Day 8, Day of the Festival, Night.
So far, everything was dead perfect. Reimu had changed from her typical outfit into
her alternative Shrine Maiden outfit that was only ever worn during festivals. Of course,
it barely looked much different from her standard outfit, but with much longer, attached,
sleeves and legs. Either way, she was now dressed for the part, so she had to practice her
routines. She had a whole script to memorize, and a multitude of dances as well. And not
like any of this was written down anywhere. It was all passed on through tradition. Perhaps
Reimu would write it down tomorrow.
A few hours later, the sun had descended below the horizon, yet, the moon had not yet
begun to rise. Well, perhaps it was just a New Moon. Either way, the darkness seemed to
make the stars especially bright. That darkness would not last long after the guests showed
up, though.
The first guest to show up was Marisa, and Suika and Yukari had woken up and were
ready to go.
Within a few hours, several humans and plenty of youkai had arrived. The festival had
not yet started, however.
"What's taking so long, ze?" questioned the ever impatient Marisa Kirisame.
"We need more youkai, namely Keine to show up. And a few stands are still being set
up." Reimu reasoned.
"What is the point of waiting though? This is a star viewing festival, and the stars
are out. Let's throw the damn party, ze!"
"Not yet, she said." Yukari retorted. "She is the Shrine Maiden. Let her decide when
the party is."
Then the guests really began to show. Keine had been told to show up early, as had
Shikieiki (with Komachi). They both arrived a little later than planned, but still on time.
"Spellcard: Phantasmal Emperor!" A large field of narrow lights surrounded Keine, and
lit up the sky, announcing the true start of the festival. Suika banged on a large,
sideways drum near the front entrance of the shrine, sounding the beginning along with the
lights. And lastly, a large rock was thrown into the air by the oni, and exploded in a
large circle fire in mid air.
"Happy?" Reimu jested.
Within half an hour's time, dozens more youkai, and hundreds more humans attended the
second largest festival in all of Gensokyo, only the Reitaisai surpassing it. The Shrine
Maiden, however, stayed in the building, hidden from all until the last of the guests
arrived. Aya had been a little late, but had got there promptly. The storm sisters along
with Kouzokuko Yami and Yuu Hikari had arrived shortly after. The Inaba showed up as well,
leaving Kaguya behind as to not attract Mokou, so of course, Eirin stayed in Eientei as
well to protect the princess. Mystia Lorelei, Cirno, Youmu and Yuyuko, the Satori sisters,
Ran and Chen, even Hina, Orin and Utsuho, all made it to the shrine shortly after the
signals.
Across a large lake, the dark water, shining from the starlight, the Scarlet family
prepared to visit the Shrine.
"Sakuya, are we missing something?" The Head Mistress, Remilia Scarlet, asked her
head maid, just to make sure.
"Indeed, Mistress. Flandre is blissfully unaware of what's going on, sitting in the
basement, playing whatever she can think of, as usual. Patchouli is fired up, and Koakuma
playful as always. What about the Fairy maids?" Sakuya listed every little detail she
could.
"Take a few with us. They won't be needed, and some can stay behind to play with
Flandre, while others keep this place in order. And Meiling remains to guard the place."
"Yes, Mistress." Sakuya obediently rounded up a few fairies, checked on her
mistress's sister, and headed out of the Mansion.
A young vampire girl waited in her room. She made a mess by breaking a few vases down
the hall with her power, and they instinctively forgot their duty of watching her, and went
to clean it up. Before the unintelligent fairies could return, she was already outside of
the mansion. The fairies went on High-Alert, but failed to locate any problems. Flandre had
long since learned of the lack of security the place had once the Mistress was gone. "Of
course they leave without me. I can be good! But, Big Sis won't ever believe that, will
she?"
Just as Suika began to prepare more fireworks for launch, Marisa caught site of a
young girl in a scarlet dress, followed by a maid, and two of her other assistants. The
Scarlet family had finally arrived. She ran inside to inform Reimu. They were the last of
the guests, and right on time. Several boxes had been set up around the Shrine, and Yukari
had placed borders inside of them, connecting the space inside each box with all the other
boxes at once. The borders were in place to draw sound, and send it across the Temple Yard.
She called the Prismriver sisters together behind a large stage that had been set up.
Several lights went off, drawing the characters for 'Hakurei', and more lights shone on the
middle of the stage. The red-white Shrine Maiden finally showed herself. The visitors
turned their attention to her. Several instruments all began to go off at once. Keyboards,
trumpets, violins and guitars. Reimu let out the best voice she could muster. She had been
practicing all week for this. "Ladies and gentlemen, Youkai, Humans, Fairies, and all
others here tonight, I, Reimu Hakurei, have invited you all here tonight to celebrate
Tanabata, the lovely Star Festival! Let us begin with feasts, our phantom band, and
fireworks! Miss Ibuki!"
Suika Ibuki banged on the drum with intense force. She had made the inside incredibly
dense, however, so it did not even budge, and it even made the sound several times louder
and deeper. A few more bangs on the drum. She threw a bunch of rocks into the air before
making them all explode, one by one. She kept throwing up rocks in patterns, and creating a
display of fire in the sky. Huge beams of light glowed in the sky amongst the beautiful
explosions. Such a display that was never seen, but once a year. Even the Reitaisai paled
in comparison to the display put on here.
About an hour or so later, the fireworks ended, but the music kept playing. Reimu
then did her job as a Shrine Maiden, and began to mingle with her guests, trying to
convince the humans to donate, and the Youkai to be on their best behavior not to eat the
humans.
"Hey, there you are." Remilia called out from a few yards away. "We've been waiting
for you." Yukari had apparently been talking to the Scarlet Devil for a while.
"Hey, Remilia. Enjoying your time here?"
"Of course! I am pleasantly surprised to see that none of the humans are scared of
me. Then again, I am not the only one here who eats humans. I guess you are keeping the
humans calm and the youkai under control?"
"That is my job, is it not?"
"No, it isn't." interrupted Shikieiki.
"En, Enma-sama!" Reimu jumped.
"Your job is to EXTERMINATE youkai. But, it is also to attract faith, worshippers,
and donations, to your shrine. So, you are doing your job quite well."
"That's a first. I was complimented by her." Reimu was quite shocked to have avoided
a lecture from the infamous Judge of Paradise.
"Let me finish. Although I cannot claim that the union of youkai and humans here is a
good thing, it also is not bad. But, it is a bit unusual for a Shrine Maiden. Not that you
are a usual one, but still, does it not put you off even a little? After all, it goes
against your job description to entertain youkai instead of exterminate them." Shikeiki's
rant thankfully ended there.
"Yeah, whatever." Reimu commented. She did not honestly care. Besides, most of her
friends were youkai.
"Mistress Patchouli, are you okay?" Koakuma was worried sick about her mistress, the
librarian. Although, she was feeling fine.
"Where is she?" Patchouli only came to the festival to see her 'own shining star', a
girl named Marisa.
"Hey, Patch." She had been looking for the Shrine Maiden, and happened to find her
girlfriend there as well.
"Mari-chan! I... I hope you are doing okay?" Patchouli looked at the ground and
blushed a little when she saw Marisa.
"Patch, stop that, ze. It's too cute, I can't take it!" Marisa hugged Patchouli
tightly. "C'mere, girl, I wanna show you somethin'" Marisa and Patchouli left the area,
leaving Koakuma behind. They shared a passionate kiss on the temple yard, staring at the
sky, and each other's reflection in the dark water.
Reimu tried not to pay attention to the couple. She had used to call Marisa her own a
few years ago, but Marisa had other things to worry about eventually, and then Yukari found
Reimu, and, a few years later, Reimu wound up single again. She had not really been
interested in a lover for a long time, but seeing Marisa and Patchouli like that made her
heart ache. Not for either of them, but maybe for someone else. After all, she needed an
heir for the Shrine.
"You okay, Miss Hakurei?" Remilia interrupted Reimu's thoughts.
"Huh?! Oh. Uh, yeah. I'm fine. Just...." She decided to change the subject. "Hey,
let's go get some sake from Suika! What is a festival without sake, right?"
Reimu ran off. Remilia stayed behind, she was not interested in alcohol. Besides, she
drank blood.
The Scarlet Devil and her maid decided to head off together to eat. Well, not really.
Just sit at the table. The food she wanted was sitting at the table, not on it, but, she
promised Reimu not to cause any trouble. (Damn, it was tempting, though.) Sakuya, however,
still ate normal food.
"Hey, Reimu, is Big Sis gone?" A childish, girly, voice called out to the Shrine
Maiden from behind some bushes.
"Flandre, are you not supposed to be out?"
"Please don't tell Big Sis! She'll get really, really, mad." Flandre pleaded to
Reimu.
"Fine. I'll hang around you and keep you hidden from her. Alright? Just DON'T blow
anything up!" Flandre promised with all her heart (and almost clapped her hands together to
show her devotion, but then realized she would probably destroy Reimu if she did) to
control herself, not think too much, and to never ever close her hands. The two hung out
and talked, played all kinds of games, (which Flandre seemed unnaturally talented at them,
particularly the shooting games, though unlucky when it came to the luck games, which Reimu
never lost), watched fireworks, ate foods, and kept hidden from Remilia, which ultimately
kept them running around from stand to stand, and even leaving stands early as she got near
them. All in all, though, it was delightful.
Flandre began to overhear her sister's personal bodyguard, Sakuya, chatting with her
sister. "I'm worried about that girl. I mean, yeah, she has the fairies watching her, but,
what can they do if she gets out? Who is to say Flandre won't start looking for us?"
"Don't worry about that, Sakuya! She knows full well not to leave the mansion. If she
was to come here, she'd risk getting caught by me. If she got caught, Flandre would be
severely punished, and she knows that. Trust me, Flandre is fine."
The conversation terrified Flandre, practically giving her a heart attack if a
vampire could indeed have one.
"What do you think Remilia would do if she caught you?" Reimu was curious as to what
would scare Flandre so bad.
"You don't want to know." She quietly answered, trying to avoid being heard.
"Come on, tell me! I'm just curious. Look, I'll say I invited you if you do get
caught, and that I'm keeping a watch on you."
"Really?! Thanks!" Flandre hugged Reimu tighter than she's ever hugged anyone in her
life. "My sister has punishments far worse than just locking me in the basement. You'd be
surprised. I am a vampire, after all, so only certain things can kill me. What CAN'T kill
me, can still hurt me." She was not even about to begin explaining what that exactly meant.
The thought of the medieval torture devices almost made Flandre cry. Remilia would never
actually use them, but she lead Flandre to believe she would. Remilia loved her sister
dearly, but was scared of her power, like everyone else who ever met her, including Flandre
herself. Sometimes, Flandre hated her power, and tried thinking about it as hard as she
could, waiting a few seconds, and closing her hands in an attempt to destroy it, which
never worked.
Marisa and Patchouli, holding each other's hands, ran into Reimu again, and were both
stunned to see Flandre as well.
"Flandre, what are you doing here? I didn't know Lady Remilia would let you out."
Patchouli questioned. Everyone was so terrified from her just leaving the basement, not
even thinking about venturing outside, so why would she be allowed outside now?
"I'm not! Don't tell Big Sis, please Lady Patchouli!" Flandre pleaded to the
librarian girl. "I promise not to, Flandre, but, don't you know its dangerous out here?"
"You mean don't I know I'M dangerous out here? Of course I do. But, I am keeping
myself together and I promised not to make a mess." Flandre recited proudly.
"Alright, ze. We'll give you a chance. Just promise to return safely before your
sister does, and if you do anything wrong, you're going straight back to the basement,
okay?" Marisa further enforced the rules on the young looking girl.
"Thank you all so very much for protecting me! I love you all so much!" Flandre
jumped up in happiness , grazing yet another metaphorical bullet.
The shrine maiden and apocalyptic vampire girl continued to enjoy the festival, along
with the hundreds of other visitors. The sheer thought of the numbers of people here made
Reimu's eyes water. If every person donated even 300 yen, then... she'd have enough
donations for the whole year! Or at least until Reitaisai.
After a while had passed, Flandre decided to ask Reimu a question. "Hey, miss Shrine
Maiden?"
"Yes, Flandre?" Reimu was a little confused why she was called by her job title, but,
didn't bother to ask.
"Remember that endless night? The recent one, that Alice solved a few months ago?"
"What about it? I am sure you have a few questions. Go ahead." The look on the
short-haired blonde's face was far too innocent for her to deny a simple question.
"Can I... meet the girls who caused it? You did invite them, didn't you?"
"Oh, Yuu and her gang. Sure, I do not really see much of a reason not to. They might
be bored, since Alice isn't here. They made such great friends with her, too. Sounds like
something I would do."
And, so, they began to search for Yuu and Kouzokuko, knowing the four would all be
together. Luckily, they weren't too hard to find. They were busy between a drink stand some
human was running, the younger storm sisters busily playing a ball game Reimu did not
recognize.
"Hey, Mizuko. Remember me?" Reimu called out to the pair of youkai playing whatever
game that stand was running.
"Ah. You were friends with that puppet girl, Alice, right? The Shrine Maiden, miss
Red-white? Pardon, I forget your name." The grey-eyed girl spoke, a glisten in her eye.
"Reimu. Hakurei Reimu. And, this is my friend Flandre Scarlet."
"Ah. Hakurei and Flandre. How are you?" The red-haired childlike youkai replied with
a wide smile and a small chuckle, as she willingly got distracted from her throw.
"Silly girl, Hakurei is her bloodline. Her given name is Reimu, Sis." Mizuko could
barely contain her laughter from the mistake.
"Don't blame me, she was the one who introduced the blonde chick by first name, and
herself by last."
Yuu felt an argument about to brew between the two girls, so she intervened
immediately. "Calm down, you two. It's not that big a deal, regardless of how funny the
clumsy error was." She said the last part a little faster, and under her breath, but, loud
enough for the youkai of rainstorms to hear.
"Hikari-sama, that was mean." Ameko retorted.
Reimu jumped back in the conversation. "Anyway, back to what actually matters. How
are you four? Flandre said she wanted to meet you, so, introduce yourselves."
Suddenly, three of the four, all except Kouzokuko Yomi, huddled in front of Flandre,
extending their arms, and offering a handshake as they recited their names.
"Hi, hello, and how are you, miss." Flandre greeted all three in response.
"Your Flandre Scarlet, right? The younger sister of Remilia Scarlet?" Yuu seemed to
know who she was already, which came off as slightly odd. How did someone besides Reimu and
Marisa know of her, outside the Mansion?
"Yes. Yes, I am. Miss Hikari, how long have you been around? I spent the last four
hundred-ninety-five years in a basement, and the years since have been pretty much keeping
to myself, trying to stay out of there."
"My age is unimportant, and well, I would say indeterminable. And your power, miss
Flandre? I know a lot of people here, well, youkai here, and a few humans, have special
powers. Mine for instance, is the power to manipulate utter darkness. I cannot remove it,
because removing absence of light is actually creating light, which is miss Yomi's job."
"So, darkness is really just light, when light is not there?" Flandre questioned with
the inquisitiveness of an elementary schoolchild.
"Somewhat like that. But, a little more complicated, perhaps. More like, a zero of
light."
"Darkness is neither the presence, nor the absence of light." Kouzokuko finally
opened her mouth, and a small hint of arrogance seemed to add spice to her words. Whether
or not it was intentional, no body really knew. "It is more or less, a lack of light. Like,
darkness is always there, even if light is, it is just that light covers darkness, just as
bright lights hide dim ones. But, how much would a vampire know about light, anyway?"
"Exactly what I was thinking." Ameko added in her own opinion.
"Ameko, be quiet. No one asked you." Mizuko barked at her sister fiercely.
"Your point?" Ameko's open ended question was a common answer, especially to her
sister's bitterness.
"Yuu said be quiet." Kouzokuko was not happy with the rising tension between the two
younger girls.
"Miss Reimu, want to go elsewhere?" Flandre asked the raven-haired Shrine Maiden,
annoyed by the antics of the new girls. The pair left, and shortly passed by a large clock.
Reimu was panic stricken. It was time for her to initiate the next phase of the ceremony.
The feast is allowed to finish, but the fireworks had to be started up again, along with
the Spellcard duels. She got the idea to hold play fights while she was sending out the
invitations in the Human Village. Most humans don't get to see Spellcard battles, and
sometimes, they can be nice to watch when they aren't aimed at you. So humans and youkai
alike could get plenty of enjoyment out of it, plus, solve any feuds or grudges between
certain youkai if they wished. Of course, Flandre would be in the crowd watching, given
both the fact that she was hiding, and the fact that she could accidentally injure or kill
bystanders with her Spellcards.
"Flandre, I must go now. I have to prepare for the next event. It's ten o'clock now."
Reimu said, bowed to Flandre, and ran off.
Flandre grabbed Reimu by the wrist, and pulled her back. "No! Don't go yet, please!
My sister is right over there." She said, pointing to Remilia, a few stands away. Flandre
hid behind Reimu. "Besides, I'm not done yet."
"Done?" Reimu was worried what that meant.
"Yeah. You know, like, there is something I want to do."
"And that is... don't tell me it has anything to do with...." Reimu was cut off by
the vampire girl.
"Nope. Reimu-chan, I never get to go out on my own. I can't thank you enough for
letting me be out here. When I said earlier that I loved you guys for protecting me, I was
mostly directing it towards you, Rei-Rei." Flandre blushed a little as she said this.
"Flandre, you... what? Do you have any idea what you just said?"
"Of course I do! I may look young, but me and my sister are over five-hundred years
old, remember? We are mature women, even if we don't look it."
Reimu sighed at Flandre's logic. It made perfect sense. Remilia was incredibly
clear-minded for a girl of the age she appeared to be. She had everything under handle,
could control everything around her with ease, and controlled her own physical actions
effortlessly. Flandre seemed to be exhibiting most of the same feats, but, is out much less
often and so lacks some maturity from simply not having people to talk to. Reimu began to
pity Flandre a little more than she already did.
"I guess you have a point there. But, Flandre, if you really do mean that, well, I
don't know what to say. Come talk to me later, okay? I have to go meet.Yukari and keep the
festival moving." With that, Reimu tried to flee again, but Flandre still had her wrist.
"Oh, right." Flandre let Reimu go, but not without first pulling the shrine maiden
closer to herself, and kissing her on the cheek. "Bye-bee, Rei-Rei. I love you." She said
with a cute, innocent smile.
"Yukari, I'm here. Sorry, I lost track of time. I was keeping on eye on... the
festival." Reimu showed up the smallest bit late.
"We were beginning to wonder where you were, little lady." Yukari teased. Reimu
noticed Suika in the back by a bunch of orange painted rocks, drunk off her oni ass as
always, and drinking sake by the mouthful to top it all off.
"Yeah, where in Gensokyo were you? This is YOUR *hic* festibaru, *hic*, isn't it?"
Suika said, barely able to speak properly.
"Suika, at least slow down." Reimu sighed. "Anyways, as I said, I was busy keeping an
eye on the festival, and making sure nothing exploded, at least without prior planning. So
far, we haven't had any of that happen."
"Why would we have?" Yukari wondered. "Wait, you don't mean... SHE'S here?!" Yukari
was surprised, though whether or not she was excited about it or terrified, or both, Reimu
couldn't tell.
"Aww, you have a crush on miss Flan, duncha, Yakumo-taaan. *hic*"
"Don't tell Remilia, please! She's on my watch, or was anyway. Oops! I should've left
her to Patchouli and ... never mind. Those two are probably spending the night a little too
close to each other. Anyway, let's get the Danmaku Parade going. I'll be one of the judges,
along with you, Enma-sama, and Rinnosuke. By the way, didn't Ran and Chen show up? I don't
see them."
Yukari rolled her eyes. "I bet they are off spinning in circles naked again. If Ran
has her clothes on, I'd be quite amazed."
Suika sounded the drums again, and threw a bunch of orange rocks into the air,
exploding in a massive firework. She then threw up a few purple and indigo rocks, exploding
them in a fan-shaped pattern, creating a dazzling display. The drums sounded again, and the
Prismriver band began to play once more.
Reimu's voice shouted as loud as she could, transmitted through Yukari's borders
everywhere within the Shrine. "Attention, youkai, human, fairy, and all other participants
in the Hakurei Shrine Star Festival! We will now be holding special, one-of-a-kind,
Spellcard battles in the temple yard! It is strongly advised that you come and watch these,
but to stand back as you do. Some of the most powerful youkai, some of the less strong
ones, fairies, and maybe even a few humans will be battling, just for entertainment of
course, each other in beautifully crafted Danmaku!"
Everything stopped instantly. Everyone turned their heads to the shrine maiden to see
if she was joking, serious, or for a variety of other reasons.
She HAD to be insane, right? At least, that's what most of the humans and a few
youkai thought.
A few humans who were still at the feast areas began to shiver, and felt an unnatural
chill run throughout the shrine. "Eye'm the strongest!" Cirno delightfully hollered at the
top of her lungs. No body, maybe not even Cirno, could tell if that was just her battle
cry, or a challenge in and of itself to all who 'dared' to fight Cirno.
The crowd then migrated to the area where the battles would be held. Reimu had
already gotten on a second stage, and announced to the entire area the rules of the duels.
"Okay. Me, Yukari, Rinnosuke of Kouridou fame, and Enma-sama, Shikieiki, will be
judging this contest. All are allowed to participate, so long as you have at least one
Spellcard. However, we only have so much time, and due to the tournament playing style,
designed to pit all-against-all, and entice some of you more powerful, flashy, youkai into
joining, we only made room for seven participants, so we need to register the seven players
first. Each of the seven will be assigned a difficulty rating based on their Spellcards,
and their history in Danmaku. If they have none, we must see their spellcards before
denoting their difficulty ratings. Each entrant is allowed a single spellcard, and at least
one non-spell. Spellcards must be played last. Once a spellcard is cleared, the battle is
over. Of course, all Spellcard rules apply. Capturing a spellcard is not entirely
necessary; however, surviving it is. Now then, Marisa will take care of signing people up.
Line up at the desk outside, and talk to her. She has a better knowledge of Spellcard
histories than anyone." Reimu finally finished her long speech. The sign-up process would
be enormously long, which gave her plenty of time to check back up on a deserted Flandre.
But first, she had to make sure of something.
"Marisa." Reimu called out from behind the sign-up desk.
"Yeah, ze?"
"Make sure Flandre does not sign up. First of all, I don't want her presence public
for plenty of reasons. Second of all, I don't want anyone's fears to become realities."
"I understand, ze. I also told Patch not to sign up either. I don't want her getting sick
from the fighting, nor do I want her to get angered and go off killing some fairy or human
or something, ze."
"Thanks, Marisa. Glad I can count on you." Reimu walked off to find Flandre.
Where have I heard that before? Marisa thought to herself, jokingly.
She found the vampire girl by herself with no one even close by, throwing coins into
a wishing fountain.
"What're you wishing for?" Reimu asked the lonely vampire girl.
"Hmm... I can't tell you. That would nullify my wish." Flandre said, her face
expressionless. "Reimu, come with me. I want to draw my fortune for the year."
"We only do paper fortunes at New Year's, Flan-chan."
"Yes but... please?" Flandre pleaded, pulling the best puppy-dog eyes she could
muster. Reimu gave in. She went into the Shrine itself, and made a large group of paper
fortunes. Five 'Worst luck', three 'bad luck', seven 'normal luck', and a single 'PERFECT
LUCK'. Sixteen papers in total. She put them in an offering box, and told Flandre to close
her eyes, pray for what she wanted, and draw a fortune.
Flandre did as asked. She bowed to the box. "Goddess Fortuna, please, grant me my
dreams this wonderful night!"
Flandre reaches her hand in. She pulls out a piece of folded up paper, and unfolds
it. Her eyes widen as she reads the paper, a single tear forming in her eye. Maybe I only
should have made four 'Worst Luck' fortunes? Reimu thought to herself. The tear still
running down Flandre's cheek, the vampire girl embraced Reimu tightly. Her whole body gave
off a magnificent warmth as she pressed herself against the other girl's body. Reimu held
her in return, rubbed her back, and gently said to her, "I'm sorry, Flandre. I should've
known your luck was not that great."
The vampire jumps back from the Shrine Maiden's arms, and stares into her eyes.
"Sorry? Why would you be sorry?" She revealed what was written on the paper. "PERFECT LUCK"
Reimu was stunned in every sense of the word! Her eyes must have tripled in size that
day, every single muscle, every last blood cell in her body locked in position. WHAT?!
Reimu barely has that kind of luck.
Anyway, they made their way back to the Danmaku Parade. Reimu had to be prepared to
judge, and Flandre had to find a good spot to hide.
Let the games begin.
The first competitors were the Night Sparrow, Mystia Lorelei, and the Fairy of Sheer
Cold, Cirno. Fitting for an example to the humans of what danmaku should look like. Simple
enough to follow, complex enough to be pretty.
Mystia shot curtains of bullets towards Cirno, who was throwing icicle after icicle
at the bird. She cleverly evaded them, while Mystia's bullets just grazed Cirno, who was
too busy shooting to dodge, though she did anyway.
The exchange of childish shots kept up for a long time, neither side sustaining any
damage, until an icicle finally grazed Mystia, which she followed by shooting a curtain
directly at Cirno's head.
Cirno activates her Spellcard. "Ice Sign - Icicle Fall!" Cirno sticks her hands out
as far as she can, and begins to shoot ice walls out of them. As she shoots the walls of
ice, she moves her arms at angles, forming a fan-shape with the icicles, which begin to
descend, curving inward. "Eye'm not gonna make this so easy this time!" So she concentrated
a group of yellow spheres, aimed at Mystia. She swerved between the shots, and hid from the
ice, still shooting her curtain of bullets.
"You don't look tasty, so I'm not gonna eat you. But, I will still lure you into my
trap! Vocal Sign -Hooting in the Night-!" A dense wave of triangular bullets flew off of
Mystia's wings, expanding in a curtain of bullets, with each wing shooting in opposite
direction. Cirno's spell restricted her movement, so she was forced to take the shots. It
didn't take too many, however, to knock her Spellcard out.
"Looks like we have a winner, folks. Mystia Lorelei, the Night Sparrow!" Reimu
announced. The second round would proceed after a small break. Not like it was that long,
but thats what had been planned.
Taking advantage of the intermission, Reimu went into the crowd to go see Flandre.
"Hey, Flan-chan. Enjoy that fight? I know it was pretty short, but it was interesting,
considering how dim-witted the contestants were. It was planned, of course."
"Wow, you are a great planner, Rei!" Flandre said excitedly.
"Rei?" Reimu blushed a little from this. Reimu went to get another bowl of sake,
bringing Flandre along with her. "Can you drink sake?" she asked her companion.
"I don't really like it too much, actually. Remilia tried giving me a few cups of the
stuff before, but, it had this weird, bitter taste. And I think she put some sauce or
something in it. I noticed some red fluid in it."
Reimu tried to hold back her laughter. Sake with blood in it? Remilia was clever.
"So you are here." Yukari had apparently wanted to investigate Flandre's presence
here for herself. "Good to hear. I yelled at your sister to bring you, but she refused. So
you snuck out?"
Flandre did not expect Yukari to want to find her. "Hello, Yukari Yakumo . Nice to
see you."
"Hey, Yukari. How's the festival going? Thanks for the sound-transmitting borders, by
the way, they come in handy."
"You know, you could've just invited Nitori and had her construct a sound system."
Yukari suggested
"That would have taken too long. Anyway, why did you want to see Flandre?"
"No particular reason. Just that I thought she should be allowed out of the Mansion
from time to time."
"Hey, someone agrees with me." Flandre jested. "Seriously, though, it isn't fair that
I don't get to go out."
"You could go out with me." Yukari said casually, implying the double meaning. Both
girls were shocked by Yukari's bluntness.
Flandre stared at the ground. "You don't mean, like, on a date, do you?"
"Of course I did. You are a very close friend to me, Flandre. We can keep each other
company during the nights, and between you and me, there is nothing we cannot do."
"That can't happen." Flandre said, regretfully.
"You aren't... straight, are you?" Yukari was upsetted by the revelation.
"I don't exactly have a sexuality. Being locked in a basement for five-hundred years
takes away a chance for one to develop. That's why I have no social skills, no opinions of
myself or of the world around me. Never got a chance to find any of that out. But, I just
like Reimu."
"You ... like Reimu?" Yukari was furious. The Shrine Maiden broke up with Yukari a
few months ago, claiming that their relationship was not needed anymore, and that it did
not befit her duties as a Shrine Maiden to have a girlfriend. Yukari took it bad. She
locked herself in the Netherworld for weeks, with only Ran and Chen to serve her from time
to time, and maybe a visit from her best friend Yuyuko. Eventually, she took it to mean
Reimu wanted to marry a man to give her an heir to the Hakurei Bloodline. "Reimu, you
better not ..."
"We aren't dating at the moment. Don't worry, I can't say if I like Flandre in that
way, either."
"I thought you agreed!" Flandre complained. She almost lost her temper, but then
remembered her dreadful power.
"I'm sorry, Flandre, but things won't always work out that way. I know you love me,
but, I need some time to think still."
"How much time will you need?" Flandre grew incredibly impatient. She wanted Reimu
and wasn't going to not have her.
"After the contests, I promise I will answer your question. Speaking of which, they
start very soon. We need to get back into position. Come on, Yukari."
Yukari went over to Flandre instead, held her chin, and leaned in. Flandre's chest
began pounding. Her face got hot, and her eyes wide. A seal landed on Yukari's back and
Reimu's rod smacked her in the head.
"Don't you dare. Even if I don't take her, you don't have the right to kiss her,
pervert."
Flandre's face began to turn red again. "Thank you, Rei-Rei." Yukari decided to
accept defeat this once. She was going to have her in the end, though.
"Calm down, people, calm down. Reimu and Yukari are late. Give them a minute."
Shikeiki tried to maintain order with the competition stalled by a late return from two of
the three judges.
"We're back. Sorry Enma-sama. Had bit of a distraction." Reimu appeared with Yukari
close behind her.
Shikieiki looked into Reimu's soul to see if she had done anything sinful during the
intermission. She was clean. Yukari, on the other hand, had committed a lustful act of some
sort. Attempting to kiss someone? She didn't try to abuse Reimu, did she?
Anyway, the next pair of duelists were Keine Kamishirasawa and Nazuiko. History eater
versus Rain youkai. Keine started the fight by silently flying into the air, Nazuiko
shooting up to meet her a bit later. "Don't want to talk? Come on, we are here to give
these people a show. Don't disappoint the shrine maiden, or any of the humans." She looked
at the crowd of people as the said the word 'humans', mocking Keine for so valiantly
defending humans.
"Childish, foolish, youkai!" Keine prompted the fight by throwing a large number of
kunai in a rotating line, giving off rows of bullets around her, making her kunai more
deadly. Nazuiko easily evaded the shots and retaliated with a curtain of water. The curtain
was short range, but it was only meant to couple with a fan of water bullets. She was
unable to reach Keine with the short-range wave, but that wasn't the majority of damage.
Nazuiko gave up waiting for Keine to break.
"Rain Sign - A Dark Sky's Sorrow!" A dozen evenly spaced triangle bullets formed a
circle around Nazuiko. They spread out, and stopped in place, as a second wave copied the
same action. Bullets began spawning overhead. The circle of bullets around Nazuiko drew
inward, and continued their path around Nazuiko and then outward. More bullets continually
repeated the same patterns, and the waves picked up speed. Large bubbles of magic began
collecting in front of Nazuiko and traveled toward Keine, amidst the raining bullets and
continuing storm of magic bullets.
Keine attempted to evade the bullets, but could barely keep up between the multitudes
of different attacks. Overhead bullets, waves of triangle bullets spreading outward, and
the spread of large bubbles eventually overwhelmed her. She tried to activate a Spellcard,
but it would not activate fast enough before a bubble crashed into her and exploded. Her
attempt at a counter-spell didn't work either. Nazuiko was declared the victor.
"No way! Just who are you, anyway?" The furious were-hakutaku glared at Nazuiko.
"Better than you." she simply replied, before descending to the ground and walking
away.
"That's it of the second match." Declared Yukari from the Judge's Booth.
"And a vicious match it was." Reimu added. "But, Nazuiko was a stage 5 boss, and
Keine only stage 3. That wasn't a fair match up."
"True, Hakurei, but, don't forget, although her hakutaku form is almost a completely
different person, it was still an extra mid-boss, and a brutal one at that." Shikieiki
refuted her logic.
"Actually, you both have a point." Yukari commented. "Though there is nothing we can
do about it now, it does seem a bit unfair. Of course, Stage 3 could almost count as a
final stage if it had to, and stage 4 is typically harder than 5. So, in reality, the match
up isn't all that unfair, and at the same time, was totally one-sided."
Either way, the trio of judges decided, the match was called, and the show must go
on. It was time for match 3, Aya Shameimaru versus Marisa Kirisame. Instantly, Reimu knew
Marisa was up to some kind of trick. Probably putting on a show for Patchouli to impress
her. Or maybe hitting on Aya. Either one was no where close to far fetched for Marisa's
persona.
"By the way, keep in mind that from this point forward, being at a safe distance
means something entirely different. We have the Fastest in Gensokyo fighting Kirisame
Marisa. Either she won't be allowed to use her Master Spark, or the audience better back
the hell up. And believe me, she won't let us not let her use Master Spark." Reimu warned
the audience. Yukari put up a massive boundary around the area deemed the battlefield which
any danmaku that hit it would disappear instantly. Any one who fired shots outside of this
boundary would be immediately disqualified.
Reimu announced the obvious conditions to the pair of duelists. "Don't kill each
other, alright? Keep in mind, you get one spellcard and ONLY one spellcard, even if this is
a Stage 4 fight. Keep it fair and within Spellcard rules. Other than that, unleash Hell."
Marisa did just that immediately. She wasn't going to use Master Spark, given Aya's
insane flying speeds. Instead, she merely fired repeated lasers off of the ground and high
into the air at various angles, small amounts of magic bullets flying out of herself at the
same time.
The Crow Tengu effortlessly dodged every laser, squeezed in between the small,
spherical magic bullets, and didn't even bother to shoot her own shots. Instead, she was
reserving her energy for the Spellcard.
Marisa did not want to end her attack, but if Aya wasn't going to fight back, she'd
have to be forced into fighting. Increasing the laser density would nullify her use of a
Spellcard, so she had no other choice but to give everything she had into the Spellcard she
did use. She had no way of hitting a moving target, besides covering everything with a
giant laser, or several narrow ones. So she decided to use a beta-spell, one of her
Spellcards she devised around the time the Spellcard system was introduced, but then
scrapped it, replacing it with Stardust Reverie. "Astral Sign - Star Shower!"
Marisa shot into the air at incredible speed, heading straight up, leaving a line of
magic in her wake. The magic beam formed by her turned into a dense cloud of star-shaped
shots, twisting and turning outward, forming a large sphere, eventually leaving gaps in
between the stars. Aya teased Marisa by moving directly next to the bullets, moving her
slender frame in between the stars whose arms were still touching, only the centers
actually counting as a hit.
Suddenly, a large glowing white disk extended outward from Marisa, blanketing the
field. The disk then materialized just as the beam had earlier, star-shaped bullets raining
down at marvelous speeds. The entire field was covered by the star shapes.
Nonetheless, Aya darted like an insect, easily evading the shots. She found a
temporary safe spot and began to shoot a waving column of wind at Marisa, who dropped
rapidly to avoid the assault, and then slowly moved back up before she ran out of room, her
horizontal movement being sealed by the Spellcard. As she moved however, the star magic
emanating from Marisa's vertical movement became a cluttered mess, instead of its patterned
formation. Aya grazed the mass of stars as best as she could, but ran out of hope, and out
of time. She had to activate her Spellcard now, or risk handing the fight over.
"Wind God - Wind God Hidden Among Tree Leaves!" A wave of danmaku pairs began to
materialize out of Aya's wings, spreading out toward Marisa before turning back inward,
following a curved path going back out. But, the leaf bullets spread apart as they flew
back outward, creating a mostly random mess, although some parts of it clumped together.
Marisa had seen this spell before, and maneuvered out of it easily, still shooting
multiple barrages of star shapes. Despite Aya's efforts, the shifting center points of
Marisa's attack eventually pushed too many stars close together, forming a bullet wall that
trapped Aya. She couldn't help but take the hit, declaring herself the loser.
"Stage 4: Cleared!" Reimu happily announced. "Kirisame Marisa takes the victory.
Report that in your newspaper."
"Ayayayayaya~" Aya protested. "I friggin' lost! Ah, well, what can one do? Her
attacks were stunningly beautiful."
"You gave me a helluva fight, miss Shameimaru." Marisa extended her arm in a friendly
manner, offering a handshake for a fight well fought. Aya obliged, and quickly disappeared.
Yukari's voice rang throughout the area. "I don't know about the audience, but, after
that kind of a fight, I kind of want a break. Especially since it gets worse from here."
"Yukari, quit being so lazy." Shikieiki was on the verge of lecturing her.
"Excuse me, miss, but I believe you have no right to judge me." Yukari was not in the
mood. She had things to do. She figured nothing would convince the Yama to not judge
anyone, so she bordered herself out, slipping into another area of existence, slowly
floating down behind an excited Flandre and Patchouli.
"Mari-chan is amazing in every way." Patchouli was busy fangirling over her
blonde-haired lover, while Flandre was too excited to realize what was even going on.
"Wait, the fight is over?" she said, sounding remarkably disappointed in its
shortness. "If I entered the contest...." Flandre tried to brag about how long she would
last in a spell card duel (oblivious still to the 1-card rule) before being yelled at by
Patchouli.
"No! There is a reason your not, and it has nothing to do with you being seen. Need I
make it rain again?"
Flandre's eyes widened, her face turned a bright red. "No, uhh, whatever you do, do
NOT make it rain. That, or tell Big Sis! Please, I beg you, Lady Patchouli!" Patchouli
thought Flandre was about to cry. Of course, she could've just been faking it.
"I was joking. You know how many people would be upset if it rained all of a sudden.
That, and I'd have to explain myself to the Head Mistress. She would not be happy if she
found out I knew you were here the whole time."
Then Flandre noticed Yukari. "Hey, Yukari-sama. What are you doing here?"
"Finishing our conversation." Yukari stared into Flandre's child-like eyes with a
dire intent. Flandre smacked Yukari across the cheek for that. She didn't want to be kissed
again. Not by Yukari at least....
"I didn't mean like that. I just wanted to say how much I care about you, Flan. I
enjoy your company at night, and that cute, innocent, smile you show off so much."
"That doesn't sound like you, Yukari. And besides, my heart is taken."
Patchouli began to think about her own relationship, and felt sort of bad for Yukari.
Alice had tried several times to win Marisa's heart, even after realizing that she had
already claimed the girl. Now, Flandre's love for Reimu was left unreturned, and Yukari
instead tried to pursue the young-looking vampire girl. Almost a complete opposite
situation, but it still gave Patchouli a sick feeling in her stomach.
Reimu had timely appeared to make her statement, and put a close on the deal.
"Flandre, you are looking for me, aren't you."
"Yes, I am!" Flandre smiled brightly, ran up to Reimu, and threw her arms around the
girl. "I've been waiting for you, Rei-chan."
"Flandre, I told you, we aren't...." Flandre wouldn't have it.
"Then at least make Yukari back off! She keeps trying to have me. Probably just wants
in my skirt anyway."
Yukari's anger was magnified by Flandre's claim and previous statement.
"Flandre, calm down. I love Yukari. Though, not in that way anymore." Reimu tried to
keep the peace as best as she could. A battle between the two could mean the destruction
of everything within a wide radius. Possibly even all of Gensokyo.
The stares between the two girls reflected the anger, contempt, and jealousy in their
hearts. Flandre sneered viciously at Yukari, who briefly considered fighting back, until
she decided how much calamity it would cause. "Dammit, sweet little Flandre. Please, forget
about Reimu." Yukari pleaded.
"No way. I'm Reimu's girl, so stay away from me and my sexy Shrine Maiden!"
"What did you just call me?!" Reimu was shocked by the blunt comment. It looked like
it was up to Reimu to decide who would get her heart, but, she herself seemed to have her
mind made up.
"I want to be with you, Flan-chan."
"Never! Not in five-hundred years. I belong to Reimu."
"No you don't!" Reimu tried to convince her that she had not yet agreed, but there
was no convincing the blonde vampire.
"Fine. How about a Spellcard Duel? If you win, Yukari-sama, I will voluntarily give
myself to you. If I win, then you have to let me have Reimu if she takes me." Flandre
challenged the Youkai of Boundaries for her heart and body.
"I'm going to have you, Flan." Yukari proclaimed.
"No, you two will not be fighting each other!" Reimu protested.
"All you want is to get-"
"Flandre-sama, your sister is coming! Hide!" Patchouli warned. Yukari responded by
immediately bordering the young vampire over the misty lake, halfway between the Shrine and
the Scarlet Devil Mansion.
Flandre looked at the temple yard in the distance. It was lively, and she wanted to
be back there. And, she wanted Yukari away from it. "I am not going to let her have me."
she thought to herself, as she stared at the lights and the crowd from a distance, eyeing
where Yukari would be at the moment. She thought about the woman who was so desperate to
have her, in any way she wanted. Flandre was half-convinced Yukari would attempt to rape
her if she was given the chance. She wanted to punch an invisible wall of air to take her
frustration out, but did not want to risk destroying Yukari. First of all, if something
happened to her, it could mean the immediate end of Gensokyo. That, and she was still
Reimu's best friend and used to be her lover as well. Then the thoughts of Reimu mixed
themselves with the rest, shattering Flandre's conscious, threatening to drive her insane.
She then turned her thoughts to her home, on an island in the middle of the lake. She
never wanted to return to that place again. The girl refused to think of that place as
'home' anymore. For her, home was the space between Reimu's loving arms and her warm,
beating chest. She longed to be held by the young woman, and wanted to return to the Shrine
so she could finally have her. But, something kept her away from the Temple yard. Some
force in her mind did not let her go near the crowd. Instead, she rested down near one of
the gates, among a patch of flowers.
Flandre waited in the field of flowers for Reimu. She pressed her hands against her
face, covering her eyes as she cried for what seemed like hours.
The lonely, blonde vampire girl felt a force press against her chest, covered by a
long red cloth. "I'm here for you, girl." Reimu quietly muttered into her ear, and placed
her lips against her freezing cheeks. Flandre's face began to burn hotter than they ever
had in her entire life, and her almost-skeletal wings stretched outward, removing the
'broken' appearance they usually had, and each of the lights on it gave off an incredibly
luminous light, out-shining almost every light in the Shrine even. A wave of feelings came
over Flandre. She had never felt so warm. Her eyes closed, her mind emptied, and her hands
made themselves into tiny fists. "Ha...ku...rei... Reimu. I love you." she quietly spoke as
she fell asleep in Reimu's arms.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day 9, Morning after the Festival. Early morning.
"How long has she been here?" Flandre recognized the voice partially, her
consciousness not fully returned to her.
"A few hours now. I have been keeping her under control the whole time." This strange
second voice stood out to the dazed vampire girl, but she couldn't think of who it belonged
to.
"I told you she was safe, Lady Remilia. I was watching her as well." She had fully
recognized the third voice, and despised her hearing it. Yukari Yakumo.
She realized who all were conversing. The first voice was the head maid and a good
friend of hers, Sakuya Izayoi. The second was the beautiful Shrine Maiden whom Flandre
admired and loved with all of her heart, Reimu Hakurei.
"Reimu..." Flandre breathed, eager to feel her again. Her consciousness snapped back
to her all at once. She was sleeping in Reimu's lap. "Big Sis, I am not going back to the
Mansion. I can handle myself out here, and I want to be with Rei."
"No! You are not allowed to be outside, no matter what." Remilia was adamant in her
decisions, especially ones concerning her sister.
"She is fine, I told you that, Lady Remilia."
"No, she isn't!"
"Don't worry about her, you two. Flandre has been with me this whole time, and in the
long hours she has been outside, she did not destroy a single thing. Flandre has a good
enough self-control to be outside now." Reimu had defended the vampire from her commanding
sister.
"She can stay at Yakumo Manor if she wants to." Yukari suggested.
"No way. She's staying at the Shrine in your place, Yukari." Reimu proudly declared
acceptance of the girl's feelings. She placed her lips against the blonde's, sending
sensations all throughout her body. The vampire girl pulled Reimu towards her as their lips
locked together, and they shared a passionate kiss. "Don't worry, Flan-chan. I love you. I
will protect you, and protect things from you if I must."
"Rei, look at that rose over there." Flandre pointed at a flower. She rose her lips
to meet her Maiden's cheek, and silently crushed her hands.
A gentle breeze blew, and the rose silently swayed in it, but was otherwise
unaffected, proving to Remilia once and for all that Flandre had learned to control her
power intently, or had found a way to annihilate even annihilation itself. "Fine then.
Either way, the sun is going to be up in a few hours, just be sure to find a place soon.
You are still photosensitive."
"Thank you, Big Sis. I have been waiting for years for you to finally free me from my
prison." Flandre smiled at her sister. She had never known such happiness existed. "I love
you, Reimu."
"I love you, too, Flan-chan. I finally gave in to your cuteness as you slept in my
arms."
The two girls pushed their lips together again, and shared a passionate, loving, deep
lock of their lips. Yukari had bordered herself and her shikigami out of the Shrine, but
otherwise, the crowd around the pair cheered. Flandre gently bit Reimu's ear, and whispered
into it, "I want to remain like this eternally."
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