Chapter 2: An ancient enemy
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Nameless Hill was a place of deceit, alluring in its beauty, yet deadly to those who dared to approach. It was shrouded in thin fog, it hid and expanded distances at random, all for the purpose of delaying intruders and hapless travelers, it wanted to make them stay, breathe in more of the poisonous air, and die. Hina, however, was undeterred, she ran straight to the top, through the weak and scarce lilies.
Shizuha didn't care about all this. She flew in from above, right to the small meadow at the flat hilltop, to the tiny house of Medicine Melancholy. The doll youkai was outside, she sat at a side of the bright picnic cloth and was busy with a large assortment of vials and bottles. Like Hina, she looked like a toy from a distance – a typical doll, blond hair, purple and black frilly dress.
Across her sat her visitor, a youkai woman, her dress straight, checkered and red. Her hair was green, not poison-green like Hina's, it was the color of newborn grass. She was holding her right hand forward, and green streams of energy poured out of her fingers into what was at the middle of the picnic cloth – a tiny blue flower on a patch of loose soil. She held an open white parasol over her shoulder, and idly twirled it.
Shizuha landed and moved closer to the two, silent and tense. Medicine turned and stood up to greet her, made a curtsy. Shizuha scoffed.
"Still consorting with that thing, I see," Shizuha said. "I though I ordered you to poison her."
The woman in red turned her head slightly. She was smiling. She kept pouring energy into the flower.
"My, how undignified, to order assassination by poison. I'd say that's the new low, leaf-painter, but you'd have to drill through rock of your rock bottom," the woman said.
"Again with that degrading name. I am the goddess of despair and decay of Autumn. I am the goddess of the End."
"And I am Hina Kagiyama, the Cursed Doll of the Mountain!" came a shout from behind Shizuha. Hina ran to her, out of breath. "I'm on a quest most noble, a death-seeking quest! And if there is evil on the way, I shall slay it! Now, where is it?"
Shizuha stepped back and pointed at the woman. "It's her. Yuuka Kazami, the undying plant abomination. Kill her."
"Sure! I declare my spell card!" Hina shouted. "Curse Sign-"
She didn't finish, as Yuuka's parasol closed, she raised her hand and pointed the tip at Hina. A white energy beam shot forward, knocked Hina back. It didn't seem to hurt her much.
"Spark," Yuuka said. "Can't you see Miss Melancholy and I are in the middle of something? Interrupting duels is rude."
Hina groggily got back on her feet. "A duel?"
"Yes, allow me to explain." Medicine gestured to her bottles. "Miss Kazami claimed she is capable of sustaining life in a single isolated flower, no matter how much poison is poured into the soil. We are close to the conclusion, as she is about to lose."
"The flower is still alive," Yuuka said. "I am winning."
"Life can not resist something that is deliberately designed to destroy it. Raw power has limits, admit it."
"We'll see, little miss poison, we'll see. Flowers are majestic plants, resilient and-"
"Who the hell cares about the flower?!" Shizuha suddenly screamed. "You are just projecting, it's about you, it's you who wants to live forever! Always in my way, your garden an undying tumor, your existence – a sin! Rot! Rot before my eyes!"
She pointed at Yuuka with a trembling hand. Indeed, she wanted to fire a blast of decay, a rotting globule that would cling to the hated flower youkai and flay flesh from her bones. She wanted it, she wished for it, she prayed – and nothing happened. Nothing.
"My, you have issues," Yuuka said. She turned back to the flower.
Blood rushed to Shizuha's face. Embarrassment, hatred, rage – it all boiled inside of her, unable to escape. She could not kill. She could not kill, but perhaps she could hurt Yuuka in some other way.
Shizuha ran forward. Yuuka noticed it, turned, put her parasol up like a shield – and she would block any incoming attack, except she was not the target. Shizuha ran on the tablecloth and stepped on the flower, crushed it.
Hina covered her mouth and gasped. Shizuha kicked the dead flower away.
Yuuka stood up. She was not smiling anymore. "Well, now, that was uncalled for. Tell me, Medicine, what should we do to her? Kill her cleanly? Slowly? Perhaps you have an appropriately torturous poison at hand?"
"A quick destruction of her body is enough," the small doll said. "Anything else seems excessive."
"Yes, kill me!" Shizuha shouted. "Do you worst, I'll still outlive you! I will see your disgraceful, pathetic end!"
Yuuka punched Shizuha in the face, a blow that shattered teeth and filled her mouth with blood. Shizuha whimpered and fell, and Yuuka stepped on her chest, pushed hard.
"Stop it! She is under my protection!"
Hina fired a spiraling stream of blue orbs, but she could not go all out, both Shizuha and Medicine were too close. Yuuka blocked the attack with her parasol.
"I should have punished you properly for your first interruption, doll."
Yuuka split in two mirrored, identical beings. The Yuukas grinned at each other, one remained over Shizuha, the other shielded herself with the parasol and slowly walked towards Hina.
Hina's attack ended. She fired another one, a single crystal spike meant to pierce any defense, but suddenly the mirrored Yuuka dropped her shield and dashed forward. She ducked under the spike, lunged, caught Hina's head in her arms and forcefully twisted. There was a sharp cracking sound, and Hina fell to the ground in a heap.
"Tell me now," the Yuuka holding Shizuha asked. "Why do you envy my zest for life so much? Why does your own immortality taste so sour?"
Despite the pain and blood, Shizuha wanted to respond, but found out she was unable to speak, or breathe.
"Why are you silent all of a sudden? What's the matter? Speak up, I am eager to hear your reasons!"
The pressure on her chest tightened, from uncomfortable to painful, from painful to agonizing. Shizuha tried to scream, and could not. Through red haze, she heard Medicine speak.
"Too bad you can't truly kill a god this way. This is rather pointless, like your efforts to preserve the flower were."
Yuuka released a quiet, but very angry growl.
Then, Shizuha's sternum broke, and bone fragments pierced her lungs and heart.
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Shizuha returned to life. There was no pain, her ribs didn't snap back, tearing her organs again, she didn't vomit out blood or spit out broken teeth. It was a wondrous resurrection, her body miraculously restored through faith. It was like awakening from a dream. Shizuha sat up.
The first thing she saw was the sitting body of Hina, head hanging limply on her broken neck. The neck was sliced open from behind, and Medicine was currently digging through it with a long metal knife. Yuuka was standing behind the two, curiously watching. There was some blood around, but not much.
Yuuka looked at Shizuha. "Calmed down, I hope?"
Shizuha blinked. She remembered what happened, but only actions, not emotions and drives behind them, a lot got lost with her death. She got mad at Yuuka, wanted to kill her… why? She could not grasp it.
"What's happening?" Shizuha asked. She tried to stand up, but felt dizzy and sat back down.
"I am fixing your friend," Medicine said. She pulled a thin wrench from an instrument case at her side. "She will be fine in a little while."
"I'm watching dolls fixing dolls," Yuuka said. "Artificial life sustaining artificial life, very entertaining. I'm also pondering what to do with you."
Shizuha felt tired. She lost, and was at the mercy of the victor. And regardless of the flower youkai's decision, her journey was most likely over. She said nothing, and Yuuka continued.
"I'm thinking of dragging you to Eientei. That genius lunar doctor should take a good hard look at your exposed brain."
There was a crack, and Medicine straightened Hina's neck. Shizuha averted her eyes from the empty gaze of the dead doll.
"Leave me alone," Shizuha said.
"That's an option," Yuuka responded wryly. "But it's no fun, just like the first one. Instead, I think I'll follow you around, and keep rubbing in your face the value and beauty of life. How does that sound?"
"It sounds insane."
Yuuka laughed. "Oh, you'll see the world my way, you'll see. You'll learn to value and appreciate life of others, and your own. You'll learn to love your life, you'll find reasons to live for. Under my guidance, you will be happy."
Medicine put the wrench away and picked a thick bent needle and copper wire as her next tool. Shizuha noticed her bag near Yuuka. It was open.
"By the way, while you were dead, I ate your food. Your sister is an excellent cook," Yuuka said.
Shizuha said nothing, stunned. The silence extended. Medicine finished sewing the back of Hina's neck. She picked up a strange device from her instrument case, an elongated black box with two tiny metal prongs at the narrow end. She pushed at the side of the device, and an arc of lightning jumped between the prongs. She then hit Hina in the side with it.
With a gasp and a twitch, Hina returned to life, and immediately grabbed her mangled neck. "Did it spill? How much has spilled? How much?"
"Not much, barely at all," Medicine assured. Hina breathed in relief.
"See, isn't life beautiful? Even life of a doll. I think I will let you enjoy this private moment. Thank you for your warm welcome, Medicine, I will see you later this year. And you two, don't try to escape!"
Yuuka winked at Shizuha, sidestepped Hina and glided to the edge of the hilltop. Medicine silently bowed, then turned and went towards her house. Hina crawled closer to still sitting Shizuha.
"Can you believe it? We are so lucky! It barely spilled!" Hina exclaimed, smiling.
"What barely spilled," Shizuha said numbly.
"The curse! The curses! They didn't spill out! So lucky, if she twisted my head just a little further, it would come off, and everything would spill!"
Overwhelmed with joy, Hina hugged Shizuha. Shizuha kept sitting, her mind blank. Yuuka's words echoed in her head. Hina pulled back.
"Too bad I didn't see the end of the fight. Can you tell me what happened? Did you win? Did you lose? Did you have tea afterwards?"
"No…" Shizuha stumbled. "She… she said a lot of things. Apparently, she will be joining us on our journey. She ate my food."
"Really?" Hina carefully turned and checked her own bag. "Hey, she ate mine too! What an impolite youkai!"
Shizuha blinked. The haze from her mind lifted a bit. Perhaps she got used to the lilies, or perhaps the shock had worn off. Even for a goddess, death of the body felt awful.
She heard footsteps. Medicine Melancholy returned; she was holding a small, yet heavy bottle in her hands, a bottle filled with thick, purple liquid.
"I made twice as much as last year, and it is almost three times more potent," Medicine said. "I hope this will be enough to end your torment. Make sure to drink it right before you destroy your soul, so it doesn't have time to build tolerance."
She extended her small arms, and Shizuha took the bottle. No payment was necessary, for Medicine, it was a grand experiment, a test of abilities, a challenge. Shizuha could only wonder how happy the young youkai would be at hearing the news of her death.
"Thank you," Shizuha said. Medicine bowed.
Shizuha stood up. She put the bottle in her bag and helped Hina get up, as the curse goddess had not made a full recovery yet. They bid their farewells and descended down the hill. Yuuka was waiting for them, an open parasol in her hands.
"While you were dead, Medicine told me of your plan," Yuuka said. "A poison to seal your channels of faith, cut you off from devout. A road to hell, a jump into the pit of devouring fire. How overly complicated and ineffective."
Shizuha cringed. "What do you want? We both know you can easily stop me. Break my legs, drag me home, tie me to the bed. It's that simple."
"I want to show you the truth, many truths. Here is the first one – life never disappears. I changes shape, and lives on."
Yuuka turned the parasol in her hands. It spun, and kept spinning, and started humming. Streams of white flowed to it from somewhere behind.
Shizuha looked back. The lilies were wilting, the hill was changing color, from white to mottled brown. The flowers were dying, feeding the spin, feeding the ancient monster. Yuuka gave them life for a brief moment, for her meeting with Medicine to look pretty, and now took it all back, all for herself.
The flowers died, and Yuuka put the parasol over her shoulder. "Do you see it now? Have you absorbed the truth?"
Shizuha pushed her lips into a thin line and walked past Yuuka. Hina caught up to her.
"I don't get it," Hina whispered. "Why can't she understand that there are different worldviews?"
"She does it to provoke me. Ignore what she says, we will find a way to get rid of her somehow. And whatever you do, don't expect her to help, especially not at the bridge."
Hina looked confused. "What bridge?"
Shizuha stopped. She didn't want to say, to remember. She tried to bury it in her mind, but could not. It was the place of frustration and shame, the place where her weakness was bared, put on display, laughed at. A cursed place, but perhaps with the help of the curse goddess she would cross it. It would all be different this time. It had to be.
"The bridge to Hell," Shizuha said. "Parsee's bridge."
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