Fantasy (Phantasm) x Fantasy (Reality)

by LookItsADoggy

*Abandoned for the foreseeable future* Hakurei Reimu is kicked out of her home and occupation by a bunch of nosy old sages (hags) and their schemes. The plan was for her to establish a working relationship on behalf of the residents of Gensokyo or something, but when you throw the guardian of "The World Without Common Sense" into a world with one, plans start to fall apart.

19. Notice of Abandonment

Sorry for disappointing you, this isn't a chapter.

If you've read the blurb, or indeed, my other story, you would know that I don't really have any intentions to come back to this story. I should probably explain that first.

First off, if you didn't read the update on my other story:

The reason I took such a long hiatus in the first place was kind of complicated. Just a really long string of bad luck and coincidences. Lost access to this account, life happened and I got busy so I couldn't really follow up on it. Then finally got bothered to get the account back some time ago, and then I got busy afterwards again and didn't have the time to do anything with it. And then eventually, everything cleared up again, and some point recently, I found a reason to start writing on this account again.

And now to talk about why I'm dropping this story and not my other one.

I write a lot of shit. Most of it isn't fanfiction. I'm not going to get into it as I want my works to be separate and over half of it is just private stuff anyways, but even when I didn't have this account and I was busy, I wrote a lot of other stuff.

Also, importantly, I'm a purpose-driven writer. When I write something, there almost always has to be something for me to get out of it; some skill to be improved, some concept or character to be explored and proved worthy, etc. etc.

Primarily, I wrote this fic to try and see one idea through; have two large, sprawling and separate worlds collide into one another, creating an extremely large variety of characters and interactions. It wasn't necessarily to write a Touhou story, or a DxD crossover, those two just happened to be the mediums I liked best for the idea.

Since then, I've written a lot of other stuff that's not on this site that has since satisfied the things I desired to get out of this story, leaving me with… not really any reason to want to keep going. I'm not going to write something out of obligation. That's just… not good for anyone.

If I was never forced to step away from the story, the desire I wanted to fulfill by writing this story likely never would have been taken away by something else, and it would still be going strong to this day.

But… life happened, and it sucks. It was just pure bad luck that I fell away from this story and it had its core snatched away by something that I'm never going to share with you guys due to personal principles on keeping my works separate.

The other fic I have on this account managed to live because, well, luckily for it, it does have a reason for me to write it that is wholly unique to itself, and likely won't ever be taken away by something else. It does need to be a Fate fic, unlike this one which didn't really need to be Touhou or DxD, and it does need to be Emiya Shirou.

I don't hate or dislike this fic; far from it, I think some of my work here, especially with Issei and Asia is still some of my best. But… if I continue writing this fic, it'll just be because of them. And that's just not good enough to take this fic any further than the end of the current arc.

Sorry for everyone who's been looking forward to the next update in this story. I can't give you what you were looking for.

The most I can offer is laying out all the future plans I had for the story, however much that is worth as closure.

Again, I do really feel bad about not being able to continue this work, but I can't really do anything about it when so much of my writing is driven by needing a purpose.

---

Act 2, First Half

The story would have continued with a flashback towards Miki's childhood, where everything started. She was utterly alone due to what seemed to be a curse of misfortune upon the Imperial Family as divine karma for daring to manipulate the position of mortals as gods, unnaturally using the Toshin line as purifiers of humanity to reach artificial deification. As the last survivor of her ruined family, she spent the first years of her life completely alone, with no one taking her side, for those who did would be struck down by misfortune. It was only Amaterasu who stepped forward into her lonely, crumbling castle, taking her by the hand, pushing away the misfortune and naming her as a personal priestess for herself.

That personal debt and gratitude towards the goddess, seeing as the only one who ever loved her, drove her forward for the rest of her life. From her life of squalor, she rose through the ranks, slowly garnering fame and power, her talent and work ethic shining through without the misfortune present to cruelly take everything away. She came to love Japan, which she once despised, despite everything that had happened to her.

These two things, Amaterasu and Japan itself, were the only two things she knew. There was no one else. The people around her, in her mind, were not actually close to her. No one knew her, the poor, destitute girl underneath. They simply saw the shining exterior and followed her, praised her. She knew that if she were to ever lose the favour of Amaterasu, everything she had would be gone in an instant. The moment that misfortune returned, she would return to being a hated nobody.

It was this fanatical love for Japan and Amaterasu that overwrote every bit of rationale and morality inside her, and led her to the decision to sacrifice a town to the purifying bombardment of the Three Sacred Regalia.

She was put on trial for her crimes and proven right. No one actually cared for her, Toshin Miki. When the protection of Amaterasu's priestess was torn away and she was judged as herself, everyone hated her, everyone slandered and attacked her and wished for her execution.

The one thing she wasn't expecting was the man who had been by her side as she committed her great crime, Hyoudou Gorou. Despite everything, he took her side. Despite having seen the ugliness that lay underneath the Priestess of the Sun, he staunchly spoke back to those who wished for her death.

He said many things. She wasn't some immaterial evil, she wasn't some monster to be blamed. It was wrong to do something as cruel as order the death of a single person.

That was all she was. Like him, like them, a person. A person who hated and loved. A person who made many mistakes. He didn't agree with her actions, he didn't think she came to the right solution, and the deaths of thousands for the sake of preventing a potential catastrophe wasn't good enough.

But whether she was right or wrong didn't matter. She was human, she didn't deserve this.

Seeing the back of that man, just a normal person trying his best to live his own life, Miki realised something. She had found someone. Someone who would truly look at her and understand her for who she was, someone who could embrace all the darkness inside her heart. Not even Amaterasu herself could claim that, as she had only seen the poor, pitiful child and wished to wrap her in her arms selfishly.

When the judge asked if he was willing to die to defend her right to live, and he answered yes, she realised she had fallen in love.

It was Amaterasu herself who saved them from judgement. Her last mercy, her last display of love, was to overturn the judge and give them one herself. They were to completely disappear from Kyoto, from the world of the supernatural. They were to spend the rest of their lives together far away from that side of the world, living as normal people. If they ever dared to show their face near their side of the world again, it was death.

In the present, Reimu, having seemingly found a weakness in Miki's thoughts, would try to hammer it in. She'd go on and on about Issei, about how he was in pain at that moment, how it didn't matter whether or not he was great or not, he was her son, and she should still care for him. How was she expecting to face herself when she was murdering her son's only friend? At that point, Issei's sorrow would reach them, impacting the barrier in the form of Boosted Gear's awakening.

Miki would tremble, almost giving up, but never letting her arm down. Her unrepentant selfishness would not let her.

But in that moment of hesitation, she fails to notice someone cross her barrier safely.

Gorou would appear behind her, calling to Miki with a sad smile on his face.

There she was, orchestrating the tragedy that would take her son's only friend, all for some twisted sense of joy she would get out of seeing her son ascend to the height of legends, and he still stood there, smiling.

"Let's go home."

The three words break her, and she finally gives up, lowering her arm and disarming the bomb.

By the time Reimu arrives at the church however, it is too late.

Asia is dying.

Rias steps in, saying that she can solve it. All she has to do is revive her as a devil.

Reimu stops her with a persuasion needle.

She cannot let Rias do that. It would violate several of her personal laws. Youkai and monsters were not to toy with human lives, not to transform and enslave them, and above all, ignoring all of that…

Asia simply would not survive the conversion intact.

She was a holy woman. Not just any holy woman, but one who had an incredible amount of faith in God, praying to him in happiness even in the moment of her death.

Turning her into a devil would conflict with her very core, and immediately shatter her psyche and turn her into an unrecognisable monster.

Issei, crying, doesn't care. He puts up his fists and charges at Reimu, willing to do anything to let his first friend have a chance at living, even if it means spending the rest of her life as a psychotic monster.

She knocks him out.

Reimu orders everyone to leave and go home, under threat of exorcism, and reluctantly, everyone goes away.

But Reimu remains in the church, alone.

She sighs.

"Honestly… crying idiots are the worst."

She bends down and picks up the rings that make up Twilight Healing and holds it tightly within her hands.

She smiles wryly.

"If you cry like that… I'll be forced to get off my lazy ass and actually do something, you know? Can't you just let me sleep?"

Twilight Healing slides onto her fingers, her very soul clashing against its existence.

Everything turns black.

Asia wakes up the next day, confused.

A shimenawa bracelet is tied to her wrist.

Reimu calls to her, commenting on the fact that she didn't expect her to wake up so early.

She's extremely pale, bags are around her eyes, and she seems to be constantly coughing up blood.

She explains that she personally took the burden of the crossing of Asia's soul upon her own person, calling upon the god of passing to, as best she could, slow down Asia's death as long as possible by binding her soul, Twilight Healing, to her own.

She tells Asia she has one of two choices. She can either choose to die with dignity as a human and believer in God, or she can forsake that faith of hers to accept life as a non-believer and devil.

Unable to make the choice on the spot, she asks to be able to meet Issei one more time before she chooses.

She sighs, but relents, handing her purple hair dye from her youth and contact lenses to disguise herself.

She approaches Issei as a stranger, to find him lost and in mourning. Thinking that he simply sees her face because he's grieving, he tells her everything, spilling his heart out about their time together, all of his regrets and wishes, and laments over the fact he was not able to save her.

He cannot even blame Reimu. She was just doing her job, and mostly, she was right. Asia would never have been able to live properly for the rest of her life if he got his way, she would spend the rest of it in misery and madness, cursing out his name.

The only person he could blame is himself.

Asia, pretending to be someone else, comments. She says that she was sure that girl would have loved for him to move on and be happy, that surely, she prayed for his future and wellbeing, that he would one day reach all of his dreams.

He seemed like a good boy. Surely, he would go on to do great things, make many friends, and be loved by many people. Whichever girl remained by his side was surely a lucky one.

He would stare at her, and then the ground.

One minute would pass. Two. Five.

Fifteen.

Thirty.

Thirty minutes of silence passed, and she remained there, staring at the lost, grieving boy.

Three words leave his lips.

"I loved her."

The words make her freeze.

He goes on.

"I wanted to be a Harem King, you know? I wanted to have the love of every beautiful girl under the sun, drowning in breasts and butts. I would love all of them back, and cherish each one of them. I wouldn't let any of them be sad, or suffer alone. But… I just don't care anymore. I don't want anyone else but her. I want to be by her side again, I want to see her smile, make her smile. I want to buy her a burger, show her to an arcade, play a lot of games and watch TV shows with her. I just want her. I'd throw everything away in an instant if it meant having her back.""

"…" She says nothing, her lips trembling.

"She was precious. Innocent. I didn't deserve her. I was just some random, idiotic, lustful teenager who was in over his head. I wasn't anyone special. She didn't care. She still wanted to be my friend and stay by my side. In her last moment of vulnerability, of weakness… she wasn't even calling out for help. She just gave up, not wanting me to sacrifice myself."

"…"

"Why? Why didn't she reach out? Why didn't she cry for help? In the end… I couldn't do anything. I couldn't save her in time."

"…"

"I want her back, damn it."

She runs away from him, not wanting for the boy she loved to see her cry.

She runs all the way back to Reimu, and she tells her of her decision.

"I want to live."

"…I'll take you to Gremory."

"I-I want to live, I want to stay by Issei's side, b-but…"

She breaks down in tears.

"I'm a selfish girl. I don't want to lose God. Its because of Him I managed to come across Issei. I still have so much to pray for, so many days ahead of me that I want to thank Him for. I still want to see all the sights that I was told He had created, I-I…"

She completely crumbles, ranting endlessly about everything she wanted to do, alive, and human, believing in God.

Reimu sighs.

"What is it with you idiots and choosing the third option?"

She drawls, knowing the irony of her words, having taken that route her entire life.

"No."

She shakes her head.

For a moment, Asia's heart breaks.

"I'm not a miracle worker…"

"…"

"But I know someone who is."

She blinks up at the older woman, who smiles wryly.

"Come on, we're going home."

It's a full day's walk to Mount Yatsugatake, where she holds Asia's hand and passes through the barrier with her.

She takes her to Eirin Yagokoro, and explains the situation to her.

Eirin agrees to help, but in return, as payment, she holds one unconditional favour from her.

Reimu agrees, and with Asia finally safe, lets go of Asia's soul, bound to Twilight Healing, and passes it back to her.

The nun falls unconscious, hopeful and dreaming.

That would be the end of the first half of Act 2.

From there, we'd have a small interlude chapter, with Reimu going around visiting areas in Gensokyo with a fresh perspective on things.

First off, we'd go to the Moriya Shrine, where we'd pick off where we left originally in A2C1. Yukari and Reimu bargain with Sanae, keeping to themselves the information about the Moriya Shrine possibly being the target of a covert spiritual attack.

Sanae jumps at the chance to go back to her home town and reconnect with old friends, and also maybe drool and lust over younger pretty boys, completely ignorant to the fact that she's being used as a scouting measure for a hidden enemy.

However, Reimu's hesitance does not escape Kanako and Suwako, who start immediately demanding an explanation the moment Sanae leaves the vicinity. She relays the situation to them, and although they're still angry their 'daughter' is being used as a pawn, they would have done the same thing, and allow it to go on.

Her next destination is the Scarlet Devil Mansion, where she approaches Remilia and asks her about what happened with Koakuma. The vampire simply laughs at her and talks about some vague mess with fate, and how when the time is right, she would return Koakuma to her proper family, and let her know of her true name.

When asked how long that will be, Remilia simply says that the threads have begun to align.

Suspicious and doubtful, Reimu leaves, deciding that it isn't really her business, and if Remilia said she was going to return her, then that was good enough for her.

One final callback happens, with Remilia asking for Sakuya to take out 'that'. The maid brings her a fragment of a meteorite that was summoned to attack them quite a while ago, and Remilia smiles, tracing the threads of fate latching on to the meteor back to where they came.

Its late at night when Reimu visits her final destination. She decided to get shit-face drunk as a small celebration of getting back to Gensokyo, and wanders into the Sanzu River, where she's greeted by Eiki.

Reimu blabbers on, giving a bunch of random excuses as to why she's there and going on several unrelated tangents, to which Eiki simply listens to and receives without complaint.

Eventually though, she runs out of steam, and goes quiet.

Finally, its then that Eiki speaks up.

"If you wish, I can take you to them."

It doesn't need to be said between them who she's talking about.

Reimu sighs, and looks away.

She declines Eiki's offer, saying that it isn't her time.

She always knew they were there, from the first time she came to this place and fought Komachi and Eiki.

She never mentioned it once to anyone, but she knew.

It wasn't her time to join them or face them. It wouldn't be fair.

She'd greet them when her own time came, making sure there were no more after her. She'd be the Last Hakurei. No more were necessary, she'd see their dream of a peaceful Gensokyo through to the end.

Eiki raises an eyebrow, making a vague comment, questioning whether or not that was the truth of the Hakurei Family's goals.

The comment flys by Reimu's drunk head, however, and she just shrugs.

Eiki walks away, having satisfied her curiosity.

"Wait."

Reimu calls out, her voice completely serious and her face completely sober.

Something is thrown through the air.

A full bottle of sake.

"That girl… it would have been her eighteenth birthday. As her older sister… I should see to it that she becomes a proper adult, right? See to it that it makes to her hands."

Eiki smiles and floats away.

Reimu sighs, scratches the back of head, and longingly stares over the river, where the presence of one thousand Hakureis could be felt.

"Some day. Some day."

She shakes her head and turns around, flying away.

"They're waiting, but… not yet. There's still one more thing left."

She goes back home, to the Hakurei Shrine.

The interlude chapter ends with a small section on Issei's new daily life.

His parents are gone, leaving behind a note that they'll be away for an indefinite amount of time. It'll be hard, but he'll have to make it on his own.

He laments that he never saw the girl who looked like Asia again.

It's a new day. He's alone. And he has to face it regardless.

He's tired. Sad.

He just wants to give up and stop.

Maybe he should just join Asia in the afterlife.

…Wait, she's in Heaven, wasn't she? He was a Devil. There's no way he'd ever make it up there.

"Is this what being an adult is like? I hate it. I want to go back to being young and naïve. I want Asia back."

A knock on his door.

"H-hello? I-is this the Hyoudou Household?"

He blinks.

He starts to shake.

He swears he's dreaming.

It's not real, it's not real. It can't be real. She's dead. She can't be there… he's just hearing things. Yes, just like how that girl didn't really have her face, this isn't really her voi-

His thoughts die as he opens the door.

Asia smiles shyly up at him, a drawling Reimu in the distance.

"I-I…"

Asia stutters, but catches her breathe.

She looks up at him, inhales, and stares at him confidently with a wide smile.

"I'm home, Issei-kun."

"…"

Reimu rolls her eyes and looks away, knowing what's about to come.

Curiously though, a small smile can be seen on her lips.

"I-Issei-ku-"

He hugs her, cutting her off.

"Shut up."

He trembles, crying out of happiness.

"Just shut up."

---

That's going to be the only part as detailed as it is. Everything from here on out, with a few exceptions, is a lot more vague and general.

---

Act 2, Second Half

The story starts with a fluff/slice of life chapter, telling a short story about the new Hyoudou household.

Reimu blankly recounts some of the past events and details as she wakes up early, having to make breakfast for the two teenagers who live there, having to act as their mother figure to her annoyance.

Gorou took Miki to Kyoto, saying that they couldn't run away anymore, and they had to face their judgement. The trial needed to happen once again, judging the two of them for their crimes, properly this time. They couldn't say when they'd be back, that is, if they'd ever be back.

So it was up to her to be the adult of the household instead. Luckily, the couple had left behind all their finances in Reimu's hands, allowing her to live with peace of mind.

Issei and Asia wake up, coming down to the breakfast table and starting on their meal.

Still half asleep, Issei mumbles to himself that he still can't believe Reimu was actually a good cook. It was an entirely different direction of good compared to his mother, so it wasn't really fair to compare the two. Rather than his mother's refined and perfect style, Reimu's was deeply rooted in rustic efficiency, making the absolute most out of the absolute least.

Needless to say, even the smallest bite was incredibly filling.

Still not fully in control of his thoughts and words, Issei continues to mumble. He also didn't think she'd be any good at household work either, given how much of a lazy bum she seemed like. In her initial stay at their house, she had just been a complete freeloader, barely even bothered to leave her room.

A gohei would smack him on the head, ordering to hurry up and finish his food, and leave for school as soon as he could.

An embarrassed blush would surface on Reimu's cheeks, not because of his compliments, but because of the reasons behind her skills.

She was incredibly, incredibly lonely. She lived by herself on a high mountain no one could get to.

And she was dirt poor.

She was good at making the most of her food because she had to be, and she was good at household chores because she had to be, and also because she had nothing else to do in her spare time since she didn't have friends.

The chapter would go on, describing some past events that had happened since Asia's return.

When she first transferred into the school, she boldly declared herself as Issei's girlfriend to the entire class, drawing mass panic and disbelief. Everyone immediately circled around her, questioned her, and pointed suspicious glares towards the known pervert.

The couple would go on to defend him, saying that he had completely given up his dream of Harem King and was settling for good with his one single girlfriend (Issei) and that he was actually a very nice, sweet, caring and innocent boy, also their guardian wouldn't let anything happen since she was religious. (Asia)

A betrayed Perverted Duo would get incredibly mad, starting a brawl with their former comrade, resulting in all three looking like shit. Eventually, seeing how passionate and angry he is about the subject, the class stands on Issei's side, and helps pummel the new Duo into the ground.

At lunch time, Issei rushes up to the rooftops to make a big announcement of his relationship and clear all doubts at once.

The balls of his stunt draws the ire of the SRC, but wins the respect of everyone else, and Issei is forgiven for his past transgressions.

Club life goes on.

Issei decides to let Asia tag along, and annoyingly, she solves every issue that people have without ever letting Issei to make a contract, for which she apologizes profusely.

Back with Reimu, some progress is being made with Gasper, and to fill the time while he awkwardly paints seals and barriers directly onto his bare back, tells him stories of urban legends that she's come across.

Much to her dismay, things circle back to Koishi, and he becomes really insistent on the fact he wants to meet her, and asks if she can make it happen.

She slaps him on the head and just continues with her work, with Ajuka being heard in the background laughing at the exchange.

Some small talk happens between the three, discussing the current state of Devil high society, up and coming Young Devils and so forth. Eventually the conversation awkwardly arrives at the Phenex family, where Gasper then tapers off into silence.

The chapter ends with a surprise visit at the Hyoudou residence.

Reimu bemoans the late night visitor knocking on their door, and grumpily goes to greet whoever it is.

Her eyes widen.

It's Marisa, who smiles widely at her.

For the most part, the rest of the arc goes on as usual. Riser makes his appearance, Rias' group gets ten days to train. Special mention of Gasper is made and his absence in the Rating Battle is excused.

While Issei and co. are off training, Marisa and Reimu begin sleuthing around, bugging Sirzechs and Grayfia for details about the engagement.

The two dance around the issue, only giving vague answers, making Reimu frown and consider sneaking into high society to get some answers herself.

Sirzechs and Grayfia and panic and try to get her to do anything else. They can't risk her presence becoming public knowledge before things are settled regarding the Old Satan Faction.

Reluctantly, the couple spills about the truth of the situation. How its all a political nightmare orchestrated by the elders to seize control of the Gremorys in order to pursue leads on the missing child, Koakuma.

She files away one or two things about the conversation for later, and decides to mind her business for a few more days.

A few days before the Rating Battle, Gorou returns to the household, alone.

Reimu sighs, and asks about Miki's fate.

Luckily, she has not died. Things have changed in the last twenty years. Yasaka is kinder, wiser. Nurarihyon is there to guide her. The nation itself is less judgemental, having been united under a single faction.

This time, they are able to judge her objectively, without being clouded by emotions of hate and disgust. They are able to see Toshin Miki as the individual, finally heeding the words of Hyoudou Gorou on that fateful day in that trial, long, long ago.

She is sentenced to an indefinite period of solitary confinement for her sins, a judgement she accepts happily on herself. He himself is only coming back temporarily, having to perform community service for at least a few years, but its light enough of a punishment that he's still able to take personal requests for leave like this.

Reimu asks him what he's going to tell his son, to which he sighs and says he does not know. For now, he will say that his mother has personal family business she must be a part of for a very long time.

They move on, with Gorou asking Reimu about his son's condition, not seeing any signs of him home.

Realising he never really understood what was happening in the first place, Reimu starts from the very beginning, telling him everything she knew from the moment of his death to his current training.

He pauses.

"…This Riser Phenex… he's strong, isn't he?"

"Strong enough."

"…Issei… you said he's given up his dream of Harem King?"

"…"

"He's not going to be strong enough. He needs that reason to fight."

She sighs, looking away.

"Not my problem."

"…"

Gorou simply stares at her, making her uncomfortable.

A few days later, news arrives of Riser's victory, just as Gorou has predicted.

Reimu goes to visit Ajuka in the Underworld, prodding him about various things in Devil high society.

Unlike Sirzechs and Grayfia, he answers her openly and honestly, giving her a frighteningly deep understanding of their current culture and political division.

Interestingly, the names of Shinki, Makai, the Old Devil Faction, and 'the Lost Heir' come up a few times.

Satisfied, she turns to leave.

Someone stops her.

It's Marquis Phenex.

"I hear that idiot, Hyoudou Issei, is going to run up and challenge Riser."

"…"

"I'm willing to pay you a lot of money."

The penultimate chapter ends with Issei running towards the wedding, when suddenly, Reimu stands in his way.

When asked why she was stopping him, she just shrugs, saying she was paid a lot.

The two battle, with Reimu, over the course of the fight, slowly goading every single emotion and thought and emotion out of her.

She frowns in disgust at what she finds, and berates him.

"How the hell do you expect to accomplish anything with such shallow motivation?"

He finds he cannot answer.

She continues, drawing every regret, every moment of bitterness, smashing apart the happy days he had with Asia and slamming his complacent attitude into the ground.

He cannot answer her, but he still gets back up.

His eyes are alight with fire.

"You're right, I'm scared."

He gets up, and he rushes forward again and again.

He gave up wanting to be Harem King because he was scared about how she would think about his antics, of his dream. He didn't want her to feel shunned, like she wasn't important. Because she was, she was the single most important person to him.

If it meant throwing away his dream, if it meant turning his back on every other woman, he'd do it if it meant keeping her by his side and making sure she knew she was loved.

"Oh?" Reimu's eyes narrow. "So then, you don't love her. And she doesn't love you."

She comments backhandedly at the lack of trust and honesty within their relationship. He's scared, and their relationship is nothing more than shallow teenage lust.

A great anger burns within Issei, and suddenly, everything in his mind comes together.

"…"

"Oh, you don't have anything to say?"

He rushes forward with a blinding speed he never had before, knocking Reimu off her feet and sending her spinning through the air.

"You're right, damn it. You're right."

At that moment, something deep inside of him, a lock, breaks. He doesn't know it yet, but he unlocked Balance Breaker completely naturally. Without the aid of a dragon arm.

"…And I'm going to change it, Reimu-san."

Reimu lands on her face, giving no answer, presumably unconscious.

Issei walks off, resolute, and finally, filled with purpose to fight.

"…"

Reimu rolls over, revealing herself to be completely unharmed. The dirt just falls off her clothes.

"That good enough for you?"

She scowled.

She was never fighting seriously. If she seriously wanted to stop him, he'd be knocked unconscious from the very first second. Boy was 300 years too young to be challenging her. She was playing with him the entire time, her goal from the very beginning had been to reach this conclusion.

Marquis Phenex emerges from the tree line, smiling.

"Yes. Thank you, Hakurei-san."

That would be enough to teach his arrogant son a lesson.

Reimu sighs.

"You better make good on your promise. I expect a lot of cash, you know?"

"I know. You will have that and much, much more."

The arc ends with Issei barging into the wedding, defiantly glaring at Riser.

When asked why an insignificant insect like him wants to challenge him, when he's already lost, Issei only has one answer.

"I'm Hyoudou Issei, damn it! And I'm going to be Harem King! I'm not letting a woman cry in front of me and be sent off to a loveless marriage if I can do something about it!"

A fight ensues, with Issei emerging victorious with a natural use of his Balance Breaker, nearly killing himself in the process.

Rias cannot help but fall in love.

---

Interlude 2

Two separate interludes happen here.

One is a long short story, following an Incident with the Kyoto Faction, taking place from the perspective of Mokou, who has been taking her reformative guardian duties extremely seriously.

A second terrorist attack, this time direct, from Khaos Brigade, has been causing chaos throughout the streets.

She tries her best to keep everything in check and save the day herself, but its too much even for a resident of Gensokyo. The attacks are simply coming in from too many angles and there's just too much power on the other side.

If they want to win this battle, they need all the help they can get.

In particular, what they need is a second expert on the leylines of the land. Yasaka is too busy holding down Kyoto defensively to be able to properly use her power to blow back all the intruders at once, and the fight happening in broad daylight doesn't favour Nurarihyon's powers.

Additionally, Amaterasu has gone quiet. All contact has been lost with Takamagahara days before the attack. Rumours say something about Tsukuyomi feuding again, but nothing can be confirmed.

They have to resort to her.

Mokou, Sumireko, and a few notable leaders of the youkai sneak into their maximum security prison, and at the bottom-most floor, hidden underneath the roots of a great tree that watches over the entire complex, is Hyoudou Miki.

At first Hyoudou Miki refuses to help, saying she doesn't deserve this opportunity, but eventually, she is won over when reminded of the direness of the situation and her love for her country.

With Miki's help, they beat back the invaders, and all seems to return to normal.

Miki is given one brief moment in the sun, looking over the peaceful, happy Kyoto, and smiles, before returning to her prison, stuck beneath the roots of the guardian tree.

…

The interlude does not end there, however.

A scene plays out after the ending, following a shadowy figure trekking through the deep underground.

He hums to himself eeril, eventually coming across what he was looking for.

A cursed boulder.

Rizevim knocks on the boulder.

"Knock knock, is Izanami home?"

---

Interlude 3

The second interlude follows a small-scale Incident inside Gensokyo. Keine serves as this one's protagonist. This one's not that complicated so there's not much to say about it.

Basically, the Eientei comes under attack from an unknown force of intruders, and through a long series of discoveries and coincidences, Keine finds herself coming to the rescue of the inhabitants of Eientei, pushing back the intruders, with only one being captured.

However, the last one refuses to give up information, and commits magical suicide before anyone can stop him.

Enraged, Eirin digs through the corpse, searching for any physical hints on his body.

"!"

Her hand touches something, and she stares at it in shock.

---

Act 3

It's actually a fully original storyline that takes place here.

The story starts off in a shadowy room, where Yukari and Reimu sit playing Go.

Reimu recounts to Yukari the events of the engagement.

Yukari nods along, noting that they now have the trust of two separate factions; one, the Kyoto Faction, for uniting them and saving Yasaka's relationship with herself and Ran, and two, the Devil Faction, for aiding their leader's younger sister, and having a personal guarantor in a second Satan.

Reimu looks down at the board and makes her final move, having won their game.

She briefly notes that that's the first time that's ever happened. She wonders if Yukari let her win, got sloppy or if she herself got better.

"Anyways…"

A completely serious look is set on her face.

She goes over the details of a separate set of events; her meetings with the Satans.

She brings up the concerning details about the shadowy events happening behind closed doors, and makes reference to the things Ajuka mentioned, Makai, Shinki and 'the Lost Heir'.

"Yukari… I need your help."

Yukari closes her eyes and contemplates the situation.

She brings up her fan to her face, and her eyes open.

Yakumo Yukari, the Mastermind of Gensokyo, who once brought the Moon and her own home to ruin, is back in play.

Reimu's first stop is Youkai Mountain, where she faces Aya.

She explains to her that she needs her help on a mission to the Outside World.

Curious, Aya asks why she has been sought out.

Reimu answers her with what Yukari had prepared, they need a master of manipulating information, someone who has a keen understanding of the public eye and conscious, someone with blinding fast speed that can get anywhere, anytime, and an expert at gathering information from even the most unlikeliest of sources.

Aya raises her eyebrow.

She asks Reimu what reason she has to go along with it.

"You've made a lot of mistakes in Kyoto, haven't you?"

That shuts Aya up.

Reimu tells Aya that this isn't the first mission she's gone on to the Outside World. They've already made contact with the Youkai Faction and have a good relationship with them. They've already negotiated for the pardon of her past crimes, with the only condition being her participation in this mission.

Aya accepts, but not before smirking and offering one final challenge.

"The Outside World… it's not as kind and fantastical as Gensokyo is, no thanks to your childish dreams. If you want to survive out there… it's my job as a senior to make sure you're up to snuff."

She blurs from Reimu's vision, and the two fight.

A giant barrier is cast over several kilometres, protecting anyone aside from the two from harm.

The first real battle in Gensokyo's history since the invention of the Spell Card System was recorded that day.

Reimu's next visit is Myouren temple. She asks Byakuren to borrow Nazrin, to which Byakuren accepts without needing an explanation, only asking for one thing in return.

She's heard that Reimu has been going on trips to the Outside as of late, and if that's true, she has a favour to ask of her. There's one place she left behind hundreds of years ago that she's been unable to visit. She'd like for Reimu to go there in her place and leave behind an offering.

Reimu blinks, not expecting it to be that easy, but accepts. They needed someone who could run in undetected and steal everything they could. Nazrin was the obvious candidate.

Next was Patchouli Knowledge. They need someone experienced in deciphering and compiling documents of all kinds. Reimu doesn't even get to walk into the Scarlet Devil Mansion before Patchouli can be seen being kicked out the front door.

Patchouli sighs, rubbing her bottom, deadpanning and telling Reimu that apparently, Remilia looked at the Threads of Fate and knew what was going on, and was happy to temporarily lend her Patchouli. In return, she wants at least three tea parties and one bedroom visit.

Reimu drawls, telling her she hopes Remilia understands absolutely nothing is going to happen in the bedroom.

Patchouli shrugs. She doesn't really understand her lady's heart either.

Reimu heads back to the village, looking for Mamizou, a master of disguise. She explains the situation, and not having any leverage over her, gets down and starts to beg.

Before she can however, Mamizou laughs and tells her to get up. She's initially actually from the Outside herself, and she wasn't native to Gensokyo. She has some idea of what's happening out there, and fulfilling her curiosity as to the current status of each faction was good enough for her.

Reimu's final stop is in the Magical Forest.

She knocks on the door of Alice Margatroid.

The scene is made vague, but the implication is clear.

'The Lost Heir' that is referenced in rumours refers to the supposed missing child of Shinki.

That would be her, Alice.

With the team assembled and the plan taking shape, everyone prepares to leave Gensokyo.

"W-wait!"

Just before Reimu departs, someone calls out to her in the last moments of her preparation in the human village.

It's Kosuzu.

She tells Reimu that she's heard that the shrine maiden has been going on missions to the Outside, and was wondering if she would be able to tag along.

Reimu frowns and shakes her head, not wanting the young girl to get injured.

Yukari whispers in her ear, telling her that actually, it's fine. There is use for her as a minor distraction. Throwing her into Kuoh will be helpful in vague ways that she doesn't really elaborate on.

Reimu sighs, and everyone heads off.

The next day, Rias is called to the Underworld to attend a dance party, and she finds herself unable to refuse.

While there, she bumps into a lady she's never seen before, a Marquess Orias, and asks her friend, Sona Sitri, how someone like her can be there. Wasn't Orias one of the dead houses?

Keeping their eyes on her as she mingles with other nobles, Sona whispers back to her. That was what everyone thought, but apparently, one survivor, a child, remained. She's been in hiding for a long time, and recently, was able to make contact with Satan Beelzebub, who confirmed her identity and is acting as her current sponsor.

A black haired woman in a sultry dress and an oversized witch hat approaches the Marquess, slinging her arm over her shoulder and chatting with familiarity.

That was Mary Sunshower, a witch and Marquess Orias' queen.

The party goes on from Rias' perspective, and eventually, she departs and returns to Kuoh, curious towards this new addition to Devil society.

The next week, she is invited to watch Orias' debut Rating Game. She raises an eyebrow at the details of the match.

Six against sixteen.

Two knights and two bishops versus a full Peerage.

Despite not being too interested in these invitations normally, the situation seems to enticing for her to ignore, so she turns up in the spectator seats, surprised to find many of her friends and acquaintances there as well.

'Hatate Himekaidou', an odd crow tengu with amazing speed who used her camera flashes as a weapon.

Nazrin, a small rat youkai that seemed to be able to somehow steal ownership of Sacred Gears and deftly weave around the battlefield, taking away all of their weapons.

Hieda no Ajuu, a tanuki, ran around causing chaos within the enemy ranks, with perfect disguises and transformation magic.

And Daruakuma or "Lazy Demon", a master magician with a sleepy personality who seemed to be able to access every spectrum of magic.

Mary Sunshower zipped around on her broom like a rocket, blitzing the enemy team with incredible speed and unleashing a wide range of nonsensical light-based spells.

Orias herself unveiled her ability, matching the records of what the family was capable of. She invoked the stars of the night sky, weaponizing them in battle. Her favoured star seemed to be one of the morning stars, and it seemed to oddly invoke the power of dark and evil gods, the ones who were worshipped within those stars.

After the fight ends, resulting in Orias' complete victory, we follow Orias back to Ajuka's residence, where its revealed her and her peerage are Reimu and her team.

By invoking the evil God of the Morning Star, Amatsu-Mikaboshi, using Mamizou's powers, and utilising Ajuka's inventions of temporary Evil Pieces, the team disguised themselves as devils biologically, and used his backing to find a way into Devil society.

Alice joins them in the living room, flicking through modern literature with a bored look on her face.

Their mission is as follows: infiltrate Devil society, root out the hidden members of the Old Satan Faction, and finally, once and for all, put an end to the Makai Incident that had been haunting everyone for decades.

Orias and Mary are to pose as hidden supporters of the Old Satan Faction, joining their ranks undercover, with the promise of being a double agent that can feed them information on Beelzebub, while in truth being triple agents feeding the Satans information on the hidden members of the faction.

Aya, or 'Hatate', is there to do what she does best. Be an intrusive journalist and find leads that should not reasonably exist, for Orias and Mary to follow up on, as well as gather as much dirty secrets and laundry of the upper class as possible.

While Orias and Mary were occupying the attention of certain devils at parties, Nazrin was to infiltrate their homes while their guards were down and make copies of and steal any incriminating evidence they could find.

Mamizou was there to provide whatever support she could with her abilities, primarily there to physically disguise them and maintain their front as devils, but she could also help Nazrin sneak in, get Aya to places she wouldn't fit, etc.

Finally, it was Patchouli's job to assemble the stolen documents in a way that fully laid out the Old Satan Faction's plans, and reveal everything about them to the world.

Alice was their trump card, to be the final nail in the coffin of their master plan, and the sword that would grant them their final victory.

The arc would go on as part-spy movie, part-mystery, part-medieval politics, with the team slowly shifting the view of Devil society at large towards the truth of Shinki and Makai, over time revealing her true nature as an uncaring destructive God, who would inevitably ruin everything and laugh at them for coming to her for aid.

Reimu would have a conflict in this arc regarding her biggest mistake; that of lashing out emotionally and killing Shinki while she had her back turned. As time goes on and more and more information about Shinki is uncovered by sleuthing on the side unrelated to the mission by Yukari, it becomes more and more evident that killing her was likely the only option.

Still, she refuses to accept her past sins, swearing that this will end with her judgement.

Eventually, though, after a personal visit to the remains of Makai with Alice by her side, she finally decides to let go of the past and move forward with her life. It would sicken her to the end of her days and she'd always regret it, but that was just how things would have to be.

The arc would end with the public ousting of the Old Satan Faction, resulting in one final confrontation between Orias' peerage, discovered to be traitors, and the remaining members of the Old Satan Faction.

There, the truth of the situation is revealed, and Mamizou lets the disguises of the Peerage fade away, shocking the world with the information that Orias and Mary were really Hakurei Reimu and Kirisame Marisa, the heroes who prevented all-out civil war a second time all those years ago.

And finally, Alice Margatroid, the last daughter of Shinki, is revealed, shattering all of the Old Satan Faction's ideas and plans.

From there, the remainder of the Old Satan Faction is put away, and Devil society celebrates Reimu as the Hero of the Underworld, and a non-insignificant portion of devils begin to worship Alice, though its nothing cultish or extreme.

The arc ends on a humorous epilogue, where Reimu, Gasper and Ajuka sit around a TV and watch the debut episode of a new, popular series, DoIA:Underworld, "Department of Internal Affairs: Underworld", based off long-running rumours mentioned in previous chapters about a secret Fifth Satan dedicated to investigating affairs of internal espionage and terrorism, where the main protagonist, Marquess Orias, is granted the position of 'Secret Fifth Satan' by the Four Satans, and given the order to protect the Underworld from the inside, investigating any and all potential leaks.

She would run around with her misfit peerage, investigating crimes and rooting out would be traitors, not unlike a police procedural with a slight spy vibe and much more spellslinging.

Reimu would raise an eyebrow, saying she didn't remember signing off on any of this.

Ajuka asks her if she has any complaints.

She just shrugs and asks if they pay those 'royalties' thingies that she hears about.

---

Interlude 4

We come back to Rizevim, who stalks the underground catacombs with his new companion, the corrupted goddess Izanami.

The two go back and forth about various things, before eventually coming to the topic of why he freed her.

He smiles.

"What you know about the story of Chang'e and Hou Yi?"

He explains the tale of the couple, as well as the tragic involvement of the woman known as Junko, who lost her son and vowed eternal vengeance, going as far as to purify all emotions from herself other than vengeance, living as a shell of her former self.

However, the truth is that not all of her was lost. Simply most of her. Still fearful of losing herself and of dying, she split herself off into two parts; one containing all her emotions and 99% of her soul, all purified into pure rage, and the other being her physical body and 1% of her soul, which overtime, over thousands of years, would slowly regrow all of its lost portions, but would remain comatose for all eternity.

Unless… she was to be awoken by an outside force.

A face-splitting smile appears on Rizevim's face, and he steps into the last portion of these hidden catacombs.

Tied in chains to a massive boulder, is the physical body of Junko.

"Wakey, wakey. Let's blow up the moon."

---

Interlude 5

A short one.

We follow Kaguya's perspective.

Ever since Interlude 3, the attacks have not stopped. Their true nature has become clear, they are aiming for her capture. All of the residents of Eientei have shut her in and locked and sealed her away.

Weeks of fighting later, the seal finally breaks, and Kaguya takes a weary step outside.

…It's hell.

Everything has been torn to shreds.

The bodies of moon bunnies litter the floor.

Eirin can be heard shouting nearby, staring down two women, Ibaraki Kasen, and Matara Okina.

She sighs, and gives in to whatever they were saying.

Eirin stomps towards Kaguya, and with a heavy expression, explains to her the situation.

"Princess… I'm sorry, but we will have to exile you from Gensokyo."

Kaguya drops to the ground in shock.

"…The situation has gotten dire. We can't stop these attacks anymore. They're getting far too bloody, far too dangerous. At this rate, they'll escalate to the point where Gensokyo will be destroyed. And none of us… not even you, would like that. Everyone has come to an agreement… you have to run."

"B-but, Eirin… I-I can't do it by myself, alone! I need you!"

"I'm sorry, princess, but I can't. My presence is part of the issue. That's how they found this place the first time. If I'm there, you'll be found in an instant. And I have responsibilities I must handle… these attackers… I know who they are, and I have to deal with them on another front."

"W-who are they?"

"…I can't tell you that."

"W-why?"

"…If you knew, you'd give up and surrender. You'd willingly go along with them. And I cannot let that happen, princess. You must run. You must stay safe. You mustn't ever let them catch you, understood?"

"…"

"Reisen is still alive. She'll be the only aide I can offer you. Anymore, you risk detection."

Kaguya's fists balled up, tears in her eyes.

"I-I… will I ever get to come back here, to home?"

"…I hope so, princess. I hope this will all be over soon, and we can all sit together, drink tea, eat mochi, and laugh about it."

"I-I… I understand."

Kaguya packs what few of her belongings will be able to be brought with her, and gives one look back towards their ruined home.

"Princess, one more thing." Eirin calls out. "We're not doing this because we're scared. We're not doing this to protect ourselves. We're doing this to protect you. All of us. Even them, the Sages of Gensokyo. We've become their people, we live inside their home, we're all family. You're family. Princess… I love you, know that."

"E-Eirin…"

"…"

"Eirin, thank you for all the years you've stayed by my side. I don't know where I'd be without you…"

"…I don't know where I'd be if you were not there either, child… Now go. Run. Hide. Never be caught."

---

Act 4

Act 4 is mostly your standard Kokabiel affair, nothing too special here.

This time, Youmu is called out to the Outside World, joining Kosuzu and Sanae in Kuoh.

Reimu and Marisa receive word from Yukari of a disconcerting rumour circling throughout the world about a fallen angel plot to steal the six Excalibur Fragments. Understanding the potential ramifications, the two take flight and make their way to Italy, where they hope to make contact with the Vatican and provide them their aid in the protection of the Fragments, though they would ultimately fail.

The arc would be split into two fronts, Sanae and Youmu realising their charge, Rias, is becoming the centre of an assassination plot, and pulling out all the stops to defend her from certain death against an unknown enemy, and Reimu and Marisa venturing into Heaven itself to learn about the troubles of the Angel Faction, meeting Michael and Gabriel along the way.

Eventually, the group learns of the true culprit, Kokabiel, and Michael and Gabriel recoil in shock, unsure how to take the information. As they recalled, while Kokabiel was a stalwart warrior who lived and died by battle, he was okay with the end of the war. Why try to restart it now?

Throughout the course of the arc, and brought to the forefront in this moment, is Youmu's hesitance in using her blade, having come to the realisation that she serves not just a simple guard and swordswoman, but an arbiter of life and death itself, her blade containing the ability to sever and purify souls, essentially skipping Nirvana, something she became aware of years ago and now is reminded of because of the numerous live battles she is currently facing.

Wielding her blade with responsibility, casting judgement upon souls, is something that scares her, something she feels that she is not ready and not qualified for. She feels that the best option would be to just put down her blade, swear away using a sword, and find another way of guarding Yuyuko and Rias.

Back with the Italy group, the four slowly descend further and further into the shadowy depths of the Vatican, reaching their darkest moments of history, like the Holy Sword Project, and still are unable to figure out the truth of the incident. And so, they descend even further, into greater horrors and worse nightmares.

Eventually, they find out the truth of the Incident, but before they can make it to Kuoh to prevent the coming battle, are confronted with the deepest, lurking demon inside the Vatican, and are forced to confront it, along with all the other uncomfortable truths they have stumbled upon, and fix the long line of mistakes committed by those hiding inside the Vatican's shadow, before they have any chance of making it to Kuoh.

Everything lands in the hands of Youmu and Sanae now.

A large battle ensues, and eventually, everyone aside from Youmu is knocked out, or otherwise put of commission.

Alone, and still hesitant in swinging her sword, she confronts Kokabiel.

The truth is revealed. Kokabiel's only intention is to die. The future points towards peace, a conclusion he is fine with existing, but one that an old relic like him that hungers for battle has no place living in. He is an artifact of a time long gone, one that must perish before this new age comes, and so, he set out to set up a plot to make it look like he was stealing the Exacliburs and was going to kill the younger sisters of the Satans.

He was never going to do so, he knew he would fail from the start, but by doing so, he would draw out a great warrior, one worthy of felling him and granting him the great death he desired, and a warrior who was fated to champion the peace that would come after this moment.

However, when he looks to Youmu, he doesn't see that warrior, not yet. But the makings are there. The iron is still hot, he can still strike at it to shape and temper its edge.

And so, he fights her, engaging in a lesson of swordsmanship with her, slowly pushing her to the edge and striking away at the fear that chains her heart and her sword. And eventually, he succeeds, getting her to draw her blade without hesitation, severing his ties to the mortal world.

Youmu hangs her head, a single tear falling down her cheek.

"Thank you, sensei."

The epilogue starts with a reconvening of all the groups in Kuoh.

Reimu and Marisa arrive at the very end of the battle, bumping across Azazel, accompanying Vali to clean up his own faction's mess.

Shortly after, Michael and Gabriel arrive, not realising the battle is already over.

And finally, the disruption of teleportation arrays is lowered, allowing Sirzechs and Serafall to reach their sisters.

A tense standoff occurs, all three Factions' leaders gathered in one place.

But before anything can happen, Yukari sends a dire message to Reimu.

"What!?" She can't believe what she's just heard.

"It's true." Yukari nods.

To confirm her words, she opens a portal and drops down a simple letter in Reimu's hands.

Hakurei Reimu,

You are invited to be the officiant of the wedding between Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto and Houraisan Kaguya.

---

Act 5

This is where things start to get really vague. But the general idea is that this arc is where the story would go full on batshit.

Every major political player of every faction is invited to the moon to be guests and witnesses to the wedding of Kaguya and Tsukuyomi, a plot point hinted at and built up to by all the previous Interludes, with Tsukuyomi being the antagonist hinted at when it was mentioned contact was lost with Takamagahara.

The specifics are bit too much, but basically Kaguya's power, if completely ensnared by the Lunarians and Tsukuyomi, will ensure their rise to power as a dominant player within the supernatural world. The arc constantly switches perspectives to her side as she's kept inside the Moon Palace during the buildup towards the day of the wedding, and there are a lot of flashbacks to her earlier points in life, as we learn more and more about her fears.

Reimu would be forced to act as the priestess and officiant of the wedding with her hands tied by various threats on all fronts, against Gensokyo, against Kaguya, the rest of the Shinto Faction, whose powers she regularly invokes, and even the other factions.

If she wanted to keep the peace, she had to officiate this wedding and let one of her precious people, Kaguya Houraisan, who she fully recognised as a resident of Gensokyo, slip before her.

Rias and Issei would find their involvement by being invited as the peerage of the younger sibling of one of the Satans.

Everyone built up in previous acts is there, and even a few new faces, though their involvement mostly stays minor.

There's Michael and Gabriel representing Heaven, Azazel representing Grigori, Sirzechs, Serafall, Sona and Rias representing the Devils. Yasaka and Nurarihyon are there, representing the Youkai, and a heavily weakened, chained Amaterasu, defeated in an earlier confrontation, is forced to watch everything happen.

And then, the first bombshell of the Act is dropped.

Yakumo Yukari makes her first appearance in public in hundreds of years, and everyone immediately starts gunning for her head, turning the pre-wedding gathering party into a complete bloodbath.

Several people almost die and are taken out of commission from the very start, Yasaka and Nurarihyon rush to defend her as her only allies, making the Youkai Faction enemies of everyone else at the party.

Reimu scowls off to the side in her pure white robes, unable to help the woman she saw as a mother figure, having given multiple promises to multiple people, even Yukari herself shortly before this moment, to not raise a hand during this ordeal.

Eventually though, with Issei looking at Reimu's face and recognising that Yukari is one of his current guardian's friends, rushes to her side like an idiot, pulling Rias, and along with her, Sirzechs.

With the looming threat of a battle against Sirzechs, who himself is not happy with where he stands in this battle, everyone walks away, though the message is clear.

Yakumo Yukari is not coming out of this alive.

Sirzechs himself feels nothing for Yukari, stating that if it weren't for his younger sister, she'd be dead where she stood.

Yukari just smiles tiredly.

One of several big focuses of this arc is on her. She has to confront the past, facing the consequences of all of her schemes and machinations across the world that have ruined millions and billions of lives so that the few who hid away in Gensokyo could prosper.

To be clear though, this arc is not about making amends for her. She simply has to face the past, and come out alive, safe, and uncaptured. Coming to terms and making peace is far, far away.

Reimu and Yukari have to manoeuvre through this situation extremely carefully, knowing one wrong step gets both of them immediately killed. Through a series of proxies, utilising Issei's bullheadedness as their ultimate weapon, they eventually manage to get the word out outside of the wedding hall, to the rest of the people on the moon, that hostilities are high and one of the precious wedding guests is under fire, and is likely to die if no action is taken.

The Moon Palace responds by sending the two best guards it can; the princesses Watatsuki no Yorihime and Watatsuki no Toyohime.

The next day, the day of the wedding itself, comes. Global tensions are at an all time high, this much strain not being present on the status quo of the world since the Great War itself. Everyone is one step away from declaring war.

Before anyone can even be seated for the wedding, the second bombshell drops. Original Junko comes, launching a second Lunarian invasion.

Shit is generally messy, but everyone comes to the common understanding that this enemy must be stopped, because if the moon blows up, the entire world is fucked. That one fact alone is enough for everyone to aside their grudges of each other, even Yukari who is given reluctantly given the title of temporary strategist, and fight against this enemy.

Shit gets messy. Reimu still has her hands tied. All eyes are still on Yukari, not trusting her to do anything. Rias and co. have to sit back and watch their elders battle, knowing they will only be hindrances.

Reimu and Yukari, again, plot as best they can without anyone noticing through a gap that no one can see. They need to able to twist this situation into their advantage somehow. They have to be able to do something, somewhere.

Amaterasu, having been completely chained and the strength of the sun sapped from her body, is able to make it next to Reimu undetected by everyone outside, fighting.

The situation gets even more complicated when Purified Junko comes, and the two halves fight, making it a three-way battle with the moon and by proxy, the world at stake.

The three finalise their idea.

Amaterasu gets the aid of Rias and Issei, creating a loud commotion between themselves that will let the eyes of Yorihime and Toyohime stray away from Yukari for just a second.

From there, Reimu will be able to send a single message through a tiny gap. She needs to pick the recipient with utmost care. Their hopes reside on that one person receiving the message, deciding to act, and being able to follow it through.

They run through their options, one by one.

The chapter ends on Reimu sneaking in the letter through a portal at the very last moment, only a few words being visible from this side of the gap.

'I'm betting everything on y'

The battle continues, ending with a final fight between the allied forces and a Junko who has merged her two halves together.

Elsewhere, away from all of the commotion, Rizevim sings in the empty halls of the palace, walking up in broad moonlight up to the locked vaults of the moon, and he steals something important.

The wedding is delayed one day due to the damages, that gives Reimu and Yukari the time they needed. With that extra day, the recipient of their message will surely have had time to prepare and make it their way.

The day of the wedding comes, and the ceremony starts.

Kaguya gets ready to surrender her life and happiness for the sake of the safety of her home, Gensokyo, giving all of her power to Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto…

When suddenly…

The wildcard that Yukari and Reimu were betting everything on, their one hidden weapon to completely reverse the tide of the situation, makes its appearance in a massive blaze.

Crashing through the windows and sweeping Kaguya off her feet in her wedding dress, clad in a snazzy western suit, is none other than Fujiwara Mokou.

She takes the bride's hand and runs off with her, causing mass chaos among the ranks of the Lunarians. Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto angrily chases after runaway bride and her kidnapper, ordering all of his people across the moon to take down the intruder and return the bride to the ceremony.

Everyone bickers amongst themselves, evaluating which side to take, would they ally with the kidnapper, or Tsukuyomi?

In the madness that follows, with Yorihime and Toyohime being forced to leave Yukari in order to chase after Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto, Yukari and Reimu slip away, chasing after Mokou and Kaguya themselves while figuring out their next move.

Kaguya is reduced to tears upon the mere sight of her saviour, unable to comprehend why her rival risked everything to save her.

Mokou just smirks, telling her that she's been spending these last few months letting go of her thousand years worth of regrets, becoming a truly free person and rebirthing herself, like a phoenix.

That meant letting go of her hatred and rivalry with her, and seeing her as she was.

A beautiful princess being driven away from her home, forced into a situation that would bring her despair to protect those she loved.

Any gentleman worth their salt would move to protect her, no?

Kaguya, despite the situation, cannot help but blush deeply until her entire face goes red, weakly hitting against Mokou's chest while she's being princess carried.

"Y-you! Knave! Peasant! S-shut up!"

Despite all that, Kaguya, truly, truly, cannot help but be thankful, even feeling a little charmed by Mokou's carefree, headstrong attitude.

As the two run, the soldiers of the moon and Tsukuyomi eventually catch up to the runaway pair, forcing Mokou to do battle.

As she fights, constantly dying and rebirthing in fire, Kaguya cries out in fear, asking Mokou what makes her so worth dying over.

"What the hell makes you think you're not worth dying for, Kaguya?"

The words silence Kaguya, once more melting her into an embarrassed puddle.

One by one, as the battle continues and Tsukuyomi draws nearer, Kaguya lays out her insecurities and fears one by one, all beaten away by the bright, cheery, hardheaded and optimistic worldview.

And finally, in response to her final fear, Mokou doesn't give her a verbal answer, but a physical one.

She bends Kaguya on her back and gives her a deep, vulgar kiss, right at the moment Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto descends upon them.

"…That answer ya, princess?"

"…" Kaguya says nothing, frozen in shock, holding a finger to her warm lips.

"You! Lowly creature, unhand my bride at once!"

Mokou rolls his eyes and points a thumb at him lazily.

"C'mon, Kaguya, him? That's the guy you're promise your life to? He really worth it?"

Kaguya smiles confidently back at her.

"No, the one I wish to marry stands before me!"

"You know…" Reimu walks in from in front of them, her signature lazy, uncaring drawl set on her face. "I was called to officiate a wedding. Doesn't really matter who, as long as I get them married, right?"

Her eyes trail towards Mokou, disjoining her folded arms, holding one hand over Mokou.

"Do you, Fujiwara no Mokou, take Houraisan Kaguya, to be your wife?"

"Sure, why not?"

Her hand then hovered over Kaguya.

"Do you, Houraisan Kaguya, take Fujiwara no Mokou, to be your wife?"

"I do."

She nods, staring into Mokou's eyes.

"Good."

Reimu makes a few half-hearted gestures with her hands.

"Then I declare you to be married. You may now kiss the bride, or whatever the hell you want to call each other."

"You!"

But before Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto can strike them down for their insolence, a massive beam of pure light, sunlight, strikes down.

"You will not interfere with this joyous moment of harmony, brother."

Reimu smiles.

"Oh, you're back, Amaterasu."

Behind her, Junko, whole, floats into view, her eyes locked onto Tsukuyomi.

"It seems the memories of my purified self have a strong fondness for the plane of Gensokyo. I will not let your selfish ambitions endanger that place."

While the coalition was still in chaos, at some point, Junko had returned, and now that she was whole, she was less prone to vengeance and anger. With her mind cleared, she approached the chained, weak Amaterasu, and purified her of all weakness and darkness, returning the goddess to full power.

Reimu chuckled.

Kaguya was safe and married.

Amaterasu was free.

Yukari had long since disappeared to safety.

Gensokyo was protected.

Every faction had come together and decided peace was the correct answer.

That was good.

None of the chains holding her back from involving herself remained.

A single gohei slipped down the sleeve of her pure white robes, and she frowned.

It was that one single action that sent fear into the heart of Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto.

"…There's a lot I could say, Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto. A lot of mistakes you've made. For one, you brought that boy and his little harem into this thinking they weren't going to change anything. Second, you were arrogant enough to think you could keep the goddess of the sun, Amaterasu-no-Ookami, chained, when the only person who had ever managed to successfully do so was herself. But really, none of that is actually consequential."

She pointed her gohei at him, making him stumble backwards.

"You really only made one mistake that mattered. You made one of my people cry."

She narrowed her eyes at him.

The yin-yang orbs that had manifested behind her began to glow.

"Fantasy Heaven."

And the arc ends on those two words.

---

Act 6

At this point the Acts are just basic summaries. I don't really have concrete scenes from this point forward, just a lot of random floating ideas.

This arc follows the fallout of the Moon Wedding arc, specifically, the disappearance of Yakumo Yukari and the formation of the coalition of all the parties who had been guests at the wedding.

This is the Yukari arc, basically.

The coalition, having stood together on matters of the moon, and having successfully kept the peace by standing against Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto, agrees to hold the long-awaited peace treaty in Kuoh, ground zero of the Excalibur Incident.

In the background, each Leader orders their subordinates to be on the lookout for Yakumo Yukari, they are not to approach her, simply send back any information on sightings on her.

The first few chapters would be a lot of political dancing and scheming from each side, none of them truly committing to the idea of unconditional peace, each faction wanting their own to come out on top. To do this, each Faction is banking on being the one to capture the worst criminal in all of history, Yakumo Yukari.

The second third of the arc revolves around the public announcement of Gensokyo's survival and intent to integrate itself into the rest of the supernatural world. A lot of complicated things happen here. Upon learning that Yukari is likely in hiding inside of Gensokyo, many factions back down from the idea of peace in favour of all-out war specifically to destroy Gensokyo.

Its Sirzechs that stops the situation from collapsing, saying that the Underworld stands on the side of Gensokyo. It's not Rias being dragged into it that forces his hand this time, but just him as himself, being the leader of the Devil Faction. The Underworld worships Alice Margatroid, a resident of Gensokyo, and rallies behind Hakurei Reimu, their representative. If it comes to war, the Devil Faction will choose fighting for those two over the apprehension of a criminal most are too young to remember.

With negotiations coming to a stand still, Reimu spends the second third of the arc slowly de-escalating the conflict with nothing but her heart and her words, drawing on the testimonies of everyone who has met other residents of Gensokyo up to that point – from the Kyoto Faction with Mokou, to Rias with Kosuzu, Sanae and Youmu, to all the leaders seeing Kaguya just being a crying girl who wanted to go home, and Mokou alone being the one to take action and save her, not any of them – to convince everyone that Gensokyo seeks peace. It's not a place of indiscriminate violence anymore.

When pressed for proof, Reimu puts herself up on the centre stage, and unveils to everyone her greatest masterpiece. She draws a great, complex barrier over all of Kuoh and introduces the Spell Card System, sending even Sirzechs and Ajuka into awe, recognising it as a fully evolved version of the Rating Battle System. She explains to them that ever since she invented this system herself, there has not been a single violent conflict within Gensokyo's borders. Their world has come under threat of destruction over twenty times in that short period, but not once has death been the result.

Upon being presented with this, the factions slowly calm down, de-escalate, and accept Gensokyo into their world, and discussions of true peace are brought back.

The second third ends with Yukari willingly stepping into Kuoh, and the trial of Yakumo Yukari begins.

Yukari willingly gives herself up and the peace treaty, now concluded, turns to become the judge and jury on Yukari's crimes.

Through many chapters and flashbacks, all of Yukari's major crimes are laid bare, and with each one, Yukari pours out her heart. The true soul of the mastermind of many catastrophes and disasters is laid bare for everyone to see.

Reimu barely manages to convince everyone to not execute her, citing Khaos Brigade as a much larger problem. Yukari, at the present moment, is clearly not a threat, rather, she is an extremely valuable weapon to wield against the threat of Khaos Brigade. Everyone here has the same end goal, even Yukari, to see this world stabilise through the elimination of Khaos Brigade, so should they at least not set aside their differences and work together towards that commonality?

After that, they could discuss Yukari's punishment.

Everyone relents, and the arc ends with plans for the Gensokyo Integration Act.

---

Act 7

Basically just small blurbs at this point. A lot of the Acts at this point follow the same basic idea. We take a certain group in Gensokyo and introduce them to their counterparts.

This act focuses on Remilia, the first to be reintroduced to the Outside World. Of course, she's only been in Gensokyo for like, 10 years, so its not that new to her.

Rather, the arc focuses on the tension between her and Sirzechs, taking place in Romania where Remilia waltzes into the Vampire Faction, in the midst of a civil war, laughs and roflstomps everyone, belittling them all and seeing them all as nothing but squabbling children.

She single-handedly stops the civil war, appoints the proper people in charge, and disappears back into the shadows, as suddenly as she came. The second half of the arc takes place in the Underworld, focusing solely on Koakuma and the Gremory family.

There's a small side arc focusing on Rias worrying over her status as heiress, when she's told the truth about her missing older sister, but its nothing major. It's resolved at the end of the arc when Koakuma decides she doesn't want her new little sister to have everything stolen from her, and would be happy just being her older sister in blood, not needing a title and position for it.

The arc ends on an odd note, with the full story of Koakuma's birth being told by Duke and Duchess Gremory. The reason behind Koakuma's odd birth – the impossible breaking of the Christian belief of afterlife – is revealed to be because Venelena, shortly after being impregnated, before their child's soul was formed, was involved in a mysterious incident involving the name 'Hakurei', where apparently, her memories were erased, but she had somehow stepped into the borders of Gensokyo, a land without common sense, and there, the soul of her child formed, breaking all expected laws of life.

The Act ends on a cliffhanger, teasing the mystery of the truth of the Hakurei family.

---

Act 8

The Myouren Temple arc.

It's a fairly light, fun ordeal all things considered.

Byakuren and her group are released into the world, and go around doing Byakuren things, acting as basically just Jesus. They start a worldwide pilgrimage, preaching and gathering a larger base of follows as time goes by, almost becoming their own Faction, filled with misfits from every corner of the world.

Eventually, they get into a spot of bother when they cross into India, resulting in a brawl with the Hindu pantheon, the end result being Byakuren going toe-to-toe with Shiva himself. Its not anything too serious though, no world-ending or faction-deciding stakes here. Just a light-hearted, action-focused breather from the intensity of all the other arcs.

---

Act 9

Kyoto Arc, electric Boogaloo.

Miki comes back into the forefront. She receives news in her cell that Issei's school is coming to visit Kyoto. Horrified, she pleads and begs for Yasaka to not let anything slip about her name. No matter what, she doesn't want her son to get caught up in this. He doesn't need to know this about her. She just needs to stay as his innocent, perfect mother. It would completely shatter her if he learnt about her past crimes, if he learnt about what she did to Asia.

Izanami and Rizevim come out to play, becoming the central antagonists of this arc. A bunch of shit happens, and no one is quite prepared to face Izanami of all people. Her unrelenting curses and taint are nothing like what anyone has ever dealt with, and single-handedly deals with everyone in Kyoto at once.

Reimu and co. are forced to visit the one person who has any idea of what Izanami is capable of, the one person who sacrificed an entire town of people to a purifying spiritual bombardment to stop her before… Hyoudou Miki.

Miki spends much of the arc acting like a complete asshat, dipshit, and sadistic fuck. She tells Issei she never loved him, she wants to see everyone in as much suffering and pain as possible, seemingly kills people for the fun of it, and at one point, completely disappears and seems to have betrayed them for Izanami's side completely.

Of course though, it's all an act. She's just afraid of how Issei would act if she didn't put up a face. She would rather him hate her for being a monster than ever consider her son would still love her and want her back in her life.

After hearing about everything his mother did, to Japan, to his dad, and to Asia, upon hearing that his mom wasn't actually evil, she didn't actually hate him, and was just scared, just didn't want him to cry or struggle, he breaks down in tears and charges head first at Izanami's impromptu base.

His sheer bullheadedness catches her by surprise, long enough for Miki to enact her true plan purify Kyoto of taint, encircling Izanami, defeating her.

The arc ends with Issei punching his mother to the ground, cursing her out for all the things she did, with her most unforgivable sin being thinking he would ever turn his back on his mother, no matter how horrible what she did was.

The epilogue sees Miki partially acquitted from her crimes, as upon being chance to correct the past with a second confrontation with Izanami, she did things the right way this time, ensuring no one died. She will still not be released, but will have to serve until the day of her death as Kyoto's ultimate weapon of defense. The final scene sees Gorou and Miki getting a chance to reunite with their son in their home in Kuoh, and the full household – Gorou, Miki, Reimu, Marisa, Issei, Rias, Ren, and Asia – celebrate.

---

Act 10

Probably the finale of the story. Idk, I don't have much here. It could also be like Act 11, or 12, or 13.

The only thing I have written are some vague ideas on what the true nature of the Hakurei actually entailed, but even then, I never got far enough into the story to have a concrete answer set up. I was intending to have fully figured it out by the time I published Act 3, but… well, we never got there.

The idea I was sticking to the most was that the Hakurei did not actually invoke a god, per say.

Rather, what they drew upon was a promise.

The idea was that the first Hakurei was just a normal human woman who stumbled into the land that would eventually be called Gensokyo.

She came across a large cave, a 'great red' dragon hidden within. Over the course of several years, she'd come back to the cave over and over, growing a close bond with the dragon. She wanted to show him all the wonders of life outside of that cave, show him the beauty of the world, but he never came with her.

He could not. He was not a being that belonged to this world. He was nothing more than a fleeting fantasy. Even existing in this cave was too much, soon enough, he would perish from this side of the world, fleeting into a place of nothingness, stuck between world, unable to ever reach Reality.

His very presence in this world, as a phantasm, as a Fantasy, was tearing it apart by the seams, doing untold damage to the land. The core of the existence of this land around them (that would later become the foundation for Gensokyo) was coming apart, merging Reality and Fantasy together. Soon enough, it would split too far from Reality, becoming undone and returning to the void, sending him with it.

The woman, seeing the dragon fade before his eyes at that very moment, knowing there was nothing she could do, swore a promise with teary eyes to him.

She confessed her love to Great Red, deeply shocking the otherworldly being.

…He could not accept, no matter how much he wished to. No matter how much he wished to spend time together, to stay by her side and love her, it was simply not something that could be done. If he remained in this world any longer, than the world itself could be destroyed.

So she promised him she would watch over this land, stuck between Fantasy and Reality. She'd nurture it and watch over it, turning it into a place where the two aspects could exist together peacefully. That day, when Fantasy and Reality merged, he'd be able to return, and Great Red would be able to witness all the splendours and beauty that the wide, wide world had to offer.

And so, the mountain that cave rested on became the base of the Hakurei Shrine, and the land around them became Gensokyo, the Hakurei's sworn land.

It was that promise, the unification of 'Fantasy' and 'Reality', that became the source of the Hakurei lineage's power. That was what the yin, fantasy, and yang, reality, of the yin-yang orbs represented. Reimu's ultimate power, Fantasy Heaven, was the ultimate encapsulation of this, allowing her to ascend beyond the realm of what was real, into the fantastical and nonsensical. That ability of hers showed that she was the closest any of the Hakurei had ever come to achieving that dream.

The arc sees Gensokyo reach its final form, with the aid of all the Sages holding the Hakurei Barrier – which funnily enough, fulfilled the conditions for Gensokyo to fully stabilise, like the First Hakurei wished – together and tweaking it to fit this purpose, utilizing the power of the Spell Card System – Reimu's ultimate masterpiece, and in a way, a culmination of the Hakurei family's hopes and dreams – to bring Great Red safely into this world, fulfilling that longstanding promise.

---

Epilogue

The epilogue would be a two or three part short story following the defeat of Khaos Brigade.

Everyone is wondering what the future looks like for the world, and how they should move forward in this new era of peace and unity. In particular, what becomes of Gensokyo now that its purpose has been fulfilled, and it no longer needs to be land of the lost and wayward, where all those who do not belong come to seek shelter?

At the summit of all the major powers of the world, Yukari proposes an idea, one that captures the attention of everyone there and sends some into laughter.

The plan is to turn Gensokyo into a city filed with academies and schools. It is to become the ultimate melting pot and crossroads of the supernatural world, where every faction holds an equal amount of stake and representation. Anyone of any species, of any religion, can come to be taught any school of magic, any system of belief, and follow any path towards the future, not caring for the bounds and limits of their origins.

A devil could learn to pray to God at a school for Angels and Christians, vampires could learn to swear off worldly desires and free themselves of their hunger for blood by going to the Myouren Temple Branch School and becoming a Buddhist, an angel could defy their original purpose as a divine servant and learn the path to ascend to godhood themselves by following Taoism from Toyosatomimi no Miko at the Hall of Dreams' Great Mausoleum.

They could learn to fight under the Rating Battle System, or the Spell Card Rules, or even just plain ol' regular combat.

Gensokyo was to be a place of limitless hope, imagination and dreams, where anyone could strive for the ultimate 'Fantasy', ignorant of what 'Reality' had to say to them.

When asked what kind of person it would take to watch over that, to be responsible for it, Yukari just smiles.

Reimu goes about her everyday life, sweeping her shrine grounds as she always does. Yukari pops through a portal, and before she can even say anything, Reimu shoves her back through her gap, saying its too early for her nonsense and she can go bother someone else.

After a few more attempts, Yukari finally gets through to Reimu and proposes her idea to Reimu. She shrugs and says sure, why not. It doesn't really bother her, and it's a noble enough thing to attempt.

And then, Yukari asks her to be the Board Chairman and Headmistress.

Reimu deadpans at her and immediately rejects, not even considering it for a moment.

"Mm, mm…" Yukari nods to herself, smirking, having expected that answer.

Reimu feels an increasing sense of dread inside her, realising this day is going to be very long.

Yukari snaps her fingers, and the two fall through a gap, disappearing from the Hakurei Shrine.

The two go all across the world as Yukari shows her sights of this new, peaceful world, and gets Reimu wrapped up in the shenanigans of everyday, peaceful life.

Slowly, bit by bit, Reimu is won over by all the smiles and laughter she sees, in Kyoto, in the Underworld, in the Vatican, in Romania… everywhere…

The last place the two visit is Gensokyo itself, in the human village.

There, Keine joins the two as they watch over her school's lunch break, where human children mingle with fairies, youkai and even new guests like devils and vampirs.

Reimu cracks a smile, and sighs.

In the end, it's the sight of innocent children just enjoying their lives that breaks her cold, lazy exterior.

"Fine, Yukari. You win." She chuckles. "I'll become your damn Headmistress or whatever."

The final epilogue follows Issei choosing to go into University through Gensokyo, though he's still not sure what courses he will take.

It's the opening day of Gensokyo as a city of schools, and the entire place is flooded from all sorts of faces from all sorts of backgrounds. Young or old, devil or angel, none of it matters. Everyone is here to learn about new parts of the world and better themselves, placing them one step closer to their dreams.

He bumps into a lot of familiar faces. Sairaorg and Vali are there, with each of three of them declaring each other to be their rivals, each swearing to do better in their schools than the other. He wanders off a bit afterwards to find Sanae sweeping the grounds, looking peeved and Youmu watering the plants.

Those two onee-sans that had spent a year in Kuoh, they were here too?

Sanae's face brightens when she sees him, and he glomps him. She complains that its so annoying, how she's stuck as the academy city's groundskeeper, while she gets to be the Headmistress. Couldn't she at least be like… a teacher, or disciplinary committee leader, or something? Anything? This was just plain humiliating.

His gaze slowly wanders over to Youmu, who he thought would be a teacher her.

She explains that she is, being one of the swordsmanship class teachers, doing part-time duties in Afterlife Studies, but she's also the Head Gardener.

Next, he comes across Gasper, who is holding the hands of a weird green-haired girl with a funny hat that he's never really seen before, and blinks.

'Huh, he's got a girlfriend now. Cool.' He shrugs, and moves on.

Overhead, a pillar of fire erupts and voices can be heard shouting.

"Oi, Fujiwara! Get back here, and let go of Houraisan-sensei! She has important duties today!"

"Haha, sorry, I know! It'll be just a minute! Have something special to give the wife as a good luck blessing!"

"Mokou… does this really have to be right now?"

"Sorry, couldn't help myself with you dolled up like that."

"!"

That was… the two from the moon incident? Well, it was good to see those two had a lovey-dovey love life still.

Someone bumps into him, dropping books all over the place.

"Awawawa!" It's Kosuzu, the cute transfer student that had some vague relationship to the others from Gensokyo.

She's here too?

She looks up at him and blushes in embarrassment at her one-time crush, explaining that she's a librarian here. She hastily hands him a scrawled-on piece of paper with her number and tells him to visit and call sometime.

The next face is someone who truly surprises him.

"M-mom!?" He points his finger at her out of sheer shock.

"Ah, Issei. I heard you were attending. It's good to see you considering your future. I'll be sure to tell your father, he'll love to hear about what you're up to."

"T-that… What the hell are you doing here!?"

Turns out, Amaterasu signed her up to be a teacher at the Shinto school against her will.

Next, he meets Sona, who isn't there as a student. She's actually part of the start-up school for Rating Games as one of its founders and currently, assistant teachers, though she is intent on rising through the ranks and one day supplanting Ajuka as Headmaster/Headmistress.

He blinks, wondering if that means Sona will be teaching him something, since he was planning on taking a course in Rating Battles.

Eventually, he reconvenes with the rest of Rias' peerage, complete with Gasper holding onto Koishi's hand, and the group discusses their plans for the future.

Predictably, Xenovia states she is going to follow after Konpaku-sensei and take courses in swordsmanship and Afterlife Studies, also taking Eastern Exorcism on the side.

Kiba tells them that he's planning on studying Magic Tool Creation and Sacred Gear Studies, thinking that there still might be some hidden depths to his Sacred Gear he hasn't yet tapped into.

Asia seems to want to become a mini-Reimu, as she tells everyone she's incredibly interested in learning about the Spell Card System, she's taking the Hakurei Shrine Maiden's own class of Advanced Barriers, Charms and Seals, and even doing Deity Studies, taught by the Watatsuki sisters, despite being a devout Christian.

Koneko has fully embraced her heritage, taking her sister's Senjutsu class, but also surprises everyone by saying she's pursuing a future as a Buddhist, which no one can really believe given her gluttony.

Gasper, obviously, is primarily focusing on Urban Legend Investigations, but is thinking about dabbling in Western Exorcism as well. The weird, creepy, smiling girl says nothing, just smiling widely before kissing Gasper on the cheeks, making him blush.

Rossweisse isn't actually there as a student, she's far too old, something that tics her off when she's reminded about it. She's actually one of the teachers for the Runecraft class, as an expert in Nordic magic.

Issei speaks up, saying that actually, being old doesn't matter. He was sure he saw like, Baraqiel, wandering out looking like a wide-eyed student.

Rossweisse pales, collapses and screams. She was duped into working full-time and missed the opportunity to reach for the springtime of her youth.

Akeno and Rias are taking their classes together, pursuing Nobility and Politics, Ajuka's Devil Magic class as well as his Bloodline Studies class, and of course the Rating Battles course.

After hearing about everyone's decisions, Issei makes up his mind, and decides he's not going to fall behind and joins all the classes Vali and Sairaorg were signing for.

The opening ceremony starts, and he's surprised to see its Reimu who comes out on stage, being introduced as the Headmistress.

He can't really believe it. He guesses it sorta makes sense, since Reimu was the representative and guardian of Gensokyo and all, but…

He flashes back to how it all started.

A homeless, penniless shrine maiden on the side of a road, sitting down with a cardboard sign looking for a job, and him being a horny simple-minded teenager.

Since then… a lot had happened, huh?

Reimu makes a grand speech about the whole ordeal in her own unique way, sounding bored and annoyed the whole time, but nevertheless, finishes it with a heartfelt smile, welcome, and congratulations to everyone bold enough to take a step forward into the future.

"Have fun, brats… and welcome to Gensokyo, the Land of Fantasy and Illusions. Here, there's no common sense, so you can do anything you set your eyes on."

---

And that's it.

Again, sorry that you'll never really see any of this come to life.