RPG - Waking Up From the Dream (Story Thread)

[Gappy]

Abandoned Saniwa Shrine, Karuisuwa, 7.00 AM, Day 2

(OOC: Just a post to get the story going. Sorry if I overlooked any of the previous happenings, I'm in a hurry as it's late night here)

"....what?" Mitaka asked, his brain too water-logged to even grasp what he had just heard. He had woken up to find himself in a rather dusty changing room. There was heat radiating through the walls. There was steam in the air that rapidly condensed on the cold wooden floors and stone walls...and all over a cold Mitaka....surrounded by the other men.

"Hot spring." Kojiro repeated, simply. Zei nodded in earnest beside him.

A solemn silence fell upon the gathered men as they tried to grasp the entirety of the repercussions of this new fact.

"....how?" Jeremy asked. "I mean, this is an abandoned shrine. How could..."

"There's an abandoned ryokan attached to it." Pichu pointed out. "And now we're inside its changing room."

"....why?" Mitaka asked.

"Because the girls wanted a bath." McWallace shrugged. "And we need to be nearby to keep them alive while they enjoy it."

"...." Mitaka's palm made intimate contact with his face. "....ugh..."

[AJC]

(( OOC hooray hotspring scene    ))

Abandoned Saniwa Shrine, Karuisuwa, 7.01 AM, Day 2

Alex just in some shorts and says "i don't know about you guys but after the stuff i've been through i'm looking foward to a warm soak anyone who wants to come with me feel free to."

Alex chuckled "I'm going into the mens side i got lucky in getting fairys they seem to be easy to support without putting a big strain on me i would be with my dear Lily Black but she insisted that she wanted to join in a girls only meeting there."

Alex laughed again "Heh women are women regardless of species."

Alex then walked into the male side of the hotsprings and got in

"Ahhh nothing like a good warm dip to relax...i remember this well both male and female students from the dojo would sneak into this place for a good..and *free* warm soak as well has skinny dipping couples. judging by some some old tracks and discared condom wrappers this still is happens from time to time."

Meanwhile on the female side of the hotsprings..

It was filled with the girls and women who had enough strength to at least plop into them and keep their head above the water the rest were eather sitting round the edge or were still close enough to maintain a partner's link some of the girls wrapped in towels some of the more riske ones are in the nude like a certain gap youkai...

Dispite the all the troubles the girls from gensokyo went though they still can tell storys like stuff about their husbands boyfriends or what ever their relationship with their partners including stuff that make girls giggle

Yukari giggles "So Lily black Alex really got your pattern down so well that he went right up to you and kissed you?."

Lily black is blushing a bit when she replys "Yes he did and quite well"

Shinki replys with sly look "Silly girl your not suppost to be that easy to read"

Lily black responds with a even redder blush "Well he wasn't chosen to be a successor to his fighting style for no reason now."

"So.. how long have you and Alex been...*Active*.. " Yuyuko asks with a smiliar sly face that Shinki had

Lily black blushs and honestly answers "Since about a month and half after we met."

Satori responds "She's speaking the truth girls she not lying about it...
damn girl you are fast." laughing a bit has she finshs up saying that.

"YOU...HOW DARE YOU DO THAT." Lily Black face is flush beet red.

The girls just giggle at LB's expense it stops then they hear Alex shouting over the gender divider "Don't make me come over there to defend my beloved Honor" followed by a bang caused by alex tapping the divider "this wall and any other girl's naked body won't stop me eather." he adds

Yukari returns " Is that so~ "

Lily black responds " oh its very so one time back in gensokyo That lazy Shinigami..Komachi i belive was her name was utterly drunk and was acually hitting on me she stripped down to her underwear and was trying to grope me when Alex gave her what i can discribe has a firm yet gentle knot to the the head which she simply " KYANNNNN'ed" too which brought her to her senses boy she was beet red when she realized she was almost totally naked in front of us she apolgized later and thanked alex for knocking a bit of sense into her that day"

Yukari mused " what a nice man you have i wish i had a boy toy like that."

[Nemo★Ma]

(I'll take it that you are not finishing bathing in 30min.)
Near the Abandoned Saniwa Shrine, Karuisuwa, 7.30 AM, Day 2

Amarillo, with the map book in her hand, slowly walking in the forests towards the Saniwa Shrine.

They are going to the Hakurei Shrine at first, but soon decided to change the direction because the both sensed a large cast of human and youseis are there, including Lily Black.

However, something is not right.

"I got a bad feeling about this, "said Amarillo "It's too quiet."

"According to your map book, it seems it's an abandoned place. Maybe you think too much." replied her fairy partner.

"Well, maybe."

It proved that Amarillo is indeed right, because she saw something highly unusual.

A light spot is appearing on a tree before her.

And that spot is so unnatural that Amarillo, being in the tough battle field of 21XX, realized what it is.

The reflection of a sniper rifle.

"Eh, Lily," she then projected the following question "Where is Your Sis and others?"

"They are most likely in the hot spring, are you planning on ----" Amarillo stopped her and point to a direction.

There is a man with armor, and he has a sniper rifle, and he is aiming at the hot spring site.

*GASP-*

Now they really mess it up, because of the surprised fairy's noise, the man notices something is not right and draw his gun.

But to their surprise, the man is more likely going to withdraw from the scene.

Amarillo is facing a dilemma: She cannot sense if there are more strangers nearby. However, if that man comes alone. She's sure that she can at least subdue him using telepathy. And after a deeper telepathy probe she can make the man talk about everything he knew and let he go like nothing have ever happened.

However, after whatever she have done to him, the cost of the telepathy will left her valuable to all possible attacks. If there is more of their man following him, then she will have no chance to run or fight back. It's more likely she'll have little power to even stand up after the telepathy abuse, the only way to return is to merge with Lily White - which will sure blow their cover - Or let the others carry her back to the town or whatever place that's safe.

If she keep her silence, they will lost a big chance!

Looking at the man getting his sniper rifle withdrawed and put it in a bag, Amarillo, using her lowest voice, said:
"Lily White, send a message to your sis, that somebody STRANGE is going to snipe from outside the hot spring, and demand an answer as quick as possible."

"and also, I'm sorry for making you scared."

[AJC]

Near the Abandoned Saniwa Shrine, Karuisuwa, 7.30 AM, Day 2

Alex was still enjoying his soak and keeping a ear on the girls as much has he could. "man these were constered one of the best in the vicinity i wonder if someone will reclaim these springs it's such a waste of such comfort giving natrual resources"

meanwhile on the Females side...

The girls are slowly finishing up eather from having their fill or wanting to get back and end the annoyance of having to drag their partners to do let them do this Lily Black is one of the second dispite Alex agreeing.

"well girls we sould be getting back and..GET DOWN OR TAKE COVER. SOMEONE IS WATCHING US. POSSBLY WITH THE INTENT TO HARM." Lily Black starts when suddenly she gets the message from Lily White.

"WHATS GOING ON" Says some the girls but all are getting down because at this point they are a easy target for someone who really wants them

Lily Black whos now down under goes to the "Lily White Just send me a message Somebody is outside they are trying or going to "snipe us" what ever that means but i don't like the sound of that."

Mokou asks "What do you mean by that and how do you know?"

Lily Black responds "My ablity is that me and my sister Lily White can send messages to each other has long has i'm alive. she just sent me this warning."

Keine then responds "Someone has a sniper rifle..i doubt it's for killing us unless it's for Reimu chances it are the shooter has sedation darts or has shoot to maim orders to try and capture us."

Yukari adds "oh ho i wonder how long the person has been watching us. i hoped he enjoyed his view of us. because if i get my hands on him if it is a him he's gonna be wishing he didn't have his * happy thing * "

Back in the male part Alex had heard lily black barking "GET DOWN" and orders to get down which to him told him one thing " Sniper Ambush" Alex came to the same conclusion Keine did chances are the sniper wants his quarry alive unless its for Reimu.

"god damn it can't we get a break" Alex thinks to himself has he makes his way out of the men's area of the hotsprings

Alex Rush back to the other guys to alert them to the threat while making sure he not exposed to potental sniper gunfire incase they are genre savvy and just gonna try to end it here.

Once he gets there he says "GUYS WE GOT COMPANY GIRLS ARE IN A PANIC THEY THINK THERES A SNIPER ABOUT FROM WHAT I COULD HEAR."
Alex shouts out.

The Men curse as they are again under a threat.

[Nemo★Ma]

Near the Abandoned Saniwa Shrine, Karuisuwa, 7.30 AM, Day 2

"I get the answer, Now everybody there are alarmed, and Yukari is among them at the female site where the humans on the male site are alarmed too." Replied Lily White.

"Thank you, Now I'll show you what's my "hot-blooded" action, and it must be the craziest thing I've ever done." With this words, Amarillo takes out her straw hat from her bag and wear it, then before she left...

"Lily, tell others to ignore any tick or whirl noises that would appear out of nowhere for one minute if they didn't want to lose their control and " she giggles "let out something that they shouldn't tell."

"Wow."As Lily is closing her eyes, Amarillo added "They will also be prepared to carry a somewhat lightweight girl to town, but as thanks they can ask that sniper any questions in the later 15 min, if they listened my warning and keep their head clear."

Then Amarillo walks up to the stranger , planning to do one of her craziest actions that she only saw others performed it.

[Nemo★Ma]

Near the Abandoned Saniwa Shrine, Karuisuwa, 7.31 AM, Day 2

Amarillo stopped her steps, and close her eyes, gather all her power to project a virtual image on everybody within a 50meter range 's mind.

If the others heard Lily's warning they will not affected by the incoming fake-image.

But for this guy, things are different.

Being a sniper, when he heard there are ticking noises he will probably start to pay attention. Thus fall into the "Mind Trap" Amarillo had set.

Then his mind is wide open. as same as all the people who is following the sound in the entire area.

The effects are far better beyond her exception, after a merely 20 seconds, the man collapsed to the ground.

"What irony, it's just his job and his pride that failed him."Amarillo murmured, and shouted to Lily.

"COME HERE! DID YOU JUST SENT THE MESSAGE?"

After getting a positive answer and have the fairy by her side, she looked at her watch.

She have 20minutes left if she still wants to talk to others about the sudden whole thing, and she needs 5 minutes to make the man forgot what he had just done.

The stress part is gone, the fun part now begins.

"Yeah, Lily, call the others there. Even if there are 100 of them I'd say that now they are now valuable to everything!"

"That's wonderful! How did you do that?"

"Just something that 100 times larger than telepathy between us. Now I'm starting to think some questions to ask, we have 15min before I collapse and 25min before I faint if I'm right about myself. I'll not consider fainting if this guy host nothing that can be the most interesting of."

"Woah! is that because of the hat?" Lily asked.

"Eh?"

"You tend to act more boyish with the hat on." Lily points to her straw hat.

"Well, maybe." Amarillo thought as she remembered some thing that her old self said to her about the hat.

"When the day comes when you can consider "Being A Girl" means a weapon to you, take off the hat and find a dress."

"Oh, what am I thinking?! Now I'll get the question and wake this guy into his fake dream!"

[AJC]

Near the Abandoned Saniwa Shrine, Karuisuwa, 7.32 AM, Day 2

"Stay here girls i'm going back to the men try to alert them incase Alex didn't do so already" lily said

"Right good luck" said the girls

Lily Black had then gotten Lily White's message she had also gone back to the men to relay to the men about Amarillo's bold plan to deal with the sniper  while making sure she wasn't exposed to fire but she was still in a towel "shes gonna do what..she's crazy but she's the closest one who can handle it...i will have to do" Lily then made her way back to the men and was about to open her lips when she notice alex had already raised the alarm

Alex asked " Lily is everyone ok what happened?"

Lily Black replyed "Lily White sent me a warning via a link i have with her has my ablity. and yes we are all fine just worryed about the person's intention and sis also said that her Partner will deal with the sniper...she even says that she'll make him talk. she also says we sould ignore any odd ticks or whirl noises unless we want to lose control and act silly... crazy but i trust my sis."

Alex didn't like the idea of such a direct confrontation but decided its the best course of action that didn't endanger everyone else "very well we will stay put and hope for the best go back to the girls and tell them the situation is being handled and for them to stay in hiding as best as possable."

Lily black replyed "yes dear"

Lily black goes back to the girls under the same weary ensuring she was exposed as least as possable way she came and told the girls to stay put for a while

"Sis partner will be dealing with the sniper crazy but my sister trusts her so i will do and i think so sould we"

the girls all agree and stay were they are.

and after a while of hearing clicks and whirls that bother both the men and the girls it then suddenly it stops.

Then lily black smilles "sis just told me...it clear its safe to come out now infact we can come to her and her partner and ask the man anything we want."

Yukari grins and replys " oh that gonna be fun "

The girls get up dust and wash themselfs off of any dirt they gotten from their sudden hitting of the deck then the ones who were nude toweled up after all they gave the sniper enough of a *free show* they don't need to be distracting the guys with their *assets* they head back while Lily Black runs on ahead.

Lily black then goes back to the guys and tells them the good news

"Great that was such a worry but now we could gain a upper hand...lets do so." Alex reponds with smug look on his face.

[Nemo★Ma]

Near the Abandoned Saniwa Shrine, Karuisuwa, 7.32 AM, Day 2

As Amarillo saw all the people is heading towards the position where she was , she let out a happy sigh that nobody is missing that great chance.

Then she took out a pen and some paper she got from the store, and wrote the following things on it.

"SEDATION STARTED, Write the questions here since I can't use my hearing and speaking on two places. or you may ask him yourself after I "wake" him up. He will think that he is answering my questions and will soon forgot that."

Then she started to project herself in the man's mind.

Town square, Karuisuwa(Faked Illusion), 10:00AM(Faked Time)

Amarillo, now with a school jacket on, taking out a pen and notebook from her pocket as she pokes the collapsed man several times.

"Hello~Are you OK, Mister?"

"E--Ehh, why am I lying here?" the man slowly opened his eyes "And who are you?"

"Well, you see, I'm a student from the neighboring school, doing a project on the developing and policies on this town, you looks like a resourceful Mister so I planned to call you just found that you have collapsed on the ground here."

"Oh right, I'm the leader of the local defense corp. You can call me- Oh wait this is classified info - Just call me Mister should be fine. I'm tired standing here ALONE for six hours while others are enjoying their d**n party in the headquarters so make it quick."

"Wow, that's really bad, you won't want they to have a good time about that, actually I'll get an article on that stating when you are hard-working your soldiers are not as good as you are, after my interview you should head back to headquarter as soon as you can and tell the others you saw nothing, got it?"

The man stands up and nods.

Near the Abandoned Saniwa Shrine, Karuisuwa, 7.32 AM, Day 2

Surely all the words the man said are heard by all the people surrendering Amarillo, they are more than excited to have such a good chance to dig something out from their "enemy's" mouth.

Yukari seems shocked when she heard that the man had waited for "six hours". But as Lily White explained to her that they have only 15 minutes, Yukari decided at last to let the man go for what he had done.

"When I saw that guy again the situation will be a bit different, heh." claimed Yukari

[AJC]

Outside the Abandoned Saniwa Shrine, Karuisuwa, 7.34 AM, Day 2

to make sure that the man would truely wouldn't present afterwards threat the guys stripped him of anything remotely resembling a weapon and Alex checked his sniper rifle and sure enough to Alex's and Keine's guesses it was loaded with sedation darts apparently elephant sedatives probably because even with reduced powers it would probably require alot to ensure a knockout to the non-human gensoky natives. but he also had real bullets on him for his rifle which ment if he needed to or if his orders changed he could had killed if he got the order to.

Amarillo hinted that the man would not hear them unless she wanted him to hear them
and that after they are done he will leave and not bother them again but also that she'll be at least not much use for 8 hours to recover from this.


"Sir have you heard any talk of strange people showing up around this place?" Alex asked after getting the ok

after awhile the man responded "Yes i've been posted here to look out for strange people. but i haven't heard any talk about any of the locals here about acually seeing them in this area but i was wandering around myself when i spotted odd activity coming from the abandoned shrine's hotsprings."

the husbands/boyfriends/whatevers who disagreed with the girls demands to take a dip in the hotspring respond with a "see we told you so."

Alex then asked "Were is your headquarters?"

the man replyed with "Its about 1 mile south from the town from here its more of a quickly thrown together field complex around existing recently abandoned buildings."

Daiyousei then asked "is anything strange kepted there?"

The Man replyed "man don't tell anyone else but some of the strangest things i've seen is there currently like what looked like a little girl with ice growing out of her back..."

Daiyousei gasped "nooo Cirno..she's already been.." the man didn't hear her

the man kept on talking "...and other numerous strange girls they were in extreme pain has if they been poisoned until we got these strange devices that seemed to stablize them when they are near them"

Alex responds "Artifical mana producing devices?...well at least we know the ones they've have caught so far are still alive."

Alex then asks "what can you tell me about a man named Yagi?" Alex asks wanting to know more about his former friend turned enemy

the man replys but seems to be shaking a bit " i heard abou him i heard he killed his former masters at the local dojo as well as everyone else there who resisted just to get our CO's master some old dusty scrolls kept there i've seen the man and man he gives me the creeps. he apparently he was one of the first few to undergo these so called "mana infusion" experiments for succeeding his misson to get the scrolls." the man pauses

"the devil's deal in deed" Alex thinks to himself.

"he seemed to get stronger yet more aggessive at the same time suppostly he's the leader now of a whole squad whos under went these experiments and were trained to turn some of the strange girls we captured to weapons or something from what i heard how i don't know." the man finishs.

"Yagi.now i see one of the skills taught by the scrolls is how to control spirital power these people are gonna be used to link with gensokyo natives they captured..."  Alex says bowing his head down it was dishonoring to know that one of secrets of his dojo's styles is gonna be used for ill purpose probably even against themselfs.

"thats bad news" says various gensokyo natives

"But don't dispair totally" the linking that i was taught about isn't a permanent one we can still save them unless they use a diffrent more permanent one." alex asys

Lily Black then asks the man "how long have this project being active?"

the man replys with "years since before the my our organization founding and or CO's master became the new aid to the Prime Minister she had been crawling up the chain for a while don't know were she came from she just appeared one day."

Alex thinks "this is bad she's apparently been at work for quite some time not telling how much sway she had."

[Maid Xan~]

In an internet cafe, Karuisuwa, 7:30 AM, Day 2.

"Excuse me, I'm going to get some more food" Yuyuko said.

"Allright, but hurry back. I think I've found the information I was looking for."  Sho said, looking up from the computer he was working at.

When Yuyuko got back, she was carrying a very large drink and a melon, both of which she had clearly started snacking on.

"So, what have you got? Recipes for dinner?"

Sho chuckled. "No, that comes next. First, I've been looking for a way to deal with our magic problem."

"Ah, I see your point. With so little magic, and my movement so limited I can't even go hunt that night sparrow right now, assuming she managed to escape in the first place, of course."

"Well, I'd be glad to help you with that later, but let's stay on subject. I think I might have come up with a solution. Leylines. Flows of mystical energy under the earth's surface. Assuming we could tap into one, it should be able to provide enough magic energy to make our situation easier."

"Ah, I believe the crossing points of those are where Tenshi's clan has placed keystones." Yuyuko observed.

"Yes, that would make sense, based on the traditional associations related to Leylines. Those crossings would be nodes, the easiest place to tap into a leyline. That's what we're looking for."

"But where would we find one?"

Sho smiled "I think one is probably very nearby."

Yuyuko looked puzzled "Why?"

"Simple. Tell me, why do you think Kanako Yasaka would be so interested in taking control of the worship in this region in particular, given what we know about her."

"You mean to say she displaced Suwako to gain access to a node?"

"Of course. The only question is where exactly it is. I doubt it's where their temple was located. Indeed, I wouldn't be suprised if Kanako never found it. I suspect her interests shifted well before she found it. But I have no doubt that one SHOULD be here. I did a few other tests to be sure. Now, lets get Youmu and sis and start looking."

[Gappy]

Male changing room, hot spring bathhouse, abandoned Saniwa inn, 7.40 AM, Day 2

Well, snipers now, huh? Yeah, it'd be awesome if he had been able to do anything. But moving from where he sat by the changing rooms would mean instant death for those in his charge.

...maybe even himself. He didn't know the details of the vow yet, but knowing Yukari, it'd be something along those lines. The others had left for the sniper, leaving him alone to his thoughts. Judging by the commotion from the other side, the girls must have left too. Hopefully team FUBAR hadn't left as well...otherwise they'd be dead in the water, so to speak.

"Taka-kun, how are things out there?" A voice called from inside the girl's changing room next door.

"Oh, just peachy." Mitaka sighed, recognizing Reimu's voice. So team FUBAR was still nearby. "No, sorry, I don't know. I can't move."

The door to the male changing rooms slid open to reveal Reimu, Marisa, Alice, Ruukoto, and Suika in their soiled outfits. Mitaka made a mental note to get a change of clothes for them at the first available opportunity. Possibly something that didn't look like it was made for a cosplay convention.

"Sorry for moving you out here, Mitaka-san." Ruukoto said apologetically. "But Myon-san and Kojiro-san offered to move you and..."

"So it was them, was it...?" Mitaka raised an eyebrow. However, his annoyance was overriden by the fact that he was now talking to the girls in his charge. He suddenly realized that he hadn't spoken to them at all ever since that last toast they had at the border. It felt like a lifetime ago now. They had been so deathly tired and exhausted from the lack of mana the whole evening yesterday that speech had been non-existent.

"So, what's all this talk about this sniper thing?" Alice asked. "Someone with a crossbow?"

"A bit mores than a crossbow, I reckons ze." Marisa, who had more knowledge of the outside world thanks to all her video games and anime, said. "Whats shall we do abouts it?"

"We leave it to the others." Mitaka sighed. "From what I gathered, they've handled the situation. I suppose they're going to ask him questions."

"Does this mean we've been rooted out?" Reimu asked.

"Who knows." Mitaka shrugged. "If yes then we just move on."

"Aww...I was beginning to like this place..." Suika groaned.

"More importantly, Reimu, is there a fast way I can develop my mana supply?" Mitaka asked. "Just that, as I am now, I'm rather useless to the team. I mean, I couldn't even follow the others to see our visiting sniper."

"Justs makes victory all the more sweeters when you're at the bottoms of the foodchain, ze." Marisa winked.

"At the moment, our links are still unstable, so a lot of your mana is lost in transmission." Reimu said. "Essentially, it's spilling about rather carelessly as your contract was forced and wasn't set down properly."

"Ah, yes, it was a heat of the moment thing." Mitaka nodded. "You can blame Yukari."

"Anyhow, we can first work on team synchronization and..." Reimu began.

A loud rumble interrupted her in mid-sentence. An awkward moment passed as all eyes focused on Marisa.

"...my stomachs wants to synchronize with some foods." Marisa said, sheepishly.

"We haven't eaten since lunch yesterday." Alice sighed. "Even then, it was just biscuits we could find from the ruins of Marisa's place."

"...." A heavy silence fell at the mention of Marisa's home. It reminded them too much of Gensokyo and what they had lost.

Suika's stomach, louder than Marisa's, brought them back to reality.

"Agreed. Food." Mitaka said, pulling himself up onto wobbly feet. "The others can deal with the sniper and have their fun. We can go eat."

"What have you alls gots?" Marisa asked. "I've gots tea biscuits and cake."

"Senbe rice crackers." Reimu said shortly. "What? it's all I have." She said defensively.

"Rice." Ruukoto chirped.

"Sake." Suika added.

"Butter, soup stock, biscuits, bread..." Alice began. "Pickles, jam..."

"Did you bring your entire larder with you?!" Reimu gasped.

"I just thought the outside world would be barren and dead. I mean, without mana and everything, I thought nothing would grow out there." Alice said. "I mean, look, we haven't seen any food so far, have we?" She added defensively.

"They're all in these places called convenience stores." Marisa, expert on the outside world, said. "They grow them there in these huge white tanks from air, water, and other base substances, right, Mitaka?"

"....err...right..." Mitaka sighed, too tired to explain the subtleties of convenience stores at the moment. He made a mental note of explaining the conventions of the outside world to them later. Thankfully, he had an easy to manage team. All of them were (perhaps with the probable exception of Suika) used to the norms of human life. All he had to do was explain the stranger peculiarities of modern outsider life.

Main hall of the Saniwa shrine, team Gensokyo's temporary HQ and meeting place, 7.57 AM, Day 2

"Food, food, food..." Suika was chanting happily, her lips and mouth smeared with jam and bread crumbs.

"Butter, cheese...biscuits and ham..." Ruukoto chanted her own little tune as she prepared more for the others. She herself ran on a compact nuclear power core, the brainchild of the great Okazaki Yumemi. The little secret was that it didn't need uranium or plutonium to break down. It could break down anything, bread and biscuits included.

Reimu had explained to Mitaka that Ruukoto had a soul of her own, much like the 8 million deities or tsukommogami that inhabited innanimate objects, thus why she needed a mana supply as much as anybody else.

The others hadn't returned from their little interrogation session. That was fine to Mitaka. That meant he could chat in private to his team and steadily improve relations to overcome the forced nature of the contract.

"So we're contracted to this...man, are we?" Alice failed to suppress a sigh.

"I'm sorry, it wasn't like I had an entire mana leyline to save you." Mitaka said.

"He's right, ze." Marisa said. "He saveds us at the risks of his own lifes, ze. So you should shows some gratitudes, Alice. Daze."

"...." Alice blushed a little uncomfortably. "But...." She sighed. "Look, I'm sorry, I know I'm seeming ungrateful, but what you did was seriously unwise. It would have been better to sacrifice one or two to better help many."

"I don't work like that." Mitaka shrugged. "I'm too stupid and simple to understand such concepts, so sue me. I see someone in trouble, I help them."

"Yeah, he's a fool. The day I met him in the forest, I found him caught in some spider youkai's web. Apparently he had been trying to save Rumia and Cirno.....by hacking on the web with a stick, thinking it'd break. He almost got eaten himself." Reimu said. "It was a wonder he hadn't gotten eaten before, considering he had been wandering around the forest for 2 weeks."

"I'm a good charmer." Mitaka said, simply, earning him a round of laughter from the others.

"Oh, where is everyone?" A voice asked from the door.

"Oh, Sho." Mitaka nodded at Sho. "Good morning. Food?"

"Had a melon. Or what was left of it." Sho said, pointing aside to Yuyuko who seemed unusually content. "More importantly, I have news to share. We may have a solution for..."

"Ahem...." The obviously contrived cough drew their attention to a middle-aged man standing at the door of the shrine, a look of mild disapproval on his face.

"...uh oh..." Suika murmured, wiping her mouth hurriedly. "Looks like trouble."

============Minutes later=============

The man was Saniwa Kyoji, current owner of Saniwa Corporations, one of Japan's smaller yet up and coming conglomerates...and also the owner of the Saniwa shrine, inn, and dojo complex. And he was curious about the reports of a break-in in his ancestral home.

"...and he didn't bring guards with him...?" Alice murmured aside to Marisa. "He must be strong!"

"I didn't bring the police as I didn't want to make a big issue of it, especially not in my ancestral home.? He coughed. ?I thought I could sort things out personally, and should concerns over my wellbeing arise, I can easily call for help.? He said. ?I have my methods.?

?Anyway, I understand your situation.? Saniwa said, nodding sagely. ?You?re stranded with nowhere to go. I?m sure you have your reasons for not returning home. And perhaps some of you don?t have one to return to.?

The girls? faces fell at this. Saniwa probably noticed.

??.? Saniwa looked around at the people gathered in the main hall. The others had returned shortly after he arrived, a little surprised at his arrival, a little wary, but still contrived to apologize along with Mitaka and Sho.

?Such a large number of people?.all so young too?? Saniwa said, looking over the miserable, dirty rag-tag of a group. ?Almost like an entire village, no, an entire?.? Something flickered in his expression, as if he understood something profound. ?Perhaps?it?s silly in this day and age, but?perhaps?? He murmured to himself. ?So, do you have anything to say about intruding on my ancestral home?? He finally addressed Mitaka and Sho, who, being the ones he met first, had become the target of all his queries.

?We?re sorry, we really are.? Sho said. ?As we explained, we arrived very late last night with nowhere to go, and we found this place and?.?

??thought you could just walk in like you own the place?? Saniwa asked, raising an eyebrow.

?No, really, we really needed shelter. We were planning on moving on to find a proper place to stay once we?ve recovered.? Mitaka explained. ?A?a lot of things have happened?these girls have lost a lot of things they once treasured?we??

?All right, all right.? Saniwa chuckled. ?I just wanted to see how sincere you are. And I?m a Saniwa, I have my ways of knowing.? He winked. ?This shrine and the stuff in it don?t really mean much to my family anymore, as much as I hate to admit it. These are our roots, and yet we?ve outgrown it and forgotten it completely. I came back here because I had planned on reopening the place, just to keep it from deteriorating and collapsing for good.?

?We?re?.? Mitaka began.

?Shush, boy, let me speak.? Saniwa said. ?I was at a loss at where to begin looking for people to start the restoration project?then I meet you all.? He said. ?It must be some sort of destiny, my Saniwa blood says it is so. The shrine too seems to welcome you all. So, how about it? Will you restore and reopen the shrine complex for me??

The room fell silent. It sounded too good to be true. It had to be good to be true. So good it must be a trap of some sort, the more paranoid and cynical amongst them thought. And after yesterday, it wasn?t difficult to be paranoid and cynical.

?Sir, aren?t you being a little too?.trusting?? Pichu asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow.

?I have nothing to lose, boy.? Saniwa said. ?The worst that could happen is you people burn the entire shrine down and, honestly, the Saniwa family doesn?t care about this place, as much as I hate to admit it. Besides, you all look like decent folk. The shrine?s powers may have weakened but it?s still strong enough to reject people it doesn?t agree with. The fact that you?ve spent a night here and survived?that says something.?

??.Ok, so you want us to reopen the shrine?? Gpop asked.

?And the ryokan.? Saniwa nodded. ?This place used to be a popular hot springs and worship destination. That was until the surrounding cities got a better share of the tourists and worshippers. Then this town just declined and sort of?well?died.? Saniwa shrugged. ?We Saniwas had grown to become conglomerates by that time. We couldn?t care less about some failure of an inn and shrine.?

?Heck, reopen the dojo if you can manage it. It was open till a little while ago. Some people tried to keep it running, then one day they suddenly up and left. Just like that. So do what you can with the place.? He added.

??.? Everyone looked around at each other. A silent discussion was ended with an agreement with feeble little nods. Finally, Mitaka spoke. ?Ok, we?ll run the place for you. In return we can stay??

?And take the revenue and split it.? Saniwa said. ?We don?t care for what loose change this place might turn out. If you?re lucky enough to earn a revenue that is, with the town as dead as it is. I?ll jumpstart the enterprise with a little cash, but after that you?re on your own.?

?Thank you very much, sir!? Mitaka bowed. ?Thank you ever so much for this! We can?t thank you enough!?

[E-Nazrin]

LET'S DO THE TIME WARP AGAIN!

(OOC NOTE: This is backtracking, and mostly irrelevant to the story at large. This is generally me plugging plotholes and doing some Yakumo character development. I'll point out anything that might be important, I guess...?

Didn't manage to completely catch up, so yeah)

Skies of Gensokyo, Day 1, 5.45 PM, complete collapse of the Great Hakurei Barrier

"... you're serious." Yukari replied.

"Yes. I don't know if there's a ritual or anything, but we'll take care of it at the first opportunity."

"You're insane."

"And what else is new?"

Yukari stared for a moment, then threw her head back and laughed.

Then she pulled my head to one side and gave me a quick kiss on the lips.

I blinked. She pulled back and covered a mischievous smile with a hand.

"Well, take good care of me, then~"

I stared at her, and grinned. Turned back to the viewscreen. We were close now. Looks like someone'd taken the laptop backpack already. Good.

"Oh my, I wonder if we'll be able to make it in time?" Yukari asked, sounding completely unconcerned.

"Doesn't matter. WE'LL JUST BREAK THROUGH EITHER WAY!!!!"

I'm not quite clear on how our trip through the Border went, but it hurt.

-----

Near Suwa Shrine, ~5.50 PM, outside Gensokyo

Pain.

Oh god, pain.

Hunger, thirst, nausea, worse than you could ever think of. I could feel my bones. FEEL my bonesbonesmybones bone's bones

I tried to open my eyes and only saw nonsense. Swaying colors. Wow, so getting sucked dry by Yukari was like an acid trip? Or something?

My side hurt a little more for a moment.

"... Jeremy?!" a voice called, from far away. Oh hey, I knew that voice! Deodorant! That guy with Reimu!

I wondered what he was doing here.

I tried to wave an arm in greeting and failed. Tried talking.

"Heeeey, man."

Well, at least that worked. Fucking killer headache though.

"ugh... you get the number on that train?"

My vision blacked out, suddenly. I wasn't sure if that was a good thing.

"Oi... someone turn on the lights?"

"Y... you can't see?" Deodorant asked. A moment's silence, then I heard him gasp. "Y... you didn't. Not Yukari..."

I managed a small, wheezing laugh. "Oh, yeah. And Ran... and adorable little Chen..."

"You're going to die! There's no way an ordinary human can support a youkai like Yukari! Much less the entire Yakumo family! Ran's a powerful Kyuubi for heaven's sake!"

"Hee... yeah, you're telling me..."

I was starting to feel even worse. How was that even possible?

"... take it from me, I know....."

A thought occurred to me. I could still feel, just a little bit, beyond the pain. But all I felt was clothes and ground.

... I wonder.

"H... hey. Y'mind finding my drill?"

Deodorant didn't get it. "What?!"

"The drill, man, the drill! The drill that pierces the heavens!!" I repeated. Stupid...

"Er... right." A soft rustling. "Here it is. But the bit's cracked..."

"Doesn?t... doesn't matter," I mumbled, "Bolt's the... thmakkitwork..." Tried to see it. Tried to feel it. Tried to move. Tried harder. Felt my hand touch something. I grabbed it.

He was right, the bit was broken. The tip was crushed, and the edges were ragged.

But it was the drill. I could feel it. I could... I could SEE it.

I managed a weak smile.

"Ahhh... thanks... don't mind me. I'll... be up in a bit..."

I don't know if he replied, or even heard me.

-----

I don't usually dream.

But I dreamed.

I dreamed of drilling through Gensokyo. Holes through the earth, as far as the eye could see. Everywhere.

Laughing, covered in a layer of magma and blood.

It scared me.

I scared me.

-----

I moaned and woke up. Properly, this time. Briefly wondered if I was dead. Then I felt something soft under my head - and another by my chest, and my arm...

And the deathgrip I had on my 'core drill.'

"... Yukari?" I asked, feebly.

"Ah, so the madman awakens." I turned to look up and saw Yukari smirking down at me - though she looked very strained. I guess even Spiral and all wasn't quite enough to keep up with her... but at least I wasn't getting torn apart at the seams anymore. Just the headache and some select dull aches.

One of the other soft patches detached itself, and a rough tongue scratched at my neck. Yukari pushed me off her lap and into to a sitting position. I reached down absent-mindedly to pet Chen for her concerns, and looked around. Seemed like a very exhausted-looking Gensokyo had congregated in a dilapidated Shinto shrine room.

"What happened? Where are we?"

"People were gathering at the Hakurei Shrine of this world, and I thought it was better than leaving you in the dirt."

"... even if you had the choice?"

"Maybe~"

"... You seriously dragged me all the way up here by yourself?"

"No, no, that Pichu fellow," she pointed at one of the male Gensokyo refugees, Shinki's, I think, "was kind enough to help me out."

"Ah, that makes more sense, then."

We fell silent, breathing slowly. Ran and Chen curled up in an adorable little ball between us. Couldn't help but smile at them.

"Honestly, it's been ages since they spent any time like that." Yukari commented.

"In animal form, you mean?"

"Yes. Of course, it is rather demeaning for a youkai to act so immature, but..."

Silence again. "... know if they're still sentient out here?"

Ran nipped my finger and gave me a dirty look.

I winced, mostly from the bite. "I'll take that as a yes."

Yukari stirred the critterball with a finger. "Of course, it's not like they have much choice right now, since taking human form would probably cause you to implode."

Hm. That would explain why I had any chance of keeping up with all three. Yukari was probably redirecting some to them intentionally, too...

Still had to make a quip, though. "Let's not test that theory."

"No, let's not."

Silence again. "... so, what's the plan, now?"

"Don't know!" Yukari replied, cheerfully.

I made it up instead. "Try to find and save everyone we can, find somewhere to stay - I think we have that covered, at least for the night - figure out long-term survival methods, get to work figuring out how to restore Gensokyo...

... and find out everything we can about whoever tried to destroy it."

Yukari's smile faded. She nodded - solemnly, for once.

"Seeing as the others are covering the first one, maybe we should try that."

She nodded again.

"... first and most obvious problem is 'who.'"

 Yukari closed her eyes. "I... think I may know."

"Go on."

She leaned over and whispered into my ear.

I frowned.

"Which one was that again?"

Psst.

"... seriously? I was expecting at least an end-boss..."

"I'm not certain. I know I recognized her powers involved, but she might not be the mastermind."

I nodded. "Good point. We'll have to find out."

"And how do you intend to do that?" she asked, mischievous smile returning.

I worked the gears in my head a little and arrived at the obvious solution.

"Internet."

I tried to stand up, only to find that my legs appeared to have been replaced with large blocks of extremely painful jelly. I gave up on that with a yelp of pain.

"Ah, yes, you still seem a little weak to be doing much on your own." Yukari commented.

I glared at her for a moment, and waved down one of the people in better condition.

"Hey, could you bring me my backpack? The blue thing in the corner over there. Careful with it."

-----

I didn't know if I could get a connection here. I didn't know how long my battery would last. (Not long, obviously, but HOW 'not long' would be useful to know.) But hey, why not?

Hm. Maybe I'm still tripping out a bit.

I wrestled with some of the power cords while I waited for the computer to boot up. Could there possibly be any wireless networks out here? Did that ancient cellphone satellite connector I brought with me still work?

... and what should I search for first? There were three things I wanted to do out here. Get ahold of everyone in the outer world that's related to Gensokyo - ZUN, Renko, Maribel, maybe Yumemi... if appropriate, raise a general internet panic about Gensokyo existing, and/or the Touhou games if this world didn't have them... and find out about this "Kiruri" girl.

... well, first thing would be to get a working connection.

It was about that time that I noticed that Deodorant --

... wait, Deodorant? Where'd that name come from?

... oh well, it's a memorable nickname. Just shouldn't call him that.... and I still need to apologize to Reimu.

ANYWAY.

Reimu's husband had woken up, and Yukari was quietly talking with him. I missed the start of it.

"You showed great courage there, Mitaka." She said, with a small smile, "That's a strength as well, you know. You developed more spiritually in the last half an hour than you ever did in your entire life."

I smiled a bitter smile. Oh, I know the feeling. ... I think.

I looked at my laptop again. No wireless connections detected. Damnit. I started disentangling the cellphone wiring.

"...ah...so they're...alive?"

Deodorant didn't sound so good. I think I missed something here. Maybe it's the mana sharing thing. Lord knows that fucked me up bad.

Yukari nodded. "Yes, but only barely. Even the courage of a lion could only go so far. You'll have to train hard to be able to support all 5."

I whistled softly. And I thought I had it rough...

"Ah..." he nodded, weakly. A pause. "WAIT! That contract was eternally binding! If I don't die..."

"Yep, you're stuck with it. Congratu-ma-lations."

"But...but...that vow..."

"It wasn't the only vow I knew." Yukari shrugged.

"Y-you...you...demon!" Deodorant gasped.

"...yep, synonymous with 'youkai'."

I didn't need to look up to see the smirk on Yukari's face.

"You are a deceptive, sneaky bitch and it amuses me deeply even though I know it shouldn't."

Yukari ruffled my hair.

-----

Abandoned Hakurei Shrine, Yatsugatake National Park, Outside World, Day 1, ~6.18 PM,
(OOC: This section might actually mean something.)

The topic of everyone who hadn't made it to the shrine room we were in came up. People were, understandably, not pleased. I wasn't, either.

During a quiet moment, Yuyuko's mana trough punched the wall. "....we have to go look for them. Save them..."

It was a dark thing to do, but I had to speak up. "Who here thinks they're actually in good enough condition to go traipsing about in the mountains without putting yourself in a similar situation?"

Silence.

"I hate to say it, but I think we're too worn out to really do that. Unless anyone has a better method in mind?"

I grimaced. "Besides... we may not have seen the last of that bitch from when we were leaving, and her little shadow goonies and snakes and--"

There was a knock at the door. I froze.

"...looks like nobody's here..." A voice came from outside. It sounded somewhat familiar.

One of the others DID recognize him, and opened the door. He stepped in, panting, and put forth a complaint about the shrine staircase. My own trek up Reimu's seemed so long ago...

Then, a more familiar figure pushed her way through them.

"...you're all..."

My jaw dropped.

"Hey, who is she?!" Yuyuko's husband cut in, jumping to his feet.

Someone else rushed in after the new celebrity, and apologized for her friend's excitement. It wasn't Maribel. Disappointing.

"....you're all from across the border?! Oh my...oh my...wait until Maribel hears this..."

I glanced at Yukari. She hadn't reacted. Well, I'll figure out her relation to Maribel sooner or later.

"Renko Usami?" I called out, "Are you THE Renko Usami?"

She looked at me. Balked. I guess she wasn't expecting a scrawny gaijin in a t-shirt and sweats to be a visitor from Gensokyo. I can't blame her.

Yukari pinched my arm.

"Ow!"

"You might want to hear this," she said, tersely.

I listened as something horrible and despairing was explained.

"...people in black armour and helmets... waiting for us?"

I'd already done the math. I scrambled to get the cellphone satellite set up (it worked, thank god), and quickly Googled "Kikuri."

Oh no. Oh GOD no.

I cleared my throat, loudly. "Looks like we've missed a lot while in Gensokyo," I called out. "I've got bad news, and I've got oh-shit-bad news."

Koishi's husband stared at me, confused. "A connection? Here? B-"

"Satellite." I cut him off, irritably, and waved the phone for emphasis. "Now c'mere and look at the new secretarial aide to the Japanese Prime Minister."

I turned the laptop for the others to see. Yukari nodded silently beside me, and Ran and Chen detangled themselves to look as well.

Kikuri either was, or was possessing, the Prime Minister's secretary, under the name Saaya Kikuri. In any other situation I would have been more doubtful of the position's ability to conjure up SWAT teams for shadowy pet projects, but a little bit of persuasion magic can go even further than a good bit of manipulative psychology.

Shinki and Reimu seemed to agree that she had motive for the whole affair.

Hey, wait, Reimu's awake?

"I take it Taka-kun's still alive?" she asked, through grit teeth.

Taka-who? I briefly had a mental picture of Deodorant shouting "Me! Mi!" and fought down a smirk.

"Yeah, apparently. Wake up, big guy." I jabbed him with a toe and immediately regretted it after the responding shock of pain. Yukari snickered, but gently helped me move my leg back to a comfortable position.

That girl sends very mixed messages.

Deodorant stirred. "Yeah, yeah..." he blinked, obviously thinking about something.

"Hey, Taihou, where did you encounter those people?"

Wait.

Fuck.

I stuffed my laptop, attached cellphone and all, into my makeshift backpack, and made a futile but valiant effort to get it onto my back. I realized it would be much easier if I were standing up, and made the mistake of putting my weight on one foot.

I crumpled back to the floor with a wail of pain just as several canisters sailed through the windows of the room, spewing some sort of white gas.

God damnit. I mean, I know I'm willing to cause a public uproar about Gensokyo, but so that everyone would know about it, not as part of a government plot! Why did these people... why... were they doing it...

And had they ever questioned their orders?

I heard glass shattering from below. I heard a bunch of heavy boots running up the stairs to the room. I knew what I was going to see, but I watched the door.

As I moved my head I realized that Yukari had propped me up in a standing position. Kind of her. I threw my backpack on properly.

How was I going to word this?

The door burst in, revealing the first few of a mob of black-clad SWAT officers, armed with riot shields and clubs. Half the rest of the room made some sort of quip about them.

I stepped towards them.

"Why are you here?" I asked, loud enough for the whole house to hear.

Taihou rushed forward, and punched one of the SWAT officers to the ground.

"Do you know what you're doing here?"

Flames danced around Mokou's body.

"You're kidnapping other human beings."

"Sort of," Yukari quipped, over my shoulder.

"Why?"

A wall of flames burst up around the doorway.

"What reason were you given?"

One of the SWAT members jumped through the flames and met Mokou's fist.

"Oh, I know, I know. You're just ignoring me."

Taihou stopped another from getting behind her.

"After all, anyone you're opposed to,"

Taihou and Mokou 'danced' with their opponents by the burning doorway.

"for whatever arbitrary reason,"

I felt one of the shikigamis bite my ankle. Didn't care.

"can never have a good point, right?"

I glared, through the flames, at the facemask one of the SWAT members was hidden behind.

"What are you?"

He hesitated.

"I'm not seeing humans."

Something bit my other ankle. Harder.

"I see animals."

I clenched my fist, tighter, threw my head back, and shrieked, "Animals! Unthinking SHEEP!"

Thrust a finger at the doorway.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!"

I glared and panted for a moment, then realized that the doorway was empty. So was the room, pretty much.

And that I had kept the 'core drill' clenched in my fist the whole time.

"Er?"

Yukari smiled at me. "That was very entertaining, dear, now let's go before we miss the boat."

"Uh?"

She grabbed my hand and dragged me... out the back of the shrine, which had apparently collapsed on itself or something?

"Uh, uh, that was a bad idea, wasn't it?" I asked, worried at what I'd apparently missed happening right behind me.

"Nah, very worthwhile. Now come on, we need to keep up with the satori!"

I... guess we'll have to discuss it on the way.

I kept my fist clenched.

-----

Yukari very quietly explained the escape route Koishi and Satori had managed to cook up. I was surprised they still had enough of their powers to do it, but hey, if it's walking away free, whatever.

... still need to figure out how the hell the spiral thing happened, for that matter. I NEVER expected that to work. What the hell?

... should focus on not getting caught for now. Hopefully this won't take too long.

-----

Forest near Lake Suwa, at the edge of the Yatsugatake National Park boundaries, 11.40 PM, Day 1

THAT TOOK TOO LONG.

good fucking god that must have been at least two hours GOD DAMNIT

So glad I'm too exhausted to get pissed right now.

I'd gotten somewhat familiar with the rest of the crew during the walk, at least. Well, at least the weird nicknames that ended up being agreed on for each 'harem' the outsiders had, like --

"... team Drill isn't doing that well, either."

God DAMNIT.

After a little more verbal sparring, Mitaka, harem master of the Hakurei Shrine, collapsed in a puddle, along with his harem.

I gloatingly comforted myself in that I was already carrying Chen, and thus would be exempt from any argument about carrying them any further.

... though, no one seemed especially eager to do that, either. My stomach was snarling like a beast, and exhaustion was getting harder and harder to stave off...

Eirin pointed out what was apparently a tank that just happened to be rolling through the countryside nearby.

What.

-----

Several minutes later, Rika was asking me how I'd managed to get her latest invention moving again.

I didn't feel like explaining. "Manliness."

I stepped past her to...

Mannosuke flashed into my head. I quickly tried to drive him out, and saw Satori turn slightly green.

Oops.

.... and after a moment, sat next to Yukari - and the Drill. I didn't want to get too far away from it, after what happened when Mitaka first found me...

I sat and shivered for a bit, mind stewing on nothing. The tank stopped, and I had to stop myself from falling right onto Chen.

A large sign pointed out the existence of, apparently, an abandoned shrine up a nearby hill... with one hell of a front yard. I rubbed my eyes a little, and looked the place over.

"... looks like a good place to lay low. Good vantage point, not far from town, but not close enough to arouse much suspicion about our arrival...

That, and I'm fucking exhausted. Shall we?"

"What about the sign?" Rika asked.

A fireball lit up the night.

"DAMNIT, Mokou!" I cried, alongside Keine.

.... well, at least it cleared the path.

-----

Abandoned Saniwa Shrine, Day 2, ~12.20 AM (past midnight)

Damn my stomach.

Damn my inability to sleep in unfamiliar situations.

Damn my inability to get to sleep next to other people.

"... can't sleep either, huh?" said the... last guy to join us, while we were on the tank - Kojiro, I think?

"... no..." Mitaka replied. Jeez, he sounded terrible. Tomorrow, I'll have to find some way to...

Ugh... so much to do tomorrow...

"We forgot to post sentries." Kojiro explained. A figure shrugged in the darkness, presumably him, "So I'm just sitting here, keeping my eyes and ears open."

"The tank's proximity sensors are active. No need to worry about intruders."

The poor guy would definitely have to worry about the online meaning of his name, though.

Pichu spoke up next. "And yet you're still awake yourself... the one who should be feeling the safest is also wide awake, huh?"

Porn Rule was concerned more about other things. ".... nah, just.... that we're here.... and...... I dunno... where do we go from here?"

"Perhaps we can start thinking about what we should do from here on out?"

Another thing to do tomorrow. Actually, a very important one. I have a lot of ideas for that... just right now I can't really...

"Obviously, we have to retake Gensokyo's mana supply from whoever stole it," someone suggested.

Duh.

"And where do we start?" another asked... Sakuya's demonguy, Taisomething. "It's good to keep that as a long term goal, but we don't have any leads."

I had an answer to that one. "Kikuri."

"Great, someone high up in the government." I could tell they were rolling their eyes. "Shall we go drop by her office tomorrow? You know, stroll in and say 'oh, hi, Kikuri, how are you today? By the way, could you please give us back our mana'?"

Obviously NOT, but in case you haven't been listening to me the whole damn time...

... no. Can't get worked up. Tomorrow. Tomorrow. Make a list. Internet. Outsiders. Kikuri. Recruitment....

Someone suggested laying low to recover, and regain our strength. I agree wholeheartedly.

"Where," however, turned out to be a better question. No one really had a good answer for it. I wondered how long we could get away with just crashing at this shrine..... though, food would be a problem. Damn.

....... well, being exhausted and hungry wasn't helping. We could at least solve one of those on our own...

-----

Abandoned Saniwa Shrine, Karuisuwa, 7.00 AM, Day 2

I'm not sure when I got to sleep, nor how much I slept. But the next thing I remember is waking up in a haze of dust and steam.

It was awful. I coughed.

"What the fuck happened?" I asked.

"Hot spring."

I wasn't expecting an answer. I opened my eyes and found myself in... some low-tech room, dusty and steamy as would be expected. Along with all of the other guys that had come out of Gensokyo.

"... what?" I asked.

Mitaka woke up as well, and echoed my sentiment, if less passionately. "... what?"

"Hot spring." Ku... Kojiro repeated. Zei nodded eagerly from next to him.

I stared. "... how. I mean, this is an abandoned shrine, isn't it? How could..."

"There's also an abandoned ryokan attached to it." Pichu pointed out. "And now, we're inside its changing room."

"... why?" Mitaka asked, much more politely than I would have.

The wild-looking guy that Eirin brought along shrugged. "Because the girls wanted a bath... And we need to be nearby to keep them alive while they enjoy it."

Mitaka rubbed his forehead. I sighed.

I flopped onto my back again. "Well, wake me up once they're ready to move. Maybe I'll actually get some more sleep in this hellhole."

My stomach loudly protested this arrangement. I growled back at it, irritably.

"Myaa~"

I turned my head to see Chen waiting in a corner of the room.

Oh. Of course, she doesn't really like water, and she can't even get into human form right now...

"Hey, Chen. Sorry I'm being such a pain."

She offered me a decapitated rat.

".... Uh."

"... I appreciate the sentiment, but that wouldn't be the best thing for my digestive system unless things get bad. Have you and Ran had your fill?"

She paused, then pulled the corpse back near the wall, and turned to face it.

My stomach was quiet for a little while.

[trancehime]

Somewhere within YATSUGATAKE NATIONAL PARK, 5.30 AM, Day 2, prior event

Hirowaza was struggling to keep himself awake, he had lacked sleep for quite some time now, that trip through the border's collapse was quite rough, especially with the manner that Meira had dragged him in. He noted that there were others that escaped but he was quite puzzled and perplexed as to how the two of them ended up here in the park. Meira herself was not looking very amused, she appeared to be peeved about how Hirowaza wasn't able to keep himself awake. She constantly poked him with the butt of her katana in a feeble attempt to keep him conscious. Hirowaza groaned as he rubbed his eyes and looked around. It looked just like the park from what seemed like eons ago. He was back, sort of. In a roundabout way. At this recognizable sight, he was suddenly awake again, as if some sort of inspiration had restored his vigour. Meira simply tilted her head, one eye closed.

"We're back... It appears that we have returned," Hirowaza duh'd, as if it wasn't already blindingly obvious. "However, I swear I saw that there were others who went through there before you unceremoniously dragged me, heh." To that Meira simply chuckled.

"Yes, Yoh-kun, I guess now that you recognize this place you're finally awake to your senses?" Meira questioned in a rather excited manner. It seemed that Hirowaza was wavering between consciousness and fainting the entire time they had escaped Gensokyo. Right now, the priority for the two of them was to find a place to stay and recover from everything that had just transpired. They may be awake, but they were still rather tired and fatigued.

"Well, let's get going, shall we?" Hirowaza murmured to nobody in particular. Meira squicked a sound.

"Let's go, the boy says," Meira retorted quizzically. "Let's go, where, exactly?"

"Just follow me, and everything will soon be clear, miss." Hirowaza said, in an attempt to sound both polite and cryptic at the same time. Needless to say, it worked better than he expected as Meira responded by shrugging and tagging along. The two of them walked off in the direction of Karuisuwa, as if with some purpose.

KARUISUWA, 6.47 AM, Day 2, prior event

An odd duo. Some sort of weird kid and a samurai with a katana that's kinda too long. The two of them had arrived in Karuisawa. One of the thoughts that Hirowaza immediately had was something to do with home and shelter, but he was too tired to string them into a coherent sentence. He was visibly exhausted, fortunately the same could not be said for Meira, who was frantically looking around. Unfortunately, on the flipside, Meira was more hungry than she was tired, and again poked the extremely fatigued Hirowaza with the hilt of her katana.

"Foooooood." Meira groaned, much like a zombie would. If zombies could talk and say things other than "Brains," that is. To this Hirowaza weakly shuffled around on his person and procured some sort of crackers unknown to Meira. His face suggested that the food was good but again, he was too tired to really mention anything. He then pointed up to an abandoned shrine within the vicinity.

"We... we go there, now." Hirowaza said bluntly. His fatigue was starting to get the best of him.

ABANDONED SANIWA SHRINE, Karuisuwa, 7.15 AM, Day 2, [Current Event]

Hirowaza had somehow guided Meira all the way to this abandoned place, despite struggling to stay awake and nearly making Meira resort to carrying the poor soul. He was determined to get a place to stay and if he had to resort to some abandoned place then so be it. Little did he know that the place was already inhabited with people in a similar situation as he. Hirowaza and Meira then found themselves inside, looking around, perhaps they would find people in this place. Eventually they spent so much time looking around for something worth staying in that they found themselves crawling around, in an effort to stay conscious and not faint from the exhaustion. Eventually, they found one room they haven't really ventured in yet. They fell into the room, which actually HAD people in it, and promptly fell unconscious.

...

...

Oh dear.

[Nemo★Ma]

Inner Room of Tourist Helpers, Karuisawa, 4:00 pm, Day 2

Amarillo, having gathered lots of information use the cost of all her energy, had finally awake 30 mins ago and have the details filled in by Lily White.

Basically she faints right after the man left, and since all the information revealed indicates that things are little worse than it seems, they can't risk carrying Amarillo back.

So they used an Alternative way by temporarily enabled Lily White's original yousei ability of Teleportation and teleported them back to the Tourist Helpers.

Because of that Lily also is low on energy and sleeps for about 4 hours, then she showed Jason the design of the new shop, saying that Amarillo "realized that it's Sunday and needs more rest."

Then she gathered all the information recorded on the paper and put them into order. waiting for Amarillo's energy to be full restored.

"It's really crazy, "thought the fairy "if any of the things failed in the morning we could not end up here. "

She is also surprised that telepathy (which is a common method of commutation between youseis) can power this strong that can invade human's mind.

Or is it because the human out there is too weak?

However, when she asked Amarillo about that, Amarillo just claimed that......

"Remember, no beings are flawless, this guy out there is trained for "noticing any small/abnormal movements", and that is exactly why he fell for the trick. If the opponent is a child or have child-like personality he or she will probably ignore my trick too."

Right now, Lily watched as Amarillo loads up a map website, looking for the place the sniper had said.

No reply.

However....

"That probably means it's true, no secret groups repeal their headquarters on the map, even FARGO, which is having advertisements on the TV to promote themselves, having their member's eye covered when send them into their HQ." she murmured.

"However, I'm more worried about the other people, especially the Gensokyo Residents, from what I sense before I faint is that their total mana is weakened so much that all of their mana level adds up, include Yukari's  is not match of yours "

"!"

"So I want you to send a message, telling Alex and others to stay in touch, he maybe is a skilled martial artist but it's not matched when against a group of snipers. If it's Ok, invite them to here. "

"Don't we need to get Old Jason's permission first?" said Lily White.

"I'll look for him, you can send the message now. "

"Well, Alright."

The shop tourist helpers consist of three floors, the first floor is the shop itself, the 2nd floor seems is previously used by the Old man's daughter and granddaughter, there are four rooms that can be used as Living rooms.

The top floor ,or better say, the Attic, is used by the old man himself.

However, there is no one in the attic.

There is a note sticked on the door.

"GOING TO GROCERIES, WILL COME BACK SOON, OJ @ 1230"

She took the note and head back to the room.

"Lily, what happened after you showed Jason the design?"

"He said he need to do some shopping and then left."

"Well, things are getting strange there, I doubt even in Gensokyo that one need more than 4 hours to do his shopping." Amarillo showed the note to Lily.

[Demonlord Pichu]

((OOC: I'm going with 'Owlbear' from now on, Pichu sounded kinda gay, I still like'em I just got tired of the name. You can still keep the name in your original posts since everyone pretty much knows it's me anyhow.))

===Karuisawa Library, 7.58am, Day 2===

Trying to sustain a goddess, let alone 4 demons, is rather taxing when one has a limited amount of Mana to get by on. Although, OwlBear had a rather large well of it within his being, it was running dry quickly and he needed an alternative to either increase his Mana supply or find some other means of sustaining Shinki in this realm (Luize was a special case to consider being she's traveled to and from the Outside at will, so whether or not she actually needed mana is under question).

Currently, Owlbear, Shinki and the rest of his group had went to the local library to do some digging on magic in general, actually Yuki only wanted to go because she was curious about the 'computers' Owlbear told her about, she would then drag Mai with her. Luize had disappeared as soon as they entered, but that's typical of an explorer like her and lastly Yumeko was keeping a watchful eye on Yuki so she doesn't cause any trouble. But as for Owlbear he had grown rather frustrated with the lack of information he was recieving regarding the subject he was (trying) to research which he promplty expressed by yelling.

"Ahh! This is bull-!"

"SHHH!"

Owlbear jumped slightly at the angry retort of quieting down from the individuals around him and quickly settled himself, to which Shinki took a seat beside him having heard his out burst and came by to see what was the matter. "I take it you didn't find the information you needed?"

"Yeah mostly, none of these ratty-ass books did anything to prove my theory about Magic Circuits and Mana." Owlbear said as he slapped the 'ratty-ass' book with a frustrated hand and stared into space for a moment. It probably shouldn't have come off as such a surprise that such a thing actually exists in books, Magic Circuits is Type-Moon material, but still it was worth a shot right? "Still though, if I manage to prove that it's true I still dunno if I'll be able to actually increase the amount of Magic Circuits in my soul, I've learned (off the internet) that the number of Magic Circuits are pre-determined at birth so there's really no increasing them, moreover, the Circuits themselves are unnatrual to the human body and causes a number of problems for the magus just by existing...if anything else I'll probably be physically weaker at the cost of having more Mana to spare..."

"I see...so even with the increased amount of Mana you're saying you won't be useful in combat due to the physical problems the Magic Circuits can inflict upon you."

"Exactly, and I can't risk that if I have you and the others to protect."

"Don't worry, if it comes to it we will protect you if needed, or do you forget how 'close' we are?"

"No no, I didn't forget~" Owlbear chuckled as he batted Shinki's ahoge around a bit. The goddess didn't put up much protest on the matter but simply looked away a little embarrased he would do such a thing in a public area. "In anycase we might have scoot on out of here, these books aren't worth crap in terms of magic so that means I'll probably have to find a different method for sustaining you guys here. Unlike Od, Mana (apparently) can be found in the atmosphere so it should be easier to draw it in. Not sure if it'll be enough...but it's worth keeping you by my side."

"I'm sure you can come up with something, you're a rather creative human Owlbear. I place my complete faith in your ability." Shinki said giving Owlbear a warm smile to which he returned with his own.

"Thanks, it means alot when coming from someone as equally 'creative' as me."

[mad]

Edited

Five minutes after team FUBAR began eating.

"Food! Glorious food! I do de-clare my hunger upon this world!" Jalal McWallace burst into the hall wearing one of Eirin's dresses. "It's a damn kilt!" Alright fine a red and blue kilt. made from one of Eirin's dresses. *grumble* It's a bit long for a kilt though. "erg, fine!"

Everyone else stared.

"She has broad tastes. Why do you think we left early? Run in her family she told me. Her grandma made a futanari pill that works on both genders and her mom developed one for tentacles."*shakes a little*

"And I'll remind you that their efforts form the entire branch of temporary limb medicine that help down down that rebellion." Eirin said at the entrance.

" I said nothing bad about them my dear." Jalal said in his kingly robe with silver scale pants, "Better! Oh whoever you are, we thank you for deliver us to food. Blimey, this is good. Vell, vhat is ze plan so far? I 'eard some commotion about that there government official Kikuri."

Someone informed him of the current situation.

"I hereby propose that..."

[Tapsa]

Now functional Saniwa shrine

Shrine gate

Somewhere near Karuisuwa

0810 hours, Day 2
-------------------------------

Thirtyfour sat on a natural boulder near the tall shrine gate, carving wood.

Rika was carrying lots of useless crap to the tank in a fast pace, including hay bales, fuel barrels, targets and metal sheets, in order to keep the mana flowing. It took just a little over five minutes. And in that time, Thirtyfour had carved and fletched 15 arrows, putting arrowheads on the last four.

"Whatya doin'?", Rika asked.

"Well, what does this look like? Hauling lots of useless junk and roping it into a tank's back, or making arrows for recreation?", Thirtyfour asked, too.

"I was just thinkin' that we could be wasting down there in the valley some shells...", Rika answered.

"That's illegal, you know.", Thirtyfour finished burrowing the last arrowhead in the frame of the arrow.

"Oh, you think so? As long as there is no townies around witnessing our harmless target practise, they'll be just thinkin' that the government is messing around with their new toys.", Rika claimed.

Thirtyfour shoved the arrows to his knapsack. "Well, what are we wasting our time here? We'll be coming back to the inn later today."

Thirtyfour jumped in the tank, and crouched into the driver's compartment. Rika followed and took commander's position.

"But I'm going to be the one to fire first!", shouted Thirtyfour.

The tank's engine started with an angry vroom. Thirtyfour grabbed a bar with a handle, and pushed it forward. VROOOOM. The tank was trudging down the hill to the valley.
---------------------
An undisclosed valley

Somewhere near Karuisuwa

0835 hours
------------------------------

The tank came to a grinding halt near the river. Both Rika and Thirtyfour jumped out, and started to unpack everything that was inside. The hay bales, barrels and targets were quickly near the bridge. Rika sat on the hull of tank to observe the situation. The tank's turret started rotating with a happy humming towards the target, thanks to Jeremy. Thirtyfour loads a shell into the rifled main gun, with a familiar clink. He opens the hatch, and yells elaborately into three directions: "Fire in the hole! Fire in the hole! Fire in the hole!"

Thirtyfour closed the hatch. "Fire!"

KRA-BOOOOOMMMM

The sound of the shell was deafening, but nowhere near the pig disgusting Abrams. Rifling and high velocity, the shell hit with pinpoint accuracy straight through the hay bale, hit the fuel barrel, causing it explode violently, it's burning shrapnels causing a chain reaction of the others in line exploding, the final going boomies, knocking down the target bolted on metal sheets.

"Success!", Rika cheered herself.

Thirtyfour opened the hatch, and walked along with Rika to the target. Shrapnels had holed the metal sheets, too.

"Look!", said Thirtyfour and pulled a metal shrapnel from centre of the target. "Bullseye! My skills haven't rusted yet!"

Rika wasn't really amazed.

"Well, they had rusted out of condition...", Rika was clearly jealous. "Let's get more hay and barrels, and I'll show you real skills."

"Not today. I'm feeling tired, maybe it's because I slept so far away from you...", Thirtyfour stopped Rika's joy. "Let's go back to the inn."

The tank was manned again, and they were soon back at the shrine gate...
-----------------------
Now functional Saniwa shrine

Shrine gate

Somewhere near Karuisuwa

0900 hours
----------------------
Thirtyfour sat on that boulder again. He lighted a cig.

"I'm quite sure we're going to have our asses sacrificed next day, Challenger II is quite loud that it can be heard miles and miles away. Even if they didn't see us...", he pondered.

"It's not even night, and I'm still paranoid..."

"Then get yourself in the shrine. We've got nothing to do right now.", Rika suggested.

Thirtyfour threw his cig down the shrine stairs and walked towards the shrine with Rika.

The tank's IR sensors activated.

[Caber Knight Etch-A-Sketch]

meanwhile, near another parked tank...

A band of men stood around the great machine with the broken gun.

Frank: well, we've come so far now. Let's take this thing!

It was real easy to get into the tank, but that was all.

Escapee 1: Uh, boss?

Frank: What is it?

Escapee 1: The startup screen says "press any key to continue"

Frank: so?

Escapee 1: Uh, where's the any key?

Caboose: I think it means that you just press any of the keys.

Escapee 1: well, where's that?

Frank: hang on. Someone left the key in the ignition

Escapee 2: do tanks even have ignitions?

 The tank suddenly roared to life as Caboose turned the little knob

Tank: hello, and welcome to the Robert Class battle tank. My name is Lagann. Would you like a tutorial on how to run the tank?

Caboose: uh, sure?

[Gappy]

Top of shrine steps, Saniwa Shrine, Karuisuwa, 8.15 AM, Day 2

?Here are the keys?? Saniwa said, handing Jeremy a large sack of keys, which immediately sent him to the ground. ??.the deed?? He handed a large folder stuffed full of paper to Reimu who buckled under its weight. ??and, finally, the business license.? He said, handing an envelope to Keine. ?Oh, and some cash.? He snapped his fingers and a ninja-secretary appeared out of nowhere with a handsome leather suitcase. ?You look trustworthy.? He said, handing the suitcase to Suika.

?Now, good luck to you all.? Saniwa said, turning around to leave.

?Saniwa-san, seriously, this is too much?.? Sumire said.

?No, no, it?s really fine.? Saniwa said. ?Consider it?.entertainment for me. I look forwards to see how you all fare.?

BANG!...

The loud sound echoed all around the hills.

?Sebastian! Stop following me around!? A shrill voice filled the air.

?B-but, m?lady, you must stay out of the sun!? A rather helpless voice trailed after the first.

A patch of jet black silky hair arose up the staircase like a big black thundercloud. ?Saniwa-san! I heard you were in town. Is it true? Are you finally selling off this place?? The face underneath the patch of hair was fuming.

?Oh, Amakawa-san, good day to you too.? Saniwa nodded cheerfully. ?Yes, I am in town. No, I?m not selling the place off?.and definitely never to you. You?ll have to climb over my sorely old yet stinking dead backside for it?

?Y-you old fart!? The young girl, apparently named Amakawa, shouted indignantly. ?Sebastian! Call mother! Tell her the old fart is still as hard-headed as droppings from a constipated Suwa dragon!? She roared at her butler.

?I?m reopening it.? Saniwa said, with a hint of glee in his voice.

Amakawa, who was in the middle of dialing a number, dropped her phone in shock. ?What did you say, you senile old popsickle?! Reopening the dump?!?

?And they?re going to reopen it for me.? Saniwa said, gesturing at the Gensokyo refugees behind him. ?They?ll turn all of Karuisuwa around again. Worshippers and tourists will flock from every corner of Japan?no! the whole world, even!?

??..? Amakawa?s face looked as if something unpleasant had passed under her nose. ?WHAT?! You mental old loony! You should be locked up in an asylum for good!?

?A bet then.? Saniwa said with a grin. ?Your family shrine and inn against this one.?

?Oh?.? Amakawa?s face suddenly brightened up. ??.what?s this? Have you really gone off the deep end, you senile old fart??

?We?ll see whose shrine and inn is more successful at the end of the year.? Saniwa said. ?Winner takes all. You win, you get the Saniwa shrine. I win, I get my artifacts back.?

??.deal!? Amakawa said, a greedy look in her eyes as she lashed out for the old man?s hands and shook it violently. ?You really are mad. If you seriously think that rabble could do anything against my family?s shrine and inn, then prepare your room in that asylum.? And with that she stormed off.

She met up with her butler a quarter of the way down the steps along with a woman?

Sparks of familiarity arose within everyone. But?it can?t be, right?

?Daughter of a distant cousin.? Saniwa explained, offhandedly, as the group gaped at the helicopter that now took to the skies above them bearing the Amakawa family insignia. ?Cheerful little ray of sunshine, that brat.? He said cheerfully. ?Now, win, or lose the shrine in a year?s time.? Saniwa said, simply. And with that, he left, leaving the shellshocked group of people standing at the top of the steps, watching him go with empty expressions.

??.would someone mind explaining what the hell just happened here?? Jeremy finally asked.

??.? Everyone thought for a moment. Then ?Nah, doesn?t matter. We won?t be here for a whole year.? Gpop shrugged. ??.right??

?More importantly, wasn?t that Kanako?? Myon asked.

??.nah, Kanako would have recognized us and come up to greet us.? Sho said.

And with that the team turned to deal with more serious business?

?.like the suitcase of money in suika?s hands?

Room 202, Saniwa Inn, Karuisuwa, 9.05 AM

It was a blessing. It really was, thought Mitaka, as he and Ruukoto finally finished sweeping out the room and airing the tatami mats for their use. An entire inn/shrine/dojo complex for themselves, it was a miracle! If ever he would believe in a god or goddess, it was now.

?well, there were two living here under the same roof, but still?.

?Mitaka-san, isn?t it beautiful?? Ruukoto said, as they placed the leaned the last of the tatami mats against the wooden balcony railings outside their room. A fresh spring breeze blew by, carrying with it the scent of freshly blossoming cherry trees. The lake below was a sparkling azure, reflecting the pristine blue sky above, that stretched up to the sandy shores that hugged the human settlements around the lake. Further beyond the towns and villages gave way to the mighty Yatsugatake Mountain Range where they had begun their journey just yesterday. It was difficult to imagine that just yesterday night they had just lost their homes, lost and alone in the middle of the dark wilderness with no shelter, hunted by mysterious strangers, driven to the edge of despair. Now they had an entire shrine and inn complex to themselves. Everything was happiness and sunshine.

?It really is.? Mitaka nodded in agreement as he took in a deep breath of the rejuvenating fresh air. Below them, in the shrine grounds, the myriads of cherry trees were just beginning to bloom. The deep blue of the skies, the sagely white and grey of the mountains, the lush green of the forests, the soft pink of the blossoms?it was simply amazing that such a sanctuary existed outside of Gensokyo.

?Hurry! Hurry!? Their wondering thoughts were brought back to the present by the commotion in the room behind them. Marisa and Alice were frantically emptying what looked like a small bag. Heavy tomes, leather-bound books, artifacts, and other manner of random magical paraphernalia was filling up the available floor space at an immense rate.

They went on?and on?and?

?What one earth?? Mitaka raised an eyebrow. ?H-how??

?Dimensional dilation.? Marisa said simply. ?But if we don?t empty the bag soon?.?

BOOM?.

Loose pieces of paper slowly drifted to the floor in a flurry of white, like a magnified snowstorm. The occupants of the room all lay against the walls, half-buried in books and other miscellaneous magical items, all the trappings of proper magicians.

?...Marisa?.Alice?? Reimu began, displacing a yukkuri stuffed-toy from her head.

?Hey, it?s not my faults that the magics in that bag finally gaves away ze.? Marisa said. ?How should I knows it too would runs out of manas so quicklies.?

?H-help!? A muffled voice called out from a corner. It was Alice, buried underneath a huge pile of random artifacts no doubt stolen from the SDM.

?I?ll help!? Suika called out as she emerged from the balcony. ?Manipulation of Den??

?NO!? Mitaka, Reimu and Marisa shouted.

??sity!?

===========minutes later===============

?Oy, Mitaka? You in he?.? Sho and Jeremy stopped short as they came upon the overflowing junk heap from room 202. The two looked at one another before proceeding cautiously onwards, with a curious Yuyuko and Yukari tagging along behind them, a concerned Youmu, followed by an umbrella(?), a (single-tailed) fox, and a (single-tailed) kitten.

?Ooh, anything to eat?? Yuyuko asked.

?Yuyuko, I doubt you?d want to put any of these things in your mouth.? Jeremy said, picking up a mushroom, giving it a cursory inspection, before tossing it aside. ?Especially when they?ve had corpses swimming in them.? He added.

?Corpses? Are they edible?? Yuyuko asked.

?Depends. Are Armpits and Deodorant edible?? Jeremy asked, nudging aside a few bits of junk to uncover a lifeless hand.

?What?s deodorant? Sounds fancy.? Yuyuko said excitedly.

?What happened?? Youmu asked.

?Looks like someone tried utilizing their powers.? Yukari said. ?With team FUBAR in that state, any one of them attempting to use powers would be a mass suicide.?

?Oy, Deodorant, get up now before I make you swim in the lake.? Jeremy muttered, poking a lifeless Mitaka.

===========minutes later=============

?Thanks?? Mitaka sighed in relief. ??.ugh, I hate this feeling of lacking mana. There?s this strange taste in my mouth now whenever I?.?

?Yeah, yeah, I know what you mean.? Sho said hurriedly, hiding the pile of phantasmal mushrooms behind him. Looks like they really did supply mana. As for their side-effects?.well?.sacrifices had to be made in the name of science, after all?

?So why are you guys here?? Reimu asked as she piled yet another load of books into a convenient bookcase. Marisa and Alice had been slave-driven by Reimu into helping. Suika on the other hand was facing the wall in introspection.

?The group?s heading out. We?ve divided the ?wardrobe and supplies? budget as we agreed this morning.? Sho said. Mitaka nodded. They had taken a small portion of the money Saniwa had left them for the purposes of buying a decent new wardrobe for each team and the supplies they would need. This included new futons, pillows, blankets, and whatnot. ?We thought we?d let you know that we?re meeting up down at that girl?s place, the Tourist Helpers store, after we?re done. You know, the girl who was with Lily White this morning??

?Yeah.? Mitaka nodded. The store wasn?t too far, just down the hill from the shrine and inn.

?Right, later.? The kitten climbed up onto Jeremy?s head. Sho grasped the bright blue umbrella. And with that, they were off.

??.clothes, huh?? Mitaka murmured.

?Clothes?? Marisa looked around. Anything to distract them from the mundane task of sorting books was worth it.

?Yeah. Your clothes aren?t exactly very outside-y at the moment.? Mitaka said. ?We?ll have to get you some new threads. Mind losing the witch?s ha?.? But before Mitaka could finish, he was already under siege from a fully blooming angry stare from the black-white witch.

?Don?t?you?dare?.? Marisa breathed, clutching her hat as if it were her life. ?This?.this is the symbol of a witch, it?s?.?

?You?re not much of a witch at the moment, though, are you?? Reimu sighed. ?Give it up.?

?NO!? Marisa made to escape, but Reimu and Suika were already in mid-tackle. ?AAAGH! NO! MY SOURCE OF POWERRRR! NOOOOO!? She moaned as Reimu ripped the rather tattered hat off her head and held it up like a bloody trophy of her triumph.

?I?m likes Samson withouts his hair ze?.? Marisa sniffed. ?Like a deflowered maidens?no, Taka-Taka, severs the connections now! I don?t want to lives on! I?.?

?Oh, stop it you three?? Mitaka sighed as the three rolled around the floor, wrestling and tickling each other. ?Alice??? He looked around, wondering why the 7-coloured magician wasn?t taking part.

She was staring down at her dolls, Shanghai and Hourai, who now lay limp and lifeless on the shelf. She was staring at them, a sad, mournful look on her face.

??don?t worry, we?ll be able to get enough mana one day to bring them back to life.? Mitaka said in an effort to comfort her.

?How would you know?!? Alice suddenly cried out, breaking into a fit of rage. ?Just now Suika tried a small spell and we all found ourselves knocking on death?s door! You?re putting all of us at risk like this! What if none of us survive?! You shouldn?t have helped me! You  should have tried to help only those you had the power to help! Marisa?s right! You should sever the connection! You stupid, simple-minded, oaf of a weakling!? She shouted in his face, before getting up abruptly, bashing Mitaka?s chin with her head in her fury, winced for a few moments from the pain, before making a mad dash out the door.

??oy, lady?s man, shouldn?ts we goes after hers ze?? Marisa asked, putting her hat away in a safe corner of the room.

?I don?t know. I mean, what do I say. I?? Mitaka said from where he lay on the floor, trying to find his jaw.

?Stupid Taka!? Marisa smacked him on the head. ?I mean, if she gets too fars out of ranges, she?ll dies!?

?oh?.? Oh, Mitaka sat up upright, his face pale. ?Yes, that is a problem?.?

[AJC]

outside Saniwa Shrine, Karuisuwa, 7.54 AM, Day 2

After getting all they could out of the man suddenly has Amarillo seemed to finally tired from what ever she had the man under they left him their and waited from a safe distance to walk him indeed move on after what ever Amarillo put the man under wore off.

they then moved on back to the shrine itself

during the stay they find out that the shrine complex isn't as abandoned as they thought it was or at least not recently.

Saniwa Shrine, Karuisuwa, 8.00 AM, Day 2

"so your the new owner of this place now and you are wanting to re-open it?" alex asked Mr. Kyoji

"Indeed partially to help bring this town back to life with a re-newed tourist attaction i figured that the wonderful views around here would once again make this place lively again and well... mostly to compete with other shrines who are doing the same we need to expand and are looking at all possable options which included fixing up and reopening this place."

"Again we are sorry for breaking in to this place but we had a long trip with many troubles along the way some of which are too heartbreaking to tell you." Lily Black says

"its ok my c..no wait your short for a lass but i can clearly tell your a full grown woman now that take a double take on you." Kyoji says

"heh i get that a *lot* don't worry about i just have a short body build i'm indeed a adult i just don't quite look like it because of a condition don't worry its not gonna kill me." Lily Black blushing a bit while making up a explation for her miss matching figure and height.

"i've decided to overlook your break in here in exchange for a offer" Kyoji says

"Whats that?" Alex says

"i'll look this minor breaking and entering act the other way if you all help me rebuild and run this shrine for a while i'll give you lodging food cloths and and a good well paying job." Kyoji says with a smile on his face

"a moment please we need to think this out before we can just accept." Alex said

Alex and the others thought this over.

It was a short debate but eventually hunger and the need for a good place to stay outweighted the risks of this being be a another trap for them.

"Very well we will accept your kind offer thank you for your kindness." the leaders of the groups said.

Kyoji responded "thank you for your help and understanding has such follow me to your new lodging if you didn't notice i've been slowly restoring the place but i kept getting swindled by un-scruplous contractors and a rival shrine corp after this property just so they could level it and build their own filth over it come to your new living spaces trust me it'll be alot better than were you probably have been for the last few days.

(( during and after MTG's post))

Top of shrine steps, Saniwa Shrine, Karuisuwa, 8.15 AM, Day 2

Alex was watching the events

He was amused watching the old man do what could be constired a humilation conga line to this woman who reminded him alot of Kanako so much so he could swear she could be related "wonder if she's distantly related to her after all if Suwako had children back while she was in the outside world prehaps Kanako did too.

when he heard the old man say they had a year to stay he mused to himself  " we probably won't be staying for a year. "

Alex and his fairy "troops" headed in with the others

Inside the Saniwa Shrine, room #101 Karuisuwa, 8.25 AM, Day 2

"ahh this beats those rickty beds of that dojo and sleeping on the ground back in gensokyo" says Daiyousei and the 3 fairys resting on some really high quality beds well and having some fun bouncing on them like the little kids they looked like.

meanwhile in room #104 not too far away just like 20 step down the hall from #101

Alex and Lily Black had gotten a more private suite room after all they were a *active* couple and wanted some measure of privacy and space the rooms they picked for themselfs and the 4 fairys under alex's watch were already re-furbished with stuff like new beds and sheets and had running water for the sinks and the showers

Lily Black seemed to like it alot has she plopped down on the large bed "Ooohhh." she seemed to be having a heavenly time

Alex with a sly sound in his voice responded "So do you like it?"

Lily black responded "I like it alot dear remind me to thank that man again when and if we see him again."

"Sure thing besides i wouldn't want anything but the best for my dear" Alex replyed leaning over to kiss his girlfriend.

Lily black was returing the kiss when they heard the noise from the upper floor which made them stop

Daiyousei barged into the room with the 3 fairys in tow.

"what was that? that didn't sound good." she said

Alex agreed so they went up to the floor to find what looked like books flowing out from one of the doors of a room

"Oh great looks like we have a mess to clean up" alex was thinking then when he heard what he thought was suika casting a spell "No don't do it" he heard from some of the shouts one of which he knew was reimu which told him quickly something bad was gonna happen "don't do it suika you could kill him and yourself in the process."

Alex ran and so did the fairys with him to the room were the books were spilling out of.

[Sana]

Karuisuwa, 10:30 AM, Day 2

Sanasan and Renko were strolling downtown, looking for a new restaurant to eat lunch at. After looking at what felt like hundreds of them, they finally decided to just give up and go to their usual cafe. After settling in a booth by the window, they sipped their drinks quietly.

"So, what's on the agenda today?" Sanasan asked.

"I think...it's time to go see Maribel." Renko replied.

"Maribel? Your friend who moved away?"

"Yeah. We used to try to cross the border together, but something came up and she had to change schools. She's only a few hours away by train, but tickets are expensive..."

"So, now that we've discovered that the other side really does exist, you're thinking you should tell her?" Sanasan asked. "Have you called her?"

"I called her last night, but she didn't pick up. Although, she could've just been studying." Renko explained.

"Well, I think we should tell her. Why don't we go and tell her in person? We've got all day after all. And now we actually have money to spare." Sanasan smirked.

"That's a good idea! I haven't seen her in far too long. I still remember she used to get mad because I couldn't pronounce her name right." Renko laughed.

"Well then, let's get going!"

After leaving the cafe, Renko and Sanasan raced to the train station, and were on a train within the hour. Renko was fidgeting in her seat, clearly excited to see her friend. Sanasan serenely watched the scenery go by....

[Helepolis]

- - -

[AJC]

Inside the Saniwa Shrine inn, Karuisuwa, 8.35 AM, Day 2

Alex had tryed to stop Alice he had seen her running down the hall after overhearing her outburst

"MOVE!! Alex-kun" Alice shouted

"Alice... you know you will die if you wander too far away from Mitaka" Alexs says with worryed look on his face

Alice retorts "Its hopeless i'm dead weight we will be better off without me it would also ease the strain on him i must do it."

Alex slaps her across the face he hated to harm a women but Alice needs to be brought to some sort of sense he then said " Stop this Alice Please we need to stick together to have a chance."

Alice justs kicks him in the groin trained and skilled martial artist or not it still hurts like hell and brings Alex Down "OOOHHHHHH" Alex shouts in pain

"I'm doing this regardless of the outcome" Alice replyed

Alice proceeds in her flight to be blocked by Lily Black Daiyousei and the 3 fairys

"Don't do this please" Lily Black pleads

"Please don't go i don't want to lose anymore friends." Daiyousei is sobbing

"Lady we will be sad if you go." Sunny milk crys

"Yeah why are you making us your friends worry about you and care about you." Luna child says

"Please just stop this nosense." Star Sappfire pleads

[Caber Knight Etch-A-Sketch]

In the hot springs, after the girls left...

Austin deactivated the OC device he borrowed from Nitori.

" That," he muttered to himself, " was the most terrifying bathe I've ever had." So much for relaxing.

he slowly made his way to the exit and placed his ear to the door. They were still there, talking about stuff. At least they were distracted.

He walked back to retrieve his laptop from one of the rocks which, thank god, no one noticed.

Now that that's done, it's time to deal with this nosebleed. Jeez, if Nitori of Momizi knew what happened, they would be so pissed off.

Going back to the door, quietly, he checked to see if they were still there. Nothing. Coast was clear.

All that was left to do was meet up Nitori and Momizi. They had to be close by, Austin thought, I can feel their presence.

He managed to home in on their location. Upon entering the room, he found Momizi and Nitori huddled together, sleeping.

" Well, it has been an exausting trip." Austin was about to sit down when a metallic glint caught his eye. It was a claymore.

[Kojiremi]

*Hot spring of the abandoned shrine*

Koji:  Hot Spring
Zei nods appropriately. Everyone was going into the respective changing rooms to get soaked and have some fun in the water and relax somewhat.

Koji: *sighs* I'd rather keep moving but i guess  a little soak won't hurt... At least i hope not.

Minoriko and Koakuma were more than willing and ready to take a dip in the water. Patchouli followed soon afterwards after Koakuma managed to pursuade her to come along. Youmu felt more like being alert for the time being than to have some fun went to patrol the perimeter of Shrine. However Kojiro warned her that he wanted her to stay close instead since some of the girls were going in the spring and didnt' want to stretch the links.

Youmu: yes senpai I understand, however i think its rather prudent to keep a watchful eye out...We have pursuers lookin for us....

Kojiro: i know Youmu..I know, but everyone is desperate for even a moment of relief...hell me too *sits down next to Remi in the lounge who isn't in the hot spring. What about you Remi? don't feel like going into the spring?

Remi: No, I don't feel like going in.

Koji: *puts hand on her hat* you've been really quiet lately. is something the matter?

Remi: Nothing...just not feeling well is all.

Koji: Ah, I see I thought you'd be happier knowing that your sister is okay. Speakin of which she's in their
right now having some fun. I'm sure she would be happy to play with her older sister for once?

Remi:...*sigh*....

Youmu:.....senpai i'm gonna jump into the spring as well for a bit.
and with that she left

Koji: alright have fun I'll stay here for now and rest for a bit.

After watchin Youmu leave and head into the girls changing room, He found a couch to rest on and laid there.
Remilia followed and sat next to him.
However she suddenly found herself staring at him while he rested and ironically he ended up sleeping

Remilia: "He must be very tired keepign 5 links with us. I don't like it but if we are to survive we need him to be alive as well."

Koji:......*sleeping soundly*

As she watched him sleep she realized she was staring and turned away from his sleeping looking. However, she couldn't deny that she enjoyed looking at him sleep.
She got up from sittin next to him and approached him even closer. She was about to attempt somethign she had never done in her 505 years of living. 
She approached his cheek and pressed her soft lips onto it.
He stirred for a bit and she blushed even more at the site. She was totally alone with him in the lobby and pressed another cheek kiss however...

Lily Black: ...GET DOWN OR TAKE COVER. SOMEONE IS WATCHING US. POSSBLY WITH THE INTENT TO HARM."
In response to the yell Koji snapped up in surprise and Remilia snapped back even more surprised and fell backwards on her bottom

Remilia: mukyu!
Koji: What?! When?! O_O What happened?! *is looking around rather amusingly*
Remilia: I-i-don't know! someone in the spring yelled.

Remilia was way more concerned with teh fact that she was so close to him without him knowing, but he simply scooped her up instead and went near the changing rooms.

Mitaka: There's a sniper on the area!
Zei: That perverted bastard I'll kill him!
Owlbear: I'm sure being perverted is the least of his priorities!
Zei: doesn't matter i'll still waste him! D<

Remilia: sniper? what's that? *floating next to him*

Koji: something very dangerous and sneaky...imagine danmaku that is very fast that comes from someplace you can't see...and it kills you suddenly

Remilia: ! danmaku that powerful is just wrong! how do you defend against something like that?!

Koji: you can't. its so fast and sudden you'll never know at all unless your expecting it and luckily for us someone must have seen him....Dammit i can't go out there because the girls are still in the spring!

Remilia: so..we're stuck here under threat and siege by one person? ...

Koji: yeah...this isn't good.

Soon after however Lily Black came running past them to see Alex in the men's side. Koji and Remi followed to get the news.

Alex: Lily is everyone ok what happened?

Lily Black: Lily White sent me a warning via a link i have with her has my ablity. and yes we are all fine just worryed about the person's intention and sis also said that her Partner will deal with the sniper...she even says that she'll make him talk. she also says we sould ignore any odd ticks or whirl noises unless we want to lose control and act silly... crazy but i trust my sis

Alex: very well we will stay put and hope for the best go back to the girls and tell them the situation is being handled and for them to stay in hiding as best as possable.

Lily Black: Yes Dear

she turned to leave and saw Remi and Koji standing behind her and they moved out the way so she can return. They sat in the lounge again near the stairs to stay away from any windows
However Youmu came from the upstairs and came down fully clothed.

Youmu: Senpai! I saw 2 people out there in the brush.

Koji: O_o dam! i thought you was out there with the other girls?!

youmu: I was going to go but i thought to patrol area from the windows upstairs. After the fairy screamed I took action to watch from the windows to see if i can spot anyone and i did! It was over the hill behind the spring area.

Koji: i see. Well we need not worry. Apparently Lily White has a partner who can deal with the sniper herself so we'll have to rely on her for now.

Youmu: Oh...that's who the other person was?

Koji:....you saw 2 people?

Youmu: affirmative i thought they were both enemies.

Koji: lol you have very good eyes. Good work Youmu *pats her head*

Youmu: geh...*embarrassed* thanks senpai but its all due to training at home

Remilia felt that sting again. She quietly held her chest with her hand and spoke up

Remilia: well we'll have to wait here until he is taken care of. After that we should move out as quickly as possible.

Youmu + Koji: Affirmative.

After the sniper has been subdued some members of Team FUBAR asked Koji to help move Taka-san who was injured.

Koji: There we go...Poor guy he's all tense and whatnot.

Myon: yeah the mana sharing is a huge strain its not easy

Koji: yeah...*sigh* I hope he'll be able to do it.

Myon: left to see hear the questioning

Reimu thanks them both for helping her husband and they soon left to hear the questioning as well. Youmu said she'll relay any important information through her ghost half so told Marisa to hang onto it.

Marisa: i thought you can't be far without this ze?

Youmu: i can't be we're just going outside since the man was dragged closer, it won't be too bad i think

The sniper was subjugated to Armarillo's Mind Trap and everyone was around to get information.

Youmu:..."I knew it was a bad idea to take a break here in the hot springs"

Koji: I knew it was a bad idea to stay here....

Minoriko: "I knew i shoulda enjoyed the hot spring sooner...."

Koakuma: " I knew M'lady was more buxom than she lets on!"

Patchouli: "I knew i shouldn't have gotten into the hot spring"

Remlila: "I knew i shoulda killed youmu when i had the chance...."

While everyone was having their questions (or lack of questions) the interrogation continued and ended.

Kojiro and his team went back to the shrine and gathered their things.  Kojiro talked to Zei about heading to his place for REAL relaxation for a while and they agreed.


Hotspring Shrine 8am Day 2 (while the girls are drying off and getting clothed)

he went to the other teams and told them that he and Zei were gonna head to his estate in town

Owlbear: you live around here?

Koji: yeah i came here mostly to stay near the border and go to and fro from time to time.

Alex: sweet i didnt' know you lived near here, I have a dojo i was raised at that is nearby too.

Koji: oh really? sweet i didn't know you was a member of that dojo. I went there once but i got lazy and dropped out ^_^;

Alex: hahah well the training is rather difficult but its very rewarding.

Taihou: So your leaving to go to your place?

Koji: Yeah I live nearby so and we have a big group here so I'm gonna take us to my estate as well. I have good amounts of space but its not like a hotel or anything. If you and your wife Sakuya wish to stay with the Mistress i definitely won't mind it at all. i know how dedicated Sakuya is for sure but its up to you guys

Taihou: Yeah i'll have to see, i don't want to give you any imposition or anything. And Mokou isn't exactly the friendliest of "guests"...

Zei: yeah THATS' fer sure >_>

Koji: hehe. Well its up to you guys. your all welcome to drop by anytime if you need food or something. Alex Zei and I could help train anyone in any sort of combat style they want i suppose. We have your dojo and i have a weapon stash at home. Anyway , its 17385 Snoover's Hill. Its the Blue/Red house you'll see. I painted it myself haha its basically the expensive part of town after the revolution many of the expensive homes were downsized to keep values the same and equal for everyone however, there was excess money so they built up lots of fancy houses there with even fancier names.

Mitaka: oh yeah? what is yours called

Koji: *sweatdrops* "The Opposite of a Lack of Common Sense"

All was silent as the room name was spoken

Yukari:....ara? *from the other room*

Koji: ^_^; Well later fellas lets stay safe, but i have to get these girls some food soon. I've been "feeding" them more and more mana to quiet their hunger and i'm NOW starting to get drained ^^ Abayo

They exit the changing rooms and go to theri respective teams.

Zei:.....wait, what? you guys haven't eaten in nearly 18 hours?

Koakuma: YEAH!! why aren't i hungry! i wanna eat!

Patchouli:..........

Minoriko: i can't even feel hunger but i knwo i'm hungrier than Yuyuko right now!

His team was startin to give him evil "+_+" glares because they didn't realize that he was doing that to himself and to them.

Koji: okay okay! i promise you we'll get food as soon as we get to my place i swear!!

after much bickering and climbing on him and generally playing around (even youmu got in on it) they left.
Those few moments of playing and teasing was enough to help them enjoy themselves and forget about the incidents that occurred even for a moment.

Karuisuwa 8:30am "The Opposite" mansion

Koji: finally home at last
What stood before them was a large red and blue mansion with lots of windows and decorated bushes. ((OOC just think the Tohno Mansion or something XD only red and blue))

The girls thought it looked odd but they wanted to satiate their unfelt hunger and hurried him to open the door. They entered alon with Zei and his team and he told them to make their way to the living room and relax there while he makes something to eat.
Remilia however followed him instead and went to the kitchen

Remilia: not too shaby in my opinion *yawns*...however this may be rude of me but my sister and i will need a place to sleep soon.

Koji: oh yeah that's right. But...*looks at her body which still doesn't have wings nor her red eyes* I don't think the sun will affect you at all in your current state. *continues to prepare food*

Remilia: yes i noticed too *is standin in the window with the sun beaming on her*

Flandre: sis..so it is true that we aren't affected by the sunlight? *stands in the sun with her* *no reaction*

Remi: yes it is true. Vampires don't exist in this world anymore so we have no such features here.
Flan: i miss my wings though.... *yawn* and i'm so very tired still....

Koji: it may take a while but it might be best to get used to bein up during the daytime now.....

Remi: yes i suppose so.
Flan: doesn't matter for me i suppose I'm normally up at random times when i lived at home.

They conversed for a bit until the thing he was baking was done.

Koji: hehe ever had a Pizza?

Remilia: never heard of it. I just hope its good

Zei: DOOOOOOD I SMELL PIZZA! HURRY THE FU-HELL UP!!
Koji: XD I'm comin man!

When he seated everyone and gave them all a personal pan pizza from the they prepared to eat
Then the front door opened.

??: *sigh* what a day the boss is being so picky and*sniff sniff* who's making pizza?

Koji: Pearl in here!

Pearl: Koja?
The woman named Pearl ran into the living room and was seeable to everyone. She had a long white dress with lavender eyes and white hair. She was beautiful and everyone knew it.

Zei: O_O DOOOD.

Remilia: Koji? this is Pearl? she is rather...pretty

Koakuma: Wow! who are you lady??

Pearl: Umm Hi everyone....I didn't know daddy had company...

Everyone: WHAT!?!?!? DAD?!

Remilia looked very betrayed at this and demanded an explanation.

Remilia: You never told me-us that you had a daughter!?

Patchouli: and a pure looking one at that.

Koakuma: so....

Minoriko: ...pretty

Koakuma: I'M CALLIN YOU BIG SISTER FROM NOW ON!

Pearl: eh? heheh oh wow Dad has a bunch of interesting friends

Koji: NOW NOW EVERYONE! its not what you think. *cough* this is Pearl my adoptive daughter.

Pearl: *bows* P-please to meet you all ^_^

The room was still very awkwardly silent.

[Sawaguchi`Mai]

Karuisuwa 8:35am "The Opposite" mansion

Since everyone was silent. Zei decided to break the silence.

Zei: ...well. Guess I'll introduce myself. _{damnit...it's not fair.} *stands up, walking over to Pearl*
Hi Pearl, my name is Zei Akabane, leader of Team Onii-san. I won't explain everything but I guess I'll introduce you to everyone in here.

Everyone in Team Onii-san: *runs over to where Zei and Pearl are*

Zei: ..ok. The one in the orange is Shizuha Aki, goddess of Autumn.
Shizuha: *shyly waves*...
Zei: Don't worry. She's like that. To the right of her is Reisen Udongein Inaba, lunatic rabbit from Eien-tei.
Reisen: Hm? Oh, hi there. ^_^'
Zei: To the left of Shizuha is Mystia, the night sparrow. _{don't believe this but she's always being chased around by Yuyuko. Poor girl..}
Mystia: *glares* *_*+
Zei: Nothing, nothing. And last but not least, the one that's standing infront of them and ALMOST close to me, is Flandre Scarlet, from Scarlet Devil Mansion. ..and it has already broke down due to the event. Long story.
Flan: *looks at Pearl* ...o.o
Pearl: ...she seems kinda cute. *Looks back at her and shakes her hand* Pleasure to meet you, Flandre. ^_^'
Flan: ...you too. *smiles softly*

They all ran back to where they were.

Zei: That was a bit enough of a introduction. KOJI. D<
Koji: ..ara?
Zei: Was that rant long enough or what?
Koji: ._. Do I have to answer that?
Zei: ._.' Well I'm only asking. Couldn't have done worse.
 

[Caber Knight Etch-A-Sketch]

Outside Shrine gates 8:35am Day 2

Dust clouds were seen outside town, sendig many of the people into hiding. What they didn't notice was that one of the tanks had what appeared to be a tatered, orange shirt flapping in the wind.

Frank: Full speed ahead!

Caboose: Who'da thought that we were so close to a government armoury?

Escapee 1: yeah, but couldn't we have stolen more? I me- get your ass out of my face!

Escapee 2: Sorry, but there's not enough space in here!

Caboose: hey, you guys, stop fighting. Look, there's another tank right over there. just take that one!

Frank: Alright you guys, get ready. We're gonna take that thing!

Escapee 3: Time to add to our ragtag fleet!

The tanks pulled up next to the empty hulk.

Escapee 4: huh? what idiot names their tank Challenger? That's just asking for trouble.

Escapee 3: II? What happened to the first one?

Caboose: ? This signiture... Etch-E-Sketch? Are you here?

Frank: Who?


meanwhile...


A small alarm ringing brought the attention of Thirtyfour. The IR sensor found government tanks right next to the Challenger II.


Where Austin was...


Sitting on one of the futons, Austin scanned the area with the laptop. A little warning appeared on the side. " TWO HOURS OF CHARGE LEFT "

Sighing, he went back to scanning the area. Team Shakin' would have to move quick to avoid detection from the others around here. They would probably not take too kindly to intruders...

One particular part of the scan caught Austin's eye. It was a Government ID, but it seemed so badly made that it had to be.

Austin: Caboose...

[trancehime]

ABANDONED SANIWA SHRINE, Karuisuwa, 10:00 am

Meira and Hirowaza had somehow ended up passed out for the entire time that they were there, somehow, they were unnoticed by anyone else, perhaps they were too busy with their own problems. However, that really didn't concern the two much anymore. The two of them came to and found that they felt much better, perhaps due to the whole passing out deal. In any case, they now had to find other signs of life because the two were positively sure that there were others around now.

"What... what was that horrid commotion?" Hirowaza questioned. To this Meira shrugged sleepily, rubbing the sleep off of her eyes. Hirowaza shook Meira a little awake. "Meira-san, please, come to your senses!" he said this somehow not sounding pissed off, rather he seemed kinda concerned, even if he actually wasn't. She wasn't supposed to know that.

Meira yawned. "Hmm... Yoh-kun, what is it?"

"There are other people here!"

"Hmmn... How are you so sure? What if?"

"Didn't you hear that awful explosion sound? I thought I heard someone stomp off!"

"...That voice did sound vaguely like a certain magician, but... Hmm..."

"Well, let's go find."

Meira simply nodded and the two of them stood up. The two of them left the seemingly vacant room and wandered out into the corridors of the shrine. When they wandered aimlessly, they swore they could see some sort of person dash past them, but they paid no heed to it. The two of them started opening any doors they could, to find signs of life. Meira on one side, Hirowaza the other.

"Are you sure there are people here?" Meira asked, clearly getting agitated.

"Y, you... must believe me, Meira-san!" he retorted.

Well, in fact, there were people here, but would they be able to find them or even be noticed? That is a different story.

[Gpop]

8:35 AM Abandoned Shrine.

"Hmm, apparently there's someone else here." Satori whispered quietly to Koishi and Gpop. "And her name is Pearl."

"Oh, are you reading minds again?" Gpop asked, wondering who's mind she's reading.

"Oh yeah. I somewhat do this on my spare time anyways. I always wonder what others are thinking, although it's usually not very pleasant." Satori explained.

"Well then...I SAY WE SHOULD INTRODUCE OURSELVES TO HER!" Koishi shouts happily.

"Hmm, maybe we should." Gpop agrees.

The three of them left the Abandoned Shrine and walked towards "The Opposite" mansion. They enter through the front door and heard some commotion in the living room. They quickly head towards it and quickly noticed the beautiful girl in the middle of the room.

"...only asking. Couldn't have done worse." Gpop heard this voice coming from Zei.

"And who's this new girl here?" Gpop asks.

"Oh, another boy it seems. You look rather cute." She smiles and shakes Gpop's hand.

"...yeah. My name's Gpop. And here is my wife, Koishi, and her sister and my friend, Satori" Gpop greets happily. Pearl later shakes her hand with Koishi and Satori. Gpop notices some jealousy in her face, but Pearl seemed to have disregard it.

"Don't worry Koishi. I'll never take anyone over you."

"Sis? Is he telling the truth?" Koishi asks.

"Yeah, he is. His heart is still only on you." Satori replies.

"Oh, what a strange...power you have..." Pearl gazes at Satori. "Can you tell what I'm thinking at the moment?"

"Hmm...well you're glad to see us, that's for sure. You seem to take a liking to Gpop...like I'm going to let you...but most of your heart is glad that your father is here." Satori tells Pearl.

"Oooh. That's a neat trick there! Well nice to meet all of you anyways!" Pearl exclaims.

Gpop's stomach grumbles, and the smell of pizza definitely doesn't help much. "Uhh...sorry to be rude or anything, but I'm a bit hungry. I completely forgot about food."

[Nemo★Ma]

Tourist Helper Shop 2nd Floor, 4:05PM, Day 2

A loud crack can be heard from the Attic, which quickly caught Lily White's attention.

they ran to the attic, only found there is no one there but a small tube on the ground.

The tube is dark red in colour, sealed with a black cap. On the tube there are a label with the letters "Koishi" on it.

Amarillo seems a bit surprised and she picked the tube up and opened it. There is another note inside:

"A-Chan:
By this tube you may know who really I'm, I have known your every move since you have arrived. You have showed super bravery this morning which made me realize that my mission here is done. So I left this shop to you, you can invite as much people as possible as long as they can live here. There are 7 rooms in this shop, plus the Attic you are standing in.

The computer's network is encrypted so you can safely browse any data.

Before I left, I want to give you some hints: Relay less on your Abilities since it's not Gensokyo. This is the modern world so try relay more on Technology. If you are still unaware of what I'm saying, just look at the shop's new stock of Mobile Phones. I'm sure you can use them, as well as the other humans.

I heard you mention your "Fairy Lightspear"'s Cannon Mode. I warn you not to try to deploy that. Only people who specialize at Telekinesis or Telepathy can handle that weapon. You are only a ESPer so don't do it.

Since my job of "Resorting Amarillo to a safe place to stay" had completed, I may disappear from your sight. I'm not meant to show myself before Any Gensokyo Resident, not now.

You may find the household's official file, Addressed to you, in the drawer of this room.

Your enemy is not FARGO so your data is only existing in our database, not in enemy's.

Goodbye and Goodluck. And don't expect me to return.

Some Kirin"

[/i][/color]

After Amarillo finished reading the note, she become even confused.

There is only one people from Gensokyo who will use that kind of tube in a special occasion.

There is only one people in Gensokyo that will refer her as "A-Chan"

The answer is clear.

But what about the uninformed departure?

The hints she gave are confusing too, from the tone it seems that she should not abuse her ability not because of her body status, but for some other reasons.

And why did she mention the Internet is Encrypted? It seems that the enemy is try to trace their targets.

Questions, questions, questions...

The fact is clear too, this shop is now hers and she can do anything with it. Like making this place a Headquarter under the disguise of a Tourist Shop.

Lily white's question dragged Amarillo back, "So what did the note mean?"

"Well," Amarillo replied, "It seems Old Jason is actually Old Jenny or something, and she thought her disguise had been blown so she hid herself and leave the shop to us. "

"I'm starting to understand why you are feeling confused, but all right. Also from the message I got from Sis it seems they decided to come here after they arrived in the town and look around."

"Yeah, I'm clear about that." Amarillo headed downstairs, "And also, do not except me to act crazy again like today morning again, it's... really dangerous."

"It's just that you took your hat off so you behave more... gentle." Lily white said.

"Yeah, I know, By the way the grocery is a lie so now I'll go buy some groceries, you can stay here and get some rest. You are not supposed to use your powers out of Gensokyo."

"You mean Teleport?" Lily asked, "That's the only way to get you back without being noticed by them, I mean these bad guys. "

"Yeah, I know. Now get your clothes ready and go with me. " Amarillo grabbed her jacket. And starts to left a message on the blackboard hang outside the shop.

"PREPARATION IN PROGRESS, CLOSED FOR 30 MIN"

"Remember to stick close to me when in the supermarket." As they are leaving, Amarillo added.