Floating down the dimly lit hallways of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, a fairy navigated her way through its complex structure, unaware of the person trailing behind her.
Rex stuck close to the wall, slowly following the maid. He was gradually losing her, his injuries proving worse than he had anticipated.
"Hmm~hmmm~," the fairy maid hummed. She then took a sharp right turn, heading down to a large open room.
Picking up his pace, he turned the corner and stopped. Rex walked to the center of the room and glanced back. It had two flights of stairs leading up higher into the mansion and in between those two stairs was the pathway he just had come from.
"This place is just one big maze…" Rex uttered, looking up to a dazzling chandelier hanging above him. Whoever owned the mansion had to be crazy rich.
He looked to his right, it was a large space where a long polished dining table settled, silverware atop perfectly arranged. Large cabinets holding delicate pieces of priceless tableware stood by the wall. An open doorway was by the table, seemingly where the fairy had entered.
He quietly approached the doorway and took a peek in, only to pull back and scamper under the table. The fairy was coming back, finished with her small task. She flew over the table without noticing the trembling human beneath the table.
Rex could feel the headaches returning, starting to feel weaker. Sweat started forming as his breath quickened. Getting out from under the table, he stumbled into the kitchen, gripping onto the frames of the doorway.
The kitchen was gorgeous. A glossy wooden flooring ran across the entire room. The countertops were made of polished stone, shining when the sun from the windows shone on them. Various pieces of kitchenware and jars sat on top with a sink below one of the large windows. Wooden cabinets were lining around the top and bottom of the walls. A large fire stove sat in between them and a furnace facing towards it against the opposite wall. In the center of everything was a small countertop that filled the area, making the kitchen path into a square. There was another doorway far on the opposite corner. A large cabinet was by the doorway which he stumbled onto, shaking the contents inside.
Rex continued into the kitchen, using the center counter to keep himself up. He winced at every movement, his broken arm still hanging uselessly by his side.
Starting with the bottom cabinets, he flung them open in search for something to patch himself up.
Pots, pans, bigger pots, bigger pans, smaller pots, and smaller pans. That was all he could find, slamming the final bottom door shut out of frustration. He was breathing hard, vision somewhat blurry.
Getting back up, he clung onto the counter, knocking down all sorts of things to the floor. He couldn't care less about the kitchen and cared more about finding a medicine cabinet.
Shit! This is getting really bad now… urgh... there has to be one around here… right?
Rex opened the top cabinets, but so far all he could find were bowls, cups, and other useless things. He hastily pulled open drawers where spoons, forks, and chopsticks spilled out as he dug around.
A pulsating pain erupted from his shoulder, Rex grimaced. He clenched his fist, bent down by the counter. Slowly, he made his way to the opposite door, knocking over various pieces of equipment. Bottles and jars shattered to the floor, all sorts of spices poured out of them. A rack of knives fell behind him, clattering to the floor. He was making a mess, but there wasn't much he could do.
Grasping the door handle, he frantically opened the door to a dark room and to his right was another door. He opened that one to find the closet. Desperately looking around with one arm, he found the bucket and rag the fairy had carried with her. Pushing it aside, he searched around until he found a small aid kit. It was a goddamn miracle. The kit seemed a bit dusty and old, but it was still something.
Quickly pulling it out, Rex fell to the floor and hurriedly opened the small tin box. Inside was a bag of bandages, a box of cotton swabs, a roll of gauze bandage, a small bottle of alcohol, and some kind of "burn-away" medicine.
He grabbed the roll of bandages and the small alcohol bottle, the rest he tossed aside. The wound needed to be disinfected before he could wrap it up.
Rex took off his short jacket and bunched up the lower half of his bloody-dried shirt, bringing it to his mouth then biting down on it. He knew this was going to hurt like hell, so he needed something to distract him when it came. Pulling up his sleeve, he revealed the injury and opened the alcohol bottle. Holding it above the wound, he inhaled through his nose and tightly clenched down onto the shirt, slowly tipping the bottle down.
Then… his senses were bombarded with excruciating pain.
A stinging, burning wave of hot liquid washed over his shoulder. Rex could only make muffled screams as he bit down tightly.
It had felt like a thousand red-hot tipped needles were stabbing into him repeatedly. His skin felt like it was sizzling, scorching him alive. He repeatedly banged his head against the floor. Rex was beginning to feel light-headed, the pain was too much to handle.
"MhmawFYUTKawkdnk!?" Rex let out one last muffled scream, the waves of pain gradually dying down. He could feel warm blood dripping down his face. A small bleeding bruise formed on his forehead. He pulled out the shirt from his mouth. His jaw was tired from tightly clenching down too hard.
"Hah... Hah…." Rex gasped tiredly, collapsing against the door. Slowly, he took a roll of bandages and gently wrapped it around his shoulder multiple times, the white roll turning into a bloody red. Ripping out the last piece, he securely tucked it in.
He wiped the blood off his face with his already bloodied shirt, finally putting a bandaid over the bleeding bruise.
Exhausted, his arm dropped to the floor as he finally was given a chance of rest. Rex laid against the door and sat there in silence for the next couple of minutes. His shoulder and head were slightly stinging, while his left arm still hung uselessly, broken by his side. There wasn't much he could do with a broken arm.
Rex closed his eyes and quietly thought to himself, earning a well-deserved break.
He was sick of all this shit happening.
Was returning home still even possible? Will I even make it out alive?
He let out a shaky breath, remembering the time back at home and his Gramps.
"What the hell did I do to deserve this... " Rex muttered bitterly, remembering the girl named Yukari who had brought him here.
"Yeah… what a "nice" place…"
Relaxing against the door, he looked around. The room was too dark to see anything inside, the entrance he sat by being the only source of light shining in. Out of the corner of his eye, he could make out through the dark an unlit lamp on its side, down on the floor.
Reaching out, he picked up the lamp and inspected it. It seemed to be a kerosene lamp and he needed something to light it up.
Rex stood back up and rummaged through the closet. There were all sorts of junk and equipment on the shelves. With one hand, he moved around the stuff, searching for anything potentially useful. Feeling small boxes in the back, he pulled one of them out. It was a small deck of playing cards, dusty from sitting in the back all forgotten.
Rex blew the dust off, revealing a familiar design etched on the cover of the deck. Cogwheels decorated the front and flipping it over, the back had the design of small daggers circling a stopwatch.
"Wow... never seen a deck like this…" Rex awed at the design, impressed with its craftsmanship. Opening the deck with one hand, the cards inside seemed untouched, each card clean and crisp without any scratches. He held the box in his mouth and pulled the first card, revealing it to be a three of diamonds.
The diamonds of the card were replaced with daggers, each in a distinct color. Red, Blue, and Green.
Rex took the time to stare at the card, curious about what he had drawn. Done pondering, he put back the card and left the box where he had found it. He grabbed another box from the pile, pulling it back towards him.
It was a matchbox! Thankfully there were still plenty of matches within it. Grabbing a match, he held the box in his mouth, swiping the match across the striker, igniting the tip. He brought it to the lamp and lit the inside, giving him a source of light.
Rex shook the match out and tossed it away. He placed the matchbox in his pocket if he ever needed to reignite the lamp. Picking it up, he held it up to light up the dark room. From what he could see, it seemed to a storage room, barrels and crates all filled with a variety of fruits and vegetables.
He wandered throughout the room, the lamp illuminating the path in front of him.
Rex slowly explored, reaching farther into the room.
He flinched, almost running into a hanging dried piece of meat. It seemed towards the back of the room was where the meat was kept. Rope tightly wrapped the dried meats, strung to the ceiling. The sizes varied from some being as big as him to slab-like steaks.
Rex continued to walk to the back, avoiding the hanging meats.
*schllllk schllllk schlllk*
"Huh?" Rex questioned as his shoes were sticking to the floor. Bringing the light down close to the ground, the floor had a red tint to it.
He took notice of a metal table against the wall reflecting back, carrying the lamp closer to get a better look. The lamp illuminated the table, unveiling what the darkness was covering.
Rex dropped the lamp in shock as it clattered to the floor. Glass jars and vials filled with a red liquid shined from under the metallic table and atop shelves.
"T-There's no fucking way..."
The sun was setting, a golden orange bathed Gensokyo in the afternoon. A pathway meant for Youkai's, its lack of humans being a large factor, was infested with multiple beast-youkai's. No human would dare cross its treacherous path, all except for one. Silver hair flowing in the breeze, an elegant figure walked the path meant for no human. On her shoulder, she carried a filled bag of groceries. She went on without any disturbances. Surrounding beast-youkai knew better than to pick a fight with her. Many believed she was not even human.
Sakuya Izayoi, a well-known name for those familiar with the youkai trail and the Scarlet Devil Mansion, was a servant and maid of Remilia Scarlet, a powerful vampire. Harnessing the power of time manipulation, her power was unmatched, except against shrine maidens.
The maid was on her way back from her shopping at the human village. She had gone to restock on certain ingredients and to try out a new tea she should make for her mistress.
Sakuya strolled down the path, the tranquil sounds of the forest ringing throughout the afternoon. She always had appreciated the beauty of the trail. Down the road, she spotted a familiar stand.
GRILLED LAMPREY - presented the stand, owned by a certain night sparrow. It looked like she had a customer.
Rumia, the yokai of darkness, sat munching to a plateful of grilled lamprey, looking all miserable.
"Hey, Sakuya!" Mystia the night sparrow called out, waving out while flipping more lampreys on the grill. She greeted the maid to her stand as she arrived. "Welcome to my humble stand! What brings you here toda-?"
"Groceries," Sakuya impassively interjected, heaving the grocery bag up.
"Eh… hehe…" The night sparrow murmured, reminded that they didn't have the best relationship together having interrupted her and her mistress during the imperishable nights.
"W-Well… uh… the man-hunting hour is coming soon! Right, Rumia?" She looked to Rumia for support.
Rumia slowly nodded while munching on a grilled lamprey. She looked like she had gone through hell.
Sakuya glared at Mystia, the line reminding her of an annoying time.
"Mistreat the mistress once more and it's you who will be on that grill. You won't be getting off so easily," the maid threateningly said with a smile. Her mistress, Remilia, had always said to smile more, enjoying the look on her face.
To Mystia and Rumia, it looked as if she was about to murder them, about to turn them into porcupines of daggers.
"G-gladly! I will definitely make sure not to mess with you guys again!" Mystia stammered, reassuring the maid. Usually, she was annoying and boisterous but even she knew better than to mess with the residents of the Scarlet Devil Mansion. "W-would you like a grilled lamprey? It's on me, no charges!"
Sakuya shook her head no, declining the offer. The mood was awkward between all three of them.
"U-uh… oh yeah!" Mystia suddenly was reminded of something. "Rumia, why don't you tell her how a- *pfft* a hu- *pfft* a human got away from you." She was holding back a laugh.
Rumia slammed her head onto the counter, her dignity all gone.
"I told you… it wasn't like any human I've come across… he kept teleporting all over the place," the youkai moaned, tired of the sparrow's mocking laughter. "I thought I had him, but he just disappears right in front of me… ugh…"
"I think you ate too many stupid humans~ You had to be on something if you were to believe in something like that!" Mystia joked, laughing while pointing at the youkai.
"Ahh! Shut it!" Rumia cried, hands against her face.
While Mystia mocked at the sulking Rumia, this had piqued Sakuya's interest.
"A human disappeared right in front of you? That shouldn't be possible unless...?" the maid questioned. She too was perplexed with the unusual encounter that Rumia had run into.
"You believe this idiot? There's no way that's possible," Mystia remarked as she flipped the lampreys on the grill.
"I'm only interested. Please inform me more if you find anything else later. I have a multitude of things to do back at the mansion," She snapped, reminded by the weight of the groceries she held onto.
Sakuya nodded farewell, gracefully and quietly she continued walking down the path. Mystia and Rumia stared at the maid as she disappeared in the distant.
"Actually, now that I think about it… the human's powers were fairly close to Sakuya's…." Rumia murmured, rubbing her head in frustration. "Ahhh… my head hurts…" She picked a finished lamprey off the grill and nibbled on it.
"H-Hey! You better pay up!" Mystia pouted, catching her in the act.
"Shut up! You don't know what I've been through!" replied Rumia, sticking her tongue out at the night sparrow.
"Why you-!?"
The two youkai's would end up bickering the whole afternoon, arguing with one another until they were both tired.
…
Sakuya's shoes clacked against the stone pavement. She stopped at the entrance of the gate to her and her mistress' home, the Scarlet Devil Mansion. At the gate, Meiling happily greeted her. The maid gladly waved back.
"Oi, Sakuya! Welcome back!" The guard waved, pieces of cream stuck around her lips. In her hand was a plate of a half-eaten slice of velvet cake. Meiling took notice of Sakuya's gaze and lifted the plate in front of her. "You want a piece?"
Sakuya politely pushed the plate away. "No thank you. Where did you get it from?"
"Oh! Um… about that…" Meiling nervously chuckled. "I got it from Koakuma's treats for Patchouli after… someone had eaten the lunch you made for me…" Her voice trailed off quietly on the last phrase.
"Who ate the food I made for you?" Sakuya asked, tapping her foot impatiently.
"So… that person got away… or rather I couldn't find them," Meiling anxiously answered. "But I'm sure it was just a couple of fairies that just wanted to pull some pranks, so no harm done, right?" She quickly mentioned, trying to reassure the maid.
Sakuya was tired, accepting of what had happened and sighed.
"Alright, I get it… just... let me through."
"Surely, milady!" Meiling happily said, relieved to find that she wasn't going to be lectured for the millionth time. She pushed open the gate for the maid.
Sakuya glared at Meiling as she walked through the gates, sighing even more as she approached the entrance to the mansion.
Reaching for the doorknob, she was about to enter until she noticed something on the ground.
It was a trail of blood, hardly noticeable at first glance, but Sakuya tends the mansion daily, knowing every nook and cranny of the building. The trail was apparent to her the very moment her eyes laid upon it.
Sakuya carefully put the groceries against the door and followed the trail. She was on guard, her hands near her knife holster wrapped around her thigh. The blood trail turned around a large hedge. She quickly turned the corner, three different colored daggers instantly appearing in her hand ready to be thrown, but no one was there. All that was left was a bloody mess and a trampled pile of flowers, more specifically the ones she was going to use in the tea for her mistress. Her mood suddenly darkened. In the back of her head, she recalled Rumia's encounter with a human.
If the trespasser isn't here…
Sakuya looked to the mansion
Then they surely have to be inside…
The maid looked to the entrance. A frightening aura seemed to revolve around her.
Walking back, she entered the mansion, carrying the bag of groceries in one hand and the other a fistful of knives.
She would deal with the intruder swiftly and without a shred of mercy.
Next:
Rex's Predicament
Hey there guys, I hope you've been enjoying the story. This one was difficult to finish because I've caught the flu and been coughing a shit ton. Really distracting, but I really wanted to continue the story. At least I got sick over winter break lmao. Still sucks cause it's been messing up my art schedule, bruh. I apologize for any mistakes I've made, I blame it on my flu . Thank you for reading and please point out any errors, enjoy winter break and Merry Christmas!