Well, assuming [this thread doesn't get modded/I don't get banned] for not breaking the rules, chapter 3 should be up in the next couple of days WITHIN A MONTH.
:V :V :V
Chapter 3 ? The Ever Intriguing and Various Boundary of Hot and ColdGensokyo's one and only major body of water, Fairy Lake, bordered only a few minutes' walk from the Hakurei Shrine. There was even a nice path cleared out, as it was a fairly popular picnic spot. Families would come at noon, set up, eat their lunch, and wait for the fairies to appear.
Fairies were mostly a mischievous, rambunctious species, though nuances changed from locale to locale. The forest fairies, for example, loved leading humans astray, never to be heard from again. They were nocturnal, though, and quite afraid of bright lights. This had, on occasion, convinced groups of children to test their courage by spending the night in the forest with nothing but lanterns. This never ended well.
The mountain fairies, conversely, were incredibly shy. They lived mostly in caves along cliffs, where humans could never reach. However, it had become common practice in recent years for engaged couples to travel up Youkai Mountain in hopes of catching a glimpse of one. It was supposed to bring good luck to the marriage.
The lake fairies were the best of both worlds: friendly and outgoing. More precisely, they were simply fascinated with humans, who built houses, had families, and did things other than have fun. A lake fairy's daily life consisted of waking up, playing, maybe finding a daily mate, and going to sleep in the reeds along the water's edge. If a fairy conceived, her day didn't change in the slightest. In fact, generally new fairies were born during play, where they dropped abruptly into the lake. About a day later, if they weren't eaten, they would rise from the water fully grown. There was no concept of a parent-child relationship, anyone a fairy could see was a valid potential mate.
The lake fairies had the most fun when humans came to visit. Many families would decide to picnic at the lake, timing it so that the fairies were awakening from their midday nap just as the family finished eating. Whatever the humans wanted, the fairies would do. All they cared about was having fun. Sometimes they played catch with the children, sometimes they performed magic tricks, and sometimes they simply talked. This would last until the humans left, or the sun set.
"Almost time," Reimu said, taking a seat at the edge of the lake. The sun was half-obscured by now. Marisa sat down beside her.
"I wouldn't mind having one for a pet," the witch said, lying back, resting her head on her hands.
"That's cruel and unusual."
"I'd treat it
fine. They're cute, kinda."
"They would just make a mess," Reimu said.
"Because obviously the goat is the epitome of cleanliness," Marisa replied.
"I'd want a dog."
"Dog, huh?" Marisa thought for a moment. "Kinda cute, I guess."
"Doesn't have to be," Reimu said. "I don't really care how it looks. I just like the idea of a loyal companion. Someone who won't leave you behind."
"You should get one of those
really big dogs," Marisa said, smiling and holding her hands wide. "Like...ride it around Town."
"Genji'd get jealous," Reimu said, chuckling.
They sat in silence for a few minutes. Intermittent cold breezes kept them from getting too comfortable. Finally, Reimu stood up, patting off her backside.
"Just about time." The sun had nearly disappeared past the horizon. There were only a few fairies scattered about now.
"Well, don't mind me," Marisa said, staying lying down. "Do your thing."
Grunting affirmation, Reimu backed up a few steps to give herself some room. In her hand was a long wooden staff. At its end were tied two zigzagged paper strands. This was her gohei, the sacred weapon of the shrine maidens of Gensokyo.
She closed her eyes and inhaled as deep as she could until her lungs were about to burst.
Do not fear, my precious land...She felt the chill wind whip around her. It invaded without regard. It ran through her clothes and up her nose. It cleared her brain. It opened her mind's eye.
For the wind is my lover...It gave no regard to manners or privacy; nothing so human. She shivered as it caressed her, felt her, touched her, adored her, like no mortal could.
And from its arms, high above you...In the twilight, the edge of day and night, the shrine maiden of Gensokyo could call upon the power of the Border. The very first creation of the mortal world was separating the light from the dark. It was this power of the gods that coursed through the Hakureis' veins.
I will?"What the fuck?" It was Marisa. "Reimu! Reimu!"
She opened her eyes, sharply exhaling the air stored in her lungs. It was fortunate she did so, since the blade of a very sharp sword was pressed against her neck not a moment later, forcing her to inhale sharply in shock.
"You will tell me where the great door is," a voice came from behind her, "or I will kill you and follow your ghost there!"
Marisa was frozen, staring helplessly towards the shrine maiden. Reimu understood; none of Marisa's tricks had the...finesse required for a hostage situation. But that was fine, she thought. She'd been through worse.
"I know a lot of doors. Maybe you could specify?"
"I think you know," the voice said. "You are the Hakurei, are you not?"
"My my," Reimu said. Marisa's face slowly calmed, having picked up her tone. "Are you not aware, then, of the penalties for threatening the Maiden of the Border?"
The assailant paused. "No matter. I am already dead."
"Oh...?"
"Ah?!" The body behind her shook. The hand holding the sword loosened its grip, and it fell into the grass softly. Reimu walked away, massaging her neck. She turned to see a young girl with short, white hair. Her face was contorted in pain.
"What're you doing to her?" Marisa asked.
"She's not dead."
"Ah! N-No. Stop! AHHHHHHH!!!" Both the witch and the shrine maiden shirked a bit at the scream. A faint white substance began flowing out of the girl, collecting in a ball above her. Finally, she lost consciousness and fell to the ground.
"Did you...kill her?"
Reimu extended her hand to the sphere. It floated over to her slowly. "I don't know how," she said, "but this girl was only half dead. I've separated those two parts. Extraction can be a bit...painful, but she'll be fine."
"Huh." Marisa nudged the body with her shoe. "What's half-dead even mean? Isn't that, like...I'm half good at...cooking, you know? Or, like, I half beat you in chess."
"That's a stalemate," Reimu said. She picked up the sword and admired its edge. "I think we need to abort the mission tonight."
"Yeah..." the witch said, grimacing. "What about her?"
"I think it's best if we rest here until she awakens."
"And if she tries to kill us again?"
Reimu sat down, finding a comfortable place in the grass. The white sphere hovered over her. "Ghosts are purely incorporeal beings. They are able to affect things on the physical plane by exerting their spiritual power, but its influence is weak. This is why ghosts elect to possess humans. Having a physical medium augments their power by hundreds. However, generally, the host and the parasite have desynchronized wills. This makes sense: most people don't
want to be possessed. This girl, though, was effectively possessing herself. This kind of harmony, well..." She smiled. "I'd love to see her spar with Suika."
"So she's just a normal girl now?" Marisa asked, taking a seat herself.
"I think she had another sword, think you could get that from her?" she said. "I'm pretty tired from separating the two."
"Bullshit," the witch said, getting up.
She awoke suddenly, but kept her eyes closed, ascertaining the situation. Her head buzzed in pain, and while she was consciously aware of who and where she was, there was still something odd. The world was...
different somehow. She could immediately tell she'd been disarmed, but otherwise unharmed. Opening one eye as barely as should could, she spied the dark, fuzzy visages of the two who had defeated her. They were having a conversation.
No, that didn't matter. She needed to help Lady Yuyuko! She looked around as discreetly as she could. There! Even then, during early night, she could tell that glimmer was from her Roukan. It lay to the side of one of them. Unable to reach it, she knew she had no choice. In one motion, she would have to get up, grab the sword, and run the shrine maiden through. She'd had her chance. Once the Maiden of the Border was gone, the other one would be easy to overpower.
"It's
on the hat!"
"Then I'm afraid it doesn't count."
"Where's the law, huh? Where? Who says has it
has to tie hair?"
"It's
fine if you think that's a ribbon. I just want you to be aware that you're not getting any points for it."
"
Who's tallying points!? What about the goat, huh?"
"Horns are like hair."
"Why do you always defend her!?"
"It's not an issue of defending! I'll accept any real ribbons as a mark of beauty."
"She's a slut!"
"Don't get me
started on the 'dirty little secrets' I know about
you."
"Like hell you do. Hold on a sec; gotta pee."
The one that wasn't the shrine maiden got up and walked off. This was her chance. She grit her teeth, focused on ignoring her throbbing headache, and pushed off the ground. She instantaneously figured out what was different about the world.
She was heavy.
As soon as she had risen, she was back on the ground, awkwardly falling forward and landing on her face. Her breathing was erratic, and she was shaking all over. Never before had she been concerned for her own well-being, but this chilled her to the core.
She was
heavy.
"Oh?" she heard above her. "Morning, there."
"What is this!" she shouted, scrambling around on the ground. She was flailing wildly, like a person who was suddenly thrown into water, but couldn't swim. Reimu had to stifle a chuckle at the odd display. "What have you done to me!"
"Calm down," Reimu said. "You're exhausted. Just give it a few minutes, okay?"
"WHAT IS THIS!" she screamed. "I...I don't...WHAT DID YOU DO! Lady Yuyuko!"
"Calm
down," she said with a bit more stress. "I'll explain everything in a minute."
"NO! NO! Lady Yuyuko, Lady Yuyuko, Lady Yuyuko..."
The shrine maiden scowled and sighed. She grabbed a handful of the girl's hair and lifted her head up to look into her eyes. There were tears flowing, and her face was beet red.
"Stop throwing a tantrum,
child!" she growled. With her other hand, she produced a glowing white orb. "This is you, okay? If you want it back, then
shut up!"
"Me...?" Her eyes grew wide. She tried to swipe at it, but couldn't muster the coordination. "ME! ME! GIVE IT BACK! Lady Yuyuko, Lady Yuyuko!"
"I said SHUT UP!" Reimu shouted, shaking the girl's head by her hair. "SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP!"
"Reimu." Marisa placed a firm had on the shrine maiden's shoulder. "Take a dip."
"But...it's night."
"Come on, who're you talking to, here?" she said, smiling. "Trust me, yeah?"
"Ah...yeah..." she whispered, releasing her grip. The girl fell to the ground, sobbing. Like a zombie, she walked methodically towards the lake while simultaneously stripping off all her clothes, leaving them haphazardly in a trail. Finally, she undid the ribbon in her hair, let it fall to the ground, and walked into the water.
Marisa knelt down and caressed the girl's short hair for a minute. "There, there. What's your name?"
"I...I..." She sniffed loudly. "I am Youmu Konpaku."
"I'm Marisa Kirisame. It's nice to meet you, Youmu."
"C?Can I please have it back?" she asked. "I...won't...do anything. I swear!"
"C'mere," the witch said. She sat down and pulled Youmu's back to her chest. The girl was short enough that Marisa could rest her chin on her head.
"You look awfully young to be wielding such large swords."
"Please. I really won't do anything. Please."
"But then, I guess Reimu's the same, huh? She's so young, yet she handles all these problems by herself. Sometimes it all gets to be too much for her, and that's when I step in."
"I swear...I swear..."
"Who's Lady Yuyuko?"
"My Lady...the Queen of Hakugyokurou. I need to protect her, but...but something could be happening to her right now! Please..."
"How'd you get to be all the way over here, then?"
"It was Lady Yuyuko," Youmu said. "She sent me all the way to the land of the living to protect me from the woman with the book of light." She had stopped sobbing by now.
Marisa's breath caught in her throat and her eyes opened wide. There was no doubt about it. "I...see. Well, when Reimu gets back, I'll talk to her about putting you back together again, okay?"
"Thank you."
"People like polite girls," the witch said. "But somehow I don't think you're the submissive type."
"I submit wholeheartedly to Lady Yuyuko."
"Oh my, what a scandal."
"Eh?"
Marisa toyed with Youmu's hair, taking special note of the ribbon in her hair. "I guess you swing that way, too."
"Huh?"
"It just wouldn't make any sense to wear a ribbon
and a hat! And I've gotta have the witch hat. I'm a god damn witch! This is stupid. Reimu's stupid."
"I...I don't follow..."
"Nevermind."
They sat in silence for a few minutes. In the moonlight, they could see Reimu swimming, cooling her body and mind. Youmu rested against Marisa's chest, and a cool breeze flew through their bodies.
"Miss Kirisame?" Youmu asked suddenly.
"Marisa's fine."
"Ma...Marisa, then. Could you turn me around a bit? I still can't..."
"Oh, ah...sure?" She inched her around until she could see her profile.
"That's fine," she said. She pointed at a black bowtie on her chest, blushing slightly. "Lady Yuyuko says this is cute, and you wouldn't have to give up the hat."
Marisa just stared at her for a moment. "Uh...I...yes. Yes, I see. Yes, thank you. I'll consider that. Yes."
Holy shit that was cute. Holy god damn fucking adorable. Oh my god, oh my god."Uh, Youmu?"
"Yes?"
"I need to get up for a bit. I'm gonna lay you down on your back, okay?"
"Alright."
She rested the girl down, making sure not to make eye contact. Task complete, she briskly began walking toward the lake.
"Where are you going?" Youmu called.
"To take a dip."