It was an unusually somber day in the land of Gensokyo.
Not one fairy stirring, not one shrine maiden working, nothing. Zip. Zilch. Everyone in the town of Gensokyo seemed to have a dark cloud hanging and looming above them. Maybe it was the influx of darkness at night, or maybe it was the disappearances of many civilians, but everyone was inside.
Except for three.
They were one of Gensokyo's most notorious groups. They often got in trouble, and were loved by few. In fact, although they were quite weak, many civilians thought that they were to be avoided.
There was a fairy named Cirno, the ice fairy, and she was the ringleader. She had a habit of freezing frogs and missing when she shot at you, but she was very good with carrying out pranks. Another was Wriggle Nightbug. She was an insect youkai. She was not exactly known for her looks, as she looked sort of androgynous. However, she always had her friends' backs, no matter what. Last but not least was Mystia Lorelei. She was a night sparrow who could cause blindness with her confusing songs. She was also a con artist (she made people blind, offered her "magical" grilled lamprey that could cure them, and removed the effects of her blindness). Her friends did not know this.
They were walking in the forest of magic on that dismal day, and they heard a sobbing sound deep inside a faraway clearing. "What was that?" Mystia wondered aloud.
"I don't know, maybe one of the missing civilians?" whispered Wriggle.
Cirno yelled, "Maybe if we rescue it, we'll be heroes! C'mon you guys, whaddya say?"
"I don't know," said the firefly, "they'll probably think we pwned her."
"If they do, then we can pwn her later! Lets go!" whispered the night sparrow.
Cirno said, "Alright! Go Nine Gang!"
They all did their secret handshake and wandered deeper into the winding forest. They continued walking. "Come out, come out, wherever you are, we want to pwn you," said Wriggle.
"Wriggle," giggled Cirno, "We have to rescue it first, and besides, you'll scare it."
"Yeah, shut up Wriggle," chuckled Mystia.
They continued deeper and deeper into the clearing until they found a crying girl. She had bloodstained clothes and hair. She was surrounded in bones and skulls. She looked up, and they saw her two gleaming, blood red eyes. Wriggle muttered, "Lets go, she looks kinda hostile." But Mystia smiled and rushed toward the crying, youkai. Mystia hugged her and said, "How can you call this adorable thing hostile? Look at her!"
They looked at the youkai and decided to take her back into the village, clean her up, and get her some new clothes. Mystia, since it was her idea, took her in for a while. She showed her an extensive wardrobe of clothes, (she was very rich from her work) and asked her to pick out one.
The youkai girl pointed to a black vest and white blouse that came with a black skirt, complete with a red tie. Mystia said, "This? I haven't worn it before…. Do you wanna keep it?"
The youkai girl smiled and nodded.
When Mystia tried to untie the ribbon to brush out her hair, she found out that it was tied so tight that she couldn't possibly snatch it off without hurting the girl. She decided to leave it alone and brush around it. "Wow, you've got such pretty golden hair. Hey, I never caught your name," she said.
"It's Rumia," said the girl. She had a surprisingly sweet voice, like dripping honey.
"Rumia. Such a pretty name. My name is Mystia Lorelei, you may call me Mystia," whispered the bird.
Rumia nodded. "Mystia!" she cried, jumping on the bird with arms spread out.
"Whoa! Why did you do that?" asked Mystia.
Rumia stepped off Mystia, giggling. She had her new clothes on, and also a pair of red shoes. "It is a youkai's job to attack humans," replied the girl.
"I'm not a human, I'm a night sparrow. You are a youkai," grumbled Mystia, "Oh! And I forgot! We need to introduce you to everyone tomorrow."
Rumia nodded seriously, and flopped down on the sofa, asleep. Mystia laughed. Youkai usually slept at night, not at day. She must have been tired. Mystia went to her bed and stayed up till midday.