Work Text
Whoosh!
Meiling jumped over Biten's tail swipe, landing behind her. She aimed a kick for Biten's back, but was met with a blocking kick. After successfully meeting her opponent's kick, Biten threw a punch at Meiling, who blocked it with her wrist. The two were sparring in front of the gates to the Scarlet Devil Mansion.This was not the first time. One day, about a month earlier, the Kiketsu Family had a meeting with Remilia Scarlet…more accurately, Yachie did. Biten came along with her because she simply felt like doing so. Yachie didn't mind, but told her to wait outside the gates of the mansion. As Biten waited, she found Meiling sleeping.Biten decided to wake Meiling, and almost got punched in the face. Meiling apologized immediately afterwards, and the two got to talking. They found that they both had a love for martial arts, and decided to spar on the spot. The two found a great connection through honorable, hand to hand combat, and Biten would become a frequent visitor to the SDM just to see Meiling and spar with her. After a week, they even began dating, and became the happiest dueling couple in Gensokyo!…Granted, their only competition for that title is a pair of immortals where one hates the other so much that it's usually hard to tell they're even dating, but still!Back in their present, Meiling and Biten continued their sparring. Each punch and kick was blocked properly, and their movements sped up as they entered a flow state. That is, until two mistakes were made at the exact same time.1: Biten tried to block a kick with her arm.2: Meiling kicked with way too much force.This resulted in Meiling kicking Biten's arm so hard that the latter was knocked to the ground. One of the bones in her arm ripped through the flesh near her wrist, sticking out as blood gushed out from the wound. Meiling gasped, running to Biten's side.“Oh my goodness! Are you okay?” Meiling asked, right before noticing the bone sticking out of Biten's wrist. “Oh shit…I'm so sorry! I didn't mean for this to happen!”“Nah, it's good…it hurts a lot. Good hit!” Biten complemented, smiling. This got a hearty guffaw out of Meiling.“Ah, thanks? That said, I should probably go tell Sakuya. Be right back!” Meiling said, before rushing into the mansion. Biten sighed, laying there on the grass. It was quite peaceful, honestly. Sure, her wrist hurt like hell, and her arm might be permanently injured, but that was such a good spar! She couldn't be mad about it. Soon, she saw Sakuya, the ever-reliable maid of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, appear right in front of her with bandages in tow.“Yup, that looks bad.” Sakuya said to herself, kneeling down next to Biten in order to wrap the area around the bone in bandages. This managed to stop most of the blood loss, but the bone was still a problem. Meiling returned to the scene shortly after, and knelt next to Sakuya and Biten.“So? How is it?” Meiling asked, looking at Sakuya.“It's not lethal. Most of the blood loss has stopped. However, that bone is a huge problem. I can't push that back in. I'll need to get Eirin over here to deal with this. That might take a while, so keep her calm.”With that, Sakuya blipped away, and Meiling was left with Biten. Biten was already calm, so Meiling's job wasn't going to be very difficult. She carried Biten, and took her to the spot where she usually rested against the wall. Sitting down, Meiling positioned Biten so her head was resting on Meiling's lap. She had done this for Biten a couple of times before, and they always enjoyed a nice rest together after a good sparring match. This was no exception, even with the wound Biten had acquired.“Meiling… I wanna spar again once this is healed!” Biten declared, before looking up at Meiling. Meiling had already fallen asleep by the time Biten spoke up, snoring quietly. Biten quietly chuckled at this, and decided to rest her own eyes. Before she knew it, she was sleeping right in Meiling's lap, as they both waited for Eirin to arrive.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
The sacrifice was set.Nemuno Sakata had found another tengu who had dared to trespass on her territory and not leave when told. The tengu was on a large stone table, their wrists and feet held down and crushed by large rocks. Nemuno raised her large knife, right as she heard the door to her hut open. Turning around, she saw Sakuya Izayoi, her girlfriend. Nemuno's face flushed, and she refrained from stabbing that tengu.“Sakuya! Hey! Umm…what brings ya here?” Nemuno asked, clearly nervous that Sakuya might react poorly.“Relax. I'm mostly here for blood acquisition. The mistress needs about three liters of blood for the upcoming weeks.” Sakuya calmly explained, causing Nemuno to gasp.“Ah, right. Three, though? I thought she'd only need two, so I only have two ready!”“...Well, then what's that?” Sakuya questioned, pointing at the tengu that's stuck to the stone table.“Oh…I was gonna off them. Ya know…for blood. This is how I get it.” Nemuno internally prepared for backlash…but none came.“Interesting. What's your technique?” This question confused Nemuno, but she answered regardless.“Umm…I hack ‘em in the stomach until they stop breathing.” Nemuno explained, earning a head tilt from Sakuya.“I see. But don't you know decapitation is better for blood collection?”“Decapa-what now?” Nemuno questioned, very confused with this word.“Decapitation. Here, let me help you.” Sakuya stepped forward, moving the tengu's body slightly. They were still restrained by the rocks, but their head now leaned off of the table's edge. Sakuya then put Nemuno's blood collection bucket under the head of the tengu, and stepped back. “Now, slice the neck until the head falls off.”Nemuno nodded, and chopped at the tengu's neck with the knife in her hand. The knife didn't go through entirely on the first bout, and thus Nemuno had to work it back and forth. The tengu screeched as their neck was sawed into like a gory log. Eventually, the screaming died with the tengu, as Nemuno had finally cut through. She caught the head in her hand, watching as a glorious blood waterfall poured from the tengu's neck stump. The blood flowed until Nemuno's bucket went from about two liters of blood to a whopping six liters. Nemuno tossed the head aside, as Sakuya clapped.“Very well done! That should be more than enough blood. Give me a moment.” Sakuya grabbed the bucket, before bopping away. During this time, Nemuno reflected on how she got to this point…or she would have, had Sakuya not reappeared within 10 seconds.“It is done. I have delivered the blood to the mistress's fridge. That should keep her happy for a while. Here's your bucket back.” Sakuya spoke, giving Nemuno her now empty bucket back. “And as usual…” Sakuya moved to the not-bloody table nearby, and sat down a large tray on it. The tray had all manner of food, but was heavily meat-based. “Your payment. I made it a feast in exchange for the extra blood.”“Mmm…smells tasty! Thanks, darling!” Nemuno kissed Sakuya on the cheek, before voraciously digging into the meal in front of her.Their relationship was strange. It was almost transactional, in a sense. Nemuno would collect blood for Sakuya, and Sakuya would give Nemuno properly cooked food in return. These things were otherwise difficult to obtain, so these transactions made perfect sense.Despite the transactional nature of their relationship, there was absolutely a deeper bond between the two. Nemuno respected strength, and Sakuya was very powerful. Meanwhile, Sakuya found Nemuno's general kindness lovely…and her occasional murders didn't bother the maid.Over time, their relationship went from strictly transactional to something much closer. These two genuinely cared for and loved each other, even though they mostly interacted when doing these exchanges. But neither minded. Sakuya had her duties under Remilia, and Nemuno was generally isolated, and didn't mind that fact.After Nemuno finished her meal, the two had a casual conversation.“-And her bone was sticking out of her wrist. Meiling kicked her that hard.” Sakuya stated, drinking her tea.“Oh shit! Are they okay?” Nemuno asked, with Sakuya nodding in response.“Yeah, they're good now. They just sparred again yesterday, and none of Biten's bones got dislocated this time.” As Sakuya assured Nemuno of this, she looked over at the other table, namely the large stone one with bloodstains on it. Nemuno noticed, and spoke up.“Look, stone's very hard to git bloodstains out of. You've really gotta scrub it, and then your hands get scraped…”“No, I'm not mad or disgusted. It just made me think back to the time I had to kill a guy.” Sakuya spoke, her eyes going from their usual blue to red. Nemuno was caught off guard by this, and tilted her head to the left.“Huh? You've killed too? Well, now you've gotta tell me!”“It wasn't special. Some guy snuck into the mansion, and seemed intent on attacking the mistress. He had a stake, some holy water, and a crossbow. When I found him…it didn't end peacefully. It took a good few hours of stopping time to get it all cleaned.” Sakuya's demeanor turned much colder, almost like she was entirely different when her eyes were red.“...Wow. I kinda like ya even more now! I knew we clicked fir a reason.” Nemuno chirped, smiling wide.“Indeed.” Sakuya nodded, before rapidly shaking her head. By the time she was done, her eyes were blue again. “Anyways, I should get going!”“Alright! Just…visit again soon, aight?” Nemuno stood up, stretching. Sakuya stood up as well, smiling right back.“Of course. I'll see you later.” Sakuya stepped closer, and gave Nemuno a quick kiss before heading towards the door. She bowed, before blipping out of existence as usual. Nemuno smiled, before stepping outside. Everything was peaceful…until she found a wolf youkai in her territory.Oh well, time for the next hunt!
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Kagerou shambled up the steps to Hakugyokurou, searching for the one person she knew could help her. It didn't take long to find Hakugyokurou's half-phantom gardener, Youmu. Youmu noticed Kagerou, and smiled.“Hey Kagerou! How's it going?” Youmu asked, before noticing Kagerou's shaking. The wolf youkai's claws were out, and wouldn't go back in. This happened sometimes when Kagerou panicked, Youmu knew that. “Do you need me to help you?”Kagerou nodded shakily in confirmation. Youmu reached for Roukanken, unsheathing it and holding it out. She held the sword back, before…
Swoosh!
Youmu blitzed to the other side of Kagerou, her sword in the air. Time stood still……
Crack
Kagerou's claws broke and fell off, right as Youmu sheathed Roukanken. Kagerou slowly stopped shaking, and let out a sigh of relief.“Thanks, Youmu!” Kagerou exclaimed while running to and hugging Youmu, who reciprocated the action.“Of course! Come on, let's walk and talk…I've missed you.” Youmu suggested while pulling away. She took Kagerou's hand and held it as they started to walk around the gardens of Hakugyokurou. “So what happened this time?”“Well, I was just looking for some food, but then this crazy lady with a knife tried to stab me. I guess I was on her territory? Either way, I panicked, and my claws grew, and then I ran. The claws never went back in, even when I was safe…” Kagerou explained, resting her head against Youmu's shoulder as they walked together.“Ah, I get that. Hopefully your claws come back.” Youmu spoke encouragingly, earning a smile from Kagerou.“Well, they always do. Usually quickly. But I hate how often they've been locking up lately.”“I get that. Here, just sit with me. Relax for a bit.” Youmu sat on a nearby bench with Kagerou, who was still holding her hand and resting on her shoulder.The two remained like this for a while, reminiscing on how their relationship started.It was about a month ago, in a situation similar to this. Kagerou's claws came out during a scuffle with Marisa, and after she retreated, the claws never went back in. The claws being out was a problem, since they heightened her reactivity and aggression to the world around her.It was then that Youmu found her. Youmu noticed Kagerou's distress, and asked what was wrong. Kagerou was only able to nod towards her claws, to which Youmu decided to remove them. She did it the same way she just did; slicing with Roukanken like a samurai. This worked, and Kagerou was freed of her claws for a bit.Youmu then took her back to Hakugyokurou, where they met with Yuyuko. The ghostly princess, on a whim, declared something that would change their lives forever:“You two should date, NOW!”Despite the absurd and whimsical nature of this request, both Youmu and Kagerou agreed. And so they spent lots of time together, and grew to love and care for each other.Back in the present, Kagerou started to affectionately nuzzle into Youmu's neck, earning a chuckle out of the gardener.“You're adorable!” Youmu complimented, causing Kagerou to nuzzle harder…though she might have just been trying to shake her head, given what she said next.“No, you're more adorable!” Kagerou insisted, making Youmu go from chuckling to full on laughing. Kagerou joined her in laughter, and they simply let enjoyment consume them for a moment, before Kagerou finally stood up. “Well…this was nice, but I'm getting hungry. Knowing Yuyuko, I may want to go hunting for myself…”“Oh, absolutely.” Youmu agreed, standing up as well. “I'll see you later. Love you!” Kagerou smiled at these words from Youmu, pulling her into a hug and kissing her for a good few seconds before pulling away.“Love you too. See ya!” Kagerou cheerfully said, running off to go find her next meal. Youmu smiled, and went back to her gardening duties.—From inside Hakugyokurou, Yuyuko watched this whole exchange.“I was so right about those two.” Yuyuko said to herself with a smile. She turned around, and looked at the scepter she found near the Saigyou Ayakashi. It had a heart at its end, and could find one's lover. It seemed like the key to finding the one she loved. The one she hadn't seen in years.“At last…I can find you again.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Yuyuko grabbed the scepter, and held it up. She charged up the staff with magic, and used it to create a heart-shaped portal in the middle of Hakugyokurou.“Finally…I can see you again.” Yuyuko smiled as she stepped through the portal.—Sagume was in the Lunar capital, keeping herself busy by making a salad. She had gotten her own mansion, by virtue of being a divine spirit, but she was sad and lonely. She sat at her table with a bowl of salad, and looked over at the picture on the nearby wall. It showed her and Yuyuko together.Sagume and Yuyuko dated for a long time back when Yuyuko was still alive. Sure, Sagume needed to be careful about her powers, but they were adorable together. They were destined to be together forever, Sagume believed.But all it took was one impulsive sentence from Sagume while cuddling with Yuyuko to ruin everything.“I hope to live with you forever.”In the present day, Sagume dropped her fork. It clattered against the table as she remembered that sentence… and what it did.Soon after she spoke those cursed words all those years ago, the Saigyou Ayakashi started to draw people to it, only to lure them to their deaths. Yuyuko heard about this, and traveled to it with a knife in hand. She had an idea to stop it…… But that idea ended with her taking her own life under the tree.This worked, and successfully sealed the Saigyou Ayakashi. But Sagume was utterly devastated. She went from being afraid of her powers to mortified. From that day onwards, she rarely ever spoke again. She only talked briefly when needed, or in order to stop something nefarious, but that was it.Back in the present day, Sagume picked her fork up off of the table, and started to eat her salad. She couldn't really enjoy it, however. She was still overwhelmed with grief, and could never forget. Her life was miserable, and she just wanted to go back. Back to when Yuyuko was alive. Back to when she was able to feel things that weren't grief and sorrow.She was so focused on her thoughts and her eating, she didn't even hear the portal opening behind her, or the steps that followed. But she did hear a voice.“Sagume?” That voice struck a chord with Sagume. It sounded like a distant memory… one she had just relived. She stood up, turned around, and immediately dropped her fork again, now onto the floor. It couldn't be true, but who she saw… was the love of her life.“...Yuyuko?” Was all that Sagume had the courage to say. Yuyuko nodded.“Yep. It's me. I finally found you again!” Yuyuko practically tackled Sagume to the nearby couch, feverishly cuddling with her old girlfriend. Sagume didn't say anything, but she also didn't reject the cuddle. Yuyuko did take notice of her silence, however. After a few minutes, they both sat up.“Sagume, you've been very quiet. Are you alright?” Yuyuko asked, causing Sagume to start loudly sobbing. Yuyuko immediately hugged Sagume tight, trying to comfort her.“It's okay, you don't need to talk. Just let it all out.” Yuyuko assured, still hugging Sagume. After a few minutes, Sagume stopped crying, and looked up at Yuyuko.“Better?” Yuyuko asked, earning a nod from Sagume. Sagume grabbed a nearby piece of paper, and pencil, and wrote down a simple message.
I missed you so much.
“Oh, I missed you too! Now c'mere, you!” Yuyuko chirped, pulling Sagume towards her and giving her a long, heartfelt kiss. Sagume returned the kiss, and neither party let go for three minutes. Normal people would need to break apart for oxygen, but these were two spirits, so they took this opportunity to make up for all of their missed time. After those precious minutes, they pulled apart.“I need to go back to Hakugyokurou, since it's almost dinnertime and Youmu's making ramen. But I want you to know, I never once forgot about you. And I will be back to see you again, if you'll have me.” Sagume nodded, and wrote down on another part of her paper:
Absolutely. See you soon, love.
Yuyuko giggled at that, and nodded in agreement. She then turned, and headed through the portal as Sagume waved goodbye. Sagume went back to the fork she dropped on the floor. She picked it up, and put it with her other dirty dishes. She then grabbed a new fork from her drawer, and returned to her salad.For the first time in a long, LONG while, she finally felt emotions that weren't grief and sorrow. Things like love, hope, and joy.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
It was Reimu's personal hell.All she saw around her were clowns, moons, and purple fire. The clowns taunted her, the moons orbited around her, and the flames rose higher and higher.“You're pathetic! Just give up!” One of the clowns jeered, glaring at Reimu.“Give in! Give in to the insanity!” Another screeched, dancing around like a lunatic.“AMERICA! WOOOOOOOOOOOO!!” Another clown cheered, forcing Reimu to cover her ears.The clowns only got louder and more obnoxious.The moons grew faces and laughed.The fire also started to look like a demonic face, and it too laughed. It was like Reimu was the laughing stock of Gensokyo.“Get outta here, broke-ass bitch! Nobody likes you!” The fire heckled, bringing Reimu to tears. Her despair threatened to consume her, and she curled up on the ground.But suddenly, she was floating, and the noises ceased.Reimu took a moment to calm down, before looking around. All she saw was purple, with red lines zooming across. She recognized this as the dream world, and knew that Doremy was nearby.Sure enough, Doremy appeared in front of Reimu. Normally, Reimu would be greeted with a smug smile from the baku, but all she got was a concerned look.“Reimu, dear… are you okay?” Doremy asked, pulling in Reimu for a hug. The shrine maiden hugged back, and nodded.“Yes, it was just another nightmare.” Reimu explained, tightening the hug.“You've been having a lot of those lately. Mostly about clowns, moons, purple flames and America… Did something happen?” Doremy inquired. Reimu sighed, and answered.“Yeah. Remember the moon trip I first met you on?”“The one where you kicked my ass?”“Exactly! After I met you, I eventually had to fight this fairy named Clownpiece. She wore a dress modeled after the American flag, and she was hell to fight. Lasers, moons, purple fire…” Reimu shuddered as she recalled the fight. Doremy hugged Reimu even tighter.“I'm so sorry you had to go through that. That said, why was the nightmare about clowns?” Doremy asked, tilting her head.“Umm… Her name, I guess.”“That makes sense. I just wanted to know why your dream tasted funny.”“...”“...”“... That joke sucked.” Reimu said, as Doremy burst into laughter.“Hahaha! I know! But I had to. Seriously, though, nightmares taste awful. They're way out of my usual orbit of taste.”“...”“...”“... Really? Let me guess, it was also too spicy for you?”“Nope! It just had a really insane taste profile. You should've given me a warning-”Before Doremy could continue speaking, she got pinched on the arm by Reimu. She released her hold on the shrine maiden, chortling.“Fine, I'll stop with the jokes! But seriously, you need to try and move past this. It's been over nine years.”“Yeah, and about nine years since you decided to always hang around my dreams specifically.”“What can I say? Your dreams intrigued me. And soon after…well, you know how things progressed.” Doremy teased, wrapping her arms around Reimu again. And there it was; that smug smile that Reimu both loved and loathed.“Yep. Can you give me a good dream? I wanna forget that nightmare I just had.” Reimu requested. Doremy nodded, and with a snap of her fingers, the two were suddenly sitting together on a comfortable couch. Doremy cuddled against Reimu, and asked:“Is this good enough?”“Absolutely. Thank you.” Reimu responded, smiling for the first time that night. It was a very slight smile, but Doremy loved it. She cherished whenever she could make the usually cold Reimu happy.“Of course! Now just relax and enjoy the TV. Love you.” Doremy said, kissing Reimu briefly.“... Love you too.” Reimu returned, turning her head to the TV. The images and plot made no sense, but that's how dreams go. “Wow, Doremy! This is outlandish stuff! Marisa regularly getting possessed by ■○■□■□○? That would never happen! Wait, what was that about?” Reimu asked, freaked out by her voice glitching.“Huh, weird. Let me try saying that name. ■○■□■□○. Oh, that is really odd. Maybe it's a quirk of the dream.” Doremy thought out loud with a shrug.“... Probably.” Reimu said, very confused. But she decided not to worry about it, and just silently cuddled with her girlfriend and enjoyed the nonsensical dream programming until it was time to wake up.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Marisa was in a bind. Literally, since she was trapped in a spell bubble. Patchouli trapped her in it because she tried to steal books from the Scarlet Devil Mansion library.In other words, this was an ordinary Thursday for the ordinary magician.“Say, Patchy, are you gonna let me out of here soon?” Marisa asked, smiling at the nearby librarian.“No. Do you need to be somewhere?” Patchouli questioned with a raised eyebrow.“Well… I do have a date with my girlfriend of three months in a few minutes!” Marisa proudly declared.“Well, then you shouldn't have been stealing right beforehand.”“Aww! Well, that's okay! The date was actually gonna be here!” Marisa cheerfully revealed, causing Patchouli to look fully up from her book.“Excuse me, what? I never gave you permission!” Before Patchouli could get up from her chair, a blue flame shot into her, knocking her out. When she awoke, she let out an uncharacteristic grunt as she got up and stretched. Her voice didn't even sound the same. Marisa smiled widely, for she knew one simple truth…This wasn't Patchouli anymore.“Agh, holy shit this body is so weak!” The being possessing Patchouli grumbled, looking up at Marisa. “Magically powerful, though. I see how you got trapped.” The being snapped Patchouli's fingers, and Marisa was freed. She fell onto the floor, before slowly getting up.“Mizuchi! I knew you'd come save me” Marisa cheered, hugging Patchouli's body. This accidentally broke her back.“OW! Fuck, I didn't realize this body was THAT frail! I'm outta here before she dies!” Mizuchi's true form zipped out of Patchouli, and landed next to Marisa, who dropped Patchouli's body to the floor.“Umm…ya think she's still alive?” Marisa asked, to which Mizuchi shook her head.“Nope, she's dead.”“...Damn, ze…” Marisa said, remorse evident in her voice…for a few seconds before she shrugged. “Eh, she'll get better. Let's bounce.”“Agreed.” As Mizuchi agreed, Marisa got on her broom, and both flew out of one of the open windows towards Marisa's house.—Once they were at Marisa's house, they sat together on the couch as Marisa pulled out the books she stole.“Hehe, nice! I'd been looking forward to learning about ice magic!” Marisa exclaimed, before looking over at Mizuchi. “Lemme guess…you want a reward for breaking me out of that bubble?” Marisa asked teasingly. Mizuchi simply nodded.“Well, the Jailbreak King doesn't break others out of jail for free, you know?” Mizuchi replied, floating closer to Marisa. The magician nodded, and beckoned the spirit closer with a finger.“Okay, just don't go overboard and kill too many people this time. One at most.” Marisa said, knowing that Mizuchi is probably going to kill someone no matter what she says.“Alright, that works for me! Let's do this!”Mizuchi floated over to Marisa, snaking around her before kissing her. The kiss lasted a while, letting both parties express their love. Some time into the kiss, Mizuchi is engulfed in a blue flame. This doesn't hurt Marisa, even as Mizuchi entirely becomes this blue, spiritual flame. The fire seeps into Marisa's body, and she smirks maliciously once it's all in.Marisa has been possessed.“Hell yeah! True physical bodies are so nice when they're not weak as piss!” Mizuchi commented using Marisa's body, looking around. She finds a knife in Marisa's kitchen.“Ah, perfect. I need to make this kill count…” Mizuchi said, laughing as Marisa's body went up in blue flames. After a moment, she had disappeared, leaving behind only a few azure sparks.—Satori was wandering around the palace of the earth spirits late at night in her pajamas and slippers. The day and night cycle was hard to parse underground, but it was past Satori's usual bedtime.“Why do I always feel so thirsty late at night?” Satori asked herself as she grabbed a cup from her kitchen. She filled it with water from the sink. She took a drink, gulping down the cold water with a satisfied sigh as she lowered the cup.
Shrrk
Suddenly, Satori felt a stabbing pain in her chest. One that she figured out was quite literal as she noticed that the water in her cup was stained red. Satori weakly turned her head, only to see a demented version of Marisa's smile.“Ah…Mizuchi…I suppose you win.” Satori weakly said, as Mizuchi pulled the knife out of Satori's chest. She pushed the unfortunate Satori forward so she was bent over the sink, and delivered the killing blow by stabbing her in the back of the head. Blood poured from Satori's head, mouth and chest, painting the sink red. Mizuchi left the knife in Satori's head, and grabbed Marisa's Mini-Hakkero.“Now to get rid of the evidence.” Mizuchi whispered to herself as she shot flames out of the magical furnace in her hands, melting the knife entirely within a minute. This also charred Satori's neck, but she didn't really care, given she was dead. Mizuchi put the Mini-Hakkero back in her pocket, before grabbing a lot of Satori's books and engulfing herself in blue flames. Within seconds, she was gone.—Marisa woke up in her bed with Mizuchi next to her, the spirit snoring slightly as Marisa sat up. She had no clue what they did last night. She got up, and noticed the blood on her clothes. Turning around, she noticed Mizuchi finally woke up.“Hey…did you kill someone last night?” Marisa questioned, to which Mizuchi yawned and nodded.“Yup. It was Satori, if you were curious.”“Oh, okay. Welp, I assume you had your reasons?”“Yup.”“Alright. Did you nab some of her books?” Marisa hopefully inquired. Mizuchi silently pointed at the stack of twenty books she managed to steal from Satori after her death.“YES!! Thank you so much, you're the best vengeful psycho girlfriend I could ask for!” Marisa tackled Mizuchi in an affectionate hug, as Mizuchi smirked and hugged back.“Hell yeah I am…”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Satori's spirit looked down at her corpse. It was a literal bloody mess. Mizuchi did a good job killing her, she had to admit. She decided that she should probably go haunt Patchouli so she could get revived.As Satori flew to the SDM, she thought about how Patchouli would react. Sure, the librarian died every other week due to her world record frailty, but she always got better. Satori, though? This was her first time dying. Patchouli might be super upset! Especially since they had been dating for years now. Few knew about it, but the two had a lot in common. They both liked books, and both also had an affection for animals.Granted, it was hard for Patchouli to express that affection, given she was allergic to almost every species of animal in Gensokyo, but it was still there.Satori finally floated to the gates of the SDM, where she saw a bloodstain on the ground in front of the gates. She got worried, then realized it probably wasn't Patchouli's blood. This was confirmed when she saw Eirin, Eientei's doctor, tending to a wrist wound Biten had sustained.“Right, that's Meiling's girlfriend. Probably overdid it on the sparring again.” Satori commented, although no one could hear or see her. She decided to float further, until she flew through the mansion walls and into the library. There, she saw Patchouli…… ‘s corpse.There was no blood, but her back looked crumpled. ‘Someone probably hugged her again,’ Satori thought to herself.“Looking for me?” Satori heard that familiar, almost deadpan voice. She turned around, and saw Patchouli's spirit.“Patchouli! Umm…I can explain. It was-”“Mizuchi.” Patchouli finished for her girlfriend, earning a smirk from her.“Oh, you showoff! I know you've gotten good at reading minds. How unnerving…” Satori commented, before turning around. “Let's go find Yuyuko. She might be able to help us.”“Agreed. But first!” Patchouli quickly flew next to Satori and kissed her. It lingered, similarly to how their spirits lingered after their deaths. “I wanted to know how ghosts kiss. It's nice. Alright, let's go.”Satori would've blushed slightly if her spirit could, but she couldn't, so she just nodded before leaving with Patchouli. Along the way, they saw Sakuya dumping a bunch of blood into Remilia's blood storage via a bucket.“Huh, I wonder where she gets all of that blood.” Satori commented while they flew past.“It's probably better not to ask. I sure haven't.” Patchouli replied. Both left the mansion shortly after.—Eventually, the two reached Hakugyokurou. They saw Youmu guarding the door to the shrine, and Kagerou next to her for some reason. They seemed to be chatting about something.“Back so soon?” Youmu asked Kagerou, to which the wolfgirl nodded.“Yup! I just wanted to see you again!” Kagerou admitted, as Satori and Patchouli's spirits flew closer. Youmu noticed, and paused the wolf girl.“Gimme a moment, dear.” Kagerou nodded, and left to go sit at a nearby bench.“Alright, what are you two doing here?” Youmu bluntly asked.“We need Yuyuko to resurrect us.” Satori explained, to which Youmu sighed.“Well, I'm afraid she's busy right now.”“Busy doing what?” Patchouli impatiently asked.“She's having a meeting with Sagume.” Youmu elaborated, eliciting a nod from both spirits in front of her.“Oh, I see…we can go visit Reimu instead.” Satori suggested, looking over at Patchouli. “Shall we?”“Yes, let us shall.” Patchouli replied, earning a chuckle from Satori as they both flew towards the Hakurei Shrine.—The two spirits floated over to the Hakurei Shrine, where they found Reimu sweeping. She looked happier than usual, but frowned upon seeing the spirits.“Oh, it's you two. What do you want?”“Reimu, can you revive us?” Satori asked. Reimu shook her head in response.“No. Is Yuyuko unable to?”“Yes.” Patchouli said bluntly.“Why? Was she too busy to-”“DUCK!” Both spirits shouted in unison, causing Reimu to glare at them incredulously.“‘Duck?’ She was busy because of a Hakurei-Goddamn duck?!! There aren't any ducks in Gensokyo, idio-!”
Krrsh
The spirits watched in horror as Reimu's neck got sliced clean through by an axe. Her head slid off of her body, causing the rest of her to fall forward. Standing behind her was Marisa holding a bloodied axe… although it clearly wasn't Marisa behind the wheel.“FINALLY! MY VENGEANCE!” Mizuchi shouted, using Marisa's body as her vessel. She looked at the two souls in front of her, and smirked. “Oh, are you two trying to get back to life?”“Yep.” Patchouli said, crossing her arms as Reimu's spirit came out of her body and flipped off Mizuchi. This only got a laugh from the psychotic spirit inhabiting Marisa right now.“Too bad! You three are never getting revived! You'll be dead forever!” Mizuchi taunted.“Correct. They will never be revived.” Said a voice from nearby. No one saw who it was, but a lone white feather fell nearby as whoever it was sped away. Suddenly, Satori, Patchouli, and Reimu's ghosts were all enveloped in a divine light. Once the light wore off, they all had new bodies, identical to their old ones. They even had clothes. The three were surprised, but quickly glared at Mizuchi.“...Huh?”“BEGONE, FOUL SPIRIT!” Reimu dramatically shouted, surrounding Mizuchi with talismans. They all collided onto her at once, driving the vengeful spirit out of Marisa's body. Marisa hot knocked out from it“Dammit! You'll rue the day you messed with me!” Mizuchi shouted as she quickly escaped through the wall. Satori and Patchouli looked at each other and shrugged.“Wanna come back to the palace with me?” Satori asked Patchouli. The librarian nodded, and teleported the both of them there.As they left, Marisa got up. She stretched, and looked around. She saw Reimu glaring at her, and another decapitated Reimu. Marisa was holding the axe, and it didn't take long for her to realize what happened.
“Oh… I messed up, ze.”