(Happy Early Remembrance Day! Lest we forget.)

Yes! Finally! Another chapter!

*dies*

Gah, I took forever to write this one. Managed to power through it, though. I seem to have a crippling case of forgot-to-do-almost-all-his-homework-and-is-paying -the-price-itis, which is what's been trying to drag me into the horrible, horrible pits of procrastination. Worry not! I'm still here! A little slower, but still here!

Mr PM wandered off again... Koishi, mind lending me a hand later?

Now, to BokusuKanon: First off, thanks for leaving all these reviews! This won't turn into a harem fic; that much is an absolute guarantee. Okay, maybe there'll be a love triangle or two or five (just kidding), but hey!

Well, that's all this time. On with the show!

– TOUHOU –

You know what Darius least expected to see at the airport?

Karin Muyoka.

"Hey, Darius!" She waved at him energetically as soon as he stepped out of the airport, running over to him. Her dress had been exchanged for a pair of dark blue sweatpants, a purple shirt, and a white winter jacket over all of that, the yin-yang emblazoned onto the back of it. She had an ice cream in hand, though her eyes were still violet. If others noticed, they gave no sign of it.

Darius looked up from his luggage – and instantly paled. "No fucking way." The others looked up as well.

Everyone exploded into movement, Reimu drawing her charms, Goukei stepping forward with his fists raised, and Darius reaching for the hidden revolver in his coat. Before any of them could do anything, however, Karin simply shook her head. "Ah, ah, ah, play nice. Look at all the happy people around us! You wouldn't want to ruin their days, would you?"

Reimu bared her teeth. "Damn you, Karin."

Sanae looked between the two of them. "Wait, this is who we're looking for? Really?"

"But we can't do anything," growled Goukei. "I'd love to beat her into a pulp, but she's right. We can't fight with this many people standing around."

Which means the only way to fight would be to catch her alone… Damion mused.

Are you crazy? Alexa muttered. We need to find Pandora's Box to stand a chance. The question is… what kind of game is Karin playing now?

The gap demon giggled, hooking her arm around Darius' and pulling him along. "It's been so long since we came here! Hasn't it, Darius?"

A shared glance between them, and they agreed. If they wanted a shot at her, they needed to play along. He said, "Uh… yeah! It's great to be back…?"

Karin put two fingers to her mouth and whistled. "Taxi! Hey, cabman! Any cab? Hello~!"

As she wandered off looking for a taxi for them, Darius muttered to the two in his head sourly. "Well, I think we just got a Karin-sized wrench thrown into our plans…"

Alexa frowned. "Not quite yet. I doubt she knows about Pandora's Box. Just play along as best as you can – and look for a way out while you're at it. Whatever you do, don't get tricked into wandering off…"

Just then, Karin returned in the back of what seemed to be a bus taxi. "Guys, I got a ride! Hop in, on my tab."

"This is a terrible idea," muttered Goukei.

"We don't have much of a choice." Darius opened the door and sat, glaring at Karin.

She ignored his death-stare and beckoned the others closer. "Come on, we're not staying forever, you know?" The others grudgingly got in as well. She turned to the driver. "Mr. Robert? We have everyone."

"Where to, miss?"

"Brooklyn Apartments, if you will," she said to him with a smile.

"It's your dollar." He hit up the meter, and with a small lurch, the car began moving.

"How'd you get a cabbie so easily?" Darius asked her.

Karin shrugged. "A little persuasion." A small gap opened up next to her, closing back up almost immediately. "Certainly not any borders."

He glanced out the window before donning his hat, glaring at the gap demon. "Dammit Karin."

Sanae opened her mouth to speak, but just then, Karin pointed at something. "Hey, look over there!" She waved at the colossal statue, the most iconic symbol of New York. "Heeeey, Lady Liberty!"

"It's not gonna talk back," the gunslinger pointed out.

"Unless the Angels take Manhattan," she shot back.

"No way." That was when Sanae's fangirl drive finally got a chance to kick in. "Doctor Who?"

Karin laughed. "Only watched every episode!"

Darius dropped his head into his hands. "Oh God, it's starting…"

Beside him, Reimu glanced at the distracted Karin once more before speaking in a subdued tone. "Alright, looks like she's distracted. Goukei, get over here."

"I hate all of you. Go die in a hole." Despite that, he sidled up to them anyways. "So, what's the plan?"

Reimu cast another look at Karin, who was apparently explaining something to Sanae. "And when the patient woke up, her skeleton was missing, and the doctor was never heard from again! Ahahahaha~!" Sanae followed suit and burst into laughter. Karin wiped a mirthful tear from her eye. "Anyways… that's how Eirin lost her medical license. Or so I'm told."

She looked back. "Karin will play the first hand. We just have to wait and see what she does."

Goukei stared at her in disbelief. "No fucking way that's a good idea."

"It's the best plan we have." The miko wasn't very happy with it either, it seemed. "We can't exactly get a plan to take her on. It's more than likely she can serve us all, no problem."

"By the way," added Karin, "if you're planning on how to take me down, you're on the right path."

Darius paled. "Oh, fuck me sideways."

"Ufufufu~ No thanks, Darius." She nudged him playfully. "Also, we're not quite fighting, you guys. We're playing a game. And this game is an acting game! Ever heard of Cops and Robbers?"

Darius fingered the revolver in his pocket. "Who's the cop and who's the robber…?"

"Why, I'm the robber, you're the cop, of course!"

Robert poked his head around the side of his seat. "Ma'am? We're here."

"Thank you, Robert. Well, everybody off." They disembarked, grabbing their luggage from the trunk. Reimu and Sanae each had the regular baggage, Darius with a suitcase (Dammit, Damion), and about a million crates of assorted alcoholic beverages from Goukei. The building they were at dominated the block, easily the largest in the area.

As they unloaded, Karin casually asked, "How'd you get all this overseas, anyway?"

As one, they pointed at Reimu.

"… Oh. That makes a lot of sense. Anyways, I made arrangements for us all in room 666! Come onnn~"

Sanae looked at her flatly. "Really?"

The youkai legion threw an arm around the shoulder of her new frienemy. "Of course not, silly! Some of us will be in room 667. Anyways, come on guys, I got us some sweet rooms…!"

Unnoticed by the others, Darius silently crossed himself as he followed.

Brooklyn Apartments was a typical place; nondescript, simplistic. A few chairs scattered about, along with the occasional potted plant. A few other visitors were there as well, a redhead idly reading a tech magazine, a small family and their dog, and the bored-looking man at the receptionist's desk. He glanced up as Karin approached – and jolted to attention. "Welcome back, miss."

She smiled and waved. "Hello. Cheery as ever, I see. Are the rooms ready?"

"Just as you requested we leave them, miss. On floor six."

Karin nodded. "Great." She turned to the others. "Alright, we got two rooms to choose from. Who wants to sleep in the devil's room?"

"We'd rather share room 667 if it means staying away from you," spat Darius.

"Oh, relax, I'm not sleeping here." The youkai legion wandered past them and opened the elevator, stepping in and waiting for the others. "I'll be in my personal little room."

Ding!

The elevator opened, letting them out. Karin handed two cards to Sanae, but didn't leave. "Well, I'll leave you lot to get acquainted. Bye~!"

And she was gone.

Darius groaned quietly. "Crazy girl… where does she get off fighting us, killing people, then acting like best buddies? I mean, come on…!" He trailed off as he went over to the two side-by-side doors of rooms 666 and 667. "Well, this is a terrible idea, but who wants which room?"

"Boys in one room, girls in the other, obviously," said Goukei.

The others exchanged looks. "Well, why not?" Reimu shrugged.

"But who gets which room?" Sanae pointed out.

Reimu pointed at Darius. Darius pointed at Reimu. They glared at each other, hands slowly reaching for their weapons.

"Um…" Sanae felt a bead of sweat slide down her neck as she dug out a penny. "H-how about a coin flip?"

"Heads!" The miko called quickly.

"Darn. Tails, I guess."

The coin flipped into the air, spinning end over end. It landed softly in the wind priestess' hand. The side up was…

Tails.

The gunslinger pumped his fist in quiet celebration. Flicking room 666's key card at Reimu, he slid the key card for room 667 across the lock. "Alright! Looks like everything here's settled. If you'll excuse me, I'd like a decent sleep on an actual bed! Night, ladies!"

He swung the door open triumphantly – and felt his jaw hit the floor. Everyone else peered around him and had similar reactions.

"S-Sanae," he stuttered out. "Do you m-mind calling reception a-again?"

She nodded tightly and backed away, sprinting for the stairs.

The oni with them rolled his eyes. "Wimps." He strode into the room and plucked the tasteless decoration from the ceiling.

He turned back around, the man's corpse in his arms. "What's wrong with a few dead bodies?"

– TOUHOU –

"Come along, Marisa! Don't be shy!"

The witch looked around uneasily. "Uh, Mima-sama, not that you're doing a bad thing – well, you are – but, ze!" She swept a hand out at the countless sunflowers around them. "Why are we in the Garden of the Frickin' Sun!?"

"Yuuka-san is a close friend of mine." Mima smiled as she carefully parted a thick bundle of sunflowers, taking care to not damage them. Marisa ducked under her arm and crawled into what seemed to be the only properly sunflower-free space in the whole garden.

Yuuka's mansion.

And unlike the other mansion in Gensokyo, the gate guard took its job seriously.

Sure, Elly had a scythe that literally reach almost all the way around her body and was probably a crapshoot in close combat, but the fact she throws it at people is what made her a menace to anyone who wanted to get inside the mansion. And just like her mistress, she wasn't known for making friends.

"Stop!" The young gate guard commanded as she watched them approach. "State your name and business!"

"Mima Maseriki, Marisa Kirisame," the evil spirit said without hesitation.

The gate guard eyed them warily. "I cannot trust your words. If you want to pass…"

Marisa's eyes lit up. "Fight?"

Mima rolled her eyes. "If you insist. Twilight Spa–"

"Well, that's just rude. Why don't you come in, have a tea and chat?"

Everyone stopped. Mima turned her head, a flicker of hope in her eyes. "Yuuka-san?"

"Hello." The flower youkai strolled out, gently pushing Elly out of the way. "I apologize for dear Elly; she's rather zealous in protecting the mansion."

"That's an understatement…" Marisa muttered sourly as she stuffed away her reactor.

"It's okay, Elly," Yuuka said to the young girl. "These are my friends. They're good people – well, they're decent…"

Mima huffed. "You're funny."

"I always am." She unlocked the door of her house and pushed open the door, evidently expecting them to follow her. "Well? Come in."

Yuuka's mansion was a classic European piece. No one ever asked who built it, or when, or how, mostly because the answers would probably scar everyone. Despite the nature of its occupant, it was surprisingly large and open-spaced. The entry room alone looked like a little slice of a tropical rainforest, complete with little waterfalls coming out of the walls.

The other rooms and the hallways leading to them looked much more normal, with plush dark green carpeting and simplistic white walls. Of course, plants grew on just about every exposed surface – plant pots, dishes, tables, everything – and covered up the walls to boot, but it was still there. Interestingly, there weren't many free-hanging vines.

Marisa looked around, spinning in a slow circle to take it all in. "Wow… never seen this before, da ze."

Her mentor simply took it all in stride. "You mean you've never been here? You, patron saint of kleptomaniacs?"

The witch gave her a playful nudge. "Come on, Mima-sama, I only borrow them till I die, ze!"

"This is all very nice," Yuuka said as she led them onwards, "but why are you two here? I believed you would have more pressing matters." She fixed the evil spirit with a piercing stare. "Such as, say, the upcoming war."

The air shifted subtly. Mima laughed it off. "Oh, to hell with the war – literally. But why can't I simply take a day or two out of my schedule to visit an old friend?"

Yuuka's smile seemed somewhat strained as she admitted them into her spacious dining room and poured them tea. "Well, if you insist. Marisa-san, please stop squirming like a worm. I won't hurt you – unless you break my dear children, of course. Then I'll just have to break you~"

Marisa shivered, her shaky hands spilling the tea. "Haha… yeah, like that'll happen…"

Yuuka sat with them at the long rectangular table (No candles, Mima noted) and folded up her parasol, stowing it away… somewhere. "Now, will I be correct in assuming you're here for an alliance?"

Mima rocked back in her chair slightly. "Oh, I wouldn't say alliance. Then we'd have to work together again. Instead, we'll just be fighting a common enemy."

"My enemy's enemy is my friend?" Yuuka quoted.

"Exactly. Well, still not friends…"

The flower youkai raised an eyebrow. "Mima, dear, if I didn't know better, I'd say you're trying to distance yourself from me." A few vines crawled along the ground around her chair. "Are you?"

Mima laughed uneasily, just the same way her student had. "Haha… of course not, Yuuka-san!" Even she knew better than to fight Yuuka, in her element, on her home ground, sans spell cards.

"That's such great news to hear!" Her smile dimmed slightly as she continued. "Sadly, I'm afraid I've already made a decision as to which side I'll be on."

Marisa glanced at her, but said nothing.

Yuuka got the hint. "Really, I'm not going to kill you!"

"Whose side are you on?" Mima pressed.

"The humans'," Yuuka said without hesitation.

PFFFFFFFFT!

"Well, that's just a waste of perfectly good tea." Yuuka snapped her parasol shut once again and flicked the hot liquid off of it.

Marisa wiped her mouth with her sleeve after her double spit-take with Mima. "Come again, ze?"

"You, Yuuka Kazami," said Mima, "siding with humans?"

"Why not?" She shrugged in response. "My fellow youkai are all rallying against the vastly outnumbered humans. I'd like to tip the scales a little in their favour."

Mima waited. "… and?"

The flower youkai sighed. "And, yes, it's because fighting youkai is more fun than fighting humans." Her iconic grin of sadism plastered itself across her face again. "After all, you rip out a man's spine and you barely get five seconds to beat him to death with it. With a youkai or even a god, on the other hand, I get to just beat them… and beat them… and beat them… AND BEAT THEM…!"

Marisa leaned back in her chair from the solid mass of killing intent on the far side of the table. "O~kay, leaning a little too close to the batshit insane side of the scale there…"

Mima, on the other hand, just swept up the ultimate sadistic creature in a completely random hug. "And there's the crazy Yuuka we all know and love!"

"Mima, please get off me." Despite her calm demeanor and light smile, the throbbing vein in Yuuka's temple made it clear she was this close to Dual Sparking the evil spirit into the next dimension.

Mima pouted, but acquiesced, letting her back up.

Clearing her throat, Yuuka dusted off her skirt and smiled. "Now, as I was saying, I joined the humans simply because killing other youkai is just so much more fun!" The smile slipped a few notches. "It's a pity I'll have to split my kills with those other mansion dwellers, though…"

"If killing things is so much fun, why aren't you out there right now, tearing everyone a new one?" Marisa pointed out.

The flower youkai shrugged. "I've been meaning to, but that alien doctor seems to already know. You saw her traps on the way in, didn't you?"

Mentor and student exchanged a look. "… No?"

"Hmm…" Yuuka leaned on one of her windows, enjoying the sunlight streaming in. "She's gotten better at hiding them."

"What? Why does Eirin have anything to do with this?" Marisa looked between Yuuka and Mima, trying to make a connection between them.

"Didn't you know?" Yuuka continued. "When the feral youkai decided to try their hand at proper war, the hakutaku and phoenix girl were all over the place fighting them off. Naturally, the moon princess decided to join the opposing team just to spite them. That included her crazy scientist, of course." She looked back over her shoulder at Mima. "So what will you do now, Mi-ma-chan?"

"Nothing I say can convince you to join me, right?"

The flower youkai gasped dramatically, clapping a hand to her chest in horror. "What!? Me, Yuuka Kazami, turn down the hand of her closest friend!? Never!" Then, just as quickly as it came, it was gone. "Well, I could help you… for a price, of course."

"What do you want?" Mima was examining her fingernails. "Gold? Treasure? Fertilizer? Cannon fodder? Marisa here could supply all of that."

"Hey!"

Yuuka giggled. "That's not what I'm talking about."

Mima's grin faded as she saw the intent behind Yuuka's eyes. "No."

"Well, why not?"

"Why, you – I plan on saving Marisa's first time for someone she wants, thank you very much!"

Marisa gagged. "Wait, are you saying Yuuka wants…?"

The flower youkai eyed her seductively.

The witch began to back away once again, Mini-Hakkero in hand. "Uh, Y-Yuuka-san, we can d-discuss terms o-of p-p-payment later, r-right? Right?" She turned, looking to her mentor for help. "Mima-sama, mind lending me a hand here?"

"You mean you won't allow me this tiny little favour?" Yuuka almost pouted – almost. "I'm sorry, are you looking to fight?"

Mima sighed. "You've been itching for one ever since we walked in. Yes, I know, Yuuka-san."

"No point in hiding it, then." She raised her hand and flicked it upwards. All around them, the previously still plants came to life, seemingly decorative vines suddenly writhing with a life of their own. Flowers bloomed, vines extended, and roots began to expand across the ground as Yuuka opened her parasol, tilting it over her back easily. "Well?" Her face split into her trademark killer smile once more.

"I'm waiting."

– TOUHOU –

When suddenly, Karin. She'd give Kogasa a run for her money. Also, Darius seems to be acting oddly...

Remember, remember, the Fifth of November...