The Disillusioned Land

Chapter 13 - Sanguine Distortion (Closing Half)

I ran like someone possessed by a vengeful spirit, my senses dulled and I could barely even feel the cold floor beneath my feet. I disgrace the good name of the Hakurei shrine with my actions, once again I'm back at that complex, unable to even make good on the promise I made all those years ago.

...

I place my ear against the door and try my best to make out whatever sounds were on the other side, I pick up on 2 voices speaking.

"You can't be serious Shiraki, take her in? Considering what she's witnessed she'd be better off in an orphanage, the last thing she needs is to be closer to the source of her grief." A feminine voice boomed

"Look Reimu, no matter what I tell her she refuses to budge, she's got determination I'll give her that. And besides, I got a good feeling about her, she has the aptitude for this line of work." I heard a familiar voice say

"I am aware of how good of an eye you have for these kinds of things, but she's a child for goodness sake! Do you want to fuel her vendetta even further and watch her lose herself to it?"

"Trust me on this one, I'll guide her on the right path, should I fail to do so you can kick us both out and unleash a Fantasy Seal on me." A moment of silence fills the air, until I hear a deep sigh from one of two.

"Fine, have her ready to move in two days from now"

"Thanks boss, I won't let you down!" I hear shuffling towards the door and I quickly skulk away before they can see me. Thank you ever so much 'big sis Shiraki', I cannot wait for the day I can bring about your downfall.

...

Our target had fled somewhere and the both of us were exhausted chasing it down and Shiraki had sustained some injuries. We were on the outskirts of the apartment complex and were tracking it down.

"*huff* *huff* Why can't we just kill that guy? It would make *huff* everything so much easier" I manage to croak out

"That would go against what us Hakurei maidens stand for Kyoko, if we stoop to their level are we really any better than them? Without the spell card system we'd be slaughtering each other like in days past" Shiraki chastised back, I gave her a side glare and clicked my tongue. The apartment complex we were in seemed endless, most of its designs all blending together in a mess of yellow, brown, and gray. Just when I was about to lose myself in the hodge podge of the surroundings, Shiraki spoke up

"Found the bastard" I turned the same direction she's facing and my eyes met with those of the soulless orbs of the figure standing just a few meters away from us. It looked as if it struggled to stand, and staggered around like a puppet cut free from its strings. The creature quickly noticed our presence and began to emit a horrible shriek, one that made me shake to my very core, we were supposed to detain this thing?

"I'll restrain it, you place a seal on it" Shiraki brought me out of my thoughts.

"R-right" I muttered back, Shiraki swiftly closed the distance between her and the monstrosity and pulled out a spell card

"Serpent Sign, Coiling Chains!" Shiraki declared as snakes began to burst from the ground around her, they quickly made their way to their quarry and twisted around its legs, holding it tightly in place. This didn't last for more than a moment however, as our prey broke free and swiftly retaliated, charging head on towards Shiraki, she gracefully sidestepped out of harm's way and stuck a talisman to its back, it promptly exploding and knocking the youkai down. The youkai however would not give in so easily, rising from the ground with unexpected vigor, and swapped the victim of their wrath to me, dashing in my direction.