Taisa !YTVxxKH.bU 2010/03/25 (Thu) 00:24 No. 115329 ▼ File 126947664948.jpg - (118.54KB, 1024x705 , 5d16431e56105fe936b67295a744782a.jpg)
"Well, sure, I'm actually pretty tired myself." Giving her a friendly smile, you stand up, motioning for her to give you her hand and helping her out of her seat in an exaggeratedly chivalrous posture. Not that she needed the help, but the chairs are actually pretty high even for yourself; the sisters being shorter than you are, Flandre's feet didn't even reach the ground, whereas you own toes barely touched down against the floor. Then again, isn't everything big in this mansion? Flandre plops down onto her feet without a sound, discounting the mild jingling of her wing-crystal things. Would it be inappropriate to ask her if they're decorative in nature, or serve some manner of practical purpose? Well, of course it would; the latter would imply that you know about all the supernatural stuff around you. Maybe you could tell Flandre before her sister…
Your thoughts are interrupted by a soft giggle, a charming sound you haven't heard in far too long now.
"Thanks. I could've gotten down by myself, though." She takes a brief moment to adjust her skirt after the extended period of being seated while eating.
"Don't be silly. It's a gentleman's duty to help a lady, especially one of such noble standing." You follow up with a rather theatric bow, provoking further chuckles from the vampire girl. Hers are different from her sister's, though; whereas Remilia's laugh has that certain noblewoman's haughty tone to it as she expresses her amusement over your silly behavior, Flandre's laugh is more sincere and joyous, as if the two of you were playing a game together.
It really feels good to see her mood finally improving some.
"Ahehehe… Now you're the one being silly. I'm no fancy lady like my sister is…" The two of you start walking in the general direction of the basement entrance (or at least it feels like you're going that way), with Flandre having cast down her eyes, hinting that your words might have embarrassed her.
"That's not true." A reassuring tone in your voice, you figure you ought to try and raise her self esteem some during the long walk, especially in regards to her comparing herself to her overbearing sister.
"You're her sister, aren't you? Doesn't that make both of you noble ladies and whatnot?"
"Well," she begins, her voice strangely high and awkward for a moment, "I'm nowhere near as charismatic, or smart, or well-mannered, or pretty, or or or…"
"Hey, stop that." Upon hearing your interjection, she looks up at you in confusion, prompting you to continue.
"I think you're plenty charismatic, and smart, and well-mannered, and pretty-…"
Ah. You blurted that last one out without even giving it a second thought. Well, to be fair, she really is a cute girl… To your own surprise, however, her reaction isn't quite what you expected. Instead of becoming flustered and hiding her face while blushing furiously, she limits herself to a mild (but noticeable) reddening of the cheeks, followed by a subtle, happy smile as she averts her gaze from you after a minor period of letting what you said sink in.
"…Er, what I'm saying is that you shouldn't compare yourself to Remilia to begin with. You're your own person, you're not her shadow."
Pause.
She doesn't look back at you, but you notice she's still smiling, her eyes raised from the floor and looking straight ahead, her posture a lot more lively now.
"Thanks. For what you said."
"Uh…" When you called her pretty, or when you said she's not her sister's shadow?
"…What exactly are you referring to? I don't think I said anything particularly thanks-worthy…"
There's that chuckle of hers again. Damn it, you're not even trying to be amusing right now; looks like even Flandre isn't above laughing at the poor, silly human… How unfair.
"That's a secret, for now. You can try to figure it out for yourself." Finally, she turns to face you again, her face absolutely beaming, another jingle of her wing crystals accompanying her movements.
"After all, you're a smart guy!"
"Really? And here I thought I was the moron who keeps pestering you for help with math during the lessons…"
"Sshh. Now you're the one being silly." A pale, slender hand reaches up and presses its index finger against your lip, silencing you as the two of you keep walking, guided down the halls more by instinct rather than sight as your eyes lock together.
"Just because you're bad-… er, not a genius at one thing doesn't mean you're not smart!" She withdraws her finger, before staring off into nowhere, an excited look dawning upon her face as she continues speaking, you listening to her with interest.
"I think everyone has at least one thing that they're the best at! Like, big sis is really good at chess, or card games, or games of chance… I don't think I've ever managed to beat her at anything like that, or seen anyone else beat her either." Is it still a game of chance if there's skill involved to enough of a degree that the same person always wins?
"And miss Sakuya is a wonderful cook… Even if we've eaten out or at some expensive place with fancy food, I've always liked the food at home the best." Are there any particularly expensive or high-class restaurants anywhere near the village in Gensokyo?
"And miss Patchouli is just a genius! I don't think there's anything she doesn't know! Every time I ask her a question about anything, she could tell me about it for hours if I didn't stop her!" Well, she can certainly become a motor-mouth if you ask her about something she knows about, alright; but you've certainly managed to ask her a few tricky questions even she couldn't answer.
"And miss Meiling… ah, well, she's not exactly the best gate guard, I guess, ahehehe…" She looks a little nervous all of a sudden, as if she's desperately trying to think of anything positive to say…
"Oh! She's a wonderful gardener! You remember the big garden behind the mansion, right?"
"I've seen it. I believe you were there at the time, too."
"Ah, yeah, that time…" The time when she inexplicably got so worried about you and Remilia that she came crashing through the walls of the hedge maze to find you two. Not that you were in any danger of getting lost forever with the (winged) head of the household right beside you, but apparently the poor girl was more focused on you than her sister at the time. To be fair, had you gotten lost in there on your own, you sincerely doubt you'd ever have found your way back out again, so in a way…
"I… helped miss Meiling fix up the garden after that accident. It was all my fault, after all… She's put her heart and soul into that garden, and she takes real good care of it, every day." A touch of guilt washes over her face for a moment, red eyes staring into the carpets once more.
"Even though she said it was fine and not to worry about it, I could see in her eyes that I had hurt her… like I had hurt a part of her body, not just the garden."
"I'm sure everything will regrow and look good as new, and it'll be as if it never happened."
"Oh," she responds, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand once, "it's all fixed now. Miss Sakuya helped out when I asked her. She, ah… helped the plants grow faster." Yes, you're aware of Sakuya's time manipulation powers now, as difficult as it is to believe that a human could have control over something so… so… you can't even think of an adjective to describe it. If Remilia is Sakuya's boss, then what sorts of terrifying powers could she possibly have? You can't even begin to imagine. Odds are, you might find out tomorrow evening anyway… although the circumstances may not necessarily be favorable, depending on what you say and how Remilia reacts. Ah, but you're with Flandre right now, not Remilia.
"So there's no reason to worry, right? If it's fixed and Meiling forgave you, then you shouldn't dwell on it. Forget about it"
"I don't know." She's sounding a little serious again… Perhaps it'd be a good idea to look for an opening to redirect the topic of this conversation.
"Not everything can be fixed. Not everything can be forgiven."
"What makes you think that?" Blinking curiously, you try to get a look at her face, yet she's staring intently into the wall on the other side.
"Experience. There are just some things that you can't forget, that you have to dwell on for days, weeks, months, years…" Another brief period of awkward silence, the only sounds resonating throughout the hallways being your footsteps – your periodic, rhythmic ones, and her quicker, near-silent ones. After a bit of a delay, she looks to you again, seemingly back to normal.
"But, I suppose you're right. I don't have to think of that sort of stuff right now, now do I?"
"Heh, that's right. Keep smiling, you'll live longer!" You get another predictable chuckle in response to that corny line, joining in with a mild laugh of your own once you realize what you just said to a creature possibly centuries your senior. Are vampires immortal, as far as age goes? Another thing to possibly add to the list of things you'd like to ask your mentor whenever you next have the time. Flandre may be acting somewhat cryptic, but you really don't have the freedom to open that door right now… Let's try not to start up any new and unexpected plot threads until the big reveal tomorrow, shall we?
…
It doesn't take much longer for the two of you to reach the basement door. This is, what, the third or fourth time you've been here? Even so, it still feels just plain wrong to know that the poor girl actually lives and sleeps down there in that damp cellar. Granted, her room seemed just a little better kept than the rest of the basement – no signs of cobwebs or mold – but it was still a far cry from the splendor of her elder sister's room. Heck, you'd dare say your old room back home from before you came to Japan was more impressive than hers. The amount of furniture she had was limited to just a bed and a closet…. A closet suspiciously locked up with chains. You can't help but wonder what it could be that was in that closet, and why it felt like Flandre didn't want you getting a look at whatever it was. Then again, you're not one to call other people out on keeping secrets, now are you? When all this foolishness is done and over with, you'll have time to ask her about such things, should she desire to share with you.
"Well." You pause, pondering what else to say. The thought of venturing downwards into the dark, foreboding depths of Flandre's personal dungeon is certainly an attractive one, but just this once you'd rather not tempt fate by going against the orders of the head of the mansion –again-. You've managed to keep Remilia in the dark about having been down there so far, but your luck can only hold out for so long, and Sakuya certainly won't keep helping you if you just keep getting into these messes in rapid succession.
"Well?" Her voice has more of a tone of curiosity towards what you were planning on saying, rather than an invitation to come down with her. By the look on her face, you can sense she already has a faint idea of what it is you're about to talk to her about. The two of you are standing right before the door, her idly swinging her body weight back and forth on her feet as she waits for you to say something, you fidgeting uncomfortably.
"…Um, I'm not sure how to say this, Flan. I'd like to, uh, you know, but-…" As you scratch the back of your head nervously, searching for words that don't exist, your blonde companion merely calms you with a soft, reassuring smile, much like you've done for her before several times now.
"I know. It…" Her eyes dart to the side a few times, before returning to you, although not quite to your face.
"…wouldn't be a good idea anyway. I wouldn't want anything to happen that could, ah, hurt our friendship or anything… Um. I hope we understand each other, and…"
"Maybe another time. Alright?"
That seems to have been enough to dissolve the awkwardness in the air for the evening. Flandre gives you one more big grin, before abruptly leaning into you, wrapping her arms around you in a tight hug. Somewhat taken aback by this unexpected gesture, you put your arms around her as well, and the two of you stand there like this for a short while.
"…Hey, Jin. I know you said you'd like to spend some time together tomorrow. But you've got something more important you need to do, right?"
"…Huh?" You pull away slightly, trying to look her in the eye, yet her face is buried into your chest, only a quiet whisper reaching your ears from below when she speaks.
"What makes you think that..?"
"I dunno… I just have a feeling you've got something important to do with big sis. And you need to keep her happy for that, right?" You can't sense any particular emotion in her voice, not sadness or anger, or happiness, or anything. It's not monotonous, simply… neutral.
"Flan…"
"We can do something fun together next week, okay? I don't want to get in the way tomorrow. Besides, lots of people will be coming… Cirno will be here too. So, don't worry about me tomorrow, okay?" Her wings seem to twitch a little as she finishes speaking, her arms still holding onto you. You're at a loss for words, yourself, so all you can bring yourself to do is pet her head gently, staring up into the ceiling deep in thought.
"…Good night, Flan."
"Good night." She finally pulls away from you, her face still smiling as if nothing had happened. You can't help but feel concerned, of course, but from the looks of it she's not going to let you ask about it tonight.
"Sleep well! I hope you have a great time tomorrow!"
"Huh? What's happening tomorrow, anyway? I seem to be the only one in the mansion that doesn't know yet." And the feeling of being out of the loop isn't particularly great, either.
"Oh, um, well…" She laughs, nervously, fidgeting in place and playing with the edge of her skirt a little, looking everywhere else besides your face.
"…Big sis told me not to tell you. She wanted it to be a surprise. You'll see tomorrow, okay? Good night!"
And with that, Flandre swings the extremely heavy-looking door open without any effort, slamming it shut behind herself after rushing inside. That's one threat out of the way, at the very least – you won't have to worry about upsetting Remilia by getting caught sleeping in Flandre's bed again. Ah, but speaking of Remilia… You made another promise, didn't you? If you really want to avoid upsetting her, you'll have to remember to stop by her room and bid her good night as well.
…
Remilia's door. Large, decorated with various ornate designs and metal serpents coiling around one another in a shape similar to that necklace she often wears. If you recall correctly, these metallic shapes within the wooden door were part of some elaborate locking mechanism, sliding about to lock or open the large double doors. Is it locked right now? You couldn't possibly tell from simply looking at it, so you decide to do the next best thing – knock.
*knock-knock*
The thumping sound of fist hitting wood echoes through the hallways behind you. Considering how many fairies you've seen pattering around the place aimlessly, the mansion is still huge enough to seem largely empty no matter where you stand within it. It's a little difficult to imagine oneself living in a house like this; it'd probably get rather lonely. Or creepy. Or both. Not even a few seconds pass, before a delighted voice mellowly sings out to you from inside.
"Come iiin~"
Well, you've never been one to turn down the invitation of a lady… Experiencing mild difficulty, you force the large, heavy doors open and let yourself inside. Glancing around the overly large room for what little furniture it has, you spot Remilia lounging on her bed in an overly casual pose, wearing something that appears to be an almost-completely-transparent nightgown, smirking in your general direction; the light of the sun trading places with the moon outside of the window causes a mild glint of light to shine off a fang. Slowly shifting from her position, she climbs over to the other side of her colossal bed on her hands and knees, plopping herself down on her stomach with her arms crossed in front of herself, swinging her legs back and forth through the air. She beckons you closer with a wave of the finger, a gesture you dare not reject under current circumstances. As you hesitantly step closer to her, the vampire's majestic crimson gaze somehow seems to cloud your mind; you're unsure whether you should sit on the side of the bed next to her, or kneel before her on the ground. You opt for the former, doing your best to avert your eyes from her various… curves. She turns her head to the side, resting it upon her arms and grinning.
"Took you long enough, darling."
"Sorry. I was just saying good night to your sister."
"Oh?" She cocks an eyebrow for a moment… suspiciously?
"By the way, how is Flan? She's been rather scarce today, I barely even got to talk to her at all."
"She was smiling when I left her," you answer truthfully while giving as few details as possible. A healthy alternative to telling a white lie, with how all these supernatural girls seem to be living lie detectors. Or maybe you're just that bad at lying. Remilia seems to be satisfied with the answer, shifting herself over slightly to lean her elbow on the bed, and her head on her hand.
"Well, that's good. I'm glad you can bring a smile to the girl's face; she's far too serious for her own good, sometimes." Snickering to herself idly, she doesn't notice you frowning in thought for a moment, your mind drawn back to Flandre's recent behavior quirks.
"Ah… Say, darling, you've been rather tricky to get a hold of yourself, haven't you? What a rude boy you are, sneaking off and not spending any time with your poor hostess, oh my…"
"I'll be certain to make it up to you tomorrow, milady," you blurt out in a slightly too hurried manner, but Remilia seems to approve all the same, the smile on her face slowly widening. She sits herself into an upright position before slinking a little closer to you, eyes narrowed and lightly glowing in the gradually darkening room, the sun steadily setting.
"Is that so? Well well well, I'll be sure to put you on a leash so you don't scamper off anywhere, my dear boy…" Reaching forward with her hand, she gently draws her fingertip upwards along the skin of your neck, causing you to tense up… Your eyes take an involuntary peek down below her face, resulting in some tension in various other areas as well. You'd best do something about this ASAP, lest you complicate your situation further.
"…Remi, are you flirting with me?"
She recoils instantly, feigning shock in the most obviously fake manner possible.
"My word, of course not! Just harmless games between friends, right?" She giggles in your general direction in a superior tone, lying herself back down into a relaxed pose, eyes fixated upon yours, before shaking her head in a theatric fashion.
"And I had thought you to be a smart enough boy not to get confused by such jokes. Tsk, tsk, tsk."
"Hey now, just making sure you haven't fallen for me! After all, I've had to break the hearts of many poor girls who've found my charms irresistible…" An exaggerated gesture of the arms accompanying your completely ridiculous attempt at 'defending your honor', and Remilia bursts into uncontrollable laughter; while the notion of you having any sort of charm being amusing is a little hurtful, you're more concerned with keeping the vampire in a good mood until tomorrow evening, and sending her off to sleep in a good mood would greatly aid you in this goal.
"Oh, ohoho, oh wow. Ahaha. Ah…" It takes her a few moments to regain her composure and stop flailing in fits of laughter.
"…And here thought this would be just another dull evening. I ought to take you into bed with me and see if you'll keep entertaining me into the night, hmmm…"
…
"…What kind of entertainment are we talking about here?"
"I wonder. What do you think I'm talking about, darling?" Ah, a provocative question. She's got that predatory look on her face again, subconsciously baring her fangs at you, leaning just a little closer.
"…Poker?"
She snorts, before laughing heartily again, you joining her after a few seconds for good measure.
"Ah… You're fun. But, a lady needs her beauty sleep, so… Shoo, shoo." She gestures at you to hop off the bed, still chuckling to herself quietly, lazily lounging in a suspiciously alluring pose even as you move towards the door, involuntarily sending glances behind.
"…Good night, Remi."
"Good night, Jin. Be sure to build up lots of energy for tomorrow~"
…
You close the doors behind you, the locking mechanism activating just as you do this – Remilia must have a button to activate it remotely built into her bed, or something. What's going to happen tomorrow? As if on cue, the one person left in the mansion who could answer that question for you strolls by in the form of a very tired-looking Sakuya, but before you can even open your mouth to ask her anything…
"Sorry, kid. Too tired. Not tonight. Talk tomorrow." She mumbles this to you with a lazy gesture of the arm and half-closed eyes, headed in the general direction of the maid quarters. What were she and Remilia doing outside..? Bah, looks like it's getting to be bedtime in general in the Scarlet Devil Mansion, so you might as well go get some shut-eye and ask tomorrow. You sneak off towards your room, careful not to make too much noise lest you risk waking anyone else up… assuming anyone else is even around the guest quarters today. Marisa, Reimu and Alice were around, weren't they? Well, best not to wake them up, then… You stop by the guest bathroom to brush your teeth and attend to other necessities before bed, then head into your room, kick off your clothes, dive under the covers and pass out.
-------
A night of dreamless sleep. At least you won't be waking up with bizarre symbolism plaguing your thoughts.
-------
You open your eyes. Is it morning already? As the hazy blur clears from your vision, your sight is overcome by violet tones.
"Ah, you have awakened. Excellent. I was considering waking you forcefully, if you had slept much longer."
That monotonous, disinterested-in-everything voice, those violet eyes glaring at you and sending icy shivers down your spine…
"Good morning, Patchouli." You sit up groggily, yawning to yourself and discovering that you must've slept with your mouth open, judging by how dry the inside of your mouth is. The taste of dried-up saliva that has accumulated over the course of the night is never a pleasant thing to wake up to. You need a drink of water, or something.
"So, why are you in my room..?"
"We are not in your room. We are in mine." She's not even looking at you, instead fiddling about with various scrolls and trinkets here and there, seemingly conducting an inventory or something.
"…But why?"
"I wished to be the first one to speak to you this morning."
"Why not just come to my room, then? Why warp me here?"
"We could have been unexpectedly interrupted." Well, that sort of makes sense, actually… But wouldn't your sudden disappearance arouse suspicion in any case? Bah, you're still too groggy to worry your head over such things…
"Alright, alright… What did you want to talk about, then?" Yawning lazily again, you glance around for your clothing, discovering it in a neatly folded pile on a stool next to the bed.
"Later. First, you must shower, before Remi's festivities begin." Festivities? Well, you could probably use a nice morning shower in any case…
"And please do be quick. There are not many bathrooms in the mansion, and the fairies managed to do something to the waterworks so only the guest bathroom is functional for the moment. I would need to go after you." She glances at you with a bored expression, as if urging you to hasten your movement without words.
"Heh, well, if we're in such a hurry, we could save time by going together or something…" You put on the bare minimum of clothing for moving around the mansion, as you're going to be taking them off again for that shower anyway. Unfortunately, either your sense of humor is rather inappropriate in the early mornings, or Patchouli is simply unable to understand a joke.
"Hm. A fair point. Very well, then." Before you can even say anything, she makes an upward gesture with a finger, and a blinding flash consumes you, dropping you onto your hands and knees in the guest bathroom right next to Patchouli, who lands gracefully on her feet. Making no attempt to help you up, she simply removes her hat and sets it on a nearby counter, glaring at you with a mildly frustrated glance, like one would at an annoying pet that doesn't listen to its master's orders.
"Do hurry and undress already. We do not have long before Remi will wish to see you."
…Uh.
-------
[] Well, with all that hair of hers she could probably use someone's help washing it; that's one way to gradually pay her back for all she's done for you. You're mature enough to understand that this doesn't have to lead anywhere.
[] It was a joke.
-{} You'll go first.
-{} She'll go first.
