Hong Meiling. She who is aptly known by the name China was always the gateman for a certain eerie mansion build across the fairy lake. She have sworn to dedicate her life only for the benefits of the scarlet devil mansion's inhabitant, though it was always centered at young mistress Flandre Scarlet, but sometimes she took personal requests that came from the slightly older and in-charge, the petite vampire Remilia Scarlet.
Well, she was the gateman.
Currently at present, inside Remilia's chamber was a heated discussion about Meiling's current paycheck. It was rocky, loud, and adorned with curses that could even make even the most hardened spirits out there curl in a ball of shame. Outside the door were four peeping toms; Flandre, Sakuya, Koakuma, and Patchouli. All of them curiously listened through the small gaps beside the door to her chamber, patiently waiting for the fight to shimmer down.
"Haven't I raised your paycheck's enough!?" Remilia slams her fist onto the arm of her throne, "Why do you even need a raise anyway!? You don't eat outside, you're staying at the mansion without any loans, and you are always sleeping on the job anyway!"
Meiling grits her teeth, "I'll have you know that I almost always sleep on the job!"
Remilia in turn, felt helpless as she sighs. "Almost isn't good enough, you know?"
"But, but, I haven't been sleeping on the job since last month! Or, how about the time I convinced the Hakurei Girl to turn back and go home!? Or that time when I stole back the book Marisa 'borrowed'? That deserves a raise, right!?"
"True that it was a stunning performance, especially coming from you..." Meiling lifts her face to face Remilia with a smile. "But!" Meiling frowns, "But, you ended up leavivng your post to persuade the Hakurei Girl, and did the same in the case of Marisa. The mansion was in shamble when my little sister... no, Flandre didn't have any playmates and ended up destroying the mansion... again... for the hundred and eight times."
Meiling bit her lip with an awkward expression plastered on her face, knowing that she have to kiss those raises goodbye, and then she'll go back to her usual days of being bullied, enslaved, and then cry silently at night while cursing about every event that has happened within her life so far.
"...Then we had to rebuild it with the help of the lake fairies, the Hakurei Girl, and a certain drunken yokai that couldn't tell squat between a plank, and a steel beam." Remilia shudders, "So Meiling, I hope you'll understand my reasoning and wait for a couple of—"
Meiling froze and with a still awkward face, said. "I quit."
This surprised Remilia as she was thrown off balance, pretending not to listen, she asked again with an even more awkward smile, "Excuse me?"
"I quit!" Meiling pulled her hat and slams it to the floor, making a loud 'smack' noise that even those peeping toms could hear very clearly. "I quit this job! I'm sick of it! Tired of doing it! And most of all, I can't keep up with you guys' treatment of me anymore!" She ran to the door behind her, slamming the door open rather abruptly, leaving her to see four peeping toms who probably saw what happened from the start, or from the point of the heat.
The four peeping toms were in shock. If only Sakuya had stopped time a second faster, she could get all four of them unnoticed by Meiling, but alas, the poor girl saw all of them looking at her awkwardly, though 'in shock' may be a more appropriate reaction.
"...Did all of you saw that?" She asked, "Did you see it from start to finish?"
They couldn't help but nod.
Meiling was taken aback before shedding tears and ran for her room, leaving the four toms rather speechless about this whole situations. They lookd at each other before looking at the source of all the problem; Remilia Scarlet.
"Mistress, you've made a maiden cry."
"Big sister, why did you make Meiling cry? Isn't she dear to us?"
"Remi, is this really beneficial for the mansion? We have lost a gatekeeper without proper notice, leaving the mansion open for even more burglars. We can't just make Koakuma do it without her receiving a proper training."
"Yeah!" Koakuma rooted, but spaced for a second "...Hey!"
Remilia turned sour as she couldn't bear the words that were targeted at her. She soon scowls, grits her teeth, clenches her hand, and her body were trembling with anger. She tried to hold it in for a while, but soon gives in and yelled.
"FINE! I GET IT!" She stood up from her throne and hurriedly walks to the door leading to the inner mansion's corridor. "I'll try to reason with her myself and then I'll be done with this stupid incident... if, this could even be called an incident!"
After a fast walk, she grew worried of Meiling as her imagination runs wild in her head and ran through the corridors. Thinking if this isn't resolved quickly, she'll lose a gatekeeper, but even worse than that is when she thought about the way Meiling took the stress that was caused by this. She thought that she'll lock herself up in her room, ran away and then adapt herself in the woods, or by far the worst possible outcome; hung herself inside her room.
When she finally reached Meiling's room, she noticed that the sign stating that the room before her is intended for all purposes to be owned by Meiling was old and wrinkled. She could see scratches that was left from god knows when and remembered that this used to be an old storeroom. She hesitated to open the door, but after a while she gained courage and opened the door, screaming a sincere word.
"MEILING!"
But what she saw wasn't a crimson haired girl in guard duty outfit, but rather, it was an old grey and dark storeroom with a ragged old bed and a piece of guard duty outfit hung by the wall. That moment was a straight text book example of 'You do not care for the value of something, until she was lost'. Remilia silently watches the guard duty outfit, before closing the door by the knob that was waiting to be released by Remilia.
Sakuya who manages to catch up to Remilia asked, albeit hesitating. "...It didn't go well, did it?"
Remilia stopped, standing still for a while before forcing herself to speak. "Actually, it did go well. I have gotten rid of the useless gatekeeper that was always sleeping on the job, overstays her welcome, and eat our foods." Her voice was strained and left Sakuya to worry about her mistress. "Now, I can find a new gatekeeper that won't sleep on the job like she did, overstays her welcome like she did, and eat our foods like she did."
Sakuya couldn't argue and left hanging with choices of words that she have to carefully choose as to not shame her mistress, but couldn't find the right words, nor the timing to say it.
"But Sakuya," She said, "There can only be one Meiling. I was so... so... stupid." She rushed to hug Sakuya, planting her face onto Sakuya's chest. "Why can't I see it!? It's not possible to find Meiling's replacement that easily! I have not only lost a great gatemen for my mansion, a nice tenant for my empty mansion, and a great cook that gave us the best... tasty...and...and..."
Sakuya forced a smile whilst crying, "It's okay my mistress. For tonight, please let out all of your sadness. I will try my best to find Meiling tomorrow. I'm sure that she won't be too far gone from here. For now, please feel free to use my chest as a mean to hide your outburst. For I'm sure, that we'll find her in the morning."
Remilia went quiet. "Really?"
Sakuya nodded. "Yes, really."
Remilia hesitated for a second before replying with a sour voice. "...Okay."
Sakuya pats her mistress head, before ruffling her hair. "Feeling any better?"
"Yes, thank you." Was what she said, but she did not let go of Sakuya. "Hey Sakuya?"
"Hm?" Answered the maid.
"Why did you pad your breast?" She tried to make a joke, but ultimately feels like she was sulking by the tone of her voice. "It was fine just the way it is, Sakuya. Plus, it was hard to breathe in here, though it is a nice feel."
Sakuya smiled, gently and sincere this time. "Thank you for your compliment, mistress." She then ruffled Remilia gently, slowly making her asleep in her arms.
-Girls are now preparing-
Reimu Hakurei was sleeping until she was bored out of it. As she slides out of her futon and reached for her usual shrine maiden outfit, she have noticed that something was rather amiss. She thought about it for a while as she took off her pajamas and putting on her undergarments. Incidents? Nah, couldn't be. Did she pissed off somebody again? Probably, but it doesn't bother her at the very least. Did she forgot to wash her clothes? She sniffs the garment she wore and it smelled nice, like a mix between herbal mint and soap.
'Wait a second.' She thought. 'Didn't I forgot to wash my outfit yesterday? So why is it so damn clean and smell so damn good?' She sniffed the scent of her clothing again before she smelled something nice coming from another direction. 'Speaking of smell, what is this smell? It smelled like somebody's cooking. Is it a burglar who is trying to eat my stashes of food again!? Why the nerve of people!'
She rushed to her kitchen after getting dressed only to find that the smell was indeed coming from her kitchen. She slides the sliding door a little before peeking at the freeloader. A woman with long red hair, wearing a plain shirt with black trouser and a pair of white socks. She could hardly recognize the woman, but she knew that she have seen her somewhere before.
A spellcard in hand, she opened the door, but is greeted by said person who have been cooking for a while now. "Good morning Reimu, did you sleep well?" She opened the lid of the heated pot, revealing an otherwordly scent that caress the smelling senses of a human greatly. "I have helped myself in making our breakfast, shall we eat it together?" Reimu lowered her stand before nodding to Meiling's little offering as she felt her stomach is rumbling. Plus, being poor leaves her dying for an extravagant meal and then some.
"I... I would love to."
It took Reimu a full-on thirty minute to eat all of the food that Meiling had made for her. She didn't eat it slowly mind you, she was rushing to eat many a great and delicious food that she had rarely encounter from when she is on duty as a shrine maiden. "This is really great! The beef stew is amazing! This salty ramen too! Oh my I've never eaten a fried rice this delicious! And this sake is warmed just perfectly! Where did you lern how to cook, China!? This is godlike creation I'm tasting!"
Meiling smiled proudly. "Well, Sakuya used to teach me about cooking, but it was mostly western food with pre-made spices. So I spent my free time experimenting with foods and before long I've suprised everyone with my cooking." She took a piece of meat from her stew and ate it. "Though, I would like you to stop calling me China and start calling me with my real name."
"Sure Meiling, whatever you say."
Meiling was pleased as she grabbed a cup of tea. She tasted it, and was displeased about the taste of her tea, it was too tasteless and lukewarm. She knew very well that this is a dull comparison to what Sakuya can do. She sighs as she slid out of her chair. "Well Reimu, I don't want to overstay, but I'll be taking my leave now."
"Why?"
"I don't want to overstay my welcome."
"It's fine though, really. I wouldn't mind the company."
"Nah, I'll pass. I'll be a deadweight to the shrine anyway. I've decided to explore the foreign lands of Gensokyo by myself and I don't want to bother you."
"You'll die you know? Only a handful of youkai can cross the barrier that was set by the Hakurei Shrine for obvious reasons." She stopped eating at the time and was ready to finish her sake "What makes you think that you can survive the barrier? Even if you can pass through, do you even know what awaits at the unciviled parts of Gensokyo? Your death I am certain."
Meiling froze as she tried to slid the door to the hallway open. She know full-well of the danger and was ready to die, but now that it was said and discussed, she began to have doubts about her grand plan to glory, or glorified suicide. "Then what should I do?"
"How about becoming the second Miko of Hakurei, Meiling?"
Both Reimu and Meiling turned around to find a strange individual that is seating at Meiling's seat and eating pieces of fish with her own chopsticks. They know full well that it was the sound of Yukari Yakumo, the mastermind of all the incident that has happened throughout the Gensokyo's timeline. A very cunning person that could overthrow even Gods themselves out of their wits. Meiling tried to ask, but Reimu signaled her to halt the question and asked herself. "Becoming the second shrine maiden of a shrine? Is that even possible? Or allowed by any sense?"
Yukari giggled eeriely. "True it may not be allowed for you have forged a contract with the japanese holy deities, and you of the Hakurei cannot break the contract by allowing another miko to forge the same contract while you are still holding pacts with them." She stopped to eat a little bit of the stew. "But have you forgotten that Meiling have this... unique character trait that can bypass a certain rule that was specifically made to make you unbroken?"
Reimu stopped to think before reaching a conclusion, leaving Meiling astounded, while at the same time, confused. "I get it. To be the true successor of a Miko, you need to forge a pact with the deities that fits your believes, but Meiling can bypass that because she is Chinese!"
"...Excuse me? Is that racism?" She asked with a side helping of a frown.
Reimu shook her head. "No, it means that we can both be the true miko without even breaking pact with the deities. Since while they're technically the same gods and godesses from Shinto mythology, all of them have many versions according to what a person believe them to be!"
Meiling realized something as she clapped loudly. "I get it! It's because I'm chinese, I can make myself believe that those gods are the same as their chinese counterparts and forge pacts with them according to my belief that they are the chinese gods of taoism! Therefore, they're both the same deities, yet a different entity by themselves! So I can become a Shrine Maiden, awesome!"
"Of course, there are some problems that came with it." Yukari finishes her meal and went inside a gap she had just opened at the most important time. Reimu and Meiling should have known better not to trust a cryptic creep like Yukari, but Reimu can't just leave Meiling to die, not when she can force her to work at the kitchen full-time, making her a sandwich or two.
"Like for example?"
"You need to beat one of those deities and gain their respect, of course." With that, Yukari sucked herself into the gap before closing it rather abruptly, leaving Meiling with nothing but one question in her mind. Reimu could probably guess what is on Meiling's mind right now, she prepares for the best as she readied a hand that was curled into a fist.
"Reimu, where can I find a god?"
'Yes!' Reimu thought, spiritually fist-pumping for this grand celebration.
Hi hi! FTW here.
This is actually my first time writing a Touhou fanfiction, so it's not really that grand or anything (but I hope it's grand for the readers though!), and I hope I got the characters right (Maybe Flandre was a little bit too... normal?). Though I must confess, It was fun writing this kind of story in this kind of setting, because Gensokyo is a weird place and Yukari is a sexy hag with incredible powers, I decided to include Yukari in maybe every chapter that is yet to come.
Still regarding Yukari mothergapping Yakumo, is it appropriate to associate her with Marribel Hearn? From what I can tell, they both look awfully similar to each other, does anybody know anything about that? I hope I'm not the only one since Pimpnosuke said that Yukari Yakumo isn't really her real name at all, but she picked it to be the strongest out of her Yakumo trio.
Well, until next time!
Touhou Project - Shanghai Alice, Zun. All-rights reserved. 1996
