Gensokyo 1.2
One month later
„Alright, now that you're experienced enough to actually have a chance to win a fight with that baka-fairy we'll be making some trips in the time to come. Can't have the others think I'm dead, ze!", my 'Master' said cheerfully.
After the discovery that my magic was very much like hers we grew even closer and I noticed even more changes. For one, I really had to suppress the urge to add 'ze' to my sentences, sometimes I slipped up, much to Marisas amusement.
We dressed in our winter clothes and stepped outside. Just as we were getting ready to depart, I had an idea: „Hey, Marisa, don't you have a thermos flask or something so we can take some warm tea with us?"
„Thermos flask? And you say it's able to keep tea warm? Is that an Item from the outside world? In that case Kourin might have one at his shop! Let's go there first, ze!", I agreed and thus we made our way to this Kourin guy.
Our journey there was surprisingly peaceful. After what Marisa put me through I just assumed there would be dangers everywhere. Bloodthirsty fairies, annoying werewolves... Wait, I think I accidently switched the adjectives there.
Halfway to this Kourindou place, it started snowing again... I really couldn't wait for that flask
The bell above the door rung as we entered the shop. I looked around, leaning my broom against the wall next to the door frame like Marisa had done. Good thing my broom had a blue binding the straw at the end together, else one could easily mistake mine for Marisas. As we ventured a bit deeper into the shop, a white-haired man behind the counter perked up. He wore a pair of oval glasses and seemed to have a bag strapped to in front of his stomach. Then it hit me... This was the first male I've encountered since I ended up here almost 4 months ago! Already 4 months... and it was still cold winter... that somehow doesn't seem right.
„Ah, you're actually still alive. And who's your friend over there!", the man asked with a friendly smile. He was actually reasonably attractive looking.
„Ah, that's my friend Taylor. She kinda just showed up on my doorstep. I've been training her in Danmaku, ze!", the blonde before me informed him with an especially wide grin.
„You have? I didn't think of you as the teaching kind...", he turned to me: „And what is that with you just showing up on her doorstep? Her house is in the middle of the Forest of Magic."
He looked at me skeptically.
„Well, I'm kind of stranded in this world, you see.. I'm just waiting for this Yukari to send me back if she can."
„Ah, alright then. So, what brings you two to Kourindou?"
„We are looking for a thermos flask, da ze!",the black-white witch replied: „You wouldn't happen to have one, would you?" She winked at him with one eye.
„Ah... I suppose I might have one. Come and have a look, I'll show you the flask-like things I have here.", he went ahead expecting us to follow him. We did.
„There! That's one, ze!", I shouted out. Wait... did I just... Oh.
„'ze'? You too? What happened in those last weeks? Don't tell me you're trying to spawn evil clones of yourself or something, Marisa."
„Ah, no... I guess me and Tays must've spent a little too much time together, ze!", my cute witch friend answered for me. Wait... where did that cute come from?
„Okaaaay... I'm just going to ignore that. Sill, you better not be trying to start an incident or something. Anyways, so this one is a thermos flask? You can have it for free. I don't think you have anything to pay with, and if I'd say you can't have it you'd just... 'borrow' it anyways."
We made some small talk for a while and then said our goodbyes to Kourin, or Rinnosuke how I now knew him as.
With that we took our brooms and flew off to get some tea before we would be departing for real.
Once we had filled our new prize with the tea we so desperately needed in this cold. After we departed Marisa told me we would visit her friend, the shrine maiden of the Hakurei line, the one who guards the Hakurei barrier.
On our way to said shrine we encountered Alice, who apparently just came back from the Human Village. We talked for a while and promptly told her of the wonders a thermos flask could do for you in the cold, cold winter. After that Alice thought about getting one for herself.
We flew over the forest, the trees below us had long since blurred into a green and white mass. The sky had cleared itself after the earlier snow and the sun shone in our faces as we rode our the distance, I could see a place that was most likely the Hakurei shrine get bigger the nearer we got. On a side note, Marisa had found a way to cure my nearsightedness with magic, one of the best presents I've ever received. Once we had a clear view of the shrine grounds, we were slowly decreasing our altitude until we landed in the yard before the shrine.
„REEEIIIMMUUUU! I'M STILL ALIVE AND I'VE COME TO VISIT YOU!", Marisa immediately went for the door, taking of her shoes before she went in.
I followed shortly after her, putting my shoes next to hers, before peeking inside.
There she was, the maiden of the hakurei shrine, wearing a red and white miko dress that left her armpits bare... so... it really was more a variation of a mikos clothing.
„Wow, Marisa... you're actually still alive. It really isn't like you to be missing for so long. It's been what, 3 months?", the miko asked.
„Four actually. Hello miss Hakurei, my name's Taylor Hebert. I guess you could say that I'm currently Marisa's student."
„That's right, ze! And a talented one at that!", I blushed at the compliment: „She kinda just showed up on my doorstep, completely lost. She isn't from Gensokyou."
„Ah, alright.", Reimu was smiling now: „Do make yourself comfortable, I'll be back with some more tea shortly."
„HAH! There's no need for that, ze! We brought our own!", the witch proclaimed enthusiastically: „Beware the wonders of the thermos flask!", Marisa continued whle striking a dramatic pose, the flask held high up in the air on her open palm.
„Wouldn't that be cold by now?", the miko said in a deadpan tone.
„Ts, ts, ts. And that's exactly where you're wrong!", Marisa countered with a mocking shake of her pointer finger: „The magical item called thermos flask will keep any tea warm, even in the coldest and snowiest nights, until the day is over, da ze!"
„Actually, it's pretty much just like winter clothing for your tea, nothing magical about it...", I deadpanned.
„Taaaayys, why do you have to be such a spoilsport... I wanted her to maybe buy one too.", my 'master' replied in a whiny tone rubbing nonexistent tears from under her eyes.
Some time later we were sitting around the kotatsu in the main room of the shrine and told Reimu what we were up to those last weeks. The warmth was incredibly comforting and the tea was delicious. Of course we didn't tell her that me and Marisa had pretty much the same Magic-style, that would have to wait until we got into a tag team fight or something. The look on their faces would be truly hilarious... or terrified, if we showed them our quadruple-spark. Yes, that will be awesome.
„So, yeah, now we're just goin' around to make sure nobody forgot me. Our next stop, tomorrow, will be the SDM. We'll drink some tea with the little vampire and brag about our thermos flask. Maybe Sakuya will buy one, too."
„Makes sense so far. I wonder how Remilia will react once she meets Taylor. Taylor, you're from the outside world, right?"
„I don't think I'm from the outside world you mean, it seems that I'm from an alternate version of your outside world. Although I don't think we have an Gensokyou on Earth Bet. If we did, they would've probably left it already to look at the outside world. Youkai powers aren't really strange for us anymore. There are actually many humans with powers in my world. I actually wanted to be one of those someday, one of the heroes, and work for the protectorate and against the supervillains. That dream isn't really likely to come true. After The Locker I pretty much lost faith in authorities.", I replied, becoming quieter towards the end.
„The 'Locker'?", Marisa had already become very quiet as Reimu spoke up, curious about the subject. I noticed that Marisa avoided eye-contact.
„Yes, The Locker. The pinnacle of betrayal from my once best friend, and the climax of an almost two-year bullying campaign. They showed me into a locker, a metal box we use to keep our things secure, especially in school, which they filled with used hygiene products. The locker's contents were already rotting when I returned after the break and they shoved me straight in. After a few hours or so I blacked out only to awaken later in Marisa's living room.", I replied, already starting to sink into depression: „The whole thing was done by my former best friend, Emma Barnes, and her new friends Sophia Hess and Madison Clement. They bullied me for one and a half years before that. Nobody helped. Nobody wanted to take my word over the words of the three miss popular's. After all, I was just some ugly loser girl while Emma was already in the modeling scene, Sophia the resident track-star and Madison looked too innocent to even be suspected of anything.", my audience had become deadly quiet during my speech. I took a deep breath and continued: „'Not enough evidence', they said. And Emma's lawyer father didn't help matters much."
…
…
…
Reimu was the first to break the silence: „Damn... if the Yama would hear that, Hell would be loose."
„I thought so to... ze.", my Witch-friend replied.
„Wow... That was so sad I think I've sobered up.", a voice from behind me declared.
I looked behind me to find a girl with horns, probably the Oni Marisa told me about, with a gourd in her hands. She stared at me with a mostly expressionless face.
„You want some sake to forget those memories?", she offered.
After a brief delay, I replied with a „no, some things are better remembered, even if they hurt".
After a while the red-white Miko broke the ice that had formed again with a shout from where she was currently looking for snacks. The shout was directed at the oni I was introduced to just before: „SUIKA! Did you eat all the biscuits again?! Damn freeloader."
„Can't help it... They go well together with the sake...", the oni muttered.
Marisa laughed.
A/N: Soo... here it is. The Second/Third chapter of this story. It's still in it's early stages, but I hope it is alright so far. I've also been working on a smaller story, this time a Worm+Toaru Majutsu no Index Crossover. Anyway, I hope you've enjoyed this story so far.
Have a wonderful day...
-Azralan
PS: Does anybody know how to make full stops in the chapter title? I'd like to make use of them. Thanks.