The book had taken some noticeable damage from the ravages of time. The pages had yellowed and the once purple cover had become faded and musty. The title etched across it's cover however, was still perfectly legible, and that was what kept Meiling from giving the tome a read. She was still unsure why Satori saw fit to pass her journal on to her, even after a restless night of pondering on it.
The gatekeeper had to admit, reading the book was tempting… But she knew better than to invade other people's privacy. Heck, she had just made a scene last night with Satori over matters like this… Was the mind-reader trying to drive home some sort of point with her? Paint her as a hypocrite to gain leverage over her? These questions and more echoed through Meiling's mind…
"Why would she give me this…? Come on Meiling, think… what's the angle here… Why give a stranger something so important to her…? A stranger who didn't exactly treat her with a lot of respect at that…" the gatekeeper rubbed her chin in thought, this was more difficult to figure out than one of Patchouli's riddles.
"Who're you talking to China?"
Meiling let out a cry as she fell out of her bed in surprise. Rubbing her sore back, the gatekeeper looked up from the floor and saw Flandre looking down at her from the top of her bed in confusion. "Phew, it's just you Flandre… What are you doing strolling on in here without knocking? I could have been changing in here, you know." the gatekeeper asked as she brushed herself off.
"It's not like you haven't walked in on me changing before Meiling…" the vampire huffed with her cheeks puffed out.
Meiling blushed, "I-uh… Er, that's… Okay, you got me there." the gatekeeper sighed as she took a seat back on her bed beside the vampire. "So, was there something you needed Flandre?"
"N-No, er well… kinda…" Flandre answered as she fiddled with the hem of her nightgown, "It's just… I don't like being here alone… This place gives me the creeps…"
"Ah, well… I'll admit that the decor here is a little on the creepy side… But the Scarlet Devil Mansion isn't much more inviting, you know. A little dim lighting shouldn't be a problem for you, you're a vampire after all."
"I know… But that doesn't make it any less creepy… Especially with her around…" Flandre murmured softly.
"You mean Satori?"
Flandre paused for a moment before nodding, "It's not that I don't like her or anything, but after last night… I just… I can't help but feel nervous, like I'm about to black-out… I'm… I'm not very good at telling people about things… But now Koishi's big sis could know all of them…And every time I think about it, I start feeling sick…Wh-What if she tells Koishi?" the vampire's complexion noticeably became paler, never has there been a vampire as pale as Flandre was right now.
Meiling took a deep breath; she figured she'd have to have this talk with her after last night… In truth, she felt like she needed to have this talk herself. Best to get it out of the way now rather than later… "Well Flandre, I can't say I feel any more comfortable with Satori's mind prodding than you. I have things that I would rather keep to myself and mind-readers can make it difficult to keep it like that… But I think that despite any grievances we might have with her, we should try and understand her feelings."
"What do you mean…?"
"Well, let me put things in perspective… Now, let's say that you saw your big sister after so long, and that she brought along two new friends. Wouldn't you want to learn about everything she's done and everything about her new friends?"
"I…I guess I would…" Flandre answered meekly as she suddenly found great interest in the floor. Meiling's hypothetical situation hit home, and hit it hard.
"Yes, I thought that would be the case. Which is why despite the poor way she went about it, we should try our best to understand why she did it and let by gones be by gones."
"I'll try to…"
"That's all I ask." the gatekeeper replied, "We owe her that much after allowing us to stay here… Otherwise we'd have to rough it up on the streets like a couple of vagrants." Flandre nodded silently with a glum expression. It was doubtful that the vampire wouldn't feel any anxiety around Satori after a simple talk, but it certainly didn't hurt to try. It would probably be for the best to try and stick close to her during their stay in Chireiden… "Well look at the time… I suppose we should get dressed for the day and say our good mornings, wouldn't you say?"
"Okay…" Flandre mumbled in agreement as she reluctantly got off of Meiling's bed and made her way to the door.
"I'll be waiting outside of your room after I'm done changing Flandre, alright?"
The vampire opted not to give a response, letting herself out of the room in silence. Once she closed the door, Flandre let out a deep sigh. This wasn't at all what she had expected it to be… Satori wasn't anything like the image Koishi painted in her head. Maybe coming here wasn't such a good idea…
"Good morning!"
Flandre looked down the hall and found Orin walking towards her, giving her a small wave. "Oh… Good morning."
Once the kasha reached the vampire her eyes darted back and forth, "Say Cutie, where'd your friend Meiling run off to?" she asked.
"She's in her room changing… Why?" the small vampire answered.
The kasha blushed, "O-Oh, is she now…? I see… You must be waiting for her then, right? Mind if I keep you company then?" Flandre shook her head, "So, how'd you sleep last night?"
The vampire hesitated before answering, "Not so good…"
Orin frowned, "Why's that? Bad dream?"
"I guess you could say that…"
"Hmmmm… I wouldn't suppose this bad dream would have anything to do with Lady Satori now, would it?" Flandre looked up, her eyes wide in surprise. "Ha, I'll take that as a 'yes!' Don't worry, I won't say anything… Though I suppose you learned first hand that it's a little hard to keep a secret around the Boss."
"...Yeah."
"Don't worry, you aren't the only one to get off on the wrong foot with my boss. In fact, she's at odds with just about every soul in Former Hell." That honestly didn't come as a surprise to Flandre, as much as she hated to think that about Koishi's sister… "And you know, I guess I don't blame them all too much. Everyone has something rather keep to themselves, an embarrassing secret, a crime they committed, feelings for another… But you know, the Boss isn't a bad person, she's just… Not very good at socializing. I guarantee anything she saw in your heart last night won't leave her lips, she's not the kind of person to flap her gums."
The vampire remained silent, while Orin's words did help put her at ease… It didn't make her feel any more comfortable with Satori knowing every intimate memory she had, along with any thoughts she may have in the future. And given her recent thoughts, she was in no rush to see the mind reader again…
"Awww, c'mon… Don't look so glum, it ruins your cute looks, you know? I'm sure Koishi prefers you with a smile on your face too…"
The vampire looked up at the kasha at the mention of Koishi, "Wh-What's she have to do with anything?" the vampire asked sternly.
"Well, I imagine it has to do with quite a bit… You're worried the Boss is going to tell Koishi some embarrassing thoughts you've had, riiiiiight?"
Flandre blushed, "W-Wrong!"
"Am I though? Who ever said that Satori was the only mind reader around here, hmmmmm?" the vampire gulped down the lump that had formed in her throat. Her heart rate had picked up speed, and her clothes suddenly felt like they were suffocating her… "Heehee…Just kidding."
"Wh-Wha?"
"Just kidding." the kasha repeated with a small smile on her face, "Though judging by the tint of your face, maybe I really am a mind reader." Orin snickered to herself, "Don't worry, I'm not the type to flap my gums either. Your little secret is safe with me."
"I-I don't know what you're talking about. I don't like Koishi like that…" Flandre replied, crossing her arms.
"I'll take your word for it, just don't wait too long to confess your feelings, otherwise someone else might whisk her away!" the kasha giggled.
The vampire scowled at the kasha before she remembered a comment the kasha had made, "W-Wait is uh…Can Koishi read minds like her big sis?"
A small frown quickly took the place of Orin's smile at the question, "…No. She can't. Not anymore anyways…"
It felt like a weight was lifted from Flandre's shoulders at those words, she swore she'd have died of embarrassment if Koishi had read some of the thoughts she had… the way Orin phrased her answer was strange though. 'Not anymore?' Just as she was about to question her further, the door to Meiling's room swung open, revealing the gatekeeper, now dressed in her usual garb.
"Flandre, are you ready to-Oh, hello Orin. Good morning." the gatekeeper greeted.
"Oh Meiling! Good morning to you as well!" Orin responded, with her frown disappearing in an instant.
Meiling then looked to Flandre and raised an eyebrow, "Flandre, I hope you don't plan on going downstairs dressed in that."
The vampire was confused until she took a look at herself, she didn't realize until now that she was still in her night-gown… "O-Oh, s-sorry… I'll go and change right now!" Flandre said as she rushed into her room.
"Sorry about that, I was the one keeping her from dressing. Once you get me talking, I tend to keep doing it." the kasha laughed.
"No, no, don't worry about it. I'm actually happy you're here."
"Really now?"
"Yes, you see… I'm not very confident that I can find my way around the Palace, so if it's not too much of a bother, do you think you could help guide us?" the gatekeeper requested.
"What a coincidence, I came here to do just that. Guess the boss was right…"
"Hmm? What do you mean?" the gatekeeper asked.
"Well… The boss told me that you two would probably need a little help finding your way around the palace. So she asked me to check up on you once you both woke up." Orin explained, "I guess it helped that she kinda learned about your sleeping habits last night…" the kasha laughed nervously.
"I see… I guess mind-reading does have it's perks, huh?" Meiling replied with a small smile. She couldn't say she felt comfortable with it, but at least Satori was using her ability out of consideration…
Orin nodded, "Oh, you'd be surprised! The Boss' birthday surprises are always wonderful, she always knows just what to get me… But on the other hand, it's impossible to throw her any surprise parties…"
"I see… You must be pretty close to Lady Satori."
"Well, yeah, I'd say so. I've known her for a long time, she's like family to me." the kasha said with a warm smile, "What about you? You mentioned that you were a gatekeeper right? How's your relationship with your boss?"
Meiling had to think about that one for a second… What was her relationship with Remilia? Despite for how long she had known her, Meiling couldn't honestly say she felt too emotionally attached to her… Very rarely would she speak to her, and when she did it was more often than not to whip out a punishment for failing to keep intruders out of the mansion…
"Well… I suppose our relationship is that of employer and employee. I guard her gates, and she puts a roof over my head. That's all there is to it really…"
"Really? That's a shame… You seem to be pretty close to Flandre though."
Meiling nodded, "If there was anyone in that mansion I considered to be family, it would be her. She's one of the few people there who's actually ever happy to see me…"
Orin frowned, "I see… I guess that explains why you're so close… How long have you known one another anyways?"
The gatekeeper scratched her head in thought, "Well, let's see here… I think we met about, two… maybe three hundred years ago? It's hard to say…"
"We met three-hundred and five years and sixty-two days ago." Flandre answered, now fully dressed.
"Ah, has it really been that long? Time sure does fly by, doesn't it?"
The vampire nodded in agreement. On closer inspection, it appeared that Flandre's clothes had gone through some wear and tear… The dress had suffered a few tears and also looked to have grass and mud stains on the fabric.
"Uh Flandre… I don't mean to be rude, but don't you have anything a little more clean than that?" Meiling asked in the most polite way she could manage, "The dress you're wearing right now well… Looks like it should be made into cleaning rags to be honest."
The vampire shook her head sadly, "No… Everything else looks even worse. This is all I have left." she answered.
Now that Meiling thought on it, the answer to that question seemed obvious… The pair had been traveling for quite some time now. It was only natural for their clothes to become a little messy. The thought of washing their clothes didn't come to the gatekeeper's mind until now either… Household work like that wasn't really her strong suit after all… Now if you needed a gate to be guarded, she was your youkai.
Orin took a closer look at Flandre's dress, particularly around the hem of her skirt. "Hmmm, well it doesn't look good, but it could still be salvaged." The kasha said.
"You really think you could mend it?" the gatekeeper asked, surprised.
"No, I might keep things up and running around here but I'm no seamstress." the kasha answered, "I do know someone who could make the finest dress you'll ever see out of nothing but rags and handkerchiefs though. In the meantime, we probably have some spare clothes that'd be a good fit on her. But for now we ought to get a move on, we don't want to keep the boss waiting too long…"
"Shouldn't keep Satori waiting? What are we keeping her waiting for, exactly?" the gatekeeper asked.
"Breakfast." the kasha answered. "The boss wanted to have a fresh start with the two of you, since last night well… You know. Anyways...The boss is really patient, but that doesn't mean we should keep her waiting." Orin said as she began to walk down the hall.
"Hmmm, well this couldn't go any worse than last night I suppose… Shall we Flandre?" the gatekeeper turned to the vampire.
Flandre nodded glumly, "I guess so…" she mumbled as she slowly trailed behind their guide. Meiling frowned and silently followed alongside the vampire.
The gatekeeper may not have been on the best of terms with Satori at the moment, but she was thankful that the mind reader had sent the kasha over to guide them through the palace. If left to themselves, Meiling had no doubts they would be wandering the halls for hours before they reached their destination, if at all. ...she would have to remember to ask Orin if she could guide them back to their rooms later.
The kasha led the pair to the small dining hall they had dined in the night before, and waiting for them was Satori and Koishi. The Komeiji sisters were both dressed in much nicer clothes than they had worn the night prior, Satori wore a frilly black top along with an equally frilly skirt that matched the shade of her hair. The dress fit her small frame much better than the one she had worn the night before, which looked like it was two sizes too large for her. Satori's hair was also much nicer looking, it looked as if she curled her short locks.
Koishi on the other hand, was wearing a white one-piece dress that complimented her sister's black dress nicely. Tied in her mane of hair was a green ribbon, like her sister, it had been curled. How Satori had managed to separate her hat from it's resting place was beyond both Flandre and Meiling… The younger Komeiji sister looked agitated, as she looked to the side with a frown drawn on her face. How elegant and beautiful sisters looked made Flandre feel rather self-conscious as she looked at her tattered dress. It was like comparing a diamond to a lump of mud.
"Ah, good morning. I hope you slept well." Satori greeted, as Orin lead the pair inside.
"Yes, good morning. I slept well, thank you." the gatekeeper replied with a smile as she took a seat, trying to ignore the feelings of awkwardness that remained from last night. Flandre followed her lead and sat down across from Koishi.
Satori smiled back at the gatekeeper, "I'm glad to hear that…" the mind reader looked at her servant, "Thank you for helping them find their way here, Orin. Now could you go check on breakfast please? It should be ready soon."
"Right, I'm on it." the kasha answered as she headed towards what Meiling presumed to be the kitchen, leaving the four alone…
An awkward silence settled in the room after the kasha left, with no one finding any words to say. The four silently exchanged glances with one another, as if trying to think of some topic of conversation to start, however the silence persisted. It felt like hours passed before the spell was finally broken by the sound of a door opening.
Everyone seated at the table wore a look of relief as Orin returned, pushing in a small trolley holding four plates, each one holding their own dish. The kasha parked the trolley near the table and began to set the plates before the table's occupants. Once the cart was emptied, the kasha let out a satisfied sigh, "Sorry to keep you waiting, Okuu needed a little extra time to make everything, but without any further ado… Breakfast is served!"
Flandre eyed the plate set before her; the plate was covered with french toast with a side of sausage… Her favorite breakfast ensemble. Her food had even been coated in blood…
"Ah, what a surprise! Crullers! I haven't had these in ages…" Meiling drooled over her plate loaded with a variety of food that was foreign to Flandre.
"I trust that everything is to your liking then?" the mind reader asked.
Meiling wiped the drool that was forming in the corner of her mouth and nodded, "Yes, everything looks wonderful. Thank you."
Satori smiled at the gatekeeper's answer, "Good, I'm glad." the mind reader looked towards her pet, "Thank you Orin, that will be all for now."
"It's my pleasure lady Satori!" the kasha replied, "I'll leave you four to it then… Well, enjoy your meal!" with that, Orin exited the room.
As soon as Orin had left, the awkward from earlier had returned with a vengeance. Four pairs of eyes looked around the room, trying their hardest to avoid meeting one another as they ate their meals. Flandre in particular seemed to be anxious, as her fork shook as she attempted to bring her breakfast to her mouth…
"H-Hey Flanny…?" the silence was finally challenged, this time by none other than Koishi, who had until now been uncharacteristically quiet. The vampire looked up from her plate, her attention now focused on the younger Komeiji sister. "Do you um… how do you think I look?" the satori asked as she fidgeted with her hair.
Flandre blushed, combined with Satori's presence, Orin's earlier teasing and the messy dress she was wearing… Flandre had difficulty finding her words. The longer she stared at the satori across from her, the more difficult it became to answer her question… Koishi looked at her with a look of anxiousness. Finally the vampire had managed to calm her nerves enough to answer her, "I well-um… I think that you always look very pretty Koishi, but erm… Today you look v-very pretty…"
Koishi's face turned red, "You really think so…?" The vampire simply nodded as her eyes avoided the younger satori's. Koishi smiled, "Thanks Flanny, that means a lot! I think you're very pretty too!"
Given the condition her clothes were in, Flandre couldn't say that she agreed, but Koishi's compliment put a smile on her face regardless. "Well um...Thank you Koishi." the vampire replied meekly. The younger satori giggled at the vampire's flustered response, "Wh-What's so funny?"
"Oh nothing…" Koishi answered innocently, "I'm just really happy you think I'm pretty, Flanny, that's all."
The vampire looked to the corner of the room in attempt to hide how brightly her cheeks were glowing. Flandre hoped that Orin wouldn't catch wind of her exchange with Koishi, the last thing she wanted was for the kasha to have more material to tease her with…
Following her younger sister's example, Satori cleared her throat, "So Meiling, how are you doing this morning?"
Meiling showed a look of surprise for a moment before replying, "Well, I can't complain. I have a head over my roof and my favorite meal in front of me. Again, thank you for your hospitality, you're being too kind." she really was, especially after all of the horrible things she said to her last night…
Satori held up a hand in dismissal, "Please, it's no trouble. Any friends of Koishi are friends of mine as well."
Meiling nodded awkwardly, not sure how else to respond. Determined to keep from returning to a state of silence, the gatekeeper racked her brain for a subject to converse over… Asking her why she had Orin deliver her diary to her last night came to mind for a mere second before the idea was shot down. Things between them were rocky enough the way it was, there wasn't a need to make the situation worse... Meiling's eyes began to search the room frantically for a topic of conversation, before finally setting on the room's two other occupants... "Your sister and Flandre get along swimmingly, don't they?" the redhead remarked.
Satori took a glance over at her sister and the vampire, both of which seemed to be in much better moods than they had been in earlier. "Yes, they seem to be the best of friends." the mind-reader agreed, "It makes me happy to see that my sister has found a friend, and one that she adores so much at that."
"Adore is a good word for it. Koishi almost seems like she's attached to her hip sometimes… Though the feeling is mutual." the gatekeeper laughed, "I'm just glad Flandre could make a new friend. Her social circle is a bit limited after all…"
"Mmmm...They both benefit from one another's company." Satori said as she watched the younger pair chatter amongst themselves, "...I couldn't help but notice that Flandre's clothing is in dire need of mending."
"Yes...I guess all of our traveling and the trouble we bump into was just too much for her wardrobe. My clothes are becoming a bit worse for wear as well." the gatekeeper sighed, "Orin mentioned knowing a seamstress, I'll have to ask her about that later..."
"There's no need to. She'll be taking you and Flandre to her personally." the purple haired girl stated.
"L-Like I said earlier, you've done more than enough for us, you don't need to help us with any more of our problems." the gatekeeper insisted.
"You misunderstand. While I would gladly ask Orin to assist you, she already intends to help the two of you with your wardrobe dilemma." Satori explained.
"Really? When did she tell you that?" the gatekeeper asked, puzzled.
"Right around the time you entered the room." the mindreader answered, "Though I suppose she didn't necessarily tell me in the traditional sense…"
"...Oh duh, of course… mind reading." Meiling said sheepishly. Satori simply gave her a short nod of confirmation before beginning to make work of her breakfast. Meiling decided to do the same herself before her food became cold.
Before too long, each of the four plates were emptied of their contents. Breakfast went much more smoothly than the meal from the night before, despite the bouts of awkward silence the four shared early on.
"So was everything to your liking?" Flandre and Meiling turned back and found Orin walking into the room. The kasha was holding what looked like a small bundle of cloth under her arm.
"Yes, everything was wonderful, thank you." the gatekeeper answered, Flandre nodded in agreement.
The kasha smiled, "Good to hear, but you shouldn't be thanking me. I didn't cook anything."
"Oh, really? Who should we be thanking for our meal then?" Meiling asked.
"My pet Utsuho." answered Satori, "I doubt she's still in the kitchen, however."
Orin grunted a sound of agreement, "Yeah, she's probably already making her way back to the reactor by now. I'll be sure to pass along the message for you though."
"That would be appreciated, thank you."
"It's no trouble, we hang out regularly anyways." the kasha then turned to the vampire of the room and held out the bundle of cloth to her. "Here Flandre, I have a little present for you."
Flandre meekly accepted the bundle of cloth and began to unfold it. Once unraveled, it was revealed to be clothing. Specifically, it was a white blouse and a green skirt. The blouse even had a pair of holes in the back to accommodate her wings.
"Wow… Thank you." the vampire gasped. Despite coming from a wealthy family, Flandre's wardrobe was painfully limited. All she had was a closet full of the same red dress she was always wearing and a single nightgown. Finally being able to wear something other than the same old dress she's worn for hundreds of years was an exciting prospect to the blonde.
"Oh don't sweat it, they're just old hand-me-downs. Nothing too special." Orin brushed off modestly, "I figure it's better than what you're wearing now anyways. Speaking of… I planned on running some errands in Ancient City today, so I was thinking that we could see if my seamstress friend could work some magic on your clothes. How does that sound?"
The vampire smiled, "That sounds good to me."
Meiling looked to Satori, who gave her a knowing look as she took a sip of tea. The redhead turned to the demonic cat, "That's very kind of you Orin, thank you."
"Psh, it's no trouble really… I planned on paying her a visit soon anyways…" the kasha wore rosey cheeks and a content smile as she replied, "Anyways… Why don't I show you to a room to change your clothes in now, Flandre? Then we can go and see what we can do about your wardrobe problem, alright?" The blonde nodded and got up from her seat.
"I'll come along as well." Meiling said as she got up to follow the kasha, but stopped in her tracks at the sound of Satori's voice.
"Please hold on a moment, Meiling. There's something I would like to discuss with you in private before you leave, if you don't mind."
"Oh, well… alright." the redhead replied before lowering herself back down to her seat. Meiling looked at Orin and Flandre, "I'll meet up with the two of you later then, alright?"
"I think you mean, 'I'll meet up with you three later then!'" Koishi corrected as she jumped out of her seat.
"You won't be joining them in their errands, Koishi." Satori said calmly, "Please don't tell me you've already forgotten our plans for today? A picnic? Just the two of us?"
The younger Komeiji sister froze in her spot and slowly turned around, "E-Er wh-what? D-Don't be silly sis! I'd never forget plans I made with you, ever! I just meant ummmm… that I would go and help Flanny change clothes!"
Satori raised an eyebrow, "You are?"
"Y-You are…?" Flandre parroted, her face glowing red.
"Of course! That's what I said, didn't I?"
A large smirk grew on Orin's face as she tried her best to suppress her laughter, "W...Well then, let's leave the boss and Meiling to themselves, sh-shall we? We'll wait for you out in the lobby Meiling, pfft..."
"Right! Let's go Flanny!" Flandre was unable to protest, as Koishi swiftly took hold of her arm and tugged her out of the room. Orin let out a snicker as she followed the two, closing the door behind her.
The room was quiet. It was an almost oppressive silence, it made Meiling feel far more anxious than the bouts of silence from earlier. Satori's eyes felt like they were tearing into her as she stared at her unflinchingly. The mind-reader took a deep breath of air and exhaled, "Now then, since we're finally alone, allow me to answer the question that's been on your mind. Why did I give you my diary?" Meiling's heart skipped a beat, "No, I didn't give it to you as part of a trick or as test or any other sort of scheme. I intended for it to act as a peace offering."
"A peace offering? What do you mean?"
"You remember the events of last night, correct? I have to admit, your words did sting quite a bit…" the gatekeeper was about to apologize profusely for her words, but Satori continued, "However you weren't wrong. I… Am not very good at speaking to others. I've come to rely on my third eye to communicate and many people aren't comfortable with that. I pried into your most personal thoughts without thinking about how it would make you feel. That is why I gave you my journal. It's a glimpse into my experiences, my feelings, my entire life. Think of it as a way of evening the score between us."
"I don't know what to say...I... don't think I could read it… It would feel wrong."
"I see. To read it or not is up to you, Meiling. Hold on to it for now. Whatever you decide, I won't think any different of you than I do now."
"If you insist."
Satori grunted, "I apologize for keeping you. That was all I wanted to discuss. You can be on your way… Oh, and if you could, be sure to send Koishi back over here." the gatekeeper nodded before standing from her seat and making her way out of the room.
Eventually she arrived at the palace's lobby; she found Flandre, Orin and Koishi waiting for her, just as they said they would be. "Well that didn't take very long, did it?" the kasha greeted.
"Yes. Satori just wanted my opinion on something, that was all." Meiling lied. She had a feeling that it'd be best to keep the contents of her conversation with Satori to herself for now.
Flandre spoke up, "Hey China, how do I look?" the little vampire had changed into the clothes Orin had given her. They were a little baggy in some spots, but other than that it was a perfect fit. Seeing her wear something other than her red dress was admittedly strange, but it was also refreshing. "Well…? What do you think?" the vampire urged, growing impatient with the lack of response.
Meiling smiled, "I think it looks wonderful on you Flandre."
"Yeah, it's looks really good on you Flanny!" Koishi agreed enthusiastically.
Orin nodded in consensus with the two, "I have to admit, it turned out to be a better match than I thought it would be."
Flandre's cheeks began to turn red in reaction to the amount of attention she was receiving from the others. "Thanks... I really like it too." the vampire smiled as she played with her new skirt.
"Well now that we're all accounted for, why don't we get going?" the kasha suggested.
"Yes, it'd be best if we got this out of the way as soon as possible." Meiling agreed.
Koishi frowned, "Okay, well I guess I should get back to my big sis then…I'll see you later then Flanny."
"Yeah… and you have fun with your sister."
The satori nodded half-heartedly and began to make her way back to the dining room. Orin looked at Flandre with a smug grin on her face. "What's that look for?" Flandre asked as she crossed her arms and frowned.
"Oh nothing…" Orin said innocently, "Anyways, let's be off then, shall we?" the kasha crossed her arms behind her head and made her way to the door.
Flandre emitted a low growl of irritation as she reluctantly followed after her. Meiling joined the two, she was slightly confused by the two's behavior, but decided not to question it.
A/N: I'm alive! I know long waits between chapters have sort of become a tradition with me, but I never intended to ever have a hiatus last over half the year! The main reason is that I started college since the last update, and its been keeping me much busier than I expected. Plus I may have restarted this chapter a few times… Thank you for all being so patient with me, what I lack in speed I hope I make up for in quality!
One important thing I really need to mention is that there's a small continuity error I made in chapter 31. It's not anything too major, but it is integral to a major plot point that's going to happen soon… There's no need to reread the chapter, I'll be giving more details about it when it becomes relevant in the story.
Once again, I apologize for the whole over half year hiatus thing. I can't promise it won't happen again, but I do wholeheartedly intend to bring this story to it's end, whether it be this year or the next! So… Until next time!