I'm also going to come out and say this. This is a telling of one of the games, Perfect Cherry Blossom, with splashes of stories from the other fans, rolled into this. Normally I would say that this is "By the fans, for the fans", but my goal here is not just to give you a nice Touhou story if you're into Touhou. As stated, this is written for people who don't know what Touhou is. My goal, besides giving you guys a story, is to help bring in even more people into this universe. But I just wanted to say that the characters, story lines, etc, are not mine. I will attempt to give you where I got the ideas from, if applicable. But yes, this is Perfect Cherry Blossom, and is done by ZUN. Follows the course of that game, except Kyon is now thrown into it...along with something else.

What connections does this world have to do with Haruhi Suzumiya? Well, one of the great things about Haruhi Suzumiya is that her world is of making the impossible possible, which gives its fans a lot of freedoms to get away with things.

Guess what. Same thing goes for Touhou.

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is owned by Nagaru Tanigawa. Touhou Project is owned by ZUN and Team Shanghai Alice. I own neither. This is a fan fiction of those works.

[This chapter has been Remastered]

Beta Readers for this Episode(Alphabetical Order):

liquidity

Serendipital

Sky Rider

superstarultra

April 1st, 2004

"April!?"

Remilia raised an eyebrow, clearly annoyed by my loud outburst. "Yes, Kyon. April."

I sat there, staring down at my plate of boar meat, the silence that followed our voices overbearing as I had to understand what my brain was trying to process, yet didn't want to. Needless to say, I felt like I had lost my appetite. A quarter of the year. I've been away from the Brigade for that long. Been away from my family. Everybody has to be worried sick. My mind was bombarded by the implications of that, of how my parents and sister had to be wondering what happened to me, if I was even alive. Missing for three months. Part of me also was struggling to comprehend the lasting damage my disappearance from Tsuruya's home must have affected Haruhi. The world hadn't ended, so that was a good sign, right? I could only hope. "You...you...kept me for-what the hell?" I was lashing out, just for the sake of lashing out. This was bad on so many levels, and I didn't know what to do. In hind sight, any of me blaming these people for anything wasn't fair to them. I simply felt hopeless, lost, and also the dread that all my efforts to keep Haruhi calm had to have been undone with me missing all of a sudden. That everything that I went through in the past year was for nothing due to something out of my control. That is what was infuriating me.

"My servants saved your life," the vampire coldly said, pointing her fork at me. "I extended my hospitality towards you, a mere human, when I could have thrown your body back out to the cold, and you dare insult me this way?" Remilia clenched her teeth. "I deserve a little compensation, after all. Hardly anyone is given invitation into my home, Mr. Kyon. I expect you to be more grateful."

Seriously. What the hell have I gotten myself into?

[Imperfect Cherry Blossom]

[Episode 3]

["Dawn"]

"I may meet my end by cold and starvation before this winter meets its end..."

- Sakuya Izayoi, Perfect Cherry Blossom: Prologue

Remilia stopped for a moment, taking a sip from her glass of wine. "That being said, I do think you'd like to know where you are. I did give my word that I'd do as such."

I took a few seconds to compose myself, breathing in and out. Keeping me here for that long...can't get mad though. I am alive because of them. Like I had previously thought, they did so much for me, a complete stranger. That hospitality wasn't lost on me. Taking a moment to recompose myself, I answered her. "Gensokyo."

"Yes, but do you really know the significance of that?" When Remilia got no answer, she continued. She was obviously looking forward to explaining it to me, as the joyful grin she had blatantly told me. "Imagine, if you will, a dome. And that dome is made of pure energy, surrounding a portion of the Earth, not letting anyone in, or out. But the outside does not know of this side's physical existence. In fact, if you were in the outside world and tried to physically go to where we are right now, you'd only find a desolate forest."

I blinked at her, as I've certainly heard something like that before. Not hard for me to imagine, actually. Sounds a lot like a closed space. I didn't tell her that, so she continued.

"We can't interfere with those on the outside world, and they can't interfere with us, unless they know how to get in from the barrier. I don't know the ins and outs of it though."

Oh man. It is a closed space. Exactly like one. Part of me had considered that this may have not been related to Haruhi, but upon hearing that, such an idea started to sound plausible.

"The major way is through a shrine located on the outside world that is also in here, apparently, though there are other ways. But that's beside the point."

She had Sakuya refill her glass of wine from a bottle. Wait...that's too thick to be wine. Remilia held the glass up to her eye with a smile that exposed her fangs. My eyes widened as I realized what she had done because of the way she was looking at her drink, and at me. She took a sip...of my own blood. Don't ask me how I knew, just...I just knew. I involuntarily gagged. Remilia swirled it around in her mouth a bit before swallowing.

Oh God. This can't be for real. Please let that not be for real. Please let my imagination be running wild.

The vampire beamed at me, placing her hand under her chin, grinning from ear to ear. "Oh, just the little compensation I was talking about earlier, about I'll go into a bit more detail later." She ran her tongue on the lip of the glass. "And yes, this is your blood."

Why are you doing this? Are you… I didn't get it. It was like most of the people here liked to tease me in very dark ways. I silently sat there, wanting to get up and stop her, because it really was making me uncomfortable. I'm not necessarily too squeamish about seeing my own blood, but this was just too much.

"But yes," she placed the glass down, dropping her smile as she went into the meat of the matter. "Before I get any further from my reason for summoning you to this dinner: Gensokyo, is the land of fantasy. A lot of, well, not normal creatures like myself are able to live in it. Basically, to sum it all up, it's the last place for the paranormal to go."

She enjoyed another taste of my blood. My blood!

"You see, Kyon, the world has no need for things such as myself any more. Faith is waning, and so is the fear. Gensokyo is pretty much the last harbor for youkai; everything is retreating here. But perhaps you would like a history lesson?" Remilia leaned back in her chair, while giving her hair a flick. "Well then, why not? I've got time to kill. After all, I'm over 500 years old."

She smiled, her teeth still a bit red from my blood. Why the hell was this happening in front of me?

"We here at the Scarlet Devil Mansion actually moved here fairly recently. But from what I can tell, Gensokyo's actual area was pretty haunted way back when." Remilia leaned forward as she clasped her hands. "Oh, it was possibly like the old days," Remilia said with a far-away, almost nostalgic look. "Youkai terrorizing people like they should, fear of the dark, of the unknown. Where we can be who we really are. But this particular section of Japan was bad, so much that a couple of foolhardy 'brave' humans banded together to cleanse the area. They couldn't, not as quickly as they hoped. They had to form a village, the human village, and it still stands today. For a long time, they battled with the youkai, and maintained little contact with the rest of Japan. That is, until...when was it, Patchi?"

The magician was still reading and eating, but she answered, not missing a beat. "1885."

"Ah, yes. 1885, when a barrier was erected." Remilia lowered her eyes. "The dome surrounded the area, cutting it off, and removing this place from the world, essentially. Science began replacing faith, which is why the decision was made to seal off this world from the outside world. Apparently they didn't want the paranormal to compete with their scientific revolutions. I don't know the specifics of how the barrier came to be, but it happened. We're able to live our lives away from the world. And Gensokyo has been here. From my understanding, quite a few youkai are strong enough to find the border, and come in. They are, after all, powerful. Though I must admit, we had help coming here, and moving the mansion." Remilia's body tensed. "We had to, as things were getting bad for us a good number of years ago. Like I said, there is no place for our kind anymore, Kyon, in your world. This truly is the last harbor of the paranormal."

This was all a lot to process, yet it made sense to me. My frustration, my confusion, everything that I had felt that day was ebbing away, with a realization that this was possibly closer to Haruhi than I had wanted it to be. For a mere moment I had thought this had nothing to do with the all powerful Brigade leader, yet listening to the history of this area had me feeling like I was seeing even more pieces to the Haruhi puzzle that I'd never dreamed of even considering.

Last harbor. Paranormal things hiding themselves, keeping out of sight. And that barrier, that dome, this closed space. I didn't want to admit it, but the existence of this place made perfect sense to me. If Koizumi were there, I already knew what he'd have to say. That Haruhi would not only like espers, time travelers, aliens, or sliders. That anything paranormal, anything youkai, if she even thinks it, then in the back of her mind, it might come true. I mean, everyone knows fairies, right? And I was seeing fairy maids in that room as I was going over all this! This was actually for real here! This was where all the fantasy stuff Haruhi thought about ended up! It had to be! I know it would be a stretch for anyone to hear that, but I couldn't deny what was in front of me there!

At least, that's how I was taking this all in. And how could I not? After everything I've been through with the Brigade, could such a thing really be out there?

I looked up, to see her taking way more pleasure in drinking my blood than I would have liked. Remilia noticed my discomfort, and smirked. "You know, Patchi, his reactions to me drinking his blood are actually more amusing than his reactions to hearing about Gensokyo." She leaned back in her chair. "As though it seems he actually expected what I said. He's not wide-eyed with wonder as I thought he would be. Pity. But yes, your blood. Let's get into that for a minute. But first, watch me enjoy it!"

I did all I could to not squirm as she made extravagant motions while enjoying her drink. Finally, I closed my eyes, not wanting to see any more. Why am I being put through this? This got a laugh from her, and I understood that Remilia was a difficult person. The type of person who did things for her own amusement at the expense of others.

Sounded like my initial assessment of who she reminded me of was more spot on than I cared for it to be.

"All right, I've had my fun." Remilia put down her glass, daintily tapping her napkin around her lips. "There is something else I'd like to talk about. Let's get right into the pressing matter of your...taste."

How I… taste?!

"There is something about you. To be blunt, your taste is unique. At first, it was decent enough, nothing to write home about. But then, then it started to get this strange...how do I describe it, this strange sensation that accompanied it. At first, I didn't know what to make of it. But since you were an easy meal, I thought nothing of it."

I think I'm going to be sick. And I resent being called an "easy meal"!

"However-"

Remilia nodded at Patchouli, who then spoke up, breaking from her reading. "As Remi said, something is happening to you. It has made your blood..." She paused, as if looking for the proper word to use. "It has made your blood somewhat 'blessed'. That's the only way I can describe it."

I certainly don't feel blessed right now! Not if I have to watch part of my body be freaking consumed!

"Not that it has made drinking your blood impossible. I guess the sensation could be akin to it burning. It burns a bit, but in a good way. Almost like a spicy meal. And that 'spice' has actually increased the taste. If I was crazy enough to drink holy water, and if I was a vampire who was actually affected by the methods used to combat evil by the church, I think that's what would have happened, but it might have burned completely through me. Your blood is possibly like weak holy water, if I had to make such an insane comparison. The sick thing is, I haven't had blood as good as yours in a long time. Possibly a hundred years."

My jaw was hanging by then, as this vampire and her magician friend were calmly talking about drinking my blood as if it was a dinner conversation. Which it happened to be. It shouldn't be! Remilia twirled her hair playfully as she took another sip.

"However, I do have my concerns. Lately, it seems as if the 'blessing' has been getting stronger as time goes on - it's been getting a little too 'spicy', which is why I had Patchi study you this past month. And her findings are what brings us to this dinner meeting."

The maid stepped forward. "Milady."

I could see Remilia roll her eyes for a moment, before the corner of her mouth frowning, like she was being massively annoyed. "Yes?"

"Can we ask him about the winter?"

"No, Sakuya." Remilia slightly turned her head away from her maid. "I highly doubt this human is capable of controlling the weather."

Me controlling the weather? Is that what her attitude was all about all day? She thinks I'm controlling the weather? That's a new one on me. I mean, I've been labeled important to things going on around me, but for someone to control the weather, let alone it being me? Why is it when someone thinks there's something special about me it ends up causing me headaches?

"But, Milady, ever since he has shown up, winter has not ended." Izayoi slightly raised her voice. "Our supplies are low, and we'll run out within the next week!"

Wait what's going on? "Winter has not ended"?

Remilia glared at her. "Sakuya, you know better than to bring up our business in front of a guest! And besides, I said it wasn't a problem!"

"Milady!"

"Sakuya!"

I couldn't help but feel uncomfortable with this little...spat. Patchouli stared at the both of them before speaking. "Actually, Remi, I think I can make an explanation, and help Izayoi. But first, I need to show you something." The pale girl turned to Izayoi. "Open the window."

Izayoi was still flustered from being yelled at by her master, but regained her composure. "...I...yes, Lady Patchouli."

The maid did as such, and the chilled evening air came into the room, blasting in.

Remilia quickly threw up her hands, to block the cold from hitting her face. "What's the meaning of this, Patchi?"

The magician simply pointed at something in the air. "Look."

A single cherry blossom had flown inside. The air blew it towards Remilia's side of the table, but it made a turn in midair, and floated to my direction. I backed up in my chair a bit as the thing drifted towards me. It simply came down on my hand, and with a red glow, it appeared that it was absorbed into my hand. I let out a choked yelp as I instantly felt a bit warmer. For a brief second, I had a red aura surrounding my body, and then it was gone, along with the warm sensation. What?! What was that?! Did something happen to me?!

Patchouli simply sipped her tea and said, "You may close the window now, Izayoi."

Once the window was closed, Izayoi then walked back to Remilia's side, her eyes narrowed as she looked at me. Hell, all eyes in the room were on me.

Remilia leaned forward in her chair, rubbing her chin. "What in the world was that?"

You're asking that?! "I'd like to know that too! What happened to me?" I asked, feeling mild panic. Something happened to me, and it freaked me out.

Patchouli took another sip of tea before speaking. "It happened two weeks ago when his room got too hot and stuffy due to the fireplace, and I opened the window. A cherry blossom flew in, and touched him, doing exactly what it did just now. It also caused him to stir. I had Koakuma collect as many as she could since they are attracted to him and have gathered around the mansion, and I kept applying them to him. Yesterday, I applied a good number, and some sort of barrier surrounded him. It was amazing, astonishing, even. Doesn't seem to be damaging, and it also managed to completely heal him, getting rid of Remi's fang marks on his neck, eliminated the concussion and, as you can see, woke him from his coma."

Fang marks...Remilia fed on me while I was in a coma! Again, I had to keep myself composed. She actually took advantage of me while I was out! And that was when she probably filled up that wine bottle too, to savor it! I was her personal drinking fountain! That's just so wrong on so many levels! I felt a bit violated, to be honest.

Remilia showed obvious interest in all of this. "Do you have any more of those cherry blossoms?"

"Yes, Remi. Koakuma!"

The little devil girl appeared from the shadows behind Patchouli, walked over to Remilia, and handed her a cherry blossom from her pocket. Remilia took it and studied it in her hand.

"Well, it's just an ordinary cherry blossom. So, why is it that it responds to him?"

She flicked it into the air, and with no wind, it somehow managed to drift right towards me. This time, I reached out for it, the little blossom. As soon as it touched me, this electric sensation went through my body. I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, the warmth flowing through my body.

Patchouli motioned to me. "It's happening, Remi. Watch."

A burst of air expelled from my location, knocking over my cup and pushing my dish away. The red aura surrounded me, more intense this time. The real kicker however, was this symbol of light that was surrounding me. It was in a pattern, starting out in a fairly wide area surrounding me, and kind of slowly shrank back towards me.

Okay, even though this is scary as hell, I have to admit it's pretty cool. I didn't feel pain, only warmth. Like I was wrapped up in the warm blanket of a kotatsu.

Remilia's eyes shone with a bit of wonder, but she still kept herself composed. "Okay, Patchi. There is only so much I can take. Explanations...?"

"I'll show you." Smiling, Patchouli turned to the maid. "Izayoi, please throw a knife at him."

Wait, what?

Immediately, a knife came right for my head. I raised my arms to shield myself but the red aura flashed, then disappeared, along with the barrier. I thought I was dead for a second, but I could hear myself breathing. Lowering my arms, I saw the knife clattering on the dining room table, and Izayoi was giving me a confused look. Remilia apparently found this amusing, as she was grinning again. Patchouli took a sip of tea before continuing.

"That was the barrier. As you saw, it was a very strange symbol. I had to do some research before I found out what it was earlier today. Very obscure. Hasn't been seen in a thousand years when a whole monastery was wiped out. Very powerful - nothing can break that barrier for one hit. In other words, as long as it's active, which isn't for very long, he's invincible. For that one hit."

I wanted to yell at all of them for being so calm about throwing a knife at my head, but Patchouli's speech calmed me a bit...if one could remain calm in a situation like that. These people were crazy. They were so casual about everything - drinking blood, harvesting blood, and having a lethal weapon tossed at one of their guests. I found myself longing for a week of non-stop Haruhi craziness if I could get out of this home.

Though as for what Patchouli said, well, that's...actually beyond "pretty cool". Even though the barrier was gone, I couldn't help but stare into my hands, a feeling of amazement washing over me.

How about that. I finally have something special about me. My mind started to race with the potential of this. I was able to heal myself, and could stand to any hit. That's actually a pretty big deal, isn't it?So, what, I need cherry blossoms?

The vampire spoke, the bit of excitement in her voice noticeable, and breaking me out of my thoughts. "Can we copy it, Patchi? The symbol? I'd like to give the shrine maiden a surprise with it if we can!"

Shrine maiden?

"Sorry, Remi." Patchouli frowned, going over her notes. "To do so takes a vast amount of magical power, more than I can do, more than you can do, more than most of us can do even when combining our strengths, but due mostly to our disciplines, I believe. I think. Give me some time and it could be possible. Today? An attempt to copy such a barrier with the dark arts would take a lot of power. The activation appears to be with the boy and the cherry blossoms. Which brings me to his 'blessing'."

"So that's it then?"

"Yes. It's as if he's blessed by a God...I think. I'm still trying to figure out what's going on with him. Whatever it is that powers him, it is not due to anything from him."

I couldn't help but roll my eyes. Really? We're getting into that annoyance? Then again, it is the fall-back to explain everything. I shouldn't roll my eyes. It may have been fall-back, but only because it usually turned out to be true.

Remilia shook her head. "'You think?' Patchi, you've got to give me more than that."

"It's difficult to explain because this is so unusual. The 'blessed' power he's gaining is also coming not from within Gensokyo, but from outside of it. And I think it has something to do with this."

"Outside?"

"Yes. It's my theory that outside Gensokyo..."

As Patchouli spoke with Remilia, I felt bad about what might be happening out there. My elation to this power gave way to my returning thoughts of home. Back home, with my family. Everyone from Mom to Dad to my sister all the way to the Brigade had to be in the dark as to what happened to me. Which could only mean that Nagato, Asahina, and Koizumi's workload of keeping her placid was at a high chance of failure, if it hadn't failed already. This might undo the world. The damages this could cause would be immeasurable. My only hope was that if I ever got out of there, that I could contact adult Asahina and get her to take me back in time to when I disappeared. That's got to be the only way I can make this right. Otherwise, it's the end of the world.

Sad that I was thinking more of the consequences of being away from the Brigade than the consequences of being away from my family, isn't it? But if the world is undone, then my family would be undone along with it. So...my priorities had to side with that club I'm in.

No, seriously, I can make this right. All I need is to travel back in time to when I disappeared from my world, and it will be like I never left. Relatively, it was a rather simple fix to my, and the world's, problem.

I watched the two non-humans talk to each other. They needed to know the situation. Because I needed to get back home.

Yet...

"Hold on." They all turned to me. I let out a heavy sigh, steeling myself. I need to get back home. I need to get back home. I need to do this. I've got no choice, do I? I have to get back. Everyone...please forgive me for this. "...It's about time I told you what's been going on in my life."

What followed was one long hour of me telling people things I thought I would never tell. For a while, my heart ached, since I was betraying the trust of Koizumi, Nagato, and Asahina, along with their respective organizations. But I needed to get back to them, so I kept at it, revealing to these people I haven't even known for a day the major events that pertained to Haruhi. I comforted myself with the thought that if my friends were in my position, they might do the same thing. All I had to do was make it out to my world in time, go back, and this situation would be avoided. Any chance of Haruhi changing the world due to my absence would be gone.

I explained everything. My meeting Haruhi, the forming of the Brigade, the members of the Brigade and who they really were. The people around my situation in life, the closed spaces. How important Haruhi was to different people, and the powers at play. Of my traveling through time, the activities we did to placate her, that Endless Summer, the movie, all the way up to Haruhi's disappearance and the new world. Which led me to me sleeping at Tsuruya's place, and ending up in Gensokyo.

It really sounds so fantastical when I say it out loud. What a ride I've been on.

The residents of this mansion were silent throughout the explanation, Remilia occasionally taking a sip from her glass, but mostly just looking directly at me. Her eyes narrowed further, grew more intense as my story went on. Izayoi though, was showing genuine interest, though not at first. She would occasionally look around for the first ten minutes, but eventually she became hooked. Patchouli just sat there looking at me with the same expression she always had. Truly, she was a lot like Nagato. I also told them what I thought Gensokyo really was, in its relationship with Haruhi, because it made perfect sense in my mind. After all, it was my reality where things like this were caused by her.

That, and the closed spaces were just about the same as their Gensokyo barrier. The similarities were so uncanny that they couldn't just be a coincidence, right?

Remilia blinked at me, holding her head like she had a headache. "So...you're saying that everything paranormal was created by a little girl...including me?"

I did my best not to upset Remilia further. "If their theories are correct, then yes. The world didn't exist until four years ago, or it did, and time travelers can't go past four years ago, or it was just an explosion of data that caused everything." I know giving you three different explanations isn't helping. It certainly didn't help me. "To tell the truth, I find those theories far-fetched myself, especially the world creation one, because I can still remember things that happened before then."

Patchouli interjected, a bit of excitement in her eyes after hearing about this. "It's not far-fetched, Remi. Memories can be altered. I have a few spells that can do so, but if this child is as powerful as Kyon says she is, if she can create everything through sheer unconscious will, then why not memories? Why not fool everyone that we've been actually living before that time?"

"So she's making a fool of me, eh?"

Are you looking for reasons to be offended?

Izayoi hurriedly said, "Please, milady. Calm yourself."

Remilia sat there, sulking. Just like Haruhi. And I guess she made the connection, because again, her eyebrows raised. "...I remind you of her, don't I? That's what you were saying?" She rose from her chair, glaring directly into my soul. She looked like she wanted to say something, but the anger drained from her face, and instead she started to laugh. She plopped down onto her chair and took a sip of my blood. "Ahahaha! I'm like a God! Of course I'm like a God! Ahahaha! Sakuya! More blood!"

The maid refilled her glass with my blood. I once again gagged.

"Okay, so, boy, you save the world even though there is nothing extraordinary about you...well, except for what is happening to you now." Remilia went silent, staring at me again. "I'd think you're lying, Hell, I thought you were lying, but your heartbeat hasn't increased, so you can't be. And the way you're telling me this, I can't help but believe it. Unless your skull hitting the floor out there messed up your brain, you are telling the honest truth." She let out a single chuckle. "Amazing. Just amazing. So, defying those more powerful than you is your thing then, right? These celestials, a complete re-write of existence, time-loops, talking cats." Remilia leaned back in her chair, looking up at the ceiling, with a huge smirk on her face. "Oh, makes me wonder why I had to retreat to this place if such interesting things are going on out there. I mean, imagine! Traveling through time!" She let out another chuckle. "Well, I do have someone who has some degree of control over time, but I don't think she can travel through it like you say those travelers do. She merely stops it."

She glanced at Izayoi...Izayoi?

"Sakuya! Show him!"

One second, the maid was beside Remilia, her blue eyes beginning to glow red. The next, she was to my left. I yelped as I fell out of my chair in surprise. That got a laugh from Remilia. Then Izayoi disappeared. When I got up, she was back at Remilia's side.

She can stop time?! She can stop time! There's someone who can-! Everything had been mind blowing ever since I woke up that day. Fairies, vampires, everyone with their abilities and all these non-humans; yet I was in the presence of someone who could mess with time itself. I continued to stare at her, still catching my breath, as that fall knocked the wind out of me. The revelation of such a power, such an ability made my mind reel in the thoughts of what kind of world I had found myself in.

"Ah, looks like you frightened the poor boy!" Remilia happily said. "Please, sit back down!"

I stood there for a while, not knowing how much more I could take of them messing around with me, and also to still regain my breath. I really am out of my element here. Against people with abilities that suddenly show them to me, I still get surprised. So, what, should I have expected something to happen? As I sat back down internally arguing with myself, the time-stopping maid glanced over at Patchouli.

"Ah yes." Patchouli said as she noticed Izayoi's eyes. "Izayoi's problem."

"Sakuya, I keep telling you there is no problem!" Remilia swiftly went from amused to irritated. "This whole winter thing will sort itself out!"

What winter thing? Does... My mind finally made the connection, clearing out my other thoughts and focusing on what was at hand. Remilia said that it was April, yet the snow was all over the land. It's still... winter here? What? I know I've been through an endless summer before, but an endless winter was certainly new to me. I eyed the window, the falling snow a constant reminder of the weather.

"Remi, may I?" Patchouli raised her hand at her friend. "This actually could have repercussions. Now, I think we understand that he is reacting to these cherry blossoms due to the blessing he has gotten from this 'creator', correct? The question I pose to you, is this: where are the cherry blossoms coming from?"

It was as if a light bulb turned on in Izayoi's head. Her demeanor was actually something other than suspicion for the first time as her eyes widened and she blurted out her realization. "It's spring somewhere in Gensokyo!"

"Correct. And contrary to what you keep saying, Remi, this is a problem. We are almost out of candles, meat, salt, coal, and firewood, just to name a few things. And tonight we just ran out of the flowers you use for your tea."

Remilia almost dropped her wine glass in surprise. Which would have been bad, you know, because my blood would have been spilled out all over the place and all. My blood shouldn't even have been in a position to spill out all over the place!

However, their problem of winter going on intrigued me. I wanted to hear more. Remilia coughed a bit, possibly choking a bit on my blood. She swallowed hard before asking Patchouli the following. "What about the backup-" she began to ask Patchouli.

The librarian waved her hand, cutting off Remilia. Patchouli's tone was somewhat somber. "All gone. Even the ones I've been artificially making. The snow storms are actually getting worse, Remi, and it's difficult to send anyone out there. We've lost five fairies just this past week. Twenty-one in total excluding them. Not to mention the collapse in the East Wing three days ago."

Crap. This is serious. Just what was going on in the world I found myself in, I began to wonder.

"Even Meiling is having a hard time staying out there."

"Actually, it's not that bad."

I turned to see Meiling leaning against the wall behind me, arms crossed. When did she get there? She gave me a smile and a quick two-finger salute.

"Interesting barrier and story, kid."

Obviously she'd been there long enough. When she didn't say anything else, I turned back to my dinner companions. I could only wonder what problems these people were having. A collapse in the building? I certainly didn't see that. And they're losing people, er, fairies? Running out of supplies too, which could only lead to more losses. The people who gave me shelter were having problems of their own.

Remilia drummed her fingernails on the table for a while as she sat there, processing this. She gave me, Patchouli, and Izayoi a look before she cleared her throat. "Very well. Sakuya, you have my permission to find out what is going on, and end it."

"Thank you, Mila-"

"And take the boy with you."

The maid's eyes widened. Though I think mine beat hers. Aw come on.

"What?"

Meiling walked forward - I saw her stop at the edge of my vision. "Milady, are you sure about that? I know we've been here for just a couple of decades, but we don't really know what exactly is out there. Some of the humans I've talked to have told of things way worse than the youkai we know of. There are rumors like you wouldn't believe, Milady."

"Meiling, I appreciate your concerns." Remilia flippantly waved off Meiling's words. "However, I'm not going to give much thought to rumors, and I have faith in Sakuya's combat abilities. Besides, the blossoms are attracted to the boy. Just use him to find the source of where they're coming from, and it should be over fairly quickly." Remilia stared right at me, her brow furrowing. "And no, Kyon, that's not negotiable. You're going with Sakuya. The two of you are going to work together on this, got it? Go get some rest after dinner. You will both start out at the crack of dawn, and I want you both back here as soon as possible."

Meiling shrugged, defeated by her master's words.

Izayoi started to say something, but instead bowed. "I-Yes, Milady. Thank you."

What just happened? I sat there, dazed. Didn't they say it's dangerous out there? And we're going out there? There? With that little child youkai? There, where other things worse than the youkai were? There, where the snowstorm had claimed members of their staff? And of course, all of my inner protests would go heard only by me. It was like I never left the Brigade!

"Sakuya! Dessert!"

That was Remilia. The next instant, a slice of cake appeared in front of the vampire. It was a two layered cake with whipped cream icing, a strawberry on top and red filling. She smiled as she began to eat. It actually looked good, but considering that I hadn't finished my meal... My stone cold meal...

Ugh. What a dinner. I find out I'm in some alternate closed space world full of youkai, that I've been gone for several months, and now I have to go out there. And not only that, but I don't get dessert. I had thought learning the answers to my questions would have rid me of my frustrations, but it certainly didn't. It just added to them. My eyes were drawn to Patchouli, who was simply staring back at me. Upon making eye contact, she gave a slight shrug, and continued eating.

In a way, she was right in waiting to tell me. Part of me felt like maybe it would have been better if I never found out.

After dinner (they finished dinner, I barely touched the rest of my plate after that), Izayoi began to lead me back to my room. After a few hallways, she slowed down, looking back. A few maids were hanging around doing nothing, but the head maid told them to get to work.

When we were alone in the hallway, Izayoi turned to me, her features softening, she wasn't so...I guess "stiff" would be the word to use. She was more relaxed. "I want to apologize."

Even her voice showed she wasn't so "stiff". "For what?" Even though I sort of knew where she was going with this. At least she was willing to apologize.

"I thought you were the one behind this winter. And I've been...I've been suspicious of you."

Well that explains things. "The way you've been acting all day towards me, right?"

"Yes. I've actually wanted to see if...if...killing you would have brought spring back."

Yeah, that statement made me take a step back. Especially the calm way she said it! What kind of world am I in that you think that was plausible?!

She brought her palm to her forehead, looking tired. "Again, I'm sorry. I enjoy working here, but being stuck inside all day is quite maddening. That, and we keep losing servants, and there's that collapse Lady Patchouli mentioned. One of my best maids died because of…" She sighed, closing her eyes and not finishing that sentence. "I just want this winter over with."

"You're a...bit desperate." (Boy is that an understatement, especially since she said she wanted to see if killing me would fix things - just like Asakura!) Why is it that people think that getting rid of me will solve anything?!

Though... could I blame her? I mean, here comes this boy at your front doorstep, and then the snow doesn't let up afterwards? That would be considered an omen of sorts. There was some sort of plausibility to what she was thinking, as much as I hated to admit it.

"Yes. Thing is, Lady Patchouli doesn't know how bad it really is. We're actually out of a lot of things. That boar we had for dinner was actually the last major animal we had to eat. And we have a lot of mouths to feed in this mansion. It's way worse than any of them think. I've had to make do with so little, so again, I'm sorry."

I stared at the maid for a while, unsure of what to say, really. I had to force myself to speak. "Well, I'm not crazy about your willingness to kill me to fix your problems, but I at least see where you're coming from here." It's one thing to think it, but it's another to act on it. No, if she was truly convinced it was me, she'd have done something while I was out. She didn't. I was glad that reason had some hold in this crazy house.

Izayoi gave me a little apologetic smile. "I just wanted to get that off my chest. Because I know you noticed how I behaved around you." She placed her hand on her chest, and gave a slight bow. "And I do want to apologize for my actions...and my wanting to kill you. Like I said, it's kind of maddening staying inside."

"Hmph. At least you're honest about it." As honest as one could be about planning a murder, I suppose.

"Yeah, well, I'm sorry. If there is anything I can do to make up for it, then just tell me."

I nodded for a bit, and then looked around. My heart was pounding, because of what I wanted to ask. Though since she was a maid and she said that, another completely different thought flashed through my mind, but I didn't want to get into that, as I quickly let it go. And I don't think I'll share such a thought with anyone. *ahem* Anyway, off on a tangent here. "So...you can stop time?" I felt like a young kid again, because I knew I could see something cool.

She smiled, her eyes shining. "Oh. Oh I see. Okay, kid. Fair enough."

I couldn't help but smile back. At least she got the gist of what I wanted. "'Kid'? You're only a few years older than me... Unless you're a youkai and way older than me."

She had a full-blown grin. "No, I'm a human, the only human employed by Lady Remilia. But you want to experience it, don't you? Stopping time?" Izayoi held out her hand. "Well, grab my hand. And don't freak out, because it's a weird sensation the first few times."

I did so, noticing that her hands were soft, warm, very feminine, yet also felt… strong. She is a house servant after all. Being this close to her, Sakuya truly was beautiful - an idealistic beauty of a maid. I felt my face flush a bit when I realized I was holding hands with such a woman.

Of course, my embarrassment was superseded by something else very shortly. After a moment, I watched as her eyes glowed red. Save for us, the world suddenly (and violently) shifted to gray, the "impact"(if I could call it that) almost knocking me off my feet. Izayoi stood there just fine.

"This is it." Sakuya grinned. "Time has stopped."

Whoa.

She then led me by the hand through the halls, our footsteps somehow muffled and amplified at the same time, echoing around us. We walked past frozen maids, windows with snowflakes perfectly framed outside through the panes of glass. It was like we were the only ones in this house, and we were passing statues. There was a beauty in this, one that I couldn't describe. I don't want to get too poetic here, but it was almost as if I were seeing things through somebody else's eyes, if such a saying made sense for this experience. I don't know - maybe I should have taken up poetry.

"This is...this is awesome!"

Izayoi giggled, beaming. "Well you're easily amused."

"Izayoi, how does an amazing person like yourself become just a maid?"

She stopped and gave me a deadpan look, the good mood she had earlier gone. The color returned to the world as we came back into time, and her eyes went back to blue. I instantly regretted asking that. "That's none of your business."

"I...well, I didn't mean to offend. I'm just blown away by what you can do."

Izayoi sighed before motioning to the door. We were near my room. "...I don't...want to tell you."

Well, at least she didn't try to ease me into that. She obviously didn't like me prying into her there in silence for a bit, I gave a light shrug. "I'm sorry."

"...Yeah." She wasn't making eye contact. It was easy to see that this was uncomfortable for her. "Please go to bed. We'll have a full day tomorrow, though hopefully we can end it quickly." She turned and walked down the hall, leaving me.

"Wait, Izayoi. I'm sorry!" I repeated, even though I know I touched a nerve somehow.

She stopped, and turned her head a bit. "You don't have to call me Izayoi. Sakuya will do just fine."

Sakuya continued walking, leaving me there alone. I let out another sigh. Well how the hell was I supposed to know it was a touchy subject? What is someone, who can control time, doing as a servant? Though, I guess if she wanted to take a quick nap break when she wanted, it would come in handy. I guess that's one perk. Also, she said she was the only human in the home. Again, why? If you're this powerful… though that's relative. If Remilia had to beat Meiling to earn her as a servant, then does that mean… Maybe Remilia was far stronger than even a time stopping human.

I opened my bedroom door, my mind swirling with all sorts of thoughts on everything I had just been experiencing since waking up, when I saw something that made me look around, quickly enter, and close the door.

Somebody had left papers on my pillow, a small stack of them.

Immediately I thought Nagato, Koizumi, or someone else from my world had left them there. Grabbing them, I found they were torn pages from a book of some kind.

It had a vague tale of a youkai tree, a tree called the Saigyou Ayakashi. It caused people who viewed it as it bloomed to fall asleep under it. And then it killed them, taking their lives, their souls, and adding to its power. Eventually it got powerful enough to make people go mad so they allowed themselves to be killed by this thing, or bring more people to view it. One winter, a group managed to temporarily seal it and keep it from blooming for well over a decade. A woman was sacrificed to seal it away for good, and it disappeared from the world. It was an interesting read, a basic fairy tale, I suppose. Thankfully it was in Japanese, so I had something to read that I didn't struggle with.

The last page, though, was a handwritten note. Its elegance was stupefying; such penmanship! But the message...

"Should the Saigyou Ayakashi ever bloom again by reviving the sacrifice, the world will know once again the unstoppable terror of the youkai tree. Youkai and humans alike will fall under its spell, and gladly allow themselves to be consumed."

Interesting. I began to wonder who left the papers. It couldn't have been Patchouli or Koakuma, they loved their books and I couldn't see them ripping them up for me. Remilia? No, she's the type who would flat-out tell me something, like Haruhi. Sakuya? A possibility. But I didn't think it was her. Then again, I'd known these people for less than a day. And this didn't seem like something Nagato or Koizumi or anyone else from my world would do. I mean, if they could bring something like this in, then why not try to get me out, or make some contact that said "Kyon, we're working on getting you out of there" or what-not.

I put the pages in my coat pocket. Maybe I'll ask Sakuya if she was the one who put these here, maybe not. Either way, I'll want to look at them later, see if there was some sort of hidden message or something.

As long as it didn't have to do with mathematical equations...

April 2nd, 2004

I awoke with a start, confused, not sure of my surroundings, until I found myself in that lavish red room again. My heart sank for a moment, understanding that what I went through wasn't a dream. A small part of me clung to the idea that I was dreaming a very weird and vivid New Years dream. I went to the window, again watching the snow fall to the Earth in this place.

Gensokyo, huh? And this place is under a constant winter.

I stood there, debating on what I was really going to do. I mean, Remilia ordered me to join Sakuya, but… did I owe it to them?

It didn't take me long to know what I was going to do. Of course I owed it to them. For some unknown reason I was brought into this place, attacked, and the residents of this mansion gave me sanctuary. I absolutely did owe them.

The more I thought about it, the less upset I felt. I knew this was going to take all day, yet I couldn't help but feel a little excitement at the prospect of solving a fantasy world's problems. After all, wasn't this a scenario people wished they could go through? Getting into a new world, becoming the savior? It was a nice idea to kick around.

And it's not like I'll be alone. Sakuya handles knives and can stop time. She can handle things, right? Unless… there is something stronger than her…. My previous thoughts on Remilia becoming her master came roaring back, making me reconsider things. I didn't want to dwell on that negative, so I just got ready. I put on my winter school clothes - interesting they came in with me, considering I was nowhere near my school when I came to Gensokyo. Exiting my room, I realized I didn't know how to get out of the mansion, so I had to flag down a fairy maid. She was cute, a little red haired maid, and while she was hesitant to talk to me, she at least led me to the front door. I thanked her, and went outside, finding myself alone on the front porch of the Scarlet Devil Mansion. The snow storm had lightened up a bit, as it was just flurries, and the dawn was coming in, coloring the sky in a very impressive array of colors. I would have appreciated it if I wasn't so tired - I only got about four hours of sleep. I let out a big yawn, and Sakuya, in her maid outfit and wearing a scarf, gave me the thermos again as she exited the doors behind me.

"Uh...thanks." I poured myself a cup of coffee.

"You'll need it, apparently." Sakuya gave me a look of disapproval. "Why couldn't you fall asleep?"

"I'm just very nervous about this." That's a very big understatement. "It's going to be dangerous, isn't it?"

"Dangerous?" She motioned to an icicle that was hanging off the fountain. "I'll show you dangerous."

Instantly, knives surrounded the icicle, and for a split second, they hung in midair. Then they all converged on it at a high speed, turning it into flakes of ice. I nearly dropped my cup of coffee. She then looked back at me with a little smile. I gave a weak smile back. I did have to admit, that was pretty cool. Yeah, maybe this won't be as bad.

"So what next? A steamroller?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"

"Uhm, never mind. Sorry. A joke from my, uh, the outside world." I had to keep myself from shouting "Za Warudo!"

"Uh-huh." She stared at me for a moment, before letting that go. "So, you ready then?"

"I uh, I guess. If you need me to be some sort of cherry blossom beacon or whatever, I suppose that's fine with me." That was a bit of a lie on my part. I still did not want to go out there.

"Morning, you two." Meiling walked past us towards the gate, carrying a satchel and another thermos. We started to walk with her. "Ready to set off?"

Sakuya gave a single nod. "Yes, Meiling. How is the new lock coming along?"

"Ah, the fairies know nothing about blacksmithing. And the three that did are dead from the snowstorm after that roof collapse in the east wing. Lady Patch tried to make a new lock, but it always has to be with some sort of magical property with her. Damn annoying, because if I ever get into an overwhelming fight and run out of magical power, I'll be stuck out there."

"Hmph. As if anything can overwhelm you." Sakuya readjusted her scarf. "And besides, you can fly over if you remember to save enough power to do so."

She can fly? Well, didn't she say she was flying/floating over the lake? That is, if her story is to be believed.

Meiling chuckled. "Well, you never know. But I just need a normal lock. The best ones are made in the human village though, if they're not from Genbu, and until it's safer to go over there, I'm out of luck."

"Well I was lucky that it was broken in the first place. Otherwise I would have been a midnight snack for that little youkai," I said.

She flat-out laughed as she opened the gate for us. "Hah! Yeah, well, you can thank the Black-White for that, kid."

"...Black-White?"

"Oh, that's right, Meiling. He doesn't know."

There is a lot I don't know in here. I'm new, remember?

"Well, that's okay. He doesn't need to know about our defeat. Though maybe he should."

"Defeat?" As I asked that, Sakuya angrily scowled at the guard.

"Meiling!"

"By the way, Sakuya, how are the ribs? I was afraid the Red-White really did you in when she broke them." A knife flew towards Meiling from behind, and she caught it at the last second. She handed it back to Sakuya as if it was nothing. "Obviously they're doing good if you can throw like that. Okay, I'll leave you two to do your jobs."

At first I was horrified that Sakuya threw a knife at her co-worker, but seeing them take it in stride, I couldn't help but shake my head a bit before I asked a question. This house really is crazy. It's the norm to attack your co-workers. "You're not coming with us?"

"Nope. I have a purpose here, to guard the door and protect the people inside."

Too bad. Not insulting the maid here, but if what the guard told me the day before was true, I wouldn't have minded having her be my guide.

Meiling handed me the satchel. "Kid, your lighter and flashlight are in there, as well as some breakfast to go, two lunches, a few servings of tea leaves, and various other things Lady Patch thought you might need for this excursion. And I really do hope you two can end this winter. It's been getting worse actually. That, and since I can't fulfill my duties as the gardener as well, the days are just boring. And, kid?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't worry. We talked with the mistress, and she said that if you do this, we'll work on getting you back home somehow."

I stared down at the satchel handed to me, the prospect of going out getting a little better. So this will be give and take. If these people can get me out of here, then maybe, just maybe, I really can do this for them. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it."

"But uh...'things worse than youkai'? What was that all about last night?"

Meiling sighed and crossed her arms, her smile fading. "Well you see kid, no human has made the effort to truly map out Gensokyo, and neither have many youkai. I've been here all my life and I still don't know that much about this place. There are rumors of a village of Kappas, Tengus, and the like. There's even one really nasty rumor of a path directly to Hell itself."

You know what, I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that.

Sakuya's jaw dropped."I haven't even heard that one, and my maids are all gossip queens."

"Point is, chances are you'll end up going somewhere where no human has gone before, and lived to tell about it. Though the winter could work in your favor with that, as a lot of youkai aren't out and about. That, and you have Sakuya with you, kid. She's a vicious fighter. You're in good hands." Meiling eyed Sakuya, jutting her jaw to the side. "Although, Sakuya, you do know there is a chance they'll be out there too, right? I think this might qualify as an 'incident'."

Sakuya slowly nodded. "Yeah, those two..."

I'd put down here who they spoke of, but we'd actually run into those two in question later. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

And so began our great journey together. Me and a maid. Kind of like my Saturdays when we drew lots and I was paired with Asahina. Except this wasn't like those Saturday excursions I had with the Brigade, looking for paranormal activities in places that had none. I was in a world that had paranormal activities going on all over the place. And this maid could stop time and throw knives with precision.

Might as well have been looking for a needle in a stack of needles. With things looking to eat you alive.

Just got to follow the trail of cherry blossoms in the wind...

I hope we can do this quickly and painlessly.

The fox woman watched as the two left the mansion, the maid and the boy, while dusting off some of the snow that had gathered on her blue and white outfit, and her nine tails. She'd have to get back to her mistress and report that things were going according to what was foretold. She had an idea of what to do next, but she needed to make sure. She'd never seen her mistress this focused in a while, driven like this. What was happening though did call for all of this attention.

The woman sighed, still a little shaken up from last night's mission. She was lucky too, she had gotten in and placed the notes, sure that the two were quite some time from the room, but then they instantly appeared outside, talking. She nearly knocked over the pitcher of water in surprise. If it weren't for her master's power, she would have been caught by the boy, or worse, the maid.

Ah well, she got it done, and now had to head home for the next objective. However, she had an idea of what was to be done next.

The shrine maiden in red and white, and the witch in black and white.

She'd have to be careful about the maiden though. The witch was friendly enough, it seemed, but the shrine maiden, the miko, was ruthless when it came to youkai.

The two left the guard, and were heading towards the cherry blossoms. The woman looked up at the heavens, knowing where they would go. Would they be ready for this?

"Killing people by merely willing it..."

She hoped they would be ready to face the one behind it all.

-begin-

Unable to update.

Subject [NAME REDACTED] "KYON" still missing.

-end-