==== GENSOKYOBOUND: HIYORI'S VIEW ====
Sitting upon a block of stone, Hiyori had her arms folded…
'In the end, it was pretty much a stalemate.'
In front of her was a larger block of stone, and across it, sat Konngara, who had a similarly sized block to Hiyori's to sit on.
"...You showed resolve." Konngara was satisfied. "...I suppose such skill is more than I could have asked, from an oni without note."
'...Even if that's kind of what I was going for, that still feels like an insult.' Hiyori took a small, generic band-aid from the depths of her gi, and placed it on her cheek.
…
"You said the world was in trouble?" Konngara stared at Hiyori, expression stoic.
Hiyori nods. "Yes. From what I've seen-"
"There is no need for words." Konngara interrupts her. "Those skills you displayed… They weren't just any magic, were they?"
'Hmm?' Hiyori pauses.
Konngara waits.
…
Then, she nods. "You don't know, then… I see."
"What are you talking about, exactly?" Hiyori pressed. "What do I not know?"
Konngara smiles. "Your magic. It is not fueled by knowledge, exactly, is it?"
'She's not wrong. There's still much I don't know.'
...Hiyori nods. "I'd say I struggled for it, but it was not acquired through knowledge. I seek to learn, though."
"Good stance." Konngara approves. "I believe your abilities to be mental, however. Powered by will, and not by the manual use of magical energy."
'I see…' Hiyori looks down at the block table. 'I still have a lot to learn, then…'
"I, too, have realized a will-based spell of my own." Konngara informs the fellow oni. "Magic by such a method still drain one's willpower, however, perhaps even more than methodic magic."
Hiyori processes the information. "...Is it a bad thing, then?"
"Not at all." Konngara shakes her head. "I know not what brings it about, as it seems to be a rather unique skill. It is likely no coincidence that we've met. I'm willing to believe the world is in peril, and as such, I am willing to grant you one of my treasures…"
Hiyori perks up, making eye contact with Konngara again. "R-really? We stalemated, after all…"
...Konngara sighs. "Unfortunately, I do not have my treasure to give."
…
"What!?" Hiyori stood up, slamming her hands on the stone block table-
Bam!
-and cracking it.
'Is she lying to me!? Or-or did she really get beaten previously? Is this why she's been hiding?'
After a period of silence, Hiyori speaks. "...How?"
"It was on the surface. I was careless during the Hakurei involvement in the war, and misplaced it. I know not where it is, now, but it is likely with some treasure collector."
'Oh. Darn…'
"...In my opinion, however, I have something better for you."
Hiyori rose a brow. 'What could be better than a Deva's treasure?'
Konngara grinned. "I shall see if I can pass down my spell to you. The spell powered by will."
"...Which one was that?" Hiyori questions.
"I believe it is called Starstorm. That should tell you everything." Konngara explains.
'...It's that spell that keeps giving me trouble.' Hiyori blinks. 'That would actually be immensely useful.'
"Shall we begin?" Konngara offers.
Hiyori smiles, "Definitely."
The two oni stand up, and begin walking into the dark subterranean plains nearby.
"Where do we begin?" Hiyori wonders aloud.
Konngara takes a moment to respond. "...It will be a learning experience, for the both of us."
'Oh. This might take awhile, huh…?'
==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====
The two stood near a luminous corridor in the walling adjacent to the plains. The amber light from the tunnel nearby provided a shred of consistent light for the two as they trained.
"I understand it requires an immense amount of mana. As such, it will likely be difficult for you to grasp quickly…"
The two focused on a stalagmite that lied ahead. It was sizable, larger than an average humanoid.
'It's been about an hour…' Hiyori sighed. 'Hopefully this doesn't take longer than a year. I'm not sure how long that is, to a human.'
Konngara floats into the air…
Konngara tried PK Starstorm α!
The dazzling array of stars flew from the dark sky of the underground cavern, and soared into the stalagmite ahead.
Bam-Boom! Ba-Bam! Boom! Boom!
A short rain of white and yellow stars, the latter of which spiraled into the stalagmite, reducing it largely to dust.
'...All I can tell is that that uses a lot of mana…'
...Konngara lands next to Hiyori. "Now, you try."
'Here we go again…' Hiyori sighed.
Closing her eyes, she focused on the stump of the stalagmite…
Hiyori tried PK Starstorm α!
…
But it failed!
"Urh…" She stumbled a bit, taking a deep breath. "...No good."
Konngara attempts to instruct her. "I might suggest visualizing it. Not that it should do anything, but sometimes, in more novice formats of will-based magic, it helps channel in the same manner as a wand, staff, or other focus. It's more crude as a whole, however."
'...I guess.'
They turn their attention to a large block of stone a few feet away from where the stalagmite used to be.
Konngara floated into the air…
Konngara tried PK Starstorm α!
The rain of stars began again, lighting up the faux sky…
Ba-Boom! Bang, blam, bam!
The block shifted loudly from the first few impacts, until the latter stars outright drilled into it.
When the dust settled, the block was half gone.
"Now, you try." Konngara floated down, and stepped back, again.
Hiyori takes a deep breath, and closes her eyes. 'I should focus, this time…'
She focused…
'Stars… star shaped bullets… projectiles...' She focused pretty hard. 'Projectiles with star shapes… Projectiles with… star-esque properties? Star shaped stars?'
She focused too hard, maybe.
Hiyori tried PK Starstorm α!
…
But it failed!
'Really…? I-I mean, it was to be expected...'
Hiyori let out a gasp, and stumbled a bit again, her mana throwing itself around.
Konngara addressed the failure. "I see it didn't work. Perhaps, then, I didn't know what I was talking about…"
"Maybe…" Hiyori huffed. 'That mana backlash was even greater than last time…'
...Their progress stagnated.
Hiyori turned to Konngara, curious. "Are you going to…?"
"...It seems very trying on my reserves." Konngara notes. "I cannot feasibly use it more."
'Oh. I guess no more observation, then.'
With that, Konngara folds her arms, looking neutral.
…
After a few moments of rest, Hiyori feels her balance and concentration return to her. She pulls her canteen of water, and drinks from it…
'Magic makes me really thirsty…'
"I've also noticed, that it seems your willpower is restored upon drinking water." Konngara observes. "That's the reason you ran into the water reserve during our fight, wasn't it?"
'How does she…?'
Hiyori nods. "Mmm. Water helps with a lot of things, I find…"
"You don't drink?"
...Hiyori glances at her questioningly.
"Normally, oni do that to a far lesser extent with alcohol." Konngara explains. "I found it interesting that you managed to do it with water."
"I don't drink alcohol." Hiyori states. "I'm a Buddhist."
…
Konngara smiles. "Interesting."
'Interesting won't help me learn this faster, though…'
Ahead of the two oni, black forms swirl about in the air, raising from the floor…
Hiyori glares at them. 'More phantoms. Guess they'll make good target practice…'
Konngara takes note of them. "...I'll dispose of them."
"No, no…" Hiyori reaches out a hand towards her. "I can use them."
Taking Hiyori's word for it, the oni swordswoman relaxes, and steps back. "Very well."
'The worst they can do is weak magic, anyway.'
The ghosts were similar to the scythe-wielding apparition from before, except they had no blade hands. Instead, their arms were formless, and their eyes were blue.
Hiyori stretched her neck, and began focusing, again…
'Stars… The night sky. Bright, shining stars… Yellow, white, and blue...'
Hiyori tried PK Starstorm α!
…
But it failed!
'Wh-wh…'
Hiyori's vision went fuzzy momentarily, and she caught herself before she fell over.
'I-I'm getting beaten up, by this…'
Magus Phantom A tried PK Fire α!
Fwoo~m…
Flames licked past Hiyori, who shrugged it off. What parts of her began burning were easily remedied by patting herself, or waving her arms around.
'Fire does not work well on oni. That's something I've learned well from being underground for so long. I'm pretty sure a lot more of us would have died gruesomely, otherwise.'
Magus Phantom B tried PK Thunder ß!
Thwaa~sh!
Hiyori brought her arm up to defend herself from the bolt on reflex, and as the lightning struck her and passed through her body, the Shackle of Devas glowed, drawing electricity to itself.
'Hegugh…" Hiyori jittered a bit.
'El-Electricity's just awful, though… Did the shackle protect me?'
Thwaa~sh!
Konngara raised her sword, and deflected the lightning bolt, which struck the floor nearby, instead.
Bam!
"Are you injured?" She locked her gaze on Hiyori, who jittered with electricity, still…
"N-no." Hiyori's focus was on the phantoms before her. "Just a little static…"
'I'm thinking that shackle protected me…'
"...If you are certain." Konngara takes a spectator stance once again.
Hiyori focused on the phantoms before her…
'I've hardly taken a good look at the night sky. Not since the time we got sealed- which was fairly recent, in my lifespan- but, you tend to forget things after a hundred years. We weren't remembered for our mental capacity.'
The phantom's cores swirled around, as they readied to cast more magic…
'...I remember the projectiles that struck me quite vividly. Five points, angular, dazzlingly bright…'
Hiyori tried PK Starstorm α!
The dazzling array of stars spiraled down from the dark, artificial sky once more…
Bam! Kabla-Boom! Bam! Bang! Boom!
Both the magical phantoms were overwhelmed by the magical energy that soared into them. Stars hurdled and spiraled into them, quickly dissipating their ethereal bodies and erasing their presence from the vicinity.
…
Hiyori dropped to her knees. "A-ah…"
Konngara stared down at her. "...Excellent progress. Now, you must learn to optimize it."
...Hiyori flopped over on her side, consciousness fading…
'S-so… tired…'
Thud.
…
"Once you wake up, that is." Konngara sighs.
==== GENSOKYOBOUND: HIKARI'S VIEW ====
The three trudged down the steep mountainside…
'It's not as steep as the higher portions of the mountain.' Hikari mentally annotates. 'We were practically sliding down, up there. This is… actually pretty good, as long as you don't go off the beaten trails.'
Easily, and with pep to their steps, the party moved.
"We're totally gonna get jumped by a tengu." Osamu expresses his woe. "And it's gonna be that one we pissed off. And we don't have Hiyori!"
"I don't care." Marigold grins. "I've got a laser cannon."
"But-..." Osamu trails off. "Actually, I dunno. That might actually stop her…"
'I could alway use my flashy, fantastic attack if any tengu bother us. It'd suck, but I might need to.'
"It's a laser cannon." Marigold stresses. "It's gonna stop her."
"If she even engages us." Hikari argues.
'She might.'
"As if she wouldn't." Osamu folds his arms. "I don't know, dude…"
The bushes rustled ahead.
Marigold readied her Spectrum Shotgun. "I-it's her!"
Hikari tensed up. "A-ah…!"
"Oh, shit!" Osamu fell back, to hide behind Hikari. "I fuckin' toldja so!"
Further rustling left the party pensive.
…
A cat strutted from the bushes.
"Holy fuck!" Osamu flinched violently.
Osamu tried PK Thunder ß!
Thwaa~sh!
The cat sprinted out of the way of the bolt, which struck the dirt where it was.
Thwaa~sh!
"Aa-aaa~h!"
...Surprised, the party turned to face some other bushes to the side of the trail. Nitori stumbled out, and for whatever reason, seemed to be blinking in and out of existence.
"...Hi." Hikari greeted her.
"M-my optical camouflage!" Nitori whined, patting a grey disc on her back. As she struck it, she flickered in and out of existence with more intensity.
Then, it dropped off of Nitori's back entirely-
Boom.
-and exploded. It was a quaint, miniature explosion. Despite this, the device rested in pieces.
Nitori, now fully visible, blushes. "Th-that electricity… Wh-where did that even come from? Did… did my device do that? Did it…" She looked at the party. "Oh. Hey…"
Hikari simply stares at her.
"...Why were you using a cloaking spell?" Marigold questioned immediately, finding it suspicious.
"Spell?" Nitori jerked her head back. "It's optical camouflage. There may be magic involved, but it's not the device's focus, at all."
"...So it was cloaking." Marigold deadpanned. "Why were you cloaking?"
...Nitori nervously smiled. "A-oh. Right… Well, you see, I, kinda wanted to know about that laser cannon you got going, there…"
Marigold beamed. "You want to see!?"
Nitori twitches in surprise. "A-a, yes! Please!"
Eagerly, Marigold zoomed up to Nitori, and began discussing the weapon with her…
"So, to make it work, I basically taped a prism to the end- for the laser part anyway- and I make it power through a block in the center-" She takes a breath. "-and that block is, like, magically charged, and-"
"Why don't you just start from, uh, the beginning…?" Nitori smiles patiently, if a bit awkwardly.
Marigold began repeating the construction process, detailing how she stuffed the gun full of chip bags and fairy fingers…
Hikari tuned out the conversation, and looked at the cat on the path ahead. It sat, and stared at the party.
'Kitty…'
The black, two-tailed cat warily watched Hikari approach…
'Wait, two tails?'
...Hikari shrugged it off. She crouched down to lift the cat, but it simply began walking away.
"Hhn…" Hikari huffs, following it.
Osamu looks between the two girls, but resolves to follow Hikari.
The cat doesn't walk far before it begins sprinting through the brush.
'You won't get away from me!'
As it darts into the brush, Hikari darts along with it, clipping branches, brush, and rocks on her scrambled pursuit of the furry feline.
'C'mo~n…!' She used her wind to guide herself towards the cat. After a back-and-forth chase through the brush, Hikari clutched the cat, and whisked it off the floor.
"Caught you…" Hikari nuzzled the fur along its flank...
'Who ever said black cats were bad luck? 'Cause I don't believe it...'
...Osamu walks up, carefully stepping through the scattered snow and other forest hazards on his way to his friend. "Dude, the hell's a cat doin' up here?"
"We're outside." Hikari's words were muffled by the fur. The cat wiggles helplessly.
"And?" Osamu takes a closer look at the cat. He moves to pet it, but it tries to bite him, forcing him to retract his hand quickly. "Killjoy…"
...Hikari stroked the cat, and it meowed.
'Awwh…' Hikari moved to nuzzle it again...
A sudden poof of smoke from her arms caused Hikari to tense up, and let go.
'Wh-what!?'
Thud. "Nya~aaah!"
...When the smoke dissipated, the cat was no longer a cat, but a woman.
A red-haired, twin-tailed cat girl dressed in black, with red hair, that was also done up in two twin-tails.
'Not the same kind of tails, mind you. You should know…'
Osamu double-took, bewildered by the sudden .
...The girl leaped back up. "That was ru~de… I told ya to put me down, not slam me to the floor…"
"Gravity doesn't listen to those kinds of requests." Hikari counters. "I would know. I've tried."
'Broken legs are not fun. You also didn't tell me anything, earlier. Unless it was that meowing… I don't speak cat.'
Dusting herself off, the cat girl looks closer at Hikari… "You came to check out all the dead bodies, too, Reimu?"
Hikari jerked her head back. '...There are multiple things wrong with that sentence.'
"...What?" She smiled sheepishly. Then, she shielded herself with her arms. "It-it wasn't me, Reimu, I swear!"
"Can I pet you?" Osamu suddenly blurts. "I-I mean… yeah."
...She gives Osamu a blank stare. "Only if you want me to bite you."
...He shrugs. "Par for the course."
Moving up to the cat girl, he lifts his hand towards her forehead…
She did, infact, move to bite it.
"Yeeoo~w! H-holy fuck… Is it bleeding? Aw, shit, I think it's bleeding…" He backs away, nursing his hand…
'...Ah. Good job.'
...The cat girl turns to Hikari. "...Yer being awfully quiet, Reimu. I guess it's all the dead bodies."
"I'm not Reimu." Hikari folded her arms, staring at the cat girl dryly. "I'm her daughter."
…
"Pfft-hahahaha~!" She shook her head, looking mirthful. "G'one, Reimu. As if you'd ever hit it up with anybody."
Hikari's jaw dropped. 'Wha~t!?'
The cat girl covered her mouth. "Oops!… d-don't blast me for that, kay? I was joking..."
'At least my mother's reputation is as sturdy as ever.'
"Ahahahaha~!" Osamu got a kick out of it, even as he nursed his hand.
..."Just who's this goon?" The cat girl stared at Osamu, brows furrowing.
"This 'goon' is an extre~mely handsome man…" He attempts to flex, but his muscles only slightly raise.
…
"So, Reimu! About them corpses, nya…?" She turned to Hikari.
'What corpses…?' Hikari tilted her head.
…
"Do-do you not know…?" Her eyes lit up. "Then- yeah! Uhm… I never said anything. See ya Reimu, I got a- uhm, dinner date! By the way, snazzy new outfit! Is that, uh, leotard rubber, latex, or what?"
'Actually, wait…' Hikari holds out a hand. "Hold on."
"Eee~p!" The cat hugs herself.
"Would you know how to get to the cavern that leads underground?" Hikari asks. "I know something like that exists, but…"
'Hiyori went to the underground, right? We'll just go find her, then.'
…
"You feelin' alright, Reimu?" The cat blinked, looking somewhat concerned.
Hikari expression fell. "I told you. I'm her daughter."
The cat nodded slowly, appearing slightly weirded out. "Ri~ght… Well, um… If you go down the mountain trail, and to the right a bit- on another trail- there'll be the cave. Y'can't miss it."
Hikari smiled. "Thanks."
"...Hope you feel better, Reimu."
With a poof of smoke, the cat girl was once again a cat, and she leapt into the brush.
'I wasn't even dressed like her. I can't look that similar…'
...She turned to Osamu, who was licking his new wounds.
He notices Hikari staring. "Do you think this counts as an indirect kiss?"
…
Hikari turns around, and goes to find Marigold.
"Hahaha~!"
==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====
The four pressed on towards the supposed location of the cavern entrance. Hikari led the party, taking the the teenagers- mostly teenagers, actually- in the direction she was told.
'I don't actually know how old Nitori is. I won't ask, either. It's rude, I think.'
"What's a full bridge rectifier?" Marigold questions Nitori.
"Well," Nitori thoughtfully scratches the back of her head. "A full bridge rectifier is actually just called a bridge rectifier."
Marigold furrowed her brows. "...Why do they call it a full bridge rectifier, then?"
'At least the conversation came back into understandable territory… even if it's gotten objectively more useless.'
"I just realized…" Osamu sullenly began, "I forgot to ask 'em for snacks back the village…"
Hikari snorted. "You think they'd give you any?"
"... Good point."
'Now… she said I couldn't miss the cavern entrance…'
To Hikari's right was steep, rocky mountainside, which spanned a sizable incline.
'I don't really see anything.'
They continued on the path, when a few rocks tumbled from the rocky incline to the right.
'Huh…? Is it a rock slide?'
Hikari turned, and her eyes widened.
Shi~ng!
Leaping backwards, and landing on her bum, Hikari felt adrenaline rush into her veins.
'Te-tengu!'
Momiji pointed her sword at Hikari, who backed away on the floor. "Hakurei. I told you and your oni to go home."
Chi-chick.
Nitori pointed a boxy gun at the wolf tengu.
Marigold aimed her Spectrum Shotgun at her, as well.
"I knew-! uh…" Osamu experienced a range of emotions in rapid succession, including smugness and fear.
…
"Why are you hostile, kappa?" Momiji sternly addressed Nitori.
"Wh-what do you mean? You're threatening my friend…" She spoke unsteadily. "Why don't we ju-just talk this out…?"
Momiji, from the corner of her eye, glanced at her. "...Nitori, she-"
"No!"
Nitori marched towards her, and poked her with the barrel of her gun. "St-stop…"
…
Momiji lowered her sword. "...This is just-"
Then, Momiji noticed it was a gun pointed at her. Her eyes widened.
…
'This went well.' Hikari slowly, carefully rose from the floor, being careful as to not draw much of Momiji's attention…
"...These friends must mean an awful lot for you, to be pointing a gun at me." She growls.
"I-I guess they do." Nitori holds a stern face, as she aims at the tengu. "They're actually going to the caves, right now."
"Oh?" Momiji looks around. "And where is that oni?"
Nitori blinks. "...Oni?"
...Momiji's eyes suddenly glare at Hikari.
'A-ah…' "W-wh-..."
...Hikari clears her throat.
'Good. Real good.'
"She's underground, right now." Hikari finally managed. "As you said. She didn't even use the mountain to do it."
'I omitted the word 'well' from that sentence. I had enough time to think it over, after all…'
…
"Really. How did she do it, then?" Momiji grins.
"Uhm…" Hikari wasn't sure how to elaborate.
Osamu was, however. "She teleported, dude!"
...Momiji slowly, stiffly twists her neck to narrow her eyes at Osamu.
He chuckled incredulously. "F-for real! Serious! Don't hurt me!" He took a page from the cat girl's book, and shielded himself with his arms.
"He's telling the truth." Marigold found solace in the fact she was pointing a laser cannon at her.
"Mmm." Hikari hummed, less confident about her proximity to the tengu.
Momiji looked around at the three of them. "...I'm not willing to believe some oni has teleportation!"
Flinching from the yell, Nitori backed up. "I-I teleported her!"
"...Oh." Momiji deflated. "...Uhm, right. Kappa tech."
…
"You didn't teleport them, why?" Momiji gestured to the party.
"It blew up." Nitori shrugged.
The wolf tengu smiled awkwardly. "Right… Well, yeah. See ya."
'That de-escalated quicker than I expected.'
With that, Momiji leaped back up the mountainside.
"...The nerve of her." Nitori shook her head. "I hate lying, too. Why'd you guys go with teleportation of all things? I don't think many things can even do that…"
"Sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction." Hikari stated aloud.
Osamu put it less elegantly. "She really can! Dude…"
"Al-alright…" Nitori clams up. "If-if you say so…"
...Hikari turns to Osamu, and frowns. He shrugs sheepishly.
Marigold elbows him. He rubs his gut… "I need, like, a chestplate, or somethin'..."
'That cave entrance…'
Continuing forward, down the rocky trail at the mountain's side, the party eventually comes across a rather large, wood-framed cave opening.
'This looks like it.'
"You three better be careful, down there…" Nitori cautions them. "There's lots of earth spirits, and… I'm pretty sure your mother told you, right?" She looks at Hikari. "About everything?"
'Uuh…'
"Yeah."
Nitori smiles. "Great, great. I don't need to tell you anything, then. I-I mean, you took out those robots, and everything… I'm sure you guys'll be just fine."
She begins walking away. "See you later, friends!"
…
'I shouldn't have agreed. Now we're going in blind…'
The party began proceeding into the dark, spooky cave.
'I think she's right, though. We can probably deal with anything we find.'
"Uu~gh, this place better not be as stupid as the last cave…" Osamu complained. "I'm startin' to hate caves."
Marigold seems indifferent. "It's nowhere near as muggy and damp as that last cave. It should be fine… until we go deeper, anyway."
No one really found it spooky, though.
Marigold drew her Shield Killer from her backpack, and began using it to illuminate the cave ahead. Dim lanterns hung from the walls, most of which were dark.
The wooden framing quickly ran out shortly into the cave, as well, leaving the party surrounded by dirt and rock.
"Seems relaxed enough." Hikari decided.
The path became a jagged, janky decline downwards, softly leading into the Earth's crust.
"Wo-woa~h!"
Thud. Osamu landed on his side, losing his footing on the uneven rocks.
'Maybe not so soft. This path wasn't made for people. There are lanterns, though, so someone obviously means it to be traversed…'
The caves ahead deviated at multiple points, leading to smaller side caves with different tints of lantern adorning them.
'...This might be a problem.'
Marigold looked around the caves, as well. "...This might be a problem."
'I just thought that.' Hikari scoffed, visible to only herself.
"Rocks suck..." Osamu declares, brushing some pebbles off his robe. "Rocks suck, and I hate them."
Before them, some rocks began floating…
'Pffft…' Hikari grinned. "Looks like the rocks hate you, too."
The rocks all convened around a central, immensely smooth sphere of an unknown, yellow metal. Smoothly, they revolved around the sphere.
Marigold was seemingly unsure. "What do you think a rock elemental would be weakest against…?"
Osamu grinned. "Ice!"
Osamu tried PK Freeze γ!
KaKaKa~...
A pattern of ice crystals in a snowflake shape formed around the rock elemental.
Boom!
The icy blast disrupted the rocks, launching them from the core. Slowly, more rocks began to join the elemental again…
"...I was gonna say laser cannons." Marigold stared at Osamu blankly. "Everyone likes laser cannons."
She aimed the Spectrum Shotgun at the rock elemental. "Everyone!"
The trigger was pulled, and lasers of light shot out of the gun at seven different angles, none of them at the rock elemental before them. She began getting pushed back, the immense rainbow-colored light filling the cave, until she was shoved into a wall by the recoil.
"A-ahn!" She flinched, and released the trigger, dissipating the beams.
...Hikari walked up to the rock elemental as it was regenerating, and smacked the core with her gohei.
SMAAAA~SH!
It thunked to the floor.
…
"Sometimes," Hikari turned to her party, smirking. "you just need a little less force."
Osamu rolled his eyes. "Yeah, 'cause you hit that thing real soft. That's why it's like, embedded in the floor."
...Hikari shrugged.
With the action over, Hikari had choices…
'I once again regret telling Nitori that we knew where we were going. We never do.'
…
Hikari turned left, and went for the cave with yellow lights. "This way."
"Thoughtful selection." Marigold complimented. "Definitely the right path."
Osamu grinned, following them.
Unlike the other caves, this one didn't decline as much, which, to Hikari, was a blessing.
'Wooden sandals, meet uneven rocks.'
As they progressed into the cave, things got noticeably more cramped as the rocks along it were lined with spider webs. At first, Hikari just swung through the single big string that stood in their way, but before long, everyone had to carefully traverse around large, intricate patterns on the floors. The walls had similar patterns, forming fancy pentagons around the wall's yellow lanterns, all of which were lit.
Eventually, the party came to a large web that blocked the entire cave's width.
"System_error. Please_see_operating_manual_version_E-70_for_help."
A Starman sat in the midst, its arms propped to its sides as usual. It didn't do anything, however.
"...Somethin' tells me this ain't the right cave." Osamu appeared tensive.
A loud voice suddenly roused everyone's attention. "You mean the right cave!"
Hikari jumped, stepping back a bit. "A-above us…"
Everyone backed up, as a blonde-haired, brown-dressed woman descended from the ceiling. She hung upside down, from a web which extended from under her dress. To prevent the dress from falling down, it was all tightly wound up with a yellow bow strand, it seemed.
Osamu appeared fearful at first, but then noticed the bow strand around her dress. "It's… huh."
The woman hung in front of them, grinning. "Two humans, and a surface youka~i. How unusual to see down here…"
'Sounds like she wants to munch us, or something.'
While the girls held their sentiments about the statement, Osamu had immediate qualms. "What's unusual is that dress, there, lady. S'it to make you more aerodynamic, or somethin'?"
…
"It's so it doesn't fall on my face." She looked displeased. "I don't know if you noticed, but I'm a spider youkai."
"Why don'cha just wear shorts?" Osamu counters. "Y'wouldn't need ribbons for shorts. I think."
"Well, maybe I like wearing dresses." She frowns. "I've not seen a spider youkai wear shorts. Ever."
Hikari turns to Osamu, but he holds a hand up. "Hey, hey, wait… How many spider youkai do ya see on a regular basis?"
...She sighs. "Unfortunately few. Those I do see are the inept surface kind."
"We~ll…" Osamu props his arms to his sides. "Lemme tell you, as an official woman's man extraordinaire, that there's a lot of appeal in shorts!"
…
"I said I saw few." She states. "I didn't say they don't exist. I dwell here by choice."
"Wha- and?" Osamu's expression falters. "I bet they like shorts."
The spider girl's frown became a grimace. "Can we just skip to the part where I eat you?"
Osamu furrowed his brows. "Wait, what?"
She moves to leap at him, but Hikari was already at his side. Her impending whack towards him was instead aimed at an entirely different person.
SMAAAA~SH!
The spider woman's momentum was halted, but she wasn't much worse for wear. "Ghh… You think a blow like that's gonna slow me down?"
Hikari grinned. "Yes."
Hikari tried Hypnosis α!
Energy rippled around the spider woman…
…
But nothing happened.
"...No." Hikari looked solemn.
Marigold held up her Spectrum Shotgun. "Not another move."
The spider woman smirked. "Oh? Very well, then…" She held up both her hands…
'Huh. That worked.'
…
'I guess I should start asking her-'
Then, she leapt into the air, so that the small opening in her dress at the bottom was facing Marigold. Then, she fired a web from that position.
Marigold's eyes widened, and she pulled the trigger.
The immense, colorful lasers began tearing up web and rock alike as they slowly began revolving. Hikari and Osamu vacated the immediate premises, letting the wide spread of lasers do their thing.
Marigold was pushed back into some webbing, which held her as the beam began to concentrate. The web the spider woman shot flew into the central prism, which promptly cooked it into nonexistence.
Correcting herself into an upright position, the spider woman continued to float in the air. "Hmm? Those are some slo~w lasers…"
She promptly weaved through the revolving lasers, grinning.
Hikari blinked. 'I-I kinda forgot flying was a thing. Again.'
"Let's make this easy. Trap Sign, Capture Web!"
Marigold's lasers gradually began speeding up as they neared their combined form…
A web of danmaku bullets generated outward from the spider's position. It was a simple web, but now the party was mostly separated by swaths of bullets.
"Holy shit!" Osamu was reminded that danmaku was a thing. "Get that away from me!"
Osamu tried PSI Shield Σ!
The party was protected by the psychic shield of energy!
Marigold's rainbow beam was finally complete, uniting all seven colors of the rainbow in one deadly stream…
It wasn't hitting anything except the cave walls at the moment, unfortunately. The webs Marigold were pushed into began to give in and let her back into the cave wall.
Marigold felt uncomfortable from the jagged rock poking her in the back, but continued. "N-now…"
She tried to aim it at the spider, only for it to almost fly at out of her hands at the angle shift. "Wo-woah!"
Her erratic movements made the laser erratically slice across the cave walls. Surprised, the spider darted out of the way of it as it neared her. "O-oh? A surprise attack, is it? Here!"
All at once, the danmaku bullets she spread out slowly began flowing through the air freely, moving in a clockwise pattern.
'Hnnh…' Hikari braced herself as a few pinged into her. The shield she had on removed most of their effect, however, leaving her only slightly uncomfortable.
"Screw your bullets!" Osamu yells. "We've got shields!"
Eyes widening, the spider girl quickly huffs. "Oh, so we're cheating, then? If that's how this is gonna be…"
She throws an arm into the air. "Miasma! Unexplained Fever!"
Three large orbs of energy generated in the air. Then, they expanded outward, seas of red and pink danmaku washing over the party.
'That spell card name…' Hikari's eyes narrowed. 'I might have to heal us, soon.'
The density of the oncoming danmaku was far more aggressive and painful than the trickles she sent out previously.
"A-ah…" Hikari gritted her teeth, as she could do little except for tank the danmaku waves outright.
"What the fuck…" Osamu flailed his arms at the danmaku, because that helped. "Uu~gh!"
Osamu tried PK Freeze γ!
KaKaKa~...
Icicle formed around the spider woman, locking her in a snowflake pattern. She realized she was snared, and began struggling-
Boom!
"Huaah!"
She twirled through the air, before righting herself. "Th-that sucked…"
...The rainbow beam inched near her, but she darted away. "St-stupid exterminators! Leave…!"
Bullets were no longer generated, and after a moment, dissipated.
Hikari began sprinting towards her. 'Now's my chance!'
The spider noticed, and turned to Hikari. Frowning, she lifted her hand, and pushed it towards her.
Hikari braced herself, but nothing came…
'Hmm?'
...Then, Hikari felt her knees give in, and she dropped onto them. "Uhn…"
'Wh-what…'
After an unsure moment, she had an innocently rising feeling in her gut…
'I feel…'
She realized it wasn't so innocent.
"Buua~gh!"
Liquid stained the cave floor ahead of her, and her eyes watered.
Osamu's jaw dropped. "Oh, fuck!"
Marigold warily stared from her position against the cave wall.
'N-no…'
Hikari tried Healing γ!
...Wiping the residual vomit off her lips and chin, she stood, albeit shakily.
The spider woman blinked, somewhat curious. "...Are you still well?"
Hikari looked up at her, and glared. "Ye-yeah. I am."
...Intrigued, the spider held up her hand, and made the same motion again.
Alarmed, Hikari's eyes widened. 'No, no, not again!'
Her legs wobbled again, but she fought to stay up. Her stomach churned…
Hikari tried Healing γ!
'...Better.' Hikari sighed in relief.
"Huh." The spider was genuinely surprised. "Are you… immune to my-"
After immense struggle, Marigold managed to jerk the beam to connect with the spider.
"Ahhuaagh!"
Bam! She was immediately rocketed into the cave wall behind her.
After a sustained second of fire, Marigold released the trigger.
…
The spider girl drops from the cave wall, and lands on the floor, face planting.
"System_error. Please_see_operating_manual_version_E-70_for_help." Despite being free of the web, the Starman seemed to have expired.
Osamu moved across the floor to reach Hikari. For a moment, his foot got stuck in a small web, but then he pulled it free.
Upon reaching her, he laid a hand on her back, surprising her. 'Eh-hah?'
"Dude, are you alright?" He asked, genuinely concerned.
"Mmm…" Hikari hums, not looking away from the spider girl. "She can inflict sickness, apparently. I healed it off, though."
…
"Hey, uh… I'm stuck." Marigold was plastered to the cave wall by the webbing she tore through.
Hikari walked up to her. "Here." She held out her gohei.
...Marigold grabbed onto it, and Hikari began pulling.
"Hnn~gh…"
…
"Hnnnn~gh!..."
…
'Sh-she's in there good…' Hikari took a deep breath.
"Yo." Osamu snapped his fingers.
Osamu tried Offense Up α!
Hikari felt strength building in her muscles…
'This is a welcome sensation.' She appreciated the difference, due to the weakness she felt earlier. 'Very jarring, but welcome.'
She tried again. "Huunh…!"
'Woah…'
Osamu tried Offense Up α!
'I would never be able to do this without strength ups, I think.'
Hikari let her strength accumulate again, and she pulled…
"Haa~h!"
Plop!
Marigold flew from the sticky, webby goop on the walls, and crashed into Hikari. "Oof!"
Hikari just stood there, gingerly gazing down at Marigold as she landed on her bum.
"...You half ripped my arm off, there." Marigold stood, brushing herself off. "...Is my back okay?"
She turned around, revealing to the others that her back was matted in white, gooified webs. Her hair was matted to her back, as well.
'Uh…' "It's fine." Hikari decided.
"A little sticky." Osamu grinned.
Marigold turned to him, scoffing. "I'm sure…"
"Ooo~h…"
The party turned to the spider girl, who was meekly trying to get back up…
Hikari approached her, and poked her with her gohei.
She glared up at Hikari. "...Go...g-go ahead."
"I would." Hikari takes another look around. "I don't know where, though. I'm trying to get underground."
"Like, really underground." Osamu helps her elaborate.
…
"Wh-what…?" She appears confused.
"...Should I heal her?" Hikari seeked second opinions.
"Hmm~..." Marigold wasn't sure about that.
Osamu shrugged. "As long as she don't try to eat us."
Pleased with that outlook, Hikari kneeled in front of the spider woman, bending her legs to look at her more closely… "Do you promise not to eat us, if I heal you?"
…
"U-uhm…" She seemed awkward about the situation. "...Sure."
'Good enough.'
Hikari tried Lifeup α!
…
Reluctantly, the spider girl stood… "Really?"
Hikari backs away from her a little.
"You're just gonna trust me, like that?" She grins. "Hahaha~!"
Whack!
"Auh…" She reeled to the side, clenching her jaw. "I-I wash johking! Da~hmn…"
Marigold huffed. "It wasn't funny."
After a moment of nursing her jaw, the spider girl continues. "Well, you three wanna go deeper? How far?"
"Far." Hikari detailed in a grandiose manner.
…
"You three don't even know how deep these caves go, do you?" She stared at the three blankly.
"Not at all." Hikari smiled. "Help."
She sighed. "Alri~ght, alright… I'll point you in the right direction, at the least. C'mere."
The spider navigates them out of the cave, back through the way the party came. They stopped once they reached the central tunnel, where the dim, white lanterns were.
"...Looks like those robots stopped showing up." She noted aloud.
"We killed them." Hikari added.
"Sure you did." The spider girl absently ignores her. "Take the cave with the white lanterns the whole way. Seriously, it's not rocket science."
"...Oh." Marigold blinks. "Oo~h. Wow."
"Before you three head off, what're your names?" She asks. "Just 'cause you kinda kicked my ass back there. Not just anybody can do that, y'know."
"Hikari." Hikari introduced herself. "Hakurei."
Marigold introduced herself similarly. "Marigold."
"Name's Osamu." Osamu holds his hand out for a handshake.
…
After a moment of nothing, he lowers it. "...I still think you'd look good in shorts."
"Shut up." The spider girl gives him a displeased stare. "...I'm Yamame. See ya around, if you don't die down here."
'That's pleasant.'
She begins to travel back into her yellow-tinted cave. "If you plan on getting gobbled up by anything, let me do it."
With that, she skittered away, offering the party one final grin.
'As much as a woman with two legs can skitter, anyway. That dress definitely didn't let her move her legs a lot, but she seems to have no trouble walking around these caves...'
The party looked down the steep cave trail ahead.
Osamu sighed. "Wow, hey, look. More rocks."
==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====
"Do ya think rocks are edible?"
Minutes passed as they descended into the shaft, and already they were getting tired of the steep, jagged nature of the tunnel.
"Why don't you check?" Marigold was becoming frustrated.
'It's like the cave itself is trying to impale you. This place is an obstacle course…'
As they scaled the treacherous decline, shadowy figures emerged from the ceiling ahead.
Red orbs, with black, translucent rings of something that appeared to be either shade, smog, or fog.
'Not so much a figure, then, is it?'
Marigold noticed them. "Ceiling demons!"
Osamu perked up. "What the fuck!? Ceiling demons!? Oh, shit!"
Marigold aimed up with her Spectrum Shotgun. "Lights! Camera…!"
'Here we go…' Hikari now knew what it was like to be on the spectator end of one of her own light shows.
"Action!"
Seven differently colored beams of energy shot out into the cave's ceiling. The beams missed most of the ring-esque creatures, but one was struck right in its red core.
"Huuooo~h…"
The ring solidified, into stone, and fell…
Crack. It broke to pieces, and said pieces continued to tumble down the decline.
'They're weak to light, then.'
As Marigold let herself be pushed back into the rock behind her, the revolving beams slowly sped up as they got closer and closer…
One of the inner ring-shaped ghosts glowed a faint blue, and shot bright blue rings towards her. They expanded, the borders of the rings missing her entirely, as she was in the middle of them all.
Osamu grinned. "What the hell kinda attack was that?"
Then, Marigold let go of the trigger on her Spectrum Shotgun.
'Hmm? Odd time to stop it. I think I have a good spell for this moment, though...'
Hikari tried PK Flash ß!
Fwaa~sh!
"Huuuooo~hhh!"
All of the ring ghosts solidified, and plummeted into the rocks below. A symphony of cracking and smashing ensued.
'Easier than I expected… Not that I'm complaining, or anything.'
"That was a piece of cake." Osamu comments.
'You didn't even do anything.'
…
As Hikari continued climbing down a little, she paused. She looked back up…
'Huh?'
"Marigold?" Hikari called for her friend.
Osamu jerked his head back, and looked up the tunnel behind them… "What the hell?"
'Where is she?'
...Reluctantly, Hikari awkwardly climbed back up some of the jagged ledges and rocks, using her wind affinities to attempt making climbing easier.
'Unfortunately, there's no wind inside the Earth. Who would've known?'
Eventually, Hikari reached the small ledge Marigold had fired her laser from, earlier…
She saw the weapon cast to the side, and Marigold pressing up against the rock, eyes wide.
'Uhm…?' Hikari felt dread wash over her. 'Not that dread is a new feeling, anyway, but...'
"A-a…" Marigold flinched violently upon seeing HIkari. "Aa-aaa~h!"
"What the hell's goin' on up there!?" Osamu called up from lower rocks.
...As Hikari moved closer, Marigold began fidgeting violently, and crying. "Aaaa~h!"
'...Well.'
Hikari tried Healing γ!
…
After a moment, Marigold's terror stopped, and she slowly stopped fidgeting…
"Dude- guys? Hello~!?" Osamu hollers from below.
...Marigold tries to pull herself from the wall, only to find herself matted to it by the webbing stuck on her back earlier. "Oh, for…"
She cups a hand to her mouth. "I'm fi~ne!"
'I suspect those ring things had more to them than met the eye.'
...Marigold looked at Hikari, and smiled. "I-I think it was a terror spell, or something. Thanks again, Hikari…"
"Mmm." Hikari smiled back.
…
"We should've brought a sled." Marigold considered. "Seriously."
'...Why didn't someone suggest that earlier? Uugh…'
...Hikari moved to detach Marigold from the wall. "Hnnngh…"
==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====
After an immense period of time, the party eventually touched down in a flat, open expanse at the bottom of the cave.
'Provided, 'immense' is open to interpretation. It was still a long time.'
At the bottom of the tunnel, the walls expanded outward almost infinitely, revealing a sea of darkness that comprised the cave's expanses.
"...Wow." Hikari widened her eyes, to search the endless expanse above, but she could make out very little light. From here, she could make out amber lights in the distance along the sides of what she assumed were cave walls.
"Duu~de…" Osamu's jaw slowly lowered. "This cave, my boys…!"
Marigold nodded in approval. "I think we might've needed that industrial grade night light…"
'Pffft.'
Though the underworld around them was mostly dark, there was a small structure ahead of them. A wooden shack sat beside a wide bridge.
"Finally." Osamu grinned. "Some ease of access, for a change!"
The three progressed to the bridge, and looked around the sides of it…
'Endless ravine. Whoever built this bridge was a saint.'
As they stepped across the bridge, a door on a different shack across the bridge slammed open.
"He~y!"
Osamu immediately fell back behind Hikari and Marigold. "She's pissed…"
A girl with wavy, short blonde hair and blue eyes stomped out, sneering.
'I was about to comment on the quality of people under the Earth… but then I realized the surface isn't much better.'
"What're you three doing on my bridge!?"
'I take back that saint thing.'
"Crossing." Marigold scoffed back. "And who might you be?"
"The overseer." The girl spoke, as if it was a big deal. "Who told you three you could cross?"
...The three looked between each other, and collectively shrugged.
"No one told us not to." Hikari argued. "It's a free country."
The girl smiled ironically. "Oh? Ahah… right. Well, I'm telling you you can't cross! So there!"
...The three teenagers smirked.
"We're crossing." Hikari decides.
"No contest." Marigold decides, too.
"And ya can't stop us!" Osamu poses unnecessarily fancily.
...The short girl seethed. "...Are you three… friends…?"
...They gave collective nods.
"Yeah." Osamu folds his arms. "They're my super powerful, ass-kickin' friends. So you're gonna let us through."
"It's not fair!" The girl shouts, stomping the bridge. "How come you guys get to be friends!?"
…
'Uu~h…' Hikari wasn't sure how to respond to that.
"Because… we are?" Marigold tried.
"But… that's not fair!" She clenched the air with her hands.
Osamu snorted. "Life isn't fair, dude."
The comment only seemed to make her angrier…
"I mean… we'll be your friends, if you want." Marigold offers, feeling awkward as she does so. "It's no big-"
"It's not fa~ir!" She roars. "I wish I could be as kind as you! I'll never be able to be all like- like… Graa~h!"
…
'Okay, then. I've had enough of this…'
Hikari tried Hypnosis α!
Energy rippled around the girl before them…
…
"...I wish I knew sleep spells like you did!" The girl focuses on Hikari. "How did you even get that!? Why didn't I get that!?"
'You know, that 'sleep spell' she's getting all upset about is starting to not be useful anymore…'
"Guess what?" Osamu steps towards her. "Life sucks. Get over it."
…
"I-I'll make you all pay…" The girl steps back, gritting her teeth. "Kisume~!"
Thud. Thud. Thud.
'Mistakes were made, today.' Hikari glared at Osamu.
Osamu jumped at the vibrations. "I-I mean, I'm sorry- look, uhm- I'll buy you some candy! Everyone likes candy!"
"...Why can't I like candy as much as everybody else!?"
Osamu sighs.
Thud. Thud. Thud…
A large figure stomped forward out of the shadows…
"Parsee-cha~n! Heyo~!"
A tiny, tiny, green-haired girl sat at the top of an immense wooden mechanization, which seemed to be constructed entirely out of buckets. She, herself, was inside a bucket, only her head peeking out.
Parsee points at the party. "These people! I want them dead! Their friends, dead! Their-their sleep spells, dead! I-I… I'm so jealous of them!"
Kisume tilted her head. "That's not a very good reason to kill someone, Parsee-chan…"
...Parsee nodded, and then suddenly spoke quickly. "Yeah well they also wanna destroy the bridge and kill people and stuff so they're bad people."
...Kisume smiles. "That changes everything! Okey-dokey, Parsee-chan!"
Osamu gave a short laugh. "Pfft… You fuck."
Parsee's eyes widened, but then, she smirked. "...Show them your new power, Kisume! Show them the power I'm so envious of!"
'You seem envious of everything, so that's not saying much…'
At each end of the bridge, metal poles shot from the ground, trapping the party on the bridge. Parsee flew up, and over the bars, landing on safe rock outside of the imminent battlefield.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Kisume raised two large, tree-trunk esque bucket arms. Each bucket was joined with a ring at the tops, forming pods. Each pod was then connected rather curiously to the ends of other pods, rusty metal hinges and latches combined with thick iron rings to create very limited joints.
Each arm had two open buckets at the ends, which were pointed at the party.
…
"Them's, uh…" Osamu stared at the arms nervously. "Them's some pretty big arms, ya got there…"
Fsshhwoosh!
Two torrents of water shot out at the party, forcing them to scrunch up between the two roaring blasts of water.
"Ho~h, fuck!" Osamu's eyes widened.
Marigold raised her Spectrum Shotgun. "This'll be great…"
She fired it, the seven beams of light soaring into the air. The three teens collectively backed towards the metal bars behind themselves. Marigold did so to preemptively neutralize the recoil, whereas Hikari and Osamu did it simply to escape the ensuing barrage of lasers.
Kisume's eyes widened as she watched the revolving lasers. "Ooo~h…!"
Parsee gaped. "Wh-wha~t!?"
...Then, she smiled ironically. "Tch…"
The revolving laser slowly began spinning faster… when, suddenly, all the lasers dissipated.
'Huh?'
...Hikari looked over to Marigold, who had a solemn expression on her face.
'What, now…?'
Marigold glanced at the two, and frowned. "Why do you two even keep me around…?"
'...Where is this coming from?'
Osamu double-took. "Say what?"
She glares at Osamu. "Don't 'say what' me! You know magic! I don't!" Marigold's frown became a grimace, as she proceeded to mumble. "...I-I wish I knew magic…"
"This ain't the time to be actin' like that!" Osamu shook her by the shoulder. "We're gonna get our faces smashed into our guts, du~de…!"
...Hikari glanced at Parsee, who was smiling.
'Hmm. I think I see what the problem is.'
Hikari tried PK Flash ß!
Fwaaaa~sh!
'Why is making a flash of light so draining…?'
"Aaa~h! I can't see!" Kisume's water torrents suddenly became random, and the party got splashed.
"A-aah!" Hikari tensed up.
'...It's actually not that bad. It's kinda warm-ish, down here.'
"I wish I wasn't blinded like a bat over here!" Parsee screeched. "What even…!?"
"Even you can cast magic!" Marigold grabs onto Hikari. "What good am I!?"
Hikari tried Healing γ!
…
Marigold blushed. "Wh-what came over me…? I-I'm sorry, guys, that was-"
"That youkai did it." Hikari announced. "The blonde one who yelled a lot."
"...Oo~h." Marigold sighs. "That… makes sense. She can... make others jealous, I guess."
Kisume stumbled in the vague direction of the party. "I-I'll hit one of you! I have to!"
As everyone began to nervously peddle away from the mech in different direction, as it stumbled about. Kisume ducked into her bucket…
Fwoo~m! A torrent of red, pink, and purple flames poured out from the top of her bucket, raining down on the nearby bridge surface. Though it burned, the bridge surface suffered no damage from the ethereal inferno.
Hikari's janky attempts to avoid it were met with failure, and she was clipped by a large glob of glowing fire.
'Ahh!' Hikari tensed up, and dashed away. '...Actually, it's not so-'
The fire ebbed through her clothes, going for her skin directly.
'Hot! Hot, hot, hot!'
"A-aaaa~h!" Hikari screamed, rushing for one of the remaining puddles. Flopping in it, she rolled around…
"Dude!"
Osamu tried PK Hydro ß!
Water rained down on Hikari from the shuriken above her, but it failed to extinguish the flames that began engulfing her.
"It-it, ow, ow, ow…" Hikari's eye began to water from the pain…
Hikari tried Healing γ!
The flames on her body went out, but all of her muscles ached to the point of inoperability. Ceasing her thrashing, she sprawled out in the water…
'Fi-fire…'
Osamu gritted his teeth. "This stupid fire won't go the fuck out!"
"It's probably magical fire." Marigold notes.
"Yeah, no shit." Osamu snorts. "S'the worst kind of fire."
"No- I mean, it's probably cursed, purely magical fire, or something along those lines." Marigold elaborates. "It's probably very different from actual fire."
"Okay…" He sighs. "Well, how can we get rid of it!?"
"I-I don't know…" Marigold frowns. "It could require a powerful dispel, for all we know…"
Hikari tried Lifeup γ!
'Th-there…' Hikari sat up, wiping the streams of tears from her eyes. 'I-I thought I was still burning, for awhile, there…'
Looking around herself, she saw the fire slowly die down…
Kisume leaned out of her bucket. "Hahaha~! How'd you like my will-o'-the-wisps!? They're cuddly, aren't they?"
"What the fuck's a will-o'-the-wisp!?" Osamu roars back.
Kisume pauses, and turns towards him. "...They're cute! What do you mean, 'what the fuck'!?"
'Fire isn't cute.' Hikari glares up at her. 'Fire's fire, and fire hurts.'
"It's fire!" Osamu insists. "Screw your fire! Fire can't be cute!"
Kisume flinches, as if insulted. "Wh- you…"
Retreating into her bucket again, another surge of flames powered out of the top of the bucket, pouring down towards Osamu. He grabbed Marigold's arm, attempting to pull her out of the way with him, but she had the same idea, resulting in the two tugging at each other as they barreled away from the flames.
Hikari ran towards the mech, and leaped onto its bucket arms.
...Once it stopped spewing flames, Hikari climbed up to the top, where Kisume was poking her head out…
"Wha~t!? What're you doing-"
Hikari grabs her by the pigtails, and tries to pull her out.
"Ow ow ow ow! Sto~p! Stop, stop! You'll pull my hair out!" Kisume gritted her teeth, fighting Hikari's hands.
"No, this robot's mine, now!" Hikari asserts. She worked her grasp down on Kisume's upper body, and began trying to pull her from the bucket…
She was interrupted by a grab from behind. She tried to swipe back with her gohei, but found herself ripped from the top of the mech, and dropped clumsily down to the bridge.
Thud. 'Ouch…' Hikari landed on her side, and she fought to get back up…
"I won't let you hurt her…" Parsee landed atop the bucket golem. "I-I mean… I kinda wish I could be as uncaring as your friends over there, but I'm not! So I won't let you hurt Kisume!"
Hikari blinked. '...Huh.'
Osamu tried PK Freeze γ!
KaKaKa~...
Parsee froze up- almost literally- since she was being encased in a snowflake pattern of ice crystals. "...Y-you-"
Boom!
A block of ice bounced off of the tall bucket person, and proceeded to slide across the floor. Inside said block of ice was Parsee.
Kisume stared at it, as it slid away. "...P-Parsee-chan…?"
The block of ice didn't respond.
Kisume lowered her head, and the bucket mech raised its bulky arms. "...You idiots hurt Parsee-chan!"
Hikari paled. 'Big bucket arms are big…!'
KraKoo~m!
Hiyori slid across rock, before she came to an abrupt halt-
Bam!
-against the metal bars of a rather unorthodox bridge gate.
"Hmm…?" She looked around, curious.
Bam!
Hikari rolled out of the way, as a large arm slammed down where she used to be.
"Stay sti~ll!" Kisume shouted, feverishly looking across the battlefield. "Let me hit you!"
"What're we, stupid!?" Osamu hollers back.
...Hiyori sighed, and grabbed the bars blocking her way.
Creaa~k..
She stepped through the new hole she bended in the bars, and pushed the solidified Parsee out of the way.
…
Hiyori double-took, noticing Parsee was who was frozen.
The bucket construction stood in them middle of the bridge, and arched back. Then, it began spinning, the arms outstretched and spewing water from their bucket ends.
The other party members were all pushed to the fence along the side of the bridge.
Hiyori stomped through the waves, and began moving towards the bucket mech…
"...Hey, guys! Hiyori's here! Du~de!" Osamu noticed the oni. "Hiyori, over here!"
Hiyori glanced at him, and sighed. "...What abominable form of negotiation got you three into this situation?"
Hikari, who was prancing about in an attempt to weave towards the bucket mech, got blasted by water, and flew towards Hiyori, who caught her.
'Oh. She's back. Rather apt timing, too...'
...Hikari grinned. "The gohei-waving kind?"
Nodding, Hiyori continued towards the mech, much to Hikari's dismay.
'Okay, even if it's warm down here, this much water's going to give me a cold…'
Hiyori focused on the bucket mechanization...
…
"I-I can feel the water through my clothes…" Marigold whined.
"Dude, this robe smells like wet dog when it's soaked. Actually, since yer mother fixed it…" He raised his arm, and took a sniff. "...Yep. Still got that wet dog smell…" He smiles, almost nostalgically.
Hiyori tried PK Starstorm α!
From the underworld's faux sky came a barrage of white and yellow stars. The curtain of bright colors centered in on the bucket creation; at least, the yellow colors did.
Osamu's jaw dropped. "Holy…! It's that shit, again!"
Marigold's eyes widened, and she shielded herself with her arms.
Hikari wiggled helplessly in Hiyori's arms.
The yellow stars all homed in on the knight of buckets, bombarding Kisume.
Ba-Bam-Boom-Boom-Bam!
"Kyaaa~h!"
...White stars rained across the entirety of the bridges's surface, a few pinging Osamu and Marigold.
"Dude- fuck, no!" Osamu overreacted, flailing his arms as two struck him. Marigold simply hid behind her arms.
After the neon yellow nightmare was over, the bucket mech still stood. It was, however, hollowed out.
"...Wooa~h, woah, woah!" It wobbled about, most of its structural integrity lost. "N-no~!"
It fell over, the remaining metal bits caving in on themselves, and lurching over. Kisume's bucket slid from the top, and she hid inside it as it tumbled on the bridge's surface.
The bucket spun to a stop in front of Hiyori, who sat Hikari on her feet beside her.
...Kisume poked her head out. "Pl-please don't hurt me…"
Hiyori kneeled, taking a deep breath after the display of power. "We're not going to hurt you. Tell me, how did this happen?"
"W-well…" Kisume looked unsure. "M-my friend, Parsee-chan, said they were bad people, and… and told me to get rid of them."
Hiyori stared at her dryly. "Parsee, huh…"
"Mmm."
...Hiyori stood. "I suppose a better question might be how you three even got down here."
She turned to Hikari for answers.
...Hikari smiled. "Very carefully."
Hiyori snorts. "I'm sure."
"We came here lookin' for you…" Osamu cautiously walked over, checking the sky for scattered star showers. "If this place is yer home… I mean, s'bigger than all of ours, but…"
"I have pebbles in my boots." Marigold complains. "Wet, wet pebbles. And wet boots."
"...There are buildings down here." Hiyori elaborates. "This entire cavern isn't a single home. It's more like… it's more like how the surface is, to you."
Osamu nodded. "Aa~h. I getcha, I getcha…"
'...Considering she just rejoined us, I can't tell whether or not this trip was pointless.'
The group looked around at their surroundings a bit more, while Hiyori simply folded her arms.
...Hikari turned to Hiyori. "What kind of snacks are there down here?"
Hiyori tilts her head. "Ahh… Not very many you'd be interested in."
'That means there's some.'
Hikari grinned, now determined to get to the bottom of the underground's snack culture. "Let's go look, then. I mean… we came all this way. I'm not going back up empty handed."
...Hiyori sighed. "If you wish. It's quite dangerous down here, I'll-"
"Yea~h, yea~h…" Osamu waved her off. "Dude, it's not that bad, I think. We fought a freakin' spider lady, and some ring ghosts, and like…"
...Hiyori grew increasingly concerned at the descriptions of things they encountered on the way here, but she dismissed the feelings. "I… take it you're all fine, though?"
"Not without a ton of healing magic, we weren't…" Hikari huffs. "I'm already pretty tired, and it's not just from all that rock climbing…"
'I was also reminded how fire felt, today. That really put a dampener on things...'
"...I have somewhere we can stay." Hiyori offered. "It's an alright place."
Marigold grinned. "It can't be any worse than his, surely." She gestures to Osamu...
...Osamu shrugs, and answers honestly. "Yeah, probably."
"Waa~it!" Kisume calls out to them as they begin moving to the other end of the bridge. "P-Parsee-chan told me to stop you!"
Hiyori glances back at her. "...That's unfortunate."
With that, Hiyori bended the metal bars on the other side, making room for herself and the party to leap through.
"You shouldn't believe everything she says." Hiyori advises the bucket girl, before leaping through the bars herself.
Kisume pouts at the party as they leave…
==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====
The party navigates the dark trail that leads towards the oni city…
"That bridge keeper, Parsee, has a penchant for being petty." Hiyori notes to the party. "It would be wise, to avoid the bridge."
"Yeah. We noticed." Marigold states bluntly.
'She was mean. Also...'
"There wasn't really a way to avoid the bridge…" Hikari mentions. "Unless we wanted to risk an infinite drop."
Hiyori paused. "...Oo~h, right. You guys aren't oni. Well… teleport, from now on."
'As if we'd make that climb more than once…'
...
...Hikari decides to comment further. "You can actually cure the jealousy she inflicts with that healing thing."
Hiyori glances at her. "Really?"
"Mmm. You can also cure ethereal flames with it." Hikari elaborates.
...Hiyori's glance lasts, becoming a stare. "Who set you on fire?"
Hikari looks back at the path ahead. "Bucket girl."
…
"You seem alright, so I won't question it." Hiyori accepts that recounting of events, only slightly confused.
As they get closer to the oni city, crashing and smashing becomes the prominent background noise.
"...My home's out here, on the outskirts." Hiyori reassures the party. "We won't have to go through the city… yet. Or at all, actually."
Osamu looks at the city in the distance…
Bam!
A building begins to crumble, spiralling downwards…
Osamu's jaw drops. "...What the fuck?"
"...Yeah, the other oni have been real rowdy lately." Hiyori tilted her head. "I think something's wrong. I also think it would be a bad idea if we were to check, at this rate."
'Buildings are being destroyed. I'm not sure if that's a good excuse to check the place out, or stay away from it. I don't think I can heal being crushed.'
"...So yer tellin' me that's just 'more rowdy than normal'." Osamu grins incredulously.
"Yeah. I mean, it's like this sometimes, but I think some mind control is going on, or something." Hiyori describes.
…
Boo~m!
The building's remains, which had crumbled previously, were launched into the air by a large swath of flames.
"Let's just go inside." Marigold suggests, pale.
They near a rather decrepit looking stone structure, with open, rock windows.
'Um…'
Ba~ng! One of the building fragments shoots off like a meteor into the cave's sky, before striking the roof. Rocks proceed to fall from the roof...
'Yeah, uh...' Hikari gave the violence in the distance a cautious gleam, before moving for Hiyori's front door…
Inside, it was pretty barebones. The floor was rock, as well, but it seemed Hiyori had a bed…
Across the room was a square pool of water, and a square pool of open magma. A rather shoddy looking bookshelf was along one wall of the room, but one shelf was tilted and vastly intruded upon the space of a lower shelf. Torch holsters hung on the walls, but there was little but ash in them.
The embers of the lava pool illuminated the room.
"...Dude, why's your room got freakin' lava in it?" Osamu stares at the liquid…
"...I'm… not sure." Hiyori pauses… "Oh! I wanted to take up smithing, at one point, but I tired of it. I still have the lava in here. It comes in handy, sometimes."
'It'd actually make a good garbage disposal.' Hikari realizes. 'Hmm.'
…
"So, where're the guest beds?" Osamu rubbed his hands together, grinning greedily…
Hiyori blinked.
…
Marigold sighed.
…
"There are none." Hiyori bluntly puts it.
…
"Yeah. I'm just gonna go drown myself in that pool of water." Osamu cheerfully smiles, and begins marching towards it.
'Oh, boy…'
==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====
END OF CHAPTER 19
Protagonist: Hikari Hakurei, Disciple of Paradise
-Inventory-
Weapon: Miracle Gohei - Ability to whack stuff really hard. Amplifies whacking power, too! Able to deal magical damage. Adds an increased chance to deal critical hits.
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. Now with less sideboob!
Misc: Royal Red Ribbon - A ribbon made with rich materials, with a floral pattern.
-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, ß - A bright flash that distributes very random status effects to enemies. Usually makes people cry. Higher tiers increase chances, and introduce possibilities of fainting or dispel.
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, ß - Halves damage the target takes. Only works against physical attacks, and enough strikes, or powerful strikes, will dispel it. Higher tier turns it into a power-shield that protects even better and even reflects a fraction of protected damage.
Lifeup α, ß, γ - Heals target a little. Higher tiers heal more grievous wounds, like bone fractures.
Healing α, ß, γ - Heals basic status ailments. Higher tiers can cure more dire effects, like burning alive.
Teleport α - Allows instant transport to the general location of an area remembered by oneself or one's party members. Requires a long, fast run-up to execute, however.
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: Dated Village Magician Robes - An old robe from the days when the village respected the medium of magic. Now actually looks navy blue, instead of black!
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, γ - 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, γ - 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, Σ - Halves damage from magical and psychic attacks. Thunder spells fry it instantly, and harder blows dispel it. Second tier applies basic shield to entire party at higher mana expense.
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.
Defense Down α - Throw the enemy off their game. Makes them slightly more vulnerable to physical attacks.
β-β-β-β
Inventor: Marigold Knowledge, the Tri-Magi Love Child
-Inventory-
Weapon: Microwave Gun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Constructed with a controlled flame crystal and metal parts, it fires a beam of sustained microwave energy that cooks biological foes alive. Fire-elemental at its core, it's also very inefficient against machines.
Arms: Nothing
Body: Custom Adventure Dress - A custom dress made by Alice. Provides slight defense against magical and psychic attacks. Now allows freer movement with a shorter skirt, and a more flexible material.
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.
Scotch Tape - Transparent adhesive from the outside world. Weak, but handy!
Deck of Cards - Allows Marigold to play Strip Poker with the party. Just kidding… or am I?
Shield Killer - Electrical device used to subdue harassers. Has settings ranging from Tickle Torture to Arse Blaster. Fires electrical projectiles, of unknown power.
Spectrum Shotgun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Filled with foil chip bags to conduct the mana, and it is transmitted into a wind stone. Upgraded to draw mana from a simple wooden block filled with immense magic reserves, giving it virtually unlimited ammo. The addition of a battery and a prism allow it to fire seven rainbow colored beams at a wide spread, which deal non-elemental damage. Firing long enough allows them to focus and deal incredible damage, at the cost of insane recoil and instability.
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.
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.
Charm of Sleep - Grants immunity to sleep while equipped. Can be equipped to Arms or Misc.
-Skills-
Is A Pesky Plumber - From the mushroom kingdom!
And My Da~d Knows Her - If he actually did, I'd shit myself.
Subscribed to Amazon Prime - Actually, can you order guns off Amazon?
Sendable by Snail Mail - Little boxes can be cuddly, too…
Headmaster Headthwasher - Boosh! Ho ho!
β-β-β-β
Fighter: Hiyori Hashimoto, the Buddhist Oni
-Inventory-
Weapon: Fisticuffs!
Arms: Shackle of Devas - The first of the four treasures held by the Devas of the Mountain. Grants immunity to sleep-inducing magic. Grants fifty percent resistance to wind and thunder magic.
Body: Runed Gi - Enchanted to not get blown away by battle damage.
Misc: Nothing
-Skills-
PK Starstorm α - Summons forth the stars from the night's sky to rain down upon enemies. Hits all enemies, and deals high magical damage, at the cost of being highly mentally taxing. Can hit allies if they're in the effective area, as the white stars don't have homing properties.
PK Fire α, ß - Creates an igniting blast of flames at the target's location. Most impact comes with higher tiers.
PK Freeze α, β, γ - Generates ice crystals at the target's location. Medium damage and effect; may freeze some targets, especially wet ones.
Shield α, ß, Σ - Halves damage the target takes. Only works against physical attacks, and enough strikes, or powerful strikes, will dispel it. Higher tier turns it into a power-shield that protects even better and even reflects a fraction of protected damage. Highest tier applies a basic shield to the entire party.
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.
Teleport α, ß - Allows instant transport to the general location of an area remembered by oneself or one's party members. Requires a long, fast run-up to execute, however. Higher tier is largely automatic and requires little room to execute.
Martial Arts - Skilled in hand-to-hand combat.
β-β-β-β
Author's Note:
civ 5 made chapter take longer than it shoulda :3
i consider it a vacation basically
trying ta get back into my grove of 5 k words a day-ish again; although, i really should write more when i feel like it vs when i sorta half-feel like it; i might get more done that way, i dunno
i'd ask for feedback on my writing quality but we BOTH KNOW DAT AIN'T HAPPENIN'.
in other news, undergrou~nd! expect to see PISSED OFF GHOSTS and other things
kinda excited to write me some SATORI at some point, ye
as always, see you all next time!