One Random Sukima 4

It was quite a long night for Budou, Ail, Sanae, Phredia and Eirin. Budou had woken up just as Eirin injected her with nutrients and anti-venom. She tried to escape many times, but quickly, she lost all her strength. Ail managed to get close to her with Phredia's help and convinced her to come out to be treated, with promise to blow up Eirin if she tried any experiments, which, of course, disappointed her quite a lot.

It's past midnight and Eirin is exhausted, so Reisen helps her to her room as soon as she receives Ail's payment. Sanae holds on to Budou, who even asleep, refuses to let go. Phredia falls asleep and uses Sanae's head as a bed and her hair as covers. By the gates to the Entei Mansion, Reimu leans with her back against the wall, crossing her arm and smiling almost too wickedly. She says "well, it was about time. How is she?" Ail and Sanae smile back at Reimu, then Ail answers "luckily, she wasn't poisoned, but she was drained. That creature absorbed a lot of her blood along with some nutrients." Sanae rubs Budou's head and says "it's a miracle she's alive." Reimu stops smiling and looks to the ground. Sanae and Ail look at each other and try to say something to her, but Reimu lifts her head up, smiles again, and says "glad to hear she's ok. Come. Kanako is waiting for Ail at his house, and Suwako is patrolling around her shrine. You should be safe at my shrine for tonight." Ail and Sanae smile, then all fly toward Reimu's shrine. Ail asks "we won't be a bother?" Reimu calmly replies "of course not. Now come, Kanako's probably ready to do her rounds."

Morning at the Hakurei Shrine. Inside the shrine, the girls are all sleeping around each other in a circle, while Ail sleeps farther away. Something quietly drags Ail's futon outside as he contently continues to sleep soundly. Once outside, Kanako stands next to him, holding one of her largest logs with both her hands, smiling triumphantly, raising her log above her head and ready to strike down hard on the half-human. As she smiles wickedly, she whispers "you tried to defile my Sanae, so now you receive just, godly punishment." Kanako clenches her teeth as she raises the log high above her head, but then stops and drops her log upon feeling a painfully strong tug on her ear. The log falls on the ground hard enough to strike Suwako, who is under the dirt, but jumps out immediately after being struck, then she ALSO feels a painfully strong tug on her ear. Before either goddess can react, they are pulled together by their ears, head-butting each other hard, seeing stars flashing in front of their eyes as they both fall on the ground. Sanae smiles while glaring angrily at both goddesses, who upon the sight, embrace each other tightly. Shaking, Suwako asks "Sa-Sanae, wh-what's the matter? Heh heh." Kanako adds "you didn't have to do that." Maintaining the furious smile, Sanae stares at the goddesses and says "now you two listen up. You lay one finger on him, and you'll be cooking your own meals for a year, understand?" Both Kanako and Suwako cry as they whimper "no~ anything but that!" Suwako says "Sanae's cooking is the best. You can't do that." Sanae continues to stare, and smiles as she says "then leave him ALONE!" Kanako says "but he tried to dirty our Sanae" One, then two strikes on the head for each goddess by Sanae leave two bumps on their heads. Suwako asks "Why me too?" Sanae says "leave-him-alone! Besides, what if I WANTED him to kiss me!?" Suwako and Kanako look at each other through the corner of their eyes; Suwako whispers "she won't listen to us." Kanako whisper back "what happened to my Sanae?" Suwako replies "she grew up." High above the skies, a little black blob flies toward the human village, unable to keep steady, as it asks "is that so~?"

Ail wakes up to a beautiful morning, just outside the shrine. He looks around and wonders what is he doing out there, but shrugs and sits up on the futon, stretches and yawns, then is struck by a quick hug and a loud "PAPA~! Good morning papa!" Budou clings on to Ail's neck, as energetic as she was before. Ail chuckles and says "Budou, good morning. You seem to be feeling much better now, right?" Budou giggles and says "yes. Papa was right. That lady was not bad after all! Oh yes, gramma and big sis want to say something to you!" Ail thinks for a moment "gramma...? Big sis...?" He snaps his fingers and thinks "right... Kanako and Suwako." From inside the shrine, looking apologetic, Suwako, with a bump on her head, and Kanako walk toward Ail, kneel in front of him, then say "we're sorry." Ail stares with curiosity, then Kanako says "sorry for saying all that and for hunting you down." Suwako adds "and for trying to throttle you this morning, and for trying to make you pee on the futon." Ail opens his left eye wide, while Budou laughs. Sanae comes with a bowl of water and says "caught her just in time too." Ail sweats and scratches his right cheek, then says, with a forced smile "err... that's ok, I guess. No harm done, right? Apology accepted. Just... please, no more of this. I have a lot to take care of right now." The goddesses continue to bow and say "thank you very much." Kanako thinks "I'll get you yet." Suwako thinks "we'll see about that." Reimu comes walking from the shrine and says "ahh, you're awake. Good. Shou wants to see you at Byakuren's temple today." Ail manages to get up with Budou on his arms and asks "Shou? Did she say what for?" Reimu looks at his face and stares, then smiles and says "don't worry too much. Come on, let's eat. I'm starving." Sanae smiles and says "I'll help with breakfast." Ail adds "I'll get the table ready." Budou shouts "I'll help papa!" Kanako sighs and says "fine. Can we eat here too?" Reimu sweats a little and says "this isn't a restaurant, you know!?" As they head inside, Kanako says "aww, have a heart. We haven't had a nice meal in weeks." Suwako gets annoyed and shouts "that's because you keep messing my cooking with those old recipes of yours!" Kanako growl "who are you calling old, you dirty frog!?" Mima, Maribel and Renko watch everything from inside the shrine, unable to say anything at all, but Maribel smiles, heads toward Kanako and Suwako, then says "you both look plenty young, so please stop fighting." then smiles at them. The goddesses look neutrally at Maribel, then Suwako says "you're cute. Can I keep you?" Maribel panics and sweats as she says "n- no~! What kind of question is that? Of course not!" Suwako then says "Aww~ And here I was hoping to get a new pet. Cute kitty~!" Suwako jumps on Maribel's back, then starts to gently pet her cat ears, making her relax and start purring. Mima and Renko look at each other disgusted, then Mima says "that's so immature."

It's noon, and Ail finishes sweeping around Reimu's shrine, as thanks for the night and breakfast. Sanae, Budou, Phredia, Kanako and Suwako are just about to leave when Ail says "please take care, and take good care of Budou for me." Almost crying, Budou asks "but why can't we go home, papa!?" Ail kneels, rubs Budou's head, then says "I'm sorry, Budou. I have to take care of something very important. But I'll go pick you up as SOON as I am done." Budou sniffle as she wipes her nose with her forearm and says "ok papa. Be careful. The sparkles are looking after you, but they have to sleep too." Ail smile and says "thanks. I'll be alright. You'll see." From inside the shrine, a woman says "oh, she's purring. So CUTE~!" They turn their attention to Reimu, who points to her left, then they turn to look at Renko, who looks neutral as she points to her right at Mima, who is rubbing Maribel's ears while her nose bleeds and red hearts fly all around her. Maribel is lying on her stomach on the ground, smiling like a content cat on it's master's lap. Renko sighs and says "so much for maturity." Without realizing it, Suwako is no longer next to Kanako. When they look around for her, they spot her at the other side of Maribel, rubbing her right ear and saying "cute, isn't she?" Mima replies "and she's all mine~!" with a heart in her mouth. Kanako sweats and looks on with disbelief. She walks inside, blowing a cloud puff from her mouth as she enters, then comes out, dragging Suwako by her leg. Suwako struggles to go back inside, saying "wait, no. Let me stay a while longer. Come on, I wanna pet her some more! She so so~~ft, ple~~ase!" Kanako growls "you got Budou, so stop complaining!" Suwako calms down and gets up straight, then smiles and says "oh yeah, that's right!" From inside, Mima's eyes are cast in a blue shadow, opening her mouth wide and sweating a little, then quickly leans to the floor, placing her left forearm on her forehead as she bangs the floor with her right arm, crying "that's s unfair~!" Sanae gets closer to Ail and says "please... don't lose, ok! If you dare lose, I'm going to kill you!" Ail chuckles nervously and says "I don't plan on losing. I'll come back, free as ever." Sanae sighs, grabs Ail by his shoulder, then kisses his cheek, causing the two goddesses to stare at him with shadows cast on their eyes. She backs away, grabs Budou, hiding her saddened face from the little youkai, and says "good luck then", then flies away, Phredia quickly following. The goddesses force a twisted smile toward Ail, making him feel awkward and uneasy, then both fly after Sanae. Ail turns to Reimu and Renko, bows and says "thanks for your hospitality." Reimu replies "remember, she's very dangerous, so keep alert at all times." Ail smiles, turns around and as he walks away he says "I'll see you guys later." Renko gasps, then says "oh, that's right. Reimu, I have something to tend to, so I'll be heading out." Reimu smirks and says "alright. Just keep your eyes open too, alright?" Renko tries to smile back, but she is to nervous to do so, and says "y-... yeah, of course."

Ail lands in front of Byakuren's temple, and he's immediately greeted by Shou Toramaru. "Well, hello, mister Ail. I was wondering if you got my message." Ail smiles nervously and says "heh heh, sorry. So what is it, miss Shou?" Shou gets uncomfortably close to Ail's face, and stares. She says "please, close your right eye." Ail, obediently closes his eye and asks "what's the matter?" Shou shushes him, then gently brushes her fingers through the precise location as where her claw-marks were. She smiles and shouts "HA! I can't believe it! You understood why I scratched your face like that, and you managed to learn what I wanted you to learn!" Ail looks surprised, then Shou says "the claw-marks I gave you are gone... completely healed." Ail smiles and says "I see... yes, it took some effort, but I finally understood, and I am grateful to all my friends for helping me as they did." Shou smiles, grabs his right arm, places her hand on Ail's bracelet, making it glow orange for a moment, then lets go after the glowing stops. Ail looks at the bracelet and notices a tiger design under the others, roaring fiercely, and swiping it's claw. Shou continues to smile, then says "I need a big favor from you." Ail looks at Shou, smiles, then asks "sure. What is is?" Shou points toward the road that leads to the Misty Lake, then says "follow that road on foot. You should come across three mischievous little youkai who keep scaring villagers for their amusement. One of them is very powerful. A blond vampire dressed in red." Ail looks seriously at Shou and asks "Flandre? Shouldn't you tell Reimu-?" Shou speaks over Ail's voice, saying "this little vampire has an attachment to you, and only YOU can save her now." Ail gets surprised and asks "save her!? What's wrong with her?" Shou smiles and says "follow the road and you'll find out." Ail stares neutrally at Shou, but turns his head when he hears a familiar voice calling to him. "A~~il! A~~~IL!" Ail looks on as Nitori flies toward him, hovering above the ground, using one of her rockets to fly to him, holding a box on her hand. She stops just in front of him and her rocket gets inside her backpack. She smiles and says "I finished! They are ready for you!" Ail looks confused and says "Nitori, so glad to see you... er, what do you mean?" Nitori narrows her eyes while smiling, then opens the box and Ail sees his old boots, fully restored and looking like new. Ail looks on with awe and says "my old boots... You finished them, I see. They... look like NEW!" Nitori smiles and says "they are IMPROVED. These babies will help you increase your power with the new energy device I implanted in the sole. It should also make walking a LOT more comfortable than those tattered black slippers." Shou and Ail look at his slippers. Shou giggles, then Ail sits on the ground, pulls them off, grabs his boots, then puts them on. Immediately, he feels a surge of energy as Nitori says "your power should be nehanced the second you tie those laces. I've added a few other features too, but I'll let you figure that out on your own." Ail shivers, but keeps quiet. Nitori happily says "and so, I will expect your payment soon, but please, don't feel obligated to pay all at once. Take your time. And with that, I leave you now. Take care." Nitori winks, her rocket pops out of her backpack, then fires up and sends her flying through the skies at great speeds, back to the Youkai Forest, while she screams her lungs out. Shou smiles and says "I'll be taking these destroyed slipper and dispose of them for you." Ail smiles and says "thank you very much, miss Shou. I best be off now. Please take care." Shou chuckles and says "you better take care too. Lady Hijiri would be sad if you didn't return." Ail smiles back, however, he doesn't know what to answer back, so he just signals Shou a farewell, then follows the road to the Misty Lake. Shou smirks, then stares at Ail's old, destroyed shoes as she walks toward the Temple.

Noon at the Bamboo forest. The sky is turning gold, slowly, as the sun begins it's descent. One of Yukari's gaps opens up in the middle of the forest, and out comes a girl in shrine maiden outfit, who falls rolling on the ground and lands on her stomach after she stops rolling. Yukari, whose voice echoes all around the girl, says "let's see if you are truly ready, sweetie. If you can survive long enough to find me, then I'll consider you ready... if no~t... Well, I'll let your family know." From the ground, the girl shouts "hey... wait a minute! Yukari?" The girl gets up on her feet. She has long wavy brown hair that reaches her waist, and an enchanting pair of light-blue eyes, the color of the sky. She wears a common kimono-style shrine maiden outfit. The bottom skirt is white with red Strips from both sides that go to the bottom end of her skirt. The upper part is white and long sleeved. Much like Reimu's old outfit, and around her neck, she wears a big red ribbon with flame designs and the letters in kanji for "The Will of Fire" half written in one part of the ribbon, the other half at the other part of the ribbon. Looking confused, she looks around and shouts "Yukari~! Where are you~!" She crosses her arms, hugging herself, and says "oh... I guess she knows better." The girl extends her arms beside herself, clenches her right hand into a fist, placing it bravely in front of her right cheek, and with great determination in her eyes she says "I will pass this test! Just you watch me!" A suddenly rustle to her left startles the girl, joining both arms on her chest, clenching her hands together, raising her left leg, then trembles as she says "who- Who is there? Show yourself!" For a moment, the rustling stops, then, a small white rabbit pops from between the bamboo. The girl lowers her guard and says "aww, it's just a cute little bunny. Hello little friend." She smiles as she approaches the rabbit, ready to pat it's head, when she realizes there is a girl dressed in pink, wearing a carrot in a necklace, with red eyes, short black hair, and a pair of white rabbit ears, staring at her. The rabbit smiles wickedly and says "well, here's a face I've never seen before." The girl stares curiously at the rabbit girl and asks "are those ears real?" The rabbit girl says "your definitely not form around here, huh? Well, consider yourself lucky. My name is Tewi Inaba, and I happen to be the youkai of luck! Stick with me, and you'll be ju~st fine!" The girl stares at Tewi for a moment. Tewi says "staring is rude, miss, er.. what's your name?" The girl gets a little startled, then bows and quickly says "my, I'm sorry. My name is Rika. Pleasure to meet you, miss Inaba." With glints in her eyes, Tewi places her arm around Rika's neck, then says "please, call me Tewi. Now then, come with me!" As they walk toward the unknown, Tewi casually asks "so what's your family name? Are you being rude to me? And what brings you to MY forest, Rika?" Rika replies "I'm sorry, but I am an orphan, so I don't really have a family name... and I'm supposed to find someone, miss Tewi. Your forest is so pretty, by the way." Tewi chuckles and repeats "please, call me Tewi. Just Tewi."

Tewi leads Rika to a clearing in the forest. Many rabbits, white, brown, black, and blotched colored, all surround Rika, as Tewi sits on a make-shift throne. She closes her eyes and proudly says "Rika, since you have invaded my forest, I will ask of you three favors in return for my help." As the rabbits get closer to Rika, she asks "three... favors?" Tewi continues to talk with her eyes close, her chest expanded, and looking important as she says "yes. And if you fail even one, I will not help you, got it?" Tewi gets no response, so she opens one eye, then realizes Rika is kneeling next to the rabbits, petting as many as she can, smiling angelically as she does. Tewi looks on with disbelief, feeling a little sick on the stomach, then asks "are you even listening to me?" Rika calmly replies "yes, mi- er, Tewi. Please, tell me what I must do." Tewi smirks, then says "I've been walking all day all around my precious forest. Please, rub my royal feet." Rika's eyes are cast in shadow as she asks "ru-rub your feet?" Tewi stretches her legs and toes, then wiggles them around as she stretches them, then says "yup. Don't think this is all just for me. I'm a rabbit. You should get LOADS of luck if you rub my feet." Rika sweats while she forces a weak chuckle along with a small smile, then finds herself rubbing the feet of what she believe to be, the queen of the forest. During this time, Rika says "my, for such a hard worker, your feet seem to be in perfect condition, Tewi." Tewi smiles and says "why, thank you very much. Now..." Tewi gets up with a hop, feeling relaxed and very soothed, then sits back down on her throne and says "for the second favor, I want you to build an elaborate set of traps on the road." Rika looks quite confused, then Tewi says "we have to keep the enemies of the forest at bay. Let them know, the queen doesn't suffer fools lightly!" Rika thinks for a moment, then smiles and says "ah, that makes sense to me!" Tewi then adds "you've got one hour~!" Rika opens her mouth wide, her eyes cast in shadow, and sweating after hearing the ridiculous time limit for the request.

1 HOUR LATER

Rika returns to Tewi. Her clothes are a little dirty, but she smiles as she holds a small white rabbit on her arm and pets it with her other hand, then says "mi-... Tewi, the traps are all set!" Tewi looks at Rika and says "really? Well, took you a little longer than I had hoped, but I'll be a kind queen and consider this a success, IF they work correctly." Rika stares confused and asks "but how will we know how they...?" Tewi shushes Rika and says "the enemy approaches. Keep quiet." Rika hears the voice of a woman contently humming as she walks down the road. Her footsteps stop, then the woman says "oh... this is odd. What a beautiful flower. But I've never seen a flower as beautiful as this growing around these parts." The sound of a heavy bag being set on the ground echoes lightly around, then quiet. The woman says "my, I should replant this somewhere else, or someone will step on it." The sound of rope tightening reaches the clearing, along with the woman's scream of horror. The sound of the rope snapping, as the woman continues to scream at the top of her lungs reaches them, then a metallic 'clang' and a crushing sound, along with light choking, then a loud explosion, a splat, a burst of fire, and then a rumble!" Rika stands behind Tewi, counting with her fingers, leaving her pinkie upward. From the road, the woman cries "ow, o-hoh-how, OW~. What was all that just now!?" Tewi chuckles mischievously as Rika taps her shoulder lightly. Tewi pushes Rika's hand away, then Rika says "but, your majesty... I mean, Tewi. One of the traps-" Tewi turns around, looking triumphant, then says "a-pa-pa! For the last favor, I want you to find the exact value..." She rummages around her dress, then pulls out a paper and a pencil, then finishes saying "...of pi!" Rika can't believe her ears. She backs away, her eyes cast in shadow, her mouth wide open, her hair springing up from various parts of her head, and the atmosphere behind her turning blue and heavy. She stutters as she asks "e-e-exact va-v-value? O-of pi? B-but, but-" Tewi forces the paper and pencil on Rika's hands, then smiles. Rika sweats as some more strands of hair spring form her head, then another pair of voices are heard coming from the other side of the road. One sounds very young, and says "the sound came from here!" A more adult-sounding voice replies "alright... what's this?" The younger voice says "ooh, dumplings!" Immediately, a whirring sound along with the girl's scream, followed by a loud explosion and crumbling sound fills the forest. The adult woman shouts "PRINCESS!!!" Rika asks "princess?" Tewi freezes in fear. There is silence, then Tewi breathes with relief, saying "phew.. I think they're go-" An arrow flies just beside Tewi, clinging to her clothes and sending her against the bamboo wall, trapping her. Rika shouts "queen Tewi!!!" A silver-haired woman wearing a red and blue outfit and a matching nurse cap asks "queen?" She points her arrow at Rika and says "I see. Miss, come with me. I'm afraid you have been tricked. And as for you!" The woman turns her attention to Tewi and gets closer, looking at the rabbit girl with murderous eyes, casting her shadow on Tewi.

Ail walks toward the Misty Lake, lost in though as for the reasons of having to deal with Flandre. He thinks to himself "this isn't good... I can't fight both Flandre and Remilia on the same day... they'll destroy me. What to do?" A wicked child-like laughter makes Ail stop where he stands. He immediately recognizes Flandre's laughter, followed by Rumia's, and then, a third one he can't seem to recognize. Everything turns dark; Ail is unable to see anything at all, and then, right in front of him are Rumia, Flandre, and whom he believes is Agava. He points at her and asks "A... Agava, is that you?" Agava smiles and says "hey, haven't seen you in a while, dummy." Ail snaps his fingers and says "yup, that's Agava. So what can I help you with?" Flandre scoffs and says "you're not even saying hello, huh? Just glance and walk away!? I don't think so big-... Ail!" Ail immediately realizes, by the looks on her eyes, that she's angry. Ail concernedly asks "Flandre, what's the matter? There's... something about you. Why are you so sad?" Flandre shouts "SAD!? You are as stupid as I thought. I'm not sad, I'm ANGRY! You are the reason big sister got HURT!" Ail calmly replies "you know I'd never do anything to hurt any of you on purpose, Flan. You know that." Flandre thinks for a moment. She knows he's right. All she really wants to do is jump on him and give him a bone-breaking hug, but her pride gets the best of her, then she shouts "you made me weak! If I was stronger, I'd have NEVER let Agava trick me like that. I'd have blown her to bits!!" Agava waves her hand and says "hey, I'm right here~." Ail shouts back "if you did that, you wouldn't be having fun with you FRIENDS right now, would you!? You'd be inside the mansion, bored out of your mind!!" Flandre realizes this immediately. Everything around her disappears, replaced by a dark screen. She thinks about all that has happened, and how Agava is now a friend, instead of a murderous monster. Ail then adds "and if it wasn't for YOU, both Agava and Budou would be sealed by now." Flandre lets out a "huh?" as she opens her eyes wide. She thinks about all that's happened, mostly about how Agava truly changed, just to be with her. Flandre relaxes, then smiles as she looks down with a shadow over her eyes. Ail looks on curiously, then Flandre starts to giggle. Ail thinks "so I'll have to do this, no matter what... Somehow, I have to conserve energy. I just hope I know what I'm doing." With a wicked smile, she lifts her head to look straight at Ail, then shouts "Rumia, do it!" Rumia smiles widely with her eyes narrowly open, as a thick film of darkness covers the area Ail and Flandre are in, leaving 3 arc-like openings to let in enough light. Flandre, in a very wicked tone of voice, says "I never played properly with you, Ail, so let have our fist game. Now get ready!!" Ail sighs and says "I didn't want to have to do this, but I guess I don't have a choice."

Flandre giggles some more, as she hovers menacingly a few feet above the ground, then immediately unleashes an unthinkable amount of danmaku, all scattered, giving Ail very little room to dodge. Ail sweats as he watches the bullets head his way, then thinks "here it comes." Calmly, and looking as if he's not putting any effort, he nimbly dodges each and every singly shot with ease. Ail thinks "wow... I wasn't really trying... I see. These boots." He looks at the boots Nitori just gave him and thinks "these really do work. Good. I think I can conserve energy after all." Flandre shouts "HEY, FIGHT BACK! How am I supposed to have fun if you don't fight BACK!" She lunges at him, looking like a blur in the air. Every time she thinks she's got him, he moves a little, avoiding her completely. Flandre continues her assault, trying to strike Ail with her claws, but missing every time. She starts to get frustrated and says "hey, why can't I hit you!?" Ail smirks and says "come on, Flanny. Stop this already." Flandre's cheeks turn red with rage, then she shouts "HEY! I told you not to CALL me that!" Ail smiles, then bows and says "my apologies, Flanny." Flandre's face turns even more red. Without saying a word, still smiling, however, in a very twisted manner, she summons her twisted black rod, then again, like a blur in the air, she rushes him, trying to strike him with her weapon. Ail has a hard time dodging this time, as she swings her weapon, expanding her range of attack, every time she passes by him. She continues her assault, giving Ail a hard time, grazing his shirt as she passes by once more. Ail loses his balance, so Flandre immediately lunges at him, however, Ail drops on his back and uses his legs to kick Flandre upward, then tries to take her weapon away, but Flandre manages to hold on tight, causing Ail to slam her against the ground on her back. She gets up with some tears in her eyes, clenching her teeth in pain. She looks at him angrily and says "that hurt! I'll make you PAY for that." Agava, who is standing next to Rumia by one of the arcs, says "she's getting mad, and he won't attack. This could get ugly, fast. Rumia, shouldn't we stop them?" Extending her arms and smiling as she watches the fight unfold, she replies "no reason to. Just watch." Agava crosses her arms across her chest, then continues to quietly watch.

Flandre tries to fight Ail at close range, swinging her claws as fast as she can, trying to strike his face and torso, but Ail manages to dodge with ease, matching the vampire's moves perfectly. As he does this, he thinks "I'm not putting any effort here. These boots; are they enhancing my skills and reflexes as well? I'll try something..." Flandre swings downward, thinking she's struck Ail with a smile on her face, but she quickly realizes he's behind her. Before she can turn around, Ail pushes her, almost making her fall to the ground. Flandre manages to stop and looks back at Ail wish shock and surprise, then says "how-how can you match my speed? That's never happened before... YOU'RE CHEATING, AREN'T YOU!?" Ail shrugs, but doesn't answer. Flandre giggles as she pulls out a spell card form her pocket and with a smile, she says "alright, you cheater. I can play your game, so LET'S PLAY!!!! Forbidden Barrage - Catadioptric!" Blue extra-large danmaku orbs with medium and small orbs trailing along, start bouncing all over the small dark dome. The space is so confined, that even with the enhancements, Ail is singed and grazed various times by the smaller orbs. He looks around while dodging the boucing orbs and the scattered ones, then thinks "I'll have to use a little more..." He flips, jumps, flies, twirls, missing many orbs, some passing right in front of his nose. He finally gets in range, then flip-kicks Flandre behind her knees, making her flip and fall right on top of one of the larger orbs, which explodes on contact. The spell cancels out, so Ail quickly steps away from Flandre, who growls as she gets up. She glares at Ail as she slowly gets back on her feet, then, without saying another word, she pulls out another spell card, and almost screaming, she declares "TABOO!!! LAVATEIN!!!" Her weapon turns into a long red beam-sword and immediately, she swings it from left to right, trailing various shard bullets in an arc that scatter as they fall. Ail manages to dodge this wave with easy, but Flandre is not done, and swings from right, to left, and then, almost immediately, again, from left, to right. She swings wildly now, however, in her loss of control, she can't generate enough bullets to cause Ail much trouble. She growls loudly when she notices this, then tries thrusting the beam-sword at Ail, who, without effort, dodges all her attacks, again, thanks to his enhanced boots. In her rage, Flandre foolishly raises the sword above her head and forgets about the trailing danmaku. She watches and trembles as the shards head her way, freezing on the spot. Her own bullets hit her hard, canceling her spell card. Rumia asks "is it over ye~t?" Flandre gets up and shouts "NOT YET! I'm going to break him... heh... I'll BREAK HIM!!!" Flandre laughs maniacally as she pulls out another spell card, then frowning, she shouts "Taboo - Cranberry Trap!"

All around them, red and intense-blue medium danmaku orbs fly from all directions, literally trying to trap Ail in the center of the bullet concentration. To his luck, he is able to find many gaps between her bullets, and without effort, goes right through them. Many times, bullets are mere inches away from him, but he manages to spot them in time and move accordingly. Flandre gets angrier and intensifies her spell. The bullets move faster, however, they have more, larger gaps in between. Ail thinks "enough of this!" He surrounds one of his hands in a blue barrier, then he bats a group of orbs that fly straight toward Flandre. She dodges them just in time, sticks her tongue out, then a washtub falls on her head, canceling the spell. Flandre floats back to the ground, holding the back of her head with both hands, then kneels low to the ground. Kneeling, she springs her torso up, and with tears in her eyes, her face even redder with rage, and looking straight at Ail, she shouts "HEY~! What the HELL was that!?" She looks above her and sees one of Ail's gaps closing. She clenches her teeth, almost bearing her gums, growling with intense rage as she turns her face to Ail. She gets up and pulls out two spell cards from her pockets, then growls "you... you are making FUN of me! I'll teach you you... you ******." Flandre's curse echoes widely, and even fairies fly away crying. Agava and Rumia both stare at her with their mouths wide open, and Ail looks at her with great shock and surprise, then manages to say "h-hey! Young ladies SHOULDN'T say such things!" Flandre shouts "SHUT UP!! Just Shut up and fight properly!" Ail thinks "I though we were playing." but doesn't say it. He just watches as she declares her spell cards.

Flandre stands firmly on the ground and shouts "Taboo!! Four of a Kind!!" Flandre splits into four, and each one of her shoots a different type of bullet, in different rhythms. Ail prepares himself to dodge, but doesn't notice one of the Flandres has the second spell card, then all four at the same time, even while shooting, shout "Forbidden Barrage - Starbow Break!" Ail's face fills with panic, and for good reason. Medium danmaku orbs of red, blue, yellow and green, along with the bullets from four Flandres, create a massive wall of danmaku, all heading straight at him. Ail thinks "she's really trying to kill me. Not even Reimu could survive this... no choice..." He pulls out a spell card, then says "no choice. Flandre, you'll be the first one to experience my newest spell. I'm sorry." Ail plants his feet on the ground as firmly as he can, then shouts "Earth Sign - Earth Spirit Heartbeat!" A massive concentration of green and white crystal-shaped danmaku surround Ail, forming a perfect heart that starts beating to the rhythm of his own heart. Flandre tries to fly away, but realizes she is trapped by various vines that sprout from where Ail is standing. To her horror, all four of her are trapped by these vines. She keeps confident that her wall of danmaku will protect her and blast Ail, but her own bullets are consumed by Ail's, as the crystals scatter around, heading toward her, followed by large blue orbs that come from Ail's own hand and seem to go directly at her, at the same time as two pairs white lasers shoot to the sides, then move, until they aim right in front of Ail himself, creating a trap that hinders movement, however, one of the lasers strikes the real Flandre, followed by the blue orbs and some of the scattered shards. Flandre screams in agony for what seems for her like an eternity, however, Ail had stopped his spell after only a few seconds. Flandre falls to the ground, her body sizzling as some steam expels from her back. Concerned, Ail, Rumia and Agava rush to her.

Ail drops to his knees, sliding next to Flandre, then lifts her up and places her head on his lap, calling out to her. Rumia and Agava watch with worry, Agava asking "is she alive!?" Ail sighs with relief and says "yes... she's alive." Agava grabs Ail's neck with both her hand, shakes him violently, and shouts "you BRUTE, be more careful! You're going against a LADY after all!" Rumia smacks the back of Ail's head and says "dummy!" Flandre opens her eyes, smiles, and weakly says "big... brother. Why did you stop? I wanted to break you to pieces, but you won... you should break me." Ail pulls Flandre closer, hugs her, and says "when will you learn, you stubborn little vampire!?" He helps her sit on the ground, then says "I'd never do that to you, or anyone else, unless I saw no other choice." Flandre looks to the ground, then Ail says "Flandre, stop blaming yourself for what happened. Yes, Meiling got sick, and many bad things happened, but thanks to you, Agava had a full change of heart, and now, you have two friends that play with you, AND you are allowed outside the mansion. Wouldn't you agree everything is better now?" Flandre opens her eyes wide upon this realization, then Ail says "and I'm SURE Meiling has told you she's not mad at you at all, right?" Flandre raises her eyes to meet Ail's, then nods. Ail smiles, rubs her head, then says "now please, try not to scare too many villagers... ALL 3 OF YOU! Understand?" Rumia smiles and asks "is that-?" but Agava smacks the back of Rumia's head hard, then says "not now!" Ail chuckles, then gets back up on his feet, then says "now, if you'll excuse me, I have some business tend to." Flandre manages to get up and ask "what are you going to do, big brother?" Ail smirks and says "you should know by now." Flandre quietly nods, then Ail rubs her head again, then casually walks away, waving at the three girls as he leaves. Agava asks "so? What's he up to?" Flandre replies "he's going to challenge big sis." Agava gets surprised and asks "is he NUTS!? There's a full moon tonight!" Flandre nods, then says "I don't think he'll change his mind at all... whoa." Flandre falls to the ground. Agava and Rumia stand next to her, then Agava says "we better take you home. That last attack hit you head-on, and looked quite strong." Flandre weakly says "he's stronger... I want to play with him again."

As Ail walks toward the Misty Lake, his bracelet makes a soothing whoosh sound. When he looks at it, he notices Shou's symbol glowing orange, then he says "so THAT'S why I got so lucky... thanks Shou." Ail looks to the red sky and notices the full moon rising. Slowly, he lowers his arm and says "so much for luck... a full moon. Should I do this?" He stops for a moment, and just thinks. Youkai are starting to roam about, sounding quite active, so Ail decides to fly to have a better view of his surroundings. He looks at the Scarlet Devil Mansion, then thinks "now is not the time to chicken out. I have 5 blessings, really helpful pair boots, and the will to do this... I can't lose." then flies toward the mansion. As the moon continues to rise, an eerie red light slowly encases itself around the moon. Ail knows it's gonna take more than just will power to defeat Remilia now, and as he flies toward her mansion, he prepares himself for a long and heavy battle against the princess of the night, Remilia Scarlet.

To be continued...

Characters, spell cards and scenario belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice-
Ail, Agava, Budou and Ail's spell cards were created by Willie G.R.
Rika was created by snapshot 2010

OCT 24 2009
written by
Willie G.R.