Hikari scarfed down another handful of Goldfish baked snack crackers, sitting behind the empty snack stall while chaos erupted among her surroundings.
"Mmm… 'Ey're ghood." Marigold commented, her mouth full.
Marisa and Osamu similarly tore into bags of their own.
"Shouldn't we uh…" Marisa paused to eat a handful, only continuing moments later. "...be following Keine?"
'She can wait. She seems to be able to hold her own.' Hikari continued scarfing down Goldfish…
"O~rgh…" A Destroyer's dying moan was heard in the town square.
Osamu paused. "...I think she found us. Again!"
"That bitch!" A swordsman yelled. "Take her down, men!"
A volley of arrows flew towards Keine, but she sent a wave of danmaku towards the arrows, wiping them from existence.
"Shit!" The man guarded with his sword.
In a quick moment, the wave of danmaku washed past him and into the archer corps, wiping them out in a few simple seconds.
The guard, who had been at the forefront of the assault, was the only one still standing. "W-why… me…?"
He fell to his knees, and then onto his face.
...
Osamu quickly stood from the stand, examining the now quiet town square.
Keine froze, standing in the center. She slowly turned around to face Osamu…
...He ducked back down.
"Oh, shit…" He chuckled incredulously. "Dude…"
'Hmm?' Hikari peeked over the stand herself, and saw Keine slowly approaching.
She ducked back down as well. 'Why would you do that?' "She's coming…"
Marigold peeks over the counter herself, and yelps, "Ah!", falling back and scurrying away from it.
Thunk!
Keine's horns stuck into the side of the stand. Hikari jumped, nearly pierced by them.
'Woah! Too close!'
She stumbled back as Keine struggled against the stand's wood with her horns, and eventually just tore apart the stand entirely.
Glancing up and glaring, Keine's eyes rested on Hikari…
'I-I wasn't thinking- I should've moved-'
Keine froze.
…
"Y-you…" Keine clutched her head. "I thought you… were dead."
'What?' Hikari looked around to her teammates in confusion, only to find most of them had made a cautious distance from her and Keine.
Marigold opened fire on Keine's side, the bullets thumping against her side but doing nothing.
"...I-I…" Keine blinked. "H-Hikari?"
"...Hello." Hikari introduced herself.
Marigold withheld her fire.
"...H-hi." Keine added awkwardly, moving her limbs about anxiously. "I'm not going to ask why you're wearing that… but… I-I'd go if I were you." Keine told her, backing away from her slowly.
"Before we do that…" Hikari began, "What's going on here? In the village?"
Keine's eyes turned to spite. "Those bastards…"
Hikari readied her gohei preemptively. 'Now I've gone and done it…!'
She shook her head. "N-no… C-calm thoughts…"
Osamu and Marigold went around her sides strategically, but still kept a distance of several feet.
"...It was that fat kid..." Keine explained. "He's held up in the Akyuu manor… You need to take your friends, and get out of here, Hikari. It's too dangerous."
Hikari shook her head. "I think we'll be the judges of that. Also, we have Marisa."
Another wave of guards ran in from the street. "Hey, we found her!"
"A Hakurei is even with her!"
"We hit the jackpot!"
...Keine began growling, her expression souring.
Hikari backed away from her…
Arrows flew in from the oncoming crowd of swordsmen and archers, heading for Hikari and Keine.
Keine leaped in front of Hikari, shielding her with her body.
Shi-shink!
Two arrows struck Keine's back.
'K-Keine…!?' Hikari paused, unsure of what was to happen next.
…
Keine let go of the powerful embrace she held Hikari in, and reached for her back, where the punctures the arrows made had healed, embedding them in her back. She slowly tore out the two arrows, reopening the wounds, but she hardly even acknowledged any sort of pain.
She looked at Hikari. "That outfit fits you well."
Turning back to the guards, she flung her arms, sending out blue and red danmaku randomly to meet the arrows coming her way. Reeling her head back, she roared.
"Hrraa~gh!"
Keine barreled towards them, and the swordsmen bravely, eagerly rushed to meet her, expecting their swords to sunder her flesh.
Bam!
"Dude- dude, no!"
"The arrows- they do nothing!"
"Did you try hitting her in the crotch!? Someone, aim for the- oof!"
Hikari turned away from the violence as her friends and Marisa rejoined her…
"...So uh, Keine really is a youkai, huh?" Osamu nods. "That's actually pretty cool."
'...I guess.' Hikari hadn't had much time to think over that revelation.
"Yeah, ze. Reimu and I kinda knew for awhile now." Marisa added. "It was kinda sorta supposed to be a secret, but y'know…" She grinned sheepishly.
"...Cat's out of the bag, as they say?" Marigold ventures.
Marisa nods. "...Yeah."
...Hikari realizes the four had began walking off, but she wasn't sure where they were walking off to.
'...I'm pretty sure we know where to go next.' Hikari paused, turning to one of the side roads.
"We're heading for Akyuu's place, next." Hikari decided.
"Wasn't that where we were goin'?" Marisa asked.
Hikari hesitated before replying. "...No, we were just walking aimlessly."
Marigold grinned. "As we do."
Hikari snorted. 'As we do...'
==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====
Moving past the occasional shattered building, the party navigated through the city's streets.
On the way towards Akyuu's manor, they ran into more guards. Down the alley Hikari had chosen, there was a Destroyer, an archer, and-
'...Is that a priest?' Hikari had only scarcely seen any sort of magician or priest in the village proper before. As far as she was aware, the village only had one or two priests.
"Dude, check out that stick-in-the-mud. Bet they're gettin' some stupid make-believe blessing, or some'n." Osamu commented.
'Blessing? There are numerous places to receive blessings, but as far as I'm aware, villagers can't just put robes on and do it themselves…'
Marisa giggled. "Yeah, village priests are a dying profession, ze."
Their banter caught the attention of the guards.
"It is the unholy one!" The priest exclaimed.
"Leave their disposal to me." The Destroyer assured the priest, as he began marching ever so slowly towards the party…
Marisa grinned, giving the party a thumbs-up. "Stand back, guys! Lemme show you how it's done…!" She walked in front of Hikari, bringing up her Mini-Hakkero...
The archer readied his bow…
'No.'
Hikari tried Shield α!
Marisa was protected by the shield of light!
"W-what?" Marisa stumbled back, examining the shield of light…
Woosh!
The arrow barely missed her arm, flying right past the party, but still coming very close to everyone.
Osamu shook his head. "Fuck me, that was a hell of a shot…"
Marigold opened fire on the archer.
PoPoPoPoPop!
The archer tried to duck out of the way of the fire, but some of it thudded against his meek armor anyway, pushing him along a bit as he ran away.
"Love Sign…" Marisa began, pointing her Mini-Hakkero at the Destroyer.
"Danmaku is for the feeble." The Destroyer commented, marching towards her slowly.
The priest came out from behind said Destroyer, and tossed holy water at Marisa. "Begone, foul Magician!"
The shattering of the bottle against Marisa's dress was dulled by the shield of light. Her dress was simply wetted a little.
"Master Spaa~rk!"
Marisa unleashed her annihilation of love.
Vrrrrr~!
A huge technicolor beam caused the buildings nearby to shake, and those closest to the laser to crumble.
"Th-this…!" The Destroyer was soon pushed, and launched, by the technicolor love laser.
"Gwwaa~h!" The priest was lost in the light.
-Rrrrrr~...
Soon, the Master Spark died down, revealing a tunnel of destruction through multiple buildings. Neither the priest nor the Destroyer were anywhere in sight.
Marigold blinked. "...I don't think anyone will appreciate that."
Marisa giggled. "Well… it's happened. People'll just assume it's a youkai or somethin's doing…?"
Marigold sighed. "You're not helping."
Continuing forward, Hikari found Akyuu's manor just around the corner. The front gate had two butlers with polearms guarding it, and multiple fallen town guards around them.
Hikari approached them, and the butlers pointed to her.
"The Hakurei!"
"This is her fault! Apprehend her at once!"
'Honestly…' It seemed like almost everyone in the village was willing to jump at the chance to beat her up.
More explosions in the distance distracted the butlers for a moment, but they turned their attention back to Hikari…
Marisa blinked. "...You guys sure I shouldn't keep an eye on Keine? She's bound to get hurt eventually with all these asses runnin' around…"
Marigold turned to her. "If you want to go, just go. I'm not stopping you."
...Marisa was very unsatisfied with that answer, frowning.
Hikari glanced back, only for a moment, talking to Marisa. "Go, help Keine. These guys shouldn't be a problem."
Marisa nodded. "Alright…"
She floated away on her broom, staying low and following the sounds of destruction.
The butlers flailed their polearms around, showing off.
Grinning, Osamu began rolling his fists…
Osamu tried PK Thunder ß!
Thwaa~sh!
The thunderbolt struck a nearby house, lightning its side on fire.
Thwaa~sh!
Another thunderbolt struck the polearm of one of the butlers.
Zazazap!
"Y-yea-yoohoohoo~!" He flailed his arms about and started blowing on his hands, the heat generated by the electricity in the weapon having burned them.
Hikari ran towards him, but the other butler moved to interfere…
Marigold ran alongside Hikari, and aimed at the butler, opening fire.
"H-hey!" He moved his polearm to try and deflect or block the danmaku, only striking a single of the five bullets. The rest all hit him.
"Oough…!" He kneeled, hands around his gut. His polearm dropped to the floor.
Hikari reached the other butler.
SMAAAA~SH!
He twirled around, and fell to the floor.
Thud.
"Kick ass." Osamu nodded, grinning.
...Hikari marched towards the gate, grabbed it with her hands, and began shaking it. It clattered, but did little otherwise.
"Because that would work." Marigold smiles.
'Hey, I had to know…' Hikari nodded towards her, and raised her gohei…
Cla~ng!
The gate shook violently with Hikari's strike.
"H-hey, I have a thing for this…" Marigold told her, taking out her Bad Key Machine.
Cla~ng!
"Stop." Marigold assured louder.
...Hikari paused for a moment, looking at her. Then, she attacked the gate again.
Cla~ng!
"...Honestly." Marigold sighed. "Not everything is solved by hitting it, you."
Hikari giggled, stepping away from the gate. Then, she had a moment of realization. '...Actually...!'
"Who was it who shot locks open in Eientei?"
Marigold blushed. "Shut up. It worked."
She inserted the Bad Key Machine into the archaic manor lock…
...
Cli-cli-click.
"Ey~." Osamu cheered quietly.
"There we go." Marigold nodded, pushing the metal gates open. As they swung open, the party made their way into the main courtyard of the manor…
'...Well, this place became a warzone pretty quickly.'
Hikari observed the bisected hedge structures, elegant works of art now cleaved into multiple parts, others smashed. She walked up to one that was of a circle, which was now of an uneven half circle.
'That's actually kinda annoying. I was just here the other day, so I even remember what each of these was supposed to be... Porky probably did this. My question is why.'
She shook her head at the destruction. Shouts of village guards were heard in the distance, slight vibrations felt as a nearby building was probably being leveled.
'I wonder how cheap a village house is going to be, after this. I wonder if I could pay one off in full with just my allowance.' Hikari mentally jabbed at the village.
Osamu approached the front door, and tried to open it. His hand touched the door-
Pi~ng!
He slid back slightly, pushed back by a magical barrier. "What gives?"
'There is only one way to solve this.'
...Hikari walked up and whacked it.
Pi~ng!
Her gohei rebounded off it.
Marigold shook her head. "What did I just say…?"
Osamu tried PK Thunder ß!
Thwaa~sh!
The shredded sphere-shaped bush exploded into flames.
Thwaa~sh!
The manor's gate shimmered lightly from the electricity running through it, which was quickly diverted into the ground below, the charge completely lost.
'...That missed completely that time. Good job.'
Osamu groaned. "Shitty thunder magic…"
Marigold took out her Stun Gun, and set it to Arse Blaster.
She turned to Hikari. "...This is a bad idea. If this goes wrong, help."
'Mmm…' Hikari raises her brows in slight worry. 'I'd rather you didn't…'
Marigold stepped up to the door, and pressed her Stun Gun to it.
Zazaza-Boom!
Hikari and Osamu had to cover their eyes from the blinding light that was emitted by the interaction between the Stun Gun and the magically sealed door.
'A-ah!' The noise and light made Hikari jump.
When her vision came back, Marigold was on the ground, twitching.
'U-uhm…'
Hikari tried Lifeup ß!
…
Marigold groaned. "Uuu~gh… I-I forgot how much that hurts."
"Don't do that." Hikari advised. "You looked pretty fried for a moment there."
"I'll try not to…" Marigold coughs lightly, sitting up. Quickly, she grabs the Stun Gun and turns it back off before it starts up again.
...Osamu tries the door again, and it swings open. "It worked!"
Hikari stepped into the Akyuu manor, pulling Marigold from the floor as she did so. Her mouth gaped at the sight ahead of her.
Halls of purple columns, black and white tiled floors, accented with purple walls of what Hikari supposed was stone.
'It was just wood and the stock-standard paper walls earlier. This is some renovation!'
She thought back to the stylized paper walls, for a moment.
Osamu looked around. "Woah, the hell happened in here? Looks like a picture book threw up all over the walls!"
'Neon purple.' Hikari agreed.
...Hikari began following the vague path towards Akyuu's room.
'If he's held up anywhere, it'd be there.'
She began walking, and her two friends followed.
...Muffled explosions were heard outside as they traversed the quiet halls of the deserted manor. Hikari stared at the tiled floor as she walked ahead, then up at the silver chandeliers from the similarly neon-purple ceiling.
"...Dude, someone say something." Osamu speaks after a few minutes of silent walking. "This place is freakin' scary."
"Wha~t?" Marigold turns to him, head tilted. "Genuinely? I rather like the quiet compared to the shouts and violence we were witness to in the village proper."
"But, like, what if there's shit waiting around to kick our ass? You don't know, 'cause it's quiet." Osamu nods. "Exactly. Am I right?"
Marigold rolled her eyes. "Please. We're probably the scariest thing in these halls."
'Other than Porky. They wouldn't really get that until they met him, though.' Hikari grinned to herself.
"...Are we just walking around aimlessly until we find things to brutalize?" Marigold ventures.
"No," Hikari shakes her head, "We're heading to Akyuu's room."
"Bless you." Marigold is smug.
Hikari snorts. "Tell her ancestors that."
The three came to an intersection just off the corner of Akyuu's room, coming into contact with two maids and a curiously wobbly humanoid robot.
A pale blue barrier formed in front of the robot as it stumbled about, even twirling when its balance particularly betrayed it. The barrier glowed softly, protecting the three newcomers.
"Welcome, honored guests." Maid A bowed. "Master Porky currently has disallowed guests upon his property at this time. We will have to ask you to leave."
Maid B bowed. "Welcome, honored guests."
The maids were dressed in simple, purple outfits. Hikari realized they weren't to keep in tone with the garish neon purple walls, rather, they were the original outfits the maids wore when they served Akyuu. A simple, lavender pink.
'They weren't very formal at all, though.' Akyuu's maids were few and far between, and usually casual friends of hers that served in a few rooms, such as the kitchen and laundry. Her butlers were mainly aristocrats looking for employ, and were assigned guard duty and given directions to a simple armory of cheap polearms. Hikari knew all of this from her previous relations with Akyuu.
"...Well, they're the proper sort, aren't they?" Marigold observed.
"We ain't budgin'!" Osamu held up his fist. "Look, ladies, we don't want any trouble-"
The maids raised from their bows, bringing up their fists.
'...Are… are they really going to fist fight us? Seriously?'
...They fidgeted behind the blue barrier as the wobbly, clumsy robot slowly advanced.
Marigold blinked. "...Apparently not that proper."
Osamu rubbed his hands together. "Alright, this time, this shit better work…"
Osamu tried PK Thunder ß!
Thwaa~sh!
The lightning bolt went for one of the maids, striking the pale blue shield instead. It flickered, and simply vanished.
Thwaa~sh!
One of the maids leaped out of the way of the next strike.
"...Who the fuck are you people!?" Osamu shouted. "People keep dodging fucking- lightning!"
The maids were stoic. "...We are the royal maidship to-"
"I don't care!"
Now that the barrier was gone, the maids saw no reason to stick around the clumsy robot, advancing towards the party.
Marigold opened fire on Maid B, who then suddenly leaped from the floor and ran along the wall, racing towards her.
Osamu jumped. "Ho~h, shit!"
Marigold ran back and shielded herself with her arms, the maid catching up and doing a twirling kick off the wall that landed straight on Marigold's forearms. "Hyah!"
"Hngh…" Marigold winced at the force that struck her arms. "T-that's gonna hurt later…"
'...Her maids also didn't know freaking martial arts!'
The maid backflipped away, landing in front of Osamu and promptly punching him in the face-
"Ooh!"
-in the gut-
"Ack-!"
-and finished with a sweeping kick to his ankles.
The flailed his arms as he fell to the floor.
"Fu~ck!"
Thud.
Hikari, eyes wide, braced herself with her gohei and concentrated on herself.
Hikari tried Shield α!
Protected by the shield of light, Hikari now felt more confident…
Both maids began approaching her.
Osamu looked up from the floor. "H-hot ass maids… hold up! I got some cookin' directions for you!"
The one that took him down turns to him, smiling face unchanging.
"I'm'onna teach ya how to make maidsicles!" Osamu slowly began standing back up…
Hikari's attention snapped to Maid A, who rushed her when she looked at Osamu.
The maid began with a punch to Hikari's face, dulled by the shield of light.
'...That wasn't so bad, surprisingly.'
Hikari whacked her in the side, and the maid buckled aside a bit, regaining her balance before delivering a kick to Hikari's torso, making her almost repeat how the maid received her blow.
'We're evenly matched, somehow.'
"Cooking directions…" Osamu began wiggling his fingers around as the maid stepped towards him.
"...Freeze well!"
Osamu tried PK Freeze ß!
KaKa-KaKaKling!
The rapid freezing and thawing forced the maid to hug herself, startled.
Kra~ck!
A sudden blast of frozen air encased her in a small chunk of ice, only a few parts of her body revealed.
Maid B was solidified!
Hikari and Maid A traded blows, both seemingly unhurt by eachother's antics.
A flying kick came towards Hikari's face but slowed as it entered the shield, allowing Hikari to deflect it with a precise gohei swing.
Thunk!
The maid landed and weakly grappled Hikari in a headlock, and she began stomping her heeled foot. The maid didn't register any sort of pain from it.
The wobbly robot almost regained its balance, but Marigold poked it, and it stumbled down the hallway. From there, Marigold raised her NF Burst Gun and advanced towards Maid A…
Hikari gritted her teeth, the maid's headlock seemingly successful now, but the maid still unable to inflict any proper damage. Hikari uselessly stomped in place, angry.
'I-I can't believe this! Let me go!'
...Marigold pressed her gun against the maid's back. "Let her go."
The maid froze.
"Let the miko go, and we let you go."
The maid giggled softly.
"I'm not joking." Marigold assured.
The maid released Hikari and leaped into the air, doing a perfect backflip.
"A-ah!" Marigold began firing, striking Hikari in the back.
'Ah-ouch-aah!' "Egh…" Hikari stumbled forward, piercing pain entering her spine, forcing her to drop to her knees.
"Woa~h!" Osamu marveled at the height of the maid's jump.
Once the maid began descending, she prepared her landing, her feet together-
"Aaa~h!" Marigold let out a short scream, the heels stomping right on her head despite her best efforts to shield herself. Marigold fell right to the floor.
The maid landed, turning to Osamu, and rolling her sleeves up.
Maid A tried Offense Up α!
"I'm just getting warmed up." Her smile seemed marginally more menacing, now. "Please desist, guests. Master would be displeased if his belongings were to receive any further abuse from their own incompetence."
…
Osamu glares at her. "Bitch, please. His belongings? No. It's go time."
Osamu learned Offense Up α!
He rolls up his sleeves. "We're doin' this, man. Old style."
'Old style.' Dread welled up in the pit of Hikari's stomach as she recovered from the danmaku bullets.
Osamu tried Offense Up α!
He did a few practice punches. "Baby, you seein' these guns?" He flexes, a tiny bump raising on his bicep. "...Well."
"More like marshmallows." Maid A comments wryly.
"Hey, fuck you." Osamu glares at her. "Where're your muscles, then, huh?"
The maid rolls her right sleeve up further, and flexes. Her bicep is a bit bigger, but not by much.
"I said muscles, not marshmallows!" Osamu smirked.
The maid continued smiling. "Marshmallows harden when they mature."
She walked towards Osamu.
Osamu stood his ground, slightly wary. "You mean when they expire? You sayin' you're gettin' old?"
The smack of palm against flesh is heard, Osamu blocking a strike with his arm. Then, a fist hits his gut.
"Oof!" His face twists into one of pain, and he crumples.
"...All I mean is that I've been around the block a few times."
...Hikari takes a potshot at the back of her head with her gohei.
The maid whirls around and deflects it with her forearm. Hikari leaps back as the maid does a string of punches and kicks.
Hikari tried Hypnosis α!
Energy rippled around the maid…
She shook her head, otherwise unreactive.
'That sleep magic is useless.' Hikari mentally groans. 'I don't think I can take this kung-fu maid on my own without using too much power.'
Hikari looks to her fallen allies. 'I still have my shield, so…'
Hikari tried Lifeup α!
Osamu sat up from his crumpled position. "Holy fuck, my back… Dude…"
"Osamu, fry her." Hikari commanded. "Quickly."
The maid turned to him, and he put his fists back up.
'No, no, no! You idiot!'
He half-smirked. "Come get some, you tramp."
Osamu tried Offense Up α!
Hikari felt strength build in her body!
'W-what is this…!?' She stared at her arms in wonder.
Thwack!
"Oouuhhh…!" Osamu wailed, falling onto his ass again.
"...Vile." The maid comments, turning back to Hikari.
Hikari walked towards her, ready to go to war, gohei extended. 'Shield and whatever this new strength is. It's go time.'
The maid comes at her with a punch, and Hikari goes for her shoulder out of reflex moreso than anything else.
Thwack!
"Ough…!" Hikari winced, her jaw suddenly aching.
"Ah!" The maid clutched her shoulder, backing away. She defended herself with a kick towards Hikari, who responded with a lunge with her gohei that poked the maid in the stomach.
She winced in turn, leaping away.
"It would not do if I were unfit for Master's assembly tomorrow. So, please, make my job easier, and simply surrender."
Hikari marched towards her.
The maid sighed. "You leave me no-"
PoPoPoPoPop!
The maid was riddled with danmaku bullets.
"C-ch…"
She dropped to her knees.
Thud.
Hikari looked to Marigold, who was holding her gun tightly with tears in her eyes.
"I-it hurts…" Marigold reached for the heel marks on her forehead, brushing them lightly and recoiling. "E-egh…"
Hikari tried Lifeup α!
...Marigold sighed in relief. "Thank you. Really."
Hikari looked back at Osamu, and sighed.
Hikari tried Lifeup α!
...He quickly bounced from the floor. "Where is she!? Lemme at 'em!"
Punching the air, he quickly noticed the inactivity from his party, and the inactivity of the maid behind him.
"...Oh." He nodded. "Well. Good."
...Maid B's arm broke from the ice.
"No." Osamu said flatly.
Osamu tried PK Freeze α!
KaKaKoo…
Brief freezing and thawing of a small pattern of ice crystals reinforced the ice, and refroze the maid's arm.
Hikari nodded. 'Yeah, let's not deal with that one.'
...The wobbly robot's head opened, and a small warhead was raised out of it, held by a tiny metal pole.
Marigold aimed at it, and fired.
Boo~m!
The party slid to the floor as the blast shook the entire mansion, but the explosion itself was small enough to not even damage the robot that held it. It did, however, collapse completely, its limbs uselessly bobbing about and jerking back and forth.
'...Yeah, useful.'
The explosion caused Maid B's ice to begin cracking again!
Hikari grunted in frustration, getting up again… "You're annoying."
She took a moment to ready her gohei…
SMAAAA~SH!
The maid wasn't free yet, but when she did eventually thaw out, she probably wouldn't be awake to be happy about it.
Marigold snorted. "...That was completely necessary."
"Yes. Yes it was."
...Hikari walked towards Akyuu's room, and her party members eventually followed her to it once she reached it and waited for them.
"...This the room?" Osamu wonders aloud.
"Mmhmm…" Hikari looks up at the door. It was rather unassuming, actually. Porky hadn't bothered to replace the door to Akyuu's room, apparently. She walks up to it, and jiggles the handle.
'Locked. Of course.'
With one last surge of her newfound strength, she reels her gohei back and attacks the door.
SMAAAA~SH!
The door rattles violently, then falls inward.
Marigold chuckled. "I guess it worked that time…!"
Hikari marches inside, where a large swivel chair is at the opposing side of the room. Akyuu is in the right corner of the room, bound around the legs and shoulders by glowing blue rings of some sort.
She noticed her friend's predicament. "A-Akyuu!"
Akyuu looked up suddenly. "H-Hikari! How did…"
"Nevermind that, we're going to get you out of here…" Hikari began walking towards her, but then the swivel chair whirled around…
"Not so fast, Hikari…!"
'Porky…'
He aims a flintlock at Hikari. "Not one move, Hikari, or I kill you right here!" Porky beams, standing up in the swivel chair.
'How did he even rotate the chair? It's so big, a small family could fit on it…'
Upon hearing this, Marigold began making her way around the side of the chair…
Osamu walked up. "Hey, fuckface! Forget 'bout me?"
Porky grins. "Oh, don't worry…" He draws a second flintlock.
"Pfffft…" Osamu grins, and pokes Hikari with his elbow. "Look, he thinks we've got a problem! Hahaha!"
"Why are you laughing!?" Porky's mood does a one-eighty. "I can shoot you both in the leg, right now, and you'll be sorry! I'll let you bleed out! I swear I will!"
'...I mean, I could just heal us.' Hikari was marginally less intimidated now.
Leaping to the floor from his chair, Porky marches towards the two. "Whatever, you two are probably delirious from being stupid anyway."
'Urge to kill rising.'
Porky stops short of them. "Say, Hikari, did you go to~... that foresty place recently? With the stupid rabbits?"
Hikari blinked. "Eientei?"
"Yeah, so you did!" Porky grinned. "Eel-whatever. Anyway, you were the one who shut down my factory, weren't you?"
'Your factory!?' Hikari's head jerked in his direction, now paying more attention.
"What do you mean… your factory?"
"I mean it! The, the... what's it called…" He paused. "Oh, yeah, the Yukkuri Processing Plant! It was going swell, too, until you ruined it by stumbling around like an idiot."
'Words cannot describe.' Hikari's hands tightened around her gohei…
Porky noticed. "Aah-aah-aah! Pla~y ni~ce!"
Marigold poked Porky in the back with her NF Burst Gun. "Put the guns down."
He laughed. "Hahaha-what? Another stupid villager rebel!?" He turned around, and saw Marigold was pointing a bigger gun at him.
For a moment, he paused.
"...Wow, you're pretty, too!"
'Oh, dear.'
Marigold blushed. "W-what are you saying…?"
"Anyways, guess what! I don't know how to use these stupid things!" Porky tosses his flintlocks aside. "I found 'em in my dad's shelves. Speaking of…" He took out a remote control with a big red button. "Daa~d! Hikari and her stupid bully friends are being mea~n to me!"
He presses the button.
Osamu snickered. "C-calling for your dad at a time like this? That's rich!"
'Please don't channel your inner Porky, Osamu.' Hikari cringed from how similar Osamu's phrase was to something Porky himself told her earlier…
"H-Hikari!" Akyuu spoke up. "Get out, now! You're in danger! Go!"
'Calm down!' Hikari was freaked out by how frantic Akyuu was compared to her normal calm and composed demeanor. 'Am I really…?'
Bam!
Akyuu screamed.
The wall bursts open, and what looks like a man charges in…
'Mister Man?' Hikari blinked. It looked like Porky's father…
"Meet the Hakurei Exterminator three-point-oh!" Porky gleefully introduced his creation. "My dad grounded me when I got back from Eel-town or whatever, so I made sure he could never ground me again!"
'W-what?'
Osamu chuckled incredulously. "What the fuck. S'that Captain Man? Holy shit!"
Marigold opened fire on Porky.
"H-hey, stupid, stupid! What- agh!" Porky was hit by most of the shots, before running towards his bionic father figure, hiding behind it. "Sick 'em, Hakurei Exterminator three-point-oh!"
The green glass caps that replaced his eyes lit up red. "L-Lifeforms_Detected_of_Hakurei_origin...Commencing_extermination_procedures…"
His left arm shifted into a gatling gun,
"Youkai_Lifeforms_Detected…"
His right arm shifted into multiple shafts which held pads of some sort.
"Youkai_Genocide_Protocol_five-six-three_in_effect. Anti-Magician_counter_measures_online."
'None of that sounds good.' Hikari nodded slowly…
"After he kills you, he'll kill your mom, too!" Porky shouted. "When I come back, you'll all be dead! I mean, I wanted to capture you and ask you if you wanted to be my personal royal guard, but now nothing but death would fit your stupidity! Later, losers!" With that, Porky ran through the hole in the wall, fleeing.
'That's way too far.' That last statement of his jarred Hikari. She readied her gohei, glaring at the mechanical form of Captain Man.
"H-Hikari~!" Akyuu wailed.
The Hakurei Exterminator marched towards them slowly, legs moving in an automated fashion, and vibrating the floor every time they stomped down.
Hikari stared at the barrel. 'That's a big gun…'
Osamu looked to his friends. "...So, the hell're we supposed to do? Just shoot it?"
Marigold opened fire on it.
The danmaku pinged uselessly against the flesh and metal.
Osamu tried PK Thunder ß!
…
But it failed!
"W-what…!?" Osamu looked at his hands, disbelieving.
Osamu tried PK Thunder ß!
…
But it failed!
"Shit! M-my magic! It wont work!" Osamu stared at his hands in horror. "No~!"
Marigold sighed. "Did you ever remember to restore your mana pool at any point today?"
...He shook his head. "My mana what?"
Marigold's jaw dropped. "You don't know!?"
He glares at her indignantly. "I do, but what the hell does my mana pool have to do with anything!? Doesn't it just mean I can't cast stupid big spells?"
"No, it means you only have so much mana to cast spells with…" Marigold used a free hand to rub her left temple. "You idiot…"
Osamu blinked. "...Are there any spells to regenerate mana?"
Marigold sighed. "You're useless."
"What? It's an honest question!"
Hikari sighed. 'Not the time to be bickering over stupid things, you two!'
"Anti_ _execute."
Hakurei Exterminator raised its shafted arm with the pads into the air. It then shot them around the room, the pads folded into orbs that glowed.
"Mana_syphoning_beacons...activated."
Suddenly, mist was visibly seen draining from Marigold…
Marigold didn't notice anything though, as her friends stared at her. "...What?"
"N-nothing…" Hikari shook her head. One of the pads neared her, and she felt her mana draining. "A-ah, no!"
She swung at it.
Bam!
The pad orb exploded into raw mana, some of which Hikari felt enter her system. Most of it just flung her aside though.
"Oof…"
Osamu gritted his teeth. "What the fuck am I supposed to do, then? I want mana!"
He focused on the Hakurei Exterminator. "I bet that thing's got more mana than it knows what to do with!"
He looks over to Marigold. "You can't even use yours!"
Marigold frowns. "Hey, hey, hey…"
"Give me your mana!" Osamu commanded Marigold.
Osamu learned PSI Magnet α!
Blue and purple rows slided towards Marigold, and ran up her body. She blinked at the visuals.
The rows shot back towards Osamu when they finished traveling up her body, now traveling down his.
Osamu recovered some mana!
…
'What just happened?' Hikari was slowly drifting towards the largely inactive robot, careful not to get too close to any of the drifting mana-leeching orbs.
"Holy_armor_at_ninety-five_percent." The robot reported. "Point_blank_execution."
'Maybe this wasn't a good idea…'
The robot's legs folded in, and from the shoulders extended two large swords. It then spun around in place, only diverging from its simple circle when it was thrown off by the uneven force of the swords as it spun.
Hikari leapt away from the blade storm, watching it. 'Deadly, but very easy to predict…'
Osamu grinned. "Nevermind, I think I uh… I think I know how to get myself some mana!"
Osamu tried PSI Magnet α!
The rectangles of energy shot towards the Hakurei Exterminator, traveling up its body before shooting back to Osamu.
But Hakurei Exterminator had no mana!
"...What gives?" Osamu sighed in frusteration.
One of those orbs floated near him, and drained the rest of his mana.
"F-fuck, dude…"
He ran up to it and punched it.
Bam!
He was thrown to the floor by the mana blast. "Geez!"
Marigold began shooting at some of the mana leeching orbs, to clear up some of the room. Unfortunately, the orbs were immune to magical damage, absorbing the danmaku as it neared, instead.
"Annoying…" Marigold hissed. "Hikari, can you do something about all these orbs?"
"Maybe." Hikari paused. "Would it be worth it, though? It can probably make more."
Osamu tried PSI Magnet α!
Marigold ignored the rectangles running up her body and back to Osamu.
Osamu recovered some mana!
"Alright, here!"
Osamu tried PK Thunder ß!
Thwaa~sh!
Bam!
The robot was struck, jittering and flashing violently.
Thwaa~sh!
A random mana mine was struck, which absorbed the entire bolt effortlessly.
"That thing's weak to magic!" Osamu noted. "We just gotta find a way to beat the shit out of it!"
Marigold reached into her backpack for something...
'My energy's kinda low, but…' Hikari focused on the Hakurei Exterminator, closing her eyes.
Hikari tried PK Fantasy α!
The technicolor storm began.
Fizzle!
The mines intercept numerous sparks of energy, but some still break through and hit the robot.
Fizzle!
Most of the mines were pushed to the floor by the sheer amount of particles striking them, but most of them were perfectly fine otherwise.
Hikari opened her eyes.
Bwaa~sh!
The raw blast of psychic energy pushed all the mines to the farther reaches of the room. They slowly drift back up…
Marigold grins as she kneels, standing a bottle rocket up. "Alright! Clear the way!"
Osamu and Hikari stand clear…
"I hope this works…" She mutters, twisting the side component and removing some plastic wrapping from the bottom…
As she does so it begins shaking and she hastily aims it into place-
Fwooosh!
Marigold jumps back from the rocket, startled.
It flies into the Hakurei Exterminator, and explode on contact, a small burst of mana and star-shaped danmaku searing the exposed flesh and denting the metal.
Boom!
"V-Virus_Detected…" The Hakurei Exterminator's joints sparked a bit, and it shook lightly.
"There we go!" Osamu pumps his fist, grinning.
"E-Exterminate…" The robot raised its gatling gun, and pointed it at Hikari.
'Let's not do that!'
The gatling gun began revving up, and Hikari began running to the right to try and avoid it. She stopped briefly to grab Akyuu, who was wide-eyed but otherwise unreactive to the situation.
"H-Hikari…"
...Chaka...Chaka...ChakaChakaChakaChaka-
The robot rotated slowly, too slowly to keep up with Hikari, its gun drifting to the right as Hikari dashed behind it.
The bullets struck numerous anti-magic mines, causing them to explode.
Bam! Boom! Bam!
Osamu tried PSI Magnet α!
Once more, he summoned rectangles to steal mana from Marigold, who hardly noticed, too lost in thought to care.
He paused. "Y'know…"
Osamu tried Offense Up α!
Marigold felt confidence well up inside her!
She began opening fire randomly. "Yeaa~h!"
Between the gatling gun fire, NF Burst Gun fire, mines exploding, and Marigold yelling, the all the sounds started to blend together into one big storm of violence and pain.
"Fuck, me…" Osamu covered his ears.
'This got really loud, really fast. My ea~rs…'
Hikari glanced at the sizzled flesh of Captain Man in various places, and saw the various bloodied metal bits that attached the bionic components to his flesh.
'...He's not dead yet, is he?' She wasn't certain. 'I wonder…'
Hikari tried Lifeup ß!
Captain Man's flesh began healing, the burnt parts reconstructing once more. Then, some flesh began growing over the previously exposed metal, presumably also growing under and inside it.
The gatling gun continued firing, but stopped advancing, instead jittering back and forth.
Captain Man, for the first time since the battle started, took a deep breath.
"B-Biotic...control_at...forty-four percent." The robotic tone crossed over with Captain Man's natural voice. "I… I'm a-alive!"
He noticed Marigold going apeshit with her NF Burst Gun.
"...Even here, little brats with stupid weapons. The old fat man must have sent me to hell, he did…"
Marigold eagerly ran up and kicked him in the shin, accomplishing both fuck and all.
"...T-that blasted, bastard son of mine! I will dig my way out of this fresh, new hell to give that disgrace a piece, of, my, mind!" His token anger returned in full force, his face growing red as a tomato.
Flesh began growing into the gatling gun arm, and into the arm that shot the anti-magic mines. From there, however, the advancement began slowing…
Hikari tried Lifeup ß!
The advancement continued.
"Biolo-B...Biological_overrun." The machine stated. "Incendiary_measures_mandated…"
The shoulders and knees burst into flames, causing Marigold to jump back and fire at them feverishly.
"A-and now, f-fire! Fire! Ah, hell! Anything but hell!"
The flames ran up Captain Man's body, in an effort to combat the healing that was being undergone.
'No you don't!' Hikari was sweating from the mental strain…
Hikari tried Healing ß!
The fire went out in a flash, and the four joints lit again, but the flesh around those areas were already depleted to the point nothing lit.
The healing slowed…
Man looked around, unable to move himself still. "...Now I appear to be extra-rare. Not that it matters, because I apparently have large metal arms, it seems. All the better to avenge myself with!"
"Osamu! Freeze those flame things!" Hikari exclaimed.
Man sighed. "I even get to hear the voice of the accursed Hakurei down here. I always knew they were demons…"
'I hate you, too. What Porky did is still far from right, though.'
"I'm shit outta mana!" Osamu argues.
"Find some, then!"
He nodded, cracking his knuckles…
Osamu tried PSI Magnet α!
He stole some mana from Marigold, and readied himself for his next action.
Osamu tried PK Freeze ß!
…
But nothing happened!
"How much does that even cost…?" He grumbled to himself. "I need mana potions or some shit!"
He looked to his hands, then he looked to the remaining mines on the left.
"Fuck that slow ass, dinky mana stealing spell!"
Osamu tried Offense Up α!
He rolled up his sleeves, again, because they rolled down themselves earlier. "It's time to punch some motherfuckin' mines!"
He ran up to one, crouched, and punched it.
Boom!
"...Ow." He got back up from a few feet away, and went to the next mine, kicking it.
Blam!
"...Shit." He rubbed his leg, and continued. He then tripped, and fell into three mines that were still low from Hikari's previous PK Fantasy.
"Oh, fu-"
Bam! Boom! Kaboom!
...Osamu unsteadily stood up, grinning. "A-anyone see the youkai who clotheslined me…?"
Man chuckled. "Well, I guess hell can't be that bad, if I get to see the fallen dishonored bloody themselves with explosives."
Osamu tried PK Freeze ß!
The spell succeeded, with the combined mana that leaked from all the mines he threw himself at.
KaKa-KaKaKling!
Captain Man's body was subject to rapid freezing and thawing, which froze multiple flame ports, leaving only one open.
"Now I'm being frozen!... Quite preferable to fire, actually. Carry on, demons, carry on."
"Do it again." Hikari requested.
"Freaking…"
Osamu tried PK Freeze ß!
…
But it failed!
"I can't!" Osamu shouted back.
"Ugh…" Hikari groaned. "...Marigold, can you do something about that last flame thing?"
Marigold stopped drilling into Captain Man's chest with danmaku fire, looking over at Hikari eagerly. "You bet I could!"
She runs over to the flame port, legs moving faster than she can carry herself, and she unloads into it.
PoPoPoPoPop!
After a few seconds of sustained fire and rapid trigger-mashing, the port sizzled out, fried by the amount of mana and energy that was going through its circuits and machinery.
'Alright…'
Hikari tried Lifeup ß!
"O-oh, my…" Man felt the sensation of healing continue. "I never knew being dead was such a tingly experience!"
Captain Man's flesh continued growing, and it grew onto the ice in some places, and over the one shorted flame port.
His head itself thawed out quickly, though. "Incendiary measures...offline. System_compromised. S-self_destruct e-engaged…"
'Self destruct?' Hikari wondered.
Osamu jerked his head back. "Self destruct?"
Man blinked. "Hmm… self destruct?"
Marigold's eyes widened. "S-self destruct?" All her vigor from before was gone, and she began running in the opposite direction. "Self destruct!"
Osamu saw her panic, and began running towards the door with her. "Self destruct!?"
Man's face was heating up. "S-self destruct!?"
Marigold nodded hastily. "Self destruct!"
Hikari was confused. 'What exactly does that mean? He's just going to destroy himself, then, isn't he? Why're they running?'
Marigold noticed Hikari's hesitation to follow, and gestures to the door exaggeratedly. "Self. Des. Truct!"
Hikari began walking towards the door, carrying Akyuu, only for Marigold to run up to her and begin pushing her along to move faster.
When they got outside the door to the room, Marigold slammed it shut, and sighed. "...We escaped."
Akyuu was curious. "...I take it self destruct is a bad thing, somehow?"
"I have no idea." Hikari confesses.
"Me either." Osamu agrees, despite being terrified by the prospect of it. "I was just following Marigold."
KABOOM
Hikari crouches, closes her eyes, and covers her ears, the sudden movement, vibration, noise, and what sounded like metal striking the wall startling her fiercely.
...Opening her eyes, she sees Akyuu on the floor, rubbing her head and looking at her slightly crossly.
'...Sorry about that?' Hikari grins sheepishly.
She looks up to survey the hallway…
...It's not exactly a hallway anymore.
'W-woah…'
Numerous sections of wall were missing, with tiny holes in other places presumably made by deadly shrapnel that shot from the Hakurei Exterminator once it exploded.
Osamu looked around frantically. "...Holy shit! Did-... Did anyone else feel that?"
Marigold glared at him. "What do you think? Of course we felt that!"
Hikari slowly walked around a section of wall and looked around it, at the room…
The giant swivel chair, which had been pushed to the side of the room for the entire battle, was now completely absent. The ceiling was gone, and a hunk of flesh and metal that once was Captain Man sat against the door, the pile completely unrecognizable.
'D-disgusting…' Hikari winced at the sight.
Osamu looked around the corner, too. "...Wow. Hard day at the barracks, huh?"
Hikari glared at him. 'Not funny.'
Marigold was up next, having to walk past the other two to get a proper look. "What're you two so worked up ov-..."
She saw the pile of flesh and metal.
"By the elements, we just killed a man." Marigold noted. "A-alright, uhm… None of us saw anything. None of us were here."
"Agreed." Osamu nodded. "Infact, tell the town guard I didn't exist, period. My new name is Rusty, and I was born on a barn."
Hikari didn't say anything, still a bit shaken.
Akyuu walked in, having to walked past Marigold. She glanced at the pile of metal and flesh, before glancing back at the party. "...I've never seen that much gore up close and personal, before. Revolting, but curious."
...The three look to her questioningly.
"I-I mean…" She sighed. "Nevermind."
"You saw nothin'." Osamu assured.
"Not a single thing. You kicked that Pork kid in the crotch, that's your story." Marigold told her.
Hikari turned towards them. "...When did we become street thugs?"
Osamu grinned. "When we turned the Captain to a flesh slushy, with extra iron!"
Akyuu smiled. "...Don't worry. We all saw Porky do that himself, right?"
Marigold paused, then smiled. "Yeah, we did. Horrible, yeah?"
Osamu caught on. "Yeah, that Porky dude's an asshole."
Smiling, Hikari nodded. "I agree with this recounting of events."
…
Maid B, now thawed out and ready for action, ran into the room. "Master Porky! I-..."
The four turned towards her.
Akyuu looked her in the eyes.
Maid B paused. "...A-Akyuu, I...M-master Porky…"
Akyuu sighed. "Poor thing."
Hikari tried Hypnosis α!
Energy rippled around the maid…
…
Thud. She was out like a light, unable to combat the hypnosis in her confusion.
Akyuu blinked. "...I suppose it was too much for her."
'Definitely.'
She turned to Hikari. "...I can't thank you enough, Hikari. I thought my number was finally up, today."
'Was Porky threatening to kill her?'
...Akyuu takes notice of Hikari's worried expression. "...I don't think I was supposed to be in any danger, but… considering certain circumstances, I find myself fortunate."
'...Weird way of saying things, but okay.' Hikari shrugs.
"That was suspiciously vague." Marigold pointed out. "You seem to know more than you let on."
Akyuu sighed. "I want to tell her when she's ready. Is that so hard?"
'You what?'
"...Though, with that said… let us meet in the garden, or what's left of it, anyway."
==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====
The four sat at a garden table, ruined shrubs all around them.
"What a mess…" Akyuu reflected, sipping tea she acquired along the way.
Hikari decided to push things along. "What do you have to tell me?"
…
"Alright, then. No time like the present." Akyuu sips her tea.
…
She sips it again.
"Quit foolin' around!" Osamu slams the table.
"Ae! Right, right!" Akyuu jumps, and Hikari glares at Osamu.
"...Almost every Child of Miare before me has died around the age of thirty." Akyuu told her. "...I happen to be in my late forties."
…
'Oh. O~h. Oo~h.'
"For at least ten years now, the preparations for my reincarnation have been in place. I even had to cut a deal with the Yama two years ago, pertaining to this unique circumstance."
"...So you're supposed to be dead, is what you're sayin'..." Osamu tilts his head.
Akyuu sighs. "Yes, I was supposed to suffer an untimely death many years ago, but it seems fortune has been vastly on my side for some time. The deal we recently cut was that if I hit fifty, a shinigami will be sent to kill me."
Hikari frowns. "I won't let them, then."
"I'm afraid it doesn't work like that, Hikari. It won't be a struggle, it will simply be a departure. The Yama and I had a deal, it all has to do with the timing of Hakurei births and the timing of my next reincarnation… and how fast the Yama herself can go through the truckloads of paperwork involved in the ordeal. I've actually seen it before… you wouldn't believe the amount of paperwork."
"But, if you had a deal, then-"
"I'm pretty sure the shinigami are more painless than any form of suicide." Akyuu tells her. "...I think they've got special execution methods, or it may be something in their scythes. I don't really know, but the Yama told me it would be painless should the time eventually come. I hope it does come to that, both so I can see you grow just a little bit more, and because I'd really rather not have a painful, untimely death like I've suffered before."
'Right. She remembers all her previous lives…'
…
"If we are done here, I believe I'll be off to find one of my shelter rooms. Wait this whole mess out, since my staff are both unreliable and largely absent, right now… Don't think too hard on things, okay, Hikari?"
Akyuu got up, and left the garden.
…
"That was probably something important..." Marigold nodded slowly. "...but I have no idea who she is."
"...Just an old friend." Hikari summarized, smiling sadly. "Things change, don't they?"
'We might not have talked all too much, but still… That sucks.'
Osamu nods, thinking. "Tell me about it."
"Mmm…" Marigold has a brief recollection, but shakes it off.
Never let it be said that teenagers didn't dislike change.
'...She's right, I shouldn't think too hard on it. It's sudden, and it sucks, but I still have things to do. I can come back here when we've chased Porky out of town.'
"...Let's get going." Hikari announces. "Porky's probably still hanging around the town somewhere, waiting for us to split."
Her party members nod, and the begin making their way out of the mansion…
==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====
The commotion of the evening was dying down. After Hikari and company left the manor, they found what was essentially the entirety of the town guard strewn about in various states of injury on the floors of the town's streets. Shattered walls and armor parts were almost everywhere.
Hikari smiled awkwardly. "...Keine's been busy, huh?"
"No foolin'." Osamu nodded at the destruction. "...Glad I didn't go for the town guard. Geesh. We got kids makin' cyborgs outta their fuckin' dads, then we get literally run over by a single youkai."
Marigold yawned. "It'd be great if we found somewhere to rest for the evening. I think Keine can wait until morning, at this rate."
Hikari paused. 'Where to go… I mean, we could crash at Keine's house, but I don't know if this transformation's just a full moon thing or not. I think they said it was. Akyuu's mansion still has hostile maids and things roaming around, so that would be bad.'
"...How 'bout we crash at my place?" Osamu offers. "Well… what was my place, anyway."
Marigold blinks. "You had a house, here?"
He nods. "Yeah. Inheritance, and all. C'mon, I'll show ya."
Navigating through the streets filled with fallen guards and somewhat disgruntled villagers, whom were cleaning up after said fallen guards, the party made it to…
"Tadaa~h!" Osamu swings his door open. "Feast your face!"
…
'Three rooms.' Hikari noted. 'Two of them don't even have anything.'
"The place isn't locked, 'cause my dad didn't leave me a key, and I got tired of crawling in that hole in the wall over there." He pointed to a small hole in the main room, that was otherwise obstructed by fence on the outside. Osamu's outer yard was almost entirely fenced in and was just a patch of dirt.
"...Wow. I mean, I wasn't expecting much compared to the places I've lived, but… this is, uh…" Marigold grinned at the house, amused. "It's cute."
Osamu smiled. "Yea~h! Cute! That's good, right?"
Hikari gave herself a full tour of the house in ten seconds, opening three doors in the process. 'At least there's two beds in one of these rooms. Probably one for him, and one for his father.'
In the back room, there was a single, bland table. The main 'living room' had no furniture to speak of. There were no lights, so the whole house was relatively dark, only illuminated by the torch-lit lampposts outside in the village streets. They shined in through the two windows shoehorned onto the front of the house.
'This place really didn't need windows. It does not feel like a secure place to live.' Her shrine didn't have any real windows, now that she thought about it, except for her room. 'Actually, why does my room have a window? Not that it matters, since I've had no problems with it, but now that I think about it…'
Probably something to do with shrine grounds, she figured.
Osamu clambered into his own bed, which had no covers and was just a slightly torn mattress with a pillow. It had sheets of a vague description, but they were halfway off it. "G'night, guys..."
Out like a light.
Marigold blinked. "I wish I could get to sleep that easily…"
…
"H-hey! He only left us one bed!" Marigold realized, slightly irritated.
"Would you honestly want to sleep in his?" Hikari argued, gesturing to its state of disrepair.
Marigold furrowed her brows, looking at it… "I-...I guess not. Darn."
His father's bed next to him was untouched, and relatively pristine by comparison.
"...That one I feel bad about getting into." Marigold clutched her arm.
Hikari sighed. "I don't think it's doing any good just being untouched and gathering dust. I can't speak for his father, but I don't think he'd want the, like, third possession his son owns to go untouched."
Marigold nodded. "I guess you're right…"
She slipped into the identically sized but much better kept bed adjacent to Osamu's.
"...I can't sleep, but I'm tired." Marigold announces to the dim room. "Help."
…
Hikari tried Hypnosis α!
"Th-thanks…" Marigold drifted to sleep.
Hikari blinked, her eyes growing heavy from the mental strain…
'She's going to be out for awhile, and I refuse to use a table.'
Hikari scoots Marigold aside and flops over onto the bed.
"A-ah…"
'Sweet release…'
…
==== GENSOKYOBOUND: MARIGOLD'S VIEW ====
'C-cold…'
Marigold's eyes blink open in the dim morning light of a particularly cloudy day.
'Cold as it always is…'
...She feels for her blankets, but finds none. She looks around in her bed, and finds no blankets.
Now fully awake, she sits up. "What…?"
She looks to the sleeping form of Osamu, who had rotated ninety degrees in his bed in his sleep, apparently.
...She looks off the right side of the bed, and sees Hikari on the floor, rolled up in the entire blanket.
'Blanket hog.'
Stretching, Marigold looks around…
'Nobody seems to be up yet, and I have nothing to do…'
She gets up, and moves to the lone table in the house where she deposited her backpack. Reaching into it, she rummaged through it randomly.
'This Slime Generator is borderline useless as it is now, the Air Gun has no useful ammo at the moment, and that Counter-PSI Device is more of a hazard to my friends than our enemies for the most part. Hnngh…'
...Slipping the backpack on and glancing at her still-asleep party, she decided to explore the perimeter.
'Might as well take a look around. I'm sure they'll come looking for me when they wake up, provided I don't go too far…'
Walking outside, she noticed the town was marginally more clean that earlier, but the buildings were still pretty much as smashed as last night. The injured guards and shattered armor parts were probably the easy part of the cleanup…
'I almost want to rummage through that cyborg's pile of parts back at that one mansion, but the amount of blood kinda makes it not worth it.'
Marigold traveled to the town square, where she saw the stalls beginning to be setup.
"Someone ate all the priceless snack crackers!" A bald, bearded man yelled. "I-I've… been robbed! Guards! Gua~rds!"
He ran into the square, and walked into some other villager with stock-standard brown hair. "Hey, dude, watch it. For all we know, the guards were the ones who took your stupid youkai crackers."
The bald man recoiled, as if hurt. "Y-youkai crackers!? Wh-why, I'll have you know, those are priceless consumables distributed only by the Yakumo clan!"
"Which is why they're youkai crackers." The generic everydude shakes his head, walking away. "No one wants to buy expensive youkai crackers. Go feed them to the ones outside the walls, or something."
"S-sir…!" The bald man reaches out to him, but stops. "...Deplorable. Absolutely deplorable! Even the Hakurei bought from my stall the other day, and I get repaid with- ooh… actually, that makes a lot of sense, now that I think about it…"
He walks back behind his stand and drops his head on the desk, which seems to have been lousily reconstructed with nails and two-by-fours since the previous evening.
'...I almost feel bad for him. Almost.'
Marigold tore her attention from the shattered stand, and looked over the rest of the stands. Her eyes stopped on a blue one, which had a hole in its back wall. A bunny girl was hastily repairing it with blue panels, which didn't totally fit but Marigold supposed it was better than haphazard two-by-fours.
She walked up to the counter, intrigued. 'A bunny girl, in this den of apparent prejudice? Curious…'
Marigold walks up to the counter, and rings the little metal bell.
Ding!
The bunny girl jumps. "H-hya~h!"
Her arms shoot up, the flimsy blue panels flying into the air and floating everywhere.
'...Wall material.' Marigold observed.
The bunny girl turns around and notices Marigold… "A-ah… Hello! Please excuse the disrepair to the stand…"
Marigold nods. "Mmm…"
"...What would you like to buy?" The girl smiles.
…
'What does she even sell?' Marigold saw a cross on the top of the stand, which may have meant…
'Holy… things?' She guessed. '...It'd… probably be better if I asked.'
"What, uh, do you sell here?" Marigold questioned.
The bunny girl blinked. "O-oh, you're new, aren't you? O-or maybe you just never bought here before… eheh…" She scratched the back of her head. "Anyway, we sell medicines here. My name is Reisen."
Marigold's eyes shot up from the counter. 'Reisen!? The one with the guns?'
She placed her hands on the counter. "I would like to talk with you about guns."
Reisen blinked. "...I-I'm sorry?"
"That rabbit- Tewi, I think- she told me you were a good person to go to for guns." Marigold leaned closer, propping herself on the desk a bit to do so. "I happen to have guns."
...Reisen nodded slowly. "...A-alright. Come around the back, then, I guess. It wouldn't be good if we talked about uh, guns, in the middle of the town plaza…"
Slightly weirded out, she moves to the back door and goes through it.
'...Did I come on too strong? I think I did…'
Marigold followed her into the back door, moving around the counter to do so.
==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====
After a few moments of silence, Reisen nodded slowly. "...So, uh… you wanted to talk about-"
"Guns." Marigold nodded. "Yes."
…
Marigold slid off her backpack, and opened it. "Would you happen to know of a magazine that's dynamic enough to work with, uh… this thing?" She takes out her Air Gun. "Or something similar, at least? I could probably make it work. Somehow."
Reisen takes it, and examines it… "...This thing can't take magazines. It's a toy gun."
Marigold rolls her eyes. "Don't give me that- look…" She takes the Air Gun back, and removes the grip. "I used these chip bags as magic conductors, and I used to store zombie fairy fingers in this grip. They'd travel up the bags and to a stone that shot a single powerful danmaku pellet, but it costed fairy fingers. Problem is, I can't really get more fingers."
…
"Wh-...what the hell?" Reisen's eyebrows raise. "That-that works? I'm almost eighty percent positive that, uh… guns can't and shouldn't work like that."
Marigold sighs. "You got anything magical in here? Like, just a basic source sorta thing. Anything like-"
"We have mana restoration supplements, if that counts…" Reisen interjects. "Both in syrup and pill form."
Marigold narrows her eyes. "Purely magical, or are they some chemical cocktail?"
Reisen blinks. "...Well, they're what one might call a 'mana potion', if that's what you mean. Yes, they're, uh, 'chemical cocktails'."
Marigold shakes her head. "No good. Probably. It doesn't have to be strictly mana restorative or affecting, just something that's very basic and magical in nature."
Reisen nods. "...We~ll, we used to sell Magic Pellets, but no one ever asked us for them- being a medicine store and all- and we ended up selling that patent to a private company."
'This place has private companies?' Marigold would believe it when she saw it. "Nevermind. Look, all I need is, like, a block just stuffed full of residual mana or something. Something lathered in the stuff."
Reisen shakes her head. "Nothing like that here, I'm afraid. You'd have better luck down the road."
Marigold raises a brow. "Down the road?"
Reisen blinks. "O-oh, right, you're new, or something. Uhh- it's the Kirisame second-hand magic goods shop. The owner's a nice guy, sort of. To girls, anyway."
…
'It would be. Wait, 'guy'?'
Marigold nodded. "A-alright, then… Thanks for the help."
Reisen smiled. "Any time."
With that, Marigold got up and left the stall.
==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====
She almost regretted forgetting to ask for directions, but when she saw the big sign with the stars, moons, and wizard hat, Marigold kinda knew exactly where to look.
A small chime sounded as Marigold swung open the door, entering the marginally stuffy shop.
'About as I expected, really.' She looked at the various knickknacks the shop had with a mix between repulsion and curiosity.
She paused during her impromptu browsing. 'An entire shelf dedicated to empty spell tomes. Why…?'
"Eh? Ah? Who's there? Them damn ghosts ringing the doorbell again? Or s'it the wind?" The grouchy voice of a old man sounded from the side of the shop.
'...Charming.' Marigold awkwardly approached the desk.
"...Yeah, hello." Marigold began, a hand on her hip. "I was wondering-"
"Oo~h! You's a Magi, girl!?" The old man questioned, excited suddenly.
"W-well, maybe?" Marigold was startled by the sudden outburst from him.
"Aa~h, just kiddin'... I know you are! I might be gettin' old, but I can read a mana pool like that from a mile away! Damn!"
'Ahah…' "Right, well-"
"Marcus. Marcus Kirisame. Nice to meet'cha." He holds out his hand.
Reluctantly, Marigold shakes it. "...You too."
"Hahaha! Alright, girl… whaddaya need?"
"...I'd like a small, heavily charged magical block."
He blinks. "...That all?"
She nods.
"...The hell'd you even come out here for, then? I'm sure you could do it yourself, like-" He tries snapping his fingers rapidly, but fails after the third or fourth. "Like-" He tries again, failing around the same point. "...You get the picture!"
'Hmm…' "W-well, it's part of a, uh, thing I'm working on and…"
He tilts his head.
'Quick, what status aliments prevent a magician from calling on their mana…!?'
"Uhm, I got syphoned really bad recently. Like, big syphon."
Old man Kirisame's expression softens. "Oh, no shit? I got a status restoration potion right-"
"Big syphon." Marigold restates.
"Deluxe status restoration-"
"Bi~g syphon." Marigold insists. "Like, I got smacked by a talisman, like, this big." Marigold held her arms out as wide as she could.
"Holy…" Old man Kirisame puts a hand on his forehead. "...Let me guess, was it that Hakurei miko? Maybe her daughter?... She has a daughter, right? Hika… Hikaru, was it?"
'Hikaru.' Marigold stares at Marcus dryly. "...Yeah. She did it."
He shakes his head solemnly. "Aah… Nothing I can do about that. You'll have to appraise to the Hakurei miko herself. Her seals are serious shit. I mean, I could break 'em for ya… but lets just say it'd cost ya extra! Hehaha!"
'...Let's not.' Marigold nodded slowly at the old man. "...I think I'd like that single block. Make it big enough to stand up a little in my hand but still fit in the palm."
He nods. "Alright, alright. Look- I'm not even gonna charge you for this one. Both 'cause I feel bad that the Hakurei syphoned the shit outta ya, but also 'cause I can tell you got an eye for magic wares! Specifically, mine! Hehaha!"
'Can he stop laughing like a lunatic?'
A magic circle forms in his hand, and a small block of wood is erected in the palm of his hand. From there, he focuses on it, and it glowed brightly for a moment, before fading back to appearing normal.
"How much magic you want in it?" He asked.
"All of it." Marigold told him.
"Hah! Seriously, though…"
"...Enough to make it glow, I guess." Marigold shrugged.
Old man Kirisame gave her an incredulous look, before proceeding to charge the block further. It slowly glowed a bright, pale purple color, the light growing to a point that Marigold had to look at it only indirectly.
Once it was done, the light flashed out, and the block had a pale green glow to it.
"Here ya are." He smiles, handing her the block. "On the house. Just remember to come back, ya hear?...With money, preferably."
"Thanks." Marigold offhandedly added, before making her escape from the stuffy store.
==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====
Marigold closed the door to Osamu's house.
"E-ehn…" Hikari stirred slightly in her tri-layer blanket cocoon.
Marigold moved over to the single table, sat her backpack down nearby, and took out the Air Gun. Laying it down on the table, she took off the grip, and shoved the block inside.
'It's going to rattle a bit, but it'll be fine. Better to be a little small than too large. Small is easier to fix.' Marigold knew from experience. 'Especially concerning keyholes…'
She clicked the grip back on, and walked to the back door.
'This place has a back yard, doesn't it?'
She opened it, and went outside…
…
She was stopped by a fence about two feet from the door. It was so close she couldn't even open the door fully.
'Here I thought the manor walls were prison-like. Geez…'
...She aimed the Air Gun up, and pulled the trigger.
Klack!
'Satisfaction.'
Marigold has obtained unlimited ammo for the Air Gun!
==== GENSOKYOBOUND: HIKARI'S VIEW ====
Klack!
"Wh-whah…" Hikari twitched in bed, startled by the loud noise.
'What was that…?'
She tried to move, but found herself unable to.
Looking down at the multiple blanket layers she wrapped herself in, she realized why. '...I'm stuck!'
Klack! Klack!
"What the fuck…?" Osamu rolled out of bed, and onto the floor.
Thud.
"Who the hell's buildin' a stupid house at like two in the morning…?" Osamu dizzily got up, rubbing his eyes and walking towards the back door…
'It's not two. The sun is very clearly up.' Hikari noted. "H-help…"
Osamu didn't hear Hikari's quiet plea for help in the blanket pod, instead moving towards the back yard…
He walked outside, and into the fence.
"...I keep forgetting that." He stepped back, and saw Marigold.
"...Hello." Marigold greeted him. "I was doing some hunting on your luscious estate."
He was too busy taking note of the sun, however. "Dude! Turn off that light…!"
…
Marigold turned to the sun, and started shooting.
Klack! Klack!
...Hikari tried wiggling her limbs again, but was firmly trapped.
"...H-help!"
==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====
It took a small war and two fatalities, but Osamu was now fully woken up, Hikari was freed from her soft prison, and Marigold got her backpack together.
"Where to next?" Osamu asked the moment they stepped out the door, looking around eagerly.
'...I'm not entirely certain, to be honest.' Hikari thought for a moment… 'That's right! What happened to Keine!?'
Hikari started walking towards Keine's house, the two party members following her.
Marigold grinned. "Never will we know exactly where we're going, apparently."
Hikari observed the village's state of disrepair as she moved through it, and the peculiar absence of guards on the village pathways. Instead, there was an occasional unarmored villager with a sword or something just standing about, one or two per street, and they seemed to change hands often.
'It seems like the entire town guard is absent...'
Eventually, they made it to Keine's house, and Hikari found the town guards.
All of them.
Next to Keine's house was what looked like every town guard, between Destroyers and priests to archers and officers, all tied up with one big rope, with suspiciously big welts on their foreheads. Some temple monks stood guard over the large roundup around it.
'...Oh.' Hikari nodded. 'Apparently the town guard lost, then.'
Osamu smiled…
"Aa~hahahaha! Oo~h, holy shit! W-what the fuck…!"
He fell over, pointing at the guard roundup. "Du~de, that's mint…!"
Marigold chuckled at Osamu's reaction.
'...I think Keine's alright.'
Hikari proceeded to Keine's door, and walked inside.
Inside, Keine and Marisa sat at the strategy table, which was now clear of strategic maps, folders, and other assorted elements Hikari didn't very much care about to make room for tea.
Marisa noticed them. "Oh, there you guys are! Didja find that tubby kid?"
...No one spoke up, and Hikari realized she was going to be doing the talking. "A-ah, yes and no."
"Say wha~?" Marisa tilted her head.
"We found him in Akyuu's manor, like Keine said," Hikari began, "but he ran off before we could actually stop him."
Keine nodded. "I figured that would be the case. The town's guards are still brainwashed, so he must have some sort of… thing, for lack of a better word, active. I haven't a clue where he'd hide something of that power, though. If only his father were around to bring that criminal back to earth, or to rouse some sense into the guards…"
'About that…' "Mister Man has taken explosion-based work leave."
...Keine blinked. "You mean he quit?"
Marigold nodded… "In a way, you could say."
Osamu grinned. "We turned him into freakin' spaghettios!"
Marigold froze, and turned to glare at Osamu, elbowing him in the ribs. "Ow- hey!"
Grinning, Marisa tilted her head. "Didja fry him like that one armored dude outside the gate, ze?"
Nodding his head, Osamu continued. "No, even worse! The dude went fuckin' nuclear!"
Keine was beginning to look worried. "...You guys mean he got angry, right? As he is prone to?"
Hikari nodded. 'Better not tell her…'
Contradicting Hikari's wishes, Osamu continued. "No, dude, he's dead. Not just dead, he's like, super dead. He's a pile of flesh, dude!"
…
"What happened!?" Keine finally yelled.
==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====
END OF CHAPTER 10
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: Combat Miko Outfit - A black leotard and hakama combination worn by the previous-previous Hakurei miko. Designed to be suitable for excessive physical activity and close combat, it slightly improves physical combat prowess.
Misc: Yukkuri Ribbon - Looks like a bad Christmas ornament. Lime green, with yukkuri decals!
-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.
Hypnosis α, Ω - Puts weak enemies to sleep for a short time. Works better on tired or exhausted foes. Can also be used in a far more costly form that works on multiple opponents.
Shield α - Halves damage the target takes. Only works against physical attacks, and enough strikes, or powerful strikes, will dispel it.
Lifeup α, ß - Heals target a little. Higher tiers heal more grievous wounds, like bone fractures.
Healing α, ß - Heals basic status ailments. Higher tiers can cure more dire effects, like burning alive.
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: Yukkuri Beanie - Resembles a really tacky tablecloth, made in the Yukkuri theme. Lime green and has tons of fun yukkuri decals!
-Skills-
PK Thunder α, ß - Very random thunder attack that deals limited damage. Higher tiers increase number of bolts, and sometimes power.
PK Hydro α, β - Gets everyone wet. Usefulness with PK Thunder and PK Freeze depends on whether you hit yourself or not! Creates whirling water spirals at higher tiers.
PK Freeze α, β - Generates ice crystals at the target's location. Medium damage and effect; may freeze some targets, especially wet ones.
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.
PSI Magnet α - Costs no mana to use, and steals a very tiny amount of mana from the enemy. Enemy has to have mana in the first place for it to work, though.
Offense Up α - Get pissed! Boosts strength and confidence depending on caster's power and receiver's power.
β-β-β-β
Inventor: Marigold Knowledge, the Tri-Magi Love Child
-Inventory-
Weapon: NF Burst Gun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Uses a Pop Gun as the base, but amplifies its power with an array of random batteries jammed into the base with the Pop Gun. The more batteries, the better, but the typical yield is about five bullets per trigger. Spamming the trigger doesn't make it go any faster, unfortunately. Has no foreseeable ammo limit, and the batteries are only there for mana circulation, meaning their power is really inconsequential.
Arms: Nothing
Body: Custom Dress - A custom dress made by Alice. Provided slight defense against magical and psychic attacks.
Misc: Swirly Glasses - Lets Marigold not be blind.
Backpack - Allows extended inventory. Aged relic from the Kourindou.
Unnamed Lock Opening Device - Opens locks very precariously. Made with steel, burnt cloth, packaging peanuts, thumbtacks, string, and wooden wheels. Don't even ask…
Ruler - Lets you measure the world around you!
Protractor - Lets you find the angles of anything ever. Totally overpowered.
Deck of Cards - Allows Marigold to play Strip Poker with the party. Just kidding… or am I?
Stun Gun - Electrical device used to subdue harassers. Has settings ranging from Tickle Torture to Arse Blaster. Able to stun and inflict paralysis on certain foes. Deals electrical damage, and on the highest setting can fry shields, at the cost of temporarily shorting itself out.
Air Gun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Uses air to propel moderately powered danmaku particles at high speeds. Bland, but efficient. Filled with foil chip bags to conduct the mana, and it is transmitted into a wind stone. Recently upgraded to draw mana from a simple wooden block filled with immense magic reserves, giving it virtually unlimited ammo.
Holmes Brand Designer Hat - Village swag! A retro village hat that ceased production ten years ago. Sells for a pretty penny nowadays, but it's pretty useless otherwise.
Slime Generator - A bulky box that shoots a small splat of slime. Doesn't seem good for much.
Counter-PSI Device - A weird device Marigold found from a flying saucer. Works in strange ways, and seems to disrupt everyone's concentration. Marigold is immune to its effects.
-Skills-
Big Game Hunter - Only needs four square feet of land to do it, too!
Arachnologist - If she knew who Yamame was, they'd probably be friends. Probably.
The Magi With A Machinegun For A Head - Doesn't have to explain shit.
In Possession of a Peculiar Personal Enhancement - ...Take what you will from that.
Run and Gun - Ability to run up to things and shoot them in the face when pissed.
β-β-β-β
Author's Note:
let's get fluffy.
in other news, fun chapter to write overall; osamu finally got some reasons to learn his OTHER SPELL THINGS that aren't strictly fucking shit up, but they're still not overwhelmingly useful despite being utilitarian
LOTS OF FIGHTING i'd like someone to tell me how interesting the fighting segments really can be- multiple people, infact (but NO ONE WILL except maybe my proof reader) hnngh
...and if anyone even reads this BLOODY THING
there's still going to be a lot because daz how earthbound was- freakin' bashing everything's skulls in
as always, see you all next time!