Story 1: The Echoing Night Concerto of the Soul

"Hello, humans of the outside world. Hmmm, no, that terminology does not seem appropriate in this particular scenario. Would it be better if I recognized you as the beings sitting beyond the glazed monitors in your more realistic universe, or would such information instill a sense of paranoia as to how I could possibly know about your reality? Hmmm, then again, I suppose I did just reveal that information to you now didn't I? Still, perhaps it is not you who is scared, but rather I am the one frightened by your very presence?

Oh? I haven't introduced myself to you yet, have I? Actually, perhaps I do not need to. In your world, you already know my name, whether it be through artwork, other tales, official material or even that strange trope site…But I guess if I did not reveal my name, that would be rather rude of me, would it not? Very well. My name is Yukari Yakumo, and this is Mayohiga, my sometimes personal realm that lies close to the Great Hakurei Border. You are welcome to refer to me by any other name you wish, but I am quite aware of the variety of nicknames that have born from your Doujins and forums…

…Please do not turn pale before me, I am not so petty as to exact vengeance on those who wish to interpret my character in different ways, in fact, I find some of those depictions to be rather humorous in nature. Hmm? You are wondering just how you managed to arrive at my domain? I must admit, as one who monitors the borders of Gensokyo and has in the past gapped humans to this realm, I do not have nary a clue as to what brought you here. But since you are here and there doesn't appear to be a way out for the time being, how would you like to hear a story or two from sweet old me?

Hmmm? You wonder how one who hibernates so often could possibly have any interesting tales to tell? Tee-hee, I know more about what happens in Gensokyo when I'm asleep then you would assume at a first glance. I won't disclose my methods, mind you, but you deserve that little bit of reassurance all the same. Now then, how about I start off with something simple? This tale will detail the first confrontation between Gensokyo's three bands, and the lessons those three groups would learn from each other as their music plays through the night skies…"

It all started in the dead of night one fateful fall day, when all humans had fallen to rest in their peaceful abodes and all but the nocturnal of Youkai had cuddled up in their natural habitats. With snarls and growls echoing through the forests that either ward off any foolish wanderers or signal the success of their hunt it was hard to discern the signal unique sound amongst the primal Youkai. A melodic chirp enters the air, traveling through to a single temple on the eastern side of Gensokyo.

Despite what was noted earlier, there was one person who could single out this chirp amongst all other noises. Inside this temple, which was named after the long deceased brother of its owner, lied a young yamabiko, a youkai that embodies mountain echoes and thus is able to reflect sounds as she pleases. It is thanks to this interesting ability that she is able to hear the chirp, for with it the yamabiko is able to reflect away all snarls and growls so only the chirp can reach her long, fluffy, dog-like ears.

Those very ears perk up as the yamabiko lies on the left side of her body, dressed in a long pale pink shirt with teal flower-shaped buttons and a white dress below it that is decorated in a black trim. Her teal colored hair, which isn't kept in a particularly fashionable manner, was hung over the side of her face with a couple strands just nearly lying at the corner of her mouth. With the chirp calling to her specifically, the iambic's eyelids perked open far too quickly, signifying that she was only half-asleep.

After waking up, the yamabiko quickly sits herself upright, her bushy dog-like tail lying at the head edge of her sheet as she perks up a light smile on her face. With the way the floor was assembled, the yamabiko would have to rise up slowly to avoid making noise and alerting her peers of what she was trying to do. To help with her departure, the yamabiko took her black shoes at the edge of the sheet and kept them pinched between her left fingers. She then turned around, her bare feet creeping along the floorboards at such a slow rate that they made sounds quiet enough to only be heard by herself.

Once at the sliding wooden door, the yamabiko slowly pushed it aside to the left, turning her head back and forth to make sure nobody was wandering through the hallway late at night. Of course, these cautious glances wouldn't matter at all if the nue residing within the temple had disguised herself as one of the unlit candle wicks on the walls. With a shiver creeping down her spine as she thought of this possibility, the yamabiko exited her tiny room and entered the hallway fully as the light of the outdoor moon shone through brightly at the southern end.

With tip-toes moving across the hallway, the yamabiko made her way to the northern end of the temple where the exit lied, making certain to listen in on the sounds in each room to pass just in case anyone might hear her movements and start reacting to them with an awakening smack of their lips. But all that the yamabiko heard were a couple yawns and a gentle purr from the resident avatar of Bishamonten, Shou Toramaru. It didn't take long for the yamabiko to pass the hallway and be mere seconds away from the front doors, even though the stress born of caution made the trip feel like an eternity.

Once at the door, the yamabiko noticed something interesting plastered on the center of both doors and slowed down a good deal so she could lean forward and take a good look at the object. It was a paper seal infused with Buddhist magic, and the text along the paper suggested that it was meant to set off an alarm if anyone were to swing the doors open without the temple owner's permission. "Lady Hijiri…" The yamabiko whispered the name of the lady in charge of the temple in a tone that shared both disappointment and respect towards them, following up with a light sigh a second later.

As the yamabiko held her right hand in front of her body at a fair distance away from the seal she said to herself "Lets see if I've learned how to do this correctly…"

Chanting an incantation quietly to herself while leaving her mind calm and clear, the yamabiko released a sparkling translucent bubble around her hand that resonates with the seal and causes it to quickly pop off of the door. With a smile on her face, the yamabiko stands upright and walks forward to push the doors open slowly to avoid loud noises coming from them, and makes it to the stone patio of the Myouren Temple.

After closing the doors behind her, the yamabiko quickly sat down and put her shoes on her feet, since the chill that had developed on the ground had caused her body to tremble for a couple seconds. With her ensemble now ready, the yamabiko perked her ears up to listen in for the melodic chirp once more and quickly ran down the staircase in front of her without a care towards the sound she makes now since she was long out of the way of her fellow temple residents. She then made her way towards the nearby forest, where the noise lied deep within.

As she ran through the thick of the woods, the yamabiko thought to herself "I really wish Lady Hijiri would approve of what I'm doing…It really saddens me to have to break her trust like this every night."

After a good couple of minutes of running through the forest, the yamabiko makes it to a very open pocket where the grass is strangely orange in contrast to all the green outside this particular area. The trees were very bushy, but made a nice ring above the grass that allowed enough moonlight to shine down and create an alluring atmosphere in the air. At the other side of this area was another female figure who was roughly the same size as the young yamabiko. She wore a punk black dress that extended down to her knees, with a brown leather strap wrapped around the bottom rim of the dress and around the upper parts of her sleeves and neck. The black leather stockings she wore from her knees down to her feet also had similar straps around the kneecaps.

This girl had pink hair that looked rather smooth under the light of the moon and pointed ears like an owl, both of them having a black ring piercing on the lobes. Atop her head was a domed hat with a bat winged accessory attached to the very top of it, and covering her grey eyes halfway was a pair of orange brown rimmed glasses. As this girl stared at the yamabiko she unfurled her light pink bird-like wings, the purple highlights on them shining in the face of the moonlight. She then took a strange red guitar into the grasp of her right hand and strung the cords once with her long, delicate green fingernails. A vibration of pure rhythm fills the atmosphere of the forest, calming the howls and shrieks of all the Youkai almost instantly.

Once the echoes of the guitar have faded, the pink haired girl asks the yamabiko "What took you so long Kyouko?" In a snide yet partially curious tone of voice.

Kyouko Kasodani, in a somewhat shy tone that contrasts with the confident posture the bird-like Youkai showed, nervously chuckles and responds to her with a simple "Y-You know how it is Mystia, I have to sneak out of the temple so Lady Hijiri doesn't catch me."

Mystia Lorelei, after staring at Kyouko for a moment, strums one string on her guitar and says to the yamabiko "I really don't understand why you stay at that temple. You'd feel so much more free if you just cut off all ties to that place. Eventually that stiff of a priest is going to find a way to keep you from seeing me." Mystia's tongue was sharp in regards to her view on Kyouko's lifestyle.

Kyouko said to the night sparrow "Hey now, save for her views on my activities out here at night, Lady Hijiri is a very kind and understanding person. If you went to the Myouren Temple yourself, you'd probably come to like being there."

Kyouko's words ironically fall on deaf ears, as Mystia strums her guitar one more time and turns her head off to the side, scoffing and saying to the yamabiko "Sorry Kyouko, but Buddhism isn't my cup of tea. And as far as that priest goes, if she was really an understanding person, then she'd have no problem with you expressing yourself like this."

Kyouko's ears hang low after hearing Mystia out and her face starts to frown, something the night sparrow notices from the corner of her eyes. Turning towards the yamabiko, Mystia says to her with an apologetic smile as she pokes her glasses into place with her left fingers "I probably did go too far there. We shouldn't start off this night on a really bad note, so can you accept an apology from me so we can finish preparations for our concert tonight?"

Kyouko's ears perk up immediately and she smiles, nodding her head and saying with a happy tone in her voice "Sure thing Mystia!"

Kyouko then turns to the left and notices that beside the night sparrow is a raggedy bag with some clothing inside. As the yamabiko wags her tail excitedly she says to Mystia "Oh good, you brought my clothes along with you!"

Mystia nods, saying to Kyouko just a moment later as she kneels down to pick up the bag with her left hand "I don't mind holding onto these for you, but you should really figure out a safe place at that temple to hide them. I do a lot of road traveling with my food stand between gigs, and there have been a few times when your clothes almost ended up drenched or tossed into a mud puddle."

As Mystia hands the bag off to Kyouko, the yamabiko smiles and says "Maybe I can work something out with Nue to keep the bag hidden, but until then I appreciate you doing this for me."

Mystia tilts her head to the side, keeping her glasses attached to her face in the process as she makes a neutral expression and says to Kyouko "Not a problem. There's actually a funny story I have to tell you about while you get dressed."

Kyouko sets the bag on the ground and pulls out the punk coat that looks a lot like her shirt but with a black coloring to it. As she wraps this over her normal shirt, Mystia strums her guitar once more, making sure the sound is well-adjusted for their gig tonight as she proceeds to tell her tale to her friend "I accidentally put on your dress a few days ago when I was trying to get in the mood for song writing. I didn't even realize what I had done until after I was done practicing."

As Kyouko takes off her shoes and starts to put on some black leather stockings, she looks up at Mystia with a grin on her face and says "You didn't notice the lack of holes in the back for your wings?"

Mystia blushes at the yamabiko's comment in an embarrassed manner and proceeds to say to her "W-Well to be fair, I was really caught up in the mood…And your clothing has the same measurements as mine so…"

"Oh Mystia, you are such a goofball at times." Kyouko says with her eyelids shut as she wraps a leather collar around her neck, tightening it just enough that she'll be able to breath while still feeling the collar against her skin. After making this little comment, Mystia's blush darkens and she promptly spouts out "N-No I'm not, it was an easily made mistake, that's all!"

Kyouko snaps on her rectangular lens shaped sunglasses and cracks a smile as she stands upright with her ensemble complete. With her left arm leaning against her hip, Kyouko says to her friend "I'm just messing with you now Mystia. Have you gotten the lyrics for tonight's song memorized?"

Mystia, removing the flustered expression from her face thanks to her friend's reassurance, nods her head and says to Kyouko "Yep. All that practice was worth it for this song. I have called it 'In a Night When Her Sorrow Resounds Around'. Since we didn't get to meet up too much before our gig tonight, would you be ok with using your powers to reflect my voice across the forest in a bombastic manner while I whisper the lyrics of my song?"

Kyouko nods her head and says to Mystia with a pump of her right fist beside her body "You bet I am!" Her enthusiasm was so natural that it was hard to believe that she could ever be depressed.

"You know Kyouko, you should try writing a song some time. It would be like those sutras you recite, but you would relieve a lot more of your stress." Mystia points out as she makes one final preparation with her guitar so the rhythm will match the lyrics of her song.

Kyouko now blushes in a timid manner, her arms curling up in front of her body as she says to her friend "I-I wouldn't want people judging my songs…I don't think I'd be a very good song writer, especially not compared to some of the stuff you write, Mystia."

Mystia responds with a blunt "Well isn't that the truth?" which somewhat surprises Kyouko before the night sparrow continues on by saying "But I understand what you are getting at. We will work on your confidence another time Kyouko, but for now we don't want to waste this moonlight. You know what to do."

With the night sparrow giving Kyouko a half-grin and a glance from the side of her eyes, the yamabiko perks up with a happy smile on her face and raises her left hand beside her mouth, nodding just a moment before she widens her mouth and proclaims with intense excitement "WHO IS READY TO ROCK WITH CHOUJUU GIGAKU?!"

Kyouko's voice echoes throughout the forest thanks to her powers, but only goes so far as to alert the Youkai within instead of spreading to locations beyond. With the Youkai having gone silent before thanks to the sound of Mystia's guitar, the air is suddenly filled with excited howls and cries that had to be kept within the confines of the forest via the yamabiko's ability. The rumbling noise that joins the tremors in the ground comes from all around, and as both Kyouko and Mystia turn their heads back and forth they watch as Youkai after Youkai of various shapes and sizes emerge from the trees and bushes and gather around in a circle around the two band members.

There was a rather hefty crowd which consisted of rabbits, fairies, a couple tengu, a few wild beasts, and a single nekomata. Some of the members of this crowd tumbled over each other to try and get a good spot to stand, causing a little bit of chaos for the first part of this night concert. Kyouko and Mystia didn't worry too much about this chaos, since this has happened every time since they brought their band together. While they waited for this to sort out, the night sparrow glanced off to the right and looked towards the air, lured in by a familiar pale yellow glow.

Floating in mid-air above the eastern part of the crowd is a blue-eyed, teal hair Youkai with bug-like antenna atop their head. The bug Youkai wears a white shirt with stylized sleeves and a black cape with red trimming that is shaped to resemble insect wings. This ensemble is completed with a pair of baggy blue knee-length shorts. With a quick thumbs up of acknowledgement from this bug Youkai named Wriggle Nightbug, Mystia smiles confidently and proceeds to turn back to face Kyouko as the crowd's chaotic cries begin to die down.

With an enthusiastic pump of her left fist as she swings her body in that direction and cups her right hand around the side of her mouth, Kyouko readies her powers to receive Mystia's lyrics as the night sparrow prepares her guitar to go along with the song itself. After five more seconds of silence, the first strums go on through the forest as Mystia sings just loud enough for Kyouko to reflect the noise inconspicuously amongst the ears of the crowd in a bombastic manner. The very moment that the song starts echoing across the forest the crowd erupts into merry cheers and overjoyed roars that didn't drown out the song in the slightest.

Kyouko and Mystia don't stand still as they work in unison to play the night sparrow's song. They move their bodies around, with Mystia strumming the guitar violently at certain points as she raises the end of the instrument into the air and Kyouko thrusts the upper part of her body forward at the crescendo of a chorus. Choujuu Gigaku was satisfying its target audience to the extreme, and it was clear as day that the two of them were enjoying themselves.

But as the song reached a midway point, a loud voice bursts through the commotion to disrupt everyone's fun "CHOUJUU GIGAKU ARE HACKS!"

Suddenly, everyone goes silent, including both Mystia and Kyouko, who raise their bodies upright and look towards the direction of the voices after the night sparrow lowers her guitar. Floating in midair are three figures, each of them having a different instrument floating besides their bodies with white wisps surrounding them. The one who made the declaration was the middle one wearing red clothing, which included a band uniform with pink and brown trim and a hat with a green shooting star decoration on top. A winged keyboard with the initials "L.P." written on the side floats beside her body as she glared down at the members of Choujuu Gigaku with her brown eyes as her short light brown hair blows thanks to the cold night breeze that just came through the forest.

On the left side of this figure was a slightly taller figure wearing a black band uniform with a white and red trim, her hat having a red crescent moon decoration as a violin floats nearby. This girl looks down at the band with her neutral golden eyes as her short blond hair sways in the breeze, and she looked like she didn't have anything to say at the moment. The third figure off to the right of the first wore a pink band uniform with blue and black trim, her hat having a blue sun decoration at the peak as a trumpet floats beside her body. This girl had a bit of a smile on her face, but in general looked rather aloof as she quickly glanced away from Choujuu Gigaku with her blue eyes and looked towards the moon as her wavy light-blue hair blows in the breeze.

As the crowd goes silent, the three figures float towards Choujuu Gigaku, descending closer to them as they tilt their heads curiously. However, Mystia looks at the girl in the center for a moment and recognizes her instantly, saying to her with her left pointer finger aimed at the air "Hey! You're that one musician from the Flower Incident years ago!"

The middle girl slyly smirks at Mystia, saying to her in a smart-aleck tone of voice "I'm glad you remember me, Fraudia Fraudlei!"

Ignoring the childish insult that was tossed her friend's way, Kyouko tilts her head in the opposite direction and says "Ummm…Who are you guys?"

The middle girl, directing her smile towards the yamabiko as she commands the keyboard to the front of her body, says in response to her question as the other two figures prepare their instruments in front of their bodies "We are the Prismriver Sisters! The one and only Phantom Ensemble in all of Gensokyo! I am Lyrica!" Lyrica swings her hand along the keys of her instrument to create a medley of notes.

"I am Merlin!" The trumpeter says cheerfully as she blows a quick note into her instrument.

"…And I am Lunasa." The violinist says quietly as she glances off to the side while gliding her bow across the strings of her instrument to create a peaceful sounding tune.

"Oh!" Kyouko perks her ears up, the name Prismriver resonating with her memories as she points at them with an upside-down pointer finger and says to the three phantoms "I've heard about you guys. You sometimes play at parties and other events, right?"

Lyrica nods her head and says to the yamabiko with a sly smile "Yeah, you got that right."

"…So umm…Why did you come and interrupt our gig?" Kyouko says as she scratches the side of her head with her left hand.

Lyrica responds to Kyouko's inquiry with a blunt "Like I said, we are calling out Choujuu Gigaku for being frauds of the highest degree! You know nothing about music, and bring shame to the art with your actions!"

As Lyrica brandishes a finger at the two members of Choujuu Gigaku, the crowd that has gathered in this pocket of the forest lets out a drawn out "Ooooooo" of intrigue at what the youngest of the Prismriver Sisters was suggesting.

"And what gives you the right to say that to us?!" Kyouko blurts out without much thought, which causes Mystia's eyes to widen at the naivety of her friend as she slaps her left palm against the front of her face and whispers out in a mumbled groan "You really just said that to them…"

Kyouko glances back at the night sparrow and then looks up at the Prismriver Sisters. Lyrica's right eyelid is twitching in agony as she stutters, exclaiming to the yamabiko just moments later "How dare you assume that we masters of such a fine art as music know nothing of what we say! You leave us with no choice frauds!"

Lyrica, waving to her sisters with both hands, proceeds to hold her right hand out and with a glint of magical light she summons forth a glowing card that she clasps between two fingers. Her sisters do the same as Lyrica declares "We will settle this with a spell card duel!"

Instinctively, Kyouko and Mystia pull out one of their own spell cards, though the yamabiko is a bit more reluctant to get into a Danmaku battle with the Prismriver Sisters despite the enticing roar of the crowd to "Fight! Fight! Fight!" The primal instincts to the Youkai were taking hold as the two bands stared each other down ready to engage in a duel.

But before everything got too out of control, the clap of two sticks getting beaten together echoed into the forest three times, some sound waves vibrating across the air to create a calming sensation to quells the roars of the Youkai and actually makes the two bands take pause away from their intense stare down. They look off to the left where the sound is coming from and are surprised by the sudden presence by a mysterious group of people.

The crowd parts on both sides as the person holding two drum sticks starts to step forward, their hands held in the air as they have their eyelids closed and walk in a rather serene manner. It was a young lady of rather average height and build who wore white overcoat with long sleeves and a purple tie over a black shirt with red cross-hatching that is tucked gently into a short white skirt. The person wears surprisingly strange looking black-purple shoes with red lacing and drum mallets attached to the heels. Floating behind this person is a human-sized red magical drum decorated with white flower patterns, while hovering around this person like a set of meteors circling a planetoid are the crimson floor toms of the drum. With her short, wavy red hair being brushed aside by a single breeze this laid-back lady opens her eyelids and glances forward with her red eyes and smiles as she lowers her drumsticks, twirling them around masterfully twice over before letting them float beside her body as she sticks her right hand into the pocket of her overcoat.

Standing behind this mysterious yet suave lady were two other girls who appeared to be younger than the drummer. The one off to the left of the drummer wears a brown and black dress with long white sleeves and a pink silk weave extension at the bottom. She has neither shoes nor pants on her body, but has what appears be an ivory flower accessory attached to the right side of her short lilac hair. She has two long ponytails attached to her back of her hair, and in her hands she gently strums a fancy wooden biwa whose strings have taken on the form of magical based red strands, with the very notes she calmly plays appearing with a yellow-orange hue as they ascend towards the very top of the strings.

The girl off to the right of the drummer wears a white long-sleeve shirt with an ivory center and similar colored cuffs, both of them having zig-zag lines of black that cover the entire area. She wears a black skirt that extends to just above her kneecaps, and just like the other girl she is barefoot. Floating in front of her skirts is a set of seven red strings that are similar in design to the ones attached to the other girl's biwa. These strings are gently tugged at with this girl's fingers, and the notes that emerge have a light-brown hue to them. Wrapped around the girl's roundly cut brown hair is a dark-pink band with the same zig-zag pattern that her sleeves have.

Once all three mysterious girls have stopped in place, the Prismriver Sisters and Choujuu Gigaku can only tilt their heads in confusion at them, and in unison they ask "Who are you guys?"

The red-haired drummer, after letting out a well-tuned hum, glances at the two bands from left to right, and proceeds to graciously bow at them while folding her left arm in front of her chest and saying in a pleasantly laid-back tone "My name is Raiko Horikawa, the Relaxed Drummer of the Rhythmic Night. And these two graceful ladies behind me are my associates/friends, the Biwa Player of a Serene Paradise Benben Tsukumo and the Koto User With a Rambunctious Demeanor Yatsuhashi Tsukumo."

Both members of Choujuu Gigaku and the Prismriver Sisters tilt their heads in bewilderment and once again say in unison after taking a few seconds of pause "…Who are you guys?"

Raiko is surprised that the two Youkai and three poltergeists didn't recognize either her or her friends by name. After standing upright the drummer lays her left pointer finger against the side of her face and does a steady tap three times over before she draws her hand in front of her body and snaps her fingers, saying to the two bands in a gracious tone of voice "Pray tell, have your ears perhaps caught word of an incident that occurred but a mere month ago?"

Kyouko was the first to respond as she exclaims excitedly towards Raiko and her comrades "Oh yeah! The incident with that inchling who used a mallet and caused an uprising of weaker Youkai! I think Mystia and I were two of the Youkai affected by the mallet, so we don't really remember much about what happened. Did you three partake in that incident?"

Raiko draws her right arm outside of her sleeve and extends it beside her body along with her left arm, graciously stating in response to the yamabiko's inquiry "We didn't so much as partake in the incident rather that we were BORN from the incident."

"What do you mean you were 'born from the incident'?" Mystia asks in a snide tone of voice.

"It may not be obvious from a first glance, and I wouldn't blame you for not knowing it, but we are-" As Raiko is about to explain herself to Mystia Kyouko suddenly interrupts and says "Oh! You three are tsukumogami!"

Raiko blinks twice in surprise at the yamabiko, saying with a smile on her laid-back expression "I see you are quite knowledgeable about our kind."

"We have a tsukumogami at our temple. She was born from an umbrella!" Kyouko says merrily.

Raiko taps the side of her face once more, this time in intrigue as she murmurs loudly enough for the others to hear "Hmm, yet another tsukumogami lives in Gensokyo. That makes two besides the three of us…I will have to meet this umbrella tsukumogami some other time."

Lyrica, who was perfectly content with letting Raiko say her peace for the time being, realized how off-track everything was getting and she quickly turned towards Choujuu Gigaku and said to them "Forget this drummer and her ridiculous getup! We have a spell card duel to get underway!"

"Why?" Lyrica's declaration of battle was countered by the calmly asked inquiry of Raiko, who folded her right hand into his overcoat once more and glanced up at the Prismrivers from the corner of her eyes.

Lyrica glances down at the drummer and says "What do you mean 'why'?"

"Why do you need to engage Choujuu Gigaku in a spell card duel? What purpose does this serve?" Raiko asks two piercing questions one after the other in a very calm tone of voice, which only serves to infuriate the easily angered Lyrica and lessen her opinion of the drummer.

"These two hacks have sullied the good name of music with their ear grating songs!" Lyrica angrily proclaims.

"And how exactly is a spell card duel going to solve this problem?" Raiko asks in a delightfully pleasant tone of voice.

Lyrica's right eyebrow starts twitching as she looks at Raiko in disbelief, and with a light stutter she says "D-Do you not know where you are? This is Gensokyo, everyone is resolved with a spell card duel!"

"But does it necessarily HAVE to be resolved with danmaku? Its not a concrete law, you are allowed to use other means to resolve your problems. In this, it probably would be for the best if you didn't resort to danmaku, since that won't really solve the present issues." Raiko says.

Lyrica flat out stares at Raiko with both eyes twitching in disbelief, but before she says anything she slap her left hand against her face and rubs it downward against her skin before groaning and saying "Ok…Lets go along with your suggestion…If we shouldn't use danmaku to solve this problem, then what shall we do?"

Raiko snaps her left fingers beside her body a few times, saying between each beat "Words are the way to go. But before we use them, there is something I want to see for myself…As such, I propose a brief battle of the bands between our three groups!"

"A battle of musical talent?" Lyrica's angered gaze is switched to one of intrigue, followed by her face gaining a particularly sly smile as she turns towards her sisters in a determined fashion and says to them "Does that sound good to you, sisters?"

Merlin and Lunasa nod their heads, with Merlin showing more enthusiasm while Lunasa is rather indifferent to the whole affair that she ended up being dragged into. Lyrica then takes her keyboard in front of her body while she looks back at Raiko, giving a single coy glance at Choujuu Gigaku in the interim of these two actions before she proclaims to the drummer as her two sisters prepare their instruments "We accept these terms!"

Raiko glances over at Choujuu Gigaku and waits for them to make a reply. Kyouko had a somewhat nervous look in her eye, but Mystia brashly exclaims "We accept the terms as well!"

The night sparrow then nudges Kyouko in the back with her left elbow, causing the yamabiko to look at Raiko and nod her head in agreement of what her friend said. The drummer tsukumogami notices Kyouko's earlier hesitation and raises an eyebrow, but does so as she grabs her sticks out of the air and twirls them around spectacularly. As this action is performed the drum behind her body flies overhead and lands in front of her, and Raiko leaps atop the drum and bangs the front of it gently with the mallet on the back of her right heel as she crosses her legs. Benben and Yatsuhashi fly up into the air beside Raiko and ready their fingers along the strings of their instruments.

Nodding her head at both Tsukumo sisters, Raiko then swings her drumsticks around one more time before gently beating them atop the floor toms that surround her body while simultaneously using the mallets on her heels to beat away at the drum below her. After a few seconds of steady, wonderful sounding beats as the crowd of Youkais break into excited cheering, Benben proceeds to strum along the length of her biwa while Yatsuhashi plugs away at her koto with the ends of her fingers.

The music that is created from the three tsukumogamis is not only very relaxing, but it was something the likes of which the other two bands had never heard before in their lives. It was actually rather intimidating to see Raiko and her two companions play that music so confidently despite how little time they likely had to practice this song. What's worse is that the crowd of Youkai appeared to be enjoying this song far more than anything Choujuu Gigaku had ever produced for them, as the crowd swayed their heads back and forth and hummed to the beat of Raiko's drums.

The three tsukumogamis played for a good five minutes before they stopped, their notes filling the moonlit sky above as their hair shone brightly. As Raiko drew away her drumsticks Benben and Yatsuhashi pulled away their fingers, allowing the drummer to leap off of her instrument and land on the ground in front of the other two bands, and as the music dies down completely she politely asks "Who wants to go next?"

The Prismriver Sisters, despite being intimidated by Raiko's performance, bravely step up in the face of Choujuu Gigaku's reluctance with a proud "We will!"

Raiko shrugs her shoulders and says to the eager Prism rivers "Go right ahead. Show me what type of music you are capable of performing."

With Lyrica at the keyboard, Merlin on the trumpet and Lunasa on the violin, the three sisters began to work their instruments at the same time, playing a melody that has been carried with them for their entire lives, the one song they would always know how to play no matter how far along the ebb and flow of time goes. It started off rather slow and somber, as though the song was meant to recall an old tragedy, but then a more uplifting set of notes start to get played. Raiko twitches in surprise, a chill being sent through a spine at the magnificent transition between moods.

Then the strength of the Prismriver's perseverance past that tragedy is shown as the song is played with a more powerful set of notes that consists of the main chorus, which lasts a good two minutes before the crescendo slowly reverts back to a melancholy tune. Raiko closes her eyelids and hums along with these final notes, smiling all the while as a single teardrop trickles out of her right eye. Then the Prismriver's song comes to an end, and with the group of Youkai going dead silent it was painfully obvious that they shared a tiny bit of empathy with the song.

Raiko extends her hands in front of her body and claps, congratulating the three sisters on the song with a very respectful "Bravo, bravo! That was a splendid song!"

Lyrica, who has quickly had her opinion on the drummer flipped around, says to her "Thank you very much…" before turning towards the two members of Choujuu Gigaku and saying with a snide smile "You're next."

Mystia confidently raises the end of her guitar towards the air and looks towards Kyouko, saying to her "Come on Kyouko, lets show these old-timer poltergeists what we are made of!"

Lyrica, Merlin and surprisingly Lunasa take offense to Mystia's remark about their ages and glare at her in anger, all the while the night sparrow notices from the back that Kyouko is trembling uncontrollably, something that causes concern to cross her face as she tilts her head and asks "Kyouko, are you alright?"

The yamabiko had her fists clenched tightly as she held her head forward and her eyes widened nervously. With her teeth grit together and her body refusing to move outside of this position, it looked like Kyouko was on the verge of a panic attack. Raiko takes note of this and thinks to herself "Perhaps I let this go too far beyond my intentions…"

Lyrica boasts without a care towards Kyouko's condition, saying in a snide tone of voice as Mystia walks beside her friend "Well, I guess Choujuu Gigaku can't participate in this battle of the bands. So who is the winner?"

The inquiry was directed at Raiko, who turns towards Lyrica and with eyelids shut she calmly says to her while spinning both of her drumsticks around "I can sense all too well the meaning behind your song. That song is very special to the three of you, it defines who you are and what your purpose in life shall always be…But you don't play that song because you have no other options, you do it to preserve the memory of one you lost so very long ago. To you three, you believe music should be played for a meaningful reason, and thus you came into conflict with Choujuu Gigaku because you believe that they are just making noise. You feel disrespected by their music, and that caused you to toss away all reasoning before you even heard just why they play their music."

Raiko's long spoken analysis took the three Prismrivers entirely off-guard, but as they were struck by disbelief and their mouths fell agape the drummer continued on by saying "Your reasons for playing music are noble, and reflect the kindness that you shared in your souls for that departed person…But perhaps your kindness could also be shown to Choujuu Gigaku by letting them play their music in peace. I won't force this upon you, so its up to you to decide whether to take my advice into consideration or not. Before you decide though, I need to take care of something."

With Raiko's calmly spoken speech leaving the Prismriver Sisters speechless, the drummer flips her drumsticks around one more time and lets go of them to let them float beside her body as she turns and looks Kyouko, who was still trembling with Mystia standing behind her with her guitar lowered and her right hand resting atop the back of the yamabiko. Raiko kneels down and looks up at Kyouko's face while rubbing her chin with her right hand and saying quietly "Ah…I see what my actions have done…"

"Huh?" Mystia says in bewilderment.

"Is Kyouko a timid person?" Raiko asks as she glances up at the night sparrow.

"She kind of is, why?" Mystia reluctantly admits.

Raiko nods her head twice and looks back at Kyouko, giving her a laid-back smile as she says "An inferiority complex usually comes with a timid person…And it is my fault that she has been left in this state. I'm sorry if you feel as though my music was intimidating, Kyouko…But that was never my intention. I have the ability to manipulate rhythms, but in the time that I've been alive in this new body I have had a difficult time getting it under control. Our music ends up sounding better than it actually is to everyone who hears it besides us. Truth be told, we aren't really that good."

Kyouko's trembling starts to decline somewhat, and she pokes her head up slightly to take a better look at Raiko. The drummer cracks a gorgeous smile and says to the yamabiko "Deep down, I'm actually somewhat jealous of what you two Youkai have managed to accomplish. I heard your music from afar, and that was what drew us to come here…It fascinated me to see you two express your freedom through the rhythm your souls sung out into the night."

Kyouko looks straight at Raiko and says to her in an embarrassed stutter "B-But I wasn't actually singing that song…"

Raiko says in a reassuring voice towards the yamabiko "True as that may be, you still utilized your ability to allow the emotions ingrained in the song to be heard by all who have gathered here. Your ability is part of your soul, it defines your individuality, and with the help of your friend you can create beautiful melodies for all to hear."

Raiko then stands up quickly and looks towards the sky, pointing her right drumstick towards the glowing moon as she calmly says "So point your head towards the sky, and believe in yourself to accomplish great things. Someday, with a great deal of confidence behind you, your music will be able to reach the very moon itself."

Raiko looks down at Kyouko, whose head is tilted towards the sky alongside Mystia, and says in a hopeful tone of voice "And I personally look forward to the day when that happens."

Raiko twirls her drumstick around twice and lets go of it so it can float beside her body once more. After pocketing her hands she turns around and starts to walk off, much to Choujuu Gigaku's surprise. Kyouko reaches out towards the tsukumogami and says to her "Hey wait!"

Raiko glances over her right shoulder and doesn't say a word, and the yamabiko confidently says to her "Thank you for your help! Will we ever see you again?"

Raiko grins brightly, and after looking forward she says as she walks on ahead "For those of us whose desire for freedom supersedes all other, the odds of repeated meetings are greater than none. We shall meet again…"

Raiko leaps atop her drum and looks towards Benben and Yatsuhashi, who were quietly playing their instruments while their mentor did their thing. With a nod of the drummer's head, the three tsukumogami take off towards the night sky. As they fly away from the other two bands, Benben looks at Raiko and says in a serene voice towards her "Raiko…You made up that detail about your rhythm powers, didn't you?"

Raiko creates a sly grin and glances at Benben, saying to her in an honest tone of voice "Perhaps I did fib a little. But I did sense the potential for greatness within Choujuu Gigaku and felt incredibly guilty for accidentally affecting the young Kyouko, so I just whipped up a quick lie to snap her out of her timidness so she can hear the truly honest words I had to say to her and her friends. Still though, what she said about there being a tsukumogami at her temple has intrigued me…Perhaps unlike the menreiki, we will be successful in recruiting this umbrella for our cause…" As the thoughts of the carefree Raiko drift within her head, the three tsukumogami continue to fly through the eternal night, with the Tsukumo sisters practicing their music all the way.

Back in the circle pocket in the forest, most of the Youkai have started to depart, seeing as they got their fill of music for the night. The only ones who remain after a fair deal of time are the Prismriver Sisters and the two members of Choujuu Gigaku. Mystia is in the midst of talking to Kyouko about how cool Raiko looked, both figures unaware of the fact that Lyrica was approaching them from behind.

Lyrica glanced at the ground nervously as her sisters float down behind her, and with a nervous cough to grab Choujuu Gigaku's attention she says to them "U-Ummm…We're sorry for the trouble we caused tonight."

Lunasa, for the first time tonight, says with a raise of her eyebrows "WE?"

Lyrica ignores the words of her sister and tries to look straight at Kyouko and Mystia as they turn around to look at them. "Hey, it was just a major misunderstanding. We don't have any reason to stay mad at you both." Mystia says, showing easy forgiveness towards the Lyrica.

Kyouko cheerfully exclaims towards the Prismriver Sisters as she peers through her sunglasses at them "You guys are great musicians though! Why don't you play more often around Gensokyo? You'd be a major hit!"

Lyrica looks at Kyouko and says to her while remaining a little nervous "We prefer to just perform at parties and festivals."

"Are you sure you don't want to join us for one of our gigs another time? We could play one after the other." Kyouko suggests.

Lyrica flinches at what Kyouko says, and after a momentary pause she looks at both of her sisters and asks them "I don't know guys, does that sound like a good idea to you?"

Lunasa replies with a simple "I'll do whatever you want to do" while Merlin cheerfully exclaims "It could be a learning experience for all three of us!"

With the opinions of her sisters known, Lyrica turns towards Choujuu Gigaku and says them with a confident grin on her face "Alright, you have yourself a deal!"

Mystia, Kyouko and the Prismriver Sisters all smile at this peaceful resolution, their heads turning to face each other until the yamabiko can't contain her excitement and happily exclaims with the help of her echoing voice "OH YOU GUYS!"

With birds flying out of the trees thanks to the sudden burst of volume from the little yamabiko, Kyouko swiftly wraps her left arm around Mystia's neck and drags her forward so she reach the Prismriver Sisters and force all of them into a group hug with the assistance of her right arm. Though this resolution was very cheesy as the Prismrivers were bundled together and pressed against Kyouko's body alongside Mystia, all of them eventually cracked genuine smiles and burst into happy laughter that carried through the night as a new bond had developed between them all…

"The end…

…Hmm? Are you still awake over there? You are? Color me surprised, I would have expected the human's ability to tolerate such a lengthy tell to be subpar, but you endured and made it to the very end. Tee-hee…That is definitely a good sign of things to come not just for you, but for the people whose stories I have yet to tell. But for now, I shall leave you with the mystery of just who I will speak about next. I have a plethora of tales to tell, all ranging from different time periods in multiple histories of Gensokyo, but for now I am afraid I must rest up. Until we meet again, humans who exist beyond the electronic veil…"

Story 1 - Finish

Author's Note:

After about a month since the end of Scarlet Masquerade I have written another Touhou story. Let me say that it feels good to be back on this particular subject. However, while it was nice writing this story, my priorities are currently focused on my main fic Clash of the Elements. I will mostly be uploading these one-shots in my spare time or when an idea pops to mind.

As for which story shall be next? Well you heard Yukari, you'll just have to wait and see~