Sunday, February 28, 2010

Paradise Sukima 2

Marisa sits by the donation box next to Aya, both covered in bumps and bruises and smiling sheepishly, Aya softly asking “all that for three photos?” Marisa’s mouth is a little swollen, and seemingly mumbling she says “at leasht she zidn’t ushe the shpell c-hardsh.” Meanwhile, Reimu and Rika stand next to the still open gap, Reimu getting a better look at Rika and saying “I’m so glad to see you’re ok! This thing on my hand started glowing and I SWEAR I thought you were dying!” Rika twitches and turns her head away while biting on her nails, and noticing this, Reimu asks “what?” Rika smiles and unknowingly flaps her wings as she says “no, it’s nothing my lady!” Reimu finally realizes Rika has small angelic wings, and in surprise she asks “wait a minute? WINGS!? And a bandage over your eyes!? Rika, what happened!?” Rika flinches, thinking her mistress is repulsed by her looks, but she steels herself to say and softly says “i-it’s nothing, my lady. It’s a long story, but I don’t think you’re interested.” Reimu proves her concern for Rika by asking “are you sure about that?” then gets closer and looking suspicious she says “wait a minute! Someone hurt you, didn’t they!? That’s why those wings were glowing! GRRR~! Rika, you tell me who did this to you! I’ll RIP him apart!” Miraculously recovered, Aya and Marisa grab hold of Reimu’s arms, Marisa shouting “Reimu, calm down! You’re scaring her!” Aya adds “calm down already, she’s home! Isn’t that enough!?” Reimu swings her arms and effortlessly sends both Aya and Marisa flying to the back of the shrine, revealing her golden whistle in her pocket to Marisa, who stops screaming and thinks “she has one too!” Aya, however, screams for the both of them before they crash on the ground. Again, Reimu approaches Rika and asks “now, what kind of degenerate monster would want to hurt you like this!?” A small tear escapes Rika as she turns her head to the ground and away from Reimu, filling her mistress with even more concern, but calming her down. Softly, Reimu says “Rika... I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you like that.” Rika lifts her head, revealing a big smile along with her tears, then she launches herself to Reimu and after clinging on to her neck she says “I’m so happy, my lady! You really do care!” Reimu blushes and trembles a little, noticing Yukari staring playfully at them from her gap, but she ignores Yukari’s stare and hugs Rika back. Yukari opens her fan to hide her face underneath it, then Rika says “oh, miss Yukari!” Surprised, Reimu opens her eyes wide and says “whoa! Those are some sharp senses there.” Yukari chuckles and says “sorry I took so long. I was just having a little word with her friends. You know, it’s almost unfair. They love Rika so much, and she’s all the way over here, and they are all the way over the-“ Reimu rushes to Yukari and raising a fist she says “she promised she’d stay here, and I’m making her keep her word, you understand that!?” Sweating, Yukari backs away and says “calm down, I was just saying... Anyway.” Yukari composes herself and says “I brought her back here safely, so now my job is done. Now if you don’t mind, I have some sleeping to catch up to. Good day!” With that, Yukari enters her gaps and closes it immediately, but Reimu manages to whisper “thank you” to which Yukari’s “you’re welcome~” echoes around the shrine. Suddenly, Rika gasps and rummages all around her clothes looking for something. Before Reimu asks, Rika pulls a scroll from inside her shirt and says “this is for you, my lady!” Curious, Reimu opens the scroll and quickly eyes it, then excitedly exclaims “ah, how nice. A barrier manipulation scroll” A glint escapes Reimu’s eyes as she says “this will come in handy!”, while Rika bows with a smile and says “you’re most welcome, my lady.”

A little while later, with some help from Reimu, Rika made some tea for her mistress and all present, as well as a little for herself. Without spilling a drop, Rika takes the 6 cups of tea on a small plate, then places it on the table, getting some help from Mima, who pushes the plate away from the table’s edge. They all pick their teacups while Reimu picks hers, saying “Rika, really, you could have let me help a little more.” Rika replies “my lady, what kind of a servant would I be if I allowed something like that? Even blind, as I am now. Besides, if I don’t do this now, I’ll never get used to the shrine.” Mima sips on her tea, nodding and saying “she’s got a point.” Aya sips on hers and adds “agreed.” Suika stares at her and says “she’s a strong kid. Let her show off that strength” then softly mouths “this could use some sake, though.” Reimu sighs in defeat and says “alright, fine! I’m sorry for being worried!” Rika panics and faces Aya, saying “no, no, my lady! Thank you so much for your concern.” Aya stares back with a little embarrassment and mouths “wow, I suddenly feel so old.” Reimu immediately and casually says “that’s because you are old, you hag.” Aya magically springs her wings out of hiding and rapidly says “I’m not old! I’m 17!” Reimu calmly replies “yeah, yeah.” While Reimu and Aya have their discussion, Marisa stares at Reimu’s left pocket and thinks “I only saw it for a second, but I’m sure it’s the same whistle the kid has... So now I got two to choose from, but both are pretty well guarded... Maybe I could trick Reimu into letting me see it, then I could make a copy... but then she’d suspect something, and if I ask Budou, Sanae’s going to be all over me... and I really want those goddesses on my side.” Reimu notices Marisa’s focused stare and concernedly asks “Marisa, are you alright?” Marisa smiles and says “oh, it’s nothing, ze. Just started thinking there.” Reimu relaxes and with a light smile she says “well go home and get some rest. I am fine now.” Rika spits her tea and shouts “my lady is not well!? Oh no! Miss Reimu, let me take your temperature!” While Reimu and Rika have a light struggle, Reimu insisting she’s fine, Marisa thinks “Alice...! She can help me! I’m sure she can memorize the summoning spell that’s embedded on it.” Marisa snaps out of her thoughts and realizes Rika has Aya in a headlock, saying “miss Reimu, please stop struggling!” Reimu is standing just behind Rika, peacefully drinking her tea, while Aya shouts “I’m not REIMU, I’m AYA! I got wings!” Rika lets her go and while blushing she says “oh my. Sorry~!”

That afternoon, after leaving the shrine, Marisa heads straight to Alice’s house to ask for her help. Immediately after landing next to the house, Marisa notices the door is open and asks herself “Alice has visitors again?” She gets shocked and her heart almost stops when Alice shouts at the top of her lungs “GET THE HELL OUT OF MY HOUSE YOU USELESS SAGGING HAG~!!!” Marisa recovers and comments “well, seems someone’s in a good mood.” Inside the house, Yuyuko is haunting the place, going through walls with that whimsical smile of hers, making objects move on their own, possessing other dolls, and even pulling on Alice’s underwear whenever she gets the chance. Alice’s abdomen looks unusually expanded as she runs around the house, looking for Yuyuko. From inside her shirt, Hourai says “mama, get that mean ghost!” Alice says “Hourai, sweetie, you’re distracting me.” From behind her, through the wall, Yuyuko pops out looking translucent while smiling widely and saying “those souls don’t belong there, little girl. Why don’t you just hand them over and get this over with?” Alice turns around, summoning one of her regular dolls and having it shoot colorful petal-shaped danmaku and shouting “why don’t you got BACK to the netherworld and leave us ALONE!!?” Before the bullets reach her, Yuyuko gets inside the wall again, then says “you stole those souls for my garden and I want them back.” Alice snaps back “WHY!?! So you can boss them around!? Besides, I already told you I didn’t steal ANYTHING! They came to me and I’ve grown to love them. I WON’T let you take them without a fight!” From inside her shirt Shanghai says “I love mama Alice too!” Alice smiles and blushes, then says “you see? You can’t take them away!” Yuyuko’s whimsical voice echoes “ah, that’s really sweet, but if it’s as you say, you should have reported this to the Yama, or to myself. What if those souls were tainted? What then?” Alice can’t answer back. She opens her eyes wide, looking inside her mind for any possible answer, and while she does this, Yuyuko pops out from under the floor right in front of Alice and reaches for the two dolls inside Alice’s shirt. Shanghai and Hourai scream as in agonizing pain, which snaps Alice back from her mind and immediately she grabs the ghost princess’ arms and pushes them away from her dolls, shouting “I’m not... letting you... take them AWAY!” Yuyuko smiles wickedly, her maroon eyes glow red for a second, then she says “guess I’ll do this the hard way, then.” Yuyuko grabs Alice’s arms and starts to drain her very soul through them, saying “don’t worry, I won’t kill you. But you’ll be in bed for a few days.” Yuyuko looks to her left with her usual whimsical face, and right in front of her face is Marisa’s Hakkero, and next to it is Marisa’s smiling face, saying “what a troublesome ghost... MASTER SPARK~~!!!” Yuyuko gets blasted by a wide and colorful beam that breaks a large hole on Alice’s house, and shortly after the beam stops, both Marisa and Alice fly out and head straight to the Hakurei Shrine.

Mid-way to the shrine, Marisa finishes explaining herself to Alice. “...but I want to surprise her with this, so I can’t let her find out. Think you can help me there?” finishes Marisa. Alice looks at her, rubs her head, then says “look, I would gladly help, but you saw what’s going on right now. She almost took them away and I can’t have that happen again. I’m asking Reimu for help. Now, if you give me some time, I could be able to help, but right now I’m too preoccupied with this.” Marisa looks away, hiding her saddened expression. Alice knows this tactic all too well, so she reaches into her shirt and gently pulls out Shanghai, then says “LOOK!!” Marisa turns her face to look at Shanghai. The little doll looks as though she’s having a lot of trouble breathing, her face looks greenish and she suddenly speaks, sounding weak an almost unable to. “Ma-mama... it’s cold...” Alice immediately takes her doll and places her inside her shirt, saying “Sorry, sorry. You rest now. The shrine maiden will help. Don’t you worry.” After Alice hides Shanghai again she looks with an angry and determined face at Marisa and says “I care about these dolls... these girls too much, Marisa.” Marisa’s expression changes, and with a smirk on her face she says “I never thought you’d actually care about someone.” Alice shouts “and what is THAT suppose to mean!?” Marisa chuckles but doesn’t answer, and to distract Alice, she points in front and says “look! The shrine’s over there.” Alice looks ahead as Marisa continues “might as well say hi again, ze.” Alice stares back at Marisa a little curiously, but ignores her and looks forward again, then comments “hey, is that the shrine’s maid? She looks so different now!” With a smile, Marisa asks “you can tell from over here?”

At the Hakurei Shrine, even though she’s blind, Rika has proven to be able to take care of the chores without a single problem... maybe except for picking the wrong bags of garbage, or picking a mop instead of a broom. At the shrine’s grounds, while Reimu takes care of the food inside, Rika sweeps the snow outside, revealing the path hidden underneath. From the bushes, a shadow lurks, looming around Rika, making no sound as it moves around. It’s Kogasa Tatara, and thanks to Aya’s quick report (blabber mouthing), she knows about Rika’s blindness. Hiding under the bushes, she says to herself “there she is, Karakasa. The blind girl. Surprising her will be EASY. Heh! She’ll never see us coming.” The eye on her umbrella looks down to her, showing it’s glee as they slowly make their way to Rika. She crawls through the snow, making light crunching sounds, then positions herself behind a tree. Rika starts to hum to herself while sweeping, which makes Kogasa hold her mouth as she giggles quietly, then whispers “she’s humming now! This is going to be so easy... Ready Karakasa?” The umbrella blinks once, then Kogasa nods, looking back to Rika with a determined face, then counts “1... 2...” She flies away from the tree and approaches Rika, shouting “BERO-BERO-BA-AAH~~!” Instinctively and effortlessly, Rika grabs Kogasa’s long sleeve and sends her flying to the shrine’s stairs, where she opens her karakasa and slowly drifts down the stairs, sobbing and saying “that’s impossible! How did she see us!?” The karakasa and Kogasa drift quietly the rest of the way down. Back at the shrine’s ground, Rika’s face shows confusion as she holds her position after tossing Kogasa like that, then as she composes herself she asks “what just happen?” Marisa and Alice land next to Rika, Marisa shouting “oy~, Rika! I’m back, ze! Where’s Reimu!?” Rika gets startled for a moment, but composes herself again, bows and says “welcome back miss Marisa... and guest.” Alice looks at Marisa suspiciously and whispers “I thought you said she was blind.” Marisa just smirks then Rika answers “I am blind. I just smelled your perfume, miss...” Alice immediately twitches, then says “it’s me. Alice! Um, I don’t mean to be rude, but I really need to see Reimu!” Rika nods and says “please, don’t mind me. Miss Reimu is inside. Please take your shoes off before you enter.” Alice sweats a little and says “yes, yes. Th-thank you.” While Alice heads to the shrine, Marisa approaches Rika and says “you’re holding the broom upside-down.” Rika yelps and twirls the broom on her hand, and feeling a little ashamed the rubs the back of her head and says “heh heh... thanks.” Marisa heads straight to the shrine now and climbs the porch, where Alice’s boots are. Inside she sees Alice has placed the weakened dolls on the table while she explains her situation to Reimu, who says “they won’t die, so don’t worry... I’ll place these charms on them for protection, though.” Reimu goes to a small cabinet and rummages inside, revealing the golden whistle in it. Marisa spots it and thinks “there it is! So, she doesn’t keep it with her at all times after all. This could make things a little easier.” Marisa takes one step inside the shrine and in that instant, Rika appears right next to her and bashes her head with her broom, puffing her cheeks and angrily saying “didn’t I ask you to take your shoes off?” Before falling on the floor, Marisa grunts “s...sorry.”

High above the clouds in Heaven, Tenshi Hinanai walks around with a bored expression on her face, letting her heard and arms hang limp in front of herself. Iku Nagae, who’s casually passing by, can’t help but notice and worry. Standing in front of her and making her stop, Iku concernedly asks “miss eldest daughter, are you alright? You look so sad today.” Tenshi raises her head, revealing an expression of undeniable boredom in her face, and seemingly uncaring she says “meh, I ‘unno. I’m just bored. Heaven is such a boring place. Nothing ever happens here... Iku, make something happen!” Iku backs away, a sweat drop hanging on the side of her hat as she places one arm on her chest and replies “er, no, I don’t think I can do anything to cause excitement around here.” She runs away from Tenshi and kneel beside a peach tree and whispers to herself “besides, if I do something, I might get in trouble.” Iku composes herself again and rushes straight back to Tenshi, who asks “who were you talking to back there...?” Iku sweats and says “err... I didn’t say anything.” Tenshi’s eyes hide under her hat as she places a hand right above the left side of Iku’s chest, and with a terrifying ominous voice she says “Nagae~... I feel something coming from the Hakurei Shrine...” Iku stares frightened at Tenshi for a moment, but before she can comment Tenshi clenches her teeth, and speaking through them she says “I feel disgusted! Iku... IKU! Can’t you feel that disgusting presence?” Iku shivers as Tenshi’s hand rises to her shoulder and grips tightly, then says “m-miss Tenshi, you’re hurting me!” Tenshi loosens her grip, and while a very dark shadow covers her eyes, one small white circle, accompanied by a jagged crescent smile, she stares straight at Iku then says “I am going to the shrine. Come with me if you like!” Iku is afraid to say no, even though she really doesn’t want to be near Tenshi at all, but she thinks denying her now would be far worse, so she reluctantly bows, then follows after Tenshi after she quickly flies down to Gensokyo.

At the Hakurei Shrine, Reimu has helped Shanghai and Hourai recover, and while Rika holds them both to her chest, saying “you poor dears, there’s nothing to worry about. You’re mama will protect you, and we’ll protect your mama.”, Reimu is instructing Alice on how to place each charm around her house to keep Yuyuko away. Marisa, who had her shoes forcefully taken off, stares as the two little dolls sob on Rika’s chest, while Rika brushes their hair with her hands, and with disgust in her face she says to herself “this is getting too mushy. I’m out of here.” It takes her some time to put her winter boots on, and after finally putting them on she summons her broom and says “see you later, ze!” She sits on her broom and flies away, only to get knocked off the air by Tenshi, who accidentally knocks her broom right from underneath her as she lands. Tenshi manages to catch Marisa before she falls to the snow, and with a smile on her face, she says “please, stay a little longer.” From inside the shrine Reimu asks “what do you want, you annoying celestial?” Tenshi doesn’t respond as she looks around, then spots Rika holding the two dolls, also noticing a faint glow on her arms. She tosses Marisa to the side and storms inside, but the second Rika feels those boots touch the floor she stands up and in a commanding tone she says “please, take your shoes off before entering!” Tenshi stops and sits on the porch, grumbling as she takes off her shoes, then stops and realizes what she’s doing. She stands up and storms inside, and giving Rika no chance she pushes her hard, making her tumble all the way to the broom closet. From outside, Marisa looks in shock, and Iku just arrives, asking “is miss Tenshi here already?” Marisa points inside. Alice gasps and shouts “Shanghai! Hourai! Miss Rika!” Holding a pack of amulets on her left hand and her gohei on her right, Reimu rushes in front on Tenshi and grunts “you just made the WRONG move!” Before Reimu attacks Rika shouts “no, wait! Miss Reimu, it’s ok! We’re fine!” Rika holds the dolls tightly on her chest, making sure they aren’t hurt by softly asking “are you two alright?” The dolls nod, then Rika smiles, but her smile quickly turns to a frown as she gets up and faces Tenshi, saying “you must be... Tenshi Hinanai, right?” Pulling her sword out of its sheath, Tenshi defiantly points it at Rika and says “you scum! I knew there was something about you... Never thought it would be this.” Hourai exclaims “you big bully! You leave her alone!” Shanghai quietly flies away from Rika’s hand and toward Tenshi, then stares for a moment. She lifts her little left arm as if ready to slap Tenshi across the face, then Reimu’s and Alice’s faces contort with a mixture of terror disgust as the sound of fast and continuous smacking, crunching and Tenshi’s horrible screams of agonizing pain echo through the shrine. By now, Aya is watching everything from the trees outside, Suika glares from the roof, readying herself to attack if anything happens, and Mima hides underneath the floorboards, crescent staff at hand and ready. Marisa is about to pull her Hakkero, but Iku holds her hand and bows with a sad expression on her face. Back inside, Tenshi is hog-tied with her arms and legs stretching behind her back. She jumps on her stomach toward Rika and says “no matter how many you send to assassinate me, I’m still coming for you, and I WILL kill you!” Rika turns her face down and doesn’t respond, however, Reimu’s had enough and rushes straight to Tenshi, and using her gohei like a golf-club, she strikes Tenshi’s face and sends her flying right out of the shrine against the trees. Somehow, Tenshi is no longer hog-tied, but she is in a little pain. She looks toward the shrine as she stands up and looks at Reimu, whose eyes are surrounded by an ominous shadow as she glares furiously back. Tenshi smiles and sweats a little and speaks “this doesn’t concern you Haku-“ “you get the HELL out of here before I really get mad.”, interrupts Reimu, with a most furious and ominous tone of voice. Tenshi smiles and says “Reimu, you are defending a despicable spawn from the deepest bowels of the netherworld. Her KIND seems nice, but they are truly demons in disguise! Before you know it, she’ll be ripping your eyes out and dancing on your graves!” Reimu’s body starts to shake as she clenches her teeth and her arm, seemingly on its own, reaches for the ribbon on her head. Marisa notices this and with incredible fear in her face the thinks “she’s going for her ribbon... this is not good! The beating Sukima took will be nothing compared to was this stupid celestial is about to get.” From inside the shrine Rika’s voice calms Reimu down as she says “I thought that by now the Hinanai might be a little more enlightened, but I see you are as narrow-minded as ever... What makes you think you are better than me in the first place!? What makes you think I am going to hurt those whom I love, and love me back!?” Shanghai and Hourai hover above Rika’s shoulders holding a sword each. Alice has surrounded herself with many dolls, all bearing lances, Suika glares down from the roof, and from above Tenshi on the trees, Aya holds her fan, ready to attack. Just beside Reimu is Mima, powering her staff with yellow energy, and Reimu, who retreats her hand from her ribbon, but holds her gohei with both hands now. Tenshi knows she can’t win, but hides her fear by sounding confident as she smiles and says “you are all being deceived by this demon in angel’s clothes! Let me free you from her! I, and only I can kill this being!” Iku continues to get in Marisa’s way as she stares worriedly at Tenshi, thinking she’s going to get herself killed ten times over before it’s all over. Rika walks outside, almost falling when she climbs down the porch, but manages to stand firmly next to Reimu, and while facing Tenshi, she says “if you want to fight me so badly, then you give me no choice but to accept your challenge. However, this is Gensokyo, so we’ll use our spell cards and nobody kills nobody.” Tenshi smiles widely, then starts to laugh harder and harder, until it turns into an insane cackle, then just stops. She continues to smile widely as she says “Bhava-Agra, in heaven, 4 weeks from now! 5 spell cards! If I win, you will leave these lands and rot in whatever hovel you came from!” Rika feels aggravated by Tenshi’s words, but she controls herself and says “fine! If I win, you have to accept that I am just like everyone else, and to respect me as an equal!” Tenshi smiles with great confidence and says “fine, whatever. Just pack your bags before the fight. You’ll be leaving as soon as it is over.” With that, Tenshi flies away back to Heaven. Iku stays behind and just watches worriedly toward Tenshi, while everyone else stares back at her.

A little while later, tension is still high in the shrine. Suika is still a bit on edge, and after taking a big gulp of sake from her gourd she angrily says “that sobered me up...!” Mima floats next to her, crossing her arms in front of her chest, then says “at least she’s gone. Let’s be thankful of that.” From the doorway, Aya comments “aren’t you two forgetting something?”, and points at Iku, who sits next to the kotatsu while Reimu continues to stare at her. Angrily, Reimu kneels, bangs hard on the table with her hands and shouts “tell me already! What the hell is the matter with that celestial this time?” Iku winces, covering her head from Reimu with one arm, then says “I really don’t know myself. She was bored one minute, then the next she acting all weird and rushing all the way down here.” Reimu stands up, then turns to Rika, who is sitting next to Iku, and shouts “and you should have kept your mouth shut! Tenshi is too powerful, and I doubt she’ll exercise mercy... She wants to kill you Rika!” Rika springs to her feet and bravely raising her fist she shouts back “I couldn’t just let her get away with that!” Unknown to her, she’s facing Iku while she says that, so the dragon youkai turns her to face Reimu, and after a quick “thanks” she continues “my lady, the Hinanai have always looked down on my family, all because of our blood.” Sighing with despair and sounding frightened, Reimu replies “Rika, you can’t even see. How are you going to beat her like that!?” This fact hits Rika hard and very suddenly, so she’s only able to stutter a few words before sitting down next to the table, then whispering “I.. don’t know.” Reimu sighs loudly again, then drops on her knees on front of the table, saying “see? Look, just say the word and I’ll call this whole thing off.” Inside her mind Rika battles with herself. One side of her heart is telling her “Rika, don’t give up! Besides, this blindness is temporary, and that fight is in 4 weeks! You can do it.” The other side says “don’t do it! You may not see it, but you KNOW Reimu is worried about you. Don’t do this, set her mind at ease... Besides, what would VIVIT say to all of this?” Shanghai comes from outside, followed shortly by Hourai and both float right in front of Rika’s face. Their presence brings Rika back from her mind, then Shanghai says “miss Rika, thank you for protecting us.” Hourai adds “mama is very grateful too. And you know, I am impressed. You are blind, but you still protected us.” Shanghai covers Hourai’s mouth then whispers “Hourai, don’t say it like that!” Rika raises her head, and with a determined tone of voice she says “the battle is in 4 weeks, and this blindness of mine is only temporary, miss Reimu.” Reimu gets surprised and asks “what? Rika, how can you be sure?” Rika continues “that girl will learn humility by my hand, my lady! I promise you that.” Reimu stares at Rika with her mouth open, wanting to say something to her, however she decides to keep quiet. Tension is too high, and she believes it’s keeping Rika from seeing thins rationally. Meanwhile, Marisa sits by the donation box, thinking “what the hell is going on here? This ‘paradise’ is going to drive her mad! Dammit, I have to work faster... but that gate won’t be ready for a month. Reimu...” Alice approaches Marisa, then asks “what’s wrong?” Marisa snaps out of her thoughts, then says to Alice “ah, it’s nothing... I just need some rest.” Alice smiles and says “well, I’m ready to go home, so I’ll accompany you part of the way, ok?” Marisa pulls a smile, summons her broom, then lifts to the air alongside Alice, Shanghai and Hourai. After they reach the Forest of Magic, they split up, saying some quick goodbyes. Marisa reaches her house, makes some dinner, and prepares herself for a nice bath, and while she’s relaxing inside the water, she gasps, opening her mouth and eyes widely, then shouts “CRAP, I FORGOT THE WHISTLE!!!”

One week later, at the Moriya Shrine. By the gates of the shrine, two figures can be seen jumping all around. Though the snow has just begun to melt, making the footing a lot harder, these two figures move about as if nothing is holding them back. Upon a closer look Kyo can be seen, shouting “you call that an attack!? My GRANDMOTHER hits harder!” Using her claws to cling on to a tree, Budou shouts back “I’m just being merciful!” Kyo immediately gets mad and angrily shouts “Your enemy will NOT show Mercy! Don’t show any mercy yourself!!!” He shoots medium-size fireballs at her from his sword, then tosses his shield to the left. Budou jumps to the sky to avoid both attacks, then shrieks at Kyo, sending wide waves of sound toward him. From her right, Orin suddenly materializes and shoots a single blue orb at Budou, who uses her right wing as a shield and sends it straight back, making Orin fly away. From her left, Suwako takes off her hat, and from inside large water bubbles jump out and head straight to the little bat, who takes a dive straight at Kyo. Kyo expects a frontal attack and prepares to counter it, but Budou takes a sudden incline, falling on the ground and sliding under Kyo, and while underneath him she pulls out her spell card and shouts “Wave Sign Shapeless Mind!” Kyo yelps and panics as blue colored beams take the shape of a giant hand that grabs him and tosses him straight at Suwako, who shrieks and waves her arms and legs, forgetting to move away, and as they fly to the lake, they intercept Orin, then all three fall straight to the lake. Budou gasps and flies after them, and after they pop their heads out of the freezing lake, she starts to cry and shouts “I’m sorry~~!”, while Phredia flies from under her hair, smiling and trying to cheer Budou up. Kanako sits by the donation box, staring at them with a bored expression, and beside her is Koishi, who says “look, she beat them again. And she’s crying again too.” Kanako looks at Koishi, but says nothing, then from inside the shrine, Aya sprints away leaving a white trail behind, then Sanae shouts “hey everyone! There’s a party at the Hakurei shrine! And we’re invited!” From inside, Luna shouts “Great! Kyo~! Let’s go home and get ready!” From inside, Medicine adds “GREAT, I can show off my new dress.” Outside, by the donation box, Kanako looks to the gate, and with a bored expression and resting her chin on the back of her hand, she says “it’s too busy here.”

That night, at Ayalina’s house in the outside world. Ayalina just arrives back to her home after driving all over, looking for Ail. When she arrives, her husband, an old plump, bald man with a little white hair on the sides of his head, sporting a thick white moustache and wearing a blue plaid shirt and black pants approaches her and worriedly asks “did you find him honey?” Ayalina sighs, letting her head sadly drop as she says “no... I searched everywhere... I even risked flying when no one was looking.” Her husband sighs and says “I’m sorry I didn’t believe you before, honey! I just... I mean, how could I believe all of that?” Ayalina smiles, though showing exhaustion on her face, then says “it’s alright darling. The important thing is you believe now! And besides, that’s not important now.” From the living room, in front of the television is a girl a little shorter than Ayalina, who has her same hairstyle, though hers is black, like her father’s used to be, and is longer than her mother’s, and has maroon eyes as well. She is wearing a white shirt under a small pink jacket and a pair of short blue jeans. The girl suddenly shouts with excitement “mom, dad! Ail’s on TV!” Both Ayalina and her husband exclaim at the same time “WHAT!?” then rush to the TV. The female reporter on the news says “...and so, the police have the alleged ‘magician’ surrounded. Remember, this is the boy who used those alleged ‘magic tricks’, which turned out to be dangerous experimental special effects, and injured a few dozen people, including 5 children, in the restaurant he was working on.” She turns to a portly man on a white suit that’s sitting next to her and asks “now, you are a special effects technician, correct?” The man nods and says “Correct. This young man seems wanted to play some prank that went wrong long before he started. You see the...” The woman stops the man and listens to a headset on her left ear, then says “this just in, the boy seems to have tried to use the SAME special effects and got shot by the police, yet he somehow got away. We got exclusive footage, here on News 9!” The scene changes to a large courtyard with a large statue on the center of it. Countless police cars surround the area and one of them shouts “we got you surrounded. Put your hands in the air and drop to the ground.” Ail’s blurry image can be seen next to the statue, nervously looking for a way out. There is a strange sound, like the ones from Yukari’s gaps opening, then gunfire. There is another gap sound, then the police saying “where’d he go?” Another man shouts “SEARCH THE AREA! He can’t be far!” Ayalina screams then says “they’re shooting at my son!!!” She runs to the door or her house, even though her husband is shouting “Lina, WAIT! Ayalina, wait for me!!!” When she opens the door, various police officers have her house surrounded, and three of them, dressed in suits and showing off their badges stand near her door. The big-looking one in the middle says “you are all under house arrest.” From a distance, Ayalina’s voice can be heard as she shouts “no! My boy! What have you done to my boy!!?”

At the Hakurei Shrine, the “Rika Welcoming Party” is quite lively. Orin, Parsee, Yuugi and Satori enjoy a dip in the hot springs, away from the multitude. By the right side of the gate, Reisen, Tewi and Eirin enjoy themselves, having very light snowball fights occasionally. On the left side of the shrine are Medicine, Hina, Budou and Chen, while at the back of the shrine are Marisa, Alice, Shanghai, Hourai, Yuki, who is actually uninvited, and Mima. Even though it’s still cold, the guests all seem to be enjoying themselves. Inside, Kanako and Suwako stare at Rika, seemingly surprised by her appearance, while Sanae helps her and Reimu tend to the other guests. Rika looks a little sad and says “please, miss Sanae. You are a guest. You don’t have to do this.” Sanae smiles and waves her hand, saying “nonsense! I’m glad to help! Besides, I can’t just let you do everything by yourself, right?” Reimu places a third plate of freshly baked peach pie on the table, then smiles and says “Rika, don’t be rude. Be thankful Sanae is helping out.” Rika sighs in defeat and says “you’re right... I’m sorry miss Sanae. I truly appreciate your help.” Sanae covers her mouth with her fingers as she giggles, then says “anytime.” Sanae turns around and notices the two goddesses sitting under the kotatsu now, but still staring at Rika. Sanae quietly signals both to stop staring, and reluctantly they do. Kanako whispers “oy~ Suwako. Do you notice something oddly familiar about Rika?” Suwako whispers back “yeah, but I can’t quite put my finger on it.” Between them, on the other side of the table, smiling and sticking out her tongue, Koishi says “that’s because I tied a red string on them.” Kanako and Suwako both twitch and look at each other in shock, and when they try to pull apart, all the manage to do is pull on each others’ pinkies. Koishi giggles and says “another happy couple!”, then stands up and skips back outside. Outside, Kyo is boasting about how he’s defeated many wild youkai, while Luna stares at him contempt, thinking “he’s like a brat with his new toy, geez.” Suddenly, her expression changes to a mischievous smile, then she wraps her arm around Kyo’s neck and in a soft and seductive voice she says “Kyo~. Why don’t we go to the house and work on that family, huh?” Kyo freezes, his entire body turns to stone, and while Marisa, Yuki and Mima laugh at his expense, Luna looks annoyed away from him and disappointedly says “my man...” At the hot springs Orin says “ahh, these waters are so nice, nya~!” Yuugi smiles and says “yup! Nothing like a nice warm soak, ain’t it!” Satori just shrugs, then Parsee glares at her and says “don’t just shrug us off like that! Smile already, geez!” From above Yamame hangs down from one of her silk threads, looking annoyed and angrily saying “honestly, you all go to the parties and never let me or Kisume in.” Satori stares back with an uninterested expression and calmly says “what are you talking about? She’s right there.” Kisume sits between Orin and Yuugi, looking very content and hiding most of her body underwater while her bucket lies just next to her, outside the water. Yamame shrieks, then says “Kisume, you little traitor!” Kisume replies “aww, pipe down and join in already.” Yamame smiles and says “good idea.” Now inside the water while her clothes hang by her thread, Yamame looks content while she soaks, but then looks at Satori, then asks “hey, where’s your other pet? Utsuho?” Satori calmly replies “she refused to leave petal behind.” At the Palace of the Earth Spirits, Okuu and Petal, the little hell raven with the white zigzagging stripe around her neck, fly all around the inside of the palace, flowers and grass growing everywhere Petal pecks, and Okuu smiling and saying “that’s my little girl! Let’s do Koishi-san’s room next!”

Back at the Hakurei Shrine, inside the shrine, Reimu and Sanae are eating a piece of pie each, and in the kitchen, Rika is enjoying hers so much, little hearts pop out of her head and hover around her as she unwillingly flaps her little wings and says with a smile “MMM~ It’s even tastier than I remember~!” Sanae comments “it’s a peaceful night, don’t you think?” Reimu nods as she takes a bite out of her piece of pie, then Sanae sweats and adds “you know something is going to happen, right?” Reimu chews on her pie and simply shrugs, and as if waiting for her queue, Remilia and Sakuya fly straight inside to the shrine, Sakuya bowing and saying “please, excuse our tardiness.” Remilia laughs and says “Sakuya, it’s fashionably late. Patchy says it’s the best way to make a party entrance.” Sakuya bows and says “I’m terribly sorry, my lady.” Rika approaches Remilia and Sakuya, bows elegantly, then says “welcome to the Hakurei Shrine miss Remilia and miss Sakuya. Party favors are on the kitchen table, please help yourselves, and if you need anything, just ask... I’ll be tending to the other guests now, so please excuse me.” Sakuya stares in surprise and asks “is that Rika?” Sanae giggles and says “yes, that’s her alright.” Sakuya looks surprised and says “she’s so adequate now. Wouldn’t you agree, my lady?” Remilia looks uninterested as she waves her hand at Sakuya and says “yeah, yeah... I’ll go mingle with the others for a bit...” Remilia exits the shrine, and Reimu, who is now holding a teacup casually says “here it comes” and takes a sip of her tea. Remilia approaches Kyo and Luna, waves her hand at them and says “hi everyone, Remilia has arrived, so now the party can start.” A golden washtub falls on Kyo’s head, and instinctively, Luna kicks it away when it bounces to her, sending it straight to Remilia, who punches it upward and shouts “what you do that for!?” The washtub falls on Chen’s left tail, making her scream, which summons Ran out of nowhere, screaming “CHEN~~~!” and accidentally knocking Budou’s head. Budou lets out a shriek that heads straight to the washtub, and with the vibrations of the sound waves, the washtub flings to the shrine’s gate, bouncing off one of the large red logs and on to Reisen’s head, making her flip and activate her powers wildly, causing Tewi to try and help Reisen, however gets caught on Reisen’s waves. She gets dizzy and before Eirin can reach her, Tewi accidentally kicks the washtub on Eirin’s face, making it bounce off toward the spring’s entrance, where Satori just got out and gets knocked on the head, making it bounce upward. Orin rushes to Satori and worriedly asks “Satori-sama! Are you alright!?” Parsee spots the washtub in the air and runs away from it, shouting “NO WAY I’m falling for that!” Yamame walks out of the spring’s gate and asks ‘What’s going on?” and gets knocked on the head with the washtub, causing her to release her miasma, making Kisume sick, just as she exits the springs, knocking out Orin, and making Yuugi feel dizzy enough to sit on the ground. In the center of it all stands Rika, who asks “what’s going on around here?” Parsee stands a few feet away from Rika and shouts “it’s such a mess... I should be causing it!” The washtub flies from the springs and makes its way to Hina, who turns around a little too late and gets struck by it on the side, making her spin out of control and spewing out curses all over. Her spinning hand strikes Medicine, sending her flying straight to Rika, but the blind maid senses this and jumps out of the way to the right, just as Medicine flies by, headed straight toward Remilia and spewing poison everywhere. Remilia screams her head off as the poison surrounds her, then runs straight to Kyo and Luna, who try to run away, but Remilia easily tackle them toward Mima and Alice. Shanghai gets mad, and so does Hourai, but Remilia runs blindly at them and knocks them apart, Shanghai knocking Marisa down, while Hourai knocks Yuki, who in turn knocks Mima down one more time.

Standing in the middle of the entire mess are Rika and Parsee, who stands a few feet away from Rika. Rika shouts “my lady! Something happened here!” Casually, from inside the shirne, Reimu replies “yeah, yeah. Just let it go.” Parsee approaches Rika, about to say something, but one of Budou’s sound waves reach her from behind, startling her and making her fire her beams of jealousy all around, sending one straight to Rika. The maid ducks just before the beams hits her and asks “what was THAT!?” The beam heads straight to the blinded Remilia and hits the gem on her chest, bouncing off it and heading back to Rika, hitting its target this time. Rika yelps, startled by the beam, then suddenly her wings grow the same size of her own body, and a belt appears around her waist, carrying her family sword... however the Japanese sword looks different. The hilt is red and on its tip it has a diamond with the kanji for “bond” in it, and within the jewel itself, it looks like it has its own ocean inside. Rika instinctively pulls out the sword, revealing it’s sky-blue color on its unsharpened edge, then she points it at Parsee, who watches in horror as she stands paralyzed from Budou’s shriek. Rika says “nullify” and a light-blue beam shoots from the sword and heads straight to Parsee, surrounding her entire body. The cloth on Rika’s eyes drops, revealing brighter light-blue eyes with hints of clouds coursing through them. She takes a look at Parsee, just as she recovers from her paralysis and shouts “hey, what the meaning of this-KYAAAAH~!” Rika sheathes her sword just as Parsee falls to the ground, then looks around, realizing what’s happened, then asks “oh dear... what happened here?” She looks around, noticing all the knocked out guests, then suddenly realizes it and shouts “wait.. I can see!? I can SEE~!!!” She turns to the shrine and shouts “My lady, I can see again! Look, look, I can see!” From the shrine comes Reimu, Sanae, Sakuya and Koishi, then Rika rushes to her mistress, happily flapping her wings, hopping around and shouting “my lady I can see again!” Reimu exclaims “really!? It’s a miracle!” Rika, Reimu and Sanae hop in place, squealing happily, Rika flapping her wings while doing so. Sakuya looks away, smiling sheepishly and saying “so much for elegance.” Rika gasps and covers her mouth with her hands, then bows to Sakuya and says “I’m so sorry~! I just got overexcited.” Sakuya peeks through her right eye, then turns to Rika and smiles while rubbing Rika’s hair and says “it’s alright. It happens to the best of us.”

Koishi heads toward Parsee while the other 4 girls celebrate Rika’s recovery. She kneels next to the fallen youkai and while helping her up she asks “are you alright?” Parsee stares at Koishi, then smiles and says “you are such a kind-hearted person. So sweet and cute. Thank you.” Koishi blushes and places her hands on her cheeks, giggling with glee, then Parsee looks behind and sees the other underground dwellers knocked on the ground, then rushes to them. Immediately she helps Satori up and says “oh my, miss Satori, are you alright? We can’t have you ruin that precious hair of yours on the snow.” Satori asks “err, are you ok?” Parsee ignores Satori and rushes to Yuugi, then says “oh my, such a powerful gas. It even knocked someone as strong as you down, but please, don’t blame Yamame as she is too kind and accidents do happen.” Yuugi stares at Satori with an annoyed expression, and while pointing at Parsee she says “this girl is annoying.” Parsee ignores Yuugi and skips away, spinning in place after stopping, then shouts “everything is so BEATUFUL!” Meanwhile, inside the shrine, Kanako and Suwako stare angrily at Rika. Suwako says “she’s one of the Onkamiyamukais” while at the same time Kanako says “she’s one of the Kurashikamis.” Both goddesses stare at each other, then nod and stare back at Rika while saying at the same time “those Onkamikami traitors.” Outside, ignoring the fallen guests, Reimu asks “Rika, what exactly did you just do to Parsee?” Rika stares at her mistress with an innocent smile, then says “I got jealous of her powers, so I nullified them.” Large sweat drops fall from the back of Reimu, Sanae and Sakuya’s head as they stare awestruck at Rika’s bluntly honest answer.

To be continued...

Characters, Spell Cards and Scenario belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice-
Kyo, Budou, Phredia, and Luna were created by Willie G.R.
“Wave Sign Shapeless Mind” spell card was created by Willie G.R. Any similarities are strictly coincidental.
Rika Onkamikami was created by Snapshot2010

FEB 28 2010
Written by
Willie G.R.

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