Imperfect Cherry Blossom

by Supperdude9

Belief, faith, & fear are funny things. Kyon finds himself in a new world, a world of true fantasy. He will need help to get out of Gensokyo alive. Haruhi/Touhou Crossover! Set after the events of Snow Mountain Syndrome & written as an introduction to Touhou. Rated T. Soundtrack companion available on Youtube. Search episode name for playlists! Meltdown 12.5 is OUT!

10. ICB Episode 10 Warm

Such a sad existence. To spend your afterlife having to watch over the very thing you killed yourself to seal away.

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]

[Remastered note: I'm reworking Yuuka's name to how it's supposed to be. Originally I had it as "Yuka", but that was an old way of saying her name I was used to. Kind of the same with another character who the fans had her first and last name as just one long first name. This was due to initial translations. But from this point on, I'll be reworking on Yuuka's name. It's one of the things I regret after time had passed on this story.]

Beta Readers for this Episode(Alphabetical Order):

Serendipital

superstarultra

---

It's funny in a way, of how things stand in relation to other things. Events in ones life compared to another. I'll come out and say it - I wish I wasn't in that situation I had found myself in. Heck, I wish I wasn't in a lot of situations: Asakura almost killing me, the end of the world, the remaking of the world, that snow mansion, the fact that the world could have ended over a mere baseball game, and I'm sure the list will go on and on in the future, with who I deal with and all. Even if I got through that, there was a slight tickle in the back of my mind that I'd only find even more stressful events, but I had to focus on the then and there. Anyway, what I was saying is that the thing is, when said events are over, and you've survived them, they're not that bad when you look back on them. Like maybe a bad shift at work, or in my case, a bad day at school. You want them over as soon as possible because it feels like you can't take it anymore, but you can get through them if you just push yourself.

Like then. Well, not like then, since I was in a combat situation, fighting for my life, and for the lives of the rest of the world against a genocidal tree that went around eating people's souls.

You know what, that was a bad way to go into it. A bad day at school had nothing to do with what I was doing. Absolutely nothing. My analogy doesn't work for that at all, does it? Forgive me.

Anyway, where was I? I was rambling there for a moment. Maybe I'm just trying to cope and partition what I went through so I can stay sane.

...Right. The Saigyou Ayakashi and the never-ending winter. What an event. Who would have thought that the culprit was someone from the afterlife. And the reasoning behind it was just misplaced faith. Yuyuko thought if she took the spring (which, by the way, I never knew could be taken) and applied it to a dead tree, she could simply meet someone. That was it. She ignored our warnings that the stupid thing would kill us all, so she could sate her own goals.

If there were less bullheaded single-minded people like this, the world would be a less headache-inducing place.

Regardless, I can now look back and see some similarities to what I said earlier. My musings of Ragnarok proved quite accurate, didn't they? I might be reading too much into it, but it still bothers me how...close, even just somewhat, it all was. At least the Norse Mythological weapons used in Ragnarok that are owned by the Scarlet sisters weren't in play - the spears owned by Odin and Loki: Gungnir and Laevateinn, respectively. It's scary, thinking about the similarities. Still, in a way, it was pretty awesome to be a part of something resembling Norse Mythology in a Japanese setting, despite that mythology being the end of days and all.

Fimbulvetr, the never-ending winter. What's sealed away, the Ayakashi, which might be some sort of Fenrir, the sealed wolf that destroys. We were in an afterlife...and you have the Norse afterlife, Valhalla. Yggdrasil, the tree of life as a symbol...

Except the tree we were dealing with wasn't a tree of life. It was a tree of death.

---

[Imperfect Cherry Blossom]

[Episode 10]

["Warm"]

---

"Remembering the Melancholy of Human Existence.

Even Ghosts stray from the path of Righteousness."

- Touhou 7, Perfect Cherry Blossom - Yuyuko's Revival

---

"I pray that I might die beneath the flowers in spring when the moon is full."

- The Poet Saigyou, the supposed first victim of the Saigyou Ayakashi

---

Oh, please no. I kept tugging on her dress, screaming her name, trying not to look. She kept walking forward. "Marisa! Please! Don't go towards it!"

She didn't answer. Just kept walking. Though to be fair I wasn't sure I could actually hear anything, since my heart was going as fast as it could in my ears.

Sakuya shouted out, noticing my cries for help and understanding how dire the situation had gotten. We were about to lose someone. "Marisa! Please don't!"

"Marisa! Wake up! Marisa!" In the limited vision I gave myself with my arms, I saw Reimu blindly try to grab at Marisa. But she couldn't, as she wasn't anywhere near the path of the witch. "Kyon! Stop her! Anyone!" There was panic in Reimu's voice, and it made my heart leap in my throat, especially since I was sharing in that panic.

I'm not losing anybody! I can't! I can't stand the thought of losing someone! Tears started to stream from in my eyes as I struggled to hold on to her, to try anything I could to stop her from going towards it. This girl, this girl who I just barely met today. This girl who had taken me into the air to fly. She had given me a childhood dream. Now...now she's in danger of dying right in front of me. I'm not gonna let that happen! If it was any of the three girls I had shared the day with, I would have acted the same. Just moments before, they were battling to save me. Standing up to a powerful person to protect me. Like hell I was going to allow one of them to die.

What happened next kind of put all that on the proverbial back burner. Pretty strange, even by my S.O.S. Brigade standards.

Lethergo.

...Excuse me?

It was a deep, guttural voice. A voice one might hear in cartoons being used by voice actors to perform for monsters. It was unnatural, however. Like a slow mumbling of words. They seemed meshed together, but I could understand what was being said. And the sound reverberated inside my skull.

Lethergo.

That's right, the tree started to talk to me.

Honestly that had to be one of the dumbest realizations I have ever had. It popped into my mind what was happening, what had to be happening, and I immediately accepted it. It was the only thing that made sense. And it was telepathically, I think, since nobody else seemed to hear it. Yeah, I know - trees aren't supposed to talk. Well, this is my weird, wacky life we're talking about. Talking cats...why not talking trees as well?

Lethergolethercometome.

You gotta be kidding me. I wished someone was kidding me for once. That would have made my life a whole lot more manageable. It would be nice to know that my life was just a wild fiction. Then again, if my life is just a lie...ah, forget that. Don't need to even consider that headache. That being said, I want to say that the tree talking to me was one of the weirdest things that has happened or will ever happen to me, but I know that due to the company I keep, it may not be.

Enough musings. I needed to save Marisa. I planted my feet into the ground, the rain from earlier and the fact that the roots of the tree loosened the soil making that a feat to do. My shoes were getting caked by mud as they struggled to find any sort of traction under these less-than-optimal circumstances. "Please! Marisa!"

It'ssoeasytolethergo.

I adjusted my grip on her, again finding myself sliding alongside the witch's slow walk towards the tree. "Marisa! Please stop!" I have to say I was surprised that Marisa was able to physically ignore my efforts. I'm not a bodybuilder, but even I could have moved around a girl my age, especially of Marisa's build. Yet she was just dragging me along.

Lethercometomeandthenlookup.

You're the tree, aren't you? Even now I can't believe that that happened, or that I even mentally asked that question. When it answered me, I didn't feel any surprise over it.

Giveyourselftomeyouareboundt ome.

I can't believe this is happening.

Youabsorbedmyblossomsnowletm eabsorbyou.

I grit my teeth, both unable to believe I was being telepathically spoken to by a tree, and pissed off that it was trying to make me let Marisa be taken. Truth be told, I didn't know which was worse (and still don't). Just being in that situation would have been overwhelmingly infuriating if I wasn't preoccupied with what I was doing. I yelled at the witch. "I don't want to see you die!" It was true - I didn't want to see any of them die. Especially this girl who had been lightly flirting with me. That was an enjoyable part of the day.

Icanmakeyourdreamscometrue.

Itwon'thurtjustlookatme.

"Marisa!"

It'ssoeasytojustlookup.

"Marisa!" Her walk slowed down. I kept pulling on her, kept screaming her name, didn't stop at it. I had a massive headache by then, with the messages the tree was giving me. I could actually feel a force trying to lift my head up. No! Fight it! I can't let this thing beat me! I didn't come this far just to be food for a tree! I did not survive everything in the past year just to end up as fertilizer! I grabbed her arm, able to tug on something other than her clothes. "Marisa! Wake up! You gotta fight it!"

Lethergo.

Screw you.

Givein.

Oh push off with that. I was at my limit. That's probably why I grew aggressive with my thoughts. Stop this! I'm tired of all this! Remilia was right. I can defy those more powerful than me. I refuse to lose to you. Hell, I refuse to lose her to you. I'm going to enjoy watching you burn.

Youcan'tdefeatmethecorpseinmyrootsf ailedtobeatmewhatchancedoyou thinkyouhaveyoupatheticlittl ewormIwillconsumeyouIwillcon sumeyourfamilyIwillconsumeev erythingyouevercaredabout.

Shut up! I'll beat you!

Youareinsignifigantyouarenot hingyouareworthless.

I can change existence itself. I have traveled through time. I have altered the timeline. I can influence a "God". I am blackmailing a group of things that can hack reality to heed to what I want them to do. I have survived attempts on my life. I have saved the world on multiple occasions. I can and I will beat you. You're going to be just another challenge for me to overcome. Just another thing I'll look back on and laugh about. Ultimately, you are nothing to me. I am "John Smith". You are nothing compared to me.

I think that overdid it.

YOUWORTHLESSLITTLEWORMYOUDON 'TSTANDACHANCEI'LLMAKEYOURCONSUMPTIONPAINFUL LI'LLMAKEITSLOW!

Why was I being yelled at and threatened by a tree? A freaking tree?! It's so beyond absurd! Just shut up already! You're gonna be put down by us and there's nothing you can do about it!

I'LLKEEPYOUALIVEWHILEICONSUMEE VERYONEYOU'VEEVERKNOWNI-

[SPELL CARD: LOVE SIGN "MASTER SPARK"]

The familiar sound of Marisa's laser spell rang in my ears, making me wince. I lessened my grip as I instinctively almost went to cover my ears, but I forced myself to stay with the witch. As she had stopped, I grabbed her waist, relieved that I had found my footing. I still didn't want to turn to see what happened though.

"It's okay, ze!" Marisa's voice was shaky. "Got 'em in a sweep!"

Wait, you did?! The light that was there before was gone, the roots moving, shaking, allowing some of the light of the afterlife into the dome we were in. I reluctantly looked up, still afraid.

She did it! The blossoms on the tree were burning, as were most of the limbs. Marisa stood there, wide eyed, with her octagon-thing smoking from the laser's use. Best of all, the voice was cut off. I turned Marisa to face me, as I still clung to her.

"Marisa! You okay?" I almost choked up saying that, as I straightened up. My arms were still around her, and it was almost like I was embracing her as we stared into each others eyes. Actually, I was. I held her close, arms around her waist. I could feel her body heat through our rain soaked clothes, a body heat I had come to be familiar with, what with holding onto her for our rides on her broom.

She stood there, blinking a few times. "...Yeah. Yeah I am...I guess since I'm already crazy...it...it didn't work on me, eh?" She gazed into my eyes as she tried to nervously chuckle it off. I could see that she knew she had a near-death experience, as what almost happened must have been dawning on her. Her female frame lightly shook as I held her. It appeared that she didn't want me to know that it fazed her though, as she cracked a fake smile. Her face blushed red as she looked down at my arms around her, before she looked back up to my face. "...Are you crying...?" Marisa asked.

I just stared back at Marisa, wiping at my eyes and wanting to tighten the embrace. A million different emotions went through me, of how close we came to losing her. ...How close I came to losing this girl. I was the one holding her back after all,

Ultimately relief was the emotion my body settled on. And some confusion. The relief actually felt like it meant more than it should. I barely knew this girl, yet...

Reimu ran up to us, hugging Marisa out of my arms. Reimu was both angry and relieved. "You dummy! Idiot! I don't know what I'd do if we lost you!"

Going a little tsundere there, Reimu. Damn it, now I'm using those terms Haruhi uses...though when did she use "tsundere"? I was glad Reimu literally took Marisa out of my hands. Holding onto the witch at that time was giving me mixed feelings.

The witch just patted Reimu on the back, her eyes still showing that she had a near-death experience. "Hey, you know I don't go down that easy, ze."

The ground beneath us shook. The tree screamed again, but this time with no shockwave. Way to ruin a touching moment. It was also time to get away from the tree - we were too close to the thing for my comfort zone. While we ran back to Sakuya, I called out to Reimu. "Reimu! What now?"

"I don't know!"

The maid gave Marisa back her broom as she asked Reimu, "Can you seal it back up?"

"What?"

Sakuya pointed at Reimu, an edge in her voice. "You're the Hakurei Shrine Maiden! You stick one of those amulets on a youkai and it disables the power they have or whatever, right? You know, seal away evil spirits, cleanse a body of curses, that sort of deal? I know you sometimes do that to Milady when she tries to attack you!"

Sounded like a plan to me. I had to agree. "Well as long as we don't sacrifice someone here, I'm all for it! It's a youkai anyways, right? So it should work, right, girls?" Wait, Remilia attacks Reimu? What happened to "swearing allegiance"? I had to let that thought go, as it wouldn't have done me any good in that situation.

Marisa picked up her hat and quickly dusted it off, staring at the immense tree. "It might take one huge freaking amulet for this one, ze!"

Understatement! I turned to the miko, as I understood that this could be our only way of surviving this. "Can you do this, Reimu?" Please tell me you can. This thing isn't gonna play magical card games with us. It wants to straight up eat our souls.

The miko stood there, staring at the tree as the buds were forming again. Seeing her unsure like that was unsettling, to say the least. She's supposed to be the one who dealt with youkai, and to see her have some sort of fear towards that thing made me afraid as well.

That's a lie, actually. I was afraid from the get-go about that thing. Not only was its power something I feared, but also because of its physical presence. Literally made me feel small in comparison.

"I-I don't know! I never sealed away anything this big or powerful before! But..." Reimu paused, thinking. Her face got that steeled look back again, like she knew what to do. "I… I think there is a quick ceremony I can perform to place a strong seal… I don't know if it'll work though!"

"We got nothing else, miko!" said Sakuya in a quick huff. "Do it!"

Reimu quickly drew a symbol into the ground around her with her gohei, and started to perform some motions, chanting. A colorful aura began to surround her, resulting in a light show of a multitude of colors, and that light shone from the symbol she stood on. With every word she said, the light intensified, building up power.

I would have been completely impressed and enthralled by witnessing such a thing, but I had more pressing matters at hand.

The tree roared, and the ground shook again, but more intense this time. Roots shot up from in front of the tree. They intertwined like snakes, and I had the feeling they were about to strike or something. And the tree wasn't done talking to me.

Iwon'tgiveherthechance.

That's bad! Another stage of attacks from the final boss! And if this were a video game, you'd see in the corner of the screen "New Objective: Protect Reimu as she seals the tree" or something like that.

"That's bad!"

Just thought that, Marisa! "Hurry up, Reimu!"

[SPELL CARD: MAGIC SIGN "MILKY WAY"]

The colorful stars were back, all hitting the roots as they suddenly came right for the miko. The tree screamed in response, the roots turning to ash. I "felt" it, in a way. I heard, in my mind, the tree cry in anguish; and it was a beautiful sound, of someone, no, something arrogant used to getting its way and not being able to.

Sakuya let out a laugh of relief as she brought out a spell card after witnessing Marisa's effect. "At least spell cards work on this thing!"

"I thought Danmaku was non-lethal!"

"And I thought trees weren't murderous!" Sakuya activated her card, focusing on her target. "Who cares, Kyon! It's working!"

True. To be fair, before that day, I didn't know that trees had the capacity to be genocidal either.

[SPELL CARD: ILLUSION SIGN "KILLING DOLL"]

The new roots that popped up were put down with the knife attack, perforated and cut to pieces with satisfying thwacks as the knives impacted into the wood.

Maybe I'm taking too much pleasure in this. Considering what was taking the damage… maybe not enough. I looked over at Marisa, who was shooting lasers. "Marisa! Barrier?"

Her loud lasers died down long enough for her to answer me. "I'm down to my last handful! I wanna use it when we really need it!"

Right, if we need to be healed after we beat this thing, and I can't, I'll feel really bad... I held up Cirno's spell card, determined to be of some use there, and wanting to shut the stupid tree up. It kept telling me that everything we were going to do would be in vain. Before I could even read the card, the ground shook violently. We were looking where they would pop up, but instead they came from right under us. Four roots, wrapping around us, and bringing us into the air. Reimu was brought closer to the tree, a single root rose in front of her, pointing directly at- Oh God, the tree is going to impale her!

LikeItoldyouyoupatheticwormI can'tbebeaten.

"Reimu!"

Nowwatchherdie.

The root shot forward.

---

She stared at what was outside the house, stunned. She sensed that Lady Yuyuko was knocked out, but out of harm's way. Through the roots, she managed to see the power of the Shrine Maiden, her attempt to gain energy to seal away the evil thing in front of her...and the tree interrupting whatever the miko was doing.

The four were in danger. The gardener's eyes narrowed as she drew her katanas, a scowl forming on her face. She allowed all the rage that had been building up to rear its head.

Finally. Youmu Konpaku was going to take out her frustrations with the tree.

Time for some pruning.

---

A quick slash came out of nowhere, severing the roots holding all of us up, and the attacking one. To the side, a bunch of the roots forming the dome were falling over in halves, giving us light from out there. We all fell to the ground, right behind- Youmu? There stood the gardener, in some sort of attack position, had both swords drawn, facing the tree.

That ghost that was with her was circling her very quickly, as if excited. Youmu turned her head to the side, her left eye on us. "Shrine Maiden!" the gardener shouted. "Seal it! Now! I'll hold it off!"

I had to keep myself from fist-pumping at this save. Just like the manga and anime I watched. Last second save out of nowhere. To hell with it. I fist-pumped. Hell yeah!

Reimu nodded and restarted her ceremony. The tree roared yet again, sending out more roots. Youmu ran up one, slashing it to bits as she went, and any others that came even remotely near her. Sakuya and Marisa got back up and resumed their attack, fending off any more roots. Lasers, knives, and a samurai gardener were attacking the tree, and I had a front row seat.

This is so freaking awesome. Someone needs to make an anime of this stuff. Seriously, the way the girls were going about the battlefield was just epic. The roots were thrashing about, trying to get to their target, being held at bay by my companions. I actually stopped for a while to take it all in, fully enjoying the screams of the tree that I was hearing in my head.

Wow, I sound like a psycho right there, don't I?

Youmu jumped down in front of Reimu, defending the chanting miko from even more roots, shouting all the while. "I've been waiting for this day! I'm gonna cut you into pieces, you stupid tree!"

Is that her favorite thing to say? "I'm gonna cut you into pieces"?

Youmu was blisteringly fast - I don't know if she managed to find a second wind or if she had inhuman endurance. She was all over the place, her face frozen with a scarily determined look. It was like she really was waiting for that moment to take down the tree. The tree just kept getting cut up every time it attempted an attack in our direction. Speaking of, the tree's physical scream roared to new decibels at our defiance, trying to get a shot at the shrine maiden and not being able to. That brought me out of my awestruck daze, which in turn got me back to what I wanted to do.

[SPELL CARD: ICE SIGN "ICICLE FALL ~ EASY"]

Positioning myself behind Reimu and making sure the others would be in the little safe zone of the card, I used the Icicle Fall again, tearing up the roots that were above ground, and damaging the tree. The body of Yuyuko wasn't getting hit though - it was on the edge of the safe zone.

Again, a rumbling came from beneath us, but Youmu slashed into the ground, and got several severed roots coming up in front of us as a response, flailing around as if in pain.

Sakuya took down another root as she shouted over at Youmu. "How many roots does this damn thing have?!"

I'd like to know that one, too!

The gardener sliced up another root as she responded to the maid. "Sorry, my specialty isn't in youkai botany!"

Marisa ran forward to a root trying to circle around. Gritting her teeth, she brought up her octagon thing at point blank range, and blew it away, all the while shouting out "Master Spark!"

[SPELL CARD: LOVE SIGN "MASTER SPARK"]

It's gotta be so much fun to use that laser. That thought aside, I called out to the miko. "Reimu! You almost fin-"

Her body was enveloped in a red aura that had poured out of the symbol she had drawn, as she held up a paper amulet. "Done! I'm done!"The light concentrated on the seal, and she threw it at the tree. "Seal's up!"

Right before the amulet reached its target, it exploded into a symbol, the red light of it surrounding the tree. Slowly the roots went back underground, the Saigyou Ayakashi beginning to shrivel, and best of all, the buds all burst into flames. We were soaked by the rain as the dome of roots went back underground. The tree screamed and screamed, each one getting weaker. The only roots remaining above ground were the ones holding the body, which just dangled there.

We all ran up to Youmu, and I couldn't help but give her a hug, my body still shaking from the adrenaline. I noticed that she was cool to the touch. Well, she is a ghost, isn't she? Or...she said she's only half ghost? Thoughts for another time. "Hey, Youmu! Thanks!" I really must have been rattled. I realized that I had hugged someone who was not only pretty much a complete stranger to me, but also one who had only a while before tried to kill me for her master. I broke the hug, my face burning red over my social faux pas. Still, I couldn't say enough thanks to her, though I wish I had something better to say than that. She did just save all of our lives, after all.

The ghost girl sheathed her swords after I let go of her, seemingly annoyed - at first I thought it was with me, but I think she was annoyed with herself. Youmu just had this self-hating look in her steel blue eyes, which she lowered as she spoke. "Yeah, yeah, but after everything I've done...to Gensokyo, to the maid here...and to you, human...I just…" She slowly met my own eyes, hers showing a little moisture. She blinked a few times. The mask of her samurai side started to slip off, and she was back to being that girl I saw broke down on the staircase. Youmu pursed her lips a bit, taking a deep breath. "I'm...I'm sorry. I know I can't make up for everything. I had a hand in this. Anyone who died down there was because of my actions."

I took a second to search for some words of comfort. I mean, yeah, she was responsible, right? But she still came around and saved us. Wasn't that important? Of course, the thoughts of what she did cause crept into my mind… I'll think about that later. She saved us. We were about to die and she saved us. That's what matters now. "You said you were ordered to, and you-."

She waved a hand, cutting me off, not letting me get into what I wanted to say. "That… doesn't matter. I still did such actions. I'm responsible." Youmu tapped her chest. "Me. I should have done the right thing and…" She sighed, grimacing. The ghost thing that was with her seemed to lower its "head".

What is that thing anyways?

"I can't make up for it. Ever. Lives ended because of what I've done for Lady-" Her mouth went agape, as she stared past me. Youmu paused as she got a good look the body of Yuyuko, the gardener's expression unreadable. It must have been a mixture of multiple emotions all at once.

I don't think anyone here knew that Yuyuko was the sacrifice. Wow. But, she was all over the place attacking the tree. Did she really only notice the body just now? I guessed that was the case.

Youmu slowly shook her head, her stare frozen on the body, as she almost fumbled her katana. Her voice came out almost as a whisper. "By the Gods. Lady Yuyuko. It was Lady Yuyuko. The sacrifice was Lady Yuyuko. It was her all along. All that just to meet herself. I just hope-"

Irefusetobesealed.

Total B.S.! Total cheap last boss B.S.! "Ah, girls, we have a problem!"

The symbol that Reimu placed on the tree had begun to visually crack. The limbs started to shake, and life was trying to return to it.

Sakuya let out an exasperated sigh, as she said what was on my mind. "For crying out loud! What the hell? Reimu, what the hell is this?!"

Youdon'tstandachance.

Shut the hell up! If had I spotted an axe in the surrounding area, I would have made a beeline for it. The tree was seriously pissing me off. I knew that it would be impossible for myself to cut it down, but if I was going to die, I wanted to give the tree a few axe whacks to remember me by.

Reimu stood there with a shocked look on her face. "My barrier...my barrier isn't strong enough to take down something like this! This thing has to be way stronger than it looks!"

Marisa let out some sort of noise of fatigue and frustration, grabbing into her blonde hair. "Well, now what do we do? Please somebody have a plan!"

My thoughts raced, attempting to fathom a way to deal with that, but I myself did not know how to deal with a genocidal tree. It was my first one, after all. I was completely out of my league there. Hey, idiot, why not cut it down? It was the most obvious idea I had. However, the tree was massive, and normal chopping by axe would only take...literally days - time we didn't have. So much for me chopping it down. What about the ghost girl and her katana? Can't she chop it down? And besides, we have a time-stopping maid, too. We can chop this thing down before it knows what hit it. I held onto that thought, as it was the only solution I could come up with in that situation. I turned to the gardener, only to see the ghost of Yuyuko Saigyouji there, staring past us.

"Lady Yuyuko?!" Youmu asked suddenly, as if she were surprised to see the ghost mistress up and about. The ghost mistress of the realm floated by, still staring past us and not saying a word. Youmu repeated herself. "...Lady...Yuyuko?"

The ghost floated along the ground towards the tree, looking up at the body - her body.

She stopped, and both Yuyukos silently held their gaze on each other for a while. The ghost then spoke to the corpse. "You can go back now. Rest."

The body nodded in some sort of agreement that appeared to be much deeper than what was said - what, I don't know. The tree struggled to keep the body up above ground, but a force pushed it back down. Soon, the body of Yuyuko was submerged, back in the dirt. In response, the buds did a reverse-growth, and shrank back into their limbs. The ghost mistress kept her gaze at the patch of dirt where her body disappeared to. The silence was almost unbearable after several moments.

"They laughed at me."

Nobody said anything else, so ghost Yuyuko continued, still staring, floating there, her back to us. The rain coming down made for a very...well, melancholy setting. The white noise of the droplets all around us seemed to accentuate what was being said.

"They feared me," Yuyuko said, choking on a word for a moment, "You see. My power was too great. Killing anything with mere will. But they used me as a weapon against their enemies. I was a great youkai hunter...even though I never liked my ability to kill. I never wanted my ability to kill. But I still had to perform my duty for my monastery." Yuyuko paused for a second, before continuing. "Yet...I was treated as a freak. A monster. Not one of them. Not 'human'. Kept hidden away, only let out to deal with their enemies. They laughed about it daily. I could hear them, even though they were far away. Let out only to kill, kill youkai. A monster killing other monsters. They thought it was a great joke. But I did my duty. No threat against humanity could stop us. Nothing could stand against the Saigyou Monastery, against me. And...for all I've done for them, nobody wanted any part of me." She took a breath. By then, my mind was a blank, and I couldn't think of anything else but what this ghost was saying. "Until...her. That one youkai that was killing all human opposition. She got too troublesome, too unstoppable. So they sent me after her. And I did my duty; at least, I tried." Yuyuko chuckled, levity crossing her voice. "It didn't work against her. Didn't work. She struggled; she was too strong to be killed by my powers. We fought." Yuyuko chuckled again. "First time I had to fight, actually. I never fought before - I would just show up to where a youkai was and kill it with my power, but I never fought before. She stabbed me in the heart, but...it didn't kill me. I was slightly more than human because of my powers...but...my powers activated; she was weak herself...I saved her. I kept her from dying, because she was the first not to die…" Yuyuko wistfully looked up towards the rain. "I don't know why. I don't know why I did what I did. Maybe...maybe because I thought...'what an amazing creature to survive me'."

A creature out there that can survive such a power? Who is that strong?

Yuyuko rubbed the back of her neck, seemingly thinking that over. "I...I think that's why I did it then. I snuck her into my private quarters and nursed her to health. We actually became friends, if you can believe that. I would sneak out at night, and dance with her in the moonlight with the souls of the dead. She stopped attacking humans, making the monks think she was dead, that I did my job. We had a good friendship, my only friendship. But I ultimately had a purpose, to kill the Ayakashi. Like her, this tree was too strong. So the monks devised a way to seal it permanently, with my sacrifice, my suicide." The ghost mistress scoffed at that. "That got a big laugh from them. This time, they didn't do it from far away, but right in front of me. We...we were performing the ceremony, and she came to my rescue. She slaughtered all of them, yelling at me that it wasn't worth it to throw my life away for them."

The ghost struggled to get that last sentence out, holding back a sob. Yuyuko turned to us, tears streaming down her face, the pain on her face was not of physical, but a deep emotional one. "But I couldn't let a threat like this go. The tree had to be sealed - it had taken too many lives. Too many souls. I had steeled myself for it. I knew it was my destiny – I had to do it. I had finished the ceremony and I used enough of my power to keep my friend away as I killed myself."

Oh, man.

Yuyuko brought her hands to her face, wiping away her tears. It didn't help, as they were still falling. She was crying so hard that even under the rain it was obvious. "I watched...I watched her face as I slit my throat...I can't believe I forgot that... And...and even though they laughed at me, looked...looked down at me, used me - I still had an obligation to protect humanity." Yuyuko turned back, letting out a long sigh, and looking up into the sky. "I finally remember...everything. The main reason why I wanted to remember is because I had a vague memory of someone crying for me when I was alive. The only person who ever cried for me when I was alive. And it was her all along… when I killed myself in front of her."

I couldn't help but walk up next to her, noticing that she had to be on the verge of breaking down, her mouth quivering, face streaked with tears. I didn't know if I should put my hand on her shoulder or what, or anything. This...woman who wanted me dead not too long ago, I felt nothing but sorrow for what she went through.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. All this, all this out of nowhere. She had to kill herself, sacrifice herself in front of her only friend to save those who didn't care for her. So this was what it was all about, all a thousand years ago. Everything clicked. The puzzle pieces came together, forming the complete picture of what was going on, of what I had been brought into. It was a pretty selfish reason for her to do what she did, but… I could understand a bit. Not that it justified it. Just… I understood.

You know what? This stuff was too heavy for a mere high schooler. I could not even bring myself to imagine exactly what she went through.

But, she's another youkai hunter. Was another youkai hunter. Same as Sakuya, in a way. Same as Reimu. I looked over to those two, and it seemed that Yuyuko's story rang with them. Reimu opened her mouth to say something, but instead didn't.

Yuyuko took a deep breath, the serene expression on her face just baffling me. Bearing her soul like that, she had mostly kept her calm tone throughout it all. "But...I'll be damned if my death was for nothing," Yuyuko said. "If my purpose was just erased. I almost broke my promise." She lowered her head, placing her hand over her heart. "Father...I made a promise to you...I made a promise after I heard that the tree took you from me...that I wouldn't let it take anyone else, that you would be its last victim...the last soul it took." She stared at the tree, blinking away tears. Slowly her hand became a fist, and her stare turned into a glare. "And I refuse to break that promise!"

Jeez. This whole thing just goes deeper and deeper.

The tree responded with a roar. Yuyuko extended her arms, and her crimson butterflies began to swirl around her, around us. Tears continued to fall from her eyes. "Youmu, living humans of Gensokyo, and boy from the outer world. Stand with me." I'd gladly tell her my name, but that wasn't the time. We all looked at each other, nodding, and lined up with the ghost. Yuyuko continued. "This tree cannot be killed. But we can weaken it again and reseal it for good. If it is weakened by Danmaku, then our combined might will undo the damage I have done here."

Irefusetobesealed.

You don't have a say in this, you damn youkai.

My eyes wandered over to Marisa, who gave me a weak smile and tipped her hat. She readied a Lunatic spell card. "Time to go full-power, ze."

Reimu and Sakuya did the same with their Lunatic spell cards.

Quick question - why didn't they use their Lunatic spell cards earlier if they had some? I'd never get an answer to that.

Youmu drew both her swords. I reached in my pocket for the Ice Fairy's spell card. I hoped the tree was far back enough to not be missed by it. "Now!"

As soon as Yuyuko called for it, we each read our spell cards, and the crimson butterflies surrounded us. They caused each of our bodies to glow, making our spell cards shine with an unusual light.

It felt awesome to be a part of this - a group of people sealing away an ancient, evil being. Just like in the manga. Just like in all the anime I used to watch. I felt righteous.

Iwillconsumeallofyou.

Consume this.

Wow, it felt good just thinking that one-liner. Add "felt badass" to that list! Even though I was using the spell card of a fairy.

I was using the spell card of a fairy.

A fairy.

Okay, take away that addition. I'm not a badass. But what did feel badass, was hearing all of us call out our spell cards. We were united against this thing. This was final episode of the season-type stuff there.

[SPELL CARD: ICE SIGN "ICICLE FALL ~ EASY"]

[SPELL CARD: MAGICANNON "FINAL MASTER SPARK"]

[SPELL CARD: ILLUSION WORLD "THE WORLD"]

[SPELL CARD: DEVA GOD SWORD "COMPONENTS OF KONPAKU"]

[SPELL CARD: BORDER WORLD "HAKUREI DANMAKU BOUNDED FIELD"]

[SPELL CARD: CHERRY BLOSSOM SIGN "PERFECT CHERRY BLOSSOM OF SUMIZOME -BLOOM-"]

I couldn't even comprehend what our combined might did, our combined patterns. It's weird. My brain couldn't process it back then, and my attempts to remember it even now yields almost nothing. To best describe it would be a "flurry of colorful chaos" at first. Knives, Amulets, Needles, Lasers, Stars, Crimson Butterflies, Sword Slashes, and Icicles, all over the place; but then they sort of started to swirl together, somewhat like a helix of a strand of DNA, funneling into the tree directly - everything hit the tree. Then there was silence.

Nonononononononononononono NoNoNoNoNoNo NONONONONONONOIDON'TWANTTOSLEEP

The Saigyou Ayakashi screamed one last time as it let out a force as it let out a massive amount of heat, not unlike an explosion, which knocked all of us into the air. It also felt as if the force sapped my stamina. I came down hard on my shoulder, the pain causing me to see stars and clench my teeth so hard I thought I broke some of them (I didn't). I laid there for a while, trying to get myself together, and hoping I didn't break the arm - thankfully, I didn't. When I looked up, the tree was ablaze, but wasn't burning down. It was like some holy fire, cleansing it, taking the power away from it; at least that's what I could guess from my position.

Through my weakness and pain, I felt a sense of accomplishment as I stared at the tree. There was also something about it, like a sand drifting away from it, but I couldn't really tell. At least the voice was finally gone for good.

"Stupid tree," I blurted out. "That's what you get." Wish I could have mumbled something better there, thinking about it, because that was pretty weak as attempted catchphrases or one-liners go. And around the time we "defeated", I suppose I should say, the Ayakashi, the rain had stopped. That was almost too perfect, actually, the timing of that afterlife rain.

I just kept staring at the tree, the youkai tree. It had supposedly taken so many souls in the past, yet I just helped defeat it. Normal and useless, huh? I just helped take down a major threat to the entire world. Suck on that. And I did it being a sidekick in the adventure. Awesome.

What wasn't awesome was what happened next. It felt like it happened in slow motion. My vision was still a bit blurry from the fall, and my ears were ringing, but something came down in front of the tree, and began walking right towards me. As it got closer, my vision corrected itself, but I did not want to see who it was.

The woman in white, Letty Whiterock.

I just can't get a break, can I? I tried to move my body, my heart beating. It wasn't responding with much strength.

She had the proverbial fire in her eyes, and was holding someone by their neck. A blonde girl whose skin was blue and covered in frost, her lips quivering. It was Alice! "She told you...she told you where to go...You stupid little boy. This is all your fault!"

Not good not good not good.

Whiterock's voice was quite...demonic. It had an unnatural echo to it. She flung Alice's limp body to the side somewhere. The puppeteer hit the ground without a sound. Alice… I didn't even have time to feel sorry for Alice; I only felt fear. Letty's gaze was frozen, pardon the pun, on me. I tried to get to my feet, but I was still too weak from the fall. I whipped out the Icicle Fall spell card, figuring that I should fight ice with ice, (why not?) and began to say the words.

The lettering didn't react at all. I must have been out of magic. What a time to run out of MP! Damn it all!

Letty continued her walk towards me. I noticed that the girls were laying down in front of me, stirring. Whatever made me weak must have made them weak as well. Marisa was already on her hands and knees, but when Letty reached her, she kicked the witch in the ribs, sending her into the air. Marisa came down hard, yelping. Reimu saw this, and tried to get a shot at Letty, but the yuki-onna shot a chunk of ice at Reimu's face. The force knocked Reimu back. Yuyuko had propped herself up, but she too was put down by a blast of ice.

"Stay out of my way," Whiterock shouted. "The boy dies first!"

Not good! Really not good! My lighter...where the hell is my damn lighter? Also, again, what have I done in a past life to deserve so many people wanting me dead? I searched my pockets frantically for the lighter, the only thing I could think of to defend myself. It wasn't until then that someone had caught my eye.

Youmu had managed to stagger to her feet, but was obviously weak. She was swaying a bit, and she couldn't even bring up her katana. Dragging it and breathing heavily, she had made her way to the point where she was in between the yuki-onna and I. I could see her arm tense. She attempted to lift the katana at Letty, but I think she had reached her physical limit.

Why...why is she getting in between me and...Is she trying to protect me?

I heard Youmu grunt as her arms shook, still trying to raise her weapon. Again, Youmu must have had incredible stamina to be able to stand when I couldn't, when we all couldn't - not counting the fact that she battled Sakuya twice and helped us take down the tree all beforehand - thing is, Youmu was possibly running on empty. Her voice showed that - she was struggling to get out the words. "Not...not going to let you...take him… I messed up...he shouldn't have been here...shouldn't...have involved...we shouldn't...shouldn't have listened to you...Whiterock..."

She is trying to protect me. Youmu, you don't even know me!

Shaking, the gardener managed to bring up the katana a bit. "I'm not… I'm not going to let you kill him!"

Youmu, you don't have to do this!

Whiterock scowled and responded to Youmu's defiance. "Stay out of my way, gardener."

Letty extended her arms to her sides. Sheets of ice began to form to the left and right of Youmu.

No! Youmu!

"Because sooner or later, all who stand in my way must feel the icy touch of death!" The yuki-onna then quickly made a clapping motion. The two sheets of ice smashed into the samurai gardener like a sandwich, shattering on impact. Youmu stood there afterwards, shaking in obvious pain. The ice had left some shards that were sticking out of Youmu's body, and blood dripped down those shards. The katana dropped out of her hand with a clang, and she followed suit - the only difference being that Youmu collapsed without a sound.

Oh, God, Youmu! No! I couldn't even choke out a response to what I just saw. She was finally down for the count, and it was both sickening and heartbreaking to watch. I couldn't even tell if she was breathing or not. This gardener didn't even know me, had been one of the causes for the events of that day, yet she just possibly died trying to protect me.

Sakuya just laid there, whom Letty stepped over. I let out a little noise as the yuki-onna stood over me. Not the most masculine noise, mind you. Then again, in that situation, could anyone really blame me? I did my best to push myself up, to move, to do anything, but I just laid there.

Whiterock grabbed me by the throat and brought me up to her face, strangling me. She was ice cold to the touch, and I could feel myself starting to freeze. Compounded with being soaked, it was very cold for me.

"You stupid little boy! Why did you have to come to Gensokyo?"

I never planned on it!

I finally found my lighter, and managed to light it (amazing, especially since it was wet), but she knocked it away. All I could do was weakly flail at her.

"Now I have to hide. Now I have to once again disappear and wait until winter! This winter could have gone on forever! I could have finally been out all year instead of only being out for three months! Do you know what it's like to only be able to live for three months a year? Why? Why did you have to ruin everything? Why did you have to take away my time? And why did you have to risk all of existence?"

Not like this. Please not like this. I want to see my friends and family again...

She tightened her grip, and no matter how much I struggled, there was no way she would let go.

I want to see my parents. I want to see my sister...

I thought I saw something move from behind Whiterock, but I couldn't tell.

...Kunikada...Tsuruya...

I could feel my eyes bulge, my head about to pop, my core temperature lowering.

...even that idiot Taniguchi...

The strength left my arms and they dangled at my sides.

...Asahina...Nagato...Koizumi...

Everything was going dark for me, my ever-weakening gaze fixed on the enraged face of Whiterock. There was something about her eyes, like she had static from a television in them or whatever, but that really didn't matter to me at that point.

...Haruhi...

"I'll kill you! I'll kill these girls! Then I'll go into your world and kill everyone you ever cared abo-GYYYAAAAAHHHH!"

Letty screamed, dropping me - I collapsed, fighting to catch my breath. Managing to glance up, I saw Sakuya standing behind Whiterock.

Sakuya had a gash on her forehead, and her face was covered in blood. She was having trouble standing up but that didn't hinder the fact that she had stuck two knives into Letty's back - one from each hand. Sakuya clenched her teeth as she twisted the knives in Letty's back, causing the yuki-onna to scream. A strained smile washed over Sakuya's face as she spoke. "Gotcha, you stupid ice-bi-"

The yuki-onna whipped around, smacking away the maid. Letty reached behind her, pulling out the two silver knives. Sakuya rolled when she hit the ground, her eyes beginning to glow red - the next instant, she was at Letty's side, thrusting another knife forward. Letty quickly extended her arm, and a stream of ice went right for Sakuya's chest, making the most horrifying noise that you could hear from a human body when it connected - a crunch. Those had to be ribs breaking. Sakuya yelped as she was knocked away, but not before she got a good slash at Whiterock. Letty held onto her shoulder, blood seeping between her fingers.

"...You...little...I'll...deal...with you and yours later..."

I would have mused over the fact that a ghost was bleeding, but again, then wasn't the time. She turned to me, ready to reach down and finish what she started, when all of a sudden she stood up straight, not moving as if freezing on the spot, a surprised look on her face. I saw a few paper amulets hit Letty.

I was deeply relieved when I saw the miko standing there a few meters away. Another last minute save. Love those, especially since they save me.

The rage in Whiterock's eyes disappeared, her features softening. For a brief second there, I thought I convinced myself that she didn't know what was going on. Was that sand escaping from her body? "Wha-what?" Whiterock's voice had returned to normal.

Reimu limped from behind her, a cut above her swelling right eye bleeding down all over her clothes. She was holding another amulet. Letty stared at her, seemingly confused. Reimu took a deep breath before speaking. "You know, it can be so simple to seal away such a cursed, evil thing, as long as you know how to properly do it." The amulet in Reimu's hand ignited. Whiterock's eyes widened as Reimu continued. "That, and making it weak or immobilizing it, or both, kind of really helps out with that." Reimu's steeled herself, the anger on her face intimidating. "And now, you yuki-onna bitch, you burn!"

"Hey, wait! Please don't!"

Ignoring the yuki-onna's plea, Reimu stuck the blazing amulet to Letty's forehead.

Whiterock was completely engulfed in less than five seconds.

And I felt nothing. Nothing as the yuki-onna burned in front of the burning tree. I think Letty screamed. If she did I didn't hear her. And I don't think I would have cared. Not after what she did here, causing winter to stay, getting my life on the line. Oh, and the fact that she almost choked me out. And I won't even get into the fact that she almost threatened to kill everyone I ever cared for.

Or what she did to Youmu and Alice. Hell, all the girls in front of me there.

A blue glowing orb shot out of the burning body, and Reimu quickly turned to it. The body collapsed into nothingness, the amulets falling to the floor. "No! I won't let you get away!" The miko shot a few amulets at it, but it was already gone. She pounded her fist on the ground, a splash of muddy water hitting the both of us. "Dammit!"

"What…" I had managed to sit up. "What was that?"

Reimu didn't answer me for a few seconds, obviously ticked off with this turn of events. She wiped away some of the mud from the wound on her face, grimacing. "Damn it all. I'm slipping. Almost got taken down by a fairy today, and I let a ghost get away from me..." Reimu angrily said to herself. She again wiped at the mud on her face, before she noticed my utter confusion over the blue orb. She motioned towards the direction it went. "That was her - the yuki-onna. She left this form. Somehow she beat my amulets. It'll take her a while to gather up enough energy to become a threat again, but she's still alive. Alive for a ghost anyways."

"So that was her soul or something?"

Reimu casually nodded at that. Well now. Afterlife, confirmation of souls. Not to mention all the youkai in Gensokyo. I really need to rethink reality.

The miko grunted as she got to her feet and helped me to mine. The cut above her eye continued to bleed, some of it getting on me. Didn't bother me, however. "It's a problem with some youkai," Reimu coldly said "if you don't kill them the right way, the powerful ones can revive themselves given time."

That's...interesting to know. Speaking of powerful youkai- "Like the tree?"

"Oh. That." The anger leaving her face, Reimu turned and walked/limped to the burning Saigyou Ayakashi. She brought up her hand to hold her cut as she spoke. "Well, hopefully our host can provide a more suitable barrier this time. Or maybe the original one will recharge." Reimu shrugged. "Either way the tree is as near death as it can be, I suppose, so I think one of my barriers can hold it for the time being. I'll need to get to it."

"But, Reimu, you're bleeding-"

She snapped at me, cutting me off. "I'll be fine! Go help the others!"

Hoping that she was fine, and finding myself respecting her for being tough, I took a second to locate where the witch was. Limping to Marisa and her pouch, I wondered if there were enough cherry blossoms left to activate another barrier. Should be - the witch said she had one handful left. I tried my best to make it to her, but I stumbled multiple times due to the mud, loose dirt, and the remains of the rain. My body was a mess at that point, covered in blood and mud.

I also didn't know what the hell that explosion was. It left me weak and sore, and everyone else obviously weak. However, I'd later learn that it was the spring that was built up in the tree that was released. That's what sapped us - our bodies couldn't take the raw essence of spring that washed over us.

I passed by the two from this place - Yuyuko was already at Youmu, holding her servant in her arms. At least Youmu was breathing, but she was bleeding, badly, shards of ice sticking out of her body here and there. I was overly relieved that Youmu didn't sacrifice her life for me, and stopped to say something.

Yuyuko shot a glance at me. Her eyes showed that she was feeling sorrow, but there was also a calm collectiveness about them, saying "you shouldn't worry". "Young man, help your friends first. Don't worry about us ghosts. Let me worry about my Youmu."

I stood there, not wanting to leave Youmu, but Yuyuko simply motioned over to Marisa.

Leaving the two ghosts, I limped my way to the witch. Marisa groaned as I reached her, clutching her stomach. I stuck my hand in the pouch laying by her, and thankfully it was enough - the red barrier reactivated, all the pain in my body went away, and my energy returned. Man, I'm relying on this more than I rely on Nagato, and it hasn't failed to help, much like her. I placed my hands on Marisa, and as soon as it activated on her, I got up to go to Sakuya.

Marisa tugged on my pants leg. "Heh. You missed an opportunity. You could have-"

"Yeah, copped a feel."

Marisa shook her head as she winked. "Nope. Rejuvenated me with a kiss, ze. You know - 'Sleeping Beauty' and all."

I smiled. Why is she so flirty with me? Not that I mind, and nor am I complaining. I'd just like to know. I decided to counter her boldness with a little boldness of my own. "Tempting, but maybe later."

Marisa gave me another wink. "I'll hold you to that, Kyon."

Oh, Marisa, why can't I find a girl like you in my world? "Besides, kissing a sleeping girl I hardly know is kinda creepy."

Marisa grinned one of the most sly grins I've ever seen. "Then why don't we get to know each other better?"

Really, why can't I find a girl like you?

Enough flirtation. Getting up after healing, I ran over to Sakuya after locating her. Already a small puddle of blood was beneath her due to her gash. Placing my hand on her, I watched as her gash closed up and the look of anguish on her face went away. Her labored breathing returned to normal. I'm guessing her ribs really were broken again.

One thing I should mention: I would get into the philosophical aspect of me placing my hands on people to heal them, but I don't want to sound like Koizumi. And I don't want to read too much into such a thing. I'm just a normal high schooler, after all.

A high schooler who just helped save the world, but that's beside the point.

The maid opened her eyes, giving me a weak smile as I helped her to her feet. "So much for hoping that we would have ended this quickly," she said. "Personally...personally I thought we would have been done by lunchtime."

I just returned the smile and nodded. My mind recalled earlier that day - when Sakuya and I were in the yard with Meiling, talking about doing this, finding spring. It seemed so long ago. "Yeah...it's been a hell of a day, hasn't it?"

That is an understatement. Possibly one of my biggest understatements, which is saying something, thinking about it now. We just saved the world in a day, didn't we? Also, forgive me for using the word "understatement" over and over. Maybe I need a Thesaurus.

Sakuya grinned as she wiped the blood off of her face. The two of us made our way to Reimu, who was finishing up her ritual. Sakuya let out a little grunt as she held onto her right shoulder and moved it around. "Yeah. Ranks up for one of the more intense days I've been through. Who'd of thought this whole mess concerned the end of the world due to death by tree?"

Not me, that's for sure.

"But anyways, Kyon," Sakuya stopped, turning to me. "Thanks. You know, for healing me over and over today."

"It's no problem."

"No. Really. Thank you." Sakuya said that with such a serious look on her face. She meant it.

As for my response, well, what could I do? What could I do for a former vampire hunter who thanked me for being there that day? I just nodded.

Marisa had joined us as we reached the miko. The colorful energy surrounding Reimu had built up to a powerful aura, and when Reimu said the final chant, the fired amulet shot into the Saigyou Ayakashi. I watched as a visible seal appeared around the tree, this time staying. I don't know anything about magical logistics, but I had to assume that was a good thing.

Reimu dropped to her knees, tired, and I placed my hand on her shoulder. She responded with a sigh of relief as she turned to me, her eye and cut healing. "That should do it." Sakuya and Marisa helped up Reimu, the miko staring into the maid's eyes. "Well now, Sakuya. I have to say - your assistance in this incident was...useful." A smirk crept on Reimu's face. "But let's just make one thing clear - this doesn't make us friends, okay?"

Sakuya rolled her eyes and returned the smirk. "I know, miko. Friendship is overrated anyway."

"I call B.S. on that one, you two," cracked Marisa, grinning, as she placed her arms around on the shoulders of both the miko and the maid.

Satisfied with that, Reimu turned to me. "As for you, Kyon, you handled yourself quite-" Reimu paused - she stared at something behind me. "Alice?"

I whipped around. The still body of the puppeteer laid there on the ground. Oh, hell! I forgot about her!

The four of us were then running to the puppeteer, her eyes closed and barely breathing, if she was breathing at all. My barrier was coming to an end. Don't be dead! Don't be dead! Crap crap crap we don't have any more cherry blossoms!

Running harder, I dove right into a puddle, and slid into her. Just as it was about to end, I got to her. The barrier surrounded Alice, doing its thing - giving her warmth, healing her. The frost began to melt, and the color came back to her skin.

Alice sat up with a start as she coughed and gasped for air. It was just like in the TV shows, where someone used a defib on someone! Marisa knelt down and hugged Alice. "Alice! You're alive! Thank goodness! Would've been a real downer if you died, ze!"

Understandably, it took Alice a few seconds to regain her breath. "Ah...Mah...Marisa? Reimu? Where...where am I?"

"You're in the land of the dead, ze!"

Not the line you want to tell someone when they wake up.

Alice's eyes widened. It took a second for Marisa to realize how that came out. The witch nervously chuckled. "Oh...wait, well, yeah, you are, but you're not dead. You are in the land of the dead. But you're not dead. So please don't freak out, ze."

Is it wrong that I felt like laughing there?

"Land of the...Hakugyokurou?" The puppeteer slowly got up, and stared at her surroundings. The wonder on her face faded into confusion and then bemusement as she got a good look at where we were. "Actually, not that impressive."

Then again, we're standing, covered in mud, in the middle of a battle-torn field with a burning tree and various splashes of our blood here and there, but it really is a nice place.

Alice had to bend over for a while, still trying to catch her breath. I knelt down next to her.

"You okay? You had me worried there. You were covered in frost and all."

She brought up her eyes, and met mine. Her multi-colored eyes just stared into my soul, it seemed. "...You...you saved me. Why?"

For a second, I just got angry. The way she said that… I knew what she was implying. No. I will not be a part of this! I just had to rant. "No. Don't give me that. Don't tell me that 'why did you save me, I wanted to die' bull crap. I don't know what you're going through, what you went through, but it's got to be better than just giving up on life! You gave up your humanity to become better, right?"

Alice nodded, a little bewildered with what I was saying to her.

I angrily spoke, "But no. Don't even let that cross your mind. It was thanks to you that we saved the day, so take that win." I sighed, letting out the tension in my body. "Just don't be like that, okay? I can't stand it when it's unwarranted. You helped us big time, Alice. You're a great girl." What was up with me? I had temporarily turned into a person who was saying the right things! I was extremely impressed with myself, and wondered how long it could last.

Alice's breathing had become normal, and her eyes darted back and forth. She stood up, head lowered. "I...I..." Alice stammered.

Reimu walked up to Alice. "Well, I guess there's one advantage of not being human anymore. Youkai are tougher to kill." Alice just lowered her eyes. Reimu put her hand on Alice's shoulder. The miko gave the youkai puppeteer a small smile. "Thank you, Alice, for pointing us in the right direction. You...you almost died for it. So, I don't know what else to say. Except thank you."

Alice closed her eyes and took a deep breath. I saw a single tear fall down her cheek. "That's...good enough, I guess."

She hugged Reimu. I couldn't help but smile at this display. I hope these two won't hold grudges against each other anymore. And I hope Alice can come to terms with what she's become.

I took a deep breath, too, as I looked back on what I did that day up to that point, wondering how it came to this. How I got involved with everything there. And truth be told, despite me being scared out of my wits at times, I had a blast. I took part in an actual adventure.

"Are you strong enough to walk, Youmu?"

"Yes, Lady Yuyuko."

We turned to see the ghosts; Youmu gingerly got out of her mistress's arms, and stood before us. Good Lord. Youmu has got to be one of the toughest people I'll ever meet, youkai or not. She can still stand. Youmu knelt, despite having various cuts that were still bleeding from the shattering ice, though they were less numerous by then. Did Yuyuko heal her a bit?

"Thank you all."

I should be the one thanking you. I still can't get over what you just did for me. I don't know if I can ever repay you.

That part, I actually did say and think at the same time. Youmu did not answer me, she just gave me a single nod. Apparently, that's all she had to say on that. She must have some old school code of honor or something, like real samurais or whatnot.

Sakuya grabbed the satchel I had, getting out some bandages. Interestingly enough, they weren't wet. "You're torn up! You shouldn't be walking around!"

"I'm fine."

You're not a human interface. You might be as hardy as one, and possibly more badass, but I doubt you're fine. Sakuya didn't listen to Youmu's protests, and went about dressing the gardener's wounds. Youmu's ghost pet or whatever it was began to circle around Sakuya. I had no idea what it was doing.

Yuyuko floated to Reimu and bowed. "I wish to apologize for my actions, and my unwillingness to abide by your rules. If you see it fit to find a way to destroy me, then I'd accept it."

"Lady Yuyuko!"

"Youmu, it's all right. After all, if I had listened to you, this wouldn't have happened. It's my fault."

Reimu let out a sigh, and chewed on her lower lip, deciding. "You...you did break the laws of Danmaku. You stole spring from Gensokyo and caused multiple deaths due to the snowstorms, mostly by freezing. By principle, I should seal you away somewhere forever, or flat-out kill you." Yuyuko lowered her eyes, disappointment on her face. I think it was disappointment over her own actions. The miko continued with her bluntness. "However, you were instrumental in helping us reseal that evil tree, and Youmu has made the case that you weren't in your right state of mind. I see no reason to seek your destruction...for now anyways."

Why was she like this? "Reimu!"

"Oh, it's all right, young man," assured Yuyuko, giving me a carefree smile. "I deserve it, and I actually owe you an apology as well."

For some reason I started to act all apologetic, as if some of this was my fault. I don't know why I felt that for those few moments. "You know, it's fine now. I mean, yeah, the whole experience possibly took years upon years off my life-"

"That's not actually true. Just two and a half years."

My jaw dropped as Yuyuko stood/floated there smiling, dashing away that silly feeling. I hoped she was messing with me.

"Fufufu. Actually just an approximation. Rounded down."

When can I go home? I can't believe I'm missing the insanity of Haruhi...maybe because I've been dealing with the insanity of everyone in here!

Yuyuko crossed her arms, staring at me, showing a bit of confusion. "Interesting, however, that you had the barrier of the Saigyou monastery. We used to just call it the 'Supernatural Border'."

So that's what that was?

"Maybe it was because of my body underneath that tree, and whomever collected the cherry blossoms...it activated on them. On you. Strange. I don't remember it having healing properties like it does for you. It was only designed to protect. I don't understand..."

Join the club.

"Lady Yuyuko! What happened?" The Prismrivers had shown up. They rushed to their Mistress's side.

Yuyuko smiled at them. "Ah, Prismrivers. Could you help our guests have more accommodating settings by serving dinner? The current setting is kind of...well, I can't find the word."

Really? We pretty much fought each other over my life and you're...well, my rumbling stomach ended that line of thought. Lunch was just a light meal after all, and that jerky wasn't filling.

"You're inviting us to dinner?"

She turned to me, her smile genuine. "It's the least I could do for now."

"For now?"

"Yes. I have a long list of reparations I'll need to make. But for now, I ask all of you to come eat with me."

Running her finger on the brim of her hat, Marisa gave a sly smile. "Eating in the land of the dead? Well, I guess we're all rare and honored humans then, ze."

Yuyuko held up a finger, her face awash with realization. "However...first...before I forget, Prismrivers, could you release the fairy?"

---

Koakuma was terrified. She was shaking, but she knew she had to do this. As her summoned creature, if Patchouli died, so would Koakuma - their souls were bound together. Seeing Patchouli laid out on the table, with that piece of wood sticking out of her side was daunting. As soon as the piece was removed, the blood would really start to flow, making it difficult to heal the librarian.

"Koa. You okay?"

The little devil's gaze went from the unconscious Patchouli to Meiling. "Uh...no...no not really. I don't know if I can do this. I have to do this, but I don't know if I can."

Meiling nodded a bit, and placed her hand on the piece. "Let's get to it. Flandre said that Patchouli would bleed out in minutes. This needs to be done now."

Koakuma took a deep breath. She had the materials to sew up Patchouli, and knew a few healing spells, but for damage this severe, those were a last resort. She took a second to go over the medical procedures needed for this, mentally preparing herself. Don't screw up don't screw up don't screw up. "Meiling. Do it."

Meiling removed the debris. The blood poured out of the open wound. Koakuma felt intimidated by the task at hand. Okay okay I can do this. I can...there is too much blood! There is just too much blood! I can't sew her up fast enough!

"Fire sign. Shaoyin Heart Channel of Hand."

All of a sudden, the blood began to ooze out slower. Patchouli hadn't run out of blood, but for some reason, it wasn't coming out as fast. Koakuma noticed a light, and her gaze drifted up.

Meiling had her hands clasped over Patchouli's arm, a green glow surrounding her. The glow slowly poured into the Librarian's body. Koakuma's jaw dropped. "Meiling...Meiling what...what are you-?"

The chief guard quickly motioned towards Patchouli. "Koakuma, uh, I think you need to patch up Patch."

The assistant librarian's eyes widened as she went about healing her master. "Okay...okay...but Meiling...you need to tell me one of these days what you really are."

---

We were getting clean; well, the girls were. I was just wiping myself and my clothes down with a towel that Lyrica had given to me. While the girls were getting clean as well (as clean as you can get with wiping away blood and mud to make yourself as presentable as possible after a fierce battle), Lyrica motioned me out of the room.

"Wanna see the fairy, human?"

Considering it was a fairy that could change the seasons, yeah. I wanted to. I followed, and she led me down a hallway. Before we reached the end, the fairy popped out of a doorway. Long blonde hair, green eyes, white feathered wings. Her dress was white with a red wave pattern on the edges. She simply stared directly at me, not speaking. She held out a hand, and I didn't know if she wanted to shake hands or whatnot. Didn't matter, because within seconds, a red aura formed around me, like it did for the barrier, except this time, it was seeping into her. The spring in me was being taken by her.

Great, I guess. Wasn't doing me any good. And at least it didn't hurt to have it taken out of me.

As soon as she was done, she flew out of the building. I stared after the spring fairy, Lilly White.

"Well, that was interesting," Lyrica said, "wasn't it?" I turned to see Lyrica standing there, arms crossed and a smirk on her face. "Or have you been saturated to the point where you don't care anymore about unusual goings on?"

"Sometimes I think I'm at that level, but-"

Lyrica rolled her eyes, cutting me off. "-But something new comes along and wastes that, right?" I nodded. Lyrica took that as her answer. "Yeah, human, same for me sometimes. And remember, I'm a friggin' Phantom Copy of someone else. You think I've seen everything? I've seen some weird stuff in my travels with my sisters. All I know is that there is much more weirdness in this world. A spring fairy actually ranks pretty low on my list, if you can believe that. Anyway, come on, human. It's time to eat."

I think I like Lyrica. I felt bad for suggesting the plan of taking her down first back in the battle at the gate, but it went away. That was a different situation, after all.

I also had to wonder - what has this artist seen to make a season-changing fairy "low" on her list?

---

They let her go. She could feel the warmth up here, and it was good. But she knew that it didn't need to belong here. She sensed what was below, that winter was still going on. The fairy wanted to get out of there fast, but she met a young human male that had a lot of spring in him. She reached out, finding something holding it all in, causing it to collect in him. It took a while, but she willed it all away, the spring seeping from him, and into her. Whatever was done to him to make it collect in only him was also gone. He didn't appear to notice, and she didn't care. She then took off, gathering the spring of the realm she was in, flew down the stairs, and through the rift.

The fairy surveyed what was before her. Nothing but cold, ice, the lifeless world that came before her season. Without a second thought, she dashed at the clouds, ending the storm, before she got to work on the ground level.

Lilly White was free.

---

We had made our introductions, and told our story of getting there, including the annoying "blessing of a God" thing. Yuyuko was listening and hanging on every word while eating. She had quite the appetite. A bandaged Youmu was the one asking the questions about certain points. The Prismrivers found replacement instruments, and were playing for us, a nice tune for dinner.

All in all, this was a far cry from the battle we were just in.

"You know, humans," said Yuyuko after finishing a plate, "I have used my powers to kill, but I don't allow things like revenge dictate my emotions. Though if Letty Whiterock were alive...no, that wouldn't be any good."

Sakuya raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"

Youmu gave a little bow. "Besides this realm being the afterlife for artists," the gardener said, "Anybody killed by Lady Yuyuko's power also ends up here."

"Yes, Youmu is correct. I'd have to let Whiterock live with me."

Marisa's eyes widened in response to that as she put some sugar in her tea. "Wow. Talk about your catch-22's, ze."

I'll say. Although if you were angry enough, you could keep her here and make her pay for the rest of her afterlife...though I don't think that this afterlife would be appropriate for that purpose. There should be another one that already does that.

"Youmu..." Yuyuko said with a sparkle in her eye. "Is that apple pie I smell?"

"Yes, Lady Yuyuko."

The Mistress Ghost's smile widened.

---

Wow, she had a big appetite. It was actually two apple pies. One for us, the other strictly for Yuyuko, which she promptly ate.

"Ahh, Youmu, your pies are, pardon the pun, to die for."

"Thank you, Lady Yuyuko."

Yuyuko wasn't kidding...although dying for a slice of pie would be kind of problematic. Still, it was the most amazing dessert I've ever had. Reimu finished her pie slice and leaned forward, her face serious. I think she was about to ask something, but we heard a loud, echoing pounding that reverberated throughout the house.

Yuyuko's eyes widened. "Oh...right. The youkai. I had forgotten about her. Prismrivers, could you release her?"

The smiles on the Prismrivers faces faded, replaced by fear. Their sudden and almost violent shift from happiness to their new state was unsettling. "Uh...the...the youkai?"

"Yes. Please let her out."

The Prismrivers looked at each other, and I couldn't help but glance around as well. It seemed there was something in the air, a new tension building.

Yuyuko's eyebrow raised as she picked up her tea cup after Youmu refilled it. "Is there a problem?"

"...No...Lady...Yuyuko. No...no problem at all."

There was obviously a problem there. When the Prismrivers left (walking out of the room as if they were walking to their doom), Marisa shook her head and chuckled. "Ah, there is only one youkai I know that can get that kind of response."

Alice's eyes widened as her jaw dropped. "You don't mean-"

Marisa smiled and nodded, as if that was all that was needed to be said. And obviously it was, as Alice didn't ask anything else. I also think she didn't want to ask anything else, because she appeared to be getting sick to her stomach over something.

Reimu crossed her arms and shook her head, a knowing smile on her face. "I almost feel sorry for those sisters."

I noticed the confusion on Sakuya's face. She didn't know what was going on either. I spoke. "Is there something Sakuya and I are missing here?" Should I even know what we're missing?

Reimu glanced up at the both of us. "The youkai of flowers. Yuuka Kazami."

Before she said anything else, the whole house shook, and we could hear the Prismrivers starting to shout and scream. Reimu calmly sipped some tea, as did Yuyuko.

"Oh, dear," Yuyuko calmly said. "I hope she doesn't wreck my home."

The house shook again, and through the wall came flying Lyrica. No, not flying under her own power. I mean "flying in that she got freaking thrown through a wall" power. I let out a few curses as the phantom bounced off the floor and hit the wall behind Sakuya and I. Lyrica slid down in a heap.

"...Released...youkai..." Lyrica struggled to say that.

Yuyuko simply shook her head before taking a sip of tea. "Yes, she is wrecking my home. Oh, well, I do suppose I deserve it."

Yeah, this was probably something I didn't want to know. I asked the Prismriver if she was okay as she laid there against the wall.

"Does it look like I'm okay?!"

Fine. Be like that.

Again, more house-shaking. This time Merlin came flying in through another section of the wall, landing on the table and spilling the drinks of Sakuya and I, while everyone else just lifted up theirs in anticipation. Merlin was out cold. Sakuya brought out her knives, and I kind of scooted next to her.

"I wouldn't do that, Sakuya," Marisa quickly said. "You might give her the wrong idea, ze. Even if you did hit her, you'd only make her angry."

This was something I really didn't want to know!

Sakuya reluctantly put them away, as Yuyuko continued her drinking of tea. She smiled at me. "So, young man, this Haruhi or whomever she is. Do you really think she created all of us in Gensokyo?"

I just stared at her, not sure if she was serious about asking that question with what was going on in her house. Before I could answer, Lunasa was seen flying past the doorway the Prismrivers went through. We heard her bounce off the floor and crash into something.

"Aw, I liked that Ming Vase. Youmu, see if you can get someone up here to make another perfect copy."

"Yes, my lady."

Why in the world is everyone but me and the maid so calm?

We heard the footsteps coming closer, and they were loud, even from a ways away. Slow, deliberate, and with authority. My body tensed as a tall woman with short green hair wearing a red plaid skirt and waistcoat, with a white shirt underneath and carrying an umbrella walked into the room. She tapped the umbrella in her hand like she was going to beat someone to death with it. Hell, that's how she looked - like she wanted to beat someone to death. If looks could kill, her glare would have killed us all within seconds.

Lunasa crawled into view. Her head was swaying a bit, but it appeared that she had something to say. "Ah...introducing...Yuuka...Kazami..."

So. In Gensokyo, dealing with flowers does make you a badass.

The Prismriver then collapsed after introducing us to the one who beat her up, rolling her eyes before laying on the ground with a noise of exasperation.

The Youkai of Flowers stood there, staring down Reimu, Marisa, and Alice. They lifted their cups at her, which Yuuka gave a single nod to before speaking. "Took you idiots long enough to resolve this incident."

That was directed at Reimu and Marisa, I think. They didn't respond at all. I noticed that Alice was shaking in complete fear at the sight of this youkai. Yuuka walked to the table, grabbed Merlin by the leg, and flung the poor unconscious phantom behind her. Merlin hit the wall and slid down without a sound. I also took note that the impact had cracked the wall, and left an imprint of Merlin's face on it.

Already I knew that Miss Kazami there was a person to be respected.

Kazami then sat down, and glared at Yuyuko. Yuyuko showed no fear - instead, she returned the glare with her carefree smile.

I felt the tension in the room. Everyone was waiting for Yuuka to do something, and I was afraid it was going to be very violent. The stare down between Yuyuko and Yuuka made me uneasy, to say the least. Most uncomfortable five minutes that I could recall sitting through. I think Yuuka was searching for a reason to attack, plain and simple. When it was fairly obvious that the smiling Yuyuko wouldn't give her such a reason, the youkai spoke.

I also wondered if this youkai was the one Yuyuko was talking about - the one who slaughtered the Saigyou Monastery, but Yuuka Kazami wasn't that youkai, I would later learn. "Okay...mind telling me a good reason why I shouldn't reach over there and make you pay for what you've done, Yuyuko?"

Yuyuko calmly took a sip of tea. "First off, Miss Kazami, I would like to apologize."

"Yeah, that's a given. But I'm still waiting."

"Have a slice of pie, while I tell you what happened. It's really good. The pie, I mean."

---

"Look!"

Cirno shouted from the window. Mystia and the rest of the girls gathered around. Mystia didn't know what to see, what they were called over for-

A flash of white and red, an obvious fairy. At least, that's what Mystia saw in that instant it flew by. In that same instant, the snow stopped, the piles already starting to melt, it took a while for Mystia to really grasp this while witnessing the all the snow melting outside.

Mystia stood there, wide eyed and amazed. She tried to speak, but nothing came out.

Lilly White is real!

---

"I never liked her. She has a spell card called 'Withering Flower'. Such a horrid creature anyways. Reimu, you let her off light."

"I burned her."

Yuuka chuckled. "Like I said, light. You were too soft on her."

Defiantly, Reimu crossed her arms, smirking. "You know I always do my best to exterminate youkai that need exterminating. Like you."

"And yet I'm still breathing."

"Can't hold me to that. I was only thirteen and not as experienced as I am now. Though I was, no offense, still experienced enough to beat you."

Who the hell is this youkai that makes everyone fear or respect her? And one called "Youkai of Flowers" at that?

Yuuka scoffed at what Reimu said, then her gaze settled on me and Sakuya.

Ah, crud.

The flower youkai stared us down, obviously assessing the two of us. "So, you're the new ones here." Yuuka leaned over the table, grabbing me by the chin, and studied my face closely. I'd be lying if I said my heart didn't skip a beat there. Sakuya had her knives out to Yuuka's neck, but Yuuka pushed her umbrella into the maid's side with her other hand. This didn't stop Kazami from looking me over. Having her that close to me, I noticed that Kazami smelled of flowers, mostly sunflowers. "Young man, you have the essence of cherry blossoms all over you. I like that. If you were a few more years mature and a youkai, I'd ravage you right here and now."

Whoa, there!

She said that with a very deadpan look on her face. She was dead serious, it seemed. Who the hell says something like that to someone they just met?! Okay, when did this dinner party take a turn for the Twilight Zone?

Although, she is very... Hmmmm.

My mind did wander a bit. Me and a youkai...Especially her. Kazami really is a full-bodied woman...er...youkai. Or youkai in human form. You know, I don't want to waste any time with the logistics of that. Either way, she's hot.

"I'd rather you didn't ravage a boy on my dining room table."

Part of me felt like protesting to what Yuyuko said but I quickly let it go.

Kazami again scoffed. "Hmph. Too bad. I'd rock his world."

Suffice to say, several thoughts flashed through my mind. I won't get into them.

Kazami's eyes focused on Sakuya, as she realized the maid still had her weapons drawn. "And, maid, get those knives out of my face."

"What are you going to do, poke me to death with your umbrella?"

Not the time to be antagonizing, Sakuya.

Marisa just shook her head as she took another drink, rolling her eyes. "Ah, boy. Here we go."

After letting go of my face, Yuuka sat back, and while still staring at Sakuya, aimed her umbrella to her left. Lyrica, who had gotten back up, found herself exactly where the umbrella was pointed at. Eyes widened, she gasped and dove out of the way. The next instant, a laser, not unlike the Master Spark, shot from the tip of the umbrella.

Scratch that, way more powerful than the Master Spark. There was a huge hole in the wall.

And the wall behind that one.

And the wall behind that. And the next couple of trees after that outside. I stared at the destruction Yuuka caused, before my eyes wandered to what was making noise in the room. Lyrica was shaking like a leaf on the floor in the fetal position, whispering gibberish to herself, tears in her eyes. Sakuya and I slowly turned to face each other. Both of our jaws dropped.

Marisa chuckled as she leaned back. "Who do you think I learned the Master Spark from?"

Oh, wow.

Marisa saying that also made another thought cross my mind, wondering if Yuuka was the one Marisa served. I'd later learn that she wasn't.

Sakuya slowly turned to Yuuka. The maid then cleared her throat. "...I do apologize for my behavior just now..."

"Yes, I'm sure you do."

Is there anything I can apologize for, just in case? Like the dirty thoughts I had of you a while ago? Then again, thinking about it, she would have possibly flat-out killed me if she found out. Instead of asking for apologies, I asked Lyrica a question. "You all right, Lryica?"

"Screw you!"

Yeah, I think she's fine.

Staring at the new holes in the walls of her house, Yuyuko blinked a few times before nonchalantly speaking. "Miss Kazami, I'd truly be appreciative if my entire house wasn't destroyed. I have made my apologies."

"Yeah, you did. I was still going to beat some sense into you, but anyone who offers me a slice this good gets a little reprieve."

Yuuka doesn't fear Yuyuko? Yuyuko acts like she respects her? And Marisa learned the Master Spark from her? Just who or what is Kazami?

The youkai continued. "Anyways, I need to get back down there. Because of you, I have a lot of catching up to do. I trust you let go of the fairy?"

"Yes, the Prismrivers released her some time ago."

Kazami nodded. "Thought so. All right. So, shall we get going? Like I said, I have a lot of work to do."

And with that, my first meal in the afterlife ended.

So bizarre.

---

-begin-

SAIGYOU AYAKASHI resealed.

Team recalled.

Subject [NAME REDACTED] "KYON" survived.

This only further shows his importance to our cause.

Any side of the war that has him can't lose.

However, Mission [REDACTED] failed.

Product GENSOKYO will not be frozen.

Will accept full responsibility for this failure.

Asking superiors to be lenient due to the unreliability of Tool LETTY WHITEROCK, whose control we've completely lost.

-Kuyou Suou

-end-

---

Originally, Yuyuko did -not- find out who was under the tree - she was knocked out by the time her other self revived. Everyone else saw. That was the great irony of Perfect Cherry Blossom.

At least...that's what everything that I've gathered about PCB is telling me. I could be wrong, as I've never beaten it. The Prismrivers always make short work of me (That battle is a 3-on-1 Battle! Unfair much?). But anyways, I am taking liberties here. Fan fiction, after all.

And yes, I am sort of taking the story from VISIONNERZ' "Maiden Illusionary Funeral Before and After", with that story's origin for the friendship between Yukari and Yuyuko. Very good doujin.