Paradise Sukima 4

A few minutes after Tenshi’s failed surprise attack, Rika convinces Byakuren to calm down and let her go on with the fight, saying “lady Hijiri, if I don’t do this, things like these will keep happening. She’ll come back for me, and she might hurt my lady Reimu just to get to me, and I can’t allow that.” Byakuren sighs and says “alright... Just, please, be very careful out there. You might be kind and sweet... but that celestial doesn’t seem to share those traits.” Smiling, Rika bows to Byakuren and says “thank you for your kind words lady Hijiri.” As Rika says these words, Shou and Nazrin reach Byakuren, quietly bow to Rika, then all three head toward a large field that is surrounded by stands forming a large oval in the center like a large arena, magically covered by clouds to keep the spectators cool while they watch the fight. Reimu stands behind Rika, then says “that celestial invited everyone! Even some humans form the village came!” Rika looks surprised at Reimu, then asks “really? But wouldn’t they put themselves in danger by being here... with so many youkai, I mean. Wait, how do you know there are humans here?” Reimu points to the benches, and cowering to a corner are various humans, while a few youkai, including Kurumi and Rumia, who sit beside Yuka and Elly, stare at them with hungry eyes. Rika sweats and says “I... I see...” Reluctantly, Reimu says “come on. It’s time.” Rika nods while smiling, then walks beside Reimu, slowly approaching the arena. While walking there Reimu says “I may not like this, but at least now I understand why you are doing this. Rika, I may not be able to interfere, but I’ll do everything in my power to support you in there.” Rika rapidly flaps her little wings as she smiles and cups her hands together while staring at her mistress, then says “my lady, with you here is MORE than enough!” Meanwhile, Marisa just arrives to Bhava-Agra, and quickly inspects her surroundings. She looks to the stands and says “good. Those seats have large enough gaps... I can sneak up, grab it, and be done with it before Reimu even notices.” As she continues to stare at the stands she notices the humans sitting relaxed, looking toward the center of the arena while eating some snacks, and the youkai beside them look nervous, some even sweating, and that includes Rumia. Between the youkai and the villagers, sitting with wide and ominous smiles on their faces, are Kyo, Luna, Keine, Medicine, and even Mokou, who sits closer to the Youkai, keeping away from the humans. Rumia takes baby steps toward one particular human, but she stops when Kyo, in a playful tone says “go ahead, try it.” Luna adds “you’ll be sitting in pieces...” and Medicine adds “with poison burning every single wound in your aching body.” Rumia slowly backs away, then smiles nervously and says “i-is that so~? ...I’ll be good...” Down at the first row of seats, on the stands across the ones where the human are, Reimu and Rika look around, Reimu saying “The Scarlet Devil Mansion, Entei, the Village, The Garden of the Sun. Geez, she even invited the ice fairies for the lake!” A few seats away are Cirno, Daiyousei and many other fairies, Cirno boastfully saying “this fight is probably NOTHING compared to what I can do! If I were in it, it would be unfair to the others, and that’s why I’m not.” Daiyousei smiles and softly claps her hands, saying “you are very considerate, Cirno-chan.” Next to them are Remilia, who looks at the ice fairies with contempt, Sakuya, who hands her mistress some tea, asking “do you want me to quiet them down?”, and Meiling, who shouts at the top of her lungs “ALRIGHT~! Come on, let the match begin already!” She smiles as she turns her head to Sakuya and Remilia, then says “thank you very much for bringing me along!” Sakuya and Remilia both sigh, then Remilia says “if you scream like that again I’m docking your pay.” Meiling panics, then quiets down, saying “I’ll be quiet, my lady.” Tenshi’s voice echoes all over the arena as she shouts “IS EVERYONE READY~!?” The crowd cheers, then quiets down, then Tenshi falls from the sky, riding one of her keystones and glares at Rika after landing, and while pointing at her she says “then lets... BEGIN!” Reimu looks worried toward Rika. She wants to have the match cancelled, but she steels herself, gives Rika a light hug, and almost crying she says “you win this and shut that celestial’s trap, you hear!?” Rika sighs and nods with a smile, then turns around to face Tenshi.

The crowd is now quiet, allowing Rika to hear her own footsteps as she approaches Tenshi, who smirks confidently while waiting for Rika to get close. Rika feels more tense with every step she takes, and when she’s finally 6 feet away from Tenshi, the celestial unsheathes her Sword of Hisou and points it toward Rika, then says “this is a 5 spell cards battle! The agreement stands! If I win, you are to leave this land of Gensokyo forever!” She raises her hands, making the crowd cheer for a moment, and the second they quiet down Rika’s soft voice seems to echo all around as she says “and if I win you’ll have to accept me as an equal! In fact...” The crowd is about cheer but keep silent, and even Reimu stares at Rika with a preoccupied expression. Rika smirks and continues “lets raise the stakes a little... unless you’re afraid.” Tenshi stomps the ground hard and says “spill it!” Rika calmly says “if I win, not only will you have to accept me as an equal, you’ll also have to build me a green house, and I want it somewhere that won’t inconvenience my mistress, AND you’ll make sure it’s sturdy enough to withstand anything, including earthquakes.” Tenshi’s face twists with a wicked smirk, then says “I’ll accept... in fact, if I win, instead of leaving, I’ll let you stay here as my PERSONAL slave! You’ll bow down to me at ALL times, even in your sleep, for as long as it takes for you to BREAK, and your sword... will belong to ME as well!” Rika sweats, thinking her sudden challenge may have been a mistake, however she forces herself to nod and say “I... I accept!” The crowd cheers, excitement filling the air. With the stakes so high, Rika finds another reason not to fail as she prepares herself, covering her mouth and nose with her red scarf and unsheathes her sword, and the second she does her wings grow to her body size, her sword changes to its beautifully colored state, and Rika’s eyes turn brighter blue with clouds coursing through them. Reimu looks surprised. Raising the stakes like that makes her feel even more uneasy about the battle, but when she sees Rika transform she whispers “Soraogan mode...” then smiles, knowing she’s going to give her all. Marisa watches from behind the stands through the gaps between seats while looking for Reimu. She sees Rika transform, then says “well, she definitely looks a lot cuter than last time she transformed, ze. Ah, but now’s not the time... I have to find Reimu... where is... Aww crap! She’s over there!” Marisa realizes she is all the way across the stands, on the opposite side to where Reimu is.

There is a moment of pause as the two opponents eye each other from across the arena, and in a sudden flash, Tenshi strikes Rika hard with her sword, making her block with her own, causing her knees bend as she pushes back against Tenshi’s might. Tenshi backs away, then is striking Rika’s sword with her own while holding her Sword of Hisou with both hands. Ever time that sword connects with Rika’s there is a loud hiss that comes from it, which seems to startle Rika for a moment, and even surprises Tenshi, who regardless of the surprise continues to attack using all her might with each strike. Tenshi shouts “what a coward you are! You won’t even attack! But I know why that is... It’s because you KNOW what I say is true, so tell you what.. I’ll be merciful and KILL you right now!” Tenshi fakes a frontal swing, then suddenly changes to a side attack, catching Rika off balance and pushing her sword to the side and making Rika lose her footing, then places her sword right next to Rika’s neck. When she places the blade so close to Rika, the sword hisses even louder, making Rika feel more unsettled and surprising Tenshi so much, she casually retracts her swords and stares at it, then says “what is WITH this thing? Sounds like a rabid cat!” Rika takes this chance to move fast, and looking like a blur she gets close to Tenshi and tries to strike, but the celestial blocks just in time, getting away from Rika, and though their swords connect, Tenshi’s sword doesn’t hiss. Tenshi cackles, and while staring wickedly at Rika she says “now I understand, even my sword wants you dead! I can’t deny its wish, can I?”, then lunges straight at Rika. Rika uses the force of the impact from Tenshi’s strike to flip backwards in the air, getting great distance form Tenshi after landing. She sheathes her family sword and pulls out her support spell card and quickly calls “Oath Keeper!” She enters the golden gate that opens next to her, then comes out with another sword along with her family’s. She quickly unsheathes it, revealing it’s her earth sword, and pulls a spell card from her pocket, then shouts “Earth Sign Ressaishouha!” Tenshi laughs and shouts “already used TWO spell cards!? WEAK~!” Both battlers seem to freeze in place as Reimu says “ACTUALLY...” A bubble with Reimu encased in it and holding a teacup forms up beside the battlers and says “that first card is a support card, therefore doesn’t count as a spell card. So, she’s only used one so far.” Tenshi turns her attention to Reimu’s bubble and shouts “THAT”S NOT FAIR! And what are you doing in that bubble!?” Tenshi turns her attention back to Rika as she prepares her spell, then says “no matter. I’ll still beat this girl!” Rika holds her earth sword firmly and flips in the air, banging the ground with the broad side of her sword, crushing the ground around her and creating large boulders that scatter as they fly toward Tenshi. Tenshi smirks and says “using an earth spell against me? You think way too little of me, little demon.” Tenshi summons a large keystone that falls from the sky, protecting her form Rika’s attack, then pulls a spell card form her apron and shouts “Earth Sign Sword of the Unsettling Soil!” Just after Rika flips to the air, Tenshi stabs her sword on the ground, causing massive boulders to rise from the ground just as Rika lands, pushing her to the air by force. Tenshi smirks and says “GOT YOU!” Rika manages to flip and balance in the air, then holds her sword downward with both hands as she falls, then shouts “High art Resshintenshou!” Tenshi wisely jumps away as Rika lands hard, stabbing her sword on the ground, creating piles of stones she strikes fast with her sword, breaking them to pieces and sending sharp stones straight toward Tenshi, who confidently smiles and prepares to bat all the stones back. At first she deflects the stones with ease, but she relaxes too much and a single sharp rock penetrates her defenses, cutting her cheek just underneath her left eye. Tenshi yelps and touches herself under her eye, noticing some blood, then clenches her teeth and growls while shouting “you’re going to PAY FOR THAT!” Tenshi rushes to Rika, who prepares for a full-frontal attack, then Tenshi shouts “Sword of the Earth!” then stabs her sword on the ground, making small boulder rise from underneath, knocking Rika off balance and giving Tenshi a chance to get close and strike Rika’s face with the hilt of her own sword, which hisses loudly as she strikes. Rika yelps in pain which makes Reimu stand up and shout with all her might “RIKA FOCUS! Remember what I told you about!!!”

Reimu sits back down, looking preoccupied while she does, then Aya comes flying to her from the sky and immediately after landing next to her she says “it’s alright, Reimu. Calm down. She’ll manage.” Reimu gulps and says “I know... I know. I just can’t help getting worried.” Aya embraces Reimu and softly says “I know, I know. Just calm down or you’ll have her worry for you too.” Reimu feels as her heart slowly relaxes, then says to Aya “I... I know. Thank you Aya.” From underneath them, Marisa goes to the extremes and crawls under where Reimu and Aya sit. In just seconds she notices the whistle in Reimu’s pockets and thinks “yes, this is it! She’s distracted now!” Marisa quickly reaches for the whistle and takes it without effort, then rolls away from the stands and goes as far away as possible from the fight. She finds a clear spot on the ground and whispers “excellent!” She takes out a small mineral stone, a bottle with golden paint, and a piece of paper with an alchemic circle drawn on it. She places the paper on the ground, and inside the circle she places the mineral and the bottle of pain on the center of the circle, and on the edge of the circle she places the original whistle, then places her hands on the circle itself, applying her own magic to it, and immediately the circle, the whistle and the components glow bright and as the light fades away another whistle identical to the original now replaces the two components. Marisa smirks and says “great! This is perfect! Now all I need to do is return the real whistle to Reimu.” She hurriedly grabs the two whistles and almost forgets the paper, but when she turns around to grab it, she slips and falls, mixing the two whistles up. She desperately looks at them, then says “shit, what have I done!?” She picks them up, but is unable to tell them apart. Marisa sadly sighs, then says “I hope I pick the right one.” Back at the stands, Marisa takes advantage that Reimu and Aya are so distracted by the battle, she places the whistle back inside Reimu’s pocket without being detected, and hopes she placed the right one in there, and that the one she has is the copy. She hurriedly flies away on her broom, thinking of going home to check if the blessings are finished and her gate is ready, however she stops and looks back at Rika and Tenshi, then at Reimu and Aya, then sighs sadly and says “I can’t leave like this. I have to show my support... I guess I’ll stay.” She flies back to the seats above Reimu’s, and after sitting down she says “Rika’s pretty strong, ze!” Reimu and Aya turn around, Reimu smiling widely and exclaiming “Marisa, you came!”

While Marisa copies the whistle, Rika and Tenshi’s fight continues. While Rika shakes off the throbbing pain in her face, her golden gate opens up beside her, then she jumps in, immediately coming out with another sword. Tenshi smiles and whispers to herself “interesting. She’s using the second one already.” Rika pulls a spell card from her pocket and shouts “wind sign Neppa Senpuujin!” While holding the hilt of her sheathed sword she appears to charge herself up, then suddenly Tenshi sees a blur in front of Rika, and almost immediately a wind blade rushes straight to Tenshi, trailing wind danmaku bullets along, then Rika suddenly moves to the side and unleashes another wind blade, moving so fast that she and her hand look like blurs. From the stands, some humans and Medicine comment “but she’s just dancing around. How can those blades appear out of nowhere?” Kyo keeps his eyes on the battle along with Luna, both staring seriously, then he says “she’s moving her hand so fast, it looks like she’s not attacking at all...” Luna adds “but she more certainly is swinging that blade.” Medicine stares curiously at the two humans, then back at the fight. She gasps and says “oh, I think I saw her hand move!” In the center of the arena, Tenshi manages to dodge the wind blades with ease, however she is struck by the bullets over and over, and quickly losing her patience she pulls a spell card from her apron and shouts “Earthquake Sword of Worry First, Joy Later!” She stabs her sword on the ground, induces tectonic vibrations through it, then pulls it back out just as one of Rika’s wind blades strikes her left arm, leaving a thin and long bruise that covers the entire arm. Tenshi yelps, but withstands the pain and continues to dodge as best she can. Rika continues her fast attacks, the thinks “I got her... I just need to follow this up. Strange though... That spell she used did nothing, and yet what is this bad feeling I’m getting?” While still dodging, Tenshi shouts “time’s up!” then the ground starts to shake violently, knocking Rika’s balance and cancelling her spell card. She takes advantage of this and rushes to attack, but Rika uses the momentum and starts to spin while shouting “hi art Dankuuken!” Tenshi asks “what!?”, while Rika spins one more time, generating a small whirlwind on her sword, then swings her sword from below towards the sky, slashing Tenshi upward, sending her airborne and lifting to the air herself for a moment, then both land back down, Rika on her feet, Tenshi on her back. Rika stands firm, glaring toward Tenshi and asking “do you wish to give up?” Tenshi lifts her head up as if nothing happened, then laughs and asks “you THINK I’ll give up just like that?” Tenshi feels something warm below her face, so she places her hand there, and right under her chin she discovers another cut with some blood on it. She clenches her teeth, trembling in rage, hops on to her feet, then shouts “you will pay for this, you demon!” Tenshi pulls out a spell card from her apron, and while glaring at Rika she says “I’ll make you regret ever being born!”

The stands are now full, youkai of all kinds all around Reimu, and some humans from the village safely behind their protectors. Ichirin, Minamitsu and Nue arriving just in time to see Rika strike Tenshi with her upward sword-slash and cheering at the top of their voices. Byakuren says to Shou “I guess I was worried for nothing. Rika’s been doing really well.” Above Reimu, Marisa places a hand on her friend’s shoulder and says “see? Rika’s got this in the bag.” Reimu look worriedly back at Marisa, then says “I’ll stop worrying after this is all over” then turns to face the arena, thinking “Tenshi’s been taking it easy, underestimating Rika... but that look in her eyes...” At the center of the arena, Tenshi gets a little closer to Rika, then shouts “Heaven Sign Sword of the Justness of Heaven’s Way!” Tenshi inclines her body, holds her sword pointing upward above her head, her entire body gets covered in a scarlet energy and before Rika realizes it, Tenshi lifts her to the air, stabbing her by her left shoulder with her sword which hisses so loud even Reimu hears it, and making the scar between Rika’s back glow for a moment, however Reimu’s voice helps Rika react and pull herself from Tenshi, falling back down to the ground on her abdomen while Tenshi flies just a bit higher before dropping back down to the ground next to Rika. With a wicked and triumphant smile, Tenshi raises her sword, pointing it downward at Rika, who reacts when Reimu calls for her a second time. Rika rolls away just as Tenshi stabs her sword to the ground, then opens her golden gate and jumps inside, this time coming out with her lightning sword already unsheathed, then she rushes to Tenshi and shouts “Low art Senraiga!” While she rushes toward Tenshi, she slashes the ground and the air around her, leaving lines of light all around, then passes by Tenshi, who easily dodges Rika’s clumsy attempt to attack. Rika stops and sheathes her sword, and the second it clicks the lines turn to lightning danmaku bullets that head straight to Tenshi, however the celestial moves away and watches as the bullets continue their course, only to explode and release shockwaves around them. Tenshi smiles, then says “what a pathetic attack!” then rushes toward Rika, ready to strike hard, but Rika jumps out of the way, using Tenshi’s head as a support to jump higher, then reveals a spell card under her sleeve and shouts “Thunder Sign Indignation no Shouou Jin’eizan!” Rika slashes the air, making many large lines in the air that spread into countless bullets, then distances herself from Tenshi while the celestial is distracted and begins to chant “I who stand in the full light of heaven command thee, who opens the Gates of Hell, come forth, DIVINE LIGHTNING!” Right after Rika finishes her chant, from the stand Iku shouts “RIKA, NO! THAT WON’T WORK!” Tenshi looks toward Iku and shouts back “stop helping!!” Thunder strikes above Rika, who raises her sword as a large lightning bolt strikes hard where she stands, her entire body glowing with the energy of that lightning. Moving so fast that she looks like a bolt of lightning herself, Rika heads straight toward Tenshi, who simply stances defensively. Rika is about to strike the celestial, but Tenshi grabs her by the neck as if nothing, and when she gets hit by the trailing lightning danmaku bullets, she giggles and says “wow, you must be getting tired... that tickles.” Rika’s stored energy vanishes, her spell card cancelled with ease, then Tenshi tosses her forward and immediately sends a small keystone spinning like a drill toward Rika, striking her back hard. Right after falling, Rika arcs her whole body, holding her back in pain as she tries to get back up. Reimu is besides herself with worry, calling out to Rika to get up while being held back by Aya and Marisa, both trying to calm her down and preventing her from interfering with the match. Rika stops arching her body but seems to have trouble breathing as Tenshi gets closer and kneels next to her and whispers “I know you only have one spell card left. Are you going to use it... or do you want to give in and become my slave already?” Using the last bit of the lightning energy in her, Rika punches Tenshi’s abdomen hard, making the celestial expel all the air in her system, then rolls away and enters her golden gate, coming out of it with two more swords, one of them placed right in front of Rika’s family sword.

Rika glares at Tenshi as she unsheathes her fire sword, and sounding determined the says “I won’t lose. You need to learn much, but you won’t learn a thing if you win! I can’t let you!” Tenshi recovers from the blow and angrily replies “I’ll enjoy cutting you to pieces!!” Before they know it, they are clashing blades hard against one-another, both wounded and already feeling tired. On the stands, Cirno stands up and proudly points at herself with her thumb and says “those flashy tricks are NOTHING compared to what I can do! I am the strongest after all!” Cirno suddenly gasps, opening her eyes wide when Tenshi shouts “Sword of Scarlet Perception!”, and at the same time Rika shouts “Souryuu Rengazan!” When these two fast attacks clash, a powerful shock wave courses through the field all the way to the stands, sending Cirno flying all the way away from the stands and to the ground behind. At first, everyone looks at Cirno with concern, but just shrug and continue to watch the match afterward. Cirno lies with her belly on the ground, her eyes spinning in place, mumbling “I... I’m... the ztrongezt... heh heh.” Meanwhile, having calmed down enough to sit back down, Reimu holds her gohei with both hands and twits it while glaring at Tenshi. Aya calmly says “they’re getting tired.” Marisa comments “well, they are both giving it their all, ze.” Reimu replies “I don’t care... I just want this to end already! Guh! So stubborn! I should have called this off.” Marisa stares at Reimu for a moment, then sounding casual she says “to think you’re actually worried like this. I think I’m jealous.” Aya snaps “watch what you’re saying there!” Reimu sighs and while staring dreamily toward the arena she says “I worry about all my friends, and that includes you. Rika has just been through so much already. It’s just like Ail... Did you know he went into hell, just to save OUR sorry butts?” Marisa stares at Reimu with great surprise in her eyes, to which Reimu chuckles and says “he and Rika are almost alike. They’ll do anything for those they care about. I want to do something for them... but I can’t find what.” Marisa quietly stares at Reimu, thinking “I want to help you too, Reimu. That’s why I’m opening that paradise. I want to see you live in peace.” Suddenly, Aya says “for those two, staying alive and safe is enough. That’s all they wish for their friends in the end.” Reimu and Marisa stare at Aya, then smile and continue to watch the match.

In the center of the Arena, Tenshi and Rika continue to constantly clash swords, Tenshi’s sword hissing every time it gets too close to Rika. They split up, then Tenshi says in a menacing voice “you demonic reject! Just because you grew those wings doesn’t mean thing!” Rika shouts back “learn equality, miss Hinanai!”, then pulls a spell card from her pocket and shouts “Fire & Water Sign Embarco Endo no Zeppa Juujishou!” Rika grabs her fire sword with both hands and begins to slash the air, sending danmaku waves toward Tenshi and getting closer while the celestial simply continues to block and deflect the attack while glaring at Rika. After sending one last wave and getting close enough, Rika unsheathes her water sword, sheathing her fire sword at the same time, then grabs the water sword with both hands and starts slashing in crescents at Tenshi, who clenches her teeth and glares back at Rika with hatred while blocking her attacks. Unaware, underneath Tenshi, piles of ice form up with each one of Rika’s slashes, and when she tries to take a step back, she realizes she’s trapped. Tenshi gasps as Rika smiles and says “time to end this!” Rika jumps away and places her hands together while closing her eyes, looking as though she’s praying, and after a short chant a copy of Rika appears next to the real one, holding her fire sword already unsheathed. Tenshi gasps in horror and tires to break free from the ice as the two Rikas move in unison straight toward her, blades ready to strike, and hard. When the two Rikas are in range both shout at the same time “embrace end!!!” As they pass through Tenshi, they cross their swords, making a bright and large X mark that burns and freezes Tenshi’s skin as she screams loud to the air, and after the spell is done, the ice melts away allowing Tenshi to fall face-first to the ground. Rika breathes heavily while looking back at her fallen opponent, and after a few seconds she sheathes her swords and the crowd begins to cheer. She continues to stare at Tenshi for a little longer before turning to face her mistress with a triumphant smile. AT first, Reimu returns the smile, but her smile quickly vanishes as she desperately points back at Rika, who instinctively grabs her family sword and blocks Tenshi’s back attack with ease, however Tenshi pushes her back like nothing, then growls “I... am not... FINISHED!” A spell card surrounded in what looks like an earthy aura appears in front of Tenshi as she lifts her sword and shouts “Non-perception Sword of Neither Perception Nor Non-Perception!” Her sword is surrounded by a scarlet mist, then she swings her sword too fast for Rika to do anything, a large round seal appearing right after it hits, then boastfully says “HAH! I just sealed your weather!” Rika analyzes the move, and inside her mind, a voice says “use that against her. Use your ability to copy that move you just saw with your own eyes!” She suddenly swings her sword, which is also covered in a scarlet mist, then a round seal forms as she strikes. Tenshi gasps both amazed and surprised, then shouts “th-that’s your 5th spell card!!!” Rika giggles, then asks “but I didn’t use a spell card.” Tenshi glares back, then points at her wile narrowing her eyes, then says “I don’t like you!”, then tries to slash Rika, who blocks just in time, and so the battle resumes.

The melee battle intensifies. Both battlers have used 4 spell cards, though 4 is all Rika had to begin with. Tenshi feels pressured; that last attack Rika pulled off drained a lot out of her and she’s only got one more spell card, however... she refuses to use it yet. Knowing that Rika had only those 4 spell cards gives her the confidence she needs to continue the physical attacks. Their swords clash mercilessly, Tenshi’s sword hissing whenever it gets close to Rika. After one sudden swing from both girls, some blood drops fall toward Remilia, who jumps behind Meiling like a blur, and sounding very serious she says “Meiling, sit in front of me... that is white blood... Both girls have it.” Meiling looks confused as she asks “is that bad?” Remilia whispers “it can kill any vampire that drinks it. Sakuya... I don’t trust that girl. I don’t want her near myself or Flan, you got that?” Sakuya stares back with fright and worry, then hesitantly bows and says “a-as you wish... my lady.” Tenshi and Rika continue to clash their swords hard, either blocking or attacking, hoping to break the other’s defenses. Rika is getting tired, hungry, her head feels light, but she presses on, her mind constantly playing what could happen should she lose. For a second, Rika’s thoughts overwhelm her, and in this second, Tenshi takes the advantage, twirls behind her, then knocks her on the back of the head with the hilt of her sword, making Rika fall face-down to the ground. Not wasting another moment, Tenshi positions her sword downward and pushes the tip of her sword between Rika’s wings, making her scream in both fright and pain. Tenshi chuckles, then says “and now... game over!” Tenshi summons the will and strength to push that sword down hard, however the Sword of Hisou and the scar between Rika’s wings begin to glow. This glow expands and surrounds the entire arena, including the spectators... and then the entire scene changes to that of an old compound, where young Rika practices her swordplay under the watchful eyes of her still living parents. Young Rika stops her swordplay, then sits down to meditate. Some people now surround her parents while she continues to meditate, all shouting insults and calling Rika a defect. One of them shouts “she doesn’t even have wings!”, while another shouts “neither does she have the eyes! She’s NOT of pure blood!” They argue for a little longer, then suddenly, a man who appears to be the leader of this group stands next to the meditating Rika, holding the Sword of Hisou in his hands. Rika wakes up from her meditation to see her parents running to her with a look of despair and worry to which she asks “mama? Papa?” The next thing she knows, she is being slashed on the back and falling on the ground. The man’s voice echoes as the scene vanishes “one who doesn’t belong here should not even exist! She did not inherit any of her family’s gifts, so that means that she is a DEFECT!” This last word echoes all over the arena as the scene finally returns to normal. Tenshi now stands towering above Rika while holding her sword in hand. Rika kneels beside Tenshi, using her own sword for support, her fire and water sword gone along with the golden gate. From the stands some people boo and hiss while others cry for Rika, one of them being Byakuren, who tries to hold back her tears while she says “even these so-called celestial beings are just monsters! They don’t share equality as they should!!!” At first, Tenshi feels a little ashamed of what she’s just witnessed, but the hiss and boos from the crowd irritate her, so she shouts “aw pipe down! That was then, this is now!” Yuka shouts “you celestials are all a bunch of lame weaklings!” Tenshi shouts back “what do you know!?” One of the male villagers shouts “submit! Show some dignity!” Tenshi growls, then shouts “ENOUGH!” and summons many keystones that prevent anyone from moving from their seats for a moment, then raises her sword above her head and says “I’ll be merciful and just END your retched life already!”

Kneeling with her head down besides Tenshi while she is being showered by boos and hisses from the crowd, Rika cries inconsolably, saying to herself “mom... dad. How? How could you let them to that? They attacked me... your child!” In her mind, Rika says “Rika, snap out of it! Didn’t you see their faces? They tried, but they couldn’t get to you in time!” Rika sobs and whispers “bu-but... I was just a child! How could they do that!? What did I ever do to them!? Why attack us; kill ME!?” In her mind she responds “that is why you have to win NOW! Rika, that’s the past! Remember, you are in the middle of a fight with their daughter! You have to stand up, you have to WIN!” Rika cries more as she whispers to herself “but... he said... I don’t belong here. Where do I belong then!?” Tenshi raises her sword and says “I’ll just END your retched life!”, then everything just stops. Silence surrounds Rika, who continues to kneel with her face down before she realizes everything is quiet. She looks around and finds herself in the same white room where she met Reimu, back during her trials in her family’s ruins. There stands Shikieiki Yamaxanadu who commands “Rika Onkamikami... STAND UP!” Slowly, Rika stands up, wiping the tears from her eyes with her sleeves, then looks at Shikieiki and says “oh, *sniffle* it’s you. The woman in that large courtroom.” Shikieiki quietly stares back at Rika, holding her golden sword over her mouth, then says “I am sure you’ll be glad to know, those wicked beings that did this to you and your parents are now in hell.” Rika sniffles again, and in a sad tone of voice she says “so they never repented for what they did? That’s so sad. They would have been much happier in heaven.” Shikieiki smiles, then says “so you don’t resent them at all?” Again, Rika sniffles and wipes her eyes with her sleeves one last time, and recovering herself she says “n-no... I don’t. It’s just, after seeing all that... after what they did, what they said...” Shikieiki smiles again, then asks “Rika Onkamikami, do you belong here?” Rika quickly replies “y...yes?” then Shikieiki raises her eyebrow and asks again, sounding more paused “do you... belong here?” The question echoes inside Rika’s mind as she suddenly drifts into a recent memory.

She’s back at the compound where she trained after VIVIT saved her. She holds a wooden sword and stares at a waterfall that’s only 2 feet in front of her, remembering her master’s instructions “Rika, I want you to make a clean cut to that waterfall from here!” Rika slashes the water, but fails as her sword is pushed down by the force of the water. She sighs then tries again, failing yet again. She spends many nights and days trying, but failing all attempts, since to her this task makes no sense at all. After many days of failed attempts, Rika’s master decides to present an example, so she grabs Rika’s wooden sword, stands 2 feet away from the small waterfall, and in a simple and fast strike, she slashes the water and makes a clean cut through it that is immediately replaced by the falling stream. The woman walks to Rika and hands her wooden sword back, then says “Rika... life is fun, right?”, then smiles widely. Still smiling like that she continues “oh, and if you’re still trying to cut the waterfall with your eyes, then you still got a long way to go.” Her master’s smile turns softer, more gentle, then she says “look through the truth inside your heart, Rika.” Those words stay with Rika, even to the next day, when she tries to cut the waterfall once more. She meditates for a moment, then holds her sword with both hands while standing two feet away from the falling water. She closes her eyes and listens to the voice of nature around her, making her feel calm and soothed. She opens her eyes again and swings her sword and makes a clean cut on the water. She smiles wide, feeling great accomplishment, then looks around her, admiring nature as is surrounds her... and so finally, Rika finds her truth.

Back inside the white room with Shikieiki, Rika hears the yama asks “do you belong here?” one more time. Rika breathes deeply and with a wide and gentle smile she says “yes... I have found my truth, and I believe... no, I am SURE of it! I do belong here!” Shikieiki smiles gently, then says “then Gensokyo accepts you with its all. You, have its blessings.” Back at the arena, Tenshi swings her sword, aiming to cut Rika’s neck, even with Reimu flying over her keystones and threatening her. Just before the sword strikes, Rika moves away too fast to be noticed. She now stands with her eyes glowing light-yellow and her entire body surrounded by a white aura that seems to release sparkles of its own. Reimu stops and looks at Rika, then whispers “tha... that’s... Ten’I Muhou no Kiwami...” At the stands, sitting next to Marisa is Youmu, who says “...or commonly known as Flawless Unity. This... that girl has reached the highest state of self-surrender.” While Youmu says this with much admiration, Marisa stares back at her with curiosity and asks “when did you get here?”, while Yuyuko, who sits besides Youmu, eyes Alice and her dolls, who sit far away in the middle of the stands. Meiling and Remilia stare are Rika with the outmost admiration, then Meiling says “this world has accepted that girl, and now is empowering her. It’s so... beautiful.” Sakuya asks “what does that mean?” Meiling replies “it’s a state that most martial artists only WISH they could attain. Right now, that girl is in harmony with the world around her.” Remilia sighs, then says “yes, it’s impressive...” then crosses her arms across her chest and says “but she still has that white blood, so I’ll keep my distance.” Meanwhile, Rika sheathes her sword, then looks back at Tenshi with pity in her eyes, then says “come on, Tenshi Hinanai. Let’s stop this now. Let’s be friend. Rise above the rest and show you truly are such a heightened being to all present here.” Tenshi hesitates, staring back at Rika, then says “n-no... I can’t! You’re trying to TRICK ME!” Rika sighs, then says “I’m not going to fight you anymore... but I won’t let you win either.” Tenshi smiles, then says “that fine by me! Just stand there and DIE!”

Tenshi swings her sword with all her might, but Rika simply dodges while smiling at her. While swinging, Tenshi says “why won’t... you stand... still for a moment... and let me... KILL YOU!” Rika continues to smile while she dodges all of Tenshi’s attacks, then says “come on, miss Tenshi, you are tired, and I’m sure you’re as hungry as I am. Why don’t you just stop now and admit defeat? I’ll let you take your time with that green house~?” Tenshi’s face turns red with rage as she pushes herself to attack faster and harder, then replies “why don’t you drop down... and die!?” Rika shrugs as she continues to dodge with ease and says “suit yourself miss Tenshi.” From the stands, Byakuren cheers on, standing up and shouting “that’s it miss Rika! She’s wearing down! Teach her a lesson!” Minamitsu looks at Byakuren and sweats, then says “she sure is excited all of a sudden.” From Reimu’s benches, Reimu, Marisa and Youmu cheer on, Reimu shouting “I GOT AN ENTIRE PEACH PIE FOR YOU AT HOME RIKA~!” Rika giggles as she continues to dodge, then says “did you hear that, miss Tenshi? If you give up now, I’ll share some of that with you.” Tenshi continues to swing and miss, getting more tired with each swing, then replies to Rika “ju-just stand still! Let me... let me beat you at least!!” Tenshi stops, holding herself up by supporting herself with her thighs and breathing heavily while lowering her head. Rika approaches her and asks “so are you giving up now?” Tenshi’s face shows blind rage as she forces a smile and a spell card surrounded by a yellow aura floats in front of her, then she says “I’ve had ENOUGH of this! You can burn in hell!”, then shouts “Scarlet Weather Rhapsody for All Humankind!” Rika looks surprised as Tenshi floats ominously in the air and her sword starts spinning in the air like a propeller, then a very sudden large red beam flies from the spinning sword and heads straight to Rika, who moves out of the way with ease, however, when the destructive beam touches the ground, it starts to destroy it mercilessly. Rika feels the pain the world feels while Tenshi’s beam destroys it, and feeling almost dizzy from the pain, she almost falls down, but she keeps on her feet, then manages to move away just as Tenshi aims the beam to her, breaking more of the mountains as she does, unknowingly making Rika feel the pain nature feels. Tenshi cackles and shouts “how do you feel now, you WORM!? Come on, dodge all you want, TAUNT ME SOME MORE!!!” Rika suddenly starts to cry, but not from the pain, but from the sadness she feels for the land. She shouts “please, miss Tenshi, you’re hurting the land! Stop this!” Tenshi shouts “I’ll stop as soon as I get you!!!” Rika continues to dodge with ease, but the land around her continues to suffer. She wants to save the land, ease its pain, heal it! Her desire to save the land is very strong, and to this she gets an answer. She dodges Tenshi’s destructive beam once more, and once safely away her skirt glows then rises up. Rika loses her concentration, thus losing her heightened state, when she shrieks and holds her skirt from rising some more. Suddenly, from her apron, her new 5th spell card rises right in front of her, glowing white in front of Rika’s eyes, and with a gentle smile Rika grabs it and says “thank you... Life Sign Revitalize no Shugohoujin Ryu!” Tenshi shouts “WHAT!? YOU CHEATER!” losing her concentration and cancelling her own spell card. Rika’s sword spins around her, then Rika grabs it and points the tip of her sword to a 45 degree angle to the ground, then spins around, creating a circle around herself. She stabs the center of the circle and chants fast, making magic marks and seals draw out inside and around the circle, creating a large magical circle. Rika wills some of her own magic into the circle, making it glow bright green and expand and quickly restores the land to its former state before all the attacks and the destruction. From every bit of nature she restores, including rocks, flowers, and grass, green danmaku orbs fly toward her and set above her head, some of these orbs almost hitting Tenshi, who yelps as she dodges them. All the land is now healed, and above Rika is a giant green orb that takes the shape of a dragon. Tenshi looks at that with despair in her eyes, and while trembling she shouts “no... that’s not fair!” Rika pulls her sword from the ground and while holding it with both hands she points it at Tenshi, and the dragon quickly goes straight toward the celestial, who jumps away just in time to avoid it, however the dragon quickly turns around, and just before reaching Tenshi, the celestial turns around and screams. The dragon crashes on to Tenshi and explodes with such force, even Rika is pushed back, while Tenshi screams at the top of her lungs in agonizing pain.

After the attack finishes, Rika notices the ground around is still intact and still fully healed to perfection... except for Tenshi. The crowd cheers and Reimu hurriedly declares “THE WINNER OF THIS MATCH IS RIKA ONKAMIKAMI!!” The crowd cheers louder, almost everyone changing Rika’s name. Rika doesn’t care about this. She sheathes her sword and stumbles toward Tenshi’s badly damaged body. Tenshi smile and says “g-go ahead... kill me already...” Rika just frowns and drops on her knees beside Tenshi, who whimpers “it hurts... It really hurts.” Using the energy left from her spell card, Rika places her hand on Tenshi while smiling innocently at her, and heals her wounds enough for Tenshi to survive, then looks to Tenshi’s eyes and says “nobody kills nobody, remember?” Tenshi looks surprised back at Rika, and while her body recovers she smiles and says “you truly are... special.”, then falls out of consciousness. By now, Reimu is besides the two fighters, calling out for Rika, and right when she stands next to Rika, the maid asks “did... did I do well... my.. my lady?” After asking this, Rika falls to the ground, having used so much power to defeat, and heal Tenshi takes its toll on her, however Reimu is there and holds her before she falls on the ground. Reimu smiles as she sighs with relief, then says “you did admirably.” That afternoon, on the way back home, carried by Reimu, the semi-conscious Rika thinks “my lady. Gensokyo is such a wonderful land. I want to protect it too, my lady! I will protect it along your side for as long as I am alive...” She manages to whisper to Reimu “my lady, I love Gensokyo... and I love all my friends. I will... protect them... my lady.” Reimu first looks surprised, but then she smiles tenderly and says “I am sure you will... but first you need to rest. Come on. I’ll bake you that pie while you sleep.” Reimu and Rika, accompanies by Aya, Marisa and Mima, fly through the afternoon, headed straight back to the Hakurei Shrine.

It’s almost dark by the time Marisa arrive to her house. She rushes to her basement, expecting to find the blessings complete and her gate ready, whoever, what she finds is Suwako waiting for her while sitting like a frog in the middle of the magical circle on the floor. She turns around and says “ah, Marisa. You’re finally back!” Annoyed, Marisa asks “what’s the meaning of this!? Why is the gate not ready yet?” Suwako scratches the side of her head, and looking sheepish she says “ah... about that. You see, Kanako got too drunk and made a few mistakes here and there, and now...” Marisa face palms so hard she knocks her hat off, then asks “what the hell did she do?” Suwako sweats and forces a smile as she says “well, the thing is, I’m doing my best to rush this, however, thanks to that drunkard, we’ll have to wait two more weeks before we can open this.” Marisa’s eyes hide under a dark shadow as an ominous aura surrounds her. Suwako sweats and quickly and nervously she says “well, I’ll be going now. See you later, and do remember we didn’t help you, bye!” The door to Marisa’s house bursts open as Suwako hurriedly flies out of the house, flapping her arms around and clenching her eyes while she uses a lot of strength while doing so. From behind her comes Marisa holding her Hakkero and shouting “hey, wait! You forgot you PARTING GIFT!” Marisa points her Hakkero while running, and a golden washtub falls on her head, knocking her down HARD to the ground, making her slide on her face on the ground until she finally stops. Lifting her face, now full of small cuts and bruises and looking a little red, Marisa says “oww~! Tha... that joke’s getting really old... da.... da-ze!” then lets her face drop on the ground.

To be continued...

Characters, spell cards and scenario belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice-
Kyo and Luna were created by Willie G.R.
Rika Onkamikami and her spell cards were created by Snapshot 2010
Assistance in this chapter by Snapshot 2010

MAR 6 2010
Written by
Willie G.R.

A/N:
Hello again. Again I would like to thank those who show their support and leave comment/reviews. I really appreciate it. And also thanks to those who read this and enjoy the story. Now, before I start working on chapter 5, I would like to liven myself up and work on another chapter for my “Touhou Random Mishaps”, AND going to try and update more of my first work “Misplaced Sukima”. I’m doing this in order to keep myself fresh and because honestly, we all need a good laugh, and a few mishaps around the Hakurei Shrine should do just that.
This was a fun challenge for me, as I had to make things happen here while this big battle takes place. Not to mention I really wanted to see how well I could do an emotional scene like that memory... Wow... a child... Now poor Marisa will have to wait just 2 more weeks before opening that gate. Well cheer up Marisa. You’ll get your chance still. Ah, I’m blabbing again. Now I’ll leave you to read Rika’s spells and skills meanings in english *smile* Hope you have enjoyed this chapter, and don’t worry, I won’t take TOO long with chapter 5.

Rika’s Skills:
"Resshintenshou" means "Rending Quake" as it has no curtain patterns to it, which confuses the enemy with each strike of the moves, thus making it Rending.
"Dankuuken" means "Severing Wind"
"Senraiga" means "Thunder’s Shocker Feat"
"Souryuu Rengazan" means "Dragon Swarm"

Rika’s Spell Cards:
Earth sign "Ressaishouha" means “Earth Sign Crushing Eagle"
Wind sign "Neppa Senpuujin "Wind Sign Searing Gale"
Thunder Sign "Indignation no Shouou Jin'eizan" means “Thunder Sign Divine Thunder Assault of Indignation”
Fire & Water Sign "Embraco Endo no Zeppa Juujishou" Fire & Water sign "Final Cross that Embraces the End"
Life Sign "Revitalize no Shugohoujin Ryu" means Life sign "Dragon Guardian Field of Revitalize"