Well, "I Before A Except After K", I guess I'm just not as well read as Kyon. Just a weakness of mine, I suppose.
It wouldn't be something Touhou fan-made if Meiling doesn't get the short end of the stick one way or another, now would it?
Not a lot going on in this episode, really. I've always wondered what caused Remilia to retreat to Gensokyo...and then while doing a little research on vampires, I found a certain incident that happened in Europe.
It fits perfectly.
And look for a surprise appearance this episode. For a character not scheduled to show up until...part 10.
Also, you guys have gotten this to over 4,000 views! In just 11 weeks! Nice job!
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is owned by Nagaru Tanigawa. Touhou Project is owned by ZUN and Team Shanghai Alice. I own neither. This is a fan fiction of those works.
Beta Readers for this Episode (Alphabetical Order):
Serendipital
superstarultra
The snowstorm was disappearing, almost instantly. The clouds were there one second, and they dispersed the next, allowing the moon's light to fully bathe the land. Anyone looking up would have seen the beacon of light in this storm come from above the clouds - the spring fairy. The snow stopped, the temperature rose, causing the snow already on the ground to melt within minutes.
Remilia sat on the porch of her mansion, staring at the ground but yet not staring at it. She had numbly seen the spring fairy come through her yard, but instead being filled with wonder at such a creature, she still only felt sadness. She couldn't bring herself to go inside, to watch Patchi get sewed up or whatever. Remilia didn't feel strong enough to watch her die right in front of her if it didn't work.
The only sound was the water pouring off of the roof. The entryway inside was being used as a makeshift infirmary - the door opened, and the busy sounds could be heard for a few seconds before it closed. Meiling sat down next to Remilia, her arms and hands covered in bandages here and there. Remilia swallowed hard before asking.
"...Meiling? Is Patchi..."
Meiling placed her bandaged hand on Remilia's shoulder, smiling.
"She made it. She's doing just fine, Milady. She'll be in bed for a while, recovering, but that's like a normal weekend for her anyways."
Remilia just nodded and took a deep breath.
Then she let it all out.
Meiling held on to her crying Mistress.
Imperfect Cherry Blossom
Episode 11
["Friend"]
"By sharing your feelings with someone else,
The power of joy is doubled, and the power of sadness is halved."
-Yukari Yakumo, from the Doujin "Youkai in Love ~Romantic Fall~" by: VISIONNERZ
Yukari and her two servants watched the sky, the clouds and snow stopping dead. Up in the gloomy gray clouds of the massive snowstorm, a shimmering light appeared, and then to kill the storm she came. Lilly White was free to do her long awaited purpose: bringing spring to all the land. Chen let out a noise, she was trying to say something, but was obviously speechless at this display.
Yukari smiled. The fairy was actually quite powerful, able to bring a whole season behind her. All fairies were a part of nature, were necessary for nature, but Lilly was the one unique exception. She was nature. She never conversed with any of the other fairies, and she never had contact with anyone. She never talked. But that fairy had one purpose that it always performed. When the time comes, end winter and bring about spring.
Normally the spring fairy would do sections at a time, take her time, give spring the coaxing it needed. This year, right now, Lilly was flying with a vengeance, going faster than even Yukari thought possible for a fairy. She was flying literally like a bat out of hell. At this rate, all of Gensokyo would be free of winter within the hour.
Of course, her being free meant one thing. Those four succeded. Her friend Yuyuko was defeated.
Bringing the boy to Gensokyo was a whim. She had seen that Whiterock had done something to the boy, and brought him in to find out what it was. She tested him, to see if he could survive, and he did survive against the youkai of shadows. Finding out about that boy, finding out about Haruhi Suzumiya in the months since then...was a shock. She also found out what was about to happen.
Yukari had to quickly design a plan to accommodate things. The Sky Canopy Domain interfering with the affairs of Gensokyo by using Whiterock had made things interesting, yes, but Yukari wasn't worried. She set things up. And from the looks of things, it all paid off. Everything went according to her design, even though that design had more variables in it than she'd like.
But it had to be this way, through agents. It's been a while since she'd been directly involved, and an even longer while since she used force for her own means, since she wielded the Roukanken.
Yukari sighed, thinking about it again. The Roukanken, the katana she gave to the Konpakus so it could always protect Yuyuko, even though the last time she wielded it she couldn't stop the sacrifice to save her friend, which was why she could never bring herself to wield it again.
She shook her head at the whole thing. The only reason Yukari and Yuyuko met was because Yukari wanted the temporary makeshift barrier they put on the Ayakashi to fail so it could consume all of humanity. Wanting to kill the sacrifice needed before she could fulfill the wishes of those monks with the ugly hearts, that is, until she saw the beauty in the heart of Yuyuko. Yuyuko was branded a freak and was chosen to die, but she accepted her fate with a smile. Such an elegant soul, to push through the sadness of her situation. Yukari never met anyone or anything like her before or since, not in a thousand years. It was sad that when she became a ghost, she lost her past self and memories.
Though in reality, it was for the best, really, the sacrifice. The Ayakashi began to consume not just humans, but youkai as well. It was something she learned after the fact, and it helped relieve the loss just a bit...
You promised me, Yuyuko. You would never forget me even if you died. That's what you said as you killed yourself. You liar. You...
Stop it. "We should feel sorrow, but not sink under its oppression."
Confucius always did have great sayings. Yukari took a deep breath, allowing her emotion to run its course, and then let out that breath. She felt better.
Haruhi. Thank you. Thank you for this. Your chosen one has brought her back to me.
Soon, Yukari would have an audience with the boy. Allow the boy to see her again. Allow herself to be known to Reimu Hakurei. It would soon be time for the two forces protecting Gensokyo to meet, and to explain the connection to the girl Haruhi Suzumiya.
Yukari would have a lot of explaining to do for it to make sense to them, to get them to see it how she saw it, how she came to understand it. She would have to choose her words carefully. Shouldn't be too hard. After all, there are those who sought to destroy the machinations of the girl simply because they are the machinations of the girl. The boy had some understanding of the war going on in his world. It should make sense to him, at least.
"Lady Yukari, we have a lot of work to do, don't we?"
"Yes, Ran. Yes we do."
"The humans and youkai are out of livestock, food is scarce, and even if they started to plant crops tomorrow, it'll take a long time for them to see any food."
Triumphantly twirling her parasol, Yukari smirked. She was actually looking forward to the work. This new her actually surprised even herself. And all it took was finding out about Suzumiya.
If it's my purpose to "run" Gensokyo, so be it.
"We'll just have to simply spirit away some things from the outside world then," Yukari replied to Ran. "Yes, we have a lot to do to make sure everyone in Gensokyo survives. We need to get to it right now."
Chen tugged on Ran's sleeve.
"'We?' You mean you're taking me with you, Lady Yukari and Miss Ran?"
Ran smiled at her little servant, and scratched her under her cap.
"Yes, Chen. You're ready to help us out."
Chen purred. Yukari smiled at this, but when she turned back to the fairy flying over Gensokyo, her face went serious, because she had a hint of a bad mood.
Yes...getting food for everyone in here...but first...first I feel the need to give the Sky Canopy Domain a little poke for what they did to us.
'When anger rises, think of the consequences.' Yukari knew this, but it didn't matter to her. It would probably make matters worse, but the Sky Canopy Domain needed to know that she and her home should be treated with respect, and that there would be consequences for those that wanted to try her.
Yukari had to make the Sky Canopy Domain think of the consequences.
We walked through Hakugyokurou, all of us - Sakuya, Reimu, Marisa, Yuka, Yuyuko, Youmu, Alice, the Prismrivers and I, and I was finally able to appreciate this realm of the afterlife. Amazing. The walkways were perfect, the flowers in perfect rows, grass cut to perfection. Everything was perfect everywhere. Bushes cut to sculpture, just plain amazing. There were ghosts walking/floating about, going wherever they were going, doing whatever dead artists do, not paying us any notice, each living in houses that were spread around this place. This was the afterlife. Besides a realm of clouds, this might have been what I would have thought up if I was asked what the afterlife was like.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sakuya gathering up some of the soil from this place and placing it into an empty jar. I wondered what that was all about. Then again, after everything we'd been through together that day, I didn't feel like questioning any of her actions. I've learned so much about her - she went from a complete stranger to what felt like a close friend in just two days.
Alice spoke up, wide-eyed in wonder, finally impressed, her voice blatantly showing her feelings.
"The gardeners up here are amazing!"
"Actually, it's all my Youmu."
That was Yuyuko. I raised an eyebrow at the bandaged gardener (was it just me or was she happy that she was bandaged up, like it was some sort of badge of honor for her?). I mean, yeah, we knew she was the gardener, but of the whole place? And for it to be of this quality? Youmu kind of blushed as Yuyuko continued.
"Well, this is the realm of artists, after all."
Yuka bent over to a flower, gently looking it over. She got up and smiled at Konpaku.
"Very well done. It's happy, a perfect specimen of a Lycoris."
The Youkai of Flowers stepped up to Youmu, smiling.
"You know, gardener, I was gonna beat some sense into you for bringing me here against my will...but..."
She turned her head to a bed of flowers.
"...but anyone who puts this much passion and work into making such a beautiful garden is all right in my book."
I stared at Youmu in amazement, after Yuka turned and continued to go over the flowers.
"But for you to be the sole gardener? I mean, everything is perfectly trimmed!"
Youmu gave me a slight smile.
"I don't use my blades for just attacking, you know."
She approached a lone bush, putting her hands on both of her blades. She quickly ran around the bush, swiping at it, the bits and pieces coming off, forming -
Sakuya?
A perfect 1:1 bush copy of Sakuya Izayoi. Youmu blew on both of her blades before she sheathed them, and turning to us with a satisfied smile. The maid walked up to it, wide-eyed.
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't more than a little impressed, and I was glad I was no longer her target, not with her skills with a sword. I wouldn't stand a chance. Sakuya let out a low whistle.
"...Wow."
I couldn't help but smile.
"A phantom gardener just made a replica of you out of a bush in less than ten seconds, and all you can say is 'wow'? So, uh, Youmu. I have a question."
Since I had some downtime, I was able to get my thoughts on other things. There was one thing that was bugging me about Miss Konpaku.
That thing.
"Yes?"
"What's with that ghost that's following you? Is it a pet or something?"
Youmu turned to the ghost thing. Call me crazy, but the ghost thing turned towards her, too, as if they were both staring at each other going "What's with this guy?"
"It's me," Youmu said, turning back to me.
"You?"
"Yes, it's me."
Doesn't make any sense!
"So who's the human before me then?"
"Youmu Konpaku. One half of me."
I scratched my head.
"What? Okay, let's start this again. Who is the ghost?"
Youmu gave me a deadpan look, after a flash of annoyance crossed her face.
"One half of Youmu Konpaku."
"And the human?"
Again, that same seriousness.
"One half of Youmu Konpaku."
My head hurt by then.
"So...the two entities in front of me are Youmu Konpaku? They both make up Youmu?"
"Correct. I told you: I'm half non-ghost. Half human, half ghost."
I had to glance around, looking for confirmation of what I heard, that I actually heard it. Those of us there that were alive each had a raised eyebrow, I guess processing the nature of Youmu as well. As for me...
Any other day I'd wrack my brain around that, but I was kind of burned out. So, okay. She's a physical representation of a half human/half ghost entity...in two entities, if that makes sense. I could accept that. Why not? After all, if that world was indeed Haruhi's creation, then it makes perfect sense in it...by making no sense. Although I don't think telling this swordswoman that her existence makes no sense would be a smart idea. Ah! Why am I even having to think the logistics of this stuff! Haruhi, your lack of logic continues to irk me even when you're not around!
"Yes, my Youmu is quite the curious creature, isn't she?" Yuyuko giggled. "I gave her ghost half a cute little nickname, since even I get confused."
"Lady Yuyuko, please-"
"I like to call it 'Myon'."
Youmu blushed. Both of them. Or, uh, hmmm...each half? Again, head hurting! And seeing a ghost blush didn't faze me.
At least I wasn't the only one with an unwanted nickname, it seemed.
Sakuya thankfully brought me out of that headache I walked into as she spoke up.
"Youmu, why me? Why make a sculpture of me?"
"You're strong, stronger than I am. And when you told me about tenacity to protect our respective mistresses, I looked into your eyes and saw you were telling the truth."
Youmu blushed again.
"I...respect you, Izayoi."
The maid grinned.
"'Sakuya' will do just fine."
I don't know about anyone else, but I found this to be nice. I just did. Those two, Sakuya and Youmu, fought each other over an hour prior, but were possibly forming a friendship right before me. Yeah. It's nice.
When we got to the bottom of the staircase, the Prismrivers turned to their mistress, asking if they could have the freedom to go to the realm of the living and perform. Yuyuko granted them permission, and they flew off. Yuyuko looked up at the rift as the Prismrivers left, and looked back at the sealed gateway into the realm of the living.
"Well, we will need to ask my friend to undo the barrier around the door."
Without saying anything, Kazami just walked up to the door and kicked it open, the visual symbol surrounding it from this side shattering. Youmu did a double take.
"How? Lady Yuyuko and I couldn't get it open even when we combined our powers! I had to slash at the weakest connection from the nether-realm to the realm of the living just to get around that!"
She had to slash her way out of the afterlife to get around that seal. And Kazami just kicked her way out. Makes no sense. Don't care anymore. Head hurting.
Kazami just blankly stared at Youmu, said nothing, and walked out the gate. I laughed nervously at this whole scene as did Marisa.
"Don't ask how Kazami does it, ze. She just does it."
Alice shrugged half-heartedly, a tired look on her face, like she'd temporarily given up on logic. I didn't blame her.
"Miss Saigyouji, how did you hold her in the first place?"
"It took a lot of ghosts to physically hold her, my dear puppeteer. Though I'm thinking if she could just kick that door open, then why didn't she try to break free?"
The question I'd ask would've been how they kidnapped her in the first place. Either Youmu got lucky or...well, I think Youmu got lucky. Not that I want to take away anything from Youmu, but she had to be lucky to capture Yuka. Kazami reached the end of the platform in the realm of the living, and turned to us.
"I'm not looking forward to all the extra hard work I'll have to be doing, but it's for the flowers. It has to be done. Marisa...and maid! Pleasure seeing you two."
"Thanks and same here, ze!"
Sakuya simply curtsied as Yuka held out her hand.
"Marisa..."
Marisa grinned and walked up to the youkai, giving her a handshake.
"Well, Yuka, it's been real, you know?"
Even after the handshake, Yuka still held out her hand. The youkai raised an eyebrow, the corner of her mouth wrinkling.
"Marisa...give."
The witch's emotions did a 180 - she sheepishly lowered her head as she brought something out of one of her pockets and handed it to Yuka. The youkai glanced at it, and tossed it to Youmu.
The ghost stared at it for a bit, before she quickly patted down her dress. Anger rose in her face.
"What the - my wallet!"
I couldn't help but laugh at all this. Mind you, I had to stifle myself. But it was still funny.
Marisa just shrugged.
"I was only gonna borrow it, ze."
Marisa, no. Just no.
The Youkai of Flowers shook her head.
"Always up to your old tricks, witch."
Marisa gave another shrug. A smile crept on Yuka's face as her gaze fell on Margatroid.
"Alice...I just love what you've done with yourself. You won't regret it."
Alice's eyes lowered to the ground in response.
"There are times I do, Kazami."
"Well, don't be ashamed of what you've become. Learn to embrace it, because it's a lot of fun. Reimu!"
"Yes?"
"It's been a while. I still need to challenge you for another round."
Reimu defiantly smirked at the youkai, narrowing her eyes.
"You know where to find me, Kazami, but not for the next few days. Now that spring is coming back, I'll need to prepare for the flower viewing at my shrine."
"Yeah, of course. Can't ruin that. And, young man!"
My body jolted a bit in surprise. I did not want her speaking to me, though I guess I had no say in this matter. This was different from anyone else I've ever met. It felt like Kazami was force and domination incarnate, with the way she carried herself, and the way others reacted to her. Surprisingly even more so than Remilia. I bet Yuka could even order Haruhi and/or Remilia around without any trouble.
I'd actually pay to see Haruhi taking orders from Kazami, thinking about it.
"...uh, yeah?"
A mischievous smile formed on the face of the youkai of flowers. I hoped she wasn't planning something.
"You know what? Whatever you did to have that essence about you, keep it up. Maybe you'll catch me in a mood when I won't care about age or human-youkai differences."
She winked at me.
"See you around, little boy."
The heat in my face rose to unprecedented levels.
I don't think anything could have prepared us for what we saw of Gensokyo when we exited the afterlife. We had said our goodbyes to the ghosts, left Hakugyokorou, and saw that the snow was gone, all gone. We stood there in stunned silence at the edge of the platform, staring down at Gensokyo. I had to rub my eyes, all of us did. Turns out Gensokyo is full of surprises, even for my companions. Alice's jaw hanged open.
"By the Gods. Lilly White was for real."
Marisa turned to me, excitement in her eyes.
"My dad used to tell me bed time stories about her, ze. I always loved hearing about her...but she's actually real!"
"A single fairy can change the season...wow," said Sakuya, rather tiredly. "Too bad we didn't see her, huh, Kyon?"
I did not answer Sakuya. I don't know why I didn't tell them that I did see Lilly White. Then again, I was tired, the adrenaline in my body that had erupted during the encounter with the Saigyou Ayakashi had all but gone, and I was running on four hours sleep.
We weren't prepared for what happened back at the Scarlet Devil Mansion either. Part of the East Wing had collapsed, a good third of it. Sakuya took one look and dashed forward, the rest of us right behind her. We passed by a girl with short black hair standing on top of the fence - white shirt, black skirt, and a weird little red hat on her head. She was taking pictures of the wreckage, and said nothing as we passed by. I thought nothing of her.
Thinking about it now, I should have - she had what looked like big black bird wings on her back. She was something; I would later learn that she was a Tengu, a crow variant. A Tengu journalist, at that.
Okay, whatever. Tengus in here. Why not.
The entryway was being used as a makeshift infirmary, cots and cots of servants. There was nothing I could do to help out anyone - we even tried to use some of the cherry blossoms Koakuma had gathered, but my Supernatural Border wouldn't work anymore. I was back to being useless. They started to work on everyone else though, making that invincible barrier. However, they didn't heal or have any of the other perks that my Border had, it just protected and warmed. Besides, everyone that was alive was already stable, so there was nothing to be done except let the injured heal. Marisa and Alice knew a few weak healing spells to help the wounded along, and got to it.
I was surprised to see Patchouli among the wounded. She was out cold, resting. I learned that she had to have surgery to remove a piece of debris from her body.
Meiling, who looked a bit injured herself, with parts of her body bandaged here and there, told us everything that happened. Patchouli almost dying. Two of the fairies sacrificing themselves to protect her, the collapse, everything. That, and we'll possibly never know why a select few barriers that held the mansion together against the weight of the snow on the roof failed and the rest remained. Koakuma suggested it may have been the combination of barriers together in close proximity - if it was all just one barrier, all it would take is one kind of dispell to undo it all. At least, that's how she attempted to describe how Patchouli wanted to avoid sabotage, just in case. But the combination of barriers, of all different kinds, may have cancelled some of the others out.
All magical logistics. I don't even know where to begin to understand such things.
It appeared that Koakuma was reluctant to tell us something. She eventually said that she saw an intruder right before the collapse, and that the guards were already making a sweep of the mansion to find whoever it was. I'd later hear that they didn't - whomever it was got away.
Reimu was silent throughout the whole thing. As Marisa and Alice were attempting to help heal the wounded, Reimu just wordlessly walked among the cots, gazing at the injured. The miko went to Sakuya, and they conversed - about what, I don't know. Then, Reimu left. I wouldn't see her for days.
A distressed Sakuya went from bed to bed, checking in with each of her maids, talking to the ones that were still conscious, and speaking to whoever was near the ones that were out cold. From what I heard, Sakuya spent the whole night up, attending to the wounded.
All that was just too much for me. I felt so physically, mentally, and emotionally drained by the end of it all. I was right - it was one hell of a day. I went around Gensokyo, witnessed magical fights, actually flew in two of them, actually flew period, found Mayohiga, went to the freaking afterlife, and prevented the end of the world. All in all, not too shabby in that I managed to live through it.
As I was useless in such a medical predicament, I hung around, trying to feel useful, but ultimately failing. I was only getting in the way by standing around. I slipped away, hoping to whatever God was out there that the maids and Patchouli would make it through the night. Passing a grandfather clock, I had noticed that it was 11:57 PM. After everything I had been through, the day did not end. Truth be told, I was expecting it to become dawn already. Then again, I was thankful it wasn't. I was only running on four hours sleep after all, and like I said, I was completely drained. I fell asleep in some random sitting room before midnight struck, completely and utterly tired - I plopped down in some chair, closed my eyes, and that was it. I was out - didn't even wake up until one in the afternoon the next day.
There was one other thing to note here before I left the entryway to fall asleep. One thing that just blew my mind.
Remilia was in a sleeping bag right next to Patchouli's cot.
She is just like her.
Two Days Later.
April 4th, 2004.
Meiling saw a woman standing in the garden when she came out to do her morning Tai Chi. The gates were kicked open. Her body tensed, trying not to fly into a rage. They had just gotten the new lock in!
Then she saw it was the youkai of flowers. Kazami stood there, smiling, waving her arms like she was directing an orchestra; flowers grew in response, a symphony of colors. Already half the yard was covered in flowers in perfect rows. Meiling walked up to her.
"Uhm...hi?"
The youkai nodded at the guard while not missing a beat with her work.
"Good morning."
"Yeah, good morning...any...any reason why you're here?"
"I noticed your gardens don't have any flowers yet. I'm helping them along."
Meiling blinked a few times, pursing her lips before responding.
"Ooookay. I can see that, obviously. And you kicked the gate open because-?"
"They were closed. I needed to get in."
The guard closed her eyes, struggling to keep calm.
"But you could have flown over them."
"I could have, but I didn't." Yuka then smirked at the gate guard. "And don't bother trying to tear up my body to paint the lake again. I was just surprised when we first met."
Meiling brought her hands to her face, trying not to scream as Yuka Kazami continued her work. Looks like Meiling would have to order another lock.
Mystia waved to her customers, relieved that business was back. The lunch rush just ended, nice and busy, and no one was at the stand. Mystia was washing her hands when a voice spoke up from behind her.
"Hey Mysti."
Drying her hands, the nightsparrow turned to the firefly, smiling.
"Wriggle, nice to see you. You disappeared before I woke up this morning."
"Yeah, I've been out house hunting, sorry I didn't leave a note, but you can't re...uhm, so yeah. I'm sorry. But I waited until your customers left. Can't have bugs near a kitchen, right?"
Mystia was a bit annoyed that Wriggle brought up her inability to read, but let it go. She also didn't like that Wriggle brought up that bug-kitchen thing.
"Aw, come on, Wriggle."
"No, it's okay. Just wanted to see you for a bit, and grab lunch before I head back out."
Wriggle sat down as Mystia shrugged and fired up the grill.
"Hey, Mysti...it was the Spring Fairy. It had to be."
"Wriggle, you know I was there with you guys. Cirno called us to the window when Lilly White showed up."
Mystia paused, sighing.
"I just...I still can't believe that she's for real," Mystia said as she waved around a skewer. "Yet there she was, keeping us from being snowed in. But what the hell happened? Yeah, she's real, but why did it take her so long to come out and end winter?"
She seasoned the lamprey and turned it. The firefly didn't answer, and was staring at the counter, apparently lost in thought. Mystia couldn't help but hold her gaze on Wriggle. She could see the gears in the firefly's head turning.
"...Wriggle, what is it?"
Wriggle sat there, blinking a few times, obviously going over something.
"Well, it's just that..."
Wriggle shifted in her seat before sighing.
"...You know what? It's nothing, probably. Just some stupid idea I got in my head anyways. Besides, the 'Spring Snow Incident' is resolved, and that's all that matters. Now everyone will go back to doing their regular things, just like with the Scarlet Mist incident. Nobody will really care after a while, even if we do find out what really happened."
"'Spring Snow Incident'?"
"That's what I've heard other youkai already starting to call it."
As Mystia put down a cup of tea for Wriggle, the firefly youkai stared into the cup.
"Already, Gensokyo is abuzz with rumors on what really happened. The shrine maiden and the witch teamed up again to take this thing on, it seems. But they were joined by two more people."
That surprised Mystia.
"Really? I thought that shrine maiden didn't like making new friends."
Wriggle shrugged.
"She doesn't. But the maid of the Scarlet Devil Mansion helped out, apparently, along with a boy from the outside world."
"A boy from the outside world?"
"Yeah, I think his name is 'Kyon' or whatever."
Mystia nodded at all this, processing it, as she turned the lamprey.
"Huh. Funny name."
Wriggle smiled a bit, already past this part of the conversation.
"Eh, it's not important. But I also wanted to ask...do you have any more of those marshmallow-things?"
Mystia scoffed at this, raising an eyebrow at the firefly.
"Hmph. You really are a bug with that sweet tooth of yours."
"Come on! Those things were delicious. Put them on my lamprey."
"Marshmallows on eels? That's a new one on me."
Not much happened in the time since I woke up in that sitting room. Granted, it took me a while to realize what happened the previous day wasn't a dream. And then it took me a while to recover from the slight shock I had that I actually experienced such an adventure.
Going through it, it was scary at times. Looking back on it while sitting there...I had a blast.
How many people can say they went through what I just went through? Such an adventure!
At least I didn't go hungry - someone had left me breakfast in that room, even though it was cold. One in the afternoon and all. My money was on Sakuya leaving it.
Patchouli was actually conscious when I went back to the entryway - I guess Marisa and Alice's healing spells did some good, and I was "back to work" in getting her and some of the injured maids books and shelving them to pass the time.
The latter quarter of that day, April the 3rd, was spent trying to get me out of Gensokyo. Patchouli was in no shape to do any magic, it seemed, so it was up to Koakuma to try to do teleportation spells to get me out, but they all fizzled out, not working. By the end, Koakuma was on the verge of tears and apologizing to me for failing. It took me a while to calm her down, even though I was disappointed.
Remilia then contacted Reimu to get me out, and Reimu agreed to, but not then, as her shrine's flower viewing festival was being held. It would have to be two days from then, on April 5th, so I had to wait.
It was day four of me being awake in Gensokyo, and I was having a lunch break outside with the gate guard under a tree near the gate, us sitting down on the grass.
Meiling told me what happened earlier that day.
"So Kazami broke the lock?"
I couldn't help but shake my head, amazed that Kazami did that, breaking the lock of the gate just to get in the yard and grow flowers. Meiling shrugged, obviously a bit peeved.
"Not much I could do about it. I've faced her before, and it's usually not worth it to get in a physical match with her."
"'Faced her before?'"
She smiled, allowing her eyes to go "youkai". At least, that's the term I've come up with, applying for whenever one of these non-human's eyes turns inhuman. Meiling's eyes went somewhat catlike, or maybe reptilian; I suppose that's the way to describe them.
"I painted the lake red with her blood. Remember when I spoke of that youkai?"
I sat there stunned. I had no choice but to believe Meiling. After everything I've been through two days prior, I was ready to believe anything while in Gensokyo.
"You actually tore her to bits?"
"What can I say - she stepped into my yard back then. But that's only because I got the drop on her. I guess she has some degree of respect for me, as she's never tried to get back, though I wonder if this was her way of getting some form of revenge. Then again, I can't complain, as she's doing my job right now. I just wish she didn't kill the lock like she did."
Her features going back to human, I sighed inwardly in relief. I didn't like it when they did that.
"Right. Gardener. Wait, right now? She's still here?"
Meiling nodded.
"She's somewhere in the backyard, I think."
She appeared to mull something over, and gave me a smile.
"Why, you want to take her up on her offer?"
Offer? Aw, damn you, Sakuya! I didn't have any proof that it was her, but something told me that it was the maid who let that information out. I couldn't help but blush. This got another laugh from Meiling.
"Kid, Sakuya told me all about that little thing up there. It's been quite the humorous story to listen to."
She raised an eyebrow as I clenched my jaw, inwardly cursing at Sakuya a bit more. Turns out that Sakuya did spread that.
"What, you think the fairy maids are gossip queens, as she called them? She's just as bad, actually." Meiling paused for a few seconds, thinking of something. "But you know what? You should go for it. We youkai are quite passionate."
Wait, what? I couldn't believe what Meiling was saying - what she was implying.
"I mean, what's the worst that could happen?" asked Meiling. She then rolled her eyes. "Well, besides when a human doesn't satisfy their youkai partner, and the youkai eats the human."
I guess that's a negative. A really, really, really big negative. Also, why was I having this conversation?! This was not a subject I expected to go over during lunch, much less with a very full-bodied woman who was extremely attractive.
But she did put ideas into my head, like thinking about youkai/human relations. I wondered if it was possible for a youkai and a human to have children.
"Human and youkai relationships are somewhat rare here in Gensokyo," Meiling said. "But they aren't unheard of. In fact, I think there is a half-human half-youkai as a shopkeeper in the human village. Then again, I rarely go over there, so I don't really know."
Well, that answers that question. Humans and youkai can have offspring. Interesting thing to know, I suppose.
Meiling paused and smiled. Obviously she was thinking about something. Her eyes locked with mine, and suddenly she crawled on her hands and knees, coming eye to eye with me, allowing her eyes to go youkai again. My heart skipped a beat, as she lowered her voice, a bit sultry this time. She was mere centimeters from my face.
"You know? You wanna know something? I wasn't actually lying when I said you were a tasty-looking morsel. I could easily eat you up, kid. In more ways than one."
Wow.
I felt the heat in my face rising as she gave me another grin. She ruffled my hair as she chuckled. Then she used her index finger to bring up my chin, so I was eye to eye with her, and she winked.
"Ah, kid, you're just too easy to tease. You're so much fun."
I had to swallow hard, as my throat went dry for a second.
"You know, it's not fair that you say stuff like that!"
Meiling rolled her eyes.
"Well, if it was fair, then it wouldn't be fun at all."
What kind of logic is that?!
Before I could say anything, we heard a noise coming from the gate. Meiling's eyes narrowed, and she turned her head towards the sound. Taking a bite out of her sandwich, she stood up and went to her post. I couldn't tell if someone was there or not.
I shook my head and sighed, wondering if she was messing with me again. Thing is, she did put more ideas into my head. Mostly about her.
Especially about her.
Well, I am a teenage male. Of course I'm going to have such thoughts - and for a few seconds there, I entertained those thoughts.
Meiling...hmmm. Those long smooth legs of hers, her fit, toned body. Her...bust. Her long red hair, the tanlines she has from being outside all day. And on top of all that, she's a youkai. I've mentioned this before - when I had that conversation with Haruhi. About how...exciting...a friend would be to be...different. How did she put it? "Humans are no fun at all"? And right before me, there was a smoking hot woman who was not actually human.
I'm not gonna lie. It was...exciting, to say the least, to think of such things...Meiling was a paranormal creature with a human body - a killer female body at that. This happens in Sci-Fi, right? Non-humans with human-like bodies can be quite appealing.
Hoo boy, do I need a cold shower.
I needed to stop that. Way too many ideas going through my head at that point...Not to mention her bust matches adult Asahina's, if not surpassing it. Wow. I really need to clear my head of this stuff.
Then again, you know what? I just realized right there. So far throughout my time in Gensokyo, I had not come across a single male. That I've seen, the staff there at the Scarlet Devil Mansion were all female, the people I have met during the incident were female... All the fairies that attacked us in Mayohiga, all were female, too.
I'm surrounded by pretty girls in here. Sakuya, Reimu, Marisa, Meiling, Patchouli, Alice, Yuyuko, Youmu, the Prismrivers, Yuka...and those are just the ones who are at my age or above...in looks anyways. Heck, even that Yuki-Onna had a beauty to her.
Inwardly, I gave a thumbs up to Haruhi for creating such a place, part of me very grateful. Especially grateful for the smoking hot gate guard, even if she was a youkai. Double thumbs up there.
Oh, man, I still get chills thinking about that moment.
Clear my thoughts clear my thoughts clear my thoughts.
I took a bite out of a bread roll as Meiling called to me.
"Hey, kid, wanna see a Kappa?"
My interest piqued, as I was going to see another creature in Gensokyo, and a Kappa, no less. A water goblin. Before I got up, I stared into my lunchbox. There was a cucumber...
Kappa, huh? They're supposed to like cucumbers. Might as well see if it's true.
If it was a Kappa, she was in human form. She wore a blue dress that had a lot of pockets adorned on it, with a key strapped in front. Her wellington boots shone in the sunlight, slick with water. Hell, she looked like she just got out of the lake - she was drenched. She had a big aquamarine backpack that was over-stuffed...which also made it look like she had a turtle shell. She adjusted her green cap as she stared at Meiling, but when her gaze went me with her blue eyes, she obviously became shy - shifting a bit, fidgeting with her shortly cut blue hair with two pigtails. This Kappa girl was actually very cute.
Thumbs up Haruhi. Thumbs up. Meiling couldn't help but chuckle.
"Aw, she's shy around humans."
The kappa girl lowered her eyes, still silent. Meiling bent down a bit, so she was eye level with the girl.
"But hey, I'm a youkai. You can talk to me, right?"
The girl nodded before speaking. Her face had a light blush to them, and the end of her wet pigtails clung to the side of her face. She brushed them off. Oh, wow she's so cute.
"What is this place?"
"This is the Scarlet Devil Mansion, little...hmmm. What's your name?"
"Nitori. Nitori Kawashiro."
Nitori took a few steps back, taking in the mansion, and the repairs being made. She let out a little whistle.
"Wow. So this is the famous SDM. I read in the newspaper that it had a collapse. Looks like the repairs are coming along...decently."
Gensokyo has a newspaper? Well why not.
Meling shot me a look before turning back to the Kappa.
"'Decently'? 'Decently'? What are you getting at?"
"Oh yeah." Nitori dropped her backpack, and opened it, revealing a collection of tools, doo-dads, and the like. "I wanted to ask if you guys were hiring to help along with the repairs. You see, I'm an engineer by trade."
"Really?" Meiling said, showing interest. She whistled back at the mansion, and a guard fairy came running out. "Yo! Tell the mistress we have a Kappa engineer wanting work!"
The guard ran back inside, and before I could even ask if that had any significance, Meiling nodded at me.
"If there's one thing Kappas are good at, it's engineering. Their stuff is high quality in Gensokyo."
"Huh. You know I never really figured Kappas for stuff like that."
"There's a whole difference between folklore and what's real, kid."
Especially when Haruhi is involved. Meiling continued, motioning to the kappa.
"These guys are the best at fixing and building things."
I thought you said the best locks were made in the human village.
Nitori again blushed and looked down. I couldn't help but smile, her shyness making her even more cute. I brought up the cucumber. Instantly she smiled, beaming. I chuckled to myself - at least this bit of folklore was in fact reality. I gave it to her through the gate bars.
"Thank you friend!"
She happily began to eat it. I guess we were waiting for the fairy to come back with confirmation of Nitori being hired or whatnot, since we stood in silence for a while, well, minus Nitori crunching on the cucumber.
"Hey, there is a village of Kappas, right?" Meiling said as she broke the silence. "I've heard it's located at Youkai Mountain. At the base?"
"Yeah. Genbu Marsh. That's where we live."
"And a village of Tengu up the mountain? That's where they live right?"
"That's true too. We work together, actually."
"Thought so."
The guard noticed the look of confusion on my face.
"The Tengus have printing presses. They make the newspapers for youkai, even selling some to the humans in Gensokyo. They also make manga. I always buy a few from the one who comes around selling them every other month. I knew there wasn't just a few tengu around. There had to be a village."
Never figured Meiling for the manga type. But a village of Tengu. Interesting. However, that other rumor Meiling spoke about two days ago...
"Uhm, Nitori." I said.
"Yes?"
"Is there really a path to Hell here in Gensokyo?"
Yeah, I know it's a long shot, but I might as well know. Meiling shook her head.
"You know, some of those rumors are really out there, and that's the one I believe the lea-"
"It exists," Nitori interrupted.
The two of us stared at the Kappa, wide-eyed. She simply shrugged.
"It's actually better now than it was before. I know all about it because the Oni would talk of it when they were still living on Youkai mountain there, the boss of us Kappa and the Tengu. They went back though. There's a new ruler there in the Underground who sealed off the worst part of Hell, so it's not so hot. They're more efficient, just gathering the exceptionally nasty souls and using them to fuel the Nuclear Reactor down there. Amazing power, and a surprisingly good fuel source. The true damned burn up quite well."
Using souls for Nuclear fuel? What in the world...
Meiling slowly turned to me.
"Well, kid. I guess you'd better find out which religion works, unless you want to be Nuclear fuel."
Uhm, I'd ask if I could take back what I asked, but that would not be possible. Guess I'll go through with the rest of it then.
"Okay...so what about Heaven? A path to Hell, a path to Hakugyokurou, so what about Heaven?"
Nitori scratched under her cap.
"Ah, well, I've heard that there might be a way to physically get to Heaven from Gensokyo, but I personally don't know how, exactly. But I do know there is supposed to be a way to the Sanzu River."
The river of the dead. Ah, man.
"You gotta be kidding me. This place has complete access to the afterlife realms?"
"From my understanding, human, yes."
"Gensokyo's an amazing place, isn't it, kid?"
I would walk away from that lunch, dumbstruck. It started to hit me.
Afterlife.
I had confirmation of the afterlife. Most people would kill to find out if there is more to it than the life we have, and yet I know for a fact that there is more. I wasn't filled with wonder, awe, or anything else but fear. Not fear for my soul - that would come later.
No. Fear for another thing. How it reacts to her.
Haruhi has to believe in an afterlife. When I thought about it, of course she does. She has to - it fits her. Who wouldn't want more to come after you die? It would fit for her - her need for more. Of course, for me, this changes everything, doesn't it? I've seen Hakugyokurou, touched its ground, breathed its air, eaten its food, so I know it does exist. Yet...it is weird about its physical aspects. Breathing air in the realm of the dead? That would go against convention and logic, but again, do I have to say who has to be behind this? Who I've come to believe who is behind all of this?
Convention and logic don't really go well with how Haruhi views life.
For the rest of that day, I spent contemplating what it really meant for me. The existence of something beyond it all. Meiling was right - I'll have to find out which religion works...which means whatever Haruhi believes in is going to work.
Wait, is that how it is?
Yeah, this is getting a bit touchy, thinking about it, even now.
So...wait. That brings up a frightening...very scary notion. Bear with me here. Haruhi could essentially control who goes to heaven and to hell, based on her own beliefs. It just depends on what she believes in. If anyone could convince her to convert to their religion, it's...wow. They can guarantee themselves entry into heaven. Or even scarier, start their own cult, get her to join and believe, and they decide themselves who is saved by using and controlling her...ah, man. So very scary.
I could see Koizumi's reasoning about keeping Haruhi stable. The implications of having her control not just how the world is, but the very lives and souls of the people within it...this stuff is way out of my league. I would dwell on it, but doing so scares me.
Koizumi and the others were right. This is a very delicate situation I'm in. My initial reactions to them, of "why don't you just tell her", would have had dire consequences. I found myself respecting my Brigade associates a little bit more.
A high schooler should not have this burden of knowledge on his shoulders. I swear, hanging out with Haruhi is going to drive me to drink. And I'm not even a grown adult.
Later that day, after nightfall, Remilia had called for me to walk with her in her yard. Sakuya was dismissed from her duties for the day, and the only ones walking side by side were me and the vampire mistress. We walked in silence for a bit in the midst of her gardens, before she stopped and turned to me, her eyes a bit sad.
"So, tomorrow might be your final day."
Ah. So that's what this is.
"Yeah...that meeting you set up with Reimu."
She slowly nodded, scoffing a little.
"First off, I'd like to apologize for not being able to uphold my end of the bargain, Kyon. I said that if you were to go out there and help solve this, then we at the Scarlet Devil Mansion would get you out. Thing is...Patchi-"
I knew what she was implying, and of course I couldn't hold it against her.
"You don't have to apologize for that," I said. "It happened. It was beyond your control. The important thing is that she's still alive, you know."
I said that because she had essentially been beating herself up those days since it happened. I had noticed it - as well as the maids. It was just earlier that day did she manage to pry away from Patchouli's side.
Remilia slowly nodded. A tired look came across her face.
"I just..." Remilia paused, blinking a few times. "...I just never expected something this big to be the cause of it all. A youkai tree that could have ended the world, a girl who can control and create reality, and the fact that the entirety of Gensokyo's spring was gathering in your body."
"You didn't expect it? How about me? I never expected to wake up a few days ago thrust into this world."
Not that I mind right now.
"Well, isn't it what you wanted?"
I shrugged, even though she did have a point.
"When I was a kid. When I was in junior high. I wanted all of this, to be a part of all this, or at least be a part of something like this, but I got over it." I rubbed the back of my neck. "I mean, I thought I got over all of this, and the past year has been something else, to say the least. I get all of this-"
"-And Haruhi," said Remilia as she started up the walk again, "the cause of it all, gets nothing. If that isn't irony, then I don't know what is."
Remilia grinned, showing those fangs of hers. I have to say, seeing Remilia smile after the past few days and what she went through, with Patchouli almost dying, the partial destruction of her home, the loss of some of her servants, it was kind of a relief. Weird though, isn't it? I haven't even known this person for a week yet, and the day that I really knew her, my first day awake, she wasn't really nice to me. Yet already I missed her smile. I smiled as well.
"What's sad is that even when I told her what was going on, she wouldn't believe it."
Remilia winked.
"In a way, she's like you."
That made me furrow my brow in confusion. She tapped her index finger on her temple, in a motion that said "think about it".
"What you said, right? After all, you too, were told about that. Your alien, time traveler, and esper friends all told you what was going on as well. And you didn't believe them either, right?"
"Well, not until I got proof."
"As did Haruhi, in a way. That snow mansion?" The vampire rolled her eyes. "How could she dismiss that as 'group hypnosis'? That has got to be the dumbest thing to work, if I may say that."
"Don't worry. You may. Matter of fact, I think it was stupid."
In the back of my mind, I also realized that should I get back, it would have to be around that time. Back to New Years. I'd be back with the Brigade in Tsuruya's vacation house. And yet, so much has happened to me since then.
What was that quote from Lewis Carrol's Alice in Wonderland? "There is no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then"? I think that's how it goes. But would it apply to me?
Of course it would. I've found out a very special place filled with paranormal things. I found a sort of Wonderland.
Remilia kept talking, despite my musings.
"What's even sadder than being told is that she accepted your explanations. Poor girl. She wants all of this-" Remilia extended her arms out to the sky, implying all of Gensokyo, "-yet she's so ready to accept what other people tell her. She doesn't want to be a part of the herd of sheep that is humanity...when she is the biggest sheep of them all."
That's going a bit too far, Remilia. But you do bring up an interesting point. Then again, it's due to that "logical side" Koizumi said that Haruhi has. I have to be thankful for that.
I crossed my arms and smirked at her.
"If you knew her, then you'd know that she doesn't accept what people tell her. For most of the time, anyway."
"Mmm...so, Kyon, Sakuya said that you didn't answer that ghost's question." Remilia quickly changed the subject. It seemed she had a few questions for me. "What was it...ah, yes. Do you really think Suzumiya is responsible for all of this?" The vampire said that as she made a sweeping gesture of her surroundings. "That after all this time, the past few days, do you really believe that Haruhi Suzumiya created all of this?"
I answered her pretty quickly.
"I do."
"Hmm. You're so ready to believe it. Why?"
"Well, Remi, if-"
She raised up a finger, a flash of annoyance washing over her face, giving me a small glare.
"You don't get to call me 'Remi', Kyon."
Serves me right to try to call her that.
"Ah...okay...Remilia. Well, Remilia, if you've been through what I've been through, then you'd know that everything weird that happens to me is due to Haruhi. There are numerous occasions, but the one that stands out right now in my mind is when we made a movie."
For a brief second, I felt the need to tell Remilia what a movie was, but didn't she say that they came to Gensokyo fairly recently? Of course she would know what a movie was.
"You see, Haruhi wanted to make a movie, and she wanted things to happen for that movie. And they did happen...boy, did they happen. She wanted a talking cat - a talking cat showed up. She wanted white birds - all the pigeons around us turned white as doves. She wanted Asahina to shoot lasers out of her eyes...and it almost burned our faces off. That, beyond anything else, proved to me that she is responsible for such things."
The dumbstruck look on Remilia's face was quite amusing.
"...One of your friends had lasers shooting out of her eyes?"
She slowly shook her head as she stared at the ground, apparently trying to process that.
"Wow, Kyon. That's just really out there, even for my tastes. But it's also amazing. For such a being like Haruhi to exist, to manipulate the world with unconscious will..."
She winked at me as she brushed her hair out of her eyes.
"You sure do live an interesting life."
I do, don't I? The past year has been very interesting, to say the least. I am in the middle of something far greater than I will ever know.
The vampire let out a little laugh, then turned towards the moon and stretched.
"Ah...so good to see the moon again. Those storms have been taking over the night sky for far too long. You did well, my servant."
Excuse me?
"I'm not really your servant."
"Actually you are."
No, I'm not. She crossed her arms as she continued to stare up.
"You worked for Patchi, who, despite being my best friend, actually does work for me. Therefore, you work for me."
Remilia being a lot like Haruhi isn't a good thing.
"So she's just your librarian?"
She turned, obviously annoyed.
"Not just a librarian, Kyon. She's a scientist, magical researcher, and most importantly, the tutor."
"Tutor?"
Remilia's arrogance came back, as she puffed out her chest in pride.
"I give my servants an education. I make sure they are intelligent. Patchi is a very good tutor...has been a good tutor for Flan..."
She lost that arrogance as she stared up at the sky, sighing over that. Why I asked the next question, I'll never know.
"Remilia, why did you let Flandre fight Reimu and Marisa?"
Her face went blank, and her wings flicked a bit. She hesitated, and slowly shook her head. Looked like I caught her off guard with that. The vampire stared me directly in the eye, her face serious.
"It was a gamble. One that paid off. You see, ever since becoming a vampire, I have never been beaten. I've come to a stalemate once..."
She trailed off on that, seemingly not wanting to go down that road. I gave her a reprieve by not pressing that issue.
"'Became a vampire'?"
Remilia gave me a crooked smile that flashed her fangs at me. She ran her tongue over one of them.
"Wasn't born like this, Kyon. I was turned at the age of twelve - Flan at seven. And I'm not going to get into my history here for you. You'll need to become a closer friend for that."
Too bad. Might be very interesting. Although what she said made me take notice.
"So, you consider me a friend then?"
She bobbed her head from side to side, appearing to mull that over.
"Actually, I think I do. You're quite easy to talk to, Kyon."
Great. I'm friends with a vampire. You know, Haruhi would be so jealous. Hell, any facet of my odyssey since meeting her would make her jealous. I then asked another question.
"How old are you, exactly?"
"That I can tell you. I was born in 1502. Flan was born in 1507. I won't tell you much else about our past, but I can tell you about why I let Flan fight those two humans, Marisa and Reimu. You see, they tore through my servants. Meiling, Patchi, Sakuya...all deadly, but they all fell."
Remilia paused as she looked the fountain, seemingly inspecting it. We had walked around the mansion for one full circuit, and were at the front of the mansion. Remilia hopped up on the edge of the lower basin of the fountain, and sat there. I joined her.
"The miko...Reimu was quite cocky - she challenged me on a full moon, when the sky was scarlet, giving me the Red Full Moon. The Hunter's Moon - my moon. Do you know what she said? She said that she wanted to face me when I would be at full power, so I couldn't complain when she beat me. Cheeky little miko. And she backed it up."
Amazing Reimu got away with that. The vampire smiled, raising a single finger in the air, all "matter-of-factly".
Man, her mannerisms are so much like Haruhi's. Remilia is more refined like a noble, but she just has those subtle ways of acting a bit like Haruhi.
"It was impressive that she beat me. But of course, I had my pride. So I thought of Flan. I actually didn't have to do anything, as Flan had heard the fighting, and became restless. She got out of her room, and started to destroy the mansion, searching for the cause of it all. I...I obliged, but not before giving her the rules of Danmaku."
"You let her destroy parts of your mansion?"
The vampire shrugged as she shot a glance towards her home.
"When Flan gets riled up, there is no stopping her. I dare say that Flandre is stronger than me at times. I think you know how that situation is, where sometimes you can't help but let the destruction run its course."
I knew what Remilia was implying. She continued.
"So...I...took advantage of it. I wanted Reimu and Marisa beat at their own game, by my sister. My sister, who can destroy anything. My sister, who made up her own illegal spell cards because she couldn't comprehend the 'full power is omitted' rule - she still lost."
Remilia stroked her chin, keeping her smile.
"Kyon, I was right to make the miko and the witch my allies. They have a drive I have not seen in a human since I acquired Sakuya."
"Acquired Sakuya"? I might have to ask the maid what that really means
"And it paid off," Remilia said. "Marisa was able to connect to Flan in a way. As a result, Flan has started to be a bit more social, more open to people. She was afraid of coming up out of the basement; no matter what I did in the past, I was never able to break her out of her shell, and kept her down there for her own good..."
Remilia lowered her head a bit, closing her eyes for a few seconds.
"I...I always failed...not only as her guardian, but as her sister. I never could get my sister to be normal. But those two helped her be... normal again. Flan is finally starting to live a somewhat normal life after nearly 500 years, all because of those two. They succeeded where I failed for half a millennium. I'm finally seeing my sister smile a smile of enjoyment again."
She stared up at the moon, giving another sigh. Before I could say what I wanted to say, Remilia appeared to anticipate it.
"I know, I know. Using my sister to get some degree of revenge wasn't very nice. But it worked out in the end, for everyone."
I was a little weirded out that she beat me to the punch there, even though it was true. Using her own sister like that was kind of fiendish. Inwardly I shrugged.
"So the end justifies the means?"
She smirked at me as she used her index finger to draw circles into the water of the fountain. So...water doesn't hurt her? Wasn't that supposed to be a weakness of vampires?
"I am a vampire," Remilia said. "Aren't we evil creatures?"
"Depends on whose version of vampires, I guess."
I guess this is Haruhi's version?
Remilia nodded, as she thought that over.
"True. Whomever is behind stories where we appear is usually in control of how we are portrayed. There have been good and bad vampires in fiction. However, for a real one, I think I fall on the latter." A sickly sweet smile crept on Remilia's face. "I make no excuse for what I am. I love being what I am. Because if I didn't, I'd have regrets over what I've done in the past."
"Like..." I hesitated asking. "Like what?
Remilia's smile went wider, and her eyes glistened with some sort of perverted pleasure. Her voice showed that.
"'Like what?' A lot of violent things, Kyon. Things you wouldn't like to hear." Remilia hopped off the fountain, and went right in front of me, looking up into my eyes with her unnatural eyes. Her voice sort of changed, becoming...I want to say becoming more mature and intimidating for a vampire with a twelve-year old body.
"Such as tearing men into pieces with my bare hands. Razing villages. Personally torturing those who tested me. Spreading a path of destruction, pain, and suffering against those who didn't respect me. Or, if I was feeling really sadistic, just give people I don't like to Flan. Real 'old school' stuff, is what kids your age would say."
Remilia turned and spread out her arms in a dramatic fashion, letting her wings stretch out so she seemed much bigger than she really was, which wasn't saying alot - for a second, I mused that she was actually short for someone with a twelve-year old body. Her voice boomed in the night sky.
"I am a vampire! I am a descendant of Tepes! I am the master of the night!" She turned, pointing a finger at me, a somewhat crazed smile on her face. It was an unsettling sight to see. "There is a reason why I'm called the 'Scarlet Devil'. One, because I'm terrifying on the battlefield. Two - I usually end up covered in blood by the time I'm done with a fight, or when I'm feeding. That's why I was called that - not because of my name. Because I was colored scarlet from the blood of my enemies!"
Yeah, I don't want to hear about any of that. I'd like to be able to sleep tonight, thank you. But still, this was interesting. This child was one of the more frightening things I've ever come across. An actual child vampire. I thought Claudia from Interview with the Vampire was the best child vampire, but Haruhi's version here was way more interesting.
"I had to establish myself in Europe," said Remilia as her voice went back to her normal childish tone, "become the most respected vampire out there."
"How was that?"
She went silent for a second, averting her eyes. She let out a sigh.
"Okay, for the most part. I did have some allies who pledged themselves to me, but they proved to be my downfall."
"What do you mean?"
She turned and began to walk towards the gate, her hands behind her back. She stopped after a few steps, and motioned for me to join her. I did as such. We walked in silence until we got to the gate. Remilia put her right hand on the iron bars, and stared out at the lake as she spoke.
"Meiling stated that we were here only for a few decades. To be more precise, we've been here since the 1970's, really. Have you heard of the 'Highgate Vampire'?"
My mind went over that, as I remembered reading about that. It was one of the most media-covered incidents about a vampire in recent history, if my memory served me correct. Europe. England - London, to be exact. There was supposedly a vampire around Highgate Cemetery, and vampire hunters claimed to have killed it. The incident started a fervor of vampire hunting. It was...a hoax. Supposedly a hoax. I told her that. But if she's telling me about it, then it actually happened?
"Well, that vampire was for real. It's just that at the end of the day, the government did not want to allow the fact that youkai are for real be known. So they moved some money around, got people to change their testimony, all the while funding vampire hunters to track my kind down. The problem was that before the Highland Vampire died, he gave up the location of his den, which was raided. That den had the coordinates for my home on their records." She nodded to her mansion. "That's why I had to move my mansion. They were coming for me and Flan. We were only able to get away because the two main vampire hunters, a Mr. Farrant and a Mr. Manchester, were too busy fighting each other."
She stifled a laugh as she turned and leaned against the gate. She appeared amused by this little story she was telling me.
"I wish I could have seen it. Those two, leading a mob of volunteer vampire hunters and the media, to the location of my mansion, claiming that the mansion would give undeniable proof of the existence of vampires...and the mansion wasn't there. Vampire hunters lost all credibility after that little incident, and about damn time." Remilia's smile was one of victory. "No wonder those two wound up having problems later in their lives, or so I've heard."
Remilia laughed for a good minute. I did have to admit - that was quite humorous. Then again, I did feel sorry for the guys. They were going to give solid proof that vampires existed, but they ended up having nothing to show for it at all.
To be so close to realizing your dream, to prove the existence of paranormal entities, of vampires to the world...and to have it all taken away. Not only that, but you get labeled as a hoax-starter, and lose all credibility. Poor guys. Can't even imagine how bad they feel.
I mean, imagine if Haruhi had found out about it, and she was going to prove the existence of the paranormal to the world, in order to validate her club...only for nothing to come of it, she would be heartbroken. Of course, she wouldn't show it, but she would be heartbroken.
"Ah, but this is boring," Remilia said as she pushed herself off the gate. She took a few steps past me, and stared up at the sky, facing the mansion, her hands clasped behind her. "Thing is, Kyon, tomorrow, you might be able to leave this place. Chances are, I'll be asleep by then. So, really, the reason why I wanted to talk to you tonight was, well, to talk to you. Other than Patchi, you're possibly the only other person I feel comfortable with. There is..." She paused, as if trying to come up with the words. "I can't describe it. There is something in you that makes people want to confide in you. They might tell you embarrassing secrets, or things they don't want to, or wouldn't say to others, but with you, I think they would."
What Remilia said struck a chord in me, making me pause and think. I thought back to Taniguchi and his telling me of Haruhi's infamous "Five Minute date". Chances are, that was his failed attempt. I also thought back to all the times people have sat me down and explained things. Was such a thing true? Even now I think about it. Is there something in me that makes people tell me their secrets?
Another memory replayed in my head - that of Haruhi by the train tracks, telling me why she was the way she was. That she was afraid of being just another person, an anonymous human being swallowed up into the vastness of humanity. And of course I couldn't forget the other Brigade members and how they take the time to tell me things. Then again, most of it was necessary - there were a lot of things I didn't understand, that I would have needed them to explain everything to me. Either way, it might be annoying to have such an "ability", if I could call it that.
But maybe it works in my favor. I mean, if Asakura hadn't confided in what she was going to do back in that classroom, if she hadn't taken the time to explain herself instead of killing me outright, and given Nagato the time to save me...well, when Asakura was "human" in that alternate universe, she simply snuck up on me and stabbed me in the back. If it wasn't for my other self and the two Asahinas and normal Nagato, I would have died at the hands of a mere human Asakura. It would have been so damn easy for interface Asakura to tear me to pieces without explaining her motives.
I decided then and there. Whatever was going on with me, it was useful. Saved my life, after all.
The two of us stood there in silence, me with my thoughts, and Remilia staring up at the moon. It was a while before she spoke.
"What I'm saying, Kyon, is that in case I can't say it tomorrow-"
She turned to me. Grabbing me by the collar, she brought me to my knees, and quickly placed a kiss on my forehead - her cold lips soothing, sending shivers down my spine. Her inhuman eyes stared into my surprised eyes. Seeing her this close, this eternally twelve year old girl...she was cute, but I wondered how she would have looked had she been given the time to age a few years. Chances are, she would have been a very beautiful woman. And her eyes...her mesmeric inhuman eyes were drawing me in. This feeling washed over me, making me want to do whatever she wanted. At least, that's what it felt like.
Thinking about it now, I think I can attribute that to whatever vampires do to catch their prey - that "vampire hypnosis" made famous in those Dracula movies. Which meant that I was possibly under said hypnosis at that time. Thing is, I don't know if Remilia planted ideas in my head during that time I was lost in her eyes or what. At least she didn't feed on me, or say anything, I think. From what I could remember of that hazy time, we just stared into each others eyes. She kissed me again on the forehead, bringing me out of my daze. The vampire smiled at me, apparently satisfied with my reaction.
"-I want to say it right now. Goodbye."
And with that, she took a few steps back, and transformed into a bat.
Uhm...okay. So that part about vampires is true as well. How about that.
It was quick, so quick, I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't see it. Better than any CGI the movies could do for this effect. Remilia flew away, into the night sky. All I could do was watch.
I don't know how long I was there, staring up at the sky where Remilia flew, but it must have been long enough. Meiling had come out of the mansion, walked up to me, and got me to my feet. She didn't say anything, just smiled.
I am going to miss Gensokyo, I think.
-begin-
[ATTACK DETECTED]
[INITIATING COUNTERMEASURES]
[WARNING: DAMAGE DONE TO DATABANKS]
[WARNING: 51,671,433 FILES LOST OR DAMAGED BEYOND REPAIR]
[UNABLE TO TRACE ATTACK]
-end-
-make new entry? y/n-
-y-
-begin-
You like that, don't you?
-Love, Yukari
-end-
-save-
-saving...-
-save successfull-
-quit-
Ah, yes. Yuka Kazami(she is also called "Yuuka", either way seems to be correct - mostly to clear up things. The nickname by fans for Yukari is "Yukarin", while the nickname for Yuka is "Yuukarin", so it's sometimes done with two u's to avoid confusion. Again, tangent, sorry.)...according to the Touhou wiki, it's essentially impossible to kill Yuka. Hell, in one Touhou fan game, she gets her arms pretty much ripped off and she still survives. Yes she is that badass. Yet she is only interested in flowers. Kind of a weird one to take care of flowers, huh? But she is very powerful, and has lived a long life, even for a youkai. She also is viewed and portrayed by the fans to be very...sadistic. Even for the fans to go so far as to call her the U.S.C. No, she's not a Trojan. That stands for "Ultimate Sadistic Creature". And I'm gonna refrain from going into further detail about that for obvious reasons.
Interesting theory a few fans have about her. Some of them have taken to go so far as to call her the embodiment of Mother Nature, even. This give you the scope of her power.
I found Yuka so much fun to write for.