In A Different World ? Journeys in the Land of Illusions

[MayKissingDoveWyks]

Chapter 14:

When you?re down and out
When you?re on the street
When evening falls so hard
I will comfort you?

? Paul Simon, ?Bridge Over Troubled Water?

The silence had come to an end. But she was the one who took the initiative. ?Why are you staring?? Tenshi asks. I stand up, sighing, ?Look, I?m traveling around. The least you could is not try to harm someone who is just wandering.? She wipes the blood off her forehead, the injury already healing. ?Well. I?m staying here okay. I?m in exile. Go away alright.? Tenshi heads back to her fire. I follow her, but Tenshi turns and points her sword at me, ?Go away.? I respond, beginning to leave, ?Alright then? You?ll be missing out on all the fun.? This gets Tenshi listening to me, finally. As she puts her sword away, Tenshi poses a question to me, ?What kind of fun??

I hadn?t thought that far into the plan. Coming up with a great excuse, I say, ?Well? We could go south, and see the border.? Tenshi seems engrossed? But I continue with, ?I have to see some people first?? This is a letdown for her, but she grabs my arm. ?Take me there!? Tenshi giggles. Giggling? I need a better form of transportation? I ask her, ?Say? Do you know a way we can move around faster?? With that, a boulder, decorated with rope and charms, slams into the ground outside the cave. That may have worked a little too well. Tenshi drags me over to it and sets me on it. She hops on, standing behind me and asking, ?Where to, first?? Uh? I tell Tenshi that we need to be finding snow patches that look unusual. She launches the rock directly into the air, but I ask her to slow down.

Our search begins down the mountain, Tenshi said, ?There doesn?t seem to be anything out of the ordinary, but let?s keep looking.? Thanks for pointing out the obvious, Tenshi? I do eventually find a patch of snow and direct her towards it. ?Are you sure?? Tenshi asks, beginning to lower it. I bark at her, ?What? OF COURSE!? We head down to the patch and I jump off. Searching around for a trail, I notice Tenshi starts playing with the trees. She shatters one in a half, thus scaring me half to death. I tell her, ?Don?t be making such a ruckus! Do you want them to find us?? Deciding to play it safe, Tenshi stops messing around. I catch a trail of snow, plus a doll? That must be it.

Motioning Tenshi over to me, we follow the trail. Sure enough it leads where I expected. Several trees completely missing their leaves, several of them were frozen. Another sign was seeing Hina, green hair and frills? ?Why does it have to be so cold?? Tenshi asks, shivering. Eh? you get used to it. Hina notices me approaching, and rushes to me. ?She?s here. Just see for yourself,? Hina directs me to a rock. Another hiding spot for Letty? Doesn?t look much different than the one before? I kneeled in front of Letty and she stared at me? Quiet it was? She hugged me and squeezed tight. ?What took you so long?? Letty sobbed. Tenshi obviously tried to ruin the moment. She came closer but I heard the sound of crashing? Good job, Hina?

Responding to Letty?s cry I say, ?I got sidetracked okay? But I?m here now?? She keeps holding onto me. Tenshi was sprawled out onto the ground nearby, Hina standing there victorious. I begin to pull Letty away and onto the ground of snow she had left there. Noses touching, we breathe into each other?s faces. Smiling? Letty probably hasn?t been this happy in a while? I wanted to roll around in the snow, but she was the one on top, not me? If I had a camera, I would make a movie out of this scene. Even moment taken, preciously? Mouths touching, fingering each other?s hair, hands moving to hold sides? I feel so ashamed of myself for having committed such earlier acts? Like I have sinned? But those were forced? Shake it off, that?s the past?

Maybe I could freeze to death out here and it would be all over? I wouldn?t care? Hina wasn?t going to let me do that, nor was Letty. We stop, Letty worrying ?I know you can?t stay long. Neither can I, but you would be worse off.? She gets off of me and adds, ?You can visit me anytime. I?ll be around. Just be sure to visit before I have to go?? Letty smiles. Patting me on the shoulder, she pushes me towards Hina and Tenshi. ?Take him down the rest of the way safely, alright?? Hina nods, but Tenshi is confused ?Wait? where are we going? I didn?t agree to head any further down the mountain!? But Hina pulls Tenshi along, and Letty tells me, ?Go? Please? For now?? I listen and follow Tenshi and Hina. Leaving Letty, I see her image disappear into the snow around her?

The three of us head down the mountain? Damn it, I keep forgetting about the dolls. Those two were taking the heat of this? Shanghai finally asked, ?You never get enough, do you?? Again, Why is this her business? Eh? I?ve been with these two for a month now, so it would make sense. ?Well? I sort of don?t?? I reply, she giggles. Hourai comes out as well. She combs my hair, trying to get as much snow out of it as she can. Done, Hourai adds a smile. After reaching a certain point, Hina stops walking. ?I?m sorry, but I stay on the mountain?? She excuses herself from our venture. Tenshi decides that it?s her turn to lead, and summons her keystone.

The sun had finished its peak and was heading nadir to the sky. Tenshi was trying to move us at top speed, but out of the Great Youkai forest there was nothing but plains? Choosing this as a good time, Tenshi slows down as we drift across the plains. She sure was enjoying it, smiling and staring at the sun. Time becomes slow for me; the grass whips along underneath the keystone. As we head southbound, a grand mansion appears. It was black, and looked almost unreal. I ask Tenshi, who was too busy burning her retinas, ?Should we check that place out? It looks like good shelter?? Snapping out of her fascination, Tenshi thinks about it, ?Eh? alright. As long as it keeps me away from getting caught.? With that, we float towards the mansion, the sun?s speed increasing on its descent towards the ground.

Tenshi lands the rock with a thud, and I am propelled onto the ground. Getting up and dusting myself off, I scold her, ?Be more careful next time!? Tenshi crosses her arms and pouts as I head up to the front door. Interesting detail on the door: carvings in various patterns, large rings on the door, but no bell? There were no windows on the door, nor were there any nearby. Taking a breath, I pound hard on the door. An echo could be heard from the pound I had made. ?Well? I guess we can go now.? Dislodging the keystone from the hole in the ground, Tenshi began to leave. But, the door creaked open slowly. Light flooded into the stead, not normally entering at this time of day. I begin to walk in slowly, but Tenshi worries, ?Don?t go in there! It maybe dangerous!?

Turning back to her, I tell her, mockingly, ?I?ll be okay. You can stay out here if you want to?? Tenshi stays put, and I head inside, the dolls remain hidden underneath my clothing. It was somewhat dark there, but enough outside life could brighten my vision of the area. Sheets were scattered all over the floor, like a musician?s works all littered about unfinished. Walking further into the mansion, I notice the style of walls and decorations, all fancy and baroque. Grandiose paintings? It was interesting? Quiet it was? But the exploring didn?t last, as I was overcome by a noise. This noise soothed it?s way into my listening ears. The soothing sound brought something into my mind.

Starting to follow the sound deeper into the mansion, I feel emotion overcoming me. Sounding so well thought-out, the flow and ebb of the music carried me along. It had crept into my eardrums for so long that I started to tear. Creating sadness was all that this musical masterpiece had done for me so far. I had not heard such great music in a long time. Losing my sense of place, I enter a room that has a light on. A person was sitting in there, violin and bow floating in mid-air. What kind of musician is that? The ?musician? wore white sleeves and a uniform dress, black-in-all, a triangle cap with vertical perms perched on top. Short blond hair bushed out of her head as her feet wore black, almost buckled shoes. An appealing one? The piece concluded and I couldn?t help but clap, tears running down my cheek. This startles her and she stumbles backwards. Her hat fell off and when she grabbed for it, she stopped and looked at me?

[MayKissingDoveWyks]

Delay because of obvious holidays.
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She places her hat back on her head and smiles. ?Hello,? She said, getting up off the floor. She began shuffling through papers on her desk and asks, ?You like that one? I?ve never really presented it to others yet? I just don?t like it. It sounds like the rest of my pieces. All mellow?? If anything motivates me to tears, it?s that good. But seeing the creator just tossing it aside as a failed experiment made me feel ashamed. Examining the papers on the floor, I find many pieces unfinished, or for the most part, unwritten. I walk up to her, praising, ?But the piece was so wonderful. How can you not like it? I thought musicians liked their work??

She turns to me, informing me of her accomplishments, ?I have made many pieces. Most of them fairing very well? My mellow pieces never seem to motivate anyone. My sisters? all they do is create white noise? It shames me? Even when there?s fighting or composing music, I try my best to put out what?s best and make sure everything is well for both sides? It can work sometimes?? She keeps on ruffling through the papers. ?By the way, my name is Lunasa. The eldest of the Prismrivers. Do you play music as well?? That was a good idea. ?Eh? I have a xylophone and instrument that looks like a mandolin.? Lunasa nodded her head, ?That?s interesting, especially that mandolin.?

Returning to her manuscript, Lunasa has the floating violin play. This time it played a different tune; it had much depth and more complexity than the previous piece. Listening attentively, I hear the completeness in the sound. Lunasa lets it play for about 5 minutes, each passing chorus and solo emphasized by the violin. At this point, I noticed that my position was in a comfy chair, located right near where Lunasa was playing. Her golden eyes were closed, and she concentrated all the while conducting the instrument to play. Several times she glanced back at the sheet music, not having perfectly memorized it. I hadn?t noticed up to this point that her violin had entrails surrounding it, and so did the bow. I stop her from playing; the only way was to shake her.

?Why did you stop me from playing?? Lunasa seems worried, ?Was it bad? It didn?t suit well, right! I knew it? My music is not that enigmatic?? Shaking her again, Lunasa gets that I don?t want her to talk. ?What is it then?? She opens her mouth a second time. I question her existence, ?Are you alive?? Lunasa was shocked by this question, but confused she replies, ?Describe: Alive.? Taking a breath and leaning back into the chair, I ask, ?You were once living, right?? She snorts, ?Heh? of course I was. What kind of question is that?? Shaking my head, I ask, ?You know that you?re dead?? Lunasa was confused again? I shrugged it off, and she returns to her music making. Lunasa?s a poltergeist, one that worries about her own music being too intricate for one to understand. What am I to do about self-realization and her? Nothing, that?s what? Just let her dabble in her music?

I decided to pick up several sheets on the floor, similar to the ones from earlier, and examine them. Notes were littered on the page, some there, some scribbled out. Lunasa notices, and she swipes them away, ?Don?t look at those! They aren?t good.? Okay? I?ll just sit and wait? Shanghai tries to come out, but I push her back in whispering, ?Not yet.? She frowns, and tries coming out from the bottom. Succeeding, she flies up and lands precariously on the head of the chair I was sitting in. It made it easier for Hourai to come out too. Lunasa didn?t pay attention or rather, wasn?t caring?

Lunasa said she had sisters? Where are they then? I ask her about this, and she responds, ?They?re out and about? Merlin wanted to cause ruckus and Lyrica went along for her own needs. Both of them wished for me to join them, but I?m busy working on this? I want to get it done.? Pretending to be fascinated, and since she?s so honest right now, I ask, ?You?ll be performing that soon?? Lunasa was quick to reply, ?Soon? Oh nononono, not soon. This thing is far from finished?? I clasp my hand on top of hers, ?Look. Some of this music can be great. The author needs to ignore any intricacies and errors, and just let the audience decide whether it is finished?? Lunasa calmed down somewhat.

I add a smile to ensure her that she?s doing fine. Lunasa smiled back? The moment couldn?t have been? more perfect? -ly ruined? I heard a blaring noise come from outside the door. It was incredibly loud, my head felt like splitting. After the noise stops and my ears blasted, Lunasa came right next to me trying to shake me out of the tizzy. ?Are you all right?? She asks. No, of course I?m not. ?My sisters came back earlier than expected. This is terrible. They can?t find you here. If they do?!? The entrance of a red one cut off Lunasa? She had light brown hair and carried with her a keyboard. ?Sis, I?m home! With Merlin!? She stops short, smirking, ?Oh sister, I didn?t know you were busy?? Lunasa blushes but Lyrica continues the onslaught, ?All this time you were lying to us, just to have your way??

Lunasa started faltering with her reply, so I couldn?t really make out the words? Just babbling. Lyrica shrugs this off, ?Big sis wants to do her own things? A shame? I?ll just be going back to my work then?? Lunasa tries to respond in full this time, as I sit back in my chair, ?There is nothing between us? What are you talking about?? Lyrica snickers, ?Oh really? Tell me then. What is a lousy dabbler doing in the mansion? Hmm? He wasn?t invited nor had any prior meeting with the three of us. And you just allow him in? Ungrateful!? Lunasa tried remaining calm, as her sister stabbed everything she possibly could at her. The scene was hilarious, until Lyrica had to take it a step too far, ?I thought you had a better taste in men? This one?s practically burly? And he has dolls like that creeper in that terrible forest! He could be a pedophile for all we know! Now if it were me, I?d have kicked him out by now and have him fed to youkai at night.?

Wow? what a selfish prick. I felt the urge to get up, but Lunasa put her hand on my lap. I sat back down as Lyrica ranted and raved, continuing to knock insults at us. Then I heard a blurting noise and the entrance of another one who had blue hair and a pink dress. ?NARF! Hey what are you two doing? Three?? Oh boy? ?Hey? Who?s that? Hello there!? She continued and actually came up to me, shaking my hand rapidly. Fervent with energy, she asks Lunasa, ?Who is this you brought here. He seems interesting. I like interesting?? Merlin was acting like a dog over my presence, excited. She yanked me out of the chair, spun me around, and started putting her hand in my hair, and sniffing it. I swatted at her and Merlin went away to Lunasa. ?Tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me,? She kept on pestering Lunasa until she snapped. ?He?s just a visitor.? Merlin was displeased and sat down right on my lap. Lyrica chose to leave, shrugging off her loss?

?A visitor, eh?? Merlin looked at me in my eyes, ?I like visitors? But they don?t come often?? Gee, I wonder why? Lunasa went back to her work, busy, as she has been for the past hour. Continuing to smile, she asks me some questions, ?How did you get here?? Simple answer. ?I was just wandering around when I found this amazing place.? Merlin nodded when I said ?amazing?. ?Tell me more,? She said, ?It?s hard getting more people to be in here. Actually, we can?t usually have visitors often. They say they don?t like the noise.? Frowning, Merlin blew into her trumpet, which made a noise. Good thing I didn?t end up sitting in brown? The noise trickled off and she breathed? Turning to Lunasa, Merlin asked, ?Sis. Can he stay over tonight?? STAY? What about Tenshi? I have to go back? ?Why are you asking?? Lunasa replies.

?Sis. It was dark out when we got back?? Merlin answers. Dark?! How long have I been in this place? Oh wait? It gets darker earlier in winter, I forgot. ?I guess we have choice then?? Lunasa says, turning to me, ?Would you mind if you stayed?? I have no choice either. ?Not really?? I reply, feeling lethargic about it?

Another night? ugh?
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End of Chapter 14

[MayKissingDoveWyks]

Big addition tonight...
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Chapter 15:

The book of love has music in it
In fact that's where music comes from
Some of it is just transcendental
Some of it is just really dumb
But I... I love it when you sing to me
And you? You can sing me anything?

? Stephin Merritt, ?The Book of Love?

?The next question would be? Can you handle it?? Lunasa asks, getting out of her seat. I had to ponder and question, ?Handle it?? Lunasa sighs, ?Sometimes? we make noise at night, practicing.? That doesn?t sound good? A night of noise, and I need my sleep? ?Actually? I think I shall be going,? Having made my late final answer, I try to get up to leave. But Merlin pushes me back down into the furniture with her weight, saying, ?Please? Can you stay? Please! I promise we won?t play too loudly!? I give? ?Alright, alright,? I reply, ?Can you get off of me though?? Ecstatic, Merlin hops off, smiling, ?Yay! I?ll go tell Lyrica!? With that, she whizzes out of the room, letting some of the sheets fly about through the room. That?s not good. Lunasa and I just stare at each other?

?This is what you deal with?? I ask her. Lunasa shakes her head, ?Be glad that I?m the mature one?? And with that she tried to return to her work. Lunasa sighed, shoving the sheets aside, ?You know what? I?m done for tonight? Come with me.? She motions me to follow her. I rise from the chair, the dolls following suit, and leave the room. Lunasa closes the door behind her, lights off. Throughout the mansion, I notice the windowpanes, few of them filled with the moon?almost at its full again. We head to a larger room in the moonlight. Surprisingly, each one of them had their own room in the mansion. Obviously, Lunasa?s was the one that we went into. She shoves me inside and locks the door behind her. I am amused on how she has her own room. That means where we were was a study or office rather?

?There?s things you can touch, and there are others that you can?t,? Lunasa warns me as she began to illuminate the room. Many decorative things were in there: stringed instruments, a desk full of papers? Picture frames? of people long gone or forgotten. I picked up one of the frames when Lunasa was busy sorting through her files. It was mostly a black and white image, but I moved it more into the light? It changes from sepia-toned to fully colored in the light. An image affected by the magic in this mansion? I could recognize most of the people in the image; the Prismriver Sisters? but a fourth person was with them. Her hair was long? youthful?

Lunasa snuck up on me and snatched the frame out of my hand. ?I told you there were some things you can touch, others no?? She began to scold me, but I moved away from her. It would be ironic if I told you there was a bed. But like all those who lived before, the dead still have their beds intact. The bed was full size, varying colors, topped with a patterned quilt. The moldings on both ends seemed carved in arches, with swirls spiraling in the center. Unusually, this mansion probably has the only Western-styled beds in Gensokyo? Laying down on it, I ask Lunasa, ?Who was that?? Lunasa coughed hard when I asked this. ?Who?? She angrily replied, ?None of your business.? I left it at that? Lunasa decides to sit on the bed as well, pushing my body over to one side. I could hear some noises from the hallway, but the noises were somewhat muffled thanks to the closed door?

Lunasa plays some of her music she dubbed ?secret? and ?solo? styled. Regardless of stylistic manner, the piece was as enjoyable and ear candy as the others. Lunasa soon stopped short of finishing?or at least what I thought was finishing?and put her violin away. ?It?s not that great?? She had remorse for the wondrous music. Again, another instance of her lack of confidence. Timing couldn?t have been more perfect, as knocks were heard on the door. Lunasa somehow innately knew it was Merlin, as she swung open the door to squelch the furious knocking. Merlin was standing there in a different garb from before; looked like pajamas, with her hat replaced by a nightcap. ?Sis! That ghost woman is here!? She barked at Lunasa. ?You mean Lady Saigyouji?? Lunasa replied calmly, when Merlin snapped back with, ?YEAH!?

Now, this ?Lady Saigyouji? I haven?t heard about in a month now. (Remember that far back?) Lunasa didn?t bother hiding me, actually shoving me out into the hallway with Merlin. ?I?ll be there in a second. I need to change. Merlin take him to the main room,? Lunasa said so, all the while shutting the door and locking it. Merlin smiled right into my face, ?I bet she?ll be interested in you. She likes a lot of things? Generous, once you get to know her? You?ll do fine.? She began taking me down the hall, the moonlight rising. There wasn?t much to see in the hallways this time? Paintings, moldings, doors? By the time we got to door leading into the main room, Merlin paused. There were voices speaking inside. One was Lyrica?s, but the other was someone else?s? At that point, both of us had our ears glued to the door:

?I thought you?d send another one of your spirits, but I didn?t expect you to appear in the flesh,? Lyrica was talking.
??In the flesh?? Ahaha, that?s a good one. I will remember that,? The other voice responded.
?It wasn?t meant to be a joke.?
?I know, I know. Even in the quiet moments, you do have your positive words. But I have to say they are mostly negative.?
?Negative??
?Sure, I mean, my assistant is such a bore-snore that she never makes me laugh. Not far enough that is.?
?Lady Yuyuko, I am right here!? Another, angered, voice belted out.
?Settle, Youmu. Shouting is impolite??
?But you started it!? Whining?
?You can be such a child sometimes??
I inferred at this point that Lyrica was musing at the two squabbling.
?I am not a child. I serve you all the time. No reward, no respect.?
?Ah, yes, but the better rewards come to those who never receive.?
?That made no sense!?
?Youmu, would you rather have me consistently berate you like a poor delinquent, or would you be generous as to satisfy our hosts and cease your babbling.?
At this point? It was quiet?

?What are you two doing?? A voice from behind startles the two of us. It was Lunasa, styled in her nightclothes, just like Merlin except black. ?Eavesdropping? Let me listen!? Lunasa tried pressing her head against the door, ?Nothing? Did they stop? Oh well? Let?s go in.? She knocked on the door and Lyrica answered, demurred, ?Oh? it?s you three. I wondering where you all were.? She let us in to the main room. I have to say the main room is grandiose like the rest of the mansion? Western futons, fireplace, armchairs, rugs? But in the middle was a low table, the only essence of oriental in the room. Lyrica led us towards the table; the two figures there eager to meet people?

The first one was the voice I remember that talked first. First thing to notice was the natural brown iris, a head added with medium-length abnormal pink hair (tell me something in this place that is normal) and her blue mop cap on the table. The clothing consisted of a sapphire and white kimono with floral designs tied by a blue wrap belt, littered with pink and cobalt trims. Accompanied by apparition fragments she was? The one referred to as ?Youmu? was jade mostly all-over with long white sleeves, a left breast pocket, with a darker colored bowtie. Her hair gleamed of silver in its shortness, part of it blocked by a ruffled ribbon embedded. A katana resided in her large hilt, a pink flower bound to the hilt, along with a hilt for a smaller sword. The look on her face was discouraging?

?Ah. It is so wonderful to meet such a colorful bunch,? Yuyuko spoke softly as the rest of us sat around the low table.
?I did not know you had another guest either,? She chuckles.
?Me neither,? Lyrica adds, rolling her eyes. I chop a stern look at Lyrica, noticing Youmu following suit?
?So, it has been a while?? Yuyuko continues, ?I did not know you still bothered writing music. You three don?t visit often anymore??
?Well,? Lunasa replied, ?Times change? It gets harder for some of us to write new material??
?Artisans know no bounds? Even you should know that...?
?I take joy in my work, okay? Anyway? why do you bring your presence??
?Simple? I am just wandering around. Being cooped up in the netherworld is too much of a toll on me? Fresh air would suffice in these times.?
Yomu was detached from the discussion, as was Merlin?who was curled up in one of the armchairs, as she chose to not join us at the table.
?It was an interesting endeavor getting here. Was not it, Youmu??
Having been urged to speak, Yomu replied, ?Define ?interesting?.?
?Oh you can been so brash sometimes? So? about this other guest.? She smirked, directing her attention towards me.
?My lady, do not be getting any ideas.?
?Youmu, It is best for those who have those thoughts to not accuse others??
Youmu blushed, ?What are you saying??
?Youmu, I have seen your perverted ways. More than once??
?Lady Yuyuko, this is not the place to talk about these things!? Her face burned red.
?Oh? You would not believe her,? Yuyuko began talking to us again, ?The things she does??
?It?s not funny?? Youmu began to tear a little.

She came over to me, beginning to cry. ?You would believe me, wouldn?t you?? I have no choice but to respond? ?Well? Concerning the situation, I would not deem it appropriate to discuss such matters. Even I have my own adventures that are somewhat immature and do not wish share. Yuyuko, If you would be as so kind?? Yuyuko huffed, ?No one can take a joke can they? Can one contrive a petty response and conform it into mush?? What? Youmu at this point was wiping her eyes and immediately went back to Yuyuko?s smiling side in a snap. ?So about your times here,? Yuyuko continued, ?Have you enjoyed this so far? Or has it been hell?? She likes to joke a lot, doesn?t she?

[MayKissingDoveWyks]

“Well… that depends on each intricate instance…” I talk, with my attempt at sounding intelligent.
“Can you name a few?” Yuyuko asks, intrigued…
“Um… well…”
I begin to talk but she cuts me off again, “Start from the beginning, if it is that much trouble to you.”
Sighing, I begin again… I told her about how I came here, wrestling with Rumia, getting healed… etc. I left out about talking about Alice… It really didn’t matter; as Yuyuko was more interested in the times I spent wandering around and speaking with others.
“The story sounds of sweet apricot…” She responded to my ventures, “But sometimes sourly and wasabi pasted…”
“Wasabi pasted?”
“Yes, wasabi pasted… Those hints of hotness in love…”
Confused by Yuyuko’s metaphor, I ask, “What made you assume…?”
“Oh… Assume what? The way you told your stories… It sounds as if you left out key details…”
She hit it on the nose. I had not bothered telling her about any of the… um… colorful scenes, thus leaving gaps in the story. Anyone could have seen that.
“So you’ve been everywhere already?” Yuyuko continued, smiling.
“Not really… I expect it to take some time.”
“Well… Why don’t we shorten that timeframe by the bushel? You can come with us back to Hakugyokurou.” Another place? Eh… I don’t like the sound of that. All this moving around…
“WHAT?!” Youmu belted out, “My Lady, You can’t be serious! That barrier hasn’t been fixed either… The humans shouldn’t be getting too comfortable with entering!”
“The barrier is broken?” Yuyuko asked, dumbfounded.
“Yes! I’ve told you many times. Even Yukari tried to fixed it!”
“Oh… Did that bird come back ever?” Yuyuko was on her own train of thought at the moment.
“What bird?”
“That bird. The delicious one…  She had that cap of some kind… trying to sell me some sticks…”
“Lady Yuyuko, I haven’t the slightest clue.”

At this point, the conversation was heading downhill and I decided not to even bother listening. The Prismrivers were sucking this information up, while Merlin was passed out in the chair. Nothing really made me want to divvy up these exchanges of words between gardener and master. But I digress… Polar opposites going at it is something I hate watching, especially at night. I stand up and push the two apart. Youmu exclaims, “Hey!” Yuyuko completely discards the discussion and gets up, adding, “You are right. We need to get going.”

Lunasa speaks for the first time since the conversation began, “Why do you have to take him now?” Yuyuko huffs, “Well… Youmu said the place was not well guarded… anyone could get in there…” Youmu grunted at the statement, since Yuyuko disregarded the situation before. Well… I guess it might not be so bad. The only thing to make it worse is that my stomach growled… “Look, he’s even peckish…” Interesting, since I hadn’t eaten since noon… And that was snow……… what did I eat at noon? Eh… I forget. Probably best to not remember what it was. With that, we said our goodbyes and headed off; the Prismrivers weren’t all too enthralled to lose a guest so fast…

The moon still was high in the invisible sky, countless stars littered across its pane. Obviously, Tenshi was not located outside… Nowhere in sight… Odd, she must have given up waiting. No matter… We continued on and out towards where “I think” is the proper direction. The two of them wanted to walk, but hurried. “We don’t have much time and we need to get back,” Youmu stated as we began to rush eastward. “Youmu, If you would not mind carrying the poor lad then,” Yuyuko requested… Swiftly, Youmu snatched me off the ground and we were heading in the air at speeds. “Just be careful with him,” Yuyuko threw it in as she followed closely behind us.

It wasn’t long before we reached a flight of stairs… I felt light-headed and dizzy. Youmu looked to me, worried but calm. She warned me, “You’re currently dead right now…” Dead?! “But don’t worry. Once you leave, you’ll be back to normal.” That felt somewhat better. “Just, don’t disturb the spirits her in the gardens. Doing so would cause more work for me…” Yeah. Just ramble on why don’t you? The flight up the stairs wasn’t all too fast. We came to a girded set of gardens, guarded by a main wall, mostly square. The walkways were traditional, but an enormous cherry tree sat in the middle, partially blooming… I stared at it for a while, as Yuyuko disappeared in another direction.

“Don’t get any bright ideas,” Youmu whispered, pulling me away from the awe of the Saigyou Akashi. I was brought into a room with a low table. Youmu sat me down next to Yuyuko, her mop hat placed on the table. “Youmu, I’m famished. Would you be so kind as to fetch us food?” With that, Youmu dashed out of the room, responding, “Yes, my lady.” Left with Yuyuko and her causes, I try to not focus my attention on her. She was just kneeling there, smiling ever so vibrantly… What thoughts was she concocting in that swirling mind of hers…
___________________________________________________

End of Chapter 15.


Message from the Author:
This is a VERY small update.
With 15 Chapters, I am putting this work on hiatus, probably for a few weeks to a month.
Putting so much effort into it and only taking a total of about 4 days of which there were no updates, I decided that I needed a break from this.
I will work on other and new pieces.
And hopefully leaving this piece alone for the while will allow some settling and allow people to read this with more completeness.

[MayKissingDoveWyks]

Back in action. May work on something else alongside this.

_____________________________________________________

Chapter 16:

In a world I used to know before, yes I miss you more?

Than the sun reflecting off my pillow
Bringing the warmth of new life
And the sound that echoed all around me
That I caught a glimpse of in the night?

? Tony Banks, ?Afterglow?

What could a ghost possibly eat? Other souls? I just hope that the have nothing wicked planned or something. Actually, what am I stressing about? They were generous enough to let me stay here, even inviting me as a guest. Negative connotations run amuck in my brain as I sit there. Again, Yuyuko continuing to crack that smile on her face, I was becoming anxious. Youmu sure is taking a while, thus bringing me back to my first question, but elongated: What could a ghost possibly eat and why would it be so hard to make?

It seemed Yuyuko couldn?t wait any longer and decided to take me on a walk. She stood up slowly and began to leave the room, motioning her hand to follow it. We walked along the siding and passed by the Saigyou Akashi. Yuyuko noticed that I was staring at it, so she winded her path in between parts of the garden so we would stop in front of it. I casually followed her. Yuyuko patted the side of the tree and smiled, ?It doesn?t normally bloom. I have tried to make it so recently, but that failed?? Her smile went away as she wanted us to walk back to the room.

By the time we had made it back into the room, Youmu was waiting there. Youmu sat there stoically, but when she looked at me, the face turned somewhat red and the mouth opened downward into a cracked opening? This startled me, but I ignored it and sat down. Youmu had prepared tea and some ?biscuits?; that?s what ghosts could eat. They were odd-looking ones, since they looked more like rice crackers with mochi sandwiched in between them. Yuyuko began gulping the food down her throat, as Youmu and I sipped the tea. ?You sure you don?t want anything,? Yuyuko put a ?biscuit? on my plate, while still chewing away at the food.

?I can manage,? I replied to her, sipping away at the tea. The tea smelled different than the others I had, and tasted bland. Finishing my tea, I sat there, but Youmu poured another cup. I could not refuse another sip. Youmu seemed content as I was drinking, too content? I examined the walls as we ate; the doors were just as oriental as the other places in Gensokyou, but just a little more. The ghosts were roaming about in the area; Youmu?s ghost was floating around, too. I was uneasy by the fact that I was the only human there, an incredibly small minority. But, this is Hakugyokurou so it made sense, since they mentioned earlier about a damaged barrier.

Yuyuko finished her meal ravenously and chose to leave already, yawning. ?Youmu, I?m going to rest, all right,? Yuyuko stated as she rubbed her belly and slinked away. Youmu rose from her seat and began to follow Yuyuko, but Yuyuko paused for a moment and said, ?I?m fine. Do what you want.? Continuing her walk, Yuyuko left the room, where now Youmu and I were the only ones. Youmu sighed and sat back down, I finished my second round of tea.

?Any more?? She asked, grasping the teapot in her hand. I motioned my hand in the air, declining; Youmu got the message. ?I do have to tend to the area,? She said, both fists pressed against her cheeks as she rested on the table, ?But only when mistress is awake?? Youmu was basically telling me that she was bored currently, but talk is cheap. I sighed, ?You don?t do much around here, don?t you?? Dropping one of her hands to the table, Youmu huffed, ?Pretty much? Bet it?s that same with you??

?I have my share of fun and adventures.?
?But out there, I?d doubt it that anything that exciting happens.?
?It can? I may have not exceeded many boundaries, but I intend on exploring corners of the land and then settling in the area I find to be best. Afterwards, I can go anywhere, but I?m not capable of anything beyond rock throwing, unless something magical happens.?
?In Gensokyou, it?s plausible. Not here though.?
?Yeah, I figured.?
?You probably wouldn?t want to stay here. Actually, you shouldn?t even be here.?
?I know, I know. Give it a rest. I?ll be out after a while, okay.?
?Fine? Just don?t let Yuyuko get to you here.?
?Why should I be worried??
?Well? ever since her incident, she?s been doing strange things,? Youmu stuttered with her speech.
?What kind of strange things,? I raise a brow.
She blushed when I asked this. ?It?s not that important worth knowing about?? Her speech stuttered even more.
?I?m assuming it?s perverted, right??
?How did you know??
?Intuition? It?s something everyone has.?

Our conversation dabbled along for some time, until I yawned several times. Youmu guided me to a sleeping commons, but technically, it was the room she slept in. Mats and blankets, pillows, were resting on the floor. It?s unusual that Youmu does not sleep in the same room as her superior; must be something to do with arrangements and stuff she talked about? I took a blanket, but Youmu wasn?t interested in sleeping. Lights off, I went to rest on the mat, blanket covered over me. Youmu left the room.

My sleep did not last long. The hallway door slid open, and light flooded the room. I tried to keep my eyes shut, covering them with the blanket and turning away from the light. This worked to some degree, as the light soon went off. All of a sudden a weight collapsed on me, weighty it was. Unusually, clamps that wrapped around my body, girding me from getting away, accompanied this weight. Upper on the weight, it had something soft that was divisible in two, as it rubbed against my shoulders. Lastly, the weight had some sort of other clamp, as this one gnawed on my ear. Something wasn?t right, as a wet mesh went into my ear??

I used some force to turn my body around and knock the creature off of it. Lightly thudding on the ground, it slinked back up onto my body. I was laying flat now, thus decreasing my chances at another attempt. Whatever it was, which I couldn?t see, it began licking my face. My arms were pinned to the ground so there was nothing I could do. Could this be one of the stray ghosts, but it felt so humanoid like? Pillow, Clamps, wet thing; it doesn?t add up. The thing heaved a heavy breath, also, a warm one. This thing was unusual, but could it speak? It grabbed my head and caressed it though?

?What do you want?? I asked it.
?You.?
?I?m not in the mood.? I tried turning over.
?Don?t be such a shady demon??
?I?m not a demon. I need my rest.?
?But it?s not fun? I waited until she was busy, too.? This gave it away.
?Yuyuko, using last minute tactics will not persuade me.?
?How so??
?You showed no interest earlier.?
?That doesn?t mean I wasn?t interested.?
?Yeah? that?s what they all say? Let me get some rest.? I tried turning over again.
?You?re no fun??
?Hey. I?ll let you sleep under the blanket. Nothing else though.?
?Fine??

Yuyuko got off of me and moved underneath the blanket. She?s unusually warm, but I then felt her arms on me. Deciding to let it go, I went to sleep with Yuyuko wrapping her arms around me. I had my back to her though, wanting to be undisturbed. For her it was a nap, as she tossed and turned after a while, making me feel uncomfortable. I should leave after this rest; I?ve overstayed my welcome like Youmu said. I could wake up when I wanted to awake, which in turn could be any time; I just have to be careful in case she wakes me up.

When the sleep ended, a face greeted me. This face covered 35% of my view, and it was none other than Yuyuko. I must have rolled onto my back, and so, she lay on top. It took several minutes before I noticed Youmu come into view. She was sitting beside both of us. I lifted my head up to indicate that I was awake.

She grinned, ?You two enjoy yourselves??
?Oh this? Nah, we didn?t do anything.?
?Anything? It looks like you did.?

I doubled checked Yuyuko to see what she meant, and something was different. Yuyuko took off the top half of her kimono. Looking further underneath the blanket, I found all of it was missing, but my clothes remained. I couldn?t help but blush.

?Youmu, it?s not what you think.? I said to her, stuttered. (What a reversal of roles.)
?Yeah? sure.? She snickered this time.
?I?m serious. It was her who wanted it, not me.?
?So you did do it.?
?No I did not!?

Our conversation began to awake Yuyuko. When she stirred, she elevated herself above me, stretching.

?That was a good rest,? She said. Youmu directed her eyes back at me.
?That depends on who you ask,? I responded.
?But you didn?t want it either, right?? Yuyuko giggled.
?No. I didn?t. Just some sleep is all I needed.?
?Youmu, he?s a hard sleeper. You can do so much when he?s asleep.?
?I?m sure you can?? Youmu chuckled. This conversation was waning my ability of anger management.
?What did you do?? I asked.
?Oh nothing. I just had some fun?? She responded.
?While I was asleep?!?
?Hush. It wasn?t anything that terrible.?

I felt a sinking feeling? This was as bad as what Alice had done, but at least then I was aware of the incident, not after the fact. It was also indication that I needed to leave. Something has to give way in my travels: my security or my entertainment. Both gave way here, and I dislike it when that happens.

I immediately asked Youmu if I could leave. Yuyuko was not happy to hear this, but they let me go. Youmu escorted me back to the barrier and left me there. I had to figure where to go next, and the most logical choice was to head back to the Human Village. At least there I could hide from both ends of the spectrum in this lunatic domain. My current knowledge knows that the Human Village would be a good place, since at this point most major people would think that I am out and about. When I came to the outside, the sun was shining though, which meant I had plenty of time to get there. Before doing so, I stumbled back from a sudden impact of a giant rock landing into the ground in front of me?

[MayKissingDoveWyks]

This whole time I forgot to mention that I kept the dolls hidden underneath my clothing. They seem to be sturdy dolls. I let them breath for a while; Hourai was much more exhausted compared to Shanghai. We had only been in there for about 9 hours. Now, back to the boulder. It turned out to be Tenshi; it?s been what, a day now? She looked angered some what, but Tenshi didn?t let me rest. Shoving me onto the keystone, she said?

?Where the hell have you been?? She took the rock into the air.
?Out and about? I should be asking you the same thing.?
?It was night. I hate the night, so I went hiding for a while. In the morning, you weren?t there. But I felt a shiver run down my back, when I looked up, I thought I saw ghosts, and maybe you. I couldn?t tell. I had at least some idea where you went??
?Yeah, well, I had not expected to be leaving any time soon, but I guess it happens.?
?Where were we heading again??
?I don?t remember anything beyond? eh? I wouldn?t mind the Village.?
Tenshi halted the keystone in midair, ?If any place we go to, that will be THE LAST place we go to.?
?Fine? at least go to the outskirts.?
?I?m okay with that.?

My stomach growled; of course, I hadn?t eaten breakfast. Lucky for me, Tenshi had a stack of peaches on the keystone. I eyeballed them until she noticed. ?Fine? you can have several,? She sighed. I snatched a handful and began gobbling down some of them. ?Don?t eat too fast, or you?ll choke.? What did she have to worry about? As we headed towards the village, though, something in the air changed. It soon began to smell awful and there were tons of flowers around.

?Um? Tenshi, do you know where you?re going?? I asked.
?Sure, I?m sure. I always take this path. Poses no problem to me.?
?Well? I?m getting a little nauseous here, just to inform you.?
?If it?s that bad, then maybe I should go faster??
Hourai and Shanghai seemed worried as we headed along the field of strange flowers. ?I think I?ve been here before,? Hourai stated, ?It wasn?t all that great what happened??
Now this is something to worry about.
?Is it something that could cause harm to me?? I asked her.
?Not really. I did not have much trouble here last time, nor did Shanghai.?
Shanghai nodded her head.

Still confused, I decided to wait it out. Besides, this really was nothing but a Nameless Hill to us. As we traveled though, a being came out. She had short, wavy, blondish hair with a thread tied on top. The clothes altered with a regalia tone and a burnt red, all plated with small metal rectangles bridging over a cross pattern around her chest and the perms. She seemed mad as all hell, and would have begun shooting at us? But she waited, and Tenshi decided to get off the boulder. Now I was even further confused. The oversized doll yelled at me?

?What the hell do you think you?re doing in my domain??
?Nothing? Just passing through.? Tenshi answered.
?Not you! That other thing.? She pointed at me with a slinking hand, and put on an angry face.
?None of your business,? Tenshi answered again.
?I?m not talking to you!? This time she moved towards me, beginning to expel a purple cloud around her.
?Woah! Easy there!? I responded, ?I?m not here to hurt you!?
The dolls moved forward in front of me to try and protect me from anything that the youkai had up her sleeve.
?Humans! Evil! Go away!? She spat at me.
?I?m not that evil!?
?Liar! You come to destroy my land. I?ve seen your kind before. Beating the shit out of me for fun! Be lucky I don?t go out and poison everything in sight!?
I looked at Tenshi, but she shrugged.
?Look. I?m not here to destroy you, I?m just passing though,? I try backing away further.

Something wasn?t reaching through her mind, like a stubborn child. She constantly spewed out hate on humans, like a raging animal. Maybe if I try to reach down on her level then I could leave. I tried approaching her, but staying away from the cloud of poison. I let a rant go?

?You want to know something. The problem I have had with my kind is that they always bicker about every damn thing. Everyone has there own bias and no general point of view. Many of them are cynical and self-centered. They have a strong urge to try and control others when in power and don?t care whether the controlled like it or not. It sickens me. They pretend to be emotional and mourn and care about shit no one cares about. I?m tired of them. I just wish I were born differently, and from somewhere else; where I don?t have to put up with pretentious crap. Enough is enough, I say! End me now, I don?t care!?

Medicine couldn?t help, but clap. I stood there in awe; I had belted out probably the worst stuff I have said in a long time, and all I receive is a clap? She giggled, too, which added to my frustration. Tenshi was amused as well, her facial expression changing to ?heh, I didn?t know you were like that?. Feeling embarrassed, I sat on the rock. The dolls sat on my shoulders again. Medicine reached her hand out though, but I receded back.

?Don?t touch me!? I said.
?Why not??
?You reek of poison. I could die.?
?But you said you didn?t care??
?I only did that for effect.?
?Effect?? Medicine was confused.
?What? You don?t understand why I said it??
?Not really. But it seemed like a good idea??
?Again. I only used it for emotion!?
?Hmm?? Medicine was lost in looking at the lilies planted on the ground, ?Do you want one??

I put my hand up and declined. Tenshi was interested though, and picked several of the flowers. Medicine didn?t mind, since the hill was abundant in these flowers. Sitting back on the rock, I felt like leaving. I really could not do anything fun, besides eating peaches?which Tenshi probably wouldn?t let me eat anymore. Medicine seemed interested in showing me other things about her, but because I refused to touch her, she became upset over that fact. I attempted to try something different. The poison didn?t affect the dolls, so I had them touch my hands. They floated over to Medicine, as she tried to contract as much poison as she could, and touched her hands. That?s all I could do in terms of a handshake. I bowed afterwards, as she smiled.

After Tenshi had taken several flowers, I motioned her back to the rock. ?Come back anytime!? Medicine said, giggling. Tenshi got back on the keystone and began to take us up. Mid-day had arrived already; we must have spent two hours there. I waved to Medicine goodbye, but it looked as if though a tear was forming in her eye?a purple one dripping slowly down her face?

I will choose to come back here, once the spring comes?

____________________________________________________________

End of Chapter 16

[MayKissingDoveWyks]

Chapter 17:

As we headed out towards the east, the sun headed through another cycle. Tenshi was still nervous about heading over to the village?

?Do we really have to go over there??
?Yes. Why not? Haven?t been there in a while??
?I am not on good terms with them??
?Oh really??
?Please don?t mock me! It wasn?t funny what happened??
?Then tell me what happened.?

Tenshi did not answer my question and just shoved another peach in my face. I took a bite out of it, but still asking, ?Is it that serious?? She sighed, ?I can never have fun I guess.? Chewing away at the peach, I asked, ?Well? Maybe you could improve your relationship with the people there.? Tenshi hacked a cough. ?As if I would!? She spat at me. ?Hey, I?m just here for the ride. Helping your problem could help, I?m just saying,? I respond, leaving the core of the peach on the keystone. Tenshi didn?t answer?

The sun was setting and the day of the full moon was among us. Tenshi still wouldn?t speak to me. The village soon approached fast, but then disappeared just as quickly. Not amused, Tenshi slows down the speed of the keystone and begins to descend. As expected, Keine was located by some trees; angered again? We stopped in front of her and she snarled at us. It took her a while to recognize me. When she did though, Keine proceeded to grab me away from Tenshi. Keine hadn?t changed since the first time we met, holding my in her arms with her strength, and still she was green?

?Where have you been?! You could have hurt yourself!?
?I?m not a child. How many times do I have to say this to people??
?All humans are my children! I protect??
?I just came here to stop by??
?And what the hell is that thing doing here?? Keine pointed at Tenshi, who looked away.
?She?s the reason I was able to get here.?
?Well? troublemakers like her need to stay away.?
I looked at both of them, ?Did I miss something here?? The dolls were confused too.
?Nothing important.? Tenshi stated, glaring at Keine.
?But you could not resist coming back?? Keine responded harshly.
?Look, if it makes you feel any better? I?ll come with you into the village, Keine? And Tenshi you can go do your own thing.?

?Fine?? Keine answered. Tenshi, though, immediately took off and left the area. Keine started dragging me into what looked like the village, as it slowly came back to normal. There was house dislocated from the cluster of shops and homes. I was tossed inside and Keine rested at the table. Apparently, she set the village on ?concealed? mode. As I sat at the table, she sat down and stared at me. I noticed Keine?s large, bushy tail sway back and forth.

?Stop looking at it,? She said, still letting the tail sway.
?Why did you bring me here?? I asked.
?My house is the safest there is.?
?Really??
?I don?t want you conversing with the others? Not yet.?
?Have I seen to much to enter this place then??
?You may have??
?Or is it that you?re lonely??
She blushed, ?No? It?s not that??
?But it is always that??

I had her this time, and she stopped arguing with me. ?Sleep?? Keine said, trying to pull me to a mat on the floor. ?Fine? I will. It?s a long day,? giving into her request. The only difference was that once I lay on the floor, Keine tried to land herself on top of me. But, sensing that it would happen, I rolled over before she could do so. Keine was interested in how I moved. ?What?s wrong?? She said. ?I?m not interested,? I replied, ?It?s been a long day for me.?

Keine began to frown. At least she wasn?t going to be alone; as the door slid open. It was Mokou again, just stopping by. Keine quickly got off of me, face turning red. ?Mokou, it?s not what you think!? She said. Mokou grunted, ?Yeah, yeah? I already told you that I?m not interested.? I chose to roll over, pretending to try to go to sleep. ?But it?s so lonely out here, Mokou!? Mokou sighed, ?Again? No excuse for you to be hitting on me, or a passerby. I thought you learned by now.?

?I have? but I cannot help it.? I began to wonder at this point why Mokou was really here.
?Shouldn?t you be guarding the village??
?I do not need to. My powers are more than enough??
?Then how did I get in??
?Eh?? Keine paused, ?I?ll be right back.?

With that, she rushed out the door. Mokou stared at me for while, but then spoke.
??Sup.?
?I need my rest.?
?No you don?t. They longer you stay here, the more you?ll change. Eventually, you won?t need three meals, and rest is needed less. It came with the perk of living here.?
?I noticed??
?Hmmm? You don?t look much different than last time.?
?Am I supposed to??
?Not really. But I expected change??
I decided to bring up another point, ?Why did you barely speak earlier??
?Talk is not something I?m interested in?? She sighed.
?Okay then?? I turned over.
?Hey, don?t just walk away from a conversation ?cause I said that!?
?You changed your mind??
?Eh? Nevermind. Just be careful with Keine. She likes to act weird sometimes??
?What kind of weird??

Keine returned swiftly and said, ?Fixed~? Mokou shirked in the other direction. Confused, Keine asked, ?What happened?? Mokou didn?t say anything and I decided to go to sleep. Keine wouldn?t allow that though, as she put her weight on me. Mokou sat there and watched, bored? I tried shooing her away, but it didn?t work. The dolls moved away to the table. I was in for a rough night?

[MayKissingDoveWyks]

?   ?   ?

I did not know a tail could be used like that, but I digress? Eh, it wasn?t all that bad, but with Mokou staring at us, made me feel uncomfortable. She probably wanted to get some too; it?s not her personality though? Ack, what am I saying?! I woke up in the morning, but Keine was gone already. I had a weird taste in my mouth? Mokou was there at least to speak to me?.

?Where did she go?? I grumble forgetting my sense of time.
?She works during the day?? Mokou was sipping tea.
?Huh??
?Well she left some tea for the both of us.?
?I can see that??

Getting up off the floor, I first stumble back down. My legs ache from last night? Mokou set her tea down and decided to help me up off the ground. She had to drag me across the floor and to the table. When I was there, my arms felt awful as I tried moving them. But it was enough to lift the tea off the table. Taking several sips to wash any possible lactate, my arms shook a little bit. Mokou was generous enough to prop my arms up for me. The dolls soon came over to help as well.

?Thank you??
?Just. Don?t go too rough when doing that. Especially with Keine. You might lose a limb.?
?But I didn?t, now did I??
?It?s not a joke.? She went back to drinking the tea.
?I have to be going soon anyway.?
?To where? Is there any place you need to be going??
?I just came here for a visit. Nothing special? Maybe look around.?
?Be careful then. There are all types of mishaps that go on here.?
?I?ll be fine.?

I try to get back up, but I stumbled again. My body still felt somewhat numb from the action last night. Mokou had to pick me up off the ground again. I wasn?t going anywhere for a while. I had to sit up on the ground now for an hour or two before I could walk again. This time, though, Mokou had to leave early to head back to the bamboo forest, like it was her ?job? or something. Really wish she could have stayed longer? I was left to the comfort of the dolls until I could feel my legs again. Hourai was going to be the one to comb my hair, Shanghai just sat on the table.

?How many more times?? She said.
?Heh? What am I supposed to do? I was in a gridlock.?
?Oh really? That didn?t look like one??
?It?s been two months now? work with me??
?Doesn?t feel like it? Eh, Make sure you water your hair sometimes? some soap would work.?
?Yeah? where do I find that??
?Tch, there are many places.?
?Like where? I don?t see you looking for any??
?You could at least try, I do so much work for you??
?Not as much as you should. Heh.?
Hourai stopped combing, ?You know. You have been really cocky for a while.?
?The cold is getting to me? The Winter Madness!?
?The jokes need to not start as well??
?Fine? you?re right. I should lay off??

She went back to combing my hair, but Shanghai started wondering?
?Hey? Where are we going after this??
?I have to probably wait until Keine gets back.? I like how no one questions how I know everyone?s name.
?That could take a while??
?School day?s all of 6 hours. And besides, it could be a Saturday.?
?Why??
?Children have shorter days on Saturday.?

?But where are we really going then? To plan ahead?? Shanghai persisted on asking. I hadn?t really thought about where to go next. Any other safe haven would have to be a religious center, but that maybe hard to find? Wait? There is a temple located on the outskirts of the village. Shouldn?t be that hard to find. I forget what it was about? But my knowledge tells me that any religious cult place should be safe, even for me.

?Hourai? Do you know a place named The Myouren Temple??
Hourai thought about it for a while, ?Not that I know of.? Okay? Now I don?t know.
?Well? Let?s just wait until Keine gets back, and then we can head out.?
?How long will that take??
?I already answered this! Go play with Shanghai!?

When Hourai was done, she went to Shanghai. They started whispering to each other. The day prolonged, as I was so damn bored? Keine arrived at high noon just as expected. The dolls gathered with me, as Keine entered the house. She was dressed in blue this time with a large hat. This is the first time I have seen here in this form, which is odd because her were-form is harder for people to be able to find. She was somewhat happy to see me again?

?So how was last night? Sorry, I couldn?t stay long for the morning??
?Eh it?s okay?? By now I could stand up again, ?It did tire me out a bit??
?Oh? Did I go too rough on you?? She patted my check. It?s odd how Keine goes from motherly to a rampant wild animal in one night?
?A little bit, but I regained my strength.?
?Good??
?Just? Don?t pound so hard. I really do not eat much and I worry about my back snapping like a twig and all??
?Oh? I know what you mean? Sorry? I can be a little rough. I get so excited sometimes, I really can?t control myself. Mokou avoids stuff like that? The attempt to cave and all??
?I?m going to have to go soon.? I decide to break up the conversation because it was heading down the wrong path.
?Aw? but that?s too soon!?
?I know, I know. But I?m a person who?s on my own, really??
?Who will you travel with next??
?I?m going to go to the outskirts.?
?Dangerous territory, my friend.? Keine got up from sitting, ?Just go. But be wary of yourself.?
?I know. I at least have these two to help me as well.? The dolls were less enthusiastic?

I said goodbye to Keine, who bothered to plant a kiss on my cheek. Rubbing it off, I was already a good distance from the house. I walked through the village to find a way to the temple located in the outskirts. No sight of an overtly large galleon, but I really shouldn?t be expecting much for a ship. Minutes passed before, I found the right direction. As I headed over there, nothing would prepare me for who I would run into along the way?

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End of Chapter 17

[MayKissingDoveWyks]

Chapter 18:

?Riding through the range of light to the wounded city
Filling my spirit with the wildest wish to fly
Taking the high road, taking the high road to the wounded city

Memory strumming at the heart of a moving picture??

? Neil Peart, ?Workin? Them Angels?

People were bustling about throughout the village; I must have passed through the denser area, probably the marketplace. When I left out of that torrent of people, I had been mingling about. Just looking around at everything, before I reached the temple. Time came when I guess someone had spotted me along the way. Instead of ramming into me, the person continued to watch me until I noticed. They kept hiding as well? It was creeping me out a little. I decided to wander all over the place, to make it seem like I was lost. It wasn?t working, so I stopped dead and waited. Minutes passed, but then when my guard was down, I was kicked onto the ground. I expected that much.

When I got kicked, I threw my arms in front of me so I could land on the ground safely. The attacker was not too happy, but she grabbed me. We were there in the middle of the village road, quiet? I could see who it was and it was Aya? again? But with tears in her eyes. I had a pretty good feeling on what she was going to say and I was right?

?What the hell do you think you?re doing?!? She said.
?Nothing. Mingling and roaming. What I do best.? I said back.
?Don?t play games with me! You know about this!? She held a paper to my face with a photo in one of the subsections later in the newspaper. It was that one from a while ago.
?That?s forged.? I responded.
?It is not!?
?You believe what your rival says??
?No? I don?t.? She turned away, ?But one could be suspicious.? Aya glared back at me.
?Really? Hadn?t noticed. Been around for two months, doing stuff??
?I thought you would be the more considerate type!?
?What? You think I was like that??

?You could have been?.? I started to look around for any watchers or people in general that could get me out of this debacle? But the talking continued. ?What are you looking for?? She asked. ?Oh nothing?? I kicked a stone or two across the pathway. ?It looks like you?re looking for something.? Aya grabbed onto me again so I wouldn?t stray from her conversation. ?I?m not really?? I said, not looking at her. Time passed again before I could be saved from this, when I saw a traveler with a box on their back heading out of the village. The person looked saddened, but I could see rabbit ears of them so I understood why they were like that?

?What are you two doing?? Reisen asked.
?Oh nothing? nothing?? said Aya.
?I?m here to go somewhere, but I am being held against my will!? I said to Reisen.
Both Reisen and Aya glanced looks at each other.
?Well? If he needs to be going somewhere then let him.? Reisen said.
?This is none of your business.? Aya replied, still gripping me.

Reisen make a quick move and knocked Aya?s hand off of me. I bolted away from the scene not listening to anything that the two were saying to each other. But I am assuming that they will take their danmaku fight elsewhere? I reached the temple finally, but I only found it to be mostly deserted. I expected better of this, but eh? The other shrines don?t have many visitors either, so it doesn?t matter in this case. But since the area is more densely populated, you could only wonder?

I entered inside; it seemed damp and dark in there. No one about? or maybe they were hiding. Walking around, the floor of the temple was wet. I soon came to a central section of the temple. There were pillars and a rotunda at the center. A light peered out from the top of the temple, acting as a skylight. I walked towards this center area, but something came up from behind. Startled, I jumped forward until whatever it was grabbed me. I felt the hand, but felt as if it wasn?t there?

?The hell are you doing around here?? The thing spoke. It pulled me away from the center of the temple. The thing wore what looked like a sailor?s cap and carried? a ladle? It doesn?t make sense? The thing floated as well. I was just blankly staring out and not bothering to answer.

?Hey!? It spoke again, ?How many times do I have to tell you that humans are not allowed in here! The priestess is away, so get out before she comes back.?
?What kind of temple is this then?? I finally opened my mouth to her.
?None of your business. Now get!? It started dragging me towards the entrance.
?Why is it not? I?ve been to places, I check everywhere??
?You?re a strange fellow.?
?Not too strange. Just leave me be??
?Hey! My ship, my rules!?

At this point, there had to be something that could allow me to stay inside? If humans aren?t allowed in, then? ?Hey, what?s allowed inside?? I asked. ?Only youkai and friends of the head priestess?? It responded. Hrmmm. ?Is there any perchance I could stay?? I asked. ?No,? It grunted. I wasn?t making any progress on this conundrum. This was my last chance at shelter than any of the other crackpot places. I probably would have to keep my stance until something random came along to cause mayhem. I was right.

I argued with the ?captain? for about five more minutes until a particular converter came along, a green one. This caught the attention of the captain, who proceeded to try and beat the crap out of the religious converter. I had to ?remain where I was and not touch anything?, but it wasn?t all that bad. Ah? Nothing like watching two Stage 5 bosses duel? It didn?t last long since the youkai destroyer was whammed across the face with an anchor and launched halfway over the village. When all was said and done, the captain wasn?t happy at all, but started to calm down. I didn?t bother asking anything for a while.

But that didn?t completely change my mind from asking another question?
?So why does that person come here??
?She always thinks that she?s in control of what goes on in this village. Much worse than the other one.? I could figure what she meant by ?other?.
?You spend time here??
?What? I fricken? own the damn place.?
?Then why did you mentio-?
?Ah? the priestess helped me become mobile, so I returned the favor.?
?This is a big ship.?

?No crap. You think I could do damage with this thing.? She trailed off onto her own ramblings as I became bored. The captain had lost interest in removing me from the temple, as long as it gave her something to talk about. It didn?t take long before the head of operations arrived here. She was dressed in dark purple mixed with white with gothic style clothing, many crosses about the dress in the front and limbs? Her hair was radiant, changing color from one to another unnatural one. She looked intimidating, either way you put it, along with the scroll she carried. It was hard to tell whether she was happy to see someone or not?

?Murasa, who is this??
?Nothing, Madame Hijiri. Just a passerby.?
?What?s his business??
?Like I said. Just a passerby.?
?A youkai exterminator?? She glared at me, but I continued to stare in other directions.
?No, ma?am.?
?Then what is he??
?Harmless.?
?Alright then?? She kept staring at me as she walked by.

She headed up the steps to the center circle and hovered there for a while. Contemplating, I guess. Time passed again, neither of them doing anything for a while. Just waiting.

[MayKissingDoveWyks]

I didn?t bother sitting on the floor? It was grungy and grimy? did I mention it was wet? The captain mingled about the temple, but the priestess remained in the center circle. Is this all they do here? I decided to move towards the circle, but the priestess raised her hand?

?Do not disturb me.?
?Sorry? I was just interested??
She stopped focusing on her meditation, ?Interested in what??
?What ever it is you?re doing??
?Well? if you?re interested??
?I sort of know what it is, but for what??
?People meditate, right??
?Yes??
?Well? some of us do that as a relaxing measure or to connect with the spirits in the world.?
?Like? Buddhism??
?Yes.?
?Eh? do you pray??
?Praying is for those who wish to seek their own desires? not become one with the way of the world.?
?Sorry? I don?t know much of religious activities??

?It is not an activity as much as it is a lifestyle!? She was beginning to get frustrated with my ?disrespectful? attitude. But luckily, another person arrived on the scene to end it before the priestess began to go on a tirade. This one?I should say youkai?was a strange creature. She had circular ears and grey hair, which would conceal ears if she had human ones. Two rods she carried and a basket on her tail, she was covered in pink and grey clothing. Her height was about the same as mine, or take several inches; almost cuddly? She approached the priestess...

?Lady Hijiri? I am sorry to interrupt your meditation? but there was a discovery in Makai??
?You don?t have to call me that, Nazrin. What is it??
?There are people still living there, even after you left.?
?How can this be??
?Well? they may have settled there long before you were locked there??
?Fine??
?Shou is still down there though??
?And you just left her?!?
?No? she sent me.?

Nazrin stayed, having nowhere to go after sending the news to Byakuren. I really didn?t have anywhere to go? Nazrin was eyeing me for a while, intrigued by my presence in the temple. It bugged me a little. Murasa was still eager to talk to me about things, like if I had seen water or anything? There were some things to talk to her about?

?The sea waves back and forth, like memories?? She said.
?I haven?t really seen one in a while??
?Heh? neither have I.?
?I can see that??
?Like you know everything??
?Not really. I?m just assuming.?
?That?ll get you into trouble in places.?
?Yeah? I?ve figured that at this point.?

?You were awesome there a while ago??
?Well? I don?t go around swinging anchors for nothing!?

Again, conversation interrupted by someone entering the temple. She was severely injured. This one had an ornament on her head and unusual hair colors. Wielding a staff, she wore attire like a tiger; torn and alternating stripe patterns. Byakuren rushed up to her, Murasa still sat there immersed in our conversation, and Nazrin went to her ally. I attempted to over hear the conversation?

?Are you okay?? said Byakuren.
?Nah? I?m fine,? said the tiger woman.
?But, Shou, you?re covered in wounds,? said Nazrin.
?Nah I?m fine,? Shou said again. ?Hey, you think there?s a river in Gensokyo? said Murasa.
?Um? yeah? sure?? I said. ?Well at least take some rest,? said Byakuren.
?Are you listening to me?? Murasa said. ?Fine? but at least let me have some peace,? Shou said.
?Do I have to?? I barked back.

Murasa almost slugged me across the room, but she restrained herself from doing so. It seemed as if she?s had incidents like this before and is attempting anger management. No matter, I took her away from the rest of the scene to personally talk to her if she was having that kind of issues. She had her captain?s quarters on the ship, which she used whenever needed. There was a hammock, boots, fishing equipment?, and a steering wheel. Not much for a quarter. She did not bother to sit in the hammock and leaned against the wall. Directing me to the hammock, she put her hand out. I declined.

?You can?t afford to set yerself down?? she said.
?I?m fine.? Standing against the wall.
?First off, why the hell did you come here??
?I have knowledge that it was a safe haven.?
?Wow? you must be pretty noble to think that this place is a safe haven for humans.? Murasa chuckled.
?Really??
?In the recent times that I have been here, it seems everyone is segregated.?
?I don?t know.?
?Well of course. You don?t act like the people normally here.?

I moved myself to hammock?comfortable, but if you?re in the wrong position, saggy. She didn?t seem to mind, a ghost she was? We continued our discussion for a while, but then we didn?t speak for what seemed like an hour. Murasa was rambling on about how the people here are much different. Humans and youkai seemed to war with each other, but ever since Reimu became a force to be reckoned with, things changed. What she described sounded similar to post-Industrialization United States? but before the Civil Rights Movement. No one wanted to deal with each other? The amount of people here has shifted too?

?Yukari has been trying to contrast this shift by bringing more outsiders from the human world,? Murasa began to sit on the hammock next to me, very uncomfortable.
?And you know this, why?? I asked.
?Several of us know. You can tell by looking at it too??
?So I?m just one of several??
?No. Not this time. That?s what at least I heard. Reimu has tried to coax Yukari out of sending any more people here.?
?Am I one of the last??
?Maybe??

?Look. I should get going anyway.? I got up from the hammock, but she followed. Stopping in front of the entrance, she pulled me back.
?But you have nowhere to go, right?? Murasa asked. This bit me in the butt. At this point, I was probably going to have to stay put in certain places for extended periods of time?
?I?ll be back at another time?? I left the room.
?Fine then, but make sure you come back??
?Why should I? This is a youkai sanctuary!? I had turned around to face Murasa again.
?Okay? Just making sure? It?s dark out tonight??
?How in the hell do you know??
?It?s a feeling I get??
?What kind of feeling??
?Never mind. Forget that I mentioned it??

?Alright then? I?ll be going.? I left Murasa to her quarters. As I walked across the main rotunda of the temple, Byakuren was in meditation as Nazrin was tending to Shou. Nothing much to see here but a bunch of loners. As I headed outside, I did notice it was dark. I should probably cut back out of the village and to the shrine. Yes, I know it?s not the best place, but it?s all I can work with. If Wriggle is out, then maybe I?m safe?
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End of Chapter 18

[MayKissingDoveWyks]

Chapter 19:

Heading out through the village, the moon began to rise in the air. Little to no people were around when I came out. It has become colder over the days, so the night is much chillier than usual? The dolls had no trouble keeping up with me as we headed into the forest. The dark and windy forest? ugh? too many memories already?

Time was taking longer than I thought when we entered the forest. It was dark as usual, but the air was much calmer tonight. I could have bothered myself to call out to Wriggle in the night, but that would be too risky. So, I continued on into the forest? There was creaking everywhere, and rustling noises, so I decided to stop where I was going? Sure enough, something descended from the trees and lunged at me?

I tried to dodge it, but it grabbed me? Knocked onto the floor, I saw the attacker? It was Wriggle as expected. She was out hunting I guess? But do bugs really hunt? Wriggle dusted herself off, but lifted me off the ground?

?Where are you heading?? She asked.
?Back to the shrine??
?Why??
?I have no where else to go??
?Why??
?Do you live anywhere??
?No.?
?Then why should it be any different with me??
?Because normally humans live in a house??

?What?s wrong??

?Nothing.? I began to leave Wriggle, but she pulled me back.
?Nothing what? You?re acting weird? weirder than when I first found you.? Her eyes became serious.
?People change? So what?? My mood changed to wanting to get to shelter quickly.
?So what? Don?t you know better by now that it?s dangerous out here??
?Yeah? I haven?t died yet.?
?That?s not the point! Some of us don?t want to see a corpse lying about!?
?Oh really? So you don?t care if I?m dead?? I tried leaving again.

?No. People care. It?s just that you won?t accept that.? This stopped me dead in my tracks? What the hell was she talking about? I?ve only been here for about 2 months. Tossed around back and forth. I won?t put up with it any longer? eh? Pent-up emotions should get to a person eventually, but not like this?
?I should be going?? I started to leave for a third time.
?Hey? It?s dark out, maybe you won?t find your way.?
?Don?t worry. I will.? She let me head out into the forest.

I really did not have a problem heading out, but the moon was rising fast. When I reached the shrine, Lunachild was roaming about around the shrine. I approached the area slowly, but she noticed me anyway?

?What are you doing here?? She asked.
?I came back.?
?Oh really? Weren?t you supposed to be with that shrine maiden??
?Yeah? but I left? How long have I been gone??
?Over a week now??
?And why are you still here??
?Me and my friends moved here.?
?Fine? I?m staying for a while??
?Alright then, but you?re going to have to sleep outside. The place is locked up.?

?I have something that might help you though??

Lunachild left me outside the shrine for a while. I moved onto the steps and looked around. It was probably around 11 PM, which means I missed my window to get inside? Lunachild came back with something I recognized. A flag. ?This could be a blanket for you,? she said. ?Where did you get this?? I asked. ?It was something I found on the ground. It came from the Moon.? The moon? Eh? There?s no atmosphere up there, so it shouldn?t be dirty. I slept on the walkway with the large flag acting as a blanket?


The next morning, I woke up. Rising from the blanket, I saw Reimu was outside doing her usual sweeping. Suika was no where to be found as were the fairies? But there was a new person. Actually, this person was sitting right near where I was laying. She had her hair tied into two Chinese buns and coloured pink? I could have sworn one of the arms was missing, but it was covered in ribbons?

?Ah? you?re awake?? She said.
?Who are you?? I asked, rubbing my eyes.
?Oh. Don?t mind me? I?m just here.?
?For what??
?Discovering.?
?What??
?I?ve lived an extended life, so I stay from place to place and then I meditate.?
?For what reasons??
?Does it have any meaning to you??
?Not really??
?You?ll understand in due time??

Reimu still was sweeping as whoever this person was and I were talking to one another? She didn?t give any details besides meditation, examination of life, and longevity. Still no name was mentioned, but she did eventually lighten up to say ?Ibara? as a name. Sounds like a last name more than a first name? But does that really matter?

[MayKissingDoveWyks]

It’s been a while since I last touched my instruments… I asked Reimu if I could have my xylophone, which was still stored under the floor. She let me get it out from underneath the floor. When I propped it up on the table, I began hitting some of the blocks on it; making some noise. Kasen soon came inside and she saw me playing a little bit on the xylophone. She was carrying some weird device that looked like an extending hand, but I paid no mind to her and kept on playing. The dolls sat on the table and listened for a while, but Shanghai decided to be the one to comb my hair.  When I was done playing, Kasen soon moved closer to me to see how I was doing…

“What is that?”
“A xylophone…”
“Interesting… Does it play anything else?”
“You make it play things…”
“Oh. Like most instruments?” She wasn’t paying attention to me at this point and was playing with the extend arm.
“Yes… I play other things…”
“Like what?”
“A lute…”
“Eh… Lutes are not that well played…”
“Then what do you suggest?” I sarcastically replied.
“Nothing. Keep doing what you are doing…”
“Why are you speaking to me again?”
“Because I can ask.”
“For what?”
“I have lived my life extended. I can still learn about other people if I want to.”

Reimu had finally come inside, carrying her broom. The end of the broom was wet from sweeping the snow. She was uninterested in the fact that Kasen and I were discussing with each other and continued about her business. I eventually notice that Suika was sprawled out onto the floor some distance from us, drool coming out of her mouth. I decided to ask Kasen about the arm…

“What’s that for?”
“I still don’t know… It was left here after sometime.” She was still playing with it.
“Eh…”
“It is interesting. That’s all I know.”
Shanghai had finished combing my hair and sat back down on the table. I was bored at this point and I asked, “Are there any other interesting things around here?” Kasen nodded, “The Mountains near the shrine hold another world… I have not been there myself to check it out, but it looks enticing.” Reimu perked up about this and responded angrily, “Oh no! He’s not going up there!” This only intrigued me more.
“What’s up there in that world?” I asked Kasen.
“Not much actually… It’s mostly ruin now…”
“Why?”

Kasen was beginning to eye Reimu, who was ignoring our conversation all together. I continued to play the xylophone as Kasen continued to talk about this place called “Makai”. It seemed interesting, but it’s considered a wasteland nowadays. Another problem is that not many know of its existence. The only who know includes Reimu, who has warned me twice now about not going there. No matter, I’ll try and go there anyway… I’m bored as is…

The fairies passed through and Suika woke up from her drunken nap. Nothing else to do during the day. I still wondered about the flag that Lunachild gave me and then took back… Did the Lunarians have actual problems with coping about the flag being on the moon? Too many questions… maybe I’ve stayed away from staying inside too long… I also wondered about how Letty was fairing. I haven’t seen her in a week now… eh… my sense of time is waning as well… Snow sometimes fell from the sky and sometimes it didn’t.

I chose the opportunity at night to head out again with the dolls. I left no trace except for leaving out the xylophone. As we headed outside, now I just needed to find that mountain. There were several located near the shrine, but most of them were located to Northeast of the Human village, somewhere east of the Road of Reconciliation and Muenzuka. I was going to take the hard way and head around the Forest of Magic and see if I could spot any leads.

The snow was becoming a pain for me as I headed around the Forest. The direction I was heading in involved many decayed trees and leaves on the ground. The ground soon was just partially covered in snow, patches here and there. While I was walking, I noticed a small house located on the right of me. It looked intriguing as it was like a stray house located on the border… There was a sign in front of it that listed “マヨヒガ”. I wasn’t going to bother with it… Maybe later…

I finally reached one of the mountains, when there was a gate lodged into the side of it. Immense, it was, but damaged it was also. I inched my way closer to the gate, until someone popped out from behind it. Only wearing red and a set of pink hair, the guard almost throttled me off the mountain. But, she was kind enough to let me live…
“Who goes there?” She shouted.
“A pathetic human.” I slinked forward.
“Head back down the mountain at your own pace, straggler!”
“Why?”
“Can’t you see this place is off limits? Or do I have to spell it out for you?”
“If I could just g-“
“NO ENTRY I SAID!”
“But if you cou-“
“YOU SHALL NOT PASS!”
“I’m only here to check things out!”
“NONE SHALL PASS!”
“What?”
“NONE SHA-“

“Shut the hell up!” I shouted at the guard. She did shut up, finally. “God… you’re like a broken record…” I said. “What’s that?” She asked. “Never mind,” I replied, moving towards the door. “You still cannot enter!” She said. “Am I going to die in there?” I asked. “Probably,” She answered, dusting off her robes. “Then I’m going in.” That was my final answer. She shrugged and opened the gate. The smell of rot and intense heat came out of the gate. When I entered inside, there was a fountain full of water and several cases. How convenient… The gate was slammed shut behind me and I found myself in a different world, again… I scooped some of the fresh water from the fountain in one of the containers and took off.
_______________________________________________

End of Chapter 19

Just noting the two month anniversary here~

[MayKissingDoveWyks]

Short update tonight
________________________________________

Chapter 20:

This world soon became sweltering and boiling as I headed deeper into it. Oddly, this container wasn?t causing the water to evaporate? Shanghai and Hourai weren?t having any problems as we carried on through the trail. The only thing I had to worry about was them catching on fire, but I think Alice was cognoscente enough to prevent that. This place here looked like hell. There were ruins scattered about and some rubble all around. I tried to not step in the purple spots?

As we forged deeper, I heard some noises in the distance, but they weren?t too bad? But I saw a figure nearby who was just standing there. It was glowing purple, but wore a cup hat and blonde hair. I figured that the demon was a she because of the white dress with purple overcoat. When I approached her, she began moving away, as if a magnet was pulling her. I soon had to chase after her, but then she disappeared. Left there in the smoldering heat, I tried looking for where she went?

Nothing?


I had to start roaming around. Thankfully, there were fountains along the way. I couldn?t tell at this point if I was in Dante?s Inferno or Paradise Lost. I kept hearing wailing noises, which started to freak me out? As I passed many ruins, I finally came to a ruined city? The buildings were decay, many of them wrecked and damaged. I figured by the time I had arrived here, it had been a long time? Wandering through the city, I finally came upon a huge crystalline fortress. It rose high above the ground. The only place that wasn?t damaged by all this? I noticed in one of the high windows something strange shadow there. I was really tired by this point and came up to the door. Banging on the door, I waited for a reply? There was none?

?Is anyone in there?? I shouted, still banging. My energy was starting to drain and this place just couldn?t be empty? ?Come on. I saw someone in the window. There has to be something in here.? Still nothing, so I tried to play the poor soul game. ?I?ve been out here for several days! Help!? This seemed to work as I heard sounds of unlocking and a door opened. But as soon as I came walking in, swords were immediately pointed at me. I stumbled backwards at this, scared.

When I looked at the person, she was about my height. She had blond, long wavy hair and looked youthful.  Her head wore a perforated cloth and her clothes were like a maid uniform. The colors were of red and white. The hair came down to the back near a ribbon tied there. The chest sagged a little, but it seemed as if she was trying to keep it up straight as much as she could, not having the clothes pressure it too tightly. With the swords pointing at me, though, I felt as if she was not in a good mood recently. They moved closer to my neck and I tried to save myself? by holding up my hand?

?Stop! I mean you no harm!? I also threw in something degrading to myself, ?If it?s any relief to you, I am human!? This seemed to work as she lowered her guard. She pondered before picking me up off the ground; even dusting me off. I couldn?t help but say ?Thank You? as I started looking about the place. She asked me, ?What is someone like you doing out here?? I continued to look through some of the rooms and I responded with, ?Eh? I wander on my own. I have no bounds really?? She grabbed me by the hand and began tugging on me.

?Well, if you?re going to stay here, then you must bring it up to my master.? She said. I had no choice but nod. Thus, she began to bring me up a set of stairs. The stairs were made of crystal like the rest of the fortress. As we continued up along the stairs, I saw statues and other rooms. I got to glimpse several of the rooms, but one had people sleeping in it. Strange? When we arrived at the supposed room, the ceiling was high with complex architecture and art comparable to the Sistine Chapel. There were statues and pillars in there too. On the other side of the room, a throne rose from the floor with molded stairs.

There was a person sitting in the throne. The figure was wearing all read and some brown. The only lighter parts were anything beyond the collarbone, which included a beige undershirt and it?s hair. The hair was all white-silver with a group of it bundled on one side. This grouping of hair hung out from the side of the head. This could possible be Shinki and all she was doing was staring at the ceiling. I would marvel at it too if I wanted. The maid decided to end this quietness with a gentle ?ahem?.

Shinki soon faced us and asked, ?Yumeko? Who is this?? Yumeko bowed in front of her and answered, ?A straggler, from the outside. Seeking shelter.? Shinki seemed unamused as her head moved, only to be propped up by her hand. She pondered for a while, but then said, ?Shelter? Well if he?s powerless, then he?s welcome to stay? I wanted to make a sigh of relief. But ?Actually, let me speak with him,? She said. Yumeko soon whisked away and I was left alone with Shinki?

[MayKissingDoveWyks]

First, she pointed to her legs, and then in front of her. ?Sit on my lap, boy. I mean you no harm.? I moved closer to the throne ?Alright?? Shinki wasn?t that big of a person as I climbed onto her lap. She had me sit there like a child, positioned perpendicular to her with her right arm underneath my head. When I finally sat on her lap, I asked, ?What is it that you want?? Shinki replied, ?Well?? Her head turned away to look out at the window, ?you came from the outside, right?? A question, but I simply answered, ?Yes.? It looked as if she was reminiscing as she said, ?So much has changed since??

Changed? What?s changed? Everyone acts as if things are the same there. ?Eh?? I said, turning my head away from her, ?Define ?changed??. Shinki looked at me. ?Well actually?? She was about to finish her thought, but I guess she decided to answer differently, ?You?re right. I haven?t changed really. Nothing on the outside would have changed. I really haven?t been on the outside in a while.? I had to let out an ?Uh?? just to keep my side of the conversation going, but Shinki decided to move on ?Never mind. I?m just rambling on I usually do??

I decided to ask my earlier question twice, ?Again? What did you want?? Shinki sighed and asked, ?How?s Alice? You probably haven?t met her yet.? Alice? Oh Kanako, does this one know about her? Telling the truth, I replied lowly ?No. I?ve met her.? Shinki brightened up somewhat from this, ?Oh? Is she fairing normal?? Normal? I had to joke, ?What is ?normal? about Gensokyo?? She frowned, ?Well, a lot of things can be normal about it, but back to Alice?? It always has to come back to what they?re talking about, not what I want to talk about, doesn?t it? I remained quiet for several seconds before I figured that she wanted to know Alice?s whereabouts now, ?About her? Well?? Shinki perked up her ears. ?She?s alone in a forest, I can tell you that much?? I continued.

Shinki?s face drooped as her interested smile flattened out, ?Alone? Oh dear?? She began to put her free hand to her face. ?I knew this would happen.? Almost not bothering to care, I said, ?Happen? What was your relationship with her?? Pausing for a moment, she stuttered, ?Relationship?? But Shinki soon added, ?Relationship? Relationship?!? as if she was beginning to get mad with me. As soon as that last word was spoken, she immediately became calmer and said, ?We were just acquaintances? We knew each other? she stayed often?? I could see some tears form in her eyes as her speech became stuttered again, ?w-w-with her s-smile? It?s just been so long??

Shinki was crying in the chair as some of the tears dripped onto my face and clothes. Her words were hard to decipher until she said, ?I just wanted to hold her? so tightly? Please!? While I was sitting there, Shinki tried pulling me closer, until I nodded my head, allowing her to continue the action. She practically shoved me into her? eh? body, with her right hand behind my head and the other arm holding me. Shinki remained teary for a while, but she then asked, ?Please? Tell me at least she?s matured! Please!? It was hard for me to breath?if she had at least let me breathe some? but I responded, ?Well? If mature as in handles things well on her own? then yes.?

Shinki at last pulled me away from her and let me lay on her lap again. ?Oh yes!? she exclaimed? eh? She continued, but with tears of joy, ?You may stay then! Please! Actually, you can stay in here with me if you?d like!?  Whoa! That?s going a little too far? eh? I wouldn?t mind actually (you know?) but like the courteous person I am, I sadly declined, ?I don?t think I?ll be staying too long.? Shinki?s grin turned to a light frown and replied, ?Alright then??

Next thing I heard was Shinki calling, ?Yumeko!? And with that, Yumeko dashed out into the room. I could?ve sworn that I saw a shadow come out from the side rather than the door? But eh? ?What is it, master?? She said. ?See to it that this man enjoys his time here?? Shinki replied, ?Well not like a diplomat or anything?? Now she was blushing, ?you get what I?m saying?? Yumeko nodded. Shinki got me down from the throne and Yumeko started bringing me out. We walked close to the wall, so I caught a glimpse of what the place looked like.

Before we exited, Shinki shouted, ?Oh, Yumeko!? She was standing off her throne and looking at us. ?I forgot to tell you. You can show him around the place and other things? But make sure you bring him back!? She said, smiling. Yumeko looked discouraged as I smiled as well. I said to her, ?Don?t worry. I?ll be fine?? As we headed out and down the stairs, Yumeko asked me, ?Would you like any tea?? Hmmm? I haven?t had tea in a while? ?Maybe? I did not have anything to drink for the past several days,? I lied to her a little. This sort of backfired as Yumeko whisked me off my feet and was rushing down the stairs now.

?Tell me next time if you?re dehydrated. That?s the last thing we need,? She said. I couldn?t help but chuckle, ?It?s not that bad, you know? I?ve gotten this far without dying.? Yumeko wasn?t listening at this point and she brought me into a room with a round table. I plopped my arms on the table from fatigue. Yumeko quickly prepared the tea and began to leave. She told me, ?Let me know when you?re done.? And then she was gone. I started to sip the tea. Several minutes later, I saw a shadow come into the doorway. It walked forward towards me, until I recognized who it was.

?Hello.? She said.
?Hello,? I responded.
?May I?? She asked, pointing to the chair.
?Serve yourself.? I answered.
?You look familiar.? She said, sitting down in the chair across from me.
?Of course I do. I?ve seen you before! Out in the ruins!? I replied back, sipping my tea.
?Oh? Pardon me? I am sorry if I left you out there.? She poured a cup for herself, ?I was busy with other things??
?I could have died out there if you didn?t help.?
?I am terribly sorry as is? I got hurt badly in whatever ruckus out there??
?I?m sorry to hear that.? I took another swig.
?No worries? I go out there all the time by myself??
?Were you heading anywhere??
?Well? to the outside, actually??
?And what caused you to turn back??
?I felt something was not right inside me?? She started looking away?
?Alright then??

There was a silence, but she broke it by saying, ?Well. My name is Louise,? She smiled. Louise and I sipped our teas, but she just had to know my name. ?So what is your name, my friend?? Louise asked. I continued sipping for a while, until I noticed that she was staring at me. I shrugged it off with, ?My name isn?t that important.? Louise frowned, but she sighed and did not persist on finding out. We sat there and drank tea for a while. Minutes passed, but then we heard a noise. Louise turned around to look, and we both saw Yumeko dash past the doorway. We looked at each other and resumed our conversation.

?You seem awfully quiet,? Louise said.
?I?m here just to be here, okay??
?You do not need to be so snappy about it. Please??
?Fine??
?I still wish to go to the outside world?? She stared out the window.
?Eh??
?You came from there, right??
?Yes??
?Are you heading back there?? Louise finished her second round of tea.
?Yes?? I put my cup down.

Louise put her hands out and clasped them around mine. She stared me straight in the eyes. I had noticed that most of the time her eyes were closed? but this time she was serious. ?Please?? Louise began. ?Please take me with you?? We still stared at each other, with sounds of crashing in the background. ?Please?? she said it again to add emphasis. Then Louise went back to closing her eyes and sat there. There was more noises coming from outside? but then they stopped. We heard footsteps.

A shadow came into the doorway. It was Shinki. She came up to us and passed by Louise, who couldn?t see that Shinki was in the room. Shinki lowered her mouth next to my ear. ?I?ll be up in there when you?re ready?? she whispered into my ear. A pat on the head and Shinki had left the room quietly. Louise wondered what was going on, ?What was that?? She asked.

?Oh nothing?? I said.
_____________________________________________

End of Chapter 20.

[Kips McKipzerson]

Is the reason you arent telling the main characters name is to make it as though it were the reader, you were too lazy, or some other reason? It's no big deal, But i'd still like to know.

And damn, This series is good.

[MayKissingDoveWyks]

It's more of the fact that I don't find names to be all important. It's more about the characteristics people have, not their names.

[MayKissingDoveWyks]

Chapter 21:

I left Louise in the guest room and discovered that Yumeko had been wiped out cold? Heading up the grand staircase to Shinki?s room, I passed by other rooms. Many of the rooms were empty or desolate. In the light of the room, Shinki waited on the chair. She seemed bored, or tired? I couldn?t tell which. But, when I entered the room, she perked up a bit. I came up to the steps of the throne and she patted her lap. Sitting up on it again, Shinki smiled at me and I did the same back.

I had slunk into her lap and she patted me on the head. Asking her about whatever happened earlier?

?So what?s with Yumeko??
?Oh? she just took a little spill outside.?
?That was more than a spill?? She started to stare at me.
?You saw it??
?No? I?m just wondering??
?Well, we have trouble over here sometimes??
?I could figure that??
?How??
?Well?? I rose up, ?People have warned me about coming here??

Shinki became slightly frustrated by this and asked, ?By whom?? I sighed. ?There were several?? I said. Shinki was more interested in my conversation than whatever she was attempting to plan with me? ?Was there a red one?? She asked. I pondered about this and I know Reimu had some red. ?Sort of.? I responded. ?Was? ?is it the shrine maiden?? She muttered. I had to nod my head to this notion and Shinki put her hand on her face. She mumbled and I couldn?t hear what she was saying?

?Do you want to just get on with it?? I asked.
She looked at me, directly into my eyes.

Few minutes passed, and Shinki decided that it was for the best to end the conversation?

I don?t know how much time passed this time, but I was sure I left the dolls with Louise when she went to sleep. I?m tired of those two consistently talking when I have private moments?

But eh?

They don?t need to worry about such nonsense?

?   ?   ?

Phew? How much longer do I have to do this?

Louise was awake the next time I woke up. It appears that she needs more sleep than I do. She had the dolls in close proximity of herself, but like always, the dolls got up when I woke up. Today would be the day that we would be. In the guest room, Yumeko was still asleep and I saw two others on the ground, but I did not mingle with them. Louise spoke with Yumeko and then I talked with Yumeko for a while before leaving?

?Did she harm you?? She asked.
?No.?
?That?s good? So where will you go next??
?We?re heading back to the outside??
?Oh? we do come again if you need anything.?
?Alright? hope you feel better??
?Thank you.?

Nothing else was exchanged in this goodbye. Shinki had not bothered to say good-bye in the least. Maybe it was not needed now or not for a while. The dolls came to me, and the four of us headed out of the fortress. Makai remained as red and dark as ever. We soon enough exited Pand?monium and entered into the searing flames of Makai. I seemed to be the only one having a problem with the intense heat. Thank the Gods that be for the fountains in here? ugh?

Hours passed as we went through the heat. This is a terribly sharp contrast to the cold weather in Gensokyo, so I felt better that it was much warmer here. We hadn?t been bothered until it started taking longer than it should to get to the outside. I wondered for a while if we had truly remembered the exit to the place. The only one who would know would be me, but eh? I sort of forgot. The fountains could have led us, and I tried following them. The path became weirder than before?

?You sure you know where you?re going?? Louise worried.
?I?m positive? The fountains lead to exits.? I answered.
?What kind of exits??
?Well? to the outside??
?Are there other outsides here??
?There could be??
?You know which one?s the right one??
?Yes.?
?You have no idea where you are going, don?t you??
?Sort of??
?So you don?t??
?I?m trying okay!? I yelled at her.
?I am sorry!? Louise cried back.

It was no use? we finally saw a section of light streaming out of existence up ahead. Most unusual? We both decided to head into the light?

It was very bright for a while, and then it became stark and stagnant?

[MayKissingDoveWyks]

The light faded and there was darkness. Stray fairies floated around. I looked a Louise, who tried not to look back at me. The dolls looked confused, but Shanghai decided to open her mouth first?

?This isn?t i-?
?I know that!? I shouted.
?Don?t yell at her!? Hourai snapped back at me.
?Don?t yell at me!?
?Stop it!? Louise forced us to settle down, but berated me more, ?Why are you talking to the dolls like that? Have you gone crazy??

The problem is? where were we? The place is mostly dark, there are lights around, but still mostly empty. We walked for a while attempting to find a source of this world. We soon found a trail of light, and followed that. The stray fairies in the world paid no attention to us as we walked. The light soon ended, but led us to a table. That table was covered with a girl laying on it? We stared at it for a while, until Louise started to get creeped out by it.

?What is this?? She stared at it. She poked the body and it began to stir. Its head rose higher into the air. Louise began to stumble back, but I caught her from falling on the ground. The person got out of the chair and turned around, as if the eyes were glowing red. They looked like they were glowing red. Louise and the dolls decided to hide behind me as the figure slowly approached us. The head was cocked to the side a little had a cracked smile.

She walked into the light so that we could see her. But when she immediately did, I felt arms wrap around my back... A hug? What? A hug? I thought this thing was going to kill me! Louise and the dolls just stared there for a while; not interrupting whatever this being was involved in doing. Firm grip, she has. I had to wait until she pulled away?

?Finally, visitors for once!? She said. I was able to get a good look at whoever this person was. She had a dress with colors of blue and pink in a sort of maid dress? Her hair was short and yellow with a folded cloth on top. She bowed to us first and guided us to another area that was a short distance. I was beginning to grasp where we were, but Louise and the dolls seemed clueless still.

We were brought to another table, but this one much larger. Instead of letting me sit down on my own, the woman picked me up and sat me down in a chair? Carefully? A little weirded-out I was as the other three moved to the table. The dolls didn?t bother sitting and just came to my side, with Louise sitting next to me. The woman was still standing there?

?Is there anything I can get you?? She said.
?Um? yeah. The exit.? I joked.
?Sorry? but we haven?t had guests in a long time? please stay for a while??
?We??
?Oh, I?m terribly sorry? I haven?t introduced my sister or myself? I?ll be right back??

She dashed off and Louise was about to say something, but the woman had come back just as fast with someone else? This one wore a bow on her head and had a matching hair color, but the hair was longer. A pink and white dress, with an added rest vest on top completed her outfit. But to top it off, she had a pair of wide wings on her back? She did not bow to us though, and looked discouraged by our presence.

?Who are these?? She said.
?Oh, why these are some people who must have stumbled along the their way, sister?? The other said.
?Well I want them gone.?
?Why, sister? We never have guests.?
?Not since that other one??
?But this is different!?
?No buts! I told you many times that there would be no more people!?

This winged person took off, away from the sister. The sister was pouting now a little, but shrugged it off and bowed to us. ?Forgive Gengetsu. She can be a little antisocial at times?? We were still sitting in the chairs, staring. ?And my name is Mugetsu, but you can call me Mu? But formal names are nice.? I still didn?t bother talking for a while, but Mugetsu chose to speak with Louise, whose golden eyes were partially closed? I just wanted to leave, but I couldn?t help overhearing their conversation.

?Must we really leave?? said Louise.
?I?m afraid so?? She began making tea.
?Well, your sister would not mind me, now would she??
?Maybe not, but last time we had visitors??
?You do not have to repeat yourself, my dear? We are friendly.?
?Sorry, it?s just so hard with my sister acting like that.?
?She is older, right??
?Yes.?
?You two have lived here for a long time??
?Yes.?
?Then why not assert your power here. I mean? this land has to offer something!?
?Well? Gengy and I have control and manipulation over anything that resides in this realm? usually??

Louise started glancing at me and noticed that I was watching; she was more interested in staying for a while now. ?Anything, you say?? She asked. ?Yes, but once they leave, they return to normal,? Mugetsu sighed. Louise got up, ?I think I know of a way you could keep us here.? Mugetsu looked at Louise and then at me, ?How?? Louise came around behind me and grabbed me on the shoulders, ?We could make him invisible!? The dolls just stared and Hourai whispered into my ear, ?Has she lost it?? I whispered back, ?I don?t know.?

Mugetsu was shaking her head, ?I?m not good with invisibility yet?? Louise frowned a little, but looked at me in the eyes. She then looked back at Mugetsu. ?How do we hide someone from your sister? but without completely concealing them...?? Both Mugetsu and Louise looked at each other straight in the eyes as if they had a plan. They began whispering in each other?s ears, but luckily Shanghai tried to float over to them to capture some of the information. Since they could not hear Shanghai whisper to me, it was okay?

?Something doesn?t seem right?? Shanghai whispered.
?What is it?? I whispered back.
?It sounds similar to what happened with Alice??
______________________________________________________

End of Chapter 21

[andrewv42]

I see, so the plot of this story intersects with the one you posted earlier.

I find your writing to be absorbing, if compliments should be of any inspirational value.

[MayKissingDoveWyks]

I see, so the plot of this story intersects with the one you posted earlier.

I find your writing to be absorbing, if compliments should be of any inspirational value.

Yeah, that was the point of that earlier story, to pull a George Lucas make a tie-in about 2 months later.

Thank you. Compliments are great~

[MayKissingDoveWyks]

?ber update today~
___________________________

Chapter 22:

I have run out of things to say this time?
So I shall leave you with a little rhyme?
My adventures so far have been enticing?
Let?s hope I don?t get pounded into icing?

?Please! Just do it for a little while!? asked Louise.
?No! I?ve been through that once already. I won?t do it again!? I spat at her.
?Just this once! For me!?
?Why do you need to stay here??
?I?m just interested. Like how you always said you were interested in certain things.?
?Louise, if you just hold him still, this would be easier.? Mugetsu chimed in.
?Not against my will, you ain?t!? I barked back.

The dolls just stared at this whole endeavor, not choosing to get involved. Soon enough, Louise tried pinning me to the floor. ?Is it really worth it to hide me here?!? I said. ?If sister finds out though, you could get seriously injured?? Mugetsu said to me? Well, I sort of had no choice, and Louise didn?t want to leave until she had her way? Eventually, I decided to sort of submit to what they wanted, but I told Louise to be ?extremely careful.? Mugetsu began to muster some power within her as Louise stood back. As soon as she was ready, an orb of light was fired at me?

I would say that I could have blacked out, but I decided not to and I shall not describe how it happened. I mean you could imagine it yourself as a reader. After it was over, Shanghai decided to come over to me before Louise and Mugetsu did. She stood right next to me and hugged me, to see if I was okay. Remember when I said Shanghai was 20 cm? I must be about 15 or even 10 cm, because Shanghai was significantly taller than I was? Yeah, I figure I was about three-quarters to two-thirds about her size because she had to slightly lean forward to kiss my forehead. This hug was abruptly ended short by Louise?s voice.

?Move, doll!? she said. Shanghai did exactly that; allowing Louise to kneel down to me. She extended her arm and hand, placing it on the ground for me to get on to it. Once I got on though, Louise immediately clasped her hand around me and brought me over to Mugetsu. She couldn?t contain herself from nuzzling me against her cheek. Mugetsu was elated that it worked, but I was still trying to remain conscious from all this moving around. ?Good,? Mugetsu said. The dolls were following along with this as Mugetsu guided all of us to another area? But as we were heading there, Mugetsu stopped us?

?Oh no? Sister is coming!? Mugetsu said.
?I?ll hid him good,? Louise said. But she looked at me, ?Where to?? she added.
?The hat please?? I spoke back.
?Aw, you are no fun?? she giggled back at me, and under the hat I went.

I heard sounds of landing and movement?
?Mugetsu, there was a disturbance with magic... What happened?? It sounded like Gengetsu?s voice.
?Nothing, sister.? Mugetsu replied.
?What the hell is she doing here?? Gengetsu spoke again.
?She?ll be fine. She?s harmless!?
?I said I wanted them out!?
?Please. Let me just stay for a while. I don?t know my way out!? Louise cut into the conversation, but she was much louder than the others.
?Wait?? Gengetsu said, ?There was another.?
?Well I got rid of him, sister. No worries.? Mugetsu tried to calm Gengetsu down.
?If you say so? just have her gone within a day or two??
?Alright sister~!?

And with that, it seemed Gengetsu was off. I assumed so because Louise pulled me out from underneath the hat within seconds and Mugetsu was leading us off again. But this time, Louise subconsciously shoved me in between her and her dress (that sling she wears on top? I don?t know; check her profile since I have no clue what that?s called) I guess she did not want to leave her hand out but wanted me in view. I looked up and she was smiling, ever so happily, eyes mostly closed.

?Couldn?t I just have ridden on one of my dolls?? I asked her. ?Well? you told me to be ?extremely careful? with you, so I suppose I should hold onto you most of the time.? The irony baffled me completely? It was kind of warm in there? enough for me to sleep for a while? How long have I been out of the world now? three months? Four? It doesn?t matter anymore? I?m safe? and that?s all?

Mugetsu finally brought us to a table. There were several chairs and a mat on the floor. Louise sat down in one of the chairs and Mugetsu in another? Shanghai and Hourai sat down on the table. Louise and Mugetsu began to talk to each other, but then Louise pulled me out of where I was and set me down on the table. Shanghai pulled me away into the center with Hourai. Hourai was sitting down in the center of the table, and Shanghai put me in Hourai?s lap. Again, I?m going to mention the incredible detail Alice made on these dolls?

While sitting in Hourai?s lap, she began to stroke my hair. It would be harder for her to get the knots out of my hair with as much accuracy as before. Hourai smiled though? and wrapped her arms around me. I still had no clue what Louise and Mugetsu were talking about to each other, but it sounded like they were talking about their origins to each other. I lost interest as Hourai rested her head on mine. It was adorable to look at. Whispering into my ear, Hourai wanted to talk to me personally about recent things?

?So about that goddess?? She whispered.
?None of your business,? I whispered back.
?Oh come on? you can tell me.? I began to notice that her voice sounded different, but the same as when I first met her. Maybe it?s the size difference?
?Why should I??
?When would you tell me?? Hourai began to swing her upper body back and forth, almost cradling me in her lap; head still nuzzled in mine.
?It is too perverted?? I whispered.
?Oh you can tell me. I have seen enough already.?
?I know that??
?Just say it??
?Well? it was rough??
?Rough as the one with that teacher??
?Sort of??

?You know?? Hourai tried to move onto a different topic, ?Alice made both Shanghai and I with great detail.?  I looked into her eyes, ?I know that already.? She tried to avert her eyes from me, turning her head, ?We are more human than you think?? Trying to figure what she was saying, I pulled Hourai?s head back, ?Why are you acting like this? What are you implying?? She was leaning her head into mine, foreheads touching, ?I think you know what I mean??

At this point, Louise and Mugetsu took notice. ?Just tell me?? I said. But her response was kissing me on the cheek. Shanghai was still over on the other side of the table, laying back. Louise decided to cut into our conversation by asking, ?What are you two doing?? Hourai was blushing as the two stared at us. Since Hourai could not talk to Louise, I had to say something. ?Can we?? I began to ask, but Louise already figured by my halfalogue. ?If you are going to do it,? She began to take off her hat, ?Do it under this.?

Louise put the bowl part of the hat over us, but winking at me before doing so. ?And just be quiet, please?? Louise lastly said. We had to lie down because of the height of the hat. It soon became much warmer underneath it as Hourai was blushing at me still? Well? First thing was the usual kissing? but then the feeling was next? For a doll, she knew much about romance, I guess? Maybe she learned a lot from Alice? All I can say is?

Freud was right?

?   ?   ?

Hourai and I had fallen asleep underneath that hat, but she still held onto me. Louise soon removed the hat and some light began to shine on us. Shanghai was there, but she started to pry me off of Hourai. Hourai let go of me and Shanghai began to pull me towards Louise. ?Have you two enjoyed yourselves?? she asked. Standing up on the table, ?Sure?? Louise stood up from the chair and grabbed me off the table. ?We?re going soon, okay,? she said. ?Already?? I asked back. Shanghai and Hourai got up off the table and floated in the air, but Hourai was giving me a look.

Louise shoved me back into the same spot as before, as Mugetsu began to lead us out of the dream world and into Gensokyo. ?The magic should wear off after you leave,? she said. It took a while before we reached the ?exit?. But when we did, Mugetsu wanted to give one, probably last, goodbye to the both of us. She came close to Louise and hugged her, me sandwiched in the middle? eh? Mugetsu patted me on the head afterwards. She said that she hoped I would return again someday? yeah, someday?

I was taken out from my spot before we entered Gensokyo. Riding on Shanghai?s back, we began to leave the dream world. When we got to the outside, I felt a new sensation inside of me. I began to return to normal. Jumping off of Shanghai, I was returning to my normal size. Once that happened, Louise grabbed me and hugged me. ?We made it safe!? She said. Louise was ecstatic to be finally in Gensokyo. But before I could celebrate I heard someone?s voice?

?Glad to see you two back so soon.? We both turned to what was Sara, still guarding the gate to Makai. What was so strange about this was the fact that we returned in the same spot as I entered. Sara pointed this out to us, ?What? You thought there was more exits out of Gensokyo?? We both nodded our head. ?Well, there?s only the Border, Makai, and Higan. And that?s about it? Us door guarders need to know that.? I guess it was time for Louise to go as well, as she said, ?Well? I?m heading off.?

?What? You?re not going to stay with me?? I replied.
?Well of course not, silly!? She said, ?I was only with you just to not be alone.?
?Alright then? If you need me I?ll be out and about??

?Okay?? Louise came back over to me and tried to plant a kiss on my lips, but I turned my head so that it was on the cheek. She giggled and tried again, ?Oh please? Be a man?? And this time, I allowed it? Sara was still looking at both of us. Afterwards, Louise left off into the forest. I noticed that there was snow on the ground still? ?Is Louise your girlfriend or something?? Sara said. I said back, ?No? Just a friend.? Sara chuckled a little, ?Well? you if you need anything, or need to get back into Makai? just come back here.? She winked.


The dolls and I went off. Hourai was staying in close proximity of me, sitting on my shoulder. She seemed as happy as ever. I looked at Shanghai though? who had a pout on her face. She soon sat on my other shoulder. Sooner or later, the two of them were starring at each other. I had to cut in on this, ?Look, you two.? They both looked at me. ?Just because I had it with one of you does not give you either the right to be jealous okay?? Shanghai had to say something though, ?But it?s not fair!? She put on a scowl. ?Well if you had decided to move closer to the both of us, then you would have got some. It?s your own fault??

Shanghai remained quiet after this, and I promised her that if it happened again, then it would be her turn. (But I doubt this will happen again?) After the conversation had ended, I told the dolls that we would be heading back to that place labeled ?Mayohiga? and the house that was there. The dolls didn?t respond to me as we headed there?

Once we arrived there, it was still afternoon? So it seemed I had returned at a good time. But when I entered the area, the wind was quiet and all the snow was gone? The dolls hid behind me as I walked past the sign. There was no one around. All the minor houses looked empty and the small lake there was quiet? I tried opening some of the doors in the minor houses, but nothing worked. I attempted to call out for people, but nothing again.

When I arrived at the house, the door was wide open? Unusually, this door looked Western, like the one I had at home? I entered cautiously. Their house was an odd mix? It had a modern dishwasher? It had a ceiling fan? There was a computer sitting on a table (of course it had to be an NEC?) I was beginning to question my sanity when we were searching through the place. I came to a wide room. It was all quiet and empty in there, until I heard the door slam shut behind us.

I was almost literally scared out of my pants when I was there. I heard footsteps moving fast, but I still was too scared to move. I heard mumbling and the dolls were clutching me closely. But I saw a shadow, and it began to move rapidly. The shadow came closer to me and said?

?Fufufu? It?s nice to see you come so far?? The shadow was soon engulfed in dim light? I could finally see who it was? Yukari, cracking a wide smile on her face and those purple eyes glaring with intent? I felt so tempted to strangle her right there. ?Now, now. Don?t be so hasty,? She started to speak, ?Sit down.? Yukari pointed me to an armchair in her room. She seems to collect so many things from the outside world?

I sat down on the chair while Yukari placed herself in front of me. The room was terribly dark? ?So how goes your exploration?? she smirked. I was feeling less comfortable on the armchair. ?I see you?ve made some progress on yourself.? Yukari added, since I chose not to speak. I still wouldn?t respond and this was beginning to anger her. ?Say something!? she said. Now that she had her full attention on me, ?How do you know about my progress??

?I have my ways,? she said.
?What kind of ways??
?Hmmm. You don?t need to know.?
?Are you spying on my special moments??
?Maybe? they look so enticing.?
?I knew it?? I began to get out of the armchair.

Yukari pulled me back down into it, ?It is much too early for you to be leaving.? I was the one becoming angered, ?I want to leave okay? I?m tired?? Yukari cracked a grin, ?Well, you can stay here if you want,? She walked closer to me and sat on the armchair, ?That is? if you are willing to cope with my presence.? I got up from the chair again, staring her right in the eyes, ?If it?s intercourse, then the answer is no.? Yukari couldn?t help but laugh.

?What do you take me for? A child?? she spat at me. I sat back down on the chair and Yukari put her hand on my shoulder. The twilight was soon to come at night and it would soon be time for bed for me? My internal clock is still working like a well-oiled machine. Yukari would be up the whole time since she sleeps mostly during the day. I had to warn her though before sleeping?

?If you bother me while sleeping, it?s a slap to the head.?
?I?ll enjoy that then~? she giggled?

Ugh? I need rest?

[MayKissingDoveWyks]

Chapter 23:

There really wasn?t anything to do for the next morning. The sun cracked through the slightly open door. My eyes, still dreary from the recent events, began to slowly open, letting in the glow of the rising sun. How long had I been going at this now? 4 months? A human looses count, but I bet you that a youkai looses more? My head was the first to rotate and then the arms followed in their motion. Lifting myself off the ground, I turned my body and sat up, rear planted into the floor. Rubbing my eyes, I drooped my head.

I could see a blanket covering the lower half of my body? So Yukari placed a blanket on me? The only issue here was that the blanket was blue? I rubbed my fingers on the end of the blanket, feeling the fabric. The material was supple? Moving it up to my face, I felt the softness the blanket carried. I soon became too enamored with the cloth to notice another creature was watching me in the room. But when I had soon noticed, I was almost spooked by the being?

This one was carefully watching me, prowling on all fours? Covered in red and brown? Eyes were gleaming at me, with a small mouth, all staring at me in wonder. I stared at the creature for a while, until I tried getting up. This caused the creature to pay even closer attention. It moved its head back and forth to follow with each movement I made. Finally, I decided to get up off the floor, since I was done with playing? The creature ran off, but I could detail a height difference between the two of us and the two tails the followed along it.

Following where the creature headed off to, I wondered where Yukari had gone?because this place still looked like Mayohiga. I slunk around in the hallway, but there was a door open as I passed along. A shadow lurked in there, but since it was a globed mass on the ground, I didn?t bother with it. I soon came to another room; this is where the little fellow went? I found the creature, but it was burying its head in what looked like yellow tails. These tails were attached to another being, that was covered in white and some shade of blue. An odd two-pointed hat covered parts of the blonde hair?

?What is it, Chen?? The multi-tailed one spoke, having felt the touch of her subordinate. ?Chen? did not respond, but kept on nuzzling in between the tails of the larger one? I moved my foot a crack and ?Chen? jumped out of the large one?s tails. ?Chen? inched closer to me, on all fours still, coming within my personal bubble with her beady eyes. This creature is so humanoid, yet it chooses to act like an animal? Maybe the large one is its master? I know mostly who?s who in Gensokyo, but it?s early in the morning and I can?t bother myself to remember who?s what?

Finally, the master of this ?Chen? turned her body slowly. It appeared as if it was holding sheets, lightly fluffing and folding them. And it was. I keep using the word ?it??actually using the word in my brain?because of the androgynous nature of this being?s appearance? But don?t worry; it won?t last much longer. The moment it saw me, it was deeply stunned?almost taking a step back. But ?she? retained her composure and bowed at me. The sheets were placed on a rack. She guided one of her arms out, pointing at a low table near her. I was able to take notice of the overt arm sleeves that this one had.

Sitting down at the table, I was followed by Chen. Whoever this master was, she sat down also, with Chen in her lap. It appears that she wanted to speak to me? There was nothing laid out on the table, except I could feel a folded up blanket underneath the table. Chen was still sitting in her position. And whoever this was finally spoke?

?Sorry for not waking you up? Master is sleeping?? She spoke in a solemn tone.
?It?s nothing,? I said, trying to rub the last bit out of my eyes, ?I just need to get going.?
?That?s fine with master, but be sure you leave with everything you came with.?
?I?ll be sure.? I turns out that the dolls had stayed in the room I slept?
?Master was going to tell you about something, but she dozed off long before you woke up??
?That?s perfectly fine with me.?
?Well, introductions should come first. As you know, Chen and I are of the Yakumo family? or clan if you want to call it that. Yukari is my master. And my name is Ran. I am the master of this little one, named Chen.? Chen couldn?t help herself but put on a cute face.
?Does she talk??
?Sometimes? not frequently??

?So what was is that she was going to tell me?? I didn?t want the conversation to go too far on a tangent.
?Oh yes? Master said that you should go to a specific place in Gensokyo on your travels.? Ran was petting Chen?s hair.
?Where??
?She said it was a place where you could be ?safe? from youkai and treated as an equal.?
?Am I truly safe??
?I have not really been there myself, but Yukari said the people can be quite welcoming.?

Could this really be another place to hide? ?What is it called?? I asked.
?Many call it Koumakan. But there was another name for it? Yukari doesn?t like using it though??
?And you are sure I can find it??
?Yes, yes,? Ran nodded her head. ?Have you been to Youkai Mountain??
?Yes??
?Then when you go there again, there?s a lake located west of the foot of the mountain. It?s covered in mist, but the mansion is located behind that mist.?
?Mansion??
?Yes. It is a particularly large location, but small for what it?s called.?

There was no time for me to hesitate. I picked myself up off the ground and began to head out, but Ran stopped me from doing so. ?Master wanted to say one more thing,? She added, ??She?ll be watching you.? That?s just great. Just what I wanted to hear. I limped my way back to the dolls so we could leave. I folded up the blue blanket on the floor. Ran will probably get to it later, but for now it was high time that I got out of Mayohiga. Heading out of Mayohiga, I saw Ran back there, waving. I may or may not come back, and this all depends on Yukari?s mood?

Another trip back around the Forest of Magic, but I headed inward this time. Going through the Forest of Magic, there was not much to note that is worth importance. I wonder if there will be food there. Now that I begin to think about it? I have not eaten in a while. My stomach started aching, but I must get there. Whatever the cost. Let?s just hope I get there in time?

[MayKissingDoveWyks]

Luckily, I was safe this time in my journey to Youkai Mountain. Trips? they can take a long time or a short time? It appeared that snow was disappearing from the foot of the mountain? Now I just needed to go west? Heading west, there was an unsettling feeling. A mist eventually appeared within the shores of a pristine lake. The mist above the lake settled just at the edge of it, containing some opacity. I was here.

I inched closer to the lake, noticing the creak lines along the slightly frozen water. How was I going to get across this? Deciding to risk it, I approached the edge of the lake and stuck my foot out on to the water. Contact. Substance. It worked. Beginning to slide out onto the ice, I felt some leverage. I could almost skate on it. I was so damn excited that I kept on sliding on the ice. The air in the mist was deeply cold, but I felt myself falling inward towards the center.

I was alone out there on the lake. But something did not feel right, as the mist began to fade and I was alone out on the lake. There was enough haze around me that I couldn?t see for more than several meters in all directions. An eerie silence was upon, as if it had been waiting for me to feel its presence. Minutes passed, but then something shot out of the mist and went sprawling onto my feet in fervor. I had successfully dodged the white shot through the mist, but the attacker had grabbed me.

?You?re pretty slow for a human.? The attacker pulled me up? Cirno?
?Gee, I?m walking on ice. You think I?d have traction?? Being pulled by on my feet, I glanced a nasty look at her.
?Pretty sure. All humans are able to cross this stuff, just like frogs.? She had an anticipated grin.
?You really have no concept of human locomotion. Do you??
?I seen them fly. Flying looks nice.? Cirno?s attention was no longer on me, but elsewhere?the ice pick on the ground.
?Again. No concept.? I almost grabbed the ice pick, but she took it before I did.
?Hey, there are many things I could do with this. You have any ideas??
?Why would I?? I was now attempting to recede from her.

?Hey! Where are you going? No one leaves a fight with me!? Now Cirno was just in her own world. I started walking away, towards wherever this ?Koumakan? was. But I guess I wasn?t able to leave yet, since I was tugged back by that pestilent blue fairy. Anger in her eyes, she aimed to let me know how ?strong? she was. Cirno, to me, was a lost child at this point. And the best thing was to leave her to her own musings. Seriously, if she had tried cutting my throat, there?s no point in talking to her now. A frog began to pass by, and that seemed to interest Cirno more. I was soon on my way again.

The rest of the lake trip was short??thank Kanako?. When I finally could feel the ground beneath my feet again, I was met with an array of trees. No matter. But what I saw behind them was invigorating. A mansion. One huge clock tower rose into the sky, as if it wanted to take a stab into the sun itself. Nothing else but a shadow was seen in the face of the sun, but the clock tower was the largest shadow out of everything.

When I came up to a long array of bricks, I was finally at the mansion? sort of. There was a large gate located on the south side of the lake?s island. This gate had evenly spaced pikes out of the ground and rusted hinges. Lots of grass was located at the entrance, but there was some red that stood out from the grass. The green blended in, but that patch of red blew it. There was a guard? with red hair?

Well it might figure? since a lake already guarded the place. This endeavor would be an interesting one, since I could tell from behind one of the trees that this guard wasn?t going to hold out? I could just approach and ask, but that might get me turned away? Better sneak inside and then pretend to be lost? Moving around the backside of the mansion, away from this guard, I came to more brick walls, but these seemed more passable.

Using my arms, I lifted my body up onto the perch of the wall. Peering over the edge, the area was clear and the grass was below. Landing on the ground, I caught more detail of the structure in the mansion. This structure I had seen to many times before? European. I felt like I was in another time period, lost. The windowpanes were grand, the structures and balconies covered with age-old styles. I scurried along the side paths and concealed myself by some nearby trimmed bushes.

Once I got to a large door, I quickly opened and closed it. To my surprise? the inside was much larger than the outside. It appeared that I was in a hallway, because there were doorways all around. I snuck along the walls down a hallway that seemed to lead a specific way. The walls were styled with special furnishings and painted vibrant colors. Many maids were buzzing about in the air, but were too focused on their tasks-at-hand to notice my shifty movements down below.

Coming to a large embroidered door, I found the hinges and pulled it open. Moving ever so quickly, I snuck between the cracks of the door and entered the room that lay behind the door. To my eyes, I see rows upon rows of brown aisles. There were tons of these brown aisles, until I checked closer and found the spines of books located among the shelves. So I?m in a library? ah yes. My favorite quiet place in the world? There were several floors in this library, so it boasted a large collection. But I bet none of this stuff I could read. I couldn?t help myself but roam around.

I found a nice section, science. Surprisingly, I noticed that this place does not use Dewey, so I felt a little lost trying to find that section. Once I found the section, I was stunned to see how many little books there were to accompany the section, one aisle. This library?s probably filled with all magical shit stuff? Digging on the fourth shelve on the ground, I found a Cosmology book... dating to Tang Dynasty China? What? The book read: Compilation of the Surveys Pertaining to Astronomer Yi Xing. First off, what the hell is a book like this doing here? This must be more of an archive?

But still, I decided to search through the book, finding arc locations and coordinates. Tables were filled with locations used to make calendar revisions. This did not last long? well because I was greeted by a passerby moving frantically with books through the aisle. She spotted me immediately and grabbed the book out of my hand and put it on the shelf. I was also pulled off the ground. Taking a good look at her, I noticed brown hair, black clothing, white sleeves, and? are those bat wings and a tail? Yeesh.

?On second thought,? The creature spoke, ?Let?s have some fun instead.? I was whisked out of the aisle and gliding through other aisles. But she finally decided to take it to the air and brought me up a level. To the second floor, we went into a deeper section. She started grabbing books out of the shelves. After several were on the floor, this creature picked them back up and randomly placed them on the shelves, giggling. Once she was done, she spoke to me again, ?It?s funny because she?ll never know!? Yeah, thanks for explaining the joke?

But fun time was over, because her face became serious and I was dragged out of the section. I took time to recognize all the lack of light the library had. Whoever the creature was, it brought me over to a stack of books and a lamp. Why? A slight push to the right, thanks to the creature, and I could see pink colors reading one of the books from the stack. But then I noticed a mop cap, baggy pajama clothing, and stripes? The face appeared behind the book with glaring? purple eyes??

Those eyes were cutting through the air with aggravated eyes?
________________________________________________

End of Chapter 23

[Sefam]

I see, so the plot of this story intersects with the one you posted earlier.

I find your writing to be absorbing, if compliments should be of any inspirational value.

I'l say the same thing, even though I've been too lazy to post since the first post of this thread.

Anyway, keep going :3

[MayKissingDoveWyks]

Chapter 24:

?Who is this and what is it doing in here?? The sack of pajamas spoke.
?Oh I?m terribly sorry,? The devil creature replied, ?He was wandering around??
?Wandering around?? This pulled the pajama sack from reading the book. Her eyes glared at me, trying to dig into my soul, ?Visitor?s are not allowed. Here or the mansion.?
?Then what should I do?? The devil spoke again. The next sentence really sent a pile of puzzle pieces in my mind.
?Eh? nothing I can do,? The sack spoke, but I notice a hand extend from this reader and pull a wooden, rickety chair up to her side.

?Take a seat.? She said, returning to enamor herself in the book she was precariously reading?one hand cradling the spine of the book, the other resting on the table and occasionally turning a page. I lifted my body into the seat, hearing the squeaking and creaking the chair made. Taking a gander at the books in her stack, I processed the words that read off the spines. Earth: Part 36, A Field Guide to Herbs and Mushrooms, Incantations of Vladimir, Questions of Botany for Usage with Genitalia. What? One that was more closer to the top of the stack (must be a recent one) was: Squick and Monks: A Field Guide to Molesting Men. At that point, I was deeply disinterested and disgusted with the pile of books. But I soon noticed the bookworm looking at me.

?Anything you need?? she spoke in a soft tone, but I could have sworn I heard an asthmatic cough coming from her.
?No thank you,? I still kept eying away from her.
?Koa, make go request to Sakuya to make us some tea,? She said to the devil creature, who soon flew off.

But now the attention was directed back at me. The book reader stared into my eyes with precision, but then deemed to introduce herself, ?If you need anything just call me by my name, Patchouli.? I had to make the joke, ?Can?t I just call you Patchy?? Patchouli?s glared with burning purple eyes and a stern face muscles. ?No, you may not,? she said, but her attention focused back at the book, ?Take a book if you want to read any.? Koa had popped back in through the door with a tray of cups and a pot.

Patchouli did not move from her seat as Koa placed the tray on the desk. Koa was the one to pour the tea as Patchouli kept reading through the book, scanning for specified information. When Koa was finished, she went off. Patchouli only paused for a second to spot the tray and pushed it closer to my side of the desk. ?Have some. The head maid prepared it with her heart,? She spoke at the book. I didn?t bother drinking anything, but she then hesitated to take some of the tea and drink from the cup. Patchouli obviously did this to get me to drink some, and I caved. We drank there for a while until I started wonder about her apparel.

?Do you wear anything under that?? Patchouli almost spat her tea onto the books, but kept it inside and swallowed hard.
?How rude?? She solemnly whispered back with a touch of anger, ?Who would ask such a question? A sex-addict??
?Okay. I am not a sex-addict.?
?I never said you were. Only assumption and speculation.? She went back to sipping her tea.

We did not speak again, until I noticed something heading right into the room. This one was approaching at a constant speed, but walked. The first notable part of her was the silver-grey hair that glimmered in the lamplight, topped with a ruffled cloth?the face being void of all obfuscations and no lipstick to ruin that stoic mouth. The rest of the body was covered in a maid?s outfit similar to Mugetsu?s but the colors were of blue and white. She seemed to walk with more pomp than Mugetsu did, with the black heels click against the ground in a frequent beat. Her motions, though rhythmic, were kind and a gesture as she graced through the pathway to the desk. Once she arrived at Patchouli?s desk, her attention was on the librarian.

?Madam, Mistress has demanded that lunch will serve soon,? speaking in a light tone?words cautiously, and smoothly leaving her mouth?she caught the attention of Patchouli.
?No, thank you.? Thusly, the maid was directed towards me.
?And my? aren?t we enjoying ourselves here,? her words slipped into my ear as I attempted to ignore. I picked up a book, but it so happened that the book was upside down, and she couldn?t help herself but giggle. Always the giggling.

?You may join us if you wish.? All of a sudden she was at my side, almost as if she had jumped there. I glanced at her, turning my head slowly. Her face radiated with a calm, broad, happy smile. Then her hand moved to my shoulder? I slowly nodded my head and she proceeded to ask Patchouli, ?May I take him away for a while.? Patchouli had returned to her book for the countless number of time, ?Sure.? The maid smiled, but grabbed my hand. I was yanked out of the chair as she began to lead me out of the library. The problem herein lie that her grip on my hand was tightening.

Once we were in the hallway, she immediately pushed my back against the wall with her expressions becoming angrier. A knife soon came out and near my throat. She stared me deep in the eyes with a wide scowl on her face. I thought she was nice? I guess I was wrong. Her eyes store through mine conscious, looking with the intent of killing me on the spot? but she lessened her grip a little and began to question me?

?What in the hell are you doing in there?? She spat at me.
?Nothing. I came in by accident.?
?Heh. By accident? What a bunch of lies!? She was pressuring me back into the wall.
?They?re not lies??
?You mean to tell me that you came across the lake by accident??
?There?s a lot of mist around that lake.?
?That doesn?t spare you from the fact?? She began to pull me away from the wall, ?Let?s see what the mistress thinks. She?ll know what to do with you.?

I was dragged across the hallways. This is a hugely different contrast between the people I met in this mansion so far. One?s crazy, one doesn?t mind company but is unsociable, and the last one is loyal, yet demonic in her own ways. I began to fear what this ?mistress? could have in store for me?

[MayKissingDoveWyks]

Continuing to be dragged along the hallway floor, I finally belt out, ?Will you not drag me?!? The maid smirked at me and took me up off the ground, ?Sorry, but uninvited guests don?t get to walk.? Making another remark to possibly piss off whoever this arrogant woman was, I spoke, ?Geez, no wonder this place is empty.? This made her shoot a stern, squinty look at me. But, she continued on her path to a grandeur-dining hall.

The maid slapped me into a tall chair at the end of the dining table. At the other end of this incredibly long table was another tall chair facing in the opposite direction. I could see arms resting on it, but the room was dimly lit. The maid strode along the side of the table and came up to the tall chair at the other end. She stood with her back to me and in close proximity to the side of the chair. Her body bending over, my ears could not hear her whispers, but my eyes had another sight to behold. Yep, that table was low enough. It?s become natural for me to check things out whenever I can, just from living in this world long enough.

I heard chuckling and snickering noises muffled coming from behind the chair. The maid had already turned back to me and noticed that my eyes were still directed somewhat lower than regular eye level. She first blushed and then coped an irritated look. ?Mistress, why can?t we kill him now,? She directed herself at me. ?Now now Sakuya, let the man have his words and peace,? The big chair almost swiveled around, and it revealed to me a young girl from behind that chair.

That young girl was dressed in pink with red ribbons. Her glorious wings folded up behind her. A mop hat was covering her lock of hair as the tall chair cast a large shadow upon her body. Glowing red eyes starred at me with evil intent. ?So you entered here?? She snickered. ?Ah well, we have visitors to often? but not your kind? interesting.? Her devilish eyes closed and she lay back in her chair. ?Sakuya, bring him some tea.? And with that, Sakuya began to leave, but she had to glance at me with another irritated look.

Had I completely forgot about the dolls? They were hiding in the clothes again, routinely. The mistress was still positioned in her chair the whole time, her hands clasped in front of her. I heard a giggle or two. Those red eyes? Thank God that Sakuya came back fast enough. She was carrying two teacups on a tray and a pot in the center. The designs on the cups and their general appearance were much different than the ones I had been drinking out of. A change for once?

The tea though, was colored with an appalling dark blood red color. It smelled revolting also, but the mistress was already sipping it slowly. Solemnly refusing to drink it, Sakuya was getting more irritated by the minute, but the devil at the end of the table finished her share of the tea. ?Ah yes? So what are we going to do with you?? she snickered again, but it was Sakuya who came in with an idea. ?How about the basement?? There was a tone in her voice that had intent of murder and fear. But Sakuya?s master shot down this idea?

?No. He should live. I don?t like messy corpses.? Getting up from her chair, she was short in height, two-thirds the size of Sakuya. Her movements were in the direction towards where I was sitting, a cracked smile on her face. Once she was at my chair, she glared at me with a stare. ?So, what do you think?? I didn?t respond, but glared back. ?Isn?t it grand? Luxurious?? Still I didn?t respond; if I am not treated with respect, no respect will come from me. This was getting to her, as her smile broke apart. I was not giving up on whatever petty competition she was putting out.

?Sakuya! He?s scary!? She went running away from me and to her maid, crying? Sakuya comforted her, all the while giving me the same look as before?intent of killing. ?Take him away!? The little girl was now fully crying. ?With pleasure?? Sakuya spoke, drawing what looked like knifes from behind her. I quickly got up from my chair and attempted to bolt out of there, but in a flash Sakuya was already in my face. An evil grin was upon her face and she dragged me out of the dining room.

Out in the hallway, Sakuya dragged me along the clean floors.
?You?ve got some nerve,? She spat, not even glancing at me.
?She was the one that came up to me.? I retorted.
?Well your response was inappropriate.?
?What was I to do??
?Respond!?
?Like you would have done better. Tch.?

Sakuya stopped talking and whirled around. A knife pointed in toward my neck. ?You better be quiet before I gut you like a pork roast.? So I?m an animal now, I guess? I was quiet the rest of the way, but Sakuya had to pull me up off the floor to get into the basement. Down the stairs we went, in a pitch-black darkness. There were torches abound in the stairwell, but no need to grab any of them. There was a door located at the end of a hallway. This door was barred by a wood plank, which was bolted to the door. Sakuya lightly lifted the bar over completely and slowly opened the door.

I was shoved inside with the door slammed behind me. The bar went back over the door handle and I was locked inside. There was darkness for a while, but a red glow appeared in front of me. Then candlelight. I could see an outlying shadow of something smaller than me, but the glow was accompanied by a gleaming array of colors behind the shadow. This being came out into the light. Yellow hair, a mob cap like the mistress, and red clothing. The array of colors turned out to be crystals attached to the creature?s back. Her eyes looked with interest in whatever it was I had in store for her. She inched closer?

The dolls refused to come out either?

I was alone?
____________________________________

End of Chapter 24

[MayKissingDoveWyks]

Chapter 25:

“Are you here to play with me?” The beast asked.
“That depends.” I replied.
“Well, sister never sends down any of her friends to see me…”
“And she is…?”
“Oh… she’s my older sister.”
“And you are…?”
“Flandre. Flandre Scarlet.” She was now sitting on what looked like a bunk bed, but the sheets have not been washed in a while.
“So…”
“Well, Remilia sent you down here to play, right?” Flandre was moving off her bunk.

“Not really.” I had remembered that Remilia mentioned something about messy corpses… “Hmm… No point in staying down here then.” Flandre was moving to specific spot on the wall. With a tap, a compartment opened up and what looked like a small pipe came out. “I want to play,” Flandre spoke into the pipe. The pipe vibrated for a while, but then out from behind us… The door plank whipped around, and the door swung open. A shadow was there in the doorway.

It was the gate guard again. Being able to get a better look at her, I looked at her garb. Her hair scarlet colored hair was still there–long and thick, twin braids in the front. The green dress was visible with more detail, but I noticed shades of brown in her garbs. The secondary color was white, but miniscule in value compared to the rest of the uniform. A beret was perched atop her head, bearing a gold star with a Han character I could not recognize. I could have sworn that she was not wearing anything else underneath the dress… But eh… a complete set, both top and bottom.

“Hello gate guard,” Flandre was trying to inch her way out of the door.
“I would prefer you call me by my name.” The guard had blocked the exit of the door.
Flandre did not say a word. But slightly nudged her head–the motion directed at me. The guard took notice.
“What was it again that you had requested?” The guard bowed in front of Flandre.
“Take me outside.” Flandre began to move out the door, “We’re going to have some fun.”
The guard had no choice… Both of them had been dear friends to one another.
Flandre was the one keeping the lead as we all headed out; I waked in the middle. I didn’t know that the guard was frequently glancing at me until I turned my head to look at her. She said, “You are one from before…” I stopped in my tracks and turned to her. “You noticed?” She nodded and chuckled a little; “It was not hard seeing you in the bushes. Your hair was easy to see. But it was let go.” There was no point in continuing the discussion…

“This is too boring out here. Back inside!” Flandre was tired of trying to walk in the shadow of the mansion, thus she pulled me back inside. The guard was hesitant to come inside, saying that she needed to go back to the gate. Flandre had other things on mind. She wanted to play some odd version of Tag. When we started playing, we went to a remote hall in the mansion. And Flandre wanted to be “it” first, so the guard and I headed down hallways in different directions.

And guess who was chased after first… Initially, I was slowly gaining speed so that my heart wouldn’t give out on me. Soon, I glanced back and saw the glowing red eyes of Flandre. The grin on her face was disconcerting. She was gaining on me fast and I was running out of hallway to run in. Without a second to spare, Flandre flew right up into me. But instead of lightly touching me, I was flung into the air. Flying…

Crack…

My left arm was driven right into the wall. Like a puppet, I plopped onto the ground in a heap. Eyes beginning to close, I could see Flandre’s body lingering over me, but the guard came into sight as well. I guess I was being lifted off the ground… But where did I go next…

•   •   •

“Ah yes. He should be waking soon.”
“Master, I brought the strap.”
“Good, now we just tighten this.”
“I don’t think you’re putting it on right.”
“Ach, wrong angle.”
“Be careful, Master!”
“I know I’m careful! Just let me do it!”
“He’s not going to pay if you don’t do it right.”
“HE IS NOT PAYING AT ALL!”
“Well then why haven’t you taken that out on him yet?”
“HE IS A HARMLESS HUMAN! What am I supposed to do?!”
“Master, please stop yelling at me…”
“You have done your work. Now tend to something else! Go to the damn village!”
“The humans haven’t been asking for more. The winter’s been weak this year.”
“Then go do something!”
“Eirin! Mokou dug her fucking fingers into my back! It might leave scars! Fix it now, damn it!”
“I HAVE A PATIENT RIGHT NOW.”
“Ow!”
“AND DO NOT USE THAT LANGUAGE IN FRONT OF ME!”
“You can be so cruel sometimes…”
“I will fix it later! Go back to your rest!”
“You old bat!”
“Grrrrrgh!”
“Eeep!”
“Finally… some quiet… Lets see here… slide it in, loop it over, tighten, and–whoops!… …Mnnn… Gah! Did anyone see?!... Uh… nothing but rabbits.”
“I brought the pot~!”
“Ach! Tewi! We are not cooking him!”
“But I was told that they taste nice and crunchy when you boil them.”
“We are not running a cannibalism central and breeding more youkai to this place! Stop talking to them!”
“Fine, fine… you should check next time to see if his mouth was clean…”
“WHAT?!”
“Ehehehehe”
“Just leave me to my work!”
“Okay… just make sure the rabbits get fed.”

•   •   •

Eyes began to open; I see nothing in front of me. My vision was beginning to blur back into focus. I noticed a bunch of sliver and white, and then a face. It was Eirin again–smiling as bright as ever. There was light out, or looks to be the next morning. The dolls were sitting on a shelf, but my focus reverted back to Eirin…

“You had a nasty accident,” She said, holding the back of my head with her hand.
“I know…”
“You should be more careful… Almost three months have passed since we last met…”
“I lost track…”
“All right, then…”

Eirin was up from her chair in a matter of seconds. She had other things to tend to… Looking about the room, I discovered it was Eirin’s “office” or “lab”–or what you will. The dolls soon came over to me, and both nuzzled against my head–they were okay. I tried lifting my arm, but I could see that there was a sling on my arm. Best not to move it. I rested in that room for about two hours, undisturbed–the dolls resting on my head. Eirin came back in with someone… It was the guard, again…

“Your friend here was the one that brought you.” Eirin soon left the room quickly… The guard came closer to me, smiling. She sat down in a chair began to speak to me, “You may call me my surname, Meiling.” I nodded and she smiled again. “I ran you over here as fast as could be… Remilia was not happy on what happen yesterday. But I worry about Patchouli because she said thief came in and steal several books. Lady Sakuya scolded me for it.” Books stolen? Meiling didn’t seem to upset about getting berated–as if she gets it all the time.

“But you helped me… Compared to everyone else…” I spoke to her. Meiling put her hand on my arm and said, “Good people comfort others and urge reciprocity.” I thought about it for a moment and asked, “So you want something in return?” She giggled, and then heaved a warm-hearted sigh. “Friendship is the best to return,” She got up and began to leave, but stopped in the doorway, “Patchouli sent her condolences. I have persuaded Remilia into allowing you as another guest. You may stop by whenever.” I smiled, “Alright.”

After Meiling left, Reisen soon came in for a small discussion. She was asking if I had done anything weird over the past month since out last encounter. I told her that nothing of harm was done. This eased her a little.

Eirin told me that I had to spend a month in Eientei just to heal and recuperate…

Kaguya came in frequently though to comfort me. My relationship with her became closer. Mokou never showed up though… maybe Kaguya didn’t tell her…

Aya did briefly show up once, when no one was around. She was trying to coax more information out of me. I told her to take her panties out of my pocket. I had been keeping them for a while. She seemed pretty pissed at me, but forgave. I told her that the incident with Hatate was her doing and that she just left with the picture against my will. Aya thanked me for telling the truth, but she was batted away by Eirin…

Eirin’s relationship with me changed as well… The first thing she told me after the operation was that she had slipped something into my mouth. I guessed what it was–I had a feeling–and she began to blush. I told her that it doesn’t matter that much. Eirin treated me nice and warmly for the next month… Caring for me as if I was a child… I liked that a lot. It seems much had changed about her in the past couple months.

She told me that I didn’t need to pay for anything she had done for me so far. Eirin said that she finally realized that she was being too demanding… and will change for the better.

Looks like I have done enough this time around…

Spring is coming, oh God help me…

But shouldn’t I be worrying about other things?
…
…
Ah yes… now I remember… Half of the people I’ve met so far, I haven’t met up with them again… Maybe I should do that… well… only a few…

To some… I promised…

=============================================

END OF PART TWO

[Kips McKipzerson]

Action? In my calming (and sexual) fanfiction?
I'm calling bullshit to the third degree.

Other then that, nice way to end part two. So I'm guessing part three will be mostly revisting those girls? You know, like Letty?

[MayKissingDoveWyks]

Action? In my calming (and sexual) fanfiction?

So I'm guessing part three will be mostly revisting those girls? You know, like Letty?

Letty for sure. Not everyone will be revisited... only several, maybe.
Part three may or may not revolve around that.

EDIT: I'm trying to tone down on the sexuality of the fan fiction... it was getting a little out of hand. I'm also trying to use different styles at one time.

[Kips McKipzerson]

Actually, You dont really need to tone it down, seeing as theres really nothing to tone down. It's perfectly fine to use sex in a fanfic to show how much two characters care for eachother, in this case being the main character and letty.