The Scarlet Devil 2: Scarlet Devil Rhapsody
by Cyberchao X

Chapter 11

Disclaimer: All characters property of someone else, in most cases ZUN.

A/N: The first portion of this chapter actually takes place between the first Flandre part of Chapter 10 and the Yukari part.

My name is Remilia Scarlet. As much as I don't like the idea of my little sister dating, I can't deny that I'm glad she's happy. But…I have my doubts that it can stay that way, after what happened. Utsuho Reiuji may love her, but she can't guarantee that she won't hurt her. And I won't allow for that.

"Sakuya. You've been watching over me all this time?"

Sakuya nodded. "I was worried about you, Remi-san."

"How's Flandre-chan?"

"She's doing okay, I think. She actually woke up before you, but she still hadn't completely recovered so she went back to bed."

"…This was because of Reiuji-san, wasn't it?"

Sakuya nodded again. "The yatagarasu managed to take control of her body. Last I knew, they were still keeping her under guard until they could reseal her."

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised that she managed to regain consciousness before me. From a pure power standpoint, Flan-chan's stronger than I am. But of course, I'm not surprised that I seem to have made a full recovery quicker, either, because I've got a better grip on my power." I got up, walked around, then flew, just to show Sakuya that I was feeling fine.

…Okay, maybe it was as much to prove it to myself as it was to Sakuya.

"Glad to see you're feeling better," she said, embracing me and pulling me into a kiss.

"Hey, Sakuya…you wouldn't perchance have taken advantage of me while I was asleep, would you?"

Sakuya turned red. "N-no, of course not, Remilia-san!"

"Well, why not?!" Sakuya stammered cutely, unable to properly form words. "Relax, Sakuya-chan, I'm joking." She still hasn't quite figured out how to tell when I'm serious—perhaps because I rarely joked around with her when our relationship was purely professional.

"That…that wasn't…"

"Funny? I thought it was. You're too serious, Sakuya."

"You used to demand that I always be serious."

"That's because I was too serious, too."

"So what changed?"

"I found love. You."

"Aw."

"So, shall we keep tabs on the progress of Reiuji-san?"

"…My lady?"

"…Yeah. I'm more apprehensive than ever about their relationship. But Flan-chan's bound to go after her when she wakes up. I…I just don't want Flandre getting hurt."

"…I'm glad to hear you feel that way. Don't worry, if something changes, we'll know before long. Kirisame-san's agreed to tell Sara-san if she finds anything out." Seeing my confused expression, Sakuya clarified, "Alice, not Marisa."

"Oh. Right." It had been close to a year since Miss Margatroid had become Mrs. Kirisame, but I still thought of her by her maiden name. "Sara-san was the maid of honor at their wedding, wasn't she?"

Sakuya nodded. "You're getting better at remembering the little things."

"I'm trying. I…admit that perhaps being the haughty ojousama wasn't the best move."

"Well, I can't exactly picture you as a commoner. But, yes, I'm glad that you're becoming a bit more…" She stopped.

"A bit more what?"

"Oh, nothing."

"Sakuya?"

"…A bit more human." I laughed. Sakuya seemed confused, obviously not expecting this reaction.

CCX: And that's how they knew that Yasora had been resealed.

As soon as Flandre returned, I knew that Reiuji had hurt her, though not in the way she was afraid of. "Flandre-chan…what happened?"

"I confessed to her."

"She doesn't feel the same way."

"She does. That's…that's why we can't see each other anymore."

"…I see. I…can't say I'm unhappy with this outcome, because I've always been a bit afraid of you being with a sun-powered youkai, but…even though I know it's for the best, and that it happened because she only wants you to be safe…I can't say I'm happy, either. I'm sorry, Flan-chan…"

"…No, you're right. It's…for the best…"

"…Something wrong, Remilia-san?"

"Just thinking about Flandre. Even she realizes that this is for the best, but…I can't bear seeing her so heartbroken."

Sakuya calmly replied, "So do something about it. You 'control people's fates', right?"

"That's…altering fate isn't the same as actually changing reality. It's…probably closer to that rabbit's luck manipulation ability than anything else. I can create chance encounters, things that seem improbable. Besides…there's nothing to alter."

"…My lady?"

"Maybe my 'special power' is completely useless. At first, I wanted nothing more than for them to be fated to be apart, and so I changed their fates to make it so…but I saw the way Flan-chan was when she was around the bird, and so I changed things back to the way they were. And yet…now they are apart, again defying fate."

Sakuya seemed to disapprove of my meddling, but she remained even-tempered. "Perhaps your power just takes some time to take effect? This could merely be the result of you temporarily altering their fates such that they were fated to be apart, in which case it will pass after roughly the amount of time it took for you to change your mind."

"Thanks for reassuring me, Sakuya-chan. Let's…not tell Flandre about this, just in case we're wrong."

"Wouldn't dream of it."

CCX: Well, that was short. But that's to be expected, right?