One Random Sukima 10

Morning at the Human Village. Maribel sits in her kitchen, thinking "it's so quiet here. I miss the shrine so much." while drinking on a small cup of iced cocoa. She smacks her lips and says "ah, needs more sugar." With a bang, the front door opens, and in comes Renko with a book on her hand. Maribel casually says "welcome back, Renko. How was your study session?" Renko doesn't reply, and just turns around, showing tire marks on her back. Maribel shrieks, letting go of her cocoa and rushing to Renko, asking "what happened to you?" Renko casually replies "it's nothing. Look at this, though." Renko opens the door and points the open palm of her hand toward the ground in front of the house. Renko concentrated for some time, then the floor cracks a little, then a small rock pops from under the ground. Maribel looks very impressed and says "you finally did it!" Renko sighs and says "I still got a long way to go, but miss Patchouli says I'm not a lost cause after all." Maribel giggles and smiles, then feels she's being pulled to the air. Renko shouts "MARY!!!" as the Random Sukima chews on Maribel, smacking it's lips and smiling very contently, constantly making loud slurping sounds. In her despair, Renko tries to hit it with the book, but it only goes through it, and the Sukima gulps Maribel with a content "mmmmm~!" then disappears. Renko drops the book inside the house and runs to Kyo's house calling for help, shouting "KYO~, LUNA~! It got Mary! It got MARY~~!"

A few houses Away, a small family of three, a woman, a man, and a young boy enjoy breakfast, when the table rattles for a bit. Startled, they all got up with their plates in hand. The husband nods and places his food on a counter behind him, then looks under the simple square table, but sees nothing. When he comes back up, he says to the boy "you were playing tricks again, weren't you!?" The woman, from behind the husband, an the child, in front of him, both look toward the table with horror in their eyes. The man angrily says "you're not getting away from it THIS time!" The boy points to the table, and when the man looks back, his face turns purple. Mima's head is on the table, crying blood from her white eyes. She turns to the man and asks "I'm lost... could you point me to my body?" The man gulps, then the woman pokes him on the shoulder, then points at the oven as it opens itself up, then out comes Mima's body, walking slowly, raising it's arms toward the family, and spewing blood from it's neck. Above the Hakurei Shrine, a gap opens up, spitting out Maribel, covered in drool and cuts, screaming and flapping her arms, trying to soften her fall, when she is rescued by Rika, long before she reaches the ground. Maribel exclaims "miss Rika! Thank you!" Rika smiles and after landing safely, places Maribel on the ground, and while wiping her hands on her apron, she asks "miss Maribel what happened? Why didn't you fly?" Maribel ponders, then says "ah, that's right, I forgot... I can fly!" then giggles. From behind the shrine, Reimu exclaims "Maribel! What happened?" She stares at Maribel, then smacks her own forehead and says "let me guess... that gap ate you, didn't it?" Maribel smiles angelically as she nods. Reimu sighs, and is about to say something, when three screams from the village echo all the way to the shrine. Reimu blows a puff of air and says "Mima..." Maribel giggles and says "so that's why she stayed around our house all night."

Mima's eyes spin around and has quite a few bumps on her head, and a charm on her forehead, and is being dragged back to the shrine by Rika, who accompanied Reimu to get Mima. While walking back to the shrine, Reimu asks "Rika, do you know how to use your spell card?" Rika stares curiously, then says "well... not exactly." Reimu says "well then, today, you and I are going to train a little. There's too much going on, and you need to be ready." Rika salutes Reimu with her free hand and says "as always, you know best, my lady!" At the shrine, Rika goes out of her way to place Mima comfortably in her underground room, inside her futon, but forgets to remove the charm. Back outside, Reimu prepares the back of the shrine with various wooden dummies, some targets, and some barriers to protect the shrine and storehouse. She pulls out a spell card the moment Rika gets close, then says "alright, this is one of my most simple spells. It's called, Fantasy Seal, and... well, it's better if you just see a demonstration." Reimu shouts "Divine Spirit - Fantasy Seal!" 10 orbs in five colors: red, blue, green, yellow, and white, all head straight to one of the dummies, turning it into ashes after it explodes. Rika opens her eyes wide with admiration, saying "ooh, that's amazing!!" Reimu smiles and says "that attack uses 5 elements. Red is fire, blue is water, green is wind, yellow is earth, and white is lightning. It's not easy, but being able to use these elements is a great advantage, specially with those that are adept to a specific element." Rika, still looking on with admiration, smiles and says "I want to try too!" Reimu smiles and says "alright, go ahead. I'm curious about that spell card of yours too." Rika smiles, grabs her spell card from under her apron, then shouts "Oath Keeper!" The spell card flies beside Rika, spins, then a large golden gate opens up. She instinctively jumps inside, then comes out with a Japanese sword in hand. She looks at it qiute disappointed and says "a sword?" then thinks "no. I wanted something like my lady... but wait..." She grabs the hilt and slowly pulls the sword out of it's sheath. At first it looks like a normal steel blade, but when she pulls out a bit more, she realizes the un-sharpened side glows green. Reimu smiles and says "wind. No surprise there, seeing it's your specialty." Rika sighs and sounding just a bit disappointed, she says "but why only wind?" Reimu smiles and says "I see. If you train some more, you can reach your goal. Now, let's see what you can do with this?" Rika nods, then grabs the sword tightly with one hand, then, as if knowing already, she shouts "Wind Sign - Neppa Senpuujin!" while thinking "I want to protect you, my lady. I'll train hard to do so. Your Rika will be here for you always... even if you don't need it... I will protect you, my lady!" She sheathes her sword, then aims toward one of the wooden dummies, charging her energy. Reimu gets impressed, then, like a blur, Rika unsheathes the blade, swings her sword and sheathes it again, sending a large blade of wind that trails wind danmaku crystals behind it. She quickly moves to the left and repeats the attack, then to the right, and repeats, moving so quickly, even Reimu has trouble following her. When the spell is done, the dummy looks intact. Rika sighs and says "aww... Nothing happened!" Reimu smiles and points at the dummy as it falls on the ground sliced into many perfect pieces. Rika smiles at Reimu and says "wow! I did that, my lady!" Reimu continues to smile and says "and moving at that speed, you could make a certain crow quite jealous of you." From inside the shrine, Marisa, looking groggy, pops her head out and asks "what's with all the noise?"

At the Youkai Forest, Ail meets with Aya for a seemingly shady meeting. Aya stands behind a tree, wearing sunglasses and hiding under the shade. Ail comes by, with Budou and Phredia right beside him. In a serious tone, Aya says "thank you for coming. This information I'm about to relay isn't really classified, but I though it would be cool to do it like this... Err... I though I told yo to come alone." Ail casually says "err... right. Look, could you just get on with it?" Aya clears her through. Ail rolls his eyes and sounding annoyed, he says "what's this all about.. agent Flash?" Aya, in a serious, yet strangely ridiculous tone, says "I have been searching for those copies. Reports indicate that Yuka's copy looks to be very dangerous, as her expression suggest anger, rage, and lust for blood." Ail ponders, while Budou and Phredia look around, exploring the surroundings. Ail says "so, it's possible these aren't exact copies. Is that what you are saying?" Aya, still in that ridiculous tone of voice says "report indicates that could be an actual fact. Also, there has been no sign of the Udonge anywhere, yet eyewitnesses claim they have seen a girl that looks just like her, only with darker hair, and much more cool-looking." Ail sweats and says "could you please stop with that voice. Sounds creepy!" Aya, in her usual voice says "alright, geez. What a spoil-sport! Anyway, it seems they are harmless, except for that one that attacked the fairy and..." Both Ail and Aya look to the skies, feeling a tremor coming from the Hakurei Shrine. Ail looks at Budou and says "Budou! Go to the Moriya Shrine! Stay there until I come for you!" Budou says "right away, papa! But what is it?" Ail and Aya look at each other, then Ail turns to Budou and says "danger." Budou gasps and flies away toward the shrine, followed by Phredia. Ail and Aya take to the skies with great speed, both creating a small vacuum around the area after lift-off, pulling the spinning Hina to a tree, knocking her head against it. She gets up, shakes her head, then rubs the back of her head, saying "that was too much misfortune!"

At the Hakurei Shrine, Marisa leaves, shouting "I'm gonna go check on my house, ze! I'll be back later!" Reimu waves with her right hand, holding her broom with her left, then shouts "don't bring those mushrooms again!" From the trees to the left, something watches on as Reimu orders Rika to go clean inside the shrine. It watches on as Rika leaves to the shrine, then, with a low growl, it moves to strike, but Marisa returns just before it leaves it's hiding spot. Marisa smiles and says "I forgot to ask you. Have you seen Mima-sama?" Reimu chuckles and says "had to punish her for playing a mean prank on some villagers. She'll be out cold for some time." Marisa sighs, then abruptly looks to her right. Reimu looks along and asks "something bothering you?" Marisa tips her hat and says "though I saw something... Must have been a fairy again. Ah well, see you later." Something continues to watch from behind some bushes, and just as Marisa leaves the area, there is a wicked little giggle. Reimu continues to sweep casually as she always does, lazily brushing leaves away. She dodges to the left, just as a sharp white blade is about to strike her. She prepares to strike with her broom, when she has to duck right out of the way as she sees herself, only with light-brown hair and wearing black clothes with blue outlines, and blue detached sleeves with black ribbons on them, trying to strike her with a heavy dark spell, smiling and giggling ever so innocently. Reimu tries to flip kick, but the other one behind her drops to the ground just in time. He looks just like Ail, except for his black shirt and no blessed bracelet. Reimu backs away, pulls out her spell card and shouts "Divine-" Before she can finish her declaration, Momiji comes from behind, moving as fast as Aya, and wielding a large black sword, and slashes Reimu on the back. Copy Reimu takes advantage of this and strikes Reimu on the chest as hard as she can with a big dark energy blob, making her scream in agony, then silently fall on the ground. Copy Ail smiles and says "and now, let's end this, my love." Copy Reimu giggles and says "Yay! I get my own little shrine." Copy Momiji smiles, and in a very serious and dark undertone says "just finish the job before I kill you too." Copy Ail makes a large white blade come from under his own skin on his forearm, then quickly thrust the blade straight at Reimu's throat, but is startled by Rika's shriek "MISS REIMU~!" Rika throws a bucket and a broom straight at the attackers, making them back away, startled, then, after reaching, she kneels beside Reimu, examining her, breathing heavily and hoping for the best. "Miss Reimu... Please answer me!"

Rika closes her eyes, brushing the hair of her mistress with her fingertips, then, when she opens them again, her eyes and pupils turn dark purple. Her wavy hair starts to move on it's own, as if wind was coursing through it. She grabs her mistress as copy Ail lunges to attack again, but Rika whispers "wind flash". A bright flash of light blinds the attackers, and in an instant, the light dims down, and Rika stands right where she was before, but Reimu is no longer in her arms. Copy Momiji asks "where is the other one?" Rika silently grabs her spell card and in a dangerous tone of voice, she says "Oath Keeper" Her spell card spins beside her, turning purple, opening a large purple gate she enters immediately, then comes out with 4 swords on a black belt, two on each side. Marisa, who is halfway to reach her home, feels the tremor from the shrine and immediately turns around, thinking "what the hell is this? It's coming from the shrine... but this isn't Reimu..." Rika unsheathes the sword on the lower left, and like a quick blur, she goes straight at copy Momiji, who blocks at the very last second, then, with her tail between her legs, she growls and says "this wasn't part of the deal. You are on your own!" then runs away, looking like a white blur, bouncing from tree to tree. Rika turns her purple eyes to the two copies left. They smile and copy Ail says "shall we, darling?" Copy Reimu giggles and replies "I LOVE holding your hand, sweetie!" The second their hands touch, a surge of energy pushes Rika back, but she continues to stare straight at them. Both are flying now, so Rika follows them and says "you will DIE!" A spell card flies in front of her dark purple eyes, then she shouts "Untitled - Darco Gessenkou" In a flash, she gets right in front of the copies with all her swords sheathed. Like a blur, she unsheathes two swords and unleashes two blade-like beams that cross each other, straight at the copies, who just smile as copy Reimu giggles and surrounds herself and copy Ail in a dark barrier that absorbs Rika's attack, however, Rika continues her attack and lunges to the air, then strikes their shield with her swords, sending them down hard. Rika sheathes both swords, then, pointing both hands to the ground, she creates the shape of a moon, right where the copies and their shield are, then, inside the moon, countless dark bullets barrage the shield, which keeps absorbing the energy, making the shield itself much stronger. After the attack ends, copy Reimu giggles and says "silly girl. Let me show you how it's done!" Copy Reimu takes her shield and concentrates it around her hand, then sends it to Rika, who moves away just in time, but not noticing copy Ail and copy Reimu moving equally fast, and copy Ail striking her hard with one of his blades on her shoulder, then copy Reimu blasting her with a dark yin-yang energy orb that explodes on Rika's chest, sending her unconscious to the ground.

C.Ail and C.Reimu, still holding hands, walk closer to Rika. C.Ail unleashes a very large white blade that grows from his elbow and to his hand, then he raises his arm, eager to strike down the unconscious Rika, but a red blur strikes his face, followed by a quick energy blast on C.Reimu's face that sends them both, still holding hands, back against a tree. Marisa takes this chance, swoops down on her broom and takes Rika away with her. Aya and Ail stand ready, as the two copies stand up, glaring angrily back at their attackers. C.Reimu smiles while still scowling and says "honey, it seems we've got more company." C.Ail replies "guess will have to run away, my darling." Ail feels slightly ill after hearing them speak, but shouts "you're not going ANYWHERE!" Aya's face is red with rage, clenching her teeth tightly and angrily says "you THINK I'll let you get AWAY after this!?" Ail shouts "grab my hand!" Aya immediately grabs Ail's hand, then he flings her toward the copies, making her spin fast, allowing her to create a small, but dangerous hurricane around herself, however, the copies hold hands again, and lunge forward, knocking Aya back with ease. Ail gasps and fires various concentrated lasers and orbs at the copies, but they move too fast, avoiding being struck. Ail shouts "CUT THEIR LINK!" Aya swoops down at them at such speeds, the air around her turns red, and the copies can't follow in time, thus, Aya knocks their hands, making them break their bond, then Ail follows with a quick barrage of exploding orbs, causing mayor damage to both. C.Reimu stays on the ground, crying and sobbing, shouting "he burned my arm, he burned my ARM!" C.Ail jumps to his feet and covers C.Reimu with his own body, glares at Ail and says "you haven't seen the last of us! Do it, my love!" C.Reimu extends her unharmed arm, and a blinding flash emanates from her palm. When the light dims down, both are gone. Aya stares angrily around, then says "they got away." Ail replies "never mind that. What about Reimu!?" Quickly, Aya and Ail head inside the shrine, where Marisa has already placed Rika next to Reimu and is treating their wounds, keeping a smile on her face and holding back the sadness and rage in her eyes. Ail asks "Marisa, are you alright?" Marisa replies "Reimu's tough. She'll be ok... and Rika... When she wakes up, I want to talk to her. Yeah... they'll be just fine." The copies of Ail and Reimu hide inside a cave. C.Reimu continues to cry, then C.Ail says "give me your arm." She hesitantly extends her left arm, showing a terrible burn on her forearm. C.Ail pricks her with one of his nails, making her twitch, then quickly spits a black blob on the cut. The blob penetrates her skin through the cut, and in a few seconds, her entire forearm is completely healed. She stops crying, gives C.Ail a hug and a kiss on his cheek, then he says "that guy... I want to make him pay for this!" C.Reimu asks "what are you planning, dear?" C.Ail replies "I want to make him suffer... and then..." C.Ail brushes C.Reimu's face with his fingertips and with his free arm, he unleashes a white blade and strikes a small winged creature, then stares at it as C.Reimu giggles contently.

Back at the shrine, after finishing with Rika's wounds, Marisa turns to Reimu, gently lifting her up to tend to the the cut on her back. To her surprise, only her clothes are cut, then she says "heh, that's my Reimu!" From outside, Ail asks "what is it?" Marisa replies "that cut I told you about; it's just her clothes. She managed to protect her body." Ail chuckles and says "I see" then ponders and asks "but why isn't she waking up, then?" Before Marisa answers, Reimu suddenly wakes up, gasps, then runs outside, falling on the ground and vomiting a black blob. Reimu yelps after that, and clenches her chest tightly. Aya rushes to her, shouting "Reimu, get away from that!" pulling Reimu back inside, making the blob come in direct contact with the sunlight, turning to dust only a few seconds afterward. Reimu breathes desperately, but manages to say "that... in my chest..." Aya shushes her and says "rest, you stubborn miko!" Ail gives her one of his spell cards and while holding her hand, making her hold the card, he says "Blast Sign - Expansion That Soothes." About 30 orange orbs surround Reimu, then Ail surrounds himself with his barrier, allowing the orbs to explode on him, each explosion sending healing energies to Reimu. Reimu takes a breath of relief and says "thanks... The pain was driving me crazy." Ail and Aya smile, while Marisa simply looks on, thinking "look at what they did. This... paradise is not safe. Reimu, I'll find us a true paradise, I promise you." Reimu turns to Marisa with a smile and says "it's alright, Marisa. I'm fine, see?" Marisa snaps out of her thoughts, sweating and waving her hands while smiling and saying "ah, no, sorry about that. I was just thinking about some magic spell... yeah, that's it. A really powerful one too!" Ail asks "Reimu, what happened?" Reimu's explanation is immediately interrupted by Sanae, who lands in front of the shrine's entrance, shouting "I'm here! Where's the action!? I'm ready! They won't be able to penetrate my impenetrable defenses, just you wait!" Immediately, Sanae gets knocked to the ground by a silver washtub that falls from the sky and rolls away just as Sanae falls face-first to the ground. Ail rushes worriedly to her, lifting her up and turning her around, but finds her smiling dizzily and her eyes spinning, while repeating "im... penetrable... defenses... heh heh heh."

Having placed Rika in Reimu's room, Sanae and Aya return to the living room, where Ail has prepared some tea, helping Reimu recover faster. Reimu takes one last gulp and says "there were three of them." Ail and Aya look surprised, then Aya says "that's odd. When we got here, there were only yours and Ail's copies." Reimu sighs and says "well, there must have been another. I had those two in my sight when I got attacked from behind. All I can remember about that third subject was the he, or she, carries an abnormally large black sword." Aya thinks for a moment and suspiciously asks "abnormally large?" Reimu interrupts Aya, saying in a strict tone "Ail, I am sure you saw what happens when those two copies hold hands." Ail says " every time they do, their power increases to that of our own." Reimu says "exactly! When separated, they are so weak, I can barely feel their presence. Lucky that third one is so strong, letting me sense her in time, or I'd have never been able to protect myself." Sanae joins the conversation, saying "so, those copies are evil after all. What are we going to do?" Reimu smirks and says "gee, I don't know. What do you think, Patchouli?" Sanae and Aya look confused toward Reimu, then turn their sights to the entrance, where Patchouli, out of breath, holds herself up using the doorway for support, with Koakuma, smiling nervously at her side. After sitting down and having some tea, Patchouli places a thick black book with brown borders on the table, opens a specific page, and says "sorry I couldn't make it sooner." Reimu glances the page, then says "so you figure this out." Patchouli calmly says "I wanted to come sooner, but we couldn't find this book in time. Well, the 'copies', as you call them, are actually shadows. They posses different abilities from us and are hard to tell apart from the original except for minor details, like say the eye colors, but in some rare cases, not only do they look exactly like the original, but could also posses the same abilities, however, lack experience with these." Ail asks "any reason why they might be attacking?" Patchouli lightly shakes her head and says "I remembered this book when that gap came to my library and chewed on Renko. The information is limited, but it should be helpful." Aya, in a strict tone, asks "how do we beat them?" Patchouli calmly replies "the same way we beat each other around." Sanae sweats and says "that sounds a bit barbaric." Marisa gets up and quietly heads outside. Everyone stares, and Reimu asks "Marisa, what's wrong?" Marisa smiles widely and says "everything's ok over here, so I'll be headed home. I turned around before reaching. Oh, Reimu, could you tell Rika I REALLY wish to see her later, is that ok?" Confused, Reimu nods, but says nothing. Without saying another word, Marisa sits on her broom and quietly flies away. At that very moment, Rika comes form inside Reimu's room, asking "my lady!? My lady, are you there!?" Ail says "wait.. Maybe Rika saw that third attacker!" Rika stumbles to Reimu, tries to bow, but falls on her knees, then asks "why am I so tired? And when did I get this wound on my shoulder?"

At the Youkai Mountain, at the foot of the waterfall, Momiji plays Shogi with a long-haired kappa, and is winning the game. Momiji's ears twitch as she hears Aya call for her form the distance. She get up, bows and quickly says "I'm sorry, I have to go!" then jumps from stone to stone up the waterfall, looking like a white blur while doing so. The kappa girl sighs and wipes the sweat off her forehead and says "phew, I almost lost it there." Once on top of the waterfall, Momiji scans toward the direction of the call, spotting Aya far away at the Hakurei Shrine, then immediately jumps down the mountain, lands on the trees,and moves from tree to tree, looking like a white blur, arriving to the shrine in just a few minutes, standing in front of Aya, giving her a salute and saying "Momiji Inubashiri reporting to miss Aya. How can I be of-?" Aya kicks Momiji hard on her stomach, sending her back against a tree. Momiji coughs, quickly gets back on her feet, and shouts "miss Aya, what was that for!?" Aya's face is red, her eyes filled with blind rage, clenching her teeth while glaring at Momiji. In a dangerously angry tone of voice, Aya asks "why didn't you TELL me that thing bit you too!?" Momiji's heart beats faster, her breath gets cold and heavy. She opens her eyes wide and tries to ask "how did you-?" Aya points to Reimu, who is inside the shrine, sitting next to Patchouli, Sanae and Koakuma, then says "your cop-, I mean... your SHADOW attacked Reimu from behind. We are LUCKY Reimu managed to protect herself in time!" Momiji stutters, trying to explain her reasons for keeping silent, but Aya continues to slowly walk toward her, making her more nervous. Momiji trips and falls on her back, then, with her tail between her legs, she crawls away from Aya, getting behind the tree she was knocked on to before. She whimpers "m-miss Aya, please forgive me!" Aya stands a few feet away, glaring at Momiji, when Rika gets in the way, looks at Aya in the eyes and says "miss Shameimaru, I did not tell you about that shadow just so you could take your anger out on her!" Aya shouts back "she almost cost us Reimu!" Aya peeks above Rika's shoulder and asks "why didn't you tell me!?" From behind Aya, Ail says "her wolf's pride." Aya looks back at Ail and asks "wolf---pride? What kind of excuse is that!?" Ail walks to Momiji and helps her back up on her feet, then says "beating her up won't solve anything. Besides..." Ail looks at Momiji, who turns her face away, keeping her tail between her legs and her ears as low as possible, looking sadly to the ground, then Ail continues "...I believe she's being punished enough." Aya continues to glare angrily at Momiji, while Rika keeps in front of her. Aya sighs, finally calming down, then in a clam tone of voice, she asks "what should we do now, then?" Ail smiles at Reimu, who is smiling back at him, then both say at the same time "we hunt some shadows."

At Alice's house, Shinki holds Shanghai's hands, making her giggle as she swings the little doll in the air. Alice comes from her room along with Hourai, who is now wearing a bright-red dress with a white apron and a red bow on her head. Hourai sighs contently and says "ah, somehow red suits me very well, don't you think?" Alice smiles and says "it sure does" Shanghai stares curiously back at them, then flies closer to Hourai and says "but sis, wouldn't that mean that I am also suited for red?" Hourai waves her little finger and says "no, no, you're more blue than red." Shinki smiles and says "it's true. Your aura makes you more suited for blue." Shanghai looks at herself, spinning in a circle while in the air, trying to look under herself, then excitedly says "I see it! Ohh, looks like a flame!" Alice says "that's right.... but wait... Mom, does this mean they are truly independent? I mean, now that I look at them... they're no longer bound to my own magic." Shinki smiles and says "that's right. These two are completely independent now, so you don't have to go around, spreading your energy and soul all over the place, like a BAD little girl!" Shinki realizes Alice, Shanghai, and Hourai are staring straight at her, and her annoyed cross on her forehead, pulsating. Shinki says "oh, my.. heh heh." then forcing a nervous smile, she grabs that cross and hides it in her pocket. The room gets and awkward feeling as Alice and the dolls continue to stare at Shinki, but to her luck, the mood is broken by a repeated banging at the door, and Yumeko desperately calling. "Alice! Alice, please open up. There's something VERY wrong with lady Shinki! Alice, please answer me!" Alice quietly heads to the door, while Shinki answers "Yumeko, is that you?" Before Alice can open the door, Yumeko knocks it down, crushing Alice underneath it, then heads straight to Shinki and gives her a big hug while crying "my lady~! I was so worried!" Shinki smiles and brushes Yumeko's hair with her fingers, saying in a calm and motherly tone "there, there, child. It's alright." From outside, Mai shouts "um, Yumeko, I think you killed Alice." Yumeko gasps and turns around to see the two small dolls trying to lift the door off from Alice with all their might. Yumeko blushes and says "whoops... Sorry about that." Mai enters and helps the dolls pull off the door, finding Alice on the floor with her eyes spinning while keeping a smile on her face.

At the Palace of the Earth Spirits, Satori walks casually to the sleeping Orin, who curled herself up on a window, holding her wheelbarrow underneath it, and smiling while dreaming of fish, boiled eggs, and spending more time with her master. Meanwhile, Okuu flies inside the palace, looking for Satori, also wishing to spend some time with her. Satori reaches Orin, pets her head, making her wake up peacefully. She looks at Satori with sleepy eyes and says "miss Satori, good morning." Satori calmly replies "more like, good afternoon. You slept all through the morning. I think it's about time you wake up." Orin smiles, still staring at her master with sleepy eyes, then her cat ears twitch as she stretches and yawns one last time, then jumps to her feet on the ground, saying "right away, miss Satori!" Satori quietly smiles, then says "don't forget you also promised Yamame to help her with the preparations to that party." Orin opens her eyes wide and shouts "oh drat, that's right! I better get going!" Satori, still with her quiet and small smile says "take care out there." Orin rushes away with her wheelbarrow in hand and shouts "of course. See you later, miss Satori!" Satori takes a deep breath and says "I think I'll go read something nice now." Satori walks alone through the long corridor, when Okuu finally spots her, calling for her master and immediately landing next to her. Okuu give Satori a hug and says "miss Satori~ I found you~!" Satori yelps a little surprised, then says "Okuu, heh heh, calm down." Okuu smiles as she lets go of her master, but her smile quickly vanishes, then she looks around very alert and looking ready to fly away at any moment. Satori asks "Okuu, what is it? Danger? Where?" Okuu pushes Satori to her right, just as the Random Sukima pops up and chomps down, gobbling Okuu instead. Satori look on horror-struck and shouts "Utsuho! Okuu~!" She gets up and grabs a spell card from her pocket and shouts "Recollection - Terrible Souv-" but before she finishes her declaration, the Sukima gulps Okuu, blows some steam from it's mouth, then disappears. Satori desperately looks around, hoping to see Okuu, but she immediately realizes she's nowhere near there. She runs to the palace exit, shouting "Koishi~! Orin~!" Her footsteps echo all over the now empty palace as she rushes outside to look for help.

At the Hakurei Shrine, Ail and Sanae stand just outside the shrine, looking at Reimu as she instructs them. "Remember, if they start holding hands, break their bond immediately." says Reimu. Ail nods and says "I can always use a barrier for protection." Sanae adds, in a dark and dangerous undertone "I'll break their hands before that happens!" Ail backs away from Sanae, a sweat-drop falling from the back of his head. Reimu looks a bit surprised, but shakes it off and says "er, right. Just be very careful, you two." Ail and Sanae nod at the same time, then fly away, Sanae getting as close as she can to Ail, and not letting him get away. Reimu slowly walks back inside the shrine. Patchouli and Koakuma stand up as Reimu slowly sits back down, Patchouli saying "it's time we left. Marisa is out there and my books are unprotected." Reimu says "wait, before you leave." Patchouli and Koakuma turn their full attention to Reimu as she says "I need you to look for more information on these shadows... if you can. Maybe find a common weakness, a strength, anything you can find." Patchouli smirks and says "alright, but my services won't come cheap..." Patchouli's voice turns from casual, to naughty, when she says "if you know what I mean?" Reimu sighs and says "fine, let's get this over with!" Reimu starts undoing her neckerchief, which makes Patchouli's eyes get cast in shadow and her cheeks to turn bright red, then says "MUKYUU! What are you doing!? I was talking about those peach pies of yours!" Reimu laughs and says "sorry, haha! That was a joke." Patchouli pouts, then leaves, flying away as soon as she's out the door, Koakuma following and saying "let's play, miss Patchouli." A loud thump, followed by Koakuma's yelp, makes Aya take a few pictures while saying "I'll need more information." From inside, Reimu says "Aya, forget about that now. I'll need your help." Aya looks back with a serious expression and asks "help with what?" Reimu looks to Rika, who is sleeping soundly in a futon close to the table, then looks back at Aya and says "you and I are hunting down Momiji's shadow." Aya smiles and says "why not send those two after her instead? Look, you can barely stand for more than 5 minutes. Wait, why not let me and Momiji-" Reimu raises her hand, opening it in mid-air, signaling Aya to stop talking, then says "Ail and Sanae may be strong, but they still lack the experience you and I have, and also... If what Rika says is true, we'll need the wind on our side to beat her. You understand what I'm saying?" Aya stares at Reimu for a bit, then smirks and says "alright, but first, I want you to rest a little more." Reimu replies "we don't have time for that!" Aya smiles as she walks to Reimu, pokes her forehead, pushing her down, and while she continues to smile, she says "you're going to have to make some time." Outside the shrine, still sitting under the same tree, Momiji listens to the conversation, however, she is lost in her own thoughts, looking down to her feet, unblinking and silent.

At the Human Village, at the market area, Shadow Momiji walks around, bumping anyone that gets in her way, and if anybody dares say anything, she threatens them with her sword. Farther away are Suwako, Budou and Phredia. Suwako holds a small note and says "let's see here. Sanae wants a few vegetables... ah, seems we've run out of rice too." She slouches and says "why doesn't Kanako come help me once in a while?" Budou giggles and says "big sister, remember that grandmothers like gramma Kanako need to rest a lot." Suwako tries her best to hold her laughter in, but explodes laughing, and for a while, she almost falls on the floor laughing, but she notices the villagers staring at her, so she clears her throat, composes herself, then says "yes, you are very right. Maybe we should get her a heating pad for her." Budou and Phredia look curiously at Suwako, then Budou asks "what's a heating pad?" Suwako smiles and rests her head on her forearms as she stretches her arms behind herself, then says "it's something from the world outside. I'll explain it to you later." In front of them, Ran and Chen just purchase some fruits, then Budou excitedly exclaims "Chen~!" Equally excited, Chen exclaims "Budou~! How are you!?" The two little girls run to each other, giggling and jumping with excitement. Upon reaching each other, Suwako and Ran greet, then Suwako says "heh, seems like they're having fun, doesn't it?" Chen and Budou run to Ran and Suwako, and with their cute little eyes, placing their hands together as if praying, both ask "may we go and play?" Suwako's eyes get cast in shadow as she thinks "wh-what is this..? I want to say no, but I can't!" Suwako hides her shock and says "well, I don't know. What do you think miss?" Ran smiles at them, sparkles shining around her face and her nose bleeding a little. She sighs and says "sure, why not? They are both good little girls, right?" Suwako sweats and says "er, sure... right..." Both Budou and Chen jump in place, cheering excitedly,then Chen says "come on, I'll show you a fun place to play!" Budou nods with a smile on her face and lightly flapping her wings, then she and Chen run away from the market. Ran looks at Suwako and asks "don't you want to go play too?" Suwako forces a nervous smile and says "err, no, I have things to do now." Ran smiles and says "my, you are so mature for your age!" Suwako looks away while she and her hat both sweat as Suwako says "right... mature."

Near the exit of the market area, S.Momiji smirks and thinks "finally, I though this dump was eternal... look at them. Disgusting humans. I wish I could just cut them all to pieces right now." As she thinks this, she scans around with her narrow blood-thirsty eyes, the urge to kill the humans increasing with very person she sees walk by. She just exits the market, passing by one last, run-down kiosk, when Kyo shouts "oy~! Momiji~!" Kyo runs to her, pats her shoulder, and says "heh-hey~, Momiji, what are you doing around here?" S.Momiji, in a dark undertone, says "get away from me, rookie!" Kyo stands frozen in place, his hand floating in the air. S.Momiji takes another step, but a ruby-colored sword with a red aura around it floats just beside her neck. Kyo threateningly asks "who are you?" S.Momiji smirks, and for a moment, she just stands there, but she ducks fast and kicks behind herself, striking Kyo on his lower abdomen and sending him flying back with force. Kyo manages to land on his feet, holding his abdomen and saying "why, you dirty, no-good doppelganger!" S.Momiji unsheathes her large black sword from her back, and with rage in her narrow eyes, she shouts "watch that mouth of yours, you sack of organs, or I'll skewer you like a pig!" The people take notice of the commotion and start running away, some screaming in fear, while others shout "call the Hakurei maiden!" The area around them is now empty, except for the kiosks and stands left unattended. Kyo and S.Momiji stare each other down, then Kyo launches toward her, swinging his sword with all his might. S.Momiji manages to defend herself with the sword, but is sent back with great force, however, she manages to keep on her feet. She smirks and says "not bad for a novice like yourself! Now, let me show you how it's REALLY done!" S.Momiji moves around so fast, she becomes invisible to Kyo's eyes. She appears behind Kyo, and in that instant, she swings her blade, trying to cut his back. Kyo manages to duck in time, then tries to kick S.Momiji's feet, but she is on the move again, and what's behind Kyo, is actually an after-image. Kyo thinks "she fights dirty. I need to keep my guard up!" Kyo takes the amplifier out of his pockets and while getting up, he puts it on, and immediately, his energy sword glows bright red. Again, S.Momiji appears right behind Kyo, but Kyo reacts in time and intercepts her blade, holding on to her arm. The shadow tries to punch his face, but Kyo calls back his sword and grabs her fist, then both start matching kicks, successfully blocking all attacks from each other, then both push each other back. S.Momiji thinks "what the hell is this? He's matching my moves!" Kyo stances ready for hand-to-hand combat, when Suwako jumps to his left, and Ran to his right. S.Momiji sheathes her sword, then says "tch! Just like the weaklings you are. You can't even take me on one-on-one. Well, whatever. Smell ya later, butt-heads!" then runs away fast, looking like a blur on the road. Suwako says "that was a shadow! What is THAT thing doing here!?" Kyo says "I don't know, but she fights dirty, and doesn't hold back." Ran gasps and shouts "CHEN~!" Suwako smacks herself on both cheeks, gasping in horror and saying "oh, no! Budou!" Kyo face-palms and says "geez, let go look for them!"

Medicine and Luna scan around the bushes and trees at the Hakurei Shrine, when Medicine shouts "found it~!" Luna runs to her, and after arriving close to her, Medicine, who holds the silver washtub in her hands, says "wow, Kyo was right. You could have killed him with this!" Luna sighs and says "wow~... it really got some distance." Medicine smiles and says "just be thankful nobody got hurt with this." Luna nods with a smile on her face and says "you're right. That would have been most unfortunate, don't you think?"

To be continued...

Characters and scenario belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice-
Ail, Kyo, Luna, Budou & Phredia were created by Willie G.R.
Rika and Rika's spell cards were created by Snapshot 2010
Mayor assistance by Snapshot 2010

NOV 10 2009
written by
Willie G.R.