Hungry Youkai !GGKI3UTr5s 2008/07/09 (Wed) 19:18 No. 16166 "Hmm." You consider for a moment, running the fingers of one hand through Remilia's hair. "I know about Flandre and you've told me I should wait to hear about Patchouli. I'm curious, how did you meet with Sakuya and Meiling?"
Remilia looks at you as if suddenly impressed, then raises a finger to her bottom lip.
"Sakuya, Sakuya, Sakuya." She says. "That's ... complicated."
"Complicated how?"
Remilia frowns deeper, then raises her head so her eyes are level with yours.
"Before I tell you, promise me you won't dig around in her memory about this."
"About what?"
"About what I going to tell you." Remilia's voice is hard, expression utterly serious.
You nod. "I promise, if it's that important to you Remi."
"Good." She relaxes again. "Sakuya turned up at my door in 1936, slipped in amongst the enthralled Maids, all humans back then, and then tried to kill me."
Remilia smiles at you. "She was good, but not good enough. And really, her heart wasn't it in." She shakes her head, looking sad for a split-second. "I knew who sent her, and her old name, but I've forgotten them since."
"But ... that wasn't very long ago, for you anyway."
Remilia looks up at you. "I know, I forgot them because I gave her a new name." She smiles. "Sa-ku-ya. Doesn't it just roll off the tongue?" She giggles.
You nod and smile, but somewhere in the back of your mind you file away a question for another time. How old is Sakuya?
"And what about Meiling?" You ask.
Remilia bites her lip and looks away.
"What is it?" You ask, amused.
"Um ... I let Sakuya deal with Meiling's appointment here, I met her as a prospective employee, nothing more."
"But you must know where she comes from?" You ask.
Remilia shrugs. "China, I guess."
You stifle a laugh.
You gesture upwards with one hand. "How did you get this place through the Hakurei border?" You ask.
Remilia's expression turns darker. "I wasn't awake to witness the relocation."
"Huh, why?"
"The border is big magic, a little beyond my level of understanding or power." Remilia looks bashful as she speaks. "Patchouli dealt with it, but that much brute force required a good few pints of my blood." She raises her eyebrows at you. "I slept for a long time afterwards."
"Your blood?" You ask.
She nods and then rests her head back on your chest. "Powerful stuff. As you are no doubt already well aware."
"Hmm, and what about once you got here?"
"I fell in love with Gensokyo, the freedom I have here, the things to play with, the people ..." Remilia trails off, eyes focused somewhere in middle distance. "Not like that at the start though." She says, voice very quiet.
"You went on a 'rampage'? That was the word you used before."
She nods. "I did."
"Mind if I ask why?"
"Instinct." She whispers, as much to herself as you. "And hunger. A new, enclosed space, no human armies to stand in my way, no stakes, no wall of pikemen, no cannon and shot. Some part of me wanted dominance, wanted a playground for Flandre."
"But you lost?"
Unexpectedly, her features brighten. "And how I lost. I never knew all these eastern devils could be so strong."
"Who did you fight?" You ask, curiosity getting the better of you.
Remilia grins up at you. "People who have grown a lot since then, that's all."
"But who?"
Her smile turns bashful again. "Avoiding the question, aren't I?" She giggles.
"Yes, you are." You say as she places a finger against your lips to silence you.
"I don't like the sun and I don't like sunflowers." She says, smile still playing on her lips.
You raise your eyebrows, impressed.
Remilia just shrugs. "She likes a good fight, more practice than me."
Just as you're about to reach for Remilia's finger, a scream jolts the relaxation from you.
"What the hell was that?" Remilia says, frowning and rising off you, into the air.
"I don't know." You reply, twisting around in the bath to look at the door.
The scream sounded pretty far off, but loud enough to reach all the way up here. You also realise that you didn't recognise the voice.
"I'm going to check." Remilia says, whipping a towel off the rail in a blur and giving herself a quick rub-down. You feel a dim pang of disappointment mixed in with the surprise and worry from hearing the scream.
"I'm coming too." You climb out of the bath after her. By the time you're dry enough to get dressed, Remilia is already fully clothed and heading out the door. You jam your shirt over your head and hop after her, one foot in your trousers.
"Remi! Wait!" You call down the corridor as she rises into the air.
"Hurry up!" She calls back. "It came from downstairs."
You race down the stairs, at Remilia's heels. She pauses at the bottom and you catch up, seeing the hesitation on her face as she checks left and right. There's nobody there but you can hear faint voices off to the right.
[ ] Wait for Remilia to move.
[ ] Go right.
[ ] Circle round from the left.