Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

I grasp your hand, beneath the wavering lights of the night.

They dance along the wide, dark sky, as we both wonder about the many facets and aspects of life.

“How has Clownpiece been?” You asked, with your shining, orange hair shaded with a muted blue of the midnight that blankets us.

“She’s all fine and dandy, of course,” I answer, in my usual bubbly tone, as I turn my head to face you. “That ol’ shrine maiden really wanted to get paid, so I gave her an offer she can’t refuse.”

“Really, now?” You look back up to the aurora, the one that continues to flux along the dark backdrop that is the starry sky.

I simply nod my head. 

We stare up from the grass, our eyes melded to the horizon above us, delivering a beautiful display of Earth’s wonders. The twinkling little dots that populate the night compliment the trail of light that continues to ripple nicely. It all feels so…small, and large, at the same time, both out of reach, and graspable with ease.

I felt my hand being squeezed. I turn to you, once more.

“This has been a great honeymoon so far.” You say to me, a smile on your face. “Just the two of us, calm and peaceful, together.”

“Well…you know what, yeah.” I resigned all other thoughts in my head, and focused on you, as I turned my head to face you once again. “Just the two of us, honey.”

“May it be so,” You look back to the aurora. “And where shall we go tomorrow?”

“I’m thinking of Cape Town. Or Buenos Aires. Or Seattle. Who knows, really,” I say with a light shrug. “I just really wanted to see them with you here in Scandinavia, after all; the best views for ‘em are here!”

“And I thank you for that,” You take a breath, and exhale. “For while this can be created in fantasy, seeing it naturally before us…is different.”

“Nothing beats the real deal, after all,” I chuckle a little. “And for you, I’d make sure our experiences are genuine.”

“...thank you, my love.”

“No problem!”

Chapter Text

koochiya: Sumireko, the computer just died again

sumimimi: No way

koochiya: blue screen.

sumimimi: send image. i don’t believe it

koochiya sent one (1) image

sumimimi: WHAT DID YOU DO

koochiya: I HAVE NO IDEA

koochiya: I WAS JUST PLAYING GAMES AS USUAL

sumimimi: ugh, just, do you know how to fix it?

koochiya: Yeah…?

sumimimi: don’t “yeah…?” me, girl. restart that computer

koochiya: okay, let me just

koochiya: I think i got it

sumimimi: did you just press the off button, or did you disconnect the wires

koochiya: …

sumimimi: sanae

sumimimi: i swear to god

koochiya: I’m sorry!!! i’m still trying to get used to the new “setup” you got me for my birthday…

sumimimi: firstly, it was for our third anniversay together

sumimimi: and secondly, eta 5 minutes. i can get that fixed in no time.

koochiya: okay…

sumimimi: and next time, always ask if you don’t know BEFORE YOU DO SOMETHING. okay?

koochiya: okay…

sumimimi: sigh

sumimimi: you are kind of an idiot, you know

koochiya: am i?

sumimimi: yeah

sumimimi: but that also makes you super cute, you know

sumimimi: it’s why we’ve been together for a few years

koochiya: uh huh…

sumimimi: dw. i’ll be there for you every step of the way

sumimimi: …even if it means i have to flex my computer engineering degree every once in a while

koochiya: i thought you had a cultural science degree?

sumimimi: i have both

koochiya: so coool…

sumimimi: all it took was my sanity and patience after all. anyways, almost there now

koochiya: okay, love!

sumimimi: don’t say that!!!

Chapter Text

“You loved her dearly, didn’t you?”

I stared at the vengeful spirit before me, across the kokatsu, as we shared a single filled teapot with a cup in each hand.

“You loved her. The…first miko, didn’t you?”

I’ve never seen Mizuchi’s skin pale anymore than it already is, but there she was, lost in thought, afraid and weary.

“Before the Barrier was put up for good. Before me, before my mother, and so on and so forth.”

She never seemed to answer me, staring instead at the tea cooling in her cup with a silence that told me all that there is to know.

“You had something with her. That pipe you carry, the techniques you use…they’re the same as the ones she carried.”

And still, Mizuchi never budged from her stalwart, frozen position, occasionally blinking to indicate her awareness towards me.

“Did you-”

“I did love her.”

I stopped talking when she did, with a low, grumbling voice, a tone far from her normal. One of my eyebrows raised itself upon hearing her confession, as my mind began to turn.

“I did love her. I fawned over her. She was…everything, to me, not just as a master, but as a teacher, a friend, a lover.”

Mizuchi’s eyes were listless, as if the fires of her grudge had burned out behind them.

“We shared so much together…even in the waning years of my short, young life, when we began to drift apart. When I began to foolishly fraternize with youkai…long before you.”

I leaned in a little more, trying to hear her soft, quiet words, unnatural things leaving her mouth. It was surreal to hear her like this, defeated and unmotivated, merely driven by nostalgia and grief.

“She warned me of the dangers- spent so much time with me, even if I didn’t see it then, due to my navietê. I…barely bothered, thinking it’ll all be okay, dismissing her as politely as I could every step of the way during my womanhood.”

I took one sip of the tea in my cup, feeling a little parched from listening to the spirit across from me. She seemed to take some kind of hint, and did so as well, despite me not saying anything.

“And look where that got me- dead, dismembered, only watching her ward off my killers with the lights fading from my eyes. I never got to say goodbye, either, for my throat was torn away in the slaughter.”

Only then, she looked up at me, with an expression that warranted nothing more than just pity.

“My grudge is not towards what you and your family has done. It’s towards what I haven’t done, Hakurei; it’s towards myself, and how I failed to see what truly mattered.”

Chapter Text

“Parsee! What’cha been up to?”

“Nothing, Yamame. Nothing.”

The hashihime on the bridge stared up at the tsuchigumo hanging from the ceiling by a thread. Of course, the hashihime, Parsee Mizuhashi, has her typical scowl on, in spite of the smile coming from the tsuchigumo, Yamame Kurodani.

“C’mon, Parsee,” Yamame egged on. “You gotta have something on your mind!”

“Besides just standing on this damn bridge?” Parsee barked back, irate. “Or sitting beneath it and drowning my sorrows with alcohol?”

“Alright, who is it this time? Who’re you jealous of now?” The spider youkai then asked, cocking her head to her left.

The bridge princess exhaled. “Yuugi.”

That set off a few alarm bells in Yamame’s head. “What do you mean?! Aren’t you two a thing, or something?”

“Not since the Jailbreak King settled down here, no.” Parsee looked at the town ahead. “Yuugi’s gotten along much better and quicker with her than when she was with me. I hate it.”

“Awww, don’t be mad…” Yamame put her hands behind her head, only for her to suddenly wave around and dodge in the air when the hashihime began to fire danmaku!

“Have you SEEN them?!” The hashihime exclaimed, her eyes glowing green with envy as she threw a few green kunai at the tsuchigumo. “They’re becoming friends in less time when they first met than when I first met that stupid oni!”

“Relax! It’s not gonna end up being romantic- eep!” Yamame tried to console, only for more danmaku to come her way.

“You don’t understand! Yuugi and I had to take years to come to a friendship.” Parsee remained bitter as she kept attacking Yamame. “They did it in a matter of days. Don’t you see how that is unfair?!”

“Okay, okay! I get it! Now stop shooting!” The tsuchigumo put her hands out and wiggled them, hoping to get the hashihime to halt her assault. Thankfully, she did.

“It’s just…I’ve worked so hard to attain her trust, to be friends with her properly, and even share moments of intimacy. And then this criminal shows up and they hit it off in record time.” Parsee folded her arms, leaning on the railings of the bridge once more. “It’s unfair.”

“You got…any other friends in mind, then? Maybe they can help ease your envy, for a little bit.” Yamame recommended, which earned her another glance from Parsee.

“...Murasa’s busy with temple work, as usual.” The bridge princess sighed.  “And that just leaves…”

“...me!” The spider youkai realized in the wake of the trailing silence, as she lowered herself down to be beside the hashihime. “Don’t you worry, Parsee- I’m gonna help you fill that void in your heart.”

“Oh, you- fine. You better, dummy.” Parsee’s scowl flattened out. “Last thing I want is for my trust to be broken again, you know.”

“Not to fret, okay?” Yamame put a hand on Parsee’s shoulder, as she too looked at the town in the distance. “I’ll help you get back on your feet, and maybe, with time, you could even forget you were envious of Yuugi’s new friendship in the first place!”

“Again, you better. I’m not an easy person to work with.”

“Will do! Just trust me.”

Chapter Text

“Look at all of these treats from the outside world…!” A pink-haired, blue-clothed woman spoke, marveled at the impressive display of pastries spread out across the table. “They’re all so pretty and beautiful…”

Standing by her side is a blonde in a purple nightgown, having one hand on the other woman’s shoulder. “It took me a bit to get some more than the others, but I hope you like everything that I have set for you, here.”

“I’m enamored, Yukari…” The pink-haired woman put a hand to her chest, addressing the blonde. “...but surely you want to partake in the delicacies as well, hm?”

“These are all for you, Yuyuko.” Yukari nodded, as she waved a hand off towards the table littered with earthly delights. “You’re going to have to actively pass some to me for me to eat, since I never intended to in the first place.”

Yuyuko would reach for the first of many plates, which had a single slice of an oddly-colored cheesecake. “This one is purple, much like your dress.”

“You’d be surprised to learn what the ordinary can do to make extraordinary things from exotic ingredients.” Yukari nodded, still bearing her gentle smile. “Its made from ingredients found in a country called…the Philippines, if I recall.”

“Oh?” The pink-haired woman put a hand up to her mouth, hearing the other speak.

Yukari would then snap the fingers of her left hand in the air, before the space right above it tore open, revealing a strange, nebulous space at the other end. From that intangible dimension, a single fork would come down into the blonde’s hand, before sealing itself up. Then, she’d pass it to Yuyuko, who was still holding the plate of ube cheesecake.

“Why, thank you,” Yuyuko graciously accepted the fork, using it to cut off the tip of the cheesecake, letting it drop to its side before impaling it. Raising up the fork, she’d point it not at her own mouth, but at Yukari’s. “Say ahhh…”

The blonde's eyelids formed subjecting slits.

"Please?" In turn, the pink-haired woman's eyes became more beady.

“...oh, alright.” A brief moment of hesitation eventually got Yukari to give in and take the first bite of the cheesecake.

This was going to take a while.

Chapter Text

On a fine day, a purple-haired woman in a lab coat walks into a small-town shoppe.

“Mr. Morichika. It is a pleasure to see you.”

Staring back up at the woman was a white-haired man in black and blue- he was the store’s owner.

“Good day to you too, Ms. Asakura.”

“Do you happen to have any color ink cartridges?” Ms. Asakura inquired.

However, Mr. Morichika shook his head. “I don’t know. You’re free to look at the storage if you want, here at Kourindou.”

“Thank you.” Bowing to the shopkeeper, Ms. Asakura would make her way over to the back of the building. As she walked, she’d feel a buzzing sensation on her right thigh.

Her hand moved over to it, which was a phone inside a pocket; slipping it out of there, she noticed that it was a call- and groaned at the sight of who the caller is, before answering.

“I’m already here at Kourin’s.” Ms. Asakura began with a deadpan tone.

“That’s wonderful, babe!” Spoke the person at the other end, being all bubbly and excited. “Is he carrying cartridges, by any chance?”

“Still looking for them, Yumemi.” The purple-haired woman began to rummage through the store’s stock in the meantime, looking for said ink cartridges. “And this is like, the third time you’ve called me since I left.”

“It’s not the same without you, you know?” Yumemi explained that. “Working here alone hasn’t felt normal since we started being a thing, Rikako.”

“And I understand that,” Rikako sighed. “But you don’t have to worry so much that you keep on calling me whenever I’m out of the Vessel.”

“Sorry,” The person on the other end of the phone apologized. “Mind’s just- totally scrambled. I really need those cartridges to print out new scientific papers.”

“You’re not the only one, obviously. I’m also looking for some- I’m running low on black, anyway.” Rikako chuckled as she finally found a box full of what she came for. “Talk to ya soon, okay?”

“Stay safe, Rikako!” Yumemi bid farewell, before hanging up.

Chapter Text

It was horribly dark, too closed in for me to breathe; I felt crushed, trapped, alone, my voice hoarse and wordless, more so than it would be, usually.

I don’t know if my vision was hazy or not, for the darkness made everything look the same; wherever I was, it was definitely not a place I wanted to be.

I tried to move, struggling to make my body useful inside of whatever I was trapped in- or under. My ears, ringing from the moment I awoke, began to register other sounds, finally, as faint shouting and other strange cues permeated the air.

My struggle continued, pushing my body to or even past its limits, trying to break myself free from whatever prison I had found myself in. Slowly, but surely, I began to move more, exerting myself even further in an attempt to escape this trap, or whatever it is.

I was grunting- I was hearing things- the whooshing of air and the cries of many- as I finally saw a speck of light peeking through, allowing me to see where I was. It was rubble, the debris of some kind of building that had fallen upon me, and where I was is still unknown, but not for long.

I used my arms, legs, and back to further push off the debris from me, trembling as I fought the urge to collapse with all I could. I saw more past the speck of light- a surface here, a weapon there, and then I saw more and more; flames, weapons, fire, destroyed buildings, and above all, a black sky to serve as the backdrop of a grey, modern city.

It was the moon. This was the Lunar Capital. And something had gone horribly wrong.

I start to remember, I start to remember things- my mind flooding with feelings and emotions and memories that all seemed to come at me so fast-

-and then I felt something grace my hand. It was another’s, pulling me out of the rubble and onto the streets itself.

“Oh my gods, I’m glad you’re okay!” My vision still hazed, and yet I know who the blonde before me is, donned in orange and white. “I looked for you everywhere, trying to find you amidst the chaos…”

I nodded. My voice still felt shot. I know who this person is, I knew her since before I turned to the moon, and to me, she was the little sun that never left my mind.

“Okay, let’s get you up-!” I felt myself being lifted off the floor, suddenly carried in both hands by her, the blonde in orange and white. The little red piece in her hair also contained that little chick, too.

Her touch was warm, unlike the cold feeling of being trapped under a building’s debris. She was bright and colorful, compared to the darkness. She was actively lifting me up, different from when I was forced down. She wasn’t like this just now- she’d always been, from our time on Earth so long ago, to the current turmoil we’re experiencing.

“We need to get to your friends, and fast.” The woman carrying me spoke as she stared down at my injured form, as I found myself flying through the Capital with ease in her arms. “And we have to avoid those insurgents with their crazy-purified guns as well. Been doing a good job of that!”

‘Crazy-purified guns’? What could she-

-ah!-

Ahhhh…my body aches. I struggled to stand once more, but this time, no debris stopped me from raising my head and body, if only slightly from all the pain. A short distance away from me, is her…slumped on the ground, not moving in the slightest, her wings spread out across her back. I cannot make out anything else in my view but her.

I crawl towards her, best I could, as shouts and gunfire and explosions barely catch my ears all around me. I was still trembling, but no amount of that would stop me from seeing what had happened to her. In due time, I managed to reach her, and saw a single wound- white hot, square between her wings, on the small of her back- a single gunshot from a weapon designed to deconstruct conceptually complex things.

With a heavy breath, I turned her onto her back. She still bore a smile, even as her red eyes began to lose their luster.

“...guess I took more from you than I thought, you know…?” Her chest still went up and down, as my hands unconsciously gripped one of hers, pulling it to my chest. “What a jinx, I’m sure…”

I couldn’t say anything- not just because my throat hurts, but because my heart did, too; and without warning, the person who could care for both of those, the person that I’ve entwined with in the past, and reconnected in the present…

…is nothing more than a cadaver.

Chapter Text

Shak-shak-shak-shak-shak-shak-shak-shake

Tumble

Shak-shak-shak-shak-shak-shak-shak-shake

Pshhhhhhh…

“What are you doing out here?!” 

Interrupted by the voice, a certain grey-haired Taoist-practicing shikaisen (see: pseudo-immortal human by way of faking death) turned to face the source of the sound: That being, a blue-haired youkai lady, or specifically a nyuudou-handler, in Buddhist robes.

“Hie, fair lady Ichirin,” The shikaisen bowed to the Buddhist, spray can in hand. “Thou is merely attempting a novel alternative to setting temples ablaze.”

“By…spraying graffiti on the side of the temple, Futo?” Ichirin pointed at the shorter woman’s work, which did impress her a little bit, even if it was in a place it shouldn’t be.

“Aye, that is but the truth.” Futo nodded. “Lady Miko’s prized steed, the admittedly-foul foal Kurokoma, introduced to me this concept of ‘graffiti’.”

“...it is pretty to look at.” Ichirin once again looked at Futo’s work, which was a modern-pop spin on classical design. “Were you researching what to spray?”

“Aye,” Futo looked over at a nearby bag- presumably also full of different spray cans. “Practice and diligence were of utmost importance. Hours upon hours were shed in Senkai to get a grasp on these techniques.”

The Buddhist would walk over to the bag that had caught the shikaisen’s gaze, and look into it. “Woah,” she gasped. “You really came prepared.”

“Lady Usami hath procured much of my materials,” Futo elaborated as Ichrin continued looking. “In exchange for her teaching me the “ways of the modern woman”, as she herself proclaimed.”

“What, so now you can just talk normally?” Ichrin teased. “What’s that for, to get down to my level and seduce me?”

“Eh- no! I’ve always had the capacity to speak plainly!” Futo exclaimed, blushing a little. “It’s just…I’m already very used to the more archaic tongue I’ve spoken with for centuries. I’ve been…learning.”

“Well, Sumi’s work definitely paid in spades,” The Buddhist then picked up a pair of cans of her own. “Now, I would tell you to bug off and we can meet some other time to have some more safe fun, Futo…but this wall does need some freshening-up.”

The shikaisen tilted her head. “Really?”

“Not a lot of young folks are interested in the temple’s shabby blandness.” Ichrin answered, shaking her cans. “Got any ideas on what designs we’re gonna do?”

“Hmm…I know plenty!” Futo walked up next to the nyuudou-handler, raising her can to point the nozzle at the wall. “Just follow my lead.”

“Got it. Now, let’s get to work!”

“Aye!”

Pshhhhhhhhhhhh…pshhhhhhhh…