It was another usual afternoon at the Scarlet Devil Mansion. Not much was going on. However down in the basement Flandre was thinking about something.
She had noticed that everyone was quiet. That meant that nothing of any importance was going on. She was bored, and having slept through the entire day she was looking for something to do. It was still confusing to her why her sister didn't let her freely wander around. Her older sister had already made her promise to not leave the Mansion a long time ago. However staying in the same room all day was getting boring. She wanted to escape, it was unfair why she was chained up here. The only thing that she wanted was friends. Friends that weren't dolls or toys.
"Ha… . I wish I could go out.."
For a brief moment she saw someone at the edge of her vision, but when she turned to take a proper look, they were gone. Was it an illusion?
For any escape plan to work however a few requirements had to be met. Sakuya and Patchouli would be the biggest problems that she would have to face. Her sister never checked up on her so there was nothing to worry about regarding her. Patchouli would also be at the Library, so she was easily avoidable. The problem was now Sakuya. How would she get past her?
Carefully she listened to the noise from upstairs. She couldn't hear anything. Sakuya would be doing her rounds around the Mansion tonight. If she was to make her escape then the best chance would be when Sakuya was on the opposite side of the Mansion.
No wait, there was another problem. The locked door, if she used her ability or her strength on it someone would surely hear it and come stop her. If she could phase through the door all these problems could be solved, unfortunately vampires had no such powers.
Once again for a very brief moment she saw someone at the edge of her vision, but once again they vanished when she turned to look.
Then something very weird happened. A weird purple mass appeared and consumed the door. It almost looked like someone had torn a hole in the wall, but nothing of the sort had happened. Flandre had no way of knowing that it was a gap. A physical entrance connecting the inside and outside of the door.
She could see through the door, but apparently no one else could, because all of her sister's fairy maids passed through without seeing anything. Even Sakuya didn't seem to notice the weird gap through the door that was holding Flandre in. This was her chance to escape. Possibly her only one.
Within half an hour Sakuya's footsteps had passed through the hall. She slowly opened the door and stepped out. There were a few fairies cleaning the hall, but they didn't seem to know how to react to her. Most of them didn't even seem to know who she was, or maybe they were just very incompetent. Which is the most likely possibility.
Quickly opening me jumping through the nearest windows she found herself in the cool night air of Gensoukyou. The freedom of being able to fly around like this was something she had not experienced in a long time. The feeling was amazing.
"Ah, how long has it been since I last experienced this? It really does feel amazing. Now the best part is about to begin."
It was not over yet. She still had to get out of the grounds. If someone noticed that she was gone, Patchouli could cause a rain storm around the Mansion, quickly preventing her from escaping. The strength of an oni, the potency of a magician, and the speed of a tengu. These were the powers that she had as a vampire.
Rushing through the cool night she quickly found herself at the gate. To her annoyance the gatekeeper was there, and she was apparently awake. Practicing some sort of weird fighting moves.
"Hey whatcha doing?"
"Hm? Just some basic martial art-ahhhhh! Why are you here!? Shouldn't you be in the Mansion? "
"I think so. Why don't you go check and see."
"Lady Flandre. Please come with me. If you leave without telling your sister she'll be very worried."
"I don't care what you say. She would just put me back in my room again. I'm running away. So you all can just forget about me."
"C'mon just listen to me. You know that I can't let you leave through here."
Then we'll just have to fight. What a shame, I was thinking of letting you be. If that is how it is. Come to me Leviathan!"
A brilliant sword of fire materialised in her hand.
"-I'll show you the power of the strongest Scarlet sister!"
It was a one-sided battle from the very beginning. Flandre didn't even have to use a spell card. Meiling may be powerful in close combat. However she lacked speed, something that Flandre had naturally as a vampire. Meiling simple stood no chance.
"Ugh. So strong..."
Meiling collapsed to the ground. Flandre simply shrugged and made Leviathan disappear.
"At least be happy that I didn't use my real power."
She flew away into the night. Over the large expanse of the Misty lake. This was the first time that she had experienced the beauty of Gensoukyou herself. Then she started thinking of what to do. There weren't any places she knew about to visit. The only places she knew were the places where her sister had visited and consequently bragged about. The Shrine, that was the place she wanted to go. That's the place the red-white miko lives. She remembered the red-white miko well. Her name was...Reimu? The last time they fought she was really kind. She would probably like to be friends with her. Sister would also be really jealous if she found out that she had befriended Reimu. Yes, that was the place to go.
There was one problem though. Where was it? Somewhere to the east right? Which way was east though? And thus the questions led to even more questions.
"I'll just be caught If I stay here. Hmm… I'll just try finding someone to ask directions. The shrine must be famous enough... Now to find someone."
After flying around she finally found or rather crashed into something. A small ball of darkness which dissolved to reveal a girl slightly shorter than Flandre.
"Who are you?"
"I'm Rumia. It's a nice night isn't it? "
"I guess. This is the first time that I've escaped and got so far..."
"Huh? How is that possible? Are you a criminal or something?"
"No. I was just looking for someone to ask directions to the shrine. Do you know where it is?"
"The shrine? I'll lead you there if you want."
"Really!? Thanks. Then let's get going."
Rumia turned back into a blob of darkness and went ahead. Flandre flew behind her. After a while they stopped at a small clearing. Try as she might Flandre could not see a shrine anywhere. Maybe the girl had stopped to take a rest? She should ask her.
"What's wrong? Are you tired?"
"Hehehe. It's not that. You really have no clue what's going on here do you?"
"No. What's happening? Are we playing a game or something?"
"You're no youkai. That means it's alright for me to eat you!"
"Why would you do that? I hate blood and meat. I probably don't taste like anything good."
"Why's that? It's tasty. That's why Youkai like it so much."
"I hate it just because my sister likes it."
"You're a weird one. Get ready to be killed!"
Rumia turned into a dark mass and flew straight at Flandre. The girl barely managed to dodge her attack in time.
"So it's that kind of game that we're playing. Fine, I'm not afraid to show my power!"
Flandre got ready to attack. However the clearing was dark, and Rumia had slipped back into the darkness.
"Interesting power… but not good enough."
Rumia was a Youkai, but Flandre could still smell her blood. She was ahead of her, and she knew it. She sent a blast of fire hurling in the direction of the girl, but the blob of darkness absorbed it.
"You can see me? You have amazing senses."
"I'm the strongest Scarlet sister, what did you expect?"
Flandre materialised fire and attacked the dark mass of the darkness Youkai. Who seemed to be not hurt by it.
"The heck? You have a sword now? Just stay in one weapon please. How am I supposed to kill you if you keep bringing out stuff like that?"
"You're one to talk. You haven't even seen my spell cards yet. How about this, four of a kind!"
Rumia found herself surrounded by four copies of Flandre.
"How about that? I bet you haven't seen anything like this before."
Before Rumia could answer, the four Flandres all attacked her. Attacking her from all sides. She used her own spell card against the weird opponent.
"Moonlight Ray!"
A ray of bright light cut through one of the copies. Destroying them. Leaving only two copies of Flandre left. Flandre's spell card timed out, turning the copies back to one. Rumia slipped into darkness.
"You're good. This is a fun game. You're a great warm up to a real battle."
Rumia was still attacking her with the laser attack. Flandre managed to dodge it, and lunged in to attack.
"Huh? Where did she disappear to?"
While the Youkai was confused, Flandre quickly flew forward and attacked. She knew that she had to hold back against the Youkai. So instead of attacking her with the sword. Instead she decided to punch her. The strength of an oni was a characteristic of vampires and it showed here. Rumia was flung back and crashed into a tree.
"I don't get it. First you create fire with your hands. Then you pull out that weird spell card. Then you have really strong punches too? This is unfair."
"That is why I'm the strongest. You shouldn't have tried to fight me to begin with."
" I regret it too. Ugh. my back hurts.."
"Now that I've beaten you. You aren't trying to eat me anymore right?"
"Yeah...why?"
"Then let's be friends. How about that? We can just forget about this thing and you can take me to the shrine."
"Friends? You beat someone up and expect them to become your friend? You really are a weird one. I'm going back."
Rumia turned into a mass of darkness and disappeared into the trees. Leaving a very confused Flandre behind.
"I don't get it. Is she saying that I should have let her eat me? Sigh. Making friends is really hard. I hope everyone outside the Mansion isn't like this..."
Now completely lost. Flandre decided to keep flying forward and see if she could run into someone else. Someone who would be able to give her directions to the Hakurei Shrine.
After flying in the same direction for a while. The rows of trees slowly disappeared and the path opened up to rows upon rows of yellow flowers. Flandre had seen them in books that Patchouli had given her. They were sunflowers, and they stretched out infront of her as far ahead as she could see. There was a path leading into the field of sunflowers. She decided to follow that path to see what she could find.
After waking ahead she could see a house far away, and there appeared to be some light coming from it. Someone must be living there, and they could also give her directions to the Reimu's shrine.
When she reached the front of the small house. She was surprised to see someone standing outside. She faintly felt like they might have been waiting for her. It was a woman with Sharon green hair, and had a strange smile on her face. It felt different to her sister's however.
"It's unusual for something to visit my garden in the middle of the night. Even more to come all the way here. Could you be here to see me? Or possibly even lost?"
Vampires had very high charisma, and manifested differently for each one. In Flandre it was the ability to see other people's motivations. She was giving off a weird aura. Which Flandre felt was quite similar to one she felt from the shrine maiden.
"I'm looking for the shrine. Do you happen to know where it is?"
"I do, but first I've never seen you before, and by looking at you I can tell that you're strong. Come in, I'll give you some tea."
Stepping into the warm cottage was nice. The cool night air had made Flandre's wings a little numb. She could feel comfortable living in a place like this. Quickly the woman appeared with two cups of tea, handing one to Flandre and gesturing to her to sit down.
"I'm Kazami Yuuka. I tend to the flowers here. Who might you be?"
"I'm Flandre. I live at the Mansion near the lake, well now I've run away. I'm going to find some friends on my own."
"Then is it correct if I assume that you're a vampire?"
"Yup, that's right. Although my sister fits that name more than I do."
"Very Interesting. you look very much like a vampire I fought a long time ago. Oh well. Flandre, do you happen to like flowers?"
"Flowers? I don't hate them, but I don't like them either. Why do you ask?"
"Tsk tsk. That won't do. That won't do at all. Here, let me give you one. What do you think about this?"
A flower had appeared in Yuuka's hand. It had white petals so beautiful that Flandre was also enthralled by. Yuuka handed it over to Flandre, who examined it with excitement.
"Wow, it's beautiful. What is it called?"
"It's a flower that is called Daisy. A flower not that common in Gensokyo. It's also known as the flower of friendship. Why not give it to a friend or someone you like."
She gave it to Flandre who carefully put it in her pocket after covering it with a napkin. Yuuka continued talking for the time being.
"I'm happy that you like it. Many people don't seem to understand the beauty of these. It's a shame really. That such beautiful things are not properly understood..."
"Thank you. You're a kind person for helping me. Is it okay If I come visit you again? ."
"You're welcome, you can come visit me anytime. I love polite children like you. Now only if the others learned some of your manners. You should be leaving now. I need to tend to some flowers. Some of them start blooming after it gets dark."
"Really? I thought they only opened their petals during daytime."
"For some flowers, the moonlight is what gently wakes them up to their true beauty. Speaking of the night, if you want to go to the shrine you should leave now. Otherwise the Miko might go to sleep before you get there."
Yuuka told Flandre the directions to the Hakurei Shrine.
"Alright then. I'll get going now."
Flandre flew off into the night sky. Yuuka looked at her leaving and sighed.
"...What a unique girl. I just hope she won't get lost..."
Flandre was flying through the sky. Being around the flower Youkai had made her energetic again. After being in the basement for long the feeling of wandering around again was almost intoxicating.
She could see a huge set of lights ahead.
"Is this the human village? It looks boring to me..."
Suddenly someone appeared in-front of her. A weird blue haired person who talked too quickly for her to understand.
"Stop right there. You look like a weird person."
A weird blue haired person wearing a weird thing on her head. She was glaring at Flandre.
"I can already tell that you're not human. Who are you?"
She looked weird, and she talked weird. Flandre was not sure what to make of her. So she did the obvious…. Fly away with tengu speed in the opposite direction.
"Weird stranger!"
"Hey I'm not weird! Where are you going!?"
She flew away until she couldn't see the light of the human village in the distance. Now she was lost again. As she wandered around the trees slowly became more and more dense. She was now near the forest of magic. Not only was she lost, she was now unsure of whether she was heading in circles or not.
It was weird. The place was dark and cold. The ground was slimy and flying through the place was hard because of all the large trees. Her wings were getting caught in the trees, so she had to drop and walk on the ground. This was Flandre's idea of a nightmare. Getting caught by that weird blue haired person would have been better. She could only sigh and continue going forward.
Walking forwards she could see a small building ahead. There was light coming from it.
"Maybe they can give directions to the shrine."
There was a small sign saying 'Kourindou'. Somehow Flandre had felt like her sister had talked about the place before. She opened the door and stepped in.
The place was unlike anywhere else she had been before. Items of all shapes and sizes were stacked from the floor in the corners. Various books and weird items lined up the shelves on the walls. Navigating through the place was like going through a small place. There was a person sitting at a desk, and another girl sitting in a corner holding a book. The person looked up at her.
"Hello, is there something you're looking for?"
"Is this a shop then. Hmm… I remember my sister talking about it."
"Your sister? Who are you again? I haven't seen you around before… Wait, those wings.. are that vampires younger sister?"
"Yes that's me, I'm Flandre!"
"Pleased to meet you. I'm Morchika Rinnosuke, the owner of this shop. " He pointed to the girl reading a book in the corner. "and that is Tokiko. She also…. sort of works here."
She looked up from her book and nodded.
"Hello. I'm Tokiko. I'm just a simple Youkai."
"Hello… you're a bird?"
"There are many types of Youkai. Some of them happen to have wings. Don't think too much about it."
" 're weird too. Your blood smells like Youkai and human blood. "
"You're sharp. That's correct. I'm half human half Youkai."
"The best of both worlds. With none of the disadvantages, but nothing special either."
"Yes, yes - wait a second."
They were a unique duo. The girl, Tokkiko seemed to be teasing the owner, but he didn't seem to mind either.
"Are you two friends? You two seem to be close."
"I guess so..."
"No, we're lovers."
"-Huh? No we're not. Don't feed lies to her! "
"Hehehe.. you reap what you sow. That's for being a thief."
"Didn't I already make that up to you?"
"No, now we're even. Thank you~"
"Woah, lovers huh? I feel bad for bothering you."
"We're not! Sigh. Why are you here? Don't tell me you came here to help Tokiko with her jokes."
"Nope, I just want directions to Reimu's shrine. Please tell me."
"The red-white shrine maiden? She'll steal your stuff."
"Please ignore her. I'll tell you how to get to the shrine. Why are heading there this late anyway?"
"I want to be friends with her. So I'm gonna go talk to her."
Tokkiko looked at her in surprise.
"With her? I'll wish you luck then. She is mean. She once took my stuff just because I did nothing."
"That's just how she is. If you want to go to the shrine. You should just go straight from here, and go east from the village. The shrine is on the top of the hill there. Can you remember that?"
"Yeah, straight to the village and left from there. I think I can keep it in mind. Which way is east though?"
Rinnosuke sighed and glanced at the window.
"Today has been gloomy, and it's getting windy now. It's probably going to rain. You should be leaving now. Tokiko, could you show her the way to the shrine? It'll be faster if you fly with her."
"Can't you fly Mr. Shopkeeper?"
"Unfortunately I can't. So you're going to have to travel with Tokiko."
"Don't worry. I'll take you to the shrine. If we fly we can get there very quickly."
"Ok then. Thank you Mr. Shopkeeper. I'll come buy something later. "
"Please do, he is skipping meals because he has no customers."
"That's because I'm not hungry. You're one to talk, you don't eat much either."
"Yeah yeah. We'll be leaving now then."
"Bye. I hope you won't get caught like the rain."
Tokiko and Flandre left the shop. Tokiko was really easygoing, so it was easy to talk with her. Flandre liked being around her, it was all the more reason for her to visit the shop later.
They quickly reached the shrine. Tokkiko didn't seem to like Reimu, because she quickly turned and left.
The shrine's yard was empty as usual. Reimu wasn't anywhere to be seen. Instead there was a person sitting on the porch singing and drinking from a huge gourd.
"*Hic* Hello there, You must be the younger sister of that girl. Pleased to meet Cha. I'm Suika."
"I'm Flandre. Um, is Reimu here?"
"Yup, she's inside. Yukari should probably be leaving now, so go in. "
There were two people inside. Reimu and an older woman. They were talking about something.
"So why the sudden visit. Did something happen?"
"Just because I could-" She noticed Flandre coming in. "Good Day. I'll be leaving now. Please take care."
She went outside. Leaving her and Reimu inside the room.
"It's almost time to… So you're obviously not here with the permission of your sister. Did you run away from home?"
"I wanted to go somewhere else. I hear my sister always talking about you so I decided to come here. I did run into some other people too."
"Other people… you didn't hurt anyone right!? Tell me who you met."
"Umm… a Youkai called Rumia, a flower lady called Yuuka. A shopkeeper and his lover... And I didn't hurt anyone. I already promised myself not to do that a long time ago..."
"Yuuka? You met with her? Ugh. That's not the problem here. Your sister must be looking for you. We should let her know."
"Are you going to take me back? Please don't. I don't want to go back there again."
The low grumble of thunder could be heard followed by the pitter patter of rain.
"It's raining. Hold on, you can't go out when it's raining right? Wait here. I'll go to the Scarlet Devil Mansion."
Flandre sighed and sat down.
"..Don't bother yourself… I'll go back when the rain stops….They probably don't even know that I left…."
Flandre looked like she was on the verge of tears. Reimu calmed down and collected her thoughts. When things were confusing for her the usual strategy was to drink some tea.
"Hey Flan...while we wait. What do you think about having some tea? I promise it'll be different from the stuff at the SDM."
"...Ok.."
Reimu made some tea and served some to Flandre. Who examined the cup, and finally she took a sip.
"It's better than the tea I get in the Mansion."
"R-really? I don't think my tea brewing skills are anything special."
"Hehe, I feel much better after that. Thank you."
Flandre's stomach grumbled.
"You're hungry? I'm hungry too. I'll make us something to eat."
"You can cook? That's amazing. I think Sakuya is the one who does the cooking at the Mansion."
"Sakuya? I don't think my cooking is as good as hers. The stuff that I have isn't that good either. I'll do my best to make it good!"
"Can I help you? I always wanted to cook."
"Sure. I'll get the stuff ready."
Suika came in. Surprised to see that Reimu and Flandre were getting along well.
"Woah, something smells good!"
"What do you think about Curry for dinner? Flandre is gonna help me make it."
"...ummm. Sure. Just make sure that you watch the spice. Who is that girl? I haven't seen her before.."
"This is Flandre, Remilia's little sister. She's gonna be helping today. "
"I see. Good luck with the cooking."
Cooking with Flan was an interesting endeavor to Reimu. Flan asked a lot of questions and got excited over the smallest things.
The challenge was answering all her questions, some of which even Reimu didn't know the answer to.
"Watch the rice ok?"
"Ok! Cooking with you is fun~"
Reimu had decided to show Flandre how to take care of the rice. Watching the girl put so much effort into cooking does make her happy. Flandre did have her cute moments.
After cutting up the required vegetables. Reimu began to work on the curry, with Flandre helping out on the occasional tasting.
…
The cooking was finished
Suika came in, carrying a set of plates.
"Done already? That was quick. You two make a good team."
"Cooking is fun. I want to do it again. Hey I forgot to ask before, but what's your name?"
"Oh it's Suika. Since you're looking for friends. Consider us friends from now on."
"Yay! Thank you. That makes me really happy."
"So did you ask Reimu the question yet? You know, whether she likes you or not?"
"You're making it sound like a confession or something." Reimu had entered the room. Carrying the plates of food.
"It isn't, but the food is finally here! I don't remember the last time you put this much effort into cooking."
"I don't, but Flans here today. So let's splurge a bit. I also brought out the best sake."
"*Whistle* Pulled out all the stops huh?"
"Let's dig in!"
"Right!"
…
…..
Suika groaned. "Man, that was good. I think this might be one of the most satisfying meals I've had since coming here. Why don't you cook like that all the time Reimu?"
Reimu and Flan were busy washing up the dishes.
"It's because we have a guest today."
"Man I wish we had food this great all the time. Even curry tastes great if you put effort into it."
"Yeah yeah. I know."
"Im full too."
"I'll be at the front. Let me know if you're serving anything else up."
"Sigh. That Suika. She's the very definition of a freeloader."
"Um, Reimu.. I want to tell you something."
"Sure go ahead. Is it something important?"
Flandre mustered all her courage. This was the moment.
"Kind of. You see.. ever since I fought you that time I've been thinking about how strong you were, and how much I wanted to be like you. You were amazing when you stood up to my sister. Well, what I wanted to say is that I like you a lot. Um, will you please..."
"..." Reimu's face had gotten more and more red since Flandre had started talking.
"...Please be my friend."
"..." Reimu was silent. Flandre stayed and waited silently for an answer.
"I-I'm sorry. Just forget about it. It was my fault for asking."
"No, I want to be your friend. It just surprised me that's all. I really do."
"Really? You'll be my friend?!"
"Of course. You think I'll ever say no. You're too adorable for me to say no."
"He he. Thank you."
She hugged Reimu, who looked away embarrassed. It was unlike her to be surprised by something like this. Flan took out something from her pocket and gave it to Reimu. A yellow flower, which was given to her by the flower Youkai.
"Miss Yuuka said that it's the flower of friendship. So I wanted to give it to you."
"Thanks. You know, if you had just asked me I would have said yes."
"I wanted to say it like this."
A crack of thunder interrupted them. Which caused Flandre to shiver.
"Are you scared of thunder?"
"Just a little. I haven't heard it this loud before."
"Don't worry. It'll be over soon. It can't reach us here."
Suika came in. Dripping from head to toe, she sneezed.
"Curse the rain gods. They pick the worst times to show off their power. Someone should teach them a lesson someday. What do you think Reimu?"
"Don't drip water all over the floor. Here."
Reimu threw a towel to the Oni. Who wiped her hair with it.
"So what are we going to do about Flan now? She can't travel when it's raining right?"
"She'll just have to stay here tonight. I think I have a spare futon around here somewhere.."
"...*hic* Really, you're gonna take her in? Reimu has become a big sis! What's going to happen to my position in this family?"
"You'll be the youngest child. Which means you have no influence."
"Nooo! I don't want to be the youngest. Wahhh!"
As Suika rolled around the floor crying in her half-drunk mood.
"Am I going to sleep with you?"
"Yup, we'll have to sleep in my room. You can't sleep in the same room as Suika. Seriously, she crawled into my room once and I couldn't catch a wink of sleep that night. I almost got impaled several times."
"Haha! I can imagine it… but it's nice to be that close to someone. You two are really great friends. I wish I could have friends like that.."
"-But we're friends. So don't worry about it. "
"Oh… it feels unreal...I came outside for the first time, and I made some friends too. I didn't think it would turn out this well."
"...Jeez. You think about it too much. Well it's already near midnight. Let's get ready to go to sleep."
"Huh? Ok. I'll get ready."
"Okay then, good night you two!"
"Good night!"
Suika went off to the next room. Probably getting ready to drink Sake again. Flandre and Reimu were in futons in Reimu's room. After going from a bed to a futon it was uncomfortable at first, but she quickly got adjusted to it.
"Good night Flan."
"Good night."
…
…..
It was morning. There wasn't a cloud to be seen in the sky. Reimu slowly woke up. Flan was still asleep. Somehow during the night she had crawled into Reimu's futon, and was now clinging to her.
Reimu slowly sat up, and went outside. Suika wasn't there, possibly still asleep. However there was someone sitting on her porch, looking into the sky. It was Yukari. She gestured to Reimu to sit down next to her.
"Yukari, the one who helped Flan escape. It was you, wasn't it?"
Yukari smiled and just glanced out into the distance.
"She wanted to meet others. A very innocent wish. I decided to make it a reality. Ran was watching her the entire time, to make sure that she wouldn't cause anyone trouble. You should be happy. The girl only wanted to meet you."
"You could have just told me about it, and I would have gone to see her."
"Both of us know that wouldn't have happened. You would have just waved it away. Besides your kindness only comes out in certain instances, this was one of them. That is it."
"Sigh.. What should I do now? I should take her back to the SDM again. Remilia will have noticed her disappearance by now."
"..Only a few minutes ago actually…. What you do now is up to you. I suggest waiting for one of them to come here.
"Then I'll do that. You know, I wonder why Remilia keeps Flan locked in the Mansion."
"Her ability. Her sister is afraid that someone or something important might be killed or destroyed by her. It is a valid issue, but not one without a solution."
"Then what's the solution?"
"The girl needs to mature a lot if she expects to act on her own. What she needs for that is to meet new people. Even this small trip has changed her to some degree. That is the reason why I let her find her way here instead of simply bringing her here."
"I'll talk about it with Remillia… Wait, are you leaving so quickly?"
"I have things to do. So I'll see you later. Take care."
Yukari disappeared into a gap.
Reimu went back in. Only to run into Suika was walking around.
"Good morning. You must have slept well last night."
"I did actually. Why do you ask."
"Nothing. Shouldn't you go wake up Flan? "
"I will. Can you make some tea?"
"Sure, leave it to me."
"Just don't mix up the sugar and the salt again."
"Don't worry. I'm not a novice anymore… Sugar is the sweet one right?"
"Oh boy..."
…
…..
"Hey Flan, wake up. You don't want to sleep through the whole day right?" Reimu slowly woke up Flan.
"Hmm...oh. Good morning Reimu...what time is it?"
"It's almost noon."
"Eh! I slept that late, I'm sorry."
"You were tired. I only woke up a little bit earlier myself, so you're not the one at fault. Shall we eat breakfast?"
"Ok!"
Sakuya had arrived at the Shrine, after hearing from Rinnosuke that Flandre had come to the Hakurei Shrine. She had expected to see a fight and the shrine possibly in ruins, however the entire place was quiet. However the Oni was sitting on the porch, drinking sake from her gourd.
"Excuse me, did Lady Flandre come here?"
Suika shrugged. "Yup, she's playing with Reimu. They've been getting along really well. Truth be told I'm a bit jealous."
"Really!? Then I'm going in. Is Reimu alright?"
"Never been better. Go check yourself."
…
Inside Reimu was showing Flan how purification charms worked. Sakuya froze, wondering just exactly what was going on. Reimu was the first to notice Sakuya's presence.
"Lady Flandre was here all along?"
"Well… it's kind of a long story."
"..Oh no. It's time for me to head back….Sigh."
"Lady Remilia is worried about you. Why did you leave without telling anyone?"
"I told Meiling. If I had told you or Patchouli you would have stopped me. So I didn't."
"No you didn't. You fought her. ...you should come with me now. Otherwise the mistress will be angry with both of us."
Flan sighed and stood up.
"Let's leave. I already made plenty of friends."
"I'll come with you, I have something I want to talk to Remilia about something."
Sakuya nodded.
"Then let's leave. It's bad to keep Lady Remilia waiting."
Flandre was surprised to see that the way to the shrine from the Mansion was indeed short. That was when she understood how much she had wandered around Gensoukyou. She couldn't even see the places she had gone to last afternoon anywhere.
Remilia didn't say anything to Flandre. She just nodded and let her go inside. Reimu pulled her to the side.
"So, do you want to explain to me what happened? And tell me just how much damage Flan caused. Is the shrine still in one place?"
"She didn't hurt anyone it seems. Apparently she even had a nice chat with Yuuka. Somehow she was able to get along with everyone. She really is a nice kid. Heck she even helped me cook.".
"You cooked together? How did that happen? If that's the case then she must have spent the night with you right?"
"Yeah, well.. Suika was there too."
"That's not the issue. I'm just having trouble believing that she behaved so well. To be honest when I heard that she had gone out I was expecting a complete disaster. Thankfully it seemed that such a thing did not occur."
"About that... As weird as it sounds, I actually had fun spending time with her. Why don't you let Flan come to the shrine every once in a while. .She just wants to have fun after all."
"If you say so. Just keep an eye on her... Darn it. Flan beat me then. I'm depressed now."
"Why's that? I think you should be happy too. "
"No no. You care about Flan more than you care about me... You also spent a night together... I have to make my move quickly... Otherwise you will forget about me."
"What are you talking about?"
"Today I'm gonna stay at the shrine with you. I'm gonna cook with you, and I'm gonna sleep with you. I won't stand for Flan getting you."
"Huh? Wait a second. Calm down."
"Sakuya, pack my stuff! I'm having a sleepover today."
...
...
"Hey, what the heck. My status in this family is slipping down more and more. Why Reimu why?"
Suika was rolling around on the floor, in a half drunk haze.
"He he, Don't worry Reimu. I will make you mine soon enough."
"Eh? You promised we would share... Don't break your promise sis!"
Sakuya just made a short bow to Reimu.
"I'm sorry about this, Please just bear with this for a little while." "Sigh, at least this summer won't be boring anymore."