While the Scarlet Devil Mansion had a very tall and sturdy brick wall surrounding it against which Hong Meiling would stand as she guarded or slept, it also had a neatly-trimmed hedge that lined the brick barrier on the exterior. This lining of shrubbery, which the Chinese gatekeeper had grown and taken care of herself after she suggested to Remilia that the outside of the mansion looked a bit dull, was tall, thick, and green: a perfect location for one to hide in. This was the idea formed by Youmu Konpaku, who was currently sitting out of sight in the portion of hedge that was growing just to the right of the main gate. While she herself was currently completely hidden in the center of the brush, unaffected by the sharp and prickly branches as any experienced gardener should be, the tail of her phantom-half Myon was ever-so-slightly exposed to the night. As she gripped the glowing white phantom and pulled it into the hedge with her, Youmu peeked out from her green hiding spot and kept her eyes fixed on the front door, waiting patiently for the little devil girl to leave the mansion through it.
While the gardener was sitting motionlessly in the hedge, she caught a glimpse of the ghostly Myon turning a shade of lavender from the corner of her eye. "Youmu, are you in position?" Patchouli's voice softly radiated from the phantom body.
Youmu grasped Myon by its wriggling tail and held it out in front of her. "I'm in the bushes right now. Meiling is on board with our plan, and she promised not to stop Koakuma from leaving or act suspiciously, so we should be good."
"Excellent," Patchouli replied positively. "Remember, don't start following Koa until you're absolutely sure she can't see you. If she suspects that she's being followed, we'll lose all chances of getting to Reisen. You're by far the fastest person we have, so you shouldn't have any trouble catching up if you lose sight of her. That's why we chose you for this; that, of course, and the fact that you're the most expendable person around."
"Excuse me?!"
Patchouli laughed quietly. "I'm only kidding, Youmu. But I'll make this call brief to make sure Koa doesn't hear you as she passes by. Contact me if you have the opportunity to about what you find, all right?" She paused for a moment. "…I have to admit, I'm perplexed as to why she would betray me like this. She's always been such a loyal familiar in the past, and… well… I can't come up with a logical reason as to why she would start acting differently today. If you can, Youmu, do you think you could try to find the answer for me when you catch up to her?"
"I'll try my best to figure it out," the gardener replied. "Youmu out." Myon turning white again to signify the end of the contact came at a very convenient time, occurring just as Koakuma emerged from the front door. As the girl walked down the path of the courtyard a bit too quickly, Youmu could see that she wore a forced smile that barely hid a very stressed and concerned mood.
When Koakuma reached the space in the middle of the brick wall and hedges that served as the mansion's gate, Meiling took a quick breath before casually approaching the young devil. "Good evening, Miss Koakuma," she said with a polite smile. "What brings you out so late tonight?"
Koakuma looked nervously behind her shoulder at the large window of the library before turning back to Meiling. "I… um… wanted to take a stroll outside to get some fresh air and rejuvenate my mind and body. It'll just be a brief one around the Misty Lake."
Meiling stood back to allow the devil to pass. "Very well. Have a nice walk, Miss Koakuma. Would you like me to inform Miss Patchouli about where you're going?"
"T-that's all right," replied Koakuma. "I already told her. I'll be off, then." As she began to move again, her pace sped up into one that had more in common with jogging than walking. Youmu remained completely motionless in her hiding spot for about a minute or two while she waited for Koakuma to leave the range of earshot. When at last her bright red hair was but a fading dot on the horizon, Youmu crept out from inside the bushes and brushed away all the brambles that had lodged themselves in her skin, turning around and freeing Myon from the plants as well.
"You'd better hurry," advised Meiling, pointing at the rapidly retreating girl. "She looks like she's going pretty fast to wherever her destination is."
After saying a brief thanks for playing along with the plan, Youmu began to pursue Koakuma, who had broken into a full-out run by this point after crossing the vast lake. However, the devil's running speed was pathetic in comparison to the ghostly gardener's, and Youmu was able to close in at a distance of about ten meters in just about a minute while still remaining completely out of sight behind the various trees they passed. When Koakuma reached a clearing in the middle of the vast forest, she slowed her running speed down to a halt and bent over, panting heavily to catch her breath. As the devil's breath slowly returned to a softer and more regular pace, she bent her legs and sat down on the forest floor, damp from the dew of the night. After taking a brief glimpse around her to make sure no human or youkai was watching (during which Youmu compressed her body as much as possible behind a great maple tree to avoid being seen), Koakuma pulled out a very small, thin, indigo hard-cover book that appeared to have no title from one of the pockets of her dress and held it up to the night sky, where it almost seemed to blend in with its color. The blending in was quickly lost, however, as the book's cover began to turn a bright shade of yellow that greatly contrasted with the night sky as the sun would.
"Who is this?" demanded an intimidating and booming voice from the book. Youmu frowned, as while the daunting voice sounded very familiar, she couldn't place where she had heard it from before.
"It's Koakuma," the devil answered. "The plan to knock out Yukari with the drugs worked perfectly. I think the GGA, as they call it, is very close to discovering my part in all of this, if it hasn't already, but I'm making my way to your place as we speak."
"Well done," the one on the other end of the conversation replied approvingly. "From what you've heard, have the girls gotten closer to discovering me or my friends?"
"I don't think so," replied Koakuma. "Even though they've identified Reisen as the author of the letter, they're still busy dealing with Tewi and Yuyuko. It seems as though they have no idea who developed this plan in the first place."
"That's good. As long as we stay a few steps ahead of them, they won't be able to handle what happens when it happens so quickly. Get back here as soon as you can, and, of course, make sure nobody's following you."
"Got it," responded Koakuma. As she said this, the book's color returned to indigo, and she hid it away again before standing up to continue running. While Youmu felt fortunate to be able to eavesdrop on such an important conversation, she also gulped as the feeling of dread from having to oppose a whole group of unidentified people radiated throughout her entire body.
Although Flandre Scarlet had the appearance and maturity of a very young child, the blonde girl was by no means stupid and had an intellect one gets after living for 500 years. From this, after discovering that Remilia had not remembered to lock the basement door five minutes after the argument that took place, Flandre had decided to wait for about two hours before attempting to leave. If Remilia had left the door unlocked on purpose, she concluded, it would be a test that would make her receive a harsh scolding if she failed by sneaking out. While this was not true, Flandre would have indeed gotten severely reprimanded if Remilia had come down to find that she had escaped. From this, Flandre decided to wait for a few hours to ensure that Remilia would not come down and discover that her sister was missing. This was a decision that jeopardized the vampire's chances of taking advantage of the situation, for if Remilia had not been inadvertently stabbed in the foot by Sakuya and subsequently discovered her transformation into a human, she would have followed through with her plan to check on her sister and discovered her failure to lock the door properly.
After two hours, Flandre, being the impatient girl she was, decided to finally make her escape. From the thin ceiling that was built above her, the vampire could typically hear all that went on in the mansion during the course of the day. As Flandre peered through the pitch-black environment up at the uneven slabs of stone forming a ceiling over her head, no significant sounds of footsteps, voices, or other signs of life entered the room. Assuming that the coast was clear, Flandre hurried back to her cot, bent down on her knees beside it, and blindly extended her hand into the darkness underneath the bed.
Sweeping her arm left and right in an attempt to find something, she grimaced as her hand collided with the silky fibers of numerous cobwebs developing beneath the cot. After a few more sweeps, however, Flandre suddenly started to eagerly twitch her crystalline, rainbow wings as her hand touched a cold, smooth rod of metal. Wrapping her petite fingers tightly around the rod, she quickly retracted her arm from what was essentially a network of cobweb beneath the bed. After she gave both it and her fingers a quick rubbing on her skirt to get rid of the dust that had accumulated, she held the rod up to her crimson eyes for inspection. The jet-black rod, about one inch thick and one meter long, curved very smoothly in multiple places like a slithering snake. One side ended with a shape similar to a heart with two identical holes and symmetrical outcroppings off of the end, while the other side had a shape similar to the talons of an eagle. While the rod felt cool to the touch, the wielder knew how hot it could get when it burst into flames as part of an attack.
"Ah, Laevatein," Flandre murmured softly as she gently stroked the metal rod with her index finger. "It's been a long time, hasn't it? You might finally get some exercise tonight if something goes wrong." Laevatein, being a lifeless piece of metal, did not respond, but Flandre smiled cheerfully anyway and brought the hand holding the mystical weapon to her side.
As Flandre reached the imposing door between the basement and the stairs beyond and grasped the doorknob with her right hand, she hesitated for a moment. It occurred to her that if she took one step further and continued on beyond this door, she would essentially be an escaped convict in her own house. The thought of being chased down and caught by familiar friends in familiar hallways should she be discovered seemed very frightening to the vampire, and she had to take a few deep breaths to compose herself. Like most people who are about to start a daunting or risky activity, the idea of turning back and forgoing it crept into her conscious mind, and Flandre's fingers began to loosen around the metal doorknob.
"No," she concluded at last, returning the grip she held before on the knob. "It's been too many years, and I just can't pass up an opportunity to see the night sky again. If Remi gets angry at me or if those two humans from last time come again, so be it." While holding up Laevatein in a defensive manner, Flandre slowly turned the brass knob and pulled the door backwards toward her. Though the door produced a torturously loud creaking sound that reverberated against the opposite wall of the basement, Flandre could not see anyone at the foot of the stairs who would hear it. Taking a brief final glimpse around the dark and dingy basement that had contained her for so many years, Flandre silently slipped through the open crack of the door and ascended the steps toward the main floor of the Scarlet Devil Mansion.
Five years ago, after Remilia had asserted her influence in Gensokyo by releasing a red mist over the land, Flandre had the chance to briefly wander the hallways of the mansion before getting sealed away again by Reimu and Marisa. The vampire considered that saying she recognized the lavish scarlet carpets adorning the floors or the elegant lanterns along the walls, however, would be a lie. As she stood in the middle of a very long corridor that stretched for what looked like miles in both directions, Flandre realized that she did not know where she wished to go or even how to get there. Every door inscribed in the walls looked alike, and the vampire, expecting when she emerged to immediately see at least one other creature to fight or ask directions from, could not decide which one to enter. As a result, she let her confusion take control and made the decision to stay put for the moment.
While Flandre was carefully staring down the right side of the hallway, she became aware of the sound of another being coming from behind her. Being a vampire with super-hearing abilities, Flandre was able to recognize the sound as the high-pitched voice of a fairy humming to herself long before said fairy came into view. Quickly thrusting Laevatein behind her back and putting on an innocent, childish smile that nobody could deny was cute, Flandre turned around just in time to make out the fairy turning the corner about fifty meters from her. Although the Scarlet sisters considered every fairy maid to be identical and interchangeable, this particular fairy that was turning the corner was the same one that had given Flandre her daily blood and alerted Sakuya to the explosion earlier on.
As the fairy got close enough to see that there was another person in the hallway, she tilted her head curiously and continued to approach the girl.
"'Scuse me," the fairy called out while still flying closer. "Can you help me out here? I need to find… uh… Room 457, I think it was? This is my first day working here, and apparently that's where my quarters are, but everyone else seems to be asleep, so I haven't been told where it is. In fact, you're the first person I've seen… tonight…" The fairy's speech started to trail off as she got close enough to recognize the girl. As she saw the familiar blonde side ponytail, red outfit, and smile, she let out a terrified yelp and proceeded to slowly back away a few steps.
"Sorry," replied Flandre cheerfully, "but I'm actually trying to find my way around this place myself."
"F-F-Flandre Scarlet?" the fairy stuttered, looking frantically around for any open doors. "I thought Remilia said you were always locked in the basement in the job interview."
Flandre shrugged with an exaggerated motion, letting her wings of rainbow crystals bounce up and down in the motion. "Remi said I can be let out tonight." As she gazed at the incredulous and fearful look on the fairy's face, a small smirk began to form on her own. "Of course, if you don't believe me, you can go ahead and take precious time out of Remilia's day by asking her. Just make sure she doesn't give you one of those punishments she enjoys dishing out to naughty, slacking, and disobedient fairy maids." As she amusedly watched the fairy tremble in fright after falling to the floor, Flandre brought out Laevatein from behind her back and casually twirled it in one hand like a baton. "So I know you don't know where Room 457 is, but you must have been to Remilia's study when you were hired, right?"
The fairy, eyes affixed on the fearsome weapon the vampire held in her hand, vigorously nodded her head as quickly as she could. "Y-yes, I did," she said with a quivering voice.
"Great!" chirped Flandre. "You can take me there! Unless…" Her eyes narrowed mischievously as the corners of her mouth turned up slightly. "Unless you'd like to see what happens when fairies disobey me!" Flandre had good practice in smiling in an evil, insane way, and so she could easily replicate it whenever she needed to. "I like it when that happens, since it's one of the only times in which I get to play with a living creature nowadays. You're curious about what happened to the previous fairy maid that took care of me and why Remi needed to hire a new one, right? " She waved Laevatein around menacingly for emphasis, barely able to contain the laughter that was building up inside of her. Putting on a terrorizing persona to intimidate a littler creature was the sort of hobby that vampires naturally loved doing, of course.
By this time, the poor fairy was sweating profusely over her entire body and had nearly fainted from fear. Still, she summoned the courage to look up into Flandre's scarlet eyes and nod weakly. "J-just follow me," the little fairy whimpered in a pathetic manner. She pulled herself up from the carpet and began to fly in an unconfident, uneven manner down the hallway. Flandre joyously followed behind while skipping, looking in wonder at every little detail she had never seen before in the corridor.
After I get this done, Flandre thought to herself, it's high time I make up all the years I missed of exploring this huge place. There has to be a secret passage or two somewhere around here that nobody has found yet! The vampire giggled quietly from the delight of this prospect.
While the girls of the GGA were sitting in Voile Library and intensely sorting through the information they had collected regarding the incident (or sitting around and cracking pointless jokes, depending upon whom was asked), the location of the moon rabbit Reisen Udongein Inaba, the one they had identified as the author of Remilia's death threat, still alluded them all. While Patchouli, Alice, and Marisa had suspected that Koakuma was fleeing from the mansion to the moon rabbit's location, it was nothing more than a speculation. In fact, it would have come as quite a surprise to the librarian, doll-maker, and magician to know that Reisen was actually wandering through the dense forest growing directly behind the Scarlet Devil Mansion about half a kilometer from their very position. While the rabbit had her home in the middle of a bamboo forest, the thick woods infested with minor fairies and youkai was a rather different and unpleasant experience for her.
"Crap," muttered Reisen, halting her walk as one sleeve of the black business suit she was wearing got caught on a long branch. Even after she tugged her arm free from the limb, a long rip remained in the suit like a battle scar. "Kaguya's going to kill me when she finds out I've ruined another suit," she said, rabbit ears drooping in disappointment. After a moment, however, they began to perk up again as she smiled to herself. "It would be just like her to not care one bit about me writing a death threat to a vampire but give me a harsh punishment for ripping my shirt."
Not a second after Reisen had finished dealing with the snagging branch, a multitude of bright white bullets grazed the side of her vision. Turning to her right, she caught sight of a very small youkai sitting on one of the higher limbs of a maple tree. Kicking her legs energetically, the youkai, who had short brown hair contained in an olive-green headband and wore a tattered knee-length dress of the same shade of green, laughed merrily and started shooting a few more white bullets from the center of her body. "A bunny!" she squealed excitedly. "You're cute, but you'd be even cuter in my tummy!"
Reisen sighed and rolled her eyes, not even needing to move an inch to dodge the horribly-aimed bullets being shot at her. While she had a black pistol concealed within her suit for defending herself against attacks, she decided that using it against such a small youkai would be unnecessary. "Sorry to disappoint you," she said, "but I'm not on the menu today. However, you might be able to help me. Have you seen an ice fairy and her friends around here?"
The youkai's eyes brightened, and she pointed in a western direction, stopping the release of her white bullets. "Yeah! They were hanging out over there next to some big house. None of them looked very tasty, though, so I didn't bother them."
Reisen smiled warmly, and she pulled out a raw carrot that was also concealed in her business suit. "Thank you," she said, tossing the carrot up to the girl in the tree. "I was saving this for a midnight snack, but if you're hungry enough to be pursuing rabbits, you probably need it more than I do. It might not be meat, but it's low-fat, high in vitamins, and quite delicious."
The little youkai examined the orange vegetable closely from several angles before tentatively taking a nibble from the tip and allowing the flavors to completely immerse the inside of her mouth. "Not too bad," she admitted. "Thanks, bunny girl!" Reisen, however, had already departed from the tree in the direction the youkai had pointed in.
Cirno, being the incredible clever strategist she was, determined that the most effective and bullet-proof formation she and her four friends could be in was, as she called it, a "pentygon". So, as Meiling looked out of the corner of her eye and wondered why three youkai and two fairies were standing near the corner of the building with all of their backs touching each other, this was the reason behind it. Though she wanted to walk over to them and have at least some people to talk to, she decided it would be best to follow her duties to a tee to please Sakuya and Remilia. So, the gatekeeper remained stationed at her post, looking around intently for anyone who appeared to be a possible intruder bent on murdering her mistress. Since her post was positioned in the very center of the courtyard, it was not possible for her to see anything on the other three sides of the mansion. The approaching moon rabbit was therefore able to tiptoe along the western wall of the building and remain completely out of sight.
"Hey, Cirno, somebody's coming!" whispered Wriggle, who had her back to the front of the mansion. As it was the first thing any of them had said in about half an hour, the others got rather startled by the sudden phrase and whirled around backwards to see for themselves.
"You see?" said Cirno, putting her hands on her hips proudly. "I knew we'd find the person we're looking for by standing here!"
"So, what are we supposed to do now?" wondered Rumia. "I don't really think standing around like sitting ducks is the best option."
"Um… uh…" said Cirno, the blank look on her face visible even while being shrouded in the bubble of darkness formed by Rumia. "Oh yeah, I remember now! Prepare yourselves for fighting, everybody!" The fairy raised her arms into the air and let the tips of her fingers become encased in tiny blocks of ice. The rest of the girls looked at each other, shrugged, and assumed similar battle stances. By that time, Reisen had gotten close enough to them for her long ears to become visible.
"Oh, it's the moon rabbit!" exclaimed Daiyousei, covering her eyes with her hands. "Don't look at her eyes, or you'll go crazy."
"Relax," laughed Rumia. "Stopping people from seeing is my specialty!" The pitch-black bubble of darkness surrounding her expanded to encompass the four others. While three of them looked at the darkness youkai with wonder in their eyes, Mystia scoffed.
"Well done," the sparrow said uninterestedly. "You sort of forgot that I have that power too and can use it very well if I do say so myself, but whatever."
"Pardon me," called Reisen from her distance of about twenty feet away, "but shrouding your eyes is not necessary, for I have no intention of fighting or manipulating any of you. I only wish to talk to you about something."
Wriggle glanced at Cirno with inquiring eyes. "Should we trust her?"
"She didn't seem like such a bad person during the flower incident," the ice fairy said. "Besides, if she tries to pull anything funny, we can just all give her a good beating!"
As Reisen closed in the distance to the five girls, Rumia thinned the darkness layer ever-so-slightly to allow a low level of visibility among it. "My thanks for doing that," the rabbit said, graciously bowing in respect to the five girls. "You are Team ⑨, I presume?"
"That's right!" shouted Cirno. "The strongest and smartest mischief makers for justice in Gensokyo. Right now we're standing watch to stop any intruders that want to kill people from getting in the Scarlet Devil Mansion."
Reisen tentatively twirled one finger in a few locks of her long lavender hair. "I see. So, may I assume that you've therefore heard about the assassination attempt on Remilia Scarlet's life?"
"We have," said Mystia, gently pushing Cirno back to face Reisen directly. "I thought that if it meant the lesser and younger youkai like us would be able to live above the bottom rung of society for once, it would be worth pursuing. Cirno here, however, totally shot that idea down. The rest of us were kind of divided on the issue." Mystia had also met Reisen in the past during the flower incident a year or two ago, and they could therefore talk without any formal introductions.
"You said that your team was 'for justice', correct?" asked Reisen. "I, for one, do not consider it justice at all for the powerful humans and youkai to parade around Gensokyo as if they own the land, kicking any weaker being that crosses their path. You may have less power than some, but that does not mean you are any less of a being for it. Bringing the end of these injustices is the cornerstone of the movement that we are starting here, beginning with Remilia Scarlet's death."
"When you say 'we', does that mean you're one of the people plotting the death?" asked Daiyousei. The fairy was a bit frightened of the sudden appearance of the rabbit, and she therefore stood behind Wriggle as she asked.
Reisen smiled, her cheeks beginning to fill with the redness of a blush. "Yes, that is correct. In fact, I am the one who personally wrote the letter that Remilia received and Aya published. Anyway, I've come to see you to respectfully ask you to join our movement. We could definitely use your help in the events that are to come later on."
"Later events?" asked Mystia curiously. "What sorts of things are going to happen?"
"I can't go into very many details," said Reisen, "but some of the events that will take place later will be greatly assisted with your talents."
"Well, if I can do anything to help out this movement, I'll join you," said Mystia. She turned around to look at Wriggle and Rumia, who shrank back nervously as the sparrow's eyes fell on them. "How about you two? You said you'd be interested in supporting the movement earlier, right?" The sharp inflections she put on the last word of her sentence made such an impact that Daiyousei actually audibly whimpered from it.
"I guess we did say that," admitted Wriggle, "but—"
"Great!" interrupted Mystia harshly. "That works out wonderfully."
"Now, wait just a moment!" shouted Cirno hotly. "If they don't want to do it, don't force them to do it!" She stopped talking for a moment to look Mystia in the eyes. "You've been acting like a big jerk today, Mystia, and I don't like it!"
"Please calm down," said Reisen smoothly. "We are certainly not forcing any of you to be a part of this. Feel free to make your choice based on what you personally would like to do."
Even after Reisen said this, Wriggle and Rumia could not help but notice Mystia looking daggers at the two of them. Neither of them could understand the cold, callous personality that their sparrow friend had adopted, and the thought of what she might do if they did not submit to her wishes seemed terrifying.
After exchanging a worried glance with her firefly friend, Rumia stepped forward. "I-it's all right," she mumbled. "We'll help you with this movement of yours."
"Marvelous!" exclaimed Reisen, clasping her hands together. "Well, since the three of you are now part of this movement, please come with me. We have lots of work to do to prepare ourselves for the massive change Gensokyo is going to undergo." As Mystia, followed by a reluctant Wriggle and Rumia, walked to the rabbit's side, Reisen looked at Cirno and Daiyousei with a kind smile. "If either of you happens to change your mind, you can find me at the base of Youkai Mountain. I must take care of some business right now, but I'll be there in about three hours."
As Reisen, Mystia, Wriggle, and Rumia departed from the corner for parts unknown, Cirno remained still, grumbling to herself with a pouty expression on her face. "Even after they find out that rabbit is the one we're looking to beat up, they just follow her blindly," she muttered to herself. "Those idiots! It really pisses me off." She angrily launched a spread of ice from her fingertips over the grass around her, creating an effect similar to a focused area of frost.
"Er… Cirno," started Daiyousei cautiously, "maybe it wasn't all bad. She did tell us where she's going to be in three hours, after all. We could tell some of the powerful humans and youkai about this, and they could go to Youkai Mountain and capture Reisen when she goes there."
Cirno tilted her head as her mind attempted to process Daiyousei's idea, and her pouting face began to slightly brighten after a few moments. "You have a point there," she agreed, "even though it doesn't change the fact that those idiots are definitely gonna run into trouble doing whatever it is they're doing." The fairy turned around to face the front of the mansion and began to sprint towards the gate. "Yo, China!" she yelled. "We got some information you're gonna wanna know!" It came as a surprise to Cirno, however, to see that the gatekeeper post was empty, and Meiling was nowhere to be found.
As Eirin Yagokoro took her first steps into Voile Library, she took a very thorough look around her to properly survey her surroundings. "So this is where we're going to be plotting to stop a bunch of terrorist youkai, huh?" she said dubiously. "A library?"
"Yes, a library," Patchouli deadpanned from her seat at the table, "and a pretty nice one, in my opinion."
"Very well," Eirin replied. "I suppose it's not the worst place to have a group come together at." As she walked from the door to join Patchouli, Marisa, Chen, and Alice at the table, her eyes gazed upon the unconscious body of Yukari that was still lying on the floor. "What happened to her?"
"Drugged by the devil librarian assistant," answered Marisa casually, as if a sentence like that was as normal as answering what someone wanted for breakfast. Of course, in a land like Gensokyo, it was very close to being normal in the first place.
"So right now, if Reimu told me correctly, we're tracking Youmu's progress at following this escaped Koakuma," said Eirin. "Is that the only lead we're working on right now?"
"Pretty much," Alice replied. "There's a surprisingly low amount of work we need to do here right now. In fact, Marisa and I were mostly just playing with my Shanghai and Hourai dolls for the past hour or so."
Before Eirin could open her mouth to say anything in response, she was interrupted by the sound of the library door slamming open. Meiling sprinted into the large room and nearly threw herself at Patchouli. "Patchouli! There's something you need to see now!" she shouted desperately, her face flushed and damp from sweat.
Patchouli, who had fallen to the ground from the sudden entrance of the gatekeeper, groaned and looked up at the panting girl. "Yes? What on Earth caused you to rush into a library at almost eleven o'clock at night and nearly give me a heart attack?"
Meiling took a moment or two to regain her breath before speaking again. "W-where is Remilia?" she asked.
"Probably still in her room recovering from getting stabbed in the foot by Sakuya," said Patchouli with a shrug. "What do you need me to see right now, though?"
Meiling only pointed to the doorway to the library. Walking in slowly and carefully with a grim expression on her face was a tall woman with short blonde hair contained in a white hat. She wore a very long white dress with an indigo design printed on the center, and had nothing on her feet but white socks. Her most interesting feature, however, was the presence of nine long and bushy fox tails coming out from behind her, each golden in color with white tips. As she walked towards the group sitting at the table, all of her tails hung downward and touched the floor as if they were sweeping it for dust.
"Ran-shama!" shouted Chen in glee, and the young cat jumped up from her place at the table to give the fox a tight embrace.
"It's nice to see you too, Chen," said Ran. Though she gained a warm smile as she watched the young cat wrap her arms around her middle, the sad expression did not leave her eyes.
"Would you mind explaining why your presence here is so severely affecting Meiling, Ran?" asked Patchouli, confusion filling her eyes.
"Of course," said Ran. She turned her head away from both Chen and the group sitting the tables, allowing nobody to see the tears that were beginning to form in her eyes. "It's against my will that I come to the Scarlet Devil Mansion right now. I tried avoiding it for as long as I could, but it got harder over time. At this point, I simply couldn't fight it any longer. So, here I am, as a shikigami under the orders of my mistress."
"Orders?" asked Chen, who looked up from her hug at Ran's eyes. "Why did Mistress Yukari want you to come here?"
Ran attempted to sniff back the tears to prevent them from falling, but the lump forming in her throat only became larger as a result. "It's not what Yukari-sama wanted, but evidently, the order was given nonetheless. You see… I… I-I'm the one Reisen is using to carry out her plans. My order was to murder Remilia Scarlet by midnight tonight."
[A/N]: Welcome back, all! Here we are at the end of the chapter before the last chapter of Act I. Seeing as this segment of the story is coming to a close, I figured it would be a nice time to thank everyone who has reviewed so far. Thank you all very much!
To clear up the minor misunderstanding stemming from the previous chapter, Remilia was planning on checking on Flandre before the issue about finding out she had become a human arose. Since she was busy dealing with it, she forgot about going to see her sister. This, of course, gave Flandre the chance to escape the basement. For the second point, even though the plot about Remilia Scarlet's assassination attempt reaches its climax next chapter, our favorite vampire sisters will not fade from the spotlight. And, yes, I did make an allusion to he-who-does-not-deserve-to-be-named as the sparkly vampire. He was the best example I could think of a pathetic excuse for a vampire! Haha.
Who was the mysterious person Koakuma was calling? It probably shouldn't be too hard to figure out from the clues given, but her identity will still remain a secret for the time being.
In case you were wondering, the youkai that gives Reisen directions does not have a name. Since pretty much every small or weak fairy and youkai has a pivotal role in the plot, I just decided to use an unnamed one to fill the role of helping Reisen. If you want her to have a name, I suppose you could call her Saishoku, since she seems to like vegetables despite being a youkai.
Mystia certainly seems to be acting meaner than usual, doesn't she? Even though the little sparrow has been arrogant in the past, this definitely seems to be a bit abnormal for her.
So, the next chapter will bring us up to midnight, at which point Reisen has promised the Remilia would meet her end. Why has Ran received the order to perform the killing, and will she go through with it? Why does Reisen need the help of Mystia, Rumia, and Wriggle, and what will the strongest ice fairy do about it? What sorts of things will Flandre do with her new freedom? Will Youmu discover the identity of the mysterious person that Koakuma called, and will she be able to stop whoever it is from continuing her plans? Don't miss Chapter 6 of Temporal Quintessence.