Final Chapter
The Gatekeeper of the Demon World and Hell
Sumireko didn't have a good day, because what she did last night tired her out so much that the amount of sleep she had wasn't enough to give her energy to stay awake at school. Needless to say, she got into trouble.
While heading back home with a somewhat sleepy face, she said to herself, "Let's hope the visit to Gensokyo tonight will be worth it. Can't wait to see Sanae and Shingyoku again!" The thought of it livened her up, and then she happily skipped home while thinking of the fun she could have at Gensokyo tonight.
"Good morning…" Sanae said with a sleepy face as she entered the dining room. Despite having washed her face and changed her clothes, she still had the kind of look seen on people who just woke up.
"Oh, you're finally up!" said Suwako in surprise. "You've been asleep for a long time, but it's not surprising given that you've stayed up late yesterday night trying to save the day."
"I know… I saw that it was almost three on the clock, and I told Shingyoku that I was going to bring homemade lunch to her to eat with her, so I quickly got up…" said Sanae.
"We've made the correct estimate, then! Kanako said you might be waking up about now, so she's been in the kitchen whipping up lunch since ten minutes ago," Suwako told her. "Once she's done, you can head over to find your friend! On the side note, you made the front page on the news!"
Hearing this, Sanae's expression changed. She was now lively and looked like she had already wakened up for hours. Rushing over to the newspaper on the table, she looked at it and saw that the front headline was about her and Shingyoku returning from the outside with the criminals Seija and Elis, who were currently locked up in Infernal Prison.
"All right! I'm famous!" said the wind priestess in excitement.
"Congratulations! You always loved showing off, so I'm sure you would love this!" Suwako told her.
"Is that your voice, Sanae?" asked Kanako's voice from the kitchen. "If so, then please come over here and try out this sauce I made. I'm not sure if you or Shingyoku will like it."
"Coming!" Sanae happily said as she headed over to the kitchen. She was more than excited to meet up with Shingyoku and have lunch with her.
After hearing that Seija had been brought back to Gensokyo and sent to Infernal Prison, Reimu decided to pay her a visit.
Seated face to face with Seija, who was cuffed by handcuffs designed to suppress powers, in the visitor's room, Reimu asked her, "So… did you have fun out there and then getting beaten up by someone who isn't me?"
"It was fun while it lasted, but I can't say it's really that fun without you involved," Seija replied with a smile. "You missed out a lot of fun for skipping out on this. I feel bad for you…"
"On the contrary, I feel glad that I didn't get myself involved in this," said Reimu. "I don't expect you to learn your lesson after what happened, but you should at least know that I'm not the only person capable of stopping you."
"None of whom are as interesting as you!" said Seija. "You're my most favorite person in the world to mess with! The only other person who rivals you in this is that midget Shinmyoumaru. If I can't choose you to get on the bad side of, then I'll gladly go with her!"
"Say whatever you want… You're not getting out of this anymore," Reimu told her. "Your days of trouble are over. Good luck enjoying the rest of your life in this place. If you decide to behave yourself, they might consider letting you out because of good behavior, but I doubt you'll ever behave in a good way."
"Right on spot! That's why I like you! You know me very well!" Seija said to her. "Hell will have to freeze over before I learn how to behave like a nice girl! However, don't think that you and all of Gensokyo can rest easy just because I'm behind bars! No matter how long it takes, someday, I'm going to get out of this place and give you more headaches! You know I'm going to get out of here someday!"
"Right… I'm looking forward to that never happening…" said Reimu, looking unimpressed. She then stood up. "I'm out of here… I don't even know why I came here… I should've just let you stay in prison without letting you look at me one last time…"
"Admit it, Reimu! Deep down inside, you care about me! You can't resist seeing me one last time before I get locked up forever, which I guarantee won't be the case!" Seija said to her as two guards came to take her back to her cell. "Sooner or later, you'll grow bored and desire the kind of excitement you cannot find without me in your life! There are some things that once you've gotten exposed to, you will never be able to let go of it!
"Our days of clashing with each other! Those are the days that you cannot bring yourself to forget! You will want something like this to happen again! I guarantee you! That is why this place cannot keep me locked up forever! I will keep the promise of breaking out of here someday to once again satisfy your desires! Wait for it! Your days of excitement will someday return, and you're going to love it!"
After saying all those, Seija burst out into maniacal laughter as the guards took her out of the room; while Reimu ignored everything she said and got led out of the place by another guard.
The shrine maiden made her way out of the prison and then through the tunnel leading back to Gensokyo. Needless to say, she came across Shingyoku, who was in her female form. Before she left, Reimu turned to her and looked at her. The gatekeeper asked her, "Is there something I can help you with?"
"Nothing," replied Reimu. "Just that I didn't really expect you to be able to save the day… Seems like you have changed a lot since the last time we met and fought…"
"I have indeed been improving since the last time we met," Shingyoku told her. "I should be right in saying that you have been improving as well. Had you gone out there to stop Seija and Elis, I am sure that you would be able to perform better than me."
"Maybe," said Reimu. "I am very used to resolving incidents after all, so perhaps I will have finished things up faster and with lesser casualties. Anyway, you did a good job."
"My job is to be the gatekeeper to the Demon World and hell," said Shingyoku. "If possible, I would like things to remain like this forever."
"Keep it up, then," Reimu told her. "As long as you do your job properly, no prisoners will escape again."
"I wish you success in your job as the protector of Gensokyo," Shingyoku told her. "That way, people will be able to live a life of peace."
"Let's hope you're not implying that I'm not doing my job well enough…" Reimu said to her.
"I am merely saying that for the good of all," said Shingyoku.
"In that case, thanks…" said the shrine maiden. "All right, I have to get going. Take care."
"Take care yourself," said Shingyoku with a light smile.
Noticing the smile, Reimu said, "That's the first time I've seen you smile…"
"People change," Shingyoku told her, still smiling.
"Whatever you say…" said the shrine maiden with a light smile before turning to leave the place.
Shingyoku then took a deep breath and then stood firmly in front of the gate leading to the Demon World and hell. She had been doing this for as long as she knew, and it was the best she was at. She wasn't going to let her failure lower her self-esteem. If anything, it taught her to be more careful and helped her become more competent at her job.
She was determined to do her job more carefully next time to prevent such a disaster from happening again.
Anyone who wanted to go to the Demon World or hell or leave those places would have to face the gatekeeper with three forms, Shingyoku.
"Shingyoku?" said a voice. Shingyoku looked and saw Sanae standing in front of her with lunchboxes in her hands. "Sorry for being late, but as promised, I'm here to eat lunch with you! Hope you can still eat…"
With a light smile, Shingyoku said, "I've been waiting for you, so I haven't eaten yet!"
Ending Theme
Melty LOVE
(remix of The Sacred Lot and Iris, by A-ONE EUROBEAT)
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Theme Ends
THE END
That's the end of the story! Thank you for your patience of sitting through this story! It's not anything big or impressive, but I still hope you enjoyed what you read! Hopefully, this story will inspire people to write more stories on PC-98 characters, especially the lesser known ones.
I'd like to keep possible future stories a secret for now, but please be on a lookout for news about them on my Twitter account.
God bless you all!