(So I rewrote chapter four. Why?
I was having difficulty writing chapter five, and I was talking to my friend about it. She told me that, when she tried reading chapter four, she had a hard time — it "didn't seem to fit with the rest of the story thus far."
MY FRIEND IS A GENIUS. Because after rereading the old chapter four, I realized that I couldn't stand it. So this came about as the result. Hope you like it as much as I do!
Mokou © ZUN
OCs © Me)
Impossibilities
Chapter Four: Long Way Away From Home
Mokou has driven herself past the point of exhaustion before, but never quite like this. For two days straight, she's walked down the mountain and through the forest; for two days straight, she's stopped for nothing — not food, not water, not even rest.
She doesn't understand how the sun can shine blue, or how it can shine through the purple canopy like there are no trees at all, but the blue light hurts her head.
Keep going, the white-haired girl tells herself, rubbing tiredly at her bloodshot eyes. Need to… get out of this forest…
Somewhere along the way, Mokou has lost track of when the trees changed colors and shapes; they were so normal before, but have — somewhere in the last half-day or so — taken on such fantastic colors, such unnatural forms… Had she not known better, she'd call them humanoid in shape — but trees don't grow in the shapes of people, they just don't.
Trees don't talk, either, so she dismisses the voices she keeps hearing as well.
Have to be almost there… Need to get… to Hourai…
"Is she alright?"
"That girl…"
Her arm jerks up suddenly; scowling, she smacks it back down, muttering angrily to herself. But she can't stop her fingers from wriggling uncontrollably, alternately digging into and jerking away from her arm.
Have to… keep… going…
She keeps saying this to herself, even as the already-distorted shapes around her start growing fuzzy and dim. But if she can keep going, even just a little further—
Mokou bumps into something that wasn't there just a moment ago — something that moves as she stumbles into it before holding its ground.
Whatever it is, it speaks in a harsh voice, spouting nonsense.
Mokou looks up slowly, and it suddenly grows quiet.
"…kay? Are you okay?" it asks, its voice suddenly distant and distorted. "Hello?"
Mokou tilts her head, staring with unnaturally wide, sunken eyes.
What… Who are…?
After several long moments spent trying to speak, her legs suddenly give out from under her…
The last thing she sees is a human face before her world grows dark.
"…her back, and we can barely even afford to feed ourselves?"
"She passed out… …front of me… …else could I have done?"
These voices… they're human, for sure. But they're so soft, almost ephemeral…
Is she dreaming?
"…understand that. But what do we do for her… …she wakes up? She'll need food for tonight, and…"
"Well… hopefully, she won't have to stay long. We have enough for three people for tonight, don't we? For now, we'll just take care of her as best we can…"
But… if she's dreaming, why are the voices becoming more real?
"…need more water. Will you take care of that?"
She feels a hand slip under her head, gently lifting her up.
"Nnh…"
"Oh, she's awake. Masaru, she's awake!"
Mokou has to struggle to open her eyes.
The first thing she sees is a woman's face looking down at her, traces of concern evident in her dark brown eyes. The second thing she notices is that she is no longer surrounded by trees — discolored or otherwise; rather, there are walls around her.
The third thing she sees is the bowl of water the woman is holding.
"Ah…" Mokou rasps, trying to form words that can't escape her parched throat. "Ah… W-Wa…"
Quickly, the woman brings the bowl to Mokou's lips; the white-haired girl chokes, struggling to swallow the water before finally succeeding.
"There," the woman murmurs, laying Mokou back down. "Are you feeling better?"
"Nh… I… think so," the white-haired girl mutters, still struggling to get her words out. "Where am I…?"
"Ah, she is awake."
Mokou and the black-haired woman look towards the doorway to see a man standing there, looking at them both with stern black eyes.
Mokou can't quite figure out why his face seems vaguely familiar.
"How is she doing?" the man asks the woman, shifting his attention from the white-haired girl.
"Better," the woman responds, gently brushing Mokou's bangs away from her forehead. "But she's still very weak..."
"I'll be fine," Mokou protests, barely summoning the strength to sit herself up. "I'll be… Nngh…"
"You need to rest. Just lay back down—"
"I'm fine!" Mokou snaps, startling even herself with how loud she is. "…sorry. I didn't mean to…"
"It's alright," the man assures, stepping forward to stand by the woman. "We understand. But even so, you should get some more rest. You don't look much better than when you passed out in front of me…"
It takes a few moments for her to make the connections, but Mokou suddenly figures out why the man's face seems familiar.
"That was… you that I stumbled into?" she asks, feeling her face flush with embarrassment. "I— I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, sir…?"
"Tohei Masaru," the man finally introduces himself, putting a hand on the black-haired woman's shoulder. "And this is my wife, Miyako."
Mokou feels her gut churn a little when she hears that name; she can't tell if it's because of her memories associated with the name, or if it's just from going two days without food or water.
"Thank you for taking me in, Ma—Tohei-san," she quickly corrects herself, remembering that, since she's in this world, he is "older" than she is. "I… My name is Ikeda Teruyo. I've come from Suwa…"
That's close enough to Gensokyo, isn't it? she asks herself.
"Suwa? Goodness, you've come so far by yourself," Miyako gasps, her hands flying to her mouth.
"I have?" Mokou asks, crossing her arms in front of her stomach. "Where am I?"
"You've come all the way to Yokosuka," Masaru informs, hiding his surprise better than his wife.
"Oh… That's — Yeah, I guess I have come a long way," the white-haired girl admits, bringing one hand up to her head. "I didn't think I'd make it so far without stopping…"
She's so busy being amazed at how far she's traveled already, she misses the look that Masaru shares with his wife.
"…Miyako, go get started on dinner," he orders quietly. "Make enough for three."
"Yes, of course."
"Eh?" Mokou begins, turning her head to see Miyako quickly leave the small room they're in. "No, you don't have to do that—"
"You walked down a mountain and halfway across Japan by yourself, apparently without stopping," Masaru interrupts, the stern look in his eyes from before softening. "You need food, and rest."
"No… I don't need anything more than a place to sleep," Mokou shakes her head. "Really, I don't. I'll be leaving early tomorrow morning anyways…"
"Where are you headed?" Masaru asks.
Mokou hesitates for a moment before deciding that the truth won't hurt in this case.
"Well, I… I'm trying to get to Mount Hourai."
For a few moments, they're both silent.
"You need something to eat," Masaru finally declares. "You haven't yet recovered from your walk down the mountain—"
"I'm not delirious!" Mokou growls, scowling. "It's why I left Suwa in the first place! What, you think I'd just leave my home — do you think I just decided to walk down a mountain on a whim?"
"…But why would one as young as you want to look for a mountain that doesn't even exist?"
At this, Mokou pauses.
"…It's… for my family," she finally concedes, looking down. "I can't explain it any further… But it's for them. I have to get to Mount Hourai…"
For a few moments, they're both silent.
"…There is a port just a short walk north of here," Masaru finally says. "I've heard rumors of a group of men preparing to try and sail to Hourai. Perhaps you can convince them to bring them with you."
Mokou quickly looks up, surprised.
"…Thank you," she nods slowly, letting a grateful smile cross her face. "I'll do that tomorrow. You're very kind, to tell me that…"
"Not at all," Masaru shakes his head. "If you've come all the way from Suwa… Even if I think your task is impossible, the least I can do is point you in the right direction. But since I've told you this, I expect you to join my wife and me for dinner — I won't take 'no' for an answer."
Mokou's faint smile widens a little more as Masaru leaves.
Thank you…
It's been three hours since Masaru and Miyako went to bed, and Mokou is still sitting beside the fireplace.
'I need to go to Hourai', she thinks to herself, imagining a potential conversation that she could have tomorrow.
'Why?'
Um… 'Because I…'
Argh, I can't say that I'm fulfilling one of Kaguya's requests; they'll figure out that I'm not like them! I can't afford that. But what would be a good lie to replace it with?
Scowling at herself, Mokou grabs the cup by her side, taking another drink of water from it.
Well, what if I don't say why I want to go? …But then they'll really have no reason to trust me. Then I'd probably have to find a way to Hourai by myself…
The white-haired girl grimaces at the thought, slowly shaking her head to push the thought out of her mind. Instead, she turns her attention to the fire, which glows dimly.
After a moment's thought, Mokou reaches her hand towards the flames, flexing her fingers and concentrating.
The flames suddenly roar back to life; the immortal girl quickly slides back, shocked that her attempts to manipulate the fire actually worked.
Okay… so I have that going for me, she finally tells herself as the flames die down to a reasonable-sized fire. If I can do that, then…
Hesitating briefly, Mokou scoots close to the fire again, quickly reaching into it and pulling her hand back before her sleeve can catch fire.
The small flame in her hand dances wildly, shifting shapes before taking the form of a tiny phoenix.
"What should I do?" the girl murmurs, holding the fiery bird with both hands. "I'm worried about tomorrow… What if I can't find someone to take me to Hourai? What do I do then?"
The phoenix looks up at the immortal girl, spreading its small wings; it nearly disappears into a puff of smoke before reforming in the palms of her hands.
"…yeah. I shouldn't worry about it," Mokou smiles, moving her hands close to the fireplace again to return the phoenix to the flames. "I'll get it to work out in the end, somehow."
A quiet, long yawn escapes her lips.
I should go to bed, she tells herself. Regardless of what happens, tomorrow is going to be a busy day…
Even so, Mokou decides to sit in front of the fire a little longer, letting the comforting warmth flow over her.
(End chapter four.
Better? Yes? No? I'd really like your thoughts on it, but I found this revised version to be major improvement.
Please review!)