Well, I didn't want to start my story off with a sudden BANG! Into the plot, so I decided to develop the characters a bit. LOL, I did not even know what Persona 4 is before Azure told me about it in a review. I suspect you compared my cloaked person to that person in that costume/suit/whatever that disguise was? And damn, I already thought up of an ending! I just need a good way to get there! Anyways, here's chapter two!
*Pitter patter, pitter patter*
Clomp.
Clomp.
Clomp.
…
…
… THUD!
A cloaked figure tumbled to the cold, hard ground, not knowing that he is back at a previous place.
A small distance away.
*Splo-bzzz-sh*
The sounds of numerous scaly wings slapping against the air and the rain.
"You can't hide from me forever, human, for I am Wriggle Nightbug, and my insect swarms will seek you out. Huh?"
Wriggle the bug youkai stopped, confused. In front of her stood the holy Hakurei Shrine. Inside the shrine's walls was the meal she was tracking. Rain splashed off of the downed human. She wondered about what to do.
"Hmm… that human is pretty much done for. But he's inside the shrine walls! It's expelling too much divine energy to let go inside the building, let alone the walls. Meh," she thought resentfully, "why does the stupid shrine have to be here?" She looked around.
"What could I do…" her ponderous thoughts echoed into the night.
Around the boyish youkai were fern plants, vines, and other random vegetation. There was also a rope stuck in the top of a tree. Some human's last ditch effort to escape.
"Let me see… ferns would do me no good. Vines, they're too weak. Tree bark, I can't even use that. Oh, the rope!" she exclaimed triumphantly, but not loudly. She got her insects to get it for her.
"Hmm… over the rope, around, and through… no, that's not it." She tried making a knot for minutes, and finally succeeded. "There!"
She turned to look back at the shrine. "Hah! Fate must be smiling on me today. There's no annoying miko at the stairs," she thought maliciously. "Time to get my meal."
Like a cowboy, she started to whirl the rope slipknot around. Like a cowboy, she threw it. And, like a greenhorn who had absolutely no experience throwing ropes around before, she roped a bucket.
"Aww, crap. Wrong thing. I just hope I don't mess the yard around too much." She pulled the bucket back, and repeated the process.
Just like a persistent greenhorn who tries to learn the trade of a cowboy, Wriggle threw the rope over and over again. She kept on missing, however. Soon, a pretty pile of random stuff was stacked neatly outside the shrine walls. She made a pyramid construction with the buckets, barrels, brooms, sticks, plant pots, leaf bag, donation box, car tent, a youkai skull, and random other stuff.
"Ooh, Red-and-White will be ~oh so~ mad! At least this makes up for what she did to me," she bitterly reflected as she lassoed the human and started pulling him.
A large, dark shadow loomed behind her.
A guttural voice rasped out, "What do we have here? A squishy little bug youkai trying to act like some arrogant greenhorn on whiskey!"
Wriggle stopped instantly. She slowly turned around, fear on her face.
WHAM! She was sent flying.
"Thanks for the meal, little one!"
*THWACK!*
"Gah! What the heck?"
*Crunch*
A dark tendril appeared visible, and then vanished into the dark sky.
"Argh!"
A thousand dark shapes darted from the sky, surrounded the youkai, and closed inwards.
….
"Hey! Reimu! Wake up, ze! There's like, a dead dude covering your lawn!"
"Huh? Whazzah! What's going on?" Reimu responded sleepily.
"Ugh. Here we go. Masterrrrrrrrr…"
*Slap*
"DON'T YOU GO MASTER SPARK ON ME WHEN I'M WAKING UP, MARISA!"
"Owowow! I think you left a mark, Reimu. And that hurt, ze!"
Reimu groggily got up, and sat on her crumpled futon. "What's the matter with you, Marisa? Why couldn't you just let me wake up normally?"
"Well, there's this guy in a cloak who's stretched out like a shot-down bird in your front yard. I had to pull him in and remove his soggy cloak. Also, there's, uhh…"
"Oh! That must be Teddy!"
"Who's Teddy?"
"Some guy who came here to rest for a bit. What was that other part you were talking about?"
"Well, how do I say this? Umm, your stuff is stacked in a neat pile outside your shrine walls?" Marisa nervously whispered.
Reimu blinked. She blinked at Marisa. She looked outside, and sure enough, as bright as day, most of the tools, ornaments, her car tent, and her donation box was stacked in a pyramid.
"MY DONATION BOX!" she screamed. She ran out of her shrine, and instantly regretted doing that without her flip-flops/shoes.
"Eww, what's this squishy black stuff on the floor? And why does it faintly smell of iron out here?" She looked up. "AND WHY THE HELL ISN'T IT RAINING ANYMORE, HUH?" she raged frustratedly.
Yup. The clouds were gone. Well, the clouds that sat in a mile radius of Reimu's shrine, that is. The rest of the sky, well, is still covered with clouds.
Marisa stood next to Reimu, holding her gohei and her flip-flops. "Never go anywhere without your trusty melee weapon and the shoes that you wear, Reimu,"
Reimu turned to stare into Marisa's face. She took her items, and then smacked her with the gohei.
"Did I ask you to bring my stuff to me?"
"Da~, ze. That hurt as well. Don't be such a grouch. Besides, have you seen me at any other times in which I brought you your stuff, you lazy miko?"
"Oh, right. Thank you, Marisa."
Marisa grinned. "Hehehe, no problem, Reimu. At least that gives me a score of 231 to 230, with me in the lead, ze!"
"Marisa!" complained Reimu.
"Well, Reimu, I wanted to pull that card on you all year long! Speaking of cards, what exactly is this black stuff around us, anyways, Reimu?"
"That's what I'd like to know."
Reimu suddenly motioned her hand to Marisa, telling her to stop talking. Marisa instantly did. They both listened, carefully. They heard a sobbing noise outside. They carefully crept to the top of the shrine wall, and looked. They saw Wriggle, walking around and crying. Marisa nodded to Reimu, and they both pounced on the hapless bug youkai.
"ACK! HELP! AMBUSH! AAAAAAAHHHHHH! I DON'T WANNA DIE YET I'M TOO YOUNG TO— GACK!"
Reimu expertly choked off the rest of the bug youkai's ramblings with a rag to the mouth. Wriggle's eyes widened in fear, and then distaste.
She spat the rag out. "Ah, what the hell, red-white! That rag tasted horrible!"
"Not as horrible as the bottom of my flip-flops, Wriggle. Do you want to taste that?"
"NO!" screamed Wriggle, and tried to unsuccessfully wriggle from Marisa's grasp, as her namesake is "Wriggle," after all.
Marisa deftly caught Wriggle's collar and said, "Epic failure, ze."
Reimu pointed her gohei dangerously at Wriggle's face. "Now tell us what happened, before I kill you," she said coldly. Wriggle turned pale at the gohei.
Reimu closed the gate, and motioned for Marisa to let go. Marisa complied, baseball broom at the ready.
"Now spill the beans, Wriggle. Tell us what you saw. Oh, and Marisa… OH MY GAWD! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU WEARING MY CLOTHES FOR?"
Sure enough, Marisa wasn't wearing her witch outfit, and instead was wearing one of Reimu's spare miko uniforms. The spare one that Reimu never uses. She nervously shrugged. Reimu glanced inside, and saw Marisa's clothes ripped and dripping, as well as spiked, frosted with snow, and burnt, placed in a pile next to the door.
"Don't ask, please. I had one looong day, ze."
…
Wriggle told Marisa and Reimu everything from her point of view, and was free to leave. After taking apart the arts-and-crafts project built outside the shrine and putting everything back into its rightful place. Except for the shreds. She absolutely refused to touch them, even though Marisa threatened her with her mini-hakkero.
…
"What I don't understand, ze," Marisa said to Reimu, "was that thousand dark shadows Wriggle was so afraid about. Yes, that large youkai was one thing. But for those shadows to come out of the sky, seeming out of nowhere, and rip that youkai to shreds?"
"I know. It's just strange. I wonder if it has anything to do with those clouds?" Reimu replied.
"Oh, and about that Feddy person—"
"Teddy. What about him?"
"Well, he's standing right behind you, looking very confused. He's also staring at the tattered remains of his cloak."
"Really?" Reimu turned around. She didn't see Teddy standing. Teddy was placed unceremoniously onto a futon.
Marisa quickly reached out with her hand and snagged Reimu's tea cup. SLAP! The teacup went flying.
"Marisa, you crafty liar…" muttered Reimu when CRASH! the cup shattered against the wall.
"Oops, ze."
Reimu sighed, releasing herself to the unevitable. "At least that cup was already damaged," she thought to herself, trying to find a reason to calm herself down. She was too lazy to make herself another one, yet alone go out to the Human Village to buy one.
Then, a voice shattered her thoughts. "Oww, what the heck happened to me?"
Marisa looked over Reimu's shoulder, and said, "The freeloader's awake."
"Hey! I heard that!" a protesting voice complained. "And I'm not a freeloader!"
Reimu turned to glare at Marisa, who simply shrugged. She turned around to face Teddy. Without the darned cloak in the way, she could see Teddy's appearance. He seemed to be about sixteen years old, yet doesn't have a trace of the rebellious teenage identity. Yet. One can never tell, she sighed to herself. He also had unkempt black hair, and he had bangs skewed across his forehead. It seemed as if he slept for an entire day, shifting and turning, then woke up and hopped out of bed. Without taking a comb and combing his hair. (Speaking of unkempt hair, Gensokyo has a strange quality in which one doesn't have bed hair. Exactly. So this might mean that Teddy wishes to keep his hair like that.)
"Well, now that you're all alive and awake Teddy…"
SPLASH!
"…I want you to sweep…"
*pitter-patter*
"… the… front… huh? The rain returned."
Indeed, the rain did in fact return. Less heavy, this time though.
"Aww."
As sudden as the rain came, it stopped.
"You needed me to sweep the yards? Well, it looks like the rain did it for me," he answered, "though I don't know why the rain keeps on changing." He then said, "Thanks for the stay. I shall be taking my leave now."
"Oh no you don't, ze!"
"Yeah! You were knocked out in my front yard yesterday! Or last night, or this morning. So I expect you to repay the debt to me, mister."
"Yes, miko," he answered crisply. "Oh wait. There are two mikos. So who's the new one, Reimu?"
"The one next to me is named Marisa Kirisame, and she's not a miko."
"Then why is she wearing what looks to be a duplicate of your clothing?"
"Long story, ze."
"Well, why don't you tell us?"
"Da~, ze. I don't want to tell you now. How about later?"
"Sure, whatever," Reimu replied. She was eager for a bedtime story, after all, and was smiling at what may have befallen her kleptomaniac friend.
….
For the rest of the day, Teddy did the chores Reimu asked him to do. However, he was enjoying doing them. It is as if somebody has given a purpose in his life once again, even if it is something as simple and humble as sweeping the front yard. (The area around Reimu's shrine remained without clouds.) He has spent most of his life after childhood wandering around, lost in nothing but his thoughts. Time and time again, everything avoided him, and he had no idea why. However, once he approached this certain area, things certainly changed. He no longer had to continue wandering.
"Hey, Teddy!" shouted Marisa. "Reimu's asking *cough* forcing *cough* me to tell you to go with her to the Human Village today!"
Teddy looked dubious. "Why exactly are we going? I mean, can't she just do that herself?"
Marisa rolled her eyeballs in her head. "Well, of course she's a lazy miko. Look at her, ze!" She pointed, and Teddy saw Reimu sitting in a rocking chair, staring out at the scenery.
"Better pack an umbrella. Besides, you're still in that miko outfit. Are you planning to go to your house?"
"Maybe later, ze. I just the weather clears up. Otherwise, I'm going to wear more of Reimu's clothes! How awesome is that?" Marisa eagerly chatted, forgetting that Teddy was not one of her usual chatters.
"Uh, why are you talking to me like this? I'm not a cross dresser, you know! This is awkward for me!"
"Oh, right. Sorry, Teddy, I forgot you're a boy."
"Am not a boy!"
"Whatever, ze."
Teddy grabbed his backpack, because he felt as if he was going to need the stuff he kept inside. Like the pair of hard rubber-soled boots. He imagined Marisa wading through knee-deep icy-cold water with that miko outfit, and then suddenly Marisa is forced to switch to having to wade through knee-deep snow, and that's not even it. He thought of spiky hailstones, and chuckled.
"What are you laughing at, ze?"
He instantly blushed at the thoughts he had. "Umm… nothing." He mentally slapped himself ten times for being slightly a sadist. "Ah well. If we do come upon bad stuff like those," he thought, referring to the water, snow, and spiky hailstones, "I can give her my pair of rubber-soled boots. It's not like I need them. Besides, these tennis shows I got from, Jetless Corporations would do just fine." He wondered if Marisa needed a jacket.
"Huh, when did I started caring about other people?" he wondered to himself. Certainly, he didn't before. And now, suddenly, out of the blue, despite having blank years before, he felt different. "Ah well. I suppose this is good."
"Hey, Teddy."
"Yeah?"
"Do you know how to fly?"
Teddy stared at her in disbelief. "Fly? People can fly?"
"Yeah. For instance, Reimu can fly by using her Hakurei bloodline powers, and I can fly using my broom. I suppose, based on your response, that you can't fly. Am I right, ze?"
"Absolutely. I never knew people could fly."
"Well, get onto my broom, ze. I'll give you a little sight-seeing tour of Gensokyo."
"Uh, have you forgotten about the weather?"
"What about the weather? Isn't it nice and warm here?"
"Well, only at Reimu's shrine. I doubt it will be sunny elsewhere. Go on, look."
"Oh right, I forgot. The strange weather was the reason why I have to wear Reimu's clothes. My clothes got worn down by the weather patterns. No worry. I'll just create a danmaku barrier. At least my hat is okay," she said, and put on her effing-big black-and-white witch's hat with the mini-hakkero under it onto her head.
"Eh? You had a hat like that all that time? I didn't even notice that!"
"Da~, ze! Well, don't witches usually wear hats? And like any sane witch, I enchanted my hat to keep it from wearing down. If somebody does tear it, then I usually beat that person up, and Master Spark her. Then, I go to Alice to get my hat fixed. She's the best seamstress in the entirety of Gensokyo, ze!"
"Alice? She sounds like a nice person."
"Well, she is. Kind of. If you understand her point of view. Other humans think she's cold. You know," she droned on, "Alice used to be a human, just like me, Reimu, and you." She then poked Teddy in the chest to emphasize the word "you."
"So, what happened to her?" Teddy was curious.
"She turned into a youkai. If you ever meet her, you would see that she would usually have Shanghai around."
"Mphmm. Wait, who's Shanghai?"
"Alice's treasured doll. Alice is a dollmaker."
"Oh, right." Okay, Teddy thought, Gensokyo is inhabited by lazy mikos, crazy flying witches who say "ze," and people who are doll-crazy. Oh wait, that would be a stereotype. Well, he thought, I hope those dolls are cute, and not crazy like that Chucky clown guy.
"Alice's dolls also use lances, for your information."
Oh, crap, thought Teddy. Lances.
"A sadist?" he asked.
Marisa stared at him with disbelief. "Alice is not a sadist!" she declared.
"Well, shouldn't we get going now?"
"Yeah." She grabbed on her broom, and sat on it, with her back facing its side. And it was levitating. "Hop on, ze. Or, are you scared? We can always walk!" she teased.
"Ugh. Fine, then." He unceremoniously sat onto the broom.
"Okay. Hang on tightly!"
Awkward, thought Teddy.
WHOOSH!
"AAHH! AAHH! TOO FAST!" Teddy was screaming like a pansy. However, his internal thoughts were, "I can keep stability. I can keep stability. Wait. Am I falling backwards off of the broom? Ah well." He tumbled off, screaming as the ground came close.
WHAM! He smacked face first onto the ground just outside Reimu's shrine.
Marisa continued flying for a while, and said, "How's the ride, Teddy? Eh? Teddy?" She stopped, and turned around. "OH CRAP, TEDDY ISN'T FLYING WITH ME!" She flew back, and accidentally passed Teddy.
"Gah, this is no fun," said Teddy out loud. However, he thought, "AWESOME! I WANNA DO THIS AGAIN!" He saw Marisa flying back, slowly this time. He decided to tell her where he was at. He reached into his backpack and pulled out a bottle rocket.
PSEWWW! "It flew upwards in a burst of rainbow sparks!" Teddy narrated to himself.
CRACKLE! "It exploded with a fiery, rainbow bang!"
WHOOSH! "Marisa flew headlong into the flak burst! Oh wait, that's not good."
WHAM! Marisa abruptly smacked into the ground. "Ow, that hurt, ze. Don't pull another stunt like that, Teddy." She stood up, and recovered her broom. She looked at the state of her miko clothing.
"Whew. I thought you might have burnt that with your danmaku, ze. If you did burnt it, Reimu would kill me—"
"Wait. What's danmaku?" Teddy was unfamiliar with the concept, and his internal thoughts went like, "She thought my bottle rocket was a danmaku burst? Cool! Maybe it'll function like a flak rocket later when I need it!"
"Oh, you never heard of danmaku before? Well, when we get back, me'n Reimu will teach it to you, ze. Well, that is if you know how to use it. Otherwise, just use that thing you shot. What was it, though?"
"A bottle rocket."
"Whatever. Get on the broom," she ordered. "And next time, try not to fall off and scream like a little girl again, ze. It's quite unmanly for a guy like you to do that," she teased.
So, she seems carefree, thought Teddy to himself, while answering, "I'll try to next time."
"Yeah, whatever—wait, did you just say you'll try to?"
"Yeah. I did say that, ze!" Teddy answered, trying to imitate Marisa' catchphrase thingy.
Marisa laughed, her clear laughter ringing across the clearing they were in. "Well, that's something people don't usually answer with," she responded, with some tears in her eyes. "Well, why don't we get going?"
"Ok."
The two got onto the broom, and flew off. Teddy was pretending to scream like a little girl again, while Marisa tried hard not to laugh and cause them to smack into the trees nearby."
SPLASH!
The change in weather was sudden. They were flying into rain again.
"I hope that we don't get too wet," muttered Marisa.
Teddy wordlessly brought out an umbrella from his backpack, and told Marisa to slow down so the umbrella would not flip inside-out.
"Slow down, unless you want this thing to flip inside-out and for us to catch a cold!"
"Yes, sir, ze!" She slowed the broom down a little, just enough for the sturdy, umbrella made by Jetless Corporations to remain okay. However, that was still a little too fast. A policeman with radar would look shocked if he/she saw two people on a broom flying by, and with the radar clocking at "Eighty miles per hour" and a robotic voice speaking "Please initiate pursuit and give a speed ticket."
WHEE! I HAD TOO MUCH FUN WRITING THIS CHAPTER, ZE! Aww, too bad I have to go back to reality to do my homework. I don't understand why I'm going to be taking APECON in the tenth grade. Ah well. At least this fan fic would be a nice release from the daily stress of school! Not to mention that Mandarin class is boring, and I think up some possible ideas of this fan fic during that time. Anyways, reviews, and here's cookies for those who review! Whew. It is now 9:34 in Oakland, yet I need to do my homework. I'll try to write out the next chapter tomorrow! Or, I could just take a long time to write a ridiculously long chapter, but I like this better. Touhou Project, Marisa, and Reimu, as well as Marisa's Wonderfully Magic Flying Broom (that may win in a Quidditch match, sot sure if I spelled it correctly), belong to ZUN! Teddy and his wonderful backpack of reactive bottle rockets belong to me!