Myouren temple was a fairly large building and as Keine has said, hard to miss, especially with the large sign with the words 'Myouren Temple' marking the entrance.
The temple had a large gate surrounding the building, but had no doors to impede anyone, allowing anyone to come and go as they pleased. The temple looked to be about the size of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, if not bigger. The temple also appeared to be taken well care of, without any sign of decay or ruin to be found on the temple grounds.
"Hmmmm, so this is Myouren temple, huh? It's quite the sight…I'm actually surprised that a temple consisting mostly of youkai would be so close to a village full of humans…Though considering this is Gensokyo, I guess I've seen odder things." Meiling said as she took in the sight of the gargantuan temple. "So you said you've stayed here once before Koishi?"
The satori nodded energetically in response with a goofy looking grin on her face "Yep! Miss Byakuren let me stay here for days! She's a really nice lady! I hope she remembers me!" Koishi said hopefully as she looked to the temple longingly.
"Oh I'm sure she will, Koishi..." Meiling thought to herself as she looked at the satori with a curious expression. After meeting you, I sure don't think I would…Meiling thought to herself as she scanned the temple for any sign of activity.
"Hey it looks like these temple people are still awake!" Flandre announced, pointing to the light coming from a few of the temple's windows for clarity.
"Ooh! I hope Miss Byakuren is still up! Her bedtime stories are the best!" Koishi exclaimed as she cheerfully skipped to the temple entrance in excitement.
"Wait for me Koishi!" Flandre called to her friend as she followed after the satori.
Meiling sighed to herself in exasperation, "Sometimes I have to envy their enthusiasm…" Meiling mumbled to herself as she followed after the two at her own pace.
Despite their evident excitement, both Flandre and Koishi waited at the temple doors for Meiling with as much patience as they could muster, though the two of them looked downright eager to enter the building. Especially Koishi, who almost seemed to tremble with excitement.
Meiling couldn't help but smile at their childish behavior as she politely knocked on the temple doors. The group received an immediate reply to their knocking, "Coming! Coming! Just a second!" a rather childish voice echoed from within the temple. Which was odd, the building didn't look large enough to carry an echo. Perhaps it was larger on the inside like the Scarlet Devil Mansion?
The large temple doors slowly creaked open, with the group backing away from them to avoid getting smacked by them. At the door way was a cheerful looking girl. She wore a pink, long sleeved shirt and a white skirt with a black border on it. Her hair was short, only reaching to her shoulders, and was aqua green. She also had a pair of dog-like ears coming out of her head, which wasn't unusual for youkai. In her hands she held a broom; she seemed pleased by the prospect of visitors, as she had a large beaming smile on her face.
"Hello! Welcome to Myouren temple!" the girl greeted, bowing to the three energetically. "Are you three in need of shelter for the night?" The girl asked with concern, "Sister Byakuren told me to accept all visitors with open arms, so don't be shy!"
"Why yes actually, we'd very much so appreciate it if we could rest here for the night." Meiling replied for the three of them.
Meiling's answer seemingly overjoyed the girl, as her smile became larger, if it were possible. "Wonderful! Follow me! Sister Byakuren will prepare rooms for the three of you! Right this way travelers!" the girl exclaimed, pointing her broom down toward the halls.
All three of them entered the spacious temple, the room they were in seemed to be some sort of mess-hall as there were several long tables with dozens of chairs surrounding them. The lighting was provided by a large chandelier that looked simple in design, but did its job well enough, as the room was brightly lit.
The three of them waited patiently for their energetic guide, as she pulled the doors closed. The doors echoed as they were finally closed, with their guide looking fatigued from the effort. She quickly regained her cheerful demeanor as she rejoined them. "Thank you for waiting travelers! That door is tricky to get to close! But sister Shou can seemingly close them without effort…Anyways please follow me! Sister Byakuren should be in her room meditating!" Their guide showed them their way out of the mess hall, and into the temple's halls.
The hallways were quite small, only being big enough to have two people walk side-to-side at a time from the looks of it, which was surprising from the size of the building. The group followed their eager guide through these halls, walking single file as they passed by several rooms. Most of them having their doors closed, concealing their interiors from any passerby coming through the halls.
"Ah, here's sister Byakuren's room!" the guide announced to the three of them as the approached the end of the hall, where a door sat, the door looked exactly like all the others with the exception of being marked with a sign that read 'Byakuren Hijiri' over the door. "Just one moment travelers!" the girl said, turning her attention to the door.
She lightly tapped on the door, "Sister Byakuren, we have three visitors! They'd like to rest here for the night, may I come in?" the girl asked, waiting for a response from Byakuren.
There was a short pause before she received a reply, "Certainly Kyouko, I'd like to meet our new guests. Please enter." A kind sounding voice called from inside, her tone sounding reminiscent of a loving mother.
"Thank you sister Byakuren!" Kyouko replied cheerfully as she opened the door gently, revealing a young looking woman within the room.
The room was mostly plain, with just a bed sitting in the corner of the room and a small desk sitting by the wall opposite to the bed. There was a few scrolls peppering the surface of the desk, but were placed in an orderly fashion. But the decor of the room wasn't what caught everyone's attention; it was the room's occupant.
Her hair was long and light brown, with a light hue of purple at her hair roots. Her dress was black and white, with black stripes going across her chest. There were also white stripes on the end of her sleeves, the stripes crossing one another similar to the way the black stripes going down across her chest. She also wore a long black cape. Her face and figure both made her look quite youthful, she didn't look a day over twenty-five.
She sat with her legs crossed and her eyes closed; she looked like she was in a deep meditation. She opened her eyes and gave the group a warm smile as they entered the room. "Ah good evening, it's a pleasure to have new faces here at the temple, and a familiar one as well. It's good to see you at our temple again, Miss Koishi, I hope you have been well."
"You remember me! That makes me feel all nice and warm inside!" Koishi exclaimed cheerfully. She was obviously happy at being recognized by the monk.
Byakuren lightly giggled at her response, "Why of course I remember you, you were always one of the more memorable guests at our temple." Byakuren turned her attention to the two unfamiliar faces in the room, Flandre and Meiling. "I see you've found yourself a pair of companions. I am Byakuren Hijiri, you could say I am the owner of this temple, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Byakuren greeted.
"It's an honor to meet you lady Byakuren, I've heard of your exploits in helping our kind. You're truly a hero in the eyes of youkai everywhere!" Meiling said, looking at Byakuren with great respect.
Byakuren raised her hand slightly and began to speak once again, "I am flattered by your compliments, but I'm no hero. I am but a simple monk who just wants to help spread peace and prosperity between the youkai and humans in this paradise." She said with a humble smile. "Now please tell me if I'm wrong, but you two wouldn't happen to be Flandre Scarlet and Hong Meiling?" Byakuren asked, changing the subject all together.
"Y-Yes, how did you know?" Meiling asked in surprise.
Byakuren giggled in amusement, "I take it that I was correct in my assumption then? Forgive me if I startled you. I thought I recognized you, you're those two youkai that have a large bounty on their heads, no?"
Flandre and Meiling both nodded together to answer, Byakuren's smile faltered and turned into a small frown. "I'm sorry to hear you've run into such misfortune…I also hear that the one behind this bounty is your own sister, little one." At the mentioning of her sister Flandre's mood soured, no longer looking happy. "I won't claim to understand why she would do something like this to her own sister, but I can help the two of you with your plight." Byakuren rose up from the ground and brushed herself off. "Kyouko, why don't you turn in for the night? I'll take care of our visitors from here on out." Byakuren said to their young guide.
Kyouko gave Byakuren a salute in response, "Yes sister Byakuren! Thank you, and rest well!" Kyouko turned her attention to Flandre and Koishi, who were standing idly by. "It was nice meeting you! I hope we can become friends! Good night!" and with that, the green haired girl ran out the room, presumably returning to her room for the night.
"Ah, such an energetic child…and so eager to help others…she'll make a fine priest one day." Byakuren said as she watched Kyouko's disappearing figure go down the halls. "Anyways, why don't you three follow me and I'll show you to your rooms." Byakuren said, gesturing the group to the now wide-open door.
The three departed from Byakuren's room and followed her down the hallway, going in the opposite direction they had been going while they had followed Kyouko. The halls were just as empty as before, with only the four of them being the only ones awake at this hour seemingly, besides Kyouko, who they saw once again as she laid her treasured broom against the wall by her bed before closing the door.
Byakuren eventually guided the three of them to three doors, each of them opened and obviously unoccupied. "Here are your rooms for the night, I hope you find your rooms satisfactory and you enjoy your stay here with us. If you need anything at all, please don't hesitate to ask me."
"Thanks Miss Byakuren!" Flandre chirped happily to the monk.
"Oh ho, it's no problem little one. This temple is here to help youkai with their dilemmas after all…" Byakuren shrugged off humbly, "I wish you a good night's sleep, you three and remember you may stay as long as you'd like!" Byakuren said happily, leaving the three to themselves as she slowly walked back to her room.
"Well this sure beats sleeping outdoors…last time we did that I could've sworn a bug crawled up my nose…" Meiling mumbled to herself as she went into one of the rooms Byakuren had provided for them. "Well goodnight you two, don't let the bed-bugs bite." Meiling said as she closed the door behind herself.
"Night China! Night Flanny! I'll see you two tomorrow!" Koishi said cheerfully, taking the room to the right of Meiling's closing the door behind her, just as Meiling had done.
Flandre followed suit and took the room to the left of Meiling's, and closed the door behind her as well. She found that the room was almost identical to Byakuren's, only having a simple bed in the corner of the room and a small desk opposite to it. There was also a small closet in the room, but aside from that, the room was bare. Flandre didn't mind the room's bareness though, as it was almost like her room in the Scarlet Devil Mansion, except that this bed was in much better condition than the one she had.
Flandre quickly changed out her day clothes and into her simple night gown and plopped down onto her bed, and plopped on to the bed. It took a long time for her mind to finally shut down and finally fall asleep, as excitement for what tomorrow would bring was drowning her mind. It was a sensation she had never felt before, she had never looked forward to the next day before.
"…Flandre… why did you leave the basement? …I thought I told you to stay there Flandre…"
Not this dream….Anything but this dream…Flandre pleaded to herself, as her dream from a few nights before returned to her mind, finding herself to once again be in that endless field of white flowers, and wearing that same white dress, just like the first time. Flandre wanted to awaken from this nightmare, but she found that she couldn't, she was being forced to relive her nightmare until the end.
"You should have stayed in the basement Flandre…I'm very disappointed in you…"
Wake up…Wake up…Wake up, Wake up, WAKE UP! Flandre pleaded to herself once more, and once again failing to regain consciousness.
"The basement is the only place suitable for a disgusting monster like you… Flandre…"
"Pl-Please Remy…N-No more…" Flandre pleaded to her sister's apparition, looking just as disgusted as the first time she had been the first time in her dreams.
Remilia just gave her groveling younger sibling an icy cold glare, looking absolutely disgusted by the sight of her. "You're a disgrace to our family, Flandre…I can't bear to look at you any longer."
"Re-Remy I…I…"
"It's time to put an end to you, and correct the mistake that mother and father have made…Goodbye, sister."
Two rooms over, a more peaceful dream was taking place. Koishi found herself sitting across a human sized rabbit wearing a top-hat at a small table. The table oddly enough sat in the middle of a dark forest, though the table was lit by a small light-bulb that hung from a chain that hung from the sky, seemingly coming from the heavens itself. Koishi's dream world was odd to be sure, as she was having a conversation with the rabbit over a cup of tea.
"Oh Mr. Rabbit, I've been having a wonderful time! You're such a wonderful host!" Koishi said to the rabbit cheerfully.
The rabbit simply twitched its ears in response as it stared at her, its red eyes never once blinking or directing its attention at anything else but Koishi. Most people would have found this unnerving, but Koishi on the other hand seemed unfazed by the rabbit's unmoving eyes, as if it were completely natural.
"Why thank you! You're great company to be around too! And it is a nice hat, isn't it? Big sister gave it to me a long time ago!" Koishi said in response, looking at her hat with pride in her eyes.
The rabbit once again said nothing. It simply sat still on its chair, its eyes still focused on Koishi.
"You know who'd have fun at our parties Mr. Rabbit? Flandre! She's really nice and makes me feel warm in my chest, even when it's cold out!" Koishi said happily, as her thoughts went to her new vampire friend.
"Pl-Please Remy…N-No more…" Flandre's voice said, lacking its usual cheerfulness and replaced with a much sadder tone. Flandre's voice seemed to come from everywhere, making it impossible to pinpoint where it was coming from.
"Huh? Flanny?" Koishi asked, as she looked up to the sky. "Hmmmm…Flanny sounds sad…Maybe I should go check on her…" Koishi mumbled to herself as she got out of her chair. "Sorry Mr. Rabbit, I gotta check up on Flanny, she sounds really sad…"
The rabbit was unresponsive as before, still staring at Koishi's seat as it scratched itself with its leg.
"Oh you're so understanding, Mr. Rabbit! Next time I'll bring Flan with me! Then we can all have fun! See you next time!" Koishi said as she jumped off from the ground and began to fly up towards the sky, leaving the odd rabbit and mysterious forest behind.
Back in Flandre's dream, the apparition of her sister slowly closed in on her, with the same black knife gripped in her right hand. Flandre was seemingly paralyzed, as the vampire couldn't urge her body to move in the slightest, with the only thing she could do is watch as her own sister closed in on her with murderous intent.
"Pl-Please sister…I-I love you…I-I'd never try to do anything to hurt or upset y-you…p-please…I'll do a-anything to make you happy again…e-even go back into the basement…" Flandre stuttered to her sister, her anxiety growing more and more with each step her elder sister took.
Remilia simply shook her head, "No. It's too late to reconcile with me, you've been an embarrassment to me and our family long enough, Flandre. If you truly want to please me, then accept this fate and die." Remilia replied coldly as she reached Flandre, raising the blade just above Flandre's heart. "Any last words, dear sister?" Remilia asked, her expression looking emotionless as she spoke.
"Y-Yes…" Flandre mumbled as tears dripped down her face, "I…I'm sorry big sister…"
Remilia looked completely disgusted by her sister's final words, "Your apologies mean nothing to me, and your tears are one last disgrace our family, at least die with dignity you little demon…"
"Flaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnny! Are you here?" Koishi's voice echoed, causing Flandre to gasp in surprise. Remilia seemed to not notice Koishi's call, as her glare was still affixed upon her little sister.
"K…Koishi?" Flandre called back, looking around for the satori, but she was seemingly out of sight. But soon found that she was wrong, as when she turned back to where her sister stood, she instead found Koishi, looking as happy as she's always been since the two met.
Koishi wasn't in her regular outfit though, as she was wearing the same white, one-piece dress as Flandre was, but her black sunhat was nowhere to be found.
Flandre was completely stunned by the satori's coming, finding it to be hard to formulate any words, much less a sentence. Fortunately for her, Koishi decided to break the silence.
"Oh there you are Flanny! I was looking for you!" Koishi said blissfully, not seeming at all mystified by her new surroundings, or her new pair of clothing for that matter.
"Wh-Where'd big sister go…? Wh-What are you doing here?" Flandre asked, not yet recovered from her anxiety.
Koishi put a finger to her mouth and threw an arm around Flandre's shoulder, "I dunno…I heard your voice, so I decided to check on you…you didn't sound happy, so I came to make you feel all good inside, just like you make me feel! But I don't know about any big sister…I just saw a meanie, so I made her go away." Koishi explained. The way she spoke made it sound like this was an everyday occurrence to her.
"You…made her go away?" Flandre asked in confusion.
"Uh-huh! That mean purple haired lady was making Flan-chan cry, so I made her go away!" Koishi said enthusiastically, she looked pleased with herself as she explained.
Flandre didn't understand anymore of what Koishi had said since their conversation had begun, but still felt relieved that the nightmarish dream version of her sister had disappeared and was replaced with her scatterbrained friend. Though the vampire still had one question left on her mind to ask her friend, "Koishi…Is this…Is this all just a dream?" Flandre asked, looking to the satori as she waited for an answer from her.
"Don't be so silly Flanny; of course it's a dream!" Koishi replied without skipping a beat. Koishi looked up to the sky for a few moments with a blank expression on her face, "Oh poo…I gotta go…I'll see you later Flan." Koishi said, as she slowly began to floating off from the ground.
"W-Wait! Where are you going?" Flandre asked as she watched her friend slowly float away into the sky.
"Back into my own dream silly! You can be so funny sometimes Flan-chan…" Koishi replied as she slowly grew farther and farther away, "Oh! Before I forget! You should have tea with me and Mr. Rabbit sometime! He really wants to meet you! Bye!" Koishi added before slowly fading away from vision, her last words not making a lick of sense to Flandre as the world around her slowly went dark, until all she could see was darkness.
It was morning in Gensokyo, and its various residents have begun to go about their business for the day, which was exactly what Aya, 'Gensokyo's ace reporter' as she called herself, was doing. She had begun making her newspaper deliveries for the day, which had another front-page story about Remilia's bounty, which was a part of the deal between her and Remilia herself.
Aya began to slowly descend to her last destination in her news route, the Scarlet Devil Mansion. She kept her eyes peeled for any possible stories as she did, but without any luck. She landed at the imposing front gate of the mansion, where the mansion's new gate-keeper was situated at.
Aya approached the girl slowly, taking her sight in as she began to formulate any possible way she could make a new story out of the girl for her newspaper. "Hey there short-stack, how's the new job going?" Aya asked as she began digging in her bag for a paper to give the girl.
"Rumia is no short-stack; Rumia is as tall as great mountain! Taller than stupid mountain you tengu live on!" Rumia shouted, pouting at Aya's remark about her height.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Here's Remilia's paper." Aya replied nonchalantly, handing Rumia the newest issue of the Bunbunmaru.
"Feh, Rumia wonders who'd read this fish-wrap!" Rumia said looking disgusted as she glimpsed at the paper.
"Ayayaya!? Y-You little twerp! You're calling my newspaper mere fish-wrapping!?" Aya asked in absolute shock, she began to look ill upon hearing her paper being slandered.
"Rumia calls it how Rumia see's it." She replied, folding her arms in defiance.
"How dare you! You probably can't even read you grammar-impaired brat!" Aya shouted angrily, obviously not taking any insults sitting down.
"Rumia's reading level is beside the point fish-wrap girl. Mistress told Rumia to tell reporter girl to go see her once Rumia saw her."
"Eh? What's she want?" Aya asked curiously.
"Mistress not tell Rumia, she just tell Rumia to be messenger girl. Now go away reporter-girl, Rumia is trying to guard pretty gates for mistress!" Rumia shouted, swatting at Aya with the newspaper she had just given her, making the reporter retreat from the gates and towards the mansion.
"Ayayayaya! Alright, alright! I'm going!" Aya shouted at the girl, flying up to the second floor as opposed to using the front door like a normal person normally would.
Rumia sighed to herself and readjusted her new black beret, "Rumia never knew guarding silly gates would be so hard…Or so boring…Maybe Rumia should take nap…Or maybe invite Cirno over. She makes Rumia laugh." Rumia thought aloud as she resumed her guarding position now that Aya was gone.
Aya tapped on Remilia's study window, where the mansion's mistress was sitting at her desk, patiently waiting for the Tengu. She motioned for her to come in, albeit with an irritated look on her face.
Aya nodded in response and opened the window, gliding into the mansion slowly. "Gensokyo's ace reporter, Aya Shameimaru is on the scene!" Aya shouted to no one in particular as she made her dynamic entrance, doing an odd looking pose as she held her fan above her head.
Remilia gave her a sarcastic round of applause, rolling her eyes at Aya's antics. "Bravo…Bravo…Now if only the ace reporter could use the front door like a normal person would…"
"So whatcha want Miss Scarlet? I got stories to write and papers to print! The Bunbunmaru has been selling like hotcakes since I posted that story on your bounty, and I got a lot of things to do!" Aya said impatiently, ignoring Remilia's sarcastic remarks.
"So I've seen…Now Miss Ace reporter we have some…things to discuss." Remilia said, motioning to the chair across from her desk. Aya took the hint and plopped down onto the cushioned seat.
"Ooh! Really!? More details on the story I can use!? I could use some more dramatic responses from you; you know something that'll really get the readers hooked! Something emotional! Something from the heart!" Aya said in excitement as she quickly tore out her notepad and pen in a flash, she was literally trembling in excitement.
"No, Aya…" Remilia growled, slowly pushing Aya's notepad down. "I wanted to ask about your last paper…"
"What about it? I sold hundreds of it on the first day! It was a personal record for me and my paper…ah we've come so far…I wiped the floor with Kakashi spirit news! It was so satisfying…Maybe that rookie'll finally learn that writing newspapers just isn't her specialty…" Aya rambled on.
"No…Aya…" Remilia growled, her patience growing thin with the scatter brained reporter. "I wanted ask about the picture you used…How in the hell did you get a color version of it!? I gave you a black and white photo…Did I not?"
"Oh that? Well since it was a really special edition of the Bunbunmaru, the pictures were printed in color! It took a lot of effort to fix that picture up though…Thank you photoshop! I knew buying one of those outside world contraptions would come in handy one day! Thanks toyour story and my photoshop skills, I sold so many papers that I ran out of ink!" Aya exclaimed cheerfully, sounding utterly pleased with her recent success.
"You…What?" Remilia asked, looking outright furious.
"I fixed that old picture up, made it in color using photoshop, that's what I said. Uh, something wrong? You're…kinda starting to scare me here." Aya said, growing slightly nervous as Remilia started cursing under her breath.
"I never gave you permission to do that! Get rid of that picture and use the one I gave you, and do NOT tamper with it again you imbecile!" Remilia yelled, slightly startling the reporter with her outburst.
"Yikes! Alright, alright! I'm sorry! I'll fix it right up as soon as I get back to Youkai Mountain!" Aya exclaimed, putting her hands in between Remilia and herself defensively. Suddenly Aya had an idea, not wanting to waste such an opportunity, Aya spoke up. "I'll do that…If I get a heartfelt interview with you about the recent news, deal?" Aya asked, her mouth forming a cocky smirk as she made the proposition.
"Hmph…You tengu will do anything for a story…very well, you may interview me about these recent events, just so long as you keep your end of the bargain, crow." Remilia replied coldly. "Also…Make sure to mention that the bounty is now being raised to one-million yen."
"Yes! My paper will be the talk of all of Gensokyo after this!" Aya cried victoriously, "Don't worry Miss Scarlet; I'll have that picture fixed up and have that bounty raised for you in no time, tengu's honor!"
"Tengu have honor? I'd never thought I'd see the day…" Remilia said sarcastically as she rose up from her seat.
"Mind if I ask one thing though? How old is this picture anyways? Its condition is terrible; I thought it'd tear to pieces when I was flying it back to my workshop on the mountain…"
"If you must know, it was taken over four-hundred and ninety-five years ago, just before I asked Flandre to do what was best and have her live in the basement…" Remilia said, her face showing a twinge of guilt as she spoke.
"Huh, well she sure looked happy in this picture…More so compared to when I took pictures of her for the 'Shoot the bullet' project." Aya thought to herself aloud as she glimpsed at the picture of a happy looking Flandre, who was embracing her elder-sister. "Too bad your grouchy maid busted my camera and all of my pictures…and my nose…" Aya muttered, rubbing her nose as she recalled one of the more unpleasant incidents in her career as a reporter.
"Maybe that'll teach you to intrude in my home uninvited." Remilia nonchalantly replied, "Now if you would, please show yourself out. I'm heading out and I'd prefer it if I didn't have any pests annoying my staff in my absence…" Remilia said as she walked towards the door, picking up a large pink umbrella that sat nearby it.
"Heading out? Where to?" Aya asked quizzically.
"Oh just going to pay a visit to a friend is all…" Remilia replied as she opened the door. "Now go fix your mistake, reporter." Remilia commanded before slamming the door behind her, leaving Aya alone in her study.
"You can count on me Miss Scarlet! Gensokyo's ace reporter never fails!"Aya called back, "Hmmmmm…I wonder if I can find any scoops if I snoop around her study a bit…" Aya said as devious grin stretched across her face.
Back at Myouren temple, many of its residents were also beginning to start their day, including their new guests. Flandre groggily began to open her eyes, yawning loudly as she began to wipe the sleep out of her eyes. "Mmmmmm…That was a weird dream…at first it was scary…but then it wasn't…" Flandre muttered to herself in her half-awake state. "It felt so real too…"
Flandre began to roll on to her side, only to be met with the sight of Koishi wearing a yellow night gown, sleeping soundly next to her, with her arms lightly wrapped around Flandre. Flandre's eyes popped open at the realization that the satori was in her room, and in her bed.
"Koishi? What're you doing…?" Flandre asked to the sleeping satori.
All Flandre got as a response was Koishi's unintelligible muttering in her sleep. "Mmmmmm…Yes I would like more tea…Mr. Rabbit…" Koishi mumbled. From that muttering, Flandre's eyes lit up with recognition, she remembered a very small detail from her dream. In her dream Koishi had mentioned something about a Mr. Rabbit.
Flandre looked at her friend with confusion, "Is it a coincidence…? Or was Koishi really in my…?" Flandre thought to herself aloud as she kept looking at the satori.
Koishi suddenly woke up, sitting up straight on the bed as she wiped her eyes out. "Ungh…Good morning Mr. Hat!" Koishi exclaimed as she looked to her left, but didn't find her hat to greet her. "Mr. Hat? Where'd you go?" Koishi asked as she looked around the room intently for her missing hat. Her eyes eventually instead found Flandre, who was sitting next to her silently as she watched her.
"Flanny! What're you doing in my room? Did you get scared and want to snuggle with me?" Koishi asked, completely oblivious to the fact that it was her who had entered Flandre's room.
"…This isn't your room, this is my room." Flandre stated simply to the satori.
"Oh, is it? Huh…I don't remember wanting to snuggle…My mistake! Mr. Hat must be in my room then!" Koishi said in realization, she plopped off down onto the ground and ran out of the room to go retrieve her prized hat.
Flandre was more confused than ever about the satori, had she really come to her room during the middle of the night unknowingly? That combined with her odd dream made Flandre confused about her new friend. Flandre decided to dismiss these recent events as odd coincidences and get dressed for the day.
Once Flandre was dressed, she found her two companions in the hall, with Meiling leaning against the wall with her arms crossed, and with Koishi just coming out her room as well, now with her black sunhat replanted on her head. Meiling looked up as she heard Flandre's door open, "Oh, Flandre! Good morning, I hope you slept well!" she greeted cheerfully. "And you too Koishi."
"Morning China…I slept okay, thanks." Flandre replied.
"Hmmmmm…Well that's good! Anyways, Kyouko dropped by a little earlier; she wanted me to tell you two that Miss Byakuren would like us to join her and the other temple residents at breakfast." Meiling said with a grin.
"Ooh breakfast! The breakfast here is magical! Let's go Flanny!" Koishi said excitedly, as she took Flandre by the hand and began to drag her along with her as made her way down the hall.
"Oh alright, but the breakfast here better be magical Koishi!" Flandre replied back as she let her friend drag her along. Meiling chuckled at their antics and walked behind the two, following them to the mess hall.
"Oh good morning you three, I hope you've slept well." Byakuren greeted to the three as they entered the room, the small group at the table all quieting down as she spoke. Byakuren was seated at the head of the table.
A purple-haired girl sat at Byakuren's left who had a small cloud-like thing swirling nearby her, but the girl didn't seem bothered at all by it. Two seats over was a brown-haired woman in glasses who had two ears poking out of her head and a large bushy tail, Kyouko was also amongst the group and sat across from the brain-haired woman.
"Good morning Miss Byakuren, I hope you're rest was peaceful." Meiling replied as took a few small glances at the crowd around the table. The crowd of strangers all silently looked at the trio, taking a good look at the temple's newest residents.
"Thank you Meiling, now why don't the three of you take a seat and join us?" Byakuren said kindly, motioning the three of them take a seat amongst their small group.
The three did as she said and each took a seat, with Meiling taking a spot at Byakuren's right, and Koishi taking a spot in between Meiling and Kyouko. Flandre decided to take a seat between the purple haired woman and the one in glasses, both gave her a friendly smile as sat down, making all three of them feel at ease sitting at the table.
"May I have your attention everyone," Byakuren said, grabbing everyone's attention. "I would like to introduce to you our new guests at the temple, Meiling, Flandre and a familiar face, Koishi. I expect that each of you will show them kindness and help them out in any way possible. Now, why don't we all introduce ourselves?"
The purple haired woman spoke up first, "I'm Ichirin Kumoi, and this here is my friend Unzan." Ichirin said, pointing to the small cloud that floated near her, it formed into an elderly looking man's face; it formed a small smile and gave the three a polite wave before resuming its idle floating. "He's a little shy around others, but he says he's happy to meet you two, and see you again Miss Koishi."
The next person to introduce herself was Kyouko, despite them already having met her, she introduced herself anyways. "I'm Kyouko Kasodani! I'm happy to meet you all! A friend and I are in a band, Sister Byakuren's letting us perform a show tonight at the temple, and I hope you'll all show up!" Kyouko sat back down at her spot, and let the last member at the table introduce herself.
"Oy, hey there, how's it going? I'm Mamizou Futatsuiwa, great to meet ya." The brown haired woman said, grabbing Flandre's hand and shaking it vigorously. "If you ever got any issues, just come see me and I'll see what I can do."
"Yeah! Miss Mami's great with helping others with their problems!" Kyouko added cheerfully.
Mamizou gave a throaty laugh at her compliment, "Hahaha, thanks there Kyouko, I try my best."
"There are others in the temple, but they're off doing other duties to help us out at the time being, I'm sure that the other residents will also lend a helping hand to you three if you're ever in need of assistance." Byakuren said with a smile. "Now then, why don't we all enjoy this meal and one another's company now?"
Everyone began to resume their meals, conversing about so-and-so and laughing about old times. The way they treated one another was similar to that of a happy family, it was something Flandre hasn't felt a part of for years. At that moment, she knew she would enjoy her stay at the temple.
A/N: Ah finally, another chapter down! I've been looking forward to completing this one, as this chapter(and the upcoming ones) will be starring one of my favorite casts of the TouHou series, UFO. If you're wondering why Shou, Nazirin and the other Myouren temple gang didn't show up, it's because it'd simply be too hard to introduce so many characters at once, so I settled on just introducing the ones seen so far. But don't worry, the rest of the UFO gang will show up in future chapters.
Other than the rest of the UFO cast missing, the only other real note I have is about that dream scene...I really hope it didn't get too confusing...That was my only real concern when posting this chapter honestly.
I'd like to thank those who reviewed the last chapter, as your reviews help encourage me to keep on writing this thing, especially since I'm still a rookie when it comes to writing. I seriously appreciate the support! I'm hoping to have the next chapter posted at a reasonable time...Though I may take a small break from it for a while...so we'll see. xP Hope to see you next chapter!