Honestly don't know if I'll put up another art before this year ends SO here's my art summary of 2020!!
I’m actually happy with most of my art this year
It's been a while since I've posted anything here, I'm sorry hngfbhnfg I'm more active on Twitter.
I drew Cube from Princess Maker!! He's really cute and I love him lots, so I drew him in MS Paint!
No content warnings this time. This is Chapter 1. Last was prologue.
Musume had scrambled to her room, afraid of the world around her. Perhaps she should’ve stayed inside. Perhaps she could have avoided this. No.. would things have played out the same? Would it? Would it?
“Lady Musume, it seems it’s unsafe to remain here” Her butler said, who had been watching the outside from the windows. “What are the actions you wish to take?”
What could she do? She was only a little girl. Almost 11 years old. “I— Mama… My mom… My dad… I don’t know… I want them… I want to be held.” she cried to her pillow, as if nobody was there. “.. please. Please…” She whimpered further. “Please just make everything like it was yesterday.. before now. Please..”
“Lady Musume, if you keep staying awake, you’ll only feel worse. In the morning, we can discuss it further, okay?” The butler comforted the young lady, who had begun to hide under the blankets, away from the world.
“I’m so scared… I’m so scared..” She cried more. “I wish.. I wish…”
What were they going to do.. Musume had slowly begun to fall asleep, even as the day pressed on. The butler knew little of what to act with. He left the room of which Musume slept, and wandered the empty halls.
He peered at the outside world, listening to screams and cries of death. Things would not last long. There is little left they could do here. After all… the candidates were all so young. They needed time.
Could he perhaps create a barrier? This could not keep the angelic forces out, but it could create time for everyone to settle down.
What if they returned to where he once lived? That option was risky: as a human girl, Musume lacked the necessary means to survive there. War would still rampage, regardless.
Eventually, Musume woke up, and caught the butler as he wandered the halls. “Cube, why are you going around? We’re.. I’m scared.. they’re going to kill us! And they’re going to kill me… and they already… mama… dad..” She sniffles.
He couldn’t tell her why, or she may be worried. That was his biggest concern. “Don’t worry about what’s going on, my lady.” He assures. “I need you to rest. When you wake up, I’ll be there, and everything will be better. I promise you that.”
“Ok.” Musume said, before throwing her head on Cube’s shoulder. “I want to not wake up in the morning… please wake me up in the morning, like you always do...”
She then walked back to her room, the first time she would sleep for a whole day.
As the sun began to set on this war-driven world, Cube had an epiphany. Time is what they need, but this world is unsafe.. some sort of incubator like world. He was on the right track before but…
The non-magic world! Surely, that would be safe! He’s heard of tales of beings sent there to be calmed down when too dangerous, so surely, they have no interest in the war. A perfect place for the young princess to hide! Was it totally safe?… Truthfully, he did not know.
But what he did know was of someone who might be willing to raise the girl. Someone who also took refuge.
But he can’t go yet. Not until the moon’s light shines both in this world and that. If it would. If it didn’t… then he and Musume may be as good as dead. And he can’t break what he promised to Musume— if he had to, he’d die for any promise to be fulfilled.
As nighttime crept closer, Cube guarded the girl’s bedside, awaiting for that perfect angle. Panic set into his mind, especially as the calls of “Men, Fire!” rang from outside.
Just as an arrow landed in the room, and the flames started to lick at the carpet, the moon reflected its light onto Musume’s bed. This, Cube hypothesized, was the ticket. The light of the moon (with some help) spiraled and weaved itself around Musume, and she began to glow.
Acting fast, he took hold of the girl, and effectively leapt from the window, towards the moon. In his arms, Musume’s memories of her family, her war-torn world, and her own self slipped from her consciousness.
Not only was Musume in his arms, but the moonlight itself had been caught. This magical essence was crucial in his plan, with the power to do so much as anything if one is smart in using it. The moonlight already felt as if it was burning away the memories of the world— it was taking a fair bit to resist letting go of Cube’s own memories. He worried that Musume, too, may hold on to memories.
That representative from earlier watched from above. So did many of the soldiers. “Sir Alfort! That shining beacon— the fifth princess is being taken by it, in the arms of a dark entity! Should we fire?”
The representative (who was named Alfort, apparently) shook his head. “They are escaping. Taking refuge I presume. The fifth princess is neutralized as far as I am concerned. She won’t last long in another world.”
He then turned to Gateau. The man who murdered people casually, as if second nature. “Gateau. I wish for you to keep an eye on her. Exterminate her, leave her be, I don’t care. If she tries to return here though…” Alfort made a cutting motion. “I assume you’re aware.”
But Musume, who was up in the sky, hanging from the arms of her savior, was blissfully unaware of what transpired below. She was, truthfully, unaware of anything. Barely even her own name.
….
The town of Himemiya was a quiet one. Nothing out of the ordinary, not today, not tomorrow. A town with little change in weather, however, today it rained with the force of ten men.
It was early morning. A hero of many years past was alerted by a knock on the door. Not today, they thought, afraid. They had pursued a life of work, and even managed a nice quiet life. Nobody came by. So why today?
Cautious, they gently opened the door, and on the other side were two small children. No, not two small children— a little human girl and a little demon boy. The girl appeared unconscious.
“Brave warrior.” The demon spoke. “Please, let us inside. This girl will surely die if you do not.”
Reluctant, they opened the door further, allowing the boy to put the girl on a couch, and for he and the former warrior to sit in the dining area.
“I formally apologize for bringing the world you fled from back to you. I am called Cube, and the girl with me is Lady Musume. I bring with me both the lady and a request.” The boy explained, looking directly at the hero. “She must remain here, in this world. I wish that you treat her as your own daughter. Nothing more than such.”
The hero was confused, then laughed. “Ah. I see. I must be hallucinating. There’s no way that I’m being given a child…” They laugh. “Maybe I’m in some sort of drunken stupor. Well.”
Cube looks to the resting Musume, then back to the hero. “I’ll say it clearly, unmistakably: You’re not dreaming, this is very much real.” He says, concerned. “Brave warrior, have you become an alcoholic?”
“No.” The hero responds adamantly. “It’s simply hard to believe—“ They then realized something, taking a better look at Cube. “Hold on- wait a minute, aren’t you a child too?”
Embarrassed, Cube looked upward. “Well— actually— the thing is— it’s complicated.” He stammers, before looking back. “But are you going to raise Lady Musume? An entire world, no, many worlds depend on this!”
The hero pauses, takes a sip of water, and then points to Cube. “Yeah, sure, whatever, but what are you going to do then?” They ask, suspicious.
“I’m— going to be what I’ve been before to her! Her butler, er, housekeeper? I’m unsure of the term in this world..” Cube says, matter-of-factly. “Surely you expected this?”
“No, actually. I’m not sure having someone of your stature serve as a servant is exactly.. smiled upon in Himemiya.” The hero retorts. “I suspected you would’ve posed as her relative or something, seeing as you’re around the same height. You even look like you’re her age.”
This angered Cube. But not to a point where it was visible. “Do— do I really look that..short?” He nervously chuckled, trying to cool off the unwanted rage. “If you— say so. Your name, by the way… you haven’t changed it, yes? Master Uchino, I presume?”
Uchino put a finger to Cube’s mouth. “No no.” They said, smiling initially. “I don’t want to get in trouble for you. If people catch wind of me having a child servant, I will lose my job. But I’ll agree to the conditions, except…” Their smile quickly shifted into a heavy frown, even reaching across the table to grab Cube and lift him from the chair.
“If you do anything to endanger my comfortable life… I don’t care if Musume is on her deathbed, I will send you back to whence you came.” Their face, which just earlier was light and even cheerful, was now deathly serious, and they even ended up holding Cube up off the ground. To him, the hero was terrifying.
Cube got the memo quickly enough. “F-fair enough— er… father? … this is confusing… … It's early, isn’t it? I think we can deal with this when the lady wakes.”
“Understood.” Uchino agreed, dropping Cube back onto his seat, and even returning to their lax nature. “Well, I do have an extra room for at least one of you. The other one can… hm. For now, go to bed. It’s very early, and I only get a day of rest.”
The two got up from the table. Uchino headed back to where they rested, and Cube went to the couch. Musume still slept there, unaware of the world around her, unaware of what happened.
“My lady… I wish I could’ve done something less drastic…” He laments, looking at Musume, petting her forehead, as if to calm her. “When you wake up, everything will be better.. that’s what I’m banking on, anyway.”
For this was the use of moonlight— had he not brought some with him, the girl would not know anything. Prolonged travel in such conditions does not lend well to that of an untrained and unconscious mind. Of course, the memories would be new ones.
If Musume remembered everything… the pain, the fire, the nightmares…it could be a catastrophe. How much suffering she’d be in. She can’t do it. She shouldn’t have to experience it again. She can’t do it again.
Exhausted, Cube falls asleep, practically sitting perfectly upward. Just what were they going to do? He hoped it worked.
…
“My name… what’s my name?” The girl reached a hand forward, a hand she didn’t know she had. What was her name? She couldn’t recall it.
Putting a step forward, she felt a light swirl. No, not swirl, but simply come into existence. Beyond her shut eyelids, a glimmer came forth.
“Uchino…”
That’s right. Uchino… that was her family’s name. It came from her father… or maybe her mother… no, father. They were her father. A father who had raised her since she was a baby..
Why can’t she remember their face? Why can’t she know anything about them? Her own father… she wanted to go run towards them, ask them everything. But… she didn’t know who they were, other than that they were there from the beginning.
The day was clear— the first of May. A simple, yet glorious day. Not too bright, and not too cold. Of which, she remembered her previous birthdays. Presents like a wonderful time at a grassy area.. but she can’t remember what it was.
She couldn’t remember who was there- or what ages she was, but she was 10 now. Soon to be 11, 11 years since she was born, with blood generously coursing from her father to her… A-Type blood, even. Blood from her father.
Actually, she could remember someone. She remembered one figure that seemed… almost as if they were just like her. Another kid. One with a bit of a strange quirk- his ears were pointed.
She comes to realize that this kid was someone close to her— her brother, she finally recalls. A brother named Cube. It’s strange that she remembers him above all else; she can remember the times he’s lectured her on things, or maybe even just conversations.
“My daughter… my daughter.. her hair is bright as the sun, of which there is only one.”
Feeling fingers touch her hair, the girl finally remembers the most important part: Her own name. Musume… it’s such a pretty name. Uchino Musume.
