Imperfect Cherry Blossom

by Supperdude9

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

30. PSC Episode 3 Selfless

When you have people messing with time, or even reality itself, things can get convoluted really quickly. Some things won't make sense until you are able to stand back and see the full picture, and that's if you're lucky. Even those caught smack dab in the middle of everything may fail to see the whole picture. Actually, it's more than likely that they will be in that situation.

Reality is, that this reality of Touhou/Haruhi is very malleable. Even in their seperate base forms, anything can happen. Reality can change, and people might not even notice. It's a game of manipulation, of forming that malleable clay into something that the molder wants, whether it be Yukari, Haruhi, or any number of characters within their respective series... Thing is, in this combined world, there are many molders. So it can be very difficult to get a final bead on something, because another molder might change something at the last second, and nobody would be the wiser if they didn't know where to look.

The rules are still there, but as you know by now, in either series, there are some people who can find a way to cheat any rules they come across.

=The following was originally written up by user Smooglii. This arc is a collaboration between Supperdude9 & Smooglii, and been brought into ICB with their permission.=

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

Smooglii

Supperdude9

---

Shinmyoumaru watched from atop the gate as Reimu left the Hakurei Shrine. In the distance, the human village was alive with danmaku, youkai running rampant across it as the village defenders tried in vain to hold them back.

What happened? What could have made them do such a thing?

Seija?

It didn't make any sense. Humans were among the victims of Gensokyo's order; the weak who suffered to provide the youkai with fear. There was no reason for Seija to attack these people, but no one but Seija could bring so many people together so quickly. Even Reimu had been convinced that it was her doing. How much damage was being done right now to the people for whose sake they were fighting?

What is Seija thinking?

Reimu's words came back to her.

"Seija lied to you. All she wanted from you was the Miracle Mallet. The inchlings doomed themselves, and the youkai had nothing to do with it."

She couldn't believe it.

Was Shinmyoumaru wrong about her friend?

Shinmyoumaru shuddered, and shook her head to clear it. I can't think like this. Reimu can't know for sure what happened. What can I believe in if not the person who fought beside me for my sake?

I've never seen her fight for only her own sake. There has to be a good reason for this.

Right?

---

Possible Spell Card

Episode 3

["Selfless"]

---

"You know, I realized that gods and Buddhas are no more than youkai. But youkai are hated, and gods are worshiped. That's because humans decided it should be that way.

Humans haven't changed since my days in the temple. How foolish and self-centered you are!"

–Byakuren Hijiri, Touhou 12, Undefined Fantastic Object – Stage 6 (Reimu A route)

---

A spectral wolf head zoomed past Cirno as she flew down an alleyway to avoid all of the youkai that were chasing her. After it passed, bursts of danmaku appeared in its wake, with many small shots flying everywhere as larger shots were launched forward in the direction of the head. Cirno couldn't avoid being struck in the small alleyway, and she hit the dirt. The werewolf youkai in the red and white dress laughed over her easy victory.

"How simple. I thought the amanojaku and her allies were supposed to be some kind of threat to Gensokyo's stability. Was the newspaper just blowing things up again?"

"Eye'm not beaten yet," said Cirno, struggling to stand under the shock of the danmaku's effects. "Eye'm stronger than all you guys..."

The werewolf hummed. "Well, you're just fairy, I guess. I'll finish you off quickly and move on to your boss."

"Cirno!"

As the werewolf began firing off danmaku into the alleyway, Wakasagihime rushed forward from the other end. She was too far away to reach her in time.

"Cirno, run this way!"

Cirno looked up at the incoming shots and grimaced. She wanted to fly up and show her who's boss, but with so many youkai around and only one shot left in her camera, there was no way she could survive. She hated that she knew that.

"Eye'm not running!" she yelled as she ran away. The two met too late as Cirno took another direct hit. She cried out in pain as the shot burst into light around her.

Wakasagihime pulled Cirno close under the checkered cloth, bearing the cold as her body sucked the warmth from Wakasagihime's hands. "Are you okay?" she asked.

Cirno nodded. "Eye can... Eye..." Cirno looked like she was fighting to stay conscious. The mermaid put the freezing fairy on her back and flew upward to face their enemy.

"If it isn't the mermaid of the lake." The werewolf had stopped firing and was lounging in the air. "I'm surprised, you know. I thought you wouldn't hurt a fly. Do you still feel the urges from the last incident?" She grinned. "Oh, it felt so good to let loose like that, didn't it?"

Wakasagihime shook her head, showing her displeasure with the werewolf. "I'm not the same person I used to be, Kagerou, but I'm doing this for a reason. Those who abuse the weak must be stopped."

"I see." The werewolf, Kagerou picked at her teeth with one of her long, red fingernails. "Well, there have been some sentiments like that. In that case, I'll have you show me your conviction!"

[SpElL cArD: fUlL mOoN "fUlL mOoN rOaR"]

A solid sphere of danmaku formed around Kagerou, and she burst it apart into two waves of scattered red shots and between them, slanted waves of purple shots. The waves were so thick, fast, and close together that Wakasagihime had to fly at full speed to dodge them, all with Cirno on her back. She could have used the cloth to get through, but she decided to save it; there were a lot more spell cards coming, and for a Taboo card, this one was pretty easy. Wakasagihime knew that this was because it was the afternoon, and as a werewolf, Kagerou was only strong during the night of the full moon. After getting the pattern down, Wakasaghime brought out her own spell card.

[SPELL CARD: SCALE SIGN "RAGING WAVES OF THE REVERSED SCALE"]

This spell was chaos. Danmaku appeared around Wakasagihime in several wild multicolored streams, launching out from her like a turbulent ocean that threatened to drown Kagerou. Drown her it did; while it was only superficially strong and had plenty of gaps between the shots, the spell card overwhelmed Kagerou's senses and she was hit twice before she backed off.

Kagerou growled, clutching her chest. "What the hell?" She was breathing hard, and trying to stay awake. "I-I don't believe it. You were such a timid little mermaid..."

"People have this kind of side to them sometimes, too."

Kagerou smirked. "I guess you're on to something." The werewolf quickly shook her head, trying to wake herself up. "But..."

[SpElL cArD: sCrEaM "pRiMaL sCrEaM"]

"YAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

In flew another youkai, a teal-haired girl in a pale pink shirt and white skirt. She carried a bamboo-handled broom and had fuzzy dog-like ears; to be exact, they were the ears of a yamabiko, a youkai said to be responsible for mountain echoes. She was spewing danmaku from her body in two thick, impenetrable streams, slowly rotating around her and angled to hit Wakasagihime, who simply flew in a slow circle to avoid it.

"Excuse me!" The mermaid scowled at the raucous invader. "We were having a discussion!"

The yamabiko laughed. "Don't you mean a battle? Lots of people are battling today, so I thought I'd join in!"

This youkai was not one of those who arrived in the swarm earlier. She was actually a recent arrival to and resident of the Myouren Temple, whom many in the village knew for her excessive morning greetings. Her name was Kyouko Kasodani.

"Now, come on! It's not a real battle if you don't fight back!" She raised the broom in her hand like a scepter and pointed it down at Wakasagihime. "Remember, Taboo spell cards are only allowed against the amanojaku's allies!"

Suddenly, the area was wrapped in a translucent blue rectangular border; Wakasagihime was able to fly through it, but danmaku reflected off of it. Kyouko's shots began to bounce wildly within the rectangle, forcing Wakasagihime to keep her distance, and when the border disappeared, there were a huge number of waves coming at her all at once. She had no choice but to use her fabric to keep from being hit.

"Excuse me!" shouted Kyouko. "What did you just do with that? Items like that are against the rules!"

Wakasagihime responded by firing at Kyouko, who was too committed to her yelling to dodge properly and was grazed. Frustrated, but not defeated, Kyouko kept up with her spell card, building up and releasing waves of nigh-undodgeable danmaku. This time, however, Wakasagihime noticed that she could back up enough to fit through the waves as long as she managed to position herself in just the right place to avoid being trapped in the border when it formed again. It almost worked, until she found herself slowing down unexpectedly; Cirno, who had numbed her back at this point, had begun to freeze her body from being in contact. She was too slow to escape the border as the danmaku fire echoed off the inside of it and hit her and Cirno from all sides.

Kyouko laughed as the two of them fell down and bounced off of a slanted rooftop before hitting the ground. "Wow, I almost thought you were going to dodge that! Great job!"

Landing in the middle of the road, she walked over to where the mermaid and the fairy had fallen. "You're okay, right? It wasn't anything personal!"

"Well done," said Kagerou, gingerly touching down on the opposite side of the two bodies. "I suppose we can split the bounty on these two. I take one, you take one?"

"Huh? We get a reward for her allies?" Kyouko's eyes widened.

Kagerou shrugged. "Probably. They're rebels too, right?"

"Excuse me," said a voice behind Kagerou, "but if there's a reward for the small fry, then I'll be taking it." Nitori, the kappa handyman of the river, was standing nearby. She pulled up her cap with a grin and brandished a water gun threateningly.

"Sorry, but I would like to take them as well," said another voice. This was the little red-haired, red-caped youkai. Nobody knew her name, but some had seen her rising up with the other weak youkai in the village during the previous incident.

"Eh?" Kyouko was bewildered. "Well, if we cut them both in half, we can split them four ways..."

"Can I have her fish half?" said Nitori, pointing at Wakasagihime. "I can sell it as sashimi after I turn it in. That's good enough for me."

More and more youkai were showing up to argue over the mermaid and fairy who were just regaining their senses. Wakasagihime looked blearily at Cirno, who was awake, but down for the count and unable to move more than a little bit.

"Hey." The mermaid spoke quietly. "The camera. Do you still have a shot left?"

Cirno slowly nodded.

Wakasagihime blinked hard, trying not to black out. "Okay. Okay. This is going to turn into another fight. When they start shooting, try to punch a hole in their danmaku."

Another nod. Cirno didn't have any power left in her to grandstand.

Wakasagihime prepared herself. This was going to be hard and close; she was halfway to freezing to death thanks to Cirno, could barely move herself, and she would have to pull the fairy out of the clutches of several bloodthirsty youkai.

If you're going to jump in and turn the situation around again, Seija, now is the time.

"Screw this," said Nitori, pulling out a spell card. "I need that reward to fund my new project, and you're all cutting into my budget!"

[SPELL CARD: WATER SIGN "KAPPA'S FLASH FLOOD"]

As a flood of blue watery danmaku poured from the space around Nitori, the other youkai retaliated.

[SPELL CARD: FANG SIGN "MOONLIT CANINE TEETH"]

[SPELL CARD: ECHO SIGN "MOUNTAIN ECHO"]

[SPELL CARD: FLIGHT SIGN "FLYING HEAD"]

The air was filled with light and noise. Danmaku sprayed out from the battlefield in all directions, and as the youkai turned their attention away from their prey, Wakasagihime summoned the last of her strength, picked Cirno off the ground, and flew with all her might towards a curtain of danmaku between them and the open.

"Now!" she cried. Cirno snapped a photo of the danmaku curtain, creating a hole in it just long enough for them to slip through. If the other youkai noticed them, now they would at least be slowed down by it. The next problem was where to go. There was nowhere to which they could escape, and they couldn't abandon Seija, wherever she was, but neither could they fight anymore. The air was still filled with youkai and fairies, and she was back to freezing to death with the ice fairy on her back.

"Hang on..." Cirno struggled to speak. "Go... left."

Wakasagihime obliged, uncertain as to what Cirno thought was down this way. Could there have been a place that she recognized up ahead?

"Now right."

As soon as they rounded the corner, Wakasagihime found herself in the center of the village, face to face with a large gathering of fairies who had apparently just finished ganging up on and defeating a single youkai. Atop the youkai was perched a fairy with short reddish hair and a frilly red and white dress. She was apparently in the middle of showing off when the two of them arrived. Wakasagihime feared she had walked into an ambush and started to leave, but one of the fairies shouted out.

"Cirno!"

It was Daiyousei, one of Cirno's friends. She and several other fairies swarmed Wakasagihime, and once assured that she was not going to fight them, they turned their attention to Cirno, who was beginning to shake off the danmaku sleepiness.

"Cirno, what happened?" fretted Daiyousei. "We came here because we heard you'd been kidnapped!"

"Kidnapped...?" Cirno tilted her head. "Eye wasn't kidnapped. Who could kidnap me?"

"B-But some of the others said they saw the amanojaku taking you away! We organized a big rescue mission for you! We've been fighting all these strong youkai!"

The fairy atop the defeated youkai thrust her thumb into her chest proudly. "Not me! I joined in because it looked fun!"

"Huh? What?" Cirno's jaw dropped and her cheeks flushed. "But Eye'm... Aw, why'd you do that, Dai?! Eye don't need some kinda rescue! Eye was fighting beside her for you guys!"

The two of them explained the situation to the fairies as they recovered. Daiyousei bunched up her fists as they finished.

"You should have brought us with you!" she cried. "Did you know that Mystia, Wriggle, and Rumia are here, too?! They came because they're your friends, Cirno!"

"Not me!" said the fairy on the youkai again. "Well, we are friends."

Cirno looked at all of the other fairies. They actually looked worried about her. Cirno was starting to get embarrassed.

"Where are they?" Cirno tenderly got to her feet. "It'll be bad if they get beaten up because they did something stupid like think I needed help."

Daiyousei pushed her down again. "Oh, no. You leave this to us, okay? We'll be your army."

Wakasagihime chuckled. "Well, Seija did want us to gather an army of the weak. I guess we had one all along."

Cirno thought about that. "Huh... Yeah. Eye got us an army, didn't Eye?" She began to beam over it. "Seija owes me for this!"

"We need to find Seija, as well." Wakasagihime looked at Daiyousei. "Can you help her fight?"

"Leave it to us!" Two fairies appeared out of thin air. One had blond hair with three princess curls on either side of her head and a white hat and white dress with black trim and a big black bow. Pictures of moon phases decorated the bottom of the dress. The other fairy had brown hair fitted with a blue ribbon inthe center, and a blue and white dress with white frills and a starry pattern down the front towards the bottom. The fairy on the youkai flew down to join the other two.

"Introducing the Three Fairies of Light!" The fairy in red pointed at herself. "I'm Sunny Milk, and this," she pointed at the one in white, "is Luna Child and," she pointed at the one in blue, "Star Sapphire!"

"Pleased to meet you," said the the fairy in the starry blue dress. "With our powers, finding your leader should be easy."

"I can mute sounds," said the moon-patterned fairy. "Sunny can hide things, and Star can detect anything that moves. We'll round up your friends, help out your other friend, and no one will be the wiser."

Waksagihime smiled at the fairies. "Thank you. We'll leave it to you, then."

As the three fairies vanished, and the army of fairies lifted into the sky to join the battle in earnest, Cirno and Wakasagihime found themselves thinking that maybe Seija was on to something. After all, they were the only unified force in this fight. Could they make the youkai in the village into their allies by defeating them?

It was beginning to look possible. Wakasagihime looked over at Cirno.

"Hey, about earlier," she said, rubbing the back of her neck. "I'm sorry. I thought that you had joined us for your own sake, but you did it for them, right?"

Cirno's eyes widened in surprise, as though she had forgotten about the argument they had earlier. She shrugged and looked ahead, away from Wakasagihime. "Yeah, you better be sorry. Eye'm the strongest, so Eye'm the one that's gotta look after 'em." She started to blush again.

"They seem to really care about you." Wakasagihime wore a sad smile. "I'm envious. Hardly any of the people I fight for know who I am." She sighed. "I had no right to judge you like I did. I am truly sorry."

"You said that already," said Cirno. Her face was red, and she hid it behind her camera as she shuffled uncomfortably on the ground. She watched the swarm of fairies engage some youkai in the distance.

Wakasagihime watched Cirno as her gaze shifted between different points in the sky. She twisted her body around as she searched with the camera lens, eventually coming to rest on Wakasagihime, who raised a peace sign and struck a pose. Cirno frowned and looked away.

Wakasagihime pouted for a moment, and then chuckled. "You enjoy that camera, do you?"

"Eye dunno." Cirno shrugged, then lowered the camera and stared down at it, as if confused about something. "It feels different when Eye hold it."

"Different? Like how?" Wakasagihime tilted her head and looked at the camera as well. Even without Cirno's eye behind it, it gave a feeling of alertness. Although she couldn't understand why, she felt like it was staring at her all by itself.

"Like Eye wanna know about stuff," said Cirno. "Like asking questions and stuff."

That's unexpected. She didn't seem the least bit interested in other people before.

"So, why don't you? You never asked me anything."

Cirno puffed up again, regaining her pride along with her energy. "Eye don't need to ask questions. Eye'm already smart! Only dumb people ask questions, 'cause they don't know anything!"

"Ah, is that how it works?" Wakasagihime sighed. Clearly, getting along with her takes some doing.

However, Wakasagihime did not take her eyes off the camera. Something occurred to her. She reached down and touched the checkered fabric at her waist.

All at once, the fear came back. Wakasagihime became acutely aware of her surroundings, and was convinced for a brief moment that a stray shot might come their way and hit her. The moment passed quickly, but as she continued to hold it, she no longer felt like talking to anyone, and when she let go, the feeling vanished altogether.

These tools really are alive. Why didn't I notice this before?

She thought back to the battles she had just fought. She was afraid, sure, but the fear was her own. Did she not notice the tsukumogami's fear because of that? Wakasagihime looked back at Cirno and her camera. "I think these items might be somehow influencing us."

"Huh?" Cirno looked at the cloth with a blank expression. "Is that bad?"

Wakasagihime thought about that. "Not necessarily," she said. "Actually, there is something we could be doing to help right now." With some effort, she rose and stood on her tail, looking at their surroundings. "I mean, since everyone else is distracted by the fighting..."

A place with a lot of magical power... Somewhere there's sure to be more tsukumogami...

Her eyes settled on the direction in which she had seen the Myouren Temple. Wakasagihime nodded to herself. "As soon as we're able, we should go and have a look around." She looked back at Cirno. "An army of the weak is going to need a lot of cheating tools, don't you think?"

---

Okay, I did the portal thing. So... now what?

I don't know how it worked, but it did. I had opened up the hole, jumped down to the ground below, and managed to close it up by hand. It wasn't even a difficult thing to do, physically. I guess I just need the magic and the knowhow to do stuff like this. You know, if I spent some serious time in Gensokyo, I might be able to become a magician or something. I mean, Marisa was a normal human, as she told me one time during that first week. She didn't have any natural abilities, and became as strong as she was through practice and her own determination to become the strongest magic user in Gensokyo. I had learned that for people like Sakuya and Reimu, and the other supernaturals - especially youkai, that magic came to them naturally. For a normal human, it doesn't. She had to keep popping those mushrooms and doing weird experiments to keep up with everyone, and considering how flashy she is, she must use up a lot of magical power.

Tangent. Back to the portal, or whatever it was. To tell the truth, it was a weird sensation to be doing that, but it was awesome. Like I said, there was very little resistance on the part of the floor. It felt like peeling a label off of an aluminum can.

I was still intrigued by this, so I did it again, opening and closing. Yeah, it felt like peeling a label off, and putting it back was the same, like placing it back.

"Will you stop that?!" Kosuzu shouted that at me when I reopened the portal a second time.

"Oh, sorry." I quickly closed it, not wanting to put that poor girl through more than she had already been through. I felt bad.

However... where am I? I don't know where I expected to end up by doing that, but there I was. Lost in an opaque mist, with nothing to do but wander in a random directly.

This place is kind of spooky. The slight echo of my footsteps made me feel all alone, which I was. I noticed that I was walking on square stone tiles, so at least this was probably somewhere inhabited, but where was I supposed to go? Was this Senkai, or did I do something wrong and end up somewhere else? Yeah, that would be par for course in my life. I seriously had no idea where I was.

After a minute of walking, I debated whether to try making some noise. I didn't want to attract any attention just in case there was a hungry youkai wandering around in that spooky place, but I was also still too scared about being lost. Well, if I'm scared, then a youkai can taste it anyway and zero in on me, so screw being silent. I called out into the mist, hoping there was someone friendly nearby.

"Oh? Thou hast already come hither?"

Mononobe walked out of the mist so suddenly that I almost ran into her, and I just about jumped out of my skin. Don't do that! I placed my hand over my heart, trying to regain my wits after being startled.

She beamed at me, and bowed. "Welcome, Miss Smith! Thou hast located thyself into a most haphazard place, but it is to be expected. Shall I show thee the way to our most sacred temple, the Divine Spirit Mausoleum?"

I felt relieved as I breathed out and grinned at Mononobe. I was starting to get used to her archaic speech and exaggerated actions, and I was happy to see a friendly face after my experience in the village. Especially one that isn't blackmailing me or following my blackmailer. Then again, if she finds out I'm with Seija, will she attack me too? I started to get depressed again, so I pushed the thought away.

"Thanks, Mononobe." I motioned to her to lead the way. "Please."

Mononobe righted herself at once and her eyes widened. "Pray, do not my clan name use! Futo for thee is apt to call my personage, for we shall henceforth be sisters in the Tao!" She moved forward and put her arm around my shoulders, draping her wide sleeve across my back.

I had to take a second to understand what she said. "No, no! Sorry, I'm not here to convert or anything," I said quickly. I never intended to convert! Please don't tell me that's the price of using those portals! "I'm here for a different reason."

"Pray not a social call?" Futo's eyes narrowed. "A hermit must a hermit's life live, thou understandst."

"Er, no, actually, I came because I was being hunted by youkai. I think I might have inadvertently made the Myouren Temple angry, too."

Futo clapped her hands together and whooped. "The Boddhist temple thou hast riled? How novel! Thou must relate to me the tale! But first, the Mausoleum!"

Nice to see that rivalry between religions can be used to my favor. The enemy of my enemy...

Futo led the way through the fog, and it wasn't long until we came to a huge temple. The mist cleared as we got close to it, allowing me to get a good view. It had a three-tiered gold-colored roof, upon which sat colorful statues of dragons and phoenixes, and the walls and pillars were engraved and embedded with gold. On either side of the main temple were towers, also with three-tiered roofs.

Whoa. I had to pause and take it in. Okay, I'm impressed. A secret temple in a secret world. That is awesome. Gensokyo never fails to amaze.

This place definitely put the Hakurei Shrine to shame. There was someone standing out front, a girl with pale skin and gray-blue hair, wearing a blue cap with a star on it and a red shirt and black skirt, both with pink triangular frills. Her outfit looked Chinese, which I guess was to be expected from a Taoist temple. She did not, however, look like a typical Taoist, if only because she had a red and white paper charm stuck to her forehead and she was rocking back and forth on her feet with her arms stretched out all the way in front of her. It gave her the air of a bored child.

It took me a second, but I realized I knew what this person must be. Is that a... a freaking jiangshi? A Chinese vampire?! Jiangshi are more like hopping vampire zombies. Stiff bodies that hop around and feed off of the living.

Again, I paused, immediately deciding I didn't want to be too close to this youkai.

When she noticed us, she pivoted on her feet to face me, keeping her arms in front of her. "Ah." The girl was slow speaking. "There's an intruder behind you."

"An intruder 'tis not, fair Yoshika. 'Tis a visitor, one who doth seek shelter from malignant youkai."

This person, Yoshika, studied me with a vacant smile. My impression of her as a childish sort seemed to hold up.

"Yoshika Miyako be this one's name," Futo told me. "Servant to a friend of the Mausoleum she is, and when present, she doth guard against assault and infiltration. Fair boon herein, which might from any estate be accessed with the right knowledge."

"Yeah, I eat 'em," said Yoshika.

Yoshika Miyako. Wasn't that the name of a poet or something?

"This place... so, you can get here from anywhere?" I paused, thinking that maybe I can use this to my advantage. "Does that include the outside world?"

"Nay," said Futo. "'tis located within the cracks of Gensokyo only. A way to transgress the Barrier the Crown Prince hath sought, but there be an order to these things, and for now we art content to let it be."

So much for that plan. I was thinking about using the Tao ground portals to escape Gensokyo and ask Nagato for help. I wonder what she's like in the future. Did she become more human? If so, there might be a chance that she's gone by now. I hoped not.

Wait, prince? A Taoist prince?

"Who's the Crown Prince?" I asked.

Futo smiled. "Wouldst thou desire to meet her? Mayhap thy tempestuous spirit she might quell."

Tempestuous spirit? Futo was looking at me with knowing eyes. I wondered if she could sense how tense I was. It had been a long day, and I still had no idea how to deal with being taken hostage.

Also, she definitely just referred to a "prince" as a "she". What's the deal with that? Suffice to say, I was intrigued by all of this. I also kind of wanted to explore this cool-looking secret temple. For being located inside a tight space, there sure seemed to be a lot of room here.

I agreed, so Futo merrily showed me inside (the interior was just as lavish as the exterior) and asked if I wanted anything to eat while I waited for the Crown Prince to become available. Futo, I could kiss you. Since it was the afternoon and I hadn't even had breakfast thanks to Seija's rude awakening, I graciously accepted.

Geez, I haven't eaten for well over 18 hours I think? The last time I ate was right before Mokou set the dining room on fire.

Thankfully, there were none of my usual Gensokyo dinner shenanigans during my meal. It felt odd, eating by myself at a long table in a banquet hall (Futo had left me alone to assist her master with something), but it wasn't exactly a regular meal time. I did see a few other people around the place, mostly old men in lavish robes, but a few younger men and women as well. I spotted a ghost on the way in. Since it's called a mausoleum, I expected there would be more.

So, these are all Taoists? Does that mean they can all use that ground portal too? Man, that is one immediate perk that could reel the people into this religion. I mean, imagine - just join this religion, and you get the ability to teleport to anywhere in Gensokyo. Shoot, if that was offered in my world, everyone would easily convert. More religions need more perks like this.

I chuckled. If I ever find myself stranded in Gensokyo permanently in this time, I think I'd seriously consider converting just for this alone.

The food, in contrast to the environment, was remarkably simple. Vegan, no grains, everything carefully selected to enhance and calm one's qi. I remember reading somewhere that Taoists do eat meat and eggs, but I guess the chef on duty didn't feel like cooking for me.

While I'm sitting here enjoying this meal, the others are fighting back at the village. It felt kind of wrong to relax, but it couldn't be helped. I wasn't going to ask Futo or her so-called Crown Prince to ally with us; they were as likely as anyone else in Gensokyo to attack Seija. All I could do was accept their hospitality and try to get my thoughts in order. Besides, I deserved the break. I got freaking headbutted by Keine, dammit. Also, I almost drowned.

I had plenty of time to think. Futo didn't return for over an hour, leaving me to ponder in circles about Seija, my family, what Gensokyo had become, and whether I could trust anything I had been told today.

Keine and Mokou seemed exactly the same as nine years ago. Maybe a little bit harsher, but that could just be because Seija had a way of getting under your skin. Cirno... It was a little weird that she was cooperating with us so easily. I would have expected her to try and put herself in charge, and then leave us to do the whole thing by herself. Did she change, or do I just not know her that well? Did Seija do something to her? That question had been on my mind ever since I learned that she was an amanojaku. A youkai who can bring out a person's darkest desires. Seija implied that she wasn't doing anything like that, but I can't exactly take her at her word, can I? Then again, if she could do that, would she ever need to do something like take my family hostage? I'm sure it would be more simple for her to manipulate me if that was the case.

Manipulation. Usually, it was Yukari who had all of Gensokyo wrapped around her finger. Yet, Seija had stolen from her and gotten away with it. Shouldn't she have been able to see this coming with that time travel device of hers?

...Yukari...

Something bugged me when I thought about Yukari. To allow Gensokyo to get to this point? That didn't seem like her.

So much seemed to fly in the face of what I knew about Gensokyo and the people in it. Reimu, a killer? Cirno, fighting for a cause? Youkai and fairies, oppressed by the people I knew and struggled beside? Instead of scarlet mist, stolen spring, or a fake moon, the recent incidents I had heard about were clashes of ideology. Was it because I was in the future? Did Haruhi's fantasies become cynical? It was like I was in a parallel universe. In fact, who was to say that I wasn't? It would have made sense.

No, there was no such convenient excuse as a parallel universe or saying "Haruhi did it." If I accepted that, I would have been running away from the truth: I was seeing Gensokyo from the other side. The side that wasn't affiliated with the "ruling classes," as Seija would call them. How could I have known all there was to know about the place and the people? Seija was right; I hadn't even spent a week's worth of time with Reimu. I couldn't possibly have come to understand her in that time. If she, or Marisa, or any of them looked at me and saw the woman named John Smith, what side of them would I see that I never would have otherwise?

I was looking at something upside down, and it took me this long to recognize it.

Perhaps the question I was avoiding most, though, was this: Is it okay that I'm going along with Seija? She's not a good person. I don't care if she's backed into a corner or whatever; taking three people hostage, including a grade schooler, is just wrong. She's probably going to do something terrible to Gensokyo. Am I supposed to sacrifice my whole immediate family and my cat to stop her? Is that what I have to do to do the right thing?

Of course, I also wanted to avoid the end of the road - being Reimu's enemy. Being on the wrong side of Keine and Mokou was bad enough. They were ruthless. Seija had made it clear she wanted to upend Gensokyo's society, possibly even dismantle the spell card rules, and to do that, she would have to take down Reimu.

Seija had said that she was backed into a corner, and at the same time, she was doing her best to back Reimu into a corner at her own shrine. Not only would Reimu have to make a stand, she'd be doing it on her home turf, with all the power of the Hakurei behind her, as well as any allies she'd be able to scrounge up.

The more I thought about the amanojaku's plan, the more assured it looked to end up in total failure, and the more I didn't want to be a part of it.

But that's only if she played fair. I was thinking about it all wrong - I was using rules and logic here. Seija's accomplishments defied the rules and logic of Gensokyo, which was crazy to begin with.

That begged another question - what trick did Seija have up her sleeve for dealing with Reimu? I mean, the items she gathered managed to do the job with some of these other people, but how was she going to set up everything to take down Gensokyo's number one? She had to have something else planned, and judging by how important she kept saying I was, there was a strong possibility that it had to do with me.

What is your endgame here? What are you planning? You said that I'm weak, yet strong. The only thing I have with me is the barrier, and healing up your allies is a plus, but what is my purpose here?

I again felt like there was something I wasn't getting, that I had missed something important. I kept going over what she had said to me, trying to pick it out of there, but I couldn't for the life of me figure out what I had to do with all of this.

Someone cleared their throat. I looked up with a start, and found that Futo had returned. With her was another woman of small build, wearing a purple dress beneath a long, elaborate white shirt with blue runes along a light red trim. Her hair was very light blond, with part of it styled up in an odd way that made her look like she had animal ears or a large ribbon. Her actual ears were covered by what looked like purple headphones, seemingly at odds with the rest of her outfit, although the way everything was arranged gave her a bit of a modern look. On the sides of the headphones were printed the kanji for "harmony." She was carrying a simple wooden shaku, clasped in both hands.

"Presenting Toyosatomimi no Miko, whilom Prince Shoutoku." Futo bowed as she introduced the woman.

...You have got to be kidding me. I could only stare blankly at them. Shoutoku? The Prince Shoutoku? Isn't he supposed to be an old man? Also, didn't he live during the fifth century?

Prince Umayado, better known as Prince Shoutoku, was a legendary regent from the Asuka period. He was also known as Toyosatomimi, meaning "abundant, clever ears," for his ability to listen and contribute to ten different conversations simultaneously. The man's exploits were thought to be too amazing to be real, so some people even doubt he existed, but... Not only does he exist, he's still alive? And he's in Gensokyo? And he's a woman?

Man, talk about curveballs.

And a Taoist. A saint, if she's the same one Yukari told me about. According to history, Prince Shoutoku was a vehement Buddhist. He helped the Soga clan spread Buddhism to Japan, and although he respected Shinto, he helped defeat the Shinto-following Mononobe clan. So, why is a Mononobe apparently her servant, and why are they both following a completely different religion? This was way too confusing, even for this place.

I guess this explains Futo's archaic speech. She must be from that era, as well. Also, if this really was the prince, then I was right - truth really is stranger than fiction.

"Call me Miko," she said, smiling at my confusion. "Might I have your name?"

"J-John Smith," I said. I was too shocked to bother worrying about using the name.

If Miko was surprised at my alias, she didn't show it. "Welcome to the Divine Spirit Mausoleum, John." She gave a warm, caring smile. "May I call you John?"

"S-sure." I'm on a first name basis with Prince Shoutoku now. I guess she's technically a princess? That makes two princesses including Kaguya, then. I'm meeting a lot of royalty in Gensokyo, aren't I? I wondered if I would get to meet the inchling princess I had heard about, as well.

Also, I seem to be on a first name basis with almost everyone I meet in Gensokyo from the start. Maybe that's just part of the culture here.

Miko strode over to my side and sat down next to me, looking into my eyes. "So, you have come here seeking asylum from youkai and the Myouren Temple? Pray tell, what happened?"

Right. This... world? This place is secluded. They wouldn't know about what's happening in the village right now.

"They came to the human village, a lot of youkai. They were after the amanojaku, but some of them started chasing me, and, well, I tried coming here."

That's not too far off from what happened. I'm not completely sure if anyone was chasing me, though. And I still can't believe I was able to use a portal!

Miko silently nodded at me, and focused her eyes on me. She took a few seconds before she spoke. "Yet... you wish to go back? You have to; something terrible will happen if you don't."

I opened my mouth to agree, but stopped myself. "How do you know that?" I asked.

"You told me. It is woven in the nuance of your voice, and in the way you carry yourself. You desire to return quickly, and to seek a resolution to a crisis." Miko looked genuinely interested in what she was saying. "A choice besides the cruel options you have been given. Am I wrong?"

Okay, this was getting weird. "No, that's exactly right."

She saw right through me. Is she a mind reader? No, she said she was reading my voice or something like that. That's kind of scary. I suddenly felt naked.

"It seems you will have to walk a dangerous path." She tilted her head, pausing, I guess to read me further. "Others seek to deceive you, and you know not who to trust." Miko readjusted herself in her seat so she was completely facing me. "Will you tell me your story? I am... intrigued."

I told her. What else could I do? I had no one else to turn to, and these Taoists were the first people to openly offer, if not outright help, a sympathetic ear. It's like Seija said: Us weaklings are only as strong as the friends we have, and at that moment, I didn't feel like I had any. I didn't tell her who I really was, or where I was from, but I did tell her about Seija, how she was being hunted by all of Gensokyo, and how she had taken my family as hostages so that I would convert to her side and be used as yet another hostage. I sort of glossed over the reason why I might matter to anybody as a hostage, but Miko didn't pry into it. I also didn't tell them the exact reason I thought the Myouren Temple might come after me; just that a strange woman had recognized me through a disguise and that I suspected she was going to either tip them off or take me in herself.

"So I used that Taoist portal thing to get here, and here I am." I nodded to Futo. "Ah, thanks for the food again." Futo merely bowed.

"I see," said Miko, deep in thought as I finished. "I didn't know there was an incident going on, nor of any order to use Taboo spell cards. I wonder what that shrine maiden is thinking. But who was this strange woman who you thought would report you the Buddhists?"

"If I may," said Futo, "mayhap the woman encountered by our guest be that person?"

"The bake-danuki..." Miko nodded thoughtfully. "More than likely it was her. She commands the other bake-danuki in Gensokyo, and skulks around the village a lot. Yes, it had to be her." Miko turned back to me. "She is an ally of the Myouren Temple, and a shapeshifter. Her name is Mamizou Futatsuiwa. I suppose the Buddhists would also be after the bounty."

A bake-danuki? In folklore, bake-danuki are the youkai form of tanuki, who transform themselves and objects into different things to trick humans and humiliate them. They're sort of a cultural icon in Japan these days.

"I think I understand your situation," said Miko. She thoughtfully rubbed her chin. "It is an unfortunate position into which you have been thrust. To ally with the one who stole your family, or to go against her and lose them." She shook her head. "Your other options have been nipped in the bud, and you don't know what to believe. I do not envy you."

Futo nodded solemnly. "Nor do I."

"I suppose." I sighed. "I don't know. I just feel like I should be doing something, but I don't know what. I'm kind of stuck in this situation. I've been trying to think of a way out, but I just can't. I want to turn against Seija, but I can't risk my family. No way I'm going to risk my family. But I don't want to betray my friends here, either." Seriously, this sucks.

Miko nodded, keeping silent. She glanced at Futo, then back at me before speaking. "Do you know the reason why I am the head of a Taoist temple?" asked Miko.

I mentally paused, not understanding where that came from. "Uh, no." I also wanted to take this time to find out about this person. "I was kind of wondering about that, actually. Wasn't Prince Shoutoku a Buddhist?"

Miko smiled. "On the surface, I was." She chuckled. "However, that was a false identity; a presentable face that I showed the world." She tilted her head. "You see, Buddhism is a handy tool for those who rule; it's a religion with an ideology about giving away what you have and overcoming your own suffering. It's a religion of complete selflessness. 'Harmony is to be valued, and the avoidance of wanton opposition to be honored.' In other words, it's perfect for controlling others." She gave me a sly smile. "And control others I did."

At least she admits it. "But in reality, you were a Taoist."

She nodded. "Not from the start, but yes." She shifted in her seat, leaning on the table with her left arm, raising a finger. "You see, I knew and could preach the values of Buddhism, but I myself could never truly believe in it. I was simply too selfish; what I truly desired was to escape from death." She gave another chuckle. "It is oldest fear of humans, and shall ever be its greatest."

So, you wanted to be immortal. Like Mokou is? I guess I can see the appeal, but Mokou regretted drinking the Hourai Elixir. And didn't the Fujiwara clan have something to do with the Mononobe clan? I wonder if Mokou knew these people. Well, since she was a street kid and was kept apart from her noble siblings, maybe not.

I can see why Taoism would be an attractive religion for someone who didn't want to die. From what I know, one of the main goals of being a practitioner is to to achieve extreme longevity or immortality. Wait... Something struck me. Are you telling me that's actually possible?

I leaned closer to her. "So, are you immortal? Did you actually achieve it?" Because if you did do it, then I'm seriously considering signing up for your religion right here and now.

Miko shook her head with a sad smile. "In spite of my best efforts, no. Not... quite. However, the point I am making is that I could not walk both paths; if I were to become a pure Buddhist, I could never achieve my personal goal. If I were a pure Taoist, I could never rule like I did. I had cheated for a while, trying to live both lives, trying to have it both ways, but it began to prove too difficult, and I was on the verge of losing everything. I could not realistically maintain an equal balance of both. Living two lives is difficult, even for people as powerful as I. Eventually, I had to choose." Miko slightly spread her arms. "What you see before you; myself, my temple, and my servants, is the end of the path I took - I chose selfishness over selflessness."

You lost me. What does this have to do with anything?. Seeing my confusion, Miko spelled it out for me.

"This is why I brought this up, Miss Smith." She then leaned close to me, clasping her hands underneath her chin. "What I am asking you is this: Are you selfish enough to risk Gensokyo's stability for yourself? Or are you selfless enough to sacrifice yourself for Gensokyo's stability? If you are selfish, you will work with the amanojaku, or you will try to find a way to stop her while saving your family. If you are selfless, you will let your family die, and let her be defeated. That is what I'm saying."

That's a hell of a thing to drop on me. It is what I've been thinking about, though, isn't it?

"Hang on one second. If I'm selfless, I'll let them die? How is that even an option?"

"Please don't be offended. You need to understand the current state of things. You don't know it, but the balance of Gensokyo is turning. It has been for a while now. I am partly to blame for this situation, on account of my role in leading up to the present state." Miko waved her hand. "I digress. If it overturns - if the spell card rules, the center of Gensokyo's order, are no longer enforced - can you guarantee that no one else will die?" She looked me straight in the eye when she asked that. "You would trade the lives you care about for the lives you do not necessarily if you chose to save the status quo. You are obviously not from Gensokyo, so ultimately, it would affect you less in the long run if you were to let it fall into chaos. If you try to have it both ways, however, you might fail and lose them both. Selflessness is accepting that something will be lost, and ensuring that what is lost will be dear to you. Will you preserve this hidden world, and the many lives within, at the cost of your family?"

"What if I don't fail? What if I find a way to stop Seija's plot and save my family?"

"Then you will be selfish," Miko smiled and gave me a shrug, "and in the end, you will be right."

This is great. Just great. I have a choice between two bad endings, and if I try to cheat, I might get the worst one. And this time, there's no one to help me. I'm actually fighting against Reimu!

Reimu... She seemed to think I would make a good youkai hunter. Like I had some kind of talent for doing it in spite of my weakness. I wish I could understand what that meant.

I had another thought. I didn't want to consider it, but... just in case, you know?

"Do you think it will be bad? If Seija wins, I mean."

"Me?" Miko closed her eyes and tapped her shaku against her chin, leaning back against the table. "Truth be told, it might not be. Gensokyo has no..." She looked like she wanted to say something more, but she didn't. "No, no real government to speak of. The rules are enforced simply because the reigning powers - the Hakurei shrine, the Yakumo family, and the Scarlet Devil Mansion, to name a few - agree on them, and anyone who disagrees is exterminated by the shrine maiden. Reimu does not see herself as a ruler, and opposes any formal law on the grounds that such laws would be written to the benefit of the author. However, it can be argued that she, with her considerable influence, is Gensokyo's de facto authority. Her opposition to the idea of an unaccountable power gives her an unaccountable power of her own." Miko paused to drink from a cup of water that Futo had set down next to her, giving me time to digest that insight.

Seija said the same thing. Gensokyo is technically lawless, but Reimu holds most of the power. So, she wasn't lying about Reimu acting like a ruler? Or are she and Miko both spinning this the wrong way?

Miko set the cup down and continued. "If Reimu and her supporters were to be removed from their positions, more powers would vie to fill them. The kappa, the rabbits, the tanuki, the foxes, the tengu..." Miko counted off youkai groups on her fingers, some of which I knew, and some of which I had never heard of. "Many others lurk in the shadows, pulling for political dominion over Gensokyo. Perhaps it would be anarchy, or perhaps someone would rise up and form a true administration." She stared into her empty cup thoughtfully. "I believe if that happened, it would be better in the long run. If we must preserve the youkai of Gensokyo through the manipulation of the human village, we can surely find a better method of doing so without so many powerful factions."

Are you really saying this? You really think that it could be better without the Hakurei? I was almost speechless at what I was hearing. "What about the Barrier? Without Reimu, it'll fall apart, won't it?"

"The Barrier requires maintenance, but there's..." Miko thought about it. "I do not believe there is any reason that Reimu must to be the one to maintain it. Many of her powers are derived from Taoist practices; it would not take much to replace her, if need be."

Replace her? You do know what she's sacrificed for this place, right? I've seen her do such things, even! "So, you would support Seija?"

"If it served my purposes."

That surprised me. What surprised me more was that it sounded sensible. It's not that I thought Seija was right; I still wasn't convinced that her social upheaval would be a good thing, and of course I couldn't forgive her for involving my family and turning me against my friends, but when Miko put it that way, it sounded like Gensokyo's balance was needlessly precarious, not to mention restrictive. Maybe I was starting to think about this thing objectively. Or maybe I was getting suckered.

That just makes it harder, though. Reimu is my friend, but how do I know she's in the right? For her, it's been nine years; what if she's changed? What if I didn't know her well enough from the beginning?

...I may not know her, but I do know she saved me. Whiterock had me. Whiterock had me, I was about to die, and Sakuya and Reimu both saved me.

I don't know her.

She saved my life.

Who exactly is Reimu?

She. Saved. My. Life.

I haven't even spent a full week's time with Reimu.

I'm alive and breathing right now because of her.

What a screwed up situation. Sacrifice my family, save Reimu. Save my family, sacrifice Reimu and everything she had established here. Attempt to save both... I risk losing both. And of course, at that point, doing nothing and walking away would serve no one, especially me.

I need to talk to her. Now more than ever.

As I was talking myself into accepting that maybe this situation was more complex than I thought, something bumped against the door. Miko nodded to Futo, who opened it up to reveal Yoshika, still holding her arms out in front of her. Her clothes were shredded to hell, and her skin was singed all over. She looked like she had taken the mother of all beatings, but she still had an absentminded smile on her face. I jumped to my feet when I saw the damage on her. Someone is here.

"There's an intruder. She beat all my spell cards." Yoshika slowly tilted her head. "Should I bite her instead?"

"An intruder?!" cried Futo. "Marry! To battle!"

"Where is she?" asked Miko, standing up.

"Outside," said Yoshika. "She said to bring her the visitor, and then I got beat up. Tojiko got beat up, too."

An intruder who came here for me, and beat up everyone in her way? It couldn't be Reimu, could it?

Miko pointed at Futo. "Go. I'll be right there."

"Aye, Crown Prince!"

Futo pushed past Yoshika, who wobbled back and forth like a piece of wood. Miko exited the room through an interior door without saying anything to me. I figured I might as well go see what was going on. If it's Reimu, maybe I can talk to her. Maybe I can finally get some answers!

I walked up to Yoshika, unsure if she would allow me to leave. If she really was a Chinese vampire, I didn't really know if I should get too close to her, in case she was in a biting mood. "Er... Can I go outside?"

Yoshika gave me a blank look. "I don't know." She paused, blinked a few times and said, as if remembering a forgotten chore, "Oh, there's an intruder outside. I should go fight her."

You... are obviously not the sharpest knife in the drawer, are you?

Then she walked away, zigzagging across the hall with her arms out in front of her. Her knees didn't bend at all, so every step took her in a different direction. Aren't jiangshi supposed to hop around or something? I didn't have time to think about that or wait up for her, so I pushed past as well on my way out the front door. As it turned out, yes, she was in a biting mood. She turned her head to "snap" at me as I passed, but she didn't make much effort to lunge.

Man, the people I have to deal with.

She didn't try again, so I just continued. Outside, there was danmaku scarring all over the stone and the walls of the temple. A person - the ghost I had seen before, wearing a tall black hat atop pale green hair, a long green dress with paper charms along the bottom, and two wispy tails in place of legs, was laying on the ground, muttering curses under her breath. Futo was floating above her, her hands folded in her sleeves, facing the temple's besieger.

"Announce thyself, intruder, and thine intention explain!"

Oh. Well, about time she showed up. It wasn't Reimu, but... geez. Either this could be good for me, or it was about to get really bad.

Like... getting hit by a train bad. Especially with how angry she appeared to be.

Hovering in the air in front of the temple, facing Futo, was a blond-haired woman in a purple dress and a mob cap. Her face was a rigid scowl, and behind her, several gaps were opened, each filled with innumerable eyes. The youkai announced herself and her intentions.

"I am Yukari Yakumo, and I am here to collect Kyon."

---

Fire rained down on the human village. Mokou's spell card was still going as she chased after the outlaw, but the outlaw didn't seem to care about fighting her. Mokou was being ignored, and that pissed her off.

Suddenly, two tengu were in front of Seija, dodging between the balls of fire. One was Aya Shameimaru, the newspaper reporter, holding a cheap replacement camera. The other was Hatate Himekaidou, a shorter tengu with a pink shirt, black knee-high socks, one-toothed geta made of unpainted wood, and a purple tokin. She was wearing a plain purple skirt, and had a garish gold checkered flip phone with a camera and a small brush-shaped accessory dangling from it.

"Ayayaya," Aya clucked at Seija. "Going somewhere?"

"My skirt!" yelled Hatate. "Give me back my good skirt!"

"Huh?" Seija sneered. "Y'mean that checkered cloth? So that's what that was. Sorry, but I don't have it right now. Go buy another one if it means that much to you!"

"You - You lost it?!" Hatate screamed and threw her hands over her head. "You're going to pay for that with your bounty!"

Mokou yelled at the two in front of her. "Hey, you youkai! Take this outside the village, now! Scram!"

Seija tilted her head back and gave Mokou an ugly smile. "What's the matter?" she said. "I thought you wanted to teach me a lesson?"

"Oh, I'll teach ya a lesson," growled Mokou, increasing the flames that covered her body.

Aya took advantage of the distraction to dash around the falling fire, closing in on Seija in a split second and unleashing a burst of danmaku. Seija flipped around and flew back as fast as she could, but the shots grazed her badly, and she couldn't outrun Aya. A fire shot grazed her as she reversed. It would be a bad idea to use the parasol now; the only eyes not squarely on her that were still looking in the general direction were those of the distant youkai and fairies, and if she warped too far away, she would be out of Mokou's cover. Aya could also catch up no matter how far she went.

Seija chanced a look around the area. Perhaps there was another border she could use? The humans in the area had all run away or were holed up inside buildings. It was just her, Mokou, Aya, Hatate, and... of course.

Seija suddenly dove to Aya's right. Aya followed her, but stopped short as Seija disappeared.

"Behind you!" Hatate shouted. Aya turned in time to see Seija coming in from the other side, firing arrow-shaped danmaku. Aya backpedaled right into one of Mokou's fireballs and was sent tumbling down through the air as Seija cackled. She wasn't done, though. Suddenly, she was behind Aya again, landing another direct hit that sent Aya ricocheting into another fireball. Seeing this, Hatate flew into the spell card. She couldn't fire at Seija and risk hitting Aya, but one thing she could do was end the rain of fire. A stream of danmaku came directly at Mokou, who didn't notice until it was too late. As the shots impacted against her, her flesh burned away, and after several repeated hits, her body burst apart.

Hatate recoiled. She just killed Mokou. Her danmaku had actually hurt and killed her. What was going on?

[SpElL cArD: "rEsUrReCtIoN"]

Blue danmaku poured out of Mokou's dead body at incredible speed, with almost no gaps to dodge through. The shots went a lot farther than her earlier explosions, and neither Hatate, Aya, nor Seija were able to dodge by the time they realized what was happening. All three of them went down.

[SpElL cArD: "fIrE bIrD -lEgEnD oF ImMoRtAlItY-"]

Mokou's previous spell card started up again by itself as soon as the wave had passed. Fire continued to rain on the area.

"Finally," said Mokou, who had already revived. "That one lasts a while, but it's no good if you don't hit me." She rubbed where she was hit, smiling.

Mokou looked down at the area in which Aya and Seija had fallen. She might as well secure the amanojaku now. If she claimed the bounty, all of the youkai would probably leave the village.

Hatate climbed over the thatched roof of a house, hoping that it would support her as she shrugged off the shock of being hit. She had underestimated Mokou, and Aya had just taken a lot of hits in a row. Hatate and Aya weren't exactly friends; they had been racing one another to capture the amanojaku and recover their items. Still, she was on her own now against that human. She wasn't about to let someone else have the bounty, either. She flew towards Mokou and hovered in her way.

"Huh? You're still going to fight me?" Mokou raised her eyebrow. "You'll have to deal with this Taboo card, you know. I'm not turning it off just for you." The immortal smirked. "So c'mon. Kill me again and eat some more danmaku."

"That spell card doesn't look so impossible. Not while there's so much cover around." Hatate gestured to all of the buildings around them. "Besides," she said with a grin, "my camera can erase danmaku, too."

"Hrmph." Mokou's smile dropped, replaced with grimace. Reigniting the flames, she cracked her knuckles. "Seems like everyone's cheatin' today."

---

Seija pushed Aya off of her, making sure she was out cold before running for cover. She had just managed to use her body as a shield against the danmaku explosion.

Hatate's phone camera had come in handy, too; it was technically watching the battle since she had been holding it in front of her, but it was at an angle that allowed Seija to take advantage of its rectangular field of vision to get behind Aya. Now Hatate was fighting Mokou, and all Seija had to do was sneak off and find the others.

As she dashed through the deserted village streets to and from whatever cover was afforded, Seija kept an eye on the sky. It seemed like the swarm of fairies had begun to dominate the battlefield, moving from youkai to youkai and focusing them down with sprays of danmaku. Some small youkai seemed to be working with the fairies, casting spell cards at the ones who wouldn't go down. It looked like the only truly strong combatants left in the whole battle were Keine and Mokou, with the former now on the defensive, having been overwhelmed by the sheer number of opponents she was fighting. It was the most beautiful thing that Seija had ever seen. She could feel the balance of Gensokyo turning. The weak were joining together to become strong, while the strong were splitting apart to become weak. She laughed as she ran, and was still laughing when she encountered Wakasagihime.

"Enjoying yourself?" asked the mermaid, folding her hands into her sleeves.

"It's just so freakin' funny," said Seija as she walked forward, her head down. "They can't beat me with their bounty. Not even if all of Gensokyo comes for me. They keep trying to beat me down, but all it does is make me stronger."

"You certainly are slippery," said Wakasagihime, sighing, "but what will we do now?"

"Isn't it obvious? We're going to gather up these pathetic youkai and get 'em to fight for us."

"Will that really work?"

"'Course it will." Seija stood up straight, her face turning serious. "In Gensokyo, the weak bow to the strong. In danmaku, the loser yields to the winner. That's how it works, right?"

"For how much we break the rules, we sure are relying on them a lot," remarked Wakasagihime. She watched as some poor tengu got overwhelmed by a baker's dozen of fairies. "At this rate, the spell card rules themselves will be declared null and void."

"So what?" Seija shrugged. Then, the amanojaku frowned at the mermaid. "Don't tell me you're having doubts."

"I'm just saying that we haven't won... uh oh." Wakasagihime looked up. Another tengu had found them; the white wolf guardian tengu, Momiji Inubashiri. She was wearing a red tokin between her white wolf ears on her white hair, a white shirt with long, detached sleeves, and a black skirt with a red flame pattern around the hem. She carried a round white shield with a red maple leaf emblem on the front and brandished a large scimitar.

The white wolf growled at them. "I don't know what kind of trick you pulled back there, but you won't be able to escape from me like you did those miserable crows."

Seija tilted her head back to look at the tengu above. "Aw, you were watching? You should've joined in. I just beat your better, so do me a favor and admit defeat so we can move on to more interesting folks, yeah?" Seija looked back to where Aya was and grinned. "From what I hear, that 'miserable crow' journalist puts up more of a fight than you ever could on your best day... guardian."

"You will regret mocking me that way!" Momiji crossed her sword against her shield in a battle pose. She snarled at her target. "I'll take your head for the honor of the tengu!"

[SpElL cArD: fAnG sIgN "cHeWiNg SaTiSfAcTiOn"]

Momiji sent out several lines of danmaku forward in a semisphere, forcing Seija and Wakasagihime off the ground. The shots were slow and far apart, but Seija didn't drop her guard. Sure enough, a huge number of red oval-shaped shots formed above and below Momiji in staggered formation, with a single line of yellow shots at the front of each, forming thick "jaws" of danmaku. Momiji swung her sword down and the jaws closed in on Seija and Wakasagihime. Seija attempted to shoot forward at her opponent to avoid getting hit, but the jaws suddenly pulled back and snapped at her, forcing her away. It seemed like she could control it. The jaws kept snapping forward, forcing Seija to keep flying backwards through the village.

"You really are just a dog, aren't you? Even in danmaku, all you can do is bite!" Seija stuck out her tongue, then gestured to Wakasagihime. "Hey, get me on the other side. I want to mess with her a little."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Seija looked back, pointing to the side. "What do you think I mean? Fly over there and keep your eyes on her!"

Wakasagihime obliged, and Seija appeared on the other side of Momiji. She whistled to get her foe's attention. "Here, girl!"

Momiji whirled around and snarled, flipping her danmaku jaws around to bite down on Seija again. She did it with such speed that Seija couldn't have dodged it-

"This way! Come! Good doggie!"

Seija was back where she started. Momiji tried again, this time turning her jaws around to snap at the other side just as they closed. Seija, however, dodged downward, and appeared above Momiji.

"Chasing your tail?"

That did it. Momiji pulled out a Lunatic card. It may have been a step down in difficulty, but this was one that she wouldn't be able to cheat.

[SPELL CARD: MOUNTAIN NOMAD "EXPELLEE'S CANAAN"]

---

"Found her!"

The Three Fairies of Light were racing across the village, checking every suspicious movement. Star's power was handy for tracking people down, but in a place like this with so many people, including all of the humans cowering in the buildings, it was hard for her to pinpoint anything in particular. Thankfully, they needed only to use their eyes; Seija was in the middle of a battle not too far away from their position. The youkai she was fighting had just switched spell cards, and was sending out huge circles of tight yellow danmaku amidst a spherical spray of red shots. It looked like Seija was having trouble keeping up, and was on the defensive. Curiously, the mermaid from earlier - whatever her name was - was also there, floating on the sidelines as if watching for something, idly dodging stray shots that came her way.

"Huh?" said Sunny. "Wasn't she back at the meeting place?"

"Really?" complained Luna. "She sent us to find her friend, and then she beat us to it? What are we doing out here?"

Star watched the mermaid thoughtfully. "Let's get closer," she said.

As the fairies crept invisibly towards the battle, Seija called out to the mermaid, who flew around the spell card towards her. The fairies tried to follow, but dodging through the edges of the battle while keeping close enough together to remain hidden proved difficult, and there was no way they could get near the battlefield itself. They hovered a ways from the two of them, close enough to hear what they were saying.

"You've still got that skirt on you, right?"

"Er..."

"The purple checkered thing. Apparently, it belonged to that shut-in crow tengu."

"Oh, that person. Yes, I have it right here."

The fairies watched as the mermaid reached behind her back with both hands and pulled a leaf out of one of her sleeves. The leaf expanded, changing shape until it turned into a large purple checkered cloth. She showed it to Seija.

The three fairies looked at each other. "That's suspicious, right?" asked Luna.

"Definitely suspicious," said Sunny.

"She doesn't look hurt anymore, either," agreed Star.

The three of them turned back and watched the mermaid carefully.

Seija, who had been separated from the mermaid for a moment by a wave of danmaku, flew back into position. "Good," she said. "I'll distract her while you use that to close in. Watch out for the sword."

Seija sped off, circling the tengu, before the mermaid could respond. She looked taken off guard, but then pulled a frown and flew after Seija. "Wait!" she called.

Seija turned over to look backwards. "What?"

"I reckon we should stick together. I have another plan."

"What, mine's not good enough?" Seija gave her an annoyed frown. "Fine, have it your way. What's your idea?"

"First, get as close as you can. I'll do the rest."

"I think we should do something," said Star as Seija flew in front of the mermaid. She pointed at the mermaid, who had slipped a Taboo spell card out of her sleeve and was hiding it behind her back.

"I've got it!" cried Sunny, flying towards the mermaid. "I'll show you how good I am at danmaku!"

In reality, Sunny wasn't that good. Two shots grazed her despite how much open space there was, but she kept flying until she reached the mermaid, just as the mermaid was lifting the card into the air.

"What the-"

"Gotcha!" Sunny exclaimed, grabbing hold of the mermaid's wrist.

The mermaid screamed and flailed her arm as Sunny clung to it, partly out of determination and partly out of fear of getting thrown into the surrounding danmaku. The two of them started to veer through the air, almost being hit, but the mermaid kept dodging even as she tried to dislodge the fairy.

"Get off of me, you little fairy!"

"Never!" shouted Sunny. "I'll hang on to you for the rest of time! I'll never eat, sleep, or go to the bathroom!"

Seija was now being actively pursued by the tengu, so she couldn't pay much attention to what was going on, but it looked like Wakasagihime was being attacked by a group of fairies. Just at the worst possible moment, too. So much for her good luck streak.

[SPELL CARD: STAR SIGN "SHOOTING SAPPHIRE"]

[SPELL CARD: HARMFUL LIGHT "MOONLIGHT WALL"]

Star and Luna were on the offensive, attacking Momiji with rapidly advancing staggered walls of danmaku led by burning balls that left stars in their wake. Seija took advantage of this and made pot shots with her arrows. Momiji found herself unable to avoid it all and took three hits in a row, ending her spell card. Seija stared down the two fairies, who waved at her.

"We came to help!"

"Yeah, the mermaid sent us!"

Seija looked at the mermaid in question, who was currently trying to pry one of their number off of her. Seija was about to say, "Is that some kind of joke?" when she noticed the Taboo card still in Wakasagihime's hand.

Luna and Star snuck up behind the mermaid and seized the checkered cloth from her other hand. The two of them flew away from her as she grabbed at it, and they pulled it apart. The cloth turned into a leaf as it tore down the middle, fluttering to the ground.

Seija looked Wakasagihime dead in the eye.

"Who the hell are you?"

Wakasagihime grabbed the edge of her sleeve and tore it, removing Sunny along with the kimono fabric as she changed shape in a puff of smoke.

It was a woman, brown-haired and brown-eyed, wearing a pair of spectacles and a long brown skirt with suspenders over a peach undershirt. She had two tanuki ears atop her head, between which balanced a large leaf with a hole in it, and a gigantic bushy striped tail flowing from beneath her skirt. A large bottle of sake was tied to her waist.

"Ah," she said, "I wasn't expecting that. So much for ending this quickly." She bowed to Seija. "Futatsuiwa from Sado. People call me Mamizou."

"Well, take a hike back to Sado," said Seija, pulling out a spell card. "Gensokyo isn't going to want you for much longer."

"I'm aware of your reputation," said Mamizou, shrugging her shoulders and shaking her head with a resigned smile. "Hate to say it, but I don't reckon it would be a good idea to fight you head on. You aren't known for playing fair."

Seija turned upside down and sneered at Mamizou. "You're one to talk, sneaking up on me in disguise. Is it okay when you do it?"

"I'll leave you alone for now," said Mamizou with a frown, "but you oughta know, the Myouren Temple's condemned you. You'll soon pay the price for going against Gensokyo's order." With that, she turned and flew away in the direction of the temple.

"Hrmph. Am I supposed to be scared of a bunch of fake pacifists?" Seija asked no one. "Everyone in Gensokyo is a hypocrite." She turned her attention to the fairies. "So, what's your deal? You're on my side?"

"Everyone else told us to," said Sunny, "So we're helping you for now."

"I wanted to try playing pranks during a danmaku fight," said Luna.

"We're friends of Cirno," offered Star.

The amanojaku slowly nodded, taking in this new information. "Huh. And all those other fairies?" Seija asked. The three fairies nodded. Seija grinned. "Nice. Where's Cirno and the real mermaid now?"

Star pointed back the way they had come. "Everyone's getting together over that way. We're going to collect the youkai and get out of the village."

"You treacherous amanojaku. What are you planning now?"

Momiji had approached while they were talking, another spell card at the ready.

"You're still here?" said Seija, turning over in the air to look at Momiji. "Didn't you see that bake-danuki run for the hills? The battle's over, little doggy. Go on back to your master! I'm sure he just opened a can of dog food and is waiting for you to come back home!"

Momiji glared at Seija and the three fairies, but lowered her spell card. "The tengu won't stand for this humiliation," she said as she turned to leave. "You will pay!"

"Don't drag your butt on the carpet when you get home!"

Momiji shook with rage, but still took off.

"So much for the honor of the tengu," Seija mumbled, shaking her head as she watched the white wolf retreat. "Somehow, that threat was even more pathetic than the other one. C'mon, fairies." She started towards the gathering in the distance. "It's time for the next phase of the plan."

---

Kyon? Did she just say that? She knows it's me?

"There be no one here by that title," said Futo coolly. "Thy quarry elsewhere thou must seek, youkai."

Yukari ignored Futo and looked directly at me, her eyes filled with vengeful flame. "You aren't supposed to be here, Kyon. Come with me."

Why did she show up now? Where have you been, Yukari?!

"Kyon?" Futo glanced at me, then back at Yukari. "Nay, intruder, thou art mistaken. This woman's given name is 'John.'"

"He is Kyon, shikaisen," said Yukari impatiently. She was tapping a fan on her hip. "And he is not a woman, nor does he belong in Gensokyo at this time." Yukari's eyes began to go youkai a little bit. "If he does not leave it soon, there will be consequences the likes of which you cannot imagine."

"Oh ho? Thou art a liar and a youkai. If thou wishest to lay a hand on a charge of my temple, thou wilt have to deal with me!" Futo pulled her body into a fighting stance. Several ceramic plates materialized above her outstretched hand and fell upon it in a neat stack.

Plates? That's a new one. I wonder what her power is.

"There is no need for that. Kyon will come with me of his own free will. I will take him to the outside, and see to it he is returned to his own time. Isn't that right, Kyon?" The look in her eyes was different from anything I had ever seen. There was an anger in it, and although I was pretty sure I knew the true target of her ire, I felt like she was suspicious of me, as well.

I stepped forward. "Yukari, I have to talk to Reimu. Please."

"You will do no such thing." Yukari stared at me like I was insane. "I don't know what you've learned about this Gensokyo, or precisely what time you are from, but I do know that if you stay any longer, you threaten not only the balance of Gensokyo, but the entire course of the timeline that I have spent years maintaining. You're risking a paradox!"

I was taken aback. "You won't let me talk to her? Why not?"

"Because every moment you spend here, especially around anyone you know, might cause you to learn something you should not know. Already, this incident is larger than it should have been - it shouldn't have been an incident at all. She wasn't supposed to be a real threat, just some rebel on the run, but somehow..."

"That's why I need to talk to Reimu," I pleaded. "Seija has my family, Yukari! I don't know where or when, but she has them, and she's threatening to kill them if I don't help her!"

That gave Yukari pause. She seemed to mull over what I said for a few seconds before shaking her head. "I see. I understand now. But even at the cost of human lives, I cannot allow you to threaten the balance. You don't understand what's at stake here, Kyon."

Oh don't you dismiss my family that easily! Don't you dare!

"How typical," came Miko's voice from the entrance. She had appeared in the doorway, flanked by Yoshika and another woman I didn't recognize. This new woman had blue hair styled in Chinese style loops secured with a large hair stick, and a white, blue-patterned vest over a short teal dress with a faint floral pattern. She didn't stand, but rather floated through the air, sitting on top of a long, transparent white cloth.

"Yoshika," said the new woman, "please stand in front of everybody."

"'Kay." Yoshika lifted off and flew into the space between Futo and Yukari. Didn't she just get defeated? Talk about demanding. She seemed to be fine with essentially being a meat shield, though.

Miko had donned a magnificent cape with a gigantic collar, purple on the outside and red on the inside. A black and gold dragon adorned the cape's backside. She also now wore an ornate sword and scabbard, the pommel of which had several out-facing prongs, making it resemble the sun.

"A youkai comes to my mausoleum and proclaims human lives irrelevant to her designs." Miko walked out from beneath the temple roof. "Is it any wonder why people hate you enough to rebel against your order?"

Whoa now - really? You're gonna antagonize her? I took a step away from Miko, just in case.

Yukari eyed Miko, her mouth starting to twitch. "You would do well not to involve yourself here, Miko. This is a sensitive matter, with a history of which you are unaware."

"I think I understand the general idea." Miko gestured to me with her right hand. "In any case, it is natural that I should defend a guest of my estate."

Something tells me there's more to your reasoning than that, but I'm glad you're on my side right now. Then again, I don't know if anyone besides Reimu can hold their own against full-power Yukari. Am I about to be in the middle of a massacre?

Still up in the air, Yukari extended her hand. "Come with me, Kyon. Don't selfishly trade Gensokyo for a few lives."

...A few lives?

I felt like I got punched in the gut.

A few lives? A few... a few... I began to see flashes of red. My family...

I bottled that up. Getting angry with her at this moment would not have helped.

Couldn't you help me? Couldn't we do that instead?

Miko turned her head to me. "It is up to you, John Smith. If you wish to go with her, I will not stop you. However, the Taoists of the Divine Spirit Mausoleum will always shelter humans from youkai who wish to do them harm."

Is this where I have to make this choice? I didn't think it would be so soon. I haven't completely thought about it yet! Shoot, what should I do? Selfishly hand Gensokyo over to Seija so that I can have my family back? Selflessly let them die to preserve a status quo that the weaker youkai are unhappy with? Or be even more selfish, and risk the worst possible outcome?

I've faced nothing but impossible situations since I got here. Though Seija, Wakasagihime, and Cirno were always the ones fighting. That's right, fighting against impossible spell cards, one after another, even though one direct hit would be enough to wipe Seija out. Is it my turn to risk everything on the tiniest chance of victory?

Well, what have I been doing every time I went to Gensokyo? I defeated a genocidal tree and a ghost with instant death powers using the weakest spell card known to man, youkai, and fairy; I defeated a malevolent alien interface with that same card and a danmaku grenade, and that time I was by myself; and if I have any say in it, in four years of my time, I'm going to defeat a nuclear youkai set to wipe out the world. Hell, I still have that card. I'll probably use it again. And... I have Asakura. I had almost forgotten about her. I wonder if Seija knows about that?

Shoot. Do I even have enough magic for the Asakura card? She's a Taboo level. I could whip out the Icicle Fall even when low on magic, but I didn't know if I had the juice to bring out my old classmate. I had no way of checking my magic. There were no numbers over my head telling me such a thing.

Not that I have any idea how I could use them for this. Or any idea how to do what I'm thinking of doing. But if there's one thing I've learned today, it's that no matter how impossible the situation is, I can always cheat.

What was I doing? I was so torn there, and it could have easily gone any way. I could have gone with Yukari, I could have stayed there with the Taoists, or I could leave and rejoin Seija.

Ultimately, there was only one thing I could do.

I couldn't let my family die.

I couldn't let Seija win.

What am I doing?

I really am selfish.

Screw it.

I'll risk it all.

I was going to be completely winging it, but I wanted to have my cake and eat it too. ...That's the saying, right?

I was not looking forward to this decision. It held the possibility that I would have to eventually face everyone. The worst part was that I would be making an immediate enemy of Yukari Yakumo, of all people. One would think that after what I witnessed Yukari do to Mokou, for me to willingly go against her... I'd be stupid and suicidal.

I guess I'm doing this. Why not? I was betting everything anyway. It just came a little sooner than expected.

I sighed. "I can't go with you, Yukari. Like it or not, I'm involved. If it makes you happy, I'll try to avoid learning anything that might change the future, but I can't go home without seeing it to the end. You of all people should know that's not my style." Especially since you spy on me.

Yukari stared at me. I could feel her anger and incredulity beneath her blank expression. Slowly, a large portal opened up right in front of the temple, facing us.

Large enough for...

Flashes of what Mokou went through presented itself in my mind.

Please, no train time. Please. I began to position myself so I wasn't directly in front of it, getting ready to dodge the possible incoming train.

Miko looked pleased with my decision. She took a step forward towards Yukari. "Miss Smith has spoken. Will you now leave our property, or shall we be made to evict you?"

Yukari just floated there, and I could feel her seething anger over my defiance. I knew what she was capable of, yet I still did this.

It's my family, Yukari. What if it was yours? What if she had Ran and Chen?

Yukari breathed out, long and slow, regaining control of herself. Thankfully, the portal she opened began to close. "This isn't a decision you should take lightly, Kyon."

"I know."

"Then why are you making it?"

"You know exactly why. I just told you. She has my family."

Yukari clicked her tongue, narrowing her eyes. "Understand, Kyon. Understand what you are getting yourself into. When I leave this space, you will be my enemy, and the enemy of all Gensokyo. Hakurei, the Scarlet Devil Mansion, Hakugyokorou, Eientei, Kirisame." She said that with emphasis. "I have to tell them who you are. All of your former allies, and allies of ours you do not yet know; they will all oppose you as a threat to our world's balance, and they will know it's you."

I took a deep breath, trying to rid myself of the tightening in my chest. "If that's the way it has to be."

This is for my family. I had to keep telling myself that, lest the regret completely take over.

Oh God what am I doing what am I doing. I'm actually doing this. Future Yukari was so ruthless. Something had to have changed her, or, again, I was simply seeing another side of someone that was already there.

"Will the Myouren Temple be among them?" asked Miko.

"They will," said Yukari.

Miko smiled, strode forward to stand beside me, and adjusted her cape. "Then count the Taoists of the Divine Spirit Mausoleum amongst the amanojaku's allies."

I looked at her. "What?" I gasped. Where did that come from?

Yukari's eyes widened. "Are you mad? You do realize who you'll be going up against, right? I'll give you one chance to take back that reckless decision."

Miko put on a defiant smirk. "The decision is made. Go now, and prepare for battle. But know this. When battle comes, I guarantee you will be on the ground before I."

Hoo boy.

Yukari's eyes went blacker than I could have imagined. "You don't know the world of pain you're all in for." She backed into a gap, glowering at me. I wasn't sure if I had done the right thing, making myself her enemy, but it couldn't be helped now. I was locked in. I stared right back at her as the gap closed.

There was a moment of silence as everyone stared ahead. I felt awkward. The weight of my choice was starting to press on me, accentuated by the fact that Miko had committed her entire temple to my cause out of the blue without even asking for their opinion.

What the hell did I just do? I just made enemies with my old allies.

I wanted to second guess myself, but it wouldn't have done me any good. This was a done deal.

I'm going to be taking them on. I was officially on the causing side of an incident.

I looked at Futo as she descended, trying to gauge her opinion. She had a grin on her face. "So, we art to return to battle against the Boddhists and their allies, eh? I scarce imagined such an outcome to this day!"

"It will not be a mere popularity contest this time, Futo," said Miko. She looked back to her temple. "There is much riding on this. Much we stand to gain, and much we stand to lose as well."

"Why did you do that?" I asked her. "Pledging yourself like that. We just met, and you have nothing to do with this incident. Is it just because the Myouren Temple is on the other side? I mean, I kinda got that you don't like them, but to go that far?" Why throw yourself into the line of fire with me?

Miko shrugged. "It is natural that as they join one side, we shall join the other. They have made several unprovoked attacks against us, and I wasn't completely satisfied with the ending to the last incident. Moreover, if the amanojaku wins, then there will be chaos. Something tells me that your blackmailer won't be as good a leader as she is a rebel." Miko gave me a wicked smile. "Someone more... qualified... will have to take up the reins." I could see the gears in her head turning. She was already plotting something, should it come to that.

You're already planning a Taoist Gensokyo. You saw an opportunity to grab for power. I was right - people in Gensokyo have their own damn agendas.

She must have noticed my reaction, because her smile widened - she looked completely unapologetic. "I'd be remiss to not take advantage of such an opportunity."

"I don't know if she'll just let you do what you want," I said. "You might have a plan, but Seija's a slippery, tricky bastard."

"Well, that's true." Miko stared back to where Yukari disappeared. "Still, we have more to gain than we have to lose." She let out a sigh, and then added, "The other reason is that I was impressed by the decision you made. It takes a lot of guts to declare your intention to fight all of the most powerful youkai in Gensokyo."

It's less guts and more stupidity. "I'm only doing this until I find a way to save my family from Seija. There has to be a way. I'm going to find it before it's too late."

Miko nodded. "I thought that might be the case. If you do, and you turn against the amanojaku, we'll turn with you."

What? Miko... This person... she is willing to back me up to that extent? She made enemies of everyone else... for me? And she's willing to follow me through whatever decision I made?

I didn't even know this person, and she was putting not only her trust, but the well-being of her followers on the line for my account?

I didn't know what to say. What could I say?

"I believe as long as we're on the winning side, we can profit no matter what the outcome of this fight." She approached me, and put her hand on my shoulder. "I... have my own gut feeling about you, Miss Smith. That you have a knack for pulling off the impossible." She gave me a smile. "I can not explain this feeling. You just might pull this off."

That's considerate of you, isn't it? And thanks for the vote of confidence. I think I'm starting to like these Taoists. Although, maybe I shouldn't; they are alarmingly quick to declare war against all of my friends.

Still... thank you, Miko.

"However," warned Miko, "you must realize that your other allies probably believe in the amanojaku's cause, if not in the amanojaku herself. You may end up betraying your new friends for your old ones. You'll be stabbing a lot of people in the back today."

Cirno and Wakasagihime. They believe in Seija's ideology, and by the sound of it, it doesn't matter that it was she who gave it to them. Whether that's of their own accord or they're being charmed somehow is another question, but...

I will have to betray them, won't I?

She was right. At the end of the day, I'll have stabbed everyone in the back. I will have betrayed everyone in Gensokyo in one way or another.

This was not a good day to be me.

"Don't overthink it. The decision is made, and now it's time to follow your intuition."

My intuition, huh? Miko's starting to sound like Reimu.

Miko turned to her followers. "Futo, Tojiko. Prepare to join the amanojaku's forces. Seiga, if you'd like to join us, please bring Yoshika with you."

The three of them nodded (Yoshika wobbled), and immediately set out. The ghost, whose name I gathered was Tojiko, had recovered from her fight with Yukari. I wondered if I should have healed her. I should really be more attentive about this stuff. I guess the floating woman is called Seiga? Seiga and Seija. That could get confusing.

Futo approached me. Those plates she was holding earlier seemed to have vanished.

Seriously, I want to know what's up with those.

"Wouldst thou prefer a more suitable battle dress?" she offered, with that smile I was getting used to seeing on her face. "Mayhap to bathe and meditate in anticipation of the coming battle?"

"Oh, er," I looked down at my clothing before pausing.

She can't see what I'm really wearing, can she? She doesn't understand.

Who knows - maybe it will be all right if I do this. They at least should know who they're fighting with.

"Actually, I want you to know something. Yukari was right about me." I removed the seed of non-identification, and Futo immediately recoiled in shock. Her movements were always kind of exaggerated, but this pose looked comical, bending over backwards with one arm up in front of her chin.

"Egad!" she cried. "Thou wert a man all this time?! To think I thought thee a sister! To think I offered to bathe with thee!"

Wait, that's what she meant? I would have gotten to bathe with her?! Maybe I should have... no! No, I have to focus! This is not the time for those thoughts!

...Later would be.

Miko's eyes shined. "So you are Kyon. I've heard much about you since I arrived in Gensokyo."

This could get dangerous. I shrugged. "Much as I'd like to know what you've heard, it might be best if you keep it to yourself. I'm actually from 2004, and I'm not supposed to be in this time, like she said."

"Thou art from nine years ago?" Futo looked like her mind was being blown. She put a sleeve to her chin in thought. "Belike we share more than I assumed. Out of thine own time!"

Yeah, it's crazy, isn't it?

"Wow. Nine years." Miko shook her head. "Nine years ago, and those incidents. I had the feeling that you might be able to pull off the impossible, and you have proven me right. Spring Snow, the Endless Night... Those incidents have become legend here."

What about the... I inwardly sighed. I did just say I wasn't going to learn anything I shouldn't have. Also, nice to know that my exploits are appreciated.

"Anyway, that looks like it is one of the nue's seeds." Miko's eyes were fixed on the snake-shaped thing in my hand. "I have heard that those caused the incident before mine. I assume the amanojaku stole that on your behalf?"

The nue? This was the nue's? Associated with unknown identities and such. Makes sense.

"I don't know if Seija stole it for me specifically, but yeah, she gave it to me. I'm not supposed to tell anyone who I am. I'm some kind of trump card for her."

Miko crossed her arms, slowly nodding. She didn't speak for a while. "Kyon... Now your story makes sense to me. I will continue to call you John Smith as long as you wear that, but - why that name? You know that hardly anyone is going to assume you are a man, right? Add to that, you look Japanese, at least to me."

"I sort of fell into it. It's... it's a long story, but basically it was my go-to fake name. An alias I threw together at a critical moment, and it stuck." You'd understand it if you knew more about me.

I offered to help Miko with whatever preparations she needed to make, but she told me that I was more likely to need to prepare than she and her followers. She was right; by the time I had bathed, used the toilet (like the Scarlet Devil Mansion, the Mausoleum had indoor plumbing), and dressed myself in a new set of clothes (Futo appeared before me as I came out of the bath, thankfully wearing a towel, with a modern-looking shirt, underwear, and some pants, claiming them to be from a shop on the edge of the forest), everyone else was assembled outside.

"Ready?" asked Miko.

"Ready." As ready as I can be for this.

I joined the middle of the pack of Taoists as we walked into the mists of Senkai. If Seija had survived that battle and managed to build an army like she said she would, then we would be walking into the final stage. Us weaklings who had barely any power by themselves, plus the Divine Spirit Mausoleum, versus all of the most powerful youkai in Gensokyo.

Somehow, I felt like we would win, and somehow, for the first time in my adventures in Gensokyo, winning felt like the wrong thing to do.

If I was going to do what I thought was right, I would to have to find a way to take a third option. A way to cheat myself out having to make a decision between Gensokyo or my family.

I just hoped that, if I held out long enough, a chance would show itself. A tiny gap in this impossible situation.

I found myself smiling at my situation for once. Gensokyo was a place of legends and folklore. If Miko was to be believed, then my own exploits had joined such lore.

Who knows. Maybe I'll live up to my own hype.

---

Everyone in Gensokyo knew about the Hakurei Shrine. It was, in some ways, the most important point in Gensokyo; it was the place from which the Great Hakurei Barrier was maintained, and it was the home of Gensokyo's human protector, number one youkai exterminator, and originator of the spell card rules, Reimu Hakurei. If the balance of Gensokyo were to turn, or be held upright by those with the power to do so, it would be here, at its center of gravity.

Nearly everyone Reimu knew who could fight was already gathered at the shrine when she and the two people with her arrived: The inhabitants of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, Hakugyokurou, Eientei, the Myouren Temple, and several others. The only ones missing were the Yakumo family, the Yama, the defenders of the human village, the people from the underground, the people living in Senkai, and the youkai of Youkai Mountain. Normally, Reimu was loath to have so many youkai at her shrine, but in this case, it was their best vantage point over the human village, which by this point had become peaceful once more. All of the fairies and most of the weak youkai had relocated to the Forest of Magic, so the enemy's movements were now unknown.

Beside Reimu flew Tenshi Hinanai, the young mistress of Bhavaagra, one of the realms of Heaven, and a celestial. She was clad in a white button-up blouse with a red ribbon over a white apron that had a black pattern of flowing symbols along the bottom and a rainbow-patterned lace of linked rectangular cloth pieces beneath it. All of this was worn over a simple blue dress with white frills on the inside and a large light blue bow tied behind her waist. She was carrying an orange sword. A black hat with leaves and two peach decorations on the brim sat atop her long blue hair, and her red eyes flicked between each of the people in the shrine below, counting them.

Tenshi let out a low whistle. "Wow, I didn't think you'd get this many. I'm almost let down. Are you sure this isn't going to be a one-sided battle?"

Reimu shrugged. "I have a feeling we're going to need everyone. Our enemy doesn't fight fair, so the playing field should be level enough to entertain you like this. I'd really prefer it if it was one-sided, though."

"Why play fair in response?" asked Reimu's other companion. This was another woman in a black hat, though hers was a fedora with a red bow tied on the front, trailing two long ribbons. She wore a white blouse and black skirt, with a white shawl with red frills wrapped around her body. She had blue-violet hair and red eyes.

This was Iku Nagae, a messenger of the Dragon Palace, whom Reimu had run into in the sky on her way to Bhavaagra. She shrugged. "It seems like you could just take her down right now by going all out. She has no useful powers. Why bother with danmaku?"

"Because Gensokyo doesn't work like that." Reimu gestured to the gathering of people. "If people start using their full power against one another, we put the balance in more danger. Her supporters would start using their own powers, and people would start thinking that it's okay to keep doing it. Everything we've built up would unravel. Danmaku is the cleanest way to solve it."

"But everyone's using their full power anyway," Iku remarked. "It's just that they're doing it with danmaku, and she's cheating to win. Kind of defeats the point of the system, doesn't it?"

Tenshi giggled. "It might be fun to try some new rules once in a while. I'd like to see how she does it, myself."

The three of them landed on the shrine grounds, and all of the youkai looked towards Reimu, at the same time giving the miko space. Reimu walked up the pathway towards the shrine, studying the people around her. Remilia had brought Flandre with her, who it seemed was attempting to socialize with the more powerful youkai. Or maybe it was just that the weaker ones were avoiding her. Lyrica had come along with the other Netherworld inhabitants, and was conversing with a group of tsukumogami that Reimu had encountered during the last incident; a koto, a biwa, and a taiko drum. It seemed odd that they were here, given that they used to be on the amanojaku's side. Suika had found her way there as well, and was laying about the front porch of the shrine. Reimu was relieved to see her, as she had wasted some time searching for her in Heaven. It was better that she didn't bring Suika back with Tenshi; the two of them would likely have gotten in a fight.

Reimu found herself staring towards where the Garden of the Sun had been, thinking how useful Yuka would have been in a situation like this. They sure could have used her sheer power for this incident. Or Mima's, for that matter. Her mind turned back to incidents past, and stayed there until she realized that someone was trying to get her attention.

Reimu looked down. The inchling princess, Shinmyoumaru Sukuna, was standing on the path in front of her, staring up with an anxious but resolute expression.

"Please let me speak to Seija when she comes," she said. "I want to talk her out of this."

Reimu crossed her arms. "That's a surprise. Isn't this exactly the same as the incident you caused? The only difference I see is that it's working this time."

Shinmyoumaru lowered her head. Her bowl flopped down to cover her eyes, and she spoke in a quiet but firm voice. "I don't want to be responsible for a disaster. I just wanted to get justice." She clenched her jaw. "Believe me - I didn't realize how many other people would get hurt. I never meant for the human village to get attacked!"

Shinmyoumaru's gaze raised slightly as she looked out into the distance. Reimu followed her eyes to the human village. The place where Seija had sought refuge from the army of youkai; the place where a great battle had just unfolded; the place where humans who had nothing to do with the battle were the ones to pay the price, being hit by stray danmaku and having their property ruined by rampaging youkai.

Reimu nodded. "If you think you can convince her to stop, then I'm all for it. I'd like to avoid a battle if I can." That was a lie, of course. Reimu felt like putting the amanojaku back in her place by force after all the trouble she caused, but she knew that if this could be resolved peacefully, it would be better for Gensokyo.

"Hey, I just got here," scoffed Tenshi. "Don't start looking for peaceful solutions now."

Reimu glared at the celestial. "Just covering my bases." Reimu nodded to Shinmyoumaru and kept walking towards the shrine, where Marisa was sitting on the front step.

"Only two, huh? Well, I guess Tenshi's pretty strong by herself, since she's a celestial 'n' all." Marisa waved two fingers at Tenshi. "Yo, Tenshi."

"I think we've got just about everyone we're going to get." Reimu continued her gaze behind her at the crowd. "Did you try Alice?"

Marisa's expression fell. "Yeah," she said. "Nothing doing there, ze. I don't wanna push her."

"Wasn't there another shrine maiden?" asked Tenshi. "I don't see those people anywhere."

"I asked them on the way to Heaven. The god there said she would act if she felt it was necessary, and Sanae..." Reimu grumbled. "I don't think we can count on them."

Marisa rubbed her head under her hat. "What about those other guys, ze? The Taoists from before? They're still around, right?"

Reimu grimaced. "They usually don't do anything useful when I ask them, and they'd hate it if I asked them to work with Byakuren. Still, I guess it couldn't hurt to visit Senkai." Reimu nodded. "It shouldn't take long. I'll be right back." Reimu turned to find a crack to open, but was interrupted by another voice.

"There's no need." It was Yukari Yakumo, flanked by her shikigami Ran Yakumo and Ran's shikigami Chen. The three of them had just come out of a gap behind Reimu, and they looked more serious than Reimu had seen them in a long time.

The murmuring and chattering of the crowd died down in an instant. Everyone went silent in the presence of the sage of Gensokyo.

"Yukari!" cried Marisa. "Where've ya been?! We've been lookin' for ya all this time!"

Yukari didn't answer Marisa. Reimu squared herself and looked her in the eye. "I assume you know what's going on. Why is there no need to go to Senkai?"

"Because they have declared themselves enemies of Gensokyo." Yukari looked out to the crowd, making sure they heard her. "On behalf of the amanojaku and her human ally, they have chosen to defy the balance and all of us."

Muttering could be heard from the direction of the Buddhists.

"Do you know something about that human?" asked Reimu. "The one with the healing Paranormal Border. Everyone who's seen her has a different description. We almost thought she was Nue, but Nue's here with us. We can't figure out why she might have Kyon's power."

Yukari narrowed her eyes, looking back at everyone else. She walked forward and spoke to Reimu, "You're not going to like what I have to say, and you may not believe it, but listen to me: That human is Kyon himself. From the past, and I don't know how far back. He has turned against us, and thrown his lot in with the amanojaku."

Reimu took a step back. Marisa, who had been leaning over to eavesdrop, nearly fell off the porch.

"No. That's ridiculous," said Reimu. She violently shook her head. "Impossible, even. And even if, why would he do that? And how?"

Yukari pursed her lips. "Seija has stolen my time travel device, along with a number of items, including a seed of non-identification. She's blackmailing him into helping her. I don't know what her exact plan for him is, but she's using his healing power to support her resistance."

"If she's blackmailing him," exclaimed Marisa as she jumped to her feet. "Then we gotta help him, ze! What's she got on him? We can just take it away and he'll be back on our side!"

Yukari shook her head, and raised her hand. "Easy, Kirisame. I understand your eagerness to help him out, but we need to think clearly." She let out a sigh. "With her abuse of my two items, I have no idea where or when this blackmail is taking place, and if Asahina or her faction find out that my negligence has put a TPDD in the hands of someone who doesn't understand nor care about the consequences of using it, there will be hell to pay."

"So you only care about saving face? You're not even going to try?" Reimu glared at Yukari. "I thought you had more compassion than that."

"This is an extraordinarily delicate situation. I will not risk the balance of Gensokyo or even existence for the sake of a few human lives."

"Lives?" Reimu exploded. "So you're telling me there are lives at stake?!"

"There have been lives at stake from the beginning! If the balance of Gensokyo-"

Reimu grabbed Yukari by the collar of her dress and brought her nose to nose. Only Reimu could get away with this. "The balance of Gensokyo is a separate issue! Kyon is our friend, and he's saved Gensokyo more than once! After what happened in the-"

"And now," Yukari hissed, removing herself from the shrine maiden's grasp. She loomed over Reimu, "He is our enemy. I spoke to him not an hour ago. He was perfectly ready to sacrifice us all for his own selfish desires."

Reimu's hands balled into fists. "Then I'll go and hear it myself. Take me to him!"

"I refuse."

"Then tell me where he is!"

Yukari turned in the direction of the Forest of Magic. "Where else? By now, he's with the enemy in the forest. If you want to try and talk to him, go ahead, but I don't expect that they'll just let you walk in without taking you hostage as well. This is not an enemy that respects negotiation."

The two of them glared at each other for several seconds. By this point, everyone at the shrine had a good idea of what they were arguing about. Murmurs began to run through the crowd.

"Did I hear that right?" Remilia, playing with the sword in her hand, had a sinister, humorless grin. "The amanojaku has dared to steal Kyon from me? Me? Oh ho ho. This calls for blood."

"Kyon fought on the battlefield with us, and saved our lives more than once." Sakuya angrily stared out at the direction of the forest. "After what he did for us, he deserves our help. Seija's gonna pay."

The others began to agree. "You defeated her with danmaku before, didn't you?" Yuyuko asked Reimu. "It seems she didn't learn her lesson."

"The loser in danmaku yields to the winner," said Kaguya, "but not only did she refuse to yield, she now relies on tricks and sneak attacks. Against someone who doesn't respect the most fundamental of the spell card rules, what can we do?"

Byakuren Hijiri, the head of the Myouren Temple, stepped in front of the crowd. She stared down Reimu and Yukari, a sad smile on her face, and said, "If the rules have been broken and danmaku is useless, then for the sake of peace, we must set them aside ourselves. We must make an example, that this never happens again."

Reimu and Yukari looked at the assembled leaders, and then at one another.

"We can't revoke the spell card rules," said Reimu firmly.

"But... in certain circumstances, I think we can make... an exception," suggested Yukari. She looked to the other heads of power. "Does anyone have any objections to such an exception?"

Nobody answered.

"Anyone?"

Still nothing.

Yukari looked towards the Forest of Magic. She closed her eyes and stayed silent for a few seconds. "Seija is definitely gathering her forces." She opened her eyes and turned to Reimu. "We might be able to fight them here at the shrine."

After several seconds of silence, Reimu nodded. "Okay, this is what we're going to do." She pointed at Remilia. "I want the Scarlet Devil Mansion on the south side, including the forested area." She turned to the Buddhists. "You on the north, same thing." Reimu looked up to the roof of her shrine. "I want Eientei up there watching the back and providing sniper support. Reisen, Eirin, any enemy who is dumb enough to end up in your line of sight, you put them on the ground. The rest of us will fight and be in reserve if necessary. If they move on the shrine, be ready for battle. If not, be ready to move out."

Reimu took a deep breath, looking out to everyone. "They'll be cheating, and if they have Kyon and his healing Paranormal Border, that means they'll be using him to bring back anyone we take down. Don't be stupid. Know your bearings, don't assume, and above all, pace yourselves." Reimu inwardly sighed, as she knew that most of the youkai weren't even going to listen to that advice.

Her eyes went to Yuyuko.

"If everyone is in agreement," she said, "and if we have no other choice," Reimu took another deep breath, "Yuyuko."

Yuyuko stepped forward. "I am listening," she said.

Reimu paused one last time, pursing her lips, waiting for someone to speak up about it.

Nobody objected.

It was what everybody had decided.

"Please use your power on the amanojaku."

---

This is shaping up to be quite the civil war, isn't it?

Tenshi's last name can be read as either Hinanawi, or Hinanai. A lot of their names could be read different ways.

READ AND REVIEW! Lady Yukari demands it! And show some love to Smooglii!