Disclaimer: Shin Megami Tensei: Persona belongs to ATLUS. Touhou Project belongs to Zun. I have no ownership of the copyrights of either series in any way.
Chapter 9: A Strange Balance
The maid who called herself Ruukoto shifted her stance downward, and like a spring, leaped forward with her broom and swung it downwards at me. Moments before impact, I rolled out of the way and made sure to get on my feet, though I was still kneeling, one hand on the ground. A thump was heard as the broom's far end hit the ground. The maid who talked like a robot… who am I kidding? She's an ASSW. Of course she's a robot. Anyways, she shifted her gaze towards me without a single change in expression.
"Um… can't we talk this out?" I ask her. The ASSW stared for about one second before replying.
"Agility confirmed to be above initial predictions. Re-extrapolating target's other statistics based on newly received information. Extrapolation completed. Full force deemed necessary for survival. Authorizing full use of missile salvos and explosive weaponry." Oh crap.
"How about some tea? Does tea sound good? I like the idea." As soon as I said that, out of (what seemed to be) nowhere popped two sets of missile launchers from around both of her shoulders. "I'll take that as a solid rejection. Well I'm not too down about it. As they say, there are other fish in the sea, so bye." I ran out of the storehouse and slammed shut the door behind me using Thanatos' strength. Good. I think I handled that pretty well.
*BOOM!* The storehouse exploded behind me, launching me a few meters away. Conveniently, I landed in a way such that I was facing the storehouse and had a clear view. I saw that the storehouse… it's not appropriate to call it a storehouse now though… was just a smoldering ruin of wood and fire. Standing, unharmed, in the middle was the maid that was hell bent on completing her outdated directive. She scanned the area until her gaze fell upon me. Once she found me, she furrowed her brow and spoke in her robotic tone again.
"Target found. Initiating pursuit. Activating wings." Suddenly, futuristic wing like structures sprouted from her back and began to fire up. At first all it did was cause her to hover, but after another few moments, she once again launched herself at me, this time flying at high speed.
"Crap!" was all I could say. This is not good. Is this a spell card duel? I didn't see one declared… dammit. I'll just have to assume it isn't if I want to survive. I then rolled out of the way of her first lunge, just out of reach from the tip of the broom she still held onto. Finishing that, I then took to the air myself to prevent further damage to the surrounding area. Once I was sufficiently in the air, I grabbed my evoker and readied it to fire at myself. [Change] Orpheus Telos is good against everything.
"Fool has been detected. Theory of Arcana change confirmed. Continuing pursuit," she said before firing up her wings again and flying at me with her broom ready.
"Sukukaja!" I yelled along with a *Bang*from my evoker as my persona manifested to perform the agility enhancement spell. However, instead of having to dodge a flurry of blows like I fully expected to, I saw that my opponent had stopped midflight, staring in stupor.
"Target has used Kirijo Foundation property to summon a Persona. Increasing threat level." This is the gift that keeps on giving, isn't it? She then began to twirl her broom in a circle, the bristles and staff blurring in to a mess of brown colors. "Unleashing Hammer." She then made a final swing down with the item in hand to reveal that it was now a large hammer, the staff having lengthened and the bristles having been replaced with an odd shaped head that seemed to be winged. There was no doubt however that the flat side that was facing downwards would hurt like a mother.
She resumed her flight, this time looking to really smash me in, however she raised her weapon ponderously. Dodging this was going to be simple, especially with a Sukukaja in place, except at the last second, she said "Ignition," and the far end of the hammer all of a sudden ignited and the thrust accelerated the head faster than I initially predicted. Luckily, I had 3D movement on my side and it was just a matter of moving just out of the way. I took a moment to re-align myself and make sure I had a clear view of my opponent.
Now then her attacks should be easy enough to avoid, but how should I approach attacking her? If she's anything like Aigis, then she should be weak to lightning spells. Then again, I don't remember Aigis being able to fly or having missiles. Still it's my best shot. Lucifer has Maziodyne. That'll work. Before I was able to change my persona however-
"Persona!" was uncharacteristically yelled by the so far monotone robot. Oh crap. I forgot she had that. Behind her manifested what looked to be a man with several of his limbs replaced by metal parts and had a huge hammer that was lifted by one hand effortlessly. "Hephaestus! Agilao!" As soon as commanded, the Persona made a gesture of swinging his hammer, and an explosion of hot flame manifested out of nowhere. Thanks to my surprise, I was caught off guard and hit by the blast of fire.
"Uragh!" I yelled in pain. It didn't hurt too badly, but it had been a while since I felt a hit that was at least this level. "No sound…" I said to myself as I caught my breath. There wasn't that weird 'pichun' sound when I got hit. This is not a duel. This is a fight for my life. [Change] Metatron is probably the better choice then. I'm good to go. I aim at my head.
"Metatron!" *Bang* "Heaven's Blade!" The metal angel once again rose from my head. This time toting a new skill he didn't have before. The robot maid seemed to understand what was happening and began to rev up for quick movement. At her location, a big slash was made but she managed to move out of the way just in time. Upon righting herself in relation to the ground, I could see that her eyes were much wider than before. It seems that even though I missed, I've still made a huge impact on the way this battle was going.
She wouldn't have that apparently as she soon began to strafe and fire her missiles again in order amp up the pressure. I flew with her to keep up with her missiles. I don't know what missiles will count as, but even so, I don't want to find out. She then strafed the other way and fired missiles from that direction while approaching to try and get within swinging distance. I too dodged those by flying out of the way by staying out of her aim and maintained space. She looked to be getting frustrated and so fired her missiles in a pincer like attack that involved firing in two different directions and having them converge on me. Too easy. I have two choices. Either fly up, or down. I flew up to avoid potential damage to the area. However-
"Locked on target, Hephaestus! Myriad Arrows!" Her persona came into existence again unleashed a literally uncountable number of arrows from out of nowhere.
"Dammit!" I was hit by the storm of arrows. My body was scratched a large number of times and I could feel a small trickle of blood falling on my face. Clever girl; she baited me to a specific area to guarantee a hit. [Change] "Helel!"*Bang* This time a being that seemed to be the very definition of angelic was summoned. Six seraph wings and long red hair; the only thing odd about it were the two horns that adorned his head. "Salvation!" My wounds healed, and when I refocused my gaze on the maid, I could see that she looked to be frightened. I could make a few guesses as to why, but I didn't care. I need to attack. "Mind Charge!" My persona made a gesture of some sort and suddenly my body was filled with the energy of magic. My next spell attack was going to do a lot more. The maid became even more frenzied and resumed firing her explosives to take me down before I could strike.
I flew away all the same and dodged missiles with little effort. Sleeping while in flight paid off. I don't want to hurt her too badly though… she knows about personas and I think Aigis would be happy to see her. [Change] Metatron*Bang* "Mabufudyne!" I yelled the spell and Metatron complied to make a series of ice formations and crystals one after the other that eventually zeroed in on the ASSW. She tried to fly away but was met with Ice slamming into her as it formed out. The resulting force knocked her out of flight and she soon began to fall towards the ground.
"Dammit!" I yelled as I tried to fly after her to catch her. I want her to meet Aigis. I can't have her die.
She hit the ground with a big slam, but I continued downwards regardless. I stopped midway though as I saw her through the dust, ash, and remaining smoke that flew from the impact. She was heavily damaged, and was struggling to stand, however she still looked as determined, no she was even more determined to win now.
"Danger. Weakness hit. Releasing all limiters. Orgia mode activated." No sooner had she declared it, her body all of a sudden seemed to no longer be as damaged as before and an aura of sparks and steam were emanating from her… Sh- "Releasing reserve missile salvo." Dammit! I flew as far and as fast as I could, but looking behind me I could see that the missiles were much faster than before and- *BOOM!*- I got hit. Shouldn't… have looked… back…
I…my… argh… my body limply began to fall to the ground. It got closer, and closer. The grass began to fill my entire site. The wind was deafening. I can't let myself hit the ground! I righted myself relative to the ground, but my velocity wasn't slowing down as much as I needed it too. I was still going to hit it! *BAM!* I managed to at least lessen the impact, but I still made an impact crater upon landing. I got up from the ground slowly, trying to stop all the spinning. When did I get two evokers?
"Power Charge! Myriad Arrows!"
"What!?" I looked up at the sky to find my opponent already launching another attack from the air. "Crap!" I managed to get in the air right as the attack launched, but the Power Charge boosted the speed and momentum of the arrows and so even though I managed to get out from the main volley, I still got hit in the foot by the tail end "Argh!" This is not good. The damage I've taken isn't too bad, but I'm in a bind here. I can't use my full power without completely obliterating her.
"This is the end." I refocused my gaze once more on her to find that she was once again in position to strike. "Fire!" This time was another ballistics volley. Good. A breather, but she's baited me before. I need to throw her off guard. [Change]
"Messiah!"*Bang!* This time, a robotic man with silvery blonde hair appeared. One hand of his was placed on his metal chest. The other hung loose at his side with a chain of coffins hanging there. At his waist was a sort of metal wing designed structure that was held by a pair of metal hands, and at his back was a spire that pointed high towards the sky; my second to last Persona. I noted that the ASSW's expression was that of surprise.
"God's Hand," I yelled. A cloud manifested itself above the ASSW and a golden fist fell from it. The Maid was too stunned by my new Persona to dodge the incoming attack and was struck down, flying back towards the ground faster than terminal velocity as a result. She slammed back inside the now completely burnt out storehouse for the second time. More dust and debris flew upon impact. I stayed in the air to catch my breath as Messiah faded back into the ether.
I looked down once my breath had returned to see the dust beginning to settle again. Once the dust had completely faded, I saw the ASSW, in a now torn and tattered maid's outfit, in a kneeling position and attempting to stand again, her Orgia mode aura still active.
I touched down and started walking towards her. As I got closer, she heard my footsteps and with a jolt, looked up at me. Fear; there was fear in her eyes. She thinks this is the end.
"Look, I'm not going to hurt you. I meant it when I offered the tea," I told her, trying to sound as amiable as possible. For a moment, her expression turned from fear to surprise, however-
"Systems overheated. Deactivating Orgia mode. Entering slee…p mo…de…" Her pupils widened for just a second before her eyes closed. Once they did, her body went limp and she fell completely onto the floor next to her broom that had at some point transformed back before she fell unconcious.
"Hey!" I ran over to where she was and turned her over… okay she's still breathing. She's alive… but she is hurt. I put my evoker to my head. *Bang* "Salvation," I ordered. Messiah waved his arm over the injured girl and her wounds began to heal before they completely disappeared. I made huge sigh of relief. She'll be fine now… I hope… who knows what she'll be like when she wakes up though. Judging based on her reactions before falling unconscious however, I think I'll be fine. I pick her up in bridal style and begin walking towards the shrine. Overall, the battle was more hectic than difficult. I didn't sustain much injury and my SP supply is still pretty high. The only difficult thing about it was having to hold back enough so as not to completely destroy her, and that that was the most pain I've had to endure in a while. I forgot how much pain hurt, even just the small amount I was just inflicted with.
I turn back to look at the damage to the… storehouse…
"She's going to kill me…"
Break
Thanks to my quick thinking of taking to the skies, the main shrine was completely undamaged (thank god). I managed to bring Ruukoto inside and into the living room. Using some spare bedding I found in one of the closets, I tucked Ruukoto in and placed some ice I found in the kitchen on her head… I think I done goofed. Those are things you do for someone who has a cold… Oh well, at least I refilled the tea set while I was there too. I poured myself a fresh cup and let out a sigh of satisfaction. Thirst quenched, I then looked down on the maid who, just moments ago, was trying to take my life.
Now that she wasn't trying to kill me with extreme prejudice, I could see that her expression was quite human. Actually, her expression was completely different from before. During the fight, she looked mean and barely changed expressions like how an emotionless robot would be. Now though…
"Fuwa…" She was smiling a stupid grin and sleeping soundly. Wait is she dreaming? Can she do that? Could Aigis do that for that matter? Anyhow, she just seems so human. If it weren't for the fact that she was fighting me with missiles and a huge hammer, I probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference right now. I take a look at the broom that I took from her and saw that there wasn't really anything special about it. It looks just like a normal broom and even feels like one, even though moments before, it was a deadly rocket powered hammer. The bristles are a bit worn, but it's mostly intact and still usable. How did she transform it?
"mphm…mmmm…" I take a look again at her to find that she was now tossing and turning, the ice I placed on her head now slipped off to the side. I sigh again and put the ice back in place. This is weird. I've been here for a few days and I know for a fact that Gensokyo is weird… but … okay this doesn't take the cake, but it makes nice frosting, I'll give it that.
"So that's where she's been…"
"Uwah! Yukari-san! Don't do that." I thought I'd gotten used to her surprise visits.
"But then where would the fun be." She smiled as she said it. I give up. A little early I know, but I've just had a fight for my… hey…
"Where have you been?" Seriously? If she was here the whole time, she could have helped me.
"Oh I just popped in to see the fireworks. You are just full of surprises, aren't you Mina-chan," she says condescendingly.
"Can you please stop calling me that?"
"What do you think?" she asks coyly.
"Please?" I ask.
"I'll fix the storehouse if you let me keep calling you by that name." Damn she's good…oh, what the hell?
"Fine…" I said in exasperation.
"Well then I'll get stated right away Mina-chan!" she said with a wink and soon gapped away. Moments later, she reappeared. "Done! Reimu will never know her storehouse was destroyed."
"Thanks." Just glad I won't have to deal with an angry Reimu again.
"Oh, don't thank me yet Mina-chan." Okay…
"Are you sure we can't continue to bargain on this?"
"Mmmm… no. Bargaining closed." She was enjoying this as usual. Well, it's just a name, and it's not one of malice. I guess I can let it slide… for now.
"Fine…" I said again with just as much resignation but with a little more fatigue than before.
"Now you're getting it, Mina-chan." Do you have to use it at every opportunity? I know the answer is yes, but I still have to internally question it out of pride. "Still, I was impressed by what I saw." So you were there! "So that is a taste of what your full power is. Spell card duels don't allow the full use of ones abilities for the sake of having an equal playing field. Seeing what you could do in full was very interesting… or at least a small portion I suspect." Her lips curled upward at the tail end of her sentence.
"If you were there, why didn't you help?"
"Oh? You seemed to be in control of the battle and I could tell through the shifts in your body that you had many options at your disposal. What would little old me be able to do, but distract you?" She's right, that battle wasn't too bad. However-
"I still would have liked the helping hand." Numbers are invaluable.
"I know," she said without much fuss and borderline melancholy. How out of place… "Still the question remains: what are you going to do with her?" she said, emphasizing the 'you', while pointing at the now sleeping ASSW who I still can't believe has such a stupidly cute looking smirk on her face. Seriously, was Aigis ever this human looking? Granted, Aigis was very human like near the end, but she wasn't this human like.
"I don't know, but you're going to be here when that happens, right?" No response. "Right?" I ask again. I then turn to where… Yukari used to be… dammit!
"Uwa…umm…fuwa…" I whip my head back to see the ASSW was now tossing more than before. I place a hand on my evoker, but I don't draw it. I try to slowly stand to begin walking away to gain distance but before I could, "Huh?" She woke up. At first her eyes were still, only blinking. They only looked up at the ceiling at first, but then her eyes flickered. She then, while still lying down in the bedding, shifted her view until it landed squarely on me.
"Um… hi…?" Silence settled in the room and we both simply stared at each other, her in the bed and I myself in an awkward mid standing position. For a while, nothing happened. Slowly though, she got out of the bed, her clothes somehow having repaired themselves, and sat in seiza. Suddenly, her mouth widened in a huge smile, her eyes closed. Her face was almost exactly like a smiley emoticon. She then finally began to speak.
"Are you my new master?"…What?
"What?" I asked now vocalizing my thoughts.
"Are you my new master?" she asked again with the exact same tone of eager anticipation.
"Um… look… I think there's been some sort of-"
"Yes, he is." Huh!?
"Yukari-san! Where di-"
"Really!?" Ruukoto asked, looking like she was about to burst.
"Yes, say hello to your new master, Minato Arisato," Yukari stated as if it was an order.
"Yukari-san, just what are yo-" However, before I could finish my sentence. *Glomp*
"YAY!" The robot maid ASSW, screw it, Ruukoto, was surprisingly soft. "From now on, it is my duty to serve you and fulfill all of your desires, Minato-sama." This is complete absurdity of the highest magnitude possible. I mean for one thing, where is the terms of service and stuff? Also, did I just enter some sort of horrible harem anime?
"Well, I have a storehouse to… restore. I'll see you later Mina-chan. Try not to have too much fun while I'm gone." And she gapped herself away before I could get a word in edgewise. Dammit, I need to get her back for this sort of thing. I need to bump 'Getting back at Yakumo' to higher priority. Hey wait a second! Didn't she already fix it!?
"Minato-sama, what would you like me to do for you first?" she asked reverently while still holding on to me.
"Well first can you get off of me?" I asked as politely as I could, though it was a bit tough. This wasn't her fault. This was Yukari's. She complied readily and was now sitting back in seiza, on top of the laid out bedding.
"Is there anything else you want Minato-sama?" You know, if she's this compliant, I might as well take advantage of it. Interrogation start!
"You're an ASSW right?" Start with already confirmed to be true information.
"I am a heavily modified 7th generation model, Minato-sama." She replied without any hesitation, to my surprise. Mods? Is that possible? Who could have the tech to do that? Then again it's Gensokyo we're in. Press.
"Heavily modified? What do you mean by that?"
"My original specifications straight off the Kirijo line have been changed." A vague answer, Press for more.
"Who changed them?" Who could have the prowess to modify an already pretty high tech robot?
"Yumemi-sama!" She stated with zeal.
"You know what, how about you just tell me as much as you can. How you got here, what's happened, all of it!" Enough I just want answers now.
"Well how far back?" she asked.
"Start from how you got to Gensokyo in the first place."
"I'll start from a little bit before if you don't mind Minato-sama." Fair enough. She then continued.
"According to my internal clock, it has been approximately 10 years and some months since my final mission under the Kirijo foundation. During that mission, I and many of my sister units were dispatched to handle an outbreak of shadows and were ordered to either capture or destroy them. Unfortunately many of my sister units were critically injured or destroyed in the process. I myself was defeated very early on in the mission. As such I am not aware of what may have ultimately happened."
"I see… go on." It was that mission… the one where Aigis…
"I am not aware of the particulars as to how it happened as I was out of commission during the process, however I was apparently found by Yumemi Okazaki; a professor of comparative physics." Wait, what? Comparative Physics? Is that even a thing? "She reprogramed and repurposed me to be a maid, and ever since it has been my desire to be the best maid I can be!" She said it with so much conviction and pride, but I can't help but question if her free will was violated during the reprograming process. Just reprograming…
"She also enhanced and upgraded me as well, making me more human like. See? My joints look completely human like compared to how they previously looked. Yumemi-sama worked very hard to make it so that it would be very hard to tell I'm not human." She rolled up her sleeve to reveal a normal looking shoulder. Aigis' shoulders had this very noticeable robotic look. Ruukoto's however looks just like a human's; fascinating. That would also serve to explain why she's far more expressive as well… was it worth it?
"So then, what happened next?"
"Well, Yumemi-sama at some point wished to prove the existence of magic after having been laughed at by the scientific community at large."
"Wait, how did this get to be about magic?"
"Oh, well you see, Yumemi-sama was doing some sort of research on something called the Grand Unified Theory, and stated that it didn't explain magic. I'm sorry but I don't know more than that. At the time, I was more concerned about cleaning." Well okay...
"Where is this Yumemi Okazaki now?" Grand Unified Theory…
"I don't know," she said like a child would say it.
"What do you mean, you don't know?"
"I was given away." Wait, what?
"Your former master… gave you away…why?" I said while sort of elongating the 'why' from disbelief.
"Yumemi-sama came to Gensokyo in order to gain proof and materials for experimentation for her theory on magic. My last master, Reimu Hakurei, defeated Yumemi-sama, and as a reward, was given myself as a prize." Huh?
"Run that by me again… Yumemi-san was defeated by Reimu … and so Yumemi-san gave you to Reimu as a prize…" How does that begin to work? By that logic, Yumemi didn't even accomplish her goal then.
"That's correct."
"That's stupid." I said right after she confirmed my statement.
"I'm sorry, Minato-sama…" oh crap, now she's pouting.
"Look, I didn't say you were. Just the situation was stupid." She seemed to perk up after hearing me. "So that explains how you got here." Reimu beating someone up, that I can imagine for some reason even though I haven't actually seen her resolve an incident before. "Why did you go berserk like you did earlier?" I don't want her trying to kill me again.
"Berserk?"
"You were trying to kill me about…" I checked my MP3 player "…an hour ago now."
"Perhaps it was from an old outdated algorithm," she offered as an answer. She did say 'Reactivating original protocol'… "However now, all I can feel is the need to serve you, Minato-sama." Is there a way for me to re-reprogram her? I don't mind the prospect of having a maid (I loved putting the girls in maid outfits… good thing no one heard that), but not at the expense of free will and a person's true self. Especially for someone who has a Persona of their own.
"Hey wait, I forgot to ask, why were you under that pile of junk anyways?"
"You know, I don't remember that either. Why was I under there?" She seemed to seriously ponder the issue for a second before shifting the topic. "Oh! You're drinking tea. Please let me get you something to eat. I know where the kitchen is, so don't worry about it." Ruukoto got up and skipped happily out of the room before I could say anything.
"Anti-Shadow-Suppression-Weapon…" I said the words out loud. Aigis… I wonder. How is she doing right now? Actually, I wonder how everybody is doing right now. I know that after they defeated Erebus, they left with a feeling of conviction and resolve… but I can't help but worry. I hope they're all doing okay. The Third year should be well under way… I didn't even get to see the graduation ceremony for Mitsuru or Akihiko… guess I'll never see a graduation ceremony now.
"Minato-sama! I brought some snacks what would you like to Waa, whoa!" All of a sudden, Ruukoto barged into the room with a tray of various Japanese snacks and suddenly tripped over nothing, falling into a mess on the floor with everything scattered about. She tripped over nothing… I think I get how she ended up like how she did in the storeroom. She must have caused a mess in the storeroom that put her out of commission, and my presence reactivated something within her sort of like how Aigis apparently woke up when I went to that island during the summer. I walked over to the now beginning to cry maid. "I'm sorry Minato-sama… I'm not very good at my job, but I'll clean it up right away…" She tried to force a smile as she began to pick up the snacks that were on the floor. I got on the floor myself and began to help picking things up. "Minato-sama, you don't have to do that."
"I know. I want to do it. It'll be faster that way."
"…Then I am in you care, Minato-sama," she said after a pause, most likely attempting to register what was happening.
"Likewise, and you don't have to add sama to my name. You can use something less formal."
"Okay, Minato-sama."
"Didn't you hear what I said?" Is she malfunctioning?
"I did, but I like calling you Minato-sama, because you are my new master. I look forward to serving you from now on."
*CRACK*
Thou art I… And I am thou…
Thou hast established a new bond…
It shalt further stretch your Universe
Thou shalt have our blessing when thou chooses
To create a Persona of the Art Arcana…
Another one… the Art… XIV. Temperance? Bebe… I hope he's doing well in France. A social link with another ASSW? No. She's a new friend. Corny as it is… I can't help but feel a little happy.
"Minato! I'm back, just a quick job today, nothing special. It was pretty easy." That was undoubtedly Reimu's voice. "Have you finished cleaning the-" She stopped midway after walking into the room where Ruukoto and I were and stood there for a second before continuing. "Who's that?"
"It's nice to see you again, Reimu-sama," Ruukoto said while giving a small bow.
"You don't remember her?" I asked.
"Um, no I… wait… you're that maid I won off that… who was it I beat up that time?" Reimu placed a hand on her chin, trying to remember Yumemi. "That's not important though. Just where have you been this whole time? I sent you to get some stuff from the storehouse and you just up and disappeared." The picture is becoming clearer and clearer.
"I'm sorry, but I am Minato-sama's now." Ruukoto said with happiness. Reimu stared at her for a moment before turning to me.
"What's the meaning of this?" Reimu asked.
"I don't know. Actually, I still don't know now that I think about it. Why did you ask if I was your master if technically you still had one?" I turned to Ruukoto.
"For some reason my registered master data was wiped when I woke up. I guess whatever happened to me must have done it." All of that stuff landing on her really did a number on her. She shuts down for who knows how long and it wipes parts of her memory. Damn. "Because of that however, Reimu-sama is no longer my master." I could hear Reimu release a big sigh.
"You know what? I don't care. Do whatever you want." She wearily sits down next to me at the table. I pour her a cup of tea. "Thanks," she says in mild surprise as she takes the cup from my hand. She takes a big chug and lets out another breath. "Oh right, the craziest rumors have been floating about in the human village recently."
"Like what?" I ask. I haven't really been to the human village so any information would be nice to know.
"Oh just some weird Undefined plate circle thingies in the sky; everybody says that these are fantastic objects of some sort, but they can't agree if the plates are red, green, or blue." She takes another drink. "Sounds interesting if you ask me, but I'm too busy to bother with rumors right now." She sets the cup down on to the table and then let herself fall on to the floor. While there, lying on the ground she asks, "So how did cleaning the storehouse go?"
"Um…great… I found a maid in there."
"Really? Huh. Probably should have gone to clean it myself at some point." She took a number of seconds to simply lie there before looking at me and asking, "What are you looking at?"
"Well, what do you want me to clean now?" That's mostly what I've been doing this whole time.
"Huh? Oh right…" Was the extermination job she had as easy as she said it was? She sat back up, took another drink from the tea cup, and then laid the side head on the table so that she was now facing me. "I guess I ran out of things to have you do," she said apathetically, her expression one of exhaustion.
"Minato-sama, I'll get some fresh tea," Ruukoto chimed in before taking the tea set, except Reimu's still half full cup, and leaving for the kitchen... should I have let her do that? Anyways-
"Well, guess I'm on break." I then let my own body fall so that now I was the one lying down.
"Hang on I'll think of something," Reimu replied hastily.
"Well until then, I'll just lie here." Ah solid sleeping support, how I've missed you. She and I simply sat there for who knows how long… where's Ruukoto? Anyways, Reimu begins to hum a bit as she's thinking and continues for a good 2 minutes. "You know since we're here, how about having a chat or something?" She continues to think for another minute before finally giving up.
"Fine… I can't think of anything anyways." She shifts her head so that she's facing me while still letting it rest on the table. "So… what is it that you wanted to talk about?" she asks.
"Well… how did today's job go?" Have to start somewhere.
"Fine; just some fairies playing pranks again. Just shot them in the face and scolded them. Hardest part was just finding them in the first place." She was sounding more conversational than before. "How was the cleaning?"
"You already asked that."
"Right…" We sat there for a couple of seconds before Reimu let out a big sigh. "Well this is a bust." She then fell back onto the floor, and so both of us were just lying on the ground.
"Don't give up just yet," I told her as I shifted my head to get just a slight glimpse of her hair and ribbon from where I was lying.
"Well, why don't you think of something to talk about?" she rebutted. Fair enough.
"Alright… you know you really haven't defined my job. I know I'm supposed to clean and stuff, but exactly for how long?" I think that's a fair question. Reimu didn't say anything immediately but I could her breathing becoming irregular.
"…I don't know," was the answer she came up with. She then turned to the side away from me and curled up a bit. "I guess I was just so excited about getting a free helping hand that I forgot that it was only going to be temporary." She was harder to hear than before, and it wasn't just because she was turned away from me. I was about to say something, but I felt that she still had more to say. She appeared to be thinking on a few things. A few moments later she asked, "Why are you so eager to work here anyways? You can always just not come back. I don't have any money that I can pay you with, and I'm probably not the best boss in the world. So why are you still here?" She sat back up and turned to look at me. I also decided to sit upright to look at her at equal height.
"I said I would." It's as simple as that.
"Don't lie to make me feel better…" How does that make her feel better?
"I'm not lying." I'm not.
"Nobody's that nice," she said absently. Another moment passed and she then continued with, "You don't have to show up tomorrow. You've done a good enough job as is." She sounded like she just gave up, like she's simply letting herself float away from me regardless of what she might actually want.
"I'll be here at about 10 in the morning tomorrow then. Sound good to you?" I don't have anything else to do.
"Stop that!" she yelled, her face now red.
"Stop what?" No, really. What?
"Stop acting so nice…" she said in a more somber voice
"I'm not acting."
"Then why doesn't your face change or anything?" Is it really?
"I guess that's just how I am." It may not reflect my feelings, but my feelings are still genuine. Does my face really not change that much? Reimu paused for another second.
"Sorry…" she said as she then pulled her knees in and rested her head on them. "You are coming tomorrow right?"
"Does 10 'o clock still work?"
"Sure, but don't go into my room until I wake up, okay?" Yeah, wouldn't want to know what would happen if I get cau- I mean, wouldn't want to invade on her privacy. "Thanks for all the work you've done… it's been so long since I've seen the shrine look so clean." Nostalgia could be heard in her voice as it trailed off into a pianissimo. I looked at her again to find that a smile seemed to creep on to her face when I wasn't looking. It was a sad, but hopeful smile… sad, but hopeful. It went away just as quickly as it appeared. She grabbed her tea and finished in one final gulp before saying, "Sorry about yelling at you. Today's job was just so annoying." I can imagine.
"I can imagine," I repeated.
"Yeah. Hey, just where is she? I need another cup." She said just a tad more heartily than before. Honestly I don't know. Looking back on today though, it's been another crazy day. The meeting with the Ministry people, Sanae finding out that I'm dead… sort of, the whole Ruukoto thing, and this talk with Reimu here. It's been a pretty hectic day and it isn't even past 3 yet. Though, at least I'm conscious. That's not too bad, if I do say so myself.
"Minato-sama, I'm back with mor- Woahwaaaaa!" So that's where she's been… I don't think that tea pot that's heading straight for me is normal… Oh, dammit.
Break
"You're back!" Somebody seemed surprised. "Um… hello? Are you awake this time? ...Are you going to leave again?" Where am I? "Can you stay this time?" Open my eyes. "It's okay… everyone leaves me. I'm always forgotten…" Just a bit more… "You're leaving again… are you going to come back?" I finally manage to open my eyes, but my world was fading to white once more. Before the world was fully enveloped in light however, I saw velvet… and green.
Break
My eyes snap open again. They blink a few times more to register the light coming in. Getting up, I could see that I had been lying in the same bedding that I laid out for Ruukoto earlier today. No one was around except for me. I take a few moments to stretch. While doing so, I find that the tea set is once again on the table; the tea pot fully intact. I think I'll avoid tea for now… I shake a feeling of dread that I don't exactly remember having before, and stand up from the ground, continuing to stretch as I rise. Something is off however…
I check my coat pocket… the doll is gone…
I hear the door slide open.
"Minato-sama!" I turn to the door to see Ruukoto with a wooden bucket of ice water and rag in hand, most likely to place on my forehead. Ruukoto drops the two items on to the floor and runs towards me. Just before she gets right in front of me however, she falls down on to her knees and begins to bow as low as she could. "I'm so sorry!" she cries. "It won't happen again."
"What happened?" was I hit in the head or something? Oh well. It's probably not that important.
"I tripped again and accidently threw the tea pot…" Oh so that is what happened. Reimu stepped in to the room after Ruukoto went silent.
"You were just out like a light; didn't know you were such an easy sleeper." True, I slept every day in class. It was great! Though those times were of my own volition… oh so that's why I didn't like looking at that tea pot. Anyways though-
"Have either of seen a doll around here?" I asked them. I don't want to lose a gift.
"I didn't know you were in to dolls. Do you know Alice by any chance; the doll maker?" Reimu followed up. So there's someone named Alice here? ...How fitting.
"I'm sorry Minato-sama, but I haven't seen anything like a doll… unless you're talking about me." It was scary to see that Ruukoto had zero hesitation in calling herself a doll… just what goes on her mind? I can deal with that later though.
"No, I mean a small one. Has Blonde hair, a maid's outfit, a doll by the common definition." At least I hope here in Gensokyo that the common definition is the same as the outside world's. Wow I got used to calling it the outside world really fast.
"So it is one of Alice's dolls," Reimu chimed. "How did you get one of those? Alice doesn't give those out… actually I think she'd rather die than give them out, which goes back to my question. How did you get one of Alice's dolls?" She seemed more worried than anything else.
"Um…" I hesitated since this was quite surprising to me. She doesn't give them out? "I don't know… Marisa just handed it to me and told me that it was from a fan or something like that." My memory is a bit fuzzy, but I think that was what happened.
"A fan huh?" Reimu once again became resigned. "Marisa probably just stole it and decided to pass the buck off to you." She seemed to think for a second before continuing. "It's probably best you don't find it and just say that Marisa took it back. She really should get punished once in a while for being such a thief all the time." I could sense a bit of mirth in her tone. Seems even the ever powerful shrine maiden isn't above a bit of Schadenfreude. "Whatever you do though, just don't get in Alice's way. She's a powerful magician youkai. Even I don't know how well I'd be able to protect you from her if she were to get serious," Reimu said with genuine worry, though for her or myself I couldn't tell.
"Minato-sama, should we, or should we not look for the doll?" Ruukoto asked. Not angrily, just curiously. "If we start now, we might be able to find it before tonight!" Okay, now enthusiastically.
"Well… I guess we should try. If Marisa did steal it, then I should give it back if I can right?" Not going to stop Alice from enacting revenge though. I like a bit of Schadenfreude too, admittedly. Of course I'll heal Marisa afterwards. "Yeah, let's look for it," I told the both of them.
"Well you're on your own. I'll look in my room for it since that's where I'm going, but that's it," Reimu told us dismissively.
"Thanks." I smiled a bit. Help is good no matter how little… as long as it's actually helpful. Marin Karin… I told her to get rid of it, but noooooo.
"Uh… no problem…" Reimu then, for some reason, walked away sheepishly out of the room but seemed as if to zoom out really quickly at the end. *Slam* ouch. That was loud. I did not expect her to slam the door. I turn to Ruukoto to see that she was eager and ready.
"Awaiting you order, Minato-sama," she said.
"I already told you that we're looking for the doll." I didn't really reprimand her, but I hope my tone came across as more questioning than anything else. She forgot really quickly. Note to self, Ruukoto is a bit ditzy. She then turned around to exit the room. Before reaching the door however-
"Oh right, well I'll get started in Kitcheeeaaaaahhhhh," she fell again… scratch that, really ditzy. I'm going to fix this next time or else that's all she'll be good for: a stupid anime gag that has no place in real life. "Owwww…" Seriously, who programs a robot to be ditzy? Especially a combat robot! Well… android… wait no, gynoid. She quickly got back up on her feet and simply continued on to the kitchen as if nothing happened, leaving me alone to search elsewhere.
"Well, no better place than here." This is where I've been today for the most part. I'll find it. I'm sure of it.
Break
"I really have to stop being so sure of myself." Again, you'd think that the threat of death at every floor would be a humbling experience but I guess common sense makes fools of us all. I looked all over the place, except Reimu's room, and especially in the places Ruukoto had been. Even so, the doll was nowhere to be seen. "This is presents a problem." I looked at my MP3 and saw that it was getting late, about sunset right about now. The fact that it was orange in the shrine added further credence to the amount of time that had passed.
"Minato-sama, I've looked, but I wasn't able to find it," Ruukoto said with remorse. I put a hand on the back of my head and scratch it a bit.
"We'll just have to look tomorrow I suppose." I hoped that assuaged her.
"Yes! Minato-sama." I can get used to this.
"O…oo…i…R…is…ill… th…" Huh? I thought I heard something like yelling, but it was really muffled. I walk out of the room I was currently in and-
*Bam* "Oomph" - I run into Reimu. "Watch it." We didn't knock each other down, but we both still got a little winded.
"Sorry." She and I get our bearings and she then continues.
"So you heard her too, huh?"
"Heard who?" I can say I heard someone but who's to say it was someone I know?
"Well, let's find out… Jeez coming at this time of day. It's late," Reimu mumbled. It seems she knows who came here. I will admit the voice did sound familiar. She then continues to the front entrance of the shrine. I look to Ruukoto to confirm that we were following her, and we then walked in step behind Reimu. Once we make it to the door, Reimu opens it normally and I could see her expression dampen again today. "I thought so…"
"There you are!" The person who was yelling earlier touched down in front of the entrance to the shrine. "Hey is your servant still here? I need something from… oh there you are!" Surprisingly, it was none other than Marisa, wearing a similar outfit as the day before and the same broom too…she has multiples of the same ones right?
"Hey can we take this outside? I don't want you stealing my stuff" Reimu asked irritably.
"Sure! 'S better outside anyways, ze! And besides, what would I want from a destitute miko?" Marisa replied eagerly and immediately moved out of the way to let all of us out into the shrine's front courtyard which was still as clean as I left it. I feel a bit of pride coming on. Ruukoto remained silent but vigilant… somehow.
"So what is it you want from me now Marisa?" Reimu questioned. Could this be about the doll?
"Nah, it's him I need something from," Marisa said while pointing at me. I guess I made a sort of surprised gesture. So this is about the doll?
"What do you need from me?" I asked her. Ruukoto seemed just as curious.
"Simple!" She placed a hand on her hip and held her own broom in a sort of plant into the ground. "I'm here for just a small favor that I think should be easy enough for ya!" Her cocky grin returned.
"And that would be…?"I asked cautiously.
"Okay, here goes. I, Marisa Kirisame, challenge you to a spell card duel! Ze!"
…joy…
Author's Notes: RED RIDER! RED RIDER! RED RIDER! RED RIDER! ANTITHICON! ANTITHICON! ANTITHICON! DAMMIT! Fiends are hard.
Looking back on it now… I should apologize for my rant in the previous author's notes. This really isn't a place for that sort of thing. I don't take back what I said there, but I feel that this wasn't the correct place for it. I'm sorry for wasting your time with something that honestly doesn't have a place here where the focus should be on stories made, not author filibusters. I find comfort knowing that I'm not the only one who has my kind of opinion, but I think we can all agree that we come here to this site to read fan fiction. Past that I can't say. I'll just say that I'll try my best to not let it happen again, and not waste your time. Also thanks for indulging me just a bit. It meant a lot to me.
Anyways, here is my second battle scene. I don't know how well it stacks up to the first, but I hope all of you will be willing to tell me if it does, doesn't, or some other third option I can't conceive of right now due to extreme food and sleep deprivation that borders on the suicidal. If you have any advice or critique, please bring it forward. Don't hesitate. If there is any other part that you think needs addressing too, that's also just as important and don't hesitate to bring those up either. Reviews are there to address these things after all. Don't expect the next chapter to come out this fast though; I just happened to have more free time than usual. I don't want to get your hopes up about this.
Also, I have a question. I hope that I can get some answers to this as this has been bugging me for a while.
Just how far can I go with the language in a T rating? I've seen some fics on this site drop some F-bombs and S-bombs and have a T rating, and I've also seen videogames with T ratings drop the S-bomb on occasion (Hyper Dimension Netpunia V comes to mind here though on closer inspection, videogame ratings aren't any real barometer of fic ratings…). Just wondering if I can drop it every once in a while so long as it isn't frequent. Some situations just aren't the same without it, and nothing gets the feeling across like a precision F-bomb strike. It's like the word Photosynthesis, there's just no equivalent to the same degree or exact usage anywhere else in the language so far as I can conceive. This has been bugging me a bit ever since I started and simply has grown to the point where I do really want an answer. If any of you know, I'd like for you to share it with me if you're willing.
Anyways, once again, thanks for reading my fic. I know that you could have read anything else today, but thanks for spending it here. Don't forget to call me out on any of my mistakes of any kind and have a great day… just don't fight any Fiends in SMT IV… stupid Red Rider.
Now where was that doll…
