In a stall at the side of the road, two girls chat, under the small light of fireflies. One a fairy, the other a bug youkai. At night, they talk about their friends, and speak with the stall-owner about recent happenings. The path is empty and dark, and so, the insects and the birds have come out to play.
"Hey, hey, Wriggle-tan. Have you heard?" Daiyousei, a bit restless over the recent rumours that popped up around the Forest of Magic, had decided to ask someone to accompany her to check it out. "Heerd uv what, *gulp* exactly?" Wriggle said while munching on a lamprey. "I heard that there's, like, a big, mansion with ghosts that isn't too far into the Forest, from people around the Human Village." She mentioned, as the first that caught her attention from the many that appeared in her head. "And what's up with that? I don't think it's so weird. Maybe someone went into Margatroid-san's house and got confused." She dismissed it as a misunderstanding. "I'm not sure if it's that simple... That's why I want to see it myself! But, uh, I'm not sure if I can go there alone, so..." She crossed her hands in front of her chest. "Could I go there with you, please?"
"Can't Cirno-san do that instead of me?" Cirno would probably be both dumb and brave enough to keep calm in that situation. "She got into a fight with the mountain gods... And now she's in a frog's belly. I don't think she can." As expected of Cirno, she was in trouble. "I don't want to go with you~" She chomped a piece of the lamprey and swallowed. "But I want to brag to everyone that I went there~ don't you want to, too?" Daiyousei's wings fluttered in place while she spread her arms out on top of the bar. "Can't you ask Lorelei-nee either when she comes back?" The stall was currently empty. "I already asked her this morning and she's busy selling lampreys, Wriggle-tan." Wriggle stopped mid-bite. "Uhm- yeah."
"And Rumia? ...Right, she'd just make everything worse." She groaned. "It won't be too long, please..." At most, it would probably be a couple of minutes wandering around the house. Probably not enough to spook them too much, but enough to earn credentials as 'fearless masters'. "Pretty please?" She smacked the bar with her hands. "Wriggle-tan..." Mystia, back with another bucket of lampreys, relit the candlesticks, scaring most of the fireflies away. "Guys, come back!" Wriggle reached out behind her and fell on the grass as consequence. "Guys... Ah, my grilled lamprey!" Daiyousei flew down from her seat and gave her a hand. Lorelei hung a bit over the stall bar, watching the scene play out. "What a waste of food... But there's no crying over spilled milk. So, what were you two just talking about?" Daiyousei pulled Wriggle up with help of her wings.
"Do you remember the haunted house in the Forest of Magic?" Mystia nodded. "Are you trying to convince Wriggle-chan to accompany you?" Daiyousei had been asking around all day for someone to go with her, in addition to Mystia and Wriggle. "H-hm." Daiyousei made a noise which more or less could have meant 'yes'. Wriggle made a bitter expression. "How much trouble is it to get spooked? Besides, I don't see that you've got anything better to do." Mystia told Wriggle. "And Daiyousei's probably just as scared as you are. The least you can do is go with her, if anything. Just my perspective; but also, Daiyousei shouldn't be going there by herself either." Wriggle's antennae twitched a bit. "Huh, are you going to go alone?" Daiyousei let a bit of hot air fly out of her collar. "If no one would come..."
"Isn't that really dumb? What if you get lost?" Daiyousei's eyes, unable to stay quiet in one place, gave away her thoughts like pocket tissues. 'I didn't think about that at the time.' People do make friends with others who are alike, after all. "But, um, I'll still go anyway!" Channeling Cirno's excessive courage, she spoke out to the both of them. "Wriggle, you should really accompany her." Doing anything like Cirno would meant trouble, and Daiyousei wasn't arrogant or hard-headed enough to prompt or tough out whatever divine punishment came along with. "Fine." She said reluctantly while getting off the stool she was sitting on. "I'll go after Hajime-chan." Daiyousei followed suit. "When did you start calling me that?" They followed the stone trail, led by Daiyousei. "Ah, it sounds more like a name than 'great fairy', you know? Not to insult you..."
"Could you tell me a bit more about the mansion?" Wriggle asked, feet in constant motion, behind a flying Daiyousei. "The only thing I know is that sometimes people hear music around it. Not much more..." That was quite little for something that she got so worked up for. "You didn't ask around for details?" Again, her pupils started flying around in her sockets. 'That's a no if I've ever seen one.' Looking for an escape, Daiyousei pointed them to a patch of greenery. "Come on, it's the Forest. Let's fly over." The spores in the air coming from parasitic mushrooms which could probably grow just about anywhere, they made for a hazard that prevented most foot travel through the Forest.
In Wriggle's wake were fireflies, gathered indistinctively and only brought for their lights. Daiyousei looked behind her to watch Wriggle's own personal march. They were quite buzzy and full of noise. "Do they have names?" Daiyousei asked absentmindedly. "Some do, some don't. It's really annoying to explain to someone who isn't a bug, but It's nice to know you're interested." The naming process was one filled with countless, bizarre rituals and conditions with only cultural value within their individual communities. "Just get that names from one type to another can vary a lot; I mean, for example, ant communities are built on dynasties, and their names sound like ancient samurai's, But small groups of praying mantises can have really weird names, and something like Mikoshi-koro-bito-maru wouldn't be all too strange." Daiyousei yet had another question.
"What about fireflies?" Wriggle feared for her life. "Uh, I'm... not going to say that." Her cheeks were flush and hot as oil in a pan. "Ah, I think I'm seeing it already!" Thank you for the life save, Mansion-san. "It's still a bit far away, though. Wriggle hoped Daiyousei wouldn't ask another time. "Is something up with firefly names?" Wriggle, lost in embarrasment and a tinge of anger, threw her cape over Daiyousei. "Fine, if you want to hear why I got my name, I'll tell you! My dad thought Wriggle sounded foreign and cute, and Nightbug isn't even my real surname! It's Taira! Fuuh..." That's 8 years of resentment in a single rant. Daiyousei removed the cape from her head and gave it to Wriggle. "Sorry, it's just, people made fun of my name a lot before..." Her mood swing probably spooked Daiyousei more than the mansion could. "Sorry Hajime-chan, uh, we- we're here."
The mansion was just as big and scary as rumours made it out to be. Cracked windows everywhere, moldy wood, spiders... "Could you tell the spider to go away?" It was looking at Daiyousei with it's giant eight eyes like it wanted to eat her. Unfortunately, Wriggle was in the same position, and ready to scream if it made a single noise, as the threat of getting eaten was much more real for an insect like her. Unluckily, there weren't any lit candles to scare it away. The halls were filled with dust, too, seemingly out of disrepair and neglect. But unlike the rumours, there was no music to be heard. The giant doors closed behind them with an echoing thud. "Scaryyy..." Daiyousei managed to spell out. Their steps left footprints in the dust. A lot of fireflies outright fled, leaving them with little light to work with. It was safe to assume that more would go after their afraid brethren.
"G-good thing I came with you, Hajime-chan." Wriggle, standing strong for Daiyousei, both declared her own fear and gave Daiyousei words of encouragement. Daiyousei's higher brain functions had poured every single braincell in her head into nodding. The wood creaked beneath them, as if it were to collapse any moment now and drop them to their demise. Not a good fit for two scared youkai. They crossed the corridors, looking into empty rooms with not much of remark. That was until the song started. "Wriggle, did you hear that?" Daiyousei refused to believe her own hearing in favor of being able to say it wasn't real. "I look up when I walk~" It freaked them both out at once in a single move. "Is that coming from upstairs?" asked Wriggle.
"No, it isn't happening right now, it's not real. I want to walk around the first floor for a bit more." Daiyousei answered with trembling words. "Remembering, those happy spring days~" The singing went on. "That room looks like it's interesting, right? Right? Right?" Daiyousei pushed Wriggle in. It was a spacious room, with not much to comment on but an assortment of string instruments, and a quiet portrait of a young blonde girl, about 15. Her expression was cold and of pained heart, as if the girl's features had been sculpted out of melting ice. It took a bit of Wriggle's attention in. "That girl's pretty." Daiyousei hung a bit too close for comfort to Wriggle's arm. "Um, could...?" Daiyousei felt a bit woozy. "Could you give me a hug?" The request came out of the blue and surprised Wriggle. "Are you scared?" She asked. "I don't know. I think I feel lonely..." Despite how unfitting Daiyousei's words were at the moment, Wriggle didn't doubt to answer her. "Do you feel better?" Daiyousei started to tear up a little. "Thanks, Wriggle. L-let's go."
Wriggle went before Daiyousei and grabbed her wrist to lead her into another room of the mansion. It was in quite notorious disarray, as if a storm had wrecked that room and left the house through the broken window, leaving all manner of furniture, items and memories upside down, broken and battered. But at the same time, it felt like it hadn't been even touched in a very long time. Perhaps it had been the same neglect that had ravaged the entire household, or perhaps it had been something else, a horrible event one wished to not remember, so much so, that they leave it's consequences to rot, in hope that they would never need to face it again. It did not bring about dread, but a still, stone-like emptiness that could only be fully grasped by it's creators' and victims' eyes. Amidst the wreckage, there were few things to remain. For one, a frame of a painting whose colors had faded away. "What happened here?" Daiyousei asked. Perhaps, the knowledge that everything was unrecognizable as it was, brought peace to certain people. Disturbed by the scenery which appeared both as if time had stopped for ages in that room, yet continued getting older and older, Wriggle could not answer, for once. Their breaths were warm, yet getting colder every second they spent in that mansion. Curiosity got a bare hold of them, and Daiyousei was the first to crack. She looked through the piles of shattered wood. "Counting the stars with tears in my eyes~"
She found a big piece of white silk, seemingly torn from a dress. It appeared as if there had been once a fight in that room. Observing a bit more, she found a candle stand made of faded gold. Wriggle, who previously got cold feet from the room's atmosphere, dragged Daiyousei after coming back to her senses. "Remembering, those happy summer days~" Wriggle ran with Daiyousei through the hall, to the door. It seemed like she couldn't take much more of the mansion. But neither the door would open, or did Daiyousei want to leave yet. Wriggle hit the door desperately, as if she was trapped in a spider's web. "I want to leave, I want to LEAVE, I WANT TO LEAVE!" All of her followers had left through the windows.
"We've still got the second floor to go, Wriggle. I want to look at everything before that." Daiyousei had to force Wriggle to accompany her. "Happiness lies beyond the clouds~ Happiness lies beyond the sky~" This time, Daiyousei being the leader, she got Wriggle up the stairs. The song got louder from there, perhaps drilling into their ears. "I look up when I walk~" Wriggle had resigned herself to Daiyousei's wishes. Looking for the room that the song was coming from, Daiyousei found an open door. "So that my tears won't fall~" It led to an empty bedroom. There was nothing remaining but it's furniture, most notably a bed, on whose head there was left a small portrait of a short brown-haired girl. Looking more around the room, the window had a rope hanging from the sill. "I walk, crying my eyes out~ Because tonight, I'm all alone~" There was nothing much to be said about the room. "Hey Wriggle, have you ever felt like you haven't spoken to anyone for years?" There was something strange about that song affecting Daiyousei. "N-no. Are you feeling bad?" Daiyousei shook her head. "It's nothing..."
"Remembering those happy autumn days~ But tonight, I'm all alone~" The voice weakened a little. They took small steps through the hallway and then heard the entrance door open. Wriggle thought to run outside, but Daiyousei's hold on her arm prevented her from doing so. "Sadness lies in the shadows of the stars~ Sadness lies in the shadow of the moon~" Looking a bit ahead of them both, there was another door. The song seemed to come from there. "I look up when I walk~ So that my tears won't fall~" They hurried to it, Wriggle dragged by a desire to get over with the haunted mansion, and Daiyousei, by curiosity. They slammed into the door, forcefully opening it. Behind it, sitting at a candle-lit desk, was a girl. Her expression was warm, her hair colored green, closer to Wriggle's green than Daiyousei's, with eyes matching her loose hair. "I walk, crying my eyes out~ Because tonight, I'm all alone." She turned around to look at them. And with the end of the song, came hers, too. She vanished from her seat, without any more to say. "Ghost!" Daiyousei exclaimed. "Girl, there's only ghosts living in this mansion." Behind them both were a trio of girls. Daiyousei looked at Lunasa, while Wriggle's eyes had been glued to the desk the girl was sitting at. "Finally, home!" Merlin stretched out. "We only extended the concert because you were the one insisting on doing encores, it's YOUR fault!" Lyrica took a shot at her, much more mentally exhausted than Merlin was.
"Woah, it's the Prismrivers!" Daiyousei was a fan, to be said. "Oh, it's you." Daiyousei's cheering was notably loud during their performances, so notable in fact, it had earned her a top spot in their fanclub and in 'reasons why not to go to the Prismriver Sisters' concerts'. "What are you doing in our house?" Lunasa asked her. "Ah, I heard about a haunted house around the Lake, and I- um, buh, heum..." Daiyousei kept tripping over her words. "You better get out fast." Lunasa pointed her outside. "As you will!" Daiyousei flew through the hall, perhaps slamming headfirst into the wall. Wriggle was quiet as a statue. She had not moved an inch since the Sisters arrived. She had been left mortified by the phantom/ghost that was haunting that house. She did not say anything before following Daiyousei outside.
"Hey, Merlin, have you seen this room before?" Lunasa asked. Merlin, who barely escaped post-mortem death, replied to her. "No, I don't remember this place." Lunasa looked around. Merlin pointed out the note on the table, which looked quite hurriedly written. "Do you think those kids left it here?" Merlin guessed they must have, seeing that it was freshly written. "Let's read it first." replied Lunasa.
'Goodbye, and thank you for all the music.'
"Huh, that's it?" Merlin asked. "That's quite a cryptic message..." Lunasa reacted a bit harshly. Merlin slipped the note into the desk drawers, giving it no importance. "Whatever. We've got another concert next thing in the morning, come on. Let's rehearse." Lunasa gave her a side-glare. "You're not the leader around here." Lunasa turned around. "It's better if they don't remember, Layla. Trust me." With frigid winds coming out of the cracked glass windows, they closed the door behind their step, sealing the room for time to come.
A/N: I hope this was better than my last story. In this one-shot, I tried to tell a story using the environment, instead of the characters' own words. If anyone really needs a hint, the way that the original Prismriver sisters came apart (Lunasa being the only exception) was not pretty. And if anyone is asking, what Layla sings in this story is 'Ue o muite arukou' (Or Sukiyaki, over in the West.), a song written by Rokusuke Ei, and sung (in japanese, originally) by Kyuu Sakamoto.
