure how she had heard. He was found in a pile of garbage, multiple stab wounds to the chest, an X carved over his heart. Rumors were abound, the most popular that she was the killer, even if evidence proved the opposite. Some spoke of an all-women gang called the Crystal Girls, which she thought sounded more like a young girls' dance troupe than a vicious gang. Others said it was some kids in the school who feared for his life if he stayed with Zero. Regardless, he was apparently holding a note. It apologized, and said it was for his own good, that his soul not be damned by the creature.
The creature.
Not even seen as a demon anymore. Just as a creature. One whose fate was not to be determined by her own hands, but by others who claimed to be better. She seethed for retribution, but there was no point. It didn't matter. The last thing she had to make her happy was gone forever. Everything that had made her happy had been taken away from her eventually, and could only be replaced with suffering loneliness. So why even hang on to such petty emotions? She might as well forsake them.
Two years later, she graduated, earning no honors, not even a mere mention. She felt more like a footnote. Upon graduation, she was evicted from the orphanage, told that once a child graduates from high school, her fate is her own, a policy she had never heard of before, and most certainly was not enacted upon others who were there. She willingly left, though. She could finally be truly alone, no one to pretend to care for her, no one to pretend to care for. She preferred the darkness of alleys compared to bright shelters for wanderers. Darkness was always there to comfort her from the heat, and blanket her at night.
She applied to jobs and colleges, but even if she had the credentials, they found some excuse to not accept her, something she never understood. Now it seemed like fate was conspiring against her. This only helped her spiral further into loneliness, a pit that not even the longest rope could scrape the bottom, and she simply fell deeper. She learned how to be manipulative, and managed to convince a bartender to let her eat whatever scraps were left behind by his customers. She had a source of food, which she only tended to once a day, after dinner. She would also partake in leftover alcohol, which at first helped her forget her worries. The sickness afterwards hardly affected her.
It was at this bar that she made another fatal error. She walked in, earlier than usual, scanning the tables for uneaten food. There were still customers, most of which took one glance and went back to what they were doing. One table of five, however, continued to watch. She walked up to the bartender, and gave him the usual price, which was only a few dollars that she happened to find (or 'liberate', or somehow scam from the unknowing). She walked to a table with a half-eaten BLT and multiple whiskey bottles, one of which was still over half full, and indulged herself.
As she ate, she noticed the tallest woman in the group (at least, they all looked like women) go and talk to the barkeeper. They both simultaneously glanced at her, so she knew they were talking about her. She looked at the group, who were all dressed similarly. One with emerald-colored eyes was also staring at her, and met her gaze. She winked and seemed to giggle and blush a bit before turning away, something that made Zero raise an eyebrow. Did she know something that she didn't? As she looked at each of the four sitting at the table, the one closest to the door stood and walked outside, giving a sidelong glance at her. She was starting to feel uncomfortable, an odd sense of foreboding filled her. It was a kind of fear she had never felt before. She had only finished half of the remains of the sandwich, even though she drank what remained of the bottle. She got up to leave, taking the tray to the counter, ignoring the woman who was there.
She turned to leave, catching what looked like the bartender nodding to the other woman. She looked once more at the table of three, the one girl still staring at her with a smile on her face. She looked back at the door, only to see the brown-haired woman who walked outside leaning on it. She wished she could just walk through her, but decided that the only way through was to try and convince her to move. "Pardon me, you seem to be blocking the door."
She chuckled. "What 'bout it?"
"I'm trying to leave. Please move out of the way." Despite living alone, she still remembered her manners, all the while mentally flogging her with harsh, demeaning words. She knew better, and held her tongue.
"No dice, girl."
Her eyes widened. How dare she be denied by this woman she never met before?! The foreboding feeling returned, and she could feel three presences behind her. Turning, she saw the blonde-haired girl who winked at her, who looked about the same height as her, another girl with black hair in a ponytail with a menacing air about her, and a third with a hat covering hair that looked dyed pink with her arms crossed. They all wore nearly the same outfit, with slight variations between each. "I'm just leaving. Don't mind me. No one else seems to have a problem doing so."
"I'm afraid..." the pink-haired one spoke, not taking her gaze off of her, "...that you're not going anywhere." She reached into one pocket, unfolding her arms. Under where they just were was a brooch, half a green-blue, half purple, and shaped like a crystal.
Despite her surprise, Zero managed to stifle a gasp. She didn't know the Crystal Girls were real, since she hadn't seen one yet. Yet, here were five of them, the pink-haired one looking rather important. And they were encircling her.
"Heh...so this is the girlfriend of that kid we offed two years ago? Doesn't look like much." So they were responsible after all!
"You...you're the ones who took him away..."
The woman raised an eyebrow. "Yep, you're her alright. And, unfortunately..." She sighed, shifting her position to look more menacing. "You're a disturbance to the peace. We keep getting complaints about you. Ya don't seem too terrifying, though, 'cept for those eyes of yours. I wonder what they all saw in ya..."
The blonde then leaned over and whispered something to the leader. She shot an irritated glance at her, then rolled her deep blue eyes. "Alright. Now, you've got a couple options. You can delay the inevitable, or you can embrace it. What's it gonna be?"
"Delay." She didn't know why she chose that, but it seemed like the best option. She would rather have more time to figure out how she could get away. There was a larger gap between people near the closest wall, so if she could break into a sudden run, or distract all of them somehow, and get really, really lucky...then maybe she could get away.
"Alright then. She's all yours, kid."
Before Zero could decipher what was going on, the blonde had wrapped her in an uncomfortably close embrace, their bodies pressed against each other. Zero opened her mouth to protest, her face reddening at this sudden display. But before any words could escape, the blonde planted her lips firmly on Zero's. While the blonde was trying to lean into it, Zero was trying to lean away, to push her away, something. Yet, part of her finally felt...sated. A more intimate form of emotion, yet at the worst possible time. After a short, shocked moment, she finally released the white-haired girl, who stood there shocked at what happened, her face looking like it was blending in with her eyes. Her face felt numb, and her hands turned shaky. The whole ordeal lasted seconds, but to Zero it felt endless.
The gravity of the situation quickly flooded back to her, and her teeth and trembling hands clenched at this indignity. Long had she awaited her first kiss, but not with a member of the group that took away the person she wanted to share that moment with, let alone another girl. Unparalleled anger rose within her, the only thing that she believed still held her fragmented heart together. She tried to charge at the offending party, but the tall woman had returned and gotten behind her. The brunette and her quickly each grabbed an arm to prevent her from attacking, when the three in front of her suddenly gasped. The pink haired one looked behind her, then back at the captive girl. "Your eye...humans aren't able to do that..."
Although she knew what she meant, Zero was too focused on ripping apart the blonde girl to realize her eye had those six glowing marks around it. "So she's a special girl after all...some sort of mutation, maybe..."
The leader regained her composure, and announced after clearing her throat that their task was at hand. "These sorts of freaks pop up now and again. To keep peace and happiness, she must be eradicated!"
Still being held by the two others, she gradually stopped struggling. E...Eradicated?! No...I refuse to die here!
And yet...what more can life do to me? Every chance it had, it denied my happiness. Perhaps in death there will be an end to this heartache.
Or maybe I can still find it...as long as I live, I have hope that one day I can overcome these trials life's been throwing at me. She didn't know why she made that pledge, but she felt confident that she could overcome it.
Seeing Zero's struggles stop, the leader motioned her two accomplices to let her go. "I knew there was a reason we targeted you, I just didn't know what at the time. Now that I do, it only makes it feel that much more justified." She sauntered up to zero, putting one hand under the shaking girl's chin to have their eyes meet. "Now, be a good girl, and this will all be over qui-"
She was cut off by a swift uppercut that sent her reeling back onto a table. The black- and blonde-haired girls rushed to get her back up, while the tall one and the brunette tried to grab Zero again. This time, she expected it. She lunged to her left in a quarter-circle, so the brunette would be blocking the tall one to buy her a few precious moments. She feinted a blow to the side, and punched her straight in the face. She was pushed aside by the tall one, who was already in a fighting stance. She swung for Zero's face, but she managed to duck under it, and delivered yet another forceful blow, this time to the woman's right breast. As tender as it felt from the blow, she knew it must have been a weaker spot on her otherwise well-protected body. The tall woman got back up, and again tried to hit her. Yet, despite her reach, she couldn't manage to land a hit on Zero. She saw that with each advance, her stance was weakening, and dove for her legs. She spread her arms, hitting each kneecap, and forcing the woman to fall forward. A quick stomp to the spine kept her from getting back up.
Suddenly, she felt arms wrap around her from behind; it was the blonde girl again. As she struggled, she could barely hear what she was trying to whisper. "Stop...trying...help...survive...gun..." was all she could hear through her fury. After a stroke of brilliance, she jumped backwards, taking the girl behind her by surprise, and her weight combined with the shock of sudden movement dazed her enough so Zero could get out of her embrace. She saw the pink-hair rubbing her jaw and glaring at her as she stood up, and returned it with comparable malice.
The leader's expression quickly reversed, however, as Zero heard a click from her left. The blonde called out to warn her, but the sound was drowned out by the consequences of her not being fully aware of the situation.
BANG
Her shoulder arched back, as something small and fast ripped right through her clothes and into her shoulder. She could feel a dull pain start there, and shoot down her arm, and she covered it with her other hand. She looked at her hand. Blood covered her palm, somehow different than her tears, but she still knew it was hers. She looked up, at the black-haired woman. She was holding two identical pistols, gleaming in the low light of the bar. Realization struck like a falling tree; she had been shot. Anger flared up again, and she tried to charge forward. Another gunshot stopped that, this time in her lower-right abdomen. Then another forced her back even further. And another. And another.
She didn't even have to check, she knew she was bleeding profusely. Her entire body throbbed as her recoils sent her backwards into the wall. One hit her just below her knee, and her entire leg buckled beneath her, and she collapsed, slumping against the wall. She was breathing heavily, a small amount of blood trickling out from her mouth, in addition to her tears. The most she could say was a few grunts, exhausted pants, and coughing. Her vision was starting to fail her, and she started losing feeling in her extremities. She didn't think she would die, but she would be horribly injured. She just had to blot out the pain...focus on surviving...
The black-haired girl finally lowered her weapons, and the distinct sound of a knife being drawn came from the leader. It was very intricate, and from the hilt was a gold chain, with a crystal not unlike the one on her brooch: half was purple, half was a turquoise color. This crystal was whole, and only one piece, despite its unnatural coloring. The gang slowly drew around the bleeding girl, trying to bear the pain, her eye-marks still glowing brightly. She spun the knife so the blade faced down, and raised it above her head...
Zero could hardly see what was going on, but she knew the group had gathered around her. She wished they would leave. She saw something glint in the light, and looked up to see what it was. What she saw was the leader holding something over her head for only a moment, before her arm began driving downwards. She expected the blow to land at her heart, and prepared for her end. However, she felt the stab not through her heart, but instead through her left eye. A sudden wrenching sensation flooded her body, and she couldn't help but scream in agony. The woman had just yanked her eye right out of its socket.
Empty lids opened, but not an image could be seen through them. In one eye, all she could see was the white of her hair, and in the other, nothing but painful blackness. She could feel large amounts of blood being emptied from her open socket. This, combined with the wounds she already received, were overloading her nervous system. She couldn't keep back all of the pain, and she could feel consciousness slipping away. In some last bid to survive, she stood one last time, before the knife was once again driven into her, this time into her chest, puncturing her heart. This time, the knife was left there, and Zero could only take a few stumbling steps before falling on her knees, then to her side, forward enough so that she was leaning on the knife. Her life was flashing before her eyes. All she could see was endless suffering. Between memories, she could see nothing but darkness, which became more frequent...until that was all she saw.
Her memories suddenly began cascading back to her, faster than she could sort through to make understandable. There was a field of red. Rusted coins. Scales. A bright light. A pit. A funeral. Then blank, as nothing of particular importance happened for a long time. Then, a hand, extended, inviting...
Her eye snapped open at the feeling of being pushed lightly from behind. She had turned on her side without knowing it, so she must have fallen asleep. She flipped on her back and sat up, looking for whoever had the gall to intrude on her. Light was shining in from the doorway, illuminating the room, and before her was a fairy maid with bright red hair and oddly yellow eyes. "Yes, what is it?"
"My queen, apologies for disturbing you, but this is important!" The maid's little arms were trembling, yet their motions were stiffer than usual.
"Possession? You've returned early. Don't tell me the shrine maiden defeated you in such a short time single-handedly." She thought that her elite minions were more powerful than that, even if they are completely dependent on their powers...and obviously, her.
The possessed fairy shook her head. "Although she did defeat me, unlike how we predicted, she wasn't alone!"
"What?!" This made her sit straight up in her bed, and she started getting onto her feet. "Not alone...who else was with her?"
The fairy seemed to struggle in remembering. Eventually it gave up and shrugged. "I can't remember. I do remember that the shrine maiden kept talking to someone while she chased me over the ocean..."
"Chased you across the ocean?!" Her eye widened in fury, and the fairy instantly recoiled. "You didn't lead her here, did you?!"
"N-no, my queen! I lost her in a strange fog, probably given off by some ocean youkai..." Upon seeing her sigh with relief, she felt brave enough to continue. "B-but she's probably on her way, still...and...I think we have only a few hours until she gets here."
She sat back down on her bed in thought, before realizing the servant was still staring at her. "Get out of the maid, and let her get back to her duties."
"As you wish, my queen." The fairy suddenly turned dumbstruck, her eyes going blank as the formerly invading consciousness left. A trail of darkness drifted from the small creature's back, slowly coalescing into a shadowy orb, as the fairy's eyes turned back into their normal brownish-red color. When the turquoise petals reformed and the eye opened on the shadow, the fairy, slightly smaller than the orb, dropped to the ground, still unconscious.
She looked at the fairy, then up to her servant. "You could have at least dropped her outside. You know how I hate dealing with these things. Now return to a more manageable form."
The eye blinked once in compliance, and shrank down to the size of the fairy's head, and flew over to its queen.
She gently grabbed it with her thumb and forefinger, and brought it to a glass bowl. She opened the top, and released it into the bowl. She reverted its knowledge down to basic instincts, so it was no more intelligent than a fish, which it now acted like, lazily floating back and forth. She had nowhere else to keep them, and she didn't want to compromise their current forms. Recreating them would mean starting from scratch, and she didn't have time nor patience to do so. That dealt with, she turned to the fairy on the ground. She grabbed her by her wings, and simply dropped her outside of her door.
With that ordeal over, she quickly calculated how much time she might have before the shrine maiden arrives, if she even makes it. But before she could do anything, she heard footsteps from the hallway, followed by knocking. "This better be important," she muttered, before opening the door.
In the doorway was a girl with long, silver hair in a ponytail, and the same color eyes staring directly into her lone eye. "A report. The shrine maiden has breached the Ingress. I am resuming my post now, and will update with further developments."
"Hmm. Do your best to drive her off. If that's not possible, then stall her for as long as possible. We still need time..."
"Understood."
The angel's eye narrowed skeptically. "If you're here, how do you expect to return to your post in enough time to cut off the shrine maiden?"
The girl's mouth turned into a slight smile. "The form before you is an illusion. The information has been successfully relayed. With no more purpose, this illusion will fade and return. As previously stated, I shall update you with further developments as they occur. Have a good day, my lady." With that, she turned into a small orb of white light, and began drifting back down the hall where she first arrived.
Good luck. Now finally free of distractions, she reentered her room, and closed the door. She sighed. Her memories could wait. She knew the shrine maiden was relentless, and would arrive sooner or later. As such, she had to look presentable for this inevitability. She opened another door in her room, this one leading to a private bathroom. She walked to the shower, and started the water. As it heated up, she disrobed. A luxury I could never truly appreciate in my life...but I can use it as much as I want now. She stepped under the water, letting it cleanse her body as steam rose. If her calculations were correct, she should be completely finished and waiting in the main hall for the maiden with plenty of time.
Through a small gap between the curtain and the wall, she could see a white dome shape on the counter next to the sink, its small eyes gazing transfixed on the ceiling. Her mask. A false visage of happiness. It was always denied me. Why should I hunt for it? It's no more real than that mask. She looked down at the drain, the water swirling into it. In the end, darkness is all that matters.
There are some parts I find a tad...distasteful. I'm not sure why I wrote them. It just felt...right, for the situation. It's a lot darker than what has been happening thus far.
Feel free to tell me what you think. Criticism (especially of the constructive variety) is welcome.
Chapter 6
Beacon in the Eternal Night
Reimu looked at the card Yukari gave her again. She still had no idea what she meant about anything after that battle. When was she to know when she'd absolutely need to use it? And what did she mean by "a place even she couldn't stand"? Sure, it was incredibly dark and misty, and the atmosphere felt completely alien to her, but it didn't seem that bad. The atmosphere somehow actually reminded her of Makai, except it didn't make her sick. She felt anxious, and it almost felt like her powers were somehow affected, but that was the extent of it.
She paused and turned to look behind her. Through the mists and darkness, she could barely see the hole that led back to Gensokyo. If she didn't go completely straight, she'd never find her way back. This, too, felt like the first time she went into Makai. However, this place seemed completely devoid of life and landmarks. She almost missed Koishi. At least she'd have someone to talk to, even if it was yelling for abandoning her.
Reimu stopped and looked about, trying to get her bearings. Yet, there was nothing but darkness as far as the eye could see, with nothing else but curling mist to catch her eye. No horizon, no ground below nor sky above, just an empty black void. Shuddering, Reimu pushed onward, further from the only light she could see, further into the inky fog.
She found it odd that the air of this place was perfectly breathable. The mist seemed to be having no ill effects, and the air seemed perfectly fine, if maybe a bit stale. She wondered if anything even lived here, or if it was possible, in all of this emptiness.
As she travelled, the mist only thickened. If she turned around, she wouldn't be able to see the entrance. She would have to rely on instinct and only go straight ahead. Still, the entire place was lifeless and eerily silent. Just to break it, and curious as to what may be out there, she cupped her hands to her mouth and shouted "HELLOOOOO!" Not even an echo greeted her. She sighed and trudged onward through the mist.
After a while, the mist began to thin a bit. This comforted Reimu at first, until she saw something flit away out of the corner of her eye. If it was possible, it almost seemed to get darker in that strange place. Yet, no matter how dark it seemed to get, she could see herself perfectly. It's as if she was standing against a big black sheet of paper. She hadn't even noticed, until she lifted a hand to brush away some hair out of her face, and could see every detail of her hand as clear as if she were outside in the sun.
Now, the strange shapes in the shadows had small multicolored lights on them, always a pair, like eyes. If she looked directly at them, they would disappear, but she could feel them all staring at her. The feeling of being surrounded worried Reimu, who was now really starting to wish for companionship. Soon, they gained small voices, and could be heard whispering in the dark. She held her gohei closer to her chest, unsure if any wards, spiritual or otherwise, would help her in this world. She looked at her sides, and sighed in relief that the two yin-yang orbs were still floating next to her. She decided her best bet was to move forward, and hope she got out of here soon.
One figure, with purple eyes, seemed curious enough to not move away as Reimu approached, but it stayed outside of her field of vision nonetheless. "H-hello? Who's there?" The figure did not reply, but the purple glows went out and came back, reassuring Reimu that they were eyes. It seemed to move closer, staying at her eye level. Eventually, the mist parted, and a fairy floated before Reimu. This didn't look like an average fairy from Gensokyo, despite its fashion sense being accurate, and the similar wings. Her hair was the same color as her eyes, and she dressed all in black, with odd markings on her dress in different colors, much like the fairies of Makai. However, she had normal complexion for a fairy. Her expression was very distracted, as if focusing on a point far behind Reimu. She looked like she had experienced mental trauma.
Reimu extended a hand and gave a half-hearted smile as a show of good will, confident that this wasn't a hostile fairy. Many other eyes began focusing on the two from the shadows. The fairy looked down at her hand, then back at her face. "You're...trapped...too?" she asked quietly, as if not used to speaking.
"Trapped? Oh...uh, no...at least I hope not..."
"Any who enter...are lost...you are not the first, nor will you probably be the last...to be consumed by darkness..." She floated up to Reimu, and put a tiny hand to her forehead. "Yet...you carry the darkness...given life..." She returned to where she was, and tilted her head to the side. "What...are you?
Reimu was creeped out, to say the least. It's not often that fairies would approach her without fear, let alone speak with her. Her face hadn't changed at all during the conversation, and her voice sounded more like a whisper. And what was with all of this 'trapped' business, and 'darkness given life'? "Uh...I-I'm Reimu Hakurei, the shrine maiden of Gensokyo."
The fairy's eyes widened instantly at her name. "R-Reimu...Hakurei?!" The other pairs of eyes began flying off, and the fairy in front of her flew back a few dozen feet before unleashing swirls of danmaku. Reimu managed to slip to her right just in time, as a pink sphere roared past her. She returned fire with needles from her orbs until the fairy went down, where it vanished into the darkness.
"That's just weird. Non-hostile fairies don't usually suddenly attack like that...wait!" She turned every which way, but could find no trace of where she had come from, or what way she had to go. "Crap! No no no no no! I don't want to be trapped here! I don't want to become like these freakish fairies!" As she said that, she saw another pair of eyes drift away from her, towards where the fog looked especially thick. Without hesitation, she followed them, until the fairy revealed herself, a blue-eyed one, in a similar style of dress. She conjured three rings of energy spheres, then directed each ring to target Reimu one after the other. Although she didn't have to dodge far, another fairy performed the same attack, and then another, and then another, severely limiting her movement, as each one traveled faster than the last, while slower bullets peppered the air around her. As she brought the last one down, a green-eyed fairy began throwing kunai danmaku in a random spread in front of her. This one was tougher than the rest, but vanished as suddenly as it came for seemingly no reason.
The mist was thick around Reimu know, who was constantly on the alert, in case one of these fairies were to try and take a bite of her. However, all of the fairies' eyes that peppered the shadows slowly vanished, until she was all alone again. She didn't feel anything for a while, until she could feel the presence of something...unnatural, even in this place. She could practically taste the curses on whatever it was, and felt like she had to brush her teeth. She looked around, her eyes darting every which way, trying to find the source of this cursed presence. Finally, it felt strongest directly in front of her. Yet, despite her squinting and trying to wave away the fog, she could see no more than a silhouette of the being.
She was tempted to try and speak to it, since it looked more human than the fairies. Yet, the amount of curses it exuded were giving her reason to hold back. "I believe that it is customary for a visitor to introduce herself when intruding upon someone else's territory." The figure spoke quickly and flatly, and her voice echoed faintly.
Although she heard her, Reimu was still rather skittish, and called back out to her "Who's there? I can't see you from here!"
"Hmph. Perhaps you should train yourself to see in the dark. I can see you quite clearly." Her tone was almost bragging, yet she made no move, nor did she follow up with any other comment.
Reimu could feel her anger flaring, or perhaps it was jealousy? All of her emotions were mixed up, probably from being with Koishi. "I can see perfectly fine in natural darkness! This place isn't natural!"
The figure sighed. "I can assure you that this place is natural, but I will assist you in your visionary problems nonetheless." Reimu could see her (at least she thinks its a her by the way it sounds) lift her arms to her sides, and the fog cleared away, leaving nothing but darkness between them.
Now that Reimu could see her clearly, she could probably figure out how much of a threat she is. Her shirt is silver, with red decorations on the front. The back of her sleeves went down to her wrists and ended in points, while the sleeve under her arm only went to a little past her elbow. She wore a gold skirt that was longer in the back than in the front, exposing her legs from the knees down in the front, concealed by brown leggings with a lighter brown crossed pattern that covered her feet, too. Her silver-colored hair extended down to her waist, some of it in a ponytail on an angle from the back of her head, and two locks of hair on the side of her head had decorations like hers, except the figure's decorations were dark blue. Her skin was pallid, yet somewhat metallic. Her eyes also had the silver color scheme. She seemed very robotic in expression, as if waiting so she could respond. Yet, Reimu couldn't get a good feel on how powerful she was. She could sense a lot of potential, but how much of it is realized?
"So...who are you? And just where the hell am I?"
She blinked once before opening her mouth, as if formulating the answer. "I am Tearfang. I am the spirit that resides in the sword which shares the same name."
"So you're a tsukumogami?"
"Accurate, but not exact. Although the sword and I are one and the same, and rely on each other to exist and have power, I have always resided within the sword. Passage into the realm you call Gensokyo awakened me. I can survive without being near the sword, and it can exist without me near. Full potential cannot be realized unless we are together," she explained.
"Alright...I don't fully understand, but whatever. You never answered where we are."
"Although not your original phrasing, no. We are in a dimension between dimensions, known as the Ingress. It can only be opened by the one who controls the rifts, unless that power is transferred to one the controller deems necessary to wield it. Its use is listed as classified information."
"The one who controls the rifts...does that person live in that black cloud?"
Tearfang visibly tensed. "H-how do you know of that?"
"The cloud attacked us and made me feel like crap. I'm looking for the one responsible, and I'm gonna kick her ass once I find them."
"Wait...you're...you're Reimu Hakurei, the red-white shrine maiden!"
Reimu folded her arms and smiled crookedly. "The one and only. What's the matter? Scared?"
Tearfang regained her composure, and returned a small, yet confident, smile. "Not a chance. And I'm not going to go into the actual statistics."
"Tell ya what. If you just lead me out of this place, I'll let you slide with a less severe beating."
The sword girl tilted her head confusedly. "You only wish to leave? Splendid. Follow me, and I will take you back to the rift you entered from." She began flying towards Reimu, off to her left.
Reimu swung her gohei out, blocking Tearfang's path. "That's not what I meant. I meant to take me to your boss, the other end of this...Ingress, or whatever."
"I'm afraid that would directly contradict the orders I was given." She turned to face Reimu. "So, I offer you an alternative: I will lead you back the way you came, and you can return to your dwelling."
Reimu's arm didn't lower. "I like my offer better. So, lead the way, or get out of my way."
Tearfang's eyes narrowed, a slight frown forming on her face. Without warning, she thrusted her hand forward, intending to point-blank Reimu with danmaku. Reimu managed to duck to her right as it sailed past her head. "Very well. I suppose I am forced to drive you off now, since you will not comply. Do know, however, that you have a minimum 57% chance of losing."
"Oddly specific, but I'll take those odds." She barely finished the statement when arrowhead bullets began pouring from Tearfang's hands. This attack seemed more like suppression than an actual attack, and her intuition was only confirmed as Tearfang shot a line of knife danmaku directly at her, and another two lines at an angle, trying to catch her overcompensating. She didn't even have time to return fire yet, as another shower of arrowheads rained around her. Seeing a slight gap in her attack between the knives and the arrowheads, she charged her yin-yang orbs with powerful pink talismans, and let fly. Their spread wasn't terribly effective, but they made up for that by being stronger than, say, her homing amulets.
Tearfang now had to dodge, and couldn't focus her line of knives directly at Reimu without adjusting her aim, which would give her a gap to slip through. As she pondered this, she suddenly felt sharp pain in her right arm as she accidentally flew into a stream of talismans. She grunted, irritated that she le herself get distracted by her own calculations. A minor wound like that would heal quickly, but she decided to cut her losses and attack immediately. She raised one arm slightly, and a glow appeared in her hand. It slowly turned into a white, phantasmal spell card. With the most emotion she's shown yet, she yells "Mirage Sword 'Impeccable Facade'!" The darkness around them transformed, showing strange images, figures and faces, that looked real but seemed fake.
Reimu snapped herself out of the now-entrancing scenery as Tearfang charged at her from the left, holding an ornate, white sword. However, she was too fast, and Reimu didn't have enough time to react. She tried to move, but she saw the sword go clean through her. She closed her eyes, expecting her torso to disconnect from her legs at any moment. Yet, neither pain nor blood came to greet her. She looked to her sides, and saw a mist-like slash running through her on one side and leaving her on the other. Slowly, the slash moved from her, leaving Reimu both confused and relieved. Tearfang, still holding the white sword, waved her other arm out to her side, and the slash solidified to be the same color as the sword that created it. The slash slowly moved behind her, until it came to rest, and began firing kunai danmaku from the corners of the slash, aimed at her, and walls of oval-shaped danmaku rained from the body of the image. Before the bullets reached her, she swapped the talismans with homing amulets, so she could focus on dodging, and set her orbs to fire at Tearfang.
She didn't care about dodging, she knew she was protected temporarily by the spell card, so she could focus on trying to bring down the miko in front of her. However, she could feel her hold on that slash slipping away, until it faded from view. Without hesitation, she spawned another, similar sword, crossed her arms in front of her, and charged forward. Reimu knew the swords would do nothing, but she didn't know if Tearfang would stop or tackle her, by the way she was barrelling at her. She tried strafing to the right, but Tearfang kept on target. When they were mere feet apart, Reimu instinctively threw her arms up in front of herself, bracing for Tearfang's impact. She heard the swords clang as they would have connected, but didn't feel the impact of Tearfang running through her. She opened her eyes, and saw no one in front of her. Suddenly, Tearfang appeared from behind her, floating back to her original spot, homing amulets still pelting her spell shield. This time, there were two slashes, in an X, running through her. These, just like the first one, started drifting towards her sides, meaning she would either have to get close to Tearfang, or try to run, neither of which she believed would work well. These slashes tried the same pattern, but this time, she was being assailed on two sides instead of just one. Yet, she had fought these types of attacks before, so they weren't too unfamiliar to her.
Tearfang could feel the spell's shield weakening, and decided that she couldn't hold back any longer. She casually tossed the two swords into the air, which spun and hovered for a bit, before floating blade-down. With a slight motion and a sound like an unsheathing blade, each sword split into three separate ones, which encircled Reimu. This time, she ignored them, and tried to throw as many needles as she could to break the spell sooner. All six swords swung at the same time, with the same results. Reimu felt a bit light-headed when all six blades intersected in her abdomen, but that faded quickly as the six slashes arranged themselves into a hexagram and solidified, with her being the center. Tearfang waved both of her arms, and all of the slashes began focusing their fire on Reimu in the middle. Paranoid and dodging every which way, Reimu felt around for the card Yukari gave her, but she couldn't find it, at least not with all of this haphazard flying. She felt one arrowhead strike her leg, a stinging blow that quickly turned red. She winced in pain, then focused again on dodging and having her orbs shoot amulets. The small thuds from when each amulet struck the shield slowly grew louder as the shield decreased, until all bullets disappeared from Reimu's vision, and she halted her orbs from firing. Tearfang and the six swords were the only ones left.
Tearfang looked aghast as Reimu hardly looked scratched from the battle. Granted, she was mostly unharmed as well, but that technique should have worked to scare her off. A sharp crack startled her from her wonderings, as the swords began breaking apart. Light shone from the illusional blades, and all six of them shattered simultaneously. Tearfang almost doubled over from the shock as it felt like most of her power was drained with the swords' shattering. She took one last look at Reimu, then turned and fled.
Unlike most of the defeated fairies from earlier, Tearfang didn't eventually fade into the shadows, which made her easy to see for a long distance. With this realization, Reimu took off after her, the only lead to possible escape. Many fairies either fled from them or shot at her, ignoring Tearfang. Reimu mostly ignored the fairies, preferring to keep Tearfang in her sight than battle pointless fairies.
Tearfang started slowing down, confident she lost the shrine maiden. "You're not getting away that easily!!" came from behind her, causing her to gasp and turn. Both confirmed and annoyed, Tearfang began adding her own danmaku to what the fairies were throwing at her. However, hers weren't attacks; they were cover with which she might be able to escape. Every time she looked behind her, though, Reimu was there, and getting closer. She picked up speed, and began charging a large burst of bullets. She looked behind her, and saw one last fairy try to barrage her with large green oval-shaped bullets, and acted. She stopped and raised her arms, throwing a mass of giant silver bubbles. Yet, as she looked ahead, there was a bright light, a beacon in the darkness. She cursed under her breath, took a moment to consider the irony, then darted to her right, hoping the shrine maiden might follow.
After going around the silver spheres that sprang out of nowhere, Reimu peered ahead, not seeing Tearfang anymore, but instead seeing a glow in the distance. She caught movement in the corner of her eye, and turned to see Tearfang flying almost directly away from the light, occasionally glancing at her, as if begging her to follow. Reimu smirked, then proceeded with all haste towards the glow. As she got closer, she noted that it looked about the same size as the one she entered from, and she would have thought it was the same one, if it wasn't for the massive, swirling storm outside of it. If she were on the ground, she would have been jumping around for joy. She settled with a quick "Yes! Finally!" and a midair victory twirl, then resumed her course; her journey was rapidly ending.
However, her intuition was telling her otherwise, and that she wasn't clear of danger yet. As the thought crossed her mind, she thought she heard a grunt of exertion behind her. Deciding to listen to her instincts, she turned in a quarter-circle, and saw a silvery blade pass right by her face, the arm and body of Tearfang following. The sword girl halted her movement, and turned back to face Reimu. There was something different about her, but she couldn't quite place what it was. Tearfang shook her arms slightly, and her hands became visible once again. Realization struck Reimu that somehow her sleeves had elongated about a foot past her fingertips, and became flexible swords attached to her hands. She hadn't realized that Tearfang could do this, but she did realize that she may have misjudged just what she was capable of.
Tearfang looked ready for a fight, her fists clenched and her body angled challengingly. "Foolish girl. I led you in a complete circle. This is the rift from which you entered."
Reimu's expression changed from surprise to skepticism quickly, and she folded her arms. "Really. A circle, huh? Then why are there clouds out there? The sky had been clear for days back in Gensokyo, and the sky was completely clear when I entered the Ingress. Now you're telling me a massive storm brewed in the short time I was here?" To her, it felt like hours, but there's no way it could have been.
"Yes. Storms have a tendency to form rather instantaneously. As previously stated, this isn't where you thought it would lead. It merely leads back to where you started."
Reimu thought for a moment, before remembering what could be a crucial piece of evidence. "If it is where I entered, then why are you blocking my progress?" She smiled smugly, figuring she cornered her.
Tearfang opened her mouth to respond, when her eyes shot wide. She apparently hadn't been expecting this sort of question. Her eyes darted around, and she started stammering, trying to come up with a response.
"So? You gonna let me pass, or wha-"
"Silence!" she spat. "My directive was to allow no intruders to assault the palace, least of all the red-white Hakurei maiden! Your passage can only be assured with my defeat!" She shifted her stance, looking over her shoulder, ready for whatever Reimu might throw at her. Her sleeves also changed, forming the flexible blades that had almost sliced her head open.
"Wait...palace? What palace?"
Tearfang's eyes narrowed, and she looked away while pursing her lips. Probably annoyed at herself for giving away too much information. Without another word, she sprang forward, sending a flurry of knives with tiny bullet trails at Reimu. She expected this sort of sudden attack, and ducked to her right just as the knives flew by, and had plenty of room to spare. She set her orbs to fire needles, but Tearfang charged her again before she could even start shooting. It was the same pattern, which Reimu expected, but this time a circle of feather-like danmaku radiated from where Tearfang would have impacted with Reimu. She set the orbs to firing, then prepared for whatever Tearfang would have to throw at her.
Tearfang was no fool, and decided that trying to fly straight through her shots would only result in her loss. She adopted a zig-zagging flight pattern to both confuse Reimu and get her in close. Reimu saw what she was doing, and constantly tried to readjust her aim, while preparing for her attack. When Tearfang got close, Reimu dodged to the side, and drew four large amulets. They swirled in the air near her, then set a course for Tearfang, constantly gaining speed. Luckily, she took flight from these amulets and started moving evasively. The amulets kept returning, and Tearfang was becoming annoyed with their tenacity. Reimu pushed her farther by shooting needles directly at her.
With no other possible moves, Tearfang began flying in a wide arc, the amulets hot on her trail, managing to keep pace with her. The streams of needles were constantly popping up right in front of her, and it was only a matter of time before she would be hit. She charged towards Reimu one last time, but didn't bother charging any danmaku, since it was already following her. She swung wide to Reimu's left, leaving her confused. A few needles managed to hit their mark at such a close range, but Reimu was too focused on her. She could hear whirring behind her, and as she turned, she became very concerned. Her own amulets were flying directly at her, and she didn't have a chance to escape. She simply threw her arms up in front of her in an attempt to block them. All four directly hit their user, leaving a small cloud of smoke around Reimu. Although her own attacks wouldn't harm her as much, they still hurt.
The cloud of smoke offered other possibilities, though. As it cleared, she could see Tearfang charging at her, and waited to fire, a huge gamble, considering how fast she was going. Once she was a few feet from the smoke cloud, Reimu unleashed a torrent of needles all focused at her. Off guard, Tearfang had no choice but to take a few hits before she could start defending herself. She began striking and chopping at the incoming needles with her sleeve blades, knocking them out of the air, and slowly advancing. Reimu had to admit, her form and speed were impressive. She might even be able to out-perform an oni in a fight, although brute force was definitely out of the question.
Reimu snapped out of her admiration when she noticed how close Tearfang was. If she cut off the attack and tried to escape, there'd be no hiding from Tearfang. No, fleeing wasn't an option. She did have another idea, however. As Tearfang entered melee range, Reimu threw another group of four large amulets. As they reached full size, Tearfang tried to halt her assault. Her hesitation caused her defense to lower, and the needles began striking her with full force. She finally managed to stop as the amulets moved forward, but she had nowhere to go. Reimu swooped out of the cloud as the four amulets once again exploded.
Reimu dusted off her hands and was about to turn towards the gap when she heard from the smoke "Illusion sign 'Dance of Swords'!" Again the scenery changed, and the rift vanished from view. Her attention returned to Tearfang, who had surrounded herself with twelve swords of different colors as the smoke cleared. The swords were arranged chromatically, forming a circle around Tearfang. Reimu expected her to charge at her again, but instead she started a strange, exotic-looking dance. It was very graceful and flowing, and it seemed to influence the swords around her. They began clashing, twirling, all simultaneous with her movements. Reimu reminded herself that this was a duel, not a show, and looked around for what would be thrown at her. She noticed twelve spheres of energy around her in equal intervals just as they began firing swords at her. Something was wrong, though. Their aim wasn't exact, and the first twelve swords met in a circle around Reimu. It didn't give her much room to maneuver, but they soon dispersed, and another ring took its place. After what must have been the tenth ring, the outermost swords suddenly spun around and drove right at Reimu. She could tell that these were accurate, and jumped aside as they all struck where she just was. She had no idea why she kept turning off her orbs from firing, but she reset them to homing amulets as another ring of swords tried to impale her. These ones came close enough to her head that she could see a few black strands fall from where they cut through a small amount of hair.
As the last group of swords passed by her, she looked at Tearfang, who was watching the spectacle and grimacing that she hadn't hit her yet. The homing amulets were doing much more damage to the spell shield this time than on her last spell, and she prepared for however Tearfang might try to upgrade the attack. She started her dance over again, and the same rifts opened. This time, as each sword clashed around Tearfang, bullets of the colors of the striking swords would rain out. This time, the encircling blades gave Reimu a little more room, which she saved for if a bullet were to fly in her direction. None did, and the last ring of swords was starting to fan out. Tearfang noticed this, and somehow stopped all non-sword bullets midflight. She commanded them to fly in Reimu's direction, causing her to have to take care while dodging the swords so she wouldn't fly into a stray sphere. As the last few swords and bullets passed, Tearfang's card broke again, with the same results as last time. All twelve swords shattered in a rainbow explosion, and Tearfang was left clutching at her sides and breathing heavily.
"Had enough yet?" Reimu taunted.
"I've made many miscalculations thus far...intimidation tactics don't work nearly as well as I'd hoped...and I've been splitting too much of my power..." She took a deep breath, and floated straight up again. Reimu could notice some slight tears in her skirt and on her shoulder, but it looked like hardly anything to worry about. "No more fooling around." She put her hands together and closed her eyes, as if praying, and where her sleeves touched, a white light was forming. It grew to about the size of her palm before floating in front of her. Her eyes shot open, and the light turned into another spell card. "Physical Manipulation 'Doppelganger'!"
The spell card slowly mixed back with the light, and then began expanding. Four tendrils of light split from the main core, and another sphere formed on top. These solidified and took more defined shape, into arms, legs, and a head. Once it finished, the light slowly faded, and floating before Reimu...was another Reimu. This clone, however, looked far different from her. It had dark blue skin and white hair, and her outfit turned sky blue. Her sleeves and even the paper charms on her gohei were black. Reimu was looking at a negative version of herself. Every visible detail was correct. The clone floated there and stared at Reimu before turning to Tearfang. In an eerily similar, yet hollow voice to Reimu, it asked "Master, what is your command?"
"Incapacitate the one who shares your image." She didn't even look at the clone to address it.
The clone turned back to Reimu before drawing several black and blue ofuda amulets, the exact opposite of Reimu's. However, instead of going at the same speed, they flew like amulet danmaku, five talismans in a spread, and three spreads. It wasn't hard to dodge for Reimu, who retaliated by throwing her own amulets. After a brief exchange of fire, the clone faded out of existence, her eyes slowly closing as she started falling. Everything but the gohei vanished, and it tumbled down into the darkness. "...Was that really it?"
Tearfang grunted in response. "No." She raised her arms again, and two Reimu clones sprang forth from nowhere. "I decided to spare you the theatrics and proceed directly to the fighting." These two had the same pattern of attack, but this time Tearfang threw in some silver and gold arrowhead bullets. Now facing what looked like a wall, Reimu had little time to set her orbs to fire homing amulets again. When she did, she saw that they were aiming for the clones, not Tearfang. She knew if she waited long enough, the spell would collapse on itself and end, but she didn't want to have to wait that long. Soon enough, those clones were also brought down, and they fell in similar fashion to the first. Reimu watched the gohei spin into the shadows, and shivered at the thought of falling all that way. She reset her orbs to fire pink talismans, and tried her best to focus only on Tearfang. Grimacing, Tearfang summoned five clones to all fire upon Reimu. Instead of simultaneously, however, they fired in succession, so Reimu had to keep moving to avoid getting hit. The unlucky clone in the middle was defeated, and Reimu could see Tearfang straining to keep the spell active and fire danmaku at the same time. In Reimu's small time of distraction, however, she let herself get hit again, this time on her right arm, by one of Tearfang's arrowhead bullets. Seconds afterward, the spell broke, and the clones all faded out of existence. Unlike the previous ones, these ones released mist, which completely shrouded Tearfang from view.
As it billowed out, Reimu kept alert for any more bullets. Instead, she heard a shriek as Tearfang was charging ballistically at her, one arm poised to strike with her blade sleeve. As her hand started moving forward, Reimu ducked backwards, and purely by instinct kicked upward. Tearfang's arm grazed mere inches from her head, but her leg managed to connect to Tearfang's jaw, sending her flying backwards while Reimu performed a backflip. She brushed a stray hair from her face as Tearfang righted herself, one hand to her cheek. Even if she didn't look too angry, Reimu could tell she was seething. "Very well." She held one hand out, and in it was a silver spell card. "I didn't want to be forced to use this. Yet you leave me with no more alternatives. Executioner 'Blade of Judgment'!!!"
The card flashed brilliantly before dispersing in a wide cloud of kunai bullets. Soon after, Tearfang slashed with her arm, and a wave of knives flew out. Another slash, and a wave of swords mixed with other blue bullets. Reimu couldn't see Tearfang past this barrage, and had to focus on weaving through them, charging her yin-yangs with homing amulets so she wouldn't have to aim. Once the fog of bullets cleared, Reimu looked up, and felt her heart sink. Above her was a massive sword, looking like the others, but easily larger than most trees. The point faced her, and Tearfang held it up with her arms over her head. She threw her arms at Reimu, and the sword followed suit, intent on crushing the shrine maiden.
Reimu began panicking, and searching for a certain spell card. She hardly ever used it along with her homing amulets, but this was an exception. At last, she found it. She held it over her head and declared it: "Dream sign 'Evil Sealing Circle'!" From the card, two intersecting red and blue squares radiated out, and Reimu held her arms out to her sides. Once their outer edge hit the sword, the sword began dissolving, but Reimu could feel the circle lose strength. She poured her energy into the circle, and could see Tearfang was doing the same with the sword. Now it was just a battle of willpower. Glancing at the sword, Reimu could see that it was slowly shrinking, the danmaku in the blade being burned away by her spell card, but didn't give up. She wouldn't be able to outrun or avoid any of the blade where she was, and focusing on the circle meant she couldn't move. Eventually, the hilt of the sword began melting away, but Reimu couldn't keep the spell active any longer. She dropped her arms, and the circle vanished. She braced for impact, but it never came. She managed to sustain the card long enough for that sword to dissolve, but there was no way she could do it again, and the scenery hadn't changed, which meant Tearfang's card was still active. She remembered her orbs, and smiled inwardly. While she was busy, they kept firing. A glance at Tearfang proved her right; the spell was greatly weakened! She just had to keep fighting for just a short while longer, and she would win.
What she didn't expect, however, was for Tearfang to split into two. Unlike Reimu's clone, both Tearfangs looked the same. The amulets flew as if confused, since both were equally distant from where Reimu was firing them, and they couldn't decide which one to hit. Now, each Tearfang was conjuring a massive sword, but they looked smaller than the original one. Reimu looked back and forth between them. Both had spell shields, so theoretically, damaging one would end the spell sooner. But what if it didn't? Could she take that chance? She looked at the swords, their shape finally becoming solid, and realized she had very little time. She gasped in epiphany, and flew right between each Tearfang. Her assumption was right; they were too busy calculating and focusing to realize her plan. The swords finished, the Tearfangs brought their arms down, and the swords flew towards Reimu's position. Just as she had planned.
She darted to her left, back towards her original position. The swords didn't change trajectory, and now she was well outside of their range. Each Tearfang watched in horror as the other's sword was heading straight for them. As they collided, Reimu heard two perfectly similar pained yells from the two who were just hit. Reimu deactivated her yin-yangs, and noticed the scenery changing from its strange mirage-like state back to the misty darkness it used to be. The two Tearfangs floated where they last were, the swords vanishing as if they never existed. Both sword girls were hunched over, clutching one arm in the same manner as the other, even panting simultaneously. Slowly, they drifted together, and fused into one girl once again, her clothes in even worse condition than earlier. If she was on the ground, Reimu had no doubts she would have collapsed by now.
Reimu wasn't in nearly as bad of a condition, but she certainly didn't feel as good as she did when she entered. Even still, she felt confident from another victory. "So, you ready to give up, or what?"
Tearfang swallowed, and shook her head. "I never surrender. But I will concede, in accordance with my orders, and how these spell card duels function."
Neither made another move. "So," Reimu said, clapping her hands together to help break the silence. "Why aren't you leading me yet?"
"I cannot simply abandon my post. However, I can give you this information. That storm conceals what you seek. Your destination lies at the eye."
"Awesome. I can just fly above it and..."
"I'm afraid that's impossible. The storm is far too massive, and you will be lucky if you reach the eye by nightfall, if you survive the decreased air pressure and oxygen levels. Go under, and all manner of ill weather awaits you. Even I cannot predict what will happen."
"So I have to go through the storm to get there quickly and safely." Reimu sighed. "Why can't, just once, this be a bit easier..."
Despite her obvious pain, Tearfang managed a small laugh. "Now why would anything be easier? It would be more difficult to drive you away if the rest of your journey were to be simple."
"You say that as if you've been watching and studying me. For a very long time."
"I am unable to disclose this information to you. But I do have permission to tell you this; be thankful I am the only one here to stop you. Anyone else..." she gestured to the storm. "...and not even the hag with the gaps can save you then."
That line again...implying Yukari's powerless here...at least I think she's referring to Yukari...but my powers are fine, so what does it mean? Reimu shook away her thoughts. Those weren't important right now. What was important was finding the culprit. She proceeded towards the rift, pausing only once to glance at Tearfang, who nodded, and exited the Ingress.
The sun was blinding at first, emerging from the strange darkness. She looked back, and saw Tearfang rush off, probably to patch herself up and resume guarding. The rift looked completely unnatural, like someone took a patch of nighttime and sewed it haphazardly to the air. But, that was behind Reimu now. Her next destination was within the swirling mass of clouds ahead of her. As she watched it spin, she could see flashes of lightning illuminating the clouds. "At least Tearfang told the truth. Flying over this thing would take too long, and I imagine the storm would only be worse under the clouds. So, looks like I'm going through..." She picked a spot where the clouds opened slightly, as if expecting her. She steeled her resolve, and flew into the storm.
Tearfang watched the shrine maiden pass back into Gensokyo with disdain. She would have stopped her, but somehow she was too powerful. Not many beings were more powerful than her that she had faced, but she couldn't find any error when replaying the memory of the battle. Everything was flawless and played by the rules. Was she just that powerful?
Her musings were interrupted by a small orb drifting lazily towards her. Tearfang happened to glance at it and notice its proportionally large, single eye. It was no bigger than her palm, which she held out for it to rest on. It floated over her hand, and silently gazed at her, blinking once. Tearfang returned the stare, as if some form of telepathy. "Mistress wishes for me to return to the palace? A surprising order, considering her condition, but very well. Thank you for delivering this message." The orb nodded, and Tearfang returned the nod. "The message is appreciated, Dark Matter. I will depart at once." Tearfang glanced at the shrine maiden once more, who was looking back at her. She turned and flew towards the Ingress portal that led directly to the palace, far off to the right of the one before the storm.
As she left, the Dark Matter stared at her. Once she was out of sight, it turned towards the storm, seeing the last of the shrine maiden be consumed by it. Silently, it flew through the rift, and followed her into the clouds...
Hey look, I'm not dead. I'm just very busy and the next update to the story probably won't be for a while. Oh well, life is life.
Chapter 7
Nocturne of a Grand Typhoon
Reimu performed a midair roll to dodge an arc of black lightning from another strange dark eyeball-like creature. It looked like the creature with the turquoise eye and petal-like things, but they didn't have the protrusions the first one had. They also fought more like sentries than sentient beings, and weren't terribly strong. The fairies within the storm were tougher, but there were a lot more of those eyes. She had lost track of how many of each she had shot down recently. Whatever they are, they attacked me first, so if I even needed justification, I have it! she thought as she struck the orb with a needle directly in the eye. It dispersed, leaving no trace it was ever even there.
Reimu wasn't sure how long she'd been in the swirling mass of clouds, but she at least knew she was going in the right way thanks to the direction the clouds were spinning in. Despite the hostility, she was much more comfortable here than in the Ingress. The main downsides that she could figure were the rain and dampness she felt, constantly watching out for lightning, the hostile creatures...
"How is this better than the Ingress again?"
In addition, whenever she saw an eye, she could feel herself start to go into a frenzy. It was too coincidental for there not to be a correlation between her crappy mood and these things. She would feel better every time she took one down, but more would always fill their place, and her attitude would only get worse the more of these eyes she saw. The fairies didn't affect her, but that didn't mean they weren't affected. She noted that these fairies also wore outfits like the ones in the Ingress, but these seemed more determined to drive off intruders, while the others were fighting seemingly out of self-defence.
She ducked to escape under a barrage of bullets released from a cluster of fairies, when before her eyes, a fork of lightning crashed into two of them, rendering them unconscious and scattering the others. If she didn't keep moving, she might wind up getting fried like one of those fairies. She quickly shot down the remaining ones and continued forward.
She flew unchallenged for a few minutes, giving her some time to wring out her sleeves, which were starting to become a hindrance with their weight. She was about to take off her hair ribbon to do the same thing when she felt like she was being watched. Now that I think about it, I've felt this since I left the Ingress... She turned around, and managed to catch a glimpse of another, smaller eye dart behind a small wall of clouds. Confused, Reimu floated over to its small shelter, holding a few amulets just in case. It glanced up at her, and Reimu noticed just how small it was. It wasn't even bigger than her hand. In a really strange sense, it was almost sort of...cute. Cautiously, she reached for it, but it sped off past her in the direction she was originally going.
She decided against chasing after it, since she still didn't know what these things were. She turned to look back one last time, and took a deep breath. Her hair had been matted to her head from the rain, and she pushed a few loose strands out of her eyes. She turned back to continue in where she believed was the correct direction, and saw what must have been twenty of those eyes all staring at her. Not a single one blinked. None of them moved. All of them had to be at least her size. Reimu didn't dare move either. How...how did they all manage to sneak up on me like this? she wondered as she snapped out of her initial shock. Slowly, she flew towards the largest gap between them, trying to watch all of them simultaneously so none of them could try anything to catch her off guard.
Yet, despite her diligence, a small group tried to rush her while her back was turned. Her yin-yangs were already set to fire homing amulets, so she didn't hesitate. The first few fell, then the next, but they couldn't fire everywhere at once. Reimu felt herself get struck in the back by something large, but it didn't burn like danmaku did. She reached behind her, but her hand met no resistance, only cold nothingness, even if it did block some of the rain. She brought her hand back in front of her, and saw it was pitch-black, which slowly faded back into its normal skin color.
Did that thing just...charge at me? And where did it go? She looked around frantically, but saw nothing. Suddenly, she felt a searing pain in her skull, a headache that made her want to vomit and scream at the same time. It was like she was severely dehydrated, which wasn't possible. The thought of dehydration immediately led to thoughts of tea, and how she would rather be back at the shrine than out here in the middle of nowhere. It would be better at home, wouldn't it?
Reimu's eyes widened. "Who's there?" No one answered her call. She looked around, and saw no one. Not even a fairy or an eye. I must be imagining things...
Yes...I'm a wreck, aren't I? Maybe I should just go back home...
"Gah!" Reimu yelped as her headache grew more intense. Whatever was causing it seemed linked to those strange thoughts that didn't seem like her own.
I'll probably catch a cold out here in the rain. I'm sure the sword girl would be glad to lead us back to the other portal.
...Us?
Silence. The strange suggestions ceased, and Reimu became suspicious. Those thoughts were definitely not her own. When she thought to herself, she usually hears her voice, too. This one sounded...off, somehow. And that eye that disappeared...
Maybe I should just go home.
Yes. It is a good idea.
Now why would I respond to myself in my own thoughts?
Again, it became silent. Whatever it was, it wasn't too bright, but it still had some sort of telepathic hold on her. She couldn't bring herself to move forward, but moving back she was just fine.
I thought so.
Silence! the voice spat. It sounded completely different now, not even trying to masquerade as her thoughts anymore. I was tasked to drive you off, and that's what I will do! And there's nothing you can do to sto- Reimu felt a slight shock as the voice suddenly stopped talking. As it spoke, Reimu could form a mental image of one of the eyes, speaking to her through telepathy, since it had no mouth. Its hateful expression turned to one of surprise, then its eye narrowed. Wait...you're that red-white we were told was coming...
Reimu audibly grimaced. WHY DOES EVERYONE CALL ME THAT?! she shouted mentally.
She could see the eye wince in pain. Hey, no need to be that loud! I'm only doing what we were created to do. Influence weaker minds.
Reimu could feel herself getting irritated as this thing refused to leave her alone. And now it has the audacity to call her mind weak? Well, if I'm so weak-minded, come fight me directly. I should lose, shouldn't I?
Very well. This logic seems sound. Is our influence that bad at all? With that, Reimu saw a thin black mist come out of her shirt, through where her heart would be. It coalesced back into its orb-like form, and tried shooting a small wave of black pellet-shaped bullets. Reimu smiled and stepped aside as the bullets flew right past her. She drew two large amulets, and set them at the eye. Both impacted, creating a small explosion. Once the smoke cleared, there was not even a trace of the eye.
Reimu dusted her hands off. "Too easy. I figured it wasn't that bright." A boom of thunder drowned out the sound of her back-patting, and she took the hint and proceeded. Her headache had gone away, and she felt so much better having dealt with that thing. It made her happy, in a way. A sort of mental oasis, quickly shrouded by black fog.
Advancing quite a ways further with no resistance, Reimu found herself in a clearing, with one hole above her that let sunlight through. It's too small to be the eye of the storm, Reimu figured. A protrusion of clouds further ahead of her parted, revealing another person, which surprised Reimu. She didn't think anyone else besides fairies and those eyes would be in this raging typhoon. As Reimu got a closer look, she became more and more puzzled. She looked familiar, but...
The girl waved an arm, and the rest of the clouds obscuring her vanished, revealing red hair, yellow and green clothes, and a baton in her left hand. Reimu gasped as she recognized who she was. It was a faint, distant memory...but she was sure of it. "No way...You're that youkai from the mountain, who tried to pass herself off as a human...Orange! That was your name!" As she said this, she noted several inconsistencies with her memory. For one, she originally found Orange on a mountain...why would she be so far out to sea? And since when were her eyes dichromatic? Her right eye was a sickly yellow color, while her left was the bright orange color she remembered.
Orange seemed taken aback. "I...am surprised you recognized me. I did not expect to see you here, Red-Whi-"
Reimu glared at her, as if daring her to finish. "However..." she said, changing the subject. "This doesn't seem like your kind of hangout. You do seem more powerful, though. Much more than...what did you call yourself when we met the first time? A 'stage one boss'?" Reimu folded her arms. "Just what does that mean?"
Orange shrugged, and Reimu thought she saw another inconsistency with her shadow on the clouds behind her. Especially since light would be coming in from above them, not from her...
"Anyway...you seem to be in the way. Again. If you learned anything from last time, you should just let me pass."
Orange twirled her baton and assumed a fighting stance. "Nope. If you want to pass, you gotta beat me first." She swung the baton backwards, and Reimu thought she saw something dart out of the way of her arm right before it would strike. To test her intuition, she threw a lone amulet at where the thing would be exposed, with no danger of hitting Orange at all. The youkai swiftly deflected the amulet with her baton before realizing her mistake. She just guarded what was supposed to be empty air.
Reimu grinned slyly and proceeded to bombard Orange with needles from her orbs. Orange retaliated with well-aimed barrages of plain white bullets. "Tch. Too easy," Reimu taunted as she effortlessly wove through the bullets. Orange smiled and spun her baton, which Reimu noted that she didn't do before. The bullets split, turning into clusters of tiny multicolored bullets that managed to almost encircle Reimu completely before they dispersed. However, Orange was definitely taking hits, while Reimu was dodging everything, not letting anything get closer than grazing distance. Orange lifted an arm, and white kunai began circling her. However, their spread was too thin, and Reimu easily slipped through them, managing to throw a few amulets that directly hit Orange, one between the eyes.
Orange righted herself after the blow, and held aloft an unsurprisingly orange spell card. "Image sign 'False Being'!" Orange threw her baton into the air, which shot two orange orbs of light to her sides. Two translucent Oranges appeared next to her, and they began shooting red and orange danmaku. Halfway, they turned from normal danmaku into multiple different types of bullets, ranging from kunai to pellets and even stars. The real Orange's hair, strangely enough, turned blue. This made targeting her easier, but those false Oranges were now going off to her sides, continuing their barrage. After they almost tripled their distance from the real Orange, another two fakes were created, doubling the bullets Reimu had to dodge.
Reimu looked up from where the enemy bullets were flying to see the distortion that meant the spell was about to break. However, in the distortion, a strange, large shape could be seen behind her. In her wonder, she almost let herself get skewered with a kunai. She jumped to her right, but the bullet still cut through her sleeve and struck her forearm, making Reimu shriek in pain. She didn't know why bullets were so painful to her, while it took dozens of hers for an enemy to feel something even out of a spell card, but by now she had simply come to accept it. Once she regained her composure, she resumed her assault, despite the addition of two more ghostlike Oranges.
Mere seconds afterward, the duplicates all slumped over, as if run through with a blade. The real Orange's hair turned back to normal, but it didn't even look like she had a scratch. Reimu couldn't help but feel disappointed in herself for letting herself get hit right before the spell ended, but there was nothing she could do to change that. Her gaze shifted back to Orange, who was still floating there, transfixed. She dropped her baton, which fell through the clouds until it could not be seen. For a second, Reimu wondered if she went too hard on the poor girl before remembering that she was, indeed, a youkai. At least, that's what she thought, until the image of Orange in front of her became distorted with static and slowly faded out of existence. In her place was another giant eye, this one as big as Reimu's head, and it looked a lot more stable than the others she had seen. "Hey! You look like the one that possessed Yoake!" Upon saying this, she immediately made the connection between how the first orb changed Yoake's eyes yellow, and that the fake Orange had a yellow eye.
Instead of turquoise petals and eye, this one was orange. Its choice of masquerade was fitting, to say the least, Reimu thought. The orb's eye narrowed, and it shot a bolt of black lightning laced with orange oval-shaped bullets before turning and flying off into the clouds. When Reimu looked to see where it went, it was already out of sight, but she knew the general direction it was travelling in. "I've gotta be halfway there by this point..." With no other options besides to give up, she once again flew into the clouds. These were darker, and the rain was heavier here. Within seconds, her clothes were soaked through again. The sudden gusts of wind causing goosebumps across Reimu's arms, she proceeded further ahead.
Her first fairy encounter in this new storm was much stranger than earlier. These were flying in lines and formations, and their danmaku, consisting mostly of blue bullets of various shapes, left very little maneuvering room. An occasional shadow orb would create more problems, since they weren't as patterned as the fairies, and their shots were faster.
Reimu sneezed, then had to focus once again as a torrent of large oblong cyan-colored bullets rained down on her. She darted left, into a different column of space, where the bullets weren't as dense. A bolt of lightning in her previous position followed by the loudest peal of thunder she ever heard made Reimu sigh in relief once her ears stopped ringing. The fairies before her scattered after the lightning struck. "What, these things live in the storm, but they can't handle a little lightning? That doesn't make sense," she said with a sniffle. She was starting to get annoyed at how heavy her clothes felt, but could do nothing about it. The wind felt like it was cutting right through her clothes, enough that Reimu was really wishing she had a blanket. An umbrella would just blow away in this storm. Reimu snickered at the thought of Kogasa being thrown haphazardly around in the storm.
As she continued onward, a blonde fairy drifted out of the clouds, and stopped about fifty feet from where Reimu was floating. This was one of the larger fairies, with huge wings. She often saw them carrying larger flowers, like sunflowers. This one was also carrying a flower, a large black rose, which complimented her dress quite nicely, Reimu admitted. However, she also knew larger fairies were more powerful, and tended to be annoying to take down. She reset her yin-yangs for needles, and tried to score as many hits as possible before the fairy began firing. And yet, she couldn't finish it off before bright red energy balls began radiating from her in a clockwise motion. As Reimu maneuvered between them, the fairy switched directions, this time shooting orange bullets. The danmaku kept increasing speed as it ran through the rest of the spectrum: yellow, green, blue, then violet being the fastest. Finally, the fairy gave up, and tried to fly away, leaving tattered cloth and small amounts of blood in her wake. Reimu wasn't just going to let it get away, however; she threw a handful of amulets that spread out, then closed in, all striking the fairy at the same time. The fairy dropped, as so many had prior.
Reimu didn't have to travel too far to face a very imposing wall of dark clouds. She had no doubt that beyond this was what she was trying so hard to find. The only deterrent was the amount of lightning that was surging through the wall. Before she could even begin figuring out what to do, she became aware of a figure passing through the clouds. It looked younger than her, and was clad in some sort of bluish-purple mantle to hide her body. Yet, Reimu could clearly see the ghostly tail behind her, which drifted to her left as she stopped. Behind her V-shaped visor, a bluish-purple eye and a yellow eye glinted with an almost protective malice.
As she - at least, I think it's a she... - floated into view, Reimu could see that her tail wasn't the normal pale color that ghosts and spirits often took. Instead, it was pitch black, like her very spiky hair. Her cloak parted as Reimu assumed she was reaching for something, and noticed that she was wearing violet armor, over a traditional shirt that she couldn't quite identify under the armor. From within the cloak, she drew a lead-colored sword, and pointed it towards Reimu. However, she couldn't see her arms; she only had floating hands! She regarded Reimu with silence, but her body language wasn't that of someone who would let her pass.
Reimu smirked and drew more amulets, waiting for the swordsgirl to make a move. "I can deal with silence. Just makes beating you that much faster," Reimu taunted.
The girl took the bait, and charged at Reimu, snarling. The slash was easy to dodge, and the girl tried to rush back to where she was, making herself an easy target. All of the amulets Reimu threw hit home, even though they didn't seem to phase the girl one bit. Seeing that her charge attack didn't work, she held her sword straight up, and began charging blue lightning in it. Once it glowed, Reimu knew this would be devastating if she let it hit. The girl swung her sword in a wide arc, and multiple balls of energy flew out, burning right through the clouds. She swung again, releasing more waves of energy. Reimu used this opportunity to start unleashing her own danmaku, intent on beating her quickly and moving on. The girl, however, began weaving through Reimu's shots as her sword lost its glow. Once the remaining energy faded, Reimu would have a clear shot at the spirit, and she intended to make as much use of it as possible.
The last energy orb vanished from her field of vision, and Reimu began focusing her fire onto the girl in front of her. She made few mistakes, but the ones she did make were rather...stupid, ones that Reimu knew she wouldn't have made. One needle managed to break the necklace the girl was wearing, gold with a purple jewel. It sailed below the clouds, probably never to be seen again. This angered the swordsgirl, who pointed her sword once again at Reimu. This time, a purple light gathered at the tip, and multiple purple lasers shot out, which spread out instead of moving in a straight line. Ugh...not curved lasers... From her dealings with recent youkai, Shou especially, Reimu had learned to hate curved lasers, and made sure to deal extra punishment to those who used them. Few of the lasers actually moved in her direction, but enough that she didn't feel safe sitting still. Once the laser barrage ended, Reimu looked up to see the girl charging at her again. Once she was close enough, Reimu casually sidestepped her and whacked her in the back of the head with her gohei. The girl didn't take too kindly to this, and as she backed up, her other disembodied hand drew a purple card from within her cloak. She held it and her sword aloft before softly speaking. "'Cloudbreaker'."
Reimu tilted her head. Cloudbreaker? Is that the name of the spell? As if to answer her question, the warrior slashed through the clouds around her, which transformed into bullets of myriad colors. The constant slashing of clouds quickly cleared the area, but also filled it with an avalanche of danmaku. Reimu could hardly see in front of her to fire at the girl, and had to rely on only the otherworldly sound of her sword cutting through cloud to make bullets to determine her shot. There was no set pattern to the bullets' flight, but Reimu was starting to feel comfortable dodging around them and predicting which would be threats and which wouldn't. The girl, however, would always start on the left, then slash to the right. Reimu could tell the spell was weakening, as the bullets increased in volume. To her surprise, most of the bullets only came close to her, and she didn't have to dodge nearly as much as time went on. Soon enough, the spell broke, and the girl was left floating in front of her, exhausted. "Is that it?"
The girl blinked and gave a half-smile. "You're...strong." Her voice was so soft that Reimu had to strain to hear her. She held up her sword in front of her, aiming directly at her own chest. Reimu's eyes widened, realizing the girl aimed to kill herself rather than be bested. She chuckled in response to Reimu's reaction. "But your emotions will only be your downfall. Heh heh...see ya." She stabbed herself right in the chest, but her face gave no reaction. Her skin began to darken and lose its defining features, until the cloak, armor, and sword all fell away, leaving a pitch-black mass in front of Reimu. It gathered itself into a sphere, only the size of her head, and grew multiple violet, petal-like things on its back, and an eye of the same color opened, staring blankly at Reimu. It turned and flew through the wall of clouds, never taking its eye off of Reimu. Once it was obscured, a hole opened in the clouds, leading through to a bright area. She instantly perked up at the thought of being back in warm sunlight, and shivered, remembering that she was soaked and still getting rained on.
Without any more hesitation, she flew through the gap in the clouds, and into a giant, dark grey cylinder, the sun overhead and the ocean sparkling below. Reimu took a deep breath, elated that she finally found the eye of the storm. She basked in the sun's rays, letting them warm and dry her. As she wrung out her hair and clothes, she looked around. She wasn't even halfway up the eye, but she certainly wasn't close to the ocean. It really would have taken too long to fly over the storm than go through it. She was glad she made the right choice, even though she didn't feel her best right now. As the thought crossed her mind, she sneezed, and decided it was time to continue.
She began scanning the storm for any unnatural clouds that looked darker than usual. Right in the center of the eye, a lone black cloud sat silently and completely still. "It's about damn time. I didn't fly over some random ocean, into the midst of a weird dimension, and through a freaking hurricane just to find nothing. Time to end this." She took one more moment to bask in the sunlight and to take a deep breath, and proceeded towards the cloud with fervor. Her speed slowly decreased as she realized the cloud was further away than she thought...and also a lot larger! After a few minutes she was finally within a few feet of the cloud.
Simply being near it made her head swim. She could feel emotional rollercoasters of sadness, fear, despair, hatred, and more rolling over her, enough that she had to float a short distance back or be overwhelmed. This might be harder than I thought...hmm...I could just charge in, try to barge through the clouds...but they seem so unnatural, they'll probably try to repel me somehow. What to do... She began flying slowly around the cloud, looking for anything out of the ordinary. "Come to think of it...didn't that girl mention something about a palace?" she wondered aloud.
"Oi! Who's out there?!" Now startled out of her train of thought, Reimu drew her gohei and looked around for the source of the noise. She didn't see anyone or anything but the clouds around her. "Well? Ya gonna speak up, or am I gonna have to come out there?"
"I'm here on business. Who're you?"
"Business?" Slowly, a grey cloud floated down from over the black one. With the black cloud as a background, this cloud looked almost pure white. "That doesn't really answer my question. But, whatever. Anyway..." The clouds parted, and a woman floated out, not too much taller than Reimu. "G'day. Name's Izumi Wondjina. Now that you know me, who the devil are you?"
"Reimu Hakurei. Original resident shrine maiden. Professional incident resolver. You should know why I'm here." She took the time during conversation to size Izumi up. She wore a bluish grey sleeveless dress under a rather fancy grey coat. The coat's sleeves look like they'd be hot in the summer, but she noticed the air got considerably moderate once she showed up. She wore light grey stockings that vanished under her dress, which might be considered fancy, yet indecent without them. White circles with two smaller black circles within them as if they were eyes ringed the base of her coat, looking like they had some significance. Her sky-blue eyes contrasted greatly with the grey feeling around her, and looked to have a mix of youthful vigor, wisdom of many years, and a sense of duty and caring. No doubt her light grey hair betrayed her true age, let alone her age to be determined by appearance. Yet the one detail that caught Reimu's eye the most was her headgear. Perched on top of her head, tilted slightly back, was a tornado-shaped hat, the base of its impact forming where the hat met her head. The more she looked at it, the more she was convinced the tornado was actually turning.
Izumi sighed. "Yeah, we figured you'd be comin' here." Her voice had a slight accent to it, one unfamiliar to Reimu, although she's sure she had heard it before. "Good on ya for making it through all you've gone through to get here, though. Journey's more important than the destination, eh, mate?" Reimu raised an eyebrow in response. "Ah, well, 's a pity your journey's not over yet. See, I was told to guard this place, and whip up this typhoon. Best I've ever made, too. Might almost call it a perfect storm. Much easier and more fun maintaining this than making this thing fly around." She pointed her thumb over her shoulder, regarding the black cloud.
Well, she's friendly enough. I guess that counts for something, Reimu thought to her self. "Uh, that's all fine and dandy, but I kinda need to get into that cloud. So, if you don't mind..."
Izumi held up a hand. "'Fraid I can't let you do that, mate. Ya gotta get through me first if you wanna get in. That's why I guard." She broke into a smile. "But, if you come back in a couple days, visiting hours will be from two to three PM at five hundred yen," she joked.
Reimu folded her arms and glared. "Right, and I'll be sure to wear the panda costume. No. Whatever, I'm going in." She passed Izumi, who dropped the smile and watched her pass. This'll just be too easy, Reimu thought once again. Right outside of the cloud, however, Reimu suddenly felt the hair on the back of her neck stand on end, and her intuition screamed at her to move. She jumped back just as a bolt of lightning crashed out of nowhere right where she was just floating. Or, maybe not.
"Didn't I just say you couldn't get in without going through me?" Izumi was holding what looked like a maestro's baton in her right hand, but it was more jagged near where Izumi's hand was, and it glowed brightly. "Now, you gonna step back, or will I have to try and fry ya again?"
"Well how was I supposed to know you could control lightning? I thought you were some sort of cloud youkai!" Reimu yelled, not sure why she felt so hostile.
"Well perhaps if you had listened to my name, you would know. Wondjina. I'm a storm spirit, mate. High pressure, low pressure, heat waves, cold snaps, rain, sleet, snow, and everything in between. Not very often I cause disasters anymore, but certainly not impossible."
Reimu mentally slapped a palm to her forehead. Right. Should have been able to tell by the tornado hat she had some sort of weather powers that weren't limited to just clouds. Instead, she almost got fried. She sighed at the thought of yet another fight. "I suppose now's the time I need to beat you up so I can get what I want."
Izumi smiled defiantly. "We'll see about that. Oh, and sorry, this really is no way to treat a guest, I'm just following orders. No worries, eh, mate?" She raised the baton, gripping it between her thumb and first two fingers, holding it aloft and to the side. Clouds began to gather around them, heeding the call of their controller. Once a ring of clouds formed around them, Izumi began waving the baton in a simple rhythm, one Reimu could follow easily. Since the fight hadn't started yet, Reimu decided to take an extra precaution and draw another two yin-yang orbs along with the first two, four being most she can stabilize and control at a time without them bouncing anywhere. And with nothing solid around besides possibly the black cloud and something in the ocean, those orbs would be lost if she tried that technique.
Keeping the rhythm, Izumi points to a cloud behind and to the right of Reimu. It emits a small boom of thunder, and it was then Reimu noticed she was hearing a lot of storm-like noises, but it almost sounded like an orchestra. However, she didn't get to listen for long, as the cloud shot a small stream of white feather-shaped bullets. Izumi does the same again, this time pointing her baton at another cloud directly to Reimu's left with the same result. Izumi closes her eyes and focuses for a second, her hand in the air, as if holding something, before she brings her hand down in a pulling motion. Her arms raise again, and the cacophany of storms begins anew, this time with a more vigorous tempo, and Izumi is motioning towards many different clouds, rapidly reducing Reimu's maneuvering room with rapid streams of bullets.
Without wasting any more time, Reimu set her orbs to needles, all four trained on Izumi. With that much firepower, she didn't even have to focus on throwing anything and could focus primarily on dodging. The wind was really picking up around them now, its shrill whistle complimenting the deep booms of thunder. The clouds around them slowly dispersed as Izumi reached into her jacket pocket. "Rain sign 'Downpour'!" Upon declaration, the area became darker, and many of the clouds around them turned into shapes that vaguely resembled instruments. Reimu was cut off from admiring the change of scenery as a massive gale of wind began pushing her to the side. She found that she could fight the wind and make headway, but if she stopped moving she would continue to be blown to her left. Izumi raised her baton again, and multitudes of clouds gathered behind her. She began conducting once again, and Reimu kept her eyes trained on her, even though she couldn't keep them open for too long due to the wind.
At first, it was only a few bullets, but soon there were dozens upon dozens, all flying at her from the clouds in front of her. The worst part is that they were also being blown by the wind, so the dense bullets weren't even moving in a straight line. Soon enough, actual rain also began falling, soaking Reimu once again. She rolled her eyes. "I really don't want to have to put up with this. I've had enough rain in the past hour alone, I don't need it in the middle of a fight!" She began looking around for options, when suddenly the wind shifted direction, sending Reimu hurtling to her right, unfortunately into a rain bullet, and almost into another one. She felt it strike her thigh, and yelped in pain. She quickly righted herself and began fighting the wind again and dodging. While she was maneuvering, she drew three large amulets. She was primed to throw them when she could hear the sound of the spell finally weakening. Even if it didn't hurt her that much, Reimu was angry now, and let them fly. As soon as they started their flight, the card ended, and it became instantly brighter. The rain and the rain bullets both vanished, and Reimu got to see a very surprised storm spirit take the brunt of her amulets without a spell to shield her.
There was a slight buzzing noise as the three amulets exploded, and the smoke cleared to show Izumi waving it away with her baton hand and coughing. "Really? A sneak attack right as soon as that spell ended? That just ain't fair." The smoke completely cleared, and Izumi held her baton aloft again, her other arm behind her back. "A'right then, no more Ms. Nice Wondjina. Looks like it's time to, as they say in the outside world, 'bring the rain'!" She held her other arm aloft in the same manner as the other, and Reimu noticed she was now holding another baton that looks similar to the first one. She brought them both down at the same time, and a bolt of lightning arced behind her.
Reimu now realized her mistake, as now Izumi began pelting the area with yellow bullets, occasionally puncturing it with a lightning strike. Now Reimu had to especially keep on her toes, or one bolt of lightning would probably take her out of the sky. She noticed that a bolt would only be coming at her if she felt her hair stand on end, like earlier in front of the black cloud, which she now noticed was directly behind Izumi. She knew she wouldn't be able to just barge past her, so she had to keep fighting. As time went on, Reimu could feel the air also getting colder. If this meant anything like it did before her first spell, then her next one will have to do with the cold. Just as her teeth began chattering, Izumi drew another spellcard, holding it and a baton in one hand. "Maestro's Tempo 'Thunderous Whiteout in 6/4'!"
Reimu had no idea what '6/4' meant, but she braced herself for whatever might come her way. She felt the wind begin blowing again, making the cold air combined with her damp clothing even colder. She resumed fighting the wind, resetting her orbs to homing amulets so she knew all of her shots would hit. Izumi gestured for what should be the first beat, and two lightning bolts crashed to Reimu's sides. She swung her arms out sideways, and two bolts came in from the sides. She did this once more out, then twice in, the lightning changing position slightly, just enough that Reimu couldn't sit still if she tried. She then raised her arms, and two more bolts arced in from behind her, once again walling her in. She knew she had a definite box, but it would be too easy if it were just this...
As she thought this, she felt something cold land on her nose before dropping down the front of it. She risked looking up, and saw snowflakes begin falling. "Oh come on! It's summertime!" she exasperatedly yelled. As she yelled, small white danmaku began fluttering from Izumi's position, and it too was being blown by the wind. It was a lot slower than the rain from earlier, but with the limited space she had, she really had to keep her eyes out, especially after a flash ignites in front of her. Temporary blindness in a danmaku battle will only resolve poorly for the blind one...unless you're fighting Mystia.
Izumi, now in a trance, couldn't even see how her attack was faring or how weak her spell could be getting. All she could do was keep the snow falling, perhaps she could chill the shrine maiden out of trying to attack them. She took a risk and broke her concentration slightly to see how she was faring, and nearly gasped and lost all concentration. Her spell shield was draining rapidly, and Reimu didn't even look scratched from the constant attack. In fact, she was counter attacking by throwing amulets to speed up the process. Within seconds, her attack was shut down, and the temperature quickly rose back closer to room temperature. Before she could even ask how Reimu didn't even get hit, a stray amulet struck her hand, causing one of her batons to start falling towards the ocean. "Oh, shit! No no no no no no no!" she yelled as she frantically dove after it.
Reimu smirked as she saw an amulet hit Izumi's hand and force her to drop one of her lightning-causing batons. She watched it fall for a few seconds before registering that Izumi was diving after it. She followed, trying to reach the baton first.
The Wondjina began creating warm updrafts to slow the descent of her precious baton, simultaneously creating a tailwind to help her move faster. She was muttering to herself out of concern, and didn't notice Reimu rapidly catching up to her. She reached her arm out, and grasped the point of the baton, and another hand caught the grip of the wand. "Hey! Let go!"
Reimu shook her head, both of them still falling, and now trying to pull it out of the other's hold. "No way!" she yelled back.
Izumi shrugged. "Suit yourself." Reimu's eyes narrowed suspiciously, before she felt her hand start to tingle. It quickly escalated and spread through her body until she could hear a slight crackling in her ears. She felt like every part of her was being stabbed with a needle by an amateur acupuncturist. Her vision swam and she started making strange sounds, made stranger by her teeth chattering again. She desperately wanted to let go, but her hand wouldn't listen to her. As fast as it started, the sensation ceased, and Reimu could finally let go. Her entire body was still tingling uncomfortably, and she was having problems staying afloat, let alone focused. Soon her head started to clear, and then she noticed a cool rain was falling on her, reviving her senses and fixing her now frazzled hair.
The two managed a ceasefire until they resumed their positions at the cloud. "What, are you trying to kill me? You've got lightning flying everywhere and you're electrocuting me with that baton, and I'll probably get hypothermia or pneumonia from the cold and damp."
"Oh, relax. The lightning's just really convincing danmaku. And I wouldn't just kill ya, unless I had good reason. With how dirty you've been fightin', though, I feel as though a bit of pain is justified."
"And what's the big deal with getting me soaking wet with all of this rain?"
"You're implying I wouldn't have dried you off after the battle. Weather ain't just rain, mate."
"Fair enough." They finally resumed their original positions. Reimu cracked her neck and sighed. "Alright, now where were we?"
Izumi cleared her throat, and reached into her other jacket pocket. "Like I said, weather ain't just rain." The air suddenly began heating up, and the sun's rays grew intense. "Heat Wave 'Parched Earth'!"
The air almost immediately distorted from the sheer heat, and Reimu could feel it permeate through her damp clothing, drying it rapidly. She reset her yin-yang orbs to needles again, and kept her eyes trained on Izumi for what she would throw at her. Instead, she felt a strong blast of heat at her back, and then a half-circle of red energy orbs flew past her, her in a very fortunate gap between in the pattern. She turned, and saw a sphere of condensed heat, which radiated bright red bullets consistently. She turned back to Izumi to see her conducting again, and wondered how she didn't get tired or sweaty from this attack. She wiped her forehead, and moved slightly between two more bullets. This is too easy...what's she got pla- her thoughts were cut off as a stream of arrowhead-shaped bullets, ranging chromatically from red to yellow, like a ray of sunshine turned into danmaku, just like the beach girl from earlier...
She maneuvered again through a wave, and turned to confirm her suspicions. From the sun above them, bright rays of danmaku were streaming down, adding to not only the brightness of the attack, but the difficulty and heat of it too. The angles of sunlight would block some paths through the heat wave behind her, so now she was assaulted on two sides. The heat waves were easy enough to slip through after a certain point, but the random rays of sunlight made dodging while maintaining accurate fire difficult. Two rays intersected right in front of Reimu, pinning her in place, and a bullet from a heat wave was moving in to strike. She began feeling around for spell cards, even the one Yukari gave her, which she had forgotten about until now. She couldn't find any in time, as the ball of energy slammed into her back. The blow combined with the oppressive heat forced her to stagger for a bit. The other blows she'd taken merely grazed too close and lightly hit; this one was direct, and she was foolish enough to just sit there and get hit.
All of the bullets cleared, and Izumi looked on as Reimu tried to steady herself. "Ya all good? I can only hold off the danmaku for so long, you know." Reimu nodded, still hunched over slightly. She cracked her back, and Izumi nodded in return. "Right." The wave and streams of sunlight began anew, then disappeared right away. Confused, Izumi looked down at the spell card, which was a dull grey and orange, instead of its former vibrant colors, an obvious indicator that the magic in the card had run out. "Huh. Not every day someone times one of these out." She put it back in her pocket. "What 'bout you?"
Although the heat had cleared, Reimu still ached from getting hit, and she could feel the sweat all over her body. "I actually preferred the rain. At least being damp from rain didn't make me feel...so...ew." She wiped more sweat from her brow, secretly grateful her sleeves were detached.
Izumi grinned. "Well, I hope you've enjoyed my little show. But now, " she drew another card, this one a multitude of colors. "It's time for the grand finale! Extreme Weather 'Perfect Storm'!"
As she declared it, Reimu could have sworn she saw Izumi's eyes glow a bright blue. Even more dramatic than before, Izumi raised her batons, and a swirling mass of clouds gathered above them, the sun gleaming in the eye of this miniature storm. The storm spirit once again resumed conducting, and Reimu instantly had to jump out of the way of a small lightning bolt. She didn't have much time to start shooting needles again, as all hell broke loose in the cloud. Alternating waves of heat and cold brought with them rain and snow bullets, the sun also shooting rays of sunlight again. Reimu almost panicked as a wall of dense danmaku fell almost right on top of her, and only with a short zig-zagging motion did she manage to escape it.
The wind, now switching directions rapidly, at least helped Reimu cool off before she began frantically diving to escape lightning and sun rays and all sorts of weather. Izumi was staring blankly ahead as the weather kept wreaking havoc in front of her, yet her motions for which weather phenomenon should attack next were flawless and completely in beat. At her command, the rain began taking on the shape of music notes, the sun rays began appearing like quarter rests, even the wind began to flow in currents not unlike a music staff. The sky was her orchestra, and she was its master.
Again, Reimu would have been left gawking at this display if only the bullets weren't aimed at her. There were so many ways this attack could be easier, but she was already in the thick of it, and had no choice but to deal with it or risk getting herself hurt. She pushed against the wind and narrowly dodged a bolt of lightning, yet by doing so cornered herself between two small snow-like bullets, the only bullets to have not changed into something that resembled music, not counting the lightning. She rose, both bullets scraping her shoes as she slipped between them. She felt surrounded, and then remembered she never reset her orbs. She didn't know why they automatically shut off after a spell or simple danmaku attack, probably as a defense mechanism so they didn't keep attacking after the battle had been won. Decisive victory is one thing; overkill is something to be expected of weak youkai.
She ducked under another ray of sunlight and practically had to dance around the music rain. As she switched her orbs back on in a slower zone, she suddenly heard a "Hold still!" from Izumi. The temperature rapidly decreased, leaving Reimu shivering. This also solidified the rain into hail, which fell much faster, and the slow snowflake bullets all but vanished. She trained her orbs on Izumi's position, then flew out of the way of another bolt of lightning. She would be able to dodge most of this attack easily, even with the wind, if it weren't for that lightning.
Although Reimu didn't even hear the spell shield break, all of the bullets in the area disappeared, leaving only Izumi and Reimu. The spirit looked around worried, then turned her attention back to Reimu. This time, her eyes were glowing bright blue as she glared at the shrine maiden. She spread her arms to her sides, and a great tornado began roaring around them, filled with danmaku, severely limiting Reimu's safe areas. She began conducting violently, and the full fury of the storm around them was unleashed, every kind of weather imaginable roaring around them.
Reimu then noticed how most of the densest bullets were spawning further from Izumi this time. There were almost no bullets around her. Although it was sort of underhanded, she did have an idea on how to end this. After she twirled out of the way of the next lightning bolt, she charged forward. Izumi began dropping the bullets in a way to try and block Reimu's advance, trying to predict where she would be. As she approached, the sound of the spell weakening to its breaking point could be heard. Perfect.
Lightning arced behind Izumi and thunder pealed around her, giving her a menacing appearance as her arms flailed to keep the storm matched with her. Two bolts flew from her batons, mixing into one large bolt as Reimu got too close.
She almost expected this, and threw a large amulet up as a shield. It didn't hold, but it gave Reimu enough time to lunge over the bolt, crossing her right arm over to her left side as she did so. She got into point-blank range of Izumi, where she could easily cast one more lightning bolt and be done with the battle. Her batons were already crackling with another burst, but before she could even try to throw the bolts, Reimu brought her hand holding her gohei back across with a resounding thwok.
The card instantly broke, and Izumi was hovering, doubled over, with more battle damage than Reimu noticed earlier. She turned back around, showing large red marks on her face. "Did...did you just try to bludgeon me with that thing?!"
"It may seem like it, but I actually didn't. I can use my gohei to shoot danmaku that, at that range, could probably end most spell card durations in one hit. The main problem is getting close enough so they won't be able to dodge or counterattack."
"I see...right. I was too focused on my card to try and maneuver around your attack." Despite the small tears in her eyes, she began smiling. The smile turned to laughter, until Reimu couldn't help but start smiling too. "I haven't had that much fun in a long time!"
"I thought you said manipulating this storm was fun, though?"
"Well, yeah, but that's as far as a bunch of clouds go. I mean getting into some sort of brawl and then losing, of all things! Well, against someone I figured I might stand a chance against."
Reimu's expression shifted to a puzzled one. "Huh? What do you mean by that?"
Izumi shook her head. "Oh no no, nothing against you, mate. It's just that...well, I seem to be too predictable for the others in the palace. Whenever we spar, it usually winds up with me losing, but that has helped me lose gracefully, I think." She looked down at her batons, one of which was broken on the end. "Gonna have to get this repaired..."
"So, just what is this palace? First the girl in that dark, misty place accidentally said something about it, now you. So what's up with it?"
"Well, figuring as you're already here, and I bet you want to get in, why keep secrets anymore. The cloud itself is a front. Just a disguise. Inside of it is a palace, where we began our...erm..."
"Assault on Gensokyo?" Reimu finished sardonically.
"That sounds a bit harsh, but...for lack of a better term, yes. Of course, I was necessary to provide the cloud-like disguise, but it was blackened by that substance you've run into numerous times now."
"Substance?"
"Yeah, the black blobs with the single eyes that fly around and shoot lightning. She calls them "Dark Matter". Basically living darkness. No one knows how she makes them come alive, or how she keeps them on such a tight leash. She's probably listening to our conversation right now using those things."
"Uh...alright. So, you said you were guarding here. Since I beat you, you should probably unlock the door and let me in."
"Well...funny thing about that, right there." She began scratching the back of her head, looking guilty. "I sorta...dropped the key while I was scouting about. The door was unlocked all this time. That's why I was so eager to go into combat. Believe me, ordinarily, I'm not this violent. If anything, I want to help others. I've grown up from my days causing inclement weather when I was in a foul mood. Catching people off-guard with a typhoon in the dry season, for instance. Maybe instead, I could teach people how to better prepare themselves in case of such an event." The two were approaching the black cloud by this point in the conversation, and slowed down.
Reimu almost felt bad for the Wondjina. A good twenty lightning bolts away from almost. "Well, nothing's going to stop you from teaching, as long as you're not going to use it as a diversion to eat humans."
Izumi was taken aback. "I don't know who you think I am, but I don't even like the taste of flesh, mate! Sure, I've tried human. Never liked it. I'll be perfectly under control."
Reimu nodded and grinned. "In that case, just don't go doing anything to get me angry - or the other resident teacher of Gensokyo, for that matter. Unless you like having your skull feel like it's shattered for a week."
Izumi raised an eyebrow. "Not sure what you mean, but alright. Well, you should probably get a move on, since I'm sure you're dying to fix this incident and go home."
The thought of home, solid ground, and a nice, warm cup of tea reminded the miko that she had a job to do. She solemnly nodded, Izumi returning it with a soft, yet almost sad smile. She's not that bad after all. Maybe a bit talkative, but she means well. Probably the friendliest person I've seen today.
Izumi lifted the baton that wasn't broken, and a hole appeared in the clouds, showing nothing but darkness, with what looked like the glint of a large, probably heavy gate at the front of a stone wall. The two silently flew into the hole, approaching the gate. As they reached it, Reimu turned back around. "Say, when you brought up that 'Dark Matter' or whatever, you kept referencing a 'she'. Just who are we talking about?"
Izumi grasped the cold iron ring attached to the door, and began pulling it open. As soon as it was a large enough opening for Reimu, she stopped and peered around the door. "I thought you'd have figured it out by now. 'She' is the one known as a hollow angel, the one in charge of Gensokyo's new reign of despair, Jozero Kubomitenshi."
So I've been lurking the forums again, but enough about me.
Caught up with this story and I'd have to say I enjoyed it a lot! Especially the party scene, that was entertaining. Props to you, Sock, for writing it!
ooh boy! Extra boss time!
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Chapter 11
Girl of the Unlimited Void
Reimu gazed at the horizon, the sun slowly shrinking to the west. "Well, the invitation said to 'wait until sunset', so here I am. This is the correct night...I hope she didn't forget." As she pondered aloud, the sun continued to fall until only a sliver remained. As it too set, she turned to face the palace once more. As she watched, starting at the highest point travelling down, torches were lit, illuminating the castle. If anything, it seemed to be a convenience, since the walls were dark anyway. However, with the torches there, someone flying around without being able to see would be able to tell the difference between the torches and empty air, and could avoid hitting it. "So, is the door going to automatically open, or what?"
The air started to get chilled, and Reimu was beginning to get frustrated waiting. As the last ray of daylight faded, she felt something odd emanate from the palace itself. Before her eyes, each flame shifted from the comforting, familiar orange to a sickly, unnerving bright green. "Okay...that's unusual. It's probably a trick being played by a fairy or one of her Dark Matter things. I'm just wondering what's taking so long to let me in-"
As if she spoke some secret phrase, the main door slowly creaked open for her. She cautiously stepped in, surprised to see the exact opposite of what happened the first time she arrived. This time, the main hall was filled with fairy maids performing a wide variety of different tasks, every door was open, and the noise was stifling. Reimu wandered in, taking in the sight of so many busy fairies, even having to dodge a few as they darted about, until a familiar face blocked her path. "Oh, hey, it's you. From before," she said, addressing the red-haired, red-eyed fairy she met when she first entered the palace.
"No! Nonononono! You, Red-white, leave! Now! We don't have time for your antics! We are beyond busy!" she spurted, trying her hardest to push Reimu back towards the door. "No time for visitors! Go home!"
"What does that mean?"
"It's not important, just go!" she yelled, tugging at Reimu's shirt collar to try and pull her back out of the door. It looked like she was straining herself, almost.
"Calm down, calm down. Who're you to give me orders anyway?"
"The chief fairy maid, duh! Now I don't have time to deal with you..."
"Chief maid, eh?" Reimu mused, ignoring the fairy's diatribe. "Huh. Sakuya would have a fit if she found out fairies were operating practically by themselves..." She noted a group of them carrying a bag that looked to be near overflowing with garbage, one below it to keep it from ripping, and three above simply to hoist it. "...let alone efficiently."
"...so if you wouldn't mind just leaving before I have to go report this to the mistress and waste time, that would be great." she finished, still trying to move the shrine maiden.
"Oh, speaking of which, I actually have an invitation that says I can be here." She yanked out the envelope for emphasis. "I don't think you want to anger your superiors by not allowing me in, do you~?"
The fairy paused, floating up to Reimu's eye level. By now, a small crowd of maids began assembling around the two, none daring to move. "I-Invitation? Let me see tha-"
Reimu snapped the envelope shut, pulling it out of the fairy's reach, shaking her finger. "Ah-ah-ah, no touching the invitation. Just let me through and everything will be fine."
The chief maid's face began turning red as she grit her teeth. "No! We were given explicit orders to not let a single person in here tonight! DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!" she screamed, causing Reimu to take a step back. "Now get out!" she finished, pointing a finger at the door and panting.
The shrine maiden turned to the door, then back to the maid. Crossing her arms, she said simply "No."
Yelling in fury, the maid took to the air and threw a large cloud of danmaku, larger than Reimu would have thought remotely possible, even for a clearly high-ranking fairy. "Everyone! New orders! End this girl!! Defense protocol Epsilon-7 X!" she shouted, and all of the fairies quickly finished whatever task they were doing and began shutting doors and taking positions down the hallway.
"Well, missy, you picked the wrong day to mess with me! I've beaten your fairies before, and I'll do it again!" Reimu taunted, drawing her gohei and summoning two yin-yang familiars.
With another shriek, the maid charged, a large gust of wind following her, pushing Reimu back slightly, and she began shooting columns of tiny white bullets. Reimu effortlessly weaved between them, retaliating with homing amulets, a determined grin upon her face. The wind stopped, and the fairy maid stopped her charge. She made a swirl-like motion with her hands, and the wind began flying in the opposite direction, focused on her. Reimu floated lazily to the left as a small bullet managed to clip her hair, and she realized the bullets from before were now flying in from behind her. The gusts stopped, and the fairy was bracing to rush forward again, but Reimu stopped her in her tracks with a few well-thrown pink talismans.
The maid dropped to the ground, twitching slightly, as Reimu shook her head. "Don't you people do anything except for flanking attacks?" she asked idly, not expecting an answer. Without another word, she proceeded further, at a faster rate than before.
Entire formations of fairy maids were flying between the columns in the hall, making themselves easy targets when they tried to attack. However, Reimu soon discovered that each new fairy was tougher than the last, even though they all shot the same pattern of danmaku, five simple streams of ordinary bullets aimed at random angles. She soon found herself almost in a crossfire, so she retreated, keeping the bullets close, but not uncomfortably. As the last maid flew off, two larger maids dropped from the ceiling, unleashing vortexes of multicolored kunai bullets. A third flew from behind a column and assisted by creating rings of energy spheres, rotating in alternate directions. She would have had no problem with the kunai, even if they were fast, but the new fairy made the danmaku much harder to predict. "Spirit sign 'Fantasy Seal -Spread-'!" Reimu declared, now irritated. Large, multicolored orbs sprang from her person, the largest luckily falling over the fairies. As the spheres detonated, they took the fairies with them.
"Damn, I'm going to need to ration these...this is usually the point where I don't have much time to recharge these myself." she muttered, looking at the now powered-down card in her hand before pocketing it again. She proceeded onward, felling fairies before they even had time to fire their danmaku. "This is just too easy...weird. Oh hey, this is where I fought Jozero..." She looked around at the clean hall, recognizing a shred of a sleeve against the wall. She gazed at the columns, and noticed not a single one looked scratched. "That's strange...I wouldn't think they'd be completely repaired, especially since she tore out a chunk of one to throw at me. Yet they look as if they haven't been touched...but then why wasn't the sleeve picked up?" She walked over to it, and recognized it as her own sleeve, not Jozero's. It looked beyond repair, nearly split right down the middle in several places, and the rest was simply tatters. "That explains why this didn't vanish when she came back. But not why it's still here..."
She grabbed the sleeve, sure she could use it for something, before proceeding further. As she kept walking, it occurred to her that the wall that was previously here was gone now, as was the deathly chill in the air. She looked to the walls where there was a break in the columns, and saw lines on the doors faintly glow green for a short time before dimming again. She floated closer, and could see the hinges on the sides nearest the wall, and further inspection revealed a hand-shaped depression in the center of the door. She put her hand to it, but it was obviously meant for someone else's. Shrugging, she went back to the center of the hall and kept walking.
As she walked, she suddenly became aware of footsteps echoing down the hall. She stopped, and soon after she did, the other noise stopped as well. Something's not right... She tried to take another step forward, but as she did, a sword fell directly in front of her foot, blocking her path. She drew her gohei and looked around, finally seeing Tearfang descend in front of her. She landed softly, and with a motion willed the sword out of existence. "Ah, Tearfang. Hasn't anyone told you not to randomly attack guests?"
"You are no guest here tonight, Hakurei. I demand you leave this instant. That threshold was one you should not have passed." Although she was already in a fighting stance, Reimu could notice her breathing harder than usual, as if she had to run to get there to stop her. "You have one chance. Turn and leave, or this will be unfortunate."
"You people sure know how to roll out the welcome wagon. But sure, why the hell not," she said, summoning another two familiars to aid her. "I still owe you something for not only actually hitting me in the Ingress, but for cutting the party early. You need to relax more."
"Rest is for the weak," she retorted, a shadow falling on her face as she drew her sleeve-blades. "If you won't leave, I'll cut you down and shovel your remains out of the window for the mushroom youkai!"
"Fat chance!" she challenged, before Tearfang charged her, blade poised to strike. Reimu easily sidestepped it, and smashed one of her familiars into Tearfang, pushing her back into a column. She sprang up the column, readying multiple illusionary swords, and charged again. This time, each blade ground against Reimu's familiars, and she tried to punch Reimu, without her sleeve-blades. The shrine maiden caught the punch, and the other, and the two remained deadlocked, staring daggers at each other. Reimu broke her glare first, replacing it with a confident smile. "Dream sign 'Duplex Barrier'!"
Tearfang's eyes widened as two interlocking, bright red square barriers emanated from Reimu, trapping her inside and shattering her swords. Besides the shock of her illusions being destroyed, now she was being bathed in pure barrier danmaku. The barrier didn't last long, but Tearfang was thrown across the hall as a result. She rose back into the air, creating a spellcard, and plunging the hall into her illusionary world again. "Curse 'Cycle of Death'!"
She thrust her hand forward, and a wall of sword bullets appeared and began falling towards Reimu. The gaps in the danmaku were obvious, but Tearfang threw another, different wave at her. As she began weaving through the second wave, she saw the first wave appear behind her again and proceed at a quicker rate than the first time. Oh great, it's one of those spells that keeps going until the danmaku runs out of power... Deciding to go on the defensive, Reimu brought all of her yin-yangs closer to herself, and only made miniscule movements, a skill she developed that helps for these types of spells where sudden action is not needed.
The walls never became a thick cloud, and the spell broke easily. Tearfang snarled, drawing another spellcard and three illusion swords. "Nightmare 'Death's Delusion'!" She waved one of her arms, raising her other upward, as the three swords took position around Reimu. She brought her arm down, and the three swords flew on a direct course toward Reimu, who refused to budge. This looks just like that other card she used. I bet I won't feel a thi- Her thoughts were cut short by a sharp pain in her abdomen. She looked down to see the three swords lodged within her, and her vision began thinning. Wh- what?! No! This is against the rules of danmaku... Eventually, her vision faded to black, and she began to feel light-headed. It..It can't end like this...wait, how can I even keep focusing on my own thoughts like this if I'm dying...?
Cautiously, she opened one eye, and only saw an illusional slash running through her. She breathed a sigh of relief, still feeling her arms trembling; it truly felt like she was about to die. The three trails moved out of her and began rotating at incredible speeds around her, releasing random barrages of bullets, as Tearfang's swords began shooting other sword bullets into the mix.
Effectively trapped, Reimu relied on her intuition to tell her when to move, and focused entirely on ending this card. The bullets were forming thick clouds around her, and she was finding space very limited. Seeing a sword puncture through a wall of bullets near where she just was, she threw two larger amulets, hoping they could end the card. As she heard them make contact, the slashing trails and all bullets instantly vanished, and Reimu got to see Tearfang's three swords explode, just like back in the Ingress. However, unlike last time, Tearfang only clutched her stomach momentarily, before getting back up and glaring angrily at her. "Why won't you just leave already?!" she yelled, drawing one last spell. "Legendary Sword 'Divine Protection'!"
As the card faded, a sphere of bright blue energy formed around her. Two copies of Tearfang flew from it, taking positions closer to Reimu. Wordlessly, they both created a blue sphere, which quickly began shooting bullets of the same color at a very rapid rate. She had no idea which copy was correct, so she divided her focus between the two. They remained stationary, but Reimu had to keep moving to avoid the incessant flood of danmaku, constantly looking between the two for which bullets have the possibility of striking her. The periodic flashes the copies gave off didn't help, either. Ducking between two bullets trying to converge on her, another flash was given off as she looked directly at the Tearfang on her left. Blinking a few times to regain her vision, she didn't see one stray bullet soar into her abdomen, knocking her back a few meters. Ignoring the stinging sensation, she readied four amulets in each hand, throwing them at either copy.
They struck directly, but the bullets were still flowing strong. Soon enough, however, Reimu could hear the spell weakening, and the bullets began turning red and flying even faster. Narrowly flipping over a small cluster of bullets, the card broke, and the two Tearfangs were thrust back into one body. Without skipping a beat, the sword girl flew towards the shrine maiden, her fist clenched and a blade drawn, screaming in a murderous fury. Unlike the first time, Reimu readied herself. I really hate to do this...but if there is one thing I know that can stop anything, and this really does need to stop... As she neared her quarry, Reimu ducked slightly to the side, more in line with the front of Tearfang's body. She batted Tearfang's arm away, and brought her leg upwards, striking directly into the sword girl's groin.
Feeling a mixture of satisfaction and pity, she watched Tearfang's expression change dramatically as she plummeted to the ground, curled up in pain. She slowly rose to her elbows, her arms trembling, before turning herself to look with a tear-strewn, malicious gaze at the shrine maiden. "How...cruel..." was all she could muster before turning into a ball of white light and flying further ahead.
"Huh. Good to know that it works. But still, it does make me feel bad that I had to resort to that... no one likes getting kicked down there." Suddenly feeling self-conscious, Reimu shivered the feeling away and focused on proceeding down the much larger hall. Fairies had more time to get to advantageous positions, but that meant they also were exposed for longer. Dark Matter also began peppering the air, acting more like sentries than malevolent creatures.
As she proceeded, she began to see a bright green light emanating from up ahead. The columns of fairies intensified, until the last ones fell. For a short distance, none challenged her, and she soon arrived at the end of the hall. Landing, she couldn't help but give an appreciative whistle, standing a good thirty meters from the bottom stair in a series of steps leading up to a jet-black throne. At what would have been the height of what she guessed the top of her shrine would be floated a bright green gem, slowly rotating in a slight indentation in the wall, several other crystals floating about in similar sconces. The similarity of these crystals' colors to the flames of the torches was both uncanny and eerie. The wall around the throne was decorated with strange symbols and figures, most of which looked to be in battle. But what was probably the most unnerving detail of all was that the main throne, black as obsidian...was empty. "Really? No, I mean...really?! All of this build-up, and no-one's even here to meet me?"
As if on cue, a white ball of light emerged from above, changing into the form of an absolutely livid Tearfang once again. "Shrine maiden, I tell you once more; leave this place now, you are not welcome!"
"Aww, here for another beating? C'mon, I'm two for two, so maybe third time's the charm~!"
"First of all, that last battle ended dishonorably. What you did was very close to cheating. I could have easily tried that on you when we first met. I could have tried it on you back there. And yet you were the first to strike. You should be ashamed to call yourself anything close to a fighter."
"I don't fight youkai for sport, I beat them up for sport. I just wanted to go further, but you really don't like giving up until you can't move."
"Second," she continued, ignoring her adversary. "It truly is important that you leave. You don't know what you're getting yourself into. I'm trying to drive you away for your own protection."
Reimu's challenging smirk slowly dropped as her eyes narrowed. "For my own protection? From what?"
"I...I can't tell you. Just trust me, you need to leave immedia-"
"Tearfang, what is going on?"
The sudden intrusion of a third voice startled Reimu, but not nearly as badly as Tearfang, who froze in place, her face turning from an almost pleading anger to fear. For a while, no one said anything. "Well? I'm waiting, Tearfang." The voice came from behind Tearfang, and to the left, close to a door. Near it was a young woman, from the silhouette Reimu could see through the darkness. "...That is an order, Tearfang."
Shuddering back into reality, Tearfang looked once more at the shrine maiden, uttering a "Leave now...please!" before marching to the silhouette. Unable to hear their conversation, Reimu took note of as much as possible of the girl. From her neck down, she looked like a cylinder with a dome on top, interrupted by one arm poking out, holding a mug of something steaming. Her hair looked medium-length, flowing around her shoulders. Wavy. A pair of green, seemingly glowing eyes were set annoyed in the figure's face. The figure sighed and shook her head, then spoke something to Tearfang, motioning her head back towards the throne. Although Tearfang at first resisted, a stern glare set the sword girl to the left side of the throne, where she stood at attention, arms behind her back. She gave one final pleading glance to the shrine maiden as the figure slowly approached the throne, setting the mug down on its arm.
"I must apologize for Tearfang's behavior. She was acting out of orders." She turned to look disapprovingly of the silver-haired girl, who shrank away slightly. "Isn't that right?"
"Y-yes, Mistress..."
"Mistress? You mean this isn't Jozero's castle?"
The woman chuckled, bringing one arm up from her shroud to her mouth. "Oh heavens no. This palace is mine. Allow me to introduce myself. I am known as Constance Adumbrate, or among my people as the Grand Shadow Princess, daughter of the Emperor of a similar title. And this is my home away from home, Citadel Adumbrate. Excuse me for a second while I make myself a bit more comfortable..." She flared her shroud, which turned out to be a large cape, outward, revealing her true appearance as she sat nonchalantly on the throne behind her. The cape's inside was the same bright green as the crytals, the flames...and the girl's odd, detailless eyes, even. She was dressed in a manner that could be called casually regal, a lighter grey than the pure shadow that seemed to cling to her face and exposed limbs. A devilish smile on her lips, she crossed her legs and leaned on the same arm of the throne as her drink. "You know, I had a much more...dramatic introduction planned, but because Tearfang did not follow my commands, it was all for naught as I was retrieving myself some coffee when you arrived. Oh well, not everything goes as planned, I suppose."
"Wait, you're royalty? Great...as if we need any more princesses around here..."
"Oh? Other princesses...you mean the vampire who acts as spoiled as one and the one from the Moon? Well, it could be worse, I suppose. After all, there could be more. However, I doubt any of their abilities compare to mine," she said, bringing the mug up to take a drink from it without actually moving her arms.
"Also, what are you? Some sort of talking silhouette?"
Unamused, Constance set down her drink, and snapped her fingers. Slowly, the shadowy skin on her body began shifting to a paler color, changing to an almost perfect flesh color. Her eyes even gained normal details instead of being a solid color. However, two bands encompassing her wrists and most of her forearms, not to mention most of her legs and feet, remained pitch-black. "Better? And to answer your question, I am what other species call a Shadowed. Powerful creatures of darkness who inhabit a far-off world in a parallel dimension to the one outside of this pocket dimension Gensokyo sits in. Would you believe most people I tell that to don't normally believe me the first time? Some people even had the gall to roll their eyes at me."
"Yes, it is better. As for what you are, well...Gensokyo has some weird youkai, but if what you say is true, you might take the cake. Then again, Jozero's story might compare in interest level...speaking of which, where is she?"
"Jozero? She's probably resting in her room. Why, may I ask?"
"Sleeping? Tch...she was the one who invited me to come here in the first place."
"She is the one who let you intrude? Hmm...but why tonight, she knows what's going to happen..." The princess closed her eyes and shook her head, sighing. "Oh, Zerotsu...what am I going to do with you..."
"Yeah, I am curious, what is this big mystery eve- Zerotsu?"
"Yes, Zerotsu. The first time she signed her name, I saw it written as a zero and a two, so I figured her name was Zerotsu. She's been correcting me ever since. It's adorable, really."
"Right...so what is supposed to be happening tonight? It's a New Moon, so any magical stuff is going to be hampered."
"Did I not tell you? My race is composed of shadows. As such, we draw power from them. This night is supposed to be a moonless, starless midnight, and that hour approaches fast. I shall be at my strongest, and none shall be able to stand against me!"
Reimu took a step forward, her hand adjusting its grip on her gohei. "'None shall stand against you'? I personally don't like the sound of that. It sounds like you're up to something."
Constance turned her gaze downward, shifting her position to appear more imposing, her grin widening, revealing many stark white fang-like teeth. "You mean you haven't figured it out yet? My palace being a base of operations, the door to here being sealed, Jozero failing in her mission to create strife in Gensokyo, the palace's floating out to sea...how do you think my cohorts managed to get here to Gensokyo anyway, let alone an entire chunk of what you call the 'outside world's' ocean?" Reimu's face lit up as she began connecting the dots. "Yes, Reimu. The one responsible for Gensokyo's new slice of sea, the wave of depression, and almost subjecting the land to a perfect storm...is none other than I. And that was merely the beginning! Tonight, what I have been waiting for will finally occur...at the peak of my power, I will rend a hole to the Ingress right through the weakened dimensional fabric of Gensokyo - you didn't think all of these breaking-into's and breaking-out of's that the past few incidents have been wouldn't be detrimental to Gensokyo, did you? - and I shall conquer this land in my name!"
"Okay, you're going a bit far, there. Normally people who want to start incidents have small reasons for it that blow out of proportion. Yours, however, are almost frighteningly in proportion. Everything's too carefully planned out. The last incident with this sort of drastic outcome was from that insane birdbrain in the Hell of Blazing Fires. I almost wish I was sorry, but I have to take you down now. Unless you just want to give up and leave, save yourself the trouble."
The Shadowed girl could only laugh as she rose from her throne, lifting slightly into the air, her cape fluttering behind her. "I sense a challenge from you, shrine maiden. I already know of your formidable strength with dealing with youkai. However, I am no youkai...in fact, I go so far as to eliminate them for their generalization I suppose I technically fall under."
"Eliminate? Oh!" She snapped her fingers, a moment of realization cutting through the tension. "That's right, there was supposedly a youkai hunter who lived around here. That's not..."
"Me? It is, indeed. I tried human once. I didn't like it. I accidentally killed a youkai masquerading as a human and didn't realize it until after the first bite. However, one bite got me hooked. The best part is, each youkai has a unique flavor. No two I've tried have tasted the same, even prepared the exact same ways. If you'd like, I could perhaps share a recipe or two, between fellow hunters."
"Okay, no. I find youkai annoying as much as the next guy, but you can't just go around killing them!"
"And why not? It's not like I pick off important ones. I just go after the ones who infest pathways and general nuisances. Some humans have even hired me to take out a youkai or two. Not personally, but a note to the Youkai Hunter can be a sigh of relief for them later. I'm doing a service to Gensokyo and its human population. Publicity is key to a political victory. Youkai will fall under my sway in time, but the humans who will pass down legends before the elder youkai pass on are what I will live on through."
"The balance between youkai and human is very...precarious, I guess. So now I have to beat you for threatening Gensokyo's natural order in multiple ways. I'd rather not have to, but it's getting rapidly to the point where I must!"
Constance shook her head, her smile still present. "If you so insist. I don't intend to go easy...but I have already devoted so much of my power into this scheme already. I should still have enough to eliminate you, though, and have plenty to spare. Now..." She extended her hands to her sides, and orbs of darkness enveloped them. From the shadows in her left hand, a long, silvery blade formed, and from her right, four glowing orbs in a pyramid shape, the three below being red, yellow, and blue, while the top one is green, took shape, connected by small beams of light matching the color of at least one orb. The three that made the base orbited her wrist, while the green one floated over her hand, which looked like it was holding it delicately. The sword looked far too large for her to hold with one hand, yet she seemed to hold it effortlessly. "Tearfang, if you would..."
"Yes, Lady Constance." was her only reply, as she jumped into the air, forming into a ball of light again, before flying into the blade itself, making it glow a sickly, dull metallic color.
"I should give a brief explanation before we begin. This," she said, hoisting the sword, "is Tearfang's true form, the sword which is her namesake. From this cursed blade, the youkai sword spirit was born upon my first entrance into Gensokyo. She has been my servant since, even more than just as a sword. These," she pushed her right hand outward, "are the physical manifestations I can give to some of my powers. I call them my Loci. The red is the Locus Inferno, the yellow Locus Dynamo, the blue Locus Brumal, and the green one is the Locus Aeterna. Ah, but you don't really know what powers I possess, do you?"
"It doesn't matter what powers you have, I'll beat the shadow right out of you! No one threatens Gensokyo on my watch!"
A shadow falling over the left side of her face, Constance gave a convincing evil laugh and floated further upward. "Then let this be the duel that shall decide the fate of the world you hold so near and dear!" Without even waiting for Reimu to lift off of the ground, she swung her blade and blasted the ground where she stood with multicolored danmaku of all shapes and forms. Reimu leapt to her side as the powerful surge of danmaku impacted with the ground. She brought her sword back to swing again as Reimu let her needles fly from her familiars. This time, she dove to the right at a blinding pace, and swung three times in succession, forcing Reimu to make large movements to avoid the torrent of bullets.
Readjusting her aim to the princess's new position, the girl vanished from sight again, only for her to be on the opposite side of the hall, repeating the pattern. "How the hell do you move so fast?!"
"Easy. Light travels at an immensely fast pace, but when the lights go out, shadows rush to fill that gap. Thus, the speed of darkness is faster than the speed of light. Utilizing that, depending on how bright a room is, I can travel so fast I would be literally everywhere. Which is partially why I keep my Citadel so dark. Answer your question?"
"Uh...yeah, I guess."
"Good." With that, she swung her blade again, but this time she held her right hand forward as well, sending waves of fire from the Locus Inferno to accompany the original danmaku.
"I'm sure you also have a damn good explanation for why you can shoot fire, but I could care less right now!" Reimu shouted as she rolled around incoming danmaku waves.
"Indeed I do. Without light, there is cold. With light, there is heat. So, using an extension of the power of shadow manipulation, I can make temperatures rise and fall. Fall down into freezing depths, rise into blistering heights. A quick enough rise can even create electricity," she added, shooting a large fork of lightning from the end of her blade.
Squeezing between two large bullets, Reimu had to quickly turn herself so the lightning wouldn't hit her. As she regained her focus, she rapidly backpedalled to stay out of the way of the next wave of bullets, only to back into a column. Forced onto it, she could only afford to make small movements while on the pillar to avoid being struck. As the cloud vanished, she could see Constance barrelling up to her, her fist reared back and an evil smile plastered on her face. Hardly thinking rationally, Reimu rolled to the side of the pillar and used her motion to gain leverage and float behind her foe. As she looked, the pillar had nearly caved in where Constance's fist made contact, cracks spreading all the way to the floor. That punch would have left me a smear...I guess that makes close combat not an option, since I don't like being paste...
Still smiling, Constance brushed rubble from her shoulders before having to list to the side to avoid Reimu's incoming fire. She drew her blade from a small rift in the Ingress, then swung, releasing another wave of danmaku. Halfway in its trajectory, however, Constance waved her hand, and the bullets vanished, leaving a confused shrine maiden still firing at her. "This is dull. It's a good thing I decided to brush up on Gensokyo's history, or else I wouldn't have made any spellcards for myself, and then I would definitely be in a pickle. Well, what better time to test them than right now..." She snapped her fingers within her Loci, and they generated a black spellcard with what looked like an orange eye in the center of it. "Ingress 'Multidimensional Assault'!"
With a wave of her hand and a piercing, rending sound, six rifts opened around her, forming a pitch-black cube in reality. Reimu raised an eyebrow at her foe's spontaneous retreat, before the noise returned louder this time, forcing her to cover her ears. When the noise stopped, she opened her eyes and looked around, seeing a similar cube of reality around her, the Ingress beyond it. Ahead of her, in a much smaller cube, was Constance, floating lazily. "Before you ask, the Ingress is indeed mine, I simply let Jozero borrow a bit of my power to open these rifts. To be completely honest, I'm not entirely sure how I managed to do a successful lending of my abilities without being present...but I suppose that isn't important now, especially since these spellcards don't last very long at all, in accordance to the rules..." Constance turned to the side, holding one palm out. A large wave of silvery bullets slowly expanded out of it, before vanishing into the side of her cube as she turned to another side to repeat the process.
Reimu tilted her head curiously, unsure where the danmaku was going. Slowly, a wall of bullets passed right before her, missing their mark, but effectively reminding Reimu she was in a fight, not a show. She gave a quick thank-you to the gods of luck before throwing homing amulets at her foe. However, they didn't teleport like Constance's bullets did, and instead flew on a straight course through the inky mists. The shrine maiden was quickly feeling overwhelmed as bullet waves were intersecting from every face of the cube. She tried to fly out of the cube, but only wound up feeling disoriented as she reappeared on the opposite side of the field, quickly having to duck back to avoid her adversary's relentless attack. She barely made it out of being split into four pieces by interlacing bullets when she could finally hear the spellcard weaken, the dull thuds echoing through the cube. She chucked four large amulets, confident they would end the card faster.
Constance fired another wave directly upwards, turning her attention back to Reimu so she could see how much she was struggling. Her smile dimmed as the four amulets closed in. As they neared, however, she swung her sword wide, cutting through all four amulets, and leaving a distraught Reimu staring as the spell continued and her attack detonated harmlessly. "It'll take more than that to beat me-" Snap. "Oh. Well, what do you know, you managed to do it."
Panting, Reimu regained her equilibrium as the rest of reality faded in. "Well, what did you expect?"
The princess, reclining in midair, brought a hand to her chin. "I can't say I expected anything, this is my first actual battle where my opponent wasn't knocked out immediately. You do show...promise," she said, floating over to the shrine maiden, her gohei raised. "Come now, why so alarmed? All I have is a proposition for you."
Deepening her scowl, Reimu kept her eyes on the floating girl before her. "I'm just going to go ahead and say no, your proposition is probably garbage anyway. I don't make deals with villains."
"Oh, come now, don't be like that...although I do admit I do fit in with quite a few villainous stereotypes. Although that's mostly for show right now. This, however, is an offer you simply cannot refuse. Someone of your power and status...Defender of Gensokyo...should surely be on the winning team, no? Well, why not be a part of the winning team?" Constance floated closer, maneuvering to be upright, her hands behind her back. "Join me, Reimu. For too long you've been ignored. The defender of the land should not be impoverished, constantly pestered by those you could live without."
"I-I'm not impoverished! Donations have been kinda slow, lately, though..."
Constance's honeyed smile dropped slightly. "Yes, your oh-so-overflowing donations, that normally come rolling in like a blizzard in winter. If you ally with me, you won't ever have to worry about money again. You could live as luxuriously as you wanted. You have the world, fame, and recognition to gain, and nothing to lose...you simply must pledge your allegiance to the Empire...to me." She stuck one hand forward, leering down at her. "Just say yes..."
Reimu could feel her worries melting away with Constance's words. No responsibility, just luxury. Gensokyo would recognize her for her status and for solving incidents. She would be in league with someone who seemed insanely powerful. And yet, her intuition was tugging her back into reality. This girl was, without a doubt, insanely powerful, and probably just plain insane. Who's to say she wouldn't turn her back when the time presented itself? She is the daughter of darkness personified, how could one like that be trusted? Her conflict of interest only deepened as she felt herself reach out her own hand, Constance's pearly fangs glistening as she did so. Then, one thought changed the entire situation: She wants Gensokyo, not you.
Shaking her head, her willpower returned, and she gave a determined "No!" and threw a few red and white amulets at the Shadowed before her. She merely batted them away and backed up, giving themselves distance between them. "You're a liar, only out for your own benefit! I hardly know you, and you're asking me to give you my undivided trust? You don't want me on your side, you just want no opposition to your taking over Gensokyo! I bet not even Yukari would ally herself with you, even for a sweetened deal in her favor!"
Constance's smile quickly soured upon Reimu calling her bluff. "You know not what you say, Reimu. And oh, is there much you don't know. Your ignorance will be your own downfall, little girl." Holding her Loci out to her side, the very air around her seemed to shimmer, and her cape began fluttering violently behind her. "When this is over, you can't say I never tried to end this peacefully. This battle will be a work of art, us two the duelling painters intent on our image being the most prevalent! Now, unleash the darkness of your heart, and try to compare with unlimited power!!!" She held her right hand upward, the four Loci swirling around her wrist. From them, spirals of danmaku fanned outward, creating a brilliant multicolored display that quickly encompassed the entire hall.
Keeping her homing amulets set, Reimu drops another orb and kicks it into a column, making it bounce around at high speed. While her amulets struck home, Constance was sufficiently distracted with keeping track of the orb for Reimu to close in. She noticed that when the princess wasn't focusing, the danmaku had a static pattern, which enabled her to get close without her really noticing. Finally getting into a rhythm, Reimu began influencing the orb herself, until it went on a straight path towards her foe. She took the bait, cutting off the danmaku to bat the orb away with her sword. Before she could resume firing, Reimu teleported the short distance between them and landed a strong diving kick into the princess's chest, relishing the look of surprise on her face as she was flung towards the ground, the force of which causing small cracks in the stone.
Much to Reimu's chagrin, though not surprise, Constance rose from the ground. "I'm surprised I fell for a mediocre trick like that. Remind me to ask you how you can teleport short distances like that la-" She was cut off as the orb she swatted away early returned with a vengeance into the back of her skull.
Smirking, Reimu willed the spare orb out of existence. "Whether or not you think it's mediocre, it still works. I gotta pull all the stops out on this one."
Rubbing her head, Constance flew upwards, looking considerably less happy. "Luck appears to be on your side for now. But luck is expendable. Skill is permanent. Just how long will yours last?" She drew another spell, and black mists began coalescing in the hall. "Cosmos 'Nebula Umbra'!"
From the card, a wall of black fog poured out, masking the entire arena in darkness. Slowly, Reimu could see small white, glowing orbs spreading out, like tiny stars. As one passed close by, the heat tipped her off that these were, indeed, danmaku. Static, taking into account how they were slowing to a crawl. Turning her attention back to where Constance was, Reimu carefully jumped to her left as Constance darted forward, creating an explosion of danmaku where the shrine maiden was previously. Glad she picked a relatively clear area, she twisted around the dense clusters of star-like bullets , barely dodging the princess as she once again dove straight at her before disappearing into the fog.
Hearing the explosion of danmaku in a slightly shorter frame of time, Reimu looked at her familiars, still shooting homing amulets. Despite not being able to see her, the amulets were still hitting their mark, and she could keep track of where her foe was as she weaved her way through clusters of stars. Without a sound, Reimu ducked under another charge, and its rebound. It felt too easy. Taking hold of eight larger amulets, she flung them into the air, and they began sailing into the fog with the rest of the amulets.
Reimu listened intently, at first hearing another impact. She didn't know how fast, or in what direction, Constance was moving, but eventually they would catch up. She couldn't help but smile as she heard Constance give a surprised cry and the card immediately end.
The fog immediately cleared, but a large cloud of smoke remained a short distance from Reimu. She could hear coughing as the cloud subsided, and the image of Constance wheezing into her arm and waving the smoke away with the other made Reimu much happier. "Okay, okay, time-out," Constance called. "What I know is that your danmaku rules say that all danmaku has to be avoidable, right?" Reimu nodded. "Okay. So, how is it fair that you can use amulets that can HOME IN on your target, no matter how much danmaku is in the air, or how deplorable visibility is?"
The miko looked between her familiars. "Um...that's a good question. Nobody's really called me out on it, though, so I don't care."
"Yeah, um, no. I'm not alright with this. One of the people who helped make these damn rules, and she is the one who gets the loophole?" Constance crossed her arms. "Seriously? That's low-brow politicking right there. If anything, I'd have expected your witch friend to be the one to break a 'No Undodgeable Danmaku' rule before you."
"Oh, like you're one to talk. You're a princess, you're clearly evil, and you would so have tried that if I didn't do it first!"
"There's a difference between bullets that lock on to your position, and bullets that actively follow you around. The latter is all sorts of unfair. It's not that hard of a concept to grasp."
"You're the one boasting about 'unlimited power', so why don't you just use some of that then? That sounds completely fair in any fight."
"Don't get your panties in a bunch, it's a hyperbole. I'm trying to put on a good show, and you're busy cheating and throwing me off-character!"
"How am I the one throwing off your little charade?! You're the one who called the timeout, you could have just ignored it and kept fighting!"
"I expected a fair fight, not homing bullcrap! Have you seen me once, ONE TIME, use methods like that up to now? No. Yet you resort to it almost right away. Even if you manage to win, I'd be surprised if you have a reputation left. At least I have a code of honor."
"I use homing amulets quite a bit, thank you very much. Like I said, no one has complained until now, so don't go saying I'm-"
"Whatever, we're supposed to be fighting. Now, give me a moment, I need to gather my composure..."
"Don't you just cut me off like that!" Constance didn't respond, she simply turned her back to Reimu and brought a hand to her temples. "Hey! Turn around!"
Expressing disgust, Constance turned back to face her. "Fine. You want to just go back to the fighting? FINE! Have it your way!" she yelled, taking off into the air again and throwing pitch-black knives at all angles, most of them bouncing across the room, dissipating as they strike something the second time. "I was having fun with this, but you've gone and ruined it!"
Jeez, what a big baby, Reimu thought as she tried to get back into the air while dodging the bouncing knives. "I didn't ruin anything, you're the one trying to start trouble here," she replied, resetting her orbs to needles and letting fly.
"Do you even know how much work and planning I've put into this entire fight? Years of studying, rehearsing, preparing, all going down the drain like so much filthy water! This is the first time I've tried to follow a different system of fighting than I'm used to, and after painstaking editing to how I fight, how my powers are used, and how I can keep the battle fair, the native of the world I arrive at is the one to break the rules! What sort of example are you setting?" She continued to tirade, not once stopping her barrage of knives.
"One where peace is enforced, and that the Hakurei line is still strong!" she shouted, declaring a spell to dissipate the bullets, sending bright, multicolored orbs at Constance. "My ancestors have kept the peace in Gensokyo long before you showed up, and we'll continue to do the same long after we're gone!"
Constance drew her blade, slashing away the danmaku flying directly at her. "We shall see about that. Shadow sign 'Bind in Darkness'!"
Upon declaring her card, her skin changed color to a pitch black, her eyes becoming detailless until they were but bright green spots, her teeth the only other visible point on her body. If it weren't for the inside of her cape being the same color as her eyes, she would seem to lose all depth. "Let me teach you something else about me, Reimu. Mainly, about this cape. It is a separate article of clothing, but science has allowed it to be comprised of compounds close enough to our skin so we can use it as an extension of ourselves. Observe..." After a short period of focusing, her cape began twisting itself into two bat-like wings, the webbing retaining the green, while the rest stayed black. With a flap, she propelled herself into the air, before turning them back to a cape. "However, that's not what I need for this card. I can also do this..." The cape split into four segments, twisting into long, conical shapes, before pointing over her and at Reimu. "This card allows me to coat these tendrils in danmaku. Getting caught will be, assuredly, painful...and it doesn't stop there..."
Already wary, Reimu floated backwards slightly as Constance snapped her fingers. From the ground and around every visible surface, pitch-black tendrils began writhing and reaching upwards, just like the four on Constance's back. "Neat trick, but I don't see how good of a card this is. It seems very...simple."
"Then let's change that, shall we?" she asked, before slowly drifting towards the shrine maiden, radiating shadowy bullets as the tendrils reached toward her adversary, her malevolent smirk unchanging.
Raising an eyebrow, Reimu simply backed away, letting her own danmaku fly, bouncing off of Constance harmlessly due to the spell shield from the card. She glanced behind her to see the yawning expanse of the corridor, danmaku tendrils wreathing every surface. So, if I just avoid getting too close to a column, I should be fine. Looking back, however, Constance was right in her face, the tendrils at her back starting to try and wrap around her.
Reimu dropped swiftly, confident not to be caught, but the lower two tendrils managed to catch her arms before she could completely escape, and the other two wrapped around her body, pinning her arms in place, before lifting her upside down in front of her foe. "Too slow," Constance breathed, before the shrine maiden could feel the danmaku infusing the tendrils begin to sting. She grit her teeth, trying her best not to scream in pain. A glancing blow is one thing, but constant application was a completely different pain. After what felt like an eternity, she felt the tendrils lift her again, before throwing her to the ground. "This is why you do not take your eyes off of your opponent, as you already demonstrated with your yin-yang orb earlier."
Her entire body throbbing, Reimu slowly rose to her feet and back into the air. Despite the pain she had felt, her clothes only had minor scorch marks on them. Not even dignifying Constance with a response, she summoned her familiars again, and began raining needles upon her foe.
However, instead of dodging, she merely crossed her arms. "Lesson two: always pay attention to your environment, as well." As she said this, Reimu could feel her intuition roaring at her to fly upward, and she noticed that the danmaku tendrils that used to coat the ground were sprouting up again, and they'd be within her reach in seconds. She could never make it in time, unless...
"Dream sign 'Duplex Barrier'!" she called, as two interlocking barriers began carving through her enemy's attack like a scythe through weeds. With the tendrils down for now, she rose back into the air and threw four talismans as hard as she could.
The princess knew she was losing her grip on this card and her movement was still limited, but the shield should be able to absorb any blow right now anyhow, so she wasn't too worried. Until, as the first one struck, she heard the sound of her spell breaking. She hardly had time to reel back in shock as the remaining talismans slammed into her with impressive force, throwing her against one column only to bounce off of it, then the ground, before hitting another column and dropping to the floor.
Despite being through space travel and hurtling through the Ingress at blinding speeds, the blow still left Constance's head spinning. As she cleared it, she looked up to see Reimu diving towards her with an energy-infused kick, which hit home before she could do anything to resist it. Now having to gather her bearings again, she could hardly make out through the ringing in her ears "And stay down, if you know what's good for you," before she heard footsteps walking away from her.
Holding back the urge to spit on the girl, Reimu simply turned and began stalking away, one arm braced across her midsection. Before she even took three steps, a void opened before her, and Constance stepped out, oddly enough looking none the worse for wear, although she did look considerably more human than the last card, only small patches being covered in shadow, like before. "Did I say you could leave?"
"No, but I'm going anyway. We're done here, and you're beaten." She pushed Constance out of the way, and kept walking.
"Then you are admitting defeat. I am not out of spell cards, and this duel is not over. Not that it matters to me if you are a coward." This made Reimu stop in her tracks before slowly turning to her adversary. "You heard me."
"I am not a coward."
"You're certainly acting like one. Leaving now is admitting defeat, and time is running out for you. If you leave, you'll be handing Gensokyo to me."
Silently, Reimu turned to fully face Constance. She threw a few amulets into the air, specifically around the princess, and began muttering under her breath, her one hand positioned as if in prayer. Seemingly finished, she held her gohei straight out and said "Evil-Sealing Circle." The amulets began connecting with thin, bright lines, until each was connected to form a shell around Constance.
"This...this is no spell card."
"You are royalty, right? Well, you're royally pissing me off. I'm no coward, and I will end you right now if I need to. Do not goad me into a fight that I know you can't possibly win." She lowered her gohei slightly, and the amulets closed in with it, hardly being held back from collapsing in on itself.
"Hmm. It appears I have underestimated you, Reimu." With that, she drew Tearfang and her loci, before using the Ingress to teleport outside of the circle, as Reimu tried collapsing it on her, leaving a massive cloud of smoke. "Are you sure you would not rather simply join me instead of wasting both of our time fighting?"
"Why? Are you scared of a human, Your Overconfidentness?"
"A pity, that you cannot simply see things in a much simpler fashion. Everyone would benefit. This is your last opportunity."
"I'll never give Gensokyo to a freak like you willingly!"
Shifting her loci so the red one floated above the others, the smoke finally finished dissipating. "Then you will hand it to me as your bones break and you feel your very life draining from your miserable body!" She raised her hand, and great columns of fire began shooting from her red orb, occasionally punctuated by a wave of silvery bullets from her blade.
Reimu immediately went on the defensive again, maneuvering between the pillars of flame and around the tertiary attacks. As she flew, she could feel the temperature in the room rising, until she could feel the sweat running down her face and making the rest of her feel uncomfortable. She kept up her onslaught, as Constance didn't seem to be moving much, if at all. She could see the red Locus growing, though, and made sure she was ready for anything.
The attack suddenly cut off, but the temperature was still stifling. "Locus Inferno 'Supernova'!" she declared, a card becoming briefly visible in the Locus. As it faded out, the orb moved in front of Constance's chest, as the other three began orbiting her torso. Letting her sword drift next to her, she held out both hands, focusing on the locus, which glowed brighter than the other three. From the orb, a sheet of flame coiled out and wrapped around her, becoming a large ball of flame that expanded rapidly, turning from white to red, before slowly shrinking and scattering fire in all directions.
Reimu carefully sidestepped the initial burst, before a more patterned rotation of fire began emanating from the miniature sun before her, Constance somehow visible in its core the entire time. The fire, in the meantime, seemed odd to her. It felt like it had the intensity of the Yatagarasu in Hell she fought recently, but with far less mayhem, almost like the precision of the human phoenix from the Imperishable Night incident. This is a deadly combo...if she just wanted to win from the beginning, why didn't she try this? It's too damn hot...and it feels like it's only getting warmer...
As she watched, she confirmed her suspicion that the sun was indeed growing as more fire was being thrown from it, the exact opposite of what one would expect. Soon the intensity of the blazes peaked, and the sun stopped growing. Reimu had a good idea of the pattern by now: three trails of fire in a circle rotating counterclockwise, three running clockwise, alternating columns that could easily pin her in a small space if she wasn't careful, and sporadic fireballs that flew with no rhyme or reason. However, they didn't seem to radiate heat any more than she could feel from the room, which was making her start to feel ill, as if she had been sitting in the sun on a very hot day. Yet, if she lost focus, she would wind up fried.
Whenever she could, Reimu would steal a glance at Constance in the star, seeing her Locus Inferno glowing brighter and brighter as the sun's surface began to shake in a manner akin to boiling. And yet, through the haze entering her mind, she was sure she could hear the spell weakening. She just had to last a little longer...Wait, why's it getting chillier in here...and is the sun shrinking now?!
Before her eyes, the fireballs ceased, maintaining a tight orbit around the star, which decreased in size, before Constance spread her arms wide, and the fire rushed out, quickly expanding far beyond the star's former diameter. Noting that the star wasn't stopping, Reimu turned and dashed away from the exploding star. So this is what she meant by supernova! She could feel the heat catching up to her, even though she was pushing herself to go as fast as possible. Taking a chance to look behind her, it looked like the sun had consumed the entire hall behind her, and was still devouring the space she was trying to quickly leave behind. Wracking her brain, she couldn't think of a single spellcard she owned that could save her from the encroaching wall of fire.
The heat had once again reached stifling levels, and Reimu could feel herself becoming fatigued and slowing ever so gradually. She could hardly feel her legs, and the heat only kept rising. Gotta keep going...gotta keep moving...can't let fire...catch me... she thought, hardly able to even focus on her thoughts and keep her eyes open at the same time. At long last, the heat stopped rising, and Reimu could feel the cold air begin to cool her limbs down. Soon enough her thoughts were clear again, and she checked to see if she was still in one piece. The soles of her shoes looked like they melted off, and her socks felt singed, but nothing seemed missing, much to her gratitude.
"Ah ah ah, no time for resting now. We're nowhere near finished," she heard from in front of her as her intuition tuned her in to move out of the way. As she did, she opened her eyes, not even realizing she had them closed, and saw the end of a bolt of lightning fly past her. Half expecting to see the storm spirit, she turned to see the princess again, this time with the golden Locus above the other three, her Locus Inferno looking noticeably smaller than the other three now. The blade was still floating by her side, and she seemed to be directing multiple forks of lightning with her free hand as she spawned more with this Locus. Unlike the fire columns, the lightning was far more erratic, curving and moving much faster.
"Please...five minutes, that last card...was rough," Reimu managed between gasps of air and maneuvering past lightning bolts.
"You give no chance to avoid danmaku, and I give no chance for you to rest. I think this is perfectly fair."
"You're still on that? Grow up, it's in the past now! I haven't used a single homing amulet against you since."
"Is that you trying to prove a point to me, or did you realize I was right?"
"That's not the point! At least have better control of the temperature of your danmaku if you're going to throw another attack at me right away!"
"Like you just said, that's not the point of the attack. It is meant to fatigue so lightning seems like a much more impossible obstacle, especially given its speed. Although, I have found a much more...creative...use for it," she said, cutting off the barrage and growing the yellow orb like the red one before it. However, this time she held Tearfang in her free hand, and held the locus out, towards Reimu. From behind her, what must have been hundreds of lightning bolts flew into Tearfang, guided through Constance's form and into her hand holding the card. "Locus Dynamo 'Gamma Spark'!"