AN : Long time no see. It's been months, isn't it... I've watched some gameplays of AoCF and found that Marisa ends up beating Koishi instead Joon. So I'm going to implement this info on this chapter in order to keep the canonicity, although I can't say for sure. I'll leave it to you readers. You can read the real reason of my absence in my profile. By the way, Yasei already got his powers, and his rage manipulation already awakened on the tournament that time. Now it's up to him to awaken his speed manipulation. I'll tell you, since Yorigami sisters already mentioned by Yasei, this won't be the same like before. (PS : By the time I start making this chapter, arcluz77 already quits DA.) Then, without further ado!

Wild Nerd's Strange Life Saga Chapter 9

Silent Day of Raging Speed

AoCF summary so far…

After being told by Reimu about 'Perfect Possession', Marisa and Koishi decided to test it. Their first move is challenging Ichirin and Futo, which they beat easily. Then Nitori and Kokoro appear and the former is trying to gather data regarding the method mentioned above. From them, Marisa learned that the 'Urban Legend' Incident is the catalyst of this. Apparently, that incident is the first part of 'Occult Ball' Incident. Later, they 'rendezvoused' with Reimu and Kasen to 'discuss' about it further.

In other hands, Yasei's 'squad' already moves to Concert Stage of the Sun far earlier. They're able to 'clear' the area and secure it before Vaati got a call from Reimu, telling her that Marisa is on her way there. Hearing this, Yasei's group decided to leave the area to Cirno's group while discussing their next plan in Human Village. While they were in the middle of the discussion, Arcluz suddenly appears and he volunteers to join the 'cleaning' party members, which Yasei obliges. At the night time, the humans come back to the stage area.

Unfortunately, Lucy's 'blunder' puts them to a difficult situation, as Marisa notices her shout and rushes there. Thankfully, Yasei managed to stall her long enough until the music starts. Sanae then calls him, Lucy, and Vaati to meet Yukari. Keen with the situation, Hiroshi and the rest of humans decided to watch the 'show' from a distance. He concludes that Marisa somehow managed to drive Yorigami sisters away. But he missed a point…

Early morning at the Training Grounds…

Perfecting his parkour martial arts, Yasei stays awake after he helps Lucy and Rozie finding a place to stay. He has been here since then. 'Now that I think about it… If Hiroshi can read my parkour martial art moves, plus I already knew about Shadow Fight history, doesn't that mean it works the same in reverse as well?' Before he could resume his thought, Hiroshi calls him. "I need your help here, Champion."

Soon after, both Yasei and Hiroshi can be seen inside the armory of Guards' Base. "Never expect to see such armory here…" The former looks around, and surprised to see that the equipment stored in the armory are the exact one used by Shadow, the main character of the Shadow Fight 2. As if he can read Yasei's expression, Hiroshi pats his shoulder, and points at the doors located at each side of walls, apart from the exit. "There's still more of it inside each of the doors, but before we go inside, I need to speak with you regarding a matter since our fighting style is based on same root, as you conclude two days ago."

Yasei didn't speak for few seconds, and after that, he nods. "Alright, but next time, just call me Yasei or Wilder. Lucy already calls me Wild-kun. So, what's the thing I should know?"

Taking a deep breath, Hiroshi starts talking about their fight in the last tournament, and what he learned from Yasei's fighting style. Then he moves to the main topic. "A day after the tournament, I got a message. Most of the wordings are incomprehensible, but somehow I know what it means. Without hesitation, I rushed to the armory and found new equipment scattered on the floor."

Both fell silent for a moment. "I assume that's the reason why there are new rooms in this armory." Hiroshi nods and he resumes. "I then call all Level 7 Guards to gather at the armory and help me arranging the equipment. Right after we done arranging it, there are another message lying in the floor, and this time we can read it clearly. Actually, it's not only a message that we found. We also found 3 catalogues."

Meanwhile, in Lucy's house…

"Okay, that should do." Fully aware that youkai aren't as well received as humans in the village, Lucy also didn't sleep to make a special hat for Rozie, her dog friend. "Is it done, Lucy-san?" The said dog youkai waits as her former master puts a finishing touch. "Yep, and good thing I already saw this hat style." Lucy then gives it to Rozie. "Try it out."

Few minutes later…

"So, when you said you already saw this hat style, what do you mean, Lucy-san?" That reminds Lucy when she was still named Luke, back when Ran escorts him to Human Village clinic. "You know that person who brings the sealed letter to Wild-kun? Her shikigami wears the hat with this style. It covers the ears well, so you don't have to worry, Rozie." Blinking her puppy eyes, Rozie asks again. "Shikigami? What was that, again?"

After a brief explanation…

"It's a bit complicated, but that person I mention earlier has a shikigami who happens to get her own shikigami. By the way, did you say that you had to expel a cat youkai at your training period?" Trying to connect the points, Lucy asks Rozie to tell a certain event. The latter quickly nods. "Right, and look like that cat's appearance matches your description, Lucy-san. Should I tell you the details?" They were walking to the Guard's Base. "Okay, might as well."

Two years ago, in Youkai Mountain…

"Phew… That's the last of them, Momiji-san." Looking at youkai bodies laid in the ground, Rozie sheathes her Lance Rapier. The tengu village sent a squad of Wolf Guard to stop a group of savage youkai that considered as a threat. Momiji is leading the said squad, and she decides to bring Rozie as well, considering her satisfying training result and progress. "Good. We should come back to report the elders… Wait, what's wrong?" To her surprise, Rozie unsheathes her weapon again.

"I just sensed a stronger presence than the savages. It's too familiar to the point even my instincts says so." Reminded with what Yukari said when Rozie first 'dropped' to Gensokyo, Momiji instantly knew what that means. 'That stray cat… I don't know why that shikigami couldn't keep her eyes to her… Either way, it won't be good.' She decides to let Rozie take care of the said cat. "Be careful, then. She's not a pushover, even when her master is away."

With Momiji and the Wolf Guards went back to the village, Rozie is the only one remains to watch the place. Tightening her grips on Lance Rapier, she continues to trace the said presence, until suddenly something charges to her direction. "!" Without wasting time, she jumps away to avoid the attack. '... It seems that attack is a lot faster than I thought.' Sure enough, her clothes were torn slightly, precisely on the left sleeves.

The said presence then charges again. But Rozie now able to trace its movement and hits it. "Kyan!" What surprises her is the said presence turns out to be Chen, just like what Momiji said before. 'Momiji-san is right… She's quite a brute cat.' Without wasting time, she continues to deflect any attacks onwards, and finally able to drive her away. 'Good thing one of my inherited skills allows me to trace any presence once they made physical contact with me… I better report back.'

Present Day

"Wait, what?! You actually faced Chen?!" Lucy is very surprised. She didn't expect a literal fight between dog and cat takes place in Gensokyo two years ago. (Literal, since Rozie is a dachshund youkai, and Chen is a nekomata) "Yes. She's quite fast, and I'd say she's slightly slower than Wilder-san that time. But by now, I'm sure she becomes faster. Does it help?" Lucy thinks for a minute before remembering yesterday morning, when she looks at Yasei's Challenge Agenda.

"Thanks, Rozie. I'm sure Wild-kun would find this info useful. Now, shouldn't we go meet him? He's already inside." Lucy motions Rozie to follow her entering Human Village Guard's base. Just when they are about to enter, the post guard stops them. "Hold it, we can't allow a youkai to enter without a good reason." Rozie is about to be angered by that, but Lucy stops her before it's too late. "Remember what I told you before? Wait here." She then speaks to the post guard. "Our friend has promised to teach her basic swordsmanship, and we are given shelter here by Keine Kamishirasawa, thanks to him. We are informed that he's already inside."

The post guard fell silent for a moment. His expression states that he somehow has an idea of who the described person is. But it didn't faze him for long. "Then you two better wait here. I'll check if your friend is really here." And to both Lucy and Rozie's surprise, he produces a WT. "Hiroshi-san, a woman with an animal youkai asks for your permission to enter." It didn't take too long for the reply to come. "Then let them in. They are the friends of the tournament champion, Thesda-san and Rozie."

Needless to say, he is surprised. "Wait, Hiroshi-san, then who will watch the youkai?" The reply comes in a different voice. "I'll do it. I'm the one who invite them. You have my word as the tournament champion." Then it returns to Hiroshi's voice again. "It's just as he said. Before you ask, I'm the one who give them access. As for Rozie, she only can enter when Thesda-san comes here as well. She, along with Wilder, the champion, is two of the four that I grant permanent access to this base."

The post guard silently nods. "Alright, I'll inform them." Hesitantly, he tells them that they are allowed to enter. And as expected, both Yasei and Hiroshi waiting in the inside. "It must be very hard to go past the security. I can't say I blame them, though. With recent incident, that's to be expected." Hiroshi explains the reason for the tightened security in the front gate. "Right, and not to mention the village economy almost collapsed... Thank god I decided to return most of the prize to the village. It's as if something is about to happen, I tell you."

Just as he done said that, Yasei readies his Iron Metric Sword. "That aside, we might be able to rest easy, but this incident won't solve itself, don't you agree Rozie?" The dachshund youkai almost surprised with his stance, but found out the signal. She then readies her Lance Rapier. "Indeed, and what we can do is assist them with what we can do best." Lucy is surprised at first, but she decides to not interfere. 'Wild-kun already managed to beat few elite youkai, and even became the tournament champion. In the other hand, Rozie is trained by the tengus. Four years, at that... Meanwhile my only forte is long range assist... I think I need to ask some pointers from him later.'

While Yasei and Rozie faces each other in the base, let's see what the rest of the party do for this day. According to the info, they can rest for now, but the mission will be resumed tomorrow.

"I didn't expect you to come here, Arcluz. Are you sure about this?" Hotaru is talking with Arcluz regarding his condition. "Don't worry about me. I might consider this as blessing from God to improve my skills. Besides, we already listed as his party member." "Right, and what we can do now is to prepare for tomorrow." Vaati suddenly appears, interrupts both of them. "Speaking about it, where did you went last night, Vaati? I didn't see you after the dismissal." Hotaru is reminded about the ending of the second day. "About that, I was in Lucy's house. Apparently, Yasei managed to ask Keine for another shelter, which now occupied by both her and Rozie. What I didn't expect is, Sanae will assist us for the rest of the mission."

That manages to make Hotaru and Arcluz surprised. Noticing it, Vaati retells what happens this dawn. "Let me update you regarding this."

Dawn time, in Lucy's house...

"So, here's what we must do for today." Yasei leads the briefing of the day. (Briefing, hmm...) Remember that he is already assigned as the leader, albeit in unfavorable event, such as this incident. "All of us should either recover or improve ourselves. This is extremely important." Before he can resume, Sanae interrupts. "But, Yasei, you can't let yourself be held back by common sense here!" Silence for few seconds. "Really? Is that the only reason you interrupt, Sanae? I do admit that, but at least use some logic. Staying awake two days in a row isn't good for health, and not all of us are able to do such feat."

Lucy connects with her opinion. "Technically, both I and Vaati joins last night, but we both agree with him. He also took the case of insomnia in consideration, hence the part that says self-improvement." In response, Vaati nods.

"Then, proceed to the next step of the plan. From the data I gather, there will be a concert two days in a row, starting tomorrow. We will go there, just like yesterday. And when they comes, we need your help here, Sanae." The said shrine maiden got surprised by that. "Wait, why me?" Yasei explains the reason. "Because, only miracle that can prevent us from being the victim of 'Perfect Possession'. Truth to be told, the village economy is declining, and we must take back the money stolen by Yorigami sisters when they busy fighting whoever comes."

Again, silence for few seconds.

"I know it isn't right, but please note that the villagers will most likely come to see the concerts. And here's my plan. On this Spell Card, Financial Ruin "Pluck Pigeon", we will take half of the fallen moneys. Like Ian Fleming once wrote in Goldfinger, 'Once is an accident, twice is a coincidence, three times is an enemy action.' By the time they notice however, it will be too late, since we already completed restoring the village's economy. That's all I could say for now."

Vaati seems to notice the loophole of the plan, but she decides to not push it. "Got it. So we must take back the moneys from them and return it to the village, right? Then it's only right for us to train ourselves. Most likely they won't react nicely even on the first phase."

That makes Sanae excited. "Wow, so we act like Robin Hood now, except this time, it's the true Robin Hood who respects hard work." Nearly everyone is confused by that statement. (Trust me, they really did. Even I confused, too.) Once it calms down, Yasei decides to give the plan a code name. "Then, let's call this Robin Hood Plan." (For real, Yasei-kun?)

Present Day

"In this case, Hotaru, your tables will play a very important role. Surely you know where this went. And as for you, Arcluz, try not to get hit too much. Your role here will be as important." Both of them responds with a nod. "Got it. Oh, I almost forgot, where's Yasei?"

Around the same time, in Human Village Guard's Base...

Yasei and Rozie already take few blows since the start of the fight. Both of them now are slightly fatigued. "Phew... Who would thought that you can trace me once I hit you, Rozie..." Rozie responds to Yasei's compliment with one of her own. "You too, Wilder-san. Your speed is as par as someone I faced back then." Lucy is surprised as she heard that, but Yasei quickly notices it. "I see... There's only one active nekomata that is well-known here. Don't you think this is enough?" Both of them sheathes their weapon back. (In Yasei's case, putting it in his socket)

"That should do for now. I think it's about time to test this new ability of mine." Both Lucy and Rozie are stunned as they hear that. 'New ability...?' Understandable, considering Lucy and the others are blocked by a barrier when Reimu test Yasei, and Rozie only came out last night. "Hiroshi, I need your help for this special training." The said guard leader nods and guides him to the sparring room.

"I guess that means we also need to do our best as well, Lucy-san. We're listed as the party members, after all." Looking at Rozie for quite a long time, Lucy is reminded about how much Gensokyo's environment changes her in these years, and as she about to enter some harsh memories, she shook her head. "Are you alright?" Here, her former pet, now a dear friend of her, Rozie, is worried about her condition. That makes Lucy come to a conclusion. "I'm fine. And you're right. We can't let ourselves burden Wild-kun anymore."

Meanwhile in Moriya Shrine...

"It's quite unexpected for you to asking for a special training, Sanae... I suppose it's because your friend?" Noticing an unusual attitude from the said shrine maiden, Kanako seems interested about what makes her like that. "You could say it like that, Kanako-sama... This time, it will be different, since I won't go alone. I just came back from the village last night. Speaking about which, that reminds me... Can we do that training with balls again? I won't complain now." That makes Kanako grins. "So you're ready for it now..."

Back to Human Village...

Hotaru, along with Vaati and Arcluz are searching for Yasei when they saw Lucy and Rozie came out from the Guards' Base. Then the former asks. "Oh, Lucy. Did you see Yasei?" Lucy nods and explains that Yasei has been in the Guards' Base after that briefing. "And I guess that you and Arcluz also get informed as well... by Vaati, indeed..." Everyone else laughs as Lucy frowns.

"So, how did it go? Is Rozie adapting well?" It's Vaati's turn to ask. "Yeah, and she's even able to fight on par with Wild-kun. I suppose that training she get from the Tengus does help..." Arcluz nodding his head while Hotaru is confused. "What does that mean, Arcluz? It seems like you already know about it." Silent for a moment... "Well, I've been there before. The Tengu Village, I mean. You probably didn't know, but I came a month after Wicked Star Incident. Probably because the close relation with my religion, or something like that. Anyway, that happens when I still had the divine powers that God gave me. But I think it's better if we wait until they done their job on the base. I'll tell you when they are with us."

Sparring room in Human Village Guards' Base...

Few shurikens and kunais is in the floor, and oddly enough, none of them pierced it. "So, did you finally get a grip of your power, Wilder?" Panting heavily, Yasei nods and raises his right thumb. "Thanks. It was harder than I thought to finally able to use it consciously. But now it shouldn't be a problem. I suppose we can conclude this for today. I'm sure everyone else are waiting outside." After picking up the ninja projectiles, they went outside.

Around the same time in Moriya Shrine...

Many balls scattered on the ground of Moriya Shrine, and the shrine maiden finally completes her training. "That friend of yours really rub you with some of his good traits... Look like you can take care of yourself from now on." Satisfied with the result, Kanako nods, approving Sanae's participation. The latter bows, giving thanks to her patron goddess. "It's all thanks to you, Kanako-sama. I apologize for my lack of vigor last time. This time, I'll make sure to help them resolve the incident."

AN : Note for you readers, this is only a part of this chapter, meaning I haven't finished this yet. But I couldn't let it hidden forever, so I'll let you read this and give me a review so I can read it for more improvement. See, it isn't as easy as you think, and that's why I need your help. That's all and wait until this chapter completed.

PS : Actually, one of the OC listed here, Hotaru, is an alias of Bluyidark. Remember Chapter 4? And Bluyidark will have her birthday this month. To be honest, I already have a surprise waiting. Note this date : February 26th. I'll let you know when I'm ready to deliver it, and post the link to my DeviantArt account (which isn't grand, but at least, this will help me for that surprise.)