Well, that took longer than I expected. Sorry for the late update everyone, didn't mean to leave you all hanging after such a huge chapter like the last one. I've had a lot of complications the past couple of months. Many of them are small, but they add up. Anyway, I got this done now, and that is all that matters.

I will say this; You guys went absolutely crazy over Dash's and Alice's back stories. Fourteen reviews for that chapter alone! And all of you have thrown out some good suggestions on who's song should be played soon. All will happen in time, so please keep patient about that.

Also, some of you show interest in a side story featuring Alice's past, so it is decided that I will write that out at some point. I can't promise when, but it will happen. I'll let you all know when it is up.

Anyway, please enjoy this long overdue chapter. Enjoy!

Touhou belongs to ZUN. I wish I had his hat...

Chapter 25 – Beating the Heat

"Ugh! Mystia, I'm dying here!"

The bird youkai sighs behind her grill at my complaint, giving me an irritated look. "What do you expect me to do? Just deal with it until we're done, alright?"

"But it's so hot~!" I whine wearily, like a child throwing a tantrum.

It has been around a couple weeks since the summer festival in the Human Village, and with it the big competition I had with the Prismriver Sisters, along with the life altering discovery that was made about myself. After the talk I have had about my true nature as a faux lich, I have been getting more used to the idea of being one. In a way, I just view it as another way to fit into this crazy land, being full of youkai and such. That might not make much sense to most people, but I learned a while ago that Gensokyo has never followed such logic.

Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on how you see it, being a youkai is the last thing that has been on my mind lately. Soon after the festival, the summer days have been getting more and more unbearably hot, and it really is starting to push me to the breaking point. I couldn't even think of wearing my jacket because of the heat, and if it wasn't for the fact Alice has had the foresight of making my shirt a bit ventilated, I would be going shirtless too.

Needless to say, I don't have any tolerance for the heat...

I hate summer sometimes... Normally I don't get this bugged about it, but this is just getting ridiculous! Seriously, how come this heat wave is lasting so long?!

"You have been saying that for days now. If anyone has a right to complain, it would be me; I'm the one behind the grill." Mystia shoots back.

I sigh at that, resting my head onto my guitar. "...Sorry, I just never been good with heat. When it was hot out back in the outside world, I used to stay inside with the air conditioner running. Can't exactly do that now..."

"...Air conditioner? What's that?" The night sparrow asks in confusion.

"Oh, sorry. I forgot no one knows about these things." I chuckle to myself at the situation. "It's...a machine that generates cool air using electricity. It's really handy to have for hot days like these."

"I see..." My boss ponders. "It sounds a lot like a ghost to me."

"...Pardon?" I question curiously, if not a but stupidly.

What the heck is she talking about? How are the two even related?

"I've never done it myself, but..." She starts to explain herself, with me listening intently. "Apparently, ghosts naturally keep the area around them cool due to their own temperature being so low. Because of this, if you manage to capture one, you can use it tokeep cool. I think even Reimu did this at one point, a few summers back."

That sounds really convenient! I wonder where I could find a ghost though? ...Or to catch one for that matter.

"...That is, until that girl from the Netherworld found out about it. From what I hear, she kept pestering Reimu for misusing ghosts until she let the one she had go."

"A girl from the Netherworld?" I perk up. "Would this happen to be Youmu?"

"Yes actually." Mystia confirms, a bit of surprise coloring her face. "I didn't know you knew her Dash. When did you meet?"

"I've met her back during the festival, along with her master Yuyuko. It was Yuyuko who told me what I am, to be exact."

"Right, about you being a youkai." My boss voices her understanding, before shaking her head slightly. "I still can't believe it though, when you told me that back then... To think my human underling was actually a...what was it you said you were again?"

I can't help but laugh at her ignorance, thinking back to that time. A few days after I got back to work for the night sparrow youkai, I started wondering if I should let her in on my secret, considering she is one of my closer friends, despite what she might claim. After getting a second opinion from my best friend, Alice agreed that it would be a good idea to tell her, if just to have her look out for me when I'm outside the village. When I did tell Mystia my secret, her reaction was enough for me to get a few laughs in, though she became pretty accepting of it afterwords.

Getting back to the conversation at hand, I proceed to inform her again of what I am, much to my irritation. "A faux lich, Mystia... My soul is in my guitar, and as long as Arashi doesn't break, I can keep living. I told you all of this before."

"Sorry, sorry." She waves me off with her hand dismissively. "It's just such a weird thing, y'know? I've never heard of it before. It will take some getting used to."

I sigh out at that, knowing I shouldn't blame her. "Yeah, I know what you mean. It certainly took a lot for me to get used to it."

Like sharing painful pasts with a certain puppeteer. I still haven't thanked her enough for that... Maybe I should do something nice for her next time I see her?

"Well back to what we were talking about." Mystia changes topics abruptly. "Yeah, if you want to keep cool, you could always just get a ghost. It might not be the same as one of your 'air conditioners', but it should work."

I think about it for a moment, but in the end I just shake my head in the negative. "I would rather not have Youmu be mad at me, even if it is for the sake of beating the heat. Besides, I don't think I could catch a ghost."

"That's true." The bird youkai agrees, before sinking back into thought. "Well I don't know what else you could do. Normally when I need to cool off, I..."

I raise a brow at her when she sudden cuts herself off, wondering what she is about to say. When she doesn't say anything else, my curiosity peaks. "What? What do you do?"

"I...uh...I don't think what I have in mind is a good idea." She admits, looking fairly uncertain about something.

"Mystia, I'm willing to do nearly anything to cool off at this rate. Spill!" I plead to her, hoping she will share her idea.

She stares at me intently for a while, determining if it would be a good idea to tell me or not. Finally, she seems to make up her mind, giving me a small smile as she does. "Just so you know, I wouldn't recommend this if I thought you were still a human. But since you're not, it should be alright." At that she walks around her grill, walking up to me with a barely masked mirth "How about instead of practicing guitar after work, you meet me over at the village gate while I put my cart away? I have somewhere to take you."

Sometime after we had our conversation, and just as soon as Mystia dropped her grill off at her place and changed out of her work clothes, I find myself walking behind her on a path that branches off a little further down the south road, taking me further away from the village than I'm normally used to. I don't really have much of a clue of where we are heading, since she is being all secretive about it, but she urges me that wherever it is, it will relieve me of this intense heat.

I wonder what she has in mind? I'll admit, I am a little concerned about how far we are heading. I see why she said she would be concerned if I was still a human, it's a little too far away from the village to be considered safe. But I think I should be alright. Besides, I have Mystia here in case anything happens.

"Hey, quit daydreaming!" I hear my employer snap at me from up ahead. "We're almost there, and I need you to stay close to me. Things are about to get a bit foggy here, and I need you to be alert."

I give her a confused look at the warning, not exactly sure what she meant, but after another minute or so I find out. Almost on cue, a cloud of fog or mist of some kind rolls in on us, bring down our visibility to the surrounding area. Thankfully it doesn't hamper my view much, allowing me to keep Mystia in my sights, along with anything near us. In fact, the only way it hinders me is keeping whatever is in the distance hidden, maybe about thirty or forty meters out. It does get me wondering why it is here though, considering it is in the middle of the day.

A few more minutes of walking into the mist later, I notice that the trees have stopped popping up in the distance, indicating that something must be up ahead. Upon further inspection, I feel a slight drop in temperature in the area, though not enough to sway the summer heat, and I can smell the damp air in the wind blowing softly into me. Along with the wind, my hearing is able to pick up the traces of what sounds like...waves.

"A lake?" I question in astonishment, only to be proven right when I can see the edge of said body of water before me. It is only now realization comes to me, and I nearly smack my head for my idiocy.

I can't believe I forgot this was in Gensokyo! I mean seriously, you can see this thing in the distance at Reimu's shrine for goodness sakes. Damn, I could have been swimming this whole time, and I let it slip my mind!

In my excitement, I have to contain myself from just running up ahead to jump into the water, since Mystia is still leading the way for us. Instead, I just follow her as we make our way to the shore, admiring the cool looking water that hides under the mist, and wishing I could dunk myself into it.

"Welcome to the Misty Lake." My employer announces with a wave of her arm and a big smile. "Bet you can guess why it is called that, right?"

"Yeah, no kidding." I whistle out my approval, still looking out at the water. "How is there mist though? It's the middle of the day."

"Nobody knows, to be honest. It's just how it has always been." She shrugs. "Anyway, this is where I normally go when I feel like I need to cool down a bit. It's a popular spot for youkai to go to during the summer, for obvious reasons."

"But not humans, I'm guessing?"

"Right on the dot." She gives me a mocking thumbs up. "True, it doesn't keep humans from coming here, but it really isn't safe for them to be here. Only really brave fishermen and the like come here."

Brave might be a subjective term... I would probably call that stupidity.

"Why would they ever want to take such a risk?" I ask. "There has to be other, safer, bodies of water besides this, right?"

"Well...sure there is. But I hear there are some pretty big fish here, bigger than whatever you could find anywhere else. I would imagine such a thing would be a challenge for fisherman, despite the danger. Those poor fools."

"I'm inclined to agree." I shake my head in bemusement, before excitement takes over. "Well, no use standing around. Let's go for a swim!"

"H-Huh?!" The bird youkai stutters, apparently shocked at the suggestion.

"What? That is why we are here, isn't it?" I inquire in confusion.

"I didn't have that in mind though!" She exclaims. "I usually just dip my feet in at the edge. Sometimes I will wade in a little since the water isn't very deep, but I try to avoid getting my wings wet."

"Aw c'mon! It'll be fun!"

"No. What if I need to fly and my wings are all damp? Do you know how hard that is?"

"But what reason would you have to fly right now? Besides, it's no fun swimming alone. Please~?"

"No!"

Geez, she's really being stubborn about this. Is there really no way to convince her?

I sigh a little at her unwillingness to have any fun, before just shrugging it off. "Fine, be that way. I'm going in." With that said, I place my guitar on the ground next to us as I start the removal of my footwear and shirt, preparing myself for a good soak.

"H-Hey! What are you doing!?" She stammers, acting unusually flustered for once.

I give her a weird look at her at mood, before shrugging off my shirt completely. "What? I'm just going for a swim. No sense in getting my clothes wet, right?"

Kinda wished I still had swim trunks though. I don't think they have something like that in Gensokyo though. Ah well, I'll have to deal with the wet pant legs.

"Don't you have any shame!?" The bird youkai shrieks, startling me a little. "You're just striping right in front of a lady here!"

I look blankly at her for a bit, before finally getting what she means. "...I'm keeping my pants on, you know. This is how I normally go swimming."

"Wha...I mean...I-I knew that!" She attempts to snap at me, though it loses its bite with how embarrassed she looks.

I try not to chuckle at her reaction, before I start to walk toward the water's edge. "Well, whatever. If you aren't coming in, could you look after Arashi for me? Would hate for another thief to steal it again."

"Yeah, sure..." She mumbles, watching as I jump feet first into the cool water with a splash...before laughing at me when I shriek at the water's temperature.

"Geez! This water's cold!" I exclaim, standing in over knee deep of water.

"Well duh, the lake water is covered by the mist most of the time, so the sun can't heat it. I assume it is a bit nippy."

"You don't say...?" I sarcastically ask. "Well, no better way to get used to it than all at once."

After mentally preparing myself, I allow myself to just fall backwards into the water, letting the cold liquid to overtake me completely. The shock of cold rushes through me quickly, but I welcome it completely to beat out the heat that I have been suffering through earlier.

Oh yeah, this is definitely the best way to beat the heat. I am so glad Mystia brought me here.

Once I resurface, I take a glance over to the pink haired girl, who is looking at me with amusement as she is sitting at the water's edge, her feet dipped into the water. "Having fun over there?" She asks me.

"I am. But I would have more fun if someone would just suck it up and jump in too." I joke with small pout on my face.

"No thanks, this is as far in as I want to be." She flicks a foot up to indicate how far.

I only shake my head in exasperation at her, before an evil smirk overtakes me when I get an idea. "Well then, if you aren't coming in..." I drawl, making my way toward her slowly.

To her credit, Mystia catches on quickly to what I have in mind, and the look on her face couldn't be any more priceless. "Don't you dare..."

"Oh, I think I'll dare."

"I will make your life a living hell." She narrows her eyes at me.

"I'll take my chances."

"You can consider your job as good as gone."

"Then you can forget about learning how to play from me."

"Dash, I'm warning you!" The night sparrow stand straight up, stepping out of the water.

Before I go through with the classic of aquatic based fun called splashing, laughing evilly as I do, a sudden chill begins to saturate the air, making me involuntarily shiver. "Hey... Did it just suddenly get colder, or is it just me?"

"Now that you mention it..." Mystia confirms, before she looks to me seriously. "Get out of the water. We got company."

"Eh? Who?"

"Just get out for now. It would be bad if you're in the water if she is in a bad mood."

Not needing much convincing, I wade over to my things on the shore before stepping out. Still too damp to put anything on, I opt to just grab my guitar for now. "So who's coming? A friend of yours like Rumia?"

"Kind of." She relents. "Tell me Dash, how much do you know about fairies?"

Slight confusion crosses my face at that. "Not much really. From what I've read from a book Keine lent me, fairies just go out of their way to prank humans for fun. It also says that there are a ton out there, and it is common to see them even in the village, but I've never ran into a fairy yet."

"You probably already have been a victim of them and don't even know it." She explains. "They can be tricky, but they usually just do petty tricks like hide your things or make you lose your way."

I can see that happening. When things like that happen, I usually chalk it up to me being scattered brained.

"Okay, but what does fairies have to do with now?" I ask, before I connect the dots. "Wait, you're saying a fairy is coming?"

"Not just any fairy..." She amends. "This one's a bit...special."

Not a moment after Mystia finished speaking, a figure appears from the mist over the lake, heading straight for us, the temperature dropping slightly faster as it does.

Once the figure is close enough, I can indeed tell that she is a fairy considering she is the size of a child, though she is a bit different than what I expected. She has on a blue dress that has shoulder straps going over a white blouse, with a jagged, white triangle pattern lining the edge of the dress. She has a red ribbon tied at the collar of the blouse, and a bigger blue ribbon at the top of her hair. She appears barefooted, and her hair and eyes are a lighter shade of blue than her dress, aqua colored if I had to take a guess. To top it off, and to signify that she is indeed a fairy, she has six large icicle-like wings that seem to be attached to her back, though it is hard to tell from this angle, and the wings are flapping like an insect would their wings to keep her hovering in the air.

Wait...how can you fly with icicle wings? Wouldn't they be too dense to catch air to stay aloft or...you know what, screw it! I'm in Gensokyo, dammit!

"Hey! Who's there?" The small girl yells out to us, her voice matching her child like appearance.

Mystia sighs from besides me before speaking out to the fairy, obviously not too excited with this encounter. "It's just me Cirno, don't get all worked up."

"Huh?" The fairy blinks blankly at her, before cheering childishly. "Misty! Misty you're here!"

"Yes... Yes I am." Mystia laughs halfheartedly. "It was hot today, so we decided to come to the lake to cool off. Hope you don't mind."

"Not like you actually got in..." I snark sarcastically.

At the sound of my voice, the fairy obviously named Cirno snaps her head at me, her eyes wide. "A-A human!? Misty, why do you have a human with you!?"

"Well... Technically he isn't a-" I quickly nudge the bird brained youkai in the side at her near slip, getting her to quickly cover up. "Err... I mean, this is Dash. He works for me at my grill stand."

Geez, she almost revealed what I am right off the bat. I thought she could keep a secret?!

The fairy with ice wings stares at me disbelievingly, before turning back to my employer. "I don't get it. He's a human; you hate humans Misty."

"I've...learned to make exceptions. Besides, he's different for a human." Mystia relents, giving me a playful smirk. "Probably the only human I can ever put up with. If it wasn't for that, he would have been dead a long time ago."

"C'mon Boss, you know you love me." I joke back, earning me a chuckle from her.

"Don't push your luck, human." She retorts, laying the sarcasm heavily on the human comment. "Just be thankful you have been so helpful to me."

During the entire playful banter Mystia and I are having, the ice fairy looks between the two of us in utter bewilderment. That is, until her confusion gives way to frustration. "So wait, you're friends with him!?"

"Well, if you have to put a label on it." The night sparrow shrugs.

"But why!?"

"If there has to be a reason, it's because of what he can do." She begins to explain. "We use his ability of persuasion to lure customers in for my grill stand through his music. Because of that, my grill stand has been doing better than it ever has."

Probably didn't have to mention my ability. It's not like that's a secret or anything, but still...

"Not only that, but he's also been teaching me how to play a guitar too." Mystia continues. "So in short...yeah, he's a good friend. I honestly don't know what I would have done without him."

"Wow... Thanks Mystia..."

"...Meh. Actually, I think I would have done just fine." She adds on a instant later, making me face fault.

I'll get her back for that one. Honestly, making me think she was about to give me a compliment. The nerve!

After a moment of thought, something that looks amusing on her childlike face, the fairy named Cirno seems to have come to a conclusion. "I think I get it now..."

"Ah good... So are we all good here, or-"

"This human is controlling you with his ability!" She exclaims, making the two of us sweat drop.

Is...Is she an idiot? Seriously, how did she come to that conclusion?

"That's it, isn't it? Misty would never hang out with a human, so you must have done something to her!" The ice fairy accuses, making me get put on edge with her increasing hostility.

"No, that isn't it at all!" I attempt to pacify. "You see, I need to play my music to-"

"I don't want to hear it!" With that outburst, I feel the air get increasingly more chilled, and I can visibly see a thick frost cloud manifesting around her hands. "You won't get away with this human, I'll make sure of it!"

...I'm getting a bad feeling about this. A very bad feeling!

"H-Hey now, let's not get hasty here..." I stutter, feeling the now colder air on my wet skin from my earlier swim, a fact I wish wasn't there.

"No excuses! No one messes with my friends and gets away with it. Now feel the wrath of the strongest in Gensokyo!" With her threat in place, Cirno winds her small arms behind her as far back as she can, before unleashing a torrent of icicles at me.

"CRAP!" I exclaim before dashing to the side, tucking Arashi behind me to keep it away from immediate harm. No later after I moved, the ice zooms past my previous position, disappearing past the tree line.

Geez, those looked sharp! I am so glad she just telegraphed her shot, I don't think I could have moved fast enough otherwise. In fact, was that even danmaku?!

"Tch, I missed." Cirno mutters.

"Hold it, hold it, HOLD IT!" I yell out to the ice fairy. "I'm not a fighter! I can't even use danmaku! So could you stop this please?!"

"Ha! Well this will be easy for me then, won't it?" She mocks me, before holding her hands out in front of her. "Now hold still!"

"Stop this!" Mystia screeches, moving herself in front of me. "This is stupid. Cirno, Dash isn't controlling me. Now stop attacking him, before I start getting angry!"

"He's just telling you to say that!" Cirno gives my employer her simple minded logic. "Don't worry, I'll break you out of it Misty!"

This girl is crazy! Wasn't she listening to Mystia earlier? I can't just outright control someone, I just use persuasion to convince them of what I want! ...Hey, now there's a thought.

Coming up with a plan quickly, I shift my guitar into my arms as I call out to my current defender. "Mystia, don't attack. I think I got this."

"What?"

"Just trust me on this one." Without anymore explanation, and wasting no more time than needed, I get straight to playing Cirno's Aura Song, and with it activating my ability. Her song starts out about as I expected from one so impulsive; fast paced, straight foreword, and with an easy pattern to play, something that can really get you going with just the beat itself. When the inevitable transition comes up, since I would highly doubt the music of one's soul would be so simple as repeat the same tune over and over, I am surprised to find the tone to have a softer and more meaningful feel to it, without lacking the earlier energy from before. It's like there is more to the fairy than meets the eye, despite how she acts. All together, I think it represents her perfectly; a tomboyish daughter to Gensokyo.

My sudden playing of music catches the fairy off guard for a moment, and she ceases going on the offensive to look at me strangely. "Hey, how come you're playing music right now, huh?"

"I was hoping a little song would help calm everyone down." I reply, not dropping the tune. "I mean, we are all friends here, right? We don't have to fight with each other."

"Huh?" The ice winged girl freezes in midair, now just hovering there. "Well, I uh..."

Seeing that she is hesitating a bit, I decide to push her just a bit more. "What's wrong? You don't like my music?"

"No no no! I like it!" She waves her arms frantically in protest, before catching her sudden honesty. "I-I mean..."

"Ah, you do! I'm glad to hear it." I chuckle, the music continuing to flow from my guitar. "So then, can we stop fighting and be friends?"

She considers it for just a brief moment, and for an instant I feared my song isn't affecting her any. That fear is evaporated when I see her pouting like the child she looks like. "Oh fine, I'll stop..."

Phew... Glad that worked! Thank goodness she is as simple minded as she looked. I really owe it to my ability sometimes.

"So, we all good here?" Mystia asks, looking back and forth between the two of us worriedly.

"Seems like it." I confirm, though I continue playing just for good measure. "You understand, right Cirno? I am not controlling Mystia with my ability. Anything she does is of her own will."

"Yeah, sure..." Cirno agrees, although reluctantly. That is, until she just suddenly starts laughing with her chest puffed out pridefully. "Be thankful, human! You have survived an encounter with me, the strongest in Gensokyo! Only the best of the best can manage to do that!"

While the boastful fairy continues to gloat to herself, Mystia approaches my side to whisper to me quietly. "When she means only the best, she means everyone. Heck, even I can beat her fairly easily."

"To be honest, I don't doubt that for a second." I admit with just as a hushed tone, ending my music at this moment.

Honestly, she has such a childish mindset. It's almost like she doesn't know any better than to think she is on top of the world. It would be funny, if that ignorance didn't almost just get me killed.

Not knowing that I am current belittling her in my head, Cirno begins speaking to me again. "So anyway...Dash, right?" I nod at her question, letting her continue. "Since Mystia seems to like you for some reason, and not because she is being controlled, I guess you are alright for a human. Don't think we are pals though, you have a long way before you prove yourself to me."

"I'm cool with that." I respond simply. "Let's get along in the future then."

"So uh... Why were you two here again?" She tilts her head at us, and I almost give into my urge to face palm at her forgetfulness.

"Cirno, I already told you that..." Mystia deadpans. "We came here to cool off today, since it has been so hot lately."

"O-Oh! I knew that, I was just testing you!" She laughs nervously, not making her seem convincing at all.

She really did forget, didn't she? Does her simplicity know no bounds?

Just when I think I have seen the limits of her intelligence, she once again proves me wrong when she seems to get an idea. "Well then, you came to the right fairy if you need cooling off! All I have to do is lower the temperature, and then BAM! Instant cool!"

I am almost tempted to agree with her, but it occurs to me that I am still fairly damp from my swim earlier, despite all the excitement. "Um... Actually, I might freeze if you do that. So could you not-"

"Great! That would get you even cooler!" Cirno cheers. "Just sit tight, I can do this pretty quick."

"Please don't!" I yell in panic. "That could possibly kill me!"

...Well, maybe I won't. Since I'm a faux lich I should be able to survive it, if what Yukari told me is true. But it's still going to be unpleasant as hell, and I don't want that! I do NOT want to live through getting hypothermia!

"Cirno, just because you love the cold doesn't mean everyone else does." The bird youkai reprimands the fairy. "Seriously, just you being here should be enough for us, so don't make it freezing please."

The girl in blue seems to pout at the scolding, but backs down regardless. "Fine, have it your way. I was just trying to help..."

I let a deep breath I didn't know I was holding loose, slightly slumping my shoulders as I do. "Thank goodness..."

"Well, whatever. I only came here to see who is visiting the lake, so if there is nothing else for me to do here, I'm just going to see if there are any frogs nearby to practice on."

"That's fine. Have a good time." With a wave goodbye, the ice fairy flouts off along the shore, looking for little amphibious beings. When she is out of earshot, Mystia lets out a hearty chuckle. "Well that was really eventful. You alright there Dash?"

"Besides almost getting impaled by icicles and getting frozen, just peachy." I respond with heavy sarcasm. "But seriously, that was a little close for comfort, even by my standards."

"Well, you did complain all day about wanting to get cooler." She chirps, almost outright laughing at my situation.

"Har har, real funny..." I grumble, reaching down for my shirt. "Anyway, I think I got cool enough to last me the rest of the summer, after that experience. Why is it whenever I meet one of your friends I almost get killed?"

"Because all of my friends are youkai, you numbskull. Just be glad that I'm here to keep you out of trouble."

"Excuse my ignorance, but I am pretty sure I'm the one that kept her from making me into a pincushion. Or did you forget my ability already?" I challenge, beginning to slip my shirt back on.

"I didn't forget. And I'm sure it did you a lot of good keeping her from accidentally freezing you."

"I...I could have just did the same thing, used my ability on her." I try to argue my point, but I'm already using 'could haves' to make my point.

"In which she would have frozen you before you could use it." She counteracts my point with her own, making me freeze in place.

Damn it, she has a point. I would need time in order to start playing an Aura Song again, time that Cirno wouldn't have given me in her own rush. I need someone to cover for me or stall for time before I can do anything...

Unable to come up with a good comeback, since it is obvious that her logic trumps mine, I give my surrender. "Ugh, fine... You win this time."

"And don't you forget it." Mystia smirks at me, not restraining the pleasure from her victory as I finish pulling my shirt back on and slipping on my shoes again.

"Yeah yeah..." I give a dry laugh, strapping Arashi back onto my back. "Well, I think it's time to head back. I've had enough excitement for one day."

"I agree. Let's go, before someone else decides to show up." She agrees, taking the lead again to lead us back to the village. As we make our way back home, the mist beginning to lift again as we travel, I let my mind wander a bit now that I have some time to think. One particular thought comes to mind, and I can't help but let a wide grin spread across my mug when it comes to mind.

With all the excitement going on, I almost forgot that I just played another new Aura Song back there. That makes the first song I played since I decide on my new goal. I can't wait to tell Alice about this!

"...And then we headed back. So, isn't it great? I'm one step closer to my goal!"

The day after my little trip to the Misty Lake, I find myself at a very familiar tea shop during the afternoon hours of the day, after another heat filled day at work. Accompanying me at this particular tea shop is my best friend Alice, who is sitting across from me as I talk about my little adventure. We both are enjoying a nice lunch together, a thing we always have been doing lately, while her doll Shanghai continues to rest on my shoulder like it owns it.

Once I finish talking, I watch as the puppeteer calmly places her tea back onto the table, before she address me in her usual manner. "Yes, I am very happy that you are making progress to your new goal Tadashi." She gives me her unique smile as she gives me this praise, filling me with a bit of pride and joy.

Unfortunately, that feeling doesn't last for long when Alice switches her bright smile to an angry glare. "However, I think I need to, once again, remind you of my displeasure when you do reckless things like that. Now, mind explaining to me why you thought it was a good idea to go to the Misty Lake? Or even to meet with Cirno of all people?"

Ah crap... This isn't going to end well.

And scene~! You know the drill people. Drop a review, give me your thoughts and suggestions, or just tell me how much you loved it. That works too.

Quite honestly, I planned to introduce Cirno next before everyone started asking for her in the reviews. I don't know if that is irony or fate... -glares at a certain vampire- ...but it just works out like that. I hoped I did her character alright. I didn't want her to be a complete dummy, but on the other hand, being an idiot is almost her trademark. In the end, I just marked it up to her being childish.

One thing I noticed while writing this chapter though... All the way up till now, Dash never ran into the universal danmaku canon fodder, the fairies. I mean seriously, how!? How did I forget that!? Ah well, gotta make up for it with the main fairies, I guess.

Disregarding the fairies, I am pleased how this chapter turned out, with all the lighthearted shenanigans and all. Not to mention I threw in little bit of lore with the ghost thing. I am pretty sure that was accurate, considering what I read. If not, oh well, this is a fanfiction anyways. XD

Next time, I will hopefully get the next chapter out sooner. Who will pop up next? Will there be a new aura song? Wait and see~!