Disclaimer: Today we gather to bid farewell to- Wait, I'm alive! *punches my way out of the coffin* Also, Zun owns touhou. I do not.

A/N: Switching things up so I can sleep easier... I'm updating in the afternoon now... not at the usual 5/6 AM EST I have been! This way I can get to sleep earlier so that my thinking juice will flow better!

Author: Heh...

Yukari: What's so funny?

Yuuka: Yes, what is so funny? I find myself a touch curious what you found humorous in that.

Author: It's quite simple, really.

Yukari: Ohh?

Yuuka: Do tell.

Author: Well, I usually write at 5-7 am, which is to say, right before I go to bed. To say that I am writing when Im waking up, which would not only lower the general quality of the work, but it would also make it quite difficult for me to get anything done these days, would be silly. You see, back then, I had no friends to get in the way of my writing; I could write at any time I pleased. But when I tried that months ago... (as of 10/6/14), it went terribly, as I was always being interrupted by my desire to reply to my friends.

Yuuka: This is the price you pay for friendship.

Yukari: Reimu knows well that being popular can be a bad thing.

Author: Don't get me wrong; I love having friends, and certainly wouldn't have it any other way, but they certainly do get in the way when you're unable to multitask.

Yuuka: I'm surprised you have lasted as long as you have, as an author.

Yukari: I do believe that it can be said that I chose our author well~

Author: Well, I can't quit! I have no intention of ever quitting! There are too many quitters in fanfiction as it is. I started this journey in the hopes of bringing joy to the masses. And honestly? I think I have succeeded.

Yukari: A good stance to have, if you plan to endure the test of time.

Yuuka: Commendable, even.

Yukari: Quite.

Author: J-jeez! Shush! Well, uhh, how about we get on with the show?

Yukari: Ohh, and there's the catchphrase again.

Hakurei shrine, early evening, Usagi's PoV:

I blearily opened my eyes, instantly realizing that something was off. Yawning, I asked, "...Huh...?" I looked around at the room. I was lying in a futon, with a dimly lit lantern beside me. "Where am I...?" I had a horrible headache, but thankfully no memory of hitting my head. ...Which could be a bad thing, if you want to get technical. The seconds ticked by as I began to think. After a full minute, my mind was awake enough to recall what had had happened. I remembered Master's words, and mentally crossed my fingers.

Looking to my back, I experimentally began to try and wiggle my wings. Sure enough, they not only wiggled, but downright flapped. Which, admittedly, could be an issue of its own. I mean, if you flap your wings when you just try to wiggle them, that sounds like a problem with muscle control. ...Or however it works. Thankfully, it at least wasn't a very quick flap, of a very strong flap, so at least I wasn't having too much trouble. Still, I should be thankful; just yesterday I had no idea how to do even that much. After a bit of flapping my dagger-like wings, I began to giggle with glee as I grinned, clenching my fists in front of my chest in poorly contained joy. Moments later, a certain red-white miko slid open the door beside me, the dimming sky behind her.

Devoid of emotion, said miko of distinct coloration stated, "You're up, I see. Good. Wouldn't want to keep a pet rabbit after all." It was difficult to tell if she was joking, with a delivery like that.

Poking her head out from behind the miko, who she just happened to be hiding behind without intention to do so, Cirno said, "Hey, Pupil! How ya been? Get your wings to flap yet?" She knew the answer already, but she asked anyways just so she could see me gleefully give my report.

I couldn't help but grin at the question, and shouted, "I did it! I flapped my wings!" Looking a bit confused, I added, "Felt weird, though... Like they weren't directly controlled by me, and instead only did what I told them to do..."

Chuckling, Master replied, "Well, yeah. It is magic. If you think too hard about magical stuff, it tends not to work!" She looked quite pleased that her ministrations had paid off.

Chuckling, Reimu commented, "Good thing that Cirno just plain doesn't think."

Frowning, Cirno said, "Say that again, I dare you!"

Putting her hands on her hips, Reimu said, "I said,-"

Choosing now to interrupt, I stammered rather forcefully, "But, umm! Umm... How do I flap them hard enough to create lift?"

Continuing to glare at Reimu for a moment, Cirno sighed, before taking to the air, her back to me, wings slowly wiggling in short flaps that hardly looked useful at all. The three pairs of wings were each flapping independent of the next. Grinning over her shoulder at me, she exclaimed, "You don't! All you have to do is will yourself to fly, and they do the work for you! It's the magic that does it, really! I mean, do my wings even look like they could produce lift? Do yours? They're hardly aerodynamic, as is the way of many fae." She was looking at me like I was asking her to twist me into a pretzel in order to help me fly easier.

Reimu rose a brow at the oddly technical explanation, but said nothing.

Grinning, Cirno enthusiastically said, "Now, pay close attention, Pupil! I'll probably only go through this once!" I nodded, giving her my undivided attention, and she continued. "The wings of a fairy are a good indicator of the power they have at their disposal, however it's not always true. Some rise above and beyond the number of wings they have, even before they grow more wings! You see, for every pair of wings a fae grows, they become stronger! Takes a long time, though. Most fae die too much before they reach four-wing status."

Thinking a moment, I asked, "But Master, don't I have four wings? I don't feel all that strong..."

Chuckling, Master replied, "That's because you don't know how to do much of anything! If you could tap into that strength, I'm sure you'd be strong enough. Not as strong as a six-wing like me, but still strong! You probably got like this because you turned into a fae by biting me. Not entirely sure, really."

Smiling, I enthusiastically shouted back, "Wow, that's really neat, Master! I honestly thought you weren't very smart, and were just trying to look cool this whole time! But now you've proven yourself to be really knowledgeable, so I'm proud to be your student! Please teach me how to be an ice fairy!" I had a small grin on my face.

Blinking, Cirno asked, "Wait, you thought I was stu-"

Before she could fully say what was on her mind, I had hugged her tightly enough to force the air from her. I had the biggest, happiest grin on my face as I said, "Thank you, Master, for taking me under your wing."

Reimu, while watching all this take place, had been blindsided by just how adorable the exchange was. She had to look away, her blush increasing the red to white ratio of her outfit in favor of red.

Still looking away, Reimu reminded, "Cirno, it's getting pretty late. You should really be heading home about now, shouldn't you?"

Blinking, Cirno said, "Ohh yeah! ...But she still doesn't..." She trailed off, before a look of determination began to creep onto her face. "...That settles it! I'll teach her how to fly now; it's not like there's much left to teach, anyways!"

Huffing, Reimu replied, "Fine, fine, but hurry up. I would like to go eat some time soon, you know. I haven't eaten in what feels like days..." She had given up on getting rid of us quickly.

Grinning, Cirno said, "Alright, Pupil, let's finish up your lesson on flight and go home!" Grinning cheekily, Cirno added, "You always do love it when we collapse on the bed exhausted!" She seemed to be trying to make it sound horrible just to get a reaction out of me, or at least that's what I thought.

And it worked. "Wha- Master...! If you say it like that, peop-" I was silenced by a small finger pressing against my lips.

Reimu watched as all this went down, wondering if the so-called idiot was truly as ignorant of such things as she let on, what with that display.

Chuckling, Cirno said, "Now, let's teach you how to fly." With that said, she reached out and grabbed my hand. For my part, I clutched the hand in my own with a light blue blush. Moments later, she took off into the air with me in tow, stopping a handful of feet above the ground, my feet dangling a foot above the ground as I hung there. "Now, just try to will yourself to not fall!"

I began to concentrate on that, while my wings fluttered. Frowning, Cirno dragged a finger along the edge of the nearest blade, eliciting a pleased shudder from me, breaking my concentration. At the same time, she released me from her grasp, and I recoiled my hand to my body as I flinched from the pleasing sensation.

Gulping, I asked, "M-master, what was that for...? ...Wait... You're not- I'm not- How am I-? ...What...?" As I floated there of my own accord, I slowly realized what was going on.

Grinning, Master said, "Good job, Usagi!" Suddenly, I found her wrapping her arm around my waist,and flying as fast as she could. Which, as it turned out, was quite fast. Not going far at all, she used her fee arm to tickle my armpit, before releasing me as I giggled. I didn't even realize as I kept going, slowly slowing down from not being as fast as her.

The strongest fairy waved to the Red-White, before catching up to me, keeping pace with my slowly decelerating speeds, and tapped my shoulder. Of course, I stopped on a dime to look behind me by reflex, thus teaching me the final, and arguably the most important part of this lesson. The brakes.