No one in Gensokyo could tell when the seasons changed anymore. Most only knew when Winter started and when it ended. Autumn was a little easy, but sometimes it was almost like Summer. It had it's hot and humid times at the beginning. What was hard to tell was when Spring started until one day a fairy named Lily White proclaimed herself the announcer of Spring, but after an incident that left her injured, she hasn't been the same. Now she would falsely announce the season in the middle of Winter and could harm others using her danmaku. That was the only way for the fairy to communicate since the incident left her unable to speak.

Someone else then decided to announce Spring's arrival. The only way she would know is when the cherry blossoms started blooming. On the ground, the cherry blossoms were very late and would still bloom in the middle of Summer even; occasionally in Winter too. Where she lived, these petals would bloom on the right day at the exact time. This is when she knew that Spring had officially begun.

Her name is Youmu Konpaku, the half human half phantom who lives in the Netherworld, serving her master Yuyuko Saigyouji. Her room was set next to three small cherry blossom trees which she attended to when possible, and when they'd bloom, she'd go to the human village and tell the storekeepers that Spring is here. Right away the storekeepers would put up signs which were mostly "Spring savings!" type of signs, and it would show people that Spring is finally here while dragging them in.

Youmu spent her days gardening and practicing sword techniques while her master would sit out and watch, eating something at least. It was a peaceful life (or should I say afterlife?) for the two aside from an incident happening every once in a while. Youmu liked it this way, but for as long as she has been around, something greatly troubled the samurai. Yuyuko noticed right away but never could understand why. Youmu use to be upbeat and happy until she suddenly became so negative and violent. Since what ever happened she hasn't been as open with Youmu as she use to be. She'd send her on missions and errands just so she could have a few moments to herself. If they ate together, they wouldn't ever say a word to one another and would sit in silence instead.

Yuyuko sleeps even if she doesn't need to. It's hard to sleep if you're dead, but that's never the problem. She'd have too much on her mind and would have to think it over before sleep even came to mind. Tonight, she just reflected on the day instead and worried about her servant. Then there was a knock on the door.

"Come in~." She said.

In came Youmu who wasn't in comfortable clothing at all.

"Lady Yuyuko," Youmu started with her usual soft and mousy tone, "You haven't eaten much today, so I came in to check on you."

"Ah Youmu! Do not worry sweetie. I just wasn't as hungry today as I normally am." Yuyuko lied.

Youmu wore doubt on her face and took a seat next to her mistress.

"Lady Yuyuko, is there anything bothering you?"

"Nothing my dear! You can go back to whatever you were doing."

"..." The samurai shook her head. "I know you very well milady. When you're not eating and you start raising your voice I know for a fact that you're lying and something's wrong. And frankly it's very obvious even without those symptoms."

Yuyuko had to agree. The ghost was never a good liar and Youmu could easily see through them like anyone could. Yuyuko never lies much anymore since it's been hard and useless to do so. If she had to lie, she would try covering it up with another fake excuse, but that would make Youmu angry.

"...You've got me." She sighed.

Just before Youmu could ask again, she got up and looked outside.

"What is it Lady Yuyuko?"

"Someones here. Please go check." Yuyuko ordered.

The half phantom stood up and left her mistress to find the intruder. Yuyuko followed behind her to see the commotion as well since she never got to see much of it. Youmu can be too overprotective at times and it gets annoying as hell.

Youmu stepped outside and approached the person. The thing was wearing a black hood that was stained with blood and ripped to shreds. Through the holes there were no signs of anyone, and the only way they could tell it was alive was from it's uneven breathing.

The gardener walked slowly towards it. "You have a lot of gut coming here in such a mysterious manner. Show yourself or I will cut you in ways that you'd never imagine!" She demanded of it and reached for one of her swords.

It didn't take their hood off but kept walking towards Youmu. In fact, the thing broke into a sprint instead and caught Youmu off guard. The gardener had no chance to move out of the way and was knocked over by what-ever-it-was. She pulled the thing down with her and they both tumbled to the ground with a sounding grunt. Yuyuko almost screeched and ran out of the mansion not even caring if her loose clothing fell off, which they were.

The two kept wrestling around until the figure was dominate over the gardener, but Youmu quickly grabbed their neck and started tightening the grip until they gasped and rolled over. Before it could get up, Youmu grabbed it again, yet this time by the cloak and started ripping more of it off. The thing groaned and rolled over again, bumping into Youmu's legs and trying to knock her off balance. The thing eventually bit Youmu's knee and kept driving her head into it until she slightly picked it up and weakly threw it to the side.

The cloak was covered in dust and grass. Youmu still held the little bits of it that she tore off but winced slightly and grabbed her knee. It was throbbing and bleeding from the huge bite it gave her, and before she had the chance to recover it started running away.

"Hey! Get back here!" Youmu roared as she quickly got on her feet and chased the figure.

It suddenly turned around and was tackled by Youmu to the ground once again. This time the half breed got the upper hand and held the mysterious figure down until they gave up struggling for a second, just to catch Youmu by the shoulder and rip the fabric off around it. The claws dug into Youmu's arm and she was forced to let go. But before it could get away, the gardener lunged towards them again and bit down hard on their shoulder to keep it in place. The thing yowled with pain.

"Please stop fighting me! I o-only want to talk!"

Youmu once had an accident regarding her left eye. She didn't want to talk about it, but the scar was so hideous she believed, that she now bared an eye-patch over it and rarely takes it off. That was sadly her only working eye, as her right eye was sightless for as long as she could remember, and it could only see the heat of a living being. She is technically blind, so the only way she could recognize who this was was to hear them speak. Upon hearing their voice, she instantly let go and gasped.

"C-Chen... Oh my goodness." Youmu stuttered and backed off slowly. "I-I'm so sorry... B-But w-why?"

"Self defense..." and they were out cold.

Youmu didn't understand if Chen was still conscious or not.

"C-Chen? Chen?! CHEN!"

"That's enough Youmu. You have done enough."

Yuyuko finally caught up to them. "You have done more than enough. She's out cold from you knocking her around too much. The poor thing..."

Youmu took a while, but eventually picked herself up along with Chen and headed back inside without a word to her mistress. Yuyuko looked down at herself an realized that segments of her clothing had fallen off due to her frantic rush outside. She headed back inside and decided to have Youmu pick things up later.

.

Days Ago

For a place that moves around it definitely looks appealing. The Yakumo's household is nowhere near the ordinary. It does strange things such as moving from place to place around the border or changing in exact image, inside and out. Illusion spells are placed around it so no one could find the area no matter how hard they looked. It's an unreachable place by most standards, even for Ran Yakumo herself.

Ran is a shikigami. A very intelligent one. The shikigami that most masters own are most likely dumb and can barely count to ten or talk appropriately. Ran was different in all ways possible to the point where you could easily mistake her as being a normal elder kitsune. She's even powerful enough to have a shikigami of her own, Chen. Yukari never liked the idea of this.

Yukari? She's Ran's master and has had her for a while. In fact, it was Yukari who raised Ran as her own child. Though Yukari could be thought of as a horrible "parent", it was understandable that she tried her best and cared enough to put time and effort into her shikigami. Ran, despite being very bright, has forgotten most of her past and denies that Yukari has ever cared for her. It's as of late where Yukari's mood has become quite berserk and shrewd. Most likely from Chen's recent arrival. Said above, Yukari has never cared too much for the bakeneko. On instances, Ran would read some of Yukari's diary entries and wouldn't be surprised if she came across a vulgar entry involving Chen.

One she had read was this: "October 9th, 1998. Recently I had been sending Ran on missions involving the outside world. The boundaries are quite unstable at the moment and the Hakurei Shrine maiden says that 'she doesn't feel up to it today". Utter bullshit. Chen would ask me where Ran goes everyday and I'm thinking of buying one of those cages from Eientei..." And so on.

At least the gap youkai does nothing but threaten the poor girl. Even though that's still bad as it is, she wouldn't dare lay a hand upon someone that Ran cared about, for now. For now.

Lately Ran has been sent on missions regarding the outside world. No one in Gensokyo truly knows what lies outside of the border except Yukari and Ran, and the kitsune couldn't even tell her shikigami. She knew that what was outside was so vile and unpleasant that not even Chen could know. No one can know. Yet. Chen was left to make up answers for herself which usually took lots of time which she found easily by ditching her studies.

Like Ran, Chen is also a very bright shikigami. Not as wise as her master, but she is smart enough in a trickery fashion that get's her in trouble mostly. She would rather focus on her own ideas than to pay any attention to Ran's orders. So, to sum it up, she isn't a very good servant, but Ran tries to give her more respect and love than Yukari "ever did". Still, it becomes hard when Chen would block out her orders so she would soon enough have to start screaming at her or even physically moving her so whatever task that needed to be finished was done.

When Ran wasn't around Chen was never around either. She would take walks on her own and would sometimes visit Youmu. You could call the two friends, but the only reason that they talk is because Yukari and Yuyuko are buddies and that they're both close to the same age. Youmu is four years older while Chen is around her same maturity level, so they're bound to get along. But today, Chen didn't take a walk and decided to stay home.

The bakeneko would stay home sometimes. When she does, she mostly just stole fish crackers from the kitchen or drew figures in the sand. She had a very active imagination which meant she never got entirely bored, but it's annoying to watch her move from place to place around the house at random for a change in scenery. While is was mostly misty around her home, she pretended that the sun was out like it is on youkai mountain and would play around outside like it were Summer, much to Yukari's annoyance. The gap youkai didn't care where Chen was and was usually asleep when she stayed home, but today, Yukari was up and about.

Chen was drawing kanji she learned in the sand while Yukari came up behind her. "Those are some very nice drawings you have there Chen."

She turned around to face her master's owner.

"T-Thank you miss Yukari."

"I was never that good with my studies when I was a child. I envy you sometimes."

Chen shivered hearing the word "child" that Yukari sometimes referred to her as. The bakeneko was no where close to being a child and was more of a teenager than anything, but Yukari still felt the need to compare the girl to a kid. Perhaps it was because of power difference or Yukari being a tease 24/7.

The tone of Yukari's voice was almost threatening and unnerving. Chen picked this up quickly and felt butterflies arise in her stomach as she tried to avoid any eye contact with the gap youkai.

"I'm actually not too good with my studies. Y-You were probably a lot more successful than... me." Chen stuttered. She could barely speak. She felt like doing so would provoke the woman.

"Oh my... Are you demoting yourself just for me?" Yukari sat down next to Chen and scooted herself so close that they made body contact. "I'm flattered, but you know, you don't always need to do that next to me, Chen. I allow freedom of speech, especially for pests like you."

The gap youkai then blew in Chen's ear, and the bakeneko jumped up on her feet and turned around. "Y-You know what? I-I-I'm suddenly f-feeling a little... Hungry... I'm going to make myself something..." Chen gulped and proceeded to walk towards the kitchen to avoid the woman.

This triggered Yukari to put herself in front of Chen, instantly causing the girl to jump back.

"You shouldn't abandon your master like that. It's very VERY rude. Ran does the same things and I bet you got it from her, didn't you?"

"You aren't my master..."

Yukari titled her head. "Say that again dear?"

"I said you aren't my master!" Chen repeated herself and stepped forward, trying to push her fears back. "Ran is my master! You're just some gap hag that sleeps all day and does nothing at all to help anyone!"

It wasn't until after she finished when she realized that she made the stupidest mistake in history.

"...Anything else?"

Chen was sweating to where it was visible. Her rapid breathing and shaking were quite noticeable as well, so Yukari decided to push it further; questioning her objectivity.

"M-Master Ran says that she doesn't remember you ever treating her nicely. She says at times you even go as far as treating her as a mere tool and stating it out loud..."

Yukari shrugged. "That's my opinion. I shouldn't have said it like that, but you know, you can't treat everyone as equals just because they're alive. A servant is a servant and a master is a master. Black and white. Simple as that."

Chen was surprised that Yukari took these complaints so calmly, until her next statement.

"And with me mentioning it, how come you don't know your place little girl?"

"..."

A sounding SMACK filled the atmosphere as the poor bakeneko was throw to the side of the house just by one little hit of Yukari's fan. Chen almost made a dent in it and fell from it, yowling in pain.

"Hmm. I should be more careful next time I hit someone. Shouldn't I, Chen?"

The gap youkai then picked Chen up by her shoulders and grinned. "I never liked you much anyways. Why would I? You act like such a whiny and irresponsible bitch that never listens to what others have to say. It pisses me off, so how about you just run away and never come back. That would be good for the both of us."

Chen knew that fighting Yukari won't do anything, so she let herself fall limp and braced for anything coming her way. The gap youkai let out a faint laugh and dropped Chen out of her hands, leaving the poor girl confused.

"Silly Chen, I'm just messing with you. Stop acting so tense around me." She said. "Besides, hurting you would make me look like a person who enjoys bullying the weak. I don't do such a thing unless they disrespect me."

"But wait, you just did."

Yukari gave Chen a kick to the gut that sent her flying out of the house entirely followed by a sinister laugh from her attacker.

"You must be so surprised that you didn't even notice that your right hand was just impaled by those sharp stones you placed near the sand. What an idiot Ran raised."

Chen looked over to her right hand and saw a whole stone clearly through the middle of it. It was impossible to think how a thing like that could work, but perhaps the impact was so much and most of her weight was in her arms, it was destined to get impaled.

She heard Yukari get closer and prayed that Ran would come back sooner than later. She carefully tried to get the rock out of her hand, but the stone was placed so neatly into the ground that it would be a useless attempt to even try rescuing her hand without someones help, and it didn't look like that damn gap hag was going to do anything like that. Chen pulled her hand out of the stone so fast that the pain was too slow to reach her in the process of doing so; then she made an attempt to run out of the situation. Surprisingly is worked, and Chen went as fast as she could and didn't look back.

Yukari didn't make an effort to chase her and let Chen get away.

"It'll be a waste to go and hunt her down. Ran can go and find her if she needs to, but I bet that cat will get killed in an instant." She said to herself.

.

"I heard rumors that people from the outside world are trying to get into Gensokyo. Has the shrine maiden told you about that yet Aya?"

The crow tengu shook her head. "Nope, not a thing Momiji. Reimu has barely talked to me lately and I'm beginning to wonder if shes giving me the silent treatment AGAIN... I hate that game."

Two tengus sat in a tree near the misty lake. One, the wolf tengu, held binoculars and was looking around the area, while the other, the crow tengu, held a pen and notebook. The two were yakking about new events in Gensokyo like they always do. Most are just rumors though.

"See anything yet?"

"Nope. Just trees. And Aya, why do we pick this spot anyways? All I see are trees and just trees. If we could pick a tree that's a little higher then maybe I could pick up something for once. We come to the same tree everyday and I keep telling you I see nothing but those damn trees!"

"You should at least see a lake somewhere. At least. It's harder to scout on the ground. Up here it's perfect! Totally perfect! And see down there? Someone to interview! Now, what topic should we bring up?"

Momiji put down her binoculars. "Perhaps what I just mentioned? The people breaking into Gensokyo?"

"Nonsense! That will scare the living daylights out of someone! Having strangers breaking into our beloved sanctuary? That's quite an unnerving topic! Even for some random person walking by..."

"However there is a lot to cover on the topic. If you brought it up, Momiji, then it certainly is news that everyone needs to know! I agree tremendous amounts!" Aya beamed.

"Your welcome." Momiji flashed her a smile.

The two jumped off of the tree and headed straight for the woman they spotted. She, perchance, is even a princess, minding her own business and taking a walk through the simpler forest near the Scarlet Devil Mansion and the misty lake. She turned to see the two tengus rushing towards her.

"Hello!" Aya greeted herself. "I am Aya Shameimaru! The creator and writer of Gensokyo's one and only newspaper, the Bunbunmaru newspaper!"

"And I am Momiji Inubashiri, the Bunbunmaru's co-writer."

"I know most people in Gensokyo and I believe we haven't met. May I interview you ma'am?"

The woman nodded. "Sure. That sounds nice."

"Great! Tell me your name and a little bit about yourself so I can recognize you next time!" Aya asked and took out her notebook and pen.

"Well, my name is Kotohime and I am a police officer and a princess. A long time ago, my parents would never let me go outside because they found me as 'odd'. Ha! I'm not odd! I'm special!"

"Aya, this girl gives me the creeps already." Momiji mumbled into Aya's ear.

"So because of that, I don't get to meet people much. So this is really exciting to get interviewed!"

"Nice! Now I am going to ask you some questions. If you can't answer them then you can always pass, but try giving the best possible answer if you can." Aya ordered. "Can you do that please?"

"Sure!" Kotohime agreed.

"I'm going to stand over there..." Momiji said and walked away from the interview.

"Don't mind her. My friend has always been weird around new people. Which is honestly strange since dogs would normally find new people to be appealing. She isn't a normal one that's for sure, but I like her like that."

Kotohime smiled. "I'm glad you two have a very loving relationship."

Aya then madly blushed. "I-It's nothing like that though! We're just, er, really good friends is all... Anyways! First question! Have you noticed any unusual happenings with the border surrounding this world?"

It took a moment for the cop to think of an answer. The clouds covering the sky disappeared and the sun began shining down on everything in the world. Kotohime the thought of an answer while looking up at the sky.

"Nothing unusual..."

Aya started writing.

"Nothing that unusual, I admit. I go the the Hakurei shrine sometimes and visit the shrine maiden there. A long time ago, like about ten years ago, ruins suddenly showed up in Gensokyo. Reimu calls it 'just another incident' now, but I opposed that thought. I met her there and she has grown since, but the shrine maiden forgets incidents so easily like they've never happened. I guess that's just me..."

"Oh! Sorry, I digress too much though it isn't really that isn't it? I meant to say something else..."

"Keep going then."

"Reimu keeps telling me that the border had become unstable many times. Not critically, but it's been happening way too often like someone is actually trying to get in here. When I was a child, I was suddenly spirited away here along with many others who instead died from youkai attacks or being unable to survive on their own. Each year, at least five people are spirited away. Sometimes more, and in the most bizarre ways possible.. Um, have you heard of the Eight Honest Men?"

"Eight Honest Men?"

"Yes."

Aya took a second to recall it.

"Never heard of them."

"They were spirited away here from their own world, where they were, from a hole in a peach tree, and one by one they were killed off. Same goes for other groups that get sent here. Like some say, 'A monster's paradise and a human's Hell'."

.

Momiji stood on the edge of the small cliff that kept the chilly lake under it. There she watched fairies play and other youkai walk along the bank. She saw the two mansions as well; one burnt and torn the pieces while the other stood tall. When Aya was out doing other things, the wolf tengu would come out to this area and relax. It was nice to set aside her stress once in a while and sit still.

From a distance she heard Aya coming up on her. Probably trying to scare her. This never worked since Momiji was equipped with such good hearing that it was useless to even sneak attack her. Most of her senses were boosted up by a ton to where she can see a thousand ri ahead.

"How did the interview go Aya?"

Aya gave up with the scare. "Great actually. I was going to head over to the Hakurei shrine to ask Reimu some questions."

"Even if she ignores you?"

Aya laughed. "Oh Momiji! She can't give me the silent treatment forever! She is BOUND to snap at sometime! But we don't need to do it right away. Let's call it a day."

.

Youmu waited outside of Yuyuko's room for news about Chen. She absolutely regretted attacking her like that, but it was mostly her blindness that was at fault. Even if she can sense the heat of living beings it doesn't mean she would know exactly who it was right away.

"It all just seems the same to me..." She thought. "Everyone's heat seems the same. Hopelessly slashing people won't do good."

Just then Yuyuko opening the door and carefully closed it. She gave Youmu a stern look.

"We need to talk Youmu. We need to talk."

"What about Lady Yuyuko?"

"...Why did you change?"

"Whatever you mean by that, the only thing I can recall is that I grew up."

"I didn't say puberty."

"You're missing the point Lady Yuyuko."

"Actually, Youmu, you're missing the point. You use to be so happy, but now I can't even have a normal conversation with you." Yuyuko paused, "Is this about being blind?"

"I am fine being blind." Youmu said. "I have learned to live only being able to see heat signatures of animate objects and I am use to that. It has never stressed me out. Not that I have remembered. But, I should be asking you why you've been acting strange. You barely talk to me anymore."

"That's because you're acting strange!"

Youmu gritted her teeth and curled up her fists. She can usually keep her cool unless it was someone like Yuyuko pestering her for answers.

"The only one acting strange here is you! I can't believe you're accusing me for being myself! Nothing had been bothering me! Nothing! So you can just shut up about it alre-!"

Youmu was cut off by a slap from Yuyuko.

"Know your place gardener." She snarled.

"I am sorry Lady Yuyuko..."

.

"Where is Chen?"

Ran Yakumo stood at Yukari's door. The gap youkai just mumbled. "Don't ask me any questions. I'm resting."

"Chen told me before I left that she was going to stay home today. You were the only other person here. Where is she?"

"Stop pestering me Ran."

Ran growled. "I saw blood on the sand! Where the hell did that come from?!"

Yukari rose from her bed and opened to door to face the angry kitsune. The gap youkai just shrugged and proceeded to close the door again until Ran stopped her.

"Look, Ran, I have no idea where that girl wen-"

"Bullshit! Complete bullshit!" Ran cried.

"...Don't talk to me like that."

"I WILL TALK TO YOU HOWEVER I WANT IF IT IVOLVES CHEN, YOU HEAR ME?!" Ran roared as she got up in Yukari's face. "I don't care if you're my master right now! I am the master of Chen, and as being her owner I expect you to at least know her whereabouts! Beat me if you want, but tell me where she is!"

"Fine. Fine, I'll tell you the truth."

Yukari shooed Ran away a little so she could slowly make her way out of the room to a nearby couch. She signaled Ran to sit next to her, and when the kitsune sat down, Yukari put a hand on her shoulder.

"Do you really want to know what happened to Chen? Where she went? If she's ok?"

"That's what I have been asking."
"Now now... Calm down Ran. Once you do, I will tell you where she went."

It took a couple minutes, but Ran eventually felt calm enough to understand.

"...I've always hated that damn cat, so I chased her off. There, now we don't need to see the pussy ever again."

Yukari gaped back into her room before Ran could do anything. She knew that after what she said, Ran would freak out and go on to look for her. Yukari, now having a few hours of quiet, finally could try to fall back asleep, but instead she walked to her desk and opened her diary. Most of the pages were already filled.

"It really has been a while since I've written in this thing hasn't it?" She asked herself. "Maybe I should start it up again. It'll definitely get chaotic here once they hear about the outside world. Ran has already been freaking out about it."

"April 14th, XXXX. I drove Chen out. That is all I would really need to mention, but she isn't coming back. Ever. It's not like I'd chase her out again if she did come back, but the girl is probably too frightened to ever step foot here now. I traumatized her for life. Ran is going to head out to search for her, but I doubt she will find her. And when she does, the cat wouldn't have to think about returning or not since it was already decided long ago with her.

So what now exactly? I've still been sending Ran on her missions to investigate the outside world. Things have been the same; collecting cacti and dust. It's a pretty boring task so I have her do it unless it involves killing another person. That's when I jump into the task and handle is easily. She isn't ready for the outside worlds power, yet."

That was all she could write. Yukari could never finish a diary entry, so she set her pen down and took a deep breath.

"What am I going to do...?"

…...