Incident 3

"Feast"

(Or, the many ways a dinner party in the Netherworld could have (but didn't) gone wrong)

I was making one of my regular shopping trips to the Human Village when I spotted a familiar head of white among the stalls. "Youmu!" I called out. Her ghost-half was nowhere to be seen, but I wasn't surprised - she was able to hide it. Youmu looked human enough, but I knew she wasn't one to take chances - many in the Human Village didn't take kindly to seeing youkai.

Youmu, surprised, turned around and saw me. "Oh, Erika. What are you doing here?"

"Shopping," I said, raising the basket I was holding so that she could see. "Same as you, probably." I looked down at Youmu's relatively large bag, which was filled to the brim with food ingredients. Wow. I knew Yuyuko was a big eater, but..."Are you sure you and Yuyuko can eat that much?"

"Hmm? Oh, it's not just for me and Lady Yuyuko this time," Youmu explained. "We're holding a dinner party at Hakugyokurou, you see. Lady Remilia and Miss Yukari are coming as well."

"Really?" I exclaimed. "So that's why you're buying so much?"

"Yes." Youmu looked at her bag and sighed. "And it looks like I'll be buying more."

A lightbulb went on in my head. "Can me and Reimu come as well? I just realized I don't know much about Yuyuko, but I do want to learn more about her. Plus, neither of us at the Hakurei Shrine often pass up opportunities for free food."

Youmu chuckled. "It must be difficult to live on a budget. Well, Lady Yuyuko was speaking of inviting you two, actually. I'll give her word that the two of you are coming. I'm sure she'll welcome you two."

"Thanks!" I smiled. "Do you need any help with the cooking as well?"

"If you can provide it, I would appreciate it," Youmu replied. "A feast like this would be even better if it's you cooking, Erika."

"Eheheh...you flatter me too much."

And so the both of us went on a shopping spree together. Youmu did end up buying a lot, but it was nothing Myon couldn't carry.

"Reimu!" I called out when I arrived back at the Hakurei Shrine. "I've got good news for both of us!"

"Is it about a certain feat with a certain ghost princess in a certain netherworld?" Reimu's reply was nonchalant.

I was surprised. "Wait, you already knew?!"

"Yukari just dropped by and told me," Reimu said. "I said yes, of course. You and I both know that I would never miss a free meal. What about you?"

I dropped my shopping bag on the floor and sat down on the wooden floor. "I ran into Youmu at the market today."

"Huh, you don't often see Youmu go into the Human Village. So, did you say yes?"

I nodded, and Reimu threw up her arms in triumph. "Finally! A feast!"

"You remind me a bit of Yuyuko," I laughed. "So, uh...how do we get to Hakugyokurou?"

"Hmm? Oh, yeah, you don't know. You see, there's a "Barrier of Life & Death" that separates most of Gensokyo from the Netherworld. It's not far from the Hakurei Shrine, and it's also pretty easy to pass it. You just have to fly over it."

"Wait, wait," I cut her off. "You can just fly over it?"

"Yes."

"Then what's the point of a barrier if it can't even keep out anyone who can fly?!"

Reimu thought for a moment. "Well, it used to be a proper barrier. But it's been weakened ever since Yuyuko started the Eternal Winter Incident. I tried to get Yukari to fix it, but..."

"But she's as lazy as you are?"

Reimu opened her mouth, then closed it. Then she sighed. "You could say that. Come on, then, let's go."

I stood up, then froze. "Wait."

"Is something wrong?" Reimu looked concerned.

"...I've run out of flight talismans." Believe it or not, the charms I use to fly are limited in number. Sure, Reimu can make as many as she wants to, but it takes time. And with the sun already setting...

"Great." Reimu slumped. "Now what? I don't have time to make more, and I can't carry you that far. Mmm, maybe we could-"

In the end, we got to the Netherworld through an unexpected and abrupt method of travel.

"Ow!" I cried as Reimu and I tumbled out of the gap onto the ground, at the bottom of a long flight of stairs. "Ugh...Yukari, please warn me before you gap me somewhere!"

"Hmm? But surprises are fun!" The gap youkai in front of me said, covering her innocent smile with her fan.

"Not to us in this case," Reimu grumbled, dusting herself off. "Erika, you didn't happen to forget anything, did you?

I felt in my pockets. I had a flask of water that I'd brought to keep myself hydrated during my shopping trip, and nothing else. But I didn't think I needed much for a dinner party, anyway. "I don't think so."

"Right," Reimu said. "Now about these stairs..."

I looked up, and felt a sinking feeling in my gut. The staircase looked hundreds - probably even thousands - of steps tall, and I highly doubted that I would be able to make it. "What are we going to do about Erika?" Reimu glanced at me. "You don't think she can climb that, do you?"

Yukari put her hand to her chin in thought, as if realizing she'd just made a mistake. "Oh dear..."

I felt my eye twitch. I frowned. And then Reimu beat me to the "finally snapped" punch. "You couldn't have just dropped us off at the top!?"

"Oh, I just remembered that I must talk to Yuyuko," Yukari said, disappearing into a gap. "Toodles."

"Wait-oh, that gap hag..." Reimu grumbled. "Looks like I'll have to carry you up there."

"Sorry," I muttered.

"Don't say that, it's not your fault I have to lug you all the way up to Hakugyokurou." She waved it off, staring at the giant staircase. "It's still better than starting from the shrine."

"It sounds like you're making it out to be my fault, you know."

The dining area was located outside of Hakugyokurou, in the garden. There was a long table covered with white cloth, and neatly arranged plates and cutlery, but there was no food yet. I suddenly felt guilty. I should have brought something to add to the meal...Ah well, too late.

Yuyuko was there, and she greeted us cheerily. "Hello! Reimu, Erika! Youmu told me you were coming!"

"Hello, Yuyuko," I greeted her. Reimu waved, then slumped on one of the chairs and yawned, exhausted and apparently having decided to spend the rest of her pre-dinner time there. "Ugh...Erika, do you realize how heavy you are?"

"It's rude to talk about a girl's weight, you know," I said, offended. Then I decided to go and help Youmu with the cooking. "Yuyuko, where's the kitchen?"

"Down that hallway, turn right once."

When I walked into the kitchen, I saw several pots and pans, with 2 of them on a stove, and dishes that were either empty or had ingredients on them - and in the middle of all of it was Youmu, frantically running around, cutting ingredients, adjusting the stove and dropping ingredients onto the pans. She's really working herself to the bone, I thought.

"Youmu!" I called out, entering.

She turned around, and seemed relieved when she saw me. "Erika!"

"Need a little help?" I said, looking around.

Youmu looked at her work, then back to me. "Yes, of course, I'd appreciate it."

"What are you making?" I looked into the pot on the stove.

"Well, I decided to try my hand at making an omelette - that's what you taught me a few weeks ago, and what you're looking at now. There's also fried fish, a salad, and I'm thinking of making some sort of soup, though what kind I'm still trying to figure out. Ran's bringing something of her own as well."

"Ooh, nice. So, what do you want me to do?"

Youmu thought for a moment. "There are lettuce and tomatoes over there, those ingredients I'm going to use for the salad. I washed both of them, but otherwise I haven't touched them. Can you prepare them for me?"

"On it!" I chirped as I stepped to the right, towards the counter where Youmu pointed. As I cut the tomatoes, an idea came to me. "Oh, do you have any vinegar?"

The half-ghost girl raised an eyebrow. "Vinegar? Why?"

"It makes the salad better. Trust me, I have experience."

"Mmm...above, second cupboard from the right."

We quickly finished the omelette and were almost done with the salad when I saw Ran poke her head in. "Hello?"

"Ran!" Youmu exclaimed. "Mind giving us a hand?"

"I was thinking so," Ran said, her fox-tails swishing behind her as she walked in. "What are you two making?"

"Right now I'm thinking deep-fried fish," I said, pouring the salad onto a plate and handing a pan to Ran. "Here, wash this, then put it on the stove. Three-quarters of the knob should be enough. Then once it's hot, put some oil - " I gestured to the yellow bottle on my right. "in it. I'll handle the fish."

Youmu let out a sigh of relief. "Thank heavens you guys came here to help. Finally I can slow down..." I noticed that her ghost half, Myon, was lying on the counter, deflated. I managed to hold back my laughter at the sight.

Moments later, our master chef quartet was completed by the appearance of the Scarlet Devil Mansion's head maid. We were preparing to make miso soup (which I taught them to do) when I saw Sakuya at the door. "Sakuya!" Good evening!"

"Good evening, everyone." Sakuya stepped inside. "I wasn't expecting to see you here, Erika, but I saw Reimu outside and figured that the two of you were inseparable."

I smiled awkwardly. "We both love our free food."

The four of us managed to finish cooking without any major accidents, although there were two close calls. One was us almost overdoing the fish. The other?

I was carrying one of the two soup bowls outside when my foot hit...something? I'm not even sure what I hit, I didn't see anything. But, you see, I tripped. With a big bowl of soup in my hands.

"Erika!" I heard someone cry out. I'm pretty sure it was Youmu.

When I hit the ground, I immediately looked up, but luckily the soup bowl hadn't made contact with the floor - Sakuya was quick enough to catch it, even though she was several steps away. Timestop = cheat.

"Sorry, guys," I said, dusting myself off as I stood up. "Thanks a lot, Sakuya. What did I trip on, anyway?"

"I'm fairly sure it was a ghost," Ran said as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Youmu flinched. "W-what? But I didn't see any..."

I, on the other hand, raised my eyebrow, suspicious. "Wait. Aren't ghosts supposed to be immaterial?"

Ran shrugged. "Not all of them. Some can take a physical form at will. I don't see one though..."

Ah, right, Myon can do that sometimes. But..."Of course, I could just be clumsy," I said.

"No, you're not," Sakuya reassured me. "It happens to the best of us. Tripping, I mean."

We managed to get outside without anyone else tripping on invisible things, though I still found it ironic that Youmu, being half-ghost herself, was afraid of ghosts.

We carried the food out to the table and I found my seat next to Reimu, who was...sleeping. I sighed in exasperation and shook her awake. "Reimu, wake up, it's dinnertime. Geez, I'm not that heavy."

I scanned the table to see who had arrived. Yukari was there, along with Ran and Ch'en. Yuyuko was standing at one end of the table. And there was Remilia, Patchouli, Sakuya, Meiling, and-

I wiped my eyes and looked again, but she was unmistakable. Dressed in red, has skeletal wings with crystals hanging off of them, looks like a child?

I tapped Remilia, who was nearby, on the shoulder. "Remilia, why did you bring Flandre here?" I whispered.

"Because I'm a nice older sister," came the elder Scarlet sister's reply. "Flandre's been cooped up for weeks. I figured it was time to give her some fresh air. Don't worry, we'll make sure she doesn't cause any trouble." Remilia grinned.

"OK, I trust you," I said and walked away. Though whether anything actually happens remains to be seen.

I noticed a large food plate on the table which I didn't remember bringing out. On the plate was a mixture of corn and grilled cheese - a course I was fairly familiar with, though I didn't see it often. I recalled Youmu saying that Ran had brought something of her own to the table - I figured this was it.

As everyone settled into their seats, I decided to take the initiative and clap loudly, twice. "May I have everyone's attention, please? Alright, everyone, welcome to tonight's dinner party at Hakugyokurou! Presiding over this delicious meal is Hakugyokurou's master chef, Youmu Konpaku! A round of applause, everybody!"

I almost laughed when I saw Youmu squirm in her seat, her face reddening. "I-it wasn't just me...there was also Erika, Ran and Sakuya..." She hastily added. stuttering. Sorry, Youmu, but I love seeing that face, I mentally apologized to the half-ghost gardener.

"Don't worry about it, Youmu isn't used to being complimented," Yuyuko said as she clapped enthusiastically.

I decided to spare Youmu from further embarrassment and pass the baton. "Now, if everyone could spare a bit more patience, I'd like to hear a few words from our host! Yuyuko, would you like to say anything?"

"Me?" Yuyuko pointed at herself, as if surprised, and I nodded. "Well, thank you, Erika. Hmm-hmm...Thank you for coming to my place for dinner tonight! Ittadakimasu!" And she sat down.

"That's it?!" I gasped. I had been hoping for more. "Uh, does anyone else want to say anything?" I looked around at the others - Yukari and her servants, Remilia's household, Reimu, but everyone shrugged or shook their heads. "Fine, I guess everyone's hungry. Ittadakimasu!"

We raised our cups of sake (or water, in the case of me and Patchouli) and toasted Yuyuko, then sat down and dug in. I'm happy to report that this meal was satisfying. Props to Ran, Sakuya, and especially Youmu, since she was the head chef and did most of the work. I didn't think this was my best work, so they helped a lot.

I was taking a sip of the miso soup when a bit of chatter between Yuyuko and Yukari piqued my interest. "You know, I can barely remember how Reimu got by without Erika," Yukari said. "I haven't had to pop by as often after Erika arrived. She's like the responsible housewife to Reimu's lazy husbandry."

"I think of her as more of a mother, actually," Yuyuko remarked. "I imagine she fawns over Reimu and does her best to do away with anything that threatens their peaceful life."

"Well, that, and she also acts like a friend. There's a lot of stuff I can't imagine Reimu doing without Erika by her side, and vice versa - you know how Outside World people are like, right? Though I often see those two argue a lot - just like true friends."

"Like an old married couple, more like." Yuyuko covered her smirk with her sleeve.

"Look who's talking."

Laughing to myself, I glanced around the table. My smile disappeared when I saw an empty chair next to Remilia.

"Wait…" I spoke up, making sure Remilia heard me. "Where's Flandre?"

I saw the elder Scarlet sister turn right, where Flandre was usually seated. Remilia's eyes narrowed when she saw the empty chair, and the corners of her mouth curved into a frown. With a sarcastic tone, she muttered, "Oh, that is just-"

Sakuya blinked out of sight.

"-magnificent," Remilia finished, getting up from her chair. "Shall we go look for her, then?"

"Huh? We?" I pointed at myself as if I was wondering whether she was talking to me.

"Yes, I can hardly search for a loose and potentially dangerous vampire by myself, can I?"

"How am I supposed to be of any help?!" I protested. I was worried about coming face-to-face with Flandre myself, of course, but I also felt bad about leaving the table.

"Diplomacy," Remilia said matter-of-factly, grabbing my arm. "Reimu, do you mind if I borrow Erika for a bit?"

Reimu looked up from her plate. "Hmm? Oh, sure." And she went right back to eating.

"Hey, Reimu!" I cried with affronted dignity. "You're actually prioritizing your dinner over me!?"

"You'll be fine," Remilia said and dragged me away. "She won't do anything to you as long as I'm there. Hopefully."

"Hopefully?" Was that supposed to be reassuring?!

Remilia shrugged. "Well, it also helps that you're a close friend of Reimu's. Even Flandre knows not to mess with anyone who is close to Reimu Hakurei."

I sighed in resignation. "Fine. Lead the way."

We left the dinner table and wandered through the corridors of Hakugyokurou. "Where's Sakuya?" I asked to fill the silence.

"Patrolling the exits, I expect," Remilia answered while turning a corner. "She's smart, you know. The worst-case scenario would be Flandre somehow wandering out of Hakugyokurou and essentially being let loose in the Netherworld and quite possibly the rest of Gensokyo." I pictured, somewhere in my mind, Flandre cavorting around the Forest of Magic, and I laughed and shuddered at the same time.

"So Sakuya's keeping watch on the exits," Remilia continued, "making sure my little sister doesn't become a Gensokyo-wide menace. That means it's up to us to look for Flandre within the grounds of Hakugyokurou."

"And do you have any ideas about where a half-cracked, highly destructive, centuries-old vampire girl might be hiding?" I raised an eyebrow.

Remilia smiled impishly. "I know my little sister better than you think."

"A tree?"

Turns out Flandre had been hiding among the branches of the massive Saigyou Ayakashi. I'm still not sure why. Maybe she likes playing among the branches? Reminds me of a monkey, though...I don't know why, but it just does. A vision of a monkey wearing Flandre's clothes bounding between trees passed my mind, and I fought a bizarre urge to laugh.

Remilia and I watched as Flandre darted around the tree's branches, laughing in joy. "She's just like a child…" I said. "I kind of envy her, actually. So, how do we get her down?"

"Well, you see, finding Flandre is one thing," Remilia explained. "Actually coaxing her out of her hiding place is another matter entirely."

I turned to stare at Remilia. "What do you mean?"

Remilia cleared her throat. "Flandre!" She called out for her sister.

The little devil poked her head around a particularly large branch. "Onee-chan! You found me!"

"OK, OK, playtime's over," Remilia spoke as if she were trying to defuse a bomb. "Come on, we've got dinner."

"But this is fun!" Flandre chirped and disappeared behind another branch.

Remilia sighed. "You see, it's not as easy as soothing a treed cat." She nudged me forward. "Erika, that's your cue."

"Huh?"

I rounded on the elder Scarlet. "Me? What am I supposed to do, yell at her? I'm just an ordinary human girl, how am I supposed to have a potentially lethal conversation with Flandre? What if I say something wrong? I never said I was a diplomat! And what about you? You're her big sister!"

"Don't worry, I'll be right behind you," Remilia smiled.

"How are you supposed to help?!"

She put a hand to her chin in thought. "...Moral support!"

Translation: I'm in danger.

Knowing I had no chance of arguing, I sighed and resigned myself to fate. "Fine. But if I die here, I take no responsibility as to what Reimu might do in retaliation."

"Don't be paranoid," Remilia said, pushing me forward. "You will be fine."

I took a deep breath and then called out, "Flandre!"

I saw the younger Scarlet sister appear from behind a branch that was on pretty much the opposite side of where she was half a minute ago - and mind you, that tree is big. I wondered for a second how she managed to get over there, then ignored it and I said loudly, "Flandre, don't you want to come down to dinner? Youmu did a wonderful job, I'm sure you'll enjoy it!"

"But I'm not hungry!" Flandre whined.

"You will be!" I said, then paused. What exactly does a powerful, centuries-old vampire who's been locked in her room for a long time want to do…? "OK, how about this?" I continued, glancing at Remilia. "If you come back and eat with us for a while, then when we're finished, your big sister will play with you. Sounds good?"

"Huh?"

It was now Remilia's turn to act surprised. "Hold it! I never agreed to this-"

"I never agreed to this," I snapped back. "But hey, life is unfair. So, Flandre, you heard me. Are you coming?"

I saw Flandre grin widely and leap out of the Saigyou Ayakashi. Within moments she was within my arms. "Yes! Erika-san, you're so fun!"

Remilia stared at me in awe, then sighed in exasperation. "Well, congratulations. You just did in 1 minute what it usually takes us half a day to do."

I looked at her. "Really?"

"Yep," she said, and led me and Flandre back to the dining area. "So tell me, what inspired you to rope me into this negotiation?"

"It's simple, really," I said, and turned to Flandre. "Flandre-chan, how much do you love your sister?"

"Very much!" She responded brightly.

"See?" I turned back to Remilia. 'So I figured she wouldn't miss a chance to hang out with you."

"Right, right, I see your logic," Remilia said. "Well, all's well that ends well, I suppose, so I can't complain. You truly are an excellent diplomat, Erika."

"And if that means I have to constantly get involved in potentially life-threatening conversations then I'm not proud of it!" I cried.

"Where were you anyway?" Reimu asked when I returned to my seat.

"Playing hide-and-seek with the devil," I replied briskly.

Reimu stared at me, then at Remilia and Flandre.. "...I'm not going to ask."

"Good." And I continued eating.

Confident that I wouldn't be interrupted again, particularly not to try to find a childish vampire, I thoroughly enjoyed my dinner. As I laughed and chatted with the others, I noticed, out of the corner of my eye, Sakuya (who had reappeared) whispering in her mistress' ear. I leaned in.

"...don't see why not, Ojou-sama."

"Look, if you had to take Flandre for a mere walk, you'd still have to worry about her wandering off, or going out of control, right? Playing with her is on another level."

"But you're her sister, Ojou-sama, she'll listen. Erika's right, you should spend more time with your family."

"You too? Ugh, fine…"

I mentally apologized to Remilia and returned to my food. Hey, you started this.

Then I looked at the table. All the food was already almost gone. "Wait, are we nearly done already?" I asked Reimu.

"Yeah, well, you missed it, but Yuyuko eats a lot, we all know that. And then there's the whole lot of us…"

I looked down at her plate, which was rather full. "You're really taking advantage of this situation, aren't you?" I tilted my head.

Reimu flinched. "S-so? A girl's gotta eat!"

I grabbed my housemate by the shoulder and stared into her eyes. "Are you saying my normal meals aren't sufficient? That Erika Mineba's talents aren't enough to satisfy your bottomless appetite?"

"It's not like that!" Reimu protested loudly. "And where did you get that idea? Since when have I ever shown any sign of not enjoying your cooking? Of course I like it!"

Silence. And then I burst out laughing, leaving Reimu utterly confused. "W-whuh-?"

"Sorry, I couldn't resist," I said, quickly calming down. "The look on your face...I'm sorry, but it's just too much fun to mess with you sometimes."

Reimu frowned and slumped back in her seat. "If you weren't a normal Outside World girl, you and Yukari would have been birds of a feather."

When all the dishes were empty, I volunteered to help Youmu with cleaning up afterwards as everyone else went home. The half-ghost girl looked gratified. "Thanks, you've been a lot of help tonight."

"No problem," I said, stacking a couple of plates in my arms. "I have no powers whatsoever, so this is the best I can do to help."

"It must be quite jarring to live without powers in a world where magic is rampant." Youmu said with a hint of pity in her voice.

I shrugged. "I'm used to it. Being a spectator has its merits, especially if you just want a peaceful life like me and Reimu. For one thing, I rarely ever get attacked by anyone or anything."

"That's probably because everyone knows you and Reimu are close." Youmu pointed out.

"True. But hey, I'm not complaining."

I took charge of washing the dishes and was about to start drying them out as well when Youmu stepped into the kitchen. "OK, I'll handle the rest, you can go home. Thanks a lot." She bowed. "Oh, by the way, everyone's gone home already, even Reimu."

"It's no problem...huh?"

Wait. Reimu went home already?

I ran out to the dining area and looked around. The SDM guests were gone, and so were Yukari and her shikigami. Yuyuko had retired to her room. Only Youmu and me were left.

And then I realized that I was supposed to be going home with Reimu.

...WAIT! WHAT ABOUT ME?!

I managed to get back to the Hakurei Shrine with Youmu's help and promptly gave a drunk Reimu the third degree for leaving me without a ride home.

Extra Stage 2

"Tea"

Back in the Outside World, there was a game that I and my friends would play occasionally. It was kind of like Russian Roulette, but with tea. Each of us would pick one cup of tea from a number of cups, and one of them would be extremely bitter (I don't remember what its name was). Then we had to guess who drank the bitter tea - of course, the person who did drink it would have to mask their disgust/discomfort/whatever negative emotion you might feel from consuming a very bitter drink.

That is the situation I found myself in, sitting at a table with Reimu, Ran, and Yukari, staring anxiously at my cup of green tea (?).

"OK, ready?" I said. "Three, two, one..." We all sipped a bit of our tea. Mine was normal, so I glanced at the others' faces. None of them seemed to show any sign of having drunk the bitter tea, though for all I know Yukari was just being a very good liar.

Then I noticed something. "Reimu, did you drink yours?"

"Hmm? Of course I did," Reimu replied. I didn't notice it then, but her face was rather strained.

"Your cup looks fuller than the rest of ours," Ran pointed out.

"Wait, what?" Reimu seemed confused. "I was pretty sure I drank half of it. Yukari, you didn't gap your tea into my cup, didn't you?"

"How rude!" Yukari acted offended. "You would accuse me of cheating?"

"You've had a track record," I said.

Reimu stared at her cup for a moment, then downed it again. She frowned. "There, I drank it. Happy?"

I looked at Reimu's tea cup, which was still full. "No."

"What?" Reimu looked down at her teacup, then at Yukari. "You gap hag-Erika, watch me!" She raised her cup of tea again and gulped her drink down, and didn't stop. Moments passed. Reimu leaned back as she tried to finish her tea, then fell backwards. "Gahhhh! It's too bitter!" The disgust on her face with evident.

I glared at Yukari, who had burst out laughing. "Sorry, I couldn't resist. It was Reimu who got the bitter tea. I wanted to mess with her."

"You...sadistic..." Reimu coughed. Apparently the taste of the punishment tea had been almost too much.

"Why'd you drink the whole thing anyway?!" I asked, kneeling over her.

"I had a point to make..."

I made a mental note to either never play this game again, or stop inviting Yukari. For the sake of Reimu's health.

OK, so it's been like, a month? And you'll notice that I did a sneaky thing.

For one thing, this chapter has only one Incident, rather than two like I planned. The thing was, writing Incidents 3 and 4 took forever, and I realized that if I wanted people to not forget about Lounging with Reimu I needed to come out with something quick. So I cheated a bit and published Chapter 2 with only Incident 3. "Feast" is a pretty long one though, which I guess makes up for it. Though I think it was a bit sloppy.

Next chapter will be Incident 4, which I've been having trouble with, and Incident 5, which I haven't written yet but am looking forward to writing, partly because it features a change - Incident 5 will be written from Reimu's perspective! (Most Incidents and Extra Stages are written from Erika's perspective unless stated otherwise.)

And in response to one of Lounging with Reimu's reviews, well, I do plan on developing Erika, but I plan on doing it slowly and gradually. Bits of Erika's background will be revealed during Incidents, and in the future I plan on doing an Incident centered around Erika's backstory.

But until then, thanks for waiting, and I'll see you in the next chapter! (Which will hopefully come out within the next month.)