The warm breeze from the air shook the leaves on the trees of the forest, making them dance and wave. The sun shone through them and onto the ground, which gave off a warm, golden, glittering sheen. Birds of any and every kind called out to each other in a chorus of songs. The trees were thick and abundant with huge oaks growing to half the size of modern buildings, and their branches reached up to the sky. The shade of the towering trees above made the air feel a lot cooler, as Reimu strolled down the path away from her shrine. She breathed in the crisp air around her as she continued down the road. It's surprisingly peaceful and tranquil once she realized she's never taken the time to appreciate the nature around her.

Where was she headed, anyways?

As Reimu traveled further down, the forest grew thicker as their leaves and branches blocked out the sun entirely. The path grew wider, stone ending off and into a path of dirt instead. The temperature was cool enough that if Reimu was tired, she would've taken a nap next to the base of a tree right here. That was what she thought, until she heard a rustle from her side. She stopped, looked around, and listened carefully. Nothing was there except the quiet, distant chirping of birds. She took out a few ofuda from her sleeve and glanced around her, ready to smack them onto whoever popped up to surprise her. Without much of a warning, something shot into the sky and Reimu threw them at the target.

"Woah, woah, calm down!" A familiar voice cried.

Reimu looked up to see Aya hovering in the air, who had sighed in relief. She hovered down and stepped onto the ground, in front of her.

"Why were you in the bushes like that?" Reimu asked.

"You know, it's rare that we see Miss Shrine Maiden going out anywhere. I thought you were about to go hunt some poor, innocent youkai again," Aya shrugged, her camera in hand. Reimu sighed.

"Honestly, it's nothing important at all, I was just taking a walk."

"Eh, at this time of the day? Don't you usually just stay by your shrine?"

"Well, I wanted a change of scenery."

Aya doubted what Reimu said was the truth. There's no way she would just randomly decide to come out of her miserable shrine willingly without some sort of outside influence. Being a reporter and a journalist, it was up to her to get to the bottom of this mystery.

"Are you sure it's just that?"

Reimu crossed her arms.

"Why do you care anyways? It really has nothing to do with you."

"Well, it's just my natural instincts tell me you've got something more important to do than just take a walk through the woods here."

This part of the forest would lead deeper into another part that connects to the Forest of Magic, which is known for containing poisonous mushrooms and dangerous youkai hiding in every bush and tree. Though this part is a bit safer, youkai still can wander here, which many find Reimu's shrine and destroy it for fun.

Reimu thought about a good reason for going all the way out here, her poker face staring at Aya in a contest.

"I just wanted to seek some advice, that's all."

Aya raised her eyebrows.

"You could ask m-"

"No, thank you," Reimu immediately cuts her off, knowing she'll just twist up whatever weird ideas into her head for her own benefit for her newspapers.

"...I didn't finish my sentence."

"It's okay, I'm good."

Aya pouted, looking at her camera.

"Well, what kind of advice?" she asked.

Reimu stared at her with a look that clearly said she had enough of her interrogation.

"You know, for a tengu with such a short nose, you sure do love sticking it into other people's business, huh? Or is it just your 'natural reporter instincts' kicking in again?"

Aya's eye twitched, this clearly being a sore topic for her. She's already been teased enough by Momiji before, so hearing it from Reimu herself just makes it worse than she already knows it is. However, because she values her life, she doesn't immediately lunge at her like a wild rabid dog. Instead, she just grinned with enough force to make it seem she isn't mentally having a breakdown.

"You sure do talk distasteful for someone who's supposed to be so dignified and graceful," Aya spat out.

"Which, I'm glad you get the point. I don't want to loiter around anymore, personally, so I'll be going," Reimu said, walking past her.

"If I see you following me again, I'll send you straight to heaven without you needing to fly," she adds, glancing back at Aya.

The tengu just scowled as she lifted into the air and flew away at almost a breakneck speed. Reimu turned back to the road at hand and continued walking after her encounter with the journalist. She's sure she'll make up some rumors about her later as a form of revenge, but she could always just beat her up for it. After walking a bit more, the road split off into two ways, one going inside the Forest of Magic and the other to the human village.

She decided to take the one to the village, as the path after that would lead to a variety of places where she could seek her advice. Soon, she was near the front and walked through a gate to the inside. People were crowding around stalls and passersby with cargo, some carrying food, others supplies. Among them all, Reimu spotted Reisen dressed up in her usual clothes for the village, selling her medicine to the sick and old. She traveled on and came into a large crowd. The streets of the village were wide, but it was completely blocked out by the hundreds of people there. The only way she could get through was to squeeze past them by the side. Reimu moved as quickly as she could, as the people were shouting and cheering for what looked like a show on a stage. She peeked over a man's head to catch a glimpse of a girl in masks, dancing with fans to the beat of thundering drums. The humans clapped along as children shouted in excitement. It was very inviting, but Reimu had other places to be. She finally pushed past people, getting to the other side.

She glanced behind her, the people all clapping louder and louder as Kokoro's song was finishing. Reimu smiled at the festival crowd her song and dance had gathered. She's always been putting her heart and soul into her dances, even if she couldn't express it through her face. Reimu continued walking until she was finally out of the village. The path had grown wider, as people frequently traveled around the parts by foot or wagon. The sun's already in the middle of the sky, signaling that it had already been noon. The few stalls by the side of the road close to the village offered snacks and treats, so Reimu stopped by to buy some dango and fried squid on sticks.

After she had her fill, Reimu took a path that was narrow enough for only a wagon to travel on. Many people don't take this route as the ground is bumpy with small rocks and little weeds making themselves home inside the cracks in the ground. There were no trees or forests around, only low lying plains and tall grasses everywhere she looked.

By now, Reimu has a good idea where to go as for her "eye opening" advice. She would go to the Myouren Temple, where she's sure Byakuren would be there and be able to offer a hint or some guidance. However, to arrive there, the only open path was through the Garden of the Sun, an enormous sunflower field expanding miles and miles in all directions, and chock full of youkai. The problem isn't with the place, but with the owner of it. Even though she's not very active, Reimu hopes by a slim chance she isn't here right now.

Even from a distance, Reimu could see the mass of those flowers covering the landscape. The sunflowers themselves aren't normal, either. Like trees, they shoot up into the sky, towering over anything higher than ten feet. Some reach even higher, enough to cast huge shadows over the field with their enormous leaves. The leaves would fall off from how heavy they were if it were not for the fact that their stems and flowers were ginormous too. Even though Reimu's been here before, it still felt like something right out of a fever dream. The number of them is uncountable, and she doubted she'd have time to count how many of them there were.

Unluckily, even before she had gone a mile into the field, the air felt denser as a new presence appeared in front of her. Reimu stopped in her tracks, tense.

"Well well, what an unexpected guest," Yuuka grinned, holding her parasol in one hand while her other was behind her back. She gracefully held herself, her smile almost charming if it were not for the fact that she's a complete sadist.

"Sorry to intrude, but I'm just passing by," Reimu said tiredly.

"Oh, but it's been such a long time since we last met, you know. How about we sit down for a little chat to catch up on some things?" She gestured behind her, to a wooden table with a few white, antique seats around it under the shade of leaves. How Reimu hadn't noticed that before, she didn't know. However, if it meant that she'd be able to walk out of there without a broken arm, she'd gladly take up on the offer. She still had to be a bit suspicious. Who knows what this flower youkai's planning up her sleeve.

"I guess I could spare some time," Reimu said hesitantly. Yuuka smiled, walked over to the table, and took a seat. Reimu followed after her and took a seat across from her, trying not to make eye contact with the green haired woman in front of her. Yuuka leaned on her arm, looking up and down at her.

"So, how are things going with you?" she asked, voice mockingly sweet. Reimu resisted the urge to roll her eyes in front of her. She already knows what she'd been doing before, so why even ask her?

"Same as always, nothing new or exciting really happened," she replied, looking at her hands on her lap.

"How bland, I suppose you haven't gotten any donations either, hm?"

"I thought we were here to just talk, not make a fool out of me."

"You do act like one," Yuuka said, twirling her parasol in her other hand.

"Anyways, what are you doing all the way out here? Is there something exciting that I haven't heard about?"

"It's nothing important, I just wanted to take some time to myself and visit someone."

"Were you so lonely by yourself in that shrine that you've finally decided to touch some grass for once?"

"You know, I do have friends."

"Friends? As in that one annoying magician whom I saw some time ago? She was quite the pest to my flowers, nearly burnt them to a crisp with her flashy spells."

"Marisa's just like that, you can't blame her." Reimu said in defense.

"It's such a pain to deal with someone like her, I don't know how you manage it."

"Marisa has a mischievous personality even without Mima."

"Mima?"

Oh, right.

"Perhaps you've seen a green haired woman who was the mentor of her?"

Yuuka thought for a while, trying to remember which green haired woman Reimu was talking about. There are far too many to count in Gensokyo.

"Hm, yes, I think I remember seeing her before. Wasn't she the one who carried a staff with the floppy hat and had a bad attitude?"

"...Right on."

"I haven't seen her with Marisa then, what happened?"

Reimu scratched her neck, considering if she should say this or not. She doubts Yuuka really cared anyways.

"She got thrown in Hell after being captured for being a runaway evil spirit."

"She sounds like a lot of fun," Yuuka smiled. "Reminds me of my old days."

"Old days?"

"Oh yes," Yuuka leaned on one hand, giving Reimu the side eye. "Especially when the both of you had wrecked my mansion."

"Haha..." Reimu laughed nervously, looking away from her. "Yeah, a lot of fun."

"And I should thank you, Reimu, for coming there. It'd been so long since I had a good fight, even if it was a bit unfair."

"Eh?" Reimu furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "Why would you thank me?"

"I realized the potential I wasted cooped up in there and decided to leave my estate behind to Elly and Kurumi to be taken care of."

Where had she heard those names before?

A woman stood at the front doors of a huge mansion, staring up at it, horrified. She wore a dainty white hat with a red ribbon. Her blonde curly hair was a contrast to her red dress, which was a bit torn up from her previous fight with the intruders. In one hand, she carried a large scythe, which was leaned on her shoulder.

The doors in front of her had been blasted open like an oni had ripped it off with such force that it could rattle the grounds of Mugenkan. Its pieces were strewn across the entrance floor, blue tiles cracked with holes in the ground, where Elly had thrown them at the trespassers. She glanced around worryingly, hoping that Kurumi wasn't passed out from her own battle against the two. She quickly headed inside, knowing that the invaders were already going after Yuuka. She just hoped that she'd be able to reach there in time to help her.

The inside wasn't much better than the outside, with walls with huge cracks and holes in them and interior decorations were blown to pieces all over the floor. She saw the destruction leading itself to the upper floors, so she ran upstairs, readying her scythe. However, there were no sounds of bullets or demolition, nothing but silence. She crept through the hallway, looking into each room before she stopped at Yuuka's.

The door was, surprisingly, still intact. Despite the situation she was in, Elly had some manners, so she knocked on the door, resisting the urge to just bust through it and attack whoever was there.

"Come in, Elly."

She recognized the voice before she saw her, as she quietly opened the door.

Yuuka was sitting on her bed, hands in her lap as she looked out of the window. Okay, well, it was more like the window had been carved out and removed, because all that's left was a huge hole in the wall. Elly slowly closed the door behind her, not daring to break the silence between them. Yuuka was the one who spoke first.

"If you're wondering about those two kids, they've already left," she said.

"I-I see..." Elly muttered.

"Don't be so nervous, come, sit down," she patted the spot on the bed next to her. Elly complied, moving over and sitting down next to her. She hesitated.

"...I'm sorry I couldn't stop them, I'm a horrible gatekeeper."

"Hm, well, yes, you did fail your job in that part." Yuuka mused. Elly lowered her head in shame. Of course, her mistress would be disappointed. She was too weak to stop Reimu and Marisa in their tracks and had let them attack Yuuka. She deserved to be punished.

"However," Yuuka shifted, looking at Elly. She lifted a hand and held her chin, making her look up. Elly's eyes widened in surprise as a scarlet blush spread across her face. "You did try your best, didn't you?"

"A-Ah, uhm," she stuttered, her mind becoming blank. "Yes..."

"Then there's no need to feel so down. They just came in when I was having my nap, so it was a bit of a surprise, yes. Though, the fight itself was very fun, so
that makes up for it."

"Huh?"

"Ah, Elly," Yuuka let go of her hand and stood up, smiling down at her. "It's because it's been so long since I had anyone to play with. Honestly, I felt like they should've come sooner. I feel all energized now."

Elly tilted her head.

"Is that a good thing?"

Yuuka giggled.

"What do you think?"

The door bursts open, with Kurumi standing in the doorway, breathing heavily.

"I'm here! What happened-" She stopped, looking at the two, staring back at her.

"Uh, am I interrupting something here?" she said, looking at Elly's face, who was still red as a stove grill.

"I think you're quite late, considering Elly's even here." Yuuka said.

"Oh great, they're already gone, aren't they," Kurumi groaned.

"Fetch me my waistcoat and shirt, Elly," Yuuka said, taking off her nightcap, yawning.

"Huh?"

"When did I say I was letting them get away scot-free?"