It was night in the Human Village.
Bright, clean white lights were set up on the surrounding rooftops. They shone from large towers around the square's four corners too, and big, luminescent yin-yang orbs sat swirling atop the metal towers.
Before the fountain in the village's center, Tsuruko stood.
Having changed her outfit from her black-yellow one, Sendai stepped onto the well-lit square. There were no villagers out tonight, and the town guard seemed to be actively keeping people from the central square this evening.
She was now in her red hakama and cloth apron, with her red-white sleeves on.
Her wineglass now empty, Tsuruko held it up again, beholding the wonderful lights.
Stars shimmered in the sky above, and small snow flurries chilled the girls in the midst of this visually distant evening.
"You survived." Tsuruko's smile was warm. "I was hoping you would. Your familial weakness was almost your end. I suppose it's a sort of hubris. You may be strong, but I was sure you weren't that strong."
After that last traumatic fight, and after thinking on their talk on the way here, Sendai had found some answers.
'She may be valiant and honest in her desire for control, but she's blinded herself.'
'I don't think she'll find the love and life she wants, just by strongarming what she wants out of everyone and anyone in her presence.'
"I didn't finish them off myself." Sendai returned. "I got help from people who care."
'Not exactly family, but… friends, I guess. Keine certainly is, but I couldn't say about Mokou or Reisen. They seem friendly enough to me, but we don't know each other well. I can at least say they're people Keine considers friends, for certain.'
Tsuruko furrowed her brows. "I know. I was there, idiot. I was making fun of how fucking weak you were. Relying on some youkai to save your daughter. What kind of shrine maiden were you?"
...Sendai wasn't really bothered. "If all you're going to do is insult me, I'm happy to start this fight right now."
Sighing, Tsuruko shook her head. "Regardless… how are you feeling, Tsukiko? Tonight is my coronation. Do you feel happy for me?"
...Sendai simply stared back.
They casually stared one another down. Sendai took in Tsuruko's gentle, easy smile, and Tsuruko took in Sendai's flat, hard expression.
Sendai began. "I didn't want to be a shrine maiden. I didn't want to be the Hakurei maiden. I didn't want to be a protector. I didn't ask to be a defender. I never applied to have my family put on the line for trivial crap like this.
"And, for awhile, I wasn't. I was some hooligan terrorizing the village at its darkest hours. I hated everything. I was an idiot. I still kinda am.
"But I couldn't run from my past. I couldn't escape who I was.
"I found love. When I calmed down, I found the capacity to protect people. To protect those who couldn't protect themselves."
She thought of Rinnosuke and Keine, and her daughter. "To help the young stay on the right path. To stop the ignorant, violent monsters outside these walls from indiscriminately turning happy families into meat and stew.
"That was when people called me the Hakurei shrine maiden. A title I did not want, but one I earned. Not that I'd have it any other way now."
Sendai glared. "Any title someone explicitly draws for themselves isn't worth wearing. Glory follows on its own."
Tsuruko nodded subtly. "...Alright. Cute monologue. But…"
"Control is my version of such care." Tsuruko declared. "I'll force people down the paths I set for them- or they will pay a price. There will be a price on Gensokyo's hierarchy, one I will decide with blood and bone. No more will this world torture humanity. Everyone worth a damn can draw their own future- with any means necessary."
"Killing someone's child is how you care?" Sendai's scowl deepened. "Killing my daughter Reimu-... killing one of Keine's students… killing the women of the village? Nearly killing Kou-... Rinnosuke?
"If you're so desperate to give yourself a title… write it in your own blood, and not others."
Snow began to blow past them, a cool breeze casting their sets of long black hair into the air.
"Hah?" Tsuruko's smile reaffirmed itself. "Don't talk like some saint, Tsukiko. You killed youkai. You killed youkai who didn't deserve it. When you were young, you killed human people. Part of why you're so revered is your capacity for violence. You were a menace to those who opposed you, and your wrath never let go of those who wronged you.
"You're vengeful. Resourceful. Terrible. Legendary.
"Whose blood tipped the brush for your script?"
...Sendai frowned harder.
Tsuruko held her wineglass forward again, sliding her other hand into one of her pockets. "We write in other people's blood. That is the way of leaders. In this land, that is the way of the Hakurei shrine maiden."
Turning around, Tsuruko faced the fountain, and the beautiful, white shimmers that ran along it. The sky's stars, the snow, and the pale white lights, all reflected in the water. Boundless and mysterious reflections of the world around, and at their fingertips.
woosh. Tsuruko tossed her red apron off.
She wore a leotard akin to Sendai's, but there was a distinct difference between them.
Three huge metal canisters pierced Tsuruko's chest all the way through, exposed along her front, and along her back. They took turns glowing, one yellow, one blue, and one pink.
As each one pulsated to her heartbeat, the yin-yang sigils inside shone with unreal clarity, unmistakable from even the furthest distances.
Tsuruko slowly twisted to smile at Sendai. "You're not the only one with the Hakurei god's blessing."
"I'll kill you. Surpass Reimu, kill her…"
"...and become the Shrine Maiden of Paradise."
Sendai steeled herself. "You can keep the cute nickname. But…"
woosh. Sendai cast her own red cloth apron off.
Standing there in her black leotard, she took a deep breath, the air chilling her skin.
"There can only be one."
Tsuruko beamed.
They both broke into a sprint.
BAM! BAM! They both crashed together in the village square's midst, under the flickering snow and sterile lights.
They'd bashed their left shoulders against one another's, and butted foreheads, locking their posture together.
Tsuruko's faith canisters began to pulse brighter, and Tsukiko's body began to burn with prismatic light.
SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE
27
Hakurei Maiden
-+- o -+-
VS.
TSURUKO AOYAMA
ARTIFICIAL HAKUREI
-+- o -+-
Sendai- Tsukiko Hakurei- felt her heart begin to pump the hardest it had since she could remember. Harder than when she was on the edge of life and death these past few days- and harder still than when she was simply angry.
'I… am Tsukiko Hakurei. Mother of Reimu, and the shrine maiden of paradise.'
"Nnh-" Tsukiko and Tsuruko staggered back, their mutual headbutt unkind to either.
Fwish- FWISH! Tsuruko's body lit up bright, neon pink, and her three chest canisters all bloomed with pink, purple and amethyst splendor.
"I've invoked- the spirits of the wind!" Tsuruko declared with a big smile, her pupils flaring a dizzying violet.
Fwish! Tsukiko knew what had to be done. Her own form flared pink, the same tint of playful amethyst light blooming from her chest naturally.
'I always loved duels.'
Tsuruko spun in place-
KABOOM! With a pink explosion, Tsuruko came at Tsukiko like a blur, achieving tengu velocity.
WOOSH! Beaming wickedly, Tsuruko attempted to sweep a leg under Tsukiko's, in an attempt to pull her into her devastating, momentum-stealing combo-
Fwi- fwi- fwish! Tsukiko had slid behind her, as if phasing through her sweeping leg like the wind itself.
Whap- pap- papap! Two jabs to Tsuruko's gut, a grazing hook to the back of her neck, and a jab to her gut-
woosh. Crouching down, Tsuruko weaved out of Tsukiko's hurricane of attacks, and twisted around to face her.
Whap- pap! With just her left arm, she jabbed Tsukiko hard in the breast, then in the face.
woosh. Before Tsuruko's left arm could stagger her any further, Tsukiko ducked into a weave, twisting around Tsuruko's side.
woo- woosh. For a moment, neither did anything but weave around, failing to actually strike one another.
Papap- whapap- whap- wapap- papap! Both were displeased by one another's complacency, and they threw a flurry of punches at one another. Nothing but fast, weak jabs that met one another like a wall of needles.
"Nnh-" They both faltered, staggering back. Glaring, they threw themselves forward again-
WHAP- BAM! Tsukiko threw a high kick, and Tsuruko thrust both fists forward at the same time, knuckles-first.
"Unh- nnh!" They both ate shit incredibly hard, Tsukiko bouncing off her ass and rolling around, and Tsuruko thrown one-eighty onto her head by the kick's precise force.
Throwing her legs up, Tsukiko began to spin on her upper back, before twisting and tossing herself, twirling off the floor.
"Hah!" Spinning into standing, Tsukiko threw a hook at the air, more for the process of gaining her balance than to hit anything-
Tsuruko was already before her, and swept her left leg under Tsukiko's right.
"Nnh-" Faltering slightly, Tsukiko leaned forward-
WHAPAPTHUNKBAMWHACKWHAMBAMBAM! It started with two left jabs to Tsukiko's stomach. A slap and two hooks to her face, and then Tsuruko hooked her thighs with either arm, causing Tsukiko to stumble in place. Tsuruko uppercut her to upset her balance, then hooking her in the face twice in the same few frames, and-
WHABOOM! Leaping back, Tsuruko kicked her left leg into Tsukiko's torso.
WOOSH! Tsukiko went flying, rolling back in the air.
Wham- thud- bam! Like a stone tossed over a lake's surface, she bounced off the cobblestone square's flooring repeatedly, before coming to a skidding stop on her knees, tearing her red hakama in the process. "Nn- nnhn-"
Springing into standing, Tsukiko looked up-
BOOM! Tsuruko exploded towards her again, a shockwave of air spreading out from where she stood. "Just-"
Tsukiko saw it. A rising uppercut coming straight from the floor, with all the force of a tornado.
"Go back- to sleep!" Tsuruko's voice boomed, as she sent the almighty, single punch up.
CRUNCH. Tsukiko slammed an elbow straight down into the oncoming fist.
The impact hurt Tsukiko some- but Tsuruko didn't expect the raw, natural stopping power. Her uppercut hadn't progressed enough, and she didn't know how it worked, but when it was stopped at just that moment, it felt like all the might and momentum her blow had gathered went straight to zero in an instant.
"Wh- ghn…" Cringing back, clutching her arm, Tsuruko grit her teeth-
Tsukiko threw her other arm back, and carved it up between the two of them.
WHACRACK! She uppercut Tsuruko in turn.
Thud! Body splaying out, blood shot from Tsuruko's mouth as she flopped back limply onto the village square's partially snow-crested floor. "Hu- nnh…!"
Beaming, Tsukiko marched up before her, and took punches at the air. "Fuckin' lame."
"How- how juvenile…" Tsuruko slowly got up-
whap! whap! Tsukiko looked smug as she punted Tsuruko in the gut a few times, though it didn't impede her rise back into standing.
Once she was up, they backed away from one another. 'Tsuruko's tough, I'll give her that.' Blood ran down Tsuruko's lips, but the battle had just begun- and Tsukiko knew it was a scant advantage.
Looking around, Tsukiko saw Reisen's medicine booth, unmanned but the lights still on. 'I wonder…'
Woosh! Tsukiko spun around-
BOOM! Air exploded out from her, as she went over to Reisen's medicine stall in an instant.
BOOM! Tsuruko blasted off from where she stood, following Tsukiko, intent on not letting her run.
WHAM! Coming to a stop, Tsukiko kicked her sandal against the side of Reisen's medicine stall. With the impact, she felt the huge, rigid structure of a 'stall' shake. 'Damn.'
Fwish. Spinning around, almost leaving the floor, Tsukiko saw Tsuruko boom up to her-
"Hyah!" Tsuruko threw a mighty, overhead punch that'd smash Tsukiko's head into the center beam of the medicine stall. If it landed, it'd do unspeakable damage. She was making sure to use the arm that wasn't mildly injured earlier.
woosh. Tsukiko ducked down, and Tsuruko's fist continued to billow overhead.
CRUNCH. Tsuruko had punched the wall at full-power, wind spreading across it with the impact of her knuckles.
...She stumbled back, eyes shut, clutching her other now somewhat-crushed arm. "Fuck-"
Tsukiko put a hand on Tsuruko's back, clutched the injured arm, and leaned Tsuruko forward-
WHAM! She smashed Tsuruko into the stall's main, blue plastic-decorated beam, face-first.
WHAP! Tsukiko kicked at the back of Tsuruko's right leg with ferocity.
THUD! Tsuruko fell hard, splaying out on the ground. "Dh- dahmn-... it-...!"
"You're green." Tsukiko insulted her. "Too eager. If the wind's patient, you should be too."
"Sh- shut up…" Slowly, Tsuruko curled into standing again, seething. "You should be scared. Taunts like that…"
Once Tsuruko was up, her smile snapped into a beam. She did a shuffle in place, before-
WOOSH! She swung a sweeping kick for Tsukiko again- but Tsukiko slid back, out of range.
Fwi- fwish! Tsukiko slid to the right, to flank her only some. 'It's all about being-'
FWISH! Tsuruko slid straight at her and leapt way into the air.
WHA- WHACK! Her sandals cut the front of Tsukiko's face.
WHAP- BOOM! As Tsuruko landed, her right fist met Tsukiko's face, and she thrust her left hand into her gut, held flat like a karate chop. A pink, spiralling dragon created of Tsuruko's pink aura curled around the attack, dazzling and amazing.
THOOM! "Wh- ngh…" Tsukiko withered onto her side instantly, sent onto one hip, before meekly rolling onto her back. Chilling wind caressed her form, the mighty burst unleashed by Tsuruko sending a shockwave across the clearing.
Marching backwards, Tsuruko smiled down with more composure now. "You can't match a dragon's contemplation, maiden. I don't know where you learnt your shitty technique-"
Woosh! "Huu-" Tossing her legs, Tsukiko twisted off the floor, spinning into standing-
WOOSH! As she fully stood, she threw the left hook she always used to propel herself into posture. Tsuruko ducked under it.
Pap! Her left fist jabbed under Tsukiko's ribs, and she prepared to thrust both arms in as a destructive follow-up-
"Hah!" Beaming, Tsukiko ducked down and pressed her right palm to Tsuruko's stomach, and hooked her left around Tsuruko's back.
Woosh! Tsuruko was shoved past her, stumbling forward to keep her balance. "Nnh-"
Whap- pap- whap! Tsukiko's icy-cold left fist met Tsuruko's back-gut. Her right met Tsuruko's spine, and her left came to the back of her head-
woo- woosh. Tsuruko ducked down, twisted around, and threw a jab, but Tsukiko ducked down too and crossed beside her.
Stars, galaxies and the universe billowed in the amethyst tint along their black locks in the dark night, as they weaved, ducked, slid and dodged one another's blows.
Whap- pap! Tsukiko hooked her face twice-
Wham! Tsuruko finally landed that dual-knuckled attack, sending Tsukiko skidding back-
Woosh- Whap- pap! Sliding back up, Tsukiko palmed her in the gut, and jabbed her in the face-
Whap- pap! Tsuruko began to use only her left hand, plowing Tsukiko in the gut twice-
Woosh! Tsukiko ducked down, and seemingly vanished by slipping behind her again and shoving her forward.
'And-' Arching down, posture aimed away from her foe, Tsukiko began to combine wind around her left leg and knee…
Woosh! "Hyah!" Tsuruko threw a huge hook at the air to twist herself around- but Tsukiko wasn't right behind her as she expected.
But, she had an idea.
woosh- woosh- WOOSH! As she kept spinning around, a small tornado bloomed under her, carrying her to the air.
"Hakurei God's wind!" She called out to the sky. "Let me smite this heretic!"
vhuu- VHUU~M! The three pink-tinted pistons in her chest billowed unbelievably bright-
KABOOM! She took towards Tsukiko, intent on spin-dashing straight into her.
"HYAH!" Tsukiko unleashed her left leg, enacting the mighty crescent kick of moon rabbit CQC fame.
THOOM! The kick struck Tsuruko straight in the gut. Blood exploded across the clearing, the kick so fast and effective it was like a sword's blade.
Cla- clack, clack. Mouth agape, gaze shocked, Tsuruko staggered back on her sandals, standing normally again, dazed and overwhelmed. The pain hadn't even blown through her yet, it all happened so fast. "What-... nngh- ow-"
Tsukiko was now the one carried by the wind-
KABOOM- BOOM! Fast as a tengu, she was in Tsuruko's face in the next instant, her adrenaline high. 'Fuck-'
CR- CRUNCH! Her knuckles plowed into Tsuruko's wound, sending blood splaying everywhere.
'YEAH!'
WOOSH! "Huu- aaugh!" Tsuruko went spiralling through the air, bouncing across the floor, blood from her open wound staining the village's cobblestone.
...Lumbering around, shaking the pain, blood and tenseness from her fists, Tsukiko frowned down at the bleeding Tsuruko.
Slowly, Tsuruko stood. Her form burned violently, the pink light around her almost bursting from her chest.
"Hakurei God-... kaugh- kuff-... gr- grant me-... health…"
"Hell no you don't!"Tsukiko was in her face in the next instant.
CRUNCH! Tsukiko uppercut her into the air. "Hoo-" She inhaled, wind and her body becoming one.
WHAPAPAPAPAPAPAPAP! Tsukiko pummeled Tsuruko as she hung in the air, her arms moving no longer according to human physics, but to the will of her mind. "Hura- ura- ura- ura- ura- ura~!" Every time one blinked, three punches had gone by.
Tsukiko stopped. Tsuruko slowly fell to the floor-
"SHAH!" Tsukiko thrust her palm forward.
THOOM- SPLACK! A shockwave of blood shot from Tsuruko's gut on impact.
Thud! Tsuruko was sent sprawling, crashing down onto her own face, having been spun some by the final jab.
'And…' Tsukiko exhaled, already somewhat tired. 'Is that-... is that it?'
She looked around.
Shrine maidens were idly running into the sides of the village square, some getting spooked and running away when they saw Tsukiko's glare.
fwi- fwish! Fwish! They began to summon yin-yang objects, but not seemingly offensive kinds. The Reimu knockoffs of the artificial Hakurei project projected yin-yang adorned, ethereal tables and chairs into the square, seemingly plopping them down randomly.
"Nn-" Tsuruko was getting up.
Tsukiko turned to her, and took a deep breath. 'After all that? You're shitting me…'
"Not-..." Tsuruko had no glee, no smarmy retort or snide emotion to her expression. "Not bad at ALL…"
The pink canister in her chest had died, the light faded, now black. The blue canister in the very midst of her chest was still lit, and the orange canister under her other breast still burned brightly.
Fwish! A young, twelve-year old looking Reimu look-alike ran up, projected a chair next to them, and ran away. "Eee~!"
THUMP. The yin-yang chair gravitated into Tsuruko's arms.
"DIE, TSUKIKO!"
KRA- KRA- KRACK! Amber exploded in a monumental eruption from Tsuruko, shade washing over her form, two huge orange lights piercing out of the dark that coated her chest.
Orange, yellow sparks and jolts exploded from her red-white arm sleeves into the night sky, enveloping the entire side of the village square Tsuruko stood.
In the center of it all, Tsuruko's eyes burned a deep amber, pupils hidden by the pure color. She soared through the aether, ready to end Tsukiko with one fell swoop of an entire chair.
Woosh- thud! Tsukiko dove out of the way so hard she had to roll around on the floor.
KRAK- KABOOM! Tsuruko struck the ground where she was with the chair so hard it was like a landmine went off. A geyser of yellow, cobblestone and dust burst into the air, and shattered Hakurei barrier panes flew off, the yin-yang chair blown up all at once by the impact.
Tsuruko no longer relied on unreal, inhuman momentum or skill- it was clear Tsukiko couldn't be bested with that well-tried strategy. She was now the destroyer, and her underlings had created an entire miniature village's worth of furniture for her to destroy at her leisure.
Tsukiko smiled, but glared. "Hah? What the hell's all this?" As she walked forward, she held her arms out.
Tsuruko snarled, glaring, full of hatred and power. "It's clear- you are very skilled-..."
"But I-" Tsuruko held her own arms out. "-AM"
THUMP- THUMP! She gained a chair to be held by each hand, both having slid across the square and into her grasp. "STRONGER!"
Tsukiko swallowed. Then, she smirked. "Hmm. You might be right. But, there's only one way to find out."
'You can't be stronger than me. Not when I have to be strong- for myself, for everyone in this village who doesn't want any part of this bullshit- for all of her underlings she's fucked over- and for my daughter!'
THOOM! Tsukiko stomped the floor. "Hmph!"
'Not when I've bested youkai thousands- no, millions of times stronger than her! Some random bitch is fucking nothing to me!'
The clumsy, holy shell and numbness combing over her body, Tsukiko let her anger flow over her joy.
'She thinks she's better!? Hah! Let's see about tha~t!'
PAP- PAP. Tsukiko grabbed onto a shimmering, barrier-constructed table.
...Slowly, painfully slowly, Tsuruko and Tsukiko lumbered towards one another. The distance they'd made between one another with their speed was far more comprehensible now, especially as they had to consider every step of the way.
Tsuruko began. "HROAA~H!" She swung both chairs wide, to blow Tsukiko away-
CLANK- BOOM! Tsukiko blocked with her table, which she was almost disarmed of, but she just used the force to angle it overhead. "Hoo~h!"
THUNK! She clubbed it over Tsuruko's head, a blotch of blood splaying into the air. She was holding it by the flat, so it was the table's central leg that carved into Tsuruko's face-
THUMP- WHUMP! Tsuruko cleaved both chairs clumsily into Tsukiko's side. It was so mighty, Tsukiko's right arm let go of the table.
"Nnn-" With a terrible hold on the entire table now, Tsukiko flicked it overhead with that one arm, and rammed it down-
THUMP! It bounced off Tsuruko's head when she let it go, soaring off into the distance-
"YAA~H!" Roaring, Tsuruko brought both whole chairs back, to clamp them around Tsukiko's head from both sides-
Tsukiko grabbed onto the chairs, and yanked on them, pulling them straight from Tsuruko's grasp.
Thump- thump. Beaming in victorious glee, Tsukiko smashed them both into Tsuruko's sides and let go, letting both chairs tumble away.
"HROAA~H!" Letting out a roar beyond human, Tsuruko lurched down. Afterimages of amber preceded her mighty shoulder check; it was beyond anything a human should conceivably ever be able to muster.
It was slow, the afterimages detailing how it'd absolutely meteor right into Tsukiko.
THOO~MP. Tsukiko steeled her gut, and took it. The shock reverberated in the cobblestone she stood on, which began to crack.
Reaching forward, Tsukiko grabbed Tsuruko by the waist, and lifted her up entirely off of the ground.
"Wh-" Tsuruko's eyes were wide. She didn't think of this, to be certain. "Whah…"
Twirling her around overhead, Tsukiko inhaled.
"This one's-" she bellowed, "for KEINE!"
WOOSH! Tsukiko leapt clean off the floor.
CRACK- THOOM! She planted Tsuruko into the ground skull-first, a whole layer of blood spilling from Tsuruko's stomach wound, her head, and her shoulders.
Her spine reacted, her legs contorting together strangely as her whole mind went blank with overwhelming damage. Not pain, as she couldn't feel it- but for this moment, her body couldn't take the raw force.
...thump. When Tsukiko let go of her, Tsuruko limply fell onto her back.
"Eat shit and die." Tsukiko leered down at her, and at the bloody mess made by the skull-plant she'd executed.
...Slowly, Tsuruko rolled around, and began to stand again. "Hrr-... heh- heheh…"
'What. What…'
After a second or two, Tsuruko was firmly back on both surely strained wood sandals.
Tsukiko stepped back, options limited as she kept her hands spread like claws along her waist, muscles tense.
All bloody, Tsuruko lumbered towards her, eyes wide.
Pre-emptive of anything, Tsukiko crouched down, and began a terribly slow roll to her right, around Tsuruko's flank.
Tsuruko was just as afraid, and did the same, except to her own right.
thud- thump- thud. They took a clumsy moment to roll around in the snow for outwardly no reason.
thud- thump- thud. Realizing they'd both done it at once, in an attempt to juke the other out, they both did it again, except this time to their lefts, ultimately achieving actually nothing but some bruises and scrapes from the unskillful rolls.
'What the fuck.' Tsukiko had to resist the urge to laugh, realizing they were right where they started.
"You-" Tsuruko had enough pussy-rolling around. "IDIOT!"
WHOOM. She prepared the mighty, well-known Tsundere Punch from overhead, amber preceding the stolen technique's force as she readied to cleave it into Tsukiko's breasts.
THUMP! Tsukiko steeled herself and took it, her body jerking back only slightly from the blow.
cr- crack. Her sandals cried with displeasure- which she didn't think was actually possible, considering everything.
The blow had so much force Tsuruko herself spun around, and she raised her right leg to help her twisting motion-
BONG! -as well as strike Tsukiko across the face with it, leaving a huge gash in her cheek. 'Damn. My head- the way it twisted just some there-'
"DI~E!" Tsuruko roared, letting out just one more almighty blow-
THUMP- crack! It met Tsukiko in the ribs, and an unhealthy sound came from her as she stood there rigidly.
She didn't feel it, though her shaking body did. 'Gonna feel that in the morning. Or- right after I stop using this style…'
Suddenly, Tsukiko knew how to trade this pain back. She hugged Tsuruko, who was just pushing herself into normal standing posture from her attack again.
"Wh-" Tsuruko gasped, and-
THUMP! -attempted to headbutt Tsukiko in the nose, to little avail.
Grinning, despite her bleeding nose, Tsukiko hugged tighter. Both arms on the small of Tsuruko's back, she hugged tighter, tighter, and-
CR- CRACK- CR- CRACK! "Uu- uu-" Tsuruko involuntarily let out unhappy noises, mouth ajar as her body withered from the damage.
'I don't know what I broke- but I broke somethin'- and that's good!'
Puffing her cheeks, Tsukiko heaved, and tossed her upper body to the right-
woosh. She lugged Tsuruko out of her arms-
thud. -and into the snow, as a limp body. "Fh-... fhuck-..."
"Heh-..." Tsukiko beamed down at her. "Wha- what was that? 'Bout strength…?"
...Everything shaky, Tsuruko began to push off the floor again.
'This whore's made of titanium…' Tsukiko had to admit, she had perseverance.
Stumbling into standing, all bloody, Tsuruko slowly found her posture and rigidity again.
"FH-" Tsuruko's eyes were flushed with amber. "FHUCK-"
Tsukiko snapped into a roll, tumbling around in the snow to twist around Tsuruko-
WOOSH! Tsuruko threw an ungodly punch at the winter air. "YHOU!"
...Only a second or two later did she realize, she hit nothing.
Tsukiko held onto her by the waist, from behind. "Oh- fhuck-"
'Oh fuck is right!'
Tsukiko pulled up, tossing Tsuruko a little into the air-
WHU- CRUNCH! She gripped again and pulled Tsuruko back down, crotch-first onto a golden knee.
'Speaking of things we're gonna feel in the morning…!'
"Rrh-" Tsuruko hardly reacted herself, but her whole body shuddered, jolts of absolute pain running around through the muscles but going nowhere.
'Oh- it works the same for her too? No wonder. She's really gonna regret everything once we're all done here.'
Letting Tsuruko back onto her feet, Tsukiko stepped back. 'Let's respond to the next thing she does.'
Slowly, Tsuruko turned around…
Then, with all too much speed and force, she hooked Tsukiko across the face.
BOOM! The blow was unexpected and fiercely powerful, sending Tsukiko staggering back to the village's fountain. 'The fuck-'
Splash! Tsukiko fell in ass-first, into the shallow pool of winter water. 'Glad I can't feel-'
"WHU-" Tsuruko leapt onto the edge of it, and howled. "DIE, TSUKIKO!" She leapt in, intent on landing on Tsukiko's head-
Spla- spla- splash! Rolling around, Tsukiko flailed to get away-
SPLAASH! Tsuruko landed just next to her head.
As she stood, Tsukiko latched a palm onto the back of Tsuruko's head, fighting to make it as fast as possible-
CRUNCH! She smashed Tsuruko's face against the fountain's central, 'second story' dish. "Fuckin'- scumbag!"
Tsuruko latched onto Tsukiko's head in turn-
WHA- CRUNCH! -and tilted her head-first into the fountain's outer rim, crushing the side of her head against the stone, leaving a bloody mark. "Fucking weakling!"
"Murderer!" Snapping back into standing, Tsukiko wrapped her arms around her, and lurched her forward- before pulling as hard as she could.
Woosh! She wanted to copy the armored bunny's ribcage crunching attack from earlier, but in her adrenaline and numbness-fueled haste, she pulled Tsuruko overhead into a powerbomb-like wrestling move instead. Lifting Tsuruko overhead and slipping in the fountain-
splash- CRUNCH! She accidentally smashed Tsuruko back-first against the fountain's outer rim. "Kh- ha~h…!"
'He-... hehehe-...'
Slowly, Tsukiko fought into standing-
Tsuruko was fighting too, grabbing onto the second dish of the fountain as she stood to help herself-
CRACK. She broke the stone midst of the fountain entirely, and it came falling towards her. With her left arm, Tsuruko pushed the whole thing off of herself. "Huyah!"
"Pft- hehahahah!" Tsukiko burst out laughing, having fully not expected the entire thing to just break and tumble like that.
SPRII~SH! Water now erupted from the broken center of the fountain, raining all around them, colder than ice in the winter wind.
THUMP! Hustling up to Tsukiko, Tsuruko grabbed onto her. 'Oh- shit-' Tsukiko quickly found out that it was literally impossible to break grapples like this, when they were both so strong.
Tsuruko lifted Tsukiko into the air, curling her arms back as she held Tsukiko by the waist. Tsukiko was very slowly brought so far back she was staring between Tsuruko's legs. 'Holy shit…'
"HORYAAH!" Tsuruko sat down-
CRACK- CRUNCH! Tsukiko's neck made unhealthy noises, but the fountain's water cushioned the impact of Tsuruko's mighty ass and the stone floor.
'Oh-... oh, damn…'
Spla- splash! Tsukiko's limp body lied face-down in the water, as Tsuruko stood up, and twisted around to behold her damage.
"Hu- huhu- hahahahah!" Tsuruko was giddy. "I did it! Dead bitch! I'll fucking- kill your daughter too! And-... nnh-..."
Slowly, Tsukiko began to roll around…
'Good to know- the first thing you'd do if you won- is fucking ruin more lives that aren't any of your business in the first damn place…'
Spla- slosh- splash. Standing amidst the jetting water, Tsukiko's bruised, purple neck didn't inhibit her glare.
Tsuruko now experienced the same awe Tsukiko felt earlier. "Wha-... what!? Go into a fucking coma already!"
'If I won- the last thing I'd do is fuck with anyone you loved! Why don't I get the same fucking courtesy!?'
"HRRAA~H!" At this point, the logic was best conveyed in yelling and screaming, so Tsukiko roared at Tsuruko.
She clutched Tsuruko again- but not by the waist. She clutched Tsuruko by her biceps, and then she pulled down.
CR- CRUNCH- CRACACK! Tsuruko's jaw went slack. "Uuh- aa-" Tsukiko had dislocated both her arms in one move.
Whipping her body around, her own back cracking some, Tsukiko whipped a lightning quick hook across Tsuruko's face.
CRUNCH! The blow was so immeasurably powerful, Tsuruko twisted around on her pelvis, legs twisting some, her now useless arms dangling about as she was turned to face away. "Uhe- hu-"
Lurching down, Tsukiko grabbed onto Tsuruko's collar and waist, and heaved. "Hraa~h!"
WOOSH! She sent Tsuruko flying, right over and out of the fountain, across the longest and least efficient distance possible.
THUD- THUD. As a broken, shivering, wet heap, Tsuruko laid there in the snow.
fli- flick. Her amber aura flickered out.
'Yes…'
Tsukiko let her own aura of violence and numbness dim.
'Yes, yes-... wait- no, no- fuck- FUCK-'
She sat back on the edge of the fountain- but did so with such clumsy force, she slid off and onto her back in the snow behind herself.
Ice cold. Shivering, she experienced a psychological trip of pure pain, crying uncontrollably.
"Eee- AAAAH!" She screamed, feeling like she was dying many times over. Her face twisted- in fear, in satisfaction, in clumsy humor at how retarded she probably looked lying and screaming there after that huge show, and-... it was mostly pain, she realized. Too much pain. It began to drown everything else out.
'I hate-... I hate this…'
She lied there, half-dead for a few moments. Perhaps even a minute- she wasn't sure.
Tsuruko was in no better condition.
For awhile, neither moved, both simply lumpified on opposite sides of the broken fountain.
The glowing, prism-like furniture all around the clearing had expired, the mana used to fuel them from their corresponding maidens all gone.
It felt like the entire Human Village was watching.
'Marisa on the rooftops somewhere, Reimu close among the fakes on the sidelines… Kourin and Keine, their breath bated, as when I fought the shit trying to eat them- and me- in the past-... Marcus, probably with no clue of what the hell we're doing…'
'Reisen and Mokou, just kind of watching.'
'The entire guard. All the fakes…'
Slowly, Tsukiko began to push off the floor.
'I'm the Hakurei shrine maiden. I-... I can't die. I can't let myself die. I can't.'
She began to twist herself around.
'Keisuke, watching me from the afterlife.'
She saw Tsuruko standing opposite her, having twisted around at the same time.
They were both shaky. Tsukiko was covered in black bruises- and Tsuruko caked in blood that just never seemed to run out.
The amber light on her chest was now dead, making a pair of black pits in her chest amidst metal framing. In the center of her chest, a piercing blue light pulsed wickedly fast.
"Tsu-" Tsuruko heaved just to speak. "Tsu-.. ki- ko…"
"Tsuruko…" Tsukiko's voice was ragged.
"You-" Tsuruko began to smile. "You- don't seem to understand…"
Tsukiko frowned hard. No words would do her feelings justice anymore.
'Keisuke…'
Then- Tsukiko blinked.
FWAM. FWISH! The blue light amidst Tsuruko's chest bloomed a violent red- and a red aura began to wash across her form.
Tsukiko felt the force of the light changing color- sliding back just a meter where she stood. 'You've gotta be shitting me.'
Tsuruko's blood all began to glow along her own body. A Hakurei flower sigil bloomed into the air behind her, red and white.
Like fire, the white and red magic and blood ran up her, forming lattices along her skin. Her bruises began to reverse. Her faith began to fuel her and more.
"I AM the next Hakurei Shrine Maiden!"
WOOSH! She leapt clear across the fountain from one standstill bound.
She landed next to Tsukiko, who turned to face her-
CRUNCH. She landed a hook to Tsukiko's gut immediately.
WOOSH! Tsukiko went flying.
Thud- BAM- Thud! Tsukiko rolled across the clearing, bouncing across the floor.
'Ke- Keisuke-...' She missed her husband.
Sliding on the snow to a stop, Tsukiko laid on her back, body tingling all over.
Tsuruko marched towards her. "You cannot hope to compare. With the Hakurei God on my side- I hold power over everything! Strength and skill- they all mean nothing! Because I am this village's god!"
Tsukiko laid on her back, chest heaving as she inhaled air. Her body began to burn blue, black creeping along her limbs.
"Show your penance." Tsuruko marched closer. "Submit and learn. Or else we'll see this village burn-"
Woosh! As she lumbered closer, that's when Tsukiko burst off the floor, her muscles cramping and mind aflush with pain.
"TSURUKO!" Tsukiko leapt straight at her, catching her by surprise-
As Tsuruko fell back, eyes wide, she tried to shove Tsukiko off-
WHAM- BAM- KACRUNCH! Just before they met the floor, Tsukiko headbutted her. The back of Tsuruko's head met the floor at the same time, two points of pressure clapping her skull at once.
When Tsukiko began to push herself off, she had one eye squinted shut. Tsuruko's blood had covered it entirely. Tsuruko's nose was now blasted open, face entirely red with glowing, flowing blood.
"Hh- kaugh- kauff…" All too quickly afterward, Tsuruko began to stand, and Tsukiko beamed, now lumbering back.
Tsukiko's form now burnt neon blue, her inner dark magic feeding into her limbs, keeping her on life support after she'd managed to get so far not using it all this time. 'I'm not going to let myself die!'
Tsuruko stood up fully-
-and Tsukiko had her by the collar.
WHAM! Pulling Tsuruko forward, Tsukiko beat her fist into her upper chest, pounding on the neon-red light in the center.
WHAM! When Tsuruko bounced back off her fist, Tsukiko pulled her in and hooked her in the same place.
Before Tsuruko could adapt, Tsukiko clutched her collar with both arms, and pulled her in closer-
WHA- CRUNCH! Tsukiko headbutt her in the nose, again.
"Kha-" A stream of blood was ejected from Tsuruko's nose. But, against Tsukiko's expectations, Tsuruko simply stumbled back, refusing to fall over.
Unlike Tsukiko, Tsuruko didn't burn with the desire to survive.
Tsuruko was alive with something more- a strange red energy that kept her blood boiling despite the winter air and despite having lost most of it already. Something remarkable, freakish and legendary.
Tsuruko snarled, her voice a growl. "I- I see what you are… I know what you are now…"
WHAM! Violet, amber, purple and searing red burned along a hook she threw, slamming Tsukiko in the breast-
CRUNCH! Off the force of the attack, Tsukiko grit her teeth and thrust her head into Tsuruko's nose again-
WHAM- CRUNCH. An overarm jab met Tsukiko's nose and broke it instantly, a whole shockwave of blood blooming out.
Tsuruko threw another hook-
THOOM! Standing just aside it, Tsukiko hooked her in the gut instead, blue and black bursting from the blow.
"Hhk-" Gasping out blood, Tsuruko didn't falter. She grabbed Tsukiko by the face.
'Nngh-' Tsukiko realized what'd happened.
THOOM! Tsuruko pushed down on Tsukiko's face, bringing her straight to the floor from standing, smashing the back of her head against the cobblestone.
Straddling Tsukiko, Tsuruko reeled her arm back-
WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! She began to pound Tsukiko's head into the stone, a growing puddle of red forming-
BAM! Jolting off the floor, Tsukiko thrust her head into Tsuruko's nose again and pushed, pulling Tsuruko to the left.
Tsuruko was forced to roll off of her- and Tsukiko rolled onto her.
WHAM! However, Tsuruko had one leg curled to her chest, and used it to forcibly eject Tsukiko off of her and into standing. 'Holy- shit-...'
"Enough fucking around!" Tsuruko sprang from the floor, and ran at Tsukiko. "SORARE'S-"
WOOSH! Throwing an arm overhead, Tsuruko sailed through the winter aether, leaving a red, purplish trail in the air. "METEOR!"
Tsukiko slid away, as Tsuruko touched down.
BOOM- BAM- BOOM! The ground cracked where Tsuruko's fist met it-
Tsukiko looked up, and braced herself.
BAM- BOOM- BAM- CRACK- BOOM! With her arms, she guarded against a descending array of yin-yang meteors that came down for her. Her arms pitch black, she snapped them into form every time a yin yang came down to smite her, each impact bouncing off her crying, bleeding arms.
FWAM- FWAM- FWAM! From where Tsuruko knelt, yin-yang tops bloomed from her, four spinning out-
FWI- FWI- FWI- FWI- FWISH! Each top ejected four yin-yang shurikens that fluttered around in the air, filling the airspace with red relics.
Running past the blades, unable to weave but coherent enough to sprint by them and the tops, Tsukiko got closer to Tsuruko.
Tsuruko was now equipped with crystalline, neon red armor, her blood feeding into it.
CHUM- CHUM- CHUM- CHUM! Yin-yang lasers shot from the tops, all towards Tsukiko-
Fwish! She guessed a direction to slide into, the snow helping her, and she guessed right. 'Fuck me-'
SHING! Drawing an ethereal, yin-yang adorned katana from nothing, Tsuruko's eyes were sharp, her composure returning. "Don't you get it yet? I am the Hakurei Shrine Maiden!"
Tsukiko saw the katana, and took pause.
'All this shit…'
Lasers, blades, tops and orbs filled the air around her. Before her, she saw the fully-armored Tsuruko, her blazing, somehow refreshingly red katana glittering between white, red and a salmon-ish color in the snowy night's light.
'All this bullshit doesn't mean anything.' Tsukiko only had her fists. 'All these abilities, sub-skills, sub-items, all this crap and garbage and clutter-... it sure makes you strong alright…'
'But- to fight youkai-...'
'To defend Keisuke-... to move on from this violent era where simply acting was power...'
She felt like she was back in that evening, two years ago- or almost two decades now- when her husband died.
Then, as Tsuruko ran at her, Tsukiko found it.
'...Keisuke. If you're watching me from the afterlife…
I'll never stop loving you. I'll never stop loving Reimu.
I'd never become who I was if it wasn't for you. I'd have never survived, I'm sure. You'd call it kind of stupid, but I have a hunch. If I remember right, we've even talked about this sort of thing, too.
You gave me the strength to defend others. You made me realize what it was like to truly love someone- to have that level of trust… to complete a part of me that was missing for so long. You made me this dark world's light.
Keisuke. This one's for you, wherever you are.'
Tsuruko thrust her katana for Tsukiko's throat.
Tsukiko leaned out of the way.
CRUNCH. A palm had met Tsuruko in the gut, directly where her plate of armor was.
CR- CRACK. The blood armor began to crack.
KABOOM! Then, it exploded.
Tsuruko staggered back. "Uu-" Eyes wide, she brought up her katana, and swung to cleave Tsukiko clean in half-
Tsukiko grabbed onto Tsuruko's two hands at the katana's hilt.
Coming in closer, twisting both of Tsuruko's wrists, Tsukiko used her own hip as leverage, pushing it against Tsuruko, to yank the red katana right from her grip.
"Wh-" Tsuruko fell onto a roll, the tug having betrayed her balance. "Nnh-"
SHUNK! Tsukiko planted her blade in the floor, attempting to nail Tsuruko with it, but missing.
Standing again after her roll, Tsuruko gazed up at Tsukiko.
Quiet, piercing white was blooming from Tsukiko's body.
CRUNCH! Gripping the katana's hilt tighter, Tsukiko broke the ruby crystal hilt with her bare hand.
-+- o -+-
VS.
TSUKIKO HAKUREI
SHRINE MAIDEN OF PARADISE
-+- o -+-
"I see what you are." Tsuruko snarled again. "You've shown your true nature. This village knows what you are now. A shitty youkai who never learnt her place."
'...Yes. That was me, even a few days ago. That was me twenty years ago- or, thirty now.'
'But now…'
Tsukiko felt her anger and fear calm. Adjusting herself, she felt her muscles and posture gain definition; mastery of her body and confidence in her skills returning, albeit practically buried in her subconscious still.
As her white burned brighter, her blackened skin mixed with the gold of her holy shell, giving it a healthy color when the two combined. Wind kicked around her, playing with her red hakama and sleeves.
Tsuruko swallowed. "You've not seen my own relic yet. There's still time for you yet. Stand down."
Tsukiko frowned.
"Surrender. You have nothing to gain- but will lose it all. Your daughter will not be safe. You will never be safe."
Tsukiko said nothing.
"...Heretic." Tsuruko spat.
"By your stupid, selfish pride…" Tsukiko spoke. "So many would be condemned to die. All the death you have planned-... as someone who's seen it all before, know that you've forced my hand."
A beaming smile of pure red spread across Tsuruko's features.
FWOOSH- WOOSH! Huge, red wings- like Rio's, but greater, more colorful- bloomed from her back.
VRR- VRR- VRR- VRR! A vortex of saw blades bloomed from within herself, shooting out along the whole clearing.
Tsukiko walked forward casually.
WOOSH! She plainly leaned out of the way of the single saw blade that would have beheaded her.
"HEHE-" Tsuruko's legend was on the verge, her bloody wings spreading. "By your HERETICAL STRIDE- this is not where I shall die…"
woosh. Tsuruko flew before the broken, sputtering fountain.
KRI- KRAKRACK- KRAKRACKRACK! The yin-yang towers all around the clearing lit up, glowing red and gold. Villagers who were watching faltered, some running, some watching the tesla-like holy towers flare to life.
FWASH! A nova of red bloomed from Tsuruko's heart, the three red canisters on her chest neon and defying the snowy evening's dark.
"I'll break your dreams, and break the stars.
"I'll break the young's fragile arms.
"I'll break all who dare defy me,
"And all will approve. Of me they will dream."
FWRAA~R. The broken fountain in the village's midst cracked and crumbled further.
From the midst, a huge, spiralling armament was floated into the air. Beams of energy from the four towers were centralized on the lance.
It was a huge naginata. It was neon red, a yin-yang pad affixed to the person-sized blade at the tip, spinning amidst the metal.
'I have the answers to the ideas you posed earlier, Tsuruko.'
'The innocents are not to blame. If someone was to blame for the way you are- they are not the village. The innocent are not to blame for your lack of fulfillment or imagination. Dreaming takes imagination. Creativity.'
'I was you, once. I wanted to subjugate the village. I was sexy, I was big, and I was stronger. The villagers and their resent for me- it seemed so silly. Why would they fear me- when I could just-... break them, whether they fought or not? Maybe if they just gave me what I wanted, I wouldn't hurt them. Maybe if they were nice, I wouldn't hurt them.'
'They feared me because I was like a youkai. I was just another monster.'
'Then, I learned better. I grew up. It took longer than it should have, but… there's nothing anyone can do now, but look back and say 'that's life'. Not a good excuse in the moment, but it's all that can be said so long after the fact.'
'When I grew up, I realized that me and the village just didn't mix. Whether I was mean or not didn't matter. Still, in the end, it didn't pay to be mean.'
'I became like a shrine maiden. While the youkai hunted, I hid the young and weak from their sight. I didn't flee, and I didn't back down. I was the human shield of all that I loved.'
'I wouldn't have found Keisuke, or anyone else, with any less effort, after all.'
Tsuruko flourished her limbs, and claimed the raising naginata.
"Tsukiko…" Tsuruko leered down, the red heat exploding off her body immeasurable.
It reminded Tsukiko of Mokou. Of those suits of armor she just fought before this battle.
'Legends.'
'Blue is the drive to survive. Pink is the drive of joy. Orange is the drive of anger.'
'Red... is obsession. Absolute drive. That kind of effort makes you a legend.'
Tsuruko twirled the huge, building-height naginata around in one hand. "Youkai-enablers, who call yourselves 'saviors'... you've shown your true nature. We know what you are now."
"Answer me, Tsukiko." Tsuruko was high on power. "Did you believe, for even a second- that one day, you could make amends?"
"Though it wasn't your fault…" Tsuruko lowered the naginata, aiming it at Tsukiko. "Please await your sentence until the end of time. As you should have, ten years ago."
Tsukiko's white aura burned amidst her body.
'Light…' She smiled. 'Realization. Self-actualization. Really living. Not just surviving. It's accepting everything- not just becoming fixated on just one thing.'
Tsuruko's eyes flared red. "FANTASY HEAVEN!"
VUUM. The naginata lit up, the snow and light of the evening all coalescing around it.
This naginata was Tsuruko's unique, crafted yin-yang tool. A Hakurei gatling laser, driven by her faith and the Hakurei Barrier's own energy.
VRRRR! A single, red-white beam came down at Tsukiko.
Tsukiko's body snapped into form, wind and gold combining with her dark instincts to give her the speed and strength she needed.
A Hakurei barrier formed amidst her palm. This was the attack she used to shatter Tsuruko's armor- but now she remembered.
Tsukiko's own Palm of Pure Violence. The barrier at the tip- being of Hakurei origin- was crushing and infallible.
WOOSH. She palmed the air at the moment Tsuruko's Fantasy Heaven laser would meet her.
...Snowfall. Silent, quiet snowfall.
The laser pulsed, seemingly paused by the palm of Tsukiko's hand.
Then, it was gone in a blink.
cr- cra- crack. Tsuruko's naginata crumbled, now nothing but red ruby rocks.
Tsuruko blinked. Her mind had skipped a beat, her victorious, domineering, smug leer frozen on her face.
After a few seconds of snowfall more, she spoke. "Nn- no matter-"
Tsukiko shot down along the floor.
When Tsuruko panned her gaze down, Tsukiko was right there beneath her chin.
THOOM! Thrusting the heel of her palm up, Tsukiko connected it with the underside of Tsuruko's chin.
Fwish! A helmet materialized to defend Tsuruko's head-
SLAP! Catching orange light with her right palm, Tsukiko slapped her across the cheek.
CRACK! The helmet was blown off-
SLAP! In an instant, catching a pink light with her left palm, Tsukiko used her whole arm to slap Tsuruko.
SLAP! Catching a blue light, Tsukiko slapped Tsuruko with her whole right arm again-
Then, bringing her hand into Tsuruko's red aura, Tsukiko slapped her again- and kept the attack going too.
Tsuruko's wings broke off, the crystals vaporizing and becoming nothing but red heat in the air as they both descended with Tsukiko's impact.
...BOOM! They both arched down to the floor, Tsukiko driving her slap so hard, they both came down a whole story, crashing against the stones below.
THUD- THUD! Tsuruko's upper body bounced off the cobblestone floor, after she was sent face-first into it by Tsukiko's last slap.
Tsukiko was trapped in a kneel, black wrapping up her legs, defending them from the crunch of their great fall. Then, she braced her teeth.
Leaning forward a little, Tsukiko grabbed Tsuruko by the shoulders. "Get up."
As Tsukiko stood off the resounding force of her landing with just her two legs, she helped Tsuruko up too. "Nnh-" Tsuruko's eyes were uneven, as she still hadn't caught up with the impact mentally. "Fhucker-"
Whish! When Tsukiko tried to palm her in the stomach, Tsuruko slid around her side.
"HRRH-" Winding up a massive, purple-red hook, Tsuruko threw it for Tsukiko's gut. "BECOME A STAIN-"
Slipping around the hook, Tsukiko grabbed onto the arm Tsuruko used and pulled against the direction of the hook.
Fwish! She swept her left leg under Tsuruko's, compromising her balance while simultaneously pulling on her left arm.
BAM- THUD! Tsuruko hit the stone floor hard on her own hip. "Nghk- anh…!" It was a graceless fall, clumsy but brutal, her hip now stressed. Tsukiko had done it to spite her illusion of grandeur.
Tsukiko stepped back airily, riding on the high of her own adrenaline. "Come on." She tilted her head back just a twitch. "If you're a god- that means I don't have to hold back."
Tsuruko began to stand again, gritting her teeth.
Fwish! Simply summoning a new yin-yang katana, Tsuruko immediately thrust it forward-
SHUNK! She pierced it through Tsukiko's chest, along her gut.
Tsuruko beamed. Then, her smile faltered.
SHU~NK. Gritting her own teeth, Tsukiko pulled the katana from her own gut.
"HNNH-..." Eyes wild, Tsukiko held it backhand-
SHUNK! -and thrust it straight into Tsuruko's gut.
"Kh- kaufh-" Tsuruko practically flew back- thrown by how hard she flinched- before falling onto her ass. "Ouh- ow- nhnh- a- anh-" The katana wobbled around in her gut, blood spritzing out from the incision's raw edges.
"Nnh-" Kneeling, Tsukiko clutched her own gut, before fighting into standing. "Hh-... heh…" Though she bled profusely, black filled her veins, her magic combatting the bleeding and stopping the blood flow there.
Fwish. Since it was Tsuruko's own blade, she simply de-summoned it from her own gut.
Tsuruko snapped from the floor into running. Blood shot from the stab wound in her chest, and she bled violently as she ran. "SORARE'S-"
WOOSH! Tsuruko leapt into the air, the overarm blow meant for Tsukiko's face. Her own blood wrapped around her left arm- the one she was going to use for this legendary attack.
"METEOR!"
Tsukiko looked up, and stood, ready to meet the impact at ground zero.
"You stole that skill." Tsukiko remarked simply, as Tsuruko closed in. "I believe the original name- was 'Toka Meteor'!" That was Tatsuako's signature skill, that Tsuruko had stolen.
Tsuruko threw her arm down, ready to summon as many yin-yang meteors as she could-
THOOM. Tsukiko ducked, and thrust a palm. Wind coalesced around it, gold built a shell over it, black filled her veins, and piercing white light erupted along the barrier thrust forward at the tip of her hand.
SPLACK. A line of saliva lined the stone behind Tsukiko, shot out like a bullet.
SPLACK. A line of blood lined the stone before Tsukiko.
WOO- WOO- WOO- WOOSH! A shockwave of wind was unleashed around them, the ground cracking some.
Having landed on her own sandals off the blow plainly, Tsuruko stumbled back. She was holding her stomach, now crying.
'I-... I see it!'
WHAPAP- WHAM! In one second, three palm strokes of white met Tsuruko's chest and stomach, throwing her around in place.
"Huu-" Tsukiko bounced onto one leg-
WHACRACK! She kicked Tsuruko in the gut. Yin-yang tops spun around them, shurikens fluttering around, but the almighty wind Tsukiko emitted kept all the harassment tools of Tsuruko's at bay.
Then, carried by the wind, Tsukiko spun on one heel, and threw the same leg she used for the first kick out into a new thrusting kick.
WHABOOM! It sent Tsuruko flying on impact, blood exploding into the air.
This was Tsukiko's Dragon's Kick, reborn. The force was unreal. Tsuruko felt as though she'd been marked by a dragon.
"Hraa~h!" Then, remembering her attacks from her youkai-like style, Tsukiko adapted a move she learned- or perhaps forgot. She wasn't sure anymore.
WOOSH! Doing a forward flip in the air, she closed the distance with the target she sent flying-
WHACRACK! Her heel planted itself right into the neon light blooming from Tsuruko's chest.
THUD! The impact was so fierce, Tsuruko bounced off the ground and soared away, gaining ten meters in distance from Tsukiko.
Tsukiko ran-
THOOMTHOOMTHOOMTHOOM! -and closed the distance in half a second, her sandals shaking the stones beneath herself as she automatically applied the running technique she remembered.
As Tsuruko hazily fought to stand again, moving as fast as possible, her eyes remained vacant-
CRK- CRUNCH... Tsukiko grinded both knuckles against either side of Tsuruko's skull, and pulled forward.
Leaping back, Tsukiko snapped into a kneel-
'Don't kill her.' Tsukiko's instinct flared.
Bam. Tsukiko let Tsuruko's head weakly rebound off her knee as she fell forward, taken by Tsukiko's pull on her skull. "Nghk- nn-"
'I could have-... blown her head up, or something…'
'But-... I won't. I won't exercise the same gratuitous violence.'
Tsukiko had planned to apply force that'd smash her own barriers to Tsuruko's head. It would be a blow with death more certain than a headshot- removal of the entire head from the shoulders-up, by purely liquifying it.
...Tsuruko heaved, barely able to stand again, locking eyes with Tsukiko.
Then-
FVRAR!Tsuruko's form lit up pure white and red, and she came at Tsukiko. "TSUKIKO!" She was this close to total domination of the human populace.
Having expected the 'cornered animal' reaction, Tsukiko snapped to respond.
"TSURUKO!" Tsukiko's form shone brighter, her hooking arm white, searing red too-
BAM. Both of their knuckles landed amidst one another's ribs.
One of them was struck in the chest, with a crippling hook that had the other's all. One of them was still weak of heart, weary, and unable to carry the legend.
'Keisuke would never love someone as awful as you, Tsuruko.' Tsukiko's resolve was firm, and so was her body and spirit.
...Tsuruko's intense expression gave away to a vacant one.
crack. Tsuruko's red canister cracked, the light in the midst on both sides barely broken. Immediately the red light inside went out, leaving them all black.
"I-" Tsuruko beamed. "I- am-..."
thud. Tsukiko stepped back. Tsuruko fell off her fist, and onto her own back, energy now totally depleted.
"ha- hakurei shrine maiden-..." Tsuruko gasped out, smiling, although her eyes were vacant in despair.
The human Tsuruko's dreams of being the next heir to the Hakurei god- went out not with a bang, but with the last few twinkles of red light fading from the glass-like material amidst the canisters in her chest.
She was just a normal, meagerly gifted girl like all the other shrine maidens who surrounded her.
Her conquest came to an end, and so did the legend of Tsuruko Aoyama.
Tsukiko learned Essence of Crushing: Elbow.
Tsukiko learned Essence of Crushing: Wall.
Tsukiko learned Essence of Extreme Tengu.
Tsukiko learned Essence of Knee Slam.
Tsukiko learned Youkai Buster Combo * REBORN.
Tsukiko remembered Big Hook.
Tsukiko remembered Giga Uppercut.
Tsukiko remembered Dragon's Kick.
Tsukiko learned Phoenix's Tail * Prototype.
Tsukiko learned Maiden's Wrath.
Tsukiko learned Paradise * REBORN.
Tsukiko learned Maiden's Combined Essence.
Tsukiko learned Endured V.
Tsukiko learned Powerful V.
Tsukiko learned Konpaku Katana Counter * Critical.
Tsukiko learned Twist Counter.
Tsukiko learned Palm of Pure Violence * Prototype.
Tsukiko learned God-Erasing Tri-Point Execution * Prototype.
...Exhaling, Tsukiko held her stomach, and shook around where she stood. It was cold.
"Ki-..." Tsuruko had a pool of tears around her eyes. "Kill-... me…"
Tsukiko frowned.
"Kill- me-..." Tsuruko demanded. "Tsukiko…"
Tsukiko moved to stand over her.
"I-..." Tsuruko grinned despite her tears. "I- I'll come back-... I'll kill your slutty daughter-... I- I'll make her a slut- then I'll kill her-... if- if your husband was alive- I'd steal him from you. Oo- or I'd kill him..."
Tsukiko shook her head. "You know, I was seriously considering finishing you off-... and now I'm not."
"Fuck you!" Tsuruko barked back. "I-... I hate you!"
Tsukiko snorted. 'Um. I think that much was understood.'
"You-..." Tsuruko's angry face became one of sad rage. "You took-... you just took everything from me-... my- my dream-... my life. The- the love I could've had…"
"No complaining that you lost." Tsukiko's frown deepened. "But, I'm not going to be like you. I'm not eager to kill you. All I wanted was to make you stop. And, make you stop… was what I did."
...Tsukiko looked around, noticing the lit yin-yang towers. 'What were those for? They're dim now. When'd they go dim? Wait-'
They flickered- and for a moment, Tsukiko saw the barrier amidst the evening overcast and sky.
FWAM. Slowly, a pillar of pure white began to bloom from Tsukiko. 'Um?'
She was able to see through it, but not really past it that well, as the night was so much darker.
...Slowly, it faded. As it did, in the distance, she saw a similar beacon of light bloom from somewhere unknown.
'What was that?'
"I- I might as well just-" Tsuruko stared up at the drifting snow, "when- I walk again-... I might as well just kill myself."
"If that's what you want to do." Tsukiko propped her arms on her own hips. "You don't have to become a Hakurei Shrine Maiden."
"If- I can't beat you-... then there's no way I'm- taking on the rest of Gensokyo…" Tsukiko closed her eyes. "I can't even conquer this... shanty of a village. Everything I've done-... taken from me, by you."
"You can get by without being insurmountably powerful." Tsukiko argued. "...Provided, don't take it from me, but do take it from-... well, everyone else. Everyone who's normal."
"Oh…" Tsuruko had a small frown now. "So, now I'm just… a normal girl, to you… to everyone else…"
"I mean, you put up a good fight." Tsukiko argued. "Come on."
"Second place... goes to those useless, forgotten, and to be erased." Tsuruko monotoned. "Da- damn it…"
'How dismal.' Tsukiko pursed her lips.
"What are you so scared of?" Tsukiko had either forgotten, or never heard it.
"If-... if I don't control everything- nothing will be as I want it." Tsuruko looked like she was on the verge of crying again. "I- I know it- it sounds dumb! But-... it's true for you, isn't it? To uphold your heritage and lifestyle- you had to be strong. You'd have died far sooner without it- or lost your heritage to the common filth in or outside these walls."
"I wanted to live boldly. I wanted to define a world-... a world I could call my own. Where I- I could live at my pace- and the world would have to bend to me. If it's so strong itself- why can't it do tha~t!?"
Tsukiko crouched before her. "Honestly… you and me, we're both weak."
Tsuruko took pause, baffled by the idea.
"We have a lot of baggage." Tsukiko returned. "You weren't entirely wrong. We let the way we wanna live command us. For me, it's protecting my family. Protecting my friends, and… what I believe to be common decency. Not killing each other, having sacrecy in certain social roles and situations, so on."
"But, me? I only acted within the bounds of defending myself. I'm… kind of an asshole for doing some pre-emptive things, like stealing from those who attack me, but I don't go much farther than that."
"When I was younger, I did. ...Then, I grew up."
Tsukiko let that sink in. The implication was that going this far, being this callous and petty was simply childish.
"We're all about adapting, right?" Tsukiko proposed. "Though… we humans do adapt the environment some… the truly strongest person would be someone who could be happy in spite of their situation. To subvert the need to change, act, work or do in such a way… by simply changing themselves."
"You fear not controlling people. You're probably afraid of being judged for your crimes. You're probably afraid of being exiled, or forced to return to people you hate, and who might hate you." Tsukiko restated what she'd observed… "You want a picturesque ruler life, with your loving, dedicated and cute husband. You want close friends- or advisors- and you want to promote a way of living to correct all the shit you think is wrong with everything."
"But, you know what you did with your flailing?" Tsukiko held up a finger. "You threw away life in the village itself, for one thing. You killed someone's kid. Even if you didn't go to jail- which if you stay here you are-... who can rightfully love someone who did that? You might find someone who can get over it… but only if you recognize why it's bad."
"I-... I could make them love me." Tsuruko began-
"Shut the fuck up." Tsukiko announced back. "That isn't love. Alright- crash course. The fuck do you know about love? Don't tell me sex, like that Rio Hio whoever shitlord. You're smarter than that."
"...I-" Tsuruko struggled. "You do things together, obviously. Eat, sleep-... some sex, probably… um…"
"It's a connection." Tsukiko spoke up. "A special bond, between you two, because you understand each other. It might start with attraction, but then you start hanging out together… doing things together, and you start to really realize, with your best judgment, and with mutual, complete goodwill, that you love each other.
"You look out for each other-... in more than just some political way, or superficially in combat or whatever. Little things that show they care. Making sure you eat right. Making sure you're happy. Making you laugh, and smile. Changing themselves for you- because you change yourself for them. That's what love is."
Standing fully again, Tsukiko kept going. "I-... I had my husband for fifteen years. That's almost as long as you've been fucking alive. I think I know a thing or two more about love than you do, miss I-slept-with-a-cat-youkai-aren't-I-so-cool. Yes- I heard about that. Not that there's anything wrong with flings, you young girls and your shit- but you can't do that shit when you're looking for true love. 'Cause you won't find it there."
"Strength, then, doesn't go to the one who tried their damn hardest to change their environment. It goes to those who change themselves, change where they are in their environment if that doesn't work, and overall adapts in a-... a meaningful way, I guess. It's… something that seems so basic to me."
Tsuruko didn't have much to say in turn. "...Bu- but… the world-..."
"Let me stop you there." Tsukiko held a hand up. "Look inside yourself first. Blaming others first is the easiest way to deceive yourself; to cheat yourself from your potential."
...Tsuruko didn't have a comeback for that.
"How do you think those parents feel?" Tsukiko suddenly proposed. "God- if I was their parent, and that was my kid- you would've been dead a week ago. It wouldn't been a fight either, I would've just shot you with a gun or something. Seriously, fuck you."
Tsuruko got argumentative again. "I- if I controlled everything, it wouldn't be wrong. What I did-"
"Guess fucking what." Tsukiko held her arms out. "Even I don't control everything. Someone killed me, ten-twelve years ago. I was stronger than any human could reasonably hope to be and still got assassinated. You are never going to be happy if you don't realize-... you live in a world with other people.
"My point with that example- was that I'd act in retribution because you took something, from me. Not that you could take away a life that I could have had, or potentially- no, fuck that. You would have taken away my kid, and a life that I currently had, and years of our love. If you'd killed Reimu- we wouldn't be talking right now.
"Everyone wants to control fuckin' everything just as bad as you do- but they know it's not a good idea to just do that. It's something so simple, even the lame fucking sex-addicts in the alleys already know this.
"Especially when you don't even understand love yet, or actual friendships…"
Caught up in her thoughts, Tsukiko sighed. "Regardless- if you wanna fuckin' live a life, skip town. Not because of me, but if you wanna get your shit together, you're probably not gonna do it in a jail cell."
Reaching into her sleeve, Tsukiko drew a Toughness medicine drink- two, actually. She pretended to drop one, further pretending to not notice it as it landed next to Tsuruko. "Here. That'll get you up. Use that wind-style you got, leap over the wall, just fucking go. Don't come back."
Tsuruko's brows were furrowed. "You-..."
"I'm taking Reimu's word that there's good people outside the village now- and I'm gonna bank on her being at least partially right." Tsukiko decided.
"Whatever case, you don't have a life here anymore- and that's your own damn fault. And yes, if you took over the village, it technically wouldn't be, but guess what? You just have to suck it up, and be happy you're not dead. This wouldn't have happened if you didn't kill that kid like an ass, and you didn't basically commit-... something, with that fucking hot spring, and whatever."
"Hell," Tsukiko held her arms out again. "If you wanted to fight me at the end of everything- you could've just fuckin' asked! I fight people for a living! If you wanted to spar, that'd have been fine! ...You probably would've won, too."
...On that, Tsukiko nodded. "Yeah. That's it. If you lived within your own means, just doing little things that interested you and using that strength only to protect what's yours and not take from others-... you would've beaten me, and we would've both been fine. You wouldn't have to leave, and you wouldn't be-... in this situation."
"The people of this village who get by and stay happy, they're strong. You, looking so hard for control and change? You're a coward compared to them."
'All my greatest strength has come in defense of what's mine. Not in taking from others. Not unless I thought taking from them would teach them what it means to commit to the attack.' Such was why she robbed her assailants, and left them bleeding.
This was Gensokyo. There was a price to be paid for starting a fight, at least in her time- and one had to be prepared to pay up either way it turned out.
...Tsuruko began to get up, and reached for the medicine with a bloody hand.
"Fi-... fine…" Tsuruko sobbed some. "Nn-... tha-... thank- you… I- I guess…"
"Drink it and run." Tsukiko spoke quieter. "I'll pretend to chase you- you just go, I won't keep up long."
'What's she gonna do about those big fuckin' cans in her chest? Ah, whatever. More of her own damn fault comin' back to bite her.'
...After drinking the medicine, Tsuruko pocketed the bottle-
Then, she took off the floor into a wild sprint, pink trailing her movements.
"Shit!" Tsukiko ran after her. "Get back here! I'll stop you!"
But, Tsukiko never called her own wind, not trying to keep up.
Woosh! Tsuruko leapt off, into the aether. Tsukiko expected to see village guards intercept her or something, but they seemed confused as to who was actually who and just let her go. 'Wow.'
...With that, Tsukiko took in the snowy wonderland that was building around herself.
'God I need a fucking winter coat. Fuck me…'
It was another Gensokyian winter evening- and Tsukiko was happy to get lost in the colors- or lack thereof at times- amidst the warm winter lights, and the clarity provided by the chilling snow.
'If she starts shit again, I'm just ending her with my fuckin' shotgun. She's stuck her hand in the fire once; she better be smart enough to not do it again. There's no coming back then.'
With that, Tsukiko's business was done.
'Where's my fuckin', um… apron, bib, thing? Oh, hey.' Apparently Reimu'd salvaged it…
-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-
Sauntering up to her company, Tsukiko held an arm up, victorious.
"Um." Reimu drifted up slowly… "Not quite how I'd settle things, but… at least you didn't kill her."
Keine had a half-smile. "...Sure is unfortunate she happened to get away, hmm."
Tsukiko leaned her head back. "Yeah. What a cowardly bitch. If she knows what's good for her, she won't come back."
Then, Tsukiko spoke in mouth and not speech, so only they could talk together. "I think she's worth a second chance. I know she's a criminal, but so am I. I turned out alright in the end. Hell, so did you and Kourin."
"Fa- fair." Keine wasn't about to argue with Tsukiko of all people.
Kasen came up from out of nowhere, seemingly just wading through the crowd. "Tsukiko- how could you just let her go!? And don't try and play it off- mmh-"
Tsukiko reached into her sleeves and drew a round object- in this case a kappa-made ragnite grenade she had in there that she actually just forgot existed- into Kasen's mouth.
"Alright- shut the fuck up." Tsukiko went off on her. "You listen to me-"
Then, she spoke in mouth again, confident Kasen could read her lips. "She's getting a second chance- and so help me gods if you try and fuck this up for no good reason. Yes, I know she killed someone- but I wasn't a good person when I was eighteen either. Or twenty or however old she is."
...Taking the grenade out of her own mouth, Kasen wasn't as easy-going as Keine. She at least spoke in lips too, however. "What do we tell the parents!? You disgrace them- by not bringing her to justice."
"I brought her to justice enough you prick- she's already banished from here and it'll probably stay that way with the spook I gave her- can we just let it fucking go? Weird half-oni son of a bitch."
Kasen's expression flared some. "The fuck'd you just say to me?"
Tsukiko snorted. "...L- look, it's been a long night, I'm sorry. But I don't want any of your shit."
"No-" Kasen got closer to her. "Repeat that. What the fuck am I?"
Tsukiko glared at her. "What, you gonna fight me? After all that? Do it."
Kasen tensed. Then, she swallowed.
"I-" She slowed herself down.
Reimu had a bland look. "What the heck're you two talking about that I can't hear. You seem to be getting pretty heated…"
Kasen sighed. "I'm sorry."
"You better be." Tsukiko frowned. "Fuck right off. I just-... I just want to go home. Can we argue about pointless shit- la- later?"
Reimu fluffed up some. "I don't know what's going on- but you better leave my mom alone right now. I might let you boss me around some- but I'm drawing the line here."
If there was anything Kasen feared, it was being made out as the bad guy. "No- I- I'm not… I- I just-... I'm sorry- I have to go."
'Yeah. Do that.' Tsukiko didn't want to see her right now.
Turning away-
Tsukiko stumbled, and almost fell.
Keine and Rinnosuke moved to catch her, but Keine caught her. "Wo- woah. Eheh-... um…"
"Awh-... damn…" Tsukiko knew her strength was running out. Uncorking that Toughness medicine she took out, she took some sips of it.
'Should be enough to tape me together until we… get somewhere…'
"Let's go to my place." Keine decided. "We can relax there."
'God, I better not get a ton of shit about sparing her.'
'Tsuruko'd probably say I'm being just like her- telling off anyone who's going against my will here-... but I've got a reason. Tsuruko may be a dumbass and a bitch, but I think what she got is just enough punishment, especially considering how her brain works. She's torn. And if there's anything she ain't at the moment, it's adaptable. Moron's got a severe case of tunnel vision.'
'Actually, yeah. All I gotta do is relay to Kasen how she wanted to kill herself. Oughta jostle her out of being a prick about this. Hopefully no one else is. I'm happy to fight if-... mmh. No, no one would rightfully fight me over this. Kasen just wanted to fight me because I called her weird. Touchy, I guess.'
'...Hell, I'd be willing to go because of that too- because she is fuckin' weird, and if it's gonna be a problem, even if she's an oni, I'll show her what-for. She might kick my ass, but fuck it. She wants to preach peace, then try and threaten me- she can fuckin' shove it.'
'I really need to sleep.' She realized how grouchy she was. 'I'm so done…'
Despite drinking the Toughness some, Tsukiko began to let her eyes drift shut.
"Um…" Keine held her up more. "Tsukiko? ...Tsukiko."
"I- I'm-..." Tsukiko furrowed her brows some, "tired…"
'I'm more done than I thought. Sorry, Keine. Looks like you'll be carrying me back.'
"Hey- hold on… Tsukiko!"
-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-
Ironically, Tsukiko woke up a little when they got there.
Largely because, she apparently needed heating, because her body temperature fell beneath safe levels at some point- or so Reisen had remarked.
So, Tsukiko laid in a bed in only her fundoshi, while Mokou gently molested her from beside the bed, her hands keeping Tsukiko warm and stabilizing her body temperature.
They were in the upper-story guest room in Keine's house. Tsukiko didn't expect to see anymore assassins or rude nightly interruptions anytime soon.
'That door… was fixed quickly. Although… there's one less bed in here. Oops.'
"...This is... surprisingly comfy." Tsukiko noted.
Mokou snorted. "You were about twenty minutes away from freezing to death."
"...Joy." Tsukiko felt strange. Then again, she supposed she typically wouldn't be fighting youkai out on nights or storms like these anyway. "Would've been awkward if I fought Kasen."
Mokou snorted again. "Fight her? What, she piss you off?"
"Nah, I pissed her off." Tsukiko clarified. "Called her weird. She- thought- I spared that girl on purpose-"
"Which you did." Mokou amended.
"Is it that obvious?" Tsukiko wanted to know.
Mokou smirked. "To most people with working eyes, yes. So basically just me and a handful of other people."
'...Weirdly accurate, probably.'
"Right, well, she didn't like that." Tsukiko panned her gaze up. "I wasn't having any of her shit, so I called her weird. Specifically-... a weird half-oni."
"Ah, right." Mokou tilted her head back. "Probably the combination did it. Her being an oni and everything. Surprised you managed that, since she makes it almost a point not to be pissed off."
'...Could've fooled me.'
The room was warmly lit with lamp lights, and the black evening outside seemed ironically welcoming. The snowfall was intensifying, and the winter lights growing more and more colorful.
"I don't really care why you spared her." Mokou provided for clarity's sake. "You had your reasons, I'm sure. You talked a whole bunch beforehand too, that probably did it. I just know I'm kicking her ass if I see her again."
Tsukiko snorted. "That's fine. She probably deserves it."
...Mokou felt at one of Tsukiko's breasts, and huffed as she warmed it. "Keine said it- er, well, this- while you were out. Umh-... ah, fuck it." She didn't like how those sentences went at all. "She said you were too motherly. Like you've almost been mommin' up every conversation you've had with these random girls."
Tsukiko snorted. "She's… really not wrong. I mean, I can't help it. I-... I was really ready to be a mom, damn it." She began to grin. "I got gypped."
Mokou grinned too. "I guess you did. But uh, her point kinda was… you don't gotta like, break your back over 'em or anything. That's kinda her job."
"Too late." Tsukiko grinned wider. "...I'll keep it in mind. But, tell her-... tell her I can give her advice. I think I've really got this whole 'mom thing' down."
"How long've you been a mom again?" Mokou wondered…
"Of a teenager or anything older? Two weeks, technically." Tsukiko figured. "Of a child who just learned how to remember things? Like, a year."
"You really did get gypped." Mokou shook her head. "Also, you could've fooled me, pro'lly. Well, not that I know whatever you do's so motherly, but…"
The warmth Mokou provided with just touches made areas of the blanket Tsukiko was under feel supremely comfy. 'Damn…'
Mokou pursed her lips as she had to essentially grope a good portion of Tsukiko's body. What would Reimu have been like if she hadn't died? She didn't want to pose that question to Tsukiko, but it was on her mind.
"Think it's time for me to stop gropin' you?" Mokou supposed idly.
Tsukiko snorted. "Beats me. Wouldn't that be a question for the doctor?" She meant Reisen. "...Myself, the heat feels good."
"Mmh." Mokou didn't care too much.
Closing her eyes, Tsukiko relaxed.
'I wonder-... what time it is. Doesn't Keine have a clock around here? ...Oh.'
Tsukiko spotted where it'd be hung up on the wall. Looking down at the floor, she saw it'd fallen some time ago, and no one picked it back up. 'Sorry, Keine.'
Click. Reisen pushed into the room through the front door. Then, she paused. "Oo- oh. You're still doing that."
Mokou grinned. "Y'never told me when to stop."
"You- can probably stop now." Reisen began to grin too, as she trotted closer. "Let's, uh, see…"
Reaching under the covers, she felt at Tsukiko's skin. "Ah. Yeah, her temperature's okay now. Um. I don't know if Hakurei get colds, but, I'd say be on the lookout for that. I- I think Reimu's had a cold, once or twice. Not hard to see why- but, anyway…"
'Yeah. Her and those exposed armpits in the middle of winter. Not-... that I'm much better, but-... I- I mean, I generally didn't get sick? Wait. Right… colds were because of stress on the body, and changing temperatures rapidly contributes, even if it takes stress off the body.'
'Probably wasn't so bad for me because it was always fucking cold.'
Mokou took her hands off Tsukiko, and leaned back. "Good. That was gettin' awkward."
Tsukiko snorted. "Was it?"
Reisen smiled. "Wa- was it?"
Mokou tilted her eyes up. "Fuck the both of you."
'Pft- oh.'
Reisen chuckled quietly. "I- I'm just screwing with you. Anyway- let's leave her alone. She's gonna need plenty of sleep after all that."
"Mmh."
With that, Mokou and Reisen began to move. Pausing, Reisen stared at a corner of the room for an awkward amount of time, getting in Mokou's way inadvertently, before beginning to move.
Clack. Mokou shut the door loudly behind herself.
...The magi-lamps in the room flicked off immediately. 'Did they always work like-'
They flicked back on.
Creak. Marisa stood on the bed, leering over Tsukiko, almost nose-to-nose with her.
Tsukiko tensed up. "Oh- gods- fuck-"
"Hehehe~!" Springing into standing, Marisa laughed her ass off. "Gotcha~, ze!"
"You motherfucker." Tsukiko frowned back, feeling awkward. "Get- get out. Let me fucking sleep. I thought I was done with fuckheads jumping me in bed."
"Ooh, don't worry. I ain't here to fight'cha." Marisa waved it off. "But if I was a youkai- you'd already be super dead!"
"How- the fuck did you get in here?" Tsukiko looked around…
Smiling wider, Marisa drew a round, grey-blue plate from behind her back. "Cloakin' device!"
"I feel like that's cheating." Tsukiko could sense the presence of actual youkai, as a Hakurei maiden, but Marisa here was not that.
"If I was another a' those Hacky-sacky Reimu wannabes- you might be dead!" Marisa clarified. "Face it, ze! I caught ya off-guard!"
Tsukiko snorted, looking worried. "That's- really not something to be proud of."
"Ooh? Is it not, now?" Marisa made an 'o' shape with her mouth, leaning back further. "You were the great-"
BAM. Reimu kicked the door open- after having quietly opened it first.
Marisa jumped, and twisted around. "Oo-... oh shit. Well- heya, Rei- mu..."
Reimu slowly trotted up to her, and grabbed her by the collar of her witch outfit.
"Nnhk-" Tugging at her own collar as she let Reimu pull her, Marisa hopped off the bed-
Clack! Her boots met the wood. "Mo- Mommy-chan! T'morrow- or whenever- meet me a' the- hhk-"
Reimu had almost pulled her out of the room entirely, as she stumbled around. "Va- village-"
Thud! Outside the room, Marisa fell over, once Reimu pulled her hard enough. "Oohf!"
Clack. Reimu stepped over her and tugged the door shut.
...Tsukiko blinked drowsily.
'Yeah, whatever.' She was too tired to care. Rolling over, she snugged up under the blanket. 'Bed…'
Slowly, the room's magi-lights flicked out after a normal idle time again.
'Hopefully the next few days are quiet…'
'I've got to-... see what this Eientei place is all about. It might have some answers I'm looking for.'
'With the end of the drama, it all comes back to… well, why am I here? What brought me back?'
'My death… I still don't know who killed me. I was poisoned by something unseen before, apparently. I don't know much other than that.'
'I might just spend tomorrow… doing my own things again. Or, well…'
She couldn't just train for her next job hunt. She didn't have to work. She didn't have to patrol. She didn't have to hunt for food.
'I'll see what tomorrow holds when I get there.'
With that thought, Tsukiko let herself begin to drift…
-+- Seinarubeki Hakurei's Perspective -+-
Nothing mattered anymore. With this, her daughter Tsukiko would be alone in the world.
She laid where she was struck down for what felt like hours. The sounds of the plants, beasts and demons had long faded, as she bled out on the grass of one of Gensokyo's plains.
Life had become too hard. She didn't mean to let her daughter inhabit this doomed world alone; and she hoped the Hakurei God and her mother would forgive her for her- as one might candidly put it- shitty performance. Or at least, that's something she might have figured would come out of her mother's mouth.
In all the stress, and all of the depression that clutched her heart tight, she'd lost the most basic gifts of the Hakurei. She thought she'd get away with it, or at least hoped. Surely they didn't need to kill every last single Hakurei down to the line, right?
In this one afternoon, she'd seen more youkai in one place than ever before. She wasn't her mother. She couldn't fight for days, seemingly weeks at a time and sustain herself off of animalistic consumption of what nature had available; combined with an almost unreal, arcane knowledge of what was and wasn't fake or harmful in such a hellish time.
She put up a good fight by human standards. Two, three hours, against powerful beings she'd never seen before even, in all her life as heir to the ever-dwindling Hakurei clan and mini-empire.
The world was over. She laid so long, she wondered if Tsukiko was already dead.
'...I am dead.' She twitched a brow. 'Yes? ...Strange. Is this what death feels like?'
The tales of the Sanzu from those who were on the brink were strange and varied, but she was certain it was not this.
Snow fell gently on a dark world, seemingly devoid of life.
Seinarubeki Hakurei, daughter of Kiyoko Hakurei, pushed herself out of a crater in the snow, and onto her knees.
A winter wonderland, familiar but all too different. Strange, distant lights hung in the air in almost every direction, contrasted by the world of starlight above.
This was Gensokyo, at night, in a slowly accelerating snowfall. Yet…
'Is it Gensokyo?' The distant lights had her wondering. To the right of the Misty Lake, a huge structure as defined by warm lights from windows pierced the black with an orange field of dots. From where Seinarubeki- often shortened to Seinaru- stood, it looked like a field of faux stars.
'It has to be. The stars this time of year… are as they should be. The contours of the land… shaped by time, maybe, but still so familiar. That's the magic forest, as created by… her. The mountain. And, where I stand…'
Seinaru stared at the snow, as she stood up on her legs again, her limbs cold and body shaking with newfound life.
'Where I stand is where I was killed. Where I stand is where this land's last hope for salvation came to an end. Where Tsukiko's future came to an end. The last person to remember… Tasuko-kun. My mother. My friends.'
It all came back to her- the reason she gave up and let herself die.
'Life in this damned hell isn't worth living.'
She leaned over the hole in the snow she came from, and felt at the dusting of frost on her Hakurei kimono…
'Yet… if I've been cast to this strange place… then maybe… I should do something. Maybe this is the afterlife. The snow might be a good indicator of such… if this was the real world, perhaps I'd have died of hypothermia.'
'Yes. Let's see if I can find my husband… or Tsukiko.'
Resisting the urge to lie back down in the snow, she felt around herself…
On her back, her weapon was still there. A massive gohei taller than she was, thick as a polearm.
'I thought I'd lost this in the battle. Hmh.'
With a flat face, she began to stumble forward in the snowy evening, already cursing the cold.
'Keep away from the strange lights. Follow the paths you know.'
'The shrine. Yes. Let's go there. If this is the afterlife, everyone I love will be there.'
-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-
NEW SKILLS:
x Soul
Heated Spirit V - A building fragment of the resolve she used to wield. Allows Sendai to use five item crashes maximum. At the end of every fight, she regains one use. Recharged by sleeping, or gaining new resolve.
Shrine Maiden's Combined Essence - Tsukiko can manipulate darkness, wind, and raw holy freely in Shrine Maiden of Paradise Style. Allows Tsukiko to nearly-instantly change combat styles by changing her mental state off of an attack.
x Body
Endured V - Tsukiko has regained some of her former endurance from twelve years ago. Yet, she's still plenty vulnerable compared to her old self.
Powerful V - Her strength is almost beginning to become a remarkable threat to youkai again. She's lacking a certain definite punch, however.
x Youkai Style:
Konpaku Katana Counter * Critical - Not actually a Konpaku technique. Realized from her training with the old phantom swordsman, when her health is critical, Tsukiko skillfully weaves a katana from her opponent's grasp, tosses them to the floor, and hilts it deep in their gut. Also inherited by Legend Style and Tengu Style. If Tsukiko's stabbed in the gut in Legend Style, this may also be used as a counter-attack on a less skilled opponent, where she rips the blade from her own gut and plants it into her opponent.
x Tengu Style:
Essence of Crushing: Elbow - Quick technique which stops an oncoming uppercut instantly, by shoving one's elbow down into it just as it swings up. Stuns and completely shuts down the target's momentum, opening them up to a massive counter-uppercut that leaves them sprawled out on the floor.
Essence of Crushing: Wall - By evading an oncoming, full-force blow near a wall, Tsukiko lets them deliver their arm entirely into the wall, hurting themselves and completely shutting down their momentum. Works best on human foes and lesser youkai; greater youkai will simply break the wall on impact and be left uninhibited.
Essence of Extreme Tengu - Uppercutting a foe into the air, Tsukiko unleashes an unending series of palm jabs across their gut and torso, propelling them through the air, before hooking them across the jaw. Disables a youkai's health regeneration temporarily.
x Oni Style:
Essence of Knee Slam - Grabbing a foe by the waist from behind, Tsukiko smashes them crotch-first onto her knee. Unleashes crippling, legendary pain, but is difficult to set up under most circumstances.
x Shrine Maiden of Paradise Style:
Youkai Buster Combo * REBORN - Tsukiko remembers the entirety of her Youkai Buster combo string. A style which incorporates speed, strength and force, containing tools for nearly any situation. Born from martial arts scrolls left laying in the ruins of the Hakurei clan and Tsukiko's passion for combat, this is the style that created a legend.
Big Hook - A huge, slow hook done in the midst of Tsukiko's Youkai Buster Combo. It's really slow, but maybe if she has enough strength...
Giga Uppercut - A big uppercut, done off the third blow of Tsukiko's Youkai Buster combo. She's not sure what makes it special, but she was sure it had a lot more force...
Dragon's Kick - The remaining, vague fragments of an ancient martial art technique she studied just some years before her death. A spinning kick with such awkward motions that she isn't sure how she ever found it useful before...
Phoenix's Tail * Prototype - Unique double-finisher lead into by Dragon's Kick. Inspired by Mokou's flip-kick technique, Tsukiko calls on the wind again to snap into a similar flipping kick, planting her heel straight down into an enemy she's just launched. Cruel and crippling blow with tremendous power, but leaves Tsukiko very open after being used. Has room to be improved...
Twist Counter - A very basic counter done off of an enemy's punching attack. Running beside them, Tsukiko pulls on their arm and sweeps a leg out from under them at the same time, simply tripping them. Most effective on skilless human opponents.
Palm of Pure Violence * Prototype - When her health is critical, Tsukiko becomes attuned with her combat instincts once again. When an enemy unleashes an attack, she may skillfully and instinctively weave past it and deliver a blow that is beyond strength in return. This is achieved by observing and conceptualizing the motions of their attack and acting to strike the most vulnerable part of their core with the most force humanly possible.
God-Erasing Tri-Point Execution * Prototype - When her health is critical, Tsukiko remembers one of her youkai combat techniques by heart. Grinding her knuckles against their head when they're weak, she kneels down and smashes their head against her knee. Meanwhile, she creates a barrier box around their head, and at the point of impact, her knee and fists all crush it, instantly killing the youkai targeted. One of the favorite attacks of Tsukiko Hakurei.
Paradise * REBORN - When her health is critical, Tsukiko borrows techniques from her past life that she hasn't fully remembered yet- but only if the need, mental pressure, and her adrenaline is great enough. Most of her personal realizations came through fighting, after all.
Double Finisher - Shrine Maiden of Paradise style has inherited Double Finisher from Youkai Style. Applies to each of Tsukiko's combo finishers instead of just providing Mokou's flip-kick, but each individual Double Finisher must be learned.
Re-Guard - Inherited from Youkai Style.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
this chapter turned out to be a big one…! and most of it's fighting, even!
the encounter that's been somewhat built up throughout a large chunk of the story so far…!
although for its length it is really varied and has a lot of different imagery, as well as big tone shifts every so and so throughout
this chapter doesn't mark a speedup/expediting of the plot of any particular sort, but it does benchmark the end of the tsuruko arc
it also marks the real beginning of tsukiko actualizing her previous style, and not just getting little teaser previews of what it used to be
it probably also marks the end of true threats born from the village, 'cause tsuruko was pretty much the big goon queen by this point
so it's gonna mark some big changes in how things feel! i think the payoff and declining action from this whole scenario's gonna feel really good to just kinda experience. personally i kinda wanna see how tsukiko rides the sorta high of coming off from a battle like that victorious, and how she adjusts after the big priority switch
that, and now she can focus on the main plot again
i do wonder how the seinarubeki teaser is going to play out, and if i should've shelved that for next chapter
it makes a good cliffhanger here though, and i think readers coming into a new chapter next update might be put off if they're presented with it first thing instead of shown it after that really punchy climax
so in retrospect i guess it works out
anyway
i kinda never got much of a moment to write this author's note so uh
not sure what else to say now!
although, i've been waiting to write tsuruko's own styles for some time, they're all really fun in their own ways, and have distinctly different movesets and combo strings from tsukiko's
although i did base the concept of the fight off of kiryu vs shibusawa, the context is a lot different, and i think this fight's aided by the lack of surrounding intricate setup you end up going through in the yakuza games
although if i did make some kinda intricate crime mystery i think the text format lends itself better to that; a problem i personally have in the yakuza games is that long spoken exposition can feel unnatural, and also just kinda loses me sometimes
with tsuruko i feel like it worked because tsuruko was being a big cunt and hamming it up, and i don't think her monologuing even went on that long compared to a yakuza script's explanation of 4D chess
although i suppose it'd be realistic, 'cause technically that 4D chess could loosely happen in real life, even if i feel as though there was probably some way to offset the presentation, to give that complex feeling with less time; i probably have to look through the story of those games more to actually get a feel for the pace
the lead-in dialogue between the two shares some similarities (there's some really good lines there!) but i made sure to only borrow inspiration from what i felt really added to the scene
i really like interpreting and adapting things in creative ways that i don't think anyone else can see, but i also always try and be careful not to just steal things; i wanna capture the essences of what makes these things work thematically, and i wanna adapt concepts across artistic mediums meaningfully, not just take blindly
the mid-combat dialogue was fun and kinda just me winging it though. you don't get enough mid-combat dialogue in yakuza now that i think about it; and often voice clips aren't translated...
the whole scene with the naginata and the wings was added after the fact, and i don't think it added that many words to the scene, but i think it helped frame the two halves of the fight better (or would it be like the two fourths, considering)
hoh
anyway…
as always, see you all next time!
