A Simple Request

"Lady Fortuna."

 It had been ages since he had come to a shrine devoted solely to the goddess of fortune. The last time he did, it was to pray for their success in slaying Yursarsh once and for all. That was merely a distant memory now, though... and he had something more important than merely praying.

 The air seemed to shimmer for a moment as the ghastly visage of Fortuna appeared, wearing robes that reminded him of the night sky, pink locks flowing down her back.

 "My, fortune seems to smile upon me!" she said with a smile. "It is rare that any of my followers ask for my appearance."

 "I am sorry, but it is a little... urgent. Just a little. How have you been?"

 "I've seen better days. I have never lost so many Bingo games against Ursula in a row! Honestly, you'd think the goddess of fortune would have better luck !"

 "You could just rig it in your favor, my Lady..."

 "But that wouldn't be fair, would it? I have to give people a chance; otherwise, what fun is it? Anyway, I did hear from the grapevine you were getting married, yes?"

 "Wh-what? Who told you-"

 "Ursula. She knows everything, you know. Besides, you know what your friend Xavier did the minute he heard about it? Told her. Essentially squealed like a shy schoolgirl who found a favorite book in the library! Well, so I'm told~! You have my blessings, and if you don't invite me to your wedding, I'm making sure that you roll straight 1s for the next battle!"

 "...What?"

 "Oops! You didn't hear anything, dear Alex~! Anyway, what did you need?"

 "Well, um... I was wondering if you could do me a favor."

 "Considering you and some others just obliterated a thousand blights upon the universe, I think the gods owe you more than just a favor, but sure! Speak up loud and clear!"

 "...I want to get rid of my immortality."

 Silence hung like a thick curtain as the goddess stared at Alex. It was a bit unnerving, but he was sure that it didn't mean anything horrible.

 "Most people would kill for immortality, Alex... Why is it that you wish to discard yours?"

 There was no hesitation in his voice as he spoke loud and clear enough for his voice to echo through the shrine.

 "Because I don't want to outlive Sarah by thousands of years! It doesn't mean anything if she doesn't have it, either! I simply want to live a simple life with her, with no extra demigodness or immortality or anything. Just a normal life."

 His heart beat against his chest as the silence came back, thicker than ever. He almost thought that the Lady would mock him, for none was as fickle as she.

 But she smiled after a time, and placed her hand on his head.

"If that is what you desire, then allow me to take away the eternity that we have thrust upon you."

 And so the weight of eternity was lifted, and Alex was free to relax. The visage seemed to shimmer again before fading away, leaving him with an ever-knowing wink.

Cake and Tea

"Xavier?"

 "Uggh, don't call me that! But what?"

 "Could I have that cake?"

 An ethereal arm reached out, pointing to a lovely slice of strawberry shortcake, cut into the perfect size for snacking.

 The demon's antennae twisted themselves into knots over this conundrum. He just cut that cake a minute ago! It was his cake, that he bought with his own money! And it just so happened to be his favorite cake from his favorite bakery in the Baphomet City District! A cake to shame the Baker God himself!

 But... it was her who asked. The girl in the mirror. She meant a lot to him, and kept him company when nobody else would. She was also very good at predicting the weather and the future, too! So sweet, yet he always tended to leave her alone, which she didn't mind, but...

"Fine," Gluttony said with a defeated sigh. "You may have the cake. But only that one slice!"

 "Yaaaaay!"

 Well, at least she was happy now. Her arms were flailing about and she was quite happy to smoosh the cake slice into her face. All that delicious frosting and cake crumbs rolled down the mirror like rain down a window, slowed to a crawl. It wouldn't take long to clean off, but he wondered if she knew that was going to happen.

...How could mirror girls eat, anyway? After all, she was there for at least 2000 years, and she never had a bite! She looked just fine, though. Did she sneak food from the kitchen? Or could she live without eating? Oh, a horrible existance, to live without being able to taste any-

 "Yo, Gluts."

  He turned his head 180 degrees to stare at the maid who was preparing to leave.

 "That's new, Sophie. But you might slip and say 'glutes' if you keep it up! And as you already known, my glutes are prreeeettyy bi-"

 "Whatever," Sophia interrupted, flicking her long, brown hair behind her. "Was just gonna say I'm going out to shop again. We need anything?"

 An indigo apprendage shot out from his back, reaching out towards the fridge and opening it right up. It was packed to the brim with fresh fruits, veggies, milk, and eggs. The freezer was packed with meat and ice cream, too. No surprise; they stocked up a bit too much for the feast.

 "Nothing that I see, dear Sophie," the dullahan replied as he shut both freezer and fridge before digging through the cabinets. His antennae stiffened up for a moment before he added, "Well, uh, I'm out of tea. And not just any tea, either!"

 Sophia frowned. "The Lemon-Ginger one, right? Should I get the bags or the tea leaves?"

 "I prefer the tea leaves, but I don't know if they'll have 'em in today. So get whatever's available!"

 "Alright, I'll remember that. But I'm going out to buy new clothes."

 Gluttony blinked. "New clothes?"

 "Yeah."

 "...Don't the Maid outfits fit well enough, though?"

 "It's boring wearing the same thing day in and day out if it's not for a job, though. Besides, I nearly froze my ass off, wearing this in the winter."

The demon opened his mouth to mention something about said ass, but bit his tongue and said instead, "Well, get something nice, then! Just don't buy those $4,000 dollars sneakers everybody loves! Honestly, I don't understand how those sell so well, and how people bother collecting them!"

 Sophia waved him off before heading out the door, the prinnies closing the door behind her. Gluttony sighed and slumped into a chair before an ethereal hand poked at his shoulder.

 "That was really nice of you to let her shop for new clothes," Elise said, one of her hands wiping away the cake from her face.

 The demon looked out the window, watching the first snowflakes drift down from the skies. "A frozen maid isn't much use to me, is she?" he replied half-heartedly. "So she can get herself something warmer, at least."

 "I know that's not the real reason, Xavier, but whatever you say!"

 Gluttony cringed when she spoke his name. She had always called him that, and every time, it made him surge with anger and hatred. He wasn't exactly sure why, either. After all, he certainly didn't remember getting that name anywhere.

 A sigh escaped his lips as he sat down and cut himself another slice of cake. A fork materialized in his hands as he reached out to eat it all at once. Down the hatch it went, and man, was it good!

 Six slices left.  The urge to devour it all at once was there, but an idea sprang to mind. He hastily grabbed Elise and set her on the other side of the table, then sat back down to wait, humming happily to himself as he did.

 Elise probably knew what he was planning, but she asked anyway, "Aren't you gonna eat the rest of this? You did say it was your cake."

 His lips spread into a sincere smile.

 "Maybe, but cake tastes better shared with others. And with tea! So...

 ...Let's wait for Sophia to get back, and then we can start a little tea party!"

 "Oooh, that sounds splendid! Shall we get the dolls?"

 "Yes, of course! The dolls definitely need to enjoy this, too! Well, they can't eat, but they can at least enjoy the winter scenery!"

 And as the demon rushed up to his room to collect as many hand-made dolls as he could (especially Elise's favorite doll) and set them at the table like honored guests, Sophia returned with tea aplenty.  And as some of it was set to brew, the trio could enjoy the winter day in earnest, talking about the adventures they had and the lazy days.

A simple pleasure it might be. But all three seemed happier, talking over cake and tea.

Useless

Tick, tock. Tick, tock.

The Prinnies were as busy as ever this night, cooking and cleaning in preparation for the feast. He could only watch as they toiled endlessly to make sure things were absolutely perfect, everything in its proper place.

The minute the words, "May I help?" escaped his lips, the harder they worked in silence, responding with a resounding "No, thank you!"

Maybe they didn't want to take it because the less hours they work, the more of a pitance they would be paid. When it comes to paying off their sins, every penny counted. To slack would be their greatest desire, but most wanted to return to life in some shape or form.

And so, here he sat, watching their every move, indigo appendages fiddling around with knitting needles and yarn. He always did this when he was bored. It's not like he could eat anything; food wasn't even ready yet! Prinnies weren't tasty, either, so trying to eat them would be a waste of time.

 Wasn't the first rejection, either. No, the first was when he witnessed Renais working on a potion, only for it to blow up in her face. "Need a little help with that?" he asked, worried.

"No, no, no! I'm fine, but thank you!" was her hasty response.

And again, when Sophia left to get groceries, he had asked her the same thing. "You'd eat the entire grocery store if I let you help," she said bluntly.

She had a point, but he still couldn't help but feel a tinge of sadness when she left down the path towards the Yamabiko Shopping District.

He only wanted to help. Or, rather, he wanted to feel wanted. The past few months were quiet, everybody off doing their own business. And he was trying to be less of the person he was last year... and the year before... and the year before. He was still "Me! Me! ME!", but he was trying to break that mold, trying to reach out...

 Each stitch he made ever-so-absentmindedly was a worry; every purl, a fear. The indigo scarf that he would make was the result of his anxiety, his lonliness, his desire to feel needed, wanted, anything.

And so he would continue like this, waiting for his maid to return, waiting for the prinnies to finish cooking, waiting for Renais to finish her alchemy, until he could devour all that he could. Food helped him forget. Drinks drowned away his sorrows. Too long without it, and not only would he feel weak in body, but much more vulnerable and fearful in mind.

 Yes... just like that day.  Like that day where he was the devoured, rather than the devourer. Like the day Sophia saved him. So useless, relying so much on others...

 I want to be useful... useful to someone, anyone. Even for a little while...

The Ring

"Aaauuugh!"

 Alex flopped onto a bench, his legs sore from walking from jeweler to jeweler, with hardly any rest inbetween. Shelby was nearby, grazing on leaves and grasses, also a little tired from traveling from castle town to castle town. 

 All this travel and all this scouring, yet he did not find a single ring that he thought Sarah would like. Sure, he had found diamonds beyond compare, but most of them had a price tag far beyond what he could afford. Not only that, they seemed more the sort of thing Josephine would like. There weren't many other gemstones that stuck out... In fact, it was as if most of them were obsessed with diamonds!

" 'You can't bring back anything less than a diamond,' they said. 'Nobody wants rubies or sapphires when being engaged! They want the big 'uns,' they said. But..." 

Alex stared up at the sky, the sun set staining the sky a dark orange and purple. All this time, and he wasted it, bumbling around with nothing in particular in mind. Sarah was making dinner, too! He couldn't search for much longer, but... he had to get this ring today somehow!

 He pulled out a phone he bought a few years ago. He usually forgot to use it, considering that Levia was clearly not up to date with modern technology. Yet, somehow, in the past year or so, they had gotten some form of wireless connection. Maybe Sevalian engineers were working on it? Either that or it was simply an odd form of magic. Either way, it was time to call someone who really knew about their engagement rings.

 Beeeep. Beeep.

 "Yoooooooooooooooooo, 'lexxyyyy!" said the ever-drunken voice on the other line. Alex could hear the chatter in the background. "Happy Valentinshe Daaaaay~! Didja do the friggle fraggles with ya guuurl yet?"

 The little knight turned three shades redder and blurted out, "N-no! Nothing like that, Stella! I was... I was busy!"

 "Busy gettin dat ash, ya?"

 "Stella!"

 He could hear the empress giggle loudly, with hiccups inbetween. "I wuz just pullin yer leg, 'lex! Shoooo,... whatcha need? Make it all quicky and stuffs, tho. Big ol' Valentinesh parteh here and there's chocolate and boosh and CHOCOLATE BOOSH!"

 That... that explained a lot. But there was no time to waste. 

 "I'll make it quick, then: I'm looking for an engagement ring for Sarah-"

 "OMIGOSH YER GETTIN' MARRIED?!?" 

 "Stella, could you just-"

 "NICKY-POOO! NIIIICKYYYY! ALEX IS GETTIN MAAAARRI-"

 "Stella-"

 "YEAAAH, HESH  LOOKING FER AN ENGAGEMENT RING OR SOMETHIN'! 'Leeeexxxy, whensh the weddin? I needs me the deeeets!"

 Alex's heart sank. "I... I know it'll be later this year, but-"

 "VEGASH WEDDIN?!? 'Lexxy! Ya lucky devil! Yer gonna have the best weddin' eeevuuur, I'll make shure of that!"  The knight heard glasses falling and rowdy shouts before Stella squealed, "Oooooh shiot, Reptile's gots him a honey and doin' some matin' call thingmabob! I'll catch ya later, Aleeeex~"

 "W-wait! Stella!"

 The line went dead. Wonderful. He was just as unsure of what to get for Sarah as he was a few minutes ago. A sigh escaped his lips as he slumped in the bench, his idiot hair twisting itself into knots. Running out of time... Alex didn't want to keep Sarah waiting too much longer. But now, who could he ask for help? Stella was preoccupied. Garnet doesn't care for jewelry much at all. Asking Sarah's family for advice would be completely embarassing... 

 Maybe he should have just bought the cheapest thing he could afford. But Sarah meant something to him; she derserved something nice, something with thought put into it. It was just that he was bad at the thinking part. There was a good reason that Xavier was the strategist of the Triden Griffins, in spite of his bad attitude, after all. 

 The little knight stood up and whistled Shelby over, getting on with the greatest of ease. Well, he thought, one more jeweler to see before heading home. Might as well give it one more shot before giving up...

 As he set off, never would he have ever dreamed that one more jeweler was all he needed. One that kept a gem that he was sure Sarah would love.

---------------------------------------

 "Aleeeex! What took you so long? Dinner started getting cold!"

 "Ah, sorry, Sarah! Was out doing some sightseeing, that's all."

 "Oh, really? You should have taken me along! Maybe we could have eaten at a nice restaurant today!

 Oh, that's right! I made you some extra fudgy chocolate brownies, Alex!

 ... I ate half of it, though."

 "That's fine, thank you!

... Sarah?"

 "Yes? What is it, Alex?"

  Time itself seemed to stop as Alex pulled out the tiny blue box, got onto one knee, and opened it up, revealing the precious gem inside.

 "Will you marry me?"

The Studious Witch; The Giant of Frost (Part 1)

Thump. Thump. Thump.

The ground shook with each step. Poor Timmy could hardly keep himself stable with all that shaking, nevermind hold in all his pee. Earthquakes weren't common in these parts. They haven't had earthquakes in years. So the only reason the earth could be quaking like that would be due to a giant, right?

 He couldn't stop shaking, and the snow below his feet looked a little more yellow than it did before. Of all the times he had to go hunting, he had to do it now. Granted, snow hares made for good food, especially when food was scarce during the winter months. They were running out of deer meat that they stocked up during the hunting season, and it would be nice to eat something else before it ran out. He didn't even find one snow hare before the thumpingstarted. He recalled something his mom always said: "Stay out too long, Timmy, and the Winter Giant will eat you AND yer jimmies!"

 Ha. Winter Giant. Something that could bring in the winter storms. And there it was, coming fast.. Oh, shouldn't he move? His legs were still shaking. Ground was, too. Where could he even run? Or hide? There weren't any caves nearby, and all there was ahead was a hill the kids liked sliding down during the warmer months. Maybe he could shoot at the giant? No, that'd just be silly.. Or...

THUMP. THUMP. THUMP.

With no time to do anything else, Timmy figured that playing dead would be better than bein' spotted and being actually dead. He didn't make a peep as the giant ignored him and passed him by. Damn near died of frostbite, though. Only when the storm passed him completely could he sigh in relief and run back to the village.

They'd need a giant warning about this, anyhow!

------------------------------------------------------

 Her book was gone.

 The room was a mess, with bestiaries and encyclopedias and paper scattered about. Globes and potion-making sets were knocked aside, ink-wells spilled onto wood, and pet toads were accidently unleashed upon the world as someone flitted from corner to corner, from nooks to crannies, searching for her book. Anyone else who stumbled upon this scene would only see a blur of black and blue as she searched and searched and searched through the big, wooden, two story manor, filled with bookshelves and books, with creatures and plants in glass on every wooden desk,

 She last saw it on her desk. She was reading it. A lovely book about a princess who didn't like the Princes' that were trying to charm her only for a piece of her kingdom, and learned magic from a witch and hexed the hell out of them, and hired dragons for bodyguards so that only a Prince who loved her for her would possibly ever win her heart. Girl has a good head on her shoulders. Everybody should have dragon bodyguards!

 Why, she did extensive research on the nature of dragons, what with their elemental breaths and tendency to hoard various items of value. Some say that they're just being greedy, but she found out that for most with more unusual hoards, it was a way of collecting things they liked using and relieving stress. One collected blankets, for example, and-

 Wait, what was she doing, thinking about her own research? Where was book? Where was her stinkin book?!? All she did was take a nap and then bam, it was gone! Did she misplace it? No, she was usually way too organized for that. So that means someone stole it. Who in the bloody hell steals a book? Did they just forget that borrowing and asking and buying is actually a thing?! For cripes sake, there are delivery systems using rocs to ship books from anywhere in the lands!

 Wait a minute. She did know one person. Her eyes narrowed into a glare as she heard the familiar, frantic yelling outside. She flitted from her extensive library to a rack of wands, where she plucked out one with a ruby tip, and marched towards the door. Oh, she knew this thief well, and once he got here to lie about zombie invasions, he was going to get it.

 The door swung open as a man, clad in leather and as white as snow, screamed, "Giants! There are Gian-"

 WHAM. That wand slammed right into his poor noggin, knocking him onto his feet and leaving him at the mercy of a witch scorned.

 "TIIIIIMMOTHYYYYYYYYYYYY!" she yelled. "You took my book again, didn't you?! I swear, if you don't give it back-"

 "Wh-what?" he stammered, realizing he picked a really bad time to inform the village witch about the threat outside. "I didn't steal nuthin, ya know! Nuthin, I tell ya!"

 "So you did steal something."

 He did not like the way that wand was glowing red. "I-I mean I didn't take anything this time! Scout's honor! 'Sides, we got bigger problems than books, ya know!"

 "Bigger problems?" The witch took a deep breath before letting it all out and putting her wand at her side. "Sorry, I'm just really miffed that my new favorite book is missing all of a sudden, and I searched top to bottom with no sign of it anywhere! But what's up? What can the great Aurora do for you?"

 As Aurora conjured up a chair or two with a wave of her wand, Timmy took a seat, trembling like he was in the middle of an earthquake. "Well, lemme ask ya this, Rory-"

 "Don't call me Rory!" she hissed, flinching as he spoke the name.

 "Er, Aurora... Yeah, anyway, how much do ya know about giants?"

 The witch tilted her head a little to the side before digging through her piles of beastiaries. Timmy could only wait until she had finished her cursory glances at their indices and sat back down, disheartened. "Not much," she admitted with a sigh, "since none of the books I have say anything about them." Her eyes widened for a moment before she turned to her friend and asked, "Why? Did you see one?"

 Timmy gulped, trembling again as he answered, "I did! I saw it with my own two eyes! Big ol' giant, comin' through in the storm while I was huntin' rabbits! Scared me half to death, with its ol' THUMPin' and all!" Aurora could see him turn several shades whiter as he continued, "It went up to that lil' hill you like goin' to fer some peace and quiet durin' warmer months, I think. But what if... what if it comes down 'ere and causes a ruckus? I don't think we got the manpower to handle a giant! And if you don't even know how to handle one-"

 Aurora puffed up her cheeks in indignation and crossed her arms. "If I don't know now, I can certainly find out, you know!" she said, gathering little knicknacks and scrolls for spells that she thought might be useful through the many books labeled with her name. It took a while, due to the how big her library really was!

 "Yeah, yeah, best at magic and all that hokey pokey. But I hear giants are dangerous, and they'll eat ya right up and-"

 Timmy stopped when the witch looked unimpressed. "I heard the same thing about dragons, and guess what happened? I proved them wrong: Dragons only eat people when people wreck the ecosystem and leave them with nothing to eat but people. They prefer stuff like cows and chickens and stuff. So I'll smash those misconceptions to bits, or else my name isn't Aurora Frost!"

 Before Timmy could argue that line of thought, the witch was out the door, with a knapsack full of scrolls and her trusty wand at her side.

----------------------------------------



 It was easy enough to remember the path to the hill. After all, it about a few miles north from her house! Wasn't it an exhausting walk? Sort of, but it was worth it! In the spring, the hill was alive with herbs and flowers of all kinds, a perfect place to look down on the town below and enjoy the sights. It was also quiet enough to read and write without anybody disturbing her. Naps were never so peaceful until she found out she could nap here under the starry night sky!

 Of course, wintertime was a different story. The sights were still as beautiful as ever, but now she had to trek through snow to get there. As she got closer, a storm seemed to pick up, and the last thing she wanted was to get frostbite. Aurora took a break from her trek to pull out a few reagents from her bag: a fiery weed and a little glass sphere. She whispered an incantation as if she were merely talking to an invisible friend, and both of them fused and expanded around her, making a barrier that shut out the cold and made her feel nice and toasty.

  The storm intensified as she continued her travel, becoming worse and worse until she finally got to the hill, where she could hardly see anything beyond her barrier. "A full blown blizzard? Here?" she asked no one in particular. "It's hardly snowing down near home, why is a blizzard over here?"

 When she nearly reached the top, she could see a figure sitting down where she usually sat on the hill, through the flurry of snow falling from the skies. Aurora had to get really, really close to see it for what it actually was: Someone several her size, with a bright knitted cap covering his head, a bright scarf fitted around his neck, and a thick, white coat protecting him from the snow. Were those layers, too? He looked a little heavy set, but regardless, Aurora was certain she had found that Timmy had feared: the giant of the snow.

 Aurora's heart thumped hard against her chest, nervous and excited about this discovery. Giants did exist after all, and she could be the first one to study them! But was she really the first? What if all the others were actually eaten before they could study them? What if this particular giant wasn't fond of being studied? The possibilities of sharing the knowledge among others, though! The possibility of showing that maybe, just maybe, everybody was wrong about them!

 How could she even approach him, though? Maybe with a bribe? Or maybe like a normal person? "Hey, how's it going?" No, no, that sounds goofy and weird and argh, what to do?

  Standing around wouldn't help either way. So just walk up to him... Yep, one foot right in front of the other... Stiff as a board, but it would do. Her heart beat faster and faster as she got closer and closer to the giant, glad that her shield protected her from the worst of the blizzard.

 The giant didn't notice her approach. Maybe the blizzard masked the sound of her footsteps? Either way, it was time to get  permission. You don't just study things without their permission, after all! Well, if they could give permission, anyway. Aurora took a deep breath to try to calm her nerves, and opened up her mouth...

 "H-h-hey!"

 The giant turned his head towards her, his eyes meeting hers. Oh, my, what a brilliant shade of blue they were! They were on a giant, though, and a giant looking down on you didn't always inspire feelings of love and awe. Nervousness washed over the young witch as she opened her mouth to try to speak again, only for nothing to come out.

Come on, she chided herself in her thoughts, there's no time to waste! Say something, anything at all! You got his- or maybe it's a her? You got their attention, now actually ASK.

Even with the self-encouragement, it took her a minute or two to actually stammer out, "M-may I... May I take your m-m-measurements, p-please?"

 That stare the giant was giving her was not inspiring confidence at all. In fact, Aurora was almost certain she messed up. He just kept staring and... gods above, what if he didn't understand her at all? Did giants have a completely different language they understood? Oh no, in that case, she would be doomed from the-

 He stood up to his full height, towering above the little witch. Aurora blinked. So he... he did understand her? Or was he just standing up to stretch? The giant tilted his head to the side after a few moments. Was he confused? Was he actually waiting for her to take measurements?

 Well, it would have been rude to keep him waiting, so Aurora took out her wand and waved it around, conjuring some measuring tape and, with another flick of the wand, using it to measure just how tall the giant was. "30.5 feet tall, counting hat..." she said aloud, looking carefully at the numbers and taking out a notebook and pen to scribble everything down.

 The tape moved down to his feet and straightened itself up as the witch continued, "Foot size, about three feet, a foot across... Legs not terribly long, big hands, chubby cheeks, blue eyes, wears mittens and a scarf and a hat, hair color unkno-" She scribbled it out as the giant politely took off his hat, revealing his unruly, black hair. "Nope, as black as my witchy robes!"

 Excitement coursed through her veins as Aurora continued taking notes and motioned for the giant to put his hat back on, if he wanted. "Now, can you talk?" she asked. "It'd be a whole lot easier to get all the details on your diet and way of living and all!"

 She was soon glad that she didn't blink; otherwise, she would have missed the giant flinching and taking a teeeeeny step back. He looked down on his feet before nodding slowly, shuffling uncomfortably in place. The blizzard howled around them, the snow starting to reach Aurora's hips.

 In those few moments, she learned a few things: One, the giant seemed to understand her. Two, the blizzard maaay be connected to him, considering how the storm got worse the closer she got to him. And finally, she learned that the giant was docile, not as fearsome as everybody seemed to portray them. In fact, it almost looked like he was afraid of her, with the way he seemed to stare at her. Like a cat trapped in a corner by a mouse...

 Aurora approached the giant slowly, holding out her hand towards him. He took another step back, a tiny whimper escaping his lips. "It's okay," she said in a soft, gentle voice, taking small steps towards him. "I won't hurt you or run away from you or anything. I'm not here to hurt you..."

The giant stopped moving back, but that frightened look was still on his face. She continued to approach him until she was right next to him, holding her hand up towards his. "See? I just want to hold your hand. And take you someplace a lot warmer than this hill, Is that okay?"

 She watched as the giant considered her words, the fearful expression replaced by one of surprise. She kept her hand up until the giant took her hand in his, with a gentleness that surprised even her! The blizzard died down to just a shower of flurries, and she could feel the tension ebbing away from his hand.

 "See? Not so bad, is it?" she asked him. "Let me take you to my house, and we can talk- er, well, I can talk- over tea and brownies!"

 Aurora, happy as a dragon with a hoard of stuffed bears, gladly led the way back home, not minding the THUMP, THUMP, THUMP of the giant's footsteps, excited to share her life with someone she just met.

 A friend.

Golden Concerto, Stage 1

"New Years Resolution

-Do something about that giant blob..."

 Time flew by fast. Four weeks ago, she had locked away the giant monster in Makai, in fear of it absorbing everything in Gensokyo. She wasn't quite sure how to handle it back then, but now, she had some sort of idea. Just a few more days until she had all she needed to handle the monstrocity...

 No, Reimu's biggest problem right now was the thief. The smug thief who thought he had gotten away for good, only to find out that Reimu lived right in the neighborhood. The phantom magician that, even now, played tricks upon the girls of Gensokyo. It was almost embarassing to see a gaggle of magical girls crowd around him as he performed his magic tricks: conjuring doves from nowhere, reading their minds, plucking roses from their ears...

 Honestly, she should have expected this. When the entire world and its chaotic ways are controlled by girls with powers beyond comprehension, its a relief to see a guy every once in a while. Rinnosuke hardly got out of his shop at all, and he was hardly the exciting type. Now girls had a real thrill-seeker here, someone adventurous. Reimu had to make sure one of them didn't kidnap him for any devious purposes.

 As she sipped her tea, Reimu Hakurei reflected on the one thing that brought them together here in Gensokyo, until Vegas called out her name...


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TOUHOU 14.7: Eastern Towers of Avarice ~ Golden Concerto

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Stage 1: Modern World Under the Moonlight

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The gem still sleeps under the moonlight...
Does the thief wish to awaken it from its slumber?

--DECEMBER 27TH, 2014

 GENSOKYO: HAKUREI SHRINE, EARLY MORNING---

Reimu stared at the various newspapers the Lilliputian had gathered and laid them out for her to see. Each one was turned to a page where the shrine maiden could see the familiar smug face of a certain thief she met earlier in the year.

 "Kaaaaaaaaaaaaaitooooooooooooooooo!" she yelled as she grabbed one of the newspapers and ripped it up in a rage. "I thought we fucking told you to not to try to steal more shit you fucking shithead!"

"You shouldn't make a mess of things, Reimu," said the inchling, as she cleaned up all the bits and scraps of paper. "Besides, maybe you should look a little more carefully at the articles!"

The shrine maiden stared for a moment before turning back towards the articles. All of them had headlines like, "Phantom Thief: Missing?!" and "Kaito Kid's Disappearing Act: Thief Hasn't Appeared in Months". They spoke of how there wasn't a heist in a while and how there were absolutely no notices, even after several rare jewels and gems were exhibited in Tokyo's museums. She then helped out with cleaning, her cheeks a tint of red.

 "So he was keeping to his promises, huh, Sukuna?"

 "Maybe! I mean, you did say that he does it for a thrill and trying to find his father, who was Kaitou Kid before he was!"

 Reimy sighed and sat back on the floor, unamused. "How long is he going to honor that, though?" she asked. "One of these gems that shows up might be a bit too shiny and big enough to hold another gem in it: the Pandora Gem. The Kobbers aren't gonna be around to convince whoever owns it to let them see it, and hell if they'd actually listen to a Miko who exists in a world where vampires and flying ships and hell ravens are a thing."

 "Utsuho's a kobber, though! They'd have heard of her and stuff! And nobody's going to really argue when you're friends with someone who holds a ton of nuclear power!"

 "Sukuna, we're not trying to threaten them, we're trying to borrow a gem to see if they have this stupid eternal life granting gem thing. Which is pretty damn unlikely, so Kaito might be running out of patience." She glanced over at another page, showing off a giant, full-colored page of a brilliant sapphire at a different exhibit. "This gem might end up being his next target..."

Sukuna sat beside Reimu as they both read the details: The Blue Behemoth was being exhibited at the Beika Museum, and was rumored to once be a part of a fearsome beast. Legend had it that this beast, which stood 18 meters tall, once threatened the lives of people until a brave samurai warrior had carved out the gem that was its heart. Rumors go on to say that it pulses under the moonlight, like the still-beating heart of the behemoth.

 Reimu also took a peek at another article, which spoke more of sights of a "Golden Kaiju" in the city. Witness reports say that it was huge and toted around an entourage of imps, but police and reporters alike dismissed them as being untrue. This worried her a bit, as she knew as well as anyone else that Godzilla was a thing; why the heck were they dismissing this out of hand? That's what an investigation was for, anyhow!

 With a grunt, the shrine maiden closed the papers and sighed. "I forgot computers weren't much of a thing here in Gensokyo," she grumbled, "so I can't exactly track Kaito down, unless I asked for Nitori's help. What to do...?"

 The little inchling princess smiled at the maiden and hopped onto the table in front of her. "When all else fails, bait him out!" she said enthusiastically. "Why not just wait for him at the Blue Behemoth! I wanna see this in action and see if he's as much of an outlaw as Seija!" She paused for a moment, her smile turning into a grin as she motioned for Reimu to pick her up. When she did, she added, "Besides, I have a great idea!"

 Reimu blinked for a moment before putting Sukuna to her ear, allowing her to whisper her idea. Her grin must have been contageous, as it spread across Reimu's face.

"Oh, I'm liking this already. Guess we better get a move on, then!

Next stop... Beika Museum!"

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-----DECEMBER 27TH, 2014

BLUE PARROT BILLARDS BAR, TOKYO, JAPAN, SUNSET-----

"This just in! The Phantom Thief, Kaitou Kid, has sent notice to the Beika Museum, stating that he would steal the Blue Behemoth at 10 PM! While an uncanny thief, fans all over Japan come down to see his heists, which are like a magic show in action! The Police Department begs to differ, as they have failed several times to capture him, even before his disappearance a few months ago... as well as 8 years prior. Inspector Nakamori, whose specialty is completely in capturing Kaitou Kid, issued a declaration: 'This time, I will definitely catch you! This time is the time I will succeed! Hahahaha!'"

Kaito Kuroba casually watched the news as he enjoyed a scoop of chocolate ice cream, his heart thumping in excitement at how many people were eager to see him in action. He neglected to mention this to anybody else, but he usually refused to do a heist that didn't allow spectators to enjoy it. It was just a bigger magic show, wasn't it? And now, they were all crowding the museum, ready to roll.

 There was a pang of guilt, however. He had already slipped up against the Kobbers and got nailed for it. He really, honestly wanted to wait everything out, wait until the Kobbers came back so that they would help him find his father's murderers... and the Pandora Gem, rumored to give eternal life if you drank the tears it made under certain circumstances. He promised to make it all up with the community service and even kept quiet for all these months. But the Blue Behemoth was huge, big enough to hold the Pandora Gem inside. And if the bad guys got to it before he did...

"Young Master?" asked the bartender with a worried look. 

Kaito turned to him, eyebrow raised. "Yes, Jii? What's up?"

 "Are you absolutely certain you wish to do this? I worry that you may come across those who nearly killed you when you stole the Blue Birthday. If this gem truly is one of the wonderous gems of the world, they might already be here, waiting to steal it for them before they take both the gem... and your life!"

 The thief smirked and replied, "You worry too much! Everything will be fine! I tricked them back then, and I'll trick them again this time!"

 "But if they are truly the ones that killed your father...!"

 Silence. Kaito sighed and took out a white cape, covering himself with it. The moment it was removed, he was in his Kaito Kid outfit, monocle and all.

 "The notice is already out, Jii," he said. "And I can't let the fans down, can I?"

 As dusk arrived and the full moon began to rise, he closed his eyes and thought.

Yes... the show must go on.

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----BEIKA MUSEUM, TOKYO, JAPAN: 10 PM---

  Onlookers crowded the halls, holding up signs for Kaito Kid and cheering loudly. Rows upon rows upon rows of policemen were everywhere in the five story building, keeping an eye out for the phantom. Inspector Nakamori, especially, was on the top floor where the Blue Behemoth was held, a crowd of police officers in tow. The room itself had artistic depictions of the monster and the samurai as they fought, with the rumored armor and weapons the samurai had, as well as possible bones of the monster, were on the right and left sides. Only the gemstone sat in the middle of the room, shimmering in the light, guarded by a glass cage.

"There's no way I will let Kaito get away this time!" the Inspector said with a grin. "With this many officers, there's no way he can slip away unnoticed! They even have cameras recording everything!" He put his hands on his hips and let out a hearty chortle. "Rest assured, this phantom thief won't-"

 A small canister rolled lazily across the floor, bumping into the Inspector's foot. He turned towards it and raised an eyebrow before picking it up.

 "What's this?"

 He may have asked a little too soon, as it exploded in his face, releasing a gas all throughout the room. In the blink of an eye, all of the officers that were in the room collapsed in a sleepy heap, A tile from the ceiling shifted away, allowing the phantom thief to drop in, a mask covering his face. 

 "So much for a challenge," he said to himself as he removed the glass casing and snagged the gem. Its sheen was indecribable. Truly a gem to behold. He pocketed it and bowed to his slumbering audience before taking off into the halls.

 More police spotted him. Even with their leader incapacitated, they knew the chase was on. Kaito smirked as they followed him through the halls, like something out of a Scooby Doo cartoon. When they had cornered him, they all jumped at him at once, wrestling each other to try to keep Kaito down and be the ones to proudly proclaim that they were the ones who caught him. One police officer crawled out of the pile and headed on up to the roof, allowing the others to claim their glory. He wasn't particularly interested in it.

 When he reached the roof, he removed his masked, revealing the cocky Kaito in all his glory. "Fell for the dummy again~" he said cheerfully, plucking the gem out of his pocket and holding it up to the moonlight. "The police are a joke here! So glad that none of them bothered calling Conan or some other detective; they'd see through my trick like nothing, and that'd just ruin the magic, wouldn't it?"

 The Blue Behemoth shimmered brightly. A bit too brightly. His eyes narrowed as he examined the gem more closely: too oily... A fake?!

 Before he could wonder this further, something hit his face, knocking him over like a lone white mage going up against a fearsome knight. "KAITOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" a voice boomed before he found himself smacked again and again.

 Thank goodness the smacking stopped soon, but now the blood was draining from his face as he saw who was there.

"You better thank me!" Officer Reimu said, crossing her arms and glaring daggers at him. "I was waiting here the whole time to stop you before you went and get yourself arrested for real!"

 "Geez, couldn't you have been a little more gentle?" Kaito grumbled, getting up off the ground and rubbing his cheek. "And where's the real gem?"

 "None of your business. If you took the real gem, you'd earn yourself a one-way trip to jail. Thankfully, my partner managed to replace it with a fake. Not telling you where the real one is, but it's in safer hands than yours."

 "Hey! I was going to return it after I saw if there was a gem inside!"

 Reimu stared at him before tilting her head and replying bluntly, "The Pandora Gem isn't there. Trust me, I checked when I had a chance. You wasted your time and mine, so you might want to hurry the hell back home."

 Kaito rolled his eyes, stripping off the police outfit and revealing his costume below it. He hasily put on his top hat and monocle before he crossed his arms and grumbled, "At least tell me how you got here so fast. Weren't you on the ZFS?"

 "I never mentioned it? I'm actually-"

 She stopped mid-sentence as the ground seemed to shake below her. Screams echoed through the night, the people below scattering about like ants. The shrine maiden's instinct to fight switched on, a terrible feeling lurking in her gut. Kaito must have noticed it, as he pulled out his trusty Card Gun and turned towards the source of the chaos.

Thump.

Thump.

THUMP.

The loud moan, the thunderous footsteps, and the glints of gold told the duo all they needed to know about their opponent.

The Golden Kaiju is here... Here, of all places!

Wicked Waltz, Part 3

 The air was thick with tension as the intruder revealed herself before the duo, with a grin wider than life. Thick, tainted air spewed out from her tentacles, the ground below her feet wilting away where she stepped. Ringabel noticed that as she approached them, a trail a blood followed. Blood, wings, and the bodies of fairies. The ones she held, she cast aside like torn, ragged dolls thrown in the garbage.

 "Are you here to be sacrificed in Mistress Kuroma's greatest plan yet, I wonder?" she asked, putting her makeshift hands together  and moving side to side with glee. "After all, prey usually doesn't come back to the waiting predator!"

 Mephilia clenched her magical rod tightly and screamed, "What have you done to them? What have you done to this garden to make it as it is?!? Why would you....?!" Her voice trailed off, tears streaking down her face as all that she had protected was tarnished. Her mission, failed.


 The robed one tilted her head to the side before snorting and saying, "Oh, isn't it obvious? I'm dealing with the little threats to the Mistress's plans!" She picked up one or two of the wings and dangled them about, excited in spite of the blood yet to dry on them. "Fairies are a demon's worst nightmare, and an eyesore for my master! So Mistress Kuroma let me do the honor of ripping them apart and using them as sacrifices for her ritual!"

  "Disgusting!" the summoner yelled, "Absolutely disgu-"

  Ringabel saw something lash out from the corner of his eye towards his friend, but before he could jump in and intercept, Mephilia slammed down into the ground. "Mephilia!" he cried, rushing to his friend's side. "Mephilia, are you hurt?"

 As Mephilia sat up and mumbled something under her breath,  the intruder gave a loud, long yawn and said, "Prey should shut up and listen. You're lucky I'm even tolerating your stupid questions before I snap your neck and pop your pretty little head off. Now, where was I?" She put a tentacle to her chin for a few moments before she continued, "Oh, riiiight! What'd I do? Well, all I did was bring out the garden's inner beauty! No garden's complete without a perfect set of monsters!" She took a deep breath of the rotted air and sighed happily. "Don't you just love that new graveyard smell? The Mistress doesn't care if I do any of this, as long as the fairies are dead, dead, dead~! Ehehehe!"


 Hatred boiled deep within the blonde's heart as he watched the mysterious robed intruder grab a handful of Flories, trying to escape from the fate that awaited them, Watched as were torn apart before he could do anything about them. Their wings, shining bright for a split second, then no more. He grew to hate that endless, taunting giggle, those bloodied excuses for hands, the intruder's voice and presence every minute he sat here. He reached into his pocket and felt for a particular asterisk, pondering whether or not it would be useful here and now. To show his true power before this beast.

 He then decided against it, as rocks petruded from the ground and separated prey from their predator, slicing through the appendages the beast used to hold them. A giant, earthen scorpion stood before them, an entire city hoisted upon its back, staring down the intruder as his summoner stood up and glared.

 "I will allow you to harm them no further, you dispicable witch!" Mephilia said with venom. "As one of the Venus Sisters and proud Summoner of the Duchy, I will protect them as I have been charged!"

 The scorpion seemed to respond to this, as it raised a claw and slammed it down, the intruder crying out  as she was sent flying. Ringabel took this moment to swap asterisks, ignoring the swears the intruder was tossing out.

Sword was abandoned for katana as Ringabel drew on the power of the Swordmaster asterisk, watching the movements of his enemy carefully as she faught against Girtablulu, anchorite of earth. How she zig-zagged back, dodging rocks and claws with incredible speed. How she lashed out with tentacles called forth from her robes and bound  claws of the mighty summon before spewing out gas that reeked of death. How the scorpion flinched and struggled before the intruder lunged towards it with a wicked smile on her face.

  A smile that faded from its face when a rock distracted it from Girtablulu, giving the scorpion plenty of time to charge up its  claws and slam them down, creating a shockwave that broke the bindings and rended the earth. 

 She rose from the rubble, bruised and battered, growling like an angered lion. "Who threw that?!" she asked, many tentacles rising and wriggling out of her sleeves. "Who would dare throw a rock at me, Ramona, the Mistress's beloved servant?!?"

 Ringabel shrugged and replied with an exaggerated sigh, "Oh, a thousand pardons! I just so happened to toss it, but I never meant for it to do harm to your beautiful face!" Each and every word dripped with sarcasm, bait laid bare for the fish.

 "You.... you!!!"

 The fish snagged it all too eagerly. The tentacled fiend lashed at him, bruising skin and bashing against his shield. When she tried to retract them, though, they returned to it, nothing more than bleeding stubs. She was not given a chance to even scream in pain, as the earthen scorpion rose its tail high and slammed it down, earthen spikes rising and piercing through her robes while she was distracted. Ramona turned her attention back to Girtablulu, preparing another breath attack when another rock pelted her. Annoyed, she launched dark blasts to keep Ringabel away, leaving bruises and pushing him back to a place where not even the best throwing arm would be able to hit her with mere rocks.

 Unfortunately for Ramona, Ringabel didn't need to. In a flash, sharp steel cut through her flesh, slashed apart the scroll that was on her face. Blood splattered upon his swordmaster robes as he followed up with another swift strike to the chest. Ramona stumbled backwards, clutching at her wounds, panting.

 Ringabel prepared to deal a finishing blow when Ramona rose to her feet and looked forward. The inner calm was broken for just a moment as he saw her face for the first time: a myriad of tentacles, whipping around frantically covered all but her mouth. He wasn't even sure how she could see through them all. His guard was down for just a moment when the woman wrapped her tentacles around him and held him close, giggling all the while.

 "Oh, aren't you just the rudest, unveiling a girl's face without her permission!" she said with a sneer, squeezing him tight enough to make him clench his teeth in pain. "I know I am not the prettiest, but I... I am my mistress's masterpiece! Fine art given life! She loves me as I am, and I would give everything to please her!" She paused for a moment, the gears in her head turning before she smiled wide and said, "Oh, I know what to do! I'll kill you and use you as another sacrifice to my Mistress! Another pawn for her to use! She loves her zombies, she does! Now...

Let me hear you scream, before you die~"

 Her grasp became ever tighter, her laughter becoming louder as Ringabel tried to struggle. Pain spread through his body, air slowly being squeezed out of his lungs. He could not help but make pained noises, but he knew above all else he could not scream. Not only would that be giving her what she wanted, screaming wouldn't help his situation one bit. In fact, it could make it a whole lot worse. Instead, he tried biting at them, trying to chew through the binding. She made no signs of weakening her grip at all. A sharp pain shot through his chest as a rib broke, then another as shock began to set in. And all while Ramona had that devilish grin on her face. 

 Ringabel could do nothing at this point. Nothing but put his trust into the one who still stood.

 An unworldly screech echoed through the air as a tidal wave of earth and debris took Ramona by surprise and struck her down, causing her to finally loosen her grip on the swordmaster  before she was buried under it. Mephilia dashed over and and grabbed Ringabel before the wave took him, too, although at the expense of getting dirt and dust on her clothes. "Ringabel!" she said as she pulled out a potion, uncorking it and pouring the contents down her companion's throat. 

 He gagged on it at first before it could go down, but from the first drop, he could feel the pain ebb away. "Feeling a little better now?" Mephilia asked. "An X-Potion was the best I could do; I left all the Elixirs at home!"

 "I'm fine," he said between coughs, slowly getting to his feet. "Thank you."

 "You're welcome, but are you sure you should keep fighting like this?"

 "Just... just a little longer, Mephilia. Until the threat is gone." 

 Mephilia opened her mouth to retort before she saw the look of determination on Ringabel's face. She then smiled and said, "Don't push yourself too hard, then. The last thing the vestal and her friends need to see is their casanova bleeding at their feet upon his return."

 Ramona rose from the rubble, her hood pulled down, black hair splayed across her back and covered in dirt. Furious, she screamed, "How dare you! And I was having so much fun constricting him, too! I'll show you!" She dashed towards the duo and struck them with her tentacles again and again in a blind fury. Mephilia jumped behind Ringabel as he held up his shield, taking blow after blow after blow. When Ramona unleashed dark blasts upon them, he endured those, too. He allowed her to take out all her rage and anger upon them in whatever way she could, letting her scream her barbed insults and pound them down with fierce blows.

 It didn't matter. No matter how much she attacked, how much pain she inflicted upon them, there is only so much she could do.

 The moment Ramona was too exhausted to keep up her outburst was when the duo struck: Mephilia commanded Girtablulu to strike, watching as it pounded the earth and forced stone through the woman's feet, essentially pinning her in place. She cried out pain, trying to remove the stones as fast as she could, when Ringabel dashed forward, letting out a battle cry and striking  Ramona with amped force.

 Steel met flesh once more. Ramona coughed up blood, staining her robes. She saw how deep the blade was in her gut, and saw it retracted with the stones. She fell onto her knees, clutching this wound tight. 

 She had lost. Lost again. The embarassment was unbearable. "This... this isn't over!" she said between pained gasps of air, a dark circle appearing below her. "You might have won, but you'll see... Even when I am gone... the Mistress will avenge me! Ehe... hehehe.... he!"

 And before Ringabel or Girtablulu could deal a finishing blow, she was gone. The haze had faded away, allowing the sunlight into the garden once more. Yet, the taint remained like a scar upon the land...

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-FLOREM INN, FLOREM-

"Sit still!"  Mephilia commanded, a first aid kit in hand and a dozen empty potion bottles laying around her feet. 

 Ringabel cringed as she disinfected the wounds left by the monsters in the gardens. Rather polite of her to treat his wounds, but he much rather have Agnes' or Edea's soft, gentle touch with White Magic than cotton puffs soaked with disinfectant dabbed on his skin. It would sting a lot less, for sure! Then again, Agnes would fall over from worry after seeing the wounds, and Edea would start questioning him for the details. On second thought, maybe Edea would be a little too rough on this poor, fragile body... 

 "Hard to sit still when a lovely maiden is treating me~" he replied, raising an eyebrow and smiling slyly. 

 "Hush up, you lech."

 He cringed again as she cleaned up the last wound and wrapped bandages around him. When all was done, she cleaned off her hands and said, "It's not as good of as job as Holly would do, but it will do." Mephilia picked up all the empty bottles and stained cotton balls  and tossed them away before she turned to Ringabel and added, "I'm sorry for having dragged you into this. If I were more dilige-"

 "Please, don't push all the blame upon yourself," Ringabel said with concern, standing up and looking her in the eye. "We cannot dwell upon 'if onlys'; it only holds us back from what we could do now. All that matters is that the menace is gone." 

 Mephilia became silent for a few moments, then shook her head, shaking away her negative thoughts. "In any case, I have sent word to my sisters and the duchy. They are sending more soldiers to aid me in fixing what Ramona had broken, and they are sending backup to the forests where the Orochis dwell as well. The populations of both the Flories and the Orochis were devastated enough without outside interference; we cannot allow any others to decimate the rest, no matter what the reason."

 Ringabel couldn't help but break into a smile. "Good to know that the duchy has their heads in order. Did you tell them about this Mistress Kuroma and her plans?"

 The summoner paused for a moment, as if caught off guard, and stammered, "Well, uh, no. We wouldn't be able to recognize her even if we did. Without a description, it would be hard to stop her plans, wouldn't it?"

 "It is important information nonetheless. Ah well, be sure to bring it up to your sisters when they inevitibly pay a visit, will you?"

 "Sure, I guess?" Mephilia shrugged before turning to leave the room. "Thank you for all your help today, Ringabel," she said with a small smile. "I hope we do get to fight amongst each other another day."

 And with that, Ringabel was left to stew in his own thoughts. He sat upon a bed and stared at the wall, thinking...

 Where did this Ramona go? Who is this Mistress Kuroma, and why did she want to complete this 'ritual'? And most importantly...

What was this ritual of hers, and could it be stopped?