Alright, why the hell did I take on this job to begin with!? Oh wait, that's because I wanted to earn some money to help Rin out, but still...

Whatever reason I had to enter this stupid forest didn't matter in the slightest; the reality of my situation was the same: What was supposed to be a quick delivery ended up being a chore that was dragging on longer than I wanted to. According to my wristwatch, more than four hours had passed ever since I had entered the forest, and I had been searching for the client's house from the very beginning. The fact that the adress description only had "Forest of Magic" written on it didn't help much. Walking had become so monotonous that sometimes I took a sharp turn to my left or right just for the sake of change, although it didn't seem to change anything at all. I was still walking forward, trees were still passing by me and the sound of crickets could be heard in the distance...

Actually, something DID change over time, but it wasn't good at all. I could notice that it was slowly but surely becoming harder to see, signaling that the sun was setting, taking my only source illumination away little by little. In an hour or two, I would be left vulnerable and in complete darkness. To make matters worse, the warning that blonde puppeteer gave me made me extremely paranoid to the point where I looked at my surroundings every so often, always thinking that something was stalking me, ready to strike at the worst possible moment.

I gotta find that house fast or else I'm don- huh?

While I walked and looked forward, the shadow of a figure came into view in the distance, making me stop almost immediately to take a better look at it. The figure was limping lethargically, looking like it was going to collapse on the ground at any time. Maybe it was hurt badly? The view of this individual in such a miserable condition had me feeling divided.

On one hand, that figure could possibly be in dire need of assistance and I truly wanted to go ask if they needed help, as they could provide me with much needed directions in return. On the other hand, I was feeling extremely fearful for my life and wanted to stay as far away as possible from them, the warnings I had heard previously amplifying that fear. Fortunately, they did not seem to be aware of my presence, which meant I still could make my choice.

… No way I'm going near them.

Deciding to listen to my better jugdement, I take the safest way out and start slowly circling around them while making as little noise as possible and keeping an eye out for any sudden movements.

*CRACK*

A loud snap makes my heart nearly burst out of my chest as it reverberates through the forest. Out of reflex, I hide behind a tree as fast as I can and try to make out what happened: In a moment of carelessness, I most likely stepped on a tree branch or something similar, but that didn't matter right now, because the sound of sluggish footsteps could now be heard approaching my location.

Running away was not an option anymore, because it would surely give out my position, if I already hadn't been spotted. I stayed behind that tree, holding my breath and trying to still my shaking body to no avail. The sound of footsteps on the grass were getting louder and louder by now and, if I had to take a guess, I'd say that we were roughly about seven meters apart, that very tree being the only thing preventing me from getting spotted. Also, I could now hear pained moans and heavy breathing over my pounding heart.

Then, to further strengthen my fear, a series of tapping noises started sounding off in the distance. They sounded like two hard materials hitting each other and seemed to follow a steady pattern, something that seemed to conflict with the arrhythmical and organic moans from before. Thankfully for me, the tapping also seemed to catch the attention of whatever that creature was, as I heard it slowly walk away in the direction of the sound. Eventually, I lean my head out to take a look, only to see no one in sight. Taking that as a sign, I get the hell out of there and walk back to my original direction before all that ordeal.

After walking a while longer, I come across another lone house, which was pretty impressive, considering it was well concealed by the shadows of the surrounding trees. From its height, I could see it had two floors, nothing special. This could be the client's house... this HAD to be the client's house, because if it wasn't, my next moments searching for it would be in the dark. I walk up to the front door and knock on it a few times, only for no one to answer. I try it again a few times again and get the same response.

Fuck it.

I grab the doorknob and twist it while pushing the door and, much to my surprise, it actually opens! I slowly invite myself inside, shutting the door behind me thereafter. In an instant, my nostrils are assaulted by a foul smell. Focusing my eyes to the best of my ability, I am able to just barely make out my surroundings: a small table on the ground surrounded by a few cushions on tatami mats, two box-like objects sitting on top of it, one smaller than the other. Upon closer inspection, I can feel that the top of the bigger one has no cover and that there is a small stick inside pointing upwards with a flexible string on its end.

Yeah, that's a lamp alright. Now, all I need is...

I fiddle with the smaller one, eventually opening it and revealing a set of tiny sticks. Thank God they've already invented matches here. With a bit of scraping the end of the match against the rugged side of the box, a small flame is brought to life. I waste no time in lighting the lamp with it, its fire brightening my surroundings considerably. Sure, it's not as good as a flashlight, but just like Mighty No. 9, it's better than nothing!

Now with a light source in hand, I started navigating through the lower floor of the house, which consisted of the living room where I came from, a kitchen and a bathroom. While exploring the first floor, I expected the stench that I first noticed to get stronger, but it didn't. That scratched it off my list, leaving only the second floor left. Going back to the living room one more time paid off, as I managed to find a barely noticeable set of stairs in the corner. I slowly walk up them, the stress of my weight being enough to make them let out a creak every now and then. At the top of the stairwell was a hallway, two doorways along it and one at the other end of the hall. The first two rooms had nothing out of the ordinary, leaving only the room at the end of the hallway and inside it.

"What the hell?!" I say out loud, shocked at what I found.

On top a bed lied the body of a man. I couldn't tell much just from looking at it, apart from the fact that it wansn't bloated yet and the skin color looked normal for the most part. As for the smell... It was noticeable back downstairs, but the foul air around it made it very hard to breathe and I felt my gorge rising constantly. I don't think you could get to this point even if you stopped bathing altogether and his chest didn't rise or lower ocasionally, so... Yes, the guy was dead.

I take some distance from the unsightly view before me and look around for anything that might tell me who this house belongs to. A slip of paper on a nearby table catches my attention and I pick it up to take a better look at it. It was a receipt for the Human Village's mail service, and at the recipient's name was the name "Yamato" plus some surname that I couldn't read because of some distinctly bad handwritting. I take another look at the corpse, or better yet, my client while still holding the paper.

My job here's done, I guess. Can't deliver a package if the recipient's not here to take it.

I stuff the paper on my pocket and start to walk towards the door, but the close sound of something shuffling makes me stop almost immediately. The last time I checked, I was the only one alive in this place. I quickly turn around and what I see confirms exactly what I dreaded the most. Yes, I was still the only one alive in this place. The client, on the other hand, went from being dead to being undead; he was slowly rising from the bed, eyeing me all the while. Hungrily. I get out of the bedroom as quickly as I can and, after closing the door behind me, enter the door closest to the stairs. Once inside, I lock the door and block it with a nearby nightstand. Meanwhile, a few bangs could be heard coming from the door at the end of the hallway. I sit on the floor and close my eyes to catch my breath from all that happened with the lit lamp at my side. Now that I was thinking about it, locking myself in a room was probably the best course of action to take, as leaving the house would leave me stranded in the dark and vulnerable to whatever was lurking outside right now.

"He better pay me big time for this." I speak to myself.

"I suppose getting out with your life intact is not enough?" A mysterious female voice asks me out of nowhere, startling me.

I open my eyes and look up to see the figure of a woman sitting mid-air in the middle of the room. I couldn't make out many of her features due to the distance between us; from where I was, all I could see was the lower half of her purple dress and long blonde hair that went down to the bottom of it, a few ribbons tying them. The dim light from my lamp simply wasn't enough and, after what happened earlier, I wasn't going to come closer any time soon.

"How the heck did you get in?! There was no one here when I checked!" I slowly stand up, wary of her.

"This is a really fortunate series of events, don't you think?" She asks casually while ignoring my question.

I can't tell if she's being sarcastic or if she's joking. "Are you talking about the part where I got sent to this place of all people? Or the part where I got lost in this forest ? Or maybe the part where I almost got attacked by some strange creature?"

"I am talking about the part where you survived a fall of twenty meters with only a few scrapes and bruises, got sheltered by the first youkai you met and had your life saved without even knowing."

She's got a point there, although I don't get the last part. "Yeah, that's true. Maybe I should count my blessings." Wait a moment, I never told her those things and I certainly don't remember meeting her anywhere. "Hey, how do you even know that to begin with?"

She doesn't respond and just sits mid-air staring(?) at me.

I narrow my eyes a bit to try to see her better and then it hits me: she only appeared to be sitting mid-air. Instead, there was what seemed to be a tear in the fabric of space, with many eyes staring at me from within and a red ribbon on each edge of the opening.

This tear...! I've seen it before!

"Hey, you're the one who brought me here, right?!"

Her index finger taps repeatedly against her leg. "Of course not. You walked here on your own."

Yeah, she's joking with me.

I shake my head lightly. "I know that. What I'm talking about is Gensokyo. You brought me to Gensokyo, right?"

All of a sudden, she claps her hands once, a loud sound echoing through the room and the sudden movement scaring the shit out of me. "Finally!" She says with much enthusiasm. "I thought you'd never figure it out! My name is Yukari Yakumo; pleased to meet you." She grabs the sides of her dress and salutes me.

"N-nakamura. The pleasure is mine." I reluctantly give her a thumbs up. "Now, why did you bring me here?"

She crosses her legs. "Because you are a hero from an ancient prophecy that is destined to save this land from a great evil."

I look at her with an unamused face."You can't be serious." If she IS serious, then she literally chose the most incapable person for the job.

"To be honest with you, I'm not."

I put my hand to my forehead in frustration. "You know what? Whatever. Just be careful with those rifts of yours. You could killed me back then." Man, this lady's a real handful to talk to.

She puts her hands together, fingers intertwined. "Oh, I'm sorry. I assure you I had no intention of killing you."

I smile a little. "Really?" I guess this was all a mistake and-

"Of course. I only wanted to disable you, at worst."

Yay, mood whiplash! "..." I couldn't find any words or action to properly show my shock other than silently staring wide eyed at her.

"I'm told the wild youkai usually prefer their food live, but unable to run or fight back."

By now, my legs were starting to tremble. "And since I survived, you're here to..." And we're all alone here, in a desolate forest. I'm fucked, aren't I?

She dismissively waves her gloved hand. "There's no need for that. If the wild youkai can't catch someone like you, then they're better off starved to death. Do I look like their mother to give them food in their mouths?"

I was feeling a bit better now, but still scared. "Er, does that mean I get to keep my legs?"

"Yes, you're just a lonely and ordinary human after all. It's not like you could do much if one of them attacked you." She uncrosses her legs and turns to the interior of the rift she was sitting on. "Chatting with you is pretty nice, but I have other matters to attend to. I'll see you some other time, if you're still alive by then that is."

I hold out a hand. "W-wait! There's one last thing I wanted to ask you!"

She turns her upper body to look at me. "Sorry, I don't do autographs if that's-"

"My backpack! Can I have it back at least, please?"

"Hmm..." She looks forward and ponders for a moment.

I put my hands together in a begging gesture "Pretty please? With sugar on top?"

After a while, she gives her response. "Fine, but only because you asked nicely." She snaps her finger and another rift appears by my side above the nightstand. My trusty backpack comes out and falls on top of it (Watch the goods, dammit!).

"There. I've got to go now." She starts sinking into the rift, but comes back up when she was almost disappearing inside it. "Oh, and before I forget: Welcome to Gensokyo." With that, she fully enters it and it closes shortly after, leaving me alone in the room (hopefully).

…

…

…

"Geez, thanks for the welcome, Yukari. Best reception ever; so good I'm giving Gensokyo a fucking five-star rating on Google next time I get to use the internet." I mumble to myself as I sit on the floor with my backpack and check my belongings.

Although my backpack was possibly in possession of Yukari for a few days, nothing had been taken. A laptop, a cellphone, a blue Nintendo 2DS , a solar charger, a wallet (along with my documents and cards), books, a pencil case, a scientific calculator and a pocket knife; yup, everything was in order. I grab my phone and press the power button, only for nothing to happen, which is understandable as I remember leaving it on before getting sent here. Not many days had passed since then, however it was long enough for the battery to discharge completely. Thankfully that wasn't a problem, as I could recharge it with the solar charger; the laptop and the 2DS weren't as lucky though. The voltage generated by it wasn't nearly enough to do the job (What is 5 volts compared to 127?); only a socket would suffice. That had to be left for another time though, for I had much more important things to worry about, finding my way back to the Human Village being one of them. I walk up to the bed, leaving my backpack leaning against its foot and, after praying on my knees beside it, I lay on it.

I waited and waited, but the sleep simply wasn't coming this time, and I blamed that on an ever growing feeling of pain inside my chest.

"... the wild youkai prefer their food live..." Yukari's word's kept repeating inside my head.

Food. Is that the only reason I was sent here? Not to help others, not even by mistake, but to sate the hunger of a monster for a few hours?

Moreover, I couldn't stop feeling helpless about my situation; if what happened back outside was anything to go by, Yukari was spot-on. If it wasn't for whoever made that sound, I probably wouldn't have made it out of that encounter alive. I didn't even know what was I doing here anymore and felt like I was going to war by myself against an entire army, with nobody to rely on. After a lot of time, I managed to catch some much needed shuteye.

Tomorrow was going to be a new day.

I am inside of a water park on a hot sunny day walking towards a pool.

Man, I could really use a dip.

"Eeeekkkk!" A cry of despair snaps me away from my thoughts and I look at the direction of the noise. Near the pool, a woman is being attacked by a crazy white goose flapping its wings about while she shields her face with her arms.

You stay the hell away from that poor woman!

I look around myself and find a orange-colored object; I grab it, take aim and then throw it. The object flies in an arc, striking the animal right in the head. As if being shut down, it stops its attack on the woman, letting her run away, and slowly turns his eye to stare at me with a gaze that could pierce kevlar.

Oh shit.

Then, after a long period of starting daggers at me, it goes full Usain Bolt and starts sprinting in my direction as if its life depended on it. I desperately try to run away it, only managing to drag my feet across the ground, as if weights were tied to them. By now, the devil spawn had shortened our distance by a dangerous amount. It folds back its wings and lunges at my face headlong like a missile with its beak open. I react just in time and grab it with my hands, holding it open and being able to see the inside of its throat, and it looked nightmarish. The walls of its throat were covered in pointy spikes to ensure that whatever went down it wouldn't be able to go back up, in one piece at least. Think of the mouth of a leatherback turtle, or a camel or the sarlacc pit from Star Wars. I don't need to say more, do I?

"I will tear your fucking hide off!" The creature threatens me in a deep voice while flapping its wings to try and break free from my grasp.

Oh, come on! Can't I have a break even in my dreams?!

I had been able to hold it in place until now, but I could only do so for so long and was slowly losing my grip. I had been screwed over in many ways in my dreams, but to have my face eaten by a demonic goose was an all-time low.

"Hmm, that's a very weird dream you got there."

Muh-?!

I look to my side to see a girl staring at me while lying on her stomach in the air, a mix of amusement and curiosity on her face. She had dark blue eyes and hair and was wearing a very long Santa Claus hat along with a black and white dress decorated with black and white chocolate balls... or were they pom poms?

"Do you usually have dreams like this one? I don't have anything like it recorded in my book." She flips through the pages of said book.

I try to say "Help!" to her, but nothing comes out.

She looks at me for a moment before her face lights up. "Oh, sorry! Let me give you a hand there."

She grabs the animal by the neck and studies it while it flails about and tries to lash out at her; she isn't fazed in the least. "Bon appetit." She shrinks it to the size of a piece of gum and pops it into her mouth! Meanwhile, I can only stare at her, weirded out.

She chews it for a while and then swallows it. "Thanks for the meal. Say, you're new here, right?"

I point to my moving but silent mouth.

"Cat's got your tongue, huh? Don't worry, I can help you with that." She holds out a hand and a small blackboard and a piece of chalk appear in a cloud of pink smoke; I grab them and start writing down on it.

"Thanks for the help. And yes, I am new here; just arrived a few days ago."

"I see." She nods her head and just stares at me contemplatively.

"Is something the matter?"

She shakes her head. "It's nice to finally see your face. Your other dreams these past few days were just pitch black; I couldn't see anything inside them. It was finally clear this time, but you were struggling with that... thing."

"This happens because dreams are something I rarely have and when I do, it's usually a bad dream. This was one of them."

"That must be awful for you. Well, you don't have to worry about it this time, as I have feasted upon your nightmare; tasted real good, by the way." She opens her book. "Now, how about I give you a good dream so that..." The rest of her phrase fails to reach my ears as I stop paying attention to her to look down instead.

The ground beneath my feet was shaking; it was barely noticeable at first, but then started to gradually gain intensity.

"Wait, that's not part of the dream I made for you." The girl looks around herself, then shrugs. "Hang on. I'm going to erase it." She stands there for a while before her eyes start to widen. "It's not... working?"

Meanwhile, I had already fallen to the ground, unable to keep my balance. The scenery around us was getting destroyed too: cracks were forming on the ground, steel structures crumbled to the ground, etc. No people in sight though.

"Come on! Come. ON!" Domino girl starts frantically waving her hands around, trying to do sign language or whatever she wanted to do. "Why nothing's happening?!" Frustrated, she tugs on her cute pink hat.

The ground beneath us at that point was no longer able to withstand the tremors as a crater opened right where I was and I started plummeting into a deep void.

"Aaaaahhhhhhh!" ...is what I wanted to say or even write on my board, but I doubt I would be able to do it while falling or that she would even read it.

"Hey, come back here!" Domino girl extends a hand to try and grab me, but with no success; by the time she took action, I was too far gone. She quickly disappeared in the distance as I fell and, eventually, my surroundings got too dark for me to see anything.

After coming back to my senses, I notice that I am still surrounded by darkness, although I wasn't falling or at least feeling the fall anymore. Furthermore, I could clearly see the rest of my body even though there was no light source nearby. That and the blackboard and chalk were nowhere to be seen.

Was I even dreaming now? For me, it's usually no dreams (which Ms. Pom pom described as a complete void) or terrible dreams, but a dream inside a void? That's a new one.

I sit up and sigh deeply. "Ugh, just let me have a good night of sleep already- oh hey, I can talk again!" I have little time to rejoice in the return of my speech, as the vision of someone in front of me makes me stop and stare at them.

A person with bluish-gray hair that came down to their upper back wearing a long and tattered red cloak, which covered the rest of their body, was standing with their back to me. But what really stood out was the large wooden cross they were carrying; it was even bigger than they were!

"Hello?" I slowly get up, eyes fixed at them.

The figure lets out a gentle and feminine voice. "Sorry you had to experience that, but I needed to speak to you in private."

"You were the one who caused that earthquake? Who are you anyway?" Despite my nervousness, I wasn't feeling scared at all. For some reason, even though I did not know who she was and we were alone, a sensation of peace and serenity instantly filled my heart just from hearing her voice for the first time.

She turns her head to look at me with one of her light red eyes. "You really don't know? That makes me really sad, honestly. And to think we are so close..."

"Sorry, I feel like I remember you from somewhere but I can't put my finger on it..." I rub the back of my head in embarrassment. It felt a lot like that moment when you engage in a long conversation with someone who acts close to you but whose name you ended up forgetting by accident.

"Hmm, I understand. Well then." The girl turns around, facing me and making it possible for me to see her other features.

Her head was decorated by a dark green headband with pointy decorations all along it with a pink rose on the side. Under the cloak, she was wearing a white shirt with black frills at the end of the long sleeves along with a white and blue ankle-length skirt with trimmings. A cyan bow was attached to her neck; it was being used to hold the cloak so that it would stay in place instead of being blown away at the slightest breeze. As for her legs, she was wearing black shoes together with gray socks that came up to, at least, her knees.

She extends her hands to me, palms facing upwards. "What about those? Ring any bells?" Her hands, forehead and right eye were covered in bandages; whatever happened to her wasn't pretty, as the ones on her hand still had blood marks visible on them. "Here, come take a closer look."

Her hands..!

I slowly walk up to her. At that moment, I already knew who that girl was claiming to be thanks to the locations of her wounds. You could call them the "trademark" of a certain person. Even then, I was still uncertain about it all.

I grab her delicate hands and look at her face; she nods once. "Go ahead and take them off."

Following her order, I start unwrapping her hands until, finally, her bare hands were in full view. There was a hole in each hand that started large, but decreased in diameter as it reached the back, and the flesh had not healed at all with the passage of time; despite this, not a single drop of blood was flowing out of them.

"Feel them." She gently commands me.

Without hesitation, I start feeling around them with my fingers while wincing; I couldn't even imagine how much it must have hurt her; it was very touching to know that someone had selflessly let that happen to them so that something worse didn't need to happen to me, or to all humanity for that matter. I could feel a powerful sensation wash over me, my lips started to quiver and my hands started trembling. With teary eyes, I look back at her gentle face and meet her beautiful gaze.

She gives me a lovely warm smile and says, "Do you believe me now, Lucas?"

Author's note: OOOOHHH BOI, this one was a real handful and took a while to write, mostly the first half of the chapter. While writing this, I learned that writing suspense is really not my thing, so forgive me if that part looked rushed or looked badly written and for taking so long to come out with another chapter. By the way, what do you readers think about my take on Yukari's personality? Did you think I got it right? Leave your opinion in the review section. As always, constructive criticism is very welcome! Thank you if you read this story up to this point, have a nice day and may God bless your life! By the way, I learned how to put those horizontal line thingies on my documents! Looks way much better than those triple asterisks, huh?

Fun fact: That part where I got attacked by a goose actually happened to me in one of my dreams and I woke up with my heart racing and pulling my fingers. Crazy, huh?

Writing start date: 22/08/18

Writing finish date: 04/10/18

Post date: 12/10/18

Total number of words in this chapter: 5218