The village graveyard is located not far off from the Human Village.
Both humans and youkai treat this place sacred.
Red spider lillies litter both sides of the road leading to the graveyard.
Humans and some youkai, particularly those who have strong relations with the Human Village, are buried there.
Today, Alice Margatroid is visiting the graveyard.
Those Left Behind
Chapter 1: Manjushage
by lenne18
On her trip to the graveyard, Alice brought with her three Shanghai dolls, each holding a single flower. Alice walked along the road as the dolls would hover behind her.
It has been a few years since her close friend, Sanae Kochiya, died.
Walking in a trance, her feet led her to Sanae's grave. She noticed a paper snake and frog on the grave.
'It seems they haven't forgotten about her.'
She placed one of the dolls near the snake and frog as an offering. She put her hands together and prayed.
xxx
"Good day, Miss Alice Margatroid. I am Kanako Yasaka, the goddess at the Moriya Shrine atop the mountain."
"Good day. So you are one of those people in the new shrine. How did you know my name and what business do you have with me?"
"Well, you're pretty famous in the Human Village. Anyway, I'll go straight to the point. Have you seen this girl?"
Kanako gave Alice a photograph. A smiling girl with green hair is in it.
"She's our shrine maiden, you see, and we've been worried about her since she's missing since this morning."
"We?" Alice asked at that little detail.
"Long story short, our shrine has two goddesses."
"I see. I'm sorry but I haven't seen someone with that description." Alice gave back the photograph.
"Thank you. I'm sorry for bothering you." Kanako hurriedly left.
Alice sighed and closed the door
"You can come out now."
The missing shrine maiden turned out to be hiding inside the house.
"Thank you. I owe you one."
Alice motioned the girl to sit beside the table. Tea has already been served before the interruption at the door.
"Why did you run away in the first place, huh? That's not a very smart move."
"Those two have begun fighting again. I just wish to teach them a lesson for once," the girl crossed her arms in anger.
"'Those two' meant the goddesses, right?" Sanae nodded. "I see. What's your name by the way?"
"I'm Sanae. Sanae Kochiya."
"Sanae, huh. I'm Alice Margatroid, the puppeteer. Call me Alice. A pleasure to meet you. If you want, you can stay here for a while."
"Really? Thank you!"
Sanae hugged Alice's arm. Alice did not mind but as soon as she locked eyes with Sanae, she retracted her arms back and smiled sheepishly.
"Hey," Sanae suddenly said.
"What is it?"
"We are friends now, right?"
"I think so. Why?"
"Well, the humans here have been treating me bad. You're the first human in Gensokyo that has been kind to me."
"Sorry to burst your bubble, Sanae, but I'm not human. I'm actually a youkai magician."
"Y-Youkai? But you look like human, a pretty one at that. You're like one of those anime girls I see on TV."
"Anime? TV?" Alice shot her a curious look.
"Forget I said it," Sanae said with a sigh.
Alice giggled, "You're pretty interesting." Sanae sighed as realization dawned on her mind.
"You're really a youkai? You won't eat me, right?" Sanae asked with a hint of fright.
"No. As a youkai magician, I don't really need to eat anything."
Sanae sighed.
"Then, can you held up your pinky like so?" Sanae held up her pinky while the other fingers are closed.
"Like this?" Alice copied Sanae's gesture.
Sanae joined the two fingers together. A pinky promise.
"Starting from this day until forever, we are now friends!" Sanae said as she smiled at Alice.
At Sanae's beaming face, Alice couldn't help but smile. On that day, she made a precious friend.
xxx
She left Sanae's grave, whimpering.
'I am stronger now than before. I can bear this.'
She knew it was a lie since her next destination will hurt her more. Her next destination is an even closer friend, Reimu Hakurei.
Arriving there, she noticed a woman standing in front of it.
"Good day, Akane," Alice greeted the woman.
"Hello, Alice. Visiting grandmother?" said the woman named Akane. Akane Hakurei is the previous Hakurei shrine maiden. A strong and skilled woman with a heart of gold. Unfortunately, she didn't inherit Reimu's cuteness.
"Yes. Finished praying?" Alice asked as she offered another doll.
"No. Actually, I have just arrived about five minutes before you came. Would you like to pray with me?"
"Sure."
Standing in front of Reimu's grave, they prayed.
xxx
"It's raining..." Alice said as she stared outside..
"It's weird," Reimu suddenly said.
"What is?" Alice replied.
"That you came here, alone."
"Huh?"
"You're usually with Marisa when you visit and yet, you are here by yourself. You two had a fight?"
"Not exactly," Alice sighed. "You've changed, Reimu."
"Have I?" Reimu stared at the sighing maiden. Then, she nodded, "You're probably right. I've been trying to be a good role model for Hinata."
"I see. It's tough being a mother, huh?"
"Not really. I'm actually pretty happy right now despite the hardships," Reimu said with pride and happiness. "Now, don't change the subject. What happened between you two?"
"Marisa didn't come yet?"
"No, she hasn't. She probably won't come today."
"How do you know?"
"Just a feeling."
"You have really changed," Alice said amusingly. "Well, I guess I could share it with you. Yesterday evening, Marisa took me out. Well, you could say it was a date."
"Where?" Reimu curiously asked.
"An area deep in the Forest of Magic. We came to see the fireflies dance. Wriggle was also there but she's too busy with the fireflies so it's not like we're totally alone"
"Go on."
"Well, s-she... umm..." Alice took a deep breath. "She said that she loves me..."
"And you're here because you want some advice, right?"
"Not exactly. I just want to take my mind off of it. Plus, I already know my answer."
"You're going to reject her, right?"
"How do you know all these things? I haven't told you anything yet..."
"I'm your friend," Reimu said as she smiled. "You know, Marisa's pretty dependent on you. She has been alone ever since Mima decided to live in Makai alone."
"Don't remind me. Last time I heard, she was courting my mother," Alice said, annoyed by the idea.
"Ahem... As I was saying, Marisa was lonely and then, you came to her life. Marisa may seem strong but she's emotionally weak. You know her situation, right?"
"Yeah. Abandoned as a baby, left to die until Mima found her. With her name as her only clue, she sought her biological parents. Unfortunately, her parents rejected her again. To them, she is a bringer of misfortune. Because of this, she always felt that she needed to prove herself to everyone that her parents are wrong, that she deserves to live, that she wouldn't cause any misfortune to befall on Gensokyo. Fortunately, her parents are beginning to change their views on her due to her efforts but it's still a long way to go before she is fully accepted."
"So you still remember, huh? That's good."
Reimu paused for a bit, thinking about her next words.
"Mima has been there when she was abandoned by her parents. When Mima left her, you have been there for her, Alice."
"That's why I can't really reciprocate her feelings. At least, not in the way she wants." Alice sighed. "Someday, I'll return to Makai and stay there permanently..."
"I see. You're afraid of hurting her, right? But we're humans. We have short lifespans compared to youkai. Have you considered the possibility to be happy with her even if it's only for her lifetime?"
"She... already knows both spells to become a youkai magician. I know that she's going to use them if I accept."
"The life of a youkai magician abandoned by her beloved or the life of a human magician that ultimately ends in death. I... cannot give you anymore advice. Sorry."
"Don't worry about it. At least, I can breath easier now that I've let it out."
"That's what friends are for," Reimu said as she stared outside. "That's what friends are for..."
Reimu noticed that it has stopped raining.
xxx
After praying, Alice felt tears in her eyes. Akane, noticing the tears, shot her a worried glance. Alice shook her head while wiping her tears, "It's alright."
Alice and Akane talked for a bit. Mostly about the current shrine maiden, Keiko. Keiko is Akane's daughter. Except for her purple hair, she looks like Reimu.
"It's nice to hear that Keiko and Ranka are still best of friends," Alice said.
"Yup. I just hope that Keiko doesn't get influenced too much."
"Huh?" Alice asked.
"Well, Ranka really likes to talk about manga and anime, whatever they are."
Alice giggled.
"What's so funny?" Akane raised her eyebrow as she asked.
"It's nothing. Just a funny memory," Alice replied. Akane just looked at her with curiosity.
'She's got weird hobbies. Ranka is definitely Sanae's great granddaughter.'
"Anyway, I have to go now." Tears had started to form again on Alice's eyes.
"Are you going to be okay?"
"Yes, I'm okay," Alice said as she wiped her tears again. "I still have someone else to visit."
"I see." Akane decided to let the matter go despite her worry. "It's nice talking to you again. Visit us sometime when you're not busy."
"Gladly," Alice smiled despite her noticeable puffy, red eyes.
She waved Akane farewell as she left Reimu's grave. Another person is waiting for her to visit.
'Marisa is waiting for me,' Alice said, determined to go by this without incident.
xxx
After a few minutes of knocking, Alice grew tired and let herself inside Marisa's house.
"Marisa? You there?"
She is walking around the house, scanning the rooms and looking for signs of the missing witch.
"That's odd. She's gone."
Alice never noticed any signs of a struggle so the possibility of Marisa being in danger is zero.
"Stupid witch. Why did she want to meet me here today?"
She sat down on one of the stools in the dining room. This is the last room she hasn't searched and frankly, she didn't want to. The dining room is pretty much a pig sty. Scratch that, it being described as such is an insult to pig sties.
A black cat suddenly appeared in front of Alice.
"A cat? I didn't know Marisa has a pet cat..."
The cat just purred and made its way to Alice.
"I wonder where she is..."
Alice sighed. This is stressful for the puppeteer.
"Well, I'll just make myself at home."
After making herself some tea, she noticed a few things in the dining room.
One, the stove was on before she came here. Luckily, she was here to turn it off. She knew Marisa was careless but not like this.
Two, a pot is brewing over the stove top. Apparently, it is some kind of potion.
Three, Marisa's clothes are lying near the stove. It's typical of Marisa to leave her dirty clothes anywhere inside the house.
Four, the tea is exquisite. It probably came from the Scarlet Devil Mansion.
Exhausted, she looked outside to estimate the time. The sun is setting.
"That's odd. She's suppose to be here by now."
The cat started brushing itself at Alice's leg.
"What is it?"
Alice put down her cup of tea and knelt down. The cat suddenly jumped towards Alice's face.
"Waaahhh!"
Alice fell on the ground. The cat is currently on her face.
"Ouch..."
She felt pain in her bottom. 'Stupid cat. Just like Marisa.' The cat purred and then licked Alice's cheek.
"Hey! Stop tickling me! Hahaha... Stop it!"
In order for the cat to stop licking her, she grabbed the cat and placed it beside her. She then sat up swiftly. The cat stared at her curiously.
*poof* A cloud of white smoke appeared and filled the room.
When the smoke cleared, Marisa was there, sitting in front of her.
"Yo, Alice!" Marisa grinned at the puppeteer.
Alice stared at Marisa, speechless. She was naked and her eyes trailed downwards...
"I didn't know that you're a natural blonde, Marisa."
"Huh?" Marisa looked at herself. A sudden blush came over her face. "Hey! Stop staring at me!"
No reply from Alice...
"Stop it!" Marisa stood up and quickly grabbed her discarded clothes. She used it to cover herself. "Wait here until I get dressed."
Alice sat back on the stool, contemplating on what happened. 'Aha! The pot from the stove is filled with an experimental transformation potion.' With the mystery solved, she continued sipping her tea as if nothing happened.
Marisa came back later, now wearing a different dress than the one before.
"Come on. Let's go!"
Alice, confused, followed Marisa outside. It was now nighttime.
"Where are we going?" Alice asked.
"Firefly watching," Marisa replied as she started walking.
"What?" Alice stood there, dumbfounded.
Marisa walked back over to Alice and grabbed her hand. She then walked towards the same direction as before, dragging poor Alice behind.
xxx
Alice walked to Marisa's grave, her vision already blurry. She knew that despite the years, she could not get over her death. When she looked at her grave, tears started streaming down her face. 'I can do this,' Alice thought as she offered the last doll. After that, she stood up and stared at the grave. She never moved from her position, she doesn't have the will to do so. Her eyes are already streaming with tears.
Marisa is her most important person. Unlike Reimu and Sanae, Marisa was her first friend and had always been there through the good and the bad. And losing this important person is the greatest pain that she had felt in her whole lifetime.
Suddenly, a memory of Marisa flashed before her eyes.
"Alice?"
"Yes, Marisa?"
"Can I hold your hand?"
"Here... What are you doing?"
"Transferring my magic to you..."
"What! You're going to kill yourself."
"So what? I'm already very old. I feel like I am going to die real soon. So I have to do this since I still have time."
"Why?"
"Because I want to help you make your dreams come true."
"Thank you, Marisa."
"It's finished... I'm tired... Let me rest..."
"Marisa?"
"..."
"Open your eyes..."
"..."
"I'm begging you, please..."
"..."
"Wake up..."
The memory ended. Alice felt her body go limp. She couldn't bear this any longer...
'Will I lose more friends in my lifetime? Will the growing pain in my heart ever heal? I... don't want to be alone. I... can't...'
Old memories of her precious friends, both happy and sad, have started flooding Alice's mind. If only she could dwell in her memories forever. But reality was different. They are dead. Her precious friends are gone. Even if they have been reincarnated, they wouldn't be the same. They will never come back. Alice could not take the harshness of reality as she dropped on the ground, sobbing.
'Mother said that time heals all wounds. Yet, why does it still hurts so much?'
"Hey!"
A young woman, probably in her late teens, offered a handkerchief to her.
"Wipe your tears. It's not good to see someone crying like this."
Alice stopped crying and looked up at the young woman's face. Her long, pink hair is framing her worried face. Deep blue eyes are staring at her as if trying to understand. She does not know this person but her face reminds her of somebody...
Pushing the thought out of her mind, Alice stood up and embraced the stranger tightly.
The woman returned the hug. "Let it all out," she whispered.
With those words of encouragement, Alice continued sobbing on the woman's chest. This is what she needed the most right now.
Author Notes: Thanks to Precision and lorcanlord1 of the E-games Philippines Touhou Thread, and my girlfriend for beta reading this chapter.
Thank you for reading and please submit a review.