02 - Unnatural Nature BlackAmethyst !2gDpgouF02 2009/01/10 (Sat) 22:00 No. 73637 ▼ File 123165360898.jpg - (44.27KB, 480x600 , 02 - Unnatural Nature.jpg)
[X]I should explain everything that has happened to her, she has the right to know.
----[X] Ask her if she wants to come along.
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I cannot truly tell if I should be relieved that her lack of initiative was due to her ignoring the facts or anxious about this very fact. More importantly, the Doll-maker’s disappearance is also problematic. She always had a lone personality, but it wasn’t because she was seeking solitude. Besides, even if she isn’t one of the liveliest persons I had the chance to meet, she certainly seemed like a reasonable person to me and would not do such a thing as suddenly leaving without giving word to her closest friend.
Well, regardless of Alice’s whereabouts, it is something that will eventually be dealt with later one, right now I should focus on what I can do immediately: informing Marisa of the current situation. Whether she was to involve herself or not, she still has the right to know.
-“Don’t leave me hangin’ darnit.” Marisa doesn’t even give me the time to reply and urge me to go on.
-“I was about to tell you about it, Marisa, please refrain from interrupting me if it isn’t relevant.” I request calmly.
-“Fine” Marisa complies rather easily, normally she would argue about my request but she seem pretty eager to hear what happened. Regardless, I truly dislike being interrupted for nothing.
-“As of two weeks ago, residents of the Human village venturing away begun to be attacked and killed more often than usual, onward, the number of victims has been increasing dramatically over the said two weeks.” My voice is calm as I state everything with professionalism. I spoke slightly faster than I wanted and should slow down to make it easier to grasp for Marisa.
-“R’ya sure it ‘sn’t just an increase in Youkai attacks’, Hermit? ” Marisa interrupts me nearly instantly. “Happens ‘vry once in a’while, though it ‘sn’t usually as dramatic as ya’re makin’ it sound.” She supports her words with a circular hand gesture.
-“No, Youkais have been listed amongst the victims as well; Humans and Youkais alike are being killed increasingly.”
-“No…” instead of replying noisily, Marisa remains silent and lean backward, pondering. For some reason she seems much more reliable than her usual self. But unfortunately it doesn’t last long as she leans forward once again. “Mystic B--”
“Nay” I cut her instantly. She I slightly frustrated but remain silent. Could it be that she actually realized she should actually listen to what I say seriously for a change? Nah… “This affair was first brought to me by Miss Kamishirasawa from the the village. It was her hypothesis that it was not a mystic beast because the wounds were clean, as if human-like weapons were used.”
-“Twelve arms.” Marisa declares something I don’t immediately understand. “Granted, that one ain’t a beast but it’s still a Mystic.” I blink at her words and frown trying to recall the creature she is talking about. When did this girl ever gain knowledge in this field? “A golden statue, t’was a Buddhist or Hindu deity or somethin’ the likes.”
Finally, I understand what she is talking about and a picture pops in my head. The humanoid statue of pure gold stands clear now. One of its hands hold a mirror, another one holds something similar to the Christian Holy Grail and the ten others wield ten different and fearsome weapons of legends. All of those, made of pure gold.
-“No motive, it would not just randomly slaughter any living being in the area. Besides it shouldn’t have possibly been brought here, there is no summoner in Gensokyo for this creature.” A tempting culprit, but easy answers are rarely the best ones. “Even taking her into consideration. Now please let me finish.”
Marisa stays silent. She traded her busy expression of earlier for a worried one. It is only natural, in a world where Danmaku is the common way of solving problems, such slaughter is rare, human weapons are rarely used by beings of higher power. Before I can place a word, she breaks the silence again.
-“I guess I ain’t gonna be able to do th’usual. Ya’know, just goin’ around an’ kickin’ everybody’s ass ‘til ‘vrythin’s back to normal like Reimu does.” Her voice is light and even if her carefree attitude is still present, it appears she understands the situation and that it is no ordinary incident.
-“One more thing Marisa” I apostrophize her, diving my eyes into hers “The most important thing. Nobody has taken actions against it before today, nobody. This is why I came here and also went to the Hakurei Shrine. The said shrine was found locked down and the maiden was nowhere to be found.”
-“Welp, Maybe Reimu’s already at it.” Marisa suggest without much worries, as if the comment was completely irrelevant.
Suddenly, the fire goes out and only the moon lights the room. Neither of Marisa or myself move.
-“’T’looks like we’ve got some unwanted guests…”
I can feel them as well, several presences are moving around the household, about twenty of them. I focus and attempt to read their magic. Unfortunately, I am unable to identify them, this is odd. There is no creature in Gensokyo whose magic signature I don’t know… Could it be that I was wrong?
Marisa motions for me to stand up as she does the same. She walks calmly toward the front door but her eyes betray her surprise. I follow her silently, perfectly aware of the reason of her uneasiness. Youkais don’t attack her house, ever.
As we reach the front doors, cheerful voices reach us from outside. Marisa opens the door calmly and step outside. I follow her with the same silence. At first glance, what awaited us outside is merely a bunch of fairies dancing around and singing, but something is wrong, in fact, many things are wrong. First, fairies are sneaky prankers, yet those behave like a bunch of Onis. But this is nowhere as important as the fact that their presence is... different from regular fairies. If I was asked to label their magic signature, I could not say that the creatures before me are fairies…
As they spot us, they change their song and dance patterns, as if performing for us…
“Seventeen little fairies
Dancing in a field of berries
Those are no fruit, stupid!
Don’t steal our prize, cupid!
Aaah~! Life tastes so good at night.
Seventeen little fairies dance as a couple pray
Innocent little fairies just wanting to play
It is a game of life and Death
It is a game that lost He of Nazareth
Aaah~! Life tastes so good at night.
Those are no fruit, stupid!
Don’t you see it’s her heart we shaped into lovely little balls?
Don’t steal our prize, Cupid!
Those are ours to play with; don’t you have any shame at all?
Seventeen little fairies sing in unison,
Won’t your insides be a nice addition?
Why don’t you start your own collection?
No, sisters, they don’t even pay attention!
Aaaaaaah~! So warm, so red!
Life tastes so good at midnight.
As their morbid song ends, one of the fairies flies between me and Marisa, bearing a cheerful grin revealing bloodstained teeth and fingers. Her dress and her face, however, are immaculate.
The others disperse and vanish into the night, quickly followed by the last one. A wicked laughter can be heard all around the household.
-“Two stupid monkeys
And seventeen little fairies
How long ‘till they give up?
Hurry, hurry humans it’s kill or be killed.”
As the night become silent again, Marisa turns to me. Her expression is one of annoyance but I don’t think she is oblivious to the fairies’ odd behavior. She looks at me directly and break the silence.
-“Think’ya should go back inside now. Things’ll prob’ly get ugly real soon. ”
