Touhou - Impure Dreams about a Strange Land

How I almost left Gensokyo (In a Casket)

The funny thing about blacking out, is the fact that it isn't like in the movies. You don't dream, and nothing is revealed to you. It is just you and a black void. It was cold and silent, but oddly comforting. After such a long night, I needed a break, but there's no rest for the wicked, as they say.

The void enveloping me dissipates slowly as sunlight gently caresses my eyelids. Opening them feels like an herculean task. My eyes sting after being in the dark who knows for how long.

As I regain consciousness, my vision is still blurry, my body is numb and cold. But the most annoying part of it all, is that goddamned snoring in the room. I focus my eyes, weakly supporting myself with my elbows to find the librarian sleeping at the foot of the bed.

I try to get up, but my entire body hurts like hell. I grit my teeth trying to endure it but I end up falling back. It hurts so much, a small scream of pain escapes my throat. At least that's enough to wake up that snoring crone.

"E-Eh?! Damn i- Wait, you're awake!" She rushed towards me so fast and suddenly I instinctively raised my arm to shield myself. "Oh, right. I'm sorry, you had it rough that night." She grabs my arm and gently moves it away. "I need to check you, hold still."

Like she did in the library, she hold my face gently, staring into my eyes and face. She looks healthier somehow, despite the bags under her eyes and the fact that's evident she didn't get enough rest. She looks cute without her hat.

"Hah... That's good. I had my doubts about you, but you deserve some praise." She pats my head. "You did well in not giving in to her advances. Hmph, but I owe you and explanation." She sits on the bed, close to me. "Koakuma is a demon from Makai, a place that has been sealed long before we arrived here in Gensokyo. Demons always had your kind as their predilect prey. But I never saw one go berserk like she did."

The mention of her name makes my skin crawl. "W-where is she now...?"

She sighs with frustration. "You don't need to worry about her. We locked her up in the basement. It took a lot of firepower though." She rubs her eyes, she seems really tired. "After thinking about it, I came to the conclusion that she entered that frenzied state thanks to two factors: First, I overlooked how much strain I was putting on her as my familiar. And second, your lack of magical training puts a target on you."

"...w-what do you mean target?"

"Unlike most humans residents living in Gensokyo, you are completely defenseless to them.  You lack magic and you're spiritually weak." She clears her throat before continuing. "While I'm responsible for not controlling Koakuma, it falls as your responsability to correct this glaring weakness of yours if you plan to survive long enough to return to the Outside World. Once you're completely healed, we need to start our research and see if it is possible for you to gain magical power."

The thought of spending even more time in this madhouse makes my blood boil. "To hell with that, once I'm healed, I'm getting out of this place!" Even raising my voice hurts, but I'm too mad to think about that now. "I've met five of you by now and two tried to kill me, do you really expect me to help you with your stupid research?!"

"And what's your plan then? Leave this mansion, stumble around Gensokyo until you get killed or worse? That sounds like a perfect plan for an absolute idiot." Her voice quivers. She looks at me, her face is filled with guilt. "I'm... really sorry. It was my fault. But please, don't make any rash decisions now. Demons might be sealed in Makai, but some of them can slip through the cracks of that seal. Just bear with me."

I was half expecting this discussion would end up as a shouting match, but... Patchouli is behaving slightly weird. She's less cold than before... Didn't Koakuma say that the librarian redirected all her negative emotions towards her? I'm still seething but I don't have the strength to keep yelling. "...Whatever, we'll see once I'm done healing."