"Leaving so soon? I'd be more than happy to accommodate you longer…" Yuuka asked as Meiling finished packing what few belongings she and her band owned, "In fact, I insist you stay. Your company has been quite nice to be honest."
The gatekeeper shook her head in refusal, "Thanks for the offer, Miss Kazami, but we had better be on our way now. I'd like to get a good start on our trek up the mountain before nightfall, and I'd hate to impose on you further, you've done more than enough for us by allowing us to rest in your mansion last night."
"Hmmmm, well I won't stop you then. Just be sure to keep those girls out of trouble, the Tengu aren't especially known to be hospitable to outsiders." warned Yuuka, "Oh, and do be sure to drop by again sometime, my doors are always open to friends."
"We'll be sure to," Meiling replied with a grin, "But uh…Miss Kazami?"
"Yes dear?"
"I'm uh…I'm sorry for how I treated you when we first met…It was quite rude of me. I hope you may forgive me for my lack of manners…" Meiling apologized, bowing as if to emphasize the remorse for her actions.
The flower youkai let out a laugh, "Oh it's quite alright dear, after all, it's not as if I treated you any better when we first met either. Just a misunderstanding is all."
"Right." Meiling nodded, "Are you two ready to go?" the gatekeeper asked Flandre and Koishi, both of whom looked like they were speaking with Medicine, though the doll looked more like she was spectating the conversation rather than actually taking part in it.
Medicine surely didn't become any more social since their first meeting but she did seem much calmer than the day before. The Tskumogami's mood surely hadn't changed either, but the fact that she wasn't wearing a murderous glare while looking at Koishi was definitely an improvement.
"Just one sec!" Flandre answered back to the gatekeeper before continuing her seemingly one sided conversation with the Tskumogami, "I'm glad we gotta meet Meddy, I hope I see you again someday!" the vampire said happily.
The Doll youkai remained stoic, "Mmmmmm, I suppose I could say the same despite your seeming lack of taste in allies…" Medicine muttered.
"Ah, you know you like us!" Koishi said bashfully, "I just hope you're less of a stick in the mud next time we meet!"
"And I hope you're less of an insufferably obnoxious twit, yet somehow I don't think I should hold my breath." Medicine growled back. The Tskumogami's doll companion began to edge away from its larger counterpart in fear of a possible brawl between the two, looking to make a break for it at the slightest sign of conflict. Flandre couldn't help but share the doll's concerns as she slowly backed away from the two as well.
Koishi however shrugged off her remark and kept a smile on her face despite Medicine's rather offensive comment, "I'll miss you too!" Koishi cried as she gave Medicine what appeared to be a very painful hug if the Tskumigami's bulging eyes were any indication to its strength. Flandre couldn't resist joining in the hug as well, as she wrapped her arms around the doll-youkai's body and joined in the pair's hug; much to Medicine's furthered annoyance.
The Tskumogami remained silent as the satori released her, only averting her eyes, blushing with rosy cheeks, something that probably should have been impossible for her body to do with its lack of blood. The vampire gave the Tskumogami a small wave goodbye as she traipsed back over to her red-headed guardian along with Koishi. Through the corner of her eye, she caught a small glimpse of Medicine sheepishly returning her wave as she continued avoiding any sort of eye contact with the pair whatsoever. Flandre couldn't help but giggle at the girl's shyness as she rejoined Meiling, who had concluded her business with Yuuka.
The flower youkai wore a snide grin as she watched the cheerful pair of Flandre and Koishi approach; or rather the blonde-girl behind them, who's face hadn't become any less red. Medicine didn't speak a word, yet the nasty look she was giving Yuuka expressed her feelings well enough. Yuuka didn't seem to mind the threatening scowl Medicine was shooting her, and addressed her departing guests, "Well dearies, it was fun, I hope you've enjoyed yourselves during your brief stay, and I pray that your journey will be a safe one. Just do be sure to keep yourselves out of trouble…that goes double for you, Miss Komeiji."
"Hey! What's supposed to mean Moss-head?" Koishi said indignantly, crossing her arms as if to show her displeasure at Yuuka's comment. Meiling and Flandre groaned together at both the satori's ignorance of her own actions during their stay, and her astonishing lack of manners. Medicine turned her glare from Yuuka to Koishi, who looked as if she took more offense at the name Koishi had thrown towards her friend than Yuuka herself did.
Yuuka as always didn't seem particularly offended at being referred to as 'Moss-head', and seemed more amused than she did insulted. With a motherly grin Yuuka swiped Koishi's hat from her head and began to ruffle her silver-colored mess of hair, "Oh nothing dear, nothing at all." She said with a chuckle as she handed the girl her hat back. The satori then proceeded to meekly return her ink-black headwear back to its rightful place on her head with cheeks more than red enough to match Medicine's.
"Thanks again for all you've done Miss Kazami. Your hospitality was greatly appreciated." Meiling said gratefully as she gave Yuuka yet another bow in gratitude. Flandre and Koishi also murmured their own thanks as they mimicked the gatekeeper's actions to the best of their ability despite lacking the amount of grace Meiling possessed.
"Not a problem, safe travels." The flower youkai said in turn as she kept a hand on the much shorter Tskumogami beside her, who still kept her lips pursed as she kept her eyes trained away from Flandre and Koishi specifically.
The three finally bid the two farewell as they headed out of the Garden of the Sun, and towards their next destination, Youkai Mountain. A feared flower youkai who loved children and a doll that was forgotten in a field of toxic flowers who despises humanity…They had certainly met some interesting people in their travels, but those two surely stood out among the rest as the most unlikely pair of friends. With their time with the two of them over, Meiling couldn't help but wonder what other sorts of people they'd encounter on their adventure…
The Scarlet Devil Mansion's residents had long since calmed down since the news of the mistress's little sister escaping her prison underneath the mansion and running loose out in Gensokyo, along with the fact that none other than the mansion's trusted gatekeeper had been the one who made her escape possible. The mansion's many employees went about their usual schedule as if Flandre was still cooped up in her small room in the basement. The only indication the fairy maids were even aware of the little sister's escape was when they made their remarks of surprise to one another that Gensokyo hadn't been completely obliterated, much less been transformed into a hellish nightmare with Flandre prowling about before being scolded at by the head maid to stop slacking off and get back to work.
The only denizen of the mansion who didn't seem to calm down one bit since the dirty little secret's departure was the mansion's mistress herself. Remilia remained secluded in her study, with her only visitors being her most trusted maid, Sakuya, and the mansion's resident bookworm and close confident to Remilia, Patchouli. At all other times she remained in solitude, only coming out from the room to eat her meals before returning to her study in silence.
The Scarlet Devil had seen better days, she had heavy bags under her eyes, indicating that she hasn't had a good night's sleep in quite some time, and it was now painfully evident that she had lost a good few pounds, as her usual attire began to look like it had grown two sizes too big for her. Her usually bright red crimson eyes that glowed with confidence and certainty were now dull and almost devoid of life.
Her drowsy gaze remained focused on one thing in the room, the picture of herself along with her younger sister. The picture had begun to wither over time, it had begun to fade and scratches marred its surface. The picture was lucky to still be in one piece, it had been taken over hundreds of years ago, back when she was still a mere mortal, before she had become a creature of the night. It was impossible to interpret what was going through the vampire's mind as she stared at the portrait in an almost trance like state, her eyes focused solely on the image of her sister and nothing else. She had been in such a deep trance that she hadn't noticed Sakuya step into the room, who was wearing a concerned expression as she wordlessly, watched the shadow of her former master stare at the photograph, not looking to snap out of her thoughts anytime soon.
Sakuya gave a soft grunt to garner her master's attention and alert her to her presence. It did the trick, as Remilia jumped surprise, wearing a bewildered expression before realizing that the source of sudden noise was none other than her head maid. The Scarlet Devil calmed herself and wiped her weary eyes before addressing her loyalist servant, "Good evening Sakuya…Forgive me for my lack of attention…my mind was…elsewhere…" Remilia mustered a smile, one that was missing its familiar charismatic air it brought with it.
Sakuya frowned at her master's greeting, "Milady, it's no longer the evening, it is now morning." The maid said in a matter of fact tone.
Remilia stole a look out of the room's sole window to confirm her head-maid's statement, to find that the evening had indeed long passed, with the morning sun rising up from the horizon. "O-Of course it is…How silly of me. Our new gatekeeper's veil of shadow had fooled me into thinking it was the evening…" Remilia stuttered out nervously.
Sakuya resisted the urge to sigh, her master had been letting her health slip away little by little to the point that she had resorted to making some very obviously thin excuses for herself. The little youkai girl that they had employed as Meiling's temporary replacement did indeed give off a shadowy aura, but not even close to the extent that it could fool anyone that it was night time unless they stood right next to her.
Despite her better judgment, the maid kept silent, as the perfect maid it wasn't her place to question her master whatsoever, only follow each and every one of her commands with obedience and without question to the best of her abilities. "I see, then I'll have to have a word with our new gatekeeper about keeping that cloud of darkness under control. That issue aside, I have brought news of the hunt. It would seem that there was recently an immensely bright source of light emanating nearby the Garden of the Sun. It's believed that the young mistress Flandre and Meiling were involved according to some sources, I can't ensure how accurate that theory is however, as it did come from Aya Shameimaru's mouth…" Sakuya couldn't stand the crow tengu. She always seemed to poke her nose in the mansion's resident's business every hour of the day, whether it was news worthy or not. Why Remilia put up with her obnoxious behavior all these years was incomprehensible to her.
Remilia became wide awake and alert at the mentioning of her sister, almost jumping out of her seat at the sound of her sister's name. "R-Really now? News is news, regardless of whose mouth it came from…" Remilia replied with a distant look in her eyes, it felt as if the vampire were in deep thought over the news that was brought to her attention. "…Sakuya, I'll be going out momentarily." The noble vampire announced as she tiredly pushed herself up from her oversized chair before clumsily making her way to the door.
"Then I shall accompany you, mistress." Sakuya said as she helped steady the tipsy vampire as she stumbled her way across the room.
"N-No…You stay here and keep the other maids in line…I'll be fine…really." Remilia reassured, as she brushed her loyal maid away dismissively.
"Are you certain mistress? Not to mean you any disrespect…but you haven't seemed well as of late. You should rest."
"I said I'll be fine, Sakuya." Remilia replied, "It's just a small personal excursion, I'll be back before the sun sets, I assure you. Now do as I say."
"…Yes, forgive me for questioning your orders, my lady." Sakuya said reluctantly as she gave her mistress a swift bow.
Remilia gave her maid a nod in satisfaction before striding pass her, stepping out of the study for the first time in days. Sakuya watched her mistress's scrawny figure slowly creep down the blood-red halls with concern wracked eyes before letting out a deep sigh; it wasn't easy being the only competent maid in the Scarlet Devil Mansion. Perhaps some housework would get her mind off of her master's deteriorating health…
The Youkai Mountain's great size alone was enough to inspire awe, but even closer up; the mountain was an otherworldly beauty to behold. The mountain had several cascading waterfalls, including one immensely ginormous one that fed a great spring at the foot of the mountain. One of the mountain's odder yet most beautiful qualities were the red and orange colored tree-tops, Meiling wasn't quite sure how it was possible for trees to come in that shade at this time of the year, as Autumn was still a good few months off. She soon disregarded it and settled with just admiring their beauty, just as her two companions currently were.
"Wow…Look at all the colors!" Flandre exclaimed in utter amazement as she pointed in various directions excitedly.
Meiling smirked at the vampire's excitement, it was always amusing to her how excited she became over the simplest of things…though that would be expected for someone who had never gotten the opportunity the experience the world before in their long years of life.
Koishi also seemed to be enthralled by the mountain's scenery, as her mouth made a perfect circle as she looked around her surroundings with just as much child-like excitement as Flandre was. "Yeah…It's so pretty…" the satori gasped.
Before they could admire the mountain's beauty any further, they were interrupted by a newcomer "Halt! Don't take another step forward!" a familiarly strict voice bellowed at the three.
The three looked upwards towards the source of the voice in surprise, finding a woman with hair as white as snow looking down upon them from her perch atop a nearby cliff. The woman looked like she was ready to go to war, as she wielded a wickedly sharp blade in one hand, and a large shield with a leaf design etched on it in the other. The woman was obviously in peak physical condition, as both items looked like they would require the strength of both hands to handle their weight, yet she held both with ease with only one hand. Her most noticeable feature was the pair of wolf ears that poked out of her short hair along with the bushy wolf-tail protruding from her backside. Meiling gasped as she immediately recognized the woman.
"Momiji? Momiji Inubashiri?" at the sound of her name, the white wolf tengu's ears perked up and her stance relaxed.
"Oh…It's you. I see you've found your companion." Momiji states as she stared at Flandre, studying the vampire closely before sheathing her weapon and jumping down from the cliff, joining the three down below.
"That I did." Meiling nodded, "Thank you for the help before, it was appreciated."
"No need to thank me, I really wasn't all too helpful in your search…" Momiji muttered as she scratched the back of her ear sheepishly.
"Regardless, you could have just ignored me all together. So thank you for sparing a few moments of your time. I couldn't have found Flandre here without your help." As the two guards conversed, Flandre and Koishi showed great confusion as the two of them shared furrowed brows, obviously lost in the conversation. Meiling took notice of their confusion and began to explain, "Oh, how could I forget…This is Momiji Inubashiri, she helped me out a bit after we got separated that one time...that was also sometime around when you joined us, Koishi." The vampire and satori seemed to find that explanation satisfactory, as their looks of confusion faded away.
"Hi! I'm Flandre!" the vampire introduced herself cheerfully, giving a small curtsy to the white wolf who simply nodded in acknowledgement.
"Howdy! I'm Koishi! Your tail looks really soft…" the satori greeted with an extended hand. Momiji gave the girl a bemused look before accepting her hand and giving it a firm shake. Koishi's straight forwardness never ceased to amaze her two companions; the girl never seemed to have any qualms with speaking her mind, no matter what thoughts just so happened to be sitting in her head at the given moment.
"Aha! Your names confirmed my suspicions…I thought I recognized you three…You've three have been quite a popular topic back in the village lately." Momiji stated as a spark of realization flared in her eyes.
"We…We have been?" Meiling asked with worry.
Momiji nodded, confirming the gatekeeper's fears. "Yes, you have. You're all the Tengu have been talking about; you three on the front-page of almost every news-publication on the mountain actually! I can't believe I didn't recognize you when we first met…" Momiji murmured as she fidgeted with her detached sleeves in mild embarrassment.
Meiling groaned in frustration, she soon resorted to pulling at her long locks of red hair to relieve her new-found stress. "Lovely…the last thing we need is attention…" the white wolf gave a sympathetic look as the gatekeeper muttered curses underneath her breath of her dreadful luck.
"Ahem…Yes, sorry about that…As much as it shames me to admit it, you really can't keep anything from my people…once the Tengu find a good source of news, they milk it for all its worth until a new story comes along…"the white wolf admitted shamefully, "But enough about my kind's more shameful pass-times…What brings you three to the mountain?" Momiji asked, changing the subject hastily. The white-wolf obviously didn't approve of what the majority of her race did with their spare-time; personally Meiling couldn't blame her in the slightest.
"We're gonna climb the mountain and go visit my big sis!" Koishi proclaimed happily.
"Ah, you must be the little sister of that satori who owns that hell raven who ate the Yatagarasu then…" Momiji said as she scratched her chin in thought, "As much as I'd like to let you pass, I cannot shrug off my responsibilities as one of the mountain's guardians and turn an eye from intruders…" the tengu suddenly produced a small deck of cards from her sleeves, "Not without a fight anyways."
At a glance, one would think Momiji had taken out a simple deck of cards, but at a closer look, the cards were easily identified as spell-cards. They were used daily to resolve disagreements in Gensokyo without bringing about any fatalities through Danmaku battles, a system devised by the Hakurei family to give the humans of Gensokyo a fair chance at surviving an encounter with a youkai. Though most youkai had no qualms with the system whatsoever, many youkai still preferred to solve their problems the old fashioned way, with their claws and fangs.
"A spell-card duel?" Meiling asked in mild surprise, with all of the fighting she had gone through the last few days without them, she had almost forgotten about the system.
Momiji nodded, "Yes, I can't let any intruders on the mountain without at least slowing them down, my honor wouldn't allow it!" the white wolf shouted with a sense of pride in her words. Meiling couldn't help but admire her devotion to her duties.
"Alright then, let's-"
"Ooh! Danmaku? Can I play!?" Flandre cried in excitement as she stared at Momiji's cards with interest.
The gatekeeper had nearly forgotten how much of a passion Flandre had with danmaku battles. When she first introduced her to the system, the vampire immediately became enthralled with it, demanding a good-natured round of the game every time she visited her until she eventually became bored with it. You could only battle the same opponent after so long without eventually tiring of it, after all.
"Heh, of course you can, Flandre." Meiling said happily, "As long as that's alright with you of course, Momiji."
"I don't care who I battle, just so long as you manage to defeat me, I won't impede your path any fur-THER!" Momiji yelped as her tail was given a firm tug from behind. The white wolf swiftly turned around to face the suspect, only to find that it had been Koishi, who was still tugging on her tail with interest, stroking its fur in a carefree manner.
"Wow! Your tail REALLY is soft Miss Wolf!" Koishi said cheerfully as she rubbed it against her face.
Momiji pulled her tail away defensively, with her cheeks turning as red as a tomato. "P-Please don't t-touch my tail…" Momiji said with a quivering voice as she made sure to keep her tail out of the satori's grasp.
"Koishi, get over here…" Meiling groaned as she guided gestured the satori over with a stern expression, who complied willingly enough. "Ahem…Sorry about that…Sometimes Koishi has a hard time understanding when she's in people's boundaries…" Meiling said apologetically.
"It's fine…Just…Just don't do that again…" Momiji replied, regaining a little of her composure after the invasion of her personal space. "Anyways…Do you accept this duel?"
With a toothy-grin, Flandre gave the white-wolf tengu an excited nod, obviously overjoyed at the notion at being able to participate in a danmaku duel after so long. "Uh-huh! Let's play!" the vampire chirped as she materialized her own deck of cards.
"Very well, we shall use three cards each. Just be warned, don't expect me to go easy on you just because you're young." Momiji said as she began to float off of the ground in anticipation for the spell-card battle that was about to begin.
"Be careful Flandre, and good luck!" said Meiling.
"Go Flanny! Go knock her socks off!" Koishi cheered enthusiastically, flailing her arms around in support.
The vampire smiled fondly at the two, "Thanks! I'll do my best!" Flandre then began to hover off the ground herself, joining the white-wolf high above in the sky.
As she reached Momiji's altitude, the tengu unsheathed her fearsome sword. Its blade shone brightly in the sunlight, serving to make the weapon all the more imposing, "Now, let's begin, shall we? Dog Sign: 'Rabies Bite'!"
With the departure of its three guests, the Garden of the Sun had begun to quiet down. Things at the garden were beginning to return to normal, or at least as normal as things could become in Gensokyo. The garden's owner was taking a sip of tea as she relaxed in a lawn-chair that almost appeared to be made of plants, and considering the Flower youkai's power, few would doubt that it was just as it appeared, a chair constructed completely of plants. Her lone guest sat next to her quietly, passing the time by reading an awfully thick looking tome. The book strangely enough didn't appear to have any sort of title, as both of its covers were both blank, only having golden borders along the sides of its pitch-black cover. Despite knowing the girl for quite some time now, Yuuka was never able to figure out just how Medicine came to be in possession of such strange objects, the doll surely didn't have any sort of spare change to purchase them with after all.
The Flower youkai watched the Tskumogami with a wide grin, watching her flip through the pages of her book closely. Medicine soon noticed the look her companion was giving her, and gave Yuuka a look of complete aggravation. "What's so amusing, Yuuka?" she asked as she discerned that she was the object of Yuuka's amusement.
"Oh nothing dear…I just couldn't help but remember how flustered you looked when those two girls embraced you. It was just too precious…" the flower youkai said mockingly.
The mentioning of the event immediately caused the Tskumogami's cheeks to relight with a crimson hue, shoving her face into her book to hide her embarrassment. "I…I have no clue what you're talking about, Yuuka. Perhaps you've sat in the sun for too long…" the Tskumogami said as she tried desperately to maintain her composure.
"I'm not sure if that's possible, sitting in the sun would do nothing but good for a flower youkai like me, dear." Yuuka replied smugly, looking to be enjoying every moment of the conversation, she oh so did enjoy making people squirm after all. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you almost looked like you enjoyed that display of affection, Miss heartless youkai."
"I'd have preferred to have been run through with a rusty blade than even be touched by those two." Medicine hissed defensively.
Her response only amused Yuuka further, who burst into laughter, causing Medicine's entire face to burn bright with embarrassment. "I'm sure you would have dear, those few moments of those two touching you must have been the most agonizing of tortures!"
"Don't patronize me." Medicine growled as she gave the flower youkai the cold shoulder and continued reading from where she last left off. Despite her best efforts, she was still unable to hide her rosy colored cheeks in the least from the older youkai. Her tiny companion stood atop her shoulders giving her what could only be assumed was a befuddled look of confusion.
"Oh don't take things so seriously Medicine; I'm only yanking your chain here." Yuuka said with her grin of amusement still firmly stretched across her face. "Besides, it's nothing to be ashamed of…I'm glad you're making friends, dear."
Yuuka's last remark had apparently been the last straw, as the Tskumogami stood up without a word, and gave Yuuka the stink eye. "I'll be taking my leave now." Medicine announced as she slowly made her way to the large expanse of sunflowers surrounding the mansion. Her small counterpart followed after her anxiously, looking unsure of the reason of her sudden departure.
"Oh come now, I didn't mean anything by it. I'm simply happy that you've been making friends…I won't be around forever after all."
Medicine paused for a moment, taking a glance back at the flower youkai. "…It's getting late, I'll see you tomorrow." With that, the Tskumogami brushed past the wall of sunflowers, disappearing from sight completely. Her constant companion, Su-san looked towards the direction in which her master had gone in uncertainly before joining her within the forest of flowers, leaving the Flower Youkai completely alone.
The flower youkai let out a deep sigh, "…I suppose she's just coming to be of that age…" with that, Yuuka stood from her seat, allowing the vines that her chair was composed of seep back into the earth as she made her way back into her home to prepare her evening meal. As she opened the large doors to her large abode, she couldn't help but wonder why the Tskumogami had elected to walk rather than just fly home. The girl certainly was an oddity for her age...
As Medicine made her way through Yuuka's seemingly endless garden, she couldn't help but enjoy how peaceful and quiet the garden was. Though of course, Yuuka's reputation in Gensokyo kept both humans and youkai maintaining a large berth from the garden. Only the occasional human with an exceptionally large ego or a youkai that was just a little too sure in their strength would ever even dare to take a step in Yuuka's territory. Of course, those sorts of people were never heard from again, aside from the youkai, but they were often unable to form any sentences coherent enough to piece together what had happened. This only served to bolster Yuuka's already fearsome reputation.
One day Medicine hoped to garner herself as much fear from the humans as Yuuka did. She wasn't an exceptionally well-known, much less, respected youkai at the moment. Perhaps one day that would all change…
Medicine sat down on the grass under her feet in a small clearing, deciding to enjoy a silence that rarely ever occurred in Gensokyo. Taking a deep breath, her mouth formed a rarely seen smile as she watched the sun make its way towards the end of its journey across the sky, the night was only a few short hours away, perhaps the only time that Gensokyo was as quiet as the suzuran field and the Garden of the Sun were.
"Enjoying yourself?" a strange, distorted, feminine sounding voice asked suddenly, causing the Tskumogami to jump up in shock. Medicine scanned the area quickly, trying to identify the origin of the voice; Su-San also appeared to be trying to pick out the source, as she slowly jittered back and forth. "I see I have your attention, good. Now, I have a small question for you..."
Medicine was in deep concentration, trying to deduce where whoever the voice belonged to was hiding so she could give them a proper beating for disturbing her. "Oh? Why should an innocent, helpless little girl like me give you the answer to anything?" Medicine replied, as her eyes shifted back and forth in search of her target.
"Well…I could just follow you around and pester you until you tell me what I'd like to know…" the voice giggled innocently. The voice seemed to be coming from all directions, making it impossible to identify where it was coming from, and with the light from the sun becoming dimmer and dimmer as it slowly traveled across the sky made it difficult to locate the owner of the voice by sight as well.
Medicine gritted her teeth in frustration. Combined with being unable to discern the location of the voice's owner and the arrogance of her unknown company; she was beginning to lose her patience with this unwelcome individual. "Very well then, what is that you want?" the Tskumogami said as she persisted on her hunt for whoever had the audacity to hide themselves from her like a pitiful coward, like a lowlife human…
"The vampire. Where is she?"
Medicine snickered at the question, "My, this is what you do with your spare time? Stalk innocent little maidens like me? What a disgusting recreational activity to take part in." the disembodied voice let out a feral growl, obviously not at all amused by Medicine's words. The Tskumogami grew a large grin, obviously finding great pleasure in the unknown being's response.
"Enough lip, Tskumogami. Just tell me where she and her friends went and I'll be out of your hair in no time." The voice said in a raspy growl.
Looking carefully Medicine could catch a small glimpse of her unwanted company, who was taking cover within the field of flowers. The being had an average sized frame, about the height of a human teenager; she appeared to be glaring impatiently at Medicine with her crimson colored eyes. Protruding from her back appeared to be some sort of appendages, the Tskumogami couldn't catch a proper look at them due to her diminishing light source from the sun and the flowers obscuring her vision, the most she could tell is that they were most likely wings. Winged youkai in Gensokyo weren't exactly in a short-abundance after all.
"Hrmph, fine, I'll tell you. Anything to get you away from me you filthy troglodyte..." Medicine grumbled, causing the stranger to grin widely at Medicine's compliance. But unbeknownst, the Tskumogami had no plans on letting her shadowy new acquaintance from walking away unscathed. "If you must know the vampire and her companions left for Youkai Mountain earlier today."
"Youkai Mountain eh? Much appreciated kid. See ya." The voice said nonchalantly.
"Leaving so soon?" Medicine asked sarcastically, "Well here's a little goodbye present from me to you, friend…" without any sort of warning, the Tskumogami lobbed a silver-bladed knife that had a strange glean to it right at the figure of shadowy person. The being's eyes went wide as the knife shot directly towards her face, letting out a terrified yelp in surprise.
Rather than hearing the being's agonized screaming from the pain of both the blade cutting into her skull and the toxins that would soon spread across her body from the poison covered blade, like Medicine had expected, all she could hear was the being's annoying, condescending laughter. Growling in anger, Medicine found that the girl had easily avoided the knife. "A feisty one, aren't we? Here's your little toy back…" the woman laughed as she tossed the blade at Medicine's feet, reawakening the Tskumogami's fury in full as she clenched her fists by her sides in outrage. "Now if you'll excuse me…I have a vampire to find. Farewell, little doll, better luck next time." The voice chuckled mockingly.
The Tskumogami growled in anger, waiting for the despicably smug being to make her departure so she could get a good look at who had looked down upon her as if she weren't even worth the dirt on their shoes. But all the Tskumogami could see was a lone bat flying out from the field, looking down upon the Tskumogami arroganlty with its small pair of beady red eyes. Medicine was now alone, with only the sound of Yuuka's sunflowers dancing in the wind to give her any comfort as she watched bat's form set off towards the Youkai Mountain.
"H-How is this possible…? How could I have lost?" Momiji asked herself in disbelief, still unnerved by the vampire's insane amount of power. The wolf still couldn't believe she was bested so quickly by such a childish girl. Despite her appearance, the vampire was quite the powerhouse, her spell-cards nearly felt akin to the apocalypse. Momiji was thankful enough of her clothing remained to retain her modesty, she shuddered at the thought of having to return to the village in such a state, not to mention the headlines that would appear on nearly every publication there… "I haven't felt such shame since those two humans defeated me without putting forth even an ounce of effort…Ohhhhhh…I'm going to get an earful from Aya if she ever catches wind of this…" the tengu groaned in despair.
"Hahaha, don't worry Momi! Our lips are sealed!" Flandre giggled reassuringly to the defeated warrior, "Thanks for playing with me! I hope we can do this again sometime!"
"That's…appreciated. Thank you." Momiji said sheepishly, her eyes trying to avoid looking at the one who had defeated her with ease. "Well, a deal is a deal, you defeated me honorably. I won't hinder your path any further. Though I cannot say the same for any of my kin or the other residents of the mountain…take care, while many of the inhabitants on the mountain are peaceful, they can also be territorial, stay alert."
"We'll keep that in mind, thank you for the advice. And I apologize for causing you so much trouble…heh…" Meiling said sympathetically, looking at the state Momiji was in dredged up some painful memories of all the times she took a Master Spark to the face during one of Marisa's numerous 'visits.' The life of a guard certainly wasn't one free of hardships, even more so when your employer didn't take kindly to failure…
"I've dealt with worse…" Momiji replied weakly as she dusted off her tattered skirt, it didn't take a close eye to tell that it would need a good amount of mending before it was restored to its former glory.
Meiling could sense white-wolf was obviously quite a prideful individual; she was hiding her true feelings of her defeat if her chi's state was any indication. It was now missing the spark the gatekeeper had sensed from her as she had dueled Flandre. It would take far more time for her to lick the wounds her psyche received from this battle than it would for the wounds her body had sustained.
"All the same, I'm sorry for all the trouble we've caused you. Good luck with the rest of your shift." Meiling said with a wave as she and her two troublesome companions began to make their way up the mountain path.
"Bye-bye Momi! Next time I see you I'll bring you a bone! Ooh! Or maybe one of those silly outer world toys, the ones that squeak!" Koishi giggled happily as she waved to the humiliated guard along with Flandre.
The mentioning of said gift seemed to only make Momiji's shame grow, as her ears drooped and her eyes turned downcast. "I-I'm not a dog!" she cried in outrage, but her efforts were wasted, as the satori and her companions were no longer in sight. The white wolf let out a long sigh that she had been repressing for quite some time as she stared at her reflection in the river, "I don't get paid enough for all the grief I go through…" she muttered to herself solemnly.
"Wow Flanny! That sure was something! You were amazing!" Koishi chirped enthusiastically over Flandre's rather one-sided victory over Momiji, "She was all like 'pchew-pchew-pchew!' and you were like 'sha-BOOM!' and then she was all, 'No! How could I lose!' and then you were all like-"
"I think she gets the point Koishi." Meiling cut off, "But were amazing Flandre, you never cease to amaze! Even with the lack of practice, it seems your talent for danmaku duels never begins to dull."
Flandre grinned at the compliments that her two friends threw her way, and begun to blush from all the attention she was receiving. "Oh there was nothing to it…I just got lucky was all!"
"Many danmaku duels may depend on sheer luck at times, but I could tell that your victory was a product of your own skill. Trust me; once you lose enough duels like I have, you begin to develop an eye for these kinds of things!" Meiling laughed, "But in the end I suppose it matters not how victory was taken, the end product is the same after all. Now we can climb to the summit and find that entrance to the underground in peace with any luck." Although luck did little good when fate itself was at the beckoning of one very short-tempered and immature vampire… "Now, while we're climbing the mountain, be sure not to bring any unnecessary attention to yourselves you two…that means you, Koishi…"
"Awwww you worry too much China, I'm surprised your brain hasn't imploded from all the worrying you do, you big silly worry-wart!" Koishi giggled. "Besides, I never attract any unnecessary attention! In fact, big sis used to tell me how quiet I am! Once she forgot I was there and I gave her a big scare! Heehee…she turned as white as a ghost…Oh, I can't wait to see her again…"
"I find that highly hard to believe, you make your presence more than obvious. It would take effort NOT to notice you." Meiling said.
"Or maybe you pay extra special attention to me cuz you're a worry-wart! Or maybe it's because you… Hey, Flanny, what're you doing silly, you don't stop in the middle of the road randomly like that! That's how you get run-down by a wagon!" Koishi exclaimed to the vampire, who had stopped dead in her tracks.
The vampire suddenly looked quite pale, even sickly so. A cold-sweat began to drip from her brow, and her pupils became small, conveying an emotion that was a mix between complete shock and utter fear. The satori among the three simply raised her brow in puzzlement of the vampire's sudden change of emotion.
"Hrmmmm? What's wrong Flandre? Do you feel sick? Would you like to rest?" Meiling asked in concern.
"B…B-Big…Sister…?" Flandre stuttered in a state of shock.
Meiling turned around tentatively, and soon found herself sharing in Flandre's state of shock. She stared into the crimson eyes of the last person she wanted to see at the moment. Standing amongst the autumn colored trees lit by the sunset was none-other than the Scarlet Devil herself. "M-Mistress…Remilia…" the words struggled to escape the terrified gatekeeper's mouth; it would seem that both luck and fate had conspired against them…
"Why hello there, little sister…"
A/N: Wow, I'm awful, aren't I? It takes talent to be this lazy! Sorry about the delay everybody, if you want to blame anybody, blame Nintendo and Intelligent systems for releasing Fire Emblem Awakening while I was right in the middle of writing this! I mean, that's just criminal!
Oh well, I suppose it doesn't matter so long as I remember to update this once in a while, right? It's not like I do it on purpose…Anyways, I don't have anything to say about this chapter aside from why I cut off the spell-card duel. I have a valid reason, I swear! I actually had a few good ideas for it but well...would anyone have genuinely enjoyed reading a very dull and boring explanation of what a pattern looks like? Or how so-and-so dodges a bunch of multi-colored balls? It would have been boring for you to read, and even boringer for me to write! Plus you'd have to wait at least another month for a boring, dull and basically pointless scene that contributes nothing to the plot. My apologies to anyone I may have horribly disappointed.
Anyways, enjoy this cliff-hanger for about…a month…or two…or maybe even three! Who knows! I haven't been very consistent with the time lapses between updates recently! I remembered the good ol' days when it took like…a week! Fun times, huh? Alright, I'll stop blabbing. I'll give it an honest effort to have another fresh chapter posted within three months! (Hopefully sooner, but you know me…)