Like the last time, I just had a lot of things going on that got in the way of getting this out in a timely fashion. I have to admit that I don't like making you wait, but if I have to, I have to.

Credit goes to Rise Against for "Satellite".

A black Escalade drove down the highway. At this time of night there were not a whole lot of vehicles on the road, especially since they were so far from St. Petersburg. The chauffeur had not spoken with his passenger in the whole two hours that they had been on the road. It was not for lack of trying, it was just that his passenger had been completely ignoring his existence, having raised the privacy barrier that had been installed in the vehicle by the chauffeur's employer.

When he met his passenger at the airport, he was more than a little surprised. His passenger was actually a man, bald, and of rather dark complexion. The chauffeur guessed that the man was of African descent, but when he opened his mouth, he was met with the accent of a Londoner. The man had a sharp gaze, was built like a truck, and he put the chauffeur on edge. This man had the same look as his employer's head of security at his estate. He was some sort of soldier, he had to be. He tried not to think about it and simply turned up the radio, drowning out his thoughts to Leningrad's newest hit.

After another hour on the road, the chauffeur turned to the right and on to a winding road that led through a small forest and up to a large, luxurious. fenced-in compound. The fence was made of stone, and had some manner of spike that ran along the top of it. When they pulled up to the gate, the chauffeur waved to the man at the gatehouse, who waved back at him and opened the gate. Standing at the entrance to the mansion was an old man, probably a butler, if the suit he wore was anything to go by. The chauffeur pulled up in front of them and hurried to open the door for his passenger. When he did so, he stepped out and looked the old man over. The Londoner guessed that the man was about... forty or so? He was in rather good shape for a man of his age, and the only things that showed his age were his salt-and-pepper beard and the wrinkles on his face. The old man extended his hand for The Londoner to shake, and he followed through. He was right. The old man had a good grip.

"Alright bruv, let's get down to business then." The Londoner stated.

"Certainly, sir. If you'll follow me." The man said, in perfect English.

The Londoner followed the Butler through the mansion, and eventually they reached a dining room, wherein sat another old man. This one's age, unlike the Butler's, was more noticeable. He motioned for The Londoner to sit down, and he did so. The old man cleared his throat before he spoke.

"Mister Bombate, may I offer you a cup of tea?" The old man asked The Londoner. He held out his hand and shook his head.

"Nah, bru- I mean, Mister Kovalev. Let's just get down to business. You requested my services for a reason, and I wanna hear why before I make myself any agreements that'll bite me in the arse later on down the line."

"Yes, yes. Let's get right to it. The job I'm offering you is one that would require the unwilling extraction of a high value target."

The Londoner looked at the old man and said nothing for a moment, as his blank stare bored into him. The Old Man did not seem phased by this however and continued to stare back at him patiently.

"You really called me all the way here, paid for my flights, the whole nine yards... For a kidnapping." He said, his tone flat.

"Yes." The Old Man responded.

"A... Kidnapping. Something you could pay a couple of hoodrats, or chavs, or whatever you Russians have, and probably cheaper, too. You know my rate for work, right?"

"I know your rates, Mister Bombate."

He motioned for the butler to retrieve something, which he left the dining room for. When he returned, he came back with a small wooden box, finely lacquered and shining in the light of the crystal chandelier that was above the dining room table. When it was presented to The Londoner, he opened it. Inside was a familiar looking black box, with a screen built into the front of it. When he turned the device on, it showed that it had a large number of something on it. The Londoner raised one of his eyebrows at this new information. Whatever this old fart wanted him to do, he was willing to shell out a lot for his services.

"That is one-third of the payment. So, do you wish to take me up on my offer?"

The Londoner looked between the Old Man and the black box and rubbed his chin as he pondered the answer. After a moment though, he responded.

"Damn right I am."

In the Human Village, it was another normal day. Ray took the wooden hammer that he had borrowed, and with one last mighty strike, hammered the sign into the ground. He stepped back to admire his handiwork, and read the words he had written on it.

"Dobbs Investigative and Miscellaneous Solutions."

Before he had a chance to go back inside and go about advertising the Village's newest business, he heard a voice behind him, over the distant din of the main street.

"Hey, Raaaaay!" A young, feminine voice said. The tone was cheerful, and almost singsong.

He turned around to see who it was, and his guess was correct. Daiyousei, who had closed the distance between them and already landed, rifled around in the bag that she had slung over her shoulder.

"What, no Cirno?" He asked her. He wiped the sweat off his brow with the back of his hand. Today was rather hot, but according to Kosuzu and Keine, it would begin cooling down in the next few weeks.

"It's too hot for her, so she's just relaxing at home today." She answered, her attention still focused on her bag. Her furrowed brow was replaced with a smile when she pulled an envelope out of it.

"Got an important letter for ya!" She said cheerfully.

"An important letter? From who?"

"Read it and find out! I've got a lot of stops, so I've gotta go! Have a good day, Ray!"

The letter was one of simple folded parchment sealed with some seal that he had never seen before, but it was addressed to him, even if his name was poorly written and was missing a d, but it was indeed his name on the letter. When he broke the seal and began to read the letter (which was quite a feat, since it was just as poorly written as his name was), an eyebrow raised as he did so.

Raye I need you to help me and missty with our band! I don't wana talk about it in this letter in case the mailfary reads it so meet me (I told her it was sooper secret) at Myoren templ pleas! If you dunno how to get their just ask for directions! I can pay!

Thank you, Kyuko.

He remembered Kyouko. If he were talking to Reimu or Marisa, he would have probably added some sort of remark about his tinnitus or how off the wall she was, but they were not here, and he had his first job to get to.

On the edge of the grounds of Myouren Temple, Nue Houjuu laid on the grass and watched the clouds as they passed by. Like many other days, this was another boring one, and she had begun to imagine that the clouds were all just Unzan making shapes to get a laugh or some praise out of Ichirin or Byakuren, but even that had run its course and she just could not find something to whittle away the hours until dinner. She took a deep breath, let out a loud, exasperated sigh, and sat up to take a look around. She looked back at the temple proper, and since even Kyouko was not in front of it doing her normal duties, they must have all been busy with some sort of ritual or something at the behest of Lady Byakuren. A mischievous grin began to form on her face as she realized that this was the perfect time to go and see what kind of trouble she could get herself into. She looked around one last time, just to make sure that no one was hiding, just waiting to jump out and scold her on her actions for the umpteenth time. When she was sure that she was alone, she flew off into the surrounding woods.

When she was sure she was far enough away from the temple and close to the road leading to it, she hid behind a rather thick tree and waited for someone to come by. With her powerful hearing, she could clearly make out distant sounds, the same as many other yokai, and because of that she heard footsteps coming toward her. She hid, just barely sneaking a peek through the leaves. It was a human! She had never seen him before, so he must have been that outsider that the Bunbunmaru had reported on. She snickered to herself at the thought of his inevitable terrified expression that he would have after seeing the horror of whatever form she decided to take. She rubbed her chin as she thought of the best way to scare a big and tough-looking guy like this. When she finally decided on the form to take, a devilish grin spread across her face.

Ray walked down the road that supposedly led to Myouren Temple. Kyouko had been right. It was quite easy to get directions to the only Buddhist temple in Gensokyo, but he was warned to visit during the day, because yokai supposedly haunted the road leading there at night. He quickened his pace, as he did not want to disappoint his first client.

The road to the temple was surprisingly well-maintained for a road leading to "a temple that is swarming with yokai". The villagers said the same thing about the Hakurei Shrine, but so far, he had only ever met Yukari there, and apparently she did not show herself that often, as she supposedly slept a lot, according to Reimu. If the yokai at this temple were on the same level as the other ones he had met so far, he was not that worried.

It was then that a multicolored fog began to roll out of the wooded area to his right, a prismatic mist that was so thick that he would not be able to cut through it with the sharpest katana. Ray stopped in his tracks and looked toward the fog. After that, a massive creature began to form in the fog that took the shape of a creature made of giant bones, similar to the oni, it had large jagged horns. As the mist poured out of its eye sockets and mouth, it began to advance on Ray. The sight was incredibly terrifying... To those who could see it. Ray, on the other hand, watched as a young-looking, black-haired woman in a black, short dress, with some sort of weird, red and blue tentacle things coming out of her back, emerge from the woods. Her eyes were closed, her arms were outstretched, and she had a devious smirk on her face.

She began to walk toward him, her eyes still closed until eventually she stopped, ten meters from where he stood. She stood there for a moment, but eventually a look of visible confusion marred her otherwise flawless features.

"You alright, ma'am?" Ray asked her.

The mention of the word "ma'am" drew the woman out of her trance. She stared at the man, wide-eyed and mouth agape.

"You're... Able to see me?" She asked him.

"Yeah?" He replied.

"You can... see my true form."

"Yeah. Am I not supposed to?"

Ray's answer took the woman aback. She stepped back a little, which caused Ray to step forward a little bit.

"You're not supposed to be able to see me."

"Well, I can. What's gonna happen since I can see you? Was I supposed to see someone, or something else? Some bugaboo or something?"

"Yes! You're... Weird! You're a weirdo! Get away from me, you creep! G-go back to the Village!"

She stepped back more, and he once again took a few steps forward. Her look of confusion was gone, having been given to Ray. Instead, she bore a look of wide-eyed terror, mouth agape and the sheen of a nervous sweat beginning to form on her forehead.

"Don't take another step!" She shouted, her voice cracked a little.

"Ma'am, I've gotta go that way. I've got important business that I need to take care of, and I've gotta get to Myouren Temple. Please. Move." His voice was calm, but she could tell that he was done with her antics.

He took another step. This was the final straw for the woman, who turned tail and took to the air, the same direction that he was headed.

"What in the...? God, yokai are weird." He pondered out loud as he watched her fly away.

Kyouko was busy, like always. She stood on the steps of Myouren Temple, her trusty broom in hand, and she swept the steps like it was her life's work to do so. She was always told that she was the best at sweeping in the whole temple, and that compliment came from Lady Byakuren herself, and to get a compliment from Lady Byakuren was something of the highest honor! Mystia sat on the steps, near one of the front columns and out of Kyouko's way. Along with Misty, there were two others. One of them, a red-haired girl in a white suit and a kappa with a large backpack. Both of them sat against her backpack, the kappa with her hat pulled down over her eyes, and the other girl absentmindedly spinning a drumstick as she watched the clouds.

"D'you really think he's gonna show up, Kyouko?" Mystia asked her. Her voice was barely above a whisper, and sounded rather groggy on top of that.

"Yeah! His flier said 'I'll help you with any problem you have!'." Kyouko looked away and scratched behind one of her ears. "At least that's what Miss Nazrin said when I asked her to help me understand it."

"Maybe he'll just look at this all and laugh." The red-haired girl replied.

"That's a little mean, ain't it, Raiko? I've heard the new outsider's a real nice fella." The kappa retorted.

"He is, Nitori! That's why I asked him for help!" Kyouko said.

Raiko squinted and looked toward the other side of the courtyard. She leaned forward and pointed toward whatever she was looking at. A figure in some sort of dark-colored garb that Raiko guessed was a suit had gone past the open gates of the temple. The figure walked toward them at a leisurely pace.

"Is that him, Kyouko?" She asked.

Kyouko turned around to see who Raiko was pointing at, and when she saw who it was, an open-mouth smile (accompanied by tears) formed on her face. She carefully leaned her broom against the closest pillar, and unceremoniously took off at a run toward the figure. As she got closer and met them halfway, the figure in the dark-colored clothes was easier to make out. She didn't say anything and instead decided to collide with the figure and assault them with a hug.

"Okay, didn't expect that," Ray stated. He looked between the jovial Kyouko, and the trio of girls who waited expectantly on the steps. "How've you been, Kyouko? Said you needed my help?"

"Ray! I'm so happy you came! No one else wanted to help us and Misty can't sing because she hurt her throat and Eirin said it'll take a few weeks to fully heal and that she can't sing and-and-and I don't know what to do and I'm scared!"

Her voice was slightly muffled, as she had buried her face in Ray's suit jacket. He stared back at the trio, who motioned for him to do... something. He decided to simply pat Kyouko on the back.

"Don't worry, it's alright. Calm down... Calm down..." He said in a soft voice. Eventually, she did so. She rubbed her eyes and wiped her nose and looked up at him with what, at best, he could call the yokai equivalent of puppy dog eyes.

"Sorry..." She said.

He shook his head and held his hands up.

"It's fine, don't worry. So, you said you... need help with your band?"

"Yeah... Misty's voice is shot. Kyouko kinda did this without tellin' the rest of em', but that's not important right now!" Nitori exclaimed. At some point in the middle of Ray's consolation session, she and the rest of the band had converged on the two of them. She held out her hand for him to shake. "Nitori Kawashiro. I think Kyouko said I was the... Roadie, I think she called it?"

"Ray Dobbs, pleasure to meet you, Miss Kawashiro. I think you sold me a few things a little while ago in the village." He said as she shook her hand.

"Oh yeah! I sold you that pen and pad!" Nitori pointed to Raiko, who waved at him as if on cue. "This here's Raiko Horikawa. She's the drummer."

"Nice suit you got there. I'm glad to see someone other than Reisen has a taste in fashion around here." Raiko added.

"The same goes for yourself," Ray straightened his suit jacket. "And while I would like to talk more about the finer points of business fashion, we've got more important things to do. We got a place where we can talk without bothering anyone?"

Kyouko nodded and opened one of the large, ornate doors behind her. She went inside, followed by the three other yokai, and then Ray. The inside of the temple was spacious, to say the least. They entered directly into the main hall, where there was a large statue of The Buddha, along with other things important to meditation, and a woman sitting in the lotus position below the statue, her eyes closed. The woman's age was... hard for him to pinpoint. Just from looking at her, he had to guess that she was probably around his age, if not younger, but even if she looked human, she could easily be much, much, much older than him. Her hair, purple near the top of her head, slowly changing like it was gradient to a light brown, cascaded over her shoulders and touched the pillow that she sat on. To Ray, she looked to be lost, blissfully, in meditation. As soon as she was seen, Kyouko froze up, and the woman opened her eyes, which were a beautiful shade of violet. She did not look angry that she was disturbed. In fact, with the slight smile on her lips and the way her eyes had a certain happiness in them, she looked to be in quite the good mood.

"Good morning, Kyouko and friends," She said. Her voice was quite pleasant to listen to. Upon reaching the group, she seemed to focus on Ray. "I am Byakuren Hijiri, the sole nun of this temple." She finished with a bow, which he returned almost immediately.

"Raymond Dobbs, Ma'am. A pleasure to meet you. I'm here to help Miss Kasodani and her friends with a problem they're currently facing." He said curtly.

"Ah, with their musical ensemble? I take it you're the outsider that everyone has been talking about, and the one that Nue warned me about." She stated with a giggle. When she did so, Kyouko looked away from her, her ears and tail drooped.

"Yes, Ma'am. They're my first customers. I'm very happy to work with them."

"Oh, to be young again. Well, I shall leave you to your schemes. Kyouko, please make sure you make it in time for the midday prayer, please." With a smile, she pat Kyouko on the head, but Kyouko still avoided her gaze.

"Yes, Lady Byakuren..." She said sullenly.

The group left Byakuren to her meditations in the main hall and made their way to the common room just outside the dormitories for the priests. Surprisingly, the room was not as ascetic as Ray had expected it to be. The only furniture was a long table and some simple, yet cushioned benches. Kyouko sat down on one of the benches, her gaze placed on the floor below her shoes, her ears still drooped, and her hands placed in her lap.

"I'm sorry Kyouko. I just-" Ray could not finish his sentence before Raiko interrupted him.

"Didn't feel right lying to her?" She asked.

He looked at her, his eyes wide and his mouth slightly agape.

"... Yeah. Like, I'd regret it later on, even if I never saw her again." He ran his hands through his hair and stared at the wall. Raiko patted him on the back and gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

"She's too nice for this world." Nitori added. She slid her backpack's straps off of her shoulders and took a seat opposite of Mystia, who chose to sit beside Kyouko. She patted her friend on the back, who in return hugged her. When the tender moment had passed, Ray and Raiko took their places at the table. He cleared his throat and looked around at his assembled clients.

"Alright... So you want help with your band. Can you tell me what all that entails? Mystia's not able to sing. That's all I know." He stated.

The first to answer him was Mystia. She leaned in a bit so he could hear her better.

"A lot of our songs have both me and Kyouko singing. They don't really work without the two of us."

"Alright... What kind of genre is it?"

"Punk!" Kyouko interjected.

He looked at Kyouko, and then at Mystia, then at Kyouko again.

"Punk." He stated.

"Yeah." Mystia croaked out.

"The four of you are part... Of a punk band."

"Yeah," Raiko stood up, her hands on the table as she leaned over it to get in Ray's face. "You got a problem with that?" She asked him.

He shook his head. "Not at all. Believe it or not, when I was much younger, I was really into it, back when it was still the counterculture on the Outside. Hell, me and a few buddies even tried to form a band when we were in high school. Didn't go anywhere, but I know a little bit about punk music."

"You were... Part of a band?" Kyouko asked him.

"Yep. Lead vocalist and technically the manager, even if we acted like no one was 'the manager'," He said with air quotes and an eye roll. "I'm a little out of practice though." Kyouko's face brightened as her sad, sullen expression was replaced with a jubilant smile and bright eyes. Ray was pretty sure her tail was wagging as well.

"Didja hear that, Misty?! He can sing!" She hugged her friend again, who returned it with a relieved smile.

"Hang on, you two!" Nitori said, grabbing the attention of the group. "Yeah, so Ray here can sing, but y'know our audience, they're... not exactly the biggest fans of humans, right? If they find out you're playin' with a human even so much as helping, things could get a little... Bad. And not just for us! Ray'd be in jeopardy too!"

"Oh, yeah..." Kyouko agreed, her tone deflated once more as her ears drooped for the third time today. Nitori let out a sigh and shook her head.

"Hey, I can help you all with or without singing. I know a fair amount of punk songs that don't need duets, and I can tell you right now, if they're good enough for out there they're good enough for in here. Now, since Kyouko asked me for help I'm gonna refer to her on this," Ray looked Kyouko in the eye, and his gaze made her visibly shuffle a little in her seat. "Do you want me to help you with everything, including the singing, or do you want me to just help you with music that doesn't require a duet?"

"Umm..." Kyouko looked down at her hands. She fidgeted with them for a bit as she thought over her decision. The rest of them sat and waited warmly for her to come to her final decision. Abruptly, she coughed to get the attention of everyone present.

"I've never sang without Misty being my backup singer. I don't know if I can. It's... Scary being up on the stage and having everyone looking at you, and just at you. I mean, it's a fun kind of scary, but it's still scary. I don't know if I could do it without knowing she'll catch me."

Ray crossed his arms and nodded his head, his eyes closed as he listened to her. When she was finished, he spoke up.

"I think you should try to sing on your own."

"Eh?!"

Kyouko looked at him, her mouth agape and her eyes wide.

"I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I don't know if I can! Without Misty-"

Misty, in an attempt to calm Kyouko down, hugged her tightly. It caught Kyouko off-guard, who let out a startled squeal and went stiff as a board.

"You can do it, Kyouko. I believe in you." She whispered to her friend. Kyouko turned around and looked at Mystia, her eyes red from the tears that had started to form after hearing her friend's words of encouragement. She returned Mystia's hug and started to cry into her shoulder. After she had calmed down, she looked back at Ray, her eyes full of determination.

"Alright, let's rock!"

Ray pulled the curtain that separated A Dance of Bird and Beast (and him as well) from their adoring fans. He guessed that there might have been one-hundred or so youkai that he could see standing around, not to mention the ones who floated around lazily as they waited for the show to start. It had only been a week since he had started to help Kyouko with her band, and in that short amount of time he had seen more than he had ever thought he could of her, and the rest of her group's talents. Somehow, Nitori had gotten his phone's battery charged again, and he had Kyouko and her bandmates listen carefully to the songs that he knew were considered "punk". It was surprising just how quickly they had memorized, and in fact, learned to play them perfectly. He had helped them find a good location, and had helped them procure the necessary equipment needed to ensure that their performance would go off without a hitch.

Apparently, there was a trio of fairies that lived close to Reimu's shrine, and Cirno, who was quite a big fan of A Dance of Bird and Beast, had been able to talk them into meeting with them, which led to Ray procuring a rather large bottle of alcohol for them, which ensured their assistance in not bringing down the wrath of an angry miko, which was apparently a common occurrence before Nitori had joined the band and told them about the trio of fairies.

Ray lifted his mask and scratched the bridge of his nose. Nitori had it made for him, since she was more than a little worried about anyone who might take offense to a human being an honorary member of A Dance of Bird and Beast. It was a mask that made him look like a stylized rendition of... He guessed it was a crow tengu, based on the nose, which looked almost like a beak, with the lower half of it being removed so he could speak clearly. Along with that Misty and Kyouko had procured him a set of "punk-worthy" clothes from Kourin. It amounted to little more than a pair of black pants and a denim vest (which had apparently been a jacket before Mystia had gotten through with it). Under that, he wore his stained and faded t-shirt that he had worn when he had arrived in Gensokyo. With a black, neck-length wig that he had Alice make for him, it more-or-less made him look "very punk", as Kyouko had described it.

Along with that, it also made him not look like a human. According to Nitori, he looked like a tall tengu more than a human, and with her special "cologne" that he had been sprayed with, no one would guess he was a human unless they got up on stage and tore his mask off. That was the worst-case scenario, of course. If everything went well, Kyouko would rock the socks off of the audience all on her own. Nitori was a fan of redundancy, though, and had supplied Ray with a microphone, just in case. The fact Nitori could make a microphone in such short notice was quite an amazing feat, if Ray had anything to say about it. The thing was, like most of the tools made by Nitori, a mixture of bamboo and metal, with a cord running to a housing that he had clipped on his belt where Mystia and Kyouko could not see him.

Apparently, she had made the whole stage, on top of all of the equipment. The girl was definitely a prodigy when it came to engineering, to the point Elon Musk would probably give up half his wealth just to have her working under him. She could probably get him to Mars in a year if she put her mind to it. She, just like the rest of the band, had dressed herself up. While the rest of them wore what they thought was considered "punk". They all wore black, with Kyouko wearing a black kimono, sunglasses, and a leather band on both of her wrists. Mystia wore a black dress, hat, and sunglasses as well. Raiko on the other hand, chose to wear a simple black suit with a red dress shirt underneath. Nitori chose to wear her normal clothes, but they had been dyed black so as to not draw as much attention to herself during performances.

"One minute until showtime, people!" Nitori exclaimed. Ray moved to stage left to watch the show, and Nitori shortly followed him. Every few steps, she took a metal ball out of a pocket and tossed it into the air. Somehow, they sprouted small propellers and kept themselves aloft. When the curtains began to open, they all emitted a light that shone down on the trio. A hush fell over the crowd, and over Kyouko as well.

"Um... We're A Dance of Bird and Beast, and we're here to... umm..." She started. The audience contorted and moved to look less like their adoring fans, and more like an amorphous mass of darkness that could swallow the stage in an instant. Kyouko looked at Mystia, but she looked so far away. Her hands began to shake. "Um..."

Ray could see the fright in her eyes. She looked like a deer in headlights. If she didn't have sense knocked back into her, this wouldn't end well at all. The crowd began to look around and murmur amongst themselves. In the back, he even saw a few walk or fly away. Ray had seen enough. He twisted the dial on his microphone and stepped out into the light of the stage. Mystia saw him and began to strum out the opening riff to the song that they had planned to open with. Kyouko looked at Mystia, and then at Ray, her eyebrows raised and her mouth slightly agape. Ray looked out at the crowd. From what little he could see, they were more than a little surprised to see him. He did not have any more time to think about it now, so he began to sing.

You can't feel the heat until you hold your hand over the flame.

You have to cross the line just to remember where it lays.

He always sounded somewhat deeper than the original creator of this song, but he could sing it well enough in a pinch. His voice had Kyouko free of her stupor, and so she began to strum out an accompanying rhythm on her bass. Ray walked along the stage, looking out into the crowd. He raised his arm and held it, palm up and fingers outstretched, toward them.

You won't know your worth now son, until you take a hit.

And you won't find the beat until you lose yourself in it...

His hand balled into a fist and he quickly drew it close to his chest. As soon as he did that, the lights began to flash into an explosion of color and sound as Myistia dramatically increased the speed of her melody. Raiko joined in, hammering out a hard beat to go with Mystia's riffs.

That's why we won't back down, we won't run and hide!

Yeah, cause these are the things that we can't deny!

I'm passing over you like a satellite, so catch me if I fall!

As Ray began to sing the next verse, he started to walk across the stage. He stopped in the center, turned quickly and pointed toward the direction of the Hakurei Shrine.

That's why we stick to your game plans and party lights!

But at night we're conspiring by candlelight!

We are the orphans of the Gensokyo dream, so shine your light on me!

The crowd started to get into it, as they began to cheer, dance and get lost in the music. Thankfully, Kyouko and Mystia were fine with changing a lyric here and there, since it was not like they were going to be sued by the original songwriters.

"C'mon, I can't hear you!" Ray shouted at them during Mystia's bridge riff.

You can't fill your cup until you empty all it has!

You can't understand what lays ahead, if you don't understand the past!

You'll never learn to fly now till you're standing at the cliff!

And you can't truly love until you've given up on it...

That's why we won't back down, we won't run and hide!

Yeah, cause these are the things that we can't deny!

I'm passing over you like a satellite, so catch me if I fall!

That's why we stick to your game plans and party lights!

But at night we're conspiring by candlelight!

We are the orphans of the Gensokyo dream, so shine your light on me!

She told me that she never could face the world again, so I offered up a plan...

Ray took hold of his microphone with both of his hands, as all of the stage lights centered on him. As he looked out into the crowd, he saw, just for a second, a flash of light. He guessed it was a camera flash. Mystia's hard riffs slowed to a single pluck every few seconds. Raiko's mad drumming became just a slight tap of her cymbals.

We'll sneak out while they sleep and sail off in the night.

We'll come clean and start over, the rest of our lives.

When we're gone, we'll stay gone, out of sight, out of mind, it's not too late,

Then, Kyouko and Raiko joined in for the chorus, as the lights moved out to illuminate them all as they picked up the tempo. Mystia even mouthed the lyrics, as if to sing with them in spirit.

We have the rest of our lives! (We have the rest of our lives!)

We'll sneak out while they sleep and sail off in the night! (We have the rest of our lives!)

We'll come clean and start over, the rest of our lives! (We have the rest of our lives!)

When we're gone, we'll stay gone, out of sight, out of mind!

It's not too late! We have the rest of our lives! The rest of our lives!

Because we won't back down, we won't run and hide!

Yeah, cause these are the things that we can't deny!

I'm passing over you like a satellite, so catch me if I fall!

That's why we stick to your game plans and party lights!

But at night we're conspiring by candlelight!

We are the orphans of the Gensokyo dream, so shine your light on me! (Shine your light on me!)

No we won't back down, we won't run and hide!

Yeah, cause these are the things that we can't deny! (Shine your light on me!)

I'm passing over you like a satellite!

Cause are the things that we can't deny, no!

This is the life that you can't deny us now!

When they stopped, the crowd was going wild. Ray looked back at Kyouko, who was absolutely glowing. Her tail was wagging, she had a bright smile on her face, and she looked like she could barely contain herself. Ray cleared his throat and checked his microphone.

"Good evening, Gensokyo!" He shouted out. The crowd cheered even louder, and there were even a few howls, roars, and other things mixed in. "God, is it great to be here. We're A Dance of Bird and Beast, and we're here..." He looked at Kyouko and Mystia and nodded, and they nodded back.

"To make you fear the night!"

Ray and A Dance of Bird and Beast sat in front of the stage. Their performance had gone on for quite some time, but after about ten or so songs, they called the show there and the youkai had more-or-less dispersed. Only a small handful of youkai stuck around to chat with one another, but they numbered in about the low tens at the highest. Kyouko could not keep her hands to herself, staying attached to Ray's waist as she hugged him tightly, on the verge of tears.

"I don't know what came over me! I've never felt like that on stage before! If you weren't there I don't know what I would've done!" She bawled into his jacket. Ray patted her on the head as she continued to cling to him.

"Everything turned out for the better in the end, didn't it?" He was finally able to remove Kyouko from his waist, and she looked up at him and sniffled. "This could've gone a lot worse than it did."

"Yeah..." She said.

He reached down and tousled her hair, but before she could fix it, someone else came up to the five of them. The girl in question had purple hair, and for some reason, looked to have a set of crumpled-looking rabbit's ears buttoned to her head. She was wearing all black, like most of the concertgoers had, but she shook with anxiety and excitement. In her shaking hands, she held some square of paper and a pen similar to the kappa-made one that Ray had back home.

"Hey Reisen. How'd you like the show?" Raiko asked her.

"That was the best show you've ever done! Out of all of your performances, and yes, I've been to all of them since you started, it's blown all of them out of the water by far!" She answered, her voice trembling a little. She held out the paper square and the pen as she bent forward into a bow.

"C-can I have your autographs, please?!" She asked, her voice raised to the point it almost squeaked out.

A silence fell over the group as they processed Reisen's request. After a moment, Kyouko was the first to speak up.

"What's an autograph?"

Ray took the square and pen from Reisen, who looked like she was about to faint.

"She wants us to sign our names so she can remember she was here."

He was about to sign his name, but he stopped just as the pen hit the paper. He could not sign his name! If he did, he would have thrown away everything that Nitori had done for him to hide his identity! What would the village think if they found out that their newest outside was out cavorting with youkai in the early hours of the morning? He would be exiled at best, lynched at the worst.

"Are you gonna sign your name, R-" Kyouko's thoughtless outburst was silenced by both Raiko and Mystia covering her mouth with their hands.

"Yeah, yeah! He's signing it! He's just trying to remember how to spell his stage name!" Raiko exclaimed. A bit of nervous laughter followed her deflection.

"He uses a stage name?" Reisen asked.

"Yep. There's a lot of people who would be pretty angry if they found out I was out singing my heart out." Ray answered.

He scribbled out something in long form cursive.

"So you can call me Cobain."