Disclaimer: Touhou belongs to Zun, and the only things that belong to myself would be Usagi the mimic, and Moegi the japanese beetle. Everything else belongs to their rightful owner.
A/N: And here we are again, in another chapter of my current project.
Y/N: That we are~
A/N: ...What do we even talk about?
Y/N: Well, what do we normally speak of?
A/N: ...Inane nonsense?
Y/N: Well, there you go. We must speak of either something inane, or nonsense.
A/N: Or both at the same time.
Y/N: My, that would be lovely.
A/N: ...I've got nothing.
Y/N: Well, why don't we talk about talking about inane nonsense?
A/N: ...I like the way you think...
Y/N: You're too kind~
A/N: Although, haven't we done that like three times now?
Y/N: True.
A/N: Maybe we should stop doing that.
Y/N: Well, what do you suggest we do?
A/N: Well, how about we have guests? That's what talk shows do, isn't it?
Y/N: Would this even count as a talk show, though?
A/N: Well, what else would you call it?
Y/N: An author note section.
A/N: Getting a bit meta there, Yukari...
Y/N: Although, we've hit the 200 word mark, so I suppose we'll save that for next time~
A/N: Yay! ...Also, the final line shows where I considered ending the chapter! Wouldn't that have been a terrible cliffhanger?
Some time in the past:
Not sure how else to bring it up, I let out a sigh that I hoped my love would pick up on.
Picking up on it just as I had hoped he would, he asked, "What's wrong, dear?"
Looking down at my lap, I asked, "What will we do when Rika enters school? Odds are that the children won't believe her tales of the things she has made. I can just imagine the things she will make in the future."
Raising a brow, and setting down his news paper, my husband asked, "Isn't that why we bought her Alpha? A friend that will stick with her through thick and thin."
Shaking my head, I said, "That's not the problem that I'm talking about."
Sighing, he asked, "Then what's bothering you, love?"
Looking to him, I answered, "They'll ask to see the inventions."
Blinking in realization, he finished, "And she'd show them."
Nodding, I added, "If they so much as imply that they'd be her friend for showing them something she's made, she will bring them here. They will see the things she may make in the future. Those things may be weapons. If word were to get out, and it would, the parents would find out. If the parents find out, things would snowball from there, and-"
From beside me, the phone began to ring, breaking me out of my reverie. We both turned our heads to it with annoyance. Sighing, I picked up the phone. "Hello?"
In a playful voice, a mature woman answered, "If you're so worried about such a thing, have I a proposition for you~"
Present day:
Just deciding to run with the apparently magical nature of things, or that this was all some big joke, I asked myself, "I wonder what happened with the ghosts? I mean, they are ghosts, right? Souls given solid bodies sounds a tad like a ghost after all. Sounds like a horrible plot for a B movie, honestly. If I were to give it a name, it'd probably have the monster as its name. Or maybe Ghost Army or something. I wonder what kind of damage an army of normally incorporeal monsters could do? Would they maybe headbutt you? ...Would they even have heads? Do they look like they have sheets over their heads? Maybe like in pacman? But if they look like pacman ghosts, does that mean there's a giant yellow ball that eats smaller yellow balls? ...Or people? Depending on size, it could be quite easy..."
Blinking, I asked myself, "...Am I seriously thinking that pacman of all things is frightening if you imagine it in the wrong way?" Shaking the silly thoughts from my mind, I asked, "Although, even if it's a bit silly, shouldn't something like that be scary if it's big enough? Hell, just give it teeth and it'd be disturbing... Sharp teeth especially." Shuddering at the thought, I opened the hatch on the top of the tape recorder and removed the tape, putting it away.
Scanning over the order of the tapes, I found that next was what looked like a capital A, but something told me that it wasn't simply the letter A. No, there had to be more to it than such a simple answer. Something seemed familiar about it, though.
Popping the next tape in, I pressed play.
Rika: I found the strangest thing while I was out today!
[woof]
Rika: Right. From the top. [clearing throat] Hello once again, me, Mommy, or Daddy!
[arf]
Rika: Right! Or Alpha, if you somehow figure out how to use this device in the future.
[woof...]
Rika: Ohh? You can? Then show me! Press the butto-
[short silence]
Rika: Well, that was surprising. Alpha managed to press the button just fine! I was really impressed, even if it ended up turning off the tape recorder.
[bark!]
Rika: Yeah, yeah, I said I was sorry. What more do you want from me?
[woof]
Rika: You know I can't give you extra food; you'd get fat again.
[arf!]
Rika: You're on a diet, and that's final. Sorry...
[woof...]
Rika: Anyways, moving on... Ahh, yeah, that's right. From the top!
[woof...]
Rika: Well, today I decided to go exploring, and decided to take Alpha with me for protection. Gensoukyou can be a pretty dangerous place, you know? Anyways, we found this odd bat-like creature with a bulbous body, today! It had these odd tendrils that it used to stand that it could retract into its body, and it had this single big eye. Long story sort, it attacked us. Alpha blocked its surprisingly weak attack that was meant for me! It tried to stab me with this little spike on the end of its tentacle that came out when it retracted it. Came out of the tendril, that is. It's stuck pretty snugly in Alpha now, but Alpha seems okay. That must have been one of those youkai I hear so much about.
"...Youkai? What the hell is a youkai?"
Rika: Anyways, I don't really have anything else to mention. See ya, whoever you are.
[momentary silence]
Rika: Alpha's in pain... Whatever the eye monster did to him, I'm afraid it's working... I asked Miss Keine about it, and she lent me a book on the subject of youkai ecology. Maybe it'll help.
[silence]
Rika: Okay, I read up on the matter, and... and... ...Alpha, he... he might not make it. Maybe? I'm not sure! The book's pretty vague... It has loads of info on other monsters, but next to nothing on evil eyes! That's what they are. Evil eyes. What a silly name, right, Alpha? ...Alpha? No, it's... Alpha's not moving! Mom! [distant] Mom, Alpha stopped moving, and- and he won't start moving, and he... won't move! A-and... And... [sob] Alpha! Please move... Please say something... Anything!
Mom: What happened? Calm down, sweetie, it'll be okay. Shh. Shh, it's fine. Calm down and tell me what happened...
[long relative silence where breathing slowly calms down]
Rika: W-well, umm, Alpha and I were... we were out in the woods, and... And we saw this evil eye, and... and it attacked, and... Alpha took the attack. Everything... looked fine at first - just a little stub was sticking out of his chest - but then he... he started yipping in pain here and there... Something obviously wasn't quite... right, so I went to... to Keine for help, so she... she gave me this b-book, and... I-I looked up what was wrong.
[short silence]
Mom: And?
Rika: Alpha won't make it... I don't think... The spike is lodged in Alpha's... heart... And it'll only get worse? It's vague, okay?!
Mom: Shh. Calm down.
Rika: R-right... Just... Just have to stay calm, cool, and collected... Calm, cool... and collected...
Mom: Now, tell me what happened after that.
Rika: W-well... She fell over and... and she... sh-she... [sniffle] ...she stopped moving...
Mom: Alright, so we'll need to try and extract that dart.
Rika: You don't understand, mom... It's... It's too late. To extract it would rip out her heart...
Mom: ...I see... Then we pray for a miracle and we watch over her. We'll give her life support for as long as we can, okay? Just please stop crying, sweetie...
Rika: [sniffles a few times] R-right... Just... please keep her safe...
[long silence followed my footsteps growing nearer and nearer]
Man: Hrm? What's this doing turned on? Better turn it o-
[short pause]
Rika: I... I don't know how to feel about it.
[silence]
Rika: Yeah, I know you can't help what happened, but... it scared me...
[silence]
Rika: It was... It was really, really bloody. My clothes are spattered with blood from being so close to the scene of the... hatching.
[silence]
Rika: Right. From the top. ...H-hello, Mommy, Daddy, Alpha or me... I... Well, a lot has happened since I left off. Apparently I left the tape recorder running, so that's at least part of it covered, but I still have so much left.
[silence]
Rika: Right, Alpha's an evil eye now.
[silence]
Rika: ...And communicates telepathically.
[silence]
Rika: And has a strong urge to stab me in the chest and make me one as well.
[silence]
Rika: Yeah, I know you won't, but I'll be fixing it anyways.
[silence]
Rika: Ohh, shush. Don't be such a big baby. I'll be sure to knock you out first, so don't you worry.
[silence]
Rika: ...Okay, you have a point there. How much anaesthetic does one use on an evil eye? You look like a baby compared to the other one.
[silence]
Rika: Yeah, I know that I could try and gradually test larger and larger doses on you, but that would be a really big waste.
[silence]
Rika: ...True, I guess it's better than killing you or something. I've already lost you once; I'm not losing you a second time.
[silence]
Rika: Yeah, and I don't think I'll be able to sleep for a while after watching you explode like that.
[silence]
Rika: So what if you're okay?! You still exploded! All over me, too! There were bone shards and... and blood everywhere! It was so not cool!
[silence]
Rika: How is that my fault? I couldn't leave your side!
[silence]
Rika: I don't care about technicalities! I couldn't leave your side and that's final! I'm not about to argue that! I cared too much about you to leave your side for a minute...
[silence]
Rika: Miss Keine can be worried all she likes!
[silence]
Rika: I care too much about you to care what happens otherwise. You're my only friend, Alpha... [sniffle] If I don't have you, who would I have?
[flap]
Rika: Ehh? Are you... are you hugging me? With your wings?
[silence]
Rika: I... [sniffle] Alpha, I'm so glad you're alright...
[flap]
Rika: Well... how about we get to testing the anaesthetic? Rika out.
[short pause]
Rika: The operation was a success! Alpha is now just a little less likely to stab me!
[silence]
Rika: Ohh, shush. You know that was a joke. Can't you read minds a little? Anyways, I just wanted to quickly tell that everything was a success! There seem to be no side effects to the modifications I made to Alpha's heart. All is well, and Alpha's got this slowly healing scar over his chest. Youkai are awesome... I'm a bit jealous, really! [giggles]
[silence]
Rika: Ohh, shush. I know you could make me like you if I really wanted. I'm fine staying the way I am. ...Besides, evil eyes can't wield tools, right?
[silence]
Rika: ...Okay, so you can work a wrench pretty well. ...And a screw driver... ...And can... pick up a big sheet of... steel... Quit tempting me! A-anyways, that's all for now! Rika out. Again.