Intermission

It is one thing to live through a crisis. Crises happened all the time, and oftentimes the common folk had to hunker down with their heads low and pray that those qualified to deal with the problem were up to the task. After all, just because something terrible is happening didn't mean life just stopped. All those day-to-day problems that felt so miniscule in comparison didn't go away simply because they were now outclassed.

But sometimes the complexion of the crisis changes. Collateral damage is always a possibility, and is almost always made up of normal people just living their lives, and those affected feel helpless in the face of it.

For Keine Kamishirasawa, schoolteacher of the Human Village, that had happened to her twice so far.

The first occurred at the beginning of the crisis. Though she had not been involved in any way, shape, or form, a close friend of hers was, and despite being the sort to come out okay of any kind of crisis, this time her friend hadn't.

The worst part of it was that despite how worried and distraught she was, Keine had to keep her feelings on the downlow, had to carry on like everything was normal and display nothing more than the appropriate levels of concern. Why yes, it is troubling that some kind of rogue monster rampaged through Eientei (my friend was there). And did you hear what happened to their princess (and my friend)? My, my, my, it seems that the monster got away (with my friend). Why, who knows where it could pop up next, who might be its next victim (like my friend). Why, I hope those responsible for such problem can stop it before anyone else is hurt (please save my friend). Ha, ha, ha, I guess we're lucky to be safe here in the Human Village and not exposed out in the Wilds (like my friend was)!

Day after day, week after week of keep up the charade. Keine was accustomed to putting on a mask. She had lived a lie her entire life, after all. But that was due to a potential danger. Now she had to continue on knowing that something horrible had happened to someone she cared deeply about, someone that her friends, neighbors, and students couldn't be allowed to know that she was even familiar with, all the while gleaning what bits of information she could without making it look like she was anymore interested in the ongoing problem than anyone else.

And then as she read the daily paper as she always did, when she was certain that the incident would never be resolved and she would never see Fujiwara no Mokou again, the crisis became horrible personal. Again.

Even so, she didn't let it show. Though her heart was racing and her blood had run cold, Keine still managed to maintain an aura of calmness as she slowly placed the newspaper back on the table.

Her fingers still trembled though.

Arrayed in front of her were several weeks' worth of newspapers, magazines, and GPF reports, dating from the beginning of the Eientei Incident all the way to the Battle of the Garden of the Sun. Keine had started collecting them ever since hearing of what had happened to her friend Fujiwara no Mokou, hoping that some news of her rescue would emerge. Unfortunately, any further news on her had been scarce, and in time the papers stopped mentioning her altogether.

One other name, however, had just popped up. It was not a name Keine had been expecting to see, and reading it almost made her heart stop.

She had told herself that it was just a coincidence, that it was someone else with the same name. Some miscellaneous youkai that also just so happened to match the person's description while bearing her incredibly unusual name. Surely that had to be it. That person was long dead, after all.

But now that she saw the Tengu artist's rendition of the youkai in question matched with a highly exaggerated account of the first time said youkai had been a problem some sixty years ago, she could deny it no longer. It was her.

Which meant that someone had lied.

Keine slowly exhaled. Lies were commonplace; after all, she technically lived one herself. And as the teacher to the Human Village's children, she heard them every day, from students and parents alike. And to be fair, the liar in question had been a child at the time.

But that had been decades ago, and he had never bothered to correct his account.

She could let it lie, just assume that he had his reasons and ignore it. She had lived her whole life keeping her head down, avoiding unnecessary attention to her prolonged life and unnaturally youthful looks. Minding her own business was her business.

But as she stared down at the illustration of trio of bloodthirsty horrors, she knew that she could do no such thing. After all, this was her business too.

Keine carefully gathered up the papers into a neat stack, which she then locked in a drawer under her desk. Then she stood up, straightened out the folds of her dress, and headed out.

It was late afternoon, and the streets of the Human Village were bustling with women getting everything ready for the evening meal, playing children, and merchants trying sell what more that they could before shutting their stalls down for the day. A few noticed her and cheerfully waved. Lost in her thoughts, Keine only managed a small nod in return.

She took to the sky, sailing up over her house, over the village's rooftops, over the wall, and out into the lands occupied by those who didn't care for village life but still were considered part of the community.

The place she was headed for was an old but well-kept two-story house near where the Human lands bordered the Wilds. It sat at the foot of a grassy hill surrounded by a lovely garden. Keine altered her course, coming down to set down right in front of the covered porch.

Keine stood still for several seconds, staring up at the house. It had been a long time since she had last come by for a visit. Nothing bad had happened between her and the house's residents, no falling out or anything like that. Life had simply taken them in different directions, and they still stopped what they were doing to catch up in the rare instances that they ran into each other in the village.

But coming back under these circumstances felt wrong. In many ways the house before her reminded her of another house, one long since burned down. In her mind's eye she could see it now, with its peeling white paint, heavy double-door, and rows and rows of windows. In a way, returning to this house felt a lot like returning to the other. After all, it was the memory of that house that brought her.

Taking a deep breath, Keine ascended the steps. A gentle breeze was blowing the wind chimes next to the door. Keine stopped to look at them. They were in the shape of three children, flying beneath a full moon.

Shaking her head, Keine lifted her hand and knocked solidly against the door.

At first she heard nothing from inside the house and began to grow worried. Had the person she had come to see passed away? She didn't think so; she would have heard something if he had. But what if he had died recently, so recently that no one had noticed? Surely his roommate would have notified someone, but she was so unreliable that it was possible that she would just wander off.

But then she heard the sound of boards creaking as someone walked laboriously toward the door, and she relaxed. He was fine.

The door opened, and a pair of aged, narrow eyes peered suspiciously out. But as soon as they saw who it was the suspicion disappeared, replaced by a look of surprised delight.

"Keine?"

Keine smiled and waved. "Hello, Kohta."

"Well, I'll be damned! I wasn't expecting this! C'mere!"

Despite the seriousness of her mission, Keine gladly embraced the man. After all, he was the first friend she had ever had.

Kohta was in his early seventies, but he looked and moved like someone twenty years younger. His liver-spotted head was shaven clean and his short beard was white, but his body was still strong with lean muscle. Though he walked with a cane, it was more of a precaution than a necessity.

Of course, when it came to being blessed with lasting youth, Keine had him beat. After all, she was the same age but didn't look a day over thirty.

"Come in, come in!" Kohta beckoned. "I had just put on some tea."

Keine followed him inside. Kohta's house was comely and lived-in, full of mementos he had gathered to himself over his life. He had always liked to collect things.

"Oh," Kohta said, pausing after having passed through a door. "Right. Watch out for-"

Suddenly a humanoid shape swung down from the doorframe right into Keine's face. "Boo!"

Though she had been expecting the specter to try something, Keine couldn't help but jump a little.

Cackling with delight, the spirit swung around and fell from the doorframe, only to stop halfway to the floor and hover in midair. "Scared you!" she gibed. "Scared you…" Then her brow creased in confusion. "Wait, who are you?"

The spirit, specifically a poltergeist, was that of a young girl, one with curly blonde hair and bright blue eyes. She was wearing a frilly white apron over a bright blue dress, and on her head was a wide-brimmed white hat. Her eyes were already luminous, her being a spirit and all, but they also had an additional gleam, one that shimmered unstably.

Though Keine had expected it, it still hurt a bit that the spirit didn't recognize her. "Don't you know me, Kana?" she said, leaning over and placing a hand on her chest. "It's me, Keine!"

The spirit's frown deepened. "Keine? Keine…no." She shook her head. "I know Keine. Keine's small, like me! You're…old."

"I am," Keine said. "I grew up, remember?"

"Grew…grew up?" Now Kana looked even more lost. "Grew…"

Then Kohta let out a raspy growl. "All right, that's enough. First you ambush my guest, now you're being all rude to her. Out with you." He gave Kana a rough push from behind. "Go on, get."

Kana whirled around to glare at him, her cheeks puffing. "Don't be mean! You can't tell me what to do!"

"Sure I can. It's my house, ain't it?"

"I'll leave!" Kana threatened. "I'll leave you, and you'll be all alone!"

"Sounds great! Finally I'll get some peace around here." Kohta gave the poltergeist another push. "Get."

Kana's scowl grew darker. Then she stuck her tiny, glowing tongue at him before darting off, flying around Keine to shoot out the front door, which swung shut with a heavy bang after her.

When she was sure that the spirit was out of earshot, Keine remarked, "I see you two are getting along pretty much the same as ever."

Kohta chuckled at that. "Ah, it keeps me young," he said fondly. He then nodded toward the sitting room. "Come in, come in."

Much like Kana and Kohta's relationship, the place was practically unchanged from the last time Keine had been there.

Kohta hastily cleared a pile of newspapers and placed them facedown on a nearby cabinet. He set a pair of teacups and poured them both a cup. Keine picked hers up, but didn't drink yet. Instead, she looked out the window towards the garden. There, Kana could be seen happily swooping around, chasing birds. She shook her head. The girl had always been…odd, but death had also made her wild.

"Speaking of keeping young," Keine said.

Kohta sighed. "Well, that's the price she paid. She gets to come back and stick around forever, but has to be stuck as a kid." He shrugged and blew on his tea. "Suppose that there's worse fates. At least as a ghost she's learned to have fun instead of wandering around in a dream like she used to."

"Hmmm." Keine took a long sip of hers. "Kohta, I hate to bring up such a ghastly subject, but…"

Kohta's withered lips lifted in a wry half-smile. "What happens to her when I'm gone?"

"It had crossed my mind."

Kohta pursed his lips. Then he shrugged. "Don't know," he said. "Hell, I ain't even sure how she pulled it off in the first place, and she sure ain't in any condition to ask." He reached into his collar and pulled out a slender silver chain that hung around his neck. At the end was a faintly glowing yellow stone, with which Keine was very familiar with.

"All I know is she's bound to me somehow," Kohta said. "What happens after, if her spirit goes with me or gets stuck here…" He shrugged again. "Well. It's been on my mind, you might say."

"You could try taking it to a magician," Keine suggested.

"I did that. None here in the village could make heads or tails of it. I was thinking of taking it to that vampire house, see if I couldn't get their magician to take a look at it, but…"

Keine winced. "You heard, huh?"

"Yeah. I heard. That's what I get for putting it off." He sighed. "Anyway, Keine. I know it's a lot to ask, but if I go and she don't go with me…"

Though Keine didn't like thinking of her childhood friend passing, it was an inevitability after all. "I'll make sure she's taken care of," she promised him. True, Kana would be a handful, especially with her class to worry about, but Keine had something of a knack for handling excitable children.

He nodded and set his teacup down. "Now, what brings you here?" he said. "Because I know a social call when I see it, and this ain't."

Well, he was just as sharp as ever, there was that. "I assume you've heard the news," Keine said.

Kohta shrugged. "Here and there. I don't keep up, but apparently they finally did in the scary flower lady?"

"Something like that," Keine said. "But I'm not here about that. I'm here about someone else who's apparently turned up."

Kohta raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

In answer, Keine opened her pack and took out the newspaper. She set it down in front of him so he could see.

On it was the Tengu's "artistic" interpretation of the three horrors allegedly now tormenting Gensokyo now that Yuuka Kazami was gone. One was a horribly malformed fiend covered with blood, but was still recognizable as Flandre Scarlet. Another was a bizarre amorphous creature that was plucking up screaming innocents to plop them in its gaping mouth, which was presumably Rin Satsuki, the thing that had taken Mokou.

But it was the third that Keine was pointing to.

"The Shadow Youkai," Keine said. "Remember it? Went on a rampage right after the orphanage was burned down, massacred multiple settlements before Yukari Yakumo and Miko Hakurei brought it down?"

Kohta leaned back in his chair, his face expressionless. "Well, I do seem to recall…"

"Well, it's back. Apparently."

"Oh? Well, that's not good."

"No, it isn't. Especially since it has a name now." Keine pointed to the description in question. "See this? Rumia of the Shadows. Sound familiar?"

Kohta steepled his fingers in front of his mouth. "What are you getting at, Keine?"

Now Keine was getting a little annoyed. "Kohta, don't play dumb. You know what I'm getting at. Rumia. Rumia Yagami. You know, our friend when we were kids, back at the orphanage?"

"I don't really think too much about that time."

"The hell you don't." Keine leaned back as well to stare right into Kohta's eyes. "Tell me the truth, Kohta. The Shadow Youkai is Rumia, isn't it?"

There was a lengthy pause, and then Kohta said in a mild tone, "How can that be possible? Rumia's dead. Skinner and his crew-"

"-I know what they did to her," Keine said. "Yes, I remember the story you told me. And I'm glad to see your memory's working again." She crossed her legs, hands clasped over her knee. "I'm not an idiot, Kohta. You knew what happened to her. You knew and you didn't tell me. Just like you knew that she was back."

Finally Kohta at least looked surprised. "Wait, what do you-"

Keine nodded toward the front room. "I saw those Tengu papers you hid away, when Kana was fussing at me. You know, the same edition as this one here."

A long and heavy silence passed between them, during which the only sound was that of the wind chimes on the front porch and Kana's happy giggling as she swooped and played.

Then Kohta sighed in defeat. "All right, you got me. No sense in hiding it any longer, I suppose."

Though Keine was glad that the façade had been dropped, it still hurt. "How much of it was a lie?"

"Not that much. Everything I said that they did to her? How they made me watch? Yeah, that happened," Kohta said, a new note of steel now audible in his voice. "Everything they did to Kana? Also real."

Keine's mouth set in a straight line. "And the part after? Where the Shadow Youkai…"

"Yeah, that happened too," Kohta said, nodding. "The lie was the part in-between."

Keine looked down into her tea. Though it was hard to make anything out in the murky green liquid, she could just barely see her reflection.

Her face looked wavy and distorted. In fact, if she squinted, it seemed as if her face was that of someone much younger, a scrawny little girl with silver hair and a heavy secret.

She looked up again, into a wrinkled, old face that had once been all spiky hair and mischievous grins. "What really happened?" she asked.

…

Right.

I'm back.

And I'm sure you all want an explanation.

Well, it goes something like this: about three or so years ago, I put all my fanfics on hold so I could have time to write my book. In this, I was successful. The book is pretty much done, and I'm currently shopping around for an agent. But as I'm told that this process can take years, I'm not exactly tearing my hair out over it.

The other thing I said I was going to do was to get caught up on other projects. I was going to complete my tumblr-exclusive Resonance Days spin-off Walpurgis Nights, I was going to churn out both a Kingdom Hearts and a Bastion fic, and I was going to write another book, this one a vampire/pirate/dinosaur sort of deal.

In this, I was…less than successful, and for a number of reasons.

I did manage to finish Walpurgis Nights, or at least enough that I'm satisfied with what I have while still leaving the door open for more material, and I've decided to start cross-posting it over here. However, it turned out to be much, much larger and take much, much longer than I expected, so the other fanfics had to be shelved.

As for the other book, well, I got partway into that…and then someone broke into my apartment and stole all my stuff, including my two computers, which contained pretty much all my work.

Fortunately, I was able to get my first book back from my friends and family members that I had sent it to for beta-reading, and I can just get my fics back from the internet, though the original master files are gone. But the rough draft I was working on and pretty much all my older stories from before IM are all gone.

So yeah. That happened.

I did restart it, but it's going to be a while before that is done, and in the meantime I decided that enough time had passed, so it was time to get Imperfect Metamorphosis and Resonance Days moving again. And I decided to kick things off today, because today just so happens to be the ten year anniversary of Imperfect Metamorphosis's first chapter and the eight year anniversary of Resonance Day's first chapter.

Fuck, ten years. A whole decade. Where does the time go?

Anyway, here's what's going to happen.

Now, I've prepared a decent amount of material for both. I also have the whole of Walpurgis Nights to transfer over, which I will do piece-by-piece. But I also got something else I've cooked up, specifically the thing that Keine and Kohta were talking about. I'm talking about a full-on Imperfect Metamorphosis prequel, which will also start to be released.

So starting next month, every Sunday I'm going to post…something. Maybe it'll be Imperfect Metamorphosis. Maybe it'll be Resonance Days. Maybe it'll be Walpurgis Nights. Maybe it'll be the IM prequel. But every Sunday a new chapter of something is going up, and this will continue…until I run out of prewritten material, after which updates will resume their usual sporadic schedule.

So yeah. I'm back. And it feels good.

And that means I can say something that I've oh so sorely missed saying.

Until next time, everyone!k