Disclaimer: I own none of the characters mentioned or used in this story, except for the one from whose point of view this story is told. Any and all of the other characters belong to Team Shanghai Alice.

Chapter 36: Fresh Band Meat

The bark of the tree I was leaning against was soft, unexpected for a tree. Either that or being a ghost had some perks, like making things more comfortable for me to lean against. I silently watched the entourage of ghosts pass by, milling about like ants in their home. Except these had no purpose; all they could do was wander aimlessly until called for judgement. Just like me, who was stuck here until my body was able to be revived.

I sighed. It wasn't really because I was bored; there was plenty enough to keep me far from that. The thing was, I had no idea what to do about anything at the moment. There was simply far too much. After all, I was trusted with holding a globally-threatening secret from perhaps the one closest person to the one asking this of me.

Even worse, the source of the global threat was maybe a mile or two down the path away from this house.

I winced in discomfort, remembering what both the tree and Yuyuko had felt like the previous day. The connection was… disturbing. Knowing that the relation between the queen of the Netherworld and a spirit-consuming tree was a bond closer than being twins was, put simply, unsettling. It led to a whole new host of questions I wanted answered, like what was going to happen to Yuyuko once the tree woke up. She had said that she would cease to exist, but did that mean that she would simply vanish? Or something worse? And what would it be like, once it came out? What would it do? Was it just going to eat the spirits of everything in sight like a starved animal?

So many questions. And no answers.

I sighed. Again.

Then I felt something odd.

I looked right.

"Wah!"

What the hell?

"N-Nitori-chan! H-how long have you been there?"

"A couple minutes, I think?"

How did she….

Maybe I was just too caught up in my own thoughts to notice her coming here. It wasn't totally implausible; maybe I was just that spacey. But to have not noticed her being that close, staring right at my face….

I pointedly looked away. "Sorry about that. I just didn't see you."

The two of us just sat there for a little bit. Then I turned back, and found that Nitori hadn't moved at all. Her eyes were still giving me the same curious look from before.

"W-what?"

Her eyes narrowed now, scathing me with an expression I wasn't sure about it. "You're worried about something, aren't you?"

Huh? Was she able to get that just from reading my face? "What do you mean?"

"You just seem troubled. Something's bothering you."

"Where did you get that idea?" Better to just play dumb; this matter wasn't one I could just discuss openly with anyone.

"I'm not sure," she admitted, backing off a bit now. "It's just a feeling I have."

And where was that intuition coming from, I wondered. Of course, I didn't ask that, and simply smiled instead. "Well, don't worry about it, okay? I'm fine."

She gave me a look that seemed to be questioning me. But then she smiled back. "Alright then."

Man, that was a bit close. I didn't want her worrying too much about me. Especially not about a matter like this

Again, silence fell back over us. Neither of us really wanted to get up and move apparently, so we just sat there under the cherry blossom tree, saying nothing. I don't know long we sat there for. At some point, I felt the need to break the ice and try to start up a conversation (most likely to ask about what kind of stuff she was planning to build next), but my voice failed me when all of a sudden Nitori scooted a bit closer and began leaning on my right shoulder. While it wasn't the most comfortable feeling in the world, suddenly having a girl lean on you with no invitation, it didn't feel all that bad.

At least, for the moment, of course. I suddenly felt something come in right above me. I looked up.

It was a familiar cone hat with a sun at its tip, on top of white-blue hair.

"Oh, hey, um… Merlin, was it?"

"So it is you!"

She looked up away from me, and a hand came out from the tree. "One-san, Lyrica, I found him!" she called out.

Found him? As in me? What were they….

Before I could properly ask myself that, two more familiar faces, with matching cone hats, appeared from beyond the ghosts, and approached me. The third flipped downward from the tree she had been looking through to join her sisters.

And all three of them stared at me intently.

"Um… yes?" Why did I feel like they were trying to stab daggers with their eyes?

The three of them spoke one after the other, finishing a single sentence with three people.

Lunasa: "So, Kaito-san…."

Merlin: "What do you have-"

Lyrica: "-to say for yourself, huh?"

I just blinked dumbly at them, being confused by what subject they were supposed to be talking about, and being thrown off guard by the sudden round of three-person stereo. "Er… huh?"

Lunasa sighed. "Please don't try playing dumb."

Merlin nodded. "We know that you're the one-"

Lyrica glared. "-involved with the disappearance of our vocalist."

What?

Well this was certainly awkward. I had absolutely no idea what they meant by that? I mean, I could understand that their vocalist was missing, since I had overheard them outside of the gate, but what did that have to do with me?

Then I was hit with a second round of stereo that cleared everything up.

"Do you know-"

"-of a person-"

"-named Mystia Lorelei?"

Oh.

Wait, Mystia?

My eyes widened in surprise. I glanced over at Nitori, who was looking at me with just as much surprise.

Mystia was their singer?

The awkwardness of the situation instantly spiked a few notches upward with the mentioning of that name. "Erm… yeah, about that…."

All of them leaned in on me, severely intent on listening. My words died in my mouth.

Goddamnit. How the hell was I supposed to explain this to them? Was I supposed to say something like 'Oh yeah, I met her a few days back, when she had gone insane with some dark power and tried to eat both me and Nitori-chan alive, so I had to conjure up a hurricane and throw her away'? Not likely. Not just because it was hard to say, period, but also because I was pretty sure the three of them would flat out refuse to believe such a ridiculous story.

But I couldn't just lie to them about it, now that they knew I was involved. I was stuck.

"Well?" all three of them said at once.

I had no other option.

So as carefully as possible, I explained to them everything that happened that night. Or at least, everything related to Mystia, that is. A couple of key points, I chose to leave out (like the part about Nitori being stuffed into the pantry with nothing on at all), but for the most part, I was able convey the full story, with Nitori popping in on occasion to help out. It was a long-winded story, to be sure, but all three of them listened intently, all the way up to the end.

Once I was done, I just clammed up. I couldn't quite read the expressions on the faces of the three girls. But from what I could tell (which wasn't a lot), Merlin's expression was the only one that seemed to have softened up at all.

"So… you have no idea where Mystia is, then?" Lyrica finally asked.

I shook my head.

"Then what do you suggest we do now?" Lunasa continued.

"Hell if I know."

Then the brunette gained a rather mischievous smile. "I think I have an idea."

I didn't like the sound of that.

Lyrica leaned over past Merlin and whispered into Lunasa's ear. The face of the blond girl went from full neutral, to something resembling a smile similar to the one whispering.

Yeah, I really didn't like the sound or the look of this.

"Then it's settled."

Merlin didn't seem to like getting left out of the loop here, but she didn't say anything. The other two turned to me.

"Kaito-san, in exchange for making our singer disappear…" Lyrica began.

"You're going to take her place in our concert at the end of this week," Lunasa finished.

I was going to….

Wait, huh?

"Wait a moment!" I blurted out. "Are you serious about that?"

"Oh yes, we're very serious."

"We need to make you take responsibility for your actions. Right, Merlin?"

"Eh? Um, yes, right."

Oh come on, I thought you were on my side for a second there.

"But isn't this concert supposed to be, like, really important for you three? I've never even tried singing before."

"So? That means that if something goes wrong, then we could blame you."

"That's called taking responsibility, you know."

Seriously? That sounds more like designating a fall guy for your group instead of finding someone to take responsibility.

"Look, Kaito-san," Lyrica declared. "We're the Prismriver Sisters, the most famous musical group in Gensokyo, and we have a reputation to keep up. If you don't like it, then tough luck. We've been planning this concert for weeks now, and it's going to be our biggest concert ever."

"We cannot afford any mistakes or allowances for this," Lunasa continued. "I expect our crowd to be much larger this time than any previous performance we've put on. No matter what, we must be able to satisfy the entire audience. The lack of a singer will disappoint a large majority of them."

"Do you understand?" both of them said at once.

The sense of finality in their words got to me this time. Honestly, I couldn't really blame them; it really was my fault that they were in a jam like this, whether or not I had intentionally gotten them into it.

I sighed. "Alright, I get it. Fine, I'll do it."

Hey, maybe if I was lucky, I would actually turn out to not have that bad of a voice. No way in hell I would be able to match voice like Mystia's, though.

Yeah, like I would actually have that great of a voice.

"Very well then," Lunasa agreed. "We will stop by a little while later to start practicing. You have quite a few songs to learn this week."

She nodded to her sisters, and the three of them began walking away as one.

I breathed heavily, and dropped back against the tree. Man, how stupid was this? I was being turned into a scapegoat.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Nitori asked once the three were gone.

"Of course I am, Nitori-chan. I brought this upon both myself and them. It doesn't really matter whether or not I was trying to do this; to them, it looks a lot like sabotage, doesn't it?"

"Well, yes…."

"Which is why I have to make it up to them. If I have to become the fall guy in order to do that, then fine, I'll do it."

I smiled at her. "Don't worry. It'll be alright."

She kept looking at me curiously, as if trying to discern whether or not what I was saying was supposed to be a lie in some way. Then she asked "Are you always like this to everyone you meet?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"It seems like no matter where you go, you always try to help the people around you. Even if you don't really know the person, or it puts you at considerable personal risk, you don't stop to think about it, and just act. You'll intentionally put yourself in harm's way just to protect others. Isn't it dangerous to live like that?"

I blinked at her. It felt a bit strange, being told this, but she had a point.

I smiled sheepishly, looking away. I felt a bit ashamed, having to be told by her that, indirectly, I was actually part of the reason I kept getting hurt all the time. "Yeah, it is, isn't it?

"But you know what? I don't really mind living that way. I mean, I'm just some guy who happened to come here. I don't have any real reason to be here in the first place, so if I can help the people who're living here, and make things better, then I'll do that."

"Even if…."

I cocked my head in confusion, wondering why Nitori's expression had suddenly turned a little somber.

"Even if it means you'll nearly kill yourself?"

Oh.

My smile didn't quite vanish, though I was pretty sure it really wanted to at those words. Instead, I pushed out a weak chuckle. "It's kind of late to ask that, considering where we are. But I guess so."

Now she just looked worried. I couldn't blame her. If anything, my smile was making her worry more because of how much I was supposedly taking my borderline-suicidal lifestyle in stride.

Of course, that wasn't the case. This was just the way I was choosing to live, because I couldn't really choose to live for my own sake. In a world like this, I wasn't worth that much. At least, in my own opinion, I wasn't. Other people might think differently, but those were their beliefs. And if I wasn't worth much, then better to use whatever worth I had to help those around me. Even if it was just a little.

Now that I thought about it, maybe this was the reason I kept trying to help even those I didn't know. Like protecting the library for Patchouli, or going to Hell and back for Nitori, fighting demons alongside Utsuho, and holding the shop floor for Reisen. Various little things that I was doing for strangers, because I believed that if I could, then I would, and sometimes I would try even if I couldn't. Because I wasn't worth that much in the first place, and a lack of my presence probably wouldn't bring about that much change. In fact, there were plenty of other people in Gensokyo who could probably do the same things as me except better.

I could at least take comfort in the fact that despite my general incompetence, I'd managed, so far, to change things for the better.

My smile didn't disappear as I waved a hand at Nitori. "I already said not to worry about me, okay? Everything will be okay."

She still looked unsure. I could tell that a large part of her wanted to try and deny my words. That it wasn't going to be okay. That my incompetence was going to get me into a serious load of trouble.

Of course, that was barring the fact that I'd already done exactly that.

But then she nodded. And she put a hand on my shoulder, smiling gently. "Don't push yourself too hard, okay?"

I laughed lightly. "I won't."

At that, Nitori rose from her seat and walked back towards the house. She only glanced back once to wave at me before entering the door that would eventually lead her back to her room.

I looked back over at the expanse of ghosts with a smiling, sorrowful expression. My answer had felt like a half-lie. I didn't want to have to push myself so hard, since doing so would only worry those around me. But if I didn't, then what use would I be in this world? Maybe it was better that there be nothing than a useless burden, but I didn't want to be either. I wanted to be worth something, and in order to do that, I would have to push myself.

But maybe… maybe once in a while, I could try holding myself back. Just a little bit, for her sake.

I'd have to see.

My eyes drifted shut. Not for sleep, but for thought. Over everything that got me to this point. Looking back, it was certainly quite a story. If someone were to write it out, it would probably make a decent book. But of course, that would depend partially on the writer, and it really depended on if the person reading actually liked it or not.

Ah, who was I kidding? Who would want to read a story like this?

My thoughts wandered off in a different direction. How was I possibly going to meet the expectations of the Prismrivers? Despite the horrifying memory latched along with it, I had to say that Mystia's singing was really good. Compared to me, who probably never tried singing before, and can't even remember if he has. And now I was going to use my singing voice – or rather, my lack thereof – to shame myself in front of a humongous crowd of people. Fantastic.

I sighed, and continued allowing my thoughts to wander. I wasn't really thinking of anything in particular, just running anything that would choose to enter my mind.

Then, all of a sudden, my thoughts fell upon a musical tune. My eyebrows furrowed; for some reason, the tune felt familiar, yet at the same time was one that I was sure I'd never heard anywhere in Gensokyo. No doubt it was something I'd heard at some point during the outside world. It seemed… fitting, somehow. Or at least, it felt fitting somewhere around here. But where?

My face relaxed, and my throat began to hum as I started vocalizing it. As I slowly climbed the beginning few notes, more of my memory of the song's details began coming back. It started off on… percussion. Piano, specifically, with the light tinkling of some other percussion instrument, like a bell, in the background. Then the drums kicked in, rattling off a quick beat. Then the piano grew in intensity and speed as the brass and strings joined. A pause, and the brass took the stage as strings and percussion continued to provide backup, changing the melody to a powerful chorus.

The more I thought about it, and the more I could imagine it in my mind, I could feel a rising sense of amazement. Whoever managed to compose a piece like this must have been hailed as a genius.

At the end of the chorus, I ceased humming, allowing my breath to reset to its normal tempo. The tune continued to play in my mind.

"Hey, that sounded pretty nice."

"Gah!"

The sudden voice caught me by surprise, and my eyes snapped back open. Man, I must have really fallen out of it while humming.

When I looked left, Merlin was there.

Had she been listening to all of that?

"It might not be singing," she said kindly, smiling. "But that wasn't too bad. What's that song called?"

"W-wait a moment, when did you come back here? I thought you went off with Lyrica-san and Lunasa-san."

"I did. But I came back to see if I could help you with anything."

Oh… was this supposed to be some kind of show of pity the other two couldn't afford.

"But really, it doesn't look like you need much help. Your control is a bit sloppy sometimes, compared to Mystia, and your range needs a little work, but aside from that, it's not that bad."

Compliments? On my voice? She wasn't pulling my leg, was she?

"Now come on, tell me, what's that song called? You know, the one you were humming just now."

Eh? Why was she asking about that? I only started humming it because it came to mind. I didn't even know its name.

But, strangely enough, something began formulating in my head even as I stared at Merlin, trying to think. The connection seemed to come naturally, the hole being filled in on its own. I didn't know what was suddenly bringing back this part of my memory, but I had no complaints. I now knew it had something to do with not just Merlin, but every one of the Prismrivers.

And it came.

I turned away, looking off into the field of ghosts in confusion as the named rolled off my tongue. "The Phantom Ensemble…."

"Where did you learn this song?"

"I'm… not so sure myself. I think it's from the outside world somehow."

"But you just told us that you have no memory of the outside."

"I know, but sometimes, when certain things happen, pieces of my memory come back. And for some reason, this song just came back to me."

I was back inside the main house of Hakugyokoro. Merlin, apparently excited at the prospect of a new song for her sisters to play, immediately ran off to catch her sisters and brought them back to listen to me. It was embarrassing, knowing that three people were watching me do this, but I complied after telling them I wasn't totally sure where the sudden spurt of insight had come from. Once I was finished humming the main melody, I explained everything else I believed was supposed to be part of it, though I still wasn't sure how I knew it.

"Well we can't say we really believe that," Lyrica pointed out.

"Hey, you think this is unbelievable? I'm the one who suddenly thought of it, and even I can't believe it."

"I don't think you're thinking the same kind of disbelief as us."

"Huh?" Lunasa's statement confused me.

"I'll be frank with you; not one of us three believed you had any musical talent. And all of a sudden, you present us with this song. We cannot believe that it was simply a stroke of luck based on your memory; much more like it is a stroke of personal genius on your part."

Oh hell no. "No way. Don't try to give me credit for this. Didn't I already say that this song isn't even mine?"

Lunasa sighed. "Fine. If you really insist on that, then we shall not grant you credit for the song. Though we must thank you for giving us the song."

The other two nodded at this as well. I sighed a bit; it wasn't really my intention in the first place to give it to them. I was just humming it on a whim, and Merlin happened to be nearby when I did.

Then, Lunasa gestured to her sisters, and the three of them huddled up. No doubt discussing what to do, now that I turned out to have a minimal amount of talent. I waited patiently.

It only took about half a minute for them to reach an apparent consensus, and the three split.

"We have three things to say, Kaito-san," the sisters all said in unison. I nodded.

"First," Lyrica began reluctantly. "We want to apologize for believing you had no talent. This may not be your song, but you were able to at least somewhat imitate it, so maybe you do have some talent after all."

"Second," Merlin continued brightly. "We want to formally thank you for presenting this masterpiece to us. By your consent, we'd like to use this as a brand new song at the concert this week."

"Third," Lunasa concluded solemnly. "We want to invite you to be our replacement vocalist for Mystia. You will no longer be someone just here to take the heat, but an official, if temporary, member."

What?

Were they serious about that?

For a moment, I just gaped at the three in amazement. Then my lips broke into a smile, and I bowed.

"Thank you for the compliment. It is not my place to say this, but you may use the song if you wish. And yes, I would be glad to become Mystia's replacement."

Lunasa smiled widely. Merlin looked ready to burst with happiness. Lyrica still seemed unsure, but she didn't express it.

"Alright then!" Lunasa declared, clapping her hands together. "First order of business; we need lyrics for this new song. Once we've gotten a few lines, we'll start practicing the song itself. After that, we'll start teaching you the lyrics to our songs, Kaito-san. You're going to have to learn six different ones, including the new one, so get ready."

"Wow, Kaito-kun, tThat's amazing!"

"Your first real day here, and you've already become such good friends with those three."

Night had fallen over Hakugyokoro, and I was at the dinner table with the other four inside the house. According to Nitori, I had walked in with what seemed like an unnaturally cheery smile, which prompted the three of them to ask me what had happened. I was more than glad to explain.

"The three Prismriver Sisters are often honored guests here, you know," Yuyuko explained. "I can't wait to see you go up on stage and perform with them~"

"Thanks. I just hope I don't screw up on stage. That would be bad, wouldn't it?"

"Oh don't worry so much about it. You have a week, don't you?"

"That's true, but that means I have only a week to learn everything. A couple of these songs even have some choreography thrown in with them, so I have to learn lyrics, singing cues, and a bit of dancing too. I'm seriously going to have my work cut out for me. I don't think I've ever been on stage before either!"

That last bit had come out at a rapid pace. Even just talking about this made me excited. It wasn't only because I was nervous though. Something in me simply felt… exhilirated by the prospect. The possibility of being able to sing, dance, and perform in front of a crowd of people. I wasn't sure why; maybe I had some stage experience from the outside. I couldn't be sure. Yet the gripping feeling in my chest was a strange mixture of fear, anticipation, and enthusiasm.

I just hoped I wouldn't freeze up on stage!

The rest of dinner passed by, the four of us chatting and laughing.

Youmu didn't speak much, mostly only saying something if spoken to, and she expressed perhaps the least amount of emotion out of us four (unless, of course, Yuyuko made a playful jab at her, at which she would promptly flush in embarrassment). It made me think back to the previous night – much to my discomfort – and wonder if it was just how she was, or if it had anything to do with her grandfather. Naturally, I never asked.

Yuyuko easily talked the most and laughed the loudest. But I knew it was a façade; any time Nitori and Youmu weren't looking, and I was the only one who would notice, the glint in her eyes would tell a much sadder tale. She was keeping up this face so the other two would not worry, since ignorance was, after all, bliss. Also, she had already accepted the fact that she was about to die again, and this was her way of going out with a bang.

Nitori seemed perfectly content sitting herself in the middle of the scale between the two main residents of the house, like me. On top of that, a couple times while we were eating, she would glance over to me with an odd smile on her face. I had no idea why she was doing that, although admittedly, I'd done the same a few times. What was she thinking now, being here with us?

Then I remembered something.

"Um, Nitori-chan?" I asked, stopping her before she could leave the room after dinner was over.

"Hm? What is it?"

"Uh…."

I glanced away out of shame and embarrassment. God, this was going to be hard. "I, um… I have something I need to ask of you."

"Is that so?" She turned to face me completely. "What do you need?"

"Erm… I need you to…."

My tongue tied itself up, refusing to cooperate.

"Ah…." I groaned, shaking my head in frustration. "Never mind. Sorry."

I quickly made my way past her, taking note of the fact she was extremely confused just before I left the room.

Damn it. This was seriously important, so why couldn't I say it? Was it just my conscience forbidding me from doing so?

I groaned again, also out of frustration, but this time at my lack of a spine, and brought a palm to my face in exasperation.

"I know what you were about to say to her."

I turned, and Yuyuko was there. I hadn't realized it, but somehow, I had managed to walk all the way back to my room.

"No doubt you do," I said dejectedly.

"But you don't have the nerve to say it, do you? Especially not to someone you care so deeply about."

"You don't have to remind me." I pressed a single hand over an eye out of shame. "How could I possibly say it? It feels like I'm completely betraying her as a friend."

A second of silence, then a procession of footsteps, leading to a single hand being placed on my shoulder.

"Sometimes… you have to betray a friend in order to protect them."

"… I know…."

"Then I trust you will be able to tell her before it is too late?"

"Yes… I will."

Her hand left my shoulder, and I continued walking, entering my room, and tucking myself into my futon once I'd blown out the lantern.

Author's Notes:

Last week was... sort of a bad week for me, which is why I wasn't able to get out this chapter until a full week after I got back from summer camp. I did manage to get some writing and ideas down while I was there, but much more of my time was spent on other activities, much to my dismay, so I didn't get a lot. On top of that, whenever I have a notebook where I put down the stuff I want to keep, I always write ahead of my current progress, so as not to forget it later on. So I had to compose this whole chapter from scratch, and since I was pretty demotivated for almost all of last week (the reason, I will keep to myself), it came out rather slowly, and shorter than usual. Hope this doesn't happen again in the future.

Ah, leaning on the fourth wall is fun. Especially when the lean can be used for self-sniping. Of course, I doubt very many - if any at all - of the people reading this note here will agree with that statement, since they've come so far along already. I myself still wonder if I truly deserve so much attention and praise for this story. But that's not for me to decide or whine about in any way. Besides, with that point put into the chapter, I've set myself up for a nice brick at the end of the story(for those who understand what I mean, don't spoil it!).

Anyways. I will say that Phantom Ensemble is easily one of my favorite themes of all time throughout the Touhou games, taking third at one place behind Suwa Foughten Field from game 10, with Captain Murasa from game 12 taking first. This is all just boss themes, though, as stage themes are a different category altogether. It felt fitting to let the Prismriver sisters play their own tune, so I decided to incorporate it into the story.

So, what was 'I' supposed to say earlier? You'll find out next. Hope you enjoyed this chapter~