Turn 1


Distance.

A value of length that divide point A and point B by said value.

To one sage such as Yukari, any distance meant nothing. From the meeting room in Akyuu's mansion to the same spot Rance and his girls had fought with the fairies, a distance of thirty kilometers would mean nothing in the face of her power.

Their eyes couldn't believe that they were now standing where they were fighting at an hour ago, but with a few surprises. Wooden blocks of various sizes were stacked in a pyramid of pre-processed and not. The day hadn't ended yet, but the sun was clearly moving toward the curtain's end as the sky became redder. The caws of the crows could be heard from afar, and Rance could see a lot of things flying around and moving from one place to another. Before he could get a better look, Yukari blocked his vision with her fan, which was hurriedly slapped by the outsider.

"No peeking."

Rance clicked his tongue. "Fine. I'll be enjoying them later anyway. Gahahaha!"

Moving past the portal, Ai gasped. Cirno and Daiyousei, meanwhile, were having no problem with their teleportation. Kenshin and Isoroku were wide-eyed at first, looking around with their hands ready to strike. After a few minutes, they stopped, but with hands still on their weapon. Omachi, meanwhile, went back after her first teleportation.

"This is incredible," Ai spun around the eye-collectives in purple air and inserted her hands in and out. "This power is indeed breaking the boundary between A and B. It's a nifty portal of sort that will render any physical attacks useless," she crouched down and pulled a knife from her thigh-strap. Inserting the blade, she gasped in silence before letting out an "Interesting" escape from her mouth. Like a scientist discovering a research breakthrough. "Yakumo-sama, what will happen if you cut-off the portal while someone or something are still between it? Will they split in half?"

Yukari snorted, laughing afterward. "Best not to think about it too hard, miss strategist."

"...I worry about our future," Isoroku gritted her teeth as she hissed. "I'm going to clear my mind. Kenshin, Omachi," she looked around for Omachi, but she was nowhere to be found. "Kenshin it is then. Want to come with me?"

Kenshin eyed the archer before her eyes returned to her Lord. The swordswoman would rather be near her master before going off somewhere unknown, if not for Rance's hand opting for a fanning away gesture toward her. With a single eye-contact, they understood one another. Quietly she followed Isoroku, who was surprised that she chose to accompany her, into the forest Isoroku deemed to be the south of their present encampment.

"Can we stop by somewhere for food along the way?"

"Hunting, huh? Sure thing, Kenshin."

"Did someone say food? Let me come!" this voice belonged to the resident ice fairy. "Let me show you a good hunting spot we fairies use. It's to give you thanks for helping me. Don't need to thank me, because I'm generous."

Daiyousei nodded to her friend's generosity. "Good idea, Cirno-chan!"

Isoroku eyed the two cautiously. "The both of you sounded so familiar."

"Have I met you two before?"

"...Not exactly."

"Does this place have boars?" Cutting to the chase, Kenshin interjected. "Tell me this place have wild boars."

"I don't know, but I think they have rabbits."

Nodding, Kenshin wiped off the drool hanging from her mouth. "That's good enough."

And the two women and fairies disappeared.

"Rance, you have good underlings," the blonde woman smiled as she nodded. "She had discerned where the south was located without being disoriented by the sudden transition in landscape. That's a grade-A sharpshooter for you." Why these women were attracted to a man like Rance made her interest piqued even more so, though she knew what caused it just by a glance of the man in question. "In any case, would you join her as well, Mouri Teru?"

Teru shook her head. "I need to look out for my Lord."

Omachi was still playing with the portal. Shrieking excitedly, she was jumping in and out of the portal in various poses. At one point, Rance, Yukari, Teru, and Ai could see Akyuu on the other side of the portal peeking from the sliding door. After confirming whatever her suspicion was, she returned to what she was doing elsewhere.

"Good timing, Teru. Can you get me a chair? Maybe make it out of one of those processed woods or something. Standing around made my leg sore."

"Get it yourself."

Then the usual routine happened. Ai could only place her palm onto her face and sigh. In a whiff of her fanning herself, a few other portals appeared from the grounds which jet themselves upward. When the small portals disappeared, there were now enough wooden chairs for everyone present. Rance gladly sat on one.

"Also, Ran," Yukari's call made her familiar appear next to her. She was crouching with both hands inside the long sleeve of her spiritual gown. The diviner tarp over her gown never looked bad on her however many times she had observed them for. Her eyes were closed and her ears inside her head-cover perking up. She didn't show it, but Teru knew what she was feeling right now. "Would you mind taking Chen and escort our friend Omachi to tour Gensokyo? A human, no matter their strength, when roaming around Gensokyo would be a risky business. Don't you think having another nine-tailed fox to converse to would be another great learning experience?"

"Chen's going too?" the brown-haired little cat in the red one-piece peeked above toward her master's eyes and made her own bigger. Combined with a pout and a pleading gaze, Yukari covered her eyes with the palm of her hand. Stomping the ground, the cat made her big pout even poutier. "Fine! But you better tell me a bedtime story later!"

Yukari smiled, stroking Chen's hairs all the while. "Of course, Chen. Now you too be good to Omachi-chan, okay?"

"Okay!"

The fox in the kimono patted Chen's head and ruffled her hat. Crouching down, she grinned at the nekomata. "I'll be in your care, okay Chen?"

"Leave it to me, Omachi-sama!"

Her grin went wider as she began ruffling Chen more. Chen only giggled in retaliation.

"I'm very sorry for this, Yukari-sama," Ran sighed, though she smiled also. "I'll be sure to scold Chen later-on. We'll be going now."

"To where?" Omachi asked, her hands releasing the laughing Chen who began fondling the nine-tailed fox' breast. She didn't seem to mind as her mountains bounced around in Chen's hands, to the flustered Ran's protest. "I must say though, this portal of yours is simply amazing Yukari Yakumo. Not even the brightest and unique minds of the youkais back in JAPAN had acquired a talent rivalling yours. I would know, I'm basically their government." Laughing merrily, the fox lady stood up, knocking Chen back with her breast, and leaped in and out of the portal like a child hitting on pressure pads. "Look Lord Rance, this portal is so much fun!" the voice continued to cheer and giggle, until she stopped appearing on the Lord's side for a while. Rance eyed Yukari, who gave him a hand and telling him to wait. Soon after, the fox lady appeared with her kimono slightly wet, but a refreshed look filled her face nicely. "Lord Rance, you won't believe how the landscape changes just now from Akyuu's room to a river! That was so cool! This portal is so very delightfully mesmerizing!"

"Well, she certainly did a one-eighty," Yukari's eyes widened. Turning to Rance, the man could only scratch the back of his head. "Was she always like that?"

"She's always bored, that's why. New things, like my sex techniques, are her joy and driving force in life. Adorable isn't she?"

"Sounds like Ran when she was young herself."

"Y-Yukari-sama!" Ran pouted as she looked away. "That was supposed to be our secret!"

"I'm sure we still have a few secrets together," Yukari giggled as her smile went from somewhat mischievous to somewhat motherly. "Or would you prefer that we make another sets of secrets like the old days? Maybe that would make me feel young again."

"Geez," the nine-tailed fox smiled a childish smile. "You're still young, Yukari-sama."

"Flattery will get you nowhere, Ran. Though I do appreciate the compliment."

"Just... don't tell more of my embarrassing secrets anymore, please."

Yukari looked to the side, as if musing "should I?" to herself.

"There, there, Ran-sama," Chen cheered her master quietly. Her eyes as big as a poodle's. "How about we'll start from your favorite tofu seller in the human village? I also want to try the inarizushi we had the other day with Yukari-sama again."

Looking down and meeting Chen's eyes, she smiled while shaking her head.

"Oh Chen, what will I do with you?"

With the atmosphere lightening up, it was the right time for the other nine-tailed fox to rear her gear in the conversation as she called out. "Ran, right?" and the one with the hat turned around. "I'd expect you to take me on a journey to many wondrous places in Gensokyo! I won't accept any compromise." Omachi reminded the two.

"Yes, yes. Would you like to visit our tourist section after the tour is over?"

Omachi's eyes twinkled brilliantly, like a tourist's.

"That's a yes, Ran-sama!"

"Mhm, quite," the garbed fox sighed. "Well come on then, we don't have all day. I'll be back with your favorite confectionary Yukari-sama. I know you know this already, but do take care not to tease the Outsider too much. You need to act your age."

Rance wanted to ask how old she actually was, but Teru grabbed his shoulder after sensing something dangerous. Hurriedly, she shook her head.

And with that, the animal youkais went inside the portal and said purple void closed itself as if it was being closed by a zipper. Ai was the only one shocked by that revelation, but it was an understandable reaction.

"Not going anywhere, Ai-chan?"

"Nay, Yukari-sama. I will not go wherever my Lord aren't. Kenshin is one thing, but this man needs my constant supervision. The last time I had my eyes away from him, he did twenty women in while he was drunk off of his ass."

"I swear that I did at least twenty-one girls."

"That still doesn't count you out from being the biggest bastard in this whole realm."

Rance scratched the back of his head. He could've sworn that there was at least twenty-one girls he did in that night.

"Such nerve in a realm you've never been in before," frowning, she sighed. "Now, where were we? Ah, yes. This area you've taken from the fairies shall be your own territory!" Yukari said as her palms spread open toward all of the road, the grasses, the untilled fields left alone from being grown crops by the villagers, and the river leading to the edge of Gensokyo. "You can make do of anything that is inside your territory. Make fortresses, amplify defenses, apply taxes, mug travelers, whatever you want!" stopping after throwing her hand above her, she grinned at the outsider. "To a certain degree of course. Should I give the warning whenever you're going to be impudent about things?"

Rance snorted. "Like anything I do will be offensive. I am on the side of justice, remember?"

"I wonder."

"As much as I hate to say this, but our livelihood and return ticket hinged on basically winning another war of territories," Teru sighed, twirling around her Dragonfly Cutter. "I know I'm raring to go get myself dirty, but I'd prefer more if you take this seriously yourself, Rance. We're in a stranger's land with a strange sets of rules and even stranger bunches of people. I'm not as smart as Naoe-san, but more friends mean less problems, yeah?"

"Don't decide things for me!" Rance angrily smacked Teru on the head, which Teru caught in her palm and swatted aside. If she wasn't a cute girl, Rance would have strangled her then and there. He then wondered if Teru would be into asphyxiation play... and hoped that she wouldn't. "Anyway," the man coughed, "my decision. Okay? Give me a warning, Yukari. And if your warning comes with a bedroom visit, I want you to have sex with me then and there."

"My, my, you shouldn't be so hasty on the bargaining, Lord Rance," covering her mouth with her fan, she opened something in mid-air and suddenly her detached hand was pulling on Rance's ear. It was like witnessing a teacher punishing her naughty student for harassment. Teru could only watch (and chuckle quietly) as Rance yelped toward where his ear was pulled. "Let me tell you something. Gensokyo is a land dominated by females, and I assure you that every girl has their own charms and good points about them." Released, Rance rubbed his stinging earlobe and glared at the floating blonde woman. "So take your time and aim lower, alright? I'd rather you forget about me for the time being and go for the other, younger, girls. Think of it as a challenge."

Ai, meanwhile, stayed silent on her seat. She pondered with her arms and shins crossed with one hand rubbing her chin. Her vision was of the grass, and her mind were off somewhere the clouds couldn't reach.

Accepting his defeat, Rance backed away with a "yeah yeah," and sighed. Closing his eyes, he tried to imagine the girls living in Gensokyo and remembered that Yukari had two people following her around. "Wait, what about that blonde fox-girl? That fox-girl Ran."

"Ara, you're not going to ask about my darling Chen first?"

"I don't do little girls."

The sage turned toward the maid. She nodded with conviction and a sharp glare that were as sharp as a dagger toward the blonde youkai. The maid was serious. "It's true. My lord prefers grown woman."

Turning to the strategist to her right, she raised an eyebrow with a blank expression and nodded slowly.

"Oh my. You're more decent than I thought, Lord Rance." The crescent moon she used as a levitating stool slowly lowered itself until her feet touched the ground. The grassy greens rustled as her high-heel boots made contact. Standing straight, the sage was around three centimeters shorter than Rance. Their eyes met and a sharp and tiny spark clashed in the middle. "Regarding Ran, I'll give her to you when the time is right. I am competing with you too, afterall."

"How shameless," Teru chuckled. "The organizer who is also the participant? What foul play will you be bringing into the table, old hag?" the pretense of lightness disappeared from the atmosphere. The Dragonfly Cutter stopped in-place with its blade centimeters away from the blonde youkai's neck. "Careful. Even if it's still, it can still cut anything that move."

Yukari eyed the blade of the halberd and with her left hand reached for its blade to her right. Tracing from the blade-guard, she moved the tip of her fingers across the outline of the blade up until its tip. Teru's eyes went wide when Yukari suddenly hugged the blade with her palm, clenched it hard that even Teru felt it, and released the blade and showing the palm of her clean and woundless hand. The blonde woman had opened a portal on the palm of that same hand, and inserted the tip of the blade inside it and slowly swallowing the halberd to the neck of the mouth-agape maid.

"Alright, don't move from there, maid." Teru felt the tip of the dragonfly blade poking her nape, and she grinned from ear to ear. At the sight of her transforming face, Yukari replied in kind as her head jolted back with her eyes slightly wide and sweat forming on her forehead. "What bloodlust. Your life is just a tip away from being taken and you just had the gall to enjoy every moment of it? What a hardcore masochist."

Not answering, Teru moved a step ahead and letting the dragonfly cutter pierce a few inches of her own skin. Yukari's smile went wider and a few drops of sweat started to form on her face. Teru then began rushing toward Yukari with one hand holding the halberd and the other forming a solid fist directed toward the sage's face.

"Wait, I'm against violence!" Yukari shrieked.

"Let's see those pearl-white teeth flying red shall we!?" she ran faster than before and roared a battle echo. Seeing the imposing figure, Yukari moved back and shrieked as the maid quickly gained her distance. Launching her balled up fist, she could feel the squishy texture on her fist and found herself sprawled on the ground with her fist hitting the rock hard ground that exploded into a small crater. She eyed her right and left hand carefully. The Dragon Cutter was there and her right arm was intact, but her head turned to the blonde woman behind her and two eyes went wider than they were ever before. "What in the—"

"You would want to know that, right? Are you mortified? Confused? Scaaared?" Yukari maniacally laughed from behind her sleeve as she looked down on the maid. Her laughter became that much more maniacal as seconds passed. "What did I do? What did I do I wonder. Maybe you'll figure it out some—kyahn!"

Before Yukari could continue, Rance slammed Chaos to the top of her head.

"That's enough teasing my maid. Don't forget about our deal." For good measure, he slammed Chaos on the sage's head once more and she let out the same moan as if on purpose. Tongue sticking out and all. "Now leave. Or would you rather we go somewhere quiet and get physical?"

"Wait, Rance I wasn't done with this blonde—"

"After this, you're going to be punished," he hissed at his maid, and it shut her up. She then looked at Ai, who walked toward Teru with a portable first aid-kit at hand. "It's your choice now, Yukari. Either have sex with me, or have sex with me."

"Ooh, you're so mean... and not to mention lewd, Lord Rance!" Yukari pouted as her hands rubbed her head. "But fine, I'll retreat for now. Don't hesitate to call me if there's something you need to ask. Alright?" she stood up and turned toward Rance. "Also, here's the scroll containing all of the rules and specifics of this territory war. If you lose it, call for Ran and she'll give you another one." Pulling a parasol out of nothing, as if she couldn't do anything like that before, she leaped onto the air and another purple crescent-shaped platform suspended her in mid-air. Her leg over the other, she sat with the parasol open and waved toward the outsider Lord. "I'll leave you to your devices now, okay? Good bye!"

And with that, she disappeared without a trace.

"Teru," Ai said while tending to her open wound. She was busy thinking about the extent of Yukari's power, and happily she looked toward the maid's face with a smirk. "Great job on fighting the impossible. At least I know how her portal powers mostly work."

"Thank you?"

Her face was of a children at a candy factory. "But as Rance said, you're still going to be punished later. Best look forward to that, masochist."

"Urk." She cannot rebuke her sentence. Not after never denying she wasn't one before.

And thus, the evening came without much protests.


When the sun was setting, Omachi came back from her trip with a few sweets between her breast and her arms. The youkai carriage that she was riding, were filled with boxes and boxes more of sweets. Ai was about to throw a fit, but she couldn't be mad after seeing the various tents parked and tied on the carriage's roof.

The girls began setting up their fortress and the gears of time began to move forward.

Isoroku was in-charge of cooking. Though her cooking knowledge was limited, she was recently learning how to cook and was raring to give her experience a whirl. At first, she could only make the usual ration that the Japanese soldiers make when they go to war, but after a few pointers by Ai, now she could make decent curries. Though Ai need to supervise her in-case she mistook chili peppers with salt again.

Kenshin was in-charge of looking out around their perimeters. Not much of a job, but she took it very seriously. Her eyes were sharp, and her blades even sharper. Her drooling was strong, however, and her stomach's growl was even stronger. The thought of having curry pumped her for another job worth doing.

Omachi created make-shift walls around their encampment using her familiars. She made sure that they could be torn down by the morning using her own strength. Omachi may be proficient with controlling her familiars, but she could put her own legwork if she wanted to. When was the last time she had worked up quite a sweat? Even she couldn't remember it.

Teru began setting up camps. It was easier than cleaning the Mouri mansion, and it was practically second nature for her as an avid warrior itching for battle.

What was not second nature to her, was the appearance of her Lord.

"Teru, let's get to our punishment," Rance rubbed his hands together as she leered at her maid. "Are you in the mood for rope-play? I'm really in the mood for rope-play."

"I can't, Rance. I need to set up the camps."

"We can wait on that can't we?"

Rance hugged his maid from behind. With both hands reaching toward the girl's chest and rubbing them with a grin on his face. While the maid lessened her resistance, his shark-like tooth bit on her ear gently, caressing it softly with the sharp points of her teeth. A bit flustered, the maid turned her head slowly behind her right, and their eyes met. Her teeth were grinding against each other as she hissed. Though the man didn't mind her thousand daggers worth of glare.

"I'm going to get mad."

"Then get mad," the man said, nibbling the maid's earlobe as one hand moved toward a crotch. "But are you sure you want to get angry? I'm sure you don't want those fairy kids to see you like this, right?"

"Hmph, ridiculous." Her hands had completed making another tent, moved to Rance's face and pushed it away from her ear. "Come on, Rance I don't have time for this shit. I need to fix another tent."

"Whose tent is it?"

"Yours. It's also the last one, so if I'm quick about it I can please your dick later. Sounds good?"

"Then let's just use this tent instead. And if I let you go now, I can't punish you later on, can I? Are you trying to worm your way out of this one, Teru?"

There was no exit from this one.

She's fucked either way.

"So annoying," Rance's hand pressed hard on the maid's crotch and she tried to squirm out of her hold, but his persistent overpowered her strength. When she was shaking Rance off, he will agilely evade the woman's reproach. Finally, after a few nipples pinching and a few times biting on her neck, the powerful maid gave in as her legs weakened. Her body felt weak and her footing was unstable. Thus, she fell down forward as if passing out.

"Woah!" if Rance didn't caught her with his arms, she would crash through the tent. "Alright there, here we go."

Pulling the maid was easy, the hard part was lifting her up and sending her inside the tent.

"Gah!" Teru groaned as her hand fell on the hard mattress inside the large tent. It was mostly from what part of the head that was hitting the mattress first. "Watch where you're trying to lay me you idiot!"

"Shut up."

"What?"

Coming inside the tent, Rance stood on all fours, his eyes looking on the sprawled self of the maid below him. Her hands were beside the maid's ears. His face was slowly moving closer and closer at Teru, whose eyes still weren't relenting from glaring daggers at her master's. She tried to close her hips, but her master easily spread the legs apart with his free hands. With both hands, Teru was pushing away Rance with all she had in her, but a kiss made Teru's hands lose its strength, though the glares still remained. The kiss was only as far as her lips, and as he played around with her top, he removed his pants to reveal his erect penis—self-proclaimed as his Hyper Weapon—which started rubbing against her clothed below.

After two minutes of constant kissing, enough was enough. Teru bit Rance's lip with one strong force and he recoiled.

"Ow, what the hell?"

"Don't get cocky you asshole!" Teru hissed at him, making sure to keep her voice down as much as possible. She gasped, trying to take in as many air as possible, as her whole body began to sweat. "I'm not in the mood for this. Leave me alone."

"Shut up," Rance moved his head in again and began kissing her. Teru's eyes widened before her master and she tried her best to knee him in the stomach. Though she tried, his hand blocked the leg in place as it shook and rebelled wildly. "It's frustrating right, to lose?"

Her entire body stopped, and her eyes turned toward the man.

"What are you—"

"It feels horrible to lose, right? You don't want to lose, right? You want to do more, right? It feels like shit to not be able to land a single hit to that woman, right?" Under the cramped space of the tent, the two bodies struggled to fit inside. "You got yourself into a fight that you could avoid and you still lost. Frustrating isn't it?'

"What does it matter?"

"Oh it does matter," Rance lowered his crotch as he slid over the maid's panties. With the tip of his Hyper Weapon meeting Teru's lower lips, he started grinding his weapon against them. 'It's one thing to lose. It's another thing to hurt yourself after losing. It hurt your pride didn't it? Don't even try to deny it."

Teru bit her lip. "Kh."

"I'll make you feel better."

"What can you even do?"

"This." Pushing everything in one go, he made the whole tent move to where his forward was. Teru, for the first time weeks, moaned loudly that it could be heard even outside of the tent. Hearing that, Rance grinned from ear to ear and begun moving his waist back-and-forth steadfastly. Teru, while the piston-like motion was being done into her, looked up and was about to punch her Lord, until she realized Rance had pinned his chest on her clothed chest which only leave Teru to claw his back. Wincing in pain, Rance picked up his pace and continued moving inside the maid's dry cocoon. "Uwoooh! I'll teach you not to destroy my awesome and gallant back you stupid maid!"

"Screw you, asshole!"

Their lovemaking quickly devolved into a violent wrestling match. Whoever had first either came inside the maid or kick the bastard out of the tent will win. Rance's weapon was his wild and bulky Hyper Weapon rising like the sun from his crotch. Teru's weapons were her ineffective hands and feet along with her teeth waiting to bite the man's flesh clean-off.

"Quit struggling!"

"Go die!"

Moaning and panting, the maid was met with the huffing of the brute before her. He knew not what he was getting into when he decide to punish his maid, but it was clear that Rance wasn't thinking this one through. Usually, a woman like her would submit easily to Rance's sympathy, but this maid of his one was a good contender.

Suddenly, something clicked inside his mind.

He stopped from scraping the walls of Teru's for one second and pulled Teru up. She was now in a seating position and looking straight at him. The maid hissed with a flustered face. "What do you want now?"

Patting her head and ruffling her hair around, he smiled. "This."

"What?"

"Good girl, good girl. You did your best."

"No I didn't," Teru's grip on Rance's back loosened. He could feel his back hurting from blood trickling out of the sore spot, but he toughen it up as he concentrated his will toward the girl before him. Teru was about to form tears inside her eyes as she continued. "I lost, and miserably at that. Thinking back when we were going on that trip, why did you choose me instead of Kiku? Isn't she clearly superior? A great cook, a good lover, a good fighter and a good woman... compare her with me and I'm nothing. I'm just a good fighter."

"Idiot," Rance kissed Teru, worming his tongue deep inside the girl's mouth. After sucking out her tongue and exchanging a good amount of saliva, he pulled his tongue out. "I chose you because I like you more than her. There's nothing more to that. Now don't cry, I hate it when women cry for no reason."

"...Dumbass."

Rance placed his hands on both of her shoulder, grabbed them tightly, and moved her chest to his. The sudden jolt of surprise shocked her from her bottom to her top as if her entire blood-system had exploded in one go. Euphoria came face-forward at her chest felt like it had exploded to bits. Feeling numb all over her, he took the opportunity to strike when the iron's hot and began moving his hyper weapon again.

"W-wait, stop! I'm feeling weird!"

"That means you're taking it in well."

Rance pushed and pulled his hyper weapon with all his stamina. With each push the body of the maid convulsed and with each pull her body contorted as she breathed out air. With each of her words, she desperately gasped for air.

"I. Will. Kill. You. For. This. Assholeee!"

The maid jolted her chest forward. Her tongue was sticking out from her O-shaped mouth as her face was hidden from his sight as it recoiled so far back. Her balled-up hands was pushing against Rance's chest as her feet made a mess out of the mattress' sheet. Both sweating a river, Rance slid forward to catch Teru who was falling face forward. Her cheek hitting Rance's chest, her flustered face was smirking. Flustering, she cackled weakly.

"Don't worry. I will never let you go. Not for anyone else."

"You... better."

"I always keep my promises," Rance moved Teru's head to where the pillow was and swiftly tucked her into sleep with a blanket. "So don't go and do that ever again. You're just a maid who served her master."

No response, just a smile that persisted through everything.

As Rance exited her tent, Ai was there with a portable first-aid kit.

"Need a hand with those wounds on your back?"

"Cunning bitch trying to get smart with me," Rance grabbed Ai by her arm and pulled her away from where the fairies were. "Let's go somewhere quiet and where nobody can see us. I don't want those kids to see my awesome and gallant back ruined."

"Don't worry, I've told them not to bother Teru for a while. Rough day for her, wasn't it?"

A silent humph escaped from Rance's mouth. "Want to do the round two for me?"

Looking up, there was only frowns. "Nice try."

In silence, the two of them went as far as the edge of the forest to the south. Ai said that the fairies won't be bothering them if they were here. Rance eyed his strategist funnily, but when the pain hit him from his back, he couldn't help but yelped a good one.


The morning in Gensokyo was filled with the color of purple. As the sun rose up ever slightly, the clouds all around became whiter and the forests became greener. From the darkened hue of the shades to the lighter hues of the streams running down. The birds tweeted from their nest on the tree branches and the cold spring air in the sky. Another day's greeting from the world toward everything that greeted the morning back.

Among one of those people were the nine-tailed fox. Her knee-long blonde hair let themselves be close to the grounds, but never touching them. It was one of her own pride and joy, third in her most valuable asset after her bountiful body draped in loose kimono showing her shoulders to upper breast and a desired face devoid of impurities. Lightly stretching her limbs, her mouth let a yawn escape from her small mouth. If one were to look closely, they could see a set of fangs jutting out between the fingers that were covering her mouth.

"Familiars, come to me."

From the ground, Omachi called for two giants sporting horns with the color of green. As the once Queen of all JAPAN's Youkai, she picked up a few trade secrets here and there. To her, creating a simple golem was nothing but a cinch, though it had more drawbacks than benefits. For example, they cannot apprehend any commands that were vague such as "build me a bridge" and the other being that they could only work on a certain radius from their summoner.

"Raito, Hidari" she pointed to her right before her left, ascertaining their name. "Take the blocks of wood stack over there and plant them on the spots I will direct you to." Nodding, the giants took a block of wood in their arms each and began walking to where the fox directed them. Omachi carefully laid out her directions, taking care not to overwhelm the golems with a direction too complex while making sure that she didn't oversimplify her instructions for some undesired results. After the giants stabbed the larger blocks of woods into the ground, creatin ratio of the floorplan, she instructed them to stop and wait for further orders. Lowering her hands, the giants slowly melted away into the ground before leaving no traces of their existence. Smiling, Omachi walked toward the ground they became a part to and patted them.

Behind her, there were a few camps set with a single big and white one centered inside the smaller green ones. One man went out of the white camp yawning and topless, with a single black pants and a pair of shoes decorating him.

"Good morning, Lord Rance," the chipper voice came from the fox. Smiling, she continued to move her hands and giving the newly-formed skeletal familiars their instructions. What once was nine wooden pillars had steadily become a house resembling that of a castle. Seeing their master smiling, the familiars picked up the pace of their work as some of them began to work on the rooftop parts. "How was your sleep?"

"Not bad," the brown-haired man stretched his hands and groaned. "But I wish those kids didn't sleep with me last night. That damned brat Cirno's sleeping habit is horrifying. My jaw hurts from being kicked too much."

"You sure are popular with kids."

"Hoh, you want to make some kids right now?"

Omachi glanced to the side. Her smile remained the same, but Rance felt that he had stepped onto a landmine. The fox's composure was indeed shaken, but she took care not to let it show for long and went back to her usual haughty-like demeanor very quickly. However, the familiars picked up how her master felt, and their empty eyes of a skeleton turned toward the man himself.

Seeing so many dead-angry eyes first thing in the morning was not pleasant in the slightest.

"How long is the construction going to take, Omachi?" he scratched the back of his head as he desperately searched for another topic to talk about. "Can all the requirements of a fortress be done in... two or three days? Yeah, make it be done in two days."

He was prone for unreasonable demands, in which reality would intervene afterward and explain why you cannot build a fortress in two days. That is, if he was asking the impossible from a human that is. This pattern he himself had recognized before and would expect reality to not throw a curveball at him.

"I can get it done in six hours."

Her familiars nodded in unison, before they continued hammering in the roofing.

"Yeah, I don't think so—" and that was a strike-out from three curveballs in a row. His eyes widened and he was awakened from where he stood. Quickly, he rushed toward the fox and grabbed her by her arm. That much physical contact from her master was dangerous, as it could break her concentration, but she held it out somewhat. "Wait, you're serious? That's great. Really great. I'll reward you later tonight for how great you are. Gahahahaha!"

"Your praises fills me with joy, Lord Rance."

"Gahahahaha!"

With Rance getting his ego through the roof, Omachi completed her task of building his fortress swiftly. That night, she quietly snuggled with Rance on the new furniture that Kenshin, Isoroku, Teru, and Ai had brought from the human village to adorn the Outsider's Settlement's Castle. In total, Rance had lost a lot of the funds that he was planning to use for his special trip.


Action: 2/2
Yukari's Subsidy: 100 Ryo
Toll's Earning: 5 Ryo
Satisfaction: 5
Ai had set a separate budget allocation entirely dedicated to please Kenshin's appetite.

[ Outsider's Frontier – The Rules and Rationale of Gensokyo. ]


Flying past the opened sliding door, two fairies came in. Cirno made an explosive entrance as she zoomed past the door before sliding on the tatami floor. The sound of her socks sliding with the wooden mats was silent enough to not echo, but to those accustomed to the sound, it was a nice tune for the ears. Daiyousei came soon after and greeted the Lord in green with a wave, and then to Isoroku, who waved back with a smile, before moving toward the rest of the girls present.

"First and foremost, thank you for having us in your army, Lord Rance."

It was discussed yesterday what they wanted to do afterward, since Rance and his harem were occupying Cirno's own territory. This discussion itself was held for this very reason, but the lax atmosphere made Naoe unsure of the outcome. It could be a peaceful resolution, but she expected some crazy shenanigans should come up from this.

"Like I keep saying, just call me Rance. I'm not fond of children calling me how my women calls me," from his seat in the gathering hall leaned forward from his crossed leg sitting. His hands were on his knees, and his grin was undeniably smug. It was only to be expected that Rance would be happy from gaining new allies, regardless if they're children or not. It meant that he was getting respected. "If you want to address me, call me Rance the Great!"

A maid standing behind the great one silently sighed.

"Alright, I'm calling shenanigans!" the blue fairy before Rance stood up with her palm facing the Lord of the Mansion. "I refuse to call you Rance the Great, because there can only be one Great. And that one is none other than the Great of Gensokyo herself. I am the Great!"

"Cirno, right? Go ahead I don't need it."

The unenthusiastic tone of his voice tripped Cirno.

"So easily?"

"If a kid like you is the Greatest, then I'm a Super Great by default. So you can take the Great title for yourself. Gahahaha!"

"Guh! As expected from my rival!" Cirno clutched her chest as if her whole body had received a mortal blow, complete with a knuckle wiping the side of her mouth. "Then there are no other choice but to take it from you myself. When the time is right, expect me to challenge you, Rance the Great!"

It wasn't apparent, but most of Rance's women was thinking the same thing: How that logic worked in the first place.

"Children will be children I guess," Ai chuckled.

From the merry atmosphere came Rance's voice breaking the ice even further. There was a few more back and forth from Rance to Cirno, with Daiyousei insisting that Cirno was more than what Rance had met. It was only natural for a friend to stick up to a friend, and even Rance couldn't resist the contagiousness of it all. It still ended with Rance smacking Chaos to the ground, which left the fairy duo amused from the talking sword.

As the laughter and guffaw echoed the hall, Teru stood there in a still silence. Her minimal contribution to the discussion had gone unnoticed by Ai and Isoroku. Kenshin had tuned out from the discussion to hone her senses while Omachi simply didn't care. Across the meeting hall of the mansion filled with raw cheer, one would easily know that something was wrong with her.

"Back to the point," Dai-chan called out and all eyes turned to her once again. "Cirno and I have discussed everything yesterday."

"We decided to join your force, but on one condition," said the ice fairy standing tall whose hands stuck on her hips. "I want to defeat the fairies hurting my comrades. It's a matter of principle: an arm for an arm. They cut off my limb and expect me not to cut theirs?"

Ai nodded with a smile. "That's very poetic."

"Dai-chan told me it's a good saying." To that tune, Dai-chan smiled. "But I think I said it wrong. Was it a tongue for a tongue?" The fairy shrugged the thought off after mimicking the statue of the thinker. "Well, whatever. In any case, let me fight with you to end the other fairies factions."

"I'm sure you won't do this," Isoroku called. "But don't hold us back, alright?"

"Of course!" a thumbs up was raised from the small figure in blue. "You can count on me and Dai-chan!"

"That's nice and all, but sorry to ruin your parade. Good morning Green Fungus, I see you're still alive and kicking." From the entrance came a purple-haired lady in her best outfit. Her dignified stature stood with a mighty air compared to the rest of the native denizens. Dai-chan and Cirno received a funny look from Akyuu, and it made the fairies shudder. "Cirno, Daiyousei. Good morning."

No response from the fairies, only eyes that stared back with a hand covering her best friend from potential harm.

To that, the chronicler smiled. "Very well then. Isoroku, Kenshin, Teru, Omachi, and... Ai Naoe, fancy to meet you on this fine day."

"It was a fine day," Ai quipped, smiling.

"One of these days, Naoe. Just you wait."

"Good. We agreed on something at least."

With the sparks flying between them, Rance sighed and slammed Chaos' blade onto the floor. One hand on his cheek and his eyes boring silently at Ai before turning to Akyuu. "Are you two done? This better be good Akyuu. I'm usually very tolerant to pretty girls, you're not an exception Akyuu, but I don't appreciate interruptions."

Akyuu's sudden head-turning, combined with her dagger-sharp stare, didn't make him flinch let alone making him twitch. Rance's eyes were devoid of rage, he was more bored than anything. Akyuu, noticing this, let out a good sigh before continuing.

"I'm going to give you a crash course on crucial things about Gensokyo. Yesterday, some of you must have had thought about how different this world is to the one you came from, right? The landscapes, the people, the way people fight, and moreover the more or less special rules we have in Gensokyo." His eyes were unchanging, but Akyuu knew that the pressure from him was very much present. She'd best try to play her cards right for now. "You guys better try to remember this. I'm not going to explain this twice."

"Fine, let's hear it."

"Very well—"

"But. After this, I want you to apologize to Cirno and Daiyousei. I want to see a humble side of the chronicle myself, if she had one that is."

Staring at the grinning man, Akyuu grumbled. "You're going to regret that."

Only a chuckle from Rance.

"Moving on," Akyuu turned behind and clapped her hands. Two people, clearly of disposable origin, walked in with a big blackboard in tow. After setting the heavy thing, one of them opened a box of chalk in which she picked a white one out of the colorful bunch. Tapping the board, she coughed aloud to gain everyone's attention and making sure that everyone in the room could see it. "Before we begin, I'm going to make sure that everyone is familiar to one fact: You can still die in Gensokyo. Sure, fairies respawn, but that's because they are the embodiment of nature. Humans and youkais," her eyes aiming toward Rance and Omachi respectively, "like you two can still pretty much die in Gensokyo."

Isoroku raised her hand. "Question. Why didn't Cirno get hurt when I shot her heart with my arrow?"

"Because I'm great!"

"That is debatable," Akyuu wasn't really trying to hide anything with her tone of voice. "Being the strongest fairy that you are, it's more likely that you were shot down while a spellcard is being played. Let me guess: Perfect Freeze?"

"How do you—" Cirno's eyes slowly twinkle. "Are you actually a mind-reader?"

Akyuu smirked as she looked at Ai.

Ai had entertained this idea before, but she will enjoy every bit of whatever retribution Akyuu will get. For now, she must feign hospitality. She had been into politics long enough, and the thrill of facing a giant like her will always be the most satisfying. For the strategist of the Naoe clan will never lose in their wits.

"I don't know about that Cirno, but Spellcard?" Ai's eyes were glued to Akyuu's, contrasting Cirno's own confused look with raised eyebrow. She knew this particular information was begged to be mined as much as Sado's gold. "Based on its name alone, it's a combination of magic and a card... or could it be more of a talisman than a card?"

"As sharp as always, Naoe Ai." Creating a rectangle with more length than the width, the chronicler's finger swayed with every tap to the black. A few seconds later, there was a really detailed explanation that need to be squinted to be understood perfectly. Even with his perfect sight, all Rance saw was squiggly-noodles of pasted white powders. "Make sure to memorize these: Firstly, the Spellcard rules have been implemented to make things fair in Gensokyo. Usually, the battles in Gensokyo are conducted in two people shooting each other to bits with all sorts of projectiles. From pellets to lasers to knifes and sometimes flowers. However, some people will use swords or their fists to settle their score.

"Secondly, the more spellcards someone have, the more powerful they are. Judging by your team composition, I would wager Kenshin and Teru have had an encounter with a spellcard beforehand. What's your two's take on that?"

"Surprising, to say the least." Suddenly, the maid opened her mouth. As everyone's head turned toward the previously silent maid, she continued. "I have to admit, I was taken off-guard from how sudden Cirno's spellcard took effect. Everything changed very quickly, it was as if the firepower of that runt herself had increased around three to five-fold of her default power. My gut-feeling at that time honestly reminded me of the sorcery that Omachi used when fighting or summoning her familiar. Not like how big the firepower is, but more on how different the atmosphere become in a single and instantaneous snap of a finger."

With Akyuu and Ai blinking in a pause, they continued to stare at the maid who was now looking at her open palm. Coughing, she returned to form and her eyes looked around before she clapped her hands together. "Alright, let's continue. Thank you very much for your explanations, Teru. Never thought of you as the thinking type."

"Mmh." A single hum and she returned to her solitude.

"As Teru said before," from the inside of her kimono, she pulled out a card-like object and showed it to everyone present in the room. Everyone's eyes were cemented on the appearance of the blank card as the chronicler played around with it in her fingertips. The front was devoid of any caricature or symbols, with the back being a plain design that suggested individualistic flair as it consisted of patterns that blended with its dark gray background. "This is the spell card in question. If someone channeled their energy inside the spell card, it will take form. The energy can be anything: Raw Magic, Chi, Natural Essence, Spiritual Power, basically anything goes at this point. Usually, we can use as much non-duplicate spells, but for this war, it's one and done."

Taking note of that last bit, Ai nodded slowly as she took the information in.

"Third, and this one's crucial: As you know by now, the format we're fighting on isn't of our usual fighting style. For the second time since the Spellcard Rule's inception, we're fighting using a squad battle type of fighting. Five people in a single group fighting against five others in a single group. Each and every one of those person can only use their spell card once. As war goes, there will be a declaration of war before you can fight against them and you people are more familiar with that I presume."

"Lastly: Do not expect Gensokyo to have the same common sense as the world you people came from. That is very much your death sentence. From the spectator's perspective, this whole land is a peaceful place where humans, youkais, and deities exist peacefully. But that doesn't mean its denizens are weak. As an appointed chronicler, I do not categorize them based on a concrete power-level for a reason. Some of them are beasts, some of them are monsters." Akyuu glared toward the two fairies and spread open her palm toward them, her eyes staring deeply into Rance's sleep-enticed eyes. "These fairies may look innocent, but they can and could very easily kill a bystander. I'd think twice before allying with them."

Rance yawned.

"Did I bore your intellectual mind, Your Lordship?"

"Yeah, I am." Stretching his arms, he continued as cracking sounds were heard from his broad back and shoulders. "You didn't come here just to give us a lecture, right? If you didn't bring empty spell cards for us, you might as well consider yourself a prisoner." Rance laughed, clearly enjoying himself. "And you'd better give us, and more importantly me, the highest quality of all spell card." She then turned to Teru behind her, "Also, massage my shoulders Teru. I'm feeling pretty stiff right now."

Teru, without words, began massaging her master's shoulder.

"Thankfully, I brought some with me. And, if I have the choice of either spending the time here or die, then I'd rather die!"

Rance frowned from hearing the same boring response once more. Her insult went from one ear and out the other, it just became so dull after the fifth one. Not to mention she's being very rude in someone else's house.

"Fine, fine, just leave the cards to us and leave already, yeesh."

"I will do just that!

"Oh, hold on," Rance called out to Akyuu and she stopped to turn around. Her expression clearly showed how she was at the boiling point. One wrong move from Rance and Akyuu's very thought about his everything will change forever. If there was a moment in which he could imprint something in her mind, it was now. "You didn't apologize to Cirno and Daiyousei. I'm not sure you want to do that in my presence."

"Good day, Lord Rancid!" the female stomped outside after giving Ai the stack of spellcards, Ai counted two dozens of blanks, with loud grumbles. As she disappeared out of the mansion with the blackboard in tow, Ai shook her head. Rance could only sigh at her departure before the sudden force of Teru's grips made him cry aloud.

Teru, without words, let go of Rance's shoulders before standing behind him as she had done before.

Rance could only stare at his maid with nothing but confusion.

"Lord Rance, I will look into the spellcard rules and try to find a way to make things work for us. We are strong enough individually, but we lack the edge to... you don't really care about this, do you?" From how Rance gave not a single care to this whole deal, it was pretty much apparent that she should take it upon herself to manage the political, research, and development aspects of Rance's forces. It would be just like back home, but this time it will be stranger. "Fine, leave everything to me. In turn, I expect for you to do all of the crucial decision makings."

"I'm counting on you."

"Geez."

If she could slap Rance with her mind, he would've been sent flying to the next room.

"Don't worry, Ai." Rance stood up and walked to the exit with Teru following behind him. He turned around as he was a few steps away from the exit and spoke to Ai in a calm and collected manner. "We will defeat that snot-nosed brat later. Afterall, she still owed these kids an apology. Now, good luck with those spellcard thing, I'm going to nap."

Ai watched the gallant figure walking out of the hall and turning right, toward his private quarter on the second floor. It was one way to say that the entire second-floor was a big interconnected room with Rance's room as its center. Back on the first floor, Ai smiled before musing to herself that "his speech was nice and all, but I won't forget how he's basically turning all of the work to me."

"Don't worry, Ai-san. I'll help." Isoroku stood from where she was sitting and walked to where Ai stood. Picking up a spellcard from the pile, she wondered if there would be a way to construct something insane with her archery arts. She only need to see. "This concept is pretty interesting, though I would love it if Lord Rance wasn't so hated by Akyuu."

"It was to be expected, afterall he did rape a lot of girls back then," sighed the strategist. "It's a miracle he wasn't buried yet at this point."

"Kenshin, Omachi, come here. Cirno, Daiyousei, mind helping us go up to speed with these spellcard deal?"

"Of course!" Cirno said. "Let's go and win another war, Dai-chan! With me on our side, Rance's faction is basically invincible at this point." One after another, Cirno's head was ruffled by every last one of the individuals in the room. Not knowing what to do with the sudden praises, the Ice Fairy smugly laughed as she was being praised with affections.


Action: 1/2
Total Ryo: 1105
Satisfaction: 5

[ Outsider's Frontier – Prison. ]


Prison cells lining as far as thirty rooms were present before the brown-haired man. He knew what he was seeing and laughed gleefully at each and every one of them. Each room was connected to a single hall, and each of them were sanitary despite located in the basement of the mansion. Building the prison was theoretically the hardest to do since everything from the structure of the ground to the elevation of the mound accounted and calculated for. It was almost an impossible project until Yukari appeared and placed some weird mojo into the Frontier's ground.

A day later, Yukari visited the mansion. It was Rance's great idea to take her on a date to the prison she helped build. On paper, it was a great idea. In reality, it could be worse.

"Is this the part where we make out as you're strapped in the torture machine, Rance?"

"I'm down if you want to be punished by me right now, Yukari."

It could be so, so much worse.

Teru was waiting above-ground the same time she knew Yukari was coming. Rance paid her no mind and thought Ai accompanying her to be a nice change of pace. It wasn't. She would rather stay stuck in the background than converse or contribute to their conversations.

Eyeing a very obvious phallic object on top of a large drawer, she grinned with a slightly luminescent face. "I didn't know they come in this big of a size," in her hand was a larger than her own arm thing that she gently stroke with her gloved palm. "You do realize that I do not condone you raping the girls in this realm, right? Any sexual torture without consent and you're going to answer to me."

"I'm not doing anything if they're rubbing one out themselves using these tools, right?" Rance laughed, before suddenly staring into Yukari's eyes without a sound. The beat in his speech was unsettling enough that Yukari had to turn around and face him. "I won't use underhanded method to make those beauties mine. Only weak people use weak methods, and I am strong."

She placed the thing on top of the drawer again, before smiling back at him. "Thank you."

"So, I was thinking of testing these machines and I found the perfect girl for the perfect test drive." The leering eyes of Rance moved all over Yukari's curvaceous body hidden inside her western dress. The accentuated parts of her body jiggle and bounce with every small movement that the woman did, and no sane man can resist the blonde's aspects. "How about it, Yukari? Want to try drowning in pleasures you can never get on your own? I will give you the King's course just for you."

"That's flattering, but I have to decline."

Rance grumbled as he tried coping a feel on Yukari's assets, in which she created a portal that lead to a shriek from the silent Ai Naoe. Her bottom was then pressed and firmly grasped by a rough and big hand, which resulted in the previous sound that Rance and Yukari heard. Quickly, Rance pulled out his hand from the portal with a grin on his face.

"Yukari, behave yourself!" Ai threw a knife toward the blonde women, which she caught easily with two fingers before sending it back to the sender. "Don't drag me into your sickening comedy routine. I respect you both, Lord Rance and Lady Yukari, but I would be grateful if you don't startle me sexually ever again."

"Rance, would you mind if I take Ai home with me?"

"No."

"Aww." Pouting, Yukari sat on the prison-bed. "Such a spoilsport. Ai, would you humor me by telling me how this prison thing work? Your master is such a bad guest and that maid won't even look me in the eyes anymore. Young people in their rebellious phase; they're such a downer and confusing, don't you agree Ms. Strategist?"

"It's not that I cannot relate to that, Lady Yukari, but I detest perverted manchilds even more."

"It's a good thing that I killed that bastard uncle of Kenshin then. I cannot stand that guy... whoever his name is." That remark made Ai stare deeper inside Rance's eyes. "What? You said you also hate that man more than anything else in your life before."

A brief pause.

Not even a reply being uttered, the dark-haired strategist turned to the light-haired sage with a face that screamed seriousness. "This prison is sort of a necessity in our world. We capture people who was caught or had surrendered to us and place them inside these cells to be tortured. For the males, we have the constant insults and physical tortures. For the females we have the "pleasant" torture devices all ready to "please" the women being captured here. As per my Lord Rance's order, the males are to be treated, in his word, like shit while the females will be treated like a princess. I will, again, assure you that no unnecessary harm will be done to the girls being sent here. The first sign I see my Lord doing anything funny, as the Jailor herself I will stop him personally." Rubbing her chin with her arms crossed, she nodded. "I think that covered the gist of it. Any question my Lady?"

"No, that would be enough. As long as I have your words as a Jailor." Yukari lifted one leg high and placed it on top of the other thigh. It was purely to titillate Rance, and it was working. As Rance leaped above to jump onto Yukari, a portal appeared behind her and she fell inside it. Noticing his face was now on the mattress, Yukari laughed from outside the cell. "Patience my young Lord. Don't you know that good things happen to those who waits?" Opening a portal beside her, she bowed while staring at the butt of the brown-haired Lord. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have something to do elsewhere. Thank you for inviting me on a date, Rance. It was a pleasant experience." And with that, she went inside the portal and went away somewhere.

"Thank you for visiting, Lady Yukari." Ai waved to the blonde girl as she walked toward the jail cell door. Sweating from top to bottom, she reached for the jail cell's door. Being underground for too long made her sweat, and it was by design. The more uncomfortable the prisoners are the better they are to be negotiated with afterall. Compliance from an illusion of choice had always worked wonders to this day. As she thought about taking a bath once she went upstairs, she noticed one thing from the rattling steel bars.

Seeing that in full display, Rance sat on the bed with one feet on his thigh and one hand supporting his chin. "Let me guess, the bitch locked us in didn't she?"

"Yep."

"And while we weren't looking, she also stole the master key you had between your boobs."

"Yeah—wait, how did you know about that?"

Rance didn't answer, but his grin showed enough evidence for Ai not to pursue that question. She didn't want to get stuck inside the cell with Rance. Not when there were better things to do than humor the sick pervert with her body, and so she called for someone upstairs to save her from this particular mess.

After a round of horrible tag between Rance and Ai, a wandering Daiyousei went back with the master key in her hand. But when she found the two of them, they were already in a position of almost penetration: her legs spread apart and Rance was about to push down his pants. At the sight of a flustered children, Rance sighed and stood up. Taking the key from the green-haired fairies and releasing himself from the cell, he continued with his days as usual.

Now, maybe he should bother Teru for a while.


An Unknown Faction is currently active...


The forests, the grasslands, the rivers, the mountains, the sky. Where the ground rests, where the blessing of the earth rises, where the water circulates, where the peak of the world stood, where the limitless possibility unfold. Fairies inhabit all sorts of canvas of the world, and that was what made them magical. Common, but magical.

Inside a place surrounded by trees, circling a round table made out of a stump of a big tree laid flat, figureheads of the fairy realm appeared to be staring in a four-way eye-to-eye against one another. The round table was designed to hold six fairies in an open discussion, but as it stand there were only four girls present in the emergency meeting issued to all members of the fairy factions. The meeting were held only when a gigantic war-breaking event had happened to mess everything up for the fairies.

It was the first time that a large amount of fairies had been put into one place, and it was discomforting for the figureheads to be watched by so many eyes all at once. They were sweating from their foreheads as their hands tremble, though they tried to hide them from view as best they could. The girls didn't speak a word since they sat on the table, and they silently did their best with their own activity instead of talking. One out of the four was busy drinking a cup of joe while reading a pocket-sized book, the other was too busy looking to the sky as petals billowed in the wind, two others was busy looking at each other and then their followers, though one was looking more confident than the other. One reason because one of them prefer not to, but the other being a mix of not wanting to expend too many efforts.

In the end, one of the fairies lifted her head and opened her mouth.

"I'm going to go ahead and say something then," said the fairy draped in a blue dress. "Hope you girls don't mind me breaking the ice."

The girl's name was Star Sapphire. She was one of the figurehead of the fairy faction participating in the fairy war. Her units consisted of bright-minded fairies with a preference in mind-boggling tactics with her power as the center-piece of her strategy. Her long and black hair adorned with a blue ribbon was enough to catch everyone's attention by grace alone, her tall and slender body only gave more proof how she was respected by most of her peers. With the nodding of the other figureheads as a go-to approval, she continued.

"As you all know, the secret war of the fairies have been compromised," crossing her arms, Star began. "A human with the name of Lens had defeated Cirno's faction, the strongest faction of the fairy factions with not much of a problem. Yesterday, I have devised a strategy to turn the strength of Cirno's faction, mainly her number of followers, against her in a sort of coup. I'm ashamed to say that my plan fell apart thanks to that man."

"You're always using such underhanded tactics," a girl in yellow color talked. Though the other fairies were sweating, she was the one who sweated less. A cup of coffee in hand, she placed the coffee on the table and smiled. "It's just a matter of time before you got karma hitting you in the face, Star."

Luna Child, as the name implied, drew power from the moon that hung in the sky. She excelled in night combat, and the ray of the pristine and round white calmed and soothed her as a presence that will always be felt by her. On her feet was a basket case made out of soft and light wood crafted out of the tree branch with her treasure inside it, which her capable units had tasted its greatness before. Among the four of the fairies, she was seated on the west-side.

"Finally a just comeuppance!" A fairy in a distinct red dress, laughed. "That'll teach you to not scheme too much, Star. One must always use force and tactic to win the battle I would say. You have a great mind, but you lack the quality in, well, quality manpower!"

Her units roared from the crowd and the fairy named Sunny Milk raised her arms onto the air, gesturing her follower to simmer down with a smug smile. Though it might be illusion, it was as if the girl herself had glowed in sparkling glitters. Star, Luna, and the other fairy eyed the fairy being cheered on fresh from heaving out a big sigh. Their eyes squinting as much as they could because maybe if they squint hard enough they could see past their friend's hubris.

Not going to be swept by her promotional stunt, Star returned with her composure in tow. "Back to what I was going to say, we need to do something to beat that man, and we cannot just go at it our own way to defeat him. We need to be concentrating our efforts and defeat him together, as a big and beautiful team."

"Big and beautiful," said the fairy sitting opposite of Star. "That reminded me of spring with its bountiful greatness and its great bounty! I approve this proposition of yours, Star. I very much love your plan. I would very much say that your plan is the only way we can stand a chance!"

The one-eighty of said fairy was unprecedented, but at the same time predicted. Lily White was as much a fan of spring as a layman is to a cooked and seasoned five-star dish. They will savor every single bit of it regardless of shape or form. It could be that one would perceive her as potentially a nut-job, but that was the reason the fairies respected her in the first place: her dedication to one and only one thing. With no effort wasted, that mean she stood tall and true for her ideals, and that sort of thing was just the thing the fairies will ate up in a heartbeat.

"I'd regret this," huffed Luna as she stood up. "But I'll agree with Star this time. If someone as strong as Cirno and her factions can be beaten, it's only the right thing that we unite to defeat a common cause. Nevertheless, we need to keep ourselves from underestimating our opponents. Do I need to remind you guys what happened the last time we did that?"

"Don't need to remind me, Luna. I can feel the wound stinging still!" Sunny grimaced as she grind her teeth together. "I'm down with you on this one Star. It's high time we do this anyway. Makes it easier to win the war too. Afterward we can just settle it ourselves again excluding the human factions of course... wait can we even do that?"

Star nodded, her hand pulling out a rolled up paper from her pocket. "Here, look at this scroll. Detailed in this game, is the announcement for the second game of Warring Areas. Last time we didn't do so great due to our territorial disadvantage, but this time, we can do better from having more people joining us in our endeavors! If we defeat that man, Rance the Outsider, we can assimilate his forces into our own and we will become stronger than ever before!"

The fairies' cheers were creating an uproar in the silent forest. The dead of the night had turned alive from the excitement alone it might as well be day. To the tune of merriness, however, a single fairy slammed her cup onto the table. This, made every fairy in the vicinity stop and looked at the blonde girl with ringlets.

"Sure, sure, but let's skip the boring parts, shall we?" rubbing her mouth with a napkin, she readied herself for the big revelation. "You have a plan to defeat him, haven't you? Don't tease us girl, lay it out in the open."

"I will, but as I explain it to all of you, I want someone to pull out a piece of paper and write us a declaration of war." The grin on Star's face was both befitting of her role as a prankster and had enough twistedness enough to pass being the faction's new leader. "We're going to strike when it's hot my fellow fairies. Better sleep well tonight, because we're going to war tomorrow!"

The hurrah of the fairies echoed through the silent forest.

Thus, the gears of Gensokyo moved slightly faster.


The Fairy Alliance sent their Declaration of War
Territories: 3

Northern Plains Unconquered

Southern Riverside Unconquered

Western Forest Entrance Unconquered


(Thank you for noticing a massive error. I'll do better to not let something like that slip out again. I appreciate the feedbacks too.)