Touhou Doujin: Jean's Magical Education
Chapter 10: Make Words, not War
Mayohiga, Tokage Reiketsu's house, two post-meridian
Tokage Reiketsu was lounging in the main room of her house, pondering where her story could go next. What Dawitsu had said to her didn't seem to have affected her in the slightest.
After making a tiny little 'eureka' gesture, she grinned, picked up her notepad, and began to scribble away frantically, occasionally giving way to hyperventilating.
"IT'S... SO..." Tokage squealed slightly before continuing her monologue, "...MOÉ!"
As she wrote her no doubt depraved ideas down, she almost missed the faint sound of knocking on her door. After winding herself down, she answered her door, opening it to reveal a fellow lizard youkai.
"Hey, Tokage!" the youkai shouted somewhat obnoxiously, "What's up? How's it going? I haven't seen ya around much. Did something happen?"
"Ah..." Tokage laughed to herself, "Well, you know Miss Yukari?"
"Yeah..."
"Well... she's got a boyfriend!" Tokage barely contained a maniacal laugh, "And... and... and he's so damn hot, I just had to write a romance novel about them!"
"A romance novel... about real people?" the other lizard didn't seem convinced, "Isn't that a little creepy?"
"Not at all!" Tokage said, unfazed by her acquaintance's remark, "It's totally cool! Just you see! My book will be a best seller!"
"Hm... well, I guess I shouldn't knock it before I try it. You got it with you?" the somewhat anonymous lizard asked.
"Sure I do!" Tokage handed her friend her notebook, "This is just my personal copy, but when I finish it, I'll get the tengu to publish it, copied up and everything!"
Taking the notepad, the unfortunate lizard read silently, reddened slightly and asked, "Is he really that perfect?"
"You bet he is..." Tokage lied.
"I find that hard to believe."
Tokage's guest continued to read the story for about two minutes, before turning a little greener than usual, and stumbled towards the front door saying, "Uh... pardon me... I need to go outside for a second..."
Upon her leaving the house temporarily, Tokage heard what sounded like retching, before she returned, with what seemed to be sweetcorn on the side of her mouth. After wiping the partially-digested matter off her mouth, the lizard smiled nervously, "Uh... that... was... uh... good. Yeah, good."
"Ha! That's what Dawitsu himself thought!" Tokage filtered the memories that served herself best.
The response was her friend leaving her house for a second time, making horrific noises, and returning to say, "Y-you showed this to... the guy you're writing about?"
"You say that as if there's something wrong with it..." Tokage smiled slightly, seemingly oblivious of her ineptitude.
"That's because there... oh, never mind. Don't work too hard on this book or anything... uh... see you!" the lizard concluded, before speeding off, dropping the notebook like it was infected with the plague.
"Hmph!" Tokage picked up her notebook indignantly, "What was her problem?"
What Tokage hadn't realised was that, due to her writing's horrific nature, she had actually laid seeds of creativity in her victim's mind... a lingering trace of competitive thought, a small inkling in her friend's mind that told her 'I can do better than that'... unwittingly, she had knocked the initial domino of the domino trail to a new craze.
The forest of magic, Alice Margatroid's house, around the same time
Byakuren was resting in one of Alice Margatroid's armchairs, mumbling a little as she fought dozing off to sleep. Alice was getting ready to go out, a process which, for someone who usually acted as a shut-in, took a rather long time. After successfully arranging her dolls to be ready for combat in one swift move, Alice walked downstairs, and looked in slight adoration at the sight of Byakuren Hijiri quietly sleeping on her chair.
"Hello?" Alice gently said, taking hold of the monk's hand.
Byakuren quickly got up, looking left and right in disorientation before saying, "I... I wasn't sleeping, I was just resting my eyes..."
"If you say so..." Alice smirked, and said, "So, you think we should try at test out our theory?"
"Okay..." Byakuren seemed somewhat unenthusiastic about the matter.
"Oh, come on, you're the one who's so curious!" Alice pointed out, "Get up! Once this is done, if we're correct, we can report it to Hatate and Aya!"
Byakuren sighed, "Perhaps that isn't the right thing to do..."
"So, should we assume that he's still at Marisa's house?" Alice asked.
"Yes." Byakuren inhaled, stood up, and said, "Let's go now before I lose the confidence..."
The two magicians walked out of Alice's house, walking for about a minute before reaching Marisa's house. Upon getting there, she noticed that both their subject of interest and Marisa were flying about above their location, taking pot shots at each other in a manner that didn't even resemble danmaku.
Up in the sky, Jean pointed his finger at Marisa, muttered his 'Green Shot' spell once, and successfully hit her. "Tag! You are it!"
Marisa turned her broom around, and observed Jean as he dipped downwards to avoid instantly becoming 'it' again. Marisa tried to change her shot trajectory, but due to this game's rules of 'no constant firing', she was finding it difficult to get her shot lined up to hit her student.
Jean flew circles around Marisa, and taunted, "Come on! Catch me... uh... how does the phrasing go... if you can?"
Marisa's attempts at aiming at Jean were making her go cross-eyed, and Jean was in no way going to yield. Eventually Marisa mumbled, "Okay, Jean, you win..."
Jean brought his broom to a halt, and thrust his hands into the air. "Yes! I win! After fifteen games, I win!"
Marisa smirked as she turned to aim at her now still target, and fired her shot as soon as it was lined up, "Psych!"
"Hey, that is not fair!" Jean complained.
Marisa was about to justify her cheating, but a voice from the ground interrupted her before she could start, "Hey! Down here! It's Alice!"
Marisa called back, "What do you want?"
"Byakuren wants to speak to that man you're playing with!" Alice shouted, "Come down here, so I don't have to strain my voice!"
Jean heard mention of the word 'Byakuren', and swooped downwards as if a dog being called for by its master. Marisa rolled her eyes, and slowly descended after him.
Once the two dismounted, Alice, who seemed to be the spokesperson for Byakuren, said, "Okay, uh... what's-his-face..."
Jean spoke up, "Jean Franc..."
"Yeah, that's it... Jean, Byakuren has something to ask you..." Alice folded her arms, turning to the silent, nervous wreck of a magician that was acting more like a teenage girl than a millennium-old Youkai, "Go on, ask him!"
Byakuren stuttered slightly, "Um... Jean... would you... would you... would you answer to the title Myouren if asked?"
Jean cocked his head. This wasn't the kind of question he was expecting. "What... what are you talking about?"
"Well, it's just... okay, do you know what I looked like as a teenager?" Byakuren asked.
Jean was about to call Byakuren insane, but upon thinking over the request, he somewhat vividly recalled someone resembling Byakuren... however, her hair was one, simple brown colour, and it was straighter than her current look. He shuddered, not sure how he knew that, and said, "You... you were shorter than you are now, and... you had the straight hair. How... how did you know that I did know that? I did not know myself that..."
Byakuren was about to answer, but all of a sudden Jean screamed, "SACREBLEU! Vous étes... vous étes... ma petite soeur... je suis... non... c'est impossible..."
Marisa asked, "Uh... Jean... what's wrong?"
Alice looked downwards, before she addressed Marisa, "If our theory is correct, then the reason why Jean knows Byakuren so well is because..."
Jean shouted, "NON! C'EST IMPOSSIBLE! JE... SUIS... MYOUREN!"
Byakuren, unaware of what Jean's outburst had meant, mumbled, "We... we think that Jean may be... on the same reincarnation line as my late brother..."
Marisa's eyes widened, "What?"
Jean gulped, and said, "You... you think that I am... your brother... but... I am a different person now... I am not the same as him... he is... dead..."
Marisa smiled in enlightenment, "Hold on... that explains what you were going on about in your sleep..."
Alice and Byakuren both turned to Marisa in curiosity. Byakuren asked, "What did he say?"
Marisa snickered, before saying, "I thought he was having some sort of romantic fantasy, but basically, he was babbling about how Byakuren was the only woman for him and that he was probably never going to marry anyone or something... and said he was totally cool with Byakuren going off with other people, as long as she was careful... but if he was dreaming with Myouren's mind, then..."
"Oh, Myouren! You always cared for me! I remember when you told me that all those years ago..." Byakuren smiled, knowing her theory was correct, "You see, in a circular life, often dreams are a subconscious retelling of memories from previous lives... after you had been reintroduced to me, Jean's mind must have been drawn to Myouren's memories in particular..."
Jean shook his head, "No... no... je ne suis pas un poisson rouge de remplacement..."
Byakuren picked up on the familiar wording in his foreign dialogue, "I'm not viewing you as a replacement... I'm... just... glad to know why it is I had a feeling I knew you..."
"So... you won't treat me like your brother?" Jean asked.
"Of course not..."
Marisa rubbed her chin, "Okay, that explains a lot, but it doesn't explain something I remember hearing... Jean began lusting after Byakuren instantly, saying that she looked like his wife... what connection does she have?"
Alice folded her arms, "I can explain that... humans have a tendency to be attracted to people who look similar to relatives... so, on a subconscious level, Jean must have picked his wife because she reminded him of his sister from another life."
Marisa's face became a slightly disgusted one, "How do you know stuff like that?"
"Read it in a book. You should know, you stole it from me. You know, the book 'Humans, and how to be attractive to them'?"
Marisa's face reddened, "Uh... I never stole that book. Honest..."
Jean hung his head, "No... I can't have... I loved Patricia... with all my heart... I... I knew her! I loved her strange accent, her pigeon-toed walking... I LOVED HER, NOT MY SISTER!"
Alice walked up to Jean, and quietly tried to comfort him, "I never said that you didn't. I just said that's what drew you to her... aesthetically."
Byakuren shook her head, "I'm sorry. What you're saying is true. You're a completely different person... but at least now you know one thing that will help you..."
Jean continued to face the ground, and spat, "What?"
"...the reason you've picked up magic so quickly is because it's in your soul... you know, Myouren was the one who taught me magic. I never got the hang of it until after he had died, but ultimately it was he who taught me." Byakuren sighed, and said, "My condolences. I apologise if this has at all upset you..."
Jean began to breath heavily. As each cycle of ventilation completed itself, the next cycle became a louder one, eventually building to a crescendo, at which point Jean screamed, "What is your purpose? Why are you here? Just to give me bad news? To tell me I'm just a shadow of your beloved brother? To tell me I never really loved my wife? GO! LEAVE ME!"
Alice and Byakuren were notably shocked and somewhat insulted by the outburst, but regardless, obliged, and bowed respectfully before leaving him and Marisa. Marisa, who had stayed silent throughout his outburst, placed her hand on Jean's shoulder, saying, "Jean... it's okay, let's just go in and get something to eat. Once you calm down, you'll think better of the situation..."
Jean fell to his knees, and began to cry uncontrollably. "WHY? WHY DID THEY COME HERE?"
Marisa stared at the pathetic sight... a man, who was older, taller, and more muscle-bound than her, bawling into the ground like a baby. While Marisa would normally laugh at such a sight, for whatever reason, Marisa felt the urge to do something else.
Marisa got in front of Jean, and kneeled down to his level. Tapping his shoulders, she said, "Hey, chin up..."
Jean brought his upper body from the ground, sniffing and hiccuping as he did so. Not knowing what Marisa was up to, he jumped slightly as Marisa gave Jean a strong, warm embrace.
"It's gonna be alright, Jean..." Marisa said unsurely, "...I know you're more than just some dumb copy of Byakuren's brother..."
"How do..." Jean stopped speaking to hiccough a little, "...how do you know that?"
"Because I'm your friend." Marisa reassured, then, as if fifty pennies had dropped, she suddenly changed her tone, "...man, I didn't think I'd ever be so mushy..."
Jean, who's arms were hanging outside of the hug, rose and put themselves around Marisa, and he said, "I... I like this... how you say... mushy... you a lot..."
"Heh, don't get used to it, kiddo. So, you want some food?" Marisa asked.
"Yes please..."
After that, they remained hugging each other for a good minute before Marisa asked, "Uh... are you gonna let go?"
"I thought you were going to let go first..." Jean replied.
"...oh."
Once they let each other go, the two human magicians walked towards Marisa's house, both ready for a no doubt mushroom-based meal to ease their hunger.
The Human Village, Keine's Village School, three o'clock post-meridian
Yutaka and Dawitsu were both reclining in their chairs, on the border of dormancy as the schoolchildren did what Keine called 'a mandatory test' to prove that they had actually learned something in their lessons with Yutaka.
Most of the students were twiddling their thumbs as the end of their allotted time to complete their paper approached. Only three students were still working. As the third-to-last student put her pencil down, the end-of-school bell began to ring, shocking the half-asleep mimicker and magician awake.
Yutaka babbled incoherently before coming to her senses, saying cheerfully, "Okay, class! Time to get going! Any which haven't finished, just finish the question you're on, and hand in what all of what you have done! Remember to put your names on every piece of paper you used..."
Dawitsu laughed nervously before saying, "And remember to number each page you've written on, putting 'Please turn over' on the bottom if you've used both sides."
Most of the students stood up and placed their question answers on the teacher's desk, before rushing out of the classroom, while two scribbled for a short while before doing the same.
Yutaka sighed, "Oh... do you think we were made to sit through that exam as a punishment for ignoring her warning about making noise?"
"Probably... I don't know what her problem is, it's not like we're getting paid or anything..." Dawitsu muttered.
"That doesn't matter, though, because we have unlimited funds as long as I know what currency we're working in..." Yutaka pointed out.
"It's the thought that counts..." Dawitsu folded his arms, "Anyway, I'm not going to go home with you tonight, if that's alright. I'm going to go to the Scarlet Devil Mansion for a while. You're okay walking home on your own, aren't you?"
Yutaka blushed, noticing the protective tone of Dawitsu's voice, "Of course I am, Boss. So, why are you going there? To teach Flandre, I presume?"
"You presume correctly." Dawitsu confirmed, "I feel I've been neglecting the poor girl as of recently. Plus, I'd love to see how Sakuya and Patchy are getting along... hey, if you want to see Patchy, feel free to come along with me..."
"No thanks. I'm feeling like sitting on the sofa with a cup of tea wrapped in a blanket..." Yutaka stopped, seemingly contemplating the idea, "Ah... yes, I want to go home as soon as possible. I guess we'll be going our separate ways, then?"
"I guess we will..."
The Scarlet Devil Mansion, around twenty past three post-meridian
Flandre Scarlet was following Koakuma around the mansion's library, and had been doing so for about an hour. Koakuma was ignoring the vampire, simply getting along with her duties as a librarian's assistant, but fearing that she was going to die in a short amount of time.
After resisting the temptation for five minutes longer, she finally turned to the younger mistress of the house and asked, "What do you want?"
"Koakuma-san, will you marry me?" Flandre answered, tilting her head in an innocent manner.
"Uh..." Koakuma looked left and right, hoping her the head librarian would be able to help her out on this question, "...why do you want to do that?"
Flandre proceeded to hug Koakuma, "Because you're pretty, and I'm pretty, and we're both unmarried girls who love each other!"
Koakuma squirmed under the grip of the insane, child-like vampire, and said, "Um... have you asked Patchouli?" in an attempt to move the unwanted attention elsewhere.
"Yeah, she said she's already married to someone named Yutaka! And when I asked Sakuya, she said that she's not the one for me..." Flandre squeezed Koakuma tighter as she got a little more frustrated, "...IT'S NOT FAIR! No-one wants to marry me!"
Almost unable to breath, the assistant attempted to say, "Let... me... go..."
Although she hadn't heard the command, Flandre did what was asked of her due to the sound of Sakuya's voice shouting, "Lady Flandre! There's someone at the door for you!"
Rushing to the front door, Flandre stopped dead-on at the Mansion entrance, and after looking over the cloaked mimicker in front of her, squealed with glee, hugging Dawitsu and kissing him repeatedly. Once she stopped, she cried, "BOY SENSEI!"
Dawitsu smirked to himself, and said to Sakuya, "You think she's missed me?"
Sakuya smiled warmly at the reunion, and nodded, "Of course..."
Flandre continued to hold Dawitsu, and said, "Sensei, can we play science today? I don't like reading any more..."
"Why don't you..." Dawitsu began to ask, but took notice of Sakuya performing a small cutting-head motion with her finger across her neck, so in accordance, shut up.
Sakuya tried to change the subject, "So, tell Dawitsu about who you met when you went out, Lady Flandre..."
"Oh! That's right! I met a man with a funny voice! I asked him to marry me, but he was married before. Then this bad woman came up to us... and I... I... I... broke her, but then a little thing came to fix her!" Flandre excitedly told Dawitsu.
Dawitsu shook his head, "Oh, Flandre... you're just like a kid... I wish I could say you're like my daughter, but if that's true... I've been a terrible father to you. I'm sorry I haven't seen a lot of you recently..."
Sakuya looked at Dawitsu in a confused manner, as did Flandre, who released the mimicker, asking, "But... you're not my daddy, are you?"
"No. I just... never mind." Dawitsu sighed, and turned to Sakuya, "So... how's things?"
Sakuya walked up close to Dawitsu, and whispered into his ear, "If you really want to know, not great. Remilia has forbidden me and Rinnosuke from meeting... what should I do?"
Dawitsu removed the secrecy from the situation, and stepped back, declaring in a brash, faux-heroic tone, "DON'T WORRY, FAIR MAID! FOR I, DAWITSU, WILL SAVE THE DAY!"
Defusing the situation effortlessly, Sakuya asked in a deadpan tone, "How?"
"Okay... tomorrow, I'll return here with a device known as a 'mobile phone'. On the way, I'll have dropped off a similar device with Rinnosuke. I'll have already programmed in the phone number necessary for you two to call each other... all that will be required is for me to teach you how to operate the thing..." Dawitsu stopped to breath, and then began what seemed like an epic speech minus the meaningfulness, "...then, unimpeded, as if invisible, you shall be able to meet in special, secret places organised between yourselves, without Remilia even knowing you've organised them! YOU WILL GO TO THE BALL, CINDERELLA! Damn, wrong story..."
But before he could continue, Dawitsu's mouth was covered by two bat wings, the owner of which was standing behind him.
"So, you thought you could conspire against me, did you?" Remilia sniggered, "Well, you could start by not talking so loudly."
Flandre didn't understand why someone she considered nice was effectively gagging another person who she considered nice. One or the other had to be 'nasty', but Flandre didn't know who it was.
Sakuya looked downwards, "I'm sorry, mistress."
"And you should be! Forget the stupid man! Forget both stupid men!" Remilia ranted, "And Flandre, get back in the basement, you don't need to hear this..."
"Yes, Remi..." Flandre said, unquestioningly going towards the basement entrance.
Remilia opened her wings, allowing Dawitsu to breath, "So, what do you have to say for yourself?"
"Sorry, Remilia. I was just trying to think of a way where Sakuya could be happy and you could..." Dawitsu explained.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, I can understand why you wouldn't want... uh..." Dawitsu stared awkwardly at Sakuya, drooling slightly before realising he had to continue, "...you know... that... going on in your mansion. It is your mansion after all. So I'm just... trying to get them to move their spot, that's all..."
Remilia smiled, seemingly enthralled with the idea. "Turn around, so I can thank you properly..."
Dawitsu should have known better, but turned around like a moron, "I knew you'd see se..."
Dawitsu's sentence was cut short by a punch to the face, "YOU IDIOT! IF SHE DOES THAT, THEN SHE'S STILL DOING IT! A MAID IS PURE! A MAID IS CLEAN!"
"Jesus, you have a good left hook..." Dawitsu spluttered from the floor.
Sakuya stared at the Mimicker, lying on the floor, grinning wryly, but with fear in his eyes nonetheless. She then looked at her furious mistress, and noticed that underneath the anger was a sadistic bliss.
"...No. A maid can be impure." Sakuya quietly attempted to confront her mistress.
"What?" Remilia turned to Sakuya like a ravenous beast, keeping her voice a disturbingly quiet tone, "What... did you just say?"
"I can be as unclean as I like. I'm a woman. I have needs. I'm more than just your maid... I'm... I'm a human being, a real person!" Sakuya's tone of voice became gradually more self-confident.
"Silly maid... a human being... is not a real person..." Remilia slowly and certainly said, "...the only reason I chose to look like one is because they're such cute animals..."
Dawitsu slowly got up, and said, "You're wrong."
"Ha! What would you know? You're a youkai! Humans are but a meal to you! You're no less cruel than me..." Remilia taunted.
Sakuya shook her head, "That's not true... I should know, he was my boyfriend!"
Remilia's eyes narrowed, "W-what?"
"Oh yeah, that's right... Rinnosuke wasn't the first, you know..." Sakuya grinned, sensing she had gained the upper hand, "He's done far more than ogle me..."
Dawitsu continued the assault, "And you know what, she's beautiful enough to have had many before me... who knows how impure your perfect maid is?"
"Shut up! Shut up! You're lying!" Remilia panicked, knowing if she simply resorted to violence now, it would be like accepting defeat, "YOU CAN'T HAVE!"
Sakuya looked at Dawitsu, and said, "Oh, a memory like that cannot be fabricated... do you want to know about it in detail?"
Dawitsu's expression became a mixture between a genuinely and falsely perverted smile, "Well, I think I should start... we began to kiss, just like..."
Dawitsu closed in on Sakuya, who was hoping they wouldn't have to actually demonstrate, and Remilia began to quiver, until she finally gave up, "FINE! Whatever, Sakuya can go and see her stupid boyfriend. He's an improvement compared to that loser! ANYTHING but him! Ugh! I can't believe she'd... I'll be in my room! Leave me alone if you value your lives!"
Sakuya breathed a sigh of relief, Dawitsu seemed somewhat disappointed, and Remilia proceeded to storm upstairs to her room. Dawitsu said, "Well... I guess my coming here wasn't completely in vain after all. Is it okay if I teach Flandre for a bit, I'm sure she's dying for a bit of mental exercise..."
Sakuya smiled, "Thank you... but did you really have to go that far?"
"Sure I did..." Dawitsu sniggered, before saying, "See you later, Sakuya. You go enjoy yourself... I think you're all clear to see him now, wouldn't you say?"
"You're a pervert, aren't you? I've never seen you that way, but you most certainly are..." Sakuya laughed, and decided to leave the house as suggested.
"Goodbye! Au revoir! Adios! Sayonara! Wu duhadd! Hwyl Fawr! Auf Wiedersehen!" Dawitsu continued to cycle through languages until Sakuya finally slammed the door shut as she left.
Walking into the basement, Dawitsu somehow knew that despite the fact he was sharing the house with someone who hated him enough to kill him, that he was perfectly safe... his victory over Remilia felt... harsh, unnecessary, but fair. A strange sense of satisfaction and guilt filled the mimicker's body, however, his outward demeanour seemed to forget that, and he spent the rest of the night teaching Flandre the laws of motion, with the occasional break to play chess.
Hakurei Shrine, during the former events, at around half past three post-meridian
Reimu sat at her kotatsu, staring at the empty futon she had kept on the floor. She never bothered to put it away, her excuse to Suika being laziness. However, once the Oni offered to put it away for her, for whatever reason, Reimu told her not to touch it.
Suika spent her time passed out on the floor, seemingly oblivious to the fact that the Shrine Maiden was just as zoned out as she was. Thus, a shock to the system came when a knock to the door snapped the Miko out of her trance.
"Uh... coming!" Reimu said, approaching the door. Upon opening it, she revealed the diminutive figure of the smarter of her two sky-neighbours.
Yutaka examined Reimu's face before telling her why she was calling. It was pale, and bags were under the young woman's eyes. Her original script was, "I was just calling to ask how you were..." but pity caused ad-libbing on Yutaka's part.
"...Miss Hakurei? Is that you? You look terrible..." Yutaka said, then stepped back, noticing her own lack of courtesy, "...I'm sorry. Are you okay?"
"...reporters. Nasty things, aren't they? I just want to see him again. Tell him I'm sorry. For humiliating him. For taking him away from home. But if I do that... they will make a story out of it." Reimu seemed to be having trouble standing, let alone speaking.
"Who? The Frenchman?" Yutaka decided to let herself in.
"Yes. He's nice, isn't he?" Reimu declared monotonously.
"He... is." Yutaka didn't actually know, but just went along with the quite clearly dishevelled shrine maiden.
"Do you know what he did?" Reimu's face seemed to come to life a little, "He... he took care of me. I went out. Into the outside world. No-one tried to help me. Only him. He took me in. And he could have tried to do anything he wanted to me... how was he to know how powerful I was? He just took me in, gave a place to sleep, and even offered to find me a man. I just saw him as an expendable person. Then... something changed... I wanted him to go away with me..."
Yutaka felt bad that she was the one listening to all this, unable to offer any insight herself. She figured that it would be best if she simply remained a listener. Trying to have a say in this conversation would only end in tears. "So that's how he got here? Go on... tell me your story..."
"Then I..." Reimu began to tear up, "Then... I used him. I used him to try and make Rinnosuke jealous. Can you believe I did such a thing? I was... I was so... SELFISH!"
Yutaka didn't know how to act. In the end, she decided on saying, "You're only sixteen... you make mistakes. You'll be selfish every now and then, you'll do things you'll regret. The important thing is that... you learn from it."
Reimu paused to take in what Yutaka had said, then she continued to regale the not-so-distant past, "Then... whenever he tried to be nice to me, or funny... I... I threw it in his face. I... didn't think that I was lucky enough to have his forgiveness in the first place. I was just... too obsessed with not looking like an idiot. A softy. A..."
"You didn't want to look like a nice girl to him. Why?" Yutaka was starting to feel like Reimu should have been lying down, with herself standing above her head.
"I... I didn't want him to laugh. What if someone doesn't like the real you? Then what happens? You've lost. If someone doesn't like the nasty you you put on, that doesn't matter, because that isn't the real you... but... I would have lost if I just... told him how good he was to have in the house... how good it was to have company... he would have seen me as some stupid stalker..."
"He wouldn't have..." Yutaka kneeled downwards to keep at a height Reimu would be comfortable speaking to, "...you need to be more confident in yourself... the real yourself."
"No... no I don't... because... when I saw what he was doing... with Marisa... I... came to conclusions... the real me... the real me got angry then... and... when I was proven wrong... and it turned out he wasn't... in love with Marisa... the real me... the real me kissed him, and loved him... and... scared him away. He... he took the first opportunity to leave me... he..." Reimu ended her story, as the rest quite clearly consisted of deep thought and lack of sleep. She collapsed in front of Yutaka, exhausted.
"I'm...sorry. I'm sorry you had to listen to that..." Reimu concluded.
Yutaka shook her head, "No... I wanted to see how you were because I hadn't heard from you. Now... now that I know what's been going on... perhaps I can help you?"
"How... how could you help me?"
"I could tell Jean everything you've just told me. What your thoughts are... how sorry you are... how much you miss him..." Yutaka sat down, crossing her legs, "I know you may be afraid of that happening, but trust me when I say people like the real you far more than the fake you..."
"Really? You... mean that?" Reimu asked, lifting her head.
"Of course. The real you is kind, and thoughtful. Anyway, I have a hot date with a radiator, a blanket, and a cup of warm herbal tea... you know, you can join me too..." Yutaka smiled, and Reimu could tell from experience that this time, her smile was genuine.
"I... that would be nice." Reimu said, and decided to stand up. Her gait became gradually more awake, until eventually she said, "But just this once... don't think you're my friend, or anything..."
Yutaka smirked, and got up, "Ah, I must admit, it is strange to see you without that sharp edge..."
And so, the two had what outside-worlders would probably call a girl's night in. Ran and Chen joined in, and they ended up doing... strangely enough, what girly girls did. It was a rare occasion for them all to be so effeminate, but all four agreed they needed it.
Pillow-fights, spin the bottle, boy talk... it all seemed to crop up. Even Ran voiced an interest in... a certain someone.
Who? Well, that's a different story entirely...
Author's Notes: I'm... back. It was hard work, lambing, but after a hectic week, and an even more hectic Easter weekend/brother's birthday, I'm here. Back. I love writing... how I've missed it. Such a... relaxing pastime.
I also love the music from 手描き：ゆめにっき考察ＭＡＤ... it's so damn beautiful, I'm going to write all my heart-warming moments to it... oh... I also love all you guys...
Seriously, I'm in a real 'love you' mood at the moment. Family are great, aren't they? Remember, every now and then, to hug your mum, and tell her "I love you." Because it isn't said enough...
Love is a wonderful thing. Remember that for me, guys. Wow, what am I doing? I don't know, but please do remember to tell your parents that you love them... not all the time, because the gesture is stale, but... when you sense they need it the most.
Sometimes, we all need hugs. It's true. Even macho men.
I'm sorry, was that speech cheesy? It wasn't intended to be... anyway, it's great to be back. Oh, and check out my DA! I may not have been able to write, but I've put out two more pictures for you guys!