Maidens of the Kaleidoscope

~Hakurei Shrine~ => Patchouli's Scarlet Library => Topic started by: Nenekonesha on January 10, 2013, 03:53:25 PM

Title: Marisa and Things-Not-About-Her-So-They-Are-Not-Important!
Post by: Nenekonesha on January 10, 2013, 03:53:25 PM

CHAPTER 1
ARRIVAL

Something is dead wrong. Oh sure, you might think I'm exaggerating a little, but hey, it's not that I really care. You could say, "Oh here's someone who loves to exaggerate things" and proceed to laugh, but I still wouldn't care. You might even fall from your chair, laughing your ass off while rolling on the floor like an idiot. On the other hand, if you encounter something entirely similar to this, I might just stand up and applaud you.

Okay. I'm not in my bed. I just woke up, and found myself in the middle of a forest. Well, the forest part isn't really strange since I usually live inside one, but the "waking-up-in-the-middle-of-the" is not really ideal. Did I sleepwalk? If I did, it has no precedence. They say that eating weird stuff before going to bed causes sleep talking, sleep walking, and sleep, but that's beside the point. I couldn't have possibly walked all the way here from my house, right? I know my forest like the back of my hand, and I know for sure that the forest around me is new and unfamiliar.

I am not in my sleeping clothes, so someone probably took the time to change me into my travelling dress while I was asleep. I certainly hope that my chastity wasn't taken during that time. Oh, is that my hat and broom? How the heck did somebody get those from my locked broom locker? Er...that was a bad pun.

Well, moping around here certainly won't help.

Anyway, I am in the middle of a dirt path inside a forest. I'm pretty sure that I was asleep on my cozy bed inside my house a few hours ago. Someone is certainly playing pranks on me. Alice? Patchouli? Reimu? Kourin? Fairies? The Goddess of Mushrooms? Certainly, the list of people who would do such a thing to me is endless. It's the price of being popular.

The sun had already risen, and judging by its position, it is a few hours late for breakfast. I could feel my stomach growling. Seeing that I have nothing else better to do, I picked up my broom, dusted my skirt, and started walking down the path, hoping to find a house made out of bread, cakes, and other sugary stuff.

As my luck would have it, I saw light beyond the tree line just ahead of me. I broke into a sprint and found myself out of the trees in a flash. What I saw ahead astounded me.

Is...this Gensokyo?

I was looking at a hilly meadow overlooking a...city? A walled city at that. Well, the Human Village did have walls around it, but this city is way bigger than the village. The path continued to wound down across the hills towards the city. The breezy upwind brought tasty smells, and my gut tells me that I should get more than just smells if I hurry up.

"Hey, big bro, looks like we have an early catch today!"

"Give us all your money, girl!"

The sleazy voices of two badly dressed men arrested my attention. They stood ahead of the dirt path, blocking the way downhill. They were skinny, and they were dressed in leather tunics and breeches. Ew, talk about bad fashion. They brandished their sharp knives in my general direction, and their intention was pretty clear. Well, time to add some shiny stuff in my collec--

Huh? Where is it? Oh don't tell me--

One of the bandits lunged quickly, and I hastily blocked the lunge with my broom. The other bandit closed in while I was busy warding off his companion. He lunged, but a few quick steps brought me beside him, and I tripped one of his legs. He crashed clumsily towards his partner and tumbled downhill.

Well, that was easy. They scrambled to recompose themselves, and I decided that it is the best time to bug out. I hopped onto my broom and kicked the dust. I lurched up into the air...

...and landed flat on the ground like a rock. Or a turkey who wanted to fly. Ow! I landed on my broom!

"Okay, no more jerking around, girl." I felt cold steel on my neck. One of the men was behind me, holding a knife at my throat. His companion was in front of me, grinning. I was pulled up to stand, and in my gut, knew that I was in trouble. I'm running out of options. Time to bring out the big guns.

"Hey, look over there!" I pointed at the sky, extending an arm as if in worship, as if my life and love depended on it. It was delivered with utter devotion, awe, and surprise. It was worth an acting award at least.

"Wha-" The idiot behind me fell for it. I poked out his eyeballs and he dropped his knife in pain. Catching it between the fingers of my other hand, I leaned back, causing him to lose his balance. Then with a swift kick, I sent the other guy rolling on the floor, clutching his manhood like his future depended on it.

Like a blaze of lightning, I picked his knife, my broom, and my hat, and ran as quick as my earlier simile. Hooray, free knives! I bet I can sell these to Kourin later.

"Hey, get back here!" I heard one of them scream. "Yer gonna pay fer that!"

"Bro, she took our knives!" said the other.

Oh crap, they're still after me. It sucks being so popular with men. I know that a fragile flower like me can incite lust of base men. Oh woe is me! Such a sinful seductress I be~

Anyway, I can't fly, I don't have my hakkero, and I probably can't outrun them. I'm hungry, and my legs feel like lead. I could probably stab their faces with knives, but I can't afford to have blood staining my dress. I mean, if the city watch notices fresh blood stains on me...I probably won't be eating nice food inside the city. I could probably bludgeon them with my broom, but I don't want to break it against their ugly heads.

Ah, who am I kidding? I'm getting delirious because of hunger. I wonder if I have something useful...

I dug my free hand inside my dress pocket (I was carrying my broom and the two knives on the other), and drew out a dark blue glass flask. There was a note pasted around it.

"Marisa's Special 23

Use this potion for any nines! Named after the ninth prime, very effective at deterring any deterrents who like to deter you from deterring anyone! Shake violently, say the magic word, and throw at your target for a nice blast of love!

DISCLAIMER: Kirisame Marisa will not be responsible for any damage to property, lives, pets, and ideals incurred due to use of this product.

Made from 100% natural ingredients.
Environment friendly."

Why am I carrying this inside my dress? The plot thickens. But who cares about that, let's bring out the boom-boom!

Following the instructions (which were mine); I shook the bottle violently, and then said the activation spell. Then I lobbed the bottle over my shoulder, hitting the ground a few feet ahead of my admirers.

The flask broke as it hit the ground and I immediately covered my eyes with my hand. There was a bright flash of light, followed by the shrieks of the unfortunate men behind me. The force of the blast nearly made me lose my balance, but I managed to maintain my footing somehow. I looked back to survey the destruction of my 23 and saw dust and debris which filled the air. When everything settled down a minute later, I saw the two men lying the ground beside a medium-sized crater of dirt and grass. The remnants of my 23's big debut.

I approached them, and kicked their faces a little to see if they're still alive.

"Ugh..."

Yep. Still alive. Call me anything, but I'm not a murderer. Or a manslaughterer, since it was arguably in self-defense.

I spotted a leather pouch tucked inside one of the men's breeches. I pulled it out and was rewarded with a jingling sound. I opened it and saw that it was filled with copper and silver coins. Shiny. They didn't look anything like Gensokyo's currency though. So, if I rule out the possibility that these two idiots are some kind of coin collectors, I'm probably not in Gensokyo. Which means...?

I searched the other guy, still unconscious, and found another leather pouch. It was heavier, and opening it, I saw a lot of silver coins and a few gold coins. I like them shinies. Well, I'll consider these coins as payment for my 23, which is a lot more expensive than what they can pay me anyway.

After gleaning my rightful reward from the entire encounter, I left the scene a potion poorer, two daggers richer, and two money pouches heavier. Awesome. I like this place already. I put away the knives inside my dress pocket, thinking of selling them somewhere to add to my wealth.

I wonder where my hakkero went though. Did I leave it behind? No, only my broom and hat were with me when I woke up. My magic doesn't seem to be working either, and I have the flight abilities of a rock falling at terminal velocity. Maybe I should keep one of the knives...it would be awesome if I could throw it like Sakuya. Thunk-thunk, badam, you're dead. WRRRRYYYY.

Ahem, anyway, I don't think my broom is of any use at all. I don't plan on ditching it though, it's a great broom. I love my broom, as much as I love my hat. And shiny things.

Half an hour later, I arrived at the towering city gates, starving. I bet I could eat a cow right now, and some chickens, and preferably with some good strong beer, if possible. Somewhere cheap would be great.

The gate was manned by two guards who inspected everyone passing through. There was a short line, and I immediately fell behind a farmer's cart filled with apples. Rosy, shiny apples...it wouldn't hurt if I grab one right? I'll just pay for it if somebody notices, he-he~

Luckily for me, I was the last one on the line, and the farmer driving the cart was too busy feeding his horses to notice my claim on his apples. I took two apples and bit into the juicy, luscious fruit. Delicious.

The guards were lazy and inattentive, so I managed to get past the gate without much trouble. Didn't even ask why I was carrying a broom. They only asked for my name and manner of business which I simply stated:

"Kirisame Marisa, sightseeing." The guard nodded and waved at me to enter. Wow, the security here makes me feel negative twenty times safer.

"Welcome to the city of Mimic, please enjoy your stay," the guard said drowsily. "Next."

What a lousy name for a city. Mimic? I better be careful with boxes around these parts then, waha~

Anyway, the fruit snack I had earlier did little to quell my hunger. I asked for directions from the guard and obtained a city guide. It looked like a travel catalog, with some designated sights and venues to check out for the common traveler. I entered the city and found myself at a busy avenue, which I suppose is the market district of the city.

...wait a minute. How the crap did I just understand what the guard just said earlier? I looked at the catalog. It wasn't written in Japanese; instead they seem to be made out of weird symbols and characters that some nine-year old probably made up. However, if I don't look too closely, the symbols made sense. I could understand them. I could read the words, sentences, paragraphs. But if I think about it too much, they seem to lose meaning and revert back into being just symbols.

Awesome. I suddenly gained the ability to become a universal translator! ...or something along those lines. I wonder if I can speak in fluent English...

...growl...

Man, I'm still hungry. I checked the catalog for restaurants, food stalls or anywhere I can get some proper meal. I spotted a nearby resto which was only a few blocks away. I walked as I read the catalog, dodging people without lifting my eyes from the catalog. This is way easier than dodging danmaku--

"WAH!"

Someone crashed into me as I took the next corner (according to the catalog's instructions), and I fell down on the ground with a loud thud. Ouch.

I heard a shrill, indignante, and a little familiar, voice "Hey, watch where you're going!" I looked at the person who crashed into me, and I felt my jaw drop. About three inches, but I wasn't sure if that was even possible.

She was dressed in shapeless rags; grease smeared her arms, legs, and face. She clutched a large loaf of bread possessively as she regained her footing. She was barefoot.

She looked like a beggar, and her hair was unkempt, and looked like it wasn't washed for days. But I couldn't be mistaken. I've seen her many times before, many times more than I could have wanted.

It was Alice. Or at least, someone who looked like her.

"THIEF!" Shouts came from the street ahead, and I saw a woman running towards us, waving a rolling pin.

"Gah, they won't give up," said Alice. Without another word, she lit up like a deer and bounded for the busy avenue and vanished into the crowd.

What in the name of--

"Hey, you alright?" asked the woman. She offered me a hand to help me stand up. "You should check your things, that girl might have picked you."

I felt for my pocket. The two pouches I gleaned from the bandits earlier were gone. Whoa, she's fast with her hands. Too bad I already replaced the coins with pebbles. The coins are already inside my own wallet, which I always hide close to my heart where no one can reach it, except for me. I wish I could see the look on her face though, hah! Call me a thief/collector, but I assure you, I'm a paranoid thief/collector, waha~

"Anyway, she's gone now," said the woman. "What are the city guards doing? Thieves are everywhere these days. I can't even run a good day of business without losing some bread to those no-good pilferers."

"Who was that girl earlier?" I asked.

"Hmm," the woman looked at me closely. "Not from around here, aint'cha? Nobody knows her name, but people call her the "Gold Wind". They say she can smell gold five blocks away, and steals it from you before you even knew what hit you."

"Eh," I said with keen disinterest. "A street urchin, huh."

Talk about over-exaggeration. I can do better than that. I know for a fact that the woman in front of me is carrying approximately five pounds worth of coins, probably silver from the bulge of her cloth pouch hanging on her waist. It is secured by a rope which was tied to her belt. I probably won't be able to pick it from her without using a knife to cut the rope first...

"Anyway, are you looking for a place to eat? I run an inn just around the corner if you're looking for a place to eat and stay."

"How much are we talking about?" I asked quickly. I maybe famished, but I won't be stricken down by a sales pitch without a bargain. "How much is a room and a decent meal?"

The woman's eyes widened at my reply, and then laughed with genuine mirth. "I like you already! I'll give you a discount, just five silvers for a meal and a night's room."

"Good enough for me," I told her, noncommittally, but secretly delighted at the bargain.

And so that's how I arrived in city of Mimic, without any idea how and why I arrived in this unknown world. Well, no matter, I have gold, so I guess it's not too bad.

Waha~

CHAPTER 1 END.

Title: Mood swings are pretty jarring, especially in real life
Post by: Nenekonesha on January 17, 2013, 02:43:29 PM

CHAPTER 2

ALLEY

The inn is a bit deserted, although a handful of patrons were sulking in some dark corner of the commons. The place isn't anything fancy; it looks like a small wooden warehouse that was converted into a two-storey inn. The floor is made out of stone, and is devoid of molds and mildew (unlike my own house back at Gensokyo), and is made smooth with regular polishing. The counter at the far side of the commons is beside the stairs leading to the rented rooms. Some doors are open, which I assume to be vacant, while a single door is closed and a "DO NOT DISTURB UNTIL SUPPER" sign hung from the doorknob.

Like the inn, the lady of the establishment isn't relatively remarkable. However, like the one who looked like Alice earlier, I could swear that her face looks familiar. Maybe I'm just over thinking again. But still, who is she reminding me of? Lavender eyes, curly hair, and a mature figure that would probably make it hard for her to dodge danmaku...where did I see her before?

"Hey, Letty, give us another round here." said one of the patrons.

Letty? The yuki-onna who comes out during winter? I stared at the innkeeper and examined her thoroughly. Now that I think about it, she did look like Letty, except that she wore common clothes and her hair was tied into a short ponytail. She did not seem to act like the Letty that I knew however, and it is definitely not winter.

What in the world? ...what kind of place did I end up to? This is starting to make my head spin, not literally of course. And that's not just because I'm hungry.

"Anyway, little lady, what would you like to eat?" asked Letty.

"What do you have?" I asked.

...

An hour later, I was lying on a soft comfortable bed inside a private room. The meal was filling, but I didn't want to stuff myself and fall asleep for the afternoon, unlike some shrine maiden I used to know. I mean, people usually eight~ish something hours sleeping each day. Since each day is merely twenty-four hours, then that means you only have sixteen hours to spend for each day's activities. If you spend more of it asleep, then you're wasting precious hours. Time is gold, they say - wasting time is like wasting gold, and that's just unacceptable in my terms.

Still, the bed is a lot better than the one at my house. It's less lumpy, and I guess they are using better detergents for washing. It smells like roses, quite nice if you ask me. The room itself is mildly decorated; just enough to give it a homely feel. The entire room is painted blue. The ceiling is a little bit low, and I could reach it if I stand on the bed. The window opens into the streets below, and I could hear the sounds of daily business outside.

I got out of bed and approached the window. The streets outside were busy with carts and people passing by. It was a lot busier than what I usually see from the Human village. I've read of big cities whose businesses were usually centered on caravan trade, and I wondered if the city of Mimic was such a city. I didn't see any farms or ranches on the way here, so I guess they buy their food from another city. The guards were also very relaxed, which means they're probably used to travelers and merchants going in and out. That's probably why they have a catalog.

This reminds me of the odd thing I realized earlier. I took out the catalog from my pocket.

How could I read and speak a language I've never heard or seen before? Why am I even here in the first place? Is there a way to get back to Gensokyo?

Man, now that I'm no longer hungry, I'm starting to sulk about the entire situation. Shape up, Marisa!

I sighed as I stared at my pointed hat which was resting on the bed. In impulse, I tried a simple spell, a simple bullet spell that wouldn't hurt a fly. I aimed at my hat, waiting for a bullet to fly and push it over the edge of the bed.

Nothing. Not even the headache I usually get when I mess up a spell, like when I tried out Patchouli's spell. That migraine lasted a week.

However, I was able to use my Potion 23 without any problem. If my magic was gone, it shouldn't have activated at all and exploded. And where did my mini-hakkero go? Did I leave it behind in Gensokyo?

...I wonder what Reimu is doing though. Has anybody noticed I'm missing yet? I hope Alice doesn't go through my stuff while I'm not gone, because I'll be really pissed if she does. Kourin might get concerned, especially since I haven't paid my last loan yet. Crap, I hope he doesn't repossess my stuff and auction them for payment while I'm not there. I mean, I think he's a nice guy and all, and he wouldn't do something like that - probably - but you never know. Alice on the other hand...

?I need to clear my head,? I muttered to myself. There is no use sulking inside this room. Plus, I need to find someone who'd buy these daggers from me. I'll keep one, then I'll sell the other for some cash, then I should probably find a way to earn money while I'm here. While my own wallet is still heavy, I don't know how long I'll be stuck in here, and I don't have a way to let those guys back in Gensokyo know where I am right now. Yukari might be able to find me.

?Yeah right.? I don't want to get my hopes up from a sounder sleeper than Reimu.

I donned my hat, but I decided to leave my broom. I checked my wallet, and I still carried the two daggers I nicked from the idiots earlier. ?Guard my room for me, will you?? I told my broom.

Downstairs, Letty saw me step out of my room and told me, "If you are stepping outside, be careful of pickpockets. You've seen how they are."

Well, I've been encountering muggers and pickpockets ever since arrived, so I guess her warning is warranted. "Is there no police force here?"

Letty expression visibly darkened at my mention of 'police'. She was silent for a moment, weighing her own words before talking. "Ever since the Pocketwatch guild arrived in this city, the police have become next to useless."

"Pocketwatch guild?" I asked. Seriously, if you're going to foreshadow something, please stop pretending I know every term in this city!

"They are supposed to be a guild of merchants and guards, but they're just a little above common thieves. They demand money from the merchants in the city in exchange for 'protection'. Accidents seem to happen more often to those who don't pay - carts being hijacked and stolen, warehouses being robbed, and inns being burned to the ground."

Extortion at a city-wide scale? That's pretty neat way of earning money. "So, the police are also controlled by this pocketwatch thing?"

"They wouldn't admit it, but everyone worth his salt in this city knows that they're being bribed. Even the people at the poorer district claim that the Pocketwatch guild also controls the crime activities in this city. Thieves and pickpockets pay tribute to the guild in exchange for their safety from the police, as well as easy preying grounds."

"Sounds tough," I said, with a little bit of sympathy.

"It's tough," said Letty in a disheartened tone. "I pay more than half of my earnings to the guild, and the other half isn't safe from thieves. If this keeps up, I'd be out of business by next month. The Pocketwatch guild is taking over the businesses that go under or those who cannot pay their fees and debts. More than half of the city belongs to them now, and they're the ones who are pretty much controlling the entire city?s businesses."

I saw Lefty?s eyes moisten up while telling me her story. For a moment, I was kind of guilty for taking her discount offer. "Don't worry about it," she told me. "It doesn't matter now anyway, this inn is going under regardless of your discount. I'm already starting to pack up my personal things. I'll probably move to somewhere safer, but that's a pretty hard thing to find in cities nowadays. Anyway, consider it a parting gift from a kind innkeeper."

I stepped outside while munching up the earlier conversation in my head. The streets of Mimic, lined with paved stone roads and musty alleys, seem less of an ideal place to be right now. On the outside, the busy streets look a lot like a normal city, busy and energetic. However, now that I look at the people closely, I could feel the despondency and fear of the commoners. I could see some of them glance my way subtly as I walked by, then hurry along to their own business, glad that I'm not a threat to them.

I have nothing against stealing and borrowing stuff from people, but this city has it worse. I borrow stuff from Patchouli because I need the books to study, and I plan to return them once I finish memorizing them. I also take some stuff out of Alice's hands because I need them more than her, and she has so much stuff anyway so she won't probably miss them.

Still, I understand why people like this innkeeper who is quite worried with the current state of affairs. They also need their own money to live, but this Pocketwatch guild is oppressing people with their protection money while rendering them helpless against thieves. Then when they're bankrupt, they buy the establishment out of their feet and throw them out into the streets. I could admire the brutal efficiency.

Having walked a few blocks, I turned around a corner and came upon a market bazaar. It's lively, but I could feel the tension in the air. It was noisy with the haggling and bargaining, but I could see that the storekeepers were quite suppressed. Usually, storekeepers would be abuzz like flies that pester customers with unwanted purchases, like Kourin when he is in the mood. Not here. Nobody was calling their own goods; nobody wants to draw much attention.

Except the ones who look richer and gaudier, benefactors of the guild no doubt. I've seen their type in Gensokyo too, but they didn't flourish this much back in the human village. I guess people in Gensokyo were that much more wholesome?

From the corner of my eye, I saw something move from the shadows inside the alleyway ahead of me. I became curious so I stepped inside the alley and decided to follow it. It was long, damp, and deserted. It was dimly lit, but enough to see where I'm going. Flanked by a long line what I assume to be as warehouses, it looked like an entrance to a labyrinth. I heard a sound coming deeper inside the alley, like the sound of some wooden crates falling.

Sensing an adventure, I decided against better judgment and walked deeper into the alley. The alley twisted and turned, but it eventually opened up into a wider street, which was as deserted as the alley preceding it. I assumed it to be a residential area, because I could see clotheslines and water barrels beside the doors of the houses. However, the windows were all shuttered and the doors were all closed. Huh, what a nice welcome for tourists, but I guess this place wasn't really part of the tourist attraction. I wanted to check, but I left my catalog back at my room in the inn.

"Hey lady, you forgot your wallet," said a female voice behind me. I turned around and instinctively lifted my hand to catch a flying object hurdling towards me. The thrower whistled in admiration as she witnessed my perfect catch.

"Nice trick lady." It was the thief from earlier, the one who looked like Alice. For simplicity's sake, I shall refer to her as Alice as well. She threw the other wallet, which I also caught as well. They were still heavy, still full of pebbles. Guess she was referring to my other ?trick? then.

She was standing a few feet away, leaning on a wall while looking at me with an amused grin - something I'll definitely won't see from the real Alice, unless I'm hanging upside down from a tree. She was running her fingers down the blade of a small knife, smaller than the ones I pinched from the idiots earlier. She straightened up and started to approach, her steps full of swagger. "I've never seen someone one-up me before."

I am not in the mood to bite at her flattery. I'm still sulking about my entire situation, and a golden-haired thief isn't one of my priorities. It's nice of her to return the wallets though.

"Thanks for returning the wallets then," I told her with a tone dryer than a desert while waving the two pouches. "If that is all, then I'll be off."

When I turned to leave, I heard quick footsteps and looked back to see Alice running towards me. Her eyes flashed like a wild animal, and her knife was drawn back, eagerly waiting for its kill.

I hopped like a hare sideways with the intention to make her overextend her lunge, but she quickly noticed my movements and drew herself back like a spring. "Interesting, you don't act like a common tourist," she said with a grin. She talked with no small amount of confidence, reminding me of the Alice I know back in Gensokyo.

"I'm pretty ordinary. From where I came from, people are great at dodging," I answered her banter coolly. Actually, my heart was thumping and I could feel the adrenaline pumping. I drew out one of my daggers, but I don't intend to fight inside a deserted alley for my life. After all, this Alice doesn't look like she has anything valuable to her credit, therefore rendering any effort to fight her futile. I tried to look for escape options. I could make a run for it, and she'll never catch me. Probably. "I guess you're after my money then, right 'Gold Wind'?"

Surprisingly, Alice lowered her knife. "Your money? Even if I steal it from you, nobody would want to sell anything to me anyway. And what I can buy, I can steal, so money is not really important to me. However, you're interesting..." She folded her arms and leaned against the nearby wall. "You are not from around here, and you look pretty well off. You are wearing a frilly dress and you look like some merchant's daughter to me. But you move and act like someone who knows how to get the heck out of dodge a few times."

How to get out of what? "I don't understand what you mean," I told her truthfully. Actually, I pretty much don't understand what is going on. She?s not going to take my money? Then why is she even talking to me?

"Anyway, take care of yourself. The guild has had their eyes on you since you arrived, so I'd be careful if I were you," she said cheerfully. She turned back and started to walk away. "Stay away from the guild. It'd be a shame if a fellow freelancing thief suddenly ended up floating inside the sewers."

Before I could say anything, Alice vanished into the darkened streets. The afternoon was waning, and I had no intention of staying inside the deserted part of the city at night. I decided to go back to the inn while wondering what Letty is preparing for dinner, trying hard not to think about the guild and this city?s problems.

I have my own pile of trouble to deal with already.

CHAPTER 2 END

Title: Re: Marisa and Things-Not-About-Her-So-They-Are-Not-Important!
Post by: Cybeast710 on January 21, 2013, 02:47:55 AM

Wow, this is a good story! Keep it up!

Title: Names, names, they're just names...
Post by: Nenekonesha on January 27, 2013, 07:24:11 AM

CHAPTER 3

FLAN AND THE TEAPOT

Where...am I?

Okay, that was a pretty stupid question despite the fact that I've been asking it many times since I arrived in this weird place. The simplest answer would be "I'm here", but I don't want to come off as philosophical. Not that I have anything against philosophers in general, but philosophers have a very offbeat look at life which is almost impossible to put into practical use without excessive thinking and insight, which would be far more efficient had it been applied directly to practical use.

I could also say "I'm not where I'm supposed to be", but that was even more stupid...stupider, if that is even a word. I have been going around in circles for a good part of the last hour, and I'm a fast walker. I have been through different streets and roads, but I always seem to end up back in the bazaar.

I admit it. I'm lost. It's not that I have a bad sense of direction - far from it; it's just that this city is utterly sadistic when it comes to finding directions. The streets and roads meet at a very uniform manner, and each block seems to be evenly divided. I remember the city map inside the travel catalog - which would be very useful right now if I haven't left it inside the inn. The city looks like a regular grid of roads and streets akin to a chessboard, with alleys cutting through and twisting within each block. There is a big circular plaza at the middle of the city though, and it seems to be a tourist attraction from what I remember from the map. I wish I were a bird, or could fly at least, because looking at Mimic from above would be an interesting sight.

Anyway, it is hard to get oriented in this city. Although I can easily remember certain landmarks, I wasn't really paying much attention until I noticed I got lost a little while ago. Of course, I could ask someone for directions, but life is an adventure without directions! Or so I thought around thirty minutes ago. Resigning myself to this failure, I decided to ask someone for direction. I spotted a likely guy who seems to be minding his own business by the sidewalk.

"Hey, do you know how to get to the Whiterock inn?" I asked, referring to Letty's place.

"Just follow Pickaxe street then turn right once you reach Hammock road," they told me, but damn me if I knew where those are.

"So how can I reach Pickaxe Street?" I asked as nicely as possible.

"Ahh, you can reach Pickaxe by going north from the Central Plaza," he answered.

?And how can I reach the Central Plaza??

Just follow this road until you reach a big fountain. Sorry, but I?m a little busy.? He suddenly started walking before I could say anything else.

Well, heck, he was a bystander a few seconds ago. What kind of business is he up to, anyway? I guess the locals are too busy with their own affairs. Still, from what Letty told me, I guess it couldn't be helped if the people are not too friendly.

At least I got my directions.

I followed the road indicated by the guy earlier, peeking at the shop windows as I passed by. There seems to be a lot of shops for fancy clothes, hats, and shoes, and I could see some customers going in and out regularly. The locals in this part of the city seem a little rich or at least comfortable well-off, judging from their strut and frilly dresses. They stand out from the slouching locals from the lower, working classes. They reminded me of the people living inside Remilia's mansion, though I guess Remilia has more...what do you call it...ah, charisma.

The night was setting in and the sun was merely a memory. However, when I arrived at the central plaza of the city, people were still busy going about their business. The central plaza was filled with nicely dressed people, and the plaza itself looked a lot fancier than the other parts of the city I have seen so far. The sidewalks were decorated with flowerbeds and the entire road was lit with colorful lamps. Even the people here seemed to be livelier, and I could hear snatches of gossips and laughter every now and then. Most of the people who stayed around the plaza looked like they were from the upper classes of the city, sporting colorful jewelry and fancy hats along with smiles and hellos as they pass other people they know.

I could also hear singing and music coming from inside an opera house, as well as entertainers with organ grinders dancing to their own music in the middle of the road. Some of the people were gathering around them, throwing coins and laughter at them.

At the center of the plaza was a big fountain where I could see a lot of young women and men sitting on benches. Encircling the plaza were tea shops and cafes which catered to the fancier locals of the city.

"Now then, the guy said north from the plaza right?" I tried to get my bearings straight when I heard someone sneaking up from behind me.

"Hey, are you lost?"

I turned around and nearly died of a heart attack. Seriously, it felt like I lost five years from my life. My heart skipped a beat, and not in a romantic way if I may add, and my legs froze in place.

So, this is the same rattling fear felt by a rat in front of a rattlesnake. Wow, that was a lame pun/tongue twister.

"You're...you're...F-f-f-f-lan...? I stuttered, but the words cascaded into a traffic jam inside my tongue.

Even worse than my lame pun was the younger sister of the Scarlet Devil standing in front of me. Smiling. A warm, sweet smile probably overdosed with cream, confectionary sugar, and cornstarch. I tried to smile back too, but I could still feel the number of lives I lost from way back when we first met.

"Have we met before?" asked Flandre. Oh crap she's frowning, smile Marisa, SMILE! SMILE LIKE YOU'VE NEVER SMILED BEFORE!! "Hello, are you alright?"

I felt my cheek muscles respond - slowly! - but I managed to form a half-hearted smile. I broke out into cold sweat, and my knees trembled. Damn, why Flandre, of all the people? I would've settled for Alice. But Flandre? Why? WHY? IS THERE JUSTICE IN THIS WORLD? I'M TOO CUTE TO DIE!!

Calm down Marisa, there is a way out of this. Just maintain eye contact, no sudden movements, and make sure that whatever happens avoid making sudden noise-

"Oh if it isn't Miss Scarlet, fancy meeting you on a night like this."

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!"

I admit it. I lost it. It was building up way since I've arrived at this weird world, and I just arrived at the breaking point. For the next few moments, I was completely out of it, and I could only remember snatches of what happened next. Ding-dong, we are now arriving at the last station in Marisa's sanity, please do leave your valuables behind so we can take care of them properly. Have a nice day!

...youkai elevator music...

"Don't yell so loud!"

...oh sister, my sister, why did you tear down the great mountain?...

"I don't think she hears us."

...with the advent of new discoveries, the Eastern Metallurgical facility of the Youkai Mountain promises to provide brand new materials...

"You're right! Her eyes are even going round and round, like, woosh!"

...every day is great at your Yatsugatake!...

"Other people are starting to stare. It can't be helped, let's pull her inside my place."

Kling, kling~

I remembered being roughly dragged by the shoulders then pushed through a revolving door into a dark room. A few moments later, the room was suddenly lit with a pale light and I was pushed onto a cushioned seat. My vision was blurry, and I could only make out vague colors and shapes against the hazy backdrop of confusion.

"She looks conscious, but she seems to be staring into space...and her mouth is hanging open," said a male voice. ?At least she stopped screaming.?

"Here, I'll try pouring this," said Flandre. I heard the clinking of porcelain.

"Hey wait---!"

Drip, drip, WOOSH.

"GAAAH!" Fluid wetness entered my mouth and I sputtered and coughed as I nearly drowned in water.

"See, she's awake now," said Flandre with a chuckle.

"You...didn't have to nearly drown her," scowled the other voice. "Pouring a pot of water inside her mouth was needlessly cruel."

"But effective, right?" answered Flandre. "Anyway, it was barely half a cup, and not even warm."

I was still gasping for air when I felt a warm hand rubbing my back. "There, there, this should make you feel better," said Flandre.

When I managed to regain my breath, I looked around and realized that I was inside a cafe. It was well furnished, round tables with white linen tablecloths paired with soft cushioned seats like the one I am sitting on, but it was deserted except for me and...

I looked at my companions. It was Flandre...and Kourin. Kourin was sitting across the table, staring at me while Flandre pulled another chair and joined the table.

I stifled a yell, and took a deep breath. "Are you calm now?" asked Kourin. I simply nodded. I would probably stutter if I tried to speak. Heck, I'm as calm as I'm ever going to be inside a room with Flandre Scarlet.

"She still looks a little dopey," said Flandre eyeing me curiously. She handed a small porcelain teapot to Kourin. "You should get the tea going, Rinnosuke."

"Right, right," said Kourin noncommittally as he took the teapot away from Flandre. "Just don't try to drown her again."

"I won't," Flandre said with a playful wink. "Unless she freaks out again of course. The next time I'll just pour a bucket of iced water on her."

It took three deep breaths before I completely regained my composure. Calm down Marisa, calm down. This isn't the Flandre that you know back in Gensokyo. She's probably like the thief Alice. Calm down. Stop acting like an idiot, and just. Calm. Down.

Poke, poke. "Hey, you're mumbling again," said Flandre. She pulled her chair beside mine and was poking my cheek with a finger. "You're not a crazy person aren't you? Because crazy people don't dress well like you."

"I'm not crazy," I said, managing to find my voice. "Stop poking my cheek."

"Oh, so you can talk," Flandre said saucily while she poked my cheek with increasing frequency. "So, have we met before?"

I turned to face her and caught her stare. She had the same pale, childlike features of the Flandre I know, from her deep red irises down to each golden strand of hair. I leaned away from her and for the first time, I noticed she lacked the one distinct feature of the Flandre from Gensokyo. She was wingless. She did wear the same clothes though, but I guess that doesn't stand out that much in this city.

Her demeanor was many shades different her Gensokyo version, but I guess I could settle for that. "You...won't blow me to pieces right?"

"What?" Flandre asked in surprise. She stopped poking me.

"Nothing," I answered quickly to avoid looking like a complete fool.

Of course she is not the same Flandre. I have been through two encounters already. After Letty and Alice, I should not have freaked out over Flandre like I did moments ago. Still, I simply just can't forget her spell cards. Oh those cruel, cruel spell cards...

"So, who are you?"

"Kirisame Marisa, but people call me Marisa," I answered.

"Kirisame Marisa? Marisa, Marisa..." mumbled Flandre. She drew back from me as she nipped her finger as she became lost in thought. "Nope, I don't remember you."

"I don't think we've met before," I told her. "Ah, my hat..."

I wasn't wearing my hat. I guess it must have dropped it when I suddenly freaked out like a cat on a coffee frenzy.

"If you're looking for your pointy hat, it's on the holder by the door," Flandre answered helpfully. She tilted her head towards the door, and sure enough, I spotted my hat hanging on a hat holder. A shiny, golden holder. Satisfied that it was safe, I decided to talk about something else.

"Where am I?" The place certainly looked like a cafe, and a little luxurious one at that. The place was lit by pale lamps mounted on ivory white walls, and the shop windows were decorated with pink drapes. I also noticed an aromatic smell emanating from somewhere. It smelled like fresh flowers and grass, like the smell of a garden after springtime rain.

"It's Rinnosuke's cafe, it's newly opened so it doesn't have a name yet," said Flandre. "It's supposed to be a tea house, but my sister and I decided it wouldn't sell, so we redecorated it into a cafe."

"Huh, so Kourin owns this place. I guess it's a lot better than Kourindou back in Gensokyo," I said thoughtfully. "It looks well-kept too."

"Kourin?" asked Flandre, puzzled by the name. "So you're an acquaintance of Rinnosuke?"

"Oh...not really," I said quickly. Not in this world anyway, I wanted to add. However, by Flandre's reaction, that means people call him Kourin in this world too...

"Oh, speak of the devil, he's back with tea," said Flandre with a chuckle. Kourin placed the tray on the table and pulled a seat. I looked at Kourin and observed his familiar appearance. He still had his silvery hair and distinct spectacles, but he wore a black suit over white button shirt.

"So you know this girl, Miss Scarlet?" asked Kourin, observing me carefully through his glasses. He started pouring tea and offered me a cup, which I graciously accepted.

"Not really," said Flandre with a shrug as she accepted a cup of tea. She sipped the hot drink, closing her eyes as she savored the cup and flavor. I did the same, inhaling the rich aroma of the tea and admiring the smooth porcelain cup. I noticed that the cups had a floral pattern...I hope Flandre was the one who picked these cups and not Kourin. Because if he did pick these...WHAT AM I EVEN THINKING ABOUT?

"So, do you feel better now, Marisa?" asked Flandre. "I was kind of worried that you were sick or something."

"Oh that," I said, lamely actually. "I thought you were someone I knew. I just cried out in surprise, haha."

"Surprised?" asked Kourin as he settled with his own cup of tea. "You sounded like you were very much terrified."

Saying that I was 'terrified' would be an understatement. Of course, that would be rude to say in front of this nice, sane, wingless, destructionless version of Flandre. I prefer this version actually, especially now that I don't have any magic.

"Now, now," said Flandre, pouting at Kourin's last statement. "The good thing is that you've settled down. Anyway, you don't look very familiar with this city."

I nodded. Actually, I'm not very familiar with the entire world at all. "I'm actually new here," I said.

"So where did you come from?" asked Flandre. "We get a lot of tourists in this city from different parts of Frills. There was a time we even get tourists from Ribbon, but with the current state of affairs, we'd be lucky if we even get a tourist from their frontier cities."

Okay. I could swear I didn't hear her last statement correctly.

"...Frills...Ribbon...?"

"Mimic is actually pretty famous around Frills," continued Flandre. "We rival Silkencotton in beauty and culture, but we simply cannot compare against history..."

Flandre suddenly trailed off when she saw my puzzled face. "Oh sorry, you must be really new here. So, where in the Teapot did you come from?"

Teapot? What in the world...?

Wait a minute. Don't tell me...

"So what is happening with the Teapot?" I asked, trying to stall for time and fish for more information about what the heck is going on. "I've been out of touch with the times," I added with a wink.

If I am right, then she would answer...

"Well, you might have heard about the hostilities between Frills and Ribbon, but the Queen is trying to get peace talks going on between our two countries. Still, there have been a lot of raids between the two groups at the border towns and most of them were by outlaws taking advantage of the chaos. There's a new bandit group calling themselves the 'Kabling' who are running around making a lot of trouble for the caravan merchants..." said Flandre. She went on and on, and I couldn't understand most of them.

But the fact that she answered me seriously meant one thing.

I was in a world named Teapot. And apparently, there is a kingdom called Frills at war with Ribbon. Inside the world called Teapot.

Teapot. I repeated the world inside my head, and it sounded even sillier.

TEAPOT. WHAT KIND OF CIVILIZATION WOULD NAME THEIR WORLD AFTER A TEAPOT? AND WHAT KIND OF PEOPLE WOULD CALL THEIR COUNTRIES 'FRILLS' AND 'RIBBON'?

I suddenly had the urge to bang my head against the table, but thankfully managed to avoid doing so throughout Flandre's entire speech.

CHAPTER 3 END

Title: Coincidentally, I also posted the Love Colored Magic remix today.
Post by: Nenekonesha on February 10, 2013, 05:21:29 AM

CHAPTER 4

RECRUITER

When it comes down to it, I'm a complete foreigner. I'm as foreign as a dust inside a hospital or an elephant inside a room. Despite the familiar faces I'm seeing, I'm being treated to a series of encounters that never fail to unnerve me.

"So, you haven't told us where you are from," insisted Flandre with a quick smile.

"Me?" What if I tell them I'm from Gensokyo? Would they believe me? I can lie about it, but I know next to nothing about the geography of...Teapot. The names of the cities are unusual despite being named after familiar words. They will probably catch me in the middle of a lie, and I would rather not appear suspicious to these people at the moment.

"Now, now," Kourin interjected quickly. "Don't be too pushy. She might not be keen on telling, since not all travelers like to talk about themselves." He said the last part thoughtfully, as if speaking from personal experience. For a moment, I could swear that I saw his expression darken, but it vanished in a blink.

"Not at all," I said, trying to defuse the darkening mood. "I just don't think you've heard of a place called Gensokyo." Well, no use lying now. Chances are, they haven't heard of Gensokyo. If they did, then I could get some clue how to get back, right? It's a win-win situation! Well, no, not really. I still lose out in the first scenario.

"Gensokyo?" repeated Flandre. Her brows knitted as she suddenly became immersed in thought. She nipped her finger repeatedly as she mumbled to herself.

"Is she always like this when she thinks?" I whispered to Kourin. He only returned a shrug, and then took another sip of tea.

"Where is this Gensokyo?" Kourin asked instead. "I haven't heard of it." Well, there goes that chance of getting a clue how to get back home.

"It's very far," I told him casually. "I was actually lost until I managed to find this city."

"Lost?"

"Actually, I came through a forest before coming here. Then I got attacked by bandits, but I managed to drive them away. No worries," I said, and a little bit proud actually.

"A...forest?" Kourin repeated slowly. "Do you mean the Forest of Magic?"

I nearly choked on my tea. After Teapot, I would've settled for a forest named Cabbage or Lettuce. But 'Forest of Magic'?

"You must be a warrior of some skill," continued Kourin. His remark, despite being praise, didn't please me as much as it should have.

"Why? Is the Forest that dangerous?"

"The Forest of Magic is supposed to be cursed," chided Flandre as she seemingly sprung back to life, or at least back into the conversation. "Superstition and what-not. However in reality, its chief danger comes from the bandits use the vast expanse of trees as cover for their hideouts. I guess you were lucky that you were not ambushed by a bigger group of bandits, else you probably wouldn't be here talking with us."

"So why is it called like that?" I asked out of curiosity. I was actually fishing for a clue. There must be a reason why I woke up inside that forest in this world, and why it was named after the same forest where I lived back in Gensokyo.

Flandre's expression darkened. She said in a low tone, "It is said that ghosts and spirits wander about the Forest of Magic. People say that these spirits hunger for human flesh, and they hunt down unwary travelers who stray too far inside the thick woods." She glowered at me as she continued her story, reminding me of Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai. It's a famous child's game in Gensokyo, especially in summer. Of course, ghost stories are hardly scary in Gensokyo anyway, since spirits and ghosts usually visit the Human village around that time and everyone is used to them.

"And when they eat someone," Flandre continued, "the spirit of that person will join the horde of spirits, hunting other victims to satisfy their hunger."

Kourin scoffed at Flandre's story, but didn't say anything else as he finished his cup of tea. "That's how it goes anyway," said Flandre cheerfully.

"I didn't see any spirits though," I pointed out. "And if bandits live inside the forest, it means that the spirits aren't real. Else the bandits would've been the spirit's menu item from breakfast to midnight snack."

Flandre shook her head. "Tsk, tsk. You have no appreciation for folklore. What I'm trying to point out is that the Forest is dangerous. You should count yourself lucky that you were able to get out of the Forest without any map or sense of direction."

?I guess,? I answered quietly.

"Still, you did drive away some bandits by yourself" Kourin butted in. "It means you know how to take care of yourself in the wild."

I shrugged. Without my magic or hakkero, I'm pretty much screwed if I find a serious opponent.

"Maybe you should try enlisting for the Prismriver guild," said Kourin. "They are recruiting freelancing mercenaries to fend off bandits raiding the caravan trails, especially near the forests. If you're confident, you can try joining for some quick cash."

"Eh!?" interjected Flandre. She suddenly stood up and slammed her hands on the table in shock and surprise. "You're recruiting her within the hour you met her?"

"Recruiting?" I asked. ?Prismriver??

Kourin folded his arms and looked at me intently. "I'm a scout for the Prismriver Hunters. It's a guild that pays bounties for bringing bandits to justice, but they also hire people for guard and escort duties and other odd jobs."

"A guild?"

"Membership is easy. As long as you can hold a weapon and can fend for yourself, you can join. Of course, the guild pays better if you are a veteran, but it's a good place to start if you are just an adventurer looking for excitement."

"The guild is funded by the Pocketwatch guild," said Flandre when she calmed down. I twitched slightly at her last remark, but neither of them seemed to notice. "They are the Prismriver's top client, and most of the escort missions belong to them. Naturally, they pay top quality rates in exchange for security."

Huh. So where did I hear that modus operandi before? Sarcasm aside, Kourin's offer is tempting, but I'm not really the type who likes to get into fights if I can help it. I prefer going around people - if you know what I mean - and only dealing with them if I don't have any choice. Playing fair and straight are for squares anyway.

"I'm not really into this guild thing," I told Kourin. "I think you're getting a wrong impression of me. I'm not some warrior or something, I mean look at me. Do I look like someone who'd go toe to toe with anybody?"

I was surprised when Kourin laughed. "I don't see you like that at all. However, I think you are misunderstanding something as well. I'm a scout for the guild; I look for people with potential, not for esteemed bounty hunters. Brokers are the one who whip up contracts, usually pricey ones, for people with lots of skill and experience. I look for fresh ones which the guild can help and train to be good guild members."

"So you look for newbies?"

"Yes," replied Kourin without dropping his smile. "The guild would assign them to easier jobs that are usually overlooked by members of higher skill. Newbies are usually assigned to helping senior members fulfill their jobs like reserved guard duty, members for hunting parties, and such."

"And how are they paid?"

"As a newbie, you are entitled to a minimal fee of three Apples per assignment, and some Orange bonuses depending on your performance. It's a pitiful pay, sure, but if you scrape your way up the guild ladder, your pay becomes more substantial. Eventually, you'll be enlisted by brokers who'd hook you up with clients willing to pay more Apples and even Cherries."

Oranges, apples, and cherries? Seriously?

"Uh...what are you talking about? Why would I like an orange?" I asked helplessly. "Or the other fruits for that matter?"

"Those are what we call the local currency of Frills. Do you have a coin?" Kourin held out his hand. I nodded and took out my wallet from my inner breast pocket (I did say I hide it close to my heart), and took out a silver and a copper coin.

"This copper coin is called an Orange. You need sixteen Oranges to make a silver Apple," he explained as he held up the silver coin on his hand. "You need thirty-two Apples to make a golden Cherry." He took out a gold coin from his pocket to show me.

"There's also the Watermelon, which is worth sixty-four Cherries, but they're not often used in trading," added Flandre. She held out a coin of pure red, the watermelon coin.

The mathematics is not really a problem for me, but what is up with their currency? Still, it's nothing worse than Teapot. Once I grok that, then little remains to be surprising.

"So how about it?" asked Kourin. "If you promise to join the Prismriver under my name, I'll give you a sign-up bonus payable up front."

I thought about it. I've never been someone who was suitable for employment, and being a foreigner probably wouldn't help me find a good job. Still, I couldn't help but remain suspicious at Kourin's efforts to recruit me. It was like he's using his sales pitch to reel me in, just like the Kourin I know from Gensokyo. Except now he's peddling trying to buy my service, instead of making me buy some antique junk.

Wow, now that I said that loudly inside my mind, I think the thought just became ten times freakier.

Still, joining a guild would probably even my chances of finding more information on how to get back to Gensokyo. If I can get to know more people, I can get more contacts that I could rely on, both for getting back and surviving long enough to do so.

"Why are you so interested in recruiting Marisa, anyway?" Flandre suddenly asked. "I mean, she looks like can take care of herself, but is she really a good material for the guild?"

"Actually, I'm curious about Marisa," replied Kourin. Ironically, that line made me even more curious about Kourin's motivations. "Regardless, it is my job to get more people to join the guild. It's up to her if she accepts or not."

Avoiding the question, huh. Still, I don't want to push too hard for now. The opportunity for making some money is something I shouldn't waste. "So what do I do to sign-up?"

"Ah, just write down your name here..." Kourin took out a small notebook from his pocket. "Do you have a pen, Miss Scarlet?"

"Sure."

It took me a few moments to write down my name on a page on the notebook. It was filled with names, all of them I couldn't recognize. They were all written in the same lettering of this country, and like the travel catalog, I could read them properly if I didn't think about it too hard.

Still, after writing my name on the notebook, I suddenly realized something important and was reluctant to give it back to Kourin.

I wrote my name in Japanese kanji, like I was used to. Whoops.

Hey, I can't help it. Despite my ability to read their funny letters, I can't write them down. It's like a one-way translator. I swear, if I find the person, organization, or thing responsible for this entire affair, I'll spark him/her/them/it to oblivion.

"Uh...what an interesting way to write..." observed Kourin as he squinted on the page where I wrote my name. Probably amazed at the strokes and figures of my writing. I was also amazed at my own name myself, but that's another story I'll get into someday.

"That's how they write my name at Gensokyo," I answered sheepishly. "I'm not really familiar with the local stuff, but I can read well enough."

"...I see. A foreigner indeed," mumbled Kourin under his breath. "I don't think it won't be a problem though, since you can read and understand enough of the local language.

"I have a question though," I told him. "Why are you so interested in recruiting me?"

Kourin shrugged, but he suddenly brightened up with a smile. "Inquisitive, I like that. Truth be told, the guild is undergoing a lot of shortages in manpower. There are just way too many jobs and too few people to do them. I'll be honest, the guild accepts dangerous and life-threatening jobs, but only few guild members accept them. Those that do don't always come back alive, or at all. Some of the members are content with the safe money, but we need people who work for more than mere coin."

"Going safe is pretty wise, if you ask me," I chided in. "What's the use of money if you can't spend it?"

Kourin shrugged. "Regardless, that is why we're trying to find promising recruits. If we go by the law of probabilities, the more recruits we find, the higher the chance that we'll find someone who'll climb through the guild ladder and become an elite."

"So that's why you're recruiting me then? To add to the probabilities?"

"Pretty much," Kourin said simply. With a wink he added, "Though to be honest, I became interested with your outburst earlier. I think you'd be an interesting addition to the guild."

I could swear that was an insult. Still, I let it slide by and focused on the rest of my tea. It was already lukewarm, so I decided to finish it in one gulp.

"So now what?" I asked Kourin. I placed the teacup on the table and pushed it away.

"You should drop by the guild house by tomorrow noon," said Kourin. "You have a town map, right?"

"Yep, though I left it in Letty's inn." Flandre suddenly lit up when she heard Letty's name, but didn't say a word. "That's where I am currently staying."

"Indeed. The map should tell you where the guild is. Just tell the bouncer my name and they'll let you in. I'll meet you there along with the other recruits."

...


An hour later, I was walking along the lamplit Pickaxe Street, thinking about the events that transpired this afternoon. The meeting with Alice was eventful enough, but now I'm also a prospective recruit of a guild called the Prismriver.

And yes, I have already realized that the guild is named after Gensokyo's musical band. The knowledge does not afford me any relief, however. It only seeks to remind me that I am so far away from Gensokyo. The fact that I can see familiar faces isn't too comforting either. It is like being looking at a fifty feet wide signboard saying "YOU ARE NOT IN GENSOKYO" in black, bold letters.

I miss my home, my bed, and my cooking. Maybe not my cooking, but I do miss my bed. And my bath. I could use a nice warm soak right now. Reimu?s onsen would be better, but she?s stingy and I don?t like sneaking around in my birthday suit just to take a warm soak at her place.

It?s not even a day yet and I feel homesick already. Still, I found something to do, so I won't be bored for a while. If I'm lucky, I can find someone who knows what happened to me. I tweaked my hat a little and sighed. What is the chance of anything happening so smoothly anyway? I don't know how long I'm going to be stuck in this world, so I might as well find something better to do.

The street changed subtly as I walked. The houses became older and worn down as I moved on, and I knew that I was in the poorer part of the city. There were still people about; most of them were workers walking home. They all looked tired and worn down by heavy burdens I could only guess at. I guess I could talk to them like standard role playing heroes who do nothing inside cities but talk to random people and loot loose items from homes that were left unlocked.

Ah, who am I kidding? I'm not really the talker-type. Looting would be fun though, but I'm not in the mood.

As I turned right around the next bend (which is Hammock road), I heard a small ruckus up ahead. Letty's inn wasn't far away, and I could see people gathering around the doorstep, watching...what?

I ran towards the inn and heard the sounds of crashing furniture. I pushed through the small crowd, one hand on my hat to avoid dropping it. As I slipped past the doorway, I saw a mess comparable to my own residence.

Well, not really. My house is a lot better than this mess anyway. And I do organize my mess into tidier messes. I segregate metals from non-metals; biodegradables are stored in dry places; and mushrooms are stored inside humid containers where they will stay fresh for months.

Ahem, regardless, I saw two men rough housing the entire inn. They were throwing chairs about, kicking and laughing as they broke the tables, and generally were making a total mess of the entire place.

Letty was cowering behind the counter, ducking through the splintered furniture, cups, plates, and utensils as they were hurled her way.

Hmm. If only extortion could be a lot more subtle, but I guess that is asking for too much. One of the men glanced my way.

"This isn't your problem girl," he growled. He was such a big muscled thing. You know, kind of like some farmers in Gensokyo who liked to carry stuff by themselves instead of relying on farm animals. Very manly if you ask me. There was a time when I wished a body like that, but that is also another story entirely.

"Eh. I was renting a room tonight," I answered sheepishly. Muscle or not, I paid five...Apples...for a room, and I'm determined not to get ripped off. "Don't mind me at all. I'll be as quiet as a pea." I began to walk towards the stairs, ignoring their disbelief.

The huge guy dropped the chair he was holding and started to approach. He towered me by at least one and a half feet. I guess he liked his milk.

"I think you'd better find another place to stay," he growled. His companion, a slightly smaller but also muscled guy, continued the destruction of the inn. I saw Letty watching me behind the counter, and she was shaking her head, trying to tell me to run away.

Aww, what is a girl going to do? Wait, girls usually cower behind their heroes and princes in a fight, right? Wrong question. What is an ordinary magician going to do? Wait, mages hide behind knights because they're too squishy to take a hit from a monster half their level.

Then, the right question would be, what is a Kirisame Marisa going to do when she sees the inn where she is going to stay for the night (which she paid for) thrashed by two muscled men, bullying a woman into hiding?

Normally I'd spark them, but I guess that's out of the question. Without my hakkero, and my magic, what options do I have left?

The man towered over me, glowering like a wild animal poising to strike. I felt hot, not burning with passion though. Seriously, something feels and smells like it's burning--

"AAH!" My right pocket was starting to smoke, and it felt like it was on fire. Let me correct that. "MY DRESS IS BURNING!"

I ran around in panic, patting my hips frantically to put out my smoking pocket. I dropped on the floor and started to roll around, like what Keine taught the villagers during the monthly fire drill.

"Phew. They're out," I sighed a few minutes later. The two men stared at me incredulously, like I was some lunatic. "Sorry about that. Please don?t mind me."

I held my hand up in apology and a small piece of paper fell out of my pocket. I caught it with my other hand and realized that it was one of my spell cards. I turned it over to find out which one.

"Love Storm ?Starlight Typhoon??" What the heck is that spell card doing inside my dress?

But before I could get any answer, the floodgates of chaos were unleashed.

CHAPTER 4 END

Title: Re: Marisa and Things-Not-About-Her-So-They-Are-Not-Important!
Post by: ninryu on February 15, 2013, 07:37:09 PM

It just gets better and better. I can't wait to see Marisa blows things up.

Title: Re: Marisa and Things-Not-About-Her-So-They-Are-Not-Important!
Post by: Cybeast710 on February 16, 2013, 02:35:43 AM

With you there. This wait? Totally worth it.

Title: Playing as Voile Fairy with Medicine/Mokou Build in Reimu II Lord of Maidens...
Post by: Nenekonesha on February 27, 2013, 06:44:34 AM

CHAPTER 5

TYPHOON

Let me tell you a story about why I called this spell card 'Starlight Typhoon'. Back when I was still experimenting with the books I borrowed from Patchouli, I noticed that her spells had serious flaws in it. For example, the Non-directional Laser from her repertoire was flawed because it lacked POWER. Sure it covered a lot of area, and it compensated for its weakness by technique (i.e. additional bullets aimed at you). However, when it comes to practical fundamentals, something flawed will always be flawed no matter how many fixes you try to do at the spur of the moment.

I'm probably boring you now, so let me cut to the chase. In layman's terms, spinning laser doesn't last long enough to vaporize entire area. Therefore, cut the laser's magic output and instead redirect the slaves to firing more bullets while firing lasers to cover a larger area. The reduced output lengthens the life of the lasers but cuts their range, and the bullets cover whatever the laser can't reach during the spell card. Unfortunately, due to some mishaps and...other stuff...the spell became quite unstable and ended up like something for a circus - a typhoon of colors tasty enough to satisfy your cravings for rainbow candy. Shaped like stars.

Maybe I'm just stretching the name though.

It's...not really my most elegant spell card, but hey, it's fun to watch! And anything fun deserves a chance, right?

"What in the world...?" Huge Muscles mumbled in disbelief. He was standing a few feet away, and it seemed like any thoughts of bossing me around vanished when he saw the magical circles appear in the air. The magic slaves began to spin in a circular orbit around me humming steadily in a low tone.

Well, I guess I can still use some magic after all -

ZING!

The magical slaves started to fire a continuous burst of laser outward from their orbits. The laser fried the walls where it touched, leaving a trail of blackened charcoal on the four walls of the room while Huge Muscles and Lesser Muscles ducked to avoid getting a face full of my love magic. I heard shrieks coming from beyond the doorway of the inn. I also saw Letty peeking behind the counter, staring at me all wild-eyed. I said nothing, but I shrugged and gave her a wink.

Uh...so how does this spell card go again? First is the laser, then the bullets...

...are fired by the slaves towards the center of the orbit. Which is me, by the way, since the entire spell card is aligned to my own body. However, since the bullets are just danmaku, they're harmless to me. But to anybody else inside the orbit...

The magic slaves began to hum louder and louder. They flashed for a moment before firing a stream of star-shaped magical bullets towards my general direction as they continued in their orbit. The bullets flew slowly in an arc, filling the interior of their orbit with a spiraling patter of star-shaped danmaku...

...which are headed for me. I should be safe though since it's my spell. I'm immune to my own firepow -

POW! POW! POW!

Three craters appeared on the floor, a few inches from where I'm still sitting. Smoke smoldered from what was polished stone a moment ago. Another bullet whizzed past my ear and cratered behind me. I smelled something burning, and casually pinched a small flame from my hair.

Uh...since when did this spell card became this potent? There was another flash, like a preamble before the storm.

Speaking of which, there WAS a reason I called it "typhoon".

"WAAAAAH!!" I scrambled to my feet and half-ran, half-rolled from my place moments before it became a tableau of smoldering craters, composed mainly of ash and stone. Somewhere behind me, I heard the two muscle men scream in pain as the bullet barrage began in earnest. I mumbled a silent prayer for their souls, and decided to bug out.

"WHOA!" Five bullets landed just in front of me, and I skidded to a stop.

Running wasn't really an option. The magic slaves followed me as I ran inside the four corners of the room. There was another flash, and I knew what was coming next. I balled my fist as tightly as I can and then rolled through overturned tables and chairs as bullets rained like a jackpot from a lottery.

I dove behind a sturdy table to catch my breath. Normally, in a spell card battle, I just shoot down the person who declared the spell (which is currently me), but since that isn't a viable option, the only thing I can do now is to wait until the spell times out. From the corner of my eye, I saw the two Muscles scramble to their feet and made a beeline for the doorway.

"You're not getting away!" I yelled at them. There was another aspect to this spell that I failed to mention. This spell card would've been absolutely useless if the bullets are only aimed at me. So I added another dimension to it to keep things fun.

I aimed one of my balled fists toward the running men and opened my palm. A stream of smaller star-shaped bullets fired from my palm and blazed through the room, racing through other bullets, tables, and chairs. Lesser muscles glanced back and shrieked moments before touchdown.

BOOM.

"Serves you right," I said gleefully.

The two men fell unconscious from the blast. I closed my hand into a fist and rolled headlong into the fray. The table I was using as a cover splintered into a thousand pieces as bullets peppered it down into next winter's firewood.

"That was close!"

The slaves flashed once more, and this time I noticed something strange. Their orbits were becoming erratic, like a spinning top which was about to tip over. The lasers danced as the slaves wobbled, spraying them around dangerously as they cut through furniture like a hot knife through butter.

"AAH! Help me!" I heard Letty scream while a laser sliced though the counter where she was hiding.

"Man, this is getting dangerous.? The slaves began to flash repeatedly, wobbling even wilder from their original pattern. Their stream of bullets fluctuated and then stopped. However, the lasers continued to fire, like a badly scripted spell card from one of my many (failed) spell experiments.

I decided that it was too risky to wait for the spell to time out, so I decided to kill off the card by brute force.

I have no intention of shooting myself down, by the way.

Instead I opened both of my palms and started to shoot stars on the magical slaves. The magical bullets exploded into a symphony of magical colors dissolving the magical slaves into magical nothingness. Magic!

I panned my arms throughout the entire orbit of the magical slaves, destroying them one by one. And then silence. And dust. Lots of dust. I sneezed a few times before slumping down on the floor, exhausted.

Man, since when did fighting a spell card felt so draining? This felt like the time when I first fought Reimu. I could barely move a muscle after the match.

I was still for a few minutes, panting and wheezing as I tried to catch my breath. I heard some shuffled footsteps and voices coming from outside the inn. Some uniformed men entered the inn and began to shout in loud annoying voices. Their voices were blurry, which I thought was strange, so I tried to look around. Before I knew it, the world was falling behind me into a black pit. And then, nothing.

"Hey, are you awake?"

I opened my eyes and saw Letty's concerned face. I realized that I was on the bed inside my rented room. It was still dark outside.

"How long was I out?" I asked her.

"A few hours. I think it's just past midnight," Letty answered softly. "Aren't you hurt or anything?"

"My body feels numb," I said with a lame laugh. "What happened to the two men?"

"The city watch took them in. They'll be spending some cold nights behind bars for the next few days," Letty replied. I closed my eyes while thinking about what I should say next. But when I opened my eyes, the room was already bathed by the warm sunlight of next morning.

...

The inn was still an untidy mess when I went downstairs. I heard the sounds of banging hammers and what-not, so I decided to forget sleeping in the entire morning. The broken furniture was piled up on a corner along with the dust and other odd debris. Despite the damage that last night's fight (if you would call it that) caused, there were still three tables and five chairs intact. The counter and the walls were nailed up with fresh boards of wood, but the cracks and small craters on the floor were left bare. Letty was sweeping up what was left of the mess and gave me a warm smile. However, what caught my attention was the other person with her.

?Oh, are you alright now?? asked Letty. ?You?ve been out the entire morning. It?s late for breakfast, but I think I can fix something.?

"Good morning, Marisa," Kourin beamed at me with a toothy smile. He held up a hammer and waved it around in greeting. Compared to his formal attire at the cafe, his casual getup along with a rusty hammer, threw me off-balance for a few moments. "Looks like you've had a rough time last night."

"Ah, you know each other?" asked Letty. Rinnosuke related the events of last night at the cafe. "You're recruiting Marisa already? I guess you don't really waste your time idling around."

"So...what are you doing here?" I asked Kourin. I made a mental note: Teapot Kourin might be a stalker. Have connections around the city as well. A scary, yet functional person.

"Letty and I go way back," explained Rinnosuke. "Since you said that you were staying in her inn yesterday afternoon, I decided to drop by to pick you up."

Letty pulled some chairs around the table and went inside the kitchen. I heard the clatter of plates and utensils, and I knew breakfast was being served. "So I heard that a commotion was here last night," said Rinnosuke, sighing as he pulled a chair to sit down. "And I also hear that the Prismriver guild was involved."

I shrugged to tell him that I firstly, don't care much about anything before breakfast, and secondly, don't care much about the city's issues. Those, like my breakfast, can take care of themselves, or other people can take care of them. I sat down and did a nice, long stretch that would've made any cat lover proud.

"The two guys you beat up were part of the guild, if you haven't known already," Rinnosuke slowly continued. "Like I said, our guild is often commissioned by clients to do some jobs. However, some of our men, less scrupulous men if I might add, also do some 'side' jobs that conflict with the interest of the guild."

"So why were they thrashing the inn?" I asked.

Rinnosuke leaned back on his chair. "From what I've heard, they were working for a local merchant who wants to buy this land," he pointed downwards. "So he decided to recruit some muscle to scare Letty off her property."

Letty came back with breakfast. "This inn belonged to my great-grandparents. They moved into Mimic after the Bloodstain Wars, and decided to settle in."

"So why aren't the police arresting the guy who ordered the thrashing?" I asked candidly.

"Ah, this is where it gets tricky," Rinnosuke said sadly. "The city police, as you may know already, are merely decoration troops. They have no real power inside this city. They are more concerned with outside security, like inspecting the people who come and go through the city. The Prismriver guild is hired by the Mayor to suppress the evil elements of the city, and works alongside the city police."

"I already told you that the Pocketwatch guild is made up of merchants," Letty explained. "The Pocketwatch guild is the Prismriver's primary client."

"And the merchant who wants to buy this inn is from the Pocketwatch?" I added helpfully.

Rinnosuke leaned towards the table and lowered his voice down to a whisper. "What you did yesterday was both brave and dangerous," he said quickly. "There was an order by the Pocketwatch to apprehend a certain person staying at a certain inn."

"Ah, ha-ha," I tried to laugh it off, but failed miserably. "So I'm popular now, right?"

"Of course, the order was rejected officially," Rinnosuke added. "We are a guild. We are supposed to have ethics and guild laws. However, what you saw last night is a prime fact that the guild tries to ignore. Not everyone in the guild abides by its laws. Just like how this inn was thrashed. The request did not go through the proper procedure of the guild. This job was done thoroughly under the shadows without any records or anything. In fact, what I know right now came from the interrogation of the two guys you beat up."

"So what are you saying?" I asked him.

"I'm saying that I want to help you and Letty. I know who this certain merchant is. However, I cannot act upon it without endangering myself and the guild. However, from what I've heard from Letty, you are some sort of...magician. I can give you the help you need to find this merchant and bring him to me."

"And why are you doing this?"

"Because, personally, this merchant who attacked Letty annoys me. He who attacks my friends, attacks me. And he who attacks me does not do so with impunity," he said in a steady voice. "But I cannot request the guild to move against someone from their main source of income. So I need someone able to move freely, without any allegiance to a guild or anything."

"You were recruiting me last night," I reminded him.

"And I am still. But you are not a member yet," interjected Rinnosuke. "Look, the only way you can escape the Pocketwatch merchant is to get out of city and hope that she forgets you. But I know this merchant, and she is someone who never gives up on her prey. Wherever you might hide, she will send someone to find you, until you find yourself dead on some dark street."

"So, what do you want me to do?"

"Meet me by the cafe later." Rinnosuke glanced at Letty. "It'd be nice if you could come along too."

Letty nodded but said nothing. She returned to the kitchen, deep in thought.

"I'm sorry for thrusting you deep into this without any warning," said Rinnosuke. "But what you did last night will not be forgotten. I'll try to protect you and Letty within my powers, but in this city, I'm nothing more than a mere scout for the guild. Still, I know someone who can help you. Just be at the cafe in the afternoon, and I'll tell you the details."

When Rinnosuke left the inn, I found myself alone in the commons.

Well, at least I'm not bored anymore.

CHAPTER 5 END

Title: ...so...sleepy...
Post by: Nenekonesha on March 17, 2013, 07:22:58 AM

CHAPTER 6

WINDOWS

When it comes down to it, everything that happened so far was the result of things happening one after another. Like a steam train of consequences chugging along happily while I, possibly the damsel in distress, am tied onto the railroad tracks screaming for everything to stop a moment and give me a breather. The ropes that bind me are too tight. But I digress.

When Kourin left the inn that morning, the inn was still worse for wear, but most of the debris and broken furniture from my fight last night were already cleared out. I helped a little of course, though I was adamant not to let them use my broom for sweeping.

"You are a magician, right?" asked Letty tentatively.

"What about it?" I asked back as I finished my cup. It's not like I want to be rude, but she IS asking an obvious question.

"Ah, I thought so. I thought that your clothing was strange," said Letty, nodding. "They must be the uniform of your school, correct?"

Strange? Wait, that wasn't the important part, was it?

"What do you mean by 'school'?" I asked Letty. Isn't school the place where kids are forced to memorize long passages and essays about stuff that has nearly no practical use? Well, I guess some of them were useful, like math, and spell card stuff. And cooking. But from what I've heard from the kids back at home, they sure love to complain about memorizing history. A lot.

"Schools of magic," Letty explained, and not a little puzzled if I understand what her face is trying to say. "Are you a free magician?"

"If you mean that I don't belong to any of your schools, then yes," I said with a shrug. Well, I've been taught some stuff by my tutors that my father hired when I was a kid, but most of my spells were self-taught.

"You must be quite talented then," observed Letty. "If you've learned how to use magic to fend for yourself without a mentor."

"Pretty much," I said with a chuckle. No use being humble now. I do take pride of my skill, especially since I had to work for them. Those countless nights of staying late just to understand the basics of magic, those were unpleasant, but not unwanted memories. And of course, there was Mistress Mima..."I did have a teacher though, but I haven't been taught formally."

"She must be an excellent teacher then."

Excellent? Mistress Mima? "I wouldn't call her that, but she's a good teacher." And a loud one too. Well, at least until Reimu gave her the old-fashioned beat down. Then she got a little quieter. Not by much though.

"I want to say that I'm sorry for getting you into my own troubles. I do hope Rinnosuke fixes something up for our sakes," said Letty as she poured me another cup of tea. I was looking at the noon sky, not to get some serious eye injury, but rather to think about what I was going to do next. "I'll just bring this pot downstairs."

Now that I'm alone inside my room, my head was abuzz with thoughts.

When was the last time somebody apologized to me? Not that I'm complaining of course, but it's nice that I wasn't the one being coerced to apologize for breaking something.

"You should stay here for the moment, until the afternoon," Letty said earlier. How in the world am I safer inside this inn, if this was the last place that got attacked? Still, the streets are no safer, especially if I am to believe Kourin's word that I've made some enemies last night.

Then again, I'm used to having lots of enemies. There was Reimu, until I got a face full of Yin Yang orbs and talismans back when I was still sidelining with Mistress Mima, and there was Alice who can't seem to mind her own business, and Patchouli who was too stingy with her books. On the other hand, this is the first time someone told me that somebody wants me dead. So that's a first. Not a happy first, but hey.

I reached for my tea and took a long sip. Ahh--

"Hey," said a golden-haired girl who suddenly appeared hanging upside down on my window.

-PFFFFFFFFFT-

"Whoops," Alice swung to one side to dodge the sudden burst of high-pressure tea and saliva. "Watch where you spit, woman!"

While I wiped my mouth with my sleeve, Alice climbed into my room through the window with such great dexterity that I began to think that she might be related to a spider. Or a monkey. A spider monkey? Wait, that's a type of monkey too.

"So, I hear that you've become popular since last night. And just after I told you to stay low too," Alice said smugly.

"...I, uh, what did you tell me again?" Truth be told, I kept no memory of whatever we talked about last night. Seriously, after getting lost, meeting Kourin and Flandre, and then the two goons last night, how am I expected to remember anything properly? It feels like I'm inside a badly written soap opera. Probably something written by Alice for her puppet shows.

Does that mean I'll get surprise pregnancy to add to the drama? Wait, what?

"Don't tell me you forgot already?" said the sneaking thief as she sat on my bed and was playfully bouncing atop the sheets. "Anyway, I heard that you've earned yourself a death warrant."

"So what do you want?"

"I'm thinking that you might be interested in having some friends who knows the way around this city," said Alice smugly. Actually, she said it in a manner that reminded me of the Alice I know. This actually makes the entire situation little less freaky inside my mind, if I disregard her disheveled hair and filth. "And since you're such a good citizen, working hard to save an inn that is about to be demolished, I think you need somebody with a bag of good sense to help you along inside this city."

Alice said the last remark with a smile. Remember what I said a moment ago about less freakiness? I lied. A smiling Alice is certainly not something I'm used to. It's not like the Alice in Gensokyo didn't smile, it's just that when she smiles, it means that something bad is about to happen. Usually to me.

"Unusually kind of you," I remarked. I repeated my first question. "So, what do you want?"

She ignored me, and instead the golden haired thief lied on my bed and stretched lazily like a cat. "You know, you have a soft bed. I like this bed." She rolled around the sheets like a kitten. Seriously, most people would think of it as cute, but I have a bias against Alice, or anyone who reminds me of her, let alone look like her. And she deserved it, if I do say so myself.

"Why don't you take it then, Gold Wind," I replied, remembering what Letty called her.

"Eh, don't be stupid. Why would I steal a bed?" said Alice. "And don't call me by my reputation, I've got a proper name, you know."

I suddenly realized that she hasn't formally introduced herself yet. I couldn't suddenly call her Alice now, could I?

"What should I call you, then?" I chided. But, judging from my past experiences from Letty up to Flandre, I guess I already knew the answer.

"People call me Alice." Well, no surprise in that. "Anyway, what I want is pretty obvious, right?"

"So, you want my money. And why would I hand it over to you?"

At the very least, this Alice is easier to talk to. Heck, the Alice I know would go through a lengthy lecture about her proposition, a long sermon that could put a caffeinated insomniac to sleep.

"Back to what I said earlier, I told you that you need someone with a bag of sense. Not just simple common sense, of course, pretty much everybody has an ounce or so of that. Sense, like eyes and ears, you know what I mean?"

I simply nodded to tell her to continue. "An hour ago, I saw a bunch of people walking around Hammock. I saw them pass in front of the inn three times," said Alice as she stretched her arms again.

"So they're watching the inn," I concluded quickly. "Do you know who are they?"

Alice frowned. "Of course not. But you should have an idea who sent them."

"Uh-huh. And why are you telling me this?"

Alice got up from my bed and started to walk by towards the window. "Like I told you before, thieves should work together, especially against a common enemy."

"I'm not a thief," I reminded her. Not right now at least, I told myself. "And what's this about a common enemy?"

"Don't you worry about it," said Alice with a wink. "Just remember that if you ever need help, I'll just be around somewhere." Without another word, she jumped through the window. Wait, what?

I rushed to the window as she jumped effortlessly through the wooden frame. I craned my neck to look at the street below, but she was gone. Looks like the Alice of this world simply does not know the meaning of 'exit, stage left'.

However, I caught a curious sight of a man wearing a non-descript brown shirt that was leaning on a wall by the alley across the inn's doorstep. He caught my eye, because he was staring straight at me. However, he immediately looked away and started to walk towards the busier part of the street.

I could be wrong, but it must be one of what was Alice telling me about. "Guess I'm already getting popular, hah!" Tough luck. So much for trying to find a way to get back home.

Enervated by the entire escapade with Alice, I decided to stretch my legs and went downstairs where I found Letty was busy packing up her belongings.

END CHAPTER 6

_____
EDIT:
5/7/13 Minor typo corrections.

Title: Re: Marisa and Things-Not-About-Her-So-They-Are-Not-Important!
Post by: KrackoCloud on March 17, 2013, 09:47:27 PM

Don't visit PSL often, but I just found this. I love the way Marisa narrates.
I'll keep following!

Title: I'm addicted to Dihydrogen Monoxide, WHAT DO I DO?
Post by: Nenekonesha on April 07, 2013, 06:08:47 AM

CHAPTER 7

WALKS

Letty was busy stuffing things inside her bags. She didn't notice me peeking through her belongings, both out of curiosity and entrepreneurship. I didn't see too many interesting things, besides miscellaneous odds and ends, and misplaced underwear.

Well, nothing was worth pocketing that won't jut out of my pockets. Or make me look like a sex deviant.

"I, uh, would appreciate it if you don't touch my stuff," Letty said in a rather stern voice. "I just finished organizing them, you see."

I stepped back from the leather bags. "You're leaving?" Another stupid question. Well, duh, Marisa. What do you think? That she's going to go indoor camping?

"After yesterday, I realized that there's not much I can do about it." Letty shrugged, and then took a look around the commons. She spun once and took a deep breath.

"This inn has been in my family for three generations, with me as the fourth. It's my mother's heirloom, from my great-grandparents when they moved into this city. Each inch of this inn is full of memories, for me and for everyone who has stayed in this inn."

Letty gave out a sad sigh. "But after last night, I realized that I am not strong enough to keep it. When things got tough, I could do nothing but hide while I watch them destroy my inn. I wanted to drive them away, but I froze behind my hiding place and I couldn't move a muscle. I could do nothing for my family's inn. I feel so worthless."

"But you didn't run away," I blurted out without thinking. What the heck, Marisa? You shouldn't interrupt people who are having existential angst! It's rude, and it hinders whatever plot fate might be cooking up.

"More like I was too scared to get out of my hiding spot," Letty mumbled. I gave her a frown. I really hate mumblers. They bum me out for some reason.

"Some people would have fled at the first sign of danger," I said reasonably. "They want to scare you off, and making you run away is part of their plan, after all."

"What's your point?" Letty was frowning. Well, better than moping around at least.

"My point is that you are packing up your things, saying that things can't be helped, and telling yourself that you are worthless, which is what the goons from yesterday want you to do," I said rather harshly. "If this is what you've decided, then why the heck did I even try to save your inn last night?"

She looked away and went back to packing her things. I didn?t share her sentiments for the inn, but I guess I did feel bad about everything's that happened. More than just losing a good place to stay, I was annoyed at the fact that someone was bullying a hard working person.

Call me a thief, but thievery is hard work. It requires effort, practice, patience, common sense, and a roomful of luck. I know the value of hard work. Not just from my everyday adventures in and out of Gensokyo, but I do some honest work from time to time. Like harvesting mushrooms. Or helping out at Kourindou. Or solving incidents.

So for someone like me with a good sense of work ethic, the entire situation is nothing but a cruel farce. And a cruel farce it is, and that fact alone annoys me in no small terms. And an annoyed Marisa is not someone to mess around with.

And now that I have a spell card, albeit an unstable one, I'm in a better position to boast. Hah!

On the other hand, using that spell card isn't ideal, for me at least. I need to modify it a little so it would stop targeting me. But that's an ordinary magician's work for another day.

Then there is my death warrant, if Alice's word could be trusted. But regardless, after last night it would be best to avoid letting down my guard. I've made some enemies, that is sure enough. Then again, what?s life without a little danger?

"I'm going out," I said. Letty didn't respond, but I guess she didn't feel obliged. I walked into the street and stretched my limbs as I watched people walk down the road. I saw those who casted furtive glances, and I immediately dropped my arms in disgust.

"Sheesh, the people here are so merry that it's starting to kill me," I said to myself. I decided to take a walk to clear my thoughts a little. "A few rounds around the block should set me right."

I walked briskly as I watched the everyday routine of the normal citizens. I saw children playing on the cobblestones, minding their own business. They were playing some sort of game, but I guess I'm not interested enough to find out what. I also saw some people walking towards the market, as well as some carts driven by oxen, delivering shipments to stores around the city.

At the next corner, I bumped into a tall, well-dressed woman. In fact, she was tall enough that bumping into her told me that she was indeed a woman, unless it's a man who likes wearing pillows under his shirt. Now that's a thought. I wonder if that's a plausible way to increase my assets.

Naaah. That's just plain stupid.

She smelled nice too. Like roses. Or some other flower. Not really into studying perfume fragrances myself, just from what I?ve read and heard about in the Human Village.

"Excuse me," I apologized clumsily, but the woman was already gone. There were a lot of people coming through the street and I soon lost sight of her. Now that was very rude. Didn't even leave a simple sorry. City people are so rude.

I forged my way past the crowded street. The stream of people pushed me around, and soon I was spinning around as I tried my best to avoid being swept away by the current of people, carts, and animals. Somehow I managed to break out of the crowded street and found myself...where the heck am I? DON'T TELL ME I'M LOST AGAIN!

I HATE THIS CITY!!! I HATE IT HATE IT HATE IT

...calm down Marisa. Now is not the time to throw tantrums. Calm down, calm down.

I looked around. And everything felt familiar at once.

Ah yes, the familiar feeling of unfamiliarity. The irony is so thick that I bet Patchouli would be cured of her anemia and run a marathon if she saw my fix. I looked back, but the streets were still full of people and I bet it's going to sweep me away to some other part of the city if I tried diving in. How can so many people live in such a crowded place?

Anyway, it seems like I'm lost again. Somehow, my sense of direction has been failing miserably since yesterday. Yet another thing I can blame on whoever brought me into this sick, demented world.

I found myself in another unfamiliar street. It looked like a residential area, with winding steps and lots entrances into deeper alleys. Shrugging at my helplessness and embarrassment at being lost, I decided to explore.

Before I could go further though, I stepped on something soft, fluffy, and hopefully, not alive. I lifted my feet and saw a red lace ribbon trimmed with extravagant white frills.

"This ribbon looks familiar." I swear, this is so suspicious that my plot senses are tingling like mad. I pocketed it, thinking of selling it if I ever find the bazaar from last night.

I walked through the street and soon found myself in a narrow, winding alley which led me to the Central Plaza. I swear, this city was so horribly planned that travelling around without the city guide is nearly suicidal. Or at least, inconvenient.

There was someone waving at me across the plaza. I squinted my eyes until I recognized  Kourin's familiar figure just in front of his cafe. I wonder if he wears a pillow under his shirt? That would be awesome, if not just a little bit eccentric.

"You came pretty early, Marisa," Kourin remarked when I approached him. "Letty is not with you?"

I shrugged. "She's packing her things when I left her," I told him. Kourin raised an eyebrow at that.

"I'm worried about her safety," said Kourin. I simply shrugged again.

"I'm not obliged to protect her," I told him. I'm not her or the inn's bodyguard after all. And I'm certainly not a white knight who crusades around looking for wrongdoers and protecting the weak. "Plus, if she's packing, that means she wants to abandon the inn. The men after her inn would probably leave her alone."

"Is that so," Kourin mumbled. "And you?"

"I was just walking around, I felt like coming here," I lied. Well, half-lied. Kourin was about to reply when something from behind me caught his eye. I turned around and saw a young woman approach us.

"Ah, it's you," Kourin remarked. The woman said nothing, but she walked towards Kourin until she stood beside him. The she leaned over and whispered something on his ear, then she left without saying so much as a ?Hi, I'm just a person passing by! No one suspicious here!?

Kourin visibly deflated (not literally though) when the woman left. He massaged the bridge of his nose with his fingers and closed his eyes. "Ah, sorry, that was just one of my assistants."

"You seem worried about something," I asked nonchalantly.

"Indeed. Anyway, let me invite you to the cafe. It's no good talking out here," Kourin gestured me to follow.

The cafe was as deserted as ever. Well, aside from the young woman from moments ago already sitting by a table. Kourin took his seat beside the woman and invited me to do the same.

"Let me introduce you to my assistant," Kourin began. "She's my helper of sorts with my job for the Prismriver guild."

"Good morning," the woman greeted me. She looked fairly familiar. She looked just like one of Kourindou's regulars, you know, the one who likes to buy books. What's her name again...?

"She's--" Kourin continued, but the woman raised her hand.

"I'd prefer to make my name unknown for now," said the woman. "More importantly, who is this person with you?"

"Kirisame Marisa," I introduced myself, and not a little bit annoyed. I mean, she goes off saying that she wants to remain anonymous, THEN SHE ASKS ME FOR MY NAME. THE TEMERITY!

Still, I'm a bigger person than that, so I won't hold it against her. FOR NOW.

So now, for the sake of brevity, I'll call her NoName inside my head.

"Duly noted," said NoName. "So you're the one being recruited by Kourin? Very interesting. It seems that Kourin has developed a taste for young women lately." She added the last at Kourin's expense who snorted derisively.

"Anyway, I want to see the message," said Kourin, waving off NoName's last remark. NoName looked at me, and Kourin added, "I'll appreciate it if Marisa hears it too."

NoName nodded and pulled out a piece of folded paper from her pockets and handed it to Kourin. He delicately unfolded and read the message within. When he put down the paper, he rubbed his temples and told me to read it.

"Great, just great," he mumbled.

Curious, I read the message. The handwriting was excellent, and it was written on fragrant paper. Unfortunately the message itself was less than ideal.

"WE HAVE THE GIRL

DO NOT INTERFERE IF YOU WANT HER UNHARMED"

...which girl are we talking about?

I looked at Kourin. "Flandre has been missing since this morning. I was looking for her since I left Letty's inn earlier," he explained grimly.

Not to quote Kourin or anything but, GREAT. JUST GREAT.

This city is so fun, I might just drown in it.

CHAPTER END

Title: Re: Marisa and Things-Not-About-Her-So-They-Are-Not-Important!
Post by: Hoshiguma-douji on April 18, 2013, 07:17:16 PM

I *really* like your writing style. It's fluid and captures my attention. I really hate it when people get so flowery that I start spacing out.

Title: Re: Marisa and Things-Not-About-Her-So-They-Are-Not-Important!
Post by: Cybeast710 on April 18, 2013, 08:41:38 PM

I believe I've said this before, but I love this story.

Title: Re: Marisa and Things-Not-About-Her-So-They-Are-Not-Important!
Post by: BT on April 18, 2013, 09:01:18 PM

I haven't posted here yet, have I? In that case I'll join the above two dudes and say that I really like this!

Title: Re: Marisa and Things-Not-About-Her-So-They-Are-Not-Important!
Post by: an unmatched sock on April 19, 2013, 12:06:00 AM

Figured I'd hop on this here gravy train.

I love this story as well, it has plenty of humor, and it's exactly how I would think Marisa would act in this situation.

If only I could write as well as you.

Title: 1cc'd PoDD Normal waha~!
Post by: Nenekonesha on April 25, 2013, 11:00:10 AM

CHAPTER 8

INCIDENT

Kourin poured three cups of tea. I gladly took one, but NoName declined the offer. Instead, she took out another small piece of paper from her pockets and spread it out for us to see.

The paper was a crude map of the city, as far as I can tell. NoName traced her finger through the hastily scribbled streets as she talked.

"My sources told me that Flandre was last seen around the bazaar early in the morning," NoName recounted from her memory. Sources? Is she some kind of a secret agent or something? Cool. I should rename her to something like Agent NoName. Probably likes her tea 'shaken, not stirred,' if that even makes sense. Maybe that only works with cold weird drinks.

"She snuck out again?" asked Kourin. Whoa. Clich? warning incoming. How much will you bet against Flandre being some sort of locked girl (heh) living inside a mansion owned by her sister? Come on, come on, I'm taking all comers here - I need the cash, you know.

"What do you mean by 'snuck out again??? I asked.

NoName looked at me and winced. "It may not be apparent to a newcomer to this city, but you do know who the mayor is?" She said it in such an annoying, know-it-all attitude that I was sorely tempted to, to, TO...let's just say that it annoyed me, mmkay?

"Sorry, foreigner on deck," I told her a bit petulantly. I also added rudely, "So, are we playing a guessing game?"

To my surprise, NoName chuckled. "It is a bit refreshing to see someone with a smart mouth and quick wit," she said quietly. "Most people would either bluff or remain silent, instead of admitting ignorance."

Kourin shook his head. "Remilia Scarlet is the mayor of this city. Her younger sister is Flandre. You met her here yesterday," said Kourin. "Anyway, since her sister is an important figure, she's usually cooped up inside their mansion to protect her from people who wants to use her against the mayor. She does sneak out from time to time, usually to visit my cafe."

"She also frequents the clothing district, the bazaar, the northern gates, the library, and the aviaries for messenger pigeons," added NoName. My stalker senses are tingling like mad!

"Are you Flandre's guardian or something?" I remarked pointedly. NoName shrugged but didn't reply. "You seem to be keeping an eye on Flandre a lot."

"Does it matter?" asked NoName rather haughtily. "I do not think my answer should be of any interest to both of us right now."

"Settle down, you two," said an exasperated Kourin. He massaged the bridge of his nose and then sighed deeply. "Flandre was last seen in the bazaar this morning, you say?"

NoName nodded. "She was around the western bazaar, when my sources last saw her. She was window shopping, hopping from stall to stall. Unfortunately, the early morning rush of people made it hard to maintain a tight surveillance without arousing suspicion."

"I see. Quite unfortunate," said Kourin grimly. "And I bet we will rue this day if we don't find her fast. Whoever sent this note is forcing my hand to prioritize saving Flandre."

"Possibly forcing you to abandon your old friend's inn," finished NoName. "Quite a bold maneuver, if I do say so myself. Your enemies have been skittering on the wrong side of the law, but I think they're overstepping their own bounds. If the mayor finds out, she would not be amused, if I may supply an understatement."

Kourin snorted. "Understatement indeed. She'd be murderous. But even if I know who is behind all this, I can't do anything without endangering Flandre. Telling the mayor would only escalate things further out of control."

"Telling the mayor would be most unwise," declared NoName. "She becomes irrational about her sister. If she mobilizes the entire city police force to recover her sister and arrest the perpetrator, the mastermind of this scheme might panic and take a quick way out. I fear that eliminating Flandre and then blaming it on some fall guy is not really a far-fetched outcome at the moment."

"Especially since this merchant has the resources to do so," agreed Kourin.

I listened to the wonderful exchange between the two. It felt like I'm in the middle of a suspense thriller. Part of me wanted to say, "what the heck did I just get into, again?" in a very exhausted tone, but another part of me was savoring the suspense, the thrills, and being in the middle of it.

What the heck. Since it seems like I'm here to stay inside this wretched city, death mark and all, maybe I should chip in a little more effort, right?

What was the worst thing that can happen anyway?

"Don't you think it's better to investigate the area where Flandre vanished?" I blurted out. Oh really, Marisa? That was your ultimate plan to save the day?

You know, sometimes it feels like someone is putting words in my mouth. The way I come up my ideas, it feels like a youkai, or a fairy, or a magical mushroom is living in my mouth, being puni-puni inside my cheeks and blurting out random things that just puts me in a rather shameful position. It?s a curse, but you live with it.

NoName shrugged. It seems to be her favorite expression. "I have people searching the bazaar, but so far there haven?t been any clues to her whereabouts," she told me.

"Maybe we could find something if we're there ourselves," I chided. "Since you two seem to know Flandre well, you might spot things that your people would easily miss."

For the second time, NoName gave out another chuckle. "You surprise me, girl. You didn't seem like a bright fellow at a glance, but you do use your head quite well." Okay, was that an insult or a praise? I was kind of confused.

"Alright, you two go ahead to the bazaar and find out what you can," declared Kourin as he rose from his sit. "I'll drop by the Prismriver guild house and tell them that I have a special emergency. I'll catch up with you later."

Kourin turned quickly and left us.

"Let us be off," said NoName. I gulped the rest of my drink and left with her.

...

The bazaar, didn't change much overnight, but that was no surprise. The street was as crowded as ever, but NoName deftly slipped through the crowd like it was nothing more than a deep fog. As for me, I had my share of elbows and shoulders to last me a lifetime.

"Hey, wait up!" I cried after NoName. She turned her head when she heard my voice and pointed to an alley to the side of the street. NoName was just a few feet away, but with the torrent of people between us, it might as well be miles. Or if you prefer the metric system, metre and kilometres. Or was it meters and kilometers?

Ah, forget it. Spelling problems weren't really my cup of tea.

"Excuse me, girl passing through," I muttered under my breath. The crowd wasn't thick like the one that swept me on the way to the inn, but that was just small comfort.

Somehow, through nudging and pushing and various feats of dexterity that required me to roll a natural twenty, I managed to penetrate through the crowd and fell forward with a gasp. NoName caught my arm before I gave the ground a maiden's kiss.

"Whoops, there you go," said NoName as she helped me regain my balance with a strong, solid pull. "You don't seem to fare well in crowds," she observed.

"Not really, no." Gensokyo wasn't exactly a ghost town, but this city has way too many people. Either that, or the people here have no imagination whatsoever, and they travel all travel in schools towards a single direction. Like fishes. Just so they don't run into a carnivorous whale.

I looked around and realized something. This was the alley where I met Alice yesterday. The coincidence was too stunning for me to shrug off as far as I'm concerned, but I kept my peace. Let NoName figure something out and I'll just ride along and enjoy the trip.

"So this was where Flandre was kidnapped?" I asked aloud, though NoName didn't seem the type for idle talk.

"This was where she was last seen, not kidnapped," she corrected me. "She could've slipped past my watchers and wandered around for some time before she got abducted, though that would be highly unlikely." She added the last as an afterthought.

"Highly unlikely," I repeated. "So are you guys some sort of Flandre's bodyguard or something?"

Once again, NoName shrugged off my question. "Does it matter, really? You are persistent. If you want an honest answer, then no, I'm not her bodyguard or anything." She sounded annoyed. Glad to return the favor~

We walked into the alley, not really sure what we were looking for. Still, since it WAS my idea, I feel like I should be a little more committed to the search efforts.

The alley was as deserted as ever. This city is starting to rub off on me on two flavors, there was that part of the city where there is too much people, and then there was this part of the city where there is not enough people.

I'm not sure I like either one. Still, beggars can't be choosers.

"Hello, what is this?" NoName exclaimed aloud. She stooped down to pick something of the ground. It looked like a lace ribbon. It was red with white fri -

OH COME ON. I don't want to be strangled by the red ribbon (with white frills and all) of fate here!

"Is that Flandre's ribbon?" I asked.

"Possibly. I'm not too keen on fashion myself, but it is highly likely," said NoName. She lit up like she remembered something. "Oh yes, I do remember an agent remarking about her ribbons earlier."

"Can you take a look at this?" I dug into my pockets and felt for the lace ribbon inside my pocket.

Seeing her surprised face was nothing less than satisfying. "W-where did you get this?" she stuttered.

I told her of my escapade with the crowd earlier.

"That would be around the Pineapple Lane," she declared. Before I could reply, I heard movement from behind us. My instincts went wild, and I pulled NoName behind a wooden crate just before I heard two distinct thuds. Two silver knives were quivering on a wooden wall behind us, and I felt a chill run through my spine which seemed to resonate like a tuning fork with the blades.

"What the heck-" NoName started to protest, but I hushed her down.

"Keep your head down," I whispered. Suddenly, footsteps. Pit-pat-pit-pat.

"I applaud your skill for dodging my knives," said a feminine voice. The footsteps seem to echo through the constrained width of the alley, and I hazarded a look past our cover. My jaw went numb, and it fell like a meteor who wanted to end the dinosaur's reign.

She was standing in the middle of the alley, carrying lots of shiny, silver death between each finger of her hands. "However, I must assure you that you will not do so again," added Sakuya, with a smug smile.

END CHAPTER 8

Title: ...I'm dizzy...
Post by: Nenekonesha on May 07, 2013, 02:47:53 PM

CHAPTER 9

POINTY THINGS

Frankly, I should have seen this coming from miles away. On retrospect, I barely listen to anybody's advice, the least of them mine, so I guess I ought to scold myself for that. Still, things like these make life worth living, if you don't mess up too often from bad misses and rapid-fire continues.

"Will you not come out to play, little mice?" chided Sakuya. I rate her 70 in the cattiness scale. The Sakuya from Gensokyo had less talk and more knives, but like Flandre, I guess this world's version wasn't too bad.

At the very least, she is not a time-stopping knife-nut. Those were two compound words. Those were like, four words strung together to make a messy adjective that doesn't make much sense out of context. And that's terrible.

This world's Sakuya (heh) is just a knife-nut, probably of macadamia variety, although I'm leaning more on pecans myself lately. Yum.

"Identify yourself!" cried NoName over the crates. We were answered by a freaky, maniacal laugh.

"You want to know my name, Watchbird?" asked Sakuya. "My, you talk like someone who didn't know me personally."

NoName's face turned pale. "Hey, what's the matter?" I asked peevishly. "You look like you need go to the bathroom or something." She glared at me darkly for that.

"This is no time for jokes, Kirisame," NoName grumbled. "If my memory doesn't fail me, that woman is an assassin who goes by the name of Izayoi Sakuya." Huh, so the Sakuya of this world preferred a more luxurious career. I always knew she'd be better off in some other business that would put her knifing skills to better use.

"We have to get out of here," continued NoName. "We stand no chance against her in a straight fight against -"

Oh come on already, it's time for me to shine, you know? I jumped out of my cover, neatly dodging three blades as they whizzed past. I ducked almost on instinct and another blade missed my head by a hair's breadth.

"Nicely done," said Sakuya in an amused voice. "You must be the girl from the inn last night."

"My, my, am I getting popular?" I replied, mimicking her speech. I readjusted my hat and dusted off my skirt with my hands. "I really try hard to please people."

"Indeed? I guess you're not trying hard enough. My masters were really displeased last night," said Sakuya with an uncharacteristic grin. Eww, I liked Sakuya better with a deadpan expression.

"Meh, you can't please everybody," I puffed out with a shrug.

Whoa, she's glaring at me! I guess this Sakuya is a little more psycho than what I'm used to.

"Now, please die." She threw two knives, and I sidestepped, and then ducked to avoid a third knife.

Seriously, she's getting way too predictable.

This is nothing compared to the Sakuya I know. Gensokyo Sakuya is like a never-ending knifing machine. Heck, she can make lasers out of her knives, what's up with that? And don't get me started with her time stopping abilities and the knives. Oh those unlimited supply of knives...

With a few steps, I halved the distance between us as I dodged the barrage of knives. On and on they came, left, right, to my head, to my legs, targeted everywhere within a three inch radius of my position.

Those were fine knife-throwing skills actually, but I was used to someone who threw her knives everywhere at the speed that defied the laws of logic, physics, and highway speed limits. And then she makes a few hundred knives appear in front of you without as much as a postcard. Not nice, but it builds character, if you don't end up like a pin cushion or an emery bag.

"It looks like you are as good as they say, girl," said Sakuya without missing a beat. She stepped backwards with each throw, trying to put some distance between us -

- now time to use my spell-card. I dove my hand into my pocket and -

- whoops. The last knife grazed my sleeves. That was a little close for comfort. Sakuya stopped backing away and instead rushed forward, brandishing a knife that missed my throat by inches. Before I could regain my balance, she jerked backward with a swift kick that hit me at the side. Sharp pain told me that I'll probably be going to feel stiff until evening.

Clenching my teeth, I grabbed her leg before she could draw it back. Then without really thinking about it, I leaned back, stumbling to the floor, bringing down Sakuya with me. As we fell, I used my free arm to throw a fierce punch aimed at her jaw.

Gravity, working with my strength, and whatever I learned from impromptu lessons by courtesy of Gensokyo's resident oni, brought Sakuya into a world (heh) of pain.

I have to thank Suika for that move if and when I get back to Gensokyo.

Sakuya rolled beside me and was on her foot immediately. I was up a moment later, and saw Sakuya wiping blood from her lips with a...handkerchief?

"You...you...worthless scum..." Pure loathing filled her voice right now. She glared at me with eyes that craved for blood, and not in a vampiric sort of way. "You hit me!"

"Well, you were throwing lots of pointy things," I reasoned. "Fair is fair." Plus, I've always wanted to do that, if not to the Scarlet Manor's Sakuya, and then any Sakuya will do.

It's not that I have anything against the maid, but our professions usually lead us into opposition. Some call it fate. I call it business.

Now to finish this -

- or rather, that was my plan. My Starlight Typhoon spell card - where - ?

There it was on the dusty floor, a few feet away. I must've dropped it when I dodged Sakuya's last knife. If I could only reach it...

"Die!" Sakuya snarled as she rushed at me, her eyes were as fierce as her knives. She closed in immediately, unleashing a flurry of slashes and thrusts. I dodged them as deftly as I could, but a few nearly found their mark, nicking my dress, and once, my skin.

Sakuya's ferocity drove me back without giving me a chance to exploit an opening in her attacks. In a few moments, I felt the cold wall behind me, and saw Sakuya's snarl twist into a cruel smile. I jabbed my fist wildly, desperately to ward her off, but she merely dodged and closed in for the kill, her eyes locking at my throat.

I leaned sideways and felt sharp pain on my right shoulder. My knees felt like jelly and I slumped to the floor.

Damn, damn, damn, that hurt! I instinctively reached for my shoulder and felt warm blood trickle through my trembling fingers. Dazzling lights danced before my eyes as I tried hard to fight through the pain. My vision was blurry, and I could only make out my surroundings through the shadows and hues.

"Nice cut, eh?" jeered Sakuya. Then another puzzling sensation came over me. My entire body felt stiff and unresponsive, and I could only cry out a feeble moan of surprise. "How do you like my sting, girl? A little paralyzing acid goes a long way in my line of business."

Paralyze? Damn it, no wonder my body couldn't move. Ah, this is bad. I really didn't think this one through. Maybe I was a little too overconfident this time...

...man, I can't even see anything now. Everything feels way out of focus, literally. Everything feels like a swirl of colors, and there's this distant buzzing in my ears that kind of reminds me of dragonflies...

I heard Sakuya's laughter through the misty shades of my consciousness. I couldn't feel my body now. Not even the pain. For some reason, I feel a little...peaceful. Eh~

Wait. Oh crap, I'm dying.

I can't die here! Not in this unknown alley of some forlorn city! There are many things I haven't done in this lifetime yet! I want to become the greatest magician of Gensokyo before I die at least. And get married, bear some cute children who will adore me day and night, as well as figure out how to steal Patchouli's library!

I'm not going to die in this stinking city, away from my home, by some pansy assassin with an unhealthy obsession with knives and maniacal laughter!

"Kirisame!" Someone called my name. Who -

There was a crashing sound, and I heard a shriek. Thud, thud, smack. I heard metal banging against metal.

"I see you haven't changed a bit, Watchbird," said Sakuya. Or I thought it was her. "You're still watching over wayward rabble?"

"Get your hands off her, Izayoi," said...NoName? "Were you also behind Miss Scarlet's disappearance?"

"Perhaps," Sakuya replied a little playfully. "I'm done playing with you anyway -"

Then I heard shuffling footsteps from far away.

"What the -" said Sakuya. Or was it NoName? It feels like there were two cotton balls stuck inside my ears.

"You!" I couldn't even tell who's speaking now.

"Fancy meeting you here. Still having fun killing people?" Eh? A new voice? Who -

I heard a flurry of steps and grunts, and I felt someone pick up my shoulders and hoist me up on my feet. "Okay, let's get out of here for now."

Supported by...NoName? I was dragged out of the fray. Then I knew no more.

END CHAPTER 9

Title: Doing some reading now and then, here and there
Post by: Nenekonesha on May 26, 2013, 02:37:21 PM

CHAPTER 10

GOLD WIND

Swirl, swirly, swirls. Everything is on a curl. Colors, colors, lots of colors, not one the proper odor. Smells like flowers, smells like dirt, hard, cold, soft, hot.

"Hey, Kirisame! Don't fall asleep!" whispered a voice from nowhere. I tried looking around, but all I saw were the twisted colors of some unknown hue that defies definition.

"Damn it."

I heard a thumping sound, thump, thump, thump. It sounded like someone was smashing a drum behind my ears, it sounded so loud. I tried to tell them to keep down the ruckus, but my throat felt like it was being constricted with thorns.

The thumping grew louder and louder that I thought I might go deaf. My chest feels tight, like someone was giving me a bear hug. I tried to take a deep breath, but I couldn?t -

- air not -

- can't -

"Hey!"

Cough, gasp, cough, gasp.

" - poke this into a vein - before - lack - air -" .he voic.s are s.und.ing m.f.led. C.n. th.nk a.. m.r.. -

- c.o.rs f.din. c.n. s.e -

- i.h.nk.m..ying... -

Stab.

What the - GASP. GASP. GASP!

"There you go. She'd be okay in a few minutes or so."

"Where did you get that?"

"Nicked it from the crazy killer," A chuckle. "I also gave her a headache she's not going to forget soon."

What - where -

I opened my eyes and tried to sit up, but my head suddenly exploded. Probably not literally, but it feels like it. I collapsed back to the - am I in a bed?

"That's gotta hurt." The voice sounded sympathetic. "Then again, that's some crazy stuff, trying to go up against Izayoi like that."

"It was incredibly stupid," another voice conceded. I recognized it as NoName's voice.

"Stupid? I don't think so. Rash, more likely, but not stupid," said the first voice. My head stopped pounding and I opened my eyes again.

"Rashness and stupidity go hand in hand," said NoName. She was talking to...Alice?

"Hi there," grinned Alice smugly. We were inside a windowless room, dimly lit by a single candle. I was lying on a soft mat made from a combination of rags, furs, and wool. NoName was leaning on a wall on the other side of the room. I ran my hand on my shoulder and was surprised to see bandages. Everything suddenly flooded into my memory. I got stabbed with a poisoned knife and then blacked out. Great.

"You feel better now?" NoName asked.

"I've felt worse," I croaked weakly. My throat felt dry, and NoName handed me a waterskin. The water was warm, and tasted a little ancient, but it did moisten my throat. "What happened?"

"Just the funnest thing I've done since last week," said Alice. "You were knocked out by Izayoi's poison -"

"- paralyzing acid -" interjected NoName.

"- whatever. Anyway, just before Sakuya delivered the coup de grace, I landed on top of her and made her kiss the floor, like."

"Huh, so am I supposed to thank you?" I groaned. Well, at least I'm not dining in the afterlife tonight.

"Not at all, just an average citizen doing her civic duty." NoName snorted at that.

"Anyway, even if Izayoi is off our tail now, we still have another problem," declared NoName.

"Yeah, you're looking for a girl named Flandre, right?" Alice asked. NoName's eyes flashed.

"What do you know about Flandre?" NoName asked tersely.

"'This was where she was last seen, not kidnapped,'" Alice mimicked NoName's gestures in a very exaggerated manner. "You know, if you wanted someone's kidnapping to be secret, you don't talk about it inside a deserted alley, few minutes away from an assassin."

"You were following us?" NoName said in accusation.

"Well not you. I was following Izayoi, actually," Alice answered with a shrug. "She's not part of my 'nice' list, if you have to know."

"What's the matter?" I asked NoName. "You seem awfully tense."

"Says the girl who was dying a moment ago," grumbled NoName. "What do you know about Flandre?"

"Not much else, really," shrugged Alice. "But I did see something suspicious this morning."

"Suspicious?"

"Earlier this morning, I saw a well-dressed girl going through the bazaar, asking about the prices of their wares," Alice sat on the floor and stretched her legs. "Anyway, I saw some people, there were three of them, hanging around a few yards away from her."

"What did they look like?" asked NoName. Alice snorted.

"Come on, I don't usually look at people's faces, you know - just their clothes and pockets. Still, I did remember one of them, after all I just met her a moment ago."

"So it was Izayoi," confirmed NoName.

"Yep. Anyway, me and Izayoi go sometime back, and not in a good sense. I suspected that she was up to no good, so I started to follow her."

"And she didn't notice?" asked NoName.

"It's part of my job skill," said Alice, shrugging again. "She's way too busy with this Flandre person, I think. They split up and tried to surround her inside the crowd, and then pulled her inside an alley when no one was looking. It's pretty neat actually, and I nearly missed it myself."

"So where did they take her?" I asked.

"Hmm." Alice stretched again. "You don't really expect me to tell you without something in return, don't you?"

"This is why I hate working with thieves," NoName scowled loudly.

"Whatever," Alice scoffed back. "I make a living, you know."

"A dishonest living, I might add," NoName spat out. "Living off the hard-earned money of other men." I took offense to that, but I held my peace, and instead decided to defuse the fast igniting bomb.

"This isn't really the time for this, you know," I told NoName. "You do realize that she's our best bet to finding Flandre, right? And she did save me...us, I mean."

NoName scowled even more, but nodded in resignation. "So what do you want in return for information?"

"I was hoping to be nice earlier, and now I'm in a foul mood, so I will stand with nothing less than 1000 cherries," demanded Alice. "With down payment up front."

NoName snorted again, more rudely than before. "Are you brain dead? There's no way we'll - "

"- It's a deal," I said abruptly before NoName could even finish.

"Nice to know that someone here knows better," said Alice.

"However, you have to take us there first," I said quietly. "Like we have to know that you aren't fooling around."

Alice shook her head. "Nope. You already owe me from saving you guys from Izayoi, AND nicking an antidote from her to save your pretty little face."

Ouch. Can't argue with that. "How about this, if you escort us to where they kept Flandre, you'll get your reward, with down payment now, and a bonus from the city mayor."

NoName visibly blanched and started to protest. "Hey, what do you -"

"Why would the mayor want to do that?" asked Alice.

"Because Flandre is the mayor's sister," I declared with relish. Actually it felt more clich?d than it sounded. Like a really cheesy novel out of the imagination of a writer running on three cups of coffee.

Unsurprisingly, Alice burst out laughing unceremoniously. I've never seen (an) Alice so happy that does not involve me in some sort of misfortune. Like that one time I tripped an invisible string net around her mushroom patch. That brought down what, twenty or thirty murderous dolls chasing me around for a good fifteen minutes. Alice spent a good part of that laughing maliciously as I apologized and begged her to stop the dolls. Of course, I did pocket enough mushrooms for week?s worth of magical experiments, so it wasn't too bad.

"Seriously? You're a real kidder," said Alice when she regained her composure. "You're an incredible storyteller, aren't you?"

"Not really," I told her, wincing at her non-stop chuckling. "I'm not really joking."

Alice calmed down after a few more fits. "So...the mayor's sister gets kidnapped, and it's up to a reckless magician and..." Alice glanced at NoName. "...a hard-necked mercenary to save her. Quite quaint."

"Well, if you don't want to help, we can find it by ourselves," I said. Tough luck with that, but I'm counting on a familiar virtue that is common to all people of my profession. "And get the mayor's reward for ourselves. After all, the mayor really loves her sister."

...


Somehow, the promise of a reward heightened Alice?s spirits, and she seemed content to lead us through the alleys without a word of complaint. In fact, she didn?t even push for the down payment, and declared that we leave at once.

Less than an hour later, we were walking by the alley were I ended up after being swept by the crowd during my earlier walk and found Flandre's ribbon. Alice led us through the winding ways, NoName was grumbling behind me.

"Why did you tell her about Flandre?"

"So I shouldn't have told her?"

"Of course not," said NoName in the most exasperated voice she could muster. Then she sighed in resignation. "If we find Flandre, I hope I don't live to regret this day."

"Wow, and they call me a pessimist," I observed darkly. "You'd rather blunder around this alley and meet Sakuya again?"

NoName made a sour face. "Which reminds me, what kind of idiocy were you thinking earlier?"

"I dare you to be more specific. I've done a lot of stupid things so far." Although I already knew what she was talking about, I didn't really want to talk about it right now.

"About Izayoi," said NoName. "You don't look the type who'd rush in without thinking, but you don't seem overly bright either, so I don't think you had a plan to defeat her."

I simply shrugged. "Actually, I planned to defeat her with -" I felt my pocket, but I realized that my Starlight Typhoon wasn't there anymore.

"Were you looking for this?" asked NoName. She handed me a piece of paper - my spell card. "You dropped this while fighting Izayoi."

"Thanks." I took the spell card gingerly, and noted NoName's strange expression.

"Those writings, are they from your land?" asked NoName.

"Yep. This one reads 'Love Storm', and then 'Starlight Typhoon'," I explained. "This is a spell card, which I use for my magic."

"Huh, so you don't use magical phrases and chants to cast spells?"

"Eh, sometimes," I admitted. "But they're kind of inconvenient to use in a battle, you know."

"So you were planning to take Izayoi with a spell?" asked NoName. I nodded. "I see, quite bold, if not reckless. Still, you're quite adept with normal fighting. I've only seen a few people who can dodge Izayoi's attacks with pure speed."

Alice chided in as well. "You move pretty fast actually," she said with a whistle. "Like someone who gets into these kinds of fight often."

Hah, if you only knew, you Alice-faced burglar!

"I used to live in a place where people fight for fun," I said in a dry tone. "I actually fought someone who fights like Sakuya, so I was pretty confident until she rushed in." I usually get a pi~chuun when that happens in spell card battles, but I guess they wouldn't understand.

?So you feeling all right now?? asked NoName. ?You should?ve gone back to Letty?s inn, or at least reported back to Kourin at the caf?.?

?I still feel stiff, but I?m alright,? I said.

?Yeah, I like hearing your bravado,? said Alice with a gentle pat on my injured shoulder. I winced at the contact. ?You know, if you die, I?m probably not going to get my full reward, so don?t die, okay? I can?t promise you that I?ll come in like a white knight next time.?

I scowled at her sarcasm, but I liked this Alice?s concern for my welfare.?If everything goes according to plan, we can get Flandre out without fighting, right??

The winding path that we had been following all this time turned sharply a few yards away. We suddenly stopped when we heard footsteps coming from ahead of us. Without another word, Alice pulled us behind a parked wooden cart to hide.


END CHAPTER 10

Title: Re: Marisa and Things-Not-About-Her-So-They-Are-Not-Important!
Post by: MaJO on May 28, 2013, 12:53:06 AM

I wish I had half your story telling talent.

Title: I'm jobhunting like crazy because I'm not Nazrin...or aren't I? *dundun*
Post by: Nenekonesha on June 27, 2013, 02:27:50 PM

CHAPTER 11

DISTRUST

"Hush, or they'll hear us," Alice whispered while she kept her head down. We knelt behind the wooden cart and heard the voices getting clearer as they walked closer.

"You must be losing your touch," said a voice, a familiar one at that...like someone I've met from some time ago, though I cannot remember who or what or when. It felt like someone from just beyond the edge of my memory, but...er, what? It was kind of confusing.

"I'll finish them if and when we meet again," said a cold, ruthless voice. There was no doubt that it was Sakuya. I glanced at NoName who nodded in reply. If Sakuya was here, then Alice was right. Flandre should be inside the warehouse indeed.

"You were in bad shape earlier. What were you hit with?"

"A girl landed on me and hit me with something hard on my head." The other voice laughed. "I was barely able to escape with more than a scratch. My head still hurts, but I'll be fine."

"The girl, this Flandre, is she safe?" asked the first voice, changing the topic. I noted the concern in her tone, which puzzled me a little.

 Kidnappers with a conscience perhaps? Not unlikely, but not relevant to me whatsoever.

"She is heavily guarded," Sakuya assured her. "How about your side? How many have you convinced?"

"Lots. It's easy to read people around these parts, they're always after something, money usually, and we have so much of that."

"Are they enough to go through with the next plan?"

"Not really, but good enough for distractions."

"And the busybody, Rinnosuke?" asked Sakuya.

"We have some people waiting for him at the headquarters, at the very least; he will not be able to make any move against us."

"Are you sure?"

"Dead sure," assured the first voice.

Their voices were fading away, and I could hear Alice sighing. "Good thing they didn't notice us," she whispered. "Then again, I can take care of Izayoi myself."

"You seem pretty confident," observed NoName. "Sakuya is not the type of person who you can take down easily."

"Tell me about it," grunted Alice. "Let's go. We have a girl to rescue."

Is it just me or everything is getting out of focus? I mean, this is my story after all, but for some reason, I feel like I'm being drawn towards the sidelines while other plot event characters take the center stage. It makes me a little bit frisky, but I guess it can't be helped.

The last time I thought about taking over the center stage, I nearly died, so maybe it's not so bad after all, heh. I fingered the torn shoulder of my dress. I should get a new dress one of these days. I wonder if they have some black and white dresses here. I might go for blue, but it's a seasonal thing.

"What are you mumbling on about?" asked NoName as we stepped out of our hiding place. "Are you sure you're all right?"

"Not really, I'm probably delusional," I answered sheepishly. "Don't mind me." NoName gave me a troubled look, but shrugged it off.

?I heard something about Kourin,? I told NoName who only nodded in reply.

?They might have something in store for him,? said NoName with no small amount of concern. ?He can probably take care of himself though, whatever they might throw at him.?

Wait, what? Kourin can take care of himself? Now that is something I?d rather want to see.

"It?s too late to back out now," Alice reasoned. "Not when the warehouse is already in front of us. They might move Flandre to another location, and then what??

"You're awfully enthusiastic," I pointed out. "You're really into this, aren't you?"

Alice chuckled. "Well, if there's a reward in this, there's nothing much I can lose, right?"

NoName let out a sigh. "You two sure are taking everything lightly. We don't even know how many guards are inside."

"Don't put it that way, it's not like we're being carefree about it," said Alice. "I'm actually quite tense, you know. Look, it's just to calm our nerves, okay?"

...Well, no, not in my case. I've been in far too many incidents in Gensokyo to get nervous about something like this. Well, after getting beaten by Reimu, then getting involved in some incidents like the Scarlet Mist and the long winter, long night, and then the weird ship, you get used to handling situations as they come, right?

However, I can feel the tension building between NoName and Alice. People called me somewhat dense (to which I have strong opinion against), but I do realize that NoName and Alice aren't exactly holding hands and inviting each other for a cup of tea and sharing a plate of croissants. They aren't exactly antagonistic with each other, but every time they talk with each other, I can feel the air chill down a few degrees.

"So, how do we get inside the warehouse?" I asked our resident thief, trying to get them to focus. "Are there side passages that we can use to get in without being noticed?"

"Let me check around," said Alice as she looked towards the warehouse. "I'm pretty sure that this warehouse has another entrance in another alley, but let me be sure."

Without another word, she suddenly grabbed an overhanging pole and leaped into the air, using the momentum to propel herself upwards then grabbing another ledge to do the same, repeating the stunt until she reached the rooftops.

"Stay there, I'll be back in five minutes, if not..." Alice called out as she vanished into the rooftops. I think my neck got sore looking at her acrobatics.

"Huh, she's pretty good," remarked NoName. "Too bad she's wasting her talents as a thief."

"You have something against thieves, don't you?" I asked cheerfully. "You've been onto her case since I woke up."

NoName shrugged, but did not answer. She settled on top of a barrel, rested her elbows on her thighs and settled into what I've heard called as the "Gendou pose", whoever that is.

"Say, are you familiar with this Alice person?" she asked in an accusatory tone. "Or are you the kind of person who likes to trust random strangers?"

Huh, a weird question, but not unexpected. "I could ask you the same thing. After all, we just met a few hours ago."

"Fair enough," answered NoName. "Let me be clear then, I'm working with you to recover Flandre. I'm working with you because Kourin seems to trust you, and because I'm Letty's friend."

"You are Letty's friend?" I asked, surprised. I'm starting to wonder how small this world must be.

"Yes," said NoName, pausing a bit before adding, "You probably don't know much about her, do you?"

I guess answering anything about "a yuki-onna who likes to pull strings and has the inverse hibernation cycle of a bear" is out of the question. On the other hand, it might be funny if I said that, but I guess the atmosphere is too serious for that.

"Should I know?" I asked back, flicking the tip of my hat with a finger. "As a matter of fact, how much do you know about me anyway?"

NoName blinked twice and looked away. "Let's just go save Flandre, for Kourin's sake.? She sighed, then added, ?I hope he?s all right.?

"Look, I don't mind if you don't trust me," I told her.

Heck, who am I kidding? It's bugging me like...a bug, which while unoriginal, gets the point across.

"I want to save Flandre too, and not just because of some reward, or because she's the mayor's sister or anything,? I declared

"So why are you helping?"

Huh, tough question.

"Because I'm an altruistic person," I answered cheerfully. Well, that's at least half-true.

I really do want to help out Flandre, even if she is not the same Flandre that I know (who, in my opinion, cannot be kidnapped by any normal person of sufficient sanity). Then again, there are the possible bonuses of helping out, like rare rewards from a side quest in an adventure or something along those lines...but the altruistic part comes from the fact that they're optional, right?

Right?

NoName snorted at my last remark, but someone fell from the sky and saved NoName from answering. Alice landed deftly on the ground, kicking up dust and small stones into the air. I covered my nose to keep myself from sneezing.

"Found an opening," Alice puffed, her face somewhat grim. NoName picked up her change of demeanor almost immediately.

"What's the matter?"

"Trouble," Alice said without skipping a beat. "I saw a girl, probably the one you are looking for. She IS heavily guarded, around twenty guards, armed lightly with swords, three of them have crossbows."

"..."

NoName expression was a mixture of worry and disbelief. "You counted them and their weapons?" she asked incredulously.

Her tone suggested that she only expected Alice to find an entrance, not anything else. Talk about selling people short. I wonder what NoName thinks about me?

"What, you were expecting me to ask them out for a date?" asked Alice drily. "Of course I counted them, I'd rather know what I'll be dodging if anything goes wrong."

And the tension is up there in the clouds. If I had an axe, I could chop it down and see the giant fall, then mug him for his golden goose.

"So what's the plan?" I asked, breaking the tension once more. Sheesh, I should get paid for this. I don't want to spend the rest of the day as a ringleader!

"Well, storming in like idiots is not really an option. You're busted up." Alice pointed at my shoulder, and then turned to glance at NoName. "And I don't think you're a battle maiden who can kill fifty enemies in a single stroke."

"Hardly," answered NoName. "So what are you getting at?"

Alice leaned closer to NoName who reflexively jerked back, nearly toppling over her barrel. Alice caught her by the cuffs and leaned over to her ear and whispered a few words. NoName promptly replied by falling off her seat.

"Are you INSANE?" said in NoName in a barely restrained, high-strung voice. I raised an eyebrow and Alice gestured at me to approach them. Alice leaned over and whispered, presumably, the same thing she told NoName.

My reaction was not as negative, however.

"Let's do it," I agreed, much to NoName's chagrin.

END CHAPTER 11

Title: Re: Marisa and Things-Not-About-Her-So-They-Are-Not-Important!
Post by: Cybeast710 on June 27, 2013, 04:20:07 PM

LOVE. THIS. STORY.

Title: Re: Marisa and Things-Not-About-Her-So-They-Are-Not-Important!
Post by: Blue on June 27, 2013, 09:30:34 PM

This story deserves all the win. All of it.

Title: Re: Marisa and Things-Not-About-Her-So-They-Are-Not-Important!
Post by: ninryu on July 10, 2013, 08:43:46 PM

Oooh, any plan that pleases Marisa must be insanely dangerous.  :D

Title: Ji~n~sei O~wa~ta! Tsekumeito - damn, that's catchy
Post by: Nenekonesha on July 12, 2013, 04:21:10 AM

CHAPTER 12

FRANTIC RESCUE

"I am completely against this idea," protested NoName. "Seriously, I thought you were more reasonable than this."

I simply shrugged her off. "Hey, do you have a better idea?"

"YES!" grunted NoName. "I can use my local connections to ask the city guardsmen to help storming the warehouse, or maybe ask Kourin for help and get the guild involved and get Flandre out."

"And if they move Flandre from this hideout?" I asked with half-serious nonchalance.

"That's what you and the thief are here for!" declared NoName. We were speaking barely above a whisper, but the din of the busy streets just beyond the alley would have drowned out anything below a shout. "We were just investigating, remember? We never told Kourin that we'll do some foolhardy cowboy rescue on our own. This is simply nuts."

"Not the craziest thing I've done so far today," I replied. "If they move Flandre, we can follow them, OR Sakuya could just come finish me off, unless Alice lands on her again, in which their twenty or so guards would just finish us off with their nice swords."

"That won't happen if you don't get seen."

"Which would only happen if they somehow failed spontaneous spot checks, all twenty of them plus Sakuya and her companion if they follow too," I reasoned out. "Hey, if it makes you feel better, I'm a magician, not a thief, so hiding around alleys is not really my stuff."

"You could just send Alice follow them and report back."

"And if she gets caught?"

NoName didn't answer. Instead, she tried another argument. "Can't you use your magic to defeat the guards?"

"Trust me. I can't do that without harming everyone within a five meter radius around me." Including myself, I wanted to add.

Unfortunately, of all the spell cards I carried into this forsaken world, the one I got is the spell which targets me, and everything else around me. After all, Starlight Typhoon is acting like itself, without the spell card limiter attached to its power. So instead of the usual feeling of getting hit by a handball on your face, you get the full damage from the bullets, like cratering solid rock, and burning through solid wood.

Which leaves me with a few thoughts, such as: WHY DID I EVEN MAKE THIS SPELL? I swear that I must have been drunk when I devised it. Then again, it is pretty, and a little bit counter-intuitive for opponents, so long as the spell card rules made me immune to my own bullets. Here, not so much.

"There has to be a better idea," NoName persisted. "If anything happens to Flandre because of your stupid plan - "

"It was Alice's plan, so it would be her fault," I pointed out.

"I'll personally hang you both on a gibbet," NoName finished ominously. A classic threat, if not a little bit clich?d. I guess I'm more of an "off-with-your-head" threat approach kind of person.

"Well that's very nice of you," said a voice behind me. "At least it won't be lonely, hanging around and all."

Alice was beaming as she approached, carrying a piece of burnt wood over her shoulder. The tip was still smoking.

"You're finished?" I asked in surprise. "Are you sure it's going to spread fast?"

"Of course, it's a wine warehouse after - "

Alice's reply was cut off by a shrill scream from somewhere nearby.

"FIIIIIIIIIREEEE!!!!"

Gold Wind nodded her head in smug satisfaction. "Right on schedule."

I heard a 'whoosh' sound, and smoke started to trail from one of the buildings deeper in the alley. NoName suddenly slapped me on my injured shoulder. I winced.

"I wasn't joking earlier," NoName said quietly.

Right. Let's get this over with already. I started to run towards the warehouse. I heard Alice and NoName follow suit.

The warehouse was smoking, and the air was already heating up to uncomfortable levels. Whatever wine they are storing inside there, they burn quite hot. I sure do hope they decided to rescue Flandre first.

"They'll rescue her first," assured Alice. "Sakuya and her companion seemed intent to keep her safe and unhurt."

"Keep hoping," grumbled NoName. "They're starting to open the doors."

Sure enough the warehouse wooden gates rumbled open as coughing people frantically tried to escape the growing conflagration inside.

"Let's get into position," said NoName. "We'll take them as they shuffle out."

We stood in the middle of the alley, facing the gates. Alice handed me and NoName a piece of long wood. "Not really good against swords, so we have to take them out fast."

"We're here to rescue Flandre," NoName reminded me. "Once we get her, we get out of this place as quickly as possible."

"Smash and grab, right? Then we run like there's no tomorrow. If we get separated, we'll meet at Kourin's place or Letty's," I added. The two nodded and braced themselves for the first people to burst out the warehouse.

"Get the girl out, quick! And somebody put out that fire?" Shouts were coming from the inside.

I puffed deeply then shouted at the top of my voice, "Attack!" My voice echoed through the alley, and the guards were disoriented by everything that's happened. An ambush was another complication that they didn't count on.

"Crap, ambu - " Alice smacked the guard with a good solid blow on the face, and then dropped her makeshift weapon to pull out his sword in one fluid motion, all in the span of a single charge. Whoa.

NoName didn't waste any time and kicked another guard at the stomach to knock him over, then took the man's sword before stabbing him in the -

I looked away and saw a huge man carrying a little girl over his shoulder. He stood nearly four heads above me. Man, this guy really like to drink his milk. Damn it, I just HAD to get the short end of the stick.

Without wasting time, I charged in. Weapons high and my gut burning hot, I smashed my club on the man's thigh to topple him over. It was the only thing I could reach anyway.

The improvised weapon splintered into pieces as the huge oaf grunted in pain, before batting me away with his arm. I careened on the floor, coughing as I tried to regain my wind.

Smash and grab, huh? Okay, how am I supposed to smash and grab Flandre from this huge, hulking, piece of meat?

I heard a bloodcurdling shout which drowned out the noise of painful whimpers and moans from the other guards as NoName and Alice methodically cut through them. The acrid smoke stung their eyes and throat, and the huge man blocking the entrance was making them shuffle out of the warehouse in a disorganized, panic-stricken pace. The panic was fatal, from their screams of pain, and Alice's and NoName's grunts of exertion.

But I have other problems. The 300 hundred pound chunk of meat started to plow right through me with Flandre still slung over his shoulder. I dove right and heard him slam to a bunch of crates. Should I use this chance to use Starlight Typhoon?

And get this Flandre burnt to a crisp? Fat chance. The ironic part is that the Flandre from Gensokyo probably has this problem when she fights during spell card battles. I mean, with her ability to kyuu~ things into oblivion and all. And then there's her Ragnarok-related, apocalypse-happy sword/spear/stick thing. It's supposed to be a legendary weapon used by...er, Burt? Kurt? Burp? I can't remember.

I need a weapon, damn it! I should've brought my broom. It's shaft is quite hard, you know. I looked around and saw a metal pipe roll out from the destroyed crates. How convenient. I ran towards it as the hulking man regained his footing. Gripping the pipe with two hands, I charged and aimed a blow -

- which he blocked with an arm. He grunted in pain, and then tried to swat me away, but I already anticipated the move and was well out of his reach before he could retaliate. Damn, good thing I've had plenty of practice with Suika in brawling, and against that celestial as well.

"You..." said the man in a low, almost animalistic grunt. "I smash you!" Very cute. I'd like someone like him as a pet if I get a chance. Then I'll feed him, and raise him, and call him...er, you know what, DROP the idea.

"Me-no-smash-easy," I replied in a low Cro-Magnon voice. This infuriated the guy, and threw a crate at me. I rolled left. And it flew past me. I heard some guy shout in pain, along with the sound of smashing wood. Another crate came crashing in, and I simply sidestepped, letting it smash on the floor.

"You-throw-like-baby," I jeered. "You-go-home-and-get-mommy."

The man charged in with loud, guttural roar. I swear, this guy has like, three patterns, charge, throw and smash. Time for some MegaMari dodging!

I dove to my right and the huge oaf ran, like a wagon without brakes, towards the warehouse gate.

...

Swinging a sword isn't much of a chore, but it does get your arm tired.

"That's four," said Alice, puffing. The soldiers were rushing out like lambs, only to be met with deadly force. But after the initial surprise died down, they were answered with badly aimed crossbow bolts from the warehouse's smoking interior. Still, with surprise and confusion on their side, they easily cut down the first ones to come out, except for the big oaf. They were lightly armored, but Alice and NoName found it of little trouble.

"I've put down six," said NoName, keeping count as well. "Nine more and -"

"That big thing," replied Alice. "I swear he didn't look as big when I scouted earlier."

"He must be sitting on a corner then," NoName puffed as three soldiers rushed out, this time prepared. Suddenly, they heard an angry shout from behind, and a crate smashed against one of the guards and knocked him unconscious. Alice took the moment and rushed in.

"It was dark inside the warehouse," Alice conceded as she tackled one of the soldiers and engaged the third. "They didn't light any lamps."

NoName finished the tackled soldier and flanked the third guard and ended his guard duties with a swift stab. "Man, you're good at this," said Alice in admiration. She finished the unconscious guard with a quick coup-de-grace.

"You're doing pretty well for a thief too," NoName replied. The two of them were panting heavily from the exertion of fighting nearly ten-to-one odds, even with the advantage of shock and ambush.

"How many was that?" Alice asked between deep puffs.

"Thirteen."

"Fortunately, I'm not superstitious," said Alice with a wince. The three guards that came out had crossbows, and both Alice and NoName knew that they were at a disadvantage. Not only were they tired, they were also outnumbered. Three more came out, their swords drawn. "Okay, maybe a little."

"How is Marisa doing?" asked NoName, more of punctuation than a question.

Alice glanced back. "She's still busy I bet."

"I was afraid of that," sighed NoName. Then she heard a huge roar coming from behind, and she instinctively ducked to the side. Alice mirrored her movements, and the huge meat wagon crashed into the soldiers, plowing past them towards the doorframe of the warehouse gate.

...

"Damn!"

Without another thought, I hurried towards the big guy as he crashed towards the gates. He buckled up in pain, but that wasn't my problem.

He's still carrying Flandre over his shoulder like a sack. Change of plans.

I leaped across the fallen bodies of the guards, ignoring the astonished looks from NoName and our little thief. Gripping the metal pipe with both hands, I leaped and smashed the pipe behind the man's head with full force. The guy folded up, and I reached for Flandre's limp arm to pull her away moments before the doorframe came crashing down.

The warehouse was now truly ablaze, and I quickly half-dragged, half lifted the unconscious girl from the conflagration.

"That's one way of rescuing someone," observed NoName with a tired smile. Alice slumped down on the floor in fatigue.

"Mission accomplished," I announced proudly.

As if in punctuation, the warehouse started to crumble, probably toasting everyone left inside. I guess I should feel a little bad for the warehouse owner -

- but a huge guttural roar came out of the debris, and the pile of burning wood shivered as if someone was struggling to lift them all up from within.

"Oh you have got to be kidding me," I cried in exasperation. How much damage can that guy take?

"Time to go," declared Alice. "We'll use the smoke to cover our escape."

"I guess you thought this through well enough," admitted NoName.

"Whatever," replied Alice. She was too tired to care for praises, or whatever NoName said.

Another growl from the debris reinforced Alice's plan. "Time to go," I conceded. NoName offered to take Flandre on her back. After complying I looked around and saw the littered bodies and pooling blood.

"Let's go, let's go," urged Alice who was already on her feet. The smoke was thick now, and we can hardly see more than ten feet away. "The firemen would be here soon, and we don't need the attention and the crowds if we want to get away fast."

She led us out of the alley, and into the glorious afternoon of the main streets of Mimic.

END CHAPTER 12

Title: Re: Marisa and Things-Not-About-Her-So-They-Are-Not-Important!
Post by: Cybeast710 on July 12, 2013, 09:55:39 AM

*claps* once again, a masterpiece.

Title: Re: Marisa and Things-Not-About-Her-So-They-Are-Not-Important!
Post by: Lavalake on July 12, 2013, 02:06:01 PM

I was going to go to sleep a while ago, but I was like:
"Just one more chapter."
I love the narration and I can perfectly imagine Marisa in the situations. (I would have freaked out if I saw Flandre behind me.  :3)
I currently have only finished Chapter 8, and I actually thought NoName was Sakuya. (I still don't know her identity.) That was a personal plot twist.

This story has me yelling in my mind. Like, when she saw the inn keeper. And described her, I was like:
"LETTY WHITEROCK IS IN THIS STORY??!! MARISA, IT'S LETTY WHITEROCK!!"
I will finish it off tomorrow, I'm really really tired, and I can't wait for the rest.

Title: Re: Marisa and Things-Not-About-Her-So-They-Are-Not-Important!
Post by: Kyoren on July 13, 2013, 11:38:05 AM

Simply Beautiful *claps*

Title: (*(D3D9->GetDevice()))->Present(NULL,NULL,NULL,NULL); return ROUTINE_SUCCESS;
Post by: Nenekonesha on August 10, 2013, 07:21:06 AM

CHAPTER 12 + 1

UNLUCKY

We arrived at the Central Plaza without much fuss, though we did get some curious glances from bystanders here and there. I bet we looked simply odd, a thief who looked a little more than a street urchin, a well-dressed woman who carried an unconscious girl on her back, and me. I looked pretty normal in my opinion, if you disregard the torn shoulder of my dress. My injury was bandaged though, so there's no problem of showing too much skin, haha~

Alice pushed the cafe's door open and we were greeted by the sweet silence of the deserted establishment.

"Rinnosuke is not here yet," NoName observed. Not like it would've made much difference. I bet the cafe would still be deserted.

NoName settled Flandre down on a chair. She was still unconscious, and relatively unhurt if you didn?t count the singed hems of her dress. It probably caught a little fire while her captors were trying to escape the burning warehouse, but it didn't do too much harm on her or on the dress. NoName started to clean her dirtied clothing with a piece of tissue from one of the tables.

"They probably drugged her," said Alice, gesturing at Flandre. She reached inside her clothes and drew out a small syringe barely half a foot long. It contained a yellowish liquid inside.

"What's that?" I asked her.

"I nicked this from Sakuya when I knocked her out earlier," said Alice. She brought out another syringe. It was already empty. "This was the one I used on you to neutralize the effect of her poisoned knives.

"She's carrying an antidote of her own poison with her?"

"Of course, any sensible person would do that," remarked Alice. "What if she messed up and poisoned someone she shouldn't? Like herself, for instance. It's safety insurance."

"What bothers me is how you knew," NoName pointed out with suspicion.

"It's a secret," said Alice with a wink. "Anyway, I'm positive that this is the reviving antidote for Flandre."

"How sure are you?" asked NoName with a grimace.

Alice hiked a thumb at me. "She's still breathing, right?"

"Good point," NoName conceded. Ouch, I just got used as a finishing blow for an argument. Still, I didn't think I should say anything else for the moment. My shoulder was aching a bit as well. The fight with the brute earlier was not one of the smartest things I've done today, but far from the stupidest.

NoName handed me the dirty tissue paper, which I accepted on reflex. I looked around for a trash can. Not seeing any, I pocketed it, vowing to dispose it later. I mean, I'm not going to litter inside a well-maintained place. It's rude, you know?

NoName took the syringe from Alice and injected it on Flandre's arm. In a few moments, Flandre became more animated as she started to come out of her induced sleep.

"...wha?" She blinked twice and looked really confused. She slowly looked around and brightened up when she noticed us.

"Huh, that was fast," I said as I settled on a chair next to her. NoName knelt beside Flandre and bowed.

"Oh it's you and Marisa..." said Flandre. She raised an eyebrow when she noticed Alice.

"Alice, at your service, madam." She bowed with flourish, which brought a smile from Flandre.

"Can you tell us what happened?" I asked Flandre. "Who kidnapped you and why?"

"Marisa!" exclaimed NoName. "This is not really the time for this. We need to bring Flandre to safety first, and let her rest properly."

Great, now NoName's a child nurse. Secret agent, fighter, and now a child nurse. She must have a colorful background history in her resume.

"Well, she's right, you know," Alice chided in when she saw my dark expression. Since when did she and NoName stopped arguing and took the same side? "We should probably return her first to the mayor."

"So you do come up with sane ideas from time to time," snorted NoName. "We should -"

"You should return her to us, really." A voice cut off NoName's last remark sharply like a sword.

I suddenly realized that someone else beside us was in the room. We all turned around in unison and saw a beaming young woman. She wore a fancy yellow dress and a green skirt, and wore a black bowl hat.

I swear I've seen her before. If she is another cameo from Gensokyo, then I won't be too surprised. But who the heck is she?

In a flash, NoName crouched, ready to spring into action if need be. Alice also tensed up, but maintained her outward calm demeanor. As for me, I'm still puzzling how she got into the room without us noticing. Well, somebody had to figure it out, right?

"Komeiji Koishi, at your service," said, uh...Koishi. Komeiji, Komeiji...I know that name. That's the satori's family name, the one I met from my underground adventure!

Okay...uh, so who's Koishi again?

"You work for Izayoi, I presume?" asked NoName. Now I kind of wished that we didn't drop our makeshift weapons during our panicked run from the warehouse.

"Izayoi works for me," Koishi emphasized, raising a finger like a teacher reminding a slow student of a difficult lesson. "Though she had been a little slow with her duties lately."

"Why do you want Flandre?" I asked. "Who are you working for?"

"Who I work for is none of your concern," Koishi said with a nod, as if to agree with herself. "As for your first question, I want Flandre because she has to be protected."

Flandre seemed to shudder at her last remark, but said nothing.

"She needs no protection from kidnappers such as you," declared NoName. For some reason, the entire exchange reminded me of a cheesy play between two rivals in love, fighting over their one love...

...My imaginations are mostly out of context anyway. Like flying pigs on top of Reimu's shrine. If that were to happen, Reimu would have sukiyaki all day. Now if I can only borrow ginger from the village. Now that would be a great feast.

...but I digress.

"A fascinating argument," observed Koishi with a dissonant cheery tone. "Here's my counteroffer."

Koishi vanished from our sight and appeared in front of NoName and punched her squarely at the gut. And she did it in a second flat. Whoa.

NoName grunted at the pain, and staggered backward as Koishi sprang away from her.

"Hey!" I jumped towards NoName and grabbed her shoulders to steady her.

"Just a demonstration," Koishi warned in a low voice." Please do not compare me with Izayoi, or the guards from the warehouse." Koishi started to walk around the tables in a meandering manner, like a theater actress ad libbing her stage directions.

"If I want to take Flandre by force, I would have done so without bothering to introduce myself," Koishi said quietly. "But that would be really rude." Quite ethical.

"After all, you managed to get Flandre from my guards, and then carried her all the way here. It would have worked except for one little thing," Koishi continued on. "You didn't know that you were going against me. The fire caught my attention almost immediately after it started. I arrived just as you were running away. I just had to follow you, though I guess if I knew that you were going to be so predictable as to bring her here, I should?ve just waited here with a few men."

"So what are you here for then?" I asked.

Suddenly Koishi literally appeared in front of me, our face inches away. Either she was moving so fast, or she could teleport. Like the tengu or the maid. Neither a good choice if I had to fight them at my current state. I nearly jumped back in surprise.

"To negotiate, dear magician from last night," said Koishi. Last night felt like a month ago. "You see, you have something I want, and I can offer you something you want."

Koishi stepped back and drew a pair of glasses from her pocket. It was unmistakable. They were Kourin's glasses. The spectacles were cracked and one of the ears was missing.

"Wh-a, how did you- ?" NoName puffed out, recovering her breath.

"Yes, yes, it is Morichika's glasses," Koishi said with a nod. "You want to know why I have it, yes?"

"Where is Kourin? What did you do to him? " Flandre demanded. Her voice was trembling.

"Nothing, at the moment," said Koishi. "Of course, that can abruptly change depending on your answer."

"My answer?" asked Flandre. Aww. Now I feel really left out. I didn't know the basement girl is pretty popular in this world.

Jokes aside, I know how this is going to turn out. If they're holding Kourin hostage, and knowing Flandre as a good friend of his, she'd be forced to give herself up to the weird girl in exchange for Kourin's safety. And then a few double-crosses later, Koishi will have both Flandre and Rinnosuke, and I'll probably be facing an appointment with a shinigami.

Aww. Sucks to be on the wrong side of the story. NoName will be dead, and Alice will probably double cross us, because she's Alice and she cannot be fully trusted. And Letty is actually an alien in disguise, and Reimu is my long-lost daughter.

Mmm. I guess I'm getting way to ahead of myself. I knew reading suspense thriller books were bound to rub me off in some weird way. Or was that drama? I can't tell the difference between the two, by the way.

I sighed at out grim prospects and dug my hands in my pockets. Then I suddenly had a brilliant idea (which, mind you, is the norm, not the exception - like my tryst with Sakuya earlier whose intimate touch nearly gave me an appointment with the boatwoman).

"I guess it's going to be the same old routine, then?" I asked, a little bit harshly. "Flandre goes to you, and you give us Kourin, right?"

Koishi brightened up at my response. "Clever of you, but it doesn't really take much of a brain to figure that out, right?"

"Not really, no," I admitted. "However, what makes you think we'll hand her over?"

"On the contrary, I believe that Flandre is already decided," Koishi reasoned. Flandre looked thoughtful enough to be thinking about surrendering.

"Damn it, I wish Alice didn't wake her up then," I answered. Alice snorted.

"Huh, what? So this is my fault now?" Alice answered back with a mix of anger and confusion.

"Excuse me, if you two are going to bicker, please let me have Flandre and feel free to continue afterwards - " She noticed my arm drawing something from my skirt pocket.

She suddenly appeared beside me, pulling my arm up. She then pushed me down on the floor, stepping on my injured shoulder. Wild colors blotted my vision as I screamed in pain. "A very clever distraction, indeed. Please, I already know how you used your power at the inn. Without the piece of paper that you use for magic, you are useless -"

She snatched the piece of paper from my immobilized hand, and gasped in horror as she realized that she was holding a dirty tissue.

"Sorry, wrong arm," I said, waving the spell card at my other hand. Koishi blinked. "Go~! Starlight Typhoon!"

The spell card glowed brightly in my hand, and a bunch of magic slaves appeared around us accompanied by a flash of light.

"Oh dear," Koishi blurted out. Seizing the moment, I elbowed her other foot which made her lose her balance and slip. I slipped free of her grasp, and was instantly on top of her.

"RUN!" I shouted at the top of my lungs. Alice and NoName were transfixed on my pretty magical circle slave things. "RUN!!"

ZING.

The slaves started to fire their bullets and lasers, and I was instantly on my feet, dodging the bullets as they hit Koishi on the floor. Alice grabbed both NoName and Flandre and ran towards the front door.

END CHAPTER 14 - 1

Title: Re: Marisa and Things-Not-About-Her-So-They-Are-Not-Important!
Post by: Labuto on August 10, 2013, 07:37:47 AM

Great story! Keep it up! Can't wait for the next part to come up.

Title: Re: Marisa and Things-Not-About-Her-So-They-Are-Not-Important!
Post by: MaJO on August 27, 2013, 04:09:28 PM

I just realized that NoName is very likely cirno.  Now I cant take her seriously.

Title: Cliffhangers should always have Tokimeki no Doukasen playing in the background
Post by: Nenekonesha on August 29, 2013, 12:18:29 PM

CHAPTER 13 + 1

SUBVERSION

The magical slaves were ablaze with the fury of danmaku, like glowing judges who handed out a quick and swift verdict to those who it finds unworthy of mercy. It strikes without warning, and without remorse, leaving only a trail of point and power items taken from its victims.

Aww, who am I kidding? I'm no poet. Poet-izing events just isn't my style. And if I'm a judge, then Reimu is my lazy shinigami.

"Whoops~" I jumped over a table, moments before it splintered into this winter's firewood. Flandre and the others were nowhere in sight, which made me a little lonely. Aww, I miss NOT dodging my own spell card already.

Oishi, or was it Koishi, or whoever she is, staggered to regain her footing. She looked terrible, like someone after fighting the monster miko back home. Despite her injuries, and clothing damage which would probably give any tailor a heart attack, she wore a creepy benign smile which reminded me of Alice during her fouler moods.

"My you look like you're in trouble," she remarked as she saw me dodge a laser seconds before it turned me into roasted long pork.

I swear I'm going to make some major modifications on this spell when I get back to my nice, comfy home. I mean, sure, I liked the challenges, but give me a break! The entire revolving plot which probably involves me dying in one grisly way or another is getting old real fast.

Okay, time to run, run, RUN!

RU - wait, where is Koishi going? Koishi, staggered in a half-walk, half-limp fashion towards the cafe's exit.

...

Oh, right. Flandre.

Damn, I hate being ignored. I can't let her escape and get Flandre either.

I jumped through the barrage of bullets, and easily caught up with Koishi, blocking her path. The slaves kept up their barrage, raining destruction on whatever path I step on. Instead of stopping, I ran around Koishi, knowing that the bullets trailed moments behind me. Koishi stopped cold as the bullets crashed down on her path.

"Tch."

Koishi jumped away, and I immediately strafed across her path to the entrance, running around in a wide oval path while dodging the bullets which always landed moments behind me.

"Annoying, isn't it?" I asked amidst the tumult of the magical barrage.

"Quite so," Koishi admitted, still with her nonchalant smile. "You intend to keep me here and let your friends escape, yes?"

"They're not really my friends," I replied, puffing from the effort as I ran around, and the bullets chased after me. I suddenly turned towards Koishi, who frowned as she guessed my intent.

"I just don't like kidnappers," I said smugly.

"Huh, is that right?" Suddenly, she vanished and within a blink, she appeared in front of me, mid-lunge. She threw a solid punch aimed at my jaw, and I barely had time to block it before it hit -

- and the floor around me exploded as the bullets caught up with my position. The explosion threw both of us down on the floor. I immediately rolled sideways, knowing that the barrage would be followed by another wave of bullets. Koishi didn't, and was rewarded by a bunch of magic bullets. Jackpot prize.

I scrambled to regain my footing, only to see Koishi staggering back to her feet. Sheesh, what a persistent girl! Not like Muscles back at Letty's inn.

Huh. Wait a minute. Let me go back a few paragraphs for a moment.

This is the second time Koishi got hit by my spell. But my Starlight Typhoon isn't acting spell card~ish, destroying walls and furniture like a delinquent vandal that could've been helpful for distracting Alice whenever I needed more mushrooms, or Patchouli whenever I needed more reference books. She couldn't possibly be standing after that, unless she's some hulking berserker who can withstand tonnes of damage before going down, and she doesn't strike me as someone with that amount of constitution. So does that means my Starlight Typhoon isn't that deadly?...eh.

Well, at least I won't accidentally give somebody a surprise permanent vacation to the Sanzu River, especially myself. But that doesn't solve my more immediate problem. But if it *only* hurts, then...

"Eh~? What are you grinning about?"

I kicked a fancy chair into the air hitting a star-shaped bullet as it whizzed by. It splintered into a countless pieces of wood, generally worth less than a fraction of the chair's original price.

Am I grinning? I guess I am, though I don't really know why. Am I enjoying this? Probably not. At least, I hope not. I don't want to end up like someone weird, with a taste for losing battles and such. Or pain.

Heh, what's happening to me? Since when did I've become so introspective? I'll become a hermit if I keep it up.

Still, a grin is a grin, and it means someone just had a brilliant idea. And that someone is none other than the renowned (or soon to be) Kirisame Marisa!

A bullet whizzed towards me, spinning merrily in its own axis while it flew towards me. I took a deep breath as I braced myself...

...with a graceful flick of my wrist, I caught the bullet in my hand. The bullet's momentum spun me around, and I relaxed my arm as I let the momentum flow into my center of gravity. I spun on my feet like a ballerina, and then released the bullet towards Koishi.

Who, by the way, was too amazed at what I just accomplished or too dazed from her injuries to properly dodge.

"Eek!" Hah! She took a bullet right in the kisser! And...

"HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooTTTTTTTT!" Hot, hot, hot, the damn bullet was hot! "Damn it!"

I can't stop now! I'm not a flimsy fairy who goes pi~chuun after a single bullet! Gritting my teeth, I caught two bullets, spun around like earlier, and threw the bullets at Koishi before she could recover.

"Kya!" Koishi shrieked as she suddenly found herself in the middle of a danmaku barrage. She tried jumping backwards but the barrage threw her off-balance, and knocked her down on the floor for the third time. I continued catching the bullets as they whizzed near and then threw them towards Koishi.

The spell card soon died down as it reached its time limit,and it vanished into thin air as suddenly as it appeared. I stood still for a few moments, trying to catch my breath, then walked over Koishi to check if she's still conscious.

"Ahhh..." Damn, my whole body was sore. My injured shoulder also felt like it wanted to fall off. I clenched my teeth and took a deep breath. Damn, I need a drink.

"...cough, cough..." I walked over to the sputtering, prostate girl, who was still smiling benignly like a fool. "...that was something more than I expected..."

"I thought you got knocked out," I said smugly. "You're pretty tough."

"I can't feel my legs, actually," she replied in resignation. "Ah, my boss is going to be mad."

"Your boss?"

Koishi gave a big sigh that could've put an old man to shame. "If I were you, I'd start running. Sakuya will be here in a few minutes, you know."

Ugh. Not her again. "Then, I'll be taking my leave then," I said with a bow then started to walk away.

"By the way, tell your friend that Morichika Rinnosuke is safe," Koishi called out. "After all, Flandre wouldn't want him to be harmed."

"Huh, how nice of you."

"Is that so? We'll still use him as a bargaining chip to get Flandre, you know."

"Whatever," was my only reply, as I pushed the cafe's door open. It fell to the ground with a loud clang. There was already a crowd of people who gave me puzzled looks, but I ignored them and started to walk.

Ping-pong: Surprise question, everyone! Where the heck should I go next? Well, far from here, naturally. Alice and NoName would've probably brought Flandre to a safe place...

...so where would that be? The mayor's place?

As if I knew where that was. I left my city guide back at the inn. I swear, I *really* need to remember to always bring it with me. Guess I'll head back to the inn and get the map -

*growl*

- and something to eat. I haven't had a proper lunch yet. Damn.

...

Letty turned a corner and arrived at the Central Plaza for her afternoon appointment with Kourin. She immediately noticed the crowd of people in front of the inn, and knew that something wrong has happened. She squeezed through the crowd and saw that the cafe was thoroughly thrashed.

"What in the world?"

However, she was startled out of her thoughts by a gentle tap on her shoulder.

"Good afternoon, Miss Whiterock."

Letty turned around and saw Sakuya with a cruel, twisted smile. Letty's eyes widened in shock.

"Would you mind taking a walk with me for a moment?" Sakuya asked innocently.

...

"Hey, Letty, are you there?"

That's strange, the inn is deserted. Could she have gone out? Her packed belongings were at the corner of the room.

Well, the inn wasn't locked so she wouldn't be gone too long, I guess.

I'm hungry. I wonder if Letty left something to eat in the kitchen or pantry...

"Hmm, and who might you be?"

A door upstairs creaked open. A familiar figure started to walk down the stairs and gave me a curious look.

And I returned the look, because she looked exactly like Remilia Scarlet.

END CHAPTER 0xE

...
♪♫♬♩
あなたの名前　呼んだらそこで
突然目が覚めそう
こんなにうまく行きっこない
また偶然　逢えるなんて
♪♫♬♩

Title: Re: Marisa and Things-Not-About-Her-So-They-Are-Not-Important!
Post by: Nicktendonick on September 17, 2013, 09:41:40 PM

I gotta say. I read though this, and I really like it man. I love Marisa's narration, and I'm definitely quite interested as to knowing what happens next. Keep up the good work dude.

I do feel Letty just triggered a potential death flag there, running into Sakyu-assin (heh) I suppose we'll find out what happens to her next time.]]

Title: I didn't watch Railgun S and Genshiken Nidaime so my schedule slipped! I swear!
Post by: Nenekonesha on October 01, 2013, 08:17:00 AM

CHAPTER 15

DIVERSION


"I'd close my mouth if I were you. It's unhealthy and downright unsightly," Remilia said gleefully. I closed my mouth, which was actually open to my surprise, and studied the young...woman walk down the stairs with uncanny grace.

Not that I expected anything less from the doppelganger of the Scarlet Devil from Gensokyo, I was simply surprised to find someone of apparent importance inside a run-down inn that was at the verge of closing down.

"Are you a tenant of this inn?" Remilia pressed on. "Or are you a weary traveler looking for decent lodgings for this afternoon?"

She folded her arms as she reached the bottom of the stairs, giving me an eyeful of shiny charismatic appeal that really unnerves me for some reason. Must be my upbringing, though I bet I can compete with Alice's table manners on a good day, if I felt compelled to do so.

"I'm a tenant," I replied as meekly as I could. What I learned from these noble types was that their need for respect must be suffered to appease their pride. It would save a lot of time later when you need something from them. "My name is Kirisame Marisa."

Remilia's eyes twinkled when she heard my name. Well, it was possible that she'd heard my name before, from Flandre no doubt. Heck, now I've begun to feel awfully popular, though I should be used to it by now since the people in Gensokyo rarely say my name with indifference.

One does not say my name merely as 'Marisa', they say it as 'Marisa!' or 'Marisa?' or 'Marisa!!' or 'Marisa!?!?!'

Okay, maybe that doesn't read as good as it sounds.

"Kirisame, you say...?" Remilia slowly repeated. She seemed pensive for a moment, which was actually one of the rarer expressions of Gensokyo's Scarlet Devil. You'd think that a half-millennium vampire would be a bit more thoughtful and wise, but I was sadly mistaken. She had the attitude of a primadonna, the whims of djinn, and the stubbornness of an oni.

However, this world's Remilia is much quieter, and a bit more...how do I say it...thinky? She always looked like she's thinking about something, like the look of a housewife who didn't what to cook for dinner. Or a forlorn student whose deadline for his summer assignment was fast approaching. She either looked mature or nihilistic, depending on your perspective.

On the other hand, like this world's version of Flandre, I have already taking a liking to this world's version of her older sister. In fact, the absence of the near-permanent smirk on her face makes it more pleasant to look at.

"You seem to be a bit torn up," she remarked while looking at my shoulder and torn dress.

"Ah, I just came across some trouble," I said frantically. Crap, why am I lying to her? Damn it, I feel like I lie out of reflex, just like some old rabbit who likes tricking sharks instead of just asking nicely. "No worries."

Remilia raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. Well, she seemed content to accept my story at face value, or she doesn't really care either way.

"Pardon me, but I have not properly introduced myself," said Remilia. Ironically, I've already labeled her since I've met her sister. "My name is Remilia Scarlet, mayor of this city."

Wow. Talk about anti-climatic. Oh well, moving on.

"Mayor?" I said with as much disbelief as I could artificially muster. "Wha-"

However, before I could even finish my disbelief (huh, what?), a deep rumbling caught our attention. Coincidentally, I also felt tremors underneath my feet.

An earthquake? You're kidding, right, fate?

"What in the world?" Remilia muttered to herself.

"GRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!"

The door...way burst into a thousand splinters as a huge fellow broke through it like a bull. He looked all torn up, with bruises, cuts, and burns covering most of his body...

...wait a minute. Now that I realized it, I have to admit that fate just really hates me today.

Damn you fate. I'd shake a metaphilosophical finger at your ideal, but I'm too busy right now.

"MEEEEEEE FOOOOOOUUUUNDDDD YOUUUUU"

Yep, he's still stupid. Then again, I have to give this guy some slack. I mean, I left him underneath a burning pile of debris a few hours ago so he probably didn't have much chance to learn proper grammar from then. He didn't even put a period after his sentence.

"Oh dear me, I don't fancy him a friend of yours, am I correct?" Remilia remarked nonchalantly. Well, she still has the old Remilia's charismatic appeal, though she is starting to remind me of some old ghost who likes to take things at a stride.

"No, not really," I answered. I have to admit that he is quite the persistent fellow.

I therefore conclude that he is probably unpopular with women.

"Hmm, then is he the trouble you came across earlier?" asked Remilia.

"Well, not exactly," which was the truth, "though he IS trouble."

The huge guy was puffing like a bull who was about to charge. Uh-oh.

"GRAAAAAAAH!!" Yikes! Damn it, I should've hit him harder earlier!

I jumped back, dodging a swooping backhand that would've been unguardable even if I had Royal Guard skills like a certain bishounephilim with a big broadsword, but if I could counter his blow just before it hits, it would be so damn Stylish.

And-

Wha- my legs, can't feel it-

OW!

A sharp pain ran through my injured shoulder. Damn! I hit my shoulder against the counter! Why didn't I notice it? Was I too preoccupied by internal monologues? Or-

Before I knew it, I was kissing the floor for the second time today. The floor just wants to hug and kiss me because I'm too cute for surface dwellers.

Seriously though, this is bad. Have to get up...

My arm, feels heavy, actually my entire body feels heavy...is it the effect of Sakuya's poison? But I though Alice gave me the antidote. Is it wearing off? Or maybe-

Don't tell me that I'm actually...tired? Oh yeah, the last time I used Starlight Typhoon, I was knocked out almost immediately afterwards. And that was when I wasn't knocked around by Sakuya and the big guy over here.

Aww, this sucks real bad. I don't want to be done in by something so lame...

If only I had...

...

Remilia dodged out of the way almost effortlessly, as if she had seen the move coming from a mile away, and the huge guy was moving in slow-motion.

But isn't it always like this? Remilia thought. Seeing things as they unfold before they even happen, and choosing the right system of events to pursue the most favorable outcome. I guess this curse comes in handy this way too.

<[KIRISAME MARISA] WILL COLLAPSE OUT OF FATIGUE>
<THE [MAN]'S TARGET IS [KIRISAME MARISA]>
<[KIRISAME MARISA] WILL DIE FROM STRANGLING>

Remilia heard Marisa's faint cry as she collapsed. What now?

Should I save her? Or should I keep out of this?

I'm not even supposed to be at this place, after all.

<[FLANDRE SCARLET] IS NOW SAFE>

Interesting. So someone already saved my sister?

Are you involved somehow, Kirisame Marisa?

<IT IS IN OUR BEST INTEREST TO SAVE [KIRISAME MARISA]>

But it's still my choice, isn't it?

<THE [MAN] WILL FALL IN ONE HIT BY [REMILIA SCARLET}>

Well, that goes without saying. Though I'd rather not really get involved.

<[KIRISAME MARISA] WILL DIE FROM STRANGLING>

Don't change things when I am clearly undecided about my next course of actions.

<THE [MAN] WILL FALL IN ONE HIT BY [REMILIA SCARLET}>

Humph. Whatever. This man is annoying anyway. Trashing Letty's inn is already an unforgivable excuse.

Doing it in front of me is practically a death sentence.

Nonchalantly, Remilia approached the huge man as he stooped down to pick up Marisa.

"That is a very ungentlemanly way to treat an injured lady."

The man grunted as he heard Remilia. "WHO YOU?"

Remilia seemed amused by the question. "You are clearly an infidel, else you should know who exactly you are dealing with right now."

<THE [MAN] WILL DIE IN ONE HIT BY [REMILIA SCARLET]>

"With that, your fate is sealed." Remilia sighed. This is such a bother.

"Spear! Gungnir come to my aid!" Remilia stretched her left hand upwards, and a brilliant flash of red light engulfed her hand. From within the light, Remilia pulled out a long, ornate spear.

"Have you any regrets in your life, infidel? It would be best if you say your prayers quickly, for you will die within this hour."

<[REMILIA SCARLET] WILL SAVE [KIRISAME MARISA]>

...

"Oi, are we just going to leave Marisa back there?" asked NoName between puffs.

They were hiding in a dark alley between two fashion shops in the busier part of the city. The three of them were panting.

"Of course not," replied Alice as she hoisted Flandre onto her shoulder. "But we need to get Flandre to safety first."

"Is she going to be okay?" asked Flandre. "I, uh.."

Suddenly, a man approached them from the shadows. Alice instantly jumped into action, bring Flandre behind her.

"It's okay, he's with us," said NoName. "You have a report?"

The man nodded. "We have terminated the agents following you. It would appear that both Izayoi and Komeiji have retreated for now."

"So we're no longer being followed?" said Alice. "That's a relief."

"There is something however..." the man hesitated.?We shall speak of it later, it is important that you reach safety as soon as possible. I shall escort you to the Scarlet estate."

END CHAPTER 15

Title: Re: Marisa and Things-Not-About-Her-So-They-Are-Not-Important!
Post by: KrackoCloud on October 14, 2013, 12:34:44 AM

I love how you portrayed Remilia's fate power here!