AN: Update! Remember to leave a review!
Also, can anyone guess who this 'him' guy Yukari is talking about? Internet cookies for the one who guesses it right!
It was as a busy day in La Push, as per usual, being a popular vacation spot, however, to those that frequented or lived in the area, a new topic of interest had popped up among them.
"Hey, did you here about that new 'ghost mansion' in the woods?"
"Ghost mansion? I don't think it can be called a 'ghost mansion if people are actually living there."
The sudden appearance of a large mansion in the middle of woods just before entering the reservation grounds would of course be a hot topic for discussion. The place was discovered when a group of work men appeared and started working towards and around it, allegedly because they were refurbishing and repairing the old thing in preparation for its new resident.
Still, its appearance was not as sudden as believed, as a quick question to the local real-estate agent revealed that the big house had indeed been there for a long while, however it passed by a dirt road seldom used, or seen even, as the area was densely camouflaged by trees and grass.
In fact, the agent had remarked that the manor would have probably been forgotten, had it not been for the fact that it was, apparently, still up for sale in some flier, at least according to him.
Still, everyone was curious to exactly who their new 'neighbor' would be, or would be like. It wasn't everyday that you buy a huge manor like that.
Some people more curious than others.
"Sam, what do you think?"
Sam Uley, current alpha of the Quilete Tribe werewolf pack was leaning against his car, besides him were his current pack-mates, Paul Lahote, Jared Cameron.
"It sounds really similar don't you think . . .?" said Jared.
Sam nodded, "Yeah, it could be, Still, the blood-suckers had never broken their pact, even now when they've been here almost a year. It's either it's more of their own, or a completely new one."
"How the hell are we going to deal with another coven Sam?" Paul growled. The third pack member was always the most temperamental, and thus had the hardest time among them keeping his transformation impulse under control. "Five of them we can maybe handle, but six or more? That's two for everyone of us. They'd murder us all in a fortnight."
"Paul, I think your forgetting something," said Jared, "our blood always responds to the blood-suckers. Given enough time, more of us will come. In fact, I'm fairly certain either Jacob or Embry'll be joining us soon."
Paul made an 'o' shape with his mouth as he remembered exactly what sort of response the blood of the Quiletes had whenever the vampires where involved.
"I'd rather that not happen though. As much as I'd like some extra paws, I dislike the thought of having anymore of us transform."
The three sobered up at the thought. The transition from man to beast for the first time was an extremely maddening and unpleasant ordeal, not one any of them wished on the others of their tribe, no matter how entitled to it they may be.
As the stood in silence, a lone taxi drove through the road, just past them.
"You know Kaguya, I was really hoping you were serious about that 'inn' comment of yours."
Mouku stood in front of the grandiose manor that Kaguya had apparently purchased. The old thing had been restructured, however, Kaguyaa had payed extra to to make sure that the thing was rebuilt exactly the way it was supposed to look in it's prime, which happened to look like a cross between a modern day mansion and a medieval castle, double doors and tower included. Asides from that, it was huge, in fact, her old shack in Gensokyo probably would have fit in any of the rooms inside, bathrooms included.
"Hmph, I shall resort to that when I need to Mouku, but if I can find places like this to reside in, why shouldn't I?" said Kaguya, walking towards her rivals side. She was still wearing the same outfit that she had on before leaving, however, she had also put on a pair of glasses. Mouku later found out that these glasses had a dimming effect on her identity, and more importantly, her lunacy inducing beauty. In Gensokyo, nobody important would have even batted an eyelash, having some sort of resistance to it, and while the village people did stare a little more than usual, they did not suddenly throw themselves at her, eager to prove themselves in any way possible. Eirin made sure of that.
"Besides, does it not it remind you a bit of my Eientei?"
It did, Mouku had to admit. Though the house was western based based and surrounded by pine tree's rather than bamboo, it did give of a certain resemblance to Kaguya's previous home.
"How did you find this place anyway, and so quickly too?" That was what puzzled Mouku the most. They had barely stepped out of the barrier when Kaguya had pulled a paper out of one of her jean pockets and began walking around the area, a place she now learned was called La Push - funny name, Mouku thought - and going around on a merry goose chase.
They finally stopped when they reached a relatively large building. Walking inside, Kaguya began asking for someone - Mouku couldn't recall - and promptly disappeared to talk to a strangely dressed man. She'd returned soon with a smile on her face and an address written in her hands.
"Eirin set things up for me. She told me to consider it a parting gift, to get me started on my journey."
It seemed that Eirin still had a problem when it came to doting over her princess.
"Wait, she managed to set this up in three days?"
"Of course not, even with all her genius Eirin could not have had those humans rebuild the manor in three days only. That was thanks to my powers."
"Your powers?"
"I have control over the eternal and the instantaneous. Eirin had instructed me that the moment we had left Gensokyo that I make the area around us 'eternal' for the time outside of us and the reconstruction of our house 'instantaneous' to our arrival - that way, the moment we left for the real-estate agency, our presence their would land exactly as the house finished."
Mouku had to admit that was a pretty creative way of using her powers, and it was rather convenient. Kaguya's powers where impressive, if severely limited in their use, in fact, their use in combat was non-existent, so finding new methods to apply them to was a difficult feat.
"I am more surprised that you are not surprised that we are talking the same language as the natives here," said Kaguya.
"Pheh, I recognize that border witches work when I need to Kaguya. I'm not as proficient as you when it comes to magic and whatever, but even I know that she's the only one that could alter our perceptions like this."
Kaguya looked surprised that she had reached that conclusion, which slightly annoyed Mouku. She was thick headed, not stupid.
"Well, enough idle chatter. It looks like they're done moving our things in, so why don't we take a look at our new home?"
"Does that mean I can change out of this thing now?" Mouku said.
Kaguya had all but ordered her to change into the new clothing presented to her earlier. It consisted of an uncomfortably tight pair of red jeans, and the same white T-shirt and rabbit design as Kaguya's.
"Why would you do that? Those look really good on you!" Kaguya pouted at her. Her efforts to modernize themselves as quickly as possible would not be wasted!
She even picked clothes that matched Mouku's old ones too!
"It's uncomfortable, and anyway, why the hell did you stick the anti-fire seals on the inside?" Mouku complained.
"I did not want to ruin the design."
"Ugh, whatever. Let's just go in already so I can change into something more comfortable."
"Oh! Could you try out the night clothes I picked out?" Kaguya chirped. "Or how about the-"
"Stop. Right. There," Mouku said, unwilling to hear more of what Kaguya had bought for her, for the sake of her sanity. "Where are my old clothes? I want to wear that, nothing else. No wierd Outsider clothing, just my old ones."
"Whaaaaat? Honestly, Mouku, have some taste will you? You simply cannot go walking around in clothes like that, they've been out of date for centuries!"
"I don't care, they're uncomfortable and cling to my skin way to much!" Mouku protested.
"You'll get used to it, I swear!" argued Kaguya. In the heat of the moment, the Moon Princess took of her glasses with a snap and glared defiantly at her rival.
"I don't want to get used to it!" retorted Mouku.
Before Kaguya could argue again, a feminine voice interrupted her. "Um, excuse me, which one of you would be Kaguya Houraisan?"
The two immortals turned to face the newcomer, a caramel haired woman with strange, golden eyes. She was a taller than Kaguya, but shorter than Mouku by a small margin. In her hands as a clip book and pen. But what caught Kaguya's and Mouku's eye was the obvious, glaring fact that she was not human.
She was too beautiful, too precise, too relaxed.
All humans showed signs of tension or stress, however small, and Kaguya could always find those tell-tale signs of stress on a person, but the youkai before them showed absolutely no sign of anything.
What was something like her doing here?
Esme Cullen's breath hitched as the two women turned towards her. It was a reflexive reaction, since vampires did not need to breathe, and even then it was a rare thing, since the chances of surprising a vampire was absolutely minuscule at best.
But she was surprised now, surprised at the heart-achingly beautiful specimen in front of her.
Her long hair was raven-black and flowed as smoothly as silk. Her equally dark eyes were almond-shaped, adorned with long elegant lashes. Her skin pale, yet attractively so, though not in the same way as a vampires was. A vampire was too perfect in design, leaving not a single flaw in even the ugliest of people after transformation. This girl in front of her most definitely had flaws, but they were not ones one could easily point out, and even then, her flaws had actually made her even more beautiful, bringing about a sense of naturalness that vampires did not have. She was flawed, yet she was perfect. She was absurdly beautiful, yet naturally so.
Esme felt like she was staring at the full moon.
Even more than her beauty was the smell. Surprisingly though, the same irresistible smell wafted from both women. They smelled absolutely glorious to her. Esme had feasted not a week before meeting them, but now she had the sudden urge to just reach out and . . .
"Um . . . ma'am?"
Esme snapped out of her reverie in an instant and realized that she had been inching closer and closer towards the two without realizing. If she could blush she would have, but she settled for straightening herself and greeting the two as if nothing happened.
"Good afternoon to you two, may I ask which one of you is Kaguya Houraisan?"
The beauty that had caught her attention earlier raised her hand slightly. "That would be me."
Esme held her breath. She'd need to if she was going to talk in front of these two without trying to rip their throats out. "I'm Esme Cullen, nice to meet you."
She extended her hand in greeting.
The woman, Kaguya, shook it politely. "It is a pleasure to meet you too, Miss Esme."
Esme had to fight the urge to bite her hand, and it was a fight she very nearly lost. Dammit, what was with this woman that made her smell so good!?
"S-so, while I don't have any formal business here, I have to ask whether the house was built to your liking," said Esme. "Consider it a kind of formal pride."
"Ah, I understand and yes, you did a most magnificent job on restoring the house, my thanks."
Kaguya bowed in thanks, an act that confused the Cullen, unused to the gesture, something which Kaguya noticed. "Oh, forgive, in Japan we usually express our thanks by bowing." Well, at least she hoped they still did. Kaguya wasn't entirely sure how humans in modern Japan behaved these days.
"I see, well, you're welcome Miss Houraisan, and if there is anything you need, here's my card." Esme procured a card from her chest pocket. On it was her contact number. Kaguya took the card from her hands and bowed once more.
"Well, if that's all, I'll be going now. It was a pleasure."
Esme walked calmly, trying not to rouse suspension, restraining herself from running as fast she could, but she wasn't sure whether it be away, or towards them.
"Well, she was relatively peaceful."
Mouku looked as the youkai walked away from them. It was a shock for them to have to encounter a youkai just as they arrived in the world outside the Barrier. Thankfully, she seemed to be peaceable, or was at least discreet with her inhuman nature.
"Hm, but still, a youkai, here?" said Mouku. "That's just a bit . . ."
"It was just a stroke of luck, I'm sure we won't encounter anymore creatures like her again."
Mouku looked like she wanted to argue some more, but sagged her shoulders and let the matter drop. "Fine, I'll take your word for it. I'll still keep an eye out for more youkai though."
"Hmph, if you are all wound-up anticipating youkai, you won't be able to enjoy our trip."
"My decision, not yours. I'm not leaving anything to chance."
"Stick in the mud."
"Spoiled brat"
"Old maid"
". . . You're- older"
"Shut up"
"No you shut up."
Kaguya looked deadpan at the silver-haired immortal.
". . . really Mouku? That was a childish retort and you know it."
Mouku simply grinned. "I'll take whatever win I can get."
"Sigh . . . let us just enter the house."
Yukari strolled through the streets of Volterra, her favorite parasol in hand and a smile on her face. Oh how she did enjoy taking these regular excursions in the Outside. It was quite fun and refreshing to see all the new things the Modern Age had to offer, and it was because of this feeling that she had sympathized with and allowed Kaguya to leave Gensokyo.
It was even better when youkai inhabited the area, especially if they were young, prideful, foolish ones. It made her feel warm and fuzzy inside whenever the Volturi tried to track down whoever dared abduct humans in the heart of their territory, only to find nothing. The astonishment and anger on their faces was absolutely priceless, and their hidden fear and confusion was simply the icing on the top.
"There's absolutely no scent! And Demetri can't sense any other vampire close by, what the hell is going on here!?"
She really, really did love messing with them.
"To think these fools were the supposed 'rulers' of all the 'vampires' around the world, it's pathetic," thought Yukari. "Ah well, at least they're fun to play with."
But Yukari would not play for long. Soon she would enact her plans, and by the end of it all, the Volturi would fall and she would hopefully be able to drag him out. To have him live in Gensokyo would be an absolute thrill!
"I'll have to factor that princess into my plans though. Her leaving was an unexpected event. It's not unwelcome though." she said to herself. Still, so long as no major developments happen, her plan would progress perfectly. She had calculated in all expected and somewhat unexpected variables, and had made appropriate plans and actions in accordance. In all seriousness, her plans for the 'vampires' of this era had no flaws.
But even the great Yukari can miss something, or rather, it would be more appropriate to say that some things are beneath her notice.
Like a certain girl who had the insane, borderline lunatic, hots for an extremely emotional 'vampire', who in turn happened to belong to one of the largest covens to date, whose particular talents happened to have attracted the attention of the Volturi's ever-possessive leader, Aro.
Well, with things set up like so, it was needless to say that neither Yukari, Bella's, Edwards, Aro or Kaguya's plans were ever going to go right.
Tough luck.