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Reimu panted and held her side, feeling the burn from one of the lasers which had grazed her. Her red hakama were covered in grey ash, and her white kimono was speckled with soot, dirt, and a little blood. She half-crouched, half-knelt on Genji’s back, the giant turtle having shrugged off most of the attacks that had hit him.
Still, she took some satisfaction from being in a better state than her opponent. The one she was fighting was a gargantuan woman, one who simply radiated power. Even so, it was clear that she had suffered; white hair cascading in front of her face, red dress covered in soot and one purple wing bent unnaturally and another bearing an angry-looking tear in it. The remaining four wings
“Looks like your bark is worse than your bite!” Reimu powered through the pain and gave the goddess a savage grin.
“How could you be this strong?” The goddess panted out, shocked at her defeat
“Well, that’s just normal for me” Reimu boasted, puffing her chest out.
Shinki just gave her an unamused look, before brushing the hair out of her face “Anyway, what business did you have in Makai again”
Now it was Reimu’s turn to give an unamused look “Like I’ve been saying! There’s been too many demons coming to the human world lately! You’re the god of their world, so do something about it!”
“Guess I’ve got no choice...”
Shinki grumbled, before raising a hand to her chest. A purple light washed over the goddess, causing her to be rejuvenated. Her Wings snapped back into place, the gash disappearing in an instant. Even her clothes began to sew themselves back together.
Then she raised a hand towards Reimu, wreathed in green light. Reimu was about to get Genji to dodge when the light poured over her. She could feel the pain in her side dissipate, as the wounds across her body closed.
Shinki gave her a slight curtsy, her six wings disappearing as she did so.
“In deference to that strength of yours, I shall do something about it.” she declared.
“Yes, Please do.” Reimu put her hands on her waist, like her mom did when scolding her. She wasn’t entirely sure what def-fer-ence meant, but it sounded like she was surrendering, so it was good enough for her.
“Fine, fine” Shinki groused, giving a nod of the head.
“Well then, I'll be leaving.” Reimu singsonged, tapping her shoe on Genji to finally get out of Makai and spend some time in her shrine in peace.
Then she took a moment to look around her. The fortress the fight had started in, Pandemonium, was an utter wreck. The roof of the fortress had been blasted off by her about halfway through the fight. All of the glass panes had shattered when she and Shinki had fired their last volleys at each other.
The nearby city where the fight had ended was even worse. Overgrown trees had ripped through the stone foundations of the city, knocking over some houses and tearing through others. In other parts of the city, blue fires blazed. The ghostly light made it obvious who had set them.
Yuuka and Mima had been here. And they’d been all too willing to destroy the whole city in order to get to Shinki.
Reimu knew how terrible youkai were. It wasn’t really her business if they went around destroying each other. But something about those two’s coldness, even to other youkai… it unsettled her a little. But there was no way to curb it, not that Reimu knew of at least. That was just their nature.
Well, whatever. It wasn’t her problem. She turned away, looking up as she left makai behind for good.
“And then I totally beat her up. So, didn’t I do good mom?”
Haru sat in a rocking chair, listening to her daughter speaking indulgently. She lifted her left hand, her organic hand, and patted her little girl on the head, drawing an offended squawk from her.
“Well done dear. You’re growing in leaps and bounds. I’m proud of you.”
It was almost a sort of magic in and of itself the impact those four words had on Reimu. Her daughter glowed at the praise, the annoyance at having her hair messed up melted away. Haru was content to let it remain so for a few moments, before speaking again.
“Reimu. You’ve proven yourself recently. Between the goddess of Makai, the flower youkai, the odd woman from the ruins, the oni knight and Mima, you’ve shown yourself to be skilled and resourceful at fighting strong humans and youkai alike.”
Reimu quickly caught on to what Haru was implying. “Mom, are you saying...”
Haru nodded and smiled. “Yes dear, I am saying.” Technically speaking, defeating the flower youkai had not been Reimu’s victory alone. Likewise, the goddess had fought Marisa, Yuuka and then Mima before Reimu, but her little girl had still more than proved herself in both battles.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” She declared nuzzling, Haru’s stomach. Haru just laughed and returned the hug, wrapping her baby with her organic and prosthetic arms alike. After a minute, Reimu had calmed down a little. She disengaged from the hug, though a radiant smile remained on her face.
“It will take some time to prepare the ceremony, but once it’s ready, I won’t keep you waiting, okay dear?” Haru asked, to which Reimu nodded vigorously.
“Can’t wait til Marisa sees it.” Reimu chuckled smugly.
“It has been some time since you’ve seen each other, hasn’t it? Perhaps we should go visit soon… ah, but for now, you should go to bed” Haru said, looking at the moon creeping its way up the sky.
Haru held back a chuckle as her daughter slunk off to bed with a groan. Most likely, she would read for another hour or so before going to sleep. Well, as long as she didn’t stay up too long, Haru didn’t mind letting her sleep in just a little today.
Haru was just glad that she would have enough time to pass the mantle on to her daughter. She wondered how Reimu would do after she passed…
Genji would help her, though he was getting on in years. Her new friend, Marisa, for all that she was Mima’s apprentice, lacked much of the vengeful spirit’s malevolence. Hopefully, the two of them would continue to grow as friends and rivals. Between Rinnosuke and Misumaru, equipment shouldn’t be a concern. And of course, Yukari would make sure Reimu was provided for.
But what she worried about most was who would watch out for Reimu’s emotional wellbeing. Hopefully, Marisa might, but she was just a child herself, one who was even younger than Reimu, if only by a few weeks. Haru could never expect a child to step into her shoes. But who else could?
Yukari, for all that she could be considered a friend, was too aloof, too in love with mystery. Haru could see her acting as a guardian maybe, but not as a parent. Not to mention the fact that she was asleep half of the year.
Rinnosuke was the same. Perhaps a little better, on account of having lived with humans for so long, and not having to sleep as much. But he wasn’t remotely in the position to act as a parent. He was more grouchy uncle material, Haru thought with a grin.
Misumaru spent most of her time in the depths of the earth, and Haru was fairly certain toxic gas was not good for teenagers.
Kasen or Keine would probably have been her best bet. Yet, Kasen was currently unreachable in her senkai, where she could remain for anywhere between a few days and a few years at a time. Keine was already balancing too many plates to put her full attention on raising Reimu. Not to mention the wariness that the human village treated the Hakurei Shrine maidens with, even as they recognised the importance of keeping the miko around.
If her Natsu had still been around…
Her chest tightened. Her teeth grinded. Pain shot through her right arm as she clenched a prosthetic fist. But she calmed herself; meaningless anger would not bring him back, and he had been avenged many times over.
There was no one left who could carry the burden of raising her child alone. She would just have to ask the aid of all of her friends and hope that they could supplement each other’s weaknesses and take good care of Reimu.
For now though, she had some letters to write. Her baby’s special day was coming soon, and she needed to make sure that everything was in its place beforehand.
Haru looked at the moon as it rose in the sky.
Things were going to change in Gensokyo soon, she felt it in her gut. She would do everything she could to make sure Reimu would weather the storm.
It was a peaceful day at Kourindou. As was normally the case, the shop was completely devoid of customers, and the store’s owner was sat behind the counter, nose deep in a book. The tall, white haired man idly stretched and adjusted his glasses, luxuriating in the serenity of the day.
Said serenity was suddenly and violently shattered by a child bundling in through the door. It was a young girl with red hair wearing a deep purple witches’ dress and a hat to accompany it. In her left hand, she clutched a broom. Something about her seemed familiar to Rinnosuke, in a way he couldn’t quite put his finger on.
As much as he wanted to irritated that someone had interrupted his reading time, he recognised that he probably shouldn’t antagonize a potential customer. Not yet, at least.
“Welcome to Kourindou-” He began, before being interrupted.
“Kourin!” She shouted. “Good to see ya!”
Rinnosuke looked confused for a moment at that, blinking owlishly at her. Then he leaned forward and squinted a little at his guest.
“Marisa?” he called in surprise. “Goodness, it’s been years. How have you been doing”
“I’ve been-” She started, grimacing minutely before forcing herself to smile and continue “I’ve been great! Learned so much magic!” She laughed, though it seemed a little forced to Rinnosuke’s ears. Taking a good look at her, it was clear that she was favouring her left leg over her right. Her right arm, too, bore some scratch marks and cuts on it.
Rinnosuke just sighed at that, raising his glasses and pinching his nose.
“Sit down. I think I’ve got some bandages around here somewhere.”
Marisa nodded mutely, her ears beginning to burn.
It was a quiet few minutes that followed. Marisa made her way behind the counter and sat down in a seat surrounded by clutter. She idly swung her legs as Rinnosuke rifled through his hoard of items. Eventually, he found a White box with a red and blue cross on it.
He recalled receiving it from a black haired woman in a pink dress a few years back in return for a few books. He still wasn’t sure why she had needed the fake moustache, however.
Either way, the first aid kit had been very useful to have, even for a non-combaatant such as himself. He began to use the bandages to wrap Marisa’s injuries.
“What has happened to you, Marisa?
Marisa mulled over the question, avoiding looking Rinnosuke in the eyes.
“Well, do ya remember when I… left home?”
“Of course I remember. I was there. I even gave you that mini-hakkero.” At the mention of the mini-hakkero, Marisa flinched, and her ears began burning again. Rinnosuke felt the urge to raise an eyebrow at that, but ignored it for the moment in favour of the panicking young girl in front of him.
“Well, I actually had a plan! There was this witch called Lady Mima, and she promised to take me on as an apprentice! Well, she said I would be her servant, but I could watch her when she did magic, but that’s basically the same thing, right?”
“I suspect Keine would disagree” Rinnosuke said dryly. The woman was very adamant about teachers giving their best in order to train their students.
Granted, he had seen more than a few ‘apprenticeships’ in the human village which had a similar arrangement of the teacher pawning off all of their work in order to ‘educate’ their students. Keine would have harsh words for such ‘delegators’, but she could only do so much.
“Well, it wasn’t so bad. She actually sit me down and show me some of her tricks from time to time. Like this!” Marisa clicked the fingers on her right hand, summoning four orbs around her. Rinnosuke, who had been bandaging her left arm, had to duck suddenly so that he wouldn’t get hit in the head.
“Be careful! I am rather attached to my head, Marisa.” Rinnosuke chastised her.
“Sorry, sorry!” Marisa apologised. “But anyway, I learned a lot of magic in my time with her. One time she even tried to take over the world, you know?”
“I don’t know actually. I think you’re being entirely too casual about that last part. “
“Anyway, we didn’t manage to take over the world, but I got to meet all sorts of people, learn all sorts of magic. But we had some… disagreements. So she kinda… took my hakkero and kicked me out” Marisa hesitated, fiddling with a lock of her hair
“And she sent you wondering through the Forest of Magic, covered in bruises?” Rinnosuke questioned, with a heat that surprised even himself.
Marisa shook her head vigorously at that. “No! I mean, I tried to grab it off her but she just held it out of my reach. And I know I can’t beat her yet, so I headed out. Some of the youkai are crazy angry though, and I had to beat ‘em up!” Marisa flexed her bicep to emphasise her point.
For a moment, there was silence, Rinnosuke finishing applying the bandages. As he stepped back from Marisa, the witch asked him a question.
“Hey, Kourin. Is it alright if I stay over here for a bit?”
Rinnosuke shrugged a little. “Well, I suppose staying over for a few days would be acceptable.”
Marisa suddenly burst out in a peal of laughter.
“A few days? ‘Course not” Scoffed Marisa. “I’m gonna stay here until I get strong enough to get the hakkero back.”
“I must note that one would normally one would expect something to the effect of ‘may I stay in your home, Mr Morichika?’” Rinnosuke pointed out.
“ Mr Morichika? Gross. Besides, it’s not like you’re gonna kick me out” Marisa said confidently. “… Are you?” she said after a moment, her tough facade cracking a little.
“No, I suppose I will not.” It would be somewhat distasteful to leave a teenage girl to sleep in the Forest of Magic, even if she were a very annoying one.
“Thanks Kourin! You’re the best!” Marisa declared, before standing up, floating into the air and shooting past the shopkeeper. He blinked in surprise, before turning to follow. She was sprawled our on his bed, already fast asleep.
Rinnosuke just rubbed his eyes. Marisa was as much a whirlwind as ever, much to his chagrin. That being said, he would be lying to say that he was not relieved at it, as well.
Well, at the least he could use the sleeping bag he had found near the store recently. It would make him resemble a giant yellow caterpillar, but it was still better than nothing.
Tomorrow, he was definitely taking his bed back, however. No questions about that.
The first part sounds a bit like a continuation of the works of Misumaru, which is a little concerning (not writing wise.) as that would mean that Haru had lost a second limb... which does highlight her dwindling time left. a good undercurrent of dread with the heartwarming scene.
and the Marisa part is great! I wonder what the disagreement was.
Just to clarify; I've taken some inspiration from the Works of Misumaru, (like Haru's name) but this isn't a direct continuation of that.
I'm glad you enjoyed Marisa's part! It was fun to write her being a gremlin
Alice fretted, pulling on a long purple wing out to inspect it. Its membrane was smooth, shiny and unblemished. One would never have guessed that it had looked like a curtain that had lost a fight with a cat a mere few hours earlier. Her mother, Shinki watched placidly as she poked and prodded at her wings.
"Are you certain you are fit to be exerting yourself so soon, mum?"
Her mother just laughed at that, wrapping her in a large purple wing.
“Nothing to fear, my dear. Those four intruders were strong, but as you can see” She gestured to herself. “I am perfectly well. So there is no need to concern yourself. You’re a few centuries too young to be getting grey hairs.”
Alice huffed at her mum’s antics. Well, at least, she was still in good spirits. Feeling a little reassured, she turned her mind to the state of Pandæmonium City. Those two green haired women had really done a number on the place. The purple haired girl and the red haired girl had both hurt her mum- the former much more than the letter- but they didn’t set out to cause as much collateral as the ghost and the flower lady.
“Well, I’m glad to see you are as chipper as ever.” Alice said, untangling herself from her mum’s wing. “I’m going to assist Yumeko and the others in the rebuilding efforts.” With a thought, her feet left the ground as she began to float. As she was leaving, she turned around to address her mother one last time.
“See to it that you take some time to recuperate. Please.” She pleaded.
Her mum gave her a small grin. “Alice. I can’t leave my people to work out there alone. As their creator, I have to take responsibility for their well-being. That is something I cannot ever shirk from.” Despite the reassuring smile, voice made it clear that she wasn’t going to be moved on the matter.
With a flap of the wings, Shinki, God of Makai took to the air, and made a declaration.
“Come on Alice, last one to Pandæmonium’s a rotten egg!”
She shot forth, 6 wings pumping to send her careening towards the tattered city.
Alice wanted to say something about how her mother could be joking at a time like this, but her pride refused to let that insult stand. “Who are you calling a rotten egg! Mum!” She shouted, rocketing after her mother in hopes of overtaking her.
From the corner of her eye, Shinki could see Alice land more daintily, hardly producing a sound.
‘I’ve spent long enough recuperating’ Shinki thought to herself. ‘Time for me to do my part.’
Closing her eyes and fanning her wings, she began to exert her power over her domain.
She felt her soul reach out and connect with every denizen within several kilometers of her.
She felt diligent Yumeko, who had evacuated the town, and the unflinching faith she had in her creator. She felt clever Alice, her daughter in heart, who watched on with a mixture of intrigue, confidence and concern. She felt the fear and hope of all of those who had called Pandæmonium City home, praying that their goddess would be able to repair the places where they had made their livelihoods and families.
Time to live up to those expectations.
Shinki began to move all of the pieces of Makai back into their proper place.
The glass which littered the street began to flow back into windows and panes of glass.
The soot and ash which had caked the ground of the city began to disappear and dissipate in the air.
Bricks which had been knocked loose began to slot back into place.
Homes which had been toppled began to-
Shinki bit back a curse as she felt her magic falter.
Another attempt to call it brought no results, save for a searing pain being driven through her core.
She could still feel her connection to all of her charges. Her children.
She felt their gratitude, their faith. But she also felt their doubts. They knew she could rebuild, but what then?
She had lost to the shrine maiden. The flower youkai and the vengeful spirit had been driven back, but escaped Shinki’s pursuit and left a trail of destruction. And even the witch had given her a damn good fight.
Her children no longer saw an infallible goddess, but just a woman. A powerful woman, but one who could bleed. One who could lose. Maybe even one who could die. And that frightened them.
Still, Shinki forced herself to smile as she pulled back from her power. Showing her doubt would only confirm everything her people were fearing.
She’d have to instill some faith, the old fashioned way
“Do not worry about your son’s rightful inheritance. So long as I draw breath, I will see to it that he is not denied what is his.”
The child’s mother gave a slight curtsy.
“We thank you for taking the time to play with our child, lady Shinki.”
Shinki could tell that she meant that. But she see the anger, the slight resentment in the woman’s eyes. But still, she gave a reassuring smile.
“I am glad to be of service. Please, we’ll be moving everyone to Makai City for the time being, please follow Ayana here.” She gestured to the blonde haired woman- almost a ringer for Yumeko save for her starry dress and white ribbon in place of Yumeko’s maid outfit- who gave them a smile and wave.
The young woman gave her one last, uncertain and unsteady grin, before turning on her heel and moving to Ayana with her family.
"Thank you for coming to speak with me, Lady Shinki." She said, pulling out a notepad and pen.
"Oh, it's no trouble at all.It's always a pleasure to talk to one of my citizens." Shinki grinned at the shorter woman.
"Well, it's my honour to talk to you my lady. I hear you encountered those four horrible girls that came into Makai."
Shinki gave a nod of agreement. Though, she could only really call 3 of them 'girls'. The Flower Youkai seemed like she was only a few centuries younger than Shinki herself.
"Can you believe them. I was just trying to go visit the surface, and they beat me up for no reason! The nerve of some people, I swear." Louise pouted, drawing a sympathetic pat on the shoulder from Shinki.
A few moments(and some venting) later however, the young lady looked up at Shinki in concern. "Hey, Lady Shinki, are you gonna be alright?"
Shinki gave her a reassuring and motherly smile. "All will be well. There is no need to fear for me."
Louise was unconvinced. "But... I hear those four really beat the crap out of you! What if they come back for more?"
Shinki had to concede that she had taken a lot of hits today. She had been beaten, bludgeoned and burned. If not for her healing, she would have been down three wings, an arm and a leg. But pointing that out would just spread panic.
"They won't be back." Shinki said instead. "They've gotten what they come for. Besides, if they come back, I'll be ready for them." She boasted, flexing a bicep a little
Louise gave a little giggle at that, but clearly wasn't entirely at peace. She took Shinki's hand into her own and locked eyes with her.
"Just be careful, okay? You mean a lot to a lot of people here."
Shinki nodded seriously in response.
"I won't be going anywhere any time soon. I promise you that."
Alice sat before the fireplace, looking at her doll contemplatively. Her mum was calmly reclining in a large chair, while Yumeko was diligently sweeping the floor. For the fourth time in as many hours.
Right now, they were in Makai City. It was the largest city in the realm by far, and therefore best suited to take them and all the refugees from Pandæmonium. Though hopefully, the repair work should be concluded within the week, if not the day.
“Hey, mum.” Alice asked, not taking her eyes off Shanghai.
“Yes, dear?” Her mother responded sleepily.
“What you said earlier, about caring for all of your creations… what if they just don’t like you? What if they end up hating you?”
“Well, that’s a risk you have to take. When you give a living being sentience, you never know what they’ll evolve to do. But it’s one of the greatest joys a creator can have: uncertainty. It makes things more meaningful. Because It shows your creations are people. And people can surprise you in all sorts of ways automations cannot. That means you will do wrong by them sometimes. And that they will do wrong by you sometimes. But that provides an opportunity for growth and reflection.”
Alice listened to her mother speak. To the words she spoke, yes, but also to the love with which they were spoken with. As always, it made her wonder. If she were to achieve her goal, to make her dolls sentient, would she have what her mother had? Could she care for Shanghai, Horai, and the rest of her dolls the same way her mum cared for her, Yumeko and everyone else in Makai?
She didn't know, but she wanted to find out. And she wanted her longest companion to find out alongside her.
But if she wanted to accomplish her goal, she would need to learn and advance in magic. And as much as she loved her mother, the goddess was too talented to be a good teacher. Creating life just came naturally to her.
She would need to head further afield, some day, but right now, she wanted to complete her current project; the Grimoire of Alice.
It would give her firepower, and Alice had just seen how much that was worth in this world.
She would need to visit Hokkai soon.
