Mugen no Mangekyou: The Eastern Wonderland
I do not own the Touhou Project series. OCs, however, are mine.
CHAPTER 2: Reckless Soul
…
Where am I?
What's going on?
… Ah. I see. I must be dead, ever since that monstrosity dealt the final blow to me…
Oh crap! Yukari! Is she safe? Did she manage get away from that monster safely?
… Looks like I'll never find out. Especially when all I see around me is a white void full of…
Nothing...
Oh well, guess I'll take a look around this strange place… Wherever and whatever it is.
I walk forward, attempting to get used to the feeling of walking on nothing but the air. Every moment is starting to freak me out as each of my footsteps let out echoes. I mean, several minutes later and I still see and feel nothing but the emptiness… wait, what's that over there?
I jog over to the place where a continuous pulsing blue light is. Now that I look at it at a closer position, it's a small flame, like those one would see from a candle. Surprisingly, it was not the usual red-orange flames but an azure blue material that flickered like fire, but after seeing that puppet-like monster I simply accept things as it is. I hesitantly reached out my left arm towards it. Strange, it didn't feel burning hot, but rather warm, even comforting.
I, with a sudden feeling of recklessness to see what would happen next, grasped the blue flame without any hesitation or fear that I would get burnt.
Just as I thought, I didn't get damanged from the contact, but I found myself bursting out these flames – no, rather, aura – out of my body. I clenched my left hand into a fist, admiring the aura that rushed all around me. This… this power, it made me feel...
Alive.
As I came upon this fact, all the white emptiness around me faded away into a more comforting sight. I find myself in a misty riverbank. A few trees are nearby, providing a peaceful addition to the scenery, and I felt at peace despite the mist limiting the view.
A light, friendly giggling echoes all around me. As I twist my head back and forth to see where the source of the noise was, a feminine voice says:
"Oh, what do we have right here? I spy a single lost soul wandering around my domain~. Hm? You're still alive, surprisingly bursting with life. Well, looks like I don't have to ferry you across the Sanzu no Kawa."
The Sanzu no Kawa? The Buddhist river akin to the Greek's River Styx?
Kudos for me; guess I don't have to pay the god of death for the passage into the afterlife at the moment.
"Seeing how there's hardly any souls left for today I guess I'll take a break~." The voice once again rings out. I attempt to deduce the appearance of the speaker. From what I imagine a red-eyed girl with short pinkish hair with two ponytails tied by two double hair beads, while wearing a white dress with a blue vest overtop. Her wielding an oddly shaped scythe doesn't seem to ruin the image, for some reason…
The voice continues with an amused tone of voice, "Looks like you gotta go. Don't let me see you here again anytime soon~. It would be nice though if you can visit me in your physical form later though, alright?
With that, the riverbank scenery began to white out. The voice began to chuckle softly, but this time I could perceive that it is behind me. As she began to whistle some tune I try to spin around to catch the actual sight of the girl, but by the time I manage to look back everything already turned white. Moments later, the entire white void faded to black.
I didn't even have the time to even ask for her name…
~o~o~o~o~o~
I gradually open my eyes, then immediately shut them due to facing the sudden brightness. As my eyes gradually became accustomed to the light, I found myself staring at the unfamiliar wooden ceiling. I frown. Just what in the world just happened when I was knocked out? Now that I know that I am breathing, feeling, and most importantly, still alive, first things first: check my surroundings.
I take a quick peak around my current unknown position. I am alone lying on a makeshift bed of blankets, a futon, in some traditional Japanese mansion complete with those paper screen doors. My attitude turns suspicious when I notice that I was wearing some kind of attire that resembles hospital gowns that the patients use. What happened to my clothing when I was out like a lightbulb?
Deciding to discard that unwanted thought away in the far resides of my mind I attempt to move my limbs. No reaction. Well, damn, looks like the shock from seeing how my right arm got sliced off by that demon….
…Wait a moment. If that's true, then why do I still have my right arm?
With all my strength, I struggle to get my immobile left arm to move to check if what I saw is correct, still not believing the fact that my right arm is back. After several minutes of struggling with my weakened muscles, I finally got my left hand up and over to feel the limb that isn't supposed to be there.
As soon as my fingers made contact, something extraordinary, almost like a miracle or a curse, occurs right in front of my eyes. A pulse of blue light, similar to the aura that I had seen in my dream several moments ago, flashes from my right. The image of the right appendage distorted, shifting from a normal human right arm into a rather familiar limb.
Isn't this the arm that the demon had earlier? Why in the blazes was it doing here as MY arm? As soon as I asked myself that question, with a sudden pain erupting deep in my head, I saw images flash through my mind.
What were these? Me, flashing out that visible aura, charging recklessly at the monster, summoning some kind of astral arm to pummel said creature repeatedly before sending it up high in the air, only for it to be finished by some kind of energy that I had formed using that blue energy?
These must be memories that by subconscious perceived after I had seemingly faded conscious back then. Either that or I'm high on drugs.
Once again I decide to ponder over what actually happened later. I reach out with my left hand to grasp my… glasses. Right, they broke, so I must be blind right now seeing nothing but blurriness.
Although, why do I see more clearly without the aid of my glasses?
When the resulting thought struck me, I froze in that position. I can actually see again. Never again do I have to rely on the easily breakable tool for eyesight aid. I slowly began to let out a small chuckle out of wonder.
Why I never thought about my current outrageous situation like my current state of dress or my new limb, I don't know. I could be hallucinating all of this, but I was simply stunned by the fact that I can actually look at the world with such detail without the use of glasses again that I simply had to laugh.
The screech of the sliding door caught my attention. I look up to face a young girl, my smiling slowing disappearing from my facial expression to change into that of curiosity. She had long pale hair that is almost silvery purple, and wears a white collared shirt with a red necktie (there's a clip in the shape of a carrot on the tie) and a black suit on top. With a short beige skirt to complete the look, her overall appearance resembles a formal uniform of those of agents. I take a quick mental note about the pair of appendages that stuck on top of her head that resembles long rumpled bunny ears, but the most eye-catching parts of her are her crimson eyes.
We both blink as we caught each other staring. I continue to stare at her eyes, amazed at how mesmeric it seemed to simply bore into my head like drills while absently noting how she appears to be focused on my eyebrows instead. Those red eyes like roses held power, and it somehow made me feel as if I was staring up at the crimson moon in the blue glass sky. I had to admit, she is very attractive.
This girl with bunny ears then hurried out of the door, breaking off my attention toward her. "Master~!" She calls out with a soft, gentle, yet firm voice to somebody out there in this eternal Japanese mansion. "Please come over, the patient is up~."
Why address others with terms such as, "Master"? I had to wonder to myself. She certainly didn't look like she was enslaved, so… a servant? An apprentice of some sort?
Let's just stick to saying that she's some kind of a cosplaying agent.
"Hm? Alright, I'm coming down this moment." Another feminine voice rings out in reply. Several more echoing footsteps later, another woman stepped into the room.
I observe this new figure warily. The way her dark grey eyes like storm clouds stares at me with slight irritation is making me feel nervous, almost as if I was meeting with a scary doctor. She is wearing a red and blue patterned dress with constellation designs and had silvery hair that is tied into a thick long braid that came out from a nurse's cap with similar colors to that of her unique attire. Despite her young appearance, the confident feeling that she emitted indicated that she had years of experience that far exceeded those of the common elders.
"So the stranger finally wakes up," she states softly, crossing her arms over her rather well-endowed chest. "Well, I reckon that you have a bunch of questions, and seeing how you seem to be fine at the moment you can fire away."
"What in the world happened to me?" I demand impatiently. "How long was I out? Is Yukari alright? Where in the world am I? And besides… who the hell are you?"
She lightly hits me on the head at the last statement, but she still answers my questions despite my rude statement. "My name is Yagokoro Eirin," she says, "You've been out for a week when that gap youkai brought you in. You're currently in Eientei, the House of Eternity, where I own a small clinic. That reminds me, you owe me some favors since I helped you recover when you were unconscious."
Great, now I'm in debt for something I never asked for, although it's great to know that I recovered safely.
But how am I speaking another language? I'm pretty sure that I couldn't speak Japanese as fluently as me right now when I asked my questions. The only languages I know are simply English, Korean, and Spanish, though the latter not so well. I ask this as another question to her, who raises her eyebrow from slight surprise.
"So you originally couldn't speak this language? I thought that it was your innate speech. Well, no matter. That gap youkai probably tampered with your brain so that you'll be capable for communication with the residents here."
So due to some brain tampering with my mind I suddenly became capable of speaking a whole new language that I had never learned in my life. Sounds convenient, although…
"Gap youkai?" I ask again, almost becoming annoyed with my current lack of knowledge. "You mentioned of a 'gap youkai' earlier. Who is this… individual?"
"Ah, it's Yakumo Yukari, of course. You didn't know?"
Yukari… Yukari is a youkai? Normally I would simply laugh it off, but seeing how weird this entire situation was and the fact that I had nearly died simply made me see that this Eirin was completely serious.
"Normally she'll tell anybody of her status as the Youkai of Boundaries, though. I wonder why she didn't bother to tell you-."
"Sorry to interrupt," I blurt out, leveling my eyes to stare into Eirin's. She trails off and stares back with slight disappointment clear in her eyes. "But with all due respect, where in the world am I?"
She sighs, muttering under her breath something about understanding the plight that a certain shrine maiden constantly had to go through. She sat down to face me as the girl behind her discreetly copied her movements. It was silent for a moment before she finally stated:
"Outsider, you are in the land of Gensokyo."
A long moment of silence passed by, then with a confused tilt of my head, I asked Eirin full of sincerity, "What is this Gensokyo?"
She slaps her forehead, groaning in frustration. Furiously making her way out the room, she left me staring at her receding figure out of disbelief. The girl with rabbit ears in the corner tries to reach out to the silver-haired doctor, but then sighs and turns around to give me a sympathetic look.
"I'm so sorry about that," the girl says kindly, catching my attention when she began to bow slightly to apologize. "Master simply doesn't have the patience to explain to others, due to her long years of experience and knowledge."
"It's alright," I assure her when she began to look guilty. Her ears droop down even further, surprising me even more by the movement. Deciding to change the topic, I ask her, "Are those ears… real?"
"Oh yes," she answers, returning to her brighter mood. As she smiles, she adds, "I'm a Lunar Rabbit, by the way. I came from the moon."
…This girl, a rabbit from… the moon? Somehow, I suspect that she is not the type of person to lie to others…
"Gensokyo is a safe haven for all the youkai that wish to live in peace all around the world," the girl continues, not noticing my skeptical stares. "Normally outsiders wouldn't really know much about this world, so it's kind of understandable of how you seem to know nothing about us."
As I began to speak out a response, our eyes cross and lock paths. All of the sudden I couldn't pull my attention away from her alluring crimson eyes that hypnotically bore straight into my mind. I got so enraptured by those beautiful eyes that I didn't notice the warning in the form of this so called rabbit from the moon widening her eyes out of shock and opening her mouth to say something.
Then the whole situation went drastically south.
Everywhere all around me everything I stare at seemed to distort, bend, break apart, shift places, implode, and fly all around the room at the same time.
It was as if I am going raving insane.
The girl that was in front of me already disappears as if she never existed in the first place. The more I try to make sense of the entire situation I got suddenly placed in, the more I couldn't focus on the main matter at hand.
"Hey, you!" I try to call out, ducking in order to avoid a – oh my god is that a flying large piece of the nearby wall – that shot over my head as other objects like the lights overhead imploded and shatter. "What the hell is going on? Hey, hey, help!"
All around me, the messed-up broken objects… all paused, floating around their respective places unmoving, then suddenly compressed together until I was inside a large box made up of destroyed household parts and goods. It began to close in on me. I panic, attempting to back away and clambering to my feet as the walls of this crazy world got closer. If this continues I fear that I would become claustrophobic before getting crushed to death!
Was I going to die in this crazy world immediately after I almost got killed by some monstrosity? As fear struck me, I squeezed my eyes shut in desperation. By now my head was throbbing from the sudden rush and change that I couldn't even breathe calmly. My mind… it's aching from pain.
I almost didn't feel the tingling sensation from my immobile right demonic arm. I threw myself forward, waving both of my arms around as a crazy attempt to reject the predicament that I'm in, and suddenly –.
I find myself crouching on the ground, panting from the panic several moments ago. I jerk my head around, my eyes slowly gathering its senses and carefully observing the room all around me.
No change, huh. Was that some kind of illusion? I sigh in relief.
Also, that small feeling in my arm… I closed my eyes to focus, and squeezed whatever I was grasping with my demon arm. Wow, it looks like I can move it normally now. Was it due to the fear of death, the dying will, that made it capable of moving?
But the more important question was: what exactly am I cupping with my hand here?
"A–ano… would you please get off me?" I heard a meek and quiet voice directly underneath me. I look down, and immediately pale from the sight out of shock.
For the first time in my life I find myself in a provocative position. I'm on top of the rabbit girl, who is sprawled out on the tatami mats that made up the floor. My right arm is grasping one of her breasts while my one of my knees is at the worst place to ever be at in this kind of situation. Her eyes are squeezed tight, and her cheeks are flaring red from embarrassment or humiliation, most likely both. She let out a soft moan as my body automatically twitched, my movements once again stroking at her anatomy that differentiate the male and female bodies.
This scene could cause huge misunderstandings to anyone who saw it…
"Oh lord! Hey, are you alright?" I frantically ask her, leaping up to my feet and bowing numerous times. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to do that, uh… what's your name?"
The girl slowly opened her beautiful red eyes and glumly stared at the floor while returning to her kneeling position. Her cheeks were still bright red like a lamp from the earlier experience. "…Reisen Undongein Inaba, but you can call me Reisen. It's not your fault, though, u-um…"
I pause when I heard her unspoken question for my name. How should I introduce myself? I could tell her my real identity, but Yukari (youkai or not)'s voice echoes in my mind right at that moment about that new nickname she gave me. I sigh. Even from a stranger I got influenced so easily…
"Just call me Rain." I finally decide and tell her. "Anyways, what were you saying?"
Reisen gives me a strange look upon hearing my name before returning her attention back onto the floor. I sat down in front of her, trying to take another look at the crimson beauty hidden in her eyes, but she averted them away.
"You shouldn't look into my eyes," she says plainly. "Like I said earlier, I am a youkai rabbit, but my eyes are special due to where I originated from. Being a Lunar Rabbit, my eyes hold the moon's power. Many have said that the moon has the ability to drive people insane, so basically my eyes hold the same effect. I can instill madness and insanity in those who look into them too long, or to those whom I choose in inflict."
How? was my unspoken question. Noticing my confused look, she continues: "I have the ability to manipulate wavelengths. Increasing the wavelengths, which make the subject carefree, results in apathetic lethargy, while decreasing them would bring madness to the subject, resulting in emotional instability and leaving him or her unable to talk with other people. There are a variety of other effects that I can control as well, so using various effects madness can be induced."
Wow, what a dangerous ability. Seeing how I experienced one first-hand, it's no wonder why she feels guilty… After an awkward moment of silence, I state my opinions to her.
"But based on my impression of you, you're not the type to willingly do that. Look, you sympathized with me, forgave me back when I addressed Eirin-san in a rude manner, and even blamed yourself for that small incident moments ago, so you must be very kind." Cue small blush from her cheeks. Her eyes brightened, and she stares at me in wonder. I lightly smile out of relief. That new cute look suits her more.
"So please, don't feel so guilty. It's my fault that caused this whole predicament. Although, I don't feel anything happening to me right now when you're looking at my eyes right now…"
Whoa. That's right.
We've just made another eye contact, yet I'm not experiencing an oh-my-god-I'm-going-to-die-a-horrifying-death illusion. As I mentally check to see how my sanity was going, I catch Reisen staring my new limb.
It pulses once with light, before returning back to its dormant state. Does that mean that this is one of the effects of having an inhuman limb, to gain some resilience to… magic? Magecraft? ESP?
"That never happened before," I mention, twitching the sharp claws that made up my fingers. Reisen rubs her chin, deep in thought.
"The effects of having a new arm, especially a demon one, as a replacement for a human one are still unknown." Reisen reports, observing from different angles at my abnormal limb to see if there were any more changes or unnatural responses. "All Master and I could notice was an occasional change of hair pigments, and enhanced endurance, strength and recovery."
"So I have different hair color now?" I brush my hair with my left hand, plucking a strand to see if what she said was true.
"Um, not really. Halfway through your week of recovery the white color regained its original black."
White? Shoot, I so wanted to keep the white hair. Even if I looked weird, at least it would make me look more unique. But that's not important.
At least there is a noticeable change in the interactions between us compared to several minutes ago and now. We're definitely friendlier towards one another now.
The Lunar Rabbit and I take a moment to get accustomed to the small peaceful moment before she began to list off what happened to me. "Rain-kun, you were brought here by Yakumo-san with major blood loss," says Reisen, "Based on what Yakumo-san said, your right arm got severed by a demon, and that you somehow got a replacement using that demon's. That gave you the boost to eliminate the monster, seeing how all its remains are simply ashes. An arm for an arm, as you humans would say."
Ironic, very ironic indeed… Sucks to be that thing. If what that bastard said was correct, what kind of person would have the power to turn willing people to become demons in the first place?
'Wait a minute," I cut in to point out another fact. "I think that I have some kind of ability right before I had the limb exchange, and that this is the power that allows me to look at your eyes now. Not too sure of the details, though, since I could only recall it vaguely…"
Reisen tilts her head slightly in confusion. "Really? Well, Master and I didn't really notice anything about an innate ability, though." She admitted, scratching the back of her head sheepishly.
"But now you both do."
At the rather familiar voice, Reisen and I looked at the source. There's a… gap...? floating in the middle of the room. And leaning at the edges of nothingness is…
"Yukari!" I exclaim, pointing a shaking finger at her
"It's nice to see you alive and well, Nanashi Rain-kun~." She says with a mischievous smile. "Don't you know it's rude to point?"
"Wait-wait wait!" I frantically wave my hands around. "How in the world are you doing that? Is it true that you're a youkai? Just what is going ON in here?"
All she does is laugh cheerfully as Reisen began to look uncomfortable.
"Oh yes, I almost forgot" Yukari says, looking as if she just remembered something important. She hops into the room from the gap, which began to conceal the violet mass inside by zipping itself together by the two ribbons on the edges. Once it was fully closed, the ribbons simply vanish into thin air. I turn my dumfounded attention back toward Yukari, who walks over to where I'm sitting. With a sudden twitch of her hand she lightly hit me on the forehead with her paper fan.
"Ow!" I yelp from surprise. "Just what is that for?"
"Ara, you forgot?" Yukari says as the shadows from her hair darken her eyes, creating the oh-you-are-so-gonna-pay effect. "You picked me up and carried me all over the streets of the Outside world without my permission. I believe an apology is to be made?"
Oh. Right. I did do that, didn't I. "S-sorry," I stammer out, looking away from shame. "But still, I couldn't simply just leave you behind with those bastards of society."
"And there was no need. I could simply trap them in my boundaries before removing their leftovers. Rain-kun, originally you couldn't stand a chance against a herd of demons on your own."
Eh? Herd of demons? So does that mean…
… All of those gangsters were demons in flesh? What the hell?
Now that I think about it, if they were all demons when they attacked, then they would have enhanced strength. Seeing how I miraculously beat their enhanced human forms, the last one must have transformed into that disturbing figure to successfully kill me…
"Rain-kun, you managed to defeat a herd of demons on your own?" Reisen asks me, even more amazed. "I thought Master was only joking when she said that, but still… Wow!"
… Right, Eirin did indeed say that Yukari told them of what happened.
Yukari then raises a point. "Anyways, I would like to inform you, Rain-kun, that you already had a power dwelling deep inside you. Probably even before you ever existed"
Eh? Reisen and I share a confused look.
"Seeing how you well you used it, I would even go as far as to say that your previous incarnation had used the same ability. Be proud, Rain-kun. Your power is one of the rarest abilities to ever exist; rivaling the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception and possibly even going as far as to say that it itself is a new class of mystery and miracles of magic."
Completing that sentence, Yukari turned absolutely serious. I gulp, worrying about what she had to say next.
"You have the ability to use Aura, the Wave Guidance of the Lifestream."
~o~o~o~o~o~
Aura. It is the type of energy from the parapsychological phenomena of oscillation that exists in every object in the world. It is rumored that this energy represents the connection to the Lifestream, the endless cycling heavenly river where all souls originated from before their birth into the living world.
And that is what Yukari tells me and Reisen, who's listening carefully nearby.
"So," I make an attempt to finally clear up any signs of misunderstandings that I might have experienced from her lecture. "You are telling me that I have this ability – Wave Guidance, was it called? – that allows me to use my Aura in numerous ways like offense and defense."
Yukari nods, looking bored.
"In addition to this new power, I also have a demonic right arm that I obtained from cutting it off from the monster that cut off the original limb (which I don't even fully recall). It somehow fused to me without any problems, and there's also a large chance for me to able use its unholy abilities as well."
Another nod. Good, I think that I'm actually making progress here! I sigh, pinching my nose before finally making my last statements.
"So I'm located somewhere in Japan, in some kind of boundary plane that you helped create many years ago. You're the Youkai of Boundaries, so you can pretty much form portals to anywhere in the universe which even includes my own mind. On the side note, thanks for getting me accustomed to this language."
"Correct, and you're welcome." Yukari yawns. "Anything else?"
…Good grief, this is too much. I'm about to collapse from mental exhaustion more than anything else.
Reisen then raises another good question. "Yakumo-san," she hesitantly began. "Why can't Rain-kun return back to the Outside World? He's all fine now, so shouldn't he return to his family where he belongs?"
Yukari's once friendly facial expression turned ominous. "It's too late," she says softly. "The humans over there officially pronounced him dead when they identified his sliced arm and glasses lying around in that alleyway. He already had his funeral days ago."
…I do not like this situation at all. What do my parents think, with me gone… dead… what about my friends, neighbors, relatives, what will they think?
"Looks like I have to stay here," I whisper out as I rub my temples in order to ease the mental headache I'm currently suffering through. I'm having an information overload, and it's taxing on my brain.
That new information Yukari gave out about me dead in the Outside simply adds a whole new kind of weight to my burden.
I gave Reisen and Yukari a tired look; they understood and left the room their own respective ways, the Lunar Rabbit through the screen door and the Youkai of Boundaries hopping into a newly formed gap. Yukari calls out, "I'll be waiting outside, Rain-kun, so do try to cheer up and enjoy your time here~!" before disappearing into that portal.
I'm still amazed by those portals; they look pretty handy to use.
Once they both completely disappear, I take a deep breath, stand up, and stretch my tense limbs. There's no point worrying about my predicament, just go along the flow in order to see my path from here. I head over to where the door was, and found myself staring face to face with a very surprised Eirin.
"Oh, Yagokoro-san," I address her, before remembering my actions towards her earlier. Bowing my top part of the body down to a 90-degree angle with my legs, I articulate with a loud and clear voice, "I am sorry for my rude behavior earlier. Will you ever forgive me?"
Hearing no response, I take a quick glance up and find myself surprised at seeing Eirin smiling lightly at me. "It's alright," she says, rubbing my head as if I was just a child seeking reassurance. "I'm also at fault. I didn't consider that you might have gone through so much in so little time, since I overheard the entire thing outside."
… That sudden kindness that she's currently emitting is beginning to make me feel uneasy.
She sighs. "That Yukari," she utters distastefully, turning around and walking down the hallway. I quickly follow after her. "Always taking a part in drastically changing the lives of young people such as you…"
"I don't think it's her fault, though." I defended. "I mean, those monsters were already going after me. It would hardly make a difference whether or not Yukari shoved herself into my life."
That's right. If I didn't have the will to protect Yukari (even though her power and status as a powerful youkai meant that she could have easily handled them all by herself) then I wouldn't have fought back so hard.
Even if I did win that fight against those freaks of nature on my own, I would be fatally injured and no medication (except Eirin's?) would save me.
"True, true," admits Eirin, looking thoughtful for a moment. We reach what appears to be her office. Stacks of papers crowd one portion of the desk, while tools used to grind roots into powder cluster the other. Behind the desk is a huge shelf consisting of numerous drawers, all possibly holding different kinds of medications.
As my eyes travel across the new room, Eirin pulls out a stool and plops down on it. She reaches over and picks out a report, most likely about me, from the huge stack of papers and begins to make some editions to it.
"Is your new arm alright?" she asks, eyeing my inhuman arm. I again flex it, seeing how it moves and responds.
"It actually feels normal. I don't know why, but it feels so… natural, as if it was originally a part of me."
"Be careful though," Eirin warns. "Even if you mentally adapted to it, physically your body may not. Take it easy."
"Alright. So, uh, what happened to my original clothes?"
Eirin's eyes begin to take a devious look. "They were too bloody and scratched up beyond repair. I ordered some new clothing for you, so expect an increase in that debt you owe me." Then she gives me the number of the money I owe her.
… Gah. Hope that she isn't like those loan sharks ready to make my life miserable; I don't think I can pay it off so soon with the way I am…
"So yeah, here you go." The pharmacist hands me a carefully wrapped-up bundle. I take it from her arms, wondering if this is the clothing that she mentioned earlier.
As I open it up and observe the objects inside, my mouth gape open in wonder. All my previous hesitancy disappears after one look. "This…" I stammer. "This is so much just for me…"
"Just be sure to pay it all up later," Eirin smiles at me. "Based on what I heard about you from Yukari, you always repay your debts later no matter what the price is."
I'm observing what appeared to be the traditional clothing people back in old Asia used to year. The form-fitting black pants that provide swift movement and a red shirt resembling the upper garment of the hanbok (Korean traditional clothing) came along with a dark brown sash that serves as a belt. Along with a pair of boots with zippers, laces, and buckles, the set's complete with an azure haori, a thigh, length kimono-like jacket, with light blue cloud patterns all over it.
Overall, it looks awesome.
"Somebody like me probably doesn't even deserve these type of clothing," I wistfully comment. "Eirin-san, thank you so much."
"Go get changed already," Eirin shoos me away and back into my previous room. With nothing better to do, I change my patient robes with these clothing.
…
Wow, these feel great. Wonder how these are made…
I step out of the room feeling refreshed. The right sleeve was folded up past the elbow so that my demon arm wouldn't get in the way due to its rather sharp shape edges and tougher-than-diamonds feel. Eirin's still in her office waiting for me, and she tosses me another item which I catch out of brief surprise when I enter the room.
"Here's a special on the house," Eirin explains. "You certainly don't want the other humans to think of you as some kind of evil youkai that's going to eat them all."
"But I'm not into cannibalism!" I retort. "I'm as human as they are! And besides, what's the point with bandages and a sling?"
Yep. That "special" is a roll of seemingly normal white clean bandages and a sling.
"Not with that replacement arm of yours." She refutes. "Try to conceal it if you can, for not every human is as tolerate of youkai as we are. It's good for an excuse like, 'Oh, I broke the bone into pieces, so Eirin-sama says that I need to keep it in bandages and a sling so that it would heal' or something."
She's right. I didn't consider that since she, Reisen, and Yukari seemed to treat it as some kind of normal. As I begin wrapping it up, Eirin begins to explain more details.
"I got this form of bandages when a certain hermit asked me to make some. Kasen Ibara also has a special arm – only for exorcism, though – so these bandages serve as a seal to certain… destructive forces. In your case, it would be the shape and power of that demonic arm."
As I complete wrapping my demon arm up as if it's mummified, I watch in amazement as the sharp outline shape of the edges gradually shrinks and recedes back into the form normal human arm. Even the exposed sharp glowing fingers change back into those of humans.
"Are you trying to get me bankrupted, Eirin-san?" I joke, smiling with a bit of hesitancy as I place my right arm into the sling. "Because with all these favors you're providing me I owe you quite a debt I can never pay."
"Like I said, just pay me back later once you gain the money. Go get exploring already, Gensokyo's a large place. Undonge~!"
"Coming, Master~!" Reisen hops back in. Her Lunatic Eyes blink with surprise at my new look and the changes in my limb. "Oh, hello, Rain-kun. Nice new look, I guess."
I nod with gratitude.
"Undonge, mind showing our guest the exit?" Eirin asks her. "There's no need to escort him out of the Bamboo Forest of the Lost, though; I'm sure a certain gap youkai is willing to do that."
"Understood, Master. Follow me, Rain-kun." She turns around and heads out with me trailing behind her. Eirin waves goodbye and adds a quick comment just before the door shuts tight.
"Be sure not to seduce him when I'm not around, Undonge! I saw how you got him to jump on you~!"
"Master~!" Reisen complains as we both flush red, remembering how I accidently groped her after I experienced that illusion of madness. Just how did Eirin even know about that? As we walk along, we couldn't even make eye contact due to embarrassment.
I decide to break the silence by asking her a curious question. "So who else lives here? I'm pretty sure that a mansion this big wouldn't hold residence for only two people."
Reisen glances at me. "Ah, you could tell?" She remarks. "Many other rabbit youkai live here as well, though I'm the only one from the moon. Tewi's a bit mean, though. She keeps on pranking me to no end."
A new name, huh. Well, my condolences to you, Reisen-san. I got pranked plenty back in the past.
We walk through another hallway that appears to be full of rabbit holes. I focus my eyesight, feeling my Aura flow through my limbs like how warm water travels through pipes, and watch in amazement as suddenly I could sense the presence of many, just like a certain assassin that has Eagle Vision.
Behind those holes were numerous Auras shaped like rabbit girls like Reisen. They all appear to observe the curious new figure that was me. Located nearly everywhere in the mansion, they're hiding in the walls, up in the ceiling, and some even in household objects like cabinets and drawers. There's one that seems especially human far away radiating power in a room nearby the room where I had rested in the back.
That person's Aura obviously indicated that he or she is very strong…
"Ah, so you're doing that again?" Reisen notices, taking a closer observation as she stares deep into my eyes.
"H-how did you know?" I stammer, almost losing my composure at her sudden closeness. Seeing my discomfort, she takes a step back.
"Your eyes flash bright blue whenever you appear to use that power for your eyesight. I saw when you claimed that you no longer could see the illusions from my Lunatic Eyes."
Well, that's sweet. New eye color for me, and I get to observe her beautiful eyes!
"Yeah," I confirm. "I somehow can see other residents, or at least the Aura that they all emit. One of them, however, seems very strong. Know who that person is?"
Reisen stops. "That must be Kaguya-sama. She's also originally from the moon, as well as Eirin-sama." With that, she turns around and looks at me with wonder. "I'm amazed, how did you master your abilities so quickly? You always seem to reveal something new whenever I think you shown me enough."
I shrugged. "Honestly, I'm still feel kinda rushed. Everything seems to go by so fast; maybe I'm losing a touch of reality myself. But this world so far makes me wonder what else I am going to see here… Maybe one simply needs to accept the things they are?"
We finally find the exit to the Japanese mansion. "So, uh, Reisen-chan?" I start, changing the ending suffix to tease the tense girl. I watch with pleasure as the rabbit girl began to blush again. "Thanks a bunch."
"Uh, it's not a problem!" She stammers. She's beginning to look REALLY cute. "Eh, s-see you sometime, Rain-kun!" With that, she waves farewell as I return the gesture with a two-fingered salute.
Once I exit the mansion, I find the Youkai of Boundaries looking out of place with her spinning parasol in the Bamboo Forest of the Lost. Like how its name indicates, it is a large dark bamboo forest. The silence is often broken by occasional chirps of both insects and birds as well as the rustling of leaves. As I look around, I had the uneasy feeling that if I did indeed go out on my own, I would be wandering around lost forever.
"You took your time, Rain-kun." Yukari states as she walks toward my direction. "There's so much to see here in Gensokyo; you need to start exploring right away!"
Somehow, she seems to be hiding something from me. "Yukari," I start. The change in my tone stops Yukari from talking as her facial expression turns serious. "Bringing me here… This is all part of your plan, isn't it?"
"Yes, yes indeed. The demons attacking, though, I have no part."
Oh, I had the sinking fear that Yukari's the one orchestrating the whole incident with the monsters attacking me, but seeing how serious she is right now, maybe she hates them as much as I do, or perhaps even more so.
"First stop~!" Yukari returns back to her aloof attitude as I sigh at her mood swings. "Let's get you over to the Misty Lake! In you go!"
I blink with surprise as I felt the ground give away. I look down and see one of Yukari's gaps replacing the ground below me. "God damn it Yukari!" I scream before I fall completely through the entrance.
It seals shut after my hands past through, and for a moment I could see nothing but purple. Then eyes popped open, all viewing the little intruder that had entered their territory. I instantly activated my Aura vision, and again blink, speechless.
Everything here is Yukari! These eyes… they all connect to Yukari herself! This must be how she could observe so many things, using these eyes that view almost anything plus her ability to open gaps to anywhere she wished to go.
Once again, the ground gives away into another gap. I holler once more and roughly land into the hard gravel ground hard, especially due to the fact that my right arm is restricted in a sling. Groaning with pain, I glance up to see the eyes of the gap wink once at me before the opening seals shut.
"HEY! Wait!" I try to shout my message across. "Yukari! Just where did you even drop me off! Oi! OI!" I continue yelling into the air for several minutes.
… If there were any observers around, they must think that I'm raving mad.
I give up trying to complain to Yukari and collapsed into the gravelly ground. It appears that I'm near the shores of a large lake. Right in the middle was an island where I could notice a western-styled mansion almost hidden by the trees surrounding it. Far off is the foot of what appears to be an impressive enormous mountain that could almost compare in greatness to Mount Everest. The mist around, however, is making it difficult to see through.
"Seriously, that Yukari." I stubbornly utter underneath my breath. "Dropping me off without any warning… She needs to pay for this if she continues to do this – OW!"
Without any warning something hard hits my head. As I clutch my head from the sudden pain, I notice the object fall into my lap, and I stare at it with surprise.
It's my headphones, all nice and safe. I had forgotten about them back at Eientei. As I grasp the edges slowly, making sure of its condition, a note flutters to the ground. I pick it up and began to read.
To Nanashi Rain-kun,
I forgot to give this to you earlier. I got a certain kappa (they're great with the Outside technology, you know!) to make some additions to it. Now you don't have to worry about batteries running out; your Aura can sustain it~.
I've also updated your playlist. Expect some new songs to play automatically based on the situation, so enjoy while you can.
From your favorite Youkai of Boundaries,
~ Yukari Yakumo
P.S. Practice you abilities whenever you got the free time; I'm still going to make you do errands for me~ XD
I smile lightly at the overall message. Even when she's declaring that she's still going to cause mischief, she only means it with goodwill. Hard to notice, but the kindness is still there underneath those thick impenetrable layers of manipulation.
I suddenly sneeze. Somebody must be taking about me…
Only question though is, how did she even get the right technology for my Aura to recharge machines? Better ask later, though…
"Alright then," I confirm to myself, hopping to my feet and placing my new headphones on my neck. "Since nobody seems to be here, I guess I'll get warmed up!"
I take a stance, extending my left arm straight out with my fingers clenched in a fist while my feet are slightly spread apart. Used to limit an opponent's movements in a barehanded fight by making him or her focus on my fist, the Iron Wall Stance is a shield keeping the opponent at bay. Normally the other fist is kept ready like a hidden spear, but thanks to my "upgrade," I need to think up of other methods to utilize it in its current handicapped position in the sling…
I tense a bit before pushing off the muscles of my legs for a right roundhouse kick. Immediately I follow through with a back-turning roundhouse before ending the three-hit combo with a back-spin kick. Landing on the ground safely, I briefly check the condition of my muscles.
Good, they're all functioning correctly. I didn't ease up since that week of recovery.
I repeat the three kicks once more, but this time I focus as if I'm fighting an imaginary enemy. Before I end with the back-spin kick I feel that same warm feeling from earlier spread throughout my limbs. Almost instantly, I felt as light as a feather!
"Whoa!" I cry out before I feel my movements get faster and swifter. As I began to feel more reckless, I continue the combo, following through with a screw kick, where I step forward then spin in the direction of my back leg while raising the knee before jumping to perform a spinning crescent kick; a 540 kick, where I spin one and a half times in mid-air to do a back-spinning hook kick; and ending it with a triple-aero kick, a round-house kick, back-spinning hook kick, and another round-house kick in air.
Once again I land, but now I feel so incredible! My first three-kick combo was the maximum number I could do before feeling the dizziness from the spinning affect my actions, but now… I still feel normal! Is this what Reisen mean by "enhanced endurance"? I've just done a series of kicking that most fighters today would envy all in mid-air!
To make sure I wasn't merely imagining all of this up, I repeat the same kicks again. This time, I'm prepared for that same rush wash over me, and I feel something bursting out from inside me.
Immediately my legs light up with the blue flame that was my Aura.
"HOLY SHI–!" I shout in surprise as I halt my movements in the air before proceeding to fall onto the ground. I felt no pain from the impact, but the azure Aura flickers out. I stare at my feet, touching it carefully to see if it would light up again.
It didn't. So whenever I feel the rush of battle, I can augment my strength by directing the flow of my Aura to the part of my body used for fighting (all by instinct, by the way)?
"Well, this will be useful. That entire combo I shall name… the Lunar Phase." I conclude, making a mental note to myself while referencing to how the moon repeats its cycle like how these kicks altogether repeats spinning.
With this help, all I have to do is get used to being light up like a dry match coated with flammable liquids!
… Now that is a scary thought. But imagine the possibilities!
I sit back down, attempting to cool off the gradually rising sweat. As I sigh, my mind goes back to what Reisen confirmed about my abilities. She did say "enhanced endurance, strength and recovery," or something like that, didn't she? Now I find that I can channel the Aura in me to concentrate in certain areas of the human body such as my feet for kicks, and my eyes for Aura Vision.
Deciding to test it out, I concentrate and direct my Aura to flow upward to my eyes. Within moments I could see those ethereal flames of life emitting from nearly everywhere, the light-gray ground and the light blue Aura of the lake itself. Nearby trees and plants appear to be more heavily concentrated with green Aura, probably because they are still living plant life. The sky and the background are slightly darkened with no Aura, thus making the vibrant colors of the Aura to be more illuminated.
Overall, with Aura Vision the entire scenery is breath-taking. Even when the actual vision cannot let me view the sky or distances far off, I can see anything that is living within my sight. I don't think any word can actually describe this new sight properly.
I almost relax when I notice two brightly flashing Auras far out across the lake. Observing this, I train my sight onto them. They don't appear to be some kind of rock or plant life; in fact, they appear to be young children with wings… fairies?
And they both appear to be flying towards me fast. I wearily stand up and switch my Aura Vision off, and in the Auras' place were two girls. The one on the right has aqua-colored eyes and hair tied by a blue ribbon. She wears a white blouse and a blue jumper dress, and on her back were three pairs of… wings… that appear as icicles.
The other girl on the left had leaf-green eyes and short green hair with a side ponytail on the left side of her head tied by a yellow ribbon. Like her companion, she too wears a blue dress with white trims and sleeves, as well as a yellow tie on her collar. Her golden appendages with transparent webbing on her back appear more like normal insect wings than the icicles that made up the other girl's.
"Hey! Who are you?" The blue girl demands, floating in the air when she got close enough. That regal but arrogant presence… it was already making me feel annoyed just like when I was forced to take care of annoying brats… "What gave you the right to settle down and light fires in our territory?"
… Must… calm down… and sooth the urge… to smack her right on the head! And speak properly; who uses "Aye" like a barbarian lacking proper education to address oneself instead of the natural "I'?
"Cirno-chan," the other girl hesitantly began, tugging on the sleeves of the ice girl. So Cirno's the name of the ice girl? "I think he means no harm. Instead, we might be disturbing him…"
"Nonsense, Dai! Aye saw these blue flashes across the mist! Since he's the only one here, he must be the one trying to attack us fairies!"
"…"
… So I was right; they are fairies… But fairies don't exis–No comment, this isn't Peter Pan's Tinker Bell. But she said something there that caught my attention.
"Attack you?" I ask. "Somebody's attacking you?"
"That's what aye said! Can't you even hear properly?" One of my eye twitched with irritation. Now the urge to smack her is even stronger…
"Don't be rude, Cirno-chan." The green fairy admonishes her friend. She turns to face me with a gentle expression. "I'm sorry, newcomer. I am Daiyousei, and this here is Cirno. We've noticed some blue flashes over here, so do you mind telling us what they are?"
… She's very kind. UNLIKE the other one that somehow succeeds in pissing me off. The way she gently asks me makes me calm down and willing to do what she asked.
"Sure, Daiyousei-san. I'm Rain, and those lights are probably just my Aura." I introduce, waving my left hand around. Hm… I try the same concept of changing the Aura flow inside me, directing and pushing it the way I want it to go. Immediately the two fairies fly back in surprise as my hand erupts with the azure Aura.
"Oh, sorry." I apologize. "I didn't mean to disturb you earlier, it's just that I just got this power and wanted to test some stuff."
"Wow! That's a cool ability!" the green fairy exclaims, observing the flickering flames. The blue one, however, simply scoffs as if my power is nothing special.
"That's nothing~! Aye am the strongest, and my ice could freeze him before he knows it!" Cirno says haughtily, though her facial expression is the same as Daiyousei's.
I ignore her statements and continue explaining to Daiyousei, who listens with rapt attention. "Since Aura is present in all objects such as you and me, I can see whether or not people are around. So, maybe the attacker is still here?"
Daiyousei again took the worried look. "I don't know," she admits, scratching her head. "Even when we fairies don't die when we are killed, some of us have been attacked and got incurable wounds."
I again activate my Aura vision, entering that wonderful world of lights. I take a look around curiously, seeing if there were any other people here in the Misty Lake.
"Hey! Don't ignore me, the strong…." I tone Cirno's voice out of my head.
… There! On the ground, several meters away. The Aura is small and insignificant, but why do I feel such unease at its blaringly blood-red glow?
I can even feel the bloodlust emitting from it!
I gasp, clenching my right bandaged arm in the sling from the phantom pain. As Cirno and Daiyousei shoot me weird looks, I pant slightly from the fear. I… I recognize this feeling.
It's the same back in that alleyway, moments before I lost my human right arm.
It's that same damn unnerving feeling right before a demon arrives!
"Here comes trouble!" I groan out with all my might. "Get out of here! Now!"
It's coming, it's coming; that blood-red Aura is expanding to the size of a human; it's coming here!
"What are you talking about?" Cirno stubbornly asks me, not noticing my disturbed reactions. "Aye am the strongest! Nobody can win against me–."
"GO!" I finally shout as the ground explodes, sending gravel and dust flying everywhere. Cirno and Daiyousei both cover their eyes from instinct as I hurry over and throw the two girls away into a safe distance. Looking back, I see that not only large gravel that also broke off but also an inky-black liquid that smelled like oil shooting off like a geyser. A brief second, and its hanging frozen in space. Deep within the black liquid slithers out… the demon.
It had the same appearance as that demonic former gangster: a hybrid of a doll, a scarecrow, and a zombie with patches of skin and porcelain parts making up the body. The right leg the same wooden peg, as the face is blank and emotionless, similar to a noppera-bo (a faceless Japanese ghost), and the same missing upper-left side of the face.
But that's all the similarities compared to the now deceased gangster I killed with my own hands. It now has a protruding tentacle from the missing side of the cracked face. The thick oversized butcher blade that is now the right arm had several gear-like additions that allowed it to change positions from the normal grip to a reverse grip as its left was merely bones wearing a rusted metal gauntlet.
Gulping, I try to shove the increasing feeling of dread to the back of my mind. "Who are you, and what the hell do you want here?" I yell out.
No answer except for creepy baby-like squeals. Apparently this thing lacks the intelligence to communicate as well.
"Hey! That's the thing that's attacking us fairies!" Cirno yells from her position far besides me. Crap, almost forgot for a moment that she and Daiyousei were there! As Cirno points at the creature, the creature notices the two fairies. It readies its blade, and then scampers toward them with surprisingly swift speed for one with a wooden peg as a leg!
"Get back!" I shout, cutting into the Manikin's direction and taking the Iron Wall Stance. There's no way in hell I'm going to let it ruin lives and make others (no matter how annoying they are) feel worse pain than the one I had just recovered from!
I'm stopping this thing, right here and now, even if it kills me!
I begin the first attack with the Lunar Phrase, the impacts from the series of kicks striking the Manikin and trailed by the blazing Aura that left behind streaks of blue light. It shrieks with pain, stumbling with each contact as it takes a swing at me. I duck down at the right moment, watching the blade arc over my head safely before I penetrate its puny head with an Aura-infused uppercut!
"Divine Dragon!" I roar out, the fist digging into the porcelain face of the Manikin. I include a deadly spin, truly adding insult to devastating injury as my fist rotates like a drill. It wasn't long before the Manikin's head gives in and craves into my fist. Black oil is sent flying out like blood, and I pant from exertion as the remains finally collapse and disintegrate away into ashes.
I quickly evaluate the strength of the Manikin. It's surprisingly easier in comparison to how I fared back in the Outside. Now that I have my Wave Guidance to help me out, I can easily see that these Manikins are one of the weaker species.
But it isn't over, not yet. It's easy to tell if you could see the other red Aura that's also beginning to appear.
Six other monsters, all appearing identical towards the first, crawl out from the ground in the same manner as the first. Crying out those same damn creepy baby-like voices, they all appeared to stare at me as if I'm merely an annoying pest of a prey, but it's hard to tell without eyes to indicate where they're exactly looking at.
The one nearby springs at me, aiming its blade for my stomach. Without thinking, I quickly sidestep to see the creature stumbling off-balanced past me. Before it could get any other funny ideas, I demolish its body into dust and black oil with an axe kick.
Damn, haven't felt this crushing sensation so long.
Another demon attacks me from behind, but with faster reflexes I lash out with a back-kick that breaks through the layers of its body. The monstrosity soars into the air, screaming a loud ear-splitting dying-cry before bursting into particles that fade away over the lake.
But I noticed the blade of another demon heading straight at my neck too late. Seeing death once again in front of my eyes, all I could do is to only bring my bandaged right arm to block, in hopes that the sling and the bandages would help ease the incoming pain. Time began to slow, as seconds turned into minutes, minutes into hours, and impact is made in three… two… one…
*CLANG!* *BOOM!*
With a large explosion supplanted by a flash of azure light, I blink with surprise.
I've almost forgotten about my demon arm. Barely discerning the bandages and sling that fell off to the ground, my inhuman right arm is blocking the monster's blade. All. On. Its. OWN!
"Well, looks like I've got a trick up my sleeve," I began to smirk. My confidence is returning to me with accelerating speed, and seeing how I managed to just kill three so easily just now, I'm now sure that this fight will end with my promised victory!
I reach up to my headphones with my unoccupied left hand. Moments like these always deserve a little spicing up with music. I hit the PLAY button after checking which song was up next with excitement building up for the upcoming slaughter.
Song - Jason "Shyboy" Arnold: Shall Never Surrender
Feeling the heavy beats of the music, I twist my arm so that I caught the sharp blade in my grip. Swinging over my shoulder, I quickly aim and throw the demon with all my might so that it is sent flying towards another unsuspecting monster.
*SHUNK!*
The one I threw had its blade still thrust out, and upon impact it just killed off another one of its race. Struggling to get back on its feet and to pull the blade out of the ground when the body got dusted, the hellion's cries and squeals were beginning to mar my ears.
"Man, if it keeps this up," I mutter with scorn. "I'm going to be scarred for life!"
Pointing my left hand into a finger gun, I send my Aura to concentrate at the palm of my hands, letting it build off so that it's vibrating with almost uncontrollable energy… and instantly releasing the tension and sending a concentrated sphere of energy out accompanied a gunshot noise! In my mind, a little card somehow forms together, and words began to appear on it
"Wave Guidance: Magnum Soul Bullet," I read out loud. My little bullet of Aura cuts through the air, spinning, spiraling, and ultimately piercing through the monster's head. It immediately fell silent, the body tumbling to the ground before joining the one it killed as ashes.
Shifting my attention onto the remaining two, I send the Aura packing into my demon right arm. I made the motion of reaching out and catching, and that Astral Arm from that faded memory appears once more! It copies my movements, but it actually extends and grabs the closest demon, bringing the monster up close to me. This all occurred even before I could blink.
"Awesome!" I say with a sadistic grin. With the aid of the Astral Arm, I punch the demon viciously four times before delivering an uppercut that sends the creature up in the air. But that wasn't all; I jump up after it by pumping Aura into my legs to enhance the leap. Plunging my demonic palm into tightly grasping the monstrosity's head while ignoring the disturbing sensation of the tentacle whipping about, I return back to the ground and demolish the demon's head with all my weight.
"And now that's six," I say, looking at the last one alive. It now apparently notices that I am a threat as it wobbles around with shaky feet.
It swings its arms back and gives out a large shriek, this one somehow different by the shrill intensity than the others. I immediately covered my ears with my headphones set to full volume. The loud rock music blasts my ears as I warily eye the irregular creature.
In the next few seconds, I couldn't believe my eyes.
The demon began to undergo instant evolution. It grew more rusting iron chest armor for the body as more tentacles burst forth in the back. The wooden peg that made up the right leg hardened and changed shape until it resembles the left leg, aiding in straighting its posture. The faceless head somehow grew over the missing left patch as the tentacle there disappears into the disturbing black mass inside. The bony structure of the left arm got tentacles wrapping around at, serving as substitute muscles as the butcher blade-arm changes into…
Holy Christ, it's a freaken' chainsaw. Jagged edges, rust on the blade, it's a fearsome sight. It's a wonder how this… thing can even hold something that large with a flimsy limb like that!
"You dare cross us, the Manikins!" a deep echoing voice resonates from the creature. It now got the intelligence to communicate!
Luckily, I'm still in a bad mood! Perfect moment for me to add profanities and enjoy hearing this thing squeal!
"Incorrect, dumbass." I snarked as I roughly wipe the imaginary perspiration off my cheek. "You 'Manikins' just simply piss me off. Now tell me this: why the hell were you attacking the fairies?"
"It means nothing to you," It only replies, readying its weapon. "We simply need to feel the blood and magic dripping from our blades!" The engine whirls on, sending steam flying out of the open chambers as the wicked spikes of the blade spin rapidly.
Shit, this isn't good…
"All I need to do is capture those fairies, dead or alive. Just die like the worms you are!"
Instead of the usual quick-paced wobbling, it now actual sprints like an Olympic runner. I again take the Iron Wall Stance, preparing for the worse, when the Manikin suddenly changes direction. Blinking with surprise, a key term it just mentioned before pounded repeatedly in my mind like hammer strikes on the nail.
Fairies. Dead or alive. Fairies. Fairies!
"Daiyousei! Cirno! FLY AWAY!" I howl, whipping my head around to face them. My body's already moving towards the two fairies who were cowering together from fear from the sight of the incoming monstrosity.
"A-Aye am the strongest! A-aye will not back away from a challenge like this!"
Well, one of them still tries to look brave despite failing the image due to jittering legs.
Cirno raises her hand and concentrates, taking in a deep breath. The Manikin got closer and closer, bringing that chainsaw over its head. No time, I can't do anything!
"Spell Card – Frost Sign: Needle Ice!"
Whoa! With a sudden pulse of power, icicles form from the misty air! All pointing at the demon, they start flying to the chainsaw-wielding Manikin and strike, piercing through some of its surface.
"You nuisance! Stand still and get ripped apart, fairy! We need your magical residue!"
It rears up, stabbing forward at the two cowering girls.
But Cirno's attack was the distraction I needed. Before the Manikin could do anything else, I shoot my Astral Arm at it, successfully grabbing the demon and sending it flying back to me with arm and weapon thrashing about.
It's a huge risk from getting injured by that chainsaw.
But as long as I can protect others, whatever happens to me can be easily overlooked.
That is the ideal, the belief, and the strength of the one called Nanashi Rain!
"GRAAH!" I shout out, leaping back to avoid the swinging chainsaw that buzzed over me when the Manikin stumble over. I lose my balance, but I simply resolve that small issue by rolling backwards and pounding my demon hand onto the ground to push myself back onto my feet.
The Manikin eyes me warily. "Your arm…" It points a tentacle finger at me. "You're not human!
"Don't ask," I reply sarcastically, shrugging my shoulders but sharpening my eyesight at the same time. "Ripped this limb out of some punk who thought it was fun to attack people I know, people I've met. Damn thing drives me crazy though, with all its unpredictability and stuff."
"But you know what?" I continue. With my eyes flashing azure, I curve my claw and shove the Aura straight to the fingertips. Aura visibly lights up in the five fingers of my demonic arm. "I send freaks like you back to Hell!"
An image of a card, similar to the one that formed when I used Magnum Soul Bullet, again forms in my head. Skimming and analyzing the words materializing on the mental card, I return my focus at the Manikin.
I charge forward, propelling myself at even greater speeds with Aura strengthening the muscles in my legs. The demon had no chance to recollect itself when I blur right in front of it.
"Go, Rain, go!" I hear Daiyousei's voice cheer from her safe spot in the distance. Even the arrogant Cirno adds in, saying, "Yeah! Blow 'im into pieces!"
Damn right I will! As they cheer, I roar out, "Eat this and die! Wave Guidance: X – Crash!"
I plunge the Aura-saturated claw through the Manikin's shoulder, the sharp fingers searing through the oddly shaped body as if it's merely butter. Swiping downwards and diagonally, trails of black blood sprays out as the Manikin squeals in pain.
I take a quick step and spin around, so that I scratch the demon again, this time from the bottom right to the upper left so that the two incisions would form an X. I place more power into this strike, and when my claws were about to leave the body I propel the Aura out. This force sends the Manikin up into the air, just as I planned.
Enhancing my legs I leap up after it, Aura trailing out of the elbows of my demonic arm. When I got close enough I give a bear hug around the waist of the demon tightly, and we both began to descend.
"GRAH!" I yell as the Manikin strikes the hard flood as cracks begin to form. Not letting go, I perform three back-splitting surplexes and cause more of the monster's body parts to crack.
But it wasn't over yet. After the third famous wrestling move, the demon stumbles around in circles understandably dazed. Looking over its current condition, I see that the limbs are all broken, the chainsaw all dented and unusable, and the tentacles on the back all limping as if dead. Perfect position for me to finish this guy off!
"You…" It spat out, attempting to get one last blow on me with the excuse of a weapon it now wields. "What kind of reckless soul are you to dare attack us? We will simply return with greater quantities! We will overwhelm you!"
"No," I interrupt, shaking my head. "From now on, this land is completely devoid of your kind, demon!"
Enhancing my legs, I leap again and soar through the air like an arrow. I pump Aura to my feet, and perform a spectacular dropkick that drills through the chest of the demon! It gives off dying squeals as the remains begin to break down into small particles.
End Song
"And that…" I conclude, swinging my back facing the dissolving figure. Not bothering to even look behind, I flick my demon wrist and send the black blood off. "… is the reason why you are dead."
~o~o~[Interlude]~o~o~
Reisen sighed, wishing for time to fly by faster.
It's been several minutes since Rain left. The Lunar Rabbit wished to know more about this newcomer, but apparently Yukari had other plans.
"Nanashi… Rain…" whispers Reisen. That boy, with those polite mannerisms yet eccentric personality that seems to go through mood swings, he manages to catch her attention in numerous ways.
And that sudden moment, when he accidently pinned her to the ground–.
She shook her head rapidly, already trying to fan out the heat from rising to her cheeks. It wouldn't be professional if she gave in to her emotions from a mere accident.
But how he could finally look directly at her eyes… For the first time, somebody could look at her eyes and not go insane… For that reason, Reisen Undongein Inaba felt pure happiness, knowing that she doesn't have to avert her eyes all the time, even if it is only one person.
And the way Rain-kun said about her eyes… how he admired it…
"Undonge~!" her master Eirin calls out from her office. Glad for the interruption, she rubbed her temples to keep her thoughts from going too far. "Do you mind getting the prescribed medications from my office and categorizing them into the shelves over here?"
"Actually," a voice interrupts before Reisen could even open her mouth to answer. She whips around, facing a certain Youkai of Boundaries who enters the mansion. "Eirin, I need to ask your little rabbit from the moon something important. It's about your most recent patient."
A pause, then Eirin gave out a confirmation. Reisen gave Yukari a confused look.
"What do you want from me?" she asks, bewildered. The Youkai of Boundaries, while powerful she may be, is a lazy individual. Why does she appear to be working so hard?
"Ah, it's for the item I asked you to hold on," Yukari answers, still smiling that enigmatic smile of hers. Reisen halts. It's that red item that belonged to Rain, what was it called again…?
"The headphones." Yukari says crossly, crossing her arms. "Since you forgot to give them to him, I have to send it over." Motioning her hand out, she asks again, "Where are they? Hand them over."
Sighing once more, Reisen returns, holding the strange device that looks like one of those things the kappas would make. "Excuse me, Yukari-san?" Reisen asks, handing Rain's device into Yukari's anticipating hands. "Where did you even take him to with your gaps?"
Yukari places a small handwritten note on top of the device called headphones. After dropping them both into a newly made gap, she turns to gives the Lunar Rabbit a devious smile, the one that made Reisen step back warily.
Seriously, that smile looks too much like Tewi's when the rabbit youkai has a new prank ready to plague upon the unfortunate moon rabbit.
"Ara~? You care about him that much?" Yukari says, her smile getting even more wider. It's almost ear-to-ear now. "All I did is send him to keep the residents there safe. He's the best candidate to take care of them after all, seeing how demons somehow managed to break through the barrier."
"Demons managed to break through the barrier?" Reisen gasps, not believing her long ears. "But… but he'll get hurt! What if he almost dies again?"
Yukari waves her hand absent-mindedly. "Nah, he'll be alright. Based on what I saw with his powers and his character, I'll say that he won't get hurt at all. But…"
She trails off, shooting the now-worried Reisen a mischievous look.
"…Why all the concern? Don't tell me that you're attracted to him already!"
"What?" Reisen disbelievingly complains as she flushes as red as a tomato. "I-I've just met him! How can that even happen so early, Yukari-san?"
"Yeah, and within minutes you got him straddling on top of you." Yukari deadpans while laughing at the poor rabbit's facial expression in the inside. A few more teasing and she could possibly faint from raw embarrassment!
Deciding to end it here, Yukari giggles softly as she twirls back into a gap waiting behind her, leaving the trolled Lunar Rabbit staring speechlessly and red. That action may have revealed about the intruder into her heart, but Yukari isn't interested in that at the moment (she did, in fact, keep note of how Reisen's thoughts seemed to focus on said intruder).
The Youkai of Boundary, after all, needs to see the action Rain's about to get involved to.
After all, it's not everyday when residents of Gensokyo can view epic non-danmaku battles.