Reborn in Gensokyo series (RiG4 has begun!)

[Mima]

Epilogue

As time went by, I became more and more mobile and healthy, but at the same time, more and more depressed. Every time I looked at the watch, it only made me feel worse, and even a feeling of homesickness.

Yuka?s words echoed in my head every time I watched the news, the world was corrupt, the news was dominated by death, wars and misery. No matter where you looked, there just seemed to be nothing good about anything. Not even the others in the hospital seemed friendly, just self-centred and only caring for their own well-being.

No matter what I did, I always ended up comparing it to Gensokyo, and every time I did, this world came up second. Even though people claimed there was a god, it never made itself known or seem to care, nor were what they apparently said was listened to; everything just seemed to suggest that the world was in decline. In the back of my mind, the whole situation just made me feel like I?d end up getting killed by someone, but then again, I?m sure Yuka would be no different.

I knew one thing for sure though, was that I hated this world. If the opportunity let itself known, I?d go back to Gensokyo without a second thought? But unless Yukari Yakumo turned up through a gap offering a one-way trip to Gensokyo, there wasn?t much hope.

There?s always one way.

I can?t say I wanted to take that choice though, what if it was all just a dream?

You never have dreams, never mind one as advanced as that.

There was still the chance it was a dream though.

Why have you got that watch then?

I probably just hit my head and forgot I owned it before.

What?s there to lose?

My life.

My mind was a wreck, arguing with itself, do I take the ultimate gamble to go back to Gensokyo?

My mind drifted back, to the thought that had been bothering me. ?Youkai are the free souls of those who died in the real world, and ended up here rather than reincarnating. Since the souls are free and immortal, they become youkai.?

But how does one avoid reincarnation?

Perhaps one just wishes for it.

And maybe it?ll be easier since I?ve been there before.

As every moment passed, I found myself more and more tempted to go through with it.

But how?

I didn?t want a painful or slow death, so messing with any of the medicine or anything would be out of the question, as was the use of a knife. A gun would have been handy, but there was no way I was going to get one, especially in a hospital.

What about, falling?

No, I can?t do that? Could I? In theory, it sounded all right, it?s not too long, the mess is completely irrelevant to me and it?ll feel like flying right?

After I had made my decision, I spent a few more days inside the hospital, continuing to think about it until something made me decide to go ahead with it at that moment, thankfully the hospital had a rooftop at a decent height, and it was accessible if you could run fast or be slightly stealthy.

I waited another hour or so, got properly dressed and set off, for the last time.

I can?t believe I?m going through with this.

The journey was pleasantly uneventful, since I didn?t look injured and dressed casually; there wasn?t any suspicion on me and I stepped onto the roof surprisingly easy.

They really need better security.

I nervously walked to the edge of the building, the determination from before had dropped slightly upon seeing the height, okay, I was used to flying with Yuka, but not this high.

It?s worth it, right?

I stood at the edge and closed my eyes, enjoying the feeling of the wind blasting me compared to being holed up for the last few days.

?S-Stop, don?t do it!? A voice interrupted the moment of surreal tranquillity. ?Please don?t jump!?

I turned to see that it was the nurse from before accompanied by a police officer, who for some absolutely absurd reason was holding a stun gun.

Not the best thing for this situation really.

Well, you?ve got yourself in a situation now; either you jump, or probably get locked away in a mental care home since you now look officially insane.

?Move away from the edge and lie down!? The policeman started to bark orders.

I grinned and looked forward, ?There?s only one person who has a chance of giving me orders.? I held out my arm in the air like I was used to when flying, and leapt while shouting, ?Sorry!? Slightly more cheerful then it should have been.

One thing I was right about, I was used to the sensation of falling, it didn?t feel too bad, until I spun upside down, which I wasn?t enjoying and soon enough it became apparent it was going to be a head-first impact.

Definitely no turning back now. This was the right choice, right?

Right?

Finally, the ground was only a few metres away, and this gamble would be over, and then all too familiar, time began to slow down, leaving me upside down and my head barely centimetres away from the floor.

This is really getting annoying now.

In my mind, I considered myself a veteran at this, since I?d experienced death three times in the last week now.

I took my last view of the technological maze that was the city, before the gears of time turned once again and a split second later, my thoughts ended.

?

?

I? I?m alive?

I was once again in the state where I had woken up in an unknown location. This time it didn?t take long for me to open my eyes and to be greeted by the sight of a flower field, with the Kazami mansion looming in the distance.

?I?m? back??

I put my hands to the ground to push myself up, but noticed for some reason my head was tilted to the side at an unhealthy 90-degree angle. After pushing it slightly it seemed to crack back into place, and everything seemed back to normal.

The next thing I noticed was that my fresh attire I had worn for my leap had disappeared and had been replaced with my forced blue attire.

Another difference that struck me as odd was that this time around, I felt surprisingly healthy, and was able to pick myself up fairly quickly, compared to the previous times I was completely sapped of energy.

I really must be a youkai now...

Well, there was only one thing left now, I began my walk over to the mansion, which as I expected hasn?t changed a bit; it had only been a few days since I left. As I continued my steady trek I wondered for a moment, how long I?ll be a youkai for, but I blew the thoughts away, I had no intention of anything like that.

It wasn?t long before the front door of the mansion stood in front of me.

Well... here goes.

I knocked on the door a few times and waited but to my disappointment, there was no response. I knocked the door for longer and louder this time and waited again, once again to no response.

I searched my pockets for the pocket watch which I thankfully still had, and looked at the time; it was still morning, so she shouldn?t have gone to the field yet. For the final time, I knocked on the door even louder and waited. ?What the hell do you want?!? A voice growled from the other side of the door before the door started to open. ?Have you got a death wish, or? some? thing?? Yuka?s expression turned from furious to confused as she saw me.

?I?ve? come back? I? didn?t like that world, so I thought I?d come back here.? I said, awkwardly.

?So I can see?? Yuka smiled, a few seconds went by, ?So, what is your name then? You seemed eager to find out.?

I paused for a moment, ?? Haru.?

Yuka smiled before stretching out and hugging me,

Whoa, a Yuka hug, now that?s a rarity, I wonder if I just hit my head too hard?

I felt a drop of water hit me on the back of the neck and a few seconds later Yuka spoke again, ?Oh, looks like rain, come on, let?s go inside.?

As Yuka walked away, I thought to myself that coming back had to be the right choice.

---

And we are done. At least for this story, there's still 3 more to go.

Next up: Of Light and Darkness.

Found here: http://www.shrinemaiden.org/forum/index.php?topic=948.0

Make sure you read this before moving on to RiG2!




holy shit red text it must be serious

[Satori Komeiji]

sweet now we can read them all together

[DarkslimeZ]

(Warning: any elitism in this post is purely unintentional... also, please note this is the first time I've read this ^^)

Frankly, I didn't think one of those stories about getting warped to Gensokyo and meeting your favorite character and stuff would be very interesting, but for some reason I enjoyed reading this. It's very light-hearted. Maybe I'm just getting soft. I liked the end of it, actually, but I personally think it should have been a longer and more involved internal argument over suicide(that's certainly what I would have done, at least).

Maybe it's the fact that the main character keeps getting thrown into one life-threatening situation after another, and he really can't do anything about it, that interests me, rather than you giving him magic powers right away. XD

Let's see, concrit, concrit. The reason for this post. First, the positives. Your spelling is 99.9% flawless(and I'm not just saying that because Cirno is <3), and your writing has a really good pace. I found myself not really getting bored during the stories. But anyway, keep up those aspects of your writing. You're not very descriptive, but with this kind of story, you don't actually need to be - I once wrote a 23-page short story using nothing but dialogue, and it managed to work. With the way you do it, there's enough information to figure out what's going on. Also, the train-of-thought in the epilogue impressed me. In any case, if I stay on the positives too long, you won't ever get anything out of the post. ^^;

It took me a little while to figure out exactly what was bugging me about your writing - at first it was simply the fact that you have a lot of run-on sentences going on. I finally realized that the bigger problem is probably that long sentences is all you have. Good writing involves a combination of long and short sentences in order to provide some variety. With that said, here are a few examples I took out of the story to show you.

After I had made my decision, I spent a few more days inside the hospital, continuing to think about it until something made me decide to go ahead with it at that moment, thankfully the hospital had a rooftop at a decent height, and it was accessible if you could run fast or be slightly stealthy.

This is a textbook example of a bad run-on sentence. This would be much better as two(or even three) sentences:

After I had made my decision, I spent a few days to continue to think about it. Something eventually made me decide to go ahead with it on the spot. Thankfully, the hospital had a rooftop at a decent height, and it was accessible to fast runners or those who were stealthy enough.

Maybe not a textbook solution, but you see my point? Here's another one:

?Isn?t it obvious, playing with my friends unlike you!?

This is an example of the wrong place to use a comma. A semicolon, or even a question mark, would have made it fine.

The screeching however was coming from Flandre, whose arm was hanging limp at the elbow, Yuka?s kick must have shattered it disrupting her power enough to only destroy her arm.

Would be better as:

The screeching, however, was coming from Flandre, whose arm was hanging limp at her side. Yuka's kick must have shattered it and disrupted her power just long enough to destroy her arm.

I'm not exactly sure how an arm can hang limp at an elbow.

Are you getting the picture? The most important thing to remember is that commas do not connect separate sentences, especially without conjunctions the join the sentences together. But don't take the wrong thing away and overuse semicolons, either. Semicolons are used to join separate but related sentences. If they're not related enough - and you get used to when you can and can't use semicolons by reading and writing more - it generally sounds weird.

Also, use hyphens very sparingly. They're fine everywhere except literature. For example, I just used one in the last sentence. There are times where you can use them, but still.

Anyway, I hope you took something out of this post. X3 I look forward to seeing your next rewrites!

[Mima]

Okay, recently I've been busy with my AD6A thing, but that's done now and will be appearing soon.

I've now begun the tedious task of working through RiG2 and rather than posting it all at once, I'll probably post it in blocks, so for now here's the first 4-5 chapters.

Once again, make sure you have read OLaD first! http://www.shrinemaiden.org/forum/index.php?topic=948.0
oh my god more red text


---

Resurrected in Gensokyo

Prologue

It?s been a day since I was reborn in Gensokyo. Actually, it?s the second time but that depends on if you counted my short stay as a human but that was always destined as a temporary thing.

Either way, I?ve already put my death as a human in the past and am looking forward to my new life. A new life as a Youkai.

When I woke up I was greeted by the ceiling; one of a green colour with a square pattern, which always reminds me of a tea towel back in the human world. I remained still for a moment enjoying the comfort of the bed before I finally forced myself to get out and wobbled over to the window to enjoy the view of outside.

Rather than the usual bustling city or typical urbanised environment, one that is filled with cars, noise and horrible bland colours primarily grey. I was instead greeted by the sight of a giant field of flowers, spanning as far as you could see, it was quite probable that in that field there was a flower of every possible colour? but I wasn?t going to check.

My mind replayed the still-fresh memories of my last moments as a human and I grinned to myself at my lack of regrets of having thrown myself off a building the previous day. Turning around I quickly got changed. Even though my life expectancy had been extended to potentially limitless like all youkai I didn?t want to waste any of it right now. Seeing people?s reactions at my resurrection was something not to be missed especially after the reaction of Yuka when she first saw me yesterday.

Wondering outside my room I walked down the usual small corridor until I found myself in the main hallway. As always, the double doors of Yuka?s room were shut and thus giving no clue regarding whether she was conscious or not. As I descended the stairway closest to me I wondered if I could actually survive an instance where I annoyed Yuka to the point of violence but deciding it was a tad too early into my new life to consider something like that, I quickly put the thought away.

I walked under the archway as though by old habits and found myself in the dining room where as was the norm, one of the fairies fluttered nearby. The winged being simply hovered stationary, patiently waiting to be informed about what I wanted, to which I just said, ?Anything?ll do.?

I sat down at the table and waited, using the time to think about where to go and what to do. With the restrictions of being a human removed, Gensokyo just became a whole lot better.

I think I?ll head to the village first, I bet Keine?s initial expression will be amusing? There?s also Akyu, she?ll probably have already started to write about that party? and me dying? so she?d probably appreciate the update.

Soon enough the same fairy from before arrived and with its arrival it lay a plate down on the table. The contents of which contained what looked like fried eggs so without a second thought I dug into the meal. It would seem that dying made you surprisingly hungry.

A few minutes into the meal, an all too familiar voice spoke out behind me. ?Enjoying yourself??

Already knowing the owner of the voice, I spoke out. ?Yes, I am. It?s better than the junk they gave me in the hospital. That?s for sure.?

?I see. But you mean to say you were in there for more than a day? Weakling.? Yuka sneered.

?Hey, they were the ones keeping me in. Apparently if you get hit by a car then they want to keep you in for a week.? I replied.

?A car?? Yuka sounded puzzled for a second.

I looked at Yuka for a second, and saw her expression was true. ?Yeah, don?t you know what they are??

?I never would have asked if I didn?t.? She sharply said.

But she didn?t even directly ask?!

?I guess they are a little too modern for you.? I knew Yuka was considered an old youkai, so I guessed it was a few hundred years at least and that she wouldn?t care in reading about human technology. ?Well, it?s a big metal thing you sit in, and move to places that are far away in, since they can?t fly or anything you tend to get hit by others sometimes? It hurts too, that?s how I got here the first time. I?ll show you one sometime, somehow.?

Yuka sneered again, ?Typical, useless humans end up killing each other just moving around.?

Staying silent to admit that point, I spoke after a few seconds. ?So, what are you doing today??

?I should ask you the same.? Yuka replied.

?Well, I was planning on going to the human village for a bit.? I answered.

Yuka grinned, ?You?re a youkai now, not a human.?

?Yes, but I?m gonna try and be a good youkai. I?m not going to kill people for fun. Plus I have some friends there who?d probably appreciate knowing I?m back.?

The flower youkai sat silent for a moment. ?Suit yourself?? I stood up from the chair I was sat on and was ready to walk away when she spoke once more. ??But I?m going to come along too.?

[Mima]

Chapter 1

?You?re not having anything to eat?? I quickly asked.

?No, I have already. Now come on.? Yuka ordered as she began to walk away.

Didn?t take her long to take charge again.

I quickly ran up beside Yuka as she grabbed her parasol from beside the front door before leaving. ?Any reason you?re coming along with me?? I asked.

?Not particularly.? Yuka replied as she opened her parasol before pacing down the road, which appeared to be quite short today. ?It?s been a while since I?ve been out, and some exercise is always good.?

There was a silence for a moment before Yuka spoke again. ?So, what made you come back??

?Didn?t I say already?? I answered quickly. ?Because I?d rather have risked death to come back here than to linger in that world any longer.?

Yuka laughed slightly, ?And I bet you?d never have considered it until I?d told you how rotten the world is? maybe I did influence you after all.?

?That and? the news regarding the state of the world didn?t help; it was just greed, murder and crime.? I added.

?Humans have always been like that, even back? when I was one.? Yuka spoke, with a recognizable trace of hatred.

Whoa, she just mentioned her past.

I took a chance at asking Yuka a question, ?Your life? as a human. What happened? What were things like??

Yuka just grinned slightly, ?Now, now. There?s plenty of time in the future to talk about that.?

Damn it, she sidestepped the question.

At that point, I noticed we were walking by Elly?s house, which seems inactive as it usually was. ?Guess like she?s asleep again.? I thought out loud.

?She usually is.? Yuka answered without any trace of negativity in it.

Doesn?t she even care?

Eventually, without many more words spoken, we arrived at the shimmering portal showing a distorted view of the world outside which was, as usual, the flower field.

Following the usual routine I waited for Yuka to step through first before I entered myself. I gave a sigh of relief as my eyes readjusted since I was greeted by the familiar site of an ocean of sunflowers.

?Ah? back in the real Gensokyo.? I quietly mumbled to myself.

I quickly looked around to make sure everything was the same, not that I had expected it to change at all.

Like nothing had changed, Yuka had already marched away towards the village so after a final unsuccessful check to see if I could spot anything interesting. I picked up the pace until I had caught up to her and walked alongside her.

I swear she must speed up when I?m not looking.

?So, Yuka. How long have you been a youkai?? I asked out of the blue as we approached the village. She?d already dodged one question about her past today but I guessed it wouldn?t hurt to try another.

Yuka looked at me for a few seconds, ?I told you, there?s plenty of time for you to find out.?

I groaned in disappointment regardless of the fact I had pre-empted that answer. I snapped out of my thoughts however when I noticed a few of the villagers had noticed us, or rather Yuka, and were behaving apprehensively. Chances were they probably weren?t too bothered about me since as far as they likely knew, I was still a human. Yuka didn?t seem to be phased by the cold reception, she just continued on with her usual smile and unflinching approach.

It wasn?t much longer after we entered the village that I noticed the distinguishable hat of Keine Kamashirasawa who was stood against the door of a building, holding it open and waving to the children who were leaving it.

So, that must be where she teaches History.

Turning around, I saw Yuka has taken an interest in one of the shops near her? much to the owner?s dismay. Since she appeared distracted, I told my intention to Yuka. ?I?m going to go and talk to Keine.?

Browsing through various items, Yuka replied. ?Okay, I?ll come find you.?

With a grin, I hastily crept up the road as Keine was facing the other way and once I was a few metres away I spoke out casually. ?Good morning Keine.?

Keine spoke cheerfully as she turned around. ?Oh, hello! I?ve not seen you for a few-? Suddenly her expression changed to something priceless. ?Wha-what? But how, didn?t you? I saw you?.? The sentence ended in a whisper. ?Die??

?I did die, and then I spent a few days in the human world before I? decided I?d rather live in Gensokyo.? I explained quickly.

Keine looked at me cynically. ?You mean you killed yourself??

?Well, it was a case of either jumping off the building voluntarily or being locked up for being mentally insane.? I laughed, making sure not to mention how I got into said situation with full intention to commit suicide.

Without warning Keine hit me on the top of my head. ?You shouldn?t be so stupid with your life! What if you didn?t come back here, it would have been a complete waste!? Keine looked at me, with a look that gave the impression of an annoyed teacher for a few seconds before the expression settled back to its usual gentle look. ?Still, it?s good to see you again, and I?m sure Akyu will be pleased to see you... and hear your story, of course.?

?Yeah, I?ll have to give her a visit. I don?t want people thinking I?m a ghost or anything.? I noted to myself out loud.

Keine spoke out interrupting my thoughts. ?We can go now if you wish, I?ve not got anything else to do today.?

?Oh alright then. Let?s go now.?

?Will she care if you?re going away somewhere?? Keine asked quietly whilst motioning towards Yuka.

I grinned and shook my head, ?I doubt it, the fact I?m back in Gensokyo is enough to please her at the moment.?

?I see. Let?s go then.? Keine said as she held her arm out to signal which way I should start walking.

[Mima]

Chapter 2

The walk to Akyu?s residence was short, and fairly quiet. I had a feeling that Keine wasn?t bothering to ask any questions at least until I got to Akyu?s, possibly since she?d want to hear the same things anyway.

It wasn?t long before we were stood in front of the large aged building that was the Hieda residence. Keine walked up to and opened the front door and then waited for me to enter before following me.

Without warning, Keine shouted out behind. ?Akyu? Are you home??

I should think so? The door was unlocked. Well, unless they leave the library section unlocked.

?Yes.? Akyu?s voice shouted, distinctly weaker than Keine?s. ?I?ve got a surprise, Keine!?

Keine grinned at me, ?Is that so? Well, as a matter of fact, I have a surprise too? and I bet mine is more surprising!?

Akyu shouted back. ?Okay then, we?ll see! Come on in!?

Keine walked over to the doorway and stood in it, holding her hand out to tell me to stay out of sight. ?Okay, you go first.?

Remaining hidden, I walked over to the doorway so I could better hear Akyu. ?I?ve finished writing this book! Everything we know about Mima since her first records which go all the way back to the start of Gensokyo.?

?That?s quite a long time.? Keine spoke out. ?And it took you? four days to write all that??

?Yes! I started gathering the information when she was sighted again, and mainly started compiling the information after her party so it?s quite the record, even for me!? Akyu sounded quite overjoyed at her book wrote in record time. ?So, anyway, what?s your surprise??

Keine moved out of the doorway slightly and waved her arm to signal me over. Following the order I walked into the doorway and spoke out with a large smirk on my face. ?Hello, Akyu.?

Akyu looked at me with wide eyes before looking at Keine and then back at me. After a few seconds her expression returned to normal. ?I see? that is quite a surprise. Well, come in, come in!?

Following Akyu?s request I entered the room closely followed by Keine who sat down at the table she was at. ?I take it that you?re not a human anymore.? She asked as I sat down.

?That?s right.? I replied.

I noticed that Akyu had instinctively pulled some paper and a pen towards her. Obviously wanting to record some information.

?I must admit, I wasn?t expecting to see you again? at least in this lifetime. You must not have liked the human world much?? Akyu inquired before beginning to chew the end of her pen.

I laughed slightly and nodded. ?Exactly right. Well? to put it extremely short. I stayed there for a few days and then threw myself off a building. Next thing I know, I?m awake back in the gardens of the Kazami Mansion.?

?And you were fortunate enough to come back here. You?re very lucky indeed.? Keine quietly added.

?So yes, I got here sometime yesterday and mostly slept and so here I am now.?

Akyu, who was already frantically writing things onto a piece of paper looked up at me. ?Is the human world really that bad now? To make you voluntarily lose your life to escape it.?

?For a chance of coming back here it was? and I have no regrets.? I answered.

?Miss Kazami must have been really happy to see you as well.? Akyu smiled.

I shrugged slightly, ?She seemed quite pleased, probably because she has someone to boss around again now.?

?Well, she was certainly gloomy after you? disappeared, I even got to speak with her when she dropped the book you borrowed back here? and that doesn?t occur every day.?

Akyu continued to write things down on the paper, mumbling as she wrote. ?Powers? unknown, threat level? low.?

Oh yes, I wonder what powers I?ll get? Hopefully something that isn?t useless.

?Oh, of course!? Akyu spoke out loud, ?I forgot the most important thing!?

Slightly puzzled, I queried her. ?What??

?Your name!? Akyu almost shouted.

?Oh, yeah? I forgot about that.? I mumbled, feeling a little foolish.

I didn?t ever tell them my name, did I? I was only named after I met Akyu.

?It?s Haru.? I spoke out, thinking back to when I first received the name and wasn?t too fond of it.

Keine interrupted. ?That name isn?t what I really expected.?

?Well, it?s not my human name. That?s lost in the past. Yuka gave me this name when I was here before? and I think it?s better to use this one here.?

?Okay, I see.? Akyu mumbled as she wrote the name down. ?There, that?s as much as I can do for now. You?ve still got to gain your powers etcetera and until then I can?t write much more.?

?Okay? But I didn?t come here to deliberately get an article wrote about me. I just came to say hello, and say that I?m? not dead? sorta.? I said quietly.

Akyu laughed, ?Yes, I know. It?s just my routine that I do this.? Akyu laughed with a big grin. ?Well, make yourself at home. Help yourself to a book? maybe read my latest one!? She smiled at me whilst pushing the book she showed to Keine forward.

?I?ll go and get some tea. I?m sure Yuka will know you?re here. You came here with her, yes?? Akyu turned around as she was walking away.

?Yeah, she?s around somewhere, silently terrorising the villagers and whatnot.? I laughed as I picked up the book.

I opened the book and began reading about the history of the new Deity of the Hakurei Shrine, Mima. An ?evil spirit? whom I?d met briefly on a few occasions. According to the book she actually had a really horrible life so it?s no wonder she was evil at one point.

Akyu returned with tea for the three of us and time passed as we read and discussed about life in Gensokyo.

[Mima]

Chapter 3

A couple of hours passed, at Akyu?s house, when the sound of the door slamming interrupted the silence.

Bet I know who this is.

A few seconds later the recognisable red and green of Yuka appeared from around the corner causing Keine to suddenly tense.

?Oh, good afternoon Miss Kazami!? Akyu spoke cheerfully, without a hint of fear in her voice.

?Hello there.? Yuka spoke with an equally cheerfully tone before walking in and sitting down uninvited.

?You?re a bit later then I thought you?d be. Didn?t you just go to look in some shops?? I asked her.

Yuka sneered, ?That I did. But then there were some youkai who needed teaching a lesson? seems they?d got overconfident in the week or so I hadn?t beat them.?

Keine gave a cold stare at Yuka who was too busy laughing at herself to notice or even care.

While Yuka sat amused I gave out a long yawn. ?Oh? sorry?. Not saying you?re boring or anything Akyu? I just suddenly feel tired.? I laughed awkwardly.

?It?s no surprise really.? Akyu plainly stated.

?Really?? I quietly asked.

?Of course, you should remember that were only ?born? less than 24 hours ago. You haven?t completely adapted to a youkai yet and that?s going to take its toll on your body.?

I groaned slightly, ?What? I was planning on seeing loads of other people by the end of the day.?

?At least you?ll have something to look forward to tomorrow.? Keine added.

?You mean you want to go to bed already?? Yuka spoke out cynically.

I replied with another yawn, ?I guess so, yeah.?

Rolling her eyes and following up with a sigh, she stood up. ?Come on then, let?s go.? As she ended the sentence she marched out the door whilst mumbling a goodbye to the two others in the room.

Jumping out of my seat to follow her, I quickly apologized for my abrupt exit and bid farewell to Akyu and Keine. Leaving the building quickly to find Yuka before she disappeared I was almost surprised to see her stood still outside and only starting to walk away as she saw me coming.

I began walking at a pace which allowed me to eventually catch up with her. Once I was back alongside her I asked her, ?So, what powers do you think I?ll get??

Raising an eyebrow she looked at me. ?How the hell am I meant to know? I might be able to do a lot but I can?t see into the future.?

?Well, you like flowers? and you got your powers to manipulate them? so there must be a pattern or something?? I kept pressing the matter.

Yuka shook her head, ?Coincidence.?

?Oh, really?? I asked quietly, not entirely believing her.

?Yes. So you?re just going to have to wait and find out.? Yuka sharply replied to mark the end of that topic.

Yuka and I continued through the village followed by a descent down the slight slope to reach the flower field.As I was walking I was distracted by the thoughts in my mind which were debating what powers I might get and when. My thoughts were ceased however when I was rudely interrupted by a slightly high-pitched voice, one I knew I had heard before.

?What the heck? What are you doing here!?? The person cried in some form of shock. As I looked up there was a flash which blinded me for a moment. As my vision began to return I managed to make out that someone was now standing in front of me. ?Are you for real?!? The girl cried again before looking down at her camera.

?Hello, Aya.? I spoke with a slightly irritated tone, mainly due to the point-blank camera flash I just received.

?So, you?re real? ?Or did Miss Yuka here magically make a clone out of loneliness?? Aya devilishly grinned before clumsily falling backwards to dodge a lunge by Yuka.

Aya looked at me again. ?So, you must be the real deal.? Aya quickly reached into her pocket and pulled out a pen and paper. ?So, wanna tell me how you did it??

Another yawn escaped me, shortly followed by my reply. ?I?d like to. But... I?m honestly too tired to do anything and I?ve told the story too many times today, I think.?

Aya looked a little disappointed. ?Is that it? I see.?

?But? if you come around tomorrow then I?ll tell you about it then.? I quickly added.

Aya?s look of disappointment switched to the opposite. ?Alright then! I?ll come around after my deliveries! See you tomorrow!? Without another word she took to the sky at an unreal speed and flew out of sight in a matter of seconds.

Looking down from the sky, I noticed Yuka had disappeared from my side and to no surprise she was once again walking a good distance ahead. As usual, I ended up running after her. ?Do you always have to leave me behind?? I asked behind her.

?It?s your fault for being so slow. You should pay more attention.? She replied smugly before she continued her silent march through the flower field and into the portal back home.

Pausing before I followed her; I looked towards the eye-catching Scarlet Mansion in the centre of the lake and noticed Cirno and Daiyousei playing by the water?s edge. I pondered for a moment about whether to go and say hello to them or not but another yawn followed by a feeling of drowsiness quickly caused me to decide. ?Maybe tomorrow.? I said to myself as I quietly entered the portal.

[Mima]

Chapter 4

When I arrived at the other side of the portal, I noticed the walk to the mansion looked quite short again. I thought in my head that it was probably Yuka?s way of being helpful or maybe even kind for once. Regardless, she?d already done her usual trick of disappearing ahead and was already at the door of the mansion, entering it as I saw her.

My walk back was a lot slower although I was quite amused to see that Elly had finally got to her guard post? however that hadn?t stopped her setting up a sun chair and falling asleep on that.

As I was approaching the mansion my mind began to drift back to the human world and what it was like there. I found myself thinking mostly about issues regarding my death and what would have happened as a result. No doubt there?d have been a futile effort to bring me back to life? followed by the media? and then the emergency services. Eventually it?d just be another death amongst hundreds of others. Maybe the hospital might have got better security as a result; it really was easy to sneak up on the roof after all.

I looked up to the large mansion in front of me, my new home. It didn?t matter if the other habitant was a renowned violent youkai, who enjoyed genocide. It was better than the other world where society forced you to be the same and follow the same rules.

The deep thoughts I had just pondered didn?t really help with my effort to stay conscious so I quickly entered through the door to spot Yuka at the top of one of the stairways. ?You took your time.? She spoke with a grin. ?It?s nearly time for dinner, be ready.?

I yawned once more, ?You know, I?m gonna pass on it tonight. I?m just gonna head to bed now.?

Yuka simply sneered. ?Suit yourself. Weakling.?

?Oh, come on? I?ve been alive for less than a day, cut me some slack.? I moaned.

?My beginning was much tougher than yours, I didn?t get a free place to stay thrown at me.? Yuka continued to grin creepily.

?What did you have to do then?? I asked curiously.

?I thought I already told you that I?d tell you another time.? She mocked.

?Oh forget it.? I moaned, as I walked up the opposite stairway and took the corner to get to my room.

Walking into my room, it didn?t take me long to just collapse on my bed face first. I couldn?t say I really cared since a few seconds later I was already asleep.

?

?

When I opened my eyes, I was surprised by the sight I saw, or rather, the lack of anything.

Just white, everywhere, or maybe just a bright light? I couldn?t tell, but there was nothing, not even the bed I remembered falling on.

Slowly, I got up, and walked in a random direction, until for some reason, a mirror stood in front of me, facing at an odd angle. Walking over to it, I stood in front of it to see myself when the ground shook, and the next thing I knew, I was back in the mansion.

?What the hell was all that about?? I mumbled to myself

Just like in the ?dream? before, I slowly climbed out of bed, and got opened the wardrobe, to my surprise I saw many more of the same clothes I was wearing.

?Is that why it seems like everyone wears the same thing? They just have hundreds of the same costume?? I mumbled to myself, before changing.

Dozily, I wondered over the mirror, being cautious in case any stray earthquakes may occur at coincidently the same time.

When I looked in the mirror, I shook, but it wasn?t due to any tectonic movements, it was myself, jumping in surprise. My once brown eyes had turned a much more typically youkai red, while my brownish-black hair has brightened slightly leaving it a mostly brown-blonde colour.

?This is a result of being a youkai?? I asked myself, confused. ?So my hair?s lightened? How random?. Still? at least it?s not pink or anything.? After some consideration, blonde was actually quite a regular colour in Gensokyo so I wasn?t too unique there, nor with the eye colour.

After I?d finally managed to get over the change, I hastily moved outside the room to surprise Yuka.

I began walking down the stairs whilst looking for a sign of Yuka. A quick look in the lobby discovered nothing and she seem to be in the dining area either. Fortunately, soon after I heard her humming to herself, the source of the noise being the library area.

Walking down there, I noticed Yuka was reading a book, which made sense considering she was in a room full of them.

?Hey Yuka! Look! My hair?s changed colour! Eyes too!? I shouted, trying to catch her attention.

?So it would seem.? She spoke before returning to her book.

?That?s it?? I asked.

Yuka raised an eyebrow, ?Yes. What were you expecting??

?Well, some form of surprise really.? I muttered.

?Not from me. Having your appearance change is nothing big.? Yuka spoke.

?Oh, alright.? I spoke, ?Well, I?m just gonna go and get some breakfast.?

?Suit yourself.? The flower youkai spoke uncaringly.

I began to walk away before finally adding, ?Oh, do you think I get some pow-?

?I have no idea. Stop asking me.? Yuka interrupted.

With that said, I just continued walking on with the intent of getting some food.

[Mima]

Chapter 5

Breakfast passed as normal?. Well, as normal as breakfast can be when fairies are the ones cooking and serving the food. Sometimes I wondered how or even why the fairies stayed here; they obviously showed some fear towards Yuka. So unless they were part of Yuka?s dream as well, I don?t really know why they don?t just take off and run away. Regardless of that, they do stay and on the bright side? that means less work for me.

Sitting at the table and not planning on doing anything, I noticed something move in the window. Keeping my eye on the window I eventually noticed a crow sit on the windowsill for a few seconds before squawking and flying out.

?Aya?? I said to myself quietly, ?Oh yeah. I said I?d explain my story.?

Standing up and wandering over to the window, I looked out for the Tengu but for some reason there was no sign of her or that crow.

?Guess she moved to avoid attracting Yuka?s attention.? I spoke quietly. Following my theory, I headed over to the main lobby and left the mansion through the main door.

A gust of wind hit me as I opened the door, causing the army of flowers in the field to sway lightly. Quickly, I poked my head outside the doorway and looked around for Aya but to no success. The next step was walking outside and shutting the door behind me before taking a stroll away from my home. Walking to the left into part of the flowers, I found myself standing in the exact same spot I stood a few days ago watching the bloodbath that was Yuka fighting off Flandre Scarlet.

?Hello there!? A voice called from above me. Looking up, Aya was stood on the roof of the mansion as I made eye contact she quickly leapt off and landed effortlessly in front of me.

?Sorry for bringing you outside, I?m sure you understand why you did it.? Aya quickly spoke.

?To prevent Yuka from tearing you to pieces?? I grinned.

?I?m sure she?d attempt to, yes.? She said while rolling her eyes. ?So, anyway! Your story!? Her voice picked up as she produced her notebook from her pocket.

I waited for a moment. ?So, what exactly do you want to know??

?Anything. Something worthy of an article. Tell me what happened in the real world.? Aya spoke quickly.

?Not that much really. I kinda lay in bed at a hospital for a few days; the news I heard and saw as well as the people I met made me lose faith in mankind?. So I leapt off the top of the building and fell a good number of stories to my death for the chance to come back here.? I explained, all too familiar with the story.

?Guess you must like this place then.? Aya grinned again.

?Of course, I wouldn?t have done something so drastic had I not.? I replied sarcastically.

?Okay.? Aya grinned menacingly as she quickly wrote everything in her pad. ?So? what about your life now? Any plans? I see you?ve changed slightly, got any powers yet??

I quickly went over the questions in my head, ?Plans? Nothing at all. Changes, yeah. I?m sure can tell my hair and eyes changed and finally?. No, I don?t have any powers yet, sadly.? I replied at a speed similar to what the Tengu asked me.

?I see? Well, I bet I can write an article out of this.? Aya chirped.

With not that many lies I hope.

?Oh yes, one more thing.? Aya spoke out before reaching into a small, courier-like bag which hung off her shoulder and producing a newspaper. ?Here?s a? free sample of the excellent Bunbunmaru newspaper! See what you think, and you can subscribe if you want!? She said pushily.

Slowly, I reached for the newspaper whilst thinking of a point related to what Aya was speaking of. I, myself, didn?t actually have any money. Yuka didn?t seem to have a lack of it as suggested by the huge mansion full of various items. Yet I?d never seen any cash used around Gensokyo, partly down to my lack of time and being anywhere near a shop. Suddenly, images of Yuka threatening and beating up random youkai and stealing their money and belongings with a large sadistic grin entered my head.

Quickly, I just flicked through the pages of the newspapers, catching note of the headlines as they flashed by.

?Miko seen doing work?

?Forest damaged by laser experiment?

?Ice Fairy vs. Frog God, the rematch?

In other words, the news wasn?t all that important. In fact it was mostly gossip. By chance however, I caught sight of the back cover which for some odd reason was in colour instead the standard monochrome that dominated the rest of the paper. ?Huh, why?s this in colour??

?What?s what in colour?? Aya spoke in a confused manner as her head turned around to look.

?The back cover.? I answered as I looked at it, noticing a small logo that appeared to be weird red bow-like thing, with red eyes.

Where have I seen that before? It looks vaguely familiar.

?Let me see that!? Aya shouted as she snatched the paper out of my hands. ?Who did this?!?

I stood beside Aya, reading the content of the mystery back cover.

?Greetings citizens of Gensokyo!

Presenting, a competition of fantastic proportions!

Need to prove a point over a rival? Ashamed of having plans foiled by others? Fed up of being pushed around? Want to prove yourself as the most powerful in Gensokyo?

Take part in the biggest game Gensokyo has ever seen! Where the winners get a mystery prize? and of course? bragging rights!

To take part, be at the Hakurei Shrine at 4 o?clock this afternoon!

Yakumo Inc.

P.S. Thank you to our sponsors Bunbunmaru news for printing and distributing this message!?

?Yukari, again? How dare her! Using Bunbunmaru for her games?. She could have at least told me!? Aya shouted. ?I swear if I find her, I?ll teach her a lesson. Manipulation of boundaries or not!?

I doubt you could beat someone like Yukari despite your almighty fury over the fact someone vandalised your newspaper.

Aya groaned with frustration. ?I?m sorry, but I?ve got to get to the bottom of this. I?ll see you another time about your subscription!? The Tengu called as she leapt into the sky.

As she flew away, I laughed quietly at her anger for a few seconds before turning around to go back in the mansion. My actions were cut short when I jumped back in surprise to see Yuka standing there; who was wearing the same grin I had just lost.

?Taking amusement in other people?s distress as usual.? I muttered, despite me doing the same just before.

?So, did you enjoy your ?secret meeting??? She said mockingly.

?Oh yes. Lots of fun.? I replied sarcastically.

Yuka tried to look at the paper I was holding. ?So, what?s this I heard about Yukari??

?Oh. It?s just some prank of hers or something apparently. She said she?s holding a competition.? I replied, handing her the paper which she took and immediately began reading.

A few seconds later, Yuka spoke, ?I see?. Well, we should head there later then.?

?What?! Really? Why would you want to do that?? I asked, surprised at her reaction to the article.

Yuka grinned devilishly. ?Is it not obvious? A chance to best Yukari isn?t something to be missed.?

By the tone of her voice, it sounded like she wanted to go to beat up Yukari, rather than actually take part in the event that was happening.

?But 4 o?clock is quite a while away. Surely we?re not going now?? I asked. ?Maybe I could try and get my powers? or learn to fly? or something.? I quietly added.

?Alright, that?s it.? Yuka said sharply.

Oh crap.

Yuka began to march into the flower field, ?Come on.? She barked as an order. ?If you?re going to bother me so much about it then we?ll try and get your powers? with my methods.?

As Yuka continued to storm off, I mentally hit myself for opening my mouth and tried to shake off the looming feeling that her methods involved pain? and unfairness? and more pain.

[Mima]

Chapter 6

?Come on!? Yuka shouted, when she noticed around and noticed me standing still.

Slowly I began to walk over to Yuka, quite apprehensive about what was about to happen.

?What do you want to try first? Flying? or your power?? Yuka spoke quickly.

I hesitated for a moment. ?Uh, it?s alright, we?ll do it another time.?

?You can?t decide? Too bad. I guess I will then?? Yuka interrupted me before pausing in thought for a moment. ?Flying then.?

Oh god.

Yuka turned sideways and thought once more. ?Now, I would say that? desperation would be a good catalyst, no?? Yuka grinned at me.

?I think I?ll pass.? I quickly spoke.

Yuka began laughing to herself quietly prompting me to back off.

Ah hell.

Turning around, I found myself face to face with an oversized flower that happened to be spinning viciously in the air.

You?ve gotta be kidding.

?Erm? you?re not really going to attack me with that? are you?. Yuka?? I spoke hesitantly.

Yuka?s grin just turned menacing. ?I?d start flying if I were you.?

Quickly, I closed my eyes and tried to concentrate on flying? on taking off from the ground. I wasn?t sure what to do; I just felt that trying to tap into some unknown source of energy might be the best thing to do. Unfortunately for me, it didn?t work at all. All it did succeed in doing was make me open my eyes and falling into a state of panic when I saw the flower moving towards me.

Urk.

Relying on my natural reaction, I turned in the other direction and ran away from it. The As I ran for my life I tried a series of small jumps into the air occasionally as an attempt to trigger some form of flight.

Yuka?s slightly psychotic laughing rung from behind me, ?That?s not right! I said fly! Not run!?

Spinning around as I run, I noticed the sunflower had obtained quite a lot of acceleration.

Run faster, run faster!

Unfortunately, the faster I ran the faster the flower became, gaining far more speed than I could reach even in my new youkai state. With the flower only a few metres away, I closed my eyes and concentrated hard, determined to fly and leapt as high as I could.

But that didn?t work. Landing on the floor awkwardly I looked up to see the flower point-blank before I felt an impact and blacked out immediately.

?

?

?

As I began to notice myself thinking again. My mind pieced together what had just happened.

Oh yeah, that flower.

As I lay there I felt the wind blowing against me; a sign that I was still in the field.

Feels quite nostalgic, hopefully I don?t get kicked this time.

Thankfully it didn?t take long for me to force open my eyes revealing a pleasant blue sky and a few flowers swaying around me. Sitting up, I noticed I hadn?t been moved an inch from where I fell and there was no sign of Yuka either.

?Oh great, she just about killed me, and then left me for dead.? I said to myself. ?How nice of her.?

My muttering was interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat behind me.

Oh hell.

A laugh came from behind me, the source of which was obvious. ?You really are a weakling.?

?I think we established that a while ago.? I spoke quietly. I began to rub my head since the pierces pain of a headache had begun to make itself known.

?It only took one flower to knock you out cold? for two hours.? Yuka grinned. Her expression showed that she was obviously enjoying the torment.

I paused for a moment. ?I didn?t fly by any chance, and just don?t remember did I??

?The only flying you did was from the impact of that flower smashing into you.? The flower youkai lightly kicked my arm as she spoke which did little but fall back without much feeling.

I paused a moment before the realisation hit me. ?What the hell! You broke my arm?!? In my head, I went over that sentence and how odd it sounded, especially from someone who was human a few days ago.

Yuka?s evil grin continued, ?Not my problem. It?ll mend.?

Picking myself up with my other arm. I lifted up my limp, broken arm and struggled to tuck it inside my shirt to act as a very poor, almost useless sling; much to the confusion of Yuka.

?What are you trying to do?? She asked.

?To support my arm?. To help it heal faster.? I explained quickly.

Yuka playfully but powerfully hit my broken arm. ?You?re a youkai; you don?t need to do stuff like that. It?ll be fixed in no time!?

Not if you keep hitting it like that.

Yuka reached into her pocket and pulled out a watch and looked at it for a moment before placing it back. ?Now, stop messing around and come along. It?s time to head to the shrine.?

What a successful lesson, no flying, no magic or anything. Just a chance to be cannon fodder and a broken arm.

With very little choice on the matter, I did nothing but follow her.

[Mima]

Chapter 7

Yuka happily paced away, humming a song to herself. Yuka being content was a thing to be expected really, mainly since she has already has her dose of violence for the day. I began to wonder if this event was for more unfortunate for myself than it appeared; how she had just beaten me senseless has probably made her realize, if she hadn?t before, that now I?m a youkai and so I?m as good a target as anyone else.

As we wondered along the path towards the portal, I tried shaking my arm a little but it did little but cause a few twinges of pain.

Using the lesson I learnt earlier, I decided not to open my mouth and say anything, just in case Yuka decided to use it as a reason to inflict pain on me.

Instead of talking, I spend the trip heading from the portal to the shrine thinking of the events ahead. Aya won?t have done an article and passed it around in the few hours that had progressed since our meeting, and something told me that Yuka wasn?t the only one interested in that competition. The way the article was wrote seemed to try and appeal or lure the majority of residents in Gensokyo. Images of the shrine during the party entered my mind, making me use that as an estimate for the amount of people that would be there. Hopefully, Aya would be there and I could make her do a live report or something similar; the main reason being that I really didn?t want to have to explain my story to someone once more.

Soon enough, I noticed the scenery ahead looked darker and after focusing my eyes I realized we had reached the forest blocking the shrine from the central field.

Oh yes, this place again, well, I haven?t got a choice but to ask Yuka for a lift again.

?Yuka, before you take off like you do? Remember, I?m gonna need a lift.?

Yuka just looked around at me and snatched my arm and took off immediately without a word.

Least that went alright.

As we flew over the forest, I recognised the site where Yuka and Suika battled each other, the site being obvious due to the patch of forest that was missing trees. When I considered it, it didn?t feel like it was less than a week ago because of how much that had happened, but it was.

As my mind ran the events of the fight in my mind, Yuka spoke with a strange tone again. ?Attempt number two.?

What?

I thought for a moment.

Oh damn!

Less than a second later, Yuka released my hand and allowed gravity to do its work. ?What the hell are you doiiiiiiing?!? I futilely shouted as I fell to the ground.

I knew she?d use me as stress relief? not that she has anything to be stressed about.

Now, come on! Prove her wrong! Fly!

Unfortunately, just like earlier, any abilities that I might have were still lying dormant and still not willing to wake up regardless of the danger and pain I was facing. Inevitably a few seconds later and to what I guess would be Yuka?s amusement, I hit the ground. Ironically, the force of the impact was directed at the same arm that suffered the impact the previous time. Unluckily for me, this time around I didn?t even have the pain release of blacking out.

Shouting in pain for a moment, I rolled over onto my good arm to try and relieve the pain a little but to little effect. After all, I?d just been dropped 20 metres to the ground.

As expected, I heard Yuka gently hit the ground behind me and start to giggle to herself, ?Oh dear, looks like it didn?t work again.?

I coughed as a result of getting winded from the drop. ?O-obviously.?

Yuka hummed airily. ?Better luck next time.? She spoke quickly, before grabbing my arm and dragging me into the air.

At that point, I noticed she was holding my bad arm which caused more pain to flare through my nervous system. ?G-grab my other arm instead? damn it.? I hissed through gritted teeth.

She merely looked at me and gave me a bemused look before, as I somewhat predicted, dropping me again.

I shouted in frustration. ?Oh, what the h-? I was cut short by Yuka actually catching me by my other arm.

?You were saying?? Yuka spoke sarcastically.

Rather than answer that question, I left it as a rhetorical one and decided to keep quiet. It was a better choice than risking a free-fall trip to the ground again.

?Can we? just head to the shrine now.? I spoke after a pause.

?What do you think we?re doing?? Yuka replied.

Well, lingering around here so you can let me fall to the ground actually.

Deciding to remain silent again and just let myself recover, I let Yuka fly wherever she was heading, which luckily did appear to be the shrine.

I really can?t wait to fly, especially if every day without it turns out as painful as this.

[Mima]

Chapter 8

As I was only able to sorrowfully look at my twice-broken arm dangling below me, I was relieved by finally seeing the sight of the Hakurei Shrine behind a row of trees.

?D?j? vu.? I spoke out loud, noticing the events going on.

?What are you talking about now?? Yuka complained.

?All these people flying towards the shrine? and all the people here already?. It?s just like it was a few days ago.? I explained quickly.

Yuka began to slowly swing me, enough to make me start fearing for my safety again. ?Stupid, there are always gatherings at the shrine; it?s not just a yearly thing you know.?

I replied quietly again. ?Oh, I see.?

Please stop swinging me around now.

Fortunately, Yuka soon stopped and promptly headed over to the shrine where she dropped me safely to the ground. Thankful that was back on solid earth I joined Yuka for the short walk over to the shrine.

?So, what kind of competition do you think it will be, Yuka?? I asked out the blue.

?Beats me, there?s no telling what things might be when she?s doing things.? She replied with a tone that suggested experience with events like this.

The swarm of people at the shrine wandered around each other causing a quite hypnotic swirl of colours. It was impossible to listen in on a single conversation mostly due to the sheer number of visitors that were currently trying to talk. That scrambled mess continued until one voice became comprehensible, one coming from behind us.

?Good afternoon, Yuka Kazami!? The voice sung.

Turning around, I found myself faced by the Deity of the Hakurei Shrine herself, Mima. Who looks slightly confused herself.

?Hello.? Yuka replied in a simple manner.

Mima remained still for a moment as though she was expecting Yuka to say something else. ?So? can you explain why all these people are hanging around my shrine?? She asked with an irritated tone.

?Yukari Yakumo. She said she had set up a competition and that everyone should come here to join in.? I answered for Yuka.

Mima growled to herself quietly. ?I should have known,? Turning her back to us, she hovered quietly. ?I wonder what she?s up to this time.?

There was another awkward silence until the goddess spoke out again. ?Just to point out I?m not slow or anything, I have noticed you?re back.?

Here we go again.

?I can guess that you must have done something unbelievably stupid to yourself to come back here, I don?t want the details right now? but welcome back.? Mima spoke mournfully.

The blue-clad deity spun around with a smile on her face. ?Sad to think that my first human worshipper died? and during my party! It was quite the mood killer. And it wasn?t until I got that Oni to bring out the heavy stuff that moods got lifted again. I bet they never saw this coming though, especially Miss Kazami here.?

?I was a little surprised, so what?? Yuka added, trying to sound like she was uninterested.

?Well, we should go and see if the Yakumos have decided to show their little event.? Mima declared as she began to move.

With Mima floating beside us, the three of us began the final short walk, or hover in Mima?s case, to the main part of the shrine.

?That arm of yours, is that Yuka?s doing?? Mima suddenly questioned.

I paused a moment before I quietly replied. ?Oh, this? Yes, it was.?

I?d completely forgotten I had a broken arm.

?Now, now, Yuka. You shouldn?t be so harsh on him just yet, you?ll scare him off.? Mima scolded mockingly.

Yuka sneered and glanced at me. ?He?s too scared to run.?

?Of what? The dangers of Gensokyo? or your wrath?? Mima replied whilst laughing.

?The latter? of course.? Yuka answered, laughing as well.

While the two next to me laughed, I just feigned awkward laughter.

Why does it always feel like I might die in the next instance?

That?s what you get for choosing to live with a youkai who kills people for fun, moron.

Standing outside the shrine, I realized that amongst the colours of everyone present I hadn?t seen Reimu, which suggested she didn?t know that this was going on, just like Mima.

Looks like there?ll be more fireworks later.

I thought to myself as I, like everyone else present, waited for Yukari.

[Mima]

Chapter 9

Irritatingly, time continued to pass and all that occurred was that the crowd got more rowdy and impatient as they waited for the Gap Youkai?s arrival.

From what I?ve heard about her, I bet she?s doing this on purpose to wind everyone up.

Out of curiosity, I aimed a question at both the Flower Youkai and Spirit-turned-Deity that were next to me. ?So, out of interest?. How did a violent youkai and a goddess become friends in the first place??

Mima turned to look at me. ?Oh?? It was a few years ago now, five or six I think. Demons started roaming around Gensokyo or something like that.?

Something like that?

?Whatever it was, I slept through it at first. It was only when I got to the shrine that Reimu told me to get the person sleeping on the shrine and help Marisa and her find the source of the demons. Of course, that person turned out to be Miss Kazami, who was visiting after being beaten by Reimu the year before.? Mima smirked at Yuka.

Yuka argued. ?Well, I think if someone attacked you while you were asleep, you?d lose too!?

Mima chuckled to herself. ?Whatever. Either way, we ventured into a realm called Makai and that?s where we fought the Demon Goddess alongside Reimu and Marisa.?

?Shinki, right?? I interrupted.

Mima nodded. ?Ah yes, you met her a few days ago. Well? now you know the link.?

?I see. But, since you were away in Makai from then on?. When did you get such a hatred of Yukari? I thought she only started being a nuisance for Reimu from a few years ago? or so I read anyway.? I questioned.

?She?s been around a long time. Longer than I have? probably. So we?ve? crossed paths on a number of occasions in the past. Unpleasant occasions.? Mima looked away slightly, obviously not wanting to say too much.

I nodded to her. ?I see, well, I won-?

Interrupting me, a voice giggled ominously behind me. ?Did someone say my name?? The voice said, before continuing more bone-chilling laughing.

Turning around, I was unsurprised to see Yukari Yakumo there; or rather half of her, protruding from a gap which I noticed this close up seemed to have red eyes staring from it.

Yukari instantly found herself facing Mima?s staff, which she?d seemingly summoned in an instant. ?Explain what the hell you?re up to, now.?

Yukari merely chuckled for a moment, showing no care for Mima?s aggression. ?I?m sure everyone here would like to know the answer to that. After all, that?s why you?re all here, to find out? what is Yukari Yakumo?s big competition??

Mima just growled, ?Enough. Get it over with. And then leave.?

?Why are you being so cold, Mima?? Yukari chuckled again. ?You should be pleased I chose your shrine.?

?Get it done with, now.? Mima insisted sharply.

The gap Yukari was riding rose into the air, above the crowd, ?Greeting everyone, I?m sure you?re all eager with anticipation for today?s little? game, are you??

The crowd didn?t do much in the way of replying or acting excited. They just looked at each other with confused expressions.

?Well, today?s game is very simple. Soon, you?ll have to decide on teams, there?s no limit per se but? the more there are in a team, the worse your prize will be if you win. I should also mention that means you?ll have to share it too.? The youkai announced followed by more ominous giggling.

?Each team will be given a riddle or clue, and the answer will eventually take them to a location where they will find another clue. Eventually, they will lead you to where I am and the first team who finds me wins the prize!?

The crowd talked amongst itself for a while until Yukari spoke out again, ?So, it?s time to choose your team. You have 2 minutes.?

Immediately, the crowd sprung to life with human and youkai alike flying and running to others. As I watched them, I heard another voice shout from behind me, where Mima and Yuka stood. ?Yo, Lady Mima, you?re coming with me!? Obviously, by the ?Yo? I could tell that it was Marisa Kirisame.

?I?m sorry Marisa, but I won?t take part. Not if it?s her in charge.? Mima replied coldly.

?Oh, come on Lady Mima! It?s only a bit of fun! We?ll win for sure!? Marisa shouted as she dragged Mima away, who did nothing but sigh.

Eventually the crowd began to form into small clusters of pairs and the odd trio scattered around. I also noted that it seemed strange that there was still no sign of Reimu.

?Looks like no one?s going to be your partner, Yuka.? I spoke as I turned to look at her.

?Don?t be stupid. You will.? She snapped back.

?I will?? I said surprised.

Yuka stared at me. ?Yes, you will. You had better not have any ideas of teaming with anyone else.?

I quickly shook my head. ?No, it?s not that. I just thought I was a little too? weak? to be your teammate.?

Yuka grinned. ?Simple, I?m more then capable of making up for your weakness? plus there?s less of a struggle over the prize.?

Taking advantage of my weakness, that?s below the belt.

I replied with the only answer I could without the risk of getting hurt. ??Okay.?

As I finished that sentence, I noticed a small gap appear between Yuka and I and from it a piece of paper dropped out and slowly fell to the floor, which I quickly picked up.

?What does it say?? Yuka asked instantly.

Confused, I flipped the paper around, and held it to the sky. ?Nothing, its blank??

?Give me that!? Yuka snapped at me as she snatched it from my hand.

As she looked at it, I looked around at the other teams to see if they had got blank sheets too. By the looks of their confused expressions, they did. One thing that caught my eye was Alice who was standing alone until a red-clad figure snuck up behind her after a minute or so.

?Aliiiice!? The woman shouted happily.

Alice physically jumped in fright before turning around to see who it was. As she turned, I remembered her as Shinki, the goddess of Makai mentioned earlier.

?Oh, mother. It?s you. What are you doing here?? Alice spoke sounding out of breath.

?I heard there was a contest. So I left Yumeko to her work and came to see what was going on! So, who are you going with? I bet everyone wants to be with my little Alice!?

Alice turned away with a rejected look. ?No one. Marisa went with Mima.?

?Don?t worry then! I?ll go with you!? Shinki shouted cheerfully.

Alice looked shocked, and turned away again. ?It?s okay mother, I don?t care about this stupid contest anyway.?

?Is it? because I embarrass you?? Shinki sounded rejected and turned away in a fashion mimicking what Alice did previously.

?N-no! Not at all mother!? Alice quickly replied turning around to face the demon.

?Well then, we?ll be a team then! Team Makai! How?s that sound?? Shinki quickly returned to her cheerful self.

Defeated by the rejected parent trick, nasty.

Yukari?s voice boomed through the area again, interrupting everything that was going on, ?Time?s up! Now, I?m sure you have your paper now. You?ll get your clues when the contest starts, which will be in ten seconds!? Yukari paused for a moment, ?I advise you leave quickly.?

Everyone looked at each other, confused by the last comment, which even Yuka looked clueless to.

?5??

?4??

?3??

?2??

Everyone got ready to leap into the sky, or to run away.

?1??

?Go!?

As Yukari started the race, she ducked into one of her gaps whilst opening another. From the newly opened gap fell Reimu, who landed in the middle of the crowd.

?I swear I am going to kill you Yukari? And you lot?. Just what are you doing at here! Get lost? now!? Reimu screamed as she reached into her clothing and presented a range of spell cards.

The laughter quickly turned to fear as everyone began to scatter from the shrine as youkai found themselves being chased by homing seals and bouncing yin-yang orbs. Feeling my arm being grabbed by Yuka I found myself being dragged into the air and into a direction that was thankfully away from the shrine.

Looks like this competition has Yuka?s interest more than a fight with Reimu. That?s surprising.

[Mima]

Chapter 10

As the screams of pain continues to ring behind me I decided not to look back, just in case I made eye-contact and found myself being chased by a swarm of amulets.

?So? Yuka, where are we going?? I quietly asked.

?Be patient, will you? I haven?t even looked at the damn paper yet.? Yuka snapped back.

?Oh? right? Well, shouldn?t we take a look before rushing off?? I added quietly once more.

Yuka growled as she slammed the piece of paper into my face. The paper itself wasn?t painful but the fist that Yuka lovingly placed behind it certainly did. ?You look at it.? She menacingly commented as I noticed I was being swung in the air for a moment.

At that point, I noticed another problem, my arm was broken, and my other arm was held by Yuka.

Complain again and she?ll drop you again.

After flying with the paper stuck in my face for a few moments I decided I had no choice but to try something. To my surprise I was able to move my not-long broken arm.

Wow, youkai healing really is quick.

I slowly moved my arm over to my face. As it moved, my arm began to hurt intensely; but that was to be expected when you considered that it was broken roughly half an hour ago. Grabbing the piece of paper, I let my arm drop down although I made sure to keep a firm grip on it lest I wanted to face the wrath of Yuka.

Gathering my strength again, I pulled my arm back up to look at the text on it.

?Go and red a book.?

?What the hell??? I spoke out loud, catching Yuka?s attention.

Yuka looked at me with an irritated expression. ?What?s wrong now??

??Go and red a book.?, that?s what the clue says.? I answered.

?You mean, ?Go and read a book??? Yuka looked at me cynically.

I shook my head. ?No, I mean, ?Go and red a book?. That?s what it says.? I insisted.

?Pass that here!? Yuka snapped at me again as she snatched the paper from my hand.

?Go and red a book?? Yuka thought out loud. ?Well done Haru, you can read.?

Thanks for patronising me.

?Is it just a spelling mistake though?? I asked.

Yuka swung me slightly. ?Don?t be stupid. She?s not going to do something as stupid as a spelling error.?

I thought for a moment, ?I?ve only been to two places with a decent amount of books; your mansion and Akyu?s house. But ther-?

?There?s nothing red about them though.? Yuka interrupted.

?Yes, thanks for letting me finish.? I mumbled.

?Did you say something?? Yuka glanced at me.

?What? No.? I answered, making sure I looked away.

Yuka went quiet for a moment and simply continued flying.

Just wait? it?ll be freefall time soon.

?The clue?s key point is obviously ?Red?, and there?s only one thing in Gensokyo that can mean that.?

?Scarlet.? I said out loud.

?Well done, you might be of some use after all.? Yuka grinned evilly at me.

What?s made her decide to play bully today? Oh wait, it?s Yuka.

I thought back to the book I borrowed off Akyu. There was a library inside the Scarlet Devil Mansion and quite a large one at that if rumours are to be believed. A youkai named Patchouli Knowledge is known to practically live inside there too. Hopefully we wouldn?t have to stay in the library long enough to encounter her in a bad mood.

Looking around, I noticed that the crowd was dispersing in all sorts of directions, not just the way that Yuka and I were heading. ?I guess everyone must have got different starting clues, at least that doesn?t make it a huge game of follow the leader.? I commented out loud.

The scenery soon changed as we glided across Gensokyo. The dark, unwelcome forest gave way to the bright, cheerful field full of colours of which I was so familiar. From the field it was only a short distance until we flew over a large, pleasantly blue lake, the same lake where I first met Cirno before finally approaching the mansion.

?So, this is the Scarlet Devil Mansion?? I said to myself.

The mansion itself was quite what you expect from a haunted house, old-fashioned and generally creepy looking. However, those thoughts were banished when you remembered the mansion was coloured entirely scarlet, which just made it odd.

Soon enough, we had finished crossing the lake and landed safely on the island which held the mansion. With nothing blocking our way from our destination, we took the final, short walk to reach the mansion. A mansion that was a home to vampires, time-stopping maids and god knows what else.

[Mima]

Chapter 11

As we approached the giant red residence, a figure started to approach us. As the figure got closer it became more and more obvious who it was. The strange green Chinese dress and similarly coloured beret with a star dominating the front as well as a head of long red hair which trailed down to her back were all obvious signs of who it was. It was the woman who talked to us on the night that Flandre attacked me. Having read the Gensokyo Chronicle, I took a confident guess that it was Hong Meiling, the gate-guard of the mansion.

As she stood in front of us, her expression could be easily seen and it was the same one as when we last met, uneasy and worried. I was also confident that I knew what, or rather, who was causing it.

?H-hello there, if you?re here to see the mistress, she?s currently out. Please come back later.? She stuttered, ending the sentence with a bow.

Before Yuka could say something, I quickly took over. ?We were wondering if we could go into the library. There?s something we need to check, please.?

Meiling quickly spoke under her voice. ?She can?t be trying to hunt Patchy down now can she? Poor Patchy?? Looking directly at me she spoke out. ?Sorry, but, I can?t let you go in if Miss Scarlet isn?t here.?

?Well, as you probably know by now?. Flandre attacked and almost killed me so if you let me in then? we?ll call it even.? I replied with a grin.

Meiling looked puzzled. ?That?s a strange favour but? I guess I can let you in.?

?Ah, thanks!? I shouted.

?On one condition.? Meiling gravely added.

I looked back at the guard. ?What??

Please don?t be a blood toll or something.

?I-I-I-I?m afraid M-Miss Yuka cannot go in. Someone might get h-hurt or the mansion might b-be trashed.? Meiling spoke, almost shaking.

?Can?t you make an exception this once? I promise I won't let her do anything wrong.? I pleaded.

Yuka laughed as she objected. ?Oh will you? I?d like to see you try.?

Crap.

?No, no, it?s alright Haru. You go alone.? Yuka spoke, a little more seriously.

?W-what?? I spoke out, probably sounding a little more surprised then I should have.

?Go on alone; I?m sure you?ll find it. In the mean time, I think I?ll help train this gate-guard to be stronger.? Yuka grinning menacingly as she turned her gaze to Meiling.

?Eh?!? Meiling shouted in fright.

As Yuka leapt at the youkai, I quickly got out of the way, opened the gate and ran to the mansion; just in case there were any stray Danmaku.

Fortunately the door was unlocked so I quickly entered and closed the door behind me. After the thud of the door had finished echoing it was followed by the sound of one of Yuka?s lasers blasting something, presumably Meiling.

As I examined the mansion I was surprised by the size of it. For some reason it looked a lot more spacious than what it did outside. As I was stood pondering about it I was hit by another thought. ?Where?s the library??

Obviously, Meiling wouldn?t be able to tell me in her current situation, so I just walked forward whilst observing the mansion. It was spotlessly clean, almost perfect, with a very regal d?cor that reminded me of castles and mansions I had visited back in the Human World.

I was looking at an old looking painting of someone fishing off a bridge when I noticed something move in the corner of my eye. Quickly turning to look at it, I found myself looking at a fairy dressed like a maid who casually flew out of a doorway, looked at me and then continued to its own business.

Looks like it?s not so bothered about me being here.

?Excuse me. Miss? Fairy....? I called out awkwardly.

The fairy turned around to look at me, looking curious yet puzzled.

?I don?t suppose you could direct me to the library, could you?? I asked quietly.

The fairy?s face lit up and began nodding positively as she smiled.

?That?s great?. So where is it??

The fairy spun ninety degrees and pointed at the door it had just left.

?Oh, it?s right in there?? I asked quickly.

The fairy replied with a nod.

?Oh, that was pretty stupid of me. Thanks a lot.? I nodded my head in thanks.

The fairy curtsied slightly before flying off. Presumably to go back to whatever she was doing,

So far, so good.

?Whoa.? I said out loud as I looked through the doorway.

I was hit with surprise at the size of the library. I was expecting it to be big but this place was enormous. By the looks of it, it was big enough to make human world warehouses appear as dwarves. Bookshelves sat on top of bookshelves making them appear to be three, maybe even four stories. The only problem was there were no walkways for the upper bookcases so until I learnt to fly I was confident that I wouldn?t be reaching all the way up there any time soon.

Hopefully the bookshelves are arranged nicely and don?t turn into a labyrinth. The last thing I want is to be left stranded for days and days until Yuka finally loses it and hunts me down.

Wondering in, I began to wonder how the heck I was going to find something in this gargantuan room especially since I didn?t know what I was specifically looking for.

As I wondered in no particular direction, I began to see the wide range of books that were in here; factual, fiction, foreign languages I?d never even seen before. This place was like the holy grail of literacy.

?Wow, this place is amazing?? I spoke out unconsciously.

?I?m glad you think so.? A voice spoke from beside me, causing me to almost jump out of my skin.

Quickly spinning to the side, I faced the unknown voice to see a long, purple haired woman wearing a white nightcap and purple and white striped pyjamas. Also noticeable was the large open book she was holding and resting on her lap.

?Y-you must be Patchouli? Miss Knowledge. I?m Haru.? I spoke out clumsily, still slightly shaken from the shock.

The woman smiled weakly. ?Yes, that?s me. We?ve not met before have we?? She asked as her eyes scanned me.

I was about to speak when she began to talk again in her odd voice. Sometimes it sounded arguably normal whilst at others it was almost empty of emotion. ?But I have seen you before. I was at the party at the shrine, so I know well what? happened to you. I am also aware of how you are back. However, that doesn?t explain why you?re here inside my library.?

?Well, it might sound odd but? I?m not sure exactly what I?m looking for.? I told the magician hesitantly. ?I just got a clue to a game that I should be looking for something.?

Patchouli sat still for a moment. ?Yukari?s game, I presume? The Mistress and Sakuya left to take part in that game earlier.? The purple youkai looked down at her book and gave out a sigh, ?Looks like this place has turned into a playground.?

?You might be lucky actually. The clues seem quite unique so you might not get visited by that many people.? I spoke out, unsure of what I was saying but trying to make Patchouli feel better.

?I see. This would also explain that? thing that appeared in my library earlier. I thought it was Marisa turning this place into a dumping ground to be honest.? Patchouli said quietly, still reading her book.

I took a quick look around but saw nothing and so asked. ?I don?t suppose you could help me find it, could you??

Patchouli remained seated and continued reading her book for what felt like a few minutes, ?I guess so. Can you fly yet??

I looked down. ?No. Not yet.?

?I see. Well, try to keep up.? Patchouli spoke as she rose a few inches off the ground and began to head deeper into the library. I noticed that even now she was moving, her natural movement seemed to be with her feet hovering slightly off the ground.

I began to walk beside her when she started talking again. ?So, where is Yuka? I?d have thought she?d be here with you.?

I grinned slightly. ?She?s outside training... with Meiling.?

Patchouli smiled slightly. ?I see. Well, at least there?s no mess in here.?

As I walked through the various aisles I looked at the surroundings which were as to be expected, all books. However the collection of such was purely amazing, every collection was complete, no series missing a part. Sometimes there were even copies of the same book but in different languages. It made me begin to wonder how long it took for this sanctuary of books to form and how valuable some of these things were.

?May I inquire into how you knew my name? I didn?t think I was so well-known in Gensokyo, unlike my library.? Patchouli asked without warning, sounding like she was bragging towards the end of the sentence.

I quickly thought about how I actually knew. ?Oh, right. I read about you. The Gensokyo Chronicle by Akyu? uh... Hieda.?

?Hieda no Akyu? I should have guessed.? Patchouli mused to herself. ?I suppose you must be alright if she?s let you read her beloved books. I take it you enjoy reading?? Patchouli looked at me expectantly.

?Oh, yeah. I can say I don?t read as much as you, going by your reputation, but let?s just say that if it wasn?t for reading and that Chronicle Akyu lent me?. I wouldn?t have lived as long as I did the last time I was here.? I explained to her and watched as her expression lightened up.

?Well, here we are.? Patchouli announced but still generally quiet, soon after she burst out coughing. ?Straining my voice?. Not a good day.?

She barely even spoke ?normal? volume.

The object was merely a metal box in the centre of a crossroad of aisles, completely silver and slightly reflective. On all the sides it appeared completely blank and so the only part of note was the top, which slightly resembled a printer. Upon examining the top closer there seemed to be two slots, but no instructions to it.

I reached into my pocket and pulled out the piece of paper that had the clue on. ?What?s that?? Patchouli asked, looking over my shoulder thanks to the extra height she gained from her levitation.

?It?s what brought me here.? I quickly spoke, before I placed the paper near one of the slots. Carefully, I tried to push the paper into one of the slots but felt something was blocking it and so signalling a futile attempt. Moving to the other side, I tried the other slot which accepted the paper and with a series of whirring from the machinery it took the paper off me.

?Oh, it?s gone.? I said with a bit of disappointment.

?Is that it?? Patchouli asked, now floating beside the box.

Suddenly, the box began whirring again with noises resembling a printer and from the other slot; a piece of paper was produced. It seemed exactly the same as the previous one except the text, which I had expected.

?That?s it; I?ve got what I came for?. I guess.? I spoke with a little excitement.

That?ll show Yuka, I can do stuff by myself.

?I was expecting something a bit more? dramatic considering it?s from Yukari.? Patchouli quietly commented.

?She?s probably planning something else.? I quickly replied, ?Anyway, thank you Patchouli for your help. I should go now to give you some peace, and stop Yuka?s? playtime.?

?Can you remember the way out?? Patchouli asked quietly, as usual.

I nodded. ?Yeah, it was pretty much a straight line from where we came from, with a turn to the? left? where I met you?. I think.?

?Correct. Good luck with your game but I must ask that you don?t tell the Mistress of my assistance. She may not be terribly pleased about it.? Patchouli asked seriously.

?No problem, I won?t say a word.?

?Thank you. Also, if Akyu has placed trust in you then I shall do the same. Next time I see her I shall inform Meiling to allow you access to the library. I know you will find a much larger selection to choose from here than at the Hieda library. Just do not linger too much in the Mansion itself; you never know who you may run into.?

What is this? War of the Libraries or something? Some secret library feud between Patchouli and Akyu? ? I?m just not going to ask.

I quickly bid farewell to Patchouli before turning around to where I came from and began to run back to the entrance. Hoping to find Yuka and possibly what was left of Meiling.

[Mima]

Chapter 12

After leaving the library I quickly headed for the front door and avoided looking around, just in case another inhabitant such as Flandre was lurking around. I quickly opened the door, left through it and slammed it behind me before hastily walked down the small pathway to the gate.

I noticed at this point that there wasn?t much movement going on outside the gate. I was expecting to see flowers flying in all directions and screams of pain but instead it was eerily quiet.

Walking up to the gate, I took a look through the bars and still found no sign of anyone.

Where the hell could they be?

After walking through the gateway and carefully shutting it behind me I was greeted by Yuka?s voice. ?Ah, hello Haru. Did everything go alright?? She spoke cheerfully.

I nodded cautiously. ?Yeah, there?s another piece of paper now.? I explained as I reached into my pocket and produced the piece of paper.

Yuka quickly swiped the paper from my hand and looked at it. ?Simple enough.? She spoke sounding uninterested.

?W-What?? I spoke in a confused tone after realizing that I hadn?t actually looked at the paper yet. ?You mean you figured the answer already??

?Yes.? She replied simply.

Since the conversation seemed to have ended by her decision, I decided to ask about the other pressing matter at hand.

?So, Yuka?. What did you do with Meiling?? I asked cautiously.

Yuka raised an eyebrow, ?You mean her?? She spoke as she stepped to the side, revealing Meiling; who looked fairly beaten and almost whimpering against the wall.

?Ah, well? At least you didn?t kill her or anything.? I began to speak out, saying things as they entered my head.

?It can be arranged,? Yuka grinned.

I shook my head, ?No. No need to do that. Let?s just move on, time?s a wasting.?

Yuka grinned as she grabbed my arm and took off; back in the direction we came from originally towards the flower field.

In the air I suddenly realized something. ?Hey, uh?. What does the clue actually say? I? erm? never thought to look.?

Yuka looked down at me with a look that said ?You?re useless? before handing me the paper.

?Head to the site of a double disaster failure.?

?Sounds like a history question. That rules me out.? I mumbled.

?It?s an easy question for me. Especially considering I was? involved in one of them.? Yuka added cheerfully.

?Really? What about the other one?? I asked.

?Unfortunately not. But I know who was the cause of the other one. In fact? you do too.?

I paired Yuka?s hint with one of the incidents I read about in Akyu?s works. ?Mima.?

?You got something right for once.? Yuka grinned.

?All I can remember is that Mima was on a mountain during her incident? is that it?? I quietly questioned.

?That?s what I believe. The other incident that occurred there was the Makai incident when Mima and I ventured into said demon world to stop the flow of demons entering Gensokyo. The portal that leads there is in a cave at the base of the same mountain.? Yuka explained, sounding proud of her accomplishments as usual. ?Of course, we fixed the problem by beating up Shinki.?

?Yeah, I?ve already heard.? I commented.

Yuka gave a bitter stare. ?Well, it won?t hurt to hear about it again. It?s a vital part of Gensokyo?s history.?

If you say so.

Yuka continued chatting about her adventures into Makai. Every now and then she?d briefly and lightly give Mima some credit but mostly kept it all for herself.

Time passed as we flew and eventually we approached a mountain close to the Hakurei Shrine; whose airspace appeared to be clear of amulets and yin-yang orbs now. Looking back at the mountain I began another conversation with my ?teammate?. ?So, is this it??

?This is it.? Yuka simply answered.

?Where do you think the machine will be? Inside the mountain? or on it??

?What? machine?? Yuka asked, looking quite confused.

?Oh right. In the library there was this weird metal box and you had to put the paper into a slot which made it give you the next clue.?

Yuka nodded. ?Whatever it is, it?ll be on the mountain. Makai itself won?t count as the mountain.?

?What?? I mumbled, confused slightly. ?Forget it. Let?s just get this done with.?

As we ascended to the top of the mountain it started to remind me of why I?d never been a huge fan of heights, but it?s something I?d have to get over if I ever planned on flying myself.

At the top of the mountain there were a few things scattered around; a table, some books and a thing that looked strangely like an altar with a bookstand facing it. By the looks of it we were on the historic site where Mima once tried to resurrect herself. Regarding the scenery, I noticed that a table and some stacked books were hiding what we had come for; another strange, purple-tinted metal box.

?It?s there Yuka, that machine I mentioned.? I called as I pointed at it.

?Well, what are you waiting for? Get the next clue.? Yuka ordered.

I began to make my way over to the box when a voice caused me to stop dead.

?Well, well. What do we have here? A flower and a weed!? The voice jeered, quickly followed by laughing and giggling.

[Mima]

Chapter 13

?Where?? Another unknown voice spoke out.

?Right in front of you, you dumb lummox.? The first voice shouted back.

I turned around slowly to avoid attention and as I looked, my eyes were drawn to a large black orb that was floating stationary in the sky.

?Perhaps if you didn?t sit in that stupid darkness all day you might be able to do something!? The first person continued shouted, whose voice I soon recognised as Wriggle Nightbug.

?But the sun is too bright? and scary? The orb replied in a long, stretched out sentence which sounded almost musical.

Wriggle spoke again. ?Well, what?s the point? The sun?s already gone in, it?s night time already.?

It is? Could have fooled me.

?Why didn?t you say so?? The orb suddenly dispersed with a poof revealing Rumia. The darkness youkai immediately flinched from the sunlight and re-summoned her orb of darkness.

?Ahhhhh! That was mean.? She spoke sadly.

Although Wriggle was laughing so much that she was unable to talk or make any addition attacks, it only took a simple clearing of the throat by Yuka to silence the both of them.

?Well? what do we have here? A worm, it would appear.? She spoke mockingly.

Wriggle stepped forward. ?I?m a firefly! Not a worm!?

Yuka merely pushed some hair away from her eyes. ?Worms, fireflies? They?re all meaningless; such is the nature of bugs.?

?That was mean!? The voice of Rumia suddenly interrupted.

The flower youkai grinned as she addressed the other youkai. ?And what do we have here? Why, it looks like an insignificant ball of darkness.?

I quickly took over from Yuka. ?So, what do you two want??

?What do you think? The same as you; the next clue.? Wriggle replied with her arms folded, probably trying to appear more confident. ?I told everyone that Mystia and I were the smartest and winning this contest will just prove it to them!?

I glanced sideways at Yuka who was doing the same. ?Why are you with Rumia then??

Wriggle looked up. ?She decided that she?d rather open a refreshments stall for the contest so I got stuck with her.? She replied as she pointed back at Rumia.

Yuka merely laughed. ?Yeah, right. Your game ends now.?

Wriggle looked at Yuka before turning her gaze to me for a few seconds. Finally looking back at Yuka she announced her idea. ?Let?s play another game then. Two versus two. When one of the two hits the ground, they both lose.?

I quietly mumbled to Yuka, ?That puts me out of this then?. with the lack of flying for starters, not to mention that I-?

?Deal.? Yuka spoke out loud.

?Haha, big mistake!? Wriggle burst out laughing. ?Rumia, go for the human!?

I guess the news hasn?t got to them yet.

?Okay!? Rumia sung, stretching the word out for seconds again.

Yuka chuckled to herself sinisterly before quietly addressing me. ?Ready, Haru??

?There?s no other choice is there?? I mumbled.

?No.? Yuka smirked as she grabbed me and lifted me into the air.

Wriggle rose up higher so that she had a height advantage before shouting to Rumia to follow her. Slowly, Rumia began to follow her order.

?Moonlight Ray!? The darkness youkai spontaneously shouted; causing two lasers to fire from her darkness a second or two later and effectively trapping us between the two. Soon after that I noticed that Rumia had begun to throw a series of small projectiles at us, making the confined area appear to be a much larger problem.

Although my reaction was to feel overwhelmed by the fact we were trapped and being bombarded, Yuka?s first reaction was to simply laugh and dodge at the last moment. As she was dodging happily through the bullets she appeared to be having more fun in swinging me at the approaching bullets but changing direction at the last moment. Fortunately for me, her moment of fun was interrupted by a cry from Wriggle.

?Nightbug Tornado!?

The light-scattering of bullets between the lasers were now joined by disorientating waves of what looks like insects.

To no surprise, Yuka continued to grin as she seemingly created several incredibly large sunflowers in front of her and launched them forward at her attackers. As the sun-like flowers approached their targets they conveniently caught any insects on the way there.

The sunflowers themselves were quite slow and their size also made them quite obvious which allowed Wriggle plenty of time to assess the situation and dodge. On the other hand, Rumia who was as good as blind had no idea of the incoming danger and as the sunflowers began to enter her pitch black surrounding, there were only shrieks of pain.

Wriggle shouted, ?Argh, you idiot! Try being useful for once!?

There were only whimpers from Rumia in reply.

Wriggle approached the youkai and began to talk to her quietly. Rumia didn?t appear to respond at all and there was an added problem in that it was impossible to see what she was doing.

It did, however, become clear when the massive array of bullets emerged from her hideout, shortly followed by her who appeared to be charging at us.

?That?s right, Rumia!? Wriggle shouted as she re-entered the fray with another volley of projectiles.

Yuka continued to dodge, sporting her usual over-confident grin until she was caught off-guard slightly which allowed Rumia to strike me hard enough to lose Yuka?s grip.

Free-fall time.

As I fell, I noticed that the fight had shifted us over the side of the mountain which meant a much longer drop to the ground. Obviously that meant that there was a lot more pain was to be expected at the end.

Not to mention that Yuka is not gonna be happy? really not happy.

The scenery flew by at a ridiculous rate and when I looked down; I couldn?t help but see that the floor was fast approaching. ?Final stop, the ground.? I muttered to myself.

Waiting for the worst to happen, I closed my eyes. It was better than seeing what spikes or god knows what else I might land on.

?

?Any minute now.?

For some reason, even after what felt like a minute, the moment never came.

I slowly opened my eyes to find that, to my amazement, I was above the ground by a couple of metres.

Am? Am I flying?

I quickly tried to move around or gain some altitude but to little prevail. I could only seem to keep the position I was already in.

?Hey, Rumia! He hasn't touched the ground! Let?s end this!? Wriggle commanded.

Oh great, something good happens and then something bad.

Wriggle and Rumia both dive-bombed towards me, obviously one strike away from grounding me. All of a sudden, a small yellow star appeared in front of me and spiralled upwards revealing Yuka.

?Wait, you can teleport now?? I mumbled to myself before I noticed something.

Yuka was floating between the two charging youkai and myself but I then saw that Yuka was also up near the top of the mountain, behind the two.

Wait, that means?

Wriggle?s face seemed to notice what was happening as well and as both Yukas rose their parasol towards the youkai she moved to dodge but was caught in the crossfire between the two enormous lasers that was the result.

The higher Yuka moved her laser?s aim away from the mountain as the Yuka next to me aimed at the mountain, which effectively slammed the two youkai into the side of the mountain. As the laser subsided, it left the two youkai to fall down the side of the cliff which looked extremely painful. Even when I compared it to the thoughts I imagined would happen when I fell off.

Just like she appeared, the Yuka next to me vanished with another spiral of the small golden star and the other, real Yuka flew down to greet me.

?See, no trouble at all.? She bragged.

I shrugged. ?Whatever, it was close though. If I hadn?t have flew like I am, we?d have lost.?

?Well, I told you that dropping you would make you fly.? She chirped happily.

I sighed quietly. ?Whatever you say.?

?Now, let us get the next clue!? She announced before turning around and flying back up.

I shouted after her. ?You?re forgetting something! Or someone! I can?t seem to really fly yet, just? hover...? I explained as I tried to rock back and forth to encourage some movement but to no success.

Following the routine, Yuka flew down and snatched my wrist before towing me through the air up to the top of the mountain.

[Mima]

A RiG related story, Strawberry Crisis, is featured in the new edition of Another Dream, AD6A.

Any feedback/comments can be left in this topic.

http://www.shrinemaiden.org/forum/index.php?topic=1423.0

Next RiG2 Chapter is estimated to be posted tomorrow or the day after, it's a big (awesome) one.

[Mima]

Chapter 14

As I was towed up I weakly tried to move around. I felt slight feelings of movement but nothing huge, not to mention it wasn?t helping that I was being pulled quite sharply.

Once we?d found the machine again, Yuka lightly threw me away which caused me to slowly hover down to the ground.

As I tried to control myself once again, Yuka was more interested in getting the next clue; she looked at the machine before walking around it a few times, which made me notice her.

?You put the paper in the top.? I commented.

Yuka looked at me for a moment before looking back down at the contraption and followed what I said. Soon enough, the machine spat out the next clue which Yuka snatched away.

The flower youkai read the paper for a few seconds before frowning slightly.

?What?s up, not able to solve the puzzle within 5 seconds?? I joked cautiously.

?No, it?s the opposite.? Yuka spoke out, ?And that?s what I find suspicious.? As usual, Yuka marched to the side of the mountain before taking to the air. Once she had flew off the side of the mountain she turned around. ?Come on, we haven?t got all day.?

I nodded before moving quickly over to her and taking a small jump up in the air. Thankfully I began to hover, proving it wasn?t just a one-off. I also thought it?d was better to make sure I could hover now with solid ground right below me rather than just jump off the side like Yuka.

Movement was finally making itself known to me and I was able to move forward and eventually behind Yuka as she flew away. Unfortunately, she was still moving far too fast for me. When she eventually noticed, she gave an irritated sigh before flying back and grabbing my sleeve, towing me through the air once again.

?Where are we going?? I asked after a minute or so.

Yuka sighed. ?Mugenkan.?

?Where?? I asked, puzzled.

Yuka raised an eyebrow as she looked at me. ?Are you being serious??

?Yes.? I asked, now as puzzled as her.

?You live there, idiot.? Yuka turned her head back, looking at where she was flying.

Suddenly, I was even more confused. ?What? I thought you said we lived at the Kazami Mansion??

?Yes, that?s the mansion. Mugenkan is the dream-world itself. Although what we?re looking for is most likely in the mansion since I put very little else there except Elly?s house and flowers.? Yuka began explaining.

?Oh, I see. You never told me that.? I commented.

Yuka shrugged and made a loud, uncaring sigh. ?It?s not my fault. You never asked.?

?I never said it was.? I replied.

There was very little other conversation occur on the way to Mugenkan and fortunately, the fact we were descending this time made the journey a little faster, and followed me to practice my flying a few times.

I began to wonder what Yuka would do next. She used to pick on me by dropping me from great heights but now I can fly I?ve rendered that option useless. I dread to think what she may think of next.

The familiar, welcoming sight of the yellow sea of sunflowers soon came into view. As we approached I noticed that Yuka let go of me as we approached the portal, maybe she was trying to catch me off-guard but in the end I was able to comfortably slow down and gently land on the ground.

?Getting the hang of it, are you?? Yuka asked.

?Well, sorta. I mean, I still can?t fly around well, but at least I can stop you breaking my arms.? I laughed.

Yuka smirked. ?Oh, I assure you I have many other ways to do that.?

Damn my big mouth.

Yuka chuckled to herself for a moment. ?Now, come on. We have another clue to find.? She spoke as she entered the portal.

I sighed and quickly entered the portal, hoping that Yuka hadn?t suddenly done one of her teleporting acts and was already by the mansion by now.

Turns out she had.

Frustrated, I shouted after her. ?Oh, come on! How the hell do you do that!??

I thought I could just make out that she was grinning when I suddenly heard her voice all around me. ?I told you already. This is my world. I can do anything I want. Just like how I can sense that there?s something unknown to me in the mansion which is obviously what we?re looking for. Now hurry up and get here.?

Sighing once more, I began to walk over to Yuka when in a disorientating moment I suddenly seemed to step several hundred metres in a single pace which placed me next to Yuka.

?What the-? I muttered.

?I?ve got no time for you to be casually walking all the way here.? Yuka laughed as she entered the mansion. Noting that she?d left the door open for me and with little other choice, I simply followed her into the mansion.

?So, Yuka? You can tell where that machine is already?? I asked.

Yuka turned and nodded as she walked. ?Yes, in fact, I can tell you it?s upstairs and located in the second room on the left in the west wing of the building.? She flashed a smug grin as she continued to walk away.

That?s a point; I?ve never seen the west wing of the house. I wonder what?s there?

Yuka gracefully ascended the stairs, humming her usual tune as she did.

I wonder that music is that she?s humming?

?Come on, hurry up.? Yuka ordered without warning as we walked down the hallway.

?But I?m right behind you!? I complained.

Yuka merely laughed to herself and opened the door. ?See, what did I say? Just where I said it would be.?

Upon entering the room I froze for a moment. ?What? the hell??

The room I had just entered defined an entertainment centre in Gensokyo. The sheer shock of seeing something so unexpected for the resident of the mansion left me speechless.

In fact, it went against what I believed was logical in Gensokyo.

The first thing I noticed was the average sized television which was placed uncaringly in a corner. It was quite obvious that it hadn?t seen much use for however long it had been there due to a visible layer of dust resting on top. At a brief glance, I guessed that there were DVDs or VHS videos sitting near it but I was too distracted by the room as a whole to take too much notice. Close to that were some long, comfy looking settees which as usual had the trademark Kazami pattern embroidered on them.

Along the opposite wall, there were what appeared to be a giant collection of instruments; a piano, a violin, a saxophone, a guitar, and even some that were similar to the TV in that they shouldn?t even exist in Gensokyo?s time period, such as electric guitars.

?You can?t be serious?? I muttered.

Yuka made a quizzical noise. ?What?s the matter now??

?Everything in this room, it?s like a giant contradiction to Gensokyo itself, there?s no power here.? I argued.

?In Gensokyo, there is not. But what did I say earlier? I control this dream world, I can make anything happen.?

?But, why?? Why have all these stuff? It seems really odd, for you.?

Yuka looked sarcastic. ?If you think I?m someone who has stood outside for the last millennium on each and every day, you?re wrong. Even I can get bored? you should know that by now.? Yuka tapped her foot on the floor.

?So, you learnt how to play instruments?? I asked, still bewildered.

Yuka grinned confidently. ?Oh yes, I did. ?What?s wrong Haru? You still seem surprised.?

I shook my head. ?I?m sorry; it?s just? hard to imagine you playing a guitar like that.? I quietly spoke while pointing at the electric guitar she was stood by.

Yuka looked at me for a moment, her grin growing as she reached down and picked the guitar up.

Oh boy.

Immediately, Yuka began to thrash the guitar quickly, making me wonder if I was to hear music or just a load of noise.

Slightly to my surprise, the thrashing became much more structured and eventually a little slower.

?So, what do you call this music?? I asked while it was a little quieter.

Yuka thought for a moment, ?Inanimate Dream.?

?Odd name.? I commented, which caused Yuka to frown and raise the volume of her music.

Eventually, the music finished its process of building up and exploded into an array of fast notes which made the music itself sound quite insane. Quite suiting really when you considered the person who was playing it and I presume created it.

Minutes passed as Yuka continued to attack her guitar which continued to leave me in a state of shock and disbelief. Yuka Kazami? playing a guitar to such a high level of skill?. Amazing?.

A few minutes passed and eventually the song came to an end. As though she had lost interest in a split second, Yuka merely tossed the guitar to the side and stepped forward. ?Well? Believe I can play it now??

?Y-Yeah? that was? pretty awesome. If you played like that outside, you?d become instantly famous? and you wouldn?t have to kill anyone or anything like that.? I praised with a hint of sarcasm at the end.

Yuka merely smirked. ?Now we haven?t got any more time to waste. Let?s get this over with.? As she finished speaking she walked over to the odd clue-giving machine which I had only just noticed. Although with all the various technological items scattered in the room it blended in quite well.

The routine followed and soon enough Yuka received another clue. Upon reading I noticed she flinched a little and hissed. ?Typical.?

?What?s the matter??

?Final Clue! Head to the place closest to the outside!? She announced, voiced in a mocking version of Yukari.

?Which means?? I asked.

Yuka brushed some hair from her face. ?It?s the place that has the great border. Or rather, the Hakurei Border.?

?Which means? the shrine??

Yuka nodded. ?She never even moved in the first place.?

Yuka tucked the clue into one of her pockets. ?Well then, we should go. Get this waste of time done once and for all.?

Wait, weren?t you the one who wanted to do this in the first place?

?Come on, Haru.? She said from the doorway before disappearing from sight.

As I followed her, I couldn?t help but wonder what were in the other rooms on this side of the mansion. I also made a memo in my head to come and check it out when I had the time.

This time, Yuka didn?t even bother with the stairs and simply jumped off the guard rail, landing elegantly in the main hall.

Show off.

I considered trying the same for a moment but when I recalled the amount of falls I had already suffered today changed my mind and I decided to just hover down the stairs for practice. At the bottom, as usual, I walked beside Yuka as we walked out of the mansion to the portal which again was practically next to the mansion.

As soon as we got to the other side of the portal, I saw Yuka take to the sky and head straight in the direction of the shrine. Slowly but surely I followed suit and soon found myself able to fly forward at a half-decent pace following the flower youkai.

Out of the blue, Yuka asked me a question. ?So, do you enjoy living back there? In Mugenkan??

I nodded, though partly distracted by the scenery and the fact I was finally flying without Yuka?s aid. ?Yeah? it?s nice, colourful, unusual, sophisticated and you?re there.?

Did I just say that?

I quickly spoke again to try and take her mind off what I just said before it sank in. ?Why? Are you thinking of kicking me out or something??

Yuka smiled. ?No, no reason. I just wondered what you thought of it.?

A moment of silence passed until I broke it again. ?Where did you get those things from anyway? In that room I mean,? I asked curiously. ?I know you can make them since it?s your world but? surely you need to know of such a thing first.?

?Oh, there?s a little shop on the other side of the shrine. It deals in all sorts of useless human items like what you saw. I just so happened to have a few books from there which gave me the ideas. I suppose I can take you there one day.? The youkai explained.

?Human items? From the outside world??

?Yes. Mostly due to Yakumo and her gap manipulating.?

?I see. That?s interesting to know. I might find something decent there.?

Time passed by fairly quickly as I got into a small conversation with the flower youkai about her music. She told me why she made her own music and basically just bragged about how she was more talented then myself. I ended the conversation by telling her that I?d learn to play now I have the chance, and one day I?d be better than her. Although since she always had to have the last word, she just told me to dream on.

Here we are. Back again.

The Hakurei Shrine stood in front of us, standing out against the twilight sky. Noting the sky?s colour I checked the time; it?d soon be approaching night-time so we finished at quite a good time.

I noticed Yuka began to speed up, faster than I could go, when she announced. ?I think we?re the first ones here!?

?Well, let?s just get there first, shall we?? I mumbled.

As Yuka?s feet hit solid ground, a flash of purple above her caught my eye. Recognising it instantly as one of Yukari?s gaps I shouted out to warn Yuka. ?Yuka, above you!? I warned.

Yuka quickly looked up and instinctively fired her parasol directly into the gap. After a few seconds it was clear that it did very little, if anything to affect the gap.

?Ow?? A voice called out a few seconds later with the source of the voice, Yukari, dropping out upside-down from the gap. ?That was awfully uncalled for.?

Yuka sneered. ?You shouldn?t sneak up on me then.?

Finally, I caught up with Yuka and since Yukari was also there I asked her the question both Yuka and I wanted the answer for. ?Are we first here??

?Yes! Congratulations! Well done! Bravo! You are the winners!? She cheered childishly although with an eerie tone in her voice. ?Now, if you don?t mind me I have to make some preparations for your prize. Just wait here and? gloat at the others? I know that?s your style.? She smirked before quickly diving into her gap to dodge a lunge from Yuka.

Despite Yuka?s outburst that ended up being exactly what we did; lounging around the shrine while we waited for people to arrive. Soon enough Mima and Marisa arrived, followed by Remilia and Sakuya. Clearly both teams were quite annoyed by our presence.

?You can be serious, you won?? Marisa shouted.

?Yes. Do have you got a problem with that?? Yuka asked in a bitter sweet tone, one that I?d come to recognise too well as a threat.

Mima interrupted. ?Well, let?s just sit aside and see what they get. She never actually said what the prize was, did she??

Yuka shrugged. ?As long as it?s something worth my time otherwise she?ll have hell to pay.? I couldn?t help but laugh slightly at Yuka?s violent attitude.

Eventually the shrine gained quite a large crowd comprised of around ten teams. Out of nowhere, Yukari announced her arrival by descending in the centre of the crowd through another gap. ?Let?s have a round of applause for our winners!?

There was a very slow, quiet series of clapping before it turned silent.

Noticing something, I asked Yukari a question. ?Where?re the others? There were at least four more teams here at the start.?

Yukari laughed from behind her fan. ?The cause is the team of the Tengu and the Kappa.? Yukari held an arm out. ?You know the Kappa love technology and well? as soon as that little kappa?s eyes caught sight of what I used to distribute the clues she did what all her kind does; she took it apart. Here we are now going into the night and she still hasn?t fixed it. Of course, the other teams who had clues for that location are also stuck there and well? when I last checked, a large scale brawl had broken out there.

?Where was it?? Mima asked.

?Oh, in the doctor?s lab at Eientei.? Yukari laughed while at the same time Reisen shrieked in panic and grabbed Tewi and dragged her back in the direction of Eientei.

There was a little more discussion on the clues and what happened to each team when Yukari cleared her voice getting everyone?s attention again.

?And now! Time for the prize! First, and only, prize goes to our beloved Flower Youkai and her minion!?

Minion!?

?Your prize is?? Yukari covered her mouth again and stopped talking completely.

?What? Out with it?? Yuka demanded.

?A chance to play in my next game! Win that game and you get anything you want!? Yukari shouted with her arms held out to her sides.

?You cannot be serious.? Yuka lashed out with a deadly-serious expression on her face. ?What is this game anyway??

?Oh, that?s simple. You just have to get back here.? Yukari smiled.

There was a pause as everyone waited for a reaction from Yuka.

?Not interested.? She commented passively.

?What!?? Yukari shouted in surprise before pausing briefly to regain her composure. As she turned back to us I noticed a serious look appeared in her eyes, her voice matched her eyes. ?There?s no choice about it, you?re going to play whether you like it or not.?

I jumped slightly as a strange red and purple border appeared around the shrine. ?Try escaping now.? Yukari giggled ominously with half her face covered by her fan once again.

?What are you planning M-Yukari?? Mima shouted.

Yukari took a few steps towards us and leaned her head forward as though she was examining us. ?There?s a slight problem with you. You?re simply too powerful?. You could hurt someone so for this game something needs to be done about it.?

Suddenly Yukari began talking again but this time it was as if someone muted her; there was no sound coming from her at all.

Wait a second? I can?t read her lips. No, what?s she saying?

Wait, she?s hiding her hand in the fold of her dress.

Spell Card.

?Yuka, she-?

?Haru, get back! She?s attacking!? Yuka shouted.

Acknowledging her with a nod, I leapt backwards at the same time as her although what neither of us had predicted was for a laser to appear between us and with no time to react. The next thing I knew was that my arm flared with pain as the laser grazed it, far more pain then when Yuka had broken it or dropped me. Even though I wasn?t in contact with the laser for more than a couple of seconds, the pain remained far too intense for me and I found myself dropping to one knee. Looking to the side, I was slightly disheartened that Yuka had suffered the same wound but as I?d expected she seemed to stand the pain more than myself.

Suddenly, just as quick as it appeared, the laser disappeared again.

?Do you know the nature behind my cards? They?re named after various borders I can manipulate?. They all have their own bullet patterns and if one hits you then you?re marked for the manipulation of that border. The main issue being that I never actually invoke that effect.? Yukari explained.

?Until now.?

Yukari quickly muttered a word under her breath and I instantly found myself paralysed and falling backwards to the floor, blacking out the moment I hit the floor.

?

?

?

?

?Wake up!?

?He?s moving. Stop hitting him.?

?Hey, come on! Wake up!?

Suddenly, I came back to my senses. My mind was wracked with feelings of extreme lethargy and weakness, feelings that seemed far too familiar, that reminded me of events gone by. When a sharp blow of realization hit me, I forced my eyes open and using what little strength I had to sit up.

I knew it? I just knew it?

Gone was the blue trousers I wore in Gensokyo and in their place were my old jeans. Checking my arm, there was the sleeve of my old jacket, again in place of my youkai outfit.

?I? I?m human again??

I looked to the person beside me, Mima, who merely nodded with a grim face.

?Where?s Yukari gone. I want to change back.? I muttered.

Mima quietly answered me. ?She said she had some final preparations to do.?

Slowly, I picked myself off the floor, refusing any help that Mima and Marisa offered as I rose.

?Where?s Yuka?? I asked quickly.

Mima motioned to the other side of me with her head, where there was nothing but a large body of light. If that was supposedly Yuka then there was no sign to suggest so, it was impossible to make anything out. ?You were like that until you woke up. That light transformed you, I think.?

?Then that means Yuka??

??Was also hit by the effect.?

Uh oh, DEFCON 1.

Almost as if my thoughts were a signal, the light quickly faded from Yuka who was left lying on the ground. There was a moment of silence as she laid there but then as she began to move and people could see her more clearly the silence was replaced by gasps of shock.

Yuka sat up and examined herself. Clearly, it took a few seconds for things sink in but the instant it did, she leapt to her feet and screamed at an almost unheard volume. ?SHOW YOURSELF YUKARI! CHANGE ME BACK! NOW!?

The spectators, including myself, were still in a state of shock however; due to the fact her transformation had changed her dramatically. She was literally half the size she was normally, almost like a child, and wearing a formal white dress. At that moment I realized it? She WAS a child.

?She changed us back to our human forms before we died. Is that right Mima??

Mima was still visibly shocked, far more than anyone else. ?Mima? Is something wrong??

?I knew it?? She spoke quietly. ?I knew it??

?You knew what? Lady Mima?? Marisa asked.

?I knew I?d met her before?? She continued.

?What, you recognise her even now?? I quickly asked.

?I should have noticed the clues,? She turned and looked at me. ??like your name?.?

?What about it?? I took a chance and grabbed Mima?s sleeve and shook her slightly. ?Make more sense. Have you met her before?? I asked whilst trying to ignore the screams of fury from Yuka.

?I? I- Yes, I?ve met her before. ?A long time ago?. It was her death that was the catalyst to my own? Haruka Kirisame??

[Mima]

Oh my, two chapters in one night.

---

Chapter 15

?DON?T YOU EVER USE THAT NAME AGAIN!? Yuka shrieked in a horribly high-pitched mess.

Mima frowned. ?However much you have run away from the past, it has now caught up. It is time for you to face it.?

Yuka remained silent but she was visibly shaking, whether it was from anger or sorrow, I wasn?t sure but I couldn?t help but feel a little sorry for her.

Quietly, I talked to Mima. ?Is she the girl I read about in the book about your past? The girl who was? killed by her father??

?Yes? It was her. The one who was killed to ignite a witch-hunt.? She replied with a whisper.

Mima spoke up slightly. ?Of course, it makes sense a little now.?

?What?? Marisa questioned.

?Your affinity with spark spells.? Mima closed her eyes. ?Spark spells require intense magical power as you know, but on top of that it drains life energy from the user. Enough is drained to kill a human outright and only the strongest youkai can cast it without being severely harmed. And yet, Marisa happily casts the spell fine and Yuka can cast multiple sparks simultaneously?. Obviously something in their blood-line.?

?Silence! I am not related to that? lowlife!? The small, brown-haired girl screamed.

Marisa giggled. ?Sure you are! That means you?re my great, great, great, great, great?.? The witch paused for a moment. ?Let?s just stick with Aunt, eh Auntie Yuka??

I quickly had to hide my grin at the embarrassment Yuka wore on her face.

?Oh, isn?t this sweet? A family reunion.? A voice called out, one that was horribly recognisable and unwanted.

As expected, Yukari dropped out of a gap and into the centre of our gathering. At this point, just her presence was enough to trigger outrage.

?You! Turn me back now! I will annihilate you off the face of Gensokyo!? Yuka shrieked again, taking an aggressive stance towards Yukari.

Yukari giggled. ?Aren?t you just adorable? I?d take you home if we didn?t already have a cat that doesn?t get on well with humans.? She spoke airily.

?Shut up!? Yuka growled as she lunged forward to strike her.

Yukari quietly chuckled as Yuka struck an invisible wall of some kind that propelled her backwards several metres.

?Turn them back Yukari, this has gone on for long enough.? Mima complained.

?The fun hasn?t started yet!? Yukari shouted enthusiastically.

?Why, you? YOU!? Yuka cried again and leapt forward, succeeding only in hitting another wall which this time stayed visible after impact. Strangely, the wall hastily moved towards the former-youkai and appeared to stretch around her, closing her in.

?And now for you.? The gap youkai laughed again before turning to me.

I quickly objected. ?I haven?t even done anythi-? Before I could even finish what I was saying I found that the scenery had suddenly changed in a flash. For some reason I was now beside Yuka.

?What the hell?? I mumbled.

?She gapped you.? Yuka spoke under her breath.

Yukari marched proudly in front of us, laughing as she paced. Finally after what felt like minutes she turned to address us. ?Oh yes, this will be quite fun.?

Yuka began hitting the wall. ?Let me out, damn it! Let me out!?

?Oh, I will let you out! I have to do so for my little game.? Yukari clicked her fingers and a strange large white orb appeared, levitating slightly above her outstretched hand. ?This contains your powers, both of you. If you touch it, you?ll get your powers back! But it?s not just that! It?s also a way to get back here! So basically, if you find this orb, you win!?

Something?s not right.

?Of course, there?s that mysterious question? Where will you be starting from? Well?? Again the youkai giggled sinisterly. ?I?ll let you witness it firsthand.?

Mima?s objections continued to be ignored by Yukari, whose grin just continued to grow.

?Be warned, it might be a bumpy ride! Oh... and please try to keep out of trouble? and keep alive. Bye! Have fun!?

Yuka cried out in panic, grabbed my sleeve and pointed down. When I looked down I saw what was disturbing her, the floor below us was turning into one big gap.

I noticed Mima fire several bolts at Yukari but it was too late; I felt myself fall down and immediately blacked out.

?

?

Where am I?

Was that a dream?

How much of it was a dream?

All of it? None of it?

Slowly, my senses started to function. I could hear people talking? or shouting. Having fun?

Other noises began to make themselves known. Footsteps, the crunching of stones under someone?s feet and a strange buzzing sound.

Then, there was one final noise, one which forced me out of my apparent slumber?. It was the noise of an engine, moving from one side of me, to my other.

As my eyes opened, my worst fears were confirmed. Yukari hadn?t gapped us to somewhere in Gensokyo; she?d gapped us back to the outside world? the world of humans.

[Mima]

Chapter 16

Slowly, I began to take in the surroundings; the scenery around me suggested my location to be in a park of some kind. Children were playing some distance away on a large area filled with grass and the source of the buzzing turned out to be a remote controlled plane that they were getting enjoyment out of.

I looked down at my wrist to check the time but upon first glance my attempt was hindered by my human clothing and their longer sleeves. It was only when I looked down that I noticed a girl, Yuka, or possibly Haruka, was asleep next to me.

Ah, I don?t have to go hunting for her at least. Nice of Yukari to do that much, I guess.

Since the only way I could check the time would be to lift my sleeve, I carefully tried to lift my arm up while trying to not wake the sleeping youkai-turned-human.

?You?ll wake her up if you?re not careful.? A voice spoke quietly from beside me, causing me to almost jump in fright.

I quickly turned to see who it was, to find an old lady sitting on the other edge of the park bench.

The old woman laughed slightly ?Did I make you jump? I?m sorry, it?s funny... I jumped just like you did earlier on.?

?Wha-?? I managed to say, still slightly overwhelmed by everything.

I would have thought Yuka would be awake by now.

The old lady continued her tale, ?I never noticed you two sit down next to me, let alone remain unnoticed for you two to fall asleep. Almost like magic, wouldn?t you say?? The woman laughed again.

?Heh, yeah?. Very much so...? I mumbled.

?Cute little thing, isn?t she?? The woman said, looking at the brown haired girl resting beside me.

This?ll answer the question.

I grinned slightly. ?She sure is.? There was slight twitch from the girl in question as I finished speaking.

?Always nice to see children spending time with their parents and not getting into the horrible things that kids do now-a-days.? The woman said, gazing forward into the distance.

Wait, what the hell? Was she aiming that at us? Is she blind or something? Surely I don?t look that old?!

The pensioner gazed at me for a while before talking again. ?Thinking about it, have I seen you before? You look awfully familiar.?

Oh crap. She?s probably seen me in the news or something. Think of something!

?Do you go to the supermarket just down the road from here?? I quickly asked.

The woman smiled. ?Yes, I do.?

?You probably saw me there then. I work there quite a lot.? I bluffed.

The woman closed her eyes. ?Is that it? That would explain things.? Slowly, she looked down at her watch, ?The time is just past noon and means it?s time for me to go. Bye.? The woman said, as she climbed up and slowly wandered off.

I bid her farewell and took a sigh of relief at not being recognised? yet. I looked down again at the resting child and spoke out. ?You can get up now. I know you?re awake.?

No response.

I grinned slightly. ?Aww? Look at little Yuka, she looks so cute as a human. Maybe we should stay here in this world for a while.?

On cue, her eyes snapped open. ?You had better be joking or I?ll rip your arm off.?

I tried to control my laughter and eventually replied. ?Of course I was. Oh, and you gave yourself away as being awake earlier.?

Yuka made an uncaring noise as I spoke again. ?Also, you?re gonna have a little trouble ripping my arm off as you are. Just thought I?d point that out? so don?t even bother trying to attack anyone.?

Yuka spoke grumpily. ?Whatever.?

With a bit of peace and quiet, I sat silently and assessed the situation.

We have no idea where this orb is; theoretically it could be miles away or even in another country. Maybe even hidden in a building or a vault.

Suddenly, I felt paper resting under my hand. Naturally, I read what it said.

?Your destination is within the city and also located outdoors. I thought you might like to know!?

Wait, did she just read my mind or something?

For a second, I could have sworn the text on the paper changed but by the time I looked again, it was unchanged again.

I sat back and closed my eyes for a moment.

No idea where to search, we have no hints either?. I guess we can only keep going until we see it, or until a lead come up.

?Hey! You had better not be falling asleep!? I heard Yuka shout.

?I?m not.? I sighed. Opening my eyes, the modern city filled my vision again. ?Come on, let?s start looking. We?ve got quite a task ahead.?

Standing up, I quickly checked my pockets for anything useful. ?Not much at all?. Oh, my wallet!? I cheered silently at my discovery and hastily opened it to find I wasn?t completely bankrupt. On top of that my credit card was still there, which would be another advantage? if the bank hasn?t deactivated it already due to my death.

That?s a point. Gotta blend in somehow.

I quickly thought back to the encounter a moment ago.

Ha, this will be amusing.

Quickly, I stood up from the chair and grabbed Yuka?s hand, pulling her up too.

?You?ll unhand me if you know what?s good for you.? She threatened sinisterly, even though she was a human child now, she was still able to give a gaze that pierced the soul.

?Sorry, but this is the only way I think we can blend in with the crowds.? I spoke quietly.

Yuka looked cynical. ?What??

?That old woman thought we were related, right? So if we just act that out then we might not be so obvious.?

?What?s the big deal anyway?? She muttered under her breath.

I rolled my eyes. ?You have to remember; this world isn?t as? light-hearted as Gensokyo nor is it used to strange stuff. If they see someone who is meant to be dead walking around with a girl that no-one has ever seen before then that dead person is gonna be in a hell of a lot of trouble. Ideally I?d rather avoid that and actually get back home.? I quickly added to what I was saying to make it relevant to her too. ?So don?t do anything to get us noticed, okay??

Yuka grumbled something that resembled ?Whatever?.

Hey look, you?re holding Yuka?s hand. Shame it?s for completely the wrong reasons and doesn?t count at all.

?So, where do you plan on going first?? Yuka asked quietly.

I paused for a moment; thinking about it we could do with some high ground or something to look out for something. ?I?m sure we?d spot it a mile away considering how it glowed and stuff. The only problem is that it?s not exactly very easy to do. You can?t just walk into somewhere and go onto the top floor.?

Still clueless on what to do, I merely began to walk out of the park while trying to get a good idea on what we could possibly do to get out of this world.

[Mima]

Chapter 17

?This is stupid.? Yuka mumbled.

?You know? for once, I agree.? I replied. Noticing a bench close by, I dragged Yuka towards it.  ?Let?s sit over there a minute.?

Sitting down, I muttered. ?Well, that was a waste of an hour, really.?

The last hour or so had passed by quickly from checking around the main street of the city and the streets nearby though to no success.

?How dare those humans push me out of the way, as if I was just? just? nothing to them?? Yuka growled.

I sighed. ?Believe me, that?s exactly what you are to them. Here, people care for no-one but themselves.?

Yuka just mumbled something about killing someone under her breath while I sat back and thought about things.

?You know, I?m pretty hungry.? I mused. ?If it was evening in Gensokyo when we left, and it?s the afternoon here?. It must have been a good 12 hours or so at least since I ate? and longer for you??

Yuka nodded as a reply.

?Well, I know a good little place near here.? I stated and began to pull Yuka again. ?You like pizza, right??

?What?? Yuka asked while looking at me cynically.

I nodded slightly. ?I should have guessed you wouldn?t have known about it.?  I paused for a moment. ?You like cheese, tomato and bread right??

Yuka paused as well before replying in a sarcastic tone. ?Yes, and that?s what I call a sandwich.?

?No, no, no. It?s not like that. It?s not really like bread; it?s just the first thing I thought of. It?s a lot different. You?ll have to try it, I guess.? I said as I went along.

Yuka just looked shook her head in confusion as we continued walking, cutting through the streets to leave the centre of the city.

?Right, we?re at a road now. Don?t run into it or you might get hit by-? I was cut short by a car which sped past at a ridiculous speed, engine roaring as it passed, causing Yuka to jump back.

?What?. What the hell was that?? Yuka questioned, slightly unnerved.

I chuckled slightly. ?That was a car. Remember when I told you I?d show you one, well, there it went? and here comes a load more.? I ended my sentence as another lot of cars flew by.

?Isn?t there any peace and quiet here either?? Yuka complained.

?No, not in the city.? I quickly replied. ?Anyway, thankfully we haven?t got to cross this road. The place we?re heading for is on this side. But before you get any good idea, believe me; you don?t want to get hit by one of them. Like I said, it?s because of one of those hitting me that I first arrived in Gensokyo.?

The girl just nodded slightly as we continued walking down the street. I continued to find it amusing that Yuka growled every time she had to move for other passer-bys.

Fortunately, the sheer mass of people in the city today helps us to blend in even more; the fact I hasn?t looked at anyone else simply because I couldn?t assured me that they couldn?t do the same.

?Well, here we are.? I spoke in a rather unenthusiastic tone. ?I spent many the afternoons in here, simply wasting time.?

Yuka just sneered and looked down on me... or attempted to but failed since she was only half the height of me.

?Well, let?s go I guess.? I said as I opened the door to let Yuka in, and following her in.

The restaurant section of the building was relatively empty and I couldn?t see if anyone was in the other half of the building. Since there appeared to be a lack of anyone working, I just took Yuka over to a table at the opposite side from the entrance where less people would spot us, or more particularly, me.

Minutes passed without anything happening at all. The only source of sounds other than Yuka, who was examining various items of the building, was another group of people who were sat at the other side of the building. The stillness of the room stood for another minute until a woman, wearing the red and yellow worker uniform of the restaurant entered and talked to the other crowd. As she finished and began to walk away with her back turned to us, I loudly cleared my throat causing her to notice me, and then hastily made her way over.

As she approached, the waitress began apologising for not having noticing us and then asked us if we knew what we wanted, to which I replied that it?d help if we had a menu or something of the sort which caused the girl to hastily depart to retrieve some.

Soon enough the woman was back with the menus, she placed them carefully on the table before explaining that she?d be back in a few minutes once we had decided what we wanted.

Yuka immediately made a noise of disgust. ?Is that a pizza?? She asked as she pointed to the one on the front of the menu. ?It looks hideous.?

?That?s it.? I sat back. ?They taste better then they look, believe me.?

Yuka looked unhappy with the answer and just stared at me.

?I?m serious, now come on. Choose something to have on the pizza.? I asked, pointing at a list of toppings.

Slowly, she read down the list and suddenly said. ?Chicken.?

?Just chicken??

?Yes.?

Suddenly, an image of Mystia entered my mind but I quickly brushed it away.

She?s a sparrow, not a chicken.

?Decided yet?? The girl asked, having suddenly appeared beside me again.

?Yeah, just a medium plain pizza with chicken please.? I answered.

The girl nodded. ?Drinks with that??

?I?ll have a? lemonade and a?? I looked at Yuka and took a random guess. ??A cola.?

The girl nodded again and wondered off.

?What the hell is a cola?? Yuka questioned.

?A drink, you can try it soon enough.?

Yuka sighed. ?I?d have preferred a cup of tea.?

?Relax, try something new. Pretend you?re on holiday or something.? I laughed at the girl?s stubbornness. ?Besides, the tea here is ridiculously expensive.?

?After today you?re not going to need that money again.? Yuka countered.

I stopped a moment. ?Touch??. Well, you hope we get back anyway.?

?Here are your drinks.? The waitress said, seemingly appearing out of nowhere again. She quickly placed them down and wandered off again.

I sighed slightly and picked up my glass to take a drink. ?You expect me to drink this stuff?? Yuka suddenly spoke up.

I sighed again, this time out of irritation. ?What now?

?This stuff looks even worse than the pizza. I wouldn?t be surprised if it was deadly.?

Amused, I looked at her. ?Just drink it, its fine.?

?No.?

Reluctantly, I placed my drink on the table. ?What about this then??

Yuka hummed for a moment. ?It looks reasonably safer to drink.? She said, snatching the glass away.

?You?re sorta behaving like a child, you know?? I mumbled.

?I am a child.? She smirked.

Since she didn?t complain for the next few minutes, I presumed she didn?t mind it much.

More minutes of silence passed by until Yuka decided to crash her fists down onto the table and shouted out, ?How long does it take to cook something?! I have fairies that cook faster than this!?

A few seconds later, the waitress stumbled into the room and saw Yuka as the source of the outburst.

?Good job keeping a low profile.? I whispered.

The woman started heading over to us and in what seemed to be quite a rush, ?Oh great, she?s going to ask us to leave or something.?

As the woman approached, I prepared to apologise for the former youkai?s outburst when she dropped something on the table and said that she was sorry and that our meal should be ready soon before running off again.

Looking down, I saw she?d dropped a kid?s colouring book in front of Yuka, causing me to laugh uncontrollably despite the confused and unhappy looks from Yuka.

[Mima]

Chapter 18

I snapped out of the daydream I seem to had drifted into after hearing Yuka say something about ?her? coming back.

The first thing I noticed as my eyes refocused was the fact that Yuka had seemingly drawn fairly detailed and graphic pictures of her? slaughtering the poor waitress? amongst other humans. Quickly, I brushed the picture away from sight as I turned to address the waitress who was fortunately carrying the pizza we were expecting.

The girl hastily placed our meal down on the table whilst apologising for the wait. Other than the typical routine of telling us to enjoy our meal she said nothing afterwards and quickly departed.

There was a strange silence for a moment in which Yuka just stared at the pizza. ?That?s it??

I quickly nodded, ?That?s it, dig in.? I said enthusiastically as I picked up a slice. ?It smells great, better then the cheap ones I used to just nuke in a microwave.? I quickly took a bite. ?It tastes better too!?

?It doesn?t look it.? Yuka commented.

?Looks can be deceiving, try a slice.? I sighed.

Hesitantly, she reached over and picked up a slice before mumbling something like ?It?s as hot as hell??

?What do you expect? It?s been cooking for god knows how long.?

Yuka looked at it for a few more seconds before taking a bite. Slowly, she began to chew it and eventually swallowed.

?Well?? I asked.

However I got no reply, since Yuka had already taken another bite from the pizza.

Heh, I was right for once.

Minutes passed in almost complete silence since Yuka was too busy happily munching away to the extent that I was struggling to catch up with her. Out of the blue, she spoke out. ?You know Haru; you should have put more than chicken on this.?

?Don?t blame me! You chose it.? I argued back.

?Didn?t stop you from having anything as well.? She calmly replied.

I just sighed to myself and continued with the meal.

Dinner is all fun and games, but that?s not getting us any closer to the way out of here.

Still, the idea of finding a high area is the only idea we have; it?s just a case of finding one we can actually get up now.

Refocusing my eyes again, I noticed that there was already only a single slice of pizza remaining. Reaching for it, I looked up to see possibly the most evil gaze I had ever seen Yuka give and so I quickly retracted my hand and allowed her to take it, restoring her to her happy demeanour.

That was close. I thought she was going to stick a knife in my chest.

Less than a minute later, Yuka had finished her dinner and looked fairly content for once. Eager to leave the building and get back to looking for the way out of this world I told her to follow me as I went to pay for the meal. Surprisingly, she actually followed those orders.

As I was paying, there was a cheer from the other section of the building, which I noticed made Yuka wander away slightly to investigate. A few seconds later, the waitress finally finished and I thanked her for the meal and said goodbye before chasing after the runaway youkai.

As I approached the stationary Yuka, she said out loud. ?What the hell is going on in here?? Obviously she was talking about the entertainment half of the building; a large room filled with computers, a music stage in the far corner and far more people compared to the restaurant half of the building.

?This is where people come to play on computers with other people. You know what a computer is?? I began to lecture.

Yuka shook her head negatively. ?Well, a computer is?Well? Ah, Akyu described it as a shikigami for humans; it does all sorts of work for them.? All I got was a blank stare from Yuka, ?Put it this way; as you know, killing humans is bad and will probably end up with you being dead too. However, using a computer you can kill other people? multiple times? for fun.?

As the words left my lips, Yuka?s eyes lit up. ?Let me try it.?

Once again, I let out a sigh. ?We?re meant to be finding a way out of this place, not getting sidetracked all the time.

?It won?t hurt to spend a bit longer here.? She dismissed my worries as she almost skipped over to the closest computer. ?Now Haru, tell me how this works.?

Slowly, I walked over to her and pulled over a chair and tried to rush a computers 101 course with her. After a few minutes she scolded me and told me to just get to the bit where she gets to kill people. Reluctantly, I loaded the game that everyone else was playing and ran Yuka through what she was meant to be doing.

Although she was completely clueless at first, it only took her a few minutes to get the hang of things to the extent that she had started to rain rockets down upon the other unlucky players walking around below her. One thing I noted was that she didn?t seem to quite grasp the meaning of teamwork and so she shot everyone regardless of what colour uniform they were wearing. Unfortunately for Yuka, she couldn?t kill her own side which caused growls of irritation and verbal complains from the youkai-turned-human.

While Yuka enjoyed her daily dose of genocide-filled madness, I just sat back in a chair by her enjoying a cup of coffee that I had bought while she wasn?t paying attention. As I silently enjoyed the extended-rest from searching I found that the best way to remain restful was to falsely acknowledge Yuka whenever she asked if I saw her do such and such to someone during her killing sprees.

Eventually, I was knocked out of my peaceful thoughts by the sounds of someone slaughtering an instrument. Looking up, I noticed a group of late-teens had set up their instruments on the stage and were warming up for a session of jamming regardless of whether the people in the room liked it or not.

With someone with as short a fuse as Yuka, it was inevitable that she was going to complain eventually. What I hadn?t pre-empted though, was for her to scream out at the band as they began to unleash their screeching guitars. ?Learn to play the damn thing before you try to show off!?

Suddenly, the whole room fell silent.

Why do you do this Yuka? Always having to make things difficult.

A few seconds later, one of the band members who I presumed was the leader of the group, spoke into his microphone. ?Oh, what?s this? An unhappy listener?? The rest of his band laughed. ?And I suppose you, little miss, could play better?? He joined in with his comrades to make an obnoxious choir of laughter.

Yuka tried to hide her grin. ?As a matter of fact, yes. I do think I could do better.?

The leader whispered into one of his fellow musician?s ears for a moment. ?Well, then. Please! Enlighten us on how to do so!? He said with an arrogant grin.

?Show them up.? I mumbled under my breath as Yuka stood up. There was no point even attempting to stop her, I?d already learnt she wasn?t one to back down from a challenge.

Yuka marched onto the stage despite the laughing and snickering of everyone in the room and stood before the band?s leader and gave him one of her typical soul-piercing stares.

?Have fun, little miss.? The leader said, still unable to control his arrogance as he passed the guitar to the girl who was half his height.

Yuka fiddled with the guitar for a moment before strumming it which caused a horrible sound to emit from the speakers. Calmly, Yuka spoke up after the noise had subsided. ?First, we need to fix this, which one of your smart little friends just changed.? The girl walked over to what looked like the amplifier and changed something on it.

Yuka gave another strum which caused a much better sounding noise to come from the speakers this time. ?Better, better. Can?t say the equipment is very good though.? As Yuka commented and grinned to herself I noticed that multiple shocked and offended expressions appeared on the band members? faces.

A few seconds later, Yuka began to play around with the guitar, producing something that was only a little bit better than a complete mess. Naturally, such a performance caused painful stares from everyone.

The leader stepped forward. ?Okay, little miss. That?s enough, you?re goi-? Unfortunately for the man, he didn?t get very far before Yuka hit an extremely loud note which led straight into the track she played for me earlier, Inanimate Dream.

As Yuka thrashed the guitar, the song began to speed up to the full pace I had heard earlier. I took a little delight in the shock and embarrassment of the band members caused by the fact they had been shown up by someone appearing half their age.

A few minutes later, the song began to slow down and eventually stopped. As soon as there was complete silence the band stepped forward and the leader began to speak. ?Okay ki-? Unluckily for the band, Yuka wasn?t finished yet and he was cut off right away as she started played again. The difference this time was that it was a track I hadn?t heard before. It was slower than the previous track she played but was still more than good enough to listen to.

The music finally came to an end for the second time, however this time around Yuka ended it by throwing the guitar at the band?s leader who had gloated to her so much previously. As he struggled to catch it, Yuka merely walked off the stage with a satisfied smile and walked back over to me.

?Come on Haru, let?s go.? She proudly spoke as she walked by, causing me to quickly finish my drink and chase after her. As we departed, the air was filled with the protests of the band members on the stage who were calling for her to come back.

When I finally caught up with Yuka, she was already out of the building and just standing in the street. Fortunately in the hour or so we had spent inside, the afternoon rush of busy shoppers seemed to have died down dramatically.

?Worked out where to go yet, Haru?? Yuka questioned right away.

?I have a small idea of where we can go, especially for a lookout.? I grinned.

Yuka tapped her foot impatiently. ?Where??

?Like you?d know it even if I told you... Anyway we?ll go to my university.? I reached into my pocket and flashed a card at her. ?This should get me in any of the buildings without a problem, and why? That?s because they?re some of the tallest buildings in the city?? I explained while feeling quite pleased with my plan.

?Whatever.? Yuka commented, immediately killing the mood. Starting to walk away without me, she shouted back to me as if she was in command again. ?Let?s go.?

?Other way.? I corrected her quietly, causing her to spin around and walk beside me. I grabbed her wrist to attempt to keep up the disguise since I noticed yet another noisy old woman was giving strange looks.

As we walked, I brought up the event that just occurred. ?You sure showed those guys up on that stage.?

?I know.? Yuka said emotionlessly.

?What was the second song? I hadn?t heard that one before.? I asked the girl, trying to keep the conversation alive.

?Sleeping Terror.? She replied with little interest in her voice.

I paused for a moment. ?That?s an odd name for a song.?

?I named it after myself.? Yuka answered immediately.

?First time I?ve ever heard you be called that.? I told her, still puzzled.

Yuka took a breath. ?Back when I was a very young youkai, say? 50 years after I was killed?. Oh, keep in mind I wasn?t ?born? as a youkai until about 30 years after my death.? Yuka began to teach me on her history. ?It was only when I had met other dead humans as a ghost, heard of the crimes they had suffered and eventually told that I was going to be reborn as a human again that I lost control and became reborn as a youkai.?

I nodded; quite surprised that Yuka was telling me about her past. ?When I was first a youkai, I had little self-control; nothing more than a feral beast. Since a youkai develops when it sleeps, that?s all I did for almost all of the time I can remember. The only other thing other than that was kill those that interrupted me, which earned me the name Sleeping Terror from the humans.? Yuka hummed for a minute. ?I wonder if all that sleep was what created Mugenkan. I don?t know? I have little recollection of those days.?

?I see.? was all I could reply with.

The rest of the reasonably short walk was in complete silence. I wasn?t exactly sure what I should say to Yuka to suit the situation so I simply came up with something less serious. ?I?d tell you my past but you wouldn?t like it?. No-one died and there was no violence.? Yuka merely sneered slightly.

?Well, here we are. We?re officially on the campus now.? I claimed quite loud.

?So what? Let?s just find what we have to.? Yuka complained.

As we walked down the street towards the older, taller buildings, I saw a pile of paper ahead. As we passed by, I took one.

?What?s that?? Yuka immediately questioned.

I quickly looked at it. ?By the looks of it, it?s the newsletter.? I spoke with a grin, ?I wonder if I?m in here.?

?Oh, I see. You just want to see if people miss you. How sad.? Yuka gloated.

?Be quiet.? I laughed as I scanned through the few pages and read the titles out. ?Timetables? cancelled classes? fire drill? food fight?? I continued to run through the pages. ?Ah! Here we are, let?s see??

Memo regarding student memorial site.

All students currently vandalising the memorial site of the recently deceased student, please refrain immediately or they will be reported to the police and forced to help with university jobs.

Yumemi Okazaki

Suddenly, I had my own urge to lurk amongst a flower filled area and spark those that came to cause trouble there.

[Mima]

Chapter 19

?Haha, people are wrecking your grave. No-one likes you.? Yuka gloated.

?Oh, be quiet.? I grumbled.

Fairly annoyed at the article I had just read, I grabbed Yuka?s hand as usual and continued down the campus? main street. After a few metres, the youkai spoke out. ?Doesn?t something about that memo strike you as odd??

I looked down at read the note again. ?Not really.?

Yuka rolled her eyes. ?The name, you idiot.?

?Yumemi Okazaki?? My voice drifted. ?That name does sound sorta familiar...?

I quickly tried to think of where I had heard it before.

The same place you?ve heard of almost everything lately.

Akyu?s house.

?That?s right? It was in a book at Akyu?s? Not the chronicle I don?t think?? I struggled to remember. ?Ah, it was that book about Mima? It was?? Suddenly, it all came to me. ?Yumemi was a human who apparently warped into and out of Gensokyo!?

Yuka groaned. ?Took you long enough.? She waited for a moment before asking my opinion for once. ?Well, what do you think??

?To be honest, it?s probably more of a coincidence. Why would she be here? It makes no sense.? I tried to come up with some ideas. ?The most we can do is try and look her up in the staff book or something. If she?s under physics or at least science then the chances of it being her is much higher.?

Yuka brushed the answer away with a ?Whatever.? as usual and left me with the task of guiding her to the next destination, which was, in this case, the library. After all, that is logically the best place to find a book.

?You know, after seeing the Scarlet Mansion?s library? This place is pretty awful.? I spoke out as I headed over to a small section of books near the entrance to the library which contained different varieties of information about the university itself such as its history, courses and pretty such. Hopefully with the wide range of information it had, it will also have a yearbook containing the staff.

I quickly ran through the books that were on the shelf until I found the year book belonging to last year and retrieved it. Placing it on a table so that Yuka could see as well, I opened the book and began to look through it.

Immediately to my irritation I noticed that the staff members weren?t listed in any particular order; as the list went on, their names changed erratically, which started the incredibly slow process of reading every single name beneath each photo.

Minutes passed, and my concentration was eventually broken by the sound of Yuka kicking the table progressively louder. ?Will you stop that? It might get unwanted attention? and it?s annoying.? I mumbled.

?Well, do something helpful then.? Yuka snapped at me.

?What do you think I?m doing!? I?m looking as fast as I can!? I snapped back.

Yuka sighed audibly with an agitated tone. ?Look below their names, you fool. ?Administration?. Over there, it?s ?Archaeology?. They?re listed by that, not by their name.?

Hastily, I double-checked her claim. ?Well, what do you know, you?re right. Good observation.?

?Of course.?

?So, I guess we can skip all the way to Physics and check for her there.? I wondered out loud.

A minute or so later we?d finally made some progress in the search.

?Physical science which means that Physics can?t be-? It?s her.? I spoke whilst a little shocked as I stared at the photo and information of a woman named Yumemi Okazaki, the head of the Physics department. Next to her photo was that of another woman noticeable due to her pigtails with the name Chiyuri Kitashirakawa beneath her; another name that I recalled from the book. ?No doubt about it Yuka, it?s definitely them. If anyone can help us, they can.?

?If you can convince them.? Yuka added.

She had a point, even though Yumemi had been to Gensokyo. It still wasn?t going to be easy to make her believe us.

?There?s no harm in trying.? I replied, trying to sound hopeful.

?Of course.? The girl replied.

Fortunately, the university campus in general continued to be quite empty which allowed Yuka and I to travel around easily. The reason most likely being that all classes had ended by this time but the nightlife had yet to emerge.

?I hope Yumemi is still around. It?s gonna be really awkward if she?s already gone home or something.?

Without another thought, I pulled Yuka along as I quickly headed over to the Physics building, or at least what I always thought was it.

After another short journey, whose highlight was when I was forced into a brief moment of hiding to prevent a group of former friends from seeing me, we eventually got to the Physics building. Fortunately the building had a sign upon entry listing all the areas including that the head?s office, which was located on the top floor, much to my dismay.

?Let?s take the lift.? I casually spoke.

?A lift?? The youkai asked, upon hearing yet another unknown human term.

I nodded. ?Yeah, that.? I pointed at the metal door before walking over and pressing the button to call it. ?It?ll save us from walking up 20 or so flights of stairs, which isn?t good.?

Suddenly, there was a ping and the door opened. ?Come on, get in.? Yuka cautiously entered it, followed by myself and I pressed the top button, causing the doors to slowly shut.

?Now what-? Yuka quickly jumped as the lift started to move. ?This thing is horrible, it?s so cramped.? Just one look at her face showed that she was clearly not enjoying the lift.

Yuka began to look around. ?This is taking too long. Make it hurry up.?

?It?s probably going as fast as it can. It?s better than it breaking and dropping us 20 stories whilst trapping us inside and causing our deaths.? I chuckled as I noticed some colour leave Yuka?s face. ?Relax, nothing will go wrong. Are you claustrophobic or something??

Yuka merely made a strange unintelligible noise and a few seconds later the lift stopped, followed by a ping and the doors opening.

?See? No problem at all?? I claimed encouragingly as I walked out. ??And look, the office is right here? So what do we say??

Yuka shrugged. ?Like I know. Just go along with it I guess. It?s not like they?re not going to listen to some little kid like me anyway, just like those fools ignored me earlier.?

?Well, let?s go. No time like the present.? I said as I knocked politely on the door.

For a few seconds there was no reply until suddenly a voice shouted. ?Door?s open!?

I quietly opened the door to find what looked like an empty office, full of paperwork scattered across a table while a fridge and a few other kitchen utensils sat in a corner. On the opposite side of the room was a desk with a computer and monitor on, from which I noticed a head appear from behind.

?Heya!? The girl shouted cheerfully, whom I immediately recognised as Chiyuri; due to her rather bright blonde hair tied into pigtails.

I slowly paced over, trailed by Yuka, until I reached the table. ?Ya just caught me doing some work!? She cheerfully claimed, but when she looked back at the screen I noticed that the concentration in her face, followed by her hand?s position on the keyboard and mouse and the vicious movement and clicking of them suggested she was doing something less productive. ?So, what can I help ya with??

I noticed at this point that she seemed to be wearing a white uniform complete with a blue scarf-like object around her neck, certainly not something from this country but possibly Japan from which I?d seen it used before. The outfit itself seemed quite an odd choice considering she was a teacher.

?I was hoping that I could talk to Yumemi.? I quietly asked.

She nodded carelessly. ?You got problems with ya work??

I hesitated for a moment. ?Yeah, and since you?re a bit busy? I think it?ll probably be best to ask her.?

She laughed. ?That?s good of ya kid. She?s in her lab at the mo.? The assistant tilted her head to the side slightly, motioning to a door at the side of the room. ?Go ahead.?

I nodded my head slightly. ?Thanks a lot. See you.?

I quickly made sure Yuka was following and tried to keep her out of sight as I walked to the door. Just as I was about to open it, I was interrupted by Chiyuri. ?Hey! Wait a second!?

Crap, has she seen Yuka? Is she gonna cause all hell to break loose now?

?You?re forgetting to wear a lab coat! You know how much she flips out if ya forget to wear one!? She shouted with a grin.

I attempted to act like I had forgot, doing terribly in the process. ?Oh? yeah? She nearly ripped my head off last time.? I laughed weakly as I picked a lab coat off the wall and passed it to Yuka before putting one on myself. ?Well, here goes.? I commented again.

I let Yuka into the room before me before entering behind her and shutting the door. This room was a lot different to the previous one, instead of it being an absolute mess the laboratory perfect; all the equipment of the lab was sorted and positioned perfectly. Due to this unexpected tidiness, it allowed me to easily see where work was being done, by a single person wearing an oddly red lab coat.

I tried to sound extremely polite to try and get a good starting impression. After all, I couldn?t afford to blow this opportunity. ?Excuse me, Professor Okazaki??

Without turning around to see us, the shoulder-length red haired woman spoke out in a pleasant tone. ?Yes? What is it??

I gulped slightly. ?I was wondering if you could? answer a few questions for us?? I noticed out of the corner of my eye that Yuka had walked over to a case of what looked like various vials of chemicals. Naturally I began hoping that Yuka doesn?t get any smart or stupid ideas.

?Questions about what?? Yumemi asked, while pouring some chemicals into a concoction.

I paused for a moment, finding myself frozen with hesitation, causing Yumemi to prompt me for an answer. ?Well??

?About? Gensokyo.?

At that exact moment, Yumemi ceased whatever work she was doing and just stood still. ?Gensokyo doesn?t exist. Didn?t you read up on the Japanese Government?s statement? All work to do with Gensokyo was ceased permanently. Does that answer your question?? At that moment, I could immediately sense that Yumemi?s mood has switched to something so filled with hatred it almost felt like she was insane. ?Who sent you anyway? The government? ?Or are you just some nameless chump from the press, sent to annoy me even now??

I found myself frozen again, unable to think of something to say.

?Speak!? She demanded, almost shrieking.

?We?re from? we?re from Gensokyo.? I accidentally let the answer slip out of my mouth

May as well say the whole truth.

I sighed and added something extra. ?Youkai; to be exact.? As I finished, Yumemi burst into laughter.

?You?re from Gensokyo? That?s great, that?s hilarious! You?re youkai as well?? She laughed again. ?That makes my claims of just going there seem sane!?

What felt like half a minute later, she had managed to stop laughing as much. ?Go on then?. Fly! Blow something up! It was never a problem for youkai to do that!?

?Well, we can?t at the minute; we got turned into humans, had our power taken away? and sent here to this world.? I spoke with sorrow, already knowing she wasn?t going to buy it.

I was right, as signalled by the laughter that followed. ?This is hilarious! Listen, you?re an adult, it?s time to stop pretending you?re a monster and all that, that?s for kids.?

Eventually, the laughter turned to silence and Yumemi gave a melancholic sigh. ?Now leave. You?re wasting my time and distracting me; if I make a mistake with this chemical then it will probably blow this whole floor up.?

I looked at Yuka, who appeared to have lost interest in the chemicals, thankfully, and had instead outburst performance and upon catching my eye contact she just shrugged at me.

There?s gotta be a way to prove we?re from there.

?What about you, Yumemi? I know you went there? to Gensokyo.? I shouted to her.

?Leave it alone and go.? She ordered.

I grinned slightly. ?In fact, I bet.... No, I know you want to go back!?

There was a sudden bang, followed the rattling of glassware as she lifted her fist from the table. ?Leave now or I?ll get you removed by force.?

Last chance.

?Hell, I bet you just want to meet up with everyone you met there? Reimu Hakurei, Marisa Kirisame, Mima?? I drifted off, not knowing anyone else who was in that incident.

Out of ideas, I sighed and gave up before noticing that Yumemi hasn?t given another threat.

?Where?. Where did you get those names from?? Yumemi asked, sounding a lot more timid than before.

?I?ve met them, obviously.?

?We never told anyone about whom we met, at least by name, and it should be? impossible to find out who they are from this world.? Yumemi pondered out loud in a daze.

I took the offensive in the conversation. ?Do you finally believe us now??

?For some stupid reason? I? I think I do. I shouldn?t. But? there isn?t any other explanation. We saw to that?? Yumemi continued to sound dazed and confused.

I chuckled slightly. ?Well, if you want your final piece of proof that I?m not of this world? just look at my face.? I confidently spoke, causing her to turn around showing her brown, almost red eyes much like her hair. Straight away her expression showed that she was trying to remember my face from somewhere. Putting her out of her misery I instantly gave her a hint. ?Let?s just say I?m a student who took a fall recently.?

It took a few moments for the words to sink in but eventually her face lit up as she remembered. ?You? What? You died!?

?I know I did. It was one way ticket to Gensokyo? or so I thought.?

Yumemi continued to look moderately confused at what I was saying but at least she looked a bit more understanding of the situation than a moment ago. ?I think we should talk. Not here though, let us go to my office.? With that said, she walked over to the wall to the left of her where there seemed to be a speaker or something. After pressing a button on it, she spoke into the speaker. ?Chiyuri, we have a meeting with some visitors in my office. Get the usual please.?

?Righto!? The playful voice of Chiyuri chirped back through the speaker.

?Please, follow me.? Yumemi calmly asked us as she walked over to the door; unbuttoning her lab coat and placing it on a hook next to the door as she left the room.

With a sigh of relief I looked at Yuka, quickly jumping towards her to grab her hand which was approaching the chemicals that Yumemi had just described the explosive power of. ?Let?s not kill us all, shall we?? I sarcastically asked her before dragged her over to the exit and hastily pushed her out of the laboratory.

[Mima]

Chapter 20

As I re-entered the office I noticed Yuka taking off her lab coat, which prompted me to do the same. The difference between us being that I hung mine back up on the hooks rather than Yuka?s careless discarding of the item on the floor.

The sound of Yumemi?s voice addressing Chiyuri caused me to turn my head in the direction of Chiyuri?s desk which Yumemi was stood behind, in front of a doorway. ?In here, please.?

With a quick nod, I followed her instruction after making sure the young girl was following me.

Similar to the comparison between Chiyuri?s office and Yumemi?s laboratory, Yumemi?s office was a lot neater than her assistant?s. By the time we had entered, Yumemi was already seated behind her desk and motioned to some chairs in front of it. ?Take a seat, if you please.?

With a lack of a better alternative I did as she asked and sat down, shortly followed by Yuka. A few seconds later Chiyuri walked into the room and placed on the desk what appeared to be a bowl of strawberries and another smaller bowl filled with cream. The instance the bowls had made contact with the table; Yumemi picked up a strawberry and ate it. ?Mm, help yourself.? She chirped happily as Chiyuri sat down beside her.

Not feeling particularly hungry after the pizza earlier I simply shook my head and sat back, however Yuka was quite the opposite and happily dug into them. Suddenly during the silence, Yumemi cleared her throat and began to speak. ?Well, I think you had best start from the beginning.?

Chiyuri interrupted. ?Eh, what are you talking about? I thought this was about? you know, physics and stuff.?

?No, Chiyuri. These two here, they?re from Gensokyo.? Yumemi announced.

Chiyuri shouted cheerfully, ?What! Really?! That?s great!? The woman?s enthusiasm was curbed by Yumemi, who struck her on the back of her head. ?Hey! Hey! Hey! What was that for?!?

?You idiot! We?ve been studying science for how long now? Have you forgotten all about proof? You should always see sufficient proof before you believe in something!? The red scientist lectured.

Chiyuri nursed the back of her head. ?That?s no excuse to hit me?? In a flash, she suddenly became composed again and looked at Yuka and I. ?So then?. Prove that you?re from Gensokyo!?

She was interrupted by another strike to the head. ?You idiot, it?s too late now! But if someone is claiming they?re from Gensokyo of all places, the chances are?. The chances are more likely of a pig flying!?

Chiyuri pondered out loud. ?Well, if we combined the DNA with something that could fly and somehow triggered an evolutio-? The same interruption occurred again.

?It?s a figure of speech you idiot!? Yumemi shouted as she pulled her hand back and turned to look at us. ?Sorry about that you two?. Chiyuri can be quite? insensible at times, especially considering her job position. Please, explain.?

I decided to go over my story first, considering I knew it more than Yuka?s. Starting from that fateful car crash followed by my adventures in Gensokyo, my short-lived ?resurrection? and finally my return to Gensokyo I then ended it with how we had got into this mess in the first place. As I had expected, Yuka wasn?t too willing to talk about her past, so I simply filled in the gaps that I knew while I told my own story.

?That is quite the amazing story.? Yumemi nodded with a satisfied smile. ?I?d never have thought that you could access Gensokyo like that? several times. I must admit, I am quite jealous; Chiyuri and I have been trying to get back there since we appeared back here.?

?Yup.? Chiyuri replied in a simple fashion.

?I presume you liked it there then.? I laughed.

?Of course, what?s not to like about it? And of course, I still desire data on youkai, or rather magic; that which I failed to gather last time and became a laughing stock as a result?? Yumemi answered; her voice filling with sorrow as the sentence continued.

Moments passed as a complete silence fell upon the room, the monotonousness broken when Yumemi straightened her bowtie slightly. Shortly afterwards, she cleared her throat and began to talk again. ?I have one question. Why did you come here??

I stopped for a moment. ?Well, we were wondering if you could help us in any way.?

Yumemi brushed some hair away from the front of her face. ?Like I just said, we?ve been trying to get back there for years. Believe me, we wouldn?t be here if we had found a way.?

?What about finding our powers? They?re hidden in this world and if we find them, then we can supposedly get back to Gensokyo.? I quickly replied, not wanting to lose this discussion.

Yumemi held her head in thought and spun around in her chair for a few seconds, the lack of a reply from her generated an uneasy silence.

The mood of the room was getting deadly with anticipation until, still facing away, Yumemi quietly addressed her assistant. ?Chiyuri, what do you think? Should we try it?? I noticed she emphasized the word ?it?.

Chiyuri thought for a moment before commenting, sounding oddly serious all of a sudden. ?I think we should. It?s the best opportunity we?ll ever get for it. Though the final decision is yours, boss.?

A few more seconds passed before Yumemi cleared her throat again. ?Very well. Chiyuri, please go and get the book.? I noticed she had emphasised a word again.

Chiyuri nodded and walked over to a nearby shelf, without having to look for it she effortlessly picked a specific book off the shelf; it was quite an old looking, brown-covered book that was decorated by images of magical seals and generally something that looked out of place in a room of science.

Chiyuri handed the book to Yumemi who flicked through the book before closing it and placing it in front of her. ?Do you have a knife on you?? She asked no one in particular.

I shook my head while Yuka was too busy seemingly not caring about the situation which caused Chiyuri to speak again. ?I?ll go get one.?

Ancient looking book, knife, if she asks for a goat next then I?m going to worry about what secret pagan sect I?ve discovered.

Yumemi idly munched on a few more strawberries until Chiyuri dramatically burst into the room whilst wielding a knife; if I didn?t know better from the fashion she entered the room then I?d be scared for my life.

?Here ya go boss!? She said cheerfully whilst passing the knife to her friend.

?Thank you, Chiyuri.? The red scientist nodded as she took the knife and immediately began to run the knife along the inside of the cover.

Hidden something inside the cover of a book? How clich?.

As she peeled the cover away I was fairly surprised to see that there was nothing there, causing Yuka and I to wear confused expressions. Yumemi however continued to look calm which confused us even more.

She poked the cover with the knife before lifting the knife as if she was prying something out and then seemed to grab the invisible object and held it in front of her.

Has her insanity gone kaput?

?Tell me, what do you see here?? Yumemi looked up at us with a grin.

I looked at Yuka who was equally clueless. ?Nothing.?

?Exactly! But this? this is the hidden truth.? Yumemi presented.

I remained silent and in a way hoped that Yuka would impatiently say something, but she didn?t.

?What I told you briefly earlier? about our work, including the data we recorded, being taken by the government? It was a lie. A well crafted, well hidden lie.? Yumemi begins to lecture again. ?When we got back from Gensokyo I was ecstatic at our findings? even if it was incomplete. I had real data regarding magic, enough to prove my theory at least. I couldn?t wait to present it to the other scientists and finally be recognised? but as you know I was betrayed??

Yumemi spoke again quickly. ?However, not even knowing myself at the time, the data I presented to them wasn?t the original. All because she had predicted what would happen and pre-emptively copied the data onto a replica.? Yumemi giggled slightly as she looked at her assistant. ?You see, she isn?t quite the ditz you think she is.?

?Hey?? Chiyuri weakly objected.

?Anyway, after the betrayal we?d been told to pack our belongings and leave and since they had already taken everything even related to the work at the laboratory; it was quite obvious they?d want to check it our personal belongings too, so we ended up using one of our? lesser known inventions.? At that instance Yumemi pulled her hands apart, suddenly making two black sheets of some material appear in her hands. ?When these two sheets are placed together, they practically wipe each other from existence. It can?t be seen or easily detected?. X-rays and metal detectors and such devices probably can?t do anything to help and even more? smaller objects can be sandwiched in it and retain that effect. For instance? a CD?? She said as she pulled one from the back of one of the sheets.

?You know, it woulda been really awkward if it wasn?t ther-? Chiyuri jested before being silenced by another slap around the back of her head.

?Quiet. Anyway, what you see here is in fact the original recording of data which has been hidden for ten long years? and now we finally have a use for it.?

?What?? I asked, being naturally intrigued.

Yumemi coughed. ?We?re going to use sensors to see if we can detect anything that matches the data on this CD.?

Chiyuri cut in. ?When we first tried it all those years ago, there was nothing picked up at all? So if we get even one hit then we know we?re on to something!?

?Chiyuri is correct. You know what to do Chiyuri, upload it into the three government sensors in the city and we?ll start from there.? Yumemi ordered.

?Gotcha, boss.? Chiyuri walked out of the room and a few seconds later burst into the room dramatically again with a laptop under her arm.

Chiyuri grabbed the CD and placed it in the laptop and then typed for a while before looking up. ?It?s just scanning now. ?But you know Yumemi, if they?re still keeping an eye on us then they?re gonna know about this just from the signals.?

?What are they going to do? Take it off us? It?s too late for that.? Yumemi laughed, almost villainously.

Yumemi and Chiyuri just stared at the screen from the other side of the desk; leaving the two of us in suspense until Yuka sighed and walked around to look at the laptop too. After a few seconds she gave her opinion. ?Boring.? With that stated she walked back around and sat down again.

Only because there?s no violence, Yuka.

More uneventful minutes passed.

Looks like we?re out of lu-

?Whoa! We got something!? Chiyuri practically screamed.

Yumemi?s attention suddenly snapped back to the computer. ?What? Where??

?Lemme triangulate it.? Chiyuri replied, already typing.

?Well, where is it?? Yumemi demanded, sounding as impatient as the two of us.

?It?s?? Chiyuri spoke slowly. ?It?s?. The signal is coming strongest from??

?Well??

?From? the hospital!? Chiyuri cheered.

I gave out a large sigh of irritation which caused strange looks from the others. I continued to get said funny looks until the penny finally dropped for Yumemi.

?Ah, that?s??

?Yeah, that?s where I jumped. I should have thought to look there from the first place?. Yukari?s the kind of person whose sense of humour is to put things at places like that.? I mumbled.

Surprisingly, Yumemi was the first to stand up. ?Well, what are we waiting for? Let?s go and find your powers. Chiyuri, meet us downstairs, bring the laptop, batteries, sensor equipment and anything else you can think of.?

?Sure thing.? She cheerfully said as she scooped up the laptop and took it out of the room.

Yumemi walked over to the door too. ?Come on, we?ll go by car. It?ll be much quicker.? At that moment, I noticed Yuka?s face lost a little colour.

Yuka doesn?t like cars? This?ll be fun.

?Alright. Oh, and by the way? thanks for the help.? I said to Yumemi as we walked by her.

?No problem. You?re doing me a favour as well since I will be taking some readings for my own use.? She laughed.

Yuka sneered but I simply replied in a more polite fashion. ?I sort of guessed you would, especially considering you asked Chiyuri for that sensor stuff.?

Yumemi only replied with some laughter as she guided us out of her office and into the lift for another ride? much to Yuka?s disapproval.

[Mima]

Chapter 21

?That?s your car?? I asked, looking at the sleek red sports car in front of me.

?Yes, what?s wrong with it?? Yumemi asked curiously.

I shrugged. ?Nothing. Nothing at all. I just expected you to have a larger car, though I was right about it being red.?

Thinking about it, with her position it?s not illogical for her to be quite rich.

?We just need to wait for Chiyuri now.? Yumemi commented as she stood beside the car.

?Oh, I thought this was your car.? I quietly commented.

?It is.? She replied. ?Chiyuri has the keys, she drives it after all.?

Is Chiyuri an assistant or a personal slave or something? I?m beginning to think it?s the latter.

Just a minute or so later, Chiyuri appeared; holding about 3 bags at the same time but seemed to be coping quite well. As she approached the car, she carelessly dropped some of the bags onto the floor in order to reach into one of her pockets. A few seconds later she produced a key ring, and with the press of a button the car clicked, signifying it was unlocked. ?Hop in!? She said cheerfully afterwards.

I wasn?t sure if she had noticed but the size of the car was quite problematic. Although it had enough room to fit the equipment in the boot, it wasn?t so generous when it came to passengers in the back of the car.

Easier for Yuka then myself, I managed to squeeze into the back of the car albeit uncomfortably and simply waited for whatever was going to happen; until I noticed that Yuka was poking my arm.

?What the hell?s that?? She asked cautiously as I turned to look at her, it turned out that she was poking the seatbelt that I had naturally already put on.

?It?s called a seatbelt. You wear it around you and then if Chiyuri messes up and hits something then you?ll be little less likely to die.? I explained with a grin.

?Thanks for the confidence.? Chiyuri shouted, as she was forcing various pieces of electronic equipment into the boot of the car.

Yuka turned and grabbed the seatbelt and yanked it towards her, causing it to lock. ?What the hell, it?s stuck?? She complained, which caused her to apply even more force. To no success, she moaned again. ?Damn thing? broken??

?Try letting go.? I said whilst trying to keep myself from laughing.

She did what I said, causing the belt to reel back to its default position. As it did, she grabbed it again. ?Try not being so forceful.? She looked at me as if I was stupid but tried anyway, seeming surprised when the belt did actually give way. ?Stupid humans, creating devices to encourage you to be gentle.?

A few seconds of fumbling and looking at my seatbelt later, she managed to plug the seatbelt in. Immediately thereafter Yuka made a weird yelping noise. ?This is meant to save you!? It?s about choking me! Stupid humans.?

?You really don?t like humans, do you?? Yumemi spoke normally, now seated.

?Of course I don?t. You even said it earlier; they?re low enough to steal your work. Humans only look out for their own good?. They?re corrupted wastes of space.?

There was little to no reply from Yumemi. I couldn?t quite tell if she said something under her breath or whether it was something to do with the car starting up.

Once again to my amusement, I noticed Yuka remained highly alert of her surroundings as the car began to move and it wasn?t until a minute or so later that she began to calm down and relax; at which point she noticed me spectating.

?Flying is much better, isn?t it?? I laughed.

Yuka closed her eyes. ?Most certainly.?

?I third that notion!? Chiyuri shouted cheerfully.

I closed my eyes for a moment. Thinking about it, we?d been awake for a long time now. We?d spent most of the day in Gensokyo and then being sent to a different time zone of which a lot more hours had passed.

?You know, I think I agree with you.? Yumemi spoke as though she was in the middle of thinking something.

?Of course! Flying was great!? Chiyuri shouted again.

?No, what was said before that. Humans being corrupt.? Yumemi sighed. ?We?ve been backstabbed for what we spent our whole lives doing and now that I think about it; even when we complete this data it?s not going anywhere.?

?What do ya mean?? Chiyuri quickly asked.

?I worked on this to help mankind; if we found a way to artificially create magic and thus provide unlimited energy, flight and who knows what else then the world would be a better place.? Yumemi looked up in thought. ?That wouldn?t happen though. Instead, the damn idiots in charge would just use it as another weapon to squabble amongst each other for land and resources. Artificial magic, which could potentially save thousands? no, millions of lives would just become an even easier way to kill people then what there is now?. And I don?t want to be the one responsible for that.?

An awkward silence filled the car for a few minutes. ?We?ll just keep it to ourselves, right?? Chiyuri said cheerfully yet carefully.

?Yes, we?ll find a way.? Yumemi nodded before suddenly snapping out of her sadness. ?Turn left here Chiyuri.?

?We can?t.? Chiyuri answered before being hit by Yumemi.

?Why not!?? Yumemi demanded.

?Because it?s a one way street from the other way!? Chiyuri argued back, returning the hit.

?There was no-one coming! We could have got through!? Yumemi shouted back, volleying another hit at her assistant.

Chiyuri groaned. ?It doesn?t work that way! This is why I?m the only one of the two of us who has a licence now!?

?It?s not my fault they make such ridiculous rules!? Yumemi argued back.

I looked at Yuka and she looked back at me. Just from her expression I knew that for once we shared the same thoughts on the situation and almost simultaneously; we sighed and just let Chiyuri and Yumemi handle the rest of the journey as they were.

[Mima]

Chapter 22

The car screeched slightly as it came to an abrupt stop; having pulled into the hospital?s car park not more than a few seconds ago, Chiyuri spotted an empty parking space in the heavily packed area as well as someone heading for it. Endangering our lives our lives in the process, she catapulted the car around another car and pulled a handbrake turn into the available space before the other car could.

Ending with a jolt, Yuka groaned slightly and began muttering. ?Why do human inventions always seem to be death-traps??

?Well, we?re here.? Yumemi announced. ?The short range sensor is picking something up so it couldn?t have been a mistake.? Yumemi then looked back at the small device in her hand, poking the touch screen for whatever purposes she was doing.

?Hey, Haru. There it is.? Yuka said, tugging on my sleeve while pointing out of the car window. Opening the car door and practically pulling me out, she pointing up to the roof. ?Up there, see it??

With little idea what she meant at first, I looked up at where she was pointing and instantly I could see what she was talking about; there was a small growing orb, almost like a miniature sun, floating stationary by the roof.

?That?s our powers that Yukari took off us, right?? I checked.

Yuka nodded. ?We just need to get up there now.?

?What are you talking about?? Yumemi asked, stood behind the two of us.

?That floating orb?. Up there.? I replied, slightly motioning to the roof where it sat in the air.

?I don?t see anything.? The scientist frowned.

?Me neither!? Chiyuri spoke over her boss.

?I guess it makes sense?. It could well be that only we can see our own powers, if everyone could see it then there?d probably be hundreds of humans crowding around and trying to get to this magical orb of light. Who knows what would happen then.?

?Long as it ain?t some weird group hallucination!? Chiyuri chirped, getting an evil look from Yumemi straight after.

?Chiyuri, please get the equipment now. We?ll head straight there since there?s really no point in messing around.?

?Roger, boss.? The assistant said as she collected the couple of bags from the boot, closed it and making the car emit a clicking noise, shortly followed by a beep to signify that it was locked.

?Hey, wait! Don?t lock it yet, you?ve forgotten something!? Yumemi quickly called out.

Chiyuri sighed and unlocked the car. ?Go ahead.?

Yumemi hastily moved over to the boot of the car, opened it moved and began rummaging through the various items before finally standing up straight again and holding what looked like a cloth or something in her hands. Almost rehearsed, she shook the cloth-like object causing it to unfold and drop to the ground, allowing me to finally realize what it was; a cape.

Without a care in the world, she swung the cape around her a few times, caught it on both shoulders, tied the sides around her neck and finally securing it under her collar. With that done, she finally looked satisfied and ordered Chiyuri to head to the hospital.

?Any reason you?re wearing a cape?? I asked, slightly confused.

?Why not?? Yumemi answered simply.

?Call it her version of a comfort blanket.? Chiyuri whispered.

Even more confused, I pressed the issue. ?What??

?She?s always worn a cape for some reason?. Even when she was at school? during exams? if there was anything serious then she?d wear it. ?Much to the amusement of others, I should add.?

Yumemi interrupted. ?But they didn?t get 100% in every exam and become one of the most renowned scientists in the world, did they? Not to mention they were what?? 5 years older than us??

?Whatever you say, boss.? Chiyuri said without a care.

Slowly, we began the short walk to the hospital. On the way, Yumemi began to give a briefing for the situation. ?Listen, we go in and straight to the elevator. Obviously we?ll head to the top floor right away.  Also, we can?t risk you being spotted by anyone? so don?t do anything to grab any attention?

Says the one wearing a cape.

?Well, let?s go, the end is near!? Chiyuri cheerfully spoke as she walked through the automatic door.

And so here I was, inside the lobby of the hospital of which I had jumped from the top of, and died in front of, just a few days ago.

Thankfully, everyone seemed too occupied with their own work to take any notice of every individual person that came into the hospital. Fortune was also with us due to the fact the hospital appeared to be extremely busy today, all the chairs in the reception were taken and many people were left standing around thus allowing us to drift through the crowds unnoticed.

?Over there. We can use that lift to go straight to the top.? Yumemi quickly ordered.

With the scientists leading, I did my best to blend in as I followed them. I had a feeling that trying to not act suspicious was probably making us look more suspicious, but at this point there was nothing I could do about it.

After what felt like an eternity, we finally crossed the lobby to the lift. Reaching it first, Yumemi pressed the button and as marked by the display above it, the lift slowly started to descend to pick us up.

?Nearly there now? nearly there.? I spoke quietly.

There was a small pinging noise to signify the lift had arrived and slowly the doors began to open. At that instance, the worst case scenario occurred. Inside the lift was none other than the nurse who took care of me in my final few days and to make things worse, she immediately noticed and recognised me.

?A-ah! You-You?re...? Shocked, the girl stepped forward towards me.

Quickly, I looked at Yumemi and motioned to the lift discreetly. With an affirming nod she dragged Chiyuri in and soon enough the doors closed and they began to ascend to the destination.

Think fast, we need an excuse. Everything depends on this.

My mind struggled to function in the raging storm of panic that was currently present. After a few seconds of fighting to try and find some logic I finally managed to come up with something. ?Ah, excuse me, miss. You wouldn?t happen to be a nurse would you??

The girl physically seemed to calm down a bit and gradually replied. ?Y-yes, can I help you??

?Ah, great. Now I was informed that my... my brother was admitted into here a few days ago. Said he hit his head pretty bad or something. Of course, upon hearing about this, my daughter and I rushed here as fast as we could.? I began lying so much that Tewi Inaba would be proud.

?Your... Your brother?? The nurse asked shyly.

?Yeah, you seem to recognise me so I presume you know him, we?re identical after all.? I laughed.

You?re skating on really thin ice, you know?

?Well, listen. I think you should follow me. We have some? news to tell you then.? The nurse slowly began to speak, obviously unsure about whether to believe me.

She?s gonna tell you that you?re dead, isn?t that strange?

The nurse turned and recalled the lift which had not long smuggled two certain scientists to the roof. Fortunately it was void of any red or white scientists when the doors opened and so she waved her arm to signal us to enter. Once inside, she pressed a button to activate the lift but unfortunately it wasn?t high enough for the destination Yuka and I needed.

The nurse remained silent as the lift rose causing a painful silence to fill the metallic room although the sight of Yuka looking unsettled and scared bought a somewhat cruel delight to me. Eventually the lift arrived at its destination and as the doors opened, the nurse beckoned us to follow her, which we did, until we finally got to what looked like an office.

Following another signal from her arm, I sat down on a chair and made sure Yuka also did so prompting the nurse to finally speak. ?Your brother?. He was admitted with nothing major, somehow the crash he was in barely scratched him aside from a hit to the head which left him unconscious for a few days.?

?Yes, I was informed of that but I heard he also woke up.? I stated, covering my mouth as though in thought but in reality I was actually covering my smile.

?When he woke up, there was nothing wrong? or so we thought. Unfortunately? something? unusual happened.? The nurse began to explain. ?I don?t suppose your daughter... would leave the room for a moment??

And let Yuka roam the hospital without me watching her? I think not, she?d probably unplug someone?s life support for fun.

?She will stay. You might not think so, but she?s probably older than me mentally.?  I tried to sound serious.

?I see...? The nurse went quiet for a moment. ?I don?t know how to say this? but? your brother killed himself...?

?He... what?!? I shouted, trying my best to sound surprised.

Everyone thought he was doing fine and to be honest he was getting close to a full recovery. Then one day, he snuck outside and just... leapt off the building? I?m surprised you didn?t hear about it, it?s been quite well publicized?.

?I? I didn?t hear of anything like this. I live... outside of this country, just landed at the airport a few hours ago? The last I heard, he was still recovering and he just killed himself??

?Yes. There were no messages or reasons or anything.? The nurse apologetically spoke, close to crying. ?I-I should go and get a doctor to explain things to you further.?

Can?t let that happen, come on! Think! There?s gotta be an easy way out.

I closed my eyes, trying to look like someone in mourning and in thought. With an idea in my head, I looked up and asked, ?Are his belongings here? I?d like to see if he left any messages.?

?We do, the police have already checked through them and dismissed them; they couldn?t find anything of the sort.? The nurse explained once more, looking slightly odd at my proposal.

?They don?t know how we hid messages. If it?s anything important, we?d always hide the message in the cover of a book. They could easily have missed it.? I lied once more, using Yumemi?s trick with the data CD for my own excuse.

The nurse nodded. ?I see. Please wait here; I shall only be a moment.? The nurse nodded her head and she hastily left the room.

The room was silent for a few seconds before I spoke again. ?Come on Yuka, we?re going.?

?Huh, don?t you want to get your stuff??

I shook my head. ?No, there?s nothing important in there. I know that because I already have my stuff, remember? I don?t know if Yukari?s magic either cloned it or stole it but we shouldn?t risk it. If she finds there?s nothing wherever she?s gone, she?ll know it?s actually me.?

Yuka nodded in understanding and stood up, which I soon followed. ?Come on, straight to the elevator.

As we began the rather short journey back, I whispered into the girl?s ear. ?Quickly, try to walk as fast as you can without looking suspicious.? Another shake of the head gave her confirmation. ?Oh, right, hand.? The former-youkai sighed and let me grab her hand as we raced through the hospital.

?There it is! There?s the lift!? I cheered quietly and without another thought, I had pressed the button and the lift had started to ascend to our floor.

?Hey! Where are you going?? A voice called.

?Oh no, not her again.? I cursed under my breath.

Racing around the corner was the nurse, I was unsure if she?d just noticed us gone or whether the items were gone but either way I was quite sure that she?d finally given in to her paranormal suspicions. ?Someone! Stop them!?

A dinging noise snapped me out of my panic and as the doors opened behind me I jumped back, pulling Yuka with me, and hit the button for the roof repeatedly. At the same time, what appeared to be a security guard was running at the lift.

?Close! Close! Close!? I started muttering as I hit the button more and more, even though I knew it wouldn?t speed the doors up any more.

The doors however finally did their job and closed, allowing the lift to ascend without any unwanted passengers; just Yuka and I. I slumped down against the wall and sighed loudly. ?That was too close, way too close.?

A few seconds of peace later, the lift made its usual noise and the doors opened. ?Hey, you actually made it! Nice one!? The voice of the younger scientist greeted us. ?Yumemi was beginning to start saying you wouldn?t make it up here!?

?I did not!? Yumemi shouted and she hit the other scientist on the back of the head. ?Anyway, the time you spent... having fun? has given us time to set everything up so go right ahead. Get back your powers; I believe they?re over there.? Yumemi pointed to the far edge of the building where I could just see some of the glow from the orb. ?I still can?t see them with my eyes, but with these sensors I can; and I can also read every bit of data regarding your powers... It?s fascinating... The sheer values and raw energy? it?s almost impossible to comprehend.? It was obvious by her voice that she was highly excited and vividly interested in her work at the same time.

?Yeah! Go for it!? Chiyuri shouted joyfully.

?Well then, shall we?? I spoke as I turned to Yuka who had already begun walking over. ?You could at least wait for me!? I complained as I ran slightly to catch up.

She?s already returning to normal.

?Whoa, Yumemi! Look at this!? Chiyuri exclaimed, sounding quite surprised.

?What is it??

I turned to see Chiyuri typing rapidly on the computer, ?Some readings are going absolutely off the scale.?

?What readings?? Yumemi demanded as she moved to look at the screen,

?D-Dimensional stability. This makes no sense. We haven?t had any readings like this since... that time.? Chiyuri went quiet for a moment, ?The readings are getting stronger!?

?At this rate, surely? there?ll be a hole in the fabric of reality itself?? Yumemi thought out loud.

Somehow, I knew what it was, and by the looks of it so did Yuka. And just to confirm our thoughts, placed in-between us and our powers, a purplish-red gap began to open.

[Mima]

Chapter 23

?Well, I must admit you?re not very fun at all, are you?? Yukari?s voice echoed out around us. ?I expected to get a lot more fun out of you before you found this place.?

With that said, Yukari hopped out of the gap and landed on another, which swung like a child?s swing.

?Such an amazing bit of luck for you though to find those two.? She whimsically chatted as the gap flew over to the pair of scientists, leaving the larger gap she emerged from suspended ominously in the air. ?It?s been a long time since I saw you two! How are you doing??

?What are you talking about, we?ve never met.? Yumemi spoke, facing up to Yukari.

?Of course. I never said that, did I? I said I?d seen you; for reasons of my own no less!? Yukari continued to not give anything away in the conversation.

Yukari covered most of her face with her fan. ?Tell me, why you could never get back to Gensokyo??

?Because my? our work was taken away.? Yumemi replied.

?No, no. Before that, like straight away, as soon as you got back.? Yukari continued to probe.

?The equipment was damaged.? Yumemi continued to stare down Yukari.

?My, my? Now, I wonder what could have done that. First you appear back in this world without doing anything with your machine and then it breaks by itself, such a mystery!? Yukari?s voice started to shift to that of something tormenting.

Yumemi stood up to the youkai. ?You don?t wonder, you know. Tell me!?

Yukari closed her fan. ?Fine, I will. But as they say, the truth hurts.? Yukari then put her face literally an inch or two away from Yumemi?s. ?Your machine never worked in the first place. I did everything.?

?What the hell are you talking about??

?Your logic! It was flawed. Your technology undeveloped. So I took the liberty of hooking your machine up to some Lunarian technology in your ?working experiment? and then I simply whisked you away to Gensokyo, you knew no better!? Yukari spun 180 degrees. ?I was a bit careless on the return trip, I dropped you slightly and damaged things. ?Awfully sorry.?

?You... you... YOU RUINED MY LIFE, CHIYURI?S LIFE!? Yumemi sprung up but was immediately restrained by Chiyuri.

Yukari sneered and continued to look away for a couple of seconds before she began to fly back over to the two of us. ?You try and do a good deed for someone and they end up hating your guts. It?s not very nice, maybe I should be a villain instead.?

Surprising to me, Yuka had been, and was still remaining silent despite the fact I could sense the pure rage emitting from her.

?So yes, let?s play the villain. Whoooooops!? The gap youkai shouted comically as she spun around and to my horror, she somehow moved the orb containing our powers at least 5 or so metres away from the building. ?Oh no! How did that happen? So clumsy of me!? Yukari looked over to the orb and spoke out sarcastically. ?Ooo, looks like you?re gonna have to jump for that one. Let?s make things even more interesting, shall we??

At that instance, a terrifying grin appeared on her face and almost faster than my eyes could register, she reached into her clothes and pulled out a spell card.

?Now, here?s the next game my beloved playthings! Dodge my nasty, painful spell card and jump far enough to get your powers back to win! Isn?t this fun!? Yukari laughed, now almost insane.

That familiar noise of the lift?s ping, signified its arrival.

Oh great, they?re here too now. More problems.

?Now, now, we can?t have anyone interrupting! Go away!? Yukari shouted playfully and waved her fan slightly. As if that swipe was physically cutting the cables holding it up, the lift creaked before there were several loud snapping noises, causing the lift to drop at an abnormal speed.

?You, just killed them?? I spoke quietly.

?Maybe. What do you care? Now come on, let?s play!? Yukari shouted as though she'd lost control of her emotions.

Eerily, everything went silent like the calm before the storm, but as to be expected it was Yukari broke that silence.

?Well, let?s get right to the interesting bits! Let?s skip all of these and get to the fun ones!? It became apparent that she was referring to her spell cards since she grabbed a handful and threw them into the wind. ?This will start nicely, Border of Life and Death!?

That was enough to break Yuka?s silence as she screamed out. ?What the hell is up with you, you pathetic coward?! Too afraid to just fight me normally??

?Aww? aren?t you just adorable? Still, who cares!?? Yukari switched the tone of her voice as she suddenly launched a barrage of bullets at the two of us.

?Haru, look for the gaps and weave through them.? Yuka tried to give me some last minute advice.

The bullets weren?t very bad at first; even a complete novice to fights such as I had no problem dodging. Unfortunately, Yukari then began to throw more and more bullets, her laughter becoming more and more unstable.

Not only was the torrent of bullets physically exhausting, but also mentally; the sheer range of colours now appearing was beginning to get fairly disorientating.

?Yuka, I?m? having a bit of trouble now...? I mumbled.

Yuka shouted back. ?Just hold on, damn it!?

Suddenly, the bullets were gone, every single one of them. For a moment everything remained still and silent during which time you could see Yukari?s eye twitch slightly. Obviously, she wasn?t expecting that to happen either.

The strange occurrence was explained when I glanced to the scientists and saw the two of them holding what looked like strange, almost comical-looking ray guns aimed at Yukari. It didn?t take Yuka to point out that they?d somehow managed to catch Yukari off-guard and cancel the spell.

?More pests. My word, there?s just so many of them!? Yukari cried in feign-shock before holding her arm in the direction of the scientists. Instantly, an odd green bubble appeared around them and a small amount of laser fire later; it was apparent that they couldn?t escape from it.

?Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. Looks like I only have one card left, how stupid of me to throw them all away.? Yukari?s voice rose like she was presenting something to a crowd. ?It?s Danmaku Bounded Field time! Wooooo!?

I?ve never seen Yukari like this. It?s seriously like she has lost every grain of sanity. I?ve never even heard of her being this bad.

I suddenly felt something hit my side and looked to see Yuka huddled up next to me.

?W-what?s wrong, Yuka?? I asked unnerved by Yuka not having her usual maverick fighting behavior.

?We?re done for.? Yuka answered, straight to the point.

I grinned like it was a joke. ?You?re kidding, right??

?No, this spell?s always the same and I know from experience that you need to fly through certain gaps in her pattern. We can?t fly and so we can?t dodge it and so we get hit and then it?s over.?

Suddenly, there were hundreds upon hundreds of crashes as bullets began to be spewed out of multiple gaps, circling us. Seconds continued to pass by and the bullets didn?t stop appearing, just continuously forming a layer of pink death around us.

?See what I mean, Haru? We needed to get through there.?  Yuka pointed at a small gap that was located at least 8 metres off the ground.

The crashing noises eventually stopped and slowly the projectiles began to move forward, inevitably towards us.

Is this it? Is this the end? There?s no options left.

Yukari appeared again, ironically in the hole in the pattern where the bullets began to pass by her, the gap we needed to have been in to survive. In her hand was the spell card that she was twirling around with her fingers, done in a fashion that seemed to make her even more unlikeable.

Science has no options left, there?s no magic left for us, the only thing left is... what? An act of god?

I laughed to myself quietly, causing Yuka to stare at me oddly. By now, the bullets were only a few metres away and I prepared for the worst.

Without warning, there was a flash. The tone in Yukari?s voice as she yelped in shock gave me some hope and at the instance I looked back at her I saw an impossible sight. A blast of energy, different to the scientists? ray guns, pierced right through the card and struck by Yukari?s face, visibly marking her chin.

All the bullets around us froze in place momentarily before exploding and then disintegrating allowing the twilight sky to look down on us once more, and at the same time we were able to see the cause of this upset.

Floating next to the gap that Yukari never closed was the deity herself, Mima. ?It looks like you could do with a hand!? She laughed confidently.

?You could have helped earlier!? Yuka shouted back, trying to shout annoyed but you could tell she was really thankful.

?Game?s over, Yukari. You can leave now.? Mima spoke, deadly serious with her staff pointed at Yukari.

Yukari looked down at the floor despite wearing a large grin on her face. ?I see. Well, I guess I?ll just?- Go Ran!? Yukari suddenly shouted as she reached into a gap and threw her Kitsune at us. Flying right past Mima the fox landed close to us and stood up.

The fox looked at us, looking truly sorry and apologised. ?Sorry, I don?t want to do this but I have to obey my master, please don?t struggle or anything.?

In no hurry at all, Ran reached into a pocket and pulled out some spell cards. After flicking through a few she picked one out and looked at us. ?This should suffice, I guess.? She mumbled.

As she opened her mouth to cast the spell, the only noise I could hear was ?Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-?

What the heck is th-

At that very split-second, my mind captured the image of a broom handle flying straight into Ran?s left temple. ?-HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.? From the force, Ran was sent flying across the roof of the building and as you?d expect, she didn?t get back up afterwards.

Circling around, Marisa circled back around and stopped in front of us. ?You do what you gotta do! Lady Mima and I have got these two!? She spoke joyfully before zooming off and filling the sky with lasers,

Yuka looked at me. ?Come on, let?s go!? With a simple nod for a reply, we both ran to the edge of the building.

?Ran, stop them, quick!? Yukari screeched, firing bullets of her own at us. Things were made more dangerous due to the fact that Marisa and Mima were now too far away to shield us.

Either we both die or just one of us. It?s obvious which is the better choice.

I grabbed Yuka by her arm. ?You?re not thinking...? Yuka spoke, sounding overwhelmed. ?We?ll never make i-? She was cut short as I ran the final few steps and jumped clear off the building, towards the shining sun that was our powers, our life.

As the force of the jump began to weaken and gravity began to take its toll, I swung my arms to the side and towards the orb and released Yuka, hopefully giving her the extra distance that I seemed to have not got; signified by the rapidly increasing speed of which the floor was approached, just like a few days ago. Unfortunately, my head was pointed towards the ground so I couldn?t see any of the dramatics that were going on above, not to mention the boost I had given to Yuka had caused me to spiral towards the earth, making this trip towards death extra horrible.

In a familiar fashion, as I was a few metres away from the ground everything began to slow down before freezing completely.

Oh, this horrible tormenting wait before my painful death.

Something was odd, I could still hear things such as the barrages of bullets and lasers going on above.

That means that I stopped falling someh-

?Are you going to thank me, or what?? A voice spoke out impatiently causing me to smile immensely.

I felt myself be lifted in the air, caused by a, now apparent, grip on my leg. Once lifted, I found myself face to face with the green haired, red eyed youkai named Yuka Kazami.

?Don?t you ever do anything like that ever again, you nearly died!? She shouted at me. ?Anyway...?
Yuka lowered me slightly before suddenly launching me into the sky, aim perfect, towards the orb that now looked duller, possibly due to the fact that Yuka had already retrieved her powers.

As I touched the orb, I suddenly felt myself fill with energy and immediately I stopped in the air. Now able to control my aerial movements, I was now, just like Yuka, a youkai again.

Yuka flew up beside me and it wasn?t long before Yukari let out a scream of frustration. ?Ran, you blew it, look at them!? The Kitsune was suddenly scooped away by a gap leaving just five of us and the two trapped in the bubble.

?I?ve had enough of this! Nothing?s gone to plan!? Yukari screamed, completely unstable and caused bullets to appear in all directions through a multitude of gaps.

?Haru, stay back. It?s time for us to finish this.? Yuka ordered as she flew forward to support Mima and Marisa.

As lasers and bullets were traded by either side in a fight I could barely keep track of, I sawYukari suddenly wave her arm and a much larger gap appeared. From it, Ran began to be catapulting from gap to gap, now reduced to one more projectile to dodge for the trio.

?We?re not done yet!? Yukari shouted as she spun in a circle, fan held in her hand, that movement seemed to cause the gaps to move, rearranging them to surround the three opponents and launching bullets from all sides; were I stuck in there also, I?d have probably been struck by every other bullet but those in the situation seemed to have no problem and even returned fire at Yukari once in a while.

A minute of constant dodging later Yukari was, once again, caught by the edge of a laser.

?Fine! Fine!? She screamed.

Yukari held her arms out to the sides, causing hundreds upon hundreds of gaps to appear alongside her. ?Time for more fun!? She shouted maniacally, acting as a signal for even more bullets to erupt from the mass of portals. This had truly become a battle of endurance as millions upon millions of bullets of varying colours lit up the sky.

It was only then that I noticed that in the sheer confusion of it all, Yukari had seemingly placed a gap behind the centre fighter, Yuka, and my concerns were confirmed when bullets rocketed from that gap and it appeared that Yuka hadn?t noticed either.

?Yuka! Watch out!? I shouted, arm held out towards her.

Suddenly, a blast of light appeared behind Yuka for a moment, blocking any clear visual I had of her. When I could see her clearly again, she was looking in the direction of the surprise gap and in a position to dodge the bullets that I thought were going to hit her. The thing that struck me is that she was looking thoroughly confused at what happened.

?Manipulation of light...? Yukari thought out loud. ?Truly interesting.?

The crazed youkai clicked her fingers and all of the bullets suddenly stopped and faded away. ?Ran, we?re going!? She shouted before grabbing the still projectile-like Ran by the tail as she passed by and threw her into a gap. ?Bye bye.? She said sinisterly before crawling in a gap herself.

With this new-found peace, everything that happened began to sink in and I moved over onto the roof of the building to join the others who had already landed.

?Is it over now?? I asked as I landed.

?Looks like it!? Marisa shouted. ?Good job on the powers! Dunno if I should be jealous!?

?Powers?? I mumbled. ?You mean... flying and all that? I did that before.?

?Nah! I mean that big block of light you made appear out of nowhere! Didn?t you hear what Yukari said? ?Manipulation of light??? Marisa replied.

?That light? was me?? I asked, shocked at the outcome.

?Yes, it was.? Mima spoke out. ?Manipulation of light and manipulation of flowers. That doesn?t sound like too bad a combination to me.? The spirit laughed.

?If you got a completely useless power, I was going to disown you.? Yuka grinned.

I was going to say something when I noticed some movement over on the other side of the roof and suddenly remembered. ?Oh yeah, Mima, Marisa, there?s someone you should meet over there.? I pointed in the appropriate direction and it didn?t take long before, after almost 10 years, magic was facing science once again.

?It?s been a long time, Mima and Marisa.? Yumemi spoke.

?How?s things!?? Chiyuri shouted.

Marisa gave Chiyuri a high-five while Yumemi began to talk. ?I must thank you all from the bottom of my heart. Despite being trapped in that thing, we managed to get all the data we could ever dream of; especially due to those... delightful fireworks at the end.?

?We should be thanking you too. Yuka and I would have been doomed had you not helped us; on more than one occasion I should add.? I spoke out.

?Call it even then!? Chiyuri shouted.

The pleasant atmosphere was shattered by a strange groaning noise. ?Now what?? Yuka hissed.

?The gap.? Mima replied. ?It would appear Yukari has abandoned it and it?s beginning to close on its own. We don?t have much time left.?

?It would appear that this is goodbye then.? Yumemi spoke, sounding rather down.

I paused for a moment, ?There is one other option?. You could come to Gensokyo with us. You said you?d like to go back and this is a one way ticket there!?

Yumemi looked at the gap, the sky and then finally Chiyuri who simply nodded once at her.

?I am going to have to decline your offer.? Yumemi spoke.

?You are? Why?? I was quick to ask.

?We?ve spent 10 years trying to get to Gensokyo now. I was 18 when I first got there and I?m, like everything does, aging. I?m not magically gifted and before I know it, I won?t be in my prime anymore; Gensokyo wouldn?t live up to what I expect from it. I hope you understand what I?m getting at.? Yumemi weakly smiled. ?However, that?s not to say we?ve given up on the place, no. I?m going to test what you told me earlier today. You entered Gensokyo by keeping it in your mind when you died, you believed in it, and we will do the same. When it?s our time to... kick the bucket so to speak, we?ll keep Gensokyo in our hearts and if we?re lucky? then Gensokyo will have some scientific youkai!? She laughed afterwards.

?You?ll have the kappa to compete against then.? Marisa commented.

Chiyuri took over the duty of speaking. ?In the mean time, with this data I think we can finally have some fun.  Maybe even prove some theories wrong and maybe, just maybe, prove to those who betrayed us that we were right all along!?

Just like before, the mood was killed by the gap closing. ?We need to leave. Now.? Mima stated. ?Sorry to be leaving so abruptly.?

?We understand, take care of yourselves.? Yumemi waved as we walked away to the gap.

?See ya when we die!? Chiyuri shouted afterwards.

We bid our final farewells before jumping into the final gap in earth, placing us right in front of the Hakurei Shrine; where we had first entered the outside world.

?You?re back, huh?? The lazy Reimu Hakurei spoke as she drunk some tea, sat in her usual spot.

?Thanks for helping, oh faithful shrine maiden.? Mima snapped, as she walked by.

?No problem.?

Mima turned around. ?And you need to do something about that Yakumo, she?s becoming a major problem.?

?Whatever.? Reimu replied.

Uncontrollably, I yawned, and now being back in my usual outfit, I was able to check the watch Yuka gave me which showed it was already tomorrow morning here.

?I don?t about you, but I?m ready to go bed.? I mumbled.

Yuka looked at me. ?You become a youkai and the first thing you want to do is sleep. That?s... actually quite youkai-like actually...? She drifted off as she realised her little insult wasn?t going to work.

?Well then, come on Haru. Let?s go.? Yuka ordered as she turned away from the shrine.

As I walked beside her I felt something grab my hand, looking down I saw that Yuka was holding it. Yuka looked at me and then down at the hands. ?Hmm, force of habit I guess.? She brushed the issue off before returning to her uncaring state, not letting me go though.

It dawned on me then that youkai can live for well over a thousand years, Yuka being an example, and if something like this happens in the first week of becoming a youkai then I almost dread what has yet to come. Almost.


----

That's RiG2 done now.

I'm highly considering not to edit RiG3 right now since it's making me rather "depressed", I might just repost RiG3 as it is and then start getting to something far more interesting. RiG4.

[Mima]

Yeahm, editing is boring. Posting RiG3 now, gonna start RiG4 earlier. RiG3 can be edited at a later date, it's not like it changes much.

---

Retribution in Gensokyo

Prologue

Without any sign, I suddenly found myself summoned into conscious by a large jolt, causing the earth around me to shake almost like jelly.

What the hell is this? An earthquake or something?

There?s not been an earthquake since that time with the shrine, don?t say that?s going on again.

Listening past the voices inside my head, I heard someone else shouting, ?Hey, Haru! Wake up! Haru! Come on!?

Slowly, and despite the shaking, I reluctantly opened my eyes to see the source of the motion; the youkai Yuka Kazami jumping on my bed, shouting at me.

What an odd sight, probably dreaming, I guess going back to sleep won?t hurt.

As I closed my eyes, the voice shouted again, this time a little less friendly, ?Don?t you dare go back sleep!? As the voice ended, I felt the full force of the youkai jump on my chest before bouncing off.
?O-okay... I?m awake. You can stop now.? I mumbled as I wiped my eyes. For once, she stopped as ordered. ?So, what?s the occasion.?

?You don?t know?? The short green haired youkai looked at me curiously.

I rested my head back on my pillow. ?Of course I do, that?s why I asked.?

Yuka replied with a sharp kick to the ribs, ?Stop being sarcastic.?

?Okay, fine. Just tell me.? I mumbled, partially in pain.

?It?s your birthday, you idiot!? Yuka shouted cheerfully.

?Really? Can?t say I?ve been following it.? I began to speak. ?2 years already??

?Yep, 2 years and you?re still not dead; maybe you?re not completely useless after all.? Yuka mused out loud.

I sat up, ?So, the only reason you woke me up was to tell me that??

?No, you get presents on your birthday too, don?t you?? Yuka looked at me with her crimson-red eyes.

?If it?s anything like the combat lesson last year, I?ll pass. That was just an excuse for you to beat me into unconsciousness.? I recalled the painful memories.

Yuka argued back. ?You can actually use some magic now, can?t you??

I grinned back. ?Yes, but I recall you knocking me out in a few seconds not helping with that at all.?

?How ungrateful.? The youkai said, still stood at the foot of my bed before carefully jumping off.

?To think, I was going to... to... to...?

?To, what??

?AH-CHOO? Yuka sneezed fairly loud. ?AH-CHOO, AH-CHOO, AH-CHOO.?

?Looks like someone needs to see a doctor.? I commented quietly.

Yuka turned to me, ?No, I don?t. AH-CHOO.?

The youkai continued to sneeze and eventually sat down in one of the chairs in my room and just sniffed. ?Looks like you?ve got a cold or something.?

?Don?t be stupid! Youkai like me don?t get something like a common cold!? Yuka shouted proudly.

I rolled my eyes slightly, ?Sure, well, come on. Let?s go to the doctor?s.?

?I just told you, I?m not going.? Yuka snapped back.

?And I don?t want a cold for my birthday, so we?re going.?

Yuka grumbled to herself before she stood up and left the room, still sniffing.


It?s been a long two years since I?ve started my life as a youkai in the paradise known as Gensokyo, which means it?s nearly been two years since Yuka and I were thrown back to where I used to live; a city in the human world. Though thanks to some good luck and to some friends, we managed to escape and get back here to Gensokyo, a world where magic is dominant rather than science.

The two years since then have been fairly pleasant and uneventful in comparison, I?ve slowly managed to take control of the powers I was given, the manipulation of light, although I?m still considerably weak especially compared to most of Gensokyo?s inhabitants but that?s to be expected with my age, I suppose. That?s if you take Yuka into account, a youkai who?s over 1000 years old and one of the most powerful beings in existence. It might not sound it but her manipulation of flowers is much more formidable then you might first think.

Despite knowing her for two years now, she still remains as unpredictable as she was in day one. Her love for fighting and needless violence remains as strong as ever but she has her calm moments? rarely, but I guess that makes things more fun.

Enigmatically, in the last two years, the ancient youkai Yukari Yakumo, the single most powerful being alive, though Yuka doesn?t want to admit it, has become much less of a problem since the incident two years ago. I myself have very rarely seen her and even Reimu Hakurei, the Shrine Maiden of the Hakurei Shrine has mentioned she?s not been around much and that?s odd because the shrine was apparently her usual place to hang around.

Partly due to that, the last two years have gone by reasonably peaceful with only minor trouble caused mainly by Yuka, excluding the incidents. There seems to be some phenomenon in Gensokyo where there?s a potentially dangerous disaster occur every year, no exceptions. Sometimes even twice a year, as I discovered first hand when Gensokyo suffered earthquakes so powerful they levelled the Hakurei Shrine. They turned out to be caused by a Celestial by the name of Tenshi Hinawai, making it the second accident of that year; the first being a shrine appearing on the youkai mountain and trying to become the dominant shrine, which left Reimu and Marisa Kirisame, a witch and Yuka?s distant descendant, to resolve it as they do with every single incident that occurs. Last year?s incident involved spirits appearing out of the ground and Reimu explained she went underground and fought against a nuclear crow or something along those lines. I?m fairly glad that she hasn?t met Yuka yet or there might be some serious problems at hand.

This year?s disaster hasn?t occurred yet. I can?t say I look forward to them but they?re not so bad, it?s usually a case of sitting around until the shrine maiden does her job unless Yuka gets the idea to join in as it?s been recorded in the past. During the earthquake incident, Yuka theorised that a good lead would be the manipulator of earth, Suwako Moriya, a goddess of the Moriya Shrine, and went to fight her. She soon got stuck in a fight against all three of the shrine?s residents until they were interrupted by another earthquake and watched as the Hakurei Shrine collapsed again. With the shrine?s collapsed so did the fight and it simply turned into a peaceful event of drinking tea while watching the Hakurei Shrine Maiden fight against those who had just destroyed her shrine for the second time.

That?s pretty much how life is in Gensokyo, no matter how bad things get, there?s always a happy ending and you sit beside your former enemy as a friend. It?s strange but it?s true, and that?s one of the reasons I took the choice to kill myself in the human world, those two distant years ago to become a youkai in Gensokyo.

[Mima]

Chapter 1

After a few minutes, I was finally in a state in which to go downstairs which was wearing my usual dress style. Originally, I wore a blue dinner suit style outfit which was chosen by Yuka back when I was human but once I had become a youkai I decided I?d prefer something a little less formal but something that?d still keep Yuka happy. The result ended up being a long-sleeved white shirt covered by a short-sleeved blue jacket and also blue trousers, the blue clothes ended up having the same pattern Yuka has on almost everything, a fairly simple squares pattern with the outlines of the squares just being a darker variation of the colour. After Yuka was finally happy with the final design of my new outfit, I realised it bared much more resemblance to Yuka?s but since we were often referred to as a duo now, I guess it?s alright.

Walking left out of my room, I found myself in the lobby of the mansion. The mansion Yuka and I lived in is located in a dream world, slightly divided from Gensokyo and since it?s technically Yuka?s dream world it means that pretty much everything in the dream world was under her control. The result being that the mansion contained quite a lot of bright colours and the square pattern of hers, but it was nothing to complain about.

It became apparent right away that Yuka wasn?t anywhere in the lobby, as to be expected from her reaction to the suggested trip to the doctor?s. I gave a little yell of her name to try and get a response, but to no prevail.

The parasol she always carried around with her was still beside the front door which told me that she was still inside so I descended the closer flight of stairs to the ground floor and wandered through one of the archways, the one that headed towards the dining room.

To no surprise, Yuka was sat at the dining table drinking a cup of tea and looked at me as I entered. ?Here you are.? I said as I walked in.

?And?? The youkai replied before picking up her cup from the saucer and taking another drink.

?Well, we?re going to the doctor?s, aren?t we?? I grinned again.

Yuka sneered and took another sip. ?On your own.?

?I?m not the ill one, you are.? I answered back.

?I?m fine.? The youkai said as she brushed some hair away from her eyes.

I gave a loud sigh. ?Come on.?

?No.?

?I won?t stop you if you choose to beat up Eirin or whoever else is there.? I smirked.

?Hmm, it has been a few months since I fought her and if it?ll shut your annoying self up, I?ll play along.? She grumbled as she finished her tea and stood up, followed by another series of sneezes. ?Don?t say it.? Yuka stopped me before I could speak.

I followed her as she walked through the archway to the entrance of the mansion and picked up her usual parasol. ?You coming or not??

?Of course.? I replied.

Yuka answered by opening her pinkish-white parasol and walked through the front door, leaving me to follow and close the door behind me.

It only took a few seconds to catch up for her as she marched down the path from the mansion. This path was the most abused part of the dream world, she?d always change the length depends on her mood; if she was talkative the path would be fairly long and so allowing plenty of time otherwise she?d cut it short, today being the latter of the two.

Due to the length, it wasn?t long before we walked past the only other structure in the dream world, a small house with a little patio watching over the pathway. This house belonged to Elly, the gate-guard of the dream world. She looks quite intimidating with her large scythe and blood red clothes, but she?s actually very friendly but unlike another gatekeeper in Gensokyo, she does a fairly good job at denying entry. Although in a place like this, it?s usually just a certain fairy and her friends who try to enter.

?Morning, Elly.? I spoke out as we walked by, unsure if she?d noticed us since she was currently sat reading a book.

?G?morning, you two.? The gate-guard looked up with a confident, cheerful grin.?Going off already??

?Yep.? I answered, unsure on whether Yuka would like me advertising that she was ill which I doubted.

?Alright then, see you both later.? Elly smiled before looking down at her book again.

Yuka had already taken a head start when I turned and looked, so I picked up the pace to catch up with her when Elly called, ?Oh yeah! Happy birthday!?

?Oh, uh, thanks!? I shouted back awkwardly.

As I was walking beside the flower youkai I thought out loud. ?I wonder how she knew it was my birthday.?

?She probably has a calendar, they tell you things like that.? Yuka commented.

?Yes, thanks. I know what a calendar is.? I groaned.

The pathway came to an end and as always there was stood a swirling yellow portal, just stood by itself. It was mostly yellow due to what was on the other side of the portal and as normal, Yuka and I just strolled through casually, instantly walking out into a large field that was covered in sunflowers.
Yuka spent quite a lot of time in this field; with her manipulation of flowers she often takes care of the sunflowers as well as the other types which grow around the area. It?s also the worst place to fight her excluding her dream world since effectively every one of the flowers can become a weapon to her, I witnessed that power personally when she fought a mentally unstable vampire and won by turning thousands of flowers into something that was effectively a tornado of blades, almost mutilating her.

Our first destination was the human village; the rabbits of Eientei run a shop there selling medical supplies, which on occasions also had the doctor, Eirin Yagokoro doing work there though her schedule was known to be unpredictable so you?d never know if she was there or not until you actually went to look. Fortunately, the human village was only a short flight up a slight incline from the flower field.

Now hovering in midair, I spoke to Yuka. ?I wonder how Yumemi and Chiyuri are getting on??
?Who knows, but they seemed pretty content with things when we left them.? Yuka replied accompanied with a shrug.

Yumemi and Chiyuri were two scientists, the two who helped us to get back to Gensokyo when we were sent to the human world. Despite having the choice, they chose to stay back on Earth and see to personal business, stating they?d come to Gensokyo one day, when they died, which is usually an odd thing to say had I not personally gone though exactly that.

?They?re probably having a laugh rubbing their findings in everyone?s face.? I casually spoke out. ?I know I would if I was them.?

For the rest of the short journey, Yuka and I flew in general silence, most likely due to the two of us thinking back to that time two years ago.