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 37: Awakening

"Kaito-san?"

"Huh? Oh, hey Merlin-san." I only glanced up a bit before going back to staring at my own feet. The clothes I was wearing now – which were actually tailored to be similar to the Prismriver's own clothes except with pants and boots and colored a deep ocean blue – were usually loose, but felt like they were suffocating me on the inside.

Five days had passed, and it was already the day of the concert. I barely had time to recount on everything that happened that had nothing to do with singing or musical cues, with so much going on so quickly. The thing was, whatever time that wasn't spent rehearsing was spent either meeting up with old acquaintances or moping about.

"Are you feeling alright?"

"Not really, no." I let out a weak, forced chuckle. "Sorry. It's only a little while before the concert starts and I'm like this."

A hand came to rest on my shoulder. "I know I don't know what happened, but you did what you had to do, right?"

"Yes, I know. But I wish I didn't have to. I hurt her so much. I still remember how much pain she had written on her face…."

"You wanted to see me, Kaito-kun?"

"Ah, Nitori-chan. Please, come in."

It was the day after the Prismriver sisters had accepted me. In the middle of a break during rehearsal, I had sought out Nitori, and asked her to come to my room some time after dinner.

The kappa entered my room, sitting down a short distance from me. Due to a distinct smell coming from her underneath the sweet water of her usual aura, I could tell that she had just recently taken a bath.

"So… what did you want to see me about?" Her face was a little red. I could understand why; it'd been a few days since the two of us had had time to be left alone, and she was here in my room.

"Um… it's about that thing I couldn't tell you yesterday."

"Oh… well, what is it?"

"It's…."

My lips pursed together. Goddamnit, why couldn't I just say it?

"I'm sorry… this is kind of hard for me."

"That's okay. Go on."

I took a deep breath. My eyes shut tightly, not wanting to see the look on Nitori's face once the words came out and could no longer be taken back.

"Oy, Kaito!"

"Eh? Oh, hello Marisa-san."

The blond witch grinned widely as she strode over. She was one of many people who had also come to Hakugyokoro for the cherry blossom viewing today. Reimu was here too, as were Sakuya, Patchouli and Remilia (I made sure to stay out of her sight as much as possible), Reisen and Eirin (the instant she found out about my newest injury, she promptly scolded me), Aya, Kanako, Suwako, and Sanae (Momiji was being left behind to guard the mountain), and Byakuren and her entire crew. Some of them had been invited by Yuyuko herself. Some, like Reimu, Marisa, and the Scarlet Devil Mansion dwellers, had come here of their own accord, since they knew where this place was.

"I heard about what you had to say to Nitori," Marisa said the instant she got closer. "And I hear she's not happy about it."

"No doubt she isn't…" I agreed sarcastically. I was the one who had caused it after all. "But what choice did I have?"

"Hey don't sound so depressed, will ya?" she encouraged cheerfully, clapping me on the back. "You're about to go out on stage in front of a few thousand people. You can't go out looking like this!"

She jabbed at my face, and took me by the cheeks, trying to tug my lips up and around into a working smile. It wasn't very effective.

"Oh come on," she complained. "You had a good reason for having to tell her that. Me, Reimu, and Sakuya all know why too. Don't be so hard on yourself!"

"I kinda wish I wouldn't…" I sighed. "But it's so difficult. It's like no matter what I do, I just feel the same guilt as before."

"W-what? You want me to-"

"I know it sounds ridiculous," I interrupted before she could try to question it further. Damn, I knew she was going to be unhappy. Just from the look on her face, I could already tell. "But it's what I'm asking of you."

"B-but why?"

"Because…." I hadn't wanted it to come to this, and I sighed. "Well… something is going to happen at the end of this week. I'm afraid that's all I can tell you…."

"That's it?" she questioned accusingly. "You can't just expect me to listen if you won't tell me more."

"But I can't."

"And why not?" she blurted out. "Why can't you tell me any more?"

"Because I made a promise. A promise to the one who told me this to not let anyone else find out. But knowing this is dangerous, which is why I have to ask you to…." I didn't want to have to say it again. I could already feel the pain welling up in my chest a third time. The same as the previous night and just today. Just the act of saying it was more than enough already.

"What's so bad about this that you can't even tell me?"

Man, she was insistent. "It's… a matter of life and death, Nitori-chan…."

"We're already in the land of the dead."

"That's not the point! The occurrence that's going to happen is going to threaten a lot of lives. This is just to keep you safe."

"But if you're not going to tell me anything, then I'm not going to listen."

"Nitori-chan, please!"

"If I do this, then you're going to wind up getting hurt."

"And so will you if you don't. Please, Nitori-chan, this is for your own good."

"No!"

I groaned. This was slowly getting itself under my skin. I wanted Nitori to understand, but she wasn't listening. Of course, it wasn't her fault. The blame indirectly lay with me, since I couldn't tell her anything. But at this rate, anything short of drastic measures would not be able to shake her.

My eyes were closed, but my head dropped in shame. I knew I was going to receive physical retribution for this, but I had to do it. I had to pull out the one ace in the hole I knew was going to work.

Knowing was half the battle, but knowing this just sickened me.

"I'm sorry. I didn't want to have to do this, but I'm left with no other choice."

Even with only her aura in my mind's eye, I could tell how confused she was.

Then shock replaced that confusion.

"No…."

"Please… forgive me…."

"No, Kaito-kun, please," she pleaded.

My teeth grinded together. "Nitori-chan…."

"Kaito-kun, don't do this!"

My face was buried in my hands. I was trying my absolute hardest not to cry, and so far, it seemed to be working. But too much time, and I would probably wind up breaking down. I couldn't afford to let that happen, not with the performance starting in so little time.

"How could I do that to her…?" I murmured hoarsely. Then I cleared my throat; no need to screw up my voice. "Everything with it is just… wrong! She probably hates me now. I wouldn't blame her if she did either. I just…."

"It would not do for you to break down now."

I sighed. Leave it to Lunasa to try and speak logical sense to someone in the middle of a difficult moment.

"Please get up. A spare speaker is not made for a person to sit on it."

"Sorry," I apologized, rising from my seat.

The eldest sister of the troupe looked up at me with a neutral expression. "I know this is hard on you, and I'm sorry if I sound insensitive. But you need to put this behind you. And if not behind you, then set it aside, at least until the end of the concert."

"Yeah." It was Lyrica; she had come and joined the little group of girls here. "I don't think that Nitori girl really hates you. I'm sure that if you explain the situation to her fully, she'll understand what you were trying to do."

"I don't doubt she'll wind up understanding…. I just hope she'll be able to forgive me."

"Oh you're such a worrywart, Kaito. Calm down, will you?"

I groaned, pinching the bridge of my nose. The sound of that voice did nothing but irritate me. "Don't even say that, Yukari-sama. How the hell am I supposed to calm down?"

"That's up to you, of course." The boundary youkai dropped down from her hammock.

"Then why are you here?"

"To wish you good luck on your performance! Or rather, break a leg. And your decision was the right one."

A heavy sigh. "I don't know if I should feel comforted, when it's coming from you… but thanks. I guess I kind of needed that."

Truthfully, Yukari was probably one of the only people I could possibly trust enough to believe them if they said that. Marisa, Reimu, and Sakuya would also qualify, since they had experience coming here to Hakugyokoro. I remembered when they first came here, and visited the Saigyou Ayakashi, all three had reacted with shock and disbelief. It made me wonder why Youmu didn't feel any form of apprehension at seeing a tree that hadn't bloomed in centuries suddenly blooming a second time. When I asked, it was because the three of them had knocked her out cold for the entire fight with Yuyuko and the spirit beneath the tree, and had kept it a secret from her even then.

"It's not like it's something you can easily talk about, even with specific people," Reimu explained. "So we thought it better to just keep our mouths shut."

Frankly, despite the pain it had already caused, I agreed with that statement. It was one of the few reasons for why I had been unable to explain anything.

Not that it mattered anymore.

"Okay, that's quite enough," Lunasa declared. "You two are not supposed to be allowed backstage, so please, leave."

"Aww, do we have to?" Marisa whined.

"I'm sorry, but it's true," I said, siding with Lunasa. "Please, go back out to the audience seats."

I bowed to them both. "Thank you for your comforting words."

Marisa smiled, and patted me on the shoulder. The usual glitter in her eyes had dimmed a bit, and I realized that she truly understood my predicament, knowing both me and Nitori. "It's no problem. Just don't screw up on stage, got that? And who knows; if everything works out, I'll go with you to explain everything, alright, ze?"

A ghost of a smile touched my lips. "Thank you, Marisa-san. I would greatly appreciate that."

She gave me a toothy grin, tipped her hat, and promptly walked off. I watched her go with a feeling of calm. Marisa may be a 'do what I want' kind of person, but she's also an undeniably good person at heart. It was nice, having someone like her around.

"Have fun, Kaito," Yukari bade me, a portal leading back out opened behind her. "I know all your choreography and lyrics, so if you mess up, I'll know~"

I sighed. "I'll keep that in mind."

With a quiet woing, she was gone.

"Alright," Lunasa let out. "The concert is just about to start, so everyone, get into your positions."

"Hai!"

I remained on this side with Lyrica, while Merlin and Lunasa made their way over to the opposite side of the backstage. The moment they appeared across from me, I stepped a little closer to the edge of the wings, making sure not to reveal myself.

A hand patted me on the back, and I turned to Lyrica, who was smiling. This week had not been easy on me, and Lyrica had been the one to make sure it was that way. But now we were here, about to perform, and I found that even though she put me through so much trouble, I respected her as a teacher. I was sure she felt the same with me as a student. Out of the three sisters, Lunasa was the leader, Merlin was the friend, and Lyrica was the mentor. A tough, trickster-type mentor, but a mentor all the same.

"No sweat, right?" she encouraged.

I closed my eyes in solace. "Yeah."

I wondered where Nitori would be, out there.

"Nitori-chan, I order you to leave Hakugyokoro by the end of this week!"

I said it.

Silence followed immediately after for at least a good twenty seconds. Then….

PSSH!

Fatality.

I'd seen it coming a mile away, but I made no move to avoid it. I absolutely deserved it, betraying her like this. I hadn't quite expected her to hit so hard, though, and a large part of my upper body snapped to the side along with my head.

"You said you wanted to see me as your friend…" Nitori accused in a semi-controlled fashion. I was surprised she was able to keep any control; I had expected her to completely lose her temper. As it was, this was the first time I'd ever seen her angry since I'd first met her.

"You want to see me as your friend, and yet you choose to go back on your own words like this! What kind of man are you?"

Not even a man, maybe. But I said nothing. I didn't believe I had the right to do so. Not in this kind of a situation. I wasn't even looking at her.

I tried to keep telling myself that it was for her own good. That I was keeping her safe by doing this. That the pain I was causing her now was negligible compared to the punishment she would otherwise receive.

It seemed to be working. Marginally.

"Well? Aren't you going to say anything?"

She was practically screaming at me now, but I still did nothing. I hadn't even reached up a hand to touch the part of my cheek that hurt the most.

Of course, that wasn't the only part of me that hurt.

All of a sudden, a pair of hands seized me by the collar and yanked me closer. "Answer me!"

The move was unexpected, but I kept my head down.

I wished her aura didn't smell this sweet. It was only making it harder.

I wanted, with all my heart, to tell her no. That I was going to take back my command. That I wanted her to stay here. But I knew I couldn't. Not without putting her life in danger.

Then, without warning, the hands shoved me back, nearly knocking me all the way over.

"Fine! Then you can stay here until you go off to rot in Hell for all I care!"

By the next morning, Nitori was gone. She had listened to me.

I refused to eat breakfast that morning, instead, choosing to simply go outside to the tree, and cry.

Even now, a single tear was dropping down my cheek. As it travelled, I could feel the familiar sting of Nitori's hand hitting my face. I reached up a single hand to wipe it away.

"No crying now," Lyrica jabbed.

"I know…."

Then my voice dropped, and whispered so nobody but me and whatever gods above would be able to hear.

"Nitori-chan… I swear, upon my soul, I will make this up to you one day. Somehow, somewhere, I will make it up to you…. I'm sorry."

Then the crowd began roaring, begging for the show to start. It was our cue to go.

Smoke began billowing out the sides, and the crowd cheered. Once a cloud had enveloped the entire stage, Lyrica and I burst out of our cover, veering outwards downstage. Being the newbie, I stood in the back, and I knew that Lyrica had taken position at my right, with Merlin and Lunasa to the left and in front of me. I made sure to position myself correctly, so the fog completely covered me, leaving not even a shadow in the fog.

Then all of a sudden, several instruments flew out from the wings and up above, in front of each sister. Lunasa was given her usual violin, along with (I couldn't believe this) an electric guitar. Merlin whipped out her trumpet, and hanging beside it was a large saxophone. Lyrica had her keyboard in place, with a set of drums and a couple other percussion type instruments.

Each one took a single instrument – their usual ones, save for Lunasa who grabbed the guitar – in their hands, gripping where there was normally spirit fire to hold them aloft. And Lyrica began, with Lunasa strumming a few chords in the background, tapping out a quick stream of notes that rose and dropped at rapid pace. After six measures, the last two played much faster than normal, then rested. The rest ended, and Merlin took to the front, blasting out a powerful tune as Lunasa backed her up and Lyrica shifted over to her drum set. I came in with the vocals at this point, taking the persona of an angel embracing the many wonders of the land beyond enlightenment.

It was a song about Wonderful Heaven.

Then my energy blade flashed out, and I made a few cuts through open air, catching the attention of those at the farthest front through the fog. I punched the floor, and the cloud exploded, revealing the four of us just as we hit the main chorus.

The lines and melody suddenly changed. As a whole, the song tuned itself down for a moment, letting Lyrica come back into focus on her keyboard, as Merlin hung back on her trumpet. The angel, now, had grown tired of her trouble-less life in the clouds, and decided she wanted some fun on the world of the living. And that fun, apparently, involved messing with the weather and causing earthquakes, just because she could.

By the end of the intro song, the whole crowd was already going wild.

I stood there, amazed. I had managed to make my way through the entire first song without freezing or messing up in any way. And the crowd was so huge! Marisa had said it would be a few thousand, but with a sea of people this big, I expected it to be pushing at least ten thousand people, all a mix of spirits, youkai, and the few humans who had managed to come here.

At the very front of the crowd was a box cut away from the rest of the audience, and held the honored guests of the show. Yuyuko and Youmu, of course, were there, as were Reimu, Marisa, Sakuya, and everyone else that had been invited. The occasional flash of light coming from the little group indicated that Aya was there also, taking photos of the four of us on stage.

We allowed the cheering to go on for a minute or two before trying to calm them down. Once enough of the volume had died away, I handed off the microphone to Lunasa.

"Ladies and gentlemen, spirits, youkai, and humans, welcome one and all to the Grand Cherry Blossom Festival of Hakugyokoro!"

General cheering and assent. Lunasa waited while the crowd calmed itself.

"Thank you all for making the trip all the way here to Hakugyokoro for such a glorious event, one that has yet to see the light. People, you're about to witness history in the making, as the Saigyou Ayakashi, for the first time in centuries, is about to reach full bloom! I am Lunasa, of the musical group the Prismriver Sisters, and I will be one of your masters of ceremonies for this evening. We hope that you all fully enjoy yourselves on this incredible night!"

Once the crowd quieted down once more, she continued. "But before we continue, I would like to introduce a new face to both the Prismriver Sisters, and Gensokyo as a whole. Originally a denizen of the world outside our own, our sister trio is no longer a girls-only band, as a male has joined our ranks tonight. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome our vocalist for the night, Kaito!"

Although we'd rehearsed this a couple times, I still felt embarrassed at Lunasa's little spiel.

Confusion ran its way through the crowd at the mentioning of my presense. Lunasa turned, smiling slightly, and offered the mic back to me. I accepted it.

"Good evening, everybody," I greeted with gutso. I tried to hide my pain, knowing that this greeting only went out to all those present, and that one person in particular was not here. "I am Kaito, and I will be your vocalist for this performance. I'm sure those of you who have attended a Prismriver Sister concert before are wondering why I am here, and not their usual singer Mystia Lorelei. I'm afraid that unforeseen circumstances have rendered Mystia-san unable to attend the concert tonight. For that reason, I have been taken as her replacement. I don't think I'll be able to match Mystia-san in the slightest, as she's a highly talented singer, and I'm just a nobody who happened to get lucky. However, I will do my best bring as much quality as I possibly can on a momentous night such as this. This will also mark my first time performing on stage, so please, treat me well. Thank you!" I bowed to the crowd.

Loud murmers passed back and forth from person to person. I had no clue if they would accept me or not. If they didn't, then this night was going to end badly for the Prismrivers, and I didn't want that. They had worked hard for this, and I wasn't going to let myself spoil it for them.

Which was why I had prepared something for this.

I flourished my non-mic hand in invitation, gesturing the crowd. "And now, without further ado, let us commence in what shall truly be a night of nights!"

Then my non-mic hand flipped upward, shooting a large volley of water bullets off into the sky, heading towards the crowd.

I smiled, and looked back. Lunasa looked almost livid, her face calmly but somewhat angrily asking me What the hell are you doing? That wasn't planned at all!

It certainly wasn't. I grinned a bit more widely, and looked back up at the water bullets I had let off, gauging distance and potential fall time. I shifted my right foot behind me as power began building within it. This was going to be one long shot….

"Hey, it's you!"

"Gah!"

It had been a chance encounter. Three days before the concert, I was using some of my time wandering around Hakugyokoro when I suddenly spotted Sakuya. I wanted to ask why she was here, so I started running over, but Remilia suddenly came out of nowhere, as if trying to catch up to Sakuya. Unfortunately for me, I wasn't fast enough to start running away before the vampire child managed to spot me.

The moment the little girl had her eyes on me, they furrowed in anger, and she dashed over with speed I would expect from no one else but her. Once in range, she grabbed me by the collar. Her aura was a heavy crimson, with the deep scent of blood.

"Ahahaha…" I laughed nervously. "Hey there, Remilia-sama. Um, how are things?"

Her crimson eyes glared at me with venom. But she answered. "Things are… fine… rat. May I ask what you are doing here?"

"I would like to know the same," a second voice said, and my neck craned upward as much as it would. Sakuya was there. As fitting for someone like her, her aura was an icy silver.

A third figure of violet aura, Patchouli, stood behind the maid. "As would I."

I smiled. "Well, I'd love to tell you the story, but um… would you mind letting go of my collar, Remilia-sama? Please?"

The little vampire kept hold of me for another few seconds. Then she let go, but she never stopped glaring.

Damn, that single defeat was really sticking to her, wasn't it? But then again, at that time I was only a newbie who had just come into Gensokyo the previous day, so it really was pretty embarrassing.

Nonetheless, once I was able to breathe easily again, I relayed my story to them. Sakuya and Patchouli listened politely, asking few questions at choice intervals. Remilia, on the other hand, took multiple opportunities to interrupt, whether to ask a (sometimes needless) question or make a rude remark, just like the first time.

This time, however, was different. Though Remilia was, perhaps as usual, overly rude, I took her comments in much greater strides than I did the previous time, even agreeing or laughing alongside her on some of them – particularly ones concerning the way I was an idiot a lot of the time. Maybe it was because I felt more comfortable, having Sakuya and Patchouli present as well, but I wasn't sure.

All in all, this talk went much better than the one from more than a week ago. Partially because I wasn't suddenly being stuck in a spell card duel against my general consent, partially because this time I was enjoying myself much more overall.

Patchouli spoke first once I was done. "It is good that you seem to be enjoying the hospitalities of Gensokyo, to an extent. Also, since I have not yet had the opportunity to do so, I would like to personally and properly thank you for rising to the defense of my precious books." She bowed to me.

I waved my hands in front of me. "You don't need to thank me. I was just doing what I could to help out."

"Perhaps so," Sakuya interjected. "But to take on someone like Marisa and win? For someone with so little power at the time, it's certainly quite a feat."

"But that was only because I had your spell cards to help me."

"And what difference does it make, idiot?" Remilia interrupted. "Do you know how long that stupid witch has been bothering us? It's about time someone knocked her down a peg!"

Wow. Well, if she said so.

"Of course," she said immediately afterward, in a typical 'regal' way, with her head turned away and a hand over her chest. "If it had been me out there, I would have taken care of it with much less trouble. After all, I'm much stronger than you."

Gee, couldn't avoid an opportunity to make yourself look good, could you Remilia?

"And I'm sure that if I took you on now, I'd definitely be able to beat you, Kaito."

"Oh, is that so?" I said in a bit of a sing-song voice. She really wanted to go that badly?

"You bet your ass it is!"

"Hadn't expected such explicit language from a child," I said, grinning widely. Sakuya looked worried. Patchouli was as neutral as ever.

"Hey, who are you calling a child?"

"The only one here who looks like one?" I asked a bit mockingly, leaning over her.

BAM!

That had to be expected, with a hair-trigger temper like hers. The force of her punch sent me flying, but I pulled the brakes in midair before flying too far. I shook my head a bit, shaking the pain off.

"Hey what the- when did you learn how to fly?" Remilia asked, dumbstruck.

"Er… the same day you tried to beat the living hell out of me?" I confirmed. Just to press my point home, I did a couple loops, and flew a fair bit higher.

Remilia growled. "Get back down here so I can pummel you, Kaito!"

"Huh? Why should I?"

"Because I said so!" she barked.

My head cocked to the side in confusion, and I pointed a finger at the large bat wings protruding from her back. "But I thought you could fly."

That comment, if anything, only made her angrier.

"That's actually a bit of a sore spot for Remi, you know," Patchouli supplied 'helpfully', to the sudden flinch of Remilia. "She can dash through the air in short spurts at a time, but she ca-"

"No one asked you, Patchy!" the vampire cut off.

I guffawed a bit, but refrained from laughing. "Oh, so that's it? I'm sorry, but this is just ridiculous. I mean, you're a vampire, and you can't even fly?"

"Hey! Get back down here right now!"

I shrugged. "Sorry, Remilia-sama. I'd rather stay in a place where I won't get punched."

"Why you little- I'll show you! Take this!"

What surprised me was that the day immediately after this incident (which eventually turned into a one-sided barrage to no avail), I found out that all my original abilities still worked. Even better, they were at the same near-god-level status I had experienced inside Nazrin's mind. Or some of them were, at least; my water bullets had been augmented, but my energy blade hadn't.

But for all intensive purposes, I was fine with that.

Knowing Remilia would almost definitely give me a sound beating some time afterwards, I kicked upward.

A massive red rocket projectile shot out of my leg, flying off in the direction of the water bullets I had fired off just a couple seconds ago.

My aim proved true, or I just got lucky. One after the other, a line of blue energy explosions lit up the sky, culminating in a single huge explosion of red.

The crowd went wild at the sudden display.

I looked back. Lunasa's eyes were wide at first, but then she broke into a small smile, saying Okay, that was kind of cool.

I turned back to the crowd. "Come on, everyone! Let's get this show on the road!"

They roared in affirmative.

It was a fantastic night. Every song we brought to the table had a different swing to it. There was Apparitions Stalk the Night, followed by Tomboyish Wraith in Love, Ghostly Eyes, and ending on Green-Eyed Revenant. With each song, the three sisters stole away on solo parts in conjunction with the mood. When Lunasa flew solo, the air would grow heavier, as if rain clouds were gathering, and a strange feeling of depression would descend, as was characteristic of Green-Eyed Revenant. Merlin put up the exact opposite of this, bringing the shining sun down with great force and pumping the atmosphere full of energy, which she did with Apparitions Stalk the Night and Tomboyish Wraith in Love. Lyrica did neither, instead, choosing to draw illusions in the air, depicting the picture of her choosing with the tune of Ghostly Eyes.

Throughout the course of four songs, I only screwed up a total of three times. Twice, it was a choreographical error, and the last was a lyrical one, but by the time I realized I had messed up, it was already far too late to recitify anything, so I simply kept going with the flow. After all, the only ones who would know I screwed up were on stage with me, or sitting in the VIP box offstage.

Overall, it was still amazing. I had the feeling that the crowd was cheering much more for the three sisters than they were for me, but that was fine. This was their show, after all, and I was just here to help out.

That didn't mean I wasn't enjoying myself, of course. I savored every moment I possibly could, being on this stage. I suppose it was a form of basking in another person's spotlight, since here I was alongside the most popular band in all of Gensokyo.

Naturally, those few minutes of fame wouldn't last forever, and before I realized it, the concert was already coming to an end. Which meant that it was almost time….

"Thank you, one and all, for attending this amazing concert," I stated once Green-Eyed Revenant finished and the crowd was done with their cheering. "But alas, all good things must come to an end, and I'm afraid this concert is almost over. Not to worry, though, as we have two more things that will certainly make this the best Prismriver Sister's concert you'll attend in a long time.

"First of all, I'm sure you've all noticed by now, but look behind me, above the stage." I swung my hand behind me to show off what was there.

It was the Saigyou Ayakashi. The stage had been set up at the end of one of its roots.

"I'm sure you all know what this is, people. Yes, this is the mighty Saigyou Ayakashi tree, one of legendary reputation for being the only tree in this entire garden of Hakugyokoro to have never bloomed a single time. Not once, until a strange incident last year, when the tree was able to reach full bloom. But alas, this incident was seen by few, and forgotten by all. Do not fret, however, as in only a little bit, after one more song, the Saigyou Ayakashi will once again reach the splendor it achieved only one other time!"

By this point, the crowd was cheering so loud, I thought I was going to go deaf, with the combination of the blaring music on stage coupled with the immense wailing being belted out by so many ghosts.

Despite the noise, I looked down to make sure everything was going fine. A large part of the VIP box was empty now. Reisen, Eirin, Aya, Kanako, Suwako, and Sanae were the only ones left. No doubt they were wondering why everyone else had left.

The sense of dread I had suppressed for so long was coming back now.

"Thank you everyone, for all your excitement," I shouted into the mic over both the crowd and my growing anxiety. I hid it the absolute best I could, even casually slipping a hand into my pocket. "But first, allow me to direct your attention skyward, to a very good friend of mine. Say hello to everyone, Yukari-sama!"

A set of lights burst to life, aiming upwards to the boundary youkai sitting high above the stage. She was rather relaxed, with her parasol hanging over her shoulder as usual, and a mic in her hands.

"Good evening, everyone~" she greeted in a very lighthearted tone. "For those who don't know me, I'm Yukari Yakumo, a guest to the facilitator of this concert, Yuyuko Saigyouji. I came here to witness the second-ever blooming of the Saigyou Ayakashi tree, and a certain matter has come to my attention. Kaito, if you please?"

I nodded, and aimed a rocket kick at her. Two boundaries opened; one to absorb my projectile, the other to spit it out towards the tree. Before it even traveled six or seven meters, it dissipated harmlessly against a rounded wall of energy.

"As you all can see here, a protective boundary has been set up – courtesy of me, by the way – around the entire tree. You see, being around for so long, the tree has managed to soak up quite a bit of magic over the centuries, and if – or should I say, when – the tree reaches full bloom, a large amount of that magical energy is released in rather dangerous quantities. So this shield has been put in place so it can contain the magic released so as to keep you all safe from harm."

A short round of applause dotted with a few cheers came from the audience.

"Thank you, Yukari-sama," I said as the lights shining on her died away. All I could do was hope the barrier would hold.

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, a moment that the Prismriver Sisters and I have been waiting for."

As I spoke, I could hear the Prismrivers slowly starting up the music. It was just loud enough for the audience to hear it clearly, but not so loud as to drown out my own voice.

"Everybody, before we begin, I would like to, on behalf of the Prismriver Sisters, thank you all for attending. You've been an amazing audience, and it has been an honor performing for you tonight. For myself, I would like to express my gratitude, for making my once-in-a-lifetime stage experience the best it could possibly be. Thank you!

"And now, without further ado…."

The audience may not have noticed, but the music had been dying away, and the three Prismrivers had been backing upstage. I took my non-mic hand out of my pocket, now with several small objects clasped inside them.

And I threw the tiny pellets into the stage floor, which all exploded.

An immense cloud of smoke – just like the one that had covered the stage at the beginning – walled off the audience's vision almost instantly.

Geez Yukari, I'll never know where you managed to find such effective smoke bomb pellets. But you really are helping a lot.

The moment I knew that I was nothing more than a shadow to the crowd – which was causing quite a ruckus with the sudden obscuring of the performance – I flourished my hand in a deep bow, and backed off to join the Prismrivers. Through the smoke, we glanced at each other, and smiled widely.

A very quiet vwoom. My skin tingled as I felt the change pass.

As one, the four of us walked back downstage, remaining shadows to all outside our little smoky world. Four very different shadows now.

Slowly but surely, we were drawing a reaction. One of surprise and expectance.

I raised a hand, and swept it across. The cloud obeyed my command, and was blown away until it was nothing more than a puff on the wind.

The crowd roared.

Yukari had helped yet again, this time with a full costume change. Apparently, she had seen a photo of this somewhere (probably from my world, no doubt), and had decided it would be a nice change. The Prismriver Sisters were now swapped into what could be described as little other than color-coded ball gowns, complete with matching opera gloves and corresponding ornaments. Lunasa took a more conservative vest-like black top, but with more frills on her dress and a crescent moon clasp just under her left collarbone. Merlin's white dress moved the frills to her top, hanging the outfit off her shoulders with a sun-shaped choker tightly clinging to her neck. Lunasa's chose to forgo the straps entirely, with the red dress wrapped around her upper body and a star pendant dangling loosely from a chain necklace. No doubt all three were also wearing matching high heels under their dresses.

All in all, they were stunningly gorgeous. Though I couldn't help thinking that the tight-fitting outfits made Lunasa uncomfortable, emphasizing the fact that the eldest was also the 'smallest'.

I, on the other hand, had received an outfit perhaps like that of a conductor, except unlike the generally solid single-colors of the sisters, mine was a large mix. A long blue half-coat went over a pale blue dress shirt tucked into black dress pants, and a red-fringed white cravat hung from my collar.

At first, it had felt awkward. Now, on stage, it felt awesome.

"To all of you out there, we have a special treat for you. For newcomers and return attendees alike, we are proud to introduce a brand new song: The Phantom Ensemble!"

It felt like the crowd had exploded. There was so much sound that it felt like Yukari's barrier could have broken because of it.

The thought was distracting. And my fear came roaring back.

I sang with as much heart as I could manage. I knew that in a performance like this, I could afford to give no less than a hundred percent. I was doing that, but an additional ten percent was being used to remember exactly what was going to happen, and to be afraid of it.

"You're not serious, are you?"

It was two days before the concert, and rehearsal was over for the day. I was eating dinner when Yukari had chosen to warp herself into the room, immediately behind Youmu. I didn't like remembering what Yukari had chosen to do to Youmu the moment she appeared, but I was pretty sure that Youmu was perfectly fine with being shooed away once the boundary youkai had stopped torturing her. Her incredibly red face and hands crossed over her chest made that obvious. Before she left the room, she had shot an embarrassed glance over at me, to which I pointedly turned away.

Once the swordsgirl servant was gone, three more people came into the room: Reimu, Marisa, and Sakuya. Reimu was somber, Marisa was relaxed yet somehow also something akin to worried, and Sakuya was neutral. And the long-winded explanation began; the three of them had come here a year ago in order to investigate an incident regarding the delayed spring. It turned out Youmu had been stealing the essence of spring in order to help the Saigyou Ayakashi bloom for the first time.

I knew the only reason they were telling me all this was because Yuyuko had already told me her part. Now it was time to hear the full story. But it still sent shivers down my spine.

And now, after the whole explanation was done, it was time to work out a plan. The Saigyou Ayakashi wasn't just going to sit quietly while we tried to do something about it, of course. We had to find out some way to deal with it initially until a more thorough plan was made.

The proposed plan was not one I liked.

"Are you even sure you want me involved in this?" I asked once the first plan was laid out. "I don't think I'll even be able to do anything to help."

"We don't have much of a choice," Sakuya said a bit bluntly. "I do not quite agree with it either, but you are the only other person who knows the full story behind the Saigyou Ayakashi tree. The less who know, the better, and we need all the people we can get in order for this plan to work."

"Well, I understand that much, but wouldn't I be much more useful some place else?"

"Unfortunately, no," Yukari denied. "You're much more powerful than you may think, Kaito, and with your ability, you can only get stronger. Do not doubt in yourself. Though that statement is rather redundant, considering who you are."

I sighed. God, how the hell was I supposed to understand something like that?

"You're still confused?"

"Of course I am. You've never told me anything about my second ability. How am I supposed to make any sense of what you just said if I don't even know what I can do?"

"Fair enough. You three don't mind if I explain here, do you?"

Marisa shook her head. She actually seemed expectant of what she would hear. Reimu and Sakuya, on the other hand, just stared blankly. That wasn't surprising, since the only one of the three I'd explained it to was Marisa.

As quickly as possible, I gave the other two the basic rundown on my abilities.

"Now, are you all finished?"

I nodded. "Now come on. Tell me. I've been waiting for several days."

"Very well then. Goodness, I thought you were more patient than this."

I blinked, unamused.

"You don't have to stare at me like that," Yukari poked playfully. "I won't try to dodge this time. You really do need to learn more anyhow."

She cleared her throat.

The song was over. It was almost time.

The crowd was dying down at last.

"Thank you, everyone!" I said. "This concludes the musical portion of this Prismriver Sister concert. Again, we thank you all for coming.

"And now, the moment you all have been waiting for. The Saigyou Ayakashi is about to reach full bloom! Come on, everyone, count with me! Ten… nine…."

That was all it took. A rolling wave of voices trumped my own as they caught on. "Eight… seven…."

I smiled, and glanced back. The three Prismrivers returned the smile. Three portals were open behind them, courtesy of Yukari.

They knew.

"Six… five…"

As one, the three bowed to me. I bowed back. They all backed up into their respective portals. They had already said their goodbyes the previous day. They didn't know everything, but enough.

They were gone.

"Four…."

I glanced left. Marisa and Reimu looked back. Reimu was calm. Marisa was as grinny as usual.

"Three…."

This time, I looked right. Sakuya returned the look, with something like understanding.

"Two…."

I stared back forward. The benevolent tree almost seemed to be glaring right through me, ready to impale me the instant it was able to.

"One!"

I could practically feel the final cherry blossom on the tree bursting open.

But the crowd was already gone. Whisked away by Yukari, yet again. Not cheated. Saved.

"So… your power that is personality-based. How about I simply explain who you are as a person, and you figure it out, hm? Your persona is much like that of a general nice guy. You always try to be kind to those around you, and seldom ever think badly of others unless they act that way towards you. Your sense of chivalry, in particular, is very strong. When it comes to treating women, you will give them as much respect and courtesy as you can offer.

"Now this is where it'll start getting a little tougher to understand. I'm sure you don't remember this, but back in your world, there was a set of terminology relating to psychology known as the temperaments. They say that four temperaments – choleric, melancholic, phlegmatic, and sanguine – dominate the actions and personality of the human mind and every person has one primary temperament, and one secondary."

"Oh! That sounds kinda interesting!" Marisa barged in. "Which ones am I?"

"Sanguine and choleric."

Marisa's cheerful face heightened… then dropped. "I have no idea what that means."

"Then please don't ask pointless questions."

The blond witch shrank a bit at that, though her smile never left her face.

"Now where was I…? Ah yes. Kaito, you are of the two opposite temperaments of Marisa: phlegmatic, and melancholic. Primarily, you are of the phlegmatic temperament because you dislike being a bother to other people. While you may like having friends, you won't actively seek them out, because you'd rather not intrude on other people. Coupled with this, your mindset of that of a melancholic makes you lack self-confidence, believing yourself worthless compared to those around you. Even when you may actually have the strength or traits required to perform a certain task, you would rather someone else take the responsibility because you don't think you'll be able to, and constantly worry that you'll fail."

To some degree, I could agree with that. Though it certainly didn't show outwardly. I didn't act like that.

"There's more, though. While you may not be very confident in yourself, you have some of the choleric's drive and the sanguine's friendliness. When given an objective, you'll try your best even when you believe you'll fail. If someone chooses to be your friend, you'll bond with them quickly, even though you believe someone like yourself isn't worth spending time with. The way you act on the outside is actually more of a front you put up. A facade of confidence and sometimes over-the-top idiocy to hide your lack thereof, so as to not worry those around you, which is one of the things you dislike the most.

"This leaves you in somewhat of an odd position, because you are more driven and friendly than an average mixture of the phlegmatic-melancholic temperaments. Because you believe you lack any worth in yourself, you instead put your faith in others, specifically the friends you make and the people you meet. And it is through this faith where you draw your strength."

She sat there quietly, allowing it to sink in.

So that was it? That was my power? The power to copy those I put my faith in, or were my friends?

"I'm not finished yet!" Yukari interrupted. "Remember how I mentioned your aura sensing ability going in tandem with your second? The reason for this is because your second ability falls under a certain set of conditions. First, you must have seen the ability or move in order to copy it, as it is not spontaneous. Second, not every move you see can be copied. Third, you must consider the person your friend, and the feeling must be mutual."

"But how the heck does that work then?" I asked. "Many of the people I neet barely even know who I am. How am I able to imitate their moves anyways?"

"I was getting to that. The first and second conditions, we can ignore, as you have seen a very wide array of the many abilities at work here in Gensokyo, and know which ones you can copy, and which ones you cannot. The third condition would normally be the only problem."

"Normally?" Sakuya pointed out. "You say that as if it is no problem at all."

"And it's not," Yukari countered bluntly. "This is where your first ability comes into play. Because you are able to sense aura at such a high degree, you are able to perceive people on a level very different from either physical contact or even talking to them. Your subconscious 'knows' the person in a way that is much more… 'intimate' than normal. To tie in with this even further, you trust people very easily, and are quick to believe some people may be your friends unless they display outright that they have little intention of doing so. As a result, the third condition that would normally be your greatest obstacle vanishes almost entirely, and you become able to replicate nearly any specific ability from any person as long as you've seen it once or twice. I would drop a reference here, but since it would make no sense to you, I'll go as far as saying that you have something akin to 'photographic reflexes' due to this combination."

That had been what she said. I finally got my answer.

And now it was time to see if it was as good as it sounded. I had learned a couple new moves over the past couple days. Maybe they would come in handy.

The tree glowed a radiant pink, drinking in an immense amount of power as the last of its cherry blossoms accepted the air around it.

Finally, a humongous explosion of black energy blew forth, bouncing around within the domed cage it had been trapped within. If not for the barrier Yukari had set, the four of us probably would have been completely destroyed.

As it was, the entire stage that had been set up for the concert was obliterated entirely. How that had happened, I had no idea. But now the four of us were standing there in empty air, waiting.

Yuyuko had already accepted her fate long ago. The moment she was gone from the VIP box, I knew that she had already gone to the tree, ready to rejoin it. She had sent away Youmu to some place else – the Scarlet Devil Mansion, if I remembered correctly – so she would not see this happen to her. Being the obedient servant she was, Youmu had done exactly that.

The only one who had not been taken away by Yukari earlier was Aya. I had already spoken to her about part of the situation. Smelling a scoop, she was more than happy to comply. She was going to remain here, and report the entire incident once it was kicked off.

I looked behind me, and Aya was still there, snapping photos. I nodded to her. The camera dropped, and I could see a truly worried expression on the tengu's face. She hadn't been expecting it to get this bad, no doubt. But she nodded back.

Once that was done, she turned and, almost faster than the wind, ran off towards the exit, ready to make a news article of this the instant she got back.

I smiled sorrowfully. I hoped I would live long enough to see the article.

Author's Notes:

Half a month. In fact, more than half a month. That's how long it took. This was even longer than my previous one.

At this point, I would commence with raging at my irresponsible self for letting my schedule slip so damn far, but alas, that's not happening. Ahem...

This is officially my longest chapter, capping off just above 8700 words. And here I was thinking I wouldn't be able to construct chapters longer than 5-6000 words. No, the length of the chapter was not the reason I took so much time. I simply got too caught up doing other crap, so I was writing on and off for the past few weeks. It ticks me off, really, being distracted so easily.

But really, maybe I should take a break. SomeBITGamer has been telling me to, and honestly, I could agree with him. Unfortunately, that's not really an option for me, for a number of reasons. First and foremost is that time is really starting to catch up to me. No, that doesn't mean I'm getting to old to write stuff. That's a really long ways away. But I'm in my senior year of high school now. I need to start preparing for the future, which means colleges, jobs, majors, and other shit like that. Eventually, I might even lose my chance to continue this story, which I really don't want. I don't want to deal with it, but it's staring me right in the face, so I don't have much of a choice in the matter. It's down to the wire, almost; I either finish this now, or I don't finish at all.

Second, I've found that being unable to write due to a block or lack of inspiration is frustrating, but finding time to leak words into ink on a computer screen is rather relaxing. Sort of like a weird catharsis factor in my life. It keeps me from going insane, in some way. The same with books, because it gives me a chance to tear myself away from reality, even if only for a little while, and live in a fantasy I could only ever dream of. Perhaps I've become addicted to it as anyone has with drugs and such, but it's an addiction I don't want to stop.

Hehe, that sounds incredibly counter-intuitive. But that's enough of personal ranting. It's time to move on.

It's hard to believe how much I've managed to put into a single chapter. Not just in terms of progress, either. Flashbacks, references, it feels like I threw in a bit of everything in this chapter, save for combat. And frankly, despite the lack of timeliness in release, I'm LOVING it. Truthfully, if not for the fact I really needed to post this soon, I would have pumped it up even more, pushing upwards of 9-10000 words.

That, of course, will come later. I'm damn sure that at least one of my chapters in the future will accomplish that. I patiently await that day.

So. The exposition close to the end of the chapter. Yukari's explanation is as close to the truth as I can possibly get it. Before even starting on this story, or even getting the basic idea for it, I had lots of time to spend. That time was often spent trying to figure out who I was as a person. Finding out reasons behind my actions, reactions, and so on, and discovering the many strengths and weaknesses I could possibly have. To that degree, I've managed to find quite a bit. Considerably more than many would expect, because a good amount of the human population, I think, does not wonder very much about who they are themselves. They just go around their everyday lives acting as they always do, and wait for someone else to tell them who they are. The people around us are naught but mirrors to us, after all.

This, I believe, is the reason why many believe that all fanfiction is trash, because self-insert stories are oftentimes particularly grating. I say this not only outwardly, to any/all that write self-inserts, but also to myself. A problem generally plaguing amateurs (I use the term very loosely, since I myself am still an amateur in that regard) is that while they do know themselves (since, after all, who knows you better than yourself), they sometimes over-idealize themselves, to the point where the person is no longer them anymore (for tropers, you might recognize this as either Flanderization or even a horrible judge of character if it's particularly bad). Even worse, however, is the possibility of twisting the story to suit themselves. Alternate character interpretations are fine, yes, but outright changes to the person to the point where they have little resemblance to the original are not.

(Wow, these notes are getting long. Let's see how far I can go before stopping shall we? XD)

Of course, this does not mean I'm immune to this. While it's true I'll do my best to treat others well, I'm more sarcastic/cynical in real life than portrayed here. I could easily just explain it away as 'Yukari did it' or 'My memory was wiped' but I fell victim to the same problem as many others. It's actually rather irritating, since while it holds true some of my person, it does away with the rest.

However, going back over everything in order to change it would rework the entire story to the point that it's no longer recognizable compared to now, so I'll have to live with it.

Well, could be worse, I suppose. Away from the 'intense' psychological musings now.

Yes, I totally ripped those songs from the actual games themselves. I have a semi-good reason for this, though, so expect it to come into play. To put it bluntly, remember the songs I use this chapter, then draw the parallel when it comes back the next chapter (when it comes out of course). Trust me, you'll see.

The idea for the Prismriver's outfits was not my own either. It actually comes straight from a picture used for a remix of Phantom Ensemble that I found on Youtube. If you know what picture I'm talking about, then you'll understand, but if you don't, then search up Halozy - Fantastic Imprompte and see for yourself.

Seriously, they really are nice dresses (though I do still feel sorry for Lunasa. Really). When I saw them, I simply couldn't resist the chance to use them.

Alright, I've talked enough now. These notes are even longer than a few of my other chapter notes combined. Hope you enjoyed this chapter~