"Hakurei Maiden Injured During Youkai Encounter: Can Reimu Still Protect Your Children?" was the headline of the day.
"Questions are being raised on the reliability of Reimu's babysitting business ever since her recent fight with the Suwako. Said fight resulted in a broken leg that has yet to fully recover. Many parents have also complained about the poor treatment she has given to their children and plan to avoid using her services in the future. See page 3 for more details."
Reimu angrily clutched the newspaper in one hand. It had been less than a week since she had visited Eintei and got proper treatment for her broken leg. While it wasn't completely healed yet, it had gotten well enough for Reimu to start babysitting again.
It just so happened that the same day Reimu had decided to resume, she received a newspaper from the Bunbunmaru Newspaper outlet with this headline. Normally, Reimu wouldn't mind such an article as most humans knew better than to believe everything on the news. However, her customers were youkai and if any of them read this, her finances and business would suffer. It also didn't help that people still trusted Aya and that her newspaper was popular amongst both humans and youkai.
"Yo Reimu! You've got to see this!"
Reimu looked up to see a very familiar black and white witch flying towards her. In her hand was a copy of Aya's article.
"Yes I have," answered an annoyed Reimu. "And I have no idea on what to do."
Marisa got off her broom and helped herself to some of Reimu's cookies. In response, Reimu swatted the back of her head with her copy of the newspaper.
"Don't just take my food like that!"
"Sorry. It's just not everyday you get to eat something as good as this," apologized Marisa sheepishly. She held out the half eaten cookie. "You want it back?"
"Eww, of course not," replied Reimu. "Also, what's with that white mark on your hand?"
"Ehehe, nothing," answered Marisa.
However, Reimu already knew what had happened. A few nights ago, she was woken up by the sound of electricity and a loud thump in her shrine. She knew that someone had broken in and tried to steal her hard earned savings from her business but ended up triggering the trap her friend Ryusei set up to combat thieves. Fortunately for the thief but unfortunately for Reimu, the shrine maiden's broken leg meant that she was in no condition to move, nor could she even check on the thief and the potential damage caused.
This meant that the thief had all the time in the world to sleep and then escape before Reimu could catch sight of them. Fortunately, Ryusei had shown her the effects and the damage the trap would cause beforehand so she could easily identify who had broken in and tried to steal from her. One such detail was a distinct white burn mark that would last at least a week or two depending on how many times they triggered the trap. The very same burn mark on Marisa's hand.
"Alright Marisa, fess up," commanded Reimu. "Were you here a few nights ago?"
"No," lied Marisa. She had done it so many times that even Reimu needed a lie detector to tell the difference. This time though, Reimu didn't even need a detective to tell that she was lying. "I wouldn't steal from you, Reimu! Borrow, maybe but steal, never. You know that."
"Really? So you haven't seen my new box yet?"
Right on cue, Reimu brought out the security box Ryusei had given her almost two weeks ago. The look of shock on Marisa's face was all Reimu needed to confirm everything.
"W-what is-"
"Marisa, meet my new anti-theft system," declared Reimu. "It leaves a nice mark on those who open it without permission."
"Ah, so that's how you knew," commented Marisa sheepishly. "Where'd you get this from? Nitori or some other kappa?"
"Neither," answered Reimu. "Regardless, it's time to pay up."
"Ehehe," laughed a nervous Marisa. "I didn't get anything from that box."
"I'm not talking about the box."
Marisa suddenly realized what Reimu meant. "The gold, right? Is that what you're talking about? I don't have it anymore. I gave it to Kourin to pay off my debts. Come on now! Can we talk it out?"
Reimu sighed. Despite everything Marisa has done, she could never get mad at her friend. Besides, there were a few ways she could be paid back.
"Okay then. What do you want?"
"Erm. One favor," answered Marisa. "I'll give you one very big favor where I'll do anything but drop dead."
"Make it two," replied Reimu.
"No."
"I'll tell Rinnosuke and Keine."
"Alright then. Just two favors. Nothing more," conceded Marisa. "How'd you get your hands on that gold in the first place?"
"I'll tell you later," answered Reimu. "Right now, I need to figure out what I'm gonna do about Aya and her brand new article."
"Ah yeah," commented Marisa. "And it's not like we can go up there and give her a proper beating without damaging your rep. Even if you send me, they'll know it's you and the retaliation could cost you a lot more than just a broken leg."
Reimu nodded. "Yeah. What we need is another customer who can prove their claims wrong and someone to expose the lies that tengu has been writing."
"How about Hatate?" asked Marisa. "She's a good writer."
"Her newspaper is not very popular," answered Reimu. "It also doesn't help that she rarely goes out anyways."
"Remilia?" suggested Marisa. "She's pretty powerful."
"Who's gonna believe a vampire child?" asked Reimu. "She's also not as good as Aya when it comes to writing articles."
"How about me?" asked Suika.
Reimu and Marisa turned to see the little oni drunk and laying on the porch.
"Uhhhhh."
As much as Reimu wanted to say no, she knew better than that. Especially with Suika being this drunk.
"Okay. What do you have in mind?"
Instantly, Suika sat up and pulled out a piece of paper that smelled like alcohol.
"A babysitting request from the underrrrworld," announced the oni. "And I can get Ayaaa to interview you tooo."
Reimu took the piece of paper and read the contents.
"Dear Reimu, I don't know if you remember me but my name is Yamame. We meet during the events of Subterranean Animism though on some less friendlier terms. I have heard of your new youkai babysitting business from Satori and ever since then, have been wondering if you are willing to expand your business and offer your services down here. There are quite a few youkai kids down here and with preparations underway for a few underworld festivals, some of us are having trouble finding a reliable babysitter to take care of their kids. I am one of them. I have entrusted your little oni friend with the task of delivering you this letter. Please respond when you get it and deliver it in person. Thank you and I wish you luck in your future ventures."
Reimu finished reading the letter before gearing up.
"Suika, you're coming with me to the underworld. As for you Marisa, you still owe me those favors."
She then tapped on one of her komainu statues with her gohei which quickly came to life soon after.
"Aunn. I want you to take care of the shrine while I'm gone. If anyone comes over, show them proper hospitality regardless of them being human or youkai," ordered Reimu. "Make sure they don't fight or hurt each other though. I'll be back in a day or two."
"Yes Reimu!" acknowledged the enthusiastic komainu. "I will."
"Snacks are in the same place as last time and don't open my box. You'll get shocked like Marisa here," informed Reimu.
"Okay. Safe travels!"
With that, Reimu left with Suika for Gensokyo's underworld.
"Ah Reimu! Nice to see you!" greeted Yamame. "Welcome to the underworld."
Reimu shook hands with the tsuchigumo before following her down below. As they continued, Reimu noticed many of the youkai giving her weird stares and whispering while pointing at her.
"Sorry if we aren't being very welcome at the moment," apologized Yamame. "Many of us are stressed out by the festival preparations and bringing an outsider that also happens to be a shrine maiden here doesn't help with one bit."
Reimu nodded in understanding. "Yeah I know. Usually when I come down here, I mean business and trouble for you guys."
The earth spider then walked into a bar with Reimu.
"Shall I get you a drink?" offered Yamame.
"This time, no. I need to stay sober," replied Reimu.
"Ah. I see. In any case, Yuugi! She's here!"
Reimu looked up to see the larger and taller oni walking over with her signature drinking bowl and a bottle of sake. Next to her was Suika whom Reimu had lost earlier. Both were clearly sloshed though were still capable of maintaining a proper conversation.
"Welcome back Reimu," greeted the larger Oni. "I'm going to be your guide around here. If you have anything that you need to set up, just leave it here. Suika will take care of it."
Reimu shook her hand before turning to Suika.
"Aside from a few posters, I don't need the help," informed Reimu. "Besides, I'm not too keen on trusting Suika as of late. She's the reason why it took me so long to get here."
Yuugi laughed while Suika drank more sake. Despite Reimu abandoning the little oni earlier, she somehow managed to reach their destination before her. Part of this had to do with Reimu choosing to trust Suika and follow her shortcut to the entrance of Old Hell. However, upon reaching said shortcut, Reimu quickly discovered that it had been blocked and it would take Suika quite a bit of time to clear it up.
Rather than stay another minute, Reimu went on her own way to the underworld which, despite being longer, was more reliable and always open unlike Suika's. After a full 5 minutes of laughter, both onis stopped laughing and took another large swing of sake.
"Are they usually like this?" asked the shrine maiden.
Yamame nodded. "Only when they're together. Give me a moment. I'll take care of this."
The earth spider webbed up the drinks before tapping on Yuugi's shoulders.
"Yuugi, Reimu's still here."
"Oh right! Let me take you there right now," realized Yuugi.
The larger oni escorted Reimu off the premises and to the nearby palace. Well escorted wasn't exactly the right word. The moment they stepped a foot outside, Yuugi threw the shrine maiden over her shoulders and carried her over to the palace complete with flailing arms and legs.
"We're here!"
Reimu resisted the urge to whack the oni. As much as she wanted to, she knew that doing so would have given Aya more material and information to put her down. Once they were inside, Yuugi finally let Reimu go before taking another swig of alcohol.
"Welcome to my humble abode, Reimu."
The Hakurei shrine maiden looked up to see Satori Komeji right in front of her. The young mind reading youkai who was usually smug and proud was looking unusually worried and humble. While she still retained her usual attire, Reimu could tell that she had been doing her best to hide as many indications of her status and wealth before she had arrived.
"I see you've figured it out," commented Satori.
Reimu looked up and nodded.
"You know, there isn't any need to hide all of that you know."
Satori shook her head.
"It is as of right now. The festival we are preparing for is for the oni and vengeful spirits. During this time, the Oni will capture as many vengeful spirits as possible to prevent them from escaping to the surface," explained Satori. "Once they are captured, the spirits will leave behind a poison coated gold that needs to be purified before being distributed among the oni. We can't risk mixing them up because if they do, the vengeful spirits will reform and we will have to wait till the next festival to purify them."
Reimu nodded in understanding.
"I see now. So what did you call me down here for?"
Satori smiled and held out one of Reimu's youkai babysitting advertisements.
"I believe Yamame informed you of our current situation. Originally, we were going to delegate the babysitting to the oni but that will cause more problems than it would solve. You, on the other hand, were vouched for by my cat, Orin. Though I myself have yet to experience your method of care, Orin's testimony was enough for me to trust you under one condition."
"And that is?" asked Reimu.
"You will have to babysit Yamame's child, Kisume, before any other child," informed Satori. "Yamame needs someone to watch over Kisume while she secures the gates."
"Ah. Okay so uh…"
"Yes she will be reporting on you," read Satori. "Just a warning though, she is a bit of a problem child."
"Um. uh," replied Reimu nervously.
"Yes. She is rather violent and she likes to play with sharp objects," read Satori again. "She's cruel to everyone except Yamame and Parsee. She'll also break toys and books."
"Then uh…"
"If she misbehaves, you have our permission to smack her over the head with your gohei," informed Satori.
"I'd rather not-," started Reimu. Before she could continue though, Satori had already read her mind and understood why.
"I see. So that Aya girl has been writing lies again," commented Satori. "In that case, she shouldn't be able to make it down here but if you're worried about her getting more info, then just put her in timeout."
"Alright then," commented Reimu.
"You'll be starting one week from now. In the meantime, prepare your stand and posters. I'll be looking forward to your grand opening down here."
Reimu watched as Satori got up and left with a small blush on her face. Before Reimu could say anything though, Satori quickly turned back and pointed at Reimu.
"Whatever you're thinking, it's for my sister! Okay!"
She then ran off before Reimu could say a word.
"She needs to be a little more honest," commented Reimu. "If you really wanted me to babysit you and Koishi, then just tell me. There's no harm in doing so."
Author's Note: After careful consideration, I have decided to open up this story to requests on this site. Originally, this was restricted to Archive of Our Own users for easier access and order but since only one person is requesting, it's become rather ineffiencent. In any case, these are the standard rules:
1. If there is a specific character that you think Reimu should babysit next, write their name in a review or send me a private message.
2. Each character can only be done once for now and duplicate entries will be ignored. (Ex. First comment requested Wriggle, second comment requested Chen, third comment requested Wriggle again, and fourth comment requested Cirno. The order for who Reimu babysits will be 1. Wriggle, 2. Chen, and 3. Cirno)
**Since Reimu is currently underground, the first three underground youkai(after Kisume) that is requested down below will be prioritized over other requests. If there is a particular underground character that you want Reimu to babysit, please drop it in the reviews or message me.
Rules for underground youkai requests:
1. Character has the physical body of a child(Ex. Remilia, Flandre, Chen, Cirno, Rumia, etc.)
2. Characters will only be done once for now.
3. If there is a character that you want Reimu to babysit but does not meet the 1st condition, please comment them anyways as depending on who they are, I may make an exception.(Some examples would be Orin, Utsuho, Parsee.)
Characters who have been done already include:
- Wriggle
- Chen
- Cirno
Characters that have been requested or are currently in progress:
- Kisume(In progress)
- Tokiko(Requested)
- Hinamei (Wheel Demon)(PC-98 Character)(Requested)