Given the recent instability of SB, I figure now would be a good time to create a backup of my...
[Touhou/Exalted] The Tourist
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sasahara17
Just Another Random Author
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Proofread 21/09/2014, Version 1.1
Still moving through the stuff, albeit very slowly.
Please let me know if there are any mistakes I missed.
Cheers!
-=-
"Reimu this is Renko Usami. She's a friend of mine who popped in for a visit. Renko, this is Reimu Hakurei, shrine maiden and the closest thing Gensokyo has to a sheriff."
"It's a real honour to finally meet you, Miss Hakurei. I've heard a lot about your many adventures from Merry over here!"
The young woman that was sitting across the table from Reimu wasn't very impressive by any stretch of the imagination. Her chestnut brown hair, chocolate eyes, fair complexion and soft features many have made her stand out elsewhere, but compared to some of the beauties of Gensokyo, she seemed more homely than anything else.
Her clothing, a simple long sleeved blouse, long black skirt and red neck tie, were positively mundane compared to the outrageous clothing worn by Gensokyo's personalities. The only thing that really jumped out was the dark bowler hat, adored with a simple white ribbon, that sat atop the woman's neat chestnut brown hair.
As far as Reimu could tell, Renko Usami was the textbook definition of 'normal'.
Reimu Hakurei kept her opinions to herself though. It wouldn't be polite to criticize the poor outsider for not measuring up to the standards of her home. If anything, Reimu pitied the poor girl: another poor soul who somehow fell into the Eastern Wonderland from the outside, and who caught the attention of Yukari Yakumo, the powerful Mistress of Borders, of all people.
Outsiders being trapped in Gensokyo might have been an uncommon sight, but they did happen from time to time. However, an outsider who managed to have the Youkai of Borders, who was sitting between Reimu and Renko at that very moment, become her patron was a rare thing indeed.
In that respect, Renko Usami wasn't so normal after all, but whether that was a good thing or bad thing Reimu had yet to decide.
"Please, call me Reimu. Everyone does," Reimu smiled warmly at Rekno, keeping her reservations at Yukari's involvement to herself, "I'm just grateful that you're alright. So many outsiders fall into Gensokyo and run afoul of something nasty before anyone can help them."
"So Merry tells me! It's a good thing I ended up in her mansion then, didn't I? I probably would have been so excited if some strange creature came up to me I would have forgotten to defend myself!" Renko laughed nonchalantly, as if the thought of running into a flesh eating youkai didn't scare her at all! Reimu couldn't help but turn to Yukari with a questioning glance.
That was not the normal reaction any old human would have to the thought of being placed in a life threatening situation.
"Renko is an academic from the outside world," Yukari explained with that damnable, all knowing smile plastered over her face, "Interestingly enough, she is quite keen on the occult."
"Gensokyo in particular is one of my favourite topics," Renko declared proudly, "You have no idea how long I've waited to see this place after all the stories I've heard!"
"I wasn't aware Gensokyo was known to the outside world," Reimu said.
"It isn't. Why do you think I'm so excited to be here?"
As it turned out Renko, a professor from some university Reimu had never heard of before, had a hobby of looking into the occult and the supernatural in general.
Unlike many other so called experts of hobbyists, Renko had made the realisation that many of the supernatural creatures she so loved had retreated somewhere for a reason she couldn't discern. This epiphany had allowed her to trace the path of these creatures, though rumours, legends and heresy, to one location…
Gensokyo.
"You have no idea how much I've looked forward to finally be inside the Hakurei Border," Renko finished her explanation, "I know it must seem crazy to you that I'd risk my life to get in here, but it's been my life's passion to go interesting places, see interesting things and meet interesting people."
"Fair enough," Reimu said, "But you must know how dangerous this place is. Even with the spell card rules in place, there are still plenty of feral youkai that could hurt you."
"That's why I brought her to you, Reimu!" Yukari clapped her hands happily, the smile on the youkai's face so bright that Reimu couldn't help but feel a lump form in her stomach.
Damn-it, Yukari… what was she up to now?
"I want you to be a tour guide for Renko over here," Yukari explained cheerfully, "You've been everywhere in Gensokyo at some point or the other, and everyone knows you. You could help show Renko around and introduce her to all your friends!"
"What." Reimu said.
"Basically, she's asking you to show me about and keep her out of trouble while I sightsee. Maybe even help me meet some of the big wigs," Renko agreed all readily.
Reimu immediately knew this was a bad idea.
Gensokyo may be at relative peace, but it didn't mean that it was peaceful. It was a land where very powerful beings, all with equally powerful and eccentric personalities, lived in very close proximity to each other. Even when left alone to their own devices, their 'day to day lives' could be quite 'interesting' and Reimu who was one such person herself, knew this all too well.
Her displeasure at their request must have been evident on her face, because Renko quickly spoke up to allay her fears.
"It's only going to be for a little while! You won't have to play babysitter for me very long," Renko hastily explained, "Believe it or not, I actually do have work elsewhere and will need to get moving in about three weeks or so. Merry's even made arrangements to see me out safely. It'll be fine!"
"Merry?"
"She means me," Yukari said, now with much less enthusiasm than before for some reason, "It's a nickname that she has for me. I'm surprised that you hadn't brought it up before, Reimu... the nickname I mean."
"It just slipped my mind," Reimu said, before quickly focusing on the matter at hand, "Look, Renko. I am not going to play 'tour guide' for you."
"Why not?" Yukari and Renko asked simultaneously.
Huh, freaky.
"Do you have any idea how much trouble this is going to be for me?" Reimu folded her arms and glared at the pair as she slowly went into detail as to why their idea was completely unworkable.
Knocking on doors like Renko wanted to was a recipe for trouble that Reimu didn't want to handle, especially if Reimu was to be guarding an ordinary human being who was acting like an out of control tourist at the same time. Even if she did end up doing just that, the effort would likely run Reimu ragged. Why would she ever want to give herself stress for no reason?
Furthermore, there was a more basic problem: the trip itself was unworkable.
Getting into some places, like the Tengu village or Higan, would be nearly impossible even for the Hakurei shrine maiden. There were procedures, rules and guidelines involved that could send Reimu's heads spinning. Worse, she could just buck those rules like she normally did: those actually existed for a reason, and disobeying them would have consequences.
Getting into other places would be comparatively easier, but fraught with peril. Remi's mansion and Old Hell might readily take Renko as a visitor, but the things that happened at these places on a regular basis meant that they were definitely not locales a fragile human like Renko should visit. Then there were the places which had other… dangers… that could leave Renko completely traumatised.
Simply put, it was far more trouble for Reimu than it was worth her time to deal with.
"So that's that. I am not going to be your tour guide," Reimu said firmly once she had finished her triade, "You're friends with 'Merry'. Get her to do it."
"I guess I'll have to go around on my own then." Whereas the resigned sigh Reimu's rejection elicited from Renko was expected, the reaction from Yukari wasn't anything Reimu expected, at all.
"I can't, Reimu. As much as I want to do it myself, I have too high a profile to accompany her. I'm also not welcome in many places. That's why we came to you," Yukari explained, "Please, Reimu. I need your help. Just this one time: please."
It took Reimu a few moments for her to realize that Yukari was doing something she had only rarely seen the youkai do before… be completely honest. It was clear that, Yukari actually wanted to show Renko around herself but her personal circumstances prevented her from doing so.
For some reason that the two hadn't yet revealed, Yukari wanted Renko to experience Gensokyo. The sheer honestly in Yukari's eyes was so profound, it almost swayed Reimu on the spot due to the sheer unnaturalness of the situation.
However Reimu quickly caught herself.
No, if she accepted now Reimu would be picking up a crap load of trouble that she really didn't need. No matter that Yukari was being completely honest with Reimu, to the point 'please' was actually used. Babysitting a tourist was a recipe for trouble that Reimu most certainly did not need!
No way, no chance, no…
"I am of course willing to donate a sum of at least 10,000,000 yen to the shrine for your trouble. Tour guides are expected to be paid after all."
"I'LL DO IT!"
-=-
What followed was a quick discussion of what Renko's holiday was supposed to entail. Much to Reimu's initial chagrin, the outsider would be lodging with her instead of Yukari. This was mostly due in part to Renko wishing to get the 'Full Gensokyo Experience'.
However Reimu's annoyance at having to put up with the outsider was quickly alleviated when Yukari revealed than Ran, a most excellent house servant (considering Yukari's living habits, Ran had to be), would be helping tend to Reimu's shrine for the duration of Renko's stay.
This was necessary, as Renko's tour would definitely take Reimu away from her shrine. She would be gone for days at a time when visiting some of the more out of the way locales. While the journey between her shrine and, say, the human village or the Moriya Shrine wouldn't take more than a few hours, the two of them were definitely going to need lodging when visiting Old Hell.
Thankfully, this wouldn't be eating into her 10,000,000 yen paycheque: Yukari was willing to cover those expenses.
As the discussions progressed, it struck Reimu as very weird on how much time, money and effort Yukari was spending on this supposedly random outsider… so much so that Reimu was beginning to suspect Renko wasn't just any ordinary person after all.
-=-
"Now that we've settled all the details, I'm just going to hop back to your place to pick up my stuff." Renko declared.
"Ask Ran to help you. It'll be faster that way." Yukari offered as she opened a gap for Renko, "
"Thanks, Merry. You're too kind!" With those parting words Renko stepped into the gap Yukari opened for her, presumably leading to Yukari's mansion. It soon closed, leaving Yukari and Reimu alone in private for the time being.
Naturally, once Renko was out of earshot, Reimu wasted no time in confronting Yukari with her suspicions.
"Merry?" Reimu asked with a raised eyebrow.
"An old nickname she has for me," Yukari gave a weary sigh, "It's not something anyone here is going to understand."
"Why do I get the sense she isn't just any random girl who fell through the border?"
"What gave it away?" Yukari let out a tired sigh.
"What didn't give it away?" Reimu rolled her eyes sarcastically.
Really, Yukari couldn't have been more obvious just now. The youkai of borders was famous for her sedentary nature, and never exerted herself more than she absolutely had to.
However Yukari was practically bending over backwards to accommodate Renko, even shelling out a small fortune for the outsider's benefit.
Combined with the pet name, Reimu would have to be blind to not realize that something was amiss about Renko Usami.
"Wait, you didn't abduct her from the outside did you?" Reimu's eyes narrowed in suspicion, "I mean, she was looking for this place before, so…"
"No, no, no, no! I didn't abduct Renko," Yukari quickly said, "She found her way in here all on her own. Renko suddenly appeared on our dining table during dinner a few days ago without warning. Gave Ran and Chen a big scare when it happened! That part is true. Renko is the last person I expected to see in Gensokyo!"
"…you know her," Reimu observed, "Who is she?"
Yukari went uncharacteristically silent, clearly thinking about how best to answer this simple question. The internal conflict raging within the ancient youkai's was very apparent to Reimu.
Considering how old and how wise Yukari really was, whatever had managed to unsettle the millennia old being this much was definitely cause for concern.
"A friend. A very, very dear friend of mine who I never expected to see again," Yukari finally spoke after a short period of silence, "Reimu, you must have guessed by now that I didn't bring Renko here purely to ask for your help in taking her around."
"That was pretty obvious," Reimu shrugged. Besides, Reimu knew Yukari well enough to know that nothing she ever did was ever so straightforward. "So what did you bring her here for, really?"
"Renko plans on leaving in three weeks. That part is true. The part that we lied about is that I'm not the one showing her out. She is fully capable of leaving on her own, and there isn't anything I can do to stop her," Yukari revealed carefully, "Believe me, I've tried. Sut she won't listen and I don't want to use force to stop her. I… don't want her to leave."
That caught Reimu's attention.
Yukari was easily one of the most powerful individuals in Gensokyo. There were very few who wouldn't be able to resist her will. For Yukari to all but admit that Renko was capable of defying her will had all sorts in implications that raised plenty of red flags that Reimu couldn't ignore.
"I can't stop her from leaving Reimu. Not even by force, if it came to that. That's why I came to you," Yukari looked at Reimu with pleading eyes, "Don't tell her I asked you to do this for me, but can you please help me give Renko a reason to migrate to Gensokyo from where she normally lives?"
"What do you mean by that? What do you expect me to do?"
"Introduce her to people, try and have her make some friends, show her why this might be a nice place to actually settle down in and not just visit… that sort of thing," Yukari elaborated, "Give her a reason to stay so that in three months' time the only reason she'll leave Gensokyo is so that she will be arranging for someone to move her belongings in here. Make Renko want to make Gensokyo her home."
"This is… a very strange request, Yukari."
Why would Yukari want Renko to stay in Gensokyo? How did the two of them know each other? If the two of them were friends and Yukari wanted Renko to be about, why wasn't Yukari's wish enough to sway her? More than that, how was Renko able to defy Yukari, a thousand year old youkai of immense power, in the first place?
Who was Renko Usami anyway?
Such questions whirled around in Reimu's head as she slowly grasped the mystery she had been presented with. However, with all that had happened Reimu didn't even know where to begin.
"Please Reimu, you know I never ask for favours," Yukari whispered, "But today I am asking. Please Reimu, just this once. Please."
Reimu mulled over what the youkai had just asked of her.
The situation had changed.
This wasn't just showing around a powerless human anymore. No, if what Reimu was reading between the lines was true, Renko was far from powerless. The problem now was convincing someone who could give Yukari pause to make Gensokyo her home, potentially opening up a whole can of worms Reimu was wary of thinking about.
Things had become infinitely more complicated, but one thing stuck out more than anything else, something Reimu could not ignore no matter how much she wanted to.
Yukari Yakumo was asking.
For all the mischief Yukari was capable of, despite the fact she was one of the most enigmatic, inhuman and mysterious youkai in existence… it didn't change the fact that one of the most selfless individuals Reimu knew was asking a rare, selfish favour.
For as much as people believe Yukari to be the most 'youkai-like' of the youkai, Reimu was one of the people who knew that, beneath the layers of enigma Yukari wrapped herself in, Yukari was a person who truly loved Gensokyo and would do anything for it and it's people.
Reimu would have to be a really heartless person to turn this request down.
"Fine I'll do it. Just one last thing. She isn't human, is she?" Reimu said, "If she managed to get through the barrier and can leave on her own, she has to be something else. Something powerful."
"She is human… but she is also more than human. Something powerful? You have no idea," Yukari gave a sly, knowing smile at those cryptic words, "But if she chooses to stay, I guarantee she'll bring more stability to Gensokyo. Renko has some very unique skills I think will help us out a lot."
"All the more reason for me to find a way to get her to stick around, I assume?"
"Now you're getting it!" Yukari giggled. It seemed that Reimu's agreement seemed to have lifted Yukari's spirits to the point she was beginning to look more and more like her usual self again. "Renko may advertise herself as an academic, but from what I understand she's something of a problem solver and peacekeeper in her current home. I'm sure she'll make our lives a bit easier if she decides to set up shop somewhere."
Reimu could spot a flat out lie when she saw one. Yukari wanted Renko to stick around for personal reasons.
What those reasons where, Reimu couldn't begin to guess.
-=-
"You know that Yukari-sama is probably trying to convince Reimu to help her try and get you to stay, right now."
"I know Merry is trying to convince Reimu to go along with her schemes," Renko chuckled as she emptied the guestroom wardrobe of her effects into a small four wheeled suitcase open on the floor, "It's nice to know she wants me to stick around so much, but I'm not going to change my mind."
"Why not?" Ran asked curiously, "You two are friends, aren't you? The way the two of you talk with each other, you must have been very close."
"That was a lifetime ago… literally. Things change, and so do people," Renko said, "She has her own thing, and I have mine."
"Didn't you say that you spent seven hundred years dreaming about this place. Now that you've actually found it you're going to just leave after taking a look around?" Ran pointed out quizzically, "If you've quested for Gensokyo for so long, why leave when you've just found it? Even if you have business elsewhere, maybe you could set up a holiday home here and make this a place where you can come back to."
"Nice idea, but I'll have a pass on that one. Someone like me attracts trouble. Gensokyo is peaceful, at least compared to some of the places I've been to. It doesn't need me hanging around attracting the wrong sort of attention. I don't want Merry to have problems from my enemies."
"I thought you said you got rid of those enemies of yours."
"I wish. Those guys are hardier than roaches. Besides, I need to go back. I have something that I really need to look into. A lot of good people might get hurt if I don't," Renko sighed, "Look, Ran. I appreciate what you're trying to do for Merry. I know she's excited to see me after all these years, but we aren't kids anymore. I have things to do, things that no one else can do, and three weeks really is all that I can spare."
"So you're just sticking around looking enough to be a tourist?" Ran said defeated.
"That's the plan," Renko chuckled, "I've dreamed of being here for so long, it'd be criminal not to have a look around while I'm here. If even half of what I've read about this place is true, Gensokyo is still even wackier than the wackiest place I've been to in Creation, and that's saying something considering where I live!"
"And Reimu finding a reason for you to stick around?"
"Not going to happen Ran," Renko chuckled, completely dismissing the idea as an impossibility, "There are many miracles in the universe, but trying to talk an Descending Sun out of doing something she's set her mind to is most definitely not one of them!"
-=-
THE TOURIST
An Exalted/Touhou Crossover
By sasahara17
-Chapter 1, a Descending Sun goes on vacation-
-=-
Thanks to Yukari's gaps, it didn't take very long for Renko to retrieve her effects and get settled down in the Hakurei shrine. This was helped by the fact that, as the shine often had to play host to her various guests who liked to stay over after a night of partying, Reimu had always kept at least one extra futon and pillow on hand in case any of her friends were unable to make the trip back.
With Suika out on a bar crawl visiting her old friend Yuugi and old Genma the tortoise already asleep, this left Renko and Reimu alone in her living room after having a modest dinner. While Reimu quietly was warming herself using the kotatsu, Renko was flipping through a copy of the Gensokyo Chronicle, with a highlighter, a ballpoint pen and something called 'post it notes' close at hand as she made all sorts of annotations in it.
"Yuuka Kazami, a youkai of flowers. Threat level… very high?" Renko said as she seemed to squint at the words before scribbling down something on the page, "Well, I guess I'd have to be careful when I go down to this 'Garden of the Sun' of hers. I don't want to piss this chick off."
"Kazami isn't as bad as her reputation would suggest you know." Reimu spoke out.
In Reimu's opinion, Renko using that particular book was a mistake. For one, the damn thing had managed to get Reimu completely wrong by calling her lazy, easy going and lacking in any sense of danger. While some of it (okay, a lot of it) may be true, it was a rather unflattering entry that Reimu wished Akyuu would revise.
Moreover the entry completely discounted the fact that nearly all her friends were youkai, and instead seemed to paint a picture of Reimu as an uncompromising youkai exterminating machine that stomped down one everyone who looked at her way funny.
Still, there weren't many other written, commercially available records about Gensokyo. For all of Akyuu's 'slight inaccuracies', it was still a fairly good introduction into the Eastern Wonderland, especially if one were an ordinary human who wasn't aware of where the dangers were.
However, if Yukari hints were correct, Renko wasn't an ordinary human. Not by a long shot.
"Hm, sorta guessed that," Renko said with a frown as she continued scribbling in the margins, "Eyewitness accounts here seem to say she never initiates combat on her own unless provoked. Scary powerful, but only if you actually start a fight. Probably just wants to be left alone now that she's old. Reminds me of a couple of people I know."
"Really? You know a few people like this?" Reimu asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Lady named Lillith, for one. Leave her alone, she won't make a fuss. Piss her off, kiss your ass goodbye. Arianna's sorta gone down that part as well, although she's more 'cranky old cat lady' than hermit in my opinion," Renko shrugged before flipping the page and deepening her frown, "Okay, now I know this 'Gensokyo Chronicle' has some serious problems. Merry's entry is f'ed up the b."
"Merry? You don't mean Yukari do you?" Reimu had to find out how that nickname had come about. Yukari didn't look like a 'Merry' at all. There must be story behind that one.
"Yeah, sorry. That's the name she was going by when I first met her on the outside world and it kinda stuck," Renko said as she started sticking post it notes on the pages, before her eyes widened when she came to the bit about Yukari's powers, "Holy geez! Can Merry, I mean Yukari, really do all this with her powers?"
"Sort of," Reimu replied, "As long as she can picture a boundary and understand it, she can manipulate it. At least that's my understanding of it."
That wasn't actually true though. Yukari had confided in Reimu that her power did have its limits, especially when using it on conceptual boundaries that physically did not exist. That was part of the reason Yukari was tired so much, after all. Yukari hadn't chosen to share that information with Renko yet there probably was a good reason for it.
"Whoa. Never figured she'd be able to do stuff like that," Renko whistled, "Damn. Merry has manipulation of reality on a conceptual level? That's a broken ability if I ever saw one."
"Renko, a personal question if I may."
"Sure, shoot." The academic said without looking up from her book.
"What exactly do you do in the outside world?" Reimu asked with all seriousness, "Yukari said you were a scholar of some sort, but she never went into any detail about it."
Actually, what Reimu wanted to really ask was 'who are you really'. However, Renko had been quite evasive whenever the subject came up… no, not evasive: Playful. Yukari's friend appeared to share her mischievous streak in that she deliberately dropped tantalizing hints about being more than just some random professor, in passing, before deliberately changing the subject.
For example, when she talked about Yuuka, Renko actually deduced what the old Youkai was actually like and even made a direct comparison with some other figure she'd known. Better yet, Renko wasn't trying to hide it.
It appeared that Renko was playing a game with Reimu, trying to see how long it would take the shrine to piece together the puzzle she was setting up for her.
Damn, she was just like Yukari.
No wonder why the two of them were friends.
Bookmarking her page using a white ribbon she'd pulled from somewhere and setting it to the side, Renko turned to Reimu with a reassuring smile, "Well, if you must know I used to be the Professor of Physics at the Lookshy Institute of Technology before I gave up teaching and well full time into academic research. Hell, I helped establish the place."
"Lookshy? Never heard of it."
"There are other places outside Japan, you know. Like the Americas and Europe for instance. Gensokyo's like Lichtenstein or the Vatican City. Iddy bitty state inside a bigger country," Renko said with a shrug, "Really big world outside these borders."
Reimu had no idea where Litchenstein or the Vatican City were, but she got the gist of what Renko was trying to say. She'd check with Sanae or Mamizou to figure that out later. Regardless, 'Institute of Technology' sounded impressive.
"So you used to teach?"
"Yep. Theoretical Physics. Pretty high level material."
Damn. Reimu didn't know much about this sort of science stuff, being a shrine maiden and all. So much for that line of questioning.
"So why'd you stop? Did you get tired of it or something?"
"To be honest? I stopped because a friend of mine, Wind, he's a… judge, discovered a big problem and needed my help looking into it. Like, really big problem that affects a whole lot of people that I know. That's why I quit my teaching job and went into full time research."
"What sort of problem would a judge need a physicist for?" Reimu wondered. Reimu was actually acquainted with a judge herself, Shikeiki Yamaxanadu, and knew what the celestial judge's job entailed. She couldn't imagine what a judge would need a professor for, much less that the professor had to quit her teaching job over it.
"A big one," Renko admitted sadly, "and this one I'm really not at liberty to say. Admiral Sand, another friend who is also working on the same problem, decided that everyone who was working on the solution needed to be discreet. We're not sworn to secrecy or anything, but we're trying to keep it on a need to know basis."
Admiral? A military rank? Renko knew an Adimral? Reimu resisted the urge to sign. Oh, this rabbit hole kept getting deeper and deeper didn't it?
"Sounds pretty serious."
"It is. There's a lot riding on my research. Like, an entire country could be affected by what happens," Renko admitted, "That's why I do need to get out of here in three weeks. This is the kind of thing that I can't let lie."
It was becoming pretty clear to Reimu that Renko wasn't just an ordinary teacher, but was a person of some importance from where she was from. More than that, Renko actually was working on something really important with a group equally talented individuals, all from a variety of fields, before she had arrived in Gensokyo… which meant that the professor actually had a very real reason for wanting to go back to wherever she came from.
The prospects about convincing Renko to stick around were getting even slimmer.
Damnit Yukari. Why'd she have to have Reimu do this impossible favour instead of something simpler, like cooking a meal or something?
-=-
As it turned out, Renko had been quite tried after the day's events, and following their conversation, the travelling ex-professor had retired to her room before the night had gotten really late. Seeing as how the tour would officially begin tomorrow, Reimu decided an early night was in order and soon went to sleep herself.
Despite all the lingering questions about her mysterious guest and the enormity of the task Reimu had unwittingly undertaken, she nevertheless had a pleasant night's sleep.
The following morning though… now that carried its own problems.
"I think I want to see the Scarlet Devil Mansion first."
Reimu choked on her breakfast, a bowl of plain rice, when Renko had offhandedly said this outrageous statement aloud. "There are a whole bunch of places that I want to visit, but that library is too big a draw for the academic in me to pass up."
"The Scarlet Devil Mansion?" Reimu, coughed, hoping she had misheard the former professor.
She didn't.
"Yeah, that's what I said," Renko confirmed with such whimsical tone, like she hadn't just declared that the very first place she wanted to visit was the home of one of the most powerful vampires in the world, "The Scarlet Devil Mansion. I want to see the library."
Granted Reimu knew she would have to being Renko there at some point, but the shrine maiden had been hoping the tourist would have been able to give her some practice first at a 'safer' location before jumping headlong into the really dangerous sights.
This was her first time doing this sort of thing, damn it!
"What about the Human Village?' Reimu suggested hopefully, "It has the largest concentration of humans in Gensokyo and is also home to Hieda no Akyuu. You know, the person who wrote the Gensokyo Chronicle…"
"Eh, pass. Feudal age farming village. Seen one of them, seen them all," Renko shrugged offhandedly before looking at Reimu with an excited smile, "Won't bother with going down there unless I absolutely have to, not with all the other places I could visit!"
"Other places?" Reimu asked hesitantly, already dreading the answer.
"I made a list last night. Here you go." Renko reached over to her belt and unclipped the small, well-worn and well used pocketbook, likely a journal, which she was keeping in a hip mounted pouch. She then handed it to Reimu at the appropriate page.
Reimu took one look at what was written on the page and felt her heart skip a beat.
Renko had gone through her copy of the Gensokyo Chronicle and, from there, made a note of every single place and person of interest in her journal she would like to visit over the course of the three weeks. This wouldn't be so much of a problem if Renko's wish list couldn't also have doubled as a list of the most dangerous, inhospitable and downright in assessable places in all of Gensokyo.
Some, like the Scarlet Devil Mansion and the Youkai Mountain, were populated by dangerous youkai who were extremely powerful and extremely vicious if given reason to become violent. A fight could very well break out if they weren't careful.
Others, like Hakugyokurou and Higan, were normally inaccessible to living humans, and for good reason. While Reimu could get in because of her status as the Hakurei shrine maiden, the headache of clearing Renko wasn't something we was looking forward to.
And then there were utterly ridiculous locations no one in their right mind would want to visit, like 'the Underground Nuclear Reactor'.
While there were a few tourist friendly locations like the Myoren temple or Eientei, it was very easy to see how this could become a colossal headache for the poor shrine maiden. Yukari had hinted that Renko was more than she seemed, but Reimu couldn't help shake the feeling that this was a disaster, or worse a full blown incident, just waiting to happen.
"So, what do you think?" Renko asked.
"These are some of the more… interesting locations in Gensokyo, all right," Reimu commented on as she closed the book and handed it back to Renko, who placed it back on its pouch.
While Reimu wanted to reach over to Renko and slap the older girl upside the head to bring some sense into that idiot, Reimu had both been asked by Yukari to show Renko a good time and also had been paid a very large sum of money to do this. As much as it annoyed Reimu, and also made the shrine maiden worry that her future was going to be a pretty stressful one, she couldn't do more than try and talk Renko out of it. This was a paying job after all.
"Are you sure you want to visit all those places? Some of them are pretty dangerous or hard to get in to, you know," Reimu pointed out, "Higan in particular will give us a lot of problems. Living people aren't supposed to be there. I don't think just asking Komachi a favour is going to cut it."
"A celestial bureaucrats and their red tape…" Renko chuckled, seemingly lost in a memory, "Anyway, I don't think this is as big a problem as you're making it out to be. Besides, this is what I have you here for, don't I? Smooth over all the bumps and hiccups to make sure I can enjoy myself, right miss tour guide?"
"You do know tour guides are supposed to be the ones setting up the tour route right?"
"Who is the one paying you again? If I so recall, this is a private tour so I expect to get my money's worth, or Yukari's money as the case may be," Renko grinned as she leaned back, "Seriously though. Don't worry about it too much, Reimu. Just leave it on the list. No harm trying to go there. If we get in, we get it. If we don't, we don't. Cross that bridge when we come to it, okay?"
Reimu swore quietly that the next time Yukari paid her to do something like this, she was going to double her rates. "Fine, but just be aware that some of these places are inaccessible for a reason."
"Well, we shall see about that, won't we?" Renko grinned. "I've been waiting for this my whole life, and I'm not about to let some paper pushing square stop me from seeing the sights and meeting the people."
Reimu pretty much gave up trying to convince Renko at this point.
The traveller was dead set in her wish to see every one of the locations she'd put down in her journal, and there wasn't anything Reimu could do to convince her otherwise. Come hell or high water, Reimu was going to have to show Renko every location on this list and hope they didn't cause an incident while they were at it.
With this foreboding in mind, the pair soon finished up their meals and were soon on their way to their first destination… the Scarlet Devil Mansion, manse of the Scarlett household.
Well it could be worse. At least Remilia was a friend, and Renko just wanted to see the library. What could horribly go wrong with a plan like that…
…
…Hopefully Reimu hadn't just jinxed herself.
-=-
TBC…
-=-
Still moving through the stuff, albeit very slowly.
Please let me know if there are any mistakes I missed.
Cheers!
-=-
"Reimu this is Renko Usami. She's a friend of mine who popped in for a visit. Renko, this is Reimu Hakurei, shrine maiden and the closest thing Gensokyo has to a sheriff."
"It's a real honour to finally meet you, Miss Hakurei. I've heard a lot about your many adventures from Merry over here!"
The young woman that was sitting across the table from Reimu wasn't very impressive by any stretch of the imagination. Her chestnut brown hair, chocolate eyes, fair complexion and soft features many have made her stand out elsewhere, but compared to some of the beauties of Gensokyo, she seemed more homely than anything else.
Her clothing, a simple long sleeved blouse, long black skirt and red neck tie, were positively mundane compared to the outrageous clothing worn by Gensokyo's personalities. The only thing that really jumped out was the dark bowler hat, adored with a simple white ribbon, that sat atop the woman's neat chestnut brown hair.
As far as Reimu could tell, Renko Usami was the textbook definition of 'normal'.
Reimu Hakurei kept her opinions to herself though. It wouldn't be polite to criticize the poor outsider for not measuring up to the standards of her home. If anything, Reimu pitied the poor girl: another poor soul who somehow fell into the Eastern Wonderland from the outside, and who caught the attention of Yukari Yakumo, the powerful Mistress of Borders, of all people.
Outsiders being trapped in Gensokyo might have been an uncommon sight, but they did happen from time to time. However, an outsider who managed to have the Youkai of Borders, who was sitting between Reimu and Renko at that very moment, become her patron was a rare thing indeed.
In that respect, Renko Usami wasn't so normal after all, but whether that was a good thing or bad thing Reimu had yet to decide.
"Please, call me Reimu. Everyone does," Reimu smiled warmly at Rekno, keeping her reservations at Yukari's involvement to herself, "I'm just grateful that you're alright. So many outsiders fall into Gensokyo and run afoul of something nasty before anyone can help them."
"So Merry tells me! It's a good thing I ended up in her mansion then, didn't I? I probably would have been so excited if some strange creature came up to me I would have forgotten to defend myself!" Renko laughed nonchalantly, as if the thought of running into a flesh eating youkai didn't scare her at all! Reimu couldn't help but turn to Yukari with a questioning glance.
That was not the normal reaction any old human would have to the thought of being placed in a life threatening situation.
"Renko is an academic from the outside world," Yukari explained with that damnable, all knowing smile plastered over her face, "Interestingly enough, she is quite keen on the occult."
"Gensokyo in particular is one of my favourite topics," Renko declared proudly, "You have no idea how long I've waited to see this place after all the stories I've heard!"
"I wasn't aware Gensokyo was known to the outside world," Reimu said.
"It isn't. Why do you think I'm so excited to be here?"
As it turned out Renko, a professor from some university Reimu had never heard of before, had a hobby of looking into the occult and the supernatural in general.
Unlike many other so called experts of hobbyists, Renko had made the realisation that many of the supernatural creatures she so loved had retreated somewhere for a reason she couldn't discern. This epiphany had allowed her to trace the path of these creatures, though rumours, legends and heresy, to one location…
Gensokyo.
"You have no idea how much I've looked forward to finally be inside the Hakurei Border," Renko finished her explanation, "I know it must seem crazy to you that I'd risk my life to get in here, but it's been my life's passion to go interesting places, see interesting things and meet interesting people."
"Fair enough," Reimu said, "But you must know how dangerous this place is. Even with the spell card rules in place, there are still plenty of feral youkai that could hurt you."
"That's why I brought her to you, Reimu!" Yukari clapped her hands happily, the smile on the youkai's face so bright that Reimu couldn't help but feel a lump form in her stomach.
Damn-it, Yukari… what was she up to now?
"I want you to be a tour guide for Renko over here," Yukari explained cheerfully, "You've been everywhere in Gensokyo at some point or the other, and everyone knows you. You could help show Renko around and introduce her to all your friends!"
"What." Reimu said.
"Basically, she's asking you to show me about and keep her out of trouble while I sightsee. Maybe even help me meet some of the big wigs," Renko agreed all readily.
Reimu immediately knew this was a bad idea.
Gensokyo may be at relative peace, but it didn't mean that it was peaceful. It was a land where very powerful beings, all with equally powerful and eccentric personalities, lived in very close proximity to each other. Even when left alone to their own devices, their 'day to day lives' could be quite 'interesting' and Reimu who was one such person herself, knew this all too well.
Her displeasure at their request must have been evident on her face, because Renko quickly spoke up to allay her fears.
"It's only going to be for a little while! You won't have to play babysitter for me very long," Renko hastily explained, "Believe it or not, I actually do have work elsewhere and will need to get moving in about three weeks or so. Merry's even made arrangements to see me out safely. It'll be fine!"
"Merry?"
"She means me," Yukari said, now with much less enthusiasm than before for some reason, "It's a nickname that she has for me. I'm surprised that you hadn't brought it up before, Reimu... the nickname I mean."
"It just slipped my mind," Reimu said, before quickly focusing on the matter at hand, "Look, Renko. I am not going to play 'tour guide' for you."
"Why not?" Yukari and Renko asked simultaneously.
Huh, freaky.
"Do you have any idea how much trouble this is going to be for me?" Reimu folded her arms and glared at the pair as she slowly went into detail as to why their idea was completely unworkable.
Knocking on doors like Renko wanted to was a recipe for trouble that Reimu didn't want to handle, especially if Reimu was to be guarding an ordinary human being who was acting like an out of control tourist at the same time. Even if she did end up doing just that, the effort would likely run Reimu ragged. Why would she ever want to give herself stress for no reason?
Furthermore, there was a more basic problem: the trip itself was unworkable.
Getting into some places, like the Tengu village or Higan, would be nearly impossible even for the Hakurei shrine maiden. There were procedures, rules and guidelines involved that could send Reimu's heads spinning. Worse, she could just buck those rules like she normally did: those actually existed for a reason, and disobeying them would have consequences.
Getting into other places would be comparatively easier, but fraught with peril. Remi's mansion and Old Hell might readily take Renko as a visitor, but the things that happened at these places on a regular basis meant that they were definitely not locales a fragile human like Renko should visit. Then there were the places which had other… dangers… that could leave Renko completely traumatised.
Simply put, it was far more trouble for Reimu than it was worth her time to deal with.
"So that's that. I am not going to be your tour guide," Reimu said firmly once she had finished her triade, "You're friends with 'Merry'. Get her to do it."
"I guess I'll have to go around on my own then." Whereas the resigned sigh Reimu's rejection elicited from Renko was expected, the reaction from Yukari wasn't anything Reimu expected, at all.
"I can't, Reimu. As much as I want to do it myself, I have too high a profile to accompany her. I'm also not welcome in many places. That's why we came to you," Yukari explained, "Please, Reimu. I need your help. Just this one time: please."
It took Reimu a few moments for her to realize that Yukari was doing something she had only rarely seen the youkai do before… be completely honest. It was clear that, Yukari actually wanted to show Renko around herself but her personal circumstances prevented her from doing so.
For some reason that the two hadn't yet revealed, Yukari wanted Renko to experience Gensokyo. The sheer honestly in Yukari's eyes was so profound, it almost swayed Reimu on the spot due to the sheer unnaturalness of the situation.
However Reimu quickly caught herself.
No, if she accepted now Reimu would be picking up a crap load of trouble that she really didn't need. No matter that Yukari was being completely honest with Reimu, to the point 'please' was actually used. Babysitting a tourist was a recipe for trouble that Reimu most certainly did not need!
No way, no chance, no…
"I am of course willing to donate a sum of at least 10,000,000 yen to the shrine for your trouble. Tour guides are expected to be paid after all."
"I'LL DO IT!"
-=-
What followed was a quick discussion of what Renko's holiday was supposed to entail. Much to Reimu's initial chagrin, the outsider would be lodging with her instead of Yukari. This was mostly due in part to Renko wishing to get the 'Full Gensokyo Experience'.
However Reimu's annoyance at having to put up with the outsider was quickly alleviated when Yukari revealed than Ran, a most excellent house servant (considering Yukari's living habits, Ran had to be), would be helping tend to Reimu's shrine for the duration of Renko's stay.
This was necessary, as Renko's tour would definitely take Reimu away from her shrine. She would be gone for days at a time when visiting some of the more out of the way locales. While the journey between her shrine and, say, the human village or the Moriya Shrine wouldn't take more than a few hours, the two of them were definitely going to need lodging when visiting Old Hell.
Thankfully, this wouldn't be eating into her 10,000,000 yen paycheque: Yukari was willing to cover those expenses.
As the discussions progressed, it struck Reimu as very weird on how much time, money and effort Yukari was spending on this supposedly random outsider… so much so that Reimu was beginning to suspect Renko wasn't just any ordinary person after all.
-=-
"Now that we've settled all the details, I'm just going to hop back to your place to pick up my stuff." Renko declared.
"Ask Ran to help you. It'll be faster that way." Yukari offered as she opened a gap for Renko, "
"Thanks, Merry. You're too kind!" With those parting words Renko stepped into the gap Yukari opened for her, presumably leading to Yukari's mansion. It soon closed, leaving Yukari and Reimu alone in private for the time being.
Naturally, once Renko was out of earshot, Reimu wasted no time in confronting Yukari with her suspicions.
"Merry?" Reimu asked with a raised eyebrow.
"An old nickname she has for me," Yukari gave a weary sigh, "It's not something anyone here is going to understand."
"Why do I get the sense she isn't just any random girl who fell through the border?"
"What gave it away?" Yukari let out a tired sigh.
"What didn't give it away?" Reimu rolled her eyes sarcastically.
Really, Yukari couldn't have been more obvious just now. The youkai of borders was famous for her sedentary nature, and never exerted herself more than she absolutely had to.
However Yukari was practically bending over backwards to accommodate Renko, even shelling out a small fortune for the outsider's benefit.
Combined with the pet name, Reimu would have to be blind to not realize that something was amiss about Renko Usami.
"Wait, you didn't abduct her from the outside did you?" Reimu's eyes narrowed in suspicion, "I mean, she was looking for this place before, so…"
"No, no, no, no! I didn't abduct Renko," Yukari quickly said, "She found her way in here all on her own. Renko suddenly appeared on our dining table during dinner a few days ago without warning. Gave Ran and Chen a big scare when it happened! That part is true. Renko is the last person I expected to see in Gensokyo!"
"…you know her," Reimu observed, "Who is she?"
Yukari went uncharacteristically silent, clearly thinking about how best to answer this simple question. The internal conflict raging within the ancient youkai's was very apparent to Reimu.
Considering how old and how wise Yukari really was, whatever had managed to unsettle the millennia old being this much was definitely cause for concern.
"A friend. A very, very dear friend of mine who I never expected to see again," Yukari finally spoke after a short period of silence, "Reimu, you must have guessed by now that I didn't bring Renko here purely to ask for your help in taking her around."
"That was pretty obvious," Reimu shrugged. Besides, Reimu knew Yukari well enough to know that nothing she ever did was ever so straightforward. "So what did you bring her here for, really?"
"Renko plans on leaving in three weeks. That part is true. The part that we lied about is that I'm not the one showing her out. She is fully capable of leaving on her own, and there isn't anything I can do to stop her," Yukari revealed carefully, "Believe me, I've tried. Sut she won't listen and I don't want to use force to stop her. I… don't want her to leave."
That caught Reimu's attention.
Yukari was easily one of the most powerful individuals in Gensokyo. There were very few who wouldn't be able to resist her will. For Yukari to all but admit that Renko was capable of defying her will had all sorts in implications that raised plenty of red flags that Reimu couldn't ignore.
"I can't stop her from leaving Reimu. Not even by force, if it came to that. That's why I came to you," Yukari looked at Reimu with pleading eyes, "Don't tell her I asked you to do this for me, but can you please help me give Renko a reason to migrate to Gensokyo from where she normally lives?"
"What do you mean by that? What do you expect me to do?"
"Introduce her to people, try and have her make some friends, show her why this might be a nice place to actually settle down in and not just visit… that sort of thing," Yukari elaborated, "Give her a reason to stay so that in three months' time the only reason she'll leave Gensokyo is so that she will be arranging for someone to move her belongings in here. Make Renko want to make Gensokyo her home."
"This is… a very strange request, Yukari."
Why would Yukari want Renko to stay in Gensokyo? How did the two of them know each other? If the two of them were friends and Yukari wanted Renko to be about, why wasn't Yukari's wish enough to sway her? More than that, how was Renko able to defy Yukari, a thousand year old youkai of immense power, in the first place?
Who was Renko Usami anyway?
Such questions whirled around in Reimu's head as she slowly grasped the mystery she had been presented with. However, with all that had happened Reimu didn't even know where to begin.
"Please Reimu, you know I never ask for favours," Yukari whispered, "But today I am asking. Please Reimu, just this once. Please."
Reimu mulled over what the youkai had just asked of her.
The situation had changed.
This wasn't just showing around a powerless human anymore. No, if what Reimu was reading between the lines was true, Renko was far from powerless. The problem now was convincing someone who could give Yukari pause to make Gensokyo her home, potentially opening up a whole can of worms Reimu was wary of thinking about.
Things had become infinitely more complicated, but one thing stuck out more than anything else, something Reimu could not ignore no matter how much she wanted to.
Yukari Yakumo was asking.
For all the mischief Yukari was capable of, despite the fact she was one of the most enigmatic, inhuman and mysterious youkai in existence… it didn't change the fact that one of the most selfless individuals Reimu knew was asking a rare, selfish favour.
For as much as people believe Yukari to be the most 'youkai-like' of the youkai, Reimu was one of the people who knew that, beneath the layers of enigma Yukari wrapped herself in, Yukari was a person who truly loved Gensokyo and would do anything for it and it's people.
Reimu would have to be a really heartless person to turn this request down.
"Fine I'll do it. Just one last thing. She isn't human, is she?" Reimu said, "If she managed to get through the barrier and can leave on her own, she has to be something else. Something powerful."
"She is human… but she is also more than human. Something powerful? You have no idea," Yukari gave a sly, knowing smile at those cryptic words, "But if she chooses to stay, I guarantee she'll bring more stability to Gensokyo. Renko has some very unique skills I think will help us out a lot."
"All the more reason for me to find a way to get her to stick around, I assume?"
"Now you're getting it!" Yukari giggled. It seemed that Reimu's agreement seemed to have lifted Yukari's spirits to the point she was beginning to look more and more like her usual self again. "Renko may advertise herself as an academic, but from what I understand she's something of a problem solver and peacekeeper in her current home. I'm sure she'll make our lives a bit easier if she decides to set up shop somewhere."
Reimu could spot a flat out lie when she saw one. Yukari wanted Renko to stick around for personal reasons.
What those reasons where, Reimu couldn't begin to guess.
-=-
"You know that Yukari-sama is probably trying to convince Reimu to help her try and get you to stay, right now."
"I know Merry is trying to convince Reimu to go along with her schemes," Renko chuckled as she emptied the guestroom wardrobe of her effects into a small four wheeled suitcase open on the floor, "It's nice to know she wants me to stick around so much, but I'm not going to change my mind."
"Why not?" Ran asked curiously, "You two are friends, aren't you? The way the two of you talk with each other, you must have been very close."
"That was a lifetime ago… literally. Things change, and so do people," Renko said, "She has her own thing, and I have mine."
"Didn't you say that you spent seven hundred years dreaming about this place. Now that you've actually found it you're going to just leave after taking a look around?" Ran pointed out quizzically, "If you've quested for Gensokyo for so long, why leave when you've just found it? Even if you have business elsewhere, maybe you could set up a holiday home here and make this a place where you can come back to."
"Nice idea, but I'll have a pass on that one. Someone like me attracts trouble. Gensokyo is peaceful, at least compared to some of the places I've been to. It doesn't need me hanging around attracting the wrong sort of attention. I don't want Merry to have problems from my enemies."
"I thought you said you got rid of those enemies of yours."
"I wish. Those guys are hardier than roaches. Besides, I need to go back. I have something that I really need to look into. A lot of good people might get hurt if I don't," Renko sighed, "Look, Ran. I appreciate what you're trying to do for Merry. I know she's excited to see me after all these years, but we aren't kids anymore. I have things to do, things that no one else can do, and three weeks really is all that I can spare."
"So you're just sticking around looking enough to be a tourist?" Ran said defeated.
"That's the plan," Renko chuckled, "I've dreamed of being here for so long, it'd be criminal not to have a look around while I'm here. If even half of what I've read about this place is true, Gensokyo is still even wackier than the wackiest place I've been to in Creation, and that's saying something considering where I live!"
"And Reimu finding a reason for you to stick around?"
"Not going to happen Ran," Renko chuckled, completely dismissing the idea as an impossibility, "There are many miracles in the universe, but trying to talk an Descending Sun out of doing something she's set her mind to is most definitely not one of them!"
-=-
THE TOURIST
An Exalted/Touhou Crossover
By sasahara17
-Chapter 1, a Descending Sun goes on vacation-
-=-
Thanks to Yukari's gaps, it didn't take very long for Renko to retrieve her effects and get settled down in the Hakurei shrine. This was helped by the fact that, as the shine often had to play host to her various guests who liked to stay over after a night of partying, Reimu had always kept at least one extra futon and pillow on hand in case any of her friends were unable to make the trip back.
With Suika out on a bar crawl visiting her old friend Yuugi and old Genma the tortoise already asleep, this left Renko and Reimu alone in her living room after having a modest dinner. While Reimu quietly was warming herself using the kotatsu, Renko was flipping through a copy of the Gensokyo Chronicle, with a highlighter, a ballpoint pen and something called 'post it notes' close at hand as she made all sorts of annotations in it.
"Yuuka Kazami, a youkai of flowers. Threat level… very high?" Renko said as she seemed to squint at the words before scribbling down something on the page, "Well, I guess I'd have to be careful when I go down to this 'Garden of the Sun' of hers. I don't want to piss this chick off."
"Kazami isn't as bad as her reputation would suggest you know." Reimu spoke out.
In Reimu's opinion, Renko using that particular book was a mistake. For one, the damn thing had managed to get Reimu completely wrong by calling her lazy, easy going and lacking in any sense of danger. While some of it (okay, a lot of it) may be true, it was a rather unflattering entry that Reimu wished Akyuu would revise.
Moreover the entry completely discounted the fact that nearly all her friends were youkai, and instead seemed to paint a picture of Reimu as an uncompromising youkai exterminating machine that stomped down one everyone who looked at her way funny.
Still, there weren't many other written, commercially available records about Gensokyo. For all of Akyuu's 'slight inaccuracies', it was still a fairly good introduction into the Eastern Wonderland, especially if one were an ordinary human who wasn't aware of where the dangers were.
However, if Yukari hints were correct, Renko wasn't an ordinary human. Not by a long shot.
"Hm, sorta guessed that," Renko said with a frown as she continued scribbling in the margins, "Eyewitness accounts here seem to say she never initiates combat on her own unless provoked. Scary powerful, but only if you actually start a fight. Probably just wants to be left alone now that she's old. Reminds me of a couple of people I know."
"Really? You know a few people like this?" Reimu asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Lady named Lillith, for one. Leave her alone, she won't make a fuss. Piss her off, kiss your ass goodbye. Arianna's sorta gone down that part as well, although she's more 'cranky old cat lady' than hermit in my opinion," Renko shrugged before flipping the page and deepening her frown, "Okay, now I know this 'Gensokyo Chronicle' has some serious problems. Merry's entry is f'ed up the b."
"Merry? You don't mean Yukari do you?" Reimu had to find out how that nickname had come about. Yukari didn't look like a 'Merry' at all. There must be story behind that one.
"Yeah, sorry. That's the name she was going by when I first met her on the outside world and it kinda stuck," Renko said as she started sticking post it notes on the pages, before her eyes widened when she came to the bit about Yukari's powers, "Holy geez! Can Merry, I mean Yukari, really do all this with her powers?"
"Sort of," Reimu replied, "As long as she can picture a boundary and understand it, she can manipulate it. At least that's my understanding of it."
That wasn't actually true though. Yukari had confided in Reimu that her power did have its limits, especially when using it on conceptual boundaries that physically did not exist. That was part of the reason Yukari was tired so much, after all. Yukari hadn't chosen to share that information with Renko yet there probably was a good reason for it.
"Whoa. Never figured she'd be able to do stuff like that," Renko whistled, "Damn. Merry has manipulation of reality on a conceptual level? That's a broken ability if I ever saw one."
"Renko, a personal question if I may."
"Sure, shoot." The academic said without looking up from her book.
"What exactly do you do in the outside world?" Reimu asked with all seriousness, "Yukari said you were a scholar of some sort, but she never went into any detail about it."
Actually, what Reimu wanted to really ask was 'who are you really'. However, Renko had been quite evasive whenever the subject came up… no, not evasive: Playful. Yukari's friend appeared to share her mischievous streak in that she deliberately dropped tantalizing hints about being more than just some random professor, in passing, before deliberately changing the subject.
For example, when she talked about Yuuka, Renko actually deduced what the old Youkai was actually like and even made a direct comparison with some other figure she'd known. Better yet, Renko wasn't trying to hide it.
It appeared that Renko was playing a game with Reimu, trying to see how long it would take the shrine to piece together the puzzle she was setting up for her.
Damn, she was just like Yukari.
No wonder why the two of them were friends.
Bookmarking her page using a white ribbon she'd pulled from somewhere and setting it to the side, Renko turned to Reimu with a reassuring smile, "Well, if you must know I used to be the Professor of Physics at the Lookshy Institute of Technology before I gave up teaching and well full time into academic research. Hell, I helped establish the place."
"Lookshy? Never heard of it."
"There are other places outside Japan, you know. Like the Americas and Europe for instance. Gensokyo's like Lichtenstein or the Vatican City. Iddy bitty state inside a bigger country," Renko said with a shrug, "Really big world outside these borders."
Reimu had no idea where Litchenstein or the Vatican City were, but she got the gist of what Renko was trying to say. She'd check with Sanae or Mamizou to figure that out later. Regardless, 'Institute of Technology' sounded impressive.
"So you used to teach?"
"Yep. Theoretical Physics. Pretty high level material."
Damn. Reimu didn't know much about this sort of science stuff, being a shrine maiden and all. So much for that line of questioning.
"So why'd you stop? Did you get tired of it or something?"
"To be honest? I stopped because a friend of mine, Wind, he's a… judge, discovered a big problem and needed my help looking into it. Like, really big problem that affects a whole lot of people that I know. That's why I quit my teaching job and went into full time research."
"What sort of problem would a judge need a physicist for?" Reimu wondered. Reimu was actually acquainted with a judge herself, Shikeiki Yamaxanadu, and knew what the celestial judge's job entailed. She couldn't imagine what a judge would need a professor for, much less that the professor had to quit her teaching job over it.
"A big one," Renko admitted sadly, "and this one I'm really not at liberty to say. Admiral Sand, another friend who is also working on the same problem, decided that everyone who was working on the solution needed to be discreet. We're not sworn to secrecy or anything, but we're trying to keep it on a need to know basis."
Admiral? A military rank? Renko knew an Adimral? Reimu resisted the urge to sign. Oh, this rabbit hole kept getting deeper and deeper didn't it?
"Sounds pretty serious."
"It is. There's a lot riding on my research. Like, an entire country could be affected by what happens," Renko admitted, "That's why I do need to get out of here in three weeks. This is the kind of thing that I can't let lie."
It was becoming pretty clear to Reimu that Renko wasn't just an ordinary teacher, but was a person of some importance from where she was from. More than that, Renko actually was working on something really important with a group equally talented individuals, all from a variety of fields, before she had arrived in Gensokyo… which meant that the professor actually had a very real reason for wanting to go back to wherever she came from.
The prospects about convincing Renko to stick around were getting even slimmer.
Damnit Yukari. Why'd she have to have Reimu do this impossible favour instead of something simpler, like cooking a meal or something?
-=-
As it turned out, Renko had been quite tried after the day's events, and following their conversation, the travelling ex-professor had retired to her room before the night had gotten really late. Seeing as how the tour would officially begin tomorrow, Reimu decided an early night was in order and soon went to sleep herself.
Despite all the lingering questions about her mysterious guest and the enormity of the task Reimu had unwittingly undertaken, she nevertheless had a pleasant night's sleep.
The following morning though… now that carried its own problems.
"I think I want to see the Scarlet Devil Mansion first."
Reimu choked on her breakfast, a bowl of plain rice, when Renko had offhandedly said this outrageous statement aloud. "There are a whole bunch of places that I want to visit, but that library is too big a draw for the academic in me to pass up."
"The Scarlet Devil Mansion?" Reimu, coughed, hoping she had misheard the former professor.
She didn't.
"Yeah, that's what I said," Renko confirmed with such whimsical tone, like she hadn't just declared that the very first place she wanted to visit was the home of one of the most powerful vampires in the world, "The Scarlet Devil Mansion. I want to see the library."
Granted Reimu knew she would have to being Renko there at some point, but the shrine maiden had been hoping the tourist would have been able to give her some practice first at a 'safer' location before jumping headlong into the really dangerous sights.
This was her first time doing this sort of thing, damn it!
"What about the Human Village?' Reimu suggested hopefully, "It has the largest concentration of humans in Gensokyo and is also home to Hieda no Akyuu. You know, the person who wrote the Gensokyo Chronicle…"
"Eh, pass. Feudal age farming village. Seen one of them, seen them all," Renko shrugged offhandedly before looking at Reimu with an excited smile, "Won't bother with going down there unless I absolutely have to, not with all the other places I could visit!"
"Other places?" Reimu asked hesitantly, already dreading the answer.
"I made a list last night. Here you go." Renko reached over to her belt and unclipped the small, well-worn and well used pocketbook, likely a journal, which she was keeping in a hip mounted pouch. She then handed it to Reimu at the appropriate page.
Reimu took one look at what was written on the page and felt her heart skip a beat.
Renko had gone through her copy of the Gensokyo Chronicle and, from there, made a note of every single place and person of interest in her journal she would like to visit over the course of the three weeks. This wouldn't be so much of a problem if Renko's wish list couldn't also have doubled as a list of the most dangerous, inhospitable and downright in assessable places in all of Gensokyo.
Some, like the Scarlet Devil Mansion and the Youkai Mountain, were populated by dangerous youkai who were extremely powerful and extremely vicious if given reason to become violent. A fight could very well break out if they weren't careful.
Others, like Hakugyokurou and Higan, were normally inaccessible to living humans, and for good reason. While Reimu could get in because of her status as the Hakurei shrine maiden, the headache of clearing Renko wasn't something we was looking forward to.
And then there were utterly ridiculous locations no one in their right mind would want to visit, like 'the Underground Nuclear Reactor'.
While there were a few tourist friendly locations like the Myoren temple or Eientei, it was very easy to see how this could become a colossal headache for the poor shrine maiden. Yukari had hinted that Renko was more than she seemed, but Reimu couldn't help shake the feeling that this was a disaster, or worse a full blown incident, just waiting to happen.
"So, what do you think?" Renko asked.
"These are some of the more… interesting locations in Gensokyo, all right," Reimu commented on as she closed the book and handed it back to Renko, who placed it back on its pouch.
While Reimu wanted to reach over to Renko and slap the older girl upside the head to bring some sense into that idiot, Reimu had both been asked by Yukari to show Renko a good time and also had been paid a very large sum of money to do this. As much as it annoyed Reimu, and also made the shrine maiden worry that her future was going to be a pretty stressful one, she couldn't do more than try and talk Renko out of it. This was a paying job after all.
"Are you sure you want to visit all those places? Some of them are pretty dangerous or hard to get in to, you know," Reimu pointed out, "Higan in particular will give us a lot of problems. Living people aren't supposed to be there. I don't think just asking Komachi a favour is going to cut it."
"A celestial bureaucrats and their red tape…" Renko chuckled, seemingly lost in a memory, "Anyway, I don't think this is as big a problem as you're making it out to be. Besides, this is what I have you here for, don't I? Smooth over all the bumps and hiccups to make sure I can enjoy myself, right miss tour guide?"
"You do know tour guides are supposed to be the ones setting up the tour route right?"
"Who is the one paying you again? If I so recall, this is a private tour so I expect to get my money's worth, or Yukari's money as the case may be," Renko grinned as she leaned back, "Seriously though. Don't worry about it too much, Reimu. Just leave it on the list. No harm trying to go there. If we get in, we get it. If we don't, we don't. Cross that bridge when we come to it, okay?"
Reimu swore quietly that the next time Yukari paid her to do something like this, she was going to double her rates. "Fine, but just be aware that some of these places are inaccessible for a reason."
"Well, we shall see about that, won't we?" Renko grinned. "I've been waiting for this my whole life, and I'm not about to let some paper pushing square stop me from seeing the sights and meeting the people."
Reimu pretty much gave up trying to convince Renko at this point.
The traveller was dead set in her wish to see every one of the locations she'd put down in her journal, and there wasn't anything Reimu could do to convince her otherwise. Come hell or high water, Reimu was going to have to show Renko every location on this list and hope they didn't cause an incident while they were at it.
With this foreboding in mind, the pair soon finished up their meals and were soon on their way to their first destination… the Scarlet Devil Mansion, manse of the Scarlett household.
Well it could be worse. At least Remilia was a friend, and Renko just wanted to see the library. What could horribly go wrong with a plan like that…
…
…Hopefully Reimu hadn't just jinxed herself.
-=-
TBC…
-=-
Last edited:
sasahara17
Just Another Random Author
- Location
- Brisbane City
Note: This snippet has not been proofread yet. It will be when the chapter is completed, compiled and properly beta'ed. However, it is still readable. Enjoy.
-=-
Scarlet Devil Mansion
A Sunny Girl in the House of Night
Chapter 1, Snip 1
-=-
Being the gate keeper to the Scarlet Devil Mansion was a thankless, and oftentimes boring, job. Aside from the usual 'intruders', one of whom was such a frequent guest she might as well have been a resident there, the mansion rarely received any visitors.
This was quite understandable, as it was far out of the way of most of the usual travel routes and situated across the misty lake. Nobody in their right mind would visit the mansion unless they had legitimate business to do so, and even the fairies had long since grown bored of trying to break in.
At the rate things were going, her job was pretty much ceremonial. It wasn't as if there were dozens of wannabe vampire hunters out to stake Remilia through the heart, for what little good that would actually do, in Gensokyo.
Hong Meiling thus had come into the bad habit of taking afternoon naps while on duty. Really, who could blame her? Nice weather, perfect climate, no visitors, nothing to do… it would be better to take a nice nap rather than watching the same old scenery day in and day out, right? It's not as if anyone, besides Marisa of course, is stupid enough to try to break into the mansion of a mighty powerful vampire, right?
"Well, this is one entry in the book that's spot on," Renko said as she looked down at the page in the Gensokyo Chronicle, then back up at the sleeping gatekeeper that was laying on the grass just next to the huge gate that led into the mansion's grounds.
Reimu couldn't help but wonder how much trouble Meiling was going to be in when Reimila found out the tourist's first impression of the Scarlet Devil Mansion was that of a sleeping gatekeeper.
"Sleeping on the job. Wow, I'm surprised she hasn't been fired yet." Renko said as she walked closer to Meiling and crouched over the gatekeeper's sleeping form.
It had taken hours for the pair to make the journey from Reimu's shrine to the mansion, mainly due to the fact that Renko was unable (or perhaps, unwilling) to fly under her own power. So, while they had departed early in the day, it had taken them the entire morning to finally reach the mansion. Reimu had always known that the mansion was off the beaten track, but it wasn't until she'd had to walk the way there, as opposed to just flying, that she'd realized just how isolated it could be.
On the upside, avoiding flying over the trip had meant the pair maintained a lower profile and thus escaped the notice of Cirno, who would definitely have caused them, or more specifically Reimu, some problems.
"Let her sleep. We should probably just go in," Reimu said with a sigh as she moved to direct Renko away from the sleeping gate guard. Really this was an unnecessary distraction from what Reimu really wanted to do: talk with Remilia. "I can just fly over the wall and open the gate from the inside, then I can speak to the lady of the house and we can get down to the tour proper."
Renko held out a hand to gesture that Reimu wait a moment. "Hold that thought."
Then Renko did the stupidest thing Reimu had seen someone do in a while do: in one smooth motion, Renko's right hand dipped down to the six shooter pistol at her side (wait, when did she have something like that?) draw it and bring it up to Meiling's hea-
Faster than the eye could see, Meiling's right arm darted out and slapped the barrel of the weapon away from her face. Then, without even stopping her hand wrapped itself around Renko's wrist in a vice grip, just as Meiling lept from where she had been lying on the ground to her feet…
Before Reimu could even blink, Renko was face down on the dirt with Meiling's knee planted on the small of her back and her outstretched arm, and her gun, held in a rather painful position above her in Meiling's hold.
Reimu's jaw dropped.
She'd never seen Mailing move that fast before!
"Ow, ow, ow! Bad joke, bad joke, bad joke! Uncle, uncle, uncle!" Renko squealed, tapping her free hand on the ground to display her submission to the redheaded youkai, "I give, I give!"
"It is not nice to point dangerous things at people," Meiling admonished in an even tone of voice as she applied more pressure to Renko's back, eliciting a girlish squeal from the pinned academic, "Who are you and what are you doing here? This is private property. Answer me quickly, or else!"
"REIMU, HELP!"
-=-
"Wait, so she's a tourist?" Meiling tilted her head in confusion as Reimu finished her explanation.
"Yeah. Yukari's paying me to give her a round the barrier trip of the place, and she happened to decide that the mansion was the first place she wanted to visit."
Meiling, reacting to what had seemed like a clear and present threat, hadn't actually noticed Reimu until Renko had started squealing like a little child for help. When she did, it had taken quite a bit of convincing for the gatekeeper to finally release Renko.
The trio were now standing off to the side of the gate as Reimu explained to Meiling just why someone she'd never seen or heard from before had shown up out of nowhere and decided to put a weapon to the side of the gatekeeper's head.
"How come she pointed that gun at my head then?" Meiling frowned, folding her arms suspiciously as she turned to regard Renko.
"I was wondering about that myself actually." Reimu muttered as she turned to Renko with a look of annoyance and disbelief. "I can't believe you, pulling a weapon on Meiling like that. Don't you know how much trouble you'd be in if this were anywhere but Gensokyo?"
"Yeah. This is the kind of thing that could have you thrown out of places or put in jail, you know." Meiling nodded with agreement
Renko gave a sheepish smile and apologetic shrug, clearly trying to lay on the charm to get around her little misstep. "Hey, I just wanted to see what in the book was right about Meiling."
"What book?" Meiling frowned
"This book!" Renko produced the Gensokyo Chronicle and flipped it open to the appropriate page, then laid on the charm to get Meiling to see her point.
"See, here? This page gives so such an unflattering review of you I didn't know what to think. Is she lazy? Is she friendly? Is she dangerous? So I figured that the best way to see what you were really like was to put a gun to your head to see what kind of reaction I'd get out of you. It was a perfectly legitimate course of action. I just wanted to see if you were any good as a gatekeeper, and since you were already asleep… Sorry about the misunderstanding, Miss Hong! Can you forgive me?"
Reimu stared at Renko in disbelief, unable to wrap her mind about the insane troll logic she'd just heard. What sort of excuse was that? Renko might as well have said she'd eaten Meiling's hat to see if it tasted like grass! There was no way-
"That sounds reasonable," Meiling nodded with a smile, "Well, no harm done."
"What."
"Yeah, that's the way the cookie crumbles," Renko laughed, "So, why don't you show the two of us in? I'd love to meet the lady of the house now. This place looks fabulous!"
"What." Reimu looked between Meiling and Renko, trying hard to comprehend what had just happened. Did Meiling just listen to that bullshit excuse for putting a loaded gun to her head and… just accept it? Like that? What?
"Certainly! Come on right in!" Meiling walked open to the gate and opened it to allow the mansion's latest guests to enter… "Oh, but I'll be needing your gun though."
"What? Why?"
"Well, it's a dangerous weapon, and even as a guest I can't allow you to wander around with such a dangerous thing on the premises. You might hurt someone!"
Then Renko started laying on the charm again.
"But I'm just this helpless human being who is about to go into a mansion full of deadly things like vampires, succubi and who knows what else. I need this gun to protect myself... I mean sure it won't really help me very much in there, you saw how easily you disarmed me... but at very least let me keep it around as a safety blanket. Please let me keep my gun."
"…Hm, that sounds reasonable too," Meiling agreed heartily, "Well then, come on right in Ms Usami! The Scarlet Devil Mansion welcomes you!"
"See Reimu? Getting into places isn't as difficult as you made it out to be, after all." Renko grinned as she clasped the still shocked shrine maiden by the arm and slowly pulled in her in after her.
"What the hell?" Reimu muttered to herself as she tried, and failed to understand what had just transpired at the gate.
That was bullshit!
-=-
A/N - Yep, Renko is a bit of a troll. She's also Essence 5. Her backstory was over in SB, but i do have it saved (somewhere). If anyone wants to see it, let me know and I'll throw it up here on SV tomorrow.
-=-
Scarlet Devil Mansion
A Sunny Girl in the House of Night
Chapter 1, Snip 1
-=-
Being the gate keeper to the Scarlet Devil Mansion was a thankless, and oftentimes boring, job. Aside from the usual 'intruders', one of whom was such a frequent guest she might as well have been a resident there, the mansion rarely received any visitors.
This was quite understandable, as it was far out of the way of most of the usual travel routes and situated across the misty lake. Nobody in their right mind would visit the mansion unless they had legitimate business to do so, and even the fairies had long since grown bored of trying to break in.
At the rate things were going, her job was pretty much ceremonial. It wasn't as if there were dozens of wannabe vampire hunters out to stake Remilia through the heart, for what little good that would actually do, in Gensokyo.
Hong Meiling thus had come into the bad habit of taking afternoon naps while on duty. Really, who could blame her? Nice weather, perfect climate, no visitors, nothing to do… it would be better to take a nice nap rather than watching the same old scenery day in and day out, right? It's not as if anyone, besides Marisa of course, is stupid enough to try to break into the mansion of a mighty powerful vampire, right?
"Well, this is one entry in the book that's spot on," Renko said as she looked down at the page in the Gensokyo Chronicle, then back up at the sleeping gatekeeper that was laying on the grass just next to the huge gate that led into the mansion's grounds.
Reimu couldn't help but wonder how much trouble Meiling was going to be in when Reimila found out the tourist's first impression of the Scarlet Devil Mansion was that of a sleeping gatekeeper.
"Sleeping on the job. Wow, I'm surprised she hasn't been fired yet." Renko said as she walked closer to Meiling and crouched over the gatekeeper's sleeping form.
It had taken hours for the pair to make the journey from Reimu's shrine to the mansion, mainly due to the fact that Renko was unable (or perhaps, unwilling) to fly under her own power. So, while they had departed early in the day, it had taken them the entire morning to finally reach the mansion. Reimu had always known that the mansion was off the beaten track, but it wasn't until she'd had to walk the way there, as opposed to just flying, that she'd realized just how isolated it could be.
On the upside, avoiding flying over the trip had meant the pair maintained a lower profile and thus escaped the notice of Cirno, who would definitely have caused them, or more specifically Reimu, some problems.
"Let her sleep. We should probably just go in," Reimu said with a sigh as she moved to direct Renko away from the sleeping gate guard. Really this was an unnecessary distraction from what Reimu really wanted to do: talk with Remilia. "I can just fly over the wall and open the gate from the inside, then I can speak to the lady of the house and we can get down to the tour proper."
Renko held out a hand to gesture that Reimu wait a moment. "Hold that thought."
Then Renko did the stupidest thing Reimu had seen someone do in a while do: in one smooth motion, Renko's right hand dipped down to the six shooter pistol at her side (wait, when did she have something like that?) draw it and bring it up to Meiling's hea-
Faster than the eye could see, Meiling's right arm darted out and slapped the barrel of the weapon away from her face. Then, without even stopping her hand wrapped itself around Renko's wrist in a vice grip, just as Meiling lept from where she had been lying on the ground to her feet…
Before Reimu could even blink, Renko was face down on the dirt with Meiling's knee planted on the small of her back and her outstretched arm, and her gun, held in a rather painful position above her in Meiling's hold.
Reimu's jaw dropped.
She'd never seen Mailing move that fast before!
"Ow, ow, ow! Bad joke, bad joke, bad joke! Uncle, uncle, uncle!" Renko squealed, tapping her free hand on the ground to display her submission to the redheaded youkai, "I give, I give!"
"It is not nice to point dangerous things at people," Meiling admonished in an even tone of voice as she applied more pressure to Renko's back, eliciting a girlish squeal from the pinned academic, "Who are you and what are you doing here? This is private property. Answer me quickly, or else!"
"REIMU, HELP!"
-=-
"Wait, so she's a tourist?" Meiling tilted her head in confusion as Reimu finished her explanation.
"Yeah. Yukari's paying me to give her a round the barrier trip of the place, and she happened to decide that the mansion was the first place she wanted to visit."
Meiling, reacting to what had seemed like a clear and present threat, hadn't actually noticed Reimu until Renko had started squealing like a little child for help. When she did, it had taken quite a bit of convincing for the gatekeeper to finally release Renko.
The trio were now standing off to the side of the gate as Reimu explained to Meiling just why someone she'd never seen or heard from before had shown up out of nowhere and decided to put a weapon to the side of the gatekeeper's head.
"How come she pointed that gun at my head then?" Meiling frowned, folding her arms suspiciously as she turned to regard Renko.
"I was wondering about that myself actually." Reimu muttered as she turned to Renko with a look of annoyance and disbelief. "I can't believe you, pulling a weapon on Meiling like that. Don't you know how much trouble you'd be in if this were anywhere but Gensokyo?"
"Yeah. This is the kind of thing that could have you thrown out of places or put in jail, you know." Meiling nodded with agreement
Renko gave a sheepish smile and apologetic shrug, clearly trying to lay on the charm to get around her little misstep. "Hey, I just wanted to see what in the book was right about Meiling."
"What book?" Meiling frowned
"This book!" Renko produced the Gensokyo Chronicle and flipped it open to the appropriate page, then laid on the charm to get Meiling to see her point.
"See, here? This page gives so such an unflattering review of you I didn't know what to think. Is she lazy? Is she friendly? Is she dangerous? So I figured that the best way to see what you were really like was to put a gun to your head to see what kind of reaction I'd get out of you. It was a perfectly legitimate course of action. I just wanted to see if you were any good as a gatekeeper, and since you were already asleep… Sorry about the misunderstanding, Miss Hong! Can you forgive me?"
Reimu stared at Renko in disbelief, unable to wrap her mind about the insane troll logic she'd just heard. What sort of excuse was that? Renko might as well have said she'd eaten Meiling's hat to see if it tasted like grass! There was no way-
"That sounds reasonable," Meiling nodded with a smile, "Well, no harm done."
"What."
"Yeah, that's the way the cookie crumbles," Renko laughed, "So, why don't you show the two of us in? I'd love to meet the lady of the house now. This place looks fabulous!"
"What." Reimu looked between Meiling and Renko, trying hard to comprehend what had just happened. Did Meiling just listen to that bullshit excuse for putting a loaded gun to her head and… just accept it? Like that? What?
"Certainly! Come on right in!" Meiling walked open to the gate and opened it to allow the mansion's latest guests to enter… "Oh, but I'll be needing your gun though."
"What? Why?"
"Well, it's a dangerous weapon, and even as a guest I can't allow you to wander around with such a dangerous thing on the premises. You might hurt someone!"
Then Renko started laying on the charm again.
"But I'm just this helpless human being who is about to go into a mansion full of deadly things like vampires, succubi and who knows what else. I need this gun to protect myself... I mean sure it won't really help me very much in there, you saw how easily you disarmed me... but at very least let me keep it around as a safety blanket. Please let me keep my gun."
"…Hm, that sounds reasonable too," Meiling agreed heartily, "Well then, come on right in Ms Usami! The Scarlet Devil Mansion welcomes you!"
"See Reimu? Getting into places isn't as difficult as you made it out to be, after all." Renko grinned as she clasped the still shocked shrine maiden by the arm and slowly pulled in her in after her.
"What the hell?" Reimu muttered to herself as she tried, and failed to understand what had just transpired at the gate.
That was bullshit!
-=-
A/N - Yep, Renko is a bit of a troll. She's also Essence 5. Her backstory was over in SB, but i do have it saved (somewhere). If anyone wants to see it, let me know and I'll throw it up here on SV tomorrow.
sasahara17
Just Another Random Author
- Location
- Brisbane City
Note: This snippet has not been proofread yet. It will be when the chapter is completed, compiled and properly beta'ed. However, it is still readable. Enjoy.
-=-
"Welcome to the Scarlet Devil Mansion."
"Why thank you very! It's a pleasure to be here!"
The pair were sitting at a table with the mistress of the mansion in the outdoor gazebo in the main gardens, with Meiling and Sakuya standing at attention not too far away from them just waiting to be of service. They had been very fortunate to catch Remilia while she was still awake, a real rarity given that the noble was something of a night owl for obvious reasons.
Well what was there to say about Remilia Scarlet? She was the mistress of the eponymous Scarlet Devil Mansion, home to a number of very particular group of supernatural beings. She was a powerful vampire of considerable age, along with all that entailed. Despite her appearances as a young girl, Remilia possessed with bearing and charisma of the old European nobility she had descended from.
With the ability to manipulate fate itself on a whim, it was clear the elder of the Scarlet sisters wasn't one to underestimate. It was an ability that even Reimu and many of the more powerful denizens of Gensokyo had learned not to underestimate.
It was for this reason that Reimu, despite being Remilia's friend, was on guard.
"So as I understand it, Reimu here is giving you a tour of Gensokyo on Yukari Yakuko's personal request," Remilia surmised as she sipped from a cup of tea, "And your first destination happened to be my humble abode."
"Yep," Renko replied with a smile, "I honestly couldn't pass up the chance to see your library. That isn't to say that the rest of your mansion is boring, but the treasure trove of knowledge you have there is just something I have to see for myself. I must say though, this garden of yours is impressive."
Off to the side, Reimu could see Meiling puff out her chest with pride.
"Indeed," Remilia nodded, "I am very honoured that Yakumo's honoured guest chose my home to see first, before all the other places in Gensokyo. Sakuya? Please prepare one of the guest rooms for Miss Usami here."
Sakuya dipped into a bow, ready to fulfil her mistresses request. "As you command, Mila-"
"Actually could you make that two rooms?" Reimu cut in quickly, "I need to stay with her to keep her out of trouble. I'm her tour guide and all."
"Oh-ho?" Reimilia raised a curious eyebrow, "What about your shrine Reimu? Don't you need to get back to taking care of that? I could have Sakuya and Meiling take your place as a tourguide for the short duration of Miss Usami's stay in the Mansion. They are much more familiar with the premises than you, after all."
As logical as that sounded, Reimu shook her head. "As much as I appreciate the offer, Yukari's paying me good money for this. She's even getting Ran to tidy up the shrine while I'm gone. Can't afford to slack when she's putting so much faith in me, y'know what I mean?"
Reimu wished she could outright warn Renko of just how dangerous Remilia was instead of tiptoing around the fact. However, doing so in front of Remilia would be the height of ill manners and was a step too far even for the easy going shine maiden. All she could do to was try and steer the conversation towards 'safer' waters and make sure that Renko didn't end up staying at the mansion on her own without an escort.
Remilia may have been Reimu's friend, but like all old youkai who had moved to Gensokyo, the vampire liked playing the lives of shorter lived mortals to alleviate their own boredom. As a strange new person who had seemingly arrived out of nowhere, Renko was a very appetising target for the old vampire's schemes
If Renko were to be left alone in the mansion for any length of time, who knows what would happen to her? Worse, if something did happen to the tourist, Yukari would most definitely not be happy. This could cause an incident, or worse, cause Yukari to take back the money she'd paid out!
"Hm, indeed," Remilia tapped an idle finger against her teacup, clearly digesting this new titbit of information, "What does Miss Usami think of this?"
Renko gave a lazy smile. "Hey, the more the merrier right?"
"Well then, that's settled," Remilia set her teacup down and turned to her head maid, "Sakuya, see that two of our spare guests rooms are prepared and stocked with all the appropriate amenities for our two guests here."
"As you command, mistress." With a snap of her fingers, Sakuya disappeared, clearly off somewhere fulfilling her mistress's command.
Knowing Sakuya and her ability to stop time, she wouldn't be long.
Curiously, Reimu couldn't help but notice Renko's wide eyed, shocked stare when Sakuya suddenly disappeared. It was the first time, in the short time they had known each other, that Reimu had actually seen Renko this unguarded!
"Do either of you need help bringing your luggage or clothes to the mansion?" Remilia asked them, "I can have my fairy maids visit the Hakurei shrine to retrieve them for you, and save you the return trip to get them."
Reimu quickly held out her hands and shook her head vehemently. "There's no need! I'd much rather borrow some clothes from you, Remi!"
The last time Reimu had taken up Remilia on this offer a year ago, she'd come back after a weekend visit to the mansion to find her house completely ransacked. Nothing had been stolen of course, because only a true fool or Marisa Kirisame would dare steal from the Hakurei maiden, but it took days for Reimu to get everything back in order. She had later discovered that the maids dispatched to retrieve Reimu's clothes weren't very good at finding things at all and had wrecked her home trying to find spare clothes for her.
Never again.
"Hm, what about you, Renko?"
"Yeah. I think if that's what Reimu is going for, then I'll take her advice. Besides, a place like this ought to have some awesome clothes to try on!"
"Indeed. My mansion used to be frequented by the social elite, and many of them left their effects here over the years. I have some of the finest clothes of the era in storage, and I will be happy to let you try some of them on." Remilia replied proudly.
Reimu resisted the urge to sigh. It didn't take a genius to know that Reimila was trying to win Renko's favour now, possibly as a way to win some points with Yukari.
Whether this was a good thing or a bad thing, she had no idea.
Gah, the old women of Gensokyo and their politics.
"In any case, while your rooms are prepared, which should not take very long knowing Sakuya, might I propose that the two of you take a tour of the garden while it is still day? It is now past midday, and I must be getting to sleep soon," Remilia suggested helpfully, "Once I wake in the evening, we can talk more over dinner. I can introduce you to Patchouli Knowledge, a close friend of mind who is effectively our librarian. In the meantime, Meiling has put much effort into making our ground the finest garden in all of Gensokyo. With the weather being as perfect as it is, I am sure she will be happy to show it to you."
"Um, I'm not sure if Kazami-san will agree with the 'in all of Gensokyo' bit…" Meiling began, only to be quickly silenced by an admonishing glare from Remilia.
"Why I think that's a splendid idea!" Thankfully, Renko's quick reply drew Remilia's attention before punishment could be doled out. "What do you think, Remiu?"
"I think that's a good idea myself."
Plus it would be a great way to get away from Remilia and have a little chat with Renko in private about the need to be much more careful around the vampires.
"Very well. Meiling, see to it that you assign one of the fairy maids to guard the gate in your absence, and then show our guests around the grounds." Remilia ordered, prompting the redheaded gatekeeper to give a respectful bow.
"I know I've said this before, but thank you very much for accommodating us." Renko said sincerely.
"It really is not trouble at all," Remilia replied with a smile that sent shivers shooting up Reimu's spine, "Once again, I bid you welcome, to the Scarlet Devil Mansion, Renko Usami. I hope you will be enjoying your stay with us."
-=-
A/N - Kinda busy, so I've had to make a much shorter snip this time, mainly to set up Renko's stay in the SDM. The next bit will be of Renko getting to know Meiling, one of my all-time favourite Touhou characters. It's going to be fun for sure.
Speaking of Meiling, I'm actually going to stick another WIP story I have about her on this thread to back it up as well.
FYI, I'm also messing about on the Anathema program to determine Renko's stats. Right now all I have is Renko starting out in creation (before she even learned one spell from Terrestrial Circle sorcery), but hopefully I'll have something more for you guys soon.
Anyway, thanks for reading. I hope this was enjoyable!
-=-
"Welcome to the Scarlet Devil Mansion."
"Why thank you very! It's a pleasure to be here!"
The pair were sitting at a table with the mistress of the mansion in the outdoor gazebo in the main gardens, with Meiling and Sakuya standing at attention not too far away from them just waiting to be of service. They had been very fortunate to catch Remilia while she was still awake, a real rarity given that the noble was something of a night owl for obvious reasons.
Well what was there to say about Remilia Scarlet? She was the mistress of the eponymous Scarlet Devil Mansion, home to a number of very particular group of supernatural beings. She was a powerful vampire of considerable age, along with all that entailed. Despite her appearances as a young girl, Remilia possessed with bearing and charisma of the old European nobility she had descended from.
With the ability to manipulate fate itself on a whim, it was clear the elder of the Scarlet sisters wasn't one to underestimate. It was an ability that even Reimu and many of the more powerful denizens of Gensokyo had learned not to underestimate.
It was for this reason that Reimu, despite being Remilia's friend, was on guard.
"So as I understand it, Reimu here is giving you a tour of Gensokyo on Yukari Yakuko's personal request," Remilia surmised as she sipped from a cup of tea, "And your first destination happened to be my humble abode."
"Yep," Renko replied with a smile, "I honestly couldn't pass up the chance to see your library. That isn't to say that the rest of your mansion is boring, but the treasure trove of knowledge you have there is just something I have to see for myself. I must say though, this garden of yours is impressive."
Off to the side, Reimu could see Meiling puff out her chest with pride.
"Indeed," Remilia nodded, "I am very honoured that Yakumo's honoured guest chose my home to see first, before all the other places in Gensokyo. Sakuya? Please prepare one of the guest rooms for Miss Usami here."
Sakuya dipped into a bow, ready to fulfil her mistresses request. "As you command, Mila-"
"Actually could you make that two rooms?" Reimu cut in quickly, "I need to stay with her to keep her out of trouble. I'm her tour guide and all."
"Oh-ho?" Reimilia raised a curious eyebrow, "What about your shrine Reimu? Don't you need to get back to taking care of that? I could have Sakuya and Meiling take your place as a tourguide for the short duration of Miss Usami's stay in the Mansion. They are much more familiar with the premises than you, after all."
As logical as that sounded, Reimu shook her head. "As much as I appreciate the offer, Yukari's paying me good money for this. She's even getting Ran to tidy up the shrine while I'm gone. Can't afford to slack when she's putting so much faith in me, y'know what I mean?"
Reimu wished she could outright warn Renko of just how dangerous Remilia was instead of tiptoing around the fact. However, doing so in front of Remilia would be the height of ill manners and was a step too far even for the easy going shine maiden. All she could do to was try and steer the conversation towards 'safer' waters and make sure that Renko didn't end up staying at the mansion on her own without an escort.
Remilia may have been Reimu's friend, but like all old youkai who had moved to Gensokyo, the vampire liked playing the lives of shorter lived mortals to alleviate their own boredom. As a strange new person who had seemingly arrived out of nowhere, Renko was a very appetising target for the old vampire's schemes
If Renko were to be left alone in the mansion for any length of time, who knows what would happen to her? Worse, if something did happen to the tourist, Yukari would most definitely not be happy. This could cause an incident, or worse, cause Yukari to take back the money she'd paid out!
"Hm, indeed," Remilia tapped an idle finger against her teacup, clearly digesting this new titbit of information, "What does Miss Usami think of this?"
Renko gave a lazy smile. "Hey, the more the merrier right?"
"Well then, that's settled," Remilia set her teacup down and turned to her head maid, "Sakuya, see that two of our spare guests rooms are prepared and stocked with all the appropriate amenities for our two guests here."
"As you command, mistress." With a snap of her fingers, Sakuya disappeared, clearly off somewhere fulfilling her mistress's command.
Knowing Sakuya and her ability to stop time, she wouldn't be long.
Curiously, Reimu couldn't help but notice Renko's wide eyed, shocked stare when Sakuya suddenly disappeared. It was the first time, in the short time they had known each other, that Reimu had actually seen Renko this unguarded!
"Do either of you need help bringing your luggage or clothes to the mansion?" Remilia asked them, "I can have my fairy maids visit the Hakurei shrine to retrieve them for you, and save you the return trip to get them."
Reimu quickly held out her hands and shook her head vehemently. "There's no need! I'd much rather borrow some clothes from you, Remi!"
The last time Reimu had taken up Remilia on this offer a year ago, she'd come back after a weekend visit to the mansion to find her house completely ransacked. Nothing had been stolen of course, because only a true fool or Marisa Kirisame would dare steal from the Hakurei maiden, but it took days for Reimu to get everything back in order. She had later discovered that the maids dispatched to retrieve Reimu's clothes weren't very good at finding things at all and had wrecked her home trying to find spare clothes for her.
Never again.
"Hm, what about you, Renko?"
"Yeah. I think if that's what Reimu is going for, then I'll take her advice. Besides, a place like this ought to have some awesome clothes to try on!"
"Indeed. My mansion used to be frequented by the social elite, and many of them left their effects here over the years. I have some of the finest clothes of the era in storage, and I will be happy to let you try some of them on." Remilia replied proudly.
Reimu resisted the urge to sigh. It didn't take a genius to know that Reimila was trying to win Renko's favour now, possibly as a way to win some points with Yukari.
Whether this was a good thing or a bad thing, she had no idea.
Gah, the old women of Gensokyo and their politics.
"In any case, while your rooms are prepared, which should not take very long knowing Sakuya, might I propose that the two of you take a tour of the garden while it is still day? It is now past midday, and I must be getting to sleep soon," Remilia suggested helpfully, "Once I wake in the evening, we can talk more over dinner. I can introduce you to Patchouli Knowledge, a close friend of mind who is effectively our librarian. In the meantime, Meiling has put much effort into making our ground the finest garden in all of Gensokyo. With the weather being as perfect as it is, I am sure she will be happy to show it to you."
"Um, I'm not sure if Kazami-san will agree with the 'in all of Gensokyo' bit…" Meiling began, only to be quickly silenced by an admonishing glare from Remilia.
"Why I think that's a splendid idea!" Thankfully, Renko's quick reply drew Remilia's attention before punishment could be doled out. "What do you think, Remiu?"
"I think that's a good idea myself."
Plus it would be a great way to get away from Remilia and have a little chat with Renko in private about the need to be much more careful around the vampires.
"Very well. Meiling, see to it that you assign one of the fairy maids to guard the gate in your absence, and then show our guests around the grounds." Remilia ordered, prompting the redheaded gatekeeper to give a respectful bow.
"I know I've said this before, but thank you very much for accommodating us." Renko said sincerely.
"It really is not trouble at all," Remilia replied with a smile that sent shivers shooting up Reimu's spine, "Once again, I bid you welcome, to the Scarlet Devil Mansion, Renko Usami. I hope you will be enjoying your stay with us."
-=-
A/N - Kinda busy, so I've had to make a much shorter snip this time, mainly to set up Renko's stay in the SDM. The next bit will be of Renko getting to know Meiling, one of my all-time favourite Touhou characters. It's going to be fun for sure.
Speaking of Meiling, I'm actually going to stick another WIP story I have about her on this thread to back it up as well.
FYI, I'm also messing about on the Anathema program to determine Renko's stats. Right now all I have is Renko starting out in creation (before she even learned one spell from Terrestrial Circle sorcery), but hopefully I'll have something more for you guys soon.
Anyway, thanks for reading. I hope this was enjoyable!
sasahara17
Just Another Random Author
- Location
- Brisbane City
Just a little backup for the other TH story I had been writing. To clarify, this takes place in a separate continuity from the Tourist. Besides, It takes a very different interpretation of many of the characters in in the Tourist… mainly because the ones here are slanted towards a view for humour. Enjoy.
-=-
The Gatekeeper Who Knew Too Little
Touhou/The Man Who Knew Too Little Crossover
Chapter 1
-=-
"Theatre… improv?"
"It's a relatively new thing that Myorenji is running with the village," Reisen explained happily as handed the brochure to Meiling, "I did it myself last week and had loads of fun!"
Meiling had been dutifully and reliably taking a short nap at her post just outside the gates when a friend she had met a while ago, Reisen the Lunar Bunny, had come by. The pair had met accidentally met in a bar on the outskirts of the human village one day and had quickly bonded due over the ups and downs of their jobs at their respective households.
Since then, Reisen would occasionally drop by to talk to Meiling on her off days to show the gatekeeper interesting things to spice up the gatekeeper's otherwise boring day… and today, it was this odd attraction.
"The idea is that you'll be star in a live action role-play that lets you take up the role of a passing incident solver who gets caught up in adventure and eventually gets to save the day. This is, like, the complete opposite of our day to day boredom, Meiling!" Reisen recounted excitedly, "I really felt like the star in one of those action movies that Princess Kaguya likes to watch. You should try it yourself sometime!"
"Hm, this does seem kind of interesting." Meiling mused as she flipped through the brochure to see everything it had to offer.
It seemed that Myorenji's latest attempt to get humans and youkai to live together in harmony was a little unconventional. Sponsored and endorsed by Byakuren and 'directed' by Mamizou, they had created a 'live action spontaneous production' where a number of the temple's followers were actors in some kind of improvised stage play.
One lucky chap, the client, would be able to act out a fantasy of a hero to foil a dastardly plot that could destabilize the balance of power in Gensokyo. This client would meet all the interesting people along the way, including many of the big power players (well, actors of them at any rate) like Yukari Yakumo, Kanako Yasaka and Kaguya Houraisan, as well as shaping the destiny of Gensokyo itself.
For a fair price, which honestly seemed a little low for this kind of production and certainly quite affordable on Meiling's generous wage, she too could take part in a 'once in a lifetime' adventure that spanned the whole of Gensokyo and live out their wildest fantasies as a badass hero.
All make believe of course, pure escapism from the dreary day to day mediocrity… but the idea that, for even a little moment, she could feel like she was more than the 'ineffectual gatekeeper' of the Scarlet Devil Mansion did have an odd appeal.
"They even have different scenarios for you to choose," Reisen pointed out as leaned in and turned the brochure to the appropriate page, "I personally went for the 'Stolen Treasures of The Lunar Princess'… for obvious reasons, of course. It's a new scenario that only premiered last week. That's how I heard about it. In fact, I was one of the first customers. I even got to play as myself!"
"Yourself?"
"Yeah, it's all improv. The actors can literally change their 'script' on the fly to make the story more suited to the character. You won't even know it's happening when they're doing it: I actually had to talk to Shou to find out what the original script was because they'd crafted the story so well it really felt like I was the one doing it!"
"Wow, really?"
"Yep. Just tell them that you want to be yourself and they'll take care of everything for you. No script, no prep, no nothing. Just fork over the money, show up on the day, and everything's gold."
"So, they do everything? I just show up and they'll take care of everything for me?"
"That's what I said, my good friend!" Reisen nodded enthusiastically, "It's only going to be for one night, but it'll feel nice to be someone again instead of just your lady's gate guard and groundskeeper, won't it?"
Meiling's mind was flush with all the possibilities. This didn't just sound like a good idea: It sounded like a GREAT idea. This was especially true since Meiling could literally act out her fantasies as someone in Gensokyo worth a damn.
Meiling Hong, respected hero of Gensokyo instead of 'China', the gatekeeper that nobody outside the Mansion respected, took seriously or even remembered her name!
The best part was Meiling wouldn't have to do anything. All she needed to do was show up and the day and act like the awesome kung-fu heroine she'd always been, at least before Marisa Kirisame's break ins and Aya Shameimaru's expose had ruined her reputation.
For one night, Meiling could be somebody again!
"I am all over this!" Meiling said with a giggle, "Where do I sign up?"
"You know what? As a favour, I'll do all the paperwork for you since you seem so busy," Reisen offered with a grin, "The catch is you do the adventure that I just went though. In exchange, I want to compare your experience against mine after you're done."
Meiling had been looking at 'The Vile Kidnapping from the Human Village' scenario, but Reisen's idea didn't seem too bad either. Plus since Reisen introduced it to her, it was the least she could do.
"Okay, Reisen! Take it away."
This was going to be great!
-=-
"Are all the pieces in place?"
"Yes, Ma'am," The Tengu reported, "The operation is set to go off at the appointed time and all our agents have completed their preparations. We're as ready as we can be ma'am."
"Good, good." Kanako Yasaka replied with satisfaction. "Very good, indeed."
Standing at the in a secret location under Moriya-Ken, illuminated only by the dim florescent lights overhead, Kanako looked down upon was on the map of Gensokyo laid out on the table before her.
This was her most elaborate plan to date. Even the plot with the hell raven and the sun god paled in comparison to the play she was about to make. If this worked, the balance of power in Gensokyo would shift immensely in her favour, and there would be nothing anyone, even Yakumo Yukari herself, could do to stop it.
However, she had to be cautious. Experience showed her that those meddlesome incident solvers would always interfere with the plans, so she had spent months crafting the most elaborate and foolproof plan she could think of that would ensure absolute success.
All the major players she had identified would be preoccupied on the day itself due to her agents distracting them, thus leaving the prize open for the taking. Kanako had managed to find a willing turncoat within Eintei, a young earth rabbit of below average intelligence, who could commit the theft. An untraceable, foolproof way to transport the stolen package to her hands had been established…
The treasures of Kaguya Houraisan, the Lunar Princess, would be Kanako's, and with it control over Eintei and everything that entailed.
Every variance had been accounted for, every eventuality planned well in advance… there would be no stopping this when it happened.
"Ma'am, I can't help feel like something might go wrong," the tengu noted with a slight undertone of worry, "There are a lot of things that could happen on when transporting the treasures once they've been stolen…"
"Not to worry. That stupid scenario that our agents inside the Myoren Temple have managed to convince both the Mamizou and Eintei to play along with should buy us a few hours at very least." Kanako assured the other woman.
Kanako had learned of that stupid improve theatre from Sanae, who had naturally found it an exciting new development in Gensokyo. She had been dismissive at first, right up until she'd realized that it would make the perfect smoke screen for her attempt on the treasures. If she played her cards right, the role-play buy time for her agents as no one would be sure if the treasures had been actually stolen or not.
Even if it was a few short minutes of confusion, likely longer given the average IQ of an earth rabbit, those short minutes would be more than enough for the package to be handed off to her most important assent in this plot.
"Aya Shameimaru is the fastest being in Gensokyo. Not even the Ordinary Witch has been able to catch her," Kanako assured him, "Once the treasures are in Shameimaru's hands, there will be no getting them away from her."
When Kanako had entered into an alliance with Tenma, one of the greatest assets she'd managed to gain access to his the spy network and, more importantly, the spymaster herself.
Kanako had been quite surprised to learn that Aya Shameimaru, for all her outward appearances, was in fact a very dangerous individual who might even be as old as Yukari Yakumo. The Bunbunmaru newspaper, regarded as nothing more than trash tabloid, was in fact the front for the most intricate spy network Kanako had ever seen. Aya herself, once she was alone and didn't need to put up appearances, a dangerous cold blooded spymaster that was second to none.
As long as Kanako could figure out how to make one of her schemes as beneficial to the Tengu as it was to the Moriya, the Aya's services were as good as hers.
Forcefully marrying Kaguya to Tenma was one such plot, as both the influence of the Tengu and her own religion would spread.
It helped that the old coot did find the princess rather attractive.
"Once the package gets to Shameimaru, it's as good as ours."
"But what if it's intercepted before then?" The Tengu pointed out, "There is a small window where that Earth Bunny will be looking to give the package to our agent, and she's so dumb that the only instructions she's been able to remember are 'someone not from Eintei'. What if it's intercepted?"
For a moment, Kanako did feel the small strands of doubt nag in the back of her head.
She had identified this point as a weak link in her planning days ago. The loyalty of every other Earth Rabbit was rock-solid, aside from this one fool every single one of them was beholden to Tewi. Finding an alternative had been impossible: this was the one point in the plan where it could all come tumbling down.
But that was why Aya had personally taken up that aspect of the mission. The ancient tengu had given her word to both Kanako and Tenma that that the handover would happen exactly as planned. The word of a thousand year old crow tengu was not one to be taken lightly.
"Don't worry, Inubashiri," Kanako assured her underling, "With Shameimaru on the case, there is no chance that we can possibly fail."
The only way to intercept the package, that person would have to have foreknowledge of the plan and the skill to successfully outsmart the greatest spymaster in all of Gensokyo.
Nobody was that good.
-=-
Meiling sneezed.
"Bless you." Remilia said offhandedly from her throne, too busy reading to do anything else.
"Thank you, ojou-sama." Meiling bowed shyly as she remained at attention before her lady.
"So you tell me that you want an off day to take part in this… improve theatre event?" Remilia mused as she paged through the brochure Meiling had given her carefully.
"Yes ojou-sama. I would be very grateful if you would let me attend this event."
"You do know that I do provide you with vacation days right?" Remilia shook her head tiredly, "You don't need to come to me every time you want to take a day off. Just be sure to delegate the job to someone else beforehand, and I'm fine with it. It's not as if vampire hunters are trying to kick down my front door anymore."
Contrary to popular belief in the village, Remilia Scarlet was not a heartless vampire who treated her underlings poorly. She was in fact the very model of a good, caring employer who even went as far as to treat everyone in her household as a member of her own family. Nor was she a power-hungry megalomaniac out to conquer Gensokyo and unleash an eternal darkness. She was in fact, a retired ex-power-hungry megalomaniac who just wanted to live out the rest of her un-life in peace with her family. Nor was she an arrogant aristocrat who was too aloof to mingle with everyone else in Gensokyo. Remilia did have friends and was a regular guest at the Hakurei Shrine…
Really, there were a lot of misconceptions of Remilia Scarlet.
Remilia, while by no means a saint, was also not as horrible as the Gensokyo grapevine would suggest. She didn't have underground rooms full of devious plots to conquer the land. She didn't work Sakuya and fairy maids to the bone out of her own amusement. She knew the horrible rumours of her gate guard's incompetence were just that.
Most importantly, as a respectable employer who valued her wellbeing and welfare of her house servants, Remilia did give every single one of her servants off days.
Of course, despite this, Meiling Hong always came directly to Remilia to ask her permission to take a day off, something that Remilia found to be bothersome since was a waste of time… even if she was happy that Meiling was so loyal that she always sought permission first.
"I thought it would be prudent to let you in advance," Meiling admitted, "The gate isn't as well guarded without me there, and even if there isn't any real danger in Gensokyo, we do get occasional intruders. I thought it would be prudent to give you forewarning since intruders other than Marisa could get in."
Despite the widely held myth that the gate of the Scarlet Devil Mansion was about as impenetrable as a paper wall due to its 'lazy, inattentive and ineffective' gate guard, Meiling actually was quite good at her job of keeping out the riff raff like random fairies and mischievous youkai.
It was only beings of immense power, like Marisa Kirisame, who could consistently get past Meiling. For all of Meiling's eccentricities, and her propensity for afternoon naps, Remilia was well aware her gate guard was actually very good at her job.
"Consider me forewarned," Remilia said with a nod, "Very well, your leave is approved."
"Thank you, ojou-sama!"
"…Although, I may say that do find this event quite interesting," Remilia mused as she turned the brochure over in her hands, "I've seen a lot in my long life, and I don't think I've ever seen an idea this novel in a very long time."
Indeed, being a person of refined taste, Remilia loved theatre and performance. She had grown up watching theatrical productions and had many fond memories about it. To see the concept take on an entirely new form was heartening to the vampire, and she was eager to see how Myoren Temple had managed to organise such an elaborate roleplay.
"You must let me know how this goes," Remilia said, interest in her eyes, "If it's really worthwhile, I may try it out myself sometime."
"I'll be sure to let you know, ojou-sama." Meiling nodded.
"And Meiling, just one thing."
"Yes?"
"I know you're probably already planning on doing this, but remember you're a member of the Scarlet Devil Mansion household," Remilia grinned, the well neglected mischievous aspect of her personality appearing for once. "I'm rather tired of people underestimating my gate-keeper and bodyguard. Even if it's only for one night and make believe, please do impress upon those 'actors' the true might and power of the Scarlet household, will you? An agent of my house should be a force to be reckoned with, and I will not settle for anything less."
"I will remember to see it done!" Meiling beamed, "I will do this in your name, ojou-sama!"
-=-
With Remilia's go ahead, Meiling quickly let Reisen finalise the details for her big night out.
Unfortunately, as the popular weekend sessions had been booked out, Meiling's turn would be held on a Monday night, hence the need for permission. However, with Remilia's permission, this wasn't a problem for her anymore.
The event would begin after the sun had set, and would go on until the following morning. The scenario, as agreed before between the two friends, would be the theft of the 'Stolen Treasures of The Lunar Princess'.
To say Meiling was ecstatic would be an understatement.
Already, Meiling was thinking up cool lines and poses she could employ on the day itself to milk this rare experience for all it was worth. Her mind was rife with the fantasies of acting out her wildest dreams of being a powerful agent of her Lady Scarlet, walking Gensokyo to right injustice like the wuxia stories of old that had captured Meiling's imagination since her earliest memories.
It wasn't widely known among Gensokyo's population, but Meiling had always idolized the concept of the wandering wuxia hero. The Chinese equivalent of the knight errant in chivalric romance, these passionate heroes of fiction were chivalric allies of justice who walked the earth righting wrongs and fighting evil wherever it took root.
This ideal was in stark contrast to the boring tedium of Meiling's real job as a gatekeeper, who never went anywhere and was forced to remain at her post day in and day out. Instead of taking the fight to evil, Meiling was stuck watching the grass grow and trying to keep the occasional miscreant out of the mansion. It wasn't the same thing.
But for one night, it would be different. For one night, she would be Meiling Hong… elite agent of Remilia Scarlet, defender of justice and all round unrivalled martial arts badass. She could finally act out the role an invincible martial artist like she'd always wanted to.
It gave her weird tingly feeling just thinking about it!
And so the days passed, as Meiling continued to dutifully fulfil her normal mundane job by daylight and dreaming about the upcoming fantasy made reality by night. The wait was almost agonizing, so much so Meiling could have sword that Sakuya's time-stop ability was slowing her down, but before she knew it, the night she had been anticipating and dreaming of for so long was finally upon her…
-=-
"Oh, I am so excited!" Meiling said happily as she and Reisen walked down the stone path through the bamboo forest to the appointed meeting place. "I've been waiting for this! I'm getting pumped just thinking about it!"
"So you've been telling me all evening." Reisen grinned.
Both girls had taken time off their respective jobs that night, with Meiling aiming to take part in the event and Reisen to see her friend to the start point and celebrate a bit. The pair had eaten dinner together at Mystia's joint, talking animatedly and having fun in general.
"Man, I didn't know Mystia took part in one event herself!" Meiling recalled with a warm smile.
"Yeah. 'The refugee from Egypt' is a very popular one among the youkai," Reisen explained, "Most of the people who fall though the border are humans, so I heard Byakuren Hijiri herself came up with the idea of having one scenario that flipped the situation around."
The night sparrow had overheard their conversation and, having also had an adventure herself, had quickly joined in their conversation to compare notes.
The night sparrow had recounted a fun adventure where she ended up protecting an innocent Egyptian youkai, called a 'mummy', who had fallen into Gensokyo from the outside world and finding her a sponsor (which was naturally Byakuren).
While it hadn't been the same adventure as the one Meiling had been about to go on, the sheer enthusiasm Mystia had about her own adventure made Meiling all the more certain that this night would be definitely one to remember.
Eventually the pair reached a red painted wooden sign next to the stone path with read 'Myorenji event, Start point' in bold letters.
"This is the starting point." Reisen announced.
"Wow, this sign really does stand out. I'm surprised that the rabbits haven't done anything with it." Meiling noted, remembering that Tewi liked playing pranks on people.
"This scenario was the idea of the Earth Rabbits. Some kid that recently managed to get a body came up with it," Reisen explained, "Tewi may be many things, but she loves all those rabbits like her own family and it's their idea. Besides, even Tewi has enough sense avoid getting on Byakuren's bad said. Touching this sign is a no-no."
"I guess so."
"Well, I'd better be going," Reisen said, "don't want to hang around here and accidentally be mistaken for the client. Besides, master wants me back to help her, urgh, help her with an experiment tomorrow, so I'd better get a good night's sleep while I still can."
"Wow, she really works you to the bone huh?"
"That's master for you."
Them much to Reisen's surprise, Meiling turned to her and bowed, "Thank you very much for recommending this to me! I am very grateful to you!"
"This is kinda premature… and over the top isn't it?" Reisen rubbed the back of her head bashfully at the earnest gratitude Meiling was showing.
"Not at all! You took the time to come and introduce me to this improv and even took the time to come and see me out here when you are so busy. You're a good friend, Reisen." Meiling's innocent, honest smile was one of the cutest things Reisen had even seen, so much so the lunar rabbit had to avert her head slightly to avoid taking a lethal dose of cuteness in the face.
The gatekeeper really did wear her heart on her sleeve. How on earth did such a gentle soul become the (formerly) fearsome gatekeeper to the Scarlet Devil Mansion anyway?
"I'm, very happy to hear that, Meiling. You have fun, okay?" Reisen replied as she turned to leave.
"I will!" Meiling declared, "Thank you so much Reisen!"
-=-
Meiling was still a little early, so she had to wait a while before the event started. During that time she mentally ran through the checklist of everything she needed to properly play the character she wanted to play.
"Right, I am a fearsome master martial artist," Meiling recited quietly under her breadth, "I am a loyal and brave agent from the Scarlet Devil Mansion here to fight evil with kung fu. I must always remember that I am a representative of Milady Remilia Scarlet and will fight evil in her name."
Yes, that was who she was now. Not Hong Meiling, humble gatekeeper of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, but Hong Meiling, undefeatable warrior and the trusted agent on behalf of her lady, just like a wuxia story or something out of chivalric romance.
"Uh, hello!"
Meiling gave a start at the unexpected words that broke her musing. She had been so engrossed and lost in her thoughts she had not noticed the small Earth Bunny girl carrying a small locked box that had snuck up in front of her. "Um, are you the agent I'm supposed to meet?"
It took mere moments for Meiling to realize who the girl was. Quickly putting on her best smile Meiling crouched down to look at the sky little thing at eye level. This little kid was so cute!
"Why yes, I do believe I am, little girl. Are you the girl who's here about the Princesses' Jewels?" Meiling asked happily.
"Yes!" The girl, seemingly satisfied she'd found the right person, smiled in return and handed the box over to Meiling. "This box contains the treasures of the princess. Take it to the… 'village place' please. Heard people saying go right to shrine place might not be so good, so village place first might be good idea."
"The village?" Meiling tilted her head questioningly even as she accepted the box from the small Earth Bunny. Ah, she must mean the human village.
She had expected a bit more build up though. Maybe the scenario was supposed to start there?
"So where in the village am I supposed to take it?"
The girl seemed to think for a moment, as though confused, before her face lit up with the answer. "Bar place. Bird person find you."
"Ah, I see." Meiling nodded.
So she was to go there with the box and wait for instructions from a 'bird person'. While that didn't narrow it down, Meiling did remember Reisen saying that the actors would seek her out and take care of most of the work. All she had to go there first.
"Okay then! I'll be heading off!" Meiling said as she ruffled the kid's hair, "Thanks for the help, kid."
"Thank you, Miss. Please hurry. Bird person not very patient." The rabbit bowed.
What a cute kid indeed!
So with the box underarm and whistling a happy tune Meiling set off for the human village, completely unaware of what had truly just transpired under her nose…
-=-
"Ah, I sure hope Meiling has fun." The lunar rabbit mused she walked through the familiar gates to the compound… Right into what was clearly bedlam. "What?"
All around her, rabbits were running about in a state of panic, upturning everything in a clear frenzy. Eirin could be audibly hear barking hurried orders to underlings from somewhere further in the compound. Clearly something had happened while Reisen was out!
"What the hell happened?!" Reisen swore. She quickly seized a passing rabbit by the shoulder.
"Miss Udonge!" the rabbit exclaimed
"You! What the hell happened here? What's going on?" Reisen demanded, "Tell me!"
"The princesses' treasures are missing!"
Reisen's blood ran cold.
-=-
A/N - As before, this one is just something I've thrown up for backup purposes. Think of it as an 'omake' as you will that I'll work on once in a while.
-=-
The Gatekeeper Who Knew Too Little
Touhou/The Man Who Knew Too Little Crossover
Chapter 1
-=-
"Theatre… improv?"
"It's a relatively new thing that Myorenji is running with the village," Reisen explained happily as handed the brochure to Meiling, "I did it myself last week and had loads of fun!"
Meiling had been dutifully and reliably taking a short nap at her post just outside the gates when a friend she had met a while ago, Reisen the Lunar Bunny, had come by. The pair had met accidentally met in a bar on the outskirts of the human village one day and had quickly bonded due over the ups and downs of their jobs at their respective households.
Since then, Reisen would occasionally drop by to talk to Meiling on her off days to show the gatekeeper interesting things to spice up the gatekeeper's otherwise boring day… and today, it was this odd attraction.
"The idea is that you'll be star in a live action role-play that lets you take up the role of a passing incident solver who gets caught up in adventure and eventually gets to save the day. This is, like, the complete opposite of our day to day boredom, Meiling!" Reisen recounted excitedly, "I really felt like the star in one of those action movies that Princess Kaguya likes to watch. You should try it yourself sometime!"
"Hm, this does seem kind of interesting." Meiling mused as she flipped through the brochure to see everything it had to offer.
It seemed that Myorenji's latest attempt to get humans and youkai to live together in harmony was a little unconventional. Sponsored and endorsed by Byakuren and 'directed' by Mamizou, they had created a 'live action spontaneous production' where a number of the temple's followers were actors in some kind of improvised stage play.
One lucky chap, the client, would be able to act out a fantasy of a hero to foil a dastardly plot that could destabilize the balance of power in Gensokyo. This client would meet all the interesting people along the way, including many of the big power players (well, actors of them at any rate) like Yukari Yakumo, Kanako Yasaka and Kaguya Houraisan, as well as shaping the destiny of Gensokyo itself.
For a fair price, which honestly seemed a little low for this kind of production and certainly quite affordable on Meiling's generous wage, she too could take part in a 'once in a lifetime' adventure that spanned the whole of Gensokyo and live out their wildest fantasies as a badass hero.
All make believe of course, pure escapism from the dreary day to day mediocrity… but the idea that, for even a little moment, she could feel like she was more than the 'ineffectual gatekeeper' of the Scarlet Devil Mansion did have an odd appeal.
"They even have different scenarios for you to choose," Reisen pointed out as leaned in and turned the brochure to the appropriate page, "I personally went for the 'Stolen Treasures of The Lunar Princess'… for obvious reasons, of course. It's a new scenario that only premiered last week. That's how I heard about it. In fact, I was one of the first customers. I even got to play as myself!"
"Yourself?"
"Yeah, it's all improv. The actors can literally change their 'script' on the fly to make the story more suited to the character. You won't even know it's happening when they're doing it: I actually had to talk to Shou to find out what the original script was because they'd crafted the story so well it really felt like I was the one doing it!"
"Wow, really?"
"Yep. Just tell them that you want to be yourself and they'll take care of everything for you. No script, no prep, no nothing. Just fork over the money, show up on the day, and everything's gold."
"So, they do everything? I just show up and they'll take care of everything for me?"
"That's what I said, my good friend!" Reisen nodded enthusiastically, "It's only going to be for one night, but it'll feel nice to be someone again instead of just your lady's gate guard and groundskeeper, won't it?"
Meiling's mind was flush with all the possibilities. This didn't just sound like a good idea: It sounded like a GREAT idea. This was especially true since Meiling could literally act out her fantasies as someone in Gensokyo worth a damn.
Meiling Hong, respected hero of Gensokyo instead of 'China', the gatekeeper that nobody outside the Mansion respected, took seriously or even remembered her name!
The best part was Meiling wouldn't have to do anything. All she needed to do was show up and the day and act like the awesome kung-fu heroine she'd always been, at least before Marisa Kirisame's break ins and Aya Shameimaru's expose had ruined her reputation.
For one night, Meiling could be somebody again!
"I am all over this!" Meiling said with a giggle, "Where do I sign up?"
"You know what? As a favour, I'll do all the paperwork for you since you seem so busy," Reisen offered with a grin, "The catch is you do the adventure that I just went though. In exchange, I want to compare your experience against mine after you're done."
Meiling had been looking at 'The Vile Kidnapping from the Human Village' scenario, but Reisen's idea didn't seem too bad either. Plus since Reisen introduced it to her, it was the least she could do.
"Okay, Reisen! Take it away."
This was going to be great!
-=-
"Are all the pieces in place?"
"Yes, Ma'am," The Tengu reported, "The operation is set to go off at the appointed time and all our agents have completed their preparations. We're as ready as we can be ma'am."
"Good, good." Kanako Yasaka replied with satisfaction. "Very good, indeed."
Standing at the in a secret location under Moriya-Ken, illuminated only by the dim florescent lights overhead, Kanako looked down upon was on the map of Gensokyo laid out on the table before her.
This was her most elaborate plan to date. Even the plot with the hell raven and the sun god paled in comparison to the play she was about to make. If this worked, the balance of power in Gensokyo would shift immensely in her favour, and there would be nothing anyone, even Yakumo Yukari herself, could do to stop it.
However, she had to be cautious. Experience showed her that those meddlesome incident solvers would always interfere with the plans, so she had spent months crafting the most elaborate and foolproof plan she could think of that would ensure absolute success.
All the major players she had identified would be preoccupied on the day itself due to her agents distracting them, thus leaving the prize open for the taking. Kanako had managed to find a willing turncoat within Eintei, a young earth rabbit of below average intelligence, who could commit the theft. An untraceable, foolproof way to transport the stolen package to her hands had been established…
The treasures of Kaguya Houraisan, the Lunar Princess, would be Kanako's, and with it control over Eintei and everything that entailed.
Every variance had been accounted for, every eventuality planned well in advance… there would be no stopping this when it happened.
"Ma'am, I can't help feel like something might go wrong," the tengu noted with a slight undertone of worry, "There are a lot of things that could happen on when transporting the treasures once they've been stolen…"
"Not to worry. That stupid scenario that our agents inside the Myoren Temple have managed to convince both the Mamizou and Eintei to play along with should buy us a few hours at very least." Kanako assured the other woman.
Kanako had learned of that stupid improve theatre from Sanae, who had naturally found it an exciting new development in Gensokyo. She had been dismissive at first, right up until she'd realized that it would make the perfect smoke screen for her attempt on the treasures. If she played her cards right, the role-play buy time for her agents as no one would be sure if the treasures had been actually stolen or not.
Even if it was a few short minutes of confusion, likely longer given the average IQ of an earth rabbit, those short minutes would be more than enough for the package to be handed off to her most important assent in this plot.
"Aya Shameimaru is the fastest being in Gensokyo. Not even the Ordinary Witch has been able to catch her," Kanako assured him, "Once the treasures are in Shameimaru's hands, there will be no getting them away from her."
When Kanako had entered into an alliance with Tenma, one of the greatest assets she'd managed to gain access to his the spy network and, more importantly, the spymaster herself.
Kanako had been quite surprised to learn that Aya Shameimaru, for all her outward appearances, was in fact a very dangerous individual who might even be as old as Yukari Yakumo. The Bunbunmaru newspaper, regarded as nothing more than trash tabloid, was in fact the front for the most intricate spy network Kanako had ever seen. Aya herself, once she was alone and didn't need to put up appearances, a dangerous cold blooded spymaster that was second to none.
As long as Kanako could figure out how to make one of her schemes as beneficial to the Tengu as it was to the Moriya, the Aya's services were as good as hers.
Forcefully marrying Kaguya to Tenma was one such plot, as both the influence of the Tengu and her own religion would spread.
It helped that the old coot did find the princess rather attractive.
"Once the package gets to Shameimaru, it's as good as ours."
"But what if it's intercepted before then?" The Tengu pointed out, "There is a small window where that Earth Bunny will be looking to give the package to our agent, and she's so dumb that the only instructions she's been able to remember are 'someone not from Eintei'. What if it's intercepted?"
For a moment, Kanako did feel the small strands of doubt nag in the back of her head.
She had identified this point as a weak link in her planning days ago. The loyalty of every other Earth Rabbit was rock-solid, aside from this one fool every single one of them was beholden to Tewi. Finding an alternative had been impossible: this was the one point in the plan where it could all come tumbling down.
But that was why Aya had personally taken up that aspect of the mission. The ancient tengu had given her word to both Kanako and Tenma that that the handover would happen exactly as planned. The word of a thousand year old crow tengu was not one to be taken lightly.
"Don't worry, Inubashiri," Kanako assured her underling, "With Shameimaru on the case, there is no chance that we can possibly fail."
The only way to intercept the package, that person would have to have foreknowledge of the plan and the skill to successfully outsmart the greatest spymaster in all of Gensokyo.
Nobody was that good.
-=-
Meiling sneezed.
"Bless you." Remilia said offhandedly from her throne, too busy reading to do anything else.
"Thank you, ojou-sama." Meiling bowed shyly as she remained at attention before her lady.
"So you tell me that you want an off day to take part in this… improve theatre event?" Remilia mused as she paged through the brochure Meiling had given her carefully.
"Yes ojou-sama. I would be very grateful if you would let me attend this event."
"You do know that I do provide you with vacation days right?" Remilia shook her head tiredly, "You don't need to come to me every time you want to take a day off. Just be sure to delegate the job to someone else beforehand, and I'm fine with it. It's not as if vampire hunters are trying to kick down my front door anymore."
Contrary to popular belief in the village, Remilia Scarlet was not a heartless vampire who treated her underlings poorly. She was in fact the very model of a good, caring employer who even went as far as to treat everyone in her household as a member of her own family. Nor was she a power-hungry megalomaniac out to conquer Gensokyo and unleash an eternal darkness. She was in fact, a retired ex-power-hungry megalomaniac who just wanted to live out the rest of her un-life in peace with her family. Nor was she an arrogant aristocrat who was too aloof to mingle with everyone else in Gensokyo. Remilia did have friends and was a regular guest at the Hakurei Shrine…
Really, there were a lot of misconceptions of Remilia Scarlet.
Remilia, while by no means a saint, was also not as horrible as the Gensokyo grapevine would suggest. She didn't have underground rooms full of devious plots to conquer the land. She didn't work Sakuya and fairy maids to the bone out of her own amusement. She knew the horrible rumours of her gate guard's incompetence were just that.
Most importantly, as a respectable employer who valued her wellbeing and welfare of her house servants, Remilia did give every single one of her servants off days.
Of course, despite this, Meiling Hong always came directly to Remilia to ask her permission to take a day off, something that Remilia found to be bothersome since was a waste of time… even if she was happy that Meiling was so loyal that she always sought permission first.
"I thought it would be prudent to let you in advance," Meiling admitted, "The gate isn't as well guarded without me there, and even if there isn't any real danger in Gensokyo, we do get occasional intruders. I thought it would be prudent to give you forewarning since intruders other than Marisa could get in."
Despite the widely held myth that the gate of the Scarlet Devil Mansion was about as impenetrable as a paper wall due to its 'lazy, inattentive and ineffective' gate guard, Meiling actually was quite good at her job of keeping out the riff raff like random fairies and mischievous youkai.
It was only beings of immense power, like Marisa Kirisame, who could consistently get past Meiling. For all of Meiling's eccentricities, and her propensity for afternoon naps, Remilia was well aware her gate guard was actually very good at her job.
"Consider me forewarned," Remilia said with a nod, "Very well, your leave is approved."
"Thank you, ojou-sama!"
"…Although, I may say that do find this event quite interesting," Remilia mused as she turned the brochure over in her hands, "I've seen a lot in my long life, and I don't think I've ever seen an idea this novel in a very long time."
Indeed, being a person of refined taste, Remilia loved theatre and performance. She had grown up watching theatrical productions and had many fond memories about it. To see the concept take on an entirely new form was heartening to the vampire, and she was eager to see how Myoren Temple had managed to organise such an elaborate roleplay.
"You must let me know how this goes," Remilia said, interest in her eyes, "If it's really worthwhile, I may try it out myself sometime."
"I'll be sure to let you know, ojou-sama." Meiling nodded.
"And Meiling, just one thing."
"Yes?"
"I know you're probably already planning on doing this, but remember you're a member of the Scarlet Devil Mansion household," Remilia grinned, the well neglected mischievous aspect of her personality appearing for once. "I'm rather tired of people underestimating my gate-keeper and bodyguard. Even if it's only for one night and make believe, please do impress upon those 'actors' the true might and power of the Scarlet household, will you? An agent of my house should be a force to be reckoned with, and I will not settle for anything less."
"I will remember to see it done!" Meiling beamed, "I will do this in your name, ojou-sama!"
-=-
With Remilia's go ahead, Meiling quickly let Reisen finalise the details for her big night out.
Unfortunately, as the popular weekend sessions had been booked out, Meiling's turn would be held on a Monday night, hence the need for permission. However, with Remilia's permission, this wasn't a problem for her anymore.
The event would begin after the sun had set, and would go on until the following morning. The scenario, as agreed before between the two friends, would be the theft of the 'Stolen Treasures of The Lunar Princess'.
To say Meiling was ecstatic would be an understatement.
Already, Meiling was thinking up cool lines and poses she could employ on the day itself to milk this rare experience for all it was worth. Her mind was rife with the fantasies of acting out her wildest dreams of being a powerful agent of her Lady Scarlet, walking Gensokyo to right injustice like the wuxia stories of old that had captured Meiling's imagination since her earliest memories.
It wasn't widely known among Gensokyo's population, but Meiling had always idolized the concept of the wandering wuxia hero. The Chinese equivalent of the knight errant in chivalric romance, these passionate heroes of fiction were chivalric allies of justice who walked the earth righting wrongs and fighting evil wherever it took root.
This ideal was in stark contrast to the boring tedium of Meiling's real job as a gatekeeper, who never went anywhere and was forced to remain at her post day in and day out. Instead of taking the fight to evil, Meiling was stuck watching the grass grow and trying to keep the occasional miscreant out of the mansion. It wasn't the same thing.
But for one night, it would be different. For one night, she would be Meiling Hong… elite agent of Remilia Scarlet, defender of justice and all round unrivalled martial arts badass. She could finally act out the role an invincible martial artist like she'd always wanted to.
It gave her weird tingly feeling just thinking about it!
And so the days passed, as Meiling continued to dutifully fulfil her normal mundane job by daylight and dreaming about the upcoming fantasy made reality by night. The wait was almost agonizing, so much so Meiling could have sword that Sakuya's time-stop ability was slowing her down, but before she knew it, the night she had been anticipating and dreaming of for so long was finally upon her…
-=-
"Oh, I am so excited!" Meiling said happily as she and Reisen walked down the stone path through the bamboo forest to the appointed meeting place. "I've been waiting for this! I'm getting pumped just thinking about it!"
"So you've been telling me all evening." Reisen grinned.
Both girls had taken time off their respective jobs that night, with Meiling aiming to take part in the event and Reisen to see her friend to the start point and celebrate a bit. The pair had eaten dinner together at Mystia's joint, talking animatedly and having fun in general.
"Man, I didn't know Mystia took part in one event herself!" Meiling recalled with a warm smile.
"Yeah. 'The refugee from Egypt' is a very popular one among the youkai," Reisen explained, "Most of the people who fall though the border are humans, so I heard Byakuren Hijiri herself came up with the idea of having one scenario that flipped the situation around."
The night sparrow had overheard their conversation and, having also had an adventure herself, had quickly joined in their conversation to compare notes.
The night sparrow had recounted a fun adventure where she ended up protecting an innocent Egyptian youkai, called a 'mummy', who had fallen into Gensokyo from the outside world and finding her a sponsor (which was naturally Byakuren).
While it hadn't been the same adventure as the one Meiling had been about to go on, the sheer enthusiasm Mystia had about her own adventure made Meiling all the more certain that this night would be definitely one to remember.
Eventually the pair reached a red painted wooden sign next to the stone path with read 'Myorenji event, Start point' in bold letters.
"This is the starting point." Reisen announced.
"Wow, this sign really does stand out. I'm surprised that the rabbits haven't done anything with it." Meiling noted, remembering that Tewi liked playing pranks on people.
"This scenario was the idea of the Earth Rabbits. Some kid that recently managed to get a body came up with it," Reisen explained, "Tewi may be many things, but she loves all those rabbits like her own family and it's their idea. Besides, even Tewi has enough sense avoid getting on Byakuren's bad said. Touching this sign is a no-no."
"I guess so."
"Well, I'd better be going," Reisen said, "don't want to hang around here and accidentally be mistaken for the client. Besides, master wants me back to help her, urgh, help her with an experiment tomorrow, so I'd better get a good night's sleep while I still can."
"Wow, she really works you to the bone huh?"
"That's master for you."
Them much to Reisen's surprise, Meiling turned to her and bowed, "Thank you very much for recommending this to me! I am very grateful to you!"
"This is kinda premature… and over the top isn't it?" Reisen rubbed the back of her head bashfully at the earnest gratitude Meiling was showing.
"Not at all! You took the time to come and introduce me to this improv and even took the time to come and see me out here when you are so busy. You're a good friend, Reisen." Meiling's innocent, honest smile was one of the cutest things Reisen had even seen, so much so the lunar rabbit had to avert her head slightly to avoid taking a lethal dose of cuteness in the face.
The gatekeeper really did wear her heart on her sleeve. How on earth did such a gentle soul become the (formerly) fearsome gatekeeper to the Scarlet Devil Mansion anyway?
"I'm, very happy to hear that, Meiling. You have fun, okay?" Reisen replied as she turned to leave.
"I will!" Meiling declared, "Thank you so much Reisen!"
-=-
Meiling was still a little early, so she had to wait a while before the event started. During that time she mentally ran through the checklist of everything she needed to properly play the character she wanted to play.
"Right, I am a fearsome master martial artist," Meiling recited quietly under her breadth, "I am a loyal and brave agent from the Scarlet Devil Mansion here to fight evil with kung fu. I must always remember that I am a representative of Milady Remilia Scarlet and will fight evil in her name."
Yes, that was who she was now. Not Hong Meiling, humble gatekeeper of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, but Hong Meiling, undefeatable warrior and the trusted agent on behalf of her lady, just like a wuxia story or something out of chivalric romance.
"Uh, hello!"
Meiling gave a start at the unexpected words that broke her musing. She had been so engrossed and lost in her thoughts she had not noticed the small Earth Bunny girl carrying a small locked box that had snuck up in front of her. "Um, are you the agent I'm supposed to meet?"
It took mere moments for Meiling to realize who the girl was. Quickly putting on her best smile Meiling crouched down to look at the sky little thing at eye level. This little kid was so cute!
"Why yes, I do believe I am, little girl. Are you the girl who's here about the Princesses' Jewels?" Meiling asked happily.
"Yes!" The girl, seemingly satisfied she'd found the right person, smiled in return and handed the box over to Meiling. "This box contains the treasures of the princess. Take it to the… 'village place' please. Heard people saying go right to shrine place might not be so good, so village place first might be good idea."
"The village?" Meiling tilted her head questioningly even as she accepted the box from the small Earth Bunny. Ah, she must mean the human village.
She had expected a bit more build up though. Maybe the scenario was supposed to start there?
"So where in the village am I supposed to take it?"
The girl seemed to think for a moment, as though confused, before her face lit up with the answer. "Bar place. Bird person find you."
"Ah, I see." Meiling nodded.
So she was to go there with the box and wait for instructions from a 'bird person'. While that didn't narrow it down, Meiling did remember Reisen saying that the actors would seek her out and take care of most of the work. All she had to go there first.
"Okay then! I'll be heading off!" Meiling said as she ruffled the kid's hair, "Thanks for the help, kid."
"Thank you, Miss. Please hurry. Bird person not very patient." The rabbit bowed.
What a cute kid indeed!
So with the box underarm and whistling a happy tune Meiling set off for the human village, completely unaware of what had truly just transpired under her nose…
-=-
"Ah, I sure hope Meiling has fun." The lunar rabbit mused she walked through the familiar gates to the compound… Right into what was clearly bedlam. "What?"
All around her, rabbits were running about in a state of panic, upturning everything in a clear frenzy. Eirin could be audibly hear barking hurried orders to underlings from somewhere further in the compound. Clearly something had happened while Reisen was out!
"What the hell happened?!" Reisen swore. She quickly seized a passing rabbit by the shoulder.
"Miss Udonge!" the rabbit exclaimed
"You! What the hell happened here? What's going on?" Reisen demanded, "Tell me!"
"The princesses' treasures are missing!"
Reisen's blood ran cold.
-=-
A/N - As before, this one is just something I've thrown up for backup purposes. Think of it as an 'omake' as you will that I'll work on once in a while.
sasahara17
Just Another Random Author
- Location
- Brisbane City
Hey guys, here's the next snippet of the Tourist for you. I have some notes after this, so stick around.
-=-
While the Scarlet Devil Mansion was most famous for the great library in its underground levels, it also possessed a magnificent, well-tended, garden that covered the entire area between the mansion proper and the outer walls. Consisting of a variety of rare flowers and other exotic plants, all carefully arranged by Meiling to bring out their full splendour, it was a real pity that so few in the Eastern Wonderland actually had the opportunity to see it.
Once Remilia and Sakuya had retired indoors, Meiling had lead both Reimu and Renko out onto the garden to show them around. The gatekeeper, overjoyed that someone was actually around to actually pay attention to her hard work, led the pair around with more enthusiasm than Reimu had actually seen of the gatekeeper.
"This is the mansion's… well the common name is a 'Middlemist Camellia'. It's a very rare plant that I recently managed to cultivate on the grounds," Meiling said proudly as she gently motioned to the delicate red flower that was the centrepiece of one of her displays, "I brought it with me into the mansion when I entered milady's service, and it's been here ever since."
"Holy cow, this plant? Are you kidding me?" Renko regarded the flower with wide eyes and a shocked expression, looking torn between wanting to touch the flower and staying clear of it for fear of accidentally damaging it, "We call it a different name where I'm from, but… wow, just wow! I thought this to be extinct! Meiling, how…"
"I'm from China. It was one of the treasures I brought with me when I moved into the mansion." Meiling explained proudly. "It's been with me for well over two hundred years. This little girl here is practically my baby."
Renko could only nod excitedly as she took out her note book and quickly made a few notes into it. "Hm, pardon me if I'm mistaken, but don't things that old get fairies and stuff around here? I mean, if the Gensokyo Chronicle is any indication, even an Umbrella can become a supernatural creature, let alone a two hundred year old priceless flower."
"Normally they would, but our resident magician's put a few safeguards in place to make sure that doesn't happen." Meiling replied, "The last thing we want is for this priceless flower here to sprout a pair of wings and fly away somewhere."
"Ah, that's a relief," Renko nodded in agreement, then paused as a thought came to her. "If that's the case… could I touch it?"
"Sure. Just be aware, that Patchy, our resident magician, has put up a whole lot of powerful wards on this flower," Meiling informed them, "The second those wards pick up any ill intent to the flower… zap!"
"I'll keep that in mind." Renko said as she leaned forward to gently caress one of the petals.
Reimu on the other hand, wasn't so impressed.
"I don't get what's so amazing about a flower," Reimu sighed as she looked around the garden for some form of stimulation. Unlike Renko, who seemed to be very interested in botany, Reimu wasn't couldn't find it in herself to be interested in a bunch of plants.
Her nonchalance to the subject quickly drew reactions from the other two companions.
"Reimu-chan, it's one of three known specimens of the flower in the entire world, two of which are outside Gensokyo," Meiling explained with a sigh, "This flower is basically priceless."
"It's also a very potent reagent for all sorts of things I believed to be completely extinct where I'm from."
Meiling's head snapped around to Renko so fast that Reimu thought the poor gatekeeper had been a hairs breadth away from getting whiplash.
"Not that I'm going to take it away from here of course!" Renko quickly backpedalled, with her hands held out and away from the rare Carmellia to show her sincerity, "Sun's grace, I would never think of taking such a rare specimen off you, let alone risk damaging it! You think I want to harm such a treasure? No one would be that crazy!"
"…I suppose. You probably wouldn't be able to past Patchy's wards anyway." Meiling said with a small measure of relief. To be safe, she quickly ushered her guests onto the next exhibit, leaving the priceless flower behind them…
…Just as the petal that Renko had touched began glowing.
-=-
Reimu gave a long yawn as Meiling continued to prattle on about some other plant, some delicate little white thing called a 'Silene tomentosa', to an entranced Renko. It was now early in the evening, and the sun was slowly beginning its descent below the horizon casting the world into twilight.
"This is going on forever." Reimu complained as she waited for the pair to finish.
While Reimu was laid back, the sheer boredom and disinterest she was having towards this tour was really giving her second thoughts about the whole tourgide thing. If she were at home, she could catch a nap on her futon or have a nice drink of sake to calm the nerves, her current job meant she had to wait around, completely sober and more or less alert, while Renko finished up her little talk with Meiling. It was an exercise that was far more boring than she had expected it to be!
"Why can't they hurry it up some?"
"You think this is bad, you should try waiting hand and foot for the mistress."
"Not a chance. That's you kind of thing, not mine, Miss 'head maid'."
Reimu turned to regard Sakuya, who had materialized seemingly out of thin air right next to her. The perfect elegant maid had an impeccable appearance as always, and was looking on at Meiling and Renko with a serene, if curious expression.
"So, Remilia waking up any time soon?" Reimu asked hopefully. The sooner the vampire woke, the sooner that dinner, and the escape from this exercise in utter boredom, would come.
"Not for another hour, at least," Sakuya replied with a shake of her head, "The mistress went to bed much later than usual today. It is unlikely she will be up until after the sun has set."
"Well, isn't that just wonderful," Reimu groused, "Sometimes I wonder how Yukari manages to talk me into these things."
"So, she is Yukari's friend, huh?" Sakuya said as she settled in to wait beside Reimu, "I didn't think that Yukari would take interest in an ordinary human like her."
"Sakuya. This is Yukari."
"Ah, you do have a point."
Reimu wondered if it was a good idea not to warn Sakuya about the mansion's new guest. She was pretty confident at this point that there was definitely something odd about Renko, and perhaps giving the head maid of the mansion they were visiting a heads up might be a good way for Reimu to head off some potential problems down the line. Sakuya was notoriously efficient at cleaning up after the other residents, so if anything happened it having Sakuya on her side would be great.
Unfortunately, Reimu was also aware that Sakuya was completely devoted to Remilia. If Reimu were to even hint of her suspicions about their tourist to Sakuya, there was a very good chance that what she'd said would wind up being passed onto the vampire.
If that happened, trouble would definitely ensure, and Reimu didn't want that!
"I find it strange though," Sakuya thoughtfully said, "Miss Usami's reactions are very different from what I'd expect of an outsider."
"How so?"
"When I stopped time before, she didn't react in a way I would expect someone to," Sakuya explained, "She noticed me disappear when I stopped time, but when I checked back in later she didn't seem afraid of it."
"You checked back in? I didn't see you earlier after you left." Indeed, Sakuya had merely snapped her fingers and disappeared from her sight, reappearing with an umbrella in hand only when it was time to take Remilia back indoors.
"Merely a matter of perceptions. I can move freely when I stop time," Sakuya shrugged, "when I was making your rooms, realized I might have startled our guest, I quickly returned in the odd chance I was needed. As it turned out I wasn't, so I returned to my duties."
"I see."
"Most humans and youkai, who visit my time stop ability for the first time tend to grill the Mistress about it. Miss Renko didn't. I find it odd that she didn't press the issue more. It was like what I did wasn't that unusual for her."
"Well, your ability isn't a secret and she was reading the Gensokyo Chronicle before she came here," Reimu pointed out, "The practically read the entire thing cover to cover before coming here. She knows you can stop time."
"Perhaps," Sakuya reluctantly agreed, "But I would think that a normal human would react more when they saw something truly amazing with their own two eyes."
Reimu froze for a moment as something very, very odd occurred to her. Renko HAD acted amazed earlier… but to seeing Sakuya's time-stop ability.
The bubbly traveller had been going completely bonkers… over Meiling's flower. Between Sakuya's ability to stop time at will and Meiling's flower, apparently Renko had thought the flower the more interesting sight.
"Okay, there is something really wrong with this girl."
"Hm? Did you say something?" Sakuya said.
"Nothing. Nothing at all." Reimu sighed as she wondered just what had caused Renko's odd reaction.
-=-
A/N - Just to clarify, Renko does find Sakuya's time stop ability interesting, however the magical medicinal properties of a rare, two hundred year old flower are much more attractive to her given her current woes with the Great Curse. She'd get around to grilling Sakuya eventually, but at the time she found the flower most fascinating.
Anyway, I was thinking about the discussion over the abilities of the Touhou characters in relation to the Exalted, and this is how I plan to proceed:
In this story, I'm going to buff the Touhou characters quite a fair bit so that they can 'compete' with Exalted by interpreting their powers quite broadly: the Spell Card system keeps them in check, but if the youkai/magicians/immortals/whatever cut loose they can achieve some impressive results.
Granted an E5 Exalted will still wreck most them in a real fight, but some of the stuff the denizens of Gensokyo can do will blow Renko's mind. For example:
Yukari: Manipulation of boundaries, including ones at a conceptual level. While Renko can fend her off using charms and sorceries, some of the crap Yukari can pull (instant gender change) is shocking.
Sakuya: Perfect time stop at on call, with no restrictions and no limitations. She uses this utterly broken ability to do housework. She is also the one who makes the mansion bigger on the inside.
Keine: In her Hakutaku form, she has the ability to create history at will. Renko is going to take one look at that ability and start thinking about ways it can be used to screw with her 'old pal Ivory'.
Mokou: Renko, while long lived, will eventually die… like most other things in creation. Mokou cannot die (and in some fan works, survives even the death of Earth itself). Same goes for Kaguya.
And cause this is pretty widely known back over on the original SB idea thread (warning ending spoilers below to those who haven't already seen it)…
That's enough for me today. Thanks for reading, folks!
-=-
While the Scarlet Devil Mansion was most famous for the great library in its underground levels, it also possessed a magnificent, well-tended, garden that covered the entire area between the mansion proper and the outer walls. Consisting of a variety of rare flowers and other exotic plants, all carefully arranged by Meiling to bring out their full splendour, it was a real pity that so few in the Eastern Wonderland actually had the opportunity to see it.
Once Remilia and Sakuya had retired indoors, Meiling had lead both Reimu and Renko out onto the garden to show them around. The gatekeeper, overjoyed that someone was actually around to actually pay attention to her hard work, led the pair around with more enthusiasm than Reimu had actually seen of the gatekeeper.
"This is the mansion's… well the common name is a 'Middlemist Camellia'. It's a very rare plant that I recently managed to cultivate on the grounds," Meiling said proudly as she gently motioned to the delicate red flower that was the centrepiece of one of her displays, "I brought it with me into the mansion when I entered milady's service, and it's been here ever since."
"Holy cow, this plant? Are you kidding me?" Renko regarded the flower with wide eyes and a shocked expression, looking torn between wanting to touch the flower and staying clear of it for fear of accidentally damaging it, "We call it a different name where I'm from, but… wow, just wow! I thought this to be extinct! Meiling, how…"
"I'm from China. It was one of the treasures I brought with me when I moved into the mansion." Meiling explained proudly. "It's been with me for well over two hundred years. This little girl here is practically my baby."
Renko could only nod excitedly as she took out her note book and quickly made a few notes into it. "Hm, pardon me if I'm mistaken, but don't things that old get fairies and stuff around here? I mean, if the Gensokyo Chronicle is any indication, even an Umbrella can become a supernatural creature, let alone a two hundred year old priceless flower."
"Normally they would, but our resident magician's put a few safeguards in place to make sure that doesn't happen." Meiling replied, "The last thing we want is for this priceless flower here to sprout a pair of wings and fly away somewhere."
"Ah, that's a relief," Renko nodded in agreement, then paused as a thought came to her. "If that's the case… could I touch it?"
"Sure. Just be aware, that Patchy, our resident magician, has put up a whole lot of powerful wards on this flower," Meiling informed them, "The second those wards pick up any ill intent to the flower… zap!"
"I'll keep that in mind." Renko said as she leaned forward to gently caress one of the petals.
Reimu on the other hand, wasn't so impressed.
"I don't get what's so amazing about a flower," Reimu sighed as she looked around the garden for some form of stimulation. Unlike Renko, who seemed to be very interested in botany, Reimu wasn't couldn't find it in herself to be interested in a bunch of plants.
Her nonchalance to the subject quickly drew reactions from the other two companions.
"Reimu-chan, it's one of three known specimens of the flower in the entire world, two of which are outside Gensokyo," Meiling explained with a sigh, "This flower is basically priceless."
"It's also a very potent reagent for all sorts of things I believed to be completely extinct where I'm from."
Meiling's head snapped around to Renko so fast that Reimu thought the poor gatekeeper had been a hairs breadth away from getting whiplash.
"Not that I'm going to take it away from here of course!" Renko quickly backpedalled, with her hands held out and away from the rare Carmellia to show her sincerity, "Sun's grace, I would never think of taking such a rare specimen off you, let alone risk damaging it! You think I want to harm such a treasure? No one would be that crazy!"
"…I suppose. You probably wouldn't be able to past Patchy's wards anyway." Meiling said with a small measure of relief. To be safe, she quickly ushered her guests onto the next exhibit, leaving the priceless flower behind them…
…Just as the petal that Renko had touched began glowing.
-=-
Reimu gave a long yawn as Meiling continued to prattle on about some other plant, some delicate little white thing called a 'Silene tomentosa', to an entranced Renko. It was now early in the evening, and the sun was slowly beginning its descent below the horizon casting the world into twilight.
"This is going on forever." Reimu complained as she waited for the pair to finish.
While Reimu was laid back, the sheer boredom and disinterest she was having towards this tour was really giving her second thoughts about the whole tourgide thing. If she were at home, she could catch a nap on her futon or have a nice drink of sake to calm the nerves, her current job meant she had to wait around, completely sober and more or less alert, while Renko finished up her little talk with Meiling. It was an exercise that was far more boring than she had expected it to be!
"Why can't they hurry it up some?"
"You think this is bad, you should try waiting hand and foot for the mistress."
"Not a chance. That's you kind of thing, not mine, Miss 'head maid'."
Reimu turned to regard Sakuya, who had materialized seemingly out of thin air right next to her. The perfect elegant maid had an impeccable appearance as always, and was looking on at Meiling and Renko with a serene, if curious expression.
"So, Remilia waking up any time soon?" Reimu asked hopefully. The sooner the vampire woke, the sooner that dinner, and the escape from this exercise in utter boredom, would come.
"Not for another hour, at least," Sakuya replied with a shake of her head, "The mistress went to bed much later than usual today. It is unlikely she will be up until after the sun has set."
"Well, isn't that just wonderful," Reimu groused, "Sometimes I wonder how Yukari manages to talk me into these things."
"So, she is Yukari's friend, huh?" Sakuya said as she settled in to wait beside Reimu, "I didn't think that Yukari would take interest in an ordinary human like her."
"Sakuya. This is Yukari."
"Ah, you do have a point."
Reimu wondered if it was a good idea not to warn Sakuya about the mansion's new guest. She was pretty confident at this point that there was definitely something odd about Renko, and perhaps giving the head maid of the mansion they were visiting a heads up might be a good way for Reimu to head off some potential problems down the line. Sakuya was notoriously efficient at cleaning up after the other residents, so if anything happened it having Sakuya on her side would be great.
Unfortunately, Reimu was also aware that Sakuya was completely devoted to Remilia. If Reimu were to even hint of her suspicions about their tourist to Sakuya, there was a very good chance that what she'd said would wind up being passed onto the vampire.
If that happened, trouble would definitely ensure, and Reimu didn't want that!
"I find it strange though," Sakuya thoughtfully said, "Miss Usami's reactions are very different from what I'd expect of an outsider."
"How so?"
"When I stopped time before, she didn't react in a way I would expect someone to," Sakuya explained, "She noticed me disappear when I stopped time, but when I checked back in later she didn't seem afraid of it."
"You checked back in? I didn't see you earlier after you left." Indeed, Sakuya had merely snapped her fingers and disappeared from her sight, reappearing with an umbrella in hand only when it was time to take Remilia back indoors.
"Merely a matter of perceptions. I can move freely when I stop time," Sakuya shrugged, "when I was making your rooms, realized I might have startled our guest, I quickly returned in the odd chance I was needed. As it turned out I wasn't, so I returned to my duties."
"I see."
"Most humans and youkai, who visit my time stop ability for the first time tend to grill the Mistress about it. Miss Renko didn't. I find it odd that she didn't press the issue more. It was like what I did wasn't that unusual for her."
"Well, your ability isn't a secret and she was reading the Gensokyo Chronicle before she came here," Reimu pointed out, "The practically read the entire thing cover to cover before coming here. She knows you can stop time."
"Perhaps," Sakuya reluctantly agreed, "But I would think that a normal human would react more when they saw something truly amazing with their own two eyes."
Reimu froze for a moment as something very, very odd occurred to her. Renko HAD acted amazed earlier… but to seeing Sakuya's time-stop ability.
The bubbly traveller had been going completely bonkers… over Meiling's flower. Between Sakuya's ability to stop time at will and Meiling's flower, apparently Renko had thought the flower the more interesting sight.
"Okay, there is something really wrong with this girl."
"Hm? Did you say something?" Sakuya said.
"Nothing. Nothing at all." Reimu sighed as she wondered just what had caused Renko's odd reaction.
-=-
A/N - Just to clarify, Renko does find Sakuya's time stop ability interesting, however the magical medicinal properties of a rare, two hundred year old flower are much more attractive to her given her current woes with the Great Curse. She'd get around to grilling Sakuya eventually, but at the time she found the flower most fascinating.
Anyway, I was thinking about the discussion over the abilities of the Touhou characters in relation to the Exalted, and this is how I plan to proceed:
In this story, I'm going to buff the Touhou characters quite a fair bit so that they can 'compete' with Exalted by interpreting their powers quite broadly: the Spell Card system keeps them in check, but if the youkai/magicians/immortals/whatever cut loose they can achieve some impressive results.
Granted an E5 Exalted will still wreck most them in a real fight, but some of the stuff the denizens of Gensokyo can do will blow Renko's mind. For example:
Yukari: Manipulation of boundaries, including ones at a conceptual level. While Renko can fend her off using charms and sorceries, some of the crap Yukari can pull (instant gender change) is shocking.
Sakuya: Perfect time stop at on call, with no restrictions and no limitations. She uses this utterly broken ability to do housework. She is also the one who makes the mansion bigger on the inside.
Keine: In her Hakutaku form, she has the ability to create history at will. Renko is going to take one look at that ability and start thinking about ways it can be used to screw with her 'old pal Ivory'.
Mokou: Renko, while long lived, will eventually die… like most other things in creation. Mokou cannot die (and in some fan works, survives even the death of Earth itself). Same goes for Kaguya.
And cause this is pretty widely known back over on the original SB idea thread (warning ending spoilers below to those who haven't already seen it)…
Hina: Despite being one of the lesser goddesses in the realm (and the least respected one if some sources are to go by), Hina's entire shtick is about how she can remove misfortune… AND CURSES. Someone link the Miracle∞Hinacle video!
That's enough for me today. Thanks for reading, folks!
Last edited:
sasahara17
Just Another Random Author
- Location
- Brisbane City
Hey guys quick update about how I'm going on hiatus ag-pfft! Naw, couldn't resist. Sorry!
This isn't exactly the continuation I promised, but a very interesting comment by Unlucky Bibliophile over in the SV thread made a good point that I want to explore.
So I thought I'd write this.
-=-
Omake: Stargazing
-=-
"I thought I'd find you up here. Stilling looking up at the stars after so long? Now I know for sure that you're my Renko."
"What can I say, old habits die hard." Renko said without taking her eyes away from the carpet of stars that hung overhead above her.
It had been barely a day since Renko's unexpected arrival in the land of Gensokyo. The Solar was still trying to wrap her head around the events that had just transpired. She had always wanted to came back to the world of her birth, but to have do so with so little forewarning, let alone meeting a friend she never thought she'd see again, had shaken her more than the Copper Spider care to admit.
Even a woman of her age and experience could get caught off guard once in a while, and she had fallen back on old habits to try and clear her head. Sitting with her knees drawn up to her chest on the roof of Maribel's mansion Renko fell back of her old hobby of stargazing. It was an attempt to use the familiar to regain her footing, but it wasn't one that was working out too well.
"Heh, this is one heck of a nostalgia trip," Renko said as she scanned her eyes across the nightscape from horizon to horizon taking in all the stars and constellations of the magnificent vista, "I never thought I'd see that star again. It was… Antares I think? My memory's a little hazy on that one."
"Wow, I take what I just said back. My Renko would never have forgotten about Polaris." Maribel sat down beside Renko, the youkai mirroring the Exalt's posture.
"Hey, gimme a break here. From my perspective that was centuries ago!" Renko huffed in mock indignation.
"Okay, I forgive you. Renko-chan's become an old woman. She's bound to forget a few things!" Maribel laughed teasingly, causing Renko to pout.
The woman, or youkai as she had become, who seemed so familiar yet so strange at the same time was one of the things that was plaguing the Solar's mind. The better part of Renko's youth had been spent worrying about what fate had befallen her missing friend in her absence, but Merry had understandably fallen out of her mind when more pressing issues drew the lawgiver's attention.
Much like the stars above her, this 'new' Maribel was so familiar, yet completely unrecognisable.
"Can you still tell the time just by looking?" Yukari asked curiously.
"Not at the moment," Renko grudgingly admitted, "I've been working off an entirely different set of stars for the last seven centuries. I have to 'recalibrate' before I can be a walking clock again. I have a procedure for this sort of thing."
"You actually have a procedure?"
"Got bored in between the whole Nexus fiasco and giving the Mask the Boot, so I went and worked out a process to recalibrate my inner clock so I wouldn't embarrass myself again."
The first time she got stranded in creation though… heh, now that was cute. Not so fun for the young Renko at the time who went shrieking through the streets of Chiaroscuro about who the stars had changed and how all hell was breaking loose, but certainly an amusing memory for an aged Solar about the follies of her youth.
"So, you managed to find the strange and wonderful after all," Maribel confided softly,, "You know, if I'm honest, I was so happy to see you stargazing, Renko. Even after all these years, I can still remember you looking up at the stars with such wonder and curiosity. It was the most endearing thing about you, and I'm glad to see it hadn't changed."
"It's a hobby," Renko grinned, "Besides, there was even an entire association of stargazing hobbyists back in Creation. We called them Sidereals. They'd be great to hang around if half of them didn't have sticks up their asses…"
"I was talking more about the sense of wonder, Renko." Maribel stated flatly.
"Oh."
"It's not something that I like to admit, but I've lived for a very long time and have seen a lot over that time," Maribel confessed grudgingly, "Many people my, our, age become jaded and lose our sense of adventure. I've seen so many people my age just stop looking for new things and stay around the familiar. It's gotten to the point that I have to poke and prod people from time to time to keep things fresh around here."
Renko nodded in agreement. It was a sentiment that she sadly agreed with given that many of her contemporaries had been experiencing something similar. In fact, it was an unfortunate truth that many people not even half her age, mortals even, would lose their sense of wonder with the world upon being faced with its cynical realities.
"The sheer joy I saw on your face when I told you where you were really went a long way to convincing me who you were," Maribel continued, "That childish glee at seeing something unexpected, that insatiable curiosity… that is the Renko Usami I remember."
"Aw, thanks Merry."
"I'm surprised that you still have it after everything you've seen in your 'Creation'. The glass towers of Chiaroscuro, the Hundred Kingdoms, Ghedaran the City of Clocks, the Blessed Isle, Yu-Shan the 'world of the bureaucrats', Cyberton… I know Gensokyo has some unique places, but I was still surprised to see you're so eager to see what my home has to offer after you've been to 'speam-cyber-punk robot land'."
"Creation may have some wondrous sights, but there's always something different out there. Always something new to learn." Renko stated confidently, although it occurred to her that perhaps she should have been a little more accurate with her descriptions of the places she'd been to.
Sun forbid that her friend one day visit the Celestial City and think the entire place was home to nothing but to paper pushing squares!
"Besides, from what your little cat girl was telling me earlier hear this place has some crazy stuff that would put some of the stuff I've seen to shame. Some of the stories she was telling me gives me the impression that this place is a circus. If nothing else, I'll have a good laugh."
"…it kind of is sometimes." Maribel giggled before she too turned her head to the stars. "I never told anyone this before, but part of the reason I went to the moon was because-"
"Wait hold up. You went to the moon? Damn girl, what happened up there? Did you meet any aliens? Was the moon landing a hoax? Spill!"
"I'll tell you about it later," Maribel rolled her eyes at Renko's excited outburst, "But as I was saying, part of the reason I went to the moon was because… well, because I wanted to honour you. You were always looking up at the sky trying to find new mysteries to solve, and since you were… gone, I figured I'd go to the moon in your name."
"Aw thanks." Renko blushed. She'd discovered that Maribel had believed her dead for the longest time. To know that her old friend would have done something so important in her memory was touching. "So did you find anything interesting up there?"
"Well my little jaunt ended up sparking a war between the youkai and the Lunarians not ten years after I first took a peek around, so that was a thing."
"What."
"Like I said, long story." Maribel said cryptically with a smile. "I'll tell it to you some other time, preferably when I have some alcohol."
"Heh, sounds like a hell of a story."
"It is, but we'll nee sake though."
At that, the two friends turned back to gaze at the stars again in silence, merely enjoying the simple comfort of each other's company after such a long period of separation.
As they looked up at the stars in silence, the sight of a distant star that was a slight shade of blue, she stray thought passed through her mind. It was a fleeting one, but one that caused a mischievous smirk to appear on the Copper Spider's lips.
"Heh, someone must have realized I'm missing by now. Siddies must be freaking the fuck out."
-=-
A/N – It just occurred to me that back in Creation an Essence 5 and fairly influential Solar suddenly dropped off the face of the planet after performing a completely untested Solar Circle spell, and the first people who would know about it are her Sidereal 'friends'. Knowing how the Fivescore Fellowship usually go about these things, shit's going to be hilarious.
That aside, I hope this makes up for the delay in the chapter. Hopefully, I'll have something more concrete soon though. Cheers!
This isn't exactly the continuation I promised, but a very interesting comment by Unlucky Bibliophile over in the SV thread made a good point that I want to explore.
So I thought I'd write this.
-=-
Omake: Stargazing
-=-
"I thought I'd find you up here. Stilling looking up at the stars after so long? Now I know for sure that you're my Renko."
"What can I say, old habits die hard." Renko said without taking her eyes away from the carpet of stars that hung overhead above her.
It had been barely a day since Renko's unexpected arrival in the land of Gensokyo. The Solar was still trying to wrap her head around the events that had just transpired. She had always wanted to came back to the world of her birth, but to have do so with so little forewarning, let alone meeting a friend she never thought she'd see again, had shaken her more than the Copper Spider care to admit.
Even a woman of her age and experience could get caught off guard once in a while, and she had fallen back on old habits to try and clear her head. Sitting with her knees drawn up to her chest on the roof of Maribel's mansion Renko fell back of her old hobby of stargazing. It was an attempt to use the familiar to regain her footing, but it wasn't one that was working out too well.
"Heh, this is one heck of a nostalgia trip," Renko said as she scanned her eyes across the nightscape from horizon to horizon taking in all the stars and constellations of the magnificent vista, "I never thought I'd see that star again. It was… Antares I think? My memory's a little hazy on that one."
"Wow, I take what I just said back. My Renko would never have forgotten about Polaris." Maribel sat down beside Renko, the youkai mirroring the Exalt's posture.
"Hey, gimme a break here. From my perspective that was centuries ago!" Renko huffed in mock indignation.
"Okay, I forgive you. Renko-chan's become an old woman. She's bound to forget a few things!" Maribel laughed teasingly, causing Renko to pout.
The woman, or youkai as she had become, who seemed so familiar yet so strange at the same time was one of the things that was plaguing the Solar's mind. The better part of Renko's youth had been spent worrying about what fate had befallen her missing friend in her absence, but Merry had understandably fallen out of her mind when more pressing issues drew the lawgiver's attention.
Much like the stars above her, this 'new' Maribel was so familiar, yet completely unrecognisable.
"Can you still tell the time just by looking?" Yukari asked curiously.
"Not at the moment," Renko grudgingly admitted, "I've been working off an entirely different set of stars for the last seven centuries. I have to 'recalibrate' before I can be a walking clock again. I have a procedure for this sort of thing."
"You actually have a procedure?"
"Got bored in between the whole Nexus fiasco and giving the Mask the Boot, so I went and worked out a process to recalibrate my inner clock so I wouldn't embarrass myself again."
The first time she got stranded in creation though… heh, now that was cute. Not so fun for the young Renko at the time who went shrieking through the streets of Chiaroscuro about who the stars had changed and how all hell was breaking loose, but certainly an amusing memory for an aged Solar about the follies of her youth.
"So, you managed to find the strange and wonderful after all," Maribel confided softly,, "You know, if I'm honest, I was so happy to see you stargazing, Renko. Even after all these years, I can still remember you looking up at the stars with such wonder and curiosity. It was the most endearing thing about you, and I'm glad to see it hadn't changed."
"It's a hobby," Renko grinned, "Besides, there was even an entire association of stargazing hobbyists back in Creation. We called them Sidereals. They'd be great to hang around if half of them didn't have sticks up their asses…"
"I was talking more about the sense of wonder, Renko." Maribel stated flatly.
"Oh."
"It's not something that I like to admit, but I've lived for a very long time and have seen a lot over that time," Maribel confessed grudgingly, "Many people my, our, age become jaded and lose our sense of adventure. I've seen so many people my age just stop looking for new things and stay around the familiar. It's gotten to the point that I have to poke and prod people from time to time to keep things fresh around here."
Renko nodded in agreement. It was a sentiment that she sadly agreed with given that many of her contemporaries had been experiencing something similar. In fact, it was an unfortunate truth that many people not even half her age, mortals even, would lose their sense of wonder with the world upon being faced with its cynical realities.
"The sheer joy I saw on your face when I told you where you were really went a long way to convincing me who you were," Maribel continued, "That childish glee at seeing something unexpected, that insatiable curiosity… that is the Renko Usami I remember."
"Aw, thanks Merry."
"I'm surprised that you still have it after everything you've seen in your 'Creation'. The glass towers of Chiaroscuro, the Hundred Kingdoms, Ghedaran the City of Clocks, the Blessed Isle, Yu-Shan the 'world of the bureaucrats', Cyberton… I know Gensokyo has some unique places, but I was still surprised to see you're so eager to see what my home has to offer after you've been to 'speam-cyber-punk robot land'."
"Creation may have some wondrous sights, but there's always something different out there. Always something new to learn." Renko stated confidently, although it occurred to her that perhaps she should have been a little more accurate with her descriptions of the places she'd been to.
Sun forbid that her friend one day visit the Celestial City and think the entire place was home to nothing but to paper pushing squares!
"Besides, from what your little cat girl was telling me earlier hear this place has some crazy stuff that would put some of the stuff I've seen to shame. Some of the stories she was telling me gives me the impression that this place is a circus. If nothing else, I'll have a good laugh."
"…it kind of is sometimes." Maribel giggled before she too turned her head to the stars. "I never told anyone this before, but part of the reason I went to the moon was because-"
"Wait hold up. You went to the moon? Damn girl, what happened up there? Did you meet any aliens? Was the moon landing a hoax? Spill!"
"I'll tell you about it later," Maribel rolled her eyes at Renko's excited outburst, "But as I was saying, part of the reason I went to the moon was because… well, because I wanted to honour you. You were always looking up at the sky trying to find new mysteries to solve, and since you were… gone, I figured I'd go to the moon in your name."
"Aw thanks." Renko blushed. She'd discovered that Maribel had believed her dead for the longest time. To know that her old friend would have done something so important in her memory was touching. "So did you find anything interesting up there?"
"Well my little jaunt ended up sparking a war between the youkai and the Lunarians not ten years after I first took a peek around, so that was a thing."
"What."
"Like I said, long story." Maribel said cryptically with a smile. "I'll tell it to you some other time, preferably when I have some alcohol."
"Heh, sounds like a hell of a story."
"It is, but we'll nee sake though."
At that, the two friends turned back to gaze at the stars again in silence, merely enjoying the simple comfort of each other's company after such a long period of separation.
As they looked up at the stars in silence, the sight of a distant star that was a slight shade of blue, she stray thought passed through her mind. It was a fleeting one, but one that caused a mischievous smirk to appear on the Copper Spider's lips.
"Heh, someone must have realized I'm missing by now. Siddies must be freaking the fuck out."
-=-
A/N – It just occurred to me that back in Creation an Essence 5 and fairly influential Solar suddenly dropped off the face of the planet after performing a completely untested Solar Circle spell, and the first people who would know about it are her Sidereal 'friends'. Knowing how the Fivescore Fellowship usually go about these things, shit's going to be hilarious.
That aside, I hope this makes up for the delay in the chapter. Hopefully, I'll have something more concrete soon though. Cheers!
sasahara17
Just Another Random Author
- Location
- Brisbane City
Hey all. Sorry this chapter took so long, between my work and my game addition (Unturned this time, what's with me and Zombies) I've been mighty distracted from writing lately.
No worries tho. The snip is here.
-=-
The Tourist 1-4
-=-
It wasn't much longer after that exchange that Remilia had summoned her guests for dinner.
Seeking to impress, the lady of the house had ordered a grand feast to be prepared for her guests in the main dining hall. Food, all prepared to the finest ingredients and served with the finest presentation stretched out before Remiu on one of the largest European style tables she'd ever laid eyes on. When she'd first walked into the room, the poor girl could do nothing but gape and bristle with pure envy for a few moments.
The sheer wastefulness boggled the frugal shrine maiden's mind. The table must have been able to fit twelve people, and the feast itself feed double that number!
When Remilia wanted to show off, she sure as hell didn't pull any punches!
The other diners were already present. Remilia of course was seated at the head of the table, with both Patchouli and Koakuma seated to her right. Sakuya, ever the dutiful maid, was hovering just off to her master's side, while Meiling took her leave soon after showing the mansion's two guests to the dining room.
Never one to let table manners get in the way of her research, Patchouli of course had her head buried in a book and had a look on her face that showed complete disinterest with the feast before her. Koakuma on the other hand seemed livelier, giving Reimu and Renko a wave as they entered the room. Reimu had almost missed the stiffening of Renko's form when the older girl had caught sight of the friendly demon. It had been quick, but Reimu had caught it.
Probably so had everyone else in the room who had been bothering to pay attention.
Uh oh.
"So I take it the tour of the grounds was to your satisfaction?" Remilia said as she motioned for her two guests to the empty a seats to her left.
"Yes indeed! I have to say, I've seen castles with less fancy gardens than yours!" Renko replied as she and Reimu took their seats near Remilia, "You have a very talented groundskeeper, Lady Scarlet."
"I am sure Meiling will be very happy to hear that," Remilia nodded before waving a lazy hand towards Patchouli and Koakuma.
"Professor Usami, allow me to introduce you to my close friend and the owner of the Voile Library, Patchouli Knowledge. The succubus familiar sitting beside her is her assistant, Koakuma. Koa, Patchy, this is Yukari Yakumo's friend from the outside world, Renko Usami."
Patchouli let out a grunt without even looking up from her book 'Astrological Fortune Telling, Fact or Fiction'. Koakuma on the other hand beamed happily the mansion's guest, the wings on his head involuntarily flapping as if sensing her excitement. "It's so good to meet you, Miss Usami. I hear that you want to see the library. We have so few legitimate visitors, I can't wait to show you around. Not to insult Reimu's ability as a tour guide of anything…"
"…yeah, flattered." Renko replied, the smile on her face clearly wooden. Off to the side, Reimu clearly saw the calculating glint appear in Remilia's eyes as she witnessed the exchange.
Uh oh indeed.
"Come now, Patchy. The food is on the table, not behind the pages of your book," Remilia admonished as she reached over the table and plucked the book out of Patchouli's hands and casually handed the tome to the waiting Sakuya, "We have guests, from Yukari Yakumo no less! Tut-tut, you should mind your table manners, my dear."
Separated from her research material, Patchouli glowered at Remilia with all the fury of an anti-social shut-in that had been dragged to a family meal while still in her pyjamas.
"Remi, a few days ago there was an unexplained solar flare that knocked all my sidereal timekeeping telescopes. This stellar event coincided with a surge of high amounts of elemental energy around the planet's poles. I fear that this event-"
Patchouli was abruptly silenced when a helping to Caesar salad swiftly and unexpectedly materialised in her mouth.
"Thank you, Sakuya."
"I live to serve, milady."
"Patchy, Patchy, Patchy. The food is over there." Remilia pointed while the librarian coughed and attempted to swallow the food, "Koakuma, please be a dear and make sure that your master eats her greens. It's important to keep a healthy diet… and the cake is the desert, my dear."
Koakuma meeped as she quickly retracted from hand from where she was trying to sneak a helping of chocolate mudcake onto her own plate.
"So, uh, are dinners at your place always like this?" Renko said, the recovery in her voice indicating that she'd managed to regain her centre.
"Only when we have guests," Remilia replied as she snapped her fingers. Instantly the empty plate on the table before her was filled with generous helpings of salad, lobster thermidor, a variety of roast meats and cheeses… and pudding.
Reimu snorted with amusement. Hypocrite.
"Uh. Okay," Renko looked at Remilia with undisguised surprise as the vampiress picked up her solid gold cutlery elegantly began eating her meal. "She's a vampire, how is she…"
"She can eat food, just like anyone else can." Reimu informed the outsider quickly. It didn't take a genius to see that Remilia was enjoying turning vampire stereotypes upside down in front of Renko, "She just needs an intake of blood, that's all."
"Is that why all the meat looks like its cooked closer to the side of 'raw'?"
"Medium rare actually," Remilia explained as she set her cutlery down as a show of politeness, "Normally I prefer my red meat rare, for obvious reasons, but as I have guests over it would be a very poor host of me not to give care and consideration to your needs."
"Hm. Interesting," Renko mused thoughtfully, whatever thoughts had plagued her before falling by the wayside now that something interesting had once again captured her attention, "The Gensokyo Chronicle stated your main diet consisted mostly of the blood of humans."
Funnily enough, before Remilia could answer, Patchouli intervened.
"That book is full of misconceptions, opinion, exaggeration and lies," Patchouli stated bluntly from where she was trying to fend of Koakuma, the latter trying to spoon feed her master some delicious looking seafood chowder with a spoon.
"It relies too much on hearsay, many of the sources are of dubious quality and it relies too much on outdated historical accounts and pure speculation. All written by a biased girl who does not understand the true nature of the subject matter she is dealing with. It is in my honest opinion, a piece of trash that is more burnable than that rag Shameimaru puts out. One out of five stars."
The silence and stillness that descended on the table could be cut with a knife.
"…this is the first time I've heard you talk like that in all the time I've known you," Remilia shakily whispered after the shock had properly passed, "Where have you been hiding that?"
"I… when did you become a critic, Patchouli-sama?" Sakuya stammered, her perfect elegant façade pierced by the sheer bluntness of the magician's impromptu book review.
"More to the point. That's… a rather harsh opinion." Renko said, her hand having actually shifted down from to her belt where a copy of said book was being kept in a pouch.
"Yeah, uh. It's not as if it's Akyuu's fault that she couldn't go out and visit all the youkai she was supposed to be writing about." Reimu said in her friend's defence.
"And, uh, some of those dubious reports and exaggerations were deliberate, especially when certain youkai wanted to spread misinformation about themselves. I mean Lady Remi-" Koakuma's jaw snapped shut when she saw the glare directed at her from Remilia.
"Nevertheless, it is my humble opinion as a scholar, an academic and a magician that the Gensokyo Chronicle is a heavily biased book that contains so much misinformation that it is not worth the trees that were cut down to make it. As I said: One out of Five stars."
Pathouli folded her arms and glared at the rest of the room, challenging everyone in it to express their dissent. The rest of the room's occupants, form the normally haughty Remilia to Reimu herself, glanced at each other awkwardly as they tried to decide how to handle the situation.
"Um, food?" Reimu quickly put forward.
"Uh, yes. Food." Remilia agreed.
-=-
A/N – And Renko's back! Sorry it took so long. Also, sorry it's still kinda short.
Still at least it's something right?
Anyway, one thing I was hoping to make clear in this snip is that I won't be following the Gensokyo Chronicle to the 'T' - I'll be injecting a lot of fanon into the story whenever I feel like it (eg. I like the idea that Remi likes pudding). Expect some interpretations of characters in this story to be slightly unorthodox (looking at you Cirno).
As for the harsh critique of the Gensokyo Chronicle, I hope I didn't come across as trashing poor Akyuu too much - it's just what I figured Patchy's opinion of the Chronicle would be given it was intentionally written with all those exaggerations and inaccuracies in (in case it wasn't obvious, Remi was one of the people who deliberately spread false information that ended up in the book).
It also serves one of the overarching plot arcs where Renko, based on her observations does eventually decide to take the time and see Akyuu over the inaccuracies of her book.
Anway, for all those who were waiting for it, The Tourist is back now. Hopefully I can make, and keep to, a proper posting schedule for the story!
No worries tho. The snip is here.
-=-
The Tourist 1-4
-=-
It wasn't much longer after that exchange that Remilia had summoned her guests for dinner.
Seeking to impress, the lady of the house had ordered a grand feast to be prepared for her guests in the main dining hall. Food, all prepared to the finest ingredients and served with the finest presentation stretched out before Remiu on one of the largest European style tables she'd ever laid eyes on. When she'd first walked into the room, the poor girl could do nothing but gape and bristle with pure envy for a few moments.
The sheer wastefulness boggled the frugal shrine maiden's mind. The table must have been able to fit twelve people, and the feast itself feed double that number!
When Remilia wanted to show off, she sure as hell didn't pull any punches!
The other diners were already present. Remilia of course was seated at the head of the table, with both Patchouli and Koakuma seated to her right. Sakuya, ever the dutiful maid, was hovering just off to her master's side, while Meiling took her leave soon after showing the mansion's two guests to the dining room.
Never one to let table manners get in the way of her research, Patchouli of course had her head buried in a book and had a look on her face that showed complete disinterest with the feast before her. Koakuma on the other hand seemed livelier, giving Reimu and Renko a wave as they entered the room. Reimu had almost missed the stiffening of Renko's form when the older girl had caught sight of the friendly demon. It had been quick, but Reimu had caught it.
Probably so had everyone else in the room who had been bothering to pay attention.
Uh oh.
"So I take it the tour of the grounds was to your satisfaction?" Remilia said as she motioned for her two guests to the empty a seats to her left.
"Yes indeed! I have to say, I've seen castles with less fancy gardens than yours!" Renko replied as she and Reimu took their seats near Remilia, "You have a very talented groundskeeper, Lady Scarlet."
"I am sure Meiling will be very happy to hear that," Remilia nodded before waving a lazy hand towards Patchouli and Koakuma.
"Professor Usami, allow me to introduce you to my close friend and the owner of the Voile Library, Patchouli Knowledge. The succubus familiar sitting beside her is her assistant, Koakuma. Koa, Patchy, this is Yukari Yakumo's friend from the outside world, Renko Usami."
Patchouli let out a grunt without even looking up from her book 'Astrological Fortune Telling, Fact or Fiction'. Koakuma on the other hand beamed happily the mansion's guest, the wings on his head involuntarily flapping as if sensing her excitement. "It's so good to meet you, Miss Usami. I hear that you want to see the library. We have so few legitimate visitors, I can't wait to show you around. Not to insult Reimu's ability as a tour guide of anything…"
"…yeah, flattered." Renko replied, the smile on her face clearly wooden. Off to the side, Reimu clearly saw the calculating glint appear in Remilia's eyes as she witnessed the exchange.
Uh oh indeed.
"Come now, Patchy. The food is on the table, not behind the pages of your book," Remilia admonished as she reached over the table and plucked the book out of Patchouli's hands and casually handed the tome to the waiting Sakuya, "We have guests, from Yukari Yakumo no less! Tut-tut, you should mind your table manners, my dear."
Separated from her research material, Patchouli glowered at Remilia with all the fury of an anti-social shut-in that had been dragged to a family meal while still in her pyjamas.
"Remi, a few days ago there was an unexplained solar flare that knocked all my sidereal timekeeping telescopes. This stellar event coincided with a surge of high amounts of elemental energy around the planet's poles. I fear that this event-"
Patchouli was abruptly silenced when a helping to Caesar salad swiftly and unexpectedly materialised in her mouth.
"Thank you, Sakuya."
"I live to serve, milady."
"Patchy, Patchy, Patchy. The food is over there." Remilia pointed while the librarian coughed and attempted to swallow the food, "Koakuma, please be a dear and make sure that your master eats her greens. It's important to keep a healthy diet… and the cake is the desert, my dear."
Koakuma meeped as she quickly retracted from hand from where she was trying to sneak a helping of chocolate mudcake onto her own plate.
"So, uh, are dinners at your place always like this?" Renko said, the recovery in her voice indicating that she'd managed to regain her centre.
"Only when we have guests," Remilia replied as she snapped her fingers. Instantly the empty plate on the table before her was filled with generous helpings of salad, lobster thermidor, a variety of roast meats and cheeses… and pudding.
Reimu snorted with amusement. Hypocrite.
"Uh. Okay," Renko looked at Remilia with undisguised surprise as the vampiress picked up her solid gold cutlery elegantly began eating her meal. "She's a vampire, how is she…"
"She can eat food, just like anyone else can." Reimu informed the outsider quickly. It didn't take a genius to see that Remilia was enjoying turning vampire stereotypes upside down in front of Renko, "She just needs an intake of blood, that's all."
"Is that why all the meat looks like its cooked closer to the side of 'raw'?"
"Medium rare actually," Remilia explained as she set her cutlery down as a show of politeness, "Normally I prefer my red meat rare, for obvious reasons, but as I have guests over it would be a very poor host of me not to give care and consideration to your needs."
"Hm. Interesting," Renko mused thoughtfully, whatever thoughts had plagued her before falling by the wayside now that something interesting had once again captured her attention, "The Gensokyo Chronicle stated your main diet consisted mostly of the blood of humans."
Funnily enough, before Remilia could answer, Patchouli intervened.
"That book is full of misconceptions, opinion, exaggeration and lies," Patchouli stated bluntly from where she was trying to fend of Koakuma, the latter trying to spoon feed her master some delicious looking seafood chowder with a spoon.
"It relies too much on hearsay, many of the sources are of dubious quality and it relies too much on outdated historical accounts and pure speculation. All written by a biased girl who does not understand the true nature of the subject matter she is dealing with. It is in my honest opinion, a piece of trash that is more burnable than that rag Shameimaru puts out. One out of five stars."
The silence and stillness that descended on the table could be cut with a knife.
"…this is the first time I've heard you talk like that in all the time I've known you," Remilia shakily whispered after the shock had properly passed, "Where have you been hiding that?"
"I… when did you become a critic, Patchouli-sama?" Sakuya stammered, her perfect elegant façade pierced by the sheer bluntness of the magician's impromptu book review.
"More to the point. That's… a rather harsh opinion." Renko said, her hand having actually shifted down from to her belt where a copy of said book was being kept in a pouch.
"Yeah, uh. It's not as if it's Akyuu's fault that she couldn't go out and visit all the youkai she was supposed to be writing about." Reimu said in her friend's defence.
"And, uh, some of those dubious reports and exaggerations were deliberate, especially when certain youkai wanted to spread misinformation about themselves. I mean Lady Remi-" Koakuma's jaw snapped shut when she saw the glare directed at her from Remilia.
"Nevertheless, it is my humble opinion as a scholar, an academic and a magician that the Gensokyo Chronicle is a heavily biased book that contains so much misinformation that it is not worth the trees that were cut down to make it. As I said: One out of Five stars."
Pathouli folded her arms and glared at the rest of the room, challenging everyone in it to express their dissent. The rest of the room's occupants, form the normally haughty Remilia to Reimu herself, glanced at each other awkwardly as they tried to decide how to handle the situation.
"Um, food?" Reimu quickly put forward.
"Uh, yes. Food." Remilia agreed.
-=-
A/N – And Renko's back! Sorry it took so long. Also, sorry it's still kinda short.
Still at least it's something right?
Anyway, one thing I was hoping to make clear in this snip is that I won't be following the Gensokyo Chronicle to the 'T' - I'll be injecting a lot of fanon into the story whenever I feel like it (eg. I like the idea that Remi likes pudding). Expect some interpretations of characters in this story to be slightly unorthodox (looking at you Cirno).
As for the harsh critique of the Gensokyo Chronicle, I hope I didn't come across as trashing poor Akyuu too much - it's just what I figured Patchy's opinion of the Chronicle would be given it was intentionally written with all those exaggerations and inaccuracies in (in case it wasn't obvious, Remi was one of the people who deliberately spread false information that ended up in the book).
It also serves one of the overarching plot arcs where Renko, based on her observations does eventually decide to take the time and see Akyuu over the inaccuracies of her book.
Anway, for all those who were waiting for it, The Tourist is back now. Hopefully I can make, and keep to, a proper posting schedule for the story!
Last edited:
sasahara17
Just Another Random Author
- Location
- Brisbane City
Hey guys. This is the last part of day 1 at the SDM, and then we can move onto day 2 where the shit hits the fan. Enjoy!
-=-
As promised, Remilia had asked Patchouli show Renko to the Voile library after dinner. After an assurance from Renko that she wasn't going to rob the place blind, Patchouli agreed.
As Patchouli and Koakuma lead their guests through the winding halls of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, Reimu couldn't help but notice that Renko was acting quite peculiarly. The normally boisterous woman had clammed up and had positioned herself squarely between Reimu and Koakuma as the party proceeded to their destination. More than that, Renko keeping her right hand just above her hip, hovering there as if just waiting to draw her weapon…
…which oddly enough, Reimu couldn't see. That's odd, where did the revolver go to?
"Succubus. Why didn't the bloody book mention a succubus?" Renko muttered quietly, although it seemed she was doing so unconsciously if she was doing so in earshot of Reimu, "I sure as hell wouldn't use a Neomah as a librarian, not after that bitch. I sooner would trust the fucking fae…"
Okay, she had to do something about this.
"Alright, what's got you?" Reimu fell back to Renko's side and whispered. "What's wrong with Koa?"
"You call that thing, 'Koa'?" Renko said with barely concealed hostility and suspicion as she directed a glare that could kill to the back of an oblivious Koakuma's head.
Okay, there was definitely something wrong here. "Look, Koa is one of the nice people in the Mansion. Like genuinely nice."
"Yeah. Nice. Of couse she's nice. Nice like a nice good little assistant right until you turn you back, then she gets a boy to stab his mother to death to 'create new orifices' for shits and giggles while stealing my god damn hearthstone…"
Reimu only just managed to catch herself before face planting on the floor. Thankfully, Patchouli and Koakuma, who were leading the way and had their backs turned, didn't notice the stumble.
"Renko, what the hell?"
"Look, I read a lot of books on the subject alright?" Renko explained halfheartedly, clearly using the bulk of her focus on drilling holes in the back of Koa's head, "The second that thing so much as gives me a reason…"
"Koa's not like that. I don't know what your research about succubi told you, but they're wrong," Well, wrong about Koakuma at least. "Look, I know Koa. Whatever you read about the other succubi, they're wrong about her. Trust me."
"I'll trust you about her when I'm sure she hasn't pulled the wool over your eyes." Renko said with finality, clearly set in her ways.
-=-
"So this is your library?" Renko said as she walked into the large room with an excited grin. "Wow, it IS pretty big. I'm impressed."
The large room, illuminated by the lights of several low hanging chandeliers and recently installed Kappa made electric lamps, was filled with dozens of book cases on two separate floors. It was so large in fact that bridges had been built across the room to allow for easier movement for its occupants. The many windows allowed pale moonlight to filter into the room, giving the library a nice pleasant ambiance even at this hour.
"Man, I can't wait to take a look about," Renko rolled her shoulders and started towards the bookshelves, clearly eager to get started, "Let's see what-"
"Actually, you're mistaken, Miss Usami," Koakua informed the outsider with an embarrassed smile, while Patchouli, without even paucing in her step, made for the large stairwell in the centre of the room that lead underground. "This isn't Master Patchouli's Library."
"Huh?" Renko blinked in confusion as Reimu sniggered behind her.
Having gone there hereself, Reimu had of course known where the Voile was, and was mildly surmised to find that Renko had mistakenly believed that Remilia's private collection, while quite substantial, was the largest library in Gensokyo. Close, but no cigar.
It then occurred to Reimu what lay between this place and the actual Voile.
This was going to be good.
"This is Lady Scarlet's private library. The only books you'll find here are related to fiction, the arts and whatever interests the mistress of this house," Koakuma explained, beckoning the two guests to follow after her master. "Master Pathouli's library is actually underground."
"So let me get this straight," Renko said slowly, "This huge-ass room, a room that has more books than a major metropolitan book-shop, is just Remilia's private collection?"
"Well, yes."
"…rich people." Renko grumbled as she followed after Patchouli, a sniggering Reimu in tow.
-=-
"Whoa. Nice. Very, nice."
Down the flight of stairs lay a massive underground chambers that were illuminated only by the lights of giant glowing magical orbs, suspended from metal chains that hung from the ceiling. The walls, stretching almost six stories in height, were nothing but bookshelves. Indeed the walls of books giant ladders, so tall that one had to cane one's head to see the top, placed around the room just to allow access to the books for those incapable of flight.
"How this is a freaking library," Renko grinned giddily as she started towards the bookshelves, her notebook and pen already in hand…
"Actually this is the auxiliary library that Master uses to study when she invites her colleagues over," Koakuma noted apologetically. While the little devil was correcting this misconception, Patchouli was already descending the spiral staircase to the room's lower level to continue forward towards where the real library was.
Reimu for her part was just staying back and watching the events unfold with folded arms and a cheeky grin.
"You mean this isn't the Voile?" Renko boggled in disbelief, casting her eyes wildly around the room in shock. "This… this room has more books than my Man-my local university!"
"Well, technically it is. It is the 'public access' portion of the library," Koakuma explained, "Normally, this would all we would allow you to see. Master Patchouli is quite particular on who gains access to the Voile… but Lady Remilia was quite clear that we were to show you to see the main Library proper."
Renko started.
"Sol's grace, how big is this library anyway?"
-=-
"Sol's grace."
It was a city. It was a city of bookshelves, complete with bridges, buildings, spires, arches, pathways… all either supporting bookshelves, lining bookshelves or made out of bookshelves. Runes of pure magic, etched on the wooden surfaces, illuminated this man made, or witch made as the case may be, city with an almost dreamlike glow, making it really look like a city at night.
"Sol's grace… this place can't possibly be real,"Renko staggered forward until she was looking over the third floor railing, the view of the entire library stretching out before her, "I… I can even see a swimming pool. This library is so big it has a fucking swimming pool."
"I thought I asked Remi to get rid of that," Patchouli muttered, before marching off to continue her own research. "Koa, you mind the visitors. I have work to do."
"Yes, Master!"
Reimu watched on with amusement as Renko's looked around the room with her jaw unhinged, the former university professor caught between sheer disbelief and unbridled joy at what she was looking at. "So like what you see?"
"I think I will, once I start believing my eyes." Renko said, her keen sight and observation methods doing nothing but affirming what she was seeing was the truth. Several more moments passed as Renko digested what she was seeing. When she did, the look of stunned awe on the woman's face morphed into one of excitement and glee.
"Reimu. I think you can go to bed without me tonight." Renko declared without taking her eyes away from the scene of splendor before her.
"Er, what?" Reimu said.
"I think I'm going to burn the midnight oil a bit," Renko continued, "Don't worry about me, I'll be keeping myself busy. With reading. Yeah."
"Renko? Renko, you're not making any sense."
"Not making sense? Silly Reimu, I'm making perfect sense. I'm a researcher, this place has research… I need to research! I'm going to hit the gods' damned books!"
By this point the smile on Renko's face had grown from gear to ear, and she was practically vibrating with excitement. Reimu was beginning to regret her earlier glee she'd derived at Renko's surprise, because right now her charge was looking very scary.
Oh god, had she inadvertedly shown another Marisa into Patchy's library?
"Hello, Miss Usami," Koakuma greeted warmly as she walked up to Renko with a bright smile, "As you may have already heard, I'm going to show you around the library and hel… Miss Usami? Huh, she's gone?"
Indeed, one moment Renko had been standing at the railing looking at the massive library before her, the next she was gone. Surprised, Reimu and Koakuma looked around wildly to see where the guest had run off to.
"Reimu?"
"Yes, Koa?"
"Miss Usami really likes her books, doesn't she?" Koakuma said, watching Renko practically sprinting up one of the library's many ladders to access one of the higher bookshelves.
"That she does," Reimu sighed, "That she does."
-=-
A/N – Well, that's the end of Day 1 at the SDM guys. Reimu's now going to have some sleep while Renko's off to pull an all-nighter.
I'm a bit wary about this snip, mostly because of Renko's hostility to Koa. I know the fic was meant to be pure humor, but I wanted to show that, like every other Solar, Renko does have a darker side to her personality that occasionally rears its head.
Before you guys get worried Koa is out to ruin someone's day, in this story Koakuma IS a very nice girl – I'm not even making her the mischievous interpretation. This Koa is literally the book loving girl/librarian next door… who just so happens to be a succubus.
Renko would actually know this if she'd bothered to set aside her prejudice, turn on the appropriate charm (she has Judge's Ear Technique) and actually look.
Renko's own personal bad experiences with her first Neomah familiar has prejudiced her against the entire Neomah race. Solars can be quite judgemental and stubborn, even at times when they're completely wrong about something, and sadly Renko is no exception. The only reason she hadn't done anything yet is because she's a guest in Remi's mansion, and guests don't blow away the host's staff (without reason of course).
Renko's pretty much already made up her mind about Koa and is just waiting for the knife to come out. She couldn't be more wrong though.
From what I can tell, Neomah aren't THAT bad in comparison to some of the other denizens of Malfeas, in fact if you stick to the letter of the contract they aren't all that bad. However Renko drew the short straw with the one she summoned while experimenting with a spell (specifically, she wanted to interview it), and the experience has colored her impression of them ever since. So plenty of 'nice' Neomah have had 'bad' experiences with Renko too, all because of one mishap in her youth (something I've found happens to be a trend with Solars if the Case Books are anything to go by – Solars tend to be very opinionated).
That's it for the first day. Cheers!
EDIT - On the succubus thing... Aw shit, that was embarrassing.
Next up… Charisma Break!
-=-
As promised, Remilia had asked Patchouli show Renko to the Voile library after dinner. After an assurance from Renko that she wasn't going to rob the place blind, Patchouli agreed.
As Patchouli and Koakuma lead their guests through the winding halls of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, Reimu couldn't help but notice that Renko was acting quite peculiarly. The normally boisterous woman had clammed up and had positioned herself squarely between Reimu and Koakuma as the party proceeded to their destination. More than that, Renko keeping her right hand just above her hip, hovering there as if just waiting to draw her weapon…
…which oddly enough, Reimu couldn't see. That's odd, where did the revolver go to?
"Succubus. Why didn't the bloody book mention a succubus?" Renko muttered quietly, although it seemed she was doing so unconsciously if she was doing so in earshot of Reimu, "I sure as hell wouldn't use a Neomah as a librarian, not after that bitch. I sooner would trust the fucking fae…"
Okay, she had to do something about this.
"Alright, what's got you?" Reimu fell back to Renko's side and whispered. "What's wrong with Koa?"
"You call that thing, 'Koa'?" Renko said with barely concealed hostility and suspicion as she directed a glare that could kill to the back of an oblivious Koakuma's head.
Okay, there was definitely something wrong here. "Look, Koa is one of the nice people in the Mansion. Like genuinely nice."
"Yeah. Nice. Of couse she's nice. Nice like a nice good little assistant right until you turn you back, then she gets a boy to stab his mother to death to 'create new orifices' for shits and giggles while stealing my god damn hearthstone…"
Reimu only just managed to catch herself before face planting on the floor. Thankfully, Patchouli and Koakuma, who were leading the way and had their backs turned, didn't notice the stumble.
"Renko, what the hell?"
"Look, I read a lot of books on the subject alright?" Renko explained halfheartedly, clearly using the bulk of her focus on drilling holes in the back of Koa's head, "The second that thing so much as gives me a reason…"
"Koa's not like that. I don't know what your research about succubi told you, but they're wrong," Well, wrong about Koakuma at least. "Look, I know Koa. Whatever you read about the other succubi, they're wrong about her. Trust me."
"I'll trust you about her when I'm sure she hasn't pulled the wool over your eyes." Renko said with finality, clearly set in her ways.
-=-
"So this is your library?" Renko said as she walked into the large room with an excited grin. "Wow, it IS pretty big. I'm impressed."
The large room, illuminated by the lights of several low hanging chandeliers and recently installed Kappa made electric lamps, was filled with dozens of book cases on two separate floors. It was so large in fact that bridges had been built across the room to allow for easier movement for its occupants. The many windows allowed pale moonlight to filter into the room, giving the library a nice pleasant ambiance even at this hour.
"Man, I can't wait to take a look about," Renko rolled her shoulders and started towards the bookshelves, clearly eager to get started, "Let's see what-"
"Actually, you're mistaken, Miss Usami," Koakua informed the outsider with an embarrassed smile, while Patchouli, without even paucing in her step, made for the large stairwell in the centre of the room that lead underground. "This isn't Master Patchouli's Library."
"Huh?" Renko blinked in confusion as Reimu sniggered behind her.
Having gone there hereself, Reimu had of course known where the Voile was, and was mildly surmised to find that Renko had mistakenly believed that Remilia's private collection, while quite substantial, was the largest library in Gensokyo. Close, but no cigar.
It then occurred to Reimu what lay between this place and the actual Voile.
This was going to be good.
"This is Lady Scarlet's private library. The only books you'll find here are related to fiction, the arts and whatever interests the mistress of this house," Koakuma explained, beckoning the two guests to follow after her master. "Master Pathouli's library is actually underground."
"So let me get this straight," Renko said slowly, "This huge-ass room, a room that has more books than a major metropolitan book-shop, is just Remilia's private collection?"
"Well, yes."
"…rich people." Renko grumbled as she followed after Patchouli, a sniggering Reimu in tow.
-=-
"Whoa. Nice. Very, nice."
Down the flight of stairs lay a massive underground chambers that were illuminated only by the lights of giant glowing magical orbs, suspended from metal chains that hung from the ceiling. The walls, stretching almost six stories in height, were nothing but bookshelves. Indeed the walls of books giant ladders, so tall that one had to cane one's head to see the top, placed around the room just to allow access to the books for those incapable of flight.
"How this is a freaking library," Renko grinned giddily as she started towards the bookshelves, her notebook and pen already in hand…
"Actually this is the auxiliary library that Master uses to study when she invites her colleagues over," Koakuma noted apologetically. While the little devil was correcting this misconception, Patchouli was already descending the spiral staircase to the room's lower level to continue forward towards where the real library was.
Reimu for her part was just staying back and watching the events unfold with folded arms and a cheeky grin.
"You mean this isn't the Voile?" Renko boggled in disbelief, casting her eyes wildly around the room in shock. "This… this room has more books than my Man-my local university!"
"Well, technically it is. It is the 'public access' portion of the library," Koakuma explained, "Normally, this would all we would allow you to see. Master Patchouli is quite particular on who gains access to the Voile… but Lady Remilia was quite clear that we were to show you to see the main Library proper."
Renko started.
"Sol's grace, how big is this library anyway?"
-=-
"Sol's grace."
It was a city. It was a city of bookshelves, complete with bridges, buildings, spires, arches, pathways… all either supporting bookshelves, lining bookshelves or made out of bookshelves. Runes of pure magic, etched on the wooden surfaces, illuminated this man made, or witch made as the case may be, city with an almost dreamlike glow, making it really look like a city at night.
"Sol's grace… this place can't possibly be real,"Renko staggered forward until she was looking over the third floor railing, the view of the entire library stretching out before her, "I… I can even see a swimming pool. This library is so big it has a fucking swimming pool."
"I thought I asked Remi to get rid of that," Patchouli muttered, before marching off to continue her own research. "Koa, you mind the visitors. I have work to do."
"Yes, Master!"
Reimu watched on with amusement as Renko's looked around the room with her jaw unhinged, the former university professor caught between sheer disbelief and unbridled joy at what she was looking at. "So like what you see?"
"I think I will, once I start believing my eyes." Renko said, her keen sight and observation methods doing nothing but affirming what she was seeing was the truth. Several more moments passed as Renko digested what she was seeing. When she did, the look of stunned awe on the woman's face morphed into one of excitement and glee.
"Reimu. I think you can go to bed without me tonight." Renko declared without taking her eyes away from the scene of splendor before her.
"Er, what?" Reimu said.
"I think I'm going to burn the midnight oil a bit," Renko continued, "Don't worry about me, I'll be keeping myself busy. With reading. Yeah."
"Renko? Renko, you're not making any sense."
"Not making sense? Silly Reimu, I'm making perfect sense. I'm a researcher, this place has research… I need to research! I'm going to hit the gods' damned books!"
By this point the smile on Renko's face had grown from gear to ear, and she was practically vibrating with excitement. Reimu was beginning to regret her earlier glee she'd derived at Renko's surprise, because right now her charge was looking very scary.
Oh god, had she inadvertedly shown another Marisa into Patchy's library?
"Hello, Miss Usami," Koakuma greeted warmly as she walked up to Renko with a bright smile, "As you may have already heard, I'm going to show you around the library and hel… Miss Usami? Huh, she's gone?"
Indeed, one moment Renko had been standing at the railing looking at the massive library before her, the next she was gone. Surprised, Reimu and Koakuma looked around wildly to see where the guest had run off to.
"Reimu?"
"Yes, Koa?"
"Miss Usami really likes her books, doesn't she?" Koakuma said, watching Renko practically sprinting up one of the library's many ladders to access one of the higher bookshelves.
"That she does," Reimu sighed, "That she does."
-=-
A/N – Well, that's the end of Day 1 at the SDM guys. Reimu's now going to have some sleep while Renko's off to pull an all-nighter.
I'm a bit wary about this snip, mostly because of Renko's hostility to Koa. I know the fic was meant to be pure humor, but I wanted to show that, like every other Solar, Renko does have a darker side to her personality that occasionally rears its head.
Before you guys get worried Koa is out to ruin someone's day, in this story Koakuma IS a very nice girl – I'm not even making her the mischievous interpretation. This Koa is literally the book loving girl/librarian next door… who just so happens to be a succubus.
Renko would actually know this if she'd bothered to set aside her prejudice, turn on the appropriate charm (she has Judge's Ear Technique) and actually look.
Renko's own personal bad experiences with her first Neomah familiar has prejudiced her against the entire Neomah race. Solars can be quite judgemental and stubborn, even at times when they're completely wrong about something, and sadly Renko is no exception. The only reason she hadn't done anything yet is because she's a guest in Remi's mansion, and guests don't blow away the host's staff (without reason of course).
Renko's pretty much already made up her mind about Koa and is just waiting for the knife to come out. She couldn't be more wrong though.
From what I can tell, Neomah aren't THAT bad in comparison to some of the other denizens of Malfeas, in fact if you stick to the letter of the contract they aren't all that bad. However Renko drew the short straw with the one she summoned while experimenting with a spell (specifically, she wanted to interview it), and the experience has colored her impression of them ever since. So plenty of 'nice' Neomah have had 'bad' experiences with Renko too, all because of one mishap in her youth (something I've found happens to be a trend with Solars if the Case Books are anything to go by – Solars tend to be very opinionated).
That's it for the first day. Cheers!
EDIT - On the succubus thing... Aw shit, that was embarrassing.
Next up… Charisma Break!
Last edited:
sasahara17
Just Another Random Author
- Location
- Brisbane City
Proofread 21/09/2014, Version 1.1
Still moving through the drafts, albeit very slowly.
Here's the compiled Chapter 1, all in one place with less spelling mistakes.
Please let me know if there are any mistakes I missed.
Cheers!
-=-
THE TOURIST
An Exalted/Touhou Crossover
By sasahara17
Scarlet Devil Mansion
Chapter 2, A Sunny Girl in the House of Night (I)
-=-
Being the gate keeper to the Scarlet Devil Mansion was a thankless and oftentimes boring job. Aside from the usual 'intruders', one of whom was such a frequent guest she might as well have been a resident there, the mansion rarely received any visitors.
This was quite understandable as the Mansion was situated across the misty lake, far out of the way of most of the usual travel routes of Gensokyo's residents. Nobody in their right mind would visit the mansion unless they had legitimate business to do so, and even the fairies of the surrounding area had long since grown bored of trying to break in.
At the rate things were going, the job of the Mansion's gate guard was more ceremonial than practical. It wasn't as if there were dozens of wannabe vampire hunters out to stake Remilia through the heart, for what little good that would actually do, in Gensokyo!
Hong Meiling thus had come into the bad habit of taking afternoon naps while on duty.
Really, who could blame her? Nice weather, perfect climate, no visitors, nothing to do… it would be better to take a nice nap rather than watching the same old scenery day in and day out, right? It's not as if anyone, besides Marisa of course, would be stupid enough to try to break into the mansion of a mighty powerful vampire, right?
"Well, this is one entry in the book that's spot on," Renko said as she looked down at the page in the Gensokyo Chronicle, then back up at the sleeping gatekeeper that was laying on the grass just next to the huge gate that led into the mansion's grounds.
Standing beside the amused tourist, Reimu couldn't help but wonder how much trouble Meiling was going to be in when Reimila found out the tourist's first impression of the Scarlet Devil Mansion was that of a sleeping gatekeeper.
"Sleeping on the job. Wow, I'm surprised she hasn't been fired yet." Renko said as she walked closer to Meiling and crouched over the gatekeeper's sleeping form.
It had taken hours for the pair to make the journey from Reimu's shrine to the mansion, mainly due to the fact that Renko was unable (or perhaps, unwilling) to fly under her own power. So, while they had departed early in the day, it had taken them the entire morning to finally reach the mansion.
Reimu had always known that the mansion was off the beaten track, but it wasn't until she'd had to walk the way there, as opposed to just flying, that she'd realized just how isolated it could be.
On the upside, avoiding flying over the trip had meant the pair maintained a lower profile and thus escaped the notice of Cirno. Good thing too, for the little fairy would definitely have caused them, or more specifically Reimu, some problems.
"Let her sleep. We should probably just go in," Reimu said with a sigh as she moved to direct Renko away from the sleeping gate guard. Really this was an unnecessary distraction from what Reimu really wanted to do: talk with Remilia and get this farce underway.
"I can just fly over the wall and open the gate from the inside. After that I'll speak to the lady of the house and we can get down to the tour proper."
Renko held out a hand to gesture that Reimu wait a moment.
"Hold that thought. I wanna try something first."
Then Renko did the stupidest thing Reimu had seen someone do in a while do: in one smooth motion, Renko's right hand dipped down to the six shooter at her side (wait, when did Renko have something like that?) draw it and bring it up to Meiling's hea-
Faster than the eye could see, Meiling's right arm darted out and slapped the barrel of the weapon away from her face. Then, without even stopping her hand wrapped itself around Renko's wrist in a vice grip, just as Meiling leapt from where she had been lying on the ground to her feet…
Before Reimu could even blink, Renko was face down on the dirt with Meiling's knee planted on the small of her back and her outstretched arm, and her gun, held in a rather painful position above her in Meiling's hold.
Reimu's jaw dropped.
She'd never seen Meiling move that fast before!
"Ow, ow, ow! Bad joke, bad joke, bad joke! Uncle, uncle, uncle!" Renko squealed, tapping her free hand on the ground to display her submission to the redheaded youkai, "I give, I give!"
"It is not nice to point dangerous things at people," Meiling admonished in an even tone of voice as she applied more pressure to Renko's back, eliciting a girlish squeal from the pinned tourist, "Who are you and what are you doing here? This is private property. Answer me quickly!"
"REIMU, HELP!"
-=-
"Wait, so she's a tourist?" Meiling tilted her head in confusion as Reimu finished her explanation.
"Yeah. Yukari's paying me to give her a round the barrier trip of the place, and she happened to decide that the mansion was the first place she wanted to visit."
Meiling, reacting to what had seemed like a clear and present threat, hadn't actually noticed Reimu until Renko had started squealing like a little child for help. When she did, it had taken quite a bit of convincing for the gatekeeper to finally release Renko.
The trio were now standing off to the side of the gate as Reimu explained to Meiling just why someone she'd never seen or heard from before had shown up out of nowhere and decided to put a weapon to the side of the gatekeeper's head.
"How come she pointed that gun at my head then?" Meiling frowned, folding her arms suspiciously as she turned to regard Renko.
"I was wondering about that myself actually." Reimu muttered as she turned to Renko with a look of annoyance and disbelief. "I can't believe you, pulling a weapon on Meiling like that. Don't you know how much trouble you'd be in if this were anywhere but Gensokyo?"
"Yeah. This is the kind of thing that could have you thrown out of places, you know." Meiling nodded with agreement
Renko gave a sheepish smile and apologetic shrug, clearly trying to lay on the charm to get around her little misstep. "Hey, I just wanted to see what in the book was right about Meiling."
"What book?" Meiling frowned
"This book!" Renko produced the Gensokyo Chronicle and flipped it open to the appropriate page, then laid on the charm to get Meiling to see her point.
"See, here? This page gives so such an unflattering review of you I didn't know what to think. Is she really that lazy? Is she friendly? Is she dangerous? So I figured that the best way to see what you were really like was to put a gun to your head to see what kind of reaction I'd get out of you. It was a perfectly legitimate course of action. I just wanted to see if you were any good as a gatekeeper, and since you were already asleep… Well, what else could I do? It's just a little misunderstanding, Miss Hong. How about we just put this behind us and just let bygones be bygones?"
Reimu stared at Renko in disbelief, unable to wrap her mind about the insane train of logic she'd just heard leave the other girl's mouth.
What sort of excuse was that? Renko might as well have said she'd eaten Meiling's hat to see if it tasted like grass because it was green! There was no way-
"Ah, if that's the case it sounds reasonable," Meiling nodded with a smile, "Well, no harm done."
"What."
"Yeah, that's the way the cookie crumbles," Renko laughed, "So, why don't you show the two of us in? I'd love to meet the lady of the house now. This place looks fabulous!"
"What." Reimu looked between Meiling and Renko, trying hard to comprehend what had just happened. Did Meiling just listen to that bullshit excuse for putting a loaded gun to her head and… just accept it? Like that? What?
"Certainly! Come on right in!" Meiling walked open to the gate and opened it to allow the mansion's latest guests to enter… "Oh, but I'll be needing your gun though."
"What? Why?"
"Well, it's a dangerous weapon, and even as a guest I can't allow you to wander around with such a dangerous thing on the premises. You might hurt someone!"
Then Renko started laying on the charm again.
"But I'm just this helpless human being who is about to go into a mansion full of deadly things like vampires, youkai and who knows what else. I need this gun to protect myself! I mean sure it won't really help me very much in there, you saw how easily you disarmed me... but at very least let me keep it around as a safety blanket. Please let me keep my gun."
"…Hm, that sounds reasonable too," Meiling agreed heartily, "Well then, come on right in Ms Usami! The Scarlet Devil Mansion welcomes you!"
"See Reimu? Getting into places isn't as difficult as you made it out to be, after all." Renko grinned as she clasped the still shocked shrine maiden by the arm and slowly pulled in her in after her.
"What the hell?" Reimu muttered to herself as she tried, and failed to understand what had just transpired at the gate.
That was bullshit!
-=-
"Welcome to the Scarlet Devil Mansion."
"Why thank you very! It's a pleasure to be here!"
The pair were sitting at a table with the mistress of the mansion in the outdoor gazebo in the main gardens, with Meiling and Sakuya standing at attention not too far away from them just waiting to be of service. They had been very fortunate to catch Remilia while she was still awake at this hour, a real rarity given that the noble was something of a night owl for obvious reasons.
Well what was there to say about Remilia Scarlet? She was the mistress of the eponymous Scarlet Devil Mansion, home to a number of very particular group of supernatural beings. She was a powerful vampire of considerable age. Despite her appearances as a young girl, Remilia possessed with bearing and charisma of the old European nobility she had descended from.
With the ability to manipulate fate itself on a whim, it was clear the elder of the Scarlet sisters wasn't one to take lightly.
It was for this reason that Reimu, despite being Remilia's friend, was on guard.
"So as I understand it from your little explanation, Reimu here is giving you a tour of Gensokyo on Yukari Yakuko's personal request," Remilia surmised as she sipped from a cup of tea, "And your first destination happened to be my humble abode. I'm honoured."
"Yep," Renko replied with a smile, "I honestly couldn't pass up the chance to see your library. That isn't to say that the rest of your mansion is boring, but the treasure trove of knowledge you have there is just something I have to see for myself. I must say though, this garden of yours is impressive."
Off to the side, Reimu could see Meiling puff out her chest with pride.
"Indeed," Remilia nodded, "I am very honoured that Yakumo's honoured guest chose my home to see first, before all the other places in Gensokyo. Sakuya? Please prepare one of the guest rooms for Miss Usami here."
Sakuya dipped into a bow, ready to fulfil her mistresses request. "As you command, Mila-"
"Actually could you make that two rooms?" Reimu cut in quickly, "I need to stay with her to keep her out of trouble. I'm her tour guide and all."
"Oh-ho?" Reimilia raised a curious eyebrow, "What about your shrine Reimu? Don't you need to get back to taking care of that? I could have Sakuya and Meiling take your place as a tour guide for the short duration of Miss Usami's stay in the Mansion. They are much more familiar with the premises than you, after all."
As logical as that sounded, Reimu shook her head.
"As much as I appreciate the offer, Yukari's paying me good money for this. She's even getting Ran to tidy up the shrine while I'm gone. Can't afford to slack when she's putting so much faith in me, y'know what I mean?"
Reimu wished she could outright warn Renko of just how dangerous Remilia was instead of tiptoeing around the fact. However, doing so in front of Remilia would be the height of ill manners, and worse probably elicit a negative reaction out of the vampiress. The last thing Reimu needed was a fight!
All she could do to was try and steer the conversation towards 'safer' waters and make sure that Renko didn't end up staying at the mansion on her own without an escort.
Remilia may have been Reimu's friend, but like all old youkai who had moved to Gensokyo, the vampire liked playing the lives of shorter lived mortals to alleviate their own boredom. As a strange new person who had seemingly arrived out of nowhere, Renko was a very appetising target for the old vampire's schemes
If Renko were to be left alone in the mansion for any length of time, who knows what would happen to her? Worse, if something did happen to the tourist, Yukari would most definitely not be happy. This could cause an incident, or worse, cause Yukari to take back the money she'd paid out!
"Hm, indeed," Remilia tapped an idle finger against her teacup, clearly digesting this new titbit of information, "What does Miss Usami think of this?"
Renko gave a lazy smile. "Hey, the more the merrier right?"
"Well then, that's settled," Remilia set her teacup down and turned to her head maid, "Sakuya, see that two of our spare guests rooms are prepared and stocked with all the appropriate amenities for our two guests here."
"As you command, mistress." With a snap of her fingers, Sakuya disappeared, clearly off somewhere fulfilling her mistress's command.
Knowing Sakuya and her ability to stop time, she wouldn't be long.
Curiously, Reimu couldn't help but notice Renko's wide eyed, shocked stare when Sakuya suddenly disappeared. It was the first time, in the short time they had known each other, that Reimu had actually seen Renko this unguarded!
However, as quickly as Reimu had seen it, it was gone. Renko recovered very quickly. Not quickly enough though, for if Reimu caught it Remilia almost certainly did too.
"Do either of you need help bringing your luggage or clothes to the mansion?" Remilia asked them, "I can have my fairy maids visit the Hakurei shrine to retrieve them for you, and save you the return trip to get them."
Reimu quickly held out her hands and shook her head vehemently. "There's no need! I'd much rather borrow some clothes from you, Remi!"
The last time Reimu had taken up Remilia on this offer a year ago, she'd come back after a weekend visit to the mansion to find her house completely ransacked. Nothing had been stolen of course, because only a true fool or Marisa Kirisame would dare steal from the Hakurei maiden, but it took days for Reimu to get everything back in order.
She had later discovered that the maids dispatched to retrieve Reimu's clothes weren't very good at finding things at all and had wrecked her home trying to find spare clothes for her.
Never again.
"Hm, what about you, Renko?"
"Yeah. I think if that's what Reimu is going for, then I'll take her advice. Besides, a place like this ought to have some awesome clothes to try on!"
"Indeed. My mansion used to be frequented by the social elite, and many of them left their effects here over the years. I have some of the finest clothes of the era in storage, and I will be happy to let you try some of them on." Remilia replied proudly.
Reimu resisted the urge to sigh. It didn't take a genius to know that Reimila was trying to win Renko's favour now, possibly as a way to win some points with Yukari.
Whether this was a good thing or a bad thing, she had no idea.
Gah, the old women of Gensokyo and their politics.
"In any case, while your rooms are prepared, which should not take very long knowing Sakuya, might I propose that the two of you take a tour of the garden while it is still day? It is now past midday, and I must be getting to sleep soon," Remilia suggested helpfully, "Once I wake in the evening, we can talk more over dinner. I can introduce you to Patchouli Knowledge, a close friend of mine who is effectively our librarian. In the meantime, Meiling has put much effort into making our ground the finest garden in all of Gensokyo. With the weather being as perfect as it is, I am sure she will be happy to show it to you."
"Um, I'm not sure if Kazami-san will agree with the 'in all of Gensokyo' bit…" Meiling began, only to be quickly silenced by an admonishing glare from Remilia.
"Why I think that's a splendid idea!" Thankfully, Renko's quick reply drew Remilia's attention before punishment could be doled out. "What do you think, Remiu?"
"I think that's a good idea myself."
Plus it would be a great way to get away from Remilia and have a little chat with Renko in private about the need to be much more careful around the vampiress.
"Very well. Meiling, see to it that you assign one of the fairy maids to guard the gate in your absence, and then show our guests around the grounds." Remilia ordered, prompting the redheaded gatekeeper to give a respectful bow.
"I know I've said this before, but thank you very much for accommodating us." Renko said sincerely.
"It really is not trouble at all," Remilia replied with a smile that sent shivers shooting up Reimu's spine, "Once again, I bid you welcome, to the Scarlet Devil Mansion, Renko Usami. I hope you will be enjoying your stay with us."
-=-
While the Scarlet Devil Mansion was most famous for the great library in its underground levels and its European style architecture, it also possessed a magnificent, well-tended, garden that covered the entire area between the mansion proper and the outer walls. Consisting of a variety of rare flowers and other exotic plants, all carefully arranged by Meiling to bring out their full splendour, it was a real pity that so few in the Eastern Wonderland actually had the opportunity to see, much less appreciate it.
Once Remilia and Sakuya had retired indoors, Meiling had lead both Reimu and Renko out onto the garden to show them around. The gatekeeper, overjoyed that someone was actually around to actually pay attention to her hard work, led the pair around with more enthusiasm than Reimu had actually seen of the gatekeeper.
"This is the mansion's… well the common name is a 'Middlemist Camellia'. It's a very rare plant that I managed to cultivate on the grounds," Meiling said proudly as she gently motioned to the delicate red flower that was the centrepiece of one of her displays, "I brought it with me into the mansion when I entered milady's service, and it's been here ever since."
"Holy cow, this plant? Are you kidding me?" Renko regarded the flower with wide eyes and a shocked expression, looking torn between wanting to touch the flower and staying clear of it for fear of accidentally damaging it, "We call it a different name where I'm from, but… wow, just wow! I thought this went extinct when Gem got nuked! Meiling, how…"
"I'm from China. It was one of the treasures I brought with me when I moved into the mansion," Meiling explained proudly. "It's been with me for well over two hundred years. This little girl here is practically my baby."
Renko could only nod excitedly as she took out her note book and quickly made a few notes into it. "Hm, pardon me if I'm mistaken, but don't things this old get fairies and stuff around here? I mean, if the Gensokyo Chronicle is any indication, even an Umbrella can become a supernatural creature, let alone a two hundred year old priceless flower."
"Normally they would, but our resident magician's put a few safeguards in place to make sure that doesn't happen," Meiling replied, "The last thing we want is for this priceless flower here to sprout a pair of wings and fly away somewhere."
"Ah, that's a relief," Renko nodded in agreement, then paused as a thought came to her. "If that's the case… could I touch it?"
"Sure. Just be aware, that Patchy, our resident magician, has put up a whole lot of powerful wards on this flower," Meiling informed her, "The second those wards pick up any ill intent to the flower… zap!"
"I'll keep that in mind." Renko said as she leaned forward to gently caress one of the petals.
Reimu on the other hand, wasn't so impressed.
"I don't get what's so amazing about a flower," Reimu sighed as she looked around the garden for some form of stimulation. Unlike Renko, who seemed to be very interested in botany, Reimu wasn't couldn't find it in herself to be interested in a bunch of plants.
Her nonchalance to the subject quickly drew reactions from the other two companions.
"Reimu-chan, it's one of three known specimens of the flower in the entire world, two of which are outside Gensokyo," Meiling explained with a sigh, "This flower is basically priceless."
"It's also a very potent reagent for all sorts of things I believed to be completely extinct where I'm from. God, the medicines Horakinis used to make…"
Meiling's head snapped around to Renko so fast that Reimu thought the poor gatekeeper had been a hairs breadth away from getting whiplash.
"Not that I'm going to take it away from here of course!" Renko quickly backpedalled, with her hands held out and away from the rare Carmellia to show her sincerity, "Sun's grace, I would never think of taking such a rare specimen off you, let alone risk damaging it! You think I want to harm such a treasure? No one would be that crazy!"
"…I suppose. You probably wouldn't be able to past Patchy's wards anyway." Meiling said with a small measure of relief. To be safe, she quickly ushered her guests onto the next exhibit, leaving the priceless flower behind them…
…Just as the petal that Renko had touched began glowing.
-=-
Reimu gave a long yawn as Meiling continued to prattle on about some other plant, some delicate little white thing called a 'Silene tomentosa', to an entranced Renko. It was now early in the evening, and the sun was slowly beginning its descent below the horizon casting the world into twilight.
"This is going on forever." Reimu complained as she waited for the pair to finish.
While Reimu was laid back, the sheer boredom and disinterest she was having towards this tour was really giving her second thoughts about the whole tourgide thing. If she were at home, she could catch a nap on her futon or have a nice drink of sake to calm the nerves, her current job meant she had to wait around, completely sober and more or less alert, while Renko finished up her little talk with Meiling. It was an exercise that was far more boring than she had expected it to be!
"Why can't they hurry it up some?"
"You think this is bad, you should try waiting hand and foot for the mistress."
"Not a chance. That's you kind of thing, not mine, Miss 'head maid'."
Reimu turned to regard Sakuya, who had materialized seemingly out of thin air right next to her. The perfect elegant maid had an impeccable appearance as always, and was looking on at Meiling and Renko with a serene, if curious expression.
"So, Remilia waking up any time soon?" Reimu asked hopefully. The sooner the vampire woke, the sooner that dinner, and the escape from this exercise in utter boredom, would come.
"Not for another hour, at least," Sakuya replied with a shake of her head, "The mistress went to bed much later than usual today. It is unlikely she will be up until after the sun has set."
"Well, isn't that just wonderful," Reimu groused, "Sometimes I wonder how Yukari manages to talk me into these things."
"So, she is Yukari's friend, huh?" Sakuya said as she settled in to wait beside Reimu, "I didn't think that Yukari would take interest in an ordinary human like her."
"Sakuya. This is Yukari."
"Ah, you do have a point."
Reimu wondered if it was a good idea not to warn Sakuya about the mansion's new guest. She was pretty confident at this point that there was definitely something odd about Renko, and perhaps giving the head maid of the mansion they were visiting a heads up might be a good way for Reimu to head off some potential problems down the line.
Sakuya was notoriously efficient at cleaning up after the other residents, so if anything happened having Sakuya on her side would be great.
Unfortunately, Reimu was also aware that Sakuya was completely devoted to Remilia. If Reimu were to even hint of her suspicions about their tourist to Sakuya, there was a very good chance that what she'd said would wind up being passed onto the vampire.
If that happened trouble would definitely ensure, and Reimu didn't want that!
"I find it strange though," Sakuya thoughtfully said, "Miss Usami's reactions are very different from what I'd expect of an outsider."
"How so?"
"When I stopped time before, she didn't react in a way I would expect someone to," Sakuya explained, "She was surprised at first when she noticed me disappear when I stopped time, but when I checked back in later she didn't seem afraid of it."
"You checked back in? I didn't see you earlier after you left." Indeed, Sakuya had merely snapped her fingers and disappeared from her sight, reappearing with an umbrella in hand only when it was time to take Remilia back indoors.
"Merely a matter of perceptions. I can move freely when I stop time," Sakuya shrugged, "when I was making your rooms, realized I might have startled our guest, I quickly returned in the odd chance I was needed. As it turned out I wasn't, so I returned to my duties."
"I see."
"Most humans and youkai, who visit my time stop ability for the first time tend to grill the Mistress about it. Miss Renko didn't. I find it odd that she didn't press the issue more. It was like what I did wasn't that unusual for her."
"Well, your ability isn't a secret and she was reading the Gensokyo Chronicle before she came here," Reimu pointed out, "The practically read the entire thing cover to cover before coming here. She knows you can stop time."
"Perhaps," Sakuya reluctantly agreed, "But I would think that a normal human would react more when they saw something truly amazing with their own two eyes."
Reimu froze for a moment as something very, very odd occurred to her.
Renko HAD acted amazed earlier… but not to seeing Sakuya's time-stop ability. It had surprised her, but she'd merely been alarmed. The bubbly traveller had been going completely bonkers… over Meiling's flower. Between Sakuya's ability to stop time at will and Meiling's flower, apparently Renko had thought the flower the more interesting sight.
"Okay, there is something really wrong with this girl."
"Hm? Did you say something?" Sakuya said.
"Nothing. Nothing at all." Reimu sighed as she wondered just what had caused Renko's odd reaction.
-=-
It wasn't much longer after that exchange that Remilia had summoned her guests for dinner.
Seeking to impress, the lady of the house had ordered a grand feast to be prepared for her guests in the main dining hall. Food, all prepared to the finest ingredients and served with the finest presentation stretched out before Remiu on one of the largest European style tables she'd ever laid eyes on. When she'd first walked into the room, the poor girl could do nothing but gape and bristle with pure envy for a few moments.
The sheer wastefulness boggled the frugal shrine maiden's mind. The table must have been able to fit twelve people, and the feast itself feed double that number!
When Remilia wanted to show off, she sure as hell didn't pull any punches!
The other diners were already present. Remilia of course was seated at the head of the table, with both Patchouli and Koakuma seated to her right. Sakuya, ever the dutiful maid, was hovering just off to her master's side, while Meiling took her leave soon after showing the mansion's two guests to the dining room.
Never one to let table manners get in the way of her research, Patchouli of course had her head buried in a book and had a look on her face that showed complete disinterest with the feast before her. Koakuma on the other hand seemed livelier, giving Reimu and Renko a wave as they entered the room. Reimu had almost missed the stiffening of Renko's form when the older girl had caught sight of the friendly demon. It had been quick, but Reimu had caught it.
Probably so had everyone else in the room who had been bothering to pay attention.
Uh oh.
"So I take it the tour of the grounds was to your satisfaction?" Remilia said as she motioned for her two guests to the empty a seats to her left.
"Yes indeed! I have to say, I've seen castles with less fancy gardens than yours!" Renko replied as she and Reimu took their seats near Remilia, "You have a very talented groundskeeper, Lady Scarlet."
"I am sure Meiling will be very happy to hear that," Remilia nodded before waving a lazy hand towards Patchouli and Koakuma.
"Professor Usami, allow me to introduce you to my close friend and the owner of the Voile Library, Patchouli Knowledge. The succubus familiar sitting beside her is her assistant, Koakuma. Koa, Patchy, this is Yukari Yakumo's friend from the outside world, Renko Usami."
Patchouli let out a grunt without even looking up from her book 'Astrological Fortune Telling, Fact or Fiction'. Koakuma on the other hand beamed happily the mansion's guest, the wings on his head involuntarily flapping as if sensing her excitement. "It's so good to meet you, Miss Usami. I hear that you want to see the library. We have so few legitimate visitors, I can't wait to show you around. Not to insult Reimu's ability as a tour guide of anything…"
"…yeah, flattered." Renko replied, the smile on her face clearly wooden. Off to the side, Reimu clearly saw the calculating glint appear in Remilia's eyes as she witnessed the exchange.
Uh oh indeed.
"Come now, Patchy. The food is on the table, not behind the pages of your book," Remilia admonished as she reached over the table and plucked the book out of Patchouli's hands and casually handed the tome to the waiting Sakuya, "We have guests, from Yukari Yakumo no less! Tut-tut, you should mind your table manners, my dear."
Separated from her research material, Patchouli glowered at Remilia with all the fury of an anti-social shut-in that had been dragged to a family meal while still in her pyjamas.
"Remi, a few days ago there was an unexplained solar flare that knocked all my sidereal timekeeping telescopes. This stellar event coincided with a surge of high amounts of elemental energy around the planet's poles. I fear that this event-"
Patchouli was abruptly silenced when a helping to Caesar salad swiftly and unexpectedly materialised in her mouth.
"Thank you, Sakuya."
"I live to serve, milady."
"Patchy, Patchy, Patchy. The food is over there." Remilia pointed while the librarian coughed and attempted to swallow the food, "Koakuma, please be a dear and make sure that your master eats her greens. It's important to keep a healthy diet… and the cake is the desert, my dear."
Koakuma meeped as she quickly retracted from hand from where she was trying to sneak a helping of chocolate mud-cake onto her own plate.
"So, uh, are dinners at your place always like this?" Renko said, the recovery in her voice indicating that she'd managed to regain her centre.
"Only when we have guests," Remilia replied as she snapped her fingers. Instantly the empty plate on the table before her was filled with generous helpings of salad, lobster thermidor, a variety of roast meats and cheeses… and pudding.
Reimu snorted with amusement. Hypocrite.
"Uh. Okay," Renko looked at Remilia with undisguised surprise as the vampiress picked up her solid gold cutlery elegantly began eating her meal. "She's a vampire, how is she…"
"She can eat food, just like anyone else can." Reimu informed the outsider quickly. It didn't take a genius to see that Remilia was enjoying turning vampire stereotypes upside down in front of Renko, "She just needs an intake of blood, that's all."
"Is that why all the meat looks like its cooked closer to the side of 'raw'?"
"Medium rare actually," Remilia explained as she set her cutlery down as a show of politeness, "Normally I prefer my red meat rare, for obvious reasons, but as I have guests over it would be a very poor host of me not to give care and consideration to your needs."
"Hm. Interesting," Renko mused thoughtfully, whatever thoughts had plagued her before falling by the wayside now that something interesting had once again captured her attention, "The Gensokyo Chronicle stated your main diet consisted mostly of the blood of humans."
Funnily enough, before Remilia could answer, Patchouli intervened.
"That book is full of misconceptions, opinion, exaggeration and lies," Patchouli stated bluntly from where she was trying to fend of Koakuma, the latter trying to spoon feed her master some delicious looking seafood chowder with a spoon.
"It relies too much on hearsay, many of the sources are of dubious quality and it relies too much on outdated historical accounts and pure speculation. All written by a biased girl who does not understand the true nature of the subject matter she is dealing with. It is in my honest opinion, a piece of trash that is more burnable than that rag Shameimaru puts out. One out of five stars."
The silence and stillness that descended on the table could be cut with a knife. Even Koakuma had stopped moving and was staring.
"…this is the first time I've heard you talk like that in all the time I've known you," Remilia shakily whispered after the shock had properly passed, "Where have you been hiding that?"
"I… when did you become a critic, Patchouli-sama?" Sakuya stammered, her perfect elegant façade pierced by the sheer bluntness of the magician's impromptu book review.
"More to the point. That's… a rather harsh opinion." Renko said, her hand having actually shifted down from to her belt where a copy of said book was being kept in a pouch.
"Yeah, uh. It's not as if it's Akyuu's fault that she couldn't go out and visit all the youkai she was supposed to be writing about." Reimu said in the young author's defence.
"And, uh, some of those dubious reports and exaggerations were deliberate, especially when certain youkai wanted to spread misinformation about themselves. I mean Lady Remi-" Koakuma's jaw snapped shut when she saw the glare directed at her from Remilia.
"Excuses for the poor quality of the resulting publication. I look not at the virtue author, but rather at the work itself. It is my humble opinion as a scholar, an academic and a magician that the Gensokyo Chronicle is a heavily biased book that contains so much misinformation that it is not worth the trees that were cut down to make it. As I said: One out of Five stars."
Pathouli folded her arms and glared at the rest of the room, challenging everyone in it to express their dissent. The rest of the room's occupants, form the normally haughty Remilia to Reimu herself, glanced at each other awkwardly as they tried to decide how to handle the situation.
"Um, food?" Reimu quickly put forward.
"Uh, yes. Food." Remilia agreed.
-=-
As promised, Remilia had asked Patchouli show Renko to the Voile library after dinner. After an assurance from Renko that she wasn't going to rob the place blind, Patchouli agreed.
As Patchouli and Koakuma lead their guests through the winding halls of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, Reimu couldn't help but notice that Renko was acting strangely.
The normally boisterous woman had clammed up and had positioned herself squarely between Reimu and Koakuma as the party proceeded to their destination. More than that, Renko keeping her right hand just above her hip, hovering there as if just waiting to draw her weapon…
…which oddly enough, Reimu couldn't see.
Where did the revolver go to?
"Succubus. Why didn't the bloody book mention a succubus?" Renko muttered quietly, although it seemed she was doing so unconsciously if she was doing so in earshot of Reimu, "I sure as hell wouldn't use a Neomah as a librarian, not after that bitch. I sooner would trust the fucking fae…"
Okay, she had to do something about this.
"Alright, what's got you?" Reimu fell back to Renko's side and whispered. "What's wrong with Koa?"
"You call that thing, 'Koa'?" Renko said with barely concealed hostility and suspicion as she directed a glare that could kill to the back of an oblivious Koakuma's head.
Okay, there was definitely something wrong here.
"Look, Koa is one of the nice people in the Mansion. Like genuinely nice."
"Yeah. Nice. Of course she's nice. Nice like a nice good little interviewee-slash-assistant right until you turn you back. Then she gets a boy to stab his mother to death to 'create new orifices' for shits and giggles while stealing my god damn hearthstone…"
The venom in Renko's voice was so great Reimu lost her footing, and only just managed to catch herself before face planting on the floor. Thankfully, Patchouli and Koakuma, who were leading the way and had their backs turned, didn't notice the stumble.
"Renko, what the hell?" Reimu hissed.
"Look, I read a lot of books on the subject alright?" Renko explained half-heartedly, clearly using the bulk of her focus on drilling holes in the back of Koa's head, "The second that thing so much as gives me a reason…"
"Koa's not like that. I don't know what your research about succubi told you, but they're wrong," Well, wrong about Koakuma at least. "Look, I know Koa. Whatever you read about the other succubi, they're wrong about her. Trust me."
"I'll trust you about her when I'm sure she hasn't pulled the wool over your eyes. Trust 'em only as far as you can throw 'em. That's what I always say," Renko said with finality, clearly set in her ways.
-=-
"So this is your library?" Renko said as she walked into the large room with an excited grin. "Wow, it IS pretty big. I'm impressed."
The large room, illuminated by the lights of several low hanging chandeliers and recently installed Kappa made electric lamps, was filled with dozens of book cases on two separate floors. It was so large in fact that bridges had been built across the room to allow for easier movement for its occupants. The many windows allowed pale moonlight to filter into the room, giving the library a nice pleasant ambiance even at this hour.
No matter how you looked at it, this was a library, and a pretty good one too.
"Man, I can't wait to take a look about," Renko rolled her shoulders and started towards the bookshelves, clearly eager to get started, "Let's see what-"
"Actually, you're mistaken, Miss Usami," Koakua informed the outsider with an embarrassed smile, while Patchouli, without even pausing in her step, made for the large stairwell in the centre of the room that lead underground. "This isn't Master Patchouli's Library."
"Huh?" Renko blinked in confusion as Reimu sniggered behind her.
Having gone there herself Reimu had of course known where the Voile was. In fact she was mildly surprised to find that Renko had mistakenly believed that Remilia's private collection, while quite substantial, was the largest library in Gensokyo. Close, but no cigar.
This was going to be good.
"This is Lady Scarlet's private library. The only books you'll find here are related to fiction, the arts and whatever interests the mistress of this house," Koakuma explained, beckoning the two guests to follow after her master. "Master Pathouli's library is actually underground."
"So let me get this straight," Renko said slowly, "This huge-ass room, a room that has more books than a major metropolitan book-shop, is just Remilia's private collection?"
"Well, yes."
"…rich people." Renko grumbled as she followed after Patchouli, a sniggering Reimu in tow.
-=-
"Whoa. Nice. Very, nice."
Down the flight of stairs lay a massive underground chambers that were illuminated only by the lights of giant glowing magical orbs, suspended from metal chains that hung from the ceiling. The walls, stretching almost six stories in height, were nothing but bookshelves. Indeed the walls of books giant ladders, so tall that one had to cane one's head to see the top, placed around the room just to allow access to the books for those incapable of flight.
"Now this is a freaking library," Renko grinned giddily as she started towards the bookshelves, her notebook and pen already in hand…
"Actually this is the auxiliary library that Master uses to study when she invites her colleagues over," Koakuma noted apologetically. While the little devil was correcting this misconception, Patchouli was already descending the spiral staircase to the room's lower level to continue forward towards where her real destination was.
Reimu for her part was just staying back and watching the events unfold with folded arms and a cheeky grin.
"You mean this isn't the Voile?" Renko boggled in disbelief, casting her eyes wildly around the room in shock. "This… this room has more books than my Man-my local university!"
"Well, technically it is. Part of the Voile, that is. This is the 'public access' portion of the library," Koakuma explained, "Normally, this would all we would allow you to see. Master Patchouli is quite particular on who gains access to her collection… but Lady Remilia was quite clear that we were to show you to see the main Library proper."
Renko started.
"Sun's grace, how big is this library anyway?"
-=-
"…Sun's grace."
It was a city. It was a city of bookshelves, complete with bridges, buildings, spires, arches, pathways… all either supporting bookshelves, lining bookshelves or made out of bookshelves. Runes of pure magic, etched on the wooden surfaces, illuminated this man made, or witch made as the case may be, city with an almost dreamlike glow, making it really look like a city at night.
"Sun's grace… this place can't possibly be real,"Renko staggered forward until she was looking over the third floor railing, the view of the entire library stretching out before her, "I… I can even see a swimming pool. This library is so big it has a fucking swimming pool."
"I thought I asked Remi to get rid of that," Patchouli muttered, before marching off to continue her own research. "Koa, you mind the visitors. I have work to do."
"Yes, Master!"
Reimu watched on with amusement as Renko's looked around the room with her jaw unhinged, the former university professor caught between sheer disbelief and unbridled joy at what she was looking at. "So like what you see?"
"I think I will, once I start believing my eyes." Renko said, her keen sight and observation methods doing nothing but affirming what she was seeing was the truth. Several more moments passed as Renko digested what she was seeing. When she did, the look of stunned awe on the woman's face morphed into one of excitement and glee.
"Reimu. I think you can go to bed without me tonight." Renko stated slowly without taking her eyes away from the scene of splendour before her.
"Er, what?" Reimu said.
"I think I'm going to burn the midnight oil a bit," Renko continued, a strange glassy look now in her eyes, "Don't worry about me, I'll be keeping myself busy. With reading. Yeah."
"Renko? Renko, you're not making any sense."
"Not making sense? Silly Reimu, I'm making perfect sense. I'm a researcher, this place has research… I need to research! I'm going to hit the gods' be damned books!"
By this point the smile on Renko's face had grown from ear to ear, and she was practically vibrating with excitement. Reimu was beginning to regret her earlier glee she'd derived at Renko's surprise, because right now her charge was looking very scary.
Oh god, had she inadvertedly shown another Marisa into Patchy's library?
"Hello, Miss Usami," Koakuma greeted warmly as she walked up to Renko with a bright smile, "As you may have already heard, I'm going to show you around the library and hel… Miss Usami? Huh, she's gone?"
Indeed, one moment Renko had been standing at the railing looking at the massive library before her, the next she was gone. Surprised, Reimu and Koakuma looked around wildly to see where the guest had run off to. They didn't have to look very far.
"Reimu?"
"Yes, Koa?"
"Miss Usami really likes books, doesn't she?" Koakuma said, watching Renko practically sprinting up one of the library's many ladders to access one of the higher bookshelves.
"That she does," Reimu sighed, "That she does."
-=-
TBC…
-=-
Still moving through the drafts, albeit very slowly.
Here's the compiled Chapter 1, all in one place with less spelling mistakes.
Please let me know if there are any mistakes I missed.
Cheers!
-=-
THE TOURIST
An Exalted/Touhou Crossover
By sasahara17
Scarlet Devil Mansion
Chapter 2, A Sunny Girl in the House of Night (I)
-=-
Being the gate keeper to the Scarlet Devil Mansion was a thankless and oftentimes boring job. Aside from the usual 'intruders', one of whom was such a frequent guest she might as well have been a resident there, the mansion rarely received any visitors.
This was quite understandable as the Mansion was situated across the misty lake, far out of the way of most of the usual travel routes of Gensokyo's residents. Nobody in their right mind would visit the mansion unless they had legitimate business to do so, and even the fairies of the surrounding area had long since grown bored of trying to break in.
At the rate things were going, the job of the Mansion's gate guard was more ceremonial than practical. It wasn't as if there were dozens of wannabe vampire hunters out to stake Remilia through the heart, for what little good that would actually do, in Gensokyo!
Hong Meiling thus had come into the bad habit of taking afternoon naps while on duty.
Really, who could blame her? Nice weather, perfect climate, no visitors, nothing to do… it would be better to take a nice nap rather than watching the same old scenery day in and day out, right? It's not as if anyone, besides Marisa of course, would be stupid enough to try to break into the mansion of a mighty powerful vampire, right?
"Well, this is one entry in the book that's spot on," Renko said as she looked down at the page in the Gensokyo Chronicle, then back up at the sleeping gatekeeper that was laying on the grass just next to the huge gate that led into the mansion's grounds.
Standing beside the amused tourist, Reimu couldn't help but wonder how much trouble Meiling was going to be in when Reimila found out the tourist's first impression of the Scarlet Devil Mansion was that of a sleeping gatekeeper.
"Sleeping on the job. Wow, I'm surprised she hasn't been fired yet." Renko said as she walked closer to Meiling and crouched over the gatekeeper's sleeping form.
It had taken hours for the pair to make the journey from Reimu's shrine to the mansion, mainly due to the fact that Renko was unable (or perhaps, unwilling) to fly under her own power. So, while they had departed early in the day, it had taken them the entire morning to finally reach the mansion.
Reimu had always known that the mansion was off the beaten track, but it wasn't until she'd had to walk the way there, as opposed to just flying, that she'd realized just how isolated it could be.
On the upside, avoiding flying over the trip had meant the pair maintained a lower profile and thus escaped the notice of Cirno. Good thing too, for the little fairy would definitely have caused them, or more specifically Reimu, some problems.
"Let her sleep. We should probably just go in," Reimu said with a sigh as she moved to direct Renko away from the sleeping gate guard. Really this was an unnecessary distraction from what Reimu really wanted to do: talk with Remilia and get this farce underway.
"I can just fly over the wall and open the gate from the inside. After that I'll speak to the lady of the house and we can get down to the tour proper."
Renko held out a hand to gesture that Reimu wait a moment.
"Hold that thought. I wanna try something first."
Then Renko did the stupidest thing Reimu had seen someone do in a while do: in one smooth motion, Renko's right hand dipped down to the six shooter at her side (wait, when did Renko have something like that?) draw it and bring it up to Meiling's hea-
Faster than the eye could see, Meiling's right arm darted out and slapped the barrel of the weapon away from her face. Then, without even stopping her hand wrapped itself around Renko's wrist in a vice grip, just as Meiling leapt from where she had been lying on the ground to her feet…
Before Reimu could even blink, Renko was face down on the dirt with Meiling's knee planted on the small of her back and her outstretched arm, and her gun, held in a rather painful position above her in Meiling's hold.
Reimu's jaw dropped.
She'd never seen Meiling move that fast before!
"Ow, ow, ow! Bad joke, bad joke, bad joke! Uncle, uncle, uncle!" Renko squealed, tapping her free hand on the ground to display her submission to the redheaded youkai, "I give, I give!"
"It is not nice to point dangerous things at people," Meiling admonished in an even tone of voice as she applied more pressure to Renko's back, eliciting a girlish squeal from the pinned tourist, "Who are you and what are you doing here? This is private property. Answer me quickly!"
"REIMU, HELP!"
-=-
"Wait, so she's a tourist?" Meiling tilted her head in confusion as Reimu finished her explanation.
"Yeah. Yukari's paying me to give her a round the barrier trip of the place, and she happened to decide that the mansion was the first place she wanted to visit."
Meiling, reacting to what had seemed like a clear and present threat, hadn't actually noticed Reimu until Renko had started squealing like a little child for help. When she did, it had taken quite a bit of convincing for the gatekeeper to finally release Renko.
The trio were now standing off to the side of the gate as Reimu explained to Meiling just why someone she'd never seen or heard from before had shown up out of nowhere and decided to put a weapon to the side of the gatekeeper's head.
"How come she pointed that gun at my head then?" Meiling frowned, folding her arms suspiciously as she turned to regard Renko.
"I was wondering about that myself actually." Reimu muttered as she turned to Renko with a look of annoyance and disbelief. "I can't believe you, pulling a weapon on Meiling like that. Don't you know how much trouble you'd be in if this were anywhere but Gensokyo?"
"Yeah. This is the kind of thing that could have you thrown out of places, you know." Meiling nodded with agreement
Renko gave a sheepish smile and apologetic shrug, clearly trying to lay on the charm to get around her little misstep. "Hey, I just wanted to see what in the book was right about Meiling."
"What book?" Meiling frowned
"This book!" Renko produced the Gensokyo Chronicle and flipped it open to the appropriate page, then laid on the charm to get Meiling to see her point.
"See, here? This page gives so such an unflattering review of you I didn't know what to think. Is she really that lazy? Is she friendly? Is she dangerous? So I figured that the best way to see what you were really like was to put a gun to your head to see what kind of reaction I'd get out of you. It was a perfectly legitimate course of action. I just wanted to see if you were any good as a gatekeeper, and since you were already asleep… Well, what else could I do? It's just a little misunderstanding, Miss Hong. How about we just put this behind us and just let bygones be bygones?"
Reimu stared at Renko in disbelief, unable to wrap her mind about the insane train of logic she'd just heard leave the other girl's mouth.
What sort of excuse was that? Renko might as well have said she'd eaten Meiling's hat to see if it tasted like grass because it was green! There was no way-
"Ah, if that's the case it sounds reasonable," Meiling nodded with a smile, "Well, no harm done."
"What."
"Yeah, that's the way the cookie crumbles," Renko laughed, "So, why don't you show the two of us in? I'd love to meet the lady of the house now. This place looks fabulous!"
"What." Reimu looked between Meiling and Renko, trying hard to comprehend what had just happened. Did Meiling just listen to that bullshit excuse for putting a loaded gun to her head and… just accept it? Like that? What?
"Certainly! Come on right in!" Meiling walked open to the gate and opened it to allow the mansion's latest guests to enter… "Oh, but I'll be needing your gun though."
"What? Why?"
"Well, it's a dangerous weapon, and even as a guest I can't allow you to wander around with such a dangerous thing on the premises. You might hurt someone!"
Then Renko started laying on the charm again.
"But I'm just this helpless human being who is about to go into a mansion full of deadly things like vampires, youkai and who knows what else. I need this gun to protect myself! I mean sure it won't really help me very much in there, you saw how easily you disarmed me... but at very least let me keep it around as a safety blanket. Please let me keep my gun."
"…Hm, that sounds reasonable too," Meiling agreed heartily, "Well then, come on right in Ms Usami! The Scarlet Devil Mansion welcomes you!"
"See Reimu? Getting into places isn't as difficult as you made it out to be, after all." Renko grinned as she clasped the still shocked shrine maiden by the arm and slowly pulled in her in after her.
"What the hell?" Reimu muttered to herself as she tried, and failed to understand what had just transpired at the gate.
That was bullshit!
-=-
"Welcome to the Scarlet Devil Mansion."
"Why thank you very! It's a pleasure to be here!"
The pair were sitting at a table with the mistress of the mansion in the outdoor gazebo in the main gardens, with Meiling and Sakuya standing at attention not too far away from them just waiting to be of service. They had been very fortunate to catch Remilia while she was still awake at this hour, a real rarity given that the noble was something of a night owl for obvious reasons.
Well what was there to say about Remilia Scarlet? She was the mistress of the eponymous Scarlet Devil Mansion, home to a number of very particular group of supernatural beings. She was a powerful vampire of considerable age. Despite her appearances as a young girl, Remilia possessed with bearing and charisma of the old European nobility she had descended from.
With the ability to manipulate fate itself on a whim, it was clear the elder of the Scarlet sisters wasn't one to take lightly.
It was for this reason that Reimu, despite being Remilia's friend, was on guard.
"So as I understand it from your little explanation, Reimu here is giving you a tour of Gensokyo on Yukari Yakuko's personal request," Remilia surmised as she sipped from a cup of tea, "And your first destination happened to be my humble abode. I'm honoured."
"Yep," Renko replied with a smile, "I honestly couldn't pass up the chance to see your library. That isn't to say that the rest of your mansion is boring, but the treasure trove of knowledge you have there is just something I have to see for myself. I must say though, this garden of yours is impressive."
Off to the side, Reimu could see Meiling puff out her chest with pride.
"Indeed," Remilia nodded, "I am very honoured that Yakumo's honoured guest chose my home to see first, before all the other places in Gensokyo. Sakuya? Please prepare one of the guest rooms for Miss Usami here."
Sakuya dipped into a bow, ready to fulfil her mistresses request. "As you command, Mila-"
"Actually could you make that two rooms?" Reimu cut in quickly, "I need to stay with her to keep her out of trouble. I'm her tour guide and all."
"Oh-ho?" Reimilia raised a curious eyebrow, "What about your shrine Reimu? Don't you need to get back to taking care of that? I could have Sakuya and Meiling take your place as a tour guide for the short duration of Miss Usami's stay in the Mansion. They are much more familiar with the premises than you, after all."
As logical as that sounded, Reimu shook her head.
"As much as I appreciate the offer, Yukari's paying me good money for this. She's even getting Ran to tidy up the shrine while I'm gone. Can't afford to slack when she's putting so much faith in me, y'know what I mean?"
Reimu wished she could outright warn Renko of just how dangerous Remilia was instead of tiptoeing around the fact. However, doing so in front of Remilia would be the height of ill manners, and worse probably elicit a negative reaction out of the vampiress. The last thing Reimu needed was a fight!
All she could do to was try and steer the conversation towards 'safer' waters and make sure that Renko didn't end up staying at the mansion on her own without an escort.
Remilia may have been Reimu's friend, but like all old youkai who had moved to Gensokyo, the vampire liked playing the lives of shorter lived mortals to alleviate their own boredom. As a strange new person who had seemingly arrived out of nowhere, Renko was a very appetising target for the old vampire's schemes
If Renko were to be left alone in the mansion for any length of time, who knows what would happen to her? Worse, if something did happen to the tourist, Yukari would most definitely not be happy. This could cause an incident, or worse, cause Yukari to take back the money she'd paid out!
"Hm, indeed," Remilia tapped an idle finger against her teacup, clearly digesting this new titbit of information, "What does Miss Usami think of this?"
Renko gave a lazy smile. "Hey, the more the merrier right?"
"Well then, that's settled," Remilia set her teacup down and turned to her head maid, "Sakuya, see that two of our spare guests rooms are prepared and stocked with all the appropriate amenities for our two guests here."
"As you command, mistress." With a snap of her fingers, Sakuya disappeared, clearly off somewhere fulfilling her mistress's command.
Knowing Sakuya and her ability to stop time, she wouldn't be long.
Curiously, Reimu couldn't help but notice Renko's wide eyed, shocked stare when Sakuya suddenly disappeared. It was the first time, in the short time they had known each other, that Reimu had actually seen Renko this unguarded!
However, as quickly as Reimu had seen it, it was gone. Renko recovered very quickly. Not quickly enough though, for if Reimu caught it Remilia almost certainly did too.
"Do either of you need help bringing your luggage or clothes to the mansion?" Remilia asked them, "I can have my fairy maids visit the Hakurei shrine to retrieve them for you, and save you the return trip to get them."
Reimu quickly held out her hands and shook her head vehemently. "There's no need! I'd much rather borrow some clothes from you, Remi!"
The last time Reimu had taken up Remilia on this offer a year ago, she'd come back after a weekend visit to the mansion to find her house completely ransacked. Nothing had been stolen of course, because only a true fool or Marisa Kirisame would dare steal from the Hakurei maiden, but it took days for Reimu to get everything back in order.
She had later discovered that the maids dispatched to retrieve Reimu's clothes weren't very good at finding things at all and had wrecked her home trying to find spare clothes for her.
Never again.
"Hm, what about you, Renko?"
"Yeah. I think if that's what Reimu is going for, then I'll take her advice. Besides, a place like this ought to have some awesome clothes to try on!"
"Indeed. My mansion used to be frequented by the social elite, and many of them left their effects here over the years. I have some of the finest clothes of the era in storage, and I will be happy to let you try some of them on." Remilia replied proudly.
Reimu resisted the urge to sigh. It didn't take a genius to know that Reimila was trying to win Renko's favour now, possibly as a way to win some points with Yukari.
Whether this was a good thing or a bad thing, she had no idea.
Gah, the old women of Gensokyo and their politics.
"In any case, while your rooms are prepared, which should not take very long knowing Sakuya, might I propose that the two of you take a tour of the garden while it is still day? It is now past midday, and I must be getting to sleep soon," Remilia suggested helpfully, "Once I wake in the evening, we can talk more over dinner. I can introduce you to Patchouli Knowledge, a close friend of mine who is effectively our librarian. In the meantime, Meiling has put much effort into making our ground the finest garden in all of Gensokyo. With the weather being as perfect as it is, I am sure she will be happy to show it to you."
"Um, I'm not sure if Kazami-san will agree with the 'in all of Gensokyo' bit…" Meiling began, only to be quickly silenced by an admonishing glare from Remilia.
"Why I think that's a splendid idea!" Thankfully, Renko's quick reply drew Remilia's attention before punishment could be doled out. "What do you think, Remiu?"
"I think that's a good idea myself."
Plus it would be a great way to get away from Remilia and have a little chat with Renko in private about the need to be much more careful around the vampiress.
"Very well. Meiling, see to it that you assign one of the fairy maids to guard the gate in your absence, and then show our guests around the grounds." Remilia ordered, prompting the redheaded gatekeeper to give a respectful bow.
"I know I've said this before, but thank you very much for accommodating us." Renko said sincerely.
"It really is not trouble at all," Remilia replied with a smile that sent shivers shooting up Reimu's spine, "Once again, I bid you welcome, to the Scarlet Devil Mansion, Renko Usami. I hope you will be enjoying your stay with us."
-=-
While the Scarlet Devil Mansion was most famous for the great library in its underground levels and its European style architecture, it also possessed a magnificent, well-tended, garden that covered the entire area between the mansion proper and the outer walls. Consisting of a variety of rare flowers and other exotic plants, all carefully arranged by Meiling to bring out their full splendour, it was a real pity that so few in the Eastern Wonderland actually had the opportunity to see, much less appreciate it.
Once Remilia and Sakuya had retired indoors, Meiling had lead both Reimu and Renko out onto the garden to show them around. The gatekeeper, overjoyed that someone was actually around to actually pay attention to her hard work, led the pair around with more enthusiasm than Reimu had actually seen of the gatekeeper.
"This is the mansion's… well the common name is a 'Middlemist Camellia'. It's a very rare plant that I managed to cultivate on the grounds," Meiling said proudly as she gently motioned to the delicate red flower that was the centrepiece of one of her displays, "I brought it with me into the mansion when I entered milady's service, and it's been here ever since."
"Holy cow, this plant? Are you kidding me?" Renko regarded the flower with wide eyes and a shocked expression, looking torn between wanting to touch the flower and staying clear of it for fear of accidentally damaging it, "We call it a different name where I'm from, but… wow, just wow! I thought this went extinct when Gem got nuked! Meiling, how…"
"I'm from China. It was one of the treasures I brought with me when I moved into the mansion," Meiling explained proudly. "It's been with me for well over two hundred years. This little girl here is practically my baby."
Renko could only nod excitedly as she took out her note book and quickly made a few notes into it. "Hm, pardon me if I'm mistaken, but don't things this old get fairies and stuff around here? I mean, if the Gensokyo Chronicle is any indication, even an Umbrella can become a supernatural creature, let alone a two hundred year old priceless flower."
"Normally they would, but our resident magician's put a few safeguards in place to make sure that doesn't happen," Meiling replied, "The last thing we want is for this priceless flower here to sprout a pair of wings and fly away somewhere."
"Ah, that's a relief," Renko nodded in agreement, then paused as a thought came to her. "If that's the case… could I touch it?"
"Sure. Just be aware, that Patchy, our resident magician, has put up a whole lot of powerful wards on this flower," Meiling informed her, "The second those wards pick up any ill intent to the flower… zap!"
"I'll keep that in mind." Renko said as she leaned forward to gently caress one of the petals.
Reimu on the other hand, wasn't so impressed.
"I don't get what's so amazing about a flower," Reimu sighed as she looked around the garden for some form of stimulation. Unlike Renko, who seemed to be very interested in botany, Reimu wasn't couldn't find it in herself to be interested in a bunch of plants.
Her nonchalance to the subject quickly drew reactions from the other two companions.
"Reimu-chan, it's one of three known specimens of the flower in the entire world, two of which are outside Gensokyo," Meiling explained with a sigh, "This flower is basically priceless."
"It's also a very potent reagent for all sorts of things I believed to be completely extinct where I'm from. God, the medicines Horakinis used to make…"
Meiling's head snapped around to Renko so fast that Reimu thought the poor gatekeeper had been a hairs breadth away from getting whiplash.
"Not that I'm going to take it away from here of course!" Renko quickly backpedalled, with her hands held out and away from the rare Carmellia to show her sincerity, "Sun's grace, I would never think of taking such a rare specimen off you, let alone risk damaging it! You think I want to harm such a treasure? No one would be that crazy!"
"…I suppose. You probably wouldn't be able to past Patchy's wards anyway." Meiling said with a small measure of relief. To be safe, she quickly ushered her guests onto the next exhibit, leaving the priceless flower behind them…
…Just as the petal that Renko had touched began glowing.
-=-
Reimu gave a long yawn as Meiling continued to prattle on about some other plant, some delicate little white thing called a 'Silene tomentosa', to an entranced Renko. It was now early in the evening, and the sun was slowly beginning its descent below the horizon casting the world into twilight.
"This is going on forever." Reimu complained as she waited for the pair to finish.
While Reimu was laid back, the sheer boredom and disinterest she was having towards this tour was really giving her second thoughts about the whole tourgide thing. If she were at home, she could catch a nap on her futon or have a nice drink of sake to calm the nerves, her current job meant she had to wait around, completely sober and more or less alert, while Renko finished up her little talk with Meiling. It was an exercise that was far more boring than she had expected it to be!
"Why can't they hurry it up some?"
"You think this is bad, you should try waiting hand and foot for the mistress."
"Not a chance. That's you kind of thing, not mine, Miss 'head maid'."
Reimu turned to regard Sakuya, who had materialized seemingly out of thin air right next to her. The perfect elegant maid had an impeccable appearance as always, and was looking on at Meiling and Renko with a serene, if curious expression.
"So, Remilia waking up any time soon?" Reimu asked hopefully. The sooner the vampire woke, the sooner that dinner, and the escape from this exercise in utter boredom, would come.
"Not for another hour, at least," Sakuya replied with a shake of her head, "The mistress went to bed much later than usual today. It is unlikely she will be up until after the sun has set."
"Well, isn't that just wonderful," Reimu groused, "Sometimes I wonder how Yukari manages to talk me into these things."
"So, she is Yukari's friend, huh?" Sakuya said as she settled in to wait beside Reimu, "I didn't think that Yukari would take interest in an ordinary human like her."
"Sakuya. This is Yukari."
"Ah, you do have a point."
Reimu wondered if it was a good idea not to warn Sakuya about the mansion's new guest. She was pretty confident at this point that there was definitely something odd about Renko, and perhaps giving the head maid of the mansion they were visiting a heads up might be a good way for Reimu to head off some potential problems down the line.
Sakuya was notoriously efficient at cleaning up after the other residents, so if anything happened having Sakuya on her side would be great.
Unfortunately, Reimu was also aware that Sakuya was completely devoted to Remilia. If Reimu were to even hint of her suspicions about their tourist to Sakuya, there was a very good chance that what she'd said would wind up being passed onto the vampire.
If that happened trouble would definitely ensure, and Reimu didn't want that!
"I find it strange though," Sakuya thoughtfully said, "Miss Usami's reactions are very different from what I'd expect of an outsider."
"How so?"
"When I stopped time before, she didn't react in a way I would expect someone to," Sakuya explained, "She was surprised at first when she noticed me disappear when I stopped time, but when I checked back in later she didn't seem afraid of it."
"You checked back in? I didn't see you earlier after you left." Indeed, Sakuya had merely snapped her fingers and disappeared from her sight, reappearing with an umbrella in hand only when it was time to take Remilia back indoors.
"Merely a matter of perceptions. I can move freely when I stop time," Sakuya shrugged, "when I was making your rooms, realized I might have startled our guest, I quickly returned in the odd chance I was needed. As it turned out I wasn't, so I returned to my duties."
"I see."
"Most humans and youkai, who visit my time stop ability for the first time tend to grill the Mistress about it. Miss Renko didn't. I find it odd that she didn't press the issue more. It was like what I did wasn't that unusual for her."
"Well, your ability isn't a secret and she was reading the Gensokyo Chronicle before she came here," Reimu pointed out, "The practically read the entire thing cover to cover before coming here. She knows you can stop time."
"Perhaps," Sakuya reluctantly agreed, "But I would think that a normal human would react more when they saw something truly amazing with their own two eyes."
Reimu froze for a moment as something very, very odd occurred to her.
Renko HAD acted amazed earlier… but not to seeing Sakuya's time-stop ability. It had surprised her, but she'd merely been alarmed. The bubbly traveller had been going completely bonkers… over Meiling's flower. Between Sakuya's ability to stop time at will and Meiling's flower, apparently Renko had thought the flower the more interesting sight.
"Okay, there is something really wrong with this girl."
"Hm? Did you say something?" Sakuya said.
"Nothing. Nothing at all." Reimu sighed as she wondered just what had caused Renko's odd reaction.
-=-
It wasn't much longer after that exchange that Remilia had summoned her guests for dinner.
Seeking to impress, the lady of the house had ordered a grand feast to be prepared for her guests in the main dining hall. Food, all prepared to the finest ingredients and served with the finest presentation stretched out before Remiu on one of the largest European style tables she'd ever laid eyes on. When she'd first walked into the room, the poor girl could do nothing but gape and bristle with pure envy for a few moments.
The sheer wastefulness boggled the frugal shrine maiden's mind. The table must have been able to fit twelve people, and the feast itself feed double that number!
When Remilia wanted to show off, she sure as hell didn't pull any punches!
The other diners were already present. Remilia of course was seated at the head of the table, with both Patchouli and Koakuma seated to her right. Sakuya, ever the dutiful maid, was hovering just off to her master's side, while Meiling took her leave soon after showing the mansion's two guests to the dining room.
Never one to let table manners get in the way of her research, Patchouli of course had her head buried in a book and had a look on her face that showed complete disinterest with the feast before her. Koakuma on the other hand seemed livelier, giving Reimu and Renko a wave as they entered the room. Reimu had almost missed the stiffening of Renko's form when the older girl had caught sight of the friendly demon. It had been quick, but Reimu had caught it.
Probably so had everyone else in the room who had been bothering to pay attention.
Uh oh.
"So I take it the tour of the grounds was to your satisfaction?" Remilia said as she motioned for her two guests to the empty a seats to her left.
"Yes indeed! I have to say, I've seen castles with less fancy gardens than yours!" Renko replied as she and Reimu took their seats near Remilia, "You have a very talented groundskeeper, Lady Scarlet."
"I am sure Meiling will be very happy to hear that," Remilia nodded before waving a lazy hand towards Patchouli and Koakuma.
"Professor Usami, allow me to introduce you to my close friend and the owner of the Voile Library, Patchouli Knowledge. The succubus familiar sitting beside her is her assistant, Koakuma. Koa, Patchy, this is Yukari Yakumo's friend from the outside world, Renko Usami."
Patchouli let out a grunt without even looking up from her book 'Astrological Fortune Telling, Fact or Fiction'. Koakuma on the other hand beamed happily the mansion's guest, the wings on his head involuntarily flapping as if sensing her excitement. "It's so good to meet you, Miss Usami. I hear that you want to see the library. We have so few legitimate visitors, I can't wait to show you around. Not to insult Reimu's ability as a tour guide of anything…"
"…yeah, flattered." Renko replied, the smile on her face clearly wooden. Off to the side, Reimu clearly saw the calculating glint appear in Remilia's eyes as she witnessed the exchange.
Uh oh indeed.
"Come now, Patchy. The food is on the table, not behind the pages of your book," Remilia admonished as she reached over the table and plucked the book out of Patchouli's hands and casually handed the tome to the waiting Sakuya, "We have guests, from Yukari Yakumo no less! Tut-tut, you should mind your table manners, my dear."
Separated from her research material, Patchouli glowered at Remilia with all the fury of an anti-social shut-in that had been dragged to a family meal while still in her pyjamas.
"Remi, a few days ago there was an unexplained solar flare that knocked all my sidereal timekeeping telescopes. This stellar event coincided with a surge of high amounts of elemental energy around the planet's poles. I fear that this event-"
Patchouli was abruptly silenced when a helping to Caesar salad swiftly and unexpectedly materialised in her mouth.
"Thank you, Sakuya."
"I live to serve, milady."
"Patchy, Patchy, Patchy. The food is over there." Remilia pointed while the librarian coughed and attempted to swallow the food, "Koakuma, please be a dear and make sure that your master eats her greens. It's important to keep a healthy diet… and the cake is the desert, my dear."
Koakuma meeped as she quickly retracted from hand from where she was trying to sneak a helping of chocolate mud-cake onto her own plate.
"So, uh, are dinners at your place always like this?" Renko said, the recovery in her voice indicating that she'd managed to regain her centre.
"Only when we have guests," Remilia replied as she snapped her fingers. Instantly the empty plate on the table before her was filled with generous helpings of salad, lobster thermidor, a variety of roast meats and cheeses… and pudding.
Reimu snorted with amusement. Hypocrite.
"Uh. Okay," Renko looked at Remilia with undisguised surprise as the vampiress picked up her solid gold cutlery elegantly began eating her meal. "She's a vampire, how is she…"
"She can eat food, just like anyone else can." Reimu informed the outsider quickly. It didn't take a genius to see that Remilia was enjoying turning vampire stereotypes upside down in front of Renko, "She just needs an intake of blood, that's all."
"Is that why all the meat looks like its cooked closer to the side of 'raw'?"
"Medium rare actually," Remilia explained as she set her cutlery down as a show of politeness, "Normally I prefer my red meat rare, for obvious reasons, but as I have guests over it would be a very poor host of me not to give care and consideration to your needs."
"Hm. Interesting," Renko mused thoughtfully, whatever thoughts had plagued her before falling by the wayside now that something interesting had once again captured her attention, "The Gensokyo Chronicle stated your main diet consisted mostly of the blood of humans."
Funnily enough, before Remilia could answer, Patchouli intervened.
"That book is full of misconceptions, opinion, exaggeration and lies," Patchouli stated bluntly from where she was trying to fend of Koakuma, the latter trying to spoon feed her master some delicious looking seafood chowder with a spoon.
"It relies too much on hearsay, many of the sources are of dubious quality and it relies too much on outdated historical accounts and pure speculation. All written by a biased girl who does not understand the true nature of the subject matter she is dealing with. It is in my honest opinion, a piece of trash that is more burnable than that rag Shameimaru puts out. One out of five stars."
The silence and stillness that descended on the table could be cut with a knife. Even Koakuma had stopped moving and was staring.
"…this is the first time I've heard you talk like that in all the time I've known you," Remilia shakily whispered after the shock had properly passed, "Where have you been hiding that?"
"I… when did you become a critic, Patchouli-sama?" Sakuya stammered, her perfect elegant façade pierced by the sheer bluntness of the magician's impromptu book review.
"More to the point. That's… a rather harsh opinion." Renko said, her hand having actually shifted down from to her belt where a copy of said book was being kept in a pouch.
"Yeah, uh. It's not as if it's Akyuu's fault that she couldn't go out and visit all the youkai she was supposed to be writing about." Reimu said in the young author's defence.
"And, uh, some of those dubious reports and exaggerations were deliberate, especially when certain youkai wanted to spread misinformation about themselves. I mean Lady Remi-" Koakuma's jaw snapped shut when she saw the glare directed at her from Remilia.
"Excuses for the poor quality of the resulting publication. I look not at the virtue author, but rather at the work itself. It is my humble opinion as a scholar, an academic and a magician that the Gensokyo Chronicle is a heavily biased book that contains so much misinformation that it is not worth the trees that were cut down to make it. As I said: One out of Five stars."
Pathouli folded her arms and glared at the rest of the room, challenging everyone in it to express their dissent. The rest of the room's occupants, form the normally haughty Remilia to Reimu herself, glanced at each other awkwardly as they tried to decide how to handle the situation.
"Um, food?" Reimu quickly put forward.
"Uh, yes. Food." Remilia agreed.
-=-
As promised, Remilia had asked Patchouli show Renko to the Voile library after dinner. After an assurance from Renko that she wasn't going to rob the place blind, Patchouli agreed.
As Patchouli and Koakuma lead their guests through the winding halls of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, Reimu couldn't help but notice that Renko was acting strangely.
The normally boisterous woman had clammed up and had positioned herself squarely between Reimu and Koakuma as the party proceeded to their destination. More than that, Renko keeping her right hand just above her hip, hovering there as if just waiting to draw her weapon…
…which oddly enough, Reimu couldn't see.
Where did the revolver go to?
"Succubus. Why didn't the bloody book mention a succubus?" Renko muttered quietly, although it seemed she was doing so unconsciously if she was doing so in earshot of Reimu, "I sure as hell wouldn't use a Neomah as a librarian, not after that bitch. I sooner would trust the fucking fae…"
Okay, she had to do something about this.
"Alright, what's got you?" Reimu fell back to Renko's side and whispered. "What's wrong with Koa?"
"You call that thing, 'Koa'?" Renko said with barely concealed hostility and suspicion as she directed a glare that could kill to the back of an oblivious Koakuma's head.
Okay, there was definitely something wrong here.
"Look, Koa is one of the nice people in the Mansion. Like genuinely nice."
"Yeah. Nice. Of course she's nice. Nice like a nice good little interviewee-slash-assistant right until you turn you back. Then she gets a boy to stab his mother to death to 'create new orifices' for shits and giggles while stealing my god damn hearthstone…"
The venom in Renko's voice was so great Reimu lost her footing, and only just managed to catch herself before face planting on the floor. Thankfully, Patchouli and Koakuma, who were leading the way and had their backs turned, didn't notice the stumble.
"Renko, what the hell?" Reimu hissed.
"Look, I read a lot of books on the subject alright?" Renko explained half-heartedly, clearly using the bulk of her focus on drilling holes in the back of Koa's head, "The second that thing so much as gives me a reason…"
"Koa's not like that. I don't know what your research about succubi told you, but they're wrong," Well, wrong about Koakuma at least. "Look, I know Koa. Whatever you read about the other succubi, they're wrong about her. Trust me."
"I'll trust you about her when I'm sure she hasn't pulled the wool over your eyes. Trust 'em only as far as you can throw 'em. That's what I always say," Renko said with finality, clearly set in her ways.
-=-
"So this is your library?" Renko said as she walked into the large room with an excited grin. "Wow, it IS pretty big. I'm impressed."
The large room, illuminated by the lights of several low hanging chandeliers and recently installed Kappa made electric lamps, was filled with dozens of book cases on two separate floors. It was so large in fact that bridges had been built across the room to allow for easier movement for its occupants. The many windows allowed pale moonlight to filter into the room, giving the library a nice pleasant ambiance even at this hour.
No matter how you looked at it, this was a library, and a pretty good one too.
"Man, I can't wait to take a look about," Renko rolled her shoulders and started towards the bookshelves, clearly eager to get started, "Let's see what-"
"Actually, you're mistaken, Miss Usami," Koakua informed the outsider with an embarrassed smile, while Patchouli, without even pausing in her step, made for the large stairwell in the centre of the room that lead underground. "This isn't Master Patchouli's Library."
"Huh?" Renko blinked in confusion as Reimu sniggered behind her.
Having gone there herself Reimu had of course known where the Voile was. In fact she was mildly surprised to find that Renko had mistakenly believed that Remilia's private collection, while quite substantial, was the largest library in Gensokyo. Close, but no cigar.
This was going to be good.
"This is Lady Scarlet's private library. The only books you'll find here are related to fiction, the arts and whatever interests the mistress of this house," Koakuma explained, beckoning the two guests to follow after her master. "Master Pathouli's library is actually underground."
"So let me get this straight," Renko said slowly, "This huge-ass room, a room that has more books than a major metropolitan book-shop, is just Remilia's private collection?"
"Well, yes."
"…rich people." Renko grumbled as she followed after Patchouli, a sniggering Reimu in tow.
-=-
"Whoa. Nice. Very, nice."
Down the flight of stairs lay a massive underground chambers that were illuminated only by the lights of giant glowing magical orbs, suspended from metal chains that hung from the ceiling. The walls, stretching almost six stories in height, were nothing but bookshelves. Indeed the walls of books giant ladders, so tall that one had to cane one's head to see the top, placed around the room just to allow access to the books for those incapable of flight.
"Now this is a freaking library," Renko grinned giddily as she started towards the bookshelves, her notebook and pen already in hand…
"Actually this is the auxiliary library that Master uses to study when she invites her colleagues over," Koakuma noted apologetically. While the little devil was correcting this misconception, Patchouli was already descending the spiral staircase to the room's lower level to continue forward towards where her real destination was.
Reimu for her part was just staying back and watching the events unfold with folded arms and a cheeky grin.
"You mean this isn't the Voile?" Renko boggled in disbelief, casting her eyes wildly around the room in shock. "This… this room has more books than my Man-my local university!"
"Well, technically it is. Part of the Voile, that is. This is the 'public access' portion of the library," Koakuma explained, "Normally, this would all we would allow you to see. Master Patchouli is quite particular on who gains access to her collection… but Lady Remilia was quite clear that we were to show you to see the main Library proper."
Renko started.
"Sun's grace, how big is this library anyway?"
-=-
"…Sun's grace."
It was a city. It was a city of bookshelves, complete with bridges, buildings, spires, arches, pathways… all either supporting bookshelves, lining bookshelves or made out of bookshelves. Runes of pure magic, etched on the wooden surfaces, illuminated this man made, or witch made as the case may be, city with an almost dreamlike glow, making it really look like a city at night.
"Sun's grace… this place can't possibly be real,"Renko staggered forward until she was looking over the third floor railing, the view of the entire library stretching out before her, "I… I can even see a swimming pool. This library is so big it has a fucking swimming pool."
"I thought I asked Remi to get rid of that," Patchouli muttered, before marching off to continue her own research. "Koa, you mind the visitors. I have work to do."
"Yes, Master!"
Reimu watched on with amusement as Renko's looked around the room with her jaw unhinged, the former university professor caught between sheer disbelief and unbridled joy at what she was looking at. "So like what you see?"
"I think I will, once I start believing my eyes." Renko said, her keen sight and observation methods doing nothing but affirming what she was seeing was the truth. Several more moments passed as Renko digested what she was seeing. When she did, the look of stunned awe on the woman's face morphed into one of excitement and glee.
"Reimu. I think you can go to bed without me tonight." Renko stated slowly without taking her eyes away from the scene of splendour before her.
"Er, what?" Reimu said.
"I think I'm going to burn the midnight oil a bit," Renko continued, a strange glassy look now in her eyes, "Don't worry about me, I'll be keeping myself busy. With reading. Yeah."
"Renko? Renko, you're not making any sense."
"Not making sense? Silly Reimu, I'm making perfect sense. I'm a researcher, this place has research… I need to research! I'm going to hit the gods' be damned books!"
By this point the smile on Renko's face had grown from ear to ear, and she was practically vibrating with excitement. Reimu was beginning to regret her earlier glee she'd derived at Renko's surprise, because right now her charge was looking very scary.
Oh god, had she inadvertedly shown another Marisa into Patchy's library?
"Hello, Miss Usami," Koakuma greeted warmly as she walked up to Renko with a bright smile, "As you may have already heard, I'm going to show you around the library and hel… Miss Usami? Huh, she's gone?"
Indeed, one moment Renko had been standing at the railing looking at the massive library before her, the next she was gone. Surprised, Reimu and Koakuma looked around wildly to see where the guest had run off to. They didn't have to look very far.
"Reimu?"
"Yes, Koa?"
"Miss Usami really likes books, doesn't she?" Koakuma said, watching Renko practically sprinting up one of the library's many ladders to access one of the higher bookshelves.
"That she does," Reimu sighed, "That she does."
-=-
TBC…
-=-
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10
sasahara17
Just Another Random Author
- Location
- Brisbane City
Hey everyone. Decided to take my break tomorrow. This means that tonight I'll be presenting to you, the Sidereal intermission. Enjoy!
-=-
One of the bright spots in the Third Age and the establishment the second Exalted Deliberative was that the Celestial Exalted were once again working hand in hand for a better tomorrow. Unlike that Second Age where the Solars had been hunted to near extinction by the Wyld Hunt, the Lunars were more or driven from civilianisation and the Sidereals were stuck fighting inter-originational conflicts, this new age saw all three varieties once again untied for a common cause.
Granted there are a lot less Solars now (what with half their number still existing as corrupted Infernals and Abyssals), the Lunars were still quite feral and distrustful of civilisation in general, and nobody had forgotten that the Sidereals had kicked off the entire Age of Sorrows by stabbing their fellows in the back… but at least everyone was on speaking terms again!
In truth, while the new Age of Hope as it was called saw all three varieties of Celestial Exalted working together to regain the glory of the First Age, such things were rarely so neat. While some members of the Exalted host were all too willing to let bygones be bygones, others weren't so ready to forgive and acted accordingly.
As such, while the Celestial Exalted of were all too happy to present a united front to both their subjects and their enemies, the truth was the level of trust between the Lawgivers, Stewards and Viziers really had to be accessed on a case by case basis. This was especially true for the Sidereal who, due to their part in the Usurpation, had to count their true allies very carefully.
This was why, upon four Sidereals walking in a certain Coppy Spider's laboratory and discovering that she was missing, the following panicked shout rang out.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE'S GONE?!"
"Ivory, calm down. It's not as bad as you think it is," Crimson Banner Executioner said as he attempted to placate the panicking Haltan, "We have her notes. Whatever happened to her, wherever she went, we can find her. You're the Righteous and Fateful Ender of Royal Lines in the River Province. Don't go falling apart on now!"
"You have no idea, executioner!" Ahn Aru insisted, "I spent decades working with that fool. You have no idea what she's capable of!"
"Oh geez." Crimson Banner executioner sighed, wondering why his two colleagues were so worked up. True Renko was one of the Solars who could be counted upon looked upon the Fivescore Fellowship favourably, and true she was indispensable as far as the Exalted Deliberative went, but it wasn't as if she was dead (yet).
The notes on the table made that pretty clear. Granted the notes also confirmed to the pair that Renko was pretty much a boneheaded idiot by trying out an untested Sorcery on herself, but at least they had a general idea of where she'd gone. All they had to do was find her.
"You fool! Don't you understand what this means?" Ahn Aru snarled as she whirled on Crimson Banner Executioner, "She's escaped from our view. This means she's doing something! Don't you understand? She's doing something were I can't keep an eye on her!"
"Oh for Mars' sake, not this again."
"I never trusted that woman. She's scheming something, I just know it," Ahn Aru continued darkly, her eyes narrowing as she scanned Renko's empty workshop for clues as to what the Arrow of Heaven's game was. Crimson Banner Execution couldn't help but sigh as his fellow Vizier started poking around the room in a blind panic.
Ahn Aru was one of the oldest, and most senior, members of the new Sidereal host. One of their most respected and venerated leaders. She had survived the battles in the closing days of the Second Age, battles that had culled over two thirds of the Maiden's Chosen at the time. She had survived the end of the second age, and was a major player in the rebuilding and reforming the celestial bureaucracy.
She had also been one of the staunchest, most fanatical Bronze Faction members prior to the new Exalted Deliberative, and even after then she'd only accepted the new partnership with great reluctance. Even after necessity had forced all of Creation's Exalted into an alliance, she had never gotten over her distrust, and dislike, of the Solars… probably largely dune in part of her extremely colorful past with Renko.
The pair might have worked together to put Tepet Ejava on the Vermillion Throne, but that didn't mean that they liked each other. Far from it in fact, considering they'd tried to kill each other on their first meeting.
"Hasn't woman has learned after everything? Doesn't she know when to stop?" Ahn Aru said, her eyes glazing over as she fell back into memory. During their 'partnership' many of Ahn Aru's plans had been derailed, in rather spectacular ways, by the spontaneous Solar, so much so that she had vowed to always keep tabs on Renko to this day.
Renko had slipped from her view. Apparently that was cause for panic indeed.
"To think we came here just to borrow one of her old research papers." Crimson Banner Executioner sighed as he watched his two colleagues fall apart before his eyes. By the Maidens, they were all hundreds of years old!
"What is that irresponsible maniac planning on doing now? Is she causing a war? Is she bringing an invasion of otherworldly Exalted down on our heads? I DON'T KNOW!" Ahn Aru swore, pulling at her own hair in frustration.
"Ivory, perhaps we should take these notes and see if one of the other Solars can make heads or tails of it…" Crimson suggested, only to be silenced.
"ABSOLUTELY NOT." She whirled on him, "I am not trusting a Solar Savant with a spell like this. Do you have any idea what someone without Usami's morals would do with it?"
Crimson Banner Executioner raised an amused eyebrow at Ahn Aru's complete turnaround. "I thought you were upset about Renko using an untested Sorcery on herself?"
"I'm upset because she is a colossal idiot with no common sense and I can't keep an eye on her," Ahn Aru folded her arms crossly, "That woman is irresponsible, not malicious. I can't say the same for many other Solar Savants, but she won't cause problems deliberately."
Crimson Banner Executioner couldn't help but agree. Considering what most Solar Savants had to give up to achieve their level of mastery over the arts, especially in the trial of sacrifice, it was a wonder that Renko had managed to retain so much of her original personality. In fact, it was for this reason Renko was such an attractive ally for the Fivescore Fellowship – she was one of the few friendly Lawgivers with access to Solar Circle Sorcery who was functionally sane.
Coming from the former Bronze Faction functionary, this was very high praise indeed.
Really, Renko being missing was a very big problem for the Exalted Deliberative for this reason, especially to her Sidereal allies.
"You're right. I probably wouldn't allow Arianna anywhere near these. Who knows what she'd do with it?" Crimson Banner Executioner nodded.
"Still, that doesn't mean we won't have a repeat of the last time Renko caused a war by her insatiable curiosity. We need to get her back here, fast," Ahn Aru muttered, chewing on her thumb as she did so, "But we don't know anyone who knows Solar Circle Sorcery that could be trusted with Usami's notes. This is a difficult spot."
"True, but who else can we trust this with?" Crimson Banner Executioner started listing off the options off the top of his head, "Arianna's a bitch who doesn't like us. Sema means dealing with the Kaneko, and he's a pain to deal with. Mistress Emerald hasn't trusted a single Sidereal since the whole Illuminated Scandal…"
Then the answer came to him.
"We could try Wind. He's still upset about us lying to him all those years ago, but we know he's about as reasonable as they come."
"That vagabond?" Ahn Aru said thoughtfully. "Hm, good point. He's also Renko's friend and he also has access to Solar Circle. The problem will be finding him though..."
Wind, a Zenith Caste former immaculate monk turned Solar hero, was one of the greatest spiritual leaders of the Exalted Deliberative.
Indeed, he represented the paragon of the wise warrior priest-king ideal… save for the fact Wind preferred to spend his days wandering the land as an anonymous hero righting wrongs while protecting and teaching the common man, just as his late friend Demetheus once had done.
The man was surprisingly hard to find, even for Sidereals of their age.
"At least we have a plan." Crimson Banner Executioner decided, "I'll go check with Shaia and Shepard, see if either of them have run into Wind lately."
"And I'll so the same," Ahn Aru agreed. "With luck, we'll be able to figure out where he is by the end of the week. Hopefully he can make sense of these notes and figure out how to follow Usami."
With their plan established, the pair departed Renko's workshop, fully intent on bringing back their wayward Copper Spider…
-=-
A/N – Hm, didn't turn out as well as I hoped it would have. But well, that's what I have so far. If it's not good enough, I'll figure something out.
BTW, to those of you who were asking, when I mentioned the new Touhou anime I was referring to the "Hifuu Club Activity Record" (http://kyotofantasytroupe.net/) which is, if all goes according to plan, supposedly due for a November release.
Way I see it, it's going to rock my socks off, or it's going to suck so hard I'll purge it from memory. Hopefully the former.
Thanks for reading!
-=-
One of the bright spots in the Third Age and the establishment the second Exalted Deliberative was that the Celestial Exalted were once again working hand in hand for a better tomorrow. Unlike that Second Age where the Solars had been hunted to near extinction by the Wyld Hunt, the Lunars were more or driven from civilianisation and the Sidereals were stuck fighting inter-originational conflicts, this new age saw all three varieties once again untied for a common cause.
Granted there are a lot less Solars now (what with half their number still existing as corrupted Infernals and Abyssals), the Lunars were still quite feral and distrustful of civilisation in general, and nobody had forgotten that the Sidereals had kicked off the entire Age of Sorrows by stabbing their fellows in the back… but at least everyone was on speaking terms again!
In truth, while the new Age of Hope as it was called saw all three varieties of Celestial Exalted working together to regain the glory of the First Age, such things were rarely so neat. While some members of the Exalted host were all too willing to let bygones be bygones, others weren't so ready to forgive and acted accordingly.
As such, while the Celestial Exalted of were all too happy to present a united front to both their subjects and their enemies, the truth was the level of trust between the Lawgivers, Stewards and Viziers really had to be accessed on a case by case basis. This was especially true for the Sidereal who, due to their part in the Usurpation, had to count their true allies very carefully.
This was why, upon four Sidereals walking in a certain Coppy Spider's laboratory and discovering that she was missing, the following panicked shout rang out.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE'S GONE?!"
"Ivory, calm down. It's not as bad as you think it is," Crimson Banner Executioner said as he attempted to placate the panicking Haltan, "We have her notes. Whatever happened to her, wherever she went, we can find her. You're the Righteous and Fateful Ender of Royal Lines in the River Province. Don't go falling apart on now!"
"You have no idea, executioner!" Ahn Aru insisted, "I spent decades working with that fool. You have no idea what she's capable of!"
"Oh geez." Crimson Banner executioner sighed, wondering why his two colleagues were so worked up. True Renko was one of the Solars who could be counted upon looked upon the Fivescore Fellowship favourably, and true she was indispensable as far as the Exalted Deliberative went, but it wasn't as if she was dead (yet).
The notes on the table made that pretty clear. Granted the notes also confirmed to the pair that Renko was pretty much a boneheaded idiot by trying out an untested Sorcery on herself, but at least they had a general idea of where she'd gone. All they had to do was find her.
"You fool! Don't you understand what this means?" Ahn Aru snarled as she whirled on Crimson Banner Executioner, "She's escaped from our view. This means she's doing something! Don't you understand? She's doing something were I can't keep an eye on her!"
"Oh for Mars' sake, not this again."
"I never trusted that woman. She's scheming something, I just know it," Ahn Aru continued darkly, her eyes narrowing as she scanned Renko's empty workshop for clues as to what the Arrow of Heaven's game was. Crimson Banner Execution couldn't help but sigh as his fellow Vizier started poking around the room in a blind panic.
Ahn Aru was one of the oldest, and most senior, members of the new Sidereal host. One of their most respected and venerated leaders. She had survived the battles in the closing days of the Second Age, battles that had culled over two thirds of the Maiden's Chosen at the time. She had survived the end of the second age, and was a major player in the rebuilding and reforming the celestial bureaucracy.
She had also been one of the staunchest, most fanatical Bronze Faction members prior to the new Exalted Deliberative, and even after then she'd only accepted the new partnership with great reluctance. Even after necessity had forced all of Creation's Exalted into an alliance, she had never gotten over her distrust, and dislike, of the Solars… probably largely dune in part of her extremely colorful past with Renko.
The pair might have worked together to put Tepet Ejava on the Vermillion Throne, but that didn't mean that they liked each other. Far from it in fact, considering they'd tried to kill each other on their first meeting.
"Hasn't woman has learned after everything? Doesn't she know when to stop?" Ahn Aru said, her eyes glazing over as she fell back into memory. During their 'partnership' many of Ahn Aru's plans had been derailed, in rather spectacular ways, by the spontaneous Solar, so much so that she had vowed to always keep tabs on Renko to this day.
Renko had slipped from her view. Apparently that was cause for panic indeed.
"To think we came here just to borrow one of her old research papers." Crimson Banner Executioner sighed as he watched his two colleagues fall apart before his eyes. By the Maidens, they were all hundreds of years old!
"What is that irresponsible maniac planning on doing now? Is she causing a war? Is she bringing an invasion of otherworldly Exalted down on our heads? I DON'T KNOW!" Ahn Aru swore, pulling at her own hair in frustration.
"Ivory, perhaps we should take these notes and see if one of the other Solars can make heads or tails of it…" Crimson suggested, only to be silenced.
"ABSOLUTELY NOT." She whirled on him, "I am not trusting a Solar Savant with a spell like this. Do you have any idea what someone without Usami's morals would do with it?"
Crimson Banner Executioner raised an amused eyebrow at Ahn Aru's complete turnaround. "I thought you were upset about Renko using an untested Sorcery on herself?"
"I'm upset because she is a colossal idiot with no common sense and I can't keep an eye on her," Ahn Aru folded her arms crossly, "That woman is irresponsible, not malicious. I can't say the same for many other Solar Savants, but she won't cause problems deliberately."
Crimson Banner Executioner couldn't help but agree. Considering what most Solar Savants had to give up to achieve their level of mastery over the arts, especially in the trial of sacrifice, it was a wonder that Renko had managed to retain so much of her original personality. In fact, it was for this reason Renko was such an attractive ally for the Fivescore Fellowship – she was one of the few friendly Lawgivers with access to Solar Circle Sorcery who was functionally sane.
Coming from the former Bronze Faction functionary, this was very high praise indeed.
Really, Renko being missing was a very big problem for the Exalted Deliberative for this reason, especially to her Sidereal allies.
"You're right. I probably wouldn't allow Arianna anywhere near these. Who knows what she'd do with it?" Crimson Banner Executioner nodded.
"Still, that doesn't mean we won't have a repeat of the last time Renko caused a war by her insatiable curiosity. We need to get her back here, fast," Ahn Aru muttered, chewing on her thumb as she did so, "But we don't know anyone who knows Solar Circle Sorcery that could be trusted with Usami's notes. This is a difficult spot."
"True, but who else can we trust this with?" Crimson Banner Executioner started listing off the options off the top of his head, "Arianna's a bitch who doesn't like us. Sema means dealing with the Kaneko, and he's a pain to deal with. Mistress Emerald hasn't trusted a single Sidereal since the whole Illuminated Scandal…"
Then the answer came to him.
"We could try Wind. He's still upset about us lying to him all those years ago, but we know he's about as reasonable as they come."
"That vagabond?" Ahn Aru said thoughtfully. "Hm, good point. He's also Renko's friend and he also has access to Solar Circle. The problem will be finding him though..."
Wind, a Zenith Caste former immaculate monk turned Solar hero, was one of the greatest spiritual leaders of the Exalted Deliberative.
Indeed, he represented the paragon of the wise warrior priest-king ideal… save for the fact Wind preferred to spend his days wandering the land as an anonymous hero righting wrongs while protecting and teaching the common man, just as his late friend Demetheus once had done.
The man was surprisingly hard to find, even for Sidereals of their age.
"At least we have a plan." Crimson Banner Executioner decided, "I'll go check with Shaia and Shepard, see if either of them have run into Wind lately."
"And I'll so the same," Ahn Aru agreed. "With luck, we'll be able to figure out where he is by the end of the week. Hopefully he can make sense of these notes and figure out how to follow Usami."
With their plan established, the pair departed Renko's workshop, fully intent on bringing back their wayward Copper Spider…
-=-
A/N – Hm, didn't turn out as well as I hoped it would have. But well, that's what I have so far. If it's not good enough, I'll figure something out.
BTW, to those of you who were asking, when I mentioned the new Touhou anime I was referring to the "Hifuu Club Activity Record" (http://kyotofantasytroupe.net/) which is, if all goes according to plan, supposedly due for a November release.
Way I see it, it's going to rock my socks off, or it's going to suck so hard I'll purge it from memory. Hopefully the former.
Thanks for reading!