…
"Nn~h…" Sendai stretched out, unwilling to open her eyes to what she could feel was a particularly bright morning…
'If I'd woken up before the break of dawn, I wouldn't have this problem…' Rubbing her eyes, the miko began to shift, crawling out from under the kotatsu. 'It's probably noon right now…'
Crawling and rotating, Sendai got into a regular sitting position beneath the kotatsu she had occupied for the evening…
Kri-krik. Her neck cracked as she used her arms to articulate her head. 'Always gets stiff under there…'
…
Reimu stepped through the now permanently open kitchen doorway, the semi-smashed frame locking the doors in an open position. The miko herself was rubbing the sleep from her eyes, too.
"Mornin'." Reimu stumbled over to the kotatsu, slipped under it, then leaned over onto it.
"Mmm. Mornin'..." Sendai leaned back, using her arms to prop herself up.
'Waking up to the light once in awhile is nice, though.'
…
The current Hakurei shrine maiden let out a mighty yawn. "Hooa~h…"
'No time like the present…' Slipping from the kotatsu, Sendai began to stand.
"No running..." Reimu mumbled out a threat.
"Morning runs are good for you, though." Sendai smirked, before she began stretching…
"No running." Slightly more awake, Reimu focused on the elder miko.
"Hnn~..." Sendai made some noise as she stretched her arms. "...Haa~h."
...Quietly, Reimu curiously observed her.
In the next moment, she dropped to the floor and began doing push ups.
'One. Two. Three…'
Time passed as the miko did her routine morning push ups.
'Twenty three, twenty four, twenty five…'
"What are you doing…?" Reimu's curiosity got the better of her.
'Ah… what number- right, twenty five. Well, twenty seven now.' Looking up from the floor, Sendai smiled. "Exercise."
…
'Thirty one-'
"Better question…" Dryly, Reimu continued her verbal prodding. "Why are you doing exercise?"
'Thirty three…' Sendai almost stopped, grinning to herself. "Why aren't you?"
'...Thirty six, thirty seven-'
Reimu sighed. "I guess it beats you trying to run away."
Sensing her daughter's dismissal of her last question, Sendai asked it again. "Why don't you exercise?"
"Why would I?" Sitting up at the kotatsu, Reimu yawned again. "Huua~... it's not like I really need it. I'm stronger than most people my size…"
'Forty one. I was about to ask myself 'how has she not died yet'... but then I remembered last night. Forty five.'
…
Reimu laid back down on the kotatsu, her eyes fluttering.
"Rather slow to wake up?" Sendai interrupted the younger woman's dozing.
"Shut up." She looked for something to throw, only to realize nothing was on the table. Instead, the miko settled for leaning into the kotatsu top.
"Some exercise would wake you up." Sendai grinned to herself again. 'Fifty nine…'
"Ahah." Despite the helpful suggestion, Reimu was unenthused. "Yeah, sure. If I did a hundred push ups, I'd just end up going back to bed. Involuntarily."
'Sixty five…' Sendai snorted. "You don't have to start with a hundred… not like it's hard." 'Sixty eight.' "Try twenty."
"Lemme get some tea first…" Reimu began to slide from the kotatsu-
"Twenty push ups." Sendai challenged. "Or are you made 'a glass?" 'Seventy one…'
"I'm made of glass." Not having any of it, Reimu began to stand-
"Ha~h." Sendai smiled to herself. "I've met magicians stronger than you."
…
The comment having struck a chord, Reimu reluctantly stepped to around where her mother was doing push ups.
'Got 'er.'
"I can't believe I'm doing this…" Reimu got down on the floor next to Sendai, emulating the bigger woman's movements.
'Seventy eight…' Glancing over at her daughter, Sendai checked her posture…
"One…" Reimu audibly counted out her push ups. "Two…"
...As Reimu progressed, her back arched higher and higher. "Three, four, five, six, seven-"
"Start again." Sendai announced in the midst of her own push ups. 'Eighty three…'
"What?" Reimu glared at her mother. "Why."
"Your butt's in the air." Sendai pointed out the flaws in her form. "Also, keep your feet together."
"Why~." Despite her protest, Reimu did as instructed. "All I'm doing is pushing myself up."
"If you don't keep form, you'll use your legs and back more than your arms." Sendai explained. "This is an arm exercise, not humping the floor." 'Ninety two…'
"Fine. One…" With that, Reimu started over. "Two…"
'Ninety six, ninety seven…'
"Three, four…" The two women did their morning push ups.
"Ninety eight, ninety nine… one hundred." Sendai finished.
"Wha- how? Already…?" They were so fast that Reimu missed them. "No way…"
Springing onto her legs, Sendai rolled her shoulders a little. "The~re we go. I feel alive again…"
"Hah. Nice joke. Six… seven…" Reimu slowed down a little, focusing on her own movements. "Eight… nine…"
'Joke? Oh. Pfft, yeah. 'Alive again'.'
Looking around, Sendai noticed the shrine door was open. Outside the shrine was bright sunshine, and blue skies.
'Someone's opened the door before we woke up.' Sendai realized, eyes narrowing.
...Stepping forward, she kept her movements reserved as she neared the door…
"Twelve… thirteen…" Reimu was still doing her push ups.
Sendai neared the door-
"Ee~y, Reimu~..."
A stout, orange-haired girl stumbled into the shrine, waving around a purple gourd, her horns miraculously slipping in through the shrine's doorway. "We~r' outta tha' village ales! It- it went good wit' tha' sake, yeah…?"
'...An… oni?' Sendai wasn't sure what to say.
...The oni girl turned to her, before double-taking after a delay. "Woo~h! Reimu~! You go- grew boobs!" ...With wide eyes, the oni lifted up her gourd, and looked inside. "Da~mn…"
Tilting her head back, the oni shoved the gourd into her mouth.
"Eighteen… nintee~n…" Reimu exhaled. "Twenty. There." With that, Reimu sprung to her feet with the assistance of her natural flight abilities.
Turning to the two women, she blinked. "...Oh, hey Suika."
"Fwaa~h!" Suika tore the gourd from her mouth. "...Oo~h. Tiny Reimu…" She turned her head to Sendai again. "Bi~g sexy Reimu." ...She looked over at Reimu again. "Tiny Reimu…"
Sendai looked at her daughter neutrally, completely confused. "...Are… oni supposed to just wander around? Did I miss something?"
"Yes, you did. Twenty years of somethings." Reimu bluntly regarded her mother. "...Let me get some tea, now. I'll answer some questions."
'That'd be nice…' Sendai looked over the oni curiously. 'Oni on the surface. Who'd've thought it?'
SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE
INTERMISSION 2 - Hakurei Afternoons
The three girls sat around the kotatsu, drinking tea…
'Mmm…' Sendai smiled down at her cup. 'Another day waking up to tea. Things're a bit different now, but that's fine.'
Suika wasn't drinking tea, though. "Mmgh…" Head tilted back, she chugged from her gourd…
'How much is even in that little thing…?' The oni's action evoked a dry stare from Sendai. 'She's been chugging that for the past two minutes.'
...Finally, Suika parted it from her mouth. "Oo~h, the'h we go. Only way ta kick off a morning."
'She's a little short for an oni.'
"So…" Reimu spoke up. "You're closer to my mother than any doppelganger's ever been. Like… by a long shot."
Sendai gave her a slanted smile. "That so?"
Suika jerked her head back. "Whah? Mam?" ...Looking Sendai over with a deliberate stare, she shook her head. "Aah. Ain't no youkai, it don't look…"
"I think we determined as much…" Reimu gave Suika a dry stare. "No youkai could take Fantasy Heaven to the face and get up to make stupid jokes about it."
"Ooh, yeh." Suika nodded, grinning merrily and jerking her gourd up at that. "Trust me, she ain't lyin'! Hahaha~!"
'I'd ask what this oni is doing here, but I don't really feel like fighting an oni within an hour of waking up.'
...After some moments of relaxation, Reimu spoke up again. "I don't really know what to say."
'Hmm?'
"...You're a lot like my mom." Reimu folded her arms. "I'm still not really ready to accept the idea that… you just came back. That's not a thing that happens."
'...She's not wrong.' Sendai nodded compromisingly. "I'm about as curious as you are. It'd be nice to know how I died, too, but I suppose that can wait."
…
'We're missing something, though.' Sendai paused.
"I almost forgot…" Reimu's eyes narrowed, as she began looking around. "Yukari."
The two women looked around at the shrine's interior…
"She's not one to come so readily." Sendai relaxed, ceasing her half-hearted search. "I've only ever met her a handful of times."
...Reimu tilted her head. "Really? She comes by here every week or so."
'What.'
…
"Did I hear something about li'l ol' me?"
Fwap-fwap-fwap! In the next moment, three ofuda from Reimu struck the gap youkai as she leaned out of her gap, slapping onto her face.
Fwap-fwap! Sendai threw three more, two of them striking the youkai's chest.
"Oo~h…!" Yukari simply pouted, bringing her arms up to clutch her head. "The mighty shrine maidens have defeated me~..."
Both mikos ran up to the youkai, preferred attack methods ready.
"What the hell do you want?" Sendai was ready to brawl.
"I have questions." Reimu held her gohei ready, glaring ahead at the youkai.
"Ahah…" Yukari scratched her cheek with one finger. "Well, you see-"
Bam! Yukari's head reeled back as Sendai's dark-empowered fist slammed into it.
Bam! A half-maximized yin yang orb spun into Yukari's stomach, causing her to cringe violently "Gufh…!"
==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====
Crack! Sendai sighed as she pelted Yukari with her twentieth mana molotov.
"That sma~rts…" Yukari rubbed her scuffled mob cap. "You're going to mess up my hat."
Thwack! Reimu brought her gohei into Yukari's knee again.
"Ooo!" Yukari flinched involuntarily, but not spectacularly.
'...For someone so fragile looking, she can take her hits.' Sendai glared at the gap youkai, folding her arms. 'We're not trying trying, but still.'
…
Reimu stepped back from the gap youkai, still glaring at her.
"...Didn't want to mess up my hat, did you?" Yukari gave the two a smarmy smile as she readjusted her mob cap. "It is a rather nice hat, isn't-"
Wham! "Nhuh!" Saliva flew into the air, as Sendai's arm plunged into the gap youkai's gut again.
Yukari stumbled back, before looking up at the two and smirking again. "Ha- hat's still… clean-"
Sendai slid up to her and took off her hat.
"Oo~h…" Yukari faked disdain. "Oh no."
Reimu shook her head. "It's useless. She'll let us question her anyway."
'What? No.' Sendai shook her head. 'I've been itching for a fight with this thing for awhile.'
Pocketing the gap youkai's hat, Sendai reached forward-
"Ah…?" She fell down into a gap.
'Wooaa~h…' She held her arms out as she fell down into the purple, eye-filled space, spreading her limbs to reduce her falling speed. 'So this is what it's like on the inside…'
Then-
Thud. She abruptly landed next to the kotatsu, belly flopping at curiously soft velocity.
"She's right, you know." Yukari spoke smugly as she stepped up to the kotatsu, adjusting her hat upon her head again. "I'll tell you every~thing you need to know. No need to beat me up..."
...Shifting back into a sitting position, Sendai reached into her pocket, only to find the youkai's hat was gone. 'What…? Hmm. Her gap ability… has more versatility than I expected.'
Drifting down onto her bottom and slipping her legs beneath the kotatsu, Yukari sat her hands down onto it. "The truth is…"
...Reimu and Sendai focused on her.
"That I will tell the truth." Yukari nodded warmly.
"I hate you." Reimu shook her head.
Flipping a fan open, Yukari held it before her face. "Genuinely, however…"
The mikos focused on her again.
"I will be genuine." Yukari nodded again.
"You suck." Sendai deflated.
"But!" Yukari sat up, eyes lighting up. "In all actuality…!"
Wham! A yin yang orb fell from above, throwing Yukari's head back on impact.
"In 'all actuality', I think you should get on with it." Reimu seethed at the youkai.
Kri-krik. Yukari's neck cracked as it righted itself on her shoulders. "Nn~h. Fine, fine…"
Folding up her fan, she slipped it somewhere under the table. "I was unaware the previous Hakurei miko had returned, until she'd caused enough stir in the manor."
...The two mikos gave her jaded stares.
"Genuinely." Yukari was without whimsy this time. "And, yes Reimu, that is your mother."
...Face hard, Reimu huffed. "...I'm on the border between believing you and sealing you right now."
"There are things I don't lie about." Yukari switched her leaning posture… "This includes matters pertaining to the Hakurei lineage."
...Reimu looked uncertain. "How do I-"
"Reimu." Yukari spoke with more definition. "I haven't need to do anything underhanded. In fact, I'd prefer things stay just the way they are."
She leaned back a little, relaxing her voice. "Why, everything's gone so smoothly. Isn't peace grand?"
'I hate that tone of voice.' Sendai scowled at the gap youkai. 'She knows something we don't.'
…Catching an idle moment, the gap youkai leaned back and stretched a little. "Hnn~..."
"Why's she… alive, then?" Reimu asked of her.
"Oh, right." Yukari smiled. "Still working that one out. Sorry~!"
"You're useless…" Resting her arms on the kotatsu top, Reimu deflated.
"Perhaps if you wanted to figure that out, you'd seek out those familiar with the afterlife." Yukari slowly reached over for Reimu's teacup-
Reimu up her arm in the way. "You know-" She had to put her other arm down next to the teacup in the opposite direction, to stop Yukari's other arm from reaching out of a gap and snatching it. "You know something, don't you?"
"Hmm? No." Yukari shook her head, flipping her fan open again and holding it before her face. "I would investigate… but since you two are just as curious as I am, why not let you find out?"
A gap opened behind the youkai. "I'll be behind you every step of the way!" With that, she slid back and into the tear in reality.
The gap closed.
…
"Just as annoying and cryptic as ever." Sendai stared at the space where the youkai was. "Albeit more casual. Not sure if that's a good or bad thing…"
'...What did I want to do today, again? Maybe some village shopping-... or odd jobs, considering I'm flat broke. Oh yeah, I need to bring Rinnosuke his high chair back-'
"So…" Standing up from the kotatsu, Reimu idly shifted about. "...Hi, Mom."
Sendai stood up, as well. "Hey."
...Taking a breath, Reimu focused on her. "We… have some catching up to do, huh?"
Smiling, the mother gazed at her daughter. "...Yes. Yes, we do."
…
"Nha~h…" Suika let out a noise from the floor, prompting the two mikos to glance over at her.
==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====
The sun was in the latter half of the sky as the two women progressed onto the shrine lawn…
"So…" Reimu stood on one end of the stone path, while Sendai stood at the other. "We solve problems with danmaku, these days."
"How did you even make it popular?" Sendai jumped on the chance to sate her curiosity. "What youkai in their right mind would listen? How do you even enforce that?"
"It's harder for the more nitty gritty encounters." Reimu conceded. "Even so, I've been able to solve numerous incidents against things I really had no right fighting because of it. As for how it was enforced… me and Yukari made some deals. I assume popularity just kinda kept it in place from there."
'Yakumo, huh.' Sendai didn't like the sound of that. 'Sounds like she wanted this. Peaceful resolution with no violence sounds too good to be true.'
"What things did you fight you couldn't have just mowed down?" Sendai questioned further, her eyes examining the scenery in the meantime. "You're not necessarily weak, especially for your age…"
"Gods. Immortals. Nuclear ravens, really powerful ghosts…" Reimu took a moment to consider her previous opponents. "A celestial. Oni, the Scarlet sisters… Yukari."
'That's… huh.' Sendai's attention was fully on Reimu again. "...How many of those could withstand Fantasy Heaven?"
"...Good question." Reimu was indifferent. "Under danmaku rules, though, I was able to just knock them out."
Sendai jerked her head back. "They just let you danmaku them?"
Rolling her eyes, Reimu stepped towards her mother. "No~. They shot bullets too, obviously. Like, here…"
Stopping in the middle of the stone path, Reimu aimed her free arm at the Shinto arch over the hill's iconic staircase.
From her hand, two streams of ofuda whirled out as if fired from a machinegun.
The danmaku ofuda pattered against the arch, dissipating into particles of red and gold, and then nothing.
"I know what danmaku is." Grinning, Sendai countered. "I taught you it."
Reimu snorted. "Yeah. Well- the basics, anyway. Then comes spell cards."
Drifting into the air, Reimu spread her arms out. "Spirit Sign! Fantasy Seal!"
Seven yin yang orbs spread out around her form, revolving in a ring as they began to glow with bright, rainbow colored energy…
They whirled towards the Shinto-styled arch-
Fwam, fwam, fwam, fwam, fwam! The seven orbs exploded into vibrant, violent echoes of magical power, the air itself rippling in the wake of the massive orbs as they assaulted the gate. Despite these impacts, the arch itself was fine in the end.
"I don't think that's danmaku…" Sendai watched the form of the arch slowly return to normal, the ripples made by the light orbs making it look as if the arch itself was distorted.
"...Yes and no." Reimu gave her that. "Spell cards can be tuned elementally now, and with sufficient work, shaped into either danmaku patterns or easy spell casts. Some people have both lethal and danmaku variants of each spell. I'm not a big fan of everyone having lethal spells by their waist, but thankfully no big youkai want to just kill each other."
"And if people aren't mages?" Sendai tilted her head. "What do they do?"
"Even non-magic users have had to adapt." Reimu explained. "Oni use danmaku, too. When they leave their city, anyway. Not like them throwing punches will hurt eachother."
"Regular humans?" Sendai grinned, folding her arms.
"...Okay." Reimu looked away. "It's possible, but right now they're kinda slow. Not like they leave the village anyway, and they got some defenders who use it. The only people they threaten are weaker youkai, anyway."
...At that, Sendai nodded. "Sounds fair enough. So, with that… you never have to kill."
"Well…" Folding her own arms, Reimu floated back down to the ground. "I do. Only sometimes."
"Oh?" Sendai smirked. "Here I thought you were a complete pacifist."
"Mmm. If a human villager becomes a youkai, or if there's a particularly unreasonable youkai…" Reimu twirls her gohei in her hand. "I don't just seal, exorcise or 'exterminate' them. I just kill them."
Sendai nodded. "Damn straight. I guess this system reduces bloodshed, then…"
'I don't imagine it's always used or useful.'
"What do you do if someone attacks the shrine at night?" This question popped into Sendai's head. "It's not particularly as low-profile as it used to be, and you live alone…"
Reimu waved the notion off. "Youkai are weaker on shrine grounds. That, and that Suika lazes around here sometimes."
'What?' Sendai raised her brows. "...Since when did the shrine grounds repel youkai?" 'Not even gonna ask about the oni yet.'
Pausing, Reimu considered this. "...I'd have to say about a year after you died. I went into Makai and Hell, beat up people, and had a really hard time hiding at night no matter where I slept. Still, I pulled through."
'You went where after I died!?' Sendai momentarily let her jaw drop. "Hell…!? What's a Makai!?
...Reimu stared up into the sky, half-grinning.
…
A woman with poofy, long, faded green hair and horns stepped up the shrine steps, and began walking past the two.
Reimu turned to her. "...Oh, hey."
"Hello~." The woman waved at Reimu. "I thought you would've been out and about at a time like this…" Her shirt was faded red, with white clouds on it. Her shorts were white, almost pink, with faded red clouds on them.
Sendai stared at the newcomer dryly. "Now who's this supposed to be…?"
The woman gave her a little salute. "Ooh, it's you! I'm Kamano the komainu!"
'A komainu? Reimu's really moved up in the world, huh?'
"...What, you recognize her?" Reimu questioned the komainu whilst gesturing to her mother.
"Mmm, mmm!" Komano nodded, the large, heart-shaped necklace she had equipped swinging as she did so. "Some years ago, before you even came around, I'd stop by the shrine and help out!"
"I've never seen you before in my life." Sendai stated bluntly. "The amount of times a crowd of youkai trashed the shrine or tried to ambush me in the evening don't do you any justice, either."
"Well, it's not like I could be around all the time…" Kamano smiled sheepishly. "Especially when the shrine was just a box on a hill for so long…"
...Still skeptical, Sendai began to move towards the stairs.
"Well, have fun watching the shrine. Suika's there, by the way." Reimu waved at the komainu as she moved to follow her mother.
"Will do~!" Komano gave her a friendly wave. "Have fun!"
==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====
The two were on the path to the village, walking regularly together…
"That's... a lot of coincidences…" Sendai's brows were furrowed. "So you walked into this extremely poisonous and volatile land full of immensely powerful monsters… as a kid, and kicked your yin-yang orb into them, and you lived. You fought the owner of this realm like this, and won."
Reimu chuckled under her breath. "...When you put it that way, it does sound a bit…" Then, she turned to her mother. "What, you never did anything crazy as a kid? Also- that was mostly the time when I invaded Hell. When I marched into Makai, I could fly and shoot and stuff."
…
"Good point." Sendai accepted Reimu's tale. "Yeah, I was a little hell raiser. But... you were literally a little hell raiser."
"Also," she raised a finger, "flight. Where did you even learn to fly?"
Reimu smiled. "Before I could fly, I rode on gramps. You know, Genji?"
Sendai blinked. "Oh, yea~h! Our pet turtle! ...He could fly?"
"Yeah, he could fly!" Reimu grinned at her mother. "How'd you not know?"
"Well, he's really self-sufficient." Sendai watched the village gates as they began to approach them. "It makes sense, though."
'The sun's already starting to hang…' She noticed it was in the latter fourth of the sky. 'How annoying.'
Eventually, the two girls made it to the gate.
The guard there was in armor, shiny plates with black accents covering all but his head.
As the two neared, he raised a large, bronze pike. "Halt."
'...Flashier than I remember.' Sendai stared at the guard in examination.
"Hey." Reimu greeted him casually. "We want in."
"There are not two Hakurei mikos." He stated plainly. "You will have to turn back, or face me."
'...I'm not even in my shrine maiden outfit. I do have the sleeves on, but…'
Sendai stepped towards the reel to raise the gate-
The guard shifted into the way. "I will call for backup. When I do, we will come down with the force of a thousand men."
Ignoring him, Sendai kept walking ahead-
The guard lowered his pike, poised to thrust. "You will regret- hauh…!?"
Sendai grabbed his pike as he thrust it forward, and lifted it up.
"Woaa~h!?" The man was raised into the air, still holding the base of his pike-
Thoom! The miko slammed him into the ground behind herself.
"Gauh…" The guard ended up on his back.
Shink! Easily tearing it from his grasp, Sendai thrust the pike into the dirt and continued towards the gate reel.
"First time that's happened." Sendai shook her head.
"Yeah. The guard's gotten pretty bad after you died." Reimu stated plainly, stepping up to the gate and waiting for her mother to reel it open. "They're not really a problem, though, and I guess being so trigger happy makes it hard for youkai to get in."
Tick-tick-tick-tick-tick. The gate clicked as the elder miko reeled it open, allowing the both of them to proceed inside…
As they moved into the village, Reimu spoke. "That reminds me… I did ask the human village to only capture youkai if lethal force wasn't clearly necessary. Considering they still kill eachother sometimes, I don't really expect that to be enforced…"
"When's lethal force clearly not necessary?" Sendai rose her brow…
"When the youkai in question's some small girl with animal ears or something stupid like that." Reimu answered promptly. "There's probably some weirdoes who'd see that and just slaughter her."
...Sendai nodded. 'Makes sense, actually. Not like telling them to stop will make them stop, though.'
The presence of two mikos drew stares from the passing villagers, but the two didn't pay the passing civilians any mind as they advanced into the village center…
Sendai stepped up to the job board. "Hmm~. Let's see what odd jobs they've got…"
"Odd jobs…?" Reimu glanced over the job board, before grinning. "Is that how you kept us afloat before you died?"
"Pretty much." Sendai nodded, before further clarifying. "Well, I did some routine patrols and exterminations, and was sent to fight big things with teams sometimes. Contracts and such, and they provided for some good income until I exploded or something. Being dead kinda kills business."
Reimu snorted. "I'd figure. Incident resolution usually gets me some care packages from the village. Sometimes I mooch..."
Sendai jerked her head back. "Mooch? Who in the village would let you mooch?"
"I don't do it in the village, though…" Reimu smirked at her mother. "One good example would be the mansion."
...Sendai gave the idea a grand nod. 'Tha~t's why it's still standing! She put more forethought into it than I did…! I wouldn't trust them to not do something underhanded, but… they apparently know about Yakumo.'
...Putting aside her realization, she scanned the job board again. 'I wonder if there's anything easy or quick for right now. I don't really want to go on a hunt or anything at the moment.'
A variety of jobs were passed by her vision. 'Resource gathering trip. Youkai nest flushing. Fight some unholy combination of magical adjectives. Fight a fairy. Find a cat. Take out trash…'
Then, one caught her eye. 'Brawl tournament. Prize, five thousand yen. Come fight me if you dare. Now that sounds like easy money…' Upon further inspection, she found multiple postings for the tournament still on the board. 'Must be a posting for each slot, so each contestant can just take one…'
She snapped the posting from the board, and began walking to its address…
Reimu stepped next to her, and leaned next to her to read it… "Brawl tournament? Sounds rowdy."
Sendai grinned. "Rowdy's my scene."
==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode: Human Villagers ====
The two girls had found the fighting rink, held in the midst of the village's west main street. A large wood pad was in the middle of the road, and some benches were arranged around it.
The miko who came before examined the other contestants… 'I expected more.'
There were a total of three other contestants. There was a scrawny teenager in just his shorts, a raggedy, tipsy guy, and a burlier guy in just his shorts.
"Good fight." Reimu took a seat on a bench near Sendai, before taking a bite of a super pretzel she bought earlier…
The burly shirtless guy clapped his hands together. "Alright! Who wants to go first!?" ...Then, he smiled. "I'll go last. Wanna make this fair, after all."
Instantly, the scrawny kid raised his arm. "I'll go!"
Sendai rose her arm next. "Hey. Here for the tournament, I'll go."
Snorting, the host looked over Sendai's plain attire and Hakurei arm sleeves. "Ooh? Strange fashion. Quite big, too, aren't you?"
'I hit big, too.' Sendai grinned at him as she stepped onto the pad…
The scrawny guy scrambled around the pad to enter from the side opposite Sendai, before checking himself to make sure his net total of zero equipment was ready. He had messy blonde hair, no muscle or fat, and was pasty white.
'...This doesn't feel very fair.' Sendai gave the pasty teen a blank stare. 'Oh well.'
"Hi- I mean… yeah, hi." The guy scratched his head. "Ah, uhm… we should introduce ourselves."
"I am the miko who came before." Sendai introduced herself in one sentence.
"Oh. Um…" The guy blinked a few times. "Well… I'm Endo Rai. I am the son of the village's chief financial officer, Endo Kuniaki."
'You should've stuck to lifting weights, boy.' Sendai was tempted to give him a look of pity, but felt a neutral stare was more appropriate. 'Fighting experience is good and all, but…'
Few villagers were even spectating the fighting event. There was a single couple stopped on one of the corner benches, eating sandwiches together.
"You may only be knocked down three times!" Loudly, the muscular man set the rules. "Ring out, three falls, or being knocked out will count as a failure! A knockout is being down for ten seconds!"
The host's voice boomed. "Fight!"
"Mnn~..." The kid hesitantly stepped up to Sendai.
…
After a moment of the two idly standing, he raised his fists, glaring at the miko.
…
Some seconds later, he lowered them, staring at her neutrally again.
'Wow.' Sendai was taken aback by the lack of ferocity.
Then, the guy raised his fists again, glaring anew…
'Are you… going to attack, now?' Sendai raised her guard in an attempt to bait an attack.
He lowered his arms again, reconsidering his assault a second time.
'Really.' Sendai resisted the urge to chuckle pathetically…
Then, the teen took two steps back and to the side, raising an arm. "Hey- hey! Long live the village!"
He slid back into position before the miko-
Pap. She thrust her fist towards where he'd position his torso, and he slid into it.
"Hu~...!" Wincing an eye shut, he stumbled back from the miko, turned around...
Thud. He collapsed to the floor, onto his chest.
'That's not a normal level of weakness…!' Sendai blinked at him in disbelief.
Stepping onto the pad, the host acted as a referee, counting out the seconds he was down. "One! Two! Three!"
'Please stay down.' Sendai stared down at the kid sympathetically. 'We don't even compare.'
The man threw his arm out to emphasize each second. "Four! Five-"
"Oua~h…" After a small struggle, the kid gets back onto his legs, rolling his fists as he marches towards Sendai again. "Al- alright…"
The host steps off the stage as the kid approaches Sendai again…
'Why?' Sendai's stare becomes critical.
Bringing his fist back, Endo bared his teeth. "Ho~h…!" Then, he threw the punch-
It hit Sendai in the stomach. She just stared at him.
'...Okay.'
Bringing the same arm way behind himself, he tilted his head down. "Here I go~!" Once again, he threw his arm forward-
Pap. It made light noise as it slapped against Sendai's abdomen.
'This just makes me sad. I think I'll just end it now…'
Sendai brought her arm back, readying it for an upward blow.
"Wh- he~y!" Endo held his arms out-
Bam!
His eyes were wide as he flew back, watching the world around himself turn horizontal as he sailed-
Thud. He slid to a stop just off of the wood pad.
"We have a winne~r!" The muscled man raised his arms into the air.
'It was more of a challenge to not hurt him.'
Voice loud, the host continued. "And now-"
The tipsy, ragged man stumbled onto the wood pad, positioning himself before Sendai.
"For fight two! Go!" The host already started the next bout.
'Some drunk guy. Boring.' Sendai walked up to the tipsy, unassuming looking fellow.
"He~y…" Eyes uneven, he pointed at her. "...Ya cute."
"Thanks." Reaching forward, she grappled him by the thigh and shoulder-
"Wooa~h!" He began flailing his limbs as she lifted her. "Whoa~t tha fa- aah!"
Woosh! He soared off the pad, the miko having thrown him off.
Thud. He landed some feet behind Endo, who was just beginning to sit up.
…
"Well, well, well…" The muscular man finally walked onto the stage. "Seems you really want that five thousand yen."
"Mmm." Sendai raised her fists. "You could just give it to me."
He jerked his head back, taking offense to that. "...Yeah. Okay." Flexing, her glared at her. "Are you ready? Because I'm gonna put on a show!"
Stomping up to Sendai, he began grinning. "I'm one of the best damn bar brawlers this village's ever had! And who're you!?"
Sendai gave him a dry stare.
…
Tensing up an arm visibly, he reeled it back. "Lockarm!" Grinning widely, he threw it forward-
Thud. It struck Sendai in the abdomen, causing her to jerk back a little.
His eyebrows raised-
Bam! In the next moment, he found himself stumbling back, a creeping pain aching up his jaw. "Oo~ah…! Fuck..."
Sendai stepped towards him, arms ready. 'He trucked through an uppercut? Maybe he really is as strong as he says...'
Noticing the miko's movements, he walked off the pain in a circular motion, moving across the stage to both avoid her and reposition himself.
Every third of the way, he'd accent his retreat with a different flex and a yell. "Super! Macho! Ma~n!"
'Pfft. What…?'
As he moved towards the woman again, he brought up his arm for a highly telegraphed but clearly powerful swing-
Woosh. Sendai ducked under it, before standing again-
Woosh. The man had spun around and unleashed the same punch again, only for Sendai to duck under it again. 'Woah.'
Woosh. Sendai stood and ducked once again, evading a third attempt. 'Wow. That's actually okay. For non-moving targets, anyway.'
...Finished with his attack, the man stumbled about. "Nn- no…!"
Wham! Sendai quickly capitalized on his cooldown after the attack, sending him rolling out of the arena with a single thrust to his side.
…
After he'd stopped on the ground, she stepped up to him and crouched. "I'd like my money…"
"Un- under the bench, th- the one I was at…" The guy pointed at it, too.
"Cool. Thanks." Standing up, Sendai progressed towards the bench, and claimed her reward. The money was held in a worn leather pouch.
Reimu joined her as she stood from the bench that held the money. "That looked like even I could do that…"
"Probably." Sendai guessed. "It's not a lot of money, but it'll do. That was pretty much legalized robbery, anyway."
With that, the two shrine maidens began stepping down the road again, towards the village square…
'I gotta bring Rinnosuke his chair before the day's done, too. Maybe go back to that witch's place and rough her up for a table.'
The sun was beginning to set, and a calm wind was blowing in the air…
'This wind feels nice.' Sendai smiled, carefree.
"Hey! Excuse me!"
As the two neared the square, a man called out to them, somewhere behind them.
Sendai turned around to see the guy approaching them…
'Woah.' Sendai sized him up. '...Is he eight feet tall?'
"Hey…" Catching up to the two, he gives them a nod. "I saw you back there, in that tournament."
'Oh.' Sendai gave him a fixed smile. "Is that so? Haha."
Reimu blinked at him. "Who're you?"
...He smiled. "Oh, where are my manners? Takamaru Sharaku."
"That's nice." Sendai turned away-
"Before you go!" He reached out, not intent on grabbing her, but simply as gesture. "Tell me. How did you get so strong?"
'Jeez. You're eight feet tall! What could you need more in the human village for?'
"Well…" Sendai looked around, before focusing on him. "I trained everyday. I'm pretty sure being a Hakurei had something to do with it, too."
"Yea~h." Reimu lazily waved her arm about. "I'm stronger than I should be~."
"Was it special training? Hakurei training?" He sought answers. "How much does it cost?"
'Jeez!' Sendai frowned at him. "Unless you can give me a steady pay for every day, I'm not training you. I'm talking living income, here."
"...I see." Takamaru hung his head. "I wouldn't have that kind of money. Not now."
'It's settled, then.' With that, Sendai began to turn around-
"One day, I wish to become the ultimate lifeform." Takamaru informs the shrine maidens of his big plan.
'Okay, whatever dude!' Sendai's expression began to become incredulous. '...A certain flower youkai would like to have words with you about that, too.'
"And to do that… I will need money for training!" Takamaru yelled as Sendai marched off-
"Hakurei!"
...Sendai stopped as he blurted out her surname. 'Really, now…'
She turned around to face him.
He cracked his knuckles. "Why don't I lighten your pockets of that reward money?"
'What.' Eyebrows raised, Sendai took an offensive stance. 'But, you just… fine. If you wanted a fight, you could've just said so.'
"I'm gonna shake you down!" He raised his arms above his head, grinning widely and making grabbing motions.
Sendai blinked. 'He's…!'
MISTER SHAKEDOWN
TAKAMARU SHARAKU
Reimu stepped to the side of the road, still working on her super pretzel. "I'll wa~tch. I don't have any money on me, either. Spent it all on this pretzel."
'That's a lie and you know it…!' Sendai gave her daughter a grin. 'Oh well. He's just an eight foot tall guy.'
Both fighters poised, they waited for one another to make a move.
'Eight feet tall, unassuming brown hair, plain face…' Sendai looked the man over again. 'Plain shirt and pants. He's a regular villager in all but size.'
…
"Horra~h!" Stomping forward, the man raised his arms and tucked his head in, charging at Sendai akin to the earth fairy she fought back at the mansion.
'This…?' Furrowing her brows, Sendai darted back and to the side to avoid his slow but powerful rush.
...After some moments of running at her, the man dropped his arms, lowering his guard. "Ha~h… hah…"
'Nice job.' Sliding up to him again, Sendai capitalized on the opening-
Bam! Her dark-enhanced fist met his cheek-
Bam! She followed up with another heavy, darkness-imbued strike to his other cheek-
With her leg, she pushed him away and darted backwards herself.
"Nngh…" Despite the force she'd exerted on him, he only stumbled back a few steps before steeling himself again.
'Is this going to become a trend? Freakishly powerful tall people?' Perplexed, the miko watched the large man's movements. 'Is he some kind of youkai?'
"You're good!" Takamaru yelled out at her. "But I'm better!"
'Sure.' Sendai raised her guard…
With that, he marched up towards her, dust kicking up with every stomp he took.
Once he reached the miko, he brought both arms together for a massive swing. "Hrr~oaah!"
Sendai slid out of the way of the telegraphed attack. 'The wind off of that…!'
The momentum from the swing was enough to almost make Takamaru fall over towards Sendai, but he stopped himself at the last moment.
Ba-bam! Sendai delivered two punches to his abdomen, rings of dark energy flourishing out from where she struck.
Bam! She delivered a third critical blow-
"Hoa~h!" Bringing a single fist back abruptly, the man thrust forward with it-
Bam. The blow to her shoulder caused Sendai to stumble back. 'Ow~. For a sucker punch, that had force...'
Yen coins and bills floated from the point of impact, fluttering and spinning away from her. 'Um…?'
"Nngh…!" Crouching down, the man clumsily threw his leg out for a kick. "Hoyaa~h!"
Woosh! Sendai did a small backward leap away from it, grinning at the wind that came off of it. 'This is some endurance…!'
"Hey!"
Both combatants turned to a newcomer…
'Is that…' Sendai blinked at the form of the newcomer. 'Keine?'
Stomping onto the scene, Keine glared at the two. "What do you think you're doing!? Keep it in the bar!"
Takamaru huffed. "The teacher… she'll make a good test, too!"
'This guy…' Sendai stared at him dryly. 'Still. Youkai she may be, I'm not sure if she can one on one a giant.'
...Before Keine could reach him, he turned and bolted towards Sendai.
The miko poised herself as he neared, her legs filling with dark energy…
"Hoo~rrah!" Bringing his arms up again, he roared towards the miko-
Woosh! Sendai leapt over him-
Bam! She used her sandal to springboard off the man's head, a circle of dark energy flaring outward as she launched herself.
The impact made him almost fall forward, but he caught himself and simply stumbled instead.
Keine stood back for a moment as she watched this action transpire, before moving towards the man. "Sir. Sir!"
Barring his teeth, the man turned to the school teacher. "You! Give me a good fight!"
"What…?" Blinking, Keine brought her arms up. "No, look! Just calm-"
Turning to Keine as she neared, the man brought both arms together for an upward swing-
Bam! The impact sent Keine soaring back, the blow striking her upper chest. Yen bills and coins flourished from her form at the point of impact, scattering across the street.
"Ah…!" Sendai's eyes widened. "Shit…"
'I was trying to avoid that happening! Ugh… and where'd all that money come from?'
Thud. Keine landed on the floor some feet away, on her back. "Nnh…"
...Standing upright, the man grinned, looking down at his hands. "I'm so strong…!"
"Your fight's with me, asshole!" Sendai yelled over at Takamaru. "What's your problem!?"
"Hahahaha~!" Spreading his arms out, Takamaru took a deep breath. "I will be the apex predator! Come, hit me more!"
Bam- bam, bam! In the next moment, Sendai tore into his stomach with three more darkness-enhanced punches-
"No~w!" The man brought his arm down and crouched, before unleashing a mighty uppercut.
Woosh! Sendai easily leapt back from it. 'This guy seriously needs to work on his timing…'
"Hnn~h…!" A womanly growl came from the floor nearby, prompting Sendai to look…
Keine climbed back onto her feet, and ran straight at the man.
The guy turned to her, spreading his arms out. "Hit me, Kamishirasawa! Hit-"
She leapt up onto his form, tackling him. "Ooah…!"
Thud! Her sudden weight caused him to tip backwards-
Crack! Keine headbutted his head the moment the back of it hit the floor.
'Oo~h!' Sendai jerked her head back at the impact. 'Wow!'
...Slowly, Keine climbed off his form, stepping back and away from him.
"Oo- hnnh…" Slowly, Takamaru brought both hands to his head, nursing it.
'He's still awake?' Sendai wasn't sure what she'd got herself into anymore. '...And, I knew Keine had a hard head, but…'
"Stay down." Keine ordered the villager. "I'll have the guard here to arrest you shortly."
"Haha~..." Slowly, Takamaru began to prop himself onto his limbs, before moving to stand again…
'Okay…' Sendai stepped towards him…
"I'm not done yet…" Takamaru took the last hand off his head, revealing that his forehead was now bleeding. "I need more experience from this…!"
Sendai marched towards him.
Keine turned to her. "Miss, no! The situation's-"
Bam! In the next moment, the miko's leg slammed into Takamaru's gut.
"Hooa~h!"
Thud. Takamaru was sent rolling like a ragdoll by the blow, a magnificent plethora of yen bills and coins blooming from the spot Sendai struck like confetti.
…
"Miss…!" Keine glared at the miko. "Do I need you arrested, too? The fight's over!"
Sendai looked over at her and grinned. "Don't you 'miss' me, Keine."
The schoolteacher frowned. "Well, it's not like I know your name…"
...The miko raised her arms to show off her sleeves, before reaching into one and drawing a mana molotov.
Keine blinked, realization and confusion dawning on her face.
"You still keepin' up with Kourin?" Sendai tossed the molotov up and down in her hand. "...'Cause he could use some keepin' up with."
...After a moment, Keine spoke. "You're… you're not her. Who are you?"
Reimu stepped up from the side of the road, finished with her super pretzel. "Nope. It's her."
...Furrowing her brows, Keine focused on her. "This isn't a joke, Reimu. This can't be her. People don't just come back."
Reimu sighed. "I asked around. I beat her up. I tried to seal her. I kinda know what I'm talking about."
…
"Wh-..." Keine wasn't sure what to say. "...I- I need a moment."
The schoolteacher turned around and stepped away.
'...That's gonna be a fun talk later.' Sendai rolled her eyes, before turning to the road again.
Villagers kept a radius around the shrine maidens and scattered money as they traversed the road…
…
Slowly, Takamaru began to rigidly, jerkily climb from the floor.
'Do I need to put him through a wall?' Giving him a jaded stare, Sendai moved towards him again-
"Wa- wait…" Holding his gut, Takamaru held up an arm. "I- I give. I lost."
...Sendai stopped her pursuit. "First thing you've said that makes sense."
"The money's yours, too." Despite the pain, he gestured to the scattered yen, smiling. "...Next time we meet, I'll beat every yen back out of you. I'll get stronger, too!"
'Picking this all up's going to be a pain…' Sendai looked over the scattered money. "Sure thing."
Swiftly, the man turned around and began briskly hobbling down the road…
"...I'd like to know why the village guard doesn't have more guys like him." Reimu thought aloud. "He'd probably be killer against the usual suspects."
"Maybe he's a youkai." Sendai crouched down and started scooping up money. "Or weird. We could just settle for weird."
'I should've thrown ofuda at him. He's not too tough for the guard to handle, though.'
==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====
The sun had almost set completely. The soft wind blowing through the trees picked up as the two girls made their way back to the Hakurei Shrine...
'Twenty seven thousand, seven hundred yen, huh?' Sendai counted the money as the two left the village. 'Not bad. Some of it's Keine's pocket money, I think, but whatever.'
"It's already almost night." Reimu lamented. "At least we should get to sleep easier…"
'That's true. We got far less sleep today.' Sendai nodded… 'Oh, I wanted to see if Marcus was still alive today. I guess I'll do that tomorrow.'
…
As the two reached the shrine steps, Sendai turned to her daughter. "Is Yuuka still kicking around?"
Reimu snorted. "It'd be weird if she weren't. Yeah." ...Then, she turned to her mother. "Was she the one who killed you?"
Grinning, Sendai shook her head. "Good guess, but no. She forced me to fight her one on one the last time we fought. I had to burn through more than a few recovery items… and I had to sleep for awhile when it was over."
"Sleep, huh." Reimu nodded… "Yeah. You weren't dead, just sleeping."
'Ahah…'
The girls progressed up the leg-rending Hakurei staircase, which Reimu circumvented by floating as she typically does.
"You should try walking." Sendai advised her. "It's good exercise."
"Tried it." Reimu shot the idea down. "Didn't like it. Would not recommend to a friend."
...At the top, Sendai spotted the high chair she'd left there.
"Hey." She stepped towards it… "I'll be back later. I just realized, I have to bring Kourin his chair back."
"What?" Reimu blinked a few times… "Oh, right. That chair's seen some things, huh?"
Snorting, the miko lifted the chair over her head. "Definitely."
"Don't fall in a hole and die again." Reimu gave her mother a wave.
She gave her daughter a grin. "I'll try not to."
==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====
Di-di~ng. The shop's bell rang as the miko who came before stepped inside…
"This late…?" Rinnosuke rose a brow, before looking up from his book. "Oh. Hey."
"I'm a little late…" Sendai plopped the high chair down in the middle of the room. "And a table short, but here ya go. Kinda got caught up along the way. Taught that mage a lesson, though."
"Did you, now…" Rinnosuke scratched his cheek. "Is she alright?"
Sendai rose a brow. "Oh? Yeah. Kinda thrashed me, but it wasn't anything a potion couldn't fix."
"Ha~h. Is that so…" Stepping around the counter, Rinnosuke moved towards his chair. "Thank you."
Sendai gave him a smile. "No~ problem."
"Before you went, I wanted to tell you…" Lifting his chair, the shopkeeper began taking it to the back room. "That mage… she's Marcus' daughter."
...Sendai's jaw slowly lowered as he took the chair into the depths of the store.
'That… makes a lot of sense, actually. I can see why I didn't see it earlier, but… huh. Wait, Marcus got laid!? How?'
Moving to the back room, after the shopkeep, Sendai beamed. "No shit, hu~h? Marcus finally got some!?"
Rinnosuke winced at her volume. "...Do you have to say that so loudly? Yes, he… 'got some'."
Chuckling, Sendai moved to the tiny table in the middle of the room… and stood before it, unwilling to break another tiny chair. "Wo~w. He alive or dead?"
"How blunt…" Rinnosuke stared at her with veiled amusement. "Alive. He has a shop in the village, somewhere. Kirisame goods, or something along those lines. I haven't talked with him much in recent years."
Sendai huffed. "Why no~t? What, you guys all retire immediately after I died or somethin'?"
"...I mean, pretty much." Rinnosuke nodded compromisingly. "Keine got that school in the village she wanted. Marcus got his shop… and I've got mine. We live our own lives, now."
'...That sounds like something I should be happy about.' Sendai had a mixed face. 'For some reason, it's bittersweet. Dying probably does that...'
Rinnosuke noticed this expression of hers. "What's with that face?"
"...Wasn't it fun?" The miko questioned her friend. "When we traveled, hunted youkai, bitched about the village..."
From here, Rinnosuke realized what the conversation was about, his face hardening. "...Yeah. Those times made me who I am. But… that was then. We can't do that anymore."
"Says who?" Sendai put her arms on her hips.
"I have responsibilities here." Rinnosuke gestured to the walls of his shop.
…
Sendai's expression was dry. "How many customers did you have this month?"
"...About five." Rinnosuke furrowed his brows, judging the number… "No, six. It was six."
"Good." Folding her arms, the miko put her leg on the table. "Those times made you who ya are, huh? So's that why you're sitting here feeling sorry for yourself?"
The shopkeeper tensed up.
...After a moment, he replied, shifting his eyes off of her for a moment. "I'm not feeling sorry for myself. I'm just relaxing."
"You can relax when you're dead." Sendai prodded him verbally. "I'd know, too."
"You would joke about that…" Shaking his head, Rinnosuke stepped away from the high chair he set next to the table. "...Let's say I did go along with this craze of yours. Where do we go from here?"
"Get the gang back together, obviously." Grinning, the miko cracked her knuckles. "Find out who killed me, so I can kill them. Or die again, whichever happens first."
…
Sighing, Rinnosuke focused on the miko. "...Fine. I'll go… tomorrow morning. The others won't be so receptive, you know."
"Hah." Sendai's grin widened. "Oh, I'll find a way. I'm persuasive."
"I'm well aware…" Parting his hair with his hand, Rinnosuke looked at the wall beside the miko in thought… "It has been awhile since I've done… anything."
"Hahaha~!" Sendai laughed.
...With that, she began moving for the back door. "I'll be at the shrine, Kourin. Gonna run a few errands before I clock in for the night."
"You do that…" Rinnosuke stepped towards a shelf buried by junk. "I've got some… thinking to do."
SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE
Sendai Hakurei No Miko, the Shrine Maiden who Beats People Up
==o==
WEAPON: Unarmed.
==o==
INVENTORY:
Magic Replicable Mana Molotovs - A Marcus Kirisame invention. A simple prefabricated spell that allows the user to conjure holy/water elemental mana molotovs. The liquid creates a swath of holy flames on contact with any non-treated surface.
ITEM CRASH: Hydro Storm - Holy/water elemental rain, though it doesn't burn like the molotov's mixture. Basically a modified rain spell; it lasts a few seconds and can only be used outside. Deals holy damage to youkai.
Hakurei Yin-Yang Orb - It makes a mean pinball when maximized! When at terminal velocity, the orb also does magical damage.
ITEM CRASH: Fantasy Heaven - Tapping into her dark mastery, Sendai temporarily becomes more youkai-like at the expense of her sub-weapons and becoming more vulnerable to holy damage. Her attacks become partially darkness elemental.
Hakurei Talismans - Throwable projectiles. Also referred to as ofuda. Deals holy damage. Most effective on youkai or other greater dark/moon beings.
ITEM CRASH: Thousand Talismans - Sendai throws a lot of talismans at once straight ahead. Cheapest item crash for Sendai to cast, but leaves her vulnerable and is difficult to aim.
Hakurei Axe - An origami axe created from folded talismans and reinforced by holy magic. A heavy weapon that breaks easily, but can deal high physical holy damage when used well. Also able to be thrown as a makeshift heavy projectile.
ITEM CRASH: Thousand Blades - Sendai floats into the air and creates a revolving ring of Hakurei Axes.
Chronicle of Gensokyo - A copy of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, lended to Sendai by the Hieda family. Some magic work from Marcus let Sendai replicate it as a projectile to throw at enemies. Spins around and flails its pages everywhere, which deal holy damage when they cut foes.
ITEM CRASH: Holy Spark - Summons multiple copies of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, creates a magical circle in the air, and fires a huge, rainbow colored laser. Takes awhile to set up…
Rusty Stopwatch - It doesn't seem to work anymore.
ITEM CRASH: It's probably best not to experiment…
Dragon Palace's Flintlock - Shoots a weak stream of electricity which arcs into an enemy. More useful as a distraction or last resort accuracy weapon.
ITEM CRASH: Vol Fulger - Generates a ball of lightning around Sendai's form defensively.
Rebound Stone - A magically replicable stone that bounces off surfaces. Doesn't work well with soft surfaces or open spaces. After awhile, it breaks, too. Deals physical holy damage.
ITEM CRASH: Evil Sealing Circle - A series of rebound stones are cast into the air, creating a shaft above Sendai which is filled with powerful holy energy. Once the attack ends, the holy energy splashes through the entire room. May seal foes.
Holy Salt - It's holy salt. Deals holy damage when you throw it in someone's eyes.
ITEM CRASH: Sodium Geyser - Creates a geyser of holy salt. Sendai'll never run out of cooking salt again!
Eye of Truth Talisman - A talisman used for the Eye of Truth ability. The magical programming it has allows it to probably work for anyone, as long as they're not youkai.
ITEM CRASH: Unknown
Hi-Potion - A potion used to restore health. Unlike the health potion, this one acts far quicker and heals far more, making it useful for even higher tier youkai. Can heal grievous injuries, too.
ITEM CRASH: Leaf Bracer - Gives Sendai invincibility for the duration of the potion's drinking or quick-cast application, preventing enemies from interrupting her healing. Eats mana, though.
Elixir - A rare and expensive potion that heals all health and mana. Works best inside Gensokyo, but a human couldn't really tell the difference. Acts nearly instantly.
ITEM CRASH: Once More - Adds a buff to the elixir's normal healing effects, which allows the user to survive one fatal combo within an inch of their life. Does not stack, can be dispelled. Effect runs out when battle ends. Cannot be applied if the user has auto-life resistance.
Ether - A simple potion used to restore a small amount of mana. For Sendai, this is about the equal to a fourth of her mana.
ITEM CRASH: Mana Gift - Forces the potion to work on the whole party, like a Mega Ether. Sendai doesn't really benefit, since this item crash uses about the mana an ether restores anyway.
Invincible Mushroom - A synthesis item, which enhances physical capabilities drastically. Makes young women taller, bustier, and overall more mature. Duration is shortened by how drastic the mushroom changes the body, making it last awhile for already mature women albeit with minimal increased strength or bodily changes. Changes the user's clothing to accent their new features. Enables Marisa Kirisame to use star punches.
ITEM CRASH: Unknown
Thirty two thousand, seven hundred yen - Money used to purchase goods.
ITEM CRASH: Midas' Rain - Makes it rain money in a wide radius. Value of currency is proportional to damage done on impact. Does more damage the wealthier the user is, up to a cap of one hundred thousand yen. Has more range and duration the wealthier the user is. Deals non-elemental physical damage. Not fun to clean up afterwards...
==o==
GROWTH ABILITIES:
Dark Uppercut - Sendai can uppercut to get to higher places, and also deal high dark damage on impact. Launches foes.
Tengu Rush - An old Tengu technique. It's a charge accompanied by two whirling wind blades, propelling the user forward ten feet.
Slide Leap - A sliding kick that Sendai can transition to if she's sliding on the floor. Only rarely useful…!
Flash Step - Unlike actual flash step techniques, this one simply lets Sendai move forward while being immaterial to intruding entities for a short time. She can only go at a set distance and speed when she does this, and she's vulnerable afterward. Does not let her pass through walls. Probably some mangled version of the regular Hakurei teleportation technique...
Dark Power - Sendai can reduce damage taken, boost damage dealt with unarmed attacks, as well as micro-manage her blood flow with her dark abilities. Grants fifty percent darkness resistance.
Eye of Truth - With the aid of an enchanted talisman, Sendai can observe ambient mana flow of objects. This lets her detect certain stealth attacks, hidden paths, barriers, as well as treated surfaces and all sorts of magical trickery. If used in magically inundated areas, it just makes her unable to see. Toggleable.
Sub-Weapons - Sendai's gathered a lot of stuff over the years that she can throw at people when she's out of ideas. Most of it is just prefabricated spells and basic Hakurei utilities.
Item Crash - Draining attacks that create stronger casts of Sendai's sub-weapons. Usable with any item in Sendai's inventory, although if she's not ironed it out it can be unpredictable...
==o==
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
talking with reimu - w - and i guess human villagers fight
THAT TOOK TOO LONG TO WRITE but that's my fault - w - i blame summer and me and me and summer
this was a fun chapter though, had some VILLAGER SMASHING, some fun times with REIMU, got SHAKEN DOWN…
oh yeah, to answer that one guy's review about fantasy nature…
i'm aware of the Imperishable Night interpretation of the ability and how it entails leaving reality, and i'm also aware of how the Grimoire of Marisa portrayed it largely as reimu slipping away and just kinda letting the danmaku kick ass
i decided to take the limiter on the ability from the fighting games SWR/Hisoutensoku mostly so that reimu was not just… an UNTOUCHABLE GOD completely anyway
i wanted to give her a little balancing so that her viability as a protagonist isn't based soley in honor, especially where the nitty gritty of my gensokyo's interpretation/fanon is concerned
seven melee hits with her gohei to activate an unholy nuke of SWR/HS fame, followed by her card from Imperishable Night, including phasing out and everything
i say i balanced her but she still gets a legendary non-elemental magic nuke off after seven hits so i think that kinda makes up for the limiter
basically i acknowledge how canon did it but i wanted to do it differently :3 that's kinda what i hoped my previous AN would imply but i'm happy to clarify yo
anyway…!
yeah
meeting up with rinnosuke again was a fun time - w - and now we got… a new goal yo, and a new excuse for an arc of combat!
my rationale for sendai's party choice is both some works relating to sendai i've seen in the past and me wanting to draw parallels with those in some ways; and also because i don't imagine, with the way i've balanced her, that she could take on everything on her own
we've seen how remilia just kinda played around with her - w - and when/if we get around to like… fighting equally strong noobs, a party would be a better edge for evening the playing field
sendai said something similar herself during her fight with remilia; i had this planned! ho ho!
and i think that is enough talking for a 8.5ish thousand word chapter
as always, see you next time!