Disclaimer: Touhou belongs to Zun, and the only things that belong to myself would be Usagi the mimic, and Moegi the japanese beetle. Everything else belongs to their rightful owner. Friday the Thirteenth is owned by Paramount Pictures.

Y/N: ...Are you serious...?

A/N: Of course!

Y/N: You're seriously letting an immortal mass murderer loose in my lands.

A/N: Didn't you get the memo?

Y/N: ...

A/N: What?

Y/N: You're an imbecile, you know that...?

A/N: Hey, it seemed like a good idea at the time!

Y/N: You didn't even put any thought into it, did you!

A/N: W-well, uhh...

Y/N: I shall take that as a 'no.'

A/N: Sorry...

Y/N: That's better.

A/N: But what can I say? The idea just felt right.

Y/N: And how, pray tell, do you intend to get him from his little lake-side summer camp to here?

A/N: W-well, uhh...

Y/N: Well?

A/N: Alright, I need your help for that, okay?

Y/N: ...On one condition.

A/N: Name it.

Y/N: I am in need of a new bottle of lunar sake.

A/N: You don't honestly think...

Y/N: Do you wish to get this story on with, or don't you?

A/N: ...Fine, I'll get you some.

Y/N: And make it a good date.

A/N: Yes, yes, I will.

Y/N: Good. Don't go back on your deal, or else I'm going to gap you to him. I dislike those who go back on their word.

A/N: Yes, yes, I know! Jeez... So, when are you going to do it?

Y/N: Ufufu... It has already been done.

A/N: ...I never said where to send him...

Y/N: No, you did not.

A/N: Dammit, Yukari...

Y/N: It shall be an interesting enough match, that is for sure.

A/N: I'll trust you on that... Let's get on with this show! Happy Halloween, everyone! I hope you all have a great night, and for those who celebrate All Hallows Day, I wish you all a happy one tomorrow! Let's see how long I can make this little story!


Ch-ch-ch Kh-kh-kh

I slowly strolled through the Bamboo Forest of the Lost, my ankle-length pale violet hair blowing lazily in the breeze. Contrary to the name, I wasn't lost; I knew exactly where I was going. I wore my usual assortment of charms tied in my hair, while I was garbed in a light brown shirt; it had the tell tale signs of being kept too near a fire for some time, as well as sporting numerous patches and bore signs of countless bits of repair. However, even the new cloth seemed to have the signs of being near fire for too long, meaning that I must regularly expose my clothes to fire. Below that was a pair of poofy, deep red overalls which were decorated by a fair number of paper charms meant to ward off fire damage, much like the ones in my hair. Unlike my shirt, it bore no burns of any kind, thanks to the charms, but still bore the stitched up holes and patches of matching cloth here and there. On my feet, I wore a pair of simple black shoes with a pair of charms used as laces to secure them to my feet. Like my overalls, the shoes were in relatively fine condition, but were worn from use. My red eyes burned with a determination that few mortals might possess. Of course, that's because I wasn't mortal. I was, in fact, immortal, and wouldn't stay dead no matter how I was killed.

As I walked along, I heard the strangest echoing sound here and there, but chose simply to ignore it. Not like there was much in this forest that could hurt me for long. I'd just regenerate the damage from pretty much any attack. You could reduce me to bones and I'd regenerate. You could grind those bones to dust, and still, I would regenerate.

Still, I wasn't fearless. I could still be made to fear something adequately terrifying; I had simply been numbed a bit to standard scary things. In fact, I stopped when I saw something that made my heart skip a beat. A body. And judging by the fact that it hadn't been picked clean, it was a fresh one. You see, while they weren't as common as in the Great Youkai Forest, there were still man-eaters that roamed this forest. Judging by the fact that the body was wearing a simple kimono, I had decided that it couldn't be a youkai, and judging by the lacerations across his body, it meant that a blade had done the work. The wounds were pretty deep; through the bone, even. If a youkai had done this, why was the body still here? Why wasn't it reduced to bones? The youkai who might use a blade in their killing were limited, and the youkai with blade-like claws were also rather limited. There's Rumia, the youkai whom dwells in the darkness of many places. She has that sword of hers, but that thing was so heavy that it would simply cut you in two. Not to mention that she wouldn't leave the body behind; she would eat the thing, and likely gnaw the bones down to nothing. Then there was Mystia, the night sparrow. But for her to kill them, it wouldn't be unprovoked. Besides, she hasn't eaten anyone in some time. ...Then again, that only supports her doing it, as she would probably not eat the body. Still, though, it doesn't seem like her to kill a potential customer. Bad for business, and such.

Kneeling down, I flipped over the body, and found that one of the legs wasn't even attached. Supports the theory a little that Rumia did it, but still doesn't make any sense as to why she would leave any evidence. She knows better than to leave any trace of a kill behind. Breaking the silence that had settled in for the last while, I asked the body, "Who killed you?"

Finding nothing that told me anything, I asked once more, this time more insistently, as if that would help in some way, "Why did they kill you?"

Shaking my head, I decided it would be best if I took the body with me before Rumia got to it, or some feral youkai, for that matter. With that said, I hoisted the body onto my back, my hair acting as a buffer between him and I. Of course, that didn't prevent fresh blood from leaking from his wounds all over my hair. I'm probably gonna have to cut my hair after this. Not like it won't just grow right back after a bit, and it's easier than washing blood out of hair, not to mention living with the stench of blood. A vampire, I ain't.

As I trekked through the calm of night, navigating the winding, twisting passages of bamboo like it was nothing, I could have sworn I heard the strangest echo from behind me.

Ch-ch-ch Kh-kh-kh

Getting a bit frightened by the fact that I felt I was being watched while I knew full well that there was likely a murderer still about, I quickened my pace.

Ch-ch-ch Kh-kh-kh

Spinning around on my heel, I began to back away from the source of the sound, which was quite hard to place due to the echo.

And then I bumped into something solid after a bit of back peddling, causing my heart to skip a beat. I knew there wasn't bamboo behind me; I knew this forest like the back of my hand. I swallowed hard, and spun around to face whatever it may be.

Raising a brow at me, the aforementioned night sparrow, Mystia Lorelei, asked, "You alright, Mokou? You look a bit spooked." She wore her work clothes, which were rather simple. A brown yukata with the sleeves rolled up, a blue apron tied about her waist with a single drop of blood on it, and a kerchief tied in place atop her head. Beneath that kerchief was some messy short pink hair, and a pair of feathered ears. On the ends of her fingers, claws as long as the fingers themselves, painted a pale purple. On her back, the strangest pair of purple and white wings you'd ever see, what with the odd curve in the bone in the middle of it, which formed almost a crescent moon of sorts. Honestly, I think she looks fine in her usual clothes, but I guess she doesn't want to get them dirty while working.

At seeing her, I let out a sigh of relief; a breath which I had been holding since I had bumped into the solidly built youkai, with muscles that simply don't give. "Ohh. Just you, huh...?"

Frowning, the sparrow asked, " 'Just you'? You sound thrilled to see me~"

I chuckled, starting to calm down a bit, and replied, "Didn't mean it like that, Mysti. You know that."

Giving me a wry smile, the sparrow asked, "Do I?"

Frowing, I bluntly replied, "Yeah, you do. I know you do. You know you do. Drop it."

Sighing grandly, the sparrow asked, "So, what's with the... cargo? Smells lovely..."

Looking over my shoulder at the dead guy on my back, I answered, "Found him lyin' in the middle of the path, covered in a ton of deep gashes, and his leg chopped clean off."

Thinking a moment, the youkai said without any doubt in her voice, "You think I did it."

Looking back to the bird, I asked, "Did you?"

Shaking her head, she answered in all seriousness, "No, I'd rather not tempt myself with such a fine stench. If I can help it, I don't kill humans." Mystia once had been a well known terror of the night; she would sing her siren song to lead humans astray, confused by their sudden blindness that her voice could invoke, and eat them without a struggle. She had supposedly been clean for years now, but old habits die hard, or so they say.

Nodding to myself, I said, "Then I'll be on my way." With that said, I began to walk off, leaving Mystia behind to do as she pleased. I had to wonder what she was even doing out this far into the forest; normally she would set up her lamprey stand on the outskirts, or at least around there. Not that it was any of my business, but I still have to wonder about it. Just what was she out so far for?

As I went down the dirt path that was one of the few clear place in the bamboo thicket, I was broken from when I heard a scream that pierced my eardrums like a needle, and caused my vision to darken to black momentatily. Not only that, but it made my heart sink, and I spun around to look at the direction I had heard it from with concern. Dropping the body, I began to run back to where I had left Mystia, fire coming to my hands as I ran. I knew who had to have made that scream; the darkening of my vision was the biggest tipoff. Only Mystia's voice can do such a thing. I ran all-out along the dirt path, and before long I arrived at Mystia.

Mystia looked bad, to say the least; she was missing an arm, and looked as if she had been running. Panting heavily, the bird said through gritted teeth, "Found... the killer..."

I was at her side in a heartbeat, extinguished the flames in my hands, and pulled a strip of cloth from my shirt so as to bandage the poor girl's stump. It'd grow back - youkai have unnatural regeneration that comes natural to them - but it would take time. Time she didn't have; she'd bleed out by the time the wound finishes healing enough to stop the bleeding. Not a very good fate, even if she probably would have still healed up. Youkai are a hardy bunch. Annoyingly so, if you're trying to kill them. Not as hardy as myself, who simply regenerates from literally anything, but still.

Finishing up with the bandaging, I asked, "What happened?"

Looking about worriedly, the sparrow stammered, "I-I... He came out of nowhere...!"

Placing my hands on her shoulders, I shook her once. "Calm down."

Taking a few deep breaths, the member of the avian family stammered, "He wore... a strange mask. Had a... a strange bladed weapon. Was... like a sword, but... but it was shorter, fatter, and looked old. Everything about him looked worn, and damaged. As if he had not once changed clothes for years... I... I asked who he was. He just... just stared at me. Then he began to slowly walk towards me. Then I noticed he was armed... He smelled human, yet... something was off about... it..."

Very quickly the bird I held by the shoulders began to shake, obviously frightened by something. Something behind me. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I turned around to face whatever, or whomever, was behind me. As I had let go of Mystia to do this, she chose this moment to fly off in a flurry of feathers.

Ch-ch-ch Kh-kh-kh

There, before me, was a man in a strange mask unlike any I had ever seen. Just as Mystia had said, he wore tattered clothes; western clothes, to be exact, which looked like those you would expect from an outsider. There were small holes in them stained in blood here and there, which had to have been made by tiny danmaku or something. Of course, the strangest thing was that he was aimed 50 degrees to the left of me. Perhaps he was still blind from Mystia?

He started to walk towards the side of the path at an angle, before bumping into the thicket, and tripping over some of it. Somehow, he ended up flipping through the air and crashing into the ground and I saw his neck bend at an unnatural angle as he landed on his head. I had started to relax, thinking him to have killed himself, but then I watched as he pulled himself from the ground, pop his neck back into place, and grab his blade.

Scowling, I said, "So you're made of tough stuff too, huh?" Being confronted by the very thing that had made me afraid minutes ago was enough to make me steel myself for what was likely to turn bloody. Knowing that this was what I was afraid of, and that I was now fully aware of its whereabouts, left me feeling quite brave, actually. I could no longer fear the unknown, jumping at every shadow a bit, for it had now become the known, and was standing right in front of me.

I swallowed as he looked to me whilst he rose from the earth. He didn't bother to dust himself off. Was it because he didn't care? Perhaps he just saw no point; he was wearing what wasn't much better than rags after all, so damaged were his clothes.

After he had picked himself off the ground, he began to trudge towards me, raising his weapon to strike. Not seeing much point in dodging, I tried instead to catch his swing by the wrist, but was quite surprised by just how much strength he possessed; he was no oni, but he had enough strength to put even some of the wimpier youkai to shame. Of course, I was no youkai, and had the strength of a human. As such, he broke through my guard, and the blade cleaved through my clavicle, spraying blood all over the place, as he had aimed at an angle, hitting where my neck and shoulder meet, going all the way until he hit my heart. Nothing too major for me, really; I could function without the bloody thing. I say bloody because it was currently pumping blood all over the place every time it beat. It hadn't even stopped beating. I cried out in pain from the blow when it had connected, but I had grown quite used to pain over the years, with what Kaguya and I do to eachother. I cried out again when he wrenched the blade free with little effort.

He stared in my general direction, probably waiting for me to fall down, so instead I commented, "That the best you got...?"

Strangely, he didn't even flinch. Instead, he rose his weapon again, and this time cleaved sideways at my neck, but this time I dodged it, instead finding myself scalped. With a grunt of pain, my hands ignited in preparation for what I was about to do to him. He didn't even react. Probably can't see a thing, so it makes sense that he wouldn't. Of course, he did react a bit when I drove my hand into his chest. He didn't scream, surprisingly, just silently patted at it. Not like it would make a difference; my flames don't go out so easily. Of course, his clothes began to ignite as well, followed by him.

He began to run about in a panic, the flames consuming him. Contrary to popular belief, you don't feel fire for long. After it burns away the nerves or whatever there's simply nothing left to feel it with. He probably feels mighty cold by this point, really.

With the deed done, I began to walk off to go tend to the fallen. Well, that is if the corpse was still there; you never can leave a corpse lying around for long around these parts, lest you end up with something either snacking on it or carting it away.

And, sure enough, there was nothing but bones when I returned to the corpse. Seems that little blob of darkness had her fun with it...


As Kokoro walked down the road to the clinic, which was contained within Eientei, the house of eternity, she hummed to herself, her expression blank. Eientei was known for housing many, many rabbits who just loved to sing while they pound mochi. So many, in fact, that they can be heard all the way over in the human village. Of course, they aren't terrible singers, which made her wear her young woman mask to express my joy at them not being terrible at the time, even if they are a tad noisy.

As she walked along, she was treated to a particularly strong gust of wind, which sent her long pink locks flying into the air, and fluttered her pumpkin-shaped salmon skirt made to look like alternating happy and sad faces. The skirt looked as such to signify her power over emotions; a power which was a bit ironic due to the fact that she literally was unable to emote in the typical sense. She was forced to instead use one of her sixty-six masks in place of her facial expressions. As for the rest of her clothes, she wore a blue plaid top with various shapes for buttons, and she wore her hyottoko mask, signifying that she was feeling a bit cheerful as she walked along the dirt path to her destination.

Her expression stayed the same, but she switched to her Raiden mask when she saw a pile of ash in the middle of the path, the mask denoting just how surprised she was. She made her way over to it, and doing what any sane person would, she began to rummage through it until her hand touched something hard in the pile. Wresting her prize from the ashes, she found herself staring at a particularly impressive mask. Something about it was different, though. It looked to be a hockey mask, which she had read about in a book from the outside world, but it had this sadness to it. At finding this rare and exotic mask, she replaced her mask with the young woman mask, denoting her joy at finding a mask that could be considered rare. This mask could perhaps even replace her mask of hope!

That said, she removed her current noh mask, and faced the strange mask away from herself, slowly bringing it to her face.