Hello there readers. I guess people who arrive here know me. If not, I'm NerDeath, a humble writer. I've enjoyed writing for some time, and it's quite a relief that people like my work, even if they have some grammar errors here and there.

This story is slightly different. There will be little to no action here. This story will start slightly before Touhou 6 and continue further down the cannon, maybe even cross roads with the official manga and writing work made by ZUN.

I will be the main hero, yes self-insert, but like I said, there will be little to no action. If you are wondering what I mean then, hehe, read the story.

The biggest surprise would be if ZUN himself read this story, but the possibility of this happening is equal to zero. Hehe. Well, sit comfortably, grab a drink and play the music which will appear while reading. This story will be quite… interesting in my opinion. Hehe.

Stage 1

Arriving

『Arriving to a new place. Will this place accept the newcomer?』

Human village

The day was sunny and hot. There was no wind which could help fight the temperature. The people were doing their routine. Talking, walking, working, buying. Simply put, nothing special.

Some people might find this boring, but people knew that, here, this normal life was a break before something unusual happened. The Land of Gensokyo, Land of Fantasy and Illusion, was everything except normal.

Because where you can find things that should be long forgotten. Super natural being are all round, running wild. The only place where humans could live without worrying about his life is the Human Village. As name the said, here, lived normal humans, who had decided to settle here. This village was old, very old. Only a few, which could be counted on one hand, could remember it's history.

And right now I was here. In the human village. Appeared out of nowhere. One moment ago, I had been at home, doing my things, and then I had appeared in front of the gate to this village. I hadn't even managed to change clothes from the graduation ceremony. I still was wearing my elegant black suit, with black hat and black shoes. Under the coat I had a white shirt and red tie.

One teacher had said I looked like assassin or was part of mafia. I chuckled at that thought. I pulled out my pocket watch. It was a simple silver pocket watch but it was special for me. I got it from my mother on my 20th birthday. Except for this suit, it was the only thing I got with me, which would remind me of my home. I didn't know if I would be able to return. But right now that was not important.

I looked at the time. I wasn't sure if the time would be the same here, but it was a habit.

"1201, huh?" I said to myself. I looked at the sky. It was midday with no clouds in the sky. I sighed and hid the watch in my pocket. I hid my hand in my pocket and started walking down the street. I could say people were looking at me. I guess I must looked strange. Everyone around me were wearing yukatas. Maybe I was catching their attention with my hair which was ginger. I couldn't tell.

I stopped walking and looked at my right. It was an old, unused building. I didn't know why I had stopped. I just did it. Instinct, gut feeling, fate. Hell, I couldn't tell what make me to stop in front of this building, but it made good job. I looked at it. It was a building like many around it.

Wooden, three level building. It was old, but it wasn't giving any sign of falling apart soon. I walked closer to it and opened the door. The doors gave a slight creak noise. Dust flew from building. I coughed slightly and waved my hand to move it away from my face.

I looked inside. It looked like an old restaurant. I saw tables and chairs in one corner, the bar at the back. I wonder why this building wasn't used. The floor was wooden, old, but the rest of the things wasn't giving signs of breaking. The stair to the next level were in the middle of room. I walked deeper inside, next to the bar with a shelf behind it, where you could put bottles of alcohol. I also saw the doors, to kitchen probably.

I walked inside the kitchen. It was a large, white kitchen with things ready to use. With some good cleaning, this could be proper restaurant. I walked out of the kitchen and headed to next level. I looked around. There was a stage for bands to perform. And a lot of place for tables. In the corner were also boards to separate the tables.

"I wonder why this place is abandoned. I bet with a good hand, this place could be five star restaurant," I mused to myself. Suddenly I felt someone was behind me. I frowned and slowly looked around. My eyes widened slightly. It was dark ball. I couldn't describe it in other words.

It was black ball which was burning with black flames. But it wasn't giving off any heat. I wasn't sure, what that was. I tried to keep calm and not to do anything which would make it attack me.

"Why are you here?" I heard the voice. I looked surprised and looked around.

"In front of you," I heard. I looked in front me and saw this ball. Could it be?

"Are you speaking to me?" I pointed at myself. Yeah, bravo genius. You're alone here and you're asking if it's speaking to you. I would've said something about my stupidity, but seeing what kind of situation I am in, I didn't.

"Why, yes. I'm not seeing anybody around, except you," the ball respond. I face palmed.

"Of course. Sorry, I was a bit surprised. It's the first time I've seen a speaking black ball," I responded with slightly sarcasm. The ball didn't respond for a while. After a minute it asked again.

"What are you doing here?" I looked back at it.

"Just looking around. I was wondering why it's abandon, but I guess I found my answer," I responded.

"I see, and what are you going to do?" it asked. I just shrugged.

"Probably nothing. You could probably kill me easily. Probably in a blink of an eye," I said calmly, but inside I was a ball of nerves. I felt my guts moving in uncomfortably. The ball moved closer.

"That's right. I could kill you, but I guess I won't," it said.

"Thank you?" I said, a bit uncertain. The ball moved away.

"Don't mention it. Anyway you should go back to home, it's not safe here," it said. I sighed and touched my hat.

"I can't go back home. I'm not even sure if I will ever be able to," I responded.

The ball 'looked' at me and said, "Outsider?" I could only nod. It was true, and I could easily tell why he called me an outsider. I shouldn't deny it. Lying would be dangerous, if not lethal.

"I see," the ball responded and after that it didn't said anything for a few minutes.

When it finally spoke it asked, "Listen. I'm old, and nobody has walked here in a few years. I was going to leave this place as well, because youkai like me only lives thanks to fear. But because people no longer come here, I can't scare anyone anymore. So let's have a deal. I will allow you to use this building as you wish, and in return you will be my host. Of course you will be turned into a half-youkai, because of my present but you will be also control shadows thanks to that," the ball said.

I raised an eyebrow and pulled out my watch. I looked at the time. 1212. I looked back at the youkai.

"And where is catch. Sorry if I don't believe you but I don't easily trust random people, or... youkai." I responded with the watch still in my hand.

"I must congratulate you, because normally people who drop here would agree on the spot, saying how fun it "would be to be a youkai" or something similar," the ball responded. I cracked my head to the side. I had a question and I already knew the answer but I still I needed to ask it.

"And what happened to those people?" I asked, a bit nervous and uncertain.

The ball responded, "I killed them." Yeah, I knew it would say that. "Because I won't let someone stupid use my power," it added. Ok, this conversation was turning into something strange. I hid my pocket watch and scratched my chin.

"I… I don't know what to say. Certainly, I don't want to die, not now at least… Buuuut, the offer is somehow… interesting… I could say..." I wasn't sure how to respond. I couldn't collect my thoughts, which was kinda disturbing.

"Don't worry, I won't harm you, I promise. I have my honor," it said. I felt slightly better hearing those words, but still I wasn't convinced. I put my hand to my face, covering the lower part of it, thinking.

"Should I trust it? No, it's too dangerous. Youkai and any other supernatural beings are powerful and could easily manipulate a person through words tricks and promises. It could easily backstab me. But it promises on his honor. What should I do?"

I looked at the ball with a frown. It probably looked back at me. I got back to thinking.

"Maybe with its help, I could realize one of my dreams? But still, something is telling me I should be careful. Man, what a drag..." I thought with a roll of my eyes. After another five minute of waiting, I responded.

"Yare, yare. I get the feeling I will regret this, but whatever. Fine you've got yourself a deal. But!" I said with seriousness. "Try something funny and you will pay for that." The ball didn't say anything at first.

"Don't worry. I keep my promises. I've never broken a promise in my life," it said. It move closer.

"My name is Vasz, Vasz Hokura. Nice to meet you," it said.

"Nice to meet you. You can call me Matthew or Matt for short. I'm looking forward to working with you," I responded.

"Likewise. Anyway, I will began to make a bond. Grit your teeth. This will hurt," he warned me. I could feel the air become slightly electrified from the noises in the air. I could see a small ball of energy. After a second, he shot it at me, straight in place where my heart was. I gritted my teethfrom the pain.

I felt voltage was passing through my whole body. Every muscle was screaming from pain. I felt my muscles were becoming tense, to the point I thought they would break. After 10 minutes of it, the pain finally stopped. I fell on my knees patting heavily. My body still hurt, but the pain was slowly but steadily passing away.

I slowly stood up and wiped the dust from my suit. I felt slightly stronger but nothing major. My senses had also become sharper but like with the strength, nothing major. That was obvious, there was no easy way to become strong.

"Can you hear me?" I heard the voice of Vasz. I looked around.

"Stop looking around. I'm inside of you. You can hear me and I can hear you. Just think. And don't worry I can easily separate the connection between us, so all your private things are safe. But I must say your mind is… in well… in pieces. In elegant, sorted pieces. And the bookshelf with theword 'Private' on it is so well sealed that perhaps even Hakurei would have a problem with this one," Vasz said. I snorted.

"Good to know," I deadpanned. Soon the black ball appeared next to me at the height of my head.

"I can also easily do this. Now you look like half-phantasm half-human now, only with a black soul on the outside. Now, because I won't allow you to use my power yet, I will use it. Just say what you want to do, and I will use the power to do it. On the second floor is house where you can live. The entrance is behind that wall," Vasz informed me. I walked to wall and looked behind it. After a few steps there were wooden doors.

"These doors will only opened when they sense my power. A small safe measure. So don't worry, nobody will be able to enter. I also hid it behind a small illusion. It's nothing major, just I placed a wall made of my shadow, so it looks like there isn't an entrance at all," Vasz explained. I nodded and opened the door. There were stairs to the upper level. When I reached the third level there was a corridor. The walls were made of wood, but there wasn't anything on them. On the floor was brown carpet. Nothing fancy.

When I reached the end of the corridor I saw another set of doors. I opened them and saw an unused small apartment. It was enough for two people living together. But what surprised me was how modern it looked like. It's nothing I would expect. Also the dust was everywhere. It was covering everything like snow covered everything in winter.

"I was expecting… something old fashioned..." I muttered, still surprised.

"I saw how the outside looks. I can manipulate shadow and every aspect of it. Moving from one to another. Even crossing the Hakurei Barrier is nothing major but tiring," Vasz said. How terrifying. I was right when I said he could kill me easily. Thanks to whatever is sitting in the heaven, I didn't anger him.

I looked around. There was a bathroom, saloon, living room and kitchen. I won't describe it. Let readers use their imagination. Let's call it a game. Yeah, I just break fourth wall. Good job me!

Anyway I looked around and found this apartment quite comfortable. I smiled.

"Well, things are going to be interesting," I said to myself.

Vasz 'looked' at me and said, "I guess so. By the way. Can I ask you one thing?"

I looked at the black ball flying around me and nodded.

"What was your dream, before you appeared here, in Gensokyo?"

I looked slightly surprised but it quickly vanished. I thought a little and said.

"I had quite a lot of dreams in my life and one of it was running a Jazz restaurant," I said with a small smile. Vasz didn't say anything.

"Jazz is a genre of music. It was the only genre of music which would really put a smile on my face. I really enjoy listening to it and other music which came from jazz like swing, ska, funk. You should try it," I said with a smile, slightly bigger than before. Vasz didn't respond.

"Anyway, before we do anything, we need to clean up this place. The dust here is probably older than me," I said. After that, I started cleaning. Vasz helped me by creating shadow creatures which he controlled. It was good help. Thanks to him we finished before the sun hid. After the work I collapsed on the bed with a smile. Also thanks to Vasz and his magic, my clothes hadn't gotten dirty.

"Tomorrow we will start placing tables, chairs and everything else. Also I will need get money to buy alcohol and groceries," I said to Vasz.

"I think you could do small things around the village. This will also help you make yourself a name here. This will help you to get customers later on. After that you should look for a band who could perform here," Vasz said. Something caught my attention while he was talking.

"Hey, you know quite a lot about managing restaurant," I said. Vasz was quiet for a second before he replied.

"I… was managing this restaurant before… something happened and I couldn't do it anymore… Let's not talk about it right now."

"I won't push you to say anything. You will tell when you want," I responded.

"Really?" he asked. I nodded.

"I can tell it's not easy topic. I know when to give up in a conversation. Also I know when someone is lying," I said.

"Your ability is to detect lying?" he asked. I could tell he was curious. I shook my head.

"More like instinct. But because of that I'm not a good liar either. Well, something for something," I replied with a shrug. Vasz didn't say anything. I was tired, he probably as well. After this little conversation we went to sleep. I didn't even bother to change my clothes.

After that, thanks to Vasz he use his ability to make clothes from shadow which would be more… common. My clothes were now lying in the wardrobe. After I left the building, I walked around seeking a job. I found a few small jobs, like delivering things, helping with construction and other minor works.

This continued for one year. I didn't even notice when it passed. Through this time I became friends with Vasz. He still didn't reveal much but he explained that this restaurant was his before something happened. I also told him a few minor things from my life but as well nothing major. He didn't push, I didn't push, it was good deal.

What surprised me the most was that Hakurei Shrine Maiden didn't appear to investigate anything. Maybe no one felt magic when Vasz did a thing or perhaps it was so little magic that nobody cared. It's hard to tell, but better be careful. Being exterminated would be… painful at least.

People around the village also stopped being suspicious of me. From a stranger, I became… a citizen perhaps. I couldn't tell but people weren't looking at me with… suspicion. I even made a few friends, especially with the food seller and the alcohol vendor. Thanks to that, I got a small discount for buying in their shop.

I couldn't tell where a few types alcohol and vines came from. I could tell they weren't from here because, as far I could remember, I couldn't buy my native vodka or spirit. Or more famous whiskey like "Jack Daniels". Or wines like "Baron de Ley Maturana Rioja".

Vasz also taught me how to blend alcohols into drinks. I could tell, this guy knew a lot of things about it. I could say, because I tasted some of his work. It was really heaven for my throat. And about alcohol, he probably 'borrowed' some from the Outside World.

Yeah, through this one year I got used to this Village and this life. I hardly ever thought of going back. It was a little scary. I remember one time which was similar. I was in England for an exchange program which lasted two week. When half the time passed, I was sitting in a room in a house in England. For a second I thought I was sitting in my room in Poland.

I talked about it with friends who were also on the program. They felt the same. I must say after that, I didn't get this feeling anymore, but I still remember that moment. My adaptability is somehow scary, even I myself was scared.

Right now I was standing in front of my restaurant, looking at it with pride and a smile on my face. Vasz also felt happy that his restaurant would be used once more. With Vasz, we decided to call this restaurant "Fantasy Home". It was a good name.

The inside was looked classic restaurant from the thirties. It was looked like classic restaurant like in a film or games with Mafia themes. The tables were numbered, on each one was number. It would be easy to deliver orders. There were also plants provided by Vasz. Again, probably from Outside World. This was the restaurant of my dream. It looked exactly as I had wanted it.

I headed to my apartment to change into my original suit. I put on everything, even the hat. I liked it very much. I hoped everything will turn out well. But even if I didn't get many customers, I would be happy.

I looked at the mirror and said with a mysterious glint in my eye, "Welcome to "Fantasy Home". How can I serve you?"

Ok, that's it. I hope you like it.

I saw while writing that Vasz is quite strong youkai, if he can pass through Hakurei Border without much trouble, like Yukari. Bur I don't plan to fight much in this series. This story is too relax and also would get to know the characters of the series better.

If you want, this story can be multi-crossover. Just say a world which should appear and if I know it to the point I can write about it, I will. Also I can add an OC from Touhou verse. And that's it, ok? If you want them to appear, give me link to the story from which they appear, so I can read it and understand the OC personality.

Anyway see you guys later and also come back anytime for a drink or food or both, and relax with the sound of music. The "Fantasy House" has it's doors open for every guest.