The Scarlet Devil 2: Scarlet Devil Rhapsody
by Cyberchao X
Chapter 10
Disclaimer: All characters property of someone else, in most cases ZUN.
My name is Flandre Scarlet, and I feel…sick. What happened?
"…So shameless, Sakuya-chan…," I said weakly, seeing my sister being intensely cared for by our maid. Ex-maid, actually, though she chooses to continue to do all of the duties of a maid.
"Ah, Lady Flandre, you're awake…"
"I've never felt like this before. What happened to me and Oneesama?"
"The sun. Or rather, a youkai of the sun."
"…Okuu…"
"You knew about the source of her powers, right? That she consumed a youkai of the sun? It started wreaking havoc everywhere, and of course, you two were the first to fall." Sakuya refused to let go of my sister, holding her close.
"O-Okuu?" My eyes started to water. Would Okuu be okay? Is she even alive?
"She tried to take back control. She did everything she could to keep Kojiwa—the yatagarasu—away long enough for us to escape."
"…I see. I…want to be alone." I tried to get up and walk out of the room, only to fall down. Sakuya rushed over to me.
"I'm sorry, I feel like I may have given you the wrong idea… As far as I know, she's fine."
"…Oh. Okay… C-can you help me back into bed, then? You'd probably rather be with oneesama…" I was crying. Totally bawling. Utsuho…
CCX: Yeah, going to need multiple narrators because that last part takes place before these next parts, but anything else that Flan would be narrating takes place after them.
My name is Yukari Yakumo, and for the first time in my life, I'm actually experiencing a little bit of fear. I've seen Reimu Hakurei angry before. I've seen her furious before. But I've never felt this type of murderous rage emanating from her very body. Isn't she overreacting just a bit? This shouldn't have been a huge challenge for her…
"You knew this was going to happen, didn't you?!" Reimu yelled.
"You mean the little interruption at the wedding? I didn't think it was a big deal."
"'Not a big deal'? It's a huge deal! We're still dealing with the fallout, no pun intended, and the happy couple is rapidly becoming unhappy as their wedding continues to be postponed."
"…Aren't you overreacting a bit?" Reimu's spiritual powers are quite strong, so I was completely caught off guard when she took to physically harassing me. "If this disruption is still a problem for you, you need a lot more seasoning."
"Is that so? Whatever. Do you know anything about how to reseal her? Orin and the immortal ones have been keeping her under strict watch, but there's only so much that can be done."
"…'Her'? So then this isn't about the Watatsuki sisters showing up to crash the party?"
"You honestly thought that those two were the reason I was so mad?"
"Well, you did accuse me of knowing that it was coming, and of course, I took advantage of those lunatics' absence to stage another raid. Consider this a belated wedding present."
"No doubt this is some priceless Lunarian artifact," Reimu replied.
"But of course."
"Anyway, the two 'lunatics' turned tail and ran as soon as Yasora showed up."
"…What."
"Yukarin?"
"I'm sorry, it seems that something very unexpected happened. Do you mean to tell me that Yasora Kojiwa managed to break her seal?" Reimu nodded. "And the whole gory scene took place at the moon princess's wedding?"
"Well, I wouldn't exactly call it 'gory', but…it wasn't pretty."
"'Wouldn't call it gory'? Then the seal must not have been fully broken."
"I don't know; Utsuho didn't seem to have the slightest bit of control over anything, even after we knocked Yasora out." She paused for a moment. "Wait, that's right! When Kuroi-san's seal broke, she and Rumia were completely separate in wills, even though they were still sharing a body!"
"…Sure, let's go with that."
"Yukari-sama?"
"If Kojiwa's seal had truly broken, Utsuho would be a very gruesomely disfigured corpse right now. Kojiwa's body would've emerged from Reiuji's, utterly destroying it in the process."
"That's…"
"Gory?"
"…Yeah."
"Told you so.
"Yukari-sama claims that Yasora breaking free was completely unexpected and that she only left because she expected the Watatsukis' arrival and wanted to take advantage of their absence from the moon."
"This sounds in-character for Yukari-san," Eirin said.
"She certainly has a warped sense of timing," said a bitter, frail-looking thing. "It would've been nicer if she'd shown up shortly after we died and regenerated; I look horrible due to all of this radiation poisoning."
"That you, Houraisan?"
"Yes, it's me," she replied bitterly.
"Well, I guess I could kill you two myself when it's safe again."
"…Thanks for that."
CCX: If I have to do any more with Yukari, this chapter will never get posted. Back to Flandre.
When I reawoke, my sister was already back to normal. "Ah…"
"Go," was all she said. "See her."
I looked at Sakuya. "Kojiwa's been resealed. I don't know if Reiuji-san is awake yet, but…I'm sure she wants to see you. She's probably worried…afraid that she might have hurt you."
"But it wasn't her fault…" I started.
"Tell that to her."
"…So who's going to be…" I trailed off. Remilia had told me to go. Did this mean that I wasn't going to be chaperoned? "I see. This is…thank you, oneesama."
"Know that I'm more concerned about this relationship now than ever. But you love her, so you should be with her."
I nodded. Oneesama had given her approval, in her own way. I set off.
Okuu was still asleep when I arrived. "Fla—Scarlet-san." Satori had a tendency to call people by their given names, and without an honorific, but she stopped herself quickly. "Okuu will be happy to see you."
"Yeah…I was thinking maybe I'd have to go collect your corpse," Orin said.
"Vampires don't leave corpses," I replied.
"Of course not."
"Play nice, you two," Koishi said.
A noise from Okuu's room cut things short. Orin heard it too and headed towards her, but I got there first. "Okuu-chan, you're alright!" I couldn't control myself; I kissed her, square on the lips.
She returned the gesture. "Mmm…I should be saying that to you, Flan-chan. Did I hurt you?"
"You didn't do anything. She hurt me. But she won't hurt me anymore, right?"
"I…can't promise that." She weakly tried to pull away from me, though it didn't seem like her heart was in it. I refused to release my embrace. "She…Yasora-san is still a part of me. And I can't get rid of her…at least, that's what she says. As strange as it seems, her seal never completely broke, and if it had…I'd be dead. I wish I didn't have to be the vessel sealing her…but I have to be, because to move her would do the same thing."
"That…that can't be true!" Orin said this, not me.
"It is. Yasora told you that?" Satori asked, and Okuu nodded. "Yukari told all of us as much when she came to help fix the seal—or should I say, Reimu-san brought her here."
"It's…something I'll have to live with, then," I said. "Okuu…I love you. I don't want to leave you."
"I don't want to leave you, either. Is that what love is?" She paused. "'Yes, you stupid raven, you're so madly in love with her that your feelings leaked onto me.' That's what Yasora-san just said. And while I don't really like listening to her…there's really no reason for me not to believe her on this matter."
Shocked, I released my grip on Okuu. "She…still talks to you?"
"Yeah. She's just a presence in the back of my mind, usually."
"Perhaps you should talk to the Yagami sisters about that," Satori suggested, smiling in a way I didn't think her capable of. "They might have some advice." Okuu winced suddenly, and Satori continued, "Also it will piss off Yasora."
CCX: While the completion of this story and Lonely No More are my top priority at the moment, I think there's certainly a possibility of a distant prequel exploring in greater detail the rivalry between Yasora and the Yagamis' mother.
"I…think we should hold off on making Yasora-san any angrier than we have to."
"Okuu-san…" Orin started to say.
Okuu waved her off. "Can I have some time alone with Flandre?" Satori put her hand on Orin's shoulder and led her out, giving Okuu her request. "Flan-chan…"
"Yes?"
"I…love you too. But it's because I love you…that I feel like maybe it's best if we don't see each other anymore."
"Okuu?"
Okuu was crying. "Don't make this any harder than it has to be. I was really scared that I'd lost you when Yasora-san started her rampage. Being around me will only put you in danger, Flandre-chan. So…"
"No," I said, tightening my grip on her again. "I don't want to let you go." I was crying, too.
"I don't want you to. But…I'm sorry."
CCX: Production of Chapter 11 has already begun. Cyberchao X, signing off.