In her study, Remilia was lounging about, waiting for any news on her sister to be coming through the door. She sipped a hot cup of tea as she waited, starting to become irritated with the lack of news. She soon rose up from her chair and began to pace about impatiently to pass the time until she was informed of any changes to her bounty's status.
"Come on, come on…Damn it! Hurry up!" she growled in frustration, soon giving up on her pacing and slumping back into her chair with a large displeased frown planted on her face.
"My, aren't we impatient today my little vampire?" a whimsical voice commented, obviously amused by the wealthy vampire's childish actions.
Remilia didn't seem surprised at all by the newcomer, "What do you want, you old hag?" she asked, not at all sounding amused.
"Oh nothing important…I was just in the neighborhood and thought I'd say hello to my favorite brat of a vampire." The stranger replied casually.
"Unless you have some business to attend with me, get out of my damn mansion." Remilia said with hostility in her voice. What little patience she had beginning to thin from her uninvited guest's mocking antics.
"Oh, can't I visit without a reason? And here I thought we were the best of friends, oh how your words hurt me Miss Scarlet!" the newcomer said with mock sadness.
"I'm warning you…"
"Oh by the way, how's that sister of yours? What was her name again…? Flandre was it?" she asked, completely ignoring Remilia's threat. The question made Remilia gasp in surprise, "Oh my, did I touch a sensitive subject?"
Remilia quickly recovered from her shock and retook her fearsome expression. "What do you know about her? Tell me. NOW." She demanded.
"Oh what could little old me know about your little sister? Besides, who could know about her more than you, her own flesh and blood?"
Remilia seemed to be taken aback by the comment; she scowled at her unwanted guest angrily. "Y-You shut your mouth! You have no business in my family life!"
"A sensitive subject indeed...Goodness you have enough family problems to have a soap-opera based after it! I know I'd love to watch that…"
"That's it! Get out! Get out and never come back here again!" Remilia yelled, her patience finally failing her.
"Oh what a shame…and here I was just about to tell you all about your adorable little sister…Oh well…here I go…all by my lonesome…" the stranger said, still with her mocking tone as summoned a hole out of thin air and slowly stepped in it and began to disappear.
"W-Wait! Come back!" Remilia called back with desperation.
The voice's owner instantly poked her head out from the hole, "Yeeeeeeeeeeesssssssssss, Miss Scarlet?"
Remilia groaned, "Please tell me what you know about my little sister…" she requested, swallowing her pride in the process.
"Oh very well…but only because I'm oh so fond of you though, my cute little vampire!" the stranger's voice said teasingly as she stepped out from the hole. Her teasing manner testing Remilia's patience even further as she tried her best to resist throwing several inappropriate words her way. "Anyways…Your cute little sister and your gatekeeper have been quite busy...Visiting several of Gensokyo's most notable places…and even one that isn't a part of our fair land! Along the way she's been attracting quite the attention from many residents…that satori with the closed eye and the puppeteer Alice to name a few. It's so lovely that everyone's becoming friends; it sets my heart aflutter so!"
"And?"
"And it also seems she has been getting some very negative attention as well…Namely from the lunarians at Eientei, it would seem that they have taken an interest in your bounty! In fact they attempted to capture your darling sister and gatekeeper, but were saved by the phoenix girl and the cow-faced human. Though they failed miserably, I must say when they see an opportunity, they take it by the horns! I must respect that!"
"So there have been others interested in my bounty…" Remilia mumbled to herself.
"Oh yes my dear, there has! After all, as the saying goes; money makes the world go round. And they aren't the only ones who have taken an interest; I've seen others who would gladly take a stab at collecting your bounty…"
"Really now?"
"Oh yes indeed…The greed of the living know no bounds you know."
"Hmmmm…Yes…"
"Well that's all I have to say..." the nameless entity yawns loudly, "Now that my work is done, I believe I'll take a well-deserved nap! I bid you adieu." She says as she begins to disappear once more through her hole. Remilia turns back to return to her desk, "Oh and Miss Scarlet?" the voice called once again before Remilia could take even one step towards her desk. "If your bounty continues to disrupt the balance of Gensokyo as it did in the Bamboo Forest of the lost, you and I will be having another delightful chat real soon...Well ta-ta! Do say hello to your elegant maid for me, will you?" The voice said, finally leaving for good this time.
"Hrmph…What an annoyance…" Remilia grumbled to herself as she returned to her desk, where the latest issue of the Bunbunmaru newspaper laid. Remilia sat back down behind her desk, and began to read the article. With Flandre's escapade from the mansion, she hadn't had any time to read it yet, why it hadn't occurred to her to read it rather than pacing around her study to kill time she didn't know.
Its pages had plenty of news and details about Remilia's bounty in it. But one detail about the article rattled her to her very core, she realized that the picture Aya had used for her front-page story was in full-color, causing the vampire to gasp in shock. "C-Color…? B-But the picture I gave her to use…w-wasn't it black and white? Oh damn you Aya…"
Suddenly there was knock on the door, causing Remilia to snap out from her panic and look up from the article. "Mistress, may I enter?" Sakuya asked politely from the other side of the door.
"…Yes, Sakuya, please come in." Remilia said as she shoved the article in her desk drawer to read later.
Sakuya entered the room and gave her mistress a polite bow, "Milady, I have new information for on your bounty. It would seem that the lunarians from the Imperishable Night incident have-"
"Taken an interest in the bounty, and were close to capturing Flandre but were stopped by the Immortal phoenix girl and her were-hakutaku friend." Remilia finished for her.
"…Yes, that is right milady. If I may ask, how did you come across this knowledge?"
"Let's just say a little birdy told me…But that's not important right now Sakuya, what's important right now is getting Flandre back in this mansion as quickly as possible before this situation can become any worse than it already is. I want her found and back in this household as soon as possible, do I make myself clear?" Remilia asked.
"Yes mistress, I shall see to it that mistress Flandre will be returned to your side safe and unharmed as quickly as possible."
"Good, now…would you please fetch me some more tea? I'm rather thirsty."
"Yes milady." Sakuya, bows to Remilia and exits the room silently.
"Yo Alice! You here?" Marisa called as she barged through the front door of the puppeteer's house.
Alice's house was still as neat and tidy as it had always been, with Alice's many dolls still resting on their shelves neatly, with a few others doing random housework such as dusting. How Alice managed to get her dolls to get so many of her dolls to do housework without being in the same room to control them was beyond the witch's comprehension.
"Hey you, you know where Alice is?" Marisa asked one of the various dolls, not seeming awed by the many dolls moving about on their own. The doll pointed towards a closed door silently in response. "Thanks, later." Marisa says as she left the doll to its own devices and headed toward the door it had directed her to.
Marisa opened the door slowly, causing the door to creak loudly as she opened it. Inside, she found that all the walls of the room were covered with blueprints of sorts for many kinds of dolls, each showing complex designs for various dolls. Including one that depicted a massive doll that stood at least one story high, Marisa recognized at as the plans for the Goliath Doll that Alice had created recently. Speaking of Alice, the magician was sitting at a desk with her back to the door, seeming focused on whatever she was preoccupying herself with. She didn't appear to be aware of Marisa's presence, causing the witch to grow a devious smile as she quietly approached the distracted doll maker.
As she reached her friend, Marisa leaned in towards her ear "HEY ALICE! WHATCHA DOING THERE!?" she shouted directly in her ear, causing her to jump in surprise and immediately cover her ears in pain. Inciting laughter from Marisa, obviously getting the reaction she had wanted.
Once Alice had recovered from her shock, she immediately glared at the witch angrily. "Marisa, what is your problem? Can't you see I'm busy? I can't get any work done with you barging in my house whenever you feel like it, and screaming in my ear like some sort of child." Alice huffed, going back to focusing on her work as soon as she was done speaking.
"Well, I'm told I have a lot of problems, ze." Marisa replied as she looked around the room curiously. Assessing what would be of value to her as she waited for a reply.
Alice turned back in her seat from her work again with an irritated look, "Obviously. Now unless have something of importance to tell me, please leave." Alice turned back to her work and quickly added, "I'm busy."
"Busy? Playing with your dolls isn't what most people would consider busy." Marisa said mockingly, as she looked over Alice's shoulder and observed her work.
"Well then, I'm not most people now, am I?" Alice replied nonchalantly, not even bothering to look to the witch as she carefully attached a limb on her project carefully.
"Guess not, ze. What're you even working on anyways?" Marisa asked as she tried to get a better view of her work unsuccessfully.
"My finishing peace for the Scarlet Devil Mansion collection…" Alice answered absent mindedly, as she dug through her desk drawer for something.
As Alice dug through her drawers, Marisa took it as an opportunity to get a good look at her work. Sitting on the table surface was a doll, it had blonde hair and wore a red dress, it seemed incomplete but Marisa immediately figured out who it was supposed to be.
"Making a Flan doll, eh?"
"A Flandre doll, yes. I've been working on it since I met her; it makes me paranoid when I don't have a complete set of dolls." Alice replies as she slammed her drawer shut in frustration. "Well it'd seem I don't have the right materials for the wings…Well, since I can't finish this at the moment, you have my attention now."
"Goody. Now since you can't finish that doll thing of yours, wanna go to the human-village and go shopping or something?" Marisa asks.
"Shopping, huh? Most people use money when they go shopping Marisa…Normally I'd decline…but since I need some new materials for this doll, I suppose I may as well join you and pick some up at the village."
"You'd normally decline? Who'd decline on having me around for company? After all, I'm the best person in Gensokyo to be around, ze!" Marisa gives her a goofy looking grin and thumbs up.
Alice sighs, "Whatever helps you sleep at night Marisa…"
"Ah whatever, you know ya love me!" Marisa cheers as she playfully nudges her friend in the arm as they exit the room together.
"Oh wow, oh wow! What an amazing place!" Koishi exclaims as the group of three reached their destination. The weather had fortunately cleared up, with the sky now being a bright orange color rather than a bleak and dark grey.
The village was as lively as it had been the first time Flandre and Meiling had visited. There was still plenty of people out and about, trying to catch others attentions by crying out special deals to those passing by.
"What, you've never been to the village before?" Meiling asks Koishi as the group entered under the village's large gates.
"No, I have silly! It's just so…so…magical!" Koishi explains as she looks around the village in awe.
"I know right!? China said that I'd get used to it, but it's so amazing!" Flandre agreed, as she too looks around with awe filled eyes.
"Hmmmm, I guess it is kind of magical." Meiling half-heartedly agrees. "Its charm just wears off after you've seen it so many times…"
"Charm doesn't wear off silly! It's something that can never be washed away!" Koishi disagrees, albeit not bothered at all by Meiling's opinion.
"Whatever you say, I guess the charm stays with some and for others it doesn't."
"Well I think it'll always be super amazing and magical!"
"Me too!" Flandre agrees with her new friend.
Before the group's debate could be continued, it was interrupted by someone's yelling. "Whoa, watch it Keine!" a familiar voice cried with concern.
"Huh?" Flandre turned to the voice, and found her suspender-wearing friend Mokou, along with Keine, the former helping her into the village.
"Oh don't be such a worry-wart Mokou I told you, I can walk on my own just fine…" Keine replied, looking slightly agitated by her friend's concern.
"Yeah, yeah, well it's only been a day since I gave you that medicine; I have a hard time believing you're all better now after one day." Mokou countered.
"Mokou, you do realize that the medicine you gave me was concocted by Eirin, The doctor that's said to even be able to cure death?"
"Yeah…"
"And you do realize that I'm a were-hakutaku, yes? Making my recovery rate much quicker than a normal human's?"
"Umm…Good argument…" Mokou says in defeat, letting her friend walk on her own.
"Thank you, Mokou; your concern is touching though." Keine says gratefully.
"Whatever." Mokou replies simply as she diverts her gaze from Keine and shoves her hands in her pockets.
"Moky!"
"Eh?" Mokou says as she looks towards the voice's caller, but her eyes go wide as Flandre tackles her with a powerful hug, causing the immortal to go blue in the face. "G-Gah, n-nice to see y-you too k-kid…N-now l-let me g-go…" Mokou pleads as her face becomes bluer and bluer from Flandre's suffocating hug.
Flandre releases her hug, allowing Mokou to breathe again, she pants for air to enter her lungs like she had just run five miles straight without taking a break. "You're okay Moky! I'm super dooper happy!" Flandre exclaims as the phoenix girl kept panting for air.
"Was there…ever…any doubt…I'd be alright? Phew…" Mokou says between breaths of fresh air, "Oh man…Thought I was goner for a second there…Or I would be if it weren't for me being immortal…Anyways, nice to see you kid. But what was up with the hug there?"
"Oh no reason…" Flandre giggles, causing Mokou to raise a brow at her. "Oh hi Miss Funny hat!" she quickly greets Keine, who looked like she was trying to suppress laughter from the look on her face.
"Hello Miss Scarlet, it's nice to see you again, and unharmed no less." Keine replies. "Ah, and hello to you as well, Meiling!" Keine says with a friendly wave as Meiling and Koishi approach the group.
"Ah hello Keine! A pleasure to see you again! I'm relieved you weren't too seriously injured from that scuffle in the bamboo forest a few days earlier!" Meiling replies, waving back to the teacher.
"And who's this here?" Keine asks as she crouches down to Koishi in a friendly manner.
"I'm Koishi, I'm Flanny's friend! And I really like your hat!" Koishi says cheerfully.
"I see…Um, thank you. I've been told that by quite a few of my students…"
"I can see why! It's really extraordinary! But not as extraordinary as mine…My hat's the most amazing thing in Gensokyo!"
"Marisa I swear, if you keep stealing from every store we go to, I'm going home." An irritated voice said.
"It's not stealing, it's borrowing! Besides that last guy was a real crook anyways! That was way too much money for a damn hat!" Marisa argued.
"I don't care! As long as I'm with you, I'm considered an accomplice! I am not going to jail because of your stupidity!" Alice yelled back.
"Jail? Does Gensokyo even have a jail, much less any sort of law-enforcement, ze? Hell, the closest thing we have to a police officer around here is that weirdo girl, and she doesn't even count." Marisa turns away from Alice and noticed the small group nearby. "Yo Flan! What's goin on?" Marisa greets, waving to the group as she trots towards them, Alice following her.
"Mary! Alice! What're you two doing here?" Flandre asked as the two joined them.
Before she could respond, Marisa was shouted over by Koishi, who looked almost overjoyed. "It's the black and white witch! I can't believe it's you!"
"Oh hey there…Koishi right? You were that Satori me and Reimu dealt with after that whole former hell incident, yeah?" Marisa asked.
"You remember me!? I'm honored!" Koishi exclaims as she looks at the witch joyfully.
"Er right…" Marisa replies as she rubs the back of her head nervously. "So what's up with you three eyes? You lost or somethin?" Marisa asks curiously.
"Nope, I'm with Flanny and China. We're all gonna go exploring together!"
"Uh-huh…Well sounds like you're gonna have your hands full with these two china-girl." Marisa smirks at the gatekeeper.
"Yeah, tell me about it…" Meiling mumbles in reply.
"To answer your question from earlier Flandre, I'm here to find some new doll materials, and Marisa is robbing each store she passes by." Alice speaks up, glaring at her witch companion with venomous eyes.
"Hey! That is not true! I only borrow from the stores with good looking stuff!" Marisa argues.
Before their argument could progress any further, they were cut off by Keine. "Ahem, so I presume you two are acquainted with Flandre and Meiling?" Keine asks, looking towards the arguing pair of magicians.
"Yeah, that's right. I've known Flan here for a few years now, and Alice met her a few days ago." Marisa answers for the two of them, "Oh hey there…Mokou right?" Marisa asks, noticing the suspender-wearing immortal for the first time.
Mokou nods in response, "Glad you remembered me; I'd be a little insulted if you forgot my name after you and doll girl here tried killing me." She replies nonchalantly.
"Hahaha…Yeah, sorry about that..." Marisa rubs her head sheepishly, "No harm though, you being immortal and all, right ze?"
"Guess so, water under the bridge as they say." Mokou responds with a cool head.
"Anyways Flan, how's that whole Gensokyo world tour thing working out for ya?" Marisa asks, hastily changing the subject.
"Really, really great! Me and China went to lotsa places already! Like that bamboo forest and the Sanzu river…and even heaven!" Flandre exclaims.
"Yikes, sounds like you've been havin a hell of a time there kid. Thought the whole bounty on your head thing would dampen the mood." Marisa comments.
"Y-You know about that?" Meiling asks in surprise.
"Yeah…Remilia put a big-ass bounty on the two of you right? It's all over Gensokyo now thanks to Aya's newspaper you know."
"Hmph, that explains why Kaguya went after you two then. That greedy bitch…" Mokou grumbles.
"A bounty? Big sister told me about those! She said that people pay lots and lots of money to anyone who can get their target!" Koishi says at the mention of the bounty, "So you got one of those bounty thingies on you now?"
"Mhmm, big sis must really want me to stay in the mansion…" Flandre answers.
"Placing a bounty on her own flesh and blood seems a bit extreme personally…someone should really give her a good talking to…" Alice comments.
"Agreed, it is an extreme course of action, but a very effective one at that. Keine adds.
"So what are you three going to do now then?" Alice asks, "You must have some idea of what you're going to do next, yes? And if not, you should. Especially with a bounty on your heads, it won't be long before someone takes on Remilia's offer. It'd be best to plan ahead."
"No clue yet, we're just here to get some more food now that we have Koishi here traveling around with us…" Meiling replies, "You're right though, walking around without plan could be disastrous to say the least."
"One thing for sure is, is that Kaguya won't have given up on that bounty yet. She'll dog you until she gets it, no doubt about it." Mokou says with certainty.
"Eh? How'd you know? She seems pretty lazy to me." Marisa asks, skeptical of Mokou's claim.
"Because I know Kaguya, when she wants something, she won't stop until she gets it." Mokou answers, "If she really wants something, she drags her lackeys around with her. But I wouldn't doubt that Eirin's helping her out of common interest." She quickly adds.
"Hmmmm, you seem to know Kaguya rather well…I suppose you get to know a person more after knowing them for over a thousand years." Alice comments.
Mokou shrugs at the comment, "Best way to destroy your enemies is to know your enemies."
"Anyways…To avoid Kaguya and Eirin, I'd recommend finding shelter in Myouren temple and wait them out bit." Keine suggests, "If I'm correct, you did say Kaguya loses interest rather quickly, right Mokou?"
Mokou nods in confirmation, "Yeah, the airhead practically goes from one thing to the next in less than a minute if it gets too hard for her to manage. Won't be long before she gets impatient, throws a tantrum, and goes crying home."
"Myouren temple? Isn't that the temple that was landed here about a year ago that's run by that Byakuren lady?" Meiling asks.
"That'd be correct Meiling; she's a fairly nice individual. She helps youkai and humans alike with their problems whenever she can. This would include shelter." Alice answers, seemingly being well informed on the temple.
"Uh-huh, it's true! Miss Byakuren let me stay in her temple once! It was really cozy…" Koishi agrees, smiling fondly at her memories of her last stay at the temple. "I'll bet you'll love it there Flan! Miss Byakuren is the nicest old lady I've ever met! She talks in a really sweet voice like my big sis does, and she smells really good, and she helps you with your problems…"
"Alright three eyes, I think she got the point there." Marisa interrupts, cutting Koishi off from her ramblings. "But yeah Flan, Byakuren's a pretty swell lady. Probably the best person to be around in Gensokyo if you're a youkai, ze."
"Wow…She sounds as amazing as Remy!" Flandre chirps excitedly, looking excited to meet someone who was fondly spoken of.
"Eh, fangs isn't my first thought when I think of amazing, but hey, whatever floats your boat." Marisa replies as she looks to the sun. "Well, sorry to cut this sappy reunion scene short and all, but I'd better get home before it gets too dark. Not a good idea to be wondering around at night in Gensokyo."
"I'd have to agree with Marisa for once, I'd better go home before dark as well. It was a pleasure to see you again Flandre, Meiling, and you too Koishi. It was also nice to see you again as well, Keine and Mokou." Alice said giving the group a polite wave farewell as the two began to take their leave.
"Bye Mary! Bye Alice! I'll have lots of stories to tell you two after our adventure!" Flandre waved back cheerfully to the puppeteer and witch as the two flew off.
"Farewell black and white witch! And you too doll-otaku!" Koishi cried, joining in her farewell.
Everyone else just simply gave a polite wave back to the two as they left, their goodbyes not being as energetic as Flandre and Koishi's were.
"I'm sure ya will kid! Just be careful, ze!" Marisa called back before zipping off out of sight on her broom into the horizon.
"Sometimes I wonder about that Marisa girl…Sometimes it just feels like that head of hers just isn't screwed on right…" Mokou says once Marisa was long gone.
"I'd have to agree with you on that…" said Meiling with a sigh.
"Anyways, before you three head out for Myouren temple, how about some dinner? It'll be my treat." Keine offers.
"That'd be great! I haven't eaten all day…But are you sure? I'd feel bad making you pay for everything…" Meiling asks with a hint of concern.
"Of course! I insist. Besides, being the village's only teacher has its perks you know, including discounts." Keine says with a wink.
"Well if you say so! Thank you very much Miss Keine!" Meiling says gratefully, looking relieved that tonight's dinner arrangements wouldn't make a dent in her wallet.
"Oh it's not a problem! Follow me, there's an amazing food stand nearby, their lamprey is to die for." Keine said as she led the four of them along through the village.
"That Flandre sure is an interesting one, wouldn't you say?" Alice asked Marisa as the two made their way to the forest of magic. With the two flying above a seemingly endless sea of trees.
"Huh? Yeah, great kid…" Marisa replied absent mindedly as she stared off into space.
"Hard to believe she was in the mansion's basement for so long too, just one floor below me all those times I visited the mansion's library…"
"Yep…" Marisa responded, her face showing guilt.
"How anyone could lock up their own little sister like that is beyond me…It's just unbelievable anyway I think about it." Alice continued.
"…I didn't always think like that, ze."
"Hmmmm? What do you mean?" Alice asks, looking confused.
"I mean, I didn't always think it was unbelievable that Remilia locked her up." Marisa replied, not even bothering to look at Alice as she spoke.
"Why wouldn't you think that?" Alice asked, seeming slightly irritated with her friend's response. "She's a nice girl who didn't seem to do anything to deserve what happened to her, why wouldn't you think it's unbelievable?"
"I don't wanna talk about it." Marisa replies dismissively.
"Why not?"
"I said I don't wanna talk about it…" Marisa said once again.
"Don't be so stubborn Marisa, just tell me. What's the big deal?" Alice persisted, not letting the subject go.
"Because I was afraid of her alright!?" Marisa shouted at her. Alice was shocked at Marisa sudden outburst as she silently stared at the witch with surprise. "A little while after me and Reimu took care of that scarlet mist incident, Flandre ended up getting out of the basement somehow and that basically put the mansion in chaos. Me and Reimu went there to handle her after Remilia asked us to take care of it for her and get her back in to the basement." Marisa continued, looking outright guilty, as if she had committed some sort of unforgivable crime.
"At first I thought it'd be an easy job, maybe get the chance to get a few more books from Patchy afterwards. But I was wrong; Flan was one of the toughest youkai I've ever had to go against, hell I'd even say that was the hardest fight I was ever in. Heck, the girl practically beat us. After we beat her by the skin of our teeth, we managed to convince her to go back in to the basement, but after that experience…Well I didn't go back to the mansion for weeks. I was afraid of her, I mean…the way she called danmaku 'playing' just freaked me out, I thought she was some sort of loon that got her kicks out of killing or somethin and that's why fangs locked her up. Even after I started going back there I was still afraid that Flan would bust out and blow me to smithereens or something…" Marisa continued, with a face full of regret and guilt.
Alice remained silent as she took in Marisa's story, "Then what changed?" she finally asked. "I mean, you obviously aren't afraid of her anymore, and you even told me that you visited her in the basement before."
Marisa sighed to herself, "Well…it was a good few months since me and Reimu beat her in danmaku, and I was borrowing some more stuff from Patchy again. After Patchy took it in her usual good humor and tried blowing me up again and failed, I ended up going into the basement by accident. Just when I was trying to sneak out without Flan noticing me, I started hearing the kid sobbing. Despite nagging myself to get the hell outta there and get as far away from her as possible, me being a pretty big sap for kids, I ended up going into her room and asking her what was wrong instead. She was cryin cuz she missed her sister and she hasn't visited her in a few years or something…And even though I was basically terrified of this kid, I felt bad for her…I mean, it must be rough living in that basement all alone and all…So that's basically how my opinion on her changed, I didn't see some bat-shit insane monster anymore, I just saw a little kid who missed her sister."
Alice looked at Marisa with awe, overwhelmed by her tale. "Wow…Marisa feeling bad for someone? Who are you and what did you do with my annoying neighbor?" Alice asked mockingly.
"Oh shut it doll girl." Marisa playfully nudged the puppeteer in her side, "But could you keep this on the down low? It's gonna be awful hard to knock trouble making youkai around if they're laughing at me for being soft on a kid."
"Oh of course Miss macho youkai exterminator, I'd just hate to see your reputation go to the gutters just because you're nice to someone for a change." Alice says sarcastically.
"Glad we understand one another here." Marisa replies nonchalantly as the two finally make it to their destination. The two began to descend down to the forest and make the rest of the trip by foot.
"Ah…That hit the spot…Thanks for the meal Miss Lorelei! You're an excellent cook!" Meiling complemented as she cleaned her plate enough to see her own reflection.
"Yeah no problem, glad you enjoyed your meal and all that jazz." The stand owner Mystia replied uncaringly as she kept cleaning dishes behind her stall counter.
'Mystia's Night-blindness curing Lamprey' was one of the few, if not the only stand in the village that was run by a youkai. Most youkai kept away from the village as many humans who dwelled within had grudges against youkai for one reason or another. Such as a youkai being the murderer of a close relative or friend, or a youkai had stolen their life savings, there were many reasons that villagers disliked or didn't trust youkai. Some villagers even had issues trusting Keine with her being half-youkai. Yet here was Mystia, running her business without a worry in the world. Whether she was brave or just foolish, no one could say.
"Thank you again Miss Lorelei, your lamprey was as delicious as always." Keine commended gratefully.
"No problem Miss Keine, always great to have customers. It's rare that I get customers at my stand without having to resort to my…marketing skills." Mystia said suspiciously.
"I really wish you wouldn't resort to giving villagers a case of night-blindness just to bring in customers Miss Lorelei…" Keine chastised.
"Oh come on Keine, a youkai's gotta make a living somehow. Besides making sales has been hard lately, villagers here have been getting more and more riled up about youkai more than ever, it's really hurting business me being a youkai and all…" Mystia said sadly.
"Sorry to hear that Lorelei, humans really gotta accept the past and deal with it." Mokou said sympathetically.
"Ha, thanks Mokou, coming from a competitor in the food business that means a lot." Mystia giggles, "Though condolences ain't gonna make things change…Especially with that human saint coming back now…" Mystia's expression shifts to a small frown, obviously not overjoyed by this saint's return.
"You mean saint Toyosatomimi, that Taoist that was resurrected a few months ago?" Meiling asks.
Mystia nods to answer her, "That's her; she's been doing a lot of rallying at the village lately and getting the humans all huffed up. All I know is that she definitely isn't going to be a friend to us youkai, that's for sure…" Mystia says with contempt, "Might have to take business elsewhere for a while until things here calm down…"
"Wait, that Toyosatomimi guy is a lady?" Flandre interrupts, looking confused.
"Yeah, that's right." Meiling replies.
"But you said she was a prince China! Girls can't aren't princes, they're princesses!" Flandre cries.
Meiling looks totally stumped by Flandre's comment "Uh that's true…Um could you clear this up Miss Keine?" Meiling asks the teacher.
Keine just shrugs and replies, "Even I'm stumped on that one, I have no idea why she's referred to as a prince when she's clearly female, and I've never met her to read her history before. Hmmmmm...I'd love to talk to her sometime about the era she was born in, I'm sure she'd be quite the individual to chat with…Though that's unlikely seeing how I'm half-youkai, and seeing as her stance against them is clear, I don't think it'd be wise for me to seek her out…"
Mystia lets out a frustrated grunt, "Hmph, I can't believe you'd even consider speaking with her Keine! She's threatening to ruin everything for us youkai, and all you can think of is sitting down with her over a cup of tea!?"
"I know I know…I can't help myself at times…Though I suppose as the saying goes, "Curiosity killed the cat."
"Or the were-hakutaku in this case." Mokou adds, taking a generous gulp of sake from her glass. She downs it in one round and slams the glass on the counter, wiping her lips off with her sleeves. "If this saint keeps it up, the tension between humans and youkai are going to escalate and cause bloodshed worse than anything either species has ever done to the other. Mark my words."
"Huh…Why does everyone fight with one another?" Koishi asks to no one in specific, "Big sister says that fighting is pointless…So why does everyone fight?"
Everyone remains silent at the question, no one seemingly being able to produce an answer besides Mokou. "People fight for a lot of reasons kid, from enjoyment to hate, to just plain fear. My guess why humans and youkai fight is for survival, they fear that if they don't get rid of any possible threats to their existence, that they'll be the ones biting the dust." Mokou replies nonchalantly. Unfazed by the fact that everyone at the stand was directing their attention to her.
"Wow! You sound really smart!" Koishi exclaims, her mouth making a perfect circle. "The only person who's ever said anything smarter is big sister!"
Mokou shrugs off her compliment, "Yeah, thanks kid. You learn how things work in the world once you've been around as long as I have…"
"Well it's getting late; the three of us should probably be heading out to Myouren temple before it gets too dark out. Thank you for the lovely evening." Meiling says, bowing to the pair respectfully.
"Thanks Miss Funny hat!" Flandre and Koishi both chirp simultaneously. Causing Meiling to once again ponder how the two of them keep speaking simultaneously.
"Not a problem, always great to have a night out with friends." Keine replies cheerfully. "I'll see you at your next tutoring session, Miss Lorelei."
"Right, I'll be there. Thanks again for the private tutoring and all teach, it's hard to find anyone willing to teach a youkai, and it sure is difficult to run a business without knowing how to read…" Mystia replies sheepishly as she begins to shut her food stand down for the night.
"Myouren temple is just at the edge of town, it's the largest building around so it'll be hard to miss. I wish you luck with your journey you three." Keine says as she points them to the temple's direction.
"Thank you again Miss Keine, you've been a great help to us. I can't express how grateful I am to you and Mokou." Meiling says with evident gratitude.
"It's no bother, right Mokou?" Keine asks as she looks to her suspender wearing friend.
Mokou nods, "Yeah, it's no problem besides…I'm kinda growing fond of you guys." She says as her face forms a small smile.
Flandre walks up to Mokou and gives her a hug, though not being as strong as the one she had given her earlier, much to the relief of Mokou. "I'm glad we got to see you again Moky…I really hope we see one another again someday…"
Mokou sighs to herself, "I'm glad I got to see you again too kid. I'm sure we'll see one another again sometime, I have a good feeling about it." Mokou shows a rare side of herself as she pet the girl on the back of the head in a motherly way.
"Oh I'll miss you too Moky!" Koishi cries as she joins in on the hug, causing Mokou's arms to be firmly held down to her body by the two girls. Inciting stifled laughter from both Meiling and Keine, earning the two of them a glare from the immortal.
"Alright you two, let's get going. We have to get to the temple before everyone there falls asleep…It'd be rude of us to interrupt their rest afterall." Meiling says. The vampire and satori groan together, but do as she says and release Mokou from their grip.
"Farewell! I pray that your journey goes unhindered!" Keine shouts to the three as they depart, waving their arms to the pair. "I know I shouldn't worry but…I can't help but feel those three will run into a lot of trouble in their travels…" Keine says with concern once the group was out of earshot.
"Feh, you worry too much Keine…They'll be fine." Mokou says reassuringly, "Besides…Those three are no push-overs, I'm more worried about the idiots that'll try collecting that bounty honestly…"
"I suppose your right…"
"Of course I am, now let's get going. We still need to get you settled back into the village you know." Mokou says, shoving her hands in her pocket and heading off towards Keine's abode. Keine sighs and followed after her impatient friend.
A/N: Well, another chapter completed. Thanks for reading the latest chapter of this ongoing story here. I'm sorry about the wait, I've been pretty busy lately...With school, and other business. Plus I ended up becoming enamored with Dolphin Rider Koishi...Which is by the way, an excellent fanfic. If you haven't read it yet, do it now. It's honestly one of the best stories I've read on this site.
Anyways, enough fanboyism over a fanfic...for now. This chapter was a fun one to write, especially the first portion. As who the mystery figure is with Remilia...well I honestly don't think it'd be too hard to figure out to be honest. xP As for the chapter as a whole, this is more of a filler for the story, no events worth noting, just a way to set up where our trio of adventurers are heading off to next. I also managed to foreshadow a few things in this chapter, which is always fun to do.
Well, hope you've enjoyed this chapter.(And the other ones too of course!) And I hope I can keep you interested in this story...Well, until the next chapter then!
