Alice was in an unusually good mood. As she went from market stall to market stall purchasing food, she had a lightness to her step.
Shanghai was with her, the weather was nice, and she'd made a new friend after who knows how long. Said new friend had called her 'endearing' and 'cute' too...
It could be said that she practically radiated as she loaded up on supplies.
Alice had just finished securing a particularly good deal on apples when a little human girl ran up to her with stars in her eyes.
"Whoa! Who are you? Are those dolls?"
Alice, indulging the child's curiosity, answered simply. "My name is Alice, and yes these are my dolls. What's your name, little one?"
"Wow, they are so beautiful! I'm Sachi!"
"Thank you, Sachi. I made them myself."
Just then, the child's mother approached. "Oh Sachi, there you are! What have I told you about running off by yourself!?" She appeared to sigh in relief. "I'm sorry if she's bothering you, miss."
Alice waved it off. "It's quite alright. She was asking about my dolls. I cannot fault her for being curious."
"Can you make one for me?" Sachi blurted out.
The child's mother turned to her. "Oh honey, I'm sure she doesn't have time for that. Look at how busy she is with shopping."
"Perhaps… I could find the time to do that. I'm a dollmaker by trade."
"You wouldn't mind doing that for her?"
"Well, it would not be finished today, and, naturally, it would not be free, but I could craft a doll for her."
The woman observed the quality of Alice's dolls. "Will it be expensive? I'm not sure we have the money for that."
Again, Alice brushed off the concern. "We can discuss payment later. I would never ask for more than you are able to afford."
"Well, alright. As long as it's no trouble."
"Yay! A doll!"
Alice knelt down to the girl's height. "Now, would you like the doll to look like you, or did you have another style in mind?"
"Ooo! Look like me! Look like me!"
"Very well." Alice took note of the girl's distinctive features. This included eye color, hair style, and outfit.
Once she was done, she stood back up. "As I said previously, it will take some time to make the doll. If you would like to meet back at this market in three days, I should have it ready for you."
"Wow! I can't wait!"
The woman smiled. "Thank you. I'm sure she'll love it." Then, she takes her child's hand. "Come on, let's go get that next delivery."
And with that, they were gone, leaving Alice and her dolls standing alone. She smiled to herself. It'd been a while since someone had commissioned a doll from her. Ideas for the design had already started forming in her mind.
~~~~~~Tradition's End~~~~~~
The sun was beginning to set when a thought popped into Eric's head. Y'know, I haven't talked to Keine in a while.
He'd been contemplating and drafting interview questions for a solid hour. He stood up from his desk.
A visit to Keine's would be a good excuse to stretch his legs. Heck, she might even have some info on his newest (and only) applicant.
Yep, that's what I'm gonna do.
And so, Eric stepped out of his cafe and set off in the direction of Keine's schoolhouse.
It wasn't the only school in the village anymore. Population growth saw to that. However, it was still the closest one to the center of town, and it was still the only one that would accept half-youkai and full youkai kids.
Oh, Keine. She probably had the greatest sense of responsibility in Gensokyo: teacher of schoolchildren, protector of the village, de facto mediator of villager/youkai relations, and helpful integrator of outsiders.
Eric had her to thank for teaching him about Gensokyo when he first arrived. She'd taught him the rules of this world, helped him settle in, and even pointed him to the books of Suzunaan and the Kirisame Magic Shop when he'd inquired about learning magic.
His walking route brought him past the Human Village's dragon statue. Its eyes were glowing white, promising another day of clear skies tomorrow. They'd had quite a streak of sunny weather lately. It... kind of felt like it should have been at least a little rainier.
Not that he would mind a good rain. It just made the indoors cozier.
Soon enough, he arrived at his destination. There wasn't much to the building. It was basically just one big classroom.
This time of day, school was already over.
Hopefully she's still here.
He knocked. When he heard a, "Come in," he entered.
Keine Kamishirasawa sat at her desk, papers in hand. She looked over at Eric and said, "Oh, Eric. Welcome. What brings you here today?"
"I would like to enroll my child in your class," he said, completely deadpan.
"...What!? You have a child now? I… was not aware of this development." Surprise was etched on her face.
After only a moment, a smile crept onto Eric's face and he chuckled. "Heh, I'm kidding. I just came to chat. Do you have the time?"
Keine stared at him for a second before letting out a deep sigh. "I'm afraid I will never get used to your attempts at humor…" She stands up from her desk with stretch. "I was finishing up looking over these assignments, but I suppose I have some time to spare. What would you like to discuss?"
They took a minute to catch each other up on what's been happening in their lives.
"This 'Alice' you mentioned… she's Alice Margatroid of the Forest of Magic, yes?"
"Yup, that's her."
"We've met a few times. She seems to have a good head on her shoulders, but I've never known her to seek out companionship. Well, besides the young Kirisame on occasion."
"Huh, is that so? I guess you'd probably have to be more of an isolationist to live out in the Forest..."
Keine hummed in thought, then spoke. "As your elder, I recommend that you indulge in her import of friendship. She may be a loner, but I feel as though it is not truly by choice."
…wonder what she means by that. "Already planning on it."
Keine looked satisfied at that. "Good."
A beat passed. "Oh, I did have something to ask you. Do you know about someone named Sekibanki? She's got red eyes, red hair, and this big, red cape."
She nodded plainly. "Yes, I know of her. She's a youkai villager who mostly keeps to herself. She styles herself after a dullahan, though I'm not sure exactly what species of youkai she is. You see, head-displacing youkai are all very closely related…"
"Alright, but do you know what she's like... like personally?
"Not intimately. Why do you ask?"
Eric rubbed the back of his head. "Well, I've finally gotten around to hiring an employee for Tradition's End, and she is the first one to apply. I'm interviewing her tomorrow, but I wanted to see if there was anything you knew that I should be worried about."
"From what I've gathered, she is also a bit of a loner. She frightens people once in a while, such is the nature of a youkai who lives on fear." She clears her throat. "Having said that, she seems to respect the rules of the village and causes little trouble within its gates. The biggest problem she ever gave us was during the Incident involving the Miracle Mallet."
Eric remembered reading about that Incident. Even docile youkai were rowdy with their newfound power. He'd stayed near his cafe during the whole thing, but he did recall seeing a lot of danmaku over the Village.
"Alright, cool. Glad she's not some serial killer or something."
Keine was a little shocked at the absurdity of the statement. "Well I should certainly hope not!"
*knock knock*
There was a light knocking at the door. "Moooom, how much longer is it gonna take? I'm hungryyy…"
The door slid open to reveal a rather young looking girl. Based on the wings and horns, she was a youkai, or at least half-youkai. Her white and blue hair was oddly similar to Keine's, and she wore a black, blue, and white dress.
Upon seeing another person besides Keine in the room, she became immediately more shy. "Oh, umm… hi…"
Eric turned to Keine with an inscrutable look. "Mom?"
Keine's face grew slightly red. "Tokiko, sweetie, I'll be just another minute. I was just catching up with a friend."
"Okay…" Tokiko slid the door back closed.
"You have a child now? ...I was not aware of this development." Eric repeated her earlier words with a wide smile.
Keine was a little flustered, but quickly recovered. "Yes, well… Her name is Tokiko and she is very young. Not even a decade old."
"And she is your child?"
"Adopted child," Keine emphasized. "And she is wonderful. Very curious and naturally drawn to books. She had made a habit of frequenting the area around Kourindou and-"
"You and Rinnosuke adopted her."
"...There is a bit more nuance to it than that, but yes. I wanted to give her a proper family and upbringing, and Rinnosuke… Well, Tokiko took to him quickly. Only a few months later and those two are thick as thieves."
"Well, I'm happy for you, Keine. And Tokiko, too. Honestly, that little one is in great hands." After a beat, he added, "Speaking of Rinnosuke, how are things between you and him going?"
"Very well. As always, his priorities are…unique, but I love him all the same."
"Any chance for a biological child in the near future?" Eric grinned as he's flustered Keine once again. "Nah, I'm just kidding."
Keine looked away with a hmph. "When that time comes, you will be among the first dozen to know."
For all the help she has provided to outsiders over the years, only a few of them still kept regular contact with her or considered her a friend. Eric had made it a point to be one of them.
"Thank you, it's an honor," he said semi-dramatically before glancing at the door. "Welp, I should probably be on my way. I've taken up enough of your time, and it sounds like you've got a hungry child waiting for you."
Keine sighed. "Yes, I suppose it is almost dinnertime. It was good to catch up with you. Take care of yourself."
A beat passed before she added, "You… may find yourself in my position soon enough, and when that happens, I'll be the one to tease you about it."
As Eric left the schoolhouse (and accidentally brushed past Tokiko who was right outside the door), he considered Keine's words.
I hope she's right. I'd… like a family of my own… one of these days…
~~~~~~Tradition's End~~~~~~
Hmmm… maybe I should have given her a more specific time?
Eric glanced out of the window again, thoughts wandering as he waited for his prospective hire to show up.
I know I said 'tomorrow morning,' but as it turns out, 'morning' is a pretty broad time frame.
He leaned back in the cushioned booth he was seated at. Between him and the empty seat in front of him sat two empty coffee mugs and a pot of fresh coffee. Good at remembering his regulars' orders, he made sure it was Sekibanki's go-to blend.
I hope she shows up sooner rather than later…
After this, there were errands to run and shopping to do. Today was less of a day off for Eric and more so a chance to catch up on miscellaneous things that needed to be done.
He slumped over and rested his head in his hand as he once again stared out through the window, watching the villagers as they walked to and fro.
The Human Village was always active. Contrary to what its name implied, it was more of a city, really. It was several times larger than what he'd consider a village on the outside. In that sense, it was like the small cities he was familiar with.
However, the atmosphere was far different. More laid-back. More relaxed. There were no sirens and no traffic jams. The air was cleaner and the people were friendlier. For all the miscellaneous technology scattered about, modern comforts were largely considered curiosities and nothing more.
The lack of nihilistic pessimism was refreshing, and most people's ambitions were largely limited to creating a good life for themselves and the people they cared about.
Sure, there were always bad apples, and the number of agitators seemed to be growing lately, but they were still few and far between.
If someone had told him that he'd find life more fulfilling in what amounted to a mythical nature preserve, he would have thought they were absolutely crazy.
…Gensokyo had a way of making the unexpected happen. Eric found that life was simpler here, and he loved that part about it. It was just a matter of learning to coexist with the youkai.
And not get yourself killed.
Knock-Knock-Knock
Eric was snapped out of his thoughts by a solid knock on the glass of the front door. From his view through the window, he could see a strikingly red head of hair.
Ah, looks like it's her!
He hopped out of his seat and hurried over to the door, unlocking it and ushering in his prospective employee with a friendly, "Hello! Come on in!"
Sekibanki, for her part, offered a simple, "Hey," as she stepped inside.
The beginning of the interview started off simply enough. Eric had prepared a form for her to fill in basic information that included name, age, species, relevant work experience, etc. While she did that, he poured himself a cup of coffee.
"Coffee?" he offered.
"Sure. Thanks." she answered.
The paper did not take long to fill out, and while Eric checked it over, Sekibanki sipped on her drink.
"This is good coffee."
"Hmm? Oh, yeah. It's what you usually get, right?"
Another sip, and a look of contemplation. Then, furrowed brows.
"Tastes like it. How do you remember something like that?"
"It just... sort of comes with the job. I try to remember what my regulars like to order."
"Oh… cool." She shifted in her seat.
Eric had just finished reading through her answers, but he found himself rereading a couple of them. One in particular he squinted at.
"Alright," he began as he set the paper back on the table. "Let's go ahead and start the 'interview' portion of this interview. I do, uh, have a few questions to ask."
"Ok…what do you want to know?" Sekibanki fidgeted, seemingly uncomfortable at the prospect of further scrutiny.
Eric made eye contact. "I'd like to ask my biggest question first, if that's alright. See, on your form here, you wrote that your species is 'human.' Right?"
Sekibanki visibly flinched. "Uh, yeah, that's right."
"Well, I did run a, uh, 'background check' with Keine yesterday…"
Her eyes widened. Caught red handed.
"...and she said you were a youkai. So, uh, why did you write human?"
Sekibanki broke eye contact. She shrunk into her seat as she looked away. He didn't outright say it, but she felt the implication of the question clearly. 'Why did you lie to me?'
She remained silent, so Eric continued. "It's… not really any of my business, I guess. But, it's... hard to place my trust in someone if they, uh, can't be truthful with me."
Sekibanki looked conflicted. Eventually, she mumbled something.
"I, uh, couldn't hear you. Come again?"
"I thought you wouldn't hire me if I was a youkai… That's… why I lied…" Her voice was quiet.
Oh. "I… see. Um- um, you don't have to worry about that. I'm not, uh, discriminatory like that."
Sekibanki straightened a little at that, but still looked sort of ashamed.
It's probably a touchy subject… Eric rubbed the back of his head. "Like I said, it's probably not any of my business, but… why did you think that?"
There was a semi-long pause before she responded. "It's happened before."
Oh.
Sekibanki kept her eyes fixed on the coffee cup in her hands. "I've been fired from jobs after the owners found out I wasn't human, even if I was long-term. Most people 'round here don't want a youkai working for them."
"You didn't tell them to begin with?"
She sipped her coffee. "They never asked. And it never really came up. It's just… easier if I let everyone think I'm a human instead of a rokurokubi."
"Is… that why you wear that big cape? So they can't tell that you're a youkai?" Eric ventured.
She gripped the collar of said cape. "...Yeah. They can't tell until they see me with my head off."
Eric cleared his throat. "Well, uh, I promise that this won't affect your application."
Sekibanki looked up, confused. "What? But I lied to you."
"You had a good reason. I'm choosing to think of it as a simple mistake. I mean, you've been honest about everything else, right?"
She seemed astonished that he was willing to look past this so easily. "Yeah? I have? I mean, yeah I have."
"Great! Then let's move on to your work experience. I can see here that you've had a lot of previous jobs, including one at a restaurant. Could you go into a little more detail on that?"
~~~~~~Tradition's End~~~~~~
With a few more swings of her hammer, the nail was driven into the tree, affixing a straw doll to it. The ritual probably wouldn't kill the guy from yesterday, but it should at least make him unlucky for a while.
Alice stepped back and let out a contented sigh. It was going to be a lovely day.
…
Aside from taking care of the garden, there was very little yard work to do, so she'd finished her morning routine more quickly than usual.
She had no errands to run, and there were no plans to go anywhere today.
And so, a short time later, Alice found herself in her workshop.
She was in her element.
She sat at a wide table, one that held various supplies and pieces of equipment. There was… a lot of it, but it was all necessary for the art of doll making.
As she sat there, Alice planned for what would be the next several hours.
There were three dolls in particular that were on her schedule today. She had prepared and enchanted the bodies the night before, so today was all about making them come to life.
The first was to be a kamikaze doll. This one was more of a warm-up, really. And, with how quickly some of her spell cards ate through her supply, she found that she could never have enough kamikaze dolls prepared.
The second was to be for a client. She did give her word to that little Village girl, after all.
And the third… The third doll was to be a special project; part of a certain hobby of hers. This one would require the most time. It had to be perfect.
Alice turned her head towards her little floating assistant. "We'll give it our all, won't we Shanghai?"
Said doll nodded her head.
It was strange. Despite all the scans and tests she'd run on Shanghai after she'd gotten home yesterday, she hadn't found anything different about the doll. All the parameters were the same as she'd remembered them being.
On top of that, Shanghai had yet to exhibit any signs of increased autonomy. At least, not anywhere near the level that Eric had suggested.
…Perhaps Patchouli would have a couple suggestions on how to proceed…
But now was not the time for that. Alice smiled at Shanghai.
"I'm counting on you!"
~~~~~~Tradition's End~~~~~~
"You're hired."
After the awkward start, the rest of the interview had gone well. Sekibanki had relevant experience and open availability. On top of that, Eric just had a good feeling about her.
There was a decent person underneath that huge cape, he was certain.
He slid a paper across the table to her. It was filled with relevant job information.
"Are you available to start tomorrow?"
"Yeah, I can." Sekibanki was more relaxed now, relieved that she'd gotten the job.
"Good to hear! I'll get you trained up in no time." He folded his arms on the table. "Now, do you have any questions for me?"
She did have a few questions of her own to ask. One in particular had to do with the uniform.
"Oh, there is no uniform, really. Um, like, what you're wearing right now would be fine. Although, I would recommend an apron of some kind. You'll be handling food and drink, after all."
It looked like she wanted further clarification, so he smiled and added, "Yes, you can wear the cape."
"Thanks."
…
With the interview wrapped up, Eric bid Sekibanki farewell.
He had an employee now. He actually had an employee! Oh, he was full of anticipation for tomorrow.
The cafe owner took a few minutes to relax before standing up from his seat.
There was still much to do today. Better to get it done sooner rather than later.
As Eric stepped out of Tradition's End and headed towards the nearest market, he spotted Sekibanki again just down the street.
A girl with turquoise hair and a massive purple umbrella was gesturing animatedly to her. Then, they both laughed. Eric grinned to himself as he walked past them.
He was glad she had friends.
~~~~~~Tradition's End~~~~~~
Alice sat back in her chair and stretched. It was late afternoon, and she had just put the finishing touches on her third and final doll. With a contented smile and Shanghai resting atop her head, she gazed upon the fruits of her labor.
A quick wave of the hand caused the three dolls to stir. In no time at all, they stood at attention on Alice's work table.
The first doll, one with bright blonde hair and the scent of gunpowder, floated off towards the shelves that were filled with others of its kind. It nestled itself in between two nearly identical dolls before it stopped moving.
The second doll, this one with short black hair and a plain pink kimono, drifted quietly into a basket that sat atop another, smaller table.
The third doll… this one she gave a closer inspection. She had given it a slightly more masculine figure than her other dolls. Elbow-length brown hair was tied into a low ponytail, and a small pair of glasses were fixed upon its face. Underneath the glasses, brown eyes gleamed. A relatively plain set of dark gray clothes completed the look.
It was her intention to create a doll that looked like Eric, and it was a job well done.
Satisfied, Alice scooped up the Eric doll and made her way to her bedroom. A large black trunk sat at the foot of her bed. She opened it.
Various dolls occupied the trunk. Red and white, black and white, yellow and blue, lavender and lilac, silver and blue, and more. Alice placed the brown and gray doll she held into the trunk, between the doll versions of herself and Marisa.
Hmm, perhaps she would practice her puppetry later tonight. She had a few ideas that could make for a compelling story…
~~~~~~Author's Notes~~~~~~
Alriiiiiight, from this point on, the time starts to move a just little faster, and the beginning of some plot starts to happen.
At this point in time, Alice has yet to start putting on puppet shows or selling her crafts in the village.
Keine x Rinnosuke with Tokiko child... I mean come on. They look like a family. And that makes Mokou the really cool aunt.
...A sizable minority of the Village really does not like youkai. This goes beyond just being scared of them into full on hatred. This kinda sucks for Sekibanki and others.
I'm not saying "Aw, the youkai have done absolutely nothing to deserve this uwu." I'm just saying that not all of them are necessarily bad people.
...Canonically, Alice nails straw dolls to trees for 'research purposes.' We all enjoy a nice revenge ritual, don't we?
Also canonically, she fills certain dolls with gunpower so that they blow up during fights.
...For real though, Eric should open a side business where he lets youkai talk about their problems. He'd be good at it.
Thanks for reading! Have a great day!
~~~~~~Reviews~~~~~~
Shellyori: It should end up as a longfic~ I've got enough ideas already kind of hashed out for the immediate future that should get me up to 50K+ words, and there are more possibilities beyond that. Whether I can execute it well is a different story ;). Glad you're enjoying the characters and word choice so far! Thank you for your review!
fajar867: Thank you! I'll see this thing through to the end.
The Mob Reader: Thanks! I was hoping that some people would find their interactions cute and, dare I say it, wholesome.
~~~~~~Extra Writer Thoughts~~~~~~
I'm a couple chapters ahead right now. After I finish chunks of the story, I've been kinda glancing at Chords of Paradise, due to it being a similar subject matter and all. Eric and Tadashi... While both are OCs who have a pairing with Alice, they have different backstories and overarching goals. Also, um, *SPOILER* one is human and one is not *SPOILER*. That, and the plot is just plain different.
The thing is... I'll brainstorm and think 'Hey that's a cool detail or way to describe something.' Then, I'll write it out so that I can fit it into the story later when its relevant. Then, I might skim Chords of Paradise for a little inspiration and sometimes it's like 'oh fuck they had this in there too.' and 'oh shit, is that line of text too similar?'
...'Wouldn't it be neat if Alice and Remilia interacted? …wait a second...oh no...' Has some of this stuff just been rattling around in my brain ever since I read Chords a few years back?
IDK, man. It's like, do I not include something that I think will make the story greater because a somewhat similar plot point or quirky mythical thing has come up before? I ain't exactly looking to be stealing people's thunder, ya know?
I guess in fanfiction, there really are only so many neat ways to frame a story around certain characters and circumstances while still trying to keep canon influences. Similar lines of thought can manifest when given a vaguely similar mold.