Camilla got out of bed.
"Nn— hnh…" She stretched her back, arms raised into the air as vague sunlight speckled the interior of her room.
Her hair was long and brown. She wore—
'I ain't wearing anything, 'cause I just woke up!'
Getting out of her bed, she stumbled. Hunching over, she claimed her pants from the floor nearby. 'Wa— wait. I oughta throw on my undies first. Don't want no Hakurei guy gettin' any ideas. Wouldn't wanna end up on a hot date!'
Mentally, she drooled a little at the idea. 'Like, a big, half-dumb Hakurei dude. Wit' pretty hair, and a body that ain't too stupid, but—... maybe a nice pair a' abs. He'd keep me trapped in bed, press his face inta my chest, and— I'd coil my own dainty legs 'round his—'
She had something to do this morning. 'Nn. Ain't no time ta play wit' myself.'
She slid her white bloomers on, finding them amidst the blankets, and then slid her pants on.
A worn ivory bra— from age, not design— went on over her medium chest, and she looked for her plain robe. 'Alrightie…'
'Almost ready fer combat! Just— gotta find my socks now…'
Plain, brown boots went on over her socks. Now, she was ready.
The Georgian— or western— calendar read October 31st, 1877.
"Hey, mo~m!" Lumbering out of her neglected, messy room, Camilla held a hand aside her mouth as she called out. "I'm headin' out again!"
In this house's main room, her brown-haired mother plainly turned to nod at her. "Mmm. Have fun."
Crea~k. Pushing the front door open, Camilla moseyed outside.
Her house was on the north-eastern edge of the Hakurei Village. It was a remote sort of village, nestled beside a mountain deep within rural Japan.
"Aa~h…" Taking in the scent of dirt and horses, Camilla immediately turned, moving for one of the village's edges. "Ah— shit. What's the time…?"
The sun was low in the east, just rising. She was always out of the house at the crack of dawn, for a big reason.
'If Kiyoko-chan got there 'fore I did— I ain't ever livin' it down!'
Hurrying down the road, Camilla took in the early morning village around herself…
Her home was on the very north edge of the village. Before herself, she could see houses, but behind those houses was a mile of infrastructure, packed housing, colorful parks of contained foliage, farming endeavors, and more.
Behind her home, there was the woods. But, since the primary threats were to the south, and most Hakurei initiates trained in the northern woods, there was no worry.
'More on that shit about threats later…!'
Familiar villagers were just starting their days; mostly the serious types, like the shrine maidens, or the holy warriors of the Hakurei who lived amongst the human population.
Smiling, Milla stretched, taking in a huge breath of crisp, flighty morning air.
'My family came over from Europe at some point. Italy specifically, I think. It was Italy, right…?' Camilla thought of the past, as she took in the gold, airy morning sun and pale sky. 'Y'see, we're magicians from the west.'
She thought about her western heritage often. She was born here in Japan, so whenever she heard of the plainness of the western mainland, it felt like a stark contrast to the absurd ecosystem surrounding this village.
They seldom had contact with outside civilization. This wasn't necessarily because the Hakurei were cold to communications, although the decline of the sword had made them pretty much become that.
'They wanted our westy magic, 'cause it was a little different than the black an' white shit they got over here.'
Western magic dealt with the elements. Meanwhile, here in Japan, elementalism was far rarer and, as such, scarier. Youkai were far more often elemental, and the Hakurei warriors mainly used dark, holy, and force to get their work done.
'Oh, yeah, youkai. From what I hear, rest a' the world ain't being attacked by fuckin' oni and monsters!'
The real reason the world didn't talk to the village, was because it was surrounded by monsters.
Fairies, beastmen. The nearby mountain was ruled by oni. Along its side, and the perimeter of the near plains, was the opposing tengu village.
Regularly, caravans from neighboring territories attempted to cross through, disbelieving. They kept the youkai fed. Stragglers would find their way to the Hakurei Village proper, through the battlegrounds. Only recently, the Hakurei also found out, the youkai intentionally sent other stragglers back whence they came, to spread their influence to other territories.
'As fer the more exact details of how this rural-ass village got its shit kicked in, an' why we're living in a fuckin'... fantasy novel warzone, beats me. Far as I can tell, this shit ain't normal, but that's about it…!'
'Like, if ya take ten good steps outta the village, a big plant monster might shove its leaves up yer cunt and make a rag outta ya! Not in the sexy way either.'
Looking up, Camilla saw the fortification on the edge of the village.
It was the pinnacle of the monster-infested land's strength and hope, the Hakurei Castle.
Even though it was on the north of the village, it could be seen from anywhere. It was four or five times taller than local trees. The actual amount of stories it contained was difficult to measure.
Their leader resided in tight corridors inside, sealed away from the outer world by the most potent of divination and magical seals.
'None a' that hokey castle shit matters ta me, though. I got shit ta do!' Camilla stopped staring the huge megastructure down.
As she hustled down the dirt trail of the tightly packed village, one of the morning-time villagers come up alongside her…
"Hey, Cammy." He was a young man with messy, brown hair, clad in red-white Hakurei regalia. "Where're you stompin' off to-"
"Fuck off, dude." Camilla waved him off. "I got shit ta do!"
Taken by her rudeness, he huffed, quickly tailing after her as she jogged. "Is- is that any way to talk to anyone?"
"It's the way I talk ta you." Camilla gave him a flat look. "I'm not lettin' ya ram me from the back, buddy!"
"Wh- ah…" His mouth hung ajar, and he hurried to keep up with her after lagging behind. "You're- awfully to the point today."
"'Cause I'm late!" She grinned back. "An' it's Milla, not Cammy, stud."
He grinned wider himself. "I ought to call you Alice. Got any rabbit holes you plan on falling down?"
"Oh, fuck ya." Milla waved him off. "Last time I lend a Hakurei a book."
Soon, they neared a corner of the greater dirt road infrastructure. Milla planned to dart off into an alley, but slowed so she could give this man a formal goodbye...
Reading her expectant gaze, he tilted his head to the side. "Y'know, I'm being nice. If I really wanted..."
'If he really wanted, he could put forward an order or some shit and declare me his breedin' partner, yeah whatever.'
Snorting, Milla nodded. "An' I don't give a shit. Ya could be one of them old jerks who build their harems by power, but yer not gettin' yer sticky fingers on me any time soon."
'Fer reference… y'know, us westerners ain't necessarily respected in the village here. Elementalism's looked at as a youkai-like thing by some of the Hakurei. They didn't have huge respect fer the raggedy-ann villagers in the first place, and like… this is Japan. I remember my folks bein' like, 'if things were strict back inland, there's no room for mistakes here'.'
'...Are they right? I got no fuckin' idea, I've never been ta Europe. But if it's as borin' a place as my dad is a person, then it's probably actually worse than here.'
"It's just—..." He laxed his shoulders, and took a moment to slowly blink. "You're a cute girl. And— if I don't look out for ya… like— someone else could try to, and in a more forceful way. Aa— and I know I'm kind of a jerk, but—"
"If anyone tries ta get in my pants, I'll burn their dicks off." Milla waved him off again. "Just like I'll burn yers off, if ya don't scram, pal!"
'This guy hits on me every damn mornin'. An'... y'know, he is kinda hot, but I got better things ta do than get laid or talk ta this loser.'
"Well. Alright." For today, he gave up again. "Don't go shootin' anyone tall and scary, now."
"Mmh." With that, Milla romped off into the alleys.
'...I'm sure he'll still be waitin' for when I'm ready. That'll be fer another time. It's definitely not 'cause it'd be too awkward ta drop what I'm doin'. Or 'cause I've never been in a damn relationship with a cute guy before. Definitely not.'
Magick Magician Milla!
1 | Havoc in the Hakurei Village!
'Didn't forget my staff, did I? Ah— good, s'right there. Don't even remember grabbin' it.'
Keeping her balance with her staff, her shoes clumsily pressed into the side of a roof's shingles.
Milla had climbed up onto the top of a nearby house, leering down upon a clearing, slowly progressing around the side quietly, carefully, and sure to not make noise.
'All my shit's still set up, aw right…'
The houses around the village were mostly all wooden, with colored shingle roofs that produced difficult slants for operations like walking.
Below her, a maiden clad in red and white stood there idly. She occupied a plain clearing between many buildings, lush with mixed grass amidst long stretches of dirt.
That young woman standing below was the next heir to the Hakurei clan.
"...Hmm." Kiyoko Hakurei panned her gaze around the clearing idly. "She's late."
Clack! Milla ran down to the edge of the roof, and leapt off, staff held up high.
"He~hehehe!" Her heart leaping in her chest, Milla flailed her limbs, as she dropped down over Kiyoko.
"Aa—" Looking back, Kiyoko's heart jumped too, eyes wide.
Woosh! Milla jumped again in the air, her legs flailing, as she did a flip straight over Kiyoko.
Bam! "Uhf- fhuck!" Then, Milla planted her ass straight into the dirt behind Kiyoko. "Ow!"
"What—..." Kiyoko stepped back from her, hands to her heart. "Mi— Milla?"
Getting up off her butt, Milla held her staff tight. "I— I ain't no Milla! I'm here ta assassinate ya!"
After some blinks, Kiyoko began to smirk. "Of— of the both of us, I believe—... your ass may need more care."
"Je— jeez!" Beaming, Milla got off the ground, using her staff to fight back into standing. "Y'better look the fuck out, ze!"
"I take it your recent 'perfection' is that… wind skill." Kiyoko figured. "It seemed to let you jump a second time."
Dropping her act, Milla gave a single big nod. "Awh, yeah. It ain't real flashy by itself, but I tell ya, s'probably a real jaw dropper when used right! Ya jump, an' they think they got ya fucked, then ya jump again! Ahah!" In her excitement, she thrust her staff's tip at Kiyoko.
Clack! Bringing a bokken up, Kiyoko stopped the staff from booping her in the boob, wood blade held with both hands. "...You're trying awfully hard to stick to the whole, 'it's not magic if it isn't flashy' principle."
...Feeling like she was being watched somehow, Milla looked around herself.
The houses around this clearing were populated by particularly elderly, uncaring people who didn't feel like screwing with the two's friendship. It's why Kiyoko and Milla came here, instead of any other random clearing.
The Hakurei heir being around the village wasn't anything of worry to the castle or her family. Rather, overcoming the challenges posed by her own behavior was a trial in and of itself.
'Her folks don't worry about her gettin' up to hijinks. As she told me once, s'basically a stupidity test. If she gets herself knocked up by some idiots, or killed by some common crap, then she wasn't a fit heir ta begin with.'
It also wouldn't be the first time in history a direct heir became worthless, and had to be replaced by another one. It's for this reason, the Hakurei rulers typically had more than one child. Resources were poured into that first child, then the others would see attention if the first faltered.
If the people around this particular clearing were more opportunistic, they'd see more value in attempting to lavish the Hakurei heir in their attention. They'd be attempting to find a spot in the castle.
Kiyoko had to always have her guard up. Always, always. Yet…
"Wait!" Milla held up a hand. "Look out!"
Suddenly, Kiyoko's body tensed. She looked around, wood bokken poised to react to threats…
Milla looked up, and grinned.
A water balloon rolled down off the roof's shingles. Milla had hooked it up to a gravity timer, and she knew just how to prop the gravity magic and resulting drop so that it wouldn't pop. She was very bored.
As it took a dive off the roof, Milla held up her hand, and the wind beckoned her call.
Seeing her hand, Kiyoko looked up—
Splash! But, it was too late. "Ee— aa—..." Kiyoko was soaked. The water balloon had popped over her.
Milla hustled up to her, her broom-staff floating along in the air behind herself. "Awh— oh no! You got water all over you, Hakurei maiden!"
"Wh—" Kiyoko turned to her. "Woah!"
Sweeping her arms under her, Milla picked the scrawny girl up bridal style. "Here, lemme take ya back to my room, meet the folks, and also lemme rape the shit outta ya!" Aggressively, she fondled Kiyoko's left breast with the only arm she could use.
Whack. Kiyoko's fist met her nose.
...Slowly, Milla clumsily lowered her, and Kiyoko got back onto her own feet.
"Uu— owh." Mila felt at her own reddening nose. "Y- ya got a mean punch, Kiyoko-chan…"
"What— the actual hell was the point of this…?" Kiyoko looked down at her wet clothes, as the early morning sun began to creep over the world. "You've soaked me. The day's not even hot yet…"
"The point's that yer too dang gullible!" Milla flourished an arm out. "Ya walk around wit' that stone mask, but yer easy ta surprise. Too easy! Wasn't hard fer me ta see that sweet, supple girl on the inside. An' an innocent li'l prank like that is the perfect segue ta slip ya inta somewhere they're comfy wit'. You gotta be ready from all angles!"
"I'll punch them in the face." Kiyoko delivered plainly.
Milla shook her head. "No, ze. Yer gonna be all surprised, he's gonna try an' be mister samurai man, an' yer gonna end up kissin' face an' gettin' backstabbed 'fore you know it."
...Kiyoko exhaled. "Who're you to know how that'd play out? Wh— why? I mean— why tell me these things? Do you have your own motive?"
Milla rolled her eyes. "Oh, ya know me. It hurts seein' ya be so starry-eyed. Shit like this's how dynasties fall. Ya become someone's pet 'cause yer innocent, then ya get yer world crashin' down on you. Boom— klang— engh!"
...After looking vaguely worried at the noises Milla made at the end there, Kiyoko responded. "Where do you come up with ideas like these?"
"...It just makes sense."
Milla knew, but she couldn't explain. It was a feeling, created from what she'd seen back home, and also here. It was how people acted— and if anyone knew how people acted, it was her.
"Yer in the most damning position of us all. It only makes sense, that everyone would have somethin' against ya. Not that they always will. But, ya can't rely on luck."
Finding her own thoughts was hard. Milla had to focus on presenting and explaining. Drop one or the other, and the conversation would be for naught.
Kiyoko considered her words, as the sun and clouds above turned. "I see your reasoning…"
"I know it sounds impossible right now…" Milla smiled at her. "But, ya gotta be strong, Kinky-chan. Y'can't let other's kinks get ya down!"
"Don't— call me that." Kiyoko wore an endearing variant of faux-worry for a brief moment, before returning to casual pensiveness. "Still. That just—... seems like a tall order. I feel like life wouldn't be fun, if I was always on edge."
Milla really considered that.
'...Yeah. I guess it wouldn't be. But…'
That went against her philosophy. A life without fun wasn't a life worth living. 'I almost wanna tell her to ditch this Hakurei clan shit altogether. But, we know that's all unrealistic. 'Bout as unrealistic as me runnin' away, and survivin' a single day.'
'Damn dad. Only reason we're here in fuckin' Japan is his dumb ass.'
"I guess not." Milla could only say that. She'd gotten caught in her own thoughts.
Kiyoko looked at the floor.
'...Ugh. This whole village is a fuckin' drag.'
Milla looked back up at her. "Then, yer just gonna hafta get so damn strong, that even at yer weakest, no damn idiot can just come up an' off ya, or trick ya."
Kiyoko frowned. "That kind of strength… exists?"
"I dunno." Milla had no idea. "But… damned if ya do, damned if ya don't, right? Y'really oughta live a little. I got a feelin' power ain't outta reach, if we just—..."
'How do I explain it? It's just— it's just off the beaten trail. Just outta sight of all the idiots who'd dare to get in our way, who'd be pissed off at our progress for no damn good reason.'
Her dad hated her and her mother's studies, but now that they could provide for the family, he couldn't do more than degrade other aspects of their life in petty, superficial retribution. The Hakurei frowned upon excessive, non-productive magical practice, but they didn't have eyes everywhere.
The Hakurei clan's innermost, most meaningful members kept the clan's upper echelon tight on discipline and tradition. Those people could also be the most shrewd, undisciplined and deceiving of all; Milla knew enough about government to figure that much.
These people would superficially decide to get in the way of herself, or potentially Kiyoko, for any number of petty, circumstantial reasons. They would enforce beliefs that didn't truly mean anything if they weren't around. Government and regulation for the sake of itself.
'Stupid assholes. Sayin' crap like, 'using that magic makes you close to a youkai', and 'you shouldn't use it more than necessary'. Stupider villagers bein' just scared by it, not even givin' any reasons why. If youkai used swords, would that make the Hakurei youkai too? Fuckin'... some of them do, even!'
At the moment, Kiyoko was lucky, Milla figured. Kiyoko was still fair in interests, and satisfied with her world and her studies. The cultural restrictions on art and magic didn't apply to her so far. But, if she ever caught a niche interest, she'd see the world's cruelty.
'She'd see the world's inability to think. Both logically, and on the same page in general.'
As for Milla… 'Fuck this place. Fuck Europe, fuck Japan, and fuck my dad, kinda fuck my mom too, and fuck this village.' She wasn't entirely happy.
How would she explain that? How could she explain all of that? If she didn't deliver it just the right way, it would all be meaningless. No one believes or follows an uncharismatic presentation, regardless of anything. And, there was no simple way to speak this kind of information in the time it took to understand it.
Milla hated bothering with others for this reason. It was so much easier to not, and let the others go fuck themselves.
"...Milla?" Kiyoko tilted her head.
"Aa— ah." Milla still had to say something, though. "You just—... you gotta be strong, Kiyoko."
'Damn it.' She knew she fucked it up already. 'You know what…'
Kiyoko blinked, and gave a vague nod. "...I'm always trying. But, I'll also try for you, I guess."
"People in yer clan are gonna get in your way." Milla found her words. "People in the village. People ya choose to hold close. People who're your good friends, an' also the ones who ain't.
"...I— I ain't sayin' everyone you see's evil. I'm just sayin—... in this world, no one's not lookin' out for themselves, and you are a big, power tool. Big target, big tool, an' big yen."
'My fuckups here— in this talk— are gonna naturally cost me shit down the line, too. I'm not a fuckin' people person.'
"For one stupid damn reason or another, people will think what ya do is stupid. Evil, and wrong. Like yer all-deserving of their eternal vengefulness an' pettiness." Milla declared. "...Please, don't be a retard, Kiyoko. Don't let those nothings piss on yer dreams."
...Kiyoko felt like she understood. Smiling, she nodded, her long black hair blowing in the breeze. "Thank you, Milla."
'Even this-... no, I'm missing something. I'm forgetting something. I'm not tellin' Kiyoko somethin' she needs. There's some part of life-... that's just not comin' to me. Fuck. Ugh.'
'Perhaps I was broad enough to actually be influential, somehow. Maybe she actually gets it. Maybe she don't. I hate this shit…'
And so, Milla set the precursor for centuries to come. In her ignorance, she laid the ironwork and stone foundation for the rise and fall of an empire.
From the boundless blue sky above, somewhere far invisible to the human eye, someone all but invisible, just like gravity and time, giggled without noise.
Their eyes were keen on the Hakurei heir. She saw and heard Milla's suggestion, and everything seemed far more simple than it had any right to be.
She got the 'something' she needed, and an idea kicked around in her head.
In the light of all of this, she'd not even let the wind's whispers carry her realization. Some day, the land will feel it, and its recursions. For now, it was time to relax and look smug about the whole thing to no one in particular.
Milla stood there, amidst the now-silence between her and Kiyoko.
There was the idle speak of villagers in the background, on nearby roads, and in the near houses. Wind made the homes creak slightly. Tees shimmered upon distant green-golden plains.
Both the girls took in the fullness of the day.
Despite all the bad in the world, they had the colors of the village, and the brightness of sunny days. The cool, relaxed nature of overcast days. The awkward days they'd spend together trying to hide from the rain, both refusing to go home.
'I ain't welcome at the castle. I'm just some shitty mage. My mom and dad would be all over her 'cause she's royalty, and the moment they leave, they'd take all their nervous bullshit out on me.'
'Best solution? Fuck both those places.'
They also had each other.
"So." Kiyoko, somewhat puzzled by Milla's sudden vague sulking, reached into her pocket. "I found a small turtle by the pond." She held out the little turtle for it to be seen...
"Oo— ooh, holy shit." Instantly, Milla beamed down at it. "Woah! Y'just— carried that in yer pocket…?"
'...Man. I wish turtles looked cuter. They're a little cute, but… man. Not like pictures'd have ya believe.'
"You should create turtle magic, Milla." Kiyoko proposed.
"Tu— turtle magic, ze…?" Milla was unimpressed by the idea. "How the hell'd— no, that don't exist. Don't make me bop ya."
"I'll bop you." Kiyoko advanced closer.
Milla brought her staff up defensively. "Ooh— s'that a challenge, ze? I'm gonna freakin' club ya, y'elf!"
Magick Magician Milla!
The sun was high in the air.
As a summer breeze cooled Milla, she bit into her ice cream. "Mmh…" It was mint-green pistachio. Expensive, but…
Kiyoko walked beside her, with a vanilla cone. The Hakurei heir had a right to all property in the village, so they'd gotten their ice cream for free.
Of course, were she ever too disruptive, there would probably be a coup, or attempted assault on her. If not that, a stern talking-to by the current head, and political reparations for damages. Including but not limited to unending indentured servitude, among both lighter and harsher punishments.
But, no one cared if she demanded her friend a pistachio cone. When you were only an ice cream maker, you cut a loss like that.
Kiyoko was especially an intimidating figure amidst the villagers, be they the Hakurei who moved in and built this town, or the mere plain humans who were 'graced' with the opportunity to reside here. In public, her stoic demeanor was considered a volume of the might her role exuded.
'...She might be stoic, an' she might be gettin' stronger everyday, but she's sensitive. She just don't bother with people she knows she wouldn't like. That's a lotta them.'
As they went, Milla turned to Kiyoko, who quietly ate her ice cream on the path next to her. "Yer gonna make that vendor piss 'emself one a' these days."
Kiyoko snorted. "...I hope not."
They walked down the dirt road which passed the Hakurei Castle's front stairs. At the other end of this long, sun-cast street was the Misty Lake, which lay partially in the bounds of their village.
The Hakurei Village as a whole extended from the sunflower field to the west, all the way to the eastern Misty Lake. Its borders were defended by the mere presence of the many Hakurei.
Yet, the far borders were far more volcanic and contested in nature than many would like. The only reason the warriors of faith weren't being pushed further into the village and abandoning structures, was because they were aggressive in fighting back. Particularly, this kind of violence happened at the southern border.
'Awfully weird shape for a village, but… this is an awfully crappy place fer a village, too!'
"Who the heck decided to make the village like, an eye shape, anyway?" Milla wondered aloud. "Yer good wit' that history guff, Kinky. They teach ya that?"
Kiyoko gave her a strange look, before smiling. "...Well, I'd heard the eye shape was a suggestion from one of the youkai sages at the time of the village's settlement."
"Oh, good, so we're a buncha assholes then, ze." Milla rolled her eyes.
"...I don't know about that." Kiyoko smiled harder. "But, my mother was told that it'd be easier to defend the upper and lower curves of the eye, due to their shape. As in, if we ever fell back, there's a front to fall back from, without sustaining losses. Regarding the sides, they're intentionally stretched thin because their inherent wide spread is an advantage. If we had to abandon those, we could still recede into the village's heart."
Brows focused, Milla nodded. "Wouldn't like… hmm." She thought that perhaps a crescent shape would be better, but that would assume their foe came from one direction. "Can't help but feel somethin's off, but I can't argue there."
'For the most part, they— do— come from one direction. But, real broad all-around borders might be real weak in flanks, so… nnh.'
They weren't going anywhere in particular. 'We're pro'lly gonna get to the lake. I hope we get ta the lake 'fore we stop. It'd look cool…'
Said lake was a good source of food paired aside agriculture. While the lake itself wasn't entirely enshrouded by Hakurei control, they had more than enough to consider it their 'turf'.
"How's your family treating you, Milla?" Kiyoko asked.
Milla took pause. "...Uuh. Well. Mom's kinda dead inside as usual. Dad's still a dick."
"Ah." Kiyoko stared ahead, down the long path, accented by the many buildings around them. "My own father… is tending the battlefields, while my mother continues to reign. My studies have been progressing. I've been learning of the powers I have in my grasp."
"Oh, yeah." Milla perked up. "Your teach. He still a nice dude?"
"Yeah." Kiyoko nodded. "He's been kind. He's not as strict anymore."
"Not as strict anymo~re, huh." Milla was immediately suspicious. "Well, just make sure he ain't a fuckin' creep. I know that dude's like, fifty."
Kiyoko rolled her eyes. "I'll make sure, Milla. I ask you again: did your dad-"
"No~." Milla grinned back. "No one freakin' raped me, ze. I know people get raped though, I know people enter relationships that might as well be rape, 'cause they're so bad for 'em, and for their life."
Kiyoko ran a hand through her own black bangs, parting them. The wind had blown them into her eyes. "You just seem awfully insistent. I know you care about my safety, but..."
"Well…" Milla stared at her ice cream. "Yeah. Guess I kinda overdo it, but… this place is fuckin' nuts, Kinky. I feel like I could get raped or hung any other day. You see how some of the scummier Hakurei men keep a gaggle of cuties and princess-lookin' bitches around?"
"I-... I don't really-..." Kiyoko looked uncomfortable. "You speak of these situations, but I-..."
Milla took a lick of her ice cream, and a bite.
Kiyoko continued. "I know such situations are hidden from me in particular. Nor am I so adventurous as to simply witness them, in my daily activities. And..."
She levelled her gaze on Milla. "I wouldn't let anyone fu- fuck with you. Even if they were from the castle, or a friend of my parents."
Milla flicked her own gaze up. "Y'say that now. But-... look. If worst came ta worst, and you couldn't do jack, I'd just kill myself. Ain't no one gonna dick me if I'm dead, yeah?"
"What if he syphons you?" Kiyoko returned. "Or, she, depending."
"I think ya underestimate the capacity a' which I can kill myself really quickly." Milla grinned back. "Bodies are fragile."
"They could keep you alive with healing magic." Kiyoko returned. "...If I didn't keep you away from harm, and you couldn't get out of it yourself…"
"Well, guess I just suck." Milla resigned herself. "Hope he has a nice dick, at least."
Kiyoko snorted, and grinned. "I— I guess that'd be one way of looking at that. And— again, inhuman lust isn't exclusive to males. A wry, sadistic female could ensnare you too."
"Yeah, well, the guys're at least openly douchebags, so my mind defaults to them." Milla supposed. "But I don't doubt there's some weird S 'n' M shit, too. Whatever, honestly."
"Yeah." Kiyoko also let it go. "...Still. I'd do whatever I could do. At this point…"
They came up to the lake's edge. Various houses were built on its shore, piers stretching out into the Misty Lake's midst.
"Milla. Am I your best friend?" Kiyoko questioned.
...Milla leaned her head back. "You really gotta ask?"
"Do you trust me?"
"...Enough to waste my time wit'cha." Milla offered. "I think it's awful late to be askin' both them questions."
"I know." Kiyoko stared into the full water ahead. "I just— I wanted to make sure, we were on the same page. I know you're my best friend. Perhaps my only friend. The maidens of the castle… are shallow, boring, or otherwise flanderized."
...Milla nodded. "Yeah. I got lots a' acquaintances these days too. Don't do a whole lotta talking, though."
No one other than Kiyoko, could Milla just talk so candidly and openly to. Sure, there were villagers she could cuss off and be crude towards, but they wouldn't share the history or open mind that Kiyoko possessed.
The water ahead was deep. Ice floated along it, despite the summer breeze. The air over the lake was cold, and spoke of an otherworldly, beautiful contrast of color and temperature.
It made Milla think and wonder. This irregular sight, and the coldness. The surroundings were all bare and plain barren plains. The cold also made her think of unreal megastructures, and formality.
'...One day, I'd like ta explore the Hakurei castle. If only to sate my curiosity.'
It was so satisfying, staring out the lake, marvelling at some manner of implacable potential in her own mind. Adventure called Milla, and she so desperately wanted to answer.
Boots clicked on a nearby pier. A tall, bearded man in torn and worn Hakurei regalia lumbered towards the shack set up atop the water at the pier's edge. He was one of the many fishermen.
Milla scanned the coast.
"Aa— hey…!" Some maiden looked down at her own red-white outfit, jaw-dropped. "Terada~! You soaked me~!"
"Woohoo~!" A teen-looking man with fair brown hair sprinted off, away from the shallows and onto the grass patch before the dirt path. "I did it!"
"Get your ass back here! Terada~!"
...As the couple ran off, Milla turned her gaze to the water.
Amidst the ice on its surface, there were large crafts. Or rather, 'large' compared to the entire lake. In an ocean, they'd perhaps be considered yachts or rafts.
Their engineering was dubious, however. With sails derived from the same paper used for lanterns, the shoji-bodied crafts bobbed atop the lake's surface. When the wind settled, so did they.
There were more plain, non-shoji-bullshit boats too. Those were the fishermen.
The boats with hulls of angular shoji were the war crafts. Wooden constructs that patrolled the water, keeping it clear of hostile youkai. There were passive types of monster amidst the waves, and those familiar with the lake insisted sorely that those youkai be spared for now, in favor of pressing matters.
Why? 'Well, s'cause they produce shit, of course! Mermaids, clam girls, killer oysters an' killer fish, they all make shit you can't find anywhere else. Real boon to the economy. We kill those youkai, we kill our economy. We ain't that retarded yet, now.'
'...Not like those stupid lookin' killer fish're gonna hop outta the lake anytime soon, either.'
"The maiden of the Ha family is on that ship." Kiyoko pointed to the mid-lake anti-youkai craft.
"Aah, that stick in the mud." Milla snorted. "...Can't help but feel that's off."
"That's what now?" Kiyoko didn't quite understand what she said, having misheard it over the wind.
"Just—" Milla thought she wanted elaboration. "That Ha-family what's-her-face is kind of, like, an arrogant retard. Just doesn't seem fitting to give military control over waters, somethin' so aggressive, passive, yet fluid and wise, to someone so… y'know, shallow. Water's deep!"
Kiyoko snorted. "You might be right. But, this is the title she'll be granted when she comes of age. To her family's horror, perhaps. Yet, not one single human can intervene so heavily on matters of personal business and interest."
Milla smirked. "Tell me about it..."
As for the actual amount of combat the boats saw, it was really little. Neither tengu nor oni really cared about capturing a lake. To them, it offered no strategic advantage, even if it was a resource for the Hakurei.
'Tengu probably would call it a puddle, and oni might call it low ground.'
"I'm just about of age, now." Kiyoko declared. "...I am to be put through the coming of age trial in a week or two."
Milla took pause. She'd never given this much thought, but the event was creeping up.
Before the public, the Hakurei heir would execute a youkai as the beginning to her true training. Milla had heard stories of the event's history.
'Her mom an' dad're gonna find her the kindest-looking youkai imaginable. She's gonna have to run a katana through its throat.'
It was the first step to making a legend of their child. Every Hakurei ruler was supposed to have intense, overwhelming spiritual authority; and to do so, they also had to be legends amongst their own kind.
'It's not too hard to craft an image fer your kid, by forcin' them to do shit and makin' everyone watch. Man…'
Milla wondered. "Kink—... Kiyoko."
"Mmm?"
"After your parents get tighter on your bullshit…" Milla looked her over, and swallowed. "You're gonna find some way ta hang with me, right?"
"Of course not." Kiyoko shook her head. "It's completely impossible. I must wipe my mind of the past. Who are you, again?"
...Milla gave her a stink-eye. "Girl."
Kiyoko's face was gingerly overtaken by a big grin. "Sorr— sorry. More seriously, um… I— I don't really know. I don't know what my studies contain, after my… initiation to proper heirdom."
'I wonder…' Milla got to thinking about the ceremony, herself.
"I also don't really care for, um, having to kill a youkai determined innocent." Kiyoko stared down at the wood pier nearby. "The fact that it's made blatant that they are innocent… it's incredibly cruel. I know I'm not supposed to think anything of it, and I know you'd say this is just life's cruelties, but…"
She looked up at Milla. "If—... I just—... I don't want to take a life. I've been thinking about it. What it'd be like to actually kill someone. Someone who I was told had a family, a child to care about, and a loved one. I—... I thought of, like… I thought of you.
"I thought, 'what if Mill—... what if you were found in excess practice of magic'? Or, worse, if you angered an official who wanted you for mating or service purposes. What if you were then determined youkai? Would I have to, one day, execute you in such a similar way? Just because of the public's… ignorance?"
"Mmh." Milla could level with that.
'It's fucked up. Actual okay youkai might die all the time. I've met a few, I know they ain't all claws and teeth and anger. But, no one believes that fairy tale shit. There's those who deserve death, and 'cause we're fightin' a war against some of the ones that do, and we're all so damn needlessly scared, we just… we just kill all a' them.'
'No one has to see or feel the outcome, but… damn it, something depressing happened out there 'cause of it. Bad shit happens in the dark, and 'cause we'll write the history books, it'll stay that way.'
It was a well-known prospect. The civilian murdered for circumstances they knew left them innocent, but they had no way of proving their innocence. When it came to the government's judgement- in this case, the Hakurei clan's- it wasn't about what the victim knew. It was about what everyone knew. If all they knew was that the accused was a youkai, nothing else mattered, and thus, nothing else about the context would or could exist.
At the same time, not only could she not name anything specifically depressing, but even then, it wouldn't be related to her life at all. She wouldn't have to be sad about it; in fact, she had no reason to be sad about it.
Except, she imagined herself getting fucked over too. She imagined Kiyoko maybe one day being fucked over for a large-scale misunderstanding. Any arbitrary little thing could spell the end of this taste of life they clung to.
'It's crazy all-around. It's totally crazy.'
'I dunno what I even did as a kid, practically. I can't think of a time before I got ta really know Kinky here. An' her life's still so… jaded, as it is. Boring and confiscated. She's on a one-path track to being another cog in the works of some shitty clan no one likes being a part of. Some parts of it are necessary, but god damn it— can't we just fuckin' think things out!? Maybe show each other… just, a grain, of care?'
No one would dare just walk up to Milla and Kiyoko and speak to them. Particularly because, many have tried to accost Kiyoko before, and many have failed.
But, Milla knew from her time sauntering the village alone that generally, might made right. Women had a specific role, as did men. Disobeying tradition spelled doom for your family; the only half-exception being the still-recent imported westerners.
'Dumbasses threaten me daily. There's places in the village I can't go, or I'm just automatically some dude's mistress, or dead. I can't so much as sit in a diner without gettin' kicked out 'cause a Hakurei— be it maiden or priest guy— hates the cut a' my jib.'
"Y'know…" Milla spoke up. "What if… what if I found you a way? A way outta havin' to butcher some random wimpy youkai?"
Kiyoko shook her head. "I'm afraid if you tried that, I'd have to butcher you in turn. As in, they'd replace the sacrifice with you, and…"
"I'm thinkin'..." Milla considered this. "We'd need some way… ta enact a teleportin' spell."
"Milla— really, don't." Kiyoko shook her head. "I don't want you to die. If we need to carry on through the death of others, then—... it's the fault of society, not ours. Especially in this instance."
"...Yeah." Milla could agree. "Still. It sucks. An' it'd be about time I like, applied my magic. I mean, if it fucks up—"
"The fault could be blamed on the entire westerner populace, cementing you all as youkai conspirators and would-be traitors." Kiyoko proposed. "...Perhaps the outcome. I can't let you do it, Milla."
Milla stared at the grass before the lake.
'Well. We'll both think it over, in the days ta come, I guess.'
Kiyoko put a hand on Milla's shoulder. "...How about we go have some fun?"
Milla smirked at Kiyoko. "Fun, huh? ...Yeah. Today's been kind of a downer, huh."
"It's not our fault." Kiyoko contested. "It's this village's. Its weakness, its… stupidity. Some—..." Her eyes got slightly wet, as she became excited. "Someday, Milla. We'll… we'll show this village how it's done. Together."
Milla's heart beat harder. "...Woah. What's got you all worked up?"
"This-..." Kiyoko shut her eyes. "This could be the last two weeks we have to spend together. Before life catches me. I—..." A tear ran down her right cheek. "I don't want to wa- waste it."
...Milla swallowed.
'She… she might be right.'
"Y'know what?" Milla gave her a smile. "Yeah. Let's not waste this shit."
Magick Magician Milla!
Di- ding. Milla strolled into the diner.
It was owned by the Aoyama family, one of the many variant sub-clans which served under the Hakurei. A village and clan so big couldn't be unified in its entirety, after all.
It was rustic, plains visible out the back of it, and the lake in the background behind her.
But, right now, she wasn't Milla.
She was Mi, Youkai Magician. When she turned this beige robe inside-out, it was a flashy blue one with gold trim and sparkly, reflective fibers. A little something she and Kiyoko stole from a western baron one day.
Around the back of the Aoyama-owned diner, Kiyoko was making her way, too.
Kiyoko was clad in a spare pair of Milla's pants, and her long black hair was done up in a fluffy pony-tail. A raggy, brown cloak hung off her back like a cape, and her ivory bra— Milla's ivory bra— hung exposed on her chest, as she had no shirt on.
Right now, she wasn't Kiyoko either.
She was Heartway, western youkai thief and skirmisher. Even though she looked eastern, it could be passed off as western youkai strangeness. After all, no sensible easterner would dress as she had.
Back at the diner's front, Milla felt at her own unnaturally fluffed-out brown hair— done up like so to help hide her identity. The entire length of it swayed cartoonishly as she swung her head back and forth.
Right now, her outfit was beige, her skirt was medium-length, and she looked like a generic western chick who wasn't just herself. 'Now… ta set the bait.'
She came up to the front counter of the diner, where a nearly-bald young man was already giving her a focused stare.
...He slowly stepped up, smiling at Milla. She swallowed.
From behind the counter, she nodded, and grinned harder. "Mmh. Sanji~... you see this shit, Sanji?"
Sanji, a man with short black hair, looked up from the ovens in the back of the open-air diner. When he saw Milla, he grinned. "Oh, yeah?"
The balding young man faced Milla again. "So. What did you come here, for?"
"I dunno." Milla grinned back. "Pancakes?"
"Aah. Mmm." The man nodded. "About that. You know where you are, right?"
Milla shook her head. "...No?"
He rolled his eyes, and spoke under his breath. "She- doesn't know. Uh huh…" Then, licking his lips, he held a finger up. "This is Aoyama territory. Actually—... hey. Hey— Rosanne!"
Milla turned to the right. A western girl in a kimono walked up, who looked to be in her teenage years. "Uu- um… ho- how, do you do? What would you like?"
"We aren't serving to her." The man clarified. "I just wanted you to, you know, give her a hint."
...Rosanne looked up at Milla.
She mouthed, 'get out'.
"Rosanne there's a good friend of ours." He nodded. "A real hard worker. She was really apologetic, about breaking one of our stoves when she first came here. Now…" He gave Milla a toothy smile. "Now she's practically part a' the family. Ain't that right, Rosanne?"
Rosanne bowed, her bobby brown hair swaying with her slightly. "Ye— yes, master Aoyama."
"Aa—..." Suddenly, the black-haired Sanji in the back looked up from his stove in obviously faux-surprise. "Um. It—... Kiichi, it broke! The stove!"
Smiling, Kiichi set his sights on Milla. "...Ooh? Really? A sign, then? It only broke when this lady walked in. Could it have been her fault, too?" He looked at Rosanne.
...Rosanne nodded. "Ye— yes. She—... it would have been her…"
"Well?" Kiichi levelled with Milla's gaze. "Awfully shitty of you, to go around back of our place, and kill our stove. Even if it was by accident."
Milla played along. "But—... I didn't."
"You weren't examining the stove, just now?" Kiichi snorted. "You're joking, right? You totally broke it by looking at it, almost. Just like Rosanne, there. You and your western trickery."
Rosanne looked like she was melting in shame, but her face was also blushed. "...Kii— Kiichi—... he— he's a good—"
"You call me master Aoyama in public, Rosanne." Kiichi commanded. "I didn't give you permission to speak, either."
"Hey." One of the men seated at the counter turned his head. "...How much'd it cost to get this cutie?" He gestured to Milla. "Price of the stove, maybe?"
"Pft. No." Kiichi's stare at him was flat. "I only got like, two. I need another for actual work, not dicking around."
"What? Ugh. You could just hire one, if ya wanted real work. What's the point if you aren't banging all of 'em?"
Kiichi got annoyed with him. "I didn't say I wasn't! But— one is— look— I organize my women how I want to, alright? It's not as wasteful as you think."
Milla looked to the right, past where Rosanne stood next to her.
Two shrine maidens sat at a picnic table of sorts. They gave Milla glares when she looked at them.
"I—..." Rosanne frowned. "Be— be my big sister."
'Run', she mouthed multiple times. 'Run, run, run, run'.
"Aawh." Kiichi smiled genuinely at them. "Rosanne's a real cutie. Actually— you two oughta kiss each other. In fact… right now. And, um…" He pointed at Milla. "I always wanted a girlfriend named Yuria. How's that sound?"
The maidens behind Milla chuckled, and the man at the counter laughed quietly too. Sanji grinned in the back, still cooking something at the 'broken' stove.
"Yuria, your first job for me, is to kiss Rosanne silly, right here." He practically yelled his command, his voice was so loud and excited, yet level.
Milla smiled, instead. "What if, I didn't do that?"
"You're gonna do that." He decided. "You've gotta repay your debt. Unless, I ought to just hand you to the samurai. They play rough, if you aren't aware of that, either."
"Oh, do they…" One of the maidens somewhere behind Milla spoke under her breath; one with long, smooth black hair and thick black bangs. It wasn't phrased as a question; she was reminiscing about something. "Mmn."
Her friend snorted. "St— stop being pervy, Nahoko-chan..."
"Am I wrong?"
'I might just be some bitchy, common mage from some shitty country. One that's way in over her head, in a crapsack world she doesn't understand…'
Ignoring them, Milla nodded at Kiichi. "How about I don't be your bitch, and I just kick your ass instead?"
'But I won't wag my damn tail, like nothing.'
Kiichi paused.
The man seated at the counter paused.
Sanji looked up from the stove, brow raised.
The maidens giggled incredulously.
Rosanne had a horrified look on her face, feeling at the collar of her own, blue-white kimono.
'I have failed, to be a yes-man.' She beamed at Kiichi's stunned look.
He beamed back. "Seriously? I can seal your magic, western whore. You were put in this village for us. Not the other way around. Everyone knows this."
"Nnn…" Milla stepped back. "Nnn- hehe- hahaha~h!" Lurching herself back, she laughed into the air, making an effort to be as loud as possible.
Kiichi blinked at her, brows furrowed. "...You won't be laughing. You stepped into my diner. You are Aoyama property."
'Left behind by us delinquents—…'
Milla ran her left hand down her body.
Fwish. With a spell, her beige robe went inside-out, the brilliant gold and blue displayed to the air.
Pop! With a flare of playful magic, her broom took on the form of an alloy staff, a cartoony, yellow crescent moon poking from what used to be the bell-end.
'—is a firm "no", giving name to our—'
Her hair flared green with magic, and she leered ahead at the balding Kiichi.
'Justice!'
She aimed her staff ahead. "Freeze!"
FWASH! A ball of snow came from her staff's tip, meeting Kiichi's face dead-on and sticking there.
Sanji bolted from around the stove. "You— bitch!" He drew Hakurei talismans, eyes wide.
The two maidens behind Milla got up, one brandishing talismans. Nahoko had needles in each arm instead.
The man seated there drew a silver dagger, standing up and pointing it at Milla.
Rosanne's jaw dropped, and she staggered back.
Sanji threw both hands up, pressing his talismans into a pane of glass-like magic. "Hakurei God! Hear my-"
SMAAAA~SH! That's where Kiyoko came in, encroaching from behind. Her bokken smashed down on the back of Sanji's head. "Ghk…!"
'We're breakin' the law!'
Milla pivoted around-
Fwi- fwi- fwish! Nahoko spun around, red lines drawn in the air by her extended arms, persuasion needles held between each finger.
Crouching beneath her spinning series of slashes, Milla thrust the crescent tip of her staff into Nahoko's stomach.
KRAK- DI~NG! A huge, neon magic star exploded from the tip into Nahoko's stomach, shaking the whole diner.
"Wh— ghka~!" Nahoko flew away, soaring across the diner—
WHAM- BAM! She landed on the picnic table, and it collapsed, taking the food with it.
Cla- clack! Kiyoko leapt atop the counter, and thrust a hand up from her bokken, before herself. "Psychic Flash!"
FWISH! Brilliant light echoed through the whole diner. It stretched out from it, into the nearby dirt road, and out into the plains behind the diner. It was brighter than the sun.
FWASH! Right after he wiped his face free of the ice, Kiichi's entire body was frozen solid by the overwhelming light. He was trapped in a block of ice.
"Rr— nnh—" For some reason, the man with the dagger began crying uncontrollably. He felt at his eyes, snot pouring from his nose. "Wh— aa— nn—"
'We're breakin' the whole damn world!'
The other maiden with her own talismans stumbled back. "Wh—... aa— ow—..." Milla wasn't even sure what the light did to her.
Coming up to the staggered, crying, dagger-wielding man, Milla thrust her staff forward.
"Psychic Shock!" Milla beamed, twirling her staff around like a windmill, as topaz energy lit along the crescent moon, making it glow.
Cli- za- zap, zap! The tip clinked against his dagger hand, jolting him, forcing him to drop it. "Uuo—"
ZAP- KAZAP! Stopping it abruptly, she shoved the electric crescent into his face. On impact, it made his tears and snot explode out brilliantly in a dance of sparks.
"Rrgh— hoo— aagh!" He fell back onto his ass, clutching his face.
'Cut apart the tenderness!' Milla had the widest smile she'd worn in some time.
"Yhou—" Nahoko rolled off the now deflated table, hair all messy. If her glare could kill, beneath her even black bangs, it would. "I'll murder you."
"Aa—" With a whimsically awkward smile, Kiyoko pointed her bokken ahead at the very angry Nahoko. "Mi—... Mi, help!"
Milla pivoted around, and saw the murderously angry maiden.
Nahoko, despite the immensely fierce glare on her face, was a soft-looking woman, with a generous chest. She must've been in her mid-twenties.
SWISH- SWISH! SWISH! As she encroached upon Kiyoko, Nahoko executed a dizzying series of thrusts on the air, spinning around and looking ready to do a flip at any moment as she poked her needles forward repeatedly.
Kiyoko slowly stumbled back, uncertain about guarding the precise jabs—
That's when Milla slid onto her butt, coming in hot along her right, staff aimed up. "P— K! Balloon!"
Fwuu~sh! A big, yellow balloon expanded into existence before the tip of Milla's staff. Kiyoko and Nahoko couldn't even see one another through it.
Glaring at it with venomous certainty, Nahoko decided to stab her needles into it. The Hakurei clan didn't really do balloon parties, so she didn't know what to expect.
KAPOP! The blast from the balloon was crazy. Milla was sent rolling on her side. "Oough…"
"Hyaa—" Nahoko was sent flying—
SMAAAA~SH! Kiyoko was suddenly behind her, cleaving her bokken wide into Nahoko, against the velocity which she was tossed at.
Cla- clack! Nahoko was forced to land on her sandals, but she quickly began to collapse—
'Hurtin' like hell… even when hurtin' like hell…'
Stumbling up, Milla ran up, as Nahoko fell. Nahoko's fierce glare was broken, her intelligent eyes conveying the sheer pain of Kiyoko's bokken swing.
'Even if I end up losin' everything…'
THUNK. When Nahoko landed on her knees, Milla thrust her staff right up into her, tip under her chin-
FHUM- DI~NG! The chunky flare of a powdery, exploding cartoon star erupted beneath Nahoko's chin. "Khu— aanh—"
'I can't be tainted!'
WHA- CRUNCH! When Nahoko was back into standing, the butt of Milla's staff and edge of Kiyoko's bokken met either end of her face, crushing each cheek.
"And that'll bring—" Now speaking aloud, Milla leered with sadistic joy.
Kiyoko had a similar, bloodthirsty beam. "Psychic Judgement!"
CLACK! She slammed her bokken into the floor—
KRAK- FWAA~SH! A pillar of raw, holy faith power erupted from the floor, enveloping Nahoko entirely.
"Eee- aaaa~!" Nahoko roared, the raw holy power blowing through her body, attacking her on a level not physical, but spiritual.
"We ain't warmin' up to the big shots!" Millia swung her staff around. "We're part of an uprising!"
She saw Rosanne on the floor nearby, eyes wide. Lurching down, Milla made a clenched fist, holding it to Rosanne's face. "Raise yer clenched fist…"
"It is us." Kiyoko's young voice boomed through the diner. "We're the ones… who'll make judgement."
Fwish. The raw, holy pillar of pure white went out, as a flicker.
thud. Nahoko dropped to her knees, then onto her side, needles abandoned.
Kiyoko and Milla slid up to one another, touching their backs together. "Jud— ge— ment!"
'We're such fuckin' nerds, holy shit! Fuck yeah!'
Rosanne blinked, in absolute awe.
...Blinking, brushing green bangs aside, Milla crouched before Rosanne properly. "If ya ran, you have anywhere ta go?"
Rosane stuttered. "Uu— um… te— technically—"
"How long you been here? This got any real contract? Samurai know?" Milla placed a hand on her shoulder.
...Rosanne shook her head. "Nn— no. A— a few months. Family— doesn't know… and— this isn't exactly— code— codified, but—"
"Get the fuck outta here." Milla stood. "Yer free."
"But— there's someone else." Rosanne stood, and made for the door. "Uu- upstairs."
Kiyoko moved. "Anyone else in the house?"
"Not— not right now." Rosanne confirmed. "But— at evening—"
"Good thing we ain't stickin' around!" Milla grinned. "Get outta here, kid."
Rosanne jogged off, escaping.
"Wha—" From upstairs, a girl with short black hair, wearing a similar kimono to Rosanne's, descended. "What's— going—"
"You're free!" Kiyoko ran up to her, and gingerly pulled on one of her arms, making an endearingly exaggerated motion to do so. "Go!"
"What…!?" The lanky, black-haired girl looked around—
Milla came up to her, framed by the small-scale devastation, and some chunks falling from the roof aside herself. "We beat up the Aoyama! Get the hell outta here— run until you're on the main street!"
The girl bolted, following almost the same path Rosanne made, out the open-air front of the diner.
With that, Milla and Kiyoko gave each other a smile and a nod, and they moved around the back of the central counter. It was pilfering time.
Magick Magician Milla!
No longer disguised, Kiyoko and Milla sat atop crates in one of their now many go-to alleyways amidst the Hakurei territory.
"Om…" Kiyoko was enjoying a spiral lollipop she'd taken from the Aoyama-owned and operated diner.
"Mmm…" Milla was enjoying some actual bread, because quality baked goods were rare. While the Aoyama were generally assholes, they meant money, and their products were quality.
'That went off without a hitch, that time. Kinky didn't even hafta cast heal-a-whole-bunch on me…'
That was just one of many times they've tormented local properties for the sake of it. 'Of course, we choose the dickish ones. Kinky scopes the place out as her heir self, and they kiss her ass fer awhile. When she just hangs out and eats food, they leave her alone, so she can just neutrally watch the place.
'Then, after she's out, I mosey in wit' my disguise when we're both ready. She comes in second, so she ain't so suspect.'
"Man." Kiyoko held her lollipop away, so she could speak. "We're… we've become really good at this. Remember the first time?"
"Pft." Milla snorted. "Yeah. What a fuckin' cryin' shame that was. Had our hearts in our throats and everything. But, we still did it."
"Yeah." Kiyoko nodded… "Now, raiding a whole diner, in broad daylight, is just… a thing we do. It barely means anything to our power."
Milla smiled, at that.
'We've both… really come a long way. I know a ton a' shit-tier magic, and Kinky… has some mildly useful things. Well— healing is omega goddamn useful, but her other skills are kinda situational still. Which is good, 'cause mine are all blunt and to the point!'
It was now well into the afternoon. The sun would be setting in just a few more hours.
'Fighting people, exploring the village, goin' places I normally couldn't ever go…'
'It makes me feel so alive. It makes me forget how shitty the world is. It makes me forget how shitty people are.'
"Tomorrow," Kiyoko decided, "we should do something similar again."
"So soon?" Milla wondered… "Maybe we should take it easy, at a library 'er somethin'..."
"...Maybe." Kiyoko consented. "I mean… we've defeated a couple samurai before."
"I feel like, after a hit, there's just gonna be more shit than we've dealt with before. Personally, I like my hymen where it is, thanks." Milla grinned. "Free from dicks, needles, talismans, or swords…!"
"That's— fair." Kiyoko grinned back. "Well…"
She stood from where she sat, getting off the wood crate. "How about we take these goodies somewhere nicer-looking? Maybe on the other end of the lake from the Aoyama parade. Around the Ha territory."
Milla perked up at that idea. "Y'know what? Yeah. That sounds good. Should I grab a book or two?"
"Yeah." Kiyoko really liked that idea. "...We can read and eat and stuff until nightfall, on one of the eastern plains along the lake. Then, we can hang around the village at night, until we get tired."
"Sounds like a plan." Milla had no complaints. There really wasn't anything she'd rather be doing.
So, Kiyoko lifted the goodie bag, while Milla went to go grab some books from home, which was near this particular alley.
Magick Magician Milla!
Here they were.
'Finally.' Milla smiled at the plain.
They were on the far side of the lake, on its barren, genuinely sandy shore. The last part needed clarification, because much of the lake's shores were simply grass that cut abruptly into water, with hardly even mud between.
Kiyoko continued onto the grass across the lake, and Milla followed.
'...Feeling so pleasantly isolated, almost makes me wanna cry. It's so good.'
Passing between a small gate composed by trees, they came to a large expanse.
Somewhere, far to the right, was the property of the tengu. It was the very edge of their property, as most of their infrastructure was either behind or adjacent to the oni mountain.
The tengu and oni weren't necessarily teamed up against the humans. They didn't like dealing with each other either. Ergo, the far borders of tengu-to-human territory weren't often a point of any real contention.
The big thorn in everyone's side was the oni. 'Fer obvious reasons, 'cause the oni are fuckin'... omega gorilla men, while tengu are just kinda fuckfast. I mean, tengu are fuckfast an' fuckstrong, but oni are like… fuckstrong.'
To the left, however, was wild woods, belonging to no one.
They weren't going to go too terribly far out. "This looks good." Kiyoko sat down near a tree. "Mmn."
Milla plopped down next to her. 'Yeah, this is a real good spot…'
Putting down the bag of goodies, Kiyoko put her hands on the band that held it shut. "What kinda books did you—"
fwish. The bushes rustled nearby.
SWISH! In a moment, something passed by, and the bag was gone.
WHACK! A stone bounced off Kiyoko's forehead. "Aa—"
'Wh— whah, fuck! Fuck!'
"Nnn~!" Pausing before them, the yellow-haired cat girl swung the bag over her shoulder, and confirmed the two wouldn't follow easily. "Sorry! Bye!"
She sprinted off with impossible speed. "Wh—" Before Milla could so much as think of uttering a spell, she was gone.
Kiyoko stood up. "That—" She realized it was gone. "Fuck…"
'...Well. Our fault for goin' somewhere exotic, I guess.'
'What kinda cat girl even was that? No—... that speed. That was a tiger girl. God damn it.'
"...I—..." Kiyoko was now really disheartened. "I'm sorry, Milla. I'm… I'm too weak. It was all my fault."
"Nah, I shoulda been wiser about the locale." Milla exhaled. "...We still got the books, at least."
"I guess." Kiyoko stared at the floor. Her forehead was openly bleeding, the stone that had struck it having done so with apparent force.
'...Sometimes, it's like she doesn't even notice she's gettin' hurt. Kiyoko's made of some tough shit, I swear.'
"Y'got a little, uh…" Milla grinned, and rubbed the spot on her own forehead where the injury would be.
At first, Kiyoko had bemused confusion, before she copied Milla's motion.
"Oh." She realized she was injured. "Ah. Yeah, it stings…"
"Just?" Milla grinned. That was a pretty big rock the youkai chucked…
"Yeah." Kiyoko seemed fine, though. "Damn it…" She was more upset about all the food.
woosh. Then, someone else floated down before them.
"Aw, c'mon." Milla had a drained look. "You here for the fuckin' books, too? Can you even read English?"
...The woman who had floated down appeared confused.
She was tall. Her dress was black, forming a series of laces across a chest contained by a white undershirt, or undersweater of a sort. Her hair was a curious, golden brown.
"...Um. No?"
She landed on the ground, her black boots pressing down on the grass.
"Byakuren Hijiri." She greeted the two. "I saw what happened."
'This chick… the nun that goes around in the fuckin' flying shrine, I think. I've never met her before… but I sure as hell have heard of her.'
"And?" Milla towed her along.
She snorted.
Looking along the floor, Byakuren saw it. Thick footprints in the grass, and in the dirt patches in the distance. They were well-defined, the youkai having used great force to escape.
woosh. Byakuren floated off.
'...Wonder if there's a catch. There's almost always a catch.'
Watching a fully grown woman just fly off was rather surreal, Milla had to admit. 'Magic's fuckin' weird.'
Amidst the sunny field and their seat by the tree, Milla and Kiyoko found themselves at an awkward silence after the burglary.
"Nnn." Kiyoko stretched… "Maybe I should heal myself."
"Freakin'— probably." Milla smiled.
'What an awkward situation! I don't like waitin' on this nun, even if it would've been worse if she didn't show up at all.'
"Anyway." Kiyoko got back on topic—
Fwoash. Holy, white light emanated from her body for a moment, as she repaired her forehead. "What kinda books did you bring?"
"...Oh. Some novels that I thought would be more interestin' with us both takin' the piss of them." Milla reached for some of the books. "Just so we don't run out, I got like, four, wit' the money I got workin' my magic 'round town."
"Also the money we stole, when we did that." Kiyoko noted.
"Yeah- shush." Milla reached for one of the books…
Most of them were of Europe, or other western topics and settings. Milla was admittedly quite morbidly curious of the rest of the world, outside of the totally accurate magical Japanese battleground she lived in.
"Aah. This one's that Alice in Wonderland book." Milla took pause at it. "Oughta be a barrel 'a laughs."
"A barrel of laughs." Kiyoko smiled at the expression… "An entire barrel."
"One whole barrel." After Milla opened it up and randomly flipped around the first few pages—
woosh. Byakuren descended again, the snack bag held. "Here."
"Aa— already…?" Kiyoko's brows were raised. "Wow…"
As Kiyoko accepted the bag, Byakuren leaned towards her. "Are you hurt?"
"...Nah." Kiyoko shook her head.
While Kiyoko opened the bag, to make sure the food was alright, Byakuren took a step back.
Milla furrowed her brows, at Byakuren's oddly eternally sedate expression…
"You're the heir to the Hakurei throne, aren't you?" Byakuren addressed Kiyoko. "Or rather… the Hakurei shrine maiden?"
"...What's it to you?" Kiyoko had her brows furrowed.
Byakuren snorted at her suspicion. "Aah. You know of the coming of age ritual, don't you?"
While Byakuren traveled all of Japan, she was familiar with the more notable customs of the various clans and regions. As she was more youkai than human now herself, she began frequenting the Hakurei-affiliated regions more and more, gauging the youkai.
"What about it?" Kiyoko's suspicion didn't let up.
"Oh…" Byakuren tilted her head back. "I do have to ask. Are you enthusiastic, about killing youkai? Do you resent them?"
"Aa— as far as I know, um, no." Kiyoko shook her head. "Ab— about resenting them, that is. I don't wanna kill anybody…"
Byakuren took pause, at this.
'What the hell game is she playin'?'
"Here." Byakuren kneeled down before the sitting Kiyoko, and drew something from one of her pockets…
It was a weird stone, shaped like a ball with a disk through the middle. It was pinkish.
She held it out by the string, for Kiyoko to take. "It's yours."
"...What is it?" Kiyoko didn't take it yet, still untrusting.
"It's a sealing circle stone." Byakuren provided. "Albeit, the technique associated is unlike the sealing circles practiced by the Hakurei. It allows you to pass bound and weakened youkai into a space beyond this world. It casts them into the bowels of Hokkai, a remote wasteland within the demon realm Makai. There, the youkai can find new lives amidst other youkai.
"Free from the two-way shackles of fear that bind both humanity and youkai."
...She scratched her own cheek. "Or, um, to put it into plainer words, it sends them to another, safer dimension for them."
Kiyoko stared at the mystical, pink stone. It looked sort of like candy, even. "How's this—... relate to my— the ritual?"
"Perhaps, you can find a way to use it before or during the execution." Byakuren figured. "...Do exercise caution. I don't believe interception of the ritual has ever been attempted before."
'This nun…'
'I really don't like the vibe she gives off. It's seedy. Uncertain.' Somehow, Milla got an innate 'douchebag' vibe from this woman. 'If nothin' else, controlling.'
"...I'll think about it." Kiyoko gave Byakuren at least that. "How does it work?"
She took it from Byakuren, and stood. It glowed with energy when she fed it with magic, pink light blossoming forth.
"You press your hand out, like when inciting any basic spell." Byakuren offered her own palm to the air. "Then, you focus your magic into the stone. Last, you utter, 'return to darkness'."
...Fwish. The pink-white stone glowed with power in Kiyoko's hands. Grinning, she aimed it forward, pressing her other hand into the air, upon a yin-yang sigil that popped in to receive her palm. "Return to darkness!"
VHIR. A black, purple and yellow yin-yang gate opened beneath Byakuren.
Except, Byakuren slid out of range, eyes wide and smile fierce. "Aa—... don't use it on me…! Wh— why would you do that…!?"
Kiyoko pouted back. "Wa— was just testin' it out…"
"Don't use that on people you don't plan to send to another entire dimension." Byakuren chastised her. "It's the same as not running a katana through something you don't plan on killing. It's—... while a step below deadly, it's still very serious!"
"So." Milla spoke up, finally voicing her thoughts. "Yer a magician, ain't ya?"
...Byakuren focused her gaze on Milla. "...Mmm? Yes?"
"The hell're you gettin' outta this?" Milla asked outright. "There ain't anything free in this world. You might be a nun, but people don't just walk around handin' out free shit, unless it's worth nothin' to begin with."
Byakuren would have raised a brow, but she was nothing if not disciplined in keeping her expression pleasant and inexpressive. "Nun…? And—... well, yes. I do have a reason. It's because—..."
...She swallowed. "After my time working around, and in relation to youkai… I don't believe they're all that bad. I admit, many today are still in need of violence, and in this era of the world, the only sensible solution for communities is such violence. Yet… I believe now, that many youkai are simply in need of help. Guidance and teaching."
Her stare rested on Kiyoko. "Who else to preach this to, than the upcoming, still open-minded Hakurei heir?"
Kiyoko's eyes were slightly narrowed. "I um, don't like how you put that."
"At least, I hope you're those things." Byakuren put her arms on her own hips. "Typically, the heirs are always… particular people, and I attribute that to their upbringing. Therefore, you wouldn't be so particular yet yourself."
"How do we know y'ain't just usin' her, then?" Milla contested. "Feedin' off her naivety?"
"...If my kindness isn't a good example, then nothing is." Byakuren shook her head. "It's your most convenient solution to avoiding unnecessary murder. If you don't feel like using it, you don't have to."
She looked down at Milla, who was seated next to Kiyoko. "I'd also say, a transport stone like the kind I handed out is truly worth little to me. As an aged magician— magic practitioner, um, opening portals and transporting beings isn't exactly a difficult or harrowing feat. It may see more value in your hands, for your specific needs, but it's worth little to me.
"Admittedly, I made it for you, Kiyoko."
...Kiyoko held the glowing, pink stone in her palm again. "I—... see."
'If nothin' else, this lady's pushin' an agenda a' some kind. I just can't shake this feeling, that we really shouldn't trust her too hard.'
Byakuren reinforced her smile. "Good evening. Be safe now. It's getting late."
fwish. With that, Byakuren flew up amidst the light of the setting sun, and away.
Kiyoko had hung the stone around her neck. It was fashioned like a necklace of sorts.
"If nothing else, she may just be attempting to worm her way into my trust, or into the trust of the council…" Kiyoko figured. "As such… I don't think I'll mention this to anybody."
"No one's beeswax anyway." Milla agreed.
'I bet that nun's only a buddhist 'cause the whole damn country's practically swept by it. No one'll bat an eye too hard at her magic, 'cause she's religious, ooo~, an' she's serving a faith an' everything. God magic, good, monster magic, bad.'
'God, I hate religion.' She was tempted to insult faith in general, but she knew Kiyoko was somewhat passionate about it, and didn't want to cause another one of their short-lived arguments.
It wouldn't do her any good to obsess over that sort of thing right now. If she ever wanted to feel bad on demand, she could walk around her house, or the village roads.
'Really no use, is it…' Something like religion was too obsessively drilled into the world's people to be of any contest. Milla could think any smarmy, overarching statement she wanted about it, but she still had to deal with the shit it entailed.
She glanced at the sky, and folded the book to its first page.
'In any case, I can't wait 'till nightfall. Night on the plains is always so damn comfy. With the both of us here, most youkai that'd dare assault us really couldn't. Especially any one-off fuckfaces who felt like trying their luck so close to Hakurei territory.'
"Alright." Milla spoke up amidst the contemplative silence. "Think that's enough a' that shit. Let's get started…!"
Blinking, Kiyoko scooted closer. "Yeah. Lemme pull out some snacks, first…"
Magick Magician Milla!
It was mid-evening.
The sun had set a good amount of time ago. The western horizon was a glow with the faintest hue of blue, accented by a bed of stars over the hazy, medium-blue arch.
The east horizon was black, nothing but space and sparkling starlight. A vast, but very full sea of absolute contrast. The difference between it and the muddiness of the countryside was definite.
Milla caught an eyeful of the vastness. A sight like this made her grievances melt away in the face of the cosmic scale.
'Stars. Starlight.' It was something Milla was endlessly perplexed by. Stars, the colors and mysticism of the world above her own.
"Mm…" Kiyoko gnawed on a bread loaf, transfixed on the way the land around her was set in shade. The sky was a— comparatively bright— blue-black hue, while the land was almost pure dark. It was a different but comparable mystery, to the distant land cast in a day's bright horizon-generated fog.
'So few other people, could appreciate somethin' like this. Not without framin' it in some way. Not without some manner a' selfishness, or some underestimation of what it is. Whatever it is. Not like it matters, but how people treat it… it's telling.'
'So I think, after framin' it selfishly myself. Not that I could ever convey my understanding without makin' an idiot of myself.'
'Some thoughts are yours, and yours alone.'
...She sighed.
'Here I am, still thinkin' about how shit life is. Not that it's an uncommon activity 'round these parts— but, can I go a fuckin' day without hating everything around me?'
"Kiyoko…" Milla spoke up, as she searched the sky. "You ever think about... just—... getting away? From all a' this?"
"That, again?" Kiyoko shook her head. "That's not realistic."
"Of course." Milla knew that. "But—..."
"If we left, I'd be hunted down, at the very least." Kiyoko suspected. "You? At the least, you'd make it out as a peasant of sorts, if you weren't caught by a different fate."
'Mmh…'
"I don't think your magic would be appreciated, outside the village." Kiyoko considered. "There's a lot of risk, in using it beyond this land. I'm told there's not nearly as much… activity in other parts of Japan. There's obviously something keeping it that way."
Having to think over the risks and logistics made Milla feel small. 'Yeah. Just—... damn.'
She searched the stars again.
'What I'd give, to just live my life out here, starin' at the stars. Not having to put up with people's shit. Just me, a shack in the woods, and my studies. Maybe Kiyoko, too. Yeah. It'd be lonely if Kiyoko weren't there.'
'Kiyoko would have her own shack of... of a shrine, maybe, so she can keep doing her thing. Maybe she wouldn't be so big on religion if she was the only damn Hakurei left alive.'
'Yeah. That'd be the life. Me and her, alone, goin' to each other's house, sometimes kicking ass. But, the jerks wouldn't be threatening enough to compromise our homes, or anything.'
Amidst the vague blue, the nothing, the colors, and the distance from civilization, Milla dreamed of a life free of the cruelty and complications. One where she could do whatever she wanted, free of superficial judgment or oppression by society.
But, it was just a fantasy.
Magick Magician Milla!
author's note:
don't expect many author's notes (if there are even to be more after this one), but i figured a preface as to what i plan to do with this story would be appropriate
it's getting updated weekly. most of it's done, and as such the update schedule shall not change unless conditions drastically change
it's also not going to have an indefinite run like sendai or FG. it's got a particular plot, and i've got particular things i want to show you— many particular things— but this isn't going to quite be a short story like Organ Jaws or Plus Ultra, either
it's a novel, essentially
...now, for some more minor ramblings related to the story itself:
for those curious, if it wasn't already obvious, it's not going to be as long-winded, chillax iterative as sendai, nor as knee-slappin' back-to-back humor as FG; it's an exploration of the time period, of two characters, and a vague commentary on society's complexity
(all of which is probably of variable chagrin to the majority of my FG readers, again, because it's a vision and a focus far removed from outsider OCmania hijinks)
that said, milla's kind of a kooky girl herself, so maybe this'll be worth a shot for those kinda people!
myself, i wanted very hard to explore this time period, and i felt a substantial amount of hype behind these characters and the general environment
usually, i would prefer with these kinda works to have it actually done before i put out the first chapter, to give myself better command over the whole work, but this should be fine
so, sit back, relax, and as always,
see you all next time