Hello guys, it's been a VERY long time and I have never been more sorry. I'm really sorry it's taken me this long to update this story and I seriously hope it's been worth the wait for those of you who are still interested. The only reason I can give for the almost yearly delay is schoolwork and having a generally busy life - but I'm hoping to work on this story more frequently from now on, and if this story isn't updated again soon, feel free to PM me about it because I may have forgotten with schoolwork. Sometimes I just need a little push to get things done! ^^'
Anyways, for those of you who read this, please enjoy!
~ Lagiacrus
Chapter 1
Ten years passed and during that time, Mokou became my best friend. When I was ten she evolved into her normal form, and when I was fifteen she evolved again into her final EX form. Dad had said that no Touhoumon should evolve that fast. My father was thirty when Aya evolved to her final form. He believed that much like my mother, I had a way with the Touhoumon, and I was passionate about them. I was yet to meet a Touhou who disliked me, it was true.
It wasn't long after I got Mokou that I realized that she did not object to being commanded by me. I began to engage in battles with classmates and their Touhous, but the battles soon got boring as they were always with the same people – not many kids had Touhous in our village. Maribel, my best friend and nextdoor neighbour, had gotten a Chibi Keine around the same time I had gotten Mokou. They had grown fond of each other. There was nothing the two of them liked more than engaging in battle with one another.
Because of this, Mokou and I had grown strong. Under my guidance she was virtually unbeatable. Dad told me multiple times that I had a talent for raising and battling with Touhoumon, and suggested further that I became a trainer when I turned eighteen. I had often thought about it, but there was one day when I was sixteen that made up my mind for me – the day of the worst attack with the worst casualty in the entire history of Drachenfels. That day, is where my story truly begins.
It started off as a normal day. The wind blew my curtains back, away from the open window. In my half-awake state I was vaguely aware of familiar, heavy footsteps entering my room. Then, something landed on the bed with a loud thump, and I shot up immediately. I looked into the crimson red eyes of Mokou, who was grinning wildly. She had always been an early riser, and tended to spend her mornings before I awoke in the company of father's Aya. I smiled back at her and sat up. My eyes landed on the scar that covered her right eye – the remnants of the wound I found her with all those years ago. It had healed up with no problems, and luckily no damage was suffered to the eye itself. I adjusted the red and white ribbon which she had put in her hair and then proceeded to draw back my curtains. Maribel's room was in the opposite building from my window, her window was directly opposite my own and, much like mine, it was open. With a smirk, I peeked my head out of the opened window, and examined the street below. Everybody seemed to be awake, so I wouldn't be disturbing anyone. I inhaled deeply, and just like any other teenager would do, I shouted;
"HEY MARIBEL, YOU FAT BITCH! WAKE UP!"
Nobody stirred. This was a daily occurrence and nobody was bothered by it. However, a hand suddenly appeared in Maribel's window, clearly belonging to somebody lying down, and brandished a middle finger in my direction like a weapon. I found myself bursting out into laughter, and I got out of bed to get dressed.
I put on my usual attire – a long black skirt, a long-sleeved shirt with a similar design to Mokou's (that was deliberate) and a white ribbon tied to one of my bangs. Then, I placed my hat upon my head, laced my brown knee-high boots, and journeyed out into the hallway. I moved into the kitchen with Mokou in tow and greeted Aya who was perched on the counter like a bird, with her now completely grey wings folded neatly against her back.
The ultimate sign to tell the age of an Aya was the colour of her wings. For some reason, as they got older, their wings gradually changed from black to grey. Aya's were now completely grey, which was a very good sign that an Aya wasn't long for life. The same went for Hatates and even Utsuhos. The thought saddened me, but Aya didn't seem bothered, so I tried to get on with things.
Aya was the closest thing I had to a mother, and I think she knew that I thought like this. Apparently, ever since the day I was born she had looked out for me, and after my mother disappeared she virtually took her place. She would take me to bed at night and would make sure that I went to sleep, she would walk me to school in the mornings and would scare off my bullies.
Although back then she was the most bizarre Touhou I'd ever met. The tiniest thing made her laugh, especially if it was at dad's expense, and her smile had always been disturbing – like the one you might see on a serial killer, but nevertheless I loved her anyway. Even at this age, she never let me out of her sight during attacks. Imagining life without her was impossible, but I had to get used to the idea because she wouldn't be here much longer.
As I sat down at the kitchen table, Mokou bounded into the room like a wild animal and divebombed onto the couch in the next-door living room, I heard dad give an 'oof' and burst out laughing. Yeah, just another morning really. When I told her we were leaving she got to her feet after crushing my dad, and I had to stop her to fix her bow yet again. Her clothes were a special set that evolved with her – technically, they were the same clothes I found her in, but they changed appearance as she did. Despite the fact that they were the clothes she always wore, she could never put the bow in right, and I either had to do it for her or adjust it considerably. Most Touhous had a set of clothes like this but trainers could dress them up in any way they wanted, as long as the Touhous themselves allowed it. However, each Touhou did have a specific way in which they liked to dress. Aya for example wore a pair of black denim shorts (apart of her original outfit) and a black and gold shirt, which was not a part of her original attire. Anyway, enough about that for now, I'm getting off track again.
With Mokou beside me I broke out of the stuffy house and into the sunlight, taking in the sights and sounds of the village early in the morning. Children were running around, playing with each other and the young Momijis before school started. Both Chibi and Normal Ayas were perched on the walls, chatting away in their own language and looking out over the mountains in the distance. The few guards on duty sleepily leaned on their spears, letting out gaping yawns that would swallow the entire village if they increased any more in size. While I was still waking up, Mokou was very much awake and was feeling like her usual mischievous self. Just as she pulled a flying Aya out of the air and pulled it into a bear hug, Maribel emerged from her doorway, looking visibly worn out. Her Keine walked out after her and strode over to Mokou, scolding her and telling her to release the terrified tengu.
"Rough night?" I asked Maribel as she shuffled over to me. She practically fell into my arms, and immediately shut her eyes.
"Yup." She mumbled into my shirt.
"What happened?" I inquired and she pulled away and released an angry sigh.
"My sister's Chibi Chen happened. The fleabag was crying all of last night after the attack," She growled in annoyance, adjusting the puffy white hat on her head and brushing some of her blonde hair out of her face. Her purple dress was dishevelled and riding up at the back – clearly she'd been paying little attention as she got dressed. I pulled her dress down and she nodded in thanks.
"I did warn you about them! Get earplugs!" I joked.
"Don't worry, the next time I can take a trip to the next town I'm getting some." She responded.
Everybody in the village had a specific job to do during the day, and some people, like Maribel and I, had more than one. Since we were two of the only young girls in the village, we often worked together in our tasks. First, Mokou and I had to venture up onto the village walls and light the braziers which were said to ward off evil Touhou. Then, Maribel and I would go down to the nearby river and collect water for the village to use – this often took a while, we had to make a few trips. By this point it was usually dinner time, and after that Mokou and I attempted to clean the house when dad was out with the soldiers.
However, today we never got that far. The four of us – Myself, Maribel, Mokou and Keine – each carried two empty buckets. This was out second trip and we were on our way back to the river. My boots crushed the lush green grass we walked upon and morning dew dripped from the leaves suspended high above us, on gnarled branches. By this point, it was 9 o'clock, but the sun was bright and burning already.
We broke out from under the shade of the trees and stepped from the grass onto warm, silky sand. Sitting on a rock was a pair of wild normal Mystias, observing a school of Nitoris of various ages – but all clad in similar light blue attire – splashing and playing in the deeper waters. As Maribel and I gathered up water, the Mystias immediately began to harass Mokou and Keine, which annoyed them to no end. Mokou ended up shooting a jet of flame in their direction, sending them flying on their little wings, and frightening the Nitoris enough to make them cower underwater. I could only laugh as Mokou looked to where the Nitoris had been with a sheepish smile. She said something in the Touhou language, which I had learnt meant "I'm sorry", and the Nitoris nervously resurfaced. After a few seconds they went back to playing, accepting Mokou's apology. Keine just tutted and shook her head, and Mokou laughed in response, crossing her arms behind her head.
It was just another day. Nothing was out of place, or unusual – I wasn't even getting any bad feelings. What came next took us all by surprise, and caused the death of somebody so important to me that I was sure that I'd never fully recover.
We saw smoke from the village's braziers over the top of the trees. There was a slightly biger accumulation of the toxic black substance than normal, but I didn't think anything of it.
We neared the village after filling our buckets, with little more than a few trees separating us from it – we could hear the violent crackle of hungry flames, the shouts of men and Touhou, and the clash of weapons.
No way… the village has never been attacked during the day before! Caught without my potions, this would be a dangerous fight – for Mokou and I and everybody else involved. I was the designated healer, people and Touhou alike placed their lives in my hands – and I had been stupid enough as to forget my equipment!
Instinctively I dropped the buckets, and looked at Mokou who already seemed prepared to pounce.
"Mokou, go!" I shouted to her in panic and forward she went, diving through the trees and into whatever fray still escaped our gazes. The foliage was still too thick where we were to see any real sign of the battle.
"Keine, follow!" Maribel's powerful voice rung out and Keine followed after Mokou, removing her hat in the process. I cast a glance at Maribel and she nodded, placing her own buckets on the ground. Together we ran out onto the path leading up into the village and what we saw could only be described as the most horrific sight I had ever seen – at that specific moment in time, anyway.
Before us stood the smoking wreckage of our village. The flames ate away at the timbers composing my house, Maribel's, and almost every other building within the village walls. Guards lay bleeding or worse, their precious Momijis and Ayas crying beside them. Close to us, an Aya crashed into the dirt, her face becoming scraped by the hard ground and her features creased with blood. It was the Aya that Mokou had hugged earlier – she was often called 'Derpy' by the villagers because she was clumsy, and I guess this proved it. I rushed to her aid and tugged her off of the ground, holding her dazed form close while I checked her for wounds. She had no serious injuries, just the scrape on her face. I wasn't sure how she had crashed but one of her wings seemed to be sprained, so maybe she got into a fight with one of the other Touhou. I had to get her to safety before I did anything.
Since she had only evolved from a Chibi a week ago, she was still relatively small and was only the size of an eleven or twelve-year-old. It was easy to pick her up, sneak through the battle and get into the village where I took her immediately to my father who, while commanding Aya, was acting as a healer in my absence. He was relieved to see Maribel and I safe, and tended to Derpy's wounds the second he got the chance. That was when Maribel took control of Keine and I followed dad to get my equipment back so I could do my job. He took one potion to use on Derpy and handed me the rest, just as a Momiji staggered out of the fray and collapsed a little while inside the wall. I rushed to her aid, and so that was how it continued for some time – the battle was tied, we couldn't get the attacking Touhou – Yuugis, Suikas and Parsees much like every other night – to flee, and for every Momiji or Aya I got back in the fight another enemy showed up. It was a relentless battle which was destined to only get worse.
The sky was so thick with smoke from the burning that I had to remind myself that this was during the day and not a night attack. I saw dad's Aya flying high above the battle, swooping down and taking out an enemy when she saw an opening in their defences. She was the first to notice an ominous shadow forming off above the trees, and then taking on a solid shape. There was a piercing roar; one I had been fortunate enough not to hear in ten years…
Whatever manner of creature that Aya had managed to scare off that night had returned. The strange… shadow creature with the bent red horn. As some of the smoke cleared and I got a good look at it, I saw that it towered high above the village walls, and resembled a creature known as a 'dragon' a creature which some Touhous were supposedly related to. What it really was, however, I reckoned at the time that I would never find out.
Aya didn't even wait for orders. She made the decision to take on the elephantine creature herself, but I kept close to her on the ground below. At her delicate old age, I knew this was a fight she could not win. This was an accident waiting to happen.
She chose to use Extremespeed, much like last time. I watched her as she began to glow with the familiar purple hue, and she readied her fists for impact. The creature's eyes were on her; large and red, with a slit pupil. The monster seemed to give a laugh in a deep, booming but surprisingly feminine voice, just as Aya set her attack into motion and sped forward, aiming to punch the beast straight in the face, as before – but this time she didn't count on one thing.
The creature had remembered that night; it remembered Aya's tactic. It reached up a clawed hand and pulled her right out of the air by one of her wings. She struggled as hard as she could, her wings flapping at twice their normal speed, but she quickly tired.
"Aya!" I called to her, and Mokou happened to glance up and catch the scene. She knocked together the heads of two Parsees and rushed to join me, gripping my shoulders and keeping me back from the scene. She was always so protective of me…
Aya happened to glance at me, and for the first time in a very long time I saw fear in her eyes. My legs became like jelly and I dropped to my knees as I realized there was nothing I could do to save her. I looked to Mokou, tears threatening to spill.
"M-Mokou, can't you save her!?" I begged, and she dropped to her knees, looked at me with apologetic eyes and shook her head rapidly. I knew she'd say that. Mokou wasn't strong enough yet to take on a creature of this size, and her premature evolutions hadn't helped.
The monster said something in the Touhou language – that thing was a Touhoumon!? – and gripped Aya tightly in one hand. I could only watch as she was lifted high into the air, and then slammed into the ground with such force that a crater formed around her limp form. I cried out in rage as the monster let out another of its devilish laughs, and then faded to nothing much like it had all those years ago. The monsters began to retreat, but why I wasn't sure. I was so angry that I tried to send Mokou to hunt them all down, but she refused to leave my side, wrapping her arms tightly around me to stop me trying to run after them myself.
I stared after them hopelessly as the guards and their Touhou let them escape, and Mokou released me. I scrambled for the crater and slid down to Aya's form. She was in a bad way – she was struggling to breathe, she couldn't move and blood leaked from her mouth, nose and from some unseen wound at the back of her head. Her wings were broken without a doubt, and she was too weak to even look at me. I was so stunned that I delayed in taking out a potion – precious time wasted, so it seemed.
While I knew there was little I could do about the broken wings, I thought I could at least patch up her open wounds, but they were too deep and the potion made no difference. It was too dangerous to move her to apply bandages either. We were stuck, and she was dying.
"RENKO!"
I peered over the crater and saw dad rushing towards us. He took one look at my puffy red face and stopped in his tracks, his face going a deathly shade of pale.
"W-What's wrong…?" He feared to ask, drawing closer.
"It's… Aya." I spluttered between choked sobs, and he dropped to his knees on the edge of the crater, staring down at his lifetime companion, who was now mere minutes away from her final breath. It had all happened so fast that he couldn't compute it. I was the same. I couldn't stop wishing that this was just a bad dream, wishing that maybe this wasn't happening at all, that I would just wake up and none of this would have happened. But it was not so.
"Aya! Hang in there, you'll be okay!" Dad cried out in anguish, sliding down the crater and joining Aya, gripping her hand tightly. She began speaking to him in her language, her voice was hoarse and very weak, and yet for a split second, her words… they sounded English to me.
"Don't be so upset, Takuto…"
And then, just like that, she was back to speaking her own language. I blinked. What the hell? I'd never heard a Touhou speak English before… but that didn't distract me from the matter at hand. I sniffled as Aya turned her head to look to me, with her usual crazy smile on her face. She began speaking to me too, but I never understood it… I really wished I could… I really wished…!
"Don't you be so upset either, you'll be fine without me…"
I blinked in further disbelief. Once again, her words were English… I felt so much relief that I knew what she was saying, and I rushed to reply…
"Aya, I don't think we'll ever recover from this…" I told her honestly, looking at my dad's heartbroken expression.
"You both will, trust me." She said sternly, with the bit of strength that remained. She groaned with pain and then, once again, her words were unknown to me.
What the hell is happening all of a sudden…!? Aya is dying, and now I can all of a sudden speak Touhou!? I wasn't sure what to make of it all, and even when Aya took her last breath, and left this world forever, I found myself barely noticing even as my dad screamed. I was just too overwhelmed. My entire body felt like it was shutting down… I started to get dizzy, and with the screams of frenzied anguish from my dad ringing in my ears, I fell back onto the worn ground and all went dark.
