Waking Up from the Dream - Welcome Home - Story Thread

[Kakyoin]

It ain't dead yet! Triple-posting because I won't let Neo-WUFTD die! (Also, I had this ready a month ago)


Kakyoin presents, WUFTD: WTF Am I Reading?


12:20 PM - Day 1 - Location: ??

"Uhnnn...huh?" Ken opened his eyes to a vision of blurry, colorful shapes, some of them dark and some light in color. Wiping his eyes, he felt a strange, slightly vibrating sensation. Glancing slowly left and right, he felt the ground around him with his outstretched fingers--he felt nothing, but he didn't seem to care anymore. He had no desire to question what was going on and why he lost interest in everything so easily. Why was he lying on the ground, and why was the space above him just that? There was no blue atmosphere, no sense of height. Maybe he was in the Netherworld, everything seemed like it. From his limited view, the surroundings were entirely devoid of life and sound, and even feeling. Why would he be there, though? This made no sense.

A patch of fog passed right behind him, breaking apart and vanishing upon grazing his back.

Sitting up with a slight grunt, he sat in a state resembling that which is felt upon waking up. He didn't feel sleepy, but he didn't care either. He looked at his hands to look for his fingerprints, trying to recover his attention to detail, but suddenly desired to look elsewhere. His palms were purple, like the color of the ground, yet he ignored this and glanced around panoramically, scooting himself to look every which way.

He suddenly heard the sound of cheering, and froze mid-scoot.

Groaning, he got to his feet. He couldn't remember what had happened...he didn't even know where he was. Reaching down at his side, he suddenly felt something pressing against him. Looking down rather nonchalantly, he saw that his sword handle was--wait, was it pushing into him? He must be somewhere magical. Not that he cared too much in particular.

The cheering edged closer, to the point where it flared up loudly, blaring in his ears. But it didn't hurt, so he didn't cover them up. Grabbing his sword handle, he looked back up to see a crowd of...white fluffy balls, sitting in bleachers. Raising an eyebrow and casting a facade of surprise, he looked to each side. The seating stretched on for what seemed the horizon, if there was a horizon to compare it to. But the creatures...they were--they had eyes and a mouth, and they were clapping...no, someone else was clapping, the fuzzballs had no hands. What a bizarre pl--

"Hey! Hey hey! Welcome, kero!"

He froze in place and performed an about-face. No one? Great, now he was hearing things too.

"Keroooooo~!"

"Huh?" With his left hand, he swatted at the handle of his sword, which was bumping into him for no reason. Looking down towards the source of the sound, he found himself looking at a short, blonde-haired girl with a happy expression on her face. She was sitting oddly. So strange...what a cheerful persona for such a dark locatio--

"Augh..." He suddenly raised his hands to block the luminescent, bursting light. Perhaps he briefly fell deaf, but for that shining moment he only felt the sword handle thumping against him. Suddenly he forgot to care about it, as he briefly got a gag reflex out of nowhere. "Ugh!" This was growing more and more interesting, though. He had to focus on what would be happening now. Who was that girl? He felt his pupils dilate...was that even the right word to describe it? As soon as it had happened, it subsided and he could see somewhat straight again. He felt his head spin quickly before the light subsided. He removed his hand shield.

A grinning woman's face stood inches away from his.

"Uh?!" He stumbled back. For some reason he knew the names of both women in front of him, all of a sudden. "Goddess Kanako, Goddess Suwako...?" Now that he thought about it, they did seem familiar, he probably read about them in a book at the Human Village school.

The sound of music reached his ears; it was the first track on the CD he had back home.

He focused on the tennis rackets in their hands. They didn't say another word, but instead motioned him to join them. "Come play with us!" they seemed to imply. The crowd of puffballs fell silent, as if waiting for a response from him. Was this serious? What manner of drugs was he on? Oh well, who cared. He grasped his sword handle and brought it in front of him in a friendly acceptance pose. It wasn't a sword, but rather the handle to a tennis racket like he suspected. At least the dumb thing had stopped attacking him.

Suddenly he was ready to serve in a game of tennis.

He looked over at his partner. It was...wait, he knew her from before, somewhere. His memory was suddenly foggy. The more he tried to figure out who she was, the more phased-out she appeared. Maybe this wasn't the Netherworld after all...regardless, she had two tied buns on top of her short pink hair. Her right hand was missing; instead, a bandaged tennis racket hovered in its place. He scratched his head and bounced a tennis ball that he suddenly possessed.

The ball bounced back up as three.

His movement froze as he caught the one ball. He looked up at his partner, who smiled encouragingly at him as if to indicate that he should continue. Briefly smiling back, he focused again on bouncing the ball. Bouncing it several times, it split into three balls with each bounce, and the duplicates gathered and swirled around him before flying off in multiple directions.

But now was not the time to focus on that.

He chucked the ball up in the air, and realized only then that it was red- and white-colored. As it came down, he smashed it as hard as he could. The crowd was silent, as if it was holding its breath. Away it went--

*PONK*

"Ooooh!" It hit Kanako square on the head, but that wasn't too important. The ball hung in the air above her for a few moments before a jagged beam of light muscled its way out of the ball and fell upon the blue-haired goddess.

His partner gasped and disappeared in a cloud of smoke, but he wasn't the least bit concerned. Kanako was being sucked into the ball! Fascinated, he reached for glasses that weren't there as he walked closer. Suwako was kneeling down looking at the ball, which had fallen to the ground. How Kanako had gotten trapped inside of it, they had not a clue. But the earth goddess smiled, hopped over and picked the ball up, handing it to Ken as a trophy.

The crowd thunderously roared in victorious pleasure!

He felt like bowing, so he bowed down deeply, so deep that when he looked up again, everything was gone. Kanako was in front of him...she looked to be about a third of the size she normally was, though. Also before him were a woman and a girl, the girl roughly the same size as Kanako.

Wiping sudden sweat off of his forehead, he couldn't help but laugh as Kanako and the other girl started fighting ferociously, like two cats. The woman also laughed at the spectacle.

Hearing a noise behind him, he turned around and there was the same woman. She had incredibly long, flowing silver-colored hair. It looked like Mokou, but there wasn't a chance that Mokou would wear an apron like this woman had on. Turning to completely face her, he stared at her. She looked exactly like Mokou. Smiling at him, she spoke in a soft voice. "Oh dear, well it seems you won...I don't have much to offer as a reward, but would you like to come have dinner with me?"

Eager to see what would happen next, he nodded as modestly as he could. He could not figure out why she was offering this nor what he had done to deserve it, and it confused him. Looking past her briefly, he could see that everything looked normal again, like a traditional village with a grand field of grass adjacent to what was presumably this woman's house. He seemed to be on top of things now, too, sense-wise. Returning her smile, he extended his thanks for the offer.

"Okay then, please close your eyes~" she cooed, closing her eyes in astonishing happiness. Inside he was laughing; Mokou would never--

His eyes closed as if on command, and he lost all sense of direction, time and touch.

...

...

Finally, after what seemed like an eon, he heard the same voice. "Hey, wake up, sweetie." It sounded like it was coming from his teacher. He opened his eyes...

"AHH!"

He was sitting on a bed of fire! Gasping, he frantically scrambled to leave the area. He could see sweat dripping from his body as he grunted and struggled to move, but found himself restricted. For whatever reason, he saw flames licking at his body and sweat falling around his eyes, but could feel neither.

Trying not to panic, he heard the voice again. "Don't worry. I, Mokou, won't let the flames of passion harm you..." A blurry, hazy-looking head materialized in his field of vision. He could barely make out the features of the same woman from before. It had to be her, she was still wearing the apron--

"Wh--!!" That couldn't be right...he instinctively tried to move his hands up to rub his eyes and restore his vision. Feeling resistance, he could only assume that something had tied him down. As if on cue, his vision was somehow restored enough so he could see much clearer. He lifted his head to find the woman's hands pinning his arms down.

Looking forward, he stared in surprise as his initial vision was confirmed: she was wearing nothing but an apron! He opened his mouth, but not single a sound emitted. This wasn't good...

Giggling delightfully at his reaction, she moved closer, her hair stroking and caressing his skin, and whispered something into his ear. He could not hear it, but the look on her face spelled everything out loud and clear. Struggling once more, he swallowed nervously. Without knowing it, both of them had begun to breath much more quickly.

His eyes widened as the bottom of her apron fell slightly to the side. With a naughty look on her face, she licked her lips as she moved in closer...


(Notes: This is a dream sequence Ken is seeing after Reisen sent him into unconsciousness with Mega Optic Blast. Same time as last post. He will soon wake up on the couch in his own home.)

[Kakyoin]

QUADRA post!


1:00 PM - Day 1 - Ken's House

"AHHHH!"

"Whoa!? " Mokou flinched as he suddenly jerked to life at her touch.

He looked sleepy at first. "O-Oh...Mok--wha?!" His face blanched as he woke up staring into Mokou's visage. "Aack!" Panicking at the sight of the towel-wearing beauty, his thoughts swam quickly as his eyes trailed down to a very revealing view of her--

"Er..." she realized that it looked like she was crawling on him, even though she didn't mean to do anything but tap him to wake him up. And perhaps shake him a tad if he didn't. Just a bit. No harm meant, of course.

"W-what are you d-doing?!" Perhaps it wasn't a dream after all, he started to think. Or perhaps he had lost his mind. Mokou didn't seem like this kind of person, but maybe he was quite wrong.

"Huh...I was just gonna wake you up, yeah." Flustered, she struggled to push her body back upright. What if Kaguya saw her like this? She'd be a laughingstock for years and years...

He embarrassingly ran his fingers through his hair, drumming his other hand on the side of his stomach idly. "Well, this is kinda--"

"Whoop!" Mokou gasped as her sweaty hand slipped off the side of the couch, falling flat on top of him. This could NOT get any worse...what the hell was she thinking?

"Um..."

"Ehehe. Maybe you should buy her dinner first." Smiling, Reisen popped out from around the corner. Her smile somewhat calmed him down.

"Rrrgh...this isn't..." Red-faced, Mokou scrambled to shift to an upright position, but only ended up falling back down. "Don't you DARE tell anyone--"

The rabbit laughed lightly at Mokou's act. "I know, I won't tell anyone. But..." She looked to him, frowning slightly. "...I'm glad you're feeling better. I'm really sorry about earlier."

He sighed. "It's okay. I just had kind of a bad dream. Sort of."

"Hey!" The silver-haired lady started squirming.

Realizing he had absentmindedly put his arm around her, he lifted his arm up. "Sorry about that..." Also realizing she still had on that same towel, which had miraculously not fallen off due to unknown forces, he continued. "You ought to get some actual clothes on though."

"Yeah but...you're okay, right?" Mokou put on her best caring face. So what if the situation looked like this? Keine wouldn't be happy if anything happened to him. She had to endure this for her best friend's sake.

But he had already seen through it. "I said I'm fine. I have a slight headache, but otherwise I feel better." Patting Mokou on the back, he smiled and started to push her back up. "It's okay, I know you're only concerned for me because of Keine."

"N-No! That's--"

He kept going. "Although I do appreciate your...attempts to make me feel better, though."

Mokou's eyes widened. "Wait a minute...I wasn't...look, I--"

"Mmmf..." Reisen coughed in an attempt at stifling a laugh.

While he was at it, he might as well deliver the finisher. He put on as serious a face as he could muster. "Mokou, I can tell we can get along quite well, but we shouldn't move this fast." He gave her a final reaffirming pat on the back. "I'm not sure Keine would approve of this so soon. What if she saw us together?" He put on a twisted frown for good measure. "Especially so close like this. This is quite nice and I'm glad I got to see your delicate, feminine side, but--"

"No, I'm not--UGH!" Like lightning, Mokou scrambled to her feet and dashed out of the room as quickly as she could, hiding her burning red face as she left.

The two remaining in the room waited a few seconds before bursting out in laughter. After about a minute, Reisen spoke up first. "I can't believe--wait, you weren't being serious, were you?"

He sat up on his couch. "No, of course not. I couldn't help it though." His hand still felt the lingering touch of Mokou's surprisingly soft skin. Shaking his head, he couldn't believe what he had just done. Keine would probably have his head for that, if Mokou didn't get first dibs. "Can't help but think that I shouldn't have done that..."

Smoothing her ears with her hands, she sat down on his couch. "I'm sure it'll be fine, Mokou is someone who usually takes things in stride. Anyway, sorry about hitting you earlier, I--"

Sighing, he closed his eyes and leaned back. "It's fine, it worked out in the end." There were many things running through his mind right now. "You're stronger than you look, though. That blast really threw me for a loop."

"Mmm." She shifted on the couch. She still felt bad about it, but decided to let it go for now. "I'm really happy that I can stay here. You're sure it's all right?"

"Yeah, this is my own place, and it has more than enough space. You can probably just borrow Reisa's room, she only uses it when she comes over." He looked into the rabbit's eyes again. Something in them seemed kind but pained. Putting his arm on the sofa's arm rest, he went on. "I owe Keine a lot for everything she's done for me."

She smiled slightly. "I'd love to hear all about that." This was turning into something nice, she thought. Well, nicer than how she was usually treated back at home.

"Well, I have some time." He figured it'd be better to stay in for a while anyway. "It'll probably sound like a bunch of hooey to you..."

"Trust me, I've been through and heard a lot. I'm sure it makes sense in context."

He liked her down-to-earth attitude. "All right then." Settling in the couch, he began. "Years ago, about...4, I think...I used to be in what I'd call the 'Real World'. I was, uh, in school..." He was actually forgetting his past. "...and I was studying...computers and technology." He wasn't sure how much she knew about his former discipline.

"Computers?" One of her ears raised.

"Yeah. It was interesting to me. But then suddenly one night, I had a nightmare..."

"A nightmare?"

"Some sort of odd nightmare. I will never forget it." Sighing once more, he took a breath before continuing. "I woke up outside my apartment. It...it was the first time that I was scared for my life."

Reisen's face grew concerned. "Really? Where were you?"

"I had no idea where I was. Nothing around me looked familiar." Pausing, he noticed that she was actually interested. "It was...some forest region, I think. I was really tired and I tried to find familiar territory. Pretty sure I collapsed..."

"Oh goodness, that couldn't have been fun."

He shrugged. "I don't remember much, but it turns out that I was on the outskirts of this village. And then...youkai came..."

Reisen frowned. "Oh no..."

"But Keine saved me...I probably would've been eaten alive if she wasn't there. I'm so lucky..."

"Ah, well that's good. But, your poor family...and all your friends in this other world..."

"I know. I was...I cried. I cried for many days. I was devastated." He kept his head up. "Now I'm past it for the most part, I think..." Reaching over to the nearby table, he pulled over the one music CD he had. "This is the only memory I have left of my former life..."

"Oh..." Reisen looked remarkably unhappy. "I'm...so sorry."

Maybe he was imagining things, but he thought he saw her ears droop. Interesting that her ears seemed to be mood indicators. He shook his head and continued. "Well...it's fine. I can't let it get in my way too much, anyway."

"So then what happened after Keine saved you?" The rabbit was slightly jealous of Keine's ability to protect everyone so well. If only she could do the same for her mistress and princess.

"Keine, she--she dotes on me too much, I swear. She felt so bad for me after hearing my story, and now here I am, living here right next to her and helping to guard her--our village."

"Oh, great! I guess all stories end well somehow."

He stretched and drummed his fingers in the air, a common stretch he performed. "It's a happy enough story, I suppose. It could have been worse. But, I could not have had a better last few years...Keine has practically been a mother to me." He felt his face getting warm, but didn't mind. She deserved the praise.

Reisen folded her fingers together. "Sounds like you two have a great relationship. I wish I--" She carefully looked around to make sure no one else was listening. "--wish I had a...um..."

Aha. That was it. She probably had a rough relationship with Eirin and Kaguya. "Well, no worries. You're always welcome here."

"Sorry to ruin the precious heartfelt moment, but I'm just a LITTLE bit uncomfortable here..." Mokou strode out into the front room.

"Uh..." Ken could do nothing but stare as she was wearing...his clothing! The shirt was looking a bit tight...

As if he needed more of a reason to stare at her chest, she placed her hands there. "Don't you have a bigger shirt? I'm a woman, I have woman parts, you know..."

Groaning, he rolled his eyes. "Mokou, I don't--listen, I have no female clothing here..." He pondered for a moment. "Well, except for some of Reisa's stuff, but there's no way that would fit."

Reisen chimed in. "Perhaps Keine has some more fitting clothing in her place?"

"Oh yeah, that's right!" He usually didn't do this when she was gone, but he did have a key to her place. "Let me go grab the key to her place." He hopped off the couch.

Mokou took this opportunity to take some of the load off of herself from earlier. "Ha, I bet that key comes in handy late at night..."

"Huh? What do y--NO!" He protested loudly.

"Ha, I'm sure you don't. You're awfully close to her, so I'm sure there's no way there's anything between you two."

"I don't...Keine was my teacher, that kind of thing isn't...listen to me, there's nothing there..."

Smirking in victory, the fiery hothead waved her hand nonchalantly. "Yeah, I know. Keine is basically your momma, huh...how sweet."

Reisen and Ken exchanged a grave look before turning back to Mokou.

"In fact, you sure your last name isn't Kamishirasawa? Keine didn't have a son behind my back, did she? 'Ken Kamishirasawa' sounds awfully similar to Kei--"

Reisen cut her off. "Mokou, that's not nice! He--"

"Enough!" He raised his voice slightly. "She doesn't know, it's not a big deal."

Mokou folded her arms across her rather prominent-looking chest. "Hmmph. Well, he certainly feels better. So, what do we do now? Sit on our thumbs?"

He folded his arms as well. "Let me go get the key to her place, then." Walking out of the room, he heaved yet another sigh. This day has been incredibly crazy, and it was barely halfway over...

Reisen caught up with him as he walked away. "By the way...what happened between you and Mokou? I sense a lot of tension, even though it's Mokou...usually nothing phases her."

He bit his lip. "Well, to be honest, I had a rather...interesting dream when I was out cold on the couch."

"Oh? What do you mean?"

"Do you REALLY  want to know?" He probably shouldn't divulge this, but he almost had to tell someone, at least in a general sense.

"If...if you feel comfortable telling me." She was actually getting along with someone in the Human Village! It felt natural talking to him.

He opened the door to his room. "Okay then. It all started when I was flat on my back in complete darkness..."


(Notes: Ken, Mokou and Reisen will remain in the Human Village for some time longer unless other events cause a reason for investigation. Keine and Reisa will likely return to the Village in a few hours from this post.)

[LordVant]

Flower field nearby Road of Liminality heading to Sanzu River. 11:00 AM; Day 1


   Komachi Onozuka, shinigami, lay spread out across the grass, dozing happily. A cool wind swept across the plain

and gently rustled the flowers, carrying their scent with it. A small flower petal landed softly on Komachi's nose, waking

her from her slumber and drifting away as she rose up. *Yawn* "Such a nice nap, and a nice bed. I should come to this

place more often, seeing as Shiki-sama hasn't found me here." She snickers at the thought before rising to her feet and

walking for no particular reason other than to walk. The empty field lay spread out in front of her, only occupied by the

occasional ghost floating by. "Eh, it's not really busy but if they keep gathering Shiki-sama will notice...seems a lot

like that day back then..." Komachi's mind drifted as she recalled the day she met that one man...Vant.



Suzuran field nearby Sanzu River(Suicides wander here). Three years ago.

   Komachi flew towards the red field with haste. She felt a presence there and it could only mean one

thing....someone had given up. She touched down and gazed out to the field before her eyes met another pair. Clear, sharp

blue eyes stared straight back at her, not the usual lifeless eyes of a hopeless person. "Yo there! Why are you here?" She

always asked the same question, it's always better to let the person talk than to lecture them initially.

   "I don't really know..." Vant answered weakly. His eyes drifted back up to the empty sky and dulled. He simply lay

in the field unmoving. "I can't seem to find what I've been searching for...I don't know what I lost...but I don't have

the energy to find it."

   "Why don't you want to try? Are you afraid of trying?" Komachi cocked her head to the side studying this man. He

wasn't really different than any normal person who wound up here, aside from his silver hair.

   "I'm not afraid of trying...just afraid of failing if I try." Vant turned his gaze back to this red-headed woman

sitting next to him. She was beautiful, and had this triumphant look on her face, as though she had already won in

whatever she was doing.

   "Aren't you failing already? If you never try in the first place...you've already failed. If you want to make any

headway, you have to push yourself up if you're ever gonna get anywhere."

   "I know...but I just don't feel like I have the energy to do it...or the motivation."

   "It's hard I know, but if you'd like, I can help you along...but all I can really do is give you

encouragement...and help you on your feet. You have to walk by yourself." Komachi stood up and held out her hand to Vant

with a smile. "Go on, this is a new place, why not try?"

   "....heh..a new place, huh?" Vant reaches out slowly and takes Komachi's hand and she pulls him up onto his feet.

He stagger for a bit but regains his balance. "You got any tips on where to go?"

   "I can tell you not to head in that direction" Komachi points towards a river. "That's the Sanzu river, only the

dead cross it. You're still alive so it's best you head in the opposite direction."

   "...Right..thank you, I'll try...I'm Vant" He awkwardly holds out his hand, but stares straight into Komachi's

eyes.

   Komachi grips his hand firmly. "I'm Komachi Onozuka. Don't have a last name?"

   "Can't really seem to recall it..." Vant laughs, his entire appearance growing brighter as he does.

   "Well then, I wish you the best of luck!" Komachi pushes him off towards the main of Gensokyo.



Present Day, in the nearby field.


   Komachi gazed upwards at the still empty sky. "It's just like that day....I haven't seen him in a year, he at

least visited. He was even brighter then than when he smiled that first time. I wonder how he's doing...Ah well, the

cherry blossoms are starting to bloom so it's about time for the usual festival at the Hakurei Shrine. I'll head into town

and see if I can't find out when it is...and maybe give Vant a surprise visit, some sake would be good too~" Komachi

laughs to herself as she takes off into the skies, headed towards the Hakurei Shrine.

[Kakyoin]

1:25 PM - Day 1 - Human Village - Inside Ken's House

"Ahaha...now it all makes sense. It doesn't sound like anything Mokou would do, though, that's for sure."

"Yeah. I mean, that's not...I don't like her like that or anything, but a lot's happened lately."

Ken and Reisen were walking out of his room. He was surprised the rabbit was so interested to hear about his dream, and didn't really make fun of him for it. Then again, he wasn't too sure that it should have slipped out anyway. She seemed trustworthy enough. Twirling the key on the keyring slipped on his finger, he suddenly paused and reached out to grab her shoulder. "You won't tell her about this will you? It's...well, it's embarrassing."

She responded without turning around. "Oh, don't worry!"

Mokou stood in the front room near the door, hands on hips. She wore a look of discomfort, but replaced it with a grimace when they came out. "Ready to go?"

"You bet, lady." He opened the door and held it open. "After you..."

Her face changed to a slight smile. "Well now, aren't you a gentleman?" She put a finger over her lower lip. "Perhaps this whole time you've just been practicing on me, so you can feel comfortable when you turn up the charm for your next-door nei--"

Ken cleared his throat loudly. "That's not really the case, I'm just trying to be nice to you, really." He extended his free hand towards the doorway to encourage her to step outside. "Although, maybe if you played a little less hard-to-get sometimes..."

Eyebrow raised and mouth hanging open, the fire mage returned his gaze, chuckling slightly at his antics before stepping outside, leaving a somewhat sarcastic comment in her wake. "Ahaha...well now. He's pretty sharp."



1:28 PM - Day 1 - Human Village - Outside Keine's House

He slid the key into the lock on the door to his teacher's house. Surely she wouldn't mind this, it was only for Mokou's sake. As he opened the door, he thought he heard someone yelling from far away. He was definitely going crazy.

"All right, this won't take long. Comfy, here I come~" Humming to herself, Mokou casually strode inside.

After almost a minute of waiting in silence, Reisen spoke up. "Do you...how long have you known Mokou for?"

"Not more than a day, why?"

The rabbit's answer was halted by a series of sudden long, deep whining noises. Both of them turned away from the house in the direction of the sounds. It was the 'god of plenty', and it was floating just over the top of a tree nearby. It looked like it was searching for something.

He moved to deal with it, but Reisen stretched her arm out to block him. "I'll handle this, don't worry." She had to do it right this time, and not hit anyone else. Her eyes began to glow a fierce red as she prepared to blast it from afar.

Suddenly, two more of the large creatures flew into view.

"Uh..." Reisen swallowed and took a step back. Just one earlier was enough, but three? Why were these things here, and how many of them were there? What if they saw them? "Oop!"

He pulled her down behind the front fence and placed a finger over his lips before she could say anything. "Shhh..." His left hand was on the hilt of his blade.

She looked over and met his twisted, serious face with hers. "Wh-what?"

"Why are there so many of them?!" he quietly hissed.

"I...I don't know!" she whispered back.

*WHOOOOOOOOON*

The creatures moaned deeply, and louder. They were closer.

Reisen bit her lip as the sounds caused her to jump slightly. Her hair had fallen over her eyes. She didn't want to get eaten by those things...it's not like she was scared of them, it was just that she felt so disturbed by their presence. She couldn't quite put a finger on it, but those mysterious creatures were freaking her out.

He stared at her. For some reason, she looked beautiful when frightened. He shook his head; now wasn't the time. He knew what needed to be done, and didn't want anyone else to get involved.

*WHOOOOON~*

The sound echoed loudly nearby.

Carefully, he poked his head up and over the fence. It's almost as if they were pretending like no one noticed them. The creatures were closer, but hadn't noticed them yet. He whispered, "Okay...here's the plan. I want you to go make sure Mokou's okay in there."

"Why? I want to help get those...things out of here!"

He looked into her bright, concerned eyes. "Just go get Mokou, we might need some backup!"

"I...but I can--!"

*WHOOOM!*

Suddenly, something bumped into the fence just at their backs.

Reisen covered her mouth to prevent a sound from leaking out. Her right hand grabbed at the grass near the bottom of the fence, and her left grabbed...

"Ah..." He looked down as Reisen had grabbed his right hand. He quickly looked up at her panicked, disheveled face. For some reason, she seemed abnormally scared. Letting go of her hand, he maneuvered as quietly as possible so he could see slightly above the top of the fence.

His eyes met the body of a large creature. It was indeed a 'god of plenty'. He steeled himself for another fight, but then out of nowhere, a humongous tongue appeared above Reisen's--oh no. His breath caught in his throat. Her ears had been sticking up above the fence this whole time.

They had known about their hiding place all along.

"LOOK OUT!" He shoved her aside as the creature lunged forward, the sound of creaking filling the air as it smashed against the now deformed fence. She cried out as her ears suddenly felt hot and warm; the creature's tongue had slid around them.

He rolled into a standing position, drawing his sword. This time, there would be no mercy. There was absolutely no reason for these creatures to be here, terrorizing everyone in the Village! One glance over at the scrambling rabbit put him over the top. "GET...OUT!"

Getting a running start, he leaped over the fence, preparing to slash it in half. It was probably a youkai anyway, and needed to be taught a lesson.

"Uwagh!"

Out of the blue, he suddenly had the wind knocked out of him as another of the creatures had body slammed him. Careening to the side, he hit the ground rolling, losing his sword in the process. He thought he heard Reisen scream, but couldn't focus on it as the third had appeared, surrounding him along with another on two sides. But where had the third gone...it didn't matter. Gritting his teeth, he focused and brought up a ball of fire in his hand. They were going to pay.

In an instant, chaos ensued. He shot a giant, searing ball of fire at one, causing it to moan in pain while wet, sloppy food poured from its opened mouth as it bounced slightly away. He turned to face the other as a column of fire erupted beneath it, sending it skyrocketing into the air. He heard a muffled scream and a yell, followed by a battle cry. He quickly whirled about, and his heart rose in his chest.

It was Keine!

The teacher flew down at an astonishing speed, shooting a concentrated spray of glowing bullets at the third, pummeling and forcing it to the ground. It was sent rolling away before it could do anything further.

Feeling empowered upon her arrival, he leaped at one of the two remaining ones, smacking in the face with fragments of the earth that rose with his earthen magic. While not jarringly powerful, it provided enough force to knock it up into the air, causing it spit out what was in its mouth in surprise. He stared up at...oh no, it wasn't--

"RAAARGH!" The last thing he heard before a screaming, sticky Reisen fell painfully on top of him was Keine's victory yell as she sent the final one flying with a blindingly fast fiery kick, a scorching noise bellowing everywhere. He had not a fraction of a second to comprehend it before he was pushed to the ground, his legs buckling without any resistance under her weight.

The shaking rabbit was breathing quickly, her head spinning. She had actually been nearly swallowed whole by one of those freaky, disgusting creatures. Her entire body felt grossly saturated by saliva, and as hot as the inside of its foul, wretched mouth. She thought she was going to die in there...even her poor ears were soaked. Worse yet, her head throbbed, and not only due to her traumatic experience and landing on top of...oh gosh! She just realized he had broken her fall.

"Reisen! Are you all right?! Ugh..." He groaned as he closed an eye in pain. This was certainly an unlucky day for him, but he was glad everything worked out.

"S...sorry, I..." She coughed and rested her head on him.

While he didn't enjoy feeling so sticky and hurt, he felt oddly satisfied. But--wait, she was all wet! "Oh jeez, did that thing--"

She smiled weakly and then opened her mouth. "Haah...I almost got...eaten..."

"Man, you got ladies falling all over you today. Either that, or you make a magnificent human doormat." His teacher walked into his view, wearing a smug grin. He was taken aback. Keine wouldn't--

"Hey! Be nice. Honestly..." Keine stood nearby, arms crossed.

The two started getting up, Reisen flinching slightly as the saliva on her chest slipped onto him. He looked up and thought he was seeing double! "Keine...? Wait, I didn't think you knew how to--"

One of the Keines extended her arm to help him up. The other had...fire in the palm of her hand?

"Oh, for crying out loud, I just borrowed some of your precious teacher's clothes." Mokou tapped her foot impatiently. The grin she wore widened. "But, if you're done making out with--"

Reisen sat up, wiping her face of the saliva and some sort of sweet-smelling liquid. She was also trying to hide the redness on her cheeks. Now she knew how Mokou felt earlier. "No! I didn't--"

"Mokou! Please, this is not the time. Here, up you go..." Keine grabbed his hand, which slipped out of hers. She sighed. "Oh dear...what on earth happened?"

"Haah...haah...hey, lemme at 'em!"

Ken paused wiping his hands on the grass to turn and see Reisa flying slowly towards them. She looked slightly disappointed.

"Aww, man! I wanted a piece of the action too! Stupid fairy wings, make me move faster next time!" The fairy sputtered, clearly out of breath as she had finally caught up with Keine. She look around and saw what had happened. "Oh. Hey Kenno, what's u--"

Mokou was glaring at her. "Hey, fancy seeing you around." She stuck her tongue out. "Figures you'd be the last one to show up. I know, shocking, isn't i--" She dodged an expected miniature bolt of lightning. "Ha, too slow indeed."

"Shut up! I can't help it...hey wait, why is SHE still here?! Tell her to stop being such a jerk..."

Coughing, he put his hand up to motion for silence. "Please, not now? We need to get cleaned up."

The fairy ran her fingers through her long purple hair. "Wow...let's see, first a flaming idiot, and now a cute bunny rabbit girl? Jeez, Kenno, you meet a lot of strange girlies."

"It's not my fault! Anyway, I'm going to get cleaned up. C'mon, Reisen." He looked at Mokou and the fairy. "Now don't get into too much trouble." He tried his best to drown out Mokou's expected protest.

Reisen followed him blindly, lost in thought. Those creatures were unaffected by her wave manipulation. They made her feel uneasy. Also, the fact that one had almost EATEN her didn't help. What was happening? Those creatures, the spawn of a 'god of plenty'...they were an anomaly to her. Everything happens for a reason, she thought, but all this was just crazy; it was even crazier than a normal day at Eientei with Eirin and Kaguya and Tewi, and even Mokou sometimes. Perhaps this was good for her; change is certainly interesting and exciting.

"Uh, hey...you all right?"

She had bumped into his back. "Ah...well, I guess s--"

No. She couldn't lie about it, and besides, Eirin and Kaguya weren't around. It was really bugging her. "Actually...maybe you'll think I'm crazy, but those big bouncy things...what do you know about them? They bother me a lot, like, more than anything usually does."

"Mmm. We can talk about it later. For now, I kinda want to not feel sticky anymore." He looked up at her and gasped. "Oh goodness...Reisen, your ears!"

She sighed. She knew they were droopy and sticky, and probably bent since they were hurting a little. They felt miserable, but she couldn't let that get in the way of what she wanted to talk about. "I know...there's nothing much I can do right n--" She stared at him quizzically as he brought his hands up. "What...what are you doing?"

"It just...it bothers me, you know? I bet you feel miserable about what just happened, so hold still..." He reached his hands up and felt her ears.

"Aahhh...w-why are you--"

"Shhh. Hold on." They were remarkably soft even though they were slightly sticky. He heard her gasp as he ran his now water-soaked hands over them, caressing them gently. "Mmm, I bet this feels good."

She nodded silently, closing her eyes. How could this be happening?

He raised an eyebrow and resumed. They were surprisingly big, even bigger now that he had a chance to touch them and see them up close. Because of her earlier experience, they felt more lopsided than smooth and curvy.

The wet stickiness ran down her skin as she moaned lightly. It didn't matter, it felt amazing.

He was starting to get the feeling that he was touching some sort of special spot that he shouldn't. "Um...should I stop, or...?"

Reisen softly shook her head and bit her lip. It was too nice to stop...

He gave a fake laugh of concern before continuing. "Haha...ha...well, okay then." He seriously doubted he should continue, but he wanted to finish the job. Squeezing them a bit, he ran his fingers over every inch he could feel. Hearing her moan, he jerked his hands back. "Uh, sorry...too hard?"

"Nnnn...n-no..." She bit her lip harder and closed her eyes tighter as he stroked the more delicate parts, circling slowly to make sure he didn't make too fast of a move. Her ears had somehow perked up again as more sticky liquid flowed down.

Okay! That was it. He was probably overdoing it, and he felt exhausted. He had probably used too much magic in too short of a time frame.

She let out a heavy breath. Oh dear, she thought. This was getting out of hand. But, it felt so wonderful to have them rubbed and squeezed gently for once...

"Reisen?"

"Oh~" She was unable to hide her excitement aside from turning her face to the side. "U-Uh...well, could you keep going, maybe a little bit..."

He sighed and sat down on the tree stump outside his house. He was too tired to do any more cleaning of her ears anyway. "Hey, Reisen?"

Uh oh. Here it comes. Now she was going to have this wonderful moment shattered. Perhaps Eirin was right about fraternizing here in the Village.

He folded his fingers together and smiled. "Tell me more about yourself."


(Notes: Ken, Keine, Mokou, Reisen and Reisa will remain in the Village unless otherwise prompted to leave.)

[Nemo★Ma]

Day 1, Time Unknown, Amarillo's Hut
Amarillo has already left for the festival, but that didn't means this hut will stay empty. After all, she never locks the doors of the hut, since Fairies often budge in and she don't want them to stay outside.

Normally it would be no matter, however these times it's different. It's been too long since she used her ability to "program fairies". First, it's very tiring to do, and secondly, no matter what others may think, Fairies are not cannon fodders, they have their own personality and abilities. So Amarillo won't completely control them. Even in tight situations like this.

What she do is just planted the idea to some specific fairies and make them gather here every day to receive what is called "missions". Even those missions are fairly mundane stuff, such like "Get me some more baits for fishing, thanks very much! A" or "Bring this shoplist to Kourindou, and collect the items, thanks very much! A"

The fairies are under very good care by Amarillo (well, at least she don't shoot at them on sight.), so there is no reason that they obey these orders, after all, the fairies have endless free time on their hands.

Soon, a fairy come flying in the entrance, and looked for a brown folded paper, she unfolded the paper and it said:
?帮我找一条新发带，谢谢！ A?
not troubled by the content on this paper, However, the fairy looked at it for a while, and then started heading for the Human Village.
It didn't seems she was hindered by the language barrier at all. Even though that order is written using a language she probably never heard before in her "life".

The fairy flew through the markets. and landed in front of a shop that sells all kinds of hairchips.
She found the woman who is the shop owner, and showed her that paper.

"Excuse me... What are you trying to buy?" The shop owner looks at the fairy, who is half her height.
The fairy tried to speak, but cannot for some unknown reason, so she make a pose.
"A hair ribbon?"
"......! Yes, A hair ribbon! Here is the money!" the fairy flies up and give her the money that comes with the mission order.

"Next time just spell it out, this is your hair ribbon~ Come Again!" The shopowner returned to the back of the shop.

The fairy flied back to Amarillo's hut, and put the Hair Ribbon down on Amarillo's table together with the paper.
And then, suddenly she realized she cannot understand every single thing Amarillo had written on that paper.
But, fairies being fairies, they didn't think too much about it, thus, instead of rising questions, she simply flies out of the hut.

She met another fairy in front of the door. But that's a common sight of this area.
So she continued forward.

The other fairy flew in, and looks for a Red folded paper.
she found that easily, on the paper it said the following.
"到妖怪之山的大瀑布前，用一下你的能力，谢谢！ A"

The fairy stared at the paper for a few seconds, then folded the paper, and files out of the hut.
Something is about to be done.
Something that's strange.
Something that can't explain with common sense.

and one of Amarillo's theory is going to get proven.

[E-Nazrin]

9:15 AM, Day 1
Outskirts of Human Village

For a while after Amarillo's initial challenge and curious compass magic, Reimu seemed to have a rather difficult time avoiding her danmaku, growing increasingly frustrated as shots that really should have just missed her kept painfully glancing off her body. But after a minute or two she managed to adapt, giving the fairy girl's attacks a rather exaggerated berth and snarling in frustration while flinging exorcism needles in her general direction.

Naturally, Kanako found this amusing. "You seem to be having trouble with a little girl with a fairy complex." she called, eagerly munching on a sample of the inexplicable box of chocolate Pocky the God of Plenty had left in the village square.

?What happened to your teeny hitbox? Been indulging too much in the God of Plenty?s gifts?? Etch called out.

"Shut up, she's cheating!" Reimu called back as she veered well off course to avoid the loose grid of lasers Amarillo fired at her instead of weaving through them like she normally would have, "I don't know how she's making this danmaku look smaller than it is, but it's a pain in the ass!"

"I told you, it's Gradius rules!" her opponent yelled back, waving a hand through the air to fire another set of small, straight lasers at the Hakurei maiden.

"You know, that's kinda familiar..." Mitaka mused, nibbling on a handful of crackers from atop his white flag, now repurposed as a poor man's picnic blanket.

"What is, niichan?" Suika asked, rummaging in the piles of food in the streets of the village in search of something alcoholic, "Seein' Reimu get mad at people?"

"I heard that!"

"I think he means Gradius. It's a game series back in the outer world." Etch suggested from the other side of the picnic flag, sipping on a Mountain Dew.

Yuki paused, potato chip halfway to her mouth. "Outer world... that feels like a lifetime ago, now."

Genji swallowed the mouthful of shrimp he was snacking on before replying, "I'm afraid it might as well be. Reimu has had no luck getting anyone back through the Border recently."

"For that matter," Alice added, spreading jam on some crackers of her own, "Rinnosuke doesn't seem to have been getting anything new lately..."

Reimu froze in midair for a moment, and barely managed to dodge out of the way of one of Amarillo's many lasers. Something had clicked.

"YOU!"

The fairy leader paused at the newfound anger in Reimu's voice. She wasn't just irritated anymore - that was real... especially if the handful of spellcards pulled out of her sleeve was any indication.

"YOU'RE the one behind all those fairy pranks!!"

Amarillo decided to ignore the shrine maiden?s outburst, only to be met with another as the opposition started to up the ante.

?First that shopkeeper not having fresh items for sale...? Reimu shot a series of bullets at Amarillo as she glided away, trying to lead her. ?...and then the Fall of Youkai Mountain flowing backwards...? She swept her arms out and directly in front of her body, trying to trap the girl in a bullet pincer formation.

Byakuren smiled lightly at Reimu?s antics. ?Oh dear, seems like she is finally stepping it up. Hehe, I haven?t seen this in a while.?

Reimu continued as she prepared for a more serious assault. ?And those auroras appearing above that Lake of Mist...it had to have been you!?

Lily Black and Lily White were watching the two duel. The latter spoke up first. ?Look, they?re getting more tense. Maybe we should ring the bell now!?

The former looked at her light counterpart. ?What are you talking about? This isn?t a boxing match!?

?Well, how about some water? They look thirsty, especially that red-white one...?

?Ah, we shouldn?t help Reimu, she?s the opposition. A-chan might not like that.?

?Oi!? Lily White seemed like she had just come up with an idea. ?We?re black and white, why don?t we help referee the match??

?Hey!? Her dark counterpart gently hit her over the head with a paper fan. ?That?s not boxing, you mean the one where all the people tackle each other!?

?Oh, right.? The lighter spring fairy paused for a moment. ?Maybe I was thinking of something else. Do they kick the ball around a lot in the tackling one, too??

?I?m going to kick you two around a lot if you don?t shut up!? Reimu snapped, effectively shutting them up.

Akyu looked away from the comedy act. She found it odd that they didn?t seem to worried about how the battle was playing out. The girl was holding her own surprisingly well against Reimu. It made her wonder who Amarillo really was...

?And that?s not all!? Reimu?s countenance toughened. ?Some windowless hut showed up out of nowhere in that Forest of Magic!? It HAD to be the girl in front of her - no one else could convince so many fairies to pull suspicious pranks at once! ?And you even made frog-hat?s lake on the mountain start boiling!?

Suwako blinked. She wasn?t really expecting Reimu to know about that... but even if the lake looked like it was boiling, ?That turned out harmless, you know...?

The Hakurei maiden didn?t seem to care, as she finally declared a spellcard for the fight. ?AND,? she cried, her voice and anger rising, ?You even got them to mess with that big block of air in back of the shrine so no one can fly properly!?

Ruukoto waited until after her master gestured for a bright rainbow of yin-yang orbs to chase down her opponent before suggesting another explanation - ?Ah... Reimu-sama... w, wasn?t that gravity being manipulated...??

?So you have realized it.? in her surprise, Amarillo stopped firing, ?We may need a timeout then.?

?Hey, get this weird thing off me first!? Reimu points at the compass circle thing locked on her.

?Sorry, cannot do that, it?s only a timeout though.? As the bullets disappears from the battlefield, Amarillo withdrew her lightspear, ?So you are noticing the incidents happening everywhere? That?s good. However, to pin everything on me is...wrong.?

The shrine maiden scoffed. ?How? These are all fairy pranks, aren?t they? They sure look like it, at least!? She glared at Amarillo, and fired another volley of yin-yang-orb danmaku at her. ?And YOU?RE the Fairy Controller, aren?t you?!?

?Huh, ? Amarillo mused, floating out of the way of the wild attack, ?I did say it?s a timeout, right? Yes, I have been experimenting with this world; however, not all of the things you mentioned are done by me. Another thing, did these things actually caused any of you any harm??

That made Reimu pause. ?... well, no, but they?ve sure been annoying, and I?ve been getting a bad feeling about these in particular!? What was strange is that this was unlike any incident she has saw before - no one?s life was getting disturbed, youkai and humans were still in balance... ?But so what? I know you?ve got something going on, and it?s my job to interfere!?

?Your job? OK, then recall: when did you realize you got this job of protecting this world?! Recall what really happened!? Amarillo cried. Yet... it seemed more like a plea than an order.

Reimu blinked. When did I realize that I?m the Barrier Maiden and needed to protect Gensokyo?

There was no reason for that simple a question to leave her speechless, but it did. She knew that she was the Barrier Maiden since the last Reimu Hakurei retired because of old age. And of course, she?d been solving incidents since then. Starting with the Red Mist Incident, then...she mentally listed off a timeline of her incident solving, recalling the many youkai and humans that she had she met...

I should be protecting Gensokyo...but...wait, what?

Looking at Reimu?s puzzled expression, Amarillo went on. ?So that means you found it, the crack in your memory.?

Yes, something happened in Gensokyo, a while ago. Something big, world-wide... for an incident, far too large scale to ignore. But she couldn?t remember what it was: just a faint memory, a vague thought that something had happened. That something was wrong.

Amarillo had touched on something...

But...she might be responsible for it, too. Reimu shook her head to clear it and glared at Amarillo again. ?I won?t fall for your mind tricks! We?re in a danmaku battle, aren?t we?! And you thought you could stop me with mind tricks like this?? She put her doubts aside for the moment, to focus on the flurry of needles sent in Amarillo?s direction.

The fairy girl sighed. ?Did I progress too fast? OK, if you want it, let?s continue this. I?m not going easy on you from now on.? A fairy was summoned to help her from behind, and quickly filled the air between Amarillo and Reimu with a thick cloud of bubbles.

The shrine maiden tensed up, preparing to try to read her attacks through the cloud, but Amarillo still had more to say:

?The reason I fight with you, is that only on such an occasion will you actually listen to me, believe it or not.? Before the miko could reply, the speaker declared a spell card.

Emulation [Magical Mitori]
  模   拟  【魔法少女美鸟】

Prismatic bubbles blossomed out of the air all around the young fairy commander, spiralling into a mystifying, beautiful crown all around her.

?Ah, finally this looks like a proper spellcard battle.? Alice commented from the ground, her face hardly growing more excited.

Mitaka didn?t really seem to be watching the battle. ?What really happened...? he mused, distantly. He could feel it too; something was out of place...but what?

?You want my attention, do you?? Reimu grinned, her game face on. ?Well, you?ve got it. Lots of it! Fantasy Seal - Bli-...? She began to declare, before vanishing under the impact of a flurry of explosive bubbles.

?Duck!? Yuki cried, skidding underneath Rin?s wheelbarrow as the bubbles burst, spraying the surrounding area with innumerable random painful-looking flying things.

?Nope, nothing but corpses in this here wheelbarrow, sister.? Rin replied, candidly. This didn?t amuse Yuki one bit; Merlin wasn?t either, but that was mainly due to the rank smell permeating from the wheelbarrow that reached her nose. It reminded her exactly why Phantoms leave their bodies behind after death.

?Such an obvious move, shrinemaiden.? Amarillo gave a faint smile as she spun around, lightspear flourished to slice...thin air.. Amarillo?s smile vanished. ?What? Where did...?

?Oneechan!? Amarillo heard her fairy comrade shout just as a pair of hands pulled her from underneath, just in time to spare her face a collision with a speeding gohei.

?Lily, this is dangerous.? the young fairy commander intoned as the two hit the ground, squelching an unfortunate selection of pastries and a gorgonzola underfoot. She looked up just in time to see a flash of red and white speeding down from the heavens towards her. ?No time....Lily, hold on!? She grabbed hold of her fairy companion and spun both her and herself out of the way of yet another furious barrage of talismans.

?Lily, on three. One, two...? Amarillo began as she twirled herself and Lily through yet another salvo of needles.

?Wh-what happens on three-eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!? Lily cried, as Amarillo grabbed both her arms and, using the momentum from the twirl, spun her fairy companion?s legs out at the oncoming Reimu.

The unsuspecting miko claimed a fairy foot to the face, sending her flying backwards before spinning in midair and skidding into the ground, only to crash into Rin?s corpsebarrow.

?Ugh...oi, cat! Full speed ahead!? Reimu ordered, righting herself and kicking the corpsebarrow by its handle bars, spinning it back upright onto its wheels, revealing Yuki, Merlin and Rin hiding underneath it.

?What...why should I?!? Rin asked, looking worriedly over at the fairy commander.

?All the fish you can eat tonight.? Reimu replied.

?You have my wheelbarrow!? Rin declared, her hands on the handlebars, turning them threateningly like accelerators.

*VRROOOOOOOOOOM*

The corpsebarrow kicked up chocolate pudding bits into the air--splattering onto Yuki and Merlin as it sped forward--with Reimu balancing at the fore, bearing down on the fairy duo like a speeding truck intent on leaving naught but roadkill behind.

Amarillo looked around casually, spotted Hirowaza?s stand and grabbed the nearest wooden sword on it. Ignoring Hirowaza?s protests, she deftly twirled it in one hand and skillfully threw it at the corpsebarrow?s wheels, into which it spun, jamming itself in its spokes. ?Observe, Lily, the many applications of the Jedi saber throw,? she commented as the corpsebarrow spun on its own wheels, sending both its red-white occupant and feline driver flying up into the air, wheelbarrow and all.

?That application needs a name,? she murmured offhandedly, as she kicked up the rest of Hirowaza?s stall into the air before performing a spinning leap towards it, kicking it and all of its swords up at her red-white opponent.

?Muh... my stall...? Hirowaza stammered, weakly.

Reimu tensed up as she stared at the incoming blades. This feeling she suddenly felt...was it fear? Just who was this Amarillo person, anyway? There were so many things happening, so many thoughts swirling in her mind...but the fight must go on.

[Kakyoin]

2:30 PM - Day 1 - Human Village - Inside Ken's House

Keine glanced over and saw Ken coming out into the front room. She motioned for him to sit next to her on the couch. "How are you feeling? I know today's been a little rough..."

From across the room, Mokou rolled her eyes unnoticed. She really did dote on him, almost as if she was his mother. How...irritatingly sweet. Not like she herself wanted a relationship like that, far from it.

"I've felt worse." He sat down next to his teacher. This had been a remarkably crazy day: This 'god of plenty' appearing several times, meeting so many new faces, and actually having to fight off real enemies--granted, they were all gargantuan and filled with things like party balloons and ice cream sundaes. He sighed; he felt tired, but also like he was improving. It was a great day so far.

"So now that those two are all cleaned up, I need to share something important with you all." The teacher stood up and walked behind the couch, folding her hands as she placed her elbows on top of the cushion. "I found out some very interesting things today, you see."

Reisen stayed quiet in the presence of so many Villagers. She had to mind her manners and make up for Kaguya's actions earlier. Still, she couldn't help but remember what had happened just not half an hour ago, outside. He had fondled her ears so wonderfully...

Keine continued. "Very early this morning, I took a trip to Youkai Mountain."

Reisa blew air from her mouth to lift her bangs as she scratched her head, a small electrical force building as she did so. "Why that Mountain, Teach?"

"I followed a fairy, you see. I saw her flying above the Village, but it wasn't Lily White. Normally just that one does so, but because this one seemed to be in a hurry, I decided to investigate."

Ken sat up, still listening.

Mokou spoke up nonchalantly as she walked over, tying a her trademark hair ribbon to the hair on the back of her head. "Sure it wasn't this short round here?"

Before Reisa could protest, the protector-in-training raised a hand to silence her. "Don't stoop to that level, Reisa. You know that isn't what you want."

The fairy stuck her tongue out at Mokou. "Bah..."

Keine raised her voice. "Anyway! I did follow her carefully. In fact, she didn't even seem to look back and notice that I was there. It was very odd...she ended up at Youkai Mountain, in front of the great fall."

"Oh, that fall is beautiful," Reisen accidentally mused out loud.

Ken looked at her briefly. "Well, what happened?"

"That fairy raised her hands in front of the waterfall, and a few seconds later..." Keine bit her lower lip before continuing. Even though she had seen it with her own two eyes, it still seemed unbelievable. Yet, she continued. "...the fall, it...the water was..."

"What, it evaporated?" Mokou was nibbling on some strands of hair.

Keine looked around seriously. "Suddenly, the fall...the water was moving...upwards..."

"What?! That's ridiculous!" Ken stood up with a puzzled look on her face.

"It's true. I saw it myself. I couldn't believe it at first either."

"Then why didn't you tell me an' Kenno earlier?" Reisa, seeing Ken stand up, did her best to hover over closer to him.

"For that matter, why did you come back so soon?" he added. "I assume that if this is indeed true--not that I doubt you or anything--then you would have tried to do something about it, right?"

Keine blinked. "I walked up to that fairy and asked her what she was doing, but she didn't respond. She had an odd piece of paper in her hand with...well, I didn't get a good look at it."

Ken sat back down and thought hard about this. The Youkai Mountain fall...with a reversed flow? What would that do to the Mountain itself? Surely it would be a huge source of interest to some. But Keine wouldn't be able to solve something like that by herself, so that means...

His neighbor smiled at him. "I think Ken's figuring it out for himself." She looked back at Mokou. "Remember when I was at the Lady Scarlet's Mansion and I met you?"

The fire mage shrugged. "Yeah, you told me to find this kid and get back here." Her countenance narrowed slightly. "Why, what did you do there, anyway? You were gone for some time."

"Research in Voile. I needed to see if there were any documented cases of this same phenomenon, but..." she shook her head as her mouth formed a disappointed expression. "There was nothing of the sort. I may be the mistress of history, but for the life of me I can't recall something of this magnitude happening to that great fall."

Mokou immediately responded, "Well then, what are we waiting for? Let's go take a look." Regardless of all the stupid stuff that had happened to her today, it was actually pretty exciting. Maybe she should live in the Human Village too, if it was this action-packed every day. If only, she thought. Everyone would think I'm weird for not aging.

Keine sighed. "I guess we can. I don't want it to cause a huge panic or anything. You all must not tell anyone else about it or where we're going, okay?" She looked in Reisen's direction. "Rabbit of Eientei, are you in on this?"

Her bunny ears perked up as she looked at the teacher. "Ah, I guess, yeah." She stole a glance at Ken, only to see him turning away from looking at her. I wonder what's on his mind, she thought as she stood up with the rest of them.



2:40 PM - Day 1 - Human Village - Outside Ken's House

"Uh...are you sure you want me to come, too?" Ken gulped. It was true that they ought to get there as soon as possible, but Keine wanted to fly there, and yet...

"Hahaha~ Kenno, you're so silly, you don't have any wings. Maybe if you had stronger magic, you could fly with us." Reisa stuck her tongue out playfully.

"Y'know, there's an old rumor going around..." Mokou suddenly appeared behind the fairy and grabbed her, lifting her up off the ground easily.

"Hey! What're you doing, you fat ugly fire monkey?! PUT ME DOWN!"

"Just shut your trap for a bit and I will. Now then..." still firmly holding her, she walked up to him. "This should help you out, right?"

He was confused. What would Reisa do for him? "Sorry, it's not my birthday, even though I appreciate the gift," he responded lightly, holding up his hands in uncertainty.

Grinning victoriously, Mokou started to shake her somewhat violently in his direction. "C'mon, fairy! Let your dust out all over him, that way he can fly!"

Ken froze. How did Mokou know about--nevermind, that wasn't important right now. "Mokou! That's enough. I'll just stay here, it's fine. Someone needs to watch out for this place anyway."

Keine whistled sharply, catching everyone's attention. She took Reisa from Mokou's grasp as the latter sighed. "Based on what I've seen today, I have a feeling the Village will be all right. The humans are strong together. We should focus on getting there quickly. Ken, I know you can't fly, but Mokou and I will assist you."

Mokou turned from looking at Reisa's angry face at the mention of the idea and raised an eyebrow. "What? You want ME to help? The dude can't fly, I don't--wait, you don't mean..."

The teacher smiled. "Thanks for volunteering to help, Mokou~"

"Argh...FINE! All right, kid, h-hold my hand." Looking away, she forcefully put her hand in front of him.

"Um...I don't know what you're doing, but okay." He took her hand in his. It felt soft, warm and slightly sweaty. That's just like Mokou, he guessed. Wait...why did THAT remind him of Mokou? Yeah, this day could not stretch on longer...

Keine grabbed his other hand in hers. "Ready? We're going to fly you there. Prepare yourself!"

His eyes widened. "Wait...what? WHAT?! You can't be serious!" That kind of thing only worked in fairy tales, movies and video games, right? Surely it couldn't be as simple as--

He felt his legs lifted. Something was flowing through him...it was energy. He felt so strong and light...looking over at his teacher, he met her gaze.

"See? You'll be fine, just hold on tight!"



3:30 PM - Day 1 - Youkai Mountain - Small stream at Mountain base

Beautiful...that was the only word that came to his mind. He had never been this close to the Mountain before, and now he was upon it. The view was breathtaking, the scenery quiet yet profoundly lush. The Mountain itself was rather large, and it was overtaken by small patches of forest and grassy fields.

"You like this place already, I can see it on your face." Keine looked at him from across the bank.

He stepped over a few rocks in the small body of water they were crossing. "It's very peaceful here. It's hard to believe that there was a large incident here at one point." Pausing, he looked around once more. He could lose himself in this place and he wouldn't care. No one could dare defile a paradise like this. It was like back in the real world, where technology was taking over the wonderful land. This world seemed nothing like it--

He turned back to finish going across, but they had gone ahead of him.

"Excuse me, but are you all right?"

He froze and looked ahead once more. Keine, Mokou, Reisa and Reisen were all up ahead. He turned around slowly, hand on the handle of his sword...

Nothing.

"Hey, over here..."

The voice was coming from the right. He turned his head and gasped gently in shock.

It was a woman, sitting on a fallen tree above the water. She wore a large red dress pulled tightly over her body, since it draped into the water below. Her leg was raised perfectly into the incoming beam of light. She was casually looking at him with her right arm lowered so her hand was just above the water's surface.

"Are you lost, human?" She sat up and lifted her dress. Smiling slightly, she started wringing it out, revealing the circular symbol stitched into it near the bottom.

'Human'? Was she not human herself? "Uh...no, I'm...I'm with a group, they're over there." He pointed in the direction where everyone else was.

"Oh, all right then." She looked down and adjusted the bow on the two locks of hair tied beneath her chin.

He couldn't help but stare at her. She had so many ribbons and frills...he couldn't help but think that he'd seen someone else who looked just like her.

Finished fiddling with her bow, she looked back up and caught him staring at her. It had been a long time since she had been so close to a human, one on one. "Well, don't you need to catch up?"

"Yes, but..." He looked away for a moment, still thinking. Perhaps this day was all just a big dream, and this woman in front of him, and this gorgeous place, were just figments of his imagination. He rubbed his eyes and turned back; she was still there. "Who...um, I'm Ken. What's your name, miss?" He placed his hand on his sword hilt, which was his way of collecting himself.

She let out a soft, feminine laugh. He felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up as she floated over to him, droplets still dripping off of her dress into the running water.

"Ken...you're an honest one, aren't you?" She daintily landed barefoot on a rock near him. "I am called Hina Kagiyama." She curtsied slightly. "But, please call me Hina~"

His breath caught in his throat for a short time before he replied. "Ah...well, pleased to meet you." For some reason, he felt a tension growing in the air; looking around, he found nothing that could be the cause of it.

"Tell me, why are you here? Is it about those strange creatures that suddenly appeared?"

"Well...yes." He looked down and saw her bare feet; she was still perfectly poised. She seemed very sure of herself. Maybe she came here in her spare time. She certainly seemed completely comfortable. He went on. "I'm here with my...neighbor, Keine, and--"

"Keine?" The woman calling herself Hina put a fingernail between her front teeth as she thought for a moment. If that woman was here, then certainly she wanted to check out that special incident.

"Yeah, Keine and I...well, and some others too. Do you know her?"

"Mhmm, sort of. You are from the Human Village?"

"That's correct. We're here to--" He stopped himself before saying anything. No one was supposed to know. And yet, the look on her face...

"You're here to investigate the great fall."

He fiddled with the hilt of his sheathed sword, saying nothing.

She smiled. "It's okay. I live here, I know all about it."

His eyes narrowed. "Can you..." He turned and hopped across to the other side of the bank. "Can you come with me, for just a second? Please?" Perhaps she knew more about it, but he had to make sure she was telling the truth.

"I suppose." She leaped slowly to the other side, spinning gently and gracefully as she landed near him.

He felt a sudden shock surge through his body. Was this woman a youkai in disguise?! He drummed his fingers furiously over the hilt.

She sighed. "Don't worry, I won't harm you. Just be careful near me. Now please, after you~"



3:54 PM - Day 1 - Youkai Mountain - Near Youkai Mountain Great Fall

They all stared in awe at the upward surge of water. How was this possible?

Reisa looked over; Keine had finished filling Hina in, and the teacher was now looking at the flow of water, hands on hips. She turned to see Ken sitting on the ground looking down, his eyes now closed. He looked like he was meditating, so she decided to leave him alone. Mokou was tossing a ball of fire up and down in one hand, leaning against a large rock near the edge of the fall. Every so often she would glance up at the water and shake her head. Reisen stared at the fall, her mouth open. The lightning fairy closed her eyes and blew her bangs up. Nobody was doing anything. It was surprisingly quiet as the water was no longer splashing near their feet. Even the fairy herself wasn't sure what to make of this.

Eyes still closed, Ken thought hard. What did this mean? They had all seen it just now. Even Keine didn't know what to do about it, and Hina's guess was as good as theirs.

*rustle*

He opened his eyes. Was he hearing things? He turned to look behind him, only to glance straight at a very large rock face.

"Hey, so..." Reisen came and sat down next to him. She drew her legs up and hugged her knees. "What do you think of this?"

"I don't know, but--"

*rustle*

He turned around again. Reisen's ears had reacted to the noise as well. They looked at each other. This time, Reisen seemed much less fazed than when those huge dessert-scarfing creatures were close by. Maybe it wasn't those things this time. But if not them, then what?

*thump*

Ken turned back around; everyone else was looking at them on the ground. He quickly stood up. "I think I hear something nearby."

Keine looked at everyone with her finger across her lips, indicating that they should all be quiet. They all waited.

...

...

Mokou started to whisper, "I don't hear anyth--"

*flip flip flip*

Everyone looked at each other. There was someone around the corner.

Keine quietly floated over to the huge rock face, landing as she pressed her back against it. She inched over to the edge and peaked around. Almost immediately, she signaled for everyone to follow suit. Her face bore abnormal look of uncertainty.

Ken found himself near the other end of the rock. This was a pretty secluded place. He looked at Hina, who was next to him. She didn't look very comfortable now; was this an undesired intruder? He hoped to find out soon, but at the same time he didn't. He noticed that Reisa had on an incredibly serious face as she floated at his other side. Apparently even she was worried, so it must be a big deal.

Meanwhile, Hina had peeked around the rock. She turned back with a look of surprise and confusion. How could she not realize this before? It couldn't be...

Mokou had gotten down on her hands and feet. Creeping along the ground slowly around Keine's feet, she poked her head around the corner. Moments later, she crawled back. After helping her up, Reisen whispered to her. "Mokou, who is it?"

Mokou gritted her teeth before whispering back. "I have a feeling we'll find out why they're here soon enough..."




(Notes: Hina has joined Ken's team.)

[Nemo★Ma]

Day 1, Around noon, Above a clearing outside of Human Village

Reimu was in a state of doubt.

Her opponent was not using attacks that were hard to dodge anymore. However, her attack patterns had become tricky. The bubbles she threw exploded into tons of small bullets aimed at her upon being blasted by Reimu?s needles. She could graze all of them, if not for the weird compass thing on her that removed her ability to do so.

So Reimu stopped attacking; instead, she started to find the gaps between bubbles and traverse between them until she arrived at the center where Amarillo stood. After confirming the exact position, she threw a stream of needles. However, these needles passed through her opponent as all the bubbles suddenly disappeared.

?Seems you solved that one. Then how about this?? Amarillo?s voice came from above as she declared another spellcard:

Emulation [Haruka?s Special Typhoon]
   模  拟      【叶留佳超特弹珠台风】

Before Reimu could react, hundreds of small water drops suddenly appeared and scattered around her, and they are highly reflective as Reimu was dazed by the sunlight that reflected on these water drops.

Then she saw it, another special ray of pale white light that ran across her. As she figured it out and flew to the side, she heard a huge crushing sound as Amarillo appeared out of nowhere, spear in hand. If Reimu hadn?t dodged before, that would have been a direct hit.

?Don?t worry. This blade won?t hurt you, you should know that,? Amarillo calmly said as she disappears into a mist of waterdrops again.

?How was I supposed to know th--!? Reimu did not need to finish her sentence, as the answer had somehow come to her just then. Yes, Amarillo?s blade reflected on her own intentions and powers. Thus if she were to strike directly, it would leave a pale white track, and such a blade could not really harm something. It would have a paralyzing effect though...wait, she thought, why do I know all of that? Did I see it in action before...?

This time she was too busy thinking to notice the pale white light that had just fall over her.

At the same time, Lily White, who had recovered from being thrown earlier, sat on the ground, puzzled by Amarillo?s way of declaring the card. ?I wanted to ask earlier, but why did Amarillo always declare her cards twice??

?Well, one time using English, the other time her ?Native Language?, it?s that easy. ? Mikata explained. ?Though I don?t know when she started to do that.?

?I think it?s since she arrived at Gensokyo and learned danmaku battle from us.? Lily White continued, ?After all, most of us have spell card names that have two parts, like mine is [春夏秋冬 ~Circulation of Seasons~]. The rabbits in Eientei also use styles like this.?

No, Mikata thought, Amarillo?s naming and theme of spellcards was usually not like this. Something was wrong. He cried ?Be careful, Reimu! She is not fighting at her full strength--?

And he saw Reimu drop down from above; however, Amarillo caught her midway as the two of them landed at the same time.

?Hey, I can still fight!? As Reimu collapsed on the ground, she shouted. ?If not for your mind tricks--? She stopped mid-sentence as the compass-like lock scattered with a loud crash.

?Fight after you cleared your mind, or the results won?t change.? Amarillo calmly turned back, facing her fairy friends. ?We?re done here, let?s go.?

Mitaka ran up to the fairy leader, hardly believing what he had just seen. ?Don?t tell me, you actually defeated her...??

?I just said, if she didn?t clear her mind when fighting me, the same result is bound to happen. What are you planning to do afterwards, Mitaka? Fight me again?? Amarillo turned back, ?I don?t like starting fights without proper reasons. You should know that.?

Mitaka?s focus shifted to Reimu. ?Oi, Armpit-sama, are you all right??

The miko muttered something to herself and looked up. ?No, I?m fine, she just slashed me and fired a bullet straight through me.?

He remembered what he was going to tell Reimu. ?You know, you didn?t completely destroy that weird thing...? Mitaka sighed. ?It kinda... disappeared into thin air or something, and we need to deal with it, right Reimu??

Reimu stood up. ?That floating pink thing? Worry about it later, we have a lot of things to do today.?

As Reimu got up, Amarillo and her accompanying fairies left the grounds and headed into the Human Village again.

.?So that pink thing is still alive, it seems.? Lily Black said with a smile. ?We failed to destroy it??

Amarillo nodded, ?It?s not that easy, to destroy something like this.?

?Something like what??

?You will soon know, let?s head back.? Amarillo grabbed Lily White?s hands. ?You are not wounded, right??

?I?m fine, but what about the festival??

?I don?t think we are in the right mood for a festival today. I have something that must be done, anyway. We are heading back, then we will go to Youkai Mountain. Something big is going to happen, and the shrine maiden only knows 5% about it.? Amarillo sighed. ?She need to realize it sooner, so let?s get going.?



~3:30 PM at the foot of Youkai Mountain~

?Nice hairstyle, you redone your ponytail.? As Lily Black rejoined them on their way, (?Screw it! I won?t disturb you two by following you everywhere you go!? as she claimed outside of Amarillo?s hut.) she commented.

?Thanks, I did buy a new ribbon and just tried it out. ? Amarillo replied, ?But we have things that are more important to do right now.?

?You have been saying that for the past hour. I wonder what can be more important than a festival?? Asked Lily White.

?Like this, ? Amarillo pointed to the fall far in the distance.

One reason Youkai Mountain stand out in Gensokyo is because of the huge fall. Many claimed that the Elder Tengu?s Lair could be found on top of said fall; however, after one attempt of Reimu?s incident solving, it turned out that instead of a lair of elder youkai, it?s actually another Shrine on top of the fall, together with a huge lake that was moved there from the outside world. Rumors are never accurate, after all.

However...

?How is that possible?!? exclaimed Lily Black, upon seeing the fall. ?Where did the fairy of fall go to? The fall is flowing backwards!?

?Backwards? may not have been the most accurate word to describe it. It was more like the flow of the fall has been ?reversed?. Water was not supposed to flow upwards. However, it was happening before their very eyes.

?Now, can anyone lend a wing so we?ll observe it closer?? asked Amarillo.

?I see that the shrine maiden was right about you. She noticed a lot of things earlier, remember?? Lily Black smirked. ?Some lake boiling, some hut that?s exactly looking like yours appearing out of nowhere, some other fairies tripped over themselves because of some gravity issue behind the Hakurei Shrine, some yaoi doujinshi featuring Rinnosuke and another similar male appearing on sale at the Human Village...?

?...I?m not too sure about the last one. I blame Yukari for that,? Amarillo chuckled. ?I?m not short of money, but I don?t know who will buy or even read that anyway.?

?Oh well, let me guess, we need to see someone on the top of Youkai Mountain? Someone important, right? Maybe the Elder Tengu??

?No, not that important, and not on top of the mountain either.? replied Amarillo, ?Some allies of humans, that?s all. You can bath in the reversed waterfall too, who knows, you may become a lot stronger after that~? She headed up towards the fall with some other fairy.

?Heh, you just demonstrated that nothing is more effective in a danmaku fight than slashing the shrine maiden?s legs and punching her in the face.? Lily Black murmured as she follows up.
Amarillo overheard her. ?That?s horrible! I didn?t do that! I did slashed her legs though.?

Then they noticed something in the waterfall. Upon a closer look, it seemed like a certain someone was trying to swim in the reversed waterfall.

?Gotcha!? Amarillo smiled, ?Ms. Kawashiro!?

?Eh? You are actually looking for that kappa?? asked Lily White.

?Eh? Who is looking for me?? The figure stopped swimming, and then, with a loud scream, she got helplessly swept by the reversed flow towards the top of the mountain.

?Getting stronger, you said, right? Hmm?? Lily Black grinned.

?In a sense, yes. By swimming against the flow, you are exercising your muscles.? replied Amarillo.

?Not like I need them, tell Rinnosuke about that instead.? Lily Black looked onwards as the kappa tried desperately to swim down the waterfall.

?Oh whatever, I recall there were some caves in the back of the waterfall--but enough on that, we will end up talking about nothing if she keeps being swept away by the waterfall.? Amarillo flew up towards the kappa and pushed her into a cave.

?Whoa, what are you doing?! Who are you, anyway?? As Nitori Kawashiro was being knocked into the cave, she shouted, ?HEY, GET OFF ME!?

?Oh, sorry.? said Amarillo as she stood up, drawing her blade. ?You recognize this, don?t you? You made it, after all.?

?That?s.... Oh, I get it now. You are Amarillo Viridian...yes, the human that moved in Gensokyo.? Nitori jumped up. ?Did that blade work as intended??

?Well, I want to say it?s too light, but overall it?s perfect, thanks. I?m not here to talk about the blade, though.?

?Then what can I do for you? Recently the Tengu are acting strange...like something big is going to happen...and I heard something about a festival? Then there comes the reversed waterfall thing...?

?You know, swimming in a reversed waterfall is good for your health.? said Lily White as the two fairies flew into the cave.

?Oh, not you too...? Lily Black facepalmed.

?Wait, you are suspecting that? Okay, if you really want to...? said Nitori, as she ran out of the cave, excited.


Suddenly, they heard another scream.

?Oh well, she needs to hike down the mountain instead of swimming, then.? Lily Black looked out from the cave.

?So accept it, swimming in a reversed waterfall has become an national sport,? joked Amarillo.

?Oh you.? Lily Black facepalmed again, ?seems today I?m surrounded by idiots.?

?Wait, so you are done with her?? Asked Lily White.

?Yeah, I have something that requires her knowledge...? Amarillo started to answer, but didn?t continue.

?I hate it when people never finish their sentence,? said Lily Black.

?You will know soon enough.? A voice came from nowhere.

?Who is there?? Amarillo asked with caution.

?It?s not you who thought you know everything, human girl. ? a shadow began to materialize from thin air. It looked like a boy who was slightly taller than the spear wielder. He held a very heavy-looking golden sword in hand.

Amarillo gasped. ?GA-05!? But--no, you are not him...who are you?!?

?Keen eyes you got there, though this boy?s image was something that you felt unsure about, so I merely used him for now. After all, the true form of the Great Youkai of Unknown, Nue Houjuu, is not what?s important to you, am I right?? The boy spoke with a grin.

?Next time, when you are dressing up like somebody, at least know what you are doing, and don?t spell out your name like no one has heard of you. But fine, I?ll take it.? answered Amarillo.

?So there is a truth inside your mind, and you want to confirm it. That?s why you sent two fairies and Nitori out, am I right?? Nue smiled. ?I have the same feeling myself, so do you care to exchange some info??

?No, thanks, though I?m fairly sure my truth is no further than yours.? Amarillo nodded. ?You may not want to know what I might do to make others realize that truth.?

?I bet it?s something like killing ?em all or such. After all, a fight is the most direct way of putting an idea inside people?s minds.?

?I won?t do things like that,? said Amarillo. ?They must realize the truth by themselves, or it will be all for naught.?

?No, it?s not that simple,? replied Nue. ?You see, they all believe in what they see, except for some fairly strong ones. I?m one such strong youkai, so I sensed something was amiss, and I bet there are others too. After all, more allies, better chance, right??

?So what point are you making? We seems to have the same information.? Amarillo looked at Nue straight in the eyes, ?But do you want to work with me??

?If that feeds my curiosity, yes.? Nue smiled, and tried to lift up the sword before grunting and painstakingly lowering it. ?Ow, that?s heavy!?

?You see, next time at least know who you are imitating.? Amarillo looked at the sword. ?Don?t tell me you materialized a gold sword from thin air.?

?Naturally. I?m one strong youkai, after all,? Nue stated again.

?This has become awfully similar to a certain fairy?s claim.? Lily White sat down.

?With that being said, if you need any assistance on that, you can use my help. As of now, goodbye.? Nue said as she disappeared into the darkness of the cave.

?So what to do now?? asked Lily Black.

?Explain all of these to me, of course!? said Reimu as she barged into the cave, gohei in hand. ?I heard everything! You and Nue are planning genocide, right??

?Eh...wait, what?? Amarillo gave her a puzzled look.

?Don?t play dumb with me! Nue suggested that you try to kill us all! And as if that?s not bad enough, nothing will! I need the truth, NOW!? Reimu pointed the gohei straight at Amarillo.

?I still need some time,? Amarillo explained. ?And I bet you are busy too.?

?Okay then, you?d better explain this to everybody at midnight, and it better be good! I?m not the kind of person that can just get by with some poor explanation of things like this...? Furious, the shrine maiden turned back and flew out of the cave.

?See, some people never listen to anything at all. Care to reconsider my advice?? Nue said as she reappeared.

?Yeah, I?m afraid so.? Amarillo sighed. ?I hope Nitori can sort this out by midnight...it seems you are right after all. A fight might be necessary.?

[Kakyoin]

4:02 PM - Day 1 - Youkai Mountain - Base of the Great Fall

All of them couldn't believe what they had just seen and heard. Reimu and another younger-looking girl carrying a spear had come out of a cave near the fall. The shrine maiden had spoken angrily with her briefly before flying off looking particularly unhappy. The other girl had flown away with many fairies in tow. But what disturbed each and every one of them the most was something Reimu had mentioned:

"You'd better explain yourself well come midnight, or else I will find you and end your genocide attempt myself!"

Genocide in Gensokyo? Was she being serious? THAT young girl Reimu talked to was planning to kill people off?

Ken looked around at everyone, seeing the same sort of fearful confusion across each of their faces. Even Keine, normally calm and composed, looked particularly worried. He looked to his other side.

Hina wasn't there.

Flinching slightly, he looked around his surroundings but couldn't spot her. He peered around the corner of the large rock face. She was there, speaking with...someone. He couldn't make her out, but it surely wasn't the spear wielder or Reimu. Who was it? He stepped out from behind the rock, hand on sword hilt.

"Ahh, who's that?!"

He froze as Hina and the one she was talking to turned to look at him.

"Oh, that's just a human friend. Don't worry Nitori."

He quickly ascertained the situation. No one else was around, and Hina was not particularly worried, so he relaxed. "Who is this?"

The ribbon-ridden one took her conversation partner by the shoulders and steered her over so he could get a good look at her. "This is my friend, Nitori Kawashiro. She's a kappa."

Nitori waved back cautiously. "Hello..."

Hina smiled slightly. "Er, she's a bit uncomfortable around humans."

He blinked. "Yes, I can see that. Don't worry, I won't--" He paused as the kappa's eyes darted to the sheathed sword at his side. "It's fine, I just wanted to know what was going on over here," he added in a quieter voice.

"Oh. Well, that's fine then, I guess. I suppose you've noticed the oddity here..." Nitori pointed up at the reversed fall as she spoke of it.

Ken folded his arms across his chest. The kappa's attire was almost entirely blue, his favorite color, and even her hair was an intense blue color. She wore a flowing dress with many pockets near the bottom, and it nearly matched the color of her rain boots. The only green part about her was her hat, and he thought he saw something green behind her; maybe she was wearing a green pack of sorts. He saw a key at the center of her chest, tying together what he guessed were straps of that pack. What was the key to?

"Gah, h-hey..." seeing him looking at her, she ceased pointing and covered her chest in embarrassment.

Hina smiled. "Don't worry, he's just never seen you before, I bet he's just curious about you." She stole an irritated look at him as if to say 'That had better be the case'.

"Oh, my bad. I didn't mean to stare at you. I've never met a kappa before." So this was Nitori...he heard that the kappa were elusive, and he had never seen one in person before until now. She looks quite cute up close, he thought.

"Hey, it's that kappa. Did you overhear them talking, too?" Mokou had come around the corner of the rock wall face as well.

"Who? Ah, you mean Reimu and--"

"Yeah, that girl. Amarillo." Mokou twirled some of her hair between her fingers. "That dangerous girl..."

Ken turned completely around to face the fire mage. "Her name is Amarillo? How do you know her?"

"Well, if you really must know...it was...huh?" Suddenly Mokou couldn't remember; she was drawing a blank. I swear, I just had the answer not too long ago, she thought. What happened?

Hina floated closer. "It was what?"

"Just...I've seen her in the past. That one is much stronger than she looks. Kinda odd, too. Fights with a bunch of fairy buddies and such." Mokou looked away and closed her eyes. "I've got a bad feeling about this..."

The swordsman decided to take this further. He turned back around. "Hey Nitori..."

She perked up, her twintails bouncing slightly. "Y-Yeah?"

"Did you overhear anything those two were talking about?"

"Um..."

Keine, Reisa and Reisen had also come around the corner now. Feeling slightly intimidated, the kappa tried to back up.

Hina rubbed Nitori's shoulders reassuringly. "Don't worry, we just want to know what's happening. What do you know about the fall, Reimu and that Amarillo girl?"

The kappa looked around. There were quite a few familiar faces. Maybe it was okay to reveal what she had heard.

Keine stepped forward. "We just want to know so we can make things right. Please tell us, it's an emergency!"

Nitori looked to the teacher, then at everyone else. It was something important, but should she really tell them that other thing too? "Well..."



6:00 PM - Day 1 - Human Village - Keine's House

Keine sat in her bath, attempting to piece everything together and realize what Amarillo's end goal was. Based on what the kappa had told them, this really was a serious and disturbing situation. However, it was uncertain that what was discussed was actually true. She had no way of knowing that everything told to her was actually the case. Trying to confirm what Nitori said would be dangerous and could have terrible implications. That would also require Reimu's help, and it was unlikely that the shrine maiden would agree to such things. Then there was Amarillo and Nue...

Sighing, she leaned her head back and wiggled her feet under the water. Genocide? Really? That's taking things too far...surely there would be more humane ways of getting a point across. Perhaps the best course of action was indeed to wait until tonight to see what would happen.

She drew her knees closer to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. She had to do something about it, but what could she do? If this place was as Nitori said, perhaps her power would be useless, and she should just let things run their course. She rarely needed to use her power anyway, and yet--

*knock knock*

Someone was at the bathroom door. She closed her eyes. "Come in, Mokou."

Mokou entered the bathroom looking concerned. "I never thought I'd say this, but I think we may actually be powerless to stop this midnight meeting thing. Apparently word's getting out about this rather quickly, and soon everyone in the whole Village--no, all across our Gensokyo--will know about it." She bit her fingernail and stared at Keine in the bath. "What should we do?"

Keine returned to a leaned-back position in the bath. "What do you think we should do?"

"I..." Normally Mokou was quick to make decisions, but nothing was coming to her. "I don't know, but--"

"But?"

Mokou sat down on the edge of the tub. "I think we should talk to some others about this..."



6:05 PM - Day 1 - Human Village - Ken's Bedroom

Reisen walked over to Ken, who was lying down on the bed with his eyes closed. "Hey."

Somewhat startled, he opened his eyes to see her visage. "Oh...hey."

She held her hands behind her back. "Do you mind if I join you for a while?"

He raised an eyebrow and, looking over, realized she had closed the door completely behind her. "Yeah, that's fine." He sat up. "I actually have a question for you, if you don't mind." Realizing that he probably needed to get the reversed fall and genocide problems off of his mind for now, he quickly propped up several pillows and sat up. Smiling, he motioned that she could sit down next to him.

"Hmm, okay." She also smiled and sat down, shifting to get comfortable. Perhaps it wasn't the smartest choice to get close to someone that she would probably not see for many more months after her usual few days of selling medicine in the Village, but she couldn't help it. The idea of dropping her guard was exciting; she felt appreciated and understood here.

"Uh...Reisen?" He waved his hand in front of her face.

"Oh, sorry. I just spaced out a bit there. Anyway, what's your question?"

"Who...who are you?"

Her ears drooped slightly. "Wh...what?"

"Well, I mean..." He paused. What was the best way to phrase this? "You intrigue me, and..." C'mon, you coward, just say it, he thought. Just ask her why she seems standoffish.

"And?"

"And...there's something about you that I'm not quite sure of."

She shifted slightly, ears back up. "What is it? You can ask me anything..."

He took a breath and turned to stare directly into her eyes. "I'm not sure how to say this, but...you seem a bit distanced, like you want to stay out of everyone's way. Like you don't want to mess anything up." He was all in now, might as well say it all. "Is, uh...is something wrong?"

Reisen looked down at her lap. Should she open up? Now was the perfect chance...someone actually wanted to talk to her about things. But if Eirin or Kaguya found out about what she would say, it would surely result in 'Punishment Time'...

"I mean, you seem happy but--"

She looked back up and he stopped talking, so she spoke. "Well, my work is quite stressful sometimes. Too often it seems like my master and the Princess..."

"Princess? Oh right, Kaguya."

"Yes, they both push me really hard to do...pretty much anything they need: manual labor, and--" She didn't want to say any more. "The point is, for the rest of my life I'm to do what I can for them."

"I see." He had a good guess as to how she felt. "So, because you're married to your job, you don't really have time to do the things you'd like to do."

She turned away, nodding.

"Is that why you like being here in the Village selling medicine for Eirin? Because it's time away from those issues?"

Her eyes widened. He was very interpretive, but her face quickly returned to normal as she turned to face him again "It's a great change from the normal work and--" She caught herself before she could mention how much she got punished and picked on. "--and I have to endure a lot, but here it's more relaxing." She forced a smile and placed her hands on her lap.

So that was it, he thought. "Well, I don't think you're a bother or anything, so it's fine if you hang around. Mokou doesn't seem to have a beef with you either, I guess it's just between her and your Princess."

Reisen sighed. "Yes, that gets rather tiring, especially considering that both of them are im--" She clamped a hand over her mouth; this wasn't something she should just blab to anyone.

"Huh?"

"Uh, they're impossibly hard to break apart when they fight." That was close. It was time for a change of subject. "So, I can stay here at your place? Really?"

"Well, where else would you stay? Besides, it wouldn't be for too long anyway."

She remained silent.

Concerned, he cocked his head and continued to look at her. "Wait, where'd you stay the last time you were here?"

"Um...it's fine, don't worry about it. Do you--"

"Hold up...where did you stay? I remember, I definitely saw you for a few days a couple months back. A rabbit sticks out in a crowd of humans..."

Her head sank further into the propped-up pillows as she stared straight ahead.

He raised his voice slightly. "Reisen! C'mon, you can tell me." He already had a guess, but he wanted to make sure he was on the right track. "We have an inn here, and you certainly look human enough..." He immediately regretted saying that. Closing his eyes, he realized that he had just drawn the border between humans and youkai into this, even though that wasn't his intention.

As he expected, she also raised her voice, almost to yelling. "It was full when I was here!" She quieted down a bit. "So..."

Now it was his turn for eye-widening surprise. "Wait, but if you didn't stay there, where did y--" He felt his heart sinks lightly in his chest at the sudden realization. "Oh no, don't tell me..."

"I just...the weather was fine, so it wasn't too bad sleeping outside," she mumbled in a flat voice.

There was a 10-second silence. Finally he spoke. "That's terrible...why didn't you--"

"Because!" She interrupted him. "Because...I can't cause a disturbance here, as per master's orders." She felt angry for doing this. "I can't risk anything..." Why was she telling him all this? He hadn't been experimented on, or put to grueling work on a whim. She couldn't expect him to understand how hard it was for her back home.

Ken took one look into her eyes and knew she was greatly troubled. He took a deep breath so as not to overreact. "Reisen, you're welcome to stay at my place if you want to, when you come here. Just don't sleep outside, you don't have to go that far! Even though you're powerful, it's still dangerous outside and you could get hurt or have your precious things stolen."

"I..." She swallowed before continuing. "I would like that. But..."

"But what?" He absentmindedly placed a hand on her shoulder.

There was a hint of irritation in her voice. "Why are you being so nice to me? I'm not even from the Village, and I'm not even a human..."

This was his chance to make up for the slip-up earlier. "Well, I guess it's because it doesn't really matter to me. I mean, look at Keine. She's not entirely human herself and yet the people of this Village trust her completely. She saved me from certain death, took me in and raised me as if I was her own child!" He bit his lip before continuing. "If I can't even do that, then...then what kind of person would I be?"

"You..." She felt her eyes watering up. All the stress was coming out right now. "I, um..."

Suddenly he seized her in a quick hug. He wasn't sure if it was the right thing to do, but while patting her back he knew it sure felt like it. "You'll be fine."

Startled, she stared down at him. "Oh..." What was she supposed to do? She didn't know, and didn't care right now. It felt great. Hugging him to her, she felt the pain going away. "Thank y--"

A voice rang out. "Do you know what we should d--oh. Well...that's sweet."

Both of them froze and turned towards the now-open door to see Hina standing there.

"Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt. As you were~" Hina promptly closed the door with a smile.



6:10 PM - Day 1 - Human Village - Ken's House

"Really? Reisen and that guy?"

Hina giggled. "Well, I think it was a personal moment. That rabbit always seems like she's hiding something, maybe those two are close." Her face turned more serious after a few seconds. "So, how does it feel to be in a human household?"

Nitori looked around before shrugging her shoulders. "Not too bad. This place could use some more technology, but it's peaceful. I guess I like it."

"But you seemed pretty uneasy around so many humans when we first came here. You look just like them, why would you be so worried?"

"I'm just not used to it! You, your job is to handle the curses of humans so you're more familiar with them than I am..."

Hina fiddled with the ribbon on the hair beneath her chin. "Well whatever. This is a serious matter we have at hand. Even Keine and Mokou needed more time to think..."

The kappa didn't want to draw attention to the other secret she had told them. "I...think it would be best if we waited to see what happened tonight at midnight. Even in the worst possible scenario, you know..."

"Hmm, you're right. That Amarillo girl and Nue picking a fight with all of us? Come to think of it, why would they invite us all to one loc--"

Both of them got the same idea in the same moment. Nitori verbalized it for them.

"With everyone in one location...it would be easy to do something to all of us."

Hina put a hand to her mouth as her face blanched. "Oh no..."

Nitori sprung up from the couch. "We gotta tell Keine!"

"Wait, hold on. That's just a possibility!"

"But we still gotta let her know about it! C'mon Hina, let's go!" The kappa sprang up and ran off, throwing open the front door.

Sighing, Hina floated after her out the front door. Everyone in all of Gensokyo in one location? This could seriously be trouble, indeed...



(Note: Nitori has joined Ken's team...for now.)

[trancehime]

The remains of the store. 1230. Day 1.
Collecting the remnants of the sale.

"Crazed filth, all of you!" Hirowaza squealed weakly as he scrambled about to collect the pieces of his now broken and battered store. "You immature knaves, settling such things through fighting!" he stammered in place, twitching as he rubbed his eyes. He could see the offender, Amarillo, going away to attend to what he could only assume was her own business, and as he saw her and her entourage walk away, Hirowaza scowled and materialized a [Wooden Sword] in his hand and threw it into the distance. "How dare you walk away from this! You had better take responsibility!" he yelled, but he knew it was futile... He groaned and put the pieces in the fortunately unharmed wheelbarrow he laid in the side, and just looked at Meira and VIVIT (who was in quite a state of shock...) before shaking his head and shambled off. Meira wanted to stop Hirowaza, but VIVIT placed a hand on Meira's shoulder and shook her head. "No..." Meira sighed and looked into the distance and growled.

"I knew that Reimu was nothing but trouble. And those fairy girls, who do they think they are? Do they own this place?" she spat at the ground indignantly. "If Reimu didn't start that fight, none of this would have happened. And then that girl just ruined somebody else's property without warning. How immature." Hirowaza dismissed Meira with a wave of the hand, as if saying That's enough. "I can never have some peace and quiet these days. Sigh. Come on, you two. Let's go home."

The Cottage on the Hill on the outskirts. 1530. Day 1.
In between the Forest and the Human Village.

Hirowaza was lying around in bed while VIVIT was staring at him by his side. Meira was outside looking around, and looking awfully concerned about what was going on. This was awfully uncharacteristic of Meira, but surely she had her reasons for acting that way. Hirowaza was just groaning around in bed. "I'm just trying to make a living, and then people like them have to ruin everything. I should probably handle this better, but..." he then stands up and fetches some small blocks of wood in a pile in the corner and pulls out a wood carver from his drawer, and sits by his bed, before beginning to make some wood sculptures again. VIVIT tilts her head and just watches, while Meira peeks in the cottage and sighs.

"Hiro..." she says, gripping the hilt of her blade tightly. "I won't let them get away scott-free."

[Kakyoin]

6:12 PM - Day 1 - Human Village - Outside Ken's & Keine's Homes

Nitori was rushing over to Keine's house. There probably wasn't much time, so she had to make sure the teacher knew about it before--

"Hello, kappa. I've been expecting you."

Yelping slightly, she tripped as her legs half-froze mid-run. Quickly rolling over, she found herself looking up at a mostly familiar, confident face. It was the Scarlet Devil herself.

"R-Remilia..." Hina maintained her distance from the vampire, not taking kindly to her sudden entrance. This one was extremely dangerous, but what was she doing out here?

Nitori got to her feet quickly, all the while staring at this new presence.

Revealing one of her fangs, Remilia stepped closer. "What are you doing all the way down here, hmm? Don't you have, ah..." She looked at her hand, pausing for effect before turning back to Nitori with a small grin. "...a reversed waterfall to attend to?"

"Um..." The kappa was more concerned with how Remilia was able to walk in the sunlight. Then she remembered how her mana partner had...wait, what had he done again? Who was he? Suddenly she couldn't remember anything about it. "Well, why are you here...?"

"The Mistress wishes to investigate this supposed midnight incident, and we would appreciate your compliance in answering." The elegance of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, Sakuya Izayoi, stepped out from the shadows behind one of the houses.

Nitori took a step back. They seemed rather intrusive, but she tried to maintain her cool. "I, I'm here because--"

"What's going on out here?" The four of them turned to see Ken and Reisen emerging from his house. He had a sword in a scabbard at his side, and while the rabbit closed the door behind them, he ran out to see what was the matter.

Sakuya tensed up briefly. Who was this young man? He did not seem familiar. But he was approaching Remilia with surprising speed, not many would dare to do so. Maybe he didn't know who she was.

He eased his run into a walk as he stepped directly in front of Remilia and looked down at her. "Who are you?"

Unfazed, Remilia folded her arms across her chest and returned his gaze. "How rude, human. At the very least, you could not fail completely by introducing yourself to me first."

"Wh...what?" Was she a youkai? She looked slightly familiar, like he'd seen her in a book before. Wait, it was...it couldn't be...Remilia Scarlet, the Scarlet Devil of Gensokyo? What was she doing at the Human Village?! His mind raced as his countenance narrowed. This couldn't be the Scarlet Devil. She was a vampire, yet the sunlight wasn't affecting her...it must be some youkai pretending to be her. Unfortunately, he had yet to fully register Sakuya's presence, as he was staring at this imposter. "Nitori, did she bully you?"

Hina cleared her throat. "Hey Ken, you might want to, uh...not say things like that."

Nitori looked around to assess the situation. She gulped and froze as she noticed that Sakuya had disappeared from view.

He drew his sword. "I don't know if you're a friendly youkai or not, but I'd appreciate it if you ditched that poor disguise and stopped bullying my friends."

That did it. In the blink of an eye, Sakuya had leaped out from the shadows, throwing several knives his way. "Huah!"

"Whoa?!" He managed to move out of the way, dodging all but one knife that struck his sword so swiftly and squarely that he nearly lost his grip on it. Staggering backwards, he let his sword fall lightly into the earth to regain his balance.

Suddenly he had been flung onto his back, and the knife-throwing woman was standing over him...yet she showed no signs of continuing the assault. She was standing straight up, holding several knives. What happened? How did she hit him so hard, so fast? He didn't even see her coming that time...

The girl with the bat wings walked over and looked down at him. "You must be either quite brave or quite stupid to stand up to me like that."

Breathing somewhat heavily from the encounter with--wait! That was...

"You...y-you're Sakuya..."

"So I am. Please treat the mistress with the respect she deserves." Her gaze burned into his eyes, yet it wasn't fierce at all.

"It's really Remilia." Reisen had run over, having figured it out. She looked first at Sakuya and then her mistress, then helped Ken up. "He just thought you were some youkai because you are somehow immune to the sunlight."

Remilia closed her eyes and smirked again. "Oh, that. Well whatever, I'm not here to see the lot of you anyway. Where's the teacher?"

Ken looked at her quizzically. "Why do you need to talk to her? She's a bit busy at the moment, anyway."

"Fool! That's exactly why I'm here. I heard some things, and now I want answers! Now, is she in her home or not?"

"She's in there, I think..." Man, what a pushy girl, he thought. Hard to believe she was really hundreds of years old.

"Very good. Sakuya!"

The maid merely turned her head towards the sound of her voice. "...Mistress?"

"You are to keep an eye on this lot. I need to do some...interrogation."

"Understood."

Before any of the others could reply, Remilia took wing and flew over to the door. Trying the handle, she found the door to be unlocked and slipped inside Keine's house.



6:25 PM - Day 1 - Human Village - Outside Ken's & Keine's Homes

Sakuya had chosen to sit down on the tree stump outside Ken's house. "Forgive me for earlier, I did not know if you were attempting to harm the Mistress or not."

"Nah, it's okay. But I thought vampires couldn't survive in the sunlight..." Ken sat on the grass. All he could think about was how quickly he had been floored earlier. He had heard Sakuya was nearly flawless in all aspects, and no wonder. Perhaps she had used her time-stopping powers. His breath partially caught in his chest. No wonder he had stood no chance...

"The Mistress has undergone special treatment thanks to a particular set of incidents with a partner she established in the past." Her answer was precise.

He looked up at her. She seemed incredibly serious and carried herself well. Seeing the maid up-close like this was rather breathtaking. "I thought she might've been a youkai in disguise."

"That's understandable. I must admit, you stood up to her rather admirably. I guess as a guardian of the Human Village, you must always hunt for certainty."

He looked at her again. Was that a partial smile he had seen? Maybe he was seeing things. He also remembered having seen her maybe once or twice before at the Village, but perhaps even that was just his mind flipping out.

"Sakuya, is Remilia really here to try to figure out what's happening to our Gensokyo?" Hina stopped twiddling her hair to ask.

The chief maid lifted her leg up and placed her foot upon the edge of the stump. Without much concern, she lifted her dress and slipped several knives into a slot on the top of her right thigh high. "Yes, we heard from Aya that several of Gensokyo's inhabitants were going to commit a genocide of sorts here. The Mistress has her doubts and is currently conducting research."

Ken averted his gaze as she spoke, then turned back when he thought she was done. She wasn't. Still, he spoke up. "Does it bother you too?"

"The Mistress will solve this problem, this I am sure of."

"Hold on for one minute. That's nice, but how did she know to come here?" Hina asked.

"Simple, Keine had done a bit of research at the Mistress' manse regarding the reversed flow of the great fall at Youkai Mountain. Lady Patchouli informed me of this detail."

"Well I hope Nitori can fix the fall's flow," Ken added. Nitori had gone off to try to do something about the great fall at Youkai Mountain. That made sense, as the kappa was a water expert. Well, so she had claimed.

"Yes, that might partially cure the uneasiness that seems to plague this place as of now." She finished restocking her knives very quickly, even during conversation. "Even the Mistress is upset. Hopefully she can solve the problem Reimu failed to solve."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that, maid." Mokou's voice rang out. "First she has to find that shrine maiden."

Sakuya expected Mokou to be here as well. "Perhaps, although tracking her down will likely be an easy task."

Mokou wrinkled her nose and looked over at Ken, who was staring at Sakuya's outfit. "What, is this your first time laying eyes on a maid?"

He turned to face her and cleared his throat. "N--well, yes, in person."

Sakuya looked over at the other silver-hair. "I did almost severely injure him earlier, so perhaps he can be slightly forgiven."

Putting her hands on her hips, Mokou walked closer. "Hey, go easy on the boy, he's--"

"Training to guard this Village, I know. It's an admirable goal, to defend an entire place." He actually did see her smile slightly before she continued. "Although...I do wish we had someone just as focused to guard the manse's front gate."

"Eh?" Mokou scratched her head. "What's wrong with Meiling?"

The smile on the chief maid's face had dissolved into dissatisfaction. "She has been having, erm...well, she has a daily distraction in the form of a human male now. It bothers me a little bit, even though it has not really escalated yet..."

Oh no...Ken closed his eyes, waiting for the expected Mokou chime-in.

"Oh, is that so? This guy here is--"

Mokou was unable to finish her sentence, as Remilia had reappeared in the doorway to Keine's house. She didn't look too satisfied.

"Mistress, do you now kn--"

Remilia interrupted her maid. "Sakuya, we have many questions still that need answering. Keine and I have a plan to get to the bottom of this and put a stop to this nonsense."

Sakuya nodded. "Understood. Then, shall we--"

"Ha, nope! I want you to stay...here~" She pointed down at the ground for emphasis.

She was slightly taken aback. Remilia almost never went anywhere to investigate things without her. "Mistress...? Are you sure? Please, let me aid y--"

"Shh! This is something we need to do alone. I want you to keep tabs on this Village and these here people." The vampire sniffed casually.

Sakuya seemed to finally break her calm demeanor, even only slightly. "But Mistress, I--"

"That's an order, Sakuya! Now listen to me. We are going to try to track down Nue and Reimu. I heard that this Amarillo girl was here in the Village a few hours ago, so I want you to keep an eye out and see if she's still here. If you find her, bring her back to Keine's house and keep her here using any means necessary. I can rely on you for that, right?"

The maid sighed. "Yes Mistress."

"Good. I will return in a few hours' time regardless of the outcome of our search. You can have faith in me, you know I always succeed. Just trust me and trust fate, like you always have." The vampire reached out and lifted Sakuya's chin, staring into her eyes. "Okay?"

Sakuya's determined eyes stared back. "You're right. That's a promise, then."

"Indeed. Now, you stay with them until I get back. We need you to monitor this place."

"Understood." Sakuya nodded as Remilia took to the air. "Farewell, Mistress."

"Yeah, I'll be back before you know it."

Keine put a hand on Ken's shoulder from behind. "Now even though Sakuya is here, I still need you to help too. All right?"

"Yeah, I got this. At least, I think I do..." His voice trailed off towards the end. This was the first time Keine was not here to guard the Village with him.

"Ken. You can do this, I believe in you." She paused and looked over. "And Mokou does too, even though she might not outright say it..."

"Hey!" Mokou objected.

Keine produced a short laugh. "Well, I'm off." She turned to join Remilia, but first turned back to him. "Oh, and one more thing."

"Yeah, what is it?"

She leaned in closer and whispered to him. "I don't know where she went, but...Reisa was acting a bit strange earlier. I think she wandered off somewhere. Keep an eye out for her, yeah?"

"Sure thing. Good luck and godspeed...Keine."

She nodded. This was the first time he had simply called her by her first name without a title in over a year. "Thanks, Ken.? After giving him a quick, tight hug, she turned and looked up at Remilia. ?Ready, vampire?"

"Pfft, I've never been more ready!"

Ken, Mokou, Reisen, Hina and Sakuya watched as the two of them flew off in opposite directions.

"Gimme a break...was she serious?" Mokou had buried her face in her hands.

Hina giggled. "I guess there's some history between you two that some of us don't know, huh?"

The fire mage peeked out at him through her hands. "No, don't you dare tell them!"

He sighed and drew his sword. "Don't worry about it. Anyway, we gotta hold the fort."

Sakuya's thoughts had drifted from her Mistress to the design of his sword. The engraving on it seemed familiar...where had she seen it before? Perhaps at that shopkeep's place, or--

"What's wrong, maid? Impressed by his need to overcompensate?" Mokou snarked.

"Ah...n-no, not--that wasn't..." she closed her eyes and heaved a sigh. She couldn't help but worry for Remilia anyway. One day she'd finally meet her match, but until then...

Meanwhile, Ken let out a groan. "Mokou! That's terrible..." To be honest, he was worried about this whole incident. But Keine had never failed to resolve things, and with the Scarlet Devil and her chief maid helping, and also Nitori too, surely things would work out. Today had been a day filled with excitement, perhaps too much, but enough worrying. He had a task to perform.

Smiling victoriously, Mokou flew in front of them as they started walking towards the center of the Village and muttered to herself. "Ha, teasing you never gets old."



(Notes: Reisa, Keine and Nitori have left Ken's team. Sakuya has joined Ken's team.)

[LordVant]

Scarlet Devil Mansion, 10:30am, Day 1

   Vant and Meiling flew around the corner, following the recently picked up trail of food. As they turned again, vaulting over a pile of chocolate pudding and dodging a few falling fruits they came to a large pink blob, obviously the God of Plenty, just as it is sent flying at them at extreme speeds, mouth open, and knocks them both out of a nearby window into the SDM courtyard. Vant manages to roll away before getting covered in shards of glass and looks back at the GoP to see a leg and arm sticking out of out it's mouth.

   "Meiling! Hang on!" Vant sprints towards the blob and jump kicks it, bouncing it off the ground and causing it to spit out Meiling who is now covered in pink cake frosting. He looks at the GoP that's flying away now and notices a bit of green still hanging out of its mouth.

   Meiling shakes some of the frosting off, and looks around, finding Vant next to her and the GoP fleeing, she let's out a small sigh before something about the blob catches her eye. "AHH! That thing has my hat!" Meiling grabs Vant's hand and pulls him along a bit before breaking into a full sprint after it. "Come on! We gotta catch it!"

   Vant takes off and catches up to Meiling. "Wait wait! Why do we have to get your hat? It's not enough the thing

already tried to kill us with sweets?"

   "That hat was a birthday present! I'm not gonna lose it now! Not to that thing!" Meiling continues along the path of food, little bits of frosting coming off of her as Vant runs behind her and catches a bit to eat~.


Path to Hakurei Shrine, 2:30pm, Day 1


   Vant and Meiling come to a halt as the food trail ends, leaving no trace of which direction the blob went. Both are out of breath and exhausted from tracking it. They've stumbled upon a simple dirt trail leading up to a forested area up a hill and the other direction leading to the Human Village.

   "*pant* This must be the path to the Hakurei Shrine, but the damn thing is nowhere in sight. Seriously Meiling? We had to chase it this far...for this long?" Vant fell back and sat on the grass by the road, just under the shade of a tree as he tries to catch his breath.

   "Auugh, all this chasing in circles and the only things I have to show for it is that I'm hot, sticky, an-"

   "And delicious, Hon~" Vant grinned at Meiling, who still had some frosting on her. "Sounds like our usual night~"

   Meiling choked back a laugh before throwing her shoe at Vant who promptly caught it. "Dammit! Ahaahah, I don't need cracks like that from you right now...now give me my shoe back." Meiling couldn't help hiding her smile and blushing a bit as she hopped on one foot over to Vant.

   "What? No way, it's mine. You threw it at me so you don't get it back~." Vant hid the shoe behind his back, teasing Meiling before something caught his attention. He looked up into the sky, as did Meiling, and saw a small figure in the sky. As Vant stood up and looked a bit closer, he recognized the clothing pattern and the large scythe. He tossed Meiling's shoe back to her before calling out. "OI! Komachi! Down here!"

   Komachi heard a familiar voice as she was headed over to the shrine and looked down to see a small blip on the ground waving at her. She immediately flew down and dropped next to Vant before hugging him. "Hey Vant! Long time no see! How have ya been?" Komachi looked her usual, blue-white dress with a corset held by a coin and her wicked-looking scythe over her shoulder, red hair tied into two pigtails and her usual bright face laced with that look of just having woken up. "It's nice to see you again, and who's the cake?" Komachi hooked a thumb at Meiling who was still trying to get some of the frosting off of her while keeping a straight gaze focused on Vant as she shot an occasional glance at this woman.

   "Yeah I've been great, and this is my..." Vant looks over at Meiling who's bent over, looking straight at him as she tries to get the frosting out of her hair. "Well this is my tasty treat for later tonight, we're gonna have some fun that probably involves stripping and me getting the last of the frosting off of her with my tongue." Vant smiled mischievously before getting pegged in the head with a shoe.

   "Mind not the idiot who can't keep his trap shut." Meiling hopped over before slipping her shoe on and sticking her hand out...before pulling it back. "Well I'm Hong Meiling, gate guard of Scarlet Devil Mansion, I'd shake your hand but this frosting is everywhere because of that damned blob."

   "I'm Komachi Onozuka, ferryman of the dead across the Sanzu River, and...blob? I noticed something like that awhile ago...had this green thing in its mouth. Headed that way." She points over to Youkai Mountain.

   Vant sighs before Meiling perks up. "Then that's where we'll head next! Come on!" She takes off running towards the mountain before Vant can protest.

   "Heh, well seems we're off again. Wanna tag along while we chat?" Vant nods his head towards Meiling.

   "Sure! I was only heading to the shrine for the festival early, so it won't really matter." Komachi replied happily.


   (OOC)

   (RANK UP! KOMACHI HAS JOINED THE PARTY! She has s*** stats except for her HP and defense so be sure to stick her in the way of any and all attacks so you won't get hu-*stuck through with scythe*)


Youkai Mountain(nearby reversed falls), 5:00pm, Day 1


   
   Vant, Meiling, and Komachi continue their trek up the mountain, Vant making more headway than Meiling in climbing while Komachi just flies next to them. "Hey..uh...Meiling, why don't you fly?"

   Meiling glances back at Komachi who's practically laying back in the air. "Because I prefer to do it this way, and not let my limbs atrophy from lack of use." Meiling rolls her eyes at the shinigami and continues upwards. "So Vant, how did you meet this one?"

   Vant pulls himself up onto the top of the apparent cliff. Taking a short break from the climb and sitting back. "I met her when I first got here, during my droopy times. If it weren't for her, I'd probably be already across the Sanzu River and in Hell." Vant leans over the cliff when Meiling nears and pulls her up. "Now come on, I hear flowing water nearby, let's go wash up."

   Meiling looks over at Komachi again. A different kind of light surrounded this seemingly lazy ferryman. Perhaps there was more to her than she showed....then again, it's foolhardy to not think that of everyone..." Meiling shakes her head for a bit before following Vant towards the sound of water. After a short walk they come upon a clearing with a small pond and a river flowing out as well as a... "AH! There it is!" Meiling rushes forward towards the edge of the pond and picks up her hat. "Finally! Thing must've dropped it. Ah well, I'll pay it back later. Seems this will be a good place to wash this frosting off...and Vant, if you make a joke about me getting wet I'll smack you so hard tha-"

   "Um...Meiling...it's backwards.." Vant slowly let the words fall out of his mouth.

   "What? That I made mention of the joke before you? I swear sometimes I just wanna kick you upside the he-..." Meiling finally looked up and saw what Vant meant by "backwards". The waterfall here...was flowing backwards, right back up the mountain. It was a strange but beautiful sight to behold.

   "You know...in this world, there are times, such as this, that I actually feel like maybe learning magic...just to do this." Vant grinned and watched as the water traveled upwards.

   Komachi watched with amazement as well. "I don't think you could manage this with years of practice..."

   The three sat and watched in amazement for some time before Vant finally spoke up. "I don't think that blob did this...maybe we should at least check this out."

   "Check it out? How? We gonna push the water back down the mountain?" Meiling joked, smiling at Vant.

   "Meh, that'd be too hard, let's just go tell the shrine maiden about this..if she hasn't already seen it. Either way I've been getting a bad feeling lately. But seriously, did we have to go THIS far to get that hat of yours?"

   "Of course it was a birthday present from you anyway." Meiling glared at him.

   "I'm sorry what? I didn't give you that hat for your birthday.." Vant stared incredulously at Meiling. "Did you hit your head maybe?"

   "Of course not! You gave it to me back at.....at....." Meiling stared at the ground...there was just a hole in her memory...the thoughts just dropped away. When had Vant given her this hat, or was it him?

   "...am I affecting you or something? Usually I'm the one with memory blackouts." Vant focused on Meiling, obviously this was bothering her quite a bit. "Well let's hurry on to the shrine. Maybe someone's stealing our memories eh?" Vant joked a bit but the worried look on Meiling's face didn't quite lift, despite her smile. The two held hands for a bit, just looking at each other.

   Komachi was watching, rather amused at their antics before sticking her head between them, causing both to jump back. "Sorry to interrupt, but I'm getting rather bored. Let's head to the Hakurei Shrine. Reimu's usually the one to solve these things anyway." Komachi laughed at them both as Meiling blushed a bit and Vant chuckled.

   "Yeah, let's go. We'll figure this out eventually." Vant started walking off back down the mountain with Komachi and Meiling in tow.


   (End...for now. Vant, Meiling, and Komachi will arrive at the Hakurei shrine at approximately 8:00pm because they're taking their sweet time.)

[Kakyoin]

6:40 PM - Day 1 - Human Village - Outskirts

"Inconvenient? Not really, I've adapted to wearing this." A light breeze blew Sakuya's dress in a rippling pattern. "Besides, this is not a full maid outfit. What I wear is easier to move in."

Ken scratched his head. "I still have a hard time imagining how difficult it is to fight with all that on..."

The two of them had come to the edge of one of the primary entrances to the Human Village, away from the others. Sakuya held a few knives in her right hand. "If you wore this for years, you would get used to it."

"I guess, yeah." She just seemed like a very powerful, independent woman, wearing the maid outfit out of complete respect for her Mistress. "I wish I could be as useful to Keine as you are to Remilia."

"You'll get there eventually if your desire is strong enough."

Desire. The word stuck on him for some reason. Shaking his head, he turned back to the maid. "How long did it take you to become so proficient with knives?"

"Quite a long time. After all, I'm only human." To his surprise, she smiled and lifted her dress slightly, revealing the knife-ridden thigh strap over her right thigh high. "This in particular took quite a while to adjust to."

He blinked and cocked his head slightly. "Just how many of those knives do you have, anyway? I've heard you can throw a hundred in one barrage..."

Dropping her dress abruptly, she assumed a more serious look once more. "That's obviously only a rumor. Of course, I can often make it seem like that."

"Huh..." He enjoyed talking to her so far, but didn't want to mention it out loud. "I--"

*EEEEEEE*

Sakuya suddenly assumed a wary position, spreading the knives in her right hand. "Did you hear that?"

Indeed he had, and he had already drawn his sword in response. That was definitely a scream he'd heard, in the near distance. "I heard someone out there."

"Do you think there's trouble?"

He nodded. "Yeah, let's go check it out!"



6:47 PM - Day 1 - Road - Human Village Outskirts

Sakuya skidded to a stop as she observed a small horde of vicious-looking youkai nearby, surrounding a tree. They had yet to notice her arrival, so she prepared a plan of attack in her mind. But something wasn't right.

A few moments later, Ken caught up to her. What were youkai doing here right now? This didn't make sense; the sun hadn't even set yet. Unless...

The Chief Maid looked up and found the answer. "In the tree, that's..." Sakuya pointed a gloved finger just above them.

"Wh--oh jeez..." His heart sunk in his chest. There was a young woman in the tree. This was a complete slaughter waiting to happen...

Sakuya grimaced and prepared to dash in. They didn't seem like tough opponents, but there was a human girl at stake. There wasn't any time, she had to use her power and act now. She turned to Ken and explained to him quickly but carefully. "Listen to me. In a few moments, you will suddenly be near them. I want you to take them out while I rescue the person in the tree. Got it?" She hoped he was competent enough to handle a few youkai.

"Well, I suppose. But--"

"HELP MEEEEE!" The young woman cried out, clinging firmly to the tree trunk as best she could.

Stealing a glance towards the tree, the maid saw that the situation had worsened. They were playing with their food now. How disgustingly terrible. "There's no time left! Get ready!"

Before he could do anything, she raised her hands above her head.

"THE WORLD!"


-TIME IS FROZEN-

Grunting slightly, she grabbed his frozen figure and pulled him into the air with her, gliding over to the tree. True enough, they were about to climb the tree. Dropping him off at what she thought was a safe yet close enough distance to fight them, she spun into the air and threw the knives in her right hand at one of the four creatures. Her masterful technique in full display, she threaded herself between two tree branches mid-jump as she once again resumed her flight, ascending to rescue the woman.

-TIME CONTINUES-


There was a cry from one of the beasts as the knives the maid had thrown sunk into it, wounding it enough to disable it. Ken blinked once and, realizing the situation, charged forward to confront the remaining youkai before they realized what had happened. "Hyaaah!"

Sakuya had floated in front of the woman stuck in the tree. She did not seem familiar at all to her.

The woman, dumbfounded, stared at the maid in front of her. Before she could say anything, Sakuya had picked her up and began descending away from the tree, when she suddenly heard a tearing noise followed by an abrupt stop to her movement. "Ugh!" She gasped, instinctively turning her head to see what was preventing her from moving. Her dress had gotten caught on several branchlings sticking up from the tree branches. Squirming, she had her hands full and couldn't quite free herself. Finding this futile, she tried to free herself by pushing forward in the hopes that her attire would rip. Struggling desperately, she cursed under her breath. How could she let this happen? The World was far too dangerous for her to use again so soon...she couldn't just drop this woman, it was too high...her hands were full and she couldn't get at her knives...

Ken had disabled one of the beasts already, having received nearly no injuries in return thanks to the surprise attack. He turned to fight another nearby when his eyes darted to the Chief Maid, who was vulnerable. Unfortunately, the other nearby youkai had realized this and was crawling towards her and the woman in her arms. "SAKUYA! LOOK OUT!"

Hearing a snarl, she looked down to see the youkai coming after her. Sakuya flew harder, trying to get free. There wasn't enough time for her to place the woman back on a sturdy branch now, as that would place the woman directly in harm's way. It would take a miracle to get out of this unscathed, she thought. Perhaps she could kick it away, at least to stall until Ken got--

"Great Miracle - Yasaka's Divine Wind!"

Suddenly out of nowhere, a green blur passed straight through the remaining three creatures. For a moment, time seemed to stand still.

Ken's eyes went wide as he witnessed this sudden attack. It reminded him of Hokuto Ujou Danjinken, a lightning-swift killing technique he'd witnessed on an old animated series he had seen back in the real world.

Surprised, the youkai found themselves unable to move as they were dealt delayed fatal blows, falling helplessly to the ground.

He turned and saw who this attacker was right as she turned back around to face him, a determined look still on her face. He was greeted by the visage of Sanae Kochiya, the Moriya Shrine priestess. Relief washed warmly over him. They were saved!

"Is everyone all right?" Sanae was still looking rather concerned, and she glanced up at Sakuya. "Oh, Sakuya. I didn't expect to see you here of all places."

Growling in disgust, she finally managed to work her dress so it glided off of the branchlings. "It's a Human Village, Sanae. What's your point?"

The shrine maiden suddenly looked surprisingly happy. "Ehehe. Well, I'm glad everyone's okay. Just doing my job, y'know~" She twirled her gohei in her right hand as the wind around her died down and her hair fell back down to its natural position. She truly was a sight to behold.

"Sanae, you came at just the right time, thanks for the help." Panting slightly, Ken sheathed his sword.

She turned to look at him but, upon seeing that the Chief Maid had descended and released the scared woman, turned to her. "Are you feeling okay?"

The woman was clearly shaken, but still able to respond. "I-I'm okay..." Seeing Ken, she first hesitated. After a pause, she spoke to him. "Ken!"

In that instant, he recognized her. It was Mayli Ayume, one of the students in Keine's upper division classes that he TA'd for. Without her glasses, she looked different. "Mayli..." She wasn't too much younger than him, he remembered. It would be a real shame to lose her. "That was too close, sorry we weren't faster."

The student nodded briefly in acknowledgment before responding. "It's f-fine..."

One look at her shaking legs told him that she wasn't anywhere close to being fine. "Hey...you're safe now, all right?"

After a brief pause, she ran over to him. "Ahhhh...it was so scary...I thought I was gonna die..." Sobbing, she squeezed him. "Ken, what's happening to this place...?"

He was a bit taken aback at her behavior as she normally was very quiet and distant, but patted her on the back reassuringly. He told her as much as he felt comfortable mentioning. "I...to be honest, I'm not sure, but Ms. Keine is investigating for us." But where were Mayli's glasses? Did she leave them at home? After a quick glance at the ground, he saw them--crushed and beyond repair, likely trodden on by the youkai. Damn. "Ah, your glasses are--"

She pulled back and looked up at him, tears in her eyes. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but closed it, drawing her hands closer to her chest.

He took a deep breath. This was as serious an issue as Keine made it out to be. First all of these ridiculous events, and now even youkai attacking so close to the Village? Did they know that Keine was gone? He suddenly had a terrible thought: were those youkai sent by Nue or that Amarillo girl? No...he couldn't jump to any conclusions. He looked at Mayli's desperate face and snapped back to the situation at hand. He immediately turned to Sakuya and Sanae. "Let's get back, we need to--"

"Wait!" Mayli grabbed his arm. "Don't leave me...I'm s-scared..."

"Yeah...all right, stay close." She had nearly lost her life, so he understood her fear. Suddenly, she reminded him of Himiko from earlier in the day, but he resorted to watching the surroundings as the four of them headed back.



7:45 PM - Day 1 - Human Village - Mayli's Bedroom

Ken looked at some pictures of Sanae on the wall. They looked like they were hand-drawn. Did she know Sanae somehow? They hadn't exchanged any words on the way back to the Village. How odd.

Mayli paused while sliding her right thigh high up (tiny NSFW warning). "Um...sorry, does it bother you?" She felt much more comfortable with him around, even though she felt bad for making him wait all this time for her to shower and freshen up.

Clearing his throat, he answered while continuing to look away. "Mayli, this is--" Oh, what the hell. He turned to her to finish answering. "I understand that what just happened to you is a huge deal, so don't worry about it." He folded his arms and leaned against the wall of her room, looking around. A heart-shaped clock, a stuffed bear...yep, it was definitely a girl's room. It also smelled particularly nice. "I mean, you could have died back there. Don't worry about bothering me about it."

"Ken, do you think we'll be attacked more?" He opened his mouth to respond, but before he could do so, she patted the side of her bed. "Um, please...you can sit down here..." She was a bit nervous about letting him get so close, but he had saved her, so she felt that it was fair in a way. She wasn't sure what to think right now, she couldn't stop thinking about those terrible creatures and what they'd nearly done to her...

"Well...all right." He walked over and sat down on her bed. This was his first time inside her home, much less her bedroom. He wasn't sure if he should even be there in the first place, but she had insisted and he couldn't help but come with her. Not her fault whatsoever; had he been the one in her shoes, he would have run to Keine for protection immediately. Youkai were not fun to encounter, particularly in groups. Poor Mayli was an easy target, too.

"Thanks for helping me out." Her heart was still racing from earlier. Somehow, she was trying desperately to get her mind off of what happened to her, but could not shake it away. Her mind was on the one who had slain most of the youkai. Was that really Sanae? Did Sanae not remember who she was or what had happened to her years ago?

"Mayli, I just did my job, and besides...those two ladies did most of the work anyway. I don't deserve any credit, really." He looked over and saw her staring off into space. "Mayli?"

"Ah, sorry. I just can't...I can't believe it. I almost got--" She swallowed hard before completing her sentence. The encounter had triggered her fear, a fear developed years ago...

He put an arm on her shoulder and looked at her. He too was worried, but couldn't let her know it was getting to him. "You're safe now though." He remembered her strange history here. She, like him, had also somehow become a part of this magical place called Gensokyo, right around the same time as him. She--wait.

The same time?

Come to think of it, he hadn't actually considered this because it had never crossed his mind. How did they both get into Gensokyo at the same time? Was it coincidence? He had heard of others who had somehow come to this place, but no one knew enough to really draw any conclusions, not even Keine. Things from the real world drift into Gensokyo, the teacher had told him. That seemed to be the running explanation, and yet...

"Ken? Mr. TA? Can I, please?"

"Huh?" He had zoned out. That was rude of him to do. "Sorry, what did you say?"

"Um..." It had taken a lot for her to say it the first time. Maybe she was just emotionally wild right now, but she really wanted someone to be with and talk to. She decided to lay back on her pillow.

"Mayli, what is i--" Turning to look down at her, he got a glorious eyeful of her figure. She definitely looked her age, youthful but maturing. Why was she wearing her school uniform right now? He felt his heart beat faster. In all his time studying, defending and helping at school, he had not really had time to stop and consider how good the women in Gensokyo looked. This was hard to ignore...and Mayli wasn't even from Gensokyo in the first place. Wait, what was he thinking?! That wasn't appropriate right now. "Are you really all right? Talk to me."

"I'm so scared...but, I want to get it off my mind." She looked up at him. "And I'm sorry if you're uncomfortable here, or if I'm distracting you, or if what I'm doing or asking for is too much..." Why was she apologizing so much? He already said he was here on his own time, and she was very happy to have someone else around right now.

"What? No, this is--" he started, before adjusting his glasses. "Look. Even if it wasn't my duty or any of that..." He paused, making sure what he planned to say next was appropriate. "We have to be there for each other, right?"

"Ah...well, yeah, I guess."

"So, how can I help you get your mind off of it?"

Her almond-brown eyes looked into his. "I, I don't know! I just want something good to happen, or something like that..." There she was, bumbling like an idiot. What DID she want? For the past few years she had to adjust to her new home, Gensokyo. She wasn't sure if she should get close to anyone, but sometimes being alone was so hard on her. Now was one of those times.

He tried to change the subject. "Well, what about your glasses? Can you see well enough without them?" He didn't have to wear his own glasses all the time, and he was fairly certain that she was in the same boat.

"I have a spare pair of glasses. They aren't as strong though."

Smiling at her slightly, he knew he had to be more encouraging and positive. "All right, that's good. You know, I was surprised you climbed that tree...didn't know you had it in you."

"I...I didn't." She looked away and put a hand to her chest. "T-They put me up there..."

His face grew concerned. Oh no...they had toyed with her first? Unforgivable! No wonder she had been so frightened. "Well, tell me what I can do to help you. Really, it's fine, go ahead."

"Then..." She sat up and adjusted her hair. "I...um." She crawled over and sat up nearly in front of him, leaning her head back against his chest. "Can I stay like this? Just to talk for a little, I mean..." she quickly added.

"Huh? Wait..." He figured she probably just wanted some close company right now, someone to talk to. She was like him in that he had no family here. Sure, he could be like family to her for a little while. "Yeah, that's fine." Smiling, he put an arm around her and felt her sinking further into him. It felt nice, and it reminded him of what happened with Reisen earlier. In fact, why had he not gotten to know Mayli at all in the first place? They were very much alike in many ways, and she was not an unfriendly person. Still, he had to make sure that his intentions were clear. "But you know, this is just--"

"I know. I just want to be around someone I can trust."

Phew, that was a relief. However, she was right there in front of him, and he could smell her hair. She smelled quite good overall after showering, he thought, blushing slightly. "Yeah, okay. Nothing personal or anything." Thank goodness she couldn't see his face. If someone like Keine saw him now...

She giggled lightly. "Hehehe...Ken, how often have you been this close to girls? This isn't a big deal, don't worry."

"Hey! I just had to make sure, you know..." His mind jumped to his dream about Mokou and how she had fallen into his lap trying to wake him up. "And let's just say that there have been a few...awkward moments in the past."

"I gotcha. And thanks for being here with me, it makes me feel better." She closed her eyes and smiled before reopening them soon after. She felt a little better already. "So, can you tell me about all that's happened to you today?" She quickly added, "I mean, besides what just happened to us."

He sighed. "Today? Oh boy, where do I start..."



7:30 PM - Day 1 - Human Village - Outside Ken's House

Sakuya and Sanae had taken to talking to each other. The shrine maiden was standing, and Sakuya had once again resorted to sitting down on the tree stump in front of his home. "So you've noticed too, eh?"

"Well, yeah. News like this reaches me through the divine winds..." Sanae had been thinking of the woman she had rescued. Somehow she looked familiar, but couldn't figure out why.

Sakuya's countenance narrowed. "Oh please, be serious."

Sanae shrugged. "Okay okay, whatever. It's not important how I heard it. Someone told me about this Amarillo girl and I figured I'd go hunting for some clues." Looking around, she put her hands on her hips before looking back at the Chief Maid. "I guess I ended up hunting for something else instead."

The Chief Maid looked down at the shredded-looking tear in her dress. She was still disappointed about what happened. "In any case, Mistress is looking into this, as well as Keine. I have faith that they'll get to the bottom of this issue."

Sanae smiled at her use of the word 'faith'. And yet faith was the least important thing on her mind right now. "That's good then. Well, I should probably get to looking around this place, there could be more troublesome youkai to exterminate hanging around here too." She turned to leave, but then turned back to Sakuya. "Oh, that reminds me. I did see Remilia earlier, myself."

"You saw the Mistress?" Sakuya's face was concentrated as usual. "Where was she?"

"She actually stopped by our shrine earlier, that's actually how I heard about this whole ordeal."

"So then, you're really here to watch out for Amarillo's presence."

Sanae nodded. "Although, it seems like I can make myself useful in other ways while I'm at it." She looked around. "Say, where's that dude Ken? He still helping that lady out?"

Sakuya paused before answering. "You know him?"

"I've been around him a few times, yeah. He's a pretty nice fellow, don't you think?"

"He's all right, I guess. Why do you ask?"

"You know, Sakuya." Sanae ran a hand through her hair. "You need some human interaction here and there."

Sakuya crossed her arms. "I get out of the Scarlet Devil Mansion often enough. What are you implying?"

"Ah, nothing. So are you going to come help me, or not?"

The Chief Maid shook her head. "My duty is to remain here and stay on the lookout for Amarillo. In fact, I should probably be watching for any signs of her approaching instead of talking to you..."

"Really? That's boring. Well, I can do that and exterminate at the same time, so let's go!"

The maid sighed as she got up. "Right...just don't get distracted." Now the Moriya shrine maiden had come to this place too? Seems like this Village had quickly become a central part of this mystery.

"Hey Sakuya." It was Mokou, secretly returning from an unsuccessful search for Reisa. "Oh, Sanae...the hell are you doing here?"

Sanae looked displeased. "That's not a very nice way to say hello. But then again, you were never good at exchanging pleasantries, were you..."

Mokou smirked. "So what? Why are you here, because you're bored? Wanted to escape from the goddesses for a while?"

"No way! I have business to attend to." The shrine maiden looked towards Ken's house and decided to tease Mokou a little. "I'm here to...ask Ken to go on a date with me."

The fire mage's face went from shocked to unamused. "WHAT?! No, be serious. Why are you really here, Sanae?"

Sanae laughed and grinned at Mokou. "Haha! No seriously, come with us and I'll explain why I'm here."



(Notes: Sanae and Mayli have joined Ken's team.)

[Kakyoin]

8:13 PM - Day 1 - Human Village - Mayli's Bedroom

   Ken looked around Mayli's room again as she was getting a jacket from her closet. There were pictures and even one portrait-sized drawing of Sanae on the walls. He was curious to know what kind of relationship she had with Sanae. "Hey, what is it with all of these drawings you have on display?"
   "Oh, those?" Her answer was muffled, since she had her head in the closet. "I drew those myself--"
   He raised an eyebrow. "Wait, you drew them?" They looked meticulously well-done, very vibrant and detailed. So she was an artist, then. "These are pretty good..." How come he hadn't realized this earlier? Her homework usually had drawings on them.
   She exited the closet with an almond-colored jacket in her arms. "Hehe, thanks. I love to draw. But..."
   "But?"
   "You're probably curious to know why Sanae is all over my room, aren't you?"
   "Hmm." She was as sharp and attentive as he'd seen in class. "Only if you feel like telling me."
   She smiled lightly after closing the closet door behind her. "Ken, I know you. You like to know everything."
   "...all right, you got me there. I am curious." Sighing, he assumed his typical folded-arms stance as he leaned against a wall between two mounted pictures.
   "You know today, how I almost got eaten..."
   "Yes, what of it? Is there more?" He moved away from the wall. "Did something else happen to you?"
   "No no, that wasn't it. It was something that happened a long time ago, years ago when I first--"
   "...when you first came to Gensokyo?"
   She nodded and began to put her jacket on. "Yeah. Something similar to what happened to me today. Something horrible..."
   He thought for a moment. Mayli had nearly been youkai food in the past? It made him feel powerless, not because he couldn't help her during that time, but the fact that he didn't know much about everyone in the Village other than general information. If he was going to be guarding this place in the future, he'd better get to know others on a more personal level. Keine had mentioned something like that in the past, he thought.
   She went on. "Well, when I first came to this place, I...was attacked." Pausing to gulp, she looked down at her feet.
   "What? I didn't know that...I'm sorry."
   "It's fine. I was lost, distraught and exhausted...I would've made an easy meal, heh..."
   "That's terrible! Thank goodness you're here now, hopefully that won't happen nearly as often anymore."
   "Yeah. I thought I was going to die. They...one of them lunged at me, and--"
   He gritted his teeth. Sure, youkai and humans were in a balance, just like humans and lesser animals in the world he used to live in. But many of the youkai were such savage creatures. Even humans were not so violent. "And what?"
   "I lost consciousness. Sanae...rescued me. I woke up days later. If she wasn't doing rounds of youkai extermination, I probably would have--well, I don't want to think about it."
   So Sanae was her hero. That made sense. "Did they--"
   "Yes...they got me, but somehow I survived. Sanae used some sort of power to save me. My body would have been...e-eaten...if not for her."
No wonder she had been so terrified earlier. "I see. Well, we'll do our best to try to keep that from happening." He felt even worse, having not been there to stop it from happening just a few hours ago. Come to think of it, how had she ended up in that situation in the first place? Did someone send them to the Village? He had considered that earlier, but no one in Gensokyo was so malicious as to meaninglessly endanger lives. "Sorry I--we weren't there to stop it."
   She left her jacket unzipped, as she usually did. "Well...I'm just glad I didn't lose my life. Oh..." She suddenly smiled and pointed at him. "You leave your jacket open, too~"
   He put his hands in his pants pockets and looked away. "Uh, yeah..."
She laughed. He was so awkward around girls. "Haha. So tell me, are you honestly okay with me coming with you? I don't want to be a burden." Her fingers were playing with the zipper on her jacket.
   "Nah, you're not a burden. Besides, we're inside the Village now and we have some strong allies here right now."
   "Yeah, and Sanae too." She wanted to talk to Sanae sometime tonight, to see if she remembered her.
   "I got a quick question for you, though." He turned back to face her directly. "How'd you end up outside the Village near that tree in the first place?"
   Mayli bit her lip. "Eh?"
   "I mean, how did those beasts..."
   "Oh!" She had completely forgotten to tell him what had drawn her outside the Village in the first place. "Well, I saw someone strange walk out that way. I had never seen someone like her before...she had blue and red wings, so I know she wasn't human."
   "Blue and red wings?" That sounded somewhat familiar.
   "Yeah, and she was flying above the ground. I got too curious and--"
   He held his hand up. "All right, that's enough. I don't think we should talk about that any more, anyway."
   "Okay. Are we going now?"
   "I promised Keine that I'd watch this place while she's gone, so I need to head back out. You ready?"
   Even though she just had a near-death experience, she was excited to go outside and observe something interesting happening. "Yes!"
   He smiled at her mood change. "Then let's go. Just remember, this isn't a field trip, it could be dangerous."
   "Yeah yeah, I know." She descended down the steps.
   He watched her head down before following suit. He wished he could be as carefree about it as she was. He was still worried about Keine, and although some very powerful people like Sakuya and Sanae were here, he had to prepare for the worst.



8:24 PM - Day 1 - Human Village - Outside Mayli's Apartment Complex

Ken froze. Keine was looking straight at him with her hands on her hips. Did he do something wrong? Had he forgotten something?
   "Hey, uh...what's wrong?" Mayli looked quizzically back and forth to him and her.
   "Ken!" Keine walked forward, hands still on hips. "You have failed! You have failed both me and the Village!"
   He panicked. "Wh...w-wait, I...Keine, I--!"
   "How could you not--mmmph..." the teacher seemed to be losing her composure. "...geh..."
   Shocked, he looked at her. "What is i--wait a minute..." His face blanched as hot relief washed over him and was quickly replaced by embarrassment. "Mokou, that's not funny!"
   Still wearing Keine's clothing, the fire mage burst out laughing. "Ha! You should have seen the look on your face. I guess I make a good Keine, don't I? Bwahahaha~ "
   "Hey, that's not very nice, you know," Mayli began to protest.
   Mokou stopped laughing. "Huh? Who's this girly girl?"
   "That doesn't matter. Ken does a good job protecting this place--"
   He put a hand on her shoulder. "Mayli, that's enough, really..."
   She continued despite the warning. "...and he even saved me from those awful monsters!" Feeling emboldened, she felt herself standing taller.
   "Mayli! Enough." He stepped in front of her and eyed Mokou. "Jeez, don't you know when an appropriate time is to make a joke? We might be dealing with something significant at any time..."
   "Right, says the guy who just spent quality time in some girl's bedroom." Upon seeing his scowl, she sighed and gave him a flat look. "C'mon, you know me and messing around. Unless she really is someone important..."
   "Mokou, that's a terrible excuse, even for you." Reisen, having just met up with the trio outside before the two of them had come back out, spoke up. "Ken, I heard what happened. I'm glad you and your friend are okay. Not all of Gensokyo is friendly..."
   He looked over to address her concern. "We're fine. Let's not make it more of a deal than it needs to be, please." He felt that now was the best time to take charge, since he had some momentum in conversation. "Mokou, let's be reasonable right now. We could have a huge threat incoming, for all we know."
   Mokou wrinkled her nose. "But that doesn't make sense. If Amarillo and Nue are going to reveal something big at midnight, we'll have to be, you know...alive, to experience it. Last I checked, we can't hear when we die."
   Just then, Hina floated in and landed near them. "Funny how you should say that, Mokou."
   "Er...well, you get what I mean! Anyway, looks like the gang's all here now. So we're supposed to patrol this place and watch for that Amarillo girl? What about Nue?" She rubbed her hands together. "I'm almost eager to see how they plan on dropping us all. I'd like to see them try."
   Ken was reminded of something. "Speaking of that, I think Nue might have been here. Mayli said--"
   Mokou eyed the girl behind him suspiciously. "Wait, her name is Mayli?" Why was that familiar to her? It must've been something years ago, she thought. "Well whatever. She your girlfriend, or something?"
   Having gotten used to Mokou's antics and anticipated this, he spoke up before the student behind him could object. "No. In fact, I don't know her too well. She's studying at school and I would grade her homework sometimes, that's all."
   Mokou's smile widened. "Heh, two smart kids in a pod." Upon seeing Ken shoot a fierce look her way, she dropped the subject. "So what's this about Nue, huh? Spill the beans."
   Mayli stepped forward, not about to appear weak. "Well, right before I almost got EATEN ALIVE by youkai earlier..."
   The fire mage's eyes widened. "Oh, THAT'S what happened?! You should have said so earlier! " She turned to Sakuya and Sanae. "Why didn't you tell me that?!"
   Arms folded, Sakuya responded calmly. "It wasn't supposed to be a big deal, so we kept quiet about it."
   Sanae nodded, but before she could say anything, she got a good look at the woman she had rescued. "Mayli, huh? You look kinda familiar..."
   The student continued. "Um, yes...but about Nue..."
   Ken nodded once. "Let her finish first."
   "Right. So, before I got in trouble, I saw this girl with short black hair leaving the Village. She definitely wasn't human. Um, she had these red and blue wing-like things on her back...and she carried something in her hands, maybe a weapon or something. And she was flying, too."
   Hina stopped twiddling her hair and looked up. "That sounds like Nue to me."
   "I had never seen her before, so I followed her but she flew away so quickly. Before I knew it, I was pretty far outside the Village and then..."
   Sakuya cleared her throat. "Then those youkai got you."
   "Y-Yeah. But, I lost track of her before I got trapped. She flies quickly..."
   "She can also transform at will," Reisen added. "She is an expert at hiding...she can even assume the form of someone else you know. Truly a master of disguises."
   "Ha, maybe." Mokou put her hands back on her hips. She actually found Keine's clothes comfortable. Perhaps they accentuated her in a way she had not expected. "But Nue can't use our powers if she transforms into someone, and that's how you can tell if it's a fake or not."
   "I guess so." Ken had never encountered Nue before. Perhaps he had once or twice before without even knowing it. She didn't seem like someone who came out in the open often. "But what was Nue doing here in the first place?"
   Mokou looked at Mayli. "Yeah, and are you absolutely sure you saw someone who looked just like that? What would Nue need to do here?"
   The Chief Maid cleared her throat again. "Perhaps she was passing through. We're probably overthinking this."
   "Well still, it's possible that she did something here," Hina objected. "Maybe we should just take a look around to see if anything look suspicious."
   Mayli's face blanched. "What if Nue is here right now, pretending to be someone..." That was such a powerful ability, she thought. It was truly frightening to think about...
   Ken raised his hands. They needed to be productive somehow. "Okay, let's not theorize too much. Yes, Nue could be here, but worrying about it isn't going to solve anything. We could theorize until the cows come home, but we have to focus on what we need to do. Personally, I agree with what Hina said. Mokou, you're going to stay here for the rest of the day, right?"
   "Of course, I got nothin' better to do." She grinned again. "Except maybe trick you with my appearance."
   He groaned and continued. "Yes, we all know how similar you look to Keine." He turned to Sakuya. "Sakuya, your mistress has tasked you with staying here, right?"
   "Yes, I will watch out for Amarillo as Mistress requested," Sakuya said coolly, offhandedly throwing a knife up into the air every so often.
   "That's good. Reisen...do you--"
   The rabbit's ears rose when he mentioned her name. "Hmm, yeah. I'll help, seeing as I can't really sell medicine given what's going on."
   "Thanks." He turned to Hina. "You don't have to get involved in this if you don't want to, Hina...this is a Human Village issue, after all. Heck, maybe Nitori needs your help."
   To his surprise, she shook her head. "Nitori asked me to stay here and help the humans." Smiling, she twirled around once and stopped. "Besides, perhaps you didn't know this, but I aid humans in my own special way. They are my friends. But..." She looked into his eyes. "How did you know I wasn't a human?"
   "Uh...since you called me 'human' when I first saw you, I just assumed you weren't one..."
   "Mhmm, well you were right. And yes, I'll help. Nitori should be fine, I trust that she can do what needs to be done to reverse the reversed waterfall."
   "Great then. What about you, Sanae?" He looked to the wind priestess.
   She was twirling her gohei. "Oh, yes. I am here to do some investigating and--" She gave Mayli a quick glance. "And to exterminate any youkai out of place, I guess."
   "Sanae." Mayli couldn't contain it any more. "Do you remember me?"
   "Hmm..." Sanae looked at her carefully. "Not off the top of my head, but you do look kind of familiar."
   Ken interrupted. "Okay, well how about you two can go together and catch up, since you two apparently know each other."
   "No!" Mayli interjected suddenly, causing some of them to jump a bit. She looked back at Ken. "I mean..."
   Mokou stopped playing with the paper charms on her pants and looked up. "Oh, is there something going on that we don't know about?"
   "It's not that. I just...you know, I--"
   Sanae walked over and cheerfully patted her head. "Don't worry, I understand." She looked at Ken. "I think she wants you to come along too."
   "Actually," he began as he looked at Mayli and then Sanae, "I was going to ask if I could come with you two for a while anyway." He was curious to watch them interact, and he could also tell that Mayli knew he wanted to know more about her relationship with Sanae anyway.
   "Boo, no fair! I wanted to part--to make fun of you." Mokou spat on the ground to the side. "Guess I'll just try to get the maid to show any kind of emotion, if she has any."
   Sakuya brushed her apron off with both hands. "Very well, let's take a look around."
   Hina and Reisen turned to each other. "I guess we can watch for anything suspicious," Reisen said. It probably made sense that the humans paired up anyway, she thought.
   He turned away from watching Mokou and Sakuya walk away to look at them. "Reisen, are you sure? I don't mind tagging along if you want..."
   The rabbit shook her head. "Nah, go ahead. I need to talk to Hina about something, anyway."
   Cocking her head at Reisen, the goddess of misfortune wondered what it was, and then remembered what she had seen them do earlier. She guessed that was probably it. "Ah, yes. Let's go then."
   With a twirl, she started flying in a different direction, Reisen following behind on foot.
   
----------
   
   Ken took a deep breath and let it out, putting his left hand on his hip. "That takes care of that, I guess."
   "Heh, good going. You sound like a natural-born leader," Sanae said as she took to the air, hovering above the ground.
   He ran his fingers through his hair. "You think so? I just figured that we need to do this in an organized way, so yeah." His eyes darted to Mayli and back without her noticing. "So, shall we? The others already went this way and that way..." He pointed with both hands in their general directions. "So let's take the other half of the Village."
   Sanae floated beside them as the three started off at a moderate pace. "Nice to see you again, by the way."
   "Oh...yeah, well met. It's been a while. Thanks for the help earlier."
   "Psh, it was nothing." The priestess set her sights on Mayli, who was walking on his other side. "Say, Mayli?" She landed and walked over as they stopped.
   "Sanae..." Mayli habitually clasped her hands together.
   "Are you...I mean, a few years ago, I think...I found someone being attacked near the Moriya Shrine. She was beset by youkai and--well, it wasn't a pretty sight, but...you look kinda like her, just saying."
   The artistic student was delightfully pleased, and a big smile spread across her face. "Yes! That was me. I'm so glad you remembered!"
   Ken fought back a laugh. If only Sanae knew what she was to Mayli, she might be a bit disturbed. But knowing Sanae, she'd probably be fine with it or even thrilled to have a fan. More faith was probably a top priority for the shrine maiden, which reminded him of something else. Where was Reimu in all this? Surely she ought to be doing something, especially given the potential danger.
   Sanae grinned, and he thought he saw her eyes twinkle. She embraced Mayli as the latter ran up to hug her. "Haha, well I'll be darned! I guess Gensokyo's a smaller world than I keep thinking. Looks like you made a good recovery since then."
   "Yeah...thanks so much, Sanae~" She felt quite safe and snug in the presence of both of them, and she was relieved that Sanae remembered her. "Um, do you mind visiting my house--I mean, my room sometime? I want to show you something I think you'll like!"
   "Oh, sure!" Sanae patted her on the back. "Maybe I should come here more often, I probably need more interaction anyway."
   "Heh." He couldn't help but smile. Mayli probably needed this, and he was glad at least something had worked out well today. "I'm sure you could gather some extra faith here at the Village too. We could use some youkai protection, as well."
   She looked somewhat disappointed. "Ah, but why can't you do it? You're probably good enough...aren't ya?"
   Mayli finally let go and stepped back. "Well, Ken's pretty strong, but I don't think he's--I mean..." She looked over at him.
   "Don't worry, it's true. I'm still training. Learning magic is pretty tough but I think I'm getting the hang of it well enough. Reisa's been helping too."
   Reisa.
   Where was she? He hadn't seen her in a while. His mind raced, trying to remember the last time he saw her. This had been such a mixed-up, ridiculously packed day that it was escaping him. She was at the Village when they arrived earlier...or was she not with them?
   "Ken, you all right?" Sanae waved a hand in front of his face.
   He blinked several times. "Mmm, I guess. I should probably look for Reisa though." She couldn't have wandered far, he thought.
   "Let's look together, okay?" Mayli had calmed down after her fangirly moment. "Reisa is that one fairy that visits you occasionally, right?"
   "Yeah, how'd you know?" He started walking slowly, and the other two followed suit.
   She instinctively reached to push her glasses up, but then realized that she had left them at home in her excitement. "Oh, I see her sometimes around your place when I walk home after finishing class."
   "Really? I didn't know she was there. Maybe she's..." Suddenly his mind drew a blank. What would she be doing there at that time? "Honestly, I didn't know she was hanging out in front of my house in the afternoon. Usually my magic lessons are in the morning when I'm fully refreshed."
   "What does this Reisa look like?" Sanae asked.
   "Oh, she's a lightning fairy, so kind of on the small side with wings and the whole fairy deal. She has long purple hair."
   "Hehe, so basically a fairy version of Patchouli. I bet she's cute~" Sanae winked.
   He drummed his fingers on the hilt of his sword. "I guess so. Which is ironic, considering Lady Patchouli sent her over at Keine's request to help me learn magic. I really appreciate Reisa's help, so I should probably return the favor at some point. Huh?" Suddenly he realized that they had walked in a circle; they were back in front of Mayli's house.
   She had realized it too; they had gone around a small neighborhood...or at least, what could be called one. "Oh..."
   "Hmm?" Sanae looked at them. "What's wrong?"
   "Nothing! We just walked in a circle, somehow." Mayli paused. Maybe this was a good time to ask. "Sanae, do you want to see my room right now? I really want to show it to you."
   "Er, I guess so, if it's quick. Why, is this your place?" It was just an apartment.
   Mayli bit her lip. "Yeah...I don't have a big place, just a bedroom and a bathroom. Oh, and I share a kitchen with everyone else there. But, I really want to just show you my place."
   Ken felt pretty bad. Here he was living in a near full-size house of his own...and here was Mayli, who only had a single room to herself? Was Keine just giving him better treatment? Why did no one else live with him? "Um, Mayli?"
   She turned around, her chocolate-colored eyes looking into his. "Ken?"
   "Ah, nothing. You two go on ahead, I'll stay out here." He turned away from them.
   "Don't worry, I think he has something on his mind." Sanae put her hands on Mayli's shoulders and steered her back towards her house. "Hey, show me your place now."
   The artist was concerned, but decided to take advantage of this opportunity to entertain her hero. "Okay. Here, follow me up the steps."

----------

Ken sighed as he practiced sword stances near Mayli's apartment complex. It was getting quite dark. There were too many thoughts surging through his mind. He turned around and--

*BUMP*

"Ah!" He recoiled in surprise as he had run into something. Looking up, he saw that it was Sakuya. "S-Sorry...I didn't see you." She must have appeared right behind him that one second he was turned around.
   "No problem. I think I got too close."
   "Okay..." That was a relief. Wait, where was Mokou? He looked around, but didn't see her anywhere nearby. Sakuya was busy looking at his sword. "Um, what are you..."
   "Oh. I was looking at your blade. It seems a bit familiar to me, so I wanted to get a closer look."
   "Is that so? Sure, you can look at it if you want." He was reluctant to give it to her, even though she could be trusted. Keine had told him to never give it to anyone, not even her, even though she had given it to him. He couldn't figure out what was so special about it. "Sakuya, have you seen this sword before or something?"
   She noticed that he maintained a firm grip on the sword the whole time she was inspecting the carving in the blade part. "This sword...I'm fairly certain I have seen it before, but...where?" She was drawing a blank, and it frustrated her. It had been right on the tip of her tongue, too.
   He shrugged. "I don't know, your guess is as good as mine."
   "Who gave it to you? Was it Miss Kamishirasawa?"
   "Yeah...when I decided to train here, she gave it to me. I figured that it was a bit ornate, but nothing really special."
   She touched the blade, keeping an eye on him the entire time. "This is actual--yes, there's no mistaking it. This is a very valuable sword...but, for the life of me, I cannot remember anything about it. I have seen this sword before somewhere...did Miss Kamishirasawa tell you where she bought it?"
   "Oh. I think she said she got it from the shopkeeper's--"
   "Morichika, then."
   Rinnosuke? He scratched his head and refreshed his grip on the handle. "I suppose." That would make sense, he thought. Perhaps this sword was otherworldly. Items were known to magically drift into this magical world of Gensokyo, and Rinnosuke ended up in possession of many of them. But he had never seen such a sword in the real world, in his past life...
   "May I hold it?" She saw him tense up as soon as the words left her mouth.
   "Sorry, I can't let anyone else hold it." He was firm in his answer, and looked into her eyes with a determined yet apologetic stare. "You above others should understand, I hope."
   "Mmm, yes. That would be directly disobeying orders." She lifted her dress up to reach for a knife in the strap around the top of her left thigh high.
   He looked away instinctively. Was she always so casual about it?
   "My mistake. Does that make you uncomfortable, seeing so much? I don't intend to bother you with it."
   Ken waved his hands in front of himself. "No! I just don't want to be disrespectful by looking..."
   She gave a light, mature laugh. "You're a good man, I don't really care if you see. Besides, most of it is covered by my knives." Throwing a knife into the air, she caught it cleanly between her right index and middle finger. "I appreciate the concern, though. I ought to apologize for nearly killing you when you threatened Mistress."
   "That's--to be honest, ignorance can be punished within reason...actually, it should. I wasn't attentive enough..."
   "Huh? Don't be silly, there's no way you could have known about the Mistress' new ability. Anyway, shouldn't we be watching this place carefully?" She had pulled another knife out, from where he had not a clue.
   "Yeah. But, where did Mokou go? She was with you when you parted."
   "She went to go change into something more appropriate for her than Miss Kamishirasawa's normal outfit, or so she said. I just kept going. But, where are Miss Sanae and Miss Mayli?"
   He pointed towards Mayli's apartment complex. "Erm, Mayli's kind of a big fan of Sanae, so..."
   "Ah, I see. Then, would you like to come with me?" She had her arms crossed, as usual.
   "Well...I didn't tell them I would leave, so I should probably stay here. Sorry."
   "That's fine, I will go find Mokou in the meantime. Keep an eye out."
   He thought he saw her wink as she started to leave. Confused, he shook his head and dismissed the thought as his imagination going wild. That wouldn't ever happen anyway...most likely.
   


9:00 PM - Day 1 - Human Village - Mayli's Bedroom

"Whoa..." Sanae felt flustered and awestruck. There were so many pictures of...of herself! "You drew these?"
   "Well, yeah...do you like them?" Mayli focused all her efforts on looking at Sanae. "I, uh...well..." She lowered her flushed face in embarrassment and excitement.
   Sanae smiled happily and pulled her close. "I'm very impressed, and kinda...embarrassed too, hehe~" She had inspired this woman so much! It made her feel warm and satisfied inside.
   "Maybe this is just fate, but I'm glad I got to see you again, and show you how much I appreciate what you did for me."
   "Hmmm...well, there's no way I can not come here every so often, yeah?" The wind priestess put an arm around her.
   "Hehe, yeah~ But, we should probably get going now, right?" She really loved being around Sanae; she was so easily approachable and friendly. Perhaps someday she could be as extraordinary as her.
   "Yep. But, thank you for showing me your lovely drawings!" She gave Mayli a friendly pat on the shoulder and rubbed it a bit. "Nice to know someone appreciates me so much!"
   As the two headed down the stairs, Sanae felt something odd. She felt a strange connection to this artistic woman in front of her. Unsure of what it meant, she just continued walking down. That was a nice surprise present, but now she had more urgent issues to attend to.



(Notes: Nothing new.)

[Kakyoin]

8:55 PM - Day 1 - Human Village - Outside Mayli's Apartment

Ken's face blanched as he laid eyes upon the girl in front of him. It was her, again! The spoiled one from earlier that day, who had treated him like a servant boy! What was her name again? It was evading him for the moment. "Um...what are you doing here?" he asked, speaking with slight irritation. The last thing he wanted was to have another problem to deal with.
   "Oh." She held a sleeved hand up to her face. "You're from before..."
   "Yes indeed, that would be me. What do you want now?" Was she being innocent on purpose? He wasn't about to believe her acting one bit. "Do you want me to lick your shoes clean now, too? Is that how it works?"
   "Ah...I'm, um...I'm sorry about before, really..." She looked slightly concerned.
   "Yeah, well you should be. I'm not your personal slave." Jeez...barging into his home all for a minor issue...just thinking about it made him angry. He could see why Mokou was annoyed whenever she was around. "Why are you here now?"
   She pondered for a moment before walking closer. He stepped back accordingly, causing her to stop. "Look, I didn't mean to make you clean it..."
   Ken heaved a large sigh. "Then what DID you mean to do?" He was having a tough time imagining a legitimate reason for her to get out of this. "And for that matter, where's--" Who was that woman again? The one who had stopped Mokou and this girl from fighting earlier...oh yes, of course. "Where's your friend Eirin?"
   "Eirin? She's off doing some personal business." She wasn't supposed to say that Eirin was trying to investigate the truth behind what Reimu had told them. Instead, she continued talking about the incident from before. "Anyway, I was going to...talk to you, but then I sensed Mokou nearby and didn't want to start a fight in your house."
   He put one hand on his hip and the other on the handle of his sword. "Hmm...so then, you still haven't answered my question. Why are you here?"
   "Eh? Well...since Eirin is busy, I needed something to kill time. So I came here!" She smiled, showing her perfectly white teeth.
   "Ugh, really? We're in a bit of a situation right now, so now's not the time to play around. I suggest you go elsewhere if you want to be entertained." This was starting to bother him now, but she wasn't doing anything wrong...
   Her expression changed to surprise. "Even here, huh. Is this about the genocide threat?"
   "Yes it is. We could be attacked at any time, for all we know." Still, Mokou was right. How could Amarillo and Nue threaten Gensokyo with genocide, when they were going to reveal something big around midnight? The more he thought about it, the less sense it made. Perhaps it was just a scare tactic. Wait, Nue...suddenly he was worried. "Wait a minute...how do I know you're really you?"
   The girl looked taken aback at first, then smirked. "You think I'm Nue? Please, I'm not that horrible of a being."
   "I don't know if you're telling the truth or not..." His mind was trying to think of a way to figure out if she was Nue. What was this girl's power? He had not a clue, but she seemed to remember the earlier situation. "But, I guess since you seem to remember me from earlier, then you can't be Nue." Eirin and Reisen were with her before, as well, so she was probably the real deal.
   "Mmm, yes. Well as I said, I'm sorry for earlier. I don't usually spend much time outside of Eientei...maybe once every few years or so, and--"
   He raised an eyebrow. Once every few years? Now he was recalling the information Keine told him. This girl was actually Lunarian royalty, seeking refuge with Eirin here. No wonder her behavior was so awkward. "All right, I guess I can forgive you...just be careful, not everyone is willing to put up those kinds of things, even if you might think they're trivial." He was running into quite a few well-respected individuals today. Something was definitely stirring up the fates.
   The girl nodded. "Yeah, so...I just want something to do right now, standing around is so boring." She felt like she could trust him, since he was close to Keine. "What're you up to here, anyw--"
   Suddenly, a large fireball soared over their heads. She screamed in surprise and ducked as it burned loudly and crashed nearby.

*KABOOM*

"KAGUYA!" A voice boomed out as Mokou, having set herself ablaze, was hovering menacingly in the air.
   Kaguya calmly stood back up and grinned up at Mokou as she herself took to the air. "Mokou...how expected." She could tell Mokou wasn't about to listen to anything she said. "Like always, eh...fine then! One shall stand..." Kaguya began glowing as a light blue aura engulfed her. "...and one shall fall!"
   Unfazed, Mokou returned the grin. She took great pleasure in the anticipation before battle. Beating up Kaguya in front of this guy would be her pleasure. "You fool! Why throw away your life so recklessly?!"
   Kaguya laughed joyously. Humiliating Mokou would be a real treat. "That's a question you should ask yourself, you outcast!"
   Mokou roared in anger. Her voice sounded otherworldly as she was assimilated into a flaming phoenix. She prepared to fly straight into her opposition. "RAAARGH! I'LL CRUSH YOU WITH MY BARE HANDS!"
   Kaguya assumed a stance and prepared a counter spell. Mokou would likely try to overpower her in close combat, and she couldn't let that happen. She tensed up as Mokou started rushing towards her...
   Out of nowhere, a torrent of water surged over Mokou. She gasped and stopped mid-flight as a loud hissing noise filled the air; it was the water interacting with her fire. Spluttering and coughing, she gradually lowered herself to the ground. "...the hell..." Looking over, she saw where the water came from. "KEN! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"
   Ken lowered his hands and opened his eyes. His head hurt, but he had accomplished what he wanted. If they hadn't insulted each other, he probably wouldn't have had enough time to cast that. "Mokou! No fighting right now...urgh..." His knees felt weak, and he kneeled on the ground. He knew he had exhausted himself doing that. I still have a long way to go to learn magic properly, he thought.
   "Tsk..." Kaguya also lowered herself, her flowing hair now settling calmly once more onto her back. Beating Mokou unfairly would leave a bad taste in her mouth. "You live for today. I pity you, being so dependent on fire..."
   "Go to hell, you fiend!" Mokou snarled back as she dried herself with fire in her hands. "I don't want your pity!"
   Getting back up, he looked at both of them. "Stop this nonsense! I don't care how much you two hate each other. We don't have time for this..."
   "He's right, you know." Kaguya stood over Mokou looking victorious. "This is an exciting time for me! How dare you try to ruin it!"
   "The heck?" Mokou glared back as she stood back up to full height. "Exciting time for YOU? What are you doing out of your cage anyway, little birdie? Did your Lunarian lover loosen your leash?"
   The princess' face flushed, and she gritted her teeth. "Wha--how dare you! Eirin isn't--"
   "ENOUGH!" Ken stepped in and gently pushed them apart. "If you fight any more, you'll have Keine to deal with!" He hoped that was a good enough threat.
   Kaguya looked particularly miserable. She couldn't let Mokou win, but Keine was a problem. "Where is Keine, anyway? I thought she'd be here..."
   "Keine is busy investigating the situation, with Remilia. Ugh..." His legs felt weak again.
   "Hmm..." To his surprise, Kaguya reached out and helped him stay standing. "You don't look so good. Looks like you could use some rest."
   Mokou stared with her mouth open in surprising disgust. No way could she let Kaguya get away with this! "Oi, get your hands off of him!"
   Kaguya immediately stuck her tongue out. "Why? I'm just trying to be helpful. Besides, you should probably change clothes before I make fun of you more~"
   "Eh...!" Mokou realized that since she had changed out of Keine's clothes, she wasn't wearing much now--and it was all wet. "Ghh!" Embarrassed, she covered herself. "Wait, what are you going to do with him?!"
   Kaguya winked at her rival. "I'd worry more about the people behind you."
   "Huh?" The fire mage turned around to see Mayli and Sanae watching them with amused looks on their faces. Her own face flushed. "Oh...uh, hello there, hehe."
   Sanae sighed. "Don't tell me you were fighting again...honestly, we have enough to worry about already!" Without Keine around, trying to keep Mokou in line was difficult, it seemed.
   Mokou turned around and stared daggers into Kaguya's back as she walked away with Ken. That filthy girl was trying to play the heroine and earn good favor! "You'll get what's coming to you, Kaguya..." she muttered under her breath before turning back to Sanae and Mayli. "Er, I can explain this..."



(Notes: Acquired Kaguya, may be dropping Hina in the near future.)

[Kakyoin]

'Twas the night before Christmas, and on the west coast,
Not a creature was stirring, except one with a post!

9:15 PM - Day 1 - Human Village - Outside Mayli's Apartment

Sanae laughed and patted Mokou's clothed, wet shoulder. "Don't worry, you should probably just go get changed."
   Groaning again, the soaked mage pulled herself away. Her arms were diagonally crossed over her chest, her hands defensively on her shoulders. "I'm fine! Don't touch me." Muttering a few curses as she walked away, she beat a somewhat hasty retreat towards Keine's house.
   "All right, jeez. So..." Sanae turned to face her remaining company. "Have you ever flown before?"
   Mayli's cheerful face dissolved into confusion. "What? F-Flown? You mean, like in an airplane?"
   It was Sanae's turn to look puzzled. "What? There are no airplanes in Gensokyo. I meant you yourself, in the air, flying around. Don't they teach that kind of thing in school?"
   "I don't...I mean, I don't have wings or magic or any of that, so of course not. Our school here isn't for magicians or anything like that, it's just a typical school..."
   "I see..." She had only been joking about that, anyway. "Well then, I'm going to make some rounds around this place." She began hovering above the ground, her feet unmoving. "You want to try it out?"
   "Me? But I told you, I can't--"
   Sanae extended a hand. "Mayli, don't say you can't, that it's impossible. I can help you! Here, hold on..."
   The student eventually reached out and took the shrine maiden's warm hand. Her face felt abnormally hot despite the low temperature outside. "All right..."
   

   
9:13 PM - Day 1 - Human Village - Inside Ken's House

He winced as he sat down at one of the kitchen chairs. This headache was killing him. Still, he didn't expect Kaguya to help him out. He looked over at her as she flopped down on the couch, looking rather comfortable already. He used to be more carefree like that when he was younger. But that was then and this was now.
   "Hey, this is a pretty nice place. And you live here yourself, huh?" The Lunarian princess smoothed her sleeves and continued. "Looks like you hit the jackpot."
   "Yeah, I guess you could say that. I mean, I didn't ask for this or anything, but..."
   He paused as Kaguya immediately froze in place, watching as she carefully looked around the room. What was the matter now? It was only the two of them here. His muscles tensed, then relaxed as he closed his eyes to the pain. His head throbbed. Still, he had done what needed to be done, so it was worth it.
   "Hmm..." She seemed to relax once more. "Sorry, I just had this feeling that someone I know is in here."
   "That's...no problem, then. But, why did you help me back there?"
   She wore an emotionless expression. "What do you mean?"
   "You helped me get here."
   "Oh, pfft. That's hardly anything. I just didn't wanna be--" She cleared her throat. "I don't want you to think I'm some sort of terrible being...I bet Mokou already laid down the law as to what kind of awful beast I am."
   "Actually," he interjected, "Mokou didn't say much about you other than expressing very clearly her, erm...dislike of you." Kaguya wasn't too bad, he thought, just probably misunderstood. He couldn't let Mokou's bias interfere, that wasn't the way of the Human Village as Keine wished it. "For the record, I'd say you two are pretty similar, actually..."
   Her face blanched. "You can't be serious! I'm nothing like--well, I guess it takes one to know one..." She bit on her right sleeve, which was held up to her face out of habit.
   He let out a soft, dry chuckle. "Well either way, thanks for the help."
   "Naw, you stopped Mokou, or at least surprised her enough to get her to lay off. I was a little impressed. I didn't think a human from here could use magic."
   He groaned, not from her assumption but from another head throbbing. Still, the pain was going away ever so slowly. "I'm such an amateur though, I got a long way to go..."
   She smiled, looking somewhat amused. "Not bad though. No wonder Keine chose you."
   He closed his eyes. Mokou had said something similar...right? He tried to recall it, but the statement eluded him. It had been a long day and it wasn't over yet. He responded in a habitual fashion. "We'll see."
   "Hey, so let's talk about something else. Hrmmm...oh!" Her eyes settled on the music player sitting on the table in front of her. "This is..."
   He raised an eyebrow and proceeded to explain what it was to her.
   "I see...we have something similar at our place, I think." She slid her shoes off casually and rested her feet on the couch. "Say, got any computer stuff here?"
   He blinked in disbelief. "What?" She had just said...he had not heard of nor seen a computer in years, since he had come to Gensokyo! What did she know about them?
   "I said, got any--"
   "No, I heard what you said. But, what do you know about computers? I thought they only existed in my world..."
   She seemed puzzled. Looking away momentarily, she responded with lower volume. "What, it's just a computer..."
   He could hardly believe his ears. Perhaps his seclusion in the Village was finally showing. There were computers in this world, too!
   She looked back. "I mean, not like everyone has one or something, but still..."
   "Kaguya!" His face had changed to show fierce focus.
   "Wh-what? Jeez, don't look so scary! Now, what's this about another world? You weren't born in Gensokyo?" She was starting to understand why Keine had taken interest in him. He wasn't a typical human.
   He dismissed the thought of using a computer for now. "I should probably explain who I am then, huh."
   Her face lit up. She loved hearing stories. "Sure. But I think it's only fair that I explain who I am in return."
   He scowled, feeling slightly offended. "What? Of course I know who you are. Kaguya Houraisan, the Lunarian Princess living here in exile from the moon."
   She opened her mouth to respond, but nothing came out. Instead, she gave a sheepish grin. "I guess you learned about me in school, huh?"
   "Keine told me who you were and why you were important." Even now, he was surprised that he was speaking so casually to THE Kaguya, the same one Keine had talked about.
   "Really now...then, what did she say about Mokou?"
   "Mokou?" He paused to think. Nothing was coming to him. In fact, as far as he could remember, Keine had only told him that Mokou was a human and a friend, and could be trusted. "Not much, why?"
   "Ah, nothing." She sat up and tilted her head slightly until her neck popped. "So, just who are you, huh?"
   He smiled for the first time since he had come back to his home. "Well..."


(Notes: Nothing new. But, Merry Christmas! And if you don't like Merry Christmas, then Happy Holidays!)

[Nemo★Ma]

9:30 pm, Amarillo’s hut near the Forest of Magic[/b]
Amarillo and all fairies that she could manage to summon were now in the hut, sitting around one table, making the hut seems rather crowded.

Some of the fairies didn’t respond to her, and she knows perfectly the reason why. However, she spent 2 full hours explaining to the others why they cannot assemble a fairy army.

“As long as it’s not because you cannot control us anymore, I’m fine with that.” Lily Black responded. “Not that there isn’t anything weird going on at Higan, so it makes perfect sense.”

“So you mean aside from us, everybody else is losing their mind?” asked Lunachild. “Come to think of it, the other fairies in the forest are behaving out of order these days...”

Her words got cut off by Sunny Milk. “If they aren’t having a mind anymore, won’t Amarillo have an easier time controlling them?”

“Nope, ” Amarillo finished reading the newspaper - a Special Edition of Bunbunmaru news that talks about the meeting that’s supposed to happen several hours later - and looked up. “Actually, it’s because they lost their mind that I cannot reach out to them. You will know the truth pretty soon. ” She nervously avoided Sunny’s stare. “Or what’s left of the truth, anyway.”

“Oh?” A voice can be heard just outside the door. “Since when did the protector of fairies, the one who has faith in everyone, Amarillo Viridian, have doubts?” As the voice became louder, Nue opened the unlocked door (it’s never locked anyway) and walked in.

“She’s scary...” Daiyousei murmured, looking at the Youkai of Unknown. “so we’ll work with her this time?”

Amarillo nodded.

“Young girl, sometimes blood must be shed if you want something done. I understand you don’t want to hurt anyone, but that’s all right, that’s why I, the strongest-”

“Cut it out already! You really sound like a certain fairy....” Amarillo noticed that Cirno was not there. “Shoot, where did she wander off again...Gale-chan?”
Daiyousei nodded and rushed out.

“Oh, I see you still have your personality and usual behavior..” Nue sat down at the chair Daiyousei had vacated. “That’s a good sign, you see. This time we may need to persuade them by force, and me and my friend will do it for you. There is no need for you to see the blood spill, really.”

“And why do you always say that like a massacre--” Amarillo was interrupted as the door got pushed open again, and another youkai appeared.

If Nue can be said to be an athletic type, then this Youkai is more like a scholar - not that every scholar has a bottle of sake readily equipped on her belt, that is. However, the vibe she let out and the glasses made her a much friendlier one at firs sight than Nue.

“Mamizou?” Amarillo seemed to recognize her.

The youkai’s name is Mamizou Futatsuiwa. It’s difficult for Amarillo to NOT recognize her anyway: she is the kind of youkai that seems more suitable to barter with the human shop owners in the Human Village. Obviously, Amarillo didn’t know if she used her tanuki tricks to make the shop owner give her free discounts, but still, she would get along pretty well with people. Now why did she have anything in this?

Reading Amarillo’s confusion, Mamizou smiled. “Well, it seems that there are people who boast their strength to everybody...even though she should be living up to her nickname.” she glares at Nue, who seems to ignoring what she just said. “However, Amarillo-san, I understand you want to be willfully weak in order to hide from conflicts, but sometimes this just won’t do. People aren’t as nice as they seem. You are one special case because...” she stopped, trying to find the words she need.

“So you found out that I’m different than most people. Never mind, I don’t care about that anymore, please treat me as only a pacifist.” Amarillo said without any visible emotion.

“Whatever, the important thing is that words don’t always work. that’s why Nue offered her help, because we sensed something was wrong with Gensokyo already. Hey, give me your hand.”

Mamizou took Amarillo’s hand and wrote something on it using her fingers.

“So we are thinking the same.” Amarillo replied slowly. “I’ve already asked Nitori to confirm that...”

“And what are you expecting?” Mamizou took off her glasses.

“Expecting? No, didn’t everything already happen?” She looked up at the tanuki. “You don’t need to take off your glasses to show you are serious, it’s only used in some fanfiction nowadays.”

“That’s what I like about her,” Mamizou turned to Nue, “She is stressing, but there are always ways that she will use to stop herself from breaking down. As long as it doesn’t involve hurting people - You said she’s weak? No, she is actually stronger in many aspects.”

“Okay, enough lessons for me.” Nue answered curtly in a flat tone. “You kept saying that on your way here.”

“And that’s because it’s important! Yo don’t want to have to fight your way out of everything!” Mamizou put her hand down on Nue’s head and gave it a pat, which was quite awkward judging from the fairies’ reactions.

Amarillo seems realized something, and stood up.

“Hm, something happening with Cirno?” asked Nue.

“How did you know that?”

“It’s written all over your face.”

“Actually, something weird is going on at the Misty Lake. The fairies just flat out disappeared, but Cirno on the other hand is still there, and now they are heading back,” explained Amarillo as the other fairies made way for her to step out.

“So be it. Nitori can come at any time, there is no need to know the results anymore, since now everything is so easy to see through. The only thing is, can the others believe in us?” Amarillo thought.

And then, she indeed saw Nitori running to her, together with Daiyousei and Cirno.

“So what now?” Amarillo asked, and for a spilt second she wished that the kappa would pass on a different answer to her question. Like that was going to happen.

“Yeah, it’s there... and I found something more interesting on that site,” Nitori mentioned.

Things were indeed more than they seemed. After hearing what Nitori had to say, Amarillo quickly returned to the hut. Looking at the time, it was already 10pm.

“The miracle didn’t happen, correct?” she found Mamizou and Nue still waiting for her, “I can contact more of our friends if you desire it. I promise if they don’t move first, we won’t either. Let’s give them a chance there, shall we?”

Amarillo replied nothing, yet instead moved to take off a white-colored trench coat hanging on the wall (which seemed like it had been hanging there forever). The fairies looked at that coat in curiously, but all they could see was a gear-shaped label with the letters “GA-04” on it, and a four-leaf clover design on the back.

“I never thought I would need to use this again...” muttered Amarillo.

“The memory of the past? I see the boy in your mind had a similar coat...” Nue’s words got cut off by a second glare from Mamizou.

To their surprise, instead of wearing the coat, Amarillo just folded it and put it in the bag (which she used to contain her fishing gear - now it’s certainly not a time to go fishing though).

“What are we waiting for? Let’s go.”

11:00pm, Hakurei Shrine[/b]
“What, they had something like that handy?” Though she had already heard the details from Nitori earlier, Amarillo was still amazed at the black, box-like device, cleverly disguised as a nameplate, at the back of the shrine grounds. “Okay Nitori, now probe it again...”

As Nitori got out her tools and applied some energy to it, the edge of the shrine ground began to have a shade of pink spreading out.

“So this is the border...” Amarillo mused.
“And this is what you were going to show us?” Asked Reimu, seemingly coming from nowhere.

“I have been following you for hours, but strangely you don’t show any intention to fight, that is...” Reimu stopped, as if the shrine maiden was thinking of something. “No, it’s more like I KNEW that you wouldn’t fight us, though I still can’t believe you bested me in a danmaku battle...”

“That’s because you had doubt.” Amarillo looked at the shrine maiden. “So I see you have grasped the truth that the Gensokyo you are supposed to guard is more than it seems. That...”

“You are saying that I failed my job? Honestly....” Reimu shifted her eyesight on the expanding pink barrier. “You know, in my memory, the Hakurei Barrier is never something like that...so yeah.”

“So what’s the point of following me if you knew I wasn’t gonna fight you anyway?” asked Amarillo.

“Well, at first I did think you were going to kill us all with Nue your other friends, but then Mikata seemed to remember something and told me that you wouldn’t hurt anyone. Then I realized the same thing. But thanks to that tengu, you may find out that some of us won’t let you get away without a fight.” Reimu let out a laugh. “See, I’m not the police around here.”

“So there is no way but fighting, even when there is absolutely zero sense to it?” Amarillo gave Nitori a signal as she stopped pouring the energy into her tools, and the strange pink border disappeared quickly.

“Before that, let me ask you something. What exactly did I just see?”

“The truth.”

A commanding silence quickly fell over all in the area.

“You aren’t implying that...” Reimu reached out her hand, but it was stopped by Amarillo.

“Yes, this Gensokyo, or the place that we know as Gensokyo, isn’t really what it seems.” Amarillo looked at the border, which was now only a grey wall beyond the edge of the backyard shrine grounds. “It seems there is something else that’s caught our attention. If this border detects anyone trying to destroy it, it will initiate a mechanism that we don’t really know about at the moment.”

“You mean it will fight back?”

“That’s one of the possibilities, however, worse would happen.”

“Sorry to cut you short, but it’s almost midnight. I’m starting to see people coming to the shrine from afar,” said Star Sapphire, who was currently on the top of the huge tree in the backyard they were standing in.

“Now what do we do?” Reimu asked in a somewhat demanding tone. “You keep talking about this truth thing, what are you implying?”

“I mean, we need to somehow smash this border. The truth lies beyond it, and-”

Reimu smiled. “Heh, I understood that. You are still the bad guy for tonight - if you think that this border needs to be smashed open with people’s strength, then just telling them to do so won’t work, not on my  life! So yeah, prepare for a fight, and hope that the energy generated with that fight can somehow smash the border without triggering whatever you are fearing. As long as I know no one will be fatally injured, I can work out a way to somehow minimize the violence needed.” As Reimu said, she turned away and left, probably to greet the incoming early birds.

“So we need to fight then? Good thing I can finally show them how strong I am!” Cirno said as she appeared from behind, with the other fairies nodding their heads.

“With that being said, where are Mamizou and Nue? We didn’t see them once we got here.”

“They are high above us in the sky with me.” Lily Black’s voice echoed via telepathy. “We didn’t expect things to turn up like this, as the shrine maiden for once actually listened to you. But a fight is a fight, and we’ll move once they moved first, as promised.”

“Fine by me.” Amarillo opened the bag and took out her trench coat, slowly putting it on. “Haven’t used this  in nearly 10 years. I don’t know what will happen to me if I’m forced to fight, but if anything happened to me, don’t mind me and just escape with the others. ”

“You mean you’ll got killed out there?” Cirno looked at her with a confused face. “But we’ll be here to protect you! So don’t worry.”

“Thanks, but I’m not referring to our opponent. Tonight... my biggest enemy is myself.”

She could hear Reimu’s voice coming from the front of the Shrine, assuring that everything was settled, but there was still something else to be revealed. Amarillo wondered who was already at the front gate.

But soon she got her answer, as Eirin and Remilia stepped in.

“So I heard something unusual is at the backyard, and only you can explain it.” Eirin started.

“Yes, but I’m afraid it’s-”

“It’s nothing. If we somehow know what that incident is, maybe we can solve it in these few days. After all, destiny is not something that cannot be changed.” Remilia added with a slight smirk.

“Okay Nitori, give it 50% energy.” Amarillo looked back and gave Nitori yet another signal.

The black nameplate started to grow pink, and a pink border was quickly generated.

“Hmm, I have never saw something like that before. It’s certainly not something from the Moon.” Eirin put up something resembling a pair of glasses, and began closely inspecting it.

Remilia on the other hand had just called Sakuya over, who was apparently waiting just outside the backyard. The vampire told her something, then left.

“Hmm? Where is she going?” Eirin asked as she finished the inspection and saw the young vampire taking off.

“I’m sorry, but Milady Remilia forbids me from telling you. The Mistress only said she has something very important to do, and told me to stay here with everyone and help out as necessary. To tell the truth, I’m pretty worried about them too.” Sakuya answered.

Suddenlyu, Reimu came in yet again. “Hey, guess what? Your time is up, and soon everyone will be at the shrine grounds. I hope you are prepared.”

“Hmph, so be it.” Amarillo nodded and let Reimu open the two-fold shrine backdoor so the others outside the shrine could see what was going on.

“So a big crisis is going to happen in Gensokyo? Yukari is nowhere to be found, Reimu can’t provide anything, and a certain tengu has been spreading news that you guys are gonna commit genocide - well, I don’t believe in any of it!” The voice was Marisa’s, but her questioning came to a halt when she saw the growing pink border.

Not only her, but all humans and youkai, be it creatures from the Youkai Mountian, the Misty Lake, the Bamboo Forest (though strangely, Amarillo didn’t see any of the rabbits) and some villagers from the Human Village....

It seemed that really everybody was here. And they were waiting peacefully but anxiously for the explanation they deserved.

“Luna, please let my voice be heard clearly to everybody, thanks,” Amarillo muttered, and the fairy reached out her hand so Amarillo could hold it.

“Ok....well...” She was never too good at these large announcements. “firstly, does anyone here actually know me?” Amarillo looked at everyone standing outside the gate, and asked this question.

“I certainly know you, since you live close.” Marisa grinned. “Not that you got anything that’s interesting.”

Amarillo quickly stopped her. “And how do you know that I don’t have anything that’s interesting to you?”

“Well, that’s because you....yeah that’s weird, something is telling me that you won’t have any magic books in your house...but to live in the Forest of Magic, one ought to have something like these, since only Magicians...Wait, that means you are a magician?”

“Well, I’m certainly not, and you know it.” Amarillo replied. “Does anyone remember who I am?”

“I know you, since you are the Fairy Commander. I interviewed you!” shouted Aya, who is standing in the back but is clearly using her advantage to fly to see over people. “Though what’s strange is that it didn’t show up in any of my newspapers. Maybe it’s too boring and got shot down.”

“And I know you as well, since you give me your weapon for me to mend, remember?” Nitori’s voice came from behind.

“Oh, what weapon is it?” asked Amarillo.

“You are doubting my memory? It’s a beam spear, fused with your fishing rod.”

“But she uses a beam saber! We all saw it in action before!” shouted Marisa.

Amarillo stared back at the talkative human magician. “And when did you see me use a saber? I fought with the spear this morning, mind you.”

“So, ” Reimu said, “Do you mean that some of our memories got blurred because of this...this pink border?”

“I.... no, you should see that for yourself. Nitori, raise the energy to 90%.”

The kappa blanched. “But it will trigger the unknown mechanism!”

“Erm, then just set it to some level that won’t trigger it.” Amarillo looked up as the pink border expanded through the walls, the forests and everything around it, eventually growing into the sky. As the border expanded, its color becomes less identifiable, but it was clearly moving to swallow all of Gensokyo, with the backyard they were currently acting as a cornerstone of the border zone.

“But that’s impossible! The Hakurei Shrine is supposed to be located at the center of Gensokyo, not the corner of it!” exclaimed Reimu.

“That only means two things: Firstly, this is NOT the Hakurei Border,” Amarillo answered. “And secondly, I’m afraid that this entire Gensokyo, this world, is our dream. It seems that recently, the dream world began to bend itself by spawning holes and bugs in it.”

“Like the reversed waterfall?!” Keine asked, speaking for the first time.

“Oh, so you have been there too. Yes, that’s because something is wrong with this.” She pointed to the black nameplate, which is generating the pink barrier.

“Heh, if it’s this that’s generating everything strange, then we’ll need to destroy it.” As she spoke, Sakuya swiftly threw a knife at the nameplate.

To everyone’s surprise, the knife got cut in half and fell to the ground. The wooden nameplate seemed unchanged.

“Didn’t I just say what is happening a few minutes ago? We are in a fake world, while this thing is part of the real world; you can’t use something originating in the fake world to harm something in the real world. The only way to break our illusion and end this mess is to break the barrier using all of our energy combined. Even then-”

Amarillo was interrupted as Nitori screamed. The kappa’s tools had suddenly caught on fire.

“No!” Amarillo shouted as the ground began to shake violently, and the once-peaceful night sky started to change.

“Seems we just triggered the self-defending mechanism!” Nitori shouted.

“We.. don’t have much time left. ” Amarillo quickly recovered from the initial stunning of the sudden change.

Hexagonal pieces of light blue substance began to appear in the sky, seeming to create a typical sunny morning.

“Don’t tell me... It’s trying to repair the sky?” Aya stared at the hexagon pieces in awe, which were now combining together and spawning more pieces.

Seeing this, Reimu gulped. “Okay...I believe in you now...but, what do we need to do?”

“As I said, we have to break the barrier ourselves before this mechanism mends the world. Or do you prefer to disbelieve in what you’ve just seen, pretending that all this never happened and continue to live in this world? The above world isn’t a much better place.”

“What are you saying? It’s nothing about it better world or not, just feeling trapped in a dream is awful enough! Of course we’ll break it out, but before that...”

As Marisa is speaking, Reimu gives Amarillo a “look that said ‘You see, this was bound to happen’.

“... Let’s end tonight with a danmaku battle! I heard you bring allies!”

“Oh, come ON!” Amarillo shouted in protest. “If you have the power to fight me, why don’t you just blast out the border?”

“Because it’s more fun! You know me, I’m not the kind of person to easily change my ideas.” Marisa took out her mini-hakkero.

“I suppose it can’t hurt.” Reimu grinned. “Besides, I want some revenge for what happened this morning.”

“Oh you guys...I didn’’t think that things would come to this...” Amarillo sighed, but everybody can see that something is forming behind her back.

Gears.
Gears with metal colors.
Gears that people may see in their grandfather clocks.
Gears that slowly rotates, generating a ticking sound.
Gears that bends perfectly with each other.
Gears that echos in a harmonic manner.
Gears that seems to be ticking for eternity.

“I... never saw anything like this before.” Lily White commented.
“Don’t kid me, it’s a Time Motif?” Reimu is left speechless seeing the background melt into a parade of gears, as if a mental world is forming.

Amarillo reaches out both arms, “If this is how it’s gonna end, then so be it, Chrono Agent Genetic Altered No.4, Lin Xiyin now accept your challenge!”

She is greeted with a Master Spark directly comes towards her face, however, a barrier made of gears quickly materialize in thin air, blocking the beam.

“Now, who goes first?” Amarillo asked as she saw Nue, Mamizou and Lily Black rushing down to join the fray.

Gensokyo’s Final morning begins with this fight.

[Kakyoin]

12:30 AM - Day 2 - Hakurei Shrine ? Outside the Shrine

*CLANG*

"Ugh!"
   Staggering back, Ken felt the ringing vibration searing through his sword's handle to his hands. His opponent was strong; deceptively powerful. Every attack he made against her was blocked by her trident, which she held stoutly in front of her, unyielding.
   "What's wrong? Struggling?" She let out a soft, amused chuckle as she pulled her trident back to her side. The girl took a step forwards him as he cautiously held his ground. "You look so tense."
   Her soothing voice grated on him. Panting slightly, he lowered his blade arm and walked around her perimeter a short distance. He felt abnormally tired and his arms were quite sore. "Why..." This was his chance to ask, as she clearly wasn't out for blood. "What did you do to Mayli?"
   The nue stuck her trident into the ground at her side and put both hands on hips. "Who?"
   Without warning, he whipped his sword arm up and pointed the weapon at her. He was losing his patience, likely due to fatigue. "Why did you leave her...to those beasts?"
   She grinned. Her countenance grew more mischievous. "Oh, THAT girl...she was too curious for her own good, so I decided to have some fun with her. Why, is she someone important?"
   He gritted his teeth and posed to square off against her. How could she put Mayli in danger without a care for her survival? "Is this a game to you?!"
   "Are you playing at being clever? Are you trying to be funny, human?" Her haughty tone pierced through his anger. "We already told you, we believe this entire world, this Gensokyo, to be a fake of sorts. What's the harm in a little playing around, after all?"
   "Playing--You think toying with the lives of innocents is a JOKE?!"
   She extended her blue wings out and pointed them towards him. "Come now, it won't help you to get angry. Now then..." She pulled her trident out of the ground before continuing. "It seems like you are somewhat skilled, so I will fight you using your own hand-to-hand combat style. Playing with you ought to be...fun~"
   Ken took a breath and stared at her. He was fighting a madwoman. He encircled her for a brief moment before attempting to slash her. "HAAAAUGH!"
   
*CLANG*

"Ha! Is that all you've got?!" After blocking his attack, she threw her trident down casually. "I don't need this, it seems." She grinned devilishly once more. "But enough talk, human. Have at you!"
   Closing his eyes, he threw his sword to the side as well. Hands raised, he took another breath. He heard a slight gasp; apparently it had the intended effect of surprising her.
   Nue looked at him as he was focusing. "Huh, what's wrong? Given up already? That's no fu--"
   
*WHOOSH*

She yelped in surprise as a tremendous gust of wind swept her away. The kid knew how to use magic! It didn't seem to harm her much, but it was certainly formidable enough to blow her away. "Impressive," she uttered as she righted herself in the air, flying back in his direction. "I didn't expect a pathetic human like you to know something of magic."
   He placed a hand to the side of his head. The small headache was returning. They were fighting to 'reveal the truth'...all around nearby, he could see and hear the sounds of combat. He had gotten separated from his friends, but they likely had their hands full with Amarillo and her fairy squad, the tanuki and that satori. Pathetic, he thought. If only he were stronger-willed, he could actually use magic effectively and not as a surprise tactic. Was this fighting actually worth it?
   "But, you know...if you can use your form of magic, then so can I!"
   She swept her hands in front her her and opened her palms to face him. A torrent of small energy-filled bullets swarmed out and hit him square in the chest before he could dodge. Crying out, his body was propelled backwards until he settled on his chest, face-down.
   "Urgh..." The bullets hadn't inflicted harm from what he could see, but they had certainly knocked the wind out of him. He got to his feet as quickly as he could. The headache had already worsened. Struggling to catch his breath, he looked around for his sword. His mind raced back to the question at hand. They had to fight after what he had seen; there was no way the border could be real after that CGI-like effect Nitori had shown everyone. Even Reimu had been surprised. He looked in Nue's general direction to make sure she wasn't pulling a trick on him.
   It was Mayli.
   "What?" He froze. "M-Mayli!" Her face looked panicked. "Are...are you all right?"
   "Please, don't fight anymore! Ken, I'm so scared..." Her eyes were watery, and she sunk to her knees.
   He felt so bad for her. Even though there was fighting going on around him, this was way too much for someone like her. "Mayli...don't worry. But we have to do something! You saw it too, the bord--" He stopped, realizing that something was wrong--Nue wasn't around anymore--yet he could not ignore the woman in front of him. He had to protect her. "Come here, stay close by. We'll get through this somehow."
   Mayli nodded and began walking towards him.

*FSSHH*

Before they could do anything further, a wickedly fast winged being flew between them, buffeting them hard enough so they fell over. Again gasping in surprise as he hit the ground, he heard Mayli scream. No! He scrambled to get to his feet. She had to be protected! He was failing at his job...
   "Hey again!" said a nearby voice. It wasn't Mayli's, nor was it Nue's. Suddenly, he was staring into a familiar face. Who was it again...he had seen her before...wait, was it--
   "H...Hatate?" It was the flying woman from earlier in the day. Talk about surprises, he thought. But wait, something was still not right...
   She smiled, looking satisfied. "Looks like I was just in time."
   "Wait, why--!"
   Her smile dissolved slightly. "Hmm?"
   "You attacked Mayli!" He got to his feet. Hopefully she was not an enemy of humans as well, or else he and Mayli were in serious trouble.
   "Oh, you mean that girl?" Hatate flipped open her cell phone.
   "What are you--"
   "Shh! Just look." The tengu had the phone's camera pointed directly at Mayli. A small click sounded, and suddenly a photo appeared in his hand. It was a picture of someone in the same pose as Mayli was in, on the ground. His eyes widened.
   That wasn't Mayli in the picture. It was Nue.
   "You--" He looked again at Mayli laying on the ground. That wasn't her, it couldn't be. Nue was just messing with him, trying to get him to lower his guard...she had only assumed the form of Mayli. "You're not Mayli!"
   "Damn." With a small flash of light, Nue, having reverted back to her original form, was on her feet once more. "It had to be you of all people..."
   Camera still open, Hatate's other hand began to glow. "Oh please! You couldn't fool me even if you tried!" She glanced over to Ken. "Leave her to me!"
   Relief washed over him. "Are you sure?"
   "I owe you one for earlier, so hurry up and go find her and your other pals! Go on, get!"
   He felt conflicted. Was Hatate strong enough to take on Nue by herself, or was she just being prideful? Regardless, this incident reminded him that he needed to protect the people of the Village. But the fighting was...serious but not serious. No one was going to really die, were they? They were all fighting to get out of this supposed 'simulated' world...yet after seeing what they all saw, it was hard to believe otherwise. He had to make a decision.
   Nue charged forward, making that decision for him. He rolled to the side as she was sent off-course by energy bullets fired by Hatate. The trickster clicked her tongue in dissatisfaction as she spun back around. "Two on one, eh?"
   A different voice rang out. "Three on one!"
   Ken's face brightened as he saw a very familiar face. "Mokou!" In her arm was...Mayli. She was unharmed!
   "Yeah, that's right. Here." She let go of Mayli as they landed. "It's not my responsibility to look out for her, you know!" Turning to Nue, the fire mage cracked her knuckles. "If it's a fight you want, then prepare yourself!"
   "Ken!" Mayli ran over to him.
   "Mayli...wait please, get back! This could get ugly..."
   She wore an expression of determination. "No, I wanna help! I'm tired of being rescued..."
   This wasn't the time to argue over it, as Mokou had now engaged in fighting Nue as well. Soon the area would become a combat zone. He looked into her eyes. "Can...can you fight?"
   She clenched her hands into fists. "I...if I have to..." Her face flushed and her heart was pounding, both out of fear and excitement. This whole incident seemed like something out of one of her fantasy novels!
   He smiled and nearly laughed. She was tougher than he had given her credit for. "All right then...but I'd rather you just look after yourself in case things get ugly."
   "I'll stay close!" She had read all sorts of books where heroes and villains had done battle, but she could most definitely not perform such moves herself. What was she thinking?
   Ken still wasn't sure what to do. He should probably stay near so he could care for her, but Nue might get her. "All right then, I can see you don't want to hide..." He looked over towards the fight, only to see a giant ball of darkness flying towards them. "DUCK!" He threw himself on top of her just in time to dodge it. It made a sickeningly high-pitched whine as it crashed into a nearby tree.
   "AHH!" She screamed and put her hands on top of her head. This was what real combat was like--loud, dangerous and violent--it took her breath away and made her chest thump. But she didn't want to be dead weight.
   "Ah, you two..." Hatate had flown over to them. "Ken, what's going on? Why aren't you--"
   "I...I'm sorry, I have to protect the people in the Human Village...that's kinda my job."
   The twin-tailed tengu blinked. "I see, so you're Keine's--ahh...?" She heard a noise sounding almost like beeping. It wasn't coming from her phone.
   The three of them looked over to see an emerging fairy peeking its head out from behind the tree that had been hit by the ball of darkness.
   "Reisa!" Ken nearly tripped over his own feet as he ran over to her. "There you are! I've been looking for y--Reisa?" Something was wrong. She was staring at him with empty eyes.
   Mayli grabbed his arm. "C'mon Ken! She'll be fine, we need to go!"
   He was almost frightened by the lightning fairy's stupor. "But..."
   She gritted her teeth and pulled on his arm, meeting resistance. "You promised Keine! You have to help the villagers..." Mayli knew that he didn't like leaving anyone behind. Worse yet, Reisa was technically not from the Human Village.
   "Mayli, I can't! Reisa is--something's wrong with--"
   Hatate flew near them and signaled to get their attention. "We'll take care of her, don't you worry!" She glanced over to see Mokou aiming a fiery kick at Nue, who was dodging as best she could in return. Looking back, she aimed her gaze and phone camera at Reisa. "If she's your friend, we can look out for her after we deal with Nue."
   He tore his eyes away from the fairy. They were both right: he had to defend the villagers at all costs, and Nue didn't seem particularly interested in going after Reisa. "All right. Be careful then!" He brusquely grabbed his charge and started off. "Mayli, let's go!"
   "O-Okay!"
   "We'll be fine, don't worry." Hatate took a quick picture of the fairy before turning back to the duel. She quickly glanced down at the picture. "Huh, that's odd..."


(Notes: This was originally intended to be a part of Nemo Ma's previous post, but was split up to allow others to join in on the fighting. My team has taken to fighting Nue, and others can fight against Mamizou, Amarillo, her fairies or even join my team in fighting against Nue. Anyway, Hatate has rejoined Ken's team; Sanae, Reisen and Hina have left Ken's team.)

[trancehime]

12:35 AM - Day 2 - Hakurei Shrine
i'll miss you my friend

"This is incredibly stupid. Why are we even here at such an unholy hour?" Meira spat at the ground as VIVIT and Hirowaza were leaning against a tree by the Hakurei Shrine, watching a battle take place. The girl-boy person was leaning against a tree, idly shaking his hand and stretching it, continuing to eye the scene unfolding before him. "I don't see that red-white anywhere... Do you?" Hirowaza snarled, but quickly reverting back to his apathetic gaze at the chaos that was occurring at the outside of the Shrine. VIVIT shook her head and looked panicked, while Meira sighed. "If you were listening, you would have noticed that Reimu and her rag-tag band of misfits idly started a fight right here. Why are we watching this? We shouldn't get ourselves involved in their stupid affairs." Hirowaza handwaved the samurai girl and pat the incredibly worried VIVIT. "I'm honestly trying very hard not to join in, haha..." Hirowaza laughed. "That red-white won't be forgiven for the atrocities she did to my shop. And stealing all my creations." he yawned, continuing to watch the fight. For some reason, Hirowaza could see the strange machinations in the atmosphere, strange chronographic illusions fading in and out of the background, almost like some sort of backdrop to the chaos.

And that was when a switch was flipped. Eventually, a trident (presumably from Nue) had dropped casually by Hirowaza, who looked down and then back at the fight. "Hey, look at that kid." Hirowaza yawned, eyeing a boy and presumably a friend or companion of his, a girl who looked like she had just been rescued. The two of them were running away, and Hirowaza could hear something about "helping the human village." Meira grinned. "What an admirable kid, that guy. Isn't he Keine-dono's protege or some sort? They appear to be fighting someone who treats them like toys... I mean, it's not every day you see Nue-dono drop her trident so casually. You know what, Hiro-kun?"

"It's not every day you call me that."

"Screw that red-white, I think we need to teach that alien skank a lesson in humility."

"Wow, what's gotten into you?"

"Race you there, Hiro-kun!" Meira suddenly dashed away from the tree and drew her blade, rushing towards Nue from the side, who was having her hands full with dealing with Mokou and Hatate. "Hey, little Heian Alien!!! Why don't you stop being so cocky for once!" Meira suddenly rushed from the side and raised her blade to bring it down on Nue, but the latter kicked her strike aside. The black-haired girl laughed as she took a few steps back. "Aren't you that fool who tried to steal the red-white's balls? What brings you here?" Nue cackles, but soon a bolt of ice whizzes past her cheek, causing some frost to glaze over in a tiny circle on her cheek. "...?" Hirowaza stood far behind Meira, holding a small wand of ice which dissipated into the dust. "I'm with her," Hirowaza said. "You're severely outnumbered, play time's over." he continued, looking at Nue with a stern face. The alien giggled as she casually side-stepped danmaku which Hatate had shot at her earlier.

"Why did you even bother to get yourselves involved?"

Suddenly, a red trident was flung right at Nue's face, but she effortlessly caught it. "Hey, thanks!" VIVIT sighed and looked panicked. "It seems I have no choice but to use this. As you said, play time's over!" she cackled once more and twirled her crimson weapon, ready to defend herself against what appeared to be five people bent on kicking her ass. "First, I'll start with you, over there!" Nue flipped back and readied a bow of energy, GRUDGE BOW! Five bolts of purple danmaku struck forth at the feet of her assailants, and temporarily pinned them in place. Mokou, Hatate, Meira, and VIVIT struggled out while Hirowaza found himself stuck to the same tree he was leaning on, since he wasn't as strong as the other four. Nue pointed her trident at Hiro's chest. "You naughty boy!! Dressing like that, haha!" Hiro tried to spit at Nue in response, and weaved something from his hands as Nue charged forward to strike him down. Suddenly, a big red shield with a lion adorned on the front appeared to stop the trident dead in its tracks as Hirowaza's feet were pinned to the tree.

"SHIELD OF THE BRAVE!"

Mokou quickly escaped her bonds and tackled the staggering Nue, who rolled over and quickly got to her feet, only to start dancing about as she evaded both Hatate's stream of danmaku and missiles coming from VIVIT's hands. "Damn, all of you people are quite a handful. I didn't expect that boy to have some power of the phantasm." she cursed silently to herself as she deftly blocked a strike from Meira. Meanwhile, VIVIT destroyed the bolt of energy keeping Hirowaza locked in place. "We need to overwhelm her so she'll stop fighting... But don't hurt her." VIVIT said. "I don't like hurting people."

"It doesn't look like she can get hurt that easily, anyway." Hirowaza sighed and almost took a breather, except that Nue pushed aside Meira and Mokou with their attacks and rushed at Hirowaza again, but this time Hatate managed to make her trip over with danmaku. "Woah! Careless!" Nue said as she flipped in the air. Soon, Mokou had prepared a flaming kick at her back while she was airborne. "Here's the fight you so desperately wanted!" Mokou said loudly and clearly, causing Nue to stumble to the ground and cringe for a moment, bracing herself from the pain, but she got up. "Keho. I'm not that weak." She raised her trident forward and cleared herself away from the five combatants, but this time, she looked prepared and was waiting for another strike.

Meira looked at Nue carefully, but Hirowaza glared at the alien and recalled the boy and his charge rushing back to the Human Village. "You... Stop this at once!"

"WARDEN LANCE!"

A thin, but resilient spear with an enormously large guard materialized in his hands and soon Hirowaza ran at Nue to strike.

"No, Hiro-kun! It's a counter-stance!"

"What?!"

Nue had an incredibly mischievous grin on her face and lowered her body as Hirowaza ran forward, his momentum forward was so much that he could not stop, and then Nue swept his feet forward and drove her trident down on his side, grazing his skin by inches, making the boy groan as the force of Nue's thrust caused his body to bounce up a bit, further grazing the trident's edge.

"Damnit!"

Nue kicked aside Hirowaza's injured body back against the tree and twirled her trident once more. "He's just a kid. I can tell that he has alien powers; I'm surprised you haven't noticed them." Meira gripped her blade tightly and glared at Nue while VIVIT began to tend to Hirowaza's wound, looking at him incredibly worriedly. Mokou stared at Meira. "I didn't know you cared so much for a human like that." she interjected.

"He's not just an ordinary human." Meira said.

Hatate took a picture of VIVIT taking care of Hirowaza. "Well, let's get this show on the road, then!" she continued as Mokou, Hatate and Meira poised themselves to continue the fight while Nue laughed.

[Bias Bus]

11:00 PM, Day 1 - Gensokyo ~ Mountain Road to Hakurei Shrine

It had seemed like ages since Owlbear and Luize packed their things and left from Makai. The trip through border space was...jarring to say the least, but all in all, it wasn't entirely bad. He had to deal with holding onto Luize the entire trip though to avoid 'falling forever' as stated by the one who piloted the flying suitcase. During the travel, Owlbear managed to get a bit of a geography lesson (or at least a light astrological one) from the tourist demon, her words giving rise to how the border space between Makai and the outside actually worked and just how extensive it was. Out of all the areas in Makai, the border space is the least understood by the general public of Makai. It was enough to get Owlbear to wonder just what truly lay in border space if anything at all.

Once the duo managed to pass through border space without any incident,  through the gate, the two were able to continue onward to their destination; the Hakurei Shrine. Sense of time was effectively skewered apparently, as both Owlbear and Luize had no real idea as to how long it was taking them to get from Makai to Gensokyo through border space travel.


~ Load BGM ~

"Oh my, look at this wonderful...statue~!" Luize cooed in a sense of wonder, a blush tinging her fair cheeks as she 'gazed' at, what Owlbear believed to be, a Jizou Statue of sorts. "Ooh fiddlesticks, if only I had brought that camera device, I would snap a picture and send it back to Miss Shinki!" From Owlbear's perspective it didn't seem that special, looking to have seen better days and was thoroughly weathered by the effects of nature around it. Owlbear couldn't even discern it's facial features due to it's eroded state. One could only assume that Makai didn't completely share Japanese culture, which was understandable, it was brought into existence by a deity outside of said style of living.

"You've never seen a Jizou Statue before?" Owlbear prodded the tourist who looked up from her amazement to answer.

"Oh, so that's what this is?" She says, looking it over with fascination. Through it all, however, Owlbear couldn't help but feel...strange. This was his first time seeing Gensokyo and while he was amazed by it's scenic wonder, a piece of his mind just felt distant and detached from his other thought processes. To put it simply, he didn't feel like himself...something Luize seem to take note of for most of the trip, his unusual silence being part of her suspicions on her his odd shift in behavior.

"You've been rather distant ever since we took off," Luize spoke up, the question seeming to catch Owlbear a little off guard. "If something's bothering you, then you can tell me, you know. I'm not going to bite your head off and steal your soul or anything~" She wasn't, but Owlbear wasn't exactly sure he could honestly explain his situation to her without sounding...well, crazy.

"Well...nothing's really wrong," He replied in a hesitant tone of sorts, looking around the darkened path the night had painted their surroundings in. "I uhm...well, it's tough to explain."

"Come, walk with me." Luize said gesturing him to follow her down the path that would lead them to the Hakurei Shrine. "Just tell me what's on your mind. It shouldn't be too bad, yes?"

"Well, s'not so much bad as it is...weird." Here goes.

"Hmm? What could be so weird about it, you live in an alternate demonic realm filled with supernatural creatures." Yeah, there's that, however, Owlbear felt it was something he would still be labled crazy for...maybe it was because the ways of the demons haven't really...sunk in for him yet. Which is understandable given that he's human and has human thought processes.

"Well when we left Makai, I felt this..." Owlbear tried explaining, "...weird sense came over me, like...I didn't have control over my body or something." He gazes down to his hands and flexes them a bit, as if testing to see if he still held control over his own limbs and motor skills. Owlbear took a moment or two to recall what all of this could mean, what was happening to his body. The end result could only produce one possible fact to this. "Luize...don't be alarmed but...I think I'm possessed."

One of Luize's eyes opened as she looked to her room mate with an odd gaze of sorts. One Owlbear cowered from, feeling that it looked too much like a stinkeye. "Hmm, well...I'm finding it a little hard to buy as we've never usually had any cases of Makai residents being possessed by something, however,since you're human maybe something did manage to crawl inside your body." The tourist explained, her eye closing as she faced the front once more. "No need to worry, we're heading to the Hakurei Shrine, maybe the priestess there can dispell the evil spirit?"

"Well...I hope so." Owlbear said, "It feels really weird."

Weird? Do you not like having a powerful and beautiful woman rooming in your soul?


12:00 AM, Day 2 - Gensokyo ~ Hakurei Shrine

It would seem that things weren't going so well in the realm of Gensokyo...or at least, that's what someone was telling everyone located at the shrine including Owlbear and Luize. Neither Makai go'ers had any clue as to who this stranger was or who the rest were...but it looks like there was a great crisis brewing...or rather already in effect. From what could be gather by the duo, the Gensokyo they spent hours in border space trying to get to...was false. An imitation of the real Gensokyo or rather a virtual one. Having only been in Gensokyo an hour, neither Makai natives knew of what this meant to Makai or what it all even meant, but it became clear as to what they had to do now that they had arrived here.

However, there was a way to solve this, apparently. That was consisting of breaking the barrier and by extension breaking the 'illusion' of this Gensokyo.

And just like that the fight began.

"Ah, what in Shinki's name is going on?" Luize questioned clearly taken aback by the sudden out burst of colorful violence. She was sent her for peaceful negotiations, not war! "This wasn't supposed to happen at all!"

Owlbear opened his mouth to responded only to find a familiar sensation wash over his body again. Owlbear's breathing started to shallow as he stiffened and slowly began to convulse. Luize stopped in her walking and focused her concern on the human, now seeing as he slowly lost himself in what looked like an epileptic seizure while still standing.

"O-owlbear, what's the matter?" Luize asked in concern, seeing his eyes roll back, his white schlera flicking black as green eyes soon shuttered down in place of his dark brown eyes. A deep gasp rose from his lips in reverse as his body ceased it's shivers and returned to normal stillness.

"Nothing would be if he just let me take control quietly. Sheesh that kid..." The hollow feminine voice sighed in a bit of annoyance. The entity controlling the mooch of a human had him look over his body before flexing his fingers and tightening them into fists. "Well, looks like I'm in full control now~"

Luize narrowed her eyes, finally seeing the being that was controlling Owlbear...or rather hearing her speak and act. "You're the evil spirit possessing Owlbear, I take it?"

"I prefer the term 'ghost with plans', but if 'evil spirit' suffices, then yes. I am." The spirit said, seeming none to concerned with Luize's slight distaste in her. "Some would be nice enough to call me Mima though, since, you know...it's my name and all."

Luize's eyes jetted open, her memory doing well to recall that name. She knew the name Mima...it belonged to someone very infamous in Makai. "...I know you," The once polite tourist began, her voice reflecting disdain to the one who was controlling Owlbear. "You were one of the accomplices in the incident involving Gensokyo and Makai."

"Yes, yes, I helped blow up your house. But right now we need to focus on battle." Mima shrugged, far more concerned with the state of the chaos that was ensuing in and around the shrine. She had hoped to see Reimu alone...but apparently she couldn't do that. At least, not now anyway. "Does this meatsack have any special powers I can abuse? I want to try combat with a possessed body."

"Uhm...No." Luize said, glancing elsewhere. "Owlbear's only human."

"...You're kidding?" Mima drops whatever excitement she held in her body and huffed, looking about as she tried to think of an alternative. "Screw this, I'm out then."

"What?"

"I'm out, you heard me." Mima repeated, "Just...gimme a sec, lemme dislodge myself from his immortal soul." After those words were spoken, Owlbear's body shook and began to levitate his mouth opened wide and his eyes engulfed in an otherworldly light. A ghastly wail rose from his gullet before Mima's visage tore from his chest, slamming her host back down to the ground below. Luize went to his side, finding that, despite the rough landing, Owlbear was already waking up and returning to normal.

"Ugh...why does it sound like everyone's playing Monoply while drunk?" Owlbear droned, Luize hoisting him back to his feet to get him to stand. He needed to if he was going to fight.

"A fight broke out." Mima answered simply, gazing up to see a raccoon tail first and the figure it belonged to second. Given how the one floating above her was one of the individuals who stood alongside the one who claimed this Gensokyo was false, Mima only assumed that the tanuki was here to take the fight to them. On that realization, the spirit brandished her cresent tipped sceptor and pointed it to their challenger. "And if you guys ever want to get your job done, it looks like you'll have to join the fray too."


12:36 AM, Day 2 - Gensokyo ~ Hakurei Shrine

Fighting.

Owlbear thought he would have to use his two bare hands in order to help Luize and Mima in the fight against the raccoon girl who called herself, Mamizou. For all intents and purposes, she didn't look all that tough, and even had a big fluffy tail that made her look even more harmless. Of course, this was before, he saw her attack them. All sorts of colorful shapes were sent awry as Luize and Mima followed suit in her assault and countered with their own set of colorful magic bullets; Mima seeming to favor stars, while Luize using lasers. Mamizou was doing well to dodge most of their shots made to her, but it was clear she could handle herself well against the combined efforts of Luize and Mima. Owlbear had only one thing to say about these odds.

"I can't do any of that shit!"

No. He couldn't. Owlbear only had his two hands and his own body as a weapon, granted he knew how to fight with such weapons, but...how the fuck could he compete with a magical tanuki who could fire off colorful diarrhea that shoots even more colorful diarreha? Well first, he needed to go airborne. Fleeing from the rain of magic, Owlbear made his way over to the flying suitcase he and Luize arrived in Gensokyo riding on. He knew this thing could be his ticket to gain some wings...but, could he really fly it? Looking back up to the darting figures of Luize and Mima, he'd need to in order to help them out.

Speaking of whom, the two were holding their own against the tanuki, Luize making good use of her fast paced lasers . Of course, Mima was convinced that something...wasn't right.

"Ugh, this is getting us nowhere." She chided, ceasing her projectile assault and bringing her sceptor to her front, looking to be charging up for a much larger attack. The spirits body began to flicker in and out of existence, an odd glow undulating around her ghostly form. Luize ceased only a second to get a glimpse of Mima before, the ghost vanished into thin air and suddenly re-appeared in front of Mamizou, apparently having collided into her with a full body charge and doing well to knock the tanuki back.

"Ah, you got her!" Luize declared, ready to follow up with her own attack when Mamizou's body poofed and appeared to regain it's old shape...an old green leaf. "...Wait, what?"

"Tch...a fake." Mima sneered with a click of her teeth, floating back to Luize and beginning to scan the ground below for any signs of her prey. "Tanuki's are tricky like that..."

"Well, if it's a fake then where's the real one...?" A good question, Luize.

On the ground, Owlbear had tried his best to get the damned suitcase to take flight, but...had very limited success in having it do such a thing. By this point, the dark skinned human had managed to get it open...but not into the open air. "This blows, why won't this piece of shit fly!?"

"Maybe because it's a suitcase."

"No, no, it's a flying-" Owlbear froze, seeing that the one this voice belonged to was Mamizou. "You...how?"

"It's not that hard to make a substitution, you know~"

"Oh well, that's nice to knowTAKE THIS BITCH, YAAA!" Owlbear suddenly threw his hand from the suitcase, producing a pair of purple laced panties that flew right onto the face of the bespectacled Tanuki. "Wow, dark purple...such a mature color..." Wait, this was no time to be thinking of panties...or how good they would look on Luize, but rather taking advantage of the tanuki who was flailing about trying to get said undergarments off her face.

"Wait no, fuck that; BIG MAN-" Owlbear realed back, centering his focus on Mamizou's middle and thrust forth with his first attack. "BAKUDAN GUT PUNCH!" Owlbear threw his fist into Mamizou's gut with as much force he could muster, the impact managing to evoke a choked gasp from the tanuki but a much louder declaration of profanity from Owlbear. The human fell to his knees, nursing his arm as it seemed he had been hit with some recoil of the attack itself.

"Ow, FUCK, what's your gut made of? Lead?" In a sense. Owlbear hadn't considered that youkai were much tougher than humans, so his punch would end with doing a little less damage than it would have, if only thanks to Mamizou being non human.

"Keh...not really, all flesh and bone." Mamizou coughed again, still believing the punch was worth noting since it did knock some wind out of her. "You got a mean right hook but, compared to youkai, you've gotta long way to go."

"...You're going to hit me, aren't you?"

"Oh yeah." She answered back, raising her arm and materialzing odd dwarven figures beside her person. Owlbear readied his fists once more only to flinch at the sudden shot from above, a laser of magic piercing one of the figures and poofing it out of existence. Looking up, Luize could be seen diving down to assist her tenant, palms glowing with sparkles of magic before she flung forth a flurry of red arrow-headed bullets. "I believe these are yours." Mamizou said with a bit of a chuckle, tossing the purple panties to Luize, the tourist catching them in her hands and shooting Owlbear a rather mean glare. "Now, where were we~?"

[Kakyoin]

12:45 AM - Day 2 - Hakurei Shrine ? Outside the Shrine

"This way!"

Leading Ken by the arm, Mayli was dashing ahead with surprising speed. The swordsman wondered what other traits she had hidden that he had yet to discover. But now wasn?t the time to worry about that! Looking from side to side, he couldn?t see anyone from the Village, although he could still make out Mokou and Hatate behind him in the distance...were there others there fighting Nue, as well? It seemed like it, but he couldn't make them out.
   The two stopped in a relatively peaceful area and looked around. Mayli was panting slightly, not used to running as fast as she had. "Ken...do you see anyone...?"
   "Not yet, no..." He was surprised to find that he didn?t recognize many who were around them, but there were some familiar faces. Reimu was encircling an area that he guessed was occupied by Amarillo, as he noticed fairies in the area.
   "Eargh!" He suddenly stopped as his shoulder grew extremely cold, painfully quickly. "Ahh...w-what's--?!"
   Mayli turned around and glanced questioningly at him at first, then grew concerned after he tore his other hand free of her grip to clutch his shoulder. Her eyes widened as a thinly-veiled figure of a creature appeared right behind him. She stifled a scream with her hands. It was a...a ghost?! Was it a youkai? "Ken...b-behind you..."
   "Uhhnn...what? What is i--" He reached his hand up to feel his shoulder again.
   He felt smooth ice.
   Instantly he jumped towards Mayli and made an about-face. The cold feeling on his shoulder instantly vanished, and he brought his hand down to his sword hilt. When he looked up, he saw...
   His jaw dropped. Facing him was a smiling, floating, pink-haired woman. There were butterflies floating around her, dazzling spirits that seemed to make up her aura. She wore a gushing blue robe with finely-detailed flower patterns, which complimented her gentle pink hair perfectly. She had a darker blue ribbon tied beneath her chest and a fan in her right hand. Her left hand was outstretched, a butterfly resting on the tip of her index finger. While he didn't know who she was, he was paralyzed by her breathtaking beauty; he felt more like walking towards her the longer he stared.
   To his good fortune, Mayli ran in front of him and faced the floating apparition, speaking out against her. "W-Who are you?! What--"
   "Ah..."
   Ken took a step back in surprise. "Whoa, she...she talked!" He pulled Mayli back by the collar of her shirt, slightly embarrassed at his behavior. As beautiful as the ghostly woman was, he had suspected that she was a youkai. But her voice was surprisingly human-like and motherly...then again, she certainly looked human-like. He shouldn't look at her for too long...
   "Ehehe, of course I can talk!" She smiled and floated closer.
   He gulped and looked down. She did have feet, so perhaps she wasn't a ghost. "Why did you grab me like that!"
   She closed her eyes and smiled. "Oh, well...I've been following you for a bit, mhmm~"
   Sighing, Mayli pulled Ken's hand off of her. "Why would you do that? Then again, if you're a ghost...wait! We don't have time to worry about that!" She turned back to Ken. "I don't think she means any harm, but we gotta get going!"
   "Ah, wait please!" The woman stopped twiddling her short pink hair and flew a bit closer. "I need some help..."
   He tensed up a bit, but decided that she wasn't harmful. "What is it? We're in a bit of a hurry..."
   "Well, I want to escape this place, and I need a bit of help to do so."
   Mayli raised an eyebrow. "That sounds like you want to possess us," she remarked in a suspicious tone.
   "Eh?" The ghost blinked several times before letting out a surprisingly adorable giggle. "No, not like that!"
   Ken cleared his throat. "Well, we're in a bit of a hurry, so if you don't mind...come with us, since what we're in the process of doing is part of an attempt to get out of here, anyway."
   "Really? Yay, I was right to follow you, then~"
   The student brushed her brown hair back. "Are you sure? We don't want to freak everyone out with this..." she didn't want to call this ghostly woman a monster, but under the circumstances, she wasn't sure what to call her. That didn't matter right now, anyway, as long as she wasn't an enemy!
   "Mayli, the world is at risk right now, Keine is nowhere to be found, we fought a shape-shifting youkai, you almost got eaten alive and--well, you get the point." He signaled to the two of them that they ought to get moving again. "I don't think we're in any position to judge..."
   A different voice rang out from nearby. "Oh, you think so?"
   The three of them stopped moving. A girl was blocking their path. Ken moved to go around her, but then she jumped over slightly to get in his way. She had on a yellow dress of sorts, that faded into an emerald green skirt. Her body was surrounded by purple tube-looking strings attached to a floating...was it an eye? A closed eye?
   He put a hand on his hip. "Excuse me, but we need to get through. If you could be so kind as to step aside..."
   "Ah, nope, sorry. Koishi can't do that~" she said rather playfully.
   Mayli stepped forward, still feeling bold. "Koishi? Who's that?"
   The ghost floated closer. "Koishi, what are you doing? Why aren't you with Satori?"
   He shook his head and looked at them. "Wait, THIS girl is Koishi?" Koishi...he tried to remember if he knew someone with that name, but couldn't recall anything.
   The girl, whose name was apparently Koishi, cocked her head to the side. "'course I'm not with sister, she's busy! Important stuff, yeah." She moved the floating closed eye surreptitiously closer to the ghost woman. "What's Yuyuko doing here, huh? Come to play with me too?"
   Yuyuko moved backwards. Hmm, she wondered. Something's not right here.
   Ken moved as if to pass Koishi. "Now then, we'll just be on our way..."
   "Ah, nope! Can't let you do that!" She suddenly flung out her arms as if to strike Ken. Before he could even react, he was pulled away, his body rather cold...the ghost woman had grabbed him and whisked him to safety before he could even notice anything else. Panting and shivering slighly, he watched as a stream of energy-filled orbs hit the ground exactly where he used to be.
   "Ken!" Mayli ran over to him and began to feel rather cold herself. What was causing that?
   "I know what's going on. She wants to fight us." Yuyuko released the protector-in-training and became more solid-looking, her feet gently touching the ground. She had a determined look on her face. "Isn't that right, satori?"
   Koishi nodded rather emphatically. "Uh-huh! Nue-Nue said that fighting is what we have to do, and Koishi wants to escape and play in a bigger world too!"
   "Wait, what?!" Mayli paused to think before continuing. "Why would--"
   A bigger world.
   That was it! Her eyes brightened. "Ken, I get it! We--well, she and Nue and those others want to fight because fighting is going to have us expend a lot of energy, right?"
   "Hmm..." He thought about it. If they were to fight, even if it wasn't with any intention to actually harm one another, that would certainly unleash a lot of energy, and all in one place. "Wait...the Hakurei Barrier...that's--"
   Yuyuko nodded and looked up at the sky. "Yes, I think you've got the idea. Above us is reality, according to her..."
   Curious, Mayli started biting on one of her fingernails. "Her?"
   The ghost smiled innocently. "Ah, nevermind. But, we have something to worry about here in front of us..."
   Ken drew his sword and pointed it at Koishi. "All right, then. I guess there's no choice...ready, Mayli?"
   "Wha-?! Me? ME?! B-But I can't--"
   Yuyuko put her hand on Mayli's shoulder. The latter flinched, but calmed down upon realizing that it wasn't chilling her body. Perhaps this ghost woman was not in a ghostly form right now, the student thought.
   "You'll be fine, you see...this fighting can't really hurt you, so just do your best to dodge!" As she finished speaking, Yuyuko began hovering in the air almost at the same time Koishi did. Both of them started to glow...


(Notes: Acquired Yuyuko Saigyouji. Team is now Mayli, Mokou, Kaguya, Hatate and Yuyuko.)

[Caber Knight Etch-A-Sketch]

12:32 AM Day 2 Hakurei Shrine


Boy, time flies when everything drops on you. Fake Gensokyo, loss of property for everyone. Hell, his last hope for power, his power cable, was lost in the chaos earlier in the day. All that fighting was pretty neat, but on a day like this? It couldn't be helped, some would probably say.

Everyone has a breaking point. Doesn't matter who it is, they could be a wall of disciplined silence to a blubbering coward, they all have limits. Etch knew he hit his when he found out he wasn't even in a real home the moment he considered smacking things with Lappy. However, the idea of just smashing things in the shoulder with fists of bro seemed much more appealing. Another person would smack the human upside the head for having such ridiculous thoughts when some serious shit was going down.

Akyuu had a slightly better idea, involving hiding herself behind Etch as a violent storm of a battle brewed. Ichirin and Unzan focused more on having the two unharmed. Of course, with an angry fairy commander thingamabob (Hey, Unzan said it through ichirin, so...), it didn't look like they'd be able to just walk away.

"Damn it, all I wanted was a lazy Harvest Festival!" Etch groaned audibly as a giant cloud fist stopped a random spray of danmaku.

"So you really were--" a quick shake of the head "this isn't the time for that kind of talk, Etch!" Ichirin turned her attention back to the battle, or rather the dodging of it.

"Akyu!"

"Damn it Etch, this is not the time for that badger chainsaw thing again!" She was about to say when she was hugged rather tightly. Etch let go, wearing a serious face that hasn't been seen in a long time. "Wha..."

"On one hand, if Gensokyo blows up, this is the last time we're going to be seeing each other. On the other hand, if there is really is a dream world, we might not be together when we wake up. And that scares me dammit." Akyu looked up into Etch's face, a gentle nod between the two.

"If you two are done, we should probably get out of here!" Ichirin called out as she ran past, Unzan picking the two up as they looked for a safer place. Then again, with the fate of Gensokyo and everyone concerned in the hands of several angry youkai and humans, where would be a safe place? Could a haven really be found in a crumbling world?

---------

"Personally, I prefer the ground." Etch grumbled, standing on Unzan's hand (and not turning into a pancake on the ground).

"Oh, hush you. We can still see what's going on while being able to dodge the fire." Ichirin had her arms crossed, looking at the battle exploding beneath their feet.

"Like staying at the bottom of the screen" A faint whisper echoed in Etch's ear. The human nodded before wondering where the voice came from. Turning to Unzan, he tilted his head, to which Unzan responded with a grin.

-------------------------


"In summary, Etch and his group whimped out and fled to watch the battle from a distance"

[Nemo★Ma]

The Final Morning, Gensokyo,Day 2

It is not a fight to the death, yet it seems so. As Marisa and Reimu is busy dodging the powerful gear-shaped bullets released by Amarillo, they noticed one thing.
"Hey, Reimu, I remembered several hours ago you got defeated in one-on-one combat with her, right?" As Marisa dodges yet another gear-bullet followed by a string of lasers, she shouts as Reimu flew beside her.
"Don't bring that up! Though I'm also wondering why she didn't just merge with a fairy and rush down on us, what are the fairies doing anyways..?" Reimu shoots a needle at that gear, breaking it as Marisa successfully dodged the lasers.
Then suddenly a different stream of bullets is shot towards her, and it's heart-shaped.
"Oh not her and not at this time..." Reimu dodged the bullet however Marisa is too fast and hit that bullet head-on, she don't seem to have much problem with that though, "Actually it got missed and hit my hat instead. No time trying to fix it though."
"You'll be glad that I aimed for your hat instead of your head in the beginning!" a voice can be heard over the distance, it's the Youkai of subconciousness, Koishi Komeiji, "What that human girl said is right all along! I knew it-Owwwww..." She got cut off as one stream of Marisa's stars just hit her.
"Not like we don't believe her, but we just want to have fun!" As Koishi backs off from the blast, Marisa smiles.
"Oh I don't understand you...." sighed Reimu, "If not for the majority of the people want to fight here, I'll be out for now and kicking whoever trapped us instead of Amarillo there."
"No, that will still be done, after we get out, we'll ask Amarillo to locate the bad guys, and we all teach them a lesson, that's it." Marisa nodded.

At this time, the atmosphere in the air has changed.
Amarillo's attacks stopped, instead, 3 giant gears formed around her crew, completely blocking all the attacks thrown by various humans and youkais. Though only the fairies around her know what actually happened-
"...Are you alright..? You can always just get out with us and go save them in another go or something, I don't know." Lily Black asked as Amarillo suddenly kneel down and blood dripping from her mouth.
"No, I'm fine, I guess..." Amarillo coughs up some more blood, "just the limiter broke - Not a bad thing though... Thank you.", As Lily Black untied her Ribbon and wiped out the blood spilled everywhere, "now I need you to go all-out and lure everybody attacking this barrier." She noticed that "You Mad?!" whispered by the fairy, and added, "This barrier is no normal barrier, It don't actually block attacks, but just redirect them... and *cough*".
"I got it, I won't say anything." Lily Black looked around and waved to get everyone's attention before flying off first from a crack at the gears while the rest of the fairies soon follows.
At that same time, an obviously defeated Koishi stumbled in.
"And where did YOU come from anyways." Amarillo let out a sigh but she quickly realized something.
"Hey, where are your sister? and the rest of the Subterrian Palace?" she asked.
"They're gone when I wake up, so I just come on the ground-"
Yes, Satori and her pets may decided that they'll went aboveground because of Aya's news, but that still didn't explain why Koishi is not with her sister or the pets.
In other words...
"...No, I know they're fine, before worrying about the others, worry about yourself first, like there..." Koishi points at Amarillo's mouth, "I don't know you got more damaged than them that quick!"
Even though Koishi cannot read people's "minds" anymore, Amarillo still need to admit that her ability of guessing what one's thinking is superb.
"I'm fine though, just now the limiter I set on myself got broken because I did something crazy here and there. Actually It'll get more crazier from now on." Amarillo rise her head and looks at the gears-barrier. seemingly lost in thought.

And then suddenly, Koishi shouted, "What did you done to me?! I know nothing bad will come out of it, but I still think I have the rights to know..."
"I don't know if the Subterrian Palace have books on Chinese Rituals and Magic - But it's not harmful to tell you anyways - Human Blood - no, blood in general has some awesome usage in Rituals, Magics and Medicine in the Southern Part of China, the tribes there believe that blood is still living when freshly extracted. However, this is not a mistake as the technology finally catch up with the Ancients - We found blood are the prefect catylyst for us ESPer's abilities." Amarillo looks at the pile of blood on the gear floor, "Yes, I implanted some of my blood on you, that will, because of my ability,  allows you to survive in the outer world, at least for a while, since now your guardian is no where to be found."
"My Grardians...?" Koishi gives out a puzzled look.
"Don't think too hard about it." Amarilo smiled.
"So you want me to exit right now and pave the way for you guys?" Asked Koishi, "since technically I'm defeated out there - used up all my Spellcards and that."
"and how can you exit? Wait for some more time, the change will soon come. Also, I may ask you a fever to do."
"What is that?"
"......"

At this time- outside the gear-barrier,
The gensokyo residents didn't show even a trace of doubt about Amarillo's status, which is a good thing. Lily Black told Mamizou about the broken limiter, however she didn't seems to mind, but after Lily Black tells her that Amarillo want others to focus on Amarillo's barrier, she seems to know something.
"So she went that-a-way, interesting." Mamizou is amused by the new change of tactics and fired another stream of animal shaped bullets at the crowd, forcing them to spread out.

"You think you are ready for that? The big attack that may come from that?" she points to the giant gear barrier in the sky.
"But isn't that just a barrier?" The one who charged out head on is Mokou, "Whatever.." she declared her "Phoenix's tail" Spellcard, and all of the bullets, to other's surprise, are absorbed by the barrier.

"Oh, so it's not a simple barrier..." Mokou smiled as the Barrier eats in wave and wave of bullets. "Any barrier has a limit! everyone, focus on that barrier! Amarillo may want to just delay some time for some reason!"

They didn't see that the three giant gears forms a triangle, and the bullets Mokou and the other fired are just hitting through the tip of the triangle to somewhere even higherer in the sky.
Inside the gear-barrier, Koishi is also looking at the top of the gear-barrier, which is entirely out of her view.
"So what's that leads to?" she asked out of curiousity.
"The Change." Amarillo let out a smile, "You'll see it soon enough."

Then, they heard Marisa's voice just below.
"Oops, prepare for some big crush." Amarillo sits down on the gear-floor.
"Wait, what-?" Before Koishi is able to reply anything, a huge blast can be felt just below, seems like Marisa fired her Master Spark at the bottom of the gear-barrier.
The shockwave created by this impact knocked Koishi down.

Outside the barrier-
"Hey, look, the sky!"
someone shouted, and points to the sky.
The repairing of the sky has abructly stopped, it felt wierd to see that the moon and the sun are both on the sky, and evening and morning exists on the same time. But more importantly...
"MEMORY ALTERATION SYSTEM - OFFLINE." A cold machine female voice claimed.
then another voice followed :"BEGINNING...EMERGENCY EVALUCION SYSTEM"

"It's finished." As Amarillo let out a sigh of happiness, the "walls" of the gear-barrier crumble into ashes.
"Guys, remembered everything?" she asks while giving Koishi a thumb up, as a dark colored portal is forming over her in the high sky. Koishi first flew through it.
"I really want to thank you for what you've done, but keep all these stuff until we made it out of that place." Reimu flew pass her bringing Mikata and co. who don't seems to be injured at all.
"You are quite good, I never thought you're that good with big bullets, and I believe this alteration system didn't have a part in that." Marisa follows her.
"So what we left to do is go through that protal?" As Ken flew up (with other's help, more or less), "Hmm, interesting - though my memories are still fuzzy."
"You couldn't hurt to be prepared for a fight though, we are trapped in a nasty place, no less."
"Ok, I got it."

Then they heard Nue shouting, "And I'm doing this because you didn't put up a good fight - At All! hope you do better out there!" As Nue angrily drag Etch from his "hiding place" and sends him up with a powerful.... is that a punch?

As Amarillo is looking up, seeing that more and more people are heading through the portal, the portal suddenly begin to emit a bright light.
"My mission is over.... Mission Successful. GA-04, over and out." as she muttered these words, the light fully engulfed her.
Though in the other's eyes, she is falling down to the ground.
"Did she really thought it's worth it?!" Lily Black rushed down.
"We are saving people, so I think it's ok, let's just make sure she didn't get hurt." Lily White follows as well.

How...long has I been here?
Amarillo opened her eyes, they are currently on the Shrine Grounds.
"And why are you guys still there?!" Seeing the fairies beside her, Amarillo sighed, "The portal won't open forever - and I'm too tired to get up by myself anyways - So you guys go first, I'll break out from within."
"What do you think you're saying? You saved everyone, now it's our turn to save you." Claimed Lily White as the fairies are trying to lift her.
but with no anvil.
"Still don't realize it? by directing the people's attacks towards what's called the power source of the simulation, I've shut it down and so is the mana simulation system. You can't carry me out because there is not enough energy for us to do so. Either I or you guys must stay."
"Don't say things like that..." Mamizou appears, "It seems that most of the residents has vacated. Remilia is no where to be found, and Sakuya is forbidded to look for her but she did so anyways, where in the world could they be.."
"What about the subterrain palace?" Amarillo asked.
"Can't find them anywhere, could be out already."
"...and how long has I been out down there..?" seeing the confused look in Mamizou's eyes, Amarillo repeated, "I mean, how long since I fainted down here...oh wait."
"Did you hit your head somewhere? You are talking wierd." The tanuki looks up, "About 15 minutes, if I would say - I spend these long time looking for other people, you know."
"...Then you must go at once, the standard UPS is going to restart as we speak."
"And what is that?" Nue asked, however the same cold female sound cuts in that prefectly answered her question.
"WARNING: UNIVERSAL POWER SUPPLY ONLINE IN 1 MINUTE."
"Shoot, it's still repairing itself?! Humans and their technologies." Nue stick her trident down on the dirt.
"So as I said, get outta here already - not like I cannot make it out myself. after some time I mean."
"Are these our only choices?" Asked Daiyousei.
"Yes."
"No."at the same time Amarillo replies, Nue cuts her off.
"So you decided then, that's.... very unusual of you." Mamizou laughed.
"Why? With great power comes greater needs, I read that from a comic book."
"POWER SUPPLY ONLINE T-MINUS 40 SECONDS."
"I'm sure it's "your version" of it. But if you have decided, we must do it soon, taking the 3rd option here, I mean."
"Seems you are ready..."
Amarillo don't know what they are talking about, but there can be only one possibility.
"Don't tell me..."
"POWER SUPPLY ONLINE T-MINUS 10 SECONDS."
"Exactly, you have showed great bravery and faith these days, and this is what you deserved. Don't worry for us!" As Amarillo is speaking, she found herself already in the air, with the fairies follows her.
"FIVE."
"FOUR."
"THREE."
Looking down, they see that Nue is still striking a pose with her fists in the air, seems they are launched the exact same way Etch did.
"ONE."
Amarillo couldn't even ask what they are planning to do afterwards as the portal completely closed behind her crew.
"EMERGENCY POWER SOURCE ON-LINE."

...It's the most beautiful comet ever drawn across the sky of gensokyo.

-30 minutes ago-
"...... It's something as simple as that?" Koishi asked in surprise.
"Yeah, I don't know if I could make it out, if I didn't, do as I said." replied Amarillo.
"What if you made it out?" Koishi smiled, "trust me, you will."
"Heh, then let's form a plan outside this world."

Look like Koishi is right after all.

.... ....
....
..

and the dream said It loves you


and the dream said you have played the game well


and the dream said everything you need is within you


and the dream said you are stronger than you know


and the dream said you are the daylight


and the dream said you are the night


and the dream said the darkness you fight is within you


and the dream said the light you seek is within you


and the dream said you are not alone


and the dream said you are not separate from every other thing


and the dream said you are the dream tasting itself, talking to itself, reading its own mind.


and the dream said It love you because you are love.


And the game was over and you woke up from the dream. And you began a new dream. And you dreamed again,

dreamed better.


And you was the universe.


You are what you are.


Now, Wake up.

..
....
.... ....

Kamisuiwa Town Outskirts - RAI Secret Research Lab Codename "GRAVEYARD" - ??:?? DAY2
So it has come to this.
As Lily White carries Amarillo out, she received the message that somehow Amarillo can't normally talk and can only speak in a very weak voice.
"Seems some other parts of me has burnt away, I need time to recover, we'll regroup at Tourist Helpers and we'll settle a plan. Koishi and Nitori may already be there."
With that being said, there is no point of them staying at the human-pot filled rooms any longer.

Yukari and Jeremy already made it out much earlier before the fight and has taking out all the scientists in the base. Strangely, no soldiers are in it.
As Jeremy and Yukari are busy opening the strangely looking machine jars and releasing people, a monitor lights up. And a lazy-looking man is shown on the monitor.
"Graveyard Base, Graveyard Base, this is Diamond Clear, reply!"
Yukari stopped what she's doing and dragged one of the scientists over.
"Reply as nothing has happened, do it!"
The scientist opened the connection and picked up the phone.
"This is Graveyard base, everything is fine, over."
"Graveyard Base, are all the subjects all right?"
The scientist tried to look back, but Yukari is pointing at him on the head with her fan. "NOTHING has happened, tell them!"
"Yes, everything is OK." The scientist said.
"Great, we are finishing our recon mission and is heading back, probably about 48 hours later we'll arrive."
"Roger, godspeed." The scientist answered and cut off the phone.

"hah, we get visitors." The Gap-Youkai pushed the scientists aside.
"And he's tough to creak, I suggest you to escape outta here and regroup." Amarillo's voice is echoing in the hall, however the girl is nowhere to be found.

Kamisuiwa Town - Town Square - Tourist Helpers - 13:15, DAY 2
A knock can be heard on the door, then 5 knocks, stopped for a second, 7 knocks, another pause, then 3 knocks.
"They are there!" The kappa known as Kawashiro Nitori - now under the name Nancy the shopkeeper - running down from upstairs and opened the door, and welcome the exhausted girls inside.
"So Nancy and Emily, huh? I wonder why didn't I got a nametag that at least start with a K......" seeing Amarillo and the fairies has finally arrived, Koishi hanged up the "CLOSED" sign at the front door and closed the shop. (Not this shop gets a lot of visitors anyways...)

A plan is forming for a rescue.

A squad is heading back for a surprise.

A team has been gathered for a revenge.

1 hour later, the old Saniwa Shrine website get updated after a 2 month slience, it show nothing but one sentence.
"Do you have faith at yourself, and others who believed in you? - Amarillo Viridian."

Fin
EPISODE I : Fake Dreams

EPISODE II : Dreamin' Leagues

[Kakyoin]

Unknown Time - Day 2 - Unknown Location

Spinning...

All Ken could feel was a spinning sensation. He could not comprehend what was occurring around him, everything was a swirling swath of...he wasn't even sure what was surrounding him. Was he dreaming? He could only see blue darkness everywhere...

Something went off in his head. An explosion? No...it was neither painful nor pleasant. He felt like gasping, but was trapped in a stasis of sorts. His body did not seem to be visually restrained, but he was immobilized somehow, perhaps due to an invisible apparatus.

"Ken...!"

He tried to glance around upon hearing a young woman's voice, but his body was unyielding and refused to move. Surprisingly, he felt the feeling of floating in nothingness being sucked from him...if that could even describe it accurately. What was happening?

"Wake up...!"

His mouth somehow opened in an attempt to respond, but no words came out. Where were the others? Trying to remember what had just happened, he thought of Kaguya and Mokou, and Hatate too...that ghost woman also, from the previous battle. But, he was forgetting someone...someone important...

"Please, get up..."

A rush of colors and light blasted across his body and overwhelmed his widened eyes. He felt like a vacuum was sucking his soul dry. Where was he going? Looking ahead, he braced for impact as a concave, translucent object came rushing towards him...



10:30 AM - Day 2 - RAI Graveyard Base ? Virtual Gensokyo Hosting Laboratory

"Huh!"

Startlingly, Ken became aware of his surroundings. He blinked a few times before looking around. He was inside something that looked like the interior of a machine...his whole body was inside of it. A see-through window was staring at him as he looked up, and he thought he saw a face through it. It was definitely someone on the other side, and although their mouth was moving, he couldn't hear them.
   "What...?" He tried to indicate that he couldn't understand, but then a mechanical noise descended upon his ears.

*Click*  *BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZT*  *SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH*

His arms jerked to life, and he found that he could move them finally. Sitting up as the door window opened upwards, he saw a brief flash of different lights, first on the left side of the interior of the thing he was in, then the right.
   "Ken! Oh, thank goodness you're okay..."
   His eyes darted back outside and he was greeted by a familiar face. It was Mayli!
   "Here, let me help you up!" She extended her hand out to him and he took it without hesitation. He was still a bit confused, even after regaining his memories of reality.
   Wait...reality.
   That was it! This was the real world now, not that fake Gensokyo. He suddenly became much more aware as she gave a grunt, pulling him up and out of what appeared to be a mechanical pod. "Ah...thanks..."

*RAI Base BGM*

He immediately looked around and was greeted by a startlingly familiar view. The room they were in was quite large, filled with more of the same mechanical pods--there were rows and rows of them. He could hardly believe that there could be so many of these machines in one place. Everywhere he looked otherwise, there were computer monitors, devices with lights...even the walls seemed to have a circuit board appearance. It was quite a technological spectrum to behold.
   "You're okay, right?" Mayli bit her lip and looked around as well, then gasped as she glanced into the pod adjacent to the one he had just been pulled from. "K-Ken...um..."
   "What is it, Mayli? I--" He turned to see what she was distressed over. Looking into the pod, his eyes widened.
   Stuck inside the pod was none other than Keine.
   Silently, he observed her for a moment. She had a slightly pained look on her face, but otherwise seemed unharmed. Was she still trapped in the virtual world? But that was impossible, hadn't everyone escaped?
   "Keine...we gotta get you outta here!" His fingers searched around the rim of the pod for a good grip, and upon finding one on each side began to pull up. No matter how hard he tried to lift it, he could not budge it one bit. Taking a few breaths, he attempted once more to no avail.
   "Ugh...it's no good," he said, turning back to Mayli. "Well, maybe if I try this..."
   Whipping out his sword, he tried carefully to pry open the top. Before he could get good leverage, he decided against it. He didn't want to force anything too much, lest his sword break or the machine malfunction. It could possibly hurt Keine if he wasn't careful, and that above all else had to be avoided.
   "Ah...Ken, look! Another one's opening!"
   "Huh?" He glanced around before seeing Hatate sitting up in the opened pod in the next row, yawning.
   "Ahhhh...wha? This place..." She seemed sleepy, just like he was when first awakening.
   He sheathed his sword and carefully maneuvered between two of the pods in the row in front of him, carefully stepping around the wires and cables that connected them all together. "Hatate! You all right?"
   "Eh? Ah, heya~" She waved drowsily at him. "Where are we? Is this...the RAI base we got taken to?"
   Mayli nodded and responded from afar. "I think so! Everyone is slowly waking up from being in the fake world..."
   "It sure seems that way, at least." He took the tengu's hand and helped her up as best he could. She stumbled and fell against him. Her chest felt satisfyingly soft.
   "Ehehe...thanks, dude. I still feel kinda wishy-washy." She reached into her pocket and found her cell phone. "Oh, that's right...I need to show you something that I--"

"WHAAAAAAT?!"

Both of them jumped in surprise at the sudden yell. His free hand shot to the hilt of his sword, while he gripped Hatate tighter. However, when they saw Mokou running over from out of nowhere, looking distressed and irritated, they calmed down.
   "What's the meaning of this?!" she demanded.
   "M-Meaning of what? Jeez, Mokou, calm down..." he said, letting the tengu lady go.
   The fiery woman had her hands on her hips. "Why aren't they all out of their pods?!" Before they could respond, she turned around and set to searching for something. "Where's Keine..."
   Mayli signaled to Mokou. "She's over here..."
   "Really?! Hold on, I'll be right over there!"
   Hatate sighed, watching Mokou take off. "I thought she was talking about the way you were holding me."
   Ken groaned. "If we weren't in this strange situation, I have a feeling she would...well, we ought to have a look around and see what's going on here. This lab looks pretty empty aside from ourselves, but we can never be too cautious..."
   "Yeah, no kidding. I'll go scout, then." Hatate hovered a few inches above the ground and carefully flew towards the far corner of the room.
   He felt a lurch in his chest after she had taken off. Dismissing it as a side-effect of leaving the virtual experience, he saw another pod opening up. Walking over, he saw that it was Yuyuko.
   "Hwaaaaah~ Oh my, what a nice long adventure." Yawning, she looked around with innocent eyes, until they settled on him. "Oh, hey Ken." Rubbing her eyes, she sat up and proceeded to get out by herself.
   His countenance narrowed. She seemed unaffected by the change. "Hmm...are you okay, ghostie?"
   "Yes, I feel fine, I think..."
   "Okay, that's good."
   "It looks like we escaped to reality after all. But, what about the others?"
   "They seem to be coming out of these...pod things, or machines or whatever...slowly but surely. Oh look, there are some others opening up right now!" He pointed down the line.
   The two of them walked over to see who was inside of them. Ken ran ahead to the closer pod and saw that Kaguya was inside. She too looked a bit drowsy, but also somewhat worried. Upon seeing him, she relaxed a little. "Oh...hi. Hey, help me up, will ya?"
   As he was helping the moon princess out of her pod, he felt a tug at his sleeve. "Ken, look who's in the other one..."
   "Huh?" He turned around to see Yuyuko pointing at the second one that had recently opened. "Wait...this is..."
   It was Amarillo.
   "Her too, huh...she doesn't look too good right now," he noted. It was hard to tell if she was conscious or not, but given what she had just gone through, it was understandable that--
   "Hold on a minute," he said. "Did what happened in the virtual Gensokyo, really carry over to reality?"
   Yuyuko nodded "It would seem so. That does make sense...after all, your sword is here, so..."
   That was true; he hadn't given it much thought. He had received the sword in Kourindou in the virtual world, the fake Gensokyo; he didn't have it when they had fought against RAI and were forced into that place. Come to think of it, what time was it? How long had it been since everyone had been captured? He had no idea how to answer since they were inside the RAI base, presumably in the depths of its laboratory.
   He had no time to answer, as a seemingly frustrated battle cry emitted from Mokou, drawing everyone's attention to what she was doing. Forming flames in her hands, she gripped Keine's pod and pulled with all her strength trying to free her best friend. "URGGGGGH!"
   "Wait, Mokou! Don't do that!" he yelled, running over to where she was. "You don't know if that will--"
   Unnerved, she continued to pull. When it would not yield, she raised her right hand and shouted. "Immortal 'Fire Bird -Flying Phoenix-'!!" Leaning back, she prepared to crash into Keine's pod.
   Suddenly, her spell card stopped working.
   She let out a surprised gasp and fell to the ground, feeling power fading from her body. What was happening to her?!
   Ken suddenly felt like his body had frozen and his heart had stopped. A painfully hot, incendiary feeling roared through his limbs like an endless barrage of numbing stings. Everything stood still for a split-second.
   
*CRASH*

*Tragedy in Progress BGM*

"GUAGH!" He felt like his entire body was breaking, all at once. He collapsed to the ground in an instant, gurgling helplessly and writhing in agony. All he could see was red, a deep bloody glaze drowning his vision. He croaked hoarsely as he clawed at his chest area, unable to control his hands. His heart felt like it was going to explode...
   "KEN!!!" Mayli screamed his name and ran towards him immediately, tripping over her own feet and clattering to the ground with a cry of desperation. She scrambled to get to her feet as Yuyuko quickly moved to aid him if she could.
   Having already gotten back on her feet, Mokou stood in a trance, staring at what was happening. What was going on?! Why was he--was he having a heart attack?
   "Don't just stand there!" Kaguya barked, as she had leaned down to try to restrain his flailing body. "Get over here!! Hurry!!!"


11:27 AM - Day 2 - RAI Graveyard Base ? Virtual Gensokyo Hosting Laboratory

*RAI Base BGM*

".....up..."

"...W...ke...up...plea..."

Hearing a voice, Ken opened his eyes. His senses were disturbed and reduced; rubbing his lips together, he felt the crusty coarseness and tasted something thick and heavy: the taste of his own blood.
   Blinking several times, he tried to sit up, but a robed hand reached over and urged him to remain seated. He heard the voice again, but more clearly this time.
   "Shhh, just stay there..."
   Looking up, he saw Yuyuko's face. He thought he saw her smile, as she reached down to stroke his hair. After glancing around as best he could, he noticed that he was resting in her lap.
   "Wha..."
   She put a finger to her lips to silence him before he could finish his thought verbally. "You're fine now. It seems like in all the confusion, we forgot about the mana links...and..." Her face wrinkled in displeasure as she glanced up, setting her eyes on a target he could not see. "...and well, Mokou used a spell card..."
   He closed his eyes as he felt his strength returning. Mana...just great, he thought. That problem was back. Since the real Gensokyo had collapsed, its inhabitants needed some form of energy for sustenance. He had willingly formed a mana pact with Hatate, but he was unaware of how he had come under one with Mokou...or even Yuyuko...and what about Kaguya? He sat there confused for a while, trying to figure out what it all meant.
   The Lunarian Princess appeared in his field of vision, looking rather concerned. "Is he okay now? Looks like it, I hope..."
   He managed a light smile as her face drew nearer; it wasn't often that she was so worried, but given the situation, her life was on the line already anyway...her care was justified, he concluded in his mind.
   As soon as she had come, she was gone. He heard her mumbling about Mokou as she walked away.
   "W-Where's Mokou...?" he managed to say quite clearly. Indeed, he was already feeling much better, and yet the pain he felt before was indescribably intense...
   "Ah, Mokou..." the ghost princess frowned momentarily. "She doesn't--she's...Mayli's trying to get through to her, but..."
   "But...?"
   She shook her head. "But, she too is exhausted, perhaps from shock or...something else altogether."
   So that was it, he thought. Mokou wasn't going to have an easy time approaching him. And yet, all he could wonder at the moment was how her spell card usage was tied to him. Then his thoughts roamed to how his sudden emergency reaction may have affected those around him. He hoped it wasn't keeping everyone overly worried for too long. At the least, this was certainly a wake-up call: mana was back, the necessary monster to keep everyone alive and well.
   He yawned and tried to sit up in Yuyuko's lap. As he expected, she moved forward to help prop him up, wrapping her arms around him as a support. Being held by her was surprisingly calming, for a bringer of death. Then again, if she invoked her powers here...he would die, that was unquestionably and disturbingly assured.
   Taking in the surroundings, he saw that many pods had opened. He could only wonder how long it had been since that accident occurred. Glancing around, there were more people up and about, some of which he recognized. One of them seemed to be coming his direction.
   "This is the guy, huh? He doesn't look so impressive to me." It was a woman with a long sword that looked similar to Reimu...who was she? Had he seen her somewhere before? Maybe one of the ones helping Mokou and Hatate fend off Nue in the virtual world? Wait...it was Meira, the detached, cynical one.
   Before he could act on her words, another walked nearby and replied. "Meira, don't be rude! He had a mana accident."
   Was that a sword this other one had, too? Looking closer, he noticed that, aside from her rather prominent chest, she looked distinctly masculine. He decided to set that aside for now. "Yeah, but I feel better now."
   "Good. Now you, apologize!" She turned to face Meira in disgust.
   "Whatever, Hiro-kun." She turned to Ken and immediately stated the bare minimum. "Sorry, and feel better."
   "Huh...it's fine, I guess," he responded autonomously. "I wonder where the others are...Keine...Reisa..." he mumbled somewhat to himself.
   "This is a good reminder of the burden we bear now, keep that in mind." Another voice entered the conversation, and Meira and this Hiro character turned to observe its owner's arrival. Ken followed suit, and was surprised to see someone he didn't think he'd be seeing again for a while. "Hello, Lady Patchouli."
   The youkai magician cleared her throat before continuing. "Yes, well met. It appears that you've recovered. No need to worry any longer about your condition, then."
   "Patchouli..." Yuyuko said her name with a hint of disdain and worry.
   He nodded, knowing what her words meant. "It's okay." Such 'mana crashes', as they had come to be dubbed as, did not have significant long-lasting after-effects, other than the initial spasm or similar problem. Still, that was no reason to abuse the system in any way.
   Then he remembered something, and spoke up. "So, where's Reisa? You remember her, right, Lady Patchouli?"
   She averted her eyes momentarily. "That's...ah, one moment." She turned upon being tapped on the shoulder by Koakuma, someone he recognized as her library assistant. Before walking away, she spoke over her shoulder back to him. "I think the tengu might know, ask her."
   "Hmm, okay then." He looked at his remaining audience. Glancing at the woman again, he finally remembered that it was Hirowaza, but he had other things to ask about. "Well, what about Keine?"
   "Maybe you haven't realized, but..." Hirowaza started to say, pausing to see if anyone would continue. No one did. "...well, not everyone made it out, apparently."
   "What!" He sat up straighter in Yuyuko's lap as she tried to restrain him, but almost immediately let him do as he pleased. "...I see. Then, I guess it's time for me to get up and check things out." Using his hand as a support, he slowly got to his feet. "I guess we've still got some problems to take care of..."


(Notes: Final team is Mayli, Mokou, Kaguya, Hatate and Yuyuko. It is apparent to everyone now after Ken's accident that the mana links between partners have been reestablished. Keep in mind that Touhous or OCs using ANY ability beyond that of normal human limits, including hovering/flying, will affect the pool of mana shared amongst an entire team, and too extreme or too much usage will lead to more and more severe exhaustion of more and more teammates.)

[trancehime]

aurora, seeker of the stars
she will come and i will bind her.

?? ?? - Day 2 - ??

VIVIT had been frantically panicking within the time it took for the rather mystical sight to whiz in the horizon, Meira was keeping the now standing Hirowaza straight up, as the two of them attempted to shuffle in an aimless direction. Yet, Hirowaza stopped moving and looked up at the strange sight. "Hiro-kun! What are you doing, just gawking?! We have to dash! Move, move! Your leg is injured, we can't waste time here!" Meira shook the disoriented Hiro-waza about as he stood, dumbstruck. VIVIT squeaked and unloaded some mechanical devices from her arms, scooped up both Meira and Hirowaza, and took the both of them away for evacuation.

i think it's a rainbow. i've always wanted to touch a rainbow. so this will turn out well, as i think this one wants to touch me.

Hirowaza was not entirely sure about the events that transgressed, he was not even sure if he was alive, as VIVIT had swept him and Meira from their legs and attempted evacuation, all he could see was a strange, beautiful feminine figure of light, it was a strange vision, a strange phenomena, unreal, that of the phantasm, in the recesses of his mind. Lightning flickered, thunder everywhere, the environs that was the darkness began to crackle, break open, break down, revealing a backdrop of pure psychedelic chaos... More lightning, the sound of disintegration, the sound of anarchy, the screaming... There was nothing but screaming.

A song of chaos lingered as Hirowaza lay unconscious in... wherever place he was, he didn't know, he wasn't sure if he was even alive, and yet, he could not stop thinking of that vision, that vision seemed to fill him with a renewed vigor, a renewed sense of being, something... out of this world. A higher form of power. Beyond the mortal plane of existence. Yet... was this tangible, was this even real? Or was it merely phantasmic, a fragment of his own imagination? Hirowaza did not know... But he would find out. A flash of blue and red light struck inside his mind, and, eyes jolting wide open, he awoke from his long slumber.

11:00 AM - Day 2 - RAI Graveyard Base
i already know the answer. i made that choice long ago.

Hirowaza found himself in a strange, unfamiliar yet rather familiar environs. Unfamiliar in the sense that he had never seen most of this stuff before, but familiar in the sense that this huge sense of unknown he was feeling definitely reeked of RAI. He found himself in a strange pod of some sort, and then he realized something as he looked about, and tapped back into his vision. The song of chaos, that sound of anarchy... Was the Gensokyo he had been in that time... a fake? An illusion? Hirowaza left his pod and stretched in place, cracking his knuckles and looking down at the ground. Then he looked up. Then he looked at an empty pod, eyeing a reflection of himself in it. The eye which had now been exuding a red trail was now literally exuming a faint, translucent, blue flame. He looked at his hands, and swore he saw some electricity flicker from one of his fingers.

"...Aurora...?"

Hirowaza shook his head and looked about, and spotted the cool and composed Samurai Girl, Meira, leaning against the pod that he could only assume she came out of and approached her. Meira smiled weakly. "You're finally awake," she said. "I'm glad to see that you made it." Hirowaza tilted his head. "I'm sure you must have noticed from the fact that a lot of the pods around here are still closed, but not everyone who was in the virtual world, as VIVIT puts it, evacuated." Hirowaza clenched his fists, but ultimately sighed. Behind one of the pods next to Meira's, scuttled VIVIT, who seemed to be just fine as well. She squeaked and pitter-pattered about, exploring and seemingly studying the various mechanical pods. Hiro fidgeted.

"Let's see who else is still awake?" Hiro suggested, to which Meira nodded solemnly and the two of them started pacing about. Hirowaza had noted to the robot that she should follow them when she is done studying the various mechanisms and contraptions scattered about the large room. VIVIT acknowledged with a cheerful smile and nod before going on her business. Meanwhile, Meira had spotted a small congregation of people in a secluded part of the room, where someone appeared to be in a recovering condition; it was the protege of Keine. He couldn't really remember his name that well, Ken or something? Meira had strolled at a brisk pace towards them.

"Hmm, so this is the guy, eh..." Meira tilted her head and looked down at Ken, who appeared to have just gained consciousness from a terrible accident or something of the sort. "Doesn't look like much to me, at least for someone who appears to be in high-regard to his... peers." Meira scoffed, but Hirowaza sighed and approached her from behind.

"Now, now, Meira. Don't be rude; it was a 'Mana' accident!" Hiro sighed as Meira shrugged in response. Ken had expressed that he felt better, but nevertheless, Hiro insisted on Meira apologizing to the guy, to which she did, albeit hesitantly and reluctantly. Eventually, Patchouli and Koakuma had entered to provide a little bit more background information; to which Hirowaza found it fitting to break the news that the possibility that not everybody had actually made it through was quite likely. Ken did act rather passionately towards this, but Hiro ignored it. His burning left eye seemed to burn a bit brighter.

"So, what's your plan then?" Hiro seemed to ask Ken, almost in a manner of sorts that implied it was a challenge.

[Jana]

11:00 AM - Day 2 - RAI Graveyard Base

Alternating between squeezing his eyes shut and squinting them to try and see his surroundings, Jan slowly sat up. His head hurt like hell, but he figured he cold at least try and piece together his last few memories.

Koa and I were just shelving books... There was... An earthquake? Things collapsing... Koa rushed to Patchouli-sama and I tried to hold the books. The shelves were too large. I'm sure of that. But there was something else... Collapsing. That's the key. Felt like I was getting sucked into something, torn apart... A singularity?

Did everything collapse into a singularity?

Finally, his eyes used to the light, Jan opened them wide and looked around. He still had no idea where he was, or how he had gotten here, and even what he had pieced together in his head told him nothing about his new surroundings. He could see that he was inside of what looked like a science fiction pod, and that there were many more around him. Some of them were opened, like his own. Following the growing din of chit-chat, he could see some people standing in a group some distance away, Patchouli and Koakuma among them. Feeling relief for his mistress and co-worker's safety, he slowly pulled himself out and to a standing position, and sluggishly dragged his feet over.

"...What's your plan then?" he overheard. He still had no idea of what was happening, but Jan seemed to have chosen a good time to wake up.

[CrowCakes]

1:00 PM - Day 2 - Kamisuiwa, Japan - Cafe

Experiments were horrible luck.

Gulping down the remains of a sushi platter, Danao checked his phone again. The message was still there on its Internet browser. Honestly, he would not have paid attention to it if it was not so cryptic and foreboding. Just thinking about it was sending chills through him.

It was really all his fault for testing it. The same thing came up on his laptop and refused to leave the screen. No matter how many new tabs and windows he opened on the browser, it stuck like a tick on skin. It was probably a freak occurence, but certainly something that had never ever happened before.

"What am I going to do there..." He fished out his pen and notebook, flipping it all the way to the back. Squeezed in the top of the page was the address of the place he was going to visit, just in case his phone ran out of battery. "I hope this doesn't take more than a day..." A nagging voice in his head screamed that there was not going to be a normal convention of anything tomorrow.

He looked at his phone's clock. One o'clock. He would probably want to start walking to the shrine to get it over with. If there really was no convention, at least no effort was wasted. Just a lot of time.

He scooted off his chair. With a satisfied stomach, he had all the time in the world to walk there. He was not going to spend a cent to investigate this.

[Kakyoin]

11:30 AM - Day 2 - RAI Graveyard Base ? Virtual Gensokyo Hosting Laboratory

Ken turned to Hirowaza. "My plan? First we need to figure out what we can and should do from here on out..."
   "Yeah, that sounds right. C'mon, Meira. Let's go find VIVIT and take a look around this place." Hiro headed off to the right and looked around.
   "Right, right," Meira mumbled. A robotic maid couldn't be that hard to find, anyway.
   "Hmm." Ken set his sights on the line of pods ahead of him. "I guess I should do the same for my partners too."
   "...so I guess you really do feel okay, then."
   His walking was interrupted by the sound of a womanly voice. He looked back upon hearing it, and smiled back at the ghost princess who stood there. "It would seem so. Thanks for your concern." She had a habit of being able to sneak up on just about anyone, even though she wasn't even visible. He reached a hand out and patted her shoulder. "And, thanks for your...care earlier."
   "Ehehe, no problem~" she gleefully stated. "We ought to go see what's up with everyone else, right?"
   "That's the plan, yep. Coming along?"
   "Sure. I mean, Youmu isn't awake, so..."
   He stared into her beautiful eyes and met a look smacking of concern. "I'm sure Youmu will be all right...and Keine too, and everyone else, somehow. But we can't really try to get them out." Looking around, he saw many computers, computer monitors and other strange devices scattered at workstations in-between the layers of pods. "Besides, this stuff is technology of sorts, and with enough time I'm sure we can figure it out..."
   "What about that kappa?" she asked.
   "What about her?"
   "Couldn't she, y'know...with her tinkering and such..."
   "Oh, that's a good point." He looked around again and saw a rather large group sitting down against a desk. "Just in case though, we ought to first check up on everyone else."
   "Yes...and I don't see Nitori anywhere nearby either, so...oh, stay still for a moment."
   Ken blinked. "Wha--"
   She put a finger to her own lips to silence him. "Turn around~"
   For a moment, he was puzzled. Upon figuring out what it was, he smiled and turned around. "Ah, hehe. I see, you want that right now...I don't see why not."
   "Just like a few years ago, yeah? It'll be like old times again." The ghost carefully climbed onto his back, hanging her arms around his neck and across his chest.
   He felt her pressing against him. It was a nice feeling, and it made him feel a bit stronger inside. This was a perk to the mana links, he thought. And since she was so light, it didn't really trouble nor affect him. Chuckling a bit, he reveled in the nostalgia. "This certainly brings back old t--"
   As he stopped to consider something, the two of them both seemed to wonder about the same thing at the same time. She spoke up first. "Yes, although..."
   "Yeah...I wonder how much time has actually passed."
   "Oh well, let's go check up on everyone else, 'kay~?" She playfully rubbed her body against his.
   "A-Ahh...yeah, okay." He was still embarrassed when she did that, apparently to her delight. She really was a friendly ghost...cunning, but friendly. Smirking, he walked over to the group with a Yuyuko in tow.


11:35 AM - Day 2 - RAI Graveyard Base ? Virtual Gensokyo Hosting Laboratory

"Hey Ken, long time no see." Vant subsequently stretched his arms out and yawned.
   The swordsman looked over. Indeed it was Vant. He walked over, but before he could reply, the gate guardian spoke up.
   "Hey!"
   "Huh?" Vant looked over to see that his left hand had gotten close to Meiling's chest.
   "What's the big idea, man? I told you, not here..."
   Komachi gave a hearty laugh and stopped playing with her scythe, which was laid out flat on the ground in front of her. "Pretty sure he wasn't trying to do that!"
   "Ehehe..." Ken looked around again before answering. "Yeah, it's been a while. I guess virtual worlds do that to one another, don't they?"
   "No kidding." The man between the two redheads cracked his knuckles. "Good to see you up and at 'em though."
   "I guess so..." he made as if to walk on, but then stopped and turned back to Vant. "Wait a minute, what did you want?"
   "Nothing really. It's enough to see that you live and are walking around. Just wanted to make sure you weren't overdoing it with me not around before."
   "Ha, I see." That was pretty typical Vant. The two of them shared somewhat of a friendly rivalry bond in the past, so why should it end now? "I should say the same to you, though."
   "Me? Don't worry about me, I'm fine." He grinned before continuing. "I'm built tough, you know. A little too much is just enough for me."
   "Heehee, I can see that~" Yuyuko teased, looking at Meiling and Komachi.
   "Yeah. We're all weaklings compared to you, Vant. Well...thankfully trials are not overcome by sheer physical strength alone, eh?"
   "Yup, sounds about right," Komachi interjected. "Hey guy, you sure you're feeling better?"
   "Me?" Ken blinked a few times. "Yeah, I feel fine like I should."
   "Hmm, okay." The shinigami nudged Vant. "Let's go look around, yeah?"
   Vant laughed "Look around? You probably just want an excuse to stretch after napping!"
   "Er, hey...well yeah, okay."
   "Haha...well, catch you later then." Ken walked over to an even larger part of the gathering. "Hey Owlbear, I guess you made it out just fine too."
   "Huh? Oh..." Upon being spoken to, the man known only as Owlbear glanced up. "Hello." Luize was sitting in his lap, looking somewhat comfortable. "You look good."
   "Yeah, as you probably just heard me say." Ken motioned over to Vant's group, who was standing up, in acknowledgment. "So, anything happen while I was out?"
   "Oh! Yes, there was some message on a monitor thing, or whatever they're called," Luize answered.
   "Right, that." Owlbear suddenly looked a bit more concerned. "We probably shouldn't just sit here, knowing that..."
   "And yet you sat down anyway!" Luize teased.
   "So? You sat down with me." He cleared his throat before looking up at Ken and Yuyuko. "Anyway, before Amarillo left there was--"
   "Hold on a minute...Amarillo isn't here?"
   "Yeah. She left about half an hour ago, you see. Something about getting help, and Tourist Hideout..."
   "Tourist Helpers!" Luize corrected him immediately.
   "Whatever. That old place of hers. Apparently it's pretty close by. I think she took Nitori along with her, as well."
   Ken looked at Luize and then fixed his eyes between both her and Owlbear, as if to give both of them his attention. "I see. What was this message-monitor thing, though?"
   "That...well, there are some RAI scientists still in this surpringly empty place. Some sort of conference call...notification...thing popped up on one of the monitors, according to Amarillo, intended for the scientists to see. The message was--well, apparently this place was left alone by RAI for the most part, but now it seems that since we are awake and about..."
   "...so they're doing something to interfere with our potential escape?" Ken attempted to finish his line. He wondered how it was possible that they knew about it so quickly. Maybe one of the scientists had notified other RAI officials elsewhere when the virtual system got overloaded.
   "Basically. I think--"
   "It's someone by the name of Diamond, who's coming over in about 2 days' time." Owlbear was interrupted by Shinki as she walked back over.
   "Really?" Ken asked. "Sounds like we should get outta here, then."
   Another, calmer voice sounded out. "Perhaps, although it would be best to preserve what we have as much as possible first." It was Yumeko, Shinki's shadow.
   "Indeed," the Makai Goddess said as she nodded in agreement. "Can we get everyone out of these machines?"
   "That is a very good question," Yuyuko exclaimed, speaking for the first time in a while. "It doesn't seem like brute force is the way to go though, that's for sure."
   Owlbear wondered for a moment about Mima. Why didn't she escape with them? It seemed like everyone else he was friends with managed to get out. Sure, she wasn't the friendliest creature, but the fact that she had somewhat possessed his body should count for something.
   "Oh well, I guess we should all gather ourselves before acting." The guardian-in-training set his sights on Hatate, who was walking around taking pictures of a few of the pods with her cell phone camera. "I suppose before we do that, we ought to at least take roll call..."
   "Remember, we have about 48 hours." A somewhat cold voice rang out. Ken looked back and recognized that it belonged to Mai, and he could see Yuki behind her.
   "Right, so we'll have to plan accordingly." Ken reached up and adjusted his Yuyupack before turning to the tengu. "Okay then. C'mon ghostie, let's go get everyone else and talk things over."


(Notes: None.)

[Amraphenson]

11:00 AM - Day 2 - Kamisuiwa, Japan - Saniwa Shrine
Pencils scratch into the paper, leaving wide, swooping trails of graphite. The image of the forest around him is slowly transferred to his pad, line by line. The bell, the box. The shrine itself, the trees and cobblestone paths. He didn't know why exactly he was here, to be honest. After receiving that email and seeing the militants around the town, he felt...drawn. Called, as if beckoned by a voice.

His utensil tears furiously into the paper. Every detail. Nothing left behind. Eraser shavings grow in number at an astounding rate. The growing soreness in his wrist is ignored in favor of the art. Lead dust falls to the floor as paint cans pop open. The plastic sheeting he sits on catches errants drops of pigment. 

Something about this is unhealthy, he notes in an unused corner of his head. Never mind.

Draw. Paint. Shade. Color. Create. Become. Dive.

A sudden rustling behind him. Then silence. But he's already turned around, deep inside his adrenaline fueled trance, pupils dilated and body tensed.

Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Mao Xuezheng, child of a doctor and a soldier, relaxes from the Bagua stance he never realized he took. And, though it lingers in the corner of his vision, he can see all too clearly what he has created.

Two forms, dueling with naught but their bodies amongst the ruins of a shrine.

Sweat runs down his face, burning hot yet ice cold at the same time. Breaths come hard and fast, his chest rising in an erratic rhythm.

He sighs, finally. That always happens. He thinks too much and delves too deep. A trance, his father called it? Battle trance? '...Yeah, dad got an award or something during Vietnam for 'great valor'...otherwise known as killing lots of people himself. Old geezer always chalked it up to some kind of 'super mode'...wonder if I picked it up.'

Too many times had he been alone in a studio, interrupted, and nearly hurt someone. Wasn't the first time.

He sighs and whips out the paint remover, spotting the spots of paint that have hit the stone path. His lunch waits for him inside his pack. He doesn't have anything else to do.

The noon sun hangs peacefully above Xuezheng.

4:00 PM - Day 2 - Kamisuiwa, Japan - Kamisuiwa, Japan - Town Square
Having returned from his excursion into the wilderness and otherwise, Xuezheng felt pretty exhausted. On the other hand, he was also hungry; his preprepared food didn't last long after that adrenaline rush. At least a quick bowl of beef and rice (nikudon, was it?) had solved that.

'This is the address, huh?' he wondered, staring at the closed up shop. '...I have nothing better to do. Nothing ventured nothing gained, especially for an artist...'

And with that, the door was opened and Xuezheng walked in.

[Yog-N'yggoth]

12:00 AM - Day 2 - Kamisuiwa, Japan - Hotel Room

Flick

 The knife popped out, and with a deft movement, was folded just as quick. The switchblade was a real bi- pain to keep on his person for this trip but somehow he managed to hold onto it. It wasn't a keepsake or anything; This was his third knife after the other two either got lost or had its edge broken. The thought of not holding onto it just seemed alien to him, like not having a piece of yourself with you. Still, the knife was useful in just about everything, although he doubt he'd find a situation that called for it.

 The switchblade itself was a fine one at least. The black grip was as long as his hold, with the blade a bit shorter than that. The blade was sharp and partially serrated on the lower end of it.

 Ashley was laying on the bed, a bored expression on his face. His jacket was on his side, the left sleeve dangling off. His gloves were on the desk besides him, which had a lamp for late night reading and whatnot. The room was comfortable, aside from the single bed, there was a large tv, a bathroom, and even a closet for whatever extra things you've brought. He didn't have much to bring with him however, most of the furnetire he used at "home" was owned by his friend. Although home itself was just a room his friend let him borrowed since god knows just how expensive renting a decent place is. Like there, he kept the place as realitively clean as it was before he came here.

 It wasn't like he didn't feel thrilled to be here, in fact, he was absolutely excited. A good clean break from all the troubles he managed to get into. The convention sparked a interest that he only dabbled at times, starting with his friend showing some show to his little cousins.

 To this day, he still got hounded about that.

 The lack of understanding of the local language was al bothersome, but hey, not like he was going to stay here for long, right? So that wasn't bothering him too much.

 It was just that he couldn't really do anything in this town. The language barrier would be a obsticual, and he was a stranger in this place. Yes, helping others tended to end badly for him instead, but he'd gotten used to it.

 This was supposed to a break from that wasn't it? Ha ha, even on vacation he couldn't have a break. He rolled to one side of the bed and closed his eyes. He was restless and hadn't slept much lately after he came here. Maybe some rest would be good for him. And maybe just some browsing on the web.

 
1:16 PM - Day 2 - Kamisuiwa, Japan - Hotel Room
 
 Ashley's day just gotten stranger as it went on. First he got a all-expense paid trip to some convention for whatever reason, and now while browsing the web on a hotel computer, he found this strange message popping up. No matter what he did, it just wouldn't close for him. Giving up, he decided to just click it and wait for the virus. To his surprise, it didn't do anything but linked him to some defunct site with a single, noticeable line. That he could barely read, what with a shoddy translation to go by. However, what he did manage to get was an address that seemed to be in the town. After figuring out where it was and how to get there, he wrote down the location and went out. The free trip was a interesting surprise; This little side trip might be another.