Chapter 7: Sonderkraftfahrzeug 251/Sd. Kfz. 251
"I don't know about you, but I would stay still right now."
I looked around for that voice. I was somewhere in a sea of darkness, just floating around.
It took me a moment to realize I'm in a dream. Which meant that I could not be harmed, and I had nothing to be scared about.
I also remembered I read somewhere that if you know you're in a dream, you are able to control it. I think it is called Lucid Dreaming, or something along those lines.
So I imagined that I had a flashlight to see the scenery around me.
"Hahaha, I applaud you for attempting. But that's not going to work. You're not in your own dream."
Great. If someone was crazy and they had voices in their heads, weren't the voices supposed to help, in a way?
"Not really."
Okay, whoever is reading my mind, show yourself.
"Nah, it won't be fun that way."
I was getting irked with this.
I then started falling. Before I could panic, however, I landed on a couch.
In front of me was a woman sitting on a couch parallel to the one I'm sitting on.
She was wearing an elegant Victorian-era dress, white in color with a purple 'stripe' down the middle. She was wearing a white mob cap on her head with a red bow on it. In one of her hands was an umbrella-like object - a parasol - and the other had a fan. Finally, she had hip-length flowing blonde hair with bows on the end.
I felt another strange feeling, like that one time I first met Nitori.
And then I spoke.
"Nice seeing ya, Gap Hag."
It took me a moment for me to realize that left my mouth.
The 'Gap Hag', as I had called her, frowned. "You know it is rude to disrespect your elders."
"Elder?" I asked. "So you're suggesting that you're old."
Displeased, she opened up her fan. "My, my, don't you have quite the spicy tongue?"
I stood up, out of my seat, and raised a fist. "Look, Yukari Yakumo. I don't want to deal with any of your business. You pop up, and bad things start happening."
I was thinking to myself: How did I know her name? And what did I mean when I said that?
Yukari remained quiet for a minute.
"I'm not here for any sort of this 'trouble' you are asking for. I'm just here for a simple conversation, hm?"
I sat back down.
"Alright," I responded. "What is this... simple... conversation you want to have? Last time I checked, a conversation with you is anything but simple."
Yukari smiled. "I just want to know what you know."
I looked at her as if she was crazy. Know what I knew? I didn't know much in the first place!"
"Now that is untrue," Yukari responded to my thoughts.
"If you could listen to my thoughts in the first place," I said. "Why do I need to tell you anything?"
"I can only read what is in your head right at this moment. Right now you want to run me over with a Sonderkraftfahrzeug 251, am I correct?"
This woman was beginning to get annoying. However, this one question was in my head. Sonderkraft- whatever it was, what did she mean I want to run her over with one?
"A-ha! I think I understand now," Yukari spoke. "You have hidden memories, for lack of a better term. Memories that can only be remembered if triggered correctly. You have quite a lot of them, and very few are beginning to resurface."
That... actually sounded reasonable enough. I mean, what else explained all my random knowledge of this "World War 2" event popping up?
"This story is getting more interesting than those Outsider-Gappy ones. Those outsiders were getting boring, anyways."
"Outsider-Gappy?" I asked.
"Oh, it's those times where I bring a person from the outside world and drop them in Gensoukyou. It's quite amusing to watch them."
Wait.
Wait a minute.
"Are you saying," I stated. "That I was an outsider once and you dropped me in here after erasing my memories?!"
Yukari raised her hands in front of her. "No, no. That's not it. I didn't bring you in Gensoukyou, and you're a Kappa after all. You just... appeared in this world."
I pointed accusingly at Yukari. "How do I know you're telling the truth? This place might not be a dream in the first place! You might be a delusional idiot spouting nonsense!"
"I have never seen someone with such mood swings," Yukari commented. "Well, except Reimu."
"Stop changing the subject!" I yelled. "You have something to do with it! You're the reason I'm..." I gestured to myself. "...like this!"
And, all of a sudden, a large, half-tracked metal vehicle appeared, headed straight for Yukari.
She opened up a portal - no, a Gap - and a train smashed into the metal truck, both vehicles totaled.
"I'm honestly surprised you were able to imagine in aSonderkraftfahrzeug 251," Yukari replied calmly.
"You can just call it Sd. Kfz. 251 for short, miss. I don't want to hear any more of your obnoxious voice."
Yukari simply did not respond to that.
"And one more thing: You were lying earlier! This place is my dream! Teleporting a Sd. Kfz. 251 with nothing but my mind is proof! So, name me a legitimate reason I should still trust you!"
Yukari just stood up. "You don't need to trust me to get a job done. Plenty of times, I have had people not trust me and it still worked out at the end. So no matter what, it will always end like so."
The woman started walking away and ripped open another gap.
"However, there are two things I shall be truthful about: I had nothing to do with your appearance in Gensoukyou. I do not know of the outside forces that made you so."
She gave me one look back.
"And one more thing: I'm not a Human, I'm a Youkai."
She disappeared through the Gap.
"God damn it, Yukari!"
I imagine Yukari as one that is tolerant to one's words. And very patient, too.
A very, very patient and tolerant troll.
