Subconscious Dream

[Gpop]

So I'm now IM. To celebrate, I will now release the first chapter of my fic! Enjoy!


There are many of life?s questions people ask themselves for their entire lifetime, such as, ?Why are we here??, ?Do we have a purpose in life??, or even, ?who keeps stealing our socks?? For me, there?s only two questions that keeps popping up in my mind that I usually ask myself from time to time?

Are dreams and reality really mutually exclusive to each other? What if one can escape from reality, and live within a dream for their entire life?

I live in a world where reality becomes a dream, and dreams become reality. This applies to both the world I live in, and the world outside of it, known as Gensokyo. Many youkai consider Gensokyo as ?paradise?. I heard that vampires, satori, even goddesses live there, but it has been a while since I left this place, this world in which both my younger sister and I created. Thanks to our abilities, we were able to create a ?dreamworld? entirely for us. It has been recreated many times though, since the place does get old really fast. The current one is on the verge of another recreation, which explains why most of it is bare rock at the moment.

One thing I dislike though is how some people considers us to be ?gods?, I don?t believe that we can be defined as such. We are no way as powerful as Shinki, who created all of Makai herself. The difference between her and us though is that not only create and entire world, but she could create anything and EVERYTHING into a REALITY. I, myself, only have the power to manipulate dreams, and my sister?s power is the manipulation of nightmares. Therefore everything created in this world is still a mere FIGMENT of a dream, a simple manipulation of one?s subconscious into thinking that it?s real, but in reality it isn?t.

As I was pondering about all of this I flew around carelessly and freely in our dreamland. My sister went out to get some stuff from Yuka, a friend of ours who also lives in another dreamland, Mugenkan, which we created for her, which is why she isn?t here at the moment. I decided to descend slowly towards the ground. As soon as I felt both of my feet touch the ground, I examined the empty dream. For the first time in a while, I felt the sense of loneliness, which is quite odd because of the fact that my sister and I lived here quite some time (long enough that I don?t even remember exactly how long) so we?re normally used to isolation from others. Of course, I could easily create someone out of an illusion, but I knew it?s not the same, and I don?t want to be so hung up to that kind of person.

I decided to walk around a bit for a change. I created a path directly in front of me to travel more safely, allowing the rocks to disappear in front of me instantly. As I walked down the never-ending path, I came across a mirror located in the middle of nowhere. I walked up to it out of sheer curiousity, asking myself why in the world this was here of all places.
I stared at my own reflection and began to ponder once again.

?Gengetsu. Demon of dreams and no last name. Am I not a figment, a sheer illusion, a puppet of someone else?s everlasting dream? Is the entire world which I live in a mere fantasy, just like the world of ours which we created? Do we have no control over our fate, as fate is decided by the foundation of all things existing here?

?No!? I told myself as I shook my head away from the mirror to clear my thoughts from such theories. I didn?t want to believe such things. I find it too depressing really. I really need to find something else to do on my own spare time, I thought to myself.

---

I decided to continue onwards. But as I travelled along the barren path, I sensed something?out of place, but I couldn?t put my finger on it.

Well, I tried to ignore it, but as I progressed, the conscious started to tell me to retreat. I have no idea why though, but I had the sudden urge to run away, from my own world. But I tried to remain oblivious to this feeling, and I tried to remain courageous. ?There?s nothing wrong,? I kept telling myself, ?there can?t be anything wrong. No one else is here but me, and I could easily destroy anything I see here. There?s nothing to be afraid of.?

I spotted something in the middle of the path from a distance. I couldn?t make anything out of it from from my location, so I decided to approach it and picked up the thing.

?Wha?a black?rose? What?s this doing here?? I asked myself. ?No matter. I?ll get rid of this.?

Of course, for me, to get rid of a creation we made in this world is to make a simple thought of it. Normally, it would disappear almost immediately, but as I thought of destroying the rose?

?nothing happened.

?Hmm? Why won?t this disappear?? I questioned. I tried to concentrate more on the thought, but as I thought, to no avail.

?That?s weird. Normally I?d be able to quickly purge anything in this world. It?s probably Mugetsu?s creation then.? I told myself. Because her power is based on the manipulation of nightmares, I cannot manipulate any of her creations; similarly, I can only manipulate dreams, and she cannot manipulate anything I create. We are equal and opposite to one another.

I planted the mysterious rose back in its original place. But as I got back up, another rose grew right beside it, followed by another rose behind it, and more continued to grow wildly as I was startled by the mass production of plants. I floated upwards a bit to avoid myself being caught in the middle of it, and from above I could see them beginning to take over the dream world.

?How in this world is it happening without my or my sister?s consent?? I asked myself, a hint of worry in my voice.

I felt a slight tap on my shoulder, and I quickly turned around to see?

?HI!?

?ASDKHSDTFKHFTS--? I was surprised by the new face that had appeared no more than two centimeters away from mine when I turned around, so startled that I actually began to fall. Luckily, I was able to regain my train of thought and think up a bed to land on right before I hit the ground, and fortunately enough, it materialized as I predicted.

As I layed there out of relief, I managed to get a good look at the source of that random face as the person approached me from above. She wore an orangey-yellow shirt with what it seems like a dark green collar. She had large black frills at the end of her sleeves, a little too long it seems as it extends past her hands. She was wearing a translucent green skirt which, thankfully, was opaque enough so that you couldn?t see what?s under it clearly. The skirt also had some kind of lighter green flowery pattern, probably representing roses like the one I picked up earlier. She wore a black hat tied with a yellow ribbon around it with the bow on her left side of the hat. Under it she had medium length gray hair that had a green outline glow around it, so I guess it?s really light green hair instead.

But what really stood out was an eye in the middle of her body, attached by thin purple veins located outside of her body, which all connected to a purple heart attached to her brown boots. Part of the vein was tangled up in the shape of a heart beside her head, which I found quite cute actually. The eye, meanwhile, seemed to be shut closed.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot to mention that I had a quick glimpse under her skirt as she descended. I mumbled, ?They?I can see the colour?it?s?p-?

Before I could finish the sentence, she appeared right in front of me again, with her face stuck up near mine. I was once again startled by this, as she seems to pay no attention or mind to personal space. How rude.

She continued to inspect me closely, staring at me dead straight in the eyes, silent.

?Uh?and who are you?? I asked this girl to break the uncomfortable silence.

?My name is Komeiji Koishi!? She responded energetically, as she stepped back, away from me thankfully. ?But you can just call me Koishi!? She seemed really energetic and?unusually happy. ?and who are you?

?Uh?name is Gengetsu.? I told her as I got up from the comforting mattress. But as I placed my hand down, I felt another rose between my fingertips, and as soon I got up, I noticed and large amount of black roses around Koishi. I could tell then what the source of these roses were now.

?How did you manage to grow these black roses around you?? I asked. ?Only my sister and I should  be able to manipulate such things in this world, in fact, how did you even get here??

?Hmm?? she tried to think of a response, placing her finger on her lips, then responded, ?I dunno. I was just wandering around aimlessly and somehow appeared here.? She said happily.

I was irked by this, but then I realized the floating eye in front of her chest and asked, ?and what exactly are you??

?Oh I?m a Satori!? She said cheerfully. I was immediately surprised by this. I read about these kind of youkai over at Yuka?s place. (She may not look like it, but she loves reading, although mostly about plant life and sunflowers. But Yuka once told me that she wouldn't like to be known as a bookworm, because she "wouldn't like to be lumped in with a certain weak librarian"). They can read minds, or specifically, your heart, through their ?third eye?, and reveal even your darkest secrets, but she read my reaction and continued, ?Oh but don?t worry. I closed my third eye, so I can?t read your mind. My sister could though.? She said as she pointed at her closed third eye.

I sighed out of relief. She then asked me:

? And what are you, you cute little devil you??

I blushed, and tried to respond confidently, ?Well I?m a demon. I can manipulate dreams.?

?A demon? We don?t have any of those back home.? She said.

 ?What do you mean by that??

?Hmm? Oh, it?s just that I?m gonna take you home and show you to my sister as my new pet! One of my sister's pets has the power of the sun, and I want to make her jealous by getting a powerful pet like you! ^_^?
I was disturbed from what she just said, for at least two reasons. One: this girl thinks of me as a pet and wants to take me home. I have no intention of letting her get her way on that. The other reason is that her sister?s ?pet? has the power of the blazing sun itself. I found that quite unsettling.

?No thanks. I think I?ll pass on this offer.?

?Oh I?m not asking you.? Koishi replied as she grabbed my arm. I managed to jerk it out of her grip, which was surprisingly strong.

?I said no. I?m staying here.? I argued. But she was quite persistent, while maintaining that smile. Doesn?t she have any other emotions?

As I resisted her from becoming her ?pet?, she suddenly stopped. I looked back to see why. She opened her mouth and asked,

?How about we settle this through a duel then??

A duel? As in fighting? I thought to myself. I haven?t been in a duel in a while. In fact, I?m quite a pacifist, as I?m strongly against any kind of fighting, especially after fighting that shrine maiden before and losing emberassingly.

Yet upon hearing her challenge, my heart was already racing, my blood was pumping in my ears, and I could feel the heat rise up within me. I wanted to say no, but my brain was telling me that yes, it wanted to fight. How? I knew it was unreasonable to fight this stranger who had somehow had enough power to get into this world, but every nerve impulse in me wanted to fly at her and attack her-- I wanted the thrill of a fight!

Out of nowhere, I blurted out, ?Okay!? and quickly shut my mouth with my hands over it. What went over me?

?Yay!? She said happily as she clapped her hands together.

Knowing that I have no way out of this now, I asked her, ?So what are your terms and conditions.?

?Well let?s see?if you win?I?ll leave this place and I won?t bother you again. Okay?? She said, a happy and confident smile on her face.

?And what if I lose??? I asked, half-knowing the answer.

She grinned, ?If you lose?and I win?you?ll become my new pet in Chireiden?forever.?


I'm really enjoying myself with writing. Thank you Ruro for inspiring me to write a fic. I never would have done it without you and your awesome proof-reading skills <3.

Continue Y/N?

[Alfred F. Jones]

yyyyyyyyyyyyyy

Also, I think you win a prize for first Western fanfic to use Gengetsu as the main character.

[Gpop]

yyyyyyyyyyyyyy

Also, I think you win a prize for first Western fanfic to use Gengetsu as the main character.

Tbh I could've gone with Koishi's PoV, but with her state of mind, it wouldn't be so enjoyable.

Also, she's starting to grow on me.

[Moerin]

Ooh... A promising start indeed, Poppy.  I look forward to the continuation~

Also what Ruro said about Gengetsu.

[Dizzy H. "Muffin" Muffin]

Splendid~ |3

[Kuma]

did Koishi somehow vocalize an emoticon? What an interesting talent.

But yes, it's rather good, keep going.

[MaronaPossessed]

Continue Y/N?

Hai

(In other words yes)

[Alfred F. Jones]

did Koishi somehow vocalize an emoticon? What an interesting talent.

That was a proofreading comment I made and apparently Gpop decided to keep.

The idea of being able to pronounce "^_^" is strangely in-character for Koishi to do, though.

[Gpop]

That was a proofreading comment I made and apparently Gpop decided to keep.

The idea of being able to pronounce "^_^" is strangely in-character for Koishi to do, though.

I thought about why you added it within the quotations, but I decided to keep it anyways. Still keeping it for <3

Anyways UPDATE GOGOGO!


?Thanks for letting me borrow a couple of books Yuka!? I said as I carried two books between my arm and my waist.

?You?re very welcome.? She replied as she bowed out of respect, smiling. ?You?re welcome to take out any books you?d like here, as long as I have them returned in a considerable amount of time, unlike a certain black-white.?  She hissed out the last part of her sentence, a scowl on her face.

?Don?t worry!? I replied happily. ?I should finish these books in a couple of weeks or so.?

I glanced at the two books and their covers. The Ego and the Id by Sigmund Freud, and And then there were none by Agatha Christie. I chose these books because Yuka recommended them to me.

?So?why did you recommend this to me again?? I asked Yuka as I held up the book by Freud.

?That book? Oh well I found it quite interesting actually. His theories about our subconscious being split into three main groups, Id, Ego, and Super-ego, are quite?amusing. He thinks that every action we make are based on our subconscious urge and desire for sexual activities and such. It?s a good book for a laugh or two. These outsiders have such wild imaginations. I thought you?d find that quite interesting since your powers are related to that kind of stuff.?

?Yeah, I guess my sister?s and my abilities are closely related to the subconscious, but for lust to be the main reason behind every action we make is quite funny if you think about it.? I responded. I took a good look at the cover again. When I thought about it, it did seem quite possible that our mind works that way?

?Nah. There are bound to be contradictions for this theory. But then again, what isn?t?

?And this one?? I added as I pointed out the other book by Agatha Christie.

?Well this one is quite a thriller. So much suspense in this novel it?s invigorating. It amazes me how creative someone could be in killing his victims with limited or no powers whatsoever. Also, the found the ending quite satisfying.?

?Oh? And why?s that??

?Everyone dies.? Yuka replied with a frightening smile on her face.

?Well how expected of you.? I smirked. I?ve known Yuka for quite some time now. She?s quite nice and respectable, but that?s what you?d expect from an elder Youkai like her. Since they?re so powerful, they?d expect respect from others too, and only idiots would ever go against someone like her. The fact mostly being is that her mind is somewhat?unstable. She can easily become a genocidal maniac when disrespected, so much that one can consider her a sadist.

The worst thing you could ever do to her is burn down her flowerfield, the Garden of the Sun. That?s pretty much asking for an invitation to meet Shikieiki. And that?s not a good thing. She will not hesitate to kill you. She absolutely loves flowers, specifically sunflowers.

?Yes. It reminds me of a certain little girl in the mansion located in the middle of the lake since some of her spellcards are related to this novel.? Yuka added.

Not that I really care about anyone else other than Yuka and my older sister, so it shouldn?t surprise Yuka that I disregarded that last sentence.

?Well then I guess I should be leaving then. I need to help my sister renovate our dreamworld once again.? I told Yuka.

?Okay then. Come back any time when you need me then.? Yuka grinned. Then she took her pink umbrella and pointed at a blonde-haired girl wearing a dark red dress with pink under-garments, along with a pink hat with a red ribbon tied around it. She was holding a large scythe that seemed terribly inconvenient to hold as the handle was curved entirely around her body. ?Elly!? She yelled at her.

?Eep!? the girl squealed, hiding her head between her folded arms.

?Can you please show this kind lady the front door and safely escort her back to her dreamworld??

?Y-yes ma?am!? She replied, showing immense fear in her face. As she tried to run towards me, she tripped over the carpet which Yuka and I were standing on. She fell onto her face, and I giggled a little. So cute.

?Au?? she said as a reaction to the fall. Yuka?s hand met her face.

?Stupid little thing you,? Yuka said angrily as she approached Elly and grabbed her from the back the shirt onto to her feet. She pushed Elly towards me, and when Elly finally regained her balance, she fixed her hat. She picked up the scythe which landed in front of me, and took my arm and pulled me towards the entrance, although not too hard that made it seem disrespectful. I could hear Elly mutter something under her breath, which I guessed wasn?t all that pleasant.

As we reached the front door, I looked back once more at Yuka, smiling once again. I waved to her goodbye.

She waved back. ?Goodbye?Mugetsu.?

---

Forever?

Okay, I knew that I had to win this fight regardless, but to be a pet to someone like her? It?s a must-win situation.

?How shall we duel then?? I asked Koishi.

?Hmm?I know!? She responded cheerfully, ?Let?s have danmaku duel! We?ll use the Spell-card rules!?

?Spell-card rules?? I questioned. I never heard of such thing. ?What?s that??

?Oh?? She changed from her usual cheerful face to a more surprised face and a finger over her mouth. It looks like she does have more than one facial expression. ?You never heard of it??

I nodded my head sideways in response.

?Hmm?well it goes like this. You know how danmaku battles are pretty much people shooting and dodging large quantity of bullets from each other. Well it?s kinda like that, but funner. The difference is that both people have ?spell-cards? to use. These cards are used to call out an attack that you?re gonna use against your enemy.

?Of course, there are limits to these spell-cards. Even though they?re usually stronger than normal attacks, you must be able to dodge everything in them. Also, spell-cards have a time limit. This is so spell-cards don?t go on forever if the user is invincible during the spell-card, otherwise it?s ?undodgable?.

?The one who gets hit by a bullet or runs out of spell-cards first is the loser, even if you can keep fighting. In the end, the most beautiful person wins!?

I think I understood the basic rules. But?

?What if I don?t have any spell-cards to begin with?? I asked.

?Oh well?? Koishi reached to a random hidden back-pocket on her skirt. She pulled out a few pieces of blank paper and lent them to me. ??here. You can use a couple of mine!?

I inspected them further?but?blank? What do I do with these? So I asked her about them.

?Oh well they really don?t do anything.?

?Wait what? Then what?s the point of these things then??

?Just to declare a spell-card. Really, those attacks are mostly an attack you already know.?

?I see?? I think I could fare quite well against her. I already have quite a few set patterns, although I?m quite rusty since the last time I fought was against that red-white, and I didn?t even get to do that well against her.

?except for one attack.

?Okay then I think I get the idea about this entire duel then.? It really wasn?t all that bad, and not really that different from a normal danmaku duel. All I had to do?was be the most beautiful?

Whatever. I?ll just go along and fight like usual.

?Best two out of three then?? Koishi grinned, now in a stance ready move.

?Sounds good.? I replied, preparing to fight as well. I had to win this fight at all costs. I had too?

?my life was at stake.


Oh man what's this? Now we add Mugestsu to the mix? Oh how will this affect the story whatsoever? What importance do those books have in the story? Who will win the duel between Koishi and Gengetsu? Why am I asking these questions when I know the answer to all of these?

Man I'm having so much fun with this ^_^. <3 you Ruro for helping me out!

Currently working on Chapter 3. Expect fight scene by then, but this might take a while to choreograph to make it at least somewhat decent, but it will have a shocking ending so :V

[Alfred F. Jones]

Expect fight scene by then, but this might take a while to choreograph to make it at least somewhat decent

YES.

Fighting scenes are so hard to write. It's made a bit easier by choreographing them to music, imo. Anyway, can't wait to see the next part~

[Gpop]

Fighting scenes are so hard to write. It's made a bit easier by choreographing them to music, imo. Anyway, can't wait to see the next part~

Music huh? Maybe I should listen to some Hartmann's Youkai Girl metal arrangements while I'm at it then.

[MaronaPossessed]

Fighting scenes are so hard to write. It's made a bit easier by choreographing them to music, imo. Anyway, can't wait to see the next part~

True that. I always found it easy that way when writing things^_^

[Gpop]

Shit. Two weeks left of school = massive workload + essays.

Don't expect any updates by then =(. Sorry.

[RIP satorin]

I love your fic! Keep going!

But you're slow as hell

[Gpop]

I love your fic! Keep going!

But you're slow as hell

Uh...thanks? ;_;

Also who are you again?

[Gpop]

Fuck school. Fuck Data and fuck this project ;_;

But yeah. Here we go finally done the next part. Let's go!


As we flew over the lake of blood, Elly and I remained silent. I wanted to say something, but I had no idea how to strike a conversation with her. I never really paid attention to her since she?s normally at the door as the gatekeeper. This time around though she was inside the mansion more, and served some refreshments to both Yuka and I while I was there.  I think I had an idea of what Yuka was planning, but I asked Elly anyways to break the uncomfortable silence.

?So?? I started, hoping that Elly would react, but she didn?t and continued to gaze ahead. ??I never noticed you inside the mansion as often as I did today. Is Yuka planning to do something with you??

?no response.

?Hey?why aren?t you answering?? I asked, irritated as I tapped her shoulder.

??I?I don?t want?to.? She muttered quietly.

?Hmm? Why not??



?Hey you if you don?t answer me I?m gonna tell Yuka that you think naughty things about her!?

She twitched. I could tell that I got her there. Wait?does that mean that??

?She?? she started, with an uncomfortable tone of voice, ?she?wants me to?b-be her maid!?

?Maid?? I immediately thought of her in a maid uniform. Actually, that would be pretty amusing and adorable to see. ?Why??

?Well the fact is, not many people actually try to intrude her mansion, so keeping a door guard makes it pretty pointless. Really you?re the only one who ever visit us, and that black-white suddenly stopped stealing from us since there?s a new witch who apparently owns a large library incomparable to Yuka?s, or so she says. So she wanted a better use of me so therefore wants me as a maid now but?I?ve been trained as a door guard my entire life! I can?t just change like that! I?m not gonna work in some skimpy clothing that she showed me and do every single damn thing for her! No! I want to be outside in the fresh air and have a carefree job as doorguard! That?s what I was born to do!? She explained.

Well?I never knew she was so passionate about her position. At least she has something to live for. I never questioned myself for the purpose of my own life, but I really don?t care. I just continue to live the life as it comes. I worry about things when it happens. Unlike my older sister, Gengetsu though, who always seem troubled by something in her life, yet she wouldn?t tell me why. She isolated herself to the dreamworld that she wouldn?t even accompany me to visit our friends anymore, which is the reason why I?m alone. Ever since that one time, long ago...

?Did you tell Yuka about it?? I asked.

?Yeah?and gain a free ride on the titanic? No thanks.? She replied, ?I?m definitely not brave enough to stand up to someone like her, especially when she?s so much stronger than me in every way.?

?Surely it can?t be that bad.?

?Really? Do you want to pick out suzuran flowers at Nameless Hill for Yuka almost every day for at least 3 hours? I don?t think so.?

Heh. It must be for that doll I met once when she was also visiting Yuka. I kept my distance from her because she manipulates poison. She?s really immature, but according to Yuka she?s actually really young. So she might be a bit?jumpy at times. Any kind of sudden movement to her may seem like a threat, which results in a spray of poison right at your face. It?s not that pleasant, mind you, and I know from personal experience.

?Oh is that Kurumi?? I asked as I pointed at a figure in the middle of the lake.

?Yeah it is.? Elly responded, cheerful all of a sudden. She waved at the figure, ?HEY KURUMI!?

The figure turned around and headed towards us. As she came closer her appearance became much more apparent. She?s still wearing a white shirt with maroon suspenders attached to her skirt and a red bow over her chest, along with her white bow on her long yellow hair. She waved back at us.

?Hey Elly! Hey Mugey!? Kurumi yelled back at us, waving. Mugey is my nickname that normally Kurumi and my older sister normally calls me, since they?re pretty close to me. I normally bump into Kurumi on the way to Yuka?s house, have a little chat, and then continue on my way to Yuka?s place. Then on the way back I invite her to our world. Gengetsu tends to avoid us though when she comes over, or anyone else for that matter. I question why sometimes, but every time I try to ask her, she just tells me to mind my own business. It?s probably related to that one incident.

?Hey Kuri? I replied, waving as she finally caught up to us.

?Watcha doin??? Kurumi asked eagerly.

?Nothin?. Just headin? back to my world.?

?OH LET ME COME AGAIN!? She begged. ?PLEEEEEEAAAASE! IT?S BORING OUT HERE!?

?Fine?? Inspecting my surroundings, I can see where she?s coming from this. Being located in the middle of a lake of blood would kind of turn people away, so I guess she doesn?t get many visitors. Besides, it?s great to have company around. ?Just don?t go messin? around as much. We?re still in the middle of renovating the entire world.?

?Ok ok fine. Is Elly coming too?? She asked.

?I really don?t have much of a choice at the moment.? Elly responded in a bothered tone. ?But?I guess it?s nice to get away from it all once in a while.?

?Yay!? Kurumi yelled happily.

?Alright alright let?s just go back to the dreamworld. I don?t want big sis to get into any trouble by herself.?

---

?Set Spell Card!? Koishi yelled out. ?FIGHT!?

I immediately started shooting bullets. Koishi read the quick attack and dodged it by jumping directly into the air, as I had predicted. So I decided to use my other arm to summon more simple bullets towards the predicted location that Koishi was going to be.

Koishi also seemed to have predicted this, and easily dodged the bullets again in a graceful manner, leaving me wide open for an attack. She took the chance and shot at me, but luckily I was quick to react, and managed to barely dodge the incoming bullets as they came from Koishi?s hand. As Koishi landed once again, I decided to jump into the air and try to take the advantage from above. I held my arm up into the air and summoned a ring of bullets around it. It shot into every direction around me, with the bullets spreading out as it approached Koishi, but Koishi quickly figured out how to avoid it, and began heading off away from me, far enough that she could manage to squeeze herself inside the small spaces between each bullet.

But right after she did so, I decided to quickly shoot another wave of bullets, this time with tiny white bullets spreading all over the place. It was much harder to locate while moving quickly towards her. Koishi remained still as I summoned the bullets, and just before they could reach her, she moved slightly to the left, barely grazing the bullets, but she found the trick to it.

She decided to take the chance and yelled something at me. She pulled out a spell card while she was at it.

?Instinct ?Release of the Id?!?

Her spell card immediately disappeared, as she floated still in the air, extending her arms forward, and released heart-shaped bullets all around her. I quickly found myself in a maze of hearts. The bullets seemed to cross each other, with little openings to get through, making it quite difficult to dodge without getting trapped myself. But the way they crossed were quite unfamiliar, and the danmaku gave off a strange vibe. Not because it looked weird, but my mind, my instincts, were telling me to go one way when I wanted to go the other. This spell card? seemed to be playing with my head. An optical illusion, perhaps? I saw an opening to my left, but my instinct told me right, where it was just a giant wall of hearts.

?Pfft?yeah right.? I told myself. I went towards the opening, but I quickly noticed another heart bullet come from above, and managed to back off before it hit me. A trap. These hearts play tricks on you. But my instinct told me to go down this time, but I found it to be another wall of hearts. So instead I went up, where I found another opening. I was about to make it through, until a stray heart bullet unexpectedly came from my right. Luckily I noticed it before it could hit me, and ducked out of the way.

Darn it?am I supposed to trust my instincts? I thought to myself. That?s suicide! Again, my instincts were telling me to go down towards the wall of hearts. I decided to take the chance and listen to it. I went down, and as I approached, the wall of bullets seemed to have opened itself, big enough that I could squeeze through. I managed to get through before it could close on me again.

?HA!? I yelled out of confidence, but I wasn?t done yet. I was still surrounded by the giant maze of bullets. I decided to look around. I could see Koishi from afar, still summoning heart bullets, who seemed to have an excited face. Found you?

?WAH!? I felt a breeze of another stray bullet that barely grazed me. I had to keep moving, and fast, or these stray bullets will eventually hit me. I continued to follow my instincts which took all over the place. I went forward, squeezing through many hidden holes that only my instinct knew. As soon as I was close enough, I decided to take a shot at Koishi as my instinct told me through the hole which I could clearly see Koishi through instead of going through it.
?Got ya?? I told myself as I held my arm towards Koishi and shot a few bullets at her.

?WHOA!? Koishi managed to notice my incoming bullets and dodged them all, stopping the spell card all together. She was forced to discontinue spawning the bullets as she gained her focus, back to her normal, yet still cheerful face. She started to fly away, as I decided to chase her down, shooting bullets as she continued to dodge gracefully. She seemed to have quite a bit fun with this, while I remained serious as I knew what was at stake. I was puzzled at the fact that the heart bullets she shot remained and hasn?t disappeared when I stopped her spell card from continuing. I began to question myself, which proved to be a fatal mistake as Koishi used this opportunity to declare another spell card.

?Suppression ?Super-ego?!? Koishi called out with another spell card in hand. Koishi once again spread out her arms just like her last spell card, but with a more serious face this time. This must?ve been a pretty big deal for her to finally have such a different facial expression, I thought. But something was odd about this one. Nothing was coming out of her, neither bullets nor anything. She?s just standing there defenseless. I probably should?ve used that chance to attack instead of just floating there confused, because a few seconds later I felt something hit the back of my head pretty hard. I felt dazed, my mind spiraling, as I could barely make out the blue hearts returning back to Koishi. My mind slowly faded into blackness, the feeling of falling towards the ground fading away as it did?


Ah Kurumi was fun to write. As a stage 2 boss I'd expect her to be childish like most other stage 2 bosses. But that's just me though

That fight scene took a while. I was thinking about how to get this working and somewhat interesting. Koishi's spell-card "Release of the id" was based on ZUN's comment on this card, which explains why Gengetsu has to "trust her instincts".

Once the weekend rolls by I'm gonna have so much more time to work on this fic. Once I finish the entire fight scene, this fic will move so much faster I promise.

[Alfred F. Jones]

Extra stage boss fight. Hell YES.

And yay, I see you took my suggestion of making the ending a cliffhanger. :3

[Gpop]

And yay, I see you took my suggestion of making the ending a cliffhanger. :3

Of course <3

[Kuma]

heck yes, damnaku battle!

[Dizzy H. "Muffin" Muffin]

Nice description of how Koishi's spellcard works. I might have to steal that sometime.

[Dorian White]

It seems that Koishi get her new pet this time.

[Esifex]

Hey, I found this fic, ze. It was floating around the bottom of a page, yo - and it wasn't finished yet. Don'tcha know? Fics are all about POWERwriting!

[Gpop]

I'm working on the next part. I'm not a fast typer like some others here.

But I'll just say that I'm almost done ^_^

[Esifex]

Point taken. Be careful, though - it almost slipped away :O

[Gpop]

I DIDN'T FORGET!

Just had trouble with this. But it's done, and I would've posted this last Thursday or so but I abstained myself from Koishi. But NO MORE!

Ah here we go. Next part GO!


On our way back to my dreamworld, the three of us decided to take the quicker route, mostly because taking the longer way would mean passing by the shrine-- which generally isn?t a good idea, especially since the three of us are considered youkai.

How it became so desolate, one may ask. Well to be honest I really have no idea, but many believe that it was because of how ghosts used to haunt this place. But these aren?t ordinary ghosts that you normally see floating around Gensokyo at some occasions. (Those ghosts that normally reside in the Netherworlds; I believe it?s because Youmu accidentally let them out of Hakugyokurou, or maybe it was that princess, Yuyuko.) No, these ones were pretty odd-looking. In fact, they had tongues sticking out of them most of the time, and had eyes, unlike the average ghost which looks like a floating spe- I mean white ball with a tail. Yes, these were the ghost that used to hang here.

 Because of this many citizens of Gensokyo gave this desolate area a name: The Phantom Land.

This is where Orange used to roam.

Thing is though, I haven?t seen her ever since I fought that miko once. In fact, no one has. I asked quite a few people who knew her personally if they have seen her since, and all gave me the same answer. Some say that she was sealed by the miko. Others say that Yukari fooled around with her borders again and used Orange to play with borders of existence and non-existence. But all theories point to the fact that she?s no longer among us. Dead. Poor soul. Gengetsu and I used to have a lot of fun with her. It?s not like she was bad or anything.

As for the ghosts? After that flower incident, the ghosts no longer remained here. Yuka told me that both Reimu and a Yama named Sikieiki punished a certain lazy Shinigami to ferry the ghosts once again. I guess they finally moved on now. I guess that?s good for them. The humans and even some of the weaker youkai are still afraid of this area still. They believe that some of the ghosts still haunt the place. I doubt it though. I?ve traveled through this place many times on my way to Yuka?s place, and not once have I ever seen a ghost since.

The three of us continued our way through the Phantom Land. Kurumi was making fun of Elly now after hearing Yuka?s plan with Elly now, and Elly continued to be a bit silent and red, I guess from embarrassment. As for me? I decided to read that Freudian book. Hopefully to pass some time on our journey back home.

---

?Ugh?? I woke up finding myself on the bare ground lying on my back, feeling quite sore, my head still spinning. I sat up finding Koishi leaning towards me, back to her cheery facial expression, ??w..what happened?? I asked.

?You lost.? She said quickly. ?That was fun! I?m winning 1-0 right now!?

?H-how did you hit me exactly?? I asked, barely remembering the blue hearts before I lost consciousness.

?Ah!? She pointed her finger upwards as to make a point. ?Those hearts I shot earlier, I returned them back to me, as it looked as if you didn?t expect it, just as I planned. They turn blue when it happens though. It?s so I know that they?re safe to me.?

??ah?so?that?s why they?? I couldn?t remember it all too clearly. It just happened so?suddenly. I needed to get my act together. I?m already down one, I couldn?t afford to lose another.

?So that?s 1-0 to me!? Koishi said cheerfully as she clapped her hands together. She lent me a hand to lift me up from the ground. ?Why don?t you use a spell card??

Well, it was probably just because I had no idea how to even use them properly. So I resolved to ask her.

?Oh? It?s like I said earlier, if you had a set pattern and attack, you declare it by pulling out your spell card and yelling it out to your opponent. Don?t worry about the names though. Just make it up! I think it would help if you named it based on your abilities and the type of attack though. It can?t be just anything.?

Makes sense I guess. As I planned out some kind of strategy for our next battle, I tried to think of a name of a ?spell card? attack I planned to use in the battle. ?I think I have something?? I told myself quietly.

?I want to ask you something though.? Koishi told me, as I was dusting myself off from the dirt. ?Why do you seem so?awkward?when you dodge bullets??

?What do you mean?? I asked, confused.

?Well it?s like I said before,? Koishi replied. ?Danmaku is all about beauty. So when you dodge the bullets in the Spell Card System the best way to win these things is to be graceful about it. You should try it in the next round.?

I thought about it. That probably explains why I sometimes had a hard time dodging some of her bullets, and why she did it with ease.

?Well then shall we proceed to the next round then?? I asked, ready to fight once again.

?Yes let?s play again!? Koishi replied happily, also ready to fight.

Hmm?yes?, I thought to myself, so if you want play the element of surprise, then we shall fight fire with fire then! I know what to do now. I know how to beat you this time.

?Set Spell Card!? Koishi yelled out. ?Fight!?

This time I waited for Koishi to attack first, and luckily she did, shooting a few bullets all over me. I did what Koishi told me earlier and tried to graze them gracefully, keeping the beauty in my mind.

It worked! Next thing I knew the bullets were behind me, continuing to zoom away from me. It made bullet-dodging much easier than before. I glanced at Koishi to find her smile a lot wider than usual. She intended that, I thought to myself. But?why?

I decided to give chase at Koishi once again, this time learning from my previous mistake and concentrating as hard as I can. I continued to shoot bullets as I chased her as she continued to easily dodge them gracefully.

Koishi unexpectedly flew upwards, and as my eyes tried to follow her, I lost her for a second. That second proved to be costly as I couldn?t relocate her. I looked in every direction, but she was nowhere to be seen. But I knew she wasn?t gone. She?s nearby. I could feel her presence.

?Symbol ?Danmaku Paranoia?!?

I heard Koishi yell from behind me. I turned around to find her shoot a large amount of giant rounded bullets at me. I prepared myself to dodge with my mind still in splendor. The bullets finally came in range, and I started to dodge them gracefully, and I continued to do so, but as I moved away from my initial spot, bullets quickly spawned around me and really close to me. It seemed that these bullets remains and floats around me, leaving no opening for me to escape from confinement, but that?s what I assumed since I was too busy trying to dodge the large bullets coming at me.

As time went on, I started to feel worried, but not from the oncoming bullets, rather from the surrounding bullets. I started to feel more constricted from these bullets as I continued to dodge, but if I tried to pay attention to see if this was true, the bullets seemed to just continue to float around me, but not at me. I think it was just me being paranoid, but regardless these bullets did not make things any easier. In fact, I knew that I couldn?t keep dodging for much longer. The enclosed space made it way too tight to dodge the large bullets. I didn?t even know how I managed to last this long.

I continued to dodge the large bullets, until out of nowhere, right after I dodged a bullet near the enclosing pink bullets, another one was almost at my chest. There was no way I could dodge it in time without the side of the bullet hitting my arm. I tried to do so anyways, and as I predicted, the edge of the bullet came at my left arm?

?but I didn?t feel anything. I watched as it fazed right through it.

?Wha??? At the moment I didn?t really question it, as I figured it out quickly as I continued to dodge Koishi?s bullets. The bullets are much smaller than they appear!

That?s a neat trick she played. Definitely something else to make you paranoid over this spell-card. Otherwise this card would?ve been too hard to dodge.

?I need to finish this now!? I told myself. I knew that I couldn?t do this forever. I don?t want to risk any more close calls like the last time. I tried shooting a few bullets through, but this led to another purpose of the large bullet appearance. My bullets can?t go through them at all. Koishi must have strategically used them to avoid her opponent from quickly ending the spellcard. I decided to continue spamming bullets at Koishi, hoping that a stray bullet will eventually find an opening.

After a few more minutes of dodging, grazing and shooting, I see a couple of my bullets finally go through a tiny opening, but I lost track of them as more bullets moved towards that opening. I continued to dodge the oncoming bullets hoping that my bullets would hit its mark.

Then suddenly I see the bullets around me disappear. I looked up to see Koishi still floating though, and my bullets still flying past Koishi. She must?ve dodged them, but it caused her to break her spell card in the process. Thank god...

I took this chance to give chase so she wouldn?t be able to declare another spell card in time. I continued to shoot bullets at her as I chased her down. She continued to dodge them with ease, and this continued for a couple minutes.

?Damn it.? I told myself, ?This will never work! I guess it?s my turn to use one of my special attacks.? I quickly reminded myself of those ?Spell Cards? Koishi mentioned, so I thought I had to declare my special attacks before I could use them. So I took out one of the blank pieces of paper from my pocket and held it up.

?Um?uh?? Crap! I forgot I had to name them! I thought. This was much harder to think up than I thought. Uh?well?let?s see?related to my powers and attack?

I should mention that trying to think up such names for Spell Cards while trying to concentrate on the fight was much harder to do than you think. It doesn?t help that I?m not such a great multitasker anyways.

?Ah! I got it! ?Um?Dream Sign?uh??Dream Catcher?!?

I felt the card disappearing, but before I could even glance at it to see why, it was already gone. No matter. It?s not like I was going to hold onto it for the entire sequence. It would be quite troublesome.

Anyways, I started out this attack by pointing my finger towards the inexistant sky (which wasn?t created at the time). From there I quickly summoned a few stray, yet really fast bullets in every direction. Koishi dodged them all with ease and beauty, but just as she finished, I was already ready for the next phase of the attack.

I spread my arms wide and released thin lasers all over the place, followed by bullets following the same directions as the lasers, making somewhat like a wall of bullets with small gaps in-between them all spaced out evenly. I made multiple walls, although each wall are spaced out differently. I intended the walls and lasers to be easy to dodge in one place, and I was hoping that Koishi would try to charge at me quickly within that same line. This would mean positioning herself right in front of me.

Fortunately enough, she did. She started to charge at me, ready to shoot a bullet for a hit. All was going to plan.

Got ya.

I placed my arms forward and quickly shot out a giant laser right at her.

?AGJHADSGDSFKLHGILKHE-? Koishi mumbled nonsense as a reaction to the laser, knowing that it was impossible for her to dodge the laser from such a close range. The laser made contact with her, and all you could see was a bright blue light in going straight through her, Koishi?s figure was barely visible within it. After a second or two I decided to stop the laser. I saw Koishi quickly falling towards the hard ground, head first.

?Oh no?? I couldn?t just let Koishi hit herself hard on the ground, but this was the girl trying to enslave me as a pet, why should I help her? It would?ve been better just to let her hit her head and probably suffer a coma for the rest of her life.

But no, I have a good conscience. I?m a good person. I know that guilt would set in on me if I didn?t. I don?t want her to suffer a fate almost as cruel as?my last friend?

As guilt continued to set in, and as Koishi continued to fall, I decided to chase after her body. I managed to catch her well before she landed. I slowly descended towards the ground and layed her body on it. Just as I did, her eyes quickly opened, followed by a slow moan.

??ow?wh?what just happened?? She asked. ?That was?oh god that was?FUN!?

?Really?? For a girl who just got lasered to the face, she was quite?exhilarated from the fight.

?Yeah! I completely didn?t expect that at all! How did you manage to do that!? I should?ve expected an attack like that.?

?Maybe you were daydreaming a little too much?? That was one of the side-effects of the attack. It causes you to sidetrack yourself from the general attack. Not only that, but usually it allows you to attack subconsciously, with little to no control over your actions, like how a dream works. It gets complicated, but I think you know what I mean. It didn?t seem to affect Koishi though and I wondered why.

But it didn?t matter. I beat her, my plan worked, better than expected.

I gave Koishi a hand and she took it to get back up. ?So it?s tied now? 1-1??

?Uh-huh.? She responded, ?That means that the next battle will determine the winner! How exciting!?


Bleh. I didn't think this installment wasn't as great. But that's just me beating myself up, like I always do with the previous installments when I finish them. Maybe I'm too hard on myself? Ah well...

[Sen]

?AGJHADSGDSFKLHGILKHE-? Koishi mumbled

Such beautifully enscribed prose :V


I like it so far! The danmaku battle is really well-written, and I liked the idea of Koishi's pink Id bullets turning into her Superego bullets.
Your Koishi is adorable, by the way. <3

[Dorian White]

You set a rather high standards for your Danmaku-combat scenes, it makes me wonder how you planing to top this in the final round.

[Gpop]

I like it so far! The danmaku battle is really well-written, and I liked the idea of Koishi's pink Id bullets turning into her Superego bullets.

The idea was actually taken from the Grimoire of Marisa:

Instinct "Release of the Id":

The speedy hearts decelerate at a certaind distance and clump. However, they don't disappear.

Suppression "Super-Ego":

A spell card that gathers all of the scattered hearts that don't disappear. This is a unique spell card that makes a set with "Release of the Id".

Without "Release of the Id", "Super-Ego" can't be activated, or its density is low.

I just try to expand on it more based on my beliefs on how the card works.

[Gpop]

Wow...more than 4 months since I last updated this fic. I didn't forget about this. Just that my proofreader had a lot to do. To get this off her back, I've appointed a new proofreader now, so hopefully this'll go on a lot quicker.

Anyways, HERE WE GO AGAIN!


?Mama!?

?Yes??

?What?s that white stuff falling outside? I never seen such things! Is the world ending??

?Why no sweetie. It?s called snow. It?s winter season now, and that means that the yuki-onna are out to play.?

?What?s a ?um?wookie-wana??

?They are seasonal youkai that wonders around Gensokyo. They roam the land during the winter season, but only during that time. Every other season they hibernate until the next winter season comes.?

?But what happens if??

?If what sweetie??

??if?if it doesn?t come back??

Mama smiled at me. ?It will always come back. Just as spring, summer and fall always did, winter is no different.? Mom then took an apple from the table beside her. ?See this apple??

I nodded in response.

?This apple will always grow?and it will die, but?? She took the knife beside and cut the apple in half. She took the seed that was hidden inside of it and showed it to me. ?because of the seeds, it will always grow back as another apple tree. Nothing ever truly dies?? She trailed off. Then tears started run down her cheeks. She quickly wiped them out and continued, ??just like your father, either out there somewhere, searching for us, or watching over us.?

As I heard this I felt slight pain in my heart. I didn?t understand the feeling, maybe someday I?ll understand. Still?the pain was that I never really knew Papa that much. He was only with me 2 years after I was born. Mama wouldn?t tell me what happened, except that he won?t be seeing him anytime soon?

As I saw more tears trickle from her eyes, I decided to change the subject to keep her mind off of it, ?Hey Mama? Can I go play outside in that white blanket? It looks really comfy! Maybe I could sleep in it!?

Mama smiled. ?Okay, but what about your sister? I haven?t seen her all day.?

?Oh Mugey went to Yu?s house. But she?ll be back for dinner though!? I responded hastily. ?Oh can I go now please please please!??

 ?Sure?but go use a jacket though. It?s really cold, and the snow is wet.?

?Yay!? I ran to my room and searched through my closet for my pink jacket. It was pretty thick, and I usually used it for the rain, so I thought it could handle the wet snow really well. I put on this hat that covered my ears from the cold, and these boots I used for the rain. I put on my gloves and ran back to the front door, which I swung open to see the winter wonderland in front of me.

?YIPPEE!!? I yelled as I jumped right into the snow. It felt all soft and wet, and really cold as Mama warned. Mama was always a smart woman. She knew the answer to everything! That?s why I loved her so much.

I continued to play around in the snow. I swung my arms and legs a bit in the snow while I lied on it and when I got up I found that made some sort a heavenly figure. I think Mama called it an angel?it looked similar to the ones in the books I read before. They had the same wings as me, as well as blonde hair, just like me. The only difference is that they wore white elegant clothing and had some sort of bright ring floating above them. Mom called it a Halo. What a nice name?

?Hey! Where?d you come from?? I heard someone called at me. I turned around to see a girl with a weird looking instrument staring at me, hands behind her back. She looked a little bit older than me, but not by much. ?You better not run too far off from where you came from. The Yuki-onna aren?t the nicest people around, mind you.?

?Oh?sorry.? I apologized to her as I bowed out of respect.

?Besides,? she continued, disregarding my bow, ?it seems that you don?t know how to have REAL fun with the snow. Must be the first time you saw it correct?? She asked.

?Y-yes! It?s beautiful!? I told her.

?Hmm?? she nodded and took some snow from the ground. She started to make some sort of ball out of it. ?Well I guess you never tried to use it this way!? She yelled as she threw the ball of snow right at my face. I didn?t expect it at all, so it made direct contact. I fell back from the strong impact. I never knew she had such a strong arm.

I wiped the snow off my face. I got back up and looked at her. She began to laugh. For some reason I did as well. I guess that it was because she was having fun, so I knew it was a joke.

After we calmed down a bit I asked, ?What was that for??

?It?s called a snowball fight!? She replied, ?Since snow is soft and harmless, we can throw it at each other!?

?oh?? I took a chunk of snow from the ground and formed a ball with it. I threw it right at her. She somehow managed to read the throw and dodged it.

?Oh so I guess it?s war!? She grinned.

?Yeah?take no prisoners!? I replied, grinning as well, making another ball of snow. I looked up to see her doing so as well. We went on to throw snowballs at each other for a few hours?

---

After the snowball fight, we went on to do other activities together. We made a snow fort, walked across the frozen lake (and slipped a few times too, so my behind kinda hurt after that), and many other things. It was probably one of the funnest days I ever had. Finally, we stopped near my house until I heard Mama called.

?Gengetsu! Time for dinner!?

?Aww?coming Mama!? I yelled back. I turned to the girl. ?Um?I?m sorry. I have to go now. I had a really fun time with you.? I told her as I blushed a little, turning my eyes away from her.

?Yeah?so did I.? She said. ?I just wished we could?ve spend more time together.?

?Yeah?don?t worry! I?ll be here every day, and we can play together every day!? I told her.

?Heh sure! I come here every day anyways. I guess that means we?re?friends then?? She said, blushing a bit as well.

?Yeah?friends forever?? I asked.

?Forever and ever!? She replied.

?Hooray!? I jumped for joy. Then I heard mom called again.

?Gengetsu! Dinner?s getting cold!?

?Coming Mama!? I yelled back once again. I started my way towards home, until I realized I never actually asked for her name the entire time! We were having so much fun I never really bothered. So I did.

?Ah?my name is??

---

I got into my fighting stance, ready for our last battle to determine my fate.

?Set Spell Card! Fight!?

Both of us immediately jumped up and began flying around. This time Koishi decided to attack more aggressively, as it was her chasing me down. I dodged her bullets gracefully, while trying to shoot her back while I was at it, hoping that I would hit her eventually, but to no avail.

I decided to use the dreamworld to my advantage. I flew low, near the ground so I can create things off the ground. I started to summon a few rocks to emerge off the ground as not only defense from the oncoming bullets, but to try to lose Koishi in the way. The bullets became less dense towards me, but I still had to continue to dodge them gracefully.

As I continued to flee, the bullets became less and less dense as time went on, until I finally realized that there were no bullets coming towards me anymore. I decided to stop and turn to see the reason. She disappeared. She was no longer following me. I decided to search around a bit, keeping my guard up though for any kind sudden movement from her or surprise attacks.

?Hmm?I?ve noticed that you have much potential in your skills?are you holding back?? I heard her voice call out. But I couldn?t locate the source. It?s as if?she was in my head.

?Where are you!?? I called out, hoping that the next time she responded I could figure where she was.

?Oh?I?m here. You just haven?t noticed yet.? She responded, again from an unknown location. I started to panic a bit, trying to locate her. I was expecting anything to happen at any time.

Suddenly the entire world around me started to fade into darkness?

Everything around me faded away. I found myself in a world of emptiness. Nothing but myself. All alone?

??teehee?I see that there's something troubling you...it's all over your subconscious.? My mind raced when she said that. Don?t tell me?

?Koishi appeared right in front of me, her grin wider than ever, with an evil look on her face.

?I can see what happened...in your past? she began to say to me. ?You lost someone very dear to you ...? My body started to shake a little. I think it was fear. She began to lift her arm up and pointed it towards me. ??and now...you're hiding from the world...you're no different than my sister.?

Immediately after she spread her arms apart with a card at hand. She declared it.

?PHILOSOPHY OF A HATED PERSON!?

The card disappeared, along with her, and bullets started to come from every direction, but the bullets seemed to be aligned in two different directions, perpendicular to each other. But as the approached me, I noticed some of the bullets turn into roses, following the line of the bullets, and every time they cross, they roses would switch from line of bullets to the next, moving back in forth.

It quickly approached me, but I managed to dodge it, far enough that it couldn't hit me. But as the roses passed by, I heard voiced coming from it. It sounded like her voice, muttering things, trying to tell me something. All I could make out was small fragments such as, ?...no one loves me...? and ?...why do they hate me? I didn't do anything...it's all their fault...?. As the spell card went on, I could sense the danmaku felt...unsynchronized. It's as if the bullets had no beauty...no nature...no acknowledgment...

...no happiness.

The bullets felt totally desynchronized with the nature and environment around it. It's like as if though the danmaku...hates the user. But the biggest thing that concerns me is...how did Koishi know about it? How did she know about my past and my guilt...

I noticed that as time went on, the bullets started to get a little denser. The line of roses starting to grow longer, making it hard for me to time my dodges between bullets before the roses could get to me, and the hatred growing. I started to feel hatred within myself as well as I continued to hear the voices from the roses. No, I actually started to feel troubled. My mind was starting to lose sense of reality. The voices from the roses started to get louder and louder, her voice starting to dig into my mind.

The bullets kept coming, changing patterns while still remaining in straight lines, making it hard to concentrate because I tried to keep myself sane from this...illusion Koishi seemed to have made. I tried to shoot the rose, hoping that it'll end the spell card, but to no avail, as the bullets simply went through. I saw no other way to end this spell card, as Koishi is no where to be found. ?Damn...it must be one of those time-out cards she mentioned before...?

I knew it wouldn't be long until it ended. I could hear something at a distance like a...timer counting down. Again, I couldn't find the source, but after a few seconds it started to become louder and louder until...

...BAM!

All of the bullets surrounding me disappeared. The world of nothingness that I was in began to revert back to my dreamworld once again. But I also noticed that a figure started to appear gradually as well. The figure then became clear to visibly see who it was...

...it was Koishi once again.

?Wow...you're much better then I thought!? Koishi said. ?But I sense something that you deem...powerful. More than all the other attacks you used on me. Why don't you show it? I love a challenge!?

?I will...because I will never give my life for you!? I yelled at her.

?THEN SHOW ME YOUR TRUE POWER!?

?LUCID DREAM [ONEIROPHOBIA]? I spread my arms out to send out a barrage of random bullets in every direction. I could see Koishi brighten up as the bullets came at her. She had no chance. This was my most powerful attack pattern I had, and only two people has managed to dodge it successfully to beat me. But this person was definitely not as strong as those two. She wasn't a powerful shrine maiden. She wasn't a powerful witch. She was a weak satori that I've already beaten once. If she lost to that other card, she can't beat this one...

Koishi was surrounded. She was trying to dodge them all, but by the sheer force and randomness of the bullets came at her in made her seem completely lost. She knew she had no chance. She couldn't dodge it long. It wouldn't be long until she'll finally get hit.

Then Koishi saw a bullet coming right at her, with no way to react fast enough to dodge it in time. She covered her face to brace for impact. I was grinning at the sight of the bullet quickly approaching her. I closed my eyes out of relief. I got her...

...but as I kept my eyes shut I heard no explosion, no one screaming, nothing to signify someone getting hit by a bullet. I opened my eyes to see something I'd never through would happen.

Koishi still had her arms covering her face, but the bullets were floating around her. After a few seconds Koishi removed her arms to find out that she's completely safe from harm. She looked as shocked from this as I was. She started to control one of the bullets in front of her, playing with it a little. I just continued to float there in silence.

No...this can't be...

Koishi then began to control the rest of the bullets around, all of it orbiting her now. I saw a really wide grin on her face.

No...it's not possible...it can't be...

She looked up to me, her grin wider than ever. She started to shoot the bullets back at me using the exact same attack I used.

...she...cheated...

I tried to dodge it all, but it was no use. I was never prepared to fight my own attack...

...it's the only way...she cheated...

I tried to gain control of my own bullets, but for some reason I couldn't. This resulted in a bullet to my stomach, which hit me pretty hard from the speed in which it came at me at, followed by another right at my head.

...no...

From that I began to fall, dizzy from head-shot. I could see the ground getting closer quicker as time passed...

...no...I lost...she cheated...SHE CHEATED!

But just as I was about to hit the ground, I felt someone's arm around me, and myself decelerating to the ground until I was I finally touched land softly by the arm that slowly let me down. After a minute or so I started to feel okay enough to figure out who it was. It was Koishi.

?You...cheater...? I told her softly, feeling weak from the fight. I actually started to feel drained from the fight. I probably didn't realize how tired I was until now.

?Oh? I'm a cheater? Why?? She asked, with her usual smile on her face.

?You...controlled my own bullets...but I couldn't control it back...how...??

?Oh! I forgot to tell you...I can manipulate the subconscious!? She said cheerfully, as I noticed a collar and a leash in her hands. ?I took your 'dream' and turned it into a nightmare!?

?Damn...it...? I said as I began to lose consciousness. My life...is now gone...enslaved...it felt no different from death...

---

?Can you stop pinching my cheeks!?? Elly yelled at Kurumi as she swung her arms wildly as her defense from Kurumi's arms.

?GENGEY! I BROUGHT FRIENDS OVER!? I called my sister out as we flew through the Dreamworld. Usually she would come up to me and complain about me bringing some people over and tell me that they have to stay on my side of the world so we don't bother her. She's really against having anyone else over, especially when it's friends of mine, no matter who it is. It reminds her of the unfortunate event that befell over her friend...the ideas of having friends...it makes her really uncomfortable. I generally respect that, but I want to be selfish sometimes.

But this time...there was no response. I called her again. Same result. This was unusual. She would never leave the Dreamworld. She isolated herself from everyone else. She'd rather be alone or with me only. I asked Kurumi and Elly help me search for Gengetsu to see if she's around. They happily obliged. But after half an hour of searching she was no where to be found.

?MUGEY!? Kurumi yelled at us, and both Elly and I rushed towards her to see what was it she found, hoping that Gengey would be located near her. Instead, I see a huge patch of black roses around her. This is not something Gengey would've made herself, especially black roses. Someone must have been here...

?We're taking this to Yuka. Maybe she knows something about this.? I told the two girls. They nodded as I picked a black rose. I'm gonna find you Gengey. I won't let you suffer once again...


I kinda gave this chapter a lot of thought into it, but the ending on how Koishi beat Gengetsu was what I had planned the entire time :3 And who's that mysterious girl from Gengetsu's past!? More will be revealed in later installments :V

Now I got one part of the many things I plan on doing to this fic out of the way, I'll just say that the fic has only just begun

[swamp147]

Oh my gosh can this fic get any better (I'm betting that it can cuz your writing is awesome!)??
For some reason, I fell in love with Gengetsu when i finally managed to get past the ball (Nue?) and Mugetsu. Could never make it to the one where she uses the huge laser though . I love her theme, and found a certain pacifist run of LLS extra. That was the first time I saw Mugetsu and Gengetsu's super timeout phase attacks. Hoollyyy craaaap those things are the best!!!!

And now, several weeks later, I stumble across your story. I never expected my favorite character to show up (and as one of the main characters, and even in her pov!)! And when she and Koishi started the battle, something in my mind kept shouting "oh gosh what if Gengetsu uses her crazy timeout phase attacks no one can dodge those please please please use them that will make me so happyyyy" and then you did

Oh, and your story made me hate Koishi heheh. Ruro's White Rose did a little bit too (

Spoiler:

I like Yumeko

), but your Koishi is the kind of person I do NOT like at all. Tries to be all cutesy and happy while messing with a good-hearted kawaii akuma, forcing her to take up her terms for a deal where Gengetsu has everything to lose and Koishi has nothing to lose, and then cheating in their duel!!! Gaaaarrggghhhh!!

Not to say that this makes me dislike your story; it actually is what makes the story good. If a story can make me hate its villain, if it can make me root and cheer harder for the protagonist, then you've done an excellent job.

Oh, and that's not Rin is it??? I reallllly hope she is! Another one of my favorite characters!

Finally, Gengetsu fighting!! Beat down that no-good heart-flinging danmaku-stealing satori!