Ikuto takes Alice to his bed, but does so somewhat grudgingly. This leads to him trying to mistreat her in order to turn her off him... instead, he ends up awakening a masochistic side in her. D: With this failure plaguing him as he goes to sleep, he ends up meeting Komachi alone and somehow naked, and she comes on to Ikuto. This eventually results in them deciding to have a 'friends with benefits' relationship. However, it ends abruptly for reasons unknown, though they both manage to enjoy themselves. XD

"Okay, let's go through some things here." I speak to Alice with my hands on her shoulders.

"Yes, Ma-"

I cut her off immediately. "First, you can only call me that on two conditions. One, only in your house, and two, only when it's just the two of us." She'll definitely object if I ban her outright.

"Second, I am not, repeat NOT, going to repeat last night with you."

That bit of news clearly shocked her, since her jaw drops rather spectacularly. "B-But-!"

"No." I repeat to get my point across. "Last night was... I won't say it's a mistake, but I don't want a repeat of it." Since I don't quite like confronting my dark side.

"But, why~?" Her voice sounds almost like whining.

"Because..." I pause to get the words needed to form my answer. "I told you that you could be with me, but I don't love you, got that?"

Alice stares at me for a moment, then sighs and closes her eyes. "Yes, I understand."

"Third, we won't ever talk about what we did last night." I meet her gaze for a few seconds, but end up looking away almost immediately. "What the hell are you blushing for? You're making me feel embarrassed too!"

"But you were so..." She's blushing now.

"Alice." I hiss warningly.

I feel her wriggling slightly. "Ahh~ Hearing you say my name is..."

Just what crazy personality did I unlock in this girl? I turn to face her again. "Okay, fourth, keep that character toned down. Please."

"If that's what Ikuto asks..." Alice shivers a little. "Ahh~ I love it when you tell me what to-"

I shake her a little. "Alice."

She snaps back to her senses. "Sorry, I let myself get carried away for a moment there."

"Okay... I think that's all of them." I release her and step back. "Time to go back in and face the music..."

"Ikuto." Alice catches hold of my sleeve, stopping me.

"Hm?"

"I love you." She confesses her love for me shamelessly.

"I like you only as a friend." I reply immediately.

She looks disappointed for a moment, but nods determinedly. "I won't stop, though."

Reminds me of some game character. "Suit yourself." I tell her, and enter the living room from the hallway.

"So... interview?" The girl seated at the table asks cheerfully.

Three syllables that I've come to dread. "Sure." I keep that negative emotion bottled in and sit down across from her. "Go on then, Aya, ask your questions."

"Sure thing! I'll make this fast so I can get it printed sooner!" The tengu readies her pen. "Let's start with the usual, then! What do you think of this place?"

Back and forth we go, and I do my best to paint Alice in a better light, like describing her typical silence as dedication to her research, as well as covering up the true extent of her feelings for me by being vague or changing the subject.

"So, what do you think of her?" Aya leans across the table, smirking. "Another girl for your harem?"

"That I can effectively deny. The two of us are just friends."

"Then why has the number of chips on the chain on your wrist increased?"

I quickly cover it with my right. "No it hasn't." Did it? I forgot to check.

"Aha!" Aya grins triumphantly. "If the two of your were just friends, you would have checked it yourself!"

Shit, she got me there. I give up and do a double facepalm, feeling frustrated at myself.

"Now, there's no denying it anymore! 'Fess up! Tell me everything!"

I take my hands off my face. "This is supposed to be a column about what I think of Gensokyo, not about my relationship status."

"Is there a difference?" The look on her face says that she thinks there isn't.

I nod, throwing out the first barbed comment I can think of. "Yeah, as much as a difference as there is between your newspaper and Himekaidou's."

That clearly hits her hard, and she glares at me. "You take that back."

"You let me reject any questions I don't want to answer first." I counter.

The tension rises a little as we glare at each other. I crack first, snorting a bit, then breaking out in a fit of chuckles.

"What's so funny?" Aya demands.

I take a while to calm down. "I don't know, I just felt like laughing." I tell her honestly. Probably because my sense of humor has been warped after last night's... events.

She bristles. "Are you making a fool of me?"

"Nah, not at all." I cross my arms and sit back in my chair. "So, let's get back to the issue. I, and Alice, are friends. That's all I'm going to say."

"Sex friends, got it." Aya smirks at me as she scribbles on her notepad.

"Aya..." I say warningly, leaning forward.

"If you don't want me to write that, then spill." She leans forward as well, matching me stare for stare.

"I've already said my piece. You want more, you ask her. But don't blame me if you don't get what you want."

The tengu clicks her tongue, pushing her chair away from the table and standing up. "Fine. I'll do just that then! Oh, Aliii~ce..."

I watch Aya flounce out of the room, then do a headdesk. Damn, guess if things aren't interesting enough for her, she starts digging. Next time, I need to come up with something that can satisfy her desire for a scoop.

I walk towards the village, carrying everything I own in a large rucksack on my back. At the entrance, I turn around and look back along the road I came, searching for and finding the thin sliver of yellow peeking out from the side of a tree a distance away. It's been the same for the last two times I checked, one when I left the Forest of Magic, the other along the road to the village; Alice has been tailing me like some stalker, hiding when I turn around to look.

Well, if I hadn't suspected that of her, I wouldn't have realized that she was there. Shrugging, I enter the village and make my way to Boss's shop. "Hey, Boss!" I call out as I enter, "Get me a cup of strong drink!"

"Oh?" He pauses in his bottle-polishing. "There's still more than an hour before lunchtime, you know?"

"Yeah, I know." I dump the rucksack next to the counter and take a seat. "But I just feel like bleaching my brain for a bit."

"I've never heard that expression before." Boss remarks as he sets down the bottle in his hands for an already open one. "Care to let me in on what's causing you trouble?"

I consider it for a while, then nod. "Just the general gist, mind you."

"Of course. Here." He pours me a small cup. "Careful, this one is REALLY strong."

Can't be stronger than vodka. I eye the slightly milky liquid suspiciously, then look at the man who poured it for me. "Well, the thing is, there's a girl-" I begin.

"There always is." My listener nods sagely.

"So, I was staying with her for the past few weeks, and... well, I found out she... uhh, kind of, likes me." That's really downplaying it.

He starts grinning widely. "Oh? So you're puzzled over how to include her in your harem?"

I shake my head. "It's the opposite. I want to keep her out of it."

"WHAT?" Boss slams a fist onto the counter, making the bottle and cup jump. "The more in the harem, the better! Why would you turn that down! You're a disgrace to the male pride! And also..."

I let his ire run its course until he finally pauses for breath. "So, anyway, since I wasn't really that into her, I was intending to reject her..."

"Then? Then? THEN?" With every repetition, he leans further over the corner.

I lean back away from him. "She was very... persuasive."

"So you did get her!" He falters when he sees me shaking my head. "You mean... you...?"

"We had... something. That was it." I hold up my hand to stop him from interrupting me again. "Anyway, let me finish. I gave her a hug goodbye when I left this morning just because I told her I wanted us to be friends."

"Well, I don't see anything wrong with that." Boss guffaws.

"There is. It's called giving the wrong signal." I sigh and pick up the cup. "Now I've got my very own... uhm, stalker, I guess." That small part of me wanted to try foisting Alice off onto Yuuka. Might be perfect, but that would be running away from my responsibilities. Besides, I haven't even met Yuuka yet.

I start off with a sip; it burns as it goes down my throat, making me cough hard. Boss wasn't joking about the strength of this one, it's slightly stronger than vodka, though I can't really make a comparison since I haven't drank a sip of vodka for nearly a year already.

"Anyway," I continue, "If my guess is right, she's going to confess her love to me every time we meet."

"So why don't you just accept her?"

I did. But I can't really say how that turned out. Best to just leave it as 'we're friends'. "I have my reasons." I squint at the barely-touched cup. "This... this isn't sake." I say to change the subject.

"Yep, it's alcohol made from the agave plant." Boss winks at me. "You probably might know it as tequila."

"I drank that once before. Just one single shot glass. But then, I didn't just drink it-"

"Finally," He chuckles, "I've been waiting for someone who actually knows about that."

He sets down a dish with a bit of salt and a piece of cut lime next to the cup and gestures at it.

"Go on, then."

Compared to vodka, the last and only time I had tequila was about three years back. It takes a while to recall how to go about it, but the memory comes back to me in the end. I put the salt on the back of my hand first, then lick it up, drain the tequila and pop the slice of lime into my mouth in quick succession. It tastes as strong as I recall, enough to bring my focus away from the past and into the now.

I spit the lime back out into my hand and drop it onto the dish. "Kaaa~... I don't really know much about alcohol, but personally, I thought that was great."

"Thanks. I made that myself."

"You did? How long ago did you start? And how did you make it?" From what I know, this sort of thing just doesn't happen overnight. I'm sure it would take a decade at least.

"About twelve, thirteen years back. The rest is a trade secret. But since you told me about that girl, I'll tell you a little."

Apparently, Boss used to visit bars quite a bit back then, so after some time in Gensokyo without them, he decided to try making some of them himself, armed with knowledge from talking to various bartenders. Needless to say, his attempt worked out quite well, though most of his stock was used to enlist the help of some youkais. Makes me wonder whether Suika is involved. I bet Yukari definitely is.

"So... how much do I owe you?" I'm already dreading how much it's going to cost since the making process is clearly very difficult.

He names a price that rattles me even though I'm already prepared for it. But before I can take out my purse or say anything, our attention is caught by a floating doll carrying a cloth pouch. It drops the pouch on the counter with the sound of clinking money, and then floats out the way it came.

"What... was that?" Boss asks me in a hushed voice.

"Her." I can feel the stare tickling the back of my neck.

"Oh."

"I can't let her pay for me. Just put it on the tab for now. I'll pay you back eventually." Debt has increased again.

"Never mind about that." Boss flaps his hand at me as he starts clearing away the dish and cup. "That bottle's actually for myself, when I feel the urge to have some. Just think of it like I served you tea when you come visiting."

"Strong alcohol for tea..." I chuckle, "I bet Suika would come down here all the time if she knew. But you'd be losing money if you keep treating me like this."

"I don't run such a poor business. And besides, us outsiders have to stick together!" He grins, striking a cool guy pose.

"Still..." I dig out some money and put it on the counter. "Here, it's hardly enough, but just accept it." Not enough to pay, but it's more than the price of the usual sake.

"Hm, I see you're set on doing that. Okay then." Boss takes my money, and slides the pouch over to me. "You better return that to her."

I pick it up, hefting the weight of all those coins. "Yep. See you around."

The first thing I do on leaving his shop is to look around. Sure enough, I spot the flicker of blond hair hiding behind the corner of the street, not to mention the suspicious looks the villagers around that area are casting in the same direction. Sighing, I walk over to where Alice is, fast enough that I'm right upon her when she peeks out again.

"Don't pay for me." I hold out the money she delivered to me earlier. "Even if you do, I'm not going to change."

She accepts it wordlessly and nods once. And then continues standing there looking at me.

"Go do your research or something." I make a shooing motion with my hand.

"You're blushing, Ikuto." Alice colors a little. "Is it because of me?"

"No. It's just the alcohol." I grab her shoulders and turn her around. "Seriously, it's not healthy for you to keep following me like this."

"Ahh~ Ikuto, you're wonderful when you're being forceful. But," Her tone shifts to a more serious pitch as she looks back over her shoulder at me. "Eventually, you'll accept me."

As long as she doesn't do this too often, it might be even remotely possible. '"Not for a while. Now scat."

I wait a while to make sure she actually leaves, before I head over to Keine's school. Of course, she's in the middle of class, so I don't disturb her. But since it's nearly time for lunch and I'm feeling a little tipsy after that strong alcohol, I enter the school stealthily and get right to work in her kitchen. Just as I'm finishing up, I hear the sounds of the children leaving the classroom to either go home for lunch or eating outside in the garden. I hurry to get the rest of the food ready, so I'm in place to hear footsteps approaching the room. And then, the door slides open.

"Boo!"

"HYAH!" Keine starts back in shock, then catches herself. "Ikuto! Don't do that!"

"Haha, sorry for the intrusion. But I wanted to surprise you."

"You did." She mutters dryly. "Have you had lunch yet?"

"I was waiting for you." I walk over to the door that connects to the kitchen and slide it open. "Tadah~ This is the other surprise." I show her the dishes I made.

"This is... Ikuto, you made all this?" Keine asks as she enters the kitchen, with me following closely behind her.

"Yep. Is it too much? I bought some stuff on my way here, but I had to use some of the food you had too." Kind of got carried away.

"We can always eat the leftovers for dinner. It's been a while since I ate your cooking."

"Then let's start right now." I suggest cheerfully, picking up the plates to bring them to the dining room.

Halfway through lunch, I realize that after all those meals with Alice, I was actually looking forward to living with Keine. Her calming personality was a great help in mellowing out Mokou while I was staying with that tsundere immortal, but the relaxing atmosphere around her reminds me a little of Hakugyokurou, which I long for sometimes with the faster pace of life in the village.

That, and she's fun to tease sometimes. "Ah-loveyou-choo!" I fake a sneeze, and carefully watch her reaction.

Keine freezes, her cheeks suddenly flushing red a few seconds after what I 'said' sinks in. "What?"

"Nothing, just a sneeze." Heh, so she does, huh?

"Bless you, then."

After another period of uninterrupted eating, during which she keeps stealing glances at my face, Keine breaks it to ask me what I'm smirking about. Rather than tell her the whole truth, I tell her that since being with her makes me feel relaxed... (I pause for a while after saying that to make her blush again), it kind of reminded me of the time when I, her and Mokou were having dinner together in Mokou's house, and suggest that all three of us should dinner together tonight.

"That sounds like a good-" Keine suddenly stops and stares at me with an undecipherable expression, though it seems kind of sad. "No."

I blink in surprise. "What?"

"No. I'm sorry, Ikuto, but I'm afraid I can't make it tonight. Tomorrow, perhaps."

Hmm, that's weird... maybe she has work or something. "Okay then. I'll let Mokou know."

Keine finishes the last of her meal a while after I do and puts down her chopsticks. "Thanks for the food. I'll do the cleaning up."

"No, I should." I protest. "I have to earn my keep, right?"

Her stand remains firm. "You already did the cooking. And besides," Keine smiles as she stacks up the dishes, "If you're my guest, then I'm your host, which means you have to listen to me."

Grinning, I sit back and let her go about doing it. "Fine, then."

Later, as she's drying the plates, I approach her from behind silently and repeat that fake sneeze again. Her body jerks, and Keine drops a small dish. I try to catch it, but fumble it, causing it to break on the ground.

"Gah, I'm sneezing a lot lately." I comment innocently as I kneel down and start picking up the pieces. Shouldn't have tried that while she was washing up.

"Careful, Ikuto, the edges are sharp." Keine warns as she goes for a broom. "And you should start dressing warmer. It's nearly winter already."

"Yeah, it is. And don't worry, I'll be careful." Gripping the fragment of the dish's edge by its smooth side, I use it to push most of the pieces I can reach into a small pile. "Sorry for startling you with my sneezing."

"Th...that's alright." Keine stutters a little as she begins sweeping up the rest of the broken pieces. "J-just try not-..." Her voice trails off as she keeps her gaze fixed determinedly on the task of sweeping.

Was that a 'just try not to do it again'? If she stops, does that mean she doesn't want me to stop 'saying' that? Still keeping my thoughts to myself, I stand up, causing her to flinch back from me. "You're going to be busy teaching the afternoon classes, right? I'll just pay a visit to Mokou and tell her about tomorrow."

"Oh... okay." She pauses for a while, thinking about something else. "Ikuto... I won't be home tonight, so you should stay with Mokou or at Eientei."

What business is she on? "Okay... but I'll just leave my stuff here, alright?" I toss my shard into the dustpan and stand up. "I'll be going now."

"Have a safe journey, and see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, and don't let the kids get you down, okay?"

"They could learn a lesson from you in doing that." Keine replies amusedly.

"Oh come on, is my company really that depressing for you?" I protest, grinning.

Her reply is immediate. "No. No, it could never be."

"Glad to hear that." In more ways than one.

With that, I leave her school. The last I see of Keine as I leave is her entering the classroom, and she smiles and nods at me when I wave, drawing the attention of some of the students in there. I'm sure they'll probably be bombarding her with questions later.

It seems a bit cruel to ignore Alice like this, but now that I've already made up my mind, I think it's best that I try to keep her at arm's length. Also, I can admit it straight to myself: I like, maybe love, Keine. And she probably feels the same towards me. I'd like to think that all either of us have to do is to confess and then we'd be in a relationship, et cetera, et cetera, but obviously there's something stopping her from doing so, so I can't either.

Seems like I'm doing nothing but problem solving in Gensokyo... Guess I'll drop by the Bamboo Forest and work off my debt or something. Humming some random song that pops into my head, I head off in that general direction.

My hands are shaking as they hold up the newspaper for my eyes to scan; I didn't know what Alice said in her interview with Aya, but now I did. The article on me was simple and clear-cut, talking about the good points of Alice's place and the stuff to watch out for or avoid in the Forest of Magic, but compared to that, the one featuring the interview with Alice is way more 'interesting'. I can totally see my reputation as a playboy increasing yet again... and though Aya has described Alice as 'a maiden in love', it's easy enough to read between the lines to see the underlying description of 'obsessed'...

"She really captured the stalker angle in this." I say out loud. Wonder how her reputation is going to change in the village now... Maybe not many people will believe it since it's a tengu paper, plus the Bunbunmaru still has that reputation of a entertainment piece. But my hopes aren't high...

"I'm sure Udonge would like to have a word with you when she gets back from her deliveries." Eirin replies as she works on packing medicines into small bottles and packets.

"I'm kind of dreading that... What about Kaguya?"

"The princess hasn't read it yet either. But she misses you." I look over the top of the paper to see Eirin smiling wryly at me. "Not just because she lacks a gaming partner, Ikuto."

"I've had enough of that game already -usa." Tewi's muffled voice comes down from the ceiling. "Good of you to come back."

"Thanks, Tewi. I don't think I'll run the course today, though."

"Okay -usa." The sound of her moving in the space above the ceiling fades off into the distance.

"Let me help you with that before I go see Kaguya." I put aside the paper and start assisting Eirin.

We work side by side in silence for a while, except for the rustling of paper and the clinking of pills as they fall into bottles.

"So... out of curiosity... when was the last time you did it before me?" I ask without thinking, and wince when I realize that that stupid part of my mind just hijacked my mouth.

"Hmm~?" Eirin leans against my shoulder, smirking. "Jealous?"

"Hardly." I push back against her a little. "I thought with all the time you held yourself back, it must have been..."

"I'm not that desperate, thank you." Despite her words, her tone is jokingly light.

"Then let's test it out, shall we...?"

Before I realize what I'm doing, I push Eirin up against the counter and start kissing her hard. However, that's as far as my attack goes; my hands are kept firmly away from any potentially dangerous areas, and the only 'risky' contact between our bodies is at the mouth and the chest. After a bit of trading of oral fluids, I pull back from her, both of us panting hard.

Apparently, I had just attacked Eirin... something that I normally wouldn't have done unless I was under the influence of one of her drugs, which I definitely wasn't. Did unleashing my darker side on Alice last night have anything to do with it? That is the thought that is running through my head as I stare at Eirin's flushed expression.

"What's wrong? Aren't you going to give me a checkup?" Eirin asks coyly, unbuttoning her front to reveal some cleavage.

"N...Not today, I think." Not until I come to terms with my current self. "Let's just keep our clothes on for now."

I'm feeling extremely guilty as she studies my face curiously, but I force myself to meet her eyes resolutely so she can see that I'm serious. Eirin might act like a man-eater sometimes, but she's not a genius for nothing.

She sighs and starts fixing her clothes. "I expect you to make it up to me in the future." She tells me pointedly.

I nod furiously. "Of course. But without any drugs this time, please."

Eirin laughs softly and pushes my shoulder lightly. "We'll see. You better go see the princess."

I peek into Kaguya's room to find her curled up inside taking a nap. Normally I'd just leave her alone, but somehow today, I'm feeling extremely... how should I describe it, liberated? Whatever the term is, I sneak inside and sit cross-legged next to her dozing form. As always, she looks extremely beautiful, even with her long jet-black hair scattered all over the place, but her sleeping form presents an element of vulnerability that I find too good to pass up.

Of course, nothing sexual... I lightly pinch a lock of her hair and use it to tickle the bottom of her chin lightly. It takes a few tries before she responds, mumbling as she rubs the skin there with one hand. I continue teasing her for a while, but since the only parts of her skin exposed are on her hands and her face, there's not much I can do. Still, it is cute to see her sneeze lightly when I tickle her little nose. But I'd best wake her up.

It's kind of fun to act like this once in a while. I think to myself as I turn Kaguya onto her back and lean in to kiss her. "Wake up, my dear princess." I whisper after touching my lips to hers for a few seconds.

She stirs a little, mumbling. "...Ikuto?"

"Yes, it's me." I confirm, and brush her lips with mine once more. "Were you longing for me?"

Kaguya's eyes open wide, locking onto my face. "I wanted to see you so much."

That's all she says before she launches herself on me and embraces me tightly, initiating the third kiss. Guess it's because we're alone together? Or is it because I came at the right time? Her body feels so small in my hold, but she's squeezing me tight enough to hurt a little. But I only came by a few days ago... Mm, she tastes and smells nice anyway...

After a few long minutes of making out with each other, I start talking about what happened since the last time I came by while Kaguya sits in my lap with my arms around her. As always, she's a good listener, so I end up telling her everything, including the part regarding Keine.

"Then you just have to find out what is stopping her and deal with that." Kaguya advises, resting a hand on my clasped ones around her waist.

"Hope it'll be that easy." I look down at the Lunarian princess. "You're not bothered that I'm going after her?"

"If I can share you with Mokou, I can share you with anyone."

"Magnanimous, aren't you?" I tease, nuzzling the side of her face, causing Kaguya to giggle uncharacteristically.

"That is because my prince is a man of such appetites." Though her tone is light, I can feel the comment stabbing into me.

Wincing inside at the emotional attack, I take her other hand and hold it against my face, enjoying the smooth feeling of her skin. "So, does my princess want a boon for all the suffering I put her through?" I'm such a weird romantic when I'm alone with a girl.

"Play the game with me." Kaguya answers promptly.

"You sure? You don't want to ask for something else... like a continuation of what we were doing earlier?"

"That is normal between lovers, Ikuto." She smiles sweetly at me. "Will thou grant me this boon, oh prince of my heart?"

Damn, I'm not sure if that's super cute or super sneaky. Maybe both. "By the way, last time we used to sit so far apart from each other... yet now you're right on top of me."

"I have given you my body already." Kaguya's reply is simple, though she's blushing. "Surely there's no need for us to be so reserved?"

Chuckling, I squeeze her a bit and release my hug on her. "Yeah, you're right. Okay then, I'll take you on!"

Obviously, she still can't win over me. I must have a talent for that game.

On the other hand, what I do not have a talent for is the act of explaining things to Reisen and getting her to accept them peacefully.

"Ikuto, you're perfectly free to love whoever you want." Reisen tells me, and storms off.

Tewi pokes me with an elbow. "That went well -usa."

"Shut up." I look at the others. "I'm going to go after her."

"Good luck." Eirin nods, giving me the go-ahead, and I take off after Reisen.

Now, if I was Reisen, where would I go to sulk...? Of course, her own room. I think. I head over there as fast as I can, and thrust the door open. Yep, there she is, huddled in a corner... and giving me a look of anger.

"Get out."

"No." I stride over to her.

Reisen tries to slip past me to escape, but I tackle her and push her down on the floor, looking her in the eyes. Already I can feel the insanity spreading inside me; it appears that with more repetitions, the faster the effect takes hold.

"Let me go." She demands fiercely.

"Not until you listen to what I have to say." This time, she's not looking away; it's like a game of mental chicken.

"I refuse to listen!" With that, Reisen starts struggling against me.

"I love you, Reisen."

That did the trick. She stops fighting my hold and looks up at me.

"I love you." I repeat, and pull her up into a tight embrace. "Sorry for being an idiot about your feelings."

"About time."I can hear the exasperation in her voice as she mutters into my ear.

Guess the thing about rabbits possibly dying of loneliness has some basis in reality. "Hey, I might not be able to love only one person, but I'm not going to lie when I say-"

"Just hold me, Ikuto." Her grip on me tightens slightly. "And don't try anything funny."

As I see to that task, I make a note in my mind to visit Eientei more often to reassure this cute little bunny of my affections. It's tough maintaining a harem, but I don't regret it at all. Not one bit. Not when there are such displays of cuteness like this. Spoiling them is quite entertaining as well, as I reaffirm when we return to where the others are.

"Say ah~"

"Ahh... Mmmm~ delicious." Reisen chews for a while. "Let me have some of that next."

The way she's eating reminds me a little of Suika... except the oni probably wouldn't care about asking me for stuff like this.

"Haa..." Kaguya sighs with envy as she watches from the side. "I want him to feed me "

"Looks like you're enjoying yourself, Udonge." Eirin teases her apprentice. "Is being fed by Ikuto really that great? Maybe he's fattening you up to eat later."

"Ma-Master!" Reisen blushes, hard.

"I don't mind if the both of you really want- Hey! Tewi! Don't snatch my snacks!" I jump to my feet and pursue the mischievous little rabbit for revenge.

All in all, the same old characters of Eientei. With a bit of change in my relationships with each of them, of course.

I might know how to navigate between the village and Eientei and Mokou's place, but I'm not good enough to go looking for Mokou when it's nearly dark. Since it's nearly winter, daytime has been getting shorter, so I don't want to risk getting lost. Sure, I can find my way, IF I happen to find a rabbit youkai, but that's quite unlikely to happen. So the best course of action to find Mokou is to wait for her at her house.

But from what I know of her, she's not likely to come back anytime soon. So instead of waiting inside doing nothing, I'm outside exploring the new Keyblades I had unlocked.

It sucks to realize that I'm playing around like that in an unconscious attempt to forget about Alice... but I guess I can't run away from this after all. I spread my arms wide and inhale deeply. I'm in Gensokyo, and everyone I meet are people I interact with... meeting with them, that's a part of me. Denying that... would be denying myself. Slapping myself on the cheeks lightly, I pull out the key, and focus on summoning the new forms.

Komachi's one comes easily and eagerly. The handle resembles polished wood in texture and appearance, with the boat-shaped ring section of the handle a dull bronze, like the coin she has on her belt. As for the flat shaft, it's like the length of a samurai sword, black on one side, white on the other. But it's the bit that grabs my attention the most, since unlike the previous ones, it is much more elaborate; on the black side is the blade of a scythe, except it is hooked similar to the claw of a praying mantis, while on the other half there is a bunch of small coins arrayed in the shape of a fan, linked to the central flat bronze disk at the end of the shaft by thin metal rods that are designed to look like red cord. As for the keychain, it is another coin, except that it is threaded through with the pole of a scythe.

Woah, that looks wicked. Wonder what it does... I take a few experimental swings with it. Huh, this... might be a bit risky to use it in a real battle. It wants to play instead. But what does it do? This time, I slash a small pebble I toss up in the air. Huh? The sparks looked like coins? What the hell? Let's see that again.

Unexpectedly, when I cut through a second pebble with a backswing, it and the first pebble suddenly speeds towards each other like there was some strange power of attraction between them, coming together with a loud clack before falling apart.

Like magnets. "Woah, how did that fucking work?" I ask no one. (1)

After a few more experiments, I realize that Komachi's Keyblade has the ability to close or extend distances between two things I hit with it, in the physical sense only. It really works like a magnet; if I use the same side on each time, it causes repulsion for two seconds, the strength depending on the initial distance between the two, the strongest being able to shatter a bamboo stalk. However, if I use a different side for the second cut, it's a two-second-long strong attraction force instead with the opposite rule; the further, the stronger the attractive force, though it also ends if the two points make contact first.

Man, that's dangerous. I think as I stare at the second broken bamboo. That was like... I look at the place I started from, ten meters away? I could kill with something like this. Anyway, it appears that the targeting lasts indefinitely, but it always works in a set of two. If I cut a third time before the two second time limit is up, the initial force would end abruptly. Hmm, if the force was a bit weaker, I could make use of it like a whip... But with this, I just have to cut down two bullets and they'll repel each other away. Now for a name...

Something tickles in my mind. "Huh? You don't want it yet?" Maybe like Wavebreaker, there's some ability I don't know about yet? Or rather... I eye it suspiciously. You rather I name you after using you to fight Cirno or something in a joke battle.

"Tsk, whatever." I switch back to Future Gazer and make a few practice passes. "Been a while since we had some training together, partner."

That's when it happens; if Komachi's Keyblade came eagerly, I'd describe this one as breaking its chains to come out. A warm feeling envelopes my entire right hand as Future Gazer trades its shape for the form that corresponds to Alice.

What the...? This is... it doesn't fit her image... okay, it doesn't fit her former image. I think as I look at the new shape my Keyblade has taken. There's a skintight black glove on my hand, with tiny white threads extending from the tips of my fingers to the dark brown square of the head. Between that and the long blocky grey shaft is a medium-sized reel bearing wire, with a brown X for the bit at the end. Kind of like the old doll manipulating cross-shaped thing. Except... I study the other six strange reels that are spaced evenly along the sides of the shaft with three on each side, plus four even smaller counterparts on the four points of the X, though those have wires extending into a small hole in the center of the cross. Now that I look closely at it, there's a grille at the tip. Don't tell me the wires come out through- OH MY GOD!

Wires did come out through them, winding tightly around my finger when I rubbed it over the grille. At the same time, the other seven reels release their own wires, each with a different colored tint to wrap around me, while the inky black fabric of the glove suddenly starts growing upwards along my wrist. I jerk the weapon away from me, but it resists strongly.

"Let... GO!" I push harder, ignoring the pain of the wires cutting into my skin. "Let go of me!"

Just as suddenly as they had came out, the wires retracted, releasing their hold on me. This reminds me of a very attached pet... needs training or it'll climb all over me. I glare at the glove, and it relinquishes its territory on my wrist. Still, this Keyblade is probably the most versatile. Wires can cut, grab, weave... I spread my fingers wide, relying on the threads to keep the Keyblade within my 'grip', and immediately the reels let out small lengths of wires that wave around in the air like feelers.

"Nanasen! (2)" I flick it out, it responds readily with its long wires extending and tearing rows into the ground on their way to attack the target.

I take a while to examine the results; I had avoided aiming for the trunks on purpose, but the high-speed wires managed to slice the small offshoots off so cleanly they barely moved. A second flick causes the reels to emit a high-pitched whine as they spun crazily, and the wires wove themselves together to form a makeshift shield that floated in the air. On the whole, the Keyblade is one of the most receptive to my thoughts, nearly on the same level as Phantom Blossom.

I see... it's quite similar to manipulating the magic threads. And the glove is a way for me to control their tension; relax my fingers, and they are like threads, but if I clench them into a fist, they harden, making it possible to form a hammer or some other shape. Practically a Green Lantern ring. Still, I scold it harshly again, making it pull back the wires it was trying to wrap around me, I feel really uncomfortable about using this one. Not only does it feel like I'm making use of Alice, but I don't really like the way it keeps trying to 'hug' me.

"Well, let's just give you a name..." I think for a long time, occasionally pausing to shake the Keyblade to remind it not to wrap me in wires.

It's tough... no matter how much I think, I just keep coming back to using the word 'Wire' in its name. So now I need something else to provide the second half. In the end, I come up with the word 'Performance', since that represented the ability of this Keyblade and Alice's puppetry together. When I actually name it out loud, the keychain I had all but forgotten about burst into blinding bright light, forcing me to cover my eyes until it faded.

A doll... hanging from a wooden cross. "No. Don't wrap me in your- NO. Pull those back, now. Okay, that's- Don't start again!"

In the end, I just banish it back into its miniature form and head back to get ready to welcome Mokou home. I do my best to cook something good, plus I even make a few trips to the river for water so I let her have a hot bath. But after Wire Performance's appearance, I'm left feeling kind of down.

Wonder what Mokou will say when I tell her that I'm planning to confess to Keine...? No, wait, I still haven't figured out what's bothering Keine in the first place. I sigh, irritated at how one negative thought spawned so many more. I need to do something to take my mind off... Then I hit on it... and grin really wide.

I hear the knock soon enough, and I quickly get into position before the door. She should know I'm here from the light of the fire through the window.

"Is that you, Ikuto?" Mokou's muffled voice calls through the door moments before it starts to open. "Whatever you're cooking, it smells-"

She stops dead when she sees me kneeling before the entrance. I was second-guessing myself for what felt like a long time even though I barely managed to get everything set up for her, but the moment I see her expression, it all becomes worth it even though my face is already flaming red with embarrassment.

"Welcome home, Darling. Would you like to have dinner first? Or perhaps a bath? Or maybe... me?" I manage to deliver that line perfectly thanks to lots of last minute practice.

Coupled with the fact that I look like I'm dressed in only an apron (I have my underwear on underneath, but she can't see it from this angle), it appears that I've totally fried Mokou's mind, since she starts stuttering and speaking complete gibberish. Then she does something I don't expect.

Mokou faints, slumping to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.

You know, I think this counts as a WIN. I think as I stare at her limp body, then sneeze. Gah, it's cold. Let's get her in and get dressed properly.

(1) Troll meme. 'Magnets, how do they work?'

(2) Index's Kanzaki Kaori's attack, done with her sword and wires.

Can you say TROLOLOLOL? After I suddenly remembered that 'Darling, I'm home' part in chapter 9, this idea suddenly came to me. Technically though, it's not the sort of stuff you'd like to see a guy doing... unless your tastes run that way.

Probably some of you might be able to guess why Keine is refraining from entering into a relationship with Ikuto, but just wait and see.

Any suggestions for a name for Komachi's Keyblade? Really, the ability is perfect, but I'm having a little trouble thinking of a fitting name since it kind of came from a sex friends relationship, different from all the previous ones (barring Alice). On the other hand, wires fit Alice's awakened side much better than threads, doesn't it? I had the idea for it long ago, though it only solidified after my random writing took me into writing her as an M.

Well, thanks to all those who are reading this story, and sorry if some of you didn't like how Alice got the short end of the stick... but that's just me. Also, since I've started working, I won't be able to spend as much time writing this story as before, so the rate of release will be slower.