Suika, knowing the voice, responded, “Yugi Hoshiguma! What are you doing way out here!? You’re not trying to pick a fight with me, are you!?”
Yugi answered, “Well, I got bored of hanging around in the Ancient City, so I came up to the surface to see if it as cracked up as you claim it to be.”
“And?” Suika asked.
“It sure is a lot brighter on the surface.” Yugi continued, “Everything was pleasant, until you showed up. I almost forgot that there was a runt of an oni living on the surface, one with no boobs either.”
Suika became enraged and demanded, “YOU TAKE THAT BACK!”
Yugi said, “Why should I? It’s the truth. You’re an outcast amongst our people. In fact, if it wasn’t for your sake gourd and your ability to manipulate density, you’d be unworthy of calling yourself an oni!”
Suika, her face red, snapped, “And what about you!? What about your ‘manipulation of supernatural phenomena’!? What’s so special about that!? I’ve never seen you do anything like that! Oh, and it much be quite difficult lugging those massive ta-tas of yours all day, isn’t it? I guess that’s why you’re so hunched over; your height and your boobs just make you too clumsy!”
Yugi yelled, “WHAT DID YOU SAY!? I oughta break your spine for that!”
Suika struck a fighting pose and shouted, “Bring it on!” Yugi charged at Suika, and the two began fighting in hand-to-hand combat. The both of them used their chains as whips, however, the fight dragged on with no clear victor. Suika wanted to end the fight, so she reached for a spell card and commanded, “Great Oni: Missing Purple Power!” As soon as she said that, her body grew to three times its normal size, dwarfing Yugi.
Yugi, instead of being intimidated by Suika’s girth, instead taunted, “Ha! You’ve only succeeded in making yourself an easier target!” Suika’s chains had a longer reach now, but Yugi had a trick up her sleeve. She distanced herself from Suika and began firing danmaku.
The danmaku shots hit Suika, hurting her, “Ow! Ow!” She shrank back down to her normal size. She complained, “No danmaku! NO DANMAKU!”
Yugi retorted, “You’re the one who pulled a spell card out on me! It’s what you get for trying to squish me in your giant form!” Having weakened Suika with her danmaku, she charged at her and began attacking in close-combat again. The two oni kept going at it for the longest time, with no clear victor in sight. Lots of crazy attacks occurred: Suika slamming Yugi through a tree trunk, Yugi piledriving Suika fifteen feet into the ground, eye jabs, kicks to the groin, and horn twists to name a few. (Twisting an oni’s horn hurts like Hell.) Their clothes became tattered. Both of them had black eyes. Their bodies had a number of bloody scrapes and bruises all over.
The two girls fell to the ground. They were in pain, they were short of breath, but they were still conscious. Yugi managed to stand up, clutching her side in pain. She gloated over Suika and said, “What’s the matter? Giving up already?”
Suika answered, “A true oni,” she paused for dramatic effect, “never gives up!”
Yugi noticed Suika’s sake gourd and stated, “That’s the gourd of sake that never empties, right? How about a truce? You give me your gourd, I’ll call this a victory on your part.”
Suika clutched her gourd and yelled, “No! Not my precious alcohol!” She stood up, still clutching her gourd.
The tall oni then threatened, “Well if you’re not giving up your sake, then you’ll have to finish this fight!”
Oni are extraordinarily strong creatures, but they’re not invincible. Suika was at her limit, and she knew it. She could tell Yugi was too. Suika held out her gourd and said, “I don’t want this to end with someone getting seriously hurt, so take it. If you say you’ll forfeit, then take it. I can always get more sake in the village.”
Yugi shouted, “Awesome!” She stumbled to Suika, her arms stretched out.
Right before Yugi grabbed the gourd, Suika reached for a spell card and recited, “Mist sign: Immaterial!” Suika’s body, clothes, and gourd turned into a fine mist. Yugi’s eyes widened in shock as she fell to the ground.
“AGH!” Yugi shouted, her fists clenched and her teeth scraping one another. “So that’s why no one can get a hold of her sake! That scoundrel!”
Suika rematerialized, boasting aloud, “Rule Number One When Dealing With Suika Ibuki: don’t come between me and my booze!” Yugi was about to charge at her, but Suika shouted, “Wait! Yugi, are you . . . are you sober?”
Yugi’s fists became unclenched. She looked downwards, and said in a mutter, “Yeah.”
Suika then said, “Is that why you’re being like this? Because you haven’t had a drink?”
Yugi answered, “Uh huh.”
Suika stated, “Then how’s this? I’ll let you drink from my gourd, right now, all you want, so long as you don’t take it. Isn’t that a truce we can get behind?”
Yugi answered, “Yeah, that sounds good.” Yugi went up to the shorter oni and took her sake gourd. She took a long, good swig. Her eyes became closed and she shouted, “YEAH BABY!” She handed back the gourd to Suika and exclaimed, “That’s the good stuff right there!”
“Oh yeah!” Suika shouted back. She then said, “I’d stick around, but I think I’ve had enough excitement for now. And by excitement, I mean owies!” She clutched herself.
Yugi responded, “Sorry about fighting you!”
Suika said, “Nah, it’s okay. I was asking for it. I better go back to Reimu’s place and recuperate. See ya later, clumsy oni!” She walked away in pain.
“See ya later, flat-chested runt!” Yugi ended, herself in pain.
Just above Yugi, high up in the trees, was a girl. She was wearing a white button-up blouse with a black miniskirt. She wore brown loafers with knee-high socks, and she had a red tokin on her head. Her hair was black, and reached to just below her shoulders. Her eyes were red, and coming out of the back of her were black feathered wings. She was carrying what looked like a camera of some sort. She uttered to herself, “Wow! These are some great shots! Now I just have to hope the girl down there is willing to do an interview.” She stowed away her camera and pulled out a pen and piece of paper. She came swooping down next to the tall oni.
Yugi was surprised to see what looked like a crow youkai land right next to her. She exclaimed, “Whoa! Who are you!?”
The girl with wings answered, “My name is Aya Shameimaru, journalist and head writer of the Bunbunmaru Shimbun. I just bore witness to that fight between you and that other oni girl. Would you tell me what’s going through your mind right now?”
Yugi looked at Aya like she was suspicious of her. She asked, “Why should I tell you?”
Aya responded, “I’m a journalist; it’s my job.”
Yugi then said, “I only like two things: partying, and fighting, and you don’t look like you’re interested in either.” She then formed a wicked grin on her face and said, “Unless,” she flailed one of her chains near Aya, “You wanna challenge me to a duel, too? I’m still good for another round.”
“Uh, no!” Aya hastily replied. She was surprised by Yugi’s warning, and started flying with her wings, “I’ve got all the information I need, heh heh! I’ll be going now! Thanks for everything!” and with that, she took to the skies in the blink of an eye.
Aya caught up with Suika. She greeted, “Hi Suika! Remember me?”
Suika answered, “Of course! Are you interested in partying?”
Aya replied, “Uh, no. I want to ask you some questions.”
Suika became suspicious, “Hey wait; you wanna print something scandalous about me, don’tcha?” She picked up a nearby boulder, holding it over her head, and yelled, “Well print THIS!” She heaved it at Aya.
The tengu shrieked and flew upwards again, away from the interviewee and back into the sky. As Aya flew through the sky, she thought to herself, “now all that remains is to print and distribute it.”
***
Not too far from the Hakurei Shrine was a forest, but not just any forest. This forest is the Forest of Magic. The Forest of Magic was home to countless fairies, evil spirits, and all manner of beastly youkai. In spite of its danger, a few people have made their home here. Alice was one such individual. There is a clearing somewhere within the Forest of Magic that has a cottage in it, this cottage being Alice’s house. She had just gotten home from Eientei, after having purchased some medication, as well as encountering Medicine Melancholy, a doll that she had built which came to life without her knowing until now. She had disassembled (well, taking apart a crazed doll via spell card is a kind of disassembly) the doll girl so she wouldn’t pose a threat. Despite this, Melancholy’s head was able to talk. She asked, “Does anyone other than you live here?”
Alice answered, “Well, a human witch lives somewhere nearby, and also, there’s a man who runs an antique shop just outside the forest. Otherwise, it’s all animal-like youkai.” She had opened the door to her house and let herself in.
Medicine then asked, “Do you get along with the other people in the forest?”
Alice made a dubious smile and responded, “Me? Get along with the human witch? Hardly. If it wasn’t for the fact that she’s helped me out for some of my experiments, as well as cleared out some of the local youkai, she wouldn’t have the distinction of being called my friend. As for the shop owner, I don’t know him that well, but he doesn’t get on my nerves, and that’s always a plus.”
Medicine took time to absorb this information. Then she asked, “So does that mean you’re a human lover?”
Alice answered, “Huh? What’s so bad about respecting humans? I was originally born a human, you know.”
Medicine questioned, “Oh? Are you a youkai? You don’t look like one.” She paused, then said, “Then again, it wouldn’t make much of a difference. Human, youkai, you’re all the same; you’re all inferior to constructs such as myself!”
Alice sneered, “Well, I can certainly see that I wasn’t the one who brought you to life. No doll of mine would be so clouded by prejudice, that she’d be blind to her very own ignorance and hubris.”
Medicine questioned, “Huh? What does ‘prejudice’ mean?”
Alice snarked, “My point exactly.” The dollmaker reflected on how she had attempted to create an autonomous doll throughout the years. She remembered how several years ago, she had built Medicine and did everything she could to bring her to life, but to no avail. She remembered how one day, she left her house to run some errands, only to return home with Medicine gone. She assumed that maybe some fairies stole her and never returned. She still isn’t certain how Medicine became lost, but now she’s back, alive, and apparently is bigoted against anyone not man-made like her. It perplexed the puppeteer.
Alice had laid Medicine’s parts onto a workbench, ready to examine her. She spent all day looking at the parts of what was once her doll. She couldn’t determine how a poisonous air could bring Medicine to life, nor how the doll could store so much poison in the first place. As for the tiny fairy, she couldn’t get a hold of it. Alice has very dexterous hands, but not even she could grab a hold of it. Anytime she tried to catch it, it would always either fly away too fast, or slip right through her hands. By midnight, she had retired to her bed for the night.
***
Alice woke up early next morning. She had changed into her usual clothes. She was expecting to examine Medicine more closely, only . . . Medicine was gone. “Huh? Where’s Medicine? Where’d she go?” Shanghai, one of Alice’s dolls, appeared next to her. Alice said to the doll, “Shanghai, do you have any idea how Medicine got out?” Shanghai, or rather, Alice voicing Shanghai, said, “I don’t know, Alice! How could she be reassembled like so? We should look around! Maybe she didn’t get far!” Alice said in her normal voice, “Good idea, Shanghai!”
Alice stepped outside, with Shanghai tethered to her invisible puppet strings. (Alice has puppet strings that appear invisible to the naked eye. It gives the illusion that her dolls are entirely independent, so long as you overlook the fact that they can’t stray very far from Alice.) She looked everywhere; all she could find was the newest edition of the Bunbunmaru Shimbun. Hourai, another one of Alice’s dolls, appeared. Alice as Hourai said, “Oh, that’s so heartbreaking, Alice. Your grandest project finally moves on her own, and now she seems to have run away! Oh well. Maybe the newest Bunbunmaru will cheer you up.” Alice, in her natural voice, responded, “Yeah, maybe you’re right.” She stepped back inside and sat down to read the newspaper. The front page on the Bunbunmaru Shimbun read like so:
ONI GIRLS BRAWL!
Yesterday morning, Suika Ibuki, the oni responsible for the parties of Gensokyo back in the Summer of 119, got into a physical altercation with Yugi Hoshiguma, an oni girl from beneath the surface. The fight took place not far from the Hakurei Shrine, where Suika is currently residing.
Eyewitness reports claim the fight started because Suika was jealous of Yugi’s breasts. The fight went on for a while; at least ten minutes passed when the two oni began brawling.
Mystia Lorelei, one of the eyewitnesses, recounts, “It was crazy! They were swinging tree trunks at each other, poking each other in the eyes, biting their fingers, I’m surprised they went on for as long as they did!”
When approached as to why she fought Suika, Yugi replied, “I wanted her sake.” Suika could not be reached for comment.
***
Medicine was flying through the forest. “Thanks, Su-san! Since you can control my nameless fairy companion, you were able to piece me back together! I think, for now, I’ll hide in this forest. Don’t wanna take anymore chances with the organisms.” As she flew around, something caught her eye. She spotted what looked like a dead body. The body’s clothes were tattered. Medicine got close to the body, curious. The body looked to be that of a girl, one with lime green hair. The dead girl was wearing what looked like a blue and white maid’s uniform, with a red bow on her chest. Her eyes were closed. Medicine, her curiosity increasing, decided to touch the body. She tapped the right forearm of the girl. The skin was hard, cold, metallic. “Huh!?” Medicine exclaimed. “She doesn’t have the texture of an organism. She’s a construct like me!” A wicked smirk formed on the doll’s face, “If I can bring her back to life . . . I just might stand a chance!”
To be continued?
End Part 3.
