Paradise Sukima 12

It’s the crack of dawn in Gensokyo, when the sun is just starting to rise. At Hakugyokurou in the Netherworld, many spirits help Youmu finish the repairs on the shrine’s living room, all carrying pieces of lumber, hammers, nails, and some just holding the repair items, waiting to be called if needed. It seems as though every spirit is helping as best they can, except for one spirit, who regardless of Yuyuko’s commands, it stays floating above the small pond in the garden right in front of the shrine itself. Yuyuko stares at the spirit with frustration, and opens a fan to cover her discontent face. From the shrine, Youmu says “Yuyu-sama! The repairs are just about finished. You may come in if you wish.” Yuyuko continues to stare at the spirit, and without turning around she says “Youmu, could you come here for a second?” Youmu stares curiously, but immediately gets her shoes and walks to where Yuyuko is. She stands next to her mistress and asks “is something wrong?” Yuyuko closes her fan and points it at the hovering spirit, then says “I’ve been telling it to help you out, but all it’s doing is float there.” Youmu stares at the little spirit for a moment, then her ghost half approaches it, flies around it, then comes back. Youmu stares at her ghost half and says “it’s very sad. It’s missing something too dear to it. Yuyuko-sama, I think separating her from the other was a bit too cruel.” Yuyuko sighs, her face turns concerned, then says “this wasn’t supposed to happen. The two souls were supposed to come here together, to ask me to save their friend. I wish I knew what happened this time. And what’s the whole deal with that blue lightning?” Youmu stares a Yuyuko with great surprise and asks “wait, I thought that was you. I mean, the little spirit came with it.” Yuyuko smiles whimsically, then lightly taps Youmu’s head with the closed up fan, then says “Youmu, you got to use you head, dear. Why would I destroy the roof to my own home in the first place?” Youmu thinks for a moment, then asks “then why all this? How did all of this happen?” Before Yuyuko replies, a sad song, sounding like a whale call, echoes all over the entire Netherworld, paralyzing all the spirits for a second, then stops. Yuyuko and Youmu look around, raising their guard, ready for anything that might attack, then there’s a second sad song, again sounding like a whale call. Yuyuko lowers her guard and sounding amazed she says “Youmu. It’s that little spirit.” When Youmu looks to the spirit floating above the pond, it sings a third time, making the water underneath it ripple. Youmu looks with confusion at Yuyuko, then asks “this is... Yuyuko-sama, what does this all mean?” Yuyuko raises her open fan to cover her confused and concerned face, and sounding even more confused she says “I don’t know. But I’ve never seen a spirit capable of manifesting sound like this. I think you were right, Youmu.” Again, the little spirit sings, this time the song lasts a little longer, an all Yuyuko and Youmu are able to do is watch as the little spirit continues to sing its song.

Meanwhile, at the Youkai Mountain, Hatate smiles as she readies herself to leave to the Hakurei Shrine, boasting to one annoyed wolf tengu who’s on guard duty. She straightens out her tokin and boastfully says “hehe~ That maiden will be so pleased with what my findings! Uu fu fu~!” The male wolf tengu stares with contempt at Hatate, and sounding annoyed he says “whatever. Just get the hell out of here already. You’re not supposed to be here!” Hatate stops and looks back, then says “how rude! I’m just trying to share a happy occasion here and, like, you just bark at me. You bad dog!”, then turns around again. The wolf tengu fights with his desire to rip Hatate to shreds, so he just goes away, grumbling to himself. Hatate doesn’t realize he is gone, so she continues boasting, putting on a smug face as she says “do you realize how big this is? I could knock Aya’s stupid paper right out of the map with this.” She stops and thinks for a moment, then says “wait, with news THIS big, I could knock out every single paper and put my own right on top of the list! I’m, like, so great, it scares me.” She checks that her camera is in her little pouch and straightens her tie, and while she puts on her sandals she says “well, I better get going. Thanks for listening. Oh, and I’m sorry for blabbing so much. I just needed to tell someone else, like, before I tell that shrine maiden that the ones helping her witch friend were-“ From behind, two pair of hands wrap themselves around the tengu, frightening her and holding her from escaping, then pulling her back to the thick bushes. With wicked smiles on their faces, Kanako and Suwako stare at Hatate, then Suwako, in an ominous and dangerous tone of voice, whispers “so you found us out. That’s a nice camera you got there.” Kanako, in an equally ominous tone of voice, whispers “but you forgot one detail, little miss tengu.” Suwako places her face close to Hatate’s ear and continues saying “we are gods, and you are messing with us now!” Kanako snickers, then adds “since it would be too cruel to break your camera, we’ll just kidnap you and keep you shut for as long as we need.” Suwako’s eyes glow blue as she says “we can’t have you tell anything to Reimu now, or she’ll probably make us gather faith for HER shrine as punishment... and we don’t want that.”, then places a hand on Hatate’s spine. Hatate sweats coldly as the two goddess carry her away. She’s unable to call for her, and Suwako did something to her to keep her from moving at all. She’s at the mercy of two angry gods, and all she can do is watch as they take her away. Kanako, sounding a little more normal, smiles and says “you tried to cross us, so don’t think we’ll give you any special treatment. We’ll be sealing you inside one of our smallest cells.” Suwako giggles, then says “maybe, if you behave, we’ll let you out sooner.” Hatate is too nervous to know where she is. All she can focus on is the two goddesses with their wicked smiles. They toss her in what seems like a small box, then close it up as they snicker, then she hears Kanako saying “wow, this made me a little hungry.” Suwako replies “me too. Let’s try making breakfast ourselves, for a change.” Kanako chuckles and says “good idea.” Hatate is trapped inside a small wooden box, sealed and hidden underneath one of the stone floors in the Moriya shrine’s grounds. She tries to scream for help, but realizes a charm has been placed on her mouth, so all she can do now is wait until she can escape through some miracle, or is found by someone.

At Alice’s house in the Forest of Magic, even though it’s still a bit dark, Alice and Shanghai are more than ready to set out to the Netherworld to search for Hourai. Shanghai grabs hold of a small shield and a lance made just for her, while Alice grabs her grimoire and all the spell cards she can pocket. As they walk to the living room, Shanghai stares at Alice and asks “mama, don’t you think we should go ask gramma Shinki for help?” Alice stops before reaching the door, then looks to Hourai’s body on the living room’s table. She turns around and walks to it, picks it up, then turns to Shanghai and says “we are doing this for Hourai. That thought alone should give you and me the strength we may need. Besides, I am your mother, and if I can’t take care of you myself I might as well just give up now and forget this whole thing.” Shanghai smiles, then says “thank you for everything... mama.” Alice turns to Shanghai, smiles back at her, then she looks for a small backpack on the living room’s cupboard and gently place’s Hourai’s body in it, and after placing the backpack on her back, she says “I want her to know we missed her a lot, and that we want her back as soon as possible, so I’m taking her body with us.” Shanghai quickly flies to the backpack and opens it to stare at her sister’s body, then determination fills her up, and after she closes the backpack again, she flies to Alice’s shoulder and sits on it, then she says “let’s go, mama! Sis misses me a lot, and I miss her a lot too! I don’t want to be apart any longer!” Alice smiles and starts to walk out the door. Right after closing the door behind them, Shanghai and Alice take flight, heading as high up to the sky as they can. Suddenly, dark thunder clouds surrounds them and a woman’s ominous voice starts to laugh at them. Alice covers her eyes and grabs Shanghai before she’s blown away by the strong winds and cold rain that strikes them hard. Thunder strikes with a deafening boom, but Alice uses all her strength and shouts back “WE ARE NOT GOIN TO GIVE UP! YOU DON’T SCARE US!” The voice laughs harder, accompanied by more thunder, and now blue lightning as well. The bolts fly close by to Alice, startling her and making Shanghai scream. Alice has enough, so she pulls out a spell card and shouts “Puppeteer Sign, Dolls in Sea~!” Many dolls surround Alice and start shooting light-blue danmaku shards that scatter everywhere, and the immediate area around Alice and Shanghai turns so bright, it completely blinds them. When the light suddenly dims, Alice and Shanghai find themselves flying over clear skies. They looks at each other with great surprise, then smile, Shanghai giggling as Alice calls back her dolls, then they continue their flight to the Netherworld.

At the SDM, after having met Rika, Meiling wakes up on her bed, which she hadn’t touched for 4 days, feeling well rested and quite relaxed to be inside the mansion. After going through her normal morning routine, Meiling heads to the gate, but after exiting the mansion, she senses something odd coming from the mansion’s garden, so she decides to investigate. She walks all the way to the back of the mansion, and peeks through the corner, finding Rika practicing great magic spells and trying to keep control of them for as long as she can. At first, Meiling is afraid of approaching the maid, as her wings seem are now the same size as her, and her eyes look like the sky with beautiful clouds coursing through. Meiling thinks of going away, but Rika suddenly stops her training and in a friendly tone she says “good morning, miss Meiling. Did you sleep well?” Meiling freezes in place and trembles as she turns her neck around to meet Rika’s eyes, then nervously nods. Rika notices the fright in Meiling’s eyes, so she closes her eyes, returns back to her normal self, her wings short, and her eyes a normal light blue, then smiles and says “sorry to have scared you like that. I was just learning how to use more powerful magic... I feel I’m getting behind in my training lately.” Meiling calms down a bit, then says “w-well, if you want to, um, learn about magic... the library in the basement has many books on that subject. And miss Patchouli should be able to help you a lot.” Rika grabs her book and places it inside a small box that shrinks the book so it may fit, then she approaches Meiling, making the gate guard nervous, bows, then says “thank you so much for the advice, miss Meiling.” Meiling calms down, then nervously says “um, sure thing... miss Rika.” Rika starts walking back to the mansion, but before she goes too far Meiling calls for her. Rika turns her hear to meet Meiling’s eyes, then asks “are you alright, miss Meiling?” Meiling walks closer, then while poking on her index fingers together and looking down, seemingly in shame, Meiling says “I, um... that is, erm. I’m sorry about what I said yesterday. My lady Remilia said you were mean, but I can see you are not mean at all, so... that is...” Rika smiles widely, then says “it’s alright, miss Meiling. No apologies needed.” Meiling raises her slightly shocked face to Rika, noticing Rika smiling at her and saying “but hearing you say that makes me really happy, and I’m glad you’re not afraid of me anymore.” Meiling can’t help but blush and smile back after Rika starts to flap her wings, then says “um, I don’t know how much help I can be, but if you need help training, you can ask me.” Rika bows, her wings bowing along with her, and says “I would be honored.” While she does this, her sword transforms again and the diamond on the hilt begins to glow brightly once more. After rising, Meiling and Rika look at each other again, then start to giggle. Meanwhile, from inside the mansion, Remilia watches through the window, rage filling her face as she bares her fangs and trembles with fury, saying to herself “dammit! Stupid gate guard!.”

Later that morning, Alice and Shanghai finally reach the large gates to the Netherworld, but they seem to be closed. Alice stares at them, then says “come on, Shanghai. We just need to open those gates and we’ll be at the Netherworld.” Shanghai happily exclaims “Hourai~! We’re coming to get you!” Alice and Shanghai approach the large doors and find it’s slightly opened, so they grab on to the border and pull with all their might. The moment he door begins to budge, a girl, sounding annoyed, shouts “hey, what are you doing over there!?” From the clouds come Lunasa, Merlin and Lyrica, the Prismriver sisters, and immediately after revealing herself, Lunasa releases a few pink petal bullets that go straight to Alice and Shanghai, making them release the door and back away. Merlin smiles at them while Lunasa and Lyrica stare mischievously, then Lunasa says “if you want to pass through, you’ll have to listen to our performance first.” Alice summons 5 dolls that circle around her, then says “sorry, I don’t have time to waste on lame performances from a trio of ghosts.” Merlin smiles sheepishly and says “we’re not ghosts. We’re poltergeists.” Lyrica flies upside-down and asks “hey, you’re not even dead. Why do you want to go in there?” Lunasa mockingly asks “are you here to get back a loved one?” Alice and Shanghai glare at the trio, their anger rising as their blood boils to their heads, but sounding calm yet demanding, Alice says “that’s none of your business. However, if you plan to get in our way, we’ll gladly blast you right out of the sky.” The trio smile, and evil aura surrounding the three, and in a happy, yet ominous tone of voice, Lunasa says “tell you what, then. Let’s play danmaku, and if you win, we’ll let you through, but if WE win...” Lunasa looks to her sisters, Merlin looking back annoyed and asking “what if we win, sis?” Before anybody says anymore, Lyrica excitedly says “she’ll have to build us a stage in the village and make sure to sell tickets for a live concert!” Stars shine inside the other two’s eyes as they smile and exclaims “EXCELLENT IDEA~!” Lunasa points to Alice and says “you two will HAVE to build us a stage and—“ Alice waves her hand under her nose, saying “yeah, yeah, I heard. Let’s do this already!” Lunasa frowns as her sisters take their positions behind her, then says “fine, if you’re in such a hurry, we’ll just have to beat you fast.” Just as she finishes speaking, her trumpet starts to fly around, releasing extra-large orbs and pink petal bullets in arcs. Merlin fires tracking lasers and blue petals in wide arcs, and finally, Lyrica unleashes a hellish rain of red and purple petals from all around herself. Alice and Shanghai watch in fright as the wall of bullets head their way, and without hesitation, Alice grabs another spell card and shouts “Elegant Sign, Spring Kyoto Dolls!” Shanghai, accompanied by the other 5 dolls, fly all around Alice and unleash an equally, if not thicker concentration of aquamarine shard bullets that cancel the Prismrivers’ attacks, then punishes them continually, until Lunasa gets angry and sends her trumpet straight to Alice’s face. Shanghai shouts “mama, look out!”, and pushes Alice away from Lunasa’s attack, canceling Alice’s spell card. The sky is clear from bullets now, but the Prismriver sisters seem angry, so all three pull out a spell card, then Lunasa, sounding aggravated, says “so that’s how you want to play? Fine, we’ll play!” All three at the same time shouts “Great Funeral Concert! Ghostly Wheel Revised Concerto Grosso” The Prismrivers play their instruments while in a triangular formation, generating a laser beam each, that connects to each other, then expands farther out, and from the center of their triangle, they unleash yellow and blue shard bullets that change direction and color after touching the lasers, scattering around at random, and getting even more random when the Prismrivers start to spin around in a circle. Alice manages to avoid being hit by going through small tight gaps between the bullets, but she knows it’s a matter of time before she’s caught. Shanghai flies in front of Alice’s face and looking concerned she says “mama, let’s use that one!” Alice looks back at the determination in the little girl’s eyes, then nods and pulls out a spell card. Shanghai braves the bullets and lasers, then positions herself in the middle of the trio and extends her little arms. The trio stares with confusion at the tiny girl, then Alice suddenly shouts “Curse Sign, Shanghai Doll -Dance-!” Shanghai fires a thick purple beam from each hand and starts to twirl in place, striking all three sisters mercilessly over and over until their spell cancels out, and just before a bullet strikes Alice between the eyes, then all three poltergeists explode in unison. Shanghai ends her attack and smiles contently as she heads back to Alice. The three sisters moan in pain, their uniforms lay in tatters and full of burn marks, then suddenly, Lunasa says “oww, my head.” Merlin says “uu, my legs.” Lyrica says “ugh. My pancreas.” Lunasa recovers miraculously and looks to her sister, then says “your... what the hell is that? You’re not a human!” Merlin angrily hisses and adds “quit acting like a human!” Lyrica angrily snaps “what do you know!? I could have that stuff!” Lunasa gets closer and angrily says “we are poltergeists, not HUMAN!” Lyrica turns her head away and says “hmph! You’re just jealous because I’m younger!” A vein pulsates on Lunasa’s forehead, then she grabs Lyrica by her shirt, trembling with rage as she stares back into her sister’s eyes and asks “what are you implying there?” Lyrica shrugs and replies in a matter-of-factly tone “face it, you two will become old hags by the time I bloom into a beautiful maiden!” Now Merlin joins Lunasa, both glaring back at Lyrica with a few veins pulsating on their foreheads, then Merlin says “you’re BEGGING for a beating, is that it!?” Lyrica points at Merlin and shouts “you’re the one that said Lunasa and I are full of wrinkles!” Lunasa now divides her rage, staring at both sisters with large angry white eyes, then shouts “alright, that’s it!” Very suddenly, all three sisters tangle up in a fist-fight and slowly fall down through the clouds, shouting, yelping and screaming insults at each other. Alice and Shanghai stare at each other in shock, then Alice asks “have you and your sister fought like that before?” Shanghai blushes, then looks away and says “er, well... not like THAT... but we’ve had our disagreements.” Alice stares at Shanghai for a little while longer, then shrugs and says “well, let’s open this door. Hourai is waiting for us!” Shanghai turns to face Alice again, and with a happy smile, she nods.

Finally, after opening the doors and getting into the Netherworld, the first thing Shanghai notices are the sad waves coming from the top of the stairs. Shanghai pulls on Alice’s capelet, and sounding excited with tears in her eyes, she points up and says “mama, that’s sis! We have to hurry, mama! She needs us!” Alice stares seriously toward the top of the stairs, and holding her grimoire close to her chest she says “don’t cry anymore, Hourai. We’re coming for you.” Meanwhile, at Hakugyokurou, all the spirits have surrounded Hourai’s spirit as she continues her sad song. Yuyuko stares on with great worry, tears falling uncontrollably from her eyes, then suddenly turns around, and though still crying she sounds normal as she says “they’re here. Quite the early birds, aren’t they?” Youmu stumbles form the shrine’s porch, forgetting her shoes as she tries to walk straight to Yuyuko, and with a brave face she says “don’t worry, Yuyuko-sama, I won’t let them get here.” Yuyuko reaches for Youmu’s shoulder, but Hourai’s spirit sings once more, releasing various sound waves as her song extends each time she sings it, causing all spirits to freeze in place, Yuyuko cry without stop, and Youmu to lose her fighting spirit. Yuyuko manages to control herself, then says “Youmu, you can’t fight like this. Please head back to the shrine.” Youmu clenches her eyes and shakes her head while holding her forehead with her left hand, she says “it is my duty to protect Yuyuko-sama. If I can’t perform my duties, then what good am I for?” She forces a brave look to the crying princess, then Yuyuko slowly nods, then says “do not overexert yourself, Youmu.” Youmu forces a smile, then rushes away like a flash, though still forgetting her shoes, and while running towards her battle, she relaxes her eyes, revealing sadness and exhaustion in them. Yuyuko stares toward the long stairs and thinks “I never thought my plan would take a turn like this. Maybe I should have left them alone.” She looks to her shrine, and even though she cries, she shows determination in her eyes as she says “no! It is my duty as princess of the Netherworld. All I have to do is reunite those two, and everything will fall in place.” Meanwhile, halfway up the stairs, Alice starts feeling a little uneasy, but she steels herself, thinking about Hourai and Shanghai, their past, her promise to Shanghai, and her own desire to have Hourai back with her and Shanghai. She remembers when she thought Phredia as a doll, and how grateful the elven fairy was when she gave her those new clothes, then she remembers how in just 3 days, Shanghai and Hourai came to life. Her memories rush to the first time Shanghai called her “mama Alice”, and how happy they all were while together. Alice breaks her train of thought when she faces the tired-looking Youmu, who stares back with sad, tired eyes, and sounding almost unwilling, she says “you... gi-give me that soul, and turn... turn around.” Alice glares back, Shanghai preparing her shield and lance while standing on Alice’s shoulder, then Alice points at Youmu and says “you have no idea what you have done. I will make you...” Alice notices how a tear escapes Youmu, then she and Shanghai look at each other with curiosity, and looking back at Youmu suspiciously, Alice says “if you don’t want to fight just return Hourai to me and Shanghai so we can be on our way home!” Shanghai adds “give me back my sister!” Youmu takes a deep breath, closing her eyes and finding calm inside herself, then she opens her eyes again, showing her resolve to them, then says “there is nothing my sword won’t cut! I see it is pointless to ask you again, so I’ll just take that soul by force and MAKE you turn back!” With that, Youmu and her ghost half split up and start shooting a curtain of green and yellow orbs that come from both sides and angles, closing in and making it seem as there isn’t a way to dodge, however Alice and Shanghai both find small, tight gaps between the bullet showers and split up, positioning themselves in front of a target each. Shanghai facing Youmu’s ghost half, while Alice faces Youmu herself. Without hesitation, Shanghai unleashes a barrage of aquamarine petals and sharp magical spears, while Alice summons three dolls; the two on the side shooting dark-purple shards, while the one being held by Alice fires a red laser beam. Youmu and her ghost half are unable to dodge the attacks by Alice and Shanghai, however, their opponents have no trouble dodging their attacks. Youmu and her ghost half stop shooting and regroup in the center of the stairs, then Youmu pulls out a spell card from her pocket and though she looks tired, she says in a determined voice “you leave me no other choice! You are a threat to Princess Yuyuko, so I must ki... I must kill you. Hell Realm Sword! 200 Yojana in-“ Before Youmu is able to finish her declaration, the echo from Hourai’s song reaches all the way down the stairs, making her stop where she is, taking all her resolve away in just a second. Alice stares confused for a moment until she hears the song as well. She feels as if the fire in her soul is suddenly doused and replaced by a cold chill. Shanghai, on the other hand, feels despair and drops her shield and lance, then pulls hard on Alice’s capelet, desperately saying “mama, mama! That’s Hourai! She needs us! Mama, hurry up! HOURAI, I’M HERE! I’M COMING!!” Shanghai releases Alice and tries to fly away on her own, however Alice recovers and holds on tight to the tiny girl, then says “you’re not going anywhere without your mama. What if something happens to you!?” Shanghai struggles as hard as she can to break free from Alice, but finally manages to calm down and cries “Hourai is crying~! She needs me!” While Shanghai rubs her face on Alice’s chest, Alice brusher her hair with her fingers and looks to Youmu. The Netherworld’s gardener lies on her knees on the stairs, crying and saying “I can’t do this. It’s just too much. Please, you two, just give up. If that spirit just gets what she wants, she’ll calm down. You, spirit, just give up already and join her.” Youmu continues to mumble on the stairs, while her words play over and over inside Shanghai’s head. Alice continues on up the stairs and says “don’t give up now, Shanghai. Don’t listen to that.” Shanghai raises her head to look up to Alice’s as she continues “we are going home together, and that is that. I’m not giving up on either one of you, so please, don’t give up on me either.” Shanghai looks at Alice a little longer, then closes her eyes and presses her face against Alice’s chest and whispers “sorry mama. I promise, I won’t give up.”

At the top of the stairs, Yuyuko continues watching on as more spirits gather around the lone spirit hovering over the pond, then sighs and asks “aren’t you going to listen to me? Anyone? ... Why aren’t you listening to me?” Again, Hourai’s spirit begins her song again, this time expelling a very powerful emotion that makes Yuyuko sob as she holds her chest and drops on her knees to the ground. The song lasts for at least 45 seconds, and when it finally stops, Yuyuko gets up from the ground, breathing heavily as she clenches her chest. She looks to the spirit, and although she still cries, she calmly says “your sister is coming this way. You can be together once that girl returns her to us.” The spirits sings loudly, and although this time the song only lasts 5 seconds, it knocks the spirits and Yuyuko to the ground. Yuyuko gets up, wiping the tears off her face while saying “what an ungrateful child. Oh well, she’ll hopefully calm down once she’s with her sister again. *sigh* So things can get back to normal again.” Alice and Shanghai stand by the long stairs behind Yuyuko, Alice crossing her arms while holding her grimoire against her chest, and Shanghai hovering to Alice’s right. Alice gets Yuyuko’s attention when she demands “give us back our Hourai, princess.” Shanghai lets out a “hmph” when she nods, then crosses her arms across her chest. Yuyuko smiles as she turns around, then starts to cry but calmly says “I believe it would be best for you to just give me her sister. I promise to take good care of them.” Seeing Yuyuko cry strikes Alice as strange, but she ignores it, then points at Yuyuko and says “I am going to take her back, even if I have to take her by force. After all, I AM her mother.” Yuyuko opens two fans, her crying eyes glow red, and as she starts to fly she says “tell you what. Since you are such a wonderfully responsible mother, show me how far are you willing to go for your... ‘daughters’.” Before Alice prepares herself for battle, Hourai’s spirits starts to sing her sad song again. The moment the song reaches Alice and Shanghai, Alice concernedly yells “Hourai! We’re here! We’re taking you home soon!” Shanghai adds “Sis! Hourai! Just wait a little longer!” Shanghai frowns and scowls as she looks at the crying princess and threateningly says “we’re going back home WITH mama, miss princess!” Alice smiles confidently and starts to fly at the same height as Yuyuko, and while staring into the ghost princess’ glowing red eyes, she says “let’s go, Shanghai. And you, princess. You’ve messed with us for the last time!” Yuyuko smiles whimsically, and sounding very friendly, even though she continues to cry, she says “oh, I totally agree, miss puppeteer.” In an instant, the sky above Hakugyokurou is filled with danmaku; petals, orbs of all sizes, shards, lasers, and butterflies. Alice and Shanghai do a great job of keeping out of each others’ way, but the concentration of danmaku is so much, they can’t tell if they are hitting Yuyuko or not. At the other side, Yuyuko manages to dodge Alice and Shanghai’s attacks just barely, but she’s also having trouble seeing ahead, as her own butterflies glow too brightly. She manages to peek through one of the butterfly’s wings and spots Alice. She unleashes a straight line of blue orbs and manages to hit Alice with all 6 orbs. Alice winces in pain as the orbs strike her hard, and Shanghai gets closer, concernedly asking “MAMA!? Are you alright!?” Alice smiles, even though her face and left shoulder hurt from the barrage, and says “I’m alright, sweetie. Just make sure she doesn’t see you!” As she says that, Yuyuko manages to see Alice again, then shoots arcs of butterflies toward her. Alice sees the attack coming, but Shanghai is still looking back to her and doesn’t notice the butterflies. Alice rushes to Shanghai, and with her free hand she grabs the tiny girl and uses her body as a shield from the butterflies. Alice opens her mouth, as if screaming in pain the moment 3 of the butterflies strike her back, but she manages to hold her breath and continues to fly. Shanghai cries “mama! I’m sorry, mama!” Even though she’s in pain, Alice smiles and says with a grunt “it’s alright. I’ll just have to get serious. She won’t touch you! I won’t let her!”

Shanghai cries as Alice continues to use her own body as a shield for her, however, Alice smiles and stares toward where Yuyuko should be, then whispers “are you ready, Shanghai?” Shanghai nods rapidly, holding her urge to cry, then Alice releases her and says “get behind me!” She pulls out a spell card from her pocket and immediately shouts “Puppeteer Sign! Maiden’s Bunkaru!” Right after she finishes declaring her spell card, there is a thunderous sound, and all the bullets in the field turn to energy for Alice’s spell. Yuyuko tries to wipe the tears off her eyes again, though they come back immediately after she’s done, then stares back at Alice as she unleashes her spell. An extra-large orange orb flies right out from Alice’s hand, seemingly tied to a magical string, and after giving the string a tug, the orb unleashes various red beams. Alice skillfully moves her fingers and trailing along these beams come various blue orbs, and after spinning her arm around she also unleashes a snow of red orbs. Yuyuko manages to easily dodge through the first wave, however, Shanghai peeks her head from Alice’s shoulder and starts firing as many aquamarine petals as she can, confusing Yuyuko during Alice’s second wave of attack, and making her get struck by one of the beams, which has two lines of trailing blue orbs that strike Yuyuko hard, and before the ghost princess has time to recover, she is hit by the snowing red orbs and one of Shanghai’s petal showers. Yuyuko clenches her teeth in pain, using one of her fans to soothe the burning pain on her chest and arm. Alice speeds up her spell and Yuyuko finds herself unable to dodge the 3rd and 4th wave, so she finally loses her calm composure and shouts “alright, that is it! I am through playing with you two!” Shanghai stretches her lips with her own hands and sticks out her tongue, making a funny face, saying “old lady is a sore loser!” A vein pulsates on Yuyuko’s forehead as she cries, smiles, and angrily says “how uncivilized. If this is the kind of things you’ll be teaching these children, you are better off leaving them here, miss puppeteer.” Yuyuko glare ominously as she pulls out a spell card, manages to dodge a red laser beam, then shouts “Deadly Dance! Law of Mortality -Dead Butterfly-“ Yuyuko twirls and spins, unleashing spiral after spiral of death butterflies and large spirits in sets of 5. Alice is still concentrating on her own spell when Yuyuko’s spell is unleashed and headed toward her. Shanghai yells “mama, look out!” Alice opens her eyes and realizes the butterflies are too close, so she grabs Shanghai, cancelling her own spell, and quickly stuffs her inside her backpack, where Hourai’s body is, then tries to dodge, but it’s too late and her entire body gets covered by death butterflies. Paralyzed, all Alice can do is watch with horror as more butterflies cling to her body, and 5 of those large spirits come in a group, all absorbing Alice’s life away. The last spirit explodes when it makes contact with Alice and immediately the puppeteer screams out loud to the air, making all the butterflies and remaining spirits glow in a white burning light, then falls down to the ground. From the pond, Hourai watches as the battle goes on, her singing stops as she places all her attention on the battle, and after hearing a scream she watches as Alice falls to the ground head-first. The spirit panics and flies as fast as she can toward Alice, but the group of spirits now block her path when Yuyuko, who slowly floats back down, says “I don’t want her to see this. Please, don’t let her through.” Hourai’s spirits quickly moves all around, trying to find a way through the spirits, but even when she tries to fly above them, they manage to block her path, so all she can do is think “mama! Sis! They came for me and now look what happened! I have to save them... I have to save them!!!”

Alice lies on a patch of dirt just next to the stone tiles of the shrine grounds with her eyes widely open, unable to move her body due to the pain coursing through her entire body. Yuyuko stands several feet away from Alice with a smile on her face, the tears finally dried out from her maroon eyes, and feeling quite victorious, she says “I really do hope you’ve had enough. I’d hate to have to kill you over such a silly little dispute, so just return that soul to me and be on your way.” Inside the backpack, Shanghai tries to push the top opening so she can escape, but soon realizes it is almost impossible to do, so she sighs in defeat and says to herself “Hourai, if only you were here.” She touches around the inside of the backpack once more, hoping to find a way out, however she finds the backpack has one of Reimu’s seal in it, then gasps and exclaims “so that’s why!” Alice twitches as she tries to lift herself up from the ground, coughing out some blood after managing to move her right arm, then starts to drag herself toward Yuyuko, grunting in pain and saying “I... will never... abandon... my girls!” Yuyuko’s eyes glow red and Alice cringes and groans, feeling as though her very soul is being forcefully pulled out of her body, then stops. Yuyuko giggles and says “miss puppeteer, I truly do not wish to kill you, but you are pushing me to do this. Please hand over the other soul and be on your way... or die.” Again, Yuyuko’s eyes glow red and Alice groans some more, but she wills herself to keep going and continues to drag herself to Yuyuko, weakly saying “I... will not... leave without them. I... promised... I would take... care... of...” Alice falls on the cold stone ground, her eyes losing their shine as her life is slowly drained out. She manages to smile, then thinks “dammit. She was too much for me. I’m so sorry... I couldn’t keep my promise.” Inside the backpack, Shanghai keeps pushing against the opening, shouting “MAMA~! I’m coming mama! Even with this seal, I’m coming out! Just hold on!” Yuyuko sighs and covers her mouth with her fan, then says “I didn’t really want to do this, but you really left me no other... what the!?” Powerful ripples with heavy energy distract Yuyuko, saving Alice’s life just in time. Yuyuko worriedly looks around, asking “what is that!? Where’s that coming from!?” Yuyuko notices how all the spirits scatter away from the pond, where Hourai’s spirit expels powerful magical ripples that disturb even Yuyuko’s own magic. After all the spirits scatter away, the spirit bravely rushes to Alice and floats in between Yuyuko and the puppeteer. Yuyuko stares at the spirit, then asks “you’d go against me, just for her?” From the sky, Shikieiki’s voice echoes all over the Netherworld as she says “you have performed your duties admirably, princess of the Netherworld.” A large white orb flies from the sky and lands next to Hourai’s spirit, then Shikieiki smiles and continues “but I believe it’s time to stop. I think they have already shown you well enough they are willing to give their lives for each other.” Yuyuko sighs in defeat, but smiles as she says “I guess you are right, Enma-sama.” Shikieiki smiles as she and Yuyuko bow to each other, then turns around and says “come on out, little one. Join your sister.” The backpack on Alice’s back bursts open and Shanghai comes out holding Hourai’s body, looking desperately around and shouting “mama, I’m here! I’ll save you!” Hourai’s spirit rushes to Shanghai and starts to rub itself against her sister, making her giggle and say “Hourai~! Sister, you’re back~!” Shikieiki giggles, then says “it’s alright now, miss Alice. You can stand.” Alice feels life coursing through her once more, the pain she felt moments earlier, gone. She slowly sits up, and after straightening out, Shanghai, who is still Holding on to Hourai’s body, and Hourai’s spirits, tackle Alice to the ground again, Shanghai hugging her neck tightly while giggling and contently calling out for Alice, while Hourai’s cold spirit rubs itself against Alice’s face. Alice laughs, holding both Shanghai and Hourai’s spirits and saying “it’s alright, I’m ok, really!” Shikieiki smiles, then says “please, I believe if we are to have a proper conversation, miss Hourai should be in her body, so...” Shikieiki points her sword at Hourai’s body, making it fly to the air, then Hourai’s spirit starts to float beside it. There is a bright glow, and even Yuyuko covers here eyes.

Moments later, inside Hakugyokurou’s living room, Youmu has prepared tea for everyone, even Shanghai and Hourai, who need to grab their cups with both hands and drink very carefully, or they could get drenched in tea. Meanwhile, both Alice and Yuyuko await an explanation from Shikieiki, who takes a sip of tea and sighs contently. She gently places her cup on the table and says “I was the one who allowed those two souls to be summoned into the dolls’ bodies. You see, I received a most peculiar request. I was told a gentle and lonely soul was looking for a meaning for being, so I remembered these two gentle, but tormented souls, so I allowed the summoner to take those two souls, however my messenger failed to notify you of this, miss Saigyouji. I apologize.” Shikieiki bows as a small circle appears above her with a tiny Komachi, smiling and laughing sheepishly, saying “sorry about that.” Yuyuko sighs as she closes her eyes, feeling a little guilty for all she caused, then bows to Alice and says “then I give you my most sincere of apologies, miss Margatroid.” A vein pulsates on Alice’s forehead as she smiles and says “it’s alright now. Just be more prudent next time.” Shikieiki smiles again, then says “now, as for these two souls...” When Shikieiki looks at them, both Shanghai and Hourai stare back with the outmost curiosity, but suddenly yawn and fall asleep. Shikieiki looks straight into Alice’s eyes and says “miss Alice. You heard their terrible story, you braved an unknown foe in the form of dangerous elements, you fought with adversaries 5, 10 and a maybe even a hundred times stronger than yourself, but you never gave up. You were even willing to give your life up for theirs. All to keep your promise to them, and to see them happy.” Alice stares at the sleeping dolls for a moment, then back at Shikieiki with curiosity, then Shikieiki asks “will you give these two souls that life that was so brutally taken away by that horrible monster of a man?” Alice stares back with confusion and nods, then her eyes turn resolved as she says “I swear, these two will have a wonderful life with me. I’ll do all within my power to fulfill that promise to them!” Shikieiki smiles again, taking another sip of tea and placing her cup on the table, then says “that horrible soul that tortured these two to their deaths still burns in hell, plunged daily into the hottest pits of fire, and still, he asks what he do to deserve such fate. Fool. Now, I’ll be sealing those memories from them. They don’t need to remember that anymore. From now on, their memories will be of those with you, Alice. I wish to ask you, though... Would you like me to help you forget that story?” Without hesitation, Alice shakes her head and says “I don’t ever want to forget their story. As long as I remember that, I will always remember my promise to them, and will always do my very best for them.” Shanghai and Hourai glow brightly as they slowly float back to Alice’s hands, and while she embraces them, she realizes something and asks “miss yama? Is it ok for them to have these bodies? I mean, these were supposed to be dolls, and now they...” Shikieiki raises her hand to stop Alice, then smiles and says “it would be too cruel to take their hearts away, wouldn’t you agree?” Alice stares back and smiles, then asks “and what about their mother? Whatever happened to her.” Shikieiki smiles, lifting her sword to her face, then says “please, do not be concerned for her. But if you really want to make sure she’s happy, take good care of her daughters. I am sure that’s what she would ask for.” Alice smiles and nods, looking down to the two sleeping girls on her arms. Youmu comes from the kitchen with a tray full of snacks, and before she sets it on the table Yuyuko grabs a few and stuffs them in her mouth. Shikieiki’s face turns serious, then says “now, miss Alice Margatroid, I know this may seem improper, but I wish to ask you for a favor. Please, do not do this because I helped you and your children. Do not do this because you think you owe me, because you do not. Do this because it is the right thing to do.” Alice stares confused at Shikieiki for a moment, and nods without saying another word. Shikieiki sighs, then says “in two days, there is going to be an incident in the village, and another in the Myouren temple. Alice, I need you, and miss Youmu, to assist as best you can during these incidents.” Youmu stares back with confusion at Yuyuko, only to receive an approving nod from her mistress. Shikieiki continues “Alice, you’ve already faced her; that woman that laughs in the darkness. She hides in the village, disguised as a harmless human. Don’t go looking for her yet, because if you do, you’ll be frowned upon. Wait for the incident to start, then make your move. If both of you can help during these incidents, many lives will be saved. Also, miss Alice. I am sure that by now you know about Marisa, correct?” Alice scowls and says “all I know is she opened a dangerous portal.” Shikieiki nods and calmly stares into Alice’s eyes, ready to give her instructions.

At the SDM, after having taken care of Sakuya, Rika heads to the great library in the basement. Upon entering, she cautiously looks around and calls out “hello~! Miss Koakuma?” There is no answer, so Rika enters the library and walks further inside. Again, she calls “is anybody here? Miss Koakuma? Please, I need help with some books.” From behind a bookshelf, a sweet voice suddenly replies “coming~! Just a moment please.” Rika replies “I’ll be over here”, then claps her hands together under her waist, humming to herself as she sways left and right while waiting. She hears a pair of wings flapping behind her and Koakuma’s sweet voice, saying “yes, what is it miss Rika-wa-wa-wa-WAH~!!” When Koakuma takes a good look at Rika her body gets stiff, her eyes turn white, and she tries to lean away from Rika, then screams and flies away, shouting “save me Patchouli-sama~! They sent an assassin to seal me~!” Rika calls “wait, I’m not...” but Koakuma is long gone. Rika whimpers, her lips wriggle in place as large teardrops fall from her eyes, then she says to herself “I’m not going to seal you.” The door to the library is heard opening up, then Patchouli’s voice is heard, saying “ah, it’s so good to be back home.” Patchouli comes across the whimpering Rika, then asks “miss Rika, what seems to be the matter?” Rika looks at Patchouli with her saddened eyes and says “I’m not going to seal her.” Patchouli looks back with her expressionless eyes and says “ah, you’ve met Koakuma. Don’t worry, she just needs to get to know you.” A silver washtub falls from the ceiling and straight on to Rika’s head, making her run in circles, flapping her wings, repeating “ow, ow, ow.”, while holding on to her head with both hands. When she finally stops, she looks up along with Patchouli and Koakuma shouts “take that, you assassin!” Patchouli stares at Rika, who stares back with saddened puppy eyes, then says “see? She’s already playing pranks on you. That must mean she REALLY likes you a lot.” Rika smiles and flaps her wings, cupping her hands together in front of her chest as she excitedly asks “really, miss Patchouli!?” From the ceiling, Koakuma shouts “NO!” Rika’s lips wriggle again, then Patchouli grabs her hand and says “please, come with me. I heard from Meiling you wish to learn more about great magic, correct?” Rika whimpers “but I’m not going to seal her.”

To be continued...

Characters, Spell Cards and Scenario belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice-
Rika Onkamikami was created by Snapshot 2010

APR 10 2010
Written by
Willie G.R.

A/N:
First of all, I must thank the commenters and reviewers. It lifted my spirit to know I am doing a good job. As you may notice, none of my OCs made it here. This chapter was for Alice, Shanghai and Hourai, so it’s alright. I hope you enjoyed this tale for the souls residing inside Alice’s dolls, Shanghai and Hourai, and honestly hope you enjoyed the chapter entirely. Might take is slowly for next chapter, though. Take care, everyone.