Forgery of Flames and Corpses
I do not own Touhou, but I wrote this fic.
Shivering, Marisa visits a lone grave behind her house. It was a small shrine constituting of a dilapidated rock and a large mound of filled earth. A water can in her hand, she poured a large quantity of water until it overflows. Waiting for a short moment before stopping, she wiped the sweats from her forehead.
"The summer's nice as usual, too bad you can't be here right now. Oh well."
Marisa is turning sixteen this year. A year has passed since the uprising of the lower-class youkais. Looking back, Gensokyo never had casualties before. Smiling widely, she placed a bottle of sake onto the top of the dillapidated rock.
"May you rest in peace."
Finishing her business, she turned behind and left the grave alone for another day.
The sun really is shining, and everything is as wondrous as ever. The air feels cleaner and the skies feels reborn. It was not the sky she used to see, but this sky is really something else. Neither are there a sense of fakeness, nor are there a sense of fraud. The sky is real now, and it's the best thing she has ever seen since forever.
From the front of her house came a voice she knew so well.
"Marisa." Reimu knocked, yelling moderately. "Marisa. Open the door."
"I'm not inside Reimu." Marisa said beside the shrine maiden. "What can I do for you, my lady?"
"So you are here. Hurry up and get ready. Remilia have asked us to come to her party. That means free food for me!"
"Is food all you care about?"
Reimu shook her head. She remembered the facts that she once prioritized one life over the other, and then some. She remembered a girl in red and wearing a pagan black clothes, but the girl is standing in-front of her now. All is right with the world right now.
Marisa herself had gone through various trials and tribulations. She had battled vampires (Two of them, and one finished by her), ghosts, immortals, goddesses, thaumathurgists, buddhists, and a giant freaking rock. She herself is the second strongest human in Gensokyo, and Reimu is the first.
Being an ordinary magician, she is very proud of where she is standing right now.
Finishing her preparation, the girl walked through the crowded street of Akihabara. Noticing Nitori and Aya running around, they gave them a warm greeting. They said that a road-block is happening on Noyamano, so they better take the train from Chiho station to Miyagata. A few minutes later, they did.
The train rides the rail slowly across a bridge above a misty lake. It was still Tokyo, but the sights are that of a wilderness. Thousands of birds flock upwards alongside with fairies and spirits at the dozens. It was not until they arrived at their destined station that the view became less crowded and fresh. A mid-tropical rainforest by the dozens, stretching as far as the misty fogs can go. Walking down the platform, they walked the paved path that leads to a large mansion guarded with spells and invocations.
Usually, intruders would be zapped, but they went inside the mansion just fine. A gatekeeper sleeps in-front of the gate with a large knife on her forehead. It was no big deal, really.
Really.
Walking inside the ever-so-red mansion, they're greeted by a maid. A short silver-blonde hair, a humble blue eyes, and a pleasant smile for all to see and preach. Her dress-code consists of a victorian maid outfit with a skirt that ends on her calf, and the rest of her legs covered with white stockings attatched to a garter. Her black boots befitting of someone of her status and her demeanor fits a high-class maid such as her.
"Lady Reimu, Marisa." Sakuya bowed. "Mistress Remilia have been expecting you. Follow me to the ball-room."
"Why am I not a Lady?" Marisa protested. "And since when did this dreary mansion have a ball-room!?"
"Since the time where your incident happened." Sakuya giggled. "I remember how hectic it was. The lunarians, the dragon gods and the celestials, the yakumo family and then your old teacher all came back to have an all-out war with the maker of Gensokyo herself. That was fantastic work."
"And that's precisely why I can't be a lady? Alright." Marisa sighed. "Fair enough. I am one of the people responsible for what happened to Gensokyo, but hey. All's well that ends well, right?"
Not quite the word Sakuya was expecting, but that was good enough for her.
"Lady Flandre wants to have a sleep-over with you, human. Would you care to take her kind offer?"
"Sure, why not?"
Sakuya was pleased to hear that.
Entering the ball-room, three figures have waited for her arrival.
First is a human in violet robe. A scholar by look and it defines her as an intellect. She once was Marisa's friend, but she's farther than that position now. A smile directed to Marisa could be seen from across the room. A kind one. Her name is Patchouli Knowledge, affectionately called Patchy.
Second, the vampire that controls destiny and fate along the red-strings. Her blue hair under a frilled pink hat with her tender and petite body wearing a pink dress. A vampire only matched by her sibling, Flandre Scarlet. Her name quakes the earth and dries the sea as the woodlands burn in admiration and greed, she is Remilia Scarlet. The master and the owner of Sakuya, now half the owner.
Third, a little sister of Remilia, Flandre Scarlet. Her golden hair brings her the atmosphere of grace and courage. Although playful, she dares not play tricks to everyone that she deemed not worthy for her attacks. She is mad in the sense of brutality, but by god's and goddess', she's not a mentally-retardant psychopath.
"Good to see you, Marisa." Flandre was the first one to greet her guests. Remilia was too focused with a book titled, "The effects of Sunlight Poisoning on Vampires". "Patchy have been itching to meet you again. That last fiasco was unbelievable, wasn't it?"
Patchy hurriedly looked shy as she turned around.
"I'm just a little hoping I'll get to see you. After what happened to... all of you."
Patchy circled everything around Marisa with her hands.
It was made apparent enough that Reimu started to giggle.
"Ah, Marisa. Ever the attention of the people, are we?" Reimu said as she find herself a table for her to sit. "Don't mind me Marisa, I'll be here in the background, eating my brunchinner until Im full."
Taking a plate and dumping a large spoonful of whatever everything, she left for a spot in-front of Remilia.
"Mind if I sit here?"
Remilia mumbled as she shook her head, completely engrossed to her scientific youkai research document.
Marisa has a golden hair.
She wore a black and white witch dress.
Her greatest spell is the Master Spark.
Feel the love, chant your love, unleash your rainbow-colored, astronomical-sized super laser.
But now, she's dead.
No extra lives, no death-bombs, no continues, no point device, no nothing.
She's dead, gone, not here, bye-bye.
Seeing her own lifeless body, Marisa hurled out her lunch.
"Good job Marisa, you've done the best for everyone." Yakumo Yukari stood at the edge of a floating platform containing Marisa and Marisa. Her lips firmly held a few words in as her devious smile planted suggestions inside Marisa. "You've destroyed yourself, and now you're you again. How does it feel to become the second most powerful Youkai Hunter in Gensokyo?"
"I hate you Yakumo. With every life-force I had, I will one day exterminate you!"
Her red hair swayed back and forth as Marisa struggles to stood up. Her entire day was a miracle and she didn't waste any time. Her teacher Mima had given her life to let her live, and killing Marisa was no slouch, but with Patchouli's help, she managed to scrap by with an amputated left hand. Holding her Hakkero with her remaining hand, she aimed it at Yukari and blasted one on her.
It missed.
It didn't even hit, it just disappear completely without a trace.
She didn't fire one, she can't fire one. Her magical properties, gone. Her magical circuits, fried. Her innate magical reactor, vanished. All for the sake of defeating an incident, and saving Gensokyo.
With nothing to fire at Yukari, she kneeled helplessly as the flying platform she's in is slowly falling into the ground. The whle Gensokyo under her, now at once with the Hakurei Border. She is at the end of Gensokyo, and the beginning of Gensokyo. Yukari was gone, but she knew that she will not make it. Gensokyo was doomed from the start, and this large piece of island will hit Japan and cause a Tsunami of a great scale that will crush the entire world in mere minutes.
Her bleeding and disarmed limb wouldn't stop shivering as blood profusely splattered over the stone ground. Coughing blood, she realized her internal organs are in critical condition. Two broken ribs and one cracked right cranium.
But all is well when Gensokyo that the gods loved will receive its just salvation.
A single life of a girl with a hoarding issues or the fate of an entire fictional concept of reality?
Marisa have already given her answer.
Her red hair waved back and forth with the wind. Neither the wind nor the chirping of the night sparrow could mend the sadness inside her chest. Her left hand reached for the grave and brushed it, revealing a name of someone she held dear inside her heart.
"I'm going now."
She turned around. Her pagan hat in tow and her magic wand inside her bag. She curiously looked around if anyone was following her... and someone did.
A girl in her teen. Her blue and white dress with red frills compliment her blonde hair. A book on a satchel and a fingerless red glove on each hand. Behind her crept two dolls similar to each other in appearance. One of them is the fighter, Shanghai. The other is the healer, Hourai. As a team of three, they compliment each other with Alice Margatroid on spellcasting.
Marisa smiled wryly at Alice.
"I haven't seen you in a while."
"You haven't grow at all."
Marisa giggled.
"But you're really big now. And so is Reimu. The last time we saw each other, it was a long time ago. About ten years or so from now."
"Fifteen years and ten months." Alice smiled. Closing her eyes, she lifted her grimoire from her satchel into the air. The book launched itself high and its warmth envelopped Marisa with lights of all spectrum of colors. She felt lighter, faster, stronger. Yet she can only gaze at the warmth with a sad smile. Alice coughed, taking Marisa's attention to her. "That was Patchouli's gift for you. You don't have to return it."
"Thanks, Alice."
"Hey, we have been friends for an eternity. I always got your back, Marisa."
Alice turned around, slowly, warmth overflows her cheeks and rends the cold night obsolete. She didn't have to look behind to know that Marisa is now gone, and she will never be able to be with her like she was.
"Kick her ass, Marisa. "Bitch, get out of the way", right?"
As she looked upwards, a spiral of light and darkness, mind and matter, and eyes as far as the horizons go. There are no suns, and only a faint glimmer of the lunar capital could be seen with naked eyes.
Truly it was the end of Gensokyo.
Gensokyo have rules.
"A hero's strength is as proportional to the villain's."
It was used as the core of everything. Youkai will be made weaker to humans who they attack. Gods will be as weak as the solver of the incident. There are no other core to this certain law of this world.
For an incident such as the end of Gensokyo, it takes a Gensokyo to resolve one.
Metaphysically, there was a Gensokyo, but it was gone as a relic of a forgotten history.
Keine would know about it, but Marisa doesn't have that much of a time.
Shinki was out of the question, as every link to the outside has been severed with the disappearance of the Hakurei Barrier.
Marisa have fought against many thing coming here. Aliens, Dragons, Mythical Heroes from Lore, and even Guest Character from somewhere. All of them boils down to a one-on-one confrontation with a certain ordinary magician everyone talks about recently.
Standing in-front of the Pagan women, is the Great Ordinary Magician of Gensokyo.
"...Funny that the Final Boss would be myself."
"No, no." Marisa said. "You're right for you, but that's not the case for me."
"Do you need to grind first? I can honestly wait here." The blonde witch tipped down her hat. "One thousand years, ten thousand years, an eternity and past the end of time, I will still be here waiting for you."
Marisa couldn't help but laugh.
Her red hair flows nicely with the updraft.
"I haven't laughed like this in a long time." Marisa rubbed the tear from her eye. "How many bread have you eaten now?"
"I lost count of it." She laughed happily. "I guess when the dice are thrown, we're both the same."
"And both of us... we exist, together."
"This is not about logic."
"Nor is this about the fate of Gensokyo."
Readying themselves, they grabbed a hold of their weapons.
"You are my Extra Boss. Prepare yourself. Marisa!"
"Well said. This will be the finale of our magic show. MARISA!"
She draws her wand, and Marisa draws her Mini-Hakkero.
"MASTER SPARK"
In another time, and another place, there sits a woman atop a large and sacred rock.
"There, this should seal both the Shadow Dragons Soul."
Marisa looked at Patchouli, who're clearly not suited for hiking.
"You okay there, Patch?"
"I am not... okay." She wheezed. "I am... an indoor... person... Marisa."
"Then let's take a break now." She junped into the ground and there were cherry petals blowing with the wind. She looked at them flying away, and something sentimental came into her mind. This one was vague, but she remembered something. Some purpose of why she was here and why she went with Patchouli.
"Isn't the wind nice today?"
"It is? I haven't noticed... with how tired I am."
Marisa lend her a bottle of water.
"Drink up."
On her hand is another bottle of water, and they drank it.
"Marisa, about that incident regarding Gensokyo."
Patchouli started. Marisa looked at her plainly, as if smiling smugly at her. She knows that Marisa was not that sort of person. She knows that Marisa is a perfectly human... well, human being. Patchouli Knowledge knows her better than everyone. An egotistical and selfish witch who hoardes paradise and steals your most important of posession.
"It's not your fault."
Hearing that, Marisa couldn't help but be a little teary.
"I—I don't deserve that, and you know it. Afterall, I'm not the Marisa you knew."
"Still, you're the only Marisa that has her arm fixed by thaumathurgy." Patchouli looked straight at Marisa. "You're the one who spends an entire night with me. You're the one who read books with me yesterday, and you're the one who made me fall in love with you ever again. Even if Marisa is someone I longed for, but those hole in my heart has been filled with you. For that, I don't mind, and in-fact, I am glad."
"But to think that we are now in Central Africa. Taking offers to exterminate deities and shadow godesses. How did we come to this, anyway?"
Patchouli giggled.
"I don't mind. As long as I'm with you, Marisa."
Marisa went closer to Patchouli, and hugged her from the side.
"M-Marisa?"
"Can I stay like this, just a little longer?"
Patchouli went red as Marisa slowly became as red.
The wind pushed the cherry petal all over the world, scattering their mystics and mysteries wherever and whenver. Across the seas and across the rivers, atop the mountains and into the deep chasm, surviving hell's fury and heaven's wrath.
The Eastern Wonderland was known to the world, and they are in constant harmony with each other.
"You said that she is your Extra Boss, but then what about me?"
Yukari Yakumo appeared. Her voice vehemently rang across Gensokyo and throughout the multiverses. Atop the descending platform of what is the remains of Gensokyo, a red-haired woman picked up the fallen's Hakkero.
Placing it into her wand, she casted an enchantment to herself.
"Then I guess you're my Phantasm."
"Not quite, but I'd like that to be the truth someday. You see Marisa, I am leaving Gensokyo to you and its resident. But for compensation, I need one seed of Gensokyou. Chen, Ran, do it."
In an instant, two of Yukari's servant came and cuts one of Marisa's arm clean.
Her enchantment undone, her wand broke on the fall and she fell into the ground.
Her magic wand was frail, but she didn't know it was that frail.
Still, one thing still remains, and that is to beat a Phantasm.
A grave is placed behind Marisa's house.
Usually, Marisa would water the filled ground and pour sake onto the dilapidated stone, but this day, and the day after this, then the weak after that, and then for a year, where that grave was almost like a fleeting fever dream. Now a flower grew there, it is a delirious red lily. Marisa didn't care about the rose, and she doesn't even know that the rose existed.
Until now.
As she water the plant, the doorbell to her house is being pushed.
"Hello, anybody in here? Marisa. Hey, answer me."
It is the shrine maiden of paradise, Hakurei Reimu.
The summer today was really nice, almost as if it was not summer at all. It could be said that Winter still occured. It was only three months after the Scarlet Mist incident. It seemed that another incident is being held for what it is worth.
A cherry petal went with the wind, brushing past Marisa's cheek and into the far sky.
"I'll be right there in a second!"
THE END