The Forest of Magic was rather peaceful today. Its youkai inhabitants deciding not to cause trouble for passing humans or fairies (especially after that fiasco with the Scarlet Mist, in which two humans blew through the area to deal with it. No way was anyone risking an attack right now) and the skies were clear, blue and only slightly cloudy.
Humming merrily to herself, a brown haired girl traversed the forest aimlessly, lost in her own joyous thoughts. Anyone who recognised this girl would be hard pressed to believe she was borderline depressed only a few months ago. Ever since she had met with that shrine maiden who had overpowered her in battle, she seemed to find a new spark in her life.
Shujiko Ishi was approaching the Misty Lake, thinking of the story Reimu Hakurei had told her about how she and Marisa kicked some ass in that weird mansion across the lake. Apparently, a vampire girl lived there, and she caused the whole 'mist' incident just to walk around during the day. Seeing as the sun was completely blotted and threw everything in darkness, Shujiko wondered why the vampire didn't just sleep when the sun was out like a normal vampire?
Well, regardless, the whole thing was over and done with. Shujiko would have liked to tag along at least, but it seemed she simply wasn't important enough. Oh well, maybe she could at least find her own meaningless adventures?
Standing by the edge of the lake, Shujiko was barely aware of odd sounds coming from beyond the bushes to her right. Finally noting the disgusting slurping sounds, as well as highly audible chewing, Shujiko grimaced, wondering just who was eating so damn loudly.
Such terrible manners... being in a forest doesn't excuse that. Shujiko thought irritably, and approached the source of the noise, intent on educating the noisy eater on proper dinner etiquette.
That idea quickly left her mind when her eyes befell the sight before her. On the ground was a human male, his skin pale, eyes dull and blank. A figure was hunched over his stomach, where plenty of blood was quite visible, and if the gore was any indication, this human was the meal.
"What the hell...?" Shujiko gasped in revulsion. While youkai eating humans wasn't exactly unheard of, none of them devoured their meal in such a... barbarian manner! This was just plain sick.
The creature feasting on the human noticed Shujiko's presence, glancing over its shoulder at her. Like most youkai, she had mostly human features. Dark skin, pure, white hair reaching her hips, and wearing what looked like raggy pieces of cloth whose only purpose was to provide modesty, not comfort or pleasing appearance.
Her eyes, however, were a dark shade of yellow, bordering on gold, and her blood-stained teeth were ridiculously sharp, to the point where shredding her own gums must surely be a daily problem. With a lustful grin, the youkai rounded on Shujiko.
"Feed me? You, be my food?" She growled, and Shujiko immediately stepped back, ready to defend herself from this creature.
"Yeah, how about no?" Shujiko replied.
With a bark-like sound, the creature lunged.
Twenty Minutes Later
"I am STILL pissed off at that damn brat!" Reimu growled savagely as she swept her patio free of leaves. Genji simply made a 'Mm-hm' sound as he lay just inside the shrine. He had been listening to Reimu's whining about the most recent incident for about two days now.
"As if it were bad enough that she nearly commits genocide on all life..." Reimu said, practically swinging her broom with each sweep. "But to invite me back, throw me down into a basement, and make me deal with a girl that made Rena sane by comparison? What? Did she completely forget Marisa trashed her too?"
"As I recall, you were the one who actually fought this 'Scarlet Devil'," Genji muttered. "Marisa didn't progress past the library, for somewhat obvious reasons."
With more ill-tempered mutterings, Reimu finished sweeping and threw the broom to a wall, where it bounced quite some distance away from its designated resting place.
"God, I have had enough with giant mansions, technical families, and crazy basement-dwellers," Reimu growled. "The next time there's an incident with any of the above listed, I'm letting someone else deal with it."
As Reimu walked inside the shrine to make herself some lunch, Genji noticed a figure flying towards them. No doubt it was Shujiko, who had become a semi-regular visitor to the shrine (and yet, never had any donation money, much to Reimu's irritation). Although, something seemed off about her today...
As she finally neared the Shrine, Genji realised that she was hurt quite seriously. Her left arm was nearly torn free of her body, and her front was coated with blood.
"Lady Reimu! We'd better prepare first aid!" Genji called.
"Eh?" Reimu didn't pay too much attention as she poked her head out from the kitchen. "What is it now?"
"Shujiko is grievously wounded!"
"What are you talking about..." Reimu asked, then she noticed Shujiko for herself, and shock flitted across her face before she disappeared inside the kitchen once again, looking for the first-aid spellcards.
Shujiko touched down at the shrine's patio, stumbling a bit as she did so. Her expression was severely pained, her face pale. It was apparent that Shujiko was standing through a phenomenal exertion of her considerable will power.
"Mister Genji..." Shujiko gasped, a small smile forming on her face. "Sorry for the intrusion... I was looking for a place to rest for..."
Shujiko fell to her knees, panting heavily, her eyes unfocused. Reimu dashed to the youkai's side, a spell card in hand.
"What in the name of hell happened?" Reimu gasped in horror. She doubted the spell card would do anything to help. "Uh, kaifuku shimasu!"
A pale light emanated from the spellcard and washed over Shujiko. To Reimu's worry, it didn't seem to do anything.
"Don't worry... I'll heal..." Shujiko muttered. "...Eventually. Just gonna... sl..."
Shujiko fell forward, and Reimu hurriedly caught her before she slammed her face into the ground.
"This is most troubling..." Genji muttered. "Lady Reimu, come, let's bring her inside."
A few moments later, Reimu had lay Shujiko on her futon, and was tentatively removing the ruined clothing from the girl, trying to avoid irritating her injuries in any way.
"Wow, she got absolutely brutalised..." Reimu muttered in shock. "It's a miracle she even stopped bleeding."
"Whoever done this clearly wasn't using spellcard regulations." Genji noted with disgust. "I can't think of a creature that would harm another like this."
"You sure? Could'a been a feral youkai?" Reimu suggested as she hurried to the bathroom, pulling out a basin to fill with water.
Genji shook his head in wonder, unsure as to how a feral youkai would have appeared without warning. They usually left a trail of death in their wake...
Reimu returned with her basin of water, along with several cloths and towels, and cleaned Shujiko as best she could from all the blood. Genji lumbered to the patio, gazing at the direction Shujiko had arrived from, and he frowned slightly. "It appeared to have come from the Forest of Magic."
"Eh?" Reimu sounded worried as she finished wiping Shujiko's torso. "But... how could it be? It would've been known of ages ago, right?"
"Either way, it would be best to remain cautious," Genji replied. "We should warn Marisa and that doll girl as soon as possible, as well."
"I'll tell them once I'm finished here." Reimu said, getting to her feet and rushing to the kitchen, pulling bandages from her storage cupboards.
Shujiko better wake up soon... Reimu thought as she began to dress the youkai's wounds. She should know just what attacked her...
"I think this is you being overconfident now," A young looking man said with a smirk. "There's a difference between fighting higher youkai... and her."
"Hey, as long as I know exactly what I'm dealing with, there's no way I'll lose!" The girl replied confidently. At her side, the feral youkai was growling in disgust at the abundance of sunflowers.
Shaking his head and shrugging, the man led his group towards a mansion that towered in the distance. A large patio stretched out before the mansion, where a blonde girl seemed to be occupying herself by fighting imaginary enemies.
Swinging a scythe in swift, controlled strikes, the girl's skill with the weapon was certainly admirable, but she was deemed no threat by the group.
Noticing the three approaching the mansion, Elly immediately shifted to an authorative tone, glaring at the group.
"Hold it! What do you guys want h..." Elly noticed the feral-looking girl, noting the blood that covered her chin and what Elly assumed was some sort of shirt. A dangerous air emanated from the group and she was immediately on guard.
"We would like to have a word with your mistress," The man said pleasantly. With dark, slicked hair and an unusual choice of dress, a tuxedo, he immediately stood out, unless he was in the vicinity of feral youkai. "we have... important business."
Elly glared suspiciously at him, gripping her scythe tightly. "She's not here, come back never." Elly replied.
"Oh, don't be so cold!" The sharply dressed man said in mock anguish. "I'm sure your master wouldn't mind seeing us!"
"Break girl! Enter!" The feral youkai suggested enthusiastically, shooting Elly a chilling grin.
Elly stared uneasily at the feral creature, before turning back to the oddly dressed guy. "Yeah, after that horribly phrased statement, I'm just gonna eject you three from the premises."
Elly wound her arms back, the scythe positioned behind her, and swung. A magical projection of the scythe's blade flew for the group, who easily evaded.
"Don't bother! Fighting us would mean your death!" The girl yelled back. Her silver hair hid the right half of her face, and she was dressed in a white dress with a rather short skirt and an insane amount of red ribbons tied all over her body and hair.
Ignoring the girl's words, Elly lunged for the male, who smiled slightly at the charging gatekeeper.
"Come now, no need to fight!" The man said condescendingly, swiftly evading the strikes of Elly's scythe, and leaped high to avoid the danmaku she unleashed at point blank.
Before Elly could pursue, she sensed an attack from behind and immediately swung her body and scythe to meet the attack.
It was that feral girl, who had leaped towards Elly. She was slightly faster than the gatekeeper anticipated, as the creature had barely ducked the blade and grabbed the shaft of her scythe.
As the creature prepared to bite into Elly, she gritted her teeth and swung the scythe again. With a tremendous display of strength, she threw her scythe towards the sky, along with the feral girl.
Elly now rounded on the girl who may or may not have a ribbon fetish, who was smirking at Elly.
"You're not going to win, you know," She stated. "You've already lost your weapon, and haven't landed a single hit."
"Funny, I don't recall taking any damage either," Elly replied coldly. "Nor do I recall being at a disadvantage."
Elly swung her hands from side to side, creating a blanket of bullets that sailed towards the girl, who laughed as she evaded.
"Pathetic! Not even close to a threat!"
Meanwhile, Elly's scythe had begun its descent. The feral girl had dislodged herself from the weapon and was now charging for Elly again. Sensing the approach, Elly rounded on the feral youkai and thrust her hands forward, a torrent of bullets exploding from her palms to subdue the creature, before leaping and catching her scythe. Keeping elevation in the air, Elly shouldered the scythe and glared at her opponents.
"I could say the same to you!" Elly shouted to the ribbon-girl. "Three on one, and you've yet to threaten me in any way!"
The silver haired girl simply smirked. "Very well, you want a threat? Guess I'll start trying!"
With a burst of speed, the ribbon-girl shot towards Elly, who was taken aback by the speed increase. Flying back several paces, Elly again swung her scythe, intending to cut the girl, but she had already moved behind the gatekeeper. Before she could recover, the ribbon-girl struck Elly's neck in a quick chopping motion, then kicked her to the ground while she was stunned.
Barely a second after Elly hit the ground, the feral youkai pounced upon her, grinning sadistically as she lowered her face uncomfortbaly close to Elly's. The gatekeeper could smell the blood of pretty much everyone it had killed in the last few weeks, and she tried to hide her rising panic through a glare of loathing.
The ribbon-girl landed next to the two, and began to affectionately stroke the youkai's hair. "Aw, looks like you're screwed now. Too bad. What do you wanna do with her, Kat?"
An excited howl was the reply, and ribbon-girl grinned. "Figures," Turning her gaze to Elly, she explained the obvious. "Well, guess your Kat's third dinner for today."
"Come now, let's not be so hasty," The guy, who had thus far contributed nothing to the fight, said. "It'll be hard to conduct a peaceful conversation with Yuuka Kazami if we kill her daughter."
A loud, ringing laugh could be heard all around the premises, and the two female intruders were on alert. As the feral youkai, Kat, growled in unease at the lack of another person to identify, ribbon-girl kept her composure as she scanned the field of flowers.
"Elly, my daughter? A lovely thought, but woefully inaccurate." The voice spoke again, somehow echoing all over the area. Only the smartly dressed man seemed at ease.
"Ah, Yuuka Kazami. I see you've returned?"
"From the land of dreams, yes." The reply sounded normal, and its location could finally be pinpointed. Everyone turned their head to the patio, where Yuuka was standing in a pale pink nightgown with a matching nightcap. For no real reason, she carried a large, golden-bodied watch with her.
"Tch. Your weak little girlfriend there told us you were out," Ribbon-girl muttered, kicking the still-pinned Elly with her foot.
"Yes, that's standard procedure for gatekeepers who don't wish for their master's to be disturbed," Yuuka said with a bright smile. "And she does a great job, normally. But I see you're having some trouble today, Elly?"
Elly simply nodded, not daring to remove her gaze from the creature on top of her.
Yuuka simply smiled at the scene before her. "Well, good news, Elly. I found you a new shipping partner!"
The ribbon-girl looked confused, while the man simply chuckled in amusement. "I see your tastes are as... different as ever, Yuuka."
"And I see you're still following the fashion of absolutely nothing in Gensokyo, Artimus." Yuuka replied as she approached. Turning her gaze to Kat, she said, "Ah, by the way..."
Before anyone could react, Yuuka was suddenly next to the feral youkai, and had gripped its neck. Gurgling in surprise, Yuuka smiled coldly at Kat.
"Don't think I didn't miss your intentions," Yuuka said calmly while Elly scrambled to her feet, scythe in hand. "Let me warn you now: Madness will not excuse any action you take against my Elly."
Yuuka slammed the feral youkai into the ground, where she yelped in pain. The ribbon-clad girl gasped in horror as Yuuka turned her attention back to Artimus, Elly standing by her side.
"Well, Artimus, would you like to explain the reason for your visit?" Yuuka asked cheerfully, as if she hadn't just crushed the neck and skull of a savage creature. "Last I remember, you disappeared around the time I moved here. And what's with the unusual company?"
"Hey, you! Why'd you hurt my Kitty, you freak!" The silver haired girl yelled as she cradled the savage youkai. Despite its crushed cranium, it would no doubt be fully healed in a few hours.
"Mion, please be polite," Artimus reprimanded softly. "After all, Yuuka was nice enough not to kill her. By the way, did we come at a bad time?" Artimus nodded at Yuuka's nightclothes.
"Oh, not at all!" Yuuka chuckled. "Elly, be a dear and go get us some tea, will you?"
With a reluctant nod, Elly returned to the mansion, while Yuuka glanced at Mion, who was busy glaring at Yuuka with extreme loathing.
"By the way, Elly isn't my girlfriend either," Yuuka told her. "And if you touch her innapropriately again, I'll personally show you how bad that is."
Anna stared in disbelief at Yuuka for several seconds, then turned to Artimus. "Please, for the love of god, let me kill her! That's what we're supposed to be doing!"
Yuuka laughed at Mion's words, her eyes twinkling in delight. "Oh, Artimus, where did you find such a comedic girl? And why haven't you taken off her gift wrapping yet?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Anna snarled. "Keep talking, and I'll destroy you!"
Artimus sighed, although he wore a large grin. "Forgive her, Yuuka, she's a bit exciteabale. Power hungry, and all that."
"Oh, it's quite all right." Yuuka chuckled as she headed back to her mansion. "Come on inside! We can catch up on old times, Artie! Oh, and you simply have to divulge that nefarious plan of yours!"
Mion remained kneeling by Kat's side, staring wordlessly at Yuuka. She'd heard the woman was odd, but... what the hell was she? And she was an acquantince of Artimus?
"A-Artimus, don't tell me you're actually going to hang out here? That's not why we came!" Anna protested.
"Oh, it'll be fine'" Artimus said dismissively as he followed Yuuka. "There'll be plenty of time to fight later. Waste of time though, your power doesn't equate to Yuuka's experience..."
Anna simply pouted and cradled Kat, muttering under her breathe all the while. Things were certainly confusing... granted, they were kind of planning something along those lines on a large scale, but Anna didn't plan to be part of the confused masses.
Stupid flower-loving freak... I'm gonna kick her ass so hard, she'll... Anna struggled to think of a clever flower analogy, and instead settled with 'make her cry'.
Well, here it is, the highly anticipated sequel to 's greatest fan fiction ev- No wait... Sorry, this is the Tsukuribanshi sequel. My mistake!
A bit more seriously though, this takes place directly after EoSD. Yet more OC's to meet, and hopefully they don't suck. I don't normally make OC's with any real relation to canon characters, but I figured it'd make Artie a bit more mysterious, and maybe indicate just how strong he possibly could be if he's so familiar with Yuuka.
Also, this might end up a tad darker than Tsukribanashi, but I'll try not to make it too grim or anything. At the end of the day, this is Touhou, after all, and I can't see myself pulling it off very well.
Well, I hope you guys enjoy this story. Criticism is welcome!