'A-ah…' Hikari squirmed as Kyouko thoroughly painted her nails with a small art brush.
"Does it feel good, disciple? You are to be the next sacrifice. It has been decided." Kyouko somehow knows this.
'I-I love blue…' Hikari smiles, her head spinning.
==== GENSOKYOBOUND: ? VIEW ====
Leaving the prison shack, the magic man ran back in the direction of the temple.
'Where the hell was that gal? She shoulda been here a day ago!' He was running through the woods, slowly irritating himself with frustrated thoughts. 'For all I know, she fuckin' died.'
Suddenly, guards.
"Fucking- really!?" The man doubles back, and starts to run from the guards.
'Get me the hell outta this crazy place!'
==== GENSOKYOBOUND: HIKARI VIEW ====
Hikari kneeled on a blue-stained floor within the temple.
'Love…'
She was alone, head swimming as the paint was clouding her mind.
Across from her was a blue bucket of paint…
...The door opened, and a blue-clad woman entered, leaping in. "Boo!" She pointed her umbrella at Hikari and unfolded it.
"B-blue!" Hikari observed intelligently, beaming. "Blue!"
...She sighed. "Oh, it's one of you. Why's the temple full of all these weird people today?" The umbrella-toting girl shook her head. "I can't for the life of me surprise any of you people… in fact, it's like everyone's happy to see me!"
...She stared down at her naturally blue clothes. "I always knew I had a good fashion sense!"
"Blue…" Hikari muttered. "You're...blue…"
"...My name is Kogasa. I'm a karakasa!" She grins at how her introduction flows.
"Blue!" Hikari cheered.
Kogasa's eyes dropped. "...Okay, look. Ko. Ga. Sa. Kogasa."
"K-ko…" Hikari slowly began.
"Good…" Kogasa urged her.
"...I-I love you."
"W-what!?" Kogasa leaped back as Hikari suddenly leaped at her.
Hikari rubbed her face against Kogasa's. "You're blue!"
Kogasa tore herself from Hikari and pushed her aside. "H-hey! I'm the one supposed to be doing the surprising! Cut it out!"
Kogasa suddenly got up, and backed away to the other end of the room. She accidently kicked the blue bucket of paint over that was sitting across the room as she did so.
Clunk!
…
Hikari stared at the paint flow.
"...You're kind of a freak, aren't'cha?" Kogasa sheepishly observed, scratching the back of her head.
Hikari's eyes didn't leave the paint.
"...T-that paint…"
Kogasa perked up as Hikari said an actual sentence.
"...I-it was for my… c-ceremony…" The blue-spattered gears in her head turned as hard as they could. "...Need… more…"
Kogasa stared at her. "...O~kay."
Kogasa slowly made her way to the bucket. Lifting it, she made her way across the room, and left.
Hikari watched her leave wordlessly.
The door slid shut.
…
…
'...' Hikari's mind was as silent as the room as she stared at the door.
The door on the opposite end of the room opened, and Kyouko walked in.
"...Good evening, Child of Blue." Kyouko greeted her wistfully. "Tonight, you will be crowned the Blue Maiden."
'I-I always wanted this…'
"Now…" Kyouko walked across the room, and noticed a spatter instead of a paint bucket.
"...Peculiar."
'W-what?'
"The ceremonial bucket seems to be missing. This will not do. Stay here." Kyouko instructed her, as she began moving back to the door she entered from.
The door slid shut.
…
…
'...' Hikari blue-screened again.
The door Kogasa left from slid open again.
"Hey!"
She walked in with a bucket. Instead of blue paint, it was a watery, blue substance.
"I couldn't find any blue paint containers or anything, so I just filled it with water. There was some blue paint in it still anyway, so that should be fine with you, right?"
"B-blue…" Hikari mumbled.
"Thought so!" Kogasa jaunted to the place the bucket was, and set it back down. "Here you go!"
She then began to walk out of the room. "Remember: Ko. Ga. Sa. Practice saying it!"
With that, Kogasa slid the door shut.
"K-ko…ga…" Hikari tried before her thoughts turned off again.
…
…
'...' has stopped responding. Would you like to send a report to Yukarisoft?
Kyouko slid the door open and re-entered the room. "I'm sorry, child, but your induction will need to-"
She saw the bucket back in its place.
"...We will proceed as planned."
Hikari never felt so happy in her life. 'Y-yes…!'
Kyouko gently stepped over to the bucket, and lifted it with both hands. She quickly whirled over to Hikari…
"With this, let your previous self be erased forever. Let the Hakurei blood be cleansed from your veins… and be replaced with the blood of the blue." Kyouko stared into Hikari, and dumped the bucket on her.
'Y-yes!'
Splash!
'...!'
==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====
Hikari looked around in alarm as she suddenly felt water splash against her.
'W-what!?' Her senses flooded back to her.
She looked around the room, which had paint splattered against the walls, and pooling on the floor. She looked up at Kyouko, who was staring down at her stoically.
'How did I get here…?'
Kyouko frowned. "...This… cannot be. Your induction was unsuccessful."
A very happy karakasa suddenly basked in a surge of surprise elsewhere. She wasn't sure where it came from, though.
Hikari furrowed her brows. 'Induction? What the hell…'
Standing up, Hikari stomped towards her.
"...We can try again if you-"
Whack! Hikari's fist flew into Kyouko's face.
Splat.
Kyouko landed on her back in the paint.
"A-ah…" Kyouko monotonically protested.
Hikari stepped over her to get to the door.
"Ah…! Ouch! Aaaugh!" Kyouko's protests became more human again with each step upon her.
"P-please, h-he…" Kyouko began, before stopping. Tears threatened to form in her eyes, but were silenced in an instant.
Hikari paused to look down at her…
'This blue paint…'
Shaking her head with pity, she left Kyouko to the paint puddle.
==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====
Quickly, Hikari found herself outside again. She spotted her gohei lying on the floor, abandoned.
"Don't mind if I do…" Hikari muttered, retrieving it.
'...I shouldn't have- no, no, no. Your favorite color is red, damn it.' Hikari smacked herself with the gohei.
Thwack!
"Guh..."
'...That seems to work.'
She suddenly heard footsteps coming from a blown apart section of fencing.
"Guards! Guards! I need guards!"
'Porky!?'
Looking at the fence opening, she saw Porky barge in with a blue… business suit.
'Still don't know why people wear these…'
He looked to Hikari, and did a double-take. "Oh! Hey there, baby!"
'I'm sorry, what.'
Porky walked up to Hikari. "So, how about a kiss?"
'...Idea.'
Hikari nodded.
Porky closed his eyes as he stepped towards her, and outstretched his arms.
Hikari brought her gohei back like a baseball bat…
…
SMAAAA~SH!
"Gufaa~h!" Porky flew backwards, and landed on his posterior.
"You're a creep..." Hikari stated with not as much power as she would have liked.
'That blue stuff did a number on my voice… but then again, my voice is always kinda quiet…'
Porky glared at Hikari. "What!? That blue stuff didn't work!?"
'Is he behind this!?' The Man family was just bad news recently.
Hikari glared back.
...Standing back up, Porky laughed. "...Hah! You see, Byakuren made me an important person in Happy Happyism, so I can get your butt kicked in no time flat!"
Hikari stepped towards Porky menacingly.
He gulped. "...But I'm not gonna fight you myself, hahaha! Later, lo- aah!"
Porky began running as Hikari dashed after him. She then used her wind skills to boost herself closer.
Whack!
"Aaaaeee!"
Thwack!
"Hey, he-"
Thwack!
...After this went on for a few moments, Porky ran into the temple and slammed the door behind him.
Hikari ran up to it and kicked it, but only made it shake.
"...H-haha! You'll never get me now!"
'...Dumbass.'
…
Hikari waited a moment or so, but Porky didn't seem to be going anywhere.
She looked to the blown open section of fence.
'...He was talking about needing guards. What happened over there?'
Hikari went to investigate.
==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====
Stepping through the woods, she was able to follow a clearly laid out trail of paint.
'This can't be good for the environment…'
…
A bright flash washed over the forest.
"Huh!?" Hikari jumped, having half-expected something abrupt, but not something like that.
'...That was-'
A whirring sound was heard, prompting Hikari to look up.
'...Huh.'
A tiny, flying metal disc hovered overhead, descending from the clouds. It darted around the woods haphazardly and with unrealistic speed. Quickly, it neared Hikari.
"H-hey, you…" Hikari tried to intimidate it with very little success.
It didn't seem to acknowledge her speech anyway, firing a laser at her.
Vrrrr!
Hikari's eyes widened as the laser pierced her, cutting through her stomach.
"Aaa-aaauugh!" Hikari wails, feeling the burning sensation intensify tenfold as the beam impales her.
'Not good not good not good!' Hikari began panicking as she felt her blood pour from the small laser hole. She went into a state of shock of sorts as she focused on her wound, watching the blood flow. She couldn't see it herself, but it was a clean hole, too. One could look through it if they were kneeling.
Hikari tried PSI Lifeup α!
…
The hole in her stomach healed!
Hikari realized tears were flowing down her face. Her breath was shallow as she came out of the shock of the injury.
'T-that was too close…'
Another beam came from the flying object.
Vrrrr!
This one was a different, broader beam. Hikari flinched sloppily as the large, pale beam passed over her seemingly harmlessly.
'...Huh. What did it-'
"Achoo!"
Suddenly, Hikari began crying and her nose and mouth were running amok with snot and saliva, respectively.
"Wuh- Achoo! A-aah…" Hikari groaned, the sudden sick feelings washing over her.
'Stop, stop, stop!'
Hikari tried PSI Healing α!
…
Hikari got over her cold!
"Pftoo!" Hikari spat the rest of the saliva discharge out. She wiped her nose, too. 'I need tissues, or something…'
The object in the sky darted around wildly. Eventually it came near her-
Clang!
'Not this time, you metal menace.'
It wobbled and shot away from Hikari.
Vrrrr!
A sudden unpredictable laser shot out, barely missing Hikari's important bits. She felt it singe her arm, but she winced through it.
'W-why!?'
She dashed towards it and it darted away. Hikari tried to do a dart-esque motion herself, but the machine was simply too unpredictable.
It summoned another one of those pale beams, and it washed over Hikari.
'Nope. No, no, no. Not happening.'
Hikari tried PSI Healing α!
…
She protected herself from catching a cold!
The machine accidently darted a little too close again.
Clang!
It wobbled in the air, and darted into a tree.
Thunk!
...It embedded itself. It was still whirring.
'...Good job.'
Hikari comfortably strutted towards it, taking caution incase-
Vrrrrr!
-that happened.
Hikari grinned. 'Yeah, I know your game!'
She brought her gohei back…
SMAAAA~SH!
…
'Whoever made that should be burning in hell.' Hikari decided. She rubbed the singed part of her arm's skin, and rubbed the healed laser wound.
A different whirring noise was heard.
"...Good. Just what I always wanted." Hikari mentally prepared herself for something else infuriating.
A obtuse robot drove in on treads, spinning around in place every few moments, firing lasers of various lengths from its two metal wire appendages. If Hikari had to describe those appendages, she'd say they looked like some of the outside world wire sculptures that very occasionally wound up in the Kourindou with the rest of the knick knacks of debatable worth.
'...I'm done. That thing can go raid the village for all I care. I'm sure Keine can handle it.' Hikari didn't feel like eating lasers for breakfast.
She continued to progress through the woods, the metal machine slowly following her as she did so. When she got far enough away from it, however, it simply stopped whirring and spinning and actually tried to efficiently follow her, to her chagrin.
'...As long as I keep a step ahead of it, I-'
Two more of the tiny unidentified flying objects whirred onto the scene.
'Whole lotta nope!'
Suddenly, one of the trees roared, and started flailing at the objects.
"Grooaah!"
It swung a large branch at one.
Clang!
Vrrrr!
Vrrrr!
Multiple lasers pierced it as the spinning robot slowly made its way towards it.
'What the hell is going on!?' Hikari heard of youkai trees, but didn't expect them to be a thing she'd encounter any time soon.
She ran from the battle, and moments later…
Kaboom!
...exploded into a raging inferno, taking the otherworldly devices with it. It then went out as quickly as it started, leaving everything within a short radius disintegrated.
'...I'm not being affected by that paint, right?' Hikari hit herself again for good measure.
Thwack!
"Guh…"
==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====
Hikari approached a cabin in the woods with caution.
"Get the fuck away from me!"
...A robed man was running around as paint spattered guards where chasing him with blue paint brushes.
He tried PK Thunder α!
…
A lightning bolt struck a part of the house, blowing some roof tiles off.
"Shit, fuck!"
He tried PK Thunder α!
…
Another lightning bolt struck a tree nearby, but it failed to catch it on fire, instead just vaporizing all the leaves on it.
"Fuuhuuhuuck!"
Hikari's tired eyes gazed at the chase. 'So this is why he needed guards.' That, and whatever the hell she just witnessed on the way here.
The guards didn't look happy. Hikari thought she might as well help out.
She brought her gohei back, and waited for the robed man to pass by…
SMAAAA~SH!
She swung just as he passed, and struck one of the two angry guards, bringing him to a dead stop.
...Thud.
...The man was still running from the other guard, but now he was doing so at a more relaxed pace, dodging his brush swipes.
He tried PK Freeze α!
…
KaKaKoo…
The ice crystals formed once at the guard's center. Then, they re-materialized a few more times.
Krack!
Then, they exploded.
"Graaah!"
Thud.
"...Good." The man smiles and nods. "Serves 'em right."
Hikari walks towards him. He notices the blue stains on her clothes, and jumps back. "Woah woah, you cool?"
Hikari blinked. "Y-yeah. I'm fine… now."
He sighed. "...Took you long enough! Look, I stop by this temple to learn some magic and next thing I know it's a fuckin' looney bin! I mean, it's a little better than the village- heheh- but seriously!"
'...Was this the guy?' The man of Hikari's dreams!
'...I don't know why, but I feel pissed about something.'
...She doesn't need to know I typed that, right?
"...Yes, I am the guy that tried to talk to you. I know you're thinking that… or uh, I hope you're thinking that. If you're not, I probably sound pretty bad right about now…" He scratched the back of his head sheepishly.
"...So anyway, uh, don't talk much, do ya?"
Hikari blinked. "W-well, I don't have a lot to say…"
He nodded. "Yeah, I could see that."
'...Rude.'
"...Well, what's your name? If we're gonna be adventuring and all that jazz."
'Wait, what?'
"W-who said we'd be…" Hikari trailed off. 'Voice, please.'
"Hey, I didn't decide that. Some dream told me some shit like the chosen somethings, or whatever. Look, if it means I learn more magic, I don't give a shit. I'd do anything to get my hands on a couple more spells!... Aside from join that cult. Fuck that shit."
Hikari grinned subtly. 'Amen to that last part.'
"...I see you agree." The guy grins back. "...Hold up, your name. It'd be weird not knowing it. I'll even tell ya mine."
"...H-Hikari. Hikari Hakurei."
The man paused for a moment. "...Oh, right. Shrine maiden getup. Shoulda figured you were a Hakurei."
'...Is there a problem with that?'
He saw the look Hikari was giving him. "...Not that that's a bad thing! I'm not like those stupid political-minded bastards in the village. That's the whole reason I'm out here in the first place! After that whole dream thing, I kinda let it slip that I knew magic…"
He sighed. "...If only I knew a bit more…" He paused, as if about to say something more, but instead letting the discussion stagnate.
…
He broke the silence with an introduction. "Osamu Katsumi. Never met my mom, my dad was a carpenter. Died when I was thirteen, left me the family business. Too bad I spent all my time hitting the books, huh? Sold what I could, tried taking after that old Kirisame bastard, but it didn't go so well. I don't know shit about business owning, like his daughter or him."
'Why is he telling me this?' Hikari thought it pretty odd.
It occurred to her she should probably voice something like that if she wanted an answer.
"A whole lotta other shit happened, and uh… now I'm here. Fun life, huh?" He grinned.
"Wh-why are you telling me?"
'Better question: why do I stutter so much?' The world may never know.
He shrugged. "I dunno... I mean, you're still listening. I didn't think it was excessive, or anything."
'Hmm. I guess.'
"I doubt you wanna hear me tell you anymore of my boring shit. Let's uh…" He paused. "...Where're we supposed to go?"
Hikari considered her options. The guy seemed to know magic, which was a good combat advantage… especially since she just hit things with her gohei so far, for the most part.
She was apparently also being assigned party members by a higher power.
'I don't know how to feel about that, but…'
"W-we gotta find these uh… magic places." Hikari began. "...I'll know them when we find them. We're supposed to meet more people, too."
Osamu nodded. "Sounds like a plan, I guess. I don't know shit about what we gotta do, so it's all up to you to drag me places. I've already got some alright spells from starting this quest, but man, think of the crazy shit I could get later! Like… a better lightning spell!"
'He likes to talk a lot.' Hikari noted.
Hikari started walking back the way she came, and Osamu followed behind.
...She turned to him. "Osamu."
He paused at hearing his name for a moment. "Y-yeah?"
"Are you able to use more magic?" Hikari had to be sure.
"Pfft, yeah. What kind of second-rate magician do you think I am?"
"We're gonna see some crazy stuff." Hikari stated simply.
Osamu rolled his eyes. "Right. Youkai. I know, miko girl, I know."
'...He'll find out.' Hikari shrugged.
They continued down the forest trail back towards the temple… until the inevitable happened.
Hikari heard whirring in the air.
"Careful." She cautioned.
Osamu looked around, curious at the noise.
Two more unidentified flying objects floated into their proximity.
"They… they have lasers. They hurt." Hikari explained.
"Oh, good." Osamu snarked.
Osamu tried PK Thunder α!
...Thwaa~sh!
A small thunderbolt hit the one he didn't aim for.
Boom!
The object exploded, the flaming metal gliding to the floor like a piece of paper.
The other one darted around.
Vrrrrr!
The laser pierced Osamu's arm.
"Aagh! Fuu~ck!"
His arm shook as he fell over onto the ground. "What the hell!?"
The machine darted towards him, but Hikari was there to intercept it.
Clang!
It wobbled in the air, and darted around some more.
Hikari looked to her companion, worried. 'That was fast.'
"Aaaagh!" Osamu wailed, grasping his arm. "D-don't just fucking stand there! Do something!"
'R-right…!' Hikari was suddenly frazzled.
Hikari tried PSI Lifeup α!
…
Osamu's wound was healed!
"Aaah… Oo~h, yeah…" He sighed in relief. "...Didn't know magic could do that…"
The machine darted closer, and stayed close for some strange reason.
"...Hello." Hikari greeted it.
Clang!
It wobbled, and flew into the floor where it skidded to a stop and ceased moving.
'Good. Stay dead.' Hikari had no sympathy for the flying metal discs of doom.
That different whirring noise was heard again as two spinning robots appeared from behind trees.
"Oh, fuck!" Osamu jumps.
"Run." Hikari instructs him, before she takes off herself. She decided not to use the wind boost; she was pretty sure the robots wouldn't really catch up.
Osamu ran alongside her. Within seconds, he was already panting.
'Seriously?'
"Hahh... hahh… hahh…"
Hikari heard the sounds of violence behind her. She and Osamu began to run a little faster.
Suddenly, a tree lashed out. Again.
"Groooaahhh!"
'Mom really needs to check out this part of the forest. It's intense compared to everything else I've had to go through on this adventure, so far.' Never before had Hikari seen nuclear kamikaze trees.
Youkai Tree tried Brainshock α!
The sounds of static and disorientating horns filled the local forest...
…
One of the spinning robots exploded.
Boom!
'Alright, then.' Hikari didn't want to stick around.
More flying discs moved to engage the tree, while Hikari and Osamu got away safely.
==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====
Arriving back at the temple grounds, there was apparently company waiting for them.
Hikari peeked around the fence.
'...Looks like they're expecting us…'
Osamu looks out after she does. "...Looks like they knew we were comin'."
Hikari mentally groaned.
Kaboom!
'...Sounds like that tree finished its business.'
All the guards onsite seemed to have ignored it completely. Various monks with polearms ran around in set patterns, while the village styled guards just patrolled small squares.
Kyouko was standing in front of the front doorway to the temple.
"...I say we just book it." Osamu proposes. "No way we takin' this on. Can't we just go get your mom or something?"
'...I'd rather we didn't, to be honest.' Hikari liked doing these things herself, and it'd kinda ruin the point of being some 'chosen one' if you're just going to get your mom to do it.
'...Besides, I think I know exactly what to do.' Hikari thought she should use… that move, but she paused.
'Do I really not know anything my mother taught me?' She tries to think back to when she went over the spellcard rules…
==== GENSOKYOBOUND: FLASHBACK TIME ====
Reimu laid her card down on the table. "This is one of my favorites. Spirit Sign, Fantasy Seal."
A ten year old Hikari nodded. '...Sounds made up.'
...Reimu sighed. "Always the skeptic. Here, I'll show you…"
Floating into the air, Reimu prepared her card.
"Spirit Sign! Fantasy Seal!"
Giant orbs of technicolor light orbited around her. Since they had no target, they just flowed around Reimu for a few moments, before naturally dissipating with massive blasts.
…
Floating back down, Reimu grinned.
"...That was cool." Hikari voiced.
"Hehehe!" Pleased with the result, Reimu gives her a thumbs up. "I'll teach you how to do that later, after the basic stuff, okay?"
"Okay!" Hikari eagerly nodded.
==== GENSOKYOBOUND: FLASHBACK OVER ====
'I uh, never got past the basic stuff, so…'
…
"Do you have any paper?" Hikari asked Osamu.
"...Yeah? I guess so… what's that gotta do with this!?" He gestures to the hurtmania that is the temple's courtyard.
"Reasons."
Osamu took out a blank sheet from inside his robes.
…
"I may need a uh, writing tool, too." Hikari added.
"...I happen to be out of those." Osamu sighs. "It's a long story. Fuck town guardsmen."
…
'I guess I can make it work with, uhm…'
Hikari's eyes scanned the nearby area.
'Well. I have an option. I don't like said option.'
…
Hikari kneels, and dips the tip of her finger in some blue paint.
"..." Osamu doesn't say anything.
Hikari then sloppily draws the only spell card she remembers onto the paper.
After a few moments, it looks nearly completely illegible, with some circles drawn onto it and unreadable text on the bottom that bled together because of the paint's viscosity.
'...Nice spell card.'
She readied herself to step around the corner.
Osamu furrowed his brows. "You… sure about this?"
She shrugged. "...I have a backup plan."
"You better."
…
Whirling around the corner, Hikari held the sheet of paper into the air. "Spirit Sign! Fantasy Seal!"
Hikari tried PK Flash α!
A strong flash suddenly engulfs the entire courtyard.
…
All the monks, guards, and Kyouko begin crying. The guards and monks are completely indifferent to it, but Kyouko kneels and bawls.
'...Not what I expected.'
Osamu steps around the corner. "...I, uh. Huh." It probably wasn't what he was expecting, either.
…
The angry guards and monks rush for the two.
'That was kind of a waste of energy!' Hikari decided, tossing the paper aside.
Hikari tried PK Fantasy α!
The bombardment begins.
Fizzle!
A rain of technicolor sparks shower the horde of enemies. Despite their blue tint, they flash a multitude of colors upon impact.
Fizzle!
Another barrage sweeps in from the opposite direction, surprising all of the poised and ready to defend guards and monks.
Finally, Hikari let out one final power blast to disrupt the angry mob.
Bwaa~sh!
An angry murmur of protest came from the mob. Only a few were actually stopped, but the rest seemed drained of energy and fighting will.
"Here we go, let me handle this then!" After getting over his initial shock from the energy bombardment, Osamu stepped forward to deal some magical reinforcement.
Osamu tried PK Thunder α!
Thwaa~sh!
A random youkai monk with panda ears was fried. He fell over.
'Useful.' Now instead of fifteen or so angry temple-goers, there was only fourteen!
One very worn guardsman approached Hikari, lazily swinging his paint brush. Hikari stepped back so he missed.
Thwack!
"Gooaah…"
Thud. He flopped over.
The youkai monks looked better for wear, which worried Hikari.
"We should double back…" Hikari announced.
"Yeah, uh, this does not look good…" Osamu did as suggested.
The two ran around the perimeter of the temple's fencing. As they did so, only a few youkai monks could keep up as the rest of the horde slowed to a crawl around the walling.
"I got it!"
Osamu tried PK Thunder α!
Thwaa~sh!
A random wolf-esque youkai was fried. He slowly lurched over onto the floor.
"I got it!"
Osamu tried PK Thunder α!
Thwaa~sh!
...It didn't hit anything except grass, leaving a scorch mark.
"I got-"
"Please…" Hikari interrupted him. She didn't want him wasting his energy on such a random attack.
There was a tiger-eared youkai of sorts keeping strong on the offense, still tailing them. She, too, wielded a polearm. Unlike her comrades, she showed no signs of stopping.
"Y-you're… not… blue…"
Hikari felt fatigue eating at her after all the casts of healing techniques and that one powerful move she did. She brought up her gohei to try and intercept the pole's end, but the tigress abruptly jerked the pole in a manner that disarmed her of her gohei.
'Wha-'
She was promptly tripped by her pole's end as the youkai swept it under her legs.
"Oof!" Hikari landed on her stomach.
"Chill out!" Osamu announced his presence with a cringe inducing pun.
Osamu tried PK Freeze α!
KaKaKoo…
A pattern of ice crystals formed at the youkai's torso. Promptly, they evaporated and reformed multiple times-
Krack!
-before exploding in a cold blast.
"Grh…" The youkai shook as her body took the impact. Despite that, the cold didn't seem to affect her very much. She moved towards Osamu, twirling the polearm with one hand.
...Hikari rose from the floor now that she had the opportunity, going to retrieve her gohei.
'What is this one made out of…?' Hikari was taken aback by the youkai's endurance.
"He-hey! Get- ack!" Osamu flailed his arms as he was struck by a few blunt strikes.
Whack! Crack! Thwack!
...Hikari came up behind the youkai with her gohei, and brought it to the back of her head.
SMAAAA~SH!
Her head rolling around a bit, the tiger girl collapsed.
'There we go…'
...Hikari was alerted by the sobs of Kyouko. She was still sitting infront of the door, crying.
Hikari approached her.
"...H-hey."
Kyouko stopped sobbing for a moment.
…
Osamu walked up to them, catching his bearings after the assault he faced from the tiger girl. "...You know this-"
Kyouko stood up.
"S-stop… me…" She slowly walked towards Hikari, wielding the broom again. "...S-stop… H-ha…"
Osamu's face hardened, while Hikari wasn't sure whether to fight or to try and help out the girl.
Osamu tried PK Hydro α!
He generated a bubble that appeared in the air over Kyouko…
…
'Okay.' Hikari wasn't sure what to think of it. '...Is now really the time for-'
The bubble bursts.
Splash!
Kyouko was covered in cold water. "K-kyaaa~h!"
She kneeled, dropping the now normal broom to the floor, which clattered on impact.
…
"I'll be honest…" Hikari began. "I didn't expect that to do anything."
Osamu looked down at the girl. "She should be back to normal, now."
Hikari blinked. 'Rea-'
She was suddenly glomped by a wailing Kyouko. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!"
...She awkwardly patted Kyouko on the back. '...This works.'
"B-Byakuren, she-she- and Mami- and the blue, and- and-... Waaah!" Kyouko was reduced to a blubbering mess.
"I-it's, uh… okay." Hikari didn't know what to tell her.
==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====
Inside a very hastily cleaned, yet still very dilapidated looking room, the three conversed.
"...Everyone was taken by this… blue stuff." Kyouko helpfully begins.
'Yeah, I didn't know that. I thought it was pink stuff, or purple stuff.' Reimu snarked to herself.
"...I-it all started when one of the monks was acting funny, talking about a religion none of us ever heard of. That stupid… Happy Happy thing."
Osamu nodded. "...Seems like some weird shit's goin' down, here…"
'Nah. It's a perfectly normal day. This is just another tuesday.' From what her mother told her, it may very well have been one, but Hikari figured it wasn't. She hoped.
"...Be careful in here, if you want to stick around." Kyouko cautioned them. "Everyone's out for you, Hikari. Even though you've never told us your name… we all know. That paint…"
'Once again, someone is out to seriously ruin my day with completely outlandish and cruel tactics.' Hikari sighed.
"...There's something for you in the graveyard." Kyouko stated vaguely. "...That's all I know."
Osamu rose an eyebrow. "...You know somethin' we don't?"
...Kyouko became flustered. "N-no! Not like that!"
Osamu chuckled.
'...Well, I suppose we should go check it out.'
Hikari opens the door, and that panda youkai is back from before with a polearm, and he looks pissed.
'...as fun as this endless mook melee in the temple is.'
Osamu tried PK Freeze α!
KaKaKoo…
The panda man was jerked around by the freezing, thawing, and reforming of ice crystals.
Krack!
The blast sent the panda flying into the parallel wall.
"Oof!"
...Thud.
Kyouko looked nervous. "...You two should probably rest after fighting so much…"
Hikari was inclined to agree, but this was not a good place to rest. Paint and water everywhere… it was a pretty nasty place at the moment.
"...I know this cabin that was planned to be used as a jail cell, or something. I could-"
"No." Hikari says no.
"W-what? But-"
"Not now. Not ever." Hikari shuts her down.
"...O-okay…"
'I am not walking through the forest of asshole trees again anytime soon.'
"...Well, the closets… might be fine…" Kyouko was pretty much out of ideas.
'...They better be an okay size…'
==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====
Hikari was scrunched against the wall by the divider she had installed. There was no way she'd sleep in this crowded closet with Osamu and Kyouko without something to separate them from her.
'I'm fine-ish with Kyouko, but Osamu…'
She shook her head.
…
Thunk!
"...Damn bucket." Osamu cursed, his foot having slipped into a plastic bucket.
The divider was some cheap wooden board that Osamu had cleaned earlier. It was part of the fence outside.
'...This is going to be a long night…'
==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====
"...Hnngh…"
'...Ouch.'
Hikari was tempted to cast PSI Lifeup just to get rid of the aches from sleeping in such a confined space.
She stumbled out of the closet. Due to her absence, the divider folded into the wall and everyone else rolled out.
Osamu was first, dropping out of his side.
Thud.
"...Aaah! Mornin' already…?"
Kyouko falls from the closet ceiling and rolls off the divider onto Osamu.
"Oof!"
Kyouko was still asleep.
Hikari rolled her eyes, and lifted Kyouko off Osamu, and stuffed her back into the closet. Before she could roll out off the divider, Hikari slammed the door.
Thud. Kyouko probably rolled into the door.
'She'll probably feel that when she wakes up.'
...Hikari heard footsteps throughout the temple's closer halls.
Osamu gets up off the floor. "...Mornin', Hika- mmm!"
Hikari covered his mouth. "Listen…"
...The footsteps were audible in the various adjacent halls.
"...Oh, crap, they're all up again, aren't they…" Osamu realized, speaking in a hushed voice.
'What fun. Well, all we need to do is get to the graveyard behind the temple…'
==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====
The back door to the temple bursts open. A tidal wave pours out, a few monks being swept out along with Hikari and Osamu. The water had a blue tint to it because of all the fresh paint it washed away.
'...Quiet as mice.' Hikari was certain.
The monks flopped on the floor like dead fish.
...Looking around, Hikari made her way through the graveyard.
Osamu trailed behind her. "...This isn't a big graveyard." he observed.
There was a large structure that was boarded up with blue planks, that looked more like a tomb opening. Hikari peered inside, but she didn't see anything overwhelmingly interesting.
"Hmm…"
...Hikari looked around the graveyard until she saw a sign at the very end of it. It pointed to the north west, and read "TO NON-BLUE PLACE".
'Non-blue place, huh?'
Hikari took note of the direction. "...We should probably follow it."
Osamu just shrugged. "Beats the temple."
Leaving the graveyard, they proceeded into the woods in the vague direction the sign indicated…
…
Before long, wildlife began to make itself apparently.
Hikari examined some moles emerging from the nearby brush.
The moles clicked their claws together, moving towards the two like they were about to get down to business.
'Oh, boy. Serious moles.'
...Hikari punted one away when it got close.
"Geeah!" it wailed.
The other one she didn't pay attention to leaped at her with surprising velocity.
SLAAAA~SH!
"A-aaah!" Hikari screamed as the claws swiped the side of her collar, forcing her to kneel. 'Ouuuch!'
"Hey!" Osamu ran up to the mole and kicked it.
Thud!
"Geeeaah!" The mole flew off into a tree, where it grabbed the bark and scurried away.
Hikari winced at the throbbing pain from the critical slash.
Hikari tried PSI Lifeup α!
…
'Better…' Her morning stiffness was all gone, too.
Osamu grinned. "I didn't say this before, but the fact you're a healer is a godsend."
'It really is.'
Continuing, Hikari saw a hill in the distance, in the early morning's light.
"...There." Hikari pointed at it.
"...Sure." Osamu shrugged.
...Then a bear attacked.
"Groh…" It walked onto the scene, staring death into the eyes of the two.
"A-a bear!?" Hikari questioned.
"What the hell!?" Osamu leapt back. "Look, I got it!"
Osamu tried PK Thunder α!
Thwaa~sh!
…
The bolt wasn't anywhere to be found, but Hikari was sure she heard it.
'...Good job.'
"Groh!" The bear approached them.
'Why isn't this thing hibernating!?'
Hikari tried Hypnosis α!
…
The bear fell asleep!
'...Well, now it is.'
Osamu didn't realize Hikari did it, and starts laughing. "...Stupid fucking bear! Hahaha! Went into hibernation in the middle of fucking battle!"
Hikari grins at his amusement, but moves swiftly forward anyway.
'That hypnosis spell never seems to last very long.'
…
Before long, Hikari reached the base of the hill. It lead straight into an inclining path that looked like it went into the hill. The walls created an unnatural hallway formation, leading to a cul-de-sac center.
She went to move into it, but-
Thud!
The Earth shook, and a spike shot from the floor, obstructing the path further into the hill's crevice.
Osamu and Hikari turned around, as the loud impact came from behind them.
Before them was the paint-spattered figure of Byakuren Hijiri.
"...I am the guardian of the Subconscious Steps." She announced.
'I've heard of this woman before… This isn't going to be easy.'
"H-holy shit… is that Byakuren?" Osamu whispers to Hikari.
"Yes."
"...It is quite a commendable effort that the two of you have come so far in your travels." Byakuren regarded them warmly.
Hikari blinked. '...Is she normal?'
Byakuren smiled. "I'll just have to kill both of you at once, to save you the pain. I will make it quick."
Hikari formed an 'o' shape with her mouth. '...That's a no~, then…'
"Holy fuck…" Osamu stepped back. "We're screwed!"
Byakuren glowed, the paint on her body lighting up. Strange patterns were depicted on the paint on her body…
Byakuren tried Offense Up α!
Her wrists and ankles began glowing a mix of purple and blue.
"Tonight's forecast… a freeze is coming!" Osamu grinned.
'...You can take him, Byakuren. I'll watch.'
Osamu tried PK Freeze α!
KaKaKoo…
The ice crystals materialized and dematerialized around Byakuren rapidly. She didn't budge at all though, so it was pretty difficult to tell if they did anything.
Krack!
...The blast seemed to have been ignored.
"...Damn."
'...Maybe she's tired.'
Hikari tried Hypnosis α!
…
Nothing happened.
'...Great.'
Byakuren leapt into the air, and came down in front of Osamu.
Her fist suddenly flew, but Osamu contorted his body just enough to only be sent flying into the hillside.
"Huuaagh!"
Hikari winced. 'Ouch.'
Byakuren turned towards her, and Hikari's blood froze.
'...Uh oh.'
Time slowed down as Byakuren performed a deadly lunge with her hand wide open.
She saw Osamu marching in from the background to try and stop Byakuren.
'...To think I'd get this far on such a silly quest…'
…
'I'm not going to let anyone stop me now. A life like this was nothing more than a fantasy for me a couple days ago...'
Hikari tried PK Fantasy β!
Fizzle!
A series of technicolor raindrops assaulted Byakuren like they did many other foes. The waves of colors washed over her, seemingly ineffectively.
Fizzle!
'Some magician's not enough to stop me!'
Byakuren was almost unrecognizable in the torrent of colors, but she stood still and simply tanked each impact.
Hikari opened her eyes, and threw her left arm forward.
FwOwOw!
A large, polygonal burst of energy shot out and slammed into Byakuren, making her flinch.
Hikari threw her right arm forward.
FwOwOw!
Byakuren stepped back a single step.
Bwaa~sh!
…
Byakuren simply patted the dust off her shoulder. "My, my. Just as energetic as your mother was."
"Get your nun ass away from her!"
Osamu tried PK Thunder α!
Thwaa~sh!
The thunderbolt struck Byakuren, who lightly jittered.
Byakuren slowly turned towards the mage. "...I see. You're stronger than you look."
Hikari stumbled back, her eyes losing focus.
'A-ah… so even that… wasn't enough…' She bended over to catch her breath, but ended up sitting down.
Osamu tried PK Hydro α!
A bubble appeared over Byakuren!
"...Cute."
Byakuren popped the bubble herself, and let the water wash over her. The paint wriggled, but stayed in place, the patterns depicted earlier lighting up.
"You tried. That's what counts." Byakuren kindly smiles at Osamu.
'...T-that guy's in trouble…'
Against her better judgement, Hikari stood up and slowly stumbled towards Byakuren.
Osamu glares back. "I'm not here for second place."
Osamu tried PK Freeze α!
KaKaKoo…
The ice crystal pattern repeated the same freezing and thawing format it always did.
Krack!
Byakuren showed no signs of being affected.
She shook her head. "...How troublesome."
Byakuren tried PSI Shield α!
Byakuren was protected by the psychic shield!
...A pale blue half-circle encapsulated Byakuren. "Now… nothing you cast will be worth using. Not anymore."
"That's what you think!"
Osamu tried PK Thunder α!
Thwaa~sh!
…
The bolt struck the psychic shield, and they canceled each other out.
Byakuren's psychic shield disappeared!
She frowned. "I said I would make this quick for you. This is only drawing out your suffering."
...Whack!
...Hikari weakly whacked the back of Byakuren's head with her gohei. Byakuren slowly turned around to face her.
"...Good-"
Bonk.
Osamu punched Byakuren in the back of the head, yielding no results.
'...D-don't punch…'
Hikari tried Shield α!
Osamu was protected by the shield of light!
"W-woah…!" Osamu examined his own shield of light. "...Did Hikari do this? It looks holy…"
Hikari swayed back and forth dizzily.
"A-ah…"
Thud. Hikari collapsed...
==== GENSOKYOBOUND: OSAMU VIEW ====
'Well, there she goes. It was only a matter of time, I guess, with magic like that.' He still expected the Hakurei to have bigger mana pools, though…
"Oh, dear. Most unfortunate." Byakuren monotoned, turning to Hikari's fallen form. "It appears the Hakurei bloodline ends here."
"Hey, bitch, I'm still standing!" Osamu barks at Byakuren.
'This better fucking work this time…' Osamu started caressing an imaginary orb with his hands. Soon, a fireball appeared between them.
Byakuren slowly pivoted for the uhmpteenth time, to the point it started to lose its novelty. "...Not for long." Byakuren smiled.
"Here! Fire!"
Osamu hurled the fireball at Byakuren.
Fwoom!
The fireball lightly struck her, igniting her clothes- and the paint.
'I-I did it! I cast a real, all natural fireball! Fuck yeah!'
Byakuren instantly noticed the paint burning. "A-ah… Unfortunate. I cannot waste anymore time."
She suddenly flew at Osamu at breakneck speeds.
SMAAAA~SH!
Her punch delivered to his gut caused his mind to go blank for a moment, uncomprehending of what just happened.
'I-I…'
He flew back into a tree.
Blam!
'...'
Osamu slid to the floor, coughing up blood.
"Cagh! Cogh! Ghh…"
The light shield was dispelled!
Osamu rolled from the tree and began crawling away.
Crack!
Byakuren flew into the tree, punching it in half with a single strike.
...Thoom!
It fell parallel to Osamu, who hardly registered how close it was.
Byakuren readied herself to leap at Osamu, but she stopped, the paint's burning beginning to affect her.
"...B-blue…" She clutched her head. "...I-I mustn't…"
'F-fuck…' Osamu crawled up to the rock spikes blocking the way, and looked up at them.
"I-I…"
…
Thud. Byakuren's burning form fell against the floor.
…
Osamu tried PK Hydro α!
A bubble appeared over Byakuren…
…
Splash!
The flames were extinguished, and the last of the paint was washed from Byakuren's singed body.
'...Fucking religious… bitch…'
Osamu collapsed…
…
==== GENSOKYOBOUND: HIKARI VIEW ====
'...'
…
Hikari slowly lifted her face from the dirt.
'...'
She crawled forward, exhausted. It was well into midday now, if the sun indicated anything.
'It hurts…'
Hikari tried Lifeup α!
…
She didn't have enough energy.
'...N-nothing…' Hikari felt a sense of horror creep up her spine, but she couldn't do anything about it.
She slowly stood, then dropped back to her knees.
'Guess… I'm crawling…'
She crawled past the battered form of Byakuren, still lying in a muddy puddle in the soil.
…
…
Passing Osamu's fallen form, she shakes her head.
'T-this… didn't go well…'
...She approaches the stone spikes in the way.
'...Great.'
…
'I just… wanna sleep…'
…
Hikari looked up to the hillsides adjacent to the blocked path.
'...L-let's… go home…'
She slowly stood again. Feeling lightheaded and sick, she began dragging Osamu by the ankle up the side of the hill…
==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====
After a long, tedious afternoon spent dragging people up a hill with weak legs, arms, and a weak head, Hikari sighed.
Thud.
Hikari dropped Byakuren's body into the crevice.
Thud.
She dropped Osamu onto Byakuren.
…
Thud.
"Eh…" Hikari grunted in displeasure, landing on the pile. She was now behind the stone spikes, at least.
"...C-c…" Hikari tried to mutter to herself, but her voice was gone.
'Come on…'
She slowly dragged Osamu's faintly breathing body towards the center of the crevice, blood flowing from his mouth the whole way.
…
Hikari arrived in the center, and gazed at the small shoeprints in the grass, forming perfect marks. She felt a familiar comfort wash over her.
'H-home…'
She saw a vision of a small, more traditionally dressed shrine maiden following around her mother.
Hikari paused in realization. She brought out her Sound Stone…
'Can't forget this…'
She brought it back to her forehead, and stopped it there.
...
She heard a melody play.
A gentle breeze rolled through Giant Step, caressing the indent in the hill…
It then rolled through the crevice leading to Subconscious Steps, before whirling around and escaping into the sky above...
…
...
…
A beat continued to play after the first few notes, but no more actual music continued to be produced by the stone.
'How refreshing...'
Hikari felt the breeze wash over her face, and through her hair.
She blinked.
Knowledge of the location suddenly came to Hikari, despite her having never known of the existence of such an obscure location in her life.
Hikari examined the steps. She still doesn't know who made them, but looking at them filled her with wonder.
...Walking with a second wind, Hikari traced her hand along the walls of the crevice, and along the barks of the small trees that grew here.
'...This place feels like home, even if in reality it'd make a pretty bad house.'
She stares up at the sky. If it rained, this place would probably be a bad place to be. On the upside, it had wind protection.
...Osamu coughed up blood nearby. "Cugh!... Shit, man, I'm bleeding!" He stands up, noticing the blood. "I'm bleeding! Holy shit! Fuck!"
He starts spitting a few more times to see if he was still bleeding. He wasn't, not anymore, at least.
"...Fuck! Hikari, help, I'm bleeding!"
Hikari sighed. "...You're gonna be fine."
"No, I'm not!" He clutched his head with both hands. "Aaaa~hh!"
…
"Hey, uh… I think I'm uh, not bleeding." Osamu noted. "...Why was I even bleed-... Oh."
His eyes ran over Byakuren's singed form.
"...I remember, now."
…
"Casted my first fucking fireball. Smooth as butter…" Osamu looked smug.
Hikari rolled her eyes, and approached Byakuren…
'She doesn't look good…'
…
Hikari tried PSI Lifeup α!
A soft light shined over Byakuren, and her burns disappeared.
"Hey, hey hey! What're you doing!?" Osamu panicked.
"...She's fine now. That paint's gone." Hikari observed.
"...Right." Osamu scratched the back of his head. "I, uh… I knew that."
'Sure.'
…
Hikari stretched. "That was… eventful."
Osamu snorted. "We nearly died. It was eventful."
Byakuren's eyes slowly opened.
Hikari leaned over her. Osamu did, too.
"Is she dead?" He helpfully asks.
"Yes. Definitely."
"...!"
Byakuren jolts up, causing Hikari and Osamu to flinch back.
"...What happened?" She looks around. "Where are they!?"
Byakuren jumps onto her feet and looks around.
'...She's a little batty right now.'
...Byakuren looks to Hikari, and takes note of her blue-stained clothes and nails. "You've been converted, haven't you?"
Hikari steps back. "N-no!"
"Hey, chill it, nun!" Osamu readies his fists, despite being a mage. "You want another ass whoopin'? I kicked some ass in my day!"
"..." Byakuren's eyes scan them. "...My apologies."
She looks over Hikari. "You… you're the daughter of Reimu, aren't you?"
"...Y-yeah." Hikari admits.
Byakuren kneels. "Come, child. Give me a hug."
…
'Haha. No.'
Hikari folds her arms.
…
"...If you wish. Still, might I ask what you two are doing…" Byakuren looks around, standing again. "...at Subconscious Steps? As far as I am aware, very few know of this location's existence…"
'Going on an immense perilous adventure.'
"Sightseeing."
…
"Very well, then…" Byakuren sighed. "...Is the temple okay?"
'...About that.'
"...A little." Hikari puts it softly. After all, Kyouko was better, now...
"It's a massive blue clusterfuck! Everyone's brainwashed!" Osamu drops the bomb.
...A few moments of silence pass as Byakuren freezes up.
"...I've failed everyone." She states solemnly. "I let whatever that malicious substance was infiltrate the temple and corrupt my disciples…"
…
"Y'know, water usually helps." Osamu hints. "...Maybe we could try washing them…?" He lightly elbowed Hikari.
"Traditional holy cleansing methods have shown no results. I'm afraid the temple has become a sanctum of negative energy…" Byakuren is dismal about the situation. She quickly turns to Hikari, realizing something. "I… may need to request aid from the Hakurei Shrine…"
'Look, just because my mother's… nevermind.' She turns to Osamu.
"No, no- I don't mean holy water." Osamu corrects. "I mean water water."
…
"As optimistic as that belief is-"
"It works. I mean, it didn't on you, but… it works." Osamu assures Byakuren.
"...Very well." Byakuren shakes her head in doubt, but agrees reluctantly anyway.
'Let's get this started…' Hikari cracked her knuckles.
==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====
Walking back through the forest, Hikari took note of the fact that all of the previously hostile animals now actively fled from them.
"...Something seems to be terrifying the animals…" Byakuren appears suspicious of something.
'That something is probably me.' She noticed this with the enemies near her other sanctuary location.
"Do I still have an aura of sin about me…?" Byakuren asks herself. "Maybe they're sensing the evil from the temple…"
'Some of them were fleeing towards the temple.'
It was not long before they reached the graveyard entrance again. That one panda monk from earlier was stationed there, and took notice of the group instantly, moving to engage.
"That fuckin' panda…" Osamu grinned, preparing to cast.
Hikari moved forward to distract the panda while Osamu-
SMAAAA~SH!
...Bam!
...Byakuren sent the monk flying into the wall in one hit.
-Osamu blinked and stared at Byakuren. "I uh… I had that, y'know…"
Byakuren turned to him. "I know. I wish to end these conflicts as quickly as possible, however, for the good of my disciples. Pacifying them may be one of the most effective measures to safely attempt purification methods."
'Well, there's that.'
Osamu shook his head. "Look, all we gotta do is splash 'em a little, and-"
"Forgive me… but I am skeptical of such a strategy." Byakuren apologized.
"Ugh- okay, look, I'll show you."
Osamu tried PK Hydro α!
A bubble of water formed above the unconscious panda youkai…
…
Splash!
The paint on the panda washed off… or a margin of it, at least. The fur was still stained, but all of the gooier bits liquified and came off.
"That stuff water soluble, or what?" Osamu rose a brow.
'...I don't really know, or care.' Hikari never painted something in her life, nor read about such.
Byakuren was unimpressed. "...There is still paint in his fur."
Osamu shrugged. "There's still paint on Hikari's outfit."
...They both turned to Hikari expectantly.
'Uhhh…'
"...W-when I was losing myself, hitting myself, uh, helped." Hikari admitted.
'It probably only makes a difference in low doses or something.'
Byakuren turned away and faced the temple again, offering no further comment.
Osamu shrugged.
'...Now I feel awkward.'
They continued into the temple…
==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====
"Look at this!"
Osamu tried PK Hydro α!
...Splash!
Byakuren turned to a nearby monk-
"Hold it, hold it!"
Osamu tried PK Hydro α!
...Splash!
Byakuren stepped back, her clothes soaked.
"I got it!"
Osamu tried PK Hydro α!
...Splash!
"Haah!"
Osamu tried PK Hydro α!
Hikari dove out of the way as the bubble popped over her. Her legs still got wet.
"H-hey!"
A mouse youkai was drenched, lying on the floor nearby. There was also one of those wolf monks, who was now clutching his head.
Byakuren ceased paying attention to her outfit's moisture, now noticing the merits of soaking the affected temple dwellers. "...Hmm. It seems… that I've misjudged your strategy."
"About time." Osamu folded his arms.
"Gghh…" The wolf youkai grunted.
Byakuren walked up to the mouse. "...Are you well, Nazrin?"
Nazrin looked up at her. "...N-no. That sucked."
Byakuren closed her eyes. "...I'm sorry."
"W-well, it wasn't your fault… I think." Nazrin scratched her head. "...I feel like I haven't eaten in days. I'm gonna go fix up something to-"
"Hold up." Osamu held up his hand. "I gotta flood the rest of everything before the place is safe."
"...In that case, you're gonna wanna find Murasa or something. She's good with water…" Nazrin supplied. "...I-I need water myself, right now."
Osamu tried PK Hydro α!
...Nazrin stared at the bubble above her.
"...You asshole."
Splash!
Nazrin held open her mouth and caught some of the water.
She gulped it down. "...Nice job wasting the rest of that water, by the way."
Osamu shrugged. "Got plenty of mana where that came from, mousey."
Nazrin sighed. "Don't call me 'mousey', kid."
'Some girl named Murasa, huh.'
"I'll call you-"
Byakuren hijacked the conversation. "It is in times when faced with great adversity, others may band together for the benefit of one another and themselves." She smiled.
...Nazrin nodded. "I suppose that's her way of telling us to stop. I think she's right."
Osamu rolled his eyes. "Whatever, we've got bigger fish to fry, anyway."
She grunted, annoyed by the perceived height comment. "You would."
'I'm just going to move forward before anyone kills one another.'
Hikari moves forward into the temple, and Osamu quickly takes notice and tails behind her. Byakuren does, too.
…
"Hraagh!"
Bam!
A wall flies open, the tiger youkai girl blocking the way.
'Jeez!' Hikari flails her arms as she leaps back, startled by the sudden violence.
"It's time for a bath, cat!"
Osamu tried PK Hydro α!
'Ugh…'
A bubble appeared over the tigress. She swung at it.
Splash!
The paint on her body lit up with similar patterns to the ones Byakuren had on her.
"Shit." Osamu noticed them the moment they lit up. "Looks like water's not gonna work, here."
Byakuren acted, stepping towards the tiger girl.
"Shou. Can you hear me?" Byakuren held her arms out cautiously.
...Shou made a jab at Byakuren, who grabbed the polearm before it made contact.
"...I'm sorry."
Byakuren swings the polearm around, and slams Shou into a wall.
Thud.
"Gh…"
Hikari takes the opportunity to whack Shou upside the head with her gohei.
Whack!
"I wonder…"
Osamu tried PK Hydro α!
A bubble formed over Shou. Hikari went to whack shout again, but Shou grabbed the gohei before it made contact.
...Splash!
The water rained down on the two. Shou's paint began to wear off, the patterns flickering and losing power.
...Shou stood, raising her fists, only to slide to her knees again.
…
"I think she's cool for now." Osamu observed.
'Yeah. The paint's still stuck to her, but she's not violent anymore.'
"We gotta find this Murasa chick fast. She better be able to like, throw water around like no one's business, or this is gonna get tedious as hell." Osamu complained.
Byakuren smiled. "I'm sure she'll be able to perform up to expectations."
==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====
Before long, they reached the temple's kitchen. In their wake was a plethora of soaked, frozen, and electrocuted guards and monks that suffered from various forms of head trauma or bodily harm.
'Byakuren makes a good brick wall.'
Opening the kitchen, blue paint flowed out of the door. The room seemed to have been filled with a knee-high amount of paint.
"Woah, get back! Get back!" Osamu fled from the wave of paint. Hikari used a wind boost to leap back with haste, and Byakuren's natural dodge was faster than Hikari's leap.
'...Show off.'
...After a few moments of waiting, the paint had passed. The trio made their way into the kitchen…
...and were greeted to quite the sight.
In the middle of the room sat a large, curious looking gold statue.
Hikari blinked. '...A little of place, to be honest. This looks kinda like a kitchen…'
"What's with the gaudy paper weight?" Osamu tilted his head.
Byakuren's eyes widened. "T-...That...thing!"
She staggered back as if stricken by a powerful blow. "S-so much evil…"
'...That doesn't sound good.'
Byakuren strafed closer to it…
A subtle ripple emitted from it. Hikari and Osamu jittered slightly, but they weren't sure from what.
Byakuren cringed back, and shot her arms into the air.
"A-aaaa~h!"
Her hands went to her head, and she stumbled back into a counter.
'That really doesn't sound good.'
"...How much you wanna bet we gotta smash that shit?" Osamu points at the statue.
"Smashing stuff is what I do best." Hikari smugly replied, readying her gohei.
"That's what I wanna hear!"
The statue began floating.
"...The fuck?" Osamu's jaw dropped.
Hikari looked around the room, evaluating the situation…
She saw a girl dressed in a sailor suit on the wall, chained up. Various other figures were chained to the walls, immobile.
'...Let's do this.' Hikari took a combat stance.
The statue began slowly hovering around the room. Hikari ran up to it and gave it the 'ol one-two.
Tink! Kink!
...It didn't sound like it did much of anything.
'...I really need a better violence stick.'
"Cooking directions: freeze well!" Osamu grinned.
'You're trying too hard.'
Osamu tried PK Freeze α!
KaKaKoo…
The ice crystals rapidly formed inside and around the statue, shaking it a bit.
Krack!
The cold snap didn't appear to do anything amazing, though.
The statue suddenly spun around.
It tried PK Thunder β!
Thwaaa~sh!
Boom!
A stove exploded.
A second lightning bolt struck down from the ceiling.
Thwaaa~sh!
"Etetetata!" Hikari jittered violently from the shock, her mind going blank for a moment as she stared into space.
"A-ah, uh…" Osamu awkwardly watched Hikari get fried. "...You okay?"
...Hikari fell backwards into the paint.
"H-hey!" He ran over to Hikari, lifting her up. "Get the fuck up!"
Hikari blinked, her thoughts slowly returning. 'W-where…'
She stared into the blue paint, and felt at ease. 'Oh. Good…'
Her eyes locked with the yellow statue, and she suddenly felt hostile towards it.
'...Stupid thing!'
She ran at it again.
Kink! Twang~!
Nothing constructive happened from her thrashes.
"Damn…" Osamu scowled, wishing he had some kind of defensive maneuver.
The nun was still watching from the sidelines.
Byakuren tried PSI Shield α!
Hikari was protected by the pale blue psychic shield!
Osamu nodded. "...That works."
'B-blue!'
Hikari froze.
'...No! No, not again!'
Thwack!
"Gah…"
She stepped back.
The statue spun in place again.
It tried PSI Lifeup α!
…
The damage it sustained was repaired!
Byakuren looked up from the counter.
"...H-...Hikari!"
Hikari turned towards her.
"C-come here…"
Nodding, she hurried towards her. Once she got close, Byakuren pulled out her rainbow scroll.
"Hold up your gohei."
Hikari did as instructed.
Byakuren's scroll began cycling through shapes rapidly. Hikari's gohei began to glow a pale purple…
"Fight me, one vee one! I'll knock you the fuck out, mate!" Osamu walked up to the statue, holding up his fists.
Osamu tried PK Thunder α!
Thwaa~sh!
...It hit the stove, again.
The statue tried PSI Shield α!
It was protected by the psychic power shield!
"...There." Byakuren closed her scroll, the magical aura fading from herself. The gohei still glowed a pale purple. "It should be far more efficient than it was previously."
'Finally got that done. It's about freaking time...' It's probably been a couple days since Hikari set out to get her gohei enchanted, and here she was beating the shit out of a magical statue instead.
Hikari equipped the Magical Gohei!
...Speaking of, she turned to the statue.
'Come get some!'
She ran at it, and lashed out at it again.
Clang! Bo~ng!
The statue vibrated lightly with each strike.
'Much better…'
It spun around in retaliation.
It tried PK Thunder β!
Thwaa~sh!
The stove was no more.
Thwaa~sh!
It struck Hikari again, her psychic shield absorbing the brunt of the impact.
"Gagagah- guguh!" Hikari vibrated violently, but managed to keep her footing.
Her psychic power shield was dispelled!
"Die, already, you stupid statue peice of shit!"
Osamu tried PK Thunder α!
Thwaaa~sh!
It struck the statue's power shield, breaking it.
Clang! Thu~nk!
The statue continued to vibrate from Hikari's strikes.
The statue ceased its gradual movements, and instead just vanished, distorting in the air as it disappeared.
...Moments later, all the paint was gone. It just up and vanished.
Hikari's eyes darted around the battered kitchen.
'...I think… it's finally over.'
…
"...The evil has left." Byakuren sighed. "...It's still not dead, however. It might have determined that it could not defeat you as it was, however. I would exercise caution." She warned the party.
"Still… you both did a very good job. You're becoming more like your mother, Hikari."
'I'm pretty sure mom didn't run around hitting things with only her gohei, but okay.'
The youkai mage turned to the human page. "You, young man…"
Osamu yawned, tired from casting. "Hey."
"...What's your name?"
"Osamu."
Byakuren nodded. "...I can repay you for your deeds here today."
Osamu considered it. "...I could use something defensive. I got all these offensive things that only sometimes do shit, and it's like… I keep seeing Hikari get beat the fuck up. I mean, she hardly even uses magic… and when she does, it kicks her ass, so I mean…"
'You make me sound like I suck at fighting. You wouldn't be entirely wrong.'
Smiling, Byakuren agreed. "...I'll teach you some minor enchantment magics, then. I assume you want to learn-"
Osamu learned PSI Shield α!
"-some sort of magical defense wards? Or would you be interested in physical defense wards?
...Osamu scratched the back of his head, knowledge of a defensive technique suddenly clicking to him.
"Um… like this?"
Osamu tried PSI Shield α!
Byakuren was protected by the psychic power shield!
"...Hmm." Byakuren examined the shield. "...I suppose you won't be needing defense enchantments, then."
"Actually, I think I'm cool…" Osamu smiled. "I've got all the enchantments I need right here." He taps his head with his pointer finger.
"...Very well. This temple is still in debt to you two. Come back and rest any time you wish… though, please do understand that we will be undergoing intensive repairs due to the recent transgressions."
...All the previously blue-spattered monks on the wall were now up, and complaining.
Some tubby youkai groaned. "Why'd they use metal chains?"
Snap! He broke from the shackles immediately. "I have a harder time getting outta bed!"
Murasa looked around the room. "...Bleedin' hell… Is all that blue shit gone yet?"
Byakuren folded her arms, stepping towards Murasa.
"I-I mean, uhh… Jolly heck. Is all that blue… grime… gone yet?" Murasa censored herself. "...Byakuren, this ain't the time to-"
"The crisis is over." Byakuren states simply.
"...Still!" Murasa pulls at her shackles-
Snap!
"There we are…"
She lands on the floor with a clack.
"...About damn time, too. Those things make yer wrists itch somethin' fierce. Don't even get me started on the paint…" Murasa idly itches her wrists. "...Sweet release…"
'A sailor. Because Gensokyo has water to sail in.' Hikari, despite having gone through a very abstract form of religious warfare, was hung up on the fact there was a sailor.
...Murasa notices her staring. "Whadda you lookin' at, Reimu?"
'...' Hikari sighs.
Byakuren sighs.
Osamu tries to sigh, but yawns instead.
"...What?" Murasa was getting annoyed.
"My name is Hikari." She corrected.
…
"Oh. Oo~h! You're the shriney's daughter! I gotcha, I gotcha… Sorry, you just look so much like her, and uh…"
"It's fine." Hikari lied. 'It's annoying is what it is…'
...Murasa noticed that she was still displeased. "Ahah…"
"These two helped liberate the temple and myself from that malicious substance." Byakuren explained. "...It was rather unfortunate, but without them I believe the temple, and ourselves, may have been ruined."
Murasa nodded. "Shi- ah, I mean… Jeez? That's somethin'..."
Shou ran into the kitchen. "Hey! Hey guys! I'm free again!"
Everyone turns to her.
She notices the amount of people in the room. "A-ah… All the paint seems to be gone, too…"
She pauses to compose herself, not expecting there to be a full house.
Snap! Snap!
Various other monks were freeing themselves.
'How did they let themselves get hung up there in the first place…?' They made breaking metal look easy.
Hikari looked around. '...Well, I got what I came for.' She looked over her freshly enchanted gohei. "I suppose we should be heading out."
Murasa looked around. "Where're the others, anyway?"
Byakuren shook her head. "That, I do not know. Nazrin should be here any moment, however."
On cue, Nazrin ran in. "I need food!"
She bolted towards the fridge, and tore it open.
"Hnngh…!"
She made a strained noise as she pulled out an oversized cheese wheel.
'How did that even get in there?' Hikari questioned. '...Why do they even have a fridge?' She was befuddled by the out of place technology.
"Ohhh~hohoho, yeaa~h… I'm gettin' tanked tonight!" Nazrin beamed.
Shou took her side. "Double!"
The tubby youkai took her other side. "Triple!"
The two looked at him curiously, but shrugged it off.
Murasa protested. "Hey, hey, hey!" She pointed at the cheese wheel. "That's supposed to last a month!"
Hikari looked over to Byakuren, who was smiling slightly uncomfortably at her disciples.
'Fun place.'
Osamu finally decided to comment after fiddling idly with electricity. "Y'know, I don't think this place is half bad. You guys got any booze?"
Shou nods. "Lots!"
Byakuren does a double take.
"...Lots of empty space for it, I mean!" Shou corrects.
Byakuren stares her down.
"...I-I promise."
"...I'll take your word for it, then." Byakuren keeps her perpetual smile, but Hikari felt slight animosity coming from it.
'Those bottles are getting poured.'
==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====
Hikari and Osamu were out at the gate, speaking with Kyouko.
"I can't thank you two enough… That was a scary time."
Hikari smiled. "It, uh… yeah."
'I was about to say it wasn't any problem, but in retrospect, it definitely was.'
...Kyouko blinked. "Say… did any of you two see some of my other friends? Like, uh… There's this girl named Nue, with-"
Kaboom!
Hikari flinched, and looked towards the woods.
She heard a far off shout come from the woods, too. "Holy shi~t!"
…
"I think we found her." Kyouko deadpanned.
"Get Byakuren, that forest sucks." Hikari instructed.
"It sucks ass!" Osamu added.
Kyouko ran off to find Byakuren, while Hikari turned and began stepping down the steps back into the near-village woods. Osamu followed.
==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====
END OF CHAPTER 4
Protagonist: Hikari Hakurei, Disciple of Paradise
-Inventory-
Weapon: Magical Gohei - Ability to whack stuff really hard. Amplifies whacking power, too! Able to deal magical damage. Critical hits enabled.
Arms: Iconic Hakurei Arm Sleeves - Keeps arms warm. A Hakurei tradition. How they stay on is a Hakurei family secret.
Body: Nothing
Misc: Nothing
-Skills-
Attack: Quickly! Swing your gohei at them for massive damage!
PK Fantasy α, β - Bombards the enemy with pain in the form of flashing colors. Deals magical damage. Heavy mental strain that increases with each tier.
PK Flash α - A bright flash that distributes very random status effects to enemies. Usually makes people cry.
PK Hypnosis α - Puts weak enemies to sleep for a short time. Works better on tired or exhausted foes.
Shield α - Halves damage the target takes. Only works against physical attacks, and enough strikes, or powerful strikes, will dispel it.
PSI Lifeup α - Heals target a little.
PSI Healing α - Heals basic status ailments.
Ofuda Toss - Throw a holy ofuda that does massive holy elemental damage to youkai and dark elemental foes. Effect lessens the more holy the thing you're attacking is, to the point of healing holy things. Only works if you actually have ofuda, though.
β-β-β-β
Mage: Osamu Katsumi, the Wannabe Mage
-Inventory-
Weapon: Fisticuffs!
Arms: Nothing
Body: Worn Magician Robes - An old robe from the days when the village respected the medium of magic. Well past its due date, but still comfy!
Misc: Nothing
-Skills-
PK Thunder α - Very random thunder attack that deals limited damage.
PK Hydro α - Gets everyone wet. Usefulness with PK Thunder and PK Freeze depends on whether you hit yourself or not!
PK Freeze α - Generates ice crystals at the target's location. Low damage and effect; may freeze wet targets.
Fireball - Manipulate mana to make a shoddy fireball. Low damage and effect.
Static Hands - Not a real spell. Result of a very undercharged PK Thunder that can accidentally go off.
PSI Telepathy α - Speak to friends you haven't met yet! Unstable connection and only works if they have the skill or are asleep.
PSI Shield α - Halves damage from magical and psychic attacks. Thunder spells fry it instantly, and harder blows dispel it.
β-β-β-β
Author's Note:
hello and welcome again friends
publishing two chapters because that cliffhanger at the end of 3 is pointy, and i used my CO SUPERPOWER two days ago to just sit down and write for like six or so hours. i wrote like, 7 k words in that time frame
also this is basically twoson done, hyonk
dunno what to do with the mani mani statue as of right now, but i've GOT SOME PLANS…
super mario sunshine: asshole mage edition
i did actually do research on osamu's name, but i forget what it meant now XD, so uhhh
as always, see you all next time!