"Do you ever wonder what your life would have been like if you did this over that?"
"Depends on what this and that are."
"Like... What if you decided you just wanted to be a renowned alchemist instead of a magician?"
Patchouli rolled over on her side and looked back at a pair of red eyes. She felt the covers of her bed slip away from her frame yet did nothing to preserve her modesty. In the company of her beloved familiar, she did as she pleased. With a small smile tugging at her lips, the mage reached out to pat her familiar's cheek.
"I suppose if I became such an alchemist I would have discovered the secret elixir to everlasting life around the same time I would have become a fully fledged magician. I may have been as healthy as a horse and traveled the outside world selling my miracle mixtures to any and all, beggar and king." Patchouli frowned and slid her hand away from Koakuma's cheek. "But in doing so... I would have never met Remilia and Flandre, I would have never made my home in their wonderful library, never met Meiling or been able to watch Sakuya mature."
Koakuma looked down at the hand that left her cheek and gave a sad nod. She was about to draw the covers up and over her and her mistress once again when Patchouli beamed and clasped a hand in hers. Just the sight of the frail mage looking so content made the succubus's heart flutter.
"And of course, I would have never summoned you. I would rather be weak and spend my days with those I love than to be healthy and alone," Patchouli cooed. She pecked her familiar's forehead and held her close against her. "I simply cannot imagine a life without you, nor do I want to. Why do you ask such a strange question?"
"Uh, well... I was just wondering how it would be if you loved someone other than me," Koakuma whispered.
"Ah. Doubting yourself, are you?" Patchouli replied with a soft chuckle. "I won't lie to you. I find myself compatible with many others. But I chose you in the end, didn't I?"
A delighted grin spread across Patchouli's face when she saw her familiar light up in joy. Depressing thoughts always threatened to bring down their moods, but as long as they had each other, they were able to lift each other up to new heights. Love, no matter how little, could mend wounds just as well as time could. The purple-haired magician looked down at her familiar in her arms and raised an eyebrow in amusement.
"There's something else on your mind, isn't there?"
Koakuma's face lit up as she looked up at her mistress.
"Ah... I see. Well, the night is still young and I have the energy to spare. I'll gladly romp with you again." Patchouli tapped her familiar's nose. "Only this time, do try and encourage your tail a little more."
"Oh! Of c-course mistress!" Koakuma chirped as the both of them slid under the covers.
A gentle tune wafted throughout the grand library of the Scarlet Devil Mansion. Patchouli looked up from her studies and focused on the pleasant sound. After all the events, parties, and confessions of weakness and love, the mansion and its residents had become much more relaxed and at peace than they had ever been. There were still the occasional problems that popped up such as Flandre's tantrums or Remilia's stubborn pride getting the better of her, but they were all solved without so much as a grumble. The mage smiled and leaned back in her chair to listen for a moment before the figure of her familiar drifted into sight with a stack of books in her hands.
Koakuma was humming the gentle tune and didn't stop until she noticed her mistress looking at her. Blushing, the little devil ran right up to her and deposited the books on her desk.
"Sorry I took so long, I got distracted," Koakuma apologized.
"It's hard to not stare at Sakuya's entourage of initiates when she brings them through the library. As infantile as those fairies can be, I admire their blissful nature. When they're happy they soar. When they're curious they sing." Patchouli and Koakuma glanced up to see the chief maid leaving with her new fairy colleagues. And still those fairies sang, blissfully ignorant as ever. "Even I find myself humming their tunes."
"They're never bothered by much, and they don't complain much either," Koakuma commented. "I wonder where they come from."
Patchouli fingered through the books on her desk as she spoke.
"The short answer is nature. The garden in front of the mansion helps produce fairy maids, but never to excess. When one fairy maid dies, another takes its place."
"And when they die, they linger here for awhile before returning to the garden."
"Indeed. A perfect cycle of life and death." Patchouli chuckled and pressed a cup of tea to her lips. "Returning to the earth only to be born anew... Fitting for such carefree creatures."
As Patchouli drank from her tea, Koakuma continued to hand the mage books. The life and death of fairy maids seemed benign at a first glance, but like the sun and the moon, everything had a cycle or schedule. People were no different for they worked, played, and slept every day of their lives. Everything had a beginning and an end, especially for the powerful beings that resided in Gensokyo. Immortality meant nothing to the sands of time, and Patchouli knew that all too well despite still being young at a measly 200 years.
The purple-haired magician looked on as Koakuma kept stacking books before something caught her eye. She reached out and took hold of a small leather-bound book that had a few blemishes and a small metal lock that kept the thing closed. Curious, Patchouli turned the book over in her hands and discovered a small note attached to the front of the book. A bemused smile appeared on Patchouli's face as she read the note.
"Hmm? What's that, mistress?"
"An old tome that Kourindou's owner put in with today's shipment. It says, 'contains the spirit of an arachnid. Unknown if venomous'."
"Another summoning tome?" Koakuma craned her neck and noticed the signature of Rinnosuke Morichika underneath the note. "Well, he certainly finds the most interesting things around."
"Indeed! I'll have to investigate this tome sometime and see what kind of spider it is!" Patchouli chirped with glee. She caressed the spine of the book as if she was holding a small animal. "If venomous, it can help me with potion mixing, and if not, I've always wanted to spool a spider's thread. In the meantime, Koakuma, please put this in the possessed chamber."
Koakuma widened her eyes and bit her lip.
"The... The possessed chamber? But surely the book isn't that-"
"It possesses a spirit within, so it goes where we can manage it," Patchouli interrupted with her smile ever present. She wagged her finger at Koakuma and chuckled. "Be it a harmless rabbit or a dangerous dragon, they go in the possessed chamber for storage. After all, if it weren't for the sigils placed there in that chamber, my library would be flooded with bees and all sorts of abominations! And I quite like not having bees in my hair..."
"As you wish, mistress," Koakuma replied. She took the leather-bound book out of her mistress's hands and placed it under her arm. "I'll be back shortly."
A curt nod was the response. Koakuma scratched her nose and turned on her heel to proceed to the possessed chamber, as it was called. In Patchouli Knowledge's grand library were enough books to put the ancient library of Alexandria to shame ten times over. Everything from epics to outside world movie scripts could be found somewhere on one of the hundreds of shelves there, and where there was knowledge to be found, there was the potential for danger. There was information in the library that was not meant for mortal eyes to see.
It was for their sake that Patchouli decided to lock up the most dangerous books she had inside of a special chamber guarded by special magic. Harmful tomes, possessed books and even infamous texts once thought to be urban myths were locked away in the depths of the chamber. Remilia Scarlet tried time and time again to convince her friend to do away with the books, but Patchouli was stubborn. She valued the books as collector's items, research material, and even entertainment. Nothing said 'fun' like meddling in the Necronomicon.
After a few minutes of flying about and checking for signs, Koakuma arrived at the sealed-off chamber. She touched down and looked up at a large and imposing wooden door hidden away by neglected bookcases. Through the dust and cobwebs Koakuma could see faint glows from the magical sigils placed upon the door. They reminded her of the ones placed upon Flandre's door and of how strong they were. It was all Patchouli's doing, and if the mage was thorough, the sigils were nigh indestructible.
Koakuma approached the door and brushed away the cobwebs to get a closer look at the sigils and locks. Brute force wouldn't solve anything here; it needed to be done in the way it was intended. The little devil raised her hand to the sigils and willed forth fire from her fingertips. She pressed on one sigil before switching to ice, then shock, water, fire again and finally stone. The sigils reacted to the combination and vanished to allow Koakuma to unlock the wrought-iron locks with a bronze key. She took a deep breath and gripped the handle of the door to pull it back.
The door creaked open and blew back Koakuma's hair with the unchecked energies contained within. Dust and vapors wafted out and swirled about the little devil, but she paid them no mind. It was all show and no substance, but the menacing looking tomes that lined the walls of the darkly-lit chamber weren't. Koakuma stepped into the chamber and made her way down the dark corridors until she found an empty spot for a book. She looked at the books around the space and noticed all of them were relatively tame in comparison to the ones scattered about.
"Here you go, Mr. or Mrs. Spider," Koakuma cooed as she slid the leather-bound book in the empty spot. "You'll be at home here between the obese panda and the starving artist."
Koakuma dusted off her hands and looked up at all the books on the weathered bookcases for a moment before yawning and turning back to the door. She stopped in her tracks when she noticed that she had left the door open, and while that shouldn't have been a problem for Koakuma alone, the sound of soft humming was enough to make her worry. In her haste to return the book the little devil had not given thought to the idea that she could have been followed by a certain troublesome magician. The library had been quiet for far too long, yet the thief's return couldn't have come at a more terrible time.
By following the soft humming and the sounds of books being gone through, Koakuma stepped out into a corridor and found Marisa Kirisame up to no good. Typically an encounter with Marisa would go either way; she would leave with a sack of ill-gotten books or be lucky to escape with only singed clothing for her efforts. This time the ameteur magician wasn't dealing with regular books. It seemed as if the blonde-haired girl was in a sort of trace for she did not react at all to Koakuma's presence. She reached for a strange, dark leather-bound tome and drew her fingers over to unclasp a lock on it.
"Marisa! Get away from there!" Koakuma shouted. She advanced towards the girl and reached for her wrist. "These books are dangerous! Put it back!"
"Eh?" Marisa recoiled from Koakuma's shouting and reeled back. She dodged the devil's grasping movements and tucked the old tome under her arm with a defiant smirk. "A dangerous book? Well, I'll be the judge of that! Catch me if you can, little devil!"
"No! Get back here!"
Marisa took off running like a bandit with her stolen book. She picked up her broomstick and flew out of the chamber into the main library area. Koakuma chased after her as fast as her wings would allow, but with the young girl's broomstick skills, it wouldn't be long before Marisa got out of sight. Koakuma used what little magic she knew to try and incapacitate the thief. Every sticky bubble and freezing haze missed their mark except for one jolt of lightning that struck the end of Marisa's broomstick.
Deprived of control, the young thief crashed to the library floor with her smoldering broomstick underneath her. Despite the impressive and painful sound she made upon landing, Marisa jumped back up in an instant and swatted at the flames eating at the thistles of her broomstick. Her stolen book clattered to the floor at such an angle that the lock upon it jostled and came undone. Marisa eeped in response and dove for the book, but Koakuma had caught up and tackled her to the ground.
"Oi! Get your stinkin' hands off of me!" Marisa shouted as she struggled against the little devil's hold.
"That book doesn't belong to you!" Koakuma screamed. "It could be dangerous!"
"Come on, I'm just borrowing it! Don't be so uptight!"
As the two tussled about on the floor, an eerie dark mist swirled around the unlocked leather tome. Faint whispers emanated from the tome while the air around it became colder. Koakuma and Marisa were oblivious to the tome and continued to toss and turn with neither one of them coming out on top. It wasn't until Marisa rammed her knee in a sensitive area did she get the opportunity to stand once again. She panted and looked down at the writhing devil for a moment before turning to her stolen tome.
The black mist had grown larger and was now the size of a young human. A sinister red glow came from the mist as it towered over Marisa and threatened to swallow her whole. The thief stared up at the mist with wide eyes and backed away to try and get away from it, but the mist advanced towards her like a predator. Koakuma looked up at the exchange and held her breath when she saw the mist began to fall upon Marisa. The thief screamed in terror and threw up her arms to defend herself, but before the mist could swallow her whole, something came from the side and knocked Marisa to the floor near Koakuma.
Koakuma gasped and looked on as she saw none other than Patchouli Knowledge herself swallowed up by the black mist in place of Marisa. The magician screamed in agony and convulsed under the stress of the mist wrapping around her like a boa constrictor. Her violet eyes were clenched shut while her teeth were gritted and her hands were balled into fists. Her entire body shook as the black mist hissed and sank into her frail body. Then, the mist retreated back into the leather-bound tome with alarming speed, leaving only a very shaken magician in its wake.
Patchouli shuddered and whimpered for a few seconds before she collapsed to the floor.
"Mistress! No!" Koakuma leapt to her feet and rushed to the mage. She held her up and checked for a pulse. "No no no no... This can't be... Mistress! Please be alright!"
The frail mage wrinkled her nose and whined.
"Patchouli, please, say something!" Koakuma cried. She continued to fuss over the mage before she noticed her writhing about. "M-Mistress?"
"Oh my goodness," Marisa gasped as she looked on. She stood at a respectable distance from the two and began to check herself for wounds. "Did she... Did she really push me out of the way of that... thing?"
"Will you please do something?" Koakuma snapped as she looked up at Marisa. "Anything! Just help her!"
"Too loud..."
The devil and thief looked down at Patchouli as she squirmed and slowly opened her eyes. Sniveling and coughing, the purple-haired librarian turned on her side and pressed herself tight against Koakuma's body. She shivered as if she had been through a blizzard. The little devil grabbed her mistress and wrapped her arms tight around her for comfort. She checked Patchouli for any wounds, blemishes, or scars only to find nothing out of place. The mage looked a little paler than usual, but that was understandable given the fright and trauma she had just gone through.
"S-so cold... I feel like all the warmth in my body has been stolen from me," Patchouli coughed. She rested her head against Koakuma's shoulder and closed her eyes. "I feel like... like I'm going to vomit."
"Mistress, let me help you up and get you to bed," Koakuma whispered.
Patchouli let out a mewl of pain and displeasure, but she complied with her familiar. She supported herself on her and managed to get back up on her feet. Coughing and shaking, the mage turned to look down at the dark leather-bound tome for a moment before growling. She pointed to the book and watched as Koakuma snatched it up and securely locked it with both its latch and a simple warding spell. Marisa looked on in earnest and opened her mouth to say something when Patchouli cut her off at the pass.
"You... Thief... Did I not tell you how dangerous the library could be? You don't listen to me. You never, never listen to me," Patchouli coughed and sputtered for a few seconds before looking up at Marisa with contempt. "G-get on your broomstick... And get the hell out of my library."
"But Patchy I-"
"Get out!"
Marisa recoiled at the tone and scrambled for her broomstick. She looked apologetic, but Patchouli wasn't in the mood for it. The ordinary witch tipped her wide-brimmed hat over her eyes and frowned in concern for her regular mark before mounting her broomstick and flying out without another word. Koakuma watched the exchange with a furious pout. If her mistress did not recover from this little incident, there would be hell to pay for that troublesome witch.
The feeling of Patchouli falling limp against her made Koakuma snap out of her anger. She looked upon her mistress with the utmost of concern and picked her up bridal style. Whatever that black mist had done to her, the poor mage was down for the count. Koakuma brushed away a few unruly strands of hair from Patchouli's face and checked her again for anything deeply concerning. Could it be that the dark mist had infested her, or did it merely sap her strength? The latter was the lesser of two evils, Koakuma thought.
With a worrisome smile, the succubus turned on her heel and retreated to Patchouli's quarters. She laid the mage down in bed and tucked her into her smotheringly comfortable sheets. Patchouli continued to mew and whine in her unconscious state as she laid under the covers. Koakuma stroked her cheek and sat with her mistress for some time before glaring at the dark leather-bound tome that factored into this whole mess. She was tempted to destroy it outright and be done with it, but her mistress wouldn't like that even if the tome had affected her so.
Koakuma sighed and pecked her mistress's forehead once before going off to lock away the tome. She couldn't help but notice that the tome felt lighter than expected in her hands. There was still an eerie air around the tome, yet it was less concentrated than before. If the dark mist had sapped Patchouli's strength and retreated back where it had come from, the tome would have been even heavier and more frightening to hold. Koakuma could not make any assumptions at the moment, so she settled on locking the tome away in her mistress's desk for the time being.
She looked back to Patchouli's quarters for a moment and decided to give her mistress the rest she deserved.
As night fell upon the land, so did an overwhelming feeling of concern fall upon Koakuma. She had met with and told Sakuya of the incident and was instructed to remain at Patchouli's side with tea and comfort food, but the mage refused to stir. Not even the smell of freshly brewed tea could bring the mage back to consciousness. To keep herself from growing desperate, Koakuma kept herself busy with the rest of the Kourindou book shipment and locked up the possessed chamber of books to the best of her ability. Before too long she could not stand being away from Patchouli.
The succubus rushed into her mistress's quarters and found Patchouli in the same position she had left her in. She hadn't moved an inch in hours, and still she looked as if something was tearing away at her strength. Suddenly the mage groaned and shook before curling up on her side in a fetal position. She shivered, opened her eyes, and looked up at Koakuma with a pained and weary pout. Dark bags could be seen under her eyes, and with her sickly pale skin, she looked like she had narrowly escaped death.
"K-Koakuma..."
"Mistress, don't worry, I'm here for you," Koakuma cooed as she advanced towards the bed. She reached for her mistress's forehead and felt the beginnings of a fever. "You're burning up! I'll get some medicine right away!"
"No... Please, stay with me." Patchouli stopped her shivering and gave a weak smile. "I want you close to me... To put me at ease."
"But you're unwell! I really should-"
"Please," Patchouli cooed as her dull violet eyes sparked with a dash of energy. She opened the covers up to Koakuma and gave an inviting wave of her fingers. "I want you close to me."
Koakuma gulped and clasped her hands together to hide her nervousness. She looked down at Patchouli for a moment before folding her wings and sliding into the bed with her. The bed wasn't very warm despite the mage's fever, and when Koakuma felt her mistress's arms hold her close, she discovered why. Patchouli was still as cold as she was when Koakuma had held her last. Uncomfortable yet unwilling to admit it, the succubus held Patchouli close and endured her cold temperature.
In a few minutes the bed and the occupants within it began to warm up to a comfortable level. Koakuma blinked twice and looked on as Patchouli seemed to be getting better by the minute. The weak smile had turned into a cheerful one, and those once dark violet eyes seemed to glow with health. Even the mage's pale skin seemed to be getting more color as time passed. Koakuma dropped her jaw at the sight before smiling herself. Apparently all Patchouli needed was someone close to her!
"Feeling better?" she asked.
"Mhmm... A little... But I'm touched that you're here with me," Patchouli cooed. She started to rub Koakuma's back in a soft, playful fashion. "What happened?"
"What happened?" Koakuma repeated. She glanced over her shoulder at Patchouli's motions before answering. "I... I thought you knew. That thief Marisa tried to make off with a dangerous tome. Some kind of black mist came out and tried to swallow her up, but you pushed her aside and were swallowed up by it instead! I haven't seen you look so frightened and weak until that moment!"
"Oh? I'm sorry, Koakuma. I don't really remember that," Patchouli mumbled. She lowered her hands from Koakuma's back to a spot right above her hindquarters. "I do, however, remember your warm touch. I'm glad that I have such a dedicated familiar."
"Eh? Mistress, what are you d- Ohh..." Koakuma blushed and mewed as she felt the mage's hands drift lower and become grabby. "P-Patchouli, we really sh-shouldn't be-"
"Shh... Let me make you feel at ease," Patchouli cooed. She continued to knead and smile before her hands reached up to rest upon the succubus's chest. "Nevermind that thief or that tome. Just focus on me."
Koakuma nodded and closed her eyes. She was a bit put off by the sudden change in behavior, but she wasn't willing to stop her mistress now. Patchouli seemed much better now, and if she wanted to get frisky and 'reward' her lover, then so be it. The succubus mewed and blushed more and more as Patchouli became more adventurous. She felt the mage straddle her and bit her lip in anticipation.
"It f-feels good, mistress..." Koakuma squirmed under Patchouli for a moment and expected a response, but nothing came. She furrowed her brow in confusion and whispered, "M-mistress? Why did you stop?"
As if on cue, two ice cold hands wrapped around Koakuma's neck and squeezed with malicious intent. Alarmed, Koakuma's opened her eyes and looked up at the one responsible only to see Patchouli, her beloved, choking her with a cruel smile on her lips. A pair of dark red eyes glowed from the shadows of the mage's face while an eerie black mist wrapped around her frame. Koakuma reached up to grab Patchouli's wrists and pry them off of her, but the mage's hands would not budge. Something terrible was afoot, and it had taken Patchouli as its hostage.
"Patchouli! W-what's gotten... into you?!"
'Patchouli' giggled in a sickeningly sweet manner as the mist around her grew darker. She leaned close to Koakuma's face and cooed.
"Be a good girl and die for me, won't you?" were the last words Koakuma heard before she felt her consciousness slipping...