Disclaimer: I do not own Touhou or any of the characters aside from the main character. This is entirely a work of fiction and any similarities to anything is purely coincidental and yada yada yada. Please read this story in a well lit room at a good distance from your screen. This story may cause seizures, temporary blindness, and fits of rage and/or cheering. Do not consume this fan fiction if you are pregnant, nursing, or may become pregnant.

Author's Note: Edit: Okay! The question of why the main character knows Touhous has been answered in Chapter 16. Please enjoy.

/.-: Did massive spell/tense corrections. Thanks to those who pointed them out to me!

Damn it's hot. I raise my hand to shield my eyes against the sweltering sun. It beats down on me cruelly as I survey the work ahead of me. I had given up asking myself why I was out here, I already knew the answer. Money. I have none, and you can't live without money. Road work isn't pleasant, but it always pays good. And nobody asks questions. That is always the worst. 'Where are you from?' 'What made you decide to take this kind of job?' Everybody out here already knew all they needed to know about everybody else. We are all just paying the bills and feeding the mouths. I pick up the sack of gravel at my feet and started hauling it to where it needed to be poured.

"LOOK OUT!" The sound of a car horn fills my ears.

Then, suddenly. Nothing. I watch in slow motion as the car drove by where I was standing a moment before, as if looking through a window. A window with ribbons. Wait, wh-

"WHOA!" I fall on my ass. Looking up is a vicious grin staring down at me. A grin attached to a beautiful, mature, and oddly dressed woman. "Yukari." Her name comes from my mouth. Her smile is starting to unnerve me. I take this time to look around, only to find nothing but darkness around us. Darkness that somehow isn't dark. Her long blond hair dances around her as she nods and leans forward to offer me a hand. I accept it and she pulls me to my feet with inhuman strength. Somehow that's reassuring though. I glance down and see nothing beneath my feet. That's not so reassuring.

"You have a choice now." She says, turning from me, her purple dress seems to flow in a wind that doesn't blow. The void in front of us seems to ripple and split, as two portals open, side by side. "On the left, waits the metal horse which you were about to become physically acquainted with. On the right, a world of monsters." She looks back over her shoulder at me with piercing eyes.

"I have two questions." I tell her, as I move forward to stand beside her. "First, does this world of monsters of yours have a name?"

"Gensokyo." Her reply seems to linger in the air longer than her voice did.

"Second, why me? Why save me? Out of the hundreds of people being hit by cars this instant, what makes me special?" I turn my head and stare into her eyes. Her unwavering eyes that seem to cut the very bonds that hold my body together. If she wanted to kill me, it would be all to easy for her. Suddenly I'm falling. I look up to see that same car going by the mountain road where I was working. It's falling up, away from me. My past, my present. I look down toward my future and see a heavily forested mountain reaching up ever faster to swallow me whole.

My direction changes suddenly when something collides with me.

"ZE?!" A young girl's voice cries out. "Holy shit! It's raining men!" She exclaims, holding me in her arms. I look up to see a beautiful teenage girl, in black and white clothing, her blond hair whipping in the wind, a small braid tied with a light purple ribbon hanging down her shoulder apart from the rest of her unkempt hair. Atop her head is an oversized witch's hat, with a large purple bow. Underneath us is a broom, carrying us through the sky. I'd almost mistake her for a maid if I didn't already know who she was.

"I appreciate you catching me, Kirisame-san. I was starting to wonder how I'd get down from here without dying." I smile at her, thankful that my options weren't a choice between gravity and a car.

"Hah? Have we met before? I don't recognize you..." She says, staring at me intently, as if she were trying to remember what she had for breakfast last week. I laugh at the face she's making, catching her by surprise. "Wha-what? What's so funny?" She demands, gripping me a little harder. It's not entirely uncomfortable, as her hands are comparitively small. I can't help but notice they're also very soft. I shake my head, trying to stem my laughter.

"N-no. We haven't met before. I just-" I stop mid-sentence and turn away, laughing again. "Please... Please stop looking at me like that. I can't take it!" I'm overcome with another laughing fit. "Looking so serious, really doesn't suit you." I bite back more laughter. I probably really shouldn't tick off this girl, she has enough power to smear me halfway across the mountain if she wanted. Or she could just drop me. She seems rather taken aback by my plea, and mercifully stops glaring at me. "Th-thanks." I say, trying to catch my breath. "I just got here. It's nice to meet you." I say, extending a hand. She looks at my hand as if it were a cobra, and then at me, before releasing her iron grip on me shaking my hand.

"Like-wise..." She says warily. "Now, where can I drop you off?" She asks curtly. I start to open my mouth to answer her and stop. I look down and around. Where could I go? I hadn't really thought about it. As she flies over Gensokyo, my current question trails off in my mind. My breath catches at the view. A tall towering mountain, Youkai Mountain, looks so small it would fit in the palm of your hand. A blood red fortress stands strong by a glistening lake, Scarlet Mansion and Misty Lake. An impenetrable forest looms ahead, and in the distance, I can see the hustle and bustle of a populated town. The Forest of Magic, and the Human Village. Past the mountain flows a strong river, a lone figure rides it. The Sanzu River. And all around, a slight shimmer in the air, originating from a lone worn building. The border separating this world from our own, and the shrine that watches over it, Hakurei. My sight seeing is cut short as the young girl carrying me coughs, snapping me back to current events. I turn back to face her, caught off guard. I look at her for half a minute before shaking my head.

"I don't rightly know. I just got here." I tell her. "Do you know where I can find a place to stay, and perhaps some work?" The last part causes her to look at me quizzically. "I mean, a means to fend for myself." Still nothing. Of course not, I should have known better. I turn and look back over the landscape. I remind myself again that this world is one of power and boredom, the inhabitants of Gensokyo have no obligations, and too much time. A world of leisure, or so I thought.

"Ah, I give up!" Kirisame-san's exclamation pulls me from my thoughts again. "Reimu'll know what to do you with you. I was just on my way over there anyway, ze." I nod in agreement, and she turns the broom toward the worn shrine. I somehow can't help but smile some in anticipation.