Chapter 61 – Operation Exodus
Click, click, click… went the wheels of the mountain bicycle, slowly rolling down the rough and winding road from a village that no longer required the presence of the bike's owner. His role was clear and his destination set. He only focused on crossing that long road safely and…
"Ungh! Damn it!" cursed the half-youkai after he lost his balance and crashed with his bicycle. He wanted to try riding it, but after crossing just a couple of meters he now had to pick himself up from the ground.
"One more try…" he encouraged himself as he was once again hopping on the bike's seat. He crossed another couple of meters, and again the same balance problem sent him back to the dirty ground along with his means of transport.
"Crap!" Rinnosuke didn't even mind the pain from the fall as the fact that he was scratching the paintwork on the bicycle. The more he damaged it, the less money he could afford to sell it for, but his temptation to learn how to ride it was too great for him to care about money.
"I almost had it… Once more." And the bike was once again sent into motion. "Whoa… Whoa! Easy now… Keep the speed steady… Hold the handlebar firmly… Oh, no… a turn!"
The cruel gravity has punished Rinnosuke for his curiosity yet one more time and added another couple of scratches on the bike's paint.
"Ah, to hell with this!"
He dusted his clothes off and picked the bike up again, but this time he didn't try to ride it. "I'll walk to Kourindou on foot. I don't need any silly machines to get there…"
And just how Rinnosuke didn't expect that riding a bicycle would be such a problem for him, so did the outsiders know little about the problems that awaited them on their way out of Gensokyo.
During the Harvest Feast, Soudai Asskura was right about one thing. Thirty days would indeed pass by like nothing. Now it was already the 25th of Nagatsuki. Less than a week away from the day every member of the Transfer Students' Club dreamed about. The events in the Human Village during the last 25 days were not anything to write a newspaper article about, but the outsiders knew that in less than a week their names would most likely appear in a newspaper after the people in the village learn of their sudden disappearance.
"Are you sure about this, kid?" Naota asked Kyouichi who was paying him a visit. The young student from Tokyo was just sitting at the table asking Naota to sign a document, according to which Naota would regain the ownership of the renovated hunter's cabin after Kyouichi would be proclaimed as deceased.
"Of course I am. Didn't we agree on this before already? You bought that cabin with your money. It belongs to you."
"No, I meant whether you are sure you want to leave Gensokyo." the old man specified his previous question.
"As sure as I'll ever be… Now sign it already." Kyouichi offered him a quill.
After a spacey look at the paper and its text, Naota slowly took the quill, shrugged and with a light smile scribbled his surname on it.
"To tell you the truth, I'm going to miss you a bit. Both you and Midori and even that goofball friend of yours… But on the bright side, I'll know that all of you will be safely back at home, so it puts my mind at ease."
"You still have 6 days to decide whether you want to come with us or not."
"And I already told you that I don't want to go back to the outside world. I have nobody there who I'd be willing to return there for."
"As you wish." Kyouichi shrugged at his reply and stood up from the chair. "May you live for many more years, Naota."
"Hahaha." the retired carpenter chuckled bitterly. "I'd be glad if I didn't, but I don't feel like kickin' the bucket yet."
"Glad to hear it. Now if you excuse me, I still have a few people I'd like to see before I leave this place."
"Awww, and I thought you'd stay for at least a cup of sake with your old friend." Naota sighed and saw Kyouichi off.
"Maybe later, when I'll have all my business taken care of." the young outsider replied as he was crossing Naota's doorstep.
"I never thought that I'd be telling you my parting words so soon, but… Good luck, Kyouichi. May all the gods watch over you and your friends on your journey to the outside world."
Kyouchi never found it easy to find the right words in situations such as this one, so his usual reply would be something simple. Something terse. And yet, in all that terseness, he could probably convey his emotions better than a poet.
"I wish you well, Naota-san…" he said with one last stare into those aged eyes. "Farewell."
Naota didn't hurry to close the door. He just quietly stood there in the warm rays of the late-summer sun and watched Kyouichi's back as he was walking away from his house and turning to the central square of the village, carrying a heavy-looking leather bag.
"Hey, don't I know you from somewhere?" a tall man with his head shaved to bald greeted Kyouichi as he knocked on the door of the Hieda residence.
"We met just once. I know your daughter is in Kazemura now, but I've come to return all the books I've borrowed from her. Please tell her I did."
The man's eyes suddenly sparkled with understanding when he realized who has come to his house.
"Oh, you're that outsider who wanted to ask about previous outsiders getting out of Gensokyo, right?"
Kyouichi's wordless expression when he stared back at him swept away any necessity for an answer.
"Alright…" he took the heavy load off Kyouichi's hands and briefly counted the books inside. "I'll tell Akyuu that you've returned them once she comes back from her archeological research."
"Thank you. That will be all." Kyouichi was about to turn around and leave, but Hieda no Reiji's words halted his steps.
"You know, it's not very often that my daughter lends someone her entire compilation."
"I was against that idea as well when she first suggested it."
"Don't get me wrong. It's not really a bother to me, nor is it much a business of mine, but for Akyuu to trust a stranger so easily… She may be a Child of Miare, but to me she is still just a child. At least I'm glad her trust in you in particular was not misplaced. All 21 copies returned in the same condition… I hope you found answers to all your questions in those books, Ishimaru-san." Reiji patted the cover of one of the books.
It wasn't exactly the books where Kyouichi found his answer to his greatest problem, but they were an important milestone on his way to that answer nonetheless.
"They helped me a lot. Thank you." he bowed to the father of Hieda no Akyuu and ended his short visit of the village archive.
There were still many people he wanted to say proper goodbye to, but there wasn't much time left to visit them all. Some people would best be left without the knowledge about the outsider's plan, but Kyouichi at least wanted to see them, if not tell them farewell.
"Excuse me, is this place opened?" he tentatively asked as he entered a fairly new building in the village – the First Fairy Post Office. The unlocked doors and people inside provided a satisfactory answer to his question. The office had several employees, but only one of them currently occupied Kyouichi's interest.
"Welcome, welcome." a lively voice of the young office manager guided him to the right desk where he found a teenaged girl with crimson hair doing paperwork and being surrounded and assisted by a small group of fairies.
"Good afternoon, Kurohana-san." Kyouichi waved at her casually and spoke loudly through the chatter of the office's clients. "I don't have any real business here; I just wanted to talk to you."
"Is that you, Kyouichi-san?" Ai measured him up briefly before her eyes rolled down again to focus on the document she was filling in. "If it isn't related to my work, can it wait until the end of my shift?"
"I'm sorry to disturb you, but time is pushing me and I'm afraid I won't have another opportunity."
Ai wondered why Kyouichi was being so insistent and his demeanor so serious. With a slight reluctance apparent on her expression, she folded the half-filled document and passed it to her older employee.
"Can you please do these for me?"
"Of course, Kurohana-san…" a man in his forties, who was very well known to Kyouichi took Ai's share of work off her hands. Hikaru Nagahashi, the chief secretary of the Transfer Students' Club was employed in this very post office and he didn't seem the least bit surprised to see Kyouichi paying the office's owner a visit today. Only a fleeting exchange of glances between him and the club's president occurred before Ai apologized to her clients and sent them to the next office desk.
"So… Ishimaru-san. Long time no see, I guess. What urgent matter requires my immediate attention?"
"Moe wants to play~!" a pink-haired fairy suddenly floated up from behind her and perched herself on Ai's head.
"Not now, Moe-chan." Ai gently shooed her away by shaking her head lightly. And as much as the amicable fairy wanted to cling to her, she was forced to take flight again. Now her gaze was centered at the person standing at her mistress's desk.
"Ah~!" her pink-eyes brightened up after they identified that person as someone familiar. "It's you! From Eientei ward…"
"I see you're both healthy and doing well."
"Yes, thanks to Eirin-san's care my burns are all gone. Almost as if by magic. Mom was worried about me, and even told me I should release all my fairies after… the incident. But I managed to convince her. I re-opened the post office and used my saved-up reserve for repairs. But I don't accept deliveries to Kazemura or even to the Scarlet Devil Mansion. The Hakurei Shrine is as far north as I allow my sweeties to fly. I'm worried about them just as my mom worries about me."
"I'm just glad you're okay and even running the post-office again."
"The repairs consumed most of our savings and with limited service radius the post office isn't as prosperous at the moment. But I don't mind. As long as I can continue my business and have my fairies with me, I am satisfied. But what about you, Kyouichi-san? You haven't come here just to have a look at me, have you?" her eyes were already scanning Kyouichi's face with a speck of suspicion.
"Actually, yes I have…"
Ai found his reply slightly confusing. "Excuse me? A-are you perhaps… interested… in me?"
It was understandable that she would not interpret Kyouichi's words correctly, so the outsider decided to share the information about his plan with her.
"I just wanted to see you before I go. In a few days I won't be in Gensokyo anymore. I'm sure Nagahashi-san here has mentioned this to you…"
"Oh… So it's about that." Ai slowly lowered her head as she understood the reason for Kyouichi's visit. "Nagahashi-san has only told me that some of the outsiders are planning to ask Reimu-san about letting them leave Gensokyo." she cast a glance in Hikaru's direction. "But he never really told me that it was going to be so soon…"
"In six days. That's the time of our trip to the outside world. But we want to do it in secrecy. Without drawing attention of the militia or anyone working in the village council."
"It'll be hard to keep a sudden disappearance of over a dozen people from the village a secret for long, I'm afraid."
"That doesn't matter, Ai. We only need a few hours at most. After that, I don't care if the whole village comes looking for us. We won't be in Gensokyo by that time anymore. That's why I've come to see you… To remember your face. To see if you're really okay… and to say goodbye."
"I… I don't know what to say to this. I guess "do what you feel is best for you" would sound about right, wouldn't it?"
"It's been a pleasure to meet you and to know you, Ai-chan." Kyouichi lightly bowed to her. "And you too, Moe."
"Moe doesn't really understand, but… if you must go, there's no helping it." said the fairy wistfully.
"I just hope Reimu keeps her word." Kyouichi thought to himself as he slowly turned away from Ai's desk. "Anyway, keep up the good work. And enjoy the rest of your shift, Nagahashi-san."
"Thanks. See you later, Ishimaru-san."
It wasn't easy for the outsiders to hide their intentions from public, so they had to keep working and attending their classes as though they were to stay here for the rest of their lives. Kyouichi and Soudai had the advantage that their shift usually began around noon, so they had plenty of time to spare before their job would require them to head to the farmlands.
During the last 6 days, he took care of all his business and said his farewells to everyone he wanted to, save a few people and youkai who didn't live in the village. But as it was typical for him, he left the hardest task for the last moment. He still didn't properly say goodbye to a bunch of important people – the Saitou family.
The eve of the 30th of Nagatsuki was here, but the family still didn't know about his departure from Gensokyo scheduled for tomorrow.
"I'd like to have more of your soup, Minako." Mizuto asked his wife to pass him the soup pot that was just out of his reach. The whole family was seated around the table, having supper, when Kyouichi finally swallowed his worries and broke the silence.
"Umm… Everyone, I have something important to tell you."
"Hm? What is it, Kyou-kun?" the kind-hearted mother of two children, Minako cast a surprised glance at him. "You don't like the soup?"
"No, it's delicious, but… I'm sorry." he sighed heavily as he lowered his head. He blamed himself for postponing his parting words up to this day, but he'd rather say a belated parting now than none at all. "I know I should have said this sooner, but… please don't be mad at me…" he struggled with words as he tried to sound coherent.
"What are you talking about? Did you do something bad?" asked Minako with a puzzled look.
"Almost… Tomorrow I'm about to do something that you may consider very sudden and rushed, but to me that's the best decision I made in a long while."
The Saitou family was slowly, but certainly starting to pick up on the hints of his words, but it was still quite a shock to them nonetheless.
"You'll do what?" Chitose almost forgot to swallow her soup as she gave Kyouichi the most baffled stare he ever saw on her.
"This has been planned for a long time, but please understand that telling this to you any sooner than now could threaten it all." the outsider told a half-truth to the deadpan faces of the Saitou family. "Tomorrow I'll be leaving Gensokyo. Everything is already prepared. I want to thank you for everything you have done for me… You're really like my family. May your kindness be rewarded one day. Even though I've been a burden and an extra hungry neck to feed, you didn't throw me out on the street and treated me like your own blood. Nothing I can give you now can compensate for it."
"Kyouichi…" Minako put down her spoon and her usual kind smile was replaced by a deep, thoughtful gaze. "I'm… I don't even know if I'm sad or happy about this sudden news. I would like to say that I understand, but…" a small droplet appeared in the corner of her eye.
"Minako," her husband interrupted, "you knew this day would come one day. You knew Kyouichi was doing his best to find a way to return home ever since we took him in. And now that day has finally come. It would be selfish of us to ask him to reconsider. Like an injured bird that has been nurtured back to full health, it needs to be released back into the wild. Kyouichi longs for his real home and real family. Who are we to ask him to stay here? We could never replace them in his heart."
One would almost not expect such words full of truth and wisdom to come out of a fisherman's mouth, but he was right in everything he said. Even though his words of reason failed to bring full comfort to Minako's sensitive heart, he at least made her accept Kyouichi's decision more easily than she would be able to by herself.
"I… know I shouldn't be crying at a moment like this…" she apologized as she wiped away her tears. "It's… a happy moment after all. I'm sure your real mother must have gone through much worse moments than I am now. But her sorrow is hopefully going to end tomorrow."
The outsider thought about his mom often. Every day more than a couple of times he envisioned his home and his mother's face. He tried not to think about how his disappearance from the outside world has made her suffer, but such thoughts are really hard to avoid for someone so homesick as he was. Minako's words, however, have managed to bring a ray of hope into those dark thoughts once more.
"So he won't return, big sis?" the youngest member of the family was still confused by the whole situation and hoped to get an understandable answer from his sister.
"Most likely not, Tadao. We'd best say our goodbye to him now while he's still here."
"In that case… Goodbye, Kyouichi. Um… even though we didn't talk much, I kind of got used to you living here."
Kyouichi knew that most of his time spent in the Saitou residence consisted of reading the chronicle in hope of finding any clues that could aid him in his trip home, and he now felt some slight regret for not being more outgoing towards the family that sheltered him for over 5 months.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, really."
"I can't say that was nice of you, but that's what your goal has been all the time." Chitose still eyed him accusingly, but at least she understood the situation.
"You should eat well today, Kyouichi." said Mizuto as he passed him the soup pot. "The first step of a great journey is usually the hardest one, so make sure you have enough strength for that."
Kyouichi gratefully accepted and refilled his bowl with another portion. "If there is one last thing I can ask of you, I'd like you to pretend that you don't know about my plan if someone from the militia would ask you about me."
"Don't worry. We'll act like we don't know… Oh, and make sure you don't forget your belongings that you brought here from the outside world." the fisherman reminded him.
Later that evening, Kyouichi was sitting on the futon in the guest room, packing his last things and mentally preparing himself for tomorrow's trip. He didn't really have many things from the outside world with him. Just his old pair of jeans, his apartment keys, a handkerchief, two worn sneakers and a cell phone, which many of his peers could consider old-fashioned. He also had his school handbag full of notebooks, but he left that in the wreck of the subway car where his first day in Gensokyo began. His backpack still had plenty of spare room inside, but that didn't bother Kyouichi at all. He'd rather travel lightly than having to carry a burden that would only slow him down.
The night fell and it was time for him to sleep, but his brain had a different opinion. Just like on his first night in this house, he couldn't rest for a minute. However, instead of insecurity, it was the excitement and impatience that kept him awake. It was almost hard to believe that he was just a few hours away from a journey that could be described as life-changing. He stayed up until his complete exhaustion, catching barely a few hours of sleep before he woke up again.
"Rise and shine, journeyman." Mizuto, woke him up at dawn, as he was about to head out to the fishing colony and this was the last opportunity to see him.
"Mmmhm... Mizuto-san… Is that you?" a sleepy voice came from the futon as its occupant squirmed about lightly.
"I know you're leaving around noon, but I need to go to work soon and I wanted to say my goodbye to you while I can."
Kyouichi quickly shook the tiredness away and sat up. "Is Minako-san up too?"
"Of course. She's just making breakfast, and as I can imagine, some boxed lunch for your trip too."
In the next instant the young outsider was on his feet and bowing respectfully to Mizuto. "Thanks for everything. I have saved up some cash and kept it safe for emergency cases. I want you to have it."
"Oh, no…" Mizuto immediately showed him his palm. "I don't want to take any money from you. Unless the currency in the outside world is different than ours, which I don't think is the case, I will not take your savings. But feel free to donate them at the shrine if they make your pocket too heavy, hehe." he gave a friendly tap on Kyouichi's shoulder and chuckled. "I really need to be going now. If you still feel tired, go back to your futon, otherwise you can say hi to Minako. Have a safe trip home, Kyouichi! Good luck."
"You too, Mizuto. And reel in a big one."
"Ha! I already did that a few times, but I know there are even bigger fish in the lake, just waiting to be caught. I really have to go… Bye, Kyou-kun. Bye, Minako!" he parted with his wife on the doorstep of his house and left in a hurry.
Kyouichi no longer felt like he could fall asleep and if he could, he was worried that he could oversleep his own exodus from Gensokyo. That's why right after Mizuto took his leave, he headed to the Kitchen where he found Minako humming a melody as she was preparing breakfast for her children.
"Morning, Minako-san."
"Oh, Kyouichi… Good morning. Please, have a seat. The breakfast will be ready soon and I even made a bento for you. I should imagine you have a long trip ahead of you and one bento will not be enough, but at least you won't have to worry about starving for one day."
Minako was apparently in a better mood than yesterday, almost as if Kyouichi never told her anything about leaving Gensokyo. The Saitou siblings joined Kyouichi at the kitchen table soon afterwards, ready for another day at school. They quietly ate their breakfast, exchanging only a few words related to their school and after-school activities. Oddly enough, they didn't even bring up the topic of Kyouichi's trip back home. Almost as if their parents told them to feign ignorance.
"I'll be having another evening magic practice session today." Chitose announced with a casual tone.
"Don't worry, I haven't forgotten. Maybe I'll even come to watch after I close the shop."
"Oh you don't really have to, mom… It's kind of embarrassing."
"Is it now? Are you ashamed for what you're practicing or are you ashamed for me as a parent?"
"No, mom. It's just… none of the club's members' parents come to watch their children practice. It would be a bit awkward."
"Maybe because Chitose doesn't want you to see her mess something up." Chitose's younger brother poked fun at her."
"Like you'd know! You don't watch me practicing either."
"Because our club activities have the same schedules."
"Children, I don't want to rush you, but your school begins in a few minutes. Take your bags and don't forget your lunches." Minako ended the conversation.
"Yes, mom." both siblings replied in unison as they stood up from the table and made the final preparations for another day at school.
Kyouichi could technically excuse himself from school today, but in order to maintain the act of living just another stereotypical day, he decided against it and planned to go to school along with the Saitou siblings.
The day at school went by just like any other. Although Kyouichi could notice the tension and nervousness in the behavior of his clubmates, nobody even mentioned anything about traveling anywhere. Not until the final class, when Keine-sensei herself has summoned the remnant of the Transfer Students' Club into her office. Thirteen people, both young and mature entered the small office like on the day when their club was officially admitted. This time, however, it was about to end.
"So, I heard that everything has already been prepared for your today's departure. If you wish, I can devour the part of history that you spent in Gesnokyo, so that nobody would even know any of you outsiders arrived here in the first place." the teacher suggested an interesting idea, but she was quick to add that due to the nature of their mass-spiriting away, which might be connected to another series of bizarre events transpiring in Gensokyo in the recent months, it would probably only worsen things.
"I think Reimu-san and the others responsible for incident resolution should remember us, so that they can piece the clues together and finally solve all of these recent problems." Kyouichi reasoned after declining Keine's offer.
"Alright… So your contact and escort out of the village is the Scarlet Devil Mansion's head maid?"
"Yeah, unless she changes her mind at the very last moment."
"We are supposed to meet her in the market square in about 20 minutes, so if you have anything else to tell us, Keine-sensei, please make it brief." Midori pleaded as she kept her eyes on the clock hanging over the office's door.
"I only wanted to say…" she paused and mustered a light, almost sad-looking smile. "That I'll miss you a little. I got so used to your presence among those children… It'll be again strange for me to begin tomorrow's lessons without you."
"You've taught us many great things, Keine-sensei, even in this age." Hikaru, as the oldest member of the club bowed one last time to pay homage to the teacher. "And I feel like I have still so much to learn… But I don't want to be a prisoner to this place."
"None of use do, Hikaru-san." Sayuri joined in. "Too bad I can't recommend Gensokyo as a tourist destination when I return to the travel agency."
"You should first all try to figure what excuses you'll say to your families when you return." Yuujin apparently also thought about re-integrating back into the normal society of the outside world. None of the outsiders could imagine the reactions on the faces of their families, colleagues, employers, teachers and friends when they suddenly return out of nowhere after over 5 months of complete absence, but at the same time it didn't matter to any of the transfer students. Just to get safely out of Gensokyo and into the nearest town. And all of that was supposed to take place on this great day.
"Well then." Keine stood up from her desk and gestured for the outsiders to follow her. "I don't want to delay your great trip. Come with me. I'll go with you to the market square until Izayoi-san comes to pick you up."
The band of outsiders silently obeyed and together with their half-youkai teacher they left her office and eventually the school premises. It wasn't a long walk from school to the marketplace and the outsiders still had some small time reserve. Nevertheless, they didn't want to delay themselves, or keep Sakuya waiting, so they arrived on the designated spot a few minutes earlier.
The marketplace was as crowded as ever. Nobody really paid any special mind to a group of people with backpacks, who looked like they were set up for camping.
"No sign of the maid yet." Soudai noted as he looked around, though in this crowd he'd be lucky if he was able to spot any familiar face.
"At least we have nice weather for our trip." said Midori as she stole a brief glance at the clear sky.
"Speaking of weather, have you seen the dragon's eyes?" Soudai butted in.
"Oh, you mean those weather-forecast gemstones?" Kyouichi asked as he looked over his shoulder at the iconic bronze statue of a dragon god.
"I've almost memorized which color means which weather, but I keep forgetting… What weather was represented by red color again?"
In contrast to the nonchalance of Soudai's tone, Kyouichi's eyes widened in surprise. "Did you say red?"
"Yeah. Look for yourself." he pointed his finger at the distant face of the statue. "What does it mean? An unusually hot day?"
Kyouichi moved his lips, but no words came out of his mouth. He remembered exactly what Minako told him when she first gave him a tour of the village.
"Hello~? Earth to Kyouichi: Are you there?" Soudai waved his palm in front of his eyes.
"Red means… that a serious incident is occurring."
"Yeah? That's hardly any news, is it?" Soudai took it lightly. "Weird stuff's been going on in this place ever since we got here. I just hope that it isn't some sort of Ryuuken alarm device detecting our mass departure."
Even though Soudai was right about unusual happenings being commonplace in Gensokyo, they apparently still didn't suffice to color the dragon's eyes red… until now.
"It's the first time I see them glowing red, though."
"Come on, man. Relax a bit, or you'll rub your nervousness onto me as well. We'll be out of here in a matter of minutes. No incidents have to bother us anymore once we're in the outside world, right?"
"I have a bad feeling about this…" Kyouichi shook his head lightly, as if he didn't want to accept what he was seeing.
"Nonsense, Ishimaru! We've taken every step and precaution so that our trip home would be successful. Don't tell me that a pair of some cheap jewels is going to throw you off."
Kyouichi breathed a sigh and finally turned his face away from the mesmerizing red glow of the gems. "You're right. We have to stay positive… This day is meant to be successful. The operation Exodus is a go."
"That's more like it. Now try to keep up that attitude all the way to Tokyo."
"I'll be much calmer once we're out of Gensokyo, believe me."
"Say…" Soudai diverted Kyouichi's thoughts again to something else. "What is Yamada-san carrying around that shovel for?"
"Shovel? What shove… oh." It took a little while for Kyouichi to notice that one member of their club was lugging a little extra weight on his shoulders. "Heh… I can't believe he actually took it."
"Is gold rush having a renaissance or something? Oh, wait… wasn't he that weird guy who suggested digging a tunnel under the Great Barrier in order to get out of Gensokyo during our club's first meeting?"
"Exactly." Kyouichi shook his head in utter disbelief. To think that someone would actually bother to take a digging tool with them, when the motto of the entire operation was to travel lightly was leaving the club's president in a state of bafflement. "Hey, Yamada! Why the hell did you bring a freakin' shovel with you?"
Yamada turned his plump face at him, looking as though as he didn't understand the point of Kyouichi's question. "Oh… That's uhh… a precaution. Just in case." he replied with a shrug and turned back to the clubmates he was chatting with.
"Precaution? For what?" Kyouichi still couldn't comprehend his motive. "In case we'd have to bury someone?"
"Let's hope that won't be the case."
After a few minutes of waiting, a young female's voice sounded from behind them: "So, are you all ready for this?"
Everyone turned around to see who it was. But a few members of the club already recognized the voice and could breathe a sigh of relief.
There she stood in all her elegance – the head maid of Remilia Scarlet, known as Sakuya Izayoi.
"Ah, there you are." Keine walked up to her without even the basic courtesy of greeting. "These thirteen people are all that's left of their club. I trust that you'll escort them all safely to Hakurei Shrine."
From the tense expression on her face, one could only assume that the two of them weren't on the best of terms with each other.
"Your worries are unfounded, half-beast." the maid replied rather rudely. "We'll be out of the village before you or anyone else even takes notice."
Now it was obvious that they didn't like each other very much, but as long as the maid would keep her word and do her job well, Keine had no reason to mistrust her. "Make it so. But if I catch wind that any of these people have come to harm before they reach the shrine, you're going to answer to me."
Ignoring Keine's threats entirely, Sakuya gave all the outsiders a brief glance and nodded to herself. "This should be as easy as putting sugar into tea. Alright, everyone!" she called loudly to get their attention. "Your request doesn't do me the slightest problem to accomplish, but…" she paused herself and put on an intimidating face, "you must do exactly what I say. Have I made myself understood?"
"Yes, Izayoi-san!" a nearly unanimous reply came from various members of the club.
"Good…" she pulled out her pocket watch and looked at it casually. "Don't get too shocked when you'll notice you're no longer here. Ten, nine, eight, seven..." the maid began counting down the time. Everyone was glaring at her, wondering what trick she'd pull out.
"…three, two, one." By the time she reached zero, Kyouichi and the rest of the club was already standing near the western road, just a few meters away from the Temple of Myouren.
"Whoa~!"
"What the…?!"
"What happened?"
Those were roughly the first reactions of most of the outsiders once Sakuya's countdown has ended. It took them a while to figure out their location based on their surroundings.
"Did she just teleport us? That's so cool~."
Little did most of those people know, that in order to get them from point A to point B, Sakuya had to slow the time below noticeable tempo and laboriously carry them all one by one out of the market square to the Buddhist temple. After nearly a minute of recovering from the time-leap shock, the outsiders were again assembled into an organized group led by Sakuya.
"I told you not to get startled… We're outside of the village. We'll travel the rest of the way on foot. Follow me." she commanded and didn't wait for any signs of agreement.
"Hey, wait a minute!" Yuujin halted the maid almost as soon as she turned away. "Why do we have to walk all the way to the shrine? Why didn't you teleport us right there?"
An exasperated sigh escaped the silver-haired girl's lips. "Because my ability doesn't allow me to travel such great distances." she uttered a half-truth, if only to silence him.
When she cast one last glance to the east where the village was, she could see a small bluish dot hovering above the roofs of the houses. Keine was keeping an eye on her and the humans she was escorting.
"Okay, let's stop wasting time and get moving. I should be on a lunch break now." the maid began marching and the outsiders followed her like a flock of ducklings would follow their mother.
"Looks like no Ryuuken are after us." Soudai always kept checking the situation behind him until the village was no longer in his sight. "Once we reach Kourindou crossroad, I say we're home free. The militia never patrols the road between the shrine and Kourindou."
"Maybe, but we'll still need to cross over 4 kilometers through the forest, so we need Sakuya-san's escort all the way." Kyouichi replied and fixed the loosening strap on his backpack. "Hey, Sakuya-san?"
"Hm?" the maid barely rolled her eye Kyouichi's way when he addressed her directly.
"Reimu-san has already returned from Kazemura, right?"
"I heard she has." she gave a terse answer as she continued marching forward.
"Heard? Haven't you been there too?"
"Not in a long while, I haven't. But from what I heard, I wouldn't want to be there anyway."
"Have they already uncovered the whole temple?" Soudai, who had a hand in blowing up the rocky layer entombing the whole structure wanted to know some details too.
"Who knows…?" Sakuya's shoulders have risen and lowered in an indifferent shrug. "That's not in the list of my problems right now."
And even though many of the outsiders wondered what WAS in her list of problems, nobody dared to ask her.
In a couple of minutes, they reached the mentioned crossroad on the edge of the Forest of Magic and the antique shop - Kourindou. Fortunately, it didn't seem to have any visitors in black and white uniforms, so the outsiders could calmly keep on marching towards their goal. After taking the turn to the east, the group entered the shade provided by the countless trees of Gensokyo's central forest. Sakuya was already starting to become fed up with the walk and with the incessant chatter of the humans who followed her so loyally. Away from the prying eyes of any possible spy and from the ears of any potential eavesdropper, there wasn't a better time and place for the maid to execute her long-planned action.
She suddenly stopped, made a 180-degree turn to face the outsiders and hovered upwards.
Everyone was staring at her like at an apparition and wondered what was going on.
"What's wrong? Is someone following us?" some of the club members confusedly flung their glances in all directions, looking for some nonexistent pursuers. Others kept their eyes on the floating maid. Kyouichi's first instinct was to reach for his magic detector. But he was soon about to find out that it wasn't necessary.
"Listen." she looked down and spoke to the group of outsiders. "I have personally nothing against any of you… I'm simply doing my job."
At this point, even the most confused of outsiders were slowly realizing the truth and direness of their current situation.
"Sakuya-san? What is the meaning of this?" Kyouichi demanded an answer.
"Don't tell me she's turning on us." Soudai uttered behind him.
"Hey, if you're not going to help us, fine! We can walk the rest of the way without you." Yuujin simply decided to march on, but when five knives suddenly buried their blades into the ground just centimeters away from his feet, he didn't feel so hasty anymore.
"Don't try to run." the maid calmly advised. "It's no use."
"Heh… It's no use… She's pure Dio Brando." Soudai seemed to be having fun from the whole situation.
"This isn't funny, you know." Midori hissed at him. "You want a knife in the forehead?"
And as the outsiders were bickering among themselves, Sakuya continued: "My mistress's condition requires her to feed, so I need one healthy human to take to the mansion. Any volunteers?"
When Kyouichi thought that he had already seen almost everything in Gensokyo and that barely anything could surprise him, Sakuya just proved him wrong. "You gotta be kidding me."
"How polite of her to ask for volunteers instead of kidnapping someone." Midori uttered a snarky remark. As polite as Sakuya might have acted, nobody of the thirteen outsiders really wanted to become a vampire's lunch. Out of sheer desperation, Kyouichi began wondering whether those amulets he once bought from Reimu would have any effect against a human target. Not that he would be able to reach Sakuya without becoming a human pin cushion first.
"If you don't pick a volunteer in ten seconds, I'm going to pick one myself." Sakuya gave the outsiders an option to choose within a short time limit.
"W-wait…" Midori tried to negotiate or at least distract the maid from counting. "Aren't you a human yourself? Why don't you feed your mistress with your own blood?"
"Smooth move, Midori." Soudai suppressed a chuckle. "That was really tactful of you."
But to Soudai's surprise, Sakuya didn't take any offense from that question. "That was my first suggestion to her, but she refused. She needs me for something else, apparently. You are the easiest prey I could find."
"Does that mean we're screwed now?" Soudai made a silly grimace behind Kyouichi's back.
"No, just one of us, thank goodness…" his weird sense of humor seemed to have rubbed off onto his friend. "Sakuya-san~! We have a volunteer right here!" he waved his hand and pointed at Soudai.
"You're the first one to raise your hand, Ishimaru, so why don't you go ahead and pay Scarlet-san a visit?" Soudai gave him a light push forward.
"I've already did once!" Kyouichi was wrestling with him. "You should see the mansion too!"
"Oh, one more thing…" Sakuya raised her finger. "My lady prefers blood type B…"
"Ha! See? Your lady wouldn't like my blood anyway!" Soudai crossed his arms in a triumphal stance as he pointed his nose upward and grinned widely.
This minor remark of Sakuya's has divided the outsiders into two groups.
"Lucky~!"
"Ha, I'm A!"
"I'm zero, thank God."
Such were the reactions of the majority of the club. But one third of outsiders uttered things such as: "This sucks…", "Oh, crap.", "Why me?" and "I'm AB. No, no, I'm A! Pure A!"
Kyouichi and Midori were both in that group, but like any smart person in their situation, they tried to deny it.
"It also might be worth mentioning that while you were not looking, or to be exact, not perceiving the flow of time, I took the liberty of checking your identification cards, so you won't fool me. Still… if any volunteer would like to sacrifice themselves for the team, I won't consider their blood type. I'm sure my lady wouldn't be picky in her current state either."
Even then nobody from the non-B blood type group was foolish enough to offer themselves. Sakuya's countdown was slowly coming to zero. Everyone held their breath and prayed that it wouldn't be them who Sakuya chooses.