Entry for the MLSF Challenge #22, thought I'd try something for Touhou Project. Theme is 'disability'. I hope you enjoy!
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The pile grew smaller each day.
This was nothing new to the head maid. As the toys she brought into the manor were systematically destroyed she'd simply buy new ones. Providing entertainment for the Mistress' younger sister was vital to keeping the girl from wanting to leave the manor where she could be put at risk. The only reason Sakuya was even contemplating this matter was the speed at which the objects in question were breaking. The pile was growing ever smaller ever faster, and the maid was growing concerned that it might become difficult to keep up with the rate of destruction. To compound to her worries even more was the destruction of objects other than toys. Recently she had to replace a bed frame and a table, and just that morning the mistress' sister had broken her parasol. While a parasol might not seem important if one wishes to keep the girl inside, the fact that she was unable to go outside would certainly provoke a response.
Sakuya Izayoi did not hate her job, but taking care of Flandre Scarlet was exhausting.
She would be going to find some new toys and a parasol for the child-like vampire, perhaps seeing if the shopkeeper Rinnosuke had wares more durable than what was found in the human village.
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With a bag filled with some toys and a checkers set, the maid stepped into Kourindou. Though not really expecting to find anything for sale after her last visit, she had seen some umbrellas and parasols and figured that the shopkeeper would be willing to part with at least one. As she entered she noted several holes in the ceiling, which would be rather inconvenient given the recent rainfall. Not even receiving a greeting, Sakuya immediately went to where she'd seen the umbrellas and was pleasantly surprised to find that several had been added recently.
The first one she pulled from the bin appeared to have been damaged beyond use, she put that back. The next gave off a suspicious click and ejected a red cylinder, it felt dangerous and she had a premonition that she should not give such a thing to Flandre. She sorted through several more umbrellas of varying usefulness before settling on a rather tacky purple umbrella. She approached the counter and asked, "How much?"
Barely sparing a glance, the shopkeeper's reply was short and seemingly cold. "No charge."
Having attempted to shop here before, Sakuya knew better than to question the business practice implemented and simply left. If the umbrella was worth nothing to him, then that was his loss and Flandre's gain. If it kept the sister of the devil happy, then everyone in the manor would be happy...marginally.
As she carried it back to the manor she failed to notice the eye cracking open slightly on the umbrella's canvas.
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One might refer to Flandre's room in the basement as a warzone of sorts. The red carpet spread across the floor was tattered and frayed; holes burnt into the fabric at random intervals. The wooden paneling one the walls was scratched and seared, outlines of objects caught in the line of fire stood in place long after they had been removed. Pieces of broken toys of various styles littered the room, the arm of a doll sat abandoned at Sakuya's feet as she entered. Atop the bed were stuffed animals torn up or loved into pieces, some sewn up in horrific Frankenstein-like patterns. In front of the room's heater sat a blanket tossed over a child-like figure, two wrought-iron wings with stained-glass fragments hanging from them stuck out from the sides of the blanket, and a cheerful humming emitted from beneath it.
"Lady Flandre, I have brought some new playthings to replace those that are inadequate. I have also purchased a new umbrella to replace your broken parasol. I will leave it by your door." She quietly set the umbrella against the wall and moved towards the pile of unmangled toys which, much to her concern, was smaller than when she had left earlier that day.
"Okay!" Was the vampire's reply while she focused on her drawing book. From where the maid stood she could see it was a picture of her mistress, Lady Remilia Scarlet, Flandre's older sister.
"I will leave you alone then." Sakuya gave a quick bow and left the room as quietly as she had entered, making a note to clean Flandre's room the next time she went for dinner.
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The child-like vampire sighed, placing her pencil down on the page. She was getting bored with the toys Sakuya had been bringing her, only having fun with them on the odd day that the manor gatekeeper played too. She stood up quickly and shouted, "I need a better toy!" She felt a spinning sensation and nearly fell over, having stood up too fast after a morning of lying around. Once she regained her balance she skipped over to the pile to assess the new playthings. The checkers set interested her, she put it aside where she could find it the next time someone came down to play. She tossed aside several tops and dolls, sent a stuffed squirrel flying towards the bed where it lodged itself into the pile, losing an ear along the way, and discarded a bag of marbles haphazardly by the door, creating a trap for any unwary visitors. She was about to go lay down on the bed in a huff when she noticed the umbrella by the door. The purple umbrella with a black tip and a sandal at the base seemed odd to her, thinking it might be something special she picked it up and opened it with perhaps a little more force than needed.
Immediately upon opening a figure dropped out from inside, staring upside down up close to Flandre's face and shouting, "BOO!" A long tongue lolled out of a red grin on the umbrella.
The vampire didn't even flinch, instead she grinned wickedly, her fangs visibly sharp. Thinking she might have found something entertaining to do. The girl hanging before her had blue hair, a red eye and a blue eye, and a blue dress.
At the sight of the face before her, all colour drained from the Youkai's face. She did not know who she was looking at, but Kogasa Tatara knew right away that grin was bad news for her. "Umm...hi. You're uh...not surprised at all, are you?"
"Pleasantly, actually. I was lonely and needed someone to play with." Flandre set the umbrella down, frowning when Kogasa set both feet down.
"P-play? You want to play. Danmaku?" Kogasa didn't like the frown any more than the grin.
The vampire lifted her gaze back up to the Karakasa's face, seemingly staring into her turquoise eye and ignoring the red one. "No, I'm bored with that too. That's all the Shrine Maiden ever wants to do when she visits. Say, you don't quite match your umbrella, why is that?"
"I-I am the umbrella. See, I was an umbrella that no one wanted, and eventually I became what I am, a Karakasa. So I don't have to match because the me talking is just an extension." Kogasa explained, relaxing a little at what appeared to be a lack of malicious intent.
"I see. I think it would be better if you matched. Can you stand on one foot?"
"Umm, like this?" The umbrella lifted her left foot up, wobbling a little. After a moment, her foot came back down as she started to lose balance. "I guess I can't keep it up for very long."
"No no no. My umbrella should be able to stand on one foot, you shouldn't need the other foot." Flandre gave Kogasa a swift kick in the shin.
The Karakasa yelped and grabbed her injured leg, jumping up and down on her good foot. "Why did you go and do that?" She sobbed. "That really hurt you know!" She slowly lowered her foot down to the ground.
"No you don't, one foot only." The vampire gave her another kick before the foot could reach the floor.
"Ow ow ow!" The umbrella resorted to hopping on one foot again.
"Maybe you should just stop wanting to use both legs? Hopping up and down is more interesting than walking anyways." Flandre demonstrated, hopping around on one foot.
"B-but it's hard, I can walk and I can fly outside, but hopping on one foot is no good." Kogasa complained as she put her foot down again.
"I said hop!" The vampire delivered another kick, too hard this time, and was greeted with the sound of bones breaking. She grabbed the Karakasa by the front of her dress, planting a hand over her mouth. "Don't scream. Don't panic."
Beyond the tears clouding her vision, Kogasa could barely see Flandre's expression, but she did not try to scream. She sobbed into the other girl's hand while feebly trying to keep her foot up, wincing whenever it touched the floor.
"Uh oh...I was just given a new umbrella and I've broken it already. Sister won't be pleased if she finds out." Flandre lifted the karakasa and carried her over to the bed, setting her down and running to the closet.
Kogasa was used to getting beaten up; she'd been attacked multiple times when trying to scare people, and one time unprovoked while asking for help. This was, however, the first time in a while she'd been injured outside of a Danmaku battle. Bullets never broke bones or caused serious injury, even to those frailer youkai like Kogasa, so having her leg broken was a shock to her. A flash of many coloured lights filled her blurry vision, and the feeling of something grabbing her leg made her whimper and try to shuffle away.
"Don't move, this will only hurt more if you do. And don't scream, or we'll both be in a lot of trouble." The vampire tried to make the broken calf as straight as possible before using strips of a shredded sundress to tie it to the broken off handle of her old parasol.
Wincing initially, Kogasa was surprised by just how gentle the girl, who just moments ago had broken her leg, could be. When her vision had cleared enough for her to see the face of the person with her, she noticed the object being used as a splint. To the karakasa, it was like having another person's severed leg used to keep hers straight. It took all her willpower to prevent herself from hyperventilating.
"Wait here. Don't leave. If the maid comes in to clean, hide under the blankets or something." Flandre moved to the door, pausing before she left. "I'm sorry, but at least you match your umbrella now." With a sweet smile, she took off.
Staring at the door in disbelief, the Karakasa started to wonder if she'd live long enough to recover.
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Every day at noon would be the time to rest. For that hour the head maid would watch the gate from one of the mansion's few windows, this effort was made each day to keep up the health of the gatekeeper. While it was not necessary for Youkai to sleep, for those who repeatedly put their body through extremes like vigorous training and long periods of standing still, a little rest would keep the body free of major damage. Having just emerged from this daily slumber, Hong Meiling was a little slow to attain her bearings. It wasn't until she felt a tugging at her dress that she noticed the presence of the person beside her.
Holding a hand over her eyes to block out the sun, Flandre tried her best to make eye contact. Being barely able to lift her arm as it was, it wasn't going so well. "I need your help. Can you come with me?"
"M-m'lady! You should not be out here right now." The gatekeeper moved so her body shielded the vampire from the midday sun. "What is it that you need help with?" Seeing as the younger mistress had come to her, Meiling assumed it meant this was something she didn't want Sakuya to know about. That it had been important enough for Flandre to brave the sunlight was very concerning.
"Come with me. I'll show you in my room." The little vampire tugged at Meiling's dress. "Hurry." As she pulled the gatekeeper along, she pondered exactly how she'd keep this from the head maid while allowing her new plaything to survive. She still had to feed it, clean it, nurse it back to health, all while keeping it a secret from Sakuya. She figured it should keep her entertained for quite a while.
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While the devil's sister was away, Kogasa found herself alone in the room. Beside her she found the pile of stuffed animals as a comfort at first, until closer inspection revealed their condition. She had tried to walk to the door, using her umbrella's foot to support her. Simply crossing to the door was sheer agony, each hop of her right foot causing her left to feel as if it were being pounded with hammers. At the door she slipped on a marble and fell to her knees, mewling like a wounded animal. The pain left her weak, and the Karakasa couldn't bring herself to do anything but sob into the carpet at the foot of the door.
This proved to be a horrible place to be sitting as the Chinese gatekeeper threw the door open, sending the umbrella sprawling back. Glancing down at what had obstructed the door, Meiling was able to understand why she had been brought down.
To the umbrella on the floor, the figure standing in the doorway seemed to be a harbinger of further pan, the sheer size of the figure and their posture amplifying this feeling . Kogasa tried to scream, but all she came out with was a dry, raspy noise, as if she had already screamed until her throat turned raw. Attempts to move away from the door were made futile by the marbles on the floor, her hands slipping and the glass objects driving into her back.
"Lady Flandre, if you would please take her to your bed, I will fetch some medical supplies from storage. You were right to come to me, but know that Sakuya will find out no matter how much you attempt to conceal this." Meiling sighed, turned, and left the room.
The younger vampire picked the karakasa off the ground with a firm, yet surprisingly gentle grip. When she placed the injured girl on the bed she went and grabbed the checkers set. "Let's play while we wait. Do you want to be black or red?"
.
"What exactly did you do to her? The bone is nearly pulverised. Even if it does heal, she'll never walk properly again." Meiling made sure her voice was firm, but not angry. Though a proud warrior with many years of experience, even she was hesitant to frighten or anger the younger mistress.
"I wanted her to hop on one foot, so that she'd match her umbrella more. Is that wrong?" Flandre skipped her red checker piece over two black ones.
"Well, not in particular. But breaking her leg is a rather poor way to go about it." Meiling began rewrapping Kogasa's leg, this time with proper bandages and medical splint. As she worked she noted the parasol handle she had removed from the appendage. She could only begin to imagine how the sight had affected the karakasa. "What's done is done, but try not to let this happen again. Remember M'lady, many people are fragile, you can't use the same power you would use against the shrine maiden."
Without a word, the living umbrella skipped her black piece over one of the red pieces, reaching the far end of the board. A second piece was placed on top of it to mark this success and prepare it for taking on the remaining red pieces. Too scared to speak, she simply went on with the game, hoping that the gatekeeper could instill some sense into the child-like vampire.
"How can I tell when they're fragile? Sister Remilia doesn't look so strong, but she definitely wouldn't break." Another black piece fell to the red tide under Flandre's control.
"Hmm, I suppose it is not so easy. Perhaps you should restrain yourself until you know the person can take it?" Checking to ensure the bandages weren't too tight, Meiling sighed. "No, that's no good either. There's no way you could know that ahead of time without training."
"Meiling, could you ask Sakuya to get a purple dress in my umbrella's size? Her eyes and leg match, but the colour's all wrong." With no warning the topic was changed as Flandre grew bored with it.
"Such a request will rouse her suspicions. Instead I will ask for purple dye and simply colour the current dress. I suspect you will want this done quickly?" Taking in the new topic without so much as a blink, Meiling checked the Karakasa for further injury.
The lack of reaction to the topic change alarmed Kogasa. Was the red-haired woman not going to press on so the vampire would learn to control her strength? And why was she speaking like the Karakasa was going to stay?
"Of course! The sooner she matches the better. Go now, I want to play some more." She looked down at the board, then back up at Kogasa. "It's your move."
"O-oh. Sorry." The Umrella took her stacked piece and used it to skip over four of the red pieces, halving Flandre's force. She heard the red-haired woman leave as she moved her piece, the sound of the door closing like a death toll to her.
"Oh wow! You're pretty good!" Whimsically raising her hands in the air, the vampire laughed loudly. "After this I have some other games we can play too. Meiling is pretty bad at these, but maybe you would be more fun to play against."
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Somehow she had survived the day. Across the room from her, Kogasa could see the sleeping figure on the bed, still dressed and spread out like a child making a snow angel. Soft snores that resembled cats' meows echoed throughout the room. Slowly standing from her corner by the closet, the Karakasa crept across the room, using her umbrella shaft as a crutch once again. She slowly pulled the door open a crack, only to spot two people a little ways beyond. Freezing in place, she began to eavesdrop while silently praying she had not been noticed.
"It would seem she stayed up all day again. At this rate her sleep schedule will be difficult to correct." This was the voice of the one who had mistakenly purchased Kogasa. This figure's back was facing the door, her attire made it apparent she was a housekeeper of a sort.
"Honestly, we should find something to keep her interested during the night, something that will keep her from being bored and sleeping until morning. A playmate perhaps?" This voice was unfamiliar, and its owner was obscured from view by the maid. It sounded refined, like that of a noblewoman, yet still very young.
"With all due respect, M'lady, I doubt any playmate would survive for more than two days. And if they could, it would be unlikely they could be forced to stay here." These words brought ill-tidings to the eavesdropper.
"You speak as if my sister is some sort of monster." The refined voice was amused. "I understand what you are saying, but I cannot have her staying up all day." The figure moved around the maid towards the door, stopping just before it and turning her head to continue the conversation. "I still believe a playmate would be the best solution. Perhaps we could have Patchy look into—" The speaker had turned her head back to the door, only to lock her gaze with Kogasa's blue eye. "Then again...perhaps we need only wait a day or two. I have a feeling that a change is to be seen in my sister shortly." Remilia Scarlet winked at the terrified eavesdropper. She mouthed the word 'hello' and turned back to the maid. "Let us go Sakuya, we shall check on my sister again in, oh, about two days."
"Very well, m'lady. Would you like some tea? I do believe Meiling has—" No more was heard as Kogasa closed the door. After locking eyes with the Scarlet Devil, she was weak in the knees and had an urge to scream, but she feared the girl in the room with her equally, thus remaining silent. In two days she would be revealed, but would she even last that long?
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It was early morning when she began to feel something was wrong. Opening her eyes, the Karakasa found herself lying on her back, above her was a red cloth held up by ornate posts, she was under a warm blanket, and her umbrella half was beside her. When she tried to move she realized she wasn't wearing her dress; whatever she was now wearing was much smoother, like silk. Kogasa pulled her arm from the blanket, finding an elegant red sleeve where a plain white one normally was. Some mumbles from her left brought her attention to the other girl in the bed. Right beside her was the child-like devil that had broken her leg the day before, tucked into the covers and sleeping contently. The umbrella youkai suddenly wanted very much to get out of the bed and as far away as possible.
Flandre rolled onto her side as she slept, he hand landing on Kogasa's cheek, as she mumbled something incomprehensible.
Now completely paralyzed, the Karakasa was forced to stare directly at the vampire. The longer she did so, the more she felt...calm. The completely helpless sleeping face of Flandre was disarmingly sweet; like this she didn't seem to be an insane, violent vampire out to drink blood and break bones. Instead she looked like a little girl who had spent one too many nights alone, like all she needed was a good hug. So entranced by what she saw, she did not hear the door open, nor did she notice the red-haired woman until she was at the foot of the bed, a purple dress in hand.
Speaking in a hushed tone, Meiling hung the dress on the bed's canopy as she passed on her instructions. "I will leave this at the foot of the bed for now. When you change, please fold the clothes you are wearing and leave them by the door. If she does not wake soon, cross the hall into the clothing storage, there you should be able to practice moving on one leg with relative safety. If one of the fairy maids enters you should be able to hide easily, they aren't very attentive." The gatekeeper backed away quietly and closed the door behind her.
Taking this as a cue to get changed, Kogasa slipped away from Flandre's hand and out from under the covers. Thankfully, the girl was a heavy sleeper, and wasn't disturbed by this movement. The clothing she had been put to bed with was a too large red shirt of a make similar to the red-haired woman's dress, so it was assumed it belonged to her. As the Karakasa changed, it occurred to her that the purple dress was her own, dyed a deep purple where the dress had been blue, and a lighter purple where it had been white. She concluded that it wasn't a bad look, though she was not concerned she'd be forced to colour her hair too. The continued sleeping sounds from the bed meant that she should try crossing the hall from this room, hopefully unnoticed by the mansions maids. Her umbrella wasn't meant for use as a crutch, and Kogasa could feel the strain with each step. The last day's events felt like far too much to process, the conversation with the red-haired woman, Meiling, haunted her somewhat. What had she meant by never being able to walk properly? Did that mean she would have a limp or did it mean that walking normally would be next to impossible? It was never specifically stated. At the door Kogasa braced herself against the frame and peeked out into the hall, all clear for now.
Midway across the hall, the Karakasa stopped, looking in either direction. She considered trying to find an exit, a door that would allow her to escape. She had not seen any windows in the room, and there were none in the hall either. Was she in a basement? If that was the case, it might be impossible to slip out unnoticed. What would happen if she was caught? Would she be forced to stay? She thought back to the day before, the face she'd seen through the crack in the door. Would she be killed if she was caught? Kogasa shook her head, escape wasn't an option, she would just have to try and survive the next two days and hope that she'd be released. She opened the door across the hall to find a room lined with shelves of linens, clothing of all sizes, though mostly fairy sized maid uniforms. If she were to fall in here, there was a good chance she'd land on something soft; perhaps that was why Meiling had told her to use this room. The umbrella took a step into the room, startled to find her footsteps made no sound on the floor. Was this something to help with the cleaning? Maybe to not disturb the denizens of the house?
Lifting her umbrella half, she started to hop across the room...
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Waking up, she could tell it was late in the day, likely around noon, from how sleepy she still was. Flandre sat up in the bed, rubbing her eyes; she didn't remember getting under the covers, but she was not concerned with that. Her concern at the moment was the lack of umbrella in the room, there were signs that someone else had been in the bed with her, and a folded shirt was set by the door. Throwing off the covers, the vampire stood up straight and stretched, then hopped down and skipped to the door. "Where oh where has my umbrella gone? Where oh where could it be?" She sang. "Will this be a hunt? Shall I chase you down to the very ends of the mansion?" Flandre opened her door and stepped into the hall. "Not at all. Well, what does the umbrella do when out of the rain?" The door across the hall was slightly ajar, a mistake the maids had learned long ago not to make. A quick peek confirmed her thoughts. Inside the room, Flandre could see the Karakasa hopping around on her good leg, wobbling madly and falling over. It was rather sad, and she reasoned that if she showed the girl what to do, it would speed things up. So, lifting her right leg, she hopped into the room, closing the door with no amount of effort to keep quiet. "Hello Umbrella, want me to help you?" Every hop had the stained glass prisms on her wings rattle against each other, sounding like crystalline wind chimes.
The vampire's sudden appearance caused the Karakasa to stumble while trying to stand. She bumped her leg and cried out just a little, still trying to keep her voice down.
"Want or not, my help you'll receive!" Arms out like a little child, Flandre hopped over to her umbrella and pulled her to her feet. "You're bending your knee too much. Whenever Meiling stands on one foot her leg is bent only a little bit. Try it with me!" She hopped a step forward, followed by the Karakasa with a much smaller step. "Hmm, too short. You need more hop to you...you're not all that strong, are you?"
"I, uh...I get beaten up a lot. Recently a lot by humans." Kogasa wobbled uncertainly. "I'm not a very good Youkai, I can't even scare humans."
"Well that's not a problem anymore!" Flandre declared. "Meiling can toughen you up until you can pull carts with just one finger. And the Shrine Maiden says I'm pretty scary, so maybe that will rub out on you. Wait, was it out or off?"
"Umm...Miss F-Flandre? Am I...uh, ever going home?" Kogasa risked the question, though she didn't really have a home already. But staying here, wherever this was, didn't seem like it would be good for her health.
"Of course, you're home right now after all. We're only in the basement, so it seems kind of gloomy for now." The child-like vampire spoke as if the Karakasa had lived there all her life. She planted a fist in her palm. "I should ask Sister to decorate down here, make it all fancy like the rest of the mansion. By the way, do you have a name?"
Startled by this, Kogasa hesitated to answer at first. "Umm...K-Kogasa...T-Tatara."
"Hmm, little umbrella? You're not that little though, you're taller than me. Then again, everyone seems to be taller than me except the fairy maids. Okay then Kogasa, let's keep practicing hopping, I'll have Meiling teach you to be strong and I'll try to make you scary. Then you'll be a good umbrella and a youkai!" Flandre raised a fist in the air triumphantly.
Kogasa wasn't sure how to react. She'd just been given a home for the first time, but by someone who frightened her and had already caused what apparently was permanent damage to her body. She needed to learn to hop anyway while her leg was broken, so she hopped.
She hopped and she hoped, hoping and hopping for a better future.
.
"I-I...I can't move." Out of breath, Kogasa was laid out of Flandre's bed, her chest heaving. "She's scary, how does she do this every day?" She had been doing some physical training with the red-haired woman in the room across the hall. The seemingly peaceful movements were surprisingly difficult and exerting.
Flandre wasn't nearly as tired, but even she had to sit down. "I think she's been doing it for a long time...why did I have to do it too?" She was only a little whiney. "Meiling makes it look so easy too, how she finds the time to tend the garden and guard the main gate is a mystery. Say, you still don't quite match your umbrella. Stick out your tongue!"
Kogasa was already starting to get used to the sudden topic changes, the vampire's carefree attitude becoming more apparent as she was around her. "Bweh!" She stuck her tongue out as far as it would go, making her face as menacing as she could manage.
Flandre fell off the bed in a fit of laughter, her hands holding her stomach and her feet kicking in the air. "T-that's too much! You look so silly!"
With a pout, Kogasa sat up and crossed her arms. "It's supposed to be scary..."
"This is scary! Just watch!" Flandre shot up, floating a few feet in the air. She grinned wickedly and stretched out her hands. A strange, curved wand materialised in her hand and the objects in the room began to rattle as the air began to swirl around the room. The light of the fire flickered and Flandre's shadow grew to cover Kogasa. Each of the prisms on her wings began to flicker randomly as the wrought Iron seemed to stretch to double its normal length.
At first Kogasa was paralyzed with terror, but something clicked in her head, her breaths became less ragged and her body stopped shaking. Instead of fear, all she felt was awe. Before her was someone who had the natural ability to bring terror to those around them, a creature more terrifying than the violent humans and undead that had struck fear into her heart for the last year or so. She bowed down into a position of humility before Flandre, her palms out in offering. "I am in your care, please teach me!"
That wasn't the reaction the vampire expected at all. The wind in the room died down and the lights returned to normal. "You became all weird...Okay. I will teach you to be a terrifying umbrella! I'll make you a real monster in one night!"
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"Sakuya, please come here." These words were spoken to a seemingly empty audience room. Remilia Scarlet swirled her wine glass in her hand, resting her cheek on the other one.
As if from nowhere, Sakuya materialised before her, bowing. "You called, m'lady?"
"It has been two days, shall we see if my prediction was correct?" The vampire rose to her feet, placing her glass upon a small table by her throne. "My sister should be awake tonight, and she shall be entertained more than before."
"I expect the pile of toys would be gone by now, M'lady. I must ask, how is it she would still be entertained?" Sakuya escorted her mistress toward the basement.
"I am not entirely certain how, to be honest. But I am confident she is entertained nonetheless." When they reached the door to Flandre's room there was a pool of red liquid creeping from below the door. "See?"
"I have told the maids to stay out of her room and avoid her." The head maid frowned. "Has one ignored my orders?"
As if it were responding to the question, the door opened itself, the room beyond completely dark. "We have been invited, shall we check on my sister?" Remilia stepped into the room, ignoring the red pool in the carpet.
Sakuya sighed and followed, closing the door behind her out of habit. As her eyes adjusted to the low light, she realised something was off. For starters, the pile of toys was still there, not as tall as she'd last seen, but there regardless. Next she noticed that the stuffed animals from the bed were strewn across the floor, this was odd as Flandre rarely took any off the bed. The canopy for the poster bed was tattered and hanging down, strange to her, as usually the posts would break before the fabric, as they would be easier to reach. She crossed the room to the bed, sighing. "Lady Flandre, destroying your room is improper behaviour, this will not go—" She pulled back the canopy and stopped moving. "M'lady, please come here."
"Oh?" The Scarlet Devil frowned. Such a response from the maid did not please her at all. When she reached the bed, the sight before left no doubt in her mind why the maid was frozen in place. Upon the bed laid Flandre, her clothing soaked in blood and tattered somewhat, her eyes were fixed blankly before her and she did not move. "F-flan?" Remilia's calm demeanor collapsed in an instant. She rushed to her sister's side, lifting her hand. "Please say something! Stop this joke this instant!"
"M'lady, there is someone else here." Sakuya slid several knives from spaces in her dress, ready to throw them if necessary. "Come out, We know you're here."
"I envy your life...I hate your life..." A large, round shadow was seen near the fireplace, the glow of the flames starting to flood in behind it. A dripping sound was heard, something viscous was pooling below the shadow. A faint glow was seen, a single, large eye cracked open. The creature stood on a single leg, and seemed to slowly be rotating. "She was a simple matter, you will be even more so."
"What-why did you do this?" Remilia was in a panic, her wings spread out and her hands ready to tear into the intruder.
"Your life...your power...our envy..." Two new voices spoke in unison from behind them, each draped in tattered fabric. "Try to touch the watch and we'll tear you apart." In an instant the two covered figures were upon them, their shapes not human.
"You life...Your power...I envy...Mine!" The round, one-eyed object launched at them, twisting in its stride and shrieking terribly.
The shriek put Remilia over the edge; she screamed in terror and covered her head defensively.
When she felt no pain, she looked up. Normal light was restored to the room, the damage remained, but Flandre's body and the two draped figures were gone, a bloody pool and two tattered sheets in their places respectively. On top of Sakuya was a girl with an umbrella, one leg up in the air while she pinned the maid. "I did it, I scared someone!"
Remilia stared for a moment, her expression slowly changing. First was confusion, who was this girl, where was Flandre? A rustling sound from the closet triggered her next expression, one of understanding, as she pieced things together. Her final expression was that of anger, her wings spreading as she lifted herself into the air. "Everyone, to the audience chamber, now!"
.
"I must say, this was a most entertaining evening. To frighten even me, it is no small feat." Remilia Scarlet sat upon her throne once again. The head maid stood beside her, her expression a mix of embarrassment and discontent. "I must ask, how did you do it?"
In front of the throne, three figures were hunched over, two bowing in apology while one simply crouched on one leg. "The plan itself was my idea, based on a story written by the Tengu." Meiling answered. "I went over the steps with them after Lady Flandre came to me for aid."
"I made the mess, spilling some wine I snuck out of the cellar by the door and on the bed. I tore up the canopy and threw the stuffed toys around. It was tons of fun." Flandre smiled, despite the lump forming on her head from her sister's initial wrath. "I used a spell card to make the three fakes, made one play dead while putting old sheets over the old ones while their wings were spread up."
"I-I've never been good at scaring people, but all I had to do was say some lines and relight the fire behind my umbrella's half. I slipped in a puddle of drool from its big tongue though, I screamed a little." Kogasa spoke sheepishly, though she was very proud of herself.
"So not a flawless execution, but still frightening regardless...very good. I must say, it broke the monotony that has plagued this household for some time." Remilia grinned as those before her started to look relieved. "However, you caused a mess in your room and wasted food, damaged your bed, and stained the sheets. You also pulled Meiling away from her duties and have been housing someone in our home without informing me beforehand. You need to be punished. All four of you will be helping Koakuma sort books in the library tonight and tomorrow night, no breaks or snacks."
"M'lady?" Sakuya was taken by surprise.
"You brought the Karakasa into our home, even if it was unwittingly. You also failed to notice Meiling spending extra time away from her post, the disappearance of food and bandages, and people hopping about on one foot noisily in the basement." Remilia chuckled waving at her dismissively. "Now away with all of you, I'm afraid all of these...shenanigans have left me quite tired. I will be here resting. Now go, those books only sort themselves every three and a quarter years, it has only been two since the last time."
.
Two weeks had passed since the new arrival into the Scarlet Devil Mansion, since then little had been heard from the occupants. Using concern as an excuse to nab some reading material, a certain blonde-haired witch flew across the frozen lake, the midday sun reflecting off the ice below. As she came close enough to the manor to get a good look, she noticed the gatekeeper was absent from her post, odd, as she would usually be just settling down for a midday siesta. She crept into the mansion through one of its rare windows, in this case the closest one to the library. The great library doors were right before her, but she did not enter. From down the hall she could hear some curious noises. As the witch moved to investigate, a pair of Fairy maids came flying around the corner as fast as they could, terribly frightened. "Uh oh, is the little sister about again?" She sat on her broom and slowly edged towards the corner, her hand in her pocket in preparation to bring her firepower to bear. She found only a single fairy maid around the corner, passed out in terror. As she was about to turn and leave, all the lights in that hall were extinguished at once. She felt something land on her hat, startling her. The witch removed her hat and ran a finger through what had landed on her hat. It was something slimy, like an animals... "Drool?" Another, thick glob of drool came down, splattering over her shoulder. Slowly, she looked up.
Above the witch in the dark was a single large red eye, a long tongue hung barely in view, slick with drool.
From behind her a child-like voice sang an altered line from a poem. "She then gazed into the eye, and then there were none."
The ordinary, usually fearless witch, Marisa Kirisame, decided that a tactical retreat was in order for the day. With speed to rival the wind, she took off down the hallway and exited through the window.
"She'll be back." Flandre giggled as she unflattened herself from the wall around the corner. "This is just as fun as danmaku. We should try that together some time by the way, double team the shrine maiden."
"Maybe losing for once will scare her." Kogasa floated down from above, settling on her right leg. Her bones had mended by now, a speedy recovery that somehow managed to leave no permanent damage thanks to some medicine found in the mansion. She still hopped around on one foot though, after all, she needed to match her umbrella.
.
Note from the Gunner:
I'm not entirely sure what the disability here was, either a broken leg or a Karakasa that can't scare...most likely the second. The story has mutated since I started it, and it doesn't quite fit the challenge theme perfectly. Oh well.