"Hah, it's way too cold this time of the year…"
Maribel muttered to herself, pulling her jacket tighter around her. It was only the beginning of fall, and temperatures have already dropped a lot. It seems the seasons around this year have their own agenda of coming and going.
I really should have broughtmy scarf from ho-
Suddenly, a pair of arms wrapped around her, pulling her back into a firm body. Maribel squealed and turned around to see Renko with a devilish grin on her face.
"Got ya good, if I do say so myself," Renko chucked, her hat half sliding off of her head. Her brown hair was a mess. Maribel huffed and reached up to place it back on her head.
"I told you before Renko, you know I hate surprises like that," she said.
"But you know you like it as much as I do, Merry," Renko replied, elbowing her gently on the side. She just sighed, allowing Renko to fall into her strides as they both walked down the street. The chilly air brushed against their cheeks. Renko didn't mind it as she happily strolled along with her.
"How was your exam? Heard the professor made it extra hard for your class, apparently," she asked. "Though, I doubt you'd have any trouble, considering you're the brains of the classroom."
Merry laughed and shrugged her shoulders in reply.
"It wasn't hard at all. I just know the stuff since I studied," She adjusted the mob hat on her head, looking at her. "Unlike you."
Renko grimaced, fully taking that blow to the chest. Being teased like this was nothing new, but did she always have to remind her mistake of picking physics as her major? She knew she didn't even like the subject in the first place; she only did it on a whim.
"Ah...Anyway, wanna go to the Satellite Cafe again? I heard they have a new special menu." Renko changed the subject. Merry paused for a moment, then smiled warmly.
"Sure, why not. I don't have plans today anyway."
The train ride wasn't long for the two as Renko stared out the window. Merry was silently reading a life science digital magazine on their table. With her leaning forward, blonde strands of her hair covered her violet eyes. Soon enough, they arrived by the station and went inside the cafe. The smell of brewed coffee overwhelmed their senses. The pair found a quiet corner near the back and sat down, staring at the menus. Renko ordered black coffee with cream, and Merry ordered brewed rooibos tea.
"Renko, how could you lie to me...There's nothing new on the menu," Merry stated dramatically. She only snorted at her little act.
"I just wanted you to get out more, you know. You've been cooped up in our apartment for a long time, so it's nice to get some fresh air."
"Well, I was more than busy with finals coming up. Plus, we still need to write an article on our latest discoveries."
The two were in a club called the Secret Sealing Club, which took priority of exploring paranormal and mythical activities and places. With the help of Merry, who can see borders and boundaries, and Renko's sharp eyes, they've cracked and solved many cases of mystery. They even agreed to write and post their findings online under the pen name of "Dr. Latency" and made their own fanzine called Swallowstone Naturallis Historia, which has gotten attention from people like themselves, who believe in the myths and stories of past creatures made from the fear of humans.
Such recent discoveries range from lucid dreams to outright rips and cracks in space time to making things disappear and reappear. However, it seems that recently, Merry's powers have grown in capabilities. She said that before, she can visit fantasy lands in her dreams and interact with the people and environment. Now, she sometimes brings things back from her dreams suchs as a teacup, a bamboo shoot, a parasol, and a basket. Not only that, she also got injured plenty of times in her nightmares from being chased by fabled beasts.
It was frightening, to say the least, yet, Merry didn't mind it at all. To her, it was exciting to explore and see worlds that humans can only think of in their imaginations. The coffee shop's soothing noises sounded muffled, and the yellow lights seemed dim. Renko waved in front of her face.
"You alright? Looks like you've been spacing out…" she said worryingly.
"I'm fine. It's just…" She looked out the window. "I've been struggling to tell the difference between dream and reality. I'll be in class in one minute, and then in a lively jungle in the next. It's frustrating." Merry looked back at her and noticed their drinks had arrived. They said their thanks to the waiter, and Renko took a large sip of her coffee before looking sternly back at her.
"Do you know why that's happening?" Renko asked her. Her starry chestnut eyes pierced into her soul.
"Well, maybe. The truth is I think it might have something to do with my new power."
Renko slammed her hands on the table, making Merry flinch.
"You had a new power and you haven't told me?!" she shouted, making some people in the cafe turn their heads towards their direction. Renko's face slowly turned red as she sat back down, and gave an angry glare at her.
"Seriously though, how come I haven't heard of this before? How long have you kept this a secret?" she questioned.
Merry looked down at her tea, fidgeting. The color of it reminded her of blood, and the tea leaves seem to shake at the bottom ever so slightly. It was probably just her imagination...or perhaps another sign? She didn't care right now.
Besides, how was she going to just casually say that she can forcefully rip open the spacetime continuum and make a gap in its boundaries?
"Uhm," she stammered, face also turning a bright red. "I uh, found out I-can forcefully rip open the spacetime continuum and make a gap in its boundaries."
Renko just stared at her, unblinking.
Merry was afraid she broke her, and started panicking. That was until she finally came back down to Earth and shook her head.
"Normally, I would think that you're kidding but with what we've both seen before, I believe you," Renko took off her hat and scratched her head. "I don't get it though. How were you able to jump from lucid dreaming and seeing boundaries to straight out making them? Plus, when did this even happen?"
"It started about a week ago. I was having visions again and I concentrated really hard to try to make it go away, but all it did was...well, you get it." Merry said quietly, taking a sip of her tea. Renko rubbed her imaginary beard, lost in thought.
With the power to create gaps in reality that breaks physics, it's not a mystery why Merry would attract a lot of paranormal activity. Hell, she's a walking enigma herself! There was still so much to uncover, and not enough time. The more Renko thought about it, the heavier her doubts became. What if they get into serious trouble because of this new ability? Would they be able to use it to their advantage? Just the thought of it makes her nervous enough to start fidgeting in her chair.
"Erm, I feel like we should discuss this somewhere else, you know," Merry leaned in, whispering to her. Renko nodded.
"Right, and since I invited you over, I'll pay." she said.
"Renko, we both know you're so broke you can't afford a boiled egg." Merry retorted back. And there went her pride, crushed into bits.
The two left the cafe and made their way back home. Renko, meanwhile, had her head full with the conversation they just had. Merry unlocked the front door and they walked inside. The room was slightly messy with litter on the floor. The apartment was medium, with a kitchen, living room, a bedroom, and a secret closet that contained a lot of the club's personal collections.
Wait. That's it.
Renko made a mad dash towards their room, making Merry raise an eyebrow. She rummaged around the box inside, pulling out old and weird artifacts and dust covered journals, many of them recorded by their old club president, Sumeriko. She remembered finding a worn journal made especially for identifying types of youkai. Youkai, as in mystical apparitions. They come in many different shapes and forms, but most take the form of normal humans with animalistic features, or hybrids of different creatures. Different types have different abilities, and no doubt that Merry's power could very so well be related or even match one of them. After digging around, Renko pulled it out and flipped through the pages. Her eyes landed on a section, and read the entry. Once, twice, then three times, just to be sure.
"Gap youkai…?" she thought to herself. A finger tapped her shoulder, making her yelp and almost drop it out of surprise.
"What are you doing going through our club's old stuff? Did you find something?" Merry asked.
"Just trying to see what kind of power you might have," she replied, quickly closing the book. She couldn't let Merry know, much less blurt out that she might have relationships with a youkai. One of the most powerful types, too. She already feels insecure about herself, so it was just adding salt to the wound. She hadn't confirmed it anyways.
"Huh. Well, if you do find some clues, I'd be thrilled to listen to them," She turned away, yawning. Renko grimaced internally in her head.
"Anyway, it's getting quite late. Why don't we go to bed?"
"Huh, really?" Renko glanced at the clock hanging on the wall. "Oh, darn. We really let ourselves loose. Yeah, let's head to bed."
The two took turns and washed up, and climbed into the bed together. The apartment only had one bedroom, so the two had to share. It doesn't bother Merry at all; she sometimes even jokes that they should start showering too while they're at it. Renko wouldn't mind it if they had to.
"Goodnight, Renko." Merry said, turning off the night lamp by their side.
"Goodnight, Merry." Renko muttered, already half asleep. Soon, darkness enveloped her mind.
Someone shook her awake.
"Oh god, Renko! Wake up!" An urgent voice said. It sounded oddly familiar.
"Mh...what?" she said, opening her eyes. Merry was infront of her, hands on her shoulders. There was a wild and panicked look in her eyes. "What's wrong?"
Merry didn't have to speak as Renko fully opened her eyes and looked around in shock. They weren't in a room, but in a vast and thick forest. The moon was the only visible source of light, casting shadows in the leaves. In this lighting, Merry's eyes stood out even more. It looked like they were glowing with an aura that she couldn't quite comprehend.
"I might be wrong, but I think since we both fell asleep around the same time, my dream intercepted yours." Merry sighed, helping Renko to stand up.
"Your dream? Doesn't that mean we're gonna get attacked?" she whined. "I don't do track so I probably don't even have that much stamina."
"Not necessarily, I've visited places where the beings there were nice. Not all my dreams are something out of a fable hero's nightmare."
"Aren't we in one already?"
"Ugh, whatever. Let's just try to explore and find a way out of here." Merry muttered, walking forward.
"Hey! Don't you dare leave me all alone in here!" she catched up with her, walking and staring up at the sky. "It's 11:42:19. We're in...Eastern Border, Gensokyo?"
"I'm guessing that's what this place is called, and I told you already, I don't need the seconds." she said, pulling her away from smacking her face into a tree. Renko stumbled and heaved a loud sigh.
"Where even are we, and what in the world is 'Eastern Border'? I've never heard that name before."
"We're thousands of years back in Japan. That's really all I-" Renko suddenly cut her off, putting a hand over Merry's mouth. She gestured her to be quiet.
They both stopped in their tracks, and slowed their breathing. At first, nothing seemed to happen, until there was a distant rustle of a bush. Renko's eyes widened at the silhouette in the shadows, slowly creeping up closer to the two. Merry's eyes followed hers, and she almost screamed.
Standing in front of them under the moonlight was a wolf, but not just any normal one. It was twice as big as them and had a long and shaggy coat of silver fur. The most unnerving part was how red its eyes were. It stared at them with such an intensity that it could be cut with a knife.
Merry slowly took a step back, watching its movements. It held their gaze.
"Should we run?" Renko whispered quietly.
The wolf growled, almost like a warning.
"SCREW IT I'M TAKING THAT AS A YES!" she shouted, grabbing Merry's arm and running as fast as they can in the opposite direction.
"Are you out of your mind!? There's no way we'll be able to outrun that thing!" Merry screamed, barely able to keep up with her as they fled for their lives. Renko only had to look back once to run even faster. The wolf was right behind them.
"We'll find a distraction and divert it!"
"That'll take too long, let's just find a place to hide!"
Renko nodded, and swerved to dodge trees that could have given her a nice concussion if she hadn't watched where she was going.
They ran until their legs felt like they were on fire, but soon, they saw a small abandoned house in the distance. The two quickly checked if anyone was around, and ran inside and blockaded the door with whatever they could find. Renko slumped against the wall, gasping for air. Merry held onto her as they tried to catch their breath.
"I don't care if I crack my spine or not sleeping on the floor. I'm never sleeping next to you ever again," Renko gasped.
"It wasn't even my intention to bring you here in the first place," Merry snapped back. The pair went silent.
"Ugh, and I was wondering what all the fuss was about." a gruff voice complained. They froze, turning their heads towards the figure who was standing in the doorway, glaring down at them like a bunch of kindergarteners.
The woman was about eight feet tall, and dressed in such an unusual appearance it barely could be called clothes. Her hair was grey in color, but it doesn't look like it's from old age. She wore blue detached sleeves and a knee-length three colored dress, resembling a one shoulder tunic, that wraps over her left shoulder yet still leaves both shoulders bare. The dress consisted of the color yellow, orange, and red. The ends of it were cut in such a way that it almost looks tattered or shredded. She looks like your average hobo, except for the giant cleaver she's carrying in her right hand.
"I thought y'all were some human beggars looking for food or somethin', but it looks like you kids got a bit too wild explorin'. Besides, it's rude to just invite yourself into someone's home, ya know." She rambled, swinging the cleaver back and forth like she was about to chop up a leg of meat.
"W-We're sorry for intruding your home! We didn't know that someone lived here…" Merry apologized to her. Renko just nodded.
"Eh? Hold on a minute. Ya don't look like humans from the village. Are y'all outsiders or somethin'?" The woman tilted her head, then shrugged. "Either way, ya walked into my home. Normally, I would chop yer heads off but since it was an accident, I'll let ya go with just an arm."
"N-No, I'd rather keep both of them, thank you very much," Renko whimpered.
"Well, too bad! Ya come here, ya pay the price!" she grinned, raising her cleaver for a swing. Renko was ready to give the woman a punch to the chest when Merry stepped in front of her, glaring at her.
"You'd better get through me first," she warned, putting a hand up to block her from Renko, whose face was as red as a tomato.
"Aw, an' whatcha gonna do, kid?" The woman smirked. Merry was instantly annoyed by this stone-age cave woman wannabe.
"Oh, don't underestimate humans," She scowled, opening a gap which came to her easier than before. The woman took a step back, shocked. The gap had swallowed her cleaver whole, and now she was defenseless.
"Wh-What?! Ya ain't a human, that's for sure!" she growled, glaring at Merry. "Ya give me my cleaver back, ya hear?"
"If you want it so badly, then take it!" Merry yelled, sending the cleaver back out through another gap that hit the youkai directly on her head. Merry quickly grabbed Renko's hand.
"Let's get out of here. Hold onto me," Merry said. Renko could barely respond to her as she tightened her grip on her. A huge gap opened up beneath them as they fell through, hearing the woman's cursing fade away. They were freefalling in a void of emptiness, only watched by eyes surrounding them from all sides. Renko felt a shudder go through her spine. The light at the end of what seemed to be a tunnel grew brighter by the second.
Renko gasped, and sat upright on her bed.
The dream was over.
She looked to her right, seeing Merry's unblinking gaze staring at the ceiling.
"Ah…it wasn't a dream afterall…" Renko groaned, rubbing her head. Merry sat upright, her golden hair falling down her face and covering her eyes.
"That was…" she murmured. "One of the best trips I've ever had." Renko turned to her.
"Really? We almost got decapitated."
"Well, you did kinda piss her off."
"Wow."
The two glared at each other before breaking out into a fit of giggles. It really was that exciting, just having an adventure with someone other than yourself. It made Merry happy that she was able to accidentally share one of her experiences with her, even if it was a bit reckless for their own tastes.
"Say, Renko. What do you think that lady meant when she said that I wasn't human?" Merry suddenly asked. She faltered for a second, staring back at her.
"I think you just scared her into believing that you were some kind of scary youkai or something," she said.
"Well, I don't know. If I have these abilities that probably almost no one else has, then what does that make me? People would see me differently if they knew," Merry confessed. "I sometimes don't feel human myself. So, what am I, Renko?"
Renko swallowed. She has to be honest about this. Even if Merry was a youkai, she was still herself. Kind, loving, hardworking, and just as brave as anyone else who was a human. Even if she was seen as "abnormal", why would that stop them from doing what they love, what they believe in, or reaching their goals? Maribel was Maribel, there's no doubt about that.
"I think you're someone that cares about things a lot more than they should. You're special in your own way, so I wouldn't want to put a label on you. Youkai, human, monster, whatever. It's all the same to me." Renko replied truthfully. "It doesn't matter what you think you are, you're just Merry in my heart." She said, smiling.
"Renko…"
Merry looked like she was about to cry. Renko laughed.
"Sorry, was that too cheesy for you-"
She pulled her into an embrace, holding onto her tightly. Renko's eyes widened as she slowly wrapped her arms around Merry.
"Thank you. So much." she whispered into her neck, tears threatening to fall out any second.
Renko smiled softly, hugging her back.
"You are so welcome."