School started right as I began writing this, so this took a lot of time to make.
Luckily, I'm getting ideas flooding my head all the time, so don't worry about the fic stopping, just expect it to slow down even more from here on.
...
[Inside the SDM]
Courier Six POV
"... Am I your what?" I needed to make sure I heard her correctly.
"My new toy! I broke my old ones, and it's really boring in here!" She was swaying from side to side like and overactive child, which I guess she is.
"Young Mistress, Mister Six is a guest, not a toy." Sakuya decided to back me up.
"Huh? Says who?" The little girl stopped swaying and got closer to Sakuya with an annoyed look on her face.
"Your sister. Mister Six owes her a debt, so if you're going to do anything to him, do it after he has repaid her." Sakuya kinda threw me under the bus with that one. I'm not really sure if she's trying to help me or not.
The child pouted and floated down to the ground. "Awwwwww... It's been so boring lately though..." She sounded genuinely sad.
I decided it was time to speak up. "Hey, Sakuya? Who is this?" I pointed to the kid.
"This-" Sakuya barely got a chance to speak before the little girl energetically started introducing herself. "My name's Flandre Scarlet! Remi, who you've probably met by now, is my big sister!" The girl's mood had switched so fast, you couldn't even tell she was sad before.
"Oh really? How old are you, then?" I didn't know Remilia had any siblings.
"495! Or... Something around there, I think..." She scratched her head.
"Ok yes, this is all fine and good, but I think it's time for you to return to your room, Flandre." Sakuya interrupted.
"Huh? Why?" Flandre pouted again.
"It's late at night, and Mister Six here is trying to sleep." Sakuya gestured to me.
"Your name's Six? That's weird." Flandre put her hand on her chin in a thinking pose, then pointed at me. "You also don't look like you're sleeping! Are you lying to me, Sakuya?" She turned back to Sakuya.
Sakuya sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose while I chuckled. "He's going back to his room so that he can sleep. Preferably without any more interruption..." Sakuya muttered the last part under her breath, but I could still hear her.
"Well, honestly, I'm not so sure I'll be able to sleep now." I chuckled. "The young lady her gave me a pretty good scare when she came down the hall like that, and now my blood is pumping." I gestured to Flandre.
"Oh, did I scare you, Mister? I'm sorry!" She bowed.
"It's nothing, kid. Just normal human reactions." I waved her off.
"Wait, so since you're not tired, does that mean we can play?" Flandre raised her head and spoke excitedly again.
"Flandre..." Sakuya spoke in a stern voice.
"I mean, it depends on what you consider fun, but I don't see why not." I shrugged.
"Six, don't encourage her!" Sakuya intervened.
"Why? What's the harm?" I looked over to her.
"You obviously don't know, but the Young Mistress' ideas of fun can be a little... dangerous, especially for an outsider such as yourself." Sakuya spoke seriously.
"Woah, you're from the outside?! I haven't seen any of those in a while! Unless you count the ones Sakuya prepares for me..." I'm not gonna try and dwell on what that means.
I focused my attention back on Sakuya. "I mean, how bad can it be? She looks harmless!" I gestured both my hands toward Flandre like a showman.
"Perhaps it's time that I inform you that young Flandre's unique ability is to destroy absolutely anything." Sakuya now spoke menacingly while glaring at me.
I was quiet for a moment.
"Huh." That was the only thing that could exit my mouth. I looked over and Flandre and pointed my finger at Sakuya. "Is she serious?"
"Uh-huh!" Flandre was back to swaying side to side and smiling.
"... Uh... huh..."
I stared at her for a while.
…
…
"Uhh, Mister Six?" Sakuya waved a hand if front of my face.
"Y'know what? I think I'm pretty tired. Absolutely beat. Quite fatigued. Maybe a little drained. I'm going to bed, see you in the morning." I immediately began fast walking back to my room. My movement was suddenly halted when something tugged on the edge of my duster. When I turned around to look, Flandre was standing down there.
"C'mon Mister, can't we play just one game?" Flandre looked saddened.
"Sorry kid, but as I said, I need to go sleep." I tried to walked away, but her grip on my duster was strong.
"Please?"
"No."
"Pleeeeaaaaasee?" She pouted and did that puppy-eyes thing that I commonly see described in old-world fiction.
My own voice filled my head. "Awww, but she looks so- NO! I am a MANLY and SERIOUS man who does MANLY and SERIOUS things and I shall NEVER fall victim to the adorableness of this girl!" I began fighting against myself in my mind. "Although, I could come to a compromise..."
"Okay, okay, how about this:" I squatted down to her eye level, making her let go of my duster. "I can play one game with you in the morning after I've slept and before I leave. How does that sound?"
Flandre wiped her eyes and smiled again "Okay!" She then held out her hand, with all her fingers but her pinky closed in. "Pinky Promise!" I had read about this in an old-world magazine about talking to people. I responded by holding out my own pinky and locking it with hers, and then shaking up and down.
"Pinky Promise." I spoke before standing up and patting the top of her head. "Now, I've gotta get going."
"Okay! See you soon!" Flandre rose up of the ground a bit and then flew away back down the hall. Afterwards, Sakuya appeared next to me.
"You are surprisingly good with children." She spoke like it was an impossible feat for me.
"What, did you think I was some hulking brute that made kids cry just by looking at them?" I asked jokingly.
Sakuya didn't respond and averted her gaze.
"... You serious?" I dropped the joking tone for a more confused one.
She still didn't respond.
"Maybe I should work on first impressions..." I pondered aloud.
Sakuya sighed and chose to change the subject. "So, will you actually be going to bed now?"
"Yeah, yeah. Feeling a little drowsy now." I began my walk back to my room, which I could now see from where we were standing. "See you in the morning."
"Hm." Sakuya vanished.
I sighed and walked over to my door and put the cowboy hat on the doorknob into storage before heading inside. The room was exactly as I had left it.
Despite what I had said earlier, I did not feel as though I needed to sleep just yet. I began trying to think of something to occupy me.
…
After a moment, I made a decision.
I walked over to the desk that sat on the other side of the room from the bed and sat down. Afterwards, I pulled out a few pieces of paper. I decided that I was going to start writing down my experiences again, like a journal. I'm only using pieces of paper, because I plan to scan them into my Pip-Boy, just to keep them all in one piece.
It's not something I've done in a long while.
Not since... Hoover Dam.
I shook my head to stop thinking about that battle and more about my recent experiences. I chose to begin my writing from the moment I noticed the issue at the Drive-In.
…
…
…
5 Hours Pass
…
After I finally finished scanning all the papers into my Pip-Boy, I tossed them into storage.
I got up off the chair and stretched. "Alright, I think I'm good to sleep no-" I then noticed something.
There were orange rays of sunlight peeking through the single window in the room.
"...Fuck..." I slammed my hand into my forehead. I sighed, since there was no way to simply stop the flow of time and get some rest.
I slowly stumbled out of the guest room, still pissed about how I lost track of time.
Within a few seconds, Sakuya had appeared in front of me.
"You are certainly up early." She spoke before I could even greet her.
"Ahh, early bird catches the worm, y'know?"
"Hm. Well, follow me. We'll go to a room where you and my Mistress can discuss how you will repay her." She began walking away.
"Geez, at least give me some time to get situated." I grumbled under my breath. Even so, I tiredly followed behind her.
…
We traveled through many more of those twisted hallways, with the fairy maids buzzing about. Eventually, we came to a room with two couches and a table in the center, and a lit fireplace on the wall.
"Please take a seat, and my Mistress will be here shortly." Sakuya promptly bowed and vanished.
I sat on the very comfortable couch and leaned back. "Damn, this feels too good for me..."
…
Right before I almost fell asleep, the door opened.
3 people entered the room.
There was Remilia, obviously. Then Sakuya, also obviously. The odd part was that the purple haired woman named Patchouli also came in.
Remilia and the purple haired woman sat down on the couch opposite of me, while Sakuya stood behind them.
I leaned forward. "So, whaddya got for me?"
Remilia spoke first. "Have you become acquainted with a girl name 'Marisa Kirisame'?"
"Uh, yeah. She's the one who pulled me out of that crater I made in the forest."
"Hm, good." She gestured over to the purple haired woman.
"We haven't spoken much yet, so my name is Patchouli Knowledge, in case you forgot." She finally spoke up.
"Courier Six. Good to meet ya."
"Hm." She nodded. "Back on topic, Marisa Kirisame has a tendency to 'borrow' things from other people without their permission, only to never return the items she 'borrows'."
"So she's a thief?" I asked.
"Precisely, but she won't admit to it. Unfortunately, I am one of her main targets for these 'borrowing' sprees. Or, more accurately, my library is." She sighed.
"Uh-huh. But what's this got to do with me?" I scratched my neck.
"Mister Six, would you consider yourself at least an adept in the art of theft?" Patchouli smiled a bit.
"Ohoho, I see where this is going, and I like it." I grinned under my mask. "Well, I'd say I'm a damn expert when it comes to taking things that don't belong to me."
"Good, then that makes all of this easier. I simply need you to go to Marisa's house, and 'borrow' back as many of my books as you can find."
"I can do that, but I need to know a few things first."
"Go ahead and ask. I'll tell you anything that might help."
"Okay, first thing's first, where does Marisa live?" I'd need to know this if I want to have a chance at this job.
"She resides in a small house in the Forest of Magic, about a kilometer south of the Human Village."
I opened my Pip-Boy's map and marked that general area as a place to search.
"Alright, next question. What should I be wary of when stealing your stuff back?" This would be important so that I don't roll up unprepared.
"The only real danger would be Marisa herself, as she will surely challenge you to a duel if she catches you."
"A duel? Like in the old west where they shoot each other to death?" I had only heard of these in old-world books and songs like "Big Iron".
"No, a danmaku duel."
"Uhh, I can't use any of that magic shit, so how will I fight back?"
"Hm, you're right..." Patchouli thought for a bit. "You use guns as your main weapon, correct?"
"Yep. My fists are also my backup" I brought Maria out of storage as a little showcase.
"Are you in possession of anything like rubber bullets?"
"Yeah. Never found a use for 'em out in the Mojave, but I always kept 'em on me just in case." I pulled out a case of rubber 10mm.
"Good. That way, you can fight her without inflicting heavy injury. Most of the Spell Card system won't apply when fighting with you, given your lack of a Spell Card."
"Alright, glad that's figured out." I placed Maria and the bullets back in storage. "Okay, last question."
"Hit me." Patchouli seemed eager to answer this time.
"How many books do you need specifically? I need a number so I can know when to pull out."
"Hmmm..." She hummed in thought. "Bring me 10, and that will cover your debt for staying in the mansion. If you bring extra, I will pay you directly." She turned over to Remilia, who had been quiet this whole time. "Are those terms good with you?"
She seemed to snap out a trance of sort. "Oh, uh, yes, that will be fine." She nodded.
Patchouli turned back to me. "Anything else?"
"Just one more. By what time should I have this completed?"
"Within the next 7 days." She answered instantly.
"Okay, good. I still have time to go let Miss Keine know that I haven't died yet." I sighed, with that problem now taken care of. "Well, I guess that's everything."
Patchouli stood and then bowed. "Thank you. My body is too weak to go get them back myself, so you're being a big help right now."
"It's nothing. I never have a problem with helping people." I stood up as well, as did Remilia.
"I believe we are done here, then." The vampire was back to talking in her confident voice. "Sakuya, please escort Mister Six to the front gate."
"At once, Mistress." She bowed, and then turned to me. "Follow me, Mister Six." She opened one of the doors and began walking.
"Yeah, I know." I began following behind her.
…
[3rd POV]
After both Sakuya and Six left the room, Patchouli turned over to Remilia.
"Is something wrong, Remilia? You're usually more talkative to our guests." She was confused in the way her friend had been acting.
"Patchy... Something is wrong with that man." Remilia had lost her cool demeanor and had a worried look on her face.
"What do you mean?"
"While you were talking, I decided that I might take a look at his strings of fate, y'know, just snooping around..."
"And...? What did you see in his strings?" Patchouli hadn't seen Remilia genuinely worried like this in a while.
"That's the thing, Patchy... He didn't have any strings!" Remilia almost shouted.
"Huh? How?"
"When I looked, all I saw were tiny strings, showing things that had already happened, or what was currently happening. It's as if he was going to drop dead at the very next moment!"
Patchouli was quiet for a moment. "That is certainly peculiar. We'll have to look into it when he comes back." She shrugged.
"I suppose so... It just makes me worry..." Remilia looked at the floor.
...
"What is he?"
…
[Courier Six POV]
I lifted up my helmet a bit to sneeze into my elbow.
"Ugh, huh? That doesn't happen often." I pulled my helmet back down to a normal level.
Sakuya and I were going throughout the endless hallways when a familiar jingling echoed off the walls.
Without warning, Flandre had appeared in front of us. "Hey! I thought we were gonna play a game before you left!" She sounded mad, but not really.
"Sorry, kid. Looks like time caught up to me, and I don't think I'll be able to play with you today." I squatted down to her level again.
"But you promised..." She had tears in the corners of her eyes. "And now you're running away..."
"Huh... I guess I am a bit off an asshole for that, huh?" I chuckled. "But I ain't running away, I'll be coming back within the next week. I'm doing a job for Miss Patchouli."
"But you..."
"Hey, kid, look at me." I reached forward and tilted her chin up so that she was looking into my eyes. "I know I broke my promise, and I'm sorry. But when I come back, I won't be on a time limit anymore. And then, we can play as much as you want." I wiped the tears out of her eyes.
She sniffled and held out her pinky again. "You promise...?"
I held out my own pinky and locked it with hers. "Promise. For real this time."
She wiped her eyes and had a small smile on her face now. "I'll be waiting for you, then!" She let go of my pinky and floated upwards.
"I won't let you wait too long."
She laughed a bit and then zoomed off down the halls. Sakuya walked up next to me.
"Maybe Remilia should hire you as a babysitter..." She joked, but in her usual formal tone.
"Heh, if she pays well, then maybe."
We continued our walk to the front gates of the mansion.
…
…
…
After a surprisingly long walk, we had finally made it outside to the front gate, where the red haired woman was once again sleeping.
"So, guess I'll see you in a bit?" I turned to Sakuya.
"We shall see..." That sounded ominous.
"Hehe, okay then. Have a nice, day." I began walking away from the front gate. After a while, I could hear the sound of somebody being hit, quickly followed by a woman yelping.
"What a lively bunch..."
…
…
…
[Outside the Human Village]
As I approached the front gates, I spotted the silhouette of the old man up on the top, before he quickly rushed down to presumably open the gate. Once I got closer, I saw that he was indeed allowing me passage inside.
"Hehehe, so you did survive!" He laughed.
"I'm not gonna just die in some boring way like that. If I die, you'll definitely hear it from a mile away." I joked.
"I'll keep that in mind for your future expeditions. Say, you should probably go check in with Keine. I'd be careful though, as she kept muttering about how she was going to 'kill him' or something along those lines."
"I guess I'll get that done then." I began walking to Keine's place.
"Good luck! I heard she can get pretty mean when she's mad!" The old guard shouted to me as I walked away.
I continued walking, bracing myself for what's to come.
…
…
After about 5 minutes, I'd made it to her schoolhouse/house/outsider hotel.
I slowly opened the front door, to see Keine and another woman who I didn't immediately recognize.
Once they turned their attention to me, I recognized the other woman as Keine's friend Mokou, who I delivered the package to.
Both seemed pretty shocked at my sudden appearance, but Keine was the first to break out of it and walk over. She lightly shoved me out of the way before closing the door.
"I can expla-"
"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!" She immediately yelled at me, which shocked even Mokou, who had a cup of tea in her hand.
"Uhh, exploring?" I answered as more of a question.
Keine took a deep breath. "Explain. Now."
I explained the whole story starting from leaving the village, fighting the youkai, delivering to Mokou, the news at Eintei, the horde of youkai, the Scarlet Devil Mansion, and ending with my new job of robbing Marisa.
"You could say I had a bit of an, uh, adventure." I chuckled.
Keine looked at me angrily for a few moments. I then noticed her breathing in sharply.
Right when I figured out what was about to happen, it was too late.
**BONK**
Without warning, Keine headbutted me right in the noggin. Even with my protective helmet, I felt my robo-brain rattle in my skull, as well as the rest of my bones shaking.
As I fell onto the ground, the mixture of my tired mind and this brand-new concussion caused my vision to begin to darken. The last thing I saw before losing consciousness was Keine standing angrily over me, as Mokou sat at the table with a shocked expression on her face.
…
And we have finally returned from the Scarlet Devil Mansion.
I know some people might be disappointed with the fact that there was no Flandre fight. My reasoning for this is that Flandre can destroy anything, and Courier Six falls under the category of "Anything".
Don't got much more to say, so I'll see you next time.
Farvel