~Magical Girl Warrior Kosuzu and the Dark Mistresses of the Moon~
~Author's Note~
First of all, I'm soooooo sorry this chapter took so long! *_*;; I had loads of work last month between renting out books and getting my flight certificate, and there just wasn't time for me to do any writing. I'm free for the rest of this week, though, and I'll try and get chapter 6 out for you much sooner! Don't wait up, though… ^^'
With regard to the fighting, I'm afraid it's hard for me to describe what large groups of characters are doing at a given time, so I tend to just focus on Kosuzu. Like I promised, though, some more plot happens this time! I think I did it all right, but I'd love to hear what all you wonderful people thought as well. Getting reviews really makes my day, so don't be shy!
Faith_and_Anime, I really had no idea "In the name of the moon, I will punish you!" was somebody's catch phrase in the Outside World. I'm so sorry! If you run into Sailor Moon, please tell her I didn't mean it! u.u I won't make any more stupid mistakes like that, I promise!
~Chapter 5: Tengu's Secret! Dread Sisters Attack!~
"Augh…! Who are you?!" gasped Kosuzu, staring through squinted eyes at the glowing women. "What do you want with us?!"
"Ohohohoho~!" the woman with the wide hat laughed smugly. "Shall we tell them, sister dear?"
"Yes," said the woman with the bow, stiffly and businesslike. "I am Watatsuki no Yorihime, captain of the Lunar Defence Force and leader of rabbits."
"And I am Watatsuki no Toyohime, her partner and mass-destruction weapon~!" tittered the blonde.
As the women's glow dimmed, Kosuzu could make out for the first time what they looked like. Yorihime had silky greyish-purple hair in a long, wide ponytail tied up with a big yellow bow, and her eyes were the colour of smoky quartz, but darker. She was wearing a reddish-brown dress, belted tight around her slender waist, with a pearly-white shirt component on top. Her shoes were small and red.
Toyohime's blonde hair was long and glossy. Her eyes were a beautiful shade of topaz. She wore a bluish-purple shirt-dress much like her sister's, and on her head was a broad-brimmed white hat with a small pink bow on the right side. Her boots were blue.
"The Lunar Defence Force?! You must be from from the moon!" gasped Reimu, her red eyes wide with shock.
"Correct," said Yorihime. "We have come to claim the Earth."
The heroines all gasped as one. Claim the Earth? How could she?!
"Now, hold on! You can't just come here and take whatever you want!" shouted Aya, her elegant black eyebrows arched in anger.
"Oh, but we can~!" laughed Toyohime, brandishing her orange fan. "We Lunarians are so much better than you, there is no point in us asking for permission~. I could kill you all in seconds, as could my sister~!"
"She speaks the truth," said Yorihime emotionlessly. "None of you can resist us." The heroines shared some worried looks amongst each other.
"Are they really that powerful?" said Kosuzu worriedly, her face creased with worry. "Even their moon rabbits were strong! What would the woman who trained them be like?!"
"You're right," said Aya fearfully. "Lunarians are fierce! I heard their only weakness is to freshly-picked chrysanthemums."
"C'mon, sisters, we can take 'em!" growled Marisa, doing a fist-pump with her short, strong-looking left arm. "I ain't afraid of no prissy Lunarian, ze! We'll show 'em!"
"Marisa's right. There are four of us, aren't there? We can do this!" Reimu pointed out, drawing her wand and striding towards the sisters. "In the name of Gensokyo and the Dragon God! Charge!"
Reimu charged at the Lunarians. Aya, Marisa and Kosuzu followed her with their weapons ready. They knew it was going to be a hard fight, but they had to pull through for their friends and families back home…
-+=+-+=+-o0~0o-+=+-+=+-
Akyuu was feeling nervous as she crept through the dank, scary cave. Her colourful dress seemed like it was in sepia tones in the soft orange light of her torch. There were clusters of stalacmites on the floor, so she had to be careful not to stub her poor little toes.
"Is it much further?" whispered Akyuu.
"Not long now," whispered Mamizou, her brown hair shaking as she ducked under a pointy grey stalagtite. "We should be somewhere under Youkai Mountain."
"Youkai Mountain?!" gasped Akyuu in amazement.
"That's right," confirmed Mamizou. "I don't understand it any more than you do, but if the tunnel leads this way, it leads this way… Oh, what's this? I think I see a light up ahead!"
The duo cautiously spelunked towards the light. It grew brighter and brighter as they headed through the cave, until they could tell it was shining through the gaps in a wooden trap door.
"Golly…" breathed Akyuu. "I wonder where this leads!"
"Well, let's find out!" said Mamizou, pushing through the trap door. Akyuu waited patiently as she watched the tanuki's legs disappear upwards.
"How is it?" called Akyuu a few seconds later.
"It's safe! You'd better come up here!" replied Mamizou.
Akyuu climbed the ladder and emerged into a bright, airy room. She could see a cluttered writing desk covered in paper and clutter, and a faint smell of lavender was wafting through the house. Warm sunlight was diffusing through the paper walls all around her.
"Who could live here?" pondered Akyuu, her beautiful amethyst eyes clouded with confusion. She moved over to the writing desk and picked up a random piece of paper.
Dear Aya,
There is much you have yet to learn
of the world, but right now I have one
important piece of information to
deliver to you. Lunarians can be
disabled easily by brushing fresh
chrysanthemums against their skin.
Yours sincerely,
Imoyikust on Otokim
"Gosh!" cried Mamizou, her brow furrowing. "This is interesting… Aya has an informant telling her about the Lunarians!"
"Yes, but whom?" said Akyuu worriedly.
"Imoyikust on Otokim…" pondered Mamizou. "Who could that be? The name does not sound familiar, but I feel like…"
Akyuu gasped. "Mamizou, It's 'Tsukiyomi no Mikoto' backwards!"
"Oh, no!" cried Mamizou. "But that means…!"
"He could have been feeding Aya false information!"
-+=+-+=+-o0~0o-+=+-+=+-
Yorihime lifted her gleaming silver sword and hacked at Kosuzu. Kosuzu gripped her Divine Staff in both hands and deflected the blow, but the impact made her stagger. She desperately did a backflip, avoiding a swipe from Yorihime's sword by inches.
"Let's see how you like this!" said Kosuzu fiercely, aiming her staff at Yorihime. "Guarding Sign: Lance of Heaven!"
Kosuzu's staff fired a beam of golden light at Yorihime, making her yelped as it hit her right in the stomach. Kosuzu somersaulted forwards, her strawberry-blonde hair fanning out in the air, and gave Yorihime a painful bonk on the head.
"Ow!" cried Yorihime, breaking her not-emotional facade for the first time since she'd arrived. "Confound you…!" she added, readying her sword. "Lunar Sign: Moon Twilight Flash!"
Kosuzu braced herself as the crescent-shaped blade of silvery moonlight flashed towards her. She jumped over the attack. "Too slow, Yorihime!"
Yorihime smirked.
"Eh?…" said Kosuzu, then the Twilight Flasher swung around and hit her right in the small of her back! Kosuzu screamed and fell to her knees in terrible pain.
"Don't you realise you're dealing with somebody a cut above the rest?" said Yorihime proudly. "My attacks are too powerful for you, weakling, and those three idiots stand no chance against my sister. Give up now!"
"Give up…?" The idea was horrifying for Kosuzu. "Never! All of my friends are counting on me!"
Kosuzu rose angrily to her feet, fighting through the pain. She knew the time for being gentle was over. It was time to unleash her ultimate attack.
"Forgive me, Yukari…" murmured Kosuzu, taking aim with her staff. "Just this once, I must use the power I swore never to use." Her eyes were shining with determination. "Heart Sign: Light of the Universe!"
A beam of bright light exploded outwards from the staff. Yorihime staggered backwards as it washed over her skin. When the light cleared, she was sprawled out on the ground gasping for breath.
"Now's our chance!" shouted Aya, running towards Yorihime with a bunch of sweet-smelling purple chrysanthemums in hand. "This ought to fix her. Eat flowers!"
Aya brushed Yorihime's nose with the chrysanthemums. She wrinkled her nose and sneezed, then she jumped up and stabbed Aya through the heart!
"Aaaaaaargh!" screamed Aya, clutching at her chest as blood leaked out and stained her dress dark red. "No! I-I was so sure the chrusanthemums would work!"
"You assume too much," said Yorihime smugly, licking the blood off her sword. Her tongue was long and pink and slightly pointy at the end. "I believe my sister will be able to mop up your foolish friends now…"
"NO!" screamed Kosuzu. She kicked Yorihime in the shins, only for her foot to hit thin air as the purple-haired warrior cartwheeled to the side. Kosuzu ran towards her, but Yorihime punched her in the face before she could react. Kosuzu fell down in a heap and rubbed her poor little nose.
"Aw, nuts! Aya! Kosuzu!" cried Marisa, running over to her unconscious friends. "Don't give in! Not like this!"
"Ohohohoho~! You'll all give in exactly like this~!" Toyohime laughed victoriously. She swung her fan and Reimu went down in a blast of fire. "Sister dear, why don't you maul half-pint of a witch~?"
"Grrr…" Marisa clenched her scarred fists and stared down Yorihime. "No-one's maulin' me, ze! Put 'em up, you- Aiyeeeee!"
A Moon Twilight Flash in the knee sent Marisa flying across the hillside. She landed painfully in a bush, squashing most of the bush. The scent of freshly-spilled sap filled her nose.
Toyohime and Yorihime shared a look of satisfaction as they looked over the dazed and beaten heroines. Somehow, they'd done it.
"The world is ours," smiled Yorihime.
"We're the best~! Long live the Lunarians~!" whooped Toyohime, her purple dress flapping as she jumped for joy. "I can't believe this gaggle of wealkings thought they were tougher than the two of us~."
"We must return to the Capital and give Lord Tsukiyomi the good news," said Yorihime.
"W-wait…" groaned Marisa, stirring among the plant life. "You can't have the Earth… We live here!"
"Not for long~!" giggled Toyohime. Arm in arm with Yorihime, they drifted slowly up into the inky, moonlit sky. Nobody knew where they would strike next or what chaos they would wreak, and there was nothing Kosuzu or any of her friends could do to stop them.
TO BE CONTINUED…
~Actual Author's Note~
Yes indeedy, Touhou fans, Kosuzu is still at it. With a year of experience under her belt, she's learned a lot about formatting, pacing and how to spell "divine", but she's going through a bit of an "everything must be described in great detail" phase. Who knows? Maybe she'll be as good as me next year.