Mugenkan, the realm of dreams, is generally a serene, peaceful place, with the only sounds generally being the low hum made by thousands of creatures dreaming at the same time, the buzzing of Elly's whetstone as she sharpened her scythe, and occasionally the maniacal laughter of Yuuka coming up with a new evil plan. A portal suddenly appeared, breaking Elly's concentration and nearly making her break her scythe. Shimi and Tokage walked out of the portal, and examined the place, Tokage with slight fear, Shimi with vague interest. "See, Tokage? It's not too bad here! Sleeping floating people, blood red skies, it's like a paradise!"
Tokage shook her head.
"It's not the place that bothers me so much as who lives here…"
"What, Elly? Well, I haven't met/interviewed her yet, so now as good a time as any! Excuse me, you name is Elly, correct?"
Elly nodded nervously.
"I am, and who are you?"
"I am Shimi, bender of reality and maker of really strange interviews. I search the cosmos, looking for the mysterious, the mystical, the enlightened, the eldritch…to ask them stuff! Oh, and this is my friend Tokage. I believe she's had… a encounter with your master, Yuuka. We're here to talk with her, but I'm not in any rush, so I suppose I'll talk with you for a bit. You don't mind, do you?"
"You want… to talk to me?"
"Sure, if that's ok."
"I'm the gatekeeper, no one ever wants to stay and talk with me…"
"Ah, Bit Character Syndrome, a common affliction the multiverse over. Let's get to the questions, shall we?"
"That's fine with me."
"Good. So, what's it like being Miss Yuuka's gatekeeper?"
"It's simple, I just keep people from bothering her. But my job has a lot more to it than that. You see, I was here long before she showed up. I am also the guardian of dreams."
"Really? Do tell, what does that involve?"
"I ensure that no one's dreams are disturbed, and that all dreams and nightmares happen like they should. It involves caring for a special breed of youkai, called Baku, that feed on dreams and create nightmares."
"And what's the scythe for?"
"To remove intruders who would harm Lady Yuuka or these sleepers."
"Is it a good job?"
"Well, I suppose, but it can be… unreasonable."
"Really?"
"Yuuka expects me to always be alert for intruders, even though she really just wants fight them herself, and expects me to guard this place, even though my other duties are more important! She knows that! It's like she doesn't care that if I don't keep the dream world undisturbed, it will fall apart! This whole realm could be destroyed, and no one would ever be able to sleep again! She knows this… and she ignores it."
Tokage shuddered.
"That's horrible…"
"Yeah. You said you were going to talk to her, right? And by talk, I mean fight."
Shimi flinched.
"Well, maybe not-"
"Don't lie, I can see it. You're here for revenge, aren't you?"
"Well, what she to Lady Tokage did was horrible… and she is kind of a sociopath…"
"Exactly. So… give her a punch for me too. Maybe it'll knock some sense into her."
"So… we should see her now?" Elly nodded, and nudged them toward the mansion, where Yuka lived, then got back to sharpening her scythe like nothing had happened. Shimi and Tokage looked at her for a second, then back at the mansion. "So… here we are. Lady Tokage, are you sure you want to go in there? You could wait outside, if you like."
Tokage glared at him, and he backed up slightly.
"I told you I wanted to come here! Why would I do that just to stay outside?"
"Well, yeah, it's just… this is Yuuka, and I don't want you to get hurt."
"Sorry, but if a fight's going to happen, then I'm going to join in."
"Tokage, you're a writer, not a fighter."
"And you have worse danmaku than that ice fairy!"
"Shut up! I've grown since then! I've learned… stuff."
"That was two days ago!"
"I learned quickly!"
"I actually have experience with danmaku, a few years of practice, and the desire to tear Yuuka to shreds. I'm fighting, even if I have to beat you up to get to it."
"Ok, ok…" He bowed in surrender, and said jokingly, "As you command, oh wise writer of fanfiction!" He muttered under his breath, "That needs major rewriting…" Out loud, he said, "Shall we go in, then?"
Tokage stared at the mansion's front door, a massive metallic door overgrown with flowers. She fearlessly walked up to them, and the flowers started moving, pulling on the doors handles and opening it for them. The two of them walked in, Shimi marveling at the doors and wondering if he could get the same at his home, Tokage nervously awaiting the moment when they slammed shut, trapping them inside. To her surprise, they didn't. The dim red lights in the mansion suddenly cut on, illuminating the darkness, and they saw Yuuka walking down to them on a staircase. She smiled down at them as she absentmindedly twirled her parasol like a baton. Once she reached the bottom of the stairs, Tokage backed up slightly, gasping for air.
Yuuka grinned at this.
"Welcome to my mansion. I hope you enjoy your stay." The thought of staying here, trapped with Yuuka, finally made Tokage snap. She screamed and ran off, but the doors finally slammed shut, trapping the two of them with Yuuka. "Now, don't go running off! I don't even know who you are yet!" She walked closer, enjoying Tokage's fear as she tried to crawl further away with every step.
Finally, Shimi stepped between them. Yuuka frowned slightly, daring him to stop her advance. Then, to her surprise, Shimi smiled and bowed.
"It's an honor to meet with you, Miss Kazami. I'll introduce us. My name is Shimi, and this is my good friend, Lady Tokage. I believe you've already been introduced." Tokage shuddered slightly at the memory, while Yuuka tried to remember.
"Tokage… no, I don't remember meeting her."
Shimi's smile disappeared.
"Ok, I was trying to be polite to you, but seriously? You don't remember what you did to her?"
"Hey, I get that scared reaction from a lot of people. I mean, it could have been anything. What did I do?"
Tokage tried to stand up.
"I-I'm n-not scared of y-you… I'm gonna…"
Yuuka stared at her, and Tokage regressed into a whimpering ball of fear.
"Now, what did I do to her again?"
"I don't know, because apparently it was so horrible she won't tell me."
"That… doesn't really narrow it down…"
"Whatever it was, you did it twice!"
"Ok, ok, what does she do? That's a good clue."
"She wrote a novel recently, 'The Forbidden Love of Yukari Yakumo'."
Yuuka laughed.
"Oh, that! I really did enjoy that book, I was going to buy it so I could use it as a torture device, but… her obsessive, rampant defilement of flowers was something I could not stand. Flowers are the only good in this world, and I will not allow such a horror to go unpunished. She had it coming."
"Be that as it may, I'm sure there are less horrible ways of getting your point across. I've actually been working with Tokage as her editor, so that her future works can show the writing skill that I know she has. That's positive reinforcement. You can't get people to change by hurting them."
"Of course you can! Usually you change them into dead people, but I thought my point would get across if I let her live… and if you're telling the truth, then I suppose it has." Yuuka stared at him curiously. "Why are you here, anyway? It can't be just to speak on this cowardly worm's behalf."
Tokage stopped shaking, and tried to stand again.
"C-cowardy?"
Yuuka looked at her as though she was inspecting a meal she was about to eat.
"Yes, clearly. You're nothing but a weak, childish fool with no talents at all. Why this boy is trying to help someone like you I'll probably never understand."
Tokage flinched under Yuuka's gaze, but she managed to stand upright.
"I am not weak…"
"I can see you are. I could crush you with no effort at all."
"Maybe so, but… I'm not just going to sit here and let you mock me, not in front of him."
Shimi blinked in confusion, a confusion Yuuka shared.
"And what makes him so special?"
"He actually tries to help me, and he's the only one who saw me as something other than a disgrace, something to make fun of. He came here because of me, to confront you when that's what I should have done… but I'm not going get him involved in my mess. Yuuka, this is where it ends. You'll pay for what you did to me… in blood."
Yuuka raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"Big words, but you know you can't beat me."
"I managed to turn my writing from garbage into something other people would actually want to read. Compared to that, beating you would be easy."
The two youkai narrowed their eyes, and waited for one of them to make the first move. Shimi simply watched them, making sure he wasn't in range of any attacks that might go in his direction. Tokage made the first move, jumping back and pulling out a spell card. "Lizard Sign: Forked Tongue!" A wave of danmaku flew around Yuuka, while a giant forked tongue made from danmaku appeared, lashing out at her. Yuuka jumped out of the way, right into Tokage's bullet swarm. Every time she tried to weave out of the bullets, the tongue was there to block her. After a few seconds of this, Yuuka started firing back, and the two of them flew about, trying to dodge each other's attacks. The battle quickly ascended to the air, and Shimi watched them from below, realizing that at the speed they're moving and with all the danmaku flying around, he couldn't intervene even if he wanted to. Yuuka flew above the tongue, blasting Tokage in the face with a laser and ending her spell card. Tokage shook off the injury and prepared her next card, while Yuuka simply floated in front of her, completely unscathed.
"It doesn't matter how many cards you use, the result will be the same."
"Shut up! Writer Sign: Writer's Block!" A wave of green arrow-like danmaku flew around Yuuka, trapping her in what seemed to be a box. Tokage started glowing, and Yuuka smiled in amusement.
"Oh, a giant laser? You have guts to try that on me, I'll give you that! Tell you what, if you give up now, I'll let you keep one organ, your pick!" Tokage responded by firing said giant laser at Yuuka, knowing that she couldn't dodge it. Yuuka simply laughed and opened her parasol. The laser smashed into her, but the parasol acted as a shield, holding the laser back. Tokage put more power into the attack, and Yuuka grabbed the parasol with both hands, trying to hold it steady while the laser slowly but surely pushed her back. After a few seconds of this, it was clear Yuuka was going to smash into the danmaku behind her. She grimaced and a spell card appeared next to her. "I didn't think you could entertain me so well… but this is where our little farce ends. Master Spark!" A far larger laser erupted from Yuuka's parasol, blasting through Tokage, and ending her spell card. The lizard smashed into the wall behind her and collapsed. "Well, I did say you couldn't beat me, what did you expect?" She walked over to Tokage and knelt down, looking her in the eye. "For someone as weak as you are, you did well. However… now you'll have to pay for wasting my time." She smiled warmly. "I think you'll pay in blood. Don't die too quickly, ok?" She lunged at the lizard, aiming to impale her with her parasol, but she was surprised when Shimi suddenly grabbed it.
He smiled eerily.
"Tell me, Yuuka. Just what are you doing?"
"Oh, just getting revenge."
"For Tokage attacking you, which she did because you did horrible things to her?"
"Exactly so. Move."
"Um… no. You have two choices, Miss Kazami. Either you stop this, and we leave in peace, or I will beat you within an inch of your life. What do you choose?"
Yuuka laughed, and pulled her parasol out of his grip, backing up as she did.
"Beat me? Ha! That's funny. Here's a counter-proposal, boy: You leave, never come back, I keep the girl, and maybe I won't tear off one of your arms before you run away crying."
Shimi sighed.
"The pointless threats have gone on long enough. It seems we've reached an impasse. True, I am rather horrible at danmaku, but a simple brawl? That I can handle."
Yuuka's grin widened.
"Well, this should be fun, then. It's been ages since I've torn someone limb from limb!" She charged at Shimi, trying to grab him, but he jumped over her, opening a portal as he did so. He quickly pulled Soul Edge out of it, slicing at Yuuka's head. The youkai tried to jump out of the way, but her surprise at seeing the demonic sword caught her off guard, and Shimi hit her with the flat of the blade, sending her flying into a wall. She quickly stood up, dodging another slash. "Edgy? Is that you?"
The blade's eye opened, and it focused on her.
"Yuuka? It's you! How've you been?"
Shimi slashed at her again, but Yuuka simply stepped out of the way and carried on like nothing happened.
"Just fine. I hope you don't mind if I kill the boy, do you?"
The weapon chuckled.
"By all means, go ahead. I've been trying to kill him for years now."
"Really? Then what stopped you? Oh Edgy, I thought you were better than this, taking on more than you can handle… Oh well, I guess I'll do your job for you."
Shimi scowled.
"Stop ignoring me! He's not your opponent, right? Pay attention to me!"
Yuuka laughed.
"Oh, sorry. I just saw an old friend and just had to stop everything and talk with him. By all means, keep trying to kill me."
"Don't you mock me…" Yuuka kept smiling at him infuriatingly. "This is just a joke to you, isn't it? Take me seriously!" He slashed at her again, and this time she simply parried it with her parasol and let momentum carry him forward into her next attack. She kicked him, sending him flying into a wall and making him lose his grip on Soul Edge. Before she could grab it, however, Shimi blasted her in the face, making her stumble back, and tentacles sprouted from his back, wrapping around her legs and making her fall, while pulling Soul Edge back towards him. Shimi smiled. "Hello, Edgy."
The sword shook with rage.
"Don't call me that! Only Yuuka calls me that!"
"Really? I thought I called you that a few chapters ago…" He was distracted from his musings by Yuuka, who stabbed at him with her parasol. He jumped out of the way, and Yuuka smiled, pulling her parasol out of the hole it made in the wall. She snapped her fingers and the flowers on the door came to life, their vines lashing out and wrapping around Shimi's limps, holding him in midair. He struggled to escape, but the vines wouldn't budge. Yuuka floated up to him, pointing her parasol directly at his heart.
"So, looks like you overestimated yourself."
Shimi did his best to smile.
"We'll see who's right after I break out of the vines."
Yuuka moved her arm back, ready to run him through.
"What makes you think you'll have to opportunity? See, I'm not like those fools who just monologue and let the heroes escape. I just kill. Or maim. Or maim, then kill with a side of torture."
A notebook appeared next to Shimi, writing all this down.
"Please, go on, tell me more."
"Sorry, that's all the gloating you'll get out of me." With that said, she lunged forward to impale him, only for a green blur to slam into her, knocking her attack off course and sending her flying a few feet. "You…don't you know when to give up?" Tokage breathed weakly, trying to stay afloat.
She whispered,
"Shimi, can you get free?"
"I'm afraid not. Don't worry, though, I have a plan to get us out of this. Reach in my pocket." Tokage did as he asked, and pulled out a spell card. Yuuka simply looked amused at the proceedings, wondering what would happen next. She silently charged up energy in her parasol, preparing another Master Spark just in case this new card was more difficult than she expected.
"I hope you know what you're doing, Shimi…" She activated the spell card. "Plot Armor: Mary Sue!" There was a bright flash as the card took effect… and nothing changed. Shimi looked amused, Tokage horrorstruck, and Yuuka was simply bored.
She shook her head in disgust.
"I was nice enough to give you one last chance, and you waste it on a card that does nothing? …No, there is some magic in the air… some kind of magical barrier? Well, whatever it is, I doubt it will fare any better than you two did. Master Spark!" She fired her annihilating blast of sadistic love, but once the blast touched Tokage's fair emerald scales, it reflected off her pure pureness and came back at Yuuka, slamming the vile youkai into the wall with ironic force.
Tokage looked at the devastation, her luminescent eyes widening in shock.
"Shimi, what just happened?"
The boy chuckled with dark humor.
"That's the effect of that card. It's kind of like my Lunatic Sign: Plot Armor, except that just stops things from hitting you. The 'Mary Sue' card, on the other hand, does that too, but it doesn't just save you, it basically makes everything revolve around you, like a poorly written hack character who can stop villains by breathing in their direction. In other words, it makes you a Mary Sue until it wears off. I really hate using it, since it takes the fun out of fighting." explained Shimi boorishly, reciting his speech as though to a grand audience, when he didn't deserve even to be in Tokage's presence. "Oh yeah, it also makes the narrator a annoying sycophant. Really need to fix that bug." He continued, cruelly breaking the fourth wall and hurting the narrator's feelings. Jerk. "Ok, there's no reason to insult me. It seems Yuuka's unconscious, so if you could let me down from here, I'll turn the card off."
Tokage selflessly untied the vines which, without Yuuka's evil control, became limp at her wondrous touch. Once Shimi was free, he looked up, grinned evilly, and snapped his fingers, canceling the spell card. Once he was certain the card had lost all effect, he looked down at Yuuka. "Yup, she's definitely not waking up soon. I'd say we made our point… whatever it was."
Tokage sighed in relief.
"At least I know she won't bother me again."
"Well, I guess we should get going. Oh! Before we do, I believe it's only proper we leave our host with a gift." He opened a portal and pulled out a red flower with what seemed to be two black dots for eyes. "You know, just to make her hate us a little less." He put the flower down next to Yuuka, along with a note. With their errand done, Shimi and Tokage left to plan their next chapter.
Yuuka woke up a few minutes later, not long by most standards, but far too late to track down her new enemies. The youkai shakily got up. "How did that girl do that?" She knew that spell card had something to do with her laser reflecting and hitting her, but what kind of power was it? And more importantly, how could she get her hands on it? She didn't contemplate the issue long, however, before she noticed something nearby. It was a potted red flower, with a note attached to it. Yuuka picked up the note, curious:
Dear Yuuka Kazami,
I just wanted to apologize for our rude behavior during our visit. Admittedly, Lady Tokage and I didn't expect any other reaction from you, Miss Kazami, but we'd hoped that the fighting would reach a less painful conclusion for all of us, and that we could sit down and talk about everything over some tea, like Miss Hakurei seems so fond of doing. I'm sorry that we couldn't have been friends, Miss Kazami, but there's no point in regretting the past. Rather, I think we should look back on it fondly and laugh at the memories. For instance, the look on your face when you was hit by your own Master Spark was priceless. Anyway, in hopes that we can put today behind us, I left behind a gift, a special flower from another world I visited once. I hope you like it.
Love, Shimi.
P.S. When I said 'love', I was just being nice. I was saying it in a friendly kind of way, not romantic. So don't stalk me.
Yuuka chuckled at the last part of the note, then turned attention to the flower. Despite having what seemed to be eyes, the flower took no notice of her. "And just what are you, little one?" She picked it up and took it to her greenhouse upstairs, intending to plant it. She stared at the flower, sensing some kind of power hidden inside it. "My, you're a very special one, aren't you? I wonder what kind of secrets you're hiding? Ah, it doesn't matter for now. For now, Mama Yuuka's going to take very good care of you, yes. Once you're fed and with your fellow flowers, then we'll talk." With her ability to control flowers, Yuuka quickly determined what kind soil is best for her new flower, as well as how much water is needed. Once it was planted properly and Yuuka started watering it, she turned her attention to this power inside it. She couldn't tell what it was, or how it was activated, but she knew she would figure it out eventually. "That boy, Shimi… I suppose I'll let him live this time. After all," she cooed, "if he was dead then I wouldn't have you, would I?" She stroked the flower, and to her surprise, it shook slightly. She watched it for a second, but nothing else happened. The flower wasn't hurt by this, so Yuuka stroked it again, and it shook even more, stirring up the power inside it. Curious, Yuuka wrapped her hand gently around the flower, and the flower shot out a burst of flame, nearly singeing Yuuka's face and promptly setting all the nearby plants ablaze. Yuuka hurriedly put them out with her watering can, and stared at the Fire Flower in astonishment. "So, that's the power you were hiding…" A low chuckle built up in her throat, coming out as maniacal laugher. "Oh, you're going to make me proud, I can tell!" She quickly unearthed the flower and moved it far away from the rest of the plants. "But don't worry, Mama doesn't blame you, little one. You're just following your nature. I have to wonder what kind of hellish world would have fire-breathing plants, but no matter. You're still under my care, and I'll help you grow. Now, I have a certain human to find. They make the best fertilizer."
Shimi and Tokage sat down in her house, exhausted. "Tokage, remind me never to mess with Yuuka again."
"Right… do you think she'll come after us?"
"No, we're safe. Now, where did we leave off?"
"Um… Mima was going to help Dawitsu and Yutaka, but for a price… which you still haven't told me."
Shimi chuckled.
"True, I haven't. But that's just because I didn't know. But, I think I have a pretty good idea of what she'd want. Anything else?"
"Well, what's possessing Yutaka?"
"Oh, that?" He chuckled. "You know."
"I… do?"
"Yeah, you already know, you just don't know you know."
"Can't you tell me?"
"You'll find out when we get there, I'm sure."
Tokage glared at him, but it was clear he wasn't going to say anything.
"Fine, let's get started then…"
