[Author's notes]: No review questions, so no answers to be given. Ban3 gave some advice though, so I'll see about trying to put that into practice. I make no promises though…

New adjustment: If the characters are in the distance (and technically out of earshot for the perspective), I'll give out their name in italics before what they say.

Edit: To avoid confusion (someone didn't understand what actually happened), I made it more obvious where it really was. In-story, I didn't know I was in the Dreamscape.

The Art of Bullet Hell

Dreamscape: Hakurei Shrine, noon

It's good to be back… I missed this place… Now that I'm here, everything should be alright…

"Where are my cards…? I should work on making a few new spell cards… The Auma idea is too risky to rely on… Maybe I should make an danmaku type card? I'll figure something out."

Looking everywhere in the general area, I tried to find my deck of cards. They didn't seem like much, but I needed them if I was going to learn danmaku.

From behind the door, Reimu spoke.

"Kris…? Are you still asleep? I need to talk with you about a few things."

"Give me a minute, I'm trying to find my cards."

The door slid open.

"Maybe I can… Help…? Kris, what is going on in here? !"

Reimu was shocked at the sight. I looked around to see what she was talking about, and was astonished that I hadn't noticed earlier.

What the hell happened to my room?

I was in the middle of a field of flowers somehow, despite being inside my room in the Hakurei Shrine.

"…I… Have NO idea what's going on anymore…"

Hakurei Shrine, 8:12 a.m.

"Huh? What just…? Why are my dreams so weird?"

Maybe I should stop having such weird thoughts before going to bed… Eh, I'll get used to it… Is Laurana in my futon again? …I don't care anymore. I'm not going to let it bother me.

Crawling out of my futon, I reached for my cloak, cards, and sword.

Unfortunately for me, they weren't there. Instead, there were several sets of clothes from home, as well as the shattered pieces of my staff.

"Yukari was here… And it seems she found the pieces to my staff… I'll get around to fixing it eventually… Maybe."

Now that I think about it, when was the last time I changed my clothes and bathed? Hmm… I should probably get around to doing that.

Grabbing a pair of jeans and a shirt, I looked around for a place to bathe. Reimu, however, had other ideas.

"Kris, can I speak with you for a few minutes?"

"Can it wait? I was planning on bathing…"

Only then did I notice Reimu with some clothes of her own, as well as a towel.

Oh god, don't join me… It's weird enough with Laurana sleeping in my futon.

"…Make it quick, or I'm joining you."

"…"

Blushing, I headed in the direction of the baths.

I hope she wasn't serious…

Dreamscape: Bamboo Forest of the Lost, 2:00 a.m., Laurana

"So you're the group of people who entered the Forest? I guess I'll need to drive you out. Nobody stands against my familiars."

Laurana was standing against Reimu and Yukari. Smiling, she released her familiars, quickly creating a web of danmaku. While Yukari ducked and weaved through the bullet hell, Reimu pulled out a spell card.

"I don't have time for this… Spirit Sign: Fantasy Orb!"

The orbs of light cut through the danmaku and the fairy's familiars. Once they connected with her, they exploded. Crying out, her familiars faded and she fell to the ground.

"Come on Yukari, we need to finish this Trial…"

Laurana called out weakly to them, trying to continue despite having been struck by Reimu's spell card.

"Come back… I'm not… Done yet…"

And yet… I am… I'm in no condition to continue…

Laurana struggled to get up, and once she succeeded, she decided to make a reputation for herself to the fairies.

If I did it in real life, it shouldn't be that hard to do so in a dream...

Hakurei Shrine, 8:27 a.m.

I need to stop being so lazy when bathing… I should have been done by now… Huh?

Walking through the door to the baths was none other than Reimu.

Oh crap… I took way too long…

"Are you done?"

"J-just a few more minutes! I'll… I'll be out by then!"

"Not good enough… And if I catch you looking, I will make sure you regret it!"

With that statement, the miko started to undress so she could bathe.

"Um… Uh…"

Damnit, why'd I have to take so long…?

Trying my best to keep myself from peeking, I eventually gave in once she was done undressing.

It was worth getting blasted.

"Wow…"

"Spirit Sign: Fantasy Seal -Concentrate-!"

"Oh, fu-"

Explosion

Insert Courage from Courage the Cowardly Dog laughing after being injured here.

"…I'm okay…! …Ow…"

Grabbing a towel and my clothes, I ran for my room. I'd rather not get in any more trouble.

Now that I've seen that, I don't need to… What the hell was I thinking? Reimu's never going to forget that… And I probably got a black mark on my record for it…

Putting on a new pair of jeans and a plain red shirt, I turned and tossed the dirty clothes into a pile in the corner.

Moving towards the main room, I saw my cards, sword, and cloak on the table. I grabbed the cards and set up a game of solitaire.

Hakurei Shrine, unknown perspective

The kid is more interesting than I thought. He took one of Reimu's more powerful spell cards and kept going as if nothing happened… Maybe he would actually stand a chance in a duel without restrictions… It'd be fun to see how he handles bullet hell.

A ghost with green hair and eyes was floating in the shade of a tree. Wearing a blue cap with a large yellow star on it, she also wore a blue and white dress. Leaning on the tree was a crescent moon staff. Mima didn't show herself very often, but she had a habit of doing so when an incident was getting started.

Should I wait for him, or should I seek him out… What's the worst he could do? He has only a weak spell card, and he most likely doesn't understand how to use danmaku… Then again, he might be able to come up with something that could actually hurt… I doubt it, but I'll wait for him to come out… Challenging him would be interesting.

Hakurei Shrine

"So… What did you want to talk about?"

"First, I wanted to talk about that curse. What was it like?"

Not something I want to talk about, Reimu. But if you insist…

"Dark. Dark and cold. No happiness, no light, no warmth, no love… Only the negative side of life exists there… Trapped within your own mind… In a prison made from all that is Dark…"

"It didn't… Change you, did it…?"

In response to this, I placed my hand on the table, and caused it to rot. In the time of 6 seconds, the table was no longer usable.

"What…?"

"I now hold all that is Dark. I can corrupt anything I touch if I choose. There may be other abilities tied to this Darkness, and I have a good idea on what one of them is, but that remains to be seen."

"So you're dark in nature?"

"You could say that, but corruption can also turn against evil and Darkness. Corrupted Darkness is neutral-ish, just as corrupted Light is. If the need arises, I can enter places where the Light cannot, and bring those with the Light with my by corrupting the atmosphere… I think."

"Don't put that into practice, please…"

"I won't, don't worry… There's one thing that worries me though…"

"What would that be?"

"My Aura. It used to be a Blue Silver aura… Now it's Blue Black. It explains why Esuna burned out when I used it… And it might explain why I only have the proof that I'm a Dream Guardian now, when I originally had 5 spell cards."

During this discussion, I had almost finished the game of solitaire I was playing. I didn't need a table to play it…

"…Kris."

"Yes?"

"I think it would be best if you learned danmaku."

"…I guess you might be right, but I don't know what I'm capable of, so…"

"That doesn't matter. You need to learn danmaku."

"Fine…"

Walking out in front of the shrine, I grab the cards and pocket them. Since Reimu never seems to play cards, she shouldn't mind…

"First, we need to see what your danmaku is. Since you know your power, you just need to focus it into a bullet."

Reimu pulls out an amulet, and has it hover above her hand.

"It's not that hard to do this, to be honest."

Reimu sent the amulet into a tree, then turned to face me.

"Let's see what your danmaku looks like."

Okay… I just need to focus on my power, focus it into my hand, and move the focus above it…

Moving the Aura around, I focused the Black part of my Aura over my hand, creating…

A card? I didn't draw one from my pocket…

"Kris, stop messing around. Create your danmaku."

"Okay…?"

Let's try that again…

Focusing the Black part of my Aura over my hand again, I look in confusion at what I made.

Another card? This is my danmaku?

"Kris, I told you to stop messing around! Create your danmaku already!"

"Reimu… I think this IS my danmaku."

"What? Let me see that…"

"Reimu, I don't think it's a good idea to touch other-"

Too late. Reimu grabbed the card. In some sort of anti-flash, it consumed a small area around the card.

"W-what…?"

"The hell…?"

Grabbing her hand, I look to see the damage. Her hand was almost black, and appeared to be dead.

"Sorry… But I did try to warn you."

"Fix my hand… Now."

"What am I supposed to do, corrupt the corruption? I don't think it works that way."

"This is Gensokyo. Abilities can work in strange ways."

Both Reimu and me turned towards the voice that spoke. Resting against a tree was one of the residents of the Hakurei Shrine, Mima.

"Reimu's ability to fly allow her to fly away from reality. Sakuya's ability to control time allow her to manipulate space. Yukari's power over boundaries allow her to twist reality. Your ability might work in a more interesting way."

Conceding to her idea, I grabbed Reimu's hand, and focused on the corruption. Interestingly enough, it began to flow back into my Aura… Maybe I have control over corruption itself? I don't know…

"…I don't like this ability… For all I know, it could corrupt a person's life, so that even youkai are permanently dead…"

"You're the one who thought of it, kid."

"Ugh… Reimu, can we move on?"

"I think we should. You need to learn how to actually fire that danmaku, and to create multiple bullets at a time."

Reimu unleashed several amulets at a tree. After a few moments, the amulets exploded in orbs of light, before fading. The tree was untouched.

"That doesn't seem too hard…"

Creating several cards from my Black Aura, I threw them at the tree. They exploded in midair, only a few feet from where I was.

"Try again."

This could take a while…

Human Village, Marisa Kirisame

"There has to be someone with a sword for sale… In a place this big, there has to be…"

Why am I even looking for a sword? He's the one who wants one! I should make him look for a sword instead. Forget what he said, I'm getting that sword back.

Grabbing her broom, Marisa takes off in the direction of the Hakurei Shrine.

Hakurei Shrine, 4:30 p.m.

"The main problem with your danmaku, Kris… It's not legal. You need a way to use danmaku that doesn't do THAT."

Pointing to a completely withered tree, Reimu tried to get me into making legal danmaku so I could participate in spell card duels, and have the protection of the Spell Card system.

What am I doing wrong? I'm just drawing off of my Aura, and releasing the cards at my target…

"Kris, what are you drawing on to create corruption? Is it your direct power, or something else?"

Mima seemed aware of my mistake, but she doesn't want to give it out. So instead, she only hinted at it.

"I'm just drawing on my Aura… I don't see how… Oh, I see…"

Drawing on my Blue Aura, I created another handful of cards. Throwing them into another tree, they explode in blue sparks. The tree was untouched.

"YES! I CAN CREATE DANMAKU!"

"Hardly an achievement, considering how long you were here."

"Shut up, Mima."

I'm not in the mood to be mocked by anyone. At least I'm making progress.

"Kris!"

"Oh, what now?"

To my left stood a very angry Marisa. Her broom was just in her hands. It was aimed like a rifle at my head.

"Uh… Maybe we can work something out…? No need for violence, right…?"

What a load of crap that is… I'd rather just take her down before she has a chance. My laziness knows no bounds though, so I'll just try to talk my way out…

"I want my sword back."

"I already told you, it's not your sword."

"I don't care. I want it back."

"You brought me something to replace it, right?"

"Get it yourself."

Poor choice of words, Marisa…

"I guess you aren't getting the sword back. Maybe I'll keep it…"

Since talking won't work, I'll provoke her into fighting.

"As if! You're giving up that sword right now!"

"I'd really like to see you force me to do so."

"You're in for it now… Magic Space: Asteroid Belt!"

Marisa started releasing stars everywhere, covering the grounds in stars. With this being my first time in actual bullet hell, I would like to say that I ran through this without any trouble.

It should go without saying that I didn't last very long.

"HOLY SH-"

Jumping across the stars, I tried my best to keep my footing while evading the complete chaos from the stars. Only 10 seconds into the card, much longer than what I expected, I was hit by several of the stars.

"Son of a bitch that hurts!"

It wasn't even a fight after that. Marisa kept firing her stars, and I desperately moved through it. After that series of hits, I found a way through the card and slipped between the bullets the witch released.

"Enough from you, witch! Bleeding Edge: Bloodlust Blade!"

Using the energy of the danmaku, I steadily increased the speed I was moving. I don't know how, but it was impressive. In little time, I was already moving through the attack with ease.

"Break!"

Cutting past Marisa from behind, I got her at the waist, breaking her spell card.

"Damnit Kris! I'm getting that sword back!"

"Not at the rate you're going!"

Reimu "He learns fast."

Mima "I have to agree. That card is also interesting… It seems to draw power from grazing… Very powerful in a bullet hell duel, but it seems very brittle. One good hit should break it."

Reimu "What makes you so sure about that?"

Mima "The half-ghost girl's teacher had a similar card. He liked to charge it to the point where he could end the fight in a single stroke, but hated spending all that time grazing to get hit. He claimed it negates the card."

Reimu "Interesting. I didn't know Youki had a spell card like that."

Mima "Enough talking, Marisa's getting another card ready."

"Loving Heart: Double Spark!"

"Oh, that's not even fair!"

Jumping onto one of the sparks, I tried to keep my balance. I only had one spell card, and it was not going in my favor right now…

Hold on, is she really that open to attack? She's too focused on her sparks…

Keeping steady on the sparks, I sent several cards at Marisa. Seeing my attack, she stopped the sparks and moved out of the way.

"You'll need to do a lot better than that!"

Unleashing another spark, Marisa waited for me to land on it. Then she fired her second one.

"…Oh, hell…"

Mima "That had to hurt. If he's still standing after THAT, I'm intervening."

Reimu "Why? If he's still standing-"

Mima "He'll be able to time out Marisa's cards just by standing there. Her sparks can't be used much in a bullet hell duel, and she knows that. Double sparking from one source puts a lot of strain on the user and whatever they're using."

"…I'm okay…!"

Marisa walked up to where I was, and pointed the Mini-Hakkero at me. Since I was too weak to get up, I did the only thing I could.

"Alright, I give up…"

Stupid sparks… Those things need to be made illegal so that people don't have to forfeit after getting hit by one.

Handing the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi over to Marisa, she helped me up before turning to Reimu.

"I guess that makes me better than you."

"No it doesn't!"

"It totally does! I beat someone that could beat you! That counts!"

"Shut up and let me recover in peace!"

Reimu and Marisa turned to see me at the Shrine door.

"Oh, and Reimu, there's something in the donation box."

Curious, Reimu moved over to the donation box, and pulled out a black coin.

"What is this?"

"I don't know, I didn't put it there…"

Poof

Reimu's face got covered in soot. Almost immediately, Marisa started laughing at Reimu's misfortune. Laughing even harder were the Fairies of Light, who were hiding in a bush to my right. Chuckling, I headed for my room to rest for a bit. The clock read 4:36...

I didn't even notice the time passing… Oh well. I learned danmaku, and actually posed a threat to Marisa. This is getting to be interesting…

That's the end of it. While I did get my ass kicked by Marisa, I at least had fun doing so. Things are going to get a bit more hectic from here on, both for me and everyone else. Soon enough, I'll explore my power of corruption. What can it do? Too much, from what I've seen… Still, at least it's not- What the? A calendar? Where did this come from? Damnit Yukari, stop dropping things on me…