Disclaimer: Zun is the creator of all things Touhou!
A/N: Well, I've gotten a review that has inspired me greatly, so lets get the show back on the road! Also, sorry to say this, but I have no spell check on any of my programs after re-formatting... so, updates may be shorter as I have to manualy check them by searching said questionably spelled words of mine! Ohh, and I'm probobly gonna eventualy re-do all the chapters before this... same basic plot, but... I guess meatier? also gonna be messing around with it and remove the things that I dont feel that I can use properly, such as honorifics... I am 90% sure I used them wrong at at least one point when I thought about it! Plus, fixing plot holes and such... Hate needless plotholes.
Y/N2: Funny thing is that she still lacks that ability.
A/N2: Not to mention that it took me about 10 months to start doing as the above A/N describes, although there really aren't any plot holes needing to be fixed.
Y/N2: And yet fix you do, for you feel as if you are reading rubbish in typed form.
A/N2: ...Must you say it like that, Yukari...?
Y/N2: Yes, I must~
Author: Welp, I finally have spellcheck!
Yukari: Only took you, what, like 2 years?
Author: W-well, it can't be helped!
Yukari: Actually, yes, it can. You were just too stubborn to look into pirating some program.
Author: I blame my enjoyment of writing on this site.
Yukari: At least Internet Explorer now has its own spell check...
Author: Yes, that is certainly a boon. And before everyone laughs at me for using Internet Explorer, I will just defend it by saying that it has a single function that I would be lost without - I can make the little favorite bar only show images, which allows me to have 46 icons on screen at any time. Chrome doesn't do that. I tried. And that's while only using 2/3rds of the screen!
Yukari: ...This is sounding like an ad now.
Author: True. Let's stop before my defending of my taste in browser gets me reported for marketing or some such rot.
Shameimaru Aya: The greatest reporter in the history of... history, considered the most irritating person by those with things to hide, and loved by many. Today, the honest reporter had added a new, and interesting title to her list. She had become the Javelin of Kazami.
Night, Trajectory of Youkai Mountain, Aya's PoV:
How did my life lead up to this? Why did my life lead up to this?! That was totally unnecessary! I don't want to be a splat on the side of Youkai Mountain, dammit!
...Wait, is that Hatate? Great... Just great!
"Hatata... There's no news, and that's not good news..." Hatate let out a sigh in the rappidly nearing distance, before spotting me from the corner of her eye.
Just as she pulled out her camera with a wicked grin on her face, it dawned on her that I was about to hit her. When we collided, it softened the blow for me, although I'm sure if Hatate's chest was bigger I'd have taken even less of the impact, but sadly I always was the larger one. However, soon the impact became even more painful for Hatate, as the mountain was behind her. She was truely between a rock and a hard place, once my head drove her through solid rock.
Stuck in the side of the mountain, Hatate asked, "Hatataaa...! What in the hells were you doing, going so fast?! You were like some kind of... some kind of meat missile!"
Regaining my ability to fly now that I was mostly stationary, I began to flap just enough so as to avoid falling. "I wasn't flying, I was... I was testing an invention for Nitori! It's meant to boost flight speeds, and somehow it exploded."
Her incredulous stare spoke far more than what her mouth could possibly say. It told me that my excuse sounded like something the nine would say, and that she feels dumber just for hearing it.
I chuckled a bit at her reaction. "...That bad, huh?"
Giving me a slight pout, she replied, "I was just at Nitori's workshop..." Yep, definitely busted...
"Ohh well! I was hoping that you'd just buy it, making things easier!" I gave her my usual sideways grin. "The truth was that I was thrown!"
Once more Hatate gave me that same look, but spoke up this time. "You were... thrown?"
I gave her a quick nod of confirmation. "I was thrown."
For the next several seconds, little Hatata continued to give me the strangest look, before asking, "And... who threw you?"
I gave her my widest grin. "Wouldn't you like to know? Sorry kid, but that's for you to find out, if you do." I gave a a small wink, before adding, "I can't go and make your front page for you, now can I?"
Plus, it'd be funny if she ends up in the same situation as I, from looking into it.
Night, Garden of the Sun, Wriggle's PoV:
While using me as a chair, Yuuka let out a sigh, before complimenting my hard work. "My, this tea is wonderful... My compliments to your growing skills at brewing tea, Wriggy."
It was difficult to reply due to the weight atop of me, but I tried anyways. "Th-thank... you... M-m-miss... Yuuka...!" My teeth were gritted the whole time from the sheer effort I was putting forward, as I have no muscles to brag about in comparison to other youkai. I'm probably not much stronger than a human...
"Oho? Am I too heavy for you, Wriggy?" From the hurt sound in her voice, I knew that I was letting the weight get to me a bit too much.
I took a deep breath, and steadied my words a bit. "No! Not at... all!" At my badly disguised tiredness, I felt the elder youkai get off my back, although I made no motion to rise; this is my punishment for dropping a tea cup, and I'm not about to try and get out of it. However, as she was being so quiet, I gave up on simply waiting. "Erm... May I please stand, Mistress...?"
Answering my question with actions instead of words, Yuuka picked me up as if I were a feather, and carried me like a bride. I wish I were stong like her... "So Wriggy, shall I take you to the... guest room, or would you like me to send you home~?"
Gulping at the thought of staying over, I answered, "I w-wouldn't want to be a bother, Mistress..." I swallowed hard, and went on to say, "I l-l... I l-lo-"
As I was trying to state my interest in her, I felt a soft peck on my lips, and was struck silent by it. Did she just...? "I know that already, Wriggy."
Night, Yakumo family home, Usagi's PoV:
Suddenly I found myself rather forcefully taken from the bed that was now a western-style bed as of yesterday, and brought to a strange void by way of gap. Why do things keep changing around here...?
When I looked around, I saw nothing but... eyes. It was quite frightening, but I wasn't particularly sure why. Eyes aren't inherently scary, but the sheer number was rather creepy... They weren't even blinking! Just... staring. It was as if I was laid bare before them. As if all my deepest, darkest secrets were laid bare before their gaze. ...Not that I could even remember them.
Before me, another gap opened up, and Yukari showed herself to me. "You are quite the interesting girl, Usagi~ I've already exausted a great many borders, and yet I can't seem to find a way to return you to normal..." Yukari popped out a folding fan, and covered the lower half of her face with it, while her eyes showed amusment. "Well, off with you. You've healed marvelously, already... Plus, I'm rather curious as to how one such as you might get along in my land..." As she said that, I found myself being dropped through another gap.
Once out the other end of the gap, I found myself to be a great distance above a lake, and gradually closing that distance. Needless to say, I was petrified with terror of falling, and soon began to flail about in panic. As I fell, I began to scream, not particularly wanting to die. The closer I came to the waters of the lake beneath me, the colder I felt. Was it cold here, or something else?
Soon I found a fridgid pair of small, yet oddly strong arms catching me, although I was still in panic-mode for the next few seconds, screaming all the while. The owner of the arms winced in pain, and shouted, "Gya! Shut up already! You're gonna give me a headache!"
Before long, I realised that I had stopped falling. "...Y-you saved m-" While in the process of stating the obvious, I felt a chunk of ice drop down the front of the borrowed kimono. "Gah! Get it out! Get it out!" I began to writhe about, my hands searching out the offending chunk of ice, while the girl before me laughed at me a great deal. A great deal of mirth glittered in those icy eyes of hers, while her childish face was contorted into a grin. She had an unnatural beauty to her, to the point that it seemed natural, and blue hair that reached just down to her shoulders, and was held back some by a faded blue bow.
"Now that you're not screaming in my ear... You okay?" As she asked that, I found myself being placed in the grass beside the lake by the odd girl, giving me a better look at the rest of her. She wore a blue sun dress, with a white triangular design rimming the bottom, underneath of which she had a white dress shirt, with poofy shoulders. She wore nothing upon her little feet, and had six diamond-shaped icy... wings? I couldn't tell what exactly they were, but they gave off the look of wings, even if they don't look like they'd be effective as such a thing.
I blinked once, realizing that she had been giving me an odd look for staring at her for such an awkwardly long time, and so I chose now to speak. "A-ahh... Yeah, I'm fine..."
Giving me a slightly searching look for a moment, she asked, "What were you doing near my lake...? Heck, how did you even get up so high? You don't even look like you can fly!"
I gave her a slightly timid smile, and answered, "W-well, I was kind of... dropped."
My odd answer earned me a raised brow from the girl. "Dropped? Who dropped you? Was it an accident, or did they just want you dead?"
I flinched at the odd conclusion she had arived at, and shouted, "N-no! Miss Yukari didn't mean any har-"
Before I could continue my defense of the person who willfully endangered my life, the girl asked, "Ohh? Yukari, huh? Why'd she go and do that...? Did you tick her off or something?"
I began to think as to why she would have dropped me like that, but found myself at a lack of a reason, so I simply shrugged.
"Heh, really? I'm not really all that surprised by that, actually... So, what's your name, rabbit? I'm Cirno, the strongest ice fairy around!" She gave me a cocky grin that just asked me to try and dispute her claim.
I stroked my chin in though, before remembering that Ran gave me a name. "W-well, I actually can't remember my name. But... you can call me Usagi." I gave her a slightly less timid smile, as I had started to get used to her, and she seemed friendly enough.
Raising a brow at my name, the fairy asked, "You're calling yourself Usagi...? Well, I guess there's worse names. I do have a friend named Daiyousei after all..." I felt that the latter half of her statement was more her talking to herself than her talking to me.
I tilted my head to the side, and asked, "Is it that strange...?"
Cirno gave me a blank look, choosing to ignore that question, and instead asked, "Hey, as you're weak and don't look like you'd surive even a week on your own, why don't I train you? You can come live with me, and be my apprentice!"
While she gave me an expectant look, which made me rush in my answer, not particularly thinking about it too much. "Y-yes! P-please take care of me from now on!"
Blinking, the fairy gained a slight blue blush to her pale skin. "I-idiot! Don't say it like that! Jeez, you make it sound like I asked for your hand..."
I tilted my head at what she meant by asking for my hand, earning me a sigh from my new friend. ...Or would that be my teacher? That's what you call the one who teaches you things, right? Ohh, or maybe master! ...That makes me sound like a pet, though.
Letting out a sigh at how clueless I was, Cirno said, "Well, as it's pretty late, how about we go back to my place?"
Agreeing with the idea, I gave a nod. "Alright, miss Cirno!"
Flinching at the bit of formality I was using, she corrected, "Just Cirno."
Once more I gave a nod. "Alright, Cirno!"
With that out of the way, I found myself being picked up by the strong fairy, who then flew towards an old looking shack on the edge of the massive lake.
...Why's she as cold as ice, though? It feels a little painful just to be carried by her...