Himiko's Shorts

[日巫子]

itt words words words words words(ry

I got bored during the MoTK downtime so I wrote some fanfiction.


A ghost and an oni walk into a bar


A ghost and an oni walk into a bar.

If Mima had been asked what she thought about that, she would have said it sounded like the beginning of a bad joke. The ghost part was especially bad. She started to think that people called her that just to piss her off.

"That's one." The oni sitting across from her tipped her head back and took a drink from her glass.

"What's one?"

"I'm taking a drink for every time you bitch about people tellin' it like it is."

Mima watched as her oni companion's cheeks flushed red. She swayed in her seat and spilled a bit of alcohol when she set the glass down on the table. She showed every sign of being drunk, yet her speech was perfectly clear. Mima wanted to punch her.

The oni seemed to notice the expression on Mima's face, because she stopped the nearest waiter and said, "Bring some of the strong stuff, Mimarin here's lookin' a little sober." It was interesting to note that the waiter seemed to understand exactly what the 'strong stuff' was.

"Anyone would be sober after what just happened," Mima groaned. She folded her arms across the table and let her head fall onto them. "How's your place?"

"Completely decimated." The oni takes another drink. "That just now wasn't part of the drinking game."

"So you're just going to get so drunk that you'll forget about the whole thing and never have to think about it? Doesn't sound very oni-like to me."

"Nah, that doesn't happen with us. You'll want to be careful, though." She grinned. The oni's grin was something Mima was never going to get used to; it made her seem like a completely different person. "So. How much are you going to bet that the fight was visible from the city?"

"The kid had the goddamn yin-yang orb. If the Palace didn't notice it I'm going to be disappointed," Mima said. This statement was accentuated by the waiter returning and setting a glass of bronze-colored liquid in front of her. The color reminded Mima of something.

"By the way, how's that other girl doing? Didn't you say she got the short end of the stick or something?"

"She fell out of the sky."

Mima gave the oni a look.

"Okay, okay, she had to put up an illusion so nobody would suspect anything. She's kind of a wreck right now, but her shell isn't broken."

This satisfied Mima, so she took a sip of her drink. It burned her throat and left a strong, bitter taste. As she drank, she felt herself growing hot. "The Palace doesn't know, does it?" she wondered aloud.

The oni shook her head. "No, I've been avoiding that place for years. I hate to say it, but I've got too much to hide now."

"Well that's your own fault," Mima said. "Or maybe it's just bad luck."

"Speaking of bad luck, how's Marisa doing?"

Mima glared at the oni. "Shut the fuck up, you're talkin' like she's a curse or something." Mima steamed and took another drink. "She's growin' and learning fast. I figured once she reached the age of greater mobility she'd be out of my hair, but I've only just realized that this is a lifelong commitment I've gotten myself into. Still better company than that shrine maiden, no offense."

The oni stopped the waiter for a refill before throwing in her two cents. "Still better than no company, let me correct you. This is the first time my house has been noisy in years. It's depressing."

"You have a whole city to be noisy in?and three other oni," Mima reminded her. She rested a cheek on her hand, starting to feel the drink get to her.

"And one ghost."

Mima snapped up. "I told you I'm not a?" The oni had already taken another drink. "Dammit."

"It's okay, we still love you," the oni half-sang, and swirled the contents of her glass around idly. "Oh, 'n that's two oni."

There was an awkward silence, although it wasn't really silent because the bar itself was loud to begin with. Mima twirled a lock of hair around her finger. "I forgot," she said after a minute.

The oni watched her fidget. "I wish you'd be that apologetic 'bout other subjects, too. 'Sides, it makes you look cute."

Mima gritted her teeth and downed the rest of her glass. She knew the oni well enough to know that she wasn't trying to hit on her, but she rarely heard comments like that. She could try passing the blush off as an effect of the alcohol, at least?in front of anyone but the oni, who was now chuckling. Why was everyone in the Former Hell so damn perceptive?

When she made this thought known in a slurred, drunken voice, the oni looked thoughtfully at her newly-refilled glass.

"I wonder if I should add that to the drinking game? Take a sip every time Mima complains about something."

"You'd be under the table in minutes."

"Well, that's something, too."

Over the din, the sound of two glasses clinking together could be heard.

[Sect]

Just confirming: you're Soelke on FF.net, right?

[日巫子]

Yes, I am.

[Sect]

Okay, then, just checking.

So, that is a great line to start off a story. Tells us exactly the starting situation, and for those of us who are familiar with "a blank and a blank walk into a bar" jokes, it's pretty funny.

Now, the rest of the story, I have to confess that I have preconceptions and all that interfering: first, I haven't played any of the PC-98 games, so I'm familiar with Mima and all that through fanworks. Second, I participate heavily in your parser text quest game.

Spoiler:

The oni is implied to be Konngara, mostly because she's the only "oni" in the PC-98 games. However, I have a difficult time seeing her like this because, in Parsee Quest, she's very nonvocal and reserved, which is somewhat at odds with her depiction here. At the same time, there's other clues in the story to her identity because I participate in Parsee Quest, such as her relationship with "the girl that fell out of the sky" and the fact that she stays away from the palace because of her secrets.

So, I'm mostly interested in what other people have to say about it: I think I come into the story with too much baggage.

[日巫子]

Spoiler:

The oni is implied to be Konngara, mostly because she's the only "oni" in the PC-98 games. However, I have a difficult time seeing her like this because, in Parsee Quest, she's very nonvocal and reserved, which is somewhat at odds with her depiction here. At the same time, there's other clues in the story to her identity because I participate in Parsee Quest, such as her relationship with "the girl that fell out of the sky" and the fact that she stays away from the palace because of her secrets.

Spoiler:

You're right about who it is.  I think I can see what you mean about having difficulty seeing her like this.  My interperation of her character is nonvocal and reserved, but I wrote this story with the idea that, around a friend, with enough drinks, and in a good enough mood, she'd be a little more talkative.  I can see where you're coming from, though.  After going back through the dialogue again, I see some parts where she could be saying too much, content-wise.

It's nice to have useful feedback like this, thank you

[Ryuu]

fandom needs more fics about drinking buddies


I enjoyed this

[Kips McKipzerson]

Just confirming: you're Soelke on FF.net, right?

So you are?
You've gotta make a full fanfic outta Relocation. A poor little kippy needs to see it. *tear*

[日巫子]

So you are?
You've gotta make a full fanfic outta Relocation. A poor little kippy needs to see it. *tear*

I'm working on the third chapter right now :3

[Kips McKipzerson]

I will love you forever

[日巫子]

What is wrong with you? (笑)


I?m not going to say anything because it?s your problem, not mine, but it?s creepy.

Let me backtrack.  It?s not creepy that you beat some other guy into a pulp.  That?s normal.  It?s not creepy that you?re covered in someone else?s blood, because that?s normal.  It?s not creepy that you?re going to be complaining about getting blood out of that long, long hair of yours like it?s mud or something, because that?s normal, too.  I?ve seen so much worse that I don?t even care.  Or maybe I?m just desensitized to it.  I can?t really tell at this point.  It?s why you did it that?s unsettling.

I mean, I can see why you like that girl?appearance-wise, at least.  She doesn?t realize how beautiful she is.  I could drown in her eyes.  Does her hair really feel like silk?  And that skin?mmm.  Maybe I?m just being poetic.  I don?t know her well enough to understand what you like about her personality, though.  The best way I could put it right now is picking a rose and getting a thousand tiny cuts on your hands from the thorns.  I guess something about her just clicks with you, I don?t know.  Our tastes are too different.  But I digress.  Almost killing someone because they tried making a move on her isn?t normal.  Talk about disproportionate retribution.

Well, maybe it is normal.  She looks so delicate.  She?d snap in half like a twig if someone punched her the right way, probably.  It?s only natural that you wouldn?t want someone close to you to get hurt if they were like that.  I suppose this is the first time you?ve felt this way about anyone, right?  I?ll admit I was a bit thrown off by that.  I?m not surprised why it was her, though.  You tend to gravitate towards people like that, even though you don?t even act like that.  I guess I?m the only who notices all of this.  I think it?s you that?s unsettling to begin with, but it?s not like it?s hindering you at all.  That?s why I?m the only one who can see it, get it?  No, I?m not giving myself credit or anything.  I?m very proud of my abilities and strong points, but I don?t flaunt them, I just acknowledge them.  I guess you?re just more humble about it or flat out don?t care, because there are more important things to you, like that girl.  It?s unsettling.

[Sect]

Grah stop writing stories that I feel like I can't read properly because of certain parser games >_<

Spoiler:

So, obvious Yuugi/Parsee story, but I find the content interesting and a tad bit disturbing: most people don't portray Yuugi as being particularly violent, so her beating a dude nearly to death for attempting to proposition Parsee is a bit disturbing.

As far as delivery goes, it's... interesting. It's not a proper short story in any way: it actually makes me think me think more of free verse, or stream of thought. It reads like someone just putting down thoughts, instead of actually trying to write anything for people to read and understand.

[日巫子]

Spoiler:

So, obvious Yuugi/Parsee story, but I find the content interesting and a tad bit disturbing: most people don't portray Yuugi as being particularly violent, so her beating a dude nearly to death for attempting to proposition Parsee is a bit disturbing.

Spoiler:

You were able to tell?!  Fff-  My interpretation of Yuugi is...well...to put it as simply as possible, if Parsee is a tsundere, then Yuugi is a yandere.  I don't think I was able to write it out very well, though.  It kind of seems too obvious.

  :V

Sorry about that.

[Sect]

It's fine: in fact, I actually really like that, cause it's really super creepy, especially since

Spoiler:

Parsee

doesn't have a clue.

EDIT: In fact, it's making me REALLY glad that

Spoiler:

in the game, Mokou is immortal. Parsee and Mokou are pretty cozy, at least on Parsee's end, from my point of view.

[日巫子]

It's fine: in fact, I actually really like that, cause it's really super creepy, especially since

Spoiler:

Parsee

doesn't have a clue.

EDIT: In fact, it's making me REALLY glad that

Spoiler:

in the game, Mokou is immortal. Parsee and Mokou are pretty cozy, at least on Parsee's end, from my point of view.

Spoiler:

Yuugi is perfectly normal until Parsee is in danger involved.  Yeah, good thing Mokou's immortal.

EDITx2:

Spoiler:

Yeah, Parsee has no idea.

[Whatthe]

[日巫子]

^ That one guy posted a review for Relocation, but I don't think he's being serious.

[日巫子]

And now for another light read.  Maybe too light but every time I try to continue chapter 3 of Relocation I get writer's block tasukete eirin


Can one have power?


Light.  Very bright light.  It?s a different kind of light than what the Hell of Blazing Fires gives off.  It?s a warm, bright light.

The other ravens caw loudly and scatter.  Lots of black shapes fleeing into the cavern.  The rocks are illuminated by the light.

Who is the strongest hell raven here?

A voice?  A voice.  An echoing, warm-sounding woman?s voice.  One can only look up at the light in wonderment.

Is it you?

It is.  It is.

You have a lot of potential, moreso than any other youkai I have seen down here.  Little hell raven, would you like power?

Eyes wide in anticipation.  One can only look up in wonderment and pray they don?t fall to their knees shaking.

With power, that shaking body can stand.

Even as things are, the Hell of Blazing Fires will not last forever.  Only you have the ability to keep that from happening.

An outstretched hand, bathed in light.  In the palm, there?s a little red light.  Can one dare to reach for it?

It?s a different kind of light, one that?s so overpowering and brilliant.  Even with closed eyes it pours through, soaking every fiber of being inside and out.  It fills the body and soul with an intense light so that one cannot even tell where they are standing anymore. 

The light coalesces at the chest and burns.

It hurts.

[日巫子]

An Offer that Absolutely Cannot be Refused


They say that there is no final judgement for youkai.  Even if one dies, they will somehow, someway, come back to life.  Whether it be reincarnation or resurrection, that is perhaps a sort of natural fate.

However, there are times when, despite this security, youkai truly fear for their lives.  All the millennia they?ve experienced flashes before their eyes, frightening and disorienting them.  This was one of those times for Kagiyama Hina.  If she could sap the misfortune from herself, she would have been able to make a hundred?no, a thousand?nagashi-bina and send them all floating gracefully down the river.

?Hina!?

She, the feared goddess of misfortune and despair was cowering on the ground before an even more imposing woman of green hair and a dark red plaid dress.  The sharp tip of an umbrella jabbed into Hina?s stomach, and she hastily squeaked out her reply.

?Y-yes, ma?am!?

Kazami Yuuka smiled pleasantly, making the corners of her bright red eyes turn up.  ?There?s a good girl.  Now, where were we??

?Your?erm?pillow, ma?am.?  Hina picked at a stray thread on the hem of her dress.  ?You said that Nitori stole it from you.?  While her back was turned, Hina wanted to add, but she valued her life more than pointing out Yuuka?s carelessness.

?That?s right.  And since you?re good friends with her, this affair is also your business, is it not?? Yuuka asks.  She withdraws her umbrella from Hina?s stomach and holds it folded up in both hands.  ?Friends have to take each other?s responsibilities, and one of mine is in a bit of a pickle.  She?s sealed up with chains all over her arms, poor thing.  She can?t do anything without those chains getting in the way.?  There was a predatory glint in her eyes.  Just what did it get in the way of that made Yuuka make that kind of expression?  If oni could get plastered and fight shackled, a few chains couldn?t be that much of a problem.

?So.?  Yuuka?s voice was as cold as ice.  She knelt down in front of Hina, who immediately started to scuttle back like a crab.  ?No, don?t run.?  Yuuka reached out and cupped a hand on Hina?s face.  The action alone sent chills down Hina?s spine, and she went rigid.

?That?s better.  Now, I have a proposition for you.  While you go find my pillow, there?s someone I want you to find.  You?re the goddess of misfortune, aren?t you?  There?s a youkai in the Former Hell who you could get a lot of that from.  I?m sure you know who that is.?

Hina gulped and nodded.

?Good, we?re on the same page.?  Yuuka smiled again.  ?I need you to aggravate that girl?s ill feelings.  Collecting them will be easy after that, won?t it??

Another nod.

?After you?ve done that, go get my pillow and come back to the Garden of the Sun, and then we?ll talk from there.  Don?t come until you?ve gotten both, understood?  We?ll have a problem if you?re missing even one,? Yuuka warns, but her tone is far from angry-sounding.  Still, Hina nods stiffly.

?Ye-yes, ma?am.  I won?t fail.?  Hina?s cheeks burned all the way to her ears, and her voice came out shaky.

Yuuka caressed Hina?s face.  ?Shh, shh, you have nothing to be worried about,? she cooed.  ?All you need to do is find that friend of yours, make a day trip underground, and come back here.  That doesn?t sound too hard, now does it??

For Hina, this was even worse than being poked in the stomach.  Here was Kazami Yuuka stroking her and feeling up her hair.  If it were someone Hina liked or was close to her, she wouldn?t mind, but at the moment she couldn?t remember the last time she had felt so humiliated.  It didn?t help that Hina was difficult to embarrass to begin with.

Fortunately for Hina, Yuuka was fast to stand up and unfold her umbrella.  ?Well, then.  If you?ll excuse me, I have a garden to tend to.?  She started to walk off, but then she hesitated and turned back.  ?Oh, Hina, dear?  I wouldn?t take the consequences of failure too lightly, if I were you.?  With that, she strolled off into the flowers, leaving Hina sitting on the ground and wonder what the hell just happened.

Once Hina was sure that Yuuka was gone, she stood up and smoothed out her skirt.  Whatever happened, she couldn?t waste any time.

?I better get a move on,? Hina sighed.  She turned on her heels, lifted into the air, and flew off.  ?As long as I don?t run into either of those tengu reporters again, I?ll be fine.?

[Kips McKipzerson]

Fuck yeah Yuuka. The kind of person that makes sweet threats. I give this a ten out of 5.

[日巫子]

The Miniature Garden


It was her precious garden.

Since long ago, from the day she was born, it was her sole responsibility to care for it.  She made sure that it was she alone who raised it to prosperity.  She loved everyone and everything in her garden with every fiber of her being, and she had a lot of being.  She would even go off and fight for the sake of her garden.

She made sure there was a nice, sturdy fence around her garden to keep it sheltered, and to keep others out.  She watered and weeded.  She buried rocks.  She fertilized the garden periodically, making sure she always had an assistant at hand.  Even though she experienced hardships, her garden was soon beautiful and full of flowers of every color imaginable.  She lived life happily, maintaining her garden and spending each day purposefully.  Her garden was perfect.

However, she lost a friend, one to the cold and one to the earth.  Despaired, she spent her winters in a long, dark sleep, leaving her garden to waste away with only her assistant taking care of it.  One day she had woken up to subdue one of the members of her garden who had gotten out of hand, and another time to take care of her new assistant, but then she fell asleep again.

In her absence, the garden had grown wild with weeds, far beyond her control.  The fence was crumbling and entangled with weeds.  The earth was churned, exposing the rocks she had buried long ago.  She was no longer remembered as the original owner of the garden, only to a select few.  Even her assistant couldn?t seem to recognize her.  She watched as her assistant took care of the garden, but she was using a different technique than the one that had been used for centuries.  She cut away the weeds, but didn?t pull them out at the roots.  Thus the weeds grew back, and more and more new ones grew each time.

The garden was dying.

[Sect]

Hm... interesting... I can't identify what this is referring to. I'm almost certain that the "garden" is a metaphorical one, but I'm not sure who the characters are. I'll need to read this over again...

[Ryuu]

going to venture a guess that the garden is gensokyo and the character is yukari

friend to cold was layla and friend to earth was yuyuko

that's just my guess though

[Sect]

That was kind of my first guess, too, but then who's her assistant?

[Ryuu]

That was kind of my first guess, too, but then who's her assistant?

Ran

[Sect]

Ran couldn't recognize her? And she uses a "different technique"? Seems a tad off to me, unless there's something in the backstory that I'm missing.

[Ryuu]

Ran couldn't recognize her? And she uses a "different technique"? Seems a tad off to me, unless there's something in the backstory that I'm missing.

oops

reread it

seems to mean more the hakurei line than ran

my bad

[日巫子]

tasukete ryuu I have trouble writing for Parsee I need your divine guidance
Also it's past midnight so I'm getting ready for bed after this.


The Beginning of Summer


Ibuki Suika?s gourd knocked against her legs, creating rhythmic sounds not unlike that of a clock.  It reminded Suika that she didn?t have a lot of time to head to the surface, so she walked faster.  As she walked, the lights of the Ancient City started to dim, and soon she was plunged into darkness.  She knew it would be faster to fly out, but walking gave her a sense of ease, as if she were one with the earth.  Feeling the rock beneath her feet and moving with her own power had a calmative effect, so to speak.

She must have been walking faster than expected, because as she was meditating on this, one of her feet hit wood.  She was at the final obstacle before she hit the tunnel leading to the surface: the bridge.  Suika stopped walking and looked around.  The bridge?s guardian wasn?t here.  She wasn?t someone who was a threat to Suika, but she found it more convenient to go to the bridge with her friend, so crossing alone would probably be easier today.  Suika raised her hands with the intent on clapping them together and dispelling herself into mist, but then she was interrupted.

?Hold it.?

Suika lowered her hands and glanced in the direction of the voice.  Towards the middle of the bridge, she saw a pair of green eyes glowering at her from the dark abyss.

?Can?t get across unnoticed, can I??  Suika grinned.  ?Why dontcha come out from under there??

The eyes disappeared into the darkness.  There was a scuffling noise, and then silence.  Suika took this as an initiative to start walking across the bridge.  She walked slowly to the center of the bridge, and then stopped.  She could see the eyes staring her down again, but this time she saw the faint silhouette of a girl peeking out from under the bridge at her.  The girl flew up from under the bridge and landed a good two meters ahead of her.  No matter how many times Suika saw her, she couldn?t quite get used to the foreign-looking dress she wore, or her long, pointy ears, which were flickering right now.

?Yo, Parsee.?  Suika raised a hand in greeting.  That definitely wasn?t any youkai she was used to seeing.  Mizuhashi Parsee scuttled back, as if ready to go under the bridge again.

?Why are you here alone??

Suika?s smile grew wider despite herself.  ?I?m going to the surface.?  The bewildered look Parsee gave Suika prompted her to say more.  ?I?m gonna reunite oni and humans, and then the other youkai that have been sealed away.?

Parsee?s eyes flared up, but she shrunk back a little into the darkness.  Suika watched as she looked away one or twice and fidgeted with the hem of her dress.  ??Are you stupid or something??

Suika shrugged, and walked down the bridge until she was on the other side of Parsee.  As she walked, she turned back and said, ?Don?t worry, we won?t let any humans hurt you.?  Suika kept walking, not letting herself falter even once.  Once she cleared the bridge, Parsee wouldn?t be able to stop her from going any further.
Parsee said nothing and stared at the ground.

?It?s something I gotta do.  This is for everyone in the Former Hell,? Suika reassured her.  ??Sides, just because I?m leaving doesn?t mean everyone else is gonna get up and follow me out.?

When Parsee looked up, Suika was gone.  She stood there for a moment, and then slid back under the bridge.

~*~

Parsee was sitting under the bridge, hugging her knees when she heard heavy footsteps thundering across the bridge.  Unlike the oni who had visited before, Parsee recognized these footsteps.  She uncurled herself from the stone wall and floated up.  A tall oni woman with long hair and a single horn protruding from her forehead was running across the bridge, but she eventually slowed down and stopped.  Her skirt swished as she took a breath and looked towards the end of the bridge that led to the tunnel that lead to the surface where?

Only then did Parsee realize that she had subconsciously floated over the bridge railing and onto the wooden planks.  Hoshiguma Yuugi noticed this and looked over at her.

?Did Suika cross here??

Suika?Suika?That was her name, wasn?t it?  Yuugi looked really worried.  Was Yuugi concerned for that oni Parsee just ran into?  She must be, otherwise she wouldn?t have come this far.  If she wanted, she could go even farther and follow Suika to the surface, couldn't she?  There was nothing stopping her from completely crossing the bridge and seeing it for herself.

?She just ran outta the city so I went looking for ?er?She didn?t really go to the surface, did she?wait, what?!?

Parsee said nothing, and then she walked up to Yuugi and started whacking her with her arms.  Yuugi crossed her arms into an X shape to shield herself from the blows, but in truth they weren?t doing anything.  Parsee was already smaller and weaker; she wasn?t doing anything at all.  At this thought, her eyes started to water, and she made a small choking noise.

?Wait, Parsee.?  Yuugi gently grabbed Parsee?s arms to keep her from hitting any more.  In response, Parsee pulled her arms away and started to dash towards the edge of the bridge.  By the time Yuugi started after her, Parsee was already climbing onto the rail.  Yuugi reached out to her, but the hiccup Parsee let out stopped her.  Parsee took Yuugi?s moment of hesitation to jump off and fly back under the bridge, leaving Yuugi alone.

?Parsee??  Yuugi leaned over the railing and scanned the area underneath for any sign of the bridge princess.  She saw her retreating into the rocks, and sighed.  ?I wonder??  She sat down on the bridge and crossed her legs.  She?d probably be waiting for a while before Parsee was ready to come back and say anything.

[Ryuu]

hi himiko I don't see anything wrong here


though if you want I could give a lecture on parsee and fics and parsee and parsee next weekend for you

[日巫子]

hi himiko I don't see anything wrong here


though if you want I could give a lecture on parsee and fics and parsee and parsee next weekend for you

yesss that would be appreciated greatly

[Sect]

How could you not know how to write Parsee you had an entire gaqme of Parsee. And fuck I need to stop typing and drinking.