A/N: This... This is long overdue. The one-two punch of college and other personal issues made me unable to come back to this in over a year. But I owe it to you guys and to the story to see it through.

So... here it is.

Chapter 2

"Here you go."

It took Shizuka a few moments to take the cup of tea and mumble a quiet, "Thank you." She had been too busy staring at the woman who had given it to her. She had short, blonde hair, wore a white and blue dress. However, Shizuka's eyes were fixed at the ear-like bulges under her hat and the nine fluffy tails that trailed behind her.

"Are those… real?" she finally blurted out. The woman turned to look at her, pausing for a moment before smiling.

"Yes, they are," she answered politely before turning to Yukari. "Is that all?"

"Yes, thank you Ran," Yukari answered congenially. Ran nodded and left the room, with Shizuka's stare following her as she went. Seeing this, Yukari chuckled. "You'll have to get used to seeing things like that if you're to work here, Shizuka," she chided.

Shizuka scowled. "I don't remember you mentioning anything about… all of this," she said slowly, still trying to digest all that Yukari had told her for the past hour or so about where they are; a mystical place, cut off from the outside world, where things like magic and youkai flourished. It all sounded incredibly ridiculous, and she wouldn't have believed any word of it had Yukari not given her a trip through her so-called 'gap' to bring her here in the first place.

"Oh, but I didn't lie to you," Yukari said coyly. "I told you that this is a rural area."

"Your definition of rural is certainly not the same as mine."

"True, I might have… omitted certain details." Yukari admitted.

"Certain details? Don't you mean the most important ones?" Shizuka's voice had steadily increased in volume as anger steadily replaced her initial confusion. She felt deceived - no, she was deceived.

"I wouldn't say that," Yukari said, brushing off Shizuka's comment. "regardless, I didn't lie about your job. I even gave you a contract to look through, see?" so saying Yukari reached out and pulled out the contract Shizuka had signed through one of her gaps. "It has your signature and everything."

"You still think I'd work for you after you tricked me like that!?" Shizuka finally snapped, slamming her hands on the table as she rose from her seat. "I've had enough, take me back right now, or -"

"Shizuka," Yukari said suddenly. "while I do enjoy this banter, do remember who you're talking to." The volume of her voice did not change, but there was a new edge in it that stopped Shizuka's protests mid-sentence. It was only a brief moment, but even then, Shizuka shivered involuntarily. She had forgotten, forgotten about the fact that this seemingly easy-going woman in front of her can make her literally disappear without the slightest bit of effort.

The moment passed as quickly as it appeared, and the next time Yukari spoke, she had regained her jovial tone. "now, Shizuka, are you going to abide by your end of the contract?"

Shizuka bit her lips. "I don't have much of a choice, do I?"

"Mommy, Mommy, what's going on over there?" Shizuka asked with all the excitement of a little girl. They were walking around at the park, the afternoon sun lazily falling down in the sky, when noticed the considerably large group of people congregating at the center.

"I'm not sure honey," her mother replied. "Maybe it's some sort of show?"

Shizuka could hear giggles and pleased squeals coming from that direction. She wanted to see. She looked up at her mother, tugging at her dress. Her mother chuckled. "Alright, let's go and have a look."

They made their way through the crowd. At the center was a young woman, wearing an odd suit and cape that seemed out of place in the park. Yet Shizuka thought they fit the woman, with how she moved around the crowd, brandishing a rather battered top hat in her hands.

"Now then," the woman said in a crisp, lively voice. "Who wants to guess what's inside next?" her eyes met Shizuka's, and her smile widened amiably. "What about you, little girl?"

Shizuka blinked. "Me?"

"Yeah. You," the woman said, squatting so that she was face to face with Shizuka, showing her the hat. "Tell me what you think's inside, and if you're right, I'll let you keep it."

Shizuka furrowed her brow, peering into the hat, as if trying to guess, but she couldn't see anything. "There's nothing there," she said with a dejected tone, puffing up her cheeks with disappointment.

The woman chuckled. "Well, what do you want to be in there?"

"Balloons!" she said immediately, causing laughter within the crowd.

The woman raised an eyebrow, smiling with good humor. "Alright. Let's see, shall we?" she said, reaching into her hat. She made a show of rummaging in it for a bit before smiling again. She brought out a bundle of long string, and with a yank, pulled out an array of colorful balloon from her hat. Amidst the roaring applause from the crowd, she handed the delighted Shizuka her prize.

"I guess you were right," the woman said with a bright smile. "What's your name, little psychic?"

"Shizuka! Yours, big sis?"

"It's -"

Shizuka blinked.

With no small effort, she sat up, groaning, trying to rub the sleep out of her eyes, a frown on her face. She didn't need that dream. To anyone else, it would have been a pleasant memory, but it only served to make her remember people she didn't want to.

Cautiously, Shizuka stood up and looked around the room. She didn't have a chance to last night, but now, with her nerves restored, she saw that it was pretty modern and stylish, infinitely better than the apartment she had lived in. It's probably better than any room inside her aunt's house in fact.

"Nice room, isn't it?" Yukari's voice said suddenly, causing her to jump. She whipped around to see the woman, leaning out of that eerie opening in space with a smile on her face.

Shizuka swallowed hard, but tried to keep up a hard expression. "...It's fine," she replied.

The corner of Yukari's mouth curled up into an amused expression. "Well, at least you're calmer than last night," she said. "Why don't we talk over breakfast? You must be starving."

As if on cue, a pleasant smell wafted through the room that made her stomach growl. She held it, slightly embarrassed. "...Is that grilled fish?" she asked tentatively.

"Why, yes. It's Chen's favorite. There's also some Miso soup if you want," Yukari said.

There wasn't even a hint of hesitation in her movement as Shizuka nodded vigorously. Between her stomach and her wariness, her stomach had won out.

Shizuka clapped her hands in a gesture of prayer, her plate scraped clean. She then leaned back and gave a contented sigh, turning towards Ran, who was already busy clearing the plates. "That was amazing," she said, "I can't remember the last time I had a meal that good."

Ran chuckled. "Thank you."

"Let me help you with that," Shizuka offered as Ran took her plate, but the fox-eared woman shook her head graciously.

"No need," she said. "Besides, I believe you and Lady Yukari still have things to discuss."

"Oh… right…" Shizuka said, her good mood all but gone. She threw a sideway glance at Yukari who seemed to have been observing how she had scarfed down her food with a wry smile. "...so… about this job…" Shizuka began cautiously, trying to remember the wording of the contract that she remembered, "...It's just for a year?"

"Correct," Yukari answered concisely. "Would you like to look examine it again?" she offered.

"If you wouldn't mind…"

A gap suddenly opened up right in front of Shizuka, causing her to nearly fall out of her chair. The paper floated gently from it and landed on the table.

"Geez!" Shizuka exclaimed. "Could you give me a bit of a warning before you do something like that!?"

Yukari chuckled. "You'd need to get used to it if you're going to work around here."

"You can't expect me to just get over something like that in a single day," Shizuka grumbled, picking up the paper and reading through it carefully. It was as she remembered it, a year-long contract, meal and board included. She paused when she reached the pay. "...Hey, how would I get paid? And can I even spend the money I'm getting while I'm here? You guys use the yen here too?"

"No," Yukari said simply. "You'll get the money after the year is over - or now, if you prefer, though, you won't be able to spend it here."

"Then how -" Shizuka was about to protest before Yukari's upheld hand stopped her.

"Let me finish," she said. "...As I was saying, you won't be able to spend it here, but if you need anything from the Outside, you can just ask me or Ran, and we'll get it for you - within reason, of course. And we'll give you some mon too if you need something local."

"And about the university thing…"

Yukari chuckled again, "Shizuka, I'm the youkai of boundaries. It'll be child's play to get you into any university you can dream of."

That's convenient. Too convenient. Shizuka examined the contract again, looking for any sort of discrepancy, loopholes, anything shady, but found nothing. But then, as she reached the end, she realized something.

"...It doesn't say it..." Shizuka said slowly.

"Hmm?"

"What I'll be doing. The contract doesn't specify what I'll be doing." Shizuka said with more conviction.

Yukari's reaction was not as Shizuka had hoped, however, for the statement didn't even seem to faze her. "Ah, that. Well, that's because I really don't know for sure what I'll have you do quite yet."

Shizuka blinked, almost speechless. "Excuse me? You… went and basically kidnapped me to get me to work for you, but you don't even know what you want me to do!?" She exclaimed incredulously.

"Oh, I know what I want," Yukari rebutted, still smiling. "the how is still up in the air though."

Shizuka shook her head vigorously. "No, nuh-uh, not good enough. You can't expect me to spend a year here just because you feel like it."

"Why Shizuka, of course I can," Yukari said in a matter-of-fact tone. Again, Shizuka felt the momentary chill she did the previous night. "But, I assure you, I would do my utmost to keep you out of harm's way."

Shizuka bit her lip. She doubted that Yukari would let her out of this situation even if she protested, so...

"...Add that in," she said. "What you just said about keeping me out of harm's way. Put that into the contract. I won't do anything dangerous."

For the first time since the conversation started, Yukari's eyebrow raised slightly. Then she chuckled again. "If you insist," she said, waving her hand and plopping down another piece of paper on the table along with a pen. It was, verbatim, the same contract as before, except at the end, where the clause Shizuka wanted was written. "Well? Satisfied?"

No. Shizuka wanted to say, but she decided not to push her luck and sign the new contract. Now, at least, she'll have some sort of assurance that she won't be put in danger.

"Great," Yukari said, putting the contracts away while stifling a yawn. "Well, Shizuka, I look forward to working with you."

Shizuka literally had to force herself to reply, "Likewise… Lady… Yakumo."

Yukari smiled. "No need for formalities now, Shizuka, just call me Yukari. It'll be confusing what with Ran and Chen around too." She then yawned again. "Well, now that that's out of the way, I'll get back to sleep. Have Ran show you around the house, get yourself settled. The clothes in your room should fit you, so pick out one you think looks best for tonight."

"Tonight? What's tonight?" Shizuka asked suspiciously.

Yukari rummaged through one of her gaps and pulled out a small, fancy envelope. "I'm invited to a party. You're coming too. Be ready… some time after sunset, alright?" Before Shizuka can protest further, Yukari disappeared into her seat, letting the envelope float down to the table. Shizuka picked it up gingerly, reading first line of the fancy invitation.

You are cordially invited to a banquet at the Scarlet Devil Mansion.