This is the Cirno News Network with a breaking news story. Just in from the British Isles, from the desk of the King of England himself. In due time, the lords and ladies of the various feudal states that have popped up on the isles are to meet up soon, and to determine on how to restore itself to a parliamentary system. This is a large step for the isles, which descended into anarchy after the explosion. However, as always, it could be a trap for the ruler of Britain to expand his own power instead. More as this develops, and as ships cross the Atlantic.

Thank you, and enjoy the show. This has been THE STRONGEST! Now back to your irregularly scheduled fic.

Touhoumon: Gray Version
Chapter 11: Slow Sense of Urgency

Whatever could be said about our new train, I will say this. It was fast. We tore across the surface of the lake as if we were one of the aircraft of old, instead of a steam-puffing monster. The biggest impetus for our current need to get over land, though, was to give Nitori a rest from manipulating the water in the boiler.

Fortunately, land quickly came into sight, which allowed our kappa to finally take a break. As she rested against the tender while we kept an eye on the train, we slowly coasted to a stop a few miles inland.

Apparently, wherever we had come ashore was in the middle of a large amount of farmland, with no significant amount of trees we could cut down to use for fuel. While Tokiko did offer to scout around for anything nearby, I just shook my head. No need to be going so far out of our way for a few small twigs that might be called trees. Besides, some of these probably belonged to somebody. And while I had no compunctions against taking from the lunarians, I did have some against taking from people that lived here.

During our time of rest, we decided instead to take stock of the situation, and see how much we had on us… Along with how much of the train we had left. Said inspection was conducted rather quickly, all things considered. Not counting the Cannonball herself, along with her tender, there were only six cars left on the train. Plus, the coupler on the rear had been sheared off, so we couldn't even think of attaching another car until we had it repaired.

As for the cars themselves, there was little of note. Most of the train had been either been cleaned out or lost the luggage to the depths of space. In a few of the closets we found a few garments hanging, but they were much too old and much too flimsy to think of changing out of. While we did not smell that nicely, we knew that those clothes would be torn to pieces at the slightest exertion.

Not that it didn't stop Joy and Tokiko's eyes from lingering, but we still had more to do.

to our largest relief, there were some washrooms on the first car, letting us take advantage of our first bath in who knows how long. Tokiko nearly cried with glee as she claimed her own, causing me to chuckle to myself at her antics. Turning about to head back down the train, I found myself being stopped by my sister. "Gray, show me your hand."

Wincing at the look in her eye, I held up my hand, letting her inspect it. She grabbed it by the wrist gently, looking at it from every angle. "Hrm." She dithered for a moment, before looking up at me once again. "You should have said something. If I hadn't noticed you wincing earlier, this would have gone untreated. Which would have caused an infection, or worse."

Bashfully, I rubbed the back of my head. "I know, I know… It just didn't seem that important at the time." I was about to say that it would heal on its own, given enough time, but knowing my sister…. The result would not be good.

One harrumph later, and she disappeared back into the train. After waiting a minute, she returned with one of the pieces of clothing that adorned the garments we found earlier. To my simple eyes, it appeared to be some kind of scarf, or at least it had been at one point in time.

Grabbing me by the arm, she forced me into the nearest washroom. "Rinse it off real quick." Immediately obeying, I found the faucet and turned it on. I didn't exactly know how the train still had running water. But considering that it was cool and clear to the touch, and not full of slime and whatever else it might have after who knows how many years, it must have been filled recently. That's all overlooking the simple answer of Nitori filling up the tanks, so perhaps I'm reading too much into it.

Still, I had to finish the job. Wincing as I let the water flow over the skin, taking away the remnants of the flesh that had once been the palm, I waited for her to give the word. Thirty seconds into the cold torture she finally nodded.

Just as swiftly as earlier, she grabbed me by the wrist. Holding my hand up, she warned, "Hold still." Without pause, she took the scarf and tore it in pieces, loosely tying it around my hand. "Not what I'd prefer, but it'll do. Once we get to a town, we'll get a proper bandage and some salve." Still, she didn't say anything else as she finished the knot. "There. Just try not to punch through any more doors for a little while."

Chuckling, I waved her on. "If you say so. I hadn't seen any that have insulted me recently, so I'll think I'll let them live." I got a small smile for my troubles, before she left me be, presumably to go take a shower of her own.

After taking the momentary peace to relieve myself, I finally left the washroom, before gazing up and down the train. Walking up towards the front of the car, I heard the water running. Nothing too particularly high-pressure, so probably gravity powered. Familiar, that was. After shrugging off the possibility of a short bath, considering how long it had been since the previous, I turned back to do what I had intended to do in the first place. I found myself walking back along the cars, until I came to one of the compartments in the last one. Slipping inside, I fell back into the cushioned seats, and closed my eyes.

Sleep, as welcome as it might have been, was not what I wanted. We still had some kind of schedule we needed to maintain, and we had to leave for the city as soon as possible. But… I wanted some peace and quiet, to think about what's happened.

After all, we've had no rest, none at all. Granted, the drive to the badlands base might be called rest, but even sitting that long is tiring, especially when you drive for hours on end. I'm still not quite sure how I had the endurance to do it.

For that matter, I've no idea how I'd lasted this long, and gone this far. I know that I went to all the trouble, all the running around to take revenge for mother and father… Why does that seem so long ago, even if it hasn't been two days?

I couldn't help but sigh at the thought. Leaning down, I pulled out that sack that I had on my body ever since we left. The one that I was quite sure I should hate, for what it's done. And I'm not quite sure how much I should believe that damn lunarian, and what she said.

The thought made me snort. How are we that similar? She wants to destroy humanity, and I just wanted revenge for what had been done to my kin and me. I'm not a complicated person. I like simple things, simple answers. Simple reasons for the way things are. I suppose that all the answers aren't so simple, though.

Reluctantly, I withdrew one of the balls from the sack. Even though I wasn't searching for any one in particular, I was not at all surprised at the one that came out. The one with the red feather. I grimaced as I turned it over in my hand, staring at it. One of the damned things that keep them bound to me. In the end, what makes me different from her? Her plan is to do the same thing.

Hell, I've probably helped her out, in some regard. We never had much access to the things before, but we've used them. And they've always disappeared… Tokiko was the first one to not do that. It couldn't have been more than a dozen, myself, over the years. But after how many my father had used, not to mention every other human that lived in the hills and the woods… There must have been tens of thousands, from my home state alone. All together, it was a veritable army on its own.. And we gathered it against us.

I couldn't help but feel somewhat glad that I had captured Tokiko. if it had been the other ball, she would have been sent straight to the moon. To Toyohime… Shivering at the prospect, I gripped the ball tighter. Even if I'm not that good of a person, Toyohime would be so much worse. Or would she? After all, she did attempt to trip me up and have me as breakfast. It was only after that she actually started to become friendlier.

Would she have done such a thing? Would she have gone over like the other monsters, relishing in the chance to kill other humans? Loving the opportunity to have revenge for all that had been done to her, by all the humans of her former home? And is it only the ball that made her friendly?

I honestly should stop thinking about those problems, right now. Considering what we're up against, any indecision could spell disaster. But the prospect of forcing her to do something in my name… It still brought me chills.

Before I could put away my possessions, however, I found myself being interrupted by the door of the compartment sliding open. I nearly jumped as it did, snapping my head over to see whom it was. I didn't even need to get past the knees to tell, though. What with that purple dress she wore, it was most obvious who had come in to visit me.

Tokiko glanced down at the item in my hands, and at my face, before narrowing her eyes. Eventually, she found that she had nothing to truly worry about, so she stepped inside. "Hello there, Gray. We were looking for you." She tilted her head to the side, eyes opening back up. "But there's something bothering you." No question. Just a statement that she knew was true.

And I was not nearly foolish enough to try and deny it. "Pretty much. The lunarian up there said some things that struck pretty close to home." Sighing, I looked down at the floor. "Didn't want to bother either of you, so I came back here."

Frown marring her face, she slipped on over to the opposite bench, looking at me. "Not that I need to know or anything, but you can tell me." As she spoke, she spread her wings, before beginning to preen as she spoke, giving her hands some busywork to do.

I watched her do the job for a few seconds, straightening out all of the feathers that had become displaced over the past few days. I suppose I had never noticed the work that birds really do go through to keep flying. For some reason, though, watching this was relaxing.

Eventually, I shook myself out of the odd reverie. Finally, I decided to answer her, even though her cheeks had turned red in the meantime. "I suppose… I can. Besides, it's something about you… Technically you and Nitori."

Her eyes fell to the ball, still in my hand. "Something about those things, isn't it."

"Yup." I closed my eyes. "Had a conversation with that moon bi- princess." I switched my words up at the last seconds, not wanting to be cursing too much in front of her. "Back when she took me away from you all…" Silence was all I received from her as she waited for me to continue. "Just something she said that got me so mad… I wanted to punch her for all that she did say."

A small grin came over her face, as she took a moment to wring some water out of her headwing. "That might explain why you were so enthusiastic about fighting her."

I immediately looked down at her observation. Maybe I did enjoy taking her out a little bit too much. "It might. It was infuriating, talking with someone like that. It was like speaking with someone who wasn't even human." Before my mouth even closed, I found myself cringing at my rather poor choice of words.

At first, she opened her mouth, intending to excoriate me with a few rather choice words. Instead though, she thought for a few moments more, giving me an intrigued look. "So, does that mean that you consider me as human? Because last that I checked…" Well, she did not need to finish, but instead flapped her wings to emphasize her point.

Now, that was a bit of a complex question. And at the same time, it was not. How could I answer? "To be honest… I still think of you as a youkai. It is obvious, after all. Especially after all the effort we put forth trying to hide you from the humans."

As I spoke, she seemed to droop slightly, although the last line did earn a snort from her. "I remember that. And as much as wearing a human's hat was interesting… Glad that I don't have to do it again."

There was only one problem with that sentiment. "We are going to be in another city pretty soon. You're going to have to hide them again." Smiling sadly, I shrugged. "Not like I particularly want you to either, but we don't want to be chased out of town before we can warn everybody."

"I know, I know. Still… The human clothing is scratchy, especially over my wings." She froze, stumbling over her words as I had done. "Not that there was anything wrong with what you've done for me, not in the slightest."

"Next time, tell me then. I can't imagine what it'd be like to have wings, much less what they'd feel like being stuck under a coat. Or a hat, for that matter." Completely honest. I suppose I could try stuffing something in a hat, to try and emulate it, but that sounds quite dumb to me. But we were getting off topic." Giving her a significant look, she seemed to realize this as well. "At least you're good at distracting me, considering I didn't want to speak of that."

Said words seemed to just make her clam up, as she looked at the floor. Not what I had intended. Still, as much as I wished to distract her, I should get this load of my chest. The lunarian, Toyohime… She approved of what I had done. Said it was a progressive thing to do. To take a youkai as a pet."

I grimaced, as I spoke to the floor. "After all, that is their plan, isn't it? To take us all as their slaves and pets. She was glad that there were some humans who had adopted such a strategy." To emphasize my words, I kicked a spot of dust on the floor. "Not that it meant she'd let me go. It would just ensure that I would be granted to someone of prestige."

"That hit me a bit deeper than it should have. Or should it? As much as I've tried to avoid it, that's what I've done to you." I looked up, finally meeting her eyes. "I've basically enslaved you. Just the same as I did to Nitori. I tried to put pretty words about it to make me feel better… But it didn't work. It didn't alleviate that sick feeling in my stomach."

Sighing, she reached over towards me. "Gray…"

Holding up her hand, I tried to keep her from speaking. "But that's not all. The girl, if you could call her that, was wondering why I hadn't played with you." Feeling the heat rise up in my ears, I once more looked away. "And not in that manner, either. II don't know how she knew… Perhaps she assumed that I would act as she would, and when I didn't respond the same."

"And do you remember, back in Chicago, and the factory?" Well, that was particularly specific. "The one that Giovanni had? What did he call it? Aya?"

Slowly, she nodded, somewhat lost at where I was going. "That was her. A copy, granted. Like everyone else we've come across." Tilting her head, she asked, "What about her?"

She wasn't there for our conversation, if it could be called such a thing. So she missed out on a point or two. "He was talking about how he had to tame her. Break her. That the most efficient way for them to get more is to breed them."

"That's…"

"Sick, right? What I thought myself." I shivered to myself. "So, how am I any different from them? I've you bonded to me just as thoroughly as they have their own…" My tongue failed me, not wanting to speak the word. "So, what's to stop me from doing something just like them? There's nothing that would prevent me from doing so."

"Gray." Shaking her head slightly, she leaned over towards me, standing up from her seat. "You know just as well as I do that you would never do such a thing." Tilting her head, her headwing fell over her eyes, hiding her expression. "Do you want to do such a thing to me? To do what they did?"

My reaction was immediate, only waiting for her to finish her speech. "Of course not! I'd never do such a thing…"

She smiled, at me, ducking the wing a bit to look at me. "See? That's why I'm not worried about it. You wouldn't do such a thing to me, ever." Dropping the wing, she asked, "Don't you remember when that bastard offered to free me? What did I say?"

I stared at her for a moment, before looking down. "You turned him down. Because he would have just had you serve him instead." I tilted my head. "Could you have tricked him? Let him free you, and then…"

Tokiko shrugged at the question. "I could possibly have, but we weren't quite in the right state of mind." She looked down, this time not meeting my eyes, instead of the other way around. "And that human tried to kill my favorite human's family…" Swiftly, she looked up. "And remember… our family. Right?"

I couldn't help but smile at the thought. "Yes, you are. Our family." Even as I said that, I felt my gut sink again anyways. "But what if that feeling is just the ball talking? Or at least, what the ball did to you is making you think that way."

Expression fading, her shoulders and all three wings drooped. "I know. But I'd like to think that I'm that good of a youkai. Of a person. But we'll never know, not until we're done. And you're keeping your promise, yes?"

Attempting to give her the most honest smile I could, I replied with the hopefully obvious answer. "Of course I am." Resting my head on my hands, I let out a short laugh. "I suppose I'm being rather silly, aren't I? Letting what she said bother me that much."

"No, you're human." She snorted, and shot me a small smirk when I looked up. "You care for others. It's odd… A lot of my kind doesn't worry about others. Only themselves."

Staring her in her red eyes, I asked, "So, what does that make you, then? Some kind of odd bird, taking a human into her nest?"

"Possibly." She laughed loudly, voice nearly growing musical. "Or maybe I'm spending way too much time around a human, and going crazy as a result." She finally calmed down, looking at me. "I never spent this much time around humans, ever. Probably more than I spent the whole time in Gensokyo."

With a shrug, I rose from my seat. "Well, if you'd like me to leave you alone… Who knows what being exposed to a human will do to a little birdie like you."

Before I could turn to the door to leave, she shook her head. "I never said you needed to leave." Pointedly looking at the floor, her headwing shielding her face again, she muttered, "You know, the worst thing about going crazy is that you start to like it."

Chuckling slightly, I sat down next to her. "I suppose. The again, I'm sitting next to a ravenous, man-eating beast, so who knows who is the crazier one."

Peeking up at me, she quipped, "Oh, well, I'm starting to feel a mite bit hungry. Mind if I borrow that earflap thing? I'm feeling a little peckish at the moment."

Hands rising immediately to cover my ears, I found myself laughing again. "Oh, no you don't, you crazy little youkai. No way that I'm going to let you near my ears. I like them the way they are."

Grinning, she countered back. "Really? It would be quite easy to otherwise… Then besides, you'd be able to become more like me. At the very least, we'd match."

"You mean, besides the teeth, and the horns, and the hair, and the multiple wings…" Needless to say, there were a few holes in her comparison. Not that part of me was actually thinking about reducing the number.

Tokiko shook her head, intent on correcting me. "Nope. No hair on me. Down, remember? After all, you always seem to end up touching it at some point…" Her smile had widened, almost to what I would have called predatory, if I had not been mostly sure she wasn't going to eat me.

Still, the accusation rung true, and I found myself blushing. "Sorry. It's… It's soft. Feels nice." For a moment, something danced in her eyes, before the wing covered her face. Breathing out a deep sigh, she let it go of her tension before leaning against my side.

"You sure are something, human. At least you are comfy, too." Glancing at me out of the corner of a sigh, she echoed me statement moments before. "Soft. You feel nice."

"I'm glad that I can return the favor then." I felt it lay with me to remind her of the reason that she came to find me in the first place. "I thought you were looking for me, though?"

"I was." Content with that explanation, she just laid there for a moment. "But you will be better off with a bit more peace and quiet. And perhaps some rest."

Seeing that she was going nowhere anytime soon, I adjusted myself to be more comfortable, wrapping an arm about her and pulling her a bit closer in the process. "Getting me to sleep in the day, now? At this rate, you're going to have me acting like a youkai."

Staring at the other side, Tokiko slowly shook her head. "Not quite. Would rather have you act like a Gray, yes?" Chuckling softly at her joke, she thought about my question. "But you need rest, more than you admit it. Even if you do stink…"

Well, I wasn't going to raise that specter in discussion, so I simply ignored it. "If you say so… We've only been up… How many hours now?"

"Nearly ten. But invading the moon can take its toll."

Well, I suppose that would be a rather salient point. "That might carry some validity." As I yawned, I was pretty sure I could handle staying awake a little while longer. But she was having none of that.

"Still, don't leave. They'll come find us when they want to." And with that, she wrapped one of her wings about me. Not as soft as her down, but warm and comforting. Just like the last time…

"Gray?" I was shaken out of whatever reverie I was descending into by her voice. "This would be what a family is like, is it not?"

An innocent question… Much better than all the other's I've faced. Should she even need to ask, though? "You saw what it was like, that one night. Before everything happened. You didn't miss much…"

"Mmm." Seems like she had another reason for picking me as her familial pillow. "But, that was seeing. This is feeling. I could grow used to this." She blinked. "Most definitely, I could."

Still, there were a few things that were missing, compared to what we had. Still, I was starting to feel warm, and just the slightest bit drowsy, making it harder to think. "Not quite. Need parents. Or children. One of the two. More than one generation."

If I was feeling more alert, I might have been able to see what she meant by her reply to me. "Have to fix that then, won't we?" As the minutes passed by, after entering into relative silence, our heads slowly drooped downwards, and against each other's. Before I fell asleep, I could swear I heard the cabin door latching, but perhaps it was just me. My mind, however, was focused on things best described as nice and soft.

Eventually, the short rest that we took did indeed come to an end. We did, after all, need to be getting towards the city proper. As reluctant as I was to break the position I was in, I wanted to get into the city before dusk. After all, we still had to keep a lookout for the monsters, even if they didn't seem quite as much of a threat as previously. I suppose when weighed against the forces you've already faced, not to mention to actual youkai helping, the thought of a stray monster isn't as terrifying as it was before.

Still, they were clever, so I wasn't going to underestimate them. I wouldn't regenerate nearly as quickly as Tokiko did with her arm. The thought still did make me shiver when my mind happened to grace it, but I did try to forget that it happened. So, once Nitori had woken, we began our current trek across the countryside once more.

We didn't pass by much of anything as we went, mostly just a few farmhouses with the occasional flag on the front, leaf in full view. Beside me, Tokiko just stared at each of them as we passed by. "…Did the goddess of dead leaves create her own country since the I left? There's so many the same…" Not knowing what she spoke of, I did explain to her what I did know about the land to the north. Which wasn't too much. Then, sister took her aside and explained the rest.

Of course, considering how close of an eye she was keeping on the two of us, I heard most of the explanation anyways. I don't know how she knows so much. Then again, I leaned enough by simply reading some of that book of Tokiko's; I wonder how much one would have learned by doing such a thing every day?

Such a thought felt alien in my mind. It was so much simpler, after all, to work the fields and hunt in the woods than to learn more than necessary to survive. After all we've been through already, and all that we still have yet to go, perhaps to have begun to adapt would not be such an odd thing. Although, every time I looked at the balls, I had to wonder.

Thoughts aside, we quickly approached the city as it loomed in the distance. We all worried that it would be similar to the previous one we entered, what with their electricity nearly ubiquitous, if not completely. I do doubt that it would be the case here. If they had such facilities in every city, it might soon become obvious that entire regions were being depopulated. But with just one that we knew of, the attacks could be spread across many various states, and could be written off as typical deaths due to the monsters.

Not to say that there wasn't the chance, just that the three of us doubted it.

During the journey, we plotted out our next moves, not wanting to be undone as we almost had been on the moon. We counted for the possibility of either more humans on their side, such as at that damned factory, or the possibility of rabbits or true lunarians being present. At least the first two would be relatively easy to confirm or deny. The thought of one of the lunarians disguising themselves, though… It was plausible. Although, sister did point out that if Toyohime was a representative sample of them, there would be none that would stoop so low.

Other than that, we had plenty to do. We had to find more food, as the last had been in the backpacks, discarded on the moon. We did not need to worry about a supply of water with Nitori around, but some more containers would be helpful. Not to mention that we would probably need new clothes. Sister had the same thing on she had a week ago, never having the opportunity to change out of her clothes. I was nearly in the same boat, being in this shirt for a few days.

The youkai were the same as always. Nitori's dress seemed much better taken care of, ever since she had been bound by the ball. It was still adorned with a large number of patches, along with pockets everywhere, but it looked newer. Tokiko, as always, managed to have hers appear completely clean. Part of me has to wonder if she can use her magic to keep herself clean. One of these days, I might bother to ask.

Not to mention that we needed to find some fuel. Either to barter for, or to chop down and take ourselves. The furnace wasn't particular, but given the size of the train, along with Nitori's explanations about the precise temperature she had to simulate with her powers, it was powered primarily by coal. And acquiring that would take bartering, at best. At worst, we might have to give up a train car to pay for it. Not that we particularly needed all of them. But it would be nice if we could hang on to them for as long as possible.

Of course, that was all a prelude to our current objective: discovering how to get the info about the moon out. While at first it sounded like such a simple idea, the longer we thought about it the more we realized how difficult it would be to pull off. The question was finding someone who would get the info out, be able to get it out, and be reliable in getting it out. No need to spread stories about an invasion of the moon if everyone is simply going to believe it in the first place.

And the worst part was the lack of evidence we had. Sure, we had seen it ourselves. But what did we have that would convince any of them? It's not like we brought back any rocks from the moon. Or even cheese. Nor do we have any evidence from the factory, besides sister being a witness. Still, we had to go in and hope we were able to get someone to listen.

As we crossed the lake once more, blue rails shining as we approached the old city, Nitori bothered to ask me something. "So, I never did get much of a chance to corner you. Just how strong are you now?"

I turned towards her, leaning against the side of the cab. "I'm not sure. All I know is that I was able to beat down the door in the cell we were in." I turned towards Tokiko, a thought striking me. "Did you try and see if you could break through it, yourself?"

The girl shook her head. "Not quite. I could scratch the surface with my claws, but anything more than that I was unable to do."

Nitori nodded absently as she spoke. "I had suspected something along those lines. At least, once it was revealed to me who exactly was the one who allowed you three to escape." She looked at me again, narrowing her eyes. "Although, it does make me wonder to what degree you were enhanced. The thought of a human being granted kappa-level strength is somewhat insane."

"And this is coming from someone who happens to be a mystical creature."

That earned a snort from her. "True, I suppose. Although, the discrepancy between the mountain youkai and the remainder of the youkai in our home was quite large. There is no good indication… Unless you know how much you can lift?"

I opened my mouth, about to answer, until Tokiko answered to my chagrin. "No idea how much. Just that I can pick up a human easily, as well as pin him down. But it's difficult for me to fly with one."

Humming to herself, Nitori nodded. "True. It should be a simple matter of weight ratios, but youkai are not merely organic, but are also spiritual, so there is a good deal of their strength derived from that alone…"

"So there's no telling what exactly I'm capable of." Well, that's lovely to know.

Nodding to confirm, she added, "So, don't do anything too crazy until we test you. After all, we don't want you to accidentally destroy the train, now do we?"

At her words, the train seemed to respond by blowing its whistle. However, when we snapped our heads to look at the train, one of the indicators had changed color. Specifically, the destination dial had changed from its blue glow to a more severe red. I couldn't help but to think out loud. "Do you suppose that means we've reached where it's letting us off? For that matter, where would it let us off?"

For that, we had no answer. At this point, we just let the train continue one its way over the water as the bell began to chime. Shortly after it did, we crossed over to land. More specifically, we crossed over into an overgrowth of plants and trees that smacked at us in the open cab of the train. And which soon turned into a scene of broken pavement and worn down buildings, covered with ancient graffiti. After alternating a few times in quick succession, the view suddenly widened as we rolled into a large open expanse. More specifically, a rail yard.

Looming in the distance was a large, truly ancient building. And we were steaming straight towards it.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that we had momentarily transferred to the actual rails, or what was left of them. Momentarily, in the sense that as soon as I recognized we were on the rails, we lifted off the ground on the blue glowing rails, until we were headed straight over the terminal and into the building proper.

The appearance of another of the portals to the inside was not nearly shocking as the first, yet I couldn't help but feel my hair stand up as we went through the stone face of the building, before arriving in what was apparently another terminal.

Finally screeching to a halt, the train let out a large hiss of steam, before its whistle sounded once more. If we had a conductor, I could just imagine him welcoming us to the city. In its place, though, was sister mumbling under her breath. "Welcome to the Decayed City of Detroit."

I winced internally at her words. It had been best left unspoken earlier that this city could hardly be as civilized as the last one. Hopefully, the years since the explosion had allowed them to recover even slightly from the fall. Otherwise, our enemies might be the least of our concerns.

The journey into the city proper turned out to be duller than we had expected. Not to say that they had gone very successfully, or even smoothly. Our first problem came with getting out of the building. After spending five minutes simply to find the exit to the terminal we were on, and walking down to the main floor, we discovered that the doors had been sealed shut.

At least that was averted somewhat easily, as none of the windows had been boarded up. Under Nitori's instructions, I pulled the window up and off of its track. While this might not have been difficult for me even normally, she still wanted me to take any opportunity to test what I was capable of. Plus, she did not want to destroy the door in an attempt to test the upper limits of said strength. It had to be sealed for a reason, meaning nobody should be coming in here.

At least we wouldn't have to worry about the train being taken by looters. If they could even figure out how to work it.

As we began our trek towards the city center, the thing that struck me, at least, was how empty the city was. Not to say there weren't any people. There were, but it was the sheer lack of everything else. Even at home, I'm used to seeing a few vehicles, plus piles of equipment lying everywhere. Here, there seemed to be nothing in sight. No trucks, no cars, no parts, no supplies, no barrels, no trashcans, even. Completely barren.

That barren landscape was reflected just as much in the people we did come across. They didn't seem to want anything to do with strangers, actively going out of the way to avoid us. We tried to see if any were indeed running a shop, or somewhere we could purchase something to eat, but it was of no use. The citizens just faded back into the landscape as soon as we looked away.

The depths of the city were surprisingly in better shape than the outskirts, though. There was still a surprising lack of motor vehicles, although that might be expected. If they were keeping their transportation costs to a minimum, they'd only be moving goods once a day, if they needed that much.

Of course, this is all compared to Chicago, so perhaps I am simply biased based on previous expectations.

There were a goodly number of people on bicycles, though. Not to mention other cobbled together creations. Not to mention the large amount of pedestrians that littered the sidewalks as we got near the city center. It was… surprising, again. It's hard to imagine that this many people actually live in such a small area. Perhaps due to the proximity of so many humans, the monsters wouldn't get too close. After all, they are smart, in an animalistic sort of way.

At least more people meant there had to be some sort of merchandise nearby. Which we attacked with much relish. They seemed somewhat disturbed at the appearance of four people in such conditions showing up in their shops, but they eagerly helped us out, in exchange for our money.

Not much needs to be said. A few sets of cheap, tough clothing were found and purchased for me. Didn't particularly care about how it looked, just about how well it could take damage. Not that I'd expect any shirt to actually save my life. I just didn't want it to rip on me at the slightest touch.

The only other thing I took of note was when Tokiko found her another hat. Considering she had momentarily borrowed Nitori's cap to hide her one wing, hiding her others under a sheet we had fashioned. It was obvious she needed something to replace both articles, so she went ahead and did as much.

Oddly enough, sister did steal a bit of coin from the purse, before telling me to go finish everything else. Not that it was exactly the safest thing to do, but I acquiesced. Not that finding food and everything else was too hard.

However, once that was all done, I began to go after our primary objective. Of the many people that I ran across, I searched for the names of the various papers, and other agencies that might be able to get out news. A good few of the suggestions pointed me right at the office of the mayor. Which in and of itself was a foreign concept. What good would come of that? We needed to get the news out, not get it dithered and dallied over as it was sent to committee.

They gave me a few names, and directions to the buildings they were located in. The older skyscrapers they were in, the ones made out of brick and stone. The metallic monstrosities that loomed up into the sky took too much money and effort to be kept up. So, instead, they let them deteriorate.

After the other three had finished, we made our way to the first of them. After receiving permission to enter inside, we attempted to give our story. However, they considered it to be so ridiculous that we were routed into a fiction section. They thought we were here to write a humor column! Why would one of those be in a paper, anyways? Its primary purpose is to spread the news. At least, that's the way it's always been for home.

We attempted with the next two that we knew of, and got a similar reaction. Foolish fools, do you really think we'd believe that, are you doing this on a bet… Etc, etc. No one would even bother to believe our story. I thought about revealing Tokiko and Nitori for what they were, but that would probably cause a panic. And I don't want such things known, if we can't help it. By the time we exited the third, the clock had already turned too far, and all the others were closed.

So, our trek partially successful, and having a few more targets to search for the next day, we headed back to the train. We tossed the possessions on it before looking about for a place to sleep. This place looked like it might have been a hotel at one point… And it'd be better than squeezing onto one of the compartment benches on the train.

The top floor of the building proved to be the only area that seemed to still be furnished, for some odd reason. None of the furniture seemed to be particularly heavy, so there was no reason it couldn't have been carried off. It's possible that someone actually lived here, but the whole place seemed abandoned. Especially with all of these layers of dust on top of everything.

Still, we had carved out our own place to rest in one of the foyers. Sitting on an overly large couch around a table, I sighed, looking over at sister. "So, do you think we should show them…" Gesturing to Nitori, I shrugged. "Well, should we show the journalists the youkai? Maybe they'd listen to them, if they wouldn't listen to us."

"Hrm." Even as she thought, sister seemed to shake her head. "Don't know if it would do any good. Even if they did believe us, and didn't think it was either some elaborate prank or an attack…" She shrugged at me. Possible. I'd reserve that for a worst-case scenario. We haven't spoken to all of the different papers yet. Perhaps another will work better."

I shot her a slight grin. "You don't usually deal with maybes, Joy. Either you do, or you don't."

She shot me a slight one of her own in return. "Perhaps." Ignoring my snort, she continued. "We are slightly outside of my depth, anyways. So I'm merely giving my own suggestions."

Shaking my head, I rubbed at the loose gauze around my hand. It was annoying, but at least some salve we picked up earlier should help it heal a bit faster. Or at least, it will hurt less if I have to use it.

Nitori just shrugged, leaning back in her chair and staring at the ceiling. "Who knows. We can't take too long, though. We still have to get to Gensokyo, and that's nearly halfway around the world. This train may be fast, but it still has to travel."

Lovely. "Well, that means we can't dally any." Perfect. Not that we have anything to really worry about. Yet. "At least we can go to bed and get up on time. Perhaps then it'd work out in our favor, having a whole day to explain our case."

Receiving no more than affirmations, I looked at the ceiling once more. I just hoped that Tokiko wouldn't take too much longer. I'd like to say goodnight before I nod off to sleep. As my eyes drifted closed, I swore I heard someone singing. "This little adventure's…. just been prolonged… But wee lil' human, something's wrong…"

Chuckling, I shook my head as the music got louder. "I didn't know that Tokiko sang. I'll need to say something next time…" As the melody grew closer, I smiled. "Sooner than later, at this rate."

"You're uninspired… you're getting tired… Your plans been going fowey…"

As she finished, she sat down next to me, leaning on my shoulder. I grinned. "Good to have you back, Tokiko. Didn't know that you sang much…"

"Gray… you might want to open your eyes."

Nitori? Why would she say that? I've no reason not to, except to ruin the moment. So, with great reluctance, I did lower my head and look around. There was Nitori sitting in her chair, seemingly shell-shocked, next to sister, along with Tokiko standing behind the two with a rather severe look on her face-

Wait a second. All three of them were over there. So who would then be sitting to my-

My head snapped to look at the person next to me, and I felt myself freeze in shock. Pink dress. Singing voice. Unnatural hair. Monster. My hand tried to reach for my gun, which for once was not in reach. However, before it could even complete its fruitless arc, she grabbed me.

"You don't have to act like that… I have an offer for you, if you want help. That is, if you can pay the price.

A/N Heh, well, here's a cliffhanger for you, which might seem a bit familiar. Not too much to say in this chapter in the notes. Especially compared to the last one. Not nearly as much plot, merely reacting to the plot. It leads to a scene that was perhaps a bit fluffy, but I liked it anyways. Plus, after seeing a particular deconstruction, I didn't want to take it away.

And I hope I'm not bogging anyone down with too much detail. After all, I'd like to avert the characters not fulfilling normally bodily functions. Which is why they are so tired in this chapter, along with why they need a shower. Some feedback on that would be nice. Don't remember if I've asked before, but the question is whether to focus on the little details so much, or give most of the story to the action and interaction.

As for the last thing, it should be obvious who this that we've found. Or rather, has found us. If you can't figure it out, I'd suggest looking at the cover a bit more closely. I'm taking advantage of it, here. Just thought I'd point it out.

Oh, and song is based on the short excerpt from Animaniacs Short Roll Over, Beethoven. And that song was itself a parody of Makin' Whopee. So, it's a parody of a parody. Insert your own inception joke here.

Anywho, enough for today. Digressing, please read and review as always, and until next time!