HEY DOES ANYONE ELSE REMEMBER THIS STORY
I SURE DO!
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At first, Shiro had been afraid. This was a big ask of her, and she?d never gambled against someone with quite this much aggression. Ran?s eyes burrowed into her, trying to pierce down to her heart. Defense instincts kicked in, and it took all she had just to stay seated.
Then she started to think it over. She had nothing to worry about, right? She had her power on her side. Luck went her way, all the time. She was invincible, and she was just going to prove it here. Everything would be fine as long as she stayed calm.
Chen seemed disappointed when Shiro took up the challenge. Shiro saw her glaring at her master once or twice with what seemed like jealousy. Eventually, she just made the most of it and became an eager spectator of the goings-on.
Ran rolled well, Shiro noticed, amazingly so. High pairs and triples came from her rolls on a regular basis, and she didn?t comment on her luck even once. Maybe she had the same sort of power that Shiro did? She seemed confident, looking Shiro straight in eyes every time she made a roll.
With every glare Shiro gulped a little, but found the courage to stare back. She couldn?t lose. She
couldn?t. And sure enough, the dice went in her favour every time - no matter how well Ran rolled, Shiro always managed to go one better. She was nervous to start with, but as she kept winning that fear melted away.
?Another triple? Shiro-kun, how do you keep doing this?!?
Chen hugged her from behind, snuggling up close to her, but Shiro was distracted. She could feel something in her chest - weak, but definitely present. It was like a fire in her heart, flickering faintly, without the fuel it needed to really come to life. It was a tiny flame, but it felt wonderful as it ran through her blood.
Was this how her master had felt when he gambled? Was this the thrill of the game, what had driven him to throw his life away? Now that she was experiencing it herself, she was starting to understand. She wasn?t sure if she could leave the table right now even if she?d wanted to.
But...it wasn?t enough. Slowly, the feeling of dissatisfaction started to engulf her. This was getting boring now. There was no risk, no danger. She just threw the dice, and they came up however she wanted them to. There wasn?t even anything to lose if she
did stop producing.
Ran looked up from her scribbling for a moment and caught that look on Shiro?s face. Shiro saw the woman?s expression shift at that moment - she was surprised, just for an instant, before her expression shifted back to deadpan.
?I apologise. Is this not quite enough for you??
She put her notes to the side, straightening out her robes. She leaned backwards in her chair, cracking her joints and rolling her head around. When she was done, she gave Shiro a proud smile.
?Say, Shiro-san. What say we add a wager to make this a little more interesting??
She spoke softly, almost too softly. There was something hidden behind those words, but Shiro couldn?t quite place a finger on what.
?Let?s have one more game,? Ran continued. ?If you win, I?ll give you personal tutoring. I?ll teach you language, culture, everything you would need to be respected as a youkai in this nation, and I?ll do it in a week. If you lose, however...?
She caught Shiro?s eyes with a glare. ?I?ll have you removed from this mansion immediately.?
Chen flinched. ?R-Ran-sama, what are you saying? You can?t kick Shiro-kun out! She?s my shi-? She stopped there, clasping her hands over her mouth and looking like she?d just made a terrible mistake. Ran shrugged.
?It?s not your choice to make, Chen. Shiro-san, if you want to just end it for today, that?s fine. You?ll be saving me a week of effort, as well.?
She was right, Shiro thought to herself. She could just refuse, and get back to learning from Chen. This was too big a risk over such a small thing. It had been a silly idea. And besides that, there was something about the way the woman was carrying herself that made Shiro?s tails curl up around themselves unconsciously.
That was reason, though. The fire in her heart didn?t listen to reason. It was like Ran?s words were laced with oil, ready to explode when the flame touched them. Two voices fought in her head - her voice, screaming about caution and danger, and the flame?s voice, full of passion and ambition.
The latter won out. Shiro nodded, knowing full well she was walking into some sort of trick. It would be okay, she told herself. She couldn?t lose. She couldn?t...
?No,? she said, in a tiny voice. Ran flinched, eyes widening.
?I?m sorry, Shiro-san, I didn?t hear tha-?
?I will play.?
Silence hung in the room for a moment. Ran?s expression shifted again - shock, then disappointment, then finally an emotion Shiro had never seen before. It was pride, power, eagerness. She sat upright, a bright grin running across her face.
?Very well, Shiro-san. Shall we make it best of three??
Again, Ran rolled first, now looking more determined than ever. She had the look of a veteran returning to the field, finally adding a gamble to an otherwise ordinary life. As she was shuffling with the bowl, Chen grabbed Shiro by the shoulder, bordering on hysterical.
?Seriously, Shiro-kun, this isn?t funny!? she shouted, trying to pull Shiro off of the chair. ?You don?t wanna end up on the streets again, do you?!?
Shiro didn?t know how to respond. She agreed with Chen, for the most part, but the gamble was intoxicating. She?d never played for these stakes before, and the euphoria was like nothing she?d ever experienced. There was no reason left in her right now, and she looked into Chen?s eyes with a painful smile.
I?m sorry, Chen-sama. I can?t stop...Chen bit her lip, hanging her head as she stepped back. She understood, it seemed. That was good.
Ran made her roll. Five-Five-Six. That was good. She leaned over, resting one arm on the bowl. Like she had every time before, she glowered straight into Shiro?s eyes.
?So, shall we see how your luck holds up under pressure? I?m very curious as to the result.?
Shiro stared her down, refusing to budge an inch. There was another battle going on here - a battle of wills. If she lost this, the victory would be empty. She?d have offered a response, but in her human form she still wasn?t very verbose, so she let her eyes get the message across.
Without even looking away, Ran slid the bowl across the table in front of Shiro. ?Your turn.?
Shiro reached out for it, continuing to glare at Ran. She wasn?t even looking as she made the roll, only looking down as the clattering of dice stopped.
When she saw her roll, she had to blink a few times out of sheer shock.
One, Two, Four? That wasn?t a winning roll. It wasn?t even a roll. She?d failed to score. That had never happened before.
Suddenly the flame within was flickering, and Shiro could feel the first beads of sweat running down her face. She gave the dice a look, a feel. They were real, no weights, no tricks. So she should have been rolling so much better than this. What was going on?
Ran allowed herself a little smile.
?I had suspected as much. I sensed that your power was not foolproof, Shiro-san - when the stakes rise, your luck begins to dissipate. Now you?re playing on the same field as I am.?
Shiro?s heart felt like it was going to fall out of her mouth. Ran was lying, surely. One mishap didn?t mean her power had fallen away, after all. She had to calm down, and go for another roll. The fire was burning in her chest, gaining strength. Adversity only made it blaze brighter.
She hadn?t lost yet. She wouldn?t lose. She couldn?t...
She couldn?t bare to look when she threw the dice. The first clue was the proud ?hmph? coming from the other side of the table, shortly followed by Chen?s arm on her shoulder. Shiro didn?t even have to look to understand.
She?d lost.
?It?s a shame, honestly.? Ran said as she pulled the bowl back. ?You would never have taken the bet if you?d known this, would you??
Slowly, Shiro managed a nod. She wanted to curl up into a little ball and cry now. The emotional high had fallen away, and now the grim reality of her situation was getting to her. She was going to lose, and then she?d be fending for herself again. She couldn?t put herself through that a second time - she?d been just about ready to die when Chen had found her.
?Ran-sama, what?s going on?!? Chen?s voice flew into Shiro?s ear, making her wince. ?You knew Shiro-kun wasn?t going to be able to win, and you?re still threatening her like this?! Please, just-?
?She accepted. Whether or not she knew the truth is irrelevant. When we gamblers make a deal, we don?t take it back.? Ran leaned forward, and Shiro heard the wooden table creak. ?Now, shall we continue??
The inevitability of it was the worst part. Maybe if it was a fair game, she would have at least had the courage to continue. But there was a trick here - Ran had rolled
too well from the very start of the game. She was cheating, somehow, and Shiro wasn?t going to have a chance of winning until she figured out how.
But...try as she might, she couldn?t focus her thoughts enough to think up a plan.
?Nyaaah, haaah...?
Too much. Too much pressure. Shiro?s face was burning, and her eyes were starting to lose focus. Her hands were fidgeting incessantly, her legs pumping, her tails coiled around each other. She could feel her heart trying to tear its way out of her chest, and her mind had melted into a sea of panic.
She had to think. She had to regroup.
And to do either of those,
she had to get out of here.
?Hey, Shiro-kun?!?
Chen reached out for her, but Shiro was too fast. She?d already ran off into the labyrinth, and within minutes she was lost deep within the mansion?s maze-like corridors. She turned left and right at random, putting no thought into where she was trying to go - all that mattered was that she hid. The pressure in that room was something she?d never felt before - her heart was still pounding, her mind still racing. She couldn?t face it right now. She had to calm down.
She didn?t recognise the architecture in the wing she eventually chose to stop in - that meant she?d never been here before, and they were less likely to look for her. She opened the first door at her side, and looking in her eyes quickly focused on the large closer. Opening it up, she found it full to the brim with clothes, and she squirmed in behind them to try and conceal herself.
Once she?d managed to get herself well and truly lost, Shiro slipped into the first door she could find. She needed a hiding spot, and the room offered her a closet with a full rack of clothes for her to hide behind. She shuffled past, pressing at the back of the closet-
?Nya??
-Where her hands pressed against something that wasn?t wood. It was another piece of clothing, she realised, one that had been kept separate from those on the rack. She could barely make it out in the dim light within the closet, but it seemed like a coat of some sort, large enough to cover her entirely.
That?d do nicely.
Grabbing the coat off of the hanger, Shiro quickly threw it on and sat herself in the corner. Again, she sat on something that wasn?t wood; standing up, she pulled out a wide-brimmed hat from underneath her. It had the same feel as the coat, so maybe they were part of a pair. She figured it was only fair to be found wearing the entire ensemble, so she forced it onto her head. It was large enough that her ears weren?t crushed in beneath it, and they could wriggle around comfortably.
Shiro curled up into a little ball in the far corner of the closet, closing the door so no-one could tell she?d come in. This time, there was no sound of footsteps. She wasn?t being followed - or at least if she was, her pursuers were nowhere near finding her. For several minutes, she had nothing to do but sit and think about what had gone wrong.
She?d gone into that fight thinking she was invincible. She couldn?t have been more wrong - her power was only good for parlor tricks and little gambles. When she was playing for real stakes, she was on an even playing field with everyone else.
Even? No. It wasn?t even, not at all. Ran talked about making deals and being honest, but she was cheating somehow. The odds were too far in her favour, and without her normal injection of luck Shiro couldn?t hope to keep up with her. She had to figure it out, bring Ran down to the same level.
But could she do it? She?d had a breakdown in there. The pressure had been too much. Maybe she just wasn?t cut out for this sort of work. She was too sensitive, too nervous, too prone to panicking.
The coat pressed against her skin for a moment. The leather was warm and welcoming, like the fur she?d had all of a day ago. She nuzzled against it, and decided that even if she was about to be thrown out of the house she would at least try to take this with her. She?d take good care of it, never letting her eyes off it for a second-
!!!It was like the fabric sparked a flame, running through her skin and straight up into her brain. The game played clear as crystal in her mind, and she caught the moment when Ran bent the rules. She hadn?t seen it, but it made too much sense to be wrong.
The fire in her heart billowed outwards again as she stood up. This coat was growing on her, she decided. Maybe a size or three too large right now, but she?d grow into it. It felt safe, somehow, like a shield between her and the pressure that had scared her so much. More than that, it felt like she was a new person entirely - not the little girl who couldn?t steel her nerves, but a courageous young gambler who would challenge the odds and win.
The voice of reason still spoke to her, but she could hear the fear in it. ?You shouldn?t go back there?, ?You can?t beat her?, ?You should just hope Chen-sama saves you? - those were the ideas the voice was trying to bring out to her. She?d have listened to them normally, but the voice felt alien now, separate from her. This was the voice that had convinced her to run away from her problems rather than facing them head-on.
The second voice - the voice of the fire - was louder now, and if anything it was more logical than the voice of ?reason?. She?d caught onto the trick. Now all she had to do was reveal her in public, and most likely Chen would do the rest. It was simple, actually.
Shiro opened the door of the closet, her stance entirely different from what she?d entered with. When before she?d been a coward looking simply to run away, she stepped out a warrior with a firm plan she was ready to see through. She didn?t feel like herself right now - she felt like the flame itself, as if the fire had taken over her body and claimed it as its own.
She was definitely going to hold onto this coat, she decided. It was too useful not to keep.
-----
Chen was just about ready to explode.
?Ran-sama, what was that for?! It?s gonna take us ages to find her now!?
Ran put the bowl to one side, sighing as she looked over the notes she?d taken. Her hat had drooped forward, and her expression was sullen.
?Some lessons must be taught with force, Chen. I don't intend to let the game come to its conclusion. I've made my point.?
?What point?!? Chen?s fingernails dug into the table, her yells echoing into the chambers behind her. ?You?ve scared her senseless! Luck?s meant to be her specialty, and-?
?You saw it, didn?t you?? Ran?s words cut through the air, silencing her shikigami before she could finish her sentence. ?That look in her eyes. She wasn?t in control of her emotions.?
Chen tried to answer, but a lump was forming in her throat. She
had seen that look on Shiro?s face - that almost apologetic smile she?d worn as the game began. She hadn?t wanted to believe it, that her potential shikigami could be so weak.
?I?ve heard stories from the human village,? Ran continued, making angry circles around the most meaningful lines of her notes. ?Underground gambling rings, where they play all sorts of games from outside the border. The games are rigged, of course, so the house always wins. Men enter with stuffed pockets and leave with broken hearts.?
Ran?s ears twitched behind her hat, and she pulled it off to give them room to breathe. ?The curious thing is this - the inside men get their pay, but most of the money just disappears. There?s no sort of rich entrepreneur running around Gensokyo with more money than he?d ever need to spend. Whoever?s in charge, they aren?t running this business for money - at least, not money they?re intending to spend.?
The pieces started to come together in Chen?s head. She pulled her nails out of the table, wincing. She had splinters in her fingers now - for all of its looks, this table was pretty poorly constructed. She?d need a few minutes pulling them out.
?So you didn?t want Shiro-kun to get ahead of herself and-nyaaow, that hurts!?
?From the very beginning, I suspected her power wasn?t foolproof,? Ran replied, coming around and helping with the extraction. ?And now it turns out it is flawed in the worst way possible. Hopefully, she won?t have any reckless ideas of running off to make her fortune now.?
Chen?s tails stood on end every time Ran removed a splinter, letting out a little howl of pain. Ran winced once or twice as well - as Chen?s master, a small fragment of the cat?s pain passed on to her. With her own poor power over borders, she produced a first aid kit from elsewhere in the mansion and started to treat the cuts. That only gave Chen more to yell about.
?Nyaaah! I thought you were supposed to be treating these, Ran-sama!?
?If you don?t want these cuts to get infected, you?ll hold still for a little longer.?
It was a few minutes before Ran pulled away the kit. Chen was trying her best not to cry at the stinging feeling running under her fingernails. The feeling of her master?s arm around her shoulder served to calm her down.
?You know what?? Ran said. Her voice rose, and she shook at Chen to try and lift her out of the mood. ?Perhaps it would be better for Shiro-san to become your shikigami after all. It might be good to keep her out of trouble.?
Within moments, Chen had forgotten about the pain entirely. Her arms were already wrapped around her master?s waist.
?Really?! Thanks, Ran-sama! I promise I?ll raise her reeeeally well!?
Ran scratched behind one ear, and the nekomata let off a long purr of satisfaction. When it came down to it, she was easy to win over with simple pleasures like napping in the shade or a plate of fresh milk. She was still a cat, after all.
?Well, then,? Ran said, looking down the corridor. ?Shall we go looking for Shiro-san together??
?I am here.?
The voice came from the corridor behind them, and both Ran and Chen turned in its direction. Whatever Chen had been expecting to see, it wasn?t what was standing on the other side of the room - it seemed more like an overgrown mass of beige leather at first, but she could just about make out a humanoid figure past the long sleeves and trailing coattails. Finally, when the creature pulled its hat away so Chen could see its eyes, she finally recognised it.
?Shiro-kun...??
-----
In retrospect, Shiro thought to herself, this thing was hard as hell to walk with. Maybe she?d ask for one closer to her size later.
?Do I want to know where you found that?? Ran asked, sounding like she knew the answer already. Shiro shrugged.
?I found it in a closet. Nice and warm.? No use lying about it, she figured. It would just come back to haunt her further down the line if she was caught in a lie.
She was cool, calm, perfectly at ease with the situation, and this surprised her more than anyone. Every so often she had to ask herself if this was really happening, if it was
her walking back into this gamble without a care in the world. When the answer came back as
yes, she couldn?t help but be a little proud of herself.
?I was afraid you?d get lost, Shiro-san,? Ran said, still taken aback by Shiro?s new look.
?I was,? Shiro replied, turning her look to Chen, ?until Chen-sama started shouting. Then I followed the sound.?
Chen?s face went bright red, and she shoved her hands behind her back.
?I-I wasn?t in pain or anything! I was just, uh...calling for you to come back, that?s all.?
Shiro smiled. Chen was pretty cute when it came down to it, actually. She?d never stopped to see that before.
But she?d think about that later. She had a game to finish. She sat at the table, where Ran had been sitting before, and pulled the bowl back towards her.
?Let?s continue, Ran-sama.?
Ran stepped backwards, eyes on the bowl, then on Shiro. The change in the cat?s personality had probably stunned her. Shiro couldn?t blame her - even she herself was having trouble taking this all in.
?Ah, Shiro-san...? Ran gulped, looking away. ?I was thinking that I may have been too harsh on you earlier. Let?s just call the game off and-?
?We made a deal,? Shiro replied, her voice hard as diamond. ?Gamblers do not take back deals. You said that, Ran-sama.?
Chen?s expression turned from amazement to fear in the space of a second. Once again, she ran to Shiro?s side and tried to pull her away from the game.
?Shiro-kun, Ran-sama is being really nice to you! If you don?t take up that offer, you?re probably gonna-?
Shiro grabbed Chen by the wrist, then pulled the hat up so she could look her in the eyes.
?Chen-sama. I know what to do.?
Chen looked confused for a moment, but she eventually nodded and stepped backwards. The sound of the bowl sliding across the table was enough to make Shiro turn around again. Ran was seated, looking at her with something resembling disappointment.
?You should know the odds are stacked against you, Shiro-san. If you insist on keeping me to my word, then we will continue, but-?
?No holding back,? Shiro blurted. ?Whatever you have been doing until now, keep doing it.?
Ran let out a little gasp at that. It was small, but Shiro had been looking for it - a sign that Ran really had been cheating. She was relatively sure she?d figured out how the fox had done it as well, but she?d need to catch her in the act.
The fox coughed, taking the dice in her hand. ?A-Anyway, the first point went to me, correct? Let?s get back to the game.?
Shiro watched Ran?s hand as she gripped the three dice. They shook violently, the sleeves of her robes flapping around, blocking Shiro?s view several times. Her other hand came out as well, clasping around her fist, both of them shaking together. Ran?s composure returned during the roll, regaining the confidence she?d had before.
The cat?s attention moved from Ran?s hand to her sleeve. She raised an eyebrow as her eyes fell to Ran?s elbow. The fabric drooped slightly, like something inside was weighing it down. Then her sleeve slapped downwards, and the bulge was nowhere to be seen; seconds later, it whipped back up, and the droop was back.
So that was how she made the transfer. Clever, Shiro thought to herself.
?Hah-!?
Three dice clattered into the bowl, stopping after several seconds of violent twirling. Six-Six-Four. A score of Four, then. Decent, and certainly better than the average result.
Yet Ran was frowning as she looked down at her roll. Her glance turned to Shiro, looking to catch her eyes.
?You still don?t have to go through with this. We can just sto-?
Without looking away, Shiro snatched at the bowl. Ran?s eyes widened, looking with panic down at the dice, but Shiro paid them no mind. She kept looking straight into Ran?s eyes as she shuffled the dice around, trying to summon whatever luck she still had.
Please tell me I got this right-!The dice flew into the bowl, bouncing into one another several times before coming to rest. Chen seemed to be more nervous than anyone, her arm clamped on Shiro?s shoulder. Shiro leaned forward, trying not to make her nerves visible as she peered into the bowl.
?Aah!? Chen cried. ?Shiro-kun, you-!?
Four-Five-Six. An instant victory. Shiro beamed a feline grin, her hat perking up as her ears rose beneath it. Ran looked down at the dice in wonder, then turned to Shiro with the same puzzled expression. She knew that Shiro had figured her out, and yet she?d chosen to spare her. That was exactly how Shiro wanted her to feel right now, and she casually rolled the bowl back over to Ran.
?I must still be a little lucky,? she said, shrugging her shoulders like nothing was wrong. Ran grit her teeth, snatching the bowl back and taking the dice in her hands again.
Ran had been cheating, almost from the very beginning. She had rolled too well, Shiro told herself, and from the second roll onwards there had been something strange in her rolls. They were all far too high - not just in terms of results, but in terms of the actual numbers. She never rolled a 1, 2 or 3 - it was always 4 or higher. Shiro had taken that as coincidence - after all, she?d seen the dice, used them, and they seemed legitimate.
But maybe that was exactly what Ran had
wanted her to think.
The fox made her third roll, looking a little more desperate as she flung the dice into the bowl. The dice bounced, clattered, jingled around the bowl until they stopped dead in the centre.
Ran looked down at her roll, then up towards Shiro with a heartbreaking look.
?I?m sorry, Shiro-san.?
She tipped the bowl forward to reveal her roll.
Three sixes.
An instant win.
?No!? Chen was the first to cry out, wrapping her arms around Shiro. Shiro herself simply examined the dice, blinking occasionally, without her expression shifting in the slightest.
?My turn,? she said, reaching out for the bowl.
?Ah-? Ran made to pull the bowl backwards. ?But Shiro-san, triples beat everythi-?
?Then if I roll a triple, it?s a tie.?
Ran grit her teeth. She clearly wanted to force the ruling, but the teary-eyed nekomata over Shiro?s shoulder wasn?t going to stand for it.
?She?s right, Ran-sama!? Chen cried. ?Her right to live here is at stake, remember? At least give her a chance to roll!?
Ran?s brow furrowed, but eventually she let out a long sigh.
?Alright. But you know how bad your odds are here, Shiro-san.?
She looked up at the cat, that disappointed look coming back. Again, the pair glared at each other.
?I thought you would know better. There are some fights that you can?t win, Shi-?
That was the moment the game ended.
Shiro made her move. Her arm lashed out, grabbing Ran by the wrist. Both the fox?s hands were hanging over the bowl, and Shiro had caught her in the act. She?d grabbed the dice in the bowl while Shiro was looking away, but she hadn?t been ready for Shiro to catch her mid-grab. One of the dice flew out of her hand, rolling off the table and onto the floor. The other hand loosened, and three dice fell into the bowl.
Ran grimaced. Shiro smiled.
?Eh? What was that?? Chen had seen the trick now. One die went flying, and three dice fell into the bowl - but there were only supposed to be three dice. The cat was under the table, pulling out the fourth die and looking at it before Ran could stop her.
Chen?s expression was something between amazement and anger.
?Ran-sama, what the heck is wrong with this die?! The numbers are messed up!?She handed it over to Shiro to see, but Shiro didn?t really need to look. She?d guessed the trick already. She placed the die down on the table. Ran?s eyes focused on it, and Shiro could almost see her hopes fading.
?Clever trick. It almost worked.?
The upright face was a six. Shiro flipped it over, revealing that there was a six on the opposite side as well. Likewise, there were two fours and two fives.
?You used these dice for your rolls,? Shiro said, her eyes never moving from Ran?s face, ?then swapped them with normal dice when I was looking at you. You hid them in your sleeve, yes??
Ran?s face went pure white for an instant, as her shikigami?s eyes turned to her. Chen raised her arms again, looking like she was about to scream the house down.
?You cheated, Ran-sama?!?
Ran didn?t reply. Her eyes were locked with Shiro?s as the nekomata continued her explanation.
?It was hard to catch. You can only see three sides at once, and they are all different. The only way to prove it was to catch you swapping them.?
The fox put one elbow on the table, rubbing at her temples.
?Then why didn?t you stop me earlier? You grabbed the bowl before I could swap the dice in the second game.?
Shiro shrugged again. ?With three of the special dice, a score of Four is the lowest possible. Whatever I rolled, I would tie or win.?
Chen?s eyes jumped from Shiro, to Ran, then back to Shiro. Shiro wondered what was surprising her more - her master?s foul play, or Shiro?s sudden competence.
In truth, she?d always been sharp. She wouldn?t say clever so much as attentive - she had a keen eye for detail, and she might have caught onto the trick earlier if her nerves hadn?t got the better of her. This new form felt vulnerable, weak, and when the pressure piled on she had crumpled beneath its weight.
This coat, though...it felt like a disguise. When she wore this, she felt like she wasn?t Shiro. She wasn?t sure
who she was when she wore this, but she liked them, whoever they were. They could take on the monsters, the liars, the cheaters - and
win.
?...Heh.?
Ran?s long silence came to an end. At first, she only let out forced chuckles; then, as she lifted her head up and pulled it back, they morphed into proud, hearty laughs.
?Ahahahahaha! Alright, you?re growing on me, Shiro-san. I figured you were just some lucky kid with her head in the clouds, but you?ve got some talent!?
She?d loosened up now, Shiro noticed - her stature had slumped, and she was smiling a lot more than she had previously. Her eyes with misty with a vague hint of nostalgia.
?Tell you what. You win. I?ll get you up to speed on what you need to know, starting tomorrow. By the end of the week you?ll be a properly educated, fully functional member of Gensokyo society. And then when that?s done you can-?
Chen?s hand clutching Ran?s arm cut that sentence short. Shiro tilted her head, seeing the desperate look on Chen?s face and not being quite sure why she was so disturbed. Eventually, Ran let out another sigh.
?...Well, we?ll cross that bridge when we get to it. For now, you should probably spend a little time with Chen.?
That quelled any fears Chen had, and she moved her grip from Ran?s arm over to Shiro?s. Shiro?s hat flew off her head as Chen hauled her away, intent on making up for lost time.
?Alright, I can show you the best places to nap, and where the fish come together - ooh, and where the butterflies show up at this time of year! We?re gonna be out here until dinner-time, and it?s gonna be awesome!?
Chen pulled the coat off of Shiro, leaving it hanging on the seat. Suddenly Shiro felt like she?d been exposed to a cold wind, the barrier that had covered her gone. She made no attempt to fight as Chen hauled her off into the distance.
?W-Wait, Chen-sama! My arm hurts! Nyaaaah-!?
Her cries echoed down the corridors, reaching Ran even minutes after they?d left. The fox sat on her own, staring at the hat and coat Shiro had left behind.
?...Kid?s got talent, but she?s a little weird.?
She walked over to it, grabbing the coat and hauling it up. It was a western make, something Yukari had taken a liking to and insisted on keeping for herself. It had been gathering dust for the last few years, and at the very least Ran was glad to see it getting some use. Sadly, all that dragging along the floor had left the bottom of the coat in a putrid state, as it had picked up all the dirt running along the floor of the corridor.
Ran looked down the corridor with a devilish smirk she hadn?t given off in centuries.
?But then again, you?ve got to be a little weird if you?re going to make it in the underworld, right??
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And thus my secret plans for this story are finally starting to emerge. Only took me 10 months or something.
