I never heard that about Youmu's Ghostblade in League of Legends, but have you heard about Wriggle's Lantern being in the same game?

Another Duck, whom I've been bouncing ideas off of lately, has pointed out that I'm off by one month in my Gensokyo timeline. Truth be told, I was going off of a wiki's timeline, so I'm sorry about that. The one I happened to use was off by a month.

Oh well. Off by one for this story, and I'll have to live with it.

Super Special thanks to Another Duck for allowing me to bounce ideas of of him, and for the German in the next episode...

As Superstarultra once said in his masterpiece "You Got HaruhiRolled!": "...no story is complete without a Pokémon reference." I guess ICB is one step closer to being complete.

Also, do I really have to put a "please read and review" thing at the end of each chapter? Ah well.

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.

Beta Readers for this Episode:

Another Duck

werewolf2005

As I got ready to go to breakfast, I thought again about what I had just dreamt. I would have pondered about it some more, but thanks to Flandre's interruption, I was jarred out of my musing. But since I now had the downtime, I resumed my thoughts. Why was I dreaming of things from a thousand years ago when the world was created a few years ago. This brought up another question of interest; why was I able to remember things from before 2000?

Granted, this is all assuming that Koizumi's theory was truth. It was one of the problems I had with such an argument, of Haruhi creating existence, as it meant that my memories were nothing but a lie. Yet...Yukari confirmed it, didn't she?

If the gap demon was to be trusted, it meant it was true: my memories of my family, of my childhood, didn't really happen. I sighed, a somewhat sick feeling was forming in my stomach. I spoke to Nagato about it, as I didn't want to handle this on my own...as I couldn't handle it on my own. The data interface paused for a few seconds, staring up in my eyes, before answering in her monotone.

"I was created at the time of the data explosion. While it is true that the time travelers can not go past the point of time of the event, I was given knowledge about previous events." She seemingly searched my eyes. "You appear to be upset about this."

I nodded.

"May I offer my individual opinion?"

I was a bit taken aback by Nagato's offer, but I accepted. "I guess. Yeah."

"My...malfunction...had proved that memories can be altered, as well as existence. This is the world that we live in, a world that can, if I can use such a saying, be remade at the 'drop of a hat'. I am uncomfortable with the situation as well, but this is our existence."

I waited a few seconds, to see if she was going to say anything else, but it appeared that was her opinion. "So you just accept it?"

Nagato shifted a bit, slightly pursing her lips. Her eyes averted from my direction. "The alternative would be to change the world by force." Then her eyes fell on me, a very miniscule sadness in them.

Right. That again.

I sighed, as I had to accept that our way of maintaining the norm was the way to go, but I couldn't accept it, not like this. "I wish I could deal with such a way of thinking. I just can't."

"We have to. This is our reality." And then she went about getting ready for the day.

I retreated to the hall, giving her privacy, thinking about it. Nagato did have a point. Hell, just the previous night, I found out that Gods exist. I knew the afterlife existed. Places like Gensokyo were fact. Time travel is possible. And I had a conversation with an admitted alien.

What a screwed up world I live in. Although I didn't think "screwed" there. Another word, but again, I won't repeat it.

I had to get my mind off that way of thinking, of my life being a lie. Thankfully, we were soon escorted to the dining room. Breakfast was as I remember - European. Keeping with the by-country theme, it happened to be an English breakfast as most of it was fried.

The English really do love their fried food, don't they? Loses its natural taste and nutritional value.

Still tasty, however.

The various smells of made-from-scratch blueberry muffins, poached eggs, "bangers" (England's word for sausages, apparently), waffles, fried mushrooms, bacon, baked beans, freshly squeezed orange juice, hash browns, and other delectable breakfast-stuffs was my welcome as Nagato and I entered the dining room. I also detected fresh coffee, which I was looking forward to. There was also tea.

And blueberries. I mentioned the muffins just now, but there were blueberries everywhere. Jam, in syrup form, mixed up in the waffles, or just standalone berries. I'm guessing they had a good harvest of them. I didn't mind at all - blueberries are delicious.

What was that old saying? The way to a man's heart was through his stomach? If that was the case, then I was deeply in love with Sakuya and the cooks of the Scarlet Devil Mansion. As if Sakuya being in a maid uniform that tickles a male's heart wasn't a good enough reason to like her.

"Ah, Sakuya...I missed this." I said as I sat down to eat. "I missed this the most. Your cooking."

The maid simply smiled. "It's great to hear that. I trust Nagato will enjoy this as well?"

Nagato simply gave a nod as she sat down next to me. She surveyed the table for a few seconds, before turning to me and making a statement.

"This is more than we can eat."

Nagato had a good point. There were plates and platters of breakfast on the table, way more than the two of us could eat, even if there were more people at the table as well. There was too much food.

"Lady Yuyuko will be joining us." Sakuya said. "So...this might actually not be enough."

Well, then there was not enough food.

Perishable Night

Episode 3

["Imposter"]

"Teams of cooks regularly venture beyond the barrier to hunt humans. They apply many methods to conceal their existence from humans of the outer world; accidents and people who run away from home...

There are too many humans today for anyone to notice when a few go missing."

-Perfect Cherry Blossom: Prologue

We both began to eat, as Sakuya said it was all right.

"So, uh," I said, as I poured syrup on my waffles. "Sakuya, about last night-"

She was quick to respond. Her voice was cold, and the emotion left her face as she stared at me.

"Kyon, we are not going to talk about that. End of discussion. That's private."

The way she said that put me off. She really didn't want to go into that subject. Even her eyes had become daggers.

Thing is, why did I care? Why did I find myself caring that she didn't have any faith?

Maybe because she has a double standard. She just said the previous night that there are Gods in Gensokyo, and she's an atheist? That doesn't sound right to me.

For a second, I wondered if Meiling managed to put me on this path, thinking I could somehow fix Sakuya the way she never could if I knew about the maid's past. It really shouldn't be any of my business, right?

And while I was musing all that, I poured too much syrup on my plate. I hastily cleaned up my mess, resigning myself to blueberry syrup on my eggs.

Sakuya blinked at me a few times before resuming her setting up of the table, I think to both make sure I got her message, and also to ponder why I poured too much syrup all over my plate.

"It's just that-"

"Kyon, don't. End of discussion."

"But-"

Sakuya shot me a glance - narrowed eyes.

"Please. Don't."

Well that's not a good way to start the day now, is it? I decided to not pursue it...at least for a while. Sakuya glared at me for a little while longer, before returning to her duties of setting up the table.

Patchouli came in, slightly smiling when she got hit by the pleasant smells of breakfast. Koakuma was right behind her.

"Ah," Patchouli sighed. "Good morning you two. I take it you're ready?"

"Ready for what?" I said in-between mouthfuls of delicious waffles.

Patchouli's eyes widened, realizing something as she sat down at her usual place. "Ah. Right. In all our excitement yesterday, we forgot to tell you, didn't we? Tonight, we at the Scarlet Devil Mansion will have a party."

"Really? What's the occasion?" I glanced at Nagato, before turning towards Patchouli. "Not because of us, is it?"

It would be nice if someone threw a party because of what I went through. Get some recognition for what I do for the world, you know? After all, I do save it occasionally. I'm just saying that it would be nice.

"No, no." Patchouli said as she wagged a finger. "It's a multitude of things. Anniversaries, remembrance, and because it's a full moon."

"Full moon?"

During all this, Koakuma was setting things up for Patchouli at the table. The assistant librarian silently (and happily, it seemed) went about her business getting things right for her master.

"Yes." said Patchouli. "You see, youkai of all shapes and sizes celebrate the full moon. It's when they achieve maximum power. It's a time when a youkai can achieve its raison d'tere, if you can understand such a saying. So, they give thanks for the moon."

"Sort of like-" I took a drink of milk before continuing, "-like...I don't know...say a ghost, a witch, or a vampire celebrating Halloween or something?"

"That's..." Patchouli paused, seemingly thinking that over. She gave a little shrug. "That's not entirely inaccurate" The Librarian then grinned a little. "Speaking of Halloween, you should join us on that date. Halloween in the Scarlet Devil Mansion is astonishingly fun."

I hesitated. "Should I ask why?"

"For one, we don't use fake ghosts for decoration."

It took me a moment for my brain to process that, and during that time I think I just stared wide-eyed at her, before I managed to speak. "I think I'll pass."

Still, if I was up for the ultimate thrill, I suppose I could risk it. Halloween in a vampire's mansion. However, would Yuyuko and Youmu get offended in ghosts being used in such a manner? For recreational purposes? And in that line of thought, what do those souls think of being used like that?

That's horrible. You die and you become someone's decoration. That's morbid. Well, it would be even more morbid if they used the body instead of the soul as decoration. Why am I thinking of that stuff while eating breakfast?! I had to stop that.

Also, I've been in Gensokyo far, far too long.

A rattling came, and I noticed the chandelier shaking. I stopped swallowing what was in my mouth, my eyes fixated on the clanking crystals. For a split second, my thoughts turned to Flandre doing something in the house, but I waved it off, as the vibrations didn't repeat. Nagato and Sakuya looked up as well, as I saw from the corner of my eye. Patchouli either didn't hear it, or didn't care. Maybe I'm just jumpy.

And believe it or not, Nagato asked a question - which happened to be a good question.

"If youkai are at full strength tonight, should there be any cause for concern?"

My concern are that there are youkai in the first place, but that's an even better concern.

"It can be dangerous for humans during the full moon in Gensokyo, but neither of you should worry. For one, according to Remi, Kyon belongs to us." Patchouli gave me a shrug when she saw me raise an eyebrow at that statement. "Her words. Not mine." She turned back to Nagato. "But we won't let him off of the grounds. He'll be safe in our yard."

That's good to hear, even though I slightly resent being labeled as Remilia's property. However, as Remilia put it to Reimu the last time I was there, a servant of Remilia's has perks. And one of those perks happened to be the delicious breakfast before me.

Fine. I'm her servant then. Bring on more blueberry muffins!

"And two, I doubt you have much to worry about, Miss Nagato. From what I hear, you can take care of yourself."

"I guess that's good to hear." I grabbed another blueberry muffin. Man, these things are good! "So, how's the party going to be like?"

"A lavish party thrown by Remi. She loves doing those. Buffets, bars, overindulgence, music. And we hope to have a good turnout. You see, we've invited the major players of Gensokyo to join us in the full moon celebration. Hakugyokorou, the Yakumos, Miss Margatroid, Kirisame, and Miss Hakurei. And the Prismrivers will be the entertainment."

"Oh okay. So that's what Lyrica was saying."

"Mmm-hmm." Patchouli's gaze then rested on my fellow Brigade associate. "Oh, and Nagato, we'd like for you to play the guitar, if you don't mind. Remi loved your performance. It was all she could talk about a week after seeing it."

Nagato paused, fork with a waffle piece near her open mouth, blinking at Patchouli. Her eyes glanced over to me, as if asking me "what should I do?" I shrugged, telling her to go for it. Nagato then returned her gaze to the librarian.

"I'll think about it."

Patchouli nodded at her as Sakuya placed a stack of blueberry waffles in front of the librarian. Patchouli's eyes sparkled in response to what she was about to eat. This was actually the biggest emotional reaction I'd seen from Patchouli.

"Ah, fresh blueberries." Patchouli allowed herself to smile, as she poured syrup all over her waffles. "They are very good for the brain, you know. Helps with memory, eyesight, and has a slight anti-aging effect. Now this is a great way to start the day," she said, before her gaze went to most of the other food-stuffs on the table. "Barring all of this fried food."

I never knew that about blueberries. I'd later learn that it was wild blueberries that have the best properties. Cultivated, farmed blueberries are less potent. Safer, but less potent.

Patchouli took a bite of the waffles, chewed and swallowed before continuing. "Delicious." She nodded at Sakuya in approval, who curtsied, and then left the room. Patchouli took a few seconds to look at her surroundings, and let out a sigh. "You know, I forget how nice it is here in the dining room. Normally I eat in my library."

"Why's that?" I asked.

I got my answer the next second.

CRASH!

What happened was that the ceiling came down right over the table, the chandelier coming down first. The table collapsed in half, and the food flew.

I nearly jumped out of my chair. Thankfully Nagato and I weren't hit by any of that or any debris, but Patchouli's waffles and drink flew into her face, covering her in blueberry syrup and orange juice.

When the dust settled, I saw that it was only a small part of the ceiling that could cover the table that had fallen. Perfectly, almost as if it was intended to be only that part to fall.

And who else could be the cause of it?

Flandre stood there on what used to be the second floor's floor, which was then right in the middle of the dining room. Her eyes were widened, her mouth agape.

I have a feeling that Yuyuko is going to be disappointed.

Screw that! Is everyone okay?

I took a few seconds to really assess the damage. Other than the table and the food, there was no damage to anything else, or to anyone, for that matter. The only thing amiss was Patchouli covered in that stuff, if you don't count the debris where the table used to be. Weirdly enough, or luckily enough, the table and ceiling didn't collapse on our legs, which were under the table. It's kind of hard to explain, because even I don't know how that happened. Maybe the chandelier's impact caused the table to break apart first? I don't know. But there were no injuries. Miraculous, really.

Also, what was amiss was that my delicious breakfast was cut short.

Sakuya, who had left the room to get something from the kitchen, returned, pitcher of milk in hand - which she dropped when she saw what Flandre did. Sakuya's eyes just widened. Milk and glass shards splattered all over the floor.

"Oh...oh..." Flandre stammered. "Uh...Hi again."

For a second, I considered responding to Flandre, but I couldn't. I was stunned, to tell the truth. Nagato just stared at the vampire, turned her head to the floor, and picked up a clean muffin that had managed to stay inside a breadbasket. Nagato slowly ate it.

I envied Nagato's "composure" at times. Also, I'm guessing Nagato was enjoying the meal. Thankfully I still had a glass of orange juice in my hand, which I took the time to finish.

Flandre glanced at all of us, her eyes eventually settling on the blue-and-orange colored Patchouli. Flandre stared in horror at Patchouli, like a child who just got caught doing something really bad just as their parents walked in. Which, I suppose, applied in that case, barring the parent thing. I've never seen a child bring down a ceiling before, but there you go. First time for everything, I guess.

The librarian silently stared at the vampire, juice and syrup dripping off her face, her lips pursed, jaw clenched, as if she was keeping herself from yelling.

"Oh...Patchi...uhm..." Flandre struggled to come up with something, ultimately failing to do so. "...please don't tell Remi..."

As if on cue to that, I heard a thundering of footsteps from the hall.

I wondered if I should take cover.

They quickly approached, and the doors swung open. Again, that same door that Flandre had knocked loose before went off it's hinges.

There stood Remilia, who took a second to see the destruction of her dining room, and then she went right to glaring at her little sister, obviously about to blow a gasket - Remilia's wings shook with rage.

"FLAN!" Remilia's shout actually shook my bones, and made the doors and windows rattle.

Flandre held up a hand, as if to calm down her elder sister.

"Now, now, Remi, I can explain..."

I'd actually like to hear that explanation. What explanation is there for bringing the second floor to the first floor?

"I was just playing hopscotch!"

What.

I then noticed the chalk outlines on the former second floor's floor. It appeared that Flandre was telling the truth about hopscotch.

I need to ask just how powerful Flandre really is, sooner or later. Then again, would I really want to know? Because that is scary. She broke the floor just playing. Her just being a normal girl caused destruction.

Upon hearing that lunacy, the Scarlet Devil moved - quicker than I thought possible. Flandre also moved, bolting from her sister at possibly the same speed. They were out of the dining room in a matter of seconds, Flandre squealing like the child she looked like, apparently finding fun in the fact she was being chased by her sister.

Getting a knife thrown at me. Flandre breaking the doors and a chair. Fake-out blood cakes. And this - Flandre crashing through the ceiling. Eating in the Scarlet Devil Mansion is never dull. As long as I or anybody else didn't get hurt, it was all good, I suppose.

After the Scarlets were gone, Sakuya, who had her lips pursed, let out a sigh. She stared at the mess for a few seconds longer before she pointed at a few maids that were in the room, snapped her fingers, and pointed at the mess. The maids went to work as Sakuya held onto her head like she had the biggest migraine in the world. She groaned when she noticed that she was standing in a puddle of milk.

I'm living in a cartoon.

I myself took about a minute to ponder what just happened. There I was, having breakfast with Nagato and Patchouli, everything all nice, and boom. Flandre. I was amazed that nothing hit me. I was free from any food stuffs staining my clothes, and I wasn't hit at all by any of that falling debris. Same went for Nagato - and she sat there, blinking a few times, staring at the mess before her, half-eaten muffin in hand.

I nodded at Nagato.

"Unique?"

She nodded back.

"Unique."

Which was putting it lightly.

Seriously, is this what Patchouli, Remilia, Sakuya, Koakuma, and Meiling have to put up with on a daily basis? Life with that little force of destruction? My little sister was a normal little girl, and she could be a little terror at times, but I shudder to think of what Flandre has done over the years.

Speaking of Patchouli, she was still covered in blueberries and orange juice. A distressed Koakuma was patting down the librarian with a towel of some sort in an attempt to clean her up, but Patchouli then stood up, and glanced at the two of us - making a statement before she stormed out of the room.

"And this, Kyon and Nagato, is why I eat my meals in my library."

Now, the reason why she stormed out of the room was because I laughed at what she said.

Sorry, Patchouli.

And suffice to say, Yuyuko was disappointed. She and Youmu had to go back to Hakugyokorou. Call me crazy, but Yuyuko seemed to be on the verge of tears when she saw the damage to the dining room - she may have uttered "that's a crime".

After cleaning up, Patchouli invited us to the library, where we spent the next few hours. Patchouli appeared to find Nagato fascinating, and was asking all sorts of questions, asking to confirm or debunk theories, and the like. Nagato wasn't as silent as she was the previous day, it seemed she calmed down a bit. Patchouli was asking Nagato's opinions on certain aspects of the events that had happened the previous year with the Brigade, or to confirm what happened. Mostly stuff I already knew.

Patchouli was also helping Nagato with questions about Gensokyo itself - that the Scarlet Devil Mansion came into Gensokyo in the early 1970's, their dealings in the Scarlet Mist Incident, and the like.

Patchouli also offered Nagato free reign in her library, which actually got a little response from Nagato - she sat there blinking, as if a bit stunned, before her gaze went to the vast expanse that was the SDM's library. I wonder if that makes her happy.

I for one, was grateful that Patchouli and Nagato were getting along. I was worried that Nagato wouldn't take to Gensokyo as well as she was.

I had the chance to ask Patchouli what happened regarding the whole "watch the S.O.S. Brigade" thing. Apparently Yukari took the group to witness the major events regarding the S.O.S. Brigade first-hand by travelling through time. The forming of the Brigade, my associates revealing themselves to me, the end of the world, and the like, were viewed by the girls who saw me off when I left Gensokyo.

Nagato said she didn't detect anything for those events, so I'm guessing Yukari was able to avoid that detection somehow.

Again, it's disturbing to know that people watched you as you were living your life. I mean, I guess it's good to get the people of Gensokyo up to speed, but for that extreme? To show them my life? I feel almost violated. At least Patchouli said that Alice refrained from watching too much. I asked how the puppeteer was doing, and found out that Alice was busy with something - she said that she was "close to a breakthrough", according to Patchouli. I then asked how Reimu and Marisa were doing...and found out that nobody had seen either of them for a while. Same thing went for Yukari.

Patchouli assured me that Reimu had to be alive, since the Hakurei Border was still intact. It was just that nobody knew where any of them were. Further questions on my part didn't get any answers, since Patchouli didn't know.

It bothered me. I might be paranoid, but with the Sky Canopy Domain running around...

But still - Patchouli was right. If Reimu was gone, then Gensokyo would have been exposed to my world. And from what I could tell, Gensokyo was still in its status of being a closed space. No news of fantastical beings being found. So, the Hakurei barrier still had to be up.

But for the three of them to be missing? Well, Patchouli didn't say they were missing...just that nobody has seen them.

I was a bit worried, to tell the truth.

There was one thing she had for me, however.

"Kyon, drink this."

She had Koakuma hand over a vial. It was small, and had some red liquid in it. As I'm not one to just drink down whatever is handed to me, especially something that's in a test tube, I asked what it was.

"Drink it. It should be safe."

"'Should be'? You know, I'm not in the habit of just drinking anything someone gives to me."

"Trust me on this."

Reluctantly, I popped the cap on it, and took a whiff.

Cherry blossoms... It smelled of cherry blossoms. There were other scents, but the main one was of cherry blossoms. No way.

I had an idea what it was. What it had to be. Taking a leap of faith in Patchouli, I drank it, and while it tasted terrible (like very strong medicine), it made my body warm. It was a familiar feeling, one that I got during a certain excursion in the extended winter. And it came along with causing a certain magical reaction. The air expelled from my location, and my body glowed with a red aura.

Holy crap.

The familiar symbol was back. The Paranormal Border.

Nagato just stared, a bit wide-eyed at me, as the familiar red barrier surrounded my body. I had a big grin on my face, as I had my barrier back. I glanced up at Patchouli.

"How? Even when they used the Ayakashi's cherry blossoms on me, it wouldn't work."

Patchouli, grinning over her triumph in doing this, shrugged. "It seems that Alice, Marisa and I can make a very good team when we work together. You see, Kyon, we got Yukari to assist us, actually. We needed to find whatever that alteration was done to you to make the Paranormal Border happen, and simulate it. Chemically simulate it, and put it in with the essence of that abundance of cherry blossoms Koakuma collected. As you can see, it worked."

"Why?"

Patchouli leaned back in her chair, still triumphant.

"We initially wanted to recreate it in the first place, so we can get a barrier with healing properties for anyone. However, it only seems to work with you."

"How did you do this? How did you test it on me without me being here?"

"Simple. We have samples of your blood, remember?"

In a wine bottle. Don't remind me of that!

"And that's not all...but I advise you to take cover now."

What?

Patchouli then produced a red vial from within her clothes. She then shook it, and threw it at an empty space in the library. It exploded in an array of red sparks. In fact, it looked like...danmaku.

Shaking, I turned to Patchouli.

"I drank that?"

"Don't worry. It's internally harmless at body temperature, and loses it effectiveness at warmer climates and when in contact with other fluids. It's benign inside your body, and from what I can tell, the chemicals have no side effects. But at colder enviornments, and when it's shaken or agitated, it has an interesting property that nobody expected. It's a danmaku grenade."

"How in the world can a vial of that stuff not only induce the Paranormal Border, but also be a damn grenade?"

And why did I be an idiot and just drink it?

She shrugged. "I haven't the faintest idea as to why or how it does that. It becomes volatile when shaken up, and for some reason, it becomes a weapon that way. We're still working on how it recreates danmaku chemically, but...so far, nothing. We know Yukari had a direct hand in the workings of it, but the rest of us don't know. So you would have to ask Yukari about the specifics." The librarian then turned to Nagato. "And speaking of danmaku...well, Nagato, if you are going to be here in Gensokyo, I think there is one thing you might learn to do. In fact, you need to learn it." The librarian turned to Koakuma. "Go and fetch Meiling. Have her meet us in the training room."

Koakuma bowed and left.

I had a feeling I knew what they were going to teach Nagato.

How to play a little game.

Still, I was a bit amazed by the fact that I had my Paranormal Border back. I'd later learn that it also had its healing properties as well.

Learn the hard way.

But I digress.

The Scarlet Devil Mansion, while less intimidating in the daylight, was still somewhat of a maze. Thankfully, Patchouli easily led us down a series of hallways, while discussing to Nagato the rules of Danmaku, and into a room.

Called it. They're going to go and teach Nagato how to play.

I also want to say this. That vial left a bad taste in my mouth. Like I said, it tasted like strong medicine, and felt like medicine. I had asked Patchouli what exactly made up the drink, but she gave me a smirk, saying "you don't want to know."

Considering I put it in my body, I'd like to know. Also, one shouldn't say that after one ingests such a cocktail.

Anyways, back to where we were led.

It was a training room of some kind. Mats on the floor, against the walls. It was a fairly large room, about as big as a standard middle school gym. Heck, after a few seconds, that's what my mind labeled it - a gym. Various equipment lined the walls, and they looked quite old. The most prominent thing was a collection of fencing equipment and gear, including gear that fit a child. I guess a noblewoman like Remilia took an interest in fencing. Meiling was there, her back to us, but apparently taping up her hands and putting on fingerless gloves. Koakuma was helping Meiling in that regard. There were also a number of fairies there, a few cleaning the equipment, and the rest seemingly hanging around shirking their cleaning duties, talking to each other.

I smiled at Patchouli.

"I take it you don't come in here that often?"

"Ah, no. My asthma keeps me from exerting myself too much." She blinked at the equipment, an almost nostalgic look on her face. "It's a pity. Remi and I used to fence a lot."

Before she could further go into that, Meiling turned, smiling, as she finished taping herself up.

"Ah, morning you guys." Meiling grinned, putting her hands on her hips. "So, Lady Patch...while I have an idea of what you want me to do..."

"Meiling, I want you to teach Nagato how to engage in Danmaku."

I smiled. This is going to get interesting!

The two were in the center of the room, Meiling cracking her knuckles, and Nagato standing there like she usually does. Patchouli and I were sitting at a table in the corner of the room, Koakuma nearby.

"What I want you to do," Meiling said, "Yuki, is attack me. Danmaku style, physical, whatever. Just attempt to take me down."

Nagato blinked at Meiling, and then turned to me, as if asking "should I?" Before I could answer, Meiling smirked.

"Yuki, what are you looking to him for? Asking him won't help. You won't hit me, even if you tried."

Meiling, are you sure it's a good idea to taunt Nagato? She was able to protect me from Ryoko's almost-instantaneous attacks.

But wasn't this what I wondered? In my talk with Sakuya, I had asked myself if Nagato would be able to take on the girls of Gensokyo. And it was about to happen. However, there shouldn't be anything wrong, right? Danmaku is simply knock-out magic. Nothing bad should happen to Nagato.

Nagato turned back to Meiling, her eyes slightly narrowed, as if she was slightly irked by Meiling's statement of not going to be hit. Meiling motioned for Nagato to attack her.

"C'mon, Yuki. Let's see what you got. If you're afraid, then I'd underst-"

Nagato moved - she was a blur. The blur seemed to circle around Meiling, and then-

The blur stopped. Meiling had caught Nagato's hand.

How did that happen?!

You see, Nagato had moved extremely fast, circled around Meiling in an attempt to...I guess overwhelm or throw off the guard, and then struck. Well, attempted to strike. Nagato failed to strike Meiling.

And mind you, again, this is a girl who managed to fend off Asakura's barrage of attacks all the while defending me.

The Human Interface's eyes widened just a bit. Meiling stood there, smiling, as her hand tightened around Nagato's wrist.

"Not bad, Yuki. Not bad at all. But if you really wanna have a chance against me, I suggest you try Danmaku."

And with that, Meiling flung Nagato onto her back, hard. Nagato made a sound one makes when they get the wind knocked out of them, and just stared up at her opponent. Meiling adjusted her gloves as she stood over Nagato, still grinning.

Never really thought I'd ever see Nagato get taken down that way. Instinctively, I took a few steps towards this, wanting to see if Nagato was okay. Patchouli, who was still sitting next to me, tugged in my sleeve. Turning around to her, she simply shook her head.

"Don't interfere."

"Ah, don't feel bad, Yuki. Physically, there are few that can best me. Your best bet at beating me is playing that game. I don't know why I'm not too good at Danmaku, but I just ain't." The chief guard scratched her head under her beret before pulling Nagato up. "At most, I am capable, and I guess you can say I'm average in it and all. So, if you can beat me, then you have a good chance against most things here in Gensokyo. This is for your own good."

And with that, Meiling brought up a spell card, holding it between two fingers.

I was worried. We were in a rather enclosed area, and I didn't want to be caught in any stray fire. Patchouli, seemingly sensing my disdain, chuckled.

"Don't worry. I've set up a seal in this room a year ago. As long as we are near the walls, we won't be hit by any danmaku. The matted area in the center of the room is the playing field."

"Yuki," chirped Meiling. "Dodge this spell card."

[SPELL CARD: RAINBOW SIGN "RAINBOW WIND CHIME"]

After backing up a bit, and going into the air, Meiling began to spin around, seemingly shooting random danmaku that had all the colors of the rainbow. She spun clockwise, then counter, then clockwise again, just firing.

My body had tensed because I was in the line of fire of this, and I hoped that Patchouli was right about that seal. Which turned out to be true - Meiling's attacks dissipated before reaching us.

Anyways, Nagato. Nagato was moving fast, finding the holes in the attack, and staying a step ahead of where Meiling's shots were going. To me, it was chaotic, but Nagato made it look easy to avoid.

I began to see a pattern in Meiling's attack. Four waves, somewhat like a cross, of danmaku. Conversely, it left an empty cross - four waves of emptiness, where someone could just stay in to avoid the shots. Figuring it out, it seemed like such a simple spell card to me. Even I could avoid it, possibly on foot.

"This is one of my opening attack spell cards, Yuki," shouted Meiling. "This isn't the real deal! But even if it doesn't seem like much, this can still take out waves of lesser youkai who challenge me. And so far...so far you appear to be more than a lesser youkai. That's good."

It wasn't long before Meiling ended her spell card, smiling. She nodded at the interface.

"That's very good, Yuki. Low level youkai can't get through that. Good to know you aren't one of them."

Of course she isn't. And to tell the truth, I fist-pumped after seeing Nagato survive a spell card. Made me feel proud for some reason.

Nagato nodded. Meiling began to pace in the air, arms crossed.

"But Danmaku isn't just about attacking. If you think it's all about attacking, then you've lost sight of it's true meaning...well, the meaning I've found in it. It's also self-expression. It's an art form." Meiling stopped pacing, and pointed a finger up in the air. "It's about baring your soul to another person, saying 'this is how my heart beats'."

Getting poetic there, aren't you, Meiling?

Meiling's face was serious by then, as she continued with her speech and pacing.

"Your patterns show your true self, how you are in the inside. So I wonder...how is this machine on the inside?"

What is she getting at? Also, would Nagato be offended by a statement like that?

Nagato showed no expression as Meiling continued.

"How is your beating heart, Yuki? You...you have a rather poetic side too, don't you?" Meiling floated closer to Nagato. "I mean, you did name yourself after witnessing your first snowfall. Yes, I know about that. If that isn't poetic, then I don't know what is." The guard then let out a little sigh, her eyes narrowing. "In a way, the two of us are alike. Before I met Milady, I didn't know my place in the world. I didn't even have a name. I had no identity, no purpose. I was given one, like you. The only difference between us in that regard is that you named yourself, and I was named. But our names are poetic, aren't they? Granted, my name is a bit..." Meiling grinned, twirling one of her braids. "...literal, if I may say so. 'Scarlet Beautiful Belle'."

So that was for real! That daydream I had of Remilia and Meiling was for real! Creepy.

"So..." Meiling said. "You think you can make up a spell card on the spot then, right?"

Nagato took a few seconds, and responded with a single nod.

Meiling smirked, and rubbed her chin. "All right. Here." Meiling tossed Nagato a spell card. "This is one of my weaker ones. You can alter the data of it or whatever it is you do to make it yours. But this is a little something I want you to try: think back to that time you saw that snowflake, Yuki. How you held it in your hand. Think back to that time when you named yourself. I want to see what was in your heart at that moment. I want you to make up a spell card to capture that moment within your heart, give it a meaningful name, and unleash it against me. Easy, Normal, Hard, or Lunatic - it doesn't matter."

Nagato stood there, nodding a bit. Slightly lowering her head, she closed her eyes. I don't know why - maybe to remember, truly remember. For her to make such a dramatic action (for Nagato, anyway) surprised me, actually. She took a deep breath, and opened her eyes again. She outstretched her right hand, the spell card...changing color? Changing color from green to blue.

To say that I was interested to see what kind of spell card Nagato would come up with was putting it lightly. I know I've referred to Nagato's abilities as "bogus magic", but now she was going to use real magic.

Real magic. Two words that shouldn't even be together. What a world I live in.

"Remember, Yuki," Meiling called out, "Danmaku, okay? Just use that attack in your attempt to knock me out. I don't need to be killed in a training room. It'd be a pretty anticlimactic way for my life to end."

I'd have to agree.

Nagato held up the spell card with her left hand, reading it in her monotone voice. The lettering began to glow, and when she finished, it activated. Nagato had just used a spell card.

[SPELL CARD: LOW TEMPERATURE SCIENCE "UKICHIRO'S SNOW CRYSTALS"]

Ice began to materialize around Nagato, in the shape of snowflakes - all kinds. When they reached a certain size, they exploded into danmaku, and homed in on Meiling. Grinning, the guard then went on the defensive - ducking, dodging, and avoiding all that she could. As the time passed, the snowflakes began to increase in number, leaving smaller holes for Meiling to thread - until she got hit by a snowflake from behind her.

You see, some of the snowflakes had been building a 'wall' of sorts behind Meiling. After it had enough, it started to shoot out from behind the guard. Meiling didn't see it form back there. I didn't know whether to be impressed with Nagato or a bit angry with her for using such an underhanded move. But it was a clean hit. Meiling hit the ground rather hard as Nagato ended her spell card. There was silence for a while, until Meiling began to chuckle.

Meiling shook, as she slowly got up off the ground. She still smiled.

"...yeah...yeah that was a good one. Nice job, Yuki."

Applause from some of the fairy maids, as well as Patchouli and Koakuma broke the silence. Patchouli smiled as she continued to sip her tea.

"Ah, Ukichiro."

I nodded slowly as I remembered about the guy.

Ukichiro Nakaya. Japanese Scientist. He opened the Low Temperature Science Laboratory, and he was the first to create true Artificial Snowflakes.

Artificial snowflakes...

Patchouli turned to the Human Interface, winking, saying what was on my mind, actually.

"And that's what it's all about, isn't it, Nagato? Artificial can be just as amazing as natural. That's what you're saying, isn't it?"

Considering that I do find Nagato to be attractive, I agree. Of course I didn't say that one out loud. It was interesting for Nagato to be this poetic.

At that point, I would have said that we were reading too much into it, but what I was seeing then stunned me.

Nagato was smiling. Not in a big grin, but just enough. It must have been a smile of accomplishment.

Sad that it wouldn't last, because we were interrupted by giggling. Giggling, from the doorway, I knew who it was, who it had to be, and felt that dread. It was Flandre. She must have lost her sister.

Someone needs to put a bell on her.

"You know, Yuki...you are pretty good. But are you a master dodger? I mean, yeah, lower youkai can't avoid Meiling's spell cards, but can you avoid...I dunno..."

In a flash, Flandre had moved from the doorway, and was in Nagato's face, smiling.

"Can you avoid my spell cards? They're a lotta fun!"

As soon as Flandre said that, the maids that were in the room ran from the room; the ones who were cleaning just simply left their supplies. Koakuma did the same, leaving Patchouli behind. It was just me, Patchouli, Meiling, Nagato, and Flandre.

"Patchouli, should we run?"

The librarian set down her tea, and slowly got up, clearly annoyed that her servant ran off.

"I think that would be wise, Kyon."

"That seal won't protect us from Flandre's attacks, will it?"

"Nope."

"Oh, you're gonna love this one..." giggled Flandre as she circled Nagato. "It's a timeout card. I used it on Reimu and Marisa. They barely survived it. Can you?"

I don't want to see what kind of card that Marisa and Reimu "barely survived!"

I was torn. Part of me wanted to run screaming...I mean, tactfully retreat from the room, but the other part of me wanted to stay for Nagato. I don't know why - because I wouldn't have done any good in that situation.

"Lady Flan," said Meiling, from the floor as she struggled to get back up. "Lady Flan please reconsider! I don't know if what you're-"

"Nagato!" I shouted. "Run!" She just stared at the vampire before her. I don't know what she was doing.

Oh, and by the way, the spell card was a Taboo.

Crap crap crap!

[SpElL cArD: sEcReT "aNd ThEn ThErE wErE nOnE"]

Flandre called out that spell card, but she didn't get a chance to use it, thankfully.

[SPELL CARD: DIVINE LANCE "SPEAR THE GUNGNIR"]

A bright red object came out of nowhere, smacking into the vampire. You see, Remilia had shown up and thrown a danmaku version of her spear at her sister. Flandre was knocked out of the air, and bounced off the wall, bounced off the floor, rolling and ending up at Remilia's feet. The elder Scarlet stared down at her sister, crossing her arms.

Remilia, thank you so much!

"I'd appreciate it if you would refrain from breaking our guests, and our home, Flan." Remilia said with a tired look on her face. "But...considering what you've done to our dining room, I really want you to fulfill the former half of my request. Can you at least do that much?"

That might be asking too much of Flandre.

"Yeah." The younger vampire managed to groan. She still hadn't moved from her place on the floor.

Remilia turned to us, her face showing obvious fatigue. "Now, if you'll all excuse me, I need my sleep." She referenced to Flandre. "We need our sleep. We have a grand night ahead of us. And I recommend you nap as well. We will be up all night long."

Sakuya had shown up and picked up the younger vampire. "Come along, Lady Flandre. You need to sleep too."

"Awwww, come on, Sakuya." Flandre sulked, crossing her arms as she was being carried away. The danmaku spear must have tired her out - Flandre also looked like she was about to pass out in the arms of the maid. "I wanna stay up and play with Kyon and Nagato and Meiling and everyone!"

Maybe next time. And by "next time" I mean "never". I know I sound like a jerk there, but I really have no interest in playing with Flandre.

I did manage to speak to Sakuya. Caught up with her at lunch.

Again, she avoided my asking questions, and she appeared to be getting angry. I decided to drop it, apologizing. I really didn't want to tick her off so much, even though I didn't expect her to be so defensive about the whole thing.

Why am I doing this? Really? Why do I have this weird notion that I can fix problems? Ultimately, her faith is something she herself has to face alone. I'd put down the exact conversation we had, but it was essentially a repeat of breakfast. Even Nagato suggested that I let it go.

The rest of the day was rather uneventful. As per Remilia's request, I napped. I for one wanted to at least do something cool like party all night with a vampire. I mean, who can say they did such a thing? Granted, not many people can say they do half the things I've done, but there you go. I'm adding to my paranormal resume. End of the world. Time traveling. Afterlife. The list will go on!

After waking from my nap in my room, I found Nagato sitting on the chair in there reading some of those Agatha Christie novels. I'm also going to point out that I didn't have any visions of Gensokyo during that nap, thankfully. It was one of those dreamless naps - you lay down, close your eyes, and next thing you know you wake up at a later time.

The interface glanced up at me and then back at her book.

"Everything okay, Nagato?"

"Yes."

I got off the bed and stretched. "So...how do you find Gensokyo? Personally. I'd like to hear it."

Nagato blinked a few times, her eyes still down on the pages of the book. "Individually I find it has appeal, barring the dangers of youkai."

"Yeah, that goes without saying, but you don't trust them?"

Nagato closed her book and looked up at me, slightly shaking her head. "No. There can be some trust placed in them. Complete trust is a different matter. I have told you that you may not be able to trust even me. I ask that you do not blindly trust them either."

The movie. I slightly nodded. "That was in, what, September, right? You said that back then. As for, well, as for trusting Remilia, at least, I don't think I can give her blind trust. She fed on me, after all." Which I'm not grateful for. "Sakuya...I think I can trust her. And Meiling. Patchouli...yeah, I think so too. Koakuma is okay as well."

"Flandre Scarlet?"

"No chance in hell." I said without hesitation. I paused, just looking at Nagato sitting there. I smiled. "You want to know something, Nagato? I'll say it. Out of the entire S.O.S. Brigade - Koizumi, Asahina, Haruhi, and you...I think I trust you the most."

Nagato didn't answer. Just kept staring at me. There was some sort of flicker behind her eyes, but it was tough to tell what kind of response it was.

You know, I haven't really been all that good to Nagato. Koizumi was right - during the time there were two little Asahinas in my time plane, I should have told Nagato what was going on right off the bat.

I'm a jerk. I've been a jerk to her. I keep on taking her for granted. Every time something bad happens, I inwardly tell myself that Nagato will be able to take care of it. All I've done is use her. I'm a horrible friend.

I moved to get dressed - the maids apparently already cleaned the school clothes we wore into Gensokyo, and I guess we were going to wear that to the party. Fanciest things they had in our sizes I suppose. Nagato spoke up as I passed her to go to the connected bathroom to get changed.

"It is just that they are still youkai. Still 'monsters', if I can apply the term. They still feed on humans."

"Yeah, I know that." I stopped before the door, turning back to her. "Thing is, I'm really in no position to defend myself from the likes of Flandre or most other things should they decide to do something. It's out of my hands."

"I won't let them harm you."

I nodded. "I know. And I'm beyond grateful for it. I just wish I had the power to return the favor for you."

Nagato reopened the book to her place, her chest moving slightly, as if she was taking a deep breath.

"You already have."

She then went back to reading. I still stood there, staring at her. Right. The blackmail. The only thing keeping her here. I always say that I'm thankful for Nagato, but I tend to forget that she's thankful for me.

I studied the back of her head, her petite form. Nagato doing what she does best - reading. The way the light bulb shone on her, giving a shine to her lavender hair somehow struck me, which also made me think of how it would be to run my fingers through her hair.

She really is beautiful.

Maybe under different circumstances, not counting the one concocted by her, Nagato and I could have been together. I had my chance in December, but that was a lie, really. I would have known it was a lie. I would have had to live with it.

Nagato would deserve much better than me, anyway.

Really? Is that what I was telling myself? I was just justifying my decision. Funny that even months later, I still second guessed myself. I mean, I know I made the right choice, but there were still thoughts of "what if's" that happened. It was an entertaining thought, after all. Me and Nagato as a couple.

As I continued to stand at the door to the bathroom, I wondered how long that alternate Nagato and I would have gone out before...

...

...she blushes behind her glasses, her overwhelming shyness causing her to bring her hands over her beet-red face as we...

...

I think I'll take a cold shower while I'm in there. Damn hormones.

After getting dressed, I made my way to the window, finding that it was already dark. In actuality, it was already dark when I woke from my nap. I looked down to the yard below - there were tables set up, covered platters, a buffet table, a raised platform (for the Prismrivers to perform on), and a table that had a lot of wine on it.

My gaze went out, into the dark area beyond the SDM's grounds. Beyond the wall, I could clearly see some things moving about in the darkness. It was tough to make out what shape they were.

Then again, I didn't want to know what they were.

I think I won't venture too far from the building in this party. And I won't go anywhere near that wall. Hell, I debated whether I should just stay inside all night.

The door swung open. Nagato and I turned.

"Okay, Kyon! Now you're mine for the night! It's time to celebrate!"

I'm not your property. Unless you have more muffins.

Remilia Scarlet, grinning from ear to ear, stood there at the doorway, showing us her fangs. She was carrying a cane and dressed in all black - black dress, black blouse, black fingerless dress gloves, long black stockings, her mob cap replaced by some sort of mini top hat. She even had some sort of black cape that draped over her bat wings.

Sakuya was with her mistress, in what looked like an even fancier version of her common maid uniform. The best part? The skirt was shorter than usual. Oh those legs. Thank you, Remilia, for getting Sakuya to wear that.

Thumbs up? Thumbs up.

We were escorted back to the balcony, overlooking the front yard. Even though the sun had set, one could still feel the summer heat radiate off of the ground. It was indeed a summer's night, a night to be out and about in a festival, to be outside with other people and eat. I could hear the sounds of night life beyond the grounds of the mansion, crickets chirping, wolves howling, and the like. There was also an abundance of fireflies fluttering around, more than I had ever seen. Already the yard was filled with the fairy servants of the mansion - guards and maids alike mingling about down there.

Now this is summer.

The only thing that would have made it perfect would to have seen the full moon overhead, but clouds were in the way.

Among the crowd of fairies, I think I even saw that kappa, Nitori. I hadn't gotten around to greeting her - she must have been really busy with work. She didn't see me, so I didn't get her attention.

Up on the balcony, there was a private buffet table. I'd get to that in a minute, but there were a few other people up here as well. Patchouli was there, in her usual outfit, along with Koakuma. Flandre was out there, in all black too, pretty much identical to what Remilia was wearing, barring the hat.

"Flan," Remilia said, "Have you calmed down a bit?"

"Yeah, Remi." said Flandre as she rubbed the back of her neck. "No need to knock me out again..." Flandre's eyes then settled on me, a grin forming. "Kyon~! Wanna play something?"

"I think I'll pass on that. I'm sure your sister wants to talk to me." I turned to the elder Scarlet, whispering: "Please talk to me."

Again, I know I sound like a jerk. But I have no intention at all of becoming one of Flandre's playmates and end up in a situation that would possibly put Asakura's intended scenario for me to shame.

Remilia just laughed as Flandre tilted her head, as if wondering what was going on. It wasn't then until I noticed Meiling.

Meiling...Meiling was beautiful. No. Gorgeous. She was in a chinese gown, green, of course, but with an ornate dragon embroidered on it. I dare say, it looked like it had golden trim. Her hair was even bunned up, chinese style. And her dress really did her body justice, accentuating every amazing part of her body, allowing her legs to be shown in nearly all of their glory.

Oh so glorious. I'm happy to be alive for this night. I know I sound like Taniguchi, but damn it, Meling in that dress was beyond attractive.

Interesting, however, that Gensokyo had so many beautiful women and girls, but most of would be able to tear a man apart without much effort.

She gave me a single nod in a greeting. Then, she studied my face for a few seconds before smirking.

"You like what I'm wearing, kid?"

Yes. I'm so happy to be male. I didn't say that aloud. I gave Meiling a nod. I don't know if Nagato noticed any of my reactions, but if she did, she didn't say anything.

Remilia then tugged on my sleeve, handing me something.

"It's a gift. From a devil to a human."

I studied it. It was a little charm, a Jack-O-Lantern.

Gift from a devil to a human. Jack-O-Lantern. Really, Remilia? That's quite literal, isn't it?

The story of the Jack-O-Lantern. A sinful man named Jack had tricked the devil into a deal, where the devil would never take his soul. After the man died, he was deemed too sinful to be let into heaven, and the devil upheld his end of the deal, so Jack didn't go to hell. Jack was stuck on earth. The devil gave him an ember that never died out. Jack's soul put it into a carved turnip, and endlessly wandered the Earth with it to find a final resting place.

The Jack-O-Lantern is the light given to a lost soul by the devil. And this one was given to me by the Scarlet Devil.

"Well, thank you, Mistress. But...I'm not really lost in the darkness right now, if that's what you mean by giving me this."

"Maybe so. But what about the darkness of the future? I had Patchi enhance that thing with a few special enchantments that should benefit you. Even Yukari helped out with it." Remilia had Sakuya fill up a wine glass with blood. It was in a different colored bottle than mine was, so it was someone else. I was still not used to seeing such a thing. "We saw Suou's attempts to sway you to her side. Thankfully they didn't work, but she might try again, with more power. That pumpkin charm should resist her influence."

"That's great, I guess," I said as I held it up, studying it more closely. "But isn't it kind of weird that a vampire gives me a Jack-O-Lantern? Wasn't it believed for a while that the light from one of these things could identify vampires?"

Remilia's eyebrow rose, and an amused look crossed her face after taking a sip.

"Ah. Amazing you know that. A lot of people have forgotten that old belief. I think it may or may not be true, but...you've been brushing up on your folklore, haven't you?"

"Considering the company I keep," I said as I pocketed the trinket. "I think it's handy."

"That's true."

And then, out of nowhere-

"Oh, the fruite loved of boyhood, the old days recalling, when wood-grapes were purpling and brown nuts were falling. When wild, ugly faces we carved in its skin, glaring out through the dark with a candle within."

That was Nagato. She didn't say it with any flourish or gusto, but flatly, as usual. We all turned to the human interface. She stood there, plate of pie in hand. She simply said three sentences before she began to eat.

"John Greenlear Whittier. 1807. 'The Pumpkin'."

Remilia gave the interface a single nod of approval. "Very good, Miss Nagato."

Nagato smiling, Nagato quoting out of nowhere...something is up. She was acting unusual.

However, there was a more pressing issue at hand. Namely, my hunger, which had its interest piqued when it saw the food in Nagato's hand. I made my way to the table. It was an English buffet - pork pies, cold meats, broccoli quiche, potato salad, cucumber salad, your breads, scotch eggs, and of course tea, among other things.

I'm going to get fat. Seriously. As I ate some food, it crossed my mind that I was going to be gaining some serious weight for all I've eaten. Of course, another thought crossed my mind. I had to ask Sakuya which foods were safe to eat. I didn't want any surprising..."strawberry fillings" in my meal.

"Just avoid the platters with a red trim. Those are for non-humans," was her reply. I took it to heart - and avoided the scotch eggs. I advised Nagato to do the same. I studied one without touching it, and found it to have a hint of red. Yep, avoiding that. As if Remilia and Flandre having a few of them on their plates wasn't an obvious flag.

At Remilia's request, we sat down to eat, as she said that the invited guests were pretty late already. Reimu, Marisa, the Prismrivers, and everyone they asked to show up. I was getting worried, to tell the truth. I voiced my opinions, only to be met with "it shouldn't be anything serious."

Nagato, Patchouli, Remilia, Flandre and I sat down at a small table on the balcony. Koakuma and Sakuya stood behind their respective masters. Meiling was leaning against the railing, looking down at the yard, plate of pie in hand. Even when she was dressed nice she still retained some vigilance.

"Kyon," Remilia said after taking a sip of blood. Thankfully, not mine. "It's been awhile. I've been busy overseeing the final construction, and now we can finally sit together and talk. Your life has just been so amazing. And I commend you on somehow finding a way to survive everything that is thrown at you."

"Thanks, I guess."

"So, would you have gone through with smacking Haruhi?"

I nearly spat out the food I had in my mouth, and had to put down my fork. I'm not going to hear the end of this, am I? I pursed my lips, clenching my jaw. When I looked back up at Remilia, she was grinning.

"Just giving you a hard time." Remilia twirled her fork. "I would have gone through with it, Koizumi be damned. Brat like that needs to be taught a lesson. She doesn't own Mikuru."

I swallowed, washing it down with some tea, and stared at her for a few seconds. "I thought you said that you were her dark half. And besides, don't you 'own' your servants?"

I saw Sakuya narrow her eyes at that statement. Hope I didn't offend her.

"Ah, but that's different." Remilia smiled, showing me her fangs. "I can get away with it. You smack me, you die."

I don't doubt that. I wouldn't be stupid enough to do such a thing.

I nodded and turned back to my meal, not wanting it to get cold, when I noticed the other Scarlet. Flandre was just staring at me, grinning. Not eating, not drinking, but just slightly rocking back and forth in her chair, grinning at me. The only thing that this scene needed was a creepy child's music box playing a tinny song. I leaned over to Nagato, and whispered the following:

"You think you can protect me in case Flandre does something?"

Nagato actually paused, before giving me a nod. It was almost as if she herself wasn't sure about that. I also had no interest in finding out who was more powerful - Flan, or a data entity, as amusing a scenario it was.

Remilia raised a glass.

"Barring all of that, may I propose a toast?"

The rest of us followed suit as Remilia continued.

"You see, tonight is a special night, for more than one reason. Way more than one reason. It seems that July 15th has become a sort of special date for us at the Scarlet Devil Mansion. It resonates with me. Back in Europe, on July 15th, 1914, ninety years ago today, I met my good friend Patchouli." The vampire motioned towards the librarian, who merely gave a single nod. "On July 15th, 1973, forty-one years ago, we moved here to Gensokyo." I noticed Remilia's eyes fall on Meiling for a few seconds before getting back to what she was saying. "And of course, last year, July 15th, 2003..." Remilia paused, lowering her eyes. "We...well...we fell to Reimu and Marisa's assault." I saw Sakuya's eyes lower. She still was not proud of it. "But we gained allies because of it."

Remilia lifted the glass up even higher.

"So here are to allies. " Remilia then referenced to me and Nagato. "To the S.O.S. Brigade, to the Scarlet Devil Mansion, to Gensokyo." She glanced up to the clock tower. "...however, most of those allies aren't here. It's already 10:30. Sakuya, you did send the invitations, right?"

"Yes, Milady. I do not understand why everyone is late."

"Remi." Patchouli said as she pointed up.

The clouds were moving, and were going to give way to the full moon.

"Damn." The vampire sighed as she got up - we didn't even complete the toast, her face a mask of disappointment. "How rude of everyone to not show up on time. Now I have to give my speech without them being present." She adjusted her top hat, still grumbling. "They'd better have a damn good reason why they didn't show when I wanted them to."

Who's a brat, Remilia? Of course I didn't say that out loud.

Remilia moved to the edge of the balcony, looking down. She rapped her cane on the railing, and all the fairies down there looked up, the yard going silent. When she had everyone's attention, Remilia spread out her arms, with a flourish.

"Tonight is our full moon night! Tonight we bask in the glow of power! Tonight is when we Youkai are allowed to reign! I want to thank you all, again, for being here with us at the Scarlet Devil Mansion. The past few months have been tough on us; remembering the dead, rebuilding our home! But we know that the fairies who lost their lives during that endless winter will be reborn! That is the cycle of life!"

So fairies get reincarnated then? I'd later learn that was true.

"We have rebuilt ourselves to our former glory! The Scarlet Devil Mansion is finally rebuilt..." Remilia then slightly turned her head, looking at her sister, and lowering her voice. Her eyes showed a bit of disapproval. "...barring the dining room..." Flandre just shrugged at her sister, and Remilia then turned back to her audience, her voice back to speech mode. "And to all of you who have replaced those we have lost, we are grateful for your servitude. I am grateful for your servitude. It's nights like these where you are rewarded for your efforts in serving me! So, please, everyone enjoy themselves!"

The fairies from below cheered, just as the night became lighter. The clouds were clearing the moon. Everyone looked up to view it.

"..."

Something was...I don't know, off. Something was off about the situation. You ever get that feeling, that feeling that the situation isn't right? Staring at that moon made me feel uncomfortable. I turned to the vampire, only to see that Remilia's jaw had dropped, as if she was surprised by something.

"That isn't the full moon. That's papier mache."

We all turned to Nagato, who said that while staring up at it. Papier mache?! I couldn't even believe what she said.

"What?"

Before Remilia could get an answer to that, a howl, from somewhere outside the walls of the Mansion's grounds. Not of a wolf...but of something bigger. And then another howl. And another. Soon, the night was filled with them. Then we heard screaming. We got up from the table, and looked down from the balcony, to witness a bunch of animal-like beings jumping over the wall, going for the maids.

The fairies! The fairies are being attacked!

The beings were hard to make-out - they looked to be just black in color - their fur, the shadows, or both made it next to impossible to discern what they were. The maids were the ones screaming, as they all started to run for the house. A few fairy guards began to fend off these things, but there were more and more coming over the wall. Remilia took a single step forward, her fists clenching.

"Meiling."

The guard turned her head to her mistress. Already Meiling's face was serious, as she quickly taped up her hands and wrists like a fighter does. She had let her hair down, and put it in a ponytail. I think she knew what Remilia was going to order her to do. "Milady?"

Without taking her eyes off of what was transpiring before her, Remilia simply said one word - the edge on her voice apparent.

"Kill."

Oh don't tell me I'm gonna actually see this.

In a flash, the chief guard jumped down, onto one of the creatures, I'm guessing breaking it's back - but she wasn't done with it. She went about snapping the neck of the creature to end its life, and left it there. Meiling went from target to target, using her martial arts to take on the creatures, and to snap necks. She did it so fluidly - the definition of poetry in motion, but very very violent. Each strike hit its mark, and she effortlessly went from one target to the next. It was like a video game.

The thing is, as Meiling kept at it, she appeared to get even more violent. The graceful kicks, strikes, and merciful neck snaps gave way to her ripping the creatures apart with her bare hands. Soon, all the creatures were down, save for one. Meiling brought out a spell card as she moved to the final target.

[SPELL CARD: THREE STEPS "COLORFUL MOUNTAIN CRUSHER"]

The last creature she got to, she struck it in the gut, stunning it. Then, she gave it a quick shoulder block, and then followed it immediately with a huge uppercut, launching it up into the sky - I dare say "Team Rocket Style". I didn't see where it went. I didn't even see if it landed. It disappeared into the heavens.

That's what the spell card was, apparently - a super-charged uppercut attack by Meiling.

And yes. I did inwardly say "Team Rocket is blasting off agaaaaaain!" as I watched it get launched.

It hadn't taken a full minute for Meiling to clear house. She stood there, taking deep breaths, cracking her knuckles while staring at her handiwork, and I could barely hear what she said.

"I thought I told all you youkai out there. This is my yard."

Okay, not gonna lie. I'm afraid of Meiling now.

I wonder. Would that add to her power or whatnot?

I have to say...watching Meiling do that was unsettling. Just a few minutes ago, she was having a good time, and at Remilia's order, became the most efficient killing machine I could ever imagine. Then again, she is the original Scarlet Devil, isn't she? It's just so weird to know a person and see such a side of them. Even though I heard of Meiling's capabilities, to actually see it put into practice? To witness her tear apart enemies? It was scary.

Not the time to think. More howls. More creatures, this time more numerous. The maids still standing were helping up the ones who got injured before Meiling went down there. They were the new targets for these creatures. Meiling started up her killing spree again, but it wouldn't be enough. I'm guessing Remilia knew this too.

"Sakuya. Kill."

Remilia's giving out orders as if she were talking to dogs.

The maid jumped down as well, already a flurry of knives flung at these new opponents. But these weren't the Danmaku knives I saw during the Incident. No, these were real knives. With real piercing - real piercing of jugulars. As if the bloody mess that Meiling did for the first wave wasn't enough, Sakuya made it even bloodier. It was a dance of knives, effortlessly going from one target to the next. Sakuya appeared to favor slashing throats, and left a lot of youkai on the ground clutching their bloody necks. Again, it was disturbing to see this switch flipped - Sakuya becoming this killing machine as well.

Now I'm afraid of Sakuya. Great.

From behind Sakuya, a group of creatures - they would have taken her by surprise, but they didn't get to - Patchouli had gone down there - floated down there, and began chanting words - the next thing I knew, the creatures became engulfed in electricity, being fried. She quickly turned to some of the fairy guards.

"Get inside! Now! Get all the fairies inside!"

We heard something, a growl from above us. I turned, and saw a flash of black fur as something pounced into me, taking me off the balcony.

I must have said every single curse word I could think of in the second it took for me to hit the ground.

-entry-

-Entities encountered:

-Various youkai

-Entities catalogued.

-Engaged in Danmaku.

-Verbal account of rules sent. Audio file of Patchouli Knowledge on record.

-Battle data sent, offensive and defensive capabilities of Hong Meiling.

-"Captured" [SPELL CARD: RAINBOW SIGN "RAINBOW WIND CHIME"], due to this individual entity not being hit. Will send physical card for study.

-Note: The different levels of spell cards might possibly make cataloguing such attacks mildly time consuming.

-Personal note:

-[REDACTED]

-Inquiry:

-Why was my note redacted?

-File upload detected from Admin 612:

-Displaying file:

"Vampire Incident"

- In the summer of 1999, a vampire entered Gensokyo, killing most youkai opposition in an attempt to assert dominance. Many youkai died trying to defeat it, but the strong creature killed every opponent. It was about to lead an invasion of the Human Village, but Reimu Hakurei was able to knock it out using a new form of fighting she came up with - Danmaku. Reimu Hakurei, at eleven years old, and in front of both the Human Village and the youkai army the vampire gathered, killed the powerful vampire while it was down, and set about to establish this means of fighting to settle things in Gensokyo. The youkai readily accepted it.

- Yukari Yakumo went about spreading the game everywhere she could - even in the [REDACTED], and all the afterlife areas.

- There is speculation that the vampire was dropped off in Gensokyo personally by Yukari Yakumo. This is difficult to confirm, as the youkai who gave us this information has since gone missing.

- By multiple accounts, the vampire was supposedly Tepes himself - "Dracula". Unable to confirm.

- The vampire had no contact with Remilia Scarlet or any entity in the Scarlet Devil Mansion. As to why the vampire was allowed to run rampant without Yukari Yakumo intervening is a mystery in itself. Yukari Yakumo has declined to comment on this.

=Status: RESOLVED=

-File Catalogued by Emiri Kimidori.

-end file-

-File received and read.

-Urgent update:

-Requesting offensive data!

-N. Yuki

-end entry-

Imperishable Night is IMO, the most complex Touhou game.

You have a time limit. The game starts at 11:00 PM, and you must finish the game by 5:00 AM. If 5:00 AM is reached, game over - bad ending. You must collect time orbs to meet a quota per stage. Without doing so, time advances an hour during each stage transition. Meeting the quota only advances it by half an hour. Using a continue advances an hour.

You have four teams of a youkai and human partner. Team Border - Reimu Hakurei and Yukari Yakumo. Team Magic - Marisa Kirisame and Alice Margatroid. Team Scarlet - Sakuya Izayoi and Remilia Scarlet. Team Ghost - Youmu Konpaku and Yuyuko Saigyouji. Each team has their own perks. For instance, Team Ghost gives you a free bomb if you have less than three before a stage transition, Team Magic collects items easier, Team Scarlet coughs up a bomb item on the field upon the loss of a life (if they had a spare bomb when they die) and Team Border has the smallest hitboxes, plus Ran joins in when you play as Yukari. But who you use in a team also gives you perks. You either have to focus on using youkai or human. Each side has their own perks as well, which concern the gathering of Time Orbs. This forces a TON of strategy to play this game to make the time limit. All while dodging danmaku.

And remember - once dawn occurs, game over.

"walking outside during the night of the full moon is suicide."