of the Last Golden Witch - Ch. 1: The Witch's Aunt

(All characters who appear in this work are of eighteen years of age or older. This work may include implied or explict spoilers of the entirety of Umineko When They Cry. This will be the only author's note.)

The game board is a mansion on the island of Rokkenjima. The year is October... That is, the month is October. The year is nineteen... Something.

This is a one-player game prepared as a birthday present from one individual to herself.

Although it's a game I created for myself, I consider it a game of considerable difficulty. I'll be trying a couple of things I'm not at all familiar with. That said, there is a "goal" I intend to achieve.

What goal is that? Hmph. Has there ever been a witch who reveals things like that just because they're asked? If you're reading this, then shut up and read.

Not that I intend to ever share this with anyone.

As a storm brewed outside the mansion, tension inside had bubbled up to a boiling point. A discussion of the family inheritance had, predictably, gone nowhere. As such, all parties had dispersed to cool their heads before resuming in an hour.

That had been the plan, which made it bizarre to see two of the Ushiromiya family members who hadn't separated. In the halls of the second floor's mansion, an unlikely pair moved at a brisk pace. Although they weren't touching, it was as if Ushiromiya Natsuhi, the frowning brunette with her hands cross formally in front of her purple gown, was dragging Ushiromiya Eva, the frustrated ginger in the black cheongsam, on a leash. Evidently tired of that treatment, Eva suddenly parked her feet. She was probably more athletic than Natsuhi, but she still made a show of folding out the fan she carried and flapping it. She needed to make clear to Natsuhi how unreasonably exhausting her little detour was. "Natsuhi... I've been very patient about going along with this despite how hysterical you seem to be. I didn't raise a fuss about it, out of respect for your particular position in this household. I'm being a very good and kind guest in your home, despite the ridiculous things you said out of turn during the conference. Understand? But I'm not taking one step forward until you finally tell me why I need to be here and why our husbands couldn't join us." She smiled from behind her fan. "Could it be that you think separating me from my very capable husband and you from... well, that brother of mine... gives you some kind of advantage? If you're here to plead on Krauss's behalf, please-"

Natsuhi pinched the bridge of her nose and turned to Eva, looking straight into her eyes. "... Eva. I'm sorry if you've gotten some kind of mistaken impression," she began in a diplomatic, if strained, apology. "I have full confidence in my husband's abilities to manage Father's affairs, as appointed. However, this isn't any kind of request from him."

Eva's eyes and smile curled farther, as she realized what was going on. She suppressed a laugh. "... It's Father, then? You're going to tell me our father has asked to see me specifically?" She stopped Natsuhi before the other woman could interrupt. "No, even better. He's asked to see just the two of us, alone. So, you've separated me from Rosa and Rudolf, leading me alone to this mansion where I'm finally going to meet him tonight, is that it? Only, if, hypothetically, his study was to be empty..." Eva began casually fanning herself again, tilting her head up slightly to glare at Natsuhi. "That'd be the perfect place for you to beg for a deal and a lifeline without sacrificing that stupid pride of yours, wouldn't it? Or, no, even better." The mother's smile curved into something more devilish now. "Two people alone, in the one room of the mansion no woman is allowed to enter... If I was going to threaten someone, perhaps with one of those guns Father keeps around, that's where I'd do it. Is that it, Natsuhi? A foolish-"

"Enough!" Natsuhi barked to finally interrupt her, sharp enough to make Eva jump. "It isn't anything like that, and I'll have your apology for the accusations later! We have a guest today who has asked to see you and I specifically. This honored guest is staying in the guest room on the second floor. That's where I'm taking you, alone, as requested."

The other woman worked to regain her composure, her fan held tightly in her grip and her face fallen to a frown. The guest room Natsuhi was referring to had been kept clean but unused for years, supposedly at the request of her father, Ushiromiya Kinzo. When one heard that, it was only natural to believe he kept it prepared under some superstitious belief. If someone was staying there now, someone with the power to command Natsuhi as the lady of the house, it had to be someone important.

... No. The part of Eva that reflexively flinched in front of her father retreated, and her independent intuition returned. Although she didn't know WHAT Natsuhi was planning, this was certainly still part of some ploy. Her smile returned. "Okay. Well, I'm happy to at least hear that whatever you have planned, you weren't obvious enough to stage it in that particular room. Let's meet this guest of yours, shall we? I don't intend to be outfoxed by...?"

She paused in front of the door. It was the guest room, sure enough, but something was off. There was definitely a presence inside: Eva had passed by this empty room enough times to know something felt different. Worse than that, though, was a kind of aura that hung around it. Something about it reminded her distinctly of her father.

Was she going to open it to find Kinzo? Was he alive, about to rebuke her and elevate his worthless son, Krauss? And why in this room?

Now propelled by anger at the thought, Eva threw open the door to see someone in a grand and familiar cloak seated on the bed. Only, it was the last person she would have expected. Someone impossible.

"... Ange?" As Eva mouthed the words, Natsuhi shut the door behind them.

The woman in question was nearly unrecognizable. If Ange wasn't still wearing her red hair in pigtails with the same pink hair ornament her brother had once given her, Eva wouldn't have managed. That was because the child Ushiromiya Eva knew was now a woman just as old as Battler in the guesthouse... No, she had to be at least twenty, possibly twenty-one? That was evident both from her body and her bearing. Ange had the figure of an adult woman and was dressed in a provocative outfit Eva had never seen before: besides the mantle that only the family head was permitted to wear, she wore a collared shirt and short jacket with an eye-catching ruffled miniskirt, striped stockings, and boots. Even more bizarrely, she was holding a golden cane in one hand, which seemed as light as a toy as she waved it around carelessly. And even MORE bizarrely, her other hand was wrapped around the neck of a wine bottle, one she drank from even as she turned to greet her new guest.

When she lowered it from her lips, she burped, then wiped at her reddened face. "Yes, Aunt Eva. It's been a while, hasn't it? I'm swell, thanks for asking. As you can see, I grew up into a proper woman. All thanks to you, naturally."

The woman standing in front of her gulped, then took a better look at her surroundings. Now that she noticed it, there were bottles on every flat surface of the room, including some on the floor. The "aura" she'd been sensing wasn't any kind of supernatural pressure: it was the smell of her father's booze.

Eva glanced to the side, looking at Natsuhi, and was surprised to see the other woman with her hands folded, bowing formally to the twenty-one-year-old, drunk-off-her-ass woman calling herself Ushiromiya Ange. "This is a joke, right?"

"No," Ange answered the question which hadn't been directed at her, rising to her feet unsteadily. "I'm a witch, and this is my birthday party. I turned twenty-one today. My birthday gift to myself was to try **** for the first time. A lot of ****... Anyway, all the drinking got me feeling like I could do anything. It also got me feeling nostalgic. And that's when I realized-"

"Ange. Whoever you are," Eva interrupted sharply. She didn't know who she was dealing with, but she did know the other woman was delirious. "Tonight's an important night for all of us here. I appreciate that Natsuhi-- and perhaps my father-- are hosting you here, but I really don't have time for this. And Natsuhi, are you really okay with a guest treating our family's property this way?"

Natsuhi cleared her throat, then bowed more deeply. "Lady Ange, I ask for forgiveness on her behalf. This room is yours to use as you like, naturally. However, if you desire, I will have a servant come and clean right away-"

Ange held up a hand to pause her, which had the effect of dropping the staff she probably forgot she was holding. It sounded like a gong when it hit the wooden floor, as if it was far heavier than it had seemed when she was holding it. "No, no, please! Aunt Eva hates the servants here, don't you know? I've never once heard of her treating them with anything but cruelty, the same cruelty she showed everyone here but her husband and her son. So, no, don't summon any servants. I think we can make do quite well with what we've got here." She began to twirl her empty closed fist in the air, which might have been a gesture for some kind of spell if she'd still been holding a staff. Realizing this, she grumbled and began swirling the now-empty wine bottle in the air instead. "Come, remember. What form did you have, Ushiromiya Eva? Were you a proud and self-interested mother of the Ushiromiya family, the type of person who calculated every action to her own advantage before lifting a finger to help anyone? A heavy rain cloud over every proceeding and someone no one wanted to be around, someone everyone hoped to avoid? Or... were you a maid? Help me remember."

The woman in question planted her fists on her hips in indignation. "Oh, I'll help you remember, all right. I'll have Genji come up here and escort you out nicely! And, Natsuhi," she began, bringing her fan to her face. "If you're not feeling inclined to fetch a servant for this mess, perhaps you can earn your keep around here and clean it yours-ff! Ghhk! Ghaahk!"

Suddenly, Eva's sentence was cut off as feathers began tickling her face unpleasantly. She quickly realized what was happening and removed her fan from her face... Only, it was no longer her fan. At some point, her trademark and treasured item had been replaced by a feather duster, one that seemed well-used based on how much dust she'd just managed to waft into her own mouth. As she spat it out and began wiping her hands on her dress, dropping the duster to do so, she noticed the second bit of oddness: over her usual dress was a white apron, also stained with soot and dust from use. When she recollected herself, she immediately turned her anger on Natsuhi, the one woman who'd been close enough to stage this prank. "Very funny, Natsuhi! You've been learning some juvenile magic tricks in all your downtime, have you?"

When she finished wiping her dust-bleary eyes, however, she realized Natsuhi had changed, too. Instead of her usual tight lip of summoned courage she had to face Eva with, she was wearing the cold scowl of a woman of higher station speaking to a lesser. "Eva, as a servant of the Ushiromiya household, you must conduct yourself in front of the lady of the manor!"

Now, Eva was truly baffled. "What's gotten into you?! Do you really think you're going to get away with-" she started, raising her hand to grab Natsuhi... Only to find the feather duster back in place in her grasp. She knew she'd dropped it earlier, disgusting as it was. She could only think of it as something that had grown back.

Panicked, she took steps towards the door and tried to open it with her free left hand, as the right seemed to be permanently occupied. The knob wouldn't budge.

Natsuhi sighed and held her forehead, nursing a headache. "And now you're trying to leave before completing your cleaning duties." She turned again to Ange, who had once more taken a seat. "I apologize for the exceptionally rude behavior of our maid. If you'd like, I can fetch Shannon, her superior."

Ange smirked only briefly, but shook her head. "Hmm... No, I don't think this is enough. Eva, I'd like you to clean this place up personally. It's fine if you just dust. If you do that without complaining, I'll make this easy for you. You're just a test run, after all. I even feel kind of bad about it. But, if you continue to resist-"

Resistance became a short word for what Eva did next. She charged towards the bed and seized Ange by the shirt collar with her one free hand, glaring. "Are you expecting me to take this sitting down? Sorry, but Ushiromiya Eva is nobody's meek little maid! As if I'd ever serve my incompetent sister-in-law and her failure of a servant, nonetheless an imposter claiming to be Ushiromiya Ange. If you want me to, you're going to have to roll up your sleeves and **** me."

Ange only returned her look of disgust. "Yeah, this isn't enough. It's useless, all useless... For me to try and forgive and forget just seeing this, it's not enough! It seems I'll have to show you more of my magic..."

She reached out with her empty hand and tapped Eva on the forehead... and Eva froze. The mother leaned over the bed, grit her teeth, and raised her fist, but she was as still as a statue with no heat of anger.

Ange snapped the fingers she'd just used to stop Eva and transformed into a cloud of butterflies. She only moved a short distance back, but when she re-formed out of Eva's grasp, she was green in the face. "Urk... I ought to avoid that after all I've had to drink, but I had to try it once." She straightened her collar and tie, then put a hand to her chin. "Back to the matter at hand. This maid Eva is too simple. It just won't do. Let's try a couple of other things. Hmm... Eva's proud of her looks, despite her age, isn't she? What if we tried something older, like Kumasawa..."

She clicked her fingers, then watched as the Eva in front of her transformed. Her hair greyed, and her skin sank and tightened becoming more familiar to how Ange remembered it in Eva's old age. Her outfit, on the other hand, changed to an exact match of Kumasawa's as Ange remembered it. The dress shifted slightly to become a kimono, growing over Eva's white pants to replace them and sprouting sleeves to cover her bare arms. The dirty apron she had been wearing seemed to come unfurled as if it had been tucked up, with more stiff fabric appearing by magic. Overall, it was like her aged aunt had put on cosplay of the family maid, although **** still shone in her eyes.

"I'm gonna throw up for real," Ange remarked, clapping a hand over her mouth. "That was a bad idea. I'd feel sorry if I made her clean like that, anyway. Maybe something younger?"

She snapped again and watched as the frozen woman in front of her aged backwards, her clothes changing along with her body. The grey hair grew vibrant once more, then shifted into another hairstyle entirely as the bun came loose and it feel into a bob around her ears. Her skin became healthy again, then enviably smooth as it transitioned to that of a woman a bit younger than Ange herself. Her apron had shrunk, dropping down from the chest until it was a clump tied at the waist. Meanwhile, the kimono shoulders had puffed out and the sleeves had tightened. The hem of the kimono had begun climbing until it was a skirt higher than the knees, and cut open in a slit before fastening itself back with a strap. The higher hem revealed red knee-length stockings that had been hidden, along with black shoes. A strip of white snaked out of the top of the apron, then spread across the chest until it was a proper blouse, fitting well to the perky chest of the younger adult. Finally, a white beret crept up from behind Eva's back, made its way to her scalp like an animal, then rested there peacefully. The energetic eighteen year-old that now threatened Ange looked like she could have been any one of the seniors from the Fukuin House that were once employed at the mansion.

Even frozen, something else had changed about Eva, as well. Although her face was still a mask of fury, her eyes alone had lost their fire. Instead, they reflected the distress she must be feeling at having her body change all around her, even if she couldn't move or see it in its entirety.

"You look like you could get along with Shannon like this," Ange remarked with a smirk. "If she let you, of course. Still, this doesn't feel right, either. This is bothering you, huh? I can tell. It's awkward being an eighteen-year-old, I know that well. Anyway, when we have you clean up around here, I'd rather see you do it as the adult you would've been that day. So, back we go..."

This time, with one more snap, Eva's body changed apart from her outfit. The bits of pudge she'd taken on with motherhood filled back out, stretching the maid uniform's tight top to its seams and seeing a couple of buttons actually snap at the blouse. The skirt didn't fit quite well, either, with more of her childbearing hips filling it up. The hairdo, which looked cute and trendy on a younger woman, made her look like a different person as an adult.

Ange admired her handiwork one more time, then poked Eva once more in the forehead, harder this time. She leaned back on the bed and watched as the unfrozen Eva began to move again, both under her power and the power of gravity now sending her backward. The maid-uniformed mother fell gracelessly back on her ass, and the skirt flipped up as she did, revealing plain white panties that were strained to almost tearing around the mature woman wearing them. Another button popped, giving her a cleavage window to a too-small bra that was constricting larger breasts. Even as Eva fell on the floor, the feather duster didn't leave her hand, remaining gripped like it was glued there.

The witch crossed her arms, considering the woman on the floor. "Hmm... How about it, Natsuhi? Any remarks? Would you be happy to have Eva serve you in this kind of outfit? And this body?"

Natsuhi, who'd been watching Eva groan and struggle to find herself on the floor, jumped and looked surprised to be asked. She was red-faced, clearly embarrassed on behalf of the other woman. Of course, she was also flustered as any human would be in the presence of a witch. When asked to present an answer, a wrong one could lead to any sort of outcome on the witch's whim. "Ah, well, um... I believe this has been an excellent demonstration of your power, but... this damaged outfit would be indecent to wear in front of our family and guests, wouldn't it? Perhaps we could grant her something in better shape?"

This time, Ange looked a bit surprised. "Not what I expected. So you're saying you want Eva to serve the family WITHOUT torn sleeves, an unbuttoned blouse, a bra that's **** her, ill-fitting panties, and a barely-long-enough skirt?"

The mother gulped, regarding her stepsister with a pitying expression. "Yes... I think that would be better suited."

"And if she was dressed in that way, she would be well-suited to serve you in front of the family immediately?"

"Yes, I believe so..."

"Well, she's your maid, and you've done well to follow my orders. I suppose I can grant that request, although I'm still really drunk... Forgive me if I get it a little wrong. And, if I do... I'd recommend NOT complaining about it. At least pretend it pleases you. The witch Beatrice is supposed to be the family advisor, so that's my advice to you."

By now, Eva had made her way back to her feet, clutching the feather duster to her spinning head without realizing it and getting her bob dusty in the process. "Is this a nightmare? Or... real magic? What's happening?!" As the stumbling maid tried to make sense of the rapidly shifting world around her, her eyes began following the head of the staff Ange had once again collected off the floor. Ange began to spin it and spin it, and the world seemed to revolve along with it. A spiral of golden butterflies had formed around her, obscuring Eva's vision. She felt the butterflies tickling her skin and ineffectively brushed at them with her duster, fighting her hardest to keep her footing as even the floor seemed to morph below her.

Finally, when the butterflies departed, Eva found herself back in the parlor where the family was gathered, Natsuhi now included among them. For just a moment, she dared to imagine her horrible dream had come to an end and she'd woken up back in the world of humans... Only, all of those humans were watching her with mouths agape and eyes full of shock.

Eva had managed to remain standing, but in a bizarre, theatrical pose, perched on her tiptoes with one leg in the air, one arm above her head, and one arm outstretched. The extended arm held a covered serving tray, although it was starting to tilt, becoming uncovered as the lid flipped.

Speaking of things becoming uncovered, Ange had granted Natsuhi's request. The unsuitable ripped-up clothes had been removed, replaced with... nothing at all. Whatever butterflies had been here had taken the damaged garments with them, leaving Eva with barely bare necessities, according to Natsuhi's list. Specifically, she'd retained her demeaning servant's beret, the apron at her waist, the red stockings pinching her otherwise bare thighs, and her tight shoes. The mother, who constantly jockeyed and leveraged to remain the most dignified woman in the Ushiromiya family despite her gender preventing her from gaining the headship, now stood with her bare breasts, ass, and thick orange bush flashing her husband, her son, her siblings and their families, and all of her servants. Everyone except, mercifully, the young Maria, who was at home ill on the day of this conference.

She was frozen for a moment, color rising both to her face and to all of the other parts of her body blood could visibly flow. This time, her stillness wasn't due to the witch's power; her ordinarily sharp and cunning mind was trying to work out any way to recover her dignity in this situation. Even at a time like this, money was what came to her first. Would appearing like this damage her credibility? The insanely rational thought rang in her head. Would those rotten siblings of hers try to use this to strip her of her rightful part of the family inheritance-

"Natsuhi!" a voice suddenly cut through the stunned silence. It was the named woman's husband, the blonde-headed Krauss. "Control your servant, please!"

Eva turned her head not towards Krauss, but toward Natsuhi. And then, gravity seemed to return to her, and her body wanted stability. And then she hopped on one foot. Hopped, and hopped-- and tripped! The mother fell flat on her face in front of everyone, her feather duster and her ass up in the air. The tray she was holding, however, didn't seem to be affected by the same gluing spell as her duster, and its contents were propelled. A mess of gelatin and whipped topping ended up coating the bell of Natsuhi's dress.

As further gasps and murmurs filled the air, followed by some inevitable laughs, both Natsuhi and Eva turned their heads slowly in the direction of the witch who was sitting and watching them with half-lidded eyes from a recliner. Ange removed the wine bottle from her lips and frowned with disapproval. "Well, now she's done it. Natsuhi. You're going to punish her, right?"

While Natsuhi didn't seem to know how to react, Eva did. She could only imagine what kind of terrible punishment the all-powerful witch had in mind for her. She had to somehow set things right before that could happen. Wearing a **** grin, Eva crawled over to Natsuhi on her knees. Then, Eva removed her own apron, one of the last things protecting her dignity. Smiling all the while, she made an effort to desperately pat off the dessert she'd coated her stepsister with. "M-m-my sincere apologies, Natsuhi! I mean, L-Lady Natsuhi! Please, allow your humble servant to apologize and make this right. I'll... c-clean it right off, then I'll even put it in the laundry if you like! Would you accept that? Please?" the half-naked mother begged the woman who'd earned her scorn and ridicule less than an hour earlier.

Both of them turned to Ange again, as neither of them were convinced that the ability to accept that apology really lay with Natsuhi.

Ange was watching with a strange expression now, her bottle set aside. She was leaning forward and watching with interest. "So this is the fabled Evanatsu people talk about in my time, huh... Eva, you're trying to earn your mistress's forgiveness, but you're also savoring a rare opportunity to touch her clothing, right? This has to be euphoric for a servant like you, who worships the ground she walks on and lusts for her daily. I want you to sell me on that image a little more."

Eva nodded feverishly. "Of course, Ange!"

"ANGE-Beatrice."

"A-A-ANGE Beatrice!! Oh, yes, I will gladly... l-lick every bit of it from your beautiful dress if you'll allow me, Lady Natsuhi! With my very tongue! And forgive me if I... accidentally grab your leg..." She wrapped her arm around Natsuhi's leg, holding the fabric of her dress to her face, and turned back to Ange with her cheek pressed against it.

Ange swirled her hand in the air dismissively. "You'll grab her leg?"

"... Y-your, um..." Eva experimentally slid her hand higher up Natsuhi's body, watching for Ange's expression to warm up and indicate she'd won this game of Hot and Cold. "Your... ahem. Your, um... your behind. Forgive me if, I, uh... grab your behind, Natsuhi."

"Just get on with it," Natsuhi hissed through a small grin in a barely audible whisper.

Ange watched her foster mother from another life lick gelatin off of her aunt Natsuhi in a way that was almost worship, porn star performative, **** to please and sell the humiliating "lust" Ange apparently wanted to see. The witch burned the image into her brain of Eva, naked except for the beret sliding off of her head, groping another woman, naked to all of the people she'd ever looked down on, on her hands and knees. As she began to feel a fire rise inside herself that she didn't think came from the wine she'd been drinking alone, she thought:

"With this, I'll finally be able to replace my memory of Eva. This is the real power of a Witch of Resurrection..."