[big]~CHAPTER TWO~[/big]
Thief Amongst the Sunflowers
'Elly, fetch me the chamomile tea~'
Yuuka Kazami twirled deftly on her left boot, her floral parasol tapping the scythe-equipped servant gently on her right shoulder. Elly Todoke sighed, turning around without a word and walking slowly across the petal-studded pavilion.
-click-
The blossom-encrusted door to the mansion shut fast, and now alone, the ancient youkai of nature gazed smugly towards the Lake of Blood.
'Foxglove, have we tried this room yet? I'm pretty sure Ran-sama covered the east wing, and Chen-tan was rushing about the ground floor...'
Suki's cap lay askew on her frazzled ears, having searched the cluttered abode for well over an hour as the ceiling plaster creaked teasingly, as if the intruder was taunting the hapless party of mammalian misfits.
'Aaaaaand this would be the upper vestibu----'
Tewi Inaba's cheery musings were cut short as she caught sight of the two livid companions.
Foxglove exhaled wearily and tossed a conveniently placed trawl net in her general direction.
30 minutes later...'Unyuu! Let me go! I'll give you good information!'
Yukari simply rolled her eyes and resumed her nap as the rabbit flailed helplessly inside what had turned out to be a stray Gap Trap.
'Foxglove, Chen, Ran, Yukari-sama, can I let her free? That looks painful...'
Yukari waved her fan lazily, which Suki took as a sign to do so.
'Nekomata Sign ''Trapped Betwixt Two Paws''!'
To Tewi's obvious dismay, while she was freed from the hungry Gap Trap, she was now stuck fast within a large red bubble.
'Ran, Chen, I think we'll leave this lucky charm to our friends here. I think I have something to attend to with Reimu...or was it that oni...never mind...come on, in you get...'
Suki, Foxglove and especially Tewi could only stare, dumbfounded as a drunken kedama, as the border youkai simply
opened a gap under her mattress and disappeared through the floor, dragging her shikigami behind her.
'...what...'
'Nyaa...that's Yukari-sama for you, I suppose...'
'Hmm...well, I suppose, to steal the words of that Iyazoi maid, let the questioning begin!'
The evening sun was beginning to set over Higan, the pastel shades playing across the brilliant gold pigment of the endless fields, and the two callipygian women of the Kazami bloodline were sipping bewitchingly aromatic tea from two dainty little white china cups as they watched.
Suukarin and Yuuka were not watching the irradiant orb, however, but the two figures flying clumsily over the crater that concealed the Lake of Blood, and dangerously low through the flower fields...
I hope they don't destroy Mother's sunflowers...'Those two...I remember those feisty little demons...ah, those peaceful Makai days...'
Didn't she go on some massive rampage in that place...?
The quiet, viridian-haired Suukarin watched meekly from behind her mother as what were indeed a pair of lolita-clad demons alighted on the crazy paving.
'Y..yuki!'
'...Mai...'
'Yes? What do you want, hm? My flowers seem...interested...in you~' queried the flower youkai, in an almost, but not quite, dangerous tone.
'Oh...we'd hoped asking you for assistance wouldn't be necessary, but as it stands, my wife and I need help. Makai is...not as it was, and we have fled to the Misty Lake for the time being. So, to cut to the chase...we need someone strong to assist us, and who better than the woman who almost took our lives?'
Yuuka, meanwhile, was trying to stifle a laugh, as Yuki simply stood beside Mai, assuming an offensive stance.
'Oh dear...you got married? Hahaha, oh wow~' chortled the flower youkai, doubled up with mirth.
'Mai and I are in LO?mmfph!' Yuki was quickly muffled by her furiously blushing bride, and the ice-coated demon continued her monologue.
'We're aware that you're one of Gensokyo's oldest residents...even older than Gensokyo itself. You have extensive knowledge of Makai from your...'vacation'. You know the entirety of this world inside out, and most of all...you have the persuasive skills we'd need for inquiry. Humans don't exactly take a pair of child-like demons seriously, let alone youkai.'
'If you ask me, your powers of persuasion are fully adequate. But no matter~ It's been an aaaage since I got to go on an adventure. If this whole Moon-in-the-sky debacle is going to affect my darling flowers, then I even have a motive for once! Teehee~ This is going to be fun~'
Suukarin sighed audibly as she listened to her mother's classically youkai-esque speech, twirling her pocket watch slowly between her fingers.
'Of course, Suukarin will have to stay behind. She's part human, after all, and I doubt she'd be as useful as someone like that Kirisame girl without any kind of magic~<3'
'Mother, you realise you don't know any magic eith---'
'Shut up, Suuka. Elly! Pack your bags! We're going on a vacation!'
Yuuka sighed inwardly to herself as she unfurled her parasol and turned towards her not-so-humble abode to ready herself. Sometimes it was hard to keep up this whimsical exterior. She was genuienly worried for once. After all, who didn't remember what happened when the Moon fell in Majora's Mask? Yuuka didn't intend to get squashed by some Lunarian-coated cheeseball, and it was this final thought that she kept within her as she opened the door, and stepped inside.
'So, to sum the whole thing up, your master went hari-kiri on Eientei, sealed off her medicine chamber, possessed all the bunnies working in the house, cast a protective magic around it, and then tried to find you, by which time you'd already escaped? And you don't know the whereabouts of the...Watitsakes? Or Reisen? Or even Kaguya?'
'Watatsuki~' corrected the fickle Tewi, before continuing. 'And then, I came here to steal some goods, because if I'm going to get to the bottom of this, I'm going to need some yen!'
Foxglove squashed her face against her slender hand as the chirpy lagomorph, now freely unbound and pocketing Yukari's various goods, continued to chat good-naturedly.
'Aren't you even a little sad after you lost your home, and all your friends, nya?'
Tewi looked down at her hands, suddenly glum.
'Well, yes, but...this is Gensokyo! As long as I keep searching, avenues are going to present themselves, right? And besides, crying isn't going to magically make the moonbitches come back, is it?'
Suki stared into the rabbit's eyes intently before responding, stealthily removing some of the loot from her blouse as she did so.
'It seems like you mean it, and we're searching for...someone close...as well. So, wouldn't it be sensible to come with us? We were going to go visit the flower fields next, and visit Mistress Yuuka, since we can go see the Enma while we're there, kyuu~'
Searching for affirmation, the Ancient Duper of Gensokyo turned towards the place where Foxglove used to be, and where a rabbit was now pawing innocently at its face, a sole leaf sitting atop its head.
'I'll take that as a yes, then! Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go and pillage some food from that kitchen over there~'
'Foxglo?' protested Suki, but she was cut off by the not-rabbit on the floor, who simply retorted:
'Do you really think Yukari is going to notice?'
Sunflowers of Higan, Night'Lady Yuuka, are you sure you're ready?' protested Elly, a large pile of florally decorated bags surrounding her pale legs.
'Oh yes, Elly, just put those into this Gap Bag here~' replied the absent-minded woman as the gentle nighttime breeze carried the pollen of the sunflowers into her thick green hair. And then...
'What? Do I smell intruders amongst my flowers? Elly, you two lovey-dovey demons, Suu, stay here! I won't be a second~'
Shit. (Suukarin)
Shouldn't we be focussing on the problems that are going to arise? (Mai)
I don't want to go out, and the Moon's really scary with that grey shine... (Elly)
It's been one second. (Yuki)
'We're almost there, I think! There's no way we've crushed any of the flowers, either~'
Tewi was bounding nonchalantly through the eerie flowers, even as they swayed towards her and glared with invisible eyes.
'Tewi, I'm not exactly sure if that's a good idea, nya...'
'Don't be silly, cat-girl! They're just flo----EEK!'
As the flowers parted, a large, red-plaid figure could be seen beating the hapless bunny with what seemed to be a spear parasol. The flower youkai of Gensokyo had arrived, and she looked ready to kill.
Eientei'Ah, it's good to be back home at last~' sighed Eirin, gazing about the long, dark hallway as an ever so faint red glow pulsed through its weeping wooden walls. The once-humble and inviting Japanese house no longer possessed the gloomy tranquility of past days, though glimpses of the lazy past were strewn here and there: the kitchen, left untouched, replete with cluttered stacks of pans and medicine pots, Tewi and Udonge's sleeping chambers similarly identical, right down to Tewi's collection of goods and Reisen's various business suits. Eirin paused almost wistfully as she gazed upon Kaguya-hime's old kimono, hanging from a nearby hook, but managed to remind herself of her goal, her new personality, and her new--
Never mind that. It was time to go back to her laboratory in silence and begin preparation on her next order of business. Those Evil Eyes would catch up to the troublesome shrine maidens in no time, and she'd already sent Rumia and her sister out into the wilderness. With any luck, the resistance against Eirin's scheme would be over before anybody realised it had already begun.
As the parties of what could almost be called 'protagonists' began to assemble themselves, in the classically haphazard and carefree way signature of Gensokyo, the danger was becoming very real. Sooner rather than later, their light-hearted antics would have to cease, and their serious sides would have to be shown.
But in the meanwhile, Suukarin Kazami was on her way to a convention in the Human Village, as if nothing could ever possibly go wrong.
Kyouko Kasodani, 'Fireburn' Knowledge and Patchouli Knowledge were also attending, and the unfortunate Zeta Kaguya was fated to be no more than the actor.CHAPTER TWO END