Nicolas Notes: Hehehehe, back again for more! I'm half way through the next update and I got a rather nasty writer's block in the middle of it, so I'm posting this baby to pass the time.
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CHAPTER 4, 2: Brief Hellos and Long Goodbyes
Year 2000
7:56 Post-meridian
Hakurei Shrine, Before the Great Barrier, Gensokyo
Both Rook and Marisa have arrived at the Hakurei shrine only to find it hollow and empty. The wind kept howling by the barren shrine grounds as the duo passed under the red torii gate. It was weird, seeing the usual comfortable, cheerful shrine suddenly reduced into an abandoned building in a remote area of Gensokyo. Despite the run down look it had up close, the shrine was surprisingly well kept considering the fact that it has housed generations and generations of lazy shrine maidens who barely cleaned up.
Rook had only been away for a few weeks, and yet much has changed, or was the impending doom that was about to happen causing this?
The stone path leading to the shrine was windswept and littered with leaves. From the front yard, the sound of creaking wood from within the building could be heard as if it were about to fall off any moment. The dark roof was weather beaten but otherwise intact and durable. Due to this world being Gensokyo and the fact that the shrine maiden that dwells here is 'poor', the shrine is old fashioned and offers poor protection to the elements, causing it to be hot in the summer, wet in autumn, and freezing cold during winter.
How are they alive after living through all of that? Maybe living in such harsh conditions keep the maidens in shape if a youkai suddenly shows up, it probably part of their training, thought Rook as he continued to survey the shrine that was void of life.
Walking across the stone path, with Marisa beside him, Rook made his way to the large donation box that sat on the cold wooden floor just above the steps that were made from the same material. Taking a peek inside the disappointingly empty donation, the boy reminds Marisa to stay alert. "Keep your eyes peeled; those two have to be here somewhere"
"Weird, they were demolishing the place when I left, but…. Everything's back to normal, repaired and new… " muttered the witch sitting on the shrine steps while examining her light injury.
Closing the donation box's lid, Rook noticed a new structure sitting right next to a large three a few paces away from the torii gate. "A dog house? Since when did Reimu get a-"
"Camp… Miss Mima insisted it" said Marisa grumpily, cutting off Rook's question.
"Well, it is Mima after all…" chuckled Rook over the nerve wrecking silence. The source of the chaos seems to be located here in the shrine and yet, there was no one here. No Reimu, no Mima, nothing… What happened to those beams earlier? The unnatural power that spread throughout the land causing geysers to burst out from nowhere and the sky to collapse. As much as Rook wanted to do something, all they had to do was wait, Yukari would be arriving soon and all he had to do was give enough time till she came. Only problem was, that the source of the problem was nowhere to be seen.
BOOM
A blur of blue and green crashed right in front of the shrine with so much force that the building itself rattled at the impact. The very moment the blur came in contact with the ground a thick veil of dust and dirt hovered in the air before clearing, revealing a human sized crater imbedded on the stone path.
A soft tap indicated Reimu Hakurei's arrival at the shrine entrance, her pretty face now dark and ominous as she radiated an equally sinister aura that seemed to weigh down Rook's limbs. Before the boy knew it, he was breathing heavily through his mouth, his heart beat sounding on his ears. Something was wrong, a cold creeping sensation spread throughout his arms as they were filled with goose bumps. The corruption was reaching its final stage, they had to work fast.
Reimu seems to have changed her outfit during the weeks Rook has disappeared. She now wore a customized miko outfit with her sleeves detached revealing her bare shoulders. A yellow ribbon is tied on her chest, while her hair is tied by another large ribbon at the back of her head as two red hair ornaments are tied at the sides of her face. Her long shiny black hair rippled in the harsh gust that has entered the shrine grounds, along with the white streamers of her purification rod that was held at her side.
The girl's eyes were blank and were devoid of emotion yet she radiated an aura of pure hate.
No, this is wrong… This isn't Reimu; this is someone else, thought Rook through gritted teeth while Marisa called out to her friend. "Reimu, what the hell are you doing, ze?"
As a black and crimson aura envelope the corrupted miko, Rook could see that the hand that was holding her gohei was shaking within her grip. She was fighting back, but losing terribly. The black colored aura, which seemed to be made up of the same components as smoke, formed sharp pointed tentacles that surrounded the miko's feet. The crimson aura however was being emitted on Reimu's skin, giving them a bright scarlet glow.
"Marisa, stay back and give me cover fire, I'll try and talk to her, maybe break the-"
"NO, BOTH OF YOU STAY BACK, I GOT THIS!" shouted a voice that came from the crater, cutting off Rook's orders. Reimu's eyes flashed and slashed her gohei in an arc on the air, summoning what looked like a large golden shield that spun in mid-air with the symbol of ying and yang engraved on its middle, right before a grand beam of yellow and green erupted from the crater before her. Mima rose up into the air her ghostly tail and blue cape rippling in the wind, as she let loose a weakened version of her Twilight Spark at the Hakurei miko. Reimu's expression remains unfazed as she was subjected to the powerful attack, while Mima's face was full of strain as she did everything in her power to keep the beam alive.
"Miss Mima!" cried Marisa as she made an attempt of aiding her mentor by pulling out her hakkero, only to be stopped by Rook who held her by her collar. "Damn it let go of me!"
"She told you to stay, now stay!" snarled Rook keeping his eyes on the battle before him while keeping a firm grip on Marisa. The witch struggled for a moment only to gasp as she realized that the Evil Spirit was on the ropes. For a brief moment, Reimu has disappeared only to reappear right above the staggering Mima, before crashing down with a kick. Mima held out her arms in front of her to block the incoming attack, which caused Reimu to flip backwards as she saw that her attack was block.
The miko hovered in mid-air for moment as she willed the smoke like tendrils to lash out at the Evil Spirit, whom transformed her ghost tail into legs for a second so that she can dash to the side as she dodged the deadly tentacles. Tiny craters were formed on the area where the tentacles had missed the Evil Spirit, damaging the front yard greatly.
Reimu's feet uttered a loud tap as she landed back on the ground, before dashing towards the Evil Spirit who went out to meet her. As they drew nearer, Reimu was the first to respond with a fist, while Mima ducked as she came to a halt under Reimu's outstretched arm, twisting around, causing her blue dress to fly along as she delivered the miko a reverse kick. Reimu managed to lift her knee to prevent said kick from hitting her gut, which prompted her to reply with a hook from her left hand causing Mima to send out her own as she lowered her offending leg.
Both the miko's and the spirit's fists met in mid-air, which unleashed a tiny ring of force around the area. Once the contact was made, Reimu swung her purification rod while Mima intercepted the attack with her wand, making them look like they were crossing swords. Both of the girl's hairs flew as the wind blew harder while the air sung its lamenting song.
Both combatants swung their weapons once more, slashing and hacking one another with great vigor. Reimu's gohei was caught between the spirit's wand tip with its crescent shape, which prompted the spirit to twist her wrist and pull hard, causing the miko to be dragged along, however Reimu surprised Mima by giving her a head butt right before the spirit can knee her gut.
Mima lost her rhythm at that and did not even have the chance to defend herself as the miko's gohei struck her right cheek and sweep her off her legs, causing her to fall flat on the floor. Even with her opponent down incapacitated, Reimu raised her right foot and almost crushed Mima's head under it if not for the Evil Spirit rolling to her side, and transform her legs back into her ghost tail so that she could grab the miko by her ankle and knock her down as well. Reimu did not realize the Evil Spirit's plot until the moment that she too was on the ground.
Both miko and spirit stood up at the same time, but before Mima could even recover and find her balance on her ghost tail, Reimu willed one of the smoke tentacles towards Mima's neck, wrapping itself around the Evil Spirit's neck causing her to choke.
"No!" screamed Marisa as she was held back by Rook, who at the time had no idea what to do. Think… Think… If this keeps up we would all be killed. Reimu's just too strong to take down the Vengeful Spirit and kick her around like that… There has to be a way on getting her back to her senses
Back at the battle, the choking Mima summoned six tiny replica of herself through six circled pentagrams around her. "Get her!" she croaked, as the tiny Mimas cried out a squeaky battle cry before charging at the miko, however they did not get far for they were all shot down by charms and amulets that resonated from Reimu's hand.
Reimu glared at the Evil Spirit coldly and in an almost inaudible whisper she said. "Fantasy Seal"
Mima's eyes widened as she caught the miko's words and immediately growled only to falter as the tendril that bound her tightened around her neck. Reimu closed her eyes while large orbs of both black and crimson escaped from her chest, causing her smooth black hair to hover and the orbs to circle above her head, spinning fast and faster by the second.
The Evil Spirit struggled against her bonds, but too late, Reimu uttered the word of release and Mima could do nothing as the orbs of black and crimson came crashing down towards her. However, the burning sensation that she had braced herself for never came. The corrupted orbs disappeared as they neared three inches from her nose, giving her the sight of star bullets pelt Reimu from above.
When the barrage of star bullets finally came to a halt, Reimu wasted no time unleashing large ying yang orbs towards the offender. Mima watched as the black white orb almost hit Marisa who was on her broom as she dodged and weaved the incoming projectiles. When Reimu saw that Marisa was being kept busy, she turned her attention once more to Mima only to find Rook hacking off the tendrils that kept the Spirit in place with his arms that crackled with electricity.
Reimu sent out her charms and amulets homing towards the boy and spirit, yet all of her shots were knocked off the air as electricity traced from Rook's fingers and intercepted any charms of amulets headed their way.
"Our turn" muttered Rook as he willed his lightning to trace every single amulet that were coming towards them, which was pretty hard considering the amount of amulets Reimu unleashed. Rook immediately severed the electricity once all of the miko's charms were destroyed.
"Rook! Get out of the way!" yelled Marisa from above, grabbing her hakkero from underneath her hat and aim it towards Reimu. Rook instantly got the message and grabbed the Evil Spirit's arm, pulling her away from the area.
A wide magic circle appeared right in front of Marisa and began to spin faster and faster, its very center glowing as a small orb of blue light was formed growing ever larger as the circle began to spin. The witch braced herself and gripped her hakkero tight as the air around her began to hum. Reimu seemed to have recognized the attack and closed her eyes, muttering unintelligible words at a rapid pace.
"This'll hurt me more than it hurts you Reimu!" shouted the witch as the energy around her reached its peak. The miko gave no reply other than opening her eyes and glare coldly at the witch above.
"MASTERRRRR!" Screamed Marisa, thrusting her hakkero forward. "DUPLEX!" Yelled Reimu pointing her gohei at the witch.
"SPARRRRRKKKK!" "BARRIER!" both girls shouted in unison.
A grand beam of multicolored lights erupted from the witch's octagonal box, roaring its way towards the shrine maiden who has summoned an equally great barrier before her. The Master Spark rammed itself against Reimu's barrier in an attempt to blast her to oblivion. The shrine maiden stood steadfast as she saw that her barrier hold against the colossal assault while the witch poured every bit of her energy into the beam just as Mima had uttering a loud battle cry as she did to increase the beam's density.
The earth shook at the magnificent display of power, while the air hummed with the bountiful energy that was currently present.
They've sure grown a lot, huh, thought Rook as the sight before him took his breath away. I have to stop them, or else they'll end up killing each other.
Rook turned his attention back at the rising spirit he set down beside a tree earlier. Mima struggled to hover on her ghost tail as she realized that her student was fighting her battle. The boy immediately went to her side as she was about to fall.
"Watch it," said Rook as he helped support the Spirit's weight, "You should take it easy, who knows how long you've been fighting"
Mima jerked her arm away from the boy and glare at him. "I have to help Marisa, she won't handle the shrine maiden alone"
"I know that, but do you really think that you can do much in that state?" asked Rook pointing at the Spirit's weakened condition.
"I'll manage" growled Mima before grunting in pain as her entire form turned translucent for a moment. "Damn it"
"I can't say I told you so" said Rook a he stared at the coughing spirit before him. "Come on, save your strength. We'll be needing it sooner than you think. Get some rest and once you recover you can join us, but for now I'll be taking your place"
Mima looked as though she was about to punch the boy in the face, yet found no strength to do so. Seeing that she didn't have any choice, she finally agreed. "Keep Marisa as far away as possible from all potential dangers got it? I know your style Rook, and I'm telling you that there's no reasoning with whatever's inside Reimu. Beating some sense into her would be the only way of snapping her back to normal, however it will require a large amount of power to do so and as you can see, I didn't have enough. There's a slim chance that you and Marisa would be able to do it, but once I recover we'll have a greater chance of returning the stupid girl back to her senses"
"So, we just need to stall until you recover, right?" asked Rook for confirmation.
"Stalling while attempting to beat Reimu to a pulp in hope that she'll return" specified Mima as a loud explosion was heard. "You need to hurry!"
"Understood, I'll handle things from here. Stay and rest" said the boy before heading off back to the shrine.
Once he reached the shrine grounds once more, he was met with the sight of Marisa on the ground with her broom smoldering at her side, her hat sporting a giant hole in it while her white apron reduced to charcoal black. Some parts of her black dress were still smoking while her hair seemed fine though the smell coming from it indicated that some of them burned off.
Reimu on the other hand had some parts of her dress torn while by some miracle, her left sleeve still hung on her arm considering the fact that it was ripped to shreds. Her large red ribbon has gone missing, causing her long hair to flow down her shoulders. Her face still had that cold ominous look on it as dirt was streaked across her right cheek.
"So finally back, da ze?" asked Marisa with her back facing him, she sounded amused despite the situation she was in? "I'll have to ask you to stay back, ze. I'll show you the reason why I'm called Reimu's rival, hehehe"
"Are you sure you're okay?" asked Rook.
The witch turned to face him with a bright on her face. "Not just okay, but feeling really good! Stay back okay? Let Marisa have some of her share of the fun, ze!"
"Just don't get too cocky, and stay alert. Mima won't like it if you suffer brain damage from this" replied the boy, crossing his arms on his chest. "Five minutes Marisa or else the world's going to end!"
The witch chuckled, mounting her broom and taking off once more. Marisa came to a halt as Reimu hovered a few meters away from her, shooting her charms and amulets at a rapid pace. Marisa somersaulted in mid-air on her broom to avoid the incoming projectiles and fire her own. Marisa reached deep within her skirt pocket and throw five large pod looking objects into the air, exploding as they released many green magical bullets incased within them.
Reimu continued to shoot her piercing amulets at the witch, causing Marisa to flip around her broom lie an acrobat as she returned fire with lasers from her hakkero. Reimu ceased her next wave of bullets and flew straight towards Marisa; however the witch was simply too fast as she and the miko sky rocket towards the clouds.
Once she saw that they were high enough, Marisa severed the magic that made her broom fly and pointed the brush of said broom towards the miko behind below her with her hakkero at the brush's very tip, as it glowed a bright shade of red before letting loose a narrow stream of red laser. Reimu simply loops around the laser firing her ying yang orbs towards Marisa.
"Oh shit!" cursed the witch as she twisted her body and broom in mid-air to avoid being crushed by the large black and white orbs. Her hakkero back within her grasp and her broom flying once more, Marisa makes her way under Reimu and comes to a halt some twenty meters between the miko.
Once again both girls yell at each other.
"Hakurei Illusion!" shouts Reimu.
"Stardust Reverie!" yells Marisa.
Red seal tags began to circle five feet above Reimu while the gray seal tags were unleashed along with white bullets the size of snow balls. After a few seconds upon the gray seal's release, the red seals home their way towards Marisa's head.
Meanwhile at the witch's end, star shaped bullets of all sizes explode on every direction, forming no recognizable patter in their randomness. The only bullets that were easily identified were the blue and green star bullets that appeared on either side of Reimu in many diagonal rows in an attempt to restrain the miko of her movements.
However both attack's functions were greatly interrupted as seals and star bullets clashed against one another creating miniature explosion in the air. The waves of red seal were overwhelmed by a large yellow star bullet that exploded once hit by the other gray seals. Once the explosion has occurred, it created a chain reaction and made the other bullets and seals detonate as they flew.
Both girls were engulfed in the smoke that came from the blasts, hiding them from the lone spectator below. Rook watched as Marisa slowly descended right beside him coughing from the amount of smoke she had inhaled, before almost collapsing if Rook had not caught her.
Rook did not find any injury on the witch's person and once he made sure that there weren't, he patted Marisa's shoulder saying, "Five minutes are up, my turn"
Marisa laughed for a bit before saying, "Good luck, you'll need it, ze"
Rook cracked a smile and whispered, "Checkmate…" He then proceeded to sprint towards the recovering miko.
I could feel it… The rush… It feels good, too bad I could only be invincible for a few minutes, he thought as the wind once again sung its sad lament. Alright, let's go, go, go!
Reimu only then realized what was happening and went to shoot Rook with her charms and amulets once more. Grinning, the boy did not even bother to dodge the incoming bullets as they stuck on his skin and clothes for he felt no pain. Rook charged his way through the volleys of burning seal tags and corrupted charms, while shrugging off the damage from the attacks effortlessly. He willed his feet to go faster, which caused his speed to increase to inhuman rates as well. Closing his eyes for a moment as he ran, Rook envisioned the miko's next moves as if predicting the future.
The boy opened his eyes and dodged an amulet that headed towards his face at the very last moment. The next second came and he was right before Reimu with his left arm raised. The miko fell for his feint and raised her right arm in defense, failing to see the kick that swept her off her feet.
Planting his right foot behind him as Reimu fell, Rook opened his hand and proceeded to grab the shrine maiden's neck, however he was met by the tip of Reimu's gohei on his gut, causing him to flinch and lose focus. Reimu rolled away as she recovered, and charge once again, swinging her gohei as she did.
Rook recovered almost immediately, and ducked letting the rod pass over his head and catching it before Reimu could swing back. Rook's gray eyes met with Reimu's corrupted red ones, before the shrine maiden lifted her gohei along with Rook's hand that was on it to create an opening. The black smoke infused palm that the shrine maiden was about to strike the boy with almost made a direct hit if not for Rook releasing the gohei at the last second and trap the smoking hand between his arms as he moved to his side.
To his surprise, Reimu formed a warped smile on her face before her hand exploded with evil energy, blowing the boy off his feet and causing him to fall flat on his back. His hands suddenly feeling heavy as lead and his heart beating rapidly, Rook did not even manage to get away as the miko grabbed him by his collar and lift him off his feet with her monstrous strength. One of the smokes like tentacles that formed below Reimu's feet, wrapped itself around Rook's leg, prompting Reimu to let go of his collar as he dangled by his feet.
Shaking his head back into focus, Rook had enough time to see that world around him turned upside down, before being tossed away like a doll. Feeling no pain from the crash, Room immediately got back to his feet and dash once more towards the miko who at a flick of her wrist summoned two more tendrils towards him. Rook leapt over the first tentacle's strike as it attempted to grab him by his ankle once more, however the second hit him square in the chest while he was in mid-air, sending him flying towards a tree.
Standing up, Rook dove to his side as a smoke tendril impaled itself on the tree where his head was moments ago. Gritting his teeth, the boy got to his feet as he ran, sending arcs of lightning towards the miko who once again shielded herself from the attack with a barrier.
Giving the shrine maiden no time to recover from summoning the barrier, Rook dashed his way towards Reimu once more, his hands clenched into fists imbued with crackling electricity.
"I'll crush that thing!" yelled Rook as he rammed his fist on the barrier, retracting his offending hand and sending out another. Sparks flew as he hammered his fists on the golden barrier in an attempt to break it, pouring more and more energy to his attacks. From behind the golden shield, the corrupted miko was anything but amused.
"Eat this!" snarled Rook, before turning around and delivering the barrier a swift reverse kick, with his heel in contact with the golden square. Sparks flew and electricity danced as the impact was made.
The possessed miko's eyes flashed and with a push of her monstrous strength using the barrier, Rook was sent flying towards the shrine. The boy crashed in a heap next to Marisa who was casually enjoying the fight with a pouch full of peanuts at her side.
"Impressive, ze, but it looks like you're done for" said the witch, chuckling as she ate a peanut. "Why don't you just sit back, relax, and give up"
"Heh, you're the last person I'll ever expect saying that" said Rook, as he stood up back on his feet. "Besides…"
"Hmm?"
"It ain't over till the fat man sings," snickered Rook, raising his right hand in the air, "Blitzkrieg…."
Reimu had time to look down on her feet as a magic circle lit up and surrounded her. Not a moment too soon the shrine maiden was struck not once, but ten times by a white bolt of lightning that erupted from above with a roar similar to that of the great Dragon's awakening.
Rook watched as the miko was struck again, and again, and again, and again, and again, before finally hearing Marisa chuckle.
"And who ever said that lightning doesn't strike twice, ze?" chortled the witch as she observed her best friend get hit by large amounts of raw energy.
"I don't know… Thanks by the way, for setting up those charges on the spot where I expected you to place them" said Rook, glancing at the witch beside him.
"Nah, don't sweat it, besides I always wanted to see Reimu's hair stand up from the shock, hehehe"
"Really? Some friend you are, aren't you a bit worried that she won't survive those bolts?"
"Reimu's a lot tougher than you expect, and so am I. I know that she'll survive that because she's Reimu after all!" boasted the witch with a bright glint in her eyes.
Rook blinked twice for a moment to understand what she just said, and found himself sniggering at her words.
"Hey, what's wrong!" asked Marisa with a frown on her face.
"Hehehe, you and your big mouth…" said Rook, pointing at the dust that was clearing over at the shrine's entrance.
Marisa sighs at the sight of Reimu with both of her arms out stretched underneath the protection of her new black barrier, which seemed to have protected her from the next lightning bolts that followed the second. Her red dress was now a mess compared to its state back in her fight with Marisa. The hem of her red dress now had a long tear on it while the ripped sleeve she had earlier on her arm was now reduced to ashes. Only a few streamers are left on her gohei, for the rest were burned off the initial attack of the lightning bolts. Her yellow ribbon was now missing along with the right side of her hair ornament, causing strands of her hair to hang loose.
Rook offers his hand to the witch, who gladly took it with a grin. Marisa dusted off the dirt on her dress, and putting on her hat while Rook took off his glove on his right hand studying it with great interest.
Reimu takes flight, causing her barrier to disappear, and glare coldly at the duo below her. She slashes her gohei in a wide arc in the air before raising it up again and gracefully places it before her chest with her eyes closed. Over the humming wind and the rustling weaves, Reimu's words were heard.
"Fantasy Heaven…."
The legendary Hakurei ying yang orbs appeared at either side of the chosen miko, before starting to revolve around her faster and faster they went until they became a blur of black and white. Nine glassy barriers formed themselves around the miko, and began to spin the opposite direction the orbs were going.
Both the boy and the witch sigh at the sight, for they have never expected the miko to go this far. Time was short and they didn't have all day.
With a grin the boy and the witch raised their hand/hakkero aiming towards at the shrine maiden before them.
"On three!" called Rook as he gathered as much electricity as he can into his hand.
"Sure!" said Marisa as she focused every drop of power she had recovered into her hakkero.
"One….!" Said Rook as the air around them once more began to hum with mana.
"Two Three!" cackled the witch under the blue glow of her forming beam. Rook almost slapped his face with his own hand just before he heard Marisa shouting.
"MASTERRRRR!" screamed Marisa.
"IMPERIAL!" yelled Rook.
"SPARK/BOLT!" both roared in unison. A rainbow colored beam of mass destruction followed by a stream of raw power, tore through the shrine's pavement and thundered its way towards the flying shrine maiden whose expression remain blank and cold at the sight of her impending doom.
Reimu gave no other reply other than a whisper. "Release…"
A colossal ring of force expanded from within the shrine maiden's body forming a titanic shockwave that collided with the mighty beam and powerful bolt, halting their progress of reaching and blasting Reimu away to the next kingdom.
Rook and Marisa fought against the blast from the Fantasy Heaven with all they had, managing to force an expression of discomfort to appear on the corrupted Reimu's face. However that was all they can do at the time. Both Rook and Marisa realized that their attacks were weakening and the same time they muttered. "Oh crap, you've got to be kidding me", before getting blasted themselves.
Continue: 5?
{Y}/N
Rook opened his eyes to see that he was lying flat on his stomach with his head face the side. The effect of the 'Checkmate' was wearing off and he could feel the slight burning pain from the blast earlier. How long was he out? Has Gensokyo finally collapsed?
Pushing himself from the ground and kneeling on his left leg, he found his answer. Everything, save for the shrine and the wooden parts of the trees, were turned to ashes. The cherry trees that surrounded the shrine were leafless and had a dead look upon them. The ground was full of rock debris and burning stones. The sun has finally set and evening finally arrived, yet the sky still had purple patches on it and was still collapsing somewhat slowly now.
By looking at his side he found Marisa lying there unconscious, yet she seemed fine with a few scratch and scrapes on her arms and face. She was still alive, which sent a wave of relief wash over the boy, for Mima would never forgive him if Marisa had died. The spirit after all, was very creative when it came to torture.
It was not a few moments after that Rook realized that he cannot move his left arm as it hung limply at his side leading him to conclude that it was paralyzed. Placing his good arm over his injured one he began the healing process, repairing the damaged bones and veins that his simple magic could find.
"Ugh, damn… that took out quite a lot more than I expected" grunted Rook as he felt his last reserves of energy go dry. He experimentally move and twisted his left arm around to see if it was in good shape. Once he has confirmed that it was fine, he unsteadily stood up on both of his feet once more, looking around for the shrine maiden they had come to knock some sense into earlier.
And as if reading his mind, Reimu Hakurei once more appeared under the collapsing torii gate, with her gohei at hand. Dark root like veins began to creep from below Reimu's chest up to her neck, finally reaching the lower part of her left cheek. The strap of her right shoulder was now undone revealing a large part of her sarashi that was wrapped around her chest.
"Looks like we dealt some damage after all…" muttered Rook as he watched Reimu slash her gohei in an arc once more.
"Fantasy Heaven…" whispered the miko again, causing the Hakurei ying yang orbs to appear once more. Rook's eyes widened at the sight of the orbs circling Reimu as they picked up speed.
"Heh, you just don't know when to give up" said Rook, while chuckling nervously. Damn, I don't think I'll be able to survive getting nuked again by that thing, what the hell do I do now?
Rook ran to Marisa's side and began to shake her in attempt to wake her up. "Get up! Get up already!" Rook glanced at Reimu with her Fantasy Heaven reach its peak once again. The glassy barriers have appeared while the orbs continued spinning, glowing brighter and brighter.
Reimu opened her corrupted eyes and whispered "Release…"
"Not again…" sighed Rook as he braced himself for the shockwave. His heart almost leapt right out of his chest as he was tossed carelessly towards the cluster of dead trees by something strong, before hearing the infernal shockwave that knocked him out earlier.
Even if he was not directly hit by the ring of force, Rook felt a painful burning feeling spread throughout his body as if he were being cooked in a blazing furnace. He quickly dove behind a large rock that miraculously kept itself intact despite being subjected to the Hakurei clan's most powerful attack. Glancing to his right, he saw Mima hiding behind another rock with Marisa sleeping at her side. The Evil Spirit caught the boy's eye and quickly shouted over the roar of the wind.
"WHAT DO WE DO NOW?" she shouted, her long green hair rippling in the harsh gust.
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN, 'WHAT DO WE DO NOW'?" yelled Rook, bearing his teeth as to answer the spirit's stupid question.
"Do you have a plan? We have to stop this madness if you want to live!" screamed Mima in return.
"None that I know of! What the hell do you have in mind?" replied Rook.
"I have one, but it's crazy!" shouted Mima, the expression on her face showed that she was reluctant to do whatever she had in mind.
"Tell me what to do!" ordered Rook
"Cover me!"
Once the Fantasy Heaven subsided once more, Rook unleashed a wide stream of electricity that snaked their way through the air towards the miko who blocked the attack with a barrier and returned fire with her charms. Rook dashed to his side while maintaining the continuous stream of lightning erupting from his arms. His lightning traced the charms sent towards him, detonating them in mid-air before they can even hit Rook as he ran. Seeing that the miko was being kept busy by the boy, Mima ducked under the shots of seals and charms in order to get close to Reimu, however once she was about to near the shrine maiden, she was struck by a smoke tentacle sending the Evil Spirit sprawling on the ground.
Gritting her teeth at getting hit, Mima saw that Reimu had those corrupted red eyes on her as she focused on keeping Rook's attacks at bay. Rook took the moment of carelessness from Reimu, and severed the stream of electricity from his left hand, and send out five orbs of white light imbued with compressed energy towards the shrine maiden.
The shrine maiden did not have enough time to reinforce her barrier to withstand the explosive force from each of the white orbs as they detonated before her. Reimu was sent flying backwards only land on her feet as she recovered however that did not do much since Mima was already before her.
The Evil Spirit clamped a hand around the miko's delicate neck and summoned a blue magic circle around her and her captive.
"Dear spirit that resides within the heart of this pathetic little girl, heed my call and listen," says Mima in a sweet soothing voice letting go of the shrine maiden's stiff body, and playfully circle around it.
Rook runs towards the two and comes to a halt a few meters away from the spirit and miko. His hands crackling with power at the ready if ever the Spirit does anything funny.
Mima ignores this and continues to hover around the paralyzed maiden, the circle around her feet keeping her in place.
"Oh dear spirit, I tell you this, I possess what you seek. Oh yes, power and revenge is it not? Yes, I feel your hunger, your darkest desires and wishes. You wish to lay waste to those who murdered your family, you wish to make them pay and make them suffer, and sadly you died without even fulfilling your revenge. In order to vanquish the murderers you searched for power, only to die in the middle of your quest. Quite pitiable, however I can grant you your wish and give you anything you want. The lives of your most hated ones? I could serve them to you on a silver platter that is if you join me. Why not leave the girl's body to die? She has tasted your suffering and why not leave with me; I hold the power you wish for. Leave that pathetic girl and become one with me, a spirit, a form in which you have grown attached with, where you can unleash your full potential. Hear me dear spirit, hear me and we shall rule this land forever"
Rook watched as Mima repeated the last line over and over so many times that it began to ring within his head. The words had power within them almost making him fall into a trance. Power… He has yearned and desired for that before. He lost everything because of that power, why can't he get it now? It was right in front of him, the power to rule all….
The next sight brought Rook back to his senses, as he saw Reimu utter a painful scream as if she was being stabbed by a needle within her eye. Rook was about o charge at the spirit, but was thrown off his feet and sent back as a black ball of smoke escaped from within Reimu's jaws and utter a mournful wail. The ball of smoke bore the face of a crying woman as she sobbed and sobbed, shrieking at random moments causing Rook to cover his ears in pain.
Banshee? No… this was different… The spirit? Thought Rook, as he held his hands over his ears.
Mima released Reimu and let her fall towards the ground, almost cracking her skull open if not for Rook who caught her the last moment. Once the miko was safely in his arms, he ran a few strides before setting the girl down far from both spirits.
Rook glanced back as he watched Mima spread her arms at her sides in a gesture of welcome, right before the spirit spun faster and faster, wrapping the Evil Spirit in a thick veil of smoke until she was no longer visible. Deep within the smoke, Mima opened her mouth and the spinning spirit dove into the Evil Spirit's jaw right as it shut tight. Mima's eyes glowed bright red for a moment before turning back to their usual blue.
Rook saw the Evil Spirit stretch her wide black wings, as her crescent tipped wand extend at her side. The light from the fading sun outlined the soft landing of the falling feathers that came from Mima's wings. The Evil Spirit had a blank expression on her face as she released a deep sigh.
The sky had stopped collapsing, the cracks ceased to increase. The wind has halted its sad song, while the roar of the geysers at the forest was no longer heard. Was it over?
"Mima!" shouted Rook as he watched the Evil Spirit fall to the ground with a thud, as she writhed in pain, clutching her stomach while her face bore an anguished expression. The boy had to duck in order to avoid getting hit by the Evil Spirit's large black wings as the flapped around.
"Hey, speak to me! What the hell is wrong with you? Are you hurt?" asked Rook, worry present in his tone, as he watched the Spirit grunt in pain.
"Rook…" said Mima, gasping as she regained her breathe as the pain of being pierce by a burning hot spear was still inside her stomach. "My knife… take it…" she continues, retrieving a twelve inch silver blade with a black handle from the folds of her dress. It looked like a simple knife with a very sharp edge, it looked like it was well cared for, since it was still in pristine condition and was gleaming to booth.
Rook seemed taken aback by the Spirit's request and asked with an incredulous expression on his face. "What the hell are you talking about? Why are you giving me your knife all of a sudden?"
"Wake Reimu… And use this to seal me… Please, hurry, this little bitch here realized that I've deceived her…. She's pretty strong so please… Hurry and wake Reimu… I don't have much time!" panted Mima as she clutched her chest.
Rook stared at the knife for a moment before Mima spoke once more. "I'm counting on you…"
The boy extended a hand and reached out for the knife, gripping it tightly between his fingers. "You sure about this?"
The spirit managed to crack a smile despite the pain she was feeling. "The only sure thing next to raising Marisa…"
Without another word, Rook made his way towards the sleeping Reimu who had a dreamy look on her face when Rook found her. The boy placed the knife to his side and knelt beside the miko, and proceeded to slap her gently across her face.
"Hey, Reimu-san, wake up! Come on, I need your help damn it!" said Rook as he increased the force of his slaps with every hit. After nine consecutive slaps, Rook imbued the last one with a tiny bit of electricity from his body and struck the girl while he snapped. "Wake up damn it!"
The shock from the electrical slap startled the miko awake. "Wha- where am I?" asked the now normal Hakurei miko as she looked around with a confused expression on her face. She immediately yelped at the sight of her shrine's grounds only to yelp again at the sight of Rook's scowling face, and finally scream in fright as she finally noticed her torn clothing.
"What the hell were you trying to do to me you-"started the miko, yet was met with another slap across the face cutting her off her dialogue.
"Reimu, it's me Rook. I need your help, this is an emergency. I'll explain everything later but now we have a lot of things to worry about than clothes" said Rook sternly and quickly pointed a finger at Mima.
Reimu's eyes widened at the sight of the once proud Spirit kneeling on the ground, turning transparent for a moment then back to solid in random intervals. "What happened to her? What happened to the shrine? I can feel the barrier collapsing and I have to maintain it now, but…"
"You were possessed by a spirit from Makai; it disturbed your connection with the Great Hakurei and caused all of this mess. If you got anyone to blame, blame it on the spirit that got you, lucky enough for us Mima…. Mima used her own form to coax that pest out, now she wants us to seal her permanently along with the spirit inside of her. As of now they're fighting for control, but I don't think that Mima would last that long against a spirit that's in par with her power, if not even greater. Worry about the barrier now or else we'll have to deal with another problem bigger than the last one"
"I see… Is this okay with her?"
"Yeah… Come on, let's go, we're losing time!"
Reimu nodded and set to work. The miko reached within her still intact skirt pocket and took out what looked like a white piece of chalk that somehow survived within the depths of Reimu's pocket as she was being attacked a few minutes earlier.
She tossed the chalk into the air, closes her eyes and mutters a brief prayer. The chalk hovered in mid-air and began to glow, not long after it began to radiate light, the chalk piece started to circle the Evil Spirit as it left a faint trace of dark gold light.
Mima flapped her wings as she struggle to keep the spirit within her chained. Her black feathers drifted in the air as the chalk circled her with the glowing traces that were left behind as it passed. The Evil Spirit was soon incased within a large orb made from the traces, while the miko began to perform a slow graceful dance with her gohei.
From Rook's perspective the display before was similar to a laser light show that he once watched from the Outside. He watched as Reimu twisted elegantly and land on the tip of her toes, bending down low so that what's left of her purification rod's streamers touch the ground, right before turning again like a ballerina. The boy watched the shrine maiden continue her strange dance in front of the orb of light made from thin strings of light in which the Evil Spirit was encased.
Reimu raised her hand and four seal tags shot out of her right sleeve, placing themselves at the four sides of the Evil Spirit as the chalk piece finished swirling around Mima and finally finished its final revolution by grinding itself along the ground, drawing a large circle on the floor.
From an aerial view, the golden threads of light formed a large ying yang orb that was within a large bronze square. Mima has finally relaxed her black wings and was now gasping for breath as she hovered in air on her ghost tail, watching the miko finish her ritual and finally stands still.
Reimu opens her eyes and stares back at Mima's.
"Hurry…" gasps the Spirit as it took all of her willpower to prevent herself from succumbing to the pain once more.
Rook walks to Reimu's side and says, "What's wrong? She's barely holding on, I think you should hurry"
"The next part is the tricky one" replies the shrine maiden, her eyes fixed on the Evil Spirit.
Rook steps right in front of the miko with his arms spread at his sides. "How so? Come on, Reimu, what do we now?"
The shrine maiden walks past the boy and kneels down to touch the glowing line of light on the ground. "In order to continue the sealing we have need a source of vast amounts of energy to seal two powerful spirits at once. Doing so without the necessary precautions would prove fatal; however I guess I'll have to take the risk"
Rook stared at her nonplussed and asked. "Just where do you think you'll find that kind of amount of power, look at the state you're in and just as you said this will prove fatal, who knows what'll happen"
"I'm sorry but this is my mess to clean up, Rook. It's my problem alone and I'll handle the consequences if there are any" said Reimu without looking back at the boy.
"Your consequences would greatly affect Gensokyo; this incident right now is a good example of the result of your carelessness back at Makai. Don't be reckless!" snapped Rook.
"It's my responsibility and I'll do everything in my power to prevent any disaster from occurring in this decision, you three have done enough" muttered the shrine maiden, gazing at the Spirit before her with pity in her eyes.
Rook gritted his teeth at the girl's choice. Within his own mind, he too was conflicted at the sudden turn of events. He lifted his hand to see the knife that was within in it and examine it for a moment. This was where they were supposed to seal Mima; however it would need Reimu to sacrifice an incredible amount energy.
Rook glared at the knife as he began to spread out his choices.
What do I do now? I can't let her do this… She'll put Gensokyo at higher risks of being destroyed if she went on with this damnable solution of hers.
Maybe if I give her the knife and let her stab Mima, I'll be able to provide her the energy she needs to finally seal and end this stupid crap. If I do that just that, Gensokyo would be stabilized and Reimu doesn't have to sacrifice her strength, however there's no telling on how releasing so much of my power would affect me, and Mima would disappear…. I would lose all of the power that I've trained and harnessed over the past centuries, and now I'll throw it away just like that? No, it's a necessary loss….
Or….
I can let Reimu provide ME with the energy so that I can seal Mima myself. It would require only a tiny amount of her power and spiritual energy to perform the feat, however the risk stated earlier proves to be bothersome… Would I really sacrifice Reimu's power just so I can save my own? Heh, maybe I can…. I need everything I got when the time the mansion enters Gensokyo, yet I can't just let Reimu's power diminish… Yukari will have my neck…
Whose power is more important… Reimu's or Mine?
Rook snapped himself out of his trance and placed a hand on the shrine maiden's shoulder. Reimu turned around with a questioning look on her face. Rook stuffed the hilt of the knife into her hand and said in a resolute tone. "I'll give you everything I got, no buts or rejections, am I clear?"
{'GOOD' GAUGE INCREASE!}
Reimu opened her mouth to protest, yet she seemed to have lost her voice and closed it as she realized it was no use arguing with Rook. The young shrine maiden nodded, which caused the boy to crack a smile as he watched the girl run towards the golden sphere of threads and come to a halt before it.
Rook walked towards the very edge of the sealing circle on the floor and places his right palm on a line. "I just channel my power, right?"
"Yes" replied Reimu, her hand gripping the handle of the knife tightly.
What a pain… I'm sure that I'll regret this later…. Thought the boy, yet he donned a grin on his lips and said. "Alright then, let's party!"
A powerful electrical discharge left Rook's right palm and surge through the golden lines on the cold stone floor, turning them bright white the same color as his lightning bolts. The arcs of lightning crackled with life as they danced chaotically through the air. The electricity traced their way towards the knife on Reimu's hand, causing it to be enveloped in high charges of electrical energy all without frying the shrine maiden's hand. Reimu lifted her hand to see the crackling knife within her grasp, as her heart beats rapidly in fear that she would have her hand cooked. Somehow by some miracle, no such unfortunate event happened and all she felt in her palm was a ticklish sensation spread through her arm, causing the hair on her arms to stand on end.
The electricity that imbued the knife with so much energy was connected by a long stream of lightning that originated from Rook.
"Feels good doesn't it?" mused the boy as he pumped as much power as he can. The air began possess the faint metallic scent of ozone, as if another stray lightning would strike the area. The energy filled white tendrils circled the orb of golden threads and that of the sealing circle, incasing it in a cage of white lightning.
"Ngh, go Reimu!" yelled Rook over the crackles of electricity. The shrine maiden nodded without looking back at him. She immediately approached the golden sphere, which unraveled itself as she came close revealing the pained Evil Spirit within.
Mima opened her eyes to see who has entered her sphere and raised her eyebrows in mock surprise as Reimu stood before her. Mima's wings were relaxed at her sides as they covered the front part of her body, as if she were hiding her entire being, similar to that of a seraph.
The Evil Spirit seemed amused at the sight of the shrine maiden in front of her for a wide playful grin appeared upon her face. However here eyes bore behind them the heavy sadness that she kept suppressed in order for her to focus on her task on keeping the foreign spirit within her from breaking through. It seems like she too was having second thoughts on the decision she has made.
"Well, well, well of all people it just had to be you…" giggled Mima, "Come now, just one quick stab and it's all over, you've been wanting to do this the whole time right? Finally having the chance to seal me for good, to the point that I won't be able to come back… Don't give me that face girl, I am the all powerful Mima, I have no use for your pity or your tears… So… May I ask…? Why are you crying, Hakurei?"
Reimu shook her head and wiped the hot tears that trickled down her eyes with her forearm. "I'm not crying! It's just… I'm not a killer! I'm a shrine maiden; I'm not supposed to do this! Why can't you just kill yourself and be done with this! Why does it have to be me!"
On the outside, Rook heard everything and it seems like he was going to regret this. I knew this was a bad idea… She's still a kid after all; she's not used to this part of the job yet…
Mima's giggle soon became a hearty laughter, as if she was laughing so hard that her insides were hurting. She laughed and laughed until Reimu shouted that she was crazy, laughing at a situation like this, when she was about to be sealed forever…
Finally the Evil Spirit held back her laughter and sighed, wincing as half of her being held back the raging spirit she began to host. "Ahh, humans… So imperfect with you and your emotions… This is the reason why your kind never really did attain enlightenment unlike us spirits. We are not bound by the shackles of emotions so… more or less you can call us perfect in some sense, if only not for our carefree and reckless nature… Why was it you Reimu? It's because it is your responsibility…. Your responsibility to keep this pathetic backwater world safe from all powerful deities like me and that which resides within. You have a long way to go Hakurei, and by sealing me you will gain a large amount of experience that may be of use to you in the coming years… You will make more important decisions, decisions that will not just affect this world but that also of the Outside… However you are still human and a child, you will make mistakes that will sometimes leave you hugging your knees in the darkest corner of your shrine, and you still have your limits and weaknesses that will surely be your downfall in the future…"
"Wha-What are saying?" asked Reimu with a scowl on her face.
"What I'm trying to tell you is… Gensokyo will fall... Surely you haven't forgotten the reason for my existence no? I still haven't got my revenge upon humanity for the sins they have committed… There are others who wish for this world's destruction other than me, so I ask you to stay alert for there will come a time in which the apocalypse will happen, and there will be no one able to stop it, not Rook, not Marisa, and not even you… So until that day comes, put your life on the line in order to prevent this world's premature destruction, okay?" said Mima with one last cocky grin on her face.
Reimu gritted her teeth and gripped her knife, before growling. "I hate you… What will I say to Marisa?"
"Oh my, well I hate you too Reimu-chan! And Marisa?" asked the Spirit as if it were not important for her to leave a final message for her student. "Tell her to be a good girl and that I'll be always watching her when she least expects it! There isn't really that much that I could say to her anyway, tell her that I said goodbye…"
Reimu lowered her head and sighed. "This will only hurt a little… Trust me…"
"You're the last person I'm ever going to trust, Hakurei" chuckled the Spirit as Reimu entered her wings' embrace. "Please hurry and end my torment…"
Reimu pulled back her right arm and drove the energy filled knife into Mima's gut. Both Rook and Mima's eyes widened as the contact was made. The Evil Spirit's jaw opened and spread her wings as she felt the burning flow of energy enter her, while Rook grunted as his power finally connected to its destination. The wind howled as the sealing took place. Rook had to squint his eyes to prevent them from being temporarily blinded by the bright light from his own lightning and that of the dark glow that came from the sphere that had two black wings piercing its roof.
The boy's insides began to burn while his head started to spin so much that he had the urge to throw up, yet he held it back for there are more pressing matters at hand. He gritted his teeth and steeled himself, however the task he was subjected to right now prove to be nauseating. Rook's eyes somehow adjusted to the bright light and saw that his white lightning was beginning to turn into a darker shade of white until it finally turned blue.
No, what the hell is going on? He thought wide eyed as he felt his grip on his power loosen. His hands felt heavier and his breathing shallower, he wanted it to stop yet he cannot, he had to keep going, he had to help Reimu or else everything he did was for nothing. From inside the sphere he heard a horrible wail sound similar to that of a banshee's making the hair on his arms stand on end, however his skin turned cold as he heard Reimu's frightful yelp.
Rook watched as a thick ball of smoke rose up into the air with a horrible shriek, before diving back into the golden sphere once more.
Reimu watched as the foreign spirit was sucked into the electrified knife with a terrifying scream as if it were being tortured by a thousand needles being sewn into its physical skin. The shrine maiden's hands trembled at the amount of power the knife was receiving, which caused her to lose her grip for a moment. The girl's eyes bore within them an intense burning determination the moment the Evil Spirit caught sight of them. The Spirit's blue eyes and the maiden's brown ones met for a fraction of a second right before Mima's form began to change into transparency. The Evil Spirit smiled and waved her hand one last time before finally disappearing.
A hint of red flashed within Mima's eyes just as she vanished.
"It's over…" whispered Reimu, over the loud crackles of the electricity around her. "Rook, it's over!"
She stared on the same spot where Mima disappeared with her mouth still hanging in shock, watching as the golden sphere disappear leaving no trace of the Evil Spirit behind but the scattered remains of Mima's black feathers on the air and ground.
The shrine maiden took two tentative steps backwards with Mima's knife on her side, still brimming with raw power. She was about to faint right there until she heard the pained screams of Rook from her back which broke her out of her trance.
"No…" she whispered, the knife on her hand falling in the floor.
"GAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" came Rook's voice as he kneeled on the floor with his hands spread on his sides. The boy's eyes were filled with shining blue light, erasing all traces of his pupils and irises, making them glow dangerously bright. Gritting his teeth he began to cringe in pain as he held his head down, lifting his hand right in front of him just to see it smoke and smolder. He screamed once more, letting loose long tendrils of electricity all around him.
"Guk, ngh, damn it…" he growled as he struggled to regain control of his power. "Too much… it took too much….."
Reimu started to run to his side, only to be blown back by a stray arc of electricity sending her flat on her back on the ground with a yelp.
"Don't come any closer, I could hurt you without knowing…" warned the boy while keeping his left eye shut.
"It's over now! Cut off the connection!" yelled Reimu as she stood back on her feet
"I can't… the sealing… ugh" Rook faltered when his knees finally gave way, causing him to fall face first on the ground. Lightning danced and arced as the boy began to lose hold of his consciousness. The sky rumbled from above, when thunderbolts suddenly began to rain down the half destroyed shrine with the force of artillery shells. Reimu screamed in fright as she skipped around while dodging the bolts at the last second, Rook wanted to help her yet he cannot.
Damn, if this keeps up that knife will sap me of all of my power until it has nothing left to drain until to the point it starts draining me of my life force too…. Worst case scenario other than dying is I'll be left as an empty shell, now I get the feeling that the experience would be anything but pleasant… Come on Rook, fight…. Man up and get back on your feet… Ugh, what do I do now?
Would you like some assistance with that? Rung a cool female voice within the depths of Rook's mind.
Right before the boy could even register what just happened to him, his body started to feel warm as a wave of comforting heat soothed his tired muscles from the pain before. Breathing deeply for the first time since the last ten minutes, Rook watched as the remainders of his powers were sucked into the knife in a bright flash of blue light.
Was that…. Mima's voice? Thought Rook with his eyes wide at the realization. No, I must be hearing things…. She's gone, there's no way she could reach to us now in her current state… You did the right thing Rook…
Standing up, he immediately turned his gaze on the shrine maiden not far from him. Reimu was still a mess in her clothes; however she seemed fine though a little shaken. Rook lowered his gaze to his palm and attempted to summon some of his electricity. "Huh?" he whispered in disbelief, for nothing came out of his hand, not even a spark. Rook increased his will to summon his electricity; however it took him four tries to finally conjure a tiny spark.
"I won't be able to power a light bulb with this…" he continued, his face beginning to show some strain as he forced the tiny blue spark on his hand to live for little longer. Finally pushing his mind to its limit, Rook's right leg gave way forcing him to kneel on one leg. Reimu was alerted by this and quickly came to his side.
"Hey are you okay?" asked the shrine maiden with concern in her eyes.
"Gone… It's all gone…" muttered Rook in a bitter tone.
"What are saying?" questioned Reimu once more.
"To put it simply, my powers are gone…" said Rook nonchalantly, as he raised his left hand to eye level and began to twist it around curiously.
What little color Reimu regained the past few minutes disappeared, as her face began to pale at the boy's words. "Then… that means…"
"I'm leaning closer to being human than what I was before…" said Rook as if he were speaking of the bland flavor of the tea he just drank, instead of losing the power he worked so hard for all in the span of six minutes without him even realizing it.
He placed his right hand on the cut on Reimu's elbow and muttered the same words of healing he applied to Marisa earlier. As expected the light began to glow, however this time, it was now a faint shade of blue instead of white and was now glowing fainter than before.
Reimu jerked her arm away from the boy's hand and stare at him with her worried eyes. "Hey stop it! You need your strength so please don't go wasting it like that!"
Rook did not reply for a few seconds, before saying, "So little left…. I think you're right…" He turned his head towards the shrine's entrance as he finally remembered something he forgot. The boy found Marisa standing right before the shrine gate, her eyes wide as she stared at Rook and Reimu with tears falling down her cheeks.
"Ma-Marisa" said Reimu nervously, swallowing hard as she braced herself for her friend's harsh words. However Marisa's words were not directed to the shrine maiden, instead they were…..
"Why…?" asked the witch, her right hand balled into a fist to keep it from trembling. She raised her head and marched towards the boy, right before drawing her hand back and sending a sucker punch towards Rook's head. The boy did not even try to dodge or block the witch's strike, but instead took it without question which sent him crashing down the floor with a bloody lip.
Ugh, okay I deserved that, but I never expected her to hit that hard, he thought just as Marisa took the liberty of kicking him on the gut for good measure.
"No, stop it Marisa!" called Reimu's voice amidst the dull pain on Rook's stomach.
"I trusted him! I trusted you! And yet why? WHY REIMU? WHY DID HE HAVE TO KILL HER, WHY DID HE HAVE TO KILL MISS MIMA?" screamed Marisa's voice which was filled with burning fury. "Out of my way Reimu, let me kill him! I'll kill him for what he's done! I'LL MAKE HIM PAY; I'LL MAKE THIS DAMN BASTARD PAY FOR WHAT HE DID!"
"No! I won't let you kill him; you're not supposed to let your emotions run wild like this, Marisa! You can't just kill him and turn yourself into a murderer!" said Reimu. Through Rook's vision, he can see the shrine maiden's shoes before him; it probably meant that Reimu was blocking him from Marisa's view.
"Watch me!" snarled the witch as she made an attempt to get pass Reimu, only to meet the shrine maiden's gohei on her neck. "He's the murderer here Reimu, he's no better than the youkai, I told him that Miss Mima was on our side, yet he killed her anyway! He's a monster Reimu! A monster and monsters are supposed to be killed!"
Rook lost his breath at that. Am I… really a monster? I… suppose I am…
However Reimu would not hear any of it and continued to convince Marisa to stop. "Like I said, I won't let you! You're in no position to judge or condemn anyone to death! You are no executioner Marisa, and even if he is at fault, which he isn't, the Yama will judge as she sees fit!"
The witch was silent for a moment; Rook took risked looking up to see what was happening. Reimu was still standing before him with her gohei on her left, while Marisa had her hakkero on her right and was breathing heavily as she kept her gaze low. The red mark on the witch's arm indicated that she struck by the purification rod without Rook hearing the sound of the strike.
Marisa gave Reimu one last venomous look before turning her back on her best friend, and finally walk towards her tattered hat, putting it on her head once she reached it.
"I get it…" muttered the witch, dusting off the dirt that her hat got from being on the ground for so long. "You're siding with him….. Better off with your murderer of a guardian than your best friend who just lost her own mentor… You pick that filth over me? Sure, whatever…."
"You don't understand Marisa. I'm not siding with anyone; I'm just trying to stop you from doing something you'll regret. Mima….. Mima knew what she was doing, she sacrificed herself to save Gensokyo and you know that she's one of the last people you'll ever expect to do such a thing… What she did was noble Marisa, please understand that…"
The witch summoned her broom and mounted it, without even a second glance towards Reimu; she kicked off the ground and rose into the air.
The shrine maiden sighed and began rubbing her forehead. She had lots of things to do aside from repairing her shrine, the villagers in the Human Village would need all the help they could get, fixing the shrine could but for now…
"Huh? Leaving already?" asked Reimu, turning her attention on Rook who has finally stood up.
"Yeah… I need….. Some time to be alone… I got a lot of things to sort out, mainly Marisa…" replied the boy.
"I see, but… Why didn't you fight back when she hit you? It should've saved you unnecessary pain…"
"Same reason why I didn't kill you on sight for posing as a threat to Gensokyo, I'm sorry if I couldn't stay for long but I really need to get going…"
"Um, okay. At least let me heal you up! You just lost all of your abilities; it could be dangerous for you to travel like that!"
"No, don't worry about me I'll be fine. It's you I'm concerned about, stay safe and until you recover do not get into unnecessary fights. It's only my first night back finally conscious, and yet an incident suddenly explodes right in my face… Be careful, Reimu Hakurei…"
Reimu watched as Rook descended the shrine steps. The shrine maiden turned to face her now half destroyed shrine for a few seconds before releasing a deep sigh and finally go inside the still intact building so that she would be able to retire for the night. She picked up Mima's knife as she passed by and closed the shrine's doors.
And so, a long day has finally ended…. Another normal day in Gensokyo…
Nicolas Notes: Seriously, I had lots to say about in this chapter but my brain seems to be functioning backwards now... So that's that! And so ends a long chapter, I hope you guys enjoyed it. On an unrelated note, I know that there's a lot of you reading this and I hope that you guys could leave a review and will be able to help me improve (somehow). Like I said in the first chapter constructive criticism is welcomed with open arms! Even if its praise or anonymous it's also welcome! Darn I sound desperate... Well see ya next time!