One Random Sukima 6

Morning has come to the Scarlet Devil Mansion. Down in the basement, in Patchouli's library, Renko and Patchouli work on some charms to help Renko fly. "I'll look ridiculous with that on!" says Renko, as Patchouli ties a light-blue ribbon on the left side of her head, saying "I'm very sorry, Renko, but this is all I have at the moment. Look, I'll place it a little higher, so you can cover it with your hat, if you like." Renko nods and says "please do." Patchouli finishes tying the ribbon, then steps back to look at Renko. She smiles quietly, then says "now remember, your tie, hat and that ribbon will help you to fly. As long as you're wearing at least one of them, you'll be able to manage a slow hover. Have all three, and you'll be soaring the skies like a bird... a slow bird." Renko sweats a little and says "m-miss Patchouli, are you making fun of me?" Patchouli giggles and says "look, just come back in three days so we can continue your magic training, alright?" Renko sighs, then says "alright..."

On the first floor, Ail, Meiling and Sakuya have a small conversation before Renko comes up from the library. Ail hands Sakuya a large bag of money, bowing apologetically, then says "and remember, if you need my help, let me know." Sakuya accepts the payment and says "I will hold you to your word." Meiling sweats as she says "come on, Sakuya. He's apologized enough already. When are you going to forgive him?" Sakuya looks at Ail angrily and says "the mistress did enjoy herself, but that does not excuse him for coming in so boldly and challenging her like that." Ail narrows his eyes, sweating as he backs away from Sakuya, saying "I really, REALLY sorry about that." Sakuya sighs and calmly says "well, just don't complain when I call you, alright?" Ail nods as Meiling chuckles and says "aww, cheer up. Besides, she only used three daggers. That means she still likes you!" Meiling wraps her arm around Ail's neck and starts to rub his hair with her free hand, making an even bigger mess of his hair, which stays very messy after she lets him go. As Renko climbs the stairs, Ail shakes his head, and his hair returns to normal. Renko quietly heads toward the three of them, then says "I'm ready, Ail." Renko turns to Sakuya, bows, then to Meiling and bows, then Ail opens up a gap to the Hakurei shrine. He says "say hi to everyone for me." Renko asks "you're not coming?" Ail replies "I promised Budou I'd come get her as soon as I was done here." Renko stares at Ail for a moment, then says "alright then. I'll tell everyone you said hi. Take care then." Renko enters the gap, and as soon as she's on the shrine grounds, she turns around and waves at Ail, Meiling and Sakuya, just as the gap closes. Ail opens up another gap, this one to the Moriya Shrine, then Ail smiles and waves, then Sakuya reminds him "don't forget!! I'll be calling for you soon." Ail smiles nervously, then gets in his gap, revealing three knives still stuck on his back. As soon as the gap closes, Meiling says "I think you went a little too far." Sakuya looks at Meiling, dangerously angry, then calmly asks "aren't YOU supposed to be at your post?" Meiling shrikes, then runs outside, shouting "yes ma'am!"

As soon as Ail jumps out of his gap, he lands right in front of the Moriya Shrine. Budou spots him from inside the shrine and shouts "PAPA~~! Papa's back!!!" Ail smiles widely and just like that, one of Kanako's logs drops from the sky above. Ail jumps away just as the log plants itself on the ground, then he looks up and sees Kanako, who shouts "Sorry~! I'm just playing danmaku with Suwako here..." Ail stares as the two goddesses seem to continue firing danmaku at each other, however, they do so looking quite uninterested in it, making Ail feel awkward, but as Soon as Budou and Sanae come out the door, Ail smiles again, then says "Budou~, Sanae~!" Budou flies straight at Ail, knocking him down to the ground on his back. She kisses his cheek repeatedly and says "papa's back. We're going home, aren't we?" After laughing for a bit, Ail grabs Budou by her arms, pulls her up, sits on the ground, then says "yes, we're going home." He turns his attention to Sanae, who stands a few feet away, smiling, Phredia silently hovering above her shoulder. She asks "so how did it go?" Ail stands up, then smile as he says "I am still a free soul. Well, almost." Sanae looks on worriedly, then Ail says "I caused a bit of a mess, so I'll be called in to help with repairs. Specially with that roof." Sanae's expression changes to shock when she asks "roof!? What did you DO!?" Sanae quickly grabs his hand and pulls him inside while saying "come, let's have some tea inside while you tell us." Budou continues to stare at them, then says "papa and mama look PINK~!" Sanae and Ail quickly let go, both turning red and looking away from each other, then Budou giggles and goes inside with a smile on her face, then shouts "come on, I wanna hear how papa won!"

While Ail tells Sanae, Phredia and Budou about the battle, the goddesses peek from outside the shrine through one of the windows, glaring constantly at Ail and pretending to cut his bond with Sanae, using their fingers as pretend-scissors and chuckling to themselves as they do. Ail gets up from the floor, stretching and groaning loudly, so the goddesses scatter away from the window. Ail says "and now, I want to go home and rest a little." Budou nods, then jumps on Ail's arms, shouting "home, ho~me" Phredia flutters excitedly around Budou, then manages to slip under her hair, peeking her little head through some strands, then getting back in. Sanae giggles and says "looks like someone's ready to go home." Sanae quiets down, then looks down to the table. Ail's smile turns to concern, then asks "Sanae, is something wrong?" Budou stares at her, but before she says anything, Phredia gets close to her ear, so Budou quiets down. Sanae smiles again as she lifts her face, then says "no, everything's ok. Just a little tired. I... I think I'll go sleep too." Ail continues to stare, concerned for Sanae. She giggles and smiles, the flaps her hand in the air as she says "come on, stop staring at me like that." Ail smiles again, then says "alright, but if something's bothering you, you tell me. You also have Suwako and Kanako... don't forget that." Sanae bows and continues to smile. Ail opens a gap right behind him, leading to the front of his house, then steps in. Sanae blushes a little, wanting to blow a kiss to him, but forces herself not to. Before the gap closes, Budou waves with a smile and says "see you later, mama~!" As soon as the gap closes, Sanae's smile completely vanishes. Suwako enters and says "please, you go rest. We'll take care of this mess." Sanae rubs her forehead and says "alright. Thanks lady Moriya." As Sanae goes to her room, Suwako says "any time, Sanae." Just as Sanae's door closes, Kanako enters hurriedly, asking "so, did he drink it!?" Suwako grabs Ail's empty tea cup and looks at it closely, then lowers her head as she says "no~ He sipped the tea from the other side!" Kanako bites on her index finger, then grabs the cup from Suwako and sees Ail's lips missed a faint purplish liquid spread around the top of his cup. Kanako growls and says "no matter... I got more." Suwako asks "are you sure that moon-lady won't mind?" Kanako strikes her chest, proudly saying "we are gods! What are you afraid of?" Suwako and Kanako shriek as the liquid turns into a cloud of gas, then both shrink to the size of a toddler, sprouting a pair of dog ears and a tail each. Sounding defeated, and in a high pitched voice, Kanako says "he got us~" Suwako, in a squeaky voice, says "auuu~ This isn't funny! You crippled senior, you should have been more careful!" Kanako and Suwako bump their foreheads, staring at each other, electricity coming from their eyes, exploding as it contacts in mid-air, then Kanako says "at least I can lie about my age 'missis' Moriya!" Suwako gasps, then shouts "you promised never to tell!" Both growl at each other, then start fighting like dogs, biting each other and whining upon each bite, barking madly, knocking the table, along with all the plates and cups on it. The commotion makes Sanae come out of her room, looking dreadfully tired. The dog-desses stop fighting as Sanae scans around, asking "what's going on here? Lady Yasaka? Lady Moriya?" Kanako springs up in a second, then clears her throat and says "Sanae, this is a dream. If you want to wake up and see everything clean and tidy, and no dogs, then you should go back to sleep." Suwako, still sitting like a dog on the ground, says "to Inu-Kanako you listen, young grasshopper." Sanae looks on, then says "dream... sleep... Yeah... I wanna sleep." Sanae somberly goes back to her room, and just as her door closes, Suwako and Kanako rush to clean everything around, while still in their dog forms.

At Entei, Rika wakes up on the living room's floor and notices Tewi is gone. She sits up, and while using her left hand for support, he uses her right hand to rub her eyes. She groans, then asks herself "oh dear... seems I fell asleep here. I wonder where miss Tewi might be?" She looks to her left and notices the chained collar Tewi had on, is now on the floor. Somehow, Tewi managed to free herself from it, but Rika did not mind, and she lets out a quick giggle. Eirin walks out of her room, looking wide awake, immediately saying "good morning, miss Rika!" Rika smile angelically as she turns her face to Eirin's saying "good morning, miss Eirin!" Eirin turns her face, covering her mouth and nose with her hand. Rika looks on with concern and asks "miss Eirin, are you ok?" Eirin nods and says "yes, I'm fine... it's nothing, deary." Eirin spots Tewi's collar and says "I see she managed to escape. *Sigh* No matter. She's been punished enough already. Miss Rika, would you like some breakfast?" Rika smiles and says "please, don't mind me. Besides, I'm a little too excited. I get to meet my master today! I wonder what she's like?" Eirin smiles and says "nonsense. I'll wake Udonge up so she can fix us up some breakfast." Eirin turns to Reisen's room before Rika can reply, so Rika just sighs and gives up. After breakfast, Rika helps Reisen with the dishes and the cleaning, while Eirin heads to her clinic. Kaguya has just finished her meal, and when Reisen goes to pick up her dishes to clean them, Kaguya says "Udonge, I'm thirsty. Please bring me some water. Do it in 5 seconds." Reisen says "right away, princess" but thinks "that's impossible." Rika smiles as she washes the last of the dishes. Reisen gets closer and says "I really want to thank you for your help. I feel a bit guilty, letting a guest do the dishes like this." Rika smiles as she says "please, don't think about it too much. I am happy to help." Both continue to smile at each other for a moment, then both stop smiling and stand quietly, looking at each other seriously. Reisen and Rika nod to each other and turn around, Reisen aiming her index finger, and Rika aiming a spoon right behind Reisen. Both stop and Rika exclaims "miss Yukari." Yukari yawns and says "come on, darling, it's time to take you to you Master." Yukari looks very sleepy, her eyes baggy and her lower lid dark. Rika gasps and asks "miss Yukari, what's wrong? Are you alright?" Yukari replies "hmm? Oh, yes sweetie, I'm fine. I'm just a little tired, but I gave you my word to take you to your master today, so here I am." Rika looks down, feeling a bit disappointed, then asks "can we wait for Tewi? I want to say goodbye to her." Eirin enters and says "don't worry, you'll be seeing her around. We'll let her know you said goodbye, alright?" Rika smiles, even though there's still some disappointment in her eyes, then nods and says "well, everyone, thank you so~ much for your hospitality, and I hope to see you all soon, ok?" Reisen and Eirin nod, then Kaguya says "go with the blessings of the moon." Rika smiles angelically, causing all, but Yukari, to cover their noses and mouths with their hands. Rika sweats and asks "are you... sure you're alright?" Eirin says "yes, deary, we are fine. Now go, that youkai is about to fall asleep there." Rika looks at Yukari, who is staring at the wall, unblinking. Rika says "miss Yukari?" Yukari reacts and says "oh, sorry about that. Ready to go?" Rika nods, then Yukari immediately wraps Rika around her gap, then both vanish. Eirin says "she's way too sweet." Reisen adds "I hope she can handle that shrine and it's maiden." Eirin asks Kaguya "princess? Blessings from the moon?" Kaguya smiles back and calmly says "I can do that, you know. I AM a princess of the moon, aren't I?" Both Reisen and Eirin smile while thinking "but we're not ON the moon."

At Ail's house, Ail sets Budou on the ground, who excitedly runs straight toward the door, edging "come on, come on, open it! I wanna go in!" Ail chuckles and says "alright, alright. Let me just..." From inside the house, the sound of glass breaking unsettles Ail, who says "Budou... behind me!" Budou obediently gets behind Ail, then Ail quickly opens the door, and to their surprise, inside they find a huge party. Mystia, Cirno, Daiyousei, Wriggle, Lily White, the three mischievous fairies: Luna, Sunny and Star, Medicine, the Prismriver sisters, and even Yuki and Tewi. Ail's eyes hide under his hair as his face turns blue, his lips trembling as he looks at the mess of confetti, balloons, food and drinks spilled on the ground. Lily is the first to notice Ail and immediately rushes to hug him, shouting "welcome ho~me!" Budou get out form behind Ail, raises both arms, and shouts "party, party, party~~!" then flaps her wings as she runs inside to join in the party, Phredia holding on to her hair as tightly as she can, for fear of falling behind. Ail continues to look on from the doorway, as Mystia sings "and she said she'd eat night sparrow~~ but I esca~~ped and flew away~~" and the Prismrivers join her with their instruments. Ail is unable to shake the shock, and just stands there, his eyes under his hair, his face blue, his mouth open widely, and still, unable to say a single thing.

At the Hakurei Shrine, Reimu speaks with Renko and Maribel, who are days away from moving to their new house in the village. Reimu takes her tea from the table, and Maribel, who is sitting across the other side, facing directly at Reimu, says "mister Kyo has helped quite a lot too. He says it'll only take a few more days until it's complete." Renko adds "so we'll be out of your hair, at last." Reimu chokes on her tea, pulls the cup away, and says "oh, please, don't think you've been a bother at all. You've helped here quite a lot, and I am grateful for that... it's gonna be a bit lonely after you guys leave... you know." Renko looks surprised,but Maribel giggles and says "aww, don't worry, miss Reimu, we'll visit often, I promise." Reimu smiles tenderly, but her smile immediately turns to an annoyed look the second she hears Yukari's gap open behind her. Without turning around, Reimu asks "what is it now, Yukari?" Yukari replies "is that any way to treat a *yaw~~n* guest?" As Reimu turns around, she says "Yukari, this isn't an inn, so if you want to sle...-" Reimu spots Rika and asks "Oh no, you poor dear, did Yukari trap you inside Gensokyo?" Reimu gets up and angrily says "Yukari, stop being so irresponsible! Get her back home!" Rika says "My name is Rika. Who is Reimu Hakurei?" From under the floor, the translucent Mima pops her head in front of Rika, looking uninterested. She completely comes up from under the floor and solidifies, making Rika shriek and back away in surprise, then asks "another cutie? Want some cat ears?" Rika stomps on the ground and says "h-how rude! And no, I don't want cat ears!" Mima pouts and says "alright, jeez, no need to get all stuffy." Mima floats away, heading back under the floor, turning translucent again and saying "all I did was ask." Reimu sighs as she places her hands on her waist and says "Rika... I would be Reimu Hakurei. That was Mima, and these are Maribel Han and Renko Usami. Now tell me, why would you be looking for me?" Rika bows to the floor, placing her forehead on the floor and saying "I finally meet you, mistress Reimu!" Reimu shrikes "what!?" then glares at Yukari and asks "is this one of your pranks, Yukari!?" Yukari is still inside her gap and has fallen completely asleep, snoring quietly, slowly falling from inside the gap. Reimu sighs and says "look, miss Rika, you don't have to play along with this hag. Just get up and-" Rika lifts her torso and with her knees, she quickly moves toward Reimu, gently grabs her hand, and says "miss Reimu, I have been trained to be your maid. You are to be my master,and I am going to serve you as best as I can!" Reimu looks into Rika's light-blue eyes and drifts into her own memories. She remembers a nuclear powered robot maid, called Ruukoto, who dressed in a blue and white maid's outfit with a red ribbon around her neck and had light-green hair. Reimu had received this robot maid as a gift from Yumemi Okazaki, but Ruukoto one day left without warning, or even a "goodbye". Reimu's eyes are now hidden by her hair and cast in a light shadow. A small tears falls from her left eye as she says "please, go. I do not want a maid, neither do I want to be anyone's master." Rika asks "but, mistress Reimu?" Reimu strictly shouts "didn't you hear me!? Please, just go back home!" Maribel and Renko quietly stare at Reimu, who continues to hide her eyes, and Rika, who looks at Reimu quite surprised and saddened.

Three hours have passed since Ail got home. He still stands in front of the entrance, his eyes hidden by his hair, his face blue, his mouth open, and just standing there. A washtub falls from above him, making a loud clanging sound upon impact. Ail snaps back to himself, looks up and hears Flandre angrily shouting "that's for yesterday, you JERK! *giggle*" Ail scratches his head, trying to figure if Flandre is angry, or just playing, but he forgets about that, looks back inside his house, then shouts "PARTY IS OVER~! Everybody STOP RIGHT NOW!" Everybody stops in their tracks. Mystia stops singing, the Prismrivers stop playing, and even Budou stays hovering in the air, without moving her wings at all, staring directly at Ail. Ail, as calmly as he can, says "everyone? Please, just go... The party is over." All say, at the same time, a very loud "OK!!!" First to leave are Cirno and Daiyousei. Cirno says "nice party." Daiyousei adds "it was very nice." Yuki comes out, along with Tewi, saying "well, I should be getting back home anyway." Tewi adds "I should go home too." Next is Mystia and the Prismrivers, who hand Ail a few pieces of paper, Mystia saying "since you're a fiend, I'm giving you a discount." Lunasa adds "you can take your time with that." Merlin adds "but not too long, or we'll come to haunt you~!" Next come the three mischievous fairies, who just smirk as widely as they can, then fly away, Sunny saying "that was a blast!" Next comes Wriggle with an innumerable amount of bugs following her, saying "haha, I don't think I've ever had this much fun before." Ail's face turns blue as he trembles and says "d-don't f-f-f-forget to take a-all your b-b-bug friends." Wriggle smiles and says "don't worry, I won't." Next comes Medicine, who says "eh, it's was ok. Oh, Ail.... you should wash your plates before you use them again. I sneezed on some of them. Don't worry, though, the poison isn't lethal." Ail sweats as he forces a smile and says "er, sure... thanks for the warning." Next comes Yuki again, saying "yo, what's up?" Ail looks at her, but says nothing. Next comes Lily White, who smiles as she jumps on Ail, giving him a tight hug around his neck, then says "see you next spring!" then flies away. Ail looks inside and sees Budou, quietly sitting on the couch, giggling while she and Phredia play with her index finger, swinging her arm side to side. An eggplant colored umbrella pops from under the ground, surprising Ail stiff. Ail manages to say "h-hey, Kogasa." Kogasa reveals herself from under her umbrella, sticking out her tongue as she smiles and says "I missed you, mister chicken. I'll be visiting you more often, making sure you don't escape me again!" Ail scratches the left side of his head as he sweats a little and tries to smile, saying "a-alright... just don't come at nights, or I'll blast you."

His house is now quiet, and only Yuki stands behind him. Ail turns around to face her and asks "and what are you still doing here?" Ail's eyes almost pop right out of their sockets when he realizes there are at least 50 Yukis behind him. One of the Yukis says "oh, right. Gotta go home. See ya!" The other Yukis say "see ya later, Yuki~!" as the lone Yuki flies away toward the Hakurei Shrine, she turns around to wave at the other Yukis. Ail rubs his eyes many times before asking "Yu-Yuki...? What going on here?" Budou comes out and stares at the Yukis, then says "miss Nue, don't be shy. Say hi to papa!" Ail looks at Budou and asks "Nue? Who's that?" The Yukis all start glowing white, then, in an instant, they all turn into a single medium-sized orb, then the orb takes a woman's shape. After a bit, the glowing stops, and Ail can see who Nue is. She has short black hair and dark red eyes. One her back, to the left, three red sharp metallic-looking wings, to the right, three blue arrow-shaped tails. She holds a trident on her right hand and coiled around it and her arm is a snake. On her left hand she wears a black wristband. She wears a black dress with a blue and white trim in the middle of her chest with a red bow on the front, a red yin-yang design on the lower corner of her dress' skirt, a pair of thigh-high black stockings and red shoes. Ail stares at her for some time, then asks "you are Nue?" Nue chuckles and says "surprised? I can change my form to that you fear the most, and what's more scary than an army of THAT girl, right?" Ail nods, but is unable to answer. Nue smiles widely and offers her right hand, saying "my full name is Nue Houjuu. You must be Ail, right? Nice to meet 'cha." Ail extends his hand, keeping an eye on the snake around Nue's right arm. She lets go and says "don't worry, she's friendly. She won't bite.... that hard..." Ail stares surprised, but before saying anything, Nue says "oh, I better get back to the temple, or Byakuren will get worried." Ail completely relaxes, then smiles and asks "oh, you're a friend of lady Byakuren?" Nue smiles wide as she says "yeah! She's really nice too." Ail nods and says "well, a friend of Byakuren's is welcome here... err... just no more parties." Nue laughs, then kicks off the ground, flying backward while saying "well, see you later, Ail. Oh, if you see a flying slice of cheese, could you free it? That poor thing's been looking for a way out all night." Ail stares in disbelief as he asks "a-all night?" Nue waves, still smiling wide, then flies away. Ail looks back inside his house and realizes the magical defenses had been triggered, but they obviously failed. Food, drinks, confetti, glasses, plates, broken ornaments, chairs, all lie everywhere around the house. Ail looks around with a shadow cast on his eyes, strands of hair springing out of his head, his mouth trembling, then he says "this... is so not fair."

At the Hakurei Shrine, tension rises, as Rika refuses to leave, Yukari continues to sleep, and Renko and Maribel have no idea what to do. Rika strikes her chest with the open palm of her hand, making a painfully loud smacking sound that even causes Renko to wince. Rika coughs and says "too... hard..." but quickly shakes her head, recovers, then says "look, I can prove myself worthy! Just give me something to do. Any task, and I'll do it!" Reimu looks back at Rika, looking quite serious, then says "oh sure, you say that now, but when you get bored of me, you'll just leave, like..." Rika looks on and asks "like?" Reimu shouts "never you mind!" Rika looks like she's about to cry, then Reimu gasps as Maribel whispers "you went too far~" Reimu glares at Maribel, who looks to the ceiling, then turns to Rika, places her hand on her shoulder, then says "look, I don't know why you think I need a maid. I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself. I have many friends that help me... sometimes... so really, Rika, you can just go home and.... eh?" Reimu realizes that Rika started to cry as she said those words. Reimu panics and says "w-wait, I didn't mean to..." Rika sniffles, then says "I... I was told you needed me and I came here to help... but it seems you don't need me. Oh, miss VIVIT, I'm so sorry!" Reimu reacts to the name and asks "VIVIT... you mean that pink haired maid with the blues eyes?" Rika sniffles and says "yes... she said I was to be your maid, to help you and be with you all the time. I trained all my life for this. Please, lady Reimu, please reconsider." Reimu walks to the table, then sits down hard on the ground. She grabs her teacup, takes a sip, places her elbow on the table and rests her head on the back of her hand, then says "alright... on one condition." Rika replies "ANYTHING!" Reimu smiles and says "if you ever think of leaving, you will let me know before-hand, is that clear?" Rika's face glows when she smiles angelically after hearing Reimu say that. She rapidly nods and says "but I'll NEVER leave you, mistress Reimu! You'll see, you won't be sorry!" Reimu sweats, then smiles and says "right... please, don't use that mistress thing... makes me feel old, like some vampire I know." At the SDM, Remilia springs up on her bed, calling Sakuya, then, as soon as Sakuya enters, she says "please make preparations to visit the shrine later today." Sakuya asks "is there something wrong?" Remilia says "I don't know, but I feel I've JUST been described as 'old'" Sakuya covers her mouth as she gasps, then uncovers it and says "the culprit will pay, my lady!" Remilia yawns and says "but let's go later... I want to sleep a little longer now." Sakuya bows as she closes the door, saying "of course, my lady."

A few moments after Reimu's decision, Rika finds the broom closet, takes out a few brooms, a mop, a bucket, then reminds herself Reimu's orders. "Ok, miss Reimu asked me to, wake up miss Yukari so she can go home, clean the roof, sweep the grounds, and clean the storage house... Time to prove myself! First, I must wake miss Yukari." Rika walks to Yukari and whispers "miss Yukari~ Miss Yukari, please wake up." Rika stares at Yukari, who continues to sleep, letting her body hang from inside her gap. Rika raises her voice "miss Yukari~! Please, wake up already!" No response. Rika stares some more, then goes and grabs a metal pot and a spoon, then bangs them hard, making a loud racket, but Yukari continues to sleep. Rika's eyes let out a stream of tears as she rubs the bump on her head, left by Reimu, then Rika says to herself "noise is not good for my lady." Renko casually walks to her, then says "you're doing this the wrong way. You have to shoot magic at her." Rika smiles, and says "oh, I can do that!" Renko asks "can you let me do it? I'm trying to learn how to use magic, and this might be the only chance I get to try this." Rika stares at Renko, then smiles and says "please, go ahead, then." Renko places her hands together, chants some strange words, then raises her left hand, generating an energy reaction on the tip of her finger. She points it at Yukari and shouts "FIRE~!!" Renko unleashes an energy orb the size of a fly, but it fizzles and turns to nothing at Renko's finger-tip. Renko lowers her entire body, letting her arms hang in the air as she says "no, I still can't do this. Gah, I just don't GET IT!" Rika stares at Renko for some time, then gets in front of her, smiles, the waves her hands, generating thin blades made out of air that make Yukari scream just as the blades explode on her. Rika giggles and says "yay, you're finally awake!" Yukari smacks her lips and yawns again, then asks "wh-where am I?" Rika smiles and says "sorry, miss Yukari, but Reimu asks that you leave, and if you want to sleep, to do so on your own house." Yukari stares at Rika's smiling face, then says "fine. Seems you're getting the hang of things here. I'll see you again later." Yukari enters her gap, disappearing immediately as she does. Renko stares at Rika and shouts "how did you do that!?" Rika asks "what? I just asked her to leave in a polite manner, that's all." Rika shouts "NOT THAT! The magic. HOW!? I've been studying for a week and I STILL don't get it!" Rika smiles and says "there's nothing to 'get' miss Renko. All you need is to believe you can do it, and you'll be able to use magic too." Renko shouts "I CAN'T! I NEED to understand it. How it works, WHY it works!? Why some have certain skills, elements! GAH, I'm hopeless!" Renko runs away outside before Rika could say another word, then Rika asks herself "did I say something wrong?"

Next, Rika finds a ladder, then gets on top of the shrine's roof. It's full of leaves, seeds and feathers, some lilac, others black. She looks around and says "this could take some time... unless... that's a great idea." Rika giggles, then twirls in place, making her skirt lift up to her knees, then she stops and points the open palm of her hand toward the leaves, seeds and feathers, then a light gust of wind starts blowing from her hands, sending all to the ground. It takes around five minutes, but she manages to finish blowing the last of the leaves and feathers to the ground, then notices a girl with short black hair, red eyes, dressed with a white shirt and black skirt, wearing a strange red hat and strange red slippers. Rika stares for a moment, then asks "and who might you be, miss?" The girl sprouts a pair of black wings that drop some feathers on Rika's clean roof, then says "my name is Aya Shameimaru. I've never seen you around here. What's your name?" Rika bows and says "where are my manners? My name is Rika. Pleasure to meet you, miss Aya." Aya stares curiously and says "I see... and what are you doing?" Rika says "following my mistress' orders. I must finish cleaning this roof now, so please, don't interrupt me." Rika repeats the dance she did earlier, but this time, Aya takes a quick picture, making Rika yelp "HEY!" and try and cover herself, but in doing so, she generates a strong gust that blows Aya's feathers from the roof, and blows their hair upward. Rika's hair comes back down and sets itself as it should, but Aya's stays up, making her hair look spiky. Rika giggles and says "sorry, miss Aya." Aya tries to comb her hair with her fingers, angrily whispering "ayayaya, amateur."

Rika climbs down the ladder, takes it away, then comes back with a broom, then starts sweeping the ground with an amazing skill, sweeping as quickly as she can, without missing a single leaf. Piling all the leaves, feathers, seeds and dust in a single neat pile in just one hour, Rika wipes the sweat off her forehead. She smiles and says "my lady Reimu will be so pleased." Rika looks around and admires a job well done, then says "now let's dispose of these quickly." She rushes to the broom closet and finds some waste bags, takes two, then immediately rushes back outside, just to get the surprise of her life, as Maribel giggles and claps, while Suika, the orange haired, dual-horned oni spits out fire, burning the pile in an instant. Rika sweats and stares with surprise, then shouts "HEY~! I'm supposed to be taking care of that! How am I supposed to prove myself to lady Reimu now!?" The horned girl stares at Rika with narrow eyes, then turns to Maribel while pointing at Rika. Maribel nods, then Suika runs to her, gives her a hug, and says "WELCOME!" Rika's back cracks, then the girl lets her go, then says "anyone who is a friend of Reimu is also my friend." Rika stares at her, rubbing her back in pain, then the girl says "oh, right. I am Suika Ibuki, an oni, and it's a pleasure to meet you, Rika." Rika flinches, then asks "c-can you read minds?" Suika stares at her with childish eyes, then says "no. Mary just told me you name." Maribel shouts "it's Maribel; MA-RI-BEL!!!" Ignoring Maribel, Rika says "oh... pleasure to meet you, miss Suika." Suika takes a drink from her gourd, then the smell of sake reaches Rika, who asks "WHOA! Aren't you a little young to be drinking that?" Suika stares with narrow eyes, and a childish expression, then says "I'm a lot older than you think, young lady." Rika stares with surprise, but then looks at the sun and says "oh my gosh, it's noon! I have to hurry and finish my tasks. I MUST not fail lady Reimu!" Rika grabs the broom she was using, then, still holding on to the waste bags, she rushes to the storage house, trailing dust as she runs. Suika takes another gulp of sake, then smiles and says "so hyper, this one."

Without wasting another second, Rika begins cleaning by first taking all the food baskets form the floor and taking them outside, then re-accommodating all the shelves, cleaning them with a feather duster as fast as she can, then returning the food baskets inside, placing them all in order. The shelves alone take her 2 hours to finish, the skies outside are turning golden by now, but Rika's not about done, as she grabs a broom and sweeps like her life depends on it. Quickly, she grabs a dented metal bucket and quickly goes for water, finding the lake behind the shrine and quickly filling the bucket, then rushing back to the storage house. Genjii peeks from underwater, then smiles as he goes back in. Rika quickly enters the storage house and begins to mop as fast as she can, leaving every area she mops clean and shiny. Finally finished, Rika takes a deep breath, wipes the sweat off her forehead, looks at the sky, which is still golden, slowly darkening as night comes. Rika says to herself "lady Reimu will be so happy now! Eh?" 6 oddly placed boards on the floor get Rika's attention, who immediately investigates and finds the hidden basement. Rika gets shocked and shouts "NO~~! I missed a spo~t!" Quickly, Rika rushes downstairs and starts by opening the doors to the left and right, then saying "oh, so spacious... but empty." Wasting no time, Rika sweeps and mops both rooms, finishing in just 20 minutes, then heads to the center room. Immediately, she notices the futon on the floor and the many charms on the walls and says "oh my, I better clean all this." Rika uses her wind blades, but realizes the charms bounce them back to her, making her dodge, her eyes almost popping out of her head as she clenches her teeth and dodges, narrowly missing being hit. Rika sighs, then says "guess I'll have to do this the old-fashioned way" then starts peeling the charms from the wall with her own hands. Once done, she dusts the walls, sweeps and mops the floor, then uses light wind magic to help the floor dry up. She takes the futon with her and says "for now, I am done here. Better clean these before reporting to mistr-- lady Reimu."

Noon in Makai. Yuki flies straight to Pandemonium, running inside the halls in order to reach Shinki as quickly as possible. Out of breath, after reaching Shinki and Yumeko at the dormitories' hall, Yuki pants, pointing her finger up, signaling Shinki of her arrival. Shinki smiles angelically and says "Yuki, child, you're finally home. I was starting to get worried!" Yumeko says "young lady, you have a LOT to explain!" Yuki continues to breathe deeply, trying to catch her breath, then Shinki asks "oh, you didn't get the books then?" Yuki bow apologetically, then, taking one last gasp of air, says "I tried to hide, but they saw me, even while fighting. Then the books fell off my skirt, so I tried to escape, but that evil maid knifed me. I didn't even see her do it!" Yumeko says in a strict tone "I told you not to get sloppy. Guess It's up to me." Shinki continues to smile as she says "please, don't get too upset. I want to learn more about their history too, but if we try to force this, it might make Reimu angry." Yumeko smiles and says "my lady is so smart and kind! Don't you worry, I'll handle it easily. Besides, I am at full power again, so I can summon my short swords with ease." As Yuki says "fine, I'll got to my room... see ya." Shinki smiles and says "oh, that's so wonderful, Yumeko. Um, did you remember to name your spells? You know, so you can make them into spell cards?" Yumeko sweats and face-palms herself, then says "those damned spell cards" Shinki giggles and says "but they are so much fun." Shinki pulls 6 spell cards from under her robe and says "see? I've made mine." Yumeko smiles and says "my lady, you are so great!" then hugs Shinki tightly. Out of breath, Shinki says "Yu-Yumeko... c-can't breath!" Yumeko lets go of Shinki, apologizing and wiping the blood off her nose. Afterward, she says "fine... I'll prepare myself some spell cards, then head out. Is that alright?" Shinki recovers her breath, smiles, then says "of course. Just don't overdo yourself." Yumeko bows elegantly and says "I'll be fine, lady Shinki.

Night comes, and Sakuya and Remilia go straight inside the shrine, Sakuya shouting "excuse us~. Reimu, are you here?" From her room, Reimu shouts "I'll be out in a minute!" Remilia and Sakuya sit themselves by the table, then look around. Renko sits in one of the corners, surrounded by books, looking frustrated as she reads one of them. Maribel comes from the kitchen with a plate of rice cookies and some tea, then says "welcome miss Remilia, miss Sakuya. What brings you here tonight?" Sakuya and Remilia continue to look around and spot Rika in the kitchen, then Remilia asks "wait, isn't Reimu in her room?" Before Maribel answers, Reimu comes out from her room and says "or, Remilia, Sakuya... that's strange. I haven't seen Marisa all day." Remilia double-takes at Reimu as Sakuya continues to stare toward the kitchen. Remilia finally asks "Re-Reimu? How can you be in two places at the same time?" Reimu, sounding annoyed, asks "what's the matter with you two... ooh~ I see. Sorry, I haven't introduced you yet. Rika, could you come over here, please?" Sakuya and Remilia look at each other, as the girl replies "right away miss Reimu!" From the kitchen comes Rika, smiling and looking at Remilia and Sakuya with her sky-blue eyes, then bows to Reimu and asks "what is it, miss Reimu?" Reimu says "Remilia, Sakuya, please meet Rika, the new maid, here at the Hakurei Shrine." Both Sakuya and Remilia exclaim at the same time, in complete shock "MAID!!?" Rika smiles angelically, then, stopping herself from hugging Reimu, says "miss Reimu, so does that mean I can stay!? REALLY!?" Reimu smiles and says "yeah... Just don't forget your promise, alright?" Rika nods while still smiling, then, almost singing, she says "I'll be done cooking soon, please wait at the table~." Both Sakuya and Remilia are still in shock, then Reimu asks "what's the matter with you two?" Before they answer, Mima pops from under the floor, looking extremely overexcited, then asks "who did it!? Who cleaned all my stuff, my room, and took out all the charms?" Reimu points whit her thumb at Rika, then Mima launches at her, surprising Rika as she turns around, then gives her a hug, and kisses her cheeks while saying "thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you! I finally get my own room, THANK YOU!" Placing Rika back on the ground, allowing her to recover, Mima continues to smile while staring at Rika. Reimu says "Rika, you did all that? Wow, thank you very much for that." Rika smiles angelically, placing both hands together against her cheek while tilting her head just slightly, feeling as though she's about to start floating in the air, then says "really!? I am so happy to hear that, miss Reimu. Eh? Oh no, is everyone alright?" Rika's smile vanishes when she notices everyone in the room is bleeding through their noses. Mima, with a heart on her mouth, grabs Rika, giving her a big hug and shouting "SO CUTE!" Sakuya continues to bleed through her nose, then, when Remilia notices, she shout "Sakuya, how could you!?" Sakuya snaps out of it and stutters "er, um, my-my-my lady! Sorry... sorry!"

To be continued...

Characters and scenario belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice-
Ail, Kyo & Budou were created by Willie G.R.
Rika was created by snapshot2010

NOV 1 2009
written by
Willie G.R.