The Scarlet Devil 2: Scarlet Devil Rhapsody
by Cyberchao X
Kogasa: Disclaimer time again! Wait, why are we here?
Kisume: It's because there's something different about this chapter!
Kogasa: Oh, is it from two perspectives like the final chapter of The Scarlet Devil was?
CCX: Nope, but you're right about it being a TSD finale tradition.
Kisume: Oh, I know! We need a disclaimer for song lyrics, right?
CCX: Bingo! Lyrics copyright Calvin Harris. …When I planned it out, this song was actually in heavy rotation on the radio. That was nearly three years ago…
Final Chapter
My name is Utsuho Reiuji, living seal for a mad yatagarasu and poster girl for nuclear and solar energy. It's the latter that's causing problems, though…because I fell madly in love with a vampire. When the yatagarasu broke her seal, I nearly ended up killing my beloved…so I ended the relationship. I don't want to be without Flan-chan, but…it's for her own safety.
"Okuu!" Orin, of course. She's been trying to cheer me up…but whenever I'm with her, I'm thinking of Flandre.
I feel so close to you right now
It's a force field
I wear my heart upon my sleeve
Like a big deal
"Not now, Orin! I'm just…" I sighed. "You know I don't really feel that way about you, right?"
"…"
"You're my friend. That's never going to change. But I don't…I just want…"
A voice behind me. "Me?" That voice.
"I thought I said…I thought I said we shouldn't see each other anymore."
"So, what, you just gave up on us?" Flandre asked. She flew towards me, wrapped her arms around me from behind. How I missed that embrace…so firm, yet it still felt tender to me. "Well I didn't."
"So Nitori finally perfected it?" the mistress asked. I don't understand, mistress Satori…what had you known about?
"You heard?"
"I'm a mind reader, remember? And I believe you remember that last time you were here, I suggested that Okuu talk to the Yagami sisters. We have indeed seen them about this 'two minds, one body' issue."
"I see. Of course you would know that Kawashiro-san went to Yagami-san for help with my request."
Your love falls down on me
Surrounds me like a waterfall
And there's no stopping us right now
I feel so close to you right now
"Request?" I asked.
"A way to withstand sunlight. So I can be close to you."
"You…you've overcome your weakness to sunlight?"
"…To a degree. I'm probably still in trouble if Kojiwa's full power comes out, but so are you. I'll still take the usual precautions against sunlight, too, but in an emergency…"
She was wearing a necklace I'd never seen before, and it now seemed that it was something Nitori had created, as Flandre's body was covered in shadow, as if all of the color had been drained out of her. Meanwhile, Yasora was screaming at me. Tuning her out, I asked, "Is that Yagami-san's power?"
"Yeah. Yagami-san—Kuroi, that is—helped empower this." She turned it off. "It can only stay charged for so long, so I shouldn't waste it, but I just had to show you. You never have to worry again, I promise you."
"F-Flandre…"
"Come on. We'll go back to my place."
"Must we? There are so many people in the Mansion," I protested, "and the Moriya Shrine counts on me fueling the power plant so my permanent residence will always be here."
"Ah, I wasn't talking about the future…wait, you're talking about the future, aren't you?" I smiled.
I feel so close to you right now
It's a force field
I wear my heart upon my sleeve
Like a big deal
"I suppose I am."
"Okuu!" Orin protested, and Flan…smiled?
"It's okay. I know you love Okuu too…and you're always welcome." I couldn't help but feel a little jealous as Orin purred at that same gentle touch, even though she seemed a bit unwilling herself.
"You're so sweet, Flan-chan…but this next part should just be us." Flandre nodded in agreement, and we went into another room, the mistress and her sister both stopping Orin from following. Spending so much time away from Flandre, I knew…that it was time to take our relationship to a level it had never reached before. She was the one I wanted to be with.
Your love falls down on me
Surrounds me like a waterfall
And there's no stopping us right now
I feel so close to you right now
It was every bit as wonderful as I imagined, and over the coming weeks, we saw each other quite frequently, both at my home and at the mansion she shared with her sister and their staff and that librarian. Sometimes Orin joined us, too. And one day when we went to the Mansion, I asked her older sister if it would be okay if Flandre came to stay with me permanently. "That's…not really my decision to make," she replied. "As much as I hate to admit it, Flandre-chan's old enough to make her own decisions. I wish I could hang onto her forever…and I still don't like the fact that of all things, you're powered by the sun. But my little sister went through a lot of trouble to try to get you back. A lot of trouble." She paused. "So if she wants to go with you, I won't stop her."
"Thank you so much, Remilia-san!" And I went and found Flandre and asked her, and of course she was excited to do it, and started making plans to move out of the Mansion as soon as possible. "Wait, it's going to take some time, Flan-chan," I said. "It's not like we'd be moving to where I'm staying now. We have to have a place of our own…I'm sure there are plenty of places in the Former Hell; that part of the Underground doesn't have as many people living there."
"Yeah, of course…we'll start looking tomorrow."
"Tonight," I said.
"Tonight."
And there's no stopping us right now
And there's no stopping us right now
And there's no stopping us right now
I feel so close to you right now
CCX: I'd been trying to get this final chapter out for awhile now, and it was probably a little bit of a rush job because of circumstances and I was also a little tired even before I started working on it. But I think I managed to acquit myself okay, and besides it's a short song so I don't have to stretch this out. And this fic was just generally weaker than the original Scarlet Devil from the start. Sequels generally are, aren't they? Until next time, this is Cyberchao X, signing off.
Wow…to look back and realize that the start of this fic predated that sign-off phrase…