The Scarlet Devil
by Cyberchao X

CCX: So I guess there are still some things I need to talk about…this note probably doesn't get taken down for the deviantart version. Obviously, there's the fact that I named another OC only to immediately reveal him to have been dead for the past year. I kind of realized that I needed another character to be the one who had found Alice, but I'd already made the decision to only bring those three from Makai (it wasn't until after I'd already started writing Chapter 12 that I remembered that part of Highly Responsive to Prayers was also set in Makai, which might have meant more canon characters would have shown up), so I had to explain why the one who first found Alice wasn't with them. Also, a warning: I stated back in Chapter 1 that I don't normally indulge in long descriptions of clothing, and I backed that up in Chapter 8 with the way I handled putting Utsuho in a non-canon outfit. Well, this being a big fancy event, there are going to be a lot of beautiful, fancy, and non-canon outfits that will need description. There will be other issues to be discussed, but they'll be handled at the end of the chapter.

Disclaimer: Yeah, we still need one of these. All characters and locations property of ZUN.

Chapter 13

My name is Wriggle Nightbug, the only member of Team 9 (besides Dai-neesan, of course, without whom we would've been lost long ago) with any sense. Mystia in her infinite impulsiveness managed to volunteer the five of us to work this wedding, and while the opportunity to attend is kind of nice, the fact that we'll be working kind of detracts from the experience. Also, as hired help, we're going to be wearing suits, and I just know I'm going to be mistaken for a boy at least once. Ah, well, at least she won't be the only one who gets to have her girlfriend there…though I didn't think my relationship with Yama-chan was exactly common knowledge, so I was kind of surprised when Marisa told me it was okay for me to bring her…

"Why are we here again?" Rumia asked.

"Officially, it's because this is a big event and we'll be able to get a lot of publicity for our company," I told her, looking around to make sure Cirno wasn't within earshot before continuing, "In reality? It's because Mystia found out that her girlfriend is in the band that was hired to do the music."

"Ah, I see," she said, though the fact that she didn't have the necessary secondary powers for her darkness-producing ability meant she rarely saw much of anything at all.

Inside the shrine, the ceremony was taking place, while outside, the party was being set up. The Hakurei-Moriya Shrine…site of so many "parties" before, though none as big or as momentous as this one. Seeing as how I had never actually been involved in an incident (though I once had the misfortune to be in Reimu and Marisa's way when they were investigating one), this was my first time visiting it.

"This is boring!" Lyrica Prismriver whined. "Why do we have to set up the performance area ourselves?"

"Quit complaining, Lyrica-chan. The harder we work, the quicker it will get done," her older sister Lunasa scolded.

"And then Mysti-chan and I can have some alone time before the party starts?"

"Only if your idea of 'alone time' involves helping me set up everything other than your performance area," Mystia replied. "We're very busy, too."

"I thought you only volunteered your team for this job to be with me!"

"Just because I took this job to spend time with you doesn't mean I can take it easy, Lyrica-chan. You're so irresponsible; aren't you supposed to be older than me?"

"Wait, I thought you said we were doing this because it would be good for business! I trusted you because you have the most experience with running a business and stuff, but I'm still our leader and I don't like being lied to!" Cirno finally learned Mystia's true motivations.

"It is a good business opportunity—a great one, actually. If we do this well, we'll make a great name for ourselves, and we'll be hired to cater parties all around Gensokyo! Yes, it's also true that I pushed so hard to get this job because I knew Lyrica-chan would be here, but I'm not going to let that get in our way."

"…And those 'other parties all around Gensokyo'?"

"Are you suggesting that my entire reason for suggesting this business venture to you was to find a way to get Team 9 in the same place as the Prismrivers on a regular basis?"

"Yeah, actually, I was."

"Well, one, I was still single when I made that suggestion, and two, Lyrica-chan and her sisters aren't performers-for-hire—they're doing this as a favor to friends."

"Wait, we're not getting paid for this gig?" Lyrica seemed confused by this.

"No, we are," Merlin said, "but we don't sell our services to just anyone. It's part of the advantage—or disadvantage—of being undead."

"Oh good, I was afraid I was being misled."

"Why does Chen get to go to the ceremony and the rest of us don't?" Rumia asked.

"Because Yukari-sama," Daiyousei replied, which was all the explanation that anything involving Yukari ever really needed.

"Oh yeah…how does Chen ever get any time for us?"

"Well, Yukari-sama sleeps a lot, and Chen is Ran-sama's shikigami, not Yukari-sama's directly, so it's rare that Chen is really needed in Yukari-sama's domain. Of course, there's still Ran-sama's whims to consider…"

Just then, a familiar cat came running out of the shrine, before transforming into Chen. I never did understand how those transforming youkai managed to incorporate their clothing into their transformations so seamlessly, although I imagined it would be easier with a form-fitting dress like the one Chen was currently wearing than with loose-fitting clothing—I don't think I'd ever be able to pull it off. As it turned out, that was why she'd gone into her cat form—she tripped over the bottom of the dress almost as soon as she'd gone humanoid. "You're lucky no one else saw that. I take it the ceremony's finished? Your uniform's in the cart." "Cart" might not have been the most accurate way to describe the vehicle we were using, as it was considerably larger than any cart, but on the other hand we weren't using kappa technology so most of the words that would normally describe a wheeled transport of considerable size would be similarly misleading.

She quickly pulled the dress back up and wisely opted to fly the rest of the way. "Heh heh, yeah…I can just imagine the nosebleed Ran-chama would have if she saw that…"

"At least it would blend in," I joked, "Red really is your color."

"You think?"

"Yeah. Now get changed; you're obviously not going to be much help all dressed up."

Sure enough, it wasn't much longer before the other guests started filing out. The wedding party was actually quite small, because most of Alice's friends were Marisa's friends first and foremost, whereas most of Marisa's friends weren't terribly keen on the idea of crossdressing in order to properly play the role of the groom's side of the wedding party (and of course, there was only one actual male). I heard that Marisa convinced Reimu to be one of her groomswomen by pointing out that since it was being held at her shrine, she'd be able to duck away and change into something more gender-appropriate before the reception; sure enough, Youmu was the only female who came out wearing one of the groomsmen's suits. This brought out another good reason why Reimu needed to change—being that the other two were Rinnosuke and Youmu, the color scheme that made the most sense was to go with cool, dark colors (forest green in this case)—the exact opposite of Reimu's normal color scheme. Personally, I thought Youmu pulled off the look magnificently (and did a good job of managing to still look feminine—I made a note to ask for some tips later, since getting mistaken for a boy seems to be my lot in life—even though I've started to wear skirts on a more day-to-day basis, circumstances such as these seem to keep conspiring to put me in men's clothing), but naturally Yuyuko seemed very unsatisfied. Sometimes it's hard to tell if she sees Youmu as a lover, a surrogate daughter, or both. Speaking of which… "It looks like you managed to get everything set up without Chenchen's help. I'm sorry I couldn't convince Yukari-sama to let her stay with you for the ceremony," Ran said.

"Yeah, we're pretty good," Cirno said.

"The best!" Mystia declared.

"Chen should be almost done changing," I added.

"Yeah…she really did look beautiful, didn't she?"

"She did," I agreed, "but she needs to work a bit more on her coordination before you dress her up in a long sleeveless gown like that again."

"…why did you point out the sleeveless part?" Ran asked, trying not to get flushed at the thought of what might have happened.

I grinned mischievously. "Oh, no reason. You look quite nice as well, Ran-sama". Her dress was the same color as her tails—and was slit up the back rather than the side so that said tails didn't make a big lump under the dress. While it was a matter of practicality for her, it still took a lot of guts to wear such a dress in my opinion. On the subject of Yukari…she always has to be the center of attention. Her dress was easily as frilly and ornate as any wedding dress, only it was done in her usual violet. Damnit Yukari, don't you know you're not supposed to upstage the bride on her wedding day? Wait…where is the bride? Or the "groom", for that matter?

"Oh, no, I took too long, didn't I?" Chen asked, now wearing the same outfit as the rest of us.

"You're fine; the bride and groom are still inside," Daiyousei told her.

"Why is that, anyway?" I asked.

"Spectacle," she replied. "Oh, look, Reimu-san's here now. That should be everyone else; won't be much longer." Reimu…wait, what? Why? How? Reimu had actually decided to embrace her culture for once and was clad in a stunning red hōmongi which, judging by the fact that no one else had left the building recently, she most likely had managed to put on unassisted. Perhaps the rumors about her aren't true after all.

…No, wait, there's a more logical, if no less improbable, answer—Suika's abilities to be in two places at once. I see Suika, and not only is she also in a kimono (sky blue with a floral pattern), she actually appears to be sober—and clearly unhappy about it. Most likely it isn't by choice—her alcohol was most likely confiscated. She'll be the first one at the bar, of course. But yes, this makes sense—although with how much she drinks, I would think sobering her up would decrease her effectiveness. Regardless, the reception was about to begin…yes, the Prismrivers are playing, and here's the lovely couple now.

…Whoa.

…Aaaaah…

…I stand corrected. Not even Yukari's queenly gown can upstage that. Words cannot describe this dress.

She…must be using magic to keep herself fresh. There is no way that she could have gotten a good night's sleep—it's barely noon, and the dress, the hair styling, the everything, must have taken 12 hours to complete. "Quit staring; this is where our work really starts," Mystia said. I voiced the previous thought to her. "You really think it would take that long for her? Or have you forgotten that she's the Seven-Colored Puppeteer?"

"The Seven…oh. Yeah, right. Manipulating her dolls to help her would make that go a lot faster."

"And here I thought you were supposed to be the 'smart one'."

"Shut up. Hey, Rumia, it looks like you're needed over at Table 3."

"Why me?"

"Because that's the one for all of the creatures of darkness." The residents of the Scarlet Devil Mansion (A/N: actually, Remilia, Flandre, Sakuya, and Patchouli are the only ones here) had been given a table with a canopy over it—though since they alone didn't comprise an entire table, they were sharing it with Yukari, Ran, Yuyuko, and Youmu. Alice's guests were seated with the happy couple at Table 1, as were Mima and Rinnosuke, while the usual residents of the Hakurei-Moriya shrine were seated at Table 2 along with Aya, Nitori, and Yuuka (whom no one was quite sure where to put, not to mention that seating her at the same table as Mima would be a disastrous idea.) There were some other tables for the use of the various staff and, where applicable, their guests. (Though I was the only one who actually had a "guest".) All in all, a small wedding.

Another A/N: Yes, Wriggle and Mystia are the only characters that debuted in Imperishable Night who are at this wedding, which is unfortunate since I like their cast. They really just aren't a good fit here, though. It's also kind of ironic because there have been more chapters narrated by characters originating in that game than any other game—even counting the prologue. Yeah, I couldn't believe it either when I realized that not one of the other members of the Embodiment of Scarlet Devil cast has narrated a chapter yet.

"Well hey there, cutie. Looking good."

"Oh, Yama-chan, I'm so glad to see you! …You really think I look good?"

"Yes, sweetie, you look wonderful."

"It's not too boyish?"

"Not at all. Just because it's a style that men could wear doesn't make it men's clothing. It's subtle, but you're starting to take on a woman's shape, and a fitted suit like that shows it off nicely."

"You're one to talk about 'fitted', Yama-chan," I replied. Yamame's dress was just as form-fitting as the one Chen had been wearing earlier, though it was a goldenrod color as opposed to Chen's scarlet. Also in considerably less danger of falling off unintentionally due to Yamame's natural grace. Intentionally, on the other hand…well, if I ever got a break, maybe, but it was now quite a lovely summer's day and as such insects were naturally attracted to the large gathering (and the wine-guzzling Suika in particular), and of course it was my job to keep them from crashing the party because I can do that. So I had my work cut out for me.

"You like? I had to do some modifications because apparently even when she was my height that amazon was stacked." One of Yamame's friends in the Underground was an oni who was as tall and as busty as Suika was short (when not using her abilities) and flat-chested.

"I'm surprised you didn't make it from scratch." Most of Yamame's wardrobe were her own creations; she was quite the talented weaver.

"I've never made anything for an occasion like this," she replied.

"Don't be so modest. You've made plenty of high-quality dresses."

"Just because a dress is made from silk doesn't automatically make it formal," Yamame countered.

"Details, details."

"Hey, Wriggle-chan! You don't have time to be slacking!" Cirno yelled. Seriously, her and Mystia…

CCX: I'm not sure if I'm completely satisfied with this chapter, but I'm running out of stuff to do with Wriggle so I may continue the wedding reception in Chapter 14. Anyway, there are a number of other things to be addressed.

Q: Why is Team 9 running a catering company?

A: Why not! Mystia is canonically familiar with the food service industry, and Cirno's potential for mundane utility involving keeping things cool has been well-documented. This all makes sense. By the way, in case it wasn't clear, I'd been trying to set up Team 9 as a Five Man Band. Cirno is, of course, the hero; Mystia is the lancer, Rumia is the big guy (ironic seeing as how she's a Stage 1 boss and three of the five are Stage 2, one of which comes back as an EX midboss and another of which got her own spinoff), Wriggle is the smart guy, and Chen is the chick.

Q: Where did Mystia/Lyrica come from?

A: Ah, now that I'd been dropping hints about, mostly in Chapter 11. The fun thing about prose fiction is that because you can't see the action, just because someone isn't mentioned doesn't mean they aren't there. Youmu referred to there being a number of undead from PCB (so Remilia and Flandre, who were also there and are also undead, weren't part of that comment), Marisa mentioned that many members of the party were working the wedding, and Reimu complained about the noise level after Suika had gotten the party going: though never directly mentioned, the implication is that the Prismriver Sisters were present throughout the chapter. Furthermore, when Daiyousei hinted that both Wriggle and Mystia were more mature than the average nineball, my author's note said that the tying-together of the canon was now complete, whereas four chapters earlier I had noted that "Fireflies" and "Lyrical Dreams" had yet to be tied to any other stories. I also mentioned in chapter 10 that I was having some trouble writing Night 3 of Lyrical Dreams because I suck at songfics but couldn't figure out how to make it work any other way. All three chapters of Lyrical Dreams had been planned out when I first created it back in November 2009 (well, Chapters 1 and 2 were conceived at the same time with the idea for Chapter 3 coming shortly thereafter), and yes, this pairing is born in Night 3 of Lyrical Dreams. The fact that this chapter is being published ahead of the pairing's canonical debut creates a "Marth Debuted in Smash Bros." effect. (It's a good thing that the author's notes aren't being cut for the deviantart version this time, because this one's going to be absolutely filled with TVTropes links.

Q: Are you getting further and further away from canon personalities?

A: Sort of. I kind of noticed that Wriggle is acting less like a child and more like a teenager—full of attitude and snark. Then again, it's been a few years since her last canon appearance, so perhaps she is a bit older (though being that she's a youkai, she still pretty much has the body of an 11-year-old—note that Yamame said starting to take on a woman's shape; by age 11, puberty should have already started, so this comment is consistent with the body of the chapter.

That's all for now; ja ne!