/jp/ - Otaku Culture

Meiling blushed slightly. "A-Ah, yeah...I didn't mean to, um, imply anything." She paused, and the pause soon lengthened into silence punctuated only by the wind. "Do you...Want me to come with you?" Even as she said it, the gatekeeper's face seemed indecisive. Patchouli had a suspicion as to why.

"No, but thank you for the offer." Patchouli replied, shaking her head. Both she and Meiling had independently decided to not rush back to spending all of their time together just yet. It was easy to forget given the mix of memories they both had, but they'd spent a year together with nothing but each other for company. As a result, it wasn't wrong to say that they both needed some space. It was rather funny, in a way. All that time with no one else, and instead of crying out for people, Patchouli found herself craving silence. Silence and solitude. Unfortunately, too much needed to be done. She didn't have the time for the luxury of peace and quiet. "You will need to come to the library soon. Sekai's book pertains to you just as much as me. It will also allow you to get used to the feel of the book. We cannot afford any complications when the time comes for it to be used."

"Didn't she say that she didn't really have any advice for me, though?" Meiling asked, scratching her head. She had, but Patchouli doubted it was true. Meiling's ki control could always be better. There was undoubtedly some way to make her more capable of channelling Sekai's soul, and it most likely lay in the book. "I can do some more training, I suppose..."

"Do so. Come to the library tomorrow." Patchouli nodded. "Tell Sakuya that I said it was more important than the gate. She'll agree eventually." Especially after her worrying session earlier. "As for now, think on my question. I will be back by nightfall." Meiling looked like she had considered echoing Sakuya and saying something, but after a moment of frowning, she nodded. Finally, Patchouli was given leave to float away from the Scarlet Devil Mansion.

The bark of a tree formed the skin, so Patchouli's first stop was the Forest of Magic. Specifically, as deep into the Forest of Magic as she could get. She wanted something from an old tree. It didn't need to be much, but old things held power. The more power Patchouli could bring together for this little ritual, the better. The gathering was fine, much to her amusement. She saw no one on her way in, harvested some bark with no issues, and saw no one on her way out.

At least, until the last moment, when she happened across the whitewashed walls and meticulously cared for domicile of Alice Margatroid. A scowl crossed her face. That weak excuse of a magician who was more interested in putting on shows and playing with her dolls than she was in actually learning anything worthwhile or ground-breaking. Wonderful. It wasn't lost on Patchouli that the exact activity she was currently engaged in would essentially be completing the goal that Alice had spent the majority of her time as a witch dedicated to. To create a body from scratch and then give it sentience. Of course, Patchouli was cheating just slightly, since Sekai already existed, but she had no doubts that Alice would not see it that way. That was the trouble with magicians. Outside of Marisa, who was something of an outlier, magicians like Patchouli were always far too dedicated to their specific area of research to see what other people were doing.

And nothing rankled more than knowing who Alice's mother was. The goddess of Makai. To see the daughter of someone as powerful as that reduced to tinkering with dolls...That, without question, was the worst part. Patchouli turned to leave immediately. The last thing she wanted was to come face-to-face with the dollmaker herself. Unfortunately, that meant that she caught sight of the shade at the edge of the clearing, and more importantly, of the fact that it was not empty.

For a moment, she simply stared. There was no point in getting surprised, and all it would do was make it seem as if she was scared of whatever lurked there. She had a feeling, too...There was the slightest glint of something sharp and metallic reflecting off of the snow. Something clutched in the hand of whatever lay in the trees. It was too still, as well. No indicators that the thing over there had its feet on the ground, if it had feet at all. In fact, she was fairly sure that it didn't have feet. Oh, it was too dark to tell properly, but there was just something...

Had she seen it before? No, she couldn't have. But something without legs...A spirit? A ghost? "I've no interest in these fear-inducing games." Patchouli murmured. "Shall we dispense with the theatrics? Do you wish to speak to me, or may I go in peace?"

"I see, I see..." Remilia mused, rubbing her chin. "Well, that's quite the interesting partnership." She smiled, revealing her fangs. "I love interesting things." She told me. I slowly nodded, then said that Lady Hecatia was very interesting indeed. "Is that right...? Hmm, perhaps I will have to make an introduction." I wasn't entirely sure how that would go, so I just smiled and nodded instead. Then, curious, I asked why Meiling had made the journey too. "Well, my head maid here informs me that you extended her an invitation. Is that not so?" I nodded, but said that she'd politely declined. "Ah, well, you were overheard, and it seems that even my head maid is susceptible to human emotion still, because she seems to have felt slightly sorry for my gatekeeper." I stared at Sakuya incredulously. Had she really? She'd felt sorry for Meiling? Even just thinking the words sounded baffling to me. "So, she has wrangled together some of the more dependable fairies and hobgoblins of my mansion and put them to work defending the gates, thus allowing my gatekeeper to come with me." Remilia tilted her head. "Imagine my shock when I spot my gatekeeper, already in the crowds, and in a full kimono, no less." Oh. I'd forgotten that this might be an issue. Kisami looked strangely similar.

"Er, Mistress, it really wasn't necessary to-" Meiling tried to speak up, but Remilia immediately shot her down.

"No, Meiling, I was curious. This Kisami Kurodani girl - She's related to your bride, is she not?" Elder sister, I replied. "Ah. So, she's definitely not related to my gatekeeper. Not, Meiling, unless you have been keeping some parts of your heritage very secret to me."

Meiling looked very uncomfortable with the whole thing. "No, um, nothing like that. I mean, I think I'd remember if I was part-spider. She just - Um, looks similar. That's all..." She scratched her cheek with a glove, her lips drawing into a thin line. "I was wondering, er, Miss Sakuya, if you wouldn't mind me going out there..." She gestured toward the crowds.

"Meiling, your official duty is to guard the gates." If it helped, I said, there was a gatekeeper here already, so it wouldn't be an issue if Meiling was allowed to go freely. Sakuya watched me silently for a few moments, then turned to her Mistress, who raised a hand in a 'go ahead' sort of pose. "Consider yourself off-duty for the duration of the event, Meiling." Sakuya finally said stiffly.

Meiling seemed to relax immediately and bowed deeply. "Thank you, Miss Sakuya, Mistress!" She turned, heading through the trees while Remilia sighed.

"You really treat her too harshly sometimes, Sakuya." She told the head maid, who tilted her head. "Well, that's your nature. Let's just ignore it for now." Remilia looked back to me. "You shouldn't spend all your time conversing with us recluses, you know? There's most likely plenty here who want to speak to you." I wasn't sure about that, but I got the message, so I nodded and thanked them again for coming. "Like I said...I enjoy interesting things." She smiled, and for a moment, I could see the child instead of the vampire again. It was slightly disconcerting, so I just smiled and then turned, heading back out of the clearing.

In the time that I'd been talking, even more people had arrived. I finally saw Lady Hecatia. She was easy to pick out, because she was so much taller than most people. Next to her, walking as if she was floating on air, was Miss Junko. She looked just as she always did, and while I couldn't see her through the crowd, I wondered if Clownpiece had come along too. I thought of going over, but decided that I'd hold off for now. There were plenty others to see. In fact, I spotted Tenshi heading around a corner and decided that I should catch up with her, just to make sure that everything was going fine regarding her job during the ceremony and the mysterious intruder. I'd not seen any other signs of them, but - No, wait...At Mugenkan, on the raised section that surrounded the mansion itself, I could see something on the balcony. I was too far to see properly, but...It looked like something with a chequered pattern on it, lying over the balcony's stone railing. There was no reason for it, but...Somehow, I just knew that it hadn't come from anyone else. It was too innocuous. Too...Thrown away. It was from the intruder, I was certain.

Shaking my head, I hurried in Tenshi's direction. She was going around to the back of Miss Yuuka's storage shed, which was empty by now. The guests had all shifted slightly toward the gazebo, but not as if anything urgent was happening. So, rounding the corner, I went to call out Tenshi's name.

It was at this point that Tenshi Hinanawi was struck by lightning.