Touhou Shorts

[thenightsshadow]

I'm using this post as an area to organize them in one thread.  I'm pretty sure, with the delays between producing them and them actually showing up on the update thread where I put them, they might not have the same effect.

Without further ado, here we go.

Miracle

"Sanae, do you believe in miracles?"

A soft chuckle. And then another. A louder one. Now I'm just flat out laughing. I, Kanako Yasaka, reminiscing? What a waste of time. Life should be exciting! Nuclear Power, Kappa Revolution! I shouldn't be in timeout...even though Sanae put me in here for dirtying the house from a wild youkai party I held here...again.

I laid down and looked at the ceiling. There, in crude crayon markings, was a picture of me and Suwako. Sanae hadn't removed it, I guess.

I sit up and sigh. Suwako. Who knew where she was now. She was always carefree and did things at her own pace. She was...a good friend. She just up and left five years ago, and nobody's heard from her since. Sanae never seemed to be troubled by that, but she never really regained that old cheerfulness.

"Why, Auntie Kana?"

Sanae was the child of a bright future. She had good parents. Her mother was very faithful to the shrine. We had a lot of faith then thanks to her, and her husband helped protect the area. But when her parents died protecting the shrine from a drunken mob, it took a long time for her to smile again. She was now alone. Sure, it was a miracle that she survived. But, at that moment, what she wanted wasn't a miracle, but her parents.

"Don't call me Auntie!"

And all Suwako and I could do was watch over her. We were now her Guardians, but we weren't her Protectors. And because Sanae wasn't of age, she couldn't draw faith to us. It was a short time of much sadness for Suwako. And Sanae. And me.

"Ow! S-Suwa! K-K-Kana hit me!"

But Sanae was a child of miracles. The tears she shed for her parents somehow allowed us to materialize without any shrine maiden, and before she knew it, she had two mother figures in her life. Of course, we had to wade through the initial awkwardness and introductions first. But a moment of pure sadness had turned into a moment of pure gaiety, all because of the power of Sanae's miracles. We were blessed.

"Kanako, you know not to hit Sanae. Timeout for you, right, Sanae?"

Sanae grew up under our tutelage, but we were exhausting our resources. In order for us to stay materialized, we used up a lot of faith. The faith we had accumulated under Sanae's mother was running out, and Suwako and I were in danger of dematerializing right before Sanae's eyes. Suwako didn't seem to mind disappearing again, but I didn't want to see Sanae sad again. I purposed to find another source of faith, and quickly.

"Yeah! Kana timeout!"

I found a source, and very close by. A secluded realm called Gensokyo was teeming with youkai and humans, both of which contained large amounts of faith that was laying dormant in them. I wanted to move everything to Gensokyo, but there was no way to. It was protected from a barrier that kept the outside out and the inside in, and barriers weren't anywhere near my area of expertise.

"Sanae...Suwako...mercy?"

In order to move everything, the amount of power I would need would exhaust the remaining faith we had, and we'd be back to square one. That wasn't an option. But I had found someone to help. A...demon, but it was help nonetheless. She was willing to help us across, for a small price. Just half of the faith that we would obtain. My half. I accepted.

"No, Kana. Timeout! Timeout!"

Sanae wasn't that surprised by the transfer, she could feel that there wasn't a lot of faith before. Suwako, however, was the most surprised at this action. She confronted me one day and chewed me out about what I had done. I took it in stride, knowing that this was all for the good of Sanae. I wanted Suwako to see it my way, but it was not to be. It was the one issue we never resolved amicably.

"Timeout, kero! Timeout!"

I think you know what happened next. The red-white came and beat me and Suwako. She wasn't strong, or agile, but she was precise, and my power could do nothing against her technique. The amount of faith we had obtained was quantifiably much, but I knew I would never get to obtain my share. But it was all for Sanae. All...for...Sanae...

"Alright, alright."

Sanae probably didn't know about why I was a god to begin with. Sure, she knew that I had beaten Suwako and obtained her shrines and their power, but how was I god in the first place? Suwako was the embodiment of Mishaguji, but what was I? She didn't know.

"Kana, don't hit me anymore, okay?"

I wasn't the embodiment of anything. In order to defeat Suwako's people, the attackers fabricated me and presented me as a snake god. In order to defeat a god, you needed a god, no matter how fake it was. And in order to defeat a god, you needed to take the faith of the opposing god away. Since I wasn't a real god, you couldn't take faith in me away, while Suwako's followers began to doubt.

"Okay, Sanae. You're a good girl."

But because I wasn't a real god, faith interacted with me in a different way. As soon as I took the faith in Suwako away into me, I became like a god in every way, shape, and form. But deep down inside, I wasn't. I was just a vessel holding faith. Over time, this faith became a necessity for me, a lifeblood. Normal gods, like Suwako, aren't fazed by a lack of faith. I, however, knew that if I lost all faith in me, I'd die.

"Teehee~"

That's why I was so persistent in obtaining faith. Suwako didn't mind because she could come back. I knew I couldn't. We were both gods, but we saw things differently. Then again, we had different origins and different ideologies.

"Kanako, you better behave from now on."

I spent time continuing major projects, like my plan for Nuclear Energy. It was something I had studied when I was looking for more faith, and I hoped that its success would allow me to stave off my last breath. But it was not to be. It was incompatible with me, and all I could do was put on a happy face for Sanae and wait for the day that I expired.

"Okay. Sanae, Suwako, Kana promises to be a good girl too."

That day is today.  In fact, I don't think I'd last for a minute longer, and here I am in timeout, waiting for Sanae to finish up. What a way to go, huh?

"Good. Kana can come off timeout now!"

"Kanako, you can come off timeout now. Kanako? Kana!"

Ah, Sanae. You're such a good girl. You dropped everything to rush to my side.

"Kana! Speak to me!" Sanae is already crying, and I can't wipe them away this time.

"Ah, Sanae. You're...such a good girl." I can't talk easily now, Sanae.

"Kana! Don't go!" Sanae holds me in her arms, her eyes refusing to close.

"Sanae..." Goodbye.

As I fall to the floor, I look at the things Sanae had dropped, one of which was a card. The last thing I see is in that card: the words "Happy Birthday, Kanako".

--

Komachi told me that Suwako had been scouring Gensokyo for items to break me from the contract of that demon. But as she finished her scavenger hunt, 'the pharmacist' told her that the demon had been severed and it was impossible to break my contract with it. Disappointed, Suwako came back to our shrine a few moments too late. I had already died.

I turned back toward Komachi's departing boat.

"Goodbye, Sanae. Goodbye, Suwako. Thank you for all the time we spent together."

"Was it worth it?" A voice I recognized sprung up behind me. It was the demon...no. It was the miracle.

"Yes. It was worth it, Mima."

"Sanae, do you believe in miracles?"

[Rolina]

...
....
.....
Needs more Yuuka.  Needs either less Sanae, or dead Sanae.  Other than that, not bad I guess.

[thenightsshadow]

Each short focuses on a different character.  The better the story, the more my dislike for that character.

Yeah, I don't really know why either.

Miracle - Kanako Yasaka
Altercation - Renko Usami
Similitude - Yuuka Kazami
Temperance - Medicine Melancholy (almost done)
Erudition - Reimu Hakurei (still writing)

[Rolina]

Each short focuses on a different character.  The better the story, the more my dislike for that character.

Similitude - Yuuka Kazami

You'd best be trolling, or you're going to wind up VERY dead, VERY fast. >_>

[thenightsshadow]

I base the whole "how well the story is written" from the response I've already gotten for it.

For Yuuka's story, it didn't actually go over very well.  I don't like Yuuka, but I don't dislike her either.  Two places above Komachi Onozuka and one place above Kana Anaberal.

[thenightsshadow]

Altercation

Two Kingdoms, One Purpose: Gain power and might.
Adjoining together and then without spite,
They strike without mercy and hurt without cause,
Forgetting their past and ignoring their laws.

Who knew when it started. The blood shed between the Hakurei clan and the Kochiya clan was already second-nature to the residents of Gensokyo. Hundreds of years had passed since Reimu Hakurei and Sanae Kochiya had passed on, but their bitter separation had caused this nearly millenium-old war.

Along the bright pathways they run not asunder
The methods align to their anger and thunder.
Lightning and fire formed from human emotion
Were naught but a cause for the swirling commotion.

The people of Gensokyo weren't sure when the fighting started. Heck, even most of the youkai alive at this time weren't sure when it started. A certain violet mistress, however, had seen the entire thing unfold, and had left Gensokyo before it escalated to what it was now.

The brighter maroon that belittles the blue
Is something, while horrid, that is nothing new.
A crimson reminder of days best forgot?
Adept are the critics who say it is not.

Reports say that this woman, a dimensional youkai called Yakumo, decided to leave because of the brewing controversy. Some of these reports even go so far as to point the finger at Yakumo herself as the cause for the strife in Gensokyo. I, however, know differently. Yukari Yakumo left because Gensokyo was dead to her.

The shore was a rest place for beacons and sights
Where seas reassembled and made dim the lights.
True battles, once fought here, no longer the norm,
The old saying false: not the calm before storm.

I know it seems hard to fathom, but the decision of both shrine maidens to find a husband struck a nerve with this youkai. As preparations toward both events transpired, she had become increasingly bothered and annoyed. One day, she disappeared, never to return.

No longer the red and the green will collide,
In soil and the earth their strife will subside.

That's because she had returned to her former home; the outside world. And I'm glad. Despite the fact Reimu and Sanae had made up their differences before they died, their descendants hadn't, so I was glad to see Yukari at my doorstep. I had been waiting to say these words for the longest time, and now I could. "Welcome home, Maribel".

===

"Are you done playing with your dolls, Renko?" Maribel's voice cut through my imagination. "We're going to be late for school, you know."

I sulked. I was almost done. "They're not dolls! They're figurines; works of art!"

"Right, and you're a boy. Come on, Renko!"

There was really no pushing her buttons when she became like this. "Alright, I'm coming."

Maribel was the first outside, while I meticulously closed and locked the door to the house. Our house.

"I can't believe we're almost done university!" Maribel twirled around in front of our gate, turning back to face me. "I'm so happy!"

I took her hand in mine as I walked up to her, my smile matching the intensity of her own. "So am I, Mary."

We left our house, walking to school, with her right and my left intertwined together.

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And back at home, I knew that the Red and White Figurine and the Green and Blue Figurine, both covered in dirt, were doing the same.

[thenightsshadow]

Similitude

"I'd like to thank everyone that helped me to get where I am."

The amulet microphone produces some static, but it fades quickly. Again, the woman speaks.

"First of all, I'd like to thank Yukari Yakumo. She was the main organizer to most everything I did, and because of her, I was able to obtain this award. Thank you very much."

Yukari looked back at the speaker with a bewildering look that turned from shock to a small smile. It was difficult to understand what she thought about the compliment she was given, but it was obvious that initially it wasn't something she expected. After all, that usually mischevious glint in her eyes was gone completely.

"Next, I'd like to thank Minoriko Aki."

A gasp emerges from the watching audience.

"Minoriko is a friend and associate of mine, and because of her, order was able to come to my life. She helped me to organize my time and to put it in motion. And she did it without pay. Thank you, Minoriko."

Minoriko isn't watching, instead hiding her own sniffles and tears as her head is bowed downwards, further protected from sight by a hug from her sister, Shizuha. Shizuha is hugging Minoriko tightly, smiling to everyone around her every chance she can, which isn't often.

"I'd also like to thank Marisa Kirisame. Your tutelage and legacy that you left behind gave me the inspiration necessary to obtain this award. I know you're no longer alive to see this, but I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. You were a great comrade and friend."

Reimu, who had been angrily crossing her arms at the back of the room and refusing to look at the speaker, finally looked up at the mention of Marisa. Her scowl had turned into a relatively opaque look, which most everyone that knew her knew was her variation of a smile. Reimu's headed bobbed up and down, as if to approve of the speaker's words.

There was a slight pause as the speaker thought about what to say next. It was important to say the right words, because there wasn't much time to say much else.

"I guess, the next on my list to thank is Lily White."

Lily White still had a speech impediment. The only way for her to talk was still danmaku bullets, but the speaker raised a spellcard to communicate with her while translating for the rest of the audience.

"Lily, the difficulty with the life you've had has been a point of reference for me. I didn't want anyone to live a life as bad as yours any more, and I willed that wish into reality. This award is living proof of that, and I want to thank you."

All Lily could do was nod her head up and down in response, to which the speaker did the same and smiled at her. Lily's tears began to flow, and her crying and subsequent danmaku storm was absorbed by her danmaku cage, which allowed her to be in public without causing too much damage. It was an invention of the late Marisa Kirisame.

"And that leaves two more people. Remilia Scarlet and Reimu Hakurei. I want to address the one here first."

Reimu's look turned back into a scowl, preparing for another thrashing of words about getting in the speaker's way, but was pleasantly surprised to hear the words 'I love you' emanate from the speaker's mouth.

"There's not much else to say, Reimu. I love you, and thank you for the opportunity to love."

The fire in Yukari's eyes caught aflame again, and her outer mask of taking interest came alive as if it had been there the entire time. Ran, to her left, knew however, that Yukari had been vulnerable throughout this entire ceremony until now, and that Yukari was feeling somewhat jealous of the speaker, who had done something she could have achieved, but didn't. Hopefully, Ran thought, this event would cause Yukari to actually start doing things.

"And Remilia Scarlet, my hate for you was one of rivalry. Sure, I hated your guts and wanted to kill you, but in the nicest way possible. It's that hate that kept me living and in search of this award. It's you that I have to thank for keeping me together mentally, and I say begrudgingly, you're welcome."

Sakuya's notepad was filled out with the exact words the speaker had been saying, but this last paragraph wasn't recorded at all. Her tears had come first. Flandre, who was in the audience, attempted to finish the paragraph for Sakuya, but the silver-haired maid shook her head no.

"Last, but not least, I want to thank Go- I mean, Shikieiki, for presenting this award. It's exactly what I imagined when I started on this path to attain it, and you presenting it is something I'll treasure for the rest of my life. Thanks."

As the speaker moved away from the mic, applause erupted from the audience, but Shikieiki rose to the mic and raised her hands to calm them.

"Members of the audience, this woman is an example for the rest of you. If you want to be like her, do the exact thing she did, and you'll be here too, to claim your own award. Thank you."

Shikieiki curtsied, then walked towards Komachi, whispered some words to her, while all the while the applause threatened to break the windows in this building. Komachi nodded, and she went off to prepare. Shikieiki headed back to the speaker, and handed her a blue amulet.

"Here's your award."

The speaker took it, a genuine smile on her face staring at Shikieiki's own neutral look. It was the last thing the speaker saw. At that moment, Shikieiki secretly signaled to Komachi, and Komachi swung her scythe downward, taking the head clean off.

"Goodbye."