I'd intended for this to be a one-shot, but it became quite a bit longer than expected, and I have quite a bit more planned. Might be no more than two or three chapters in total, but I prefer keeping size down when possible.
Anyway, this story is based on a scene from a Touhou RP I was in a while ago. A sub-plot I introduced to give people something to do at Yuuka's mansion was to establish that she - or rather, Mugetsu - had a grudge. The whole thing was basically a territorial claim. Decided to adapt the 'origin', though things will be very differently from how it might have been in the RP. No Kurumi in the RP version, for starters.
Anyways, enjoy.
Gensokyo. A wonderland filled with creatures rejected by the world. In this place, common sense is defied. In this land, youkai are free to play to their heart's content.
The border that separates this magical country from the outside world contains yet another dimension within. How? You would ask such a question in a place like Gensokyo?
It is known as the 'Dream World' a decidedly generic name for such a mysterious location. At least it lets you know exactly what it is. A land of dreams, the likes of which Gensokyo could only wish to compare in its endless possibilities.
The Dream World had exactly two residents who ruled over this domain. Providing dreams for everyone, they lived alone and, presumably, peacefully.
"Gengetsu! You traumatised three people with your messed up nightmares again! Wipe the damn smirk of your face for once in your damn life and do your frickin' job properly! What'll happen if people find a way to never sleep again because of your fantasies!"
Presumably.
The 'peace' of this realm was about to shatter into shards of terror, however. For a youkai was looking for a suitable residence to settle in…
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
"Nice place." Yuuka nodded with a content look as she stared at the rather space-like environment. "Could use a few new features, but hey, it's a fixer-upper, right?"
"If you say it is, it has to be true, master." Replied Elly, raising the brim of her hat to peer at the emptiness they faced. From Yuuka's other side, a third girl snorted.
"As someone who doesn't sound like a suck-up, I hafta say that this place sucks hard." Kurumi said dismissively, earning a glare with enough hate to kill lesser beings from Elly.
The green-haired flower youkai tutted disapprovingly, tapping the tip of her umbrella on the blue-tiled ground below them. "Now, now, girls. No fighting, I asked you to become friends, didn't I?"
Elly immediately bowed her head. "Sorry master, I will refrain from dignifying her insubordinate words with a response."
"And I'll laugh as you desperately convince Lady Kazami here that you're a proper little girl," Kurumi snickered, earning yet another glare from the angry servant.
"Kurumi…" Yuuka warned with a sigh. "I took you with me because I thought you needed a helping hand. Don't make me show you my disciplinary hand."
The blonde vampire looked slightly nervous, and fluttered her large, purple wings slightly as she replied, "Sorry Lady Kazami, lost my mind for a second…"
As Kurumi nervously tried to laugh off her words, Elly huffed, blonde curls bouncing upon her shoulders as she faced forward. She trusted her master's judgement and everything, but that vampire had been nothing but a nuisance ever since they'd saved her from that vampire-hating village before they came to Gensokyo…
"Now please kiss and make up, I wanna see if there's any plots of land for sale." Yuuka said, walking off. Kurumi frowned and rolled her amber eyes. Yuuka was cool and all, but like hell she'd ever get along with her little ass-kisser of a servant… and why was she suddenly standing right next to her?
Kurumi glanced at the frowning Elly. "What?"
"Master's orders," Elly stated, scythe resting against her shoulder. The vampire blinked, pulled a disgusted face, and stepped away.
"That's just disgusting! She didn't mean it literally!"
Elly's own yellow eyes darkened. "I know. I was going to apologise for daring to call you insubordinate. And wait for your own apology, while I'm at it."
"Horny little freak," Kurumi folded her arms. "Everyone knows that you just want my awesome bod."
"I thought you said last night that it was my master's body that I seek?" Elly enquired coldly.
"Ha! Admittance!"
Why did I take them both in…? Yuuka wondered with some exasperation, leaving the two to squabble. Shoulda stuck to being a bogeyman, at least then I wouldn't be adopting lost souls for alien reasons…
Still, despite the non-stop bickering, Yuuka had somehow grown attached to them both. Odd, as Yuuka wasn't the type to form bonds with anyone, but hey, it wasn't really all that bad!
Yuuka hadn't wandered too far when she finally found someone. Or maybe she was the one that had been found. Either way, a scattering of magic bullets struck the ground before her feet, accompanied by a voice from above.
"Who dares intrude upon my sacred land?" A bellowing, commanding voice echoed throughout the realm. From a short distance away, Yuuka's servants had frozen mid-verbal battle, nervously looking around for the source.
Untroubled, Yuuka looked to the sky, seeing a figure floating some distance away in the sky. Smiling, Yuuka waved at the person wearing a blue maid uniform with a pink apron. "Hi there! Name's Yuuka Kazami - prob'ly heard of me - and I was scouting for a nice place to stay!"
The figure was silent for a moment as she regarded the intruders.
"…Can't say I have, you must be a nobody." The figure finally replied, her voice heard by all despite the distance and normal tone of her voice. The comment immediately cemented her status as 'most moronic sentient being that has ever lived' in Elly mind, and she was not shy in sharing this sentiment with said being.
"Watch your mouth!" The blonde maid ordered the blonde servant. "You are in my land, you are in my power, and I have no problems destroying your feeble minds if you piss me off!"
Finally descending to ground level, the maid returned her attention to the ever-smiling Yuuka. "And you… what the hell do you mean, 'looking for a place to live'? You have any idea where you are?"
"Somewhere that's not quite Gensokyo or the world it has separated from," Yuuka replied brightly, playing with a strand of her long hair. "It's a nice place, I wanna live here."
The maid tilted her head with a raised eyebrow, then started laughing.
"Ahahaha… no, no you cannot stay here. Go away." She demanded with folded arms. Yuuka pouted, hanging her umbrella on the crook of her arm to clasp her hands together as she pleaded with the maid.
"But-but I wanna stay! Please, I wanna staaaaay!" She whined.
Kurumi watched with a bemused expression. "…You look up to that? I had no idea Lady Kazami was like that."
Elly shot her a venomous look. "Master is simply playing with that moron, you moron!"
"Stop being redundant, it's redundant." Kurumi replied in a deadpan tone.
"That's not redundancy, I just used the same insult for two different people!"
Once more, the two servants devolved into squabbling, ignored by their master and the rude maid.
"This realm is mine, and mine alone!" Said maid pointed out firmly. "Only my sister gets admittance! Now you can just screw off before I- wait, how did you even get in here?" She finally realised that her realm was supposed to be closed off to others. How had this mere youkai gained entry?
Yuuka only smiled mischievously in reply, which clearly irked the maid.
"Tell me and leave, or I extract the information from you before you die in the most horrific way imaginable!" The blue-uniformed girl warned, her eyes flashing with malice. Said malice was quickly followed by confusion when the girl with the scythe suddenly fell to the ground, rolling along the ground and laughing uncontrollably.
Kurumi was also surprised by this, and seeing the maid looking in their direction, quickly distanced herself from her crazy associate and shrugged. The maid glared at Yuuka. "The hell's wrong with her?"
"I imagine she found your earlier words to be quite hilarious," Yuuka guessed, grinning. "Because your words imply you have the power to harm me, and my servant assumed you were joking."
"…And why would she assume that?" The maid asked coldly.
Yuuka's grin widened. "Because you are so far below me it is ludicrous to even entertain the notion."
"Ah…" The maid seemed to understand this explanation perfectly. "I see, I see… I'm nowhere near your level of power, am I? Not even worth comparing? Why would I oppose you if my demise is certain?"
"Pretty much, yeah." Yuuka nodded.
Then the girl in the maid uniform kicked her away.
Sailing over Elly and Kurumi, the duo had frozen in shock when the flower youkai had disappeared into the distance, leaving only a very pissed off maid.
"Stupid bitch!" She yelled after the distant Yuuka. "You don't even know who I am, do you? I, the magnificent mistress of the dream world, Mugetsu, would never be weaker than a mere youkai and her pets!"
Elly looked at the maid, then in the direction her master had flown, and back again. She couldn't comprehend it… how had she managed to knock her master back so far? Yuuka couldn't be harmed! She was invincible!
Yet this… servant-like girl had the nerve to harm her master? Oh hell no, Elly would not let that slide.
"You're gonna pay for that, fool!"Elly snarled, instantly on her feet and flinging her scythe at the bemused maid. No doubt she was too busy wondering how the hell one thought throwing such an impractical tool was supposed to be effective in the slightest, but hey, Dream World.
Kurumi, meanwhile, maintained her distance and contented herself with a sigh. Elly sure was stupid, she thought. Kazami just got launched across the realm, and Elly thought she could take this person? Granted, the vampire couldn't detect any real power from her, but… well, she'd kinda proven her strength. Blue Maid was way outta that idiot's depth.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Yuuka landed, feet-first, quite some distance away. Well, that had been surprising. The flower youkai hadn't expected so much force behind that kick! She wondered if wutsherface actually broke a rib. It still throbbed slightly… ah well.
She took a step forward, intent on returning to Meidosu or whatever she shouted and shoving her umbrella so far up that silly demon's-
"Oh my, for some reason I really like you!" A new voice commented with a gleeful, if reserved, tone. Yuuka glanced to the left, where another blonde watched her with an open-mouthed smile and strangely vacant gaze. Despite the angelic-looking wings that spread behind this other girl, Yuuka knew she was as demonic as her (presumably) sister.
Yuuka smiled at her. "Well, I am a lovely person, miss…?"
"Name's Gengetsu!" The demon replied cheerfully. "Me and Mumu live here, ruling over dreams!"
"Indeed," Yuuka answered with a nod. "Well, lovely chatting with you, but I think I want to mutilate your sister's foot for being so rude, now if you'll excuse me…"
Gengetsu shook her head, expression never changing as she raised a finger and began to waggle it back and forth. "Nuh-uh-uh! Mumu doesn't wanna see you, so I'll need to eject you from the premises!"
"Oh, but surely you'll let me collect my servants before I go?" Yuuka pleaded mockingly, turning to properly face the demon. "I swear, I'll just run over there real quick and-"
"Mumu wants me to punish you~!" Gengetsu interrupted brightly, her open-mouthed smile never leaving her face. "And Mumu's gonna break your servants for picking a fight! Sorry, but you really should know better when you break into someone's home!"
The flower youkai chuckled, gripping her umbrella tightly. "Is that so? Well, looks like I have an excuse to truly destroy 'Mumu' if she tries anything on those two. And as for you…"
The umbrella was raised, pointed at the smiling Gengetsu. "If you're going to impede me, you'll be vaporised into a mist of atoms!"
It was Gengetsu turn to chuckle. Unlike Yuuka however, the demon sounded more girlish and excited, her saucer-like eyes sparkling with amusement and… something else that Yuuka found all too familiar.
"Mist of atoms, huh~? Sounds interesting! Hm… how to counter… oh! I'll obliterate you from existence!" Gengetsu threatened playfully, throwing some punches to the air around her. "Ha! Ha! Gengetsu Fist! Like that!"
Yuuka simply rolled her eyes and fired a ball of explosive magic.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Dodging the scythe was a simple enough task for Mugetsu. Sure, while it was surprising that it was thrown so well, it was still a terrible throwing weapon to use against anyone, least of which someone of her calibre!
Mugetsu had leaped upward, easily avoiding the spinning blade. She duly noted the cluster of magic bullets flying her way, as well as the servant in red dashing from underneath and firing several more of them from below.
Scoffing haughtily, Mugetsu merely swung her arm, a blast of pure power radiating outward and eliminating all projectiles heading her way. Weak.
Elly growled, noting that this adversary was going to be a tough one. Catching the returning scythe with the ease of someone who's mastered the fine art of boomerang-like scythes, Elly flipped and leaped upwards as well upon landing, elevating her height to equal Mugetsu.
"…You're gonna get punished real bad for turning your blade on me." Mugetsu pointed out, feeling the need to add a yawn in her statement. Elly's scowl intensified.
"You hurt my master! No one gets to live after that!" she yelled back, and Mugetsu smiled coldly.
"D'aw, how cute, the little girl idolises her precious mummy! Well, you two can take your punishments together! Won't that be fun!"
With a cry of rage, Elly swung her scythe, a shockwave sailing towards the unperturbed demon. She easily ducked under it, then began to weave and dodge Elly's subsequent attempts. Growing more and more frustrated, Elly charged at the demonic maid, scythe raised to slice.
Mugetsu grinned.
Elly swung her scythe in a downward arc once she was within distance, throwing her entire body into the strike. Mugetsu grabbed the blade as if it weighed nothing, paying no heed to the startlingly small cut it left on her palm.
Elly had nearly lost her grip on the shaft and was left dangling as she stared at Mugetsu in shock. The blonde demon merely grinned back coldly.
"Pretty stupid, aren't you? What made you think you could take me, hm?"
Elly regained her scowl and piercing glare, spitting at Mugetsu, "I'll kill anyone that harms my master! There's no alternative!"
"Cute." Mugetsu commented. "Well, nightmares are more Gengetsu's thing, but I think I can do a good job drilling it into your head that invading my home and threatening to kill me-"
The demon raised the scythe higher, with Elly still clutching on to it, and delivered a punch that would have broken the spine of a human to her unprotected stomach. Elly's eyes bulged and she spluttered, but refused to let go of her weapon.
"Is a very big no-no and I don't like it." Mugetsu finished, casually throwing the injured servant to the ground, right where Kurumi happened to be observing with a wince. Even from a distance, the vampire had felt that punch…
With a grunt, Kurumi caught Elly, glad that the sharp weapon she was clutching in her grip didn't end up embedded in her skull in the meantime. Not that something as minor as an organ-killing punch was enough to protect Elly from a little scolding, however.
"Happy now, idiot? You're gonna get tortured to death or something when you could've only got a slap on the wrist!" Kurumi hissed.
Elly barely managed to deliver a cold glare before groaning in pain and curling slightly in the vampires arms. Not that Elly wished to remain so, and began trying to squirm from her grip. Kurumi hastily set her down, letting Elly stumble away and gasp away.
With a sigh, Kurumi folded her arms. "I hope you learned not to pick fights with a colossus. You don't compare, small fry."
"Shut up!" Elly growled, gripping her weapon tighter and glaring at Kurumi with disgust. "You wouldn't understand, you're just master's temporary pet! You know nothing of loyalty!"
"…Uh-huh." Kurumi replied calmly. "Sounds like a prelude to a shit storm of issues, so I'll skip that part and let you get murdered by a demon, okay?"
Elly merely grunted and turned her gaze upwards, towards the waiting maid, who gave them a sickly sweet smile that barely hid her desire for blood.
"Did you get your pep talk?" Mugetsu drawled, her voice laden with amusement. "Not sure how good meaningless words are, but hey, maybe you might have the motivation you need to tear my apron!"
"I'll tear more than that," Elly promised, brandishing her weapon in a swift, precise gesture. "I'll prove to you why I am the servant of Yuuka Kazami!"
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Huh. The demon wasn't too bad.
After effortlessly dodging Yuuka's initial blast, Gengetsu had rushed straight at the flower youkai, expression as clueless and cheerful as ever. She struck out at Yuuka several times, who parried with her umbrella each time, finally swinging at Gengetsu with her own fist, only to meet air as Gengetsu retreated.
There weren't many creatures who would willingly enter melee range with someone like Yuuka - not that this demon seemed aware of who Yuuka was, or her reputation - and there certainly wasn't much more that could survive such a bout. The green-haired youkai was grinning as she regarded her opponent.
"You're either brave or brainless. I hope you won't feel offended if I assume the latter?"
Gengetsu chuckled merrily. "Nah! Mumu says it all the time anyway~!"
"I wonder why." Yuuka commented, suddenly swinging her umbrella upward in a vertical arc. A wave of magic energy flew for Gengetsu, shredding the tiles below as it went.
Gengetsu only tilted her head curiously, watching the attack shoot towards her with no worry on her smiling face. Yuuka frowned. People who reacted that way to an attack were the kind that…
Gengetsu raised her hand, taking the full force of Yuuka's magic without even flinching and causing it to dissipate. All that remained was the trail of destruction on the ground, as well as a small mark on the demon's palm.
Shaking her hand, Gengetsu smiled ever more, saying, "Owie! You're strong for a youkai! Do you, like, eat a lot of spinach or something?"
Yuuka's smile returned. She was going to enjoy this little match.
"It's been seventy eight years since I met someone who could match me," Yuuka commented, shouldering her umbrella. "Sounds to me like you're the one eating their spinach. What was your name again?"
The winged demon's smile widened even more. "Gengetsu! Gengetsu of the Nightmares~"
"Yuuka Kazami," the flower youkai replied, "The titles handed to me range from 'child of the flower demon' to 'ultimate sadistic creature'. Use whatever name feels appropriate."
"Yuyu it is!" Gengetsu cheered. "Call me Gengen!"
"No."
The words had barely left Yuuka's mouth when Gengetsu charged once more. Yuuka reacted swiftly, but she only barely deflected the demon's strike. The blonde merely allowed the momentum of being deflected to force her body into a spin, spreading her wings as she did. Yuuka raised an arm to block, only to find herself knocked back by the force of her strike.
Those wings of hers are like steel. Yuuka mentally commented, finding her footing again just fast enough to lunge her umbrella at the approaching demon. While Gengetsu side-stepped, Yuuka amended, No, steel is nothing for me. She's just strong as hell. Awesome!
With both combatants recovered, they resumed their bout. Yuuka swiped at Gengetsu, swiftly pirouetted away from the strike and leaped towards her, hands curled into claws as she aimed for Yuuka's face. The flower youkai noted the smile that never went away. It must really be painted on or something.
It wasn't long before the two had locked themselves to each other in a powerful grip. Gengetsu had trapped Yuuka's umbrella under one arm, with her free hand tightly gripped by Yuuka, who was managing to keep the demon's nails away from her neck.
"Almost~" Gengetsu whispered, gleefully watching her own struggles to slice open the flower youkai's neck. "One more little push…!"
Yuuka's hand began to glow a nauseating yellow, and Gengetsu tilted her head. "Oh?"
A moment later: Boom.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Elly cried out as she collided with the floor, her screams increasing in volume as a follow-up of several magic blasts struck her prone figure. Mugetsu only giggled as she continued attacking the far weaker youkai, revelling in her superiority. Stupid little child, thinking she could stand up to someone on Mugetsu's status? Such stupidity required one hell of a beating to hammer in the lesson; don't pick fights with Mugetsu.
The demon ceased her assault, watching as the girl in the tattered red sun dress gasped and hiccuped, on the verge of tears. Well, it was impressive she hadn't cried and begged for mercy already, but she had already reached her limit.
"Well? Ready to throw yourself at my feet and beg my forgiveness?" Mugetsu asked smugly, lowering herself to the ground and standing over the beaten girl. Said girl could only glare at the maid with pain and hate.
"Oh, right, I smashed you so hard you forgot how to speak," she gloated, eyes twinkling devilishly. "Okay, just procrastinate yourself before me then. That'll do."
"No, I think it's finished now." Kurumi spoke up, and Mugetsu glanced at the vampire over her shoulder. She raised an eyebrow as Kurumi glared at her, a hint of fear in her eyes as she stared down the demon.
"…Did you just give me an order?" Mugetsu asked coldly.
"You've won! You don't need to do anything else!" Kurumi argued, clenching her fists anxiously. No doubt she was already mentally kicking herself for interfering, but no matter how annoying and bratty and haughty Elly could be… the vampire found herself unable to watch this massacre.
Mugetsu turned, facing Kurumi with a cold expression. "…I don't need to, no." She agreed, speaking slowly. "But what I need to do and what I want to do aren't mutually exclusive."
Kurumi gulped. "J-just stop it! She surrenders!"
"S…shut up." Elly gasped, painfully rolling onto her stomach and attempting to climb onto her knees. The servant's limbs shook horribly, clothes and hairs frayed, hat long gone. "I… won't-"
The rest of Elly's defiant statement was cut shot by a nonchalant strike by the demon's heel colliding with her face, no doubt breaking something. With a cry of pain, Elly collapsed once more. Kurumi flinched, wanting nothing more than to simply escape this person and let Elly play the heroine for no reason.
Instead, Kurumi merely inhaled, breathed out, and glared at Mugetsu with a new-found resolve. "You know what? I think I hate you more than that dumb ass behind you. You just pissed off the wrong vampire!"
"Yep." Mugetsu replied dismissively. "So… what makes you think you can do a thing? My realm, my rules, and I am so much more powerful than you. What do you two even have to prove?"
Kurumi merely shrugged. "Well, I've lost my mind, and Elly there's trying too hard. Still, you suck and I don't like that."
Mugetsu merely stared at the vampire, no hint of emotion in her expression. After a moment of that, the maid raised her hand-made a flicking motion. The projectile was so fast that Kurumi barely noticed it. It struck her shoulder, and she bit back a cry of pain, instead focusing on glaring at Mugetsu while she tried to work out exactly what to do here. Sure, she could talk big, but Kurumi was still struggling with the part where she could take on a far superior opponent without dying. It was hard.
Once again, Mugetsu made a flicking motion, but Kurumi was already on the move. Barely avoiding the bullet via ducking and shooting forward, the vampire fired bullets on either side of the demon, which then exploded in said maid's direction in wide arcs.
With a roll of her eyes, Mugetsu simply folded her arms, letting a powerful aura exude from her body and simply repel Kurumi's magic. Feeling this powerful, oppressive atmosphere, Kurumi grimaced, but pushed on.
Now practically face to face, Kurumi spiralled to the left, letting a flurry of bullets fly wildly from her hands in an attempt to keep Mugetsu from attacking. While the maid simply blocked with her own strength, the vampire flew past Mugetsu and landed next to the injured Elly, gripping her shoulder to prevent the injured servant from rolling around or anything.
"Grin and bear it." Kurumi commanded, pressing her fore and middle finger onto Elly's face, aggravating her already-broken nose. Swiftly, the winged vampire pointed at Mugetsu with her bloodied fingers, a red wall erupting between her and Mugetsu. Just in time as well, since the demonic maid had attempted to blast the two away and have Gengetsu clean up the remains later.
The wall instantly dissolved and faded away to nothing, leaving a mildly surprised Mugetsu. "…What did you…?"
Another burst of magic aimed at Mugetsu's face, then Kurumi carried Elly in her arms and flew off as fast as she could, putting as much distance between them as possible.
Mugetsu, having hurriedly ducked away from the bullets, growled as she watched the intruders flee. That… had annoyed her. Mugetsu didn't like being annoyed.
…Too bad for them, they were in Mugetsu's land.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
"…Let go." Elly stated flatly as the vampire carried her off. Under normal circumstances, both would be appalled at the idea of being carried like some sort of bride, but right now survival was very, very high on the list of priorities.
…As was arguing, apparently.
"No." Was Kurumi's reply, accelerating as fast as she possibly could. Although unneeded, she beat her wings furiously in an attempt to build more speed.
Elly's grip on her scythe, held by an arm dangling towards the ground, tightened. "I have to beat her."
"Uh-huh."
Anger plainly visible on her bloodied face, Elly spoke coldly. "Put me down!"
"When we're not in imminent danger of being erased, I'll think about it!" Kurumi snapped, patience growing thin. God damn it, why did she think saving this brat was a good idea? She was already in danger of divine retribution for saving this idiot, and she couldn't even be grateful for it!
And why was there no places to hide?
The entire realm was pretty much blank, except for a blue-tiled floor .And plenty more space underneath even that. For someone who lived here, the place was pretty damn bare.
"…Why are you even helping me?" Elly asked bitterly, having given up on persuading the vampire to drop her.
"Good question. Why are you desperate to fight on?" Kurumi countered.
"For my master's sake, of course." Elly replied, and Kurumi could only snort in contempt.
"Do you have any idea how pathetic you sound?" Kurumi asked. "You talk like a damn puppet or something! Why fight for someone who hasn't even bothered to come to your rescue yet?"
Elly was silent for a moment, her expression cold, barely containing anger. "I live only for my master! Whether or not Master cares for my well-being is irrelevant, I'm no more than a tool!"
Kurumi came to a stop, staring at Elly incredulously. "Do you have any self-worth? Or common sense at all?"
"What would you know about loyalty?" Elly spat back. "I bet you'll just abandon my Master as soon a-"
Even from the considerable distance, an explosion was heard. Kurumi wheeled around, seeing a vague yellow glow.
"That's… Master's doing." Elly pointed out. But that demon wasn't that far away, was she? "Master's fighting?"
Kurumi frowned, realising that Mugetsu didn't seem to be pursuing. Did that mean she's went after Yuuka? That was a stroke of luck, then. But still… could Yuuka handle someone like that? The flower youkai was deceptively powerful, but so was that Mugetsu person…
Then a maze erupted around them.
The girls were startled when pure, white walls had erupted from the ground around them, forming what looked like a corridor that split off into two directions. Take make matters worse, the walls seemed to climb for miles upon miles upon miles. And a ceiling formed, as if to say 'Yeah, I like overdoing it, rats! Dohoho!'
"…Not liking the looks of this." Kurumi muttered, tapping one of the walls gingerly. Then clenched her fist and hammered at it. Seemed tough enough…
"Let me try," Elly requested, shifting her body until Kurumi reluctantly let her go. Gripping her scythe tightly, Elly struck at it with all her might. Not a scratch.
With a grunt, the dishevelled servant tried again, this time empowering her blade with magic, causing it to glow a bright white. Kurumi hissed, covering her eyes and huddling away as the wall was struck once more.
Elly clenched her teeth with frustration. Even with the heat of the sun, this wall was impenetrable…
"Guess we're stuck in here…" Elly sighed, turning to look at Kurumi. "What's up with y-ah."
Kurumi glared at Elly reproachfully. "Why do have a spell like that?"
"Master taught me it." Elly shrugged. Before she could reply, Kurumi was cut off by a giggling voice.
"Wanna know the awesome thing about dreaming? Logic can make as much or as little sense as required!" Mugetsu's voice echoed throughout the closed off area, causing the two to search the corridor wildly for any sign of her. "Oh, don't worry, I may or may not be nearby~ I just felt like playing with my troublesome guests! Who knows, it might make you so tired you'll never move again!"
Neither servant or vampire liked the sound of that. While they both no doubt hated the very idea, they drifted closer together, alert for any sudden ambushes.
"So I made a maze." Mugetsu stated, probably shrugging while she did so. "And a game; reach the centre and you escape!"
"…Um, why do I get the feeling that this isn't as simple as you make it out to be…?" Kurumi asked as calmly as she could manage.
"Because I never finished explaining the rules~!" Mugetsu laughed chillingly, causing Kurumi to grimace.
Done with her chuckling, Mugetsu continued, "Well then! While you attempt to navigate this maze, you'll come across a few obstacles. Nothing major, really - just a couple'a ghosties, nues, or even a simple challenge!
"And if we decline?" Elly asked, readying her scythe for battle.
"I don't care what you do," Mugetsu replied. "You're in my world. You do whatever the hell I tell you to. Don't like it? Won't stop you from killing yourself."
While Elly and Kurumi glanced uneasily at each other, Mugetsu proclaimed, "Well then! I think you have the gist of things, so let's get started! Run, my pretties! Run!"
The insane laughter slowly faded over time, but the two girls remained motionless, trying to figure out the best course of action. Obviously, the suggested method of leaving was out of the question, but going through with this game? Either way sounded equally lethal, to be honest.
Finally, Kurumi groaned, turning to Elly with a pained expression. "I hate to say it, but… we might just have to work together."
"Joy." Elly sighed, obviously not a fan of this idea either.
"Let's just get it over with, okay?" Kurumi suggested. "The longer we stay here, the more crazy I'll become."
Elly nodded slightly. After gingerly touching her healing nose, Elly glanced at the crossroads up ahead. "…Left?"
"Right looks the safest to me, actually…" the vampire replied thoughtfully.
"The directions look exactly the same, genius." Elly replied deadpan.
Irked at this, Kurumi gave her a sidelong glance. "Then tell why left is more appealing to you?"
"Instinct!"
"Right it is, then!" Kurumi stated.
It was going to take a while for the two to actually solve the maze…