Chapter 3

I woke up the next morning with the sun blaring in my face. With a groan I sat up and moved away from the tree, nursing my aching back. Trees did not make good beds. I'd need to remember that.

I spotted the familiar red and white of Mokou's outfit and cast a glance in her direction. She was lying face first on the ground, her limbs sprawled out in all directions, making her take on the distinct appearance of a starfish. I was taken aback with surprise but also found myself smirking. Mokou had never, in all the days she had been with me, woken up after me. Next to Aya she would always be the first one awake in the house. I guess the poison must have really taken its toll on her.

I moved to wake her up, but thought better of it. She could still be recovering. I decided that I'd wait until she was awake before we moved on. I hoped she wouldn't take too long, though… It hadn't been the first time Mokou had been poisoned. She was usually pretty good at handling it, but I guess that Wriggle must have been pretty strong. Most of the time she just shrugged it off and got on with it. I'd never seen Mokou so poorly in all of my life.

Finally she stirred just as I was pouring dirt over our extinguished campfire, just to make sure it stayed that way. The last thing I needed was a forest fire on my conscious. She slowly sat up, groaning from exhaustion and aching muscles, just as she realized that there was a bug on her nose. Still sour from yesterday, she burned it to ashes. I didn't want to think what would happen if she saw another Wriggle, or even worse, the same one from yesterday. The poor thing would be dead before I could intervene. I'd need to get her to the next town quickly… maybe some food would lift her mood a little for the journey.

She didn't seem very hungry but accepted the granola bar I offered, even if it was just for the sake of not getting hungry later. After that we took off, after I'd checked to make sure that nothing had been stolen during the night by the Touhou – it was more common than you'd think. Nothing was missing, and so we continued our short journey to the next town – or it would have been short, had it not been for the mishap.

We arrived – it was a town that went by the name of Clifftop – I had no idea why, because it was in fact quite close to the base of the mountain and there were no cliffs around. I was greeted by the town doctor, an old man who lived quietly in the house furthest away from the town. He took one look at Mokou and pulled her into the house, also his surgery. His wife made me some tea while he sat her down on his surgery table. He took a light to her eyes and I had to stop myself from giggling as Mokou snarled at him.

"Ah ah, that's enough of that, Mokou! Let me see your eyes!" He scolded but she didn't back down. I realized that I'd have to intervene.

"Mokou!" I snapped and she jumped slightly, and shrunk under my gaze. I smiled at the doctor, a smile indicating that it was safe for him to continue. He nodded in thanks – he'd always found working with Mokou difficult – and continued. He didn't even need to do a proper examination of her eyes to work out what was wrong.

"She's been poisoned – by a Wriggle, it seems." He shut off the light and turned to me.

"That's right. We got attacked by one yesterday. It seems like the worst of the poison has passed, though." I informed him and he shook his head.

"Don't be so sure. Wriggle poison is peculiar – it only takes effect in the later hours of the day. Mokou is fine now, but in a few hours she'll be just as bad as she was yesterday." He showed me a report he had on the poison as he spoke, which displayed a list of the symptoms – all of which Mokou had shown last night. It said that the poison was permanent – once it was in the body there was no waiting it out, because it never left.

"Mokou's going to have this forever!?" I shrieked, shooting up out of the chair. The doctor looked at me in stunned silence and then erupted into laughter.

"Of course not! It might be permanent but only if you live in the Dark Ages! It's a really easy poison to cure!" He told me and I sighed in relief. Then, the panic rose again –

"You do have the cure, right?"

"Of course I do, what kind of doctor do you take me for, little Renko!?" He once again exploded with laughter, and his wife rolled his eyes.

"He's off his head…" She whispered to me, and I had to giggle.

He went into a cupboard behind his surgery table and came out with a small bottle filled with a yellow-orange liquid.

"This is an Antidote. It cures Touhoumon of any type of poison in a flash! You can buy them over the counter in most shops, so I suggest that you stock up on them before you set out into the forest again." He hands me some money for this, which I try to refuse.

"No way, I don't deserve your money!" I insisted, and he frowned.

"I heard what happened to your village, and were told that you would be coming this way. You need this money more than I do."

The atmosphere tonne-shifted from joyful to serious. It was a bit of a sudden change and I had to hold back tears. Mokou leaped from the table to make sure I was okay, but the doctor chased her around the room until she was upon it again. I put the money into my pocket, and nodded in thanks – if I spoke, I would have only cried. His wife placed a comforting hand upon my back and the two of us watched as he twisted the lid off of the bottle, and forced Mokou's mouth open, much to her annoyance.

"Now, Mokou, say 'ahhh'…"

After we left, we headed straight for the shop – it was run by a delightful old couple who I knew for a fact sold everything I needed. They were good friends of my dad's and I'd spent a lot of time with them in my life. They had a delightful EX Chen who liked to play hide and seek with me in the shop when I was small. Her claws had been filed down so I was never at any risk of being hurt, although she did look silly without her trademark red claws.

A tinny bell rang when I opened the door and stepped inside. Mokou had to duck to get through the door, which I found amusing. The old man – was his name, at least to me – appeared suddenly from somewhere behind the counter, but he had a bad back so he could only sit up so far. His gentle, weak voice just reached me as the door fell shut, the tinny bell giving its cry yet again.

"Why, if it isn't Renko! What brings you here?" He asked me and I smiled at him.

"I'm just here for some supplies. You could say I'm going on an adventure." I replied and he gave a weary, toothless smile.

"Oh my, really? That time already? I always knew you'd leave that stuffy village one day, Renko. I always told your father that…"

"Well, it wasn't by choice, but I guess you were right…" I gave a laugh and snooped around the shop, picking out some items of food and some stuff especially for Mokou (she suddenly started to behave a lot better when she noticed that I had selected a bar of chocolate from one of the shelves). I brought them up to the till and rang them through.

"Now, is there anything else, My Dear?" He asked me, and I blushed in embarrassment.

"Well… I'm going to need some Trainer's supplies… It feels weird asking for them." I spoke.

"What do you need? We don't sell a lot of that sort of thing but I can see what we have." He told me and I raked my brain for the answer to that question.

"Umm, I'll need some Potions," I remembered the doctor's words and money, "and I'll need some Antidotes too."

He fished them out from somewhere in the back of the shop, and added them to my already pretty full brown shopping bag. He looked at me with that same drawn-in smile.

"Oh, and one more thing… if you've got any, I'm going to need some Touhou Orbs…" I felt like I was asking too much of him. He was going to great lengths to fish stuff out for me that he'd obviously had in stock for a long time and had forgotten about.

"…Ah." Was all he said, and he disappeared into the back room once again. Mokou was sniffing various soup cans on the shelf behind me and sneezing off layers of dust.

"Mokou, that's unhygienic, stop it!" I quietly scolded her, and she whined in boredom. Jeez, she was so troublesome!

He came back through, carrying a cardboard tray which had indents similar to those cardboard trays of eggs. These indents were much larger, and contained Touhou Orbs. Their metallic white and crimson surfaces were unmistakable. He had three of them altogether in the tray, possessing thick overcoats of dust. They'd obviously been in stock a long time too. He placed them on the counter in front of me and I picked one up, dusted it off, and examined it. Identical to Mokou's, except it was shining and brand new, despite how old it was – I checked the back of it and it was an outdated model. It would be harder to catch Touhoumon with these, but hopefully I wouldn't have to. Before I could thank him, he seemed to suddenly remember something and he dipped a hand into his trouser pocket. From it he drew a Touhou Orb in its reduced form, but he tapped the button in the middle and it increased to its full size.

"And here's a fourth, if you want it. I won't charge you for the orbs."

This one was much different from the other three. It was the same crimson and white, but the colours seemed worn. The surface was scratched and felt rough to hold, and there was the gluey remnants of stickers dotted here and there on the red side of the sphere-shaped device. It was a used Touhou Orb…

"What's wrong with this one?" I asked him, and he gave a sad smile.

"It was Chen's… We have no need of this Orb anymore, so you can take it."

Chen…? Their Chen? Why were they giving me her Orb!? Don't tell me…!?

"Is she…?" My voice became hushed in fear.

"Yes, Renko… she died a few months ago… I guess your father didn't want to upset you so he never told you…"

Well, this day gets better and better!

Two childhood Touhoumon, died or were discovered to be dead in the space of two days. At this rate it will be Mokou next! I couldn't live with myself if that happened… It was all a bit much…

I thanked him for being such a great help, took the Orbs including Chen's, and rushed outside the shop. I took shelter in the midday sun under a large shady tree, threw my purchases down, thumped against the tree, and cried. Mokou had been slow to follow me, but when she had realized my emotional state she rushed to my side as fast as she could.

"Jeez, Mokou… why is everybody dying all of a sudden? When did the world become so cruel…?" I sobbed, curling up into a ball, with my face buried into my knees. Mokou seemed to be at a loss at what to do. I'd always been a happy child, I'd only cried a few times in her life and all of those times my dad had looked after me. But he wasn't here right now. She thought back to what my dad had always done when I had been upset. She sucked in her pride, put on the stoniest face possible and hugged me from the side.

I was so startled by this unbelievably rare show of affection from Mokou that my tears halted instantly. I gripped her arm tightly with my hands, a rather feeble attempt at hugging back but I was still in shock. Mokou had stopped being affectionate the first time she evolved. Before that she used to give me this cat-like head-butt as a form of greeting, but she hasn't done that in years. I know that she cares about me deeply but she isn't good at showing it. I even happened to glance at the look on her face and saw how uncomfortable she looked with being friendly.

"It's okay Mokou, I'm fine." I said to her and she instantly withdrew, seemingly quite relieved. I smiled and watched as she deliberately knocked over the shopping bag so she could rake through its contents. I was happy to sit and watch her, in a strange isolated state of bliss which normally happened to me just after crying – where I was so tired from crying that I forgot why I had been crying in the first place, and just relaxed until I remembered. I guess it hadn't happened with Aya's death though, because it had been too scarring… This wasn't too bad… I barely knew Chen, but still, I guess I could have called her a friend… I stared at her former Touhou Orb which had rolled the furthest away from the shopping bag. I felt a sudden need to catch a Touhoumon – incredibly sudden and uncontrollable was the urge – and luckily, somebody who could help showed up at that exact moment.

"Renko-senpai! Took you long enough!"

I looked away from Mokou and to a little boy, about nine years old, with vibrant blond hair and a sneer on his face. This little boy was the son of a famous Touhoumon trainer, but he didn't yet have a Touhoumon of his own, although he wanted one. His name was Toshiaki. I'd known him since he was born, we were good friends although he was never that nice to me. He adored Mokou, though.

"Long time no see, Kid." I sighed, sprawling out against the tree and watching him lazily.

"Senpai, today I want you to help me catch a Touhou!" He told me, and it was definitely an order and not a suggestion. I yawned.

"This again? Didn't your dad say that you were still too young for a Touhoumon?" I inquired and he shook his head rapidly.

"Yeah, he did, but now he's changed his mind! And I want you to help me!"

I sighed and stood up.

"If you're sure… Have you got a Touhou Orb?" I asked him and he nodded, extending one from his palm. He pressed the button and it enlarged. Its smooth surface gleamed in the sunlight.

"Well then, I guess we're all ready. Come on!" I hopped up from the base of the tree and beckoned Mokou to follow us as we advanced down the path I had come from the forest. It was the perfect place to find Touhoumon, but it was pretty dangerous at any other time. Toshiaki normally wasn't allowed out here, but since Mokou was with us it was okay.

"Do you actually know what to do, Renko-senpai? Have you ever caught a Touhou before?" His tone was accusing as he asked.

"No, but I've seen Dad do it. It can't be that hard!" I scoffed. Mokou suddenly made a leap for a nearby bush and dragged out a Chibi Cirno. Cirnos were little ice fairies who tended to be stupid and brave – not a good combination by any means. And, of course, they were weak to Mokou's attacks. It would be a perfect Touhou for Toshiaki – they had similar personalities for a start.

"There, I want that one!" He announced stubbornly and that was the only signal I needed. Mokou released the Cirno and it readied itself for battle, angered by being manhandled.

"Mokou, if you please?" It's all I need to say. Mokou waits for the little fairy to charge, and then blasts it with a forceful ball of fire from her hands – a little harsh, but it did the trick. The fairy did backflips in the air from the force before collapsing onto the ground, wounded and covered in scorch marks. She hadn't yet fainted – now was the perfect chance.

"Now, throw the Orb!" I called to him and he rushed forward and feebly chucked the device. It hit the little fairy square in the face and she disappeared inside of it with a white flash. As the orb began to shake and glow, Mokou refused to drop her guard.

Shake… shake… shake… done. Cirno was caught.

Toshiaki's face lit up in shock and happiness.

"I… I have a Touhou!" He looked at me with shining eyes and a grin that almost chopped his face in half. I just smiled and indicated to the orb.

"Bring her out, I'll heal her for you."

He ran over and scooped up the orb, gave it what I assumed was a hug, and pranced back over to me. He clicked the orb open and the poor Cirno tumbled out, still in a lot of pain but no longer hostile. I took one of the potions I bought out of my bag and quickly sprayed it over her burns. She watched, amazed as they healed and she instantly brightened. She gave a cry which sounded suspiciously like 'atai' and ran in circles. Mokou rolled her eyes and gave a groan, and I'm pretty sure she made an attempt to hide behind me. I grinned and stood out of the way, and the Cirno rushed to greet her. Toshiaki decided to join in, and Mokou could only lie there and take it as she became a trampoline to the two.

Once again, I thought about the possibility of catching more Touhou. I still needed to talk to Mokou about that. Fighting other Touhoumon was fun! I enjoyed that battle with Cirno, despite how short it was. But… I wanted to experience that with other Touhou. I wanted to teach, and raise other Touhou too. Mokou could teach them too! There was nothing wrong with having more Touhou in my team, right? The more the merrier!

…Bah, who am I kidding? I don't need anybody but Mokou. She's more than good enough to keep me safe and defeat anybody who stands in our way. Right…?

Hey guys! Sorry about the long delay, I honestly have no decent excuses, so please aim your tomatoes, but please no sharp weapons!

Also, I'm sorry this story is turning out so dark... I wasn't really meaning for it to be this dark. I guess it's an interesting turn from other stories along the lines of Pokemon, but I'm sorry if you guys don't really like how dark it's becoming. I swear it gets better for Renko soon! Sort of... ^^'

~Lagiacrus