6:40 PM - Day 1 - Human Village - Outskirts"Inconvenient? Not really, I've adapted to wearing this." A light breeze blew Sakuya's dress in a rippling pattern. "Besides, this is not a full maid outfit. What I wear is easier to move in."
Ken scratched his head. "I still have a hard time imagining how difficult it is to fight with all that on..."
The two of them had come to the edge of one of the primary entrances to the Human Village, away from the others. Sakuya held a few knives in her right hand. "If you wore this for years, you would get used to it."
"I guess, yeah." She just seemed like a very powerful, independent woman, wearing the maid outfit out of complete respect for her Mistress. "I wish I could be as useful to Keine as you are to Remilia."
"You'll get there eventually if your desire is strong enough."
Desire. The word stuck on him for some reason. Shaking his head, he turned back to the maid. "How long did it take you to become so proficient with knives?"
"Quite a long time. After all, I'm only human." To his surprise,
she smiled and lifted her dress slightly, revealing the knife-ridden thigh strap over her right thigh high. "This in particular took quite a while to adjust to."
He blinked and cocked his head slightly. "Just how many of those knives do you have, anyway? I've heard you can throw a hundred in one barrage..."
Dropping her dress abruptly, she assumed a more serious look once more. "That's obviously only a rumor. Of course, I can often make it seem like that."
"Huh..." He enjoyed talking to her so far, but didn't want to mention it out loud. "I--"
*EEEEEEE*Sakuya suddenly assumed a wary position, spreading the knives in her right hand. "Did you hear that?"
Indeed he had, and he had already drawn his sword in response. That was definitely a scream he'd heard, in the near distance. "I heard someone out there."
"Do you think there's trouble?"
He nodded. "Yeah, let's go check it out!"
6:47 PM - Day 1 - Road - Human Village OutskirtsSakuya skidded to a stop as she observed a small horde of vicious-looking youkai nearby, surrounding a tree. They had yet to notice her arrival, so she prepared a plan of attack in her mind. But something wasn't right.
A few moments later, Ken caught up to her. What were youkai doing here right now? This didn't make sense; the sun hadn't even set yet. Unless...
The Chief Maid looked up and found the answer. "In the tree, that's..." Sakuya pointed a gloved finger just above them.
"Wh--oh jeez..." His heart sunk in his chest. There was a young woman in the tree. This was a complete slaughter waiting to happen...
Sakuya grimaced and prepared to dash in. They didn't seem like tough opponents, but there was a human girl at stake. There wasn't any time, she had to use her power and act now. She turned to Ken and explained to him quickly but carefully. "Listen to me. In a few moments, you will suddenly be near them. I want you to take them out while I rescue the person in the tree. Got it?" She hoped he was competent enough to handle a few youkai.
"Well, I suppose. But--"
"
HELP MEEEEE!" The young woman cried out, clinging firmly to the tree trunk as best she could.
Stealing a glance towards the tree, the maid saw that the situation had worsened. They were playing with their food now. How disgustingly terrible. "There's no time left! Get ready!"
Before he could do anything, she raised her hands above her head.
"THE WORLD!"-TIME IS FROZEN-Grunting slightly, she grabbed his frozen figure and pulled him into the air with her, gliding over to the tree. True enough, they were about to climb the tree. Dropping him off at what she thought was a safe yet close enough distance to fight them, she spun into the air and threw the knives in her right hand at one of the four creatures. Her masterful technique in full display, she threaded herself between two tree branches mid-jump as she once again resumed her flight, ascending to rescue the woman.-TIME CONTINUES-There was a cry from one of the beasts as the knives the maid had thrown sunk into it, wounding it enough to disable it. Ken blinked once and, realizing the situation, charged forward to confront the remaining youkai before they realized what had happened. "Hyaaah!"
Sakuya had floated in front of the woman stuck in the tree. She did not seem familiar at all to her.
The woman, dumbfounded, stared at the maid in front of her. Before she could say anything, Sakuya had picked her up and began descending away from the tree, when she suddenly heard a tearing noise followed by an abrupt stop to her movement. "Ugh!" She gasped, instinctively turning her head to see what was preventing her from moving. Her dress had gotten caught on several branchlings sticking up from the tree branches. Squirming, she had her hands full and couldn't quite free herself. Finding this futile, she tried to free herself by pushing forward in the hopes that her attire would rip. Struggling desperately, she cursed under her breath. How could she let this happen? The World was far too dangerous for her to use again so soon...she couldn't just drop this woman, it was too high...her hands were full and she couldn't get at her knives...
Ken had disabled one of the beasts already, having received nearly no injuries in return thanks to the surprise attack. He turned to fight another nearby when his eyes darted to the Chief Maid, who was vulnerable. Unfortunately, the other nearby youkai had realized this and was crawling towards her and the woman in her arms. "SAKUYA! LOOK OUT!"
Hearing a snarl, she looked down to see the youkai coming after her. Sakuya flew harder, trying to get free. There wasn't enough time for her to place the woman back on a sturdy branch now, as that would place the woman directly in harm's way. It would take a miracle to get out of this unscathed, she thought. Perhaps she could kick it away, at least to stall until Ken got--
"Great Miracle - Yasaka's Divine Wind!"Suddenly out of nowhere, a green blur passed straight through the remaining three creatures. For a moment, time seemed to stand still.
Ken's eyes went wide as he witnessed this sudden attack. It reminded him of
Hokuto Ujou Danjinken, a lightning-swift killing technique he'd witnessed on an old animated series he had seen back in the real world.
Surprised, the youkai found themselves unable to move as they were dealt delayed fatal blows, falling helplessly to the ground.
He turned and saw who this attacker was right as
she turned back around to face him, a determined look still on her face. He was greeted by the visage of Sanae Kochiya, the Moriya Shrine priestess. Relief washed warmly over him. They were saved!
"Is everyone all right?" Sanae was still looking rather concerned, and she glanced up at Sakuya. "Oh, Sakuya. I didn't expect to see you here of all places."
Growling in disgust, she finally managed to work her dress so it glided off of the branchlings. "It's a Human Village, Sanae. What's your point?"
The shrine maiden suddenly looked surprisingly happy. "Ehehe. Well, I'm glad everyone's okay. Just doing my job, y'know~" She twirled her gohei in her right hand as the wind around her died down and her hair fell back down to its natural position. She truly was a sight to behold.
"Sanae, you came at just the right time, thanks for the help." Panting slightly, Ken sheathed his sword.
She turned to look at him but, upon seeing that the Chief Maid had descended and released the scared woman, turned to her. "Are you feeling okay?"
The woman was clearly shaken, but still able to respond. "I-I'm okay..." Seeing Ken, she first hesitated. After a pause, she spoke to him. "Ken!"
In that instant, he recognized her. It was
Mayli Ayume, one of the students in Keine's upper division classes that he TA'd for. Without her glasses, she looked different. "Mayli..." She wasn't too much younger than him, he remembered. It would be a real shame to lose her. "That was too close, sorry we weren't faster."
The student nodded briefly in acknowledgment before responding. "It's f-fine..."
One look at her shaking legs told him that she wasn't anywhere close to being fine. "Hey...you're safe now, all right?"
After a brief pause, she ran over to him. "Ahhhh...it was so scary...I thought I was gonna die..." Sobbing, she squeezed him. "Ken, what's happening to this place...?"
He was a bit taken aback at her behavior as she normally was very quiet and distant, but patted her on the back reassuringly. He told her as much as he felt comfortable mentioning. "I...to be honest, I'm not sure, but Ms. Keine is investigating for us." But where were Mayli's glasses? Did she leave them at home? After a quick glance at the ground, he saw them--crushed and beyond repair, likely trodden on by the youkai. Damn. "Ah, your glasses are--"
She pulled back and looked up at him, tears in her eyes.
She opened her mouth as if to say something, but closed it, drawing her hands closer to her chest.
He took a deep breath. This was as serious an issue as Keine made it out to be. First all of these ridiculous events, and now even youkai attacking so close to the Village? Did they know that Keine was gone? He suddenly had a terrible thought: were those youkai sent by Nue or that Amarillo girl? No...he couldn't jump to any conclusions. He looked at Mayli's desperate face and snapped back to the situation at hand. He immediately turned to Sakuya and Sanae. "Let's get back, we need to--"
"Wait!" Mayli grabbed his arm. "Don't leave me...I'm s-scared..."
"Yeah...all right, stay close." She had nearly lost her life, so he understood her fear. Suddenly, she reminded him of Himiko from earlier in the day, but he resorted to watching the surroundings as the four of them headed back.
7:45 PM - Day 1 - Human Village - Mayli's BedroomKen looked at some pictures of Sanae on the wall. They looked like they were hand-drawn. Did she know Sanae somehow? They hadn't exchanged any words on the way back to the Village. How odd.
Mayli paused while sliding her right thigh high up (tiny NSFW warning). "Um...sorry, does it bother you?" She felt much more comfortable with him around, even though she felt bad for making him wait all this time for her to shower and freshen up.
Clearing his throat, he answered while continuing to look away. "Mayli, this is--" Oh, what the hell. He turned to her to finish answering. "I understand that what just happened to you is a huge deal, so don't worry about it." He folded his arms and leaned against the wall of her room, looking around. A heart-shaped clock, a stuffed bear...yep, it was definitely a girl's room. It also smelled particularly nice. "I mean, you could have died back there. Don't worry about bothering me about it."
"Ken, do you think we'll be attacked more?" He opened his mouth to respond, but before he could do so, she patted the side of her bed. "Um, please...you can sit down here..." She was a bit nervous about letting him get so close, but he had saved her, so she felt that it was fair in a way. She wasn't sure what to think right now, she couldn't stop thinking about those terrible creatures and what they'd nearly done to her...
"Well...all right." He walked over and sat down on her bed. This was his first time inside her home, much less her bedroom. He wasn't sure if he should even be there in the first place, but she had insisted and he couldn't help but come with her. Not her fault whatsoever; had he been the one in her shoes, he would have run to Keine for protection immediately. Youkai were not fun to encounter, particularly in groups. Poor Mayli was an easy target, too.
"Thanks for helping me out." Her heart was still racing from earlier. Somehow, she was trying desperately to get her mind off of what happened to her, but could not shake it away. Her mind was on the one who had slain most of the youkai. Was that really Sanae? Did Sanae not remember who she was or what had happened to her years ago?
"Mayli, I just did my job, and besides...those two ladies did most of the work anyway. I don't deserve any credit, really." He looked over and saw her staring off into space. "Mayli?"
"Ah, sorry. I just can't...I can't believe it. I almost got--" She swallowed hard before completing her sentence. The encounter had triggered her fear, a fear developed years ago...
He put an arm on her shoulder and looked at her. He too was worried, but couldn't let her know it was getting to him. "You're safe now though." He remembered her strange history here. She, like him, had also somehow become a part of this magical place called Gensokyo, right around the same time as him. She--wait.
The same time?
Come to think of it, he hadn't actually considered this because it had never crossed his mind. How did they both get into Gensokyo at the same time? Was it coincidence? He had heard of others who had somehow come to this place, but no one knew enough to really draw any conclusions, not even Keine. Things from the real world drift into Gensokyo, the teacher had told him. That seemed to be the running explanation, and yet...
"Ken? Mr. TA? Can I, please?"
"Huh?" He had zoned out. That was rude of him to do. "Sorry, what did you say?"
"Um..." It had taken a lot for her to say it the first time. Maybe she was just emotionally wild right now, but she really wanted someone to be with and talk to. She decided to lay back on her pillow.
"Mayli, what is i--" Turning to look down at her, he got a glorious eyeful of her figure. She definitely looked her age, youthful but maturing. Why was she wearing her school uniform right now? He felt his heart beat faster. In all his time studying, defending and helping at school, he had not really had time to stop and consider how good the women in Gensokyo looked. This was hard to ignore...and Mayli wasn't even from Gensokyo in the first place. Wait, what was he thinking?! That wasn't appropriate right now. "Are you really all right? Talk to me."
"I'm so scared...but, I want to get it off my mind." She looked up at him. "And I'm sorry if you're uncomfortable here, or if I'm distracting you, or if what I'm doing or asking for is too much..." Why was she apologizing so much? He already said he was here on his own time, and she was very happy to have someone else around right now.
"What? No, this is--" he started, before adjusting his glasses. "Look. Even if it wasn't my duty or any of that..." He paused, making sure what he planned to say next was appropriate. "We have to be there for each other, right?"
"Ah...well, yeah, I guess."
"So, how can I help you get your mind off of it?"
Her almond-brown eyes looked into his. "I, I don't know! I just want something good to happen, or something like that..." There she was, bumbling like an idiot. What DID she want? For the past few years she had to adjust to her new home, Gensokyo. She wasn't sure if she should get close to anyone, but sometimes being alone was so hard on her. Now was one of those times.
He tried to change the subject. "Well, what about your glasses? Can you see well enough without them?" He didn't have to wear his own glasses all the time, and he was fairly certain that she was in the same boat.
"I have a spare pair of glasses. They aren't as strong though."
Smiling at her slightly, he knew he had to be more encouraging and positive. "All right, that's good. You know, I was surprised you climbed that tree...didn't know you had it in you."
"I...I didn't." She looked away and put a hand to her chest. "T-They put me up there..."
His face grew concerned. Oh no...they had toyed with her first? Unforgivable! No wonder she had been so frightened. "Well, tell me what I can do to help you. Really, it's fine, go ahead."
"Then..." She sat up and adjusted her hair. "I...um." She crawled over and sat up nearly in front of him, leaning her head back against his chest. "Can I stay like this? Just to talk for a little, I mean..." she quickly added.
"Huh? Wait..." He figured she probably just wanted some close company right now, someone to talk to. She was like him in that he had no family here. Sure, he could be like family to her for a little while. "Yeah, that's fine." Smiling, he put an arm around her and felt her sinking further into him. It felt nice, and it reminded him of what happened with Reisen earlier. In fact, why had he not gotten to know Mayli at all in the first place? They were very much alike in many ways, and she was not an unfriendly person. Still, he had to make sure that his intentions were clear. "But you know, this is just--"
"I know. I just want to be around someone I can trust."
Phew, that was a relief. However, she was right there in front of him, and he could smell her hair. She smelled quite good overall after showering, he thought, blushing slightly. "Yeah, okay. Nothing personal or anything." Thank goodness she couldn't see his face. If someone like Keine saw him now...
She giggled lightly. "Hehehe...Ken, how often have you been this close to girls? This isn't a big deal, don't worry."
"Hey! I just had to make sure, you know..." His mind jumped to his dream about Mokou and how she had fallen into his lap trying to wake him up. "And let's just say that there have been a few...awkward moments in the past."
"I gotcha. And thanks for being here with me, it makes me feel better." She closed her eyes and smiled before reopening them soon after. She felt a little better already. "So, can you tell me about all that's happened to you today?" She quickly added, "I mean, besides what just happened to us."
He sighed. "Today? Oh boy, where do I start..."
7:30 PM - Day 1 - Human Village - Outside Ken's HouseSakuya and Sanae had taken to talking to each other. The shrine maiden was standing, and Sakuya had once again resorted to sitting down on the tree stump in front of his home. "So you've noticed too, eh?"
"Well, yeah. News like this reaches me through the divine winds..." Sanae had been thinking of the woman she had rescued. Somehow she looked familiar, but couldn't figure out why.
Sakuya's countenance narrowed. "Oh please, be serious."
Sanae shrugged. "Okay okay, whatever. It's not important how I heard it. Someone told me about this Amarillo girl and I figured I'd go hunting for some clues." Looking around, she put her hands on her hips before looking back at the Chief Maid. "I guess I ended up hunting for something else instead."
The Chief Maid looked down at the shredded-looking tear in her dress. She was still disappointed about what happened. "In any case, Mistress is looking into this, as well as Keine. I have faith that they'll get to the bottom of this issue."
Sanae smiled at her use of the word 'faith'. And yet faith was the least important thing on her mind right now. "That's good then. Well, I should probably get to looking around this place, there could be more troublesome youkai to exterminate hanging around here too." She turned to leave, but then turned back to Sakuya. "Oh, that reminds me. I did see Remilia earlier, myself."
"You saw the Mistress?" Sakuya's face was concentrated as usual. "Where was she?"
"She actually stopped by our shrine earlier, that's actually how I heard about this whole ordeal."
"So then, you're really here to watch out for Amarillo's presence."
Sanae nodded. "Although, it seems like I can make myself useful in other ways while I'm at it." She looked around. "Say, where's that dude Ken? He still helping that lady out?"
Sakuya paused before answering. "You know him?"
"I've been around him a few times, yeah. He's a pretty nice fellow, don't you think?"
"He's all right, I guess. Why do you ask?"
"You know, Sakuya." Sanae ran a hand through her hair. "You need some human interaction here and there."
Sakuya crossed her arms. "I get out of the Scarlet Devil Mansion often enough. What are you implying?"
"Ah, nothing. So are you going to come help me, or not?"
The Chief Maid shook her head. "My duty is to remain here and stay on the lookout for Amarillo. In fact, I should probably be watching for any signs of her approaching instead of talking to you..."
"Really? That's boring. Well, I can do that and exterminate at the same time, so let's go!"
The maid sighed as she got up. "Right...just don't get distracted." Now the Moriya shrine maiden had come to this place too? Seems like this Village had quickly become a central part of this mystery.
"Hey Sakuya." It was Mokou, secretly returning from an unsuccessful search for Reisa. "Oh, Sanae...the hell are you doing here?"
Sanae looked displeased. "That's not a very nice way to say hello. But then again, you were never good at exchanging pleasantries, were you..."
Mokou smirked. "So what? Why are you here, because you're bored? Wanted to escape from the goddesses for a while?"
"No way! I have business to attend to." The shrine maiden looked towards Ken's house and decided to tease Mokou a little. "I'm here to...ask Ken to go on a date with me."
The fire mage's face went from shocked to unamused. "
WHAT?! No, be serious. Why are you
really here, Sanae?"
Sanae laughed and grinned at Mokou. "Haha! No seriously, come with us and I'll explain why I'm here."
(Notes: Sanae and Mayli have joined Ken's team.)