This one was a nightmare to write. You see, I wrote up paragraphs, wrote up a lot in advance, possibly half this chapter, and ended up scrapping pretty much everything because they made the flow too jilted. You know how it is sometimes when you're writing. You have some set pieces in mind, which are easier to write - those are why you're writing. Those are why you sit down and type them up. The trick, however, is to make everything flow into each other; make the set pieces of the story be able to work with all the others. That was not the case for this one. Again, a lot was written up, and a lot was scrapped. So, advance apologies if the writing feels a bit stilted, as I had to get rid of several parts of the story, rewrite them, and put them back into the story. That's why this particular chapter took this long after the last one.

On the plus side, it's quite hefty.

I have been reading a lot of PM's and seeing reviews that want more Kyon x Marisa, and I agree. If you want to write a fan fic inspired by Imperfect Cherry Blossom, I really would like to see them.

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:

Another Duck

Nerdfish

Smooglii

werewolf2005

In all that burning, in all that revenge, in all that excitement over an SCD threat and surprise ally, we had forgotten one thing.

Mokou didn't know a thing about Haruhi, Sasaki, Suou, or anything pertaining to all of that. She was thrown into all of this, and as someone who has lived it, it's kind of a really deep pool to be thrown into all of a sudden.

Suffice to say, she got a crash course in it all, of what everything was about (thanks to Yukari & Nagato) - the whole summary didn't take long. And as expected, the immortal couldn't believe it at first, but...well...Nagato was convincing (albeit too technical), as was Yukari. The immortal struggled to accept it, but in the end I think she took it pretty well as anyone could hope to.

"I think I'm gonna be sick." Mokou put her hands to her temples as if she had a headache.

Yeah, she's taking it pretty well.

"Two kids, born sixteen years ago, created all this? Created me and everything I went through a thousand years ago?"

When you put it that way, yeah, it does sound insane.

She got nods in response. The dumbstruck look on her face told it - this was a bit much even for someone like her. "Y'all are crazy. Insane."

"I know it's too much to take in at one time," I said. "I was in your position over a year ago when I was told about this."

Mokou kept shaking her head, her eyes closed - she was trying to reject it all. She then opened her eyes, and looked to where the enemy entity expired. "But...those entity things...if they're as bad for Gensokyo as you say they are..." Mokou tapped her cigarette, getting rid of the ash. "Well...seeing is believing. That thing wasn't the friendliest thing I've encountered."

A question about her chain smoking - How many packs has she gone through, especially tonight? She goes through these things like nothing. Mokou was the definition of a chain smoker with a lung cancer death wish. Though, since she's immortal, that wouldn't really be a factor, right? She wouldn't mind it, especially if her body constantly healed itself. And the weird thing, with all her smoking, she didn't smell as nasty as a smoker nor were her teeth yellow - she just smelled of regular charcoal smoke.

"If they're as bad as y'all say they are, and they tried to kill off everyone that night..." Mokou let out a sigh, looking down at the ground. "...Chitose..."

Right. No matter what Suou can say about how righteous her cause was, her actions caused that death.

"I found what was left of her..." Mokou just shook her head, while morosely staring at the ground, her face saddening. "...Kid was just ten years old, man. She didn't deserve that. Dammit...I try not to get too connected with-" Mokou paused as she realized what she was saying. She let out a sigh, "Chitose didn't deserve that. She just didn't. No kid does."

I don't know how I would have handled it, being in Mokou's shoes for something like that. For every good point of Gensokyo, there seems to be a bad one too. But that... I don't know if I would be strong enough for that.

"Don't forget all the pockets of dead land due to the dead fairies." Remilia said, arms crossed. "You humans lost a lot of farm land for a while there."

"That too, eh?" Mokou frowned, anger rising in her face again. "Lotta people went hungry 'cause of that." The immortal kept her gaze on the ground. "Look, I dunno. I'm just here to help the village. I'm just some...I'm just some kid from the streets who happened to end up like this, y'know?"

Remilia stepped up to her and lowered her collar. We could clearly see the two large fang marks on her neck, which is what she was showing. "You're not the only one like that. I never asked for this, but I'm not only making the most of my gift - I learned to be grateful for it." Smirking as she readjusted herself, Remilia coyly continued. "You're not the special snowflake you think you are."

"This is the situation we're in, Houraijin." Yukari let out a slow breath, her fingers tapping on the handle of her unopened parasol which she held like a cane at that point. "There is a group of people out there that want to end you, and us, simply because we are a part of this place. They don't care about collateral damage."

"When that fake moon was giving off that light? Yeah? That's what happened, right? That night really was them?" Mokou looked at Amaya. "That's what your people did?"

"Yes. Kuyou Suou carried favor, and she got the clearance to do what she wanted." Amaya responded, unblinking. "Direct orders from my superiors - my observation of Gensokyo was taken from me for that night."

This Amaya person...I still didn't feel too comfortable with her. It was difficult to truly read her. I didn't know how to really feel about her. However, considering that she was at a massive disadvantage in that situation - if everyone used Danmaku, she'd be reduced to dust in a matter of seconds - I couldn't feel too threatened by her presence if she tried something. Well, as long as she doesn't use that data paralysis or whatever it is. Seriously, I hate that. Ryoko, Suou, I mean, come on. It's so cheap.

"Your half-youkai associate in the village was hurt by the program Suou used, correct?"

Mokou nodded in response to Amaya. "They hurt Keine. She took me in, y'know, when I arrived here? The only one who treated me like a person at first. And they hurt her, just 'cause she's half-youkai."

"They wouldn't have stopped at merely hurting her, Houraijin. They don't care that she's defending humans." Yukari stretched, letting out a slight yawn. "Look. I understand if you don't want to believe it. I can show you evidence of this, but ultimately it's up to you to decide what to believe." Mokou remained silent, so Yukari turned to the vampire. "Miss Scarlet, I do believe you have a party to tend to?"

Remilia's eyes widened with joy. "Ah! Right, right!" She turned to us. "Be grateful, all of you! I'm officially inviting you to join me at my mansion for a German feast!"

Ah yes, one of the reasons why I wanted to come back. It hadn't been that long since I ate, but I wouldn't mind more.

"About time." Reimu stretched. "I'm starving here."

"We accept." Remilia's eyes widened when the Princess said that. Rage washed across the vampire's face as the Princess smirked at her. And before Remilia could respond, Kaguya continued. "Oh, Eirin?"

"Yes, Princess?"

"Wouldn't it be terribly rude to retract an already accepted invitation?" Kaguya leaned down to the vampire, so they were eye-to-eye. "It would be unbecoming of a noble, correct? Especially concerning an invitation extended to their betters."

Don't be doing this...

The doctor smiled as well. "I would think so."

I brought both my palms to my forehead. The ride never ends.

Perishable Night

Episode 13

["Understand"]

"If I took on your power, then it's possible that something like that would happen. That losing my humanity would bring me closer to losing myself.

Right now, I am very happy, just to be by your side like this.

Nothing frightens me more than the possibility of losing that happiness."

-Sakuya Izayoi, to Remilia Scarlet, on the idea of becoming a vampire. From the doujin The Oh-So-Red Blooming Flower, by Service area SoN.

I think Remilia badly wanted to turn away the Princess, but the vain vampire relented in the end, despite standing there looking like she wanted to blow a gasket. Everyone present went. A quick Yukari portal jump put us on the front lawn, and immediately I was hit by the smells of a German feast. I didn't want to dwell on a potential showdown between Kaguya and Remilia and I don't think they did either - when we got there, the vampire couldn't get away from the Lunarian fast enough. Patchouli looked disappointed when she saw Remilia.

"It was supposed to be just a visit, wasn't it Remi?" She looked over her friend. "I mean look at you. All burned up, and same for Sakuya and the puppeteer. What happened out there?"

Ah, what do you think happened? Remilia bit off more than she could chew for once.

Remilia casually pointed at Mokou as an answer. Ignoring Patchouli's further remarks and questions, Remilia quickly welcomed everyone, announced to her servants that the party was on, and then went inside, Sakuya close behind. They had to change, after all - their clothes were quite burned. Remilia would spend the night up on the balcony - away from the Princess. Poor Alice didn't get such a luxury of changing her clothes - she had to stay in her singed clothing. Anyway, everyone went their separate ways, and Asahina, who was also outside, joined us. She asked us what happened and after a quick rundown, she was struck worried, hiding behind Koizumi - Amaya was there. The interface just blankly stared at the time traveler for a few seconds, before she went back to what she was doing - looking over everyone else.

Looking around, I saw that everything was set up like last time - tables, chairs, a platform for entertainment, and four large buffet tables along the four sides of the fountain. The Prismrivers were there as well, all set up and tuning their instruments. They had all kinds (not just their normal ones) but also a drum kit, guitars, bass, etc. I looked around for the buffet table, but the Lunarians motioned for us to join them at a far table. Kaguya had already sat down, and Eirin was the one motioning for us to come over.

"Brigade, a word, please?" When we got there, Eirin crossed her arms with a tired look on her face, and bluntly said: "You failed, you know."

"Excuse me, doctor?" Koizumi asked.

She let out a sigh. "We came close to being destroyed - all of us, because you didn't finish your own war."

I wanted to say something, a comeback, but I couldn't. I mean, true, she did ask a month prior, but it's not like I could have done anything. And even if I could, nothing would have changed - the reality is that after the Endless Night Incident, Suou had disappeared from our world. I had asked Sasaki about it, and she hadn't heard from the SCD entity. I even reached out to Tachibana, and she said she didn't know where she was. Tachibana had also said that she had gone to Suou's house a few times to check up on her, but nobody was home. It was as if she up and left. Fine by me, really. Besides Fujiwara, she was the most aggressive against us. I told the doctor as such.

Eirin slowly nodded, processing this. She looked to Nagato - as if expecting something.

"My superiors don't want to risk anything. There are some whose consensus is that we should declare outright war on the Sky Canopy Domain, but there isn't enough support for it. But what he is saying is correct - Suou has not been present at her school according to the information I've been given, and from my own observations. Some of the school authorities are worried over her absence."

And I'm kind of grateful for that. Well, not because she's absent, but because she isn't around to cause more trouble. I don't think it's in anyone's best interests for two alien groups to wage a war on Earth due to her. Seriously, it would be bad, to say the least.

"Suou has gone into hiding." Amaya had joined us. Again, she showed no emotion. "Her failure, as well as her waste of resources and entity lives has caused a huge disarray within my group. We were badly damaged by what happened, and there have been constant power shifts among my superiors since."

"I can understand that," Eirin said, "But she's still out there. I keep saying it - a fanatic like that won't stop until either she's dead or we are."

"She won't. She's adamant about what she wants to do, but she no longer has any real influence left. She's on her own."

And unfortunately, I intimately know the damage a single rogue data entity can do. Well, at least it's better than a whole group of rogues.

"Yeah, Yukari said something like that. It's too bad I didn't have the means to finish Suou off before," said Koizumi, a look of regret on his face.

"That was her last ally, right? That entity tonight?"

Amaya gave the princess a nod. "Suou essentially has no allies left. There might be some holdouts, but for all intents and purposes, she lost everyone who physically supported her. Even the superiors who gave her the go ahead for that night are now silent."

I sighed. "I still can't believe she sacrificed them all to save herself. That's just cold. Just...evil."

Also, it boggles the mind. That entity earlier would have shared that same fate of being sacrificed, yet she still fanatically carried out Suou's wishes, even though she had a chance to get away. She got a chance to go on and live, and instead came here to die.

I have to reiterate this, because I can't drive it home enough. I shouldn't know what true evil looks like at my age. It's disheartening to see such things, especially since this was over-the-top. At least the big wigs of the SCD are shirking back and not all of them are fanatics. That's good to hear.

Amaya blankly looked up at the moon. "However, I fear that I might have this observation post taken away from me. I interfered. That is..." She paused, searching for the word. "...Unprofessional, I believe. Especially for a mere observer."

"You're in the right crowd for observers having to make moves." Amaya just glanced at Nagato, still showing no emotion. Well, she can see the humor in that, for once.

Eirin appeared to want to press the issue more, but Kaguya didn't want her to. "Eirin, please allow them to enjoy themselves for the night. These young mortals have survived another brush with death - they should celebrate." She motioned to where we were. "And, this is a full moon party." Kaguya smirked. "They are essentially celebrating us." Her gaze went to the buffet table, and a twinkle in her eye was seen as she clasped her hands. "I am exceptionally looking forward to this. It has been literal ages since I have had German." She leaned back in her chair, looking to her servant. "Udongein, would you be so kind? One of each for Eirin and I?" She motioned for Reisen to go get some food, to which the rabbit complied.

One of each? Who are you, Yuyuko?

As the soldier quickly passed us, I turned around, ready to at least enjoy the night as well. I mean, that was part of the legitimate reason why I tagged along in the first place, and I was under threat of being burned or killed, so I was owed at least this. Even though it hadn't been too long since me and my family ate, I still felt a bit hungry. I guess danger will do that to you? Koizumi, Nagato, Asahina, and Amaya went their separate ways, leaving me to eat. Looking around, I noticed that the Prismrivers had someone with them. For some reason Mystia and Wriggle were here. I'd later learn that Yukari had portal-grabbed the night sparrow and brought her there at the Prismriver's request; they wanted her to sing. Wriggle was with Mystia and had tagged along. Mystia was audibly complaining about something, shaking her head no, but I couldn't really hear what she was saying. Whatever it was, the Prismrivers weren't taking no for an answer.

The problems of the night sparrow didn't capture my attention for long - I got another whiff of the food. Ah, yes. The food. As I've said, I've never had German food before, so I was looking forward to this. I took my time to survey everything.

Brot - Bread, was everywhere. I remember hearing that there are 600 different types of bread that the Germans make. A maid attendant at the table explained which was which by name, but didn't explain what they were, even when I asked - she said she didn't make them and was only told their names, and even when she said them, she looked like she didn't really know what she was talking about.

I'm gonna come out and say this - after everything I've seen, the fairies of Gensokyo don't seem very bright. As if Cirno wasn't a good indicator.

Speaking of the cold ones, they disappeared into the mansion. I'd see Cirno later, but not Whiterock. I wouldn't see the yuki-onna again either that night or the following day.

Anyway, I was hearing words like Vollkornbrot, Toastbrot, Weizenmischbrot, Mehrkornbrot, Roggenmischbrot, Roggenbrot, and Sonnenblumenkernbrot, among others. That last one is a mouthful, isn't it? I got that Sonnen...thing, and found it to be rye bread with Sunflower seeds. Not bad. There was Sauerbraten, which is venison that was marinated in wine vinegar for several days (I'd later learn). Pretty good. Sauerkraut, of course. But there was something I was really looking forward to - the one thing that my nostrils picked up on first. I'm talking about the Bratwurst. Ground pork, spices, and bursting with flavor. Just meaty heaven, and it did not disappoint.

As for what to drink...well...what do you think there was? It was German. There were beer kegs everywhere. Everywhere. Already I could see a few fairy maids going to town on the alcohol. At least there was tea for those of us who wanted to avoid a hangover.

"Uhh...Kyon?" Reisen said, holding a tray full of food that was bound for Eirin and Kaguya.

"What's up?"

Making sure that Eirin and Kaguya were busy talking to each other and not watching over the soldier, she looked towards Reimu. "Look. We're grateful, all right?" Reisen returned her attention to me. "Master and the Princess might be a bit difficult-"

Safe to assume that's an understatement.

"-But they are extremely grateful for what you all did for us this past month, and tonight, even if they don't explicitly show it. I know I am grateful."

I nodded, while being impressed by Reisen's strength and balance - she was easily holding all that food. "Yeah, they do seem like somewhat a pain to work with." I paused. "No offense." Reisen shrugged and smiled. I shot a glance to the Lunarians. "Still, I guess being with such important figures in your history has got to be amazing."

"Yeah, it is." Reisen made her way past me. "I mean, imagine if you had the chance to not only live with..." She paused, thinking something over. "Ah, say...Oda Nobunaga, yes. Say you had a chance to not only live with Nobunaga himself, but to also personally learn from him as his pupil? Wouldn't you take that chance?"

"Nobunaga wasn't a kind man."

"Exactly." The two of us stared at each other, a smile forming on Reisen's face. I kind of got what she implied. "But it's worth it." She blinked, looking at Reimu again. "Ah, right. Listen. If I don't get the chance, can you tell Hakurei something?"

"All right."

"Like I said, we're grateful for what has happened. You tell Hakurei that if she needs help on any incident, she can just ask for my support."

"Why can't-"

"Look, I gotta go before they call to me. Master doesn't like to be kept waiting, especially." Reisen made her way to the Lunarians. "But seriously - if you or Hakurei need a gun, you can call on me."

"Uh...thanks." I didn't know how to react to that. I stood there, mulling that over. No doubt it would be useful to have a trained sniper backing you up in such a world as this, but...man. Seriously, where did that come from?

A fairy in line for the buffet asked if I could keep going, so I snapped out of that.

Alice was with me as I filled my plate, and talked to me as we went to an open table. "Who'd have thought that I'd be at a place like this."

I paused. "Uhm, what do you mean?

Alice shook her head. "I'm just making an observation." We had sat down with Reimu and Marisa. The miko was quickly eating, and got up when she finished her plate, going for more.

Geez Reimu, slow down. Of course, she didn't. I watched in awe for a bit before I remembered that I had my own food, and it did not disappoint.

As I enjoyed my food (and oh man was it great), Alice continued. "A few months ago, I was alone in my house with a lot of dolls. And now..." She referred to our surroundings - the open yard with many tables, fairy maids, and our scattered group. "Here I am at such a celebration, among new allies." She lowered her eyes. "Even when I was a human I wasn't very...social. I'm completely out of my element here."

Marisa grinned, putting her arm around Alice. "Hey, you gotta get out more, ze. And you're powerful enough to take down youkai and get respected by them." She pointed at the SDM. "Hell, I bet you can earn yourself some servants that aren't dolls and get yourself a nicer place." I think Hourai took offense to that, as it flew in between the witch and the puppeteer, glaring down Marisa. Marisa just shrugged. "Just sayin', ze."

Alice ran her fingers through Shanghai and Hourai's hair. "I'm pretty content with my home and my...'servants', thank you."

"No but seriously, ze. I'm taking you out to these parties."

"But I have experiments to run."

"So do I, but I make the time to have fun."

"Alice," I said after taking a bite out of that...whatever it was. The sunflower bread. I won't even bother trying to say it again. "If you're just going to stay in with your dolls..." I paused. "Well, that's just kind of depressing to hear."

"Exactly. You're gonna end up a shut-in like Patchouli in there, ze."

Alice's brow furrowed. "Well..." A small smile formed on her face. "When you put it that way..."

Nice that you have a sense of humor about this.

Reimu had come back from the buffet table - I think at her third plate. She noticed my stare, before grinning. "What? It's not too often I get to eat meat. I'm not gonna say no to this."

"Is it really that bad for you?" I mean, I know you say you don't get enough donations, but not even enough to eat?

She shrugged. "I get by. Barely." She ate some more. "Mmph. Truth be told, I'm kinda sick of living like that. I think I'm gonna have to start a small farm behind my shrine or something."

Alice struggled to keep herself from laughing, as Marisa nearly choked laughing on a stein of beer. "Farmer? You?" The witch coughed a bit, before continuing to grin at her friend. "You...you don't have what it takes to be a farmer."

"I can't survive on that apple orchard alone. I'm getting sick of apples, so I gotta do something."

Alice leaned back, her arms crossed. "If you're looking for seeds, you got a few options, one of them being..." Alice frowned. "...Her."

I instantly knew to whom she was referring.

Reimu shook her head. "Nuh-uh. I'm not going to be indebted to Kazami."

I furrowed my brow, thinking on what she said. "I didn't know you have an apple orcard." How did I miss that? I mean when I was there back in April, I had explored the shrine's grounds in boredom for a bit, but there wasn't much to see. A small turtle pond in the back, a dusty locked storage shed, and the shrine itself - that was it. An apple orchard shouldn't have been too hard to miss.

"Not directly next to the shrine, but a stone's throw away."

After taking another bite of bratwurst (oh wow is this good!) , I shook my head. "That's just very...I don't know - inspiring. Living on your own, sustaining yourself, and you're my age. You're already more grown up than me." I mean, I suppose if I had to be in a survival situation, I could rise up to it. Heaven knows that I rise to situations set up by Haruhi.

"You're a survivor, Kyon. I mean, didn't you make that shadow youkai bleed? And you lack any real defenses against a youkai."

"That wasn't survival. That was desperation."

"Survival is desperation while coming out alive." Reimu frowned. "You need to stop selling yourself short. I mean, you're able to do what's necessary to survive. I've seen it even. If you ever ended up in Gensokyo legitimately, I'm sure you'd be able to last. And I'm not talking about an easy job like shelving books in there." She pointed her thumb to the SDM. "I'm talking about farming or something. What are you good at?"

Marisa took a drink of beer before interrupting. "I'll believe you two being farmers when I see it."

Reimu glared at the witch. "With that attitude, I'm not sharing any of my crops with you."

Marisa had that sly smirk. "Not gonna stop me from having some."

Marisa...

Reimu's eyes widened, her fists clenching. "Oh if you steal any of my food-"

I was about to laugh, when-

"Lady Yukari has requested your presence."

We all looked up to Ran, who said that. I looked around, and didn't see the demon. Ran motioned to the mansion. "Lady Yukari and Lady Yuyuko are in a sitting room, and would like for you and Hakurei to come."

Looking over to the miko, Reimu just shrugged, before getting up. I finished off my tea before I got up too. Ran then began to lead us inside.

Mikuru and Suika were near the doorway having some sort of animated conversation, and as we were passing them, I heard the following:

"Wait wait wait. What are you saying? You said that there is an elemental in your gourd?"

Suika took a swig of the gourd. "Yep."

"But I just drank sake."

"Yeah. It excretes sake."

Mikuru stared at her in near-horror. "...Excrete?"

"Yeah. Its sweat, among all other things that come out of its body, is sake."

I had to stop, as my brain kind of said 'time out' in order to process that. Instantly I was grateful that I didn't drink out of that thing. Everything that comes out of its body... Yeah, no. No I will never drink out of that. It may give out infinite sake, but no way in hell would I drink that knowing what it was. Mikuru started to turn a little green, and I didn't blame her. Even thinking about that made me a little sick.

"It's not that bad, you know." I could only stare in a sort of horror at what Reimu said. "I mean, it's still sake. It just tastes kinda earthy, but otherwise it's still pretty good when you get used to it."

I don't want to get used to that! I let out a sigh, still trying to get rid of the mental image of...something excreting stuff, and a person willingly drinking it. Ugh. Also, WHY?! WHY, Suika?

Mystia forcefully shook her head. "No, no! I said I won't do it!"

"Hey, bird, we need a voice." Lyrica showed the stage again. "We have all this equipment, all these instruments, and we don't have a vocalist."

"I don't do concerts!" And don't call me just a bird!

"Mysti, c'mon. You're always singing for your customers."

Mystia clenched her fist at Wriggle and grit her teeth. "You're not helping!" She turned to the phantoms. "Also, I can't believe you had to resort to the sukima to get me here. I said no before!"

"Hey." Lunasa went up to her. "We need this, all right? My sisters and I weren't able to perform last time, so we need to make it up in a big way. When we were all defending that shrine, your amazing voice caught our attention. This could be big for all of us." She spread her arms to the sky. "I mean, imagine - we could tour Gensokyo, and everything connected to it. We have all the instruments covered - we can be an entire orchestra, but we haven't had a singer since Layla." Lunasa pointed at Mystia. "Your voice is something special. Not only are you able to use it to attack, it really is good, especially considering that we've spent time in the afterlife of artists. You rival the greats. So trust us when we tell you that you are amazing."

Afterlife of the artists? I rival them? I'm really that good? Mystia's face burned. She had never considered doing this, she only used her singing voice for its abilities at first, but also sang for the customers when they commented on it.

Before Mystia could think any further, Merlin quipped: "If you sing, you and your friend get to eat and drink all you want~!"

Wriggle spun Mystia around to face her. "Oh, Mysti, you gotta sing now."

"But-"

"No buts! Free food!"

As we entered the mansion proper, I told Reimu what Reisen had said to me on the way. She slowly nodded. "All things considered, looks like it'll be good to have that soldier." Reimu shook her head. "Yukari has been bringing up the next incident."

"And what is it?"

"She's never told me directly - just that I'll have to gather most of Gensokyo to even deal with it, even though it's not really threatening to Gensokyo." I guess the confusion on my face belied what I was going to say, because she shrugged. "Whatever that means."

I looked to our guide. "Hey, Ran, what's up with the next incident? Will the Brigade have to get involved?" Because while I do somewhat enjoy my times here, it does get inconvenient having to go back and forth. Especially since I have to get knocked out for the time and portal traveling.

Ran paused, before looking back. "Not likely. I can tell you this because barring SCD involvement, this shouldn't be too bad for Gensokyo." She turned her head back and continued her escorting. "It'll only be bad for Reimu's group that will be challenged by...them. Especially her."

Reimu had stopped, arms crossed. "Care to give a little info? I'd like to know what I'm going to be getting into."

Ran appeared to think it over as she stopped as well. It wasn't too long before she relented - Reimu wasn't going anywhere without an answer. "Lady Yukari hasn't explicitly told me not to share the slight information I've gathered, so I suppose it will be all right." Ran turned to us, her face serious. "You'll be going up against a shinigami and a Yama. They'll be the most powerful opponents you've faced yet, especially the Yama."

I was taken aback. Wow. Taking on a judge of the dead and death. Wait... "Not...that Komachi Onozuka, is it?"

"Who?"

I told Reimu that Meiling and I had come across a shinigami, and I told her of Komachi's powers - she could control distance. The shinigami had instantly closed the gap between me and Meiling with a single step from a good several meters away. Reimu slightly nodded at that, processing it.

That reminds me. I still need to get back to that, as I skipped over that part.

"Huh...gonna be tough to take down someone if she can zip across a danmaku field like that..." Reimu looked to Ran. "Kitsune, any more on them?"

"I've already said too much. But Hakurei - don't lose your focus. The shinigami is just a pittance to her superior. This yama is extremely powerful, even more powerful than some of the Gods we have in Gensokyo. From what I can gather, even if you, Lady Yukari, and Lady Yuyuko were to somehow combine powers, you'd still fall to the Yama. Your only chance is danmaku. You cannot hope to stand a chance against her in an actual battle."

More powerful than Yukari, Yuyuko, and Reimu combined? More powerful than a God?! Who the hell is this yama?!

Ran kept her gaze on the miko. "Is that good enough?"

Reimu nodded, and we continued.

"A yama?" I blurted out. I still couldn't process that.

"Seems so." Reimu had a slight sparkle in her eye. "Now I'm really looking forward to seeing this next incident."

Yeah, me too. What kind of incident would involve a friggin' Yama and a Shinigami with Gensokyo? Even if I wouldn't be a part of this incident, I wanted to know what would happen. Man I really do hope we aren't involved in this. I don't want to go up against those who handle the dead. "I don't know how you can do this, and how you keep coming out on top."

"Skill, not power." Reimu smirked. "On a leveled playing field, that's all that matters."

You're pretty sure about yourself in that regard, considering you came up with the game.

Ran had stopped again, turning to us. "You don't know this Yama. You don't know how bad it'll be for you. I've seen this yama in a real fight - and you-"

"You know what, I'm just going to portal you all here."

Yukari's voice came from around us, and after a portal 'washed' over us, we were in a sitting room - it was the same one I had passed out in after the Spring Snow incident. Yukari and Yuyuko were both seated at a couch, drinking wine. The demon was giving a slight glare at her servant. Ran's tails lowered, and her ears flattened.

"You were taking too long, Ran, and I don't appreciate you saying what you did."

Ran quickly bowed, her face reddening. "I'm sorry, Lady Yukari-"

"But I suppose it's my fault, for failing to tell you not to say such things." Yukari shifted in her seat to get more comfortable. "And reality is, you're right. I didn't explicitly bar you from giving out that info, so you didn't really disobey me." Yukari quickly downed the wine glass, and then held it up. Ran then went to refill it for her master. As the kitsune did, Yukari turned her attention to the miko. "You and I need to work together."

"After what you did tonight," Reimu angrily said, "Why in the blue hell would we -"

Ran had handed the glass back to Yukari, and she held it up to the light, swirling it. "Because we can still be captured and paralyzed by those entities." Yukari took a sip of wine. "We need to develop a defense against that. I have asked Amaya to see about helping us, but if she does, you and I will need to come together again for that. I understand your hatred of me, and I'm okay with that - as human and youkai, we are supposed to be enemies. I understand the role I am to play - I have to do so in order to survive. But this is bigger than us and our differences." She sighed hastily. "We have to pull together to survive things like this."

Reimu kept glaring, but eventually softened her face. "...It's true...I didn't like feeling helpless." Reimu had her arms crossed as she stared to one of the windows, blatantly trying not to look in the direction of Yukari. She took a moment, thinking about it. "Fine." Reimu scoffed, looking at the demon. "When it happens, contact me. I refuse to be taken down by such cowards."

"I've said it before - you and I have the same objective, just different ways of achieving it." She brought up the glass to her lips, and as an afterthought, paused. "As for you, Kyon, may I see the pumpkin charm? Amaya showed me the data of the paralysis before you got here. I think I might have seen its border..." A portal appeared next to me, which I dropped it in - it then fell to the hand of Yukari. Yukari stared at it intently, and after a few seconds, it appeared to distort, shimmering as well. She had it returned to me through another portal drop, and she resumed to her wine appreciation. "Okay...that should provide some resistance to it. A data entity shouldn't be able to fully paralyze you now."

"Shouldn't?" Also, what exactly is this pumpkin charm? And of course I got ignored. Dammit all.

"And what about us," demanded Reimu. "Why don't we have some kind of defense?"

"I'd prefer to have a full resistance to it. And besides - he has to go back out there with them without much in the way of defense against them. This at least gives him a fighting chance in a world without us."

"I'd still like one."

"It's being worked on. This is the best we can do for one person for now."

Regarding the paralysis thing, that actually makes sense. The only one in my world who could use danmaku would essentially be Nagato, besides me and my limited magic. "I still have the Icicle Fall...though that doesn't really do much in a fight."

"It did against me." That was Yuyuko, who was silent until then. Her cheeks were getting really flushed for some reason. Considering that her skin is very white, it was noticeable.

I smiled at her. "Only because I got smart with it, Lady Yuyuko."

She held up her hand, with her usual smile. "I said it before - you can just call me Yuyuko. You've earned it - both of you." Yuyuko swirled the remainder of wine in her glass. "I'm grateful for the two of you, you know. Without you, I wouldn't be back." She paused, dropping her smile. "Err...the current...human me. I-I'd still be that...other me. The dead me. That dead me that was so selfish."

"You're still selfish." Yukari muttered while drinking. The two then smiled at each other.

"Still, what an amazing road I've been on. I'd never thought I'd be at this point, a leader of an afterlife realm, and being able to be among such people here in the land of the living. I hope you both appreciate it, what an amazing world we are in."

Oh, I do. And it keeps getting more and more wondrous as the days go by.

"My job is fighting 'amazing' things like you and your servant when you get too rowdy," chided Reimu.

"Yes, quite."

I looked around - two people were missing. "Speaking of...where is Youmu? Or Chen, for that matter?" Also why didn't I notice that they weren't here until now?

"She is with Chen gathering our food. We are to eat in here."

"Can't you just use your portals?"

Yukari scoffed. "It's not that simple. Ran and Chen are shikigami; they are bound to me. If I don't use my servants, or give them orders to follow, they lose power, and they'll wither away and die. Such is their existence."

That would be really bad. I looked to Ran, who merely nodded.

"However, the reverse holds true. When they follow my orders, they gain power. It's a...I suppose you could call it a 'give and take' kind of thing?"

Yuyuko chuckled. "I guess that's why Ran is so powerful. You run her ragged with all your commands."

If I was a shikigami to Haruhi, I bet I'd surpass even Yukari in power by now. Seriously.

Ran's ears flattened to that, and she looked miffed for a second.

"I could say the same for your Youmu, and she isn't even a shikigami. The gardener for all of Hakugyokorou and your personal assistant?" Yukari shook her head. "Amazing the poor girl has any time for her sword training."

Yuyuko sighed, putting down her glass. She looked concerned. "Do I really treat her that bad?"

"She's your servant. It's not my place to say."

But you did just say it.

Yuyuko stared into her wine glass, and what she said next was almost above a whisper, her cheeks flush. "I don't want her to just be my servant."

I blinked, unsure if I heard her say that. Reimu and I exchanged glances, and the look on her face seemed to confirm it - Yuyuko said that.

Yuyuko then turned full red when she saw our reaction - she realized she said that aloud. "Uhm, not that I... I'm just saying that I've spent so much time with her. She's been so good to me, putting up with my...yeah...selfish demands."

Yukari shot a quick glance at me, and I swear her eyes glowed for a microsecond, before she spoke to Yuyuko, her features softening. "Tell me - you really think you're a bad person? Yuyuko, actually, no - don't. Youmu has always been so grateful and devoted to serve you, so you can't be. Loves serving you, in fact. Her devotion is absolute."

Now, I don't know why I did what I did. After all of my time with the Brigade, you'd think I'd be dead set on not stirring things up, that I'd just try to keep things stable like they've always been. But images of how...vulnerable Youmu looked flashed in my mind.

I decided to do something.

It was spur of the moment and I decided to go for it, you know. I knew I might regret it later if it didn't work, but I had to go for it. Even though Youmu had asked me to not say anything, I just had to do it.

"And she's quick to come to your defense. You saw that she was willing to charge into a wall of fire for your honor?" I stepped closer to her. "Right? That's just complete loyalty." More loyalty than I may ever have.

"...She didn't have to..."

"She did it because she wanted to. For you." I noticed Reimu raising an eyebrow at me. Yeah, you know what I'm doing. The miko appeared to understand, as she gave me a micro-shrug, silently telling me 'go ahead.' I stepped closer to Yuyuko, keeping this up. "That's...devotion. How many servants would do that for their boss?"

Yuyuko was deeply blushing, looking completely flustered. "...Not many..."

"And how many people would be willing to end the world for someone else?" Huh. Was I speaking from experience there? I think so. "I think that goes beyond her duty for you." Yuyuko remained silent, her eyes lowered. Maybe one more push? I decided to go for it. Sometimes, you got to swing for the fences. "Yuyuko, do you have feelings for her?"

Yuyuko blushed such a deep red. My gamble had paid off - I knew I had her. "She's so devoted to me, even more so than any Konpaku has ever been." The ghost attempted, and failed, at covering her face. She was so cute looking this embarrassed. "I mean it would be so taboo for someone to fall for their servant but she is so willing to obey me and she does so much for me I mean I just don't know when it happened but I haven't felt this way about anybody in a long time and she's also so beautiful it's not fair for you to say these things." Yuyuko was quickly speaking, not stopping. "Please I can't outright say it because it's too embarrassing I just can't but you put me on the spot-"

Instantly Yuyuko went quiet, staring past me. I had heard the door open in the middle of all that. Huh. You couldn't time that more perfectly for a romcom.

Youmu was standing there with Chen, a platter of food in each of their hands. From the looks on their faces, they heard most of what Yuyuko said. The gardener gave me a glare.

"Youmu, don't you have something to say to her?"

"You said that you wouldn't tell her that I lo-" Youmu blinked and stared at me in horror as she realized what she was about to say.

You know, at that point I finally got why some people would attempt to play cupid. I remember this one girl in middle school - I forget her name - who went about trying to set up various people with each other. Man why can't I remember her name? She sat next to me in 7th grade math and had a personal notebook for this and everything. Seriously, she put forth a lot of effort playing cupid. Anyway, when her plans worked, they worked, albeit with about a fifty percent failure rate. But she always had one of the biggest grins and was in such a good mood for a long time after a successful matchmaking.

This...felt kind of good. Playing a bit of cupid was...good. I finally understood it. Although I don't think I'll go about doing this on my own in North High, but there you go.

Yukari smiled, standing up. "Chen, I think we'll take that to go." The demon motioned for us to leave those two alone. "Come. Let's allow them some time to...express themselves."

As we passed Youmu, she gave me one of the most intense glares I've ever seen. "I asked you not to say anything."

"I think she can return your feelings." She blinked, her glare disappearing and was replaced by that vulnerable Youmu again. "Go for it, Youmu. What have you got to lose?"

She lowered her head, and her voice to a whisper. Her petite form shivered. "But I'm afraid..."

Why are you so cute like this. "You'll be afraid not knowing. Just be honest with your feelings."

"I'm not...I don't think I'm strong enough for this."

I decided to be direct with her. "Hey." I bent to her eye level. "You were willing to end the world and kill me for her, not to mention you came close to actually doing it. You are definitely strong. You at least owe me this. Be honest here."

...Yeah, you really are strong. ...and so am I. Why are we so self-deprecating? Seeing Youmu, this amazing girl, falter even at this put my thoughts into perspective. She can slash at a quarter of the speed of light, she is deadly with a blade, and she can knock bullets out of the air with a friggin' katana - and she's like this.

I smiled and left the room. When I exited, Yukari closed the door, and motioned us to follow her. We were silent until we reached the lobby area.

"'To love a thing means wanting it to live.'" Yukari giggled. "But I wonder how that applies to those already dead or half dead."

Confucius again. I was wondering if she would bring a quote out sooner or later. Also, that is kind of weird, isn't it? That quote technically can't work with Yuyuko and Youmu, right? Maybe I'm just reading too much into it.

"You set that up, didn't you?" Reimu smirked at the demon, ignoring what she said.

"Huh?"

Reimu looked at me with a raised eyebrow. "You didn't notice?" When it was obvious I couldn't answer, the miko continued. "I noticed some open chocolate boxes in the corner, and Yuyuko was drinking a different wine than Yukari. Let me guess, demon...it was a bit stronger, right?"

Yukari had a very big smile, that same smile that girl in middle school had.

Oh...you... You set this up! "You knew?" Really? Then why wait for me? Why make me do that?

"Of course I did. I'd be blind not to." Yukari looked back to where we came from. "I know Yuyuko's feelings because I know her, and as for Youmu...well, that was actually surprising. But not unexpected." She turned to us. "I teased that poor gardener a bit." She looked down. "Okay, more than a bit. It's shamefully become a small hobby to tease her a bit. She gets so cute when she's flustered. I'm kind of to blame for this. Youmu shirked and buried her feelings because of me."

Yeah, Youmu is cute when you break her out of her samurai mode. "So wait a second - why not help out your best friend? I mean, Yuyuko is your best friend, right?"

"Because think about it, Kyon. I'm a demon." She paused, I guess to emphasize that. "Have you ever heard of a demon getting people to fall in love with each other? In my millennia-plus of life, that doesn't work out at all. Maybe in some fairy tales, but not in reality."

I wanted to have something to say to her, but I really couldn't. When she put it that way, it did kind of make sense.

"I just accomplished things. Set some things in motion. It's my style to have things fall into place like that." A big grin crossed her face. "In fact, I set things in motion for others, and I'm looking forward to how it plays out later."

Who? Reimu didn't appear to care for that, and just continued.

"You softened up Yuyuko with wine and chocolates. You set this up."

"Yes, brandy chocolates. She ate those quite quickly."

Reimu brought her palm to her forehead. "Ugh. Still, you could have at least told them."

"I've teased them so many times, they'll probably take it as more of the samel. But they deserve each other." She smiled at Reimu. "You'll understand when you find someone." Yukari twirled her hair with a finger as she looked back again. "Yuyuko deserves to be happy. After all this time, she deserves someone, and Youmu is the perfect fit for her. She is inexperienced at love, but Yuyuko is a very good teacher. Her endurance is something else. I just hope Youmu can keep up with-" Yukari blushed a bit, but she didn't seem too embarrassed about it. "Oh. Oh my, I let that slip."

...Oh.

Oh!

I instantly got what she was implying.

"You...and...Yuyuko...?"

"We've been...more than...friends on rare occasions. Although Yuyuko liked to take the lead."

Well that put a few images into my head. Some of them very detailed. "So...that means..."

"It means that love can be found in different places, Kyon. Male, female, human or youkai. Even between a ghost and a demon." Yukari sighed, a nostalgic look on her face. "But no, Youmu would make Yuyuko so happy. Konpaku is entirely devoted to her. And it's so taboo!" Yukari squealed, looking giddy. "A servant falling for her master, and a master falling for her servant! Just like in the storybooks! It's so taboo but it's so romantic!

You're acting like a typical teenager now, you millennia old demon.

"You really are a weird youkai among weird youkai," blurted out Reimu. "You'll even manipulate your best friend."

Yukari raised a finger. "Ah, but the thing is, I deeply love Yuyuko. She deserves this, and without my interference."

"But if you yourself love her," I asked, "Why don't you tell her?" Why get us to get Youmu to tell her? Why not do it for yourself on your own part? I'm still not getting it.

"I have told her."

"Really?"

"Mmm-hmm."

"And? What happened?"

Yukari took a deep breath, and while still giving a smile, said: "She smiled, said 'I'll never forget you, even in death. I love you too.' Then she slit her throat in front of me."

...Huh...

The sacrifice.

...Well, how can you respond to that?

A slight sadness formed in Yukari's eyes. "Honestly...it was just bad timing on my part. That's life. Sometimes there is just no preventing it - that we have unwinnable situations. And sometimes...sometimes our duties have to take precedence over our feelings." She spread out her arms. "But I can't dwell on the past too much. And alas, I can't dwell on my victory of playing cupid tonight." She pointed at a grandfather clock. "Duty calls again - I have a previous engagement." A portal opened up behind her. "Hakurei, I still need to talk to you later, so do please stick around these grounds. As for you-" She looked to me, that sadness still there. "I suppose you should enjoy your night. I'll return you home tomorrow morning."

And before Reimu or I could say anything, the Yakumos disappeared into the portal, leaving me and the miko alone in the empty lobby. Sounds of music playing outside were wafting in.

Why? Why do I feel really sorry for Yukari, especially after what she just did to Mokou? Seriously she killed a person right in front of me! Multiple times, even!

Really weird, isn't it? Yukari easily goes from friend, to hated, to making you pity her. She really does manipulate everything, even your emotions. One would always have to be on their guard when around her.

We were silent for a while, staring at the wall. "She really is a weird youkai, isn't she?" I asked.

"Yep."

"Even though I haven't had much contact with youkai, I can tell she's unique among them."

"Yep," she repeated.

I clicked my tongue, frowning. I thought back to what just happened in that sitting room. "She manipulated me into saying that to Yuyuko and Youmu, didn't she? I'm not that bold in the first place."

"Mmm-hmm. Probably used subliminal messaging." Reimu shrugged. "Or maybe it's charisma or something. She can influence people rather easily. She might have done something to you. It's one of the reasons why I hate being around her - I have to be on my guard, otherwise she'll manipulate me into something. I've caught her a few times trying something with me."

I don't feel manipulated. But something doesn't fit right with me. She did something. I rubbed the back of my neck. "What though? How? How'd she do it? I mean, I think I'd notice that stuff."

"That's why she's a manipulator." Reimu sighed. "That's why I really don't like her. And she just manipulated her own best friend into a relationship." The miko shook her head. "Yukari is ruthless. I'd hate to see how she would manipulate an enemy."

We kept staring at the wall they disappeared into. For all intents and purposes, I couldn't think of it, but I knew Yukari had done something. Something happened in that room, but for the life of me, I couldn't think of what she did.

"So what now?"

I blinked, coming back to where I was. "Hmm?" Reimu tapped her foot, awaiting an answer. "Oh, uhm...I guess eat and party." She smiled. "Mostly eat, right?"

Reimu slowly nodded, looking to the front door, knowing that the buffet was just outside. "I'm not passing it up," she repeated. "I will never pass it up." She then made her way there, but then suddenly stopped halfway. She didn't turn to me. Her shoulders slowly rose and fell, something obviously on her mind. "Hey, Kyon?"

"What's up?"

Reimu quietly spoke. "I just kinda wonder, with Youmu and Yuyuko there...is there someone out there for me? I mean, in the outside world even? Some of the boys in the village are just...jerks."

Are we really doing relationship stuff now? "I don't know if I'm the kind of guy to ask about this. I mean, I'm barely in a relationship myself. A very delicate one."

She let out a light chuckle, still with her back to me. "Yeah you mess up and break her heart you'll end the world."

Don't put it like that, even if it is the truth. "Please don't remind me. But, yeah, that's the ultimate question, isn't it? Wondering if there is someone to fall in love with them. There are seven billion people on this planet. Someone's gotta be unwanted enough to end up here in Gensokyo and fall for you." Reimu raised her head to that. I paused when I realized how that sounded. "That came out totally wrong."

"Yeah it did. But I kinda get what you're saying. I also wonder...I don't know...Kyon, would I make a good mom?" She stared into her hands. "I'm the last Hakurei. I know I have to think about this, about my bloodline. And I can barely take care of myself." Reimu took a breath. "Hmm. Maybe I will start that farm. A little plot."

She ran her fingers through her hair, a serious look on her face. She had stopped in an almost perfect spot in the lobby - one of the windows directly shone its moonlight on that spot, highlighting her. Her beauty, her features, her figure, all made my heart skip a beat. Really, you should have no problem finding whoever you like. Any man could easily and gladly fall in love with this person. This warrior miko...this amazing girl.

She didn't dwell on that for long. She immediately shrugged, and before I could say anything: "Anyways, food. See you."

I was kind of taken aback by that. She sounded so serious right then, and I was sure she was about to say a lot more than that, but then just dismissed it all in an instant. "You don't let things bother you too much, do you?"

She dismissively waved her hand as she walked out. "I take things as they come."

Yeah, otherwise you'd go mad with the knowledge of what's out there. I know I would. As the door closed behind her, I was left alone there.

I sighed, thinking of the differences between me and Reimu. I know I amusingly thought about us being some opposites or something, but man...Hakurei is just something else. She's right - I shouldn't sell myself short like the way I've been. People like Reimu have it worse than me in a way, yet she seems a lot more content with what she's got. She's so strong. It's inspiring.

I'm strong too. I don't have her powers, but I'm strong too. Maybe we're equal in that. She has her abilities and can influence the world in big ways by taking on things that are akin to gods. From my standpoint anyway. And I can influence without any abilities. Well, I have an ability, thanks to Gensokyo. So who's more impressive? That's the question, isn't it? Her, with her abilities, or me, with my lack thereof?

I dunno. I'll leave that for you to decide.

I slowly walked in a circle there for a while, taking in the grandness of Remilia's lobby. Well, I call it a lobby. It's a rotunda front hall thing. Most of the first floor hallways connected to it. I looked down, feeling rather alone, the echoing of my footsteps on the marble surprisingly loud despite the music outside. I noticed that the marble was repaired from when Meiling broke it a month ago. Man, time flew by. Sighing again, I couldn't help but smile. I have only been here for a short time, even living here for only a real week, yet the mansion still impressed me. Remilia sure knows how to live. Again, impressive that a twelve year old girl was able to make this and acquire so many servants all the while taking care of her younger sister. I chuckled to myself. Yeah, I think Remilia wins hands down in that. She's a complete rich little brat, but man she did well for herself. She legitimately earned all of this from the age of twelve. On the other hand, she had vampire powers, so I got to take that into account.

I made my way outside again, wondering where Remilia was (I hadn't figured out that she wanted to stay away from Kaguya by then). I was sure she would do her whole 'you're mine tonight' thing again and drag me up to her balcony, or at the very least get Sakuya to lead me there. But they were up on that balcony when I got out there, the music already playing. I looked up at them for a while, Sakuya noticing me. She smiled and motioned for me to join the party. I nodded and made my way through the crowd, stopping next to Mikuru - her hair color was easy to spot in the crowd. And even though she was short, the fairy servants were shorter than her. Mikuru was excited about something; when I got there, she pointed to the stage, to a person that I didn't expect to see there.

You see, by the time I had gotten outside, the Prismrivers were in a middle of a song - with Mystia and Nagato. Nagato was in that witch gear (not Marisa's). I gawked at her, feeling a pang of nostalgia wash over me, but I shook it off. Anyway, they were up on the stage, halfway into a really good song. Instantly, found myself liking it. I'd later learn that they called it "Though the Scent Lingers, the Flower Scattered". The Prismrivers had an electric keyboard, a drum set, a sythasizer, and various other musical instruments. They didn't even have to physically use them to play it - they were poltergeists after all - though Lyrica was on drums, Merlin on bass, and Lunasa on lead. Nagato was assisting with guitar, and Mystia was up there, singing. That bird has a really good voice.

"Just now, you, who know weakness.

Forgave the desires of those who seek it.

The momentary beauty bloomed admirably.

It might be too late for me to know it...

Though the scent lingers, the flower scattered one day.

I want to childishly entrust in everything of yours...

I can't forgive you in my kindness, and my desire to monopolize you wavers.

They're selfish loves that can't be compared to one another."

I take that back - Mystia has a really great voice. Big difference from when she was singing as an offensive tactic. And considering that I could still see ten meters, that night blindness effect is controllable. It'd a pain if she always made people blind by singing.

Anyway, the band went into a solo, Mystia taking a break to drink a bit of water, her head bobbing up and down to the beat.

I later learned something about the Prismrivers. Not only were they musical geniuses, but they also were able to control the mood of the music. Lunasa could bring out the melancholy energy of music. Merlin could bring out the manic energy of music. And Lyrica controlled the illusionary aspect of music, which I really didn't understand, until it was explained to me that she could enhance either Merlin's or Lunasa's powers, or just music in general.

I say this, because there were visible "waves" of something, distortions of light that emitted from Merlin and Lyrica as they played. Coming into contact with the audience made the crowd go wild over the music. Jumping up and down, hands in the air, that sort of deal. I felt one of the waves wash over me, and I felt the energy to do the same. It was an amazing sensation - like I had suddenly gotten a burst of energy within my body from drinking a dozen coffee cups all in a row. I refrained from acting out on it, but the fairy crowd was going crazy for the music.

Wow I could really use that kind of energy boost for school! That was better than any energy drink I've ever had!

Mystia stepped up to the microphone again. It was time for the big finish, but there was something I noticed about her. She as averting her eyes from the crowd, and she was blushing a bit. She seemed nervous, though her voice didn't show it.

"I've been watching her." That was Koizumi. Who, along with Mokou, had silently joined us. I was startled, of course, but I didn't say anything to him, just glared. "Ah, sorry about that. But I've been watching that bird. Seems she isn't too keen on performing in front of a crowd."

"I don't get that, though." Mokou said with her hands in her pockets. "I mean, she sings to her customers. I eat at her stall sometimes. How the hell is she shy?"

"Though the scent lingers, all of the flowers scattered.

My feelings spill into my short memory.

Oh dying life, be brief, yet strong,

Like the merciless, yet tender, time."

The song ended, and the audience applauded. Mystia still wouldn't look to the crowd, so I guess that was true. Lunasa was conversing with Mystia about something - the bird shook her head, but the Prismrivers pushed for it. Begrudgingly, Mystia stepped up to the mic one more time as the Prismrivers and Nagato began to start up a new song.

The next song was unexpected, somewhat. It was kind of fitting, I guess. I don't know. It just...felt right to be played then. The cymbals, the guitar, the drums...it was all like I remembered. It brought back memories of standing in that auditorium. Man that seems like so long ago now. I knew the song, the song being played by the Prismrivers, Nagato, and Mystia Lorelei. I heard Remilia exclaim something, and she hurriedly came to the railing of the balcony, eager to listen. She dragged her sister to the railing as well, wanting Flandre to really hear this.

"I run past you, with a thirsty heart.

Sorry, I couldn't do anything."

It has been so damn long since I've heard this song.

"You won't even let us,

Share our pain with each other."

It was "God Knows".

Already the energy was high from the last song, and the Prismrivers were feeding off of that energy, and the energy of the crowd of fairy maids who were getting into it as well. It was wilder than in that assembly hall with my fellow students. Even Nagato was blatantly putting forth the effort to get into the song.

"In order to live purely,

I face your back and leave without turning back.

On the lonely rail."

I have to say - Mystia outperforms even Haruhi. That little bird youkai has some lungs on her.

"I'll follow you!

No matter where you are, in the darkness of this bitter world,

You will shine,

And exceed the limits of the future!

To prevent your spirit from being broken because of your weakness,

You converge with my way.

Now, God bless us..."

The scene was so wild, everybody feeling the music. I even saw Cirno get up on stage and do a stage dive. Nobody caught her. A flash of concern went through me, but the ice fairy bounced back to her feet, grinning, hands in the air. She was enjoying herself, despite obviously landing on her head.

Standing there though, listening to it all, I felt nostalgia, even homesick, even though I've only been there for a few hours. How long has it been since I heard Haruhi perform that? A year? And what a wild time it's been. Everything I've been through, what the Brigade has been through ran through my head, while the song was playing. And then all that had happened with Gensokyo. The wild time I've had these past eight months, ever since the dawn of the new year. I've discovered a new world, and experienced such amazing things with amazing people.

"She even surpasses Miss Suzumiya. She's got such a beautiful voice."

I almost didn't hear Koizumi, as I was taking a trip down memory lane.

Everything that has happened. It's hard to believe that it hasn't even been two years of this. I never could have imagined any of this...

I felt a hand clasp mine, and before I could react, I was yanked away. I was about to shout something, when I saw who it was - Marisa. She looked back at me, grinning, as she led me through the crowd.

"Kyon!" squealed Asahina. I looked back, seeing her reach out for me.

Kyon disappeared into the crowd, the mass of fairy bodies already blocking the way. Asahina's heart sank.

"I'm really worried about this." Koizumi had a disapproving look on his face. "That Marisa is the type of girl who will keep trying. She should know better by now." Asahina sighed, to which Koizumi responded. "Yes, it is a problem, isn't it? I hope Kyon will be okay."

"It's not him I'm worried about."

"What do you mean?"

"I just feel sorry for her." She looked to Koizumi with a sad look. "The girl's poor heart will be broken."

Perhaps I should take this time to explain the outside of the SDM a bit. The front yard is massive, yes, with the fountain, the central paving that goes up to the front door, and the large areas of grass and flower bed arrangements. The sides, however, are pretty self contained hedged in areas. Courtyards, small flower gardens, orchids, even a hedge maze. We had ended up in a rather small courtyard, with a bench, a single tree, and edged with flower beds. Music wasn't as loud over here, the building blocking most of it.

We were alone. I was flustered by the rush of Marisa's pulling on my arm, and I didn't expect her to lightly whip me around. I found myself stumbling, and sitting down at the bench. It was a whirlwind, but it didn't take long for me to find myself with Marisa on top, kissing me.

Barring how...good this felt, I instantly noticed a distinctive taste. Not her usual kiss taste, but the unmistakable beer taste she had. It was...kind of a shock. I had reciprocated the kiss, but when I tasted the alcohol, I had paused for a bit, before I realized the implications of it.

She's been drinking... No wonder she's so assertive.

I couldn't bring myself to go through with this. No matter how much Marisa was pressing her soft body against mine. ...no matter how tightly we were rubbing against each other...or what was-

...what was being grinded together...

Wow there is just a few layers of cloth separating-

Snap out of it!

Despite how badly my body wanted to continue with this, and the biology of our actions, I broke the kiss. The alcohol was the kicker. I just couldn't go through with this. She let out a gasp, catching her breath – she put a lot of effort into this. "What? What's wrong?"

I stared into her eyes for a while, before sighing. I knew this wasn't going to go well. I wasn't looking forward to this though. I took a deep breath. I had to tell her. It was something I failed to do the last time. I just had to do it.

I lightly pushed her away. She blinked in surprise, her eyes searching mine for 'why'. I think the look on my face told her.

She immediately became sad. She knew.

Ah don't do that. It was heartbreaking.

"Marisa..."

The witch closed her eyes and took a slow breath. I could see the tension in her body. She silently sat there, straddling me, searching in my eyes, I guess in hope that I would relent.

Marisa was a smart girl. The look on my face had to have been a dead giveaway of what had to happen.

A small look of relief had washed over her face. "You know, I was always expecting this. I wanted to avoid it, ze, but I've always known."

Please don't make this harder, Marisa.

"You're a great girl, Marisa. An amazing girl. You're smart, you're beautiful, and you're..." I had to gulp - my throat became dry right then. "This isn't something I've taken lightly. Maybe in another world, the two of us could have been together."

"We are from two different worlds, ze."

I couldn't help but smile. "Yeah I get it, but you know what I mean."

"I knew, you know? I knew this, ze. I just...didn't want to accept it. I'm not stupid. I saw the signs." Marisa lightly shook her head. "Man I wish I could have a sit down with Haruhi, ze, and tell her that she'd better appreciate you." Marisa slowly got off of me, standing up. "In her own way...I think she does. She doesn't even know what you go through for her, but she still likes you."

"She's just so...unstable. We're always afraid of how she'll react to something, if she'll destroy the world, end it, or remake it."

"Kinda like the guys in here." She casually referenced to the SDM. "I mean, seriously, ze. People who go around throwing black holes, create portals, and can stop time?"

"The difference is that you find it fun."

She grinned. "So do you. Otherwise you wouldn't have chosen this world."

I smiled too. "Yeah, right..."

She took a deep breath and let out a long sigh. She slowly shook her lowered head. I couldn't see her eyes due to the brim of the hat.

"You know? If that thing doesn't work out, maybe you and me can still get together? That is, if her broken heart doesn't destroy the universe or something, ze." I could see that grin. "Man this really is a screwed up thing."

"I know, right?"

I gulped, and so did she. We continued standing there for a while.

She pursed her lips. "So...that's it then?"

"...I guess?" Don't put me on the spot here - it's painful enough as it is.

"I'm serious though, ze. If she doesn't want you, I won't mind taking you home with me."

"I don't know if I can live out in that forest with you."

She frowned. "Yeah that's right. You'd need me to even have a chance of surviving the trip to the village or to anywhere else."

She began to chuckle, and it was a forced, weak one.

What next happened really tore into me.

I could see a tear fall on her cheek - seeing it pretty much ripped out my heart as I realized why she wasn't letting me see her eyes.

Oh don't do this.

"I just...I just gotta be grown up about this. Your...your heart is with her, ze." Tears were on both her cheeks. "I...uh...yeah. Koizumi was right. I..." She sniffed, but still kept that grin. Her breathing was getting shorter and shorter, her body lightly shaking. "...I just...wish things were different..."

She immediately turned, to which I stood up.

"Marisa, I-"

She stopped, pointing a shaking finger at me. "Just...please. I don't hate you. I just...gotta...I gotta handle this, ze. If you comfort me, it'll only be harder for us."

She was right. If I did that, it'd be worse.

"But this doesn't change the fact that we're friends, I guess. I'm friends with everyone." Before I could say anything, she left.

I badly wanted to go after her, but she was right. It would have only made it harder.

I felt tears on my cheeks – I hadn't even realized that I had begun to cry. I sat down, wiping away at my face, taking in deep breaths against my tight chest. Why did that hurt so much?! That was way worse than I thought! But it was necessary.

It was necessary. It had to be. It was the right thing to do, right?

I felt powerless, empty, alone, and broken inside due to that, even if it was the right thing. The music of the party continued, but I couldn't bring myself to get up and go back to it. I stayed on that bench for what seemed like an eternity, that pain not going away. I leaned back into the bench, closing my eyes, cursing myself for what happened. But I got it done. I said I would, and I did, despite the pain. No Koizumi, no nobody telling me to do it, or doing it themselves.

I managed to do it.

...I guess I really do love Marisa. It's not just a 'did' or 'I don't know'. I now know. That's the screwed up thing, isn't it? You don't really know the scope or depth of the love until it's over. The feeling afterward is very telling. The imprint someone left on your heart is a big indicator.

I kept my eyes closed, trying to hold off this pain. Why isn't it going away? Why? And on the back end of that...this pain has to be worse for her. Of course, that made me feel even more guilty, causing an endless vortex of guilt and pain.

I don't know how long I sat there, really.

It...must have been longer than I thought, because...well...

CAUTION!

I heard a siren.

I opened my eyes, bolting up, not expecting that. Even without the siren, I would have known that something was immediately wrong. All the plants around me were dead, the tree with no leaves and looking burned. The air was hot, way hotter than it should have been for a summer. I got up, the bench creaking, the wood already dried up and splintered. It was day already, the sky was red, casting a crimson tint everywhere, making this even worse. I instantly knew this was a bad thing. The noise wouldn't go away; the siren cold, lifeless, uncaring. I knew what it was - it sounded like those old air raid sirens...or nuclear sirens...

"Hello?" I called out. "Anyone out there? What's going on?"

No response, not even after waiting for a long while. The siren continued, seemingly getting louder, more intense. I was filled with fear. I felt alone, scared, and vulnerable. I made my way to the front yard, and everything was still dead...including the party. Fairy bodies littered the yard, all of them with burn marks. Some of their skin was obviously red, flayed from heat exposure, it looked like. I didn't see anyone I knew, though I looked through a fair amount. I called out to someone, anyone. Seeing all these dead bodies frightened me even more, which of course went without saying.

The front door slammed open. I thought someone did that, but it was the wind. The inside looked safer than out there, and it didn't take me long to make the decision to get inside. I ran, hearing the siren end, and as I reached the door...

A bright flash, a huge explosion, from behind me. I turned around, and the most frightening thing I could ever imagine was right there, across the lake.

A mushroom cloud.

I screamed as the force hit me, knocking me inside. I tried to get back up, but I couldn't - I felt weak, enveloped with pain. In horror, I realized it what had happened - I was hit by the blast. The mortal terror that engulfed me froze me for a few seconds, before I found that I could still move. I turned to call for help, but then I noticed the bodies that were inside.

Reimu. Yukari. Marisa. Alice. Sakuya. Remilia. Youmu. Yuyuko. And everyone else I knew in Gensokyo were there. But it wasn't just them.

Oh God. Oh God Nagato...

Nagato's body was there, as well as Koizumi's and Asahina's. Everyone's body had that same damage – redness, flaying, burning. Tears would have formed in my eyes, but they were drying out.

CAUTION! CAUTION! CAUTION!

I heard a different siren. It was industrial, soulless; running three times, and it was definitely closer to me - it made my blood run cold. A shadow cast over me from the outside, forcing me to return my attention to that open door that showed the horrific mushroom cloud.

A figure was at the front door, the light from outside casting the shadow, so I couldn't get a look at who it was. I could feel myself burning, though I wasn't on fire. I felt weak as I tried to crawl away from this person.

This...bird woman. A youkai.

She had a great wingspan, long hair with a large ribbon, a skirt, and there were three distinguishing features about her. One, there was a large glowing red eye in her chest. Two, draped across her wings, there was a cape. It was white on the outside that had draped over her wings, but the inside...it looked like she had the universe in there. I could see star systems, galaxies. This cape exuded power. It made her seem like a god.

Three...she had something on her arm. I couldn't tell what it was, maybe a tube? Whatever it was, it was too straight and had too many angles on it to be an actual part of her body. Some sort of weapon? It went down to her kneecap. ...And on it...

...A yellow and black nuclear symbol glowed.

...A...A nuclear youkai?!

Even during that moment of mortal terror, the notion of a nuclear youkai somehow brought me even more fear. This creature opened her eyes. Not the one on her chest, but her dark red eyes.

The light outside intensified, the mansion began to shake, causing the chandelier to crash, missing me by a mere meter, and blocking my crawling. The creature stepped forward as the building started to come down around us. Every step she made caused the ground itself to catch on fire from her footprint - it easily spread, and it wasn't long before the lobby was ablaze. She didn't flinch to the chaos around us, just kept her eyes on me. She slowly made her way to me, the burning on my skin getting unbearable. I was trapped.

Whoever this was, she had to be responsible for everything around me. Something in me told me that she was responsible for all of this. She wasn't affected by the explosion. She kept walking towards me, before she stood over me. I still couldn't see who she was. I tried to yell, shout at her to get away, but all I could make was a choking noise.

You killed them! You killed them all! You killed everyone! Get away from me!

She leaned even closer. I couldn't even lift my arms up to push her away. I finally was able to close my eyes when she opened her mouth to speak.

August 13th, 2004

"Human?"

I opened my eyes, and right in front of me was that tengu reporter. What was her name? Aya? Well, she was nearly nose to nose with me, her light red eyes searching for signs of life.

That startled me, to which she jolted back a bit. "Whoa there, sleepy head."

I blinked, looking around. It was morning, the sun just barely fully risen. The lush greenery of the garden was still there. Oh you gotta be kidding me. That was a dream? At least...I hope that was just a dream. Please...please be just a dream. I don' t need to be dealing with nuclear youkai. Ugh. Damn nightmares. I rubbed my eyes, getting rid of the fatigue in them. I returned my attention to the Tengu. You know, she's very slender, and she's got long legs too...

Yes. Thumbs up.

"Looked like you were having a bad dream, human." She smiled. "I was passing by and I tasted fear." She ran her tongue over her teeth. "Whatever that was, it was deeply primal. It was delicious."

I didn't like that. Damn youkai. I grunted. "Glad I could provide you with some breakfast." If that's how it works. Even with all that time in Gensokyo, I still didn't know how a youkai consumed fear. I looked up to her. "This is the first time we've talked to each other, isn't it? You're...ah...Aya, right?" I tried hard to remember, despite the disorientation of waking up.

She put a hand on her hip, smiling some sort of...weird smile. I knew it all too well. It was the predatory smile of someone who wanted something from you and she wouldn't stop until she got what she wanted; a smile I've seen on Haruhi way too often. It made my skin crawl, as I instantly realized the type of person she was, and I also realized what my role was about to be. I was but her prey for the moment. "Mmm-hmm. Name's Aya Shameimaru. I run the Bunbunmaru Newspaper."

You're the one that writes that rag that Reimu doesn't like. I of course didn't say that out loud.

It was then that I noticed her other hand. It was holding onto another person by the back of the neck– Wriggle. The bug was trying to hide behind Aya's wings. I stared dumbfounded at the firefly, unsure of what to think of her being so close to me. She had a guilty look on her face.

Aya noticed where my attention was. "Oh? Oh yeah, her. She was about to eat you, it looked like. In fact, she was covering you in bugs to begin a devour, but I air blasted them off." She twirled some sort of yellow leaf thing, before waving it at the tree. It created a blast of wind that shook the tree.

When she said I was covered in bugs, I leapt to my feet, shaking, checking my body. Sure enough, a few meters away from us, there was a pile of the creepy crawlies.

"Oh crap!" I angrily turned to the firefly, sorely wanting to knock her out. "What the hell?!" You coward! Attacking me in my sleep?!

Wriggle defiantly sneered. "You didn't have your precious vampire around to protect you, you little-"

Oh hell no.

My fists balled, and I was ready to strike, but Aya smacked her upside the head for me. "But you think killing him on the grounds would be smart? You really are a bug brain." Aya brought up Wriggle so they were eye to eye – the bug was slightly smaller. "She would have caught your scent, hunted you down, and gutted you slowly."

Wriggle's antennae flattened, as she was seemingly thinking that over. "Ah...I...uh..."

Are you kidding me? Are you really that dumb?! Yeah, kill me and then get yourself killed. Nobody would win in that exchange - particularly me.

"Figured you weren't too smart." Aya menacingly grinned as she brought the bug even closer. "So here's what's gonna happen. You run, now, and you owe me big. Otherwise I tell Miss Scarlet what you tried to do on her property." Aya glanced at me. "Hey human, you're her servant, right?"

I was glaring at Wriggle, while answering yes.

Aya's eyes brightened. "Ah, there we go." She returned her attention to the bug. "Whatever I want, little firefly. Info, gossip, anything. You give it up without a second thought, okay? Otherwise the Scarlet Devil will know what you did."

Wriggle's eyes widened, being replaced with fear. She shot me another angry glance, which I gave back tenfold. No. No not this time. You just tried to eat me. I don't care anymore what happens to you. Stupid bug. She knows I'm with Remilia and she tries to pull this? Good riddance if she has a lot of rough days, and especially if Remilia found out about this attempt.

"Now get outta here." Aya shoved the firefly, and Wriggle couldn't get away from us fast enough.

My fist was clenched, and I badly wanted to knock some sense into her for that. I didn't care if she was a girl right then and there. I took some deep breaths, watching as Wriggle flew away. Even when she was out of sight, I couldn't stop being angry over it. Truth is, I was also angry with myself. I knew what Gensokyo was, and I was an idiot. I had fallen asleep outside during a full moon. There was nothing to keep anything from climbing the walls and getting to me. I really am stupid. I turned to thank Aya, but she was already sitting on the bench, pencil and notepad in hand, with one of the biggest grins I have ever seen.

"Well then," she immediately said. "You owe me an interview."

Yep. Wanted something from me. I let out a sigh, resigning myself to this. Well, to be fair, she did save my life. I guess an interview for a paper is the least I could do?

She got comfortable on the bench. "You're a hard person to talk to...uh..." She flipped a few pages of another notebook, before she said my name. "But you also go by Kyon...okay. Okay, weird name."

"It's a nickname. I don't like it, but it stuck."

"All right, all right." She gave me a huge smile, one that was so fake even Koizumi would be envious. "So, Kyon, everyone I've talked to points in your direction over this Haruhi business, and I've sorely wanted an exclusive. Ran, Yukari, everyone I've talked to, they give quite the story, but I haven't interviewed someone who lived it. Those articles have been my most popular ones in decades. So I need to get your side of the story." She patted on the bench next to her, still grinning.

Even though I understood it, I stood there, dumbfounded. Really? That's the only reason why you saved me? Ah, who am I kidding. Everyone here has their own agenda. If I was in Aya's shoes...

...those are some weird shoes. It's like the heel is in the middle of the shoe? When she stood, she was balancing on them, really. Like those old Japanese wooden sandals that had the two blocks on the bottom, but these were red, and had a single block in the middle. The way she moved on them when she was standing made it seem like it was just natural for her.

Well, whatever. I sighed, before I began to sit down. I stopped when it was obvious my back would be on one of her wings.

Aya noticed. "Ayayaya. Right." Her wings retracted, shrinking into her back, until they weren't there any more. She then looked like an ordinary person.

"Man I don't think I'll get used to that." I'd like to know that kind of magic though. It's cool!

"We gonna do this, or are you going to be ungrateful to the person who saved your life?"

Flashes of Haruhi's face went through my mind. Yep, just like her. I paused. "You're very quick to cash in on favors, aren't you?"

"Aren't you the astute one?"

I wanted to say something, but I ended up relenting. It was too early for me to give a snappy comeback, and I had also realized that the sooner I got this over with, the quicker I'd be let go to get some breakfast.

It didn't take too long. Aya surprisingly had pretty intimate knowledge of the Haruhi thing. She actually did most of the talking, pausing for me to fill in the gaps. In reality, it wasn't an interview, more of a confirmation of facts than anything else. She didn't have everything, but she did have a good chunk of it. I was amazed that she had this much information despite not talking to me directly, nor any of my Brigade associates. It's all stuff you've heard before, so I won't bore you. But man, I was legitimately impressed with her knowledge of everything.

She stood up, thanking me, while dusting herself off. "I have to say - that was pretty enlightening."

"Really?" I checked my watch - it had taken less than an hour. "That was quick."

"That's my style. Fastest thing in Gensokyo, after all." She puffed out her...sizable chest. "But deadlines need to be met. Ayayaya! You're lucky I tasted your fear. I was on my way clear across Gensokyo, you know."

"Yeah, thanks, again."

As her wings came out, she raised a curious eyebrow. "So..."

"What?"

"What was that nightmare about?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Ayayaya. Like I said - that fear was just delicious."

What is with your laugh? I sighed as I stood up, dusting myself off. "If you must know...it was a weird one. I don't even know why I had it..." Something registered. I wanted to shut it down, shut down the memory of that nightmare, but alas. I instantly began to regret it, because I knew what I would be saying. "You wouldn't...you wouldn't happen to know if there is a nuclear youkai in Gensokyo?"

Please say no please say no please say no.

She raised an eyebrow. "Ah...a nuclear youkai?"

"Yeah. Like, a bird nuclear youkai?"

Please please please say no.

Aya's brow furrowed, as she scratched her head with her pencil. "Ah...no, not that I can think of, and I've been in Gensokyo for millennium...so...no."

Aya, thank you. Also, a millennia? Again, not bad looking for someone so old. Patchouli was right - youkai age slow.

She put her hand under her chin. "Well, there is the yatagarasu, but that's the sun god, and they're not in Gensokyo. Still in the outside world, from what I hear." She scratched under her cap, thinking that over. "Uh, maybe. I dunno. Things can change quickly, but, no." She shook her head. "No, I don't think so. They're still out there in your world, but yeah, there is no nuclear powered youkai here in Gensokyo to my knowledge."

That's a load off my mind. Also, the Yatagarasu exists? Cool. "It's just that...I dreamt of a nuclear bomb going off in Gensokyo, and everyone died. It was kind of intense. Well not kind of. It was really intense."

"Really? A nuke?"

We turned to see Meiling standing there at one of the entryways to the courtyard.

"Meiling? How long have you been there?"

"Since Wriggle neared you. I was about to snap her neck, but this tengu came along."

I turned to Aya, my anger rising. "Wait, what?" You saying I wasted an hour for nothing?!

Aya smirked as she quickly spoke and gathered her materials. "Thanks for the interview!" She then bolted, the clap of air displacement knocking me down to the bench.

People really do have their own agendas.

I sat there, feeling betrayed. I turned to Meiling. "...Really?"

She smiled, leaning against the tree. "You weren't in any danger. I wasn't about to let that bug do anything." She stretched, standing upright. "Ah, but that Tengu made things interesting, so I allowed it."

Ah come on.

She walked up to me, helping me up. Her smile faded. "...A nuke, huh?"

"Yeah."

She looked to where the front gate was. I knew what she was implying. "Yeah...maybe no nuclear youkai here in Gensokyo..." But we both knew where there was a nuclear reactor near here, thanks to Nitori.

That was on my mind too. The only source of nuclear power in Gensokyo, to my knowledge, was underground in Hell. I paused for a second, before speaking. "Think I should go to Yukari? I mean, should I?"

"Well, if you were having some sort of premonition, then yeah, she'd know better than anyone, I suppose. And it'd be really helpful to avoid a nuclear mess here."

I shook my head. "It felt like I was really there. That dream was intense."

"I'll bet. I mean, I've heard of what happened - Nagasaki and Hiroshima..."

I slowly nodded, not wanting to get into that. "Anyway, uhm, so why are you out this earl-" I stopped. "Oh, right, your exercises."

"Yeah." We both made our way to the front. "I was wondering where you went. You missed an epic party."

"What do you mean?"

As we rounded the corner to get to the front, I saw why. Man, if I thought the Hakurei shrine was a mess a month ago, this was something else entirely. Beer kegs were split open, tables were broken, and a good portion of the lawn was burned. I could also see danmaku scarring on the building itself - already a few maids were scrubbing it off. Speaking of the maids, there were a number of maids all on the ground, asleep, or waking up with a hangover. A few sober ones were going around, passing cups of coffee to those who needed it. The Prismrivers were on what was left of the stage, putting whiskey into their coffee - I think that is 'Irish Coffee'. Lyrica seemed to be in the most pain, clutching her head like it was splitting open. It was like that for most of the maids, really. Verbally or physically complaining about how much their heads hurt.

It was then I realized why it was so quiet and such a mess - it was a hangover morning.

"Kid, I don't know where to start." Meiling sighed. "Someone screwed up and put out way too many beer kegs - we were only supposed to have a fourth of that number out, but someone put out all the beer we had. In between Flandre getting some of the beer somehow, Kaguya being set on fire by Mokou, a danmaku fight erupting between milady and the oni, and the immortals dying a few times, I kind of lost track of what happened when I blacked out. It got really wild."

I had to ask Meiling to repeat that. And then I had her repeat that again. After the third time, I kind of spaced out, trying to piece it together in my mind.

It was then that I noticed that Meiling was flinching in the sunlight. It didn't take long for me to realize that she was dealing with her own hangover, albeit a light one. She was suffering as well. As for what she said about the party, I was still numbed by that explanation. I mean, it was bad enough that Flandre consumed alcohol, but everything else? Someone was set on fire? Geez - these girls are essentially superheroes and they were getting drunk. If I was caught in the crossfire of that...

On the plus side, it meant everyone would be tame this morning, and not wanting to be difficult like they usually were. If they did, I could just raise my voice and give them a splitting headache. I'll have to thank Marisa for leading me away from all of that.

I looked up, a noise catching my attention, and on the railing of the balcony there was Suika, asleep. A droplet of drool was hanging from her mouth, just perpetually there, not falling down. She was snoring pretty loudly. Looks like you enjoyed yourself.

Something crossed my mind as I returned my attention to the guard. "Uh, Meiling? Yukari said that she wanted to get us out of Gensokyo in the morning. Do you know where she is?"

"Oh, right. She mentioned something to me. It'll be after breakfast, I think."

"Oh okay." I looked around the yard again. "So where's the Brigade?"

"In their rooms, I think." She stretched, an unappealing look on her face. "Ugh. Why'd Fujiwara have to set her on fire?" She was referring to the burnt lawn. "Now I got to either dig that up and reseed it, or go to the flower youkai for help."

Ah, the life of a gardener in Gensokyo. Where weeds and bugs are the least of your worries. "I don't envy you." I said as I made my way inside. I had a grasp of how to get to my room by then, so I didn't need help. I passed Reimu on the porch - she seemed completely fine. I could smell the strong coffee that was in a mug she was carrying. "Morning. Didn't drink?"

"No, I did." She sipped some coffee. "I can hold my liquor better than most people. That's all." She frowned. "You disappeared last night - I was wondering where you went."

"I fell asleep outside."

She immediately responded, her frown getting bigger. "That has got to be the dumbest thing you've ever done."

Don't remind me. "Yeah I know - I would have been eaten if it wasn't for Shameimaru and Meiling."

A look of contempt crossed her face. "Ugh - Shameimaru?" She shook her head in disapproval. "Let me guess - she immediately had an interview with you as a thank you, right?" Seeing my nod, she shrugged. "That stupid Tengu is always like that. Anyway, you missed-"

"Missed an epic party, yeah." I looked back to the party wreckage. One of the fairy maids was splashing fountain water on her face. "I've heard about it."

"You're going to keep hearing about it. It was the wildest thing I've ever seen." She took another sip. "I've never been to a party where someone died multiple times before."

"Why aren't you more bothered by that?" I paused for a few seconds, almost wanting to ask for details, but I decided against it. Maybe it's something best left unsaid. I looked around, as more people were starting to stand up from their laying down. There were actually a lot more people asleep in the yard than I thought. Reimu wasn't answering my previous question, so I asked a different one. "Where's Marisa?"

"Inside, maybe?" Reimu took another sip. "I don't know where she went after you made her cry." Before I could respond, she continued. "You did make her cry." Reimu stared at me, but she didn't seem upset over the fact that I hurt her friend that way. "Reality is, that was probably for the best. It took a lot of courage to do that, you know." She sighed, looking to the rising sun. "You did what was necessary. It hurt her, but I'm not gonna hate you for it."

I stood there, wanting to say something, but I couldn't find the words. She was right, after all.

"And Amaya?"

"What about her?"

"Where did she go?"

Reimu shrugged. "She left before things got too crazy. Smart on her part."

Yeah, if danmaku was being flung around and I was her, I'd get out of here too. Oh right, before I forget. "Uh, Reimu?"

"Hmm?"

"You wouldn't happen to know if there is a nuclear youkai in Gensokyo, would you?" Who knows - maybe she has already come across such a creature?

Her brow furrowed. "Nuclear...nuclear...where have I heard that before?"

Well, I guess she doesn't know-

"Wait, is this the symbol?"

Using her finger dipped in coffee, she rubbed a haphazard nuclear symbol on the porch. Chills went up my spine. "Where have you seen that? And yeah, that's a nuclear symbol, more or less."

She finished her cup. "It's on the back of an android maid I won one time. I heard she was nuclear-powered, but she stopped working, and I don't know how to refuel her."

...I don't know what I was expecting, but I wasn't expecting that.

"I just keep her in my shed now. She's just there."

It was too early in the morning for me to be dealing with the insanity of Gensokyo. I could have had a field day of questions, quips, and the like with what Reimu just said, but I had nothing. I was speechless.

Android maids. Man. Taniguchi would absolutely love Gensokyo. Still, a nuclear-powered one seemed kind of dangerous and redundant.

Nuclear-powered Android Maid...where have I heard that one before...?

Nothing came to mind, so I left Reimu there, going inside, and saw a lot of people in the lobby. ...the chandelier is down. Okay, that's very weird, especially since it was in my dream. Please don't tell me I had a premonition, especially one concerning a nuclear youkai. Okay, but seriously barring that, what the heck happened last night? The marble was cracked again!

Alice was sitting against the wall, holding onto her head. "Ah...someone kill me...I'm never drinking again..." Shanghai and Hourai were tending to her, or trying to. Other than giving her coffee, they were powerless to do anything for her. They didn't notice me, so I kept going.

Every single door was open, maids were just...everywhere. Each room had at least one maid lying down, nursing their hangover. The whole mansion was a mess, and the sober maids were already in clean up mode, or merely waiting for the hangover maids to recover. Jeez man, really? Why'd everybody go all out for last night? Then again, with all that free German beer? I quickly debated whether I should have been around for that, but a quick reminder of how bad that hangover I've had reminded me why I swore not to drink again. I'd be with them on the floor, so yeah, it's a good thing to not have ended up like that.

Passing the dining room, I paused, grimacing in disappointment. Yes, that stupid door in the dining room was knocked down again.

Damn running gag.

I passed Mikuru and Nagato on my way up a flight of stairs, as they were on their way down for breakfast.

They grumbled a 'good morning' to me in response to mine. "You got lucky," stated Nagato. "You missed-"

"Yeah, I've been hearing about it." I looked to Mikuru. "You okay?"

She was slightly red in the cheeks, and I could tell she had a headache. "I think so. I need to stop drinking, though. I don't know how many more of these I can do." And yes, she held onto her head. "It feels like my brain is dry and is peeling off layers of flesh inside of my skull."

What lovely imagery. "That's a hangover. How about you, Nagato? Are you...?"

"A little." She blinked. "How you humans can willingly do this to yourselves, I'll never know."

I nodded. Huh. Even Nagato isn't immune to this pain. Also, kind of weird that her body is able to do that. "So, where's Koizumi?" I wanted to get everyone to breakfast so we could get out of Gensokyo faster - I really wanted to ask Yukari about that. It was quite pressing in my mind, but I tried not to let it show to anyone.

"In his room I think." Mikuru gingerly started walking. "I'm dried out, I need something in my stomach, and I need to lay down afterwards. This is just too much."

I left the suffering girls, making my way to the hallway. I quickly found myself outside of the door Koizumi used last time, which was his room, essentially. The door was slightly ajar.

"Hey, Koizumi?" Not wanting to commit the mistake Sakuya did the last time I was here, I knocked, but it swung open rather easily when I did.

And there was Mokou, her shirt in her arms (but not on), and wearing her red pants.

Uh yeah. Mokou was topless.

How about that. Classic scenario.

I couldn't get over how beautiful she really was, and unfortunately, I gawked at her, my eyes wandering for several long lasting seconds before I could recompose myself. I yelped and covered my eyes, quickly apologizing.

Well now. That image will be burned into my mind for a very long time.

"He's in the shower," she nonchalantly said, as I heard her put her shirt on.

Wait wait wait what happened?! You two... I shut down that line of thought, otherwise my mind would have wandered into a lot of territory. "I'm sorry to disturb-!"

"My fault, I guess. Didn't lock the door last night, is all." Mokou paused, thinking that over. "Wait, the door was open? Hmph. Someone could'a walked in on us."

Koizumi...Mokou...they...

Instantly I remembered what Yukari said. She tried her hand at putting couples together! I had to force myself to stay in that moment. My mind wanted to start going places. Dammit Yukari, what the hell did you do? Really? You caused the two of them to- Focus!

By the time I looked, her shirt was buttoned up and she was slipping her suspenders on her shoulders. My face was burning red over this. Mokou kept staring at me. "What?"

"Nothing," I quickly replied. "Absolutely nothing!"

Mokou let out a little sigh, frowning. "I'm not that type of girl." My silence only seemed to get her a little angry. "Don't judge me."

"I'm not," I again quickly said; I think faster than I should have. She understood my predicament.

"...But it does look like it, don't it?" She clicked her tongue as she looked back to the room. "It's just...I said it. He's such a cutie that I'd be stupid not to do something."

And the two of you were possibly drunk as all hell. She also pretty much just admitted it.

I wanted to find somewhere to hide, until my burning face subsided. That image of Mokou was fresh on my mind. Even closing my eyes, I could see every little detail by memory. Man she's toned. All...sexy and... I had to fight back that imagery.

"Good thing you're here. I wanted to talk. Just wanna ask - this all true? Like really really? After everything I've been through, after all the times I've died n'all, all the years I've seen..." She raised a finger, circling it, referring to what was around us. "This all done by two kids?"

I was grateful that she was giving me a different topic to focus on. "Uh...yeah. It seems...seems to be the case." And glory to them for creating such girls.

Mokou grumbled something, before lighting up a cigarette. Letting out a long breath of smoke, she stared past me, her eyes showing she was mentally elsewhere. She softly spoke. "I was just a kid from the streets of Yamato, y'know? Thirteen hundred years...I never would have thought I'd be caught up in somethin' like this. I was just a kid on the street surviving with my mom. I thought that the most wondrous thing was that my father was a noble...and then...My mom... When it was her time, and I was still young, I had no one else. All I had was that I knew who my dad was. And then the Kaguya thing...He never wanted any part of me but I still..."

Yamato... "That puts you in the reign of Emperor Monmu when he was with Empress Miyako. She was the daughter of Fujiwara no Fu-" I blinked. "...she was the daughter of..."

Wait a second. Wait a damn second.

"She was my half sister."

I blinked again, as I did remember that. Something's not right. "Wait wait wait. You're..." I raised a shaky finger at her as I took a step back. It dawned on me what Mokou was. Who Mokou was. "Your half sister! She married the emperor! Holy crap! You're directly related to Japanese Royalty! Your half sister was Empress Miyako!" Why? Why didn't I remember?! "But...how could I forget that? It's history! How-"

Mokou shrugged, nonchalantly hearing my tirade. "Keine, probably. She always was overprotective n' stuff and pulls these kinds of stunts."

Oh. Well that explains why neither Koizumi or myself couldn't remember - Keine hid some of Mokou's history. I was going to consider it weird that multiple people were able to forget such a thing, but I then remembered where I was.

So, Fujiwara himself was bewitched by Kaguya, as well as the Emperor - his son in...law...

Mokou's father and half brother-in-law were after the same girl.

Mokou's father and half brother-in-law probably slept...

"That's right. She seduced the emperor while he was married to my sister. He was willing to leave her for that Lunarian slut. I never liked Miyako, and she never treated me right, but she's family, y'know?"

Oh. Well then. I understood it then. Right then and there I completely understood the deep-seeded hatred of Kaguya, that it went even further. Not only did Kaguya entice Mokou's father, but Mokou's half brother-in-law as well, essentially. If that was the time frame, then the emperor was willing to marry Kaguya even though he was already with Miyako. I can't even begin to imagine the feeling of going through that - of what Kaguya did to the Fujiwaras, and for Mokou to be on the sidelines of it all, watching what was unfolding with her family.

It felt weird, though. Standing in front of me was the half sister to one of the Empresses of Japan. I have never been this close to someone that was...well...Earth royalty. I had spent some time in the audience of Lunarian royalty, but this was another first for me.

Huh. That took the wind out of the sails. Yeah, I've already been with royalty. Everything is subjective, I guess. Whatever anxiety that gathered from me realizing who Mokou really was had all but gone. But yeah, technically, the Fujiwara's weren't royalty - the four families, anyway. Fuhito's four sons set those up, but there were also the daughters, one which went on and became an empress. That's why they were so powerful, and served the royalty. They had a connection.

She shook her head, coming back from her thoughts, and looked at me. "I wish I never drank that stupid thing, but...if I didn't..." She looked down the hall, to one of the windows. "This is my home now. Gensokyo is my home." I could sense heat, and her left hand was beginning to light up. "If some sonuva bitch wants to kill all of us off just because we're here, they'll get roasted. The people here are good people, and any bastard that wants to hurt them will have deal with an immortal." She went up to me. "Hey."

"What?"

She was really close to me, making my heart skip a beat, considering what I saw of her, and also because of the flame. That was also a big influence - it was way too close for comfort. "If you need help killin' those jackasses, I'll be there."

I slowly nodded, watching as the fire went out. It had my full attention when it was lit, as it should have had. "So...what's it like?"

She narrowed her eyes, I guess searching what I meant. She quickly understood. "Ah. Immortality? Boring for the most part. All those weeks, days, hours, minutes, seconds... Hell - I've forgotten decades of my life." She closed her eyes. "But when I was a kid? No. I never would have closed that chapter of my life, though. I tried 'n tried, but I couldn't. It ate me up."

Yeah, I figured it was something like that. Like I said - it can be easy to forget a few things in life, some cherished moments forgotten. Living that long though? Huh. I can't even imagine the time lost to memory.

Also...Mokou too? Reisen said the same thing the previous night, about backing me up. Interesting... An immortal and an alien soldier. I'm amassing quite a paranormal army.

We heard a door open - Koizumi came out of the bathroom, already dressed. He paused when he saw the two of us, and his eyes darted back and forth. It dawned on him what must have happened when he saw the look on my face, because he put up his fake smile as he tentatively joined us in the hall.

I didn't say anything to him, or her, regarding what you have to be thinking right now. If anything happened between the two of them, it was none of my business.

It was also due to the fact that I didn't want to think of Koizumi in such a position. I...didn't need to think of that. I did not want to put that imagery into my head.

However, Mokou apparently didn't care about tact. She gave him a quick, yet passionate, kiss. "Mmm. Catch you later, cutie." She then walked away.

Ehhhh he was in such a position. Damn it all. My mind wanted to go down that path, but it would require thinking of Koizumi- you know what I'm shutting that down. No. No more.

I had never seen Koizumi flushed like this before. I silently stared at him as the immortal left. When she was out of sight, he cleared his throat.

"You probably have some questions."

"It's none of my business."

He blinked, taken aback by that. "Uhm, okay. Th-thank you."

It was kind of a selfish thing on my part, because if anything happened between me and Haruhi, I hope he would have respected my privacy like that.

Making sure he didn't leave anything behind, he closed the door, and we began to walk back to the dining room. We remained silent until we got down to the first floor, to where he stopped.

"It just happened."

I kept walking. "None of my business."

"I don't know what came over the two of us."

"None of my business!"

I know I had something on him, and I could have used it to crush him. I mean, maybe the two had developed feelings for each other despite being manipulated into it?

No.

No, that's not what I'd want for myself. That wasn't what I wanted for myself.

He does have a right to know, as does Mokou. Love should be genuine, right? They should know the truth. I decided I'd tell him later...preferably out of Gensokyo where he couldn't go after Yukari. I'd hate to see him really go after that demon, especially after seeing what she could really do. I doubt he could get back up after getting hit by a train like Mokou could.

Though...that is, if Yukari was just teasing me about that, setting up things. Who knows. Maybe they did develop feelings for each other? Maybe without manipulation? Oh man not the liar's paradox again! If I took that away from them - if they legit came together on their own, it would crush them, wouldn't it? Ah, I'll have to get confirmation before I do something so rash.

Coming down to the dining room again, I saw a maid picking up that stupid door and propping it up against the wall. Futile gesture. Just throw it out and be done with it. It keeps falling off. But next to the doorway was Youmu, standing around. She perked up when she saw me.

"Ah, Kyon? Uhm, can I have a word with you?"

I said okay, and motioned for Koizumi to go in. When we were alone, Youmu turned to me.

She took a deep breath, and let it out.

"I just...uhm...I don't know how to say it here." Her face was scrunching up - tears forming.

My heart sank. Oh no. Ah, poor Youmu. I felt guilt for putting her in that spot. " Youmu, I-"

"I wanted to thank you."

Huh?

Tears were welling up in her eyes, beginning to fall. "I'm just...so...happy."

She embraced me, letting out little sobs. Myon started circling, wrapping around me, I guess to hug me too. It took me a while to realize it, what this was about. My misplaced guilt gave way to a feeling of satisfaction. Wow. It really does feel great to play cupid.

"I...I never could have...I'm so happy right now!"

I patted her on the head. "Not a problem Youmu."

"I couldn't have done this without you guys! I never had the strength to do it!"

Ah, what a nice warm fuzzy feeling. Although...she was kind of crying a lot into my shirt. I mean...a lot. It was starting to soak through. And did I mention that ghosts and Youmu both feel cold?

"I'm so sorry Kyon!"

"What do you mean?"

"I wanted to kill you when we first met. And you did this for me! I can't-I can't believe it!"

I could feel her tears going down the front of my shirt, and they were as cold as she was. It was actually making me shiver. "Ah, Youmu? You're uh-?"

She backed up, realizing what she did. Myon jumped back too. "Oh, I..." She paused, wiping at her face, and trying to wipe my shirt. "I'm sorry."

"That's, uhm, that's all right." This is a little bit unbearable! It felt like someone poured ice water down my shirt - one of the last things a person would want happening to them in the morning.

"Kyon, if you need-"

"No, no no, it's fine. I'll just get a towel-" Preferably a heated one.

She shook her head. "I'm not talking about that. I owe you for this. For what you did for me." She sniffed, steeling herself. It was her samurai mask again. She balled up her right hand and placed it over her heart. "If you ever need my katana at any time, I will gladly join your side in battle. I will lay down my life for you now. You have done me such a great service. I could never have dreamed that I'd be this happy."

What is going on?

Something's up.

I could feel it.

In the pit of my stomach, I felt it - like we were gathering allies for something big. Reisen and Mokou were added, and Youmu said she would go so far as to lay down her life for me. I couldn't shake such a feeling, that this was leading up to something far bigger than all of us down the road. I've read enough manga, watched enough anime, and played enough games to see the flags - the triggers for such an event. I know it's silly to think such a thing, however; life isn't a...

...Then again, my concept of what life is has been thrown into a blender and the button for Puree has been bashed over and over again for the past year.

I didn't have a verbal answer for Youmu there - all I did was nod.

I wanted desperately to laugh off this ally thing, but I still couldn't get it out of my head, not even when I joined everyone for breakfast after cleaning myself up. There weren't many people there, just the Brigade, Reimu (free meal mooching of course) Youmu and Yuyuko (who was doing her usual personal food eating contest) and the Lunarians, whom were nursing their own headaches. And another thing to note - Kaguya's kimono was different. Of course it would be - since she got set on fire last night.

Besides a few baskets full of fresh buttermilk biscuits (Yum! So fluffy!), it was an English day, so we had Scotch eggs. No, not the red ones, but actual Scotch eggs. Eggs wrapped in sausage and bread crumbs. Now this was a breakfast. There were also Cornish Pasty's, which were pastries filled with beef, potato, and swede. And...haggis. Ugh. Sheep heart, liver, lungs mixed with onion, oatmeal, suet and spices. All boiled in the stomach of a sheep.

Yum. A sarcastic yum, at that.

This was all hangover food, from my perspective. A lot of meat, grease, and protein. And there was coffee everywhere, especially with all the coffee the kitchen was churning out. Out through the open doorway, I kept seeing a maid rush by in the hall with a coffee pot to somewhere in the mansion, and another maid rushing back to the kitchen with an empty one. There were also maids doing the same thing with the food - delivering them to some poor hungover soul in the mansion.

I limited myself to the biscuits, Scotch eggs, and the Pasty's. They were much better than I thought they would be. Lots of meat. I had very little interest in the haggis, as any sane person should. Anyway, I expressed my thoughts of the whole ally thing to my Brigade associates, hoping they would console me, saying that it was indeed silly.

"The Prismrivers have said as such as well, as has Miss Lorelei." Nagato didn't look up from her breakfast. "The night sparrow was relieved to have gotten over her shyness, while the Prismrivers have said that was their best concert yet."

"Miss Alice has also said that she will provide any doll support that we would need." Asahina tapped a finger on her chin. "I said it might not be needed, but...she was adamant about it."

I looked to Koizumi, expecting him to say something - to which he didn't disappoint. "I ran into Flandre last night." He shifted in his seat. "Before she got into the beer. She wants to help out with anything as well."

This was the last thing I wanted to hear. I stared around the table. "This can't be a coincidence, can it?" We really are gathering allies. And you don't do that unless there is something big on the horizon. I had lost my appetite.

Reimu stopped stuffing her face for a few seconds, replying. (Hey, that's exactly what she was doing. I wasn't saying that to be mean.) "Mmf. I don't believe in coincidences."

In fact, for the most part, everyone present was off-put by the appetites of Reimu and Yuyuko. The food they put down was astonishing. It was on the level of stereotypical 'hungry anime characters'. We would find ourselves gawking at those two before returning to our meals for a few bites, before returning to watch the show.

"That is weird, isn't it?" Youmu turned to Reisen. "That we both announce such a thing." The soldier nodded.

Reisen tapped her fork, thinking that over. "I'm as surprised as you."

"Hmm. It could be fate." Kaguya had spoken up, after shaking off seeing Yuyuko put away her tenth plate. She tapped her chin. "I find such a thing interesting. Here we are, in Gensokyo, and you have a vastly diverse group of people and youkai. Yet there they were, proclaiming their allegiance and loyalty to you in a future battle, all within the same twelve hour period." She raised a finger. "That is interesting. Such a short amount of time, and you have accrued this many allies. As a diplomat myself, I have to admit that I am impressed." The princess eyed Reisen. "Although, hearing that you're going on your own and pledging your allegiance to them is news to me."

The soldier's ears lowered. "Ah, princess, forgive me-"

"No need to apologize. I think I would have offered you anyway." The princess patted her mouth with a napkin. "The fact is, we do owe the brigade and Hakurei's group for yet again saving us." Kaguya then turned to me, an anger forming on her face. "Although, I did not like having to lose my five treasures to a street walker! And I know it was you, Kyon. You were the one who came up with that idea, weren't you?"

"Please don't call her that," said Koizumi. I could see an anger in his eyes as well.

Someone talked. As far as I knew, nobody had really said to Kaguya who came up with the idea for Mokou to capture the impossible tasks. I refused to be intimidated by the princess, however. "You were the one who sent me to an almost certain fiery fate. If Yukari hadn't done what she did, I might have ended up burned."

Kaguya gave me a devilish smile. "Oh, it was a mere trial." She then turned to Koizumi. "And you...you're awfully quick to defend her." She took a sip of coffee, and gave Koizumi a huge grin. "Tell me. How much did you pay for her services last night?"

Seeing that smile pissed me off. "No." I got up out of my chair, pointing at the Lunarian. "You knew what she was capable of and you sent me there. You wanted us to suffer."

Koizumi had also stood up, glowing red. He didn't say anything, but gave the princess a glare that would have killed if looks could do such a thing.

At that point, Kaguya had risen out of her chair as well, an orb of electricity forming in her left palm, and she kept that same smile. For a split second, I felt I had bit off more than I could chew - I don't know how long I could last against a magician of her caliber. She loudly spoke. "It's always amusing to see how many of that street walker's clients rush to defend her so-called 'honor'."

Before Kaguya could do anything we heard a voice from the doorway.

"Who the hell are you calling a street walker, you slut?!"

Of course, that was Mokou.

Can't I go through a meal here without something weird happening?

Whelp. The dining room was on fire.

Everyone got out quickly, so there was no damage to anyone else. You want to know the sick thing is? I was already used to this. There I was, standing pretty calm, despite the fact that the room next to me was on fire. Not just, like, one thing on fire. The entire room was on fire; full blaze and everything. I could feel it from where I was standing across the hallway. And there were two living people in those flames fighting it out. Under normal circumstances, I'd be going out the nearest fire exit, yet I wasn't.

I really shouldn't be getting used to these kind of things.

We stood in the hallway, a few maids going ballistic over this damage while the few who retained their sanity were trying to put it out. Reimu just seemed to enjoy this, still chewing on one of the few Scotch eggs she had with her. Yuyuko had gotten a basket of biscuits and was munching on them. Eirin groaned as the princess and the noble continued to battle in the flames. "You'd think with Fujiwara finally getting those treasures, she'd hate the Princess a little less."

I stared at the flames that were licking out of the doorway, wondering how ticked off Remilia was going to get, before asking a question. "How long have these two been going at it?"

The doctor shrugged, sighing. "Ever since Fujiwara came to Gensokyo. Which would be..." She tapped her chin. "I believe five or six decades ago? And I also believe that they have fought every week of those decades. A week hasn't gone by where they haven't fought and killed each other."

Reimu frowned. "How the hell have I never heard of their fights then?"

"They fight in the Bamboo Forest of the Lost." Reisen gave a nod. "No light or sound can come out of there if we won't allow it to."

"And you just let it happen?" asked Youmu. "You just sit back and let your princess suffer death again and again?"

The doctor put her hands on her hips. "I myself do not hold a grudge against Fujiwara, and she makes it a point to never involve outsiders. She is also a very helpful human, especially concerning treatment and supplies. Besides, the Princess is strong enough to fight her own battles. I rarely interfere."

"But the princess isn't above bringing in outsiders against Mokou, as we found out last night." I said that with a lot more snark than I actually wanted to let out. And no, I'm not sorry for how I feel. I can't let it go. She willingly led me to get toasted. I just can't let that go. That's evil.

Eirin gave me a nasty look, as she knew what I was implying. She didn't make any effort to apologize for it though. I guess Eirin just lets Kaguya do her own thing then. I scratched my head, as I remembered something. "How did you die last night?"

She scowled in...I think self-disgust? "I got too close to that blonde vampire."

Ah, okay. Say no more.

Reisen's ears perked up. She whipped around, a worried look on her face, staring down a hallway. "Ah, Master, we need to move. Now."

I could hear the footsteps, becoming quicker and quicker. When I recognized them, I grabbed my Brigade associates so we could clear the way - Reisen and Eirin both taking steps back. Only Reimu didn't move, she just casually looked to the source of the sound.

It didn't take a genius to know that the blur that went by us and into the dining room was Remilia. She didn't even care about the fire - she just went right in. She was screaming some obscenities, none of which I can repeat, and she made short work of the two immortals - they had weakened each other, after all. We heard a few things being slammed into the wall, cracks showing up in the hallway. Remilia, uh, used their bodies to snuff out the fire, before killing them. She flung their lifeless bodies out into the hallway when she was done.

If I hadn't lost my appetite a few minutes ago, I would have definitely lost it now. Also, don't be tossing the dead around!

Remilia came out, wiping her hands with a piece of the Princess' torn kimono, the vampire's skin quite red. She tossed the rag onto the Princess' head, before giving a glare to the doctor. "Reign in your little Princess."

"Please don't act so casually when there are two dead bodies at your feet."

The vampire grinned at me. "Oh this is casual for me. You should have seen me at the height of my violent years."

"These aren't your violent years?!"

Remilia ignored my outburst, waiting for life to return to the two immortals (which didn't take too long), before she bent down over the Princess. "You know, you home wrecker..." Remilia had a huge grin. "And I mean that in more than one way, but it is incredibly rude for a guest to ruin their host's home. With you being royalty of the Lunarians, if you're the height of Lunarian civility, then I'm not impressed with the manners of your race." She turned to Mokou as she crossed her arms. "As for you, well, I guess we're even now."

Jeez, Remilia. Low blows there.

Standing straight up, she looked over all of us. "Ah, good morning." She looked back to her burned dining room, sighing. "...eh...I'll need to give that kappa a call." Turning back to me, she opened her mouth, but before she could say anything-

"Yeah, I know, I missed an epic party." This is really going to be driven home, isn't it?

"I'll say!" She beamed, pointing to the immortals. "These three died a few times! Barring the damage to my home, it was the best party I've ever thrown!"

Stop calling a party where people died 'good'!

"The damage is high, and not just to your home." Nagato simply pointed down the hall, referring to the maids.

Nagato had more to say, but Remilia butted in. "No, I know. We overdid it on the beer." She looked past us, down the opposite direction. "If someone was competent and didn't bring out all the beer we had, we might not have had such chaos."

I looked, and there was Patchouli, along with Koakuma. Others were slowly making their way to us as well, such as Alice, the Prismrivers, and everybody else - all due to the commotion of a fire. Doesn't the SDM have a fire evacuation protocol or something?

Patchouli groaned at Remilia, obviously having her own headache. "It wasn't my fault. You were the one who wrote down 'bring out the beer'." She the produced a list from a pocket. "It's right here, you idiot, in your handwriting, so don't go blaming me. You should have been more specific."

Remilia snatched the list, frowning as she read it. Her lips pursed after a while, eyes narrowing. She crumpled it up and remained silent, begrudgingly avoiding Patchouli's gaze.

I crossed my arms, and I couldn't help but smile. "Let me guess - Patchouli is right."

"Shut up, Kyon."

Yep, you screwed up, and you're too proud to admit it.

"You have to be kidding me," exclaimed Alice, looking pissed off. "We could have avoided all of this!"

Remilia opened her mouth to shout something - and from the look on her face, it was going to be some real obscenities, but we heard a crumbling.

The cracks on the wall expanded, encompassing the entire dining room wall. It crashed down into the room, revealing the extent of the damage. Everything was burned pretty good, and the mess showed how bad Mokou and Kaguya messed up the room during their fight.

Remilia took a deep breath, before she let it out. With the way she was shaking, I was concerned that she might kill those two again, but she just turned to us and smiled.

"I was thinking it was time to redecorate anyway. Just...rip up everything and make it better."

Reimu finished her Scotch Eggs. "So you're not mad?"

"Oh, terribly so. I'll kill these two again in a bit." The vampire kicked both of the immortals in the ribs. "But I'm looking for the silver lining here."

Can you do that without committing homicide?

Sakuya had arrived, took one look at the damage, and instinctively reached for her knives. She appeared calm, but I could see the blind rage in her eyes.

"Just another day at the Scarlet Devil Mansion, right?"

Sakuya blinked, before she sighed. "I...yeah." She turned to me. "By the way, where did you go last night? I didn't see you in the carnage."

"I fell asleep outside."

"That was stupid," said everyone from Gensokyo. Even Mokou and Kaguya said that from the floor.

I know, I know. I'm an idiot.

"It's always such a shame when a dining room is ruined." Yuyuko floated into the room, looking for any food that wasn't damaged. Finding none, she sighed. "Ah, I-" She looked past us, her eyes widening. "Hey wait."

There was a Yukari portal on the opposite wall, but no Yakumos.

I don't know when it opened, but there it was. What was very unusual about it was that, while it opened to Yukari's realm, there was a silver-colored limousine just sitting there, the rear passenger side's door open. It was a very nice looking black stretch limo, very classy looking. The really strange thing? My bike was inside the limo, just there.

Why is my bike there? Though, thinking about, it would be Yukari's way of saying 'this is your way home'.

"Whoa, that's a good looking car." Remilia smirked. "Doesn't look like it could compete with anything in my collection."

I frowned, turning to the vampire. "...You have cars?"

"Of course I do. They're all in my garage. I have a collection of them - you should see my 1967 Bentley T1 Saloon. She's in a beautiful scarlet."

Hold on a second. "How have I missed a garage?! Just how big is this mansion anyhow?!" Remilia just gave me a huge grin in response.

Yuyuko floated past us, and into it. She looked around. "Yukari? Are you in here?" Finding no response, she turned to us, shrugging. "This is very unusual. She rarely does this."

I didn't get an answer from Remilia, so I let it go. The brigade all stepped into the realm. I checked inside the limo. Besides the back seat, it had a seat going down one side, and on the other side, a smaller sitting area as well as a stocked mini bar. There was a reflective soundproof mirror that blocked the driving cabin. On the large seat on the side, was a small white card, and in purple ink, was that handwriting that I saw on that note about the Saigyou Ayakashi. It said "Please sit here and wait."

Well, at least I'll have somewhere nice to sit when I black out.

Considering the headaches everyone had, the goodbyes were quiet. This was all just kind of sudden, though. It felt kind of surreal, really. Let's see...Alice, Suika, the Scarlets, Sakuya, everyone else too - they all said their goodbyes.

Mystia had stuck around for some reason. I told her that I was very impressed with her singing, but she didn't seem to agree. I guess she really is too shy for that, or she holds herself to a higher standard.

"You could start a band or something, Miss Mystia," said Koizumi. "Everyone would love your voice."

She blushed heavily, making her look rather cute. I actually would like to see that. As long as she isn't making people blind at night, yeah, she's got the raw talent to be a pop idol, even in my world.

Actually, if she were to somehow show up in my world, she would definitely make it as a kemonomimi pop idol. And since she ages slowly, she'd be able to enjoy a long career.

Of course, Marisa was last person I said goodbye to. She was back to her grinning usual self. "So I guess this is goodbye again, huh?" She smirked. "I needed that. I always clung to you, you know? And now...now maybe I can let go, you know?"

"That would be the grownup thing to do, I suppose. We're not meant to be."

She nodded, and gave me a quick kiss. It made my heart flutter, and gave me a few flashes of what have could been.

I can't dwell on those too much, you know. If I did, it'd break my heart even more.

The portal closed up, leaving the brigade in the realm. We silently went inside, closed the door, and sat down. I waited for the-

August 12th, 2004

"Wakey-wakey."

I opened my eyes, seeing Yukari across from me, Ran and Chen on both sides (in their human forms). I noticed the hum of the car, and the sway - we were being driven.

"Yu...Yukari? What...?"

Yukari smiled. "I told you, didn't I? I had an important meeting." She slightly spread her arms. "And here we are." Ran poured her a glass of champagne. "I had my future self send you back here, so we could talk."

So...this is last night, after she disappeared and left Reimu and I in the lobby? Ugh. Damn time travel flip flops. Looking out the tinted window, we were driving around my city - in fact we passed a building that I knew was not too far from the park we left for Gensokyo in. I also noticed that my brigade associates were on the verge of waking up.

"Uhm...before they wake..." I leaned closer to Yukari. "Did you have anything to do with Koizumi and Mokou?"

She smirked, with a twinkle in her eye. "Ah, so that comes through. Sounds interesting to watch, but no, I had nothing to do with that."

"I don't believe you."

"You don't have to believe me. I'm telling you I have nothing to do with them."

I grunted, rubbing the back of my neck. It felt stiff, like I was lying down for a long time. "Okay, whatever. But couldn't you have made this a little easier? You know, gather us for this for a meet at the mansion instead of doing this in a limo? I mean I appreciate it - it's a nice car, but come on."

"Well, there are a few elements at play here." She handed the glass to Ran, who held onto it for Yukari. "One, after what you've been through, I thought you deserved that party-"

"Kaguya gets set on fire and the immortals died. Oh, and Flandre got into the beer."

Her eyes widened, and I swear her smile widened when she heard about Kaguya. "Oh. Then I'll regret missing it. Maybe after I'm done here I'll go join it after all if we finish this quick enough." She shook her head. "But I digress. One, the brigade deserved a little rest. Two..." She trailed off, looking to the back of the limo. "I had a request to do this."

Our eyes followed, and there, in a white suit, was a young woman. Blonde shoulder-length hair, yellow eyes, and a crescent moon pin in her hair. She smiled as she got noticed.

"Hello, S.O.S. Brigade. My name is Chiyuri Kitashirakawa. It's a pleasure to finally meet you all."

Koizumi bolted up out of his seat, his head hitting the roof of the limo - he got excited seeing this woman. He immediately sat back down, holding onto his head.

The window to the front rolled down, and I could see Arakawa driving. "Could you please not do that? This is a rental." After he said that, the window rolled back up.

"Ah, forgive me!" Koizumi was still nursing his head as he returned his attention to the woman. "M-Miss Kitashirakawa! I'm honored! Uh, we're honored!" He nodded to all of us, as if expecting an answer.

You know, with the way Koizumi was acting, one would think that this was someone famous. We were still unsure about it. Well...except for Nagato. She was simply nodding.

I looked directly at the woman, not wanting this secrecy/mystery/whatever to keep going more than it had to. "Who are you?"

Koizumi's snap of 'show her some respect!' surprised me.

It was explained to me from Yukari. This was one of the early major incidents that Reimu resolved. Entering Gensokyo several years ago via an invention, a Professor Yumeme Okazaki and her assistant Chiyuri Kitashirakawa organized a tournament to find the strongest magical warrior. Marisa, Mima, and Reimu, along with others, entered, with Reimu winning (of course). The two scientists then tried to defeat Reimu - Chiyuri even pulled an actual gun on the miko - because they wanted to bring back a strong magic user for research and to prove the existence of magic to the world. You know - actual hard evidence. Yet, I think you know what happens when you try to take on Reimu in a fair danmaku battle. Chiyuri and the Professor were sent packing.

That's right - Chiyuri here was an instigator of another incident.

Not only that, but a few years ago, she awoke as an esper. A very powerful esper. A high ranking member of Koizumi's organization esper. That explained Koizumi's reaction.

But Professor Okazaki...that's the name of that weird scientist who said she could prove magic was real a few years prior.

I think I need to give a little background on the professor, for those that don't know. I had personally considered her a nut job when I had 'matured', though I did cling to the hope that she was right. It was kind of heartbreaking. I remember looking her up randomly on the internet during one lunch break a few months ago, and it went bad for her, even though she was the best - she was one of the most brilliant minds in the bleeding edge fields of the sciences - robotics, cybernetics, nano-machines, nuclear fusion and propulsion, nano-engineering, and the like. Pretty much all the sci-fi sounding sciences. Her prototypes shocked the world and set a lot of high bars, because the stuff she was coming up with were considered decades or even centuries ahead of our time, depending on who you asked in the scientific community according to some science journals. She was even rumored to have created a nuclear powered android servant that looked exactly like a human being - her ultimate culmination of her fields - though nobody had seen it.

So that's where that maid had to have come from! Reimu must have won her! I'd later get confirmation on this. Too bad such an advanced creation is now collecting dust in a shrine storage room. What a waste.

Anyway, last I heard - I think it was when I was twelve - but yeah, Professor Okazaki was laughed out of the scientific community when she had a big dissertation on magic being real, and then she pretty much disappeared from public life. And now I know where to - Gensokyo. Also...she was right. She got kicked out, but she was completely right.

In my mind, at that point, she was vindicated. Okazaki was so brilliant, and she was completely right. Sad that her whole career was destroyed because of her belief in magic.

But back to the person who was actually here. Koizumi was giving this young woman her praises. Chiyuri was a high ranking member of the esper organization, mostly because of her power. While it took numerous espers to take down one of Haruhi's Celestials (as I've seen), Chiyuri could do it all by herself. She was heralded for apparently clearing the biggest closed space on record, solo. She was also rumored to be "blessed" with such ability that she could use her power outside of closed spaces. But of course, I knew what that "blessing" was. The Gensokyo Effect enhancing the power of an esper. As for what happened to the professor, I learned that she went to work for the esper organization due to her ties with such an esper. At least the professor isn't out of work.

Chiyuri kept smiling at us all, obviously cheerful that she had a fan in Koizumi. "Oh please, Itsuki. Can I call you Itsuki?"

"Yes ma'am!"

"Itsuki, you don't have to say such things. It's kind of too much anyways. I mean, I only perform my purpose. I'm an esper - I deal with Miss Suzumiya's Celestials. The both of us do."

"Thing is, Miss Chiyuri, you are the best at doing so. That is, if I may say so."

Can you stop fanboying for like, a minute? That's all he was doing. It was getting embarrassing, even more embarrassing than when he was doing his praises for Haruhi as the usual Brigade Yes Man.

Chiyuri beamed over this, bringing up a hand to brush the hair out of her eyes. "Oh Itsuki, you're too much. Always the smooth talker, from what I hear."

She gave us another smile, before it dropped. "However, I have called for a meeting with the Brigade and Yakumo for a reason." She gave the demon a nod. "I appreciate you giving me the time to speak to you, Miss Yakumo."

"It's a lot better than your original plan of coming back by force." Yakumo had a crooked smile. "I did not appreciate you and your professor attempting to plunder Gensokyo for your own gains. I would have dealt with you myself if your little tournament bore any fruit."

"Then I'm glad we failed."

"So am I." Yukari quickly and bluntly replied.

The look in Chiyuri's eyes was kind of telling - she was not expecting this kind of passive aggressiveness. The esper woman appeared to want to say something, but she let it go.

I had noticed at that time that it begun to rain outside. The water easily began to bead on the windows.

"Okay, before we get off topic again, we need to get on with ths. I don't want to take up any more of your time than I have to." Chiyuri's mood had shifted. From cheerful, to just...serious. It was just unnerving, how somber she got - the look in her eyes. She stared out the car's window, but it looked like she was staring into infinity. "Something is going to happen in the next few years, a large event, and it will concern both Gensokyo and the Brigade again." She crossed her arms. "It's difficult to describe other than 'I just know.' It's similar to the premonitions I had concerning Suzumiya when I became an esper. I guess the best way to say it would be a 'premonition', but this is more vivid than what I had regarding Miss Haruhi." She shivered. "I can even feel it when I go through it. It's horrific."

Everyone had felt the mood - the only sound was the hum of the car. Man, the sound proofing in this car is great. Limos rule.

"It's an incident, a large scale incident that will cost lives. I don't know the details, but I've seen that you will all die." Chiyuri looked to us. "All of you."

Okay, forget about the car.

We shot looks at each other as she continued. "I don't mean to frighten you, I'm just here to tell you what might happen. If you fail, the world will be covered in fire. It will be the end of the world, of both our world and Gensokyo. Reimu, Marisa, the Brigade, and every human and youkai on earth...all dead."

Fire? Not...nuclear fire, is it?

"Only Reimu and Marisa are participating, along with us? What about Youmu, Sakuya, and the others?"

"They're the only ones participating. I know that the Endless Night Incident had a lot of people, but this one, it's just the two of them, and the Brigade. None of you come back, and the result of failure ends up with the end of the world." Chiyuri took a sip. A long sip. She was obviously having a tough time getting this out. "As an esper trying to keep the world as it is, I of course can't have that happen. I just want to let you know what's going to happen, and also that I would like to come with you on this incident."

Yukari leaned forward. "I thought I barred you from-"

"I'm offering my help to save your precious little Gensokyo, Yakumo." Chiyuri gave a little glare. "I said both our world and your world get it."

"Miss Kitashirakawa?" Koizumi leaned closer. "What is it you see?"

Chiyuri still locked eyes with Yakumo, but let it go. "I don't know what it is that causes you to go on the incident. I do know that you aren't brought in - that it's of your own will and determination, and that you won't come back. None of you do. I can only see bits and pieces of what happens, and not the full story. But I do see the end of it all."

"That can't be right." That was Asahina. "The future you're seeing isn't set. What you're seeing isn't a set future." She placed her hand on her chest. "I'm still here, which means that such an outcome hasn't happened."

"Then it's possible it's a mere split of the timeline," Nagato spoke up. "One such that its trigger hasn't been met yet. If it does activate, then it's possible the future will cease."

"Look, I'm just an Esper ." Chiyuri shook her head. "Obviously. I-I don't really know too much of timelines, and me and the professor don't mess with those things. Too complicated. I've made the decision that I'll be present for this, but even after deciding as such, I'm not in those premonitions. I guess...what I'm seeing is just presented to me in a vanilla state. The only thing set, Brigade, is the end result - a world bathed in fire. But since Miss Asahina is still here, that future obviously hasn't happened." She rubbed her chin. "Hmm. Though I suppose if it comes closer, you might fade away or something as the future starts to cease."

I finally brought myself to speak. "Anything else? What exactly happens?" I almost started to say it myself, my own dream. But on the off chance. The absolute off chance it wasn't the same, I didn't want to scare anyone into such a scenario. I was still clinging to hope, as stupid as it is. I should really know better by now, you know?

"I keep seeing it, at the end." Chiyuri's eyes glazed with a deep fear. She was slightly shaking, her stare there, but yet not there. She took a long, deep breath.

A world of fire, created by a creature of terrible power.

...A yellow and black nuclear symbol...

...That's what ends everything...

...A creature, a youkai with wings, that carries a nuclear symbol...

...A nuclear youkai...

...Just annihilates everyone and everything...

...Nothing survives, not human, nor youkai...

...The world is reduced to a nuclear wasteland where nothing survives, reduced to a dead and sterile rock of fire...

Everything we know is gone in an instant. Humanity and youkai alike are erased by this one creature.

...Damn it all. This was probably, without a doubt, the absolute last thing I needed. I wanted to be wrong so badly. Just for that dream to be a nightmare. And it's real. Damn it it's real.

"Kyon?" It was Nagato - she had noticed my reactions.

"What?" asked Chiyuri. "What is it?"

This is actually going to happen, isn't it? This...can't be avoided. I...I had a premonition. I should be happy that I had a moment of paranormal power, even if it was solely due to Gensokyo's influence. But why couldn't it be for something good? Something not concerning the end of the world? Why? Why this?

I took a deep breath. Well, several ones. It took me a while to get rid of the tension in my entire body. Before I could say it.

Asahina was holding back sobs, Koizumi comforting her. Everyone looked as numb as I felt after I told them what I had dreamt. My gaze went over everyone, even Ran and Chen - they were the same.

Interesting that it was different. My end of the world happened at the SDM, regarding such a creature. Hers just ended in nuclear Armageddon.

...But Yukari...

Yukari was the only one who hadn't shown surprise. Well, she did at first, but then she just got this impassive look on her face. "You know this incident, don't you?"

Yukari, who had avoided everyone's gaze, finally looked to me.

I could tell. She knew.

"What is it?" I almost got up but then I remembered I was in a car. I settled for forcibly moving, sitting down next to her. Sorry, Chen. I wanted to be right at Yukari's face over this. "You know what this is, don't you? When Chiyuri said it, you instantly knew. I saw, especially when we described this creature!"

Yukari just lowered her eyes again. With a slight motion of her hand, Ran gave her the champagne, which Yukari downed. Sighing after finishing it, the demon glossed over everyone present - she looked tired.

I, however, was not in any mood for anything. I didn't want any of her games, any of her weirdness. I wanted her to be serious here. I leaned closer to her. "Yukari, this is too big of a coincidence. It's not exactly the same, but these two dreams or whatever they are are too similar to be a damn coincidence. You need to tell us what this is if it is really something that'll happen. You know, don't you?."

"It's in 2008. In four years, during the winter, there will be an incident that begins in the underground. It contains the youkai in question. She is the instigator."

It really is going to happen. Holy crap.

"Can't you stop it? Prevent it?"

"That's the thing. I recently did a checkup on events, even in the future, and nothing was different." She handed the empty glass to Ran. "And besides, if I prevented this incident from occurring, it would drastically change the landscape of the future of Gensokyo. The timeline would go astray.

"Excuse me?" I felt a deep anger rising. "You want to allow this to happen?"

"It's more complicated than you think, human. You need to stop being short sighted and see the big picture. This incident...it sets off a chain reaction, which leads to the incident after it, and the one after that. Those will introduce some really important and powerful people that will become essential to Gensokyo. It's-" She paused, obviously not wanting to tell us too much, but she still looked like she wanted to explain herself. "I don't want to give away too much, but two especially important religious figures will emerge via those incidents. One being an old friend."

Old friend...religious figure. I just threw it out, because it was all I could think of, and it was the only 'old religious friend' that I knew of Yukari's. "That wouldn't be Byakuren, would it?"

Yukari gave a small smile. "You really are quick to pick up on things, aren't you?" She leaned back. "Yes, her. In a few years, her time will come. She becomes a major player in Gensokyo, even building a Buddhist temple at the outskirts of the human village. This is important, because her crew are made up of youkai, and Buddhism is a religion of peace. It will help ease relations between human and youkai, and quite a number of villagers do convert. Granted, fear is the best for a youkai, but mere belief can work to a degree. It won't make a youkai as powerful, but basic belief can be enough for survival. And there is also the work the temple does for the humans. You'd be denying a lot of help for humanity in Gensokyo. The temple does become important, not just for the village, but for more youkai as well. And furthermore, her building the temple leads to the next major incident, which concerns another figure, this one a Taoist saint, if you can believe that."

I'm having a hard time believing that such important figures will be involved. Seriously, a freakin' saint?! A saint. What is this incident?!

"If I completely stop the incident in question, then Byakuren can never be released, which means she won't build that temple, which will prevent the Taoist from entering Gensokyo, and it shuts down a lot more opportunities and allies. The future of Gensokyo would collapse." She finally looked directly at me, eye-to-eye. "And despite any objections you may try to come up with, these two actually become very important - they assist Reimu against a powerful threat to the human village in a few years time. So don't think for a second I solely have youkai or my own interests at heart here. This will save human lives." She leaned closer to me, her eyes like daggers to my soul - they had gone youkai, and I was staring into those black empty pits. "It is imperative you understand this. Will you at least know I will take actions on my part? Be that as it may, your own feelings, I will take steps as it concerns not just your world, but Gensokyo as well. Okay?"

That made me shirk back. That round of bravado that I suddenly came up with just went away. Weird thing is, yes, she did put a little fear into my body, but...I felt calmer? It was weird.

Really? What kind of threat is powerful enough that it needs a Shinto maiden, a Buddhist priestess, and a Taoist saint to team up against it? Must be very important for different religions to band together like that.

"Okay, okay, but I need to be satisfied here. That dream or premonition or whatever it was, it was intense."

Yukari's eyes had reverted back to human. "I understand your feelings here - but again, I checked recently. Nothing happens yet. This timeline is stable and on schedule." She motioned for me to get up and return to my seat so Chen could sit back down. I complied as Yukari continued. "So...yes, you can see that I can't really afford to prevent this incident from occurring. It has to happen. I can not stress this enough. The Underground incident will be one of the most important incidents in the history of Gensokyo."

"You're risking the end of the world just for your Gensokyo?" Koizumi finally spoke up. "You heard Miss Kitashirakawa and Kyon. I could see you dismissing this-"

Yukari gave Koizumi an angry look, snapping at him. "No one is dismissing the severity of this. And I just said that, didn't I? I was just there, even past that. The world still exists. Not that I don't believe what I'm hearing - two people having that kind of warning gets my attention. And if the world does end, then Miss Asahina here would fade out."

I heard Asahina whimper. The poor girl was shaking, but she managed to calm herself. "So, again, what we can take from such a thing is that it isn't final. That end of the world isn't set in stone." She looked up to the person comforting her. "She's right, Koizumi. If the world were to end soon, then I wouldn't exist. It hasn't 'happened' yet."

"You also don't understand what results from this, the further implications."

"What are you talking about?" Koizumi appeared to have had his fill of Yukari at this point. "What good can come from this?"

Yukari gave us a grin, like she was about to share something really good. "How about cold fusion?"

What? Well, that shut everyone up.

Satisfied with our silence, Yukari continued. "Gensokyo legitimately gets a cold fusion reactor up and running through this incident. It'll only be an experiment, but it will become possible. I...haven't checked too far into the future, but when I found that out, I knew it was something good."

Are you kidding me?! "That's just a theory. Nuclear power without the waste? There's no possible-"

"It'll happen within Gensokyo." From the way Yukari was looking at me, she was one hundred percent serious.

I sank back into my seat, feeling defeated. It didn't seem like Yukari was about to budge from her standpoint. We were at an impasse.

Ran had refilled the champagne, handing it to her master. Yukari sighed, leaning back into the plush seat. She had been pretty good at not letting her emotions get to her, but frustration was beginning to set in. "It's not so simple. It never is while running Gensokyo. Believe me here: I wish I could just throw it away, prevent the negatives of this incident, and be done with it, but events on the timeline have to happen." She clicked her tongue - Yukari was tired of repeating herself here. "Like I said, this incident is important. It creates a gargantuan chain reaction of events, and I've only scratched the surface of the implications. Preventing it from happening is out of the question, and that's final."

There was a slight pause, before Nagato broke the silence. "What is the name of the instigator?"

"She is a Hell raven youkai. Her name is Utsuho Reiuji."

So. We have the name of the destroyer of the world, if that does us any good. Also, it finally confirmed the premonitions/dreams. It was another bird youkai.

Another pause, and Nagato again spoke. "And?"

"Hmm?"

"Anything else on her?"

She sighed. "Long version or short version?"

Oh do I regret knowing this. You have no idea the regret I have. I should have torn out the upholstery in the seats, and stuffed my ears with cotton...or whatever they have in the cushions. It's foam, right? Yeah it's foam. I think. Anyway, because after hearing what Yukari had to say, I wish I did, because this whole thing went from bad to worse really fast.

I apologize in advance for the blatant frustration and sarcasm that I'll be showing.

Here we go.

Utsuho "Okuu" Reiuji. The creature in question. Her friends and her masters call her "Okuu". She is a Hell raven, evolved to survive in the molten core of the planet. So she's tough as nails. And yes, this incident takes place in Hell.

That's nice.

Okuu is the strongest pet of the Komeiji sisters, who live in the Ancient City, which is a city that is in Hell, obviously. Of course it is. And what do the Komeijis run? That's right. They own and operate that process of burning human souls that Nitori mentioned. Of course they do.

Oh goodie.

And who are the Komeijis? Yes, just who are these wonderful sisters in Hell? They are satori: mind reading youkai. Many have attempted to take them on, but due to their obvious mind reading which grants them the ability to see all incoming attacks due to psychic cheapness, all attempts have failed. Miserably. Oh, and the elder sister can reach into your mind and can copy any attack you have in your memory. Yeah. She's a mind reader and she can copy any attack.

Double goodie!

They were powerful enough to climb to the top of the food chain in Hell, and pretty much became nobles, aristocrats, whatever. They have enough power and influence to have a palace down there. They. Own. A. Palace. They own land in Hell. They rule that city.

Oh joy.

Do you get that? Do you even get what is being said here? At all? They are the ones in Hell who handle the burning of human souls. You know, the main purpose of Hell in the first place? They are in charge of this. I'll say that again. They are in charge of this. If you end up down there, they are the ones who send your soul to the actual fire and brimstone eternal suffering type deal.

THIS KEEPS GETTING BETTER AND BETTER, DOESN'T IT?!

...And Reimu and Marisa are to take these people on?! And according to Chiyuri's premonitions, the Brigade is too?!

Oh, and here's the kicker right here! I know you'll love it as much as I did!

I'm to fight these people according to these premonitions of Chiyuri's!

Yay!

...

Give me a second.

All right.

I'm fine now.

I swear - it's like everything I was hearing about this only made it worse. I know that my body just woke up on that bench not three hours prior, but I felt as tired as if I stayed up over twenty-four hours. I just wanted to take some heavy painkillers, lie down, and rest for a week.

Good Lord, Haruhi - what kind of imagination do you have that could have caused you to make all this up?!

At the end of that, I heard a clink - Chiyuri had dropped her glass, spilling champagne all over the floor. It didn't register with her as she was just staring wide-eyed at Yukari over all this.

"Well. I uh...I knew it was going to be bad, but I didn't know it was going to be that bad."

Yukari amusingly watched as the drink soaked into the carpeting. "Well, there goes the rental fee." She shook her head. "I digress. I know it sounds bad, but if it makes you feel any better, you will have some back up. You see, for this incident, only Reimu and Marisa are solving it. However, they have youkai support. Hakurei will attain perks from me, Suika, and Ms. Shameimaru. Kirisame will attain perks from Margatroid, Knowledge, and Kawashiro - the kappa. We will be in contact with them essentially by radio, guiding them throughout the entire incident. At least, that's what I saw."

"Can't we have more people involved?"

Yukari lightly shrugged, still keeping her cool demeanor. "I don't see why we can't add more people in the solving of this incident." She swirled her champagne glass, staring into it. "I always pondered why it was only the two of them, especially for the location. There are some incredibly tough youkai there." She drank it. "But adding in a few more people shouldn't hurt. I see no reason not to. I'm thinking..." She paused for a few seconds, staring out the back window. "Udongein, Izayoi, and Konpaku, and maybe a few others. Maybe Fujiwara, if I can pry her from defending the village for a day." Yukari turned to Chiyuri. "If the situation does get as dire as you say, then there should be no problem in getting more volunteers. I have four years to do so. I will try to recruit more by then, but from what I gather, those four seem to be the best bet. We should have no trouble convincing them to join us."

"You already have a volunteer." Chiyuri picked up the glass, appearing angry with herself over dropping it. "I'm going." She glanced at all of us, as if expecting some sort of protest - but there were none. "Look. I'm an esper. I deal with threats to the world that concern Suzumiya. If this Gensokyo is her creation, then I have no problem with putting my life on the line for this. And even if it wasn't..."

"I don't think I'd let a threat like this go if there was something I could do about it." All eyes were on Koizumi. He noticed this, and I guess he felt the need to explain himself. I've rarely seen this level of resolve in his eyes. "I've spent too long defending this world just to let it end like that, especially when I can do something about it."

Chiyuri was nodding along, agreeing with what he was saying. "Exactly. Exactly what I was going to say."

"I don't know what I can do for this." That was Asahina. The absolute fear in her eyes was apparent. "I don't know what I can offer, but anything you need, I'll help."

...even Asahina.

Since it appeared to be time for everyone to throw their hat into the ring over this, Nagato spoke as well.

"I've become too attached to this place, to just allow it to die." She looked directly at me, her lips slightly pursing. "I do not wish to see it end."

All I could do was slowly nod at that.

I knew it was my turn.

This is what I wanted, wasn't it? To have such a predicament. To be able to save the world. But did it have to be a nuclear threat? Did it really have to be that?

Despite that, I nodded in response. "I've been through too much just for that to happen." And that was all I could say.

"You want to know something funny? I was hoping for a reprieve after this." Yukari let out a long sigh. "After this night, this final dealing with the Endless Night, I wanted some time to rest, at least until the next incident. And now?" She scoffed. "Now I hear that the most important incident in the forseeable future may be tainted and be a complete danger to not just Gensokyo, but Earth." She then cracked a smile. "Well, it was always a danger, but not to that level." She closed her eyes, rubbing her temples. "Ah, damn it all." Looking over us again, she lightly frowned. "I will do what I can on my part. I just can't be a direct part of it."

"Why not, exactly?"

"Because, Kyon, the Komeiji's and I have a...history. I'm kind of not allowed to have much to do with down there." She twirled her hair. "I'm banned, so to speak. I don't even know much of what has been going on for over a century down there. According to Suika, however, you do have an advantage in that Danmaku has spread underground, but realize that underground youkai are exceptionally tough."

Nagato had crossed her arms. 'You think Suou will have something to do with this?'

"That would be my bet. She'll make this situation worse. Thing is, even I can't find her." Yukari leaned back in her seat again. "I will tell you this - I see her any time from this point on, I'm ending her, especially if she has something to do with this. Above all other incidents, we can't allow Haruhi or Sasaki to be involved in this particular one. It would be extraordinarily dangerous."

"You mean besides the obvious?" I asked.

"Well, yes, but..." Yukari sighed. The look on her face said it all - what she was about to say was really bad. "You see, Okuu will..." Yukari closed her eyes.

"What? What is it?"

"Okuu will be able to absorb Gods. She doesn't have that ability yet, so she isn't much of a threat, but she will when that time comes around."

I felt like I got punched in the gut. Are you kidding me?! It was amazing, really. I thought all of this couldn't get any worse, and I kept being proven wrong.

"Look, I can understand your apprehensiveness about this, as I share it myself. Under no circumstances can we allow the worst situation that can happen actually happen. Because if it did, nobody would stand a chance. Okuu would have infinite power if she absorbed Sasaki and Haruhi. She would become a perfect god."

Nothing else was said, because I know nobody could have had anything to say after that. It wasn't long before we stopped a block from my house, my bike unloaded, and I was left there in a daze. I don't even remember getting home, as pretty much the next instant I found myself taking steps outside my front yard.

I silently went to my room, and I stood there, looking out the window, feeling numb. I didn't even care that I was soaked from the rain.

My thoughts went back to those two cities again. I thought it was weird that I had such a mental image in my head as I stood over Suou a month ago. Damn premonitions.

I'm not going to die. I refuse. Hell - I thought the world would end at the turn of the millennium, like so many people, but we made it. Just another day, another sunrise, and everything was the same.

With everybody we have backing the brigade, and the girls of Gensokyo...how can we possibly lose?

You had the same thought when you went up against Yuyuko. You made it out on the skin of your teeth. You had the same thought when you went into Eintei. You only survived due to a serendipitous vengeful ghost. You thought Remilia, Sakuya, and Alice stood a chance against Mokou...

Yet I'm still here, Jackass. We all are. United, we can't possibly lose. We have an immortal on our side, for crying out loud. She can hang with Remilia in a fight, and she can't stay dead. We have a sniper. A witch. A puppeteer. A samurai. An instant killing ghost. A vampire. A vampire hunter. A demon. A holy warrior miko. An esper. A data entity. And me. I can heal them up as their white mage.

Which is what I was, pretty much. I was the white mage of the group. I'll admit it. There is nothing wrong with being a white mage - we're important, after all.

You still got captured. All of you. You only survived every time in Gensokyo via luck, and luck runs out, sooner or later.

I refuse to believe that. We can do this. Whatever comes down our way, we can beat it. We have to. I refuse to lay down and die for whatever is coming.

You can't-

Shut the hell up. Yeah, all I can do is use my gift of healing, but it's enough.

"I'm John Smith. I've tangled with beings far more powerful than me, and I'm still alive and kicking. I've changed timelines. I stood up to the Ayakashi. I stood up to Suou. I'm a survivor." I didn't even realize I was saying this out loud until halfway in. "Just another challenge for me to look back on and laugh about."

For my family.

For my friends.

For...Haruhi...

Oh man above all else, for her. I mean, imagine. If something that can absorb a god could get it's hands on Haruhi, or Sasaki, or worse, both, that would be it. Game over.

I will not end my story there. I will not allow the story of humanity to end with me. We've come too far, as have I, to just be wiped out by a single youkai.

I'm going to be there for it. It's my destiny.

And I refuse to let it all end.

I scoffed. I never had this much of foresight for events down the line, but whatever.

It came down on me. I'm going to be there at ground zero for the end of the world, and I'll be giving it my all to make sure it doesn't go through.

I thought I'd be shaking with that thought - that I would be right there for the beginning of the end, because that's what was happening ever since I heard about it. But standing there...it was strangely calming, almost energizing. Because I do have confidence in those around me, and myself.

I had asked to be thrust into such a situation, and now I know I will be.

"I'll do it. Whatever it takes, I'll do it."

I felt so righteous.

I furrowed my brow. Wait a second...

We have a few years to prepare. An unstoppable creature is coming and we have a few years to prepare, to train. And I can heal people. I've heard of this story before.

I frowned. Oh my God I'm Krillin during the Android saga. Are you kidding me?! Well, Krillin used the Sentou beans. I have my Paranormal Border. My heart sank though, as I realized I pretty much was playing the role of Krillin. And yeah, of course I'm a fan of Dragon Ball Z. I'm a living, breathing Japanese male, after all.

Actually...actually that's a rather close comparison. The Android saga began, but lead to the Cell saga.

For those that don't know, the Android saga concerned the protagonists having a few years to prepare for two powerful androids who show up and kill everyone. But the Cell saga began during, as there was a creature who began absorbing life forms. The creature, Cell, was a biomechanical android himself, and to achieve his perfect form, i.e. Perfect Cell, he had to absorb both androids. Which he ended up doing, and became one of the most powerful threats in the series, even causing the death of the main protagonist, Goku.

I don't even want to find out what kind of threat this Utsuho will become if she absorbs both.

...Wait a minute.

So, she doesn't get her absorption abilities yet, but Yukari was specific about it being able to absorb a god.

So...okay, I think I know what happens. She absorbs a god and becomes powerful, a threat against the world. I wonder if there is a way to reverse the process.

Heh, well, in DBZ, Perfect Cell was hit so hard that he, well, for the lack of a better term, barfed up one of the Androids and dropped out of his perfect form. That would be gross and interesting to see in real life. Also, I can't believe I'm following a DBZ plot this closely!

I continued to watch the rain. It was really coming down at that point, making loud noises on the roof. Shamisen didn't like it - I heard him running around. Surprisingly, I heard no thunder.

The scope of this was overwhelming. An end of the world situation. It's like Haruhi said about the stadium. That is just a small fraction of humanity. Can you imagine all of that, plus more being wiped out?

It boggles the mind when you try to capture that thought. How so many lives can end so quickly.

It's morbid, but it's somewhat easier to let it hit harder when you think of the people you personally know, or have seen. Like..I don't know. North High. The kids in North High. Living their high school lives. Not knowing what is going on around them, that the world could end any day, that a group could uprise and force everyone to worship their God, or that if they aren't needed, they'll be taken to be a meal.

In a way, it's a winless situation for them, isn't it? And they don't know about it.

I envy and pity them at the same time.

I have to wonder - which is more maddening? To know the truth, or to not know the truth? The governments of the world do have a conspiracy going. Aliens exist, a demon organizes cooking teams to snatch up unwanted people, time traveling, espers, data entities, and a secret war going on that concerns two Japanese girls is the focal point of everything. The governments know this, and are a part of it.

Sounds like I'm a crackpot...and at times I wish I was...but it's the honest truth. Sadly, it's the honest truth.

In a few years though...

I envied them even further. What kind of incident is it? Something that Reimu, Marisa, and the Brigade can't handle? That we all end up dying?

I feel the need to explain my tentativeness about this. You see, I remember making the mistake of watching Barefoot Gen when I was really young.

In case you don't know what that is...it's a survivor's account of the Hiroshima bombing.

He survived the initial flash of the bomb by dumb luck, because he had bent down behind a stone fence when the flash happened. His friend standing there...melted in front of him, and was blown apart when the blast hit them. Gen had to traverse the city, seeing people affected by the radiation, and could only save his mother, while the rest of his family died.

I cried for so long after seeing that, especially since the movie was quite graphic as to what happened to the people who got hit by the bomb in the first place.

...a mother and her child...their eyeballs melted...

Even thinking about it makes me shake.

It took me a few years to watch it again. I became...I think fascinated is too strong a word here, but yes, in a way, I was fascinated by the raw destructive power of a nuke.

In reality, that's all I can say on the matter. This idea of a nuclear Armageddon strikes primal fear in the core of my heart, as it really should for the rest of humanity.

As scared as I was, though, that didn't break my resolve. I thought I'd be cowering at that point, curled into a fetal position over the knowledge. Now that most of the initial fear was gone... I wanted to stop this. I needed to stop this. Not just for my sake, not just for the sake of my family, my friends, or the people I love. But for the sake of the world.

This is what I dreamed for, isn't it? And now I'm actually in this position.

It all comes down to this, doesn't it?

Save the world, or die trying.

Four years. In four years, this will happen.

I'll have graduated from high school. I'll be in college. I'll...I'll be four years further into my relationship with Haruhi. I'll be...twenty.

I'll be an adult.

AUDIO RECOVERED [ALL YUKARI YAKUMO]

DATE TAKEN: SEPTEMBER 1ST, 2004

Fine then, Ran. I know certain things have been said, that I've been saying certain things, but I feel like they're...wrong, somehow. It's like I have another memory of these 'facts' and they are just wrong, or just different. I don't know how to explain it - I've never experienced something like this before.

[Ran is speaking, unable to discern]

No, it all leads back to Haruhi and Sasaki.

I just have this hunch, this notion that's been building in my mind for a while now. This isn't right. Some dates and times have changed, as have most of the facts and truths. Someone created this, but... Gensokyo may not be a creation of Haruhi and Sasaki.

[Ran speaks something here - it's unrecoverable]

At least, not this iteration. Well, in a way, it might be, but right now, I only have a theory of what is going on, but I can't put it into words, because I don't know how else to explain it. Because two worlds can't be together. The laws of physics dictate that - two objects can't occupy the same space. Even closed spaces have some sort of friction with the plane of existence that they share with the world - and Gensokyo is no different. One of the possible reasons why some things are pulled in, that is, if Gensokyo isn't alive. But no, two things can't share the same area.

I don't know. I'm coming up with theories on how all this works, because it's bothering me. I need an alternate way of thinking, maybe.

[Ran and Chen are speaking here, unable to recover]

...what if...

Ran...we really aren't part of the same world.

[Long pause of silence, ambient noises occur]

Of course...

[Unidentifiable noises]

This is it. How could I have not seen it sooner? It makes sense like this. I just couldn't explain it with words, but like this, yes, it makes sense. Two separate things can come together like this.

The world of Haruhi Suzumiya and the world of Gensokyo were separate. Something...or someone...brought them together. I'm starting to think Suou was right. Too many things have been changing, and I have a second set of memories, like Suou said.

[Chen speaking, possibly saying something about 'clay']

[Ran speaks, it's muffled]

Ran?

I'll need to talk to Akyuu. I need to know what happened on the day Haruhi and Sasaki got their powers. I have a gut feeling that's where I'll find that 'other me'.

Yes, I know. The Human Village still hasn't forgiven me for that, so of course I'll take care when I go.

It looks like the Final Boss has appeared. And what a final boss. A nuclear youkai.

Yes, we're going there. ICB is going to Eleven. Touhou 11 is pretty important. Like Yukari said, it sets off a chain reaction for the next incidents.

The Meltdown is nearing.

The Meltdown of Haruhi Suzumiya.