A/N: Hello everyone, I've been having real-life problems lately. No nothing severe, just high school graduation coming really close. I went back to the previous chapters to fix things and change certain events for internal consistency and extended the length of the rain for events to line up. I've also changed Suika's speech pattern because in canon she talks properly and not casually. I've been doing research and have a clear outline for how the first night will proceed and end at morning together with who the big players are.
Review responses:
EternalPanties: I write it like that because the world still can't handle the real meaning behind Dragon God's name. But since you mentioned it, I changed things up and left a really important hint instead. I don't have an accurate idea of how strong grimoires could be in their full power since only Index can wield them without mentally breaking down. Othinus' Final Rune has grimoires compared to it, and it can carve itself to the core of the planet to create Gungnir. True Gremlin doesn't have the 50/50 limits like Othinus does. It's pretty explicit that Noukan can kill magic gods if the corpse of Zombie is any indication.
Mrcrazyman94: You haven't seen crazy just yet.
Kuma098: Just you wait, it will happen in due time.
M1nhTre37: Eirin is comparable to Heaven Chancellor.
WilliamZO: The Lunar Capital is more technologically advanced compared to Academy City. But because the format of LC is stuck in the realms of the Aeon of Isis, it has no use for Aleister. Tenryuu looks… the closest to how I imagine her to look would be Kiana Kaslana from the Honkai series.
I don't know if this is allowed, but I've got pictures and their sources using imgur with direct links below. Take the face, the hair, the body and apply the special descriptions for Tenryuu and there you have it.
Imgur dot com/SXOuyly
More dragons hmm... Rumia and Crino… (Looks away with tongue sticking out). Fiamma and the magic gods will play a part in like, really late in the story, namedropping them for hype. Oh man, Okina, Eternity, their lore is very interesting, and I want to use them, but I've got to be patient since there's not a lot to them in Touhou canon yet.
Shiroryuu012: You'll get your wish sooner than you think.
AznPuffyHair: Things are going to explode indeed. Please look forward to the insanity that's about to occur in the future.
Guest: Thanks for the input. Yeah, it really did feel exposition-esque for me and Tenryuu as well. The best I can manage is to inject some humor in the dialogue not to make it a big turn off.
williamsusanto: I agree, Kasen is damn sexy. I have an idea of what I can do when Hell turns up with new information from the Fairy manga, Kasen, and TH17. Yes, the Sephiroth and Qliphoth trees are concepts I want to implement later down the line. O̶r̶ ̶m̶a̶y̶b̶e̶ ̶I̶ ̶a̶l̶r̶e̶a̶d̶y̶ ̶d̶i̶d̶.̶
H7712: Since when were you under the impression, I would abandon this story so early? Don't worry yourself, I've got a lot of ideas and future arcs outlined. I'm having way too much fun and put in so much research to quit.
Disclaimer: To Aru Majutsu No Index belongs to Kazuma Kamachi, and Touhou Project belongs to ZUN. I don't own either of these properties.
Chapter 4: First night in Gensokyo IV
In hindsight, maybe this wasn't the brightest idea Suika thought.
"Oi, are you even listening to me properly?" Suika smirked with uncertainty and a sweat drop.
She had a good look at what was across from her, making a very amused expression to her fellow occupant.
"Bwahahahahaha! Watermelon-chan [1]… why are there multiple yas again? Did yer head get smashed 'n more plopped outta ya?"
There stood Touma in the center of the room. Or rather, there stood a calamity ready to burn Gensokyo to the ground faster than the dragons could. His body movement was tipsy, eager at any moment to tumble down and yet he somehow managed to find his center of gravity. He was smiling goofily with the gourd in his hand drifting in the most disoriented and unpredictable motions.
After drinking down the sake, Touma was initially quiet for a time until eventually, he gained a smashed look on him. He was flushed with a constant hue of pink on his cheeks.
Apparently, he can't hold his liquor too well.
"All right I'm going to need you to pay real close attention to me an-"
"Hwuwhathe whas thad? Aah furget dit, Ima drink this sake~" Touma ignored Suika and shifted his attention to the gourd in his hand and downed down with a gurgle. The excess sake flooded down his chin and washed the wooden floor with his sloppy mess.
It was no good. His words were getting more incomprehensible as time flies. It would appear to be he becomes a bit scatterbrained and his attention span dramatically deteriorated. If it were any other time, she would've joined in and wreaked havoc together, but this wasn't here or there. It was improper. The timing wasn't very prime.
And to make up for it-
"Alright you've had enough, throw me my gourd so I can join in too!" Suika ever so the reasonable person demanded the boy to give the gourd back so she can make up the mood to have a reasonable excuse to rain chaos together.
She wanted in on the fun.
"Aw yeah! Open wide! Here it comes!" Touma acquiesced to the oni. His mouth was slobbering with sake after his thoughtless decision to go for second helpings.
He raised the gourd in his left hand into a throwing gesture. Suika already matching him went to the counter and hopped in giddiness. The previous length between them would make the throw rather lackluster. It was important to make things as spectacular as they can be.
Touma seeing her getting in position drew back his hand gripping the gourd and made one step forward using his right foot.
And that was where everything took a turn for the worse.
In his intoxicated state of mind, he had forgotten an essential aspect of his life. And that it was ruled by misfortune.
The moment he put pressure on the floor with his foot, the sake left behind from his mouth had made him lose his balance. The floor centered around the area covered in sake broke apart. His heel curved counterclockwise from the loss in friction and his body was falling backward as he slipped. In amidst the confusion, Touma threw the gourd in haste. But because of how his body was curving, the aim was off, spiraling towards the gate leading to the halls.
The sound of impact came from behind the blue curtains leading to the halls. Many more came afterward. A result of the gourd ricocheting from the walls provided by the narrow space and into the storage room where loud crashes followed.
As that went off, Touma tried to regain his footing while he was falling. He flipped his arms wildly to straighten his back and stepped back several times. But the momentum couldn't be stopped, so he tumbled into the shelf containing tea sets, dinner plates, and silverware. He was met with the antiques smacking onto his body with his butt on the ground and him leaning against the shelf.
A wave of excellent tools and antique breaking sounded out in the room and the rain drowning it from escaping the room.
Suika collapsed into a fit of loud laughter watching him in the process of his graceful fall.
There lay Touma with swirls in place of his eyes and his head lightly wobbling to the sides.
Suika had witnessed countless times before the tales of drunkards wreaking unprecedented havoc. Hell, she was one of them. She was right to look for Touma as soon as she could. The unexpected accidents he could get involved with was too spicy to miss out. She gained a deeper understanding of why the boy mentioned about misfortune periodically.
"That was amazing Touma!" Suika exclaimed out during her fit of laughter. She wiped away the strands of tears at the edges of her eyes. Picking herself up as she continued to laugh, she readdressed him. "Alright, you stay there. I'll be back with my gourd. He...hehe!"
"Uhm... if it's the gourd you're looking for, I got it right here." A soft, nervous voice leaked out from the direction of the curtained door.
(-! Who!?)
Suika turned her head slowly to view an unknown stranger hovering out of the curtains with her gourd in hand.
It was a girl that seemed to permeate a dreadful miasma from her body always. Her lips quivered in a nervous smile as Suika took in the sight of this unknown individual who preoccupied the store before they arrived.
The most remarkable thing about her was that long dark blue hair flowing like fire along with the dark blue ribbon above her head. Her face seemed to have lost its vigor with the pale skin and fatigued blue eyes. Not to mention the state of her dress code. A gray short-sleeved hoodie was looking ready to tear into pieces with a blue mini skirt full of loose fabric. The aura around her seemed warded off slightly by the many charms slapped all over her ribbon and clothes. Add on to her choice of footwear making up of nothing and alternating to being barefoot, and there was no denying that she was poor.
"The poverty goddess? What are you doing here?" Suika enquired the goddess before her and the reason for being in this store.
Last she checked, Yorigami Shion was seen hanging on to Tenshi since the end of the Perfect Possession Incident, and the two were inseparable.
Come to think of it, when she asked the celestial earlier in Heaven on the goddess's whereabouts, she kept quiet about it.
Did they had a fallout and decided to split up? There weren't a lot of things that could make the obnoxious celestial fed up with something and outright abandon nilly-willy. She was too proud for submission.
"Ahahaha... oni-san, it's a long story you see..." Shion chuckled sheepishly having earned the attention of Suika, rubbing the back of her head with the single free arm.
Shion continued to lay out for why she was occupying Kourindou and how certain events led up to this.
"Yo, Shion, get up." Tenshi shook the dozing goddess on a makeshift bed consisting of nothing but cloths knitted together.
"Mrrgh...? Tenshi-sama?" Groggily waking up with bleary eyes, Shion addressed her current friend.
Or would it be more accurate to be called partners in crime? They never did confirm the relationship they shared.
"I've got something to do today you need to hear."
Before morning earlier this day, Tenshi told her she was going to have an appointment with a messenger from the Dragon God, Ryūjin. Because of the topic for their appointment required absolute secrecy, Tenshi had to leave her behind, or else the messenger will refuse to attend to her since she came not from the words of her family, but by the Dragon God's, so she had precedence between them this time.
"Hmph, impudent Iku. Just because her boss granted her the upper hand, this time won't mean me acting obediently." Tenshi declared haughtily.
"But where would there be a place suitable for me?" Shion questioned worriedly. Thinking them separating will cause her to revert back to her former, miserable self.
"Hmph, leave it to the great me for I already have a place in mind. You best make sure you stay there until I come back to pick you up." With a haughty attitude, Tenshi commanded Shion.
There was only one place where Tenshi could leave the goddess behind. And that was the Hakurei Shrine. After dropping off Shion at the shrine, Tenshi made bid her farewell and flew back to heaven while disregarding her banishment quota like the delinquent she was.
From there Shion went up the stairs to pay respects to the shrine maiden for temporary lodging but was refused. If she were allowed on the grounds of the shrine, misfortune would accumulate the land. Feeling troubled by this, Shion suggested herself going to the Human Village. This was actually a lie since the villagers would obviously avoid her at every turn, so the village wasn't an option. Her real intentions were to hide behind the torii gates leading to the shrine.
She had no intentions of going anywhere by herself.
(What now? Is there a place for me in Gensokyo where I won't be rejected?)
Loitering around with the shrine maiden's eyes off her, Shion stayed put and watched the clouds in the sky drifting into the distance. She doubted there would be anywhere in Gensokyo that would accept her, and she was starving. Laying idly under the basket of the sun rising from the east, she contemplated the treatment life was giving to her.
Alone she was clueless. She could not provide for her own well-being. No matter how many successes she piled up, all of it will only be accumulated to the next disastrous end. Every action she would take will always be for naught. Without her sister or Tenshi, happiness became a transient concept much like the air.
It was only expected, for she was a goddess of poverty.
Shion made up her mind that Tenshi must've lost all interest in her, so there was no reason to sit still in one place.
Yup, she was hopeless alright.
During her hour of self-deprecating thoughts, she caught a glimpse of an opportunity. It was the Moriya shrine maiden, Sanae.
Landing and skidding on the grounds of the Hakurei Shrine, the green and white had her back against the torii gates. She was a perfect fit for the goddess to reside in. Carefully approaching from her position, she closed the distance and possessed the unlucky shrine maiden without alerting her. From there she was free to roam undetected alongside the green-white.
Obviously, from that day forward it would be a harrowing experience. The effects of the goddess' blessings were in effect immediately. First was the backfiring of the green-white's power over wind knocking her down the stairs, resulting in her gohei breaking. If that wasn't bad, then the loss of her spellcards by the underhanded pranks of three fairies were.
But it wasn't her fault when the green-white was still stupidly-confident enough to try and win against THE Hakurei shrine maiden in danmaku with so many disadvantages. Naturally, the result was for her to be blown away into a nearby mud pile.
Finally realizing she bit off more than she could chew, the Moriya shrine maiden and goddess duo (the former still unaware of the latter possessing her.) went off to visit a rumored youkai who had excellent blacksmith skills to fix her gohei.
Once they landed somewhere in the village, the youkai the maiden was looking for came right to them. And in a frenzied dash too. Promptly after the impact, the maiden soared in the air and got buried inside a cart full of tomatoes with a perfect ten.
Unfortunate for Sanae, but a score for Shion in an unexpected profit for breakfast.
In a quiet fury, Sanae got up and straightened her back, slowly lumbering forward to net out some punishment for the umbrella youkai, proclaiming her duty as a youkai exterminator.
And the most horrific abnormality approached both of them, hearing her words by ear-shot. Never before did Shion felt her heart ceased in an instant faster than hearing the soft whispers of that sadistic abomination.
They didn't notice it coming, and when the idiot Sanae tried to turn around and launch a preemptive strike without the spellcard rules, she was sent flying by parasol airlines.
Even Shion felt the impact to her stomach causing her to barf out the tomatoes she just ate.
As the two sailed across the air in painful nausea, Shion split off and veered away to another direction. She crash-landed HARD and skidded across the dirt somewhere nearby Kourindou. It was this progression of events that led up to her trespassing the shop using the backdoor without the notice of Rinnosuke.
While she took the chance to sleep off the fatigue given her hectic day, it wasn't over simply because she reached a resting point.
During the nighttime, she woke up sweating bullets over her body from the rumble of a transcendent decree resounding all over Gensokyo. She clutched the sheets and blanket provided by one of the beds in a vacant room. A moment of silence drawled until the whole store shook by some force.
Shion felt that there was no hiding behind this unknown force. Sounds of antiques breaking and crumbling reverberated the entire store. Eventually, she'll be found sooner or later. Deciding in a hurry, she got up to check whatever it was at the front of the store.
For some reason, something seemed to beckon her over, like a natural alignment resonating to her.
Once she got near the curtain entrance, she leaned against the wall and heard the shopkeeper leaving the store. Thinking that things would turn alright given there was no immediate threat, she inched closer and closer and lifted the curtains.
If she were a mortal, death from a heart attack would be obvious.
The shock coming forth drowned out any voice coming out of her throat. Instead, she frothed into unconsciousness and fell backward in the hall.
When she woke up, it was back on the bed with the sheets neatly covering her. Jumping in a rush, she inspected herself and was surprised to find her hoodie and skirt cleaned and knitted back to top-notch condition never seen before with the colors full of vibrancy. Her hair along with the ribbon tied above it was washed and conditioned to unveil her inherent beauty.
It wasn't just her. The room had a complete makeover with the floor and walls missing the cracks and holes amassed over countless seasons. No dirt and dust created a brilliant shine from the brightness. Recoated with appropriate paint adding to a proper image for an antique store.
From the center of the room were her charms neatly piled on top of a wooden table. It didn't stop there. Trays of exquisite food were steaming with warmth, welcoming her to dine in.
The fresh feeling consumed her entirely. It was the most heavenly she had ever felt in her entire existence. She couldn't help bursting into tears. It was impossible not to in her shoes.
Approaching the table, Shion embedded the charms back onto her clothes and picked up the chopsticks to begin the hearty feast prepared for her.
"Itadakimasu!"
Shion wolfed down her meal ravenously and swiped rice and meat barbarously with the chopsticks to her mouth. Vulgar slurping noises echoed in the room as the meal was done in five minutes flat.
Once she was done with everything in the room, she planned to leave the Kourindou and stridingly stepped to the door. Only to trip at the entrance and rolled along the floor of the clean, smooth halls and dived into the storage room where she knocked off everything out of position. The suffering continued in the form of her body being buried amongst the assortment of foreign items of the Outside World. Among them was a refrigerator.
Easy to say, her brief spruced up look went back to normal after the accident.
"Then I heard the shopkeeper and a stranger returning from there. So, I sit still and eavesdropped on them. In fact, I heard about the baby carriage being sold to the maid." Shion described in full detail to the oni, biting her lips to hold back a giggle at the end.
"So that's why you weren't hanging around with the kid anymore. That's certainly one way to spend your day." Suika too had trouble holding her giggling as she grins widely.
"Eh? You've seen Tenshi-sama today?" Shion expressed visible shock on her face, handing back the gourd to the oni's outstretched hand.
"Yeah, she was at Heaven with me waiting for her best friend, Iku." Suika divulged the whereabouts of the celestial, cradling the gourd in her hand and making a joke.
"Her best friend…" Shion muttered absently.
(Tenshi-sama left me to meet with her friend. And not just a friend, but her best friend. … Of course, she would spend more time with the person she valued more in comparison to a miserable goddess like me. We haven't even addressed the type of relationship we shared…)
"I was kidding, Iku's not her best friend. Moreover, they're not even friends, to begin with." After noticing the air seemed to rot around Shion, Suika tried to comfort the goddess to avoid the haze of misfortune spreading.
But it was too late. There was no getting Shion out of her thoughts after falling into depression or convincing her otherwise.
Nothing can be done about the goddess in her part at this point.
With beads of sweat formed around her forehead and digging into one ear, Suika landed off the counter clumsily and moved over to Touma and tapped his shoulder.
"Psh, wake up Touma." Suika clapped her hand to his shoulder and rattled him.
"Mmh…?" Touma blinked his two eyes uncoordinatedly and groggily tried to focus them at Suika's. "You've got pwetty eyes 'n a pwetty face… yer hair smells soo good 'n sweet… 'n yer hands are so soft 'n warm too…"
"Hehe, thank you." Chuckling from his compliment, Suika took a swing of her sake, feeling a bit of happiness. The blush on her face coming from either the compliment or sake was difficult to discern.
+1 point for Touma.
"Who is this person?" Shion asked behind Suika's back, feeling an inviting feeling coming from the boy on the floor.
Touma's response was to raise his left arm absently. "Muh name is Kamijou TouMAN!" He shouted something profound in his drunk awakening.
"He's real interesting right?" Suika turned her head over her shoulder and gestured for her to see him with a smile.
"Yeah, I feel something similar between him and me," Shion said with clear interest in her voice. "The smell from him reminds me of myself, the unsteady way his body moves are sort of like me when I'm lacking sleep, but he's smiling despite all of this. That's different."
"I think that has to do with the sake." Suika suggested before she gets any weird ideas.
"Let's find out. Hey you." Shion addressed the sitting boy, and he raised his head sporting an inquisitive look with his eyes intoxicated.
She planned to ask a series of questions to satisfy her interest in this boy.
"Who's that hobo [2]?" Slurring his speech, Touma asked Suika beside him. Apparently, he failed to catch her name earlier.
"Yorigami Shion, a poverty goddess who's relatively new in Gensokyo." Suika provided him her name and identification.
"Izzat scho?"
"Where did you get that dirty hoodie?" She liked that hoodie very much in her opinion. It was just like the one she's wearing.
"From a normal dumpster you can find anywhere!" Touma answered with a light chuckle. He had his eyes closed during the lighthearted mood.
*Gasp!*
Shion put a hand to her mouth with an audible gasp.
"What are your regular meals like? Do you eat the three main courses of the day?" Something was welling in her chest.
"I eat two light meals of veggies and meat on normal days and never have the time or lose the opportunity to eat bargain day eggs!" His chuckle turned into full-blown laughter.
Shion's heart was thumping erratically in her chest for some reason when listening to his answers.
"What are your sleeping schedules?" The further she asked, the more her expectations gained in intensity.
"Zon't look dwown on a man thad only needs won hour oh sleep for two straight weeks!" His laughter was steadily rising as he answered her series of questions.
Her smoldering interest in him was rising together with his laughter. The boy was full of mystery and his life greatly resonated with hers.
"You live a life of poverty, right?" She was basically panting heavily with a blush at this point, shaking her arms in anticipation with bated breath.
Touma did not answer immediately and dropped his boisterous laughter, adopting for the silent treatment. He picked himself using a vacant shelf behind him to anchor a hand above. Standing up with wobbly feet and staggered to the center of the room. He took a sharp inhale of air before he proceeded.
"Like ya never buhlieve! Getting' ya head bitten by your roommate, losin' all ya money every day, havin' ya family reunion ruined, gettin' lunatics after ya ass, bein' forced by ya friend to go on death missions, missin' out on dinner, gettin' electrocuted periodically, bein' chased by perverts, bein' chased by violent women, gettin' thrown into foreign countries against ya will, gettin' ridiculed for ya idiocy, gettin' ya clothes stolen by nuns, gettin' tortured by ya roommate's ex-roommate, gettin' abandoned by ya allies, 'n gettin' burned into a mosaic! All in less than half a year!" Touma yelled out in a single breath with tears in his hollow laughter.
"*Whistle* That's a pretty hardcore lifestyle of yours, Touma." Suika commented behind him with pity. She was shaking her head from listening to his track record.
Something told her that the sake made him more honest than during his regular hours. She didn't have proof, but her intuition was very damn sure of it.
Also, what was a mosaic?
Meanwhile, Shion's body quivered in excitement with glossy eyes.
There it was she thought. Someone that was just like her. Maybe if she wasn't the only one who experienced a misfortunate lifestyle, she could feel better about herself thinking that she wasn't alone in her suffering. To know someone shared this pain and walked down similar paths in life.
She separated with her younger sister, Joon Yorigami, to find meaning within themselves as individuals. News of her sister did not come frequently enough for her to find and there were times she worried for her. Shion lacked the means to find out whether her sister found any success since they split off.
Tenshi was blessed with endless good luck and negated the innate misfortune she carried. The celestial did not mind hanging out with her and easily forgave the disastrous accidents in her wake. But they could not be together constantly. Shion feared that one day she would grow bored of her and walk away to search for new entertaining prospects. Or maybe it already did happen.
It had to be him. Someone who lived life to the very best in spite of his misfortune.
A man that wouldn't be bothered by the misfortune she unwillingly spreads and walks the same steep path given to them. If it was him, she might be able to find happiness amongst the dirt pile that was their future.
And yet there was one thing that separated them both which stopped her from completely accepting him.
"You stated all that you've experienced given by misfortune with lamentations, and yet you don't curse it. While I don't mind you accepting the fate given to you nonchalantly, you found happiness between all of that on your own! That's the strangest thing I can't figure out! How can you possibly have outdone a goddess that couldn't manage that for centuries!?" Shion pleaded desperately, feeling a dagger to her pride as a goddess of misfortune.
Even as something pitiful like a goddess of misfortune, she was still a goddess, nonetheless. She could not accept being defeated by a human. For a transient life such as a human to reach the goal before a goddess who worked for centuries was unacceptable.
"Look Yorigami-chan. I think you're misunderstanding him. It's just the sake making him act this way." Suika interjected neutrally with a sweat drop.
"Be quiet oni-san! I can tell he's expressing his true thoughts and feelings because he's drunk! This is between us. Let him do the talking!" Shion snapped at Suika hotly to quiet down in the corner. She pointed at Touma to reveal his method of finding the one silver lining within the gaps of his life.
The boy in question had his eyes hidden from the shadows of his bangs. His once wobbly body stopped all motion and was standing perfectly still.
Within the intoxicated mind of Touma, he heard the question of Shion loud and clear.
But how could that be? Was he not drunk?
It was easy to answer. Someone was crying out in anguish for help because they were missing their smile.
He did not fully understand why it is and how they came to be lacking the happiness they longed for.
What he only needed to know was that someone was missing an offering hand. That hand meant to pick them up from their times of trouble and guide them to wherever they needed to go so that smile can grow on their faces naturally.
Just one simple smile.
And something so simple was being denied.
That was the one trigger needed for his dazed head to clear away back into a normal state temporarily and his determination to heat up his body.
Suika raised an eyebrow, noticing his change in demeanor. She observed the radical switch she had witnessed earlier during her alone time with Touma.
She arrived at a conclusion that made up one of the boy's many traits. It was that determination of his was still present, lying in wait for any opportunity to burst forth. It didn't matter if his head was intoxicated or something were to cloud it, that determination which defined Kamijou Touma will always remain under any circumstances.
His body will respond to his will and resolve himself of any distractions to meet his goal. The state of his mind will not prevent this no matter what.
This time around there was no cheek for him to punch. Instead, he will resort to giving his honest opinion.
"I'm happy because I'm misfortunate." Touma proclaimed in his smooth voice devoid of any hints of him being drunk. He raised his head to look into Shion's eyes with his own steady and firm.
Shion's mouth grew agape in surprise and confusion. Her face flushed from the new person peering into her eyes.
A question of how one can be happy with misfortune crossed her mind from his words.
Touma merely outstretched his arms to the side and continued with a savage smile gracing his lips. "The reason I've come this far is that my misfortune has guided me to where I needed to intervene and save others."
Touma declared it with the best, strongest smile on his face. It was a rough smile, a barbaric smile, a savage smile, without a shred of panache.
"Every time my misfortune drags me to the place I need to be, it results in me getting hurt, injured, hell even suffering lethal wounds. But it's always allowed me to bring a smile to those whose wishes were unanswered where they couldn't even beg for a simple 'help me!'"
Touma traced his memories of all the times he would stumble in the wrong time at the wrong time to be dragged into a brawl or life-threatening battle to his own well-being.
"I would never be able to reach that conclusion if I lived a normal life governed by good fortune! That will never bring me true happiness not noticing the suffering to the people right next to me!"
He shuddered from the thought of missing out on those situations where the tears that could not escape from their eyes were not answered.
"Don't force your pathetic good fortune upon me! Don't look down on this misfortune that defines me! I don't need some pathetic salvation which knows nothing of what fills me with real happiness! I am happy! Those nasty gashes, that horrible tear to my flesh, and those bloodied lips I received after the one person who stayed silent in misery finally smiling are the moments where I can express joy!"
Kamijou Touma's life is governed by the concept of misfortune.
"And I will forever live my life and walk my path embracing this misfortune! What determines my happiness is not measured by some arbitrary ranking of fortune; it is something for me to decide!"
He will carry on his life never wishing for this constant to cease. He may complain at times, but he will never curse it. Gazing over to the horizon with it by his side forevermore.
Why was it that he quit uttering his trademark catchphrase 'such misfortune?'
Suika looked at him, taken by surprise and grinned. She did not expect such a person was okay with living in misery. All the more interesting in her opinion.
Or maybe he was a masochist. That was still an option readily available.
But for Shion he was radiant. He was not a person that allowed misfortune drag him down to the depths of despair. It was his own volition to climb back up from the grime and face tomorrow steadfast.
For there to exist a human that can proudly live with misfortune was a rarity not met in a millennium.
There was a saying that to be met with misfortune meant fortune awaited you after though such a saying will never apply to Touma.
Her hands grasped her chest from the erratic beating being audible enough to be heard. Unaware of her own emotion, she grew a bright smile and walked up to Touma, closing the distance until she was near his chest. "Kamijou-san! No, wait, would TouMAN-sama be more appropriate!? I'll just call you Aniki from now on!"
Touma laughed off her clumsy decisioning on how she'll address him moving forward.
"T-then would you come running to me and help me find happiness!? D-do you think a poverty goddess such as I am able to!?" She asked almost screech-like.
She was looking up from her 162cm height considering she was shorter than him.
Touma dropped his arm to the side, looked back at her, gave a slight smile and said, "Don't you think that's been done already?"
If Touma had not tripped earlier, Shion might not have been given a reason to walk out those curtains and approached them.
Taken aback by that comment, Shion gripped her chest tighter and flushed in crimson with steam releasing from her ears.
Cupid's arrow has stricken its target.
The power of drunk Touma knows no boundaries.
Shion grabbed his left hand from the side and held it between them.
Excitingly, she began to propose to him the goddess equivalent of a confession. "T-then do you mind if I join you on your journey!? I can make you even happier together! We could become the new disastrous duo! I would even become your p-p-p-patron goddess!"
It took a monumental amount of courage. Add on to the good feeling in her chest providing support in the spur of the moment.
She was not going to let this chance run off. Who knows how long it'll be for her to find another vessel suitable for her divinity.
Somewhere far away, a 15cm fairy was strangling the hawk she was riding.
Touma after listening to her request looked away and answered calmly, "No."
The luster in her eyes died together with the colors of her face. A cold feeling consumed Shion's body and frozen her smile.
"Oof…!" Even Suika cringed in surprise, narrowing her eyes in sympathy for the goddess.
"W-why!?' Shion demanded after getting her bearings back.
Touma did not understand the full implications behind a goddess wishing to become his patron goddess. Usually, it was the other way around since they were too prideful to look for a vessel actively.
But that wasn't the only factor behind his decision — the sounds of hiccups parted from his lips.
"Hic, I only need my misfortune to be happy." Touma woozily said his intentions. His drunk state had returned after making his speech, so his conscious thoughts were not aligning. His eyes too droop with his vision getting blurry.
He was okay with the poverty goddess personally and being comprised of misfortune.
He was okay with his own misfortune aiding him.
What he did not need was more piled on top of it.
Touma pried his left hand out of Shion's gently and spun around, so his back was facing her. For Shion who received the rejection fell to her knees and then went on all fours dejectedly.
Suika wordlessly approached Shion and rubbed her back in consolation.
"Saaay, did we hath something important ta do?" Touma directed the question Suika behind his back. He was wobbling once more from his removal from soberness.
"I haven't forgotten. We gotta get you to Hakurei." Suika turned her head over her shoulder to remind Touma while she soothed the heartbroken goddess.
"Oh. OH. That was a thing." Touma said with his tone raised a little in drunk realization.
"Still is Touma; it still is." Suika responded absentmindedly. A drunk Touma's speech was inconsistent as hell.
"Mm-kay, I'ma grab muh rain cloak~"
Subsequently, from his words, he walked uncoordinatedly a bit lopsided with his right foot to grab the same rain cloak he wore from the racket hanging from the door. He was making a racket as he struggled to dig his arms in the sleeves.
"While it was fun hanging with you Yorigami-chan, we've got places to be in a hurry." Suika stated to Shion so she could understand. "Better luck next time?"
"Next time…?" Shion muttered incoherently on all fours.
A spurt of danger washed over them suddenly. It was coming right outside the door.
Touma and Suika's snapped their heads to the door from where the aura saturated.
"Oh hey, it's startin'," Touma commented knowingly. "Hic, whas his name again? Bah, I'll call him Accswullelarutor since he almost looks like him. By the way, did ya know Accswullelarutor is a really handsome guy?"
"Who…?" Suika was drawn into that aura far more than the rest. Her eyes dilated in shock from the familiarity coming to her senses.
(It feels almost exactly like father's! [3])
In just that brief moment where Suika's full attention was ripped away, Shion pounced behind her and put all her bodyweight to prevent the oni from escaping.
"Gah! What are you doing!?" Suika exclaimed from the sudden pressure on her back.
"Is something wrong back there?" Touma still attempting to push his hand into the other sleeve called out behind him.
"Nothing's wrong Aniki! You can go ahead of Suika! We've got something to discuss together!" Shion reassured him that there was nothing wrong, muffling Suika's mouth, so her protests did not leak out.
"'Kay." Accepting that response, Touma did not bother to turn his head around which dumbfounded Suika on the ground.
His attention span was really screwed up when he's drunk.
If there was someone to blame then everything was escalating thanks to the hands of an oni uncontrollably.
"Mmmt mms mmmr mmmmmmm!?" (What is your problem!?)
Shion positioned her head next to Suika's ear, avoiding her horns and whispered, "Touma doesn't need a companion. They'll only get in the way of his happiness."
"Mme mmu mmmb!?" (Are you dumb!?)
Teary-eyed, Shion gripped harder in anguish and whispered back, "I know I'm being selfish. I wanted to go with him too. But we'll only prevent him from reaching the happiness bestowed upon him by his misfortune! He needs to get there relying on his own power!"
(Even though I wanted him to share that happiness with me!)
"Mmmt ms mme mmmmmmmt mmmmmmmmg mme mmmmd mmmmy!" (That is the dumbest reasoning I've heard today!)
There was something very wrong about this situation, and not because of how things escalated to this point, but the fact that Suika was struggling to lift Shion off her.
(When did she get this strong!?)
The miasma of misfortune permeating from her seemed excessive. The rotten smell was threatening to knock out Suika at this rate.
Something was empowering her.
Something in this room, or the entire store, was giving her an ample power-up to overpower an oni.
"I have to thank you oni-san. I shouldn't give up yet. There's still a chance for me to persuade Touma into accepting me next time!" Shion expressed heartfelt words of gratitude to the oni she was choking beneath her. "Aniki!" She called for his attention.
"Bwuh?" Touma nonsensically responded without turning back, having lifted the hood over his head to complete the task of putting on the rain cloak.
The mysterious aura outside subsided just now.
With a very heated blush, Shion requested," It doesn't have to be now, but do you think we can hang out and rifle food in some garbage bags together the next time we meet!?"
Touma did not need words to express his thoughts this time. He waved his left hand over his right side and shot her a thumbs up to indicate his approval.
So romantic.
Shion smiled brightly with joy at his silent answer as he placed his right hand on the doorknob but felt the position to be awkward and exchanged it with his left.
During that moment of ecstatic bliss, Shion's grip loosened up for Suika to lift her head and bash Shion's chin with the back portion and pry the hands on her mouth off.
After some difficulty, Touma swung the door open and felt like he just hit something solid. "Hic! Accswullelarutor! Did ya know you're a hand-hic-some guy!? I repeat! You're really handsome!"
"Get off me you shitty goddess!"
"Run away Aniki!"
Shion watched his retreating form as the door closed behind him. Now the two of them got some alone time for some heart to heart.
"Ah dammit, the Mini-Hakkero's busted. Gotta reach Kourin soon to get this patched-up."
A girlish but somewhat boyish voice sounded out above the Forest of Magic in the rain. The figure was quite strange and out of the norm. In Gensokyo however, everybody can recognize who this was.
"Damn, what's up with this rain all o'v'sudden?"
Sitting on a broom in the air with her hands clutched to it is the Ordinary Magician Marisa Kirisame wearing a black witch's hat having white frills underneath and a white ribbon adorned on top. She was a blond with yellow eyes that carried her brazen nature. She wore a white long-sleeved shirt under her black shirt. Below her was a black skirt with white frills along the hems combined with a white and snow-blue apron having snowflake imprints around the edges and more white frills along the hem. Her dangling feet in the air are covered with white socks and black shoes.
She was on her way to Kourindou after meeting some unexpected encounters during the day where she overheated her Mini-Hakkero.
Earlier she was enjoying a danmaku match in the rain with the ghost Minaamitsu Murasa who strangely was together with Unzan instead of the latter being with its partner nun.
The fight was evenly split between the two until her Mini-Hakkero short-circuited and was in a harrowing situation of losing against the ghost duo.
She was saved when the sky erupted with the roar of Dragon King. The trio called off the match to return to where they need to be in frightfulness from the roar washing over them.
Something big was happening, and they needed to be prepared with their best conditions — that and because both sides received shikigami out of thin air.
Flying in the air peacefully, Marisa quietly contemplated to herself for what was to come. The fate of Gensokyo seemed very much dire.
(It doesn't matter who's comin' over. Anybody's goin' to answer to me be it Dragon God or anyone else, ze!)
High in confidence, Marisa sped up her journey to reach Rinnosuke. When the forestry lost some trees in the edges from a distance, she saw the clearing where Kourindou should be.
What she saw below her vantage point was outrageous, to say the least.
There was a giant man (Kourin she assumed) wearing a rain cloak (The same one Kourin owned) laying on the ground out cold in muddy waters. Koishi Komeiji too was met face flat on the soggy ground next to the door leading to Kourindou. And then there was THAT. Some stranger wearing the second set of rain cloaks Kourin owns, head hidden by the hood.
Being mildly confused was putting it lightly.
The haggard stranger in black walked towards the big man lying on the ground with odd steps. He came out of the Kourindou just now and was beside the big man the next. He bent his knees and lifted off the hood from the big man to reveal silver hair.
Something snapped inside Marisa.
She assessed the situation down there with her bird's eye view.
One, a stranger broke into Kourindou, knocking Kourin in the process outside. Koishi, who she didn't expect to be there, the stranger did not spare any effort in his wrath and knocked her out as well. Next thing he did was coming out of the store to mock Kourin.
"That bastard…!"
The misunderstanding has settled in.
(No one's goin' to barge in Kourindou 'n attempt to make a burglary on my watch!)
If there was any irony, it was lost on Marisa.
While she was angry about someone harming Kourin, she was mostly pissed about her career as a 'borrower' getting outclassed by an unknown thief. She's going to pillage everything off that man who dared to impede on her field of expertise.
She wasn't stupid enough to rush in to deal with the perpetrator considering the state of the quiet clearing. That stranger knocked out Kourin, which isn't saying anything substantial. But he defeated Koishi. He somehow was able to defeat her meaning his battle prowess must be incredible.
But there was still a chance for Marisa. She noticed his legs wobbling and determined him to be tired from his fight with Koishi.
It was only one shot given to her. The stranger who stood upright left himself wide-open for a surprise attack.
This attack will determine everything. For this to succeed, she'll need unprecedented speed so the stranger in black will not have a window of reacting before it becomes too late. Not to mention the unknown power he wields.
There was no other choice but to go all out.
"Sayonara bastard! Comet [Blazing Star], ze!"
Marisa shouted out one her spell cards, Comet [Blazing Star]. Blue aura washed all over her body and broom as a prerequisite for this magic. She positioned the direction of her broom aiming at the stranger in black, and with a spurt, broke the sound barrier.
Clutching on her broom, Marisa dashed with all her might and spirit to collide against the man with the speed she prided herself over.
The dash was just like its name. She became a comet that left a streak of blue stars in her path, sizzling the air with heat and intensity.
The distance was being closed in a fairly short time. The moment of impact imminent.
As for Touma, the stranger in black, his body was no longer tipsy with his right side parallel to the front of the comet. Before it reached him, he spun his body counterclockwise in unimaginable reaction timing.
"Funyari…"
"What!?"
Spinning with abnormal movements, Touma evaded the upcoming comet by stepping forward after the turn and redirecting his whole body 7 o'clock of his front.
It wasn't only his body that moved unnaturally.
When Marisa bypassed his side, a clenched right fist entered her vision and was dangerously closing in on her face.
There was no time to react or a gap to change direction from this distance of five centimeters.
Her Comet [Blazing Star] had a fatal flaw. There was a complication in changing direction after moving in sonic speeds in a straight line.
A mysterious sound of breaking glass resounded when the clenched fist contacted the edges of the blue bubble comprising her spell. The moment it touched, Touma twisted his fist and redirected the direction of the comet away from him. Because of the speed carrying Marisa's body, her face was closing in on the fist after it pierced through the shield.
"Bliigh!?"
The centrifugal force the fist was lugging had surprising and unnatural weight behind it. Almost as if this fist and her cheek made a natural coupling.
She was sent flying from her broom, bouncing a few times before skidding to a halt flat-faced on the ground. Her broom curved direction and planted the tip into the ground, skidding before it stood erect, leaving a trench of mud.
As a normal human girl, being punched by that force left her at the edges of blacking out. She was not blessed with innate abilities, she was not a youkai, and she most definitely was not a god. Her body without magic protecting her was fragile. And a clean hit to the head would knock out any normal person too if it came from Touma.
Especially a drunk Touma no less.
"W-who...?" She croaked out.
With the last of her energy and resolve, she raised her head strenuously. She saw his spiky hair and face covered by the shadow of his bangs. The hoodie of the rain cloak was pushed off from the wind pressure of her spell earlier.
She thought to herself to stay awake. To warn someone the identity of this man.
This man was out for blood.
With that last thought, Marisa embraced the cold darkness and retired for tonight.
"That was so cool Onii-chan!"
Koishi who was awake the whole time yelled out in a high fever of excitement.
She witnessed the unconscious mind she imprinted knocking out Marisa in one hit.
ONE HIT.
"Onii-chan, Onii-chan!" Koishi ran up behind him and hugged his waist.
Touma shifted his body around and looked at the small girl right in front of him who was smiling.
"Ehhh? What are you talking about?"
Do not be fooled by his proper speech. He was still drunk.
"You defeated Marisa in a single blow! No one's been able to do that before! You must be really strong!" Koishi praised his actions elatedly. She dug her face to his stomach, rubbing it cheerfully while hugging him at the same time.
"Ehehehe, you really think so?" The goofy boy with an equally goofy smile was enjoying the praise he received by rubbing his head in embarrassment using his right hand. And from a cute girl was always a plus.
He could feel her budding chest rubbing on his leg which caused him to blush faintly.
"Hey hey, what's your name Onii-chan?" Koishi ever so enchanted by the human full of mystery, she unconsciously wished to close the distance between them.
"Kamijou Touma." Touma threw out his name without a shred of suspicion for the new girl.
"Touma Onii-chan! I'm Koishi Komeiji! Can we be friends?" Koishi asked reluctantly, a locked feeling of potential disappointment prevented her from being fully committed to her request.
"More friends are always welcoming!" Touma with a smile agreed, lifted his right arm in the air in agreement.
"Yay!" All the wariness in her voice disappeared. Koishi let go of him and repeatedly jumped from the ground to express her joy and delight. "Let's go spend time together as friends Touma Onii-chan!"
"Nah." Came a casually flat refusal from Touma.
"Eh? Why?" Koishi's smile vanished, and her face adopted a curious look.
"Gotta move to Hakurei Shrine." He simply answered.
Koishi momentarily pouted but smiled afterword again with wicked thoughts unbeknownst to herself.
"Follow me Touma Onii-chan! I'll take you there!" Koishi pulled his left hand to beckon him to follow her words.
There was no way she was going to let him leave after the hard work she's done to reach him.
Wordlessly, Touma complied and moved his legs with the unnatural characteristics of a drunkard to where she was pulling him towards.
What could go wrong from trusting a helping hand from a cute girl?
They moved towards the Forest of Magic, the direction opposite of the Hakurei Shrine.
Koishi wanted to spend some time with Touma before he had to leave. And with an open clearing, someone finding them would eventually happen.
As they neared the edge of the forest and stepped foot inside, one question was left for them.
What lurks beneath the darkness awaiting them?
[1]: Suika's name has the same pronunciation as watermelon. Her first name Suika can also be literally translated as "gathering fragrance." In canon, she's sometimes known to have a good smell.
[2]: I don't know if this is accurate, but during my research of Japanese sound effects, ボ is pronounced like ho or bo, and in romaji, it's to indicate the sound of fire. It fit so well with Shion that I couldn't pass up.
[3]: In one tale, Shuten-dōji (The oni who Suika is based off) is the son of Yamato no Orochi who survived his battle against Susanoo instead of dying. It fled from Izumo to Omi where it had a child with a wealthy person's daughter and out came the birth of Shuten-dōji.
A/N:
The speech Touma gave to Shion is a rehash from the one in OT4 which I found appropriate for this instance.
Let's talk a little about Kuzuryu and the religion called Kuzuryu Taisha. This Shinto-derived new religion was founded by Ōnishi Masajirō. Ōnishi began his religious activities after receiving an oracle from the deity Benzaiten during a dream in 1954. His teachings encapsulated in the words "let us give thanks, reflect on ourselves, and return to nature," Ōnishi he gradually began to attract gather followers and in 1956 established the Kuzuryūkyō Hon'in as a legally independent religious organization.
In the group's early stages, the founder gave teachings individually to followers in one- to- one meeting known in the movement as "otsunagi" (lit., "connections"). As the numbers of followers increased, this practice changed to one in which the founder gave presentations known as "Go shinwakai" ("friendly talks") to groups of followers.
In 1969, the movement changed its name to Kuzuryū Taisha. After the founder died in 1988 his eldest son, ŌOonishi Masami succeeded him as the movement's second leader in 1989.
The group states its teachings are "based on the foundations in the cosmos-ordering divine principles the of Kuzuryū Benzaiten [lit., "Nine-headed dragon Benzaiten"], and the nine articles of teaching set out by the founder Ōnishi Masajirō; by putting his merit into practice, followers issue the great vow that all beings might pursue the heartfelt desire to achieve good fortune and eradicate all misfortunes."
It further explains the truth of these nine articles, which link humans and the universe (consisting of the heavens, including the sun, moon and stars, and the earth, composed of the five phases of matter represented by wood, fire, earth, metal, and water). The unifying principle of the nine articles is that of returning to nature, states that by so doing, the individual will be freed of misfortunes and achieve happiness. In order to become one with nature, followers perform practices of an austerity and ritual practice known as "kokoro no kitsukuri" (lLit., "making oneself a container for the spirit").
Let's break this down by focusing on Benzaiten. Benzaiten is a Japanese Buddhist goddess who was originally the Hindu goddess Sarasvati. She is sometimes credited as one of the Seven Gods of Fortune and sometimes a dragon. In this specific religion, Benzaiten is interpreted as a nine-headed dragon. So Kuzuryu is attributed to being a deity of fortune as a result.
I also like to talk about the number 9 in Chinese numerology which is a lucky number. Nine which is the highest single-digit number stands for completeness and eternity. Chinese emperors of ancient times loved this number. 'Nine Continents' is used to describe the large territory of an empire. The emperors wore Nine-dragon Imperial Robes, ordered to construct Nine-dragon Walls and other buildings with a relationship with number 9 in the imperial palaces.
Here is where things differ. The dragon from Touma's hand is not the Kuzuryu of legend nor is it Benzaiten herself.
The dragon in Touma's hand has only one distinguishing feature. It's four eyes.
The number 4 in both Chinese and Japanese numerology is an unlucky number that's sometimes pronounced as shi, which is the word for death. That's why sometimes in hospitals or hotels there doesn't exit a level or rooms with 4.
Number 9 in Japanese numerology is different from China's as it's an unlucky number instead too. It's sometimes pronounced as ku, which means agony or torture.
If you combine 4 and 9 together, you get the sound of shiku which means "run over."
Fascinating isn't it? Plus, the dragon Kuzuryu's former nature in legend was a ravenous, evil monster that demanded the sacrifice of maidens using a lottery.
So in summation, Kuzuryu has deep ties to fortune and misfortune where its nature from a misfortune dragon is pacified to become one of good fortune.
The reason why Shion has a huge power-up to overpower Suika is that she and Touma broke some shit in Kourindou that reversed the good fortune in the store to empower her unknowingly.
Such misfortune.
I also want to take this opportunity to talk about Touma's misfortune. From how I see it, his misfortune is a product of his own faults. They mostly happen because of his own clumsiness, thoughtless words, carelessness, procrastination, or heading straight into situations without any forethought. This can be seen from how he broke into the changing rooms of Index and Kazakiri and that time he forgets to knock the door when Orsola was showering. That's why when he gets into fights nothing like the prior events happen because he's more focused and clearer minded with more awareness of his environment at the heat of battle being an expert fighter and acrobatic barring sustaining damage, but that's to be expected. It's why Komoe beats into him to work harder with his studies and because back then he was a delinquent that looked for fights. That and because you know, he doesn't have time too. His misfortune will not get in his way during the crucial moments like how he fought St. Germain together with Hamazura and Etsu without sustaining damage.
I won't deny the supernatural element to his misfortune since I said 'mostly.' From Imagine breaker negating his luck, people ruining his day, to the implications of sparks. And my opinion can change with more confirmation to how sparks play a role in his misfortune.
Please review and point out any spelling and grammar mistakes. They are very much appreciated!