A/N: Well, this is my longest chapter yet. Enjoy!
Captain Senshi: Thanks, hopefully more reviews will come as I write more.
Sekishiki: Glad to hear that. And yes, the SDM. I have plans for him there :)
Chapter 3
"Here is your tea," the maid, Sakuya, said as she suddenly appeared in front of him, putting down a saucer with a cup of tea.
"Thank you," Kukyo said, picking up the cup. "Sorry to impose. It was a longer walk than I expected."
"No need to mention it," Sakuya said, "Consider it thanks for delivering that bag here."
"Well, it was my fault in the first place. It's the least I can do," Kukyo said as he sipped the tea, thinking about what to say next.
For the most part, things have gone pretty smoothly. He had managed to find the mansion without too much trouble, thanks to Akyuu's chronicles, and as he was talking to the gatekeeper, Sakuya appeared, graciously taking the bag. A simple request for a drink later, and he was inside. Now the only thing to do is find a way into the library.
As he picked his brain, though, someone said from behind him, "Well, Sakuya, who do we have here?" Kukyo turned his head to look towards the voice and saw a blue-haired girl in a pink dress with bat wings protruding from her back.
Sakuya bowed respectfully to the girl. "Mistress, this person came from the village to return something I forgot," she said.
"Forgetting something? That's not like you, Sakuya," the girl teased.
"Ah, actually, I'm the one at fault there. I bumped into her while I wasn't paying attention and she dropped something by accident," Kukyo said.
The girl raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?" she said before smiling knowingly. "...You don't smell like someone from the village."
"That's right, I suppose," Kukyo said as he stood up and bowed. "My name is Kukyo Sainan. I'm a wandering magician from the Outside World."
"An Outsider, huh? Interesting," the girl said, moving to the other side of the table. "Well then, Boy, do you know who I am?"
Kukyo didn't bat an eye. "Remilia Scarlet, the Scarlet Devil, mistress of this mansion," he said, quoting from Akyuu's notes. "Which, if I may add, is quite splendid."
"Thank you for that," Remilia said as she sat down. "Sakuya, give me the usual," she said.
Sakuya promptly nodded, disappeared, and reappeared the next second with another cup which she smoothly put in front of Remilia. "Anything else, Mistress?" she asked.
"No, that's alright." Remilia said. "Sakuya, why don't you go on with your duties?"
Sakuya paused for a moment, glancing at Kukyo's direction. Then she bowed and disappeared, leaving him alone with Remilia, who took her time stirring her tea and taking sips from it.
Kukyo could barely contain his nervousness. He couldn't afford to let his guard down. This was the best opportunity for him to ask about the library, but one misstep, and he would be done for. One look was all he needed to know that he would stand no chance against Remilia should things turn for the worse.
"if you don't mind me asking," Remilia said after a while. "You said you are an Outsider?"
"Yes. This is only my second day here," Kukyo answered. "Why?"
"No reason," Remilia said, "I just find it odd. You are notl like the villagers, but you're certainly not the average Outsider."
"Well, I told you, I'm a magician." Kukyo answered.
"True, true. That makes it even more interesting though," Remilia said. "I thought magic is extinct in the outside world."
"Well, you could say that," Kukyo said. "No one out there truly believes in magic any more. They think that everything's a trick. And most magicians out there nowadays do rely on tricks and sleight of hand."
"But not you?" Remilia asked, her mouth twisted into an amused smile.
Kukyo returned the smile, not taking the bait. "Not me," he answered, "I was fortunate enough to find a true magician as a teacher. Though, of course, that's not to say I don't know how to perform tricks myself."
"I see. Well, how very fortunate of you," Remilia said, leaning on the table. "So I suppose that is why I smell blood from you?"
Kukyo stiffened. "Pardon?"
"Blood. It's faint, but I can certainly smell it. Not fresh either." Remilia smiled wickedly. "Tell me, Boy, why do you have blood on your hands?"
Kukyo clenched his fists. The question took him completely by surprise, and he couldn't find a way to answer. Remilia, however, merely laughed.
"Some sort of secret, eh? Oh well, I suppose everyone is entitled to their own," she said, taking another sip of her tea. "So, Boy? Why did you come here?"
"I'm sorry?" Kukyo said, still trying to regain his composure.
Remilia sighed. "Come now, spare me the act, Boy. You expect me to believe that you, an Outsider, made the trip all the way from the human village to here simply to return something Sakuya dropped? You don't come across as the stupid type, not when you've shown that you've done your research."
Kukyo was speechless, unable to reply for a moment. Then he took a deep breath and sighed. "Fine, fine. You win." he said, throwing his hands up. "I came because I wanted to see your library."
"Any particular reason?" Remilia asked. She chuckled again when he didn't reply. "I see. Something to do with the blood on your hands, eh?"
Kukyo bit his lip, saying nothing.
Remilia stirred her tea with an amused expression. "What to do..." she said idly. "Normally we don't allow anyone into our library... but... " she fixed her crimson eyes squarely at him. "Tell you what, boy, how about we make a bet?"
"A bet?" he asked.
"Yes. Are you familiar with the spell card rules, Boy?" Remilia asked.
"I've read them," Kukyo said, glancing at his coat pocket, where the paper Reimu had given him still remained.
Remilia's smile widened. "Excellent. We'll have a match then. If you win, I'll give you access to our library. How does that sound?"
Kukyo blinked. "A match? Sorry, but I don't have any spellcards," he said.
"Well then, how about a handicap?" Remilia said. "If you manage to hit me directly once, you win. If I hit you three times, I win."
Kukyo thought about it for a moment. "What'll happen if I lose?" he asked carefully.
"Well, I haven't decided yet," Remilia answered. "But don't worry. You won't die. I'll give you my word."
Again, Kukyo took a moment to consider. The ambiguity of the terms worried him, but Remilia seemed sincere when she promised that his life wouldn't be threatened. He couldn't simply let go of this opportunity, especially given the handicap. He finally nodded. "I accept your challenge. Where should we go?"
Remilia's eyes flashed dangerously. "Here is perfectly fine." She answered. Then, without warning, she jumped, clearing the table and grabbing Kukyo's collar, lifting him out of his seat. She then threw him with unbelievable strength, hurling him across the room to hit the far wall.
Kukyo gasped with pain and slid to the floor, barely managing to stay on his feet. As he shook his head to recover, he heard Remilia shouting. "Come on, boy, don't just stand there." He looked up, only to see a giant scarlet orb speeding towards him. He dived just in time, though the orb still managed to hit his left shoulder, sending a wave of pain through his arm.
"That's one," Remilia said gleefully.
"Are you serious!?"Kukyo exclaimed incredulously. "There's no way I won't die from something like this!"
"You won't. I already gave you my word. But I never said it wouldn't hurt. Besides, if you feel like this is too much, you can always surrender," Remilia said gleefully. She was now in the air, and as she said that, she threw another volley of orbs at him. Kukyo quickly jumped from side to side, narrowly dodging the orbs, trying to edge away from the wall to make more room for himself.
Remilia continued the onslaught, sailing in the air. "Come, boy, aren't you a magician? Show me some magic. Or were you merely bluffing?"she taunted.
Kukyo bit his lip. That was clearly a challenge, but, given the situation, he had no choice but to oblige. After dodging the next volley, he pivoted on his heels, snapped his fingers to materialize a card, and threw it using the momentum of his spin. The card cut through the air, but Remilia was too fast, and she easily dodged it. He tried a few more times, but every time the cards fell short of their mark.
"Is that all Boy? You'll never hit me with those," Remilia said.
"Then how about this?" Kukyo said, focusing on the air next to Remilia and snapping his fingers, creating a card there. Remilia was caught by surprise, and changed her trajectory to dodge, only to find another card in her path. She shot at it, creating a small explosion as the orb's energy clashed with the card's. She emerged from the cloud, unharmed.
"I see. So, you can manipulate energy, eh? Not a bad trick, boy." she said, whipping out a card. "But not good enough." she raised the card in the air, declaring, "Scarlet Sign, "Scarlet Shoot!""
Kukyo could physically feel the burst of energy suddenly released as the card glowed and disappeared. With a devilish grin, Remilia splayed her hands in his direction, releasing a wave of the scarlet orbs. Unlike the last times, there were more of them in all directions, and they were faster. Kukyo scrambled to dodge, but the orbs were too fast and too spread out. As he tried to roll out of the way of one, another hit him square on the back, making him cry out in pain.
"That's two," Remilia said. "one more and it's my win. Still feel up to it, Boy?"
Kukyo staggered back to his feet, his breathing labored. "I still have... One more chance..." he said with effort.
"That's the spirit," Remilia said, resuming her spell.
Kukyo knew he couldn't dodge; his feet were about to give out as is. Desperately, he snapped his fingers, materializing cards around him to intercept the orbs. Although that saved him from being hit, the ensuing explosions threw him back to the floor. Groaning, he picked himself back up. This wouldn't work. He needed some way to control the energy of the explosion, or else he would only prolong his defeat.
Then it dawned on him. Why not use the energy himself?
As the next wave came, he closed his eyes, concentrating. Then, at the last moments, he materialized the cards around him again. Before the explosions, though, Kukyo quickly snapped his fingers, harnessing their energy to create his cards. Satisfied that it worked, he quickly flicked his wrist, sending the cards every which way to intercept the remaining orbs. Every time they collided, he used the resulting energy to create even more cards. Soon, the air was filled with them.
"It's... over..." he gasped, nearly buckling from the strain. It had taken nearly all he had to convert all that energy. With the last of his strength, he sent the cards speeding towards Remilia.
Remilia, however, merely hung in the air with a smile. "You're right, Boy. It is," she said, pulling out another spellcard.
"Divine Spear "Spear the Gungnir.""
Kukyo's eyes snapped open and he sat up, gasping as pain instantly coursed through his body. As he struggled to regain his breath, he weakly took in his surroundings. It was a room, quite nicely furnished, and he was laying on the only bed inside it. He shook his head, trying to recall what had happened. After Remilia declared that spell, a giant spear of light had appeared in her hands and then...
"Right," he murmured, finally remembering. "I lost." The spear had hit him before his cards could reach Remilia, with enough force to instantly knock him unconscious.
There was a knock on the door, followed by Remilia's voice. "Are you awake, Boy?"
"Yes," he answered with some effort. The door swung open, and Remilia walked in.
"Well, I must commend you," she said.
"For losing spectacularly?" Kukyo said with a short, ironic laugh.
"For managing to hit me," Remilia said, ignoring his comment.
"Excuse me?" Kukyo said.
"Indeed. Even after you fell unconscious, your cards kept going. It was a narrow thing, but one did manage to graze my wing." Remilia explained. "Of course, I landed my third hit first, so it was still my victory. But you came closer than I ever expected." She then stood up. "Now then, there is the matter of my prize. You will honor our deal, right?"
Kukyo sighed. "Do I really have a choice?" he said. "Well, what is it then? My blood?" he asked.
"Not quite." Remilia said, walking around the bed slowly. "Is this room to your liking, Boy?"
"Well, it's a nice room. But why does that matter?" Kukyo asked.
"It matters because from now on this will be your room."
Kukyo blinked, confused. "What?"
"Do I need to spell it out?" Remilia said with a sigh. "From now on, you shall be a servant in this mansion. Is that clear? Answer me, Boy."
Kukyo, who had been left speechless by that statement, finally managed to say, "I don't understand. Why?"
"You interest me, that's all. And Sakuya could use the help," Remilia explained simply. "And you said so yourself; you have no choice in this matter. Unless you prefer to try your luck again..." Remilia held up her hand, which now held a spellcard. "Of course, this time, do not expect me to hold back. What do you say?"
Kukyo eyed the spellcard, which have started to glow faintly, before sighing. "Will I have to wear a uniform?" he asked, smiling resignedly.
Remilia simply chuckled. "You can wear whatever you want, Boy." she said as she made her way to the door. "You will start tomorrow. Sakuya will show you the ropes. Understand?"
Kukyo bowed his head. "Yes, Mistress Scarlet." he answered. As Remilia exited the room, he laid back down and sighed.
"What have I gotten myself into?"