To "Logistics Error": I subscribe to the notion that the Haruhi series begins in 2003 for two things. 1 - The computer the computer club had, the state of the art one, was running Windows 95. Windows 95 was phased out in the early 2000's. 2 - In the first book, Kyon speaks of 1999 in the same breath as his junior high years. And for a third, out of the story reason, if I recall correctly, Nagaru Tanigawa came up with the concept of Haruhi as a New Years Dream in 2000. Three years later, out came the first book. The "three years ago" was 2000, when that world was literally born. (I think I used "literally" the correct way, Another Duck).
And pardon for me going on about that. Back to the fan fiction portion of our program.
I want to apologize in advance. Sorry for Ran not fighting in this story, for all you Ran-Lovers.
No, no King of Hyrule in this one. For most of you, that went over your head. I'm glad. Unless you've read some of the Haruhi crackfics. Then I'd just have Greg the Submarine stare at you.
Also, I hope all the build-up of Flandre satisfies you for her reveal, although I do realize, that if you have been reading the Haruhi crack fics, (and you should - especially superstarultra's!) then for sure you've seen Flandre in one of them.
Why would she smell of McDonalds and Peppermint Candies though? Blood and dust I could understand...
Oh I get it now. McDonalds because of the McRoll. Ahahahaha yeah.
Nice one, superstarultra. Nice one. I finally get it.
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:
Serendipital
superstarultra
The next day.
April 5th, 2004.
Koakuma's footsteps echoed in the hallway, in the part of the mansion the servants rarely visited. It was a bit unnerving for it to be so quiet, especially with all the construction that had been going on. That, and it was very dark - shadows were everywhere. She swallowed hard as she turned the corner, and stared down at the large stone staircase.
The staircase to the basement.
She stood there for a while, clutching a batch of chocolates that was freshly made. They were Flandre's favorite. For a few seconds, she wanted to turn and run all the way back to the library, but she felt that she needed to thank the little mistress for saving Patchouli.
Walking down, the assistant librarian numbly registered the slash marks on the brick wall, the red stains on the steps, and the broken pieces of various things - stone, brick, wood, possibly bone - crunching under her shoes as she made her way towards the large doorway at the bottom. She let out a slow sigh to steady herself when she reached the bottom. Her body shaking, she stepped forward and reached for the doorknob.
She slipped on an especially large piece, falling to her knees. Nothing was hurt, thankfully, but-
"Yes?"
The voice came from right behind her.
Behind me. Flandre is behind me. She wasn't in the basement. She's behind me.
Koakuma's body shook even harder. Even though Flandre was the sister of her masters' best friend, Koakuma was still afraid, especially after hearing all the stories and rumors of this vampire. Whenever Flandre came up to the Library, Koakuma made herself scarce out of fear.
Her mouth went dry, but she managed to speak. "...I...I wanted to...personally...to personally thank you..."
She could feel Flandre's breath on the back of her neck. Koakuma dared not turn around.
"For what?"
Koakuma had to remind herself to start breathing again.
"Lady Patchouli. Your saving...Lady Patchouli."
There was silence. But Koakuma could still feel the breathing of Flandre. The summoned devil's body shook so hard it was tough for her to even breathe properly.
"It's just that...I never got the chance...to properly thank you. These...these chocolates are for you."
Flandre grabbed the batch, but still spoke to the assistant librarian.
"Little Devil, I didn't save Patchi. Meiling saved Patchi. You saved Patchi. Sakuya and that boy ended winter and they saved our mansion. One of the maids is allergic to pork. I just held up a ton of debris."
"Allergic to pork"? What?
Flandre began to chuckle, sending shivers down Koakuma's spine. Then, again, silence. But this time the breathing was gone. Mustering up the courage to finally look behind her, Koakuma found herself to be alone. She sighed in relief.
Then she heard Flandre giggling somewhere in the darkness. It reverberated up and down the staircase, echoing and drilling into her brain.
Koakuma got up and bolted all the way back to the Library, never looking back.
Flandre enjoyed the chocolates.
Imperfect Cherry Blossom
Episode 12
["Dinner"]
=Summon of the Youkai's Summon=
"The Cherry trees were already in full bloom.
Yet the Japanese hearts were still not satisfied.
A mysterious occurence on the crossroads to three countries."
-Touhou 7, Perfect Cherry Blossom - Extra Stage
Three days later.
April 8th, 2004.
Okay. There are males in Gensokyo, in the human village. Too bad. I sort of found the feeling of being the "last man on Earth with nothing but women around" thing kind of...entertaining.
And what a village it was. It was like I stepped back in time...and not just the three or so years that the time travelers are allowed to go. Really stepped back in time. A true old Japanese village...well, city. I could tell it was very big, but it was so awesome to see just a part of it. People of all races (dominantly Japanese) in kimonos, yukatas, uwangis, and the like going about their business. Everyone was speaking Japanese fluidly or with minor difficulty, despite their race.
(By the way, Reimu's attempts to get me out of there kind of failed. Well, not kind of. Completely failed. I'll get into it a little later though.)
We were in the village because Yuyuko requested a dinner at the Scarlet Devil mansion. We finished our shopping, and were making our way back to the mansion
One thing to note - the people there in the village gave me a wide berth when they saw who I was traveling with. I guess since I was with Sakuya, they knew I was associated with the famed Scarlet Devil. But it wasn't like they turned down doing business with us. It just felt a little weird that people were staring at us, and letting us pass. Out of fear or respect, I couldn't tell which. I think mostly fear.
To tell the truth, in a way it was pretty cool. I felt important. At least it wasn't like back in my high school where some of the other students would look at me weird because of my association with Suzumiya. In Gensokyo, I was associated with a vampire. Yeah, Haruhi could be as scary as one at times, but I was associated with an actual vampire.
Some people were friendly to Sakuya and I, while some weren't. After all, the Human Village was founded by youkai hunters. But still, I guess that it wasn't the case for everyone to hate youkai. Before we got to the village, we passed by a food stand that appeared to be run by a youkai - a girl with wings. Some sort of bird youkai. I didn't get a good look at her, as there were a lot of customers crowding around, but it seemed that some people tolerate youkai, even in the Human Village.
However, there was one person keeping an eye on us. A very pretty Japanese girl, a few years older than me but younger than Sakuya, was watching us with her red eyes, puffing away on a cigarette. About my height, but a slender/athletic build - she had long, ash-white hair that went down to her ankles, a white dress shirt, red pants and red suspenders. It reminded me of when Mario of the Mario Brothers picked up a fire flower, but she was a smoking hot (pun intended) female variant. I wondered why Reimu was called "Red-White" when that smoker girl seemed to embrace it. She even had red and white sneakers. Smoker girl kept her distance, but she followed us on our shopping trip.
Weird thing is, smoker girl had paper amulets and seals against fire adorned all over her pants and even tied up as ribbons in her hair (and said amulets and seals were even red and white). There was one over-sized amulet tied up in her hair like a bow. She must have really needed protection from fire. I asked Sakuya who that smoker girl was, but other than "she's one of the defenders of the human village", the maid didn't know. Smoker girl appeared when we entered the village, and followed us until we left for the mansion. Sakuya didn't seem to mind, so I didn't either.
Anyway, I was really looking forward to our dinner that night, as Yuyuko contacted us the day before, promising to have a way to get me out of Gensokyo. Everything that Patchouli (she had to instruct Koakuma what to try, as she was still bed-ridden) and Reimu attempted didn't work, as I couldn't get out of there. Reimu even opened a hole in the border itself, allowing Marisa to exit and re-enter, but for some reason, I couldn't get through.
Speaking of the miko, Marisa was right about Reimu. At her shrine (by the way, the Hakurei Shrine was amazing - a picturesque shrine, what you would imagine a proper Japanese Shrine would look like), Reimu had to be the most laid back, carefree person I could have ever met. We actually just lazed about for an hour drinking (I refrained from asking why she had a collection of alcohol) before Reimu tried getting me out. We didn't talk about anything important, besides going over a copy of a Tengu newspaper that Marisa had gotten a hold of - I think its name was the Bunbunmaru. I have to say, making Gensokyo front page news was jarring. My first time being on the front page of any newspaper. But there I was, along with the girls, with action shots of Sakuya vs Letty, Reimu vs Chen, and Marisa vs Alice. I didn't even know we were being watched. It was creepy.
Also, whoever shot it got my bad side. In the pictures where I was flying around with Marisa as she battled Alice, I appeared scared out of my mind - my face frozen in mid-scream. Whoever it was who took the pictures had to have been that crow tengu I saw at the mansion, because there were pictures of the collapse as well in the same newspaper, that had to have been taken from where the girl was standing.
Reimu was upset over being on the newspaper, as she said she is portrayed as a slacker in said newspaper, being called "unreliable". She ranted, calling the paper "a poorly written, lie-filled, cheaply made mess". But she calmed down after a few drinks.
By the way, I didn't touch the stuff. Did not want to have a bad hangover like I did on the island with the Brigade.
It was staggering, actually, the difference between a peaceful Reimu and the one that I knew during that incident, the Reimu who dealt with youkai. It was like she was two different people - Lazy Reimu and Youkai-Extermination Reimu. Thing is, when I casually tried to find out something about her, well, anything about her, she shut down. I asked her where her family was, and she dropped her carefree attitude, almost getting angry at me for even asking. If you were to ask me, I don't think Reimu makes many friends. Maybe that's why she was so worried over Marisa when we were facing the Saigyou Ayakashi.
It was a trying week, not being able to get back, but at least things had calmed down. Spring came back full-force. Things had grown fast - leaves, flowers, and plant life, all blooming as if to catch up with the time lost. I suppose Yuka was busy. The mansions repairs were coming along smoothly thanks to Nitori (the Kappa had begun to install electrical wiring throughout the house - however, I don't know how they would get power in the first place). Patchouli, while still bed-ridden, was doing well, and most of the injured staff were getting back on their feet. Marisa kept bringing Alice to the mansion to check out the library and talk to Patchouli. Everything was actually quite peaceful.
Way too many tangents already.
We were on our way back, our wicker baskets full of food, walking along a path near the lake. Various creatures were out and about. Rabbits, deer, and birds, all running (or in the birds case, flying) about, and a few fairies playing tag. I paused when I saw Cirno among them; she was laughing, having a good time. A far cry from the murderous tendencies she had a week ago. She tackled a fairy in green, laughing aloud like an idiot. A few more fairies were over the lake, using water as danmaku in a friendly water fight.
Huh. Danmaku water fight...in other words...splash fight. But more magical and sophisticated. I wanted to join in as it looked fun, but I let it go, especially since I couldn't use water as danmaku. I would have lost anyways. And wouldn't it be weird for a high schooler to jump in a lake to play with fairies?
I can't believe I was in a position to even think such a thing. But I suppose if Haruhi were there in my place, she'd do it in a snap.
It sure was spring, and life had indeed returned to this once dead and dry land of make-believe. It was weird, actually. Just a week ago, the whole land was under a blanket of snow, and also under the threat of being frozen. Yet there I was, in what was a seemingly normal mid-spring day.
I did this. I helped make it like this. I helped save this world.
I felt a sense of accomplishment looking at it all, similar to the feeling I had after Haruhi's failed attempt at remaking the world. Man, I know it happened a year prior, but thinking about that actually felt sort of nostalgic. I hurried to join Sakuya when she called back to me.
"So, tell me," I said as I caught up with the maid. "If you don't mind me asking again, how did you lose to Remilia?"
The maid gave me a rather annoyed smile when I asked her that question.
"Ah...you never stop asking that."
"Hey, you were the one who brought it up in the afterlife."
Looking back on that, it's kind of an interesting situation, you know. My life sure was interesting if I asked a question that had that in it - "in the afterlife".
Sakuya smiled.
"True. At least you have the courtesy to never ask me while I'm in front of milady."
"I'd just really like to know."
She kept walking in silence for a while before she finally told me.
"Ah, why not. It's a good chance this is your last day here anyways."
I thought it was my last day here three days ago.
"I arrived here, in Gensokyo. I found my way to the human village, and started to hear rumors of something called the 'Scarlet Devil'. They spoke of it in hushed tones, about blood covering the lake, and I instantly thought 'vampire'. I made my way around the lake to find the mansion, and the door guard didn't put up much of a fight, surprisingly. It was strange. Meiling went easy on me there, especially since I now know how viciously she can fight."
I couldn't help but inwardly sigh. She did face the Scarlet Devil right then and there.
"She didn't seem much of a threat, so I let her live."
Sakuya let out a small chuckle, and I inwardly chuckled. Now, for some reason, I have kept Meiling's "Scarlet Devil" story to myself, and I don't know why. Made me wonder why Sakuya didn't know about it. Well, if they want to tell her, then they can tell her.
"I think I let my powers go to my head. I felt unbeatable. Well," Sakuya shrugged, "I was unbeatable. I was a young teenager with a power trip. At fourteen I thought I could take on anything. I just wasn't prepared for Lady Remilia. I snuck in, explored, and found her in the throne room, just sitting there, enjoying a glass of blood. And because I was unbeatable, and throw in the fact that she looks like a child, I was quite cocky. I gave her a vampire hunter's speech, and she sat there, amused, with my 'I shall destroy your evil kind', 'you don't belong in this world' type deal."
Has Sakuya played Castlevania? I didn't ask her.
"Then I fought with her, toying with my prey, because I knew I could stop time and get an easy kill."
Interesting that she called Remilia her "prey" right there.
"You know," I said, "I've seen you set up knives, but why don't you simply kill something while time is stopped?"
She flashed another smile as she brushed one of her braids out of her face.
"What, you mean like going up to someone and slashing their throat? Couldn't. My time powers back then weren't as developed as they are now. At that age, if I touched someone while time was stopped, one of two things happened. Either I brought them into my grey realm, or it broke the effect and time returned. I simply couldn't make kills in such a cheap way."
If you could, you'd be unstoppable.
Oh, I would give anything to have her powers. Besides my own selfish...misuse of the powers...*ahem*...I'd use it to get a full night's sleep. No more dragging myself out of bed against my will. Time to get up? Screw that. Stop time and sleep for a few more hours and wake up when I'm good and ready. And I'd be able to get in a play through of a game or two. And look up answers on a test if I get stuck.
And of course...I am male...and the girls change in different rooms...every young man's fantasy, right? Thoughts of sneaking in on Mikuru as she was changing into her maid outfit flashed through my mind, and I felt guilty for thinking such thoughts. I would be really horrible if I had time-stopping powers, wouldn't I?
Okay, enough about that. Sakuya was telling me a story.
"And I couldn't against Lady Remilia. But yeah, back to what I was saying about Lady Remilia and I fighting."
"Since she's still standing..."
Can't believe I said that again, especially since I knew the outcome.
"Yeah. I guess she sensed something special about me. When I sprang my time powers on her, she was genuinely surprised, and she surprised me as well. Lady Remilia was able to survive my attacks - she heals quicker than any other vampire I've come across, and she actually retreated."
That's a bit of a shocker. Remilia doesn't really seem to be the type of person to run from a fight.
"Remilia retreated?"
The maid slowed her walk, looking up into the sky, a thoughtful look on her face.
"Mmm...wrong word to use. I suppose you could say she did a tactical retreat. She just didn't get serious...yet." Sakuya paused, chewing on her lower lip. The look on her face appeared to be as if she was about to remember a trauma she went through. "You see," the maid said almost at a whisper. "Lady Remilia led me...to the basement."
Oh. Flandre.
I stopped, just shaking my head, feeling sorry for Sakuya. But then again, I had to respect her. To go up against those two and be in one piece? To take on the Scarlet sisters at the same time and survive? She's skilled.
"She led you to her sister?"
Sakuya shrugged. Her eyes betrayed her face. She had a mask of "it was nothing", but her eyes said "I really didn't like that part of my life."
"I thought I had struck gold. Two vampire prey for the price of one. But Lady Flandre...overwhelmed me. Combined, both of them did."
If everything I heard of Flandre from the maids that past week was true, then that's an understatement. Apparently, Flandre could make three copies of herself, bringing a total of four Flandres into play. It was her "Four of a Kind" ability, and each copy was as destructive as the original. Which happened to be her ability, actually. No, not copying. Destruction was her specialty. If she applied herself to something, it could be broken, no ifs, ands, or buts.
And I heard that Flandre can vaporize people with her spear. In one hit.
Yeah, I did not want to get around to meeting her.
I'd been pretty lucky not seeing her...completely anyways. Every few hours in the mansion, I'd see one of her wings in the corner of my eye, and then I heard her running away. I didn't know if she was shy with me or what, but it worked in my favor as I had no interest in meeting the crazy sister of the Scarlet Devil. Still, it was unnerving to have Flandre watching me. My blood always ran cold when I realized that she was in the same room as me, and my body would start shaking. Even before she ran out of the room, I dared not directly look at her.
But anyway, back to Sakuya.
"They had their fun with me in that labyrinth down there. Milady stopped toying with me - that's what she was doing when we first fought - and got serious. Nothing I did affected them, so I just ran. I was near exhaustion when Lady Remilia caught up to me, pinned me down, and started to feed. Thankfully Lady Flandre was apparently full from whatever she had that day, and didn't try as well. But Lady Remilia drained quite a lot of my blood - she gorged herself on me, and I laid there, too weak to even sit up."
Sakuya stopped, turning to me. Adjusting her clothing, she showed me the two vampire fang marks on her neck. I shook my head again.
"Wow. But...it looks fresh."
My version of the Supernatural Border heals wounds and scars. It healed mine. Wait, that means...
It dawned on me. It had to be fresh, within the past week! Since I'd been unable to have the healing border! Remilia had fed on the maid in the last seven days! I was stunned, staring at Sakuya.
"Milady still likes to feed on me from time to time," Sakuya said, giving me a weak smile. "I suppose it's her way of asserting dominance, though I don't mind anymore. And it doesn't hurt anymore either. That, and she never takes too much to make me weak."
But for Remilia to do this...
A wave of emotions ran over me. I stuttered as I spoke
"She...how can she...do this to you? Why do you-"
"No, it's okay." Sakuya raised her hand as if to calm me down. "You don't have to get angry. I've accepted it. Sick thing is, I find myself looking forward to the feedings."
She readjusted her clothing, and gave me another smile. I don't even know what to say about that. Looking forward to the feedings?! I'm just gonna pretend I didn't hear that.
"Again, back to what I was saying. I thought it was over; my vampire hunting career, my life. Lady Remilia then gave me two choices."
I was still a little weirded out by what she said about the feedings, but I shook it off.
"Serve her as a vampire or as a human."
"Yes. I was still prejudiced against vampires, and given that it had to be one or the other, I chose the latter. Next thing I knew, I woke up a few days later in a bed all bandaged up, a maid outfit ready for me, and a note saying that my name from then on was 'Sakuya Izayoi'."
Reimu was right. Sakuya isn't the maid's real name.
"And that was it - I was hers, no longer the person I once was. At first, I did think up ways of killing her, but she took care of me, made me feel useful. They gave me an education and actually helped me develop my powers of space and time."
I stopped dead in my tracks. I was unsure if I really heard that. ...no way she said that.
"Space?"
Sakuya grinned, winking.
"What, never noticed that the mansion is bigger on the inside than on the outside?"
I just stared at her, feeling stupid. I thought back to how far I had to travel inside as opposed to when I walked around outside. She was right - the inside was bigger. I had spent over a week at the Scarlet Devil Mansion, and I couldn't believe I didn't notice such a thing. Marisa was right. I can be dense sometimes.
That's...wow. Sakuya is a useful servant. No wonder Remilia kept her. The maid can do work instantly (relative to anybody else's time), and increase the size of your house. Not only that, but she's also a hell of a fighter. The Vampire really lucked out with getting her, I suppose.
So...wait. Sakuya's existence proves Einstein's theory that space and time are correlated then? I let that thought go as Sakuya continued.
"I didn't even know I could do any of that until I started to work for them. Like I said, they helped me develop my abilities, and still are. Eventually I became Chief Maid there, her most trusted servant."
Sakuya paused, an index finger on her chin, as if realizing something.
"Strange how it worked out, isn't it? We fought each other to the death, and came out of it like family."
A family where the head of the family bites people on the neck, but yeah, I guess that's a way of putting it. A family.
Yet another example, all too familiar to one I've heard before, of Remilia and her way of getting interesting people to serve under her. My mind went to another individual who essentially does the same thing, except she didn't fight people to the death, but brought them to a certain club room rather forcefully. Including me. I am grateful that Haruhi doesn't have fangs. However...I wondered, if she did, would I look forward to the feedings as well?
Why am I thinking up stuff like that? I've been in Gensokyo too long.
Then again, she would embrace me as she placed her fangs on my neck, holding me close, her lips touching me... Being seduced by a vampire Haruhi sounded rather appealing. She enters my room at night, pins me down on my bed, and stares me in the eyes before she begins to feed, her body pressed against mine.
Why am I thinking of stuff like that?! I seriously have been in Gensokyo for far too long. But now I think I'm starting to understand the appeal of vampires.
Sakuya stopped, staring out at the lake. She took a deep breath before closing her eyes, some sort of relieved look on her face, as we let the sounds of spring overtake our combined silence. I couldn't help but study her facial features. Sakuya really was a beautiful young woman, her delicate features accentuated by the sunlight shining down on us. Taniguchi would easily give her an "A" ranking. I myself am not one to rank girls that way, if at all, but in this case, I would have to give Sakuya an "A" ranking, too.
I remembered the way she stared at me on day one, how she was suspicious of me. And within forty-eight hours, our, I guess I could say, "friendship" had formed. But under abnormal circumstances, mind you.
I saw her be a bit of a bully with Cirno. I saw her rage. I saw her at her most composed. I saw her at her weakest, and at her strongest. I had spent that entire excursion with her, so I was able to notice more of her quirks than I did with Marisa or Reimu.
The following days had seen that friendship between Sakuya and I form even more, as I would talk to her every chance I got, though it was me who was doing the talking. She appeared to like hearing about my stories about the SOS Brigade. She always listened with such interest about everything, but I never really was able to get her to talk that much about herself.
Koakuma had stated that Sakuya hadn't really opened up to anyone, even at the mansion, and that I was the first to break her out of her "shell". Maybe I did for Sakuya what Marisa did for Flandre, even though I hadn't pried much information from her, barring what she just told me then about fighting Remilia. Speaking of Remilia, it seems that the vampire's observations were correct - people are willing to tell me their secrets.
You know, I consider Asahina to be a maid goddess, but I think Sakuya is a close second. Yeah, I know that came out of nowhere, but still...I do like her.
Sakuya finally spoke, a far away look in her eyes as she opened them, her voice soft, almost whisper-like.
"I've never told anyone that. I never thought I would. That's the most I've ever talked about myself. Things sure have changed since you've arrived here."
"For the better, I hope."
I saw her lower her eyes, a hint of shame in them.
"It's a far cry from a week ago when I wanted to-"
I cut her off, because I knew what she was going to say.
"Yeah, I know. Please don't remind me."
"Why?" Sakuya turned to me, smirking. "I remind you of that Ryoko person you've talked about?"
"Yeah, mostly because of the knife-wielding. You know, part of me would like to see if Nagato can take some of you girls on in a Danmaku battle. Or Koizumi. Then again, since he already flies and shoots energy balls, I'd think he'd fit right in Gensokyo."
And I wouldn't mind watching him get his butt whooped by Reimu. I'd easily pay a month's allowance for that.
Koizumi getting beat down by Reimu? Shut up and take my money!
"Hello, Mister."
My thoughts of violence on Koizumi dispersed when I heard that voice - the voice that belonged to the little youkai of shadows. I looked up with a start, and there she sat on a tree branch, looking down on me.
That little youkai that chased me back in January.
What did Remilia call her? Rumia? Rumia sat there, under the cover of the shade of the tree, and she also had a little bit of darkness surrounding her, like a ball, but there was enough light to see who it was. She smiled, exposing her fangs.
"Long time no see."
I know I should be ashamed of myself as a male, but I scooted behind Sakuya. I've been having nightmares about that youkai.
"Aw, Mister, you don't have to be afraid. Not right now. After all, I'm full, and I'll be full for a long while."
Her red eyes shone in the darkness surrounding her.
"Do you have any business with us, little youkai?" Sakuya said in a rather intimidating fashion as I saw her right hand draw out a knife. I also appreciated this side of Sakuya - her warrior side.
"Nope!" Rumia chirped as she continued to sit there watching us, swinging her legs back and forth like the child she appeared to be. It was unsettling to see this creature like this. I watched as Rumia's eyes fell on Sakuya's knife, but it seemed the little youkai didn't mind it. In fact, she seemed amused by it.
"What do you mean you're full?"
Why did I ask that question? Nothing good was going to come from the answer!
Rumia grinned, her fangs showing again.
"The winter, Mister. Lots of people didn't stock up on the firewood needed for that long winter. Lots of houses ran out long before spring came. You came from the Human Village, right? Notice the 'For Sale' signs? Even though they started to ration out the firewood, there were still a few frozen families."
She giggled. Such a giggle made my skin crawl.
"And that's not counting the foolhardy that went into the snowstorms to gather supplies and got themselves frozen. But I didn't want a small score like that. Found myself a nice large family, and took them all back to a nice cold cave. It'll last me a while, Mister. You have nothing to worry about."
Frozen meals, Gensokyo-style. Yikes. And yeah, I am regretting asking that question. And again, I'm ashamed of myself, but I shifted even further behind Sakuya. The maid turned her head towards me, with a "are you serious?" look on her face. I paid it no mind as I responded to the youkai.
"That's...creepy, little girl. You're something else."
"Is that so?"
And with that, she brought up a bone, and began to gnaw on it. Upon seeing that, I turned on my heels and started to walk away, hoping that wasn't a human bone. Chances are, it was. Just another reminder that Gensokyo, while beautiful, was deadly. The safest places for me were within the grounds of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, the Human Village, or the Hakurei Shrine. Everywhere else...I, as a human, was fair game to whatever was out there.
On the way back to the mansion, I stuck really close to Sakuya, a little jumpy at every sound I heard, hoping that Yuyuko had a plan to get me out of there.
It was before noon when we got back, and after giving the cooks the basket I had, I headed over to the library. Marisa and Alice were there - Patchouli was sleeping in her room (she was stable enough to be moved there), and the three of us spent the whole day in the library, them discussing notes on magic, and me placing books back. It had been my job here at the SDM for the last week. After all, there was that standing rule - you don't work, you don't eat. I didn't mind it, though as the week went on and because Marisa kept showing up, I think my workload got lighter, and a few empty spaces started to appear on the bookshelves. Koakuma would show up occasionally, to make sure things were in order, before going back to Patchouli's side.
Marisa managed to make time to speak with me over the past week. I learned more about her. Marisa, unlike Sakuya and Reimu, didn't have any natural abilities. She was a normal human who had studied the magical arts to become this powerful. She had a father in the village, but left him when he didn't consent with her wanting to become a magician. Turns out her mother was somewhat of a witch, and when she died, Marisa had the falling out with her father because she wanted to be like her mom. The hat and the broom belonged to her mother in fact.
After leaving the human village, Marisa joined up with an "evil spirit" (she didn't tell me the name) in order to acquire more power, and served as her minion. That is, until Reimu came along and put down the both of them during an incident. Marisa and Reimu became best friends after that, and Marisa then joined Reimu in the incident resolving business. This gave the witch a chance to see Gensokyo, and take meticulous notes on every spell she saw (turns out she didn't "learn" the Master Spark from Yuka - she just stole it), as well as every creature.
I managed to take a look at one of her notebooks, and was blown away by the mathematical equations she had in there for a single spell. This girl is a math genius, it seems. She also actually could fly without the broom, but she says that she loves the image of a witch, just like her mother did, and does it for looks.
I also learned what that octagon-thing was. It's a Mini-Hakkero - an Eight Trigram Reactor. For those that don't know, Tai Shang Lao Zun, one of the founders of Taoism, apparently had the original. Now, basically, a Hakkero is a mini-reactor; it can burn anything without burning out. Marisa had in her possession a miniature version, using it to shoot lasers, cast spells, or even to cook her food. Amazing that she has such a thing at all. And scary - she's essentially carrying around a portable nuclear reactor in her pocket.
Marisa is a very interesting girl. I've never met anyone like her, and I doubt I will meet anyone like her in the future either. The past few days, however, for some reason, Marisa was getting more and more quiet when she was around me. Sure, she kept her friendly over-the-topness, but it was just noticeable
Anyways way too many tangents. Way too much information. Then again, I have found Gensokyo to be very interesting, so I wanted to find out more and more about it.
The day had passed, and the dinner hour was approaching. Sakuya led us (Alice, Marisa, and myself) to the dining room, and seated us. Me two chairs to the left of Remilia's seat, Marisa two chairs to my left, and Alice directly across from me. Remilia came in not long after and sat in her large chair at the head of the table.
"Ah, Marisa, Kyon, and Alice. Nice of you to make it."
Of course I'd make it. I work here. That, and all the European food is amazing. I think I'll miss that the most.
Marisa gave a thumbs up to Remilia.
"Well, I'm not about to turn down a free meal, ze."
Alice got up and bowed to Remilia.
"I'm honored to be invited, Miss Remilia. It's been a while since I've attended a dinner party."
Remilia simply nodded while Meiling came in.
"Miss Reimu Hakurei has arrived."
She bowed and left as Reimu walked in. I hadn't seen the miko in three days, not since we tried everything at the Hakurei Shrine's border to get me out. She took one look at Remilia and raised an eyebrow.
"I'll only say one thing. I hope you didn't make dessert strictly for your tastes."
Come to think of it, I hope so, too.
The vampire laughed, and shook her head.
"No, my little miko. We have different desserts, though there are still some just for my tastes." Remilia's eyes narrowed and she licked her lips. "I'll make sure you avoid the ones with that delicious red filling, Hakurei...but you don't know what you're missing."
"I prefer not to know," Reimu said, rather deadpanned.
Good, because there is a chance Remilia mixed my blood in that.
After greeting Alice and Marisa, Reimu approached me and gave me a hug.
"Hey, Kyon, you been doing well? They've been treating you all right?
"Well, the only complaint is that I can't get back home," I responded. "Living here is actually great."
"There are perks for those who serve under me, Miss Hakurei," said Remilia. "You might want to consider that in the future should you ever tire of being a shrine maiden."
Reimu ignored that bit as she checked my neck, which got a chuckle from the vampire.
"What, Miss Hakurei, you don't trust me? Besides, I promised myself to leave the boy alone."
"You're still a youkai, and I can't fully trust you."
As much as I liked Remilia, I had to side with Reimu there. Every morning I would do a check in the mirror, and due to what Sakuya told me earlier that day, it was a good idea. It would be bad for me to get back home and have Haruhi see vampire fang marks on my neck in class. There would be no explanations available to try to make that little thing go away.
"Noted. You'll be sitting in between Marisa and Kyon there..."
Remilia turned towards the door, trailing off.
"Milady, what is it?" asked Sakuya.
Remilia stared at the door, her eyes narrowing as Reimu took her seat. The vampire then slowly shook her head before laughing a bit and answering Sakuya.
"Ah, nothing, for now. But, Reimu, I heard from Sakuya you had more confidence in yourself than in me in getting the boy home."
"You didn't get him through."
Remilia flinched at that little jab Reimu took, but the vampire quickly composed herself and took one of her own.
"Well, Patchi is kind of out of commission. And the reality of the situation is, you yourself failed at it, Miss 'Hakurei Border'." Remilia grinned, obviously pleased she had this on Reimu. "What exactly happened with your end, if I may ask?"
Reimu sighed, and brought the palm of her hand to her forehead, not happy with telling Remilia of her failure.
"Even when I opened a hole in the border itself, even when allowing others to exit and reenter through it, Kyon couldn't leave Gensokyo. We tried physically pushing him, flying him through, but it's like there's a wall keeping him in."
Exactly like a closed space wall. I rolled my eyes as I remembered what happened, as I brought my palm to my forehead.
"The flying thing was quite stupid, really," I said. " I was on the back of Marisa's broom, and we just tried to fly out. She got out, but I hit some sort of wall and landed on my back."
My pride was hurt more than my body though. At least it gave me a little confirmation that Gensokyo was a closed space, or similar to it, as when I impacted on the edge, it made that familiar "ripple" effect in midair - the exact same ripple I've witnessed when one presses against a "wall" of a closed space. After all that time, I have not had confirmation that Gensokyo was made by Haruhi, but everything just seemed to be pointing in that direction. But again, I did not have any confirmation.
Marisa let out a chuckle.
"You should've seen how red his face got, ze! But I should be grateful that he didn't hang onto me tighter."
Raising an eyebrow, I wanted to respond to Marisa with some sort of quip, but Remilia's wink caught my eye.
"What's the matter? I thought you liked it when he held on tight."
My eyes widened. Before Marisa or I could say anything, the vampire continued.
"Oh I think I know what's going on. I've been alive for 500 years, after all. That, and Sakuya was very detailed with her report. She told me every little detail about the excursion, even her own opinions."
You gossip queen, you! I could feel the heat rising in my face as I shot a look at the maid. She had a suppressed smile, and avoided my eye contact. I glanced at Marisa, and she, too, was blushing a bit. Is that what this was all about? Remilia simply flashed an amused grin at our collective responses.
"Oh, it's so much fun to watch humans squirm with silly things like romance."
"Now wait a second, Remil-"
She cut me off, shrugging, with a mockingly "well excuse me" look on her face that was just so over-the-top that it should have been on television. Her voice complimented it.
"Well, forgive a 500 year old girl her amusements. Geez. Besides, there isn't much to do here in Gensokyo."
I didn't have time to go into further thought about that, since what happened next pushed everything else out of my mind.
The one event that I wanted to avoid in Gensokyo, barring being killed or eaten alive, was about to happen.
A noise from behind the door. Remilia sighed as she put her hands under her chin, her face going neutral, as she spoke to whatever was out there.
"Ah, you got out of your room again, didn't you? You try being sneaky, but I can tell when you're near. I always can."
Wait, she's not talking about...no way.
A new grin formed on Remilia's face. A knowing grin.
"...And I know you're out there, Flan."
Flan? Flandre?!
"If you're hungry, then join us for dinner. Though could you please not-"
In response to Remilia's invitation, the doors opened, rather forcefully, and the sister of the Scarlet Devil walked into the room, smiling. One of the doors fell off its hinges.
Flandre Scarlet. I knew it was her, as I'd seen her portrait in the library every day for the past week. She looked around the room with her wild eyes, and they settled on Marisa. Flandre beamed and appeared genuinely happy.
However, I was scared out of my mind seeing her. Doesn't she vaporize people in one hit?
"Marisa!"
That was Flandre. As scared as I was, I was possibly not as scared as Marisa. Her jaw dropped.
"Uh-oh."
Extending her arms, Flandre ran, jumped on the table, and pounced on Marisa. The two fell to the floor, as the impact actually shattered the chair Marisa was sitting on. Marisa let out a sound of anguish as Flandre hugged her.
"Marisa! I missed you! Why don't you come visit me more often?"
"Ah...Flandre...yeah...good to...see...can't breathe..."
I think there is a reason why she doesn't visit that vampire often.
Reimu looked down at them.
"Hi, Flandre."
Flandre popped up, still smiling. I could hear Marisa gasping for air, and I felt sorry that I didn't do anything for her. Then again, what could I do? What could I do against that vampire that everyone is weary of? Lie down and die?
"Hi, Reimu! I made up some new spell cards the other day! I'd like to try them out against you!"
"Maybe some other time," Reimu said rather casually. "I've got some stuff to do tonight."
"Okay!"
Amazing Reimu doesn't show any fear when speaking to Flandre. But I guess she has to be tough, since she's a professional youkai exterminator.
Flandre whipped around to face Alice, still grinning.
"You're new!"
I'm so sorry, Alice.
The vampire jumped on the table, right in front of the puppeteer. Alice's eyes widened, as she appeared to not know what to make of this situation, or of this vampire.
"What's your name?"
"...Ah...Alice...Alice Margatroid."
"My name is Flandre Scarlet. Nice to meetcha. Are you interesting?"
Alice glanced at all of us, wanting a way out. When it was obvious we wouldn't, couldn't, (at least on my part) she rose a shaky hand and moved her fingers, a doll climbing on the table next to Flandre.
"Oooooh! Neat! You can move dolls! You know, I got lots of dolls, too. Thing is, they-"
Flandre grabbed...crushed the doll. Crushed into dust. Fine dust, like it was wheat put through a stone mill.
She did that bare handed! Oh, man. "She can destroy anything." That's what Sakuya said!
"-they break easily," Flandre sighed, "like everything else."
Sakuya, I'm glad you had me working, and not let me be Flandre's toy.
Alice's jaw dropped as she watched the remains of the doll fall from the vampire's hand. Flandre stared at the mess.
"Awwwww. Sorry, miss. Didn't mean to do that. But do you got any more?"
"Flan..."
The two sisters looked at each other, Remilia with both hands under her chin, teeth clenched, obviously holding back at yelling at her sibling. Remilia's wings were shaking with apparent rage.
"Could you please get off the table? It's not proper."
She broke a chair, broke a doll, and nearly broke one of your guests. You're only going to get on her about the table? Well, who am I to judge Remilia? But I also began to understand Remilia's reasoning in keeping Flandre locked up. It was for the good of the world. That little vampire is too powerful.
"Okay!"
Flandre did so as Alice started to pick up what she could of the doll, trying not to cry over the loss of it. Sakuya was already there sweeping off the dust. I couldn't help but feel even more sorry for Alice that we didn't do anything.
What Remilia said next put me in a new mindset.
"Flan, you'll be sitting to my left."
Wait, wait...that makes her sitting to my right. Well, crap.
My sorrow for Alice was gone, as was most of the blood in my face, all but drained by then out of fear. Flandre jumped over the table, and landed pretty much perfectly in her seat, right next to me. Flandre turned her head and stared at me with those vampiric eyes from her chair, beaming, but not speaking. She kept smiling at me for about a minute, and nobody else said anything.
I don't know why I spoke up - I could have just sat there in silence. Maybe my attempt at some conversation. Maybe because I was completely unnerved by this. And maybe because I'm an idiot. I think I'll choose "all of the above".
"Ah...your...your Japanese is really good."
For a European girl who spent nearly half a millenia in a basement. Also, way to go me, for being such a dork with such a conversation starter.
She ignored what I said as she spoke.
"You know, I really wanted to play with you when you woke up from that big sleep you had."
Oh, God.
"Uhm...okay..."
She still smiled at me. I was already in a cold sweat at that point. I was doing my best not to show any fear. It took a lot of willpower to just sit there, pretending to be all right.
"Do you wanna know how I got my wings?" Flandre asked.
"...S-sure."
Please don't kill me.
Remilia shook her head, smiling, nonchalantly speaking like I didn't have an insane person sitting next to me. Which I did.
"Unlike me, when Flan became a vampire, she didn't develop wings."
So vampires don't naturally have bat wings like Remilia?
"But she has those...things..."
Metal rods with prism shards.
Flandre kept that grin, beaming.
"Oh, I made them myself so I can be like sister."
"Made them?"
"Yep! And then I jammed them into my spine!"
Certifiably insane. My body flinched just picturing the action of jamming such things into ones spine. And she smiled when she said that. She smiled as she said that!
"...You...jammed...didn't that hurt?"
"Yeah. Why?"
I just blankly stared at the smiling child vampire, who asked that question as if it were nothing. Sakuya was one-hundred percent right about Flandre when we first spoke of her.
"They work! See?"
She flapped them, and she actually rose out of her chair. Then she came back down and kept smiling at me. It seems there is a method to her madness. Either way, I have to say that this is very uncomfortable. I gazed at one of the empty seats, wondering whether it would be worth the risk of offending the Scarlet sisters by requesting a change of seating. You know what, I don't even want to imagine what it would be like to have both Remilia and Flandre after me. I don't need that, thank you. Reimu turned to Marisa, who was still on the floor.
"You okay?"
"Yeah...just give me another minute, ze. And another chair."
Flandre giggled at that.
"Heehee, you're silly, Marisa."
You're psychotic, Flan.
Meiling walked into the room after propping up the broken door. She paused for a second with a raised eyebrow as she noticed Flandre. It's as if Meiling's face said "Oh. Her." The guard did a micro shrug, then announced the guests.
"Introducing Lady Yuyuko Saigyouji, a Miss Youmu Konpaku, and the Prismriver sisters, Lyrica, Merlin, and Lunasa."
Meiling bowed and exited again, the ghosts coming in. We exchanged pleasantries, and Yuyuko was led to the opposite head of the table, with Youmu to her left. Marisa finally got another chair, though she held onto her sides, obviously a bit sore. The Prismrivers had their instruments, and were going to perform during dinner. Before Youmu sat down, I saw her mouth the words "I really hope you made enough" to Sakuya.
Before anyone did anything, the remaining door opened again, and in walked Patchouli along with Koakuma. Remilia immedieatly got up and hugged her friend.
"Ah! Patchi! You're up! But, shouldn't you be still be in bed?"
The Librarian smiled at her as most of us got up to greet her.
"Remi, Remi, I'm fine. The wound's healed, and I was getting tired of being in bed. Besides, this may be the last time I see the boy, and I couldn't let my temporary library assistant go without a proper goodbye."
I gave the Librarian a light, brisk hug (had to be careful - she did have surgery a few days prior, after all). I owed her a lot - I learned that when I first arrived, it was Patchouli who convinced Remilia to keep me there. And Remilia, out of respect for her best friend, granted her wish. Remilia really did care for Patchouli, which was why pretty much the entire west wing was the massive Library. It was all for the magician.
"It's good to see you well, Patchouli."
"Kyon," Patchouli smiled as she said ever-so matter-of-factly, "between the asthma, the allergies, and everything else that afflicts me, I'm usually never well."
Yep. I knew I liked her.
She paused when she saw Flandre at the table. Patchouli shot a worried glance at Remilia.
"Uhm, Remi..."
"It's all right, I think. It should be just fine."
You "think"? And is seeing Flandre at the dinner table a rare event? Then again, seeing the fine china we're about to dine with, I think I understand why it's rare in the first place.
Youmu's gaze turned to the younger Scarlet, the half-phantom confused.
"Is...something wrong?"
Trust me, Youmu, you don't want to know. Though Youmu should have started to worry. Flandre was staring right at her...and she got up and went to her.
"What is that thing? Is it a marshmallow?"
Flandre was referencing to Myon, Youmu's ghost half. The vampire appeared to quickly study the ghost before turning to Remilia.
"Can I have dessert now? I wanna try the floating marshmallow!"
Myon does look like a marshmallow with a tail, doesn't it? And something to note here: Myon kind of ducked behind Youmu when Flandre said that - I think it was quaking with fear. I didn't blame it. Yuyuko chuckled.
"It's a part of Youmu, my dear. It's her ghost half."
Flandre stared at Youmu with awe after Yuyuko said that.
"Half? Ghost? You half Ghost half Human? Hmmmmm, you are interesting! You have a marshmallow ghost half!"
I couldn't help but bring my palm to my forehead, and neither could Remilia. She sighed.
"Flan...please sit back down."
You know what? Let her stay standing. Because her sitting down means she's sitting down next to me!
Now, if I was suicidal, I would have said that aloud.
But I didn't.
During dinner (Italian! Yum! It tasted good, even though there was no garlic at all. Vampire's dinner, after all.), Yuyuko informed us that the original seal on the Ayakashi had restored itself, so the tree was no longer a threat. Which was good to hear, all things considered. Even better was the fact that Flandre remained civil during dinner, which allowed me to relax a bit. Though I was still on edge throughout. I swear, I don't know how I can handle such stress. Maybe it's all the practice I had in my world.
Youmu, however, was not kidding. Yuyuko asked for seconds, thirds, and fourths during every single course of the meal. She eats so much but I guess she doesn't gain any weight. But she's a ghost, so I guess she wouldn't gain weight...but since she's a ghost, she shouldn't have to eat, right? Argh! I hate this flip-flop logic!
All being said, it was a good dinner. We spoke of things pertaining to one another. I had the feeling most of the people in Gensokyo didn't sit down and really talk to each other much.
Then again, it was possibly with good reason. Midway, Remilia brought up the collapse of her mansion and the deaths of some of her servants to Yuyuko. The room fell silent, as the two stared at each other. I had the feeling the vampire wanted to fight the ghost right then and there, but Patchouli calmed her down. Which was great, because I was between said ghost and said vampire. Yuyuko did have a bit of shame on her face, but she still kept her smile. At least she apologized.
Things got interesting when the subjects turned towards me, and Haruhi Suzumiya. I did tell Yuyuko how I thought Gensokyo related to Suzumiya, and my own theories of it, and she seemed to accept it. I then had to ask what her plan was on getting me out of Gensokyo. She said that a friend of hers would be able to help, a youkai - apparently the same youkai friend that gave me the papers.
I finished up my plate, and turned to the ghost.
"Who exactly is this friend of yours, you know, the one who helped us out and left me those papers?"
Yuyuko smiled at me after she took a sip of tea.
"Well, that actually pertains to the whole reason I called for this dinner, besides, well, the dinner. By the way, Miss Scarlet, your chef is wonderful. My compliments."
Remilia raised a teacup, with an arrogant smile.
"Of course. The tastes of Europe are the best in the world."
Yuyuko smiled in what appeared to be agreement.
"Ah, yes. Quite. But where was I...oh yes. The boy. Well, you see, my friend will be able to help you out."
She leaned forward, her face getting a bit serious.
"Tell me, young man. Before you came to Gensokyo, did you see eyes?"
Like what happens in those movies, when someone says something and you get a sequence of events flashing through a character's mind...well, it happened to me. What she said triggered the whole sequence of my dream - it shot through my mind, back to hazy realm of eyes, back to the woman in purple with the parasol, back to those words she said to me. Her lips formed out the words, the words I wasn't able to hear for some reason. "G-o will welcome you." In my mind I was able to read her lips, they spelled it out.
Surprisingly, Sakuya and I said it at the same time.
"'Gensokyo will welcome you.'"
Sakuya and I stared at each other. She appeared to want to say something. The maid then shot a glance at her master, to which Remilia raised an eyebrow before shrugging.
"If you have something to say, Sakuya, by all means go ahead."
Sakuya swallowed hard before explaining.
"Before I came to Gensokyo, a woman with a parasol approached me, saying those words. Next thing I knew, I ended up near the village."
Her, too?
Remilia let out a little laugh of satisfaction.
"Ah, so I have that demon to thank for my maid as well as moving my mansion! Splendid!"
Moving the mansion, getting people in here. That's a powerful person. Wait a second! A demon?! That woman was a demon?!
Not a bad looking demon, now that I think about it.
Thumbs up.
Yuyuko took a sip of tea, nodding at the vampire.
"So you have met my friend. Usually people who are to become important to Gensokyo do meet her. You see, she kind of takes it upon herself to gather...things. People. Youkai. Allies. Everything she does is for the good of Gensokyo."
So you're saying that she thought I was useful to Gensokyo then? However, considering that I assisted in that incident, I obviously was. Yuyuko thoughtfully swirled her tea in her cup.
"And...and she tried to stop me and my plan for the revival. Yet, I got angry and banished her from my realm. I still need to apologize to her for that. My oldest friend, Yukari Yakumo."
Yakumo. Mayohiga. Wow. Everything gets connected in the end, doesn't it?
"Yakumo?"
"Oh, you know the name?"
Reimu put down her tea.
"We ran into a cat thing calling itself 'Chen Yakumo' in Mayohiga during our excursion that day."
"Ah, Chen. A lovely little nekomata." Yuyuko took a pause, as her brow slightly furrowed. "She called herself 'Yakumo'? Interesting. She doesn't have the surname. Yukari hasn't given it to her. Regardless, yes, Chen is something of a pet to Yukari. A servant to her servant. And she does live in Mayohiga, on top of the mountain there."
Reimu nodded a bit, looking a little annoyed.
"Okay, but how is she able to go through my border? How is she gonna do what I can't?"
Yuyuko shook her head and sighed, putting down her teacup. She smiled a tired smile at the miko.
"Oh, child, you don't know, do you?"
Yuyuko's gaze went over the people in the room. I think some of us didn't know who Yukari was.
"You haven't even heard the tales of Yukari Yakumo? The 'Sage of Gensokyo'? The Demon of Gaps and Boundaries?" Yuyuko's gaze went over everyone. When it was obvious no one was going to speak, the ghost continued. "She spread the game of Danmaku amongst all the youkai, ensuring that we would play by the rules. She was the one who slaughtered the Saigyou monastery, the one whom I couldn't kill when I was alive. She is an extremely powerful youkai, over 1,200 years old. Her specialty is the manipulation of any and all boundaries - she can go anywhere she pleases. She can create portals, rips in reality. She can manipulate every physical and meta-physical boundary. I've never seen it myself, but apparently she can even move through dimensions."
I brought my hands to my face sighing. Oh, man. Please don't tell me she's the slider.
"Is something wrong, ze?"
It took me a while to respond to Marisa.
"I...I hope not."
It just seems too perfect, doesn't it? If this is the slider we need...well, what does that mean? She's gonna be with us out there then? Well, that would round it out, wouldn't it? A yes-man esper, a bookworm alien android, a beautiful maid time traveler, and a demon slider? Thing is, she looks too old to be part of our high school group. At least in her thirties, now that I think about it.
Even if she wasn't the slider, Yukari sounded so powerful. Physical and metaphysical boundaries are her plaything? So she can do whatever she wants to? That's too vague - and if it is that vague, then her power is overpowered to the extent that it's just cheap! She can bend anything with a boundary - which is everything. Time. Space. Fate. Magic. Technology. Life. Death. The list could go on for such a power - it's mind boggling.
But then again, isn't it the same with the Data Entities? They can "hack" reality, right? So another character made by Haruhi with such power isn't new then. Everything is data - and data can be finite. Nagato showed that she could manipulate even Haruhi's power. This youkai, however, Yukari...wow.
Even trying to understand the scope of that power was hurting my head. Reimu continued her conversation with the ghost while I was going over all that.
"So she can just go through my border, no problem then?"
"Correct."
This time I asked a question. Because if she lives in Mayohiga, if she can bypass the border, then that meant something. Something that related to the conversation Reimu, Sakuya, and I had in Mayohiga.
"This Yukari...she wouldn't have a hand in those cooking teams, right?"
"She is the one who organizes them, young man. Youkai do need their delicacies, after all."
Great. Just great. The person I need to seek help from is responsible for spiriting away humans to be meals for things in here. And not only that, she's a demon! I still can't get over that! Reimu just fell silent after hearing that, nodding a bit and crossing her arms. I could see the gears turning in her head, but I couldn't fathom what she was thinking.
Remilia laughed and brought up her wine glass.
"I'll drink to that! And, Kyon, don't worry. It's not your blood."
"Please don't bring that up. I still can't get over..."
It took me a second to grasp what she said, as I stared at the red liquid in her glass.
"Not my blood? Then who-you know what? No. Nope. No. I don't wanna know who it is you have in your wine glass!"
That was another thing she kept doing that past few days - making me uncomfortable with her blood drinking. It always got a laugh from her. I guess that's a negative of being friends with a real vampire. Besides the "cool" factor of it all, you have to deal with what they really are, and what they do to survive.
Thing is, does she have to openly act the way she does? And it's not just her. People in Gensokyo keep on messing with me. I hate it.
The vampire swirled her glass, taking a sip, before turning to her maid, a look of annoyance on her face.
"By the way, Sakuya, we need to change our cooking team provider. He charged us extra for maiden blood, when this obviously isn't."
Whoa whoa whoa! I did not need to know that! Way too much information for a dinner party! And, Remilia, didn't you just chastise Flandre for being "improper", when what you just said was totally improper right now! Way improper!
I would have told her that, but...well...you know. Wow, she really can be a lot like Suzumiya.
Youmu and Reimu both spat out their tea in response to what Remilia said, and most everyone in the room was blushing. The Prismrivers stopped playing, and even Sakuya stood there, dumbstruck by what was said. Flandre tilted her head.
"...maiden?"
Patchouli slowly shook her head, looking tired.
"It's nothing, Flan."
I think Remilia said that blood-thing to mess with me some more and didn't think about this dinner party, because she obviously regretted saying that aloud. She cleared her throat and put down her glass, shifting a bit in her seat, avoiding eye contact with everyone. Marisa just laughed, then flinched when her ribs apparently hurt her. Alice stared into her teacup with this unreadable look on her face, making me wonder if she regretted being invited to this dinner party. I wouldn't blame her. There was a bit of silence for a while.
I slowly shook my head as well at this whole scene. I'm at dinner with two ghosts...well, a ghost and a half-ghost half-human, a witch, a flying miko, two vampires, a magician, a youkai puppeteer, a time stopping maid...I could go on. This has to be all made up by Haruhi! It's too crazy not to! Then again I'm not complaining. After all, my time in Gensokyo has been a blast. All these non-humans, or humans with special abilities make life more interesting.
Yeah. I recalled that speech Haruhi gave me. As much as I wanted to ground her in reality, I had to agree with her. Such unusual people living out their lives with their unusual abilities. I had remained mostly silent throughout that dinner, getting to know what was going on in their world. So weird. I really was thrust into a fairy tale as some sort of sidekick - a sidekick for the three girls on that day a week prior.
I had lived out a childhood dream come true. I am forever grateful to these girls.
Remilia regained her composure.
"Anyways, Sakuya! Dessert!"
The next instant, there were "strawberry" cake slices in front of Remilia and Flandre. For the rest of us, there were triple-decked triple-chocolate cake slices. Nice! A twinkle appeared in Yuyuko's eyes.
"Ah, splendid. I see how useful it is to have a time-stopping maid, Miss Scarlet. Not that I'd trade my Youmu for anything."
Reimu was the first to start eating the cake, and she enjoyed a few bites, until she got a weird look on her face. She used her fork to split apart two of the layers.
There was a thin red gelatin layer in between the chocolate frosting.
The corner of my eye twitched upon seeing that. Because it then registered with me that it was the same for my cake.
Dammit, Remilia. Worst dinner party ever.
I quickly put down my own fork, as did Marisa. I didn't know whether to spit out the bite I had or to force myself to swallow. Wait what am I thinking? I brought up my napkin. Alice didn't seem to mind - another perk of being a youkai? Reimu's skin paled, and she shakingly turned to Remilia, who had the biggest grin I ever saw as she twirled her fork.
"...did you actually-"
Remilia winked in response to Reimu.
"No, it's really strawberries. Then again, you don't trust me, so it's up to you if you want to continue eating."
Victorious, Remilia dug into her own cake as Sakuya smiled at Reimu.
I wished I was told about that plan beforehand. If it really was just strawberries, then I spat out some perfectly good cake!
What a way to end a perfectly good meal. Just so bizarre.
When dinner was over, I said my goodbyes to the Prismrivers, Patchouli, Koakuma, and Flandre (I got really scared when she hugged me, but thankfully she didn't squeeze), as well as a few of the maids I've talked to. Alice wanted to join us to see Yukari, so I didn't say goodbye to her just yet. Meiling was waiting outside.
"Well, kid, I guess this is it, huh?"
"Meiling...I owe you so much. I can't thank you enough for saving my life."
She scoffed at that, grinning.
"Yeah, I know. You've been at it all week."
I couldn't help but smile at that as well. She gave me a hug.
"But all jokes aside, yeah. I'll miss you. Good luck out there. I'll see you when I see you, kid."
I wrapped my arms around Marisa as we prepared to take off on her broom. Though she kind of stood there, one hand holding the broom, and the other kind of...rubbing my arm, leading to my hand...
"What is it?"
"Uhm...It's... It's just that..." Marisa looked back at me, her brow furrowed. "I dunno, it's been a few days since we've flown together, ze."
The way she said that was kind of reflective, it was definitely different from her usual boisterous tone. The two us kind of stared at each other for a while when Reimu, who was already up in the air, called out to us.
"Hey, Marisa, we going?"
The witch nodded, and up we went. We were on our way to Mayohiga again, though that wasn't on my mind. Why was Marisa so quiet? Was Remilia right? I mean, I've never really thought of Marisa that way. Sure, she smells nice, she's warm...she's funny, a bit crazy, obviously smart, talented, is a very pretty girl, is able to take care of herself...geez.
When did I...
Did I fall in love with her?
No, this can't be. This can't happen. It wouldn't work. She has to stay here, and I have to go back. Besides, it's too cliché. Falling for someone right before you have to leave someplace? That doesn't really happen. Only in those manga and anime, all using forced drama.
Right?
The eight of us - Yuyuko, Youmu, Reimu, Marisa, Alice, Sakuya, Remilia, and I - were flying in the twilight sky, the sun already set but giving enough light. The array of colors was amazing, as always. I've come to appreciate what Gensokyo has to offer, and I silently took in the views of the forests, creeks, and the way the sky was painted in its array of colors, since this would probably be my last time to see it.
It started to hit me. I was almost to my goal of getting out of there.
I was going to leave this place.
We approached Mayohiga, noting that the only light was at the top of the mountain, and there was obviously a large house there as well. I swallowed hard at the prospect of what was there. A youkai, no...a demon so powerful that death can't take her, one that can go anywhere she chooses, and she also is the one responsible for spiriting away people from my world to this one. And the one responsible for me being there. But she killed many people, many humans, so I couldn't help but be afraid of this person, er, youkai, demon, whatever, whoever she might be.
A woman was up there, who had to be a youkai, based off of an animal. Instantly, I knew what she was. A Kitsune, a fox woman. I counted her tails, and was shocked to find that she was a Kyuubi - a nine tailed fox. She had blonde hair that matched her tails, and was wearing a cap that seemed to cover her fox ears. Other than the ears and the tails, she looked human. She wore a blue and white outfit, and bowed when she saw us approaching.
"I am Ran Yakumo, shikigami to Lady Yukari."
Ran gave an almost suppressed smile to Reimu as we all landed, blinking with her golden eyes.
"I know it was you who defeated my shikigami Chen, miko," Ran said rather teasingly, "and I would challenge you to a round of Danmaku for it, but Lady Yukari has seen fit that you are to be instead served tea until she is ready to receive an audience. So please, come in, all of you."
Yuyuko moved ahead of us, nodding at the kitsune.
"Good to see you, Ran."
Ran's face went blank, her ears going flat.
"Ah, Lady Yuyuko..."
Yuyuko gave a small smile.
"Last time I saw you when I was human, you were still in your animal form...things really have changed, haven't they?"
"For the better, we can hope." Ran quickly changed the subject. "Your usual snack?"
"If you don't mind."
After all that, Yuyuko can still eat?
We entered, and my heart melted again when we got inside. Chen was asleep on the floor, laying there with a blanket.
"Yes, she is adorable, isn't she?" Ran said as she moved next to me. "She still has a long way to go to become a strong individual. But that's to be expected of a shikigami of a shikigami."
"She's a summoned creature of a summoned creature? How's that work?"
Ran grinned and winked at me.
"When the first summoned creature becomes exceptionally powerful, my dear boy, and I haven't regretted getting her."
She kept smiling.
"But...but I do wish she could be more serious about her duties. But ah, yes, the tea."
"I followed you, didn't I?"
We were being served decent enough tea (Yuyuko being served...were they Snickers Bars?) when Reimu spoke up out of nowhere after staring at Ran for a few minutes. Chen woke up by then and was getting her head scratched by me, purring again. I couldn't get enough of hearing her purr!
"It was you, wasn't it? You lead me to Kyon and Sakuya. I saw you at my donation box when I was ready to head out, and you took off. And you were the one who used that spell card, weren't you?"
"Yes, yes, I did. I watched over all of you that day, up until you went into the heavens. Lady Yukari deemed it necessary to lead you to each other. Of course, the witch here was already following those two. But that's not all I did. I also dropped off the pages the boy had."
So that was her. The one who used that spell card against the army of fairies. This kitsune has been helping us.
"You were in my room?" I asked.
"Yes, thanks to my lady's abilities, we can go pretty much anywhere, and can get pretty much anything we want from the outside world."
She said that as she motioned to what Yuyuko was eating. A chime sounded. Ran reached into her pocket, bringing out a cell phone. She answered it, and nodded.
"Yes, my lady. They are all present."
All of my companions save for Sakuya stared in confusion at what Ran had. I kept forgetting that they didn't know much about the outside world's current technologies. Kind of makes you think, you know, how we take stuff like that for granted in today's world. She put the phone away and nodded at us.
"Lady Yukari is here."
So you guys get service out here then?
After the fairies were finished playing, Cirno flew around Gensokyo, looking for something to do. She wondered if she should freeze some more frogs for the heck of it when she saw a snowflake, just hovering in the air.
Snowflake? It's like, too warm for that!
It floated there, in the air, and when Cirno moved towards it, it moved as well. This kept happening - Cirno would make a move towards the snowflake, and it would move away.
Hey! Come back here, you!
Cirno chased after it, finding that it lead her to Youkai Mountain. She knew the things there were really strong, but she was focused on that snowflake. It led to a cave on one of the cliffs. Cirno landed at the entrance.
She stood there, feeling the cold air that poured out of the cave. It felt good to the ice fairy, a relief from the warm temperatures of spring. The snowflake hovered there, as if beckoning the fairy to follow it.
Without a second thought, Cirno went in. The further into the cave she went, the colder it got. Eventually, she found the floor to be covered in snow, and the walls encased in ice.
Awesome! Eye never knew this place was here!
The snowflake led to a chamber, with ice covering all the walls. And in the center of the chamber...
Letty?
It was the Yuki-Onna. She laid there, on the ground, her breathing shallow, eyes closed. Cirno ran to her.
"Letty! Letty! You all right? You - oh...man...Letty, what happened?"
Cirno noticed it - the left side of Letty's face had a scar, what looked to be a burn scar. And it wasn't until Cirno got close that she noticed that Letty was semi-transparent.
She's weak right now. Even Eye know that.
Letty slowly opened her lavender eyes, and stared up at the fairy. Cirno saw that the left eye had no pigmentation - it was completely white.
Is she blind in that eye?!
"Ah...fairy...Cirno. You...followed the snowflake."
"Letty, you okay?"
Whiterock slowly sat up, straining to do even that.
"No. No...I'm not all right. I'm...I'm in big trouble. What I did...I've heard that there's a bounty...on my head. Human and youkai."
Letty brought up her eyes to Cirno's, and looked like she was about to cry.
"You're the only...only one I can trust right now. Until every...everything clears up. I need your help."
"Anything, Letty."
Letty slowly nodded.
"Things to survive. I'll need...help to regenerate. I got a lot taken...out of me when I was under the influences of that...girl."
Letty grabbed Cirno's collar, bringing her close. The Yuki-Onna strained to get out the words, struggled.
"Cirno, if you ever...see a little girl with long, dark hair...you need to come get me. She's evil. She caused all of this, and she...she used the both of us! Okay? Come get me when you see her!"
Letty let go of Cirno and pointed at her scars, and shouted.
"I need to pay that bitch back for what she did to me!"
-begin-
Subject [NAME REDACTED] "KYON" is about to make contact with Entity YUKARI YAKUMO.
Projected [DATA CORRUPTED]
[DATA CORRUPTED]
-Kuyou Suou
-end-
-update-
Corruption of data found to be caused by Entity YUKARI YAKUMO's attacks on us in response to our operations in GENSOKYO.
Will find countermeasures.
-Kuyou Suou
-end-
Yes, Yukari can be technically called a slider. Yes she is overpowered. Yes she is the "founder" of Gensokyo. In Touhou Canon, there is apparently only one person more powerful than Yukari. To the best of my knowledge, anyway.
For clarification, the "evil ghost" Marisa served under was Mima. She hasn't been officially seen since Touhou 5, the same incident where Alice appeared. From my knowledge, only Reimu, Marisa, Yuka, and Alice have made it from the first five games into this "new" Gensokyo. That requires a long discussion on what that means, and there are a few fan theories about that, which I will not get into here. But those four are pretty much the only ones who made the transition from PC-98 Touhou to Windows Touhou. So far anyways.
Out of this entire story, the character I had the most fun writing for was Rumia. Though Flan, Remilia, and this version of Meiling aren't far behind. And Kazami was a whole lot of fun to write as well.
Was that bit with Letty "sequel bait"?
Yes. Yes it was.
And now for a completely stupid joke:
Yukari has a Chensaw!
It goes RAN RAN RAAAAAANNNNNNN!