[BGM~e_C2DqC4kR8 - "Frozen Soil (Rewrite)"]
"Well well well, look who walked right into my trap! That is what I would like to say, but the truth is that I have greatly underestimated your ability to find me."
This hidden labyrinth is filled with rusty rotating gears, both connected and disconnected with each other. The atmosphere is botched with several aggravating ticking noises, as if several sectors of time have merged together in this dark centre. It is clear, however, that time does not simply flow in such a place. The noises are merely a mimicry. The sole inhabitant is without a doubt the one responsible.
"It's a shame that you decided to reveal yourself like this. This little goose chase that you set up was starting to get entertaining. And now it's over just like that. I guess it can't be helped."
Up until now, the nuisance refrained from taking up a physical form. Now a thick fog reveals the image of an old man with large eyes that suggests that he has crossed the deep end long ago. The wide grin he wears emits a similar vibe.
"Fret not, Ms. Yakumo. The fun you seek is just beginning," the man says as he tosses one arm to the side and generates an all-too-familiar artifact between his fingertips.
"What? But that's..!"
The Road Paved in Concepts: (3-4) Wrath of the Fickle Youkai!
I am Louis Starsky, age nineteen. I once was your everyday young man who walked down everyday streets in your everyday world. This luminous road beneath me now is nothing of the sort - neither are the unnerving floating eyes surrounding this path to the destination I am being lead to. According to Ran Yakumo, Yukari has located and confronted Drosselmeyer, the man that entered Yukari's hit-list for a good while. Overall, the announcement is a relief, albeit a bit sudden.
"What do you want me to say? Master noticed something suspicious, went to investigate, then she told me she found her target moments later and to go find you."
The last bit is a little strange. It's not like Yukari would need my help for anything.
"How did you find me anyway?"
"I traced you," Ran answered simply.
"You can smell me from a dimension away? Someone needs to shower soon!"
"Heh," Ran grins. "That won't help, you know."
Moments later, we reach a gap that leads to a notably dark room. The numerous floating gears surrounding the area gives off an impression that we've entered some sort of large grandfather clock. As soon as I look up, I immediately have to dodge a kunai falling straight towards my forehead. It dissolves once it reaches the ground. The source of the bullet was Yukari, hovering in the air with Drosselmeyer. The former tosses danmaku with swift motions in contrast to her more playful attitude she uses while dealing with me. She means business after all, and Drosselmeyer is her primary target.
Speaking of which, Drosselmeyer seems to be defending himself with projectiles of his own. With one giant book in his hand, he rips out a page with the other. The page glows and disintegrates to his defense. The tiny pieces of the shredded page intercept each of Yukari's bullets that enter his range and cancel each other out. A tense moment of silence follows the exchange.
[Fade BGM]
"I must say that there is a distinct charm in the rules set up in your homeland," says Drosselmeyer. Yukari replies with a mild sense of agitation.
"This isn't Gensokyo, nor would someone as troublesome as you ever be welcome there."
"I figured as much."
Yukari pulls out a fan and fans herself before replying. "Then why did you even bother learning how to use danmaku in the first place?"
[BGM~1vx1HFTMrt8 - "Eruptible"]
"The same reason there is to do anything else; it looks like fun!" Drosselmeyer flips to a page in his large book and pulls out a Spell Card. "Myth Sign: Flight of One-Thousand Cranes!"
Once Drosselmeyer tears off a page from his book, the page folds itself into an origami crane that covers itself in a hazy blue aura sphere. Suddenly the sphere generates a plethora of translucent cranes at Yukari! Yukari retreats to the farther edge of the domain to read the situation from a safer distance. Even when under pressure, Yukari manages to dodge and sway with admirable grace. Somewhere within her whimsical motions, she manages to launch thin streams of danmaku at Drosselmeyer with every small window of opportunity she found. The rays were small and singular, but it seems like the idea here is that every small attack counts towards a Spell Card's damage threshold. If Yukari keeps up her tactic, Drosselmeyer's Spell Card will break before he figures out what hit him.
Drosselmeyer's Spell Card runs on its last leg and one more dense wave of origami cranes launch themselves at Yukari.
"Boundary: Charming Quadruple Barrier!"
Most of them run headfirst into Yukari's magenta danmaku window. The sheer number of Drosselmeyer's final barrage overwhelms the barrier, breaking it. Apparently, that feat was accomplished at the cost of the remainder of his Spell Card's power. This draw causes yet another awkward moment of silence.
[Replay BGM - "Frozen Soil"]
"Huh. he's pretty good." The observation comes from Ran as she chews on a mint flavored pocky stick. I guess she really did like that flavor..
"You seem to be wondering why my Spell Cards have the power that they do." Yukari is too busy catching her breath to respond. "Besides the fact that we are fighting in my territory, there is one other factor.. Your resolve to protect your land is at an equilibrium to my resolve."
"And what is that..?"
Yukari and Drosselmeyer lower themselves to ground level before the latter responds. "My power and my purpose is to create tragedy. The reason our attacks even out is because the both of us are solely doing what is in our nature."
"So you are a youkai..." Yukari takes a moment to process this discovery. "However, the problem is that what you do conflicts directly with what I do."
"Not necessarily," Drosselmeyer grins. "What if I told you that I have no further intention on meddling with your homeland, Gensokyo?"
"If you told me that, it would leave me without a motive to oppose you," she answered matter-of-factly.
"Don't listen to him! He has an obviously evil face!" Characters like Drosselmeyer, Bowser, Dr. Eggman and the like are given exaggerated proportions and facial structures to visually indicate that they would never truly be capable of doing things outside of the evil spectrum (except on rare occasion).
"You mean.. like this?"
"Eep!" And Just like that, the mock face Yukari gave me was the perfect imitation of a villain with no morals. It would have been enough to traumatize me fifteen years ago. Hell, I'm pretty rattled now! Regardless, this feels like Yukari's way of telling me that she wasn't born yesterday.
"I'm not sensing any dishonesty from this guy," adds Ran, who tends to read the mood well. Drosselmeyer grins wryly at the statement.
"There are tons of worlds to play with out here, such as the city where Mr. Starsky just left. It would not kill me to leave one or two alone."
The city I just left was Yamaha City, where I spent some time with Teto Kasane and a Miku Hatsune that forgot all about her past. I still can't figure out why Miku would forget that much unless...
"You're the one that made Miku forget about Kasane, aren't you..?"
Drosselmeyer's sickening smile doubles the wrinkles on his forehead. "That development is just the start of a most masterful tragedy that I have all lined up. Stay tuned and the plot will really start to thicken!"
Twisted lines like that are more than enough to fire me up.
"We could do that... or we could make sure that you can't mess with peoples' lives ever again. Right Yukari?!"
[Fade BGM]
I turn around to witness Yukari stepping through one of her gaps.
"I just remembered, I left the Chen burning. Gotta go!"
"What? Come back! That doesn't even make sense!"
By the time I run and grab her by her blue sleeve, the gap she created closes and our location shifts to the living room of the sole house that sits in the middle of Uni. This is some real-
"Fur emergency! Fur emergency! Nyaa-ah!" A flailing catgirl with two flaming tails approaches us and starts to run around in circles. Suddenly, a gap appears above Chen's head and water proceeds to completely drench her. Was Yukari telling the truth..? Never mind that.
"Why Yukari, why!" I shout as Ran rushes to hug Chen. "We have to go back and stop Drosselmeyer from running amok!"
Yukari shrugs in response. "Eh, I don't see the point of bothering now that we reached an understanding."
"But he still may not be telling the truth!"
"Now that I've seen his face and know the coordinates to his lair, I can go straight to the source if he ever goes back on his word."
She says that with a smile equivalent to someone who started a forced mate in chess.
"So what you're saying is that nothing else matters as long as Gensokyo is safe?"
"Bingo!"
What was the point of all this then..!
"These worlds... they're all a game to Drosselmeyer, and I'm the only one who's bothered by it..."
"On the bright side, that means that no one would blame you If you let him be and come back to Gensokyo with us."
She keeps going as if nothing is wrong with this picture. Is she trying to make me mad?
"...I need to lie down."
Yukari yawns in response. "Not a bad idea. Perhaps I will take a nap as well."
Yukari makes her exit by randomly using the front door. Ran approaches me with a two-tailed black cat in her arms.
"And here you thought you were starting to understand Master better. Too bad!"
"Too bad indeed. But I'm guessing it's something like Youkai Pride or something weird like that. Maybe from a Youkai's perspective, Drosselmeyer isn't doing anything wrong. I'm still mad at her though."
Ran suddenly bursts into laughter. However, I have no idea what was so funny.
"You always try to find a reason to justify peoples' actions. It cracks me up!"
"I can't say you guys didn't warn me.."
"Heh," Ran smirks and Chen's feline form meows. "Just don't let it get to you too much."
"Yeah." Getting mad at all of this won't solve anything. What I need is a plan - and more importantly, a little sleep. I decide this as I thank Ran and Chen before they leave.
{Uni: The Dimensional Hub}
"Did you finish getting your last words in? You certainly like your quality time."
"You're the one forcing all of these interactions between us. At any rate, I'm starting to get an idea of what that human's True Sign might be."
"Is that so? That would certainly make things easier just a bit, now wouldn't it?"
[BGM~ow-B_R9urM0 - "Beyond (Nujabes)"]
Two Weeks Ago
{Starsky Apartment: Louis's Room}
"Hey bro," Valerie greets from my computer chair. "What's with the big book?"
I remember the days in my world where I had to check my room for my sister Valerie before her own room. Those days ended when Locke died along with so much more of our daily routine. I figure this world I'm in now is what's called an alternate future, where the worst events of our lives simply didn't happen, and the lot of us could live with less harsh realities. At any rate, Val asked a question.
"You have an anatomy test in a few days, right? I skimmed through that class science book of yours."
Valerie pauses in mild surprise. "I remember that. You flipped through the pages for about three minutes and then you got bored and closed it."
"Because that book is terrible! It barely describes the very few terms it uses. That and the whole chapter is only twelve pages of actual info. That's barely even a summary. This is an anatomy book that I read when I was out of state. It's really good. It even talks about pressure points."
Valerie's interest starts to show. "Really? You must have found this when you were studying massage therapy down south."
"Originally, but this copy came from a nearby library."
At least nearby from my point of view. For the record, massage therapy is something that everyone in my family knows about thanks to my mother.
"Hmm..."
"Something wrong?"
"It's nothing," she says while suspiciously smiling off my question. "Sounds like mom's home."
There's no doubt about it by the sound of clomping high heels from a long day of working at the health spa. I finally managed to catch my mother for the first time since I set foot in this mirror world. If obviously coming home from her steady, well-paid job wasn't a dead giveaway, her cheerful demeanor served as subtle proof that certain events did not happen to her here. That certainly makes things easier for me.
"Well here's a rare face," she starts at the sight of me. "Where have you been hiding all this time? I heard you snuck back in town, but I never could get a hold of you. You know you always have a home here. A room too!"
"I know, ma." As I answer, Valerie takes the book from my hand and leans on my shoulder.
"Well you sure don't act like it. I swear, sometimes I look at you and feel like I have to remind you that I'm your mother."
"Sorry about that."
[Fade BGM]
Although the truth is that I am not the same Louis everyone here thinks I am. In the end, I don't have the right to pretend that I'm the same guy. That is why I cannot bring myself to stay in this place for long. Even though I intend to keep tabs on the people I have before.. my home has become elsewhere.
{Uni: Lone House Living Room}
This house in the middle of nowhere is very convenient when I think about it. Since I am an outsider to all of these worlds, including the replica world, I'm not meant to live in any of them. It's like this place was.. made for me.
"If you will live here, then that means that I should stop coming in so carelessly."
Kino the Traveler says this to me out of courtesy.
"Ah, no. Actually I'd prefer it if you did."
"Is that so?"
"It keeps things surprising, and I like surprises."
"I see. I will keep that in mind."
Kino once told me that she preferred not to go back to places that she's been to after visiting them once, but the 'hub world' structure of Uni makes that unavoidable for at least this particular area. That is why she rejected staying at this place despite being virtually homeless. With that being said, she is not against storing excess baggage in this. That explains the random bullet rounds in cupboards and plastic food containers in the fridge.
We talk to each other from time to time, exchanging our experiences with these worlds over tea until she decides to walk her motorcycle, Hermes, to her next destination of choice. After Kino would leave, I would either pay a different world a visit or take a small nap wherever. With how tired I am right now, this loveseat seems very tempting right now..
"So this is where you've been hiding." A strange, almost ominous voice sounds out of nowhere. "All because you feel detached from every reality in front of you?"
The voice is now directly behind me. I lie facing the head of the couch, afraid to turn around until a large shadow approaches me. I then lay eyes on not one, not two, but three distinct figures. Two with pointy ears and sharp fangs for teeth, and the source of the voice; a more humanlike individual who somehow managed to appear even more frightening than the others.
"Can't let you do that, Starsky!"
Present Day - Present Time
...!
{Uni: Lone House Upstairs Bedroom}
Well then, that was quite the unnerving image to wake up from. However, that was not a nightmare. That was the reality of a few weeks past. I took off towards the lone house in Uni on my own with the intention of sorting out my thoughts on recent developments. That was when Yukari and the others started hanging out with me and helping me refine my danmaku techniques. I learned a lot thanks to those three. They came to Uni to try and track down a potential threat to Gensokyo. However, I never understood why they decided to teach me everything that they did. I never questioned them about it directly.
That's right, it doesn't even matter anymore... Yukari said that she was done with all of that on a whim and I came up here to sort things out in my head. I must have fell asleep in the process. How long was I-
"Good morning, Louis!"
The one who just barged in was the youngest of the Yakumo Trio. Did she say morning?
"Hey Chen. What's that?"
She comes bearing one of the trays that came with the kitchen. "It's your breakfast. Yukari made it herself."
"I see..."
That's another thing that came with the package. Every once in a while, Yukari would make some food out of either what I bring over or whatever she would pull from her portal. I always wonder whether or not there is a main source for the latter...
"Nya, why are you looking at me like I ate one of your waffles?!" Is that what she made this time?
"I'm pretty sure if you did that I'd look more like this!"
"Eep!"
The face I gave Chen was a mix between my version of Yukari's scary face from earlier and the Mirada Fija meme. Chen's reaction was just about the same as mine was earlier.
"Heh, Just kidding." As I look outside the bedroom window, I glance at the lot of dimensional doorways and notice that some of the doors are in places I don't recognize. "The only way I can tell that it's morning in this place is how much more hyper you are in the day."
Chen beams as if I gave her a direct compliment. "I got a couple of Spiral Forms filled out and put them in Komari's inbox this morning. Did I ever mention that these worlds are weird?"
"I'm surprised Yukari didn't order you to stop doing things outside of Gensokyo by now."
"Who nyos?" Chen shrugs. "I'm not in a hurry to stop. It's kind of fun!"
"I'd bet." Perhaps that is the main reason this whole thing got me so upset. I had almost forgotten that Yukari's only ties to this place was directly related to Gensokyo's safety. From what I gathered, Yukari values that place very highly, despite her tendency to cause various levels of trouble there. That's just about the only aspect of Yukari I'm certain of.
"Oh yeah! A friend of yours came over and gave you some jewelry." Chen points to the top of a brown dresser. Three small ruby pendants on neck chains are lying on it. This has to be what Lucca made! But why are there three of them..? "She told me to tell you that there was enough material to make an extra. They look pretty. Can I have one?"
"I'll think about it. Anyways, I'm going downstairs now."
The contents on the tray are two large homemade waffles, two eggs sunny-side up, three small sausage patties, and what looks like a cup of apple juice. For once, the meal she made has a clear western influence. The countries she would get her recipes from are just about as random as her nature.
{Uni: Lone House Living Room}
[BGM~J5cgX1Pxx-U - "Deep Forest (Rewrite)"]
"So you decided to come down."
"Thank you for the food." As Chen reunites with Ran in the kitchen, I take note of a very strange sight. Yukari is leaned over on the loveseat with her shoulder pressed against the couch's other occupant. The identity of that person is what made the sight strange. "Lyra, what are you doing here?"
"Things seemed pretty lively around here so I let myself in," Lyra replies as Yukari slightly adjusts her leaning position.
Lyra, the maiden who was originally a drawing of mine, showed up out of complete randomness. She wears a long brown dress that I've never seen nor drew before. The dark green designs decorating the dress bottom loosely resemble tree vines. Her patented sea green shawl draped over her shoulder has a distinct contrast with the rest of her attire. All together, her tanned skin tone stands out.
"Are you feeling any better?" she adds. So Yukari did realize that I was upset.
Lyra hums with an air of amusement. "It never did take much to please Louis."
"Oh yeah I noticed that myself," says Ran.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
The Fox Youkai grins in response. "Remember the time you got Master Yukari to gap the ground and the air for you just so you could jump inside?"
...
"Infinite pitfall! Woo-hoo-hoo!"
...
"I'd like to think that anyone in the world would want to do that at least once if they had the chance. You know, like roller coasters?" Ran sends me a puzzled expression as if she doesn't know what I'm talking about, which wouldn't surprise me. "Yukari. Do you really want to leave Uni alone from now on?"
"It sounds like what you want more than food is an explanation."
"I thought about it for a while and realized that Drosselmeyer only bothered you because he was a threat to Gensokyo. But how do you guys know he was telling the truth?"
Yukari decides to sit upright before replying. "A Youkai with that kind of power does not need to lie. Either way, defeating him right then and there would have taken much more work than I was willing to give at the time."
"That's right, you weren't dressed for the occasion were you?" Yukari reflexively examines her blue gown before I continue. "I noticed that whenever you train me, you always wear your white outfit instead of your blue. I sort of used that fact to judge how difficult each day would be."
My observation visibly impressed Yukari. I'm not what you'd call a very observant guy, but I tend to pick up some very obscure details when exposed to them long enough.
"Ho? That's quite perceptive. Now I see where Ran is coming from."
"What do you mean by that?"
Before Yukari answers, I take a glance at Lyra who is being uncharacteristically reserved.
"Ah that's right, we haven't told you yet. Louis, Ran here may have a lead on your True Sign."
"Woah, really?"
Ran nods before taking her cue. "Lately, I've been starting to think that your True Sign might be something very interesting. If I'm right, which I almost always am, the potential that you have is really going to show."
"This is starting to sound too good to be true." After all, getting something like that would more than likely make me comparable to the Gensokyo natives in ability, as Yukari once put it.
"There is a catch," Ran continues while placing a hand on my deck that I left on the mini-table. "You're going to need a lot of focus learning to manipulate this power, meaning there should be no distractions while you're training."
"You don't want me to use my deck while learning my True Sign?"
Ran nods. "You proved that your cards help your strength in the long run, but you have to trust me when I say that these summons will only hold you back in this case. I suggest that you leave it here when the time comes."
"What are you trying to do with the cards..?" That is the first thing Lyra asked in a while.
"No need to get suspicious," Yukari answers in a more serious tone. "We're not trying to do anything with them."
"If Louis is really interested in learning something like this, it's a trial that Louis has to do alone; plain and simple."
Lyra hums at Ran's response and eases up a little.
"How soon could I start?"
"You can start as early as today if you're willing to leave your deck behind."
I wonder how long something like this would take. Yukari gets off the loveseat and lets me sit with Lyra to eat my food.
"You don't have to decide right away, but I do have a bit of advice," adds Yukari. "Time is of the essence, even after death. You should eventually sort out the things you really want and then pursue them like there is no tomorrow."
"Sort out... the things I really want?"
"In other words, it would be best if you acted as if you do not have forever. Wouldn't you agree, Lyra?" Lyra answers with an awkward silence. What kind of relationship do those two have anyway?
"I haven't put much thought into it because I was always having too much fun with today to care about tomorrow. That and it feels pretty awkward to ask for more, especially when I've been set up with so much already."
"There's no need be modest. Surely there's a little more that you want out of all this."
"Well..."
[x] Finding God
[_] Finding Friends
[_] Finding Power
LOUIS: You know, I really want to find out what kind of divine power set all this up and why. Like who brought me to Gensokyo, and what's up with Uni?
YUKARI: I can't really speak for this mess called Uni but I can assure you one thing. If you were brought to Gensokyo, then the one responsible is also from Gensokyo.
LOUIS: You think so?
YUKARI: I know so.
LOUIS: ...
LYRA: It seems to me that the only way to find out more about Uni is to get more maidens to join your deck.
YUKARI: That sounds like more trouble than it's worth.
LYRA: Perhaps~
(There are so many mysteries to this whole setup and I don't even know where to start looking. Maybe I should think about goals more within reach..)
[_] Finding God
[_] Finding Friends
[x] Finding Power
[_] I can't think of anything else!
LOUIS: I always wondered how I was able to learn how to use danmaku so quickly.
YUKARI: Perhaps you are just a natural. I can assure you that not very many outsiders picked up on the arts so quickly. Many had to get by never learning at all.
LOUIS: Why is that, I wonder? What else am I capable of? What are my limits?
LYRA: ...
RAN: If you're asking stuff like that, then maybe you really should stick with us. Finding out stuff like that is our specialty. Don't hold us responsible if you break in the process, though!
(If that's the only risk I have nothing to fear. After all, my goals involve living this life to the fullest. Speaking of which...)
[_] Finding God
[x] Finding Friends
[_] Finding Power
[_] I can't think of anything else!
LOUIS: I've been happy just meeting all the different people these places have to offer. I don't know what can be more amazing than that.
LYRA: That's pretty tough to top.
YUKARI: What about a much closer relationship with someone from Gensokyo?
LOUIS: Huh..?
YUKARI: You can't tell me that you've never thought about it before.
LOUIS: A little, but I don't think...
YUKARI: You don't think you have a chance?
LOUIS: Not really...
YUKARI: What if I told that you have already developed a secret admirer and a stalker in addition to the several people that are interested in you as a friend?
LOUIS: I would say that you're the stalker.
YUKARI: No no, besides me.
LOUIS: ...
YUKARI: All I'm saying is don't be so quick to sell yourself short. Someone like you has a much better chance at that kind of thing than one would think.
(I could certainly fantasize about dating someone from Gensokyo, but I can't picture it. Also, what does Yukari mean by secret admirer..? Anyways, I'm going to change the subject!)
...
I can't think of anything else.
"There, you see?" Yukari sings. She seems to be enjoying this conversation quite a bit. "You have goals of your own, just like everyone else. And I can guarantee you that you can meet all of those goals and then some in Gensokyo. That is why you should drop this needlessly complicated plot and come back with us."
Yukari has been especially persistent towards convincing me to spend more time in Gensokyo for a while now. Honestly I really can't say why I've been avoiding it in the first place.
"If everyone's ready to abandon Uni, I don't have much choice do I?"
"Sure you can!" Lyra interjects with a raised fist. "You can just stay here in Uni and become the sole defender of justice!"
Perish that thought. "That sounds lonely."
"The maidens, remember?" Lyra continues. "Besides, you have your old friends if you need more partners."
Perish that thought too. "I came from an average world, and that world should stay that way."
"So what's it gonna be, nya?"
Ugh... Uni or Gensokyo. It's like having to choose between two of my favorite pizza toppings. How could I possibly choose between two amazing options? But if I really have to decide, then...
[Fade BGM]
"..You have quite the stubborn side to you, Louis," she says while placing a hand on my head. "Don't worry, it was a joke. If you really have to waste your time here, no one is going to stop you. And even though I'm done with this place, I still intend to keep an eye on it. Chen will still be posted here taking notes and what-not."
"Yukari..." I should have known. Another one of Yukari's many hobbies is to mess with my head.
"However, I did mean what I said," Yukari continues. "You should put focus into doing the things you want to do rather than tie yourself to silly obligations. Thinking about yourself isn't selfish. It's natural."
"Yeah well everything around me clearly isn't natural."
If I were more selfish in my old world, I probably would have had a much easier time being there. If I'm somewhere in Uni or Gensokyo, I'm sure that part of me won't be a real problem.
"Heh. True enough."
"Either way, what I want to do right now happens to be in Gensokyo, so I think I will go back."
Lyra catches me eyeing the three pendants that Lucca made and hands them over to me. "Ah, That's right, you still have these. Guess there's no helping that."
In the end, I didn't have to make such a difficult choice. Not that I would ever decide against seeing Patchouli again, but casting away an adventure of an after-lifetime isn't very easy to do either! With that being said, my next destination is the Scarlet Devil Mansion!
{Uni - Lone House Living Room}
[BGM ~ "The Voice Someone Calls (Persona 3)"]
"Louis is not the only one who needs to decide on his goals. Do you still believe that you are doing the right thing by clashing with my goals?"
"..."
"It's not too late to change your mind for the record. All you have to do is let go of your ambitions and have some fun with the rest of us."
"..."
"Don't look at me like that. You really should be devoting more of your time here towards having fun. Otherwise, everything you are doing is futile."
"..."
"Just try to think it over sometime."
"Perhaps..."
Detours in the Road 2: Yukari's Weakness
{Uni: Lone House Living Room}
[BGM~PvkCswlj65c "Lullaby"]
One day, in the dimensional hub known as Uni, Louis Starsky spends time just outside the house doing various danmaku training with Yukari Yakumo, the master of boundaries. At this particular moment, Ran Yakumo and Chen are taking a break from the session. They sit on the armchair together by a fireplace fueled by artificial logs. Chen is curled up in her feline form on Ran's lap, while Ran is on the verge of dozing off. Suddenly, the front door bursts open, revealing a disgruntled Louis Starsky... in a slightly different appearance. His attire is the same as usual, but there are several features that stray from the norm: Dog ears perched on the top of his head, a dog nose and mouth, replacing his usual facial structure, and a brown, shaggy dog tail sprouting from behind him. Chen instinctively hisses at this development.
"Let me guess. Master humiliated you again?" Ran deduces.
"Woof!" Louis responds. "Every single day. The trolling. Never. Stops... I swear, if it isn't my pride or dignity in grave danger, it's my sanity, woof! I wish I could get back at her somehow, but someone like Yukari probably can't get embarrassed easily."
Ran grins wryly and turns back towards the fireplace. "Actually, it isn't that hard once you figure out one or more of her weaknesses."
Louis lies down and hogs the loveseat before replying. "I'd like to see Yukari being the one embarrassed for once."
"Would you now? It's very possible, but I wouldn't-"
"Woof!" Louis barks in excitement and scrambles to Ran. "Really? There's a way? I have to know! Please? At least a small hint..? Hold up, I think I'm getting a hairball."
"That's a cat thing!" Ran grunts. She then takes note of Louis's tail waving frantically and sighs. "Fine.. if there's one surefire way to get her worked up, it's this."
Ran takes a moment to debate which pair of Louis's ears she should be whispering to, and decides on his original pair. Once Ran finished, Louis became certain that something interesting would come from this information.
A Half Hour Later...
[We apologize. Parts of this scene were removed by the request of an Anonymous Youkai.]
"Yukari..?" As Louis called, Yukari's face was all but buried behind her fan. The scenario schemed by Louis and Ran obviously left her cornered. Yukari ultimately decided to phase through the front door in retreat. "Wait come back!"
Louis grins at the development and rushes out the front door to look for Yukari.
DING-DING-DING! WOO!
[Fade BGM]
Instead of Yukari, Louis sees a loud train rushing towards him from his right side...
{Uni: Lone House Back Porch}
"Yukari! Stop this crazy thing!" The strange train with no rails continues to chase Louis down the hub.
Ran manages to find Yukari standing on the back porch. The latter seems to be nearly exhausted from the whole ordeal.
"Oh dear..! How did I manage to let that cat out of the bag?" says Yukari.
"I have no idea," Ran lies. "You must be letting your guard down."
"Yukari, please! Call off your gaps!" Louis takes off in the opposite direction. This time, he's being pursued by a herd of buffalo.
"Gah..!" Yukari buries her face in her hands. "This is no good! I'll have to manipulate the border or memory and imagination so Louis won't remember this!"
"You won't have to worry about that for long."
"What do you mean?"
"I forgot how slow these things were..!" The creature chasing Louis is a strange green hunchback monster wearing brown rags, a lantern in one hand, and chef knife in the other. It follows Louis at leisurely pace, but Louis still runs away at top speed, not willing to take any chances.
"You lost your composure so your gaps went haywire again," Ran answers. "I'd be amazed if Louis lasts another minute."
All of a sudden, Louis crawls up to Ran and Yukari on all fours. Somehow, the slow green monster from before caught up directly behind him. Louis feebly reaches out with one arm. "My fight money..!"
"Oh. Whoopsies." Yukari snaps her fingers. The green monster and all of the assorted chaos parading Uni gets sucked back into dimensional gaps.
Louis stands up and frowns. "Whoopsies!? I almost died! (Again...) Why Yukari, why!"
"Are you satisfied?" Ran says with a smirk.
"I didn't get to see what I wanted, but the Giant Enemy Crab that chased me looked kind of cool."
As Louis says this, his right heel kicks an object directly behind him. He immediately guesses that the object was something that Yukari forgot to return. It looks like a bundle of dynamite sticks tied together to a digital timer with five seconds remaining. Ran, Yukari, and Louis all watch until the timer reaches zero and starts to beep rapidly.
"What the f-!"
BOOM!
[BGM~rO2x1OqvOog "Melody of Profits"]
LYRA: And no one ate dinner that night.
LOUIS: I'm just lucky I lived through that!
LYRA: Everything worked out for the better, and now you have one out of three pendants to deliver to Patchouli!
LOUIS: That's right, I do have three Gemstone articles now. What am I going to do with the third?
LYRA: Spice things up a bit. Bring someone else with you on this crazy adventure!
LOUIS: Like who..? Ah nevermind, I'd rather just focus on one thing at a time.
LYRA: Like restoring Patchouli's status as a prominent character?
LOUIS: Hopefully!
LYRA: Find out next time on Project Concept Road: Roses and Dreamstones are Red! See you sooner or later!
LOUIS: Hopefully sooner this time..