Chapter ⑨: THE STRONGEST
After waking up and remembering to tell Rainbow Dash that I'm heading out, I make my way to the Everfree Forest. I had decided last night that today will be spent practicing my Danmaku dodging abilities. This morning before I left, I had thought about how to go about doing it. I had decided that going to the Everfree Forest would be the best option, because Marisa would most likely be willing to help, and Cirno was there the last time I went, and she's surprisingly strong, so having a few matches with her would be good practice.
It doesn't take me very long to get to Marisa's house, though I didn't encounter Cirno along the way. I figure that Patchouli probably found her and brought her to the Library of Knowledge to try and explain to her where she is. I shrug, then knock on Marisa's door.
The door swings open within moments, accompanied by a voice I wasn't expecting.
“Yes?” Cirno says as she opens the door.
I stand in stunned silence for a few moments before answering. “Uh… is Marisa here?”
“Yeah, she is,” Cirno says, her tone sounding a bit distracted and definitely less upbeat than usual. She continues in the same tone, turning to go back inside, “I'll go get her.”
“Wait,” I say quickly. Cirno stops and turns back towards me, looking confused. “Do you mind if I ask you a few questions first?”
“Um, I guess not?” She says, looking even more confused.
“First of all, why are you in Marisa's house?” I ask her.
“Well… I can't get back to my house by the Misty Lake, so Marisa invited me to stay with her. I didn't know what else to do, so I accepted the offer.” She answers in the same tone as before.
Cirno's tone of voice is nagging at me strongly, giving me an unpleasant feeling. I finally realize that she sounds somewhat depressed. “Also…” I pause for a moment, unsure if I should be asking about what might be a touchy subject. The thought of ignoring Cirno's depression doesn't sit well with me, so I decide to ask her what's wrong so I can try and help. “You seem really out of it. Is there something wrong?”
Cirno stares at me for a few moments. I'm caught by surprise when she begins to tear up. “The magician in purple told me that this place is different from Gensokyo, kinda like how the vampire's house is a different place from my house. She said that I somehow left Gensokyo and came here, sort of like if I left my house and went into the vampire's house.” Cirno begins to look as if she's ready to cry at any moment as she continues. “But- *sniff* s-she said that g-getting back t-to Gensokyo- *sniff* isn't as easy as l-leaving the v-vampire's house and g-going back to m-mine. *sniff* I-I'm s-stuck here- *sniff* a-arn't I?” Cirno suddenly bursts into tears. “I-I'll- *sob* I'll n-never be- *sob* never b-be able to- *sob* *sob* to g-go h-home again- *sob* w-will I!?”
Cirno's a mess as she stands in the doorway, bawling. Unsure what to do with Cirno, having never needed to comfort anyone before, I decide to just wing it and go off of intuition. I pull her closer, and she wraps her arms around my waist and begins crying into my dress. I speak to her gently. “It's alright. You're not going to be stuck here.”
Cirno stops sobbing as she looks up at me, tears still running down her cheeks. “R-really?”
I give her a small, gentle smile and nod. After Cirno lets go and steps back, I decide to try and lift her mood. “There are more of us Gensokians here than just the ones you know about, and we all want to go home. We're working together with each other and the native people to find a way back to Gensokyo. Even if it takes years, we won't stop searching until we find a way home. Believing that you're stuck here is the way you become stuck here. You just have to believe that there's a way back, then find it, no matter how long it takes. That's how you'll be able to return home.”
Cirno stares at me for a few moments before speaking up, beginning to sound more like her usual self as she wipes her eyes. “I didn't really understand everything…” I grin at this as she continues. “But, if all I have to do is believe that I can get home, and help everyone, then I guess I'll help the best I can.” Cirno finally smiles as she continues in her usual upbeat tone. “So, you wanted to talk to Marisa, right?” I nod, and Cirno continues, turning to head inside, “alright, I'll go get her.”
“Cirno.” She turns to look at me, “after you get Marisa, I'd like you to come back outside as well. I have something that you can help with.”
Cirno's face lights up with a large smile as she turns back around and enthusiastically rushes inside. “Marisa! Alexandria's here and she wants to talk to you!” I can't help but smile.
I shake my head and my smile widens as I watch Cirno pulling Marisa outside by the arm. “Oi, oi! Easy! Why're you suddenly in such a rush?” Cirno lets go of Marisa's arm once they're both outside. “Yeesh…” Marisa says, rubbing her forearm. She then turns to me, grinning slightly with a hint of curiosity in her expression. “Anyway, what brings you all the way out here again Alex?”
I answer seriously, “yesterday while fighting you, I realized that I was really out of practice. I came to ask you for help with practicing my dodging.”
Marisa's grin widens as she answers. “And you want me to shoot you so you can practice dodgin'.”
I nod, then Cirno speaks up. “But, you said you have something I can do. What is it?”
I smile as I respond, “I want you to help me with my practice as well.”
Cirno has a thoughtful expression on her face. “You mean just shoot at you?”
As I nod in response to Cirno, Marisa interjects with a bewildered expression. “Wha-? You want her to help too?”
“I'm not sure when you last saw her fight,” I say to Marisa, “but I ran into her yesterday on my way here, and she actually beat me.” Marisa has a shocked expression as she looks at Cirno, the latter looking very proud of herself with a big, beaming smile plastered on her face.
“That's because I'm the strongest!” Cirno proclaims proudly.
Marisa shakes her head in disbelief. “Huh. Guess I'll need to battle you sometime to see if you're stronger than me yet.” Marisa turns to me with a grin. “Anyway, who do you wanna practice with first?”
Cirno looks at me expectantly. Marisa takes notice of this and looks at me with a grin and one eyebrow raised. I grin as well as I respond. “Alright Cirno, I'll practice with you first.”
“Yes!” Cirno says happily, “don't worry, I'll hold back.”
Thankfully, Cirno does hold back. The patterns she attacks with are simpler than the ones she used yesterday, but they're still fairly difficult.
Cirno continues attacking me for a little while, with Marisa tossing in a volley of her own periodically to keep me on my toes. Suddenly, there's a poison cloud among the bullets, and I barely manage to avoid it. Cirno and Marisa stop shooting when they notice it.
“Hmph. So I'm not allowed to join in the fun?” A familiar voice says in a condescending tone.
I answer cautiously. “Depends on whether or not you were going to play nice.”
“So I'm not allowed to join in the fun,” Medicine says in mock disappointment.
Marisa speaks up. “What're you doin' here Medicine?”
“Well,” Medicine begins. “I was passing through the area, and I noticed you guys doing whatever you were doing over here. I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to get my revenge on Alexandria for last time.” Medicine looks at me. “So, I'm going to kill you right here, right now.”
Cirno suddenly interjects. “What!? But you're from Gensokyo! Why are you trying to kill Alexandria? Don't you want to go home?”
I answer Cirno quickly. “No, she doesn't. She only cares about freeing dolls. To her, being here means she doesn't have to follow the Spellcard rules. The way she sees it, if she goes back to Gensokyo, it just makes her goal harder to get to.”
“I could have explained it myself, thank you,” Medicine says, “but that's exactly right. And I'll begin by freeing that brainwashed doll of yours!”
Before Medicine can attack, Cirno speaks up. “But that's not even a doll, it's a Fairy!”
Marisa looks at Cirno. “It is?”
“Yeah, she is,” I say. I turn to Cirno. “But how did you know?”
Cirno looks at Shanghai as she answers. “We Fairies can just sort of tell when someone is another Fairy. Really, I don't completely understand how it works, I can just tell she's another Fairy.”
“Shut up!” Medicine shouts at Cirno, “she's obviously a doll! Just look at her! You're just some stupid baka, you don't know what you're talking about!”
This seems to set Cirno off, big time. “I'M NOT A BAKA!! NOW YOU'VE MADE ME ANGRY!! YOU WILL FEEL THE WRATH OF THE STRONGEST!!!”
“Wha-!?” Medicine barely manages to get passed the apparent wall of ice crystals Cirno attacks her with. “Fine! I guess I'll just have to brush you and your hot head aside before I can deal with Alexandria!”
Medicine begins to retaliate with bullets and poison clouds as Cirno continues to ruthlessly rain millions of ice crystals down on Medicine. Marisa and I watch the two battle. A poison cloud engulfs Cirno, who made no attempt to dodge it, but then the cloud seems to condensate before dropping to the ground as a liquid. A concerned expression appears on Medicine's face when she sees this. Cirno sees this and smirks.
Freeze Sign「Perfect Freeze」
Her sudden use of a Spellcard catches Marisa and I by surprise. It also catches Medicine off guard, as she's caught in what appears to be a legitimate blizzard. When the gusts of icy wind subside, Medicine is left behind… frozen solid. Cirno then approaches the frozen Medicine. She pulls out a piece of meat and freezes it to Medicine. “Let that be a lesson: don't mess with the strongest!”
Marisa and I give Cirno a look. Marisa speaks up. “What's with the meat?”
Cirno answers, without looking away from Medicine, “it's English beef.”
Marisa and I just stare, unsure how to respond. After a few minutes, Cirno turns to us. “So, are we going to get back to practicing?”
“Uh…” I have trouble getting a thought together.
Marisa speaks up. “I think we've done enough for today,” she says to Cirno. “It's gettin' late, anyway. Alex should probably be gettin' home soon.” I look up and realize that Marisa is right: the sun is setting.
“Oh, okay,” Cirno says in understanding, before continuing cheerfully, “well, maybe you can come back tomorrow then?”
“Sure,” is all I can say. We say our goodbyes, and I head home.
Rainbow Dash is right there waiting for me. “So how did it go?”
“Fine…” I say absently.
Rainbow Dash gives me a concerned look. “Are you alright? You seem distracted.”
“I'm fine,” I say. “I just need some time to process some new information.”
“Alright, if you say so…”
“Anyway, goodnight,” I say.
“'Night.”
End of Chapter ⑨
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Way to go Cirno! You really are the strongest fairy in Gensokyo!
8214738
To be honest, Medicine was being an ass to Cirno, so Medicine did kind of deserve it.
Also, just wondering if you caught the other Cirno meme that I put in this chapter.
8214784
i assume it’s the English beef line, and if so that joke went over my head.
8214852
In Embodiment of Scarlet Devil, during one of the Reimu stories (I don't remember if it's Reimu A or Reimu B), the last line of dialog before the fight with Cirno in Stage 2 is Cirno saying "I'll cryo-freeze you together with some English beef!!" Basically, that became a meme, because it sounds like a child trying (and failing) to sound tough.
8214868
Ah. makes scene.