One Random Sukima 7

Late night at Pandemonium in Makai. Organ music plays loudly as Yumeko's eyes glow bright white and her smile shines blood-red inside a dark room. She grabs a stake and a hammer and laughs maniacally as she bangs the hammer against the stake's head, causing sudden sparks of light that cast a large shadow of herself against the wall. Thunder rumbles, then everything goes quiet. Yumeko's eyes look around in the dark room, then she taps her foot rapidly. Her eyes change from neutral, to slightly annoyed, then she asks "oy~, Mai! Why'd you stop playing!?" Mai replies "oh, sorry." The organ music continues and Yumeko laughs maniacally, raising both arms toward the ceiling, shouting "I DID IT! I~.... Have FIXED lady Shinki's DOORKNOB!" The organ makes a loud and disturbing sound as Mai seems to strike at least 7 keys at the same time, then says "whoa, whoa, whoa! Yumeko, I though you were making those spell cards!" The room lights up, leaving a few corners cast in darkness, and revealing a silver doorknob with a detailed Chinese dragon design on it sitting on the table where Yumeko was working. Yumeko smiles at Mai, then says "oh, those. Please, child, what do you take me for? I finished those HOURS ago!" Mai, who now stands 5 feet to the left of Yumeko, placing her hands on her waist and staring angrily says "then why you need all this frightening mood and music for!?" Yumeko giggles and says "well, it's nice to have fun once in a while, right? Er, just don't tell lady Shinki, alright?" Thunder strikes along with lightning, revealing Shinki hiding in one of the darkest corners of the room, smiling wickedly at Yumeko, all happening while Mai, once more, plays a frightening tone on the organ, the notes rising progressively. Yumeko opens her eyes wide, and from outside the palace, Yumeko's scream of horror echoes far, reaching Luize, who is giving a late-night tour around Makai to some youkai form Gensokyo. Luize looks toward the palace with narrow eyes, then says "oh my, I hope they didn't find my Reimu hair-piece."

At the Hakurei Shrine, Rika finishes cleaning the dishes from the meal, then, right after setting the last dish to dry, she gasps, then quickly turns around, and taking small, yet incredibly quick baby steps, she heads toward Reimu, who is sitting next to the small table, next to Remilia and Sakuya, then bows and continues to stare at Reimu for some time. Reimu stares back, feeling a bit annoyed, then asks "what is it? Do I have something in my face?" Rika bows again, then says "my lady, we must perform the master and servant oath ceremony!" Reimu raises her left brow, then, sounding as casual as ever, asks "the master and servant what ceremony?" Remilia bangs on the table, getting Reimu's attention, then stares very seriously at Reimu and says "Reimu! If you are to have a maid as devoted as this girl you MUST perform the oath ceremony." Reimu fakes falling asleep, making Remilia's face turn red in anger. Remilia sighs, calming herself down, then says "Sakuya, if you please." Sakuya bows and says "right away, my lady." Sakuya leans over to Reimu, then quickly, she smacks Reimu on the back of her head. Reimu, surprised, yelps as she quickly springs up, then glares at Sakuya, preparing some charms to attack, but Remilia and Sakuya jump out of the way just as 3 air blades fly straight toward them. Rika positions herself right in front of Reimu and glares angrily at Sakuya, then, in a threatening undertone she says "don't you dare hurt my lady!" Sakuya stares into Rika's eyes and realizes Rika will fight back. Reimu holds Rika's shoulder, then says "whoa, Rika, calm down. It's nothing, really." Rika slowly lowers her guard, then Sakuya comments "hey, girl. You should be a bit more elegant than that. Behavior like that is a disgrace to maids everywhere!" Rika gets a little tense, but Reimu's glare toward Sakuya makes her quiet down, then Reimu says "shh, calm down, Rika. Come on, sit down and take a break, alright?" Before Rika sits down, she bows apologetically, saying "I'm sorry, miss Remilia, miss Sakuya. that was rude from my part." then sits down, still sending a few angry glances at Sakuya from time to time. Reimu says "look, it's getting late. Why don't we all calm down and just go to sleep, huh?" Remilia looks into Reimu's eyes, nods, then says "I agree. Sakuya, let's go home." Sakuya elegantly bows and says "understood, my lady." Halfway back home, Sakuya flies closer to Remilia, then says "my lady, we forgot to ask about... that." Remilia asks "'that?' Sakuya, please make sense." Sakuya casually asks "well, didn't we come to the shrine to find out who called you old, my lady?" Remilia's face twists into a confused state, then shouts "aw, CRAP!" then almost crying, says "Sakuya~! You're supposed to be aware of these things!" Sakuya's nose bleeds a little, then says "I'm s-sorry, m-my lady" then thinks "my lady is so adorable!"

Reimu prepares a futon for Rika, who is going to sleep in the living room for the night, then says "since you caught me a bit unprepared, you can sleep here with Renko and Maribel." Renko and Maribel are already asleep, their futons laid where the table was just a few minutes ago. Rika looks sad as she gets in hers and says "my lady, I am sorry for my behavior before." Reimu sighs and says "it's alright. Just take it easy, alright. We all play around like that, but that doesn't mean there isn't danger. You just need to be more careful and learn to differ between the two." Rika rests her head on the pillow and says "I will, for my lady's sake. Err, miss Reimu, about that oath?" Reimu places her hand in front of Rika, then gently says "sleep. Sleep and rest those thoughts. Tomorrow is another day." Rika falls asleep very fast, then Reimu gets up from beside Rika, then quietly heads to her room, thinking "oath... to what? You'll just leave me!" The doors to Reimu's room close, then the entire shrine falls in silence. That night, Reimu has a dream of the past. She wears the long sleeved white shirt and long red pants, her hair is purplish as well as her eyes, and she looks a little younger. She spots Ruukoto, then quickly runs to her, but the more she tires to reach, the farther she gets. Reimu looks around, her hair starts turning darker, along with her eyes. Ruukoto smiles and waves, then suddenly vanishes. Reimu tries to shout, but no sound comes from her, so she tries to run to where Ruukoto was, but she realizes, the more she tries to run toward Ruukoto, the farther away she gets. Even far from the shrine itself. Reimu's hair is now shorter, and dark-brown and she's wearing her present clothes, along with her detached sleeves. She looks behind herself and sees Rika, smiling at her. At first, she hesitates, but then she Realizes Rika is running toward her, but she doesn't see a fatal spike trap in front of her. Reimu shouts again, this time, sound comes form her as she shouts "LOOK OUT!" Reimu runs toward Rika, but realizes she won't get there in time, so she flies toward her, magically reaching her in an instant and saving her from the trap. Rika says "my lady, I am so glad!" Reimu looks around, then realizes they are now inside the shrine, then a blinding light ends her dream. Reimu wakes up and realizes it's still dark. She sits on her futon, then says "yes... I should know better. Living in the past hinders the present and prevents a future. I'll give Rika a chance..."

Morning comes, and Ail is taking out the last of the garbage from his house. He looks up at the morning sky with heavy, sleepy eyes, then smiles as some birds fly by, singing their morning songs. Mystia sings along with them, adding a certain charm to the song. Ail sighs and says "I guess moments like these are worth more than anything money can-" Mystia sings as loud and as clear as she can "CHIN~ CHIN~!" Ail coughs as he swallows his words, then shouts "hey, watch that language! I have a MINOR here!" Mystia sings back "but I'm~ just singing~!" Ail smacks his forehead, then, as he slowly lets his hand drop down, he says "I'm too tired for this. Let's just go inside and take a nap..." Ail enters his house, and the moment his door clicks, there is a knock. Ail whimpers as his eyes are cast in shadow, but he takes a deep breath, relaxes, then opens the door. "Yes, who is it?" he asks as he opens the door. Alice Margatroid stands at the entrance, looking a little embarrassed. She places both hands on her skirt, as if trying to constrict herself, and while looking away, she says "um, er, g-good morning... Ail. Ho-how are you?" Ail looks at her in surprise and says "Alice, what a surprise?" He notices Alice's face is red, so he decides to calm down, then politely smiles and says "oh, please, come on in. I'll make you some tea." At first, Alice though of just going away, but Shanghai pulls on her sleeves, edging her to accept the invitation. Alice forces a nervous smile, then says "y-yes, thank you very much." then goes inside.

While Ail prepares the tea, he asks "so what can I help you with?" Alice keeps quiet so Ail continues "I don't mean to be rude, but you never really visit me... so..." Alice finally builds up the courage to say "I would like to see that fairy again... the one that's protecting Budou... if it's not much to ask?" Ail smiles as he comes from the kitchen and serves the tea and a plate of cookies, then says "you mean Phredia? Well, it's late, so guess I'll go and wake Budou up. Please wait here for a moment." Alice nods, then takes a sip of tea. Ail opens the door to the storage room, where Budou preferred to sleep the night before, but before calling for her, she swoops down from the ceiling and knocks Ail to the ground, shouting "good morning, papa~!" She rubs her cheek against his, then says "ooh, papa, I'm hungry." Ail chuckles as Budou gets off him, allowing him to get up, then he says "I'll fix you some breakfast while you say hi to miss Alice. She's in the living room and wants to visit Phredia." Budou stares curiously at Alice, while Phredia comes out from under her air, yawning so widely, Ail thinks she could swallow the entire house, but prefers to keep quiet about it. As Ail heads to the kitchen, Budou goes straight to Alice, stands in front of her, then bows elegantly, saying "good morning, miss Alice." Alice smiles at her while she takes a seat beside her, then says "my, so polite." Alice rubs Budou's head, causing Phredia to fly angrily toward her. Alice flinches, then says "please, forgive me. I mean no harm, little fairy. A-anyway... little Phredia?" Phredia lowers her guard, but continues to fly between Alice and Budou, keeping her eyes fixed on Alice. Alice then asks "are you still mad I mistook you for a doll? I'm sorry, Phredia... For that... erm, I brought something for you." Phredia looks curiously as Shanghai and Alice rummage through one of Alice's pockets, then pull out a set of small clothes. As Alice and Shanghai present the clothes, Ail comes with a plate of fruits for Budou, then both of them continue to quietly watch as Alice makes peace with Phredia. Alice and Shanghai present Phredia with a set of clothes very similar to Shanghai's. A dark blue dress with a white apron, a red ribbon, and a pair of white gloves as an extra bonus, along with some tiny underwear to fit the tiny fairy. Phredia looks very surprised, then looks at her red dress. It's dirty and in tatters... She looks back at Alice and Shanghai, then rushes to them and gives them both a hug. Alice smiles, then says "I hope this makes up for confusing you with a doll." Phredia nods excitedly, then Budou says "papa, you gotta go now." Ail looks at Budou with confusion, then asks "go? Go where?" Budou says "papa Ail, you can't look at a girl while she's changing. Gramma Kanako said so." Ail blushes and says "oh... right... I'll be in my room then." Ail walks to his room with his face all red, thinking "scolded by Budou. I'm a ba~d papa!"

At the SDM, Meiling takes her post in front of the gate just as Yumeko lands behind some thick bushes. She scans the area, then spots Meiling, then places her index, and middle fingers just above her ear, where she wears a small red hairpin, then says "Mai, can you hear me? Does this thing even work?" Mai's voice replies "yes,I can hear you loud and clear... Can you call me, Colonel Mai next time?" Yumeko smiles and says "sure, and while I'm at it, I'll fill your bed with eels from the lake. Now quit your joking and tell me where is that library." Mai replies "alright, alright, geez..." Mai stops talking for some time, making Yumeko worry, but before Yumeko says anything, Yuki shouts "HEY!!! Yumeko, can you really hear me!? This is so cool!!!" Yumeko tries not to scream, as Yuki's shouting almost make her ears blow up, then angrily replies "Yuki, dammit, child, you almost blew my ears up!" Yuki whispers "oh... sorry, sorry." Yumeko is getting angry, then, clenching her teeth, she asks once more "where is the library!?" Yuki says "oh, right. The library is in the basement. If you enter through the main door, you can access the basement immediately, however, you must NOT be seen. If a single fairy sees you, that gate guard will do everything to get you out, not to mention the danger of that evil maid being alerted to your presence. Is your objective clear?" Yumeko says "tch! Who do you think I am? Anyway... I'm going in now. I'll contact you if I need you." From behind Yuki, Shinki says "Yumeko, sweetie, we're out of milk. Could you go get some later?" Yumeko smiles and says "of course, my lady." Yuki says "aww, no need to call me that!" Yuki growls "I was talking to lady Shinki!" Yumeko lets go of the pin and enjoys an instant silence, then says to herself "should have though of that earlier.... right, let's go in." Like a quick and clever squirrel, Yumeko climbs a tree in just a second, crawls to one of the branches closes to the other side of the gate, then jumps over the gate and lands on one of the garden's flowerbeds, but doesn't damage a single flower. She walks away from the garden, walking like a crab, low to the ground, then realizes she's just feet away from the main entrance. She slithers like a snake toward the door, and like magic, the door opens, then she enters as quietly as possible, then the door quietly closes behind her.

Meanwhile, at Ail's house, Phredia proudly twirls around, showing off her new outfit. She looks just like Shanghai, except for her bright blond hair, her pointy ears, and the pair of small white gloves. Alice is still sitting on the couch, her teacup empty, and only three cookies remain on the plate. Ail sits beside her with Budou on his lap, smiling and saying "wow, Shanghai, you got some competition now." The doll hovers quietly next to Ail with unblinking, lifeless eyes, then slaps his face hard with her tiny hand. Ail rubs his face, feeling as though he's just been struck by Alice herself and just stares as Shanghai returns to Alice's side. Alice giggles and says "Phredia, you look adorable. Um... I hope this makes up for... calling you a doll before..." Alice looks away as her eyes get glassy and her smile vanishes. Lost in though, she doesn't notice Phredia glowing bright white. After the light vanishes, Phredia goes to Alice, then gives her a kiss on the cheek, breaking Alice's train of though. Alice looks toward Phredia, who is flying toward Budou, then sits on the little one's shoulder. Alice smiles, then Budou smiles as well, then says "I see... Phredia is so grateful, she wishes to give you a gift... however, she asks that you are patient, miss Alice, as the gift will take three days to get here." Alice and Ail look curiously at Phredia, then Alice says "oh, please don't worry about it. It was my pleasure." Budou giggles and says "she says it's her way of saying thanks to you." Alice stares curiously, but then springs up, gasps, then says "that's right! So sorry, but I must take my leave now!" Ail says "anything I can help you with?" Alice waves her hands in the air while saying "no, no, no, please. Um, thanks for the tea and snacks. They were delicious." Ail places Budou where Alice was sitting before, then accompanies Alice to the door. While she leaves, he says to her "thanks for your visit, Alice. If you need anything, let me know!" Alice rushes outside, then, as she flies away, she twists her torso and waves her hand while saying "thanks! See you guys later!" then straightens out and flies away toward the Human Village. Ail sighs as he closes the door to his house, and the second the door clicks, there's another knock. Ail face-palms, takes a deep breath, then opens the door. It's Reisen, who immediately says "hello mister Ail, how are you!?" Ail smiles, but is unable to hide his exhausted eyes, then says "Reisen, what a nice surprise. Can I get you anything?" Reisen immediately says "please, I need your help. See, I got this order for Master, but I can't carry it by myself, so maybe... you can help me... please?" Reisen closes her left eye and places her hands together in front of her face, as if praying while saying this. Ail blushes a little, then says "alright." He turns around and asks "Budou, you want to come?" Budou says "actually, I want to visit Hakurei sis. Is that ok?" Ail nods and smiles, then says "alright. Please be careful out there!" Budou smiles and nods, then quickly flies away, heading straight to the Hakurei Shrine, along with Phredia, who continues to admire her new clothes while sitting on Budou's shoulder. Ail walks outside the house, closes the door, then says "ok, Reisen. What do you need me to carry?" Reisen says "it's at Kourindou's. Come on, let's go!" She flies ahead while Ail thinks "oh well, at least I get to visit Rinnosuke." then follows Reisen.

Budou arrives to the Hakurei Shrine in the middle of a commotion cause by Remilia and Rika. Before Budou gets close to the entrance, she can hear Reimu shouting "what do you think I am, some sort of vampire!? Rika, I can't believe you! No, absolutely NOT!" Remilia says "Reimu, it's an honorable ceremony, it's nothing like that." Rika adds "ple~ase, mistress Reimu!" Reimu replies "don't call me mistress. It makes me sound so old!" Remilia shouts "A-HA!!! So it was YOU who called me old before!" Reimu replies "yeah, and what are you going to do about it!" Remilia shouts "THIS!!!" Maribel, Renko and Mima come running from inside the shrine, Budou staring curiously, as the three look so scared, then two loud shrieks, one from Reimu, the other from Rika, then a red dagger comes flying from inside the shrine, bounces off some trees, then flies away toward the sky. Budou and Phredia look at each other, looking very surprised, then Mima shrieks and shouts "EEEEEE! Budou~!" In a blink of the eyes, Budou finds herself in the hands of Mima, the supposedly Evil Spirit, who gives her a tight hug, then brushes her hair with her fingers. Budou calmly says "mommy 2, you scared me!" Mima gets a nosebleed, then with a smile, she says "I'm sorry, deary, you're just so cute!" Maribel and Renko get closer, then Budou exclaims "cute kitty, bookworm 2!" Maribel giggles and says "Budou, how are you? Did you come all the way over here on your own?" Budou smiles and says "yup. I'm a big girl, and I can take care of myself..." Budou smiles as she turns to Phredia, then says "right?" Phredia nods, then Mima shrieks again, grabs Phredia, then rubs her on her face, saying "so adorable, so cute, I wanna eat you up!" Annoyed, Phredia gives Mima a little shock, so Mima lets her go with a quick yelp and saying "aww, you don't like me?" Renko says "even I found that to be annoying." Before Mima replies, and explosion from inside the shrine startles everyone, and causes Budou to flap her wings violently, trying to escape to safety. With her face full of wing marks, Mima holds Budou tightly and says "shh, shh, I got you, I won't let them hurt you." Budou slowly calms down, then Phredia stands on her shoulder, then pats Budou's cheek. Inside, Reimu shouts "you try that again and I'll POUND YOU!" Rika shouts "my lady, don't! Let me do it for you!" Remilia shouts "stop getting in the WAY!" Reimu shouts "hey, you can't yell at her like that!" Rika excitedly shouts "my lady~!" Remilia says "hey, I'm trying to HELP here!" Reimu replies "I didn't ASK for it!" Maribel sweats, then says "I think we better head to the village... things here are a little heated up at the time." Renko nods, then says "agreed." Mima, who is still holding Budou, nods and says "let's go then. I'll take Budou with me." Budou sighs and while facing Phredia, who flies in front of her face, says "I just wanted to see Hakurei sis..."

At the SDM, Yumeko, wearing a white bandanna on her head, hides behind some bookshelves, trying to stay as far away from Patchouli and Koakuma as possible, while looking for books on Gensokyo's culture. "Bingo" whispers Yumeko, as she finds various volumes with Gensokyo's name on them. She grabs them as quickly as she can, placing them inside a brown bag, then heads toward the door. Just before exiting, she places her index and middle finger on the communication pin, then whispers "Mai.... Mai, can you hear me?" Mai replies "so unprofessional. It's 'do you copy?', not 'can you hear me?'." Yumeko whispers "looks like someone wants to skip dinner tonight." Mai desperately replies "sorry, sorry, please don't be mad!" Yumeko sighs and whispers "look, I got the books. I'm heading out right now." There's a noise on Mai's side, then Yuki says "GREAT! Don't lower your guard. It's noon! That maid should be around there right now. Just keep out of sight, and if you think you've been spotted, hide for at least 100 seconds, understood?" Yumeko whispers "you should lay off the sugar. I'm heading out." Yuki replies "good luck". Low to the ground, Yumeko crawls toward the exit of the mansion, but her dismay, a fairy maid spots her. A large red exclamation mark pops just above the faerie's head, startling her and making her run away. Yumeko witness this and says "shit, I've been found out!" She gets up and runs toward a conveniently placed locker, getting inside as quickly as she can. Various fairy maids fly in group formations of 3, looking around for the intruder. Yumeko wait until all the fairies in the area disband, then continue their labors. Just as Yumeko leaves the locker, Yuki says "Yumeko, do you copy?" Yumeko ducks and places her index and middle finger on the pin, then says "yes, what is it now!?" Yuki asks "do you think I'd look good in purple?" Yumeko's lips wiggle as she looks up in disbelief, her bandanna sweating as well, then gets up without answering Yuki and a knife flies just next to her, striking the red communication pin. From it, Yuki shouts "Yumeko!? Can you hear me? ...Yumeko!? YUMEKOOOOOOO!!!" Shinki shout "Yuki~, lunch is ready~! We're having meat buns~!" Yuki says "YUMM~! I'm coming~!" Yumeko hears the entire conversation, then thinks "so much for being worried." In front of Yumeko stands Sakuya, tapping the hilt of her knife on her arm, as she holds herself while staring at Yumeko and saying "what is it that you want? I've already disposed of that fire witch, and now I find you, stealing books as well. What are you up to?" Yumeko doesn't answer. Sakuya raises her guard,then says "fine, be that way. Let's go, then." Yumeko smiles and says "last time, I only had half of my power. Now, you will face me at full power!" Yumeko materializes 6 short swords, three at each side, then says "once I'm done here, I'm taking these books to my lady. Don't worry, I'm returning them when we're done reading." Sakuya smiles, but doesn't respond, standing ready for attack.

Sakuya immediately launches three knives toward Yumeko, who rolls to the left, avoiding the knives and sending 5 short swords straight as Sakuya, who uses her knives to deflect the swords. Yumeko tries again with her swords, mixing them with danmaku knives, but Sakuya teleports behind Yumeko, however, the blond maid kicks behind herself, thwarting Sakuya's attack. Sakuya manages to avoid the kick with a back-flip along with a knife toss that tears through Yumeko's long skirt. Yumeko growls and says "alright, now you've done it!" Yumeko tightens her white bandanna, then says "get ready for my attack. Don't worry, the pain will only last for a few seconds... unless you're too stubborn." Yumeko screams and generates various short swords around herself, then prepares a large laser and various danmaku orbs. Sakuya prepares for some heavy dodging, but Yumeko's attack fizzles out, the short swords turn to tiny kitchen knives, the laser does absolutely nothing, and her danmaku orbs disappear. Yumeko's eyes get covered by her hair and cast in shadow, leaving her mouth wide open after her attack fails like it did. Sakuya stares are her, then says "well that was disappointing." Sakuya pulls out a spell card from under her apron and says "guess It's my turn." Yumeko smacks her forehead very hard, making Sakuya worry and shouts "HEY!! Don't hurt yourself like that!" Yumeko ignores Sakuya, then says "Yumeko, YUMEKO! Spell cards! You use SPELL CARDS now. Dummy, dummy, DUMMY!" Sakuya sweats and says "what is it with these maids! No elegance whatsoever!" Yumeko pulls out a spell card from under her apron, saying "ok, ok, this time for real, ok?" Sakuya shrugs and says "whatever, I just want to finish cleaning before the mistress wake up." Yumeko raises her spell card above her head and shouts "Dream Sign - And it Came From Nowhere" Yumeko traps Sakuya in a state of dream and fires various short swords from the left and right. The swords start moving toward Sakuya, trailing along more and more swords as they move toward her. Sakuya tries to move, but feels as though she can't move at all. Yumeko starts firing large green energy orbs in wide arcs and a pair of green lasers. Sakuya is now able to move and does so just as the short swords get close. She realizes there are too many short swords to both sides. She flinches just as one of the swords stabs her, then she realizes she doesn't feel any pain. Quickly, she realizes some of the short swords are reflecting light, while others look dull. She says "I see. You are making me think there are more swords than there really are. Clever." Yumeko says "there are still plenty swords to go around!" Sakuya sighs as Yumeko unleashes another arc of green orbs, followed by two green lasers that trap Sakuya between the two, hindering her room for dodging. Sakuya lazily flies toward Yumeko, throws her spell card in the air, making it spin in front of her, then says "Cutting Sign - Inscribe Red Soul" Sakuya moves her hands so fast, they look like a blur, going back, forth, left and right. Along the blur, blue beams that strike Yumeko quite hard, giving her some cuts and bruises all over her body." The white bandanna gets cut off, and Yumeko lies defeated on the floor, whispering "s-sorry my lady." Sakuya then says "I'll take those books back now. The fairy maids will show you out, and please, don't come again." Yumeko sighs, gets up, and says "fine... fine. Might as well get the milk, then." Just like that, Sakuya and Yumeko wave at each other, then walk away, the fairies escorting Yumeko outside, taking the cut bandanna and handing it to Yumeko just as she leaves through the door.

After returning Patchouli's books, Sakuya heads to her mistress' room to wake her up, as per usual. She reaches her mistress' bedroom, but before opening the doors she makes sure she's presentable; she straightens her skirt, her apron, even her hair, then softly knocks on the door whispering "my lady, it's time to wake up." She looks inside and quickly realizes Remilia's bed is empty. She stands on the open doorway, staring straight toward her mistress' empty bed, then, absent-minded, she says "my lady..." She stands there for about 30 more seconds, then a silver washtub falls on her head, making a loud clang upon impact, making Sakuya twitch and crouch on the ground, holding her head in pain. She springs up, looking angry and holding a few daggers on her hand, looking everywhere for the culprit, but she can't even find the washtub, but then she looks toward Remilia's bed again, then shout "MY LADY!!!" then disappears in an instant. Koakuma pops her head from the top-side of the doorway, smiles mischievously, drops to the ground, then grabs her washtub and happily walks away, whistling.

Renko, Maribel, Budou, Phredia and Mima arrive to the Human Village and immediately head to Kyo's house. Upon arrival, Medicine, who sits on the house's porch, says "they're all over there." and points to her left. Two house away, Alice, Marisa, Kyo, Ran, Chen and Luna all work hard on finishing Renko and Maribel's house. Although it looks small on the outside, it's quite spacious on the inside. Maribel giggles as she looks at the lilac-colored roof and their house, which is just about finished. Renko says "wow, I'm impressed." Mima looks at it and thinks "I could haunt some villagers from here." Kyo comes from inside the house, looking a bit dirty and sweaty, spots Maribel and Renko, then shouts "heh-hey~! Maribel, Renko! We're almost done here. Alice wants to make sure Marisa doesn't burn the curtains, Luna's making sure Alice doesn't kill Marisa, and Ran is making sure we don't blow up the house again." Renko sweats and Maribel forces a smile and a weak giggle, then asks "are you sure you don't want us to help?" Kyo says "look, it was our fault your first house got destroyed, so this time WE will build this for you." Renko casually says "well, as long as we get to live in it this time, I don't mind." Budou flies straight toward Kyo very suddenly, making him take a few steps back as she clings on him, shouting "LARGE BROTHER~!" Kyo manages to stay on his feet, looking slightly annoyed, but looking at Budou happily hugging him, he sighs and says "hello, Budou, how are you...? Wait, that's strange. Where's Ail?" Budou says "papa is helping the rabbit, so I came to visit on my own." From inside, Luna shouts "Kyo~, the wall... EEK!" Kyo quickly puts Budou down, then rushes inside the house. Ran and Chen continue to scan around the outside of the house, when Chen spots Budou, pulls on Ran's skirt, then points at Budou while whispering something. Ran walks toward her just as Phredia starts flying just above Budou's head. Maribel, who is next to Budou, bows and says "lady Ran, so nice to see you." Ran bows respectfully, then says "Maribel, it's been a while. How are you?" While Maribel, Ran and Renko have a small casual conversation, Chen curiously approaches Budou, then asks "who are you?" Budou's face turns a little red as she turns her face away and softly says "I-I'm Budou..." Chen tries to follow Budou's face, trying to look into her eyes, but Budou keeps turning away. Phredia edges Budou to look at Chen, who says "what's the matter, Budou? Are you sick?" Budou raises her violet eyes to meet Chen's, but quickly turns away, then Chen says "my name is Chen. Wanna be my friend?" Budou keeps looking away as she nods, then Chen says "ok, then I want you to look at me, ok?" Budou slowly raises her sight and sees Chen's smile, then she smiles back as well. Chen continues to smile and says "see? Now we can be friends for real, right?" Budou nods as she continues to smile at Chen. Ran takes notice of Budou and Chen, then asks "oh, Chen. Who's your new friend?" When both Chen and Budou stare at Ran with their smiling faces, Ran blows a stream of blood from her nose, then covers her nose with her hand, struggling to keep on her feet.

After managing to compose herself, Ran realizes Mima snuggling both Chen and Budou, then says "ugh, what is SHE doing here?" Maribel smiles as she says "oh, you know... we couldn't get her to let go of Budou." Ran's eyes twitch as she tries her best not to scowl, then, forcing a smile, she asks "so, Budou. You live with Ail, right?" From Mima's grasp, Budou nods and says "y-yeah. Sometimes I go with mama, sis, and gramma too." Ran looks confused at Maribel and Renko, then Renko answers "Sanae and the two goddesses." Maribel adds "the green miko." Ran says "Ah, ok, I remember now. The ones on Youkai Mountain." Renko and Maribel nod, then Ran's ears twitch under her hat. She looks back to Mima and spots 3 of the village's children staring at her. Mima lets go of Chen and Budou, allowing them to run away from her and getting behind Ran. Mima looks at the children without interest, then says "if you kids want the great Mima's autograph, I am sorry, but I don't give those for free." The two boys and the girl stare quietly, then Mima turns around, saying "well, whatever. Go play somewhere else, I'm busy now." One of the boys says "see? I told you, she's a ghost!" The girl says "she's too pretty to be a ghost." Mima blushes and smiles widely when she hears this, but the second boy says "don't be stupid. Mom says ghosts are old and only look nice, so they can EAT you." The girl replies "ooh~" Mima get's annoyed, but doesn't say anything. The first boy then says "this one looks older than that!" The second boy says "maybe she looks like grandma without that mask on." The girl giggles and says "let's make her pull it off." The children giggle as they run toward Mima, who can't take anymore, then, with a popping sound, turns her ghostly tail into a gigantic black widow's abdomen. She laughs maniacally and says "SO~, calling me old, are you!? TAKE THIS, MUAHAHAHAA~" The children scream as Mima chase them for a bit, then, after they are gone, she pops the spider body back to her ghostly tail, then shouts "that's it, you little brats, you RUN! I KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE!" Mima sighs with a smile, then says "now, where are my cuties... eh?" Chen and Budou are hugging each other as tightly as they can, trembling at the sight of Mima and trying to hide behind Ran. Ran says "now look what you did! You scared them out of their wits." Mima smiles as she gets closer to the girls and says "aww, you know I wouldn't hurt you, right?" Mima extends her hand toward Budou, who starts to cry when Mima's just about to touch her, making Phredia come out of hiding and pushes Mima's hand away. Mima says "oh, come on... it's me, mama number 2! Right, Chen?" She tries to pat Chen, but the nekomata hisses at her, then buries her face under one of Ran's tails. Ran strikes Mima on the head, saying "don't scare them like that!" Mima stutters "but-but I-" From behind comes Sanae and strikes Mima hard with her gohei and angrily says "don't make her cry, you mean old hag!" Budou flies toward Sanae in an instant, crying "mama~! She scared me~!" Sanae pats Budou's back as Budou places her face on Sanae's shoulder and cries. Sanae says "there, there, it's alright. Mama's here!" Chen and Ran do the same, then both Sanae and Ran say "you should be ashamed of yourself!" then walk to the house, away from Mima. Renko sighs, then follows the others while Maribel walks to Mima, pats her shoulder, then says "there, there, miss Mima. It's gonna be alright." Mima sits on the ground, her eyes hidden under a dark shadow and strands of her hair, whimpering "Budou~... kitty~..."

At Entei, Ail lands on the ground carrying 8 large boxes on his back, while Reisen carries 4 more. One of the boxes on Ail has a small tear and seem to have some moisture around that it. Ail manages to slither from under the heavy boxes and says "huh... someone made Budou cry... ah, but Sanae took care of it. She's so amazing" then smiles. Reisen stares curiously at Ail, then asks "how do you even know all that?" Ail says "parental bond" From inside the mansion comes Eirin and says "this bond works, even if you aren't really related. Well, Udonge, you took a little longer than I thought but... wait" Eirin spots the torn box with the moisture around the tear, then says "oh-ho ho, what do we have here. Sloppy... very sloppy work, Udonge. You'll have to be punished for this." Reisen whimpers and trembles as Eirin walks to her with a tenderly dangerous smile on her face. Ail gets in the way, glaring angrily at Eirin and saying "hey, HOLD IT! That box over there was me!" Eirin looks surprised at Ail. Reisen blushes a little, then looks to the ground. Eirin then says "hmm, well you'll have to pay for the bottle you broke." Ail takes out some money and asks "how much?" Eirin smiles wickedly and says "I think you know what I want." Ail sweats and says "crap.... alright... just don't go hurting Reisen because of my own mistakes!" Eirin wraps her arm around Ail's neck as they both head to her clinic, then says "such a gentleman. You're a dying breed, you know?" Ail replies "yeah, yeah, let's just do this already... You know how much I despise those needles." Reisen looks on as Ail is taken away into the clinic, then blushes again, this time smiling as she stares straight at them. She gets startled when Eirin shouts "Udonge, bring those over here, will you?" Reisen perks up and says "r-right away Master!" then grabs one of the boxes and walks toward the clinic.

At Maribel and Renko's new house, a home-warming party brightens the village. Even some of the neighbors join in. Reimu walks toward the house and notices Mima, still depressed, her eyes in shadows and whimpering "I scared them~" Reimu ignores her and goes inside, where Maribel smiles as she greets her, saying "REIMU~ WELCOME!" Reimu smiles and says "wow, your house is so beautiful. Much roomier than the one you were building before too." Kyo, who is already a bit drunk, says "yeah, well this one is built by friends, so it's EXTRA special, don't you agree! Woo-hoo!" Luna walks to Reimu, bows, smiles and says "refreshments and snacks are at the table over there, and please, enjoy yourself." Reimu says "thank you, Luna. And how are things for you?" Luna says "oh, well... you know." Reimu winks and says "just give it some time." Maribel gets closer and asks "and how did you manage to get away from those two, miss Reimu?" Reimu giggles and says "I left a decoy. They should be distracted for some time." At the Hakurei Shrine, Remilia and Rika are having a tug-of-war over a Reimu doll, Remilia shouting "let go! She left it for ME!" Rika shouts back "are you mad!? She left it here for ME!" Sakuya stands by the doorway and sighs at the sight, but obediently stays put. Back at the party, Reimu feels something odd. Maribel notices immediately, then signals Renko to follow. When all three come outside they are surprised to find Shikieiki and Komachi, wearing casual clothing, smiling while standing next to the house. Reimu sighs and says "well, this is an odd sight."

Sitting outside with some cups of Sake in their hands, Reimu, Shiki and Komachi have a small conversation. Reimu takes a small sip from her cup and says "ok, out with it." Shiki and Komachi stare at her in surprise, then Komachi asks "are you drunk already?" Reimu says "I am sure you didn't come here to just mingle amongst us. Is there an incident going on? Do I have to change something? What?" Shiki chuckles and says "relax, Reimu. No, this time we are actually just visiting. In fact, we are on vacations." Reimu calms down, takes another sip of sake, then asks "do yamas even get vacations?" Shiki chuckles again and says "well, actually we do, but in this case..." Komachi says "let me explain, Shiki-sama." Shiki nods, then Komachi continues. "Shiki-sama and I have been suspended, so to speak, for helping you guys out so much." Reimu stares for a moment, then says "I see. Telling us about those events, interfering with Ail's fate, helping us see the error of our ways..." Shiki sighs and says "do not feel guilty. We helped you because we wanted to, and we knew something like this would happen, so it's nobody's fault." Ail, who is now sitting besides Komachi, says "I see." All stare at him, then Reimu says "well, what kept you?" Ail sweats and says "well, you know... stuff. Anyway, what are you planning to do during your time off?" Shiki smiles and says "I think a few days of rest should be good enough for me. What about you, Komachi" Komachi giggles and says "I follow my Shiki-sama wherever she goes." Shiki smiles, then says "then I guess you'll be doing the same as in work, huh?" All 4 laugh at the same time, but stop laughing the moment a villager from afar shouts "AAAHH~ GHOST!" then Mima's maniacal laughter, shouting "fear the evil spirit, MUAHAHAHAHA~" Ail sighs and notices Reimu staring at him. He smiles and says "fine, but after this I'm taking Budou back home and going to sleep." Reimu chuckles and says "come on... before something really serious happens." Both Reimu and Ail fly away toward the racket, then, while watching them fly away, Komachi asks "Shiki-sama? Do you know who our replacements are?" Shiki looks at the orange noon sky and says "you know we're not allowed to know, right?" Komachi chuckles, take a gulp of sake from her cup, then smiles and says "just curious."

At the Sanzu River, a little girl's voice says "before you can come in, you HAVE to play with me, ok?" The spirit hovers silently as Flandre Scarlet giggles, then starts shooting large energy orbs at it. After the dust clears, Flandre says "aw, you guys are no fun... fine, let's take you across then." Behind her, dozens of spirits, all looking damaged and dirty, almost unable to float at all. Flandre grabs all the spirits she can and gets on the wooden boat with them. She looks around and asks "so, anyone of you know how this thing moves" The poor spirits, unable to even hover, stay as quiet as ever. Flandre giggles and says "no matter... I'll just do THIS!" Flandre fires a concentrated blast that sends the boat speeding across the water, knocking a few spirits off the boat in the process. At the court-room Rumia sits on Shiki's chair, wearing her hat and holding her sword, then says "you mean little spirit. You tried to hunt me down when I was hungry, so~, for that you got to HELL!!!" The little spirit looks surprised, but then looks down as it slowly flies tot he door to hell. Agava, who sits next to Rumia, says "maybe you were a little too rough on that poor spirit." Rumia asks "is that so~?" She bangs the wooden desk with the sword and says "send in the next one!" A small spirit, looking almost ill, enters the room and stops in front of Rumia's desk. Rumia looks into Shiki's mirror and says "let's see here... oh, you were that kind old man that gave me that piece of meat. It was so delicious. Ok, you can go to-" Agava says "pst, Rumia." She whispers into Rumia's ear "look a little more into that mirror... he called you a fat pig.. look, right there!" Rumia smiles, stares at the spirit, then, while swinging the sword at the spirit, she shouts "to hell, to hell, TO HELL!!!" The little spirit slowly hovers to the door to hell, then Agava says "whoops, my mistake. He said he would like to eat one fat pig. Sorry about that." Rumia smiles, then asks "is that so~?" then smacks Agava on the head with the sword.

To be continued...

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

NOV 3 2009
written by
Willie G.R.