2/26
Aya
Reimu always considered me a feathered pest, a trashy reporter, a gossip hound. Heck, she even had a spell card named "Unauthorized Photography is Strictly Forbidden," or something along those lines. So when she invited me over to the shrine to discuss something with me, I was, of course, wondering if she had hit her head, or possibly had had too much to drink. Either way, I made my way down there, and walked up to the main shrine's door, which she opened before I even had a chance to knock.
"You actually came," she said. She chuckled. "Considering how I usually greet you whenever you come here, I wasn't sure if you'd actually accept my invite."
I smiled and put my hand on my chest. "Well, would you ever doubt that the pure and honest Aya Shameimaru would accept any invite sent to her?" I laughed. "In all seriousness, I realized if you, of all people, wanted me to come by, then it must be serious."
"You could say that." Reimu went inside. "Don't forget to kick off your shoes. Water causes the floor to warp."
"Of course," I nodded.
I sat down opposite Reimu on the floor, a tea kettle and cups on a mat between us. Behind her, I could see the fairies huddled in front of the cell where the man she kept was locked up.
"Wow, you're so cool, Maruki-san!" Star said.
"Ah, yes, well-"
"Were you popular out there?" Clownpiece asked him. "What are Outside girls like?"
Maruki chuckled hesitantly. "I, er…"
I glanced back at Reimu. "So, that's the man who supposedly tried to create a 'perfect world' and almost destroyed Gensokyo in the process?"
"More or less," Reimu said, sipping her tea. "I'll tell you what, it was a hell of a fight. I've fought a lot of weird people and things, but I never imagined I'd fight a giant, golden statue that was the manifestation of one man's grief and misguided benevolence."
I tilted my head. "Er, what?"
Reimu shook her head. "Long story, for another time." She put her cup down, looked at me for a moment, then sighed. "So, I've been thinking about how I've always treated you like a pest, gave you grief, teased you and, well, kinda bullied you?"
"Well, I don't claim innocence on the 'pest' part," I joked.
Reimu chuckled again. "Heh. Never thought I'd hear you admit it. I guess we've both changed. Goro did say that awakening a Persona does that to a person." She took a sip. "So, obviously I had no clue that that Megumu chick was doing all that shit, keeping an old Tengu like you and so many others from earning what they deserve, doing what they want, all out of some petty grudge she had back when you were kids."
I sighed. "I mean, I never bullied her or anything. In fact, I barely ever talked to her. I could see that she was unhappy, always alone, always loathing herself and just generally being a loner and an outcast. I could have, should have, done something to help her, be her friend, but… in my own weakness, I guess I doubted that I could actually help her, that I'd just make her life worse even, since I was the most popular girl." I hung my head low. "So, I did nothing. I've been trying to forget it, denying that I had anything to do with the current situation, but now I accept it. And even if it's centuries too late, I'm going to do the right thing and fix this situation once and for all, set her right and be the support she's badly needed for so long."
Reimu smiled. "I guess not even super-old youkai know everything."
"Hey, I'm not a grandma," I said, cocking an eyebrow. "I still look and feel young, even after all this time." I took a sip. "Also, Marisa mentioned you stuck your head up my skirt?"
Reimu blushed. "Er, well, yeah, but, can we not talk about that in front of the guy over there?"
I looked back at Maruki, who was still being interrogated by the fairies. "Heh. Well, I suppose. Also, I did learn my lesson that day, and I've been wearing shorts since then. Can't trust slovenly bachelorettes such as you two, I realized."
"Again, I'm sorry," Reimu said. "So, um, what I guess I'm getting at is that I want to, er, start over? Reset our relationship, I guess you'd say?"
I smiled. "Ohoho, so Reimu-san finally wants to accept me as a friend, and not some irritating fly that publishes trashy stories and interviews people when they don't want to? To think that such a day would ever come…" I bowed. "Of course, I'll accept. Now that I've found what I was missing, I can work toward what I really want: exposing crimes and abuses which destabilize Gensokyo, my home. Our home." I looked at her. "You know, I've known several generations of Hakureis, and you truly are one of a kind, perhaps the strongest, most brutally effective yet fair and honest of any of them. I'd like to see you go on to do even greater things, and would love to help you achieve that."
"Who are you, my mom?" Reimu snarked.
"Is it bad not to have friends and mentors you can look to in her absence?" I asked. "Think about all the friends you've made ever since then. I don't think it's a coincidence, is it?"
Reimu looked down, silently, then said, "...well, I guess not."
Alice
I glanced over the table, past the plate of biscuits set in the center, observing Marisa turning her head back and forth from an open book on a stand and a chemistry setup, in which she was reacting herbs with other chemicals in order to isolate tiny amounts of some substance, which she was planning on selling to Eirin.
I tipped my tea and commented, "it's rare to see you working so intently."
Marisa looked at me. "I mean, this is how I make money, can't half-ass it. Not only that, but I gotta make sure we have stuff to get us through Metaverse excursions."
"Oh, well, I suppose so." I picked up the doll I was repairing, pulled out the broken arm and inserted its replacement.
The two of us sometimes came together to study magic and exchange ideas. Usually, it was Marisa who came over to visit it, since I hardly wanted to step foot in her messy, spider-infested hoarder den of a house. Her brand of magic was also very hands-on and, shall we say, explosive, unlike my own methodical, nuanced approach. That I also had several decades of experience over her added to my frustration at times, since she constantly made mistakes which she brushed off as "okay, don't do that again," or "eh, just a freak occurrence." Even so, her sheer dedication to her craft did command a certain level of respect from me, and she was more sociable and approachable than the old, experienced but reclusive and somewhat antisocial Patchouli, which made her my best study partner and a close, if annoying at times, friend.
Lately, though, I had noticed Marisa had seemingly begun taking her work more seriously, focusing more intently on the finer details and coming up with all different kinds of theories, although she refused to elaborate on the specifics of most of them. Her freewheeling, cavalier attitude had also given way to a colder, more determined demeanor, at least when it came to magic theory, and her outright, clumsy lying had seemingly been replaced, I could tell, by more nuanced deceit, trickery, omission of details and spinning of facts, weaving fact and fiction, truth and falsehood, to suit her own needs.
I wondered if she was trying to impress someone.
Marisa looked around. "I noticed Mamiko ain't around."
"She went to Hakugyoukoro to train with Youmu," I said.
"Ah, right. I recall them discussion' somethin' like that yesterday." She sipped the rest of her tea before pouring herself another cup. "I'll tell 'ya what, she's a hell of a fighter, great at cavin' shadow skulls in."
"I'm sure," I said. "She practices fighting here, too. I control dolls who swarm her while she parries their attacks and strikes them down so that she can sharpen her skills. I fashioned and enchanted a staff for her out of spare wood and attached blades to both ends. She's good at using all sorts of weapons, but she's most proficient with a staff. She's also expressed interest in getting a hold of a pair of handheld vajras, but I don't know how to forge metal to make them. I'm a dollmaker, not a weaponsmith after all."
Marisa kicked back. "I'm sure Nitori might be willin' to make somethin' to that effect. Hell, she might be workin' on it right now."
Alice smiled. "You all sure have gotten so close so quickly. Goro really is a unique person, isn't he?"
"Yeah, I mean, it's so weird," Marisa said. "It's like, he came outta nowhere, revealed the existence of a cognitive realm where there's also an incident, he's charismatic, charming, but also stern, strong-willed and determined. And he can get a bunch of ladies on his side to kick ass."
"He does strike me as a born leader," I said, sipping more tea. "I guess having someone like that was what we were all missing. And he's certainly adapted to life in Gensokyo rather well."
"Yeah, better than most Outsiders, that's for sure," Marisa said. "He was flyin' within days, usin' spell cards within weeks, he's already got me and Reimu as friends, much less his first friends… 'ya know, it's almost as though he were meant to have been livin' here from the beginning. He's got promise, that's for sure, but I worry that he gets a bit cocky at times, given that he's still new here and doesn't know everything yet."
I laughed, almost snorting tea out of my nose, before regaining my composure.
"What's so funny?" Marisa asked.
"Oh, nothing," I said, still giggling. "It's just that I never expected you of all people to say something like that, given how cavaliere you are yourself."
"'Ey, it's not like I'm completely reckless or anythin'," Marisa said. "Believe it or not, I actually do have a method to my madness, despite what it looks like. Don't forget that even if I'm a baby compared to you, I've still got nine years on 'im. I'm allowed to be concerned."
"Is that the mom in you talking?" I asked her.
"I, er… maybe," she stuttered, blushing. She shook her head. "Regardless, what I'm sayin' is that I'm a more careful person than you'd think, and I do have a strategy."
"'Shoot a big laser at everything?'" I said. "Seems like a rather simple strategy, with no finesse whatsoever."
Marisa looked at me. "I mean, yeah, but think of it this way: the simplest strategy is usually the best one. I've got other plans of attack, and ways of outsmarting, outflanking and whittling down the opponent in a spell card or other magic duel. Usin' their own strategies against them, and exhausting them before finishing them off. It's just that I encounter very few opponents who can outsmart giant lasers, which is why I usually stick to that. Complexity for complexity's sake is not an efficient strategy, and I aim to be very efficient, no matter what."
I looked down and smiled. "Well, I suppose so. I use skill and dolls to fight, because that's what I like and what I'm good at. You're… very pragmatic, shall we say. A bit of a dirty fighter, but-"
"Honor is bullshit," Marisa cut in. "Opportunists are the ones who score victories in this world."
My eyes widened. "That's… a very blunt statement, coming from you."
"But it's true," Marisa said. "Case and point: how can I, a squishy, ordinary human, defeat man-hungry and powerful youkai? By takin' advantage of the fact that most youkai are lazy bastards who won't ever train and punishing that fact. I see a weakness, I exploit that weakness to defang the opponent and render them into a practice dummy. But it's not just exterminating them: being charismatic, manipulative, goading them to my side and forging mutually beneficial relationships that advance my own self-interest. That is how I've earned my place in Gensokyo's pecking order."
"I see…" I sipped my tea, taking in these revelations that Marisa was unleashing like a flood. "It sounds like you're really coming along, both as a witch and as a person. Perhaps you'll become a 'true' magician someday."
"Eh, I have no intention," Marisa said. "It's like I keep sayin': I do magic 'cause I like it, but also 'cause it's the best way for me to establish my place in Gensokyo, rebel against the repressive youkai legions and gods, and attain power for myself. 'Sides, I wanna stay in Reimu's good graces as long as I can, since 'becoming a youkai is the greatest sin there is', or so she claims, and the day I become a true magician is the day our friendship ends."
"That might be so," I said, "but given your interest in and affinity for magic, I'm sure it'll sneak up on you, as it did to me." I put my cup down. "So, let me ask you this: suppose you did become a youkai witch, intentionally or not. Now Reimu is out to kill you, unrelenting and not caring about your previous friendship. What would you do, to your best friend?"
"Me?" Marisa said. She sipped her tea. "Simple: kill her before she can try."
I shot up and pushed back in complete shock, almost falling over. "Y-y-you w-wh-what?!"
"Like I keep sayin': I look out for my own self-interest first and foremost. If that means killin' Reimu, and disruption' Gensokyo's order in the process, then so be it. Hell, I've got a plan to bump off Goro in case he tries somethin' serious. Doesn't mean I trust no one, but I gotta have contingencies."
"I-er…" I was aghast. Marisa just up and admitted she wasn't above murdering Reimu if it came to that. Reimu, her best friend! And not only that, but she was absolutely without remorse in admitting it. "B-but, she would cream you if she fought you seriously!"
"Then kill her in her sleep," I said. "Poison her tea, stab her in the heart. Some might call that cowardly, I call it efficient and effective, because it saves me a hard fight. Then if the dragons or Yukari or whoever comes for my blood, eliminate them, or die tryin'. I end up in Hell, I beat up Hecatia and become the queen of Hell." She slouched in her seat and smirked. "Alice, what you don't realize is that the strong thrive and the weak are exploited or purged. That's why I challenge strong opponents, so I can become stronger and get to the top of the pile myself. If I lose or die at any point? Doesn't matter, because that only proves I wasn't strong enough to live up to that philosophy, not that I was usin' it as an excuse to make myself sound high and mighty, or blame it on my failures. And the only way to the top is not only to beat your way there, but to talk, lie, cheat and backstab your way up, too. I guess you could say that is the crux of why I study magic."
I stared at her, in disbelief, for several moments, while she took my biscuit and ate it in front of me. Franky, I couldn't bring myself to care.
"...I…see," I said. After that, the two of us just went back to our respective projects, before Marisa packed up her things and headed out. That night, I could hardly read, with so many thoughts in my head dogging me. I thought I had known Marisa very well for years, as a determined but gung-ho and careless person. The person I had talked to earlier, though, was a cruel, manipulative, cunning, intelligent and brutally efficient tactician and rogue. The true Marisa, I realized.
It was enough to not only make me view her in a different light, and perhaps fear her in a way, but it also challenged the way I thought about my own witchcraft and motivations, and the thoughts and motivations of others as well. It made me paranoid and suspicious, feelings I didn't get too often. It almost made me feel like I was talking to the Devil himself.
Youmu
"I concede to you," Mamiko said, her sword on the ground next to her as I pointed my own blade at her.
Yuyko-sama sat at the side, applauding my performance. "Bravo, Youmu-chan. Once again, you prove to be an indomitable swordswoman. You'd make your old man proud."
I sheathed my sword, and looked down at Mamiko. "Seems I've won this round," I said, with a tinge of victorious taunting.
Mamiko pushed herself off of the ground. "Katanas are not my usual type of weapon," she said. "They handle much differently than the swords I'm used to using."
"If you say so," I smirked, before picking up the sword and hanging it back up on the rack. I stretched. "Still, this really does take me back to the days when grandpa trained me in sword fighting, and how I had to beat him with a regular katana before he allowed me to take up the family's ancestral blade." I sat down beside Yuyuko-sama, who had tea and rice crackers next to her, and Mamiko sat down next to me as well.
"What kind of person was your grandfather like?" Mamiko asked. "Of course, I don't have elders of my own, so I want to learn how other people treat theirs. I'm told, with great respect."
"Indeed," I nodded, popping a cracker. I took a sip of tea, thinking about grandpa Youki and how best to describe him to her. "Grandpa Youki was… well, he wasn't a kind person, at all. He was Yuyuko-sama's keeper and steward of Hakugyoukoro's gardens before me."
Yuyuko-sama chuckled. "He was quite good, but also very stern and no-nonsense. Spirits of all kinds, evil ones especially, learned to fear him."
"Yes," I affirmed. "He served Yuyuko-sama for a very long time, and didn't have children until late in his life. His two children were my father and aunt; he thought little of my aunt, since she preferred to spend her time making art than practicing swordplay, and he constantly berated her as a result, affecting her severely. So my father became the favorite to be his successor, although my aunt remained around, creating artwork for the palace and curating the gardens. We still keep some of her artwork, and her works can also be seen in the halls of the palace; she was exceptionally talented, and I've never seen anything that comes close to matching it. Several years ago, Yukari-sama offered her a life someplace else, since it was clear she wasn't thriving here in the Netherworld, and she accepted. Yukari-sama then gapped her… somewhere. We never learned her whereabouts after that; not even Yuyuko-sama knows where she is."
Yuyuko-sama sighed. "Indeed. Her talent was enviable. It was a shame she had to leave us. I hope she found a good life, wherever she ended up."
"I do as well," I said. I took a sip. "Anyway, my father soon found my mother, and they had me. At the time, grandpa didn't think much of it; as long as I didn't distract from my father's training, he was perfectly fine having a granddaughter." I looked down. "However, that's when they passed away."
"Oh?" Mamiko wondered.
"Yes. Half-phantoms, such as myself, are sometimes prone to debilitating health conditions, due to complications related to being essentially half-dead. My mother died not long after my birth, then my father had a fatal seizure. Grandpa was, of course, inconsolable after losing his son, and only having me and my aunt. He was in a dark place for a long time, but…"
"But then I encouraged him to train her as his successor," Yuyuko-sama added. "I told him that the best way to live out his son's memory was by training his granddaughter and having her become the warrior he wanted to see his son become."
Mamiko sipped her tea. "So, he was given a chance to start over…"
"Exactly," I said. "I picked up my first blade at a young age. But, he was always very bitter, and never gave me anything more than grudging nods of approval even when I did my very best, even when it was clear I was a prodigy. I suppose he may have had trouble getting over his disappointment in my aunt, at least at first. Gradually, as I improved, he started to open up more. I guess, looking back, he wanted to correct the mistakes he made with my aunt and train me as best I could, even if I was a girl. For years, I trained for hours and hours each and every day, cutting down whole rows of wooden targets, taking on several evil, powerful spirits at once, and even fighting alongside the Hakurei Shrine maiden at the time, Reimu's great-grandmother. Around when I turned twenty, he challenged me to a duel, as he often did, using Roukanken against me while I used a regular sword. It was a tough duel, but eventually, I cast it out of his hand and stood over him, the tip of my sword in his face. And then…"
I looked up. "...and then he smiled. He was happy. Happy that he finally had the successor he had been seeking for so long. So he formally gave me both Roukanken and Hakurouken, and passed the duties of Yuyuko-sama's trusted servant to me, before leaving Hakugyoukoro and disappearing forever. Where he went, we don't know. We don't even know if he's still alive. It's been several decades. I still think of him, even as I continue my training and have largely moved on to other things. Gruff and abrasive as he was, he still raised me as though I were his own child, and I always knew he wished the best for me, even if he refused to show it." I looked at Yuyuko-sama. "And, I suppose I've come to see Yuyuko-sama as a surrogate mother of sorts, given that I never really knew my own, and my aunt was highly reclusive before being sent away." I took another sip. "I guess who your genetic family is matters less than the people who are in your life to see you and help you grow."
Mamiko nodded. "I have no concept of a family, no relatives, no siblings, no elders or parental figures. I am a shadow, born from the cognition of the masses and without stable form or substance, until I was allowed to discover this body which Alice-sama had made."
"Then perhaps that makes her a mother, of sorts," Yuyuko-sama commented.
"I…" Mamiko thought for a moment, then sipped some tea. "I prefer to see her as a master to serve. The god whose form I assumed is also a servant. I suppose that influenced my personality, my will to be in one's service."
"Perhaps, but she is also the one guiding you as you take your steps through life in the physical world," Yuyuko-sama explained. "And not just her, but also the wonderful friends you have already made, including Youmu-chan over here." She put her hand on my shoulder. "You two are very capable fighters. I look forward to watching you train again, and continue to work together to fight for justice."
I smiled. Seeing Yuyuko-sama emerge from the depths of excess to become a good master and steward of the Netherworld, it gave me a sense of pride knowing that that was all due to me and my determination to protect her from all threats, her own demons included.
I looked at Mamiko again. "If you're ready to get back to it, we can switch gears and work on getting you ready to do Spell Card duels. We'll start with just non-spells, if that's okay."
"I would love to," Mamiko nodded.
So we got back up, floated up into the air, and practice-dueled for a while using non-spells. Mamiko at first struggled to come up with the magic-channeling needed to create bullets, but after some coaching, she eventually came up with a pattern involving casting out waves of large donut bullets interspersed with white needles. She also incorporated her physical combat skills into the mix, directing the bullets and flinging them according to the swings of her staff. I appreciated this as a fellow weapons-user in a Spell Card duel, something which many others considered cheating. I decided to let her "win" in order to encourage her to continue practicing, which she said she would do with Alice. Once we were done, I guided her back out of the Netherworld, before she took off for home on her own.
I stood there, in front of the portal, crossing my arms and smiling. I never thought, just two short months ago, that all of this would be happening, going on adventures in a cognitive world with Reimu, Marisa and an Outsider. Just meeting him by chance already allowed me to reform Yuyuko-sama, and others as well. This girl, this child, brought into the world by him as well, and now a sparring partner, my first in a long time.
"What are you thinking about, Youmu-chan?" Yuyuko-sama came up behind me.
I turned around. "Oh? Well, I was just thinking about how much our lives have changed in the short time since Goro came here."
"Indeed," she smiled. "He truly is unique. I can't wait to see what all he is capable of."
"Me neither," I said. I shuffled. "Still… he's also quite mysterious. An Outsider with a strange power to lead others into another world… I feel as though there's much more to him than he lets on…"
"Hmm…" Yuyuko-sama looked down.
"...is something wrong?" I asked.
"No, no, it's nothing," she said, shaking her head. "It's just, I do truly wish for him to thrive here. I want to make sure he's treating you alright, but at the same time I insist that you keep close to him as well, to make sure that he stays on the right path and prospers."
I put my hand on my chest and bowed. "You have my word. I swore to protect you, but also to carry out your orders. I won't let a friend of ours die on my watch."
"I'm glad." She started walking back in. "We should start on dinner. I'm expecting guests tonight."
"Absolutely," I said. "I'll go get the spit going, and take out a side of pork I've had curing for months."
"Splendid. I expect nothing less of you and your supreme cooking skills."
"Just don't eat it all before the guests arrive," I snarked.
Yuyuko-sama thought for a moment. "Hmm, yes, I do get quite hungry thinking about dinner, don't I? Perhaps I should eat something beforehand?"
I shook my head. "You'll ruin your appetite, Yuyuko-sa-"
Suddenly she leaned in and kissed my cheek. "Like this manju over here…"
"AWAWAWAWA-" I tried pushing her away, but to no effect: my arms just went through her as she kept kissing me.
"Bad girls who snark at their masters need to be punished~"
"I-ah…"
…Yuyuko-sama never changes.
