| >> | No. 58190
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 It's about two days after the defeat of the Watatsuki sisters, and Malla's episode. In the interim, the sisters had been busy preparing their formal apology with the help of the residents of Eientei. Meanwhile, Yukari had carefully moved copies of the photographic and video evidence to certain safehouses she wouldn't reveal. Not that we were going to automatically assume that the Lunarians would go back on their word, mind you. It was just a precaution.
This brings us to to today; a bright, cloudless, sunny day, where the concerned parties have gathered in one of the rooms of a mansion for the official apology from Yorihime and Toyohime. In attendance are all of the residents of the Scarlet Devil Mansion (including Reimu), the primary inhabitants of Eientei (Eirin, Kaguya, Reisen, and Tewi), and of course the Watatsukis themselves. Also in attendance is Yuuka, who is practically a member of the mansion at this point given how often she comes by, and Hatate, who is taking a recording of the proceedings along with a kappa film crew. Finally, Yukari is sitting in the room along with Ran and Chen.
Clearing their throats, the Watatsuki sisters stand up before the assembled crowd, casting concerned glances at the recording equipment. Glancing at one another, they sigh, and proceed with their speech.
"Greetings, people of Gensokyo," Toyohime says politely, "My name is Toyohime Watatsuki, and this is my sister, Yorihime Watatsuki." The purple-haired swordswoman bows formally. "We have come before you today to make a formal apology to Reimu and Remilia Hakurei-Scarlet for certain words and actions directed towards them. We would like to assert that these comments were completely unworthy of us. As a people who pride themselves on their purity and enlightenment, such behavior reflects poorly not only upon us, but upon our entire civilization as well."
Yorihime speaks up. "It has also been pointed out to us that prior visits to Gensokyo have been... tainted... by a a similar attitude. Thus, we extend our apologies to all others who may have been offended by our words and actions. As guests, we should have known better." The sisters bow formally.
As they straighten, Toyohime clears her throat and begins to speak again. "As I was saying, the comments made to Reimu and Remilia Hakurei-Scarlet were completely unacceptable on our part. Though these comments need not be repeated here, I can assure you that they were terrible indeed. Therefore, I would like to retract all of those comments. I apologize for them, and for any emotional harm they may have caused their victims."
"I, too, withdraw those hurtful words, and apologize both for them, and the effects they have had," Yorihime speaks, "I cannot imagine the depth of the emotional pain that they may have caused. It is my hope that both of the Ladies Scarlet can find it in themselves to forgive my sister and I for our ill-advised, terrible words. I would like instead to assert my admiration for the two of them, and how they have managed to find an intense purity of love in a most surprising circumstance." The sisters bow again, and Reimu and Remilia look satisfied.
Toyohime continues. "Aside from being very sorry, and truly regretful of our prior words and actions, my sister and I would like to assure the residents of Gensokyo that should we pay a visit to your lovely land in the future, we will be sure to be on our best behavior, and not cause offense as we have in the past. This we so swear."
"In addition," says Yorihime, "As a token of our apology, we would like Reimu and Remilia to accept a humble gift." The Lunarian removes a drape from an object to her side, and the whole room 'Ooooohs' at the sight of a lovely silver figurine streaked with crimson and white, in the form of Reimu and Remilia in their wedding dresses. The two are arm-in-arm in the figurine, and smiling happily. Reimu and Remilia themselves gape at the figurine, talking quietly amongst themselves. They nod in satisfaction.
Standing up, Reimu and Remilia make their way to the front of the room, opposite the Watatsukis. "We accept your apology," they say as one, and both groups bow to one another as the assembled guests applaud.
Following the Watatsukis' speech, a written version of the apology is brought out and signed by the Watatsukis, the Hakurei-Scarlets, and by Tewi and Eirin acting as neutral third parties. In the wake of the formal proceedings, Sakuya brings out some tea and cakes, and the assemled guests begin to mingle. Aside from Koakuma, Sakuya, and Flandre, that is, who disappear to finish setting up the party. Looking out one of the windows, I notice a long line of guests beginning to arrive at the mansion. No two ways about it, this is going to be huge.
And the Watatsukis have no idea what's coming their way.
The air in the room is a little bit... tense. The Watatsukis aren't really sure what to say now that their apology is complete, and no one else really knows what to say to the Watatsukis. Eirin murmured something that sounded approving to them, but she clearly doesn't know how to handle this situation either. Fortunately, the awkwardness in the room is dispelled when Koakuma walks in.
Smiling, the succubus speaks to the room as a whole. "May I have everyone's attention? Thank you. The post-assembly party is now ready to being. Please put on your outfits and make your way to the party area immediately!" There is a general rumble of anticipation from the people in the room, but the Watatsukis and Eientei crowd look a little lost. Not surprising; the details were deliberately kept secret from them.
Actually, I take that back. Tewi has a huge smirk on her face. Unsurprising, really; if anyone were to find out, it would be her. Fortunately, she seems to have kept everything under her hat.
"Ah, excuse me?!" Toyohime calls out, rushing over to Koakuma with her sister in tow. "Um, we weren't informed of any specific uniform we would be expected to wear."
Koakuma smiles, waving off her concerns. "Not to worry! This problem was expected, and outfits were prepared for you. Here they are!" Koakuma snaps her fingers, and a pair of smiling fairy maids bring the 'uniforms' in on a pair of racks.
Toyohime and Yorohime stare at the material of the outfits, colored purple and red respectively. Well, to be honest, they're probably more concerned about the ABSENCE of material.
"...What are those?" Yorihime asks faintly, pointing at the swimsuits with a trembling finger.
"They're called micro-bikinis," Koakuma says primly.
"WHAT?!" the Watatsukis shriek in unison.
"You can NOT expect us to wear those!" Toyohime sputters, face red as a beet. "That's so.. so..."
"Sexy?" Koakuma suggests.
"Indecent!" Yorihime chokes out.
Koakuma looks a little bit offended. "I beg your pardon! Are you really insulting the traditional wear of Makai diplomats?" The sisters freeze, remembering the terms of the agreement they just signed. Koakuma smiles, a predatory expression if there ever was one. "Ah, but maybe you're just unfamiliar with these outfits! Not to worry, we have an eager maid staff eager to help you into uniform, and to escort you to the pool!" Koakuma snaps her finger, and they come. A dozen fairy maids, all in identical, incredibly small bathing suits with maid headdresses. As one, the bikini-fairy maids pounce on the terrified Watatsuki sisters and drag them, protesting,out of the room, already pulling at their clothing.
"HELP US EIRIIIIINNN!!!" their screams echo down the hallway. The Lunarian doctor just gapes as the sisters are hauled off, turning a disbelieving gaze upon Koakuma.
As the other guests begin to file out of the room, snickering, Koakuma favors the doctor with a dazzling smile. "Of course, we have prepared appropriate suits for ALL of our guests! You may find them in the pool changing room. Please hurry, all right?" Turning on her heel, Koakuma marches smartly out of the room.
"Uh..." Eirin tries.
Kaguya doesn't even miss a beat. She simply strides out of the room, humming cheerfully to herself.
"Princess...?" Eiring asks, sounding desperate.
Tewi is hauling a nervous-looking Reisen along behind her. "C'mooon already!" she says to her lunar counterpart, "I wanna get to the pool already!" Reisen is too stunned to respond, instead silently following along behind the insistent smaller rabbit.
Eirin turns a desperate gaze upon me, and I just smile cheerfully. "Well, it's a Makai tradition!" I say happily, walking out of the room with Yuuka.
For all she knows, that is.
*********************************************
So, the indoor pool has been noticeably expanded, thanks to Sakuya messing around with space-time in the mansion. It's absolutely HUGE now, with plenty of room for the many, many guests at the mansion. Around the edges of the room, buffet tables have been set up with all manner of snacks (and signs reminding to people to wait before entering the pool). Deck chairs provide ample room to sit and relax, 'uniformed' fairy maids rush around to provide refreshments to the guests, hot tubs have been set up, and there's even some musical accompaniment in the form of Choujuu Gigaku and the Prismrivers teaming up again to play beach music.
The dress code is, of course, skimpy. Very skimpy. For both men and women.
Aside from inviting everyone she could think of in Gensokyo, Remilia also asked Byakuren to make sure that there were at least a few open-minded humans along as well, just to make the male to female ratio a bit more even. Unsurprisingly, the thought of going to an indoor pool with a bunch of attractive women in swimsuits was enough to bring the men in.
So, Mystia, Kyouko, and the Prismrivers are happily playing music in bathing suits, and everyone else is cheerfully walking around, mingling, lounging, snacking, and otherwise having a good time while showing off a lot of skin. Now, for the younger visitors like Cirno and Chen, the bathing suits provided were more conservative one-pieces. For everyone else?
Well, I'm certainly not ashamed of my body.
In the center of the festivities stand the Watatsukis, beet-red and mortified, trying desperately to conceal as much of their skin as possible. Which isn't succeeding all that well. Tewi keeps smirking at them, clearly planning to snap an elastic at some point.
Yorihime trembles with embarrassment. "Why are we dressed like this...?"
Toyohime looks hunted. "The fairies hid our clothes. We can't go out like this... what should we do?" Shaking her head, the lunar princess scans the crowd, looking for a familiar face. "Ah, there's Kaguya! Ah, Kaguya, we could use your- what are you doing?!"
I follow Toyohime's gaze and see Kaguya for myself. Who is grinning hugely as she lounges in a hot tub wearing sunglasses. One arm is wrapped around a giggling Tokiko. The other is wrapped around an awe-struck young man who I remember as having sold Sakuya and myself tickets at the concert in the village awhile back. Several other men and women are in the tub with her.
Kaguya peers at the other Lunarians over the top of her sunglasses. "Jealous much?" she asks, causing her entourage to laugh. The Watatsukis can only gape in disbelief.
Ladies and gentlemen: Kaguya Houraisen, pimping it up.
"You are way too tense," I hear a familiar voice say. Both Watatsukis squeak and jump a little, and I look over to see Koishi Komeiji squeezed between the two of them, smiling contentedly, a hand squeezing each of their butts.
Yorihime gapes at her in horror. "What are you DOING?!" she demands.
Koishi shrugs. "Your butts looked nice. I wondered what they felt like, that's all." Her eyes light up. "Oh, they brought out cookies at the buffet table! I wonder what they taste like?" Her interest having wandered, Koishi releases the Lunarian sisters and wanders away, probably having already forgotten about them.
The sisters stare at me, searching desperately for an explanation. I just shrug, smiling. "She's like that, that's all." They groan, not in the least bit satisfied with my explanation.
Flandre walks out at this point with a huge smile on her face. "Hey, everybody!" she calls out, "Who wants to play battleships?!" A few people call out in the affirmative, most notably Minamitsu Murasa. Flandre giggles happily. "Okay! Sakuya, bring out the battleships!"
I hear a clanking of machinery, and look up... to see hooks and joists lowering two miniature battleships, apparently built to scale, from the ceiling. Everyone else at the pool gapes in disbelief.
"What the hell?" I murmur.
Sakuya appears next to me. "Flandre's been working on it for a while," she tells me. "Even got some kappas to come in and help with the construction. When Koakuma started planning this party, well... Flandre insisted."
In the pool, a couple of kappa swim out to release the ships from their restraints. Flandre turns around with a broad smile. "Okay, I get to be captain of one ship! Who wants to be the other one?"
"ME!!!" Murasa shouts out, lunging forward eagerly. "ME! ME! ME! PICK ME, DAMMIT!"
"Okay, Captain Murasa gets the other ship!" Flandre laughs.
"FUCK YES THIS IS AWESOME!!!" Captain Murasa crows, diving into the water to swim out to her ship. Soon, both miniature battleships are fighting each other, with electrical motors pushing the ships around, and pumps feeding the cannons full of water. Along with the water-rifles assigned to the crew, blasts of water keep going bath and forth, drenching the crews and knocking people into the pool. Everyone is shrieking with laughter as Flandre and Murasa shout out orders, and the spectators to the side shout out encouragement to one boat or another.
Next to me, I notice Yorihime watching the spectacle intently, twitching slightly. Finally, she takes a deep breath, shakes her head, and dives into the water. "Yori?!" Toyohime cries out in surprise. Yorihime doesn't answer, instead swimming over to Flandre's ship, grabbing a foam-rubber 'sword' and pointing it at Murasa's vessel.
"She's trying to flank you!" the purple-haired Lunarian shouts to Flandre, "Pull hard to port, or you'll be wide open!"
"Dammit!" Murasa shouts, her gambit exposed.
"Ah, good call Yori!" Flandre nods excitedly. "You heard her, guys! Let's do this!" There are enthusiastic shouts in response as the game of Battleships intensifies with the aid of a lunar princess, who very quickly gets into the spirit of things.
Toyohime just slumps over, staring dully at her exuberant sibling. She sighs deeply, shrugging. "Oh well. When in Rome, and all that." Shaking her head, Toyohime walks over to hop into a hot-tub, getting into an animated conversation with a few youkai.
I nod in satisfaction, turning to Yuuka and Sakuya. "I think we win this one," I tell them. They laugh, and nod in agreement.
*********************************
A little while later, Yuuka, Sakuya and I are in a hot tub all to ourselves, enjoying how the bubbles massage our bodies. Yuuka has dozed off on my shoulder, while Sakuya clings to me, watching the party with fascination.
It's really gotten into full swing. Reimu and Remilia are playing together in the water, while Koakuma hasn't let go of Josef since they walked in together. Patchouli has a circle of male admirers, and Malla is roasting marshmallows for anyone who wants one. Off to one side, I can see Pameel clinging to Marisa, who doesn't seem to mind one bit. Mima is floating around in an especially small bathing suit, apparently hunting for interested men.
Out on the water, Flandre is laughing happily with Yorihime as they continue to duel with Captain Murasa. Okuu and Tenshi open fire with another gout of water from the cannons, causing Reisen and Shou to fire back in response. Choujuu Gigaku and the Prismrivers have stopped playing to frolic in the water for a little bit, and Cirno is leading her team in superhero poses. I see Albrecht and Yuugi hand-in-hand speaking to Mokou, while Satori is having an animated conversation with Iku, apparently trying to get the oarfish to dance to the music later.
Nitori and some kappa are running around, clearly having the time of their lives. I see Hatate and Momiji talking to some humans at the snack table, while Big Papa himself has put in an appearance, holding forth on the principles of looooooove to a fascinated audience of humans and youkai. Byakuren seems to be listening to him very carefully.
On the other side of the pool, I see Yukari stretched out alongside Shinki, while Ran is chatting quite companionably with Toyohime. I see Chen running over to Cirno and her crew. Kaguya is still pimping it up, and Tewi is leading Koishi somewhere, no doubt up to some mischief. Eirin has relaxed a little bit, and is having drinks with a certain group of Oni gentlemen. I even see Parsee on one of the boats, laughing and playing happily.
Yeah, I don't know if Makai actually throws parties like this, but hey SHOULD.
"Hey, Meiling?" Sakuya says to me.
"Yeah?" I reply.
"I love you. Just wanted you to know that." The maid smiles at me warmly.
Yuuka peeks up shyly. "Me too. I love you, that is."
I smile back at both of them, feeling warm and happy. "Me too. I love you both, more than words can say." They smile happily and curl up tighter against me in the hot-tub. I just smile and relax, considering all of the changes my life has gone through lately. All of them for the better.
Two women who love me in my arms. Surrounded by friends who may as well be family. Having the respect and friendship of so many people. Yep. I can honestly say that I love my job, and I love my life. It's good to be me,
Well, okay.
It's good Being Meiling.
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Meiling Hong happy ending achieved. Thank you for reading!
Being Meiling
The End.
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