Flashback of the Ages 5

Morning at the Forest of Magic. It’s a beautiful day with the sun shining bright, the sky with its beautiful blue color, the clouds looking fluffy and almost edible, and a small black smoke cloud rising from the ground. The source of the smoke is non-other than the antique shop, Kourindou. From inside the shop, the annoyed voice of a boy says “oy... I told you that you were using too much!” A woman shouts back “ugh, give it a rest, already! At least I didn’t burn anything this time!” The door to the house and store bursts open, and the rest of the smoke clears out. From inside comes the little silver-haired boy, Rinnosuke, whom aside from his diminished stature, he now looks even more human. He coughs as he dusts himself while walking away from his house and store, angrily saying “maybe you didn’t, but you’re still going to suffocate us!” From inside, the woman replies “well *cough* maybe next time, you can cook all by yourself, you mongrel!” Rinnosuke calmly replies “maybe I will”, while adjusting his glasses. From inside, coughing while holding a large pan with soup inside, comes Tokiko, who has grown indeed. Her plumage is bright and looks silky to the touch, her hair is so long, it reaches down to her waist, and although her chest look quite normal, her hips seem large, and indeed, an updraft reveals a perfect set of legs under her long, black skirt. After she sets the pan on a small picnic table that conveniently appears out of nowhere, she notices Rinnosuke staring at her legs, and after blushing and giggling, she places her hands on her waist and says “caught you peeping, mister ‘I’m-not-interested’. What a little pervert you are.” After nervously adjusting his glasses, he looks away and says “you-you’re imagining things. I-I was just in a trance, is all.” Tokiko smiles mischievously and says “a trance indeed. Wait until I tell that witch and that maiden!” A roar from behind the little boy sends chills down his spine, and put Tokiko in a state of panic. She manages to control herself after gasping for air, then shout “DUCK, YOU IDIOT!” Rinnosuke obediently ducks and feels something large and fuzzy swish close to his back. It’s an enormous youkai the size of Rinnosuke’s house, and it’s ready to strike again. Tokiko knows she’s no match for the giant beast, but her motherly instincts prevent her from running away and leaving little Rinnosuke there, so she charges to attack. The monster raises its claws to strike again, Tokiko won’t make it in time, then all of a sudden, a lightning bolt strikes right between the monster’s feet, startling the creature, and giving Tokiko the chance to get Rinnosuke out of there. The monster chases after Tokiko, but another lightning bolt, this one accompanied by loud thunder, frightens the creature and sends it running away. After the danger’s past and they reach the doorway to the house, Tokiko slowly sets Rinnosuke back on the ground, breathing heavily and asking “th-that was scary. But where did the lightning come from? There’s not a rain cloud in sight, so how?” Three figures jump from a nearby tree, and land one to the left, one to the right, and the third one seems to float in the air in between. The one in the right is the grown up Sunny Milk, whose hair is just a little longer, so she ties it to a ponytail instead of her usual twin tails, still wear her little bonnet, and has a small chest. To the left is the grown up Luna Child, who hair looks about the same, sports a more shapely figure than Sunny, and uses her left arm to try and cover her own chest, which is quite normal, yet she seems embarrassed about it. While she and Sunny stand beside each other, they both extend an arm upward, apparently giving each other a high-five, and hanging by their arms is a tiny Star Sapphire, who’s pink cheeks, pouting face, and annoyed, unamused expression, only adds to her cuteness, as her hair is exactly as long as she is high, for some strange reason. Sunny proudly says “ha-ha-ha~ No need to thank us! Just give us some food for saving your lives, and we’ll call it EVEN!” Luna adds “and if you don’t, we’ll just eat you instead.” Sunny lowers her arm, letting Star fall to the ground, then looks worriedly toward Luna, and says “hey, hey, don’t go saying unnecessary things.” Sunny softly punches her own head, then winks and sticks out her tongue and says “sorry, it slipped.” Star Sapphire stays sitting on the ground, crossing her arms and pouting and looking quite unamused, saying “just shut up already!” Sunny replies “hey, just because you’re a little sprite, doesn’t mean I won’t smack you!” While the three fairies start to argue, Rinnosuke and Tokiko look at each other, then Tokiko asks “Hey, how did you make that lightning bolt and thunder?” The three fairies stop arguing, then Sunny smirk mischievously as she says “how indeed.”

Meanwhile, at the Scarlet Devil Mansion, Patchouli and Meiling pat Marisa’s back, as she has cornered herself in order to cry because of the book she can’t find again. Ail looks annoyed and sweaty, as he is being held by Ayalina and Sanae, and with a grunt he says “please... let me go.” Ayalina smiles and squeals, then says “just a little longer.” Sanae adds “you just want to run away.” Ail immediately says “well duh!” Meanwhile, Alice is hiding as best as she can, fear coursing through her as she hears Shinki’s sweet voice, calling “Alice~ Come on out already. It’s time for breakfast.” Alice covers her mouth so her breathing doesn’t give her away, then calms down after she hears Hourai saying “gramma, maybe she’s already at the table.” Shinki gasps and says “oh, that right. Dear me, this mansion is almost as big as my palace. It’s very confusing in here, but maybe you guys would want to come live with me. There’s more than enough space.” As Shinki’s steps can be heard fainting in the distance Hourai can be heard saying “I don’t think little mama Alice would want that.” Alice takes a breath of relief, then yelps when she sees Shanghai floating in front of her face, saying “the coast is clear. Come on, I arranged for miss Sakuya to hide you and little mister Ail for breakfast.” Alice nods, and rapidly says “thank you Shanghai!”, then rushes away to the basement. At the large kitchen in the basement, Ail is already waiting for breakfast at the small table there by the time Alice arrives. After she sits on the chair in front of Ail, she asks “what’s going on?” Ail sighs and says “Budou is learning how to prepare something.” In the kitchen itself, Sakuya and Budou work hard to prepare the large quantity of breakfast for all the guests in the mansion. Nine tiny fairy maids take three dining karts in groups of three each, and slowly push the karts to their destination. After they leave, Budou excitedly asks “so, how do we start?” Sakuya calmly raises her hand to Budou and says “first, why don’t we take the plates to Alice and Ail, and then we can start.” Budou blushes and lowers her head a bit, then says “r-right. Sorry about that, heh heh.” Meanwhile, at the dining room, before the fairy maids arrive with the meal, little Reimu has little Yukari in an arm lock, clenching her teeth in rage while asking “why the hell are we still stuck like this, Yakumo?” Yukari, though smiling, writhes in pain on the ground, trying to use her free hand to pull herself away from Reimu and saying “I really don’t know, Reimu! Ow, you are really hurting me~” Reimu grunts “be thankful I can’t rip it off!” Ran appears standing behind Reimu, and in a strict tone of voice, she says “that’s enough! Reimu, lady Yukari isn’t entirely at fault here!” Reimu releases Yukari, then both girls look at Ran while sitting on the ground. Yukari angrily says “Ran, keep your mouth shut. I told you it’s alright.” Ran sighs and says “I can’t do that. Reimu, the reason all of this happened is because of me! So if you’re going to punish someone...” Ran lowers her ears and frowns as she finishes saying “you should punish me.” Yukari sighs and says “whether grown up or a cub, you are incorrigible.” Reimu looks at Ran, then says “after breakfast, we are going to discuss this.”

Meanwhile, at the entrance to the subterranean, a tiny blond girl with blond hair made into a bun, runs around the cave’s entrance, giggling while setting up random webs all over. Little Yamame is having so much fun with her webs, she doesn’t notice the tall, green haired woman with her hair made into twin tails standing behind her, crossing her arms and tapping her foot. It’s Kisume, who wears a white robe that hides her features well, making her look like a shoeless old hag. With a sweet, yet strong womanly voice, she clears her throat, getting Yamame’s full attention, then says “Yamame! Didn’t I tell you to stop doing that already!” Yamame looks up at the tall figure of Kisume, and frowns as she looks down to the ground with glassy eyes while fiddling with her fingers, then sadly says “I... I’m sorry. I was just having fun.” Kisume angrily points behind her, toward a massive concentration of countless webs, where her new, larger bucket, is stuck on, then says “honestly child, I almost hit my face when I fell!” Yamame starts to sniffle, then places both arms behind herself while placing the tip of her foot on the ground behind her, swaying it in order to hide her shame. Kisume sighs, then says “look, just help me clean this mess up, so I can get my bucket back.” Tears hang from the bottom of little Yamame’s eyes as she nods at Kisume, then raises her bottom and throws a web to the ceiling, unaware that she stuck it to a lose stone. Before she pulls herself up, Kisume notices the danger and reaches for Yamame, shouting “wait! You’re going to get hurt!” Kisume grabs Yamame before she pulls herself up too high, and pulls down, releasing the lose stone and causing it to fall toward them. The stone is not that big, but it can still cause some serious damage, even to youkai like them, so she holds Yamame tight and runs toward her bucket. The loud boom made by the stone after it falls startles Yamame, making her yelp and release a long string, even with Kisume screaming at her to stop, and wraps Kisume’s torso tightly. After everything settles down, Kisume slowly gets back up, whispering “Yamame... are you alright?” Yamame sobs and says “y-yes. *sniffle* I’m sorry.” Kisume embraces Yamame and sights, then says “it’s alright, already. Stop crying.” After Yamame settles down, Kisume sets her on the ground beside herself, then slowly gets up, unaware that with Yamame’s web tied so tightly around her torso, she’s revealing her body shape to the few youkai that have come to assist them. Though she has an ample chest, she has a bit of a tummy, small hips and thin legs, but with her robe lifted from below and dropping from her shoulders, she can’t help but have heart-shaped eyes set on her. She looks at the other youkai and asks “what are you all staring...?” When she notices she’s looking sexy, she screams and kneels down, saying “no! Look away, you perverts! Someone get me my bucket already!”

Back at the SDM, in Remilia’s room, Sakuya sits on her mistress’ bed, while Remilia stands in front of the mirror, comparing a white dress, and a pink dress, while still wearing her sleeping garments. She turns around to look at Sakuya with a deadly serious expression, making the head maid nervously jump of the bed and stand as straight as possible. Remilia sighs, then says “relax, I’m not angry about that. Sakuya, this is the Scarlet Devil Mansion, and its reputation is at stake. I WILL NOT allow this to happen.” Sakuya bows and asks “how should I handle her, my lady?” Remilia turns around to compare the dresses some more, then says “she’s still scared, but she’s still a threat. Make sure to keep both eyes on her, and if she makes a move, make sure she’s dealt with! Even her own are not safe around her.” Sakuya raises her head and stares at Remilia with narrow eyes, then asks “she’d really go that far?” Remilia now wears her extravagant white clothes and places her bracelets on her wrists as she says “she loves them very much, but her body and mentality are in conflict. Sakuya, she’s powerful, but not beyond you. Do not fail me, and keep the mansion’s reputation where it belongs.” Sakuya bows once more and says “I will not fail you, my lady.”, then disappears in an instant. In a corner of the mansion, the grown up Chen sits with her back against a wall, hugging her knees and almost curling into a ball, trembling in place while looking outside the window to her right. She stops trembling for a moment, then lifts her left hand to look at it. She starts to tremble again, then angrily asks herself “why now? Why the hell all of this? Ran-sama, this is all your fault!”

Down at the library, Ran and Yukari are covered in Reimu’s charms while she stands in front of them with her gohei in hand, pacing angrily to the left and right, then asks “for the last time... Why did you even try something so stupid? Do you have any idea how hard it is for me to keep my thoughts in check while I’m like this?” Little Yukari smiles and asks “why did I get punished too?” then opens her fan to cover her mouth and says “why indeed. I was just bored and decided to lend a hand.” Ran, on the other hand, looks depressed, and is struggling with herself as to not think, so she can keep Yukari in the dark as well. With a smile behind her fan, Yukari looks at Ran and says “Ran, I already know your reasons. Why don’t you tell Reimu why, before I speak on your behalf?” Ran twitches and looks at Yukari with a shocked and frightened expression, then sighs and recovers her composure. Reimu crosses her arms across her chest and starts tapping her right foot on the floor impatiently, so Ran sighs to summon enough courage, then looks up to Reimu. She suddenly bows down until she’s literally kissing the ground, and with tears pouring out of her eyes, she cries “I’m so sorry! My actions were purely out of selfishness, and anything I say cannot even excuse me.” Reimu backs away in surprise and exclaims “whoa, c-calm down *sniffle* y-your making me want to cry too!” Ran raises her head, her tears flooding from her eyes down to her cheeks and dropping on the ground. She crawls straight to Reimu, and while still crying she manages to say “I wanted to go back! I wanted to stop Yukari from making me her shikigami! I was tired, and I didn’t think and... and...” By now, Reimu’s trying to fight off her tears, but with Ran crying like that, she can’t help it and starts to bawl, lowering her arms and her gohei, saying “I.. I... I told you, you were go-go-gonna make me cry~” At first, Yukari stares at them with disdain, thinking “what babies”, but she suddenly starts to feel something strange crawling from her chest, up to her eyes. Before she knows it, she’s sniffling and fighting off the tears, however, she ends up crying with them in the end, bawling right where she sits. Moments later, Ran sits on Flandre’s lap, Yukari is being held by Budou, and Reimu is being held Remilia, all sobbing and sniffling, Reimu saying “s-see! Y-you made me cry *sob* like a little girl *hic*.” Remilia smiles and says “it’s alright, Reimu. I don’t think any less of you.” Reimu sniffles and rubs her eyes, then says “thank you, Remilia.” Though she’s smiling normally, inside, Remilia feels elated at the sight of Reimu sniffling and rubbing her eyes, thinking “dammit-all. She’s so cute! Gosh, it’s taking all my will not to explode!”

At the underground city, in the Streets of the Former Hell, a tall, beautiful blonde woman with green eyes, short hair that reaches just below her shoulders, ample chest, and a perfectly well-shaped body, is accompanied by a small girl with long, blonde hair, and a tiny red horn sprouting from her forehead. As a grownup, Parsee has better control of her powers, as well as causing natural jealousy to the females around her, making her feel stronger than ever as she absorbs all this jealousy. Little Yuugi doesn’t really care if she’s small or not, as she carries around a cup of sake with her, though the others question if she’s really drinking the stuff. Yuugi looks up to Parsee, having trouble looking at her face, since her expanded chest is getting in the way of her view. Regardless, she takes a breath of air and asks “hey, Parsee, is it ok to just leave the bridge unguarded like that?” Parsee bends her neck a little so she can look at Yuugi with her snobby eyes and self-satisfied smile, then asks “why? Are you... jealous?” Yuugi looks forward and casually says “as if. I’m just worried. Any kind of creep can just waltz in without you there.” Parsee smiles more naturally and says “well, if that happens, I’ll use all my jealousy to beat him, or her, up.” Yuugi lazily replies “whatever makes you happy.” Above the bridge, all the way to the cave’s entrance, Kisume is finally in her bucket, sitting right next to the hole that leads down to the underground city, while Yamame plays around with her web in a designated area Kisume prepared for her, covered in rocks and walls of stalagmites. Giggling, Yamame lands on the ground after somersaulting from one of her webs, then bends down to shoot yet another web, unaware that she’s aiming straight at Kisume, threatening to knock her down the hole. Kisume immediately panics when she notices this, and shouts “wait, stop!”, but Yamame is having too much fun and shoots her web, which goes past Kisume’s face, and when she pulls on it, she shoots herself straight at Kisume, knocking her, and herself down the hole. Back at the streets of the city, Yuugi hears the faint screams of Kisume and the cries of Yamame as they fall down the hole. She tugs on Parsee’s skirt, almost ripping it off, then exclaims “to the bridge!” Parsee angrily pulls her skirt back up and asks “what’s the matter with you?”, but when she sees the two youkai falling to the jagged bottom of the cave, she immediately flies after Yuugi. Parsee and Yuugi fly as fast as they can to save the falling youkai, but they are flying as fast as they are falling, so Parse growls and says “I’m so jealous! They are falling too fast for me to reach them!” Yuugi grabs Parsee by her shirt and says “Save them, princess!”, then throws Parsee ahead, making her fly four times faster, giving her a chance to save the falling youkai. Kisume is now wearing her white kimono, having failed to hide her looks with the robe, and she’s trying to use the long sleeves to flap her arms and fly around, forgetting she can fly already and ignoring the fact that the updraft is revealing her skinny legs for all to see. Yamame is too distraught to fly or try to use her web strings to save herself, crying inconsolably as she falls. They are mere feet away from crashing on to the jagged ground when Parsee finally reaches Yamame and catches her, saying “got you!”, then calmly returns to the bridge. Kisume continues to fall, and shouts “wait, save me too!” Parsee’s eyes glow bright green as she says “you can fly!” Kisume suddenly stops falling just before hitting the ground, then says “oh, that’s right. I forgot.” She lands safely and decided to go after Parsee and Yamame, but after she takes the first step, a large silver washtub falls right on top of her head, knocking her to the ground, where she writhes in pain as she holds her head. Meanwhile, Parsee reaches the bridge, holding on to the sobbing Yamame, where Yuugi anxiously awaits for them, and as soon as Parsee places Yamame on the floor, Yuugi asks “what happened to you two?” Yamame’s cheeks are red as she sobs and sniffles, then finally manages to say “I-string-Kisume- fell-and-and... I’m sorry~” little Yuugi smiles and pats Yamame on the head, then says “it’s alright, kiddo”, then takes a big gulp from her sake cup. Parsee gets a bit surprised and exclaims “hey, kids shouldn’t drink sake like that!” Yuugi finishes her drink, then calmly says “this isn’t sake, silly. It’s grape juice!” Parsee looks away, hiding the contempt in her eyes as she whispers to herself “she’s a child, yet acts to damned mature... I’m jealous!”

At the Palace of the Earth Spirits, a tiny two-tailed kitten rushes toward an unknown destination. Orin arrives to a closed door, and just before she crashes against it, she glows brightly and is suddenly transformed into a little girl with red, lose hair that reaches her back. She grabs the doorknob with both hands, since it’s so high for her to simply reach and twist, and after managing to open the door, a woman says “Rin, I was starting to get worried.” Orin pouts and says “please, call me Orin, Satori-sama!” Satori stands on the kitchen, preparing to serve lunch, wearing an apron over her clothes. She’s slightly taller, her hair now reaches down to her waist, her skirt has stretched to cover down to her knees, and her womanly figure resembles that of a mother. Orin sighs and says “well, I’m sorry I’m late. I was trying to move the wheelbarrow but-“ Satori gasps horrorstruck, and like a concerned mother, she exclaims “ORIN! I told you to leave that to me and Koishi!” Orin frowns and lets her arms hang as she slouches and says “aww, but I want to help!” Satori sighs and says “you’re a very good girl, Orin... though I’d wish you’d stop leaving those dead birds and mice on the door. Still, let us handle the heavy jobs.” Satori places a large red bowl with food on the table, while Orin sits on a chair in front of the bowl with a pout and saying “okay. But I want to help! I can help!” There is a sudden loud thud on another door on the back of the kitchen, then Satori sighs and says “I forgot to leave it open...”, then calmly goes to open the door. The moment she opens it, a tiny Okuu stands dizzily on the doorway, saying “Uuu, I thought I opened it.” Little Okuu looks exactly the same as before, even with that red eye on her chest, though her stature and body shape is that of a child. She recovers from her daze and exclaims “ORIN!”, then flaps her wings and flies straight on to Orin’s head. The two little girls argue about table manners, while Satori calmly takes another red bowl to the table. After placing Okuu on the chair next to Orin, she uses her apron to clean off her hands while saying “I see everything went smoothly.” On the doorway stands Petal, with her hair reaching to her shoulders, the white stripe in the middle of her hair looking brighter than usual, her blue plaid overall dress, pink shirt and day-time sky cape matching her size, a well shaped body, powerful-looking legs and large chest, still showing the stone Rika gave her on her chest. She smiles widely at Satori and says “Everything was okey-day Satori-shama!” Satori smiles and rubs Petal’s head, saying “I really have to teach you to speak properly. Lunch is ready, so please sit at the table.” Petal closes her eyes as she smiles and says “thank you for food for table, Satori-shama!”, then happily walks to the table. Satori promptly gets another red bowl with food and places it on the table in front of Petal, then heads back to the kitchen to serve hers, and Koishi’s share. She looks at the plates and notices she forgot a spoon for herself, and when she turns around to look for it, she yelps and raises her arms and left leg. Smiling as she stands right behind her is Koishi, who is much taller, has longer hair, and a larger chest than Satori, yet retains her childish face. She smiles widely and laughs at her sister’s reaction, then says “I’m not that ugly yet, am I?” Satori manages to relax, and sounding annoyed, she says “how I wish you’d stop doing that already!” Koishi simply continues to smile, so Satori just sighs and says “well, enjoy your lunch. I’ll join you shortly.” Koishi suddenly hugs her sister and sounding serious, she says “you know I love you very much, onee-chan”, then lets her go, admiring the surprised expression on Satori’s face. Koishi giggles again, grabs her plate, then rushes to the table, to join the others who seem to be waiting patiently for Satori to join them. Satori stands in the kitchen with a blank expression, so Orin exclaims “Satori-sama, we’re waiting for you!” Satori snaps out of her shock, then smiles at Orin as she says “y-yes. I’m sorry, I’ll be there shortly.” As they all enjoy their meal, Okuu having to wear a bib, since she’s eating with her hands, unlike the rest, Satori watches them all with a smile on her face and her spoon sunk into her plate as she thinks “I must never forget, no matter what, I am surrounded by family and friends that love me.” She closes her eyes as she takes the first bite, then thinks of her pets, her friends down at the city, and her sister, then thinks “funny how I didn’t notice this before, but I am truly blessed. I may not understand why, but I am glad for this incident. It’s helped me see so much more that escaped me before. I know I could read their hearts, but I forgot to feel them too... Thank you for this opportunity.”

It’s late noon, and down at the library of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, Patchouli and Ran excitedly call for an immediate meeting. The dimly lit library is cramped with tiny and large fairy maids, the mansion’s little guests, and the mistress of the mansion, her sister, and their servants. While Remilia holds on to Reimu, the still groggy Flandre holds Meiling, as they make their way to the front. When they reach Patchouli’s desk, Reimu beats Remilia in asking “Patchouli, Ran, what the heck is this all about?” Ran smiles brightly as she says “we found the way to turn back, Reimu!” Remilia excitedly asks “what? Tell us, what is it? I’m SICK of having to wear bras!” Patchouli jumps on her own desk and blinks twice at Remilia, then calmly says “there are 4 cures, actually. We should simply drink grape or cherry juice, but for quicker effect, there is sake or beer. This should turn us all back.” At the same time, all in the room ask “WHAT?”, then start to rush all over, Sakuya instructing the fairy maids to get the sake and beer from the reserves, Budou flapping her wings excitedly, repeating “what a WONDERFUL medicine!” Suddenly, Budou gasps and shouts “WAIT!!!” The room is in total silence now as all eyes are set right on the beautiful fruit bat, then she says “earlier today, Sakuya taught me how to make grape sundaes, and we used the excess grapes to make juice.” Sakuya gasps and says “wait, that’s right! We drank it all, but nothing happened.” Ran steps up and says “yes, we knew about this, but please listen. There is a reason why it isn’t working already.” Reimu smirks and says “let me guess... we ALL have to drink it, or it won’t work, right?” Ran and Patchouli blink as they stare at Reimu, Ran obviously surprised, while Patchouli calmly says “yes, that is correct. As long as there’s a single person left out, we will all stay like this.” Before anyone else can speak, Kali’s voice echoes all over the library as she says “that’s just great to know!” The already dark library turns even darker as Kali uses her powers to surround everyone with her dark danmaku. As she laughs, she unleashes her bullets, thinking she’s already won, then says “and once you are all one the ground kissing my feet, I’ll claim this mansion for myself!” Unknown to her, and because it’s so dark, she can’t see that Remilia, Reimu, Rika, Ail, Yukari and Kimi, have all placed barriers and rebounded every single shot back to her. When she fails to hear the explosions, she focuses her eyes and asks “wait, where’s the boom?” By the time she realizes what happened, she’s being blasted by her own bullets, yet she manages to absorb the rest before causing any serious damage to herself. The room is now well lit, thanks to some extra fireballs from Patchouli, Kali can see that Remilia, Sakuya and Flandre are preparing a counterattack, as well as Reimu and the other kids, though to her, the adults are more of a threat. She suddenly notices how everyone lowers their guard, then asks “wh-what? What’s the matter?” Unknown to her until it’s too late, Cirno flies just above and behind her, crossing her arms and glaring with great rage, saying “you were willing to hurt not just Letty, but all the kids here. I’m going to have to punish you severely.” Kali twitches and curls into a ball as she turns around, then smiles and says “meep...”

That night, in the eastern outskirts of the Human Village, Reisen hangs upside down under a very tall tree, held by a rope around her ankle, tired of holding her skirt up, letting her black shorts to show. Her face and whole body are full of bruises, some visible through tears on her clothes, and has a large bandaged bump on her head. Tears run down to her head and ears as she cries and asks herself “how did I end up like this?” She reviews her day through her memories, remembering how Hina made her fall down the river, while jumping over small stones, smiling and giggling. Then remembers how the little baby sparrow tripped her and hog-tied her in a second, then remembers how little Hina blasted her with her small danmaku, successfully making her fall down the waterfall at the tengu’s mountain. Finally, she remembers finding Hina crying just underneath of where she is now, then falling for her trap when trying to reach her to comfort her. Reisen cries some more as she says to herself “man, she’s such a brat, but I can’t help it! She’s still a child after all.” There is an unsettling ruckus going on close by, to which Reisen says “and now she’s making that girl use a sword too.” On the ground, Hina carries Kyo on her hands, giggling while mocking Luna, who is chasing after her with one of her swords, saying in sing-song “he’s my pet now!” Luna angrily swings the heavy blade, spinning uncontrollably in place after swinging it, missing Hina by a mile, then Reisen screams “child, please! You’re going to get hurt!” Luna ignores Reisen, and right after she stops from spinning, she shakes a fist at Hina and shouts “give me back my KYO! He’s MINE! Get your own pet!” Kyo complains “hey! I’m a boy, not someone’s pet!” Both girls scream at the same time “shut up!”, accompanied by the little RKNS’s angry peeps. Reisen sighs and says to herself “if I could just get out of this.” Like a miracle, her wish is immediately granted. A flash of light cuts her rope, and before she hits the ground, Nitori catches her with one of her mechanical arms and gently sets her down. Momiji appears beside them in an instant, then asks “shall we?” Nitori smiles confidently and says “let’s get her.” Reisen asks “you got a plan?” Nitori and Momiji look at Reisen, who stands in between them, then smile. Reisen smiles motherly and says “let’s get her.”

Back at the SDM, the hunt of Kali continues. After losing a leg to Cirno, who froze, then shattered it with a chop, Kali uses any shadow she can find to hide from her pursuers as she waits for her limb to regenerate. Hiding under the shadow of one of the windows at one of the many corridors of the mansion, Kali waits while Reimu and Remilia leave the area to move. The moment they turn the corner to the next corridor, Kali jumps out of hiding and flies to the foyer, however, she comes face to face with Chen. The nekomata looks terrifying, as the hair on her rapidly swaying tails stand on ends, and her enraged eyes seem to be searching for something. Chen spots Kali the moment she sprouts a new leg, then hisses very violently, growling and swinging her claws around. Kali backs away in fright, saying “whoa! This cat is mad!” Chen growls and screams “where is Ran? She’s going to PAY for this!” Kali takes another step back, scoffs, then says “sorry, kitty-cat. I have no idea what you’re talking about over there.” Chen hisses again, lowering her upper body, looking even more menacing, scratching the carpet and the floor underneath it with her claws, then shouts “DIE!” Chen pounces on Kali, who turns herself into shadow in order to protect her body from Chen’s insane and brutal claw attacks. Chen’s face twists with rage after realizing she missed, and that’s when she notices Ayalina and Ail standing at the end of the corridor behind Kali. Ail trembles after seeing Chen’s state, so Ayalina steps up and says to him “back me up.”, to which Ail gulps and nods. Chen completely forgets Kali, saying “you! You smell like Ran! You MUST be Ran! You must pay!” Ayalina’s hands start to glow green, and as soon as Chen attacks, the summons tall flowers that grow quick enough to strike Chen underneath her belly. Ayalina blinks, unable to believe the speed in which Chen attacked her, and sounding frightened, she says “Ail, get out of here NOW!” Chen is already attacking again, cutting a hole on Ayalina’s dress and cutting Ail’s escape, her face turning beastly as she growls like a wild cat. Ayalina grabs Ail and uses her body as a shield as soon as Chen pounces again, but nothing happens. Ayalina peeks to her left and finds Sakuya using one of her knives to stop Chen’s claws from striking her face. She looks back and shouts “get him out of here!” Ayalina grabs Ail, who shouts “wait, we have to help her!”, but he calms down when he sees Flandre arriving right at that moment. Ayalina and Ail reach the corridor Remilia and Reimu took before, finding Reimu hiding in the corner. She looks at Ayalina and says “lucky we got here in time!” Ail gasps and exclaims “that’s how she missed us!” Ayalina asks “what are you talking about?” Ail explains “that second time she attacked, Remilia rushed by and veered Chen’s attack away from us.” Ayalina shakes her head and says “that’s not possible. She’s not even...” When they look toward the corridor, there is Remilia, standing just behind Sakuya with a most unpleasant look of anger in her face. By now, Meiling, Marisa, Letty, Rika and Daiyousei join Reimu, Ail and Ayalina, then they all watch the battle.

While Sakuya pushes the crazed nekomata away from her face, Flandre readies her rod to attack the moment Sakuya clears out. Remilia stares at Chen and says “you deliberately attacked a child in my mansion, even after the warning I gave you. There will be no mercy for you!” Chen hisses and shouts “this doesn’t concern you, vampire! Ran must pay! She did this to me!” Ran suddenly appears on the corridor right behind Chen, and unwisely shouts “CHEN! What are you doing? Stop this!” When Chen sees her target, her magical aura strengthens, then she grabs Sakuya and lifts her above her head, quickly throwing her straight at Flandre. Remilia shouts “Flan, catch her!”, then rushes straight at Chen, who sets her sights straight at the confused kitsune. Even with her newfound powers, Remilia can’t match the insane speed Chen is capable of reaching at the time. Ran asks “Chen, what’s the matter?”, clenches her eyes shut, then the sound of claws ripping clothes echoes all over the corridors. Everyone gulps with fright, while Ran slowly opens her eyes and smiles at Chen with a confused expression in her face, whispering “Chen? What... what happened?” All Ran can see is the hatred in Chen’s eyes, even after Chen suddenly flies toward the ceiling, then falls back down to the floor, just to flip back up on all fours. Right below Ran is Meiling, who somehow managed to get in between Ran and Chen, and kicked Chen away from her target, however, she’s been scratched on her ribs by the nekomata. As she sits up, she notices her little clothes have been ripped, and the left side of her ribs have three scratches on them, and although they are not deep, the tiny gate guard starts to hyperventilate, her eyes fill with tears, then she suddenly starts to cry as soon as she notices a bit of blood trickles down her skin. Remilia, Sakuya and Flandre’s eyes all start glowing scarlet, and while Sakuya and Flandre show their fury, Remilia keeps a calm face as she grabs a spell card from under her capelet, and slowly approaches Chen. Before anything, in a strict tone, Remilia says “Sakuya, take Meiling and treat her! Flandre, don’t let her touch another child. You blast her if you have to!” Sakuya’s and Flandre’s eyes continue to glow scarlet as they says “right” at the same time. Chen continues to glare at Ran and tries to go after her again, but a barrier from Reimu keeps her from reaching. Meanwhile, Sakuya grabs the crying Meiling, while Daiyousei grabs Ran, who is still frozen in shock and disbelief, and Flandre positions herself right in front of the group of children. Chen snarls at Remilia, moving around on all fours like a while animal, then a spell card flies from her vest and floats above her head, and says “you will pay too! Oni Sign, Blue Oni Red Oni!” Before Chen’s spell can even activate, Remilia shouts “Scarlet Devil, Scarlet Devil!”, a spell that’s normally stationary, Remilia proves her strength by moving toward Chen while her spell is active. Chen screams as the scarlet flames surround her body and continue to burn her, the pain getting more intense the longer she’s engulfed in those flames. Remilia approaches Chen, the flames dancing around the vampire as she reaches for the nekomata, grabs her by her shirt, and threateningly says “you crossed a very thin and dangerous line.” Reimu’s voice manages to penetrate the flames, saying “Remilia, remember you promise!” Remilia smiles as she stares at Chen, who shows how agonizing the pain is through her slowly dying face, and says “you are lucky she was here”, and just like that, the flames disappear, Chen falls unconscious on the ground, and Remilia silently lands next to her. When everything is over, Remilia looks at Reimu, smiles, and flips her thumb up at the little maiden. After Reimu sighs with relief, Ayalina asks “h-hey! Where are Ail and Letty? And that Kali girl?” Marisa looks around, scratches her head, then says “they were just here a moment ago, ze.”, then they all notice an open window, Flandre angrily saying “that girl is really getting on my nerves.”

Outside the mansion, Kali has Ail wrapped around her left arm, and Letty on her right, both struggling to break free as she says “you sorry lot are going to be my insurance from now on. As long as I have you two, they won’t touch-“ Kali stops speaking and suddenly Ail and Letty manage to break free from her grip, then watch as she falls down to the unforgiving ground on her head. Ail asks “Letty, you alright?” Letty nods and asks “what happened?” Another pair of arms wrap themselves around the kids’ necks, these ones more gentle than Kali’s. It’s Cirno, and with a smile on her face she hugs the two children and says “I got you, so don’t you worry.” When Letty and Ail realize it’s Cirno, they stop struggling and smile, then return her hug as the fear they had felt just moments ago seems to melt away with her smile. As they float back down, Cirno says “let’s give miss Kali a little something to warm her up.” Cirno lands right next to Kali, then sets the children on the ground, where they get a better view of the ice patch on Kali’s back. Kali shivers and stutters as she says “y-y-y-y-y-you b-b-b-b-b-“ Cirno interrupts her, saying “ah-ah-ah-ah! Not in the presence of children. Now, bottoms up, miss shadow.” Cirno reveals a cold bottle of Sake from under her dress, pops its top open, then forces it into Kali’s mouth, making her drink its content with a content and victorious smile on her face. Later, at the mansion, the children all drink their grape and cherry juice, while the adults, including Shinki and Ayalina, all drink sake. Sanae tries to force Ail to drink from her cup, but Ail gets nervous and starts to stutter, which to her seems too cute, so she enjoys it a little longer before finally drinking her juice. Shanghai and Hourai seem to be drunk from the sake, but considering the tiny cups are quite large to them, it’s understandable. Rika smiles at Reimu after drinking her cherry juice, then says “for our health, miss Reimu.” Reimu drinks her cherry juice and thinks “she still calls me ‘miss’. This girl.” Daiyousei’s cheeks are bright red, and with a wriggly smile, she approaches Cirno and says “h-hey Cirno. This stuff is good, heh-heh. Eh? Cirno?” Cirno stands in front of a window, staring into her sake cup while in deep thought. When she realizes Daiyousei is leaning on her shoulder, she waves her hand in front of her own nose and says “fuu, Dai-chan, you reek of sake!” Daiyousei asks “aren’t you going to drink, Cirno-chan?” Cirno gets a bit nervous and can’t find words to say, so she simply pushes the cup on to her lips on an impulse and drinks its content. After gasping for air, she smiles and says “see? I drank it. No problem.” Daiyousei smiles and says “so glad. Once we spread the word, we can all go back to normal.” Cirno looks out the window and smiles, then softly says “yeah... Normal.”

Down at the Hakurei Shrine, Suika, who wears Reimu’s shrine maiden clothes at the time, holds a cup of sake on her hand, then gently knocks it against another cup, saying “cheers” along with Rumia. After drinking, Suika sighs and says “it’s been days... and it’s too quiet. I wonder if something happened.” Rumia drinks from her cup and smiles, then says “you’re just worrying too much.” Suika closes her eyes, smiles, and chuckles as she says “yeah, perhaps you’re right.” She looks at the night sky and says “geez, it was about time those two fell asleep. I almost sobered up.” Rumia smiles and asks “is that so~?” Just like that, there is a thunderous boom that makes Suika and Rumia yelp, and causes Mima to wake up and start crying. Suika looks toward the shrine’s open entrance and exclaims “what the hell?” At the door is Tenshi Hinanai, who has grown tall, has long hair that reaches below her waist, has amazing looking legs she’s proudly displaying with an updraft, and has a very small chest. She looks at Suika and loudly says “hi, everybody!” Beside her is the tiny Iku, who aside from being a tiny little girl, still has an air of mystery about her. Suika rushes to Tenshi, grabs her by her shirt, violently shakes her, then says “you realize you just woke up the children!” After letting her go, Tenshi manages to compose herself, laugh sheepishly, then says “heh, erm, sorry about that, but it’s been days, and we’re getting tired of this incident, so I came to see if-“ A large silver washtub falls right on top of Tenshi’s head, falling so hard, the clanging sound makes the whole floor vibrate. Suika looks worriedly toward the celestial, who stands in place with a smile, and before asking if she’s alright, Tenshi drops to the ground as stiff as a board. Iku sighs after seeing Tenshi fall, so she twirls and points her finger to the air, holding on to her hip with her right hand. Rumia holds Mima, helping her drink some sake, along with Agava, who sits beside them, and looks at Iku as she says “Ah, I see. So it is.” Suika turns around, panics at the sight, thenk shouts “stop giving sake to the children!”

To be continued...

Characters, Spell cards and Scenarios belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice-
Ail, Ayalina, Budou, Agava, Kyo, Luna, the RKNS (Rabid Karate Night Sparrow), Kimi and Kali were created by Willie G.R.
Rika Onkamikami was created by Snapshot 2010

JUN 29 2010
Written by
Willie G.R.

A/N:
Hello everybody. Hmm, rather amazed I finished this chapter so quickly. I REALLY got into it too. You know, the battle with Chen was supposed to be stopped by Suika, however after writing it, it seemed out of place, so I had Remilia restore the mansion’s reputation by her own hand. It came out better this way. We’re almost done here. Now, we need to spread the word. Sake and beer makes the spell wear off faster, which explains why Shikieiki (read chapter 3’s first paragraph) returned to normal so quickly.
Hmm... that sweet part with Satori... I think that even though she CAN see into her family and friends’ hearts, I really think she sometimes forgets to feel too. Good thing Koishi’s there. Well, anyway, I think it was unfair that Parsee and Yuugi got so little show-time in this chapter, but then it would have been too long. I think I’ll have more fun with them. Anyway, hope you are enjoying this story. Until next time, take care, and see you next chapter if the spirits will allow.