'Hmm… The fireflies seem awfully bright tonight… Is it just my imagination?'
Marisa and I had begun our voyage, and were currently flying through a particularly bright section of forest. The luminosity was not due to the absurdly bright false moon, but the large amount of fireflies.
'No… That's definitely not my imagination.' Surely, they were brighter than the norm. In field tests, I'd deduced that the intensity of a firefly's shine could not be traced to any specific factor (Looking back, I had discovered nothing). So why were they shining so brilliantly?
"Hey, Marisa. Do you have any idea why-"
My words were cut short when I saw Marisa's expression, which reminded me of a small child who had just seen an irresistible toy in a store window. She was gazing off into the distance, and it wasn't until I followed her eyes that I realized the object of her transfixion.
Oh, great. The moon.
"Ah, the moon sure is beautiful tonight."
I look back to the witch, an annoyed frown on my face.
"What? Are you kidding me?" Wasn't Marisa the one who wanted to stop that thing?
"It's so damn beautiful!" she said, continuing her longing gaze toward the celestial body. It quickly became clear to me that although Marisa desired to stop the replica moon, she had absolutely no sense of urgency. Or perhaps
"I envy you carefree manner," I mutter, quite cross with my new partner. "If I had absolutely anything else to do tonight, I never would've come with you." This, of course, was a lie. But there was no need for Marisa to know that.
"Hey now…" Marisa replied, finally turning away from the moon. "Don't be so taciturn, ze!"
"T-taciturn? How dare you, you black-white pest! I am not-"
For the second time in approximately 2 minutes, my sentence was interrupted. This time, it was due to a bright flash that occurred only a few feet away.
Standing (or floating, I should say) in front of us was a green-haired youkai. I assumed she was of the insect variety, as she had the wings of a firefly and a glow to match.
"Why not just relax and enjoy the moonlit night?" She smiled as she spoke, although I had the impression it wasn't supposed to be a friendly gesture. "Come on, you two…"
"I'll have you-"
"Totally enjoying it. I am, anyway."
And just like that, my statement was broken for the third time. This was getting infuriating.
"W-well, I'm enjoying myself, too!" I stammered. "At least more than you, Marisa!" Gods above, I sounded childish. But it hadn't exactly been a stress-free night, and I was apparently not allowed to speak a full sentence.
The youkai laughed, likely noting the irritation in my voice. (My partner, on the other hand, kept the same dumfounded grin) "Oh? Didn't you just say something completely different?"
Though she was technically correct, I wasn't exactly in the conceding mood. So, I decided to go into Marisa-mode and lie.
"Of course not. I'm not enjoying the moon-watching. I'm…"
"Firefly-watching, right?"
Much to my surprise, Marisa picked up on what I was planning to say. Either that, or she'd just gotten lucky. Personally, I wondered if it wasn't the second.
"Almost, but not quite." I said, shaking my head slightly. "Very perceptive of you, though..."
During our little exchange, I'd distinctly noted the growing glow of the youkai before us. At this point, she was nearly bright enough to hinder my sight.
"C'mon…" she taunted, striking a battle stance. "I'll shoot first if you don't!"
'Oh, so she wanted a Spellcard Battle?' I was all too happy to oblige, since I wasn't in the best of moods. I looked over at Marisa, who was already summoning her standard Magic Missile attack. I could tell from the grin on her face that we'd have some fun with this poor soul. I turned back to the enemy, who was now summoning bug familiars. The wind began to pick up strength, and all signs pointed to a heavy battle. Along with the bright moon, I thought it a very fitting scene for damaku.
"My name is Wriggle Nightbug!" the insect proclaimed, her familiars now glowing as brightly as she was. "I'll gladly grind you into dust, firefly watchers!"
I flash a grin, summoning Shanghai to my side and readying my mental strings. Marisa hopped onto her broom and flew to my side, wearing her trademark toothy smile.
"Actually… It's more like firefly HUNTING!"
-0-0-0-
"Ugh… Crap!"
Wriggle, who had been smashed against a tree, somehow managed to fly back towards me.
It hadn't been a very eventful fight. Both of her previous spellcards had been boring, and neither had challenged me in the slightest.
"Had enough, buggy?" Perhaps it was due to my poor attitude, but I felt especially condescending. Personally, I blame that black-white magician.
"Buggy?" Wriggle's head snapped up, a fury in her eyes I hadn't quite expected. "My name…" Her fists were shaking. At least maybe she'd put out a decent attack now.
"IS WRIGGLE!"
HIDDEN BUG – HERMIT OF AN ENDLESS NIGHT!
Immediately, bullets of both green and yellow took form and were rushing towards me. I was experienced enough not to panic, but the unpredictability of the bullets made stationary avoidance difficult.
'There has to be a weakness somewhere!' There always is, after all. Such is the nature of danmaku. 'Left, right, down…' Bullets graze by, but I wasn't worried. 'If I just stay observant, I'm sure that something will…'
There!
'Directly below of Wriggle is a glaring blind spot. It'll be a bit rough, but I'm certain I can make it without too much trouble.' More than anything, it speaks to the unpolished nature of a low-class youkai. I quickly rush forward, reserving my strength for the perfect moment.
"Don't want to fire? Fine! I'll just fire for you, then!" yelled Wriggle, summoning another round of bug familiars. "Take THIS!"
Suddenly, the familiars begin firing small bursts of danmaku, making my job even more difficult. I avoid the worst of the bullets by cutting sharply left, but find myself staring at a new wall of green and blue projectiles.
"Damn it! I should've realized that was a trick!" Indeed, the familiar's bullets had not been precisely aimed, and I couldn't help cursing myself for falling for such an amateurish ploy.
"What's the matter, doll-girl? Finding yourself outmatched?"
I look back up at Wriggle. She's still firing the same spellcard, meaning her energy must be low. Perfect.
"Oh, hardly," I say, a small smile working its way to my face. "By the way… Look below you."
Wriggle, shocked by my sudden rally, looked downward to see one of my precious dolls floating towards her. "What's the big deal?" she scoffs. "I don't get why you warned-"
MAGIC SIGN - ARTFUL SACRIFICE!
Her look turns from surprise to horror as the gunpowder inside my doll ignites. With a brilliant flash, Wriggle becomes engulfed in the explosion, as well as the surrounding danmaku. I can't help but give an arrogant snicker at my brilliance. It hadn't been easy sneaking a doll into her blind spot, especially with the error I'd made. Still, I couldn't complain about the result.
"Dang it… That's not fair…"
I look back up to see Wriggle very much intact.
"Don't you use your familiars in the same way?" I ask, a satisfied smile still on my face.
"MY familiars don't randomly blow up, you evil witch!" she replies, shaking her fists at me. The action conjured an image of a baby throwing a fit, oddly enough.
"Hey, don't get me confused with the other one. I'M a magician! She's the witch!"
Come to think of it, where was Marisa? I knew she'd flown off to direct some familiar's attacks away from me, but I hadn't seen her since…
"Grr… Enough talking, you puppet-freak!"
FIREFLY SIGN – COMET ON EARTH!
Upon her words, another round of blue bullets began zooming towards me. This time, however, they came to a stop before reaching me.
'A cage-style spellcard?'
Just as the bullets formed their intended shape, Wriggle began charging several larger bullets, which I assumed were meant for me. It wouldn't be convenient to move around in a restricted space, but it'd be far from difficult.
"Let's see you dodge THIS!"
Suddenly, the bullets grew even larger. Wriggle began some sort of maniacal laughter as this occurred, with the laugh occasionally reaching a pitch not dissimilar to a cicada's cry.
"Make them as big as you'd like, fool. I've got more than enough dolls to stop anything you throw at me!" Which, actually, is completely true. Because I'm able to control my dolls remotely, even the dolls back at my workshop can be…
"..ve Sign…"
Wait.
"…Master…"
Oh, screw it all.
"SPAAAAARRRRRK!"
GET OUT, NOW!
LOVE SIGN – MASTER SPARK!
I don't even turn to look at the massive laser behind me. I know all too well the power it holds. Instead, I busy myself with getting the hell out of the way. The fear on Wriggle's face is evident, and I'm guessing it'll probably be a week before she wakes up from this. I narrowly manage to avoid the beam, as the entire area becomes the color of Marisa's attack…
-0-0-0-
"Ha! Take that, you stupid bug!"
Marisa tossed her Hakkero and caught it her hat. She turned back to me as she put it on, smiling from ear to ear.
"But seriously, Alice…" she continued, he smile flattening somewhat. "You realize firefly-hunting is about catching them, not beating them up, right?"
"I wanted to catch it, but you went and squished it!" I retort, floating back to Marisa. Honestly, her Master Spark was completely unnecessary. We were doing just fine against Wriggle without her Magicannon.
Marisa sighed loudly before hopping back onto her broom. "Geez, this is lame… All I did was dodge!"
"Dodging includes using your strongest attack?" I rolled my eyes before flying off. There's no way Marisa could actually believe half of the crap she spat out... "Whatever. Let's keep going."
"But Alice, we have no idea where to go…" I heard her trail off, before I was eventually out of earshot.
'She's supposedly the fastest human in Gensokyo. I'm sure she'll catch up.'
Hello, readers! I'm Hanabro, and this is chapter 2 of Black & White Change. I apologize if this chapter was a little flat, but I promise more'll happen later. And don't worry, MariAri lovers; you'll get your feel-good scenes! Any comments/criticism are more than welcome, and thanks for taking the time out of your day to read! I've got more in store, so be ready!