One of the six bank robbers is a woman. Variety in gender!

Chapter 3
Making the First Move


Some of the bank robbers pointed their guns around the place to make sure that nobody was attempting to do anything, while some got the bankers to fill up their bags with money. After the bags were filled up, the robbers began to leave the place and told everyone not to move until they were gone.

"Don't think you're leaving here so easily!" Sumireko said in her head with a smirk while slowly moving one hand. A faint purplish glow also appeared around it.

When the robbers approached the sliding door, it didn't open. One of them pounded the door, but it remained close. "What with this door? Is it broken?" he asked.

The robbers pounded against the door to try to get it to open, but it remained close. One of them fired his gun at the glass, but due to the glass being bulletproof, the bullets were unable to shatter it.

The robbers then saw police cars gathering outside the bank through the glass. "Argh! Use the back door!" suggested one of the robbers. They were going to turn to run when suddenly the sliding door fell over on top of two of them and pressed them against the floor. They tried to get back up, but it was as if something heavy was pressing against the door that they were unable to do so.

"Get this thing off me!" one of them shouted. Unknown to everyone, Sumireko was snickering as quietly as she could while moving her hand.

"Time for the finale!" she said in her head, and then she flicked her hand downward to cause the portion of the ceiling above the robbers to come crashing down on top of them. Needless to say, everyone else was surprised to see this.

Because the robbers weren't in the condition to get back up properly and run, the police were able to subdue them easily. Everyone was relieved that this issue was dealt with, though they wondered why the sliding door wouldn't open and why the ceiling suddenly collapsed without a warning.

"Doing good things always makes you feel good!" said Sumireko as she left the bank while dusting her hand.

While the robbers were being put into the police truck, Seija and Elis, who was wearing a sunhat, watched from not too far away. "I have to admit that things didn't happen the way I hope it would," said Seija. "Surprising, buuuuut… a bit disappointing."

"So what are you going to do about it?" Elis asked her. The amanojaku then whispered something into Elis's ear, and the vampire smiled and nodded in response. Then without care of people seeing them, they flew into the air and went after the police truck as it turned around the corner.

Elis out sped the truck and landed in front of it. The truck driver was shocked by her sudden appearance but had no time to stop or steer to the side. Stretching her arms forward, the vampire managed to stop the entire vehicle with little effort, causing it to tilt somewhat into the air and deploy the air bag as if it hit something hard.

The police cars that were accompanying the truck immediately stopped, and the policemen got down with their guns pointing at Elis. "Who are you?! What are you doing?!" one of them asked.

Ignoring the police, Elis tore off the truck door and pulled out the driver, flinging him onto the pavement. After popping the air bag with her claws due to it getting in the way, she started looking through the car cabinet for the key. "Stop what you're doing at once and put your hands up!" the same policeman shouted at her.

All of a sudden, some of the policemen found themselves flipped upside-down and was slammed against the pavement by their heads. The remaining policemen were shot in the back by arrow-shaped projectiles and fell over.

Seija, who attacked those police, landed next to Elis just as the latter found a set of keys and handed it to her. "You deal with those nuisances," she told the vampire, who gladly went to do so.

While Elis was slaying the policemen, Seija headed to the back of the truck to unlock it with one of the keys. The bank robbers were surprised when they saw that the door had been opened by a girl with small but visible horns. "Hello there!" she said to them. "Let's save the introductions for later. I'll just let you know that we're in for some fun if you agree to come with me!"

"Are you here to get us out?" one of them asked her.

"Why else would I be doing this?" she replied. "Just so you know, we're going to use this ride to get out of here, but I need someone who is capable of driving it, so if you really want to get out of here, would one of you please volunteer to be my driver?"

The robbers looked at each other, unsure about whether or not to trust her. One of them eventually stepped forward and said he would drive, so Seija used the set of keys to unlock his cuffs. Seija went into the back of the truck and closed the set of doors, while that robber went to the front of the truck to take the wheel. He was shocked to see dead bodies of policemen sprawled out all over the place when there.

"What are you looking at? Get on fast!" Elis told him. The robber got onto the driver's seat, while Elis took the seat next to him, and the former stepped on the gas pedal to zoom off.


Sanae was having a lot of fun at the department store. Fortunately for her, she brought a large amount of money. Shingyoku still told her to spend wisely, though.

"A photo booth!" said Sanae, pointing at one. "C'mon! Let's go in and take some pictures!" She then dragged Shingyoku into the booth and started taking pictures with him. Sanae made various poses and faces, but the gatekeeper maintained a still pose and a poker face the whole time. After the pictures were done taking, Sanae told him, "Change into your female form!"

"But I was told not to change into that form unless necessary," Shingyoku told her.

"Since there's nobody else in here, it's all right," Sanae told him. "Just change back after we're done. Also, make some faces and poses, will you? Pictures are no fun if you stand still or make expressionless faces."

Shingyoku changed into his female form, and then Sanae taught her some expressions and poses to make. However, when they started taking pictures, Shingyoku continued having a poker face, though she made victory signs this time.

After they were done taking photos, Sanae suggested that they go grab something to eat, so they went to a fast food joint.

"This is delicious!" said the wind priestess happily after taking a bite out of a hamburger. "They have hamburgers in Gensokyo as well, but the ones out here are the best!" She then asked Shingyoku, "Are you enjoying your time? How's the outside world so far?"

"I do not have any opinions regarding my experience in the outside world," replied the gatekeeper.

"C'mon! Cheer up! It should be fun! You've never experienced any of these things before!" Sanae told him. "I'll try to see if I can take you to more fun places. Let's see if I can get you to smile before we get back home!"

"I am more concerned about accomplishing the purpose we came here for," said Shingyoku.

"Don't worry; we'll definitely get that done," Sanae assured him. "We haven't heard anything from them yet, so let us enjoy ourselves until they made their move. Rest assure that I haven't forgotten our purpose here!"


The villains, after escaping the police, arrived at an old apartment located in an abandoned area. After parking the truck in an alley, they went into the apartment and into the room the robbers were staying at.

There, Seija and Elis introduced themselves to the robbers, but the latter didn't really believe what they told them. "You got any proof that you guys are not human?" asked one of the robbers.

"Horns and wings aren't convincing enough?" Seija asked him while pointing to one of her horns and grabbing one of Elis's wings, to which the latter responded by pulling her wing away from her as if she didn't like people grabbing it without her permission.

"Anyone can make themselves look like that with costumes," said another one of the robbers.

"Then how about I convince you with something like this?" said Seija before making the table flip upside-down with a flick of her hand and without making any contact with it. The robbers were, needless to say, surprised by this. "I'm sure you're now convinced that there are things out there that are supernatural. Things that look like they shouldn't exist and the like…"

"Okay, you've proven yourselves," said one of the robbers. "We're grateful that you rescued us, but why did you do so and what do you want? I have a feeling that you want something in return…"

"Oh, I'm not asking for anything in return," said Seija. "You see, we both saw you boys' failure of an attempt at robbing a bank. It's a shame that things didn't go as planned because of some s- door and ceiling. Hmmmm? I wonder if those things happened by chance or if someone was actually behind them? I'm not implying that we had anything to do with them, mind you…"

"Just get to the point!" said one of the robbers impatiently. He was a hot-headed one.

"Let's just say I think you deserve another chance at doing this sort of thing, and while you're at it, I'll teach you some ways you can make things… a lot more fun!" said Seija. "You guys did a good job, but you are lacking one thing."

"And what would that be?" asked a robber.

Smiling, Seija replied, "You're not putting enough effort into making yourself notable. What I mean is… breaking into places and telling everyone to stick up his or her hands is so old fashioned. Who is going to remember you for that, even if you successfully robbed the place? If you want to do something bad, do it in a way that people will always be able to remember you! Stand out from among the uncountable numbers of lawbreakers that exist in this world! Do something to make yourself shine! Become a celebrity among criminals! Show the world that you are different and make them afraid of you!"

"How are we supposed to do that?" asked one of them.

Seija looked at him and replied, "That is why I'm here to help you guys. Heeheehee!"


That night, Sanae and Shingyoku got themselves a cheap but comfortable inn to turn in for the night. "I can't believe they have such a wonderful place for such a low price!" said the former as she sat down on one of the beds.

Standing on one side of the room, Shingyoku said, "We have not accomplished anything resourceful today."

"Don't worry; we'll do that tomorrow," Sanae told him. "And by the way, can you change into your female form for the night? It's just that… even though we're not sleeping on the same bed… I feel strange sharing a room with a man… I feel better if it's a woman."

"Why is that?" asked Shingyouku.

"Well… Men and women unrelated by blood sleeping in the same room without undergoing marriage first is frowned upon…" said Sanae nervously. "We're not related to each other by blood, even though I told the receptionist that we are cousins… Just change into your female form, okay? It makes me feel more relaxed."

"As you wish," said Shingyoku before changing form.

"Okay! That's better!" said Sanae. "By the way, my favorite TV show is about to start!" She grabbed the remote and turned on the television, and the first thing she saw was the news channel.

"Eyewitnesses managed to capture this footage using their cell phones," said the news reporter before the scene changed to two people flying in the air. "More eyewitnesses claim that they stopped the truck containing the bank robbers and killed all the policemen accompanying it. After that, they freed one of the prisoners so that he could drive the truck to escape."

After that particular news report was finished, Sanae said in shock, "That… That was Seija just now! It's definitely her!"

"The convict Elis was also there with her," said Shingyoku. "It appears that they have made their move."

"I didn't expect them to make their move this fast…" said Sanae. "I wonder why Seija would rescue those bank robbers, though. She probably wants henchmen."

"Now that they have made their move, what is our next course of action?" Shingyoku asked her.

"Let's see if we can find out more from newspapers tomorrow," said Sanae. "It seems that we missed out a portion of the news, so let's wait until we can find out more first. We'll definitely find out where they are and capture them!"


Sumireko saw the same news at her house. "This sure isn't something you see every day around here…"


TO BE CONTINUED