Morning had arrived in Gensokyo; the sun's arrival over the horizon was accompanied by the songs of birds. It looked to be another fine day in the eastern wonderland, or at least for those who were fortunate enough not to be turned into a hungry youkai's next meal.
The flapping of wings roused Nitori from her slumber, presumably those of a tengu's given where she lived. The tengu reporters often times flew off around this time to go and find their next story; in fact it was such a common occurrence that they had a saying for it, 'the early tengu gets the juiciest story!' Nitori honestly didn't understand why tengu were so obsessed with their gossip, what they would talk about in their papers of today wouldn't even be worthwhile in another hundred years, unlike the inventions she and her fellow kappa labored on. But she supposed it was better than them just being unproductive drunkards like oni were.
As the blue-haired girl groggily forced herself to get up for the day, she noticed that her house guest, the one in green, was already up. It looked like she was just finished packing her and both of her companion's belongings up. The Kappa was honestly amazed by the red-head, not only did she carry her group's luggage by herself, but she also manages to somehow keep her two traveling mates under control. From what she had heard, the vampire and satori were not ones to take lightly, yet she seemingly had them under her thumb single handedly…was this truly the infamously lazy gatekeeper of the Scarlet Devil Mansion she had read about in the Bunbunmaru all of these years or…?
"Is there something I can help you with Miss Kawashiro?"
The kappa nearly jumped out of her skin, she had been staring at her the whole time…The gatekeeper would most definitely think she was some sort of weirdo or worse…a pervert! Her cheeks immediately turned bright red as thoughts of Meiling spreading the word of her being some sort of freakish pervert all around Gensokyo popped into her head. Then an even worse thought came to mind, what if that Koishi girl told her what had happened when she was showing the curious satori her various machines? If that had happened, she may as well take her laser-pistol and set it to 'vaporize' and turn it on herself as soon as possible!
"Are you alright Miss Kawashiro? You look pale…should I get you some water or…?" Meiling asked in concern. The kappa had just been standing there with a blank expression on her face for the last two minutes…
Koishi then skipped into the room with the largest grin the Chinese Youkai has seen in a long time, she was humming some strange melody to herself as she placed her prized sun-hat back on her head. The gatekeeper wondered why the satori was in such a chipper mood anyways, in fact, she didn't remember a time, barring the incident at Myouren Temple, when she ever wasn't happy. It always looked like she had a spring in her step…that or nothing bothered her…Which would explain why she mindlessly spewed complete nonsense at random.
"Morning! Here's to another lively day!" the satori greeted blissfully.
Meiling snapped out of her musings at the joyful, and not to mention loud greeting. "Good morning Koishi, you seem to be in high spirits today."
"Yeah! I had a really great dream last night! There were a bunch of lasers and explosions and slime and-Oh, hey what's up with Miss Kappa's face? It looks all wonky and weird…"
"I'm not sure…She's been like this since she woke up. I think she might be ill…" the gatekeeper murmured half to Koishi and half to herself. She hoped that illness wasn't the case, considering one of the only doctors who would treat youkai was now bent on capturing her and Flandre, no matter the cost.
Koishi then supposedly saw that it fell to her to exam the kappa's condition as she silently approached the frozen girl. The closer the satori edged towards her, the more uneasy the expression on Nitori's face grew. Without giving it a second thought, Koishi began to touch the kappa's face, stretching out her cheeks, lifting her eyelids and forcing her jaw open.
"K-Koishi! St-stop touching our hostess like that!" Meiling cried as she tugged the satori away from Nitori forcefully. At this point, Meiling was beginning to consider getting a leash for Koishi…she just didn't seem to understand when she crossed personal boundaries…
"Awwwww…But I was super close to figuring out what was wrong with her…" Koishi grumbled in disappointment, her role as a doctor ending much sooner than she had anticipated.
"I'm sure she'll be fine, provided you don't start groping her face again…" Meiling sighed, "By the way Koishi, is Flandre up yet? I'd like to get moving as soon as possible, I don't want to overstay our welcome here…"
"Ummmm…Maybe. I dunno, I didn't see her." Koishi responded absent mindedly as she stared at Nitori carefully, looking to see if she could find the source of the kappa's unusual condition.
"How couldn't you see her? You both slept in the same room."
"Oh, because she wasn't in her bed when I woke up!" Koishi answered happily.
The gatekeeper wasn't sure whether to panic or stay calm at the satori's answer, the best case scenario was that the vampire just went outside for a breath of fresh air. The worst scenario, Nue or Kaguya and Eirin had kidnapped her in her sleep…Both parties certainly weren't above such means of collecting a target…Meiling managed to keep up a strong front, but internally her thoughts was a torrent of worries and doubts over where Flandre had gone off to.
"I…see." Was the only response Meiling could manage at the moment. While she didn't want to cause a panic, it was becoming harder and harder not to with each passing second…For all she knew the lunarians were at the Scarlet Devil Mansion with Flandre in tow by now...
"Good morning!" Flandre chirped as she entered the room alongside Hina, who seemed as serene as she had the night before. With those two simple words said, Meiling's erratic thoughts dissolved into nothingness. The Chinese youkai couldn't repress the sigh of relief as she saw that her worries were thankfully unfounded.
"Oh, Flanny, there you are!" Koishi greeted cheerfully, "Good thing you came when you did, China looked like her head was about to pop from worry."
"I wasn't that worried!" Meiling refuted, "I just…I just had a small nagging feeling…nothing more than that. I'm glad to see that such worries were unwarranted."
"Awwww, it's alright China, I'm happy you were worried about me!" the vampire said, "Miss Hina was just teaching me the secret to spinning!"
"The secret to spinning?" parroted Meiling.
"Ooh…the secret to spinning…Sounds juicy…" Koishi said in awe.
"Uh-huh! I never even knew there was a secret to spinning until Miss Hina taught me! Now I can spin as gracefully and perfectly as a ballerina!" Flandre proclaimed proudly, "Thanks a bunch again Miss Hina! You're the greatest!"
Hina nodded modestly, a light hue of pink could be seen on her face as she did so. It was hard to tell whether she was embarrassed by the praise she received from the tiny vampire, or if it was from the physical exertion of teaching Flandre the supposed 'secret' to spinning. "I'm glad I could be of service, young one. Just keep practicing, and I'm sure one day you'll be renown all over Gensokyo for the art of spinning."
"Can you teach me the secret to spinning too Miss Hina? Pretty please? With extra cucumbers on top?" Koishi pleaded.
Before Hina could give an answer, Meiling gave one to Koishi in her stead. "I'm sorry Koishi, but we have to leave now, we don't have time for that right now. Besides, I'm sure Lady Hina is tired from teaching Flandre, I think she'd like to rest now."
Looking crestfallen, Koishi sighed. "Boo…Killjoy…I'll just learn to dance from that Oarfish nanny…I hear her dance moves are electrifying!"
Meiling wasn't aware that Koishi was acquainted with Iku; much less that the oarfish was a dancer…Assuming the satori was referring to Iku, of course. Then again, Koishi had apparently been traveling around Gensokyo aimlessly before joining up with her and Flandre, so there was a good chance she could have met her along with a great abundance of other Gensokyians in her travels.
"Thank you again for letting us stay the night here Miss Nitori, it was very gracious of you." Meiling said gratefully to the kappa, but then noticed the kappa was still frozen in a trance like state. "Ummm…Excuse me Miss Hina, but is she…Will she be alright? She's been like this since the moment she woke up this morning…"
"Oh yes, she'll be fine. She's probably just deep in a nervous thought, she should snap out of it given enough force." The goddess replied as if it were an everyday occurrence. Hina then gracefully walked towards the frozen Kappa and kneeled by her side. "Nitori, your guests are leaving now…Be nice and say goodbye…" the curse-goddess whispered in the blue-haired girl's ear.
At Hina's soft words, Nitori jumped back to life, and her cheeks seemed to get even redder, something Meiling had honestly thought impossible at this point. "G-Goodbye…Er…Um…S-safe travels?" the kappa said nervously as her eyes drifted towards her feet.
"Thank you, I hope we may meet again someday." Meiling said happily as she slung her baggage over her shoulder.
"Thanks for everything Miss Nitori and Miss Hina! I'll miss you both! I'll come and visit you both sometime!" Flandre said cheerfully as she gave a big hug to both women. Hina looked like she enjoyed the youthful vampire's affection, while Nitori looked like someone had stuffed a handful of ants down her shirt.
"Bye-bye Miss Kappa and Miss Hina! I'll never forget your scent!" the satori's farewell left Hina and Nitori looking at one another in confusion, not to mention the glance Meiling was giving Koishi after the words had been said.
With that, Nitori's house-guests left as abruptly as they came. Now that they were gone, Nitori couldn't help but miss them a little, even Koishi, despite how creepy and strange she was…
"There, was that so bad Nitori?" Hina asked.
"I guess not…It was even a little…nice." Nitori answered with a small smile growing on her face, "But don't think I won't follow through with my promise the night before, because I was serious. Dead serious."
Hina giggled, "Yes, yes…You've made yourself very clear. I promise to ask in advance next time."
"Wh-Who said there was going to be a next time!?"
The Human-Village wasn't very busy this morning, a somewhat surprising fact considering all that has been happening in Gensokyo lately. One would have thought that the village would be thriving with gossip circles chattering away about Remilia's bounty, or the incident that happened at Myouren Temple just a few days ago.
This made collecting information harder than Mamizou had initially expected. All of the villagers were out of town for the day conducting some sort of business or were too busy to answer her questions. It was frustrating to say the least. She was beginning to wonder if any human would even have the information she desired…perhaps her time would be better served inquiring the Hakurei Maiden, or even in the Forest of Magic.
Suddenly the tanuki caught sight of one of the few humans she knew she could ask for reliable information in the village. Granted, she wasn't exactly a local, but she had been hanging around in the village for at least a week now, perhaps she would know what she needed.
"Ho there, Immortal, mind sating a humble tanuki's curiosity?"
The ash-haired woman turned around and gave a deadpan look at Mamizou. However, she didn't continue on her merry way just yet, so it'd seem Mamizou had finally caught a break. "What do you want, oh humble tanuki?" Mokou asked impatiently.
"If I may ask, have you seen a nue pass through here recently? It'd seem mine has gone missing. She's about yay high, has a peculiar set of appendages coming out of her back? Does this tickle your memory?"
"A nue?" Mokou repeated, "You mean one of those shape-shifting youkai with the whole, 'true form has never been seen' shtick?"
Mamizou nodded "Yes that description would be befitting of a nue."
"Well sorry to break it to you, Specks, but who's to say your nue just didn't morph into something inconspicuous and just waltz her way through the village, leaving us none the wiser?"
Mamizou removed her glasses and began to wipe them clean with her skirt, "Well, when one says it like that, it makes it sound like I'm attempting to count every grain of sand on a beach."
"No offense, but it sounds like you'd have a better shot at counting every last speck of that beach than finding that nue of yours." Mokou replied nonchalantly, "Now unless you have anything to ask, I'm gonna be heading off now. A friend of mine needs my help around the classroom, and I'm late enough the way it is."
"Yes, that'll be fine; I thank you for sparing a few seconds on my behalf." Mamizou said.
Mokou simply nodded and went her separate way, leaving Mamizou no closer to finding the mischievous youkai. If no one had caught sight of Nue in her preferred form, then that would mean she wouldn't have wanted to be noticed, and she would only want to go unnoticed if she were up to something…and Mamizou was certain of it. She had a feeling Nue was up to no good, she would never miss a meal, especially if it was Hijiri's turn to cook…something definitely smelled fishy about all of this, and it wasn't Wakasagihime…
The Youkai Mountain was surprisingly quiet this morning, the only sounds that could be heard were the chirping of birds and the sound of water flowing down the mountain and into the Kappa's villa. Meiling was feeling good about today; she felt like for once, everything would go as planned. No psychotic Lunarians hunting them down, no hermits hassling them and no Remilia imposters. For the first time since this trip had started, Meiling felt like they wouldn't meet any trouble along the way.
It looked like it would be the perfect day too, there wasn't a single cloud in the sky and the sun was shining just the right amount, not too little, and not to the point that Flandre would need an umbrella to avoid turning into a pile of dust. It brought a spring to Meiling's step; it was beginning to look like their luck was finally turning to their favor. Of course, this newfound sense of ease didn't stop her from keeping a keen eye out for any trouble that may come along…
"Boy China, you sure do look happy today." Flandre noted, "Did you see some pretty flowers? That always makes me feel really happy."
Meiling shook her head, "No, it's not that. I just feel like lady-luck has finally taken a liking to us."
"Lady-luck? Who's that? I don't remember meeting any luck-lady…" Flandre asked, looking quite confused. "Do you know who she's talking about Koishi?"
The satori shook her head, "Nope! But she sounds like she must win it big at the lottery a lot!"
"You two haven't heard of that expression before?" Meiling asked, somewhat surprised. "Lady-luck isn't really a person you two, it's just an expression to describe luck. And ours looks like it's been getting a lot better now." The gatekeeper explained.
"Oh…" the two said in unison.
"Huh, well it doesn't look like lady-luck likes those two very much!" Koishi said as she pointed towards two girls sitting behind what looked like a rather hastily built stand of some sort.
Meiling looked towards the two in question in surprise; she hadn't even noticed the two, which was surprising considering the stall they were sitting behind stuck out like a sore-thumb. As Koishi had said, the two looked like they were down on their luck, the shorter of the two girls looked like she would break down into tears at any moment, and the taller girl…she just downright looked awful. Her skin was pasty, her dress hung on her tiny frame, and her hair looked like it was beginning to fall out. In short, the girl looked like she was on her deathbed.
"Koishi, it's rude to point at people." Meiling scolded lightly as she gently pushed the girl's arm down. Though she had to admit she agreed with Koishi's sentiment, the girls had to of seen better days…
The less sickly of the two girls immediately perked up upon seeing the three. The short blonde girl adjusted the hat that rested upon her head and smoothed out the red-apron that hung across her skirt. She then nervously cleared her throat as to garner the three traveler's attention. "W-Welcome travelers! Fine day we're having, is it not?" the girl said to the three.
Meiling had planned on continuing on their way as to avoid wasting any precious moments of sunlight they had in a day. But she couldn't bring herself to ignore the girl's pleading eyes, not to mention it would be rude to just ignore her…A short delay couldn't hurt anyways.
"Yes, I couldn't agree more." Meiling replied, approaching the two girls to see what it is they wanted.
"Wonderful! I'm really glad you're enjoying yourselves! It's rare to have tourists on the Mountain, with the long climb and the, you know…blood-thirsty youkai that travelers come by every now and then!" the girl laughed nervously, "B-But do you know what would make such a wonderful day even better?"
"No, I can't say I do." Meiling replied nonchalantly, she had a feeling that she was about to be scammed out of a great sum of her money if this conversation continued for much longer.
"Why, only the Aki-sister's world famous sweet potatoes of course!" the girl answered with forced enthusiasm, "Our potatoes are only grown with the richest of soil and is not only tasty, but good for your health as well! You can have your own batch of our all-natural potatoes with a small payment of-"
"Sorry, but we don't need any sweet potatoes, as good as they sound. My wallet will scream at me if I spend much more money…" Meiling cut off.
If she had a little bit more money to her name, she would have to admit treating herself and her two companions to some sweet potatoes would be nice. Sadly, this was a luxury she couldn't afford; she was stretched for funds the way it was…maybe she should have asked Remilia for her payment before she decided to sneak Flandre out.
"W-Wait! Please wait ma'am!" the girl pleaded, "P-Please reconsider…I-I mean you look like the type that works on her feet all day. I-it can't hurt to treat yourself to something nice every once in a while, can it? A-And I'm sure you all must be v-very hungry after such a long and tiring climb! S-So what do you say? For just a small payment of fai-"
"I'm sorry, but as much as I'd love to do just that, I can't afford to burn money needlessly. Perhaps next time though." Meiling said as gently as she could to the rather persistent girl.
Meiling apparently didn't let her down easy enough though, as tears began to well up in the girl's eyes. She looked like she was trying desperately not to break down into tears, which she was quickly failing at. The sickly girl beside her weakly began to stroke the shorter girl's back to comfort her.
"D…Don't…Cry…Minoriko…Y…Y-You tried your best…" the girl said in a raspy voice. The three couldn't help but cringe at the sound of her voice, she sounded as awful as she looked.
"B-B-But Sh-Shizuha…You…You're going to vanish…a-all because I c-couldn't get a single strand of faith for you! I-I…I'm sorry Shizuha!" Minoriko cried into her sister's sickly looking frame.
"Faith? You wanted Faith, not money?" Meiling asked as she began to feel a huge twinge of guilt.
"Y…Y-Yes…J-Just faith f-for my big sister…N-nothing else…" the younger goddess muttered between sobs.
"Ooh! Ooh! Miss Hina told me about that stuff! I can give you faith!" Flandre cheered excitedly.
"Y-You can? You will?" Minoriko asked as she wiped the tears from her eyes.
"Yes of course!" Meiling said, "I apologize for earlier, I had just assumed you wanted money…"
"So um…What's this faith stuff? Is it some sort of cereal or something?" Koishi asked in confusion.
Meiling then remembered that Koishi had been absent for Hina's explanation of faith, she had nearly forgotten the satori had gotten Nitori to show her contraptions to the curious girl…Remembering that also made her wonder about just what had happened between the two girls in that time to make Nitori to become so flustered…or at least more flustered than she was before.
Thankfully, Minoriko stepped in to explain it for the satori, Meiling herself wasn't fond of explanations, especially when she herself wasn't an expert on the subject. "Faith is what us Goddess' get our life source from, if we don't receive enough of it for a while…Poof! We vanish…" the goddess said glumly.
"Ohhhhhh…So it's kinda like food? Does it taste any good?"
"Wh-What? N-No! Faith isn't something you can snack on! It's the source of our divinity! The source of our life and power! It's not anything like food!"
"I dunno…It kinda sounds like it…"
Before Minoriko could object to it, she was cut off by her elder sister, "M-Minoriko…Just…Just get to the point…" she moaned as she let her head drop onto the stall counter with a thud.
"R-Right…Uh…Ummmmm…S-So you're gonna give my big sister Shizuha some fa-faith…right…?" the little blonde girl asked timidly.
"Of course, we'll do anything we can to help." Meiling nodded, "However…I don't believe any of us are familiar with how to give faith…Could you care to explain?"
"O-Oh, right…Well, umm…You can give faith through prayer..." Minoriko clasped her hands together, "Just get on your knees and put your hands together like this…and ask for something you really want, anything…Well, almost anything. Honestly, the most me and Shizuha can do is change the colors of leaves and give you a good harvest…"
"Oh, so you're like…Farmer genies?" Koishi asked.
"Wh-What? N-No! Shizuha and I are the goddesses of autumn! We don't live in bottles or anything of the sort!" Shizuha exclaimed, "Ahem…S-Sorry about that…I just…I just don't like being confused with wish-givers…Especially since our powers are limited to such a small area…S-So, just try to keep your prayers something within our abilities to perform…okay?"
Koishi nodded and got onto her knees and clasped her hands as Minoriko had instructed, and began to do…something. Flandre looked at the satori in confusion; she seemed to be putting a lot of unnecessary effort into praying, as the sound of her grunting was very much so noticeable…Even Minoriko looked confused as she watched sweat drip down Koishi's face. The goddess wasn't even sure how that was possible…but if her sister's life would be saved in the process, she didn't have any problems with it, no matter how…peculiar it was.
As the three prayed in silence, excluding the small whimpers coming from Koishi, their prayers were already beginning to have a visible effect on Shizuha. Her eyes began to slowly flutter open, and her thin frame began to grow into a more healthy looking size. Even her complexion was beginning to improve a little.
Soon enough, the goddess no longer looked like she was on her deathbed; in fact, she looked much healthier in comparison to the mess she was just a minute ago. Though her skin was still an unhealthy hue of white, the goddess looked like she was going to be just fine. Were their prayers really that effective?
"Sh-Shizuha…Shizuha!" Minoriko cried as she embraced her sister once more, this time out of happiness rather than sorrow. Her elder sister simply smiled and stroked her younger sister's back. "I…I…I was so scared!"
Meiling couldn't help but smile at the scene; it was such a heart-warming display of affection, even Koishi seemed to be able to appreciate the display of sisterly love. Flandre however, felt a twinge of jealousy grow inside her as she watched the two embrace one another so lovingly. While she was happy for the two, the display was also a painful reminder of her strange relationship with her own sister. It had been years, decades, maybe even centuries since her sister had shown her affection like that. She wasn't even sure she could remember the sensation of Remilia displaying her love for her. Even when Koishi had described her own sister to Flandre at the Garden of the Sun, explaining to her just how wonderful an elder sister she had, and how much she loved her…Flandre couldn't help but begin to feel envious of her…
"There, there Mino…Everything is fine now…Your big sister isn't going anywhere…" Shizuha cooed into her younger sister's ear. "You did so well Mino, you're the best little sister a goddess could ask for. I'm proud of you."
"R-Really…?"
"Of course, if weren't for you, I'd have been gone long ago. But you refused to give up, even when things looked their bleakest, you refused to give up…For that, I thank you, my dear sister." Shizuha said lovingly, "Oh, and of course, thank you travelers. If you had not helped me when you did, I'm certain I'd have perished by the time the sun rose tomorrow. I thank you for everything you've done." The goddess said gratefully. "Faith has become hard to come by…Thanks to Yasaka…"
"It wasn't any trouble, I'm just glad we could help." Meiling replied modestly. "So, judging by that last comment, Kanako's been making gathering faith harder than usual?"
"You would be correct." The older autumn goddess confirmed, "She's done nothing but hoard followers to herself lately. If she keeps this selfish behavior up much longer…well, we'll be the ones to pay the price…Everything was fine until she showed up…"
"I thought so…It sounds like Miss Yasaka needs to have a little talking to…"
"If your definition of 'talking' is the same as the Hakurei girl's, I'd advise against it. Kanako's grown far too strong to submit to force with all the power she's getting from the faith she's been hoarding. I'd be willing to bet she's at the top tier of Gensokyo's biggest powers right now…With the exception of Lady Yakumo, of course…though I doubt our troubles won't be any concern to her unless it clocks her right in the face…" Shizuha said bitterly.
It would seem everything Hina had told them the night before was true; Kanako had indeed been monopolizing the faith business. It was beginning to look like Kanako had all of the other deities of the mountain pinned beneath her thumb. The Sky-Goddess sounded like she'd make any fight into a complete curb stomp, and from what Meiling had heard, it didn't sound like she even gave negotiations a thought. If this kept up, the only divinities left in Gensokyo would be the ones under the roof of the Moriya Shrine.
Perhaps Flandre's notion from the night before was the only way to make sure the other deities of the mountain wouldn't perish…What was she thinking? As much as she hated what the Moriya goddesses were doing, she couldn't jeopardize Flandre or Koishi's safety, especially when things seemed to finally be going their way for once.
"That sounds bad and all but… What about our wishes…?" Koishi muttered somberly.
At that moment, Minoriko couldn't help but sigh. However, she didn't seem to want to explain that they weren't genies to the girl once again, so she remained silent. Shizuha took the white-haired girl's remark with more humor than her younger sister did, as she lightly giggled.
"Your requests will come in due time, prayers never take effect immediately. If you really want it, just keep praying, and one day, your desires may come true. Of course, I can't guarantee we can fulfill them, but we will try." Shizuha explained.
Koishi simply nodded in response, with a smile stretched across her face. Meiling took this as her cue to cut in, "Well, we don't need you to grant us any wishes, but could you give us directions to the Tengu village?"
"Certainly. Just follow the path you were on a few moments ago and before long the Tengu village should be in sight, it's hard to miss." Shizuha answered.
"I see, thank you."
"No, no, it's I who should be thanking you. I'd have most certainly perished if not for your selflessness." Shizuha said, "I know it's not much, but please, take these sweet potatoes as a token of the Aki sister's gratitude."
As the elder Aki sister said this, Minoriko handed a large bag filled to the brim with sweet-potatoes. Normally Meiling would refuse to take such a large amount of food without giving anything in return, but considering her wallet was feeling lighter and lighter with each passing day, she decided to accept their offer.
"Thank you for everything! I hope you'll all attend the Harvest Festival this fall, we'll be sure to cut you some great deals on our wares!" Minoriko said cheerfully with a small bow.
"Thank you! We'll be sure to attend!" Meiling said with a smile, though she had a high doubts about being able to attend after their little tour around Gensokyo ended. Heck, Meiling wasn't even sure she'd still be alive by the time autumn came after Remilia was through with her… "Well, we had best be on our way you two. Show your appreciation or the sweet potatoes now."
"Thanks a bunch Farm-genies!" Koishi cheered with a bow. It didn't look like Minoriko's explanation made it through.
"Thank you for the sweet potatoes…" Flandre muttered as she stared at nothing in specific. Meiling found Flandre's response to be lacking her normal enthusiasm, she wondered if it was because she was tired or if she had something on her mind…
"Safe travels you three. Enjoy your stay at the Tengu Village!" the two sisters said together in unison as the three resumed their journey.
To say that Aya was excited would be a complete understatement; in fact, one would be hard pressed to find a word suitable enough to describe just how eager the reporter was to arrive at the Scarlet Devil Mansion. After today's scoop, the Bunbunmaru would undoubtedly be the most popular newspaper in all of Gensokyo! The tengu practically drooled at the thought of all the praise she would receive upon the publication of the next issue of the Bunbunmaru…At this point; Aya was tempted to break out into song, that's just how happy she was.
Upon her arrival, she landed at the foot of the gates to the crimson colored mansion rather than just letting herself in through one of the building's scant windows out of respect of its owner. After all, it wouldn't do to offend the mistress, less she miss out on what would possibly be the biggest scoop of her life. She immediately noticed the absence of the mansion's temporary replacement guard, not that she minded one bit, but it did make it much more difficult to enter the mansion without making it a technical case of breaking and entering.
Just as Aya was about to try rattling the gates to see if anyone would answer, the Mansion's large doors swung open, with the Head maid coming out as she man-handled the missing guard by the back of her shirt collar. Rumia's blouse peculiarly enough had red stains all over it, along with what appeared to be blood trickling down her youthful face. Aya's reporter instincts took action at once, as her brain immediately began to think of a way to fabricate a story out of the scene before her.
"How many times must I tell you that the contents of the pantry are not for you to go poking your grubby little fingers in?" Sakuya asked sternly as she glared down at the youkai girl as she struggled to slip out of the maid's firm grasp.
"R-Rumia's fingers are not grubby! They're perfect and callous free unlike the filthy hobo-hands of grouchy head-maid!" Rumia said indignantly.
Sakuya didn't seem to be amused by the youkai's response one bit, as her nostrils flared in response. The human managed to restrain herself from doing anything too violent, as the last thing she wanted to do was search for a replacement for their replacement gatekeeper. "I'd still your tongue while you still have one, youkai." Sakuya hissed as she dropped the girl on her behind. Rumia simply grumbled something incoherent as she rubbed her sore bottom. "Now stay out here and do your job, and do NOT let me catch you raiding the mistress' blood supply again, or you'll be sorry."
"Maybe Rumia wouldn't drink fancy-pants mistress' blood if good-for-nothing maid gave Rumia some ice-tea." The little blonde girl muttered.
"What was that?"
"Nothing, Rumia will sit out here under hot sun all day and work her fingers to the bone while lovely-cleaning lady prances around like brain-dead ballerina."
"Why you…" Sakuya growled as she brandished a knife that she was presumably going to find its way into Rumia's body faster than the human eye could perceive. Aya decided at that moment to make her presence known by clearing her throat, she had jotted down enough notes to make a story anyways, and she had much bigger fish to fry. "…Oh, well if it isn't the reporter. State your business or be on your way." Sakuya demanded testily. It was becoming painfully apparent that her day was not going very well.
"Yes, wellllllllll…I have an interview scheduled with a Miss Remilia Scarlet today you see..." Aya said, trying not to set off the maid's throwing arm.
"An interview?" Sakuya and Rumia asked together in disbelief.
"Fancy-pants mistress must've had coconut dropped on her head. Rumia is having a hard time wrapping her head around the big-mouthed reporter's claim."
"On that point we can agree." Sakuya grudgingly admitted, "Alright reporter, let's see if your claim holds truth to it. If not…The pantry could use some restocking…" the maid then glared down at her shorter co-worker, "You. You stay here. Our discussion is far from over."
Faster than Aya could react, Sakuya took a firm grip on the tengu's arm with one hand and took out her pocket-watch out with the other. The last thing the reporter saw was Rumia sticking her tongue out at her superior before finding herself relocated in the room she had familiarized herself as Remilia's study.
Sakuya obviously hadn't visited the room recently, as the place was a complete mess. Papers were strewn across the room, and it looked like Remilia had spilled one of her drinks recently, as there was a noticeable stain of crimson liquid staining the carpet. Even Sakuya cringed in disgust as she took in the sight of the room.
Sakuya then walked up to the desk and lightly massaged the back of the one who sat behind the desk to awaken her. "Mistress, please wake up. You have a…guest." Sakuya whispered into the vampire-girl's ear.
Remilia groggily raised her head from the desk and blinked dumbly for a few moments before becoming aware of what was going on. "Sakuya…I thought I told you I didn't want to be disturbed…"
"Yes, well we got an interview to do, so up and at em' Lady Remilia!" Aya said enthusiastically as she clapped her hands.
"…Inter…view…?" Remilia asked, what she said sounded vaguely familiar, but her memory was fuzzy on the subject…Something about repaying her for something…? Something about the bounty on Flandre maybe…?
"Just say the word and I'll take care of this pest immediately, my lady." Sakuya said as she reached for the knife she kept fastened to her leg.
Remilia held up her arm out as to dismiss Sakuya's offer, "That…That won't be necessary Sakuya…I do recall agreeing to an interview of some sort with her…Thank you Sakuya, you may be on your way now."
Sakuya hesitated before nodding, "As you wish, milady." And with the click of a button on her pocket-watch, the maid vanished. Though Aya noticed that Sakuya had done a bit of tidying up before she had left, stacking the papers up into neat, uniform piles and taking care of the stain on the carpet. It looked like she even cleaned up her mistress as well, as Remilia's hair looked much glossier and her dress less wrinkled than a second ago.
Aya immediately cracked out a brand new notepad and a fresh pen as soon as Sakuya had left. With an eager grin Aya glimpsed through her list of questions for the interview one last time with satisfaction. She then looked to the one who would be her ticket to fame and grinned what was arguably the largest smile one could muster. "Well Lady Remilia, are you ready?"
"As ready as I'll ever be I suppose…" the vampire-girl mumbled as she wiped out her eyes.
"Wonderful! Now, question number one…"
AN: Holy crap, I'm beginning to start slacking off here. I apologize; it feels like it's been too long since an update on this. Though I'm pleased with how this came out, finally got back to our healthy balance of 5-6k words. :P
Looks like this is the place I give the excuse for my laziness, so I guess I'll just list the reason you won't give a rat's behind about.(Well, actually there are various reasons, but this is the big reason why.) I was working on writing another story, an original work, for a game that my friend Shadow624 and I are working on together. I was also put in charge of character design, while Shad is working on well…Programming, graphics, music and all that other good stuff I can't do worth a hoot.
I can't really tell you too much about it, mainly because it has yet to be started. But what I can tell you is that, 1. It's an RPG set in a modern-day setting, 2. The title we have for it is, "A Just Endeavor." I hope this will interest some of you, if not, oh well!
So expect updates to come a bit more slowly…But I guarantee you that I will finish this story! (I mean, I'm 28 chapters in, I may as well finish what I started. :-P) The next chapter will take a while, since I kinda sorta left another story I was working on in a really long hiatus. It's gotten to the point of people telling me to continue it, so…Yep. I just ask you to wait warmly and I'll promise not to keep you waiting too long.
Which reminds me, I've been thinking of deleting my old-discontinued story, "Distant Dream" that I made to test out how well I could write in a first-person perspective. If anyone's interested in continuing it, just gimme a shout.
Thanks for reading, until next time!