Chapter 3: Patterns of Life
Business at The Seven-Colored Puppets had picked up a bit. Whereas in the beginning, when Alice had first moved in to Konoha, she had had the mixed curse of not having very many customers, she now had the mixed blessing of having steady traffic in her store. It had gotten to the point where she rarely had any substantial block of uninterrupted hours in the day to spend on her puppet crafting, let alone to spend on her research. It had forced her to rethink the approach she was taking to her side business. Having the income needed to support her research and creature comforts did her no good if she wasn't able to actually perform that research or enjoy the food and tea she could afford.
Alice addressed the problem the same way she addressed all of the problems she faced; she used her puppets. It was only natural. She was a master puppeteer, and puppets were her expertise. In this particular case, she had set up a variety of signs around the store for her puppets to use to interact with the visiting customers. Rather, the system was set up such that Alice could interact with the customers using her puppets without leaving the comfort of the residential portion of her house. After all, none of the puppets for sale were as sophisticated as Shanghai or Hourai.
When things went well, The Seven-Colored Puppets almost ran itself. The transactions were simple and predictable enough that Alice barely had to pay any attention to them. The puppets would practically sell themselves to the customers who visited the store. The explanation of prices and the exchange of money was easy enough, and at the end of the sale the puppet in question would literally give herself over to her new owner.
The new system freed Alice to focus the majority of her time and attention on her research and crafting. It freed the majority of her time, but not all of her time. Alice still had to intervene in person when things went too weird, which meant she had to deal with several interruptions on a regular basis. A couple of times on any given day she would be summoned to handle something in the store. It might be an unruly customer or a particularly complicated sale. Sometimes people would ask some question for which there wasn't a sign available to answer, and sometimes people just refused to interact with the puppets and demanded that Alice transact with them in person. Regardless of the reason, though, on most days Alice would be interrupted at some point during her research, and frequently multiple times at that.
It was no wonder that Alice was not making as much progress on step 3 of her plan to return to Gensokyo as could have been hoped for. She was still making progress, but it was only in measured steps. She had given up hope of being rescued by Reimu or Marisa or whoever else at the successful resolution of an Incident, but she was also in no particular rush to return there. It wasn't like a couple of years would really signify anything to her or to the various youkai she knew in Gensokyo. It meant more for the humans like Reimu and Marisa, but they were in the minority of people she knew.
On the more positive side, Alice's steady income had enabled her to set up a nice stock of everything she used on a regular basis. It was more than enough for her to consider step 2 of her longterm plan as complete. She even had a little extra on the side to splurge on nice things when she wanted to. In general those purchases were unplanned. They could be something she passed by in town, or they could be something inspired by a chance comment from some customers, such as some middle-aged women trying to find a "fancy" puppet as a present. Two of them were in The Seven-Colored Puppets debating whether or not to make a purchase. One was holding a puppet with a flashy orange dress. Naruto had particularly approved of that series of puppets.
One of the women asked Alice, "This is the fanciest one you have?"
"It is," Alice said.
"Can you make a fancier one?" the other middle-aged woman asked.
"No," Alice said. She could, of course. She was a master puppeteer. But she wouldn't. She wasn't about to spend her time making custom orders for customers when she could instead be researching things. Running The Seven-Colored Puppets was only meant to be a minor thing on the side to support her crafting and research, not the primary activity she spent her time on throughout the day.
On the other hand, the women's request did inspire something within her. She might create a puppet like the ones they had described. It wouldn't be for sale. It would just be to see what she could accomplish when she set her mind to it.
"I have an idea. How about this? What if we buy some flowers and put her on it like a bed? I bet your daughter would like that," the first woman said.
"You're just looking for an excuse to go to Yamanaka Flowers again, aren't you?" the second woman asked.
"It's a good store. They have a lot of nice looking flowers there," the first woman said.
"Yeah. The flowers. I'm sure," the second woman said. "He's already married, you know. No wonder you don't have a husband yet."
Alice listened to the interchange without paying too much attention to it. She knew better than to get in the middle of a discussion between customers. She was instead starting to picture the new puppet in her head. She would want something special. Something flashy. Maybe even literally flashy.
"Whatever. Time's ticking. What do you want to do? She's your daughter," the first woman said.
"Let's do it. I've been looking to get some tomato seeds anyway," the second woman said.
It was only at the mentioning of tomatoes that Alice took notice and returned her attention to the two customers. Flowers were one thing, but if that place also sold tomato seeds then the store they were describing sounded like a more general horticultural store. That naturally led her to think of her garden and of the various plants she grew there.
"That store you mentioned. Yamanaka Flowers. Do they sell tea there?" Alice asked the two women.
"What?" the first woman asked.
"Tea. Do they sell tea plants there? Like the drink?" Alice asked. She moved her hands in a motion as if drinking from a cup.
"They've got to. They sell everything there," the first woman said.
"Where are they?" Alice asked.
"They're over that way," the second woman pointed. "At the end of the street take a left. Take the third street on the right and keep going."
"Thanks," Alice said.
Alice completed the sale after that without incident.
After the two women had left, Alice turned to Shanghai and told her, "I'm going to go out for a bit to check out that Yamanaka Flowers place. Can you handle things here while I'm out?"
Shanghai nodded her assent.
"Okay. I'll be back in a bit."
Alice left The Seven-Colored Puppets in Shanghai's capable hands and took her leave. She was always on the lookout for new varieties of tea. Her garden was already flourishing with fruits and vegetables, and the tea therein would be ready to be harvested in probably about a year. However, there was always the chance of finding some new varieties of tea. She had already discovered a few tasty blends in this outside world which were unavailable in Gensokyo. Alice was sure there had to be more. Based on the conversation she had just heard, this Yamanaka Flowers was at least worth a visit. Her research could wait for another day while she satisfied her curiosity.
Locating the flower shop was been easy. First, the directions she had received were roughly accurate and they were more than enough to get her started. That was the important part. Nobody near her home would deign to talk to Alice. Even Hiromoto and Yasushi, who had seemed so friendly the first few weeks she had moved in, had stopped even acknowledging she existed. The solitude suited Alice just fine as it let her concentrate more on her research. However, it was odd. The effect was centered on The Seven-Colored Puppets and trailed off the further away she got from her house until it eventually disappeared entirely.
The second thing which made locating Yamanaka Flowers easy was the store was quite popular. Once she got outside of the approximately five-block radius around The Seven-Colored Puppets, every time she asked a passerby for directions she was given precise directions as to where it was. It must have been as good a store as she had been led to believe if it was so well known.
In short order, Alice found herself at her destination. A pink and red sign brightly proclaimed Yamanaka Flowers. It hung on the front of a square building which was painted an equally bright yellow. The paint had faded and had chipped in places, but if anything it made the store feel even more inviting. The homely wear and tear gave the building a warm and welcoming feeling.
Alice passed between the flowering bushes and bonsai trees lining the front of the store and walked in.
Yamanaka Flowers was perfect for Konoha. Much like the supposed village which was supposedly hidden by the leaves, the name of the store stood in stark contrast with the nature of the place it described. It wasn't built in a mountain, and it sold far more than just flowers. Like the city itself, chances were that it had started as some small place and subsequent moves and expansions had resulted in it outgrowing its name.
As Alice expected, rows of potted plants, bouquets, books, seeds, spades, and everything else that was needed for horticulture was organized and displayed for easy access. There was one thing which caught her by surprise, though. She hadn't been expecting the man who was minding the shop.
The man was just as odd as the store name was. He had spiky blond hair with a long ponytail in back, and the green flak jacket and red top he wore did nothing to hide his athletic physique. He was a very masculine man, and Alice wondered how he had gotten into his chosen profession.
Alice noticed with some concern that he also wore one of those metal forehead protectors Alice saw from time to time. She hoped it didn't signify any trouble. Whenever a customer came in to her store wearing such an accessory she knew the encounter would be a strange and a difficult one, and she hoped that that trend didn't carry over to when they were the seller.
"Welcome," the man greeted.
"Hello. Do you sell any tea?" Alice asked. So far so good. Everything seemed normal enough.
"Tea?" he asked.
"Yes. Tea, like for the drink," Alice said. She moved her hands in a drinking motion again.
"Tea?" he asked again. "You're better off going to a locale grocery store or something for that."
"No, not dry tea leaves," Alice said. "I meant tea plants. I'm growing some in my garden. I have a couple of varieties, but I'm looking to see if you have any others."
"That's a pretty unusual request. I don't think I have any," he said. "I might be able to find some if you're interested."
"Thanks," Alice said. She kept waiting for him to say or ask something unusual.
"You said you were interested in a variety of tea plants, right?"
"Yes, please."
He pulled out a sheet of paper. "And where can I find you if I find anything?"
"You can find me at The Seven-Colored Puppets. It's about 15 blocks that way. It's a puppet store. My name is Alice Margatroid," Alice said.
"Nice to meet you, Alice. I'm Inoichi Yamanaka, owner of Yamanaka Flowers," he introduced himself. "By the way, it was tea you were interested in, right? Maybe we do have something for you. Would you be interested in maybe some jasmine or some chrysanthemum? For your tea, and as a decoration around the house."
For blending with tea. Alice hadn't really thought of growing her own additives before. It was a good idea.
Alice left the store with a couple of seeds and cuttings, and with a promise from Inoichi to let her know if he was able to find anything. Overall the encounter had been rather pleasant, to her slight surprise.
She returned to her home only to see a customer there in what looked like an argument. Shanghai was tapping the sign which read, "Alice isn't here right now. She should be back soon."
"Hello. I'm sorry, I just got back. I'm Alice Margatroid. Can I help you?" Alice asked.
"Finally. Yes. I was wondering. Do you sell any human-sized puppets?" the customer asked Alice.
Alice sighed. She looked up and confirmed that, yes, the man was wearing one of those metal forehead protectors. Of course it had to be one of them, and as a buyer this time. Every time she got asked that question, it was by a man, sometimes a woman, who wore one of those cumbersome accessories. They popped up every few weeks. It was getting to the point that Alice thought she should add a sign for that request. No, she would add a sign for it. She summoned a puppet to write one up while it was still top of mind.
"No, I don't," Alice said. Before the man could go on she added, "I don't sell any animal puppets either, or anything with sharp claws, or anything like that."
"Can you make some? I'll pay well," the man offered.
"No," Alice said. Technically she could. She was a master puppeteer. But Alice didn't want to. Anybody who would request such a puppet was somebody she didn't want to have such a puppet. In fact, for that exact same reason, she wasn't sure she would sell him one of her regular puppets even if he asked. She didn't want any puppet she made to be involved with anything he might want of her.
"Very well," the customer said. He left.
Alice let out a breath she hadn't realize she was holding. That was one problem resolved.
She looked down at the puppet which was writing out the sign she had started earlier. "We do not sell human-sized puppets." She thought about it a bit, and then had the puppet write out another one. "We do not sell any dangerous puppets."
She hung both signs beneath another one which read, "Alice is not a ninja." The ink had started to fade beneath the "not" on that particular sign due to the number of times a puppet had tapped it.
Alice looked over the two new signs. She then had the puppet tilt one of them a bit to make sure it was straight. Once she was satisfied, she turned to Shanghai and asked, "Besides that, how have things been?"
Shanghai shrugged her shoulders and shook her head at Alice. Apparently it had been a slow afternoon. Alice hadn't been gone for very long, but she had expected at least one sale.
"Things didn't go much better for me, either. They didn't have any tea, but the salesman said he would try to find some for me," Alice said.
Shanghai flew over and pulled out one of the stalks of jasmine Alice had bought.
"It was his idea. I can use it to flavor the tea," Alice said. She retrieved the wayward jasmine from Shanghai's hands. "I'm going to bring these to the garden. Do you want to come?"
Shanghai floated behind Alice just over her shoulder as she carried her purchases back outside.
Once in the plot of land Alice had set up to grow her garden, Alice looked over the layout and tried to picture how it would look with fully grown plants. She decided to place the roses along the side of the garden nearest her house, and to place the jasmine and chrysanthemum in some clusters near the end of some rows of fruits and vegetables. Once that had been decided, Alice handed off the various flowers to the puppets who maintained her garden. She paid particular attention to which puppet was handling which flower. She would need to ensure they were properly handled such that the cuttings and seeds were planted and treated correctly for the respective flowers.
A few minutes later, her garden was settled again with the new additions, and Alice considered the afternoon well spent. She returned to her house feeling relaxed after her expedition. Finding some tea would have been ideal, but the different additives and flavorings were a good find, too. She could already imagine the floral flavors in her mouth, and she looked forward to finding out if reality would match up to her dreams.
Alice returned back into the house. It was time to start on that idea the two middle-aged women had inspired in her earlier. She walked over to the piles of cloth she had and looked them over. She had a vivid fuchsia, and a stark crimson, and a prominent azure. Any one of them might be a good start, but none of them had quite the impact she was hoping for.
"What do you think? I'm looking for the flashiest, fanciest thing I can," Alice asked.
Shanghai looked over the large variety of clothing samples and pulled out the fuchsia Alice had been eying. The puppet held it up, but she also looked unconvinced.
"I guess it will do to begin with. We'll need to find something better, though."
Shanghai nodded.
Alice took the base of color in hand and selected a matching block of wood. She could already imagine in broad swathes how this puppet would look. There were countless refinements to be made and details to be determined as she proceeded, but she she had the vision. It was enough to get started. She was about to make her first cut when she was interrupted. Naruto shambled into the room.
It was very uncharacteristic of Naruto. He hadn't pranced in. He hadn't loudly announced himself. Alice had almost overlooked his entrance. He had a sullen look of defeat which appeared utterly alien on his face.
"What's wrong?" Alice asked.
"Stupid ninja exam," Naruto said.
"Ninja exam? There's an exam to become a ninja? How does that work?" Alice asked. She hadn't really thought about it before, but the idea of an examination sounded strange. She had assumed that everybody would automatically become a ninja upon finishing the academy.
"It's just this boring written test. They ask us a bunch of questions like what's the ninja code or what is the priority for survival in the wild," Naruto said. "Then they test us on our ninja skills."
"What kind of skills?" Alice asked. She had heard about ninja on and off ever since she had come to Konoha. She had even had a sign put up about it. She was curious to find out more about these ninjas she was always accused of being.
"It's nothing special. Just some things like Henge no Jutsu and Kawarimi no Jutsu," Naruto said.
"Kawarimi no Jutsu? Body replacement technique? What's that?" Alice asked cautiously. It sounded more than a bit creepy.
"You switch positions with something else, like a log or something. It's real easy, like this," Naruto said. He suddenly disappeared, and a chair was where he had been standing a moment ago. Alice was taken aback and had to search around the room before she saw Naruto standing beside her table. He was starting to regain some of that energetic optimism she had come to know him by.
"That's pretty handy," Alice said.
She was already thinking about danmaku and how that skill could be applied. She wasn't sure what she thought about it. Would it even be fair? On the one hand, it wasn't very different than simply running exceptionally quickly. On the other hand, the body replacement technique seemed less like mundane dodging and more like Sakuya using her abilities of time manipulation to emulate teleportation. Then again, Sakuya taking advantage of her abilities to effectively teleport around the area wasn't really forbidden as such. However, it was generally considered unfair in danmaku and was somewhat frowned upon. Despite the obvious advantages using it would bring, the only time Alice knew for certain that Sakuya had teleported in a battle was in her fight against the Lunarians. Maybe it was like the Grimoire of Alice? It wasn't forbidden, per se, but it just wasn't done? Maybe the Kawarimi no Jutsu would be like that?
The whole situation was confusing. It was unfortunate that nobody else from Gensokyo was around to consult, especially Reimu. The only conclusion Alice could be sure of is that she would need to think about it more.
Alice put the question to the side, and asked, "What about that Henge no Jutsu? It's some kind of transformation?"
"Yeah. It's my best technique. Watch this," Naruto said.
After his last technique, Alice watched Naruto carefully and was thoroughly prepared to be impressed. Naruto raised his hands up in front of him and said, "Oiroke no Jutsu." He then vanished in a puff of smoke.
Sexy Technique? The declaration was so out of place that Alice barely even registered it. It felt wrong, but Alice couldn't make sense of it before the cloud of smoke vanished. In Naruto's place was a tall girl with two large blonde ponytails. She was extremely shapely and didn't have a stitch of clothing to mask that fact. The girl gave out a sensuous giggle. Alice wasn't sure how to react. She felt embarrassed by looking at her. And annoyed. And maybe just a bit envious.
"Stop that!" Alice shouted. She turned to avert her eyes. The way she turned resulted in her facing Hourai, who was hanging along the side of the room. Hourai had brought her hands up to cover her eyes. "That perverted thing is a ninja technique?"
"Yeah. I can even beat the old man with it," Naruto said, again referring to some mysterious person he met from time to time. Alice got mixed messages about this person. On the one hand, this old man seemed to have some power and some importance, but on the other hand, Naruto seemed to be extremely casual with him. It was another of the paradoxes of Naruto, and of this outside world in general.
Naruto had spoken in his regular voice. It was enough to prompt Hourai to try peeking out between her hands and for Alice to chance looking back. Naruto was back to his usual look. More than that, he was completely back to his usual look. His dejection from earlier had vanished. Alice had never known Naruto to stay upset at anything, be it a loss in danmaku or the rejection of an entire city.
Unlike the Kawarimi no Jutsu, Alice knew what she thought about that Henge to Jutsu in regard to danmaku. In a danmaku battle it would be allowed, and it would be utterly useless for anything except for annoying an opponent. Except for possibly annoying an opponent. Typically the bullets were a higher priority to watch than the opponent, so it was questionable whether an opponent would even notice the transformation.
"So what happened at the test?" Alice asked, changing the subject. The less she thought about that transformation Naruto had done the better.
"I failed it. It's so unfair. How was I supposed to know they changed it? I even practiced my Henge no Jutsu extra special. Why'd they have to also test the Bunshin no Jutsu this time? Cloning is my worst skill. The entire class made fun of me for failing, especially Sasuke and Sakura. How does that make sense? They didn't even try the test," Naruto said.
"Sakura?" Alice asked. She couldn't picture the puppet making fun of Naruto. She liked him.
"Not Sakura," Naruto said. He pointed to the doll he kept at his side all the time. "Sakura. She's the number one kunoichi in the class. She's always hitting me and calling me an idiot."
"She sounds pretty bad," Alice said. It sounded like his entire class treated Naruto rather poorly, but it was no worse than the city as a whole did. From what she could tell, almost everybody just ignored Naruto, not unlike how Alice's neighbors ignored her. Those who didn't outright ignore Naruto were usually found shouting angrily at the boy. About the only people she had seen treat him decently were Teuchi, the proprietor of Ramen Ichiraku, and Ayame, his daughter and assistant. That was probably part of the reason why Naruto liked their shop so much.
"Yeah. She's not nice, like you," Naruto said.
"Thanks," Alice said. She did try to be nice. It was part personality and part survival instinct in Gensokyo. An unkind word or action could quickly escalate into an Incident with the types of youkai who lived in the Land of Fantasy. "So you failed your test? Does that mean you can't be a ninja?"
Shanghai flew behind Naruto and patted him on the back. Hourai also let herself out of her noose and flew over to console him as well.
"No. It just means I got to stay in the academy another year," Naruto said. "But I'm not going to give up. I'm going to become the number one best ninja and become Hokage, no matter what they all say. Believe it."
"That's the spirit. Good luck," Alice said. She was sure if anybody could do it, then Naruto could. He certainly had the energy and enthusiasm for it.
"Yeah. Maybe next year they'll test the things I'm good at again, like throwing," Naruto said.
"That's a ninja skill too?" Alice asked. When he said throwing she pictured something like tossing a ball back and forth with Shanghai and Hourai. It sounded positively mundane next to the fantastic and perverted skills he had just demonstrated like teleportation and transformation.
"Sure. It's real easy too," Naruto said.
"Is there something special about it?" Alice asked.
"No. It's just throwing," Naruto said. In a blink of the eye he had reached into a pouch at his side and then extended his hand outward. Three thunks later, some daggers had implanted themselves into a wall.
Alice walked over to examine the weapons now embedded in her wall. She would need to repair it later, but that wasn't what caught her attention. The blades had landed together in a semi-tight group. It was no more diffuse than some danmaku spreads. The seed of an idea hit her.
"When did you learn how to do that?" Alice asked.
"I don't know. A while ago. We learned it pretty early in the academy. Why?" Naruto asked.
"Why didn't you tell me? Don't you realize? You could use that for danmaku," Alice said. It might be the breakthrough which would allow Naruto to participate fully in a danmaku battle.
"I can't use kunai. You might get hurt," Naruto said.
It was a sweet sentiment, but Alice had no worries of anything like that. She had lost count of the number of times she had faced Sakuya and her thousands of knives. "Don't worry. I can handle it."
Alice pulled out the daggers embedded in her wall. It took a surprising amount of force to remove them. They were a dark gray metal and semi-dull. They were so very different than the immaculate gleaming metal weapons wielded by the Perfect and Elegant Maid. There was no chance that Naruto could use them to form the intricate and beautiful patterns of danmaku like Sakuya did with her blades, but they could be enough to allow Naruto to participate in offense as well as defense, if he had enough of them.
"How many of those kunai do you have?" Alice asked.
Naruto opened his pouch and pulled out more three throwing daggers.
Including the three Naruto had thrown at first and the three he still held she counted six daggers. It was two to three orders of magnitude too few for a real match. She said, "Do you have any others? That's not very many."
"I can't help it. I don't have any money, and it's not like anybody will sell me anything anyway," Naruto said.
"Hmm... I guess it's no good then," Alice said. It was a bit of a disappointment. It had seemed like a good idea, but it was another dead end.
"Yeah, but I'll figure something out eventually. Believe it," Naruto said. "Hey, let's play another game today. I even told Teuchi to expect us."
More ramen. It was always ramen whenever Naruto chose. Alice had gone to Ramen Ichiraku enough times at Naruto's insistence that she was starting to get to know Teuchi and Ayame as well. After the seventh time she had showed up with Naruto, they even started giving her discounts in the bill, supposedly for bulk purchases. The venue was as good as anything, though. The point of the tea after danmaku was to bring everybody to a good mood, after all, and nothing brought Naruto to a good mood better than ramen.
"Yes, let's. By the way, there's something I want to show you before we start," Alice said. They might not have figured out a way for Naruto to be able to directly join in the offense yet, but that wasn't to say Alice couldn't introduce something else interesting instead. Naruto had improved quite a bit and it was starting to take a significant amount of time for Alice to actually hit Naruto with only basic bullets. She thought he was ready for more.
"What's that?" Naruto asked.
"You've gotten pretty good at danmaku, and I think it's time to bring you to the next level," Alice said.
"Yeah! You said it. I'm the best. Believe it," Naruto said. It made for such a contrast to the disappointed look of defeat he had entered Alice's home with. Never mind that Alice beat him every time she didn't intentionally let herself get hit after a particularly good set of dodges by Naruto. Maybe if he could get those kunai to work he could actually challenge her with a bit of unpredictability in his attacks. Maybe. There was still the matter of the years of experience difference between them.
"This is a spell card. I'm going to be using it in today's battle," Alice said. She pulled out one of the sheets of paper which held a spell card and handed it to Naruto. "It's a more advanced form of danmaku. They hold special attacks which clear out all the enemy's bullets and have special patterns. They're stored in these spell cards and are used when the person activates them."
"So they're like fuinjutsu?" Naruto asked.
Fuinjutsu? Sealing techniques? "I don't know what that is. Maybe. What do..."
"Benevolent French Dolls -Easy-?" Naruto interrupted, reading the description of the spell card Alice had handed to him. "Easy mode? How lame. What do you take me for, some kind of kid?"
"You are a kid," Alice said.
"No way, I'm the number one best ninja. Believe it. I should be doing something harder," Naruto said.
"Okay. If you insist," Alice sighed. Rather than try to argue she decided to just show him. She figured Naruto knew enough about danmaku now to at least appreciate what he would see. She pulled out a related but different spell card and said, "Blue Sign 'Benevolent French Dolls -Hard-.'"
The named blue puppets appeared, and the room was suddenly filled with glowing bullets. It was far from her most powerful spell card, but it was more than enough for a beginner like Naruto. His eyes grew wide and his jaw dropped.
After the light show had dissipated, Naruto sheepishly said, "Maybe we should start on easy mode."
Last Updated: February 11, 2019